Short: Test Bed

"Initiating Test Sequence..." prompted the computer terminal speakers, reverberating through the room which was already filled with tension..

The Chief Technician; Prof. Gary Lynx had labored so hard these past few months trying to move the current research project forward amidst several funding cuts & a large proportion of research staff reassigned to other divisions, he'd been diligent in his efforts to keep the project moving on & to schedule. Now, after several months of hard work things were finally looking to pay off as the first prototype had just entered the testing phase..

They'd been working on a new form of dynamic motor response technology to be used to control the next generation of exo-suit & servitor-frames. With the construction industry's increasing demand for the massive robotic solutions to large scale construction development, & the military initiatives to increase the number of armed powered suits in operation, they'd been tasked with researching this new technology in the hope that it would provide the company with a competitive edge on the market & help secure in a wide array of lucrative contracts. However the research (which was initially scheduled for a 2 year plan) overran significantly due to poor management & misspent funds & by the time Gary had been brought in, they'd been given only a 6 month extension to finish up.
His entire career & reputation was riding on the success of the project & without a marketable product at the end, the situation would have been bleak until only 2 months ago. With the foundations of the technology based on excavated relics the company had acquired, a breakthrough discovery in understanding core systems of the relics' architecture, aided in concluding the research & helped the team establish a base to build their systems upon.

The department director stood anxiously, arms folded starring at Gary who tried his best to focus & keep his eyes fixed on the console in front of him. The control room was filled with junior & senior technicians who all stood silent as if they understood the weight of the moment at hand & what this meant for Gary & the rest of their work at the company. Through a large glass window in front of the group they could see the test bed; a huge hall used for field testing, & in the center; stood the test unit & the prototype perched in his hands..

"All systems nominal professor.." blurted one of the control room junior technicians in the direction of Gary whose concentration was lodged firmly on the monitor, making sure no anomalies had been detected.. "Thank you Wade.. Are we ready to begin Race..?" Gary said leaning into the microphone in front of him..
"Ready to roll chief..!" shouted the test unit, Race McCloud whose voice could be heard through the test bed amp speakers in the control room..

Gary paused for a moment before adjusting a few final calibration settings in preparation for the 1st run. Scaling the atmospheric flow pressure & increasing the base suits' activation dampeners remotely, Gary set everything up ready to proceed to push the activation button which in turn would spring the prototype's activation lock & allow the unit to freely decompress & assimilate the test units base suit. It was a nervous time as all the development work done up to this point had been based on paper studies & this would be the first time they'd know for sure whether the technology worked & functioned in practice as they'd theorized. Gary was hesitant but upon lifting his hand to push the activation button a loud voice boomed from over his shoulder..

"This better work professor..!" called the department director whose fierce demeanor seemed to swell in anticipation of the inevitable.. "It will.." prompted Gary firmly as he took one last glance at the monitor which filled him with a little more confidence..

The test unit lifted the prototype into the air in his hands and just as it reached the correct height, Gary depressed the activation button to release the lock..