AA-923Zaklin Changriy
Age 20, height 5’1, weight 90lb
Conviction: Voluntary Manslaughter
Behavioural: defensive insecure
Medical: no complications, integration successful
When training with the new VA1s began, Danton Pygamile had retrofitted two more on top of the prototype which he showcased on that first day. The remaining candidates had to go out in threes to get their basic instruction under McVaughn ––and Chione had been placed with Zak and Rigoletta. She was by no means thrilled by this matchup, but was happy that it wasn’t Cheshire, or even Roxie.
To avoid further disruption, the training was moved out of the prison yard and into another section of the Asphodel asteroid. This was a massive warehouse, with slated walls and ceilings for over a mile, and while the ground was somewhat levelled, it was basically the rocky terrain of the asteroid surface. High up was a viewing area behind reinforced glass, where Pygamile joined by Sheinberg were observing. But the slattern trainer was on the ground by the metal stairs. She barked orders from a microphone which carried her voice across the whole area.
“Access the cockpit by the service hatch as you would on the V92, but crucially you will seal it from the inside. Anyone trying to force their way in will be someone you don’t like, remember, so always keep it locked.”
The girls spun open the hatches, and while Zak and Rigoletta jumped down with ease, Chione was more hesitant as she lowered her legs into the darkness within. The interior was a constricting maze of wires, beams and panels, and as she crawled through she waited for a widening that never came. Instead, she arrived at the control station –– two levers with handles that jutted out from the front wall, which flanked the main screens and a reinforced porthole. As she pushed in, trying to peer at this machinery in the darkness, she bumped her head into dangling and clinking from above. She looked up. They were chains.
“What the hell––”
But then everything sprang to life. Blue screens to her side came on dotted with signals and waves–– similar to the monitors in the Vio chamber. A shock ran up her spine, making her arc her back involuntarily, before cringing forward as a flash of sweat ran down her face. Her body was trembling, and the equipment in the cockpit was reacting to her as if she were a conduit of electricity. On its own, her hand extended out. Her fingers were hovering just a centimetre from the hand of one of the levers.
A slightly fuzzy voice emitted from the control panels in front of her.
“Hey, you there? Chione?”
“Who is this? What’s going on?”
“It’s Zak,” said the voice, “and you’re probably just dealing with Vio-sickness. It gets easier each time you activate a connection with the system. You’ll get used to it.”
Chione grabbed the handle at last, pulling the lever down and causing the whole body of the machine to move. While her limbs twitched and twinged with every motion of the VA1, both external and internal, the shock of the initial connection died down. She was still in an uncomfortable kneeling position.
“Where do I sit?”
“There’s no seating in a Vio system, genius,” Zak’s voice continued. “Gee, this is why you should have taken Patch’s offer.”
“Yes, I’m sure you would have given me the best leg up,” Chione muttered, “and not sabotage me at all.”
“Ngrh,” the girl’s groan was so pronounced as to cause the audio to fry, “not like we could do that more than you do to yourself!”
This was a trial by fire. Each order McVaughn gave, the three VA1s would perform roughly at the same time ––but Chione’s would always come with a few seconds delay as she figured out which control was required for each operation. They powered up, they made the machines walk forward and back, and then they picked up the oversized rifles that would be their primary weapon. Though it wasn’t in her fingers, there was something immediate about her mech’s hand clasping over the handle and the trigger. If she closed her eyes, she could recall the rifles those thugs wielded the night of the debut.
The firing range test was simple enough, but those were non-moving targets. The VA1s turn velocity left much to be desired, while the manoeuvrability of the mechanical arms allowed for some more precision movement. While Chione managed to hit a few targets, Zak got them all.
Next up were flight tests. Each VA1 was equipped with jets and thrusters, but McVaughn had to make it very clear about when to use which, as fuel did not come cheap. Outside of the prison facility, the asteroid’s gravity was fairly weak. Further out to space, even a small push could lead to endless momentum. So for now they would keep to the warehouse.
“On three, you will engage thrusters,” the trainer said, “and hold for three then release. One.”
Chione flipped a series of switches on the forward panel.
“Two.”
Taking hold of the handles, she took in a breath. Manning this tank was one step, but piloting it like a shuttle was a whole leap on its own. If you could fly, then what couldn’t you do?
“Three!”
Chione jammed down the levers, and she joined the other two VA1s in lifting off from the ground. They propelled up, continuously ejecting flames from their feet and their hips. One second, then another, and a third.
“And off!” McVaughn shouted.
Not only did she release the thruster, Chione jerked back and let go of the controls entirely. Her machine continued to rise, buoyed by the impetus. Time slowed. She was suspended in air, her heart rising up in her chest.
Then something hit her, and she was flying sidewise.
“Aaaaaargh!”
“Whoops,” Rigoletta’s voice taunted over comm, “held too long.”
Her machine flung around, toppling over twice until it planted into the ground with an explosive crash. Chione herself was thrown back, falling into wires and metal juts towards the back of her cockpit. Her leg was grazed and her palm cut red, but nothing was punctured at least. The next voice from her comm was a garbled mess to her spinning head.
“… there? Damnit, Chione can you hear me?”
“Nngrh.”
Suffering through the sharp stabbing pain in her hand, Chione crawled back towards the front.
“I’m alive….”
“Did your harness break?” asked Zak. “No that doesn’t make sense.”
“Harness?”
“You do have the straps in there, right? They should be attached to the ceiling.”
Chione glanced up, but all she could see were the chains. Then her heart sank, and she groaned again.
“You mean the harness are those chains? You willingly lock yourself up in here?!”
“Ngrh, you just got a first-hand lesson for why you do! Do you want to be thrown around like a doll?”
“Well, how brilliant.” Chione sighed, and then with closed eyes and pursed lips, said, “now you can stop coming onto my channel.”
“Hey, asshole, I was just trying to help––”
But Zak’s last protests were cut off, as Chione simply turned another switch.
“Here’s how it’s gonna go, so listen good,” McVaughn barked at the assembled line of girls, “I won’t be repeating myself.”
It was just the nine of them now. There was Rigoletta, Vil and Roxie from the Pack, Patch and Zak from the Family, and the trio of Cheshire, Rover and Melissa –– and, somehow having scraped through, Chione. McVaughn, Danton and warden Romanoff had gathered them at the box. Through the glass, the massive enclosed arena stretched before them, and the five finished VA1s were stationed several metres apart.
“We’re gonna do this in an Emperor-of-all match,” the trainer continued. “We’ll pick two of you fine girlies at random and whoever wins stays for another challenger. If you keep winning, you stay in the game until you’ve faced everyone. If you lose, the winner takes your spot and you wait until its your turn again. We keep going until everyone has fought eight matches.”
“Only five of you can secure a place of course,” Danton said, adjusting his spectacles, “I think that indicates five wins out of eight is a passing mark.”
With a glazed look, the warden said, “can we get started already? This process has been long enough as is.”
First up was Zak versus Rigoletta. They descended into the arena, clambered into their rides and locked themselves securely within the cockpits. Zak peered through the porthole, getting a view of both the opposing VA1, and the large rifle in her mechanical arms. It wasn’t the ballistic cannon they had used in training however, but had a sleeker if more rudimentary design. Pulling her cheek, Zak decided to shift her machine’s body, and direct the barrel towards the ground. She fired, and out came a dim blue beam, which hit the surface of the asteroid floor. It left little more than a light char.
Zak blinked.
“This is… a paint gun?”
“Ah yes, you may have noticed the weapon change,” Danton’s voice carried out through the speakers. “I repurposed the design from your torite-cutting laser, so as to not harm expensive equipment during this bout. For the same reason, the excavator arm and its laser have been disabled for now.”
“Game is simple,” McVaughn said, “three hits on your opponent is a win. If you hit the core though, that’s an immediate victory.”
“Heh,” said Rigoletta in her machine, “that’s all I need to hear.”
In a fit of power, Rigoletta’s VA1 leapt forward, hurtling towards Zak. She unloaded a barrage of fire from her laser gun. Eyes widening, Zak rammed the panel to her left, while simultaneously jerking her right lever sideways. The result was her machine lurching, almost jumping to find cover behind a nearby rock. But Rigoletta’s volley was too quick. It missed the core but only by a foot. Point 1 for Rigoletta.
“Eh, got lucky,” the woman spat, “I’ll get you good.”
Zak regained her breath, as she pulled her machine to a standing position.
“Okay,” she whispered, “won’t do that again. But I bet she makes the same move twice….”
She was right. Rigoletta rushed her second attack, trying to prevent Zak’s dodging by flooding the field with beams. Zak lurched left, and Rigoletta trained her shots rightward ––just what Zak counted on. In a flash, she veered right, while sputtering off flares to spike the laser-fire. Rigoletta’s shots fully missed this time, giving Zak the chance to counter ––and strike Rigoletta right on the porthole.
“Gaaargh!” Rigoletta shouted.
“Game for Zaklin,” McVaughn declared, “Rigoletta, back of the queue! Melissa Bogdan, you’re up.”
Zaklin leant back and brushed her hands through her now-damp hair. After a few huffs, she smiled. The first battle of the entire tournament was hers –– the first fight of the VA1 too! Outside, a gruff but still poised Rigoletta jumped off the side railings of the machine onto the floor with a thud, her jacket flying about like the dust at her feet, which made the approaching Melissa seize up with tremulous eyes. The tiny girl made a very reluctant climb up the ladders, and then down the hatch into the VA1. Even with the girl inside it, the machine stayed as quiet and stiff as before.
The next battle was a wipeout. Melissa kept very guarded, and to her credit this kept her core out of reach. But with her unwillingness to attack or manoeuvre, it was all too easy for Zak to pick points off –– 1-nil, 2-nil and then game. Melissa left just as timidly as she had arrived.
Back in the box, Melissa returned just as McVaughn was sending Roxie down to be Zak’s next challenger. She shuffled past Chione, who rested on the wall with arms folded. Neither girl looked at each other, but Melissa stayed in Chione’s peripheral vision as she rejoined Cheshire and Rover. The small girl hung her head low, like a child bringing home a shoddy report from school. Chione slightly tensed, expecting some sort of reaction from Cheshire.
The older woman looked down at Melissa. Then she smiled before swooping down to steal a kiss from the smaller girl. At first Melissa’s eyes shot open, but then they lowered as she eased into the melding of their mouths. Chione stiffly swallowed, but made every effort not to acknowledge it. Finally Cheshire broke from the kiss, a thin string of saliva still stretched from her tongue to Melissa’s.
“You’re still my good girl,” she said in a sultry hush, “I’m sure you’ll do better next in the next fight.”
“I-I will,” Melissa said, with sudden boldness despite her body trembling with excitement. “I’ll do my best, mommy!”
Zak beat Roxie, leading to a three-game streak. But the red-head returned to the box with an upbeat step and a smile
“What’s got you happy?” asked Vil, who like Chione was resting against a wall.
“Just… hehe,” Roxie gave a small laugh, “oooh, Zaklin’s damn good. I nearly had her though. I wonder….”
In the meantime, Patch was sent down to be challenger number four. Having been locked up in her cockpit for over an hour now, Zak was engulfed in her own moist breath, and her skin swam with sweat. But she felt the drive within her ––there was no slowing down, even now. She couldn’t remember this feeling ––the tingling just below her chest, tickling back towards her spine. It wasn’t just winning, match after match. It was more like the title suggested –– she was Emperor of All. Out of the scores of people who had attempted training, and of the handful who had made it this far, she might be the best. She would just have to keep on winning.
“Guess we gotta fight each other,” Patch said over comm.
That was a bucket of cold water on Zak. As she breathed heavily to regain lost air from the fight, she glanced over to the comm, and then to the forward panel showing the opponent’s heat signature. She gave a sigh.
“I have three wins already,”she reasoned, “perhaps I could let you––”
Patch cut across quickly, “no, I know what you’re gonna say but no. You gotta give me your best, Zak. I’ll be giving mine.”
“But…. Alright. See you on the other side, Patch.”
It was a quick match. Patch did gain an early advantage –– since Zak was so exhausted, she wasn’t as prompt on the match-start. Patch used the thrusters, gaining height and so nullifying any cover. But Zak then got her first point, then a second. Then after launching herself up, and fighting a brief tussle mid-air, she landed that final hit on Patch’s frame.
“Out!” McVaughn rapped over the speaker, “Patricia, get your ass back here. Fridge, you’re up.”
Zak leant back, wiping a hand down her face, though it did little for the film of sweat on her forehead. If Patch had won, she’d have been happy to take the break there, and hopefully let her rack up some wins. But now she was up with four victories, and needed one more to secure her spot.
Taking a firm grip of the lever handles, she found herself smiling, as through the hole she saw Chione Eosides climbing down into her VA1. After this week –– after the whole time Chione had been here–– Zak was downright waiting for this.
She was going to knock this stuck-up girl down.
“Three, two, one!”
Immediately Chione fired, unloading a wide salvo of beams, trying to catch Zak on the draw and prevent her from dodging even if she didn’t. But Zak launched up into the air, escaping each hit. Chione tried to follow, but her weapon overheated and jammed. Zak cut thrusters and let the gravity pull her down, hone the shot, then fired. Though Chione tried to drive forward, the hit landed on her flank, giving one point to Zak.
The second bout was the same. Having a better sense of the controls, Chione pushed forward in her attack. Zak dodged and deflected, pulling back while always facing her. The moment the silver haired girl faltered in her pursuit, Zak counterattacked hard, and won the second point.
“Not so smug now,” Zak whispered, never letting the VA1 opposite out of her sight through the porthole.
In her cockpit, Chione breathed heavily, feeling her heart pound as she returned to the starting lines and awaited McVaughn’s last countdown. At 2-0, she sure to lose. She’d never be able to wear Zak down before she’d hit her a third time, leaving her with very few options. Chione steadied her breath, and took a hold of the levers in front of her. She had come this far. At this point, she could only countenance two options –– victory, or death. If she were to lose, she might at well lose hard.
“One!” McVaughn shouted, and the girls was off again.
Chione fired all-out once more. Zak was quick to dodge, jumping up into the air. Chione fired and fired, once again heat was filling up the barrel and steam ejected from the seams. Then, once again, her weapon stopped, and the flying VA1 swooped down again, taking aim. The grounded machine was a sitting duck, exposed to the oncoming laser.
“Heh,” chuffed Chione. “Gotcha.”
She lifted her rifle again, took one microsecond to aim, and fired. In a flash, the laser shot out, and hit right into Zak’s core. With that, Chione slammed on the thrusters and yanked herself out of the way, as Zak’s VA1 wheeled around just in time to hit the ground on its feet. It whirled again, shoving its rifle into Chione’s face.
Zak grit her teeth, staring down the sights with quivering eyes. Chione’s gun hadn’t overheated.
“You… you...”
“3-2,” Chione said, before switching her comm off.