Hunter laughed at the thought of operating a combat Mech. "Na man, all we had on Admiration were a few Mining mechs. Those things could take a hit, In fact..." He trailed off for a moment. "I think it's the only reason we ever stood a chance against the U.P.D.C. and their Mechs." Then he laughed again. "That and the surface of the planet reaches above 3000 Degrees Celsius during the day. Those war Mechs can't stand the heat long enough to stay unless they got a foot hold inside the caves. Which was also a pain" Hunter went over to his bag. "Kinda felt bad for them the first few weeks. Took them a while to realize how... deadly the surface was. Then they breached the caves. Now I can't wait to make them feel the same way again."

Hunter grabbed a satchel and put a few small items inside it. "So you heading down to dinner?"

From what Hunter told him, his homeplanet looked like a literal hell. Living in the caves, unthinkable temperatures on the surface... it all made sense. Now if he just added a few stories about strange creatures with hoofs and horns and Farid would start with praying. He wanted to make some witty remark about it, but he decided to rather not. Farid himself was a little bit touchy when it came to his homeplanet and didn´t want to offend his roommate so early.

It also seemed that Hunter had even more fighting experience than Farid. He actually fought again UP-DC, not some desert raiders with no real weaponry that couldn´t even scratch the mechs. It had to be fighting one whole new level and Farid wanted to know more about it. He was interested in what was it like, to fight the "real" deal. He wanted to question Hunter further, maybe over a dinner, but the boy called it first.
"Is the food only thing you think about?" Farid laughed. "But I have to admit I am pretty hungry too. It was long flight after all. Just let me take something from my b..." with these words, he started searching through his small luggage until he found a small sack of red-ish spice. The taste pf his home...
"Alright, we can go now."

Hunter set down the last of his things and started walking to get some food. Farid seemed like an interesting guy, Hunter thought it was a bit funny, two people raised in life styles completely different from each other, not only room mates but operating similar Mechs. As they were walking Hunter figured e might as well keep the conversation going. "So? What's you planet like? What's it like living in the desert exposed like that?"

Hunter knew people have for generations, maybe even longer then people like him lived under ground. But he had no idea how people lived under the hot sun all day. "Wont the machinery break down in the heat? Most our things can go for a while before over heating, but they never see sunlight." Hunter paused. "Except for the crap left out on the night shift, but... Those rarely survive." Truth be told coming to a planet where he was going to live under the sun scared the shit out of Hunter, like a lot. But he was starting to like it.

Hayden looked over the girl. Ciell was going to be tough competition but the top slot was his, he was going to be the best damn pilot if it killed him. However he also wanted to be a squad commander, that meant having at least three people willing to follow you. Ciell would be an ideal squad mate, he knew both of them would be out to be a squad leader and both had a lot of talent. She had seen him do test runs and knew about his skill as a pilot having managed to defeat two military grade mechs with a Knight and only farm equipment.

Hayden smiled when an evil thought came to his mind. "Ciell I'd like to make a bet with you... You and me are both contenders for the top slot here. But to get their we both are going to need decent squadmates." He said as the elevator shuddered and took them down, under the school. "You and me have an arena match, in the open air area. Loser joins the winners squad... You up for it, or would mother think less of you for losing to a cripple?" He said tauntingly as it stopped. Opening to the massive underground storage area for all the mechs.

Ciell watched the boy with a blank face and listened to what he said, his offer to her. She'd be lying if she'd tried to say his words didn't inflame her at least a little bit, but she knew better than to let emotions control her actions. This kid was either arrogant or he knew something she didn't, and there was a striking possibility that both were true. Still, the morning's disappointing mech battle had left her unsated, and it wasn't as if she had any actual doubts about her ability to defeat Hayden.

"Your bet doesn't matter," she said, her voice cold. "We're likely some of the only candidates, if we spar the loser will be ousted from the running anyway."

The door opened, and she stepped out only to stop and turn back to him. "But let me be clear with you, your disabilities do not matter here. Having one arm and one leg does not excuse your failures and bolster your successes. If you win it is because you were quicker than the other mech, if you lose, it is entirely upon your own lack of skill. But we won't be sparring forever, and out in a real fight those disabilities will matter. You're a liability in an actual battlefield, and putting you in charge of others' lives when you evidently couldn't take care of your own would be a mistake.

Her attention turned back to the mechs, and she spotted her Paladin not too far down the line. Something flickered in her eyes, and her stony expression cracked if only for a moment. "But if you're asking if I think I can take you, then suit up and get ready to find out." With that, the girl started down the line for her own mech, doing her best to mask the way her rushing blood made her hands shake ever so slightly.

He rolled his eyes and didn't bother to respond to the girl. Walking into the mech bay Ash their talking with his sister, he ignored them both and walked right down to the Knight he'd been assigned. It was crouched down waiting for him as he climbed inside Ash popped up on the read out. "So planning on a arena match. Your outclassed here you know, her gear is way more advanced, you might stand a chance if the Templar was finished but it's not." The A.I. chided him as he took it for a walk setting up controls getting a feel for it all.

His sister appeared taking Ash's place on the comms. "Hey baby brother, going out to arena."

Hayden sighed. "Yes, I'm fight Ciell." He said running systems check.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Mom's gonna kill you if you lose. I know you got this though baby brother, your make dad proud." She smiled and cut the line.

Slowly he stepped on to a lift and ascended, when it stopped he was above ground. Then the platform moved out over the water. The open arena would give him the advantage, flight capability along with his ranged weapons. Her Paladin only had melee and that weird shielding device. If he could crack that the fight was over. So as his platform stopped in the middle of the water camera drones rushed out. They would be the latest fight, he got the feeling it wouldn't but a short or boring match either.

He opened comms to Ciell. "Just to set the record straight. Yes I know my injuries make me look weak but the fact is this, when it came to act I fought. I was willing to die to protect others, I assume you were cowering in a bunker while the farms burned. You and I both lost a parent... Except I know mine would be happy with who I am today." With that he cut the channel and cracked his neck. Drawing his assault rifle the flight system came online.

Ciel ignored each of the technicians' attempts to talk as she entered her mech. The settling in took no time at all, her hands fit around every control, her feet reached each peddle perfectly, and after years upon years of experience, the mental synchronization took but a few moments to complete. That being said, the first words Eckerd spoke each time always caused here to tense up, waiting to hear if there was any emotion to them.

Thankfully, when he came online his first comment was just as toneless as always. "Ciell, this Paladin is not in an optimal status for combat. The Mirror defense system has yet to finish its update, and preemptive use could result in--"

Without a word she silenced him, it didn't matter to her. The Mirror was experimental, it malfunctioned just as often as it worked anyway, and she wasn't about to step down from a fight because of tech issues. Hayden hailed her on the comms, but just as quickly as he started speaking she cut that line as well. There would be no room for words, she had no interest in what he had to say, he could convey it just as well through his actions, otherwise it would not be worth listening to.

As soon as they were both set atop the arena, she --as for all intents and purposes, Ciell was the mech now-- brought the energy-bladed axe up into both hands, the boosters lining her mech humming to life in a deafening orchestra. The moment, the very instant the fight began, Ciell rocketed forward towards Hayden at a speed far unfitting of such a behemoth. She brought the axe back and aimed a horizontal swing for his mech's side.

Hayden smiled, he didn't move until she was right on top of him. His booster fired and he went up and to the right, circling around her he fired dozens of rounds from his assault rifle. He needed to find a weak point, something she didn't expect or now to take down. Ciell mean while would know his, Knights were known adaptability yet they lacked melee abilities. This meant that if Ciell could force him into close quarters it was all over for him.

He flew outward more holding over the water, he waited to see what she did next. He needed the right opening if he to beat her, either that or a mistake on her part. For now it was cat and mouse. She was the cat and he was the mouse. Around them camera's zoomed in and students could see the mechs dueling it out over water. The fight looked like it would be a close at least with plenty of action and new tactics.

Ciell didn't actually expect the boy to dodge. Plenty of times pilots froze up at such an immediate and full-on assault, but Hayden had reacted like a calm, collected pilot. Perhaps there truly was some experience to his talent, but nonetheless she was not deterred. As his knight rose high up into the air above her she kept her boosters going, sailing past where he once stood to avoid the counter-fire.

When she banked back around she saw that he had gone into a hover over the water. Smart, mere altitude wouldn't save him from the jumping capabilities of her mech, but full submersion would. However she was also fairly certain he couldn't afford to stay up forever, not if he expected to actually match her when he landed, and if he wanted to play tortoise-and-the-hare, then she was all for it.

<Mirror> she thought, the mental command as one with the interface of the mech. The projection field harbored deep within the hull came to life, and from one shoulder to the other a tapering field flickered into view. At first it was barely visible, as the standby function hardly utilized the system's energy, but she was ready to change it at a moment's notice. <Switch system to manual>.

<Mirror System's link to neural reaction time is sub-optimal, auto-reaction recommended>

Ciell cringed when Eckerd's voice rang inside her head, and a curse slipped from her lips. She was sure she'd asked for the voice to be muted during live use, every time it put thoughts in her mind all it did was make her feel uneasy.

<Override, switch to manual reaction control> she said again, and this time there was no protest or response. Instead she felt as though something had been added to her, an extra section of her very being coming into existence. Her control was absolute, like one might move their arms or their legs she could alter the power of the Mirror System, and though it was only one of the countless micro-processes involved in the mental link, her training had made it all feel second nature. "Can't run from me forever," she muttered to herself, preparing both the Mirror and her boosters in case she needed a backup.

He'd spotted it, the Mirror system. He need to take it down but that was going to be tough, then he had an idea. It was stupid and likely to fail but it was really his only choice. He could win from just circling firing at her. He fired more burst's at her trying to push her back towards the end of the platform to give him room when he landed. He cracked his fingers and came of the pedals.

His Knight slammed into the ground pulling his anti-mech rifle. He didn't fire, he needed to hit the mirror perfectly on target if he was going win this. Slowly he twitched the servo's adjusting on to target. He pulled the trigger and waited he hoped he wasn't about to take the hit. He could fly if needed to, or maybe squeeze in one more shot but the problem would still remain. He had to take it out, he needed this win he had to prove he was nothing more than the best.

The fire came as expected, and she waited to see how the Mirror would hold up. Whether it was fully patched and running smoothly or not, the tech was experimental, and she had to be ready for it to fail or malfunction. When the rounds approached they were pulled towards the edges of the Mirror, sling-shotting around the mech's back. Ideally they would have returned back towards Hayden, but she was not surprised when they instead broke free of the magnetic field and hit the turf around her.

<Steady, thrusters!> The thought and the action occurred as one, as soon as the Mirror failed she was dodging, but not backwards. Instead she moved to the side, her mech's hand jamming into the earth to act as a pivot for her to angle herself back towards Hayden. As soon as she was lined up, she brought the axe back around into both hands. <All power to charge!>

<Recommended to allow for minimal defensive capabilities-->

"Override!" The sound of her own voice startled her, had she shouted that command? It didn't matter, all energy had been rerouted to her boosters and she was rocketing towards Hayden. This time however she would not make it so easy for him to escape. She leapt into the air as she neared, thrusters carrying her a good height, and then aimed to slash down at him with a heavy blow. The links in her mech's palms connecting her to the axe carried over some energy, and the jets lining the back of the blade ignited, propelling the axe at an even faster rate than normal.

What she did not account for however, was how vulnerable she was in that moment. Shielding, mobility, and above all the Mirror system were all but nullified in those few moments of attack, and only in the back of her mind did she fear he might utilize such an opportunity. But alas it was too far back to be brought up quickly enough, and so she was forced to commit.

He had her, he knew from the moment he went up he had exactly what he needed to finished. His rifle slammed a new bullet in as he took aim. He leveled it at her mechs chest and the bullet left the chamber, the force of the impact alone would send her backwards as he let off two more rounds, one aimed to take out her axe the other a second shot at her shielding. His anti-mech rifle's power was devastating and the pilot inside was a grade a sniper. He was managing this manual controls which he fought and battled with constantly to keep the aim dead on.

However kick of the rifle it's self had damaged the arms of his mech and weakened his shield system. Yet as the last shot went of the kick pushed him back towards the water. He was falling back towards it as he went in backwards never taking his attention away from Ciell. His thruster's went off flying him away from the platform sudden they changed direction and he zoomed up leveling his rifle as he hover above her. He opened voice comms. "Is that all you got, the prodigy defeated by cripple in a manual controlled Knight?" He taunted, she deserved it for how she treated him earlier he might have gotten hurt be he would be a squad leader and she wouldn't ignore him like a fly on the wall then.

Ciell couldn't believe it, in fact at first she didn't. She maneuvered enough so that the first shot wouldn't crater her chest, but it wasn't enough. The impact took her away, and her mech landed heavily upon its back, axe flying from her grip. When she got back to her feet she realized something was wrong, and though it took a moment the loss of feeling in her right arm slowly became evident.

<Hull Breach, connection to right arm lost, please disconnect-->

She tore her arm from the link nodes connecting her to the mech's systems in a panic. There was no pain, and there wouldn't be, the numbness was nothing more than a side effect of the damage. When the mech had lost control of its arm, she felt it, and it would be some few minutes before the senses returned to her limb, even if she could move it fine. A screen popped up displaying the damage, and she saw that Hayden's rifle had punched a hole clear through the right shoulder of her mech thanks to the lack of shielding. Not an easy repair, but that didn't matter, nothing else mattered except for the fact that she'd lost. That alone boiled her from the inside out, her teeth grate together, eyes full of fury and denial, then she heard his voice.

<"Is that all you got? the prodigy defea--">

Once again she cut his comm's short prematurely, but it took her a moment to realize that without a mental link she couldn't just think him quiet. So she did the next best thing, and smashed her numbed fist against the comm screen, shattering the glass with an angry growl. When she pulled it back her suit was torn around her forearm, glass shards here and there, Ciell didn't care. The screen could be replaced, the blood could be cleaned out, but the damage this would do to her reputation would be irreparable. Her mind focused so quickly on those that she had bested before, the grudges held amongst the "elite" that were only fueled further by victories and losses. The reminder hit all too quickly that she was not well-liked among her peers, and that this incident would likely haunt her sooner and later. And mother...

Without a word Ciell brought her mech back to the descending platform and waited for the machine to bring her back down to the docking bay.

He hopped out of his mech running over Ciell's platform he stepped on beside her as his descended first. He extended a hand to her. "Good match, your as good as they say... I know you think I'm an ass. Your a good pilot and I respect that your serious and dedicated. If your looking for a squad your always welcome in mine." He told her as her platform sunk down. "You should have won, only difference here is I know how to take on your mech. My mother designed them, I know the weak points it's speeds and everything. If it was anyone else you would have won, just think about my offer. Your to good to end up in some forced together rookie squad." He waved and walked away.

He was greeted with a sudden hug from his sister. "Look at that baby bro is grade A pilot!" She released him and punched his shoulder.

He grinned messed up her hair with his metal hand. They both laughed. "Yeah I did pretty good, though the left arm is in bad shape the kick really messed it up." Hayden told her as the techs start repairs the junior technicians helping the older ones.

Hayden was perhaps the last thing Ciell wanted to see when she stepped out of her mech, but nonetheless there he was. Whatever haughty tone he held before over the comms was gone, replaced by some sudden and suspicious respect. There was no chance she was going to buy that, there were less gracious winners than there were losers. Her eyes went to his outstretched hand, and then briefly flicked down to her own hand, which had not yet ceased to bleed, and before she could decide whether or not to match his faux-sportsmanship her platform continued down.

"Do not get used to this," she muttered, before descending away.

A medic at the bottom was ready, but as soon as he began wrapping her arm she snatched the gauze and walked away. There wasn't time to stand around being seen to like some child, the bleeding wasn't awful and if she needed further treatment later she'd go and get it herself. For now, there was only one thing on her mind, training. Her reaction time hadn't been fast enough, she should have been able to swing faster, maneuver quicker. Her victory should not only have been assured, but it should have been flawless, every simulation and duel before pointed towards perfection, and yet here was a mark on her record. From a farm boy. A farm boy that was her squad leader now. That was her position, dammit, everything had led up to her leading the team, her leadership skills, her tactical prowess, and now what was she? Another body in a unit? The sower of glory to be reaped by another? It was worse than insulting, it was humiliating.

It was outside of the gym that she encountered her mother, standing with her arms crossed as though she'd expected to see her daughter there. No, not as if, that was exactly the case. As a mech Ciell was deadly, as a person, predictable, especially to her mother. Like a soldier she came to a stop before the taller woman, head cast down to avoid the cold, hard eyes observing her.

"I'm not going to explain why I'm disappointed with you. You'll be sparring with the volunteers I've gathered for the rest of the day. If you're going to bleed, you're going to get something out of it. Go."

Ciell only nodded, walking past and into the training room. Within the small boxing ring were a group of students, fellow classmen she only vaguely recognized, people she'd beaten previously or others who had challenged her and been declined. All of them looked to her like vultures would a carcass, grins spreading a few lips, grimaces others. She could not lie to herself and think that she had a chance sparring all of them one after the other, but Ciell was good with facades, and as long as she could still stand it would be her number one priority to remind her opponents why they held their grudges in the first place.

As the feeling came back to her hand she clenched it into a fist. Pain sizzled in her veins, ached in her bones, and blood leaked between her fingers onto the floor. It was going to be a long day.

Hunter worked his way into the cafeteria, during his walk he had a decent conversation with Farid about their home worlds. Both almost completely different, yet both students would be fighting in similar ways. The two went their separate ways when they got in lines for the food. It seemed no matter where you were from these places were the same. Long lines and strange food. Though even though the food was a bit strange and actually smelled fresh, it was nice to see a somewhat familiar life style.

Hunter sat down with a plate full of fruits, he's had canned fruit once before, but they were expensive to ship so it was normally protein rather then fruit. Hunter took a bite of what he assumed to be water melon. "Holy shit... This is awesome..." Despite he was going to school to learn to fight a war he enjoyed it. It was nice to see new worlds, meet new people, though he was skeptical on a few things. He'd have ot figure those things out as the days went on though.

Walking up to the lunch line he took a seat across from Hunter and smiled. "Hey watch the monitor their going to do a rerun of my match from." He told the other boy as he took a seat. "Tomorrow I'll take you down we can get some practice in the simulation center. You'll be able to master basic combat and movement their. Also did you here they are moving up posting for squad leaders. Tomorrow we will know whose going to be in a unit and whose commanding them. Of course it's up to the students to pick who they want for their squad leader." He told the boy in front of him as they ate.

The monitors in the room buzzed to life and cute blonde appeared on screen smiling at the camera. The same could be said for all the monitors in the school. "Hello fellow students! I'm Melody Turner here to tell you about today's most exciting news!" The young girl cleared he throat. "First off I'd like to welcome all of you from off world to our planet and school."

The camera panned back to focus on Melody. "However in other new's today, the son of one of leading scientists Doctors Welles placed his first official win against front runner and local prodigy Ciell Macci. The young man in question is none other than amputee victim, Hayden Welles who lost both an arm and a leg fighting to defend his home. Managing to take down two UP-DC Scarlet Hunter class mechs with only a Knight class mech and farm equipment the young man is considered to be an up and coming pilot." As she spoke it showed some of the recorded scenes of a Knight firing a modified cloud seeder that propelled hundreds metal balls at low enough speed through the mechs shields killing the pilots. Inside before he hit by multiple blast from a orbital pattern laser that destroyed the mech with Hayden inside it.

The news show flicked away but a replay of the Arena match between Hayden and Ciell was replayed. Teachers voiced over talking about inherit benefits of Haydens strategy and maneuvers. They also discussed how it was still a surprise victory while Hayden has yet to become an expert his focus in battle was perfect. His use older more proven tech had brought him victory. However they stated that if Ciell could learn to fight in Knight like she did a Paladin she could be unstoppable.

Yet the moment it had started playing Hayden got and rolled his eyes walking back towards his room. He didn't care about that, he just needed to get out their and fight. To make sure what happened to his family never happened again to anyone. If he had to go through every pilot in the school he would.

Ciell tore through the halls on a bruised leg, doing the best to keep the blood of her now-open arm wound from spilling onto the floor. The students she'd been sparring with likely wouldn't take too well to her running off, and she was certain her mother would be very cross. After five rounds and an ill-thought-out punch, her bandaged arm had gotten worse, and the pain had been enough to make her realized she couldn't go on any further.

And so she ran, and fast at that despite the bruised leg. Her whole body was sore, she wasn't about to let one injury cripple her, and the arm wound could wait until she got back to her room. The lift was slow to arrive, and when at last it did and she stepped inside, the other students rounded the corner. Ciell knew they saw her, but they couldn't know what floor she'd be on, not off the top of their heads. If they searched, sure, they'd find her, but would they? The one's she'd beaten up might, but the others would likely give up, which if worse came to worse, would at least even the odds a tad more.

The doors opened to her floor, and some small part of her was relieved to see that no one was present for the moment. The last thing she needed was for someone to see her beaten and bruised, limping with a bloody arm. She hurried to her room and locked the door behind her, immediately going for the sink and peeling the bandages off of her skin. They came off red and sticky, but at least the arm was intact. What wounds the shattered monitor had caused were now much more open, bleeding from the trauma of its use. The water she ran it under stung, and before she could think to compose herself she half-screamed in pain. Her free hand flew to her mouth. No. No one, absolutely no one would hear her scream, not in agony. As she washed the wounds her whole body shook, but she kept her teeth clamped together and every slow whine of pain turned to bitter hisses. If she was going to expect guests, she'd need to be in presentable shape. Tomorrow when it would be safe to roam the halls, she'd go get stitches, but for tonight an extra layer of gauze would have to do. If it came down to it, she'd keep the arm close, and avoid using it at all.

Ciell sat down on the bed, breathless and sweating, both from the exhaustion and the pain. Her arm pulsed like a beacon, sending throbs of shock through her every few moments. But even while she stayed there, waiting for the potential second round of attack, she did not hate her opponents. She did not hate her mother, she did not hate the speaker over the intercom or the screens broadcasting her failure, she didn't even hate Hayden. Instead she focused all of that anger and contempt inward at herself, where it belonged, where it could be useful like a fuel. She began to wish for the other students to come, wished they would knock on her door and demand she open up to continue their rounds, because even though she was angry at herself, the outlet they would receive would be far worse than any internal struggle she endured. And so Ciell sat, watching the door, listening to the hallway for any footsteps or voices. Even if no one came, she would wait all god damn night.