Chapter Five: Black Zone Simulation

They looked like Astra-X, but they did not breathe like Astra-X. They had none of that ancient, silent, almost living sense of battle. "Astra-X." "Here." "Can the simulation copy your frame data?" "Exterior and partial motion model." "Can it copy you?" "No." Leon smiled. "Good enough." He shut down part of the auxiliary display. Mira noticed immediately. "Leon, what are you doing?" "No standard moves." Astra-X charged into the center of the six phantoms. Its motion turned rough, wild, almost like back-alley fighting. It was not a straight advance from academy manuals, nor an elegant redirection from ace curriculum. It was survival movement learned in scrap yards, narrow alleys, and collapsing mines.