Axiom Puppeteer

393 AC - Vassili slips on his steering gauntlet and clumsily attaches the straps around his forearms. He wasn't around for the Great Strikes; he was far too young to remember them. We had talked about them together a few days earlier, and for him, they were a mix of fleeting impressions from his childhood and impersonal paragraphs from his school books. He was scrawny and clumsy, with a physique you wouldn't expect to find in a mine. But there was no one else like him when it came to controlling Titans or heavy machinery. Something to do with proprioception, and the fact that he always seemed a bit spaced out. I guess disabilities can sometimes be advantages if you know how to make use of them.

From the other side of the quarry, the Titan's alarm glows red to warn all the Axiom that it's about to activate. Vass looks at me with a smile, and the robot's head also turns towards me. Each of Vass's movements will now be precisely reproduced by the gigantic machine (except the smile, of course). So he's careful to refrain from any sudden, unexpected movements. And a good thing, too. Even a simple sneeze or quick reflex to scratch an itch could have disastrous consequences. Vassili takes a step forward and focuses to get himself in position. He visually gauges the distance to the wall, confirms the Titan's overall balance… and activates the fist.

ISAREE