Title: War Games
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: PG
Length: 2200 words
Author notes: More giant robot crackishness~! Same universe as Cancelling the Apocalypse and Sleepless. SO SORRY THIS IS GETTING SO LATE my internet was playing silly games and pretending not to exist this evening D:
Summary: The simulators are old, and the three new trainees have already mastered them.

oOo

It was nearly a month and a half into the basic training before Clef had a chance to catch up with the progress of the new trainees. He’d seen the data, of course – had been working with it most days. After all, once they had their pilots, the development of the Mark Nines could step up.

They were using an early prototype of the AI-system to help them control the mech in the simulator, but there was no easy way to simulate the neural connection, so that was missing until he had time to get a team in to rebuild the units and integrate it. Even so, their scores were impressive.

…A little too impressive.

He watched as Hikaru calmly took down a juddering version of Yaris without pausing for thought, and bounced out of the simulator, exchanging high-fives with Fuu and Umi. “…Are they all this quick?” He asked, as Fuu took Hikaru’s place, the mock pilot-suit connecting to the simulator’s rig as the doors closed and the live stream lit up again on the screens.

“Fuu’s quicker.” Ferio said, with a grin – one which turned into a grimace as the lumbering shots of the creature appeared. “They’ve gone through all the programs we have already. I was going to come speak to you tomorrow – I know we haven’t scheduled the development of the new training software until next month, but there’s little point in bothering with this until it’s done. It’s going to make them complacent.”

“Well, outdated equipment mixed with old data, and modelling technology at least five years past its prime – it’s not really a surprise they’re beyond it already. Especially not if Fuu’s as heavily into gaming as you keep telling me.” He watched the ease with which Fuu manoeuvred the mech in mid-air to land behind the creature. They were divided from the room holding the trainees and the simulator they were taking turns in by a wall of one-way glass, a holdover from the more formal days of training, back when Eterna had been one of the first active bases. It did make it easier for the instructor to line up the next mission without the trainees seeing, but watching this he doubted it would make any difference if they knew what was coming. “I just wanted the individual AIs far enough along to get them running as part of the simulation controls before I tried taking it apart and updating it–“

The monster on the screen fell back in three blows, and the simulator in the next room hissed as it opened again.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if we could get an updated version, but – you’re right, this is going to start doing more harm than good. If they go into a real battle expecting to win so easily –“ He ran a hand back through his hair, glancing about the room –

And spotted the other old sim unit they had, sat in the corner. “Wait – Ferio, pause the next run a moment. Can you link this one in?”

“Yes, but – there’s no point setting them against each other. They do that already in sparring sessions, and the software can’t run enough creatures to give them a fight if they’re co-operating with each other.”

“I know. But they haven’t fought me – I haven’t made it down when they’re training, not yet.”

“… Oh.” Ferio grinned, and the unit started to hum as he brought it online, the scaled-down version of a Control Pod opening up. “You want Fyula?”

“Oh, no – give me the creature.” Clef said, pulling his jacket off. He was still in his pilot-suit after getting Griffin out to test the new version of the neural relays this morning – that was one reason why he had come down, to see if Ferio would give him a hand getting out. (Anyone could undo the spine down the back of it, but he preferred to have someone he trusted help him undress, and today he’d barely known any of the ground crew hanging about.) It was pretty much still compatible with the Sim unit. At least, enough to do this.

The simulators weren’t meant for piloting the creatures, but the temptation had been too much for some of the programmers, and there was a rough-and-ready method of control protocol built into the programme.

Ferio laughed softly as he queued up the next mission. Umi was in the sim now, fidgeting in the model rig as the screens flashed ‘calibrating, please wait’ at her.

There was a live feed in the trainees room as well as by Ferio, so Hikaru and Fuu were watching too, both quieting at the unusual pause before Ferio nodded at Clef.

He stepped inside the simulator and into place, the footplates locking onto his boots, the arms of the rig coming around to latch onto his arms, his sides, and to fasten over his shoulders. It was a bulkier bit of machinery then he was used to, these days, but it was exactly the same as he’d used for years piloting Fyula.

Even without the heavy presence of the mech’s control system weighing against his motions, it was easy enough to fall back into the memory of these controls as the screens flickered to life. But this time they showed him already in the water, his weapon screens blank, and there was a mech being airlifted into the scene before him.

Clef took a deep breath, and lowered his centre of gravity, bending further at the knees than he would in the mech, letting himself lean forwards more. He had recognised the mission file as Ferio brought it up – one of his own earliest. He knew this creature. There was a tail in the water behind him, and though he had no control of it, it would still counterbalance his stance.

He watched the helicopters come closer, the Mark Seven hanging below, and started to pace closer. He swayed a little from side to side as he tested the response of the rig and tried to slip into the mindset of a creature.

His projected hands were on the screen before him, the brown–red of dried blood, pebbled with scales. (And there was a flash of recognition: like before, but – not like before, not like –)

Pressure grew at the base of his neck as he tensed against the sudden memory, a stabbing pain at his temples, and Clef closed his eyes tight as he could – tight enough there were flashes of colour across his vision when he made himself open them again. He took one breath and then another, leaned further forwards, and dragged up every memory he had of how these things moved.

The disjointed pause-then-fast-forward jolts of motion were written across his psyche, through his nightmares. It was frighteningly easy to fall into something similar.

Umi’s mech landed, splashing into the water, and he flung himself forwards before she had a chance to catch her footing. She wasn’t expecting him to move so quickly. He saw her stumble back, and then he was there, slashing one hand up at the underneath of the mech’s arm and into the chest. His other hand gripped down on the shoulder, claws digging in. Clef saw metal tear, ripped both his hands away, and hunched down onto the damaged arm as the mech staggered forwards. He twisted and came up behind it, aiming for the neck joint and the vulnerable spot there.

The mech twisted the other way, and the pulse-cannon was flaring to life on the undamaged arm. Umi’d managed to put the momentum from her lurch when he dragged his claws free into this new motion, which was good, but her arm was still too far back. It left a gap for him to launch into.

“Bite!” He snapped, aloud, and felt the jolt translated back through the rig as he – as the creature slammed into that arm. Both his hands held on as – hopefully – he bit down on the elbow joint.

When the mech yanked free, her arm was sparking in all the wrong places, plating torn and the plasma cannon lifeless at the end of it. But she had brought the other up while he attacked, and now she fired at short range – he felt the jolt of it in his left arm as the rig vibrated and then seized up on that limb, keeping him from using it.

It was good, she was good, but not good enough. He was close enough he could clearly see the damage to the edge of the chest plating by her shoulder, where his first blow had ripped through. Now, he crouched (as much as he could in the rig built for a mech’s range of actions instead of the creatures’), and flung himself forwards with all his (imagined) weight behind the blow.

She toppled back under the water, pinned below him. She was trying to get the cannon back in place at his side, trying to get it lit up again in time to fire, but he already had his claws in those rents and tore the chest plate open.

His next blow ripped through the connectors below the Control Pod, and that was that.

He was breathing slightly too hard as the screens flickered back to hibernation, and the lights from the room outside made him wince when the door opened – but the speakers were on, and he could hear Umi demanding ‘what was that?!” as she scrambled out of the other unit. He couldn’t quite help the grin, not even when she stormed out of the trainee’s room and into theirs, Fuu and Hikaru not far behind her.

Her eyes went wide as she saw him, suited up, at the open door to the second sim. “You!” She pointed at him, and Ferio was cracking up over by the controls.

“Yes, Ms Ryuuzaki?” Clef said, nice and politely.

“You- you!” She stalked across the room, and he raised one eyebrow at her, trying hard not to join Ferio and laugh – even Fuu was smiling slightly, though her expression was more… speculative, than anything else. “If you could do that – if you’ve always been able to do that, then why haven’t you been training us!”

Clef blinked. That – wasn’t the accusation he’d been expecting. “I haven’t had the time to come down before now. I’m working on the AIs you’ll be using in the Mark Nines; getting them to the stage where they can be tested took priority.”

“But that – compared to that, the simulator was nothing.” Umi waved her hands for emphasis. “If it’s going to be – if real fights are going to be-“

The apprehension in her voice ate any urge Clef had had to laugh. He nodded, slowly. “Worse.” Was all he said. “…We are going to be upgrading the simulators. Given what I’ve now seen, we’ll be starting immediately. But …nothing compares to actually piloting – and nothing at all can really prepare you for your first fight in a mech. Everything else is just playing games. The sooner we can get you into Fyula, at least, the better. I’ll speak to Emeraude about adjusting your training schedules.”

Fuu stepped forwards, then. “You were able to mimic the motion of the creature, at least well enough to pose a challenge. If you have time, before the upgrades are done – I feel it would be beneficial for us to all fight against you, when there is the chance.” She said, quietly, and Hikaru was nodding beside her in determination.

He didn’t want – his head was still echoing with the memory of that pain. Eleru could have been a week ago, instead of five years and more. But Umi was watching him, silently, and biting her lip. She was so young. All of them were.

It was more than he could do, to deny them anything which might help them face what was to come.

“I will. When I have time, I will come join your training sessions, I promise.”

Umi sighed, and then shook her head. “I can’t believe you took me down so quickly, though.” She said, starting to pout. Off to the side, Ferio grinned, standing up as all the systems shut down behind them.

“You should demand a rematch – Clef, you’re coming along to our games evening tonight. I keep telling you that we pilots need to start bonding – if you’re going to try staying a step ahead of this three, you’ll need the practise!”

“I – what?” Clef blinked at him, and found himself being ushered out of the room – though he had time to see Umi’s expression brightening in a terrifying manner behind them as the door shut.

“Come on, it’ll be a more entertaining kind of playing with computers than you do most days.”

“…You just want an excuse to insist all the pilots are there so Fuu can’t decide to go read in her room, don’t you.” Clef grumbled, as they walked along to the showers. (He still needed to get out of his suit, after all.)

“She hasn’t done so yet, but I believe in being prepared?” Ferio told him, with a grin.

Clef sighed, but gave way.

Maybe getting to know them before they were relying on each other in the field wasn’t a bad idea.

(And maybe he’d rather see them having fun than shaking, wide-eyed, learning what they were going to face.)


oOo