Chapter One: Twenty-Three Percent

It was nothing like Federation mechs, with their exposed conduits and thrust ports. This one was smooth, sharp, and silent, like a giant sword forged from starlight. At the center of its chest armor sat a cracked diamond core. Leon stood beneath it as if before a sleeping god. Every reading on his wrist comm went mad. A line of symbols he had never seen appeared on the screen, then translated itself into Federation Standard. "Will frequency approaching." Leon took half a step back. The mech's head lowered. In the darkness, two blue eyes slowly lit. A voice sounded directly inside Leon's mind, deep and ancient, as though it had crossed thousands of years of stars. "Pilot candidate. State your name." Leon's throat tightened.