Machi hit the tip of the blade on the ice, and a small tremor reverberated on the floor, the increased kick-in power was real.
She began to skate on the ice, fast, graceful, sliding almost effortlessly, the audience was delighted with her movements.
Machi was wearing a short skirt, above her knees, and a vest over a sleeveless shirt, she felt a little cold inside that ice rink, but the energetic movements warmed her a little.
She suddenly turned to where the robot was and began to accelerate. Hiroshi tried to block her progress, but Machi deviated from the huge robotic arm, then with an astonishing vertical spin, using the impetus of the race, struck the beast's flank with a powerful roller blow.
Hiroshi tried to counterbalance the center of gravity but it was too late, with the whole weight on one of the robotic legs, there was no other option: the huge beast fell and slid several meters on the ice floor. The plan to humiliate Machi was turning against himself. Those skates on her feet were proving to be weapons more than capable of defeating the most advanced of the prototypes.
In the audience, Sora and Yuka were stunned, they saw Machi defeating Hiroshi's robotic beast, it was too good.
At the social network control center where the live feed was being transmitted, the technicians had already exhausted all available resources, it was no longer possible to receive more incoming connections. The battle was real, and the dominating side was totally unexpected, everyone loves it when an underdog wins.
Within the latest generation robotic exoskeleton, Hiroshi was furious! He knew perfectly well that millions of people had seen him falling on the ice like a rag doll, defeated by a seemingly defenseless girl. Who would imagine that Machi could use the ice skates with such dexterity?
That prototype had thousands of orders made, and the advertising he had just made was absolutely disastrous. He didn't even want to imagine the punishment his severe grandfather would give him. It had to be mended quickly.
A little reluctant, he pushed the orange button on the dashboard, the arena, and the corridor monitors came to life, and a message displayed: "Hkty-67 AI: 50%"
The voice of the announcer spoke again: "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the soldier from the past won the first round, but things just got a little more complicated on her side, the soldier from the future activated the assistance at 50% from the prototype's state-of-art AI, its movements will be automatically assisted and corrected from now on."
Hiroshi was relieved, the next to go to the ground would be Machi. Even if he made mistakes, they would be automatically corrected, there was no way to fail. The prototype's orders would be assured and his plan was still standing.
Machi took a card out of her shirt, and said some words, "A pair of anti-slip gloves in my hands."
As if by magic, a pair of thick gloves fell into Machi's hands.
"You are cheating," Hiroshi warned, "a soldier from the past could not use that ultra-futurist card to request weapons."
"Weapons? I just want a pair of gloves, my hands are freezing, can it be?" Machi requested, innocently.
Hiroshi was confused, he couldn't deny such a request, could he? Could she turn those gloves into a lethal weapon? He abandoned the idea.
"Yes, it may be, but nothing else or you will lose the Soldier from the past status," Hiroshi said.
Machi put the gloves on, and the cold numbness she felt in her hands faded, but that was not the main reason why she wanted them.
The fight had just become more complicated, she needed all the advantages at her disposal, the hands were a precious good for any soldier, and without the gloves, they would be useless on the ice's cold and slippery surface.
Comments (0)
See all