CHAPTER 4
Review Corner:
The Colonel: There would be more of the unit in this story so stay tuned
Ulquiorra9000: The Ghost Bear would make appearance later in the story. The Ghost Bear has been fighting the Word of Blake since 3070 so there's plenty of space.
I'm not exactly warmed up to the guys. I use them as the assholes of this story.
Buckminster, Buckminster Prefecture,
Benjamin Military District,
Draconis Combine,
October 20, 3072
The brutal punishment Noloty received during the duel with the bully left her with shattered orbital bones, so she was constrained to "administrative" duties when other cadets started battlemech piloting. It was a big letdown, watching her comrades taking 20-ton lord of the battlefield – disarmed, obviously, but still – for a spin, grinning from ear to ear when they returned to base. But there was nothing else she could do. Her instructor threatened to transfer her to armor division if she didn't adhere to doctor's order.
So she made up the lost time by hitting the gym, taking firearm classes, medical seminar, and asking for apprenticeship at battlemech hangars. At night she watched videos of battlemech fighting to learn about tactical maneuvers. While cadets were discouraged to study war doctrine from sources other than Draconis Combine material, Noloty studied everything, from NAIS, to Capella War College, to Strantor Military Academy, Nagelring, Princefield, and even some essays written by Clanners.
"What the hell are you doing?" Enrique asked one day, unsure of what she was trying to accomplish.
"I'm regaining lost ground," Noloty replied with a small smile. "I want to be ready when the time comes."
"If you want to be ready, use the simulator. It will give you the feel of battlemech piloting. You can't get that from reading." Enrique observed the stack of books and papers on the table while scratching his head. "If I don't know you better, I think you're preparing for an invasion."
"A wise warrior once said Knowing is half of the battle," Noloty defended her action. "The Draconis Combine shares borders with Lyran Alliance, Federated Suns, Ghost Bear Dominion, and Outworld Alliance. You never know which front you will end up at."
"Our enemy is the Word of Blake. Most likely you will be sent to fight the Blakes. And since the 2nd Sword of Light is tied to the Black Dragon Society, you may be tasked to fight Draconis Combine units. There's no point studying Lyrans and Free Worlds, let alone the Capellans," Enrique picked up a piece of paper and cringed as he read it. "Who the hell is Mark Lorin anyway?"
"Obviously none of your interest!" Noloty snatched the paper from Enrique's hand. "Why are you pissed off at what I'm doing?"
"I'm trying to help you!" Enrique sneered. "Your first battlemech session is coming up and this is not how normal mechwarrior prepares for the job!"
"Just let me deal with it my own way, okay?" Noloty started to get irritated. "I take responsibility of my actions!"
"Fine! Fine!" Enrique huffed, then left.
After waiting for almost a month, the doctor finally cleared her for battlemech piloting. Noloty couldn't wait to get into the battlemech for the first time. She donned her cooling vest and combat boots in a rush then jogged toward the platform. The sight of an old, beat-up Locust waiting for her felt like a drop of water in the desert. The techs checked her gear as the platform raised her to the cockpit.
At the cockpit level, Noloty slid into the cockpit. It smelled like puke inside, and she would soon find out why. She put on the harness, and connected her neurohelmet to the console. The techs checked her status one more time before closing the hatch. The platform moved away from the Locust, and Noloty couldn't help herself. She jabbed her finger at the Start button. The feedback signal on her neurohelmet made her nauseous, and he spent a few seconds controlling her gag reflex to keep her from throwing up on the console.
"Congratulations, Cadet," the voice of her drill instructor exploded in her ears. "Your first time in a battlemech and you didn't hurl your breakfast. How're you feeling?"
"Good, Sir," Noloty replied. She had trained her body for it but yet she was unprepared for the sting. "I am ready, Sir."
"That first-time jab to your brain, that's the mech making connection with you. It's not a machine anymore. It's the extension of your body. Its legs are your legs. Its armor is your armor. And its weapons are your weapons, yours to command."
Noloty chuckled mentally, knowing that with a flick of her finger the metal warlord would unleash enough firepower to vaporize the command center. But she had to wait for that. The weapon console was completely dark. The Locust did not carry any weapons.
"Alright Cadet, make yourself familiar with your new ride. I'll be back in 5 minutes."
Noloty twisted, turned, pivoted, and walked a few steps. Each maneuver gave her a different sensation from the feedback signal. It was hard to deal with it at first, but Noloty slowly adapted to the new circumstances. She didn't expect it to be easy, but after 5 minutes playing around with it, she could perform basic maneuvers without falling down.
"Looks like you're making progress, Cadet," the instructor said. "Now follow the nav points on your navigation screen to reach training ground Delta. You have two minutes. Let's see how you handle full sprint."
A series of nav points appeared on the console. Training ground Delta was 1 mile away from the starting point. Noloty knew her mech well; a Locust could run up to 120 kph. One mile in two minutes was an easy stride for the speed demon. She throttled up, bringing the Locust to a full speed within 15 seconds. The feedback signal was nauseating, made worse by the stench of vomit inside the cockpit. A lot of new cadets must have thrown up there. Fortunately she hit the gym a lot. She fought the urge to throw up by steady breathing.
But the instructor did not tell Noloty that the path he asked her to follow cut through a large lake. Before Noloty could stop completely, the Locust was already knee-deep in the water. There was no going forward.
"Oh shit!" Noloty panicked. The easy stride suddenly turned into a race against time because now she had to find another route to Delta. The Locust could jump, but she would end up in the middle of the lake and she didn't know how deep it was. The other route was to go around the lake, which would take more time, and she would most certainly fail to meet the 2-minute mark. But in the end she would rather be late than drowned. She pulled up the overhead map to find the shortest route, then circled the lake in full speed.
She took more than 3 minutes to reach Delta, and she was certain she would be sent to armor division. "I'm sorry, Sir, I failed," she sighed.
"Nobody reached Delta in 2 minutes," the instructor replied with a hint of smug in his voice. "The exercise is designed to fail. But that's not the point. The point is to see how you react to the unexpected. You did well, Cadet. You took the right approach to find another route to Delta. Although, you could pull your overhead map before you made your run. You could've cut your time under 3 minutes. Always consult your map before you go anywhere."
"I'll keep that in mind, Sir," Noloty leaned back in her seat. "What do I do now?"
"Return to base. The stench should be killing you by now. I don't know how you stay composed without barfing all over the place."
"Yes Sir!" Noloty turned the Locust around and throttled up. She swung past the lake and watched a Carbine construction mech pulling 2 Stingers out of the water. She smiled at the sight.
