Max checked the power draw of the Mass Drivers as the Mecha began its second run. The Warp Field function was disabled, as they weren't trying to blow up the asteroid field during the tests, but the small projectiles were still doing a fine job of shattering the metallic rocks at regular speed.
The Shuttle's computer was running damage simulation numbers to be integrated into the VR system for immersive training and combat analysis versus known Mecha and enemy variants. The high explosive rounds of the Super Heavy Mecha's Mass Drivers were overkill against most targets, so Nico was hoping that these ones would be more versatile, with their high speeds and rapid firing rate, close to that of a Gatling gun.
Between the two wings, the Mass Drivers could put out three hundred rounds a minute, a vast improvement on the three-second charge time for the standard Mass Drivers, and although the rounds were quite small, Nico had plans to create more volatile munitions for them than the metal slugs used for testing.
Sergeant Khalil was going all out this time, moving nearly twice as fast as the first run and pushing his targeting skills to the maximum. He was missing about a third of his shots, but making up for the lack in extra shot volume to make excellent progress through the course.
"The feed rate seems a bit irregular on the Mass Drivers. Could we have a feed issue due to the shape of the smaller projectiles?" Max asked as he analyzed the data.
"That's possible. I haven't seen any misfeeds yet, but there are definite lags in the feed timers. The energy output to the Disruptors is a bit off as well. I think we're getting feedback from somewhere." Nico sighed.
"Alright, I will bring him back after this run, and we will go over the design again." Max agreed, then sent the message to return after the run to Sergeant Khalil.
The experimental Mecha smoothly landed on the open ramp and walked back into the Shuttle, passing through the barrier, which normalized the hull temperature and laughing with relief to be back inside.
"You know, I'm pretty good with flying, but alone out there in the asteroids is a whole other thing. Agoraphobia, I think they call it, right? That feeling of panic when you feel like you're alone in a vast emptiness, with nothing around you?" He commented as he waited for instructions.
"Yeah, it gets a lot of Pilots the first few times they fight in space. The distances are so much larger, and the scales of the battles are both huge and three-dimensional that it takes time to get used to.
You did well on the second run. Nearly twice as fast as the first run and easily into the double digits of maximum hull speed." Max congratulated him.
"Thanks, Commander. What's next?" The Sergeant asked politely.
"Next up is a return to the Destroyer so that we can go over the data which we gathered and make some tweaks and changes to the prototype. Then we will run these same tests again with the modified version when it is ready.
Most of the time, the final version is ready within ten iterations of physical prototypes and countless VR simulations, but this time we will also be making scaled-up versions, or at least one experimental one, so there will be even more work to be done once your part as prototype test Pilot is done."
Max's response startled the Pilot. A brand new Line Mecha was awesome, but if there was a chance that they were going to make a new Crusader Pattern as well, he didn't want to miss out on that chance.
"You know, I might have been demoted, but I'm still qualified on the Crusader Class Mecha." Sergeant Khalil tried.
Max nodded at him. "We will keep it in mind if we need a test pilot for that phase of the build. Since it is a one-off proof of concept, it will be tested and designed somewhat differently than the Line Mecha has been."
That wasn't strictly true, it was intended to be very similar to the Line Mecha, or there would be no point in making this prototype, but Max wasn't ready to tell him that he was the tester for a scaled-down version of a new Titan Class Mecha design. The Sergeant would keep quiet about a new Line Mecha, but the Titan Class machines were practically legends among the troops, and the first one that he had ever seen in person was Cleansing Light. It was too much to ask that there wouldn't be any leaks if everyone knew that they were making a new personal unit for Nico.
"So, does that mean I've got the rest of the day off?" The Sergeant asked hopefully, since he had been reassigned on the duty roster to assist them.
"You only wish. I need full reports on your entire test sequence. I've got all the interior cameras, calibration adjustments, performance numbers and targeting statistics here. So you can account for every adjustment, how it affected the handling, and explain what part of the targeting system might have accounted for all the misses on the second run." Nico informed him with a smile that made the man shudder.
"She's scarier when she's happy, isn't she?" He whispered to Max, who began to laugh.
"She also has superhuman hearing. She's a full-conversion cyborg, remember? But yes, she is much scarier when she is happy. I would say to ask anyone who has faced her in combat, but there aren't a lot of them left alive who have heard her happy laugh through the Mecha speakers."
Khalil couldn't tell if the Commander was messing with him, but for some reason, he suspected that Max might be telling the whole truth.
"Alright, how much of a report do you need for your data?" He asked Nico, not looking forward to the impending paperwork.
"A hundred words for each of these data points should be fine." Nico giggled, then handed him the data slate.
All seventeen hundred maneuvers and targeting actions worth it.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com