Chapter 3 - Zathos

I remember the day when Earth was invaded. I was twelve years old at the time. I played a VR Mech Battle Royale game in my bedroom when an emergency alert paused the game. I logged out immediately and found myself in a room with no sunlight.

It was around noon, and yet there was no sunlight? I rushed towards my bedroom window and saw my first Martian Spaceship or Bugmen Hiveship, depending on who you ask.

Dragonfly soldiers streamed out of it in swarms numbering in the thousands. I remember seeing the skies filled with explosions as drone fighter jets intercepted the Dragonflies with heat-seeking missiles. A massive sky fortress charged towards the Hiveship, pummeling it with a barrage of electromagnetic rail cannons.

The Hiveship didn't stand a chance. It soon lost altitude before breaking apart and fell towards the town my family lived in.

Thankfully my house fell out of its impact zone. I naively thought the battle was over, but I heard people's screams in the streets.

The crash landing did not kill its occupants. In fact, it released the ground troops the moment it hit the surface.

At that moment, I realized the blood I spilled in the VR games were a paltry imitation to the real thing. My street was drenched in a river of blood in a few minutes. The smell made me hurl out of the window. It was then I saw my first Martian Bugman up close.

An eight-foot-tall humanoid four-armed winged soldier covered in a carapace that changed colors like a cuttlefish. There was human intelligence in its eyes. Those eyes still haunt me as they met my own and charged towards my house.

I lost my family that day. The only reason I survived was that my parents held it's attention since I was too small. It was also the first day I saw a real-life mech slice apart the bug with a saber.

The mech pilot saved me from certain doom. He took me into his cockpit and retreated back to his battalion. Once we got to the battalion HQ, I was separated from him and placed in a truck that took me to a war orphanage.

It was government-owned, it offered benefits to any child who wished to join the military. I chose the path to become a soldier, I was transferred to a military school for officer trainees.

They didn't care that I was a twelve-year-old kid. They saw my record in the Mech Battle royale games and stuffed me into their simulator pod to see what I could do. The game opponents I was used to having rival mechs as opponents, the simulator had perfect replicas of the Bugmen. Due to the trauma I suffered under the bugs, I showed no mercy.

They promoted me to a Mech Pilot within a year. I wasn't allowed to actually get into a real Mech, but drone mechs could be remotely controlled for recon missions.

I had to choose cold weapons and focus on stealth kills to avoid detection. The Katana was the perfect blade for me in those situations. The call sign Zathos was dubbed on to me by the higher-ups as it was the name given to a legendary assassin in a movie that was released before I was born.

I let go of my old name and history and embraced the life of an assassin mech pilot. Bugmen had officers too, along with queens and kings. These were my prey, and many of their heads ended up in the HQ trophy wall.

When I turned eighteen, I was officially allowed to pilot a frontline mech.

I had grown bored with playing as an assassin and decided it was time to choose a new weapon, namely the Norimitsu Odachi series blade.

Yes, it was pretty long and a pain to handle in urban battlefields. Thankfully I was only deployed in battles where the blade could unleash its power without restraint.

I didn't need back up. I fought alone. I killed more bugs than anyone achieved at the age of twenty. I had no time for romance, no time for friends, so I never took a day off from deployment regardless of what the psych officers ordered.

The higherups didn't reprimand me for it. Instead, they awarded me with a promotion to General of the One man Army. It was a title reserved for those who had achieved the right to operate independently from the command chain.

I only had to listen to the Earth Defense Force leaders' requests when they needed my expertise on specific missions that would have cost thousands of lives.

Even with all my hard work, humanity was on the decline. The bugmen did not stop reproducing and growing in strength. They became more intelligent when it came to predicting human attacks, ambushes, and counter-attacks. It seemed my actions only delayed the inevitable.

By the time I turned thirty, the human race was on the defensive, and the first rumors of the cradle ships being constructed began to circulate within the military network.

I had no plans on leaving Earth. The thought of not spending a single day without decapitating the bugmen sickened me. However, the higherups made a request I couldn't refuse. They wanted my DNA for the purpose of cloning. They needed my memories and experience for the clone to inherit.

I wanted to say no at first, but then I decided to accept it on the condition my clone would only be created if he had to fight the Bugmen. It did not matter which planet or year. My clone would carry on the fight against the Bugmen in a mech superior to the one I currently piloted.

I knew the clone wouldn't be me in reality, but it still felt like I was leaving behind a legacy that would live on after my end on Earth.

I knew I would die one day, but I wouldn't let the bugs deal the finishing blow. I had a surprise for them if they managed to inflict a lethal blow to my Mech or myself.

I pulled out the needle from a case provided by HQ. Once I completed the process of extracting a few liters of blood, I proceeded to save my memories and experiences into a helmet similar to the one I used to play VR games in.

The world went dark.

My senses, my thoughts all drifted away into the void. It took a while before I could start feeling my body again. I had difficulty opening my eyes. I could move my arms and legs, but all around me was water or some kind of liquid that nourished me and kept me warm.

What was going on? Did I get captured by the bugmen? Am I in their Hiveship?

After crossing out all the ridiculous notions of where I was, I finally realized I must still be a developing clone. If they decided to create a clone of me, then it meant the Bugmen were present.

I wonder how much time has passed by. What will this new world be like? Will I have a family again?

Wait! Why am I having thoughts of having a family? I have no time for that!

I have to get out of this clone tank, get into my Mech, and kill the Bugmen.

"Calm down Zathos, the Bugmen aren't here."

A voice? Who said that?

"I am Omega, the A.I controlling Cradle One. I am also the one who has created your new body and revived you into it through memory implants."

Can this Omega hear my thoughts? I can't speak with this pipe in my mouth.

"I can guess what you are thinking. No, I can't read your thoughts, but I am proficient in reading your neural signs and interpreting what emotions you might be experiencing even though I can't experience them myself."

Well, let's test your skill then. Why are you cloning me if there aren't any Bugmen to kill?

"There are bugs to kill, millions at the very least. They aren't the ones you are used to, but they do share many similarities. These ones mostly stay underground and appear to have a beast's intellect rather than a Human."

It doesn't sound like the enemies I am looking for, why not wake me for the real threat.

"The Bugmen will eventually find us, for that I am confident. For now, I need your help to make this world safe for the new human race. The other clones need a General to lead them into battle, and you are the only one with the title in our genetic stock who can fight on his own."

I was promised a Mech superior to the one I had on Earth. If you want me to work with other pilots, then can you offer me that as compensation at the least?

"Of course! I have spent over a dozen years customizing an Odachi wielding Mech made entirely from Red Steel and Heat Blade tech. It also comes equipped with self-repairing nanites that will restore the Mech to peak condition."

That settles it then. When can I get out of here and into the Mech?

"In a few days! I want you to master the Mech controls and abilities through a neural implant linked with a simulator. Once you score a grade of S+, I will immediately decant you and let you get into the real thing."

Are there Bugmen to kill in this simulation?

"Of course, I am fully aware of your desire for their blood."

Then what are you waiting for? Begin the simulation!

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