In a military camp, all activity started at the crack of dawn. When the sun just rose over the horizon, Sergeant Jagger already gathered his team and Zemin on a training field at the edge of the camp.
"Look at him—we have a fresh recruit in our ranks, Zemin Gatti! So today's training will start with him. First, let me introduce everyone." Jagger gestured at Zemin energetically. "Zemin, you already met Danis and Narcisa. Danis is our stealth specialist, and Narcisa is a certified medic. And this is Citri Radev, our engineer."
Zemin looked at the girl. She looked to be Danis' age, around twenty or twenty-two, and wore a tool belt over her standard Esquire uniform. Her hair was dyed pink with red and yellow streaks and braided in an extremely elaborate hairdo that clung to her head like a helmet. Three sets of three bejeweled piercings hung from Citri's left eyebrow and each earlobe. They shone in the sun, but not as brightly as her blue eyes.
She was dazzlingly beautiful and beautifully dazzling.
Citri grinned back at him with a childish joy and waved. It reminded Zemin about his little sister. Something in his heart twinged painfully at that.
"Hi, Zemin! Your hair is really pretty—it's your natural color, right? I bet it is, your eyebrows are almost invisible, too!"
Zemin blinked. "Y-yeah…"
"Come on, Citri, are you going to shower the kid with compliments just because his hair is good? Maybe I should just 'accidentally' burn it, then," Danis mumbled, sending Zemin a dirty look.
Jagger clapped his hands.
"Enough chatter, everyone! It's time for the testing."
He pulled a paper from his chest pocket and read aloud:
"Technique: D+. Control: D. Psi-potential: D++. Those are impressive grades for a cadet fresh out of an academy. Your grades at academic disciplines were also great. But that does nothing for your Esquire grade. Tell me, what your Esquire grade is, Zemin?"
This was a test, one that Zemin could pass easily.
"Yes, sir. Esquires and Exemplars don't have grades. Instead, they are given rating points for completing missions and killing demons. Each year, Esquires with the highest rating are promoted to Exemplars. I don't have any rating points yet, naturally."
Jagger nodded. "That's right. You will have to prove your mettle. No demons here today, but I have something else for you to fight. Citri, you fixed the thing, right?"
"Oh, yes, sir Jagger!" the girl clapped her hand in excitement. "I even installed a new claw-hand on it from the last shipment!"
Her aura sparkled, and Zemin turned toward the thread of energy that flew from Citri to a nearby garage. The Psionic force activated the mechanism opening the door, and something incredibly heavy moved inside.
Jagger grinned and turned to Zemin again.
"With a D+ in technique, you should know the three basic Psionics disciplines on the back of your hand. So no need to use weapons against some training mecha."
The thing stepped out of the garage. It was a two-meters tall robot with four legs and a thick tail ending with a three-pronged claw-hand. Its head was shaped like that of a lizard, and it was clearly built to resemble a demon.
But now all the menacing spikes and black metal were covered by flowers and butterflies painted in the brightest yellow, green, and blue possible.
Zemin sensed a strong connection between Citri and the mecha. The girl was controlling its movements using a Psionic discipline called Technomancy. Citri's Psi-power filled the training mecha, controlling and empowering its movements. Without it, even the most advanced mechas could be only dumb robots, unable to discern friends from foes or walk without stumbling on every obstacle.
"Citri, attack whenever you are ready!" Jagger commanded. "Everybody else, get away from the training ground."
"Yes, sir!"
The mecha reared its maw, letting out a loud screech, and leaped at Zemin with the speed and force of a truck.
Zemin reacted instantly, launching himself out of the way with a shove of Psi-power. This was Telekinesis—the first of the three basic Psionic disciplines.
Zemin crouched in a combat stance to the side of the mecha and looked it over.
'Void System, give me an analysis of that mecha. It looks like a slightly modified model D-5C, am I right?'
Without turning around, the mecha made a sudden sideways leap and tried to catch Zemin with a claw. Zemin pushed himself out of the way again, but it was closer this time.
"Give up while you can do it without broken bones!" Danis shouted.
'No time. Just tell me what its weak spots are, considering that Citri is piloting and protecting it.'
Zemin remembered a little about the training mechas of the D (Dino) line—they were used in his academy, too. They could attack with tails, front claws and teeth, but had no ranged weaponry. They weren't the fastest or the strongest, but in that a lot depended on the Psionic piloting a mecha.
If it didn't have a controller, Zemin could've just reached out and broke its engine. With Citri around, she could counteract his actions, or interrupt his concentration with her own attack. It was also simply harder to hit a moving target.
'Got it!'
Zemin's eyes lit up as the battle plan became clear. This was, he found, a power of the Void System just as important as the power of Void Portals.
The youth dodged a swing of the mecha's front paw, and when the thing was left wide open, attacked.