"Cadets! Attention!" Major Joshua Scott addressed the assembled students of Class One of the Neo Ace Academy.
All 24 students of the Academy's inaugural class stiffened to attention in the spartan but spacious ready room outside of the simulator bays. Class One formed a line, two ranks deep, from First Platoon to Fourth Platoon that stretched the length of the ready room. The students had their cybernetic helmets tucked in the crook of their arms and wore form fitting, pilot suits woven out of silvery grey nano-fabric. Each suit had the student’s name printed on its left breast with their platoon numbers and the Neo Ace crest marked on the shoulders. They represented a variety of ethnic groups with a majority being Asians and Caucasians. Everyone had short haircuts, with some of the girls wearing their hair to the maximum allowed shoulder length.
Joshua looked over the fresh, slightly tense, faces of the teenagers in front of him as he walked up the line accompanied by his senior instructor Captain Penny Tanaka. Both of them wore tan colored uniform jackets over their pilot suits. The jackets showed their name, rank, combat ribbons, and were emblazoned with shoulder patches showing their duty unit crests and the CAJUN seal. Two other mecha instructors followed close behind them.
Good, all of the teens were standing properly at attention in a straight line, Joshua thought to himself. Staff Sergeant Bishop had done a good job of instilling basic military discipline and drill in them during their daily physical activity class. Right now, he had them for mecha tactics and training three times a week for three hours at a time. At the age of 39, he did not consider himself to be old, but these faces looked so young to him. He had taught at mecha academies before, being the only CAJUN quintuple ace, but that had been to young adults, not kids. He just trusted that Dr. Janet Chan knew what she was doing and had only agreed to do this at her request.
CAJUN was short for Canada Japan Union, an intergovernmental security organization with an elite rapid deployment force. The organization had eventually expanded to include Pacifica, the western half of the old United States, after CAJUN decisively intervened in the brutal Second American Civil War. CAJUN and Canadian military units had broken the stranglehold on Chicago, freeing the city, and allowing Pacifican forces to push the True American forces back. This had brought about an uneasy peace between the two American sides.
True America was still under the tyrannical rule of President Wenton to this day, seventeen years after he assumed power. Wenton had originally been vice-president, assuming control after President Allison died in the nuclear destruction of Washington D.C. at the end of the Alien War. He kept the country together in the state of crisis that followed, but political opposition began when Wenton cancelled the next presidential election. It became obvious that he was not going to relinquish the presidency and he began a purge of his political opponents. The Second Civil War started when several states and military units rebelled. Vicious warfare ensued. Pacifica was then created under the leadership of the Governor of California to unify the western and many central states against Wenton’s True America. Pacifica stayed strong and held to the old American ideals and system with its own president.
The Neo Ace Academy was operated by the General Automata Corporation (GAC) under contract to CAJUN. GAC was the top manufacturer of the most advanced mechas for commercial and military use within the CAJUN member and allied countries. The goal for the academy, conceived by Dr. Chan, was to train the next generation of "super pilots" for CAJUN in conjunction with the development of higher performance HARM units. The students were chosen primarily for their superior ability to synchronize with the neural interfaces of the HARM units, an ability that peaked in the ten years.
Joshua stopped strolling in front of First Platoon as he began speaking. "You have been training for two months now. Most of you performed well today," he emphasized. "Second Platoon decisively fought off the spider mechs to hold the line. Third and Fourth Platoons held the line well. These platoons then managed to hold out against the follow-up assault by the Hunters. However, First Platoon decided on a pursuit operation even after driving the spiders back and had a radically different outcome."
There was a slight murmur through the other platoons at this news. First Platoon stood silently. Joshua looked Jake in the eye when he spoke next. "Acting Platoon Leader Wilde, can you explain your actions and the result to the class?"
This is going to suck, Jake thought to himself. "Yes, Sir. I decided to pursue the surviving spider mechs to achieve a decisive victory, but it did not play out that way. I attempted to flank the spiders and my flankers were caught in a counter attack by Hunter units. I did not perform sufficient reconnaissance and split my forces so they were defeated individually. My tactics did not allow for my units to support each other at the end."
"That's true, Cadet Wilde, but why did you disobey orders to hold the line? Your platoon was destroyed by your actions. You realize that four spider mechs, along with an intact Hunter and a damaged Hunter made it through your line to attack Central City?"
"Yes, Sir. It was not a good exchange. I thought I was taking a reasonable risk and did not listen to my platoon members." Jake wished he had listened to Mayumi and Toshi now. He also wanted to say they had done well considering they had been ambushed, but knew that would just get him another lecture.
"Very well," Joshua relented. The kids were learning military tactics and discipline and this was a school and not a boot camp. Jake was a confident teen and a quick learner, though still too impulsive. “Learn from your mistakes in training now instead of on a real battlefield where you would be truly dead. Consider this a good lesson. There is a time and place for initiative, but today wasn't it. Sometimes going for an all out victory can lose you everything. Everyone here fought well today. The rest of you might want to review First Platoon's battle later. I think you will find it instructive. Remember that you have exams for all classes coming up next week. Class dismissed."
The cadets fell out of line. Some talked amongst themselves, but most headed for the locker rooms to change out of their pilot suits into their school uniforms. A few of the guys came over to tease Jake on his non-win before leaving.
First Platoon stayed together to talk for a bit longer. Jake was trying to apologize to his classmates, but they were not having any of it.
"It was a bad decision, Jake," Toshi told him. "We should have followed orders, but we did back you in the end though, so it is our fault as well."
"Yes." Mayumi nodded in agreement. “We all share the blame.”
"It was probably rigged anyways," said Mary, who was the youngest and feistiest member of the group at the age of 15. "At least I managed to wing one. They put up a wicked crossfire on me."
Most of Second Platoon and some of the members of Third Platoon then came over and joined them. The cadets had formed some good friendships in the month since school had started in September.
Ying Chung, the female platoon leader, was eager to share some gossip. "I heard Penny talking with one of the techs about your battle," she excitedly spoke out.
"Yeah," Nuna, cut in. She was the aboriginal leader of Fourth Platoon and had earned the position through her hard work. "She said that you guys almost broke free of the ambush with some amazing moves. I'm going to have to see the footage."
"They said Mayumi pulled off some amazing dodges apparently," Ying cut in again. "You're going to have to show us how to do that."
"I don't know if I can," Mayumi quietly replied. "It just kind of came to me. It was almost reflexive."
"Maybe it was that new software upgrade they loaded into the simulators the other day." Bing spoke out. "The tech behind these things is amazing. InternationalMechWatchers.org says there is a new O/S being developed for the next generation HARM units."
"Stop geeking out on us," Geraldo replied to Bing. At 17, he was the oldest kid there. "I think Jake here must be pretty sweet on Mayumi. I couldn't believe he made that last leap. I thought he would have been shot down for sure."
Mayumi blushed. "It's--- It's not like that," she stammered. "Jake was just trying to save us."
"Yeah. Get a grip, jerk" Jake retorted. He surprised himself with the intensity of his response.
"I think I struck a nerve," Geraldo gloated, his vicious streak coming out. "But… I must add that Mayumi is amazing. If you're not interested, maybe I should ask her out."
Mayumi reddened even more.
"That's enough!" Mary intervened. She tried to get into Geraldo's face, but was too short. “You don’t know when to quit, Montoya.” The red-headed fury took care of her room mate whom she considered too shy to take care of herself sometimes.
"Okay, okay." Geraldo put his hands up. "Call off your attack dog, Mayumi. I was just having some fun."
Toshi put his hand on Jake's shoulder to show support for his friend. "Yes. Let's go and change. I'm starved myself. Who wants to go for ramen before we head back to the dorm?"
"A big bowl of Shio ramen and those giant gyoza at Ramenocity!" Bing chipped in.
"Ramen's good, but how about burgers instead?" Jake added. "We just had ramen a couple of days ago."
"How about something healthier, boys?" Ying Chung added. "Some real Chinese, or salad – some food with vegetables?"
"What about the food court at Osaka Town Station?” Mayumi joined in. “It’s huge and we can all get what we want there."
“It’s an extra train stop past the dorms, but I’m game. They have a great BBQ shop there.” Jake agreed. Osaka Town Station was a large mall, transit hub, and high-rise residential development. It was one of many construction projects to rise in devastated Edmonton after the Alien War seventeen years earlier. Japanese refugees from the Osaka area had relocated there when Canada had opened its doors to help the Japanese population, on the brink of mass starvation at the end of the war.
“Yeah!” A few of the others agreed. That decided it and the group headed for the lockers.
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