Annie Leonhart woke up in her room in the Military Police room, yawned, and stretched. Even since the battle for Trost and the disbanding ceremony, she had been a part of the Military Police and assigned to the Stohess District.
"I see you're finally awake, sleepyhead." Annie looked over to her roommate, Hitch. The curly-haired girl was already dressed in her military uniform, with the patches of the Military Police on her shoulders.
"Good morning, Hitch." Annie said coldly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's our assignment for today?"
"We're on guard duty for the proceedings with the Imperials." Hitch said.
"That's too bad." Anine said. "No bribes to take there."
"I didn't join the Military Police for bribes, silly." Hitch said. "I joined for the easy life. And guard duty is about as easy as it gets. Plus, I might get a chance to see that metal titan that the Imperials brought."
Annie was silent for a moment, lost in through. Eventually, she said, "What do you think about the Imperials, anyway?"
"I don't really know." Hitch said. "I heard they did a real number on the titans, though. It might be helpful to have that kind of firepower on our side. If they really can reclaim Wall Maria, though, that will keep us safer."
"But aren't you worried about what they've been saying?" Annie muttered. "About threats that make the titans look like infants?" She paused for a moment, then continued in a whisper. "Threats that all mankind must stand united against?"
"I don't know." Hitch said. "I can't imagine anything being worse than the titans. I mean, really?"
"I don't know..." Annie muttered.
"What was that?" Hitch asked. "I couldn't hear you."
Annie shook her head. "It's nothing. Let's go."
[x]
Hitch and Annie met Boris Feulner and the rest of the Military Police cadets outside the courthouse where the diplomatic meeting was being held. Something incredible was crouched outside the building.
"I hear they call it a Knight." Boris said. "It's pretty impressive, that's for sure."
"And it's controlled by a human." Another trainee said. "It's got cannons in its arms. I'm sure it could take on that Titan Shifter character the Scouting Legion has locked up."
A murmur of agreement ran through the group.
As they walked closer to the courthouse, they passed a landed Imperial flying machine, with a squad of soldiers in the strange red uniforms of the newcomers surrounding it on watch. They saw another group of Military Police soldiers processing Wall Sina residents who wished to gain admission to the proceedings, and a part Imperial war machine. Boris said the Imperials had called it a 'Leman Russ Tank'.
They walked into the courthouse and took up positions, and the negotiations began. The diplomats on both sides made points and counterpoints, but it was nothing that hadn't been said on a previous day.
As she watched the proceedings, Annie found herself once more lost in thought. There was no denying that the coming of the Imperials changed everything. Was... Was her mission to retrieve the Coordinate even relevant anymore?
Annie thought back to how much suffering had been caused by the battle of Trost. Did they have any right to do that? Was it even worth it?
Was capturing Eren Jaeger really worth causing so much death and destruction?
The lies and secrets were tearing her apart. The bonds that had formed between her and the other trainees were pulling her in one direction, and her father's final instructions and her mission were tugging her in another. She wished that she could contact the homeland for instructions, but that was not an option. It might not be possible anymore.
She sighed. Up at the Imperial speaker's podium, the pilot of the Knight Titan repeated his challenge. He offered to resolve the matter of the treaty by a trial by combat with one who disapproved of it.
"I accept your challenge."
The crowd, which had been silent to listen to the Knight Pilot's speech, suddenly went wild.
"I accept your challenge." Annie said again, louder.
"What is this?" Nile Dok, head of the Military Police said. His eyes focused on Annie. "I didn't tell you to accept his challenge, cadet. A trial by combat is an archaic and irrational method of choosing a-"
"I'll allow it." Darius, head of the Royal Military, said. "This discussion is going nowhere. I have made up my mind on the matter, but I would rather risk the outcome of these debates on a quick resolution rather than allow it to descend into meaningless squabbling."
"If we may, I motion for a have a brief recess to discuss this development." Lod Reiss said.
The functionary overseeing the proceedings nodded. "Granted."
[x]
Mephisto sighed in relief as the unnamed guard accepted the Typhoon Prince's challenge. He had no idea if it was a staged event, planned by the people of the walls, but at least combat was something that he knew. He approached the Typhoon Prince, who had been speaking, and tapped him on the shoulder.
The Prince turned around.
"We need to plan our next move." Mephisto said.
"Agreed." The Prince said.
"So, have you figured out the rules for a trial by combat on this world?" Mephisto asked.
"They don't have any, the barbarians." The Prince muttered. "So I got them to agree to use the rules from my homeworld if anyone agreed to the challenge."
"Great. So what are they?"
"Fairly standard. Challenged party picks the weapons, but they can't pick anything the challenger can't use, like psionics. I pick the field of honor, and she sets the time, typically dawn, noon, or dusk."
"I see." Mephisto said, placing his hand on his chin. "What are you hoping she'll pick?"
"Swords or pistols, honestly." The Prince responded. "I've trained on both since youth, and have been trained to a reasonable level of proficiency on more exotic weapons."
"I'm guessing she'll go with swords." Mephisto said. "Those seem to be the most common weapons on this world. By the way, what planet are those dueling codes from?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
[x]
"So, Smith," Valerius asked, "How are you enjoying your first time on an Imperial Voidship?"
"It's... Not what I expected, to be honest." The Feudal Worlder said. "It's nothing like being on a riverboat."
"Oh, believe me, when the ship's moving at combat speed and the inertial compensators are acting up, it's just like being on a speed boat." Valerius said.
The pair were deep within the Engineerium of the Glory of His Wrath, with the relic from the colony ship deconstructed on the table in front of them. So far, the analysis of the device had been going well. They had a hopefully-functional replica slowly growing on next to it on the table. So far, their replication had gone well. They had faithfully replaced each component of the device, painstakingly duplicating each one. A few had to be replaced with stock Mechanicus-approved devices, by Smith didn't notice, and Valerius didn't say anything.
As they worked, Valerius kept a careful log of each stage of the assembly. They would need it once the device was put into mass production.
Before they started, Valerius had conducted a careful and prayerful examination of the device. After a few hours, the similarities in intended function to the 3D Maneuver Gear became clear, though the devices diverged rapidly from there.
After a day of analysis, Valerius had determined the device to be what he dubbed Scared Electrogravitic Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. The device, at its core, fired an ionizing beam at a target, then produced a Magnetohydrodynamic gravitic standing wave the connected the device to the target, then contracted the wave to pull the user toward the target.
Or something. Smith didn't understand most of the Valerius had used.
"So," Smith asked, "how long until we'll be ready to put this system into production?"
"Well, I'll have this prototype finished and fully blessed by tomorrow." Valerius said. "Then, though, we'll have to make sure it doesn't open a Warp portal when activated, or get possessed by a Daemon, or come alive and try to kill us all. Then come the field tests. So it will be awhile before we're ready for full production."
"I see." Smith said. "So it'll be a while."
"Not really." Valerius said. "It took two hundred years for the Razorback to go from concept to production. This won't take anywhere near as long."
"Two hundred years?" Smith said, disbelieving. "That's... a long time."
"Well, in this case, given that the 3D Maneuver Gear is safe, this should be safe too. So the process should move faster. Sill, you have to be patient when pursuing the Quest for Knowledge. The Machine God reveals things in his own time."
"Okay." Smith said. "What about the materials? How long will it take before we can start producing these back behind the walls."
Valerius smiled, a rare show of expression for the normally reserved techpriest. "You don't even have close to the infrastructure required to start producing this stuff. It'll be years before you can start mass-production, even with full Imperial Support. And to get that, you'd need to find something to trade."
[x]
Annie sat outside the room where the movers and shakers of the Walls were decided whether or not to allow her to proceed in the trial by combat with the Typhoon Prince.
To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure why she had accepted the challenge. Was it out of guilt, an effort to protect the people she had, albeit indirectly, done so much to already? Or was it out of some twisted sense of pride, an effort to prove something?
And how did she want to go about fighting the Typhoon Prince, if she was even allowed to do it? Hand-to-hand combat would be the obvious choice, but what if she... What if she decided to fight all out and decided to declare the weapons to be titans?
But given the capabilities that the invaders had demonstrated, the Prince's machine was likely to be formidable, even more so than their other war machines. It would probably be a match for her titan form.
Still, though, did she even want to win? What was best for her? What was best for people?
The door opened, and Darius walked out of the meeting.
"We've decided to go ahead with the duel." He said. "I've spoken with your cadet instructor, and he says you're gifted with hand to hand combat. You will chose that. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." Annie said. "When is the duel?"
"At noon." Darius said. "I hope that you are prepared."
"I am, sir." Annie said.
"Good." Darius walked away, leaving Annie to stew in her thoughts. What was she going to do?
[x]
Colonel Richardson looked over the latest reports from the planet below. The trial by combat had been expected, and he supposed that it was appropriate for him to attempt. He stood up from his desk and called for his attendant. The man entered a moment later.
"Yes, sir?" Richardson's steward, and... General assistant... said. "What do you require, sir?"
"I believe that we have a trial by combat upcoming." Richardson said
"Correct, sir." The steward said. "What about it is of interest to you?"
"Well, it seems rather important, doesn't it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well," Richardson sighed, "I suppose we need to do everything we can to win."
"I understand." The steward said. "Do you wish to travel down to the planet to watch the duel yourself?"
"I believe so." Richardson said. "Prepare my transport and ceremonial uniform."
As he spoke, Richardson fingered his Aquila amulet. It contained a powerful refractor field generator, though he kept that fact to himself. It had saved his life on several occasions, and he counted on it to keep him safe from any assassinations the locals might attempt.
Considering his future options, Richardson made his way to shuttle bay on the Glory of His Wrath.
[x]
Annie cracked her knuckles as she made her way to the ring where the match was to take place. She accepted a cup of water from an attendant as she walked toward the ring.
Sipping her drink, she looked around the area for the contest. The duel had been announced on short notice, and there had been no time to set up a more formal area. The facilities were limited to a few tents on either side, though dozens of citizens had gathered to watch the competition. The ring was a simple square of ropes held up on sticks, and the Typhoon Prince waited on the other side, dressed in his signature green piloting suit.
Ominously, his machine loomed over the ring like a titan. Though it was immobile, Annie felt somewhat concerned by its presence. If for some reason she had to shift, it would be something capable of posing a real threat to her. She wasn't really sure why it was present; the Prince had said something about it being a tradition of his people.
As the two competitors stood on either side of the ring, a crowd started to gather. There were no seats or bleachers for them to watch from, so only one row of spectators would really get a good view of the fight. Annie didn't care.
The Typhoon Prince looked down at his wrist, then back at Annie. "It's noon. Are you ready to start?"
"Fine." Annie said, walking toward into the ring.
Abruptly, a roar came from overhead. Annie looked up, and saw one of the strange Imperial flying vehicles in the distance. It swiftly closed the distance to the grounds of the fight, and when it did, it stopped overhead.
Kicking up a crowd of debris from the backwash of its engines, the transport slowly lowered itself toward the ground. As it touched down, a ramp opened in the back of the vehicle, and a man stepped out.
He was wearing a military dress uniform, a much more ornate version of the ones Annie had seen one some of the Imperial soldiers on patrol. He was a younger man than Annie would have expected, and had only a few medals pinned to his chest. He had light brown hair, and surveyed the grounds for the duel with dark brown eyes.
"That's Colonel Richardson!" One of the nearby spectators said. "He's the commander of the Imperial guard!"
"Only a Colonel, and commanding so many men?" Another said.
"And at his age." A third muttered. "Impressive."
Annie shrugged as the Imperial commander disembarked. She didn't care who was watching the battle. What concerned her much more was what she was going to do in the fight. Did she want to win or not?
The officials gathered in the center of the makeshift arena, next to the ring. Annie walked up to the rope and walked under it. Her opponent did likewise.
"We meet here today, under the gaze of the Emperor and beneath these holy walls in a trial by combat." The overseeing official said. "The issue of contention is the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Kingdom of the Walls and the Imperium of Man."
He raised his arm, which was holding a white handkerchief. "Let the fight... Begin!"
Annie raised her arms into her characteristic fighting stance. He opponent mirrored her, taking up a slightly different stance, his fists slightly lower and his body turned away further.
Advancing cautiously, Annie scanned her opponent, looking for any sign of weakness. To her displeasure, he looked as though she was a trained competitor, if not skilled to the same level as herself.
She knew that, as a male likely raised with better nutrition than her, he would have a natural advantage of strength. She could neutralize that with her superior skill, but it would be something to look out for.
What is best? Annie wondered, as the two competitors circled each other. Do the Wallfolders really need the Imperium's help, or will they be fine on their own? Do I even want what is best for them? Do I-
Annie was shocked out of her thought by a pouch that came flying toward her head. The Typhoon Prince had thrown a short jab, of the sort used to test an enemy's defenses. Annie had managed to block it, but only just.
The Typhoon Prince continued to close with her, throwing a barrage of punches as he did so. Annie stepped back slowly, blocking each blow.
This was rapidly turning into a boxing match, something Annie couldn't afford. She was primarily trained in grappling, where she could more easily neutralize an opponent's superior strength. She couldn't afford to be simply battered into submission.
Annie sprung forward, attempting a grab. She shrugged off two punches from the Prince, enduring the pain as she reached for her goal of a clean takedown.
Her left arm reached the Prince's body, and she grabbed the side of his chest. Allowing her momentum to carry her forward, Annie half moved and half fell inside the reach of her opponent.
The Prince grasped in surprise as she pressed her body against his and swept his leg out from under him. He fell, but he managed to grab her arm and pull her to the grass as he went down.
Now Annie was in her element. She moved with her opponent, restricting his motions and battering him with blows whenever the opportunity presented itself.
The Prince gave a good account of himself, but now that the fight was on the ground, Annie was slowly edging towards placing him in a lock.
Abruptly, Annie felt a surge of nausea rush through her body. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, like she had just performed an overly complicated 3D maneuver.
While she was distracted, the Prince bucked and threw her off of him. He quickly rose to his feet and looked down at Annie.
She recovered much more slowly, climbing to her feet as if drunk.
"Are you fit to continue?" The Typhoon Prince said.
"I'm... Fine." Annie said. Clearly, she wasn't fine.
Poison! She realized with a start. She had never been poisoned before, but it seemed like the only possible explanation. Were the Imperials trying to cheat?
Annie tried to raise her fists, but her vision swam. Was she going to black out?"
No! She thought. No more of this. No more secrets. No more lies.
She twisted her fingers against each other, activating the blade concealed in her ring.
A tiny pin pricked her finger.
Annie closed her eyes and shifted.
A massive wave of energy shot through her body. Though she couldn't see it, greenish lighting shot down from the heavens and struck her, obscuring her form in a flash of light.
When it cleared, a massive beast stood where Annie Leonhart had once fought. It was fourteen meters tall, and looked like a skinless parody of an incredibly fit woman.
The Female Titan.
Annie opened the titan's mouth- Her mouth, and roared. Below her, the Typhoon Prince began running backwards.
[x]
The Typhoon Prince stumbled backwards. Where had this come from? He knew about the local megafauna, but what was one of them doing here?
As it began to reach down toward him, he smiled.
[x]
Annie reached down toward the Imperial Knight Pilot. Her body had been purged of the poison by the titan shift, and she felt the energy that always accompanied a shift coursing through her.
Her hand reached down toward the Imperial Pilot. She began to close it around him.
Then a pain unlike anything she had experienced in titan form ripped through her shoulder. Her arm went limp, and the Imperial slip out from between her fingers and she stood up, raising her good arm in a fighting stance. How had they set up cannons so soon?
She looked around, and saw the Imperial Knight. It was standing fully erect, and smoke curled out of the barrel of the gun that made up its right arm.
Annie roared and turned toward it as her shoulder knit back together. That thing had taken her by surprise, but it would be different next time.
It has a ranged weapon so, I need to get close. Annie thought, the warmth of healing overcoming the pain in her shoulder.
As she took her first step forward, she spotted something. A tiny figure, scrambling toward the feet of the Knight Walker. She narrowed her eyes, and caught sight of the characteristic garb of the Typhoon Prince.
He stopped just in front of the feet of the machine, and it knelt down to receive him. The Knight crouched and lowered the barrel of its cannon. The Prince grabbed onto the cannon as it reached the lowest point in its arc, and held onto it as it began to rise.
[x]
The Typhoon prince hung from the barrel of his Knight's Rapid Fire Battle Cannon, thanking the Emperor that he had chosen to wear his pilot suit to the duel.
As the battle cannon barrel reached its apogee, he mentally signaled his knight, and a hatch leading to the cockpit popped open. The barrel of the Battle Cannon swung him toward the hatch, and he dropped into the passageway behind the hatch.
As the Prince crawled along the passage leading to the cockpit, he signaled his Knight, and he felt a shudder run through him as his machine took a step back.
The mech began to take another step back, and the Prince reached the cockpit. He scrambled into the Throne Mechanicum of his walker and began to initiate the connection between himself and his machine.
He let out a sigh of relief as the strain of remote piloting left him. It was a rare skill, and largely isolated to his House, and one he had rarely practiced, for good reason. It placed considerable neurological strain on a pilot, and posed other, more arcane, hazards.
The connection activated, and the Typhoon Prince closed his eyes.
Suddenly, he was ten meters tall, facing a creature of flesh and bone half again as tall as he was. He saw through a myriad of auspex sensors and optical devices, and as he took a step forward, his feet were replaced by the massive mechanical ones of his Knight.
He surveyed his opponent. It was one of the megafauna native to this world, and didn't appear to possess any weapons or armor.
He primed his Chainsword.
[x]
Annie watched warily as the bladed chains that made up the blade of the sword the machine carried began to spin. She had never seen such a weapon before, but from what she had seen of Imperial technology, she doubted that it would be anything to mess around with.
Her shoulder had finished regenerating, and she assumed a fighting stance, the confrontation between the creature and machine mirroring the conflict of their pilots just moments before.
With a roar, Annie charged toward the shorter machine. She clenched her fist and encase it in crystal, then brought it down on the head of the machine.
[x]
The Typhon Prince grimaced as the monster he was fighting brought its fist down like a hammer on his upper carapace. He glanced over the readouts in his Heads up Display, noting that the damage sensors reported no systems out of order.
Being his in the head like that hurt. It wasn't quite as bad as suffering a similar blow in person, but he still had to remind himself that he wasn't wounded.
He took a step backwards, the audience members scrambling away from the feet of his walker, and assumed a close-range fighting stance, with his chainsword held out and his Battle Cannon near his side.
The enemy titan stepped toward him, fists at the ready. Some kind of blue crystal caked its fists, and it drew them back for another blow.
As the enemy titan swung forward, the Typhoon Prince step to the side, moving faster than something of his size should have been allowed to. The enemy's strike met nothing but air. He raised his chainsword, and swung, the spinning blades lining his weapon on the lowest power setting.
The enemy raised her arm in a classic block as he brought down his chainsword. As she did so, crystal began to coat her arm.
The Prince's weapon struck with a shower of sparks, and a horrible wailing sound filled the air. Shards of crystal began flying from the point of contact, and both the blade and arm began to shudder.
As the blade began to bite through the crystal, the enemy titan pulled its arm back, just as the chainsword ripped through its armor. As a cloud of blood puffed into the air, the enemy titan executed a smooth withdrawal, taking a step back and raising its uncut arm to protect itself.
The Typhoon Prince leveled his battle cannon at the enemy titan, but hesitated. Was the duel still going on? If so, what would it prove if he simply blasted his opponent away with superior firepower? No, he had to win this fight through skill, to prove that he was better.
As the cut on the titan's arm healed, the Typhoon Prince assumed a fighting stance, a mirror of his opponent's. He might have decided against using his battle cannon as a gun, but there was nothing stopping him from using it as a bludgeon.
The titan charged toward him, leaning toward his right side, the side without the chainsword. As it closed, the Prince lunged forward and swung with the barrel of his battle cannon, smacking the enemy titan across the chest with it.
The titan faltered, but didn't stop, and the Prince switched positions and brought his chainsword around. The enemy titan punched him in the face, but he didn't stop, and brought his chainsword down on the titan's right shoulder.
The arm below the chainsword flailed, then went limp as it was severed, unleashing a fountain of blood.
The Typhoon Prince stepped back, but not in time to avoid the enemy titan's counterattack. Her crystal-covered first took him in the arm, above his battle cannon.
Damage reports flickered across the Prince's vision. Minor so far, but it was worrying that such a creature could even hurt his walker.
He thought back to what he had learned about the titans that inhabited this world. Their weak point was the nape of the neck, so that was where he would have to aim. Still, he wanted to avoid killing his opponent if he could manage that. This was not a duel to the death.
The prince ducked down and sliced, striking one the titan in the left leg. A sudden spurt of blood covered his chainsword, and the titan roared again and took a half-step forward, but faltered as its cut leg, which was letting off a copious amount of steam, began to give out. The titan held its ground as the wound began to knit back together.
The Typhoon Prince charged it, swinging low with his battle cannon towards his opponent's feet, aiming to take advantage of his lower position to knock her down. The battle cannon struck the enemy's bad leg, sending her wobbling.
The Prince pressed his attack, raining down blow after blow on the taller titan. It fought back, and managed to deal some damage, but with one arm missing and a bad leg, it was at a distinct disadvantage.
As the titan and Knight fought, the crowd retreated to a safe distance.
That is, most of them.
A small party charged forward, dropping heavy cloaks to reveal the combat uniform of the scouting legion. One of the figures raised a flare gun and fired it, sending a red flare shooting towards the two combatants.
The flare shot past the Prince's visor, and he raised his battle cannon arm and struck the enemy titan in the head before stepping backwards, assuming a guard stance as he did so.
The charging party from the scouting legion activated their 3D Maneuver Gear. Wires shot out from their hips as they jumped into the air and began to maneuver.
The feminine titan turned toward the new threat. As they flew through the air, the Typhoon Prince zoomed his vision in on the group, revealing the face of Captain Levi and his Special Operations Squad, individuals the Prince had been briefed about before deploying to the planet. Apparently, they were quite adept at using the 3D Maneuver Gear.
That reputation was being put to the test.
As they flew toward the titan, Levi drew his swords, then flung the blades into the air. The soared through space with incredible accuracy, one of them caught the titan in the eye.
The titan screamed in pain as the team of locals closed, steam pouring from its wounded eye. As the Special Operations Squad reached the titan, it reached out for one of the elite soldiers, but, hampered by its ruined depth perception, it missed, its fist closing on air.
Levi reached an attack position first. He fired one wire upwards, anchoring it on the enemy's head, and a second one on the ground. Activating his winches, he pulled himself downwards, using his top wire to anchor his arc.
As Levi shot by the titan's wounded leg, moving impossibly quickly, his swords flashed, and a chunk of flesh detached from the injured limb in a fountain of blood. The titan staggered, then went down on one knee.
The rest of the Special Operations Squad arrived fractions of an instant later. Two of them went high, and two went low. They flashed by the titan's head, opening twin gashes as they did so. The other two spun around the titan's midriff, slicing flesh as they flew.
Levi fired his wires toward the titan's head and flashed upwards, neatly slicing off the vestal regenerating arm as he did so. The titan roared and reached back with its good arm to cover its weak point as it dropped back.
"STAND CLEAR!" The Typhoon Prince shouted through his speakers.
He revved his ripper chainsword to maximum power and charged forward, swinging toward the titan's good shoulder.
Crystals coated the flesh below the falling blade, but when the chainsword struck, it sheared through them with a scream like tortured metal, ripping into the flesh below. The titan's arm went limp.
A green flare shot past the Prince's visor, and as he backed off, the Special Operations Squad went to work. Levi shot upwards as his subordinates attacked directly, flying over the titan's head. He shot a wire downward, and launched toward the ground like a comet, blades shining.
There was a flash, and a chunk of tissue went flying free from the titan's weak spot. The titan didn't drop, and Levi shot back upwards, slicing again. As the next piece of flesh came free, Levi grappled himself to the nape of the titan's neck, switched blades, and went to work on the weak point of the titan.
As the beast went limp, the Typhoon Prince stepped forward, scanning with the wide array of auspex devices at his disposal.
He saw Levi roughly pull the girl he had been fighting out of the neck of the titan.
What the Hel is going on here?
[x]
"Alright." Valerius said, using his cybernetics to speak to his test subject through the thick transparent barrier separating them. "Now, I want you to carefully activate the maneuver gear."
"Just like my normal rig, correct?" The test subject, Mikasa was her name, said."
"That's correct." Valerius responded, as Mikasa gripped the handles of her blades, which had been connected to the Electrogravitic Three Dimensional Maneuver Device she was wearing on her waist and back. "Now, active the grapple system and pull yourself up to the top of one of the pillars.
The girl testing the device was currently standing in a room aboard the Glory of His Wrath which had been converted for the purpose. It was scattered with large pillars of various heights, some reaching up to the ceiling, others terminating less than halfway to the top of the room. They were all lined with metal, which had been determined as the optimal material to use the Electrogravitic device on.
"Yes, sir." Mikasa said, and activated the device.
She felt it vibrate slightly as it powered up, something her old gear had never done. It was slightly unnerving, but if this was what she needed to do... Mikasa activated her controls, took aim at the top of one of the taller pillars, and activated her device.
Almost immediately, she was jerked into the air by the force of the pull. Twin tendrils of lightning crackled out from the devices mounted on her hips up to the targets of her jumps. They only lasted a moment, but it was a marked difference from using the normal gear.
She noticed that it was a much more pleasant experience that using normal Maneuver Gear; the advanced materials which made up the harness distributed weight and force extremely effectively.
Mikasa soared through the air, pulled by her Electrogravitic gear. She executed a neat flip at the top of her target pillar and landed feet-first, the practice blades she was holding in a ready stance.
"Now, try jumping to another pillar." Valerius said, then turned to the dignitaries standing next to him, Colonel Richardson and some major Wallfolder nobility, and deactivated his vox link to the testing compartment.
"As you can see," the techpriest said, "the system is fully functional. A special gas mix has been added to the test chamber to allow you to visually detect the grapple effect of the new device. We have ironed out the major flaws in its operation, and it is ready for full-scale production."
"But what about the first test subject?" One of the nobles asked. "We were informed that there was some problem with the system that-"
"That is nothing to worry about." Valerius said quickly. "This new system is several times more stable, and much less likely to explode."
"I still don't even know how that happened." Richardson muttered. "There shouldn't be anything in there that can explode. I-"
"If that was the will of the Machine God, it is best we do not question it." Valerius said, cutting Richardson off. "The point is, the new Maneuver gear is ready, and it offers a considerable edge over the old model. And that isn't even taking into account the secondary systems."
"What secondary systems?" One of the wallfolders said. "We were not informed of-"
"Grav Chute Technology has been incorporated in the design of the system to allow soldiers to drop longer distances and impact solid surfaces at higher velocities while remaining safe and combat ready." Valerius said. "The old gas propulsion system has been removed, and replaced with a system based on Imperial thruster technology, which will grant soldiers superior jumping capability and in-flight maneuvering capacity. There is also the question in inertial-"
"I think I understand." The noble said. "How long until full production of these units can commence?"
"Not some time." Valerius said. "You're world lacks the industrial base to manufacture these devices, and this ship is a troop transport, not a factory ship."
"And I believe that is all the time we have for today." Richardson said, shaking hands with one of the nobles. "If you would follow the Ensign outside of this chamber, he will see to getting you planetside."
The nobles began to shuffle out of the room, talking excitedly among themselves. As the doors slid open to allow them out, two men in the uniform of the Royal Military entered. Dot Pixis and Erwin Smith.
"Hello, gentlemen." Colonel Richardson said. "I trust that you had a pleasant flight up to the ship?"
"It was lovely, thank you." Pixis said. "I quite enjoyed the shuttle flight, and seeing the planet from orbit."
Erwin muttered something incomprehensible.
"A man never quite forgets the first time he sees a world from high orbit." Richardson said. "It is truly a sight like no other. Anyway, on to business. You have come to discuss the armament of the soldiers in our joint task force, correct?"
"That's right." Erwin said. "We heard most of that speech you gave to the blue-bloods. Quite impressive, if the device lives up to you claims."
"It will, sir." Richardson said, walking over to a panel next to the clear glass wall leading to the test chamber. He pressed a button, and a hatch in the glass opened. Mikasa saw it and jumped down from the pillar she was standing on, arcs of lightning following her down.
"And impressive visual display, if nothing else." Pixis said. "Soldier, what is your report on the new Maneuver Gear."
Mikasa saluted after the fashion of the Wallfolders, placing her hand over her heart. "It is an adequate piece of equipment, sir. It appears to outperform the previous generation of Maneuver Gear in every respect, sir. The lack of a limit on gas fuel is particularly... liberating, sir."
"Thank you." Erwin said. "Now, you Imperials have weapons, good ones, and now that we've signed this mutual defense treaty with you, I hope we can use them. Now, about arming these soldiers..." He paused for a moment. "What about a lascannon. I hear those are pretty impressive."
The mutual defense treaty had been signed following the duel, almost as an apology by the Wallfolder diplomats. Ambassador Mephisto was quite understanding. After all, being crushed by megafauna was hardly uncommon in the Imperium of Man.
It took all of Richardson's self-control not to burst out laughing at Erwin's statement. "That might be a little heavy." He said, walking over to a table behind them. He swept a cloth off the table, revealing an array of prospective weapons for the joint forces to use.
"This," Richardson said, "is the M16B4 Pattern Lasgun, standard for the 33rd Grenadiers."
He passed the weapon the Erwin, and picked up another one off the table and gave it to Pixis. The held the weapons in a variety of stances, testing them out.
Eventually, Erwin spoke. "It too long." He said. "It would be hard to use while maneuvering, and it's also rather heavy."
"Weight and length..." Valerius muttered. "That rules out a lot of our options."
The techpriest walked over to the table. "What about this?" He said. "The P51 Laspistol."
The two Wallfolder commanders walked over and picked up the weapons. They experimented with them for a moment.
"It seems good." Erwin said. "But how does it stand on stopping power?"
"Not well, I'm afraid." Valerius said. "It's a pistol."
They review several more weapons, rejecting several of them. The shotgun and scatter laser were rejected due to lacing range and power, and the sniper rifle was ruled out due to the same reason as the M16B4 Lasgun. The light bolter and autogun had too much recoil to use while maneuvering, and the flamer required a soldier to carry too much fuel.
"This is one of the last ones." Richardson said. "The Combat Optical Retrograde Emitter Laser Submachine gun."
Richardson and the techpriest passed the weapons to the commanders. They tried them out for a few minutes.
"It seems good." Erwin said cautiously. "What about stopping power?"
"It has a good balance of lethality, armor piercing ability, and fire rate. Not as much range as the standard lasgun, but it has superior rate of fire."
"Rate of fire is good." Pixis said. "It can cancel out the accuracy problems caused by rapid maneuvering."
"And maneuvering troops can get close to the enemy quickly," Richardson continued, "Which helps with the reduced effective range."
"What do you think about this weapon, Mikasa?" Erwin said, passing the C.O.R.E SMG to the younger soldier.
Mikasa took the SMG without a word. She cocked the weapon, and without a further word, began shooting up the computing equipment in the room.
Ruby red beams lanced out from the weapon, striking computer screens and rune boards and shattering them. It went on for some time, until Mikasa exhausted the power cell.
Then she turned to the commanders. "It's good."