07-18-2009, 03:12 PM
Author's Note: Now this is a story that sort of puts into context the fun memories I've had when playing Last Raven. (Yes, had. nasira yung PS2 ko >< linangam(sp?)) Anyways my friend and I loved playing two player mode and we had countless epic battles(and epic loses) in the game. Now if you think that the character here is a Mary Sue(and/or variation) just go ahead and say it but just don't make a fuss of it. ^^ I hope you guys enjoy. P.S. The piloting portrayed by my character is a rough reflection of how I pilot my AC
/--/Crest Base/--/
The strong sun creeps across the sky and along with the debris and ambient of the near desert location they paint the once azure sky with an orange hue. The afternoon light filtered by clouds flooded the land before a facility whose shadow now starts to fade due to the atmosphere and pollution within the air. In this day and age there are major corporations that have teamed up to form the Alliance that has been formed to consolidate power. However there are people out there that do not agree with the Alliance and have attempts to take down the order.
At least here at this base, it was somewhat quiet. Crest has its own reserve of pilots, mainly MTs, standard issue units that make up the main force that protect the facility. The facility used to have multiple Armored Cores at its possession. Armored Cores, simply referred to as ACs, are heavily modified MTs that possess greater performance and capabilities and have fortified Cores for which it is named after. Most of their Armored Core pilots, designated as Ravens, on the other hand have been transferred off to the Alliance’s Frontline base protecting them from the rebel group called Vertex. There’s even a rumour that a particular Raven is being approached by both sides due to his or her exceptional talent. But this was far from the mind of a particular Raven that sat in his custom Armored Core inside a hangar within the Crest Base.
This Raven was drafted into Crest industries as a MT pilot at first, eventually being promoted to Raven status. However he was not nearly as talented as the other Ravens that came before him and therefore he was delegated to protect the base rather than to fight on the front lines. He had just finished adjusting settings and equipment on his Armored Core. His AC, named Circaete, was the standard issue AC of Crest Industries, being the second largest company producing Armored Core parts succeeded only by Mirage. Its main frame and weaponry was once Crest Industry only parts. Luckily he was able to get a hold of Mirage Head piece, Beam Sword Weapon, and Generator thanks to the forming of the Alliance. His build has gotten him through thick and thin in his sorties prior to being relegated to this duty which now started to bore him to death.
“So much for interesting action-packed adrenaline fuelled sorties.” He muttered to himself half jokingly. He didn’t want war but his profession started to feel useless nowadays. He stepped out of his AC’s Core unit and stepped onto the service platform in front of the humanoid machine. Its dark gray frame accented with crimson red seemed to just fade into the hangar as if it were a hazy image. He was called to by a mechanic that was working on loading the newly arrived Crest Linear Rifle.
“Hey, Sero, your rifle has just arrived.” The Raven code-named Sero turned to face the mechanic smiling. He approached the grease monkey and patted him on the shoulder. One of the few friends he has in Crest industries was this mechanic. Most others were his fellow AC pilots that were sent off to fight off Vertex and prevent their attack.
“Thanks for your help, Jack.”
“It’s no problem,” the reply came, “just make sure you remember to configure it properly. Unlike the first one where you wasted all your ammo thanks to bad target system synchronization.” Both of them laughed as they remembered Sero’s first sortie. He chose a sniper rifle that was not compatible with his Targeting System. Every time he had aimed for the target his AC fired the shots thirty to fifty feet away from the intended target. He was threatened by Crest’s Leaders to revoke his Raven license and return to being an MT pilot.
“I’ve learned my lesson. If I have not you might be missing your leg from this new Linear Rifle.” Sero laughed casually as he turned about and headed off to the pilot’s lounge. Raven’s had their own private lounge however due to the lack of Raven’s around, since Sero was the last one in Crest’s Base; Sero chose to stay with the MT pilots in the general lounge which provided him with much more company. He entered the white room and approached a vending machine and got himself can of coke. Turning around he noticed two MT pilots already seated in the lounge chatting vividly. He approached and sat down on one of the sofas listening to their stories.
“That Raven everyone is talking about is simply amazing!” One of the MT pilots exclaimed as he described one of the latest sorties of the mysterious Raven. Sero listened on with interest imagining the scenarios that the MT pilot was so fully describing with details galore. The sortie being described at the moment was the mysterious Raven taking down two ACs in a single mission. Taking down an Armored Core takes most of one’s own skill and stamina as well as ammo and the durability of the machine. Taking on two is near suicide. “There was news about it earlier today, at around 1200. Some say he’s siding with Vertex but I beli-”
Suddenly interrupting the exciting story was a klaxon that rang through the facility. Sero leaped up from his seat along with the MT pilots as he heard the ear splitting alarm. Throughout the speakers of the facility rang the voice of the operator, “All available pilots report to the briefing room! I repeat: all available pilots report to the briefing room!” Sero ran out of the lounge drinking his soft drink. How he doesn’t choke on it while running was the question the MT pilots asked as they ran on behind him.
“We have an important problem on our hands, pilots.” The CO of Crest’s Base Defense gestured to the screen behind him. It displayed the immediate area of the base and the area outside the base along with various details about weather, climate, etc. What caught the eyes of the pilots however was the mass of triangles designated with a red TGT coming from the north-eastern border. “We have detected numerous MTs inbound from bearings zero-two-five thru zero-four-two.” A display appeared on screen showing an aerial footage of the approaching force of MTs. “We have not yet determined their alignment,” simultaneously the footage showed an MT aiming its cannon towards the camera of the aircraft and released a shot that sent the video into a blur of static. “And as you can see, they are clearly hostile.” He looks at the pilots with his hawk-like eyes and gives them their routes for interception and the odds accompanied by the presentation onscreen. “… MT Squad 3 will move in from here and provide support fire for Squad 2 that will go in frontline. Our first line of defence will be comprised of Squad 1 and the Artillery unit.” When he finished an image of Sero’s AC, Circaete, appeared on screen signalling that he would be the next to be given orders. True enough to timing the CO turned to look at Sero and started giving him his orders. “You will be our last line of defence.”
Sero raised his hand signalling that he wished to speak, “Sir, I don’t mean to sound like some hotshot, but if we use the AC on the frontlines wouldn’t that be more efficient in preventing the MTs from getting any closer because of the ACs firepower?”
“I knew you’d spot that.” The CO replied, “however should you lose on the frontlines for whatever reason,” He was making a subtle reminder of his first missions, after all Sero himself was just a rookie when compared to the Ravens that left the Crest base, “the MT Squads left here will not be sufficient to quell their numbers.”
Sero nodded half-satisfied, half-irritated that he won’t be allowed on the front because of his stature but he his retort within his own mind. “Very well if there will be no more questions you all should make preparations now. Operation will commence in fifteen minutes.”
Sero leapt into his AC five minutes later putting on a helmet that provided the HUD and pertinent information on the visors. After putting on the five point harness he pressed a button to his left that closed the hatch above him and pushed the cockpit deeper into the Core providing protection from attacks. The familiar hum of the engines powering up rumbled through the machine while the generator hummed to life providing power to all the systems. The screens around him displayed all the systems and configurations of the AC as they turned on in sequence at a rapid pace. All systems displayed all green and soon the cockpit was now filled with green hues as everything booted correctly. Sero double checked all the displays and made sure that nothing was malfunctioning. Satisfied with the pre-flight check he activated the camera of the unit and displayed the exterior.
Outside the red eyes of the AC glowed dimly to life that signalled all preparations were complete, all systems were running, and the AC was ready to go. The service walkway retracted into the side and was tucked safely away with the mechanic waving good luck. The AC started to walk forward towards the opening hangar door that filtered afternoon light into the hangar. When the AC Circaete stopped outside of the hangar the huge doors closed in clamping shut as Sero signalled to the Control Center of Crest that he was ready for sortie.
“This is Sero aboard AC Circaete.”He muttered, “All preparations are complete, ready for sortie.” The respond came in quickly telling him, “Copy that, head to your designated post and Standby.”
“This will be a long day.”
He was at the designated point atop the building of Crest providing him a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. Crest’s main building was several stories high and several helipads were located at the top. The Circaete scanned the North East area with lifeless eyes. The radar part equipped on its back left area glinted silver in the afternoon light as it worked scanning the frontlines with its powerful range. As the interceptor group moved forward Sero adjusted the radar to focus beyond its usual capability in order to monitor the progress of the first wave. Though greatly enhancing the forward sensor capabilities of the radar, this removed any sensory sweeps going to the sides and rear. Sero shrugged off the discomfort by telling himself that, “The operators will warn me before hand.” And he watched his radar screen which he brought up enlarged on the screen in front of him. Green spheres in groups of three were on his radar, one group representing one wave of his allies waiting to meet the enemy. However his radar couldn’t reach the enemy lines just yet so all he could do was wait. He shifted in his seat to allow him to slouch a bit and relax is already stiffening muscles. “Man, I wish I brought a book to read.” All the units have already stopped at their designated locations waiting for the enemy force to arrive, the frontline just being on the very edge of his radar’s range.
“We have contacts,” the front liners reported as the incoming wave of enemy MTs approach. “We read thirty contacts.”
Sero flinched when he heard the report and he sat up with anticipation. He flipped the switch for the safety of his weapons. Over the radio he heard his allies start shouting as the battle started. The sounds of gun shots and explosions riddled the transmissions. On his radar screen the green spheres on the frontline started to break formation as dozens of triangles came in range. These triangles represented the bogies and their particular colors showed their altitude relative to his ACs altitude. Blue meant above red meant on his level, orange if below. In this case most of the triangles were purplish indicating that most of them were on ground level. However what astonished him and his comrades was the fact that the first line of defense was diminishing rapidly. Many were requesting for back up forces and support fire. There were lots of yelling and screaming as pilots burned inside their MTs as they blew up. Sero shut his eyes wishing he could shut his ears as well. He still hasn’t gotten the callous reaction that a soldier normally attains after countless sorties into the field. One of the screams he heard was that of the soldier who was telling stories in the lounge earlier. His eyes opened as emotion surged through him. What am I doing? He looked up and found that the second wave of MTs were managing to decrease considerably the units. Then Sero realized that someone was calling his name.
“Raven? Raven? Raven, do you copy? Sero!” The operator assigned to helping him out was calling over the radio. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind and responded. “Yes I copy.”
The operator let out a sigh of relief when Sero replied. “I was worried when you didn’t respond to my earlier call.” Sero realized that he spaced out for nearly five minutes. Quickly he tried to observe his radar and set it within normal settings. He listened to the radio chatter that screamed on as the battle raged.
“Enemy threat level is decreasing! Three contacts remaining!” Sero checked with the second to the last line of defense and confirmed that the Enemy numbers are being quelled at the second line with minimal casualties.
“That’s good.” Sero smiled, “We are winning this thing.” He sets the ACs computer to make a brief report of the battle and have it narrated. After a few seconds the AI speaks in its metallic yet smooth voice, “Thirty two enemy MTs have been destroyed. The first line was breached but the second line of defense successfully eliminated the enemy forces.” What followed next made Sero flinch, “Enemy AC detected.” He glanced up to the horizon seeing the second line of defense in the distance. All of them were still standing and no reports from the Crest’s operators told of an AC approaching. Sero glanced sceptically at his monitor and scolded his AI as if it were living, “Circaete, I think you lost your mind itching for a fight. There’s no-” the whole second line of defense blew up into the sky.
Circaete’s AI responded, “Negative. Re-evaluated scan, enemy AC detected. AC Serval recognized.” A small display appeared revealing an approximate layout of the enemy AC, “Lightweight bi-pedal AC.” Sero cringed and froze up for a few seconds as the commander started giving orders to the remaining MT units to move forward. When Sero regained control of himself he requested that he move to the frontline as well but the CO told him to stay put. “We don’t want you doing friendly fire again.” Sero squeezed the controls of his AC as he recalled that ill-fated sortie where he killed three of his allies with an EN Sniper Rifle thanks to his misconfigured targeting system. He had double checked his sights before this sortie and made sure that that was top priority on his list. The commanding officers on the other hand now hold a grudge thanks to that single incident. Then the shocked operator of the Crest base whimpered, “All MT Squads have been destroyed.”
The base went silent.
The radar on the front monitor of Sero’s AC minimized and reappeared on his visors. He leapt off the top of the Crest base and landed on the ground between Crest’s Base and the incoming AC. On the horizon the heat made the air shimmer giving the Enemy AC a more formidable aura about it. Sero glared silently at the approaching AC. This was his first encounter with an Armored Core on his own. There’ll be no one to provide support fire, no rescue, no back up. Everyone was annihilated because of this AC. But no matter, he was better than before, stronger, faster. “Maybe just maybe…”
“We have called for reinforcements. Raven, head back into the hangar and sit tight. The bases defenses will handle this,” came the voice of Crest’s CO over the intercom. After countless moments they realized that Sero’s AC hadn’t moved nor has there been a reply. “I repeat head back into the hangar-”
“Switching to combat mode.” Circaete’s AI intervened through the radio frequency. “Ready to engage.”
“Then what’s the point of being an AC pilot in the first place?” Sero’s voice quietly rebukes. “I will stick to the plan.” The CO seemed to have frozen because it took several seconds before he replied.
“Fine! Do whatever you want.” Over the intercom he heard a less audible continuation that followed as if the CO was talking to someone else but forgot to turn off the communication. If the CO really wanted Sero to hear what came next or not, Sero didn’t care. “Say goodbye to one of our ACs men.” the COs tone was bitter and seemingly mixed with what sound like joy in that last sentence.
“Enemy within range.” Circaete’s AI reported, “Scanning enemy layout now.”
Sero looked up and grasped the control sticks and told himself, “Here goes nothing!” He activated the boosters, charging them up. The eye of Circaete lit a scarlet red as the AC was propelled forward towards the approaching AC.
“Enemy AC is equipped with Assault Rifles and Missile Launchers. Estimated range effectiveness: close to mid range. Close range combat is not advised. Exercise caution.” Circaete’s AI reported as the distance between them shortened. The violet flames coming from the thrusters of the AC burned violently as it propelled the huge machine forward. Inside Sero’s speedometer reading was at around 280 kilometres per hour. “Approximate readings show high solid defense and moderate mobility. Estimate Class B.” Within another moment the AC’s machine came into range of Sero’s radar scanning. The HUD positioned a yellow line upon the AC and displayed its distance from the unit. Current reading was 1160 meters. Sero did a final glance on the systems of the AC. His ACs core temperature was normal at around 20 to 22 degrees Celsius, displays all are reporting well. “Circaete do a quick scan of status and report.” At this point he was already at 900 meters away. “All systems normal and functioning.” He was entering firing range at 450 for his linear guns and 440 for his Missiles. Sero clicked a button on his right control handle and switched his right hand control over to the missile launchers. Pressing another button on his left control activated missile extenders on his shoulders. What this does is provide additional missile attack simultaneous to the main missile pack on his back. The AC Serval was now 600 meters away and rapidly closing in.
“Any moment now.” Sero told himself as he readied his body. The AC suddenly was outlined by a large box in yellow meaning the targeting system of Circaete was acquiring a lock. As it acquires the lock a red circle displayed on top of the enemy AC fills itself up. Within another moment that nearly lasted a second the red circle was now full and the yellow box turned red with the distance at 440 and a number 1 was displayed above the lock box. Sero waited a moment longer for a number 2 to appear as well. This meant that a second missile was starting to get locked unto the AC. However while waiting for this number 2 the enemy AC flashed its bright blue eyes and raised its Assault rifle. The distance was at 380 meters and a warning tone filled his cockpit. A red LOCKED sign displayed on the upper part of his HUD. He immediately stopped his forward motion and leapt sideways, still keeping the enemy AC in his lock box. Two bullets whizzed past his head by the time he landed on the ground sending yellow brown dust into the air. Finally the number 2 missile locked on and immediately Sero pulled the trigger. The missile pack threw Vertical Missiles into the air soaring with high pitched squeals from their engines. Simultaneously the gray missile relation packs on his shoulder lauched four missiles, two per side, directly at the enemy AC.
The enemy AC boosted sideways avoiding the four missiles that came straight at it from the Circaete’s shoulder packs. The pilot must have relaxed for the AC let off its thrusters and raised its rifle arm. By the time it pulled the trigger however the vertical missiles that flew straight up came screaming down at the enemy AC causing it to lose a lock on Sero’s machine because of the impact.
Sero grinned as he pressed the same button to switch his main weapon to his linear assault rifle. Circaete raised its menacing barrel at the enemy AC and launched a high velocity bullet at the enemy AC. Its speed creating a lot of friction making the bullet burn through the sky as it ripped the still standing air. It made its way impacting the enemy AC sending it backwards due to the momentum of the bullet. Sero didn’t let up his attack as he dashed the opposite direction to fool the enemy ACs FCS Targeting System. True enough to text book example the rifle shots of the AC Serval missed AC Circaete by a long shot. Sero then fled inwards to deal a devasting slash. Powering up his Moonlight, a powerful beam sword, a shaft of sky blue beam light that contrasted the color scheme of Circaete’s black and red paint flickered to existence. The gap read 90 meters close enough to do a slash. Sero confidently and stoically pulled back the left arm to bring down the laser sword down upon its victim. Gears whirred to bring the arm up into slashing position. The distance read 52 meters. Sero watched with hatred and contempt as he expected the enemy unit to explode at the moment of impact. Distance 14 meters, short enough for the moonlight’s blade to slice through the enemy armoured core like butter.
Flash of light. An explosion boomed. Sero’s AC was blown back. “Left Arm Parts damaged.” Circaaete reported. On screen a warning flashed saying that Circaete took damage. The temperature guage showed a raise from 20 degrees to 54 degrees. The feet of the AC skid along the ground being pushed back a few meters away from the enemy AC. Sero’s eyes widened as he noticed the smoking barrel of a linear rail gun mounted on the shoulder of the enemy AC that produced an even faster bullet than the one Sero has. AC Serval was able to find an opening within the time Circaete stopped firing up to the time it brought up its sword. The radiator of Circaete instantly brought the temperature down back to normal levels and the left arm lowered back into standby. Bright ochre yellow sparks sprang from the joints. Sero was left rattled. He quickly engaged the thrusters and once more violet flames pushed the AC to the side narrowly avoiding another shot by the enemy AC.
Circaete’s right arm rose to aim its Linear Rifle towards the enemy AC, the reticule confirming a lock. On the enemy a bright green light started glowing behind it and a whining sound started to ring through the area. Sero pulled the trigger the moment the reticule went red and fired its high velocity round. Within the same moment the AC Serval blurred as a lime green explosion occurred behind it pushing it at great speeds to the right. The bullet missed the enemy AC and hit the ground where Serval last stood blowing up sand and earth into the sky. Sero recognized the technology.
‘Overboost’ was technology that was even more powerful than the standard boosters of most ACs. It propelled the AC over great speed and distance with drawback of high energy consumption and produced high temperatures. A few skilled pilots exist that are able to make use of this system. Sero himself wanted to use it at some point but he doesn’t have the skill to control it.
This enemy pilot has already boosted straight into the face of Sero’s AC and blasted both its linear rifle and assault rifle in quick succession. The Circaete flew back hundreds of meters scouring gouges into the earth, the temperature rapidly increasing with every hit landing on the machine, its radiator barely keeping up with the high heat unable to cool it down. Sero’s cockpit was shaking violently and he was being thrashed around, unable to counter attack. Warnings appeared on screen faster than Sero could read them if he were able to keep his head from dancing around the cockpit hitting his head on the screens to his left and right. The vicious cycle repeated: shoulder fire, right hand fire, followed again by shoulder fire, alternating the two weapons to allow the other to prepare the next shot. After what seemed like eternity the right hand weapon had to reload its magazine which gave a tiny window for Circaete’s battered AC to flee. Sero’s fingers were persistently pushing the booster buttons to try and push him out of firing range, but the linear rifle bullets of the enemy slowed his AC down with every hit, effectively pinning him into place with the generator and thrusters screaming with effort to get out of the way. The rush from 0 to 280 kilometres per hour pushes Sero back in his seat as he fled upwards and rearwards. When he landed a good 800 meters away, Circaete made its reports: “Right Arm Parts damaged, Leg Parts damaged, Core Part damaged, Head Part damaged.” Sero didn’t pay any attention to these as he knew well enough that they’d be heavily damaged by all that pounding. What startled Sero was another report, “AP at fifty percent.” AP was a count of the total durability of an Armored Core. The more AP it has, it meant that it was more durable and can take more hits. Sero took a split second to recollect his already panicking brain. His hands were twitching and his body quivered as adrenaline coursed through him with an even greater force and action in mind: to flee. However his brain and willpower forced him to remain in the battle. He leapt forward once again but this time his body was acting nearly instinctively. His fingers squeezed the booster controls with a rhythmic motion that feathered the engines making him move from left to right in the air while conserving a good amount of energy.
Range closed in once more: 400, 350, 300. Circaete rasied its gun and took aim, acquiring a lock. The enemy AC serval leapt into the air with its Overbooster charging up once more. The overboost engine engaged making the enemy AC dash to one side in one swift motion. But Circaete’s bullet didn’t miss. In fact it never left the barrel. By the time the enemy AC had turned off the Overboost and recovered lost energy, Sero had aimed his Linear rifle to where he stood and now fired three rounds in quick succession. All bullets hit their mark rapidly while Sero activated his missiles once more. The enemy AC also activated its missile launcher and took aim. Both ACs took roughly around the same time to get a lock on one another before they released a volley streaming missiles. Sero leapt into the air avoiding the two missiles released by the AC Serval who on the other hand sidestepped to avoid the relation missiles Sero launched but the vertical missile still took him off guard.
Sero’s AC reported back, “Enemy Core Part damaged. Enemy Head part destroyed.” Sero noticed smoke from where the enemy AC should have its head. The vertical missile took it out and now most of what the enemy should see is a shaky image from its service cameras. A smile crept on Sero’s face. Without waiting for another moment to pass he dashed forward blade at the ready. A flash of blue as the blade swung. The beam sword sizzled through hot air and clouds of dust. The enemy AC was able to leap up and over Circaete in time to avoid Sero’s attack. Sero cursed himself for being too slow. He leapt into the air using his boosters and turned. By the time he landed, he was once more on the ground facing the Enemy AC.
“Transmission detected.” The operator at Crest reported. “Intercepting.”
Sero disregarded the transmission and charged up the boosters one more time. Before he took off however another voice came in, this time from the AI of Circaete. “Warning, Enemy AC approaching.” Sero released the thrusters and waited for the AC Serval to move. It stood there gun held high, sparks emanating from the damaged Core. However, neither thrusters nor Overbooster on the other hand were powering up.
“AC Lynx Identified.”
Sero grit his teeth, “Give me status of AC Lynx as it approaches,” before he resumed boosting forward to the AC Serval that stood in front of him. A lock has already been painted on Circaete by the time Sero moved the AC forward. Sero quickly shifted the weight of the AC to the left to avoid a round from the Linear Rifle of the opponent and brought up his own and fired a shot. The enemy machine leapt to the right side then suddenly overboosted the other way confusing Circaete’s arm to firing to where he would have been if he didn’t overboost. Sero quickly shifted to his left, boosting forward, depleting a chunk of energy in the process, to chase down the overboosting AC that probably is going well over 600 kilometres per hour. He gave chase firing round after round from his linear rifle trying to hit the fleeing AC. The enemy AC managed to avoid most of the bullets and suddenly stopped and leapt into the air. Sero was unprepared for the manoeuvre and he overshot. The hair on the back of his neck stood when he saw on the radar that the enemy landed behind him. A warning rang and he leapt to the side once more, explosions erupting where he was standing because of the linear rifles of his opponent.
Sero landed on the ground facing the enemy and launched his attack. The Moonlight extended its burning light blue haze of light that sizzled through the air as Sero slashed. The enemy AC took a direct hit, Sero’s sword slicing through the right arm. The point of contact burned bright yellow as the arm along with the heavy weapon attached to it hit the ground. Beeping ran through the cockpit as Sero pulled back with boosters and came in again for another slash, this time the point of impact hit the Core of the enemy AC. It sliced through a huge chunk of metal. Unfortunately the beam didn’t slice through anything important like cockpit, generator or radiator.
“AC Lynx, 100 meters away.” Sero’s gasped pulling away from the AC Serval as it unfolded its Linear Rifle aiming it directly at Circaete’s head. Sero immediately tapped the thrusters and feathered them. The generator couldn’t resupply the amount of energy expended and now Sero was running the AC in red zone, on the brink of fully consuming his energy supply. By feathering he was able to keep moving at the same time not use up his energy supply completely. When Sero turned to scan his surroundings he saw the AC Lynx below him. It was a menacing quad leg that had machine gun arms. Sero’s jaw dropped before he let off the boosters. The thrusters died and his AC started to get pulled down by gravity. At the same time the enemy AC’s machine gun arms started to blaze with gunfire. The rapid bullets missed Circaete’s head by inches as he came crashing down. The moment he hit the ground he dashed off to the right risking losing his ACs balance as he careened over the earth in an attempt to get away.
The AC Serval started to kick in once more and blasted its linear rifle while closing in on Sero. Two units were too much for Sero to take. He was just barely surviving. His radiator was starting to heat up as the temperature rose from all of his boosting while his energy gauge was redlining once more. He started flying backwards to fire at the AC Serval approaching him blasting him with Linear Rifle bullets. Two of them made contact. The third hit the quad leg AC by accident but it no doubt helped. Sero switched his weapons to missiles also activating his relation missiles. The surroundings around him blurred as he sped on in reverse.
A display read 4 missiles remaining on the extension on his shoulders while his vertical missiles still had a lot more ammo. He locked onto the AC Serval preparing another salvo of four missiles. However AC Serval saw the opening and launched his own missiles. Four came screaming towards Sero. A screen flashed on his monitor followed suddenly by a beam of light which hit the missiles that approached him. Then Sero remembered that Crest Cores had good Missile Intercept Systems and for that he was grateful that Crest existed. The threat of missiles has been nullified, at least for now. So he launched a counter attack, firing his missiles that have already gained a lock on AC Serval. The relation missiles had hit and also the vertical missiles. An explosion occurred in the leg region of the enemy AC illuminating the dust and dirt brought up into the air by Circaete’s reverse boosting.
“Enemy Leg parts destroyed.” Circaete’s report brought a smile to Sero’s face. But that face was erased by the control panel in front of him. Circaete abruptly halted and lurched forwards from its rearward flight. Sero lifted his head up, his visors cracked making the displays on it distorted, as he turned to see what happened. He was backed up against the wall of Crest Base. He looked forward and saw the linear rifle of Serval aimed at him once more while the AC Lynx took another good aim with its machine gun arms.
“Great, now I wish I had overboost.” Sero boosted forward reaching the redline area once more zooming past the two ACs that had cornered him. A few bullets from the machine gun clipped his leg but he came out unscathed. He turned around a smug smile on his face as he declared, “Party’s over!” he raised his Linear Rifle aiming for the AC Serval. He pulled the trigger and he hit the Armored Core’s back, delivering a fatal blow that destroyed the AC. Chain explosions resonated from the destroyed AC as it blew up with a massive amount of energy. He turned his attention to the Quad Leg AC.
This was bad, he barely survived the first AC and now this newly arrived AC was good as new. Sero did a quick check of his AP: 2310. That’s barely over 10 percent of his total durability. He grit his teeth and started to move away trying to stay away from the enemy ACs firing range. He tried contacting Crest’s operator.
“Hey Operator! Are you there?! I need back up or support fire or anything.” Sero shouted as he swerved over the grounds avoiding gunfire. “Hello?!” What played back was static. This left Sero confused and he checked his systems. The Raven’s heart sank when he saw that his radar piece behind was damaged from his crashing back first into the Crest base. The receptor must’ve been damaged from the impact. He was now, in the sense of communications, virtually alone now. What puzzled him was why they haven’t used up the bases defenses and only kept themselves in a lockdown instead of fighting. Sure the MT Squads were wiped out but the place had cannons and artillery of sorts. As he passed a set he realized they were destroyed. He started to get worried; he was now the real last line of defense. He sighed, his mind and body already fatigued from the combat. “Now, are there anymore who wants a piece of me?” He asked himself sarcastically, a feeble way of replacing his pessimism with optimism. At least he felt more confident for now.
“Warning, unidentified AC approaching.” Sero slammed his fist on the Control Panel, “I WASN’T ASKING YOU!” he helplessly shouted at Circaete.
The four legs of the enemy AC started to move once more. It lowered its machine gun arms and something unfolded over its shoulder. Circaete’s AI did a quick zoom on the part that just unfolded. Sero was unprepared for what he saw. What unfolded was a long barrel that was nearly half the height of the AC itself. The results of Circaete’s part search turned up that the barrel Sero was staring into was a grenade launcher developed by Mirage. Without a second thought he leapt into the sky. The grenades exploded with a massive amount of heat and Circaete’s radiator wouldn’t be able to cool the AC and its parts fast enough should the grenade hit.
“It will not hit!” Sero persuaded himself as he activated his boosters to lift the machine higher at a speed of around 200 kilometres per hour. He was definitely out of the lock box of the AC Lynx by now. On his radar he saw an inverted triangle heading his way fast. When he looked in the direction he noticed that it was a missile. “They must be from the other enemy AC!” And it was on a quick straight-line flight towards him. The dark grey missile outlined by the fire of its exhaust flew quickly in the flight path of the Circaete. Sero released his hold on the thrusters but his AC, though it started to rapidly slow down, was still going to be hit by the missile because of his momentum that would bring him into the filght path of the missile. Sero watched in dismay as time seemed to slow watching the missile come straight at his AC. 20 meters, 10 meters, Sero knew that his head part was going to get hit by this thing.
Then the missile exploded, shedding an outer shell followed by continuous bursts from smaller exhausts. Sero watched the smoke erupt from the explosion but wondered why no damage occurred. He noticed, within this dream-like pace that was no longer than a heartbeat, that several missiles, eight or ten maybe, had come from this big missile and they were all swerving away as if there was a magnetic field around Circaete preventing any missile damage. As Sero speeds up, falling back to earth, he soon realized that the missiles were headed for the enemy AC below him and all hit their mark. Circaete’s feet landed behind the enemy AC and Sero took the chance to slash at the enemy. Swivelling his AC around to face to the side for another slash attack, two bullets hit the Core of the AC Lynx. Fire started to erupt as the enemy AC blow up into oblivion. First the head part got blown off followed by thrusters in its rear then a bright flash could be seen within the Core’s metal exhausts and opening while smoke started to pour out of it. Sero leapt back should there be any explosion from the enemy to prevent any further damage.
Landing back on solid concrete facing the smoking AC that no longer moved, Sero observed that the shot was precise and hit the Generator most probably, which caused the flash of light from within the core. The Raven frowned as he thought of possibilities. Out of habit he scanned all his systems and checked up. AP was a little below 10 percent. Temperature of the Armored Core was above 23 degrees but that was to be expected. Generator had reached maximum capacity and was now charging itself, which meant he could no longer use energy weapons and boost because his frantic escape from the threat of an exploding AC had depleted what was left in the Generator’s reserves.
Suddenly he remembered, the unknown AC. He turned to look at the bearings that Circaete had reported the enemy to be. True enough there it was, standing on top of one of the fortress walls of the base.
“AC Judgement detected.” Circaete informed. In the dimming light the burning orange eyes of the AC Judgement seemed so intent as if it were glaring down into Sero’s soul. Sero realized his predicament, he was out of energy, barely any of his AC’s armor was remaining and,
“Systems switched to Normal Mode.” The young rookie Raven could’ve sworn that his heart stopped beating when he heard that come from Circaete’s metallic voice. The AC Judgement leapt off the edge and eased its way down onto the ground 500 meters away from AC Circaete. Now that Circaete was in its normal mode it won’t raise any of its weapons and was practically a sitting duck. His worried hands gripped the controls tighter as he awaited the inevitable. After what seemed like minutes of standoff, Sero saw that the AC in front of him had opened a hatch.
The latch opened upwards in front of the core. Out of it a Raven stood up clad in black as dark as the AC he rode. “What on earth?” After another ten seconds the Raven started to wave as if to call attention to someone. Sero unfastened his safety harness hastily and set the button that released his cockpit hatch. The cockpit dimmed with the displays shutting off and the control panels died as his body lurched forward as the seat and control panels started to move backward as the seat aligned itself with the rear hatch. Outside the rear part behind the head of the AC slid back to reveal a metal door that slid open in the middle. Sero’s helmet was just inches from the metal door. When he stood up his upper body was exposed to the cold night air. Grabbing the edges of the opening he lifted himself up one leg first stepping on the ledge so that he could pull his other leg out and stand firmly. He was behind his ACs head and so had to step around to the left to show himself.
He stopped beside the head part, the once menacing scarlet red lights of the eye now dark as the night around them as he placed a hand on it to give him stability. With the other he unfastened his helmet and held it at his side. He saw that the other Raven had already got off his AC and was now on the ground halfway between the two towering machines. Sero looked down a few seconds before moving back to the left side of the core and crouched down to reach for a switch that pulled back a compartment. From this compartment he pulled out something that looked like a handle. Pulling the device revealed that a cord was attached to it and he set himself over the edge with his right foot stepping on the gap on the handle. It was actually a footrest that allowed a pilot to travel up and down from the Armored Core’s Cockpit without the use of a service ramp. He held onto the thick cord to prevent him from falling over to his death. It took him a good half minute to reach the ground. When he set his left foot on the sturdy ground he left his AC to meet the other Raven, who was casually waiting where Sero saw him from above. Sero tried to match the composure of the other pilot as he came closer, his boots tapping the concrete beneath him. Judging that this pilot was most probably his ally, Sero stopped before him and did a crisp salute holding the salute for around two seconds before bringing his arm down.
“Thanks for saving my hide back there.”
“Therenothing to thank me about. It’s in my contract.” The other pilot replied. Around them the base started to open up its fortified gates and doors. Lights turned on and the hum of the generators buzzed into existence. “I tried contacting you earlier but Judgement couldn’t establish a contact.”
Sero turned to look at his battered AC as it stood outlined by the moon. The paintjob seemed to blend entirely with the night sky giving the AC a ghostly appearance. “My radar and communication devices were damaged during the fight.” He spoke to the Raven keeping his eyes on his beloved machine. “Raven Sero. Raven of AC Circaete.”
“Confessor. Raven of AC Judgement.” Confessor returned the introduction. “It seems we’ll be allies for a while.” Sero glanced at Confessor a brow raised. “I’ll be helping with the defenses of this base for a few days.”
“Hmph, I don’t recall ‘Coh’ ever telling me that I’ll have company.” ‘Coh’ was Sero’s nickname for the CO of Crest when no longer in official talks. Laughing to himself as he set off, “Might as well get your AC in the hangar before it gets cold. Welcome to Crest Industries main HQ, Confessor.”
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO CIRCAETE?!” Jack screamed the moment the Armored Core step foot into the hangar and Sero climbed out of its cockpit. The shocked mechanic ran along the service platforms that were moving to align themselves to the cockpit and other areas of the machine. By the time Sero stood on one of the platforms he found Jack right in front of him staring at all the damage. “You could’ve been at least more careful!” Though it sounded like a reproach, the mechanic’s face was twisting with happiness, “Time for work!”
Sero watched him run off to the service deck in a hurry to get the tools and gadgets ready. “I never understand that guy.” He heard another set of whirring gears and hydraulics along with footsteps of thousand tons of metal. He turned to see the AC Judgement, barely scratched, set itself into one of the slots designated for an Armored Core. The mechanics started to crowd around it commenting and marvelling at the equipment that it had. Clapping roused his attention and he turned to see whose hands it belonged to. He saw the CO approaching him.
“Good job for once.” Sero was taken by surprise with the praise, never had the CO actually acknowledge his completion of missions. “We never expected that AC to be hiding in a high altitude area. The moment their force came into contact he dropped down from the sky.”
Sero saluted crisply, even though it was late to do so, then brought it back down and said, “Well thank you also for getting some back up. I’d be a goner if Confessor hadn’t shown up.” The sound of soles on the metal floor announced Confessor’s arrival. The CO turned to acknowledge his presence with a nod of his head.
“Good work out there.” The CO held out a hand to Confessor who shook it once. “Your pay for this mission will be transferred to your account and ready for release within the hour. Thank you for your support.”
“It’s what I do.” Confessor replied briefly gaze unwavering. “Regarding ammun-”
“Crest will give a full refund on your machine’s ammunition and materials needed for repairs. All that you need to pay will be for the labor. Don’t worry about the math.” The CO smiled, “We already subtracted it from your reward money.” A shrill ring rang from the COs phone. He picked it up and read the message that arrived. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I’ll bid my leave.” Looking back at Confessor he added, “Quarters have been prepared for your use located at CS304 on the third floor. Good evening.” Without wasting any time the CO spun on a heel going 180 and headed off.
//To be continued//
/--/Crest Base/--/
The strong sun creeps across the sky and along with the debris and ambient of the near desert location they paint the once azure sky with an orange hue. The afternoon light filtered by clouds flooded the land before a facility whose shadow now starts to fade due to the atmosphere and pollution within the air. In this day and age there are major corporations that have teamed up to form the Alliance that has been formed to consolidate power. However there are people out there that do not agree with the Alliance and have attempts to take down the order.
At least here at this base, it was somewhat quiet. Crest has its own reserve of pilots, mainly MTs, standard issue units that make up the main force that protect the facility. The facility used to have multiple Armored Cores at its possession. Armored Cores, simply referred to as ACs, are heavily modified MTs that possess greater performance and capabilities and have fortified Cores for which it is named after. Most of their Armored Core pilots, designated as Ravens, on the other hand have been transferred off to the Alliance’s Frontline base protecting them from the rebel group called Vertex. There’s even a rumour that a particular Raven is being approached by both sides due to his or her exceptional talent. But this was far from the mind of a particular Raven that sat in his custom Armored Core inside a hangar within the Crest Base.
This Raven was drafted into Crest industries as a MT pilot at first, eventually being promoted to Raven status. However he was not nearly as talented as the other Ravens that came before him and therefore he was delegated to protect the base rather than to fight on the front lines. He had just finished adjusting settings and equipment on his Armored Core. His AC, named Circaete, was the standard issue AC of Crest Industries, being the second largest company producing Armored Core parts succeeded only by Mirage. Its main frame and weaponry was once Crest Industry only parts. Luckily he was able to get a hold of Mirage Head piece, Beam Sword Weapon, and Generator thanks to the forming of the Alliance. His build has gotten him through thick and thin in his sorties prior to being relegated to this duty which now started to bore him to death.
“So much for interesting action-packed adrenaline fuelled sorties.” He muttered to himself half jokingly. He didn’t want war but his profession started to feel useless nowadays. He stepped out of his AC’s Core unit and stepped onto the service platform in front of the humanoid machine. Its dark gray frame accented with crimson red seemed to just fade into the hangar as if it were a hazy image. He was called to by a mechanic that was working on loading the newly arrived Crest Linear Rifle.
“Hey, Sero, your rifle has just arrived.” The Raven code-named Sero turned to face the mechanic smiling. He approached the grease monkey and patted him on the shoulder. One of the few friends he has in Crest industries was this mechanic. Most others were his fellow AC pilots that were sent off to fight off Vertex and prevent their attack.
“Thanks for your help, Jack.”
“It’s no problem,” the reply came, “just make sure you remember to configure it properly. Unlike the first one where you wasted all your ammo thanks to bad target system synchronization.” Both of them laughed as they remembered Sero’s first sortie. He chose a sniper rifle that was not compatible with his Targeting System. Every time he had aimed for the target his AC fired the shots thirty to fifty feet away from the intended target. He was threatened by Crest’s Leaders to revoke his Raven license and return to being an MT pilot.
“I’ve learned my lesson. If I have not you might be missing your leg from this new Linear Rifle.” Sero laughed casually as he turned about and headed off to the pilot’s lounge. Raven’s had their own private lounge however due to the lack of Raven’s around, since Sero was the last one in Crest’s Base; Sero chose to stay with the MT pilots in the general lounge which provided him with much more company. He entered the white room and approached a vending machine and got himself can of coke. Turning around he noticed two MT pilots already seated in the lounge chatting vividly. He approached and sat down on one of the sofas listening to their stories.
“That Raven everyone is talking about is simply amazing!” One of the MT pilots exclaimed as he described one of the latest sorties of the mysterious Raven. Sero listened on with interest imagining the scenarios that the MT pilot was so fully describing with details galore. The sortie being described at the moment was the mysterious Raven taking down two ACs in a single mission. Taking down an Armored Core takes most of one’s own skill and stamina as well as ammo and the durability of the machine. Taking on two is near suicide. “There was news about it earlier today, at around 1200. Some say he’s siding with Vertex but I beli-”
Suddenly interrupting the exciting story was a klaxon that rang through the facility. Sero leaped up from his seat along with the MT pilots as he heard the ear splitting alarm. Throughout the speakers of the facility rang the voice of the operator, “All available pilots report to the briefing room! I repeat: all available pilots report to the briefing room!” Sero ran out of the lounge drinking his soft drink. How he doesn’t choke on it while running was the question the MT pilots asked as they ran on behind him.
“We have an important problem on our hands, pilots.” The CO of Crest’s Base Defense gestured to the screen behind him. It displayed the immediate area of the base and the area outside the base along with various details about weather, climate, etc. What caught the eyes of the pilots however was the mass of triangles designated with a red TGT coming from the north-eastern border. “We have detected numerous MTs inbound from bearings zero-two-five thru zero-four-two.” A display appeared on screen showing an aerial footage of the approaching force of MTs. “We have not yet determined their alignment,” simultaneously the footage showed an MT aiming its cannon towards the camera of the aircraft and released a shot that sent the video into a blur of static. “And as you can see, they are clearly hostile.” He looks at the pilots with his hawk-like eyes and gives them their routes for interception and the odds accompanied by the presentation onscreen. “… MT Squad 3 will move in from here and provide support fire for Squad 2 that will go in frontline. Our first line of defence will be comprised of Squad 1 and the Artillery unit.” When he finished an image of Sero’s AC, Circaete, appeared on screen signalling that he would be the next to be given orders. True enough to timing the CO turned to look at Sero and started giving him his orders. “You will be our last line of defence.”
Sero raised his hand signalling that he wished to speak, “Sir, I don’t mean to sound like some hotshot, but if we use the AC on the frontlines wouldn’t that be more efficient in preventing the MTs from getting any closer because of the ACs firepower?”
“I knew you’d spot that.” The CO replied, “however should you lose on the frontlines for whatever reason,” He was making a subtle reminder of his first missions, after all Sero himself was just a rookie when compared to the Ravens that left the Crest base, “the MT Squads left here will not be sufficient to quell their numbers.”
Sero nodded half-satisfied, half-irritated that he won’t be allowed on the front because of his stature but he his retort within his own mind. “Very well if there will be no more questions you all should make preparations now. Operation will commence in fifteen minutes.”
Sero leapt into his AC five minutes later putting on a helmet that provided the HUD and pertinent information on the visors. After putting on the five point harness he pressed a button to his left that closed the hatch above him and pushed the cockpit deeper into the Core providing protection from attacks. The familiar hum of the engines powering up rumbled through the machine while the generator hummed to life providing power to all the systems. The screens around him displayed all the systems and configurations of the AC as they turned on in sequence at a rapid pace. All systems displayed all green and soon the cockpit was now filled with green hues as everything booted correctly. Sero double checked all the displays and made sure that nothing was malfunctioning. Satisfied with the pre-flight check he activated the camera of the unit and displayed the exterior.
Outside the red eyes of the AC glowed dimly to life that signalled all preparations were complete, all systems were running, and the AC was ready to go. The service walkway retracted into the side and was tucked safely away with the mechanic waving good luck. The AC started to walk forward towards the opening hangar door that filtered afternoon light into the hangar. When the AC Circaete stopped outside of the hangar the huge doors closed in clamping shut as Sero signalled to the Control Center of Crest that he was ready for sortie.
“This is Sero aboard AC Circaete.”He muttered, “All preparations are complete, ready for sortie.” The respond came in quickly telling him, “Copy that, head to your designated post and Standby.”
“This will be a long day.”
He was at the designated point atop the building of Crest providing him a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. Crest’s main building was several stories high and several helipads were located at the top. The Circaete scanned the North East area with lifeless eyes. The radar part equipped on its back left area glinted silver in the afternoon light as it worked scanning the frontlines with its powerful range. As the interceptor group moved forward Sero adjusted the radar to focus beyond its usual capability in order to monitor the progress of the first wave. Though greatly enhancing the forward sensor capabilities of the radar, this removed any sensory sweeps going to the sides and rear. Sero shrugged off the discomfort by telling himself that, “The operators will warn me before hand.” And he watched his radar screen which he brought up enlarged on the screen in front of him. Green spheres in groups of three were on his radar, one group representing one wave of his allies waiting to meet the enemy. However his radar couldn’t reach the enemy lines just yet so all he could do was wait. He shifted in his seat to allow him to slouch a bit and relax is already stiffening muscles. “Man, I wish I brought a book to read.” All the units have already stopped at their designated locations waiting for the enemy force to arrive, the frontline just being on the very edge of his radar’s range.
“We have contacts,” the front liners reported as the incoming wave of enemy MTs approach. “We read thirty contacts.”
Sero flinched when he heard the report and he sat up with anticipation. He flipped the switch for the safety of his weapons. Over the radio he heard his allies start shouting as the battle started. The sounds of gun shots and explosions riddled the transmissions. On his radar screen the green spheres on the frontline started to break formation as dozens of triangles came in range. These triangles represented the bogies and their particular colors showed their altitude relative to his ACs altitude. Blue meant above red meant on his level, orange if below. In this case most of the triangles were purplish indicating that most of them were on ground level. However what astonished him and his comrades was the fact that the first line of defense was diminishing rapidly. Many were requesting for back up forces and support fire. There were lots of yelling and screaming as pilots burned inside their MTs as they blew up. Sero shut his eyes wishing he could shut his ears as well. He still hasn’t gotten the callous reaction that a soldier normally attains after countless sorties into the field. One of the screams he heard was that of the soldier who was telling stories in the lounge earlier. His eyes opened as emotion surged through him. What am I doing? He looked up and found that the second wave of MTs were managing to decrease considerably the units. Then Sero realized that someone was calling his name.
“Raven? Raven? Raven, do you copy? Sero!” The operator assigned to helping him out was calling over the radio. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind and responded. “Yes I copy.”
The operator let out a sigh of relief when Sero replied. “I was worried when you didn’t respond to my earlier call.” Sero realized that he spaced out for nearly five minutes. Quickly he tried to observe his radar and set it within normal settings. He listened to the radio chatter that screamed on as the battle raged.
“Enemy threat level is decreasing! Three contacts remaining!” Sero checked with the second to the last line of defense and confirmed that the Enemy numbers are being quelled at the second line with minimal casualties.
“That’s good.” Sero smiled, “We are winning this thing.” He sets the ACs computer to make a brief report of the battle and have it narrated. After a few seconds the AI speaks in its metallic yet smooth voice, “Thirty two enemy MTs have been destroyed. The first line was breached but the second line of defense successfully eliminated the enemy forces.” What followed next made Sero flinch, “Enemy AC detected.” He glanced up to the horizon seeing the second line of defense in the distance. All of them were still standing and no reports from the Crest’s operators told of an AC approaching. Sero glanced sceptically at his monitor and scolded his AI as if it were living, “Circaete, I think you lost your mind itching for a fight. There’s no-” the whole second line of defense blew up into the sky.
Circaete’s AI responded, “Negative. Re-evaluated scan, enemy AC detected. AC Serval recognized.” A small display appeared revealing an approximate layout of the enemy AC, “Lightweight bi-pedal AC.” Sero cringed and froze up for a few seconds as the commander started giving orders to the remaining MT units to move forward. When Sero regained control of himself he requested that he move to the frontline as well but the CO told him to stay put. “We don’t want you doing friendly fire again.” Sero squeezed the controls of his AC as he recalled that ill-fated sortie where he killed three of his allies with an EN Sniper Rifle thanks to his misconfigured targeting system. He had double checked his sights before this sortie and made sure that that was top priority on his list. The commanding officers on the other hand now hold a grudge thanks to that single incident. Then the shocked operator of the Crest base whimpered, “All MT Squads have been destroyed.”
The base went silent.
The radar on the front monitor of Sero’s AC minimized and reappeared on his visors. He leapt off the top of the Crest base and landed on the ground between Crest’s Base and the incoming AC. On the horizon the heat made the air shimmer giving the Enemy AC a more formidable aura about it. Sero glared silently at the approaching AC. This was his first encounter with an Armored Core on his own. There’ll be no one to provide support fire, no rescue, no back up. Everyone was annihilated because of this AC. But no matter, he was better than before, stronger, faster. “Maybe just maybe…”
“We have called for reinforcements. Raven, head back into the hangar and sit tight. The bases defenses will handle this,” came the voice of Crest’s CO over the intercom. After countless moments they realized that Sero’s AC hadn’t moved nor has there been a reply. “I repeat head back into the hangar-”
“Switching to combat mode.” Circaete’s AI intervened through the radio frequency. “Ready to engage.”
“Then what’s the point of being an AC pilot in the first place?” Sero’s voice quietly rebukes. “I will stick to the plan.” The CO seemed to have frozen because it took several seconds before he replied.
“Fine! Do whatever you want.” Over the intercom he heard a less audible continuation that followed as if the CO was talking to someone else but forgot to turn off the communication. If the CO really wanted Sero to hear what came next or not, Sero didn’t care. “Say goodbye to one of our ACs men.” the COs tone was bitter and seemingly mixed with what sound like joy in that last sentence.
“Enemy within range.” Circaete’s AI reported, “Scanning enemy layout now.”
Sero looked up and grasped the control sticks and told himself, “Here goes nothing!” He activated the boosters, charging them up. The eye of Circaete lit a scarlet red as the AC was propelled forward towards the approaching AC.
“Enemy AC is equipped with Assault Rifles and Missile Launchers. Estimated range effectiveness: close to mid range. Close range combat is not advised. Exercise caution.” Circaete’s AI reported as the distance between them shortened. The violet flames coming from the thrusters of the AC burned violently as it propelled the huge machine forward. Inside Sero’s speedometer reading was at around 280 kilometres per hour. “Approximate readings show high solid defense and moderate mobility. Estimate Class B.” Within another moment the AC’s machine came into range of Sero’s radar scanning. The HUD positioned a yellow line upon the AC and displayed its distance from the unit. Current reading was 1160 meters. Sero did a final glance on the systems of the AC. His ACs core temperature was normal at around 20 to 22 degrees Celsius, displays all are reporting well. “Circaete do a quick scan of status and report.” At this point he was already at 900 meters away. “All systems normal and functioning.” He was entering firing range at 450 for his linear guns and 440 for his Missiles. Sero clicked a button on his right control handle and switched his right hand control over to the missile launchers. Pressing another button on his left control activated missile extenders on his shoulders. What this does is provide additional missile attack simultaneous to the main missile pack on his back. The AC Serval was now 600 meters away and rapidly closing in.
“Any moment now.” Sero told himself as he readied his body. The AC suddenly was outlined by a large box in yellow meaning the targeting system of Circaete was acquiring a lock. As it acquires the lock a red circle displayed on top of the enemy AC fills itself up. Within another moment that nearly lasted a second the red circle was now full and the yellow box turned red with the distance at 440 and a number 1 was displayed above the lock box. Sero waited a moment longer for a number 2 to appear as well. This meant that a second missile was starting to get locked unto the AC. However while waiting for this number 2 the enemy AC flashed its bright blue eyes and raised its Assault rifle. The distance was at 380 meters and a warning tone filled his cockpit. A red LOCKED sign displayed on the upper part of his HUD. He immediately stopped his forward motion and leapt sideways, still keeping the enemy AC in his lock box. Two bullets whizzed past his head by the time he landed on the ground sending yellow brown dust into the air. Finally the number 2 missile locked on and immediately Sero pulled the trigger. The missile pack threw Vertical Missiles into the air soaring with high pitched squeals from their engines. Simultaneously the gray missile relation packs on his shoulder lauched four missiles, two per side, directly at the enemy AC.
The enemy AC boosted sideways avoiding the four missiles that came straight at it from the Circaete’s shoulder packs. The pilot must have relaxed for the AC let off its thrusters and raised its rifle arm. By the time it pulled the trigger however the vertical missiles that flew straight up came screaming down at the enemy AC causing it to lose a lock on Sero’s machine because of the impact.
Sero grinned as he pressed the same button to switch his main weapon to his linear assault rifle. Circaete raised its menacing barrel at the enemy AC and launched a high velocity bullet at the enemy AC. Its speed creating a lot of friction making the bullet burn through the sky as it ripped the still standing air. It made its way impacting the enemy AC sending it backwards due to the momentum of the bullet. Sero didn’t let up his attack as he dashed the opposite direction to fool the enemy ACs FCS Targeting System. True enough to text book example the rifle shots of the AC Serval missed AC Circaete by a long shot. Sero then fled inwards to deal a devasting slash. Powering up his Moonlight, a powerful beam sword, a shaft of sky blue beam light that contrasted the color scheme of Circaete’s black and red paint flickered to existence. The gap read 90 meters close enough to do a slash. Sero confidently and stoically pulled back the left arm to bring down the laser sword down upon its victim. Gears whirred to bring the arm up into slashing position. The distance read 52 meters. Sero watched with hatred and contempt as he expected the enemy unit to explode at the moment of impact. Distance 14 meters, short enough for the moonlight’s blade to slice through the enemy armoured core like butter.
Flash of light. An explosion boomed. Sero’s AC was blown back. “Left Arm Parts damaged.” Circaaete reported. On screen a warning flashed saying that Circaete took damage. The temperature guage showed a raise from 20 degrees to 54 degrees. The feet of the AC skid along the ground being pushed back a few meters away from the enemy AC. Sero’s eyes widened as he noticed the smoking barrel of a linear rail gun mounted on the shoulder of the enemy AC that produced an even faster bullet than the one Sero has. AC Serval was able to find an opening within the time Circaete stopped firing up to the time it brought up its sword. The radiator of Circaete instantly brought the temperature down back to normal levels and the left arm lowered back into standby. Bright ochre yellow sparks sprang from the joints. Sero was left rattled. He quickly engaged the thrusters and once more violet flames pushed the AC to the side narrowly avoiding another shot by the enemy AC.
Circaete’s right arm rose to aim its Linear Rifle towards the enemy AC, the reticule confirming a lock. On the enemy a bright green light started glowing behind it and a whining sound started to ring through the area. Sero pulled the trigger the moment the reticule went red and fired its high velocity round. Within the same moment the AC Serval blurred as a lime green explosion occurred behind it pushing it at great speeds to the right. The bullet missed the enemy AC and hit the ground where Serval last stood blowing up sand and earth into the sky. Sero recognized the technology.
‘Overboost’ was technology that was even more powerful than the standard boosters of most ACs. It propelled the AC over great speed and distance with drawback of high energy consumption and produced high temperatures. A few skilled pilots exist that are able to make use of this system. Sero himself wanted to use it at some point but he doesn’t have the skill to control it.
This enemy pilot has already boosted straight into the face of Sero’s AC and blasted both its linear rifle and assault rifle in quick succession. The Circaete flew back hundreds of meters scouring gouges into the earth, the temperature rapidly increasing with every hit landing on the machine, its radiator barely keeping up with the high heat unable to cool it down. Sero’s cockpit was shaking violently and he was being thrashed around, unable to counter attack. Warnings appeared on screen faster than Sero could read them if he were able to keep his head from dancing around the cockpit hitting his head on the screens to his left and right. The vicious cycle repeated: shoulder fire, right hand fire, followed again by shoulder fire, alternating the two weapons to allow the other to prepare the next shot. After what seemed like eternity the right hand weapon had to reload its magazine which gave a tiny window for Circaete’s battered AC to flee. Sero’s fingers were persistently pushing the booster buttons to try and push him out of firing range, but the linear rifle bullets of the enemy slowed his AC down with every hit, effectively pinning him into place with the generator and thrusters screaming with effort to get out of the way. The rush from 0 to 280 kilometres per hour pushes Sero back in his seat as he fled upwards and rearwards. When he landed a good 800 meters away, Circaete made its reports: “Right Arm Parts damaged, Leg Parts damaged, Core Part damaged, Head Part damaged.” Sero didn’t pay any attention to these as he knew well enough that they’d be heavily damaged by all that pounding. What startled Sero was another report, “AP at fifty percent.” AP was a count of the total durability of an Armored Core. The more AP it has, it meant that it was more durable and can take more hits. Sero took a split second to recollect his already panicking brain. His hands were twitching and his body quivered as adrenaline coursed through him with an even greater force and action in mind: to flee. However his brain and willpower forced him to remain in the battle. He leapt forward once again but this time his body was acting nearly instinctively. His fingers squeezed the booster controls with a rhythmic motion that feathered the engines making him move from left to right in the air while conserving a good amount of energy.
Range closed in once more: 400, 350, 300. Circaete rasied its gun and took aim, acquiring a lock. The enemy AC serval leapt into the air with its Overbooster charging up once more. The overboost engine engaged making the enemy AC dash to one side in one swift motion. But Circaete’s bullet didn’t miss. In fact it never left the barrel. By the time the enemy AC had turned off the Overboost and recovered lost energy, Sero had aimed his Linear rifle to where he stood and now fired three rounds in quick succession. All bullets hit their mark rapidly while Sero activated his missiles once more. The enemy AC also activated its missile launcher and took aim. Both ACs took roughly around the same time to get a lock on one another before they released a volley streaming missiles. Sero leapt into the air avoiding the two missiles released by the AC Serval who on the other hand sidestepped to avoid the relation missiles Sero launched but the vertical missile still took him off guard.
Sero’s AC reported back, “Enemy Core Part damaged. Enemy Head part destroyed.” Sero noticed smoke from where the enemy AC should have its head. The vertical missile took it out and now most of what the enemy should see is a shaky image from its service cameras. A smile crept on Sero’s face. Without waiting for another moment to pass he dashed forward blade at the ready. A flash of blue as the blade swung. The beam sword sizzled through hot air and clouds of dust. The enemy AC was able to leap up and over Circaete in time to avoid Sero’s attack. Sero cursed himself for being too slow. He leapt into the air using his boosters and turned. By the time he landed, he was once more on the ground facing the Enemy AC.
“Transmission detected.” The operator at Crest reported. “Intercepting.”
Sero disregarded the transmission and charged up the boosters one more time. Before he took off however another voice came in, this time from the AI of Circaete. “Warning, Enemy AC approaching.” Sero released the thrusters and waited for the AC Serval to move. It stood there gun held high, sparks emanating from the damaged Core. However, neither thrusters nor Overbooster on the other hand were powering up.
“AC Lynx Identified.”
Sero grit his teeth, “Give me status of AC Lynx as it approaches,” before he resumed boosting forward to the AC Serval that stood in front of him. A lock has already been painted on Circaete by the time Sero moved the AC forward. Sero quickly shifted the weight of the AC to the left to avoid a round from the Linear Rifle of the opponent and brought up his own and fired a shot. The enemy machine leapt to the right side then suddenly overboosted the other way confusing Circaete’s arm to firing to where he would have been if he didn’t overboost. Sero quickly shifted to his left, boosting forward, depleting a chunk of energy in the process, to chase down the overboosting AC that probably is going well over 600 kilometres per hour. He gave chase firing round after round from his linear rifle trying to hit the fleeing AC. The enemy AC managed to avoid most of the bullets and suddenly stopped and leapt into the air. Sero was unprepared for the manoeuvre and he overshot. The hair on the back of his neck stood when he saw on the radar that the enemy landed behind him. A warning rang and he leapt to the side once more, explosions erupting where he was standing because of the linear rifles of his opponent.
Sero landed on the ground facing the enemy and launched his attack. The Moonlight extended its burning light blue haze of light that sizzled through the air as Sero slashed. The enemy AC took a direct hit, Sero’s sword slicing through the right arm. The point of contact burned bright yellow as the arm along with the heavy weapon attached to it hit the ground. Beeping ran through the cockpit as Sero pulled back with boosters and came in again for another slash, this time the point of impact hit the Core of the enemy AC. It sliced through a huge chunk of metal. Unfortunately the beam didn’t slice through anything important like cockpit, generator or radiator.
“AC Lynx, 100 meters away.” Sero’s gasped pulling away from the AC Serval as it unfolded its Linear Rifle aiming it directly at Circaete’s head. Sero immediately tapped the thrusters and feathered them. The generator couldn’t resupply the amount of energy expended and now Sero was running the AC in red zone, on the brink of fully consuming his energy supply. By feathering he was able to keep moving at the same time not use up his energy supply completely. When Sero turned to scan his surroundings he saw the AC Lynx below him. It was a menacing quad leg that had machine gun arms. Sero’s jaw dropped before he let off the boosters. The thrusters died and his AC started to get pulled down by gravity. At the same time the enemy AC’s machine gun arms started to blaze with gunfire. The rapid bullets missed Circaete’s head by inches as he came crashing down. The moment he hit the ground he dashed off to the right risking losing his ACs balance as he careened over the earth in an attempt to get away.
The AC Serval started to kick in once more and blasted its linear rifle while closing in on Sero. Two units were too much for Sero to take. He was just barely surviving. His radiator was starting to heat up as the temperature rose from all of his boosting while his energy gauge was redlining once more. He started flying backwards to fire at the AC Serval approaching him blasting him with Linear Rifle bullets. Two of them made contact. The third hit the quad leg AC by accident but it no doubt helped. Sero switched his weapons to missiles also activating his relation missiles. The surroundings around him blurred as he sped on in reverse.
A display read 4 missiles remaining on the extension on his shoulders while his vertical missiles still had a lot more ammo. He locked onto the AC Serval preparing another salvo of four missiles. However AC Serval saw the opening and launched his own missiles. Four came screaming towards Sero. A screen flashed on his monitor followed suddenly by a beam of light which hit the missiles that approached him. Then Sero remembered that Crest Cores had good Missile Intercept Systems and for that he was grateful that Crest existed. The threat of missiles has been nullified, at least for now. So he launched a counter attack, firing his missiles that have already gained a lock on AC Serval. The relation missiles had hit and also the vertical missiles. An explosion occurred in the leg region of the enemy AC illuminating the dust and dirt brought up into the air by Circaete’s reverse boosting.
“Enemy Leg parts destroyed.” Circaete’s report brought a smile to Sero’s face. But that face was erased by the control panel in front of him. Circaete abruptly halted and lurched forwards from its rearward flight. Sero lifted his head up, his visors cracked making the displays on it distorted, as he turned to see what happened. He was backed up against the wall of Crest Base. He looked forward and saw the linear rifle of Serval aimed at him once more while the AC Lynx took another good aim with its machine gun arms.
“Great, now I wish I had overboost.” Sero boosted forward reaching the redline area once more zooming past the two ACs that had cornered him. A few bullets from the machine gun clipped his leg but he came out unscathed. He turned around a smug smile on his face as he declared, “Party’s over!” he raised his Linear Rifle aiming for the AC Serval. He pulled the trigger and he hit the Armored Core’s back, delivering a fatal blow that destroyed the AC. Chain explosions resonated from the destroyed AC as it blew up with a massive amount of energy. He turned his attention to the Quad Leg AC.
This was bad, he barely survived the first AC and now this newly arrived AC was good as new. Sero did a quick check of his AP: 2310. That’s barely over 10 percent of his total durability. He grit his teeth and started to move away trying to stay away from the enemy ACs firing range. He tried contacting Crest’s operator.
“Hey Operator! Are you there?! I need back up or support fire or anything.” Sero shouted as he swerved over the grounds avoiding gunfire. “Hello?!” What played back was static. This left Sero confused and he checked his systems. The Raven’s heart sank when he saw that his radar piece behind was damaged from his crashing back first into the Crest base. The receptor must’ve been damaged from the impact. He was now, in the sense of communications, virtually alone now. What puzzled him was why they haven’t used up the bases defenses and only kept themselves in a lockdown instead of fighting. Sure the MT Squads were wiped out but the place had cannons and artillery of sorts. As he passed a set he realized they were destroyed. He started to get worried; he was now the real last line of defense. He sighed, his mind and body already fatigued from the combat. “Now, are there anymore who wants a piece of me?” He asked himself sarcastically, a feeble way of replacing his pessimism with optimism. At least he felt more confident for now.
“Warning, unidentified AC approaching.” Sero slammed his fist on the Control Panel, “I WASN’T ASKING YOU!” he helplessly shouted at Circaete.
The four legs of the enemy AC started to move once more. It lowered its machine gun arms and something unfolded over its shoulder. Circaete’s AI did a quick zoom on the part that just unfolded. Sero was unprepared for what he saw. What unfolded was a long barrel that was nearly half the height of the AC itself. The results of Circaete’s part search turned up that the barrel Sero was staring into was a grenade launcher developed by Mirage. Without a second thought he leapt into the sky. The grenades exploded with a massive amount of heat and Circaete’s radiator wouldn’t be able to cool the AC and its parts fast enough should the grenade hit.
“It will not hit!” Sero persuaded himself as he activated his boosters to lift the machine higher at a speed of around 200 kilometres per hour. He was definitely out of the lock box of the AC Lynx by now. On his radar he saw an inverted triangle heading his way fast. When he looked in the direction he noticed that it was a missile. “They must be from the other enemy AC!” And it was on a quick straight-line flight towards him. The dark grey missile outlined by the fire of its exhaust flew quickly in the flight path of the Circaete. Sero released his hold on the thrusters but his AC, though it started to rapidly slow down, was still going to be hit by the missile because of his momentum that would bring him into the filght path of the missile. Sero watched in dismay as time seemed to slow watching the missile come straight at his AC. 20 meters, 10 meters, Sero knew that his head part was going to get hit by this thing.
Then the missile exploded, shedding an outer shell followed by continuous bursts from smaller exhausts. Sero watched the smoke erupt from the explosion but wondered why no damage occurred. He noticed, within this dream-like pace that was no longer than a heartbeat, that several missiles, eight or ten maybe, had come from this big missile and they were all swerving away as if there was a magnetic field around Circaete preventing any missile damage. As Sero speeds up, falling back to earth, he soon realized that the missiles were headed for the enemy AC below him and all hit their mark. Circaete’s feet landed behind the enemy AC and Sero took the chance to slash at the enemy. Swivelling his AC around to face to the side for another slash attack, two bullets hit the Core of the AC Lynx. Fire started to erupt as the enemy AC blow up into oblivion. First the head part got blown off followed by thrusters in its rear then a bright flash could be seen within the Core’s metal exhausts and opening while smoke started to pour out of it. Sero leapt back should there be any explosion from the enemy to prevent any further damage.
Landing back on solid concrete facing the smoking AC that no longer moved, Sero observed that the shot was precise and hit the Generator most probably, which caused the flash of light from within the core. The Raven frowned as he thought of possibilities. Out of habit he scanned all his systems and checked up. AP was a little below 10 percent. Temperature of the Armored Core was above 23 degrees but that was to be expected. Generator had reached maximum capacity and was now charging itself, which meant he could no longer use energy weapons and boost because his frantic escape from the threat of an exploding AC had depleted what was left in the Generator’s reserves.
Suddenly he remembered, the unknown AC. He turned to look at the bearings that Circaete had reported the enemy to be. True enough there it was, standing on top of one of the fortress walls of the base.
“AC Judgement detected.” Circaete informed. In the dimming light the burning orange eyes of the AC Judgement seemed so intent as if it were glaring down into Sero’s soul. Sero realized his predicament, he was out of energy, barely any of his AC’s armor was remaining and,
“Systems switched to Normal Mode.” The young rookie Raven could’ve sworn that his heart stopped beating when he heard that come from Circaete’s metallic voice. The AC Judgement leapt off the edge and eased its way down onto the ground 500 meters away from AC Circaete. Now that Circaete was in its normal mode it won’t raise any of its weapons and was practically a sitting duck. His worried hands gripped the controls tighter as he awaited the inevitable. After what seemed like minutes of standoff, Sero saw that the AC in front of him had opened a hatch.
The latch opened upwards in front of the core. Out of it a Raven stood up clad in black as dark as the AC he rode. “What on earth?” After another ten seconds the Raven started to wave as if to call attention to someone. Sero unfastened his safety harness hastily and set the button that released his cockpit hatch. The cockpit dimmed with the displays shutting off and the control panels died as his body lurched forward as the seat and control panels started to move backward as the seat aligned itself with the rear hatch. Outside the rear part behind the head of the AC slid back to reveal a metal door that slid open in the middle. Sero’s helmet was just inches from the metal door. When he stood up his upper body was exposed to the cold night air. Grabbing the edges of the opening he lifted himself up one leg first stepping on the ledge so that he could pull his other leg out and stand firmly. He was behind his ACs head and so had to step around to the left to show himself.
He stopped beside the head part, the once menacing scarlet red lights of the eye now dark as the night around them as he placed a hand on it to give him stability. With the other he unfastened his helmet and held it at his side. He saw that the other Raven had already got off his AC and was now on the ground halfway between the two towering machines. Sero looked down a few seconds before moving back to the left side of the core and crouched down to reach for a switch that pulled back a compartment. From this compartment he pulled out something that looked like a handle. Pulling the device revealed that a cord was attached to it and he set himself over the edge with his right foot stepping on the gap on the handle. It was actually a footrest that allowed a pilot to travel up and down from the Armored Core’s Cockpit without the use of a service ramp. He held onto the thick cord to prevent him from falling over to his death. It took him a good half minute to reach the ground. When he set his left foot on the sturdy ground he left his AC to meet the other Raven, who was casually waiting where Sero saw him from above. Sero tried to match the composure of the other pilot as he came closer, his boots tapping the concrete beneath him. Judging that this pilot was most probably his ally, Sero stopped before him and did a crisp salute holding the salute for around two seconds before bringing his arm down.
“Thanks for saving my hide back there.”
“Therenothing to thank me about. It’s in my contract.” The other pilot replied. Around them the base started to open up its fortified gates and doors. Lights turned on and the hum of the generators buzzed into existence. “I tried contacting you earlier but Judgement couldn’t establish a contact.”
Sero turned to look at his battered AC as it stood outlined by the moon. The paintjob seemed to blend entirely with the night sky giving the AC a ghostly appearance. “My radar and communication devices were damaged during the fight.” He spoke to the Raven keeping his eyes on his beloved machine. “Raven Sero. Raven of AC Circaete.”
“Confessor. Raven of AC Judgement.” Confessor returned the introduction. “It seems we’ll be allies for a while.” Sero glanced at Confessor a brow raised. “I’ll be helping with the defenses of this base for a few days.”
“Hmph, I don’t recall ‘Coh’ ever telling me that I’ll have company.” ‘Coh’ was Sero’s nickname for the CO of Crest when no longer in official talks. Laughing to himself as he set off, “Might as well get your AC in the hangar before it gets cold. Welcome to Crest Industries main HQ, Confessor.”
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO CIRCAETE?!” Jack screamed the moment the Armored Core step foot into the hangar and Sero climbed out of its cockpit. The shocked mechanic ran along the service platforms that were moving to align themselves to the cockpit and other areas of the machine. By the time Sero stood on one of the platforms he found Jack right in front of him staring at all the damage. “You could’ve been at least more careful!” Though it sounded like a reproach, the mechanic’s face was twisting with happiness, “Time for work!”
Sero watched him run off to the service deck in a hurry to get the tools and gadgets ready. “I never understand that guy.” He heard another set of whirring gears and hydraulics along with footsteps of thousand tons of metal. He turned to see the AC Judgement, barely scratched, set itself into one of the slots designated for an Armored Core. The mechanics started to crowd around it commenting and marvelling at the equipment that it had. Clapping roused his attention and he turned to see whose hands it belonged to. He saw the CO approaching him.
“Good job for once.” Sero was taken by surprise with the praise, never had the CO actually acknowledge his completion of missions. “We never expected that AC to be hiding in a high altitude area. The moment their force came into contact he dropped down from the sky.”
Sero saluted crisply, even though it was late to do so, then brought it back down and said, “Well thank you also for getting some back up. I’d be a goner if Confessor hadn’t shown up.” The sound of soles on the metal floor announced Confessor’s arrival. The CO turned to acknowledge his presence with a nod of his head.
“Good work out there.” The CO held out a hand to Confessor who shook it once. “Your pay for this mission will be transferred to your account and ready for release within the hour. Thank you for your support.”
“It’s what I do.” Confessor replied briefly gaze unwavering. “Regarding ammun-”
“Crest will give a full refund on your machine’s ammunition and materials needed for repairs. All that you need to pay will be for the labor. Don’t worry about the math.” The CO smiled, “We already subtracted it from your reward money.” A shrill ring rang from the COs phone. He picked it up and read the message that arrived. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I’ll bid my leave.” Looking back at Confessor he added, “Quarters have been prepared for your use located at CS304 on the third floor. Good evening.” Without wasting any time the CO spun on a heel going 180 and headed off.
//To be continued//