Once the tests were completed, X137 was walked back to its testing bay and the whole team gathered around for an afternoon celebration. The Heavy and Super Heavy Mecha projects had been taking up most of the combined manpower of the lab for most of a year now, with an intense crunch at the end when General Lu decided that the planned design needed some serious overhauls, but now that all three patterns were finished in house testing, they could finally relax and start focusing on less time-sensitive projects.
Some would be moved to Exoskeleton projects, some to small arms development, others to Virtual Reality upgrades or even civilian interests, like better shelf stable ration packs for the disaster recovery portion of the mission that came at the end of most military interventions.
That also meant that the primary reason General Lu had brought in Max and Nico was now finished, which raised the question of what they were going to be up to next.
Max hoped that it would be something relatively safe and interesting, but that sort of assignment didn’t often come up two deployments in a row, and this one had been pretty good to him so far.
There were still many more mecha designs that needed to go through the final testing phases, including upgrades for the existing models of mecha within the Kepler Military, and the new weapons for the Corvette Class units, so there was hope that he wouldn’t be leaving here for a while.
The most important part of not wanting to leave was actually standing right next to him though. Moonie was looking up at him with a data tablet in her hand, wanting to get his take on the data that she had collected during the live fire exercises, and hear all about what it was like being inside a Super Heavy Mecha when it was actually in action.
“Is it as loud in there as it was in the observation room? I mean, they turned down the external volume, but it was still pretty loud in there.” She asked, impatient for more details.
“It’s loud, but it’s not the volume that really gets you, it is the air displacement from the vibration. There really isn’t anything you can do about it, being so close to three high-powered Mass Drivers, but it can really shake your insides.” Max explained.
“Hmm, we have the sensor data from inside the cockpit, and it includes vibration information, as well as audio and other sensors. I will have to send the data to be analyzed for overall safety, so they can determine who is safe to send in as the Technicians in these units.” Moonie nodded, tapping away at her tablet.
“What are our plans for the rest of the day, Sister?” Max asked Lilith, who was only a few meters away, working on her own data analysis.
“Data, data, and more data. The General has a questionnaire here for you to fill out about the responsiveness of the Chassis. You might need to go into the virtual trainers to check on some of the answers, but most of it you will be able to fill out right away.” Lilith informed him, handing over a data tablet with the questionnaire open.
It was all simple things. Lag time, responsiveness, any hesitation under rapidly changed commands, potential overloads, and thermal variations in the electronics after prolonged firing. Some he knew, some he could look up after the testing, but some he would have to go to the simulator for as Lilith suggested. They hadn’t done any combat maneuver testing yet, which would come sometime later, so the simulator was his only option for the day.
The rest of the day passed in a mind-numbing blur until finally, it was time to head home. Max checked out of the simulator and headed for the locker room to freshen up, wondering what he would order for the night. He rarely went to the restaurants, and instead preferred to cook or pay the extra fee and have something delivered to his room.
A bit wasteful, but everywhere was so packed with people lately that it was hard to enjoy yourself. Even the Games Room had been near maximum capacity, which was strange because the total number of people on the base hadn’t changed. It was like everyone was just congregating in this district for some reason.
That made Max think of the unauthorized message that had been intercepted. How many of these people had allegiances other than the Military? How many were sent specifically to gather data to send home, or were hired by outside forces? The vetting process was good, but top scientists were needed, so the employee pool was limited, and it was unreasonable to think you could fill a city with people who didn’t have split loyalties, even over an area as large as the Kepler Empire.
Max was just about to start looking up data on employee recruitment when his doorbell rang, bringing up a security feed that showed him three women standing outside his door. Nico, Lilith, and Moonie, who were all dressed up to go out.
“Ladies, come in. Welcome to my humble abode, and I’m sorry I don’t have enough chairs.” Max greeted them.
“A small Cyborg has brought it to our attention that today is a very special day back on your homeworld.” Sister Lilith laughed, walking towards Max’s closet.
“And so, we are dragging you out for the evening. Reservations have been made, so there is no reason for you to turn us down.” Moonie agreed.
Max thought for a second about what would constitute an important day, then checked his watch, not finding anything.
“In two hours and sixteen minutes, Kepler Standard time, you will be another year older.” Nico smiled, seeing Max’s confusion.
That’s it. The change in seasons and from Kepler Terminus to the Standard calendar threw him off, but it will indeed be his birthday. According to the altered data in his official records, changed when the Cygnus officers were captured to prevent accusations of child soldiers, today will be his eighteenth birthday and not his fourteenth, but it is still his birthday. That’s fine by Max though, with all these returned memories, he certainly doesn’t feel like a youth anymore.
“I’m sure you will love it. We put a lot of thought into what would be just the right evening.” Moonie smiled, giving Max a kiss on the cheek, before handing him the clothes that Lilith picked out for him.
“I only have one more question. Did our favorite Cyborg troublemaker tell you that it is her birthday too? We were born only a few minutes apart.” Max pointed out, and Nico just shrugged. In her mind, she wasn’t that nonchalant, she was greatly looking forward to a proper birthday party, but she didn’t know how to show that, so instead she arranged a party for him.