GO

Cody stripped down begrudgingly. “I know what suit I’m in, go on ahead… I had to strip on command for twenty years… now I’ve got to do the same for these bastards,” he said, examining the leotard with disgust.

Tod asked, “What was that?”

Cody remembered the saying “scaring the fishes away.” He decided to change the subject to avoid talking about his past. “Why don’t they issue these items to us back in the room?”

Tod rolled his eyes as he waited. “You really didn’t read all the manuals, did you? They don’t want us smuggling anything that might interfere with the M.U., like flash drives or items that could have a negative reaction to the goop. Also, the suit is adaptable to your skin. It kinda becomes a second layer to protect against the goop. It washes off in the showers… The only things you can have on you are a religious item necklace made of titanium or a relationship ring made of titanium and jewels. The suit won’t allow anything else and could react negatively. Your personal bag is in the locker over there.” He pointed to the row of lockers on the wall by the door.

Cody saw his initials, C.E.F., and a scanner. He rushed to it and put his eye to the circle. A red laser scanned his retina and opened the locker. Inside was a baggy that was as small as Tod’s, only Tod’s was packed, which Cody wasn’t surprised by. Surviving runs meant money to purchase commissary to fill his bag with all those items.

Tod eyed Cody’s small bag suspiciously before asking, “Why do you have a pair of single-blade razors in your bag? And a cancer stick!? Planning to shave after the battle while you have a smoke? How old are you?!”

Cody just shrugged, tired of the ordeal already. “Yeah… sure,” he said, brushing off the question as he set off to open the door.

Tod ran in right behind him until Cody made it to his M.U. A few others trickled into the room while Cody arrived, but most were in and out before him—repetitive routine for veteran pilots.

Seeing the enormous metallic death traps lined up, he groaned. “I always hated mecha anime… ugh,” he muttered, climbing the ladder of the seven-meter M.U. Inside the head, he positioned himself in the pod with gears surrounding him in the 11x7 room. He put on the helmet with goggles, locking it in place. Air filled his helmet as he watched the yellow goop fill the pod. A cool liquid washed over him before adjusting to his temperature.

He began switching the switches on as screens lit up, testing the different visions.

As soon as he turned on his radio, he was bombarded with shouts. “Cody! Do you copy? Cody!”

“Hey,” he responded.

Tod growled and said, “The comms only work with proximity—a five-mile radius allows us to be heard, but it will come in slightly distorted. It’s open frequency, so the enemy can hear you too. I see you picked the grinder wheel for one arm and a hammer rotator for the other, but I’m concerned with your legging. Why didn’t you get the tank tracks?”

“Because legs are commonly used for shorts, tank tracks for longs, right?”

“Longs use them for stability. Beginners are supposed to have tank tracks.”

“Just let the rookie get himself killed, Tod,” Ashley shouted as light flooded the hangar. The miniature dressing room sank into the ground, and the twelve-meter door opened to allow the M.U. to burst out at their leisure into the room with the trolleys. The trolleys were now individual carts, held to the side and packed with mechanics ready to do mechanic runs. They seemed as small as ants from this distance.

Ashley rushed past Cody with a huge rifle, and as soon as she passed the doors, a burst of light shot from under the large tank tracks shaped like a triangle, attached to each side of her M.U.’s hips.

Others who did the same as Cody realized he was being left behind, so he attempted to move forward.

His legging was surprisingly simpler than he thought, as he was lifted because of the goop. While he moved his legs, so too did the uniform move as if mirroring him, most likely from optic lens systems and laser communication technology sensors scattered throughout the pod to capture every angle of Cody.

Pulling a lever that showed “booster” on his screen, he heard a charge as he made his way to the door.

The A.R. displayed all the devices with explanations for him as he glanced at them. Experimentally, he called out, “Turn on thrusters,” as he made his way to the opening.

Immediately, his voice automated system made his screen light up around the desired switch.

“Ugh! Automated commands. Who’s squad is the rookie on?” came a voice he couldn’t recognize.

He pulled the switch and felt his feet resist. Pushing down suddenly shot him up into the sky, almost making him crash into another M.U.

His stomach lurched from the speed like a rollercoaster, and he began flipping forward, earning him a few panicked shouts.

“He’s lost control!” came a voice.

Others easily veered from his trajectory. Few would usually be able to focus in that moment, but Cody loved rollercoasters back home. It was one of the few times he could remember the others setting aside their hatred of him and ignoring him.

As he planted his feet at the right moment, he landed perfectly in the soil, embedding himself in the ground a good half-meter, but he stuck the landing without falling over. Immediately, he began running through the field.

“The leg strength that guy must have!” came a voice in awe.

“Why the hell did you pull a stunt like that!?” shouted Ashley, who landed beside him gracefully and began speeding past him in her tank tracks.

Cody used the same tactic to shoot himself forward as he got used to bursts and landing. “I hate heights,” he lied, though it was partially true, despite not being the real reason.

Tod shot ahead of both of them with a burst of speed, keeping in the air steadily with the light bursting from his M.U.’s feet.