"Whoopsie!"
The Straggler S1-2 deftly stepped to the side avoiding in time The Red Beast which barrelled through the empty space, murdering the ground with each bestial stride. The earth violently quaked and cracks appeared on its surface due to the red mech's massive size, while pieces of rocks and soil surged in every direction.
Graves perfectly timed the dodge so that the red ape would not be able to change its trajectory in the last second. However, the enemy pilot was just too skilled, and still managed to steer the ape and grazed the Straggler's shoulder. That small contact almost made the Straggler to spin, giving him a hint of The Red Beast's unstoppable motion. If he stood his ground, it would be tantamount to a human facing a speeding hover truck. The only possible scenario left was the human turning into meat paste.
Actually, that was an exaggerated example of what would have transpired. If he went still, the ape would directly crash into the Straggler, and then trample on it in the next instance. Since both mechs were made of superior alloys, they could withstand cruel punishments multiple times their weight. But that doesn't mean that their internal components were safe.
"That's a bad boy right there!" Graves nonchalantly declared in the comm.
The small engagement had given him enough idea on how dangerous the ape was when given enough space to operate.
As the red mech slowly regressed to a stop and before it could turn around, the black mech started to sprint toward its direction.
If Graves could close the distance and use the Straggler's better agility, he could dance around the bigger and slower mech. In the next second, however, he froze as a dangerous glint flashed in the red ape's azure eyes.
The red ape slightly lowered its body toward the ground, and with a tremendous force, leaped into air with both its long arms raised above its head.
Skidding on the ground, the black mech managed to stop before the spot where the red ape violently landed, forcefully hammering both its fists on the earth in great fury.
KaBOOM!
The explosive impact shuddered the earth, creating a massive crater almost a kilometer in diameter. Giant rocks flew everywhere - fatal to any structures and humans if there were any in the vicinity, but nonetheless harmless to both the mechs with their thick armor platings.
The Straggler stumbled backward from the violent blast. While Graves attempted to stabilise the mech's balance, the red ape was already upon them. It grabbed the leg of the black mech and effortlessly swung it in the air - throwing it for about a couple of kilometers away.
Arcing in the air for a moment, the black mech landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and slid for another hundreds of meters, turning the stony materials beneath it into dusts.
It slowly got up. Inside its cockpit, Graves' eyes frantically moved in every direction, trying to assess if there were any internal damage on the dozen screens in front of him. A split second later, he found that the mech was unharmed and he directed his attention back to the screen which projected the Straggler's vision. There. He saw a red figure dashing straight toward him. It was fast for its massive size.
As he prepared to dodge the incoming behemoth's charge for the second time, he was caught in surprise when the ape suddenly dove to the ground, hands extended. It was trying to grab the Straggler's leg again.
Earlier, it was not able to properly secure its grasp and decided to throw the black mech away. Now, however, it wanted to permanently take a hold on the black leg. With that, it can easily slam it around like a ragdoll.
The giant fingers of the ape tightly wrapped around the black leg. This time, though, Graves was prepared for the devious plot of the enemy pilot. While the ape tried to stand up, the Straggler pressed it weight down on the ape's head using its elbow.
If The Red Beast managed to rise up, it could easily make use of its spine while standing and swing the thinner mech around, as it was thrice stronger. Thankfully, gravity was on their side this time.
Graves knew that it was only a matter of time before the ape push itself up into an erect position and perform a devastating hulk smash. He had a few options to prevent this. The Straggler could execute an underhook, placing both its arms under the armpit of the ape and lift it upward to neutralize the leverage of the ape's upper body which was reaching down. In the process, releasing the Straggler's leg.
But the red ape was a lot stronger. There was no guarantee that he would win the grapple especially against another veteran of his own caliber.
So, instead, he started to occasionally punch the ape's head with the free hand while the other pressured it down. Elbow and fist hammered on the ape's head, producing a tune of metal crashing against metal.
The head was still rising, unperturbed by the desperate attempt to stall it.
After a few seconds of futile struggle, panic started to grip Graves' heart. However, the ape suddenly lurched as if receiving a concussion from the countless blows from above.
It was a 6th Gen with the most advanced features. One thing that killed pilots was blunt force even if not directly aimed to the cockpit. The mech's exterior could transfer the vibration to the framework making the machine shudder in its entirely after receiving a shock. With how fragile a human was, it could be fatal.
The Red Beast was incorporated with the latest shock absorption technology designed between the armor and the skeletal frame, making it insusceptible to vibration attacks. Furthermore, the cockpit enjoyed an ample of space to play - cancelling any harmful vibration from transference.
However, the consistent blows that the Straggler delivered on the ape's head had finally taken its toll, causing a momentary disruption to its sensors, and other motor components.
With the ape's grip fading, the Straggler successfully yanked its leg out from the strong grip.
Taking advantage of the momentary freedom and the temporarily stunned enemy, the black mech activated its boosters underneath its feet and soared in the air. After reaching an adequate height, its thrusters abruptly deactivated and fell down attempting to stomp the head of the red ape which was still recovering from its initial system malfunction.
However, the ape recovered fast and quickly avoided the fatal strike, pulling itself up into an erect position, as the Straggler delivered its extended foot harmlessly on the ground, biting deep into the rocky surface.
This time, Varus, the pilot of The Red Beast, was the one assessing the situation of his mech. But before he could finish the standard routine, black arms wrapped around the stocky body of his mech. His eyes widened in horror when The Red Beast, a heavy mech weighing thousands of tons, was lifted up into the air by a smaller mech.
Meanwhile, on the audience, there was an even more profound expression on their faces.
The smug look on Porter's face gradually changed into a terrified and shock look when the Straggler slammed The Red Beast on the ground, head first, and then secured a mounting position, before raining down punches on the defenseless ape.
Although the red ape accumulated some damage, it eventually recouped. Grabbing the Straggler by the waist, it easily tossed the lighter mech over its head with its long and bulky arm.
But it was too late now. The Red Beast had significantly slowed down compared to its explosive athleticism from the start. The Straggler danced around it delivering lightning combination of punches and kicks.
Still, it was well armored and had a good utility system. Simple punches and kicks could not lethally damage it. Varus decided to stay on the defensive, and the fight came to a stalemate.
Although it looked like the simulation was a draw, The Red Beast was clearly being dominated and punished from every angle.
Unable to bear the humiliation, Porter had enough of it.
"Stop.. stop!" His voice rang in the air as the simulation finally ended when the huge screen on the center of the room blinked out of existence.
He had learned many things about the Straggler just by watching it perform in that few minutes. It had a very quick reaction time! At the opening when The Red Beast charged, the black mech sidestepped with impeccable timing. A feat that no pilot could achieve unless the reaction time of their mech was significantly high. He initially thought that the match would be over in instant, because he had specifically designed The Red Beast for it to be able to overwork its engines for an explosive start. The longer a fight persisted, the lesser The Red Beast performed as soon as its engines started to heat up excessively.
Another thing about the Straggler was its framework and structural integrity. It almost moved like a human being, which allowed Graves to take advantage of his proficiency with human mechanics to avoid lethal blows from The Red Beast. This was the deciding factor of the match.
Pilots were more compatible with humanoid mechs where they can easily exert their martial skills into combat. Mechs with animal features were a complicated subject as pilots needed special trainings and time go get acquainted with them. There were some unique pilots assigned to this type of mechs.
In the case of The Red Beast, it had a body structure close to that of a human. However, it was less erect, had shorter legs but longer arms. Varus could not fully take advantage of the mech with his human perception. Unless they put a real gorilla to pilot the mech, a human could never achieve to fully grasp the mechanics of its body only if they dedicated a lifetime to master it.
A cunning smile started to appear on Porter's handsome face when an idea popped up in his mind.
"Porter, what the fuck?" Fei spoke to the comm, a slight furrow on her brows, "We have not yet observed the mechs in their mid phase."
Cia put a hand on her fellow director's shoulder, shaking her head. There was no need for them to argue about the first simulation. It was clearly their victory since the Straggler did not seem to slow down even for a bit while The Red Beast was declining rapidly. It was only a matter of time before Commander Graves found an opening, and snap The Red Beast's head from the shoulders.
"There's no need to humiliate me any further, Director Fei." Porter said. The confidence on his face was still present even with the defeat of their 6th Gen. He continued, "I'm already a humble person. You are merciless if you want me to lick dirt."
"Humble my ass!" Fei retorted with a disapproving voice.
"Next simulation in five hours." Porter dismissively stated before the transmission ended.