When the mech pilots exited the visible workshops, the remaining specialists first marvelled at their own Imperator III(s) painted in crimson, before they rushed to their fabricators, skimming through the list of components that the machine could produce.
Theon, fairly known by his peers after multiple joint exercises, was actually feared by the other participants as he had proven himself good in assembling components with a solid integrity - except for the auxillary parts where he would neglect a few screws.
After the brutal scolding from Laira, he decided to play to his strengths.
There was only one problem with the Imperator III. Its fusion reactor was located at the center of its chest, but due to its tendency to overheat, it was given a crucial breathing space. As such, it sacrificed much protection on its upper torso as the armour plating was thin, and the bright orange glow of the reactor could be seen permeating through the armour. Most of its pilots a long time ago, would try to conceal the light as it was a notable target - by placing a fabric that would act as a cloak.
While the other graduates tried to plug this weakness, Theon decided to upgrade the Imperator's components first before covering the treacherous lights of the reactor.
His face distorted in pain as his mind processed the things he needed to perform. Knowing that Laira was watching, he put aside his concerns and rode a hover platform. When the huge head of the mech - displaying a single eye and a few antenna based sensors - came to his view, he started dismantling it from the shoulders while manually controlling the arms of the assembly line through a tablet. A few mistakes occured as his hands uncontrollably shook. The pressure from the countless eyes had affected his mental concentration, his awareness of his surroundings becoming a hindrance. It was easier to theorize something with your mind, but an even harder thing to physically apply it - most spectacularly with an audience.
When he was done and carefully placed the single-eyed head on the floor, he sprinted to the fabricator. Most of the sensors and scanners were a few tiers higher than the ones installed in the Imperator III. With his good judgement, he chose the components with the best compatibility with the mech while also minding the space that they will occupy.
Manning the fabricator was no simple task as its delicate process need to be supervised with great care. Thankfully, the components were compiled into a data to the fabricator's computer guidance and could be auto produce.
Both the sensors and scanners were the predecessors of the current versions widely used by most advanced mechs - detecting energy signatures within a fixed radius.
The slow fabricator prompted Theon to direct his attention somewhere else. He decided to disassemble the head of the Imperator so that it will be ready for customization when the fabricator finished its tasks.
Theon felt that his progress was slow while time was unreasonably fast. When the fabricator was done, two hours already went. He hurriedly gathered the components while the other competitors took note of his choice. After all, copying was good. It's called being flexible when adapting something that others did better.
The crowds were silent to give the specialists a comfortable environment to work - watching in complete attention. On the other hand, the announcer inserted some words in order for the less knowledgeable crowds to understand what was happening.
Another two hours passed when Theon finished hinging the head back to its shoulders. He was satisfied that the new components could now give the pilot better knowledge to the surroundings. However, when he looked at the clock, there was only an hour left. He gritted his teeth, knowing that there were more things he could have integrated to the Imperator III. Hurrying back to the fabricator, he chose a light sheet of armour with energy deflective substance, sweating as the clock continuously drained its numbers.
"The grandniece will have a rough time ahead.." Granduncle Charles predicted, slumping back to his chair.
Gregory's face was full of creases. Although, he did not like Laira, he still did not want his cousin to pilot a mech which was vastly inferior in customization compared to the Imperators of the other specialists. The fabricator was already slow, and the extra from Gelia still depended on its automated production - wasting hours into fabricating only two components.
The mech specialist from Pyr Prime, was known as Dylan Pierre, and was a top 20 in the competitive mech licensing examination. Gregory had seen the man manually fabricate three components within just a single hour. The specialist had already incorporated a new weapon system, and more powerful boosters to their team's Imperator - now well on his way to upgrading the sensors and scanners which was faithfully plagiarized from Theon.
"Incompetent crap!" Gregory muttered in spite.
"Grandson!" Grandfather Theodore interjected, "That young man caved in from the pressure. He is skilled, but not experienced. We cannot blame him."
"Grandnephew Gregory does not even know how to operate a fabricator. He has no right to complain." Granduncle Romulus added.
The three elderly laughed, causing an even deeper frown to appear on the young man's face.
On the stage, Theon was drilling holes for new screws into the Imperator's chest when Laira entered the cockpit and activated the mech's reactor.
"Hey, I'm not yet finished!" Theon shouted.
"Your time is almost out.." Laira coldly stated.
[1:26]
..
[1:25]
Theon stared at the clock, and hurriedly tried to finish plastering the armour sheet into the mech. Thankfully, he was done before the time was under a minute. He was violently thrown on the ground when Laira flexed the mech's arms, causing its shoulders to move to where he was perched. This would have inflicted a terrible death if it was in the real world as the fall was hundreds of meters in the air. He could only curse under his breath as he got up.
Laira checked the mech's function and integrity. She then proceeded to test the mech's reaction time to her neural relays.
"1.2 seconds delay in reaction. Not bad. This old mech is really an efficient machine." She commented. Other mechs that she steered were more unresponsive, reaching almost 3 seconds delay.
Every pilot must have the skills to adapt to the delay, and one could say that they must be good with timing, as it was like playing an online game while lagging.
[0:02]
..
[0:01]
"HERE WE GOOO!" The announcer screamed as the amphitheatre reshaped itself once again. The mech specialists were left with the audience, while the pilots and their mechs were transported into a battlefield.
There were 30 Mech Specialists assigned to 15 pilots. Laira had plenty of time to scout the other teams. Most of them had sensors and scanners just like her. After a moment of hesitation, she threw the rifle away and made her way to an elevated spot for a better reconnaissance. The battleground consisted of low hills and rocky terrains, and would serve to be a suitable area for ambushes.
The old rifle had multiple energy cells to supplement its power hungry crystal which would then condense and enhance the energy for a destructive blast. It would serve as a good source of detection when carried around. The reason why she threw it away.
"What's this? Laira Runerie had thrown away her only weapon!" The announcer excitedly said. "I think she's trying to hide while her fellow pilots obliterate each other!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd from other planets booed.
Explosions appeared in the battlefield as the pilots finally engaged each other.
"It's only a minute and a pilot from Callum was already down! A blast went straight to the cockpit and eliminated him from the round! Although the repairs are minimum, he was still in the last place!"
"A third party has come to the area. He is now chasing the eliminator!"
The announcer narrated the events in the mech battle. The crowd roared as the young pilots displayed their skills with no regards for safety.
On top of a rocky cliff overlooking two hills, Laira safely hid in a prone position. Even though the hostile crowd hated this cowardice, the ones from Logria loved this strategy. While the opponent teams painstakingly customized their mech, their champion could just lazily hide and let the time run out with her mech deficient of upgrades.
"BOOOO!"
"LOGRIA! YOU HAVE NO SHAME!"
"NO DIGNITY!"
While the other crowds taunted as their candidates were knocked out, Logria's people cheered when another mech was taken out from the battlefield adding more salt to the wound.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
About thirty minutes later, Laira was still on the cliff - like a lizard sunbathing, but the scenery had changed. Two Imperator IIIs were engaged in a melee just a few miles away from her position. Directly below her, was another Imperator. This one was heavily modified with thick armour.
Over half of the participants were already out of action. Luck was not on her side this time as the remaining pilots were congregating on her position.
"SHE'S ABOVE YOU!!" The hostile audiences warned the heavy armoured mech, but since the battle was someplace away, and they could only watch on multiple screens, their cries could not be heard.
But miraculously, as if mischief had heard their prayers, a stray energy blast from the two fighting mechs exploded into a crucial point of the cliff.
'Shit!' Laira noticed the change in her position, as the cliff started collapsing under the weight of her mech.
"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!" The opposing crowds erupted in cheers as Laira's mech plummeted. Logria's own crowd had their faces soured.
Before hitting the ground, the Runerie activated her boosters, cushioning her fall. When she regained her composure, she saw on the screen that she was now face to face with a heavily armoured Imperator.
"Hey, I know that mech!" The voice of a man came through the comms. "Hehe. Laira Runerie, isn't it?"
A while ago, when their specialist were customizing their mechs, the pilots had an ample of time to scout their enemies. It seemed that some.. or even many had memorized a distinct feature on Laira's mech.
"Ah, a stalker!" Laira shot back.
The man chuckled. He scrutinized his opponent's mech and found that she had no weapon. With a confident sniff, he tossed his rifle away and declared, "I shall fight fair and square."
"Whooaa! Battalion grunt, Griles Derton, from the academy had openly challenged Laira Runerie in a hand to hand combat!" The announcer riled the crowds.
Seeing the heavier mech stretching its fingers readying for a grapple, Laira taunted, "You are scum trying to fight a woman.."
Griles grinned ear to ear in his mech's cockpit, replying, "Consider this as training for an action on the bed.."
"Aaaaaargh!" Laira charged after losing her composure in the taunting game.
The grunt was ready for her, but miscalculated with his mech's reaction time. Laira threw a punch and connected solidly on his mech's face. He stumbled backward, before stabilising and putting his guards up. The teenager threw everything she got, punching and kicking, even headbutting. Due to his mech being more armoured, his mech suffered less as his opponent inflicted self damaging attacks. Finally, when he saw an opening, he caught her kick and used it as a leverage to throw her into the nearby wall of stones.
The heavier mech lazily strolled toward the downed mech, Griles stated with an indifferent voice, "This should be a good addition to my resume, missy."
Laira had successfully baited the grunt who took a step forward and she tripped the other foot with a sweeping kick.
Griles cackled as his mech fell down hard, and then proceeded to defend the most vulnerable part of his mech - the head. Seeing that there was no opening to attack, Laira activated her mech's boosters and when she reached a certain elevation suitable for a dive bomb, she allowed her mech to fall down hard on the heavier mech.
KA-BAM!
The earth shook from the drop of such a massive object, weighing thousands of tons.
Multiple system failures appeared on their screens, and Griles was the first one to react as his mech has suffered the full brunt of the attack.
"You've got some hate in you, missy!"
PYUB!
PYUB!
The two separated when a third party started sniping them from the distance. Griles was hit multiple times, but it only melted the surface of his thick armour. On the other hand, Laira had lost one of her mech's legs which was already damaged during the fall and was now cut off from a grazing energy blast.
Fearing that her mech would suffer more damage and become incapable of repairs, Laira made a quick decision and slammed her mech's head on a giant rock formation. Her screen turned black, and with her vision out, she was automatically eliminated from the round.
"Griles.. I will butcher you like a pig!" Laira exited her steaming mech and into the visible workshop of her team. Theon could do nothing, but lower his head.
"What an action! Laira Runerie has eliminated her own self and earned the 6th place in the first round." The announcer said. The crowd were thrilled with the hand to hand combat and turned to watch the other fights.
Griles managed to secure the 4th place. Due to the damage his mech accumulated from Laira, he could have ranked higher.
Dylan Pierre's team took the first place. Their skilled aviator pilot was a good shot, stealthily taking out opposing mechs from a distance, and did not suffer any damage.
With no second to waste, the timer for the second round began.
Theon no longer complained, and made his way toward the fabricator to fix the damage parts of their team's mech.
As the timer was reduced by an hour, more people joined the Union's Grand Coliseum for the second round.
Gregory felt his chest heavy.
"Granddaughter needs to control her anger.." Grandfather Theodore commented, his expression was serious. He had watched her ignore many advantages during the battle with the grunt.
"Sorry! We're late two hours." Genevieve appeared with the other family members. She sat beside Gregory whose face brightened at her presence. "What did we miss?"
"Grandniece took the 6th place. Unfortunately, her mech was just too behind in specs due to her specialist being passive." Granduncle Charles answered.
"I don't like that extra from Gelia!" Gregory expressed his deep frustration, "He's dragging Laira down!"
The family all laughed together at his description of the specialist in Laira's team.
"It's already past an hour in the second round! Why won't Sy Verdin come to the stage?!" Gregory added with deep emotions appearing on his face.
'Sy Verdin.' Genevieve repeated in her mind. She looked to her cousin and saw in his eyes, that he was expecting this person to appear like a hero and reverse the situation.
On another side of the amphitheatre, Logria's crowd lost their flutter. David was among the fellows who survived together in the Fanick's mech facility. He was ecstatic when he saw that Sy was participating in the tournament. After the younger man designed a new plan for the city, he wanted to see more miracles.
However, Sy suddenly left the stage without giving a reason and he felt a sense of loss. The younger man's presence sent pride in his veins, he wanted these massive crowds to see what he can do, and justly marvel at it.
Two figures appeared, flabbergasting David and the fellow survivors, infecting all the crowds from Logria. It was the Fanick siblings.
"Damn it! We miss the first round!" Mina turned to her brother with a frown on her face.
"It's not my fault. My team was just too inexperience so I had to do all the work." Niel reasoned, putting his guards up.
On the stage below, Theon had already fixed the leg of the Imperator. The missing head would prove to be a fatal problem, resulting in a repeat process which he had wasted a lot of time in the first round.
He decided to craft a better armour for the chest by overlapping two types of platings. The energy deflective sheet would take the outer layer, stacking above the heavier plating.
Since these components were outdated and relied on screws instead of advance magnetic stimulation, he had to manually put them together. However, he would find out that these two products were from different manufacturers and the screw won't fit in their distinct cylinders.
"Move aside." Theon heard a voice behind him and instinctively obeyed.
Sy hammered the screw into place. He then thought a second later, what was the point of tightening these two materials together. Well.. he only thought of giving Theon a helping hand.