UCAC Ch. 06

Unsure what he was doing Tyson extended out both of his hands, ever so cautiously. As he did, Jonathan began to rise off the ground. Jonathan looked on shocked, unsure why he was rising up. He looked up seeing Dallas and the young man on the cliff top juggling me. The sheer horror in his eyes spoke for his silence. The disoriented boy then looked around, wondering why he was hovering. He saw Tyson straining to provide lift. Tyson's face was flushed red, veins popping in his neck, arms and face.

Dallas tossed me to the young man atop the bluff once again.

"Don't toss me back down this time!" I said.

"Ok...?" The young man said, unsure why I gave such a request.

"Dallas, go help out the others!" I shouted from the clifftop.

"OK!" Dallas yelled back, quickly running over to them.

"You think you can keep me like this?" I asked concerned.

"No..." The young man said, sweating heavily, "...problem!" I sighed a sigh of relief as I continued to be juggled.

We watched as Dallas reached Tyson and Jonathan.

"You got to use your weight to center yourself and use his weight to propel himself!" Dallas said, demonstrating. He sent Jonathan around and around and around.

"WOOOOOOUUUAAAHHH!!!!" Jonathan screamed, tumbling over and over.

"KEEP YOUR BODY PARALLEL!" The young man juggling me shouted. Jonathan then began to correct himself as Dallas whipped him around.

"Now I'm going to hand him to you. Your polarity will pick him up but the force will try and knock you off your feet," Dallas said to Tyson, full of concentration, "You ready?"

"Yeah..." Tyson said, planting his feet firmly on the ground. Dallas made Jonathan's arc wider and wider, giving Tyson the leverage to catch him. Tyson's polarity picked up Jonathan and he did what was demonstrated. He and Pullock got the hang of it rather quickly, tossing Jonathan back and forth between each other.

The remaining guys had came to watch, learning quickly how to use the gauntlets and gravity vests. Not long after, everyone had gotten the hang of it. The juggling lasted for several agonizing minutes. Everyone grew frustrated.

"Why isn't the trial over?" The boy on the bluff top asked.

"Because, the ones in the vest are supposed to be juggled between all of those with the gauntlets..." I said.

"Man what the fuck? How the hell are we supposed to do that?" He asked, daunted by such a huge challenge.

"I don't know, stand in a circle?" I said, perplexed as well.

"Yes.... YESSSS!" The dude said. I was expecting him to send me hurtling towards Dallas but he kept arcing me around, "Dallas, tell everyone who is wearing a gauntlet to go to the flat area of the testing range and form a circle!"

"OK!" Dallas said, with no question about it.

"Denver, you are a fucking genius you know that, right?" The boy whipping me around asked. I didn't even know his name.

"I just want this to be over..." I laughed.

As he sent me circling around him, he began to walk down to the lower levels of the testing facility. We reached a flat area where the remainder of the guys eventually had flocked to. We were very spread out, some juggling a man, some not. The distribution of who was juggling and who wasn't juggling was not even.

"Everyone," The young man juggling me said, "There should be one person in between a person juggling a person wearing a gravity vest. If there is not, get there!"

Everyone conformed, steadily looking lost.

"Now we're going to juggle everyone one around, counterclockwise! Concentrate on the man to your right when someone is juggling a vest wearer and concentrate on the man to your left when it's time to transfer the person being juggled!" He continued. The trainees did as was told with no fault. We, the ones in the vests, were sent around counterclockwise. Upon returning to our starting position, the gravity was completely turned off in the training yard. Everyone began to rise off the ground, those being juggled going on high speed trajectories.

"DA FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!" I screamed as I tumbled over my self. This was getting crazier and crazier. I prayed for this to be over.

Suddenly, the gravity was turned back on. Everyone was sent falling towards the hard training room floor. Just as I braced for the impact, the floor once again opened up. This time it formed a plush cushion that caught me, lowering me back down to the floor. I just lied there in shock. This really had happened. I just wanted this week to be over. It was too much torture. All of this weightless training made it clear we were getting our suits back.

Indeed we were. By the start of the next week, we were in the main hangar, the Cybernetic Wingsuit hangar. The drill sergeant prowled amongst us, hands behind his back, the same sickening predatory nature.

"Today," He began, "You will be reunited with your Helms. You will notice, things will be a bit different with them..."

Technicians brought us our Helms one by one. I was number seven in the line so it didn't take long for me to get it. But it was different, painted over white with the mouthpiece being painted black. It used to be a very shiny gunmetal with a bright ruby mouthpiece. I didn't get this...

Putting the Helm on led to more horror. The connection process caused me to jolt, understandably because it had been a long time since I connected with my cybernetic extension. However, this was no longer the Merlin I was connected to. The boot name was Elanid, the name of a group of raptors known for slow, wafting flight and hovering, not extreme speed like the falcons. That meant I didn't have the Merlin suit anymore and that I would have to adapt to flying in a new, different way.

I was not pleased at all! Now I had to resync data and this was never fun. My internal servers had to be updated to this new Helm. Upon completion, I played with the interface seeing what horrors awaited me. To be honest, it was nothing too bad. I had a bigger more aerodynamic suit, upon detailing the schematics, one designed for great agility. It also detailed greater gravity countermeasures so my wing loading would be less. That mean I wouldn't even have to flap to stay aloft and had a very low stall speed. Not to mention, the entire plume of the suit was an elegant white with black primaries and over-wings. It was a big contrast to the silver of the Merlin suit.

There also were more changes in the HUD itself. I still had the dual pulse beams in the helm as well as the upgraded sensor array. But somehow, they managed to cram a new weapon in here, a sonic resonance buffet. It was a very deadly weapon, one that matched the harmonic resonance frequency of the matter it detected and blasts a deafening wave of sound at it, causing it to disintegrate. Even better, it was far more suitable for close range targets than the pulse weapons.

Also, the quill launcher was now an explosive quill distributor. It was like what the Kestrel and Hiero Wingers used. Quills would come out of every opening in their armor, homing into pre designated targets. I couldn't say I was happy to have this, but nonetheless, it was a nice addition to the suit.

It was quite a bit of firepower for such a relatively small frame. However, the lower wing-loading did allow for additional payload. Everything else was virtually the same as the Merlin. It made me wonder did they scrap the Merlin and make it anew. I hoped not because the Merlin had so much history and it was too beautiful to be dismantled and rebuilt for some new mission. I wanted to keep it the way it was.

It was a problem that bugged me throughout the day. It wasn't made better when it came time for the first suit up. The drill sergeant stood on the end of the platform watching as the actuators swarmed each one of us. We stood with legs shoulder width apart, arms outstretched. The actuators placed rings on each of my fingers, tight wrist couplings and the spinal extensions. The robot then added on the two silver pectoral plates, plates I recognized from Merlin, before adding on the white, monopiece breast plate. I had to tell myself that the pectoral plates were simply modular and hot swappable between any Wingsuit, not salvaged from the Merlin. It would kill me to know otherwise. The pectoral plates, afterall, did have the majority of the electronics required for the Wingsuits.

Then came the shoulder sockets which connected to the pectoral plates and a portion of the spinal extension. It connected the wings to the rest of the armor, right over my actual shoulderblades. The actuators then snapped on the black wing sheaths, made out of a very light weight, soft to the touch material. It was confusing, considering it clicked in place upon the actuator's pressure. The wing sheaths were what contained the liquid flesh, the bionic power.

The wing scutes came hovering in under their own power, connecting with the wing sheaths. They had tiny counter-rotating solenoids that charged the gravitanium alloy blades which was why these blades could fly under their own power. I never had seen anything like it, the wings of the Merlin being preconstructed and easily attachable. This had thousands of autonomous parts, each one intelligent enough to know which part of my body to attach to. I bet the rings on my fingers had something to do with that.

Several white scutes attached to the very end of the spinal column, forming a tail. I opened and closed it like a fan, dropping one side then dropping the other. I could already tell by how this felt that the sheer amount of agility I had would induce a blackout. It made me excited. The actuator added more sheaths, this time encompassing my back, thighs and shins. The robotic arms brought down step-ins, placing them before each of my feet. It also brought down the gorgeous, white back plates which snapped seamlessly into place with the rest of the armor. I placed each foot into the step-ins, the plush material wrapping around my feat, merging seamlessly with the leg sheaths.

The robotic actuators dropped down two light weight boots, holding them open so I could step in. Then the machine brought the grappling gear, the heavy duty talons! I never thought I'd be so glad to see them but I was! This process of suiting up was more nerveracking than the old process and it felt like it lasted forever. Now that it was over with, it gave me time to appreciate the new suite.

I must admit, white looked good on me but white looked stunning on Malcolm. With his grappling gear on, her stood well over seven feet high. His armor had much more bulk than mine and his wingspan was twenty eight feet and were surprisingly high profile. To me though, those talons were no joke, huge and definitely the most lethal talons of all the other Winger's standing on this platform.

Suddenly, the hangar's sky gate began to open. The trainees looked around, unsure why it was opening.

"GO, GO, GO, GO!!!!" The drill sergeant said, pointing up to the sky. Everyone took off on powerful wing beats, flying out of the hangar. There were falcon based Wingers, buteo based Wingers and accipter based Wingers all around. I was the only one based upon a kite and and Malcolm was the only one based upon an owl. He also was the largest of us. There also was a guy based upon a harrier which I must admit was damn cool!

Considering we were flying for the first time, many guys went into tail chases, trying to see who was the most nimble and formidable suit of them all. I was having no part of it. I hitched a ride on the nearest thermal and circled above them all, just incase I had to drop out of the sky at a blinding pace. It was enjoyable cruising around in a circle at only thirty miles an hour.

Malcolm began to ascend up to me. A private radio connection request was sent to my HUD. I accepted it, eagerly, glad to hear anything he had to say.

"So you're no longer Merlin?" He asked.

"I will always be Merlin!" I laughed before getting serious, "No, I'm now Elanid... There are some pretty significant changes."

"I can tell. Merlin's primaries were slightly longer than his secondaries but now your primaries and secondaries are the same length. You also have a longer tail. You look...bigger." He said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, these new wings feel too...light. I miss Merlin's heft." I said.

"You haven't pushed Elanid to the limit yet. Get down there and join the tail chase!" Malcolm said.

"I don't see the point." I laughed.

"Dude, don't be such a downer! I know you miss Merlin but Elanid probably has some cool tricks to test out." Malcolm said, trying to reassure me.

"No, I mean I don't see the point when at any given moment, we can be radioed a drill. I just wanna be ready." I said.

"Oh, well if that's the case, I'm with you." He said, circling below me. He had about eight more feet of wings than I did and about four more feet of length. He was just massive.

"So how do the new wings fly?" I asked.

"They're surprisingly powerful but it wofts too much. You're right, the frames do feel too light. I'm not to big a fan or narrower wings. It's very easy to go too fast with them." He said.

"Well, both of these frames are built for hovering for extended periods so maybe we're being a bit too hard on em." I said.

"How fast do you think you can push the new wings?" He asked.

"I feel like since there's less wing loading and a more aerodynamic frame, my flat speed will be near three hundred fifty miles an hour. Diving, I'm not so sure because this frame is so light. I doubt it can get above five hundred." I sighed.

"Still, that's fast. I pushed two twenty six in a flat burst. I can definitely go faster but this thing isn't meant to be pushed like that. I do like how it handles this wind though compared to Steppe... Very stable!!!! I can't turn worth a shit." Malcolm laughed.

"Curl your wing tips down when you're trying to turn. It'll give you added agility."I advised.

The boy entered a steep glide, his pace increasing substantially. He dropped his wings in an anhedral and began to bank. His turns were sharp, but it looked like his control was laboured. He was definitely not meant for extreme aerial maneuvers. He stopped quickly, ascending back up to me.

"Nope!" He said.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Snow ain't built for turning." Malcolm laughed.

"I see!" I said, "It's capable though..."

"It's no more capable than Steppe. One thing Steppe had going for it was speed though. That thing could go three thirty and dive near supersonic. But this, it feels fragile, light... I'm scared to push it." Malcolm said.

"What kind of weapons do you have?" I asked.

"Incendiary bombs, pulse beams, a strange sonic weapon and the ability to launch all my scutes in a furry, you?"

"Explosive quills, pulse beams, the same sonic weapon and that's about it." I responded.

"I saw how the scutes attached to you. You have the scute attack too." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"I'm mostly certain..." He laughed.

"Attention all trainees," A voice said on the radio, "The first one to bring down a mammoth gets the rest of the day off."

Every single trainee below us began to power through the sky pushing their top speeds. The interceptors took the lead, getting to their top speed swiftly and able to maintain it. I looked at Malcolm who was waiting on me.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Hell yeah!" He said. The two of us entered a steep glided, boosting it with a few wing beats periodically. We both pushed four hundred miles an hour, passing over the speeding trainees powering along below us.

"What's the plan? We got about twenty miles before we reach the tundra." He said.

"I'm going through my interface. I found the blade barrage you were talking about. At the same time, we're taking down a mammoth of our own. We deserve this day off!" I said.

"Ok." He said looking back, "We got a good start on everyone else."

"Yeah! I don't want anyone to close the distance..." I said, scanning the horizon ahead.

"Trust me they won't. I'll knock em' out the sky!" Malcolm said fiercely.

"Mmmm." I smiled, living his aggression.

We were fast approaching the tundra. I powered along on rowing wing beats, the sheer flat speed being unreal. Three hundred fifty miles an hour was just crazy to be traveling at, especially fifty feet above the ground. Surprisingly, Malcolm was keeping pace beside me. These new wings were no slouches.

We picked targets, two large bull mammoths equally far apart.

"You ready?" I asked.

"I surely am..." He said. As we neared the bulls, the scutes that controlled our flight, unmounted taking their own paths. The blades traveled at blinding speed towards the bulls. They pierced through the mammoths, connecting back with us before we stalled. The scutes formed wings again, allowing us to regain control. Both mammoths fell to the ground, their blood pooling around them.

We circled around, dissipating our speed. We landed on our respective kills, standing triumphantly. By that time, the other trainees had arrived, very upset.

"Thank you for slaying your dinner... You two have the day off." The drill sergeant said over the radio.

"WOOOOOOOO!!!" I exclaimed, taking off in a swift vertical climb. I wanted to slowly loop around but forgot I had much more tail surface area to work with. Instead of gently looping, I inverted at a neck breaking force, spreading my wings and tail to catch myself.

"Bastard!" A trainee said, probably jealous Chase. All I could do was laugh. Awards like this were commonly given out but Malcolm and I never took them, not until now.

Looking over to Malcolm, he continued standing on the mammoth, looking down at his talons. They punctured deep into the mammoth's flesh under his sheer weight alone. He tried taking off but his talons were tangled in the creature's fur.

"SHIT!" He said.

"I got you..." I said, flying by gracefully. I banked to the side, using the razor sharp wing blades to cut his talons free. He entered the air, quick to make pace with me.

"OK, I just thought about it," Malcolm said, "What the hell are we going to do here because this place is fucking too dangerous to go on foot and the base is simply a training facility. There's nothing fun to do..."

"I was gonna go back to the barracks and catch some extra hours of sleep." I said.

"Sounds like a good enough plan to me." He said.

By the time we made it back to the bass, it was noon. We unsuited and made our way back to the barracks. It was empty, we being the only ones free for the day. I guess I was exhausted because it didn't really connect at first. I just went to my bed, sitting there, staring at the ceiling.

"Man..." Malcolm begin.

"What?" I asked.

"We struck lucky didn't we?" He laughed.

"I guess so... We got some alone time... finally." I smiled.

"I just wanna kiss you." He said, looking over at me.

"There are no cameras in here... The trainees won't be back four hours. We can do anything." I said.

"Anything?" Malcolm asked, leaning up.

"Anything..." I said, lustfully. He crawled onto my bed. He spread my legs, climbing on top of me. Gently caressing me, those massive hands felt up and down my narrow frame. His lips came closer and closer to mine, finally until we kissed. It was like his lips were charged with cosmic energies because it got got me super heated. The energy began to spread through my body, his touches giving glimpses of his true power. I was getting more and more aroused and I wanted to take this further.

I began unzipping his his jumper, feeling his muscular chest underneath. Slowly, I reached down, further and further. It was then I learned of the monstrosity between his legs. I couldn't even make my thumb and middle finger connect around it. That was scary... But if there wasn't something to place fear on my soul, then I wasn't doing something to challenge me.