Chapter 10

"I can keep a secret" replied Arthur, "but are you sure you can trust me with it?"

"It's not anything other cadets won't find out eventually, so in the long run it doesn't really matter. I did the evaluation and found out I had an A rank system. It's almost a guarantee I can make it to the mecha training if I keep training hard" said Strong as he lay on his bunk.

"I also have an A rank system, but it did something weird while I was in the pod. Did your system encrypt data before communicating with the pod?" asked Arthur

"Did my system do what? No, it didn't do anything like that. It displayed my status page and then told me it had ranked my system as an A. I've never heard anything about that...but I've also just heard about this today so that doesn't really mean much. I'm sure if the evaluators were worried about it they would have communicated with you by now" replied Strong.

"Thanks for the heads up on making the beds and storing our personal belongings away this morning. We could be miserable right now trying to find all our stuff in the hallways" said Arthur.

"Don't worry about it" said Strong. "I have a feeling we are going to be together for a large part of our lives, especially if we make it to mecha pilot training together. We need to watch each other's back since we have no one else here"

"Agreed" said Arthur as he lay back on his terribly flat pillow and sighed, thinking about everything that had lead up to this point. He often thought about the figures that had caused his death and wondered if he would ever get a chance to face his killers in this new life.

Strong got up and looked at the terminal to see if there was an alarm function. Finding it, he set an alarm for 1715 which would give them 2 hours to nap and then 15 minutes to get to the chow hall for dinner. They couldn't afford to miss any meals offered since their bodies needed the extra nutrients, calories, and protein to help build muscle with all this physical training they would have to endure.

Both cadets lay their heads down and drifted off to sleep.

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Unbeknownst to the cadets, the evaluation room was in an uproar. There were 13 A rank system users identified and almost 100 B rank system users. There was also a huge amount of C rank users and of course the rest were D rank systems. The percentage of quality system ranks were off the charts this year. They had never seen anything like it.

"We are going to have quite a class here. Competition in the mecha program is going to be fierce considering most A rank system users usually gravitate towards mechas" said major Stone.

'Well, don't forget we have the odd system rating in that mix as well. The pod ranked cadet Wright's system an A with no information but stats and experience. We were unable to obtain any information about modifiers or skill to level ration. However, it was very odd that the cadet already had a skill at level 5. That's got to be a record." said major Muln.

"What skill was it again? Anything we've seen before?" asked major Stone.

"Actually, no. we've never had this skill reported in the academy records. It's called Break Point and it apparently lets the cadet see enemies weak points. Could be an amazing skill in a mecha if cadet Wright goes in that direction. I still question that A rank classifier though. We will have to see cadet Wright's reevaluation at the end of the year. Now that the pods have turned the experience gain on, cadets should be gaining experience from training once they wake up tomorrow.

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Arthur and Strong awoke at 1715 and quickly threw on their boots. They exited their room to an almost spotless hallway.

"I guess they were busy while we were sleeping" said Arthur as they walked through the hallway and through the doors outside. The grounds were completely clear of debris and personal belongings looking exactly how they looked upon arrival to the academy.

"I doubt anyone wants to leave anything out of regulation in their rooms anymore. I bet everyone's beds are immaculate now too" laughed Strong.

Both cadets arrived at the chow hall and were pleasantly surprised when they found out it was actual food and not the typical nutrient paste. The cooks had made a beef stew with steamed rice and vegetables. There was also a small salad served with the meal. Both cadets quickly grabbed a tray and sat down and devoured the food. It wasn't the best stew they'd ever had, but it was 100 times better than the gruel they had both meals prior.

Once they were done with their food they got up and walked outside so they wouldn't be in danger of going over the five minute rule.

"Before we hit the rack, let's go see if there are any mecha pilots training" said Strong.

"Lead the way!" replied Arthur

They walked over to the outdoor range where the mecha pilots usually practiced maneuvers and basic combat skills. They could already hear the loud clanking of the metal on metal and the sound of actuators as the joints bent and the arms and legs moved. Once they entered the training area they finally got to see them with their own eyes.

They were glorious. Being on a backwater planet the 2 boys were deprived of a lot of things like a central net that worked similar to the internet back on earth. They had seen pictures, but they had never seen them in action.

The two mechas that were sparring were both about 36 feet tall and were painted in a gray color with blue highlights. Both mechas had very human like appearances with the exception of the heads. They were recessed and mounted directly on the body without a neck. One didn't need to turn their mechas heads with the enormous amount of sensors on board. The mechas had huge shoulder pauldrons which doubled as secondary weapon attach points, but these two mechas were noticeably absent of anything but the weapons in their hands. On the smaller side for combat mechas but very intimidating none the less. One mecha had a sword and a huge shield while the other had a long halberd it was attacking with. Both looked evenly matched but as they stood there and watched, the halberd wielding mecha tore the shield out of the opposing mechas arm and stopped his side ward chop right before the blade bit into the oppositions side.

The winner obvious, the two cadets watched for a few more minutes while the mecha walked back towards the indoor training area where they stored the mecha when not in use.

"That could be us in 2 years" Said Strong.

'No, that WILL be us in two years" said Arthur as they walked back to their rooms to get a good nights rest in preparation for tomorrows early morning physical training.