5 Prequel 5 (2/2)
Mumbai MA
Udon Thani MA
Tehran Mech
Houses of Fortescue Military Academy
Horus – Purple – Hunter, War
Osiris – Dark Green – Regeneration, Damage
Amun-Ra – Red – Firepower, Energy
Shu – Blue – Flight, Speed
Thoth – White – Calculation, Research
Middle School (M1 to M3) Subjects
Maths
Physical Training
Tech Studies – equipment, cybernetics, weapons
Human Studies – Debate, Leadership, Ethics, Profiling
Reference – Military History, Military Regulations, Space Travel History
Strategy – Philosophy, Thinking Methods, Tactics
Physics – Energy, Mechanics, Electro, Thermal
AI – Nurturing, Cybernetic Bandwidth, Operation
Gunnery
Piloting
An acceptance letter and information document arrived by certified email to Ikaros and Etana that evening.
”Etana, wait,” his Father called to his room. ”Let's open together.”
He rarely did anything with his Father, they kept to themselves, even during meals. And now he would be moving away for most of the year. Etana felt a pang of guilt, he would miss his Father, but he had never really spent time with him. He wondered why he would feel that way.
They opened the registered email one a count of three. It required proof of identity before allowing viewing.
”Congratulations Etana Daedo you have successfully gained entry into Fortescue Military Academy for the 2142 M1 intake….”
It was followed by many instructions regarding behaviour, schedule, appropriate possessions, rules, exemptions, fees and required equipment.
One was the Military Grade Cybernetic Implant which he already possessed and another unique item was the MG Inductive Multifunction Bodysuit. They also suggested suppliers and brands purchase. There were strict rules regarding its specifications on top of being Military Grade. It had to be able to change colour in line with the House colours, over one ninety-nine percent of its surface excluding a few of the specialised sockets. And it was advised to purchase one with an allowable twenty percent minimum size expansion capability.
”The semester starts in seven days, we should head into Paris tomorrow and purchase one of these,” his Father said although he had work.
”I can just purchase online,” Etana replied.
”These are expensive, and we want to get the right one, you can't try it on an online purchase,” his Father replied.
”Yes, you can. If you have an implant like mine, you can mimic the size and sensory data to simulate a physical fitting,” Etana said.
”And how can you be certain that is accurate?” He asked.
”Because it is,” Etana replied offering no reason for his conclusion like a normal child.
”Oh alright. I need to go to work anyway,” Ikaros gave in.
Suddenly Etana was sad that he rejected spending time with his Father. It did not cross his mind that it was an opportunity to spend time with him, it was thinking that purchasing from a physical store was archaic.
He started to search online with Myrmidon to hunt down the ideal bodysuit which met the Academies criteria. He knew they could possess many monitors which would assist Myrmidon. And if he had to do physical exercise he wanted one which would not stink, possibility provide him water and cool him.
This was the sort of item he had saved all his bitcreds for, and while the best suits were hideously expensive, they were easily affordable. Over the past three years, he had saved over nineteen thousand bitcreds. Even the most expensive suit capable of space travel was only one thousand bitcreds. He laughed at himself, one thousand, only. That was a massive amount of money. He could buy a good house with that much.
Her perused all the features available and narrowed down the selection. Until one company's offering caught his eye.
The Axel suit had a customisable option where you selected all the add-ons, and within five days they would have it delivered to your door. There were only a few options they were missing that competitor suits had.
Etana first selected all the essential criteria the Academy demanded. Then he added the most important.
Sensors internal body all. Rather than pick a few, he just selected all of them. He doubted he would ever need blood pressure monitoring, but, he wanted the best suit.
Sensors external all.
Inductive comm pads; all locations.
He selected the most expensive polymer fabric.
Daedo: Myrmidon, check up on this fabric, it's the most expensive make sure it's the best.
Within minutes Myrmidon confirmed it was the best fit for purpose, allowing breathability, comfort, thermal insulation, protection, wind resistance, water resistance and camouflage.
There were security add-ons to stop it being worn or tampered with.
And most importantly the bodysuit interface which would allow direct access by Myrmidon to all its information. This alleviated the need to have the bodysuit call for help if you were injured and other software features. Myrmidon could do all that and more and better.
Myrmidon: will the Academy consider its movement enhancement features cheating?
Daedo: If it's not in the rules, no. I cannot imagine the actual Military not using a feature, in a real battle you cannot cheat. You kill or be killed.
The last thing he added was a helmet which allowed a holographic projection and visualisation. The Academies required a helmet which allowed visualisation from within a small mech, then four metre, which was virtually a large exoskeleton. But they did not require the enhanced visualisation modes, such as trajectory tracking, and holographic projection which would allow Myrmidon to assist him while piloting like he did in CyberMech.
He pressed the button on order. It would arrive before the semester started, he was no looking forward to his first day wearing this suit. With all the add-ons it came to twelve hundred bitcreds, it was even more expensive than the spacesuit.
Myrmidon: are we going to inform the professional teams of our absence from CyberMech?
It had been a month since their last appearance in-game. He had been too tired from training to even log in for a ladder match, let alone compete in a professional match.
Daedo: no, we will just disappear. We have no contracts, so we are not breaking any deals.
Myrmidon: our supporters will be disappointed.
Their streaming contract they were paid per individual viewer with other metrics like time and adds acted upon. Some crap cybernetics company made a fortune by pretending Daedalus used their gear. He neither confirmed nor denied their claims.
Daedo: I cannot help that, we will not be able to play much. So I think its best this way. I was becoming bored with it anyway.
Myrmidon: I have never been bored of anything. Do you think I am immune?
Daedo: you are probably infinitely more patient and disciplined than me. We are about to go to an Academy for six years with subjects like Ethics. We will soon know if you can be bored or you are immune.
The information document included an orientation with details of what to expect and his first day.
On his first day, he would find out what his entry ranking was and which House he had been assigned to.
Students were assigned to Houses based on profiling and test results. Etana quickly perused the Houses and their attributes.
Daedo: which House do you think we will be assigned to?
Myrmidon: Horus. Hunter War. That is certainly us.
Myrmidon was basing it on their CyberMech performance, and Daedo could not blame him, they had spent most of their time together in CyberMech. More than all other activities combined excluding sleep.
Myrmidon: what is your prediction Daedo?
Daedo: I am not sure how well they profiled us. And this is an elite school with all the wealthiest people in the world attending. I have no idea what role they think to place on us. I would like to be Shu. Flight, Speed. That sounds cool and fits our combat loadout predisposition. And I like the colour Blue.
They were both wrong.