Now standing in a straight line wearing the highly uncomfortable battle suits Alto somehow was standing in between Kram and Amy. He tried to think of something besides Amy's naked body but nothing came to mind. "Bloody hell, our friendship is over. Amy is going to have me for life." He cried in his head, guilt overcoming him.
Officer Shirley said something to the tech experts and with the tap of a keyboard their battle suits became more fitted and streamlined. Red lines appeared at the edges of the suit, a cold wind enveloped the inside of the suit like an air conditioner making it more breathable.
"Your battle suits have now been calibrated and you vitals registered as well as your genote level. Now I want a volunteer to start the test." Officer Shirley spoke in a strict tone his eyes shutting down every hint of confidence any of them still carried.
No one dared volunteer, Kram ever the troublesome one struck Alto in the knee sending him staggering out first. Seeing this Amy ran out and made sure to be seen as the first to come out. On seeing them both again the officer frowned with contempt.
"Very well then", he turned around and walked her away leaving the others to themselves. Minutes passed giving them enough time to act their age. Some of the boys formed small groups there and spoke about the figures of their female counterparts while some of the girls discussed on various topics. Alto who never fit in any particular group stood a little distance away isolating himself from any group, his mind thinking on what Amy might be going through at the moment.
He hoped the test would not be tough, back at the orphanage centre no one had bothered to tell them what the test was about. The only thing they were thought were what constituted a mech pilot and the workings of mechs.
Kram found his way to him and spoke in a playful manner. "Yo loser, I saw you peeking at Amy. Are you a fucking pervert or something?"
"You were looking too." Alto wanted to say but stammered before he could speak. He turned to walk away but Kram grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him closer. "No Kram I don't want any trouble."
Kram like an ever present parasite found his way to him and when he was close enough he threw his arm around him and said. "Alto buddy stop making me sound like the bad guy. I just wanted to let you know that a shitty loser like you can't possibly pass in flying colours. Best you getting assigned to is maintenance squad or clean-up crew."
Alto swallows hard and mustered decades worth of courage to speak. "I'll score higher than you punk."
Kram's reaction was not one he expected as he simply smiled and pulled away gently. "My boy be growing his wings, let's see if I get to clip it in the end." With that he walked away.
A short while later the Amy returned, every eye was on her as if expecting some grandeur expression from her but she just walked up to Alto her face plain and hard to discern. Alto was frightened and he was forced to ask how things had went to which she responded.
"It was okay, I passed." It was a simple response. "Alto show them what you're made off."
Alto nodded, feeling a deep sense of reassurance he proceeded to go in next. He passed Kram who smiled with glee. Alto ignored him and walked down the hall to meet the officer. He was soon ushered into a battle room filled with a number of mannequins.
The tech experts did something on his wrist watch and frowned. He started to tap on the holographic screen in frustration and frowning even more.
The officer noticed this and asked. "What's the problem?"
The tech experts responded with a frustrated voice. "Perhaps the reading of the girl earlier caused this to glitch."
Officer Shirley growled. "Our tech doesn't glitch, what are you trying to say?"
The tech experts responded. "These readings are abnormally low."
Officer Shirley gnashed his teeth and said. "We'll begin either way." He then turned to Alto and spoke. "These battle suits are used in the field by mech pilots to monitor out vitals and also link up with mechs. The sensors in them respond to real time information. And each battle suit increases a normal humans capabilities by tenfold making them stronger and reducing the risk of getting hurt during battle. The suit you have on is an older model from the last two generations, it will amplify you abilities to at least three times that of a normal humans. We will perform a series of tests to observe your functionality with the suit and make some adjustments."
Alto was instructed to run around the huge battle room which he did. The more he ran he heavier his body felt, he expected to be racing like a blur or flying off the ground with each stride but apparently he was not. When he was done he was gasping for air and soaking in sweat. Next he was asked to punch a machine that would measure his force, it was a huge rectangle steel wall with a small rec circular plate in the middle which he struck with all his power. From the way the officer and the tech expert gave him shocked looks he could tell that they were not pleased. He gritted his teeth and focused on passing in flying colours, he needed to stand next to Amy and surpass Kram. His life depended on it.