FIVE. Restraints Fastened. FOUR. Area cleared. THREE. Engines started. TWO. Check other Pilot. She's ok. ONE. Tower detached. ZERO. The Roar of the mighty nuclear engines kick in behind me. My mind is racing at a million miles an hour. I am the second man in humanity to be able to pilot an IS. I am the co-founder of Archean-Phantom weapons corporation which makes the power armour I am wearing right now, the AP-4647 transporter Lucy and I am sitting in. And I am heading to the IS academy where I will be one of only two boys. We are the national representatives of New Zealand and use hybrid IS which incorporate sections of Phoenix Power suits into them. Looking over at Lucy I notice that she is asleep. Not a bad idea. I decide to follow her lead on this automated transport.
"Hey, Hey Jacob wake up", whispered Lucy in a harsh but kind tone. "
"We only have 1 hour before we land" she told me.
"Fine" I mumbled being dragged out of my confusing dream state. "How's our IS doing?" I asked, thinking about the huge amount of damage done to our IS at the Pacific-Australasian U-19 IS tournament which we won but only after class E damage.
"Not good" was the reply I got, "They have moved to class B but wont be ready before we get there.
"So we will just have to use our power armour for a few days while their damage is finished repairing." She informed me.
"Never mind our armour is more than enough to win" I replied before hearing the siren that instructed us to return to our seats for landing in arena 3.
With a hiss the sleeping gas that keeps us safe when the craft lands.
"Hello?"
"Can you hear us?" Called a kind voice from outside the ship. Looking out I see the face of the deputy homeroom teacher Yamada-sensei and the head Homeroom teacher Orimura-Sensei. Lucy and I stand and exit the craft with our luggage before seeing it go on its preprogrammed journey home. Getting used to the light I see many students some with personal IS like us. A group standing in front of the others includes Celicea Alcott of the UK, Rin of China, Ichika and Houki of Japan, Charlotte of France and the fearsome Laura Bodewig of Germany in her Schwartzner Regan.
"Representatives of New Zealand are you willing to duel us as a test of skill?" yelled a sharp voice belonging only to Laura Bodewig.
Nodding to accept the challenge we arm our power armour with Phoenix Machina AS-9890 anti-Is rifles capable of dealing huge shield damage. Following this I notice that the others and the teachers have left the arena for the stands leaving only Laura and Charlotte to fight us.
Instantly I feel the pull of Laura's AIC cancelling my motion while charlotte takes aim at Lucy with her sniper rifle. Suddenly a loud gunshot from Lucy's rifle rocks the field and distracts Laura allowing me to hit her with the rifle, once the cloud to dust and smoke clears it is obvious that they underestimated our power armour as they are now buried underneath each other with dis-armed IS from the rifle rounds. After this match the day was nearly over and as such following permission from the Sensei's leave for our rooms without so much as a word to the other students.