Bastion Flight Academy · Technical Briefing
Cadet orientation · Year one
Pilot–ship synchronization
The Neural Link
Every Bastion pilot flies with two sets of senses: their own, and their ship’s. The Halo Interface is the bridge between them.
Through the Halo, a pilot’s mind works alongside the ship’s systems rather than through a screen. Hull, sensors and the space around the ship stop being numbers to read and become something the pilot simply feels. Cadets often say it is less like learning a new skill and more like finding one that was always there, waiting for the right interface.
- Designation
- Halo Interface
- Shell
- Carbon and composite weave
- Contact array
- 47 nodes, concentric from the crown
- Contact medium
- Conductive gel, each session
- Seal
- Mechanical, to titanium neck-ring
- Issue
- One per cadet, calibrated to the wearer
Session sequence
- Phase 0Passive calibration. About eleven minutes. Nothing happens, and that is the point: the interface is learning you. The nodes make contact one at a time, cold gel first, then light pressure, in sequence from the crown outward.
- Level 1Awareness. The link opens slowly, like a dimmer turned up rather than a switch. The room stays the same size, but you feel it. Cadets most often describe Level 1 in one word: wider.
- Level 2Extension. Reached when calibration quality, neural architecture and stress response allow. Possible in a first session, but not typical.
- Level 3+Restricted
What to expect
- GelCold, and slightly thick. You will stop noticing it.
- ScentA sharp ozone smell after long sessions, produced by the interface under sustained load. It gets into flight suits. This is normal.
- StoppingTell your monitoring technician at once if you feel disoriented or need to stop. Every session is supervised through the chamber partition.
- WardensEach squad is assigned a Warden, a semi-autonomous tactical AI companion that works with its pilots through the link. Wardens develop their own behavior within set limits, and typically settle into a consistent visual form within the first few sessions.
- ScoresSynchronization assessment results are recorded for every cadet. Restricted
Assessment and Development Division · Bastion Flight Academy