He blinked a few times and his sight came back to him, but it wasn’t what he expected. Instead of seeing through the cockpit window in a blue hue through the visor, his vision showed clear and in color. Along the side of his vision, beeped and flashed gauges and symbols giving him readings he didn’t know anything about. He saw clearly a fuel gage on the left and scrolling across the top a system’s check report listed in rapid fire the machine’s health and something about a left rear light being out. Over his right eye, the round sight and measurements of a highly sensitive scope flicked to follow his line of sight. As he focused on objects outside the mecha, a successful hit percentage appeared under the scope. The numbers were constantly dancing and changing before his eyes as they flitted about, trying to focus on the words and numbers.
Lastly, below his fuel gauge, a strange circle with six symbols pulsed softly. Under that, it read “pilot psycho-analytics.” His glowed blue and flashed on one symbol. As he tried to move his head to look around, all of this moved with him, overlaying the horizon before him. The trees were now at eye-level and the mountains didn’t seem as imposing. He was looking through the eyes of Excalibur.
He tried to move his hand to his head, but the mecha’s hand moved to its “face” and he saw it wave in front of him.
“Whoa!” he laughed in surprise. “I can move it.”
“Yes, sir,” came Merlin’s voice in his head. “This is a D.R.U.I.D machine of war from our planet Avalon. It was created originally from our Avalonian metal, but this time was fused with Constantine’s DNA to make it adhere to his psychic commands. The computers inside that connect to your brain are of Avalonian make as well, using our highly sensitive communication technology. It communicates directly with your central nervous system, allowing you to see as the mecha sees. There is more science to it than that, but you warlord types don’t ever really care about that so long as it kills things.”
“Tell me one day, Merlin.” Uther flexed his arms. He could feel it now. The mecha was part of him and he could sense its strength in his arms and legs. Like he had suddenly grown new, powerful muscles. He would be unstoppable now.
He took one step and then another. “Vivian, get the others.”
He watched as the female D.R.U.I.D bowed her head, a small smirk on her lips, and left back to the lake with a few other D.R.U.I.Ds with her.
“It is worth noting that the other mecha are hardly anything compared to Excalibur,” Merlin’s voice said. “They were not meant to be war devices as much as this one. And they do not require the psychic connection this one does.”
“Does that mean you’re not in their heads like you are in mine?” Uther asked in good humor.
Merlin politely laughed. “No, I wouldn’t be. This mecha is as much a part of my planet as I am.”
Uther began to walk the mecha out behind his fort to where he could see one of the moons, Lothian, fading in the daylight. “I thought it was the machine part of your brain that let you communicate with this thing. Can’t most computers communicate that simply?”
A small delay in Merlin’s response lowered his voice an octave before he spoke. “Of course, sir. Just one machine speaking to another.”
Uther looked ahead to the vast open prairie of Camelot’s fragrant blue grass.
“Stay close,” Uther whispered as the urge overtook him. He flexed what felt like his legs and launched into a sprint. He felt the ground giving and trembling under his feet. He galloped away from the fort, no doubt quaking at his steps, and sped to the mountains. He leapt over a small pond and through a little forest in no time at all. He then bounded up the side of a medium sized mountain in only a few minutes. When he reached the summit, he was surprised to find himself panting for air.
“Whoo!” he called out over the mountaintops and Excalibur raised its arms up in triumph. He had claimed the mountain easily. “Merlin,” he said, “get my men into mechas. And summon Galois. He needs to see this.”
“Shall I tell you a little about them then?” Merlin asked. “Or would you rather run around like an exposed little boy?”
“I don’t appreciate your tone, D.R.U.I.D,” Uther said. But he couldn’t resist knowing a little about the machine. “But go on, if you must.”
Merlin cleared his throat needlessly. “You ran to the mountain, but your mecha also has the power of flight. There are torque generators inside, so you don’t lose your balance. Also, it runs on fuel, which I’m sure you’ve seen on your view screen. The psych-link as you see is your mental gauge. Don’t lose sight of that.”
Uther eyed the devilish-looking symbol to his left. “How do I know if my psych is not working?” he mocked Merlin, but Merlin didn’t care.
“You’ll know, sir.” He paused, waiting for any other smart-ass comments. He went on, “There are several weapons available on mecha, which I pray you do not attempt here. One is obvious as any weapon can be made for and allocated to a mecha. Be it a sword, a rod, gun, or rockets. Mecha also have Mist.” He stopped there.
“And?” Uther prompted.
“I’m sorry, sir, but it looks like your guests have arrived.” He paused again. “You may want to consider why you desire to use these. Your friends may need convincing.”
5
Making a King
Uther leaped out of the mecha as the transport with Galois approached. Lot, Morgause, and Igrain were with him. He couldn’t help but beam as he met them among the many legs of the now-present large mechas.
“Look
