Waifu, chapter 30. (Patreon)

So here we are. Happy holiday eve, and I hope whichever one you celebrate is the best on you've had yet. This is a chapter you all voted for unfortunately, and not a holiday themed tale, but I trust you'll enjoy it anyway. Please do, and let me know if you don't after all. 

Up again, at the crack of dawn. Time for physical training, and Geraldine would wait for no man. Or woman. Whatever. I shut off my alarm and started pulling myself together; for some reason it was a little bit harder today.

I managed however, because if I didn't, Blue would come in. Or come back in, in this case. Breakfast was a large waffle, with some sort of white substance on top that Blue had informed me was "cream". It was good stuff, and if Blue wanted to find someone else to be his focus, it could lead with the food. Even after all the annoyance and more than annoyance, the food was a big plus in my book.

I'd certainly miss it when things went back to normal. Maybe I could bargain my services for a few things. And some parts. And some equipment.

I'd better stop there; doing things that way would lead to me being an indentured servant to an AI for decades.

I had this dish before of course, but I was still going to take my time. Blue had left breakfast here, which was a little odd since it had been leaving my meals in the mess hall. Something might be up. I really hoped nothing was up.

Even if something was however, I was going to savor what I had while it lasted. There were no pills this time, only a large waffle, a few circular tubes of sausage, and some juice. Chilled juice, even. Where had Blue kept this? The mess hall? I hadn't checked every cold box there so it was possible, but I'd have sworn there hadn't been any.

No, it didn't matter. It was here, and that was enough.

Only once I was done did I get dressed. The hall was clear, with no helper present. That didn't matter all that much, since the cameras worked.

I grabbed my mapper and left, heading to the bathroom. I didn't really want to spend time in here, too many bad memories, so I did my thing quickly.

Geraldine was just coming in as I left. "Seems you had the same problem this morning that I did."

Geraldine grinned as she passed me. "That's every morning. I hate morning people. See you out there." She finished up with a large yarn.

Good thing I wasn't a morning person then. "Yeah, see you. I'll let you win the run this time."

Geraldine scoffed loudly as the door shut behind her.

At least we were getting along; things could be much worse.

The secret door opened, and the mess hall was full. So of course everyone stopped nursing drinks and what little remained on their plates and stared at me. The two helpers flanking the door fell in as I moved, adding to the spectacle.

the spectacle that I was didn't end until I was safely out of the mess hall and out of view. My boss had even been there, staring along with the rest of them. So... well, I didn't know what it was, but it was something!

My box was where I'd left it, and there was space for my tablet next to it. I set it down, grabbed my chair, and decided I'd work on a design while I could. I only had a few minutes, so I tinkered, moving wings, moving the engine, changing the angle of rotor blades on the very low-tech engine.

Each thing I changed altered the behavior of the model, and Blue was on the spot with offering insight. That and corrections; it appeared that there was a reason for the placement of weapons, engines, and other things, and a for the shape of the body of the drone in general.

I wasn't really improving anything, but I was learning.

Gray strode into the warehouse, with Geraldine right behind him. Nothing for it, time to go.

Gray started us off... and he was far more lenient than Geraldine. only twenty sit-ups, only twenty push-ups. A few exercises, and then a short run to top it all off.

A run which I threw of course, I was playing my part. Geraldine was right beside me the entire time, rolling her eyes so hard that it was a wonder that she could see to run at all. It was actually pretty amusing, even though the rest of the company was smiling about the fortunate turn of events.

Gray just looked mildly confused, presumably about the behavior. I wasn't going to clue him in.

We ended earlier than normal, and Geraldine shrugged. "Might as well get to the training part of the day."

"So long as I don't need the suit." I didn't want to wear the thing, and I didn't know where it was anyway."

"I mean, I guess you don't if we just go over the controls again. But I'd rather we do some drills. We're at the point where you need some, badly."

Drills meant using the suit. "Fine, fine. I'll go find it."

I didn't need to find it; the helper I almost tripped over as soon as I turned around had the cursed thing in its claws, holding it up for me to grab.

I snagged the thing, maybe a little too hard; the helper was almost knocked over. Whoops. "Thanks Blue. Also, sorry about that. I hate this thing."

"I understand," Blue replied. "My previous... pilot did not like the suit either. I am forbidden from making a better one, I apologize."

An odd restriction from the old guard? I'm sure there was a reason for it. "Don't worry about it. I'll see what I can do on my end. After all, it's just a matter of coupling the nerve readers with new clothes."

The helper followed me. "Not just, the suit also offers protection against heat and flames, something that most pilots enjoy."

Well that was fair. I'd still like some form of insulating layer and to not have the thing poke me every time I put it on; there had to be some way to fix that. Well, some way other than what was normal.

Luckily enough, I'd have time and resources to figure it out; Blue would help me no matter what happened. The AI had given its word, and I believed it. I had to believe it.

I was getting sick of changing clothes; did all pilots do this? The bathroom was empty, but I still went into a stall. The entire thing was clean anyway, with the best cleaning robots could manage. Not that I'd do the thing my grandma always said I could do and eat off the floor, but I was sure I could.

Changing my clothes in less than a minute was a new skill I was trying to learn; and I was doing a pretty decent job. A minute and a half later I'd managed it, which was much better than yesterday but still worse than most pilots could manage in an emergency, according to Geraldine.

Once again, I was showing everyone everything. Putting my jacket on made me feel a bit better; I could wear it until I got into the Achilles. I snagged my clothes from the hooks on the door and stepped out; the faster I made the walk and the faster I got it all done.

The helper was in front of me the moment I made it out the door of course, its claws out.

Right, I should just give in now. I tossed the machine my clothes to deal with. Even with my shirt on its face, the helper zoomed out of the way before I could step around it.

The cameras, of course. Blue didn't need the cameras of the helper. It was just like the drones and the Achilles, on a smaller scale.

Despite what I thought, no one appeared to be looking at me as I crossed the distance to the mech. Geraldine was there to help me of course, but I just waved her off. I had to start getting into the giant robotic death machine alone and in a hurry as well, since Geraldine wasn't going to be here forever.

She only needed to correct me once, and anyone who says I tripped on the ladder is a dirty dirty liar, from now until the end of time.

At least I managed the startup sequence flawlessly; the cockpit closed in behind me and I was cut off from the world while another one came into being to my front.

Why did we call it a cockpit, anyway? What was that even from?

Blue might know, I'd ask later; the fake enemies were appearing on screen.

I put the mech through its paces, and then again. Part way through the second time Geraldine began giving me hints and pointers.

It was a tiring session, with Blue pushing me pretty hard. I 'died' a few times, and the list of what I'd done each time was a long one. We had to go over every point. When he started the test a third time, I knew he was going to need to launder the suit again. How did people handle this?

The hatch cracked and opened, the screens stopping all at once. The controls deadened themselves. That wasn't disturbing at all, in any way.

"Come on, time for a break before we hit diminishing returns." Geraldine exclaimed, grabbing me under an arm.

For some reason I was a little wobbly, and she knew it. "What is diminishing returns?"

My pilot mentor smiled. "It means that a person has to put in more effort for less of a reward, and is usually made in reference to gaining skills. If you spend too long in the pretty simulations, it can hurt you more than help. So its break time."

What an odd way to say 'you spent too long doing something and need a break'. I'd have to remember it.

"Have some coffee, move around a bit, blink. Do all of those things."

Movement sounded good. So did blinking; the lights in the hangar were irritating my eyes. I'd heard some pilots got that way if they stared at screens long enough. A few good blinks, just as suggested, and the effect stopped.

What was Gray doing here? He was at the table, seated next to where Geraldine had been, and had his face centimeters from my mapper.

My mapper which seemed to be displaying the cockpit of the Achilles.

That was all I needed. Gray turned away from the device, a smile on his face as he stood... and clapped me on the shoulder. "Not a bad performance at all. Are you sure you've only been learning to pilot for a few weeks?"

It was less, actually. But something told me I'd better not say that. "Yes, just since I got here."

"Amazing. You're picking things up very quickly, and your reflexes are top notch.  If only you weren't a mechanic...."

Yeah, no. Piloting mechs and armored vehicles were for people a little more brave. Everyone else was better off if I helped from the back.

"I'll leave all that to you. I'm a better mechanic than pilot, even if knowing how can't hurt."

Best to be nice here, and if things went horrible, being able to run away in a robot death machine or a fast tank couldn't hurt. No matter who wanted me to take a more front line roll.

Geraldine gave me a look that I was sure meant 'I'm onto you', but Gray just nodded. "Good attitude to have. Most pilots learn a little tinkering here and there too. Nothing like a real, trained mechanic, but enough to fix loose wiring or recognize what's broken."

A good thought, but without years of apprenticeship, there wasn't much you could do there. Same as a pilot, really. It just sucked that here I was, doing it all over again.

"Still, you're picking things up quickly. You might be a decent pilot in just a year." Gray opined idly.

Fine, screw it. I was grabbing some coffee after all, since I was standing here. A small cup made of 'styrofoam' (whatever that was) was stacked next to

"Less," Geraldine disagreed. "Give her six months, and she will at least be competent. In a year, getting trained like this? She'll be as good as either of us."

Maybe I was still seeing things due to my eyes being strained, but for a moment it looked as if Gray's smile went as brittle as heat blasted metal. "There is little substitute for experience, but I'll agree the raw skill I'm seeing is rare."

I decided to just ignore everything my superior said from this point on. These compliments had to be empty, and even if they weren't, no good could come of them. "Right, well I'm going to take that walk now. I'll be back in a bit."

Geraldine waved me away. "Sure. Make it a nice long one. Get some exercise in."

I wasn't sure I'd be doing that, but considering I'd just be coming back to more drills, at least one lap around the hangar seemed like a good idea.

The entire hangar, not just this section of it.

I started off, and of course a helper followed. I wasn't ever going to be alone with my thoughts here. For a moment the pressure stifled me, overwhelmed me.

No, deep breaths, I couldn't just fall apart here. People were depending on me.

If Blue knew what I was thinking, if I'd given it away, the AI said nothing. The helper just stayed behind me as I straightened up again and walked.

Maybe I'd walk two laps.

The scenery was slightly amusing, at least. The ghosts had set up in earnest in the hangar; there were tents and chairs and all sorts of other objects of camp life just lying straight out. Nothing was staked down of course, but unless the door opened into a massive wind, it would all stay where it was. More by luck than any planning it seemed, the massive door we used was unobstructed.

The entire camp sprang up mainly to give the impression that the ghosts had something to do, I was fairly certain. No one was really doing much of anything important... unless it was the cooks in the mess hall, none of whom were here.

Geraldine would have them all running more drills or cleaning, but under Gray none of that was happening.

Still, watching other people do a whole lot of nothing was familiar... and calming. I felt better by the end of my little journey, and I'd completely ignored a certain two people who might have been waving me back when I'd passed them after my first lap.

A third lap? No I'd better not - Geraldine might just come get me if I tried. My wonderful pilot teacher looked a little sour as I walked back to the table. Gray was still pouring over my mapper, as if there was something important to see on it.

"Right, back to more drills?"

"Nope," Geraldine denied instantly. "We're going to do something a bit different today."

She then pulled a small figure from behind her. I used the term small loosely, of course, because the model of the Achilles was a good fifteen centimeters. Where had she gotten something like that? Blue of course, but where had Blue gotten it, and why did it exist?

My mentor waved a hand and stepped aside, and revealed that on the table behind her were some bumpy areas, complete with rocks and trees, and some other models, that looked like various war machines the enemy used.

"Now," Geraldine continued with a grin. "Now we shall discus tactics, which are otherwise known as when to use what you have and why."