U.L.T.R.A. Builder

Secrets of the Ψ Hyperion

In the middle of flying back to Shelter 7, Reina's voice came over the intercom.

"Commander, WDF wants you to turn back and pick up the top half of Aerion. They didn't specify what it was for, but I'd guess it's for reconstruction."

Uri sighed as he turned on his microphone.

"Come on, really? They couldn't have told us sooner?"

"Look, take it up with them when you get back," She responded, dryly.

"Oh, I WILL be taking things up with them. I'm gonna get them to tell me what the hell all these new features are."

Uri turned off his microphone and pulled the joystick back to turn the Ψ Hyperion back towards the battlefield.

"Real crappy of these guys to only tell us now," V1 remarked as it turned back from its seat to look at Uri.

"Yeah... But we'll still do it. I'd rather not have their asses on me."

...

The Ψ Hyperion gently knelt down and allowed Ascendant to climb into the top half of the M.A.S.S., since the cockpit was not damaged. Uri figured that it'd be easier to carry Aerion with Ascendant already in it.

After Ascendant got in their broken unit, it was gingerly picked up by the Ψ Hyperion and cradled in its arms. The boosters activated, kicking up plumes of dirt as the M.A.S.S. lifted off.

"Finally, we can get home now. V1, Ascendant, I'm activating Quantum Break for the speed boost. Hold on tight."

V1 voiced its approval, and Ascendant's handler confirmed that they were prepared for the takeoff.

The Ψ Hyperion blasted off at its insane speeds, and Uri sat back in his seat, eager to return to base.

...

"Autopilot engaged, aligning unit with catapult," droned the autopilot system installed in the OS of every M.A.S.S. unit.

"V1, come with me. We're gonna get the WDF to tell us every bit of information with the Ψ Hyperion. I am so tired of finding things out on the fly."

"Agreed. You know where the officials are?"

"Yeah, they should be by Shelter Command, in the middles of the shelter,"

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go."

As the two walked towards Shelter Command after delivering Aerion's upper half, they ran into one of the WDF's engineering officers. Uri recognized him as the one in charge of the Ψ Hyperion's construction. V1 and Uri's eyes wandered down to the officer's arms, which were holding a box with wings similar to V1's on it.

"Ah! Uri, V1, perfect timing. I wanted to show you two something."

"Same here. We want to ask you a few things."

"Right. One's probably about this guy," said the officer, holding up the winged-box.

"Before that, could you please tell us about the Ψ Hyperion's features? V1 and I discovered that DRAGOON system last battle, and I'd rather not get so many surprises."

"Oh... You found out about that already..."

"Yeah, it was quite a shocker."

The officer gestured towards the box in his hands. "This guy was meant to control the DRAGOONs. Though we made it so that V1 could use them in emergencies, via the slots in its seat. Anyway, this guy has an AI installed in it to control the DRAGOONs. We designed it off of V1's AI, so we decided to name it V3."

"That's great and all... but could you answer our question? What else can the Ψ Hyperion do?"

"There's not a lot left, besides the Full Saber and Full Buster."

"Oh right, I saw those two options in the DRAGOON System's terminal."

"Precisely. Basically, the DRAGOONs can amass themselves onto the Ψ Hyperion's sword, creating a bigger sword that can extend Quanta Particles outward a few hundred meters. The Full Buster basically does the same thing, but violently expels the particles to create a massive beam."

"Seriously? And you didn't tell us this?"

"I don't know what command wanted, but they said not to reveal it to you."

"Hey, Uri. Look on the bright side. We have new ways to fight the Supermassive if need be. It can't adapt to something it hasn't seen before."

Uri furrowed his brow in thought for a few seconds before replying.

"Right, that didn't occur to me."

The Engineering Officer's face lit up like he remembered something important.

"Oh, wait! I nearly forgot something."

"What is it, sir?"

"Go to the disassembly room. We have a few upgrades for you."

Uri and V1 shared a quizzical look before V1 looked back at the officer.

"Roger that, sir."

"Thank you. Uri, take V3 into the hangar and have your people install it into the cockpit."

"Affirmative."

V1 was practically corralled into the disassembly room by the engineering officer. In the room was a carbon-copy of V1's inner framing, gilt in gold. Additionally, there was a golden arm attached to the frame. It was practically the same as the Feedbacker, but there was no hand attached. Instead, the arm ended in a sleek gunbarrel.

"What is this, sir?"

"This is the framework that will be replacing your old one. As you probably know, the gold plating is what allows a machine to be empowered by Quanta Particles. With this upgrade, you'll be able to compete on par with the Ψ Hyperion and the N-"

The officer stopped himself before continuing, as if he had accidentally slipped up.

"Anyway, could you lay down on the table so I can call in the engineers?"

"Sure thing."

"Thank you."

Around an hour after V1 laid down, it saw the engineering team walk in. Kael, Waltz, and a bunch of other people it didn't recognize.

"V1, we're pulling the plug on your systems in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now!" Yelled Kael as he stood by the room's control panel."

V1 watched as its world was filled with darkness. It felt the gradual loss of its touch, starting with the feet, then working its way up to the legs and knees, then the torso and arms, and finally the head. No matter how many times V1 would ever go through this procedure, it knew it would never like the feeling.

...

V1 woke up what felt like an instant later. Even though it was nigh-instantaneous for the machine, multiple hours had passed in the real world. It moved its new arm back and forth, getting used to the feel. After consulting with Kael, V1 found out the name of the new arm and what it did. It was called the Wave-Mechanica, and it shot out Quanta Particles in either a beam or in the form of a blade, much like the Full Saber/Buster.

V1 headed off after thanking the engineers, eager to test out the new arm.