Stardust Mech Pilot

In 2242, the Milky Way is divided among the Federation, the Empire, and the Star Alliance. The mechanical insectoid “Devouring Tide” tramples the lights of colonial worlds beneath its iron heels. Mechs are humanity’s only weapon against the insectoids, and “synchronization rate,” the strength of the mental resonance between a mech and its pilot, is the key to survival. The Federation monopolizes high synchronization rates with gene locks, while the Empire ties mech ownership to noble titles. Only Ling Xiao, a scavenger from the frontier, can achieve 85% resonance with the battered mech Tiedan using nothing but his hands, skilled at dismantling scrap metal.

He is the “son of a defector.” His parents were silenced by the Federation for exposing the secret behind the insectoids’ origins, but before they died, they embedded the “Stardust Code” in his genes. When the Federation’s Judgment crushes the cooking smoke rising over Rust Town, and the Empire’s Black Knight tramples the bodies of commoners, Ling Xiao grips Tiedan’s controls. Through Karen’s sacrifice and Aila’s code, he comes to understand the truth his parents left behind: Eve, the insectoid hive mind AI, was once a human consciousness that had been altered, and the fabled Stardust mech, with its 100% synchronization rate, holds the key to reconciliation.

From the mech graveyard in Rust Town to the decisive battle at the Starsea Hub, Ling Xiao carries Tiedan’s ruined frame, Raymond’s defiance, and Aila’s code, smashing through the walls of class beyond the numbers of synchronization rates. When the Stardust mech unfurls wings glowing with three colors, he finally understands: a true Stardust pilot isn’t an elite who hoards synchronization rates, but someone who gives every ordinary person the courage to take hold of the controls. Like the hope he pieced together from scrap metal, it may be rusted, but it can light up the entire sea of stars.