Daedalus 24 M1 - Term: 1, Round: 1

House Thoth, Squad Zero

M1 Rank: ?/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null

Term: 1, Round: 1

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At 0600 every morning Daedo ran the obstacle course in his bodysuit. It was the ranked physical training objective. The current course would end this Friday and only one time would count, giving him four more days to set his best time. The Academy would then design and construct a new course, which would open the following Monday and run for two weeks. The first term was ten weeks, this cycle repeated five times. Each two-week cycle was known as a round.

The compet.i.tion to set a compet.i.tive time, and gain a good rank, far outweighed its actual merit across all ten subjects. Where most subjects had ambiguous ranking outcomes. Physical Training, Piloting and Gunnery had easily identifiable markers.

All cadets competed ferociously on the obstacle course and the gauntlet. Barran was currently ranked third and would give his left nut to be ranked first. Only he and Mace, from Thoth, were below forty minutes.

In the evenings, at 1800, Thoth squad zero completed the Gauntlet. This course was conducted in their exos with weapons and pseudo scripted AI non-player enemies. Where the obstacle course was pure physical training, the Gauntlet was Piloting, Gunnery and as Daedo interpreted it, it was also testing Tech Studies and Strategy. Right now, most of the squad members of Thoth squad zero had an advantage. Their exos were much faster and agile than the rest of M1.

The goal in the Gauntlet was to capture several flags which could accrue points, take down enemies, and the event was timed. A cadet's performance in time and kills to complete the flag captures was calculated based on the designers weighting. The cadets were given a score based on the weighting from the scenario's criteria.

Their first scenario had zero points for kills, it was all about time. So if a cadet wanted to avoid the enemy AI and just capture flags around the circuit, they could do just that. Speed was all that mattered. Of course, if you were killed by the enemy AI you immediately achieved a DNF for the attempt. And M1 cadets were only permitted one attempt per day. Ten total for the round.

For the first week, Daedo did not even bother trying for a good score in the Gauntlet. He merely mapped it and studied the enemy AI travel paths, reactions, communications with other AI and their sensory capability.

Most importantly of these were their reactions. If he did trigger their awareness to his presence how would they act, move and signal each other? His score from the first week was an abysmal fifty because he never attempted a score. Mace had the best score from his squad with two hundred and sixteen, she was ranked eleventh in M1 across all Houses. Barran's score of two hundred and fourteen had him ranked thirteenth.

The scores between two hundred and two hundred and twenty were packed with the elite cadets of M1. Vannier had a score of two hundred and two; she was ranked in the fifties.

Daedo was not concerned. Only his score at the end of the fortnight would matter. He could have zero and score two hundred on the last Friday attempt, and it would be the only score that mattered. Now that Mace, Axelzero, Picard and Vannier had new exos, he was certain their points and rankings would rise. A mobility factor of one point six was a simplified conversion of their exos speed, acceleration and agility. It was superior to a standard Mesh which had a mobility factor of one point five.

Gauntlet Score R1 A5 Squad Rank M1 Rank

Daedo 50 7 1260

Barran 214 2 13

Gaumont 126 6 845

Picard 201 4 57

Axelzero 195 5 72

Vannier 202 3 55

Mace 216 1 11

R1 was round one for the term. A5 was the cadets best score after the fifth attempt.

It was his sixth attempt, Deado and Myrmidon had a wealth of information on the Gauntlet, and while Daedo did not have time himself to devise and come up with more than basic strategies, Myrmidon would be able to accurately predict where enemy AIs would be at any time.

Daedo's preferred weapons were either not suitable or not available. The large two-handed vibro sword lance was not suited for a fast time especially when enemies were dispatched so easily using a conventional a.s.sault rifle. The improved medium range rail gun would not be ready for weeks, so he just went with one of the many popular conventional a.s.sault rifles available.

A countdown timer ringed through his ears as his helmet displayed the seconds remaining before entering AR environment. As soon as it reached zero, and a long beep, Daedo sped off to the northeast and scrambled up a building. Although it took extra time to scale a building, he could use his jumpjets to traverse the rooftops and avoid more than twenty enemy AIs on his way to the first flag.

With the first flag beneath his position, after skimming twelve buildings, he jumped off, using his jumpjets to cus.h.i.+on his fall while firing upon the three enemy AIs in the small base which protected the flag. The base consisted of sandbags, barbed wire and formed a square with one gate. Daedo flew over the fence and directly into the one hundred and sixty square meter base. He knew the other enemy AI would not be alerted, they were too far and their sensors were focused outwards, not back towards the base.

Flag one down, he used the strength of his new exo to push through the wire fence heading northwest. This time he kept to the streets as the buildings were s.p.a.ced too far apart and he wanted to conserve his jumpjet's remaining runtime. Because of the increased weight of the exo and the fact that neither the jumpjets nor the reactor were upgraded he knew the jumpjets could only run for twenty-two seconds out of every ten minutes. Which was horrid and needed drastic improvement. Myrmidon would control the energy flow and attempt to extend this time through reduced energy supply when it was not required.

However, the eight-second drop in runtime was more than made up for by the increased speed of the exo. Which was permanent. It also jumped further, and he had one working grappler with a twenty-meter range. He had three replacement tips on his leg as he would not be stopping to retrieve them he effectively had four grappler uses until he was out of hooks.

His first grappler attempt was on the bridge where three enemy AI guarded the crossing. Daedo aimed for a cross beam at the peak of the structure of the bridge and pulled himself up ten meters and swung while shooting the enemy with his left hand. He wasn't the best shot with his left, nor while swinging on the polymer cord, but Myrmidon a.s.sisted with a crosshair which made it much easier than it would have been with no target a.s.sist. Daedo didn't even bother to look for the enemy, he merely shot at the crosshair until it disappeared and then moved his aim to the next.

He released the grappler and fired his jumpjets for an extra second to fly off and forward at the height of ten meters off the ground. He trusted his exo to withstand the impact of the fall. His legs were pumping with hydraulic fluid up hundreds of fibre vessels, which supported his feet, knees, groin and hips. Even his back and neck were supported.

Daedo was not as fast as Barran normally, but Barran had chosen the heavy exo and now they had upgraded their lights there was no way he could compete. Perhaps later in the year cadets would swap out their heavies for mesh in the Gauntlet, but at this stage, they needed all the practice they could get. Not to mention they ploughed through the enemy head-on, this tactic would not work in a mesh unless they were crack shots taking out enemies before taking much damage.

He closed in on the second flag. This one was in a bunker, he cleared the outside three enemy AIs, and while he skirted the outside of the bunker, he dropped in two grenades which would take care of the three enemy AIs within. The enemy shouted aggressively during combat, otherwise, they did not scream in pain or surprise, he pondered this nuance as the frag grenades decimated the three NPCs within the bunker.

Daedo slid into the rear entrance, captured the flag by waiting in situ for ten seconds without taking fire and by switching two imaginary automated defence systems off. In reality, the automated defence controls did nothing within the simulation, it was just a feature of capturing the flag. Daedo would have preferred they actually did something like turn off turrets and drones. Perhaps this would be a feature in the upcoming Gauntlet next week or later in the term.

After capturing the second point, he ran directly south, with only one short detour west when crossing the river. Using his grappler and jumpjets, Daedo was able to cross the river at the most effective location rather than taking a detour to a bridge.

The third flag location was heavily guarded with enemy AI, but Deado did not head directly to it, he approached the windy laneways to the northwest of the flag. He dumped four grenades into a small group of defenders and then headed back east. The alarm raised and the noise of the grenades drew all the defenders from their base out in a stream to investigate and attack any enemy they could find.

Unlucky for them Daedo knew exactly where they would head and how they would get there. Myrmidon guided him south after he had run far enough east and into the enemies unguarded base.

He hurried as fast as he could to capture the point, he had not alerted any guards until the capture was complete and he sprinted west before any could return. If he had any traps, he could drop them, but alas, it was not something he carried, yet. Daedo imagined electrified nets exploding from a mine. Or even a simple laser lattice or a mimic which looked and sounded like him.

Traps were definitely on the RnD agenda, now he had the freedom to fight any way he pleased a more diverse a.r.s.enal would suit his strategic play style.

Myrmidon: pay attention, you are headed into the path of two hostiles which are marked. Unless you have a plan, that I am unaware of.

Daedo: no I was daydreaming about ingenious traps.

Myrmidon: Sometimes I think I am unfortunate that I cannot "daydream" and other times I think not.

Daedo: I am going direct, keep up the good work with target prediction and a.s.sist. It has been spectacularly accurate.

Myrmidon: of course, what do you expect?

Myrmidon overlayed the AR environment with a see-through red enemy to show predicted positions behind buildings and travel paths. The AI also marked Daedo's minimap. Other than target a.s.sist Myrmidon was managing the flow rates into the jumpjets to eek every possible second of runtime out of them. Taking what was twenty-two seconds and extending it to almost thirty by reducing power when it was not needed to achieve the objective.

Daedo used his grapple and a second of jumpjet to make a left-hand turn at speed, and if an AI could be surprised the enemy NPCs would have been.

He flew over them firing down at their heads. His speed alone increased their inaccuracy, and if they were actual human players, they would have been surprised as well. But robots did not care, they acquired a target and fired. Nothing was predictable nor surprising to them.

Daedo wondered if this was a strength. Even the fact he was flying upside down it did not disturb them. Between the motion of his grappler from his right hand, he took purchase on a building's cornerstone on his left, at first he used the grapple to pull himself up and towards the building, but when he fired his jumpjets, he somersaulted. Adding the somersault to the twist as he turned his right side towards the building he ended up flying upside down when he pa.s.sed the enemy AI. He fired downwards at their heads and backs whilst pa.s.sing before coming full circle and landing and skidding on all fours, stopping in the centre of a crossroads past their position.

He turned left again and ran west at full speed. The only enemy AI he had to kill were directly in front of him, the rest were too far away to be alerted or to arrive in time.

The most effective range of the a.s.sualt Rifle he used was twenty to thirty meters, although it could kill from further, it was difficult if your target was moving. And the damage past thirty meters was reduced significantly due to the inability to hit with a cl.u.s.ter. With his level of skill in any case. Picard or Vannier could probably eek an extra ten meters of effective range out of the weapon.

The urban landscape of this scenario suited the range of this weapon as the buildings kept enemy combatants at short range most of the time. When they were in the line of sight, the scenario did not have many NPCs placed on rooftops or from sniper positions.

Daedo dispatched the last three NPCs without taking much damage. With Myrmidon's a.s.sistance and his speed, he avoided being swarmed by fifteen enemy AI which is what can happen at this flag. He did this by taking out the AI which were sure to aggro on his travel path to the flag while avoiding those which were out of aggro range or would arrive too late to prevent him from capturing and escaping. A slower heavy mech did not have this luxury.

The last flag was in an open courtyard and was quite literally a flag on a pole. Daedo pulled it down and replaced it with a House Thoth flag as the scenario dictated. It did not matter that once he left an enemy could simply change it back, and what did a piece of cloth achieve anyway? It was probably included for nostalgic reasons he figured.

If he designed this map, he would have had snipers or at least robot sentry guns on the surrounding buildings. But then he realised, he would not actually protect a piece of cloth with snipers if this was a real situation.

Once the flag was captured the enemy, AI were not deactivated, and he still had to make it back to the starting position which was now his home point.

Daedo used every single ounce of power left for his jumpjets and his last grapple to clear the line of buildings. He ran across them jumping under his own and the exos power from building to building in a direct line towards his home point. When the gap became too large, he dive rolled from the building. He was fast enough to leave the enemy AI behind, if he was slower, it was quite possible he would had to fight three or six more.

Although his exo had a mobility factor of one point six, this was an enhancement of his own speed. Which, as everyone knew, was not up to scratch with the elite cadets. Daedo just hoped his investigation, planning and strategy allowed him to surpa.s.s the physically superior cadets.

He arrived back to the home point out of breath having used all his grenades, grapple hooks and jumpjet runtime. He had given it his all.

Although enemy kills did not give a score in this scenario, it was clear that in others they did, or possibly a deduction for missed enemies. Which meant that although this scenario was purely based on the time to complete it was still given a score upon completion.

Daedo moved from almost last place with a score of fifty to second with a score of two hundred and thirty-nine. He was ranked first for Thoth and second overall in M1, on his first serious attempt. Even Mace, Vannier, Axelzero and Picard with their updated exos did not beat him, although they had improved significantly as well.

Gauntlet Score R1 A6 Squad Rank M1 Rank (1275)

Daedo 239 1 2

Barran 216 6 17

Gaumont 139 7 822

Picard 229 4 7

Axelzero 222 5 10

Vannier 232 3 5

Mace 233 2 4

Thoth Squad zero now had five cadets in the top ten. It sent shockwaves through the entire M1 year and possibly caused talk amongst the others. It was not unheard of for a squad to perform exceedingly well in overall rankings. However, they were Thoth, and this was the Gauntlet. Thoth was expected to and often held five of the top ten places for subjects like Maths and Physics, not a combat orientated activity.

Barran was beside himself. "This thing is a handicap!" he indicated his still standard heavy exo.

"It won't be long before you get a faster, stronger and better-armoured version," Vannier responded. "Stop being a baby."

"But…it's not fair!" Barran continued to bawl.

"You just don't like being rank six in the squad, you are used to being first or second," Axelzero noted.

"I also slipped to seventeenth overall….wait…will my exo be ready by Friday?" Barran approached Daedo and grabbed his arm. "Please tell me yes, please."

"Aren't you in charge of its manufacture?" Daedo asked in return.

"Yes, and it should be, I just want you to guarantee it," Barran implored him.

"There are no guarantees in war Barran. But you should be excited. If you achieved a score of two sixteen in that piece of junk imagine what you will do with the improved model." Daedo answered.

Barran still looked downcast. After a few seconds past, he lifted his head and beamed, "I am going to invest all my remaining creds into new machines. What is it we need, injection moulds and a type four foundry?

After a minute of contemplation. "Type four if it is. .h.i.tachi make," Daedo specified, "they are the best for our needs."

"What about the injection moulding machine?" Barran asked.

"I will get my father to send you a link, he would probably want something very specific in terms of the base unit and the head itself," Daedo answered.

"You know we will need creds for materials too," Vannier added.

"We should all put in another thousand to purchase materials, Daedo has been spending his own creds up until now," Axelzero said.

"Bitcreds are easy to come by," Daedo said waving the comment away, "a good exo is not."

Vannier noticed Gaumont hanging at the back, head downcast, he was the only member of their squad outside of the top twenty and languis.h.i.+ng at rank eight hundred or so. She hoped the actual proof of cooperation leading to success would sink into his thick skull.