The Kax Arena

After a deep breath, Xiao turned on the mech and performed the standard startup inspection. As she was about to take control, the girl’s voice came through the headset.

“Do you know what mech you are piloting?”

“This is the Ant mech. A standard bipedal light mech that is known to be beginner friendly. This mech is known to be well balanced with decent mobility and decent firepower for its weight class.”

“Good! Proceed to the training ground outside the mech bay.”

Once Xiao got the controls going, she navigated the Ant to the simulated mechbay exit. The training ground was a large empty field with a tall metal fence surrounding the outer perimeter.

“What makes up the chassis of the Ant?”

“Like most mechs, the Ant has a standard bipedal chassis. It has two legs, two arms, the left and right torsos, center torso and the head.”

“Please bring up the different components and take a look at the loadout.”

I’ll start with the left side then.

<

Component: Left Arm

Armor: 40/40

Structure: 20

Subcomponent(s):

Upper Arm [Basic gear that makes up an arm, 1 Slot]

Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

Small Laser [2 Damage, +2 Heat per use, 2 Slots]

>

<

Component: Left Torso

Armor: 40/40

Structure: 20

Subcomponent(s):

2x Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

>

I have a small laser and three basic heat sinks on the left side. Now, what about the right side?

<

Component: Right Arm

Armor: 40/40

Structure: 20

Subcomponent(s):

Upper Arm [Basic gear that makes up an arm, 1 Slot]

3x Light Machine Gun Ammo (Basic) [Contains 50 ammo, Can explode for up to 5 damage, 1 Slot]

Light Machine Gun [1 Damage, +10% Critical Chance, 2 Ammo consumed per shot, 1 Slot]

>

<

Component: Right Torso

Armor: 40/40

Structure: 20

Subcomponent(s):

Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

2x Light Machine Gun Ammo (Basic) [Contains 50 ammo, Can explode for up to 5 damage, 1 Slot]

>

A light machine gun? It’s more useful if I can get through the armor and can make use of the critical chance. Alright, what about the center torso of the mech?

<

Component: Center Torso

Armor: 80/80

Structure: 40

Subcomponent(s):

Armor (Basic) [Provides up to 2 Armor per Structure, 0 Slots]

Gyro (Basic) [Provides 50 Stability, Recovers 1 Stability per Minute, 1 Slot]

Engine Core 20 (Basic) [Provides mobility to the mech, 2 Slots]

Cooling (Basic) [Provides 20 Heat capacity to mech, 1 Slot]

3x Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

>

Cheapest armor, gyro and engine core out there. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. As for the legs…

<

Component: Left Leg

Armor: 60/60

Structure: 40

Subcomponent(s):

Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

Jump Jet (Basic) [Allows mech to fly a short distance, +2 Heat per use, 2 Slots]

>

<

Component: Right Leg

Armor: 60/60

Structure: 40

Subcomponent(s):

Heat Sink (Basic) [-1 Heat per minute, 2 Slots]

Jump Jet (Basic) [Allows mech to fly a short distance, +2 Heat per use, 2 Slots]

>

I even get jump jets. They use up a lot of heat but can be useful in getting out of tricky situations.

“I finished checking the loadout. What is next?”

“A few target dummies will pop up. Destroy them all to proceed!”

Given both the small laser and the light machine gun were close range weapons, Xiao had to navigate the Ant until the mech was more or less in front of the target dummy. She used the small laser which immediately vaporized the dummy.

“What happened after you used the small laser and what are the consequences of repeated use?”

“The small laser produced 2 heat per use. The mech has 20 heat capacity so the Ant currently has 2/20 heat. Once the heat exceeds the max, mech subcomponents can get destroyed or, in the worst case scenario, the mech shuts down and is vulnerable to attacks.”

Xiao then proceeded to destroy the second target dummy with the light machine gun, anticipating that she would be expected to use all the weapons.

“When is a weapon like a light machine gun preferred over a small laser?”

“A light machine gun uses ammo and doesn’t produce heat. If the mech is nearing its max heat capacity, the light machine gun is preferred. In addition, an advanced strategy involves using up ammunition to give the mech more speed but these require very specific loadouts.”

With no further questions from her headset, Xiao was able to destroy the remaining dummies with ease. She then waited for her next set of instructions but her headset was silent. With no clear instructions, she observed the training ground for clues. Her eyes eventually focused on a small ditch. Once her mech was close, she noted that the ditch depth and width matched the Ant dimensions and there was no way to walk around it without going past the metal fences. With a smile, Xiao navigated close to the ditch.

Better take it slow. Not sure if falling into the ditch will end my test run.

Xiao wasn’t confident in her jump jet control. Jump jets were not only expensive but they also had a high learning curve. Masters of jump jets could perform incredible feats that pushed the limits of a mech with some mechs built specifically to take advantage of the extra mobility. For Xiao, she was still worried if she could overcome the ditch before her. Following a deep breath, she activated the jump jets that lifted the Ant off the ground. She steadily guided the mech until it reached the other side. Once she was certain the mech cleared the ditch, she turned off the jump jets slowly until the mech touched the ground again.

“Good work! You have passed the interview! You may now take off your headset.”

Xiao took off the headset. As she placed it aside, she noticed the sweat on her hands.

Good thing I didn’t mess up the jump jet part.

As she walked out, the girl approached her with a big smile.

“Welcome to the team! My name is Vesna! I’ll be your operator!”

Operator?

When it came to mech competitions, each mech required a team to successfully compete. In addition to the mechanics who made repairs and changed loadouts, the pilot also needed an operator to support during combat. A pilot had limited visibility on the battlefield so the operator provided additional information to help the pilot perform better. What puzzled Xiao was the job description title. It clearly said mech pilot apprentice. Such a position meant that she was likely given a few one on one battles which didn’t require operators. When she expressed her concern, Vesna happily clarified the situation.

“Due to our funds and connections, we will be involved in other competitions through co-ops. In those competitions, I will assist you in making a name for you and the mech organization.”

Co-ops…

The fact that co-ops was an option impressed Xiao. Co-ops were generally rare due to the distrust mech organizations have for each other regarding the rewards. The majority of mech organizations wouldn’t even consider co-ops due to the bad blood resulting from arguing over the reward splits. Smaller organizations avoided such an option, even if they tended to get more from co-ops. For Xiao, this indicated two possibilities. Either the mech organization owner was naïve and was blind to the downsides of the co-ops or was well funded and focused more on making a name.

Likely the latter given the jump jets in the loadout.

For the next hour, Xiao was bogged down with the paperwork. As she worked through it all, she was surprised by how Vesna could still maintain her smile through the entire process. The smile was genuine and she happily answered any of her questions. With the girl’s help, Xiao found the time passed faster and they finished everything. While Vesna exited the room to finish the remaining paperwork, Xiao was left in the room to herself. To pass the time, she walked around the room until she stopped in front of a screen showcasing a group photo. Vesna and the male teenager she saw earlier were among the ten people in the photo. Behind them was the workshop she was in.

Must be the group photo to celebrate the start of the mech organization. I cannot wait to meet the others.

Xiao made her way to a display case and stopped in her tracks. Within the case, there was a trophy only given to the top one hundred pilots in single competition. Given that millions participate, a top one hundred title was a very impressive feat. The young woman tried recalling the group photo but no one in it was old enough to achieve the feat.

Yet, this seems like an actual trophy and not a fake. What is going on?