Max settled into the seat and found that the controls weren't the standard Kepler Mechanical layout, though those were available on the console in front of him. There was a neural link halo that lowered over his head, linking the movements of the mecha to his intentions and removing the physical lag between his intentions and his physical movements.
The setup also had the option to synchronize, so that he could physically control the Mecha, while he mentally targeted, or the reverse.
With Max's improved cognitive functions, that wouldn't be necessary, as he could accurately target with every weapon consciously while also mentally piloting, and not relying on instinct and muscle memory to do the movement portion of the work for him.
He also noted that the shield mounted to the forearm weapons on the left arm, so it wouldn't interfere with his firepower when equipped, and every weapon had a secure holster available.
He really did look like a forty-meter tall, living Samurai Knight, right down to the traditional demon mask that was supposed to intimidate enemies of the human warriors. It was a bit redundant when equipped on a Titan Class Mecha, but he appreciated the sentiment and effort.
The shipping crate also contained the maintenance rack for the Mecha, so it would have to be secured to the bay once he had chosen a proper place for it.
With the neural link equipped, Max didn't even have to remain in his pilot seat to operate the Cleansing Light.
One after another, he picked up and stored the weapons in their holsters, noting how the Mecha moved in a perfectly natural manner, matching his thoughts as if it were his own body. That was a welcome change. Most Titan Class Mecha were a bit slow and clunky but made up for it in pure lethality.
Cleansing Light could purge a planetary capital in an instant and still walk perfectly naturally as if it was a System enhanced Kepler Pilot. Uncle Lu had really outdone himself on this project.
There wasn't the space or opportunity to test the rest of the features of the Mecha, but Max did verify that his tracking and targeting were working properly, and powered up the Mecha's sensor suite, doing a full system check.
Movement in the corner of his eye made Max turn, just as Nico opened up the other crate and began laughing hysterically.
As expected, the other crate contained some raw materials and parts, but it also contained a new model of Material Printer, and a second smaller crate, which was what caught Nico's attention.
"What did you find, Nico?" Max asked.
"There are lots of goodies for you, but Uncle Lu also sent me a present," Nico informed him as she used the bay's overhead crane to move the new Materials Printer out of the way so she could open the other crate.
It was roughly cubical, and fifteen meters tall, no taller than one of the new Heavy mecha, but large enough to hold four of them, and Max wondered what sort of thing Uncle Lu had sent for her.
Nico took the time to set up the new Materials Printer before she returned to the crate with a look of reverence and dived into it through a small door on the top.
The door of the crate popped open from the inside, and a bright red, kneeling form unfolded itself from inside.
It was a Mecha, but like nothing else that the humans had ever produced. Standing twenty meters tall, and having an organically curved outer shell that looked very much like a soot-black muscular body, the four-armed Mecha wielded a blade in each hand, and stood on cloven feet, with a grinning demonic visage staring up at Max.
The sight stopped Max in his tracks, as the last parts of his lost memory came crashing back into his consciousness.
He knew that Mecha. In fact, there was nothing in his past life that Max knew better, for it haunted his every dream, even after his retirement and all through the isolated years stuck on a throne world being venerated as a hero. That Mecha led the armies of a fanatical cult of genetically modified soldiers that had torn half the galaxy asunder in under a decade, drowning worlds in blood and killing trillions of soldiers.
Eventually, Max and his army resorted to sending suicide bombers to launch a surprise attack and destroy the fortress that their command group was holed up in, crippling their leadership and allowing his forces to eliminate the remainder of their army in one crushing wave.
Even in the mighty God Machine Gloriana that he had piloted to innumerable heroic victories in his past life, he simply couldn't defeat that evil Mecha and its Commanders. Every time he thought he had them, they would get a warning of the imminent threat and simply disappear without a trace, only for him to get news of new carnage and race across star systems in a desperate attempt to save another planet.
[Soul Drinker] He breathed over the intercom as Nico stood up in the Cursed Mecha that Uncle Lu had created for her.
While from the day of his birth Max recalled who he was, and the morals he should hold, he had only slowly regained everything else from his memories. Nico was the exact opposite, she recalled all of the useful skills from her past life and much of how they were used, but she recalled nothing at all about herself, or why she had done the things she recalled doing.
The blood-soaked religion that Max had seen in her thoughts now made sense. It was possible, and even somewhat likely that she was the reincarnation of the elusive leader of the greatest threat his former life's Galaxy had ever seen, assuming that Mecha was rebuilt from her shattered memories, and not entirely a coincidence on the part of Uncle Lu's design preferences.
"It's glorious, isn't it? I've never seen something so beautiful. Uncle Lu really outdid himself this time." Nico cheered as she stretched out her new Mecha's limbs to explore its range of movement.
'Maybe it really is a coincidence. Nico's thoughts don't show any hint of recognition of the Mecha, this is certainly the first time that she has seen it and she wasn't involved in the design. Could it just be one big cosmic joke, creating that same Mecha in this life?' Max wondered to himself before collecting his thoughts well enough to answer.
"It really is something else. I thought you might be upset about only getting a custom Super Heavy Mecha." Max replied, doing his best to tuck away the newly released nightmares of having to hunt that Mecha across the Galaxy.
"Size isn't everything. Plus Uncle Lu gave it the most perfect name ever." Nico replied, and Max looked at the engraved words on the collar that mounted the head assembly to the shoulders.
[Shattered Pride]
"Oh thank the Emperor."
