Ben and Nojiko followed Emma and Sumi down a flight of stairs.
"I didn't check for these stairs," Ben commented.
"It was something slightly hidden if you were not looking for it," Emma replied.
"All the mechs on the platform need work and some could take years, work husband," Sumi explained.
"I figured," Ben said.
"However there is one mech, which we found that seems to be complete," Sumi added.
They got to the bottom of the stairs, where they were at the bottom of the cave. Ben saw the mechs from the platform a few days ago and now he saw them at the ground level. They were truly massive.
"Astonishing," Ben remarked.
Nojiko's mouth was wide open seeing the Mech this close.
He looked at the 5 mechs which were around 200 meters tall. They had various parts missing and were all incomplete.
Sumi walked to the right directly below the viewing platform and he saw a smaller mech. It looked complete. The mech was about 60 meters tall. The mech looked like it was made of a lightweight but strong metal alloy. The armor plating looked thick and durable. The mech had a bulky torso, two arms and two legs but it looked sleek and had angled lines to give it a menacing appearance. It was painted in a dark, metallic color, with bright red accents on the joints. The mech's head was a large, rectangular pod with a single, glowing eye.
"You could not see this one as it was directly below the platform," Sumi said.
"Lets walk towards it," Emma said.
They got closer to the Mech and saw a set of stairs connected to a bridge that connected to the back of the head.
"Wow, amazing," Nojiko said.
Emma and Sumi walked up the stairs. "More stairs," Nojiko said.
"I can carry you," Ben teased.
"No, I am fine," Nojiko replied.
"I will take the offer work husband," Sumi said as she jumped into arms.
Ben caught her mid-air in the princess carry position. "This is comfortable for any girl," she commented.
"Not for my back," Ben whispered.
"You said something work husband," she said.
"No," Ben answered back.
Ben carried her up the stairs through the bridge to the back of the mech's head. "I am tired from all the walking," Nojiko complained.
"You should have taken his offer," Emma said.
Nojiko sighed. "There are two entrances to this mech. One in the head and one at the centre of the back," Sumi explained.
Ben could see the outlines of a door based on the structure. He also noticed a smaller square. Emma pushed the smaller square. The panel went inside a bit before popping out revealing a number pad. "0-0-1-6 is the code here," Emma said.
Ben thought about 16, that number sounds familiar.
The door opened and they saw the cockpit. The inside of the mech cockpit looked cramped and claustrophobic, but it was big enough for four people to fit inside. The pilot sat in a heavily-armored chair, surrounded by a maze of consoles and displays.
The pilot's chair was mounted on a gimbal, which allowed him to move around in the cockpit and to look in all directions. The chair was also equipped with a variety of sensors. There were consoles and displays with information about the mech's systems. The controls were mostly joysticks and pedals.
"Very futuristic," Ben commented.
"This technology is easily between 500-700 years ahead of our time," Emma said.
"Wow," Nojiko said.
They entered the cockpit and Emma sat in the pilot seat. The door behind them closed. The computers started flashing lights.
"I will move it now," Emma said.
Nojiko held onto Ben. She pressed the joysticks forward and the mech moved.
"Steady," Sumi said.
"Yes Miss Sumi," Emma replied.
The mech slowly moved forward, taking one step at a time. They could see the other mech in front of them.
The mech stopped and Emma moved the joystick to move the mech`s to punch the air.
"There are rockets on this," Emma said.
"Lets not fire it here," Ben replied.
Emma looked at Ben. "Just saying," Ben added.
"How do we leave this place with this?" Nojiko asked.
Sumi pointed to the left where there was a pool of water. "One of the computers showed the blueprints of this area. The pool connect to the outside, we think," Sumi said.
"Worth a shot," Ben replied.
Emma moved towards the pool. The mech plunged into the water, its sleek metal body cutting through the waves like a knife. Emma gripped the controls tightly as the mech descended deeper and deeper.
"Steady," Sumi said.
"Is this your first time piloting this?" Ben asked.
"Yes," Emma replied.
"What!!!" Nojiko blurted out.
"Nojiko, we trust our crew and allies abilities. Let's give her our support," Ben confidently said.
This assured Nojiko and put her faith in her Captain. Sumi looked impressed with her work husband and thought she made the right decision in joining him and helping him out. She thought about the fun they will have later and licked her lips. Emma could see why the other girls were crazy about him. She initially joined because of the lab and the mysteries. She was now thinking about this man.
Ben thought that he probably made a mistake and he should have asked this question before but it was too late now and he had to press forward.
The mech reached the bottom of the body of water.
"The cockpit is equipped with a life support system, which should give us oxygen," Emma assured.
"Good to know," Ben said.
"It's pretty dark here," Nojiko commented.
"Turning the lights on," Emma said. She flicked a switch on her control panel and the Mech activated the bright beam lights from its head.
"The lights are working," Sumi reported.
"Engaging Swim mode," Emma said as she clicked another button.
Emma nodded. She pushed the joystick and moved the mech forward. The mech moved forward and then started to swim like a fish. There was a tunnel in front of them. She guided the mech through the tunnel, and soon they approached a large boulder.
"The boulder needs to be moved," Ben said,
"It has gaps for water and sea life to come through but impossible for a mech this big to fit through," Sumi noted.
Emma used the mech's hydraulic arm to punch the boulder. She repeatedly punched the boulder until a crack appeared. She punched it again with the mech and the boulder broke. The pressure differential caused the smaller pieces of the boulder to be sucked out. Some small sharks and fish were also caught in this sudden wave. The boulder destruction also caused a cloud of sand and debris through the tunnel temporarily.
"Good job," Ben congrualted and put his arm on Emma's shoulder. She looked at Ben`s arm on her shoulder. She thought this was the first time a man has touched me this intimately. She snapped out of it and focused on piloting the mech.
They finally emerged from the tunnel, and found themself in the large, open ocean. The sun was shining brightly, and the waves were crashing against the shore. They saw a variety of marine life swimming past. There were fishes of all shapes and sizes, as well as some larger animals like sharks and rays. They also saw some coral reefs and other underwater plants on the rocks.
"So pretty," Nojiko said.
"Like you," Ben complimented.
"Hey," Nojiko said.
"Smooth," Sumi said.
Emma cleared her throat. "Let's keep to the task," she said.
"Sure," Ben replied.
Emma moved towards the surface of the ocean.
"We are going to resurface," Emma said.
Ben and the girls nodded. The mech broke the surface of the water, sending a wave of spray cascading over its sleek metal body. The sun glinted off its hull, and the waves crashed against its legs.
Back on the Miss Love Duck, Kaya had woken up from her sleep. She had a smile on her face. She felt a bit sore in her lower region. She remembered what Ben and she did earlier. "Pervert," she muttered but smiled.
Kaya got out of bed and saw a fresh pile of clothes on the table. She wore the yellow A-line dress that was knee-length. The dress has a fitted bodice and a flared skirt. There were also black, high-heeled pumps and a black headband which she also wore. She exited the room and walked down the hallway and up the stairs. She took the back way and got out of the dinning hall area. She saw there was no one here.
"They must be on the Bridge or deck," she said to herself.
She opened the door and saw the deck. She walked on the deck and saw Gold Island next door. All of a sudden she saw the ocean open up and a giant mech surfaced. She thought it looked similar to the one she saw a few days ago but slightly smaller.
HQ came out of the Bridge entrance and onto the deck.
"That looks big and amazing," Kaya said.
"Yes," HQ replied.
The mech arched its back slightly, its hydraulics whirring as it prepared to fire. Two panels on the mech's back slid open, revealing two rocket pods. The pods were each about the size of a refrigerator. They shot out of the mech's back with a roar, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. The rockets soared into the sky, and landed in the ocean where they exploded. A huge mushroom cloud explosion was formed.
"Such power," Kaya said.
Back on the Mech, Nojiko said, "Such power."
"Rocket testing was successful," Sumi noted.
Ben was impressed by the power of those rockets. "They will be very important for the upcoming battles," Ben said.
"Those rockets will need to be replaced and we currently have no way of producing them," Sumi said and added, "There are other systems on the Mech such as the lazer arms and centre beam which also do not work. It's missing some software from the looks of it."
"The System may give a quest for it however we should not rely on it and find some other means," Ben said.
"Agreed, work husband," Sumi nodded.
"I think we can dock this Mech underneath the Miss Love Duck," Ben said and added. "There was a panel on the Miss Love Duck which mentioned this."
"Lets try, Emma, submerge and get to the bottom of the ship with this Mech," Sumi ordered.
"Yes Miss Sumi," Emma responded.
Emma pushed the joystick down and clicked the Submerge button. The mech went underwater again. Emma pushed the joystick forwards and swam towards the Miss Love Duck. As she got closer, she saw a message appear on the screen called, "Dock." She clicked the button. The Miss Love Duck four arms activated. The mech went into autopilot and positioned itself to be caught by arms. The arms caught the mech and pulled it towards the ship. The mech was now in perfectly below the Miss Love Duck.
"Amazing, automation," Sumi said.
"Yes Miss Sumi, we have perfectly docked underneath the ship and we can now exit onto the ship through the back entrance," Emma added.
"Let's go," Ben said.
Emma pressed another button and the door opened. She left her seat and followed Ben, Sumi and Nojiko through the door which led them to the third floor of the ship.
"This ship is remarkable. ," Sumi noted.
"It sure is," Ben replied.