Mina’s suit was a specialized suit for mechanics. It had 4 mechanical arms with some tools for repair jobs but could not do what a full workshop tool could, normally that is.

“This is what I can do” said Mina glowing with confidence while her exo started to move by itself.

A few moves from the plasma cutter and the box holding the prototype mech was dismantled.

Then the mech started to stand on its own within the cargo hold, the legs remaining in a shortened position while raising one

The mechanical arms danced around the extended leg, cutting plates, removing parts, and dismantling it completely. Marcus doubted he could replicate that even with proper tools, much less those portable ones.

“How?” asked Marcus dumbfounded.

“With time you will discover how your ability expresses itself” as Mina explained as the exo kept working “You could develop multiple abilities or just the one but they are all related to you in some way.

My first ability is direct machinery manipulation. I use my mana to understand and manipulate any mechanical or electronical machine even if it is not connected to anything. The more mana used, the stronger my ability to manipulate it and the how my exo and the mech are moving by themselves.

The second one is related to the first. Tool enhancement. I can improve any and all tools I use making them work faster with improved precision while protecting them from the extra wear.

This is why I can control my exo perfectly but, it is a tool, MY tool, where I can only give simple commands to the mech.”

“She is being modest, she could make the mech dance the Macarena, also why she could take control of the plane” said Anne while laughing from the side “She is also one of the best hackers ever as she can link with her data pad and use it to hack anything”

Mina smiled “My ability is limited though, it doesn’t have too much range, the more complex the task the more attention I need and a few more”

A few loud clanks of metal falling made Marcus look at the mech. The frontal 2 legs were already on the floor and the joints were being reworked completely. She was smelting the metal, setting and cooling it on the spot to print a different joint while still partially attached.

"What are you doing?" asked Marcus with concern.

"We are going to need to use your mech to reach the Vigile’s convoy midway. While these legs are fine for normal movement, we will need a leg that can withstand melee combat, sudden movements and I promised to add the capability of jumping"

"The internals were not made to endure that!" exclaimed Marcus “Even if you improve the legs the detachable generator joint will break easily, the harvester arms would completely fall apart and throw the balance off”

“Excellent points so help” and gave him his data pad with the design "What changes would you make to ensure the generator stays well?"

Marcus started to look at his mech being take apart and at the design looking for ways to correct it.

"Maybe… if you change the joint into a semi-rigid union it would allow to absorb the shock from jumping but it will not be great. It already has all the power cables as flexibles so they would resist that too, also change the legs, shorter legs with telescopic extension in the last part with hydraulic suspension that would absorb the shock of falling with a compressive fluid and maybe even use it to release such a pressure and jump… but we don’t have any of that"

Anne laughed “What do you mean?” and pointed at the big cargo doors “In this situation we can take what we need from the ship”

Mina meanwhile was focused on reconstructing the legs with stronger joints, the mechanical arms never stopping moving, cutting, shaving, shifting, smelting, and modifying the metallic parts better and faster than anything Marcus ever saw. It was mesmerizing.

"It’s... incredible…" Marcus was taken back while following Mina’s movement while modding the mech, taking a leg apart or assembling it should take hours and she was doing it in seconds.

“This is why Mech Designers are needed, most high-level designers develop an inherent ability to do something like this, this is why it was better for you to start now. A normal designer would awaken only AFTER joining the Coalition but with some knowledge about abilities from before you can advance far faster”

“Now don’t just stand there looking Marcus, start to design changes, we need weapons, detection, long range communications and anything else you think it can help us” said Anne reminding him of what was important while slapping loudly his back.

Marcus mind suddenly focused.

“Weapons… shorten the fangs and change into a dual nozzle design, to shoot ice shrapnel or to saw things with ice.

Detection, take the long-range scanners… no, too power hungry and big ….” Marcus continued to muse internally while looking at his pad missing the look Mina threw at Anne.

“Don’t just look at what is needed Marcus, look beyond. What do you want this spider to be? Do you want it to fight or to flee? To race faster? To move carefully? Attack and kill? What do you see your mech as Marcus?" Mina’s voice shifted Marcus though process.

Marcus stood there silent and unmoving for a few moments and his hands started to dart to his pad again.

“The spider needs to survive, to move and to fight. It is weak so it won’t rely on its fangs so traps. Lubricant from those barrels with some fuel from the plane, the white mist to…” Marcus knees buckled and he fell forward.

Anne extended an armored arm to grab him.

He was too tired, his everything hurt “What happened?”

"You manipulated mana semiconsciously" said Anne beaming with pride “from the looks some sort of internal enhancement that is why you are tired”

“Mana naturally reacts to everything, it can react just because the concentration is too much or guided through willpower, this is how humans do it. Go, take a nap, you left all the design changes in the pad, I’ll finish the mech” said Mina.

Marcus lost consciousness immediately after falling towards Anne.

Marcus slept for a while but was awaken by Anne. He had been sleeping in the pilot’s cabin.

“The mech is almost ready, Mina is creating something you forgot, some pockets to hide you, your mother and the pilot so get ready, we are leaving the ship” said Anne before leaving.

He was still weakened and groggy, he shouldn’t have slept more than 10 minutes. By the time he reached the cargo bay there were 3 small protuberances below the stomach of the spider and Anne was placing the pilot inside the middle one. Mina was already inside her exo and leading Marcus to the one on the right. Inside it was completely padded and had some security handles hidden plus a screen. It was cramped and he was forced into a fetal position but it was protected.

Not a minute after the mech started to move.

While Marcus had gone to the outside on occasion it had been over 10 years since the last time that he had been so closed to the outside. Maybe it was that he was still a bit addled but he found the forest and the grass to be beautiful.

“Marcus, can you hear me?” Mina’s voice came from the screen

“Yes”

“Good, now, Anne has the meeting spot set and the Vigiles are going there to meet us, the screen is connected to the multiple cameras in the mech so you can look around if you want, do try to rest a bit more, you are still drained from before”

“Ok, how much time do we have until we reach there?”

“Depends but should take no more than 1 hour. How is the final check, Anne?”

“All looks good so I’ll start to move”

While the pocket was padded Marcus started to feel the shifts while the mech moved.

The area around the plane was mostly green with tall trees, few bushes and short grass due to the height and general lack of water; the sun was ¼ down already and they have maybe 4 hours before sunset, more than enough time concluded Anne will picking up the pace

The spider moved carefully and silently down the sparse forest but at a decent speed. Because it was sparse enough it rarely needed to dodge trees and because there were few bushes it could always look where to step on.

It took merely 20 minutes to reach a rocky steep slope devoid of plant life. It was almost at 75º but the spider could take it with stride, the legs had spikes that could plant on every step, it took a bit more of effort and the pneumatic cylinders were used to push rather than just absorb the impact but it could walk downwards and not fall.

“Why are you going sideways Anne? The mech should take this slope easily”

“The slope is too steep and going directly downwards would be dangerous if I miss one step, sideways I can control more the angle and the speed”

"What do you think Marcus? Isn’t it a beautiful sight?" asked Mina “It is nor normal, sure, but look at the mountain, the green forest”

"To think that 2 ages ago we could live in places like this" Marcus was taken with the sight, his whole life he had seen the outside as a source of danger but he now started to consider the beauty of it, well for a while.

"We have incoming, watch out" said Anne.

"4 o clock, 3 class 3, some kind of mountain goat in the top of the ledge" informed Mina.

Marcus considerations were cut short. Beauty my ass, class 3 beasts were the basically a bigger version of the animal and these goats were clearly hostile.

3 big goats, about 2 meters tall with different colored coats. The biggest of them, a white goat with 2 spiked horns at the front, bleated loudly and charged first from the edge of the ledge looking directly at the mech. The other two a bit smaller, one brown and the other black with massive horns curved backwards rushed after a few moments also aiming for collision course with the mech.

"Yay I can use new tool!"

"7, 3rd leg. You need to avoid the first then you can play"

"OK party pooper. Marcus pay attention"

The mech was walking at a constant pleasant pace yet suddenly it accelerated sharply, almost like a short jump. It rushed forward suddenly with perfect precision to evade the white goat however the other 2 corrected the course.

"Time to hunt" joy, pure and overwhelming joy in Anna’s voice which brought a shiver to Marcus.

When they were close enough the mech jumped rotating its body towards the black goat with the fangs waiting for prey.

The spider extended both fangs, one fang shot lubricant directly over the head of the brown goat while the other fang aimed directly at the back of the black one. The freeze cutter was made with the idea of cutting a few centimeters of bark and should take a few seconds of direct contact. It didn’t.

By the time the spider hit the ground the black goat’s head was rolling down the slope while the body kept running and the brown goat was rolling forward without control.

The first goat had managed to stop before reaching the end of the slope and looked at the other 2 failed attacks. It bleated loudly in anger, lowered its head and begun to rush again towards the mech again. The spider crouched again waiting for the new attack while releasing a white mist.

The goat could barely see the mech anymore and it sped more however by the time it reached the mist the mech simply jumped over it and doused the goat in lubricant.

Anne was happy, 3 goats 2 dead and 1 disabled. The white goat had crashed into the slope and had stabbed its horns to maintain it’s position and not fall down the slope.

"Why did you leave the white goat alive?"

"Killing beast in the wilds is dangerous. Do you see the body of the black goat? It should be over there in the bushes but is not. Also, the brown goat bleated the entire trip down the slope yet now is quiet, most likely dead from something else" Mina’s voice was cold and indifferent "The big white one is also keeping silent however it will still attract attention. Every other animal that wants to eat will come looking for it and we are going to use the distraction to evade combat"

"Wouldn’t be enough to use the mist field and evade them?"

“Not by itself” reminded Anne.

"If a beast sees a white mist moving and have no other target it will begin to stalk the mist hoping for some food or it may be territorial and try to fight it, now if the goat is there the goat will attract more attention and the mist may be left alone. Also, some plants and animals like the cold"

When the mech reached the edge of the forest instead of going into the forest it started to climb up the trees using the legs to stick to the trees. The forest was much denser down here, lots of bushes, tall grass and vines would complicate the mechs moving below. Marcus didn’t expect to do that but it was a good solution.

Anne kept the mech moving between the trees while emitting a very thin fog.

"Why are you emitting fog, didn’t you say that could bring problems?"

"Marcus, look at the fog, see where is vanishing? The mist will impede fliers and climbers from targeting us due to the lack of sight and it will vanish before anyone below could notice it. Sure, anything closer could feel the generator and the cold but a white moving spot between the trees won’t attract too much attention. Also, in a thick forest most of the animals will be smaller, class 1 and 2 mainly" Mina explained everything analytically.

Marcus was having troubles explaining most of it. They moved far faster than possible while walking ON TREES and the joints were OK, they had jumped and landed which the body shouldn’t tolerate, the legs were moving constantly changing trees, picking the best points for support and even if they started to move or bend, she would already be ready to move to the next.

“This is your ability? Less wear and tear on the mechs? Improved function?” asked Marcus.

“Yeah, my ability is Mechanical Control. While limited to machines and I must be controlling them I can improve any part of them, in a more general way like now to reduce wear and tear, to make it work faster, consume less or vastly improve some part like when I cut that goat’s head. It is not flashy but it is very useful”

Marcus started to process what Anne was saying. "She is an awakened pilot" murmured realization coming, he never expected it, this mana ability was something new but he never connected it to that.

"Well of course Marcus, awakened pilots are basically pilots that found how to use their abilities and have their own techniques, I’m awakened too and I’m a mechanic, the best Designers are also awakened. It is merely a title for someone who can control mana"

Between the information, the fight, the impossibility of walking in trees and everything else he was not feeling tired anymore, his mind going full speed while processing everything.

Eventually they left the thickest part of the forest and went down to the floor, a few snakes and other small animals tried to get close but either got stomped against a tree, frozen or ignored.

Not long after they met the Vigile’s group, standard configuration 4 4-legged mech models with turrets on the top and 2 long guns as arms plus 2 humanoid models with 1 short range weapon and a shield. They crossed paths far faster than the convoy expected as they have not reached the meeting point.

After a brief communication and assurance that there was no need of medical help with Anne they turned towards back and started marching towards the edge of the forest.

It still took almost 35 minutes until they could leave the forest. At the forest edge was a wheeled multipurpose mech unit with medical help where the plane pilot was placed. Meanwhile the spider mech retracted the extendable legs while putting the wheels to good use surprising the Vigile’s pilots.

The last 40 km of almost flat terrain were done in merely 15 minutes.

Finally the gates of Quintus 2 where on sight.