Chapter 25

“Forget just hitting your bird, I clipped its wings!”

Jeff was far too busy to care about that jab, let alone respond to it. It was purely by Sav's instincts and training that they survived that fire trap so it was now Jeff's turn to show off.

From the moment he saw that the wings were inoperable, he knew that a drastically different plan was needed. Since entire sets of wings weren't something they had lying around, common sense said that they would have to make do with any spare thrusters they had. But that's not what Jeff had in mind.

When Sav arrived in the workshop, Jeff stripped the casing off of the remains of the wings and connected the power cords directly into a part he had prepared for another fight but didn't get to use. It was the power pack for the old style cannon that he looked into as a means of fighting Satou. He had made it mostly out of curiosity, looking at new ways to apply old technology and ideas was one of the basic thought exercises that mechanists were encouraged to practise, but it was now their main weapon. Since it was a curiosity, he had assembled it from existing parts, and only had to strip a handful of components to make it match his submitted schematics. The several meters long, spear-like energy cannon was mismatched with the jet like rig, but Jeff barely had enough time to get it functioning, let alone thematically appropriate. Which wasn't to say that he didn't have idea's that that regard.

To prevent any time being wasted, he hadn't changed any of the programming. As far as the rig was concerned, the towering cannon was a pistol and the power pack was a set of wings. To get the rig to charge it, Sav would have to tell that complicated machine to fire the thrusters. That kind of double think would surely slow down her actions, an effect that would also be increased by not having the time to ensure the particles properly synchronised, but that wasn't as important with the current set up. Without wings and with fewer thrusters, the rig's movement speed was cut to a crawl, meaning there wouldn't be as much need for Sav to rely on the rig's system and sensors. Avoiding and targeting would be impacted, but the manual control of the pilot would likely make up for that.

When Sav sprinted back out to the field, just barely in time for the next round, the power pack still had exposed cords. Jeff knew that it was a glaring problem, and that since it wasn't covered by the paint, it would be possible for Sachiko's rockets to get a lock on. With her speed lowered to by the lack of wings, even missiles that were successfully avoided would deal damage with their explosive radius. Jeff could only trust in Sav's skill to avoid and minimise damage long enough for the pack to reach full charge.

Another issue came to Jeff's attention as the match started up again. There were signs that the particles in the power pack were starting to be rejected by the rig's particles. Since they hadn't been connected normally, they were building up occasional waste frequencies. Simply put, the control frequency of the backpack was just slightly misaligned. The result of which was that in addition to the normal delays and changes to the overall frequency, it produced small blocks of signal that prevented particles from maintaining their shape. That meant that the longer the fight went on, the more parts of the pack would revert to formless particles. It would start with one or two, then after a minute there would be about a grain of sand's worth. By 5 minutes, it was unlikely that key components would be unaffected. Erring in the side of caution meant that the pack could only be used for 4 minutes.

Not that Sav needed to know that; from the start of the match it was obvious that it wouldn't last that long. Sachiko restocked her missile supplies during the break, and was enthusiastically showing just how much money she could burn. Explosions rained across the field as Sav jumped, rolled and dodged around to mitigate the damage. At one point she even used the spear to poll-volt further away. As erratic as it looked, it seemed to work; Sav managed to keep her rig intact for long enough for the pack to charge.

It was clear throughout the round that Sachiko had no idea what to make of the weapon. That said, she was far from dumb enough to not put two and two together when the three metre barrel split open to reveal a series of energy condensers. The condensers were something like spark plugs; they allowed electricity to arc in the air for a fraction of a second. Unlike spark plugs however, that spark could be moved to a neighbouring condenser to double the power. Doing so required an increasing amount of energy each time it was attempted, all of which was needed in an instant. By the time the charge reached the end of the three metre long barrel, the amount of power was nearly twice a rig's total output. While some of that power would disperse into the air, it was clear to anyone that could identify the weapon that getting hit by it would put an end to any fight.

Sachiko's earlier confidence disappeared the moment she saw that dreadful weapon prepare to fire. The panic on her face was reflected in her rigs motions as she fired her thrusters to make as much distance between them as she could manage.

The weapon sparked as condenser fed condenser. One by one, one hundred sparks added together in less than a second.

Blinding light.

A crack of thunder.

An explosion that rained rig parts across the arena.

Metal melted from heat as lightning passed through a shield as if it weren't even there. But the shield managed to have some effect. Although it failed to stop the blow, it did manage to split it up. The lightning broke up into smaller parts, each drawn into a separate shield emitter like tiny lightning rods. The emitters and the surrounding metal melted and fractured, but the orange rig was somehow intact.

Sachiko's trusty launcher, however, wasn't. The energy from that weapon was sure to set off any unused missiles, and as such she tore it off, along with the armour it was strapped to, and threw it away. Some of the energy that the shield managed to disperse struck the flying weapon and caused to explode, sending metal debris throughout the grounds.

The match wasn't over; Sachiko was still able to fight. Even without a shield to block out air resistance, she would still be able to beat Sav with speed alone, not letting her build up the power for a second attack. The gamble had failed and the match was sure to go against Sav's favour.

But as the smoke cleared, there was a figure approaching, just metres away from where Sachiko was hovering. The moment after she shot the attack, Sav started running forward, using the thrusters on her rig's legs to close the distance as fast as she could. She hadn't ever expected the weapon to work. It was a failed product to begin with; if it worked people would still use it.

With a powerful jump, Sav swung the spear like a bat, striking the unprepared opponent down hard on the shoulder. Fortunately, the shield was broken and the hit landed hard. Furthermore, the armour had been removed with the launcher and the delicate inner were visible. The heavy blow caused a crunching sound as it was clear that bones were broken.

But the shattered bones in Sachiko's shoulder weren't enough to stop her. Her black prosthetic arm didn't even need that shoulder to function, and tormented her muscles with pain to move the rig's fist into making a last-ditch punch at Sav.

While the punch hit solidly, the attempt caused her earlier wounds to reopen. Painkillers were doing nothing to the pain from those wounds when searing hot metal and broken bones were added to the mix. The muscle shredding by the prosthetic was just enough to bring her over the line, fainting from the pain after successfully attacking.

When the two rigs hit the ground, Sachiko's rig retracted, sending the medical team into frenzy as they rushed out into the grounds. They had her onto a stretcher in moments, and the crowds cheered with roars that felt like they would never end. The match had been dynamic, explosive, fast and close. The scrappy finish with a dramatic melee only cemented their excitement; it was the kind of match that brought people to see more. Standing there, surrounded by the adoring fans, the cheering masses, was Savannah, Jeff's fighter adorned in Jeff's armour. It was a close fight against a worthy opponent and the pride that swelled in his chest was boundless.

He was so content with that outcome that he didn't even feel the need to send Sam a gloating text. They made it into the finals.

The finals were a letdown after the excitement of the previous rounds. They were simply a junior league pilot from Sam's county, an orthodox speed type fighter that made their way into the finals by honing the basics into a fine blade. While that worked well enough for them to get to the finals, it was pointless against Jeff and Sav's planning. The match was over in one round and the contestants were just as disappointed as the crowds.

The disappointment was short-lived. For Savannah, it ended just after the awards ceremony, when she was handed her prize money. For Jeff, it ended prior to that.

As the trophy was being handed out, and representatives of the governments involved paid over their wagers, Jeff met with leading members of the International Body for Rig Science. They found out that Alicia Kaya had made his non-disclosure agreement invalid and rushed to meet with him. Luckily for them, Jeff's price was fairly cheap. There was a Quadrennial Games later that year and he wanted them to pay for his and Sav's trip. It included accommodation, travel, access to the matches and, most importantly, an invitation to the trade show.

With Savannah's potential, it was entirely possible for her to graduate out of the junior league before the next one, so Jeff felt that she needed to experience what those matches were like. The fact that Alicia would be paying for him to visit the trade show he had always dreamed of getting in to might have also contributed to his joy.

Since the event was organised by the International Body for Rig Science, an invitation was something they had no problems getting and as such agreed. They rushed to get out the paperwork before Jeff had a moment to reconsider.

The total cost of the trip to the Quadrennial Games was far more than they earned in prize money.

With that, the friendly international came to an end and the teams all went home. Jeff hadn't managed to meet with Sam since their match; she had been busy with packing up and visiting Sachiko in the hospital. While that was regrettable, he knew his student would recover and achieve far more. As he drove a truck filled with tools and parts away from the warm and dry city, he pulled over and took one last look at the distant arena where his and Sav's partnership truly started. With a mixture of thoughts and feelings enveloping him, he sent Sam a message.

“See you next time.”