When Tyler begun his fantasies of taking his step forward, he didn't think mechanic was that first step as he sweated in his sage-green jump suit , while hanging off the shoulder of a giant robot that every one called an "Arm Slave". It was 28 feet tall and based on the humanoid form. The starch white armor glistened in the light, and the edges were very rigid and the face only had a pair of rigidly shaped green optics. The form was very elegant and reminded Tyler of a night in full armor but thousands of years ahead in technology and tons heavier. The shoulders had a plate extended out from the shoulders like riot shields that offered extra protection to the face. The smell of oils and hydraulic fluid was pungent enough to make one ill from breathing it in too long but Tyler managed. He finished repairing a hydraulic line. When he patched the tube, he wiped the sweat off his brow. He grabbed his red tool box and begun the slow decent down the latter. Even with the Arm Slave on its knees, reducing its height in half, Tyler was still shaking nervously as he slowly came down the ladder. When he finally reached the floor he stepped back and looked at the machine in full detail.
It was a magnificent creation. The elegant lines always meet at clean corners and looked like something straight out of a cartoon or video game. He still couldn't believe he got to work on these incredible pieces of engineering while he waited for his aptitude scores to come back in. He didn't mind letting his short college education go to waste as long as he got to work with these walking miracles of science and robotics. He walked up and patted it on the knee as gratification in his work set in. He took his once white shop rag, now brown, and wiped the oncoming wave of sweat. He threw it back in his red tool box and looked back at the hangar.
The hangar inspired more awe. While being on a submarine, he could count at least eight more of the same type of Arm Slaves he just finished repairing, two more with black paint and slightly narrower heads and one, while still white, had forgone the shoulder armor, had a shoulder mounted gun and had orange trim on the forehead, down the middle of the legs, on the sides of the calves, bottom of the arms and shoulders. Amongst theses, aircraft was neatly tucked away. The walls were dense steel like the rest of the submarine and lights hung from the high ceiling. Tyler felt tempted to yell if he could echo in the enormous metal space. It was safe to say the hangar was vast, and the immense size of the room was further evident with all the action going on. People scurried about, handing each other clipboards, tools and talking about their current task. They all seemed well coordinated and organized. Everyone wasted not a single step on their task and everyone counted on each other to do their jobs. A sage-green uniformed dancer is what Tyler thought of when he saw them move. Everything was on a schedule and no one missed a cue as he looked on. The only place that saw little activity was in the farthest end. A long, black tarp covered an unknown mass. Two heavily armed guards stood in front of it and that was the only people allowed past. Tyler found this odd, considering they were already an underwater secret. He just sighed and went to report he had completed his task.
He slowly walked, looking in the mass of sage-green military jump suits looking for his commanding officer, which was funny to him because he wasn't even officially Mithril but Tessa allowed him to become a mechanic to keep his mind off his worries and lessen the wait for his tests to come back in to see what he would be doing permanently. He enjoyed it the past week, as he got to learn about the different the type Arm Slaves. The only thing that irked him was Sousuke Sagara got to pilot the coolest looking one on the entire ship called Laevatein. Tyler was admittedly jealous at the people that got to pilot those amazing machines, while he only got to do minor repairs. He was almost praying his aptitude tests would allow him to pilot one someday.
As he shoved past and danced around the crowd, he started to get use to the rush of the other mechanics. He was yelled at several times for being slow but after dropping an important part, he quickly learned the routine and was one of the fastest on the ship and he was proud of that fact. He also had shown a knack for programming the Arm Slaves' computers.
After nudging past a few more mechanics, he finally found a tall person with long blonde hair that was almost as unkempt as his own. The mystery person had their hands on their hips, looking at another group of mechanics. If anyone else had seen this, the hair would make one assume it was a girl. Tyler knew better.
"Hey, Sargent Weber" Tyler tried to get his attention but Sargent Weber was too busy looking at the mechanics across the room. Tyler looked over and saw they were mostly women bending over a foot joint of another Arm Slave. Tyler tapped him to get his perverted commanding officer to pay attention. "Sir, I finished the repairs." He jumped as Tyler raised his voice and flinched out of fear of reprisal for his gawking. He sighed in relief as he saw it was just his lowly subordinate. Tyler noticed how short his commanding officer was to him. He was rugged and looked fresh out of high school. Tyler was starting to wonder if they had them do field training as kids.
"Good." Sargent Weber replied. "If that is all, you can catch some rest. I am pretty sure Mardukas wants to go over your aptitude scores." Tyler sighed. He didn't mind the rest but with a perverted Sargent and the old stiff that was the commander of the ship sometimes made him wonder if he was just having a livid dream but he had already been down that road covered with mental breakdowns and broken mirrors. He hated having to put up with the commander. He knew about the treatment Tyler had been receiving from Tessa and the commander was a shark combined with an overbearing and protective father.
"Before I leave, what is under that tarp over there?" Tyler pointed into the far side of hangar, dimly lit and guarded by two heavily armed soldiers. Everyone else he had asked stammered nervously and changed the subject. He hadn't seen Tessa when he started his stent as a mechanic, so he had no chance to ask her. It was almost ominous the way it sat there guarded. A wicked aura seemed to weigh heavy on Tyler every time he had the misfortune walking by. Even Sargent Weber began to quiver at his question.
"Umm….That is a need-to-know basis Private Roberts." Sargent Weber stammered like the rest. Tyler placed his face in his palm and shook his head at his degenerate commanding officer. He was also annoyed at anyone that called him by his rank. He wasn't officially Mithril yet and every day made him wonder if he even wished to be with the strange characters he had to put up with.
"I'll tell Melissa what you were staring at." Tyler crept over as Sargent Weber began to shake even more violently. Tyler whispered menacingly "Come on, Kurz! One little hint won't kill you but your wife is another story." Kurz spun around. Desperation painted his face.
"You didn't hear this from me but…" Kurz leaned close and whispered. "I hear the only people that do know are Captain Tessa and Commander Mardukas. Not even Sargent Sagara is even allowed to approach it without permission." Kurz stood back, regaining a fake commanding stance and face. Tyler could see he was still scared. "Now go take a break Private Roberts. That is an order." Tyler groaned at his unofficial rank.
He spun around and headed the door and said over his shoulder. "Whatever Sargent Weber and I'm not Mithril. Quit calling me Private." Tyler groaned and walked out of the hangar. He could still hear Sargent Weber shaking in his boots.
As after navigating through an endless labyrinth of steel, tubes and wires that seemed to never end; Tyler found his tiny little room. He pressed the button and the door slid open. As he entered the world changed. The bustle and commotion of the sub faded and he was in his own little sanctuary. The fixing of a broken hydraulics tube or the replacement of a bullet ridden armor plate didn't bother him anymore. The once sanity eroding silence became peaceful and a calm to the storm of chaos. Yet he was now happy he was in the middle of something. It gave him less time to think.
He approached his bed and flopped on it. He didn't even bother taking off his sage-green uniform top. He just sat there and let the cool air of the subs air conditioning wash over him as he began to rest his weary body of another day full of hard and honest work.
His eyes began to look around the cozy room as he thought about what his aptitude scores would reveal. As his eyes went back to the completely destroyed mirror, he wondered what it took to become an Arm Slave pilot. He knew he would probably be stuck as a mechanic and cemented as a Private but at least he would start doing something instead of sulking about the ship until they hit port. He still had to deal with the strange looks as the rest of the crew got used to him working on their technology and he didn't blame them for being distrustful of him. He was an unknown factor that was just literally dropped out of thin air but neither did he really want their approval. They were the freaks to him and he was starting not to care what they thought. He admitted it made him a bit chilly to others outside of those he worked with but until he found his place among them, he was just a fifth wheel.
The door slid open and Tyler wearily looked over at who was disturbing his thought processes. The ever so indifferent Melissa Weber stood there with a beer in her hand. Tyler smiled as the equivalent of a sister sat in his door way. Melissa had been one of the few people on the submarine that had openly tried to be nice to him. After taking up for him after he dropped the CPU to an aiming computer, the two had become like two siblings. Except for Tessa, Melissa was the only person on the ship Tyler felt he could confide in and he would always let her take out her drunken aggression out on her husband to him.
"Hey, Melissa" Tyler smiled and greeted warmly. Melissa returned the greeting in full.
"Hey, kiddo, you are needed on the command deck to discuss your aptitude scores." Melissa's smile began to grow as she mentioned it. Tyler was a bit confused at why she had that proud look on her face. He had already disqualified himself as any kind of pilot and fully expected front-line duty or mechanic or paper pusher. Her smile was indicating he was about to become more than that.
"So, am I now an official paper pusher?" Tyler joked as he got out of bed and began to follow Melissa. Melissa laughed as they walked back into the maze of metal and corridors. They began their walk.
"You will just have to wait and see. Captain Tessa wanted to tell you directly." Tyler's mind began to go crazy with his imagination. He started to hope he would become her personal secretary or he would get to replace Commander Mardukas. He doubted the latter and he knew he wouldn't be able to pull off the skirt of the first one but he was just excited he was going to see Tessa after not being able to get the chance the past week. He didn't even get the chance to thank her as she gave her his temporary position. He almost began to skip down the corridors and smile broke across his face, wider than the one before. Melissa looked back and giggled as Tyler was finally looking truly happy and she finally had a male companion that wasn't lecherous or had his mind buried in military. He was like the little brother she never had.
They finally approached the door to the command deck. Tyler began to feel nervousness shake his body and his mind quaked with anxiety. He had never been in that room. He never had a reason too. His smile faded and he began to let his face fall into anxiety as his brow tensed. Melissa turned back at him once more and gave him a reassuring smile. For the past week, it seemed Melissa had gotten him through everything and she vented to him about her subordinates and their quirks and Tyler hoped he could one day repay her with his new job somehow.
"You'll do well kid." Melissa replied with sense of nurturing in her voice. She placed her hand on his head and began rapidly move it about the mess atop his scalp. Tyler smiled as she continued to playfully mess up his hair. After she relented, he quickly fixed it back to its more presentable look. "I'll be waiting for you out here."
"Thanks Melissa. Here it goes." Tyler, adjusted his uniform one more time and pushed the button and the door slid open. He looked back over to Melissa one more time. She gestured with her head for him to move along. He nodded back and boldly entered the room. No matter what happened, he had someone on the other side of that door that would be proud of him no matter what. Even the perverted Sargent was slowly becoming someone else he trusted. Even if he ended up a janitor, he could live with that as long as he had his new friends behind him and he smiled at that fact. He was no longer alone.
He entered the doorway and he instantly was taken aback by shock. Just like the sci-fi movies, giant computers held displays of maps, data and the submarines schematics and other displays he didn't understand. These computers were against the wall as a handful of people typed and clicked away, not even aware he had entered the room. He looked in the middle and an old grizzled man in the sage-green uniform proudly stood. Everything from his frame to his face was rigid and stern. No rogue wave or change in the tide of battle could shake the solidarity of this man as he looked towards the biggest screen of them all at the front. Next to him sat a tall chair, bolted to the floor. It sat above everyone else in the room except for the Commander. Tyler saw tiny feet barely reaching the floor of the tall-backed seat. Tyler swallowed and began to move forward. His gut began to wrench at the scene. This was the brain of the submarine. Everyone who mattered on this vessel was sitting here and he felt completely overwhelmed by it all. It was like the mortal walking into the hall of the gods.
The man turned around, finally noticing Tyler's presence. He turned back towards the chair, his face rigid and showing no bias towards Tyler's appearance. "Madam Captain. Tyler Roberts is here about his aptitude scores." Tyler swallowed as he heard those words. He couldn't tell from the Commander's statement if he had done well or would end up cleaning the hull from now on. Even with the doubt in his mind, he continued on. The chair turned around and Tessa sat there, smiling at him. He returned the smile. She seemed almost relieved he was there, yet she was holding something back. Her lips were tense as the corners were raised. Tyler began to worry she was forcing a smile for him.
"Mr. Roberts, you came to us under unusual circumstances to say the least." Mardukas started. Tyler could feel his throat seal up. This sounded just like the start of a speech that ended with him failing miserably. The rest of the crew turned around and began to stare at him. He could feel the sweat crawl down his brow and back of his neck as he entered the spotlight. "Yet, even under difficult circumstances, you persevered and showed true heart as you moved forward. Even here at Mithril, traits such as those are treasured. Yet, those alone do not make the warrior." Tyler felt his heart sank. He now knew he would be a paper pusher. "Madam Captain, I wish for you have the honor of telling Mr. Roberts how he did." Tessa began to bubble up with enthusiasm. Tyler's heart began to rise. He started dreaming of being on the frontlines storming buildings and saving people. He would get the chance to fight alongside Arm Slave pilots and make a difference.
"After doing a physical exam and mental aptitude test, we find you are a rare case. " Tessa said as she restrained herself. Tyler knew rare could go two ways. "The only other people that scored like you did are our arm slave pilots." Tyler couldn't believe it. He was on par with those that got to pilot those amazing machines in the hangar like Melissa, Sargent Weber and even that thickheaded Souske. If he wasn't just coming to ill-founded conclusions, she might have been saying he was about to become a pilot. The room began to smile and he could see their hands come together for applause. "We normally don't do this but after a quick training course, you will become an Arm Slave pilot and serve under Sargent Commander Melissa Weber and her team as Urzu 8". Tyler was further blown back into euphoria. He would get to serve with one of his favorite people on the ship. He had gone from someone with nothing and he was finally becoming something worth being. This life was looking up. Tyler bowed humbled entirely by the opportunity at another chance to become something greater.
"Thank you Captain and thank you Commander." Tyler quickly popped back up saluted. As his hand reached his brow, the room began to clap and the personal in the room were filled with smiles as they gained a new crewmate.
"Once you complete your training, you will be given the rank of Sargent and a standard issue M9. Your training will start tomorrow with Sargent Commander Weber tomorrow." Mardukas saluted back. Tessa had joined him and the whole room broke out into one big salute towards him. Just as Tyler started to leave the room, he felt something tackle him in a warm embrace. He looked down to see Tessa hugging him and unleashing the giant smile she had been holding back the entire time.
"I'm so proud of you Sargent Roberts." She whispered to him. He hugged her back tightly. The whole reason he made it through the past two weeks was because of the very person. She was the light that guided him out the arms of sorrow and towards a life he could be proud of. She and Melissa had saved him and he now had a way to repay them both.
"I'm not a Sargent yet and call me Tyler,Captain." Tyler whispered back fondly. She nuzzled his chest as they embraced.
"Call me, Tessa. That's an order." They both quietly laughed. He still couldn't believe this angel was holding him right now. He didn't want to let go and find out this was a dream.
"Yes, Tessa" he replied back. He saw her smile grow bigger as her own named sounded so much sweeter coming from him. She didn't know why but she cared about him. She was a little sad, he would be putting his life on the line but she was overjoyed to see him smile like he was now. He wasn't smiling because he had too but because he wanted too. He smiled because a world he didn't understand was becoming clearer. He was smiling because he now had something to live for. "And thank you."
A loud cough coming from Commander Mardukas separated the two from their embrace and they jumped back blushing like two teenagers caught in an act of ill-advised romance. "You are dismissed Sargent Roberts." Even Mardukas seemed to be smiling now. Tyler nodded and saluted to him and Tessa and walked out proudly. Each step now held the drive of everyone else on the ship. He could now look in the mirror, once they replaced it.
As he exited the command deck, he turned over and saw Melissa smiling wide. He suddenly realized she had known. The smiling and hinting all made sense. She knew he was going to serve under her. He was a little hurt she didn't let him know earlier but he was too happy to care.
"So how does it feel, Urzu 8?" She asked with a wicked smile. That confirmed it.
"It feels freaking awesome." He returned back. He gave her a thumbs-up. He lowered and gave a more genuine smile. "Thank you Sargent Commander Weber." He replied formally.
"Even when you get your official rank, call me Melissa." She laughed and messed up his hair once more like an older sibling being proud as the younger one had triumphed. After he fixed his hair once again, he messed up her hair in return. She laughed as they began to rough house. Once they stopped, her expression turned serious. Tyler froze afraid she was about to make him do pushups till he puked.
"Tomorrow you are going to learn the meaning of Hell but…" her smile returned. " The rest of Urzu is going to celebrate our newest member. What is your favorite beer?" Tyler was elated she was his commanding officer. He was sure he would end mutinying against Sousuke and he doubt he could take Sargent Weber seriously. He wouldn't mind following this woman into Hell.
"I will avoid drinking tonight. I need to learn the meaning of Hell tomorrow." Tyler jested.
"Good boy. Now let's celebrate."