Chapter 4 – Construct-ion time

 

                Matt stepped into the machine the looked suspiciously like a MRI that someone stood on end. He was told to wear and carry everything he would normally fight with, so it became a tight fit. The rigid sections of his armor didn’t do well in what was essentially a tube less than a meter in diameter. Still, after adjusting the way his rifle hung in front of him, he was able to close the door. Another warm, amber light started moving down from above him, this time without the pain of the previous experience. It worked its way down over the course of a few minutes before retracting back to the ring above him.

                A soft chime sounded, and the door popped open, allowing Matt to step out. He looked over to the monitor next to the machine and saw the results of the scan come rolling in. The display showed what looked like a mech made of a golden wire frame, generating from top to bottom. Theil explained that the construct would be modeled after him using the same system-based invasion of privacy. After the frame completed, Theil entered a command and the large pad in the open area of the hangar started to glow.

                “Matt, I assume you wish to get the most out of this as possible?” Theil asked and got a nod. “Then its going to cost a significant sum of money. About one point three billion to be exact.”

                “Holy fuck!” Matt gasped. “Are we making a mech or a battleship.” He looked to Tobias who just shrugged and gave a thumbs up. Clearly, he didn’t care but wanted to see the results.

                Theil looked at Matt with an odd expression. “Its neither, this is your construct. Are you feeling alright?”

                “Yeah, yeah, just do it.” Matt said. “I don’t have anything else to spend it on anyway.” Theil input the amount of credits into the display and hit the enter button, confirming the choice.

                All eyes were on the glowing light, even Edmond got up from the lounge chair he had parked himself in to come watch. “Would it be possible for me to purchase that lovely chair and the remainder of that bottle from you?” he asked Tobias. “The whiskey was delightful, and the Lay Zee Boy is simply divine.”

                Tobias looked over to him and just smiled before saying. “Tell you what, you can have both chairs and all the drinks we have. Hell, take the whole liquor cabinet. Consider it a small thank you for all your help today.”

                Edmond looked shocked, his eyes getting a little misted around the edges. “Thank you! This is truly an amazing gift, and one I will not forget as long as I live. I shall spread tales of your generosity amongst our people, and all shall know of your sacrifice.”

                Tobias laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Haha, it’s no trouble at all, I don’t need them, and I know it will all go to a good home. The drinks are top shelf too, I recommend you take the book labeled “Everyday Cocktails” as well. It’s a good primer and there is more to the art of drinking than just a glass with ice. Matt might disagree but that’s his loss.”

                Just as they finished their side bar, the glowing light receded, and Matt got his first good look at his construct. Clad in bare metal with a black sub layer, it stood upright on digitigrade legs, toping 7 meters in height. The head was an angular shape, reminiscent of his own helmet but slightly longer with a couple antennas poking out the top. The eyes were a series of camera lenses hidden behind clear diamond shaped protective coverings. The body of the construct had an angular torso with hard sided pouches around the waist, matching the ones on Matt’s armor. Arms, articulated just like humans, were attached at the shoulders, and ended in five fingered hands. There was something that looked like muscle under the standoff armor plates on the upper and lower sections.

                The leg sections were robust in design with the same muscle and armor arrangement as the arms. The triple jointed legs looked like they were built for explosive speed and stability over static defense. The foot pads were large, and spade shaped, appearing to have fold out sections, likely to reduce ground pressure. Attached to the upper thigh was an identical tomahawk to the one that Matt had, only this one was much bigger.

                Matt then saw the gun. He called is a gun because something that large could not be classified as a rifle despite it looking very similar to his own. He guessed the bore to be over 20 millimeters in diameter and it had an odd design to the rear end. Instead of a traditional stock assembly, it had what looked to be a clamp on the end of a L shaped extension. Probably because the optics were slaved to the pilot interface and didn’t need a traditional cheek weld.

                “What are you waiting for? Come take a closer look and I can open the interface for you.” Theil said as he walked toward the construct. “This area is technically a forge so we can make some alterations but not many due to System limitations. But you will need to make a couple selections before we move on to additional purchases.”

                They walked forward and Theil pulled up another monitor set alongside the pad which the construct was standing on. As Tobias and Edmond inspected the mech, Matt opened the menu, and it displayed information about his construct.

Construct Forge Interface

<Unnamed>

Class: Skirmisher

Armor Points: 500/500

Energy Points: 500/500

Equipment:

Defense Slots: 1/1 – Composite Standoff Armor (Rare)

Weapon Slots: 2/2 – 25mm Auto Cannon (Rare), Tomahawk (Uncommon)

Utility Slots: 1/1 – Advanced Sensor Suite (Rare)

Construct Core Enhancement: 0/1 – N/A

                It looked straight forward to Matt, armor and energy values based on his own stats except multiplied by 10. He clicked the items in each of the slots to open them to read the details.

Composite Standoff Armor (Rare)

This armor is made from a titanium alloy designed to provide protection against physical damage but lacking against directed energy weapons. Tie down loops allow the pilot to attach secondary concealment methods. Enchantments: Self repair.

25mm Auto Cannon (Rare)

A cannon chambered for 25x130mm, designed to engage targets out to 3000 meters. Capable of firing a wide variety of ammunition, currently limited to Armor Piercing Explosive (APE). Ammunition is fed at a rate of 250 rounds per minute from 50 round magazines. Enchantments: Self Repair, Affinity Imbuement.

Advanced Sensor Suite (Rare) (Upgradeable)

The pilot interface allows for the use of cameras in multiple spectrums. Pilot may toggle between daylight, Infrared and thermal. Includes rear view overlay and allows access to high power communications equipment. Enchantments: Self Repair.

                “What’s the Construct Core?” Matt asked.

                “Each construct contains a core that is soul bound to the pilot. Once you bind yourself to the core, you will have complete access to its systems. If a pilot dies and his constructs core remains intact, it may be bonded to a new user if they take the pilot class.” Theil said as a rather sad look grew on his face. “Some pilots hunt others for their cores to gain power, letting their core absorb that of the fallen construct. The cores can have a bad reaction to this and may lead to the new pilot going insane as it corrupts them in a final act of vengeance.”

                Matt thought that was a pretty shitty thing to do. Why would people try to steal cores when there were other, more dangerous things to deal with. “That sounds awful. What is a core enhancement?” he asked, trying to pivot away from the topic.

                Theil then explained that much like a perk, he would select an enhancement for his construct core. As Matt, and by extension his construct, grew in power, he would open more slots for his construct’s equipment. Matt tapped the blinking line for Core Enhancement and read through the options. Again, just like his perk, they didn’t have rarity assigned and seemed to be tailored to him. After reviewing the list of options, he narrowed it down to two choices.

Awakened Core

The core of this construct has a dormant sentience that waits to be harnessed. The personality of the cores may vary but they are always subservient to their original pilot. Benefits vary based on the individual construct. May have adverse effects on mentality.

War Cry

The core of this construct contains a great power that is concealed by its frame. Emit a pulse of energy that can cause enemies to be stunned or flee at a glimpse of your true power. Energy recharges over time, cooldown and power based on grade.

                Matt thought about it. He liked the War Cry option, but it was redundant to his trait. It wasn’t a bad thing to have a backup, but he needed a broad level of power now, rather than doubling down on one niche aspect. In the end he had to pick Awakened Core, despite not knowing exactly how that worked. He made his choice then looked back at Theil for the next steps.

                “Ready for this?” Theil asked. Matt nodded as he was led to a pedestal that raised from the floor with a familiar looking stone atop it. “You know what to do next.” Matt reached out to touch the stone, bracing for more pain.

 

                Pain was expected, perhaps some slight discomfort or maybe a tingling. Instead of any of that, Matt got a System window popping up in his vision.

Do you wish to begin the bonding process with your construct and its core?

                Matt agreed and was surprised to see the mech kneel, the front of the chest armor opening in three segments, one on the bottom and two on top. Getting the feeling he was supposed to climb in, he walked forward and to look inside. The reflective, white interior was set up like the mechs he was familiar with from Earth. There was the main seat with what appeared to be manual controls as well as a secondary seat located behind and above, the classic tandem orientation. There was ample room around the seats with some storage and tie down points along the walls. A prompt once again appeared before him.

Take a seat, Pilot.

                This message seemed different from the previous ones. The other System messages he received had a light air to them, neutral if not friendly in their nature. This message, while not overtly hostile, had an odd quality to it, more like the welcome your family gives you when you visit for a holiday. Matt didn’t delay any longer, putting on his helmet and climbing in. He sat in the pilot chair resting his arms and leg in the proper spots, noticing the lack actual controls for his hands and feet. Just as he settled, clamps extended out from the chair and locked onto his armor panels. He felt a probe touch the contact point at the base of his neck heard a click. His vision shifted as a new overlay was projected onto his retinas, showing the camera’s view from the eye lenses. Then the front hatch snapped shut and plunged him into total darkness.

                A rumbling voice spoke into his head, not through his helmet speakers but in his mind. “Hello, Pilot.” The voice said, a definite masculine tone to it. “What is your name?”

                “Matt Shultz.” Matt said out loud.

                “Hmm, Matt. You are an interesting one.”  The voice hummed in his head before saying over his helmet speakers. “While we can speak out loud, you can also speak directly to me with your mind. Do not worry, I can’t read your thoughts. Well, I can read the surface ones that control movement and speak intent, but nothing deeper.”

                “Ok. Something like this then?” Matt responded with his mind, hoping he got it right.

                “Yes, exactly.” The voice continued in his mind once more. “Do you wish to form the bond now? There isn’t much else you can do without it.”

                “Yes”

                “Stand by, this will be… odd.” The voice said just as Matts senses faded away to nothing.

 

                Matt regained awareness, once again not knowing where he was or how he got there. This time was different than previous experiences, he had complete control over his body and there were motes of light floating around him. Out of the void between the lights came a figure, walking towards him. The figure was nearly identical to his construct only scaled down to match in height with Matt. It stopped a meter away and looked at him for a moment before speaking.

                “It was a rather bold decision to awaken me before creating the soul bond with the core.” It spoke. Matt immediately recognized the voice as that of his construct. “Especially not knowing what would happen when you did.”

                “To be fair, it seemed like a good decision to me.” Matt responded.

                “Oh, it was a good call to be sure. Now we can do this properly, with consent from both of us. I’m sure the System will appreciate that, its all-in favor of consent after all.” The figure laughed.

                Matt had to chuckle at that given his circumstances. “So, what is your name anyway?”

                “What makes you think I have one? By my understanding, pilots always seem to pick some silly name for their constructs on their own.”

                Matt thought for a moment before responding. “Well, you are clearly a person. An individual I mean. I’m sure you would like to at least choose your own name rather than end up with something you hate.”  Matt had to admit, with how the construct acted, he would have assumed it had a name already to match its mature personality.

                “Well truth be told I have a name already, well kinda. My core was named by the system when it was created but, I’m not really a fan of it. The system gave me the title Horizons’ Vanguard. Its etching itself onto the hull just above the hatch as we speak.” The construct replied. “If I were to name myself it would probably be a fragment of my actual name.”

                Matt had to think about that. Hor is definitely out, for obvious reasons. Can’t just call him vanguard. After a couple minutes of thinking, it clicked. “What about Van?”

                “Van. I like it.” The construct or Van as he was known now said with an uplift in his tone. “It’s short, unassuming, a real name, and doesn’t sound like something made up by a pretentious ass-hat. Thank you, Matt.”

                Matt laughed out loud. Van certainly had personality that Matt liked right off the bat. “Well, I’m glad you like it since I suck at names.”

                “Yes, well we should complete the soul bond. We will have plenty of time to talk in the future.” Van reached out his hand to Matt. “Don’t worry, it’s all instinct at this point.”

                Matt took the offered hand and felt a warmth spreading along his spine, behind his heart. He was lost in the sensation when the void slowly faded, taking Van’s avatar with it. He found himself back in his seat, nothing having changed. The clamps released from his armor and the hatched opened back to the world outside.

Matt climbed out, returning to the monitor showing his construct. He selected the additional options and input the commands for his paint scheme which was applied by some magical means. He decided to make it match his own armor with striping in light green and dark browns.  As an added touch, he painted the engraved name plate the matte grey of the bare metal with the lettering done in matte black.

 

 

                After Matt had bonded with Van and finished the paint job, the group went over to yet another terminal. Theil prompted the terminal, and it produced their class starter equipment. Matt had been excited about what came with his class but ended up being extremely disappointed. The starter gear looked to be made at in the late 1800’s, the revolver that was part of the pilot class was a black powder cartridge gun and while well made, was far inferior to his equipment. Other than the potions they got, none of it was useful. Theil then broke out some good news, telling them that they could purchase separate equipment.

                Tobias got himself a tablet and then spent a large portion of his funds by downloading every design, journal, and textbook he could from Earth. This came at the cost of billions of credits, but the information would be priceless to him and his Forge Master class. He also bought some information from the System. The books he bought had a very familiar yellow and black cover with a slightly insulting title. Matt was for sure going to borrow the copy of “How the System Works for Idiots”. They both ended up with storage items. Each was a ring that once attuned to, has a surprising amount of space within.

Storage Ring (Common)

A spatial storage device with an internal volume of 15m cubed. Ring allows for the storage of anything that the user can pick up and fits within the size restriction. Items in storage remain in stasis unless otherwise stated.

                They purchased some high-quality rations and camping equipment, immediately storing the items in their rings along with what they had integrated earlier. Matt also bought some tools to use in preparing fighting positions such as a shove, saw and shears. Tobias then asked a very important question. A question that nobody could ever forget to ask, especially after getting an awesome class and a giant mech.

                “So, what can you tell us about where we are going?” Tobias asked Theil.

                “The planet you will be going to is currently locked into its introduction phase. Sadly, you have missed the Tutorial, as it only lasts 3 weeks. We also can’t guarantee you will enter near one of the population centers since they haven’t officially established their territories yet.” Theil explained as Matt and Tobias shopped. “What I have been authorized to give you is a waymark to the nearest proto city, that will point you in the right direction.”

                Matt thought that was a bit of a cop out by the System, but it would give him time to get used to his class and working with Van. By the sounds of it, they would be placed in a location that was safe for their arrival but no guarantees for how long. With that in mind, he purchased some additional healing items. The potions were limited in quality until they had passed certain phases of the introduction. Theil said it was because the system wanted to push the new initiates to develop farther on their own, rather than relying on access to the system store and the Exchange.

                Theil spoke as Matt and Tobias finished their preparations. “This is where we part ways for now. I will be monitoring your progress and managing your accounts while you are in System. Most likely I will be seeing you in another six months or so, after a couple planetary events.” He then looked to Edmond, giving the floor to him.

                Edmond walked forward and handed Matt a small black bound book. “This has a lot of the answers I promised you. Sorry I can’t answer your questions in person, but I will be sure to visit you when I am able.” He then looked over to Tobias. “Tobias, it was a pleasure getting to know you. I thank you again for your generous gifts and -” He was cut off by Tobias.

                “Hey man, just call me Toby. We are friends now and only my mom calls me Tobias anymore.” He said and gave him a firm handshake and a pat on the shoulder. “Next time I see you, drinks are on you though. Alright?”

                Edmond just laughed and said. “You expats crack me up. It’s a deal Toby. Make sure to drag Matt along too.”

                Matt and Tobias climbed into the mech giving a wave as the hatch sealed itself shut. They were both strapped in with Matts view from the mechs eyes being projected onto his retina and Toby powering on an auxiliary viewing screen to see the outside world. Matt then instinctively urged his mech to stand, the connection perfect, a flawless replication of his neural commands. He looked to Theil and Edmond before nodding, the head of the mech nodding along. Theil waved his hand and with that, Matt and Tobias were bathed in amber light once again.