Building Zoids in a World of Titans

The staffer led them up a final flight of stairs and through a heavy oak door into the Guildmaster's office.

The room was larger than Alex expected. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the ruined eastern wall and the smoke still curling from the guild district. Bookshelves lined two walls, stuffed with binders and data slates. A holotable sat dormant in the corner. And behind a broad desk cluttered with requisition forms, threat assessments, and what appeared to be three separate cold cups of tea sat Valerius Thorne.

The first thing Alex noticed was the man's hands. They were trembling. Not subtly. The datapad beside his tea was vibrating on the desk from the tremor running through his fingers.

Valerius looked up. His pale blue eyes widened.

"Alex. And—" He blinked at the four women filing in behind him. "Team Celestia. All of you. Together."

"We came as escorts," Anya said.

"Escorts." Valerius repeated the word like he was testing whether it was real. He cleared his throat twice. "Well. That's. Yes. Please, everyone, take a seat. There are chairs. I think there are enough chairs. Let me just—" He stood, nearly knocked over one of the teas, caught it, and gestured vaguely at the collection of mismatched seating arranged before his desk.

Alex took a chair. The cushion had seen better decades.

Valerius settled back into his own seat, steepled his trembling fingers, and let out a long breath.

"Tea? I have tea. Or—" Valerius glanced at a side table where a pot sat next to a cluster of mismatched cups. "Water. I think there's water. Possibly juice, though I can't vouch for the age of the juice."

"We're fine," Anya said.

"Quite alright," Seraphine added with a gentle nod.

Valerius looked at Alex.

"I'm good," Alex said.

"Right. Good. Excellent." Valerius pulled a form from somewhere beneath the desk clutter and held it up, though it was upside down. He flipped it right-side up, squinted at it, and set it down again. "Well then. Let's. Yes."

He straightened in his chair, and the trembling in his hands settled slightly, as though the ritual of official business had given him something solid to grip.

"First things first." Valerius folded his hands on the desk. "Alex, on behalf of the Warden's Guild, Sector 7, and the settlement of Veridia, I want to formally thank you for your actions during the Stormclaw Liger incursion. Your intervention was instrumental in preventing further civilian casualties and structural damage to the guild district."

Alex shifted in the worn chair. "I had a clear shot. I took it."

"Yes, well. Not everyone would have." Valerius slid a data slate across the desk. "The bounty for a confirmed Stormclaw Liger kill has been processed. The assessed value of the threat, adjusted for property damage mitigation and civilian protection, falls within the standard range for a Rank B Titan engagement."

He tapped the screen. A number appeared.

"One hundred and thirty-two thousand Sols."

Alex stared at the figure. The number didn't seem real. It was more money than he'd seen in his entire life on Terrax. More than enough to clear Borin's ledger, fund the Arosaurer's repairs, and keep him in parts for a year.

"Team Celestia has already received their share," Valerius continued. "This is yours alone. The Liger's salvage rights are also included, per Anya's recommendation."

Alex's hand moved toward the slate, then stopped. He looked at Anya.

She gave him a single nod.

He picked up the slate. The number was still there.

"Thank you," he managed.

"Don't thank me. You earned it." Valerius cleared his throat again. "Which brings me to the second matter. Your rank."

Alex set the slate down carefully. "My rank."

"Yes. You're currently registered as a Rank 9 Warden. Which, given that you just piloted a machine that killed a B-rank Titan, is something of an administrative embarrassment for all of us." Valerius pulled out another form. "Warden promotions are typically handled through accumulated service hours, field evaluations, and a review board assessment. The process is thorough. Rigorous. Designed to ensure that each rank reflects genuine capability."

He paused.

"It is also, I should note, extraordinarily slow."

Fia leaned forward in her chair. "How slow?"

"The average advancement from Rank 9 to Rank 8 takes eighteen months. From 8 to 7, another two years, assuming no disciplinary issues." Valerius adjusted his spectacles. "However, the regulations do contain a provision for field promotion in cases of exceptional demonstrated competence during active Titan engagement."

"Exceptional," Lyra repeated.

"I'm using the word generously, yes." Valerius looked at Alex over the rims of his glasses. "You engaged and killed a B-rank Titan. Alone. Then you re-engaged it alongside Team Celestia and delivered the finishing strike. I have four elite Wardens in this room who will confirm that assessment."

Anya spoke without hesitation. "Confirmed."

"Confirmed," Fia echoed.

Lyra and Seraphine nodded.

Valerius pulled a stamp from his desk drawer, held it over the form for a moment, and brought it down with a firm thunk. "Then by the authority vested in me as Sector 7 Administrator, I'm promoting you from Rank 9 to Rank 7, effective immediately. The jump from 9 to 8 is waived on procedural grounds—your service record, while sparse, contains a confirmed C-rank kill from the Timber-Crest Bull incident, which was never properly filed because, and I'm quoting the report here, 'the relevant paperwork was lost.'"

He set the stamp down and slid the form across the desk.

"Congratulations, Warden Alex. You've skipped the line." Valerius's mouth twitched. "Try not to make a habit of it. I'll have enough forms to process as it is."

Alex looked at the stamped form. Rank 7. Two promotions in a single afternoon.

"I'll do my best," he said.

"That's all anyone can ask." Valerius gathered the forms and set them aside. "Now. There is a third matter, but it's less celebratory."

Valerius folded his hands again, but the trembling had returned. He glanced at Team Celestia, then back at Alex.

"The Foreman has taken a keen interest in your machine."

"I'm not surprised," Alex said.

"She wants the technology." Valerius's voice was careful, each word placed like a component on a workbench. "She believes a machine capable of engaging a B-rank Titan represents a strategic asset for Veridia. She's requested that you either share the technical specifications or surrender the unit for study."

The room went quiet.

Alex's hand moved to his chest, touching the blue stone pendant beneath his shirt. "It's not a unit. It's a Zoid. And I built it."

"I know what you built it from, in the broadest sense. Salvaged Titan components, fabricated alloys, a power core." Valerius leaned forward. "But the integration. The control systems. The fact that it moves and fights like a living thing. That's not standard fabrication, Alex. That's something else entirely."

Alex said nothing.

"Where did you learn to do this?" Valerius asked. "Who taught you the control interface design? Which guild engineer consulted on the core housing? I've checked the records. There's nothing. Five years of purchases, five years of silence, and then a walking war machine appears in my forest."

"I taught myself."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

Valerius exhaled through his nose. His fingers drummed the desk. "The Foreman is my superior. When she gives me a directive, I'm obligated to pursue it. She wants that technology, Alex. She wants it for the settlement. For everyone."

"The machine isn't everyone's," Alex said. "It's mine. I built it. I piloted it. I nearly died in it twice."

Fia shifted in her chair. "With respect, Guildmaster, Alex just saved the city. Taking his machine after that seems like a poor way to say thank you."

"It's not about gratitude. It's about security." Valerius pulled at his collar. "A single Zoid is one thing. But the knowledge to build more. Imagine what Veridia could do with an arsenal of these machines. We wouldn't need to rely on Wardens throwing themselves at Titans with swords and shields."

"We make a pretty good team as is," Fia said.

Lyra adjusted her goggles. "The Foreman's interest is logical from a strategic standpoint. But the engineering involved is clearly proprietary. Forcing disclosure would set a dangerous precedent for independent inventors."

"I'm aware of the precedent," Valerius said. "I'm also aware that the Foreman doesn't care about precedent. She cares about results." He looked at Alex again. "I don't want to do this. You saved lives. Mine included, probably, since I was in the guild hall when that thing broke through the wall. But I have a directive, and I need you to understand the position I'm in."

Alex met his gaze. "Then you understand mine. The Zoid stays with me. The technology stays with me. I'm not giving either one up."

Valerius stared at him for a long moment. Then he slumped back in his chair, the fight draining out of him like hydraulic fluid from a cracked line.

"I was afraid you'd say that." He rubbed his face with both hands. "The Foreman won't be pleased."

"Her displeasure is noted," Anya said coolly.

Valerius let out a long, weary sigh. "Go. All of you. Before I find more paperwork to bury myself in."

Alex stood. Team Celestia rose with him.

At the door, Alex paused. "Thank you. For the promotion. And for not pushing harder."

Valerius waved a trembling hand. "Just keep that machine out of trouble. And for the love of all that's mechanical, file your kill reports on time."

Alex almost smiled. "I'll try."

They left Valerius sitting alone in his cluttered office, staring at the cold cups of tea on his desk, the weight of the Foreman's expectations pressing down on him like a Titan's foot.