When Nico and Max went into the Games Room, everyone outside followed them, looking forward to one of the other Pilots challenging them to a match to see how their skills matched up to Nico's bragging.
Sitting in the back row of the room, a shiny new set of Comor Pattern Corvette simulators were lined up, waiting for a challenge. Nico walked straight to them with a smile and turned to face the other Pilots.
"What do you say, boys? Ready to be taken to school?" She asked, bringing a round of jeering from the crowd.
"You got it girlie. We can talk about terms of the wager after I win." One of the pilots told her with a wink, making Max laugh.
"I'm pretty sure she meant all of you, at once. Trust me, you want the backup." Max suggested.
"You're not the only Alpha Ranked Pilot here. I'm not going down to some fresh recruit in a mecha I helped design." The Pilot countered, and Max raised his hands in defeat.
"Alright, we will be watching."
The matches inside the simulator played on the screens above the simulators, as well as in the General's office and the development labs if they had them tuned to the game feed. Both Pilots climbed into their simulators while Max did his best not to laugh at the misfortune that was about to befall that unfortunate man.
When the two logged in, the Games Room could see that the challenger had picked a standard Plasma Blaster and twin shoulder-mounted laser rifles, while Nico had picked two swords to go with the standard shoulder Lasers. Max's amusement made more than a few pilots nervous, but when the scenario set them up fifty meters apart, they had a bit more confidence.
That was only four steps at a run, but it should give the pilot time for two free shots before he needed to dodge and move away from the swords.
The timer started as Nico dropped to one knee, dodging the first Plasma shot, but then she did something nobody expected, she activated the jump thrusters and launched her Mecha straight at her opponent. His second shot flew wide as he tried to adjust to the sudden burst of speed, and Nico raised a sword to deflect both laser shots.
Her own shots hit the enemy mecha directly in the optical targeting sensors, and he lost a fraction of a second as he adjusted his display. That was enough that Nico was in melee range, with the two blades racing at his mecha. He used a standard evasion pattern flawlessly, dodging the first blade, but Nico kept coming forward, smashing the hilt into him and knocking the Corvette backward before the second sword drove up hard between its legs, crippling the mecha and overloading the power plant, leading to instant defeat by the explosion.
"Did you see that? That speed is insane. He couldn't even block in time. I take my words back, there really is a gap between the elite and the rest of us." One of the Pilots made a show of apologizing, much to the amusement of his fellows.
"Just be glad it wasn't you that spoke up first. But we should get in there. If he can't take her, it really might take all five of us." One of his compatriots declared, setting his beer down to drag his friend to the simulator.
"What about you, big boy? Do you think you could take all five of us at once?" A busty brunette researcher asked Max once the other guys had entered the simulator. She definitely didn't mean in the simulator and she did have four friends with her.
"I'm not sure about that. My sword work isn't quite up to that standard." Max declined, but it only made her smile larger.
"Good answer. I think we will be good friends, new guy. I am Lieutenant Carp of the Weapons Development Division, night shift team 3. I missed all the commotion when you came in today, but I'm looking forward to the exoskeleton you two introduced. Those Mechanic Nerds are a joyless bunch, only thinking of tools and Mecha, but that flying exosuit? That's pure genius. Not only would it add capability equivalent to a light Mecha without all the transport bulk, but it would be a huge morale boost to the infantry if it was done correctly."
Max thought about that for a second, and she was right, but he still felt like he was missing something.
"You don't need to understand now, but you will as soon as we get one up and running for test purposes. The day shift already altered the diagram to use most of the parts directly from the Mobile Suit, so we might even have an Alpha Design ready when you get to work in the morning. I do hate to flirt and run, but my shift starts in thirty minutes."
With that she blew Max a kiss and sauntered out with her cohort of female researchers, the swinging hips catching the attention of half the customers in the Games Room.
The Kepler Military was pretty relaxed about relations between soldiers, as long as there were no unintended consequences or nonconsensual actions, but that level of blatant advance was something Max never thought he would see again after leaving the streetwalkers of the downside in his past and joining the academy.
It was tempting though. Even if it might kill him, five beauties at once were enough that he wouldn't just dismiss the possibility. He still had his entire deployment ahead of him to change his mind, after all.
All five men had lined up against Nico, who had switched to a Plasma Shotgun and a sword in her hands. The design of the shotgun was a new one, a lighter version of the ones Max had mounted to Stalwart, designed to be handheld for the Corvette.
The match started with another thruster rush, but Nico wasn't going for the melee attack, she was just getting close enough for the shotgun to blast the rear armor of a Pilot caught off guard, disabling his mecha and letting her use it as a shield to block incoming fire.
His cursing could be clearly heard in the Games Room as he was ejected and forced to watch His mecha torn apart by his allies. Nico was faster moving than any of her opponents, and they couldn't get distance from her to create a proper attack pattern, so it was more like four 1v1 fights than a proper four-on-one.
A second pilot went down to her sword and a third to her shotgun before the final two managed to team up and finally land a hit on her mecha. It was a solid hit, but not a critical area, and she raced towards them with her lasers firing until she was back in shotgun range.
"Where did she learn that? Those shotguns are brand new, but she knows exactly how the pattern will spread." One of the defeated pilots asked, watching his remaining companions try to fend her off in close combat.
"My Crusader was upgraded to equip two of them. She has seen them more than a few times in live combat, plus her System Functions are incredibly well suited to combat." Max explained, as another Pilot was ejected, cussing.
His final teammate was at a flat-out run now, as Nico cut chunks out of his back, then finally chopped a leg off and blasted a hole through the hapless mecha.
"You are an evil one aren't you? Major Nico was it? I will remember today. I won't go down like that again." The last defeated Pilot declared as the two of them left the simulators.
"Of course not, I won't be so nice next time. Just be a good boy and die when I tell you to." Nico giggled while the room stared in amazement.
"I understand why the General likes you so much, you're both oddballs, just like him. I mean that in the best of ways." A researcher joked with Max, half drunk and waving his drink to emphasize his point.
"Now, who is up for a round of 3D billiards?" Max asked, ready to unwind and enjoy his evening. It was the last night of his vacation, and he wasn't going to go back to work without at least getting a few games in. On Level 10, Nightmare Mode, of course, to make it a challenge.
