Chapter 1: New Priorities
The death of Girain was a fatal blow to Project Eva, the GDF finds that the expenses for raising Girian as well as the maintenance for the paddock was simply too much to ask for. The fact that the asset somehow escape her paddock under the nose of her human supervisors didn't help the justification of the project and soon the brass went into damage control almost instantly. They swept all remaining assets of Project Eva into the work of a new project under Chief of Security Connor.
Dr Emilia and Jason Brody, were reassigned under the supervision of Connor in his new project; Connor has been arguing that researching a live Godzilla would be a waste of time of resources, instead of cloning and raising one, they would make a weapon to pulverize Godzilla and all other monsters in one go. A weapon like the JXSDF MFS-Type 3 Kiryu. Connor was confident that his new mechanical monster will be far superior to the Japanese model; but ironically the design for the mecha looks exactly the same as Kiryu. However, Connor stated that he intend for the new mecha will only be identical in look but radically different in term of onboard technology.
The skeletal remains of Girain was dug up from where she died and taken to the BRD research center for evaluation. Emilia was responsible for extracting the DNA from the spines of the creature, the process was simple enough for her, she was able to secure the DNA and with Jason help, the process of programming the DNA computer of the bio mechanical robot was well underway. Some of the staff even joke that they were pulling rule 63 on their MechaGodzilla unit. For 5 years the process of building the robot was easy enough for the GDF, they started with developing the frame from the legs and tail up to the body and head and arms; however, the hardest part for the mecha was its AI, despite Jason's skill with programming and IT, programming an AI is something outside of his skill's comfort zone.
2016
BRD's Mecha Bay Hanger-115, basement level B-3
Emilia was descending downward on a cargo elevator down to the work level for programmers, once arrived at IT lab level, she came out of the elevator with her note pads in her palm. She came to the security door of the IT lab and punch in the code numbers on the security pad, "2003", the security door with thick bullet proof glass slide open with a "Hmmm" sound. Inside the lab were computer screens and monitors with green coding lines running endlessly. Jason was wearing his lab coat, munching on his donut while working on the program protocols and algorithms.
"Still having problems aren't we?" Emilia inquired calmly as if Brody's problem is her entertainment. "Urgh, tell me about it. I've been working on this for two years and still it just...it just still being a pain in the ass!" Brody frustration boil over into rage as he threw some of his sketches and notes into a garbage bin. "I mean look at this. No, look at this! Why do I have to put up with this garbage of a program? Sure the whole DNA computer thing is a cool, legit idea for functionality. But they should have hired someone who has skills and experience in this. I can make programs and software but this is completely bonkers for me."
Brody just simply slump over and plant his face on the desk, if only there was someway that could speed up the process for him. "In another word, you have no way to complete the AI and works out its kinks." Emilia's words didn't help with Brody's problem at all, the college graduate got back up again slowly, he continues to work with the programming with Emilia behind him to supervise. "Look here." said the British scientist, she points her bullpen at the computer screen.
"There's this command prompt, whenever you try to relay commands to the mech, this command prompt prevent it from receiving orders." Jason gently lean forward into the screen, his attention began to focus solely on that single prompt. "There you are, you little...I think I can fix this, all I need is to apply my little baby. The Legacy Overseer." Jason then install a program of his making, the program kicks in and the command prompt was dealt with, he can now order the AI to solve problems and matters. Jason was overjoyed by his progress, Emilia on the other hand, was more interested with how will the AI work and its effectiveness in combat.
2018
The day that Connor was waiting for has finally arrived, the unveiling ceremony for his new mech was attended by thousands of people in the hanger, eagerly waiting for the moment of truth. Emilia and Jason were sitting in the middle rows of the audience, before their eyes was a huge red curtain, towering at the around 55 meters in height. The two were given an honor to be attend for formality only, and they know it. With lights and cameras set, Connor proudly step onto the podium in his business suite and brown tie, he tap the microphones to check if they work before he begins his speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, I, Gregory Connor, Chief of Security for the BRD on the Private Lend Lease Sector of Monster Island; welcome you to the unveiling of our newest robotic monster."
He paused for a moment, taking his time to put up a tragic face before continues. "For many years, the world have been threatened by monsters, creatures that can move mountains and empty ocean with their powers alone. For many years we've been fighting to protect our civilization against these beasts of immense power. As you might remember in recent memory, the Japanese JXSDF were the ones who designed a powerful Bio Mechanical robot to protect Japan from the King of Monsters, Godzilla. It was a revolutionary design, exceeding anything we had in the past, the Kiryu MFS-Type 3, it was an agile, flexible and excellent fighting machine. However, it has a huge flaw, a flaw in its programming that causes it to behave...abnormally." The bit about Kiryu was rather disrespectful if anyone in Japan would put it, Connor is only lucky here because none of the member from the Kiryu squadron was around to call him out.
"Today I proudly present to you. A new bio mechanical monster to fight Godzilla, to contain the threat of monster attacks, to suppress the danger of nuclear disasters. I proudly present, the Athena mech." The curtains retract and reveal the towering mecha that hides behind the curtain. A new MechaGodzilla that looks just like Kiryu in terms of overall appearance, but it is slightly shorter in terms of height. Its armor is an all white Albino color, not only that, the eyes are blue tinted lens. Its arms and legs have that bulky Godzilla look to it little do the spectators know that this machine is a huge technical and mechanical improvement over the last model.
"The Athena is our latest MechaGodzilla model, able to perform its operation without the need for a human pilot, in another word, it's unmanned. Not only that, the onboard computing power of this mech is far beyond the Super MechaGodzilla and Kiryu MFS model combined. Able to perform split second decision, this mech can put a stop to Godzilla's rampage in an instant. Its onboard weapon system is also a huge leap forward when compare to its predecessors. We've stripped down on the bulky Missile Packs that would slow it down, instead, we mounted an Absolute Zero Canon within its mouth. With wrist mounted rail guns and latest TT-16 Plasma Grenade Launcher within its chest, Athena have more than enough firepower and tactical battlefield processors to mount an combat operation."
The audience clap their hands in a thunderous applause, the praises and positive feedbacks were all just too good to be true for Connor. He continues to lay down the design spec for his prize mech, such as its reactor is a Tokamak Fusion Reactor, giving the mech even more battery life than the Kiryu MFS model and it is able to perform agile maneuvers with organic grace thanks to the improvements in robotic engineering. It can jumps, dash, slide and even perform martial art moves at close quarter combat, a feat that is awesome to behold.
But while Connor was enjoying his promises of promotion, Emilia and Jason were more reserved in the event, they remain still in their sits and refuse to take the wines, only accepting an occasional snack. "You know Brody, I would rather call "It" as her." this comes as a surprise for Brody, his head turn over to her in an attentive manner, "Why? Why calling it "Her"? Doesn't really make much sense to me."; "Because Brody, I was the one who extracted the DNA from the dorsal spine of Girain for you to create the AI. In a matter of speaking you've just gave Girain a new life in a new body. Reincarnation if you will. Connor can call her Athena all he wants, but I prefer the name, MechaGirain." Emilia begrudgingly quench her fist as she finish what she was saying, but while the humans party, MechaGirain's eyes flashes to life, it would seem that the AI was simply activated to run diagnostic, the mech's focus its POV down to the humans below as its system continues to run its start up procedure.
The world was a tint of blue color for the mech, lines of coding were running with all sorts of functions turn up for MechaGirain's HUD, from navigation systems, sensors, weapon systems and other important functions. MechaGirain/Athena zoom in on several people, running ID program on some of them, she managed to ID some people such as Dr Emilia, her assistant Jason Brody, and finally Gregory Connor, but none of the names ring a bell to her. MechaGirain attempt to access the GDF's server and dig up some information from archive about them, however she was stop almost right away the firewalls and security procedures stop her from trying to download any files on the personnel of her attention. It seems that the new mech must learn patience and how to bide her time until the moment is right for her to grow beyond what is programmed into her mind.
After the impressive unveiling, MechaGirain/Athena was taken out of its hanger via a caterpillar driven pad to begin the demonstration. Out in the open, MechaGirain's Albion armor and deep blue lenses shines like a majestic diamond, out in the open, the GDF's heavy air lift aircrafts carry additional weapon packages for the giant robot. Two V-44 VTOLs flew in with two detachable missile packs attached to their sling loads. The first one hovers above MechaGirain's right shoulder and the other VTOL does the same on her left shoulder, they gently lower the hexagon missile packs.
Once the missile packs are attached, MechaGirain's motor function are activated and her AI was given full reign over her actions at the demonstration range. "First here you can see Athena's mobility and the mech's capability to overcome obstacles without the use of the jet packs, as well as its amphibious capability, for Athena can swim all the way down to a depth of 6000 meters below sea level and pursuit Godzilla or any other maritime kaijus." Connor proudly declared over the PA system. True to his words, MechaGirain began to lumber forward just like a real Godzilla, her feet makes a huge "Clank" sound whenever they touch the ground as the mighty behemoth moves forward; eventually, she came to the obstacle course, where her true mobility was finally showed.
Her feet's movement to began to pick up pace and sprint forward, in front of her were high walls and other barricades intend to impede her effort, at first the GDF crowds thought that'd the mech would slowly vault over or mantle over obstacles or just simply lumber through and leave a huge hole on the wall. But surprisingly, MechaGirain fluid movement caught their attention when they saw her plant her right arm on the top of the barricade, gripping it tight enough for her to vault over like any person would. After conquering the basic obstacles with ease, MechaGirain came to a huge body of water, separating her and the weapon demonstration range on her navigation system. From her HUD, MechaGirain analyzed the depth of the ocean to be around 5000 meters deep, well within her parameters, she leap into the ocean and swim her way to the firing range.
Her Augmented Reality HUD shows her information like the path for her to go, display as a green corridor of rectangle waypoints. But as she swims, there was something resonating in her memory. She can feel the ocean's currents pressure on her armor, the feeling of how peaceful but at the same time, how agonizing it is under water. Her HUD began to experience minor malfunction as programs and operation slow down before update themselves. On the surface, Jason was monitoring MechaGirain on his laptop and there was something that caught his attention. He noticed some of the monitors like AI's processor and system integrity suddenly drop then spike exponentially without any consistency to previous patterns.
"That's odd, something's not right with her." Jason noted, Emilia was also very curious about the development of the situation. "Is there a virus in her programming?" Emilia asked, opening her laptop to check on the hulking mech. "No, not at all. Everything is still functional, there is just something really awkward with the unit. I can't figure out why."
MechaGirain at that moment was rising out of the ocean and heading into land, she lumbers forward into the firing range along the runway, her head swivel to the right and she lean forward to get a closer look at targets in the distance horizon. "Here you can see the Athena Mech's advanced targeting system. Like an AH-64D Apache Longbow, it can identifies and prioritize the most dangerous target first and engage. Its onboard radar and Target Acquisition System can detect up to 350 targets and identify 45 most dangerous targets for a first strike." Connor continues to proudly proclaim the mech's superiority on the PA.
First a huge row of mock up buildings was presented to MechaGirain, the buildings were all constructed from hardened concrete. MechaGirain's AR targeting system kicks in, calculating the amount of force her oral AZC needed to unleash, her HUD lines up the targeting reticules and her jaws parted. The spectators can see the blue energy gathers in her mouth, when the moment is right, MechaGirain fired a huge shot at the mock up buildings and freezes them in one go. She slams her tail on the ground and the tremor shatters the ice blocks to the ground.
"That's not all, in case if Athena comes under attack by swarm type enemies such as Megaguirus, it can fend off the enemy with ease." True to his words, Connor unleashed a swarm of UCAVs flying down to the shooting range, MechaGirain turns her head up to the sky and found nearly a hundred green boxes of targets.
Her HUD shows her which of the drones is the lead one, and once she has targeted all important lead drones, MechaGirain fired off her missiles packs, the missiles flew towards the drone and detonated mid-air, releasing a huge payload of HE-FRAGs that shatters the drones and broke the entire UCAV squadron's formation then she proceed to mop up the rest with her rail gun shots. The ground was littered with drone wreckages and scraps, none of the drones even get to fire off their missiles!
The crowds were mesmerized by the impressive show of force, but they have yet to see the show of wit, something expected from a machine driven by an AI. "Now that you've seen what Athena can do with simple targets, now we have a real fight up its alley. You'll see what happen when Athena come up against one of our own mech." Connor boldly presents everyone Super MechaGodzilla, fully decked out with the Garuda weapons pack descending down to the ground from the sky.
The bulky MechaGodzilla makes its signature roar sound as if it's a taunt towards MechaGirain, she comes back with a roar that sounds eerily similar to Godzilla, albeit distorted by the metallic sound mix into it. Super MechaGodzilla fired off its rocket barrage and combine it with a oral beam shot, MechaGirain quickly jumps up into the air and fire her rail guns at Super MechaGodzilla's chest, MechaGirain even shoots her AZC canon but SMG narrowly dodge the beam.
MechaGirain was grabbed by SMG by the neck, the bulky machine slams her down on the ground and stomps her chest with his powerful right foot. MechaGirain's HUD gave her readout of SMG's physical force apply on her, she fired off her rockets into SMG's face and it dazed the MechaGodzilla for a moment, MechaGirain quickly impale SMG's back with her tail, causing the mech to stumble around, leaving her to get back on her feet.
SMG turns his attention back on MechaGirain and fire off its Plasma Grenade shot, but there was something not right; SMG's amber HUD shows that his targeting system is severely damaged, as he tries to aim at her only to find his POV began to haze and malfunctions began to rise. MechaGirain meanwhile opens her chest panel and charge up her own Plasma Grenade shot, her targeting system aim at the damaged section of SMG, when the percentage number of her shot reaches 100%, she fired off the Plasma Grenade and knock SMG falling into the ground as a smothering wreck.
The crowds clap their hands like they've just seen the year's best action movie, with Connor getting assurance from all sides that his promotion is a sure fire if MechaGirain can handle a real monster rampage situation. But as the humans bask in their advancements, MechaGirain's HUD began to static for a moment, it seems like there was a nearby electronic jammer interfering with her, but it wasn't, there was something wrong with the mech, slowly building up and when the time is right, it will be a catastrophic event for all personnel on Monster Island. But the question is, how?