I Became God's Reaper in Another Universe

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The friendly and loving atmosphere that had once been in the room had disappeared, now replaced by cold suspicion directed at Aspen. Santos, Maximus, and Raven all eyed Aspen wearily after hearing Jess's words. Out of all, the least expected, Santos, was the one to break the silence. "Bossman, what does she mean by that?" 

Aspen looked at Jess, the memories and emotions that no longer held uncontrollable sway but were still present made him feel a tinge of pain. He then let out a sigh and nodded, choosing to be truthful right from the get-go rather than to have to explain things later down the road. "Jess, you're not entirely wrong. I… I'm not entirely the Aspen or the commander you remember…"

His words lingered in the air, received by the 4 with bated breaths. Maximus frowned, confused about what Aspen was trying to say. "Commander, what are you trying to say? Sure you no longer look much like the commander we remember, but you're still him."

Aspen shook his head and told them to grab a seat, which they did. He then turned to Presley and Patricia and asked for some privacy and to start their research before turning to Takara. He asked her to get in contact with the rest of the board and request that they start construction of a road to connect to the major highway and to establish contact with the Mechanical Trade Federation and register his company. 

They would, for the moment, not be producing or selling anything but will soon release a new mech model into the market. So, they would also need to go through the procedure to purchase a license to sell as well as a license to produce. Takara nodded and tapped her ear, her eyes turning blue for a moment as she seemed to be transmitting the message without speaking a word.

He then turned to Santos, Maximus, Caroline, and Jess and explained everything that had happened since their deaths. He didn't skip out on details, spending the next 2 hours retelling everything from before his transmigration to the missions he and Ghost pulled off to what his mission was, his previous lack of autonomy due to the foreign yet familiar emotions, and his current path to avenge Autumn, Alicia, and Aria, the purpose for which he had summoned them.

Everyone remained quiet once Aspen had finished explaining things, all in contemplation of their beliefs and reality itself. Jess was the first to stand up and look at Aspen with a mixture of anguish and acceptance. "You may not be exactly the brother I once had, but I believe he's still in there… even if it's just bits and pieces, I can tell you do care for us."

The other three nodded with Calorine (Raven) speaking up as well. "You may not be the man we signed up to fight with, but you've got a good heart and you're an honest man with the right ideals and an admirable outlook on things. I'm willing to fight alongside you and rid this universe of the scum that should've never made it out of their mother's womb."

Maximus and Santos nodded in agreement, willing to fight alongside Aspen.

"That leaves you," Aspen said as he turned to Jess. "So, what do you say, you spoiled brat?"

Aspen's words caused a bitter smile accompanied by a teardrop to appear on Jess's face. "Only my brother called me that."

"Yeah, I know," Aspen replied as he smiled back at her, the familiar feeling he had toward her pushing him to act this way.

Jess closed in and hugged Aspen, "His memories live with you, therefore I have no reason to not call you my brother."

Aspen smiled, the warm feeling of familial love he had never received in his previous life warming his heart. Once they broke the hug, Aspen asked Takara to take them to meet with Ghost and then take them to get their Neural Link surgeries as he gave them each a Neural Link that would be best suited for them. This prompted the four to touch their necks and realize their new bodies weren't ready to pilot anything yet. 

Once they were done with that, they would be headed to the Simulator pods, which the HQ was equipped with. These were actual simulator pods, unlike the Quad Simulator Pod that used real alternate universes. They had a 1:70 time dilation with no other bonuses and the same limits of 15 real-world hours a week no matter the pilot level. They were also equipped with the option of running co-op simulations.

With this, Aspen turned and walked to meet with Presley and Patricia as Takara took his new companions to the HQ. They sat down and were joined by Vera, the AI, who seemed to enjoy human interaction. He discussed with them plans of what he had in mind for the design of the new mech that would dominate the battlefield. And for this to be possible, they would have to rework everything starting with the barebones of the Reaper class mechs.

"First, we strip it down completely," Aspen began, projecting a 3D model of the existing Reaper Class. "The framework needs to be reinforced with a composite that maximizes durability while remaining lightweight. We'll integrate a skeletal structure that can handle higher stress loads without compromising speed."

Presley nodded, analyzing the projection. "Are you suggesting a carbon-titanium alloy with energy redistribution channels? That could work for impact dispersion."

"Exactly," Aspen confirmed. "But we'll also embed an adaptive lattice system that shifts based on incoming force, making it harder to detect structural weaknesses. Now, let's move to the reactor."

The blueprint shifted, showcasing the current reactor configuration.

"Right now, the energy core is compact, but we need it smaller while still generating higher output," Aspen continued. "I say we do away with its current reactor and implement a smaller and very much dampened version of the Eternium Nova reactor." Aspen tapped in the air and then a stack of blueprints materialized in his hands. "We find a way to downplay its performance while ensuring the power-to-mass ratio to be exponentially higher without compromising the frame due to extreme excess energy and frying of all circuitry."

"I'm sorry sir, but not only is that risky," Patricia mused. "But it can be downright stupid. We would basically be selling this universe a new reactor they had never seen before, possibly pushing it into an arms race trying to recreate it and we may make some enemies who may try to get our blueprints for the reactor."

"You make a fair point, but if we manage to create a baby version of it, even if they get their hands on the blueprints they will never figure out the process to make cheap Eternium Alloy into the masterpiece we will make. Not to mention we can apply that process to create personal mechs made out of the reinforced Eternium Alloy, creating a new weapon that will ensure we don't get fucked with as it will not be for sale," Aspen explained.

Vera chimed in. "Sir has a very good idea in mind. To make the mechs that will be sold even more downright overpowering, then optimizing the internal wiring will be critical to ensuring power distribution isn't lost. I suggest a triple-layer superconductive mesh with quantum relay nodes to cut latency."

Aspen smirked. "Smart and a good suggestion. Not only does it ensure more efficiency but it would also cut production costs. If we condense the wiring layout and remove excess pathways, we can make power transference near-instantaneous, allowing this new bad boy to respond faster than any opponent can react."

Presley tapped the table. "We're crafting a new beast altogether. But if we're doing this, what's the new armament layout?"

Aspen nodded and started listing out some ideas he had in mind: "I'm hoping to focus on tier 1-4 for the time being. Can't just hop right into the big leagues, you know? But I'll include everything even for future developments."

"At Tier 1, we're going to keep the Energy-dampened armor and we'll create a new rifle and ensure it has a higher muzzle velocity for longer-range engagements as well as giving it an edge in ambushes, getting shots on target faster, and allowing its pilot to switch to the next quicker."

"Then, at Tier 2, we will upgrade its cloaking systems, ensure it would be undetectable even to the radars of mechs from a tier above it. We're also going to be upgrading the sword, fusing part of it with the frame. We're switching its rifle out for a sniper rifle that will be tuned for Hypervelocity shots."

"For tier 3, we will trade its full spectrum cloak and implement adaptive reflective plating. It will add weight, but it will be much more efficient at hiding in plain sight. I'm also thinking of giving its sniper rifle an option to connect to the mech's own reactor to produce an overcharge function that would be devastating to come across."

"And lastly for tier 4, I'm thinking of implementing electromagnetic disruptors to its sword that would be fed by connectors in the hands of the mech using power from the reactor, with each strike to the enemy it should disrupt their systems, a deadly thing to come across in the battlefield where every move and every millisecond of reaction time matters."

"Of course, for every single one of these tiers, upgrades will be implemented into the construction of the mechs whether it be materials, wiring arrangement, reactor power, and whatnot."

Patricia whistled. "You've got some aspirations, sir, I'll tell you that. We're starting this off using the Reaper as a basic design, but what you're thinking of doing is ludicrous."

Aspen leaned back, satisfied. "You can say that one more time. Once We are through with this, we'll have turned the universe upside down while giving them an idea that they have the most powerful toys as we arm our armies with the real big guns."

Vera turned her translucent head to Aspen as she asked, "Well sir, every every mech must have a name. What do you plan to name this? I'll also create a separate archive if you want to start the development process of the personalized mechs that will only be available to our troops."

Aspen thought about it for a second before replying, "This will be known as the Vanguard Class, it's only fair due to the company name. As for the classified mechs, we will be army our men with…. let's name them…."

"Apostles?" Recommended Presley. "Since, you know, God and all."

Aspen nodded at this, "Yes, Apostles sounds good, but Vera, create a third one, this will be for the strongest and most worthy pilots that I'll pick out myself. The Monarch Class."

"Vanguards, Apostles, and Monarchs, quite the naming sense you and your team have, Sir," Vera called out.

"Haha, I guess so," Aspen chuckled. "Make the Apostles program classified with only the basic release of the assembly blueprints to be available after production begins. Also, make sure you keep the Monarch program off the net, locked away behind every single door, accessible to me, and me only, unless I request otherwise. The deeper secrets of the Apostles program will be accessible to the pilots I assign Monarch class mechs."

Aspen stood up from his chair, "Contact Takara, I want her to come pick me up, I have a few things to do. In the meantime, Presley, Patricia, enjoy yourselves." He then walked out the door of the room leaving the couple alone with Vera.

"This will be fun," said Presley.

"More like a royal pain in the ass," complained Patricia. "You're the one that has to figure out how to put shit together; I'm the one that has to do the research, the trial and error, and everything else while you suck your thumb waiting for me to finish."

"You know I love you," Presley said as he hugged his wife from behind only to be elbowed in the stomach.

"Fuck off, guero, if it wasn't for your pretty eyes I wouldn't be here," Patricia huffed.

"It's all God's plan," replied Presley as he rubbed his stomach.

Outside, Aspen had boarded the hand of Takara's mech and they flew over to the HQ. Once he had landed, he walked to a landing pad where a pristine Midnight Purple VTOL with golden accents was parked. 

"I need a ride back to my building in the city; I have something I need to collect from there," Aspen said to Takara, who had dismounted her mech and was standing next to him.

"I'll get some men and personally escort you, sir," Takara replied.

"No need for the extra men, just you and I," Aspen said, denying her proposal to bring extra muscle. "I don't want to draw even more attention to how many people I have with me in case I have eyes keeping watch on my things."

"Understood, sir," Takara walked to the VTOL as she tapped her wrist a few times. Her mech then moved autonomously to stand idle by the main entrance of the HQ. "Ready when you are, sir."

Aspen nodded and walked into the VTOL, taking the Co-Pilot's seat as Takara sat next to him in the Pilot's seat. The start-up took a few minutes as the engines and the reactor warmed up. Then they took off, below them the hustle and bustle of 100 mechs flattening and preparing terrain to turn into a major road before ordering any material to formally construct the actual road.

It didn't take long before the mountain range was but a speck in the distance as the VTOL accelerated to over 3500 kmh, a speed that far surpassed that of the more modern VTOLs. It only took them about 25 minutes to reach the city and, subsequently, his building. 

Takara expertly piloted the VTOL, pulling a Croba-like maneuver that put them under a lot of G's, though they barely felt it due to their enhancements. Takara then landed the VTOL right in front of the building, blocking the street traffic. "I'll land again when you are ready to leave."

Aspen dismounted the VTOL and walked to the entrance of the building, the VTOL promptly taking off behind him and hovering near the building. He went straight to the basement level where the reactor room and the room housing the Quad Simulator Pod were located.

He walked into the room of the Quad Simulator Pod and put it in his inventory before making his way back up. Once he reached the lobby, Aspen ran into Michael with Charlie trailing behind him.

"Michael," Aspen greeted.

"Asp- Azrael, where you have been these past few days, man?" Michael asked, almost forgetting about Aspen's new public persona.

"Eh, here and there. I have some things that I've been taking care of and plans I'm putting in motion," Aspen said with a bitter smile. "I doubt you'll be seeing much of me for a good time from now on."

Michael nodded, understanding in his eyes, "I see. Well, it was a pleasure to have met you."

Aspen chuckled, "Come on man, you make it seem like I'm going off to die. I just won't be around much. You can take care of vacating my apartment and listing it as well. Also, I deposited 2.5 million credits into the account to help manage everything. Talk to Jarv about finishing the renovations, he knows what to do. I'll also be increasing your salary to 16,000 credits a month, so make sure you keep doing a good job."

Michael smiled at this revelation, "It's not every day you get your salary doubled. Thank you, man, really. You have no idea just how much you've changed my life. Stay safe, and I hope you achieve what you want to achieve. Goodbye."

Aspen nodded as he reached out and shook Michael's extended hand. "It's not a goodbye, my friend. We'll be seeing each other again."

And with that, Aspen left the building behind, boarding the VTOL which promptly took off again in the direction of the HQ.

"Until next time, my first friend…" Aspen whispered as the megacity shrank behind them while the VTOL continued to pick up speed.

Word Count: 2735 Words 👏

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