Keith stood in front of the imposing entrance of the Rust Republic's Mech Corps headquarters. He had taken a trip over the course of a week to the capital planet of the Rust Republic: Jericho. In fact, classes had already begun in the majority of academies.
The headquarters was a steel tower that seemed to penetrate the sky in the middle of the city. There were no windows for the first few dozen floors, the metal on the building reflecting sunlight as if it was a beacon.
This was where all the top brass of the military stayed, where all the most important decisions were made by the Republic's military.
Keith walked up to the guard blocking the entrance.
"Stop right there. State your purpose and identification," the guard commanded.
Turning on his comm, Keith showed his proof of citizenship and a message.
"I have an appointment here with Commander Ingres in 15 minutes. You may confirm with your superior officer if you need to."
The guard briefly glanced through the message before confirming what Keith said was true.
"Very well. I will send you a guide shortly, please wait."
Keith had promised his son that he would enroll him in an academy. However, it was true that he didn't have the funds for it. He stared at the tower with a bit of wistfulness.
'In the end, I had to come back here.'
A few minutes pass by.
"Thank you for your patience. I wish you well during your meeting."
Keith gave the guard a single nod as the gates opened.
***
"Keith Vael…I didn't expect to see your face here again after twenty years."
A slender man wearing a black uniform paced around his office slowly, holding a glass of whiskey. He appeared no older than thirty, however his posture and steps seemed to emanate an aura of confidence and experience.
They were on one of the upper floors in the tower with glass walls surrounding them in every direction, the entirety of the city in view.
"So–" he swirled the amber liquid in the glass cup calmly before taking a sip.
"–you wish to request a favor from me?"
Keith sat on one of the couches in the center of the room positioned perpendicularly against the main desk.
"Correct."
"Well, let's hear it then."
In a few short minutes, Keith quickly explained his family's financial circumstances and his son's aspirations as a mech pilot. He explained how recently, the local held tournaments weren't enough of a challenge anymore, that his son needed a bigger challenge to overcome.
"With all of this in mind, I would like to request my son, Zephyr, to be enrolled in the Sentinel War Academy."
Ingress paused his steps before sitting down across from Keith.
"You do realize what you just asked for right?" Ingres said softly as his eyes narrowed slightly.
He nodded.
"The Sentinel War Academy is the most prestigious academy in the Republic. Located on Rusticara, it produced several powerful pilots for the mech corps over the years."
Ingress tapped his fingers on the table gently.
"Knowing this, you still have the guts to request for such a favor? I don't need to remind you Vael, our country only accepted your status as a citizen because of your mech. You are a deserter from a state in the galactic heartland, have you forgotten? If we handed you back to your state, our Republic would have been given significant rewards."
The commander stood up again fixing his military cap.
"Yet, we didn't. In your time of need, we decided to shelter you, give you a place to call home–"
"For the price of my mech."
"–for the price of your mech," he finished.
The two men shared a moment of silence before Keith stood up himself.
"My mech was a piece of technology from a Tier 2 Super State. Naturally the rewards for returning me would never amount to the opportunity to study a highly advanced ace mech. Your Republic's own mech designs have gone through several design updates over the years I've noticed. It's not hard for me to deduce where they came from. "
"And you believe that we haven't done enough for you yet, is that right?"
Keith shook his head firmly.
"The Republic already took the risk of sheltering me. That's plenty."
"So what do you propose?" Ingres asked.
The man before him was an ace pilot of a highly advanced state. Keith Vael alone could've decimated one of their mech battalions if he wanted to during his time fleeing his homeland. When he sought to seek refuge in the Rust Republic, many wanted to turn him away in case he drew his home state's ire to the Republic.
Ingres was one of the few who saw benefit in sheltering such a formidable pilot.
"You have already lost your mech, so the only thing you can offer now is your skills. Is that your intention?"
Keith opened his mouth before closing it again. He fled his homeland to avoid war, yet now the only thing he could offer was his experience. It was quite ironic.
A small smile began to form before the commander turned his back towards Keith.
"The deal from back then still stands. It was either your mech or your skills. You have obtained a home with your mech, why not obtain an opportunity for your son with your expertise?"
It should have been an easy decision. His service in exchange for his son to enroll in a prestigious academy. It was already a struggle to raise Zephyr without a mother, and the fact that he always had to compromise to even fulfill even one of his son's wishes gnawed at him. It got to the point where Zephyr never requested anything out of consideration for him.
'I'm pathetic…'
Even now, he was reluctant to involve himself in a military position again. It was as if something was clenching his heart preventing him from making the obvious choice.
Finally, Keith made his decision while looking over at his friend's back.
"I'm willing to train your mech pilots. Is that enough for you?" He asked softly.
Silence.
"Hmm…I suppose that's enough for now. Eventually I would like you to participate directly though. If you cannot promise me that, I'm afraid our discussion here is over."
"...That's fine." Keith replied slowly.
***
"I'm sure you already know this, but I'll bring it up again anyway."
Ingres pulled up a statistics chart that went through all the courses as well as the graduation rate of the Sentinel War Academy. He expanded the section going over the courses before handing over his tablet to Keith.
"Your son has only taken online courses right? The curriculum here is going to be a major challenge. Every student here is capable of completing college level courses of other academies. I may be able to get your son through the doors, but it's his job to stay in the doors I've opened for him."
Keith furrowed his brows.
"That's…indeed a problem."
Ingres looked at him seriously.
"I'm afraid that if he can't keep up, the school will simply expel him. Even I can't prevent that."
"Then is there no other way?"
The commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You did mention your son was rather talented in mech piloting," Ingres smiled. "Because the academy is an elite institution for training mech pilots, if your son manages to reach the top 10 in the mech duel ranking, he will be allowed to graduate regardless. The academy prioritizes martial strength over anything else."
Keith was still worried. It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in Zephyr, rather that his son had no experience going against other talented mech pilots his age. He wasn't sure whether or not his son would be able to keep his composure against those his own age.
"How about we go over the contract first," Ingres suggested. "If your son is truly serious about this, he'll manage. If he can't even graduate from the academy with his own abilities, it means he simply wasn't good enough."
Keith sighed, but deep down he agreed. Zephyr was on his own now.
"Ten years of service. This is non-negotiable."
Keith grimaced slightly, but nonetheless nodded.
"No problem."
Ingres added, "I will allow your first few years to be coaching our mech pilots only. However after three years, I expect you to personally lead a squadron I'm planning on forming."
"I will be needing a new mech if I'm going to join your squadron. No mech in the Outer Rim would be able to draw out my full abilities."
"Don't worry about that for now. I will make sure to acquire a mech designer from the middle zones to draft up a model for you. Although it wouldn't come close to your original personal mech, it will still be better than anything our Republic could provide."
The two shook hands firmly.
"Make sure to say your goodbyes. Your son will have to move into the dorms immediately since classes have already begun for a week."
"I understand."