Chapter 6

            Gavin looked around the massive hangar bay.  The mid-afternoon light streaming in from the massive transparent walls gave everything a golden shimmering hue as the sun reflected from the Pacific into the bay.  As he walked to the tall windows, he realized he wasn’t sure where to go.  He looked out over the ocean a moment before deciding to head back to his room. 

            He turned and was startled to see Masters looking out the same window.  Gavin hadn’t even heard him approach.  “Beautiful sight; isn’t it?” he said.

            “Yeah, it is.”

            “Done with lunch then?” Masters said turning from the window.

            “Uh, lunch?  I haven’t eaten any-“

            “Of course you’re done,” Masters cut him off, not really listening to what Gavin was saying.  “Let’s get going, kid; time for the Rocket Science.  I said that would be after lunch,” Masters finished as he walked over to the massive floor hatch where the gantry had gone below.

            “It’s time I show you your ride.  I think you’re going to like it.”

            “My ride…?” Gavin asked, obviously confused.

            “Yeah, you didn’t think you’d be using that flimsy test-bed piece of junk for actual combat, did you?” Masters said with a smirk.

            “I had hoped not,” Gavin admitted.

            “Then come and check out what you will be using,” Masters said from the top right corner of the giant floor-hatch.  He stepped on a small plate embedded in the hatch, and in response, a smaller section of the hatch revealed itself to be an elevator, and a small control panel raised up allowing for control of the elevator.

            “Prepared to tour the depths, pilot?”

            Gavin got on to the plate next to Masters, and Masters flipped the control, and the elevator lowered.  The hatch itself was thicker then Gavin had expected and made of several sliding partitions instead of just one.  The elevator glided downward through all of them. 

            Once below the last partition, space opened up on all sides.  They were hovering over a massive cavern.  Far below on the ground floor sat a full production line of machines, some activated, some not.  The floor seemed busy and congested.  Techs running to and fro and machines moving bulky items to anywhere they were needed.

            Once Gavin saw it, it commanded his full and undivided attention.  Three Deus, racked, sat under bright spot lights in their own little niches.  They were completely different in design and look then what Gavin had fought that morning.  Instead of the flat black color-scheme, these Deus had bright, vivid colors, each different from the next.  On the walls of the niches were giant stenciled logos.

            The first logo was of a giant pink colored flower Gavin couldn’t recall seeing before.  Stenciled beneath the logo was the word “Sakura”.  Next was a coat of arms with two swords crossed over it labeled “Praetorian”.  Finally was a large furry animal with large claws and was titled “Wolverine”.  Gavin took a guess at whom that last Deus belonged to. 

            Masters walked past the three Deus and continued walking.  The huge area was petitioned into several sections, each section containing three niches.  Masters walked out of the first section, and into the second, and racked in the first niche was the most awesome thing Gavin had ever seen. 

A Deus like the others, but each of the previous Deus seemed to have a difference in design fundamentals, like the creator of each had a different idea of what the final form should look like.  This Deus was no different.  Hanging from the shoulders, waste, and upper thighs were segmented armor plates that gave the Deus an armored look, a cross between an ancient Roman soldier Gavin had seen once on the History Channel, and Samurai armor Gavin had seen in many movies.  The segments also hung off the back of the head lending to the overall armor look.  Slung on its back was a sniper rifle, and immediately following Gavin’s taking the entire thing in, he realized that this was his.

Masters walked over and patted the giant foot which was taller than he was.  “What do you think, eh?  We took the data from this morning’s exam to give us an idea of your fighting style.  We think this type fits you the most.  I would like to present to you the Deus, Aether,” Masters finished with a flourish.  A canvas on the back of the niche fell away, and Gavin saw the logo of his Deus.  The logo was of a wind elemental and had “Aether” stenciled below it.

Masters smiled as Gavin stood speechless and gawking.  “Benton named it.  He thought you’d appreciate that name.”

“How’d you get it done so soon?  I mean, I just came here.  This seems a lot of work done really fast…” Gavin mumbled.

“Benton never doubted your abilities.  We’ve had this thing prepared for quite a while.  We just needed to fit the final customizations.  And with your data readouts from the first run, and this morning’s test, we had what we needed to know.  It was fitted while you were on your way back.”

“Amazing…” was all Gavin could think to say.

“Yes it is.  So, if you break my S-40, I break you,” ET said quietly as she came from behind the gantry.  “Do you understand, now?”  She seemed different from before.

“Yes, I understand now.  I-I’m sorry about earlier,” Gavin stuttered a little as he scratched his head, subconsciously attempting to straighten his hair.

“Don’t worry about it.  I need to complete the tuning process for him,” she motioned to Aether.  “So you won’t be able to pilot it until later.”