Aliens, giant, floating, tentacled monsters with several faces and many teeth from outer space just appeared one day on Earth and changed the lives of everyone forever. Alien life was no longer conspiracy theory but was proven and it was an actual threat that put humanity in danger. The monsters did not care what happened, they just started making their way and digging, destroying anything that was in their path and killing thousands each time they appeared. The first time an alien appeared, it took the military a few hours to finally pump it with enough lead and rockets to finally kill it, but by then 3 city blocks were completely leveled and even more were damaged by the fight. And just as they though they won, a few months later, a second one appeared, then a third, and a fourth.
This was only the beginning of humanity's fight with the aliens, or 'Kaiju' as some people on the internet started calling them after comparing them to old monster movies. It became obvious very fast that the army was not prepared, nor was it equipped to deal with the threat efficiently, especially when the aliens could just swat the jets away like flies. But humanity was never one to just roll over and quit, instead they tried different solutions to deal with the threat better. It was the MECH program was proposed. If they had to fight monsters, they'd make monsters of their own! Giant weaponized robots to dispose of the aliens as quickly as possible. Project "Sanctuary" was also launched around the same time – it was basically constructing fortress cities to protect humanity, not that many people didn't decide to tough it out of the walled cities, but that's a story for another time.
…
In an office building in an undisclosed location in Washington…
….
The room was large and had a large table with people sitting around it.
"We need results! The sponsors are demanding to see some positive numbers soon or they are pulling funding!" – Chief Jhonas, head of marketing was practically frothing at the mouth.
"There's no need to screech so loud, ya buffoon! We hear ya nice an' clear!" – Mr. R. Malkovich, head of R grumbled.
"Mr. Jhonas has a point though. I was grilled by the president yesterday for hours! He wants our machines to be out there faster and to show that the money put into them is worth it." – Mrs. A. Brown, relations specialist and government mediator rubbed her temples.
"OI! The mechs can't be printed out like paper! This is a new tech, ya know! We are still working on it an' building a giant robot takes time!" – Malkovich sat up in his chair.
"Oh, don't I know how 'experimental' all this is, darling." M. Stewards, head of the IT department filed his nails "Me and my team have been working aaal~ this time to straighten up some of your department's kinks and actually make the programs run correctly for each of those pretty mechs."
"Why you pompous-" – Malkovich stood up and slapped his hand on the table.
"P-please d-don't fight!" – Ms. E. Grant, head of supply department, said meekly.
"Everyone! Please quiet down!" – the head of the MECH program and CEO, J. Leeland shouted with his deep voice, making the others quiet down.
They quickly apologized and quieted down.
"Now, I know things have not been going well recently." – Leeland glanced around at his subordinates.
"Y-yes. D-deliveries will be delayed d-due to the attack on the east coast. One of our supply depots was s-smashed, so we need more time to deliver the materials needed for the new mechs." – Ms. Grant said.
"Aye, things aren't too smooth with us either. The test are going to sh-" Malkovich started but was stopped by a glare from the CEO "The tests have been failing. The two working mech types we managed to make 'till now are too inefficient and are currently just on the prototype stage. The remote-controlled model, 'Commando' , needs a group of people to control the different functions remotely but it has been hard to find teams that work that in synch, plus the mech needs a stable connection to work, with the connection stopping, the mech often becomes a sitting target for them aliens! Not to mention the delay as the commands are sent from the control center to the mech!"
"I agree. My darlings at the IT department have been trying to streamline the code and improve the connection but it is complicated on a scale like this." – Stewards leaned back and huffed.
"And the last disaster with 'Robato'?! I think that's more important than the connection giving out! It was a PR nightmare!" – Jhonas leaned forward, eyeing the bedazzled IT expert.
Everyone but Leeland and Jhonas winced at the mention of their latest failure. The currently wrecked mech 'Robato'.
It was another experimental mech that aimed to cover 'Commando's shortcomings of connection issues and slow reaction by having the mech directly piloted by humans. It had recently passed the testing phase and was put on the field immediately after. The mech was crude, bulky and clunky, its internal controls were also a LOT! The movement, weapons, scanners and communication had to be almost entirely controlled by the pilots, so the mech needed at least 2 pilots to function, 3 pilots to use its full capabilities. Its results were more promising than 'Commando' but then in the last attack less than a month earlier than the meeting, the mech misfired due to pilot error and not only didn't hit the alien but shot a skyscraper, then the falling debris not only killed soldiers but damaged the locking mechanism, locking the pilots in and its chassis exploded, killing the pilots. The media had descended onto them like a pack of hyenas and they were still trying to settle everything.
"Aye, that was a mighty mess. We have looked over everythin' but it was mostly due to the pilots it happened. All tests were clear before we released 'Robato' out o' testing." – Malkovich said.
"Oh, so you are implying the pilots were idiots?! Better watch what you say or the families will try to sue us again for defamation!" – Jhonas warned the other man.
"By the way, where's the star recruiter? I haven't seen him in a while." – Mrs. Brown asked the MECH head.
"He's coming soon."
Knock-knock!*
"Ah, that must be him. Enter!" – Leeland said.
In entered a man in his 30s, wearing a suit and with a glinting golden tooth as he smiled at the people inside. In his hands was a folder full of documents.
"Sorry for being late, gentlemen, ladies, just had to pick some items on the way here." – said H. Banks, an ex-military man and current director of recruitment and management, also known by the nickname Swindle.
"Oh, finally! Hey, Banks, the Russian said your pilots sucked and that's why the mech crashed last month." – Jhonas smirked.
"Hey! I was born an' raised in the USA! My grandfather was from Russia!" Malkovich shouted "Also, I never said such words!"
"Is that so?" Swindle glanced between the 2 men before shrugging "Well, whatever. Now that I am here, I think I have some suggestions that will help us with our predicament."
"Hm? And what suggestions do you have, darling? Do you even know what we were talking about earlier?" – Stewards smiled at the military man.
"Of course! I was briefed on the issues on the way here. Our main problem is the lack of results in front of the sponsors, since our mechs are a work in progress. And that's why I have a few new hires I found that I think will not only help us improve production, but cut cost and move the MECH program forward by leaps and bounds!" – Swindle declared, opening his folder.
"Are you insane? We don't have the money to spare on new recruits! We can't be training newbies right now!" – Jhonas scolded the younger man.
"But they are not newbies in need of training! They are all people I think will help the program further." – Swindle declared with conviction.
Jhonas was about to say something again, along with Mrs. Brown, but the CEO lifted his hand and silenced them.
"Please continue." – Leeland said to Swindle.
"With pleasure, sir. I found 10 potential new recruits, all experts in their field and currently either free or not working in a favorable environment due to the attacks. I can guarantee you, each one of them can help the organization a lot and will be worth every cent!"
Swindle then hands the first set of documents. There was the picture of a grumpy-looking ginger man in his late 30, seemingly glaring at the camera.
"First is Mr. Kelly or Ratchet, as he prefers to be called. A brilliant doctor with a master's degree in bio-engineering, worked in UHM hospital before it got completely obliterated in last winter's biggest attack. Currently employed as an on-call doctor and a nurse in Chicago. I think with his knowledge we'd be able to ensure any of our pilots' health and that they don't just die too quickly for one reason or another." – it might have sounded uncaring but Swindle was like that, he knew what to say and make his point.
"Hmm… The offer is acceptable. We are still lacking in the medical department and experts in the bio-engineering field would be good to have." – Mrs. Brown nodded.
"Noted. We'll send an offer." – Leeland agreed.
Swindle then handed the next set of documents. It was much less than the previous one, only 2 pages long and lacking a lot of information.
"Next up is Mr. John Doe, or Swerve as he wrote that name down. Family name – unknown, birth date – unknown, but looks to be in his early 30s, place of birth – unknown, family – unknown. Was discovered in the ruins of Los Angeles after half the city was destroyed last year by 2 aliens appearing at the same time. Has amnesia and can's remember his past, he didn't have an ID nor could his file be found in the system. Not unusual because at the time a lot of data was lost due to multiple server crashes because of the attacks, but that means we have nothing more on Mr. Doe." – Swindle said as a matter of fact.
"And why do you bring such a mystery man, hm darling?" – Stewards tilted his head while looking at the file.
"What are you thinking? Suggesting we hire a man we know nothing about." – Leeland narrowed his eyes.
"Look at page 2. He's currently employed in one of our ammunition and weapons manufacturing factories. Despite his memory issues, the man is a brilliant engineer and has helped a lot in his short stay, not only did he help improve weapons but cut production cost and repaired many machines. I think he'd be a perfect fit in our R department as an engineer." – Swindle locked eyes with said department's leader.
"I don' like this. What if he's a spy or a criminal or some saboteur! We're talking about millions o' dollars o' research and experimental tech here!" – Malkovich growled.
"Then you can just keep an eye on him until you know he's trusty! Simple as that! But I think the results speak louder." – Swindle smirked.
"Approved. We'll send an offer soon." – Leeland put the file down after a bit more.
"But-" – Malkovich was silenced quickly.
Swindle then pulled a set of files thicker than even Ratchet's and handed them over with a bit of a strained smile.
"Now, this next candidate might be a bit… odd, but he is a genius and I think he'd help us a lot in developing the new mechs. I present to you, Shockwave!" – Swindle said.
"Shockwave? Who even is called that?" – Jhonas scoffed.
"His name is Dr. M. Agon but he prefers Shockwave. Well, he's a bit of an eccentric." – Swindle explained.
"Or batshit insane!" – Malkovich shouted.
On the file was the picture of a relatively normal-looking man with buzz cut brown hair, pale skin from lack of sunlight and a bit of an unnerving look as he stared towards the camera.
"As they say, the line between genius and insanity is very thin. Now, were was I? Yes, Shockwave, currently unemployed and living a house off the grid in California. He was a scientist but was denounced by the scientific community 2 years pre-invasion. Changed jobs multiple times but stopped working altogether after the invasion. As you can clearly see in the file, he's been charged multiple times for 'disturbance of peace' and arrested for loitering. The scientific community has denounced him for his 'radical experiments' in cybernetics and a few more fields, including medicine. He's been suspected of illegal experimentation and prosecuted for unethical animal experiments but never proven guilty. He's been banned from entering the state of Wisconsin for, and I quote, 'ungodly crimes against cheese' that resulted in the closure of 2 cheese factories for several months and caused millions of damages for the disinfection of the facilities after that. Arrested for trying to sneak into the battlefield and steal not only broken tech but also alien body parts and suspicion of dabbling with alien technology post-invasion."
"If all this is true, then why even suggest to hire such a nutjob?!" – Jhonas frowned.
"If you turn to page 5 you will see the main reason why I chose him." – Swindle smiled, his golden tooth clearly showing.
They turned to the page and their eyes widened in shock. There were a few pictures from the police station and Shockwave was there but he looked even more like a mad scientist, with long purple coat and safety goggles. There was green alien blood clearly visible on his clothes but what caught the attention were the last 3 pictures, featuring the scientist escaping the station using a very real mechanical leg to smash a hole through the wall and drive off on the built-in wheels in said leg.
"Is that-" – Malkovich stuttered.
"Yes! It is a fully-functional cybernetic leg! It is not only fully functional and mobile, but also has the power to destroy concrete walls and outspeed or out-maneuver a police car! The police couldn't catch him but we managed to find his residence in the wilderness and are keeping an eye out for any notable activity. This man is brilliant scientist, if a bit crazy, he had accomplished something companies have not been able to do in decades! Just imagine if we manage to get that mad genius working for us! He'd help us advance out mech with leaps and bounds and maybe project 'Neurolink' could become reality." – Swindle grinned.
"Where did you learn about that project?! It's supposed to be top secret!" – Malkovich pointed at Swindle.
"I have my ways." Swindle smirked at the fuming man "So, what do you say, Mr. Leeland? I think we can offer this man an offer and have him do research for us, we'd be keeping a close eye on his research and he'd share his results with us in exchange for funding and a workplace. We could use him to do research for us and use it to make profit! A win-win situation!"
"It is a good idea." – Leeland stroked his chin.
"But sir! What would the media say if we hire such a nutjob to work for us?! If they learn about what he's been doing-" – Jhonas raised his voice.
"Oh, I don't think it will be that much of a problem as long as you handle the information correctly. After all, you did start project 'Spartan' and I think the media would be way more interested in that than a mad doctor. 'MECH raising child soldiers' has way more impact as a headline. So, you just need to make sure nothing leaks out, right?" – Swindle smiled widely.
Everyone sucked in a breath and Leeland's face darkened, he glared at Swindle, so the man stepped back and lifted his hand in the air.
"Alright…" the CEO said through gritted teeth "We'll send people over after we discuss the conditions of the offer. And your plan better work, or else…" – Leeland gestured as Swindle and threatened him.
"N-noted, sir. So- for the next person…"
And so the meeting continued and in the end, 6 of the candidates accepted the job offer, Ratchet, Swerve and Shockwave being part of that number.