In the morning, Andres entered the Boltus facility’s cafeteria, looking for his squadmates. He spotted the three female pilots from the Falcon’s squadron wearing the same blue uniform as him.

  Akari was a tall, athletic woman who had the confident energy of a cheer captain. Her long, scarlet hair and blue eyes made her stand out. Her sister, Mai, looked nearly identical, aside from her shorter hair. Akari’s best friend, Rachel, was the complete opposite; reserved and quiet, with striking lavender hair and eyes. It was clear to anyone that theirs was the kind of friendship where an extrovert had adopted an introvert, and Rachel had long since given up trying to escape.

  When they spotted Andres, Akari waved and smiled at him. Mai appeared to be unamused and took a bite of her food, waving slightly. Rachel kept her hands close to herself and shyly uncurled her fingers to greet Andres.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Andres greeted them.

  “Mornin’ Andres!” Akari beamed. “We’re so glad to have you back! Right, girls?”

  “Sure,” Mai shrugged.

  Rachel held up her phone between both her hands to show Andres a little anime fox girl. “Welcome back, Andres!” Rachel used the little fox avatar to speak for her.

  “Thank you, have any of the guys from the Hawks squad shown up?”

  “Yeah! They are in the briefing room with Bella. You can have breakfast with us if you want,” Akari replied cheerfully.

  “Thanks, but I ate at home. I’ll see you all in the briefing room.”

  Andres took his leave and entered the briefing room. Marcus, Kobe, and Santos all warmly welcomed him, with Bella giving him a smile and nod from the front of the room. The girls joined soon after, and everyone took a seat.

  “I hope everyone got a good night’s rest,” Bella looks disapprovingly at Julius, the fourth and final member of the Falcon’s squadron, who walked in late.

  Julius trudged in sleepily. “Uh, hey guys…”

  “Sit down, idiot! Bella’s talking!” Mai scolded him.

  “Okay…okay…” Julius took a seat near Andres.

  “I told you not to stay up playing that game,” Andres whispered.

  “I know, but I wanted to get the achievement.”

  “As all of you know, we’re at war now, and the MAV Program has an opportunity to fulfill its purpose.” Bella announced, drawing everyone’s attention. “Which is to finally end the cycle of wars between our Republic and the Elerian Empire to the North. Not all of you are aware, but Andres here is responsible for defeating the attackers.”

  “No way! Really, Andres?” Akari gasped.

  “Thank you, Andres!” Rachel’s fox replied to the news.

  Andres turned to Akari and Rachel. “I just wanted to help,”

  Bella nodded approvingly at Andres. “You really did, Andres. Those Imperial MAVs were either trying to capture or destroy our Knights. You saved lives, and now you’re our most experienced pilot.”

  “Ooo, teach us O’wise one,” Julius joked.

  Mai kicked the back of Julius’ seat. “Idiot!”

  “What? I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

  “I think you all should get in your Knights and head out to the training area before Julius gives me an aneurysm…” Bella suggested.

  The pilots nodded in agreement and headed to the hangar. Andres chatted with his squadmates, keeping things light until they split up to enter their Knights.

  “What? No flowers?” Kara asked as Andres strapped into the cockpit.

  Andres chuckled. “It’s not like we’re dating.”

  “We’re not…” Kara feigned disappointment.

  “Bella! I think Kara’s broken, I need another Knight!”

  Kara shut the cockpit door. “Quiet you! You woke me up, now you’re stuck with me!”

  “Fine, fine. Let’s get going,”

  “Let’s get stronger!”

  Andres agreed and piloted his Knight, along with the others, to the training area of the Boltus facility. The area was flat and dusty, with a single plateau nearby where the pilots landed and awaited instructions.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Bella came on the Comm Channel. “Alright, Minions! To help you prepare for combat, you will face each other in duels today. First up, let’s have Mai versus Santos!”

  “Won’t it be dangerous to fight each other like this?” Marcus asked.

  “I had the crew outfit your Knights with less lethal versions of your weapons. You’ll be fine to duel.”

  “Sounds good to me! Hey Santos! You wouldn’t hit a girl, would you?” Mai teased.

  “The Hammer of Justice is unisex,” Santos replied.

  “My, my, what a gentleman!”

  Santo laughed. “An enemy won’t show mercy. I will treat you like any other opponent.”

  “Fine! Bring it! I’ll beat you!”

  The others encouraged the combatants as they faced each other fifty meters away. Both pilots favored close-quarters combat, swords drawn and ready. They traded strikes, blocking with their blades and parrying with their shields, each searching for an opening. Mai was relentless, but Santos’ martial arts skills gave him the edge. Using her own momentum against her, he flipped Mai over and drove his sword into the ground just beside her Knight’s head.

  Mai shouted. “Ah! Dammit!”

  “You did good, don’t be upset,” Santos reassured her.

  “I just tripped, that's all!”

  “We can rematch any time,”

  “You can count on it! And I’ll win next time!”

  Mai stormed off back to the plateau.

  Bella came on the Comm Channel. “We’re off to a great start. Let’s get Rachel and Julius in there next.”

  As Julius was asleep and unresponsive, Mai gave him a shove. “Wake up!”

  “Wha-” Julius responded groggily.

  “You’re dueling, Rachel, get going already!” Mai scolded.

  Julius stretched in his cockpit. “Mm, alright.”

  “Aww… do I have too?” Rachel’s fox avatar appeared on everyone’s screen.

  “You’re gonna be fine, Rachel! Julius is still asleep.” Akari encouraged.

  Both pilots reluctantly made their way to their starting positions. They tested each other’s reflexes and movements. They fired at each other from varying positions, attempting to gain a tactical advantage.

  Please just sit still for a second. They both thought wearily. Rachel aimed at the top of Julius' shield, targeting him as he fired from cover.

  What is she doing? he thought.

  Rachel’s plan worked. A bullet ricocheted off Julius’s shield, striking his Knight’s optics and blinding him. She closed the distance and tapped his head with her sword, ending the duel.

  Rachel’s fox cheered. “We won!”

  “Great job, Rachel! Next, let’s have Marcus and Kobe,” Bella announced.

  Unlike the previous matches, Marcus and Kobe took to the air, each trying to outmaneuver the other. One darted right, the other left, constantly adjusting to stay in each other’s sights. When their ammo ran low, they drew their swords. Their blades glinted as they flew past each other in an attempt to strike.

  Marcus flung his shield at Kobe, which Kobe knocked away with his blade. Kobe's downward swing at Marcus's shield created a gap, which Marcus used to hit Kobe's right arm.

  Bella applauded. “Good job, boys! Now for our last duel. Arguably, between our two best pilots, Andres and Akari,

  “Good luck, dude,” Marcus encouraged.

  “He won’t need it,” Santos said confidently.

  Kobe waved his severed arm at Andres. “Do better than me, brother.”

  Julius was fast asleep again and got a scolding from Bella.

  “You have some lively friends, Andres,” Kara submitted.

  “Yeah, they’re an interesting group.”

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “Akari has always been considered our best pilot, so I think we should keep our distance and find an opening,” Andres replied.

  “You don’t have one, got it!”

  “I’ll figure something out.”

  Akari waved to Andres. “Let’s have fun, Andres!”

  “Sure, Akari. You ready?”

  “You bet!”

  Akari surged forward while Andres boosted backward, staying just ahead. He skimmed low to kick up dust and obscure her view, but it didn’t work. Keeping his distance, he strafed side to side, dodging her fire.

  “Were you on the track team in High School, Andres?” Kara asked curiously.

  “That’s what you ask me in this situation?!”

  Kara laughed. “Well, it just seems like you’re really good at running.”

  “I’m stuck with your jokes, aren’t I?”

  “You are! My friendly advice would be to shoot back, by the way.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s try to shoot the gun out of her hand.”

  Andres continued flying backward, facing Akari. He rested his rifle on his shield and unleashed several bursts of gunfire. Akari blocked the incoming bullets.

  Realizing his plan wasn’t working, Andres quickly thought of something different. Reading Andres’ thoughts, Kara said, “Ooh, that might work! Just don’t miss!”

  “Wanna help me get it right?”

  “Making calculations now! We’ll fight as one!”

  “Let’s do it!”

  Andres shot upward, positioning himself with the sun at his back. He fired a final burst from his rifle before drawing his sword. Akari readied hers as well.

  “This is fun!” she exclaimed.

  “It is!”

  It was over in an instant. Akari boosted up into the sky, and Andres barreled down toward her. The split seconds Andres gained by diving toward the ground and using the sun to impair Akari’s vision made all the difference. Before Akari could complete her swing forward, Andres slashed her right hand off.

  “Yes!” He shouted.

  Kara celebrated, too. “We did it!”

  “You’re kinda crazy, aren’t ya, Andres?” Akari asked.

  “You were going to beat me if I didn’t think of something.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment! We’re going to have a rematch soon!”

  “Sure, Akari, let’s do that.”

  Andres and Akari rejoined the group and were congratulated for a great match. Bella sent transport for them.

  “Hmm,” Kara pondered.

  Andres sighed. “What is it, Kara?”

  “Oh, nothing… Just wondering who you were trying to impress out there.”

  “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, I just wanted to win.”

  “Hmm… If you say so. Just stay away from the red head.”

  “Which one?” Andres smirked as he exited the Knight.

  “You’re not funny, mister!”

  Andres waved bye. “I’ll see you soon, Kara.”

  “Mmm…” Kara expressed her annoyance with Andres as he left.

  ***

  Bella gathered her pilots for debriefing. You've all come so far; trust in your training to handle real combat. Andres and your dueling performances prove that. I will outfit your Knights with your requested weapons while they are being repaired. We will be going on live combat sorties very soon. Take some time to relax before then. You are dismissed.”

  As the pilots were dismissed, they made their leisure plans before starting their missions.