The last day of the week had passed off without a hitch, as Zephyr sat in his dorm room, rewatching the replay of Nia Sterling's duel. All duels were recorded and accessible to watch by students in the same class. It was currently the first day of a new week, the only off day students were given.
[Rusticara was a planet only slightly smaller than humanity's home planet Earth while also possessing many similar qualities such as orbital trajectory and tilt. It was due to this reason that it was decided the planet would use the same time system and calendar system.]
Zephyr slowed down each of the moments the Spectre deflected the Cannoneer's attempts at firing its weapon, marveling at the precise predictions Nia was able to read out.
Ever since they returned to the academy, he had wanted to talk to her, but much to Zephyr's disappointment, it seemed like she hadn't even bothered to step out of her own dorm room.
'Whatever, I'll see her tomorrow in class anyway.'
Zephyr got up from his chair and decided to check out the mech hangers. He didn't have time to slack off like the other students and if he missed the chance today it would be difficult to find the time to familiarize himself with the academy's mechs.
Walking down the currently empty halls, it only took less than ten minutes for him to leave his dorm and reach the hangers next door.
By the looks of it, the hangers were open much to Zephyr's luck.
"Excuse me, I'm here to look at the academy's mechs." Zephyr called out to a mechanic walking by.
He appeared to be a middle-aged man wearing a black tank top and baggy cargo pants with black hair peppered with the occasional white strand. Standing about a head taller than Zephyr, he had well trained muscles and a deep tan.
The mechanic gave him an awkward stare before gesturing for him to follow.
"It's been a while since a student has come to see one of our mechs." He chuckled loudly.
'It's been a while?'
What did he mean by that?
"Sir, I also came to see your lead mechanic to see whether or not the hangers are open for use outside of class time."
The mechanic stopped in his tracks turning around.
"You don't need to call me sir, Kenny is good enough." He said casually while rubbing his clean-shaven chin.
"Well Kenny, do you happen to know where the lead mechanic is?"
Kenny pointed a finger towards himself.
"You're looking right at him."
Zephyr felt his expression freeze. Did he really speak so casually to a lead mechanic? Being a mechanic under his father, he knew how important respect meant to them. If they didn't like a customer, they could do all sorts of damage to your mech. Of course that only applied to mechanics operating in the city outskirts. Zephyr didn't quite know how the culture was in larger cities, but he assumed it would still be a good idea to at least show proper manners to the person working on his future mech.
"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you immediately sir." Just as Zephyr was about to bow, Kenny stepped in stopping him.
"Didn't I tell you to drop the sir? There's no need to be so polite around me. After all, I'm the only mechanic that takes care of our mechs."
"Sure…"
"Anyways, follow me. It's not often a rich scion having any interest in our academy's mechs. Not to mention anyone as well-mannered as yourself!"
"Haha…"
'When should I tell him I'm not a rich scion?'
The large metal sections of the hanger doors began to rise slowly revealing a row of mechs lined up on each side of the hanger.
"Welcome to our academy's supply of mechs. Feel free to take a look around."
Zephyr stepped inside and approached the nearest mech mech on the left.
The closer he looked, the deeper his frown grew.
Sporting a similar silhouette to the Knight, its armor plating was less angular, and its head that incorporated its optical sensors appeared to be older iterations of what would be typically found on a Knight.
The paint was fading and there seemed to be an excess of grease in certain areas, but overall it seemed to be well-maintained.
"Aren't these models the Squire? What are these mechs doing here?"
"What do you mean? They are the mechs the academy provides you know?"
"But they're last gen models! All the models I've seen being used in yesterday's duels were current gen!"
Kenny shrugged.
"Take your complaints to the dean. Even though we are the most prestigious academy in the Republic it doesn't mean our funds are unlimited. Current gen models would cost tens of millions per model. That's not including operational costs mind you."
"How am I supposed to win any duels with a mech that's over thirty years out of date! This isn't funny Kenny," Zephyr groaned.
The mechanic stopped next to Zephyr furrowing his brows in surprise.
"Just ask your family to provide you a mech. All the other students here already do that. I don't see why you need to require the use of the academy's mechs."
'If I could, I wouldn't be here…'
Zephyr took a deep breath and took another look at the older model before him. The Squire was a modular mech that preceded the Knight models. They sported a miniature reactor as their power source rather than the high density energy cells used in current gen models. Their motors were weaker, their thrusters were weaker, and overall the machine was less complex.
If he had to praise one positive trait of the squire, it would be the reliability of the mech. As the most produced mech during the last Crescent-Rust War, it had undergone several upgrades during its life, the model currently before him the last.
'It's still a military grade mech at least.'
Although he was disappointed at first, it was still a mech several times better than the piece of junk he used to pilot. Besides, he was used to piloting a weaker mech against a more capable one. Why should it be any different this time?
"I'll be using one of your Squires. Do I need to do any paperwork of any sort?"
Kenny stared blankly into the blue eyes of the young student.
"Are you serious kid?"
Zephyr's expression said it all.
The mechanic scratched the back of his head before giving the go ahead.
"No one ever uses these mechs. Hence why I am the sole mechanic stationed here. We don't need to bother with the formalities. Whenever you decide to stop by, I'll prepare one for you."
"Thanks. Would it be possible to use them outside of the normally allocated time?"
This was the question he needed answers for the most. Depending on Kenny's answer, it may just determine his future prospects in the academy.
"Hmm…"
Zephyr gulped.
"I'll allow it. It's been a while since anyone gave these old mechs some love anyway. However, live-fire use will only be allowed during regular times. The noise levels certainly won't be tolerated otherwise."
'Yes!'
Internally pumping his fist in elation, Zephyr finally felt a glimmer of hope.
"Can I try sitting in one now?"
Kenny brushed back his hair with the pair of goggles slung around his neck appearing deep in thought.
"Sure thing," He finally replied.
***
Sitting inside the cockpit of the Squire, Zephyr began to familiarize himself with the outdated GUI the mech came preloaded with. The reactor was in idle, only producing enough power to start up the internal computer.
"Kenny, would it be possible to get a software update on this thing?" Zephyr asked, running his fingers along the mixture of digital and analogue controls.
"Forget it, it's hardware is too outdated for that sort of thing!"
Zephyr clicked his tongue, disappointed.
"Can I activate it?"
"Let me perform a pre-start up reactor inspection first. This thing has been collecting dust for a while now. I can't even remember the last time I bothered to perform a full reactor ignition."
"Does the academy still keep fuel rods in stock?"
"Sure they do. In fact, most asteroid mining mechs and orbital construction mechs still use the last gen reactor tech. It's not that expensive to acquire."
"That's news to me."
"Many people do forget that mechs still play an important role in civilian usage. The Gemini Reactor is a reliable piece of tech. The only reason the military phased them out is because of the unique energy signature they give off, making it easier for enemy detection."
As the two continued to chat, Kenny finally signaled the okay to start up the antique mech.
The screens flickered, displaying the old GUI in full operation. Zephyr's eyes scanned the readouts, noting the slower response times and less refined interface compared to current-gen models.
"Not bad for an antique," he muttered, adjusting to the mech's idiosyncrasies, "Battery charge, check. Fuel rod capacity, check. IFF Systems operational. Head Up Display, deactivated. Ready for ignition."
"Roger. Ready for ignition," Kenny's voice crackled through the communications channel.
Pressing the center pedal while simultaneously squeezing both of the arm controls, the whirring noise of the Gemini Reactor began to slowly grow in volume as energy began to pulse through the mech's limbs.
"We are only testing the operational status of the Squire. After it runs for about five minutes, shut it down."
"Can I take it out of the hanger for a spin?"
"No."
"Bummer."
Zephyr smiled to himself as he looked around the cockpit. Aside from the visual feed, most instruments had an analogue dial for redundancy, meaning that even if there was something with the main screen, the pilot would be able to continually monitor the status of their machine. This was a feature most current gen mechs had phased out in favor of freeing up space for other electronics.
'From the outside it was a bit dirty, but the cockpit is surprisingly clean.'
Zephyr looked at Kenny through the optical feed where the mechanic had plugged in his laptop running a list of diagnostics tests.
After the tests were over, Kenny's voice sounded over the comms once more.
"Shut it down. All tests are green."
"Roger that."
***
The two stood side by side, looking up at the Squire. Kenny gave Zephyr an energetic slap on the back.
"These mechs were at full capacity during my father's time. Hopefully, I'll get to see them in action during your duels."
"It's a good mech. A bit outdated, but I should have no problem dealing with most of my peers," Zephyr said confidently.
Kenny let out a whistle, unimpressed.
"Don't go blaming your loss on the mech if you happen to lose. I won't have high expectations, considering you'll need to cross generations to win. Should be entertaining, nonetheless."
Zephyr scoffed internally.
"I'll blame my own lack of skill if that's the case," He replied.
Kenny raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "We'll see about that, kid. Just remember, these old machines require a different kind of finesse."
"I believe in the saying that specs only matter against an opponent of equal or greater skill. As long as I don't face Dominic Folin or Nia Sterling, I should be able to manage somewhat."
"If you say so."
After bidding Kenny goodbye, Zephyr returned to his own room sitting down while looking at his hands still remembering the sensation of the Squire.
Although he didn't get to test out its capabilities, he had finally gotten to sit inside a mech! It had washed away all of his previous dissatisfaction towards his endless slew of assignments. In fact, he was tempted to skip classes tomorrow to meet up with Kenny.
Zephyr quickly dispelled the temptation slapping himself a few times.
'I still have time after class. I was planning on talking to Nia Sterling tomorrow anyway.'
With renewed determination, he turned his thoughts back to his studies. In order to catch up to those blessed with financial ability, he had to put in twice, if not thrice the effort.