Several hours had passed since the attack on the Aegis. The sandstorm had just begun to subside, allowing for repairs on the hull and the engines. The entire ship had turned into a hive, with the soldiers getting to work on trying to clean up, mechanics trying to repair essential ship functions, and volunteers from St. Clara trying to help the wounded.

General Hawthorne had brought Shay out of his cell and had him inside the X-Gain’s cockpit since the attack ended. Chief Engineer May Sachs looked at the data from his first encounter with the Vyrans’ during the attack on the base.

“Incredible. For a first-time startup, the X-Gain’s performance has exceeded the expected field results. Maybe the kid is a prodigy.”

“Its just the machine. Not the pilot. No way in hell could the kid be that good, unless he were a part of Bardone’s Armored Suit Squadron.”

The X-Gain’s controls were fundamentally different than Bardone’s own models. It made use of an advanced computer, able to learn and adapt to its environment, and the pilot. Growing alongside the pilot, the machine would eventually become a natural extension of the body.

“Even if that was the case, he has potential General.”

“We’ll see. The kid is already in hot water for hijacking the damn thing. Even if he did save us.”

General Hawthorne stroked his non-existent beard and looked up at the heroic Armored Suit. For the first time in his life, he had felt fear. Not for himself, but for Lily. She’s been unconscious since the attack and Shay didn’t save her. A cadet by the name of Kent Arthurs did. If he were in charge, that cadet would be the one piloting the X-Gain.

“Anyways, that Shay kid might be the best shot we got. He’s already read the booklet and has some first-hand experience. Until this blows over, he needs to be the one in the cockpit.”

May looked the General right in the eye. He was never one to back down from a challenge. However, years of experience has taught him that sometimes, the best ideas were the ones he opposed.

Sitting inside the cockpit, Shay stared at the numerous amounts of information being transmitted in the cockpit. He familiarized himself with the different dials, gauges, and screens on the dashboard. It felt very much like being enclosed inside a capsule. The booklet allowed him to understand the controls much better. It had been written in an easy to understand way, most likely for when the machine was ready to be put into mass production.

“Kid you hear me?”

May spoke to Shay from her position in the hanger, a makeshift camp on the ground floor. Her face appeared as an image on one of the two double monitors above the main three way connected monitors. She could see him, and he could see her. It made him feel less awkward this way.

“Yeah I do Ms. Sachs.”

“Good, that means the visual feed is working. I’m going to be running some diagnostics and adjustments. Since you’re the pilot for now, you’ll be the one doing them. Don’t worry, its all on the dashboard.”

General Hawthorne listened in, his arms folded as he closed his eyes.

The sandstorm had reached a new peak during the attack. The sand became incredibly unbearable that Char and her team had to retreat. If it wasn’t for that stroke of luck, the Aegis would be a pile of scrap metal. Acting Captain Arthur Ashton went over the crew’s roster and had picked out several of the cadets for fielding in the remaining fighters for the next engagement.

“Are you telling me we only have one cadet that can pilot?”

“Yessir. Cadet Kent Arthurs is his name. The other kid, Jim Macks is in the Med-Bay, undergoing some psychological therapy.”

Rubbing his brow, Arthur looked out at the five fighters still intact after the attack.

“So, it’s just you and the cadet then?”

“Yessir.”

Chief Petty Officer Roberto Rodriguez had seen his fair share of combat engagements on earth. Before he had been assigned to the Aegis, he led a Shock Outfit in the jungles of the Amazon. After that, he had asked to be assigned somewhere in the Federation backwater.

“It’ll have to do. Outfit those fighters for atmospheric operation!”

Roberto was used to dealing with operations where the odds were stacked against him. But he didn’t count on the ship being reliant on a kid to win their battles for him. The fighter planes he was going to pilot is a Next-Generation Fighter, able to operate in both space and the atmosphere by exchanging its operating packs. It came equipped with your basic machine guns, along with a miniaturized beam cannon and missiles. Back in his father’s days in the army, they still used old era jets for earth and retrofitted space-craft for space engagements.

“So, looks like we get to work together huh Chief Petty Officer?”

Cadet Kent Arthurs walked up to Roberto with a wide grin on his face. The Chief Petty Officer didn’t trust anyone who smiled before an engagement. It usually meant they would screw up during the operation or get themselves and their allies killed. He always assumed the latter.

“Yeah? Well buckle up kid. This isn’t like those little simulations that you’re used to. This is real stuff. There ain’t no retries in a real firefight.”

“Sure. I’ve placed first in the program on the flight sims, so I know what I’m doing.”

Roberto had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. He had heard it all. This kid is going to be more trouble than he was worth. It usually took one real engagement to knock their starry eyes back into reality.

“Just listen to my orders, and we’ll get out of this in one piece.”

“Got it. If you need me, I’ll be in the Med-Bay.”

Without waiting for a response, Kent ran off.

Gnashing his teeth, Roberto looked up at the X-Gain.

“Why do I get stuck with the dumbasses?”

#

Sitting in the cockpit of her Vyran II, Char stared at the captured image of the Federation’s Armored Suit. The black box in Jack’s machine had transmitted its last recordings to Jill’s when she fled. It included operational data, along with the movements and parameters that the Vyran II faced during the engagement. She had heavily modified her own model, making it twice as fast and fine tuned for her use only.

“The Earth Federation must be joking. With a design like that, even a rookie could hit that thing dead center even if they flailed their arms about.”

While she considered the over fanciful design an annoyance, she couldn’t disregard the odd feeling she had when she neared the ship. She had seen plenty of engagements, and some of them had surprises in order.

“It’s time to go.”

Switching on the Vyran II’s engines, it made a buzzing sound as its fusion reactor turned on. The rest of the squad followed suit, with one machine being slightly delayed on the start-up process.

“You okay Jill?”

Pvt. Robinson said over the radio.

“If you can’t keep up, we can send you back- “

“I’m fine.”

With steel in her voice, Jill finalized the start-up procedure.

With a slight grin, Char motioned for the team to move out.

#

“Our radar has picked something up!”

“What?!”

“Five bogies incoming! They seem to be Armored Suits!”

“Get the X-Gain out there! Use the damn elevator platform if we have to! Launch the fighters as support! Ready the guns!”

With a loud blaring noise, the alarms went off. Over the ship’s intercom, a female voice repeated in a dulcet tone to get ready for incoming contact. The injured were strapped in to their beds, using an absorbic Velcro-strap to keep them from bouncing about. The students and staff from St. Clara all began to hold on to whatever appliance was nailed down. Soldiers ran to their posts.

“Listen here Shay. The Beam Rifle has a total of eight shots in a single E-Cap. Once that’s out, you’ll have to rely on the Vulcans and Beam Sabers for close combat.”

“Can’t I just reload if need be?”

“The X-Gain doesn’t have any additional carrying capacity. If we have to, we can send out a Missile Launcher, but that’ll leave us exposed. Use your shots well!”

With a jolt, the elevator platform began to move upwards. Gripping the control sticks, Shay took in deep breaths. He had the Beam Rifle in the left hand and the shield in the right. All he needed to use is the aiming monitor by the right side of his head and hit his targets.

When the X-Gain made it to the outside, the orthoscopic monitors that fed him the visual information he needed to see compensated for the additional overexposure of sunlight. Dimming slightly, they helped protect the eyes from unneeded exposure to extra light. Placing the shield on the rack beside him, Shay pulled out the aiming monitor next to his head and peered his right eye into it. Using both of the X-Gain’s arms to steady the Beam Rifle, a targeting reticle appeared, alongside additional information regarding zoom, windspeed, bullet drop and more.

“It’s a Beam Rifle, no need to compensate.”

In the distance, the computer automatically identified his targets.

“Five Vyran II’s! I can do this! The X-Gain was made to beat them!”

Pressing down on the trigger, the X-Gain fired.

The team could see the downed Aegis, its features coming into view. Someone awkwardly made a joke about taking all the woman present on the Aegis hostage before his comms went silent. A flash of light had pierced through his Vyran II’s torso, melting completely through. The metal carcass fell backwards, tumbling through the sand as inertia took over.

“What the he-!?”

Another flash of light tore through another member of the team, taking out his right arm and torso.

“Scatter!”

Char yelled, feeling the cold gaze of someone from afar. It was a sensation she had begun to feel after she had accomplished her greatest feat at the battle of Luna II. By herself she had severely crippled the Earth Federation Space Forces defensive line, allowing the bulk of Bardone’s forces to break through. It allowed them to directly launch a nuclear missile at the command center, striking a severe blow to Federation space operations.

“Man, the guns! Make sure nothing gets close to us!

The mounted guns on the Aegis spun around, aiming at the area where the Armored Suits had been spotted. In quick succession, they began to fire, peppering the sand with bullet shells as they exploded upon impact.

“Got you!”

With a loud shriek, Jill’s machine was vaporized from the waist down. It tumbled backwards midair, crashing into Sgt. Anton’s Vyran II in the process.

“Is that it?!”

Against all the odds, Char managed to get close enough to the Aegis. From her position she spotted it, the X-Gain, its sights aimed down at her. A single streak of light pierced through the heavens, racing for her death. Without even flinching, she evaded it and kept on going, pushing the Vernier thrusters as hard as they could. The guns on the Aegis just simply couldn’t keep up. Before anyone had time to react, Char had readied her Machine Gun in mid-air and opened fire at point blank rage.

The inside of the X-Gain’s cockpit shook heavily. The insulated walls of the machine helped reduce the g-force that had been applied, but the machine stood standing, completely unscathed.

“What!?”

Dropping the Beam Rifle, Shay twisted the sticks and revved the engine as high as it could go. Pulling out the Beam Saber, he swung at Char. Pulling back, she had narrowly avoided getting hit. Instead, the tip of her Machine Gun had been melted clean off.

“Not yet!”

Pressing down on both pedals, the X-Gain’s thrusters on its back came to life. Bright blue flames came rushing out, propelling Shay forward. Using the added inertia, he stabbed at the cockpit of Char’s Armored Suit. Astoundingly, it missed, letting Char boost away.

The world seemed to spin. Char landed onto the soft desert sands, her machine slowly sinking from her landing. With a groan of frustration, she immediately activated the Vyran II Commander Type’s Takan Particle disbursal system. All over on the Aegis, communication, targeting systems, and radar were rendered useless. Using this chance, she began to flee.

Considering recent events, she was hard pressed to even find an opening in the X-Gain’s relentless attacks. She certainly didn’t count on it having access to a long-range weapon the equivalent of a battleship’s cannon, and certainly not the response time it exhibited.

“Wait!”

Shay fired off the last remaining shots in the Beam Rifle, miserably missing off his shots. The red machine disappeared over the sand dunes, leaving its parting gift as a reminder of what had transpired.

The Bridge looked at one another in shocked silence. Ashton had a hard time believing it as well. They had survived, not just any Armored Suit attack, but one led by the legendary Red Lightning.

“Recall the X-Gain! Get the repairs finished so we can leave!”

Deep down inside, Ashton didn’t know what this would mean. They managed to fend off a team of Armored Suits with just one prototype. If the Federation ever mass produced it, it would lead to the end of the war.