"Do I really have to use this thing just to walk around?", Julian scratched his head.
"Planet X10-254-L2's planetary characteristics are currently hazardous for the successor to explore. Avina will continue after you have entered the EC-101 mecha suit."
"Tell me how you cracked my language then..."
Julian stepped on the stable metal plates positioned above the mecha suit's knees, inserted both his hands into the ring slots connecting the upper limbs, and aligned his head with the mecha's large round metal helmet.
"The successor's memories were accessed for us to understand the language the successor uses for communication."
Julian's heart rushes its beating, buried memories flashing past his vision. 'Did they find something else there?'
"Avina is detecting a surge of worriness from the successor. Rest assured that Avina does not know anything sensitive about the successor."
"Then who else does?"
"That would be Intellus but Avina is not bound to say anything more. If the successor has questions, the successor may redirect them into Intellus."
Avina directs the operation of the mechanisms, leaving Julian to wait for her to finish.
"Hey Avina, since you accessed my memories, you must have known about my crewmates. Did you find them?"
"Avina did not see anyone near the successor's body during the rescue."
'So they are either dead or alive out there... I hope they didn't barge into this territory.', Julian hoped for a better outcome. 'I will find them once my business here is done.'
The back of the mecha closed, encasing him inside a quiet environment.
There was a minuscule amount of heat emanating on his back but the presence of the spandex suit nullified it after a while.
"The successor has successfully integrated himself into the EC-101 mecha suit. Initiating the virtual neural interface." Avina sounded more robotic inside the mecha suit. "It shall display the EC-101's specifications in a simplified version."
PMS-EC-101. A piloted mecha suit designed for terra explorations, powered by a miniature nuclear fission reactor fueled by U-Rods. It had a variety of functions including ore mining, object scanning, and a subspace storage device to store harvested and other materials. Equipped with a vertical plasma thruster, the mecha suit could travel for several kilometers in just a few minutes.
"What's this subspace storage in the EC-101, Avina?"
Avina paused before responding, "The subspace storage can store materials in a digitalized manner and can be retrieved later. The blue proto insects will take the responsibility of storing materials extracted externally."
"The EC-101 suit also has a pressurization system fully capable of always ensuring the safety of the pilot's body pressure."
"Can the energy core be recharged?" Julian stared at the energy column.
"The core can be alternatively recharged using any other energy source, including solar."
Julian was satisfied with the EC-101's specifications despite its lack of combat capabilities. 'This is comparable to the Federation's 4th Generation mechs, or the Machina's 2nd generation cyber recon mechs. Those techs are old, but they sure are handy as hell.'
"The virtual neural interface, I'm the only one who can see it, yeah?" Julian closes the interfaces after reading everything.
The mechs in the Federation also had similar interfaces but they were integrated into the mech's visor rather than directly into the user's head.
"The successor is correct. The VNI was internally installed within the successor's body during reconstruction a month ago. You may access it even if you are not inside any suit. If there are no more questions, Avina will conduct a short calibration test to further optimize the suit's integration into its pilot. Please move your body and limbs according to your natural biological movements."
"Alright.", Julian starts moving about, his stretches exposing the flexibility of the EC-101. 'This mecha suit is terrific. It's like an extension of my body.'
In front of him was a large and clear glasslike panel that seemed more durable than the specially tempered glasses of the mecha suits he had seen before. He could view an entire 150 degrees around him and alternately focus on his VNI for feedback from other cameras fitted around the suit.
"Calibration completed. Adjustments will now be applied. Please remain still during the process.", Avina advises.
Julian sensed the mechanical components loosening their grasp on his muscles while others popped up and supported the weaker spots. His control became firmer and minute.
"Adjustments completed. Once the successor is prepared, please step out of the Medical Lab Building."
'That was easier than expected.' Julian smirks and gives a glance into the other virtual neural interfaces. "There's also a digital map here. Avina, what about this digital map?"
"The digital map displays the surrounding radius of 500 meters from the Base Complex Facility. At the center is a green dot denoting the successor's current position. Please be aware that the current digital map version can only be used as a reference and not as an omni tool that can locate task completion requirements."
"Its source of data comes from the Tier 1 - Generation 1 Basic Radar module located in the HQ building."
Polygonal icons were spaced out on the map. The shapes filled in light-blue color denoted the buildings.
The green dot on the center was currently displayed inside a building labeled as < Medical Building - Level 1 >.
"Can I add map markers later on?", Julian asked.
"Map markers can be automatically added either by the proto insects or me after encountering a special area or landmark. You can also manually add map markers or adjust them based on your preferences."
Opposite of the digital map's position displayed the energy in the mecha suit.
All systems were green with the armor integrity higher than 95 percent.
After 15 minutes of familiarizing himself with the EC-101, Julian stepped into the first sliding door.
The vents released the purplish steamy air coupled with the robotic voice, "Disinfection in process. Please wait."
Julian silently prayed that the purple proto insects would not harm him.
Tink! Tink! Tink!
The purple proto insects skimmed through the EC-101 mecha suit, retreating to the vents after finding nothing remarkable.
Julian's unnerved mind eases, "Avina, it's time for you to tell me about this Base Complex Facility that I am in."
"The Base Complex Facility is a probationary Chamber prepared by the Ancien Regime for its long-awaited successors," Avina explained. "All buildings, as the successor may have seen in the digital map, are currently Level 1."
The robotic voice reported the completion of the disinfection and Julian stepped out of the next sliding door and was dumbfounded to see that there was a small lounge in the area.
There was another sliding door on the other end. He exited right through it, meeting a sudden cold breeze on his way out.
Julian aligned his head to the sky, his vision almost blocked by the gleaming starlight.
He noticed the absence of a thick canopy substituted by the towering hunks of metallic buildings.
"Am I not inside the jungle?"
His words became nonsensical when he noticed the trees outside the 2-meter-tall concrete wall surrounding the base.
"The building that the successor is looking at right now is the HQ Building. It is the main building of the Base Complex Facility, and any other bases the successor will construct in the future."
Julian nodded, gesturing his understanding, and pointed at the three variedly sized buildings on his right.
"The largest and tallest building on your right is the Cargo Building. It stores almost any raw material like unprocessed mineral ores, or even the corpses of beasts for future processing. The storage of other materials such as medicinal products and ammunition is handled and requires the presence of other buildings in the Base Complex Facility. Avina will also appropriately categorize the storing of different materials to prevent accidents."
Curiosity drowned his mind and Julian accessed the Cargo Building's interface. He could store up to 10,000 units for each material, up to 500 different materials at once.
Browsing the inventory gave him the insight he needed.
Aside from the absence of raw materials, a couple of food units were stored and marked as Stage 1 terran and aqua flora or fauna creatures.
"Stage 1 evolutionary creature?" The term unfamiliar to Julian which Avina explains.
"Each creature has an evolutionary stage starting from Stage 0 up to the observed Stage 4. Consider Stage 1 creatures as creatures with a bit more intelligence and survival capabilities."
"For convenience, the successor can utilize the subspace storage device in the EC-101 mecha suit or any other mecha suit to quickly store or retrieve materials from any building storage, including the Cargo Building."
Taken aback, Julian pointed at the food units available in the Cargo building. "I don't need to drag out objects from there?"
His mind rustled and established a weird unexplainable connection to a digital entity. Under his absolute order, a small piece of red meat appeared on the large and rigid metallic hands of the EC-101.
He focused on his mind again, enforcing the will to put it back into the Cargo building. His hands lightened up as the meat disappeared into the digital world.
"The successor can access all storage interfaces of each building as long as you are within the base's operational area. As for the two other structures besides the Cargo Building, they will be introduced by Avina once the successor gathers samples of Stage 0 or 1 evolutionary creatures from the wild."
"I guess I also need to encounter this evolutionary creature that you have just mentioned?" Julian praised his intellect.
"The successor is correct. Shall Avina add it to the list of tasks in your databank?"
Avina requested, much to his surprise
"Databank? Sure, go ahead." A prompt pops up on his VNI, denoting a task of retrieving Stage 0 or 1 creatures.
After the short interruption, Julian focused on the outside world and started looking around once again.
Left of the Medical Lab Building was a horizontally L-shaped building, "I suppose that is the Fabrication Building?"
"The successor is correct. The Fabrication Building will provide the successor the ability to quickly materialize objects based on a strict ratio of materials. Currently, it is not operational and needs repairs. Shall Avina include the task of repairing the Fabrication Building to the list of tasks in your databank?"
Julian agreed and a notification popped up addressing the new task.
The list was composed of hundreds of stone units coupled with a custom selection of mineral ores that he could gather and use for the reparation.
"Hmm... There's a lot of selection here. Ferronium ore, living metal, oxydium ore, villium ore, titanium... Where did these terms come from? It's too different from the Federation..."
Julian could choose any combination of those ores in varying quantities and supplying the correct materials would allow him to proceed with the reparations.
"The Ancien Regime has encountered a vast variation of ore deposits during their time, successor. As such, they have provided several combinations as it was not prevalent which ore deposit the successor may encounter on a planet where the Base Complex Facility is stationed."
A wise decision indeed, thoughts that ran on Julian's mind.
He gestured for Avina to stop explaining as he chose the northern area to start coursing through the base.
The digital information reflected on the VNI blurred itself into the peripheral of his vision. Julian could focus on it when needed and would also enlarge automatically if he wanted to.
On the two hours of touring the entire Base Complex Facility, one tall building gathered his interest.
Several large antenna dishes were attached to the conspicuous building, corroded and worn out by the passing of time. Julian wondered what its previous connections were all about.
Placed in front of him were the cold-looking defensive turrets.
The eight-barreled rotary machine guns randomly rotate in search of targets.
Julian did not want to be facing that other end. Although it was pretty low in terms of weapon technology compared to the Federation, he knew what those things were capable of.
"Avina, guide me back to the HQ Building. This facility is like a maze..."
A blue directional line appears on his digital map, coursing through the entire Base Complex Facility before stopping in a pentagonal-shaped building placed at the center of the area.
"I surely have a room there, no?"
"Please be at ease, successor. All accommodations are accounted for.", Avina assured.
The route guided him into the sides of the HQ Building and led him underground to the Mecha Bay Hangars. A large steel-like door guarded the entrance, with a few more pressurization and decontamination procedures right before he finally entered the building in distress.
"Avina senses that the successor feels distressed. Shall I administer a stress reliever shot?"
"No.", Julian bluntly rejected and inwardly cursed, 'Do I look stressed to you?'
Once inside, Avina prompted him to exit which he did. "Can you communicate with my VNI later?"
"Affirmative, but it is recommended for the successor to meet the other artificial intelligent constructs first."
The mecha suit walked off onto an elevated platform with a distinctive circular boundary at the center.
Julian cast his eyes out of the retreating mecha and proceeded into the elevator, guided by his VNI.
Just as he was about to touch the elevator buttons, the doors opened and a small tracked robot with a floating spherical head walked out of it.
"Good morning, successor! I am Avina-2!" His rather loud and energetic voice scared Julian out of nowhere. "I will be your guide and your loyal assistant! Shall we get going?!"
