A Mech's Life

Chapter 4: Greed Knows No Rest

During the time that the young man left, Steve was quite nervous. It was after all his only chance at getting fixed. Who knows how long he'd have to wait for someone else to show up. Judging by the look of things this was actually the first time someone entered this location in decades.

He also wondered if he was coming back. What if something had happened to him? Some questions also lingered on his mind.

"Hey Archives. Why can I understand this person's language?"

"It seems this dialect is based on Axtabi which is spoken commonly throughout the world. A few words differ which make me suggest that this is a dialect based on Axtabi. Furthermore, unit Astra-01's programming is also written in Axtabi.

"That's odd, I didn't notice anything different when I fixed some of the bugs earlier. Maybe it's because the language is also a part of me now, since I was created with it. "

Steve continued on.

"Hey Archives, I've also been wondering, what exactly are you? You said you exist to assist but that's vague."

"My primary function is to bridge the gap between pilot and mech by communicating verbally with the pilot, I can then pass along instructions to the primary systems which helps the pilot multitask much better which removes the need for a secondary pilot. My secondary function is that of a database and I can provide relevant information on a multitude of subjects, such as weather, technological specs of enemy machines and much more."

Before Steve could interject, the archives resumed its explanation.

"Furthermore, to my knowledge, I am the most extensive database ever created. Due to long deployments behind enemy lines, the Astra-01 needed reliable information when satellites could be unavailable and I was created for this task. Currently, the connection between the Astra, you, and the pilot cannot be established due to the signal receiver being damaged, maintenance is required."

"So normally what I am now isn't sentient or an AI of some kind, just a regular computer?"

"Correct. This is not the intended configuration of the Astra-01 but I was also created with the ability to adapt to any situation. However, labeling the Astra-01's computer as simply regular is gravely erroneous, it is powered by a second generation quantum nexus and much more advanced than any retail-grade computer available to civilians."

"And you've been just waiting here since..?"

"Assuming you are referring to when the last maintenance occurred, it has been 297 years, 7 months, 14 days and a largely irrelevant amount of hours. "

"Holy shit that's a long time..."

(Speaking of long time, he's been gone for a while now. Maybe I should check up on him just to be safe.)

Steve activated his sound and visual sensors, trying to pick up anything. Normally, all of the sensors would be online at all times but in order to save as much energy as he could to prolong his life, Steve made sure to turn off non-essential systems as soon as they weren't needed.

Picking up nothing, he turned them off and switched to heat sensors. A faint reading was all that it provided but it was enough for him to work with.

(Well, he is moving but not in the right direction. Also it was really dark, perhaps his flashlight died. I'll light up once more to try and show him the way. I just hope he doesn't get suspicious about it.)

After what felt like an eternity to Steve but was really twenty minutes, the young man showed up. Quickly, he set out to his task and began by opening up Steve's arm.