Picking Up the Giant Robot

Tap, tap, tap. The massive hangar echoed with the hum of the ventilation fans. A woman seated at the control panel hammered away at the keyboard.

"Delete, delete…."

All that appeared on the monitor were messages confirming file deletions. She had to get out of there as fast as possible, so her hands flew across the keys.

Staging a fake death isn't easy, either. She took a sip of coffee and thought that to herself.

Then, in the corner of the screen, a small notification popped up. She squinted and muttered.

"…Restart?"

Impossible. Her pilot should have already ejected from the machine by now. Just to be sure, she double-checked.

"Ah, ah. Rabe, you there? You still at the site by any chance?"

"Good. That's a relief."

"Huh? No, nothing. Let's link up at the rendezvous point as planned. Cutting the channel now."

Click. She set down the headset with a groan. As expected, the restart wasn't her pilot's doing. So what was it? A simple system glitch? She paused her work and turned to the screen.

I didn't send a single drone to the site. Who'd have thought this would happen.

She regretted not deploying a few for recon. Whatever. No big deal.

It was unexpected, but she wasn't completely without ways to check the site. After a few minutes of intricate hacking, she commandeered a few drones buzzing around the area. They belonged to the tech development bureau.

Let's see.

She pulled up the footage. Drones filming the crash site ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where the Nexus had gone down. Shockingly, the machine—supposed to be immobilized—was standing on its own and walking.

Not a system error, then.

She rewound the recorded video to review the moments before. Pressing her face close to the monitor, something caught her eye.

"…?"

Near the Nexus's right shoulder. A dot shot out from a building behind it, wobbling precariously a few times before slipping neatly into the cockpit and vanishing.

She replayed that section over and over. Damn, the resolution sucks.

With bullets flying everywhere, the drones couldn't get closer. She couldn't make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out a face, not even a rough build. And now that someone was inside the Nexus, getting close for a better look was impossible.

Frustrated, she kept watching the footage. After several replays, she noticed something.

A kid?

Amid the swarm of people fighting around the crash site, the figure that jumped from the building was noticeably smaller than the others below. Accounting for perspective and scale, someone at that height should look slightly larger if they were the same size—not dwarfed like that.

Heh, no way.

Even she had to laugh at her own absurd guess. A kid in a Nexus? Why? Unless they'd lost their mind, why dive into the heart of a battlefield like that?

"Hmm."

But she quickly straightened up, her expression shifting. Kid or not, they're equally insane.

Curiosity piqued. Why climb into a crashed Nexus of their own accord? When even basic mobility was uncertain?

Tap, tap. She drummed her fingers on the desk, thinking, then manipulated the controls.

Well, they won't be operational for a while anyway. Might as well lend it out briefly.

She secured a mobile hangar. It had more limitations than a proper one, but for temporary use, it was fine.

"Let's see what you plan to do with that wrecked Nexus."

Once cleanup was done, the woman left the hangar. Only the massive fans' drone echoed in the sealed space.

"What are you doing? Shoot, shoot! Someone's in the cockpit!"

"How from here—"

"Shut up and fire!"

Ping, ping! Bullets ricocheted off the frame. I ignored them easily.

Good, secured it. Time to get out of here.

But how? I wasn't hoping to fly—that'd just be reckless. Even if a miracle let it take off in this state, the pilot (me) wouldn't survive.

Clank, clank! The Nexus couldn't replicate even a fraction of its in-game mobility, shuffling along slowly. Sure, its size made it not that slow, but compared to keeping up with fighters… this was snail-paced.

"Urk, urgh."

With most pilot protections wrecked, every step jolted straight into the cockpit. I gripped the controls tight, fighting nausea.

Can't use the boosters somehow?

The Nexus's main movement was "skating"—boosters reducing ground friction for sliding. That alone would make it several times faster.

But….

Vrrr! The roar filling the cockpit made me uneasy. What if the nozzles or engines were damaged? What if it blew up on activation?

No, maybe I'm just paranoid from the noise….

I hesitated over the pedals. Screw it. Better to die trying.

I slammed my foot down—

"Guh…."

—and stomped!

Thunk! The steady vibrations vanished as the machine accelerated sharply.

"Grrrk."

Ground irregularities slid through the whole frame like electricity from tailbone to skull.

Thud! "Keh!"

It must've climbed rubble. I desperately held back the bile.

Anyway, the Nexus hadn't exploded yet. Just psyching myself out over the noise.

Now what? With the front cockpit and main monitor torn off, I scanned visually through the gaping hole.

Gunfire around us had long stopped. Already clear?

Size really is power. But it was too early to relax. The one who downed this Nexus is probably still nearby.

Claiming a crashed weapon wasn't smart. It meant something caused the crash—and now that I'd restarted it, I had to worry about attacks from who-knows-where.

Crackle—

And sure enough, an unfamiliar voice broke into the comms channel.

"……?"

Beep, beep— Sensors flashed red, blaring warnings. Missiles launched from afar, heading straight for this Nexus.

Bad situation. No countermeasures, and the damage already pushed mobility limits. Had to dodge, but….

"……."

I gritted my teeth, eyeing the missiles on radar. This was open terrain.

Skating won't cut it.

Faster than walking, sure, but not enough for missiles. If it were lightweight, maybe. But this is standard.

Needed a burst maneuver. Short, explosive booster blast in one direction. In-game, called "burst maneuver"—or BM for short.

Dodge those, then hide in a building-heavy area. I smirked inwardly. Wonder if the thrusters can handle it.

Missiles closing fast. Twelve in total. No time to hesitate.

Boom!

The burst fired like a bomb, flipping the world upside down.

…

"Guh… kuhk… urk…."

Thud, thud. I stomped the pedals spasmodically. Vision blood-red, barely seeing.

The voice sounded muffled, like underwater. I ignored it, pushing forward.

Why'd it go wrong? Damn… body can't handle the acceleration….

Protections against g-forces weren't working. I took the full ~10g from the Nexus. Lethal even for the trained—let alone my frail body.

Consciousness fading fast. Anywhere… gotta escape quick….

As I staggered, barely lucid—

Flash—

"……?"

One monitor lit not red, but another color. Tears of blood streaming, I looked.

Safety zone? Mobile hangar? Gibberish messages. But below, a brighter blue line grabbed my gaze.

IFF data….

Ally. I stared blankly, uncomprehending. Friendly?

The original pilot's ally? Coming for this wrecked Nexus? In the enemy's heart? No. Something off.

Forcing focus, I read the fine print: The mobile hangar was just secured.

Secured? By who?

Not me. Highly suspicious. But I couldn't think further.

"Urk, keh."

Splat! Blood gushed. Consciousness teetering.

Trust ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some "ally" showing up at this perfect timing?

Ridiculous. Gripping the stick till it hurt, I muttered.

"I can handle it alone."

No rotten lifelines. No shady help.

They were chasing to the ends of the earth. Shaking them off would be tough. Enemy at max thrust, cruising mode.

Have to fight after all.

Crackle— Then, a new voice on my channel.

My body froze at the voice. "Hah." I twisted my lips, squeezing out words from my lungs.

"Was… planning to anyway…."

Whoosh! I halted, building between me and the enemy. Debris everywhere.

Target the pilot.

Couldn't destroy the enemy Nexus like this, so maximize pilot impact. I grabbed a concrete pillar from the ground. Right arm gone, so left hand.

Fwung, fwung! Boosters roared from beyond the building. I accelerated toward their approach.

The enemy rounded the building—and met my waiting concrete pillar.

"Not running."

Swoosh— Boom!

I smashed the pillar into the slowed enemy from their turn.

Chunks flew. Enemy tried bursting away. But—

Boom!

I threw caution aside, bursting after them recklessly. Thud! Pillar struck again. Skull-rattling for them.

Nexus piloting links nerves to machine—near oneness. Couldn't destroy, but could shock the pilot.

Far inferior to standard weapons, but….

Just immobilize briefly. I doggedly pursued, swinging the pillar wildly.

Boom! Boom!!

They fled. Third burst. Crunch! Bang!

Thud, thud!

Enemy slowed. Thud, clang!

Clang, clang…! Rebar exposed now, metal clashing.

Finally, the groans over comms stopped.

Screech— Thud!

Last left arm detached too. Used it a lot.

With that voice as the last thing I heard, I blacked out.