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Chapter 1: Angel’s Tomb

Meet Reia Azuchi, 22 years old. A veteran Raven of 2 years, he’d lived through both the Silent Line incident and the unmanned suicide weapons’ attack. And in the impending war between Vertex and the Alliance, he cast his lot with the latter – the corporations were known for being self-serving, yes, but Jack-O, Vertex’s leader, seemed to want war for the sake of it. It was on one fateful mission, that he would get the biggest shock of his life. Nothing would ever be the same.

“We’d like you to investigate the ruins on Onogoro Island.

As I’m sure you know, Onogoro was the capital of the Orb Union at least 50 years ago, before the Cold Kiss colony drop destroyed most of the surface world. It is also rumored to be the final resting place of the legendary warship Archangel.

The credibility of this rumor isn’t that certain, but if it were true, the Archangel and whatever spoils she may hold qualify as valuable pieces of lost technology. And if it were to fall into Vertex’s hands, the world would be plunged into ruin.

Your mission is to investigate the ruins and report back. It is unknown what enemies you may encounter, so outfit your AC as you deem fit. Good luck, and godspeed.”

The briefing still rang in his head as he navigated through what seemed to be an abandoned factory. The whole place really did look like it got bombed; scattered all over were what appeared to be AC parts – heads, cores, and even the occasional shield. He’d been lucky enough not to encounter any hostiles thus far, especially since scavengers and terrorists were known for using places like these as outposts. Phantoms and specters from ages past, maybe – but even that was doubtful, not least because Reia wasn’t known for being a superstitious young man.

Even still, he did realize that he was bound to encounter some MTs, if nothing else. Considering what was rumored to lie here, it was safe to assume that the Archangel, if indeed it rested here, would be heavily guarded. It was for that reason that he came in Fenriswulfr, or Fenris for short, his first and best AC – a middleweight blend of firepower and durability that could give even OP-I-enhanced units a good fight. After all, if he turned out to be right and there was something guarding the place, he’d want to be able to tell the tale.

Finally, he came across a gigantic set of double doors. On the right was a panel, which held a switch in addition to an inscription that glowed faintly blue. Upon closer examination, it read:

“Behind this door lies a sleeping angel, one with the power to protect or to destroy. While we would rather she never be awakened again, it is our sincerest wish that whoever opens this door upholds everything she had fought for.”

Poetic words, but a bit too melodramatic, thought the Raven as he operated the switch. The doors opened…

…And as the facility’s lights came on as the doors opened, Reia gasped, awestruck. He’d read about the Bloody Valentine Wars as a student, but here was proof that they had actually taken place: the Archangel was here, looking every bit as magnificent as her namesake. Neither the passage of time nor the tragedy that shattered the world appeared to make a difference on the ship; today could have been her maiden flight. He couldn’t stop himself circling the warship of legend in his awe.

Just then, though, his AC’s AI made an announcement.

“Warning: AC Raging Torrent IV detected.”

“The unit is equipped with a high thermal stress-inducing EO weapon. Mobile attack maneuvers are recommended.”

He turned around; what he saw didn’t disappoint him. It was Caspian, alright, one of the most overrated Ravens working for Alliance. His fellow pilots do in fact hold him in high regard, but the simple truth was that he wasn’t half as skilled as one would expect. A good chunk of his battlefield successes were thanks to the ECM MTs he brought to mess with the opponent’s radar. Which means, thought Reia -

Oh, crap.

No less than ten of them appeared behind Caspian, energy weapons all aimed at Reia and Fenris. None of them warranted a serious threat on their own; not only could Fenris take hits, it could return them many times over, too. But with these many enemies, those hits would add up real fast. And from the looks of things, he couldn’t just run away, either; his AC wasn’t fast enough, and he couldn’t expect Caspian and his flunkies to politely step aside. With a grim smile on his face, Reia activated the LX laser cannon on Fenris’s back.

“Seriously?” Reia exclaimed as he opened communications with the other Raven. “All of them just for me? Dude,” he wondered aloud, “Has anyone told you you fight like a girl?”

But Caspian just laughed. “HQ told me not to underestimate you. And besides,” he sneered back, “There’s no ‘fair’ in war. As long as I defeat you, the mission’s a success.” With that, he fired off opening shots both from his laser rifle and his Exceed Orbit system.

Reia opted to focus on the MTs first; since they were making it very difficult to lock on, taking them out would help even the odds. Deftly he dashed and boost-hopped to each of them, dispatching them with either his machine gun or energy blade while doing his best to evade their attacks. Before long, only the AC remained… but at this point, Reia and Fenris were pretty banged up, too. And, just then, explosions sounded from behind him as Caspian managed to get in quite a few cheap shots.

“You son of a bitch…” muttered Reia as he prepared to fire the LX. But nothing happened. Why…?

The readout on the bottom-right corner of his cockpit’s screen answered his question; the energy gauge was completely drained! Even worse, his AP had dropped to below 2000. Any more would be the end for him. Just then, though, his AC picked up a transmission from an unknown source. Reia had no idea who it was, but the complete lack of static told him it came from nearby. She – judging from the voice, she was female – gave him a command with a clear sense of urgency:

“Get to the Archangel, hurry!”

“What –“ he argued, but the woman on the other end cut him off. “Quickly, there’s no time!”

The Archangel was directly behind Reia’s current position. He desperately began to bunnyhop backwards into the ship’s right ‘leg’, which had opened up for him to enter. To his immense relief, he succeeded – just as Caspian fired a damaging shot directly at Fenris’s core.

“Danger, AP at 10%.”

As he entered what appeared to be a hangar of ACs, Reia noticed three of them, a gold unit standing between two dull-grey hued ones. The one on the left came equipped with at least two rifles underneath a pair of vestigial wings, while the other appeared to have no weapons. And again the female voice came.

“Get into the one on the right,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

A few moments later, the young Raven entered the unit in question. The cockpit was very similar to that of his AC, save for a small, red button right in front of him marked ‘Phase Shift’. Also, on the monitor, instead of the status of his remaining energy and ammunition, was a meter that showed just how much battery power was left. Wait. So these things run on battery power!?

“That thing out there,” the woman began as Reia walked the AC to the catapult, “It’s not a very fast unit, is it? I’m giving you the Launcher Striker, then,” she explained as what she was referring to – a large, handheld cannon and shoulder-mounted machine cannons – were attached to the left arm and right shoulder of the unit, respectively. “The firepower should be enough for this. Oh, and,” she added, “When you go out, press the Phase Shift button, alright?”

“Alright,” he said as the catapult opened again. “One last thing, though,” Reia remembered to ask, “What should I call you? I’m Reia, by the way.”

“It’s Murrue,” replied the woman. “X105 Strike, you’re cleared to launch!”

Reia stepped on the pedal in front of him, activating the boosters and activating the Phase Shift as he leapt out of the ship. As he pushed the button, the suit’s colors changed from metallic gray to white, blue and red. And, right across him, Caspian felt a sense of fear and apprehension creep up his spine.

What the hell IS that thing?!

tbc

Chapter 2: Reawakened Resolve

As he and Caspian battled, it quickly became apparent to Reia that his unit held numerous advantages over his opponent’s AC. For one thing, despite its current configuration having been optimized for heavy assault, the Strike was capable of dodging Raging Torrent’s orbit cannons, Exceed Orbits and SHADE rifle with relative ease. In addition, oncoming missiles were shot down by the shoulder-mounted machine cannons before they even found their mark.

He’s probably wetting himself in his cockpit now, thought Reia with a smirk. As he expected, the main (and probably only) reason Caspian managed to rack up a kill count was thanks to the ECM units on the MTs he usually brought for backup. And since Fenris had taken care of them earlier, it would be easy for him to finish off the cocky bastard with Strike. He raised the cannon on his left arm, but –

Dammit, thought Reia as he slapped himself. I should’ve seen that one coming.

Caspian managed to blow up the cannon with a well-placed laser. Even then, though, his elation was short-lived as a fighter jet, mounting thrusters on its back as well as a beam rifle and shield on its wings, launched from the Archangel. He didn’t have time to just stare at it, either; only seconds after launching, the fighter began bombarding him with laser fire both from its main cannon as well as the mounted rifle.

“Hey, kid,” Reia started as the new voice, which he assumed was the fighter pilot, contacted him. “Discard the Launcher Pack and turn off the Phase Shift now. I’m giving you the one I’m using,” he directed, confirming Reia’s deduction in the process. Obediently he discarded the shoulder-mounted cannons and deactivated the Phase Shift armor, waiting for his new weapons to arrive.

Sure enough, as the fighter flew by, it too jettisoned the equipment it had been carrying; the back thrusters attached themselves to the Strike while the rifle and shield found their place in its rear skirt armor and left hand, respectively. With the equipment change complete, Reia reactivated the Phase Shift, in the process restoring Strike’s distinctive color scheme.

“That there’s the Aile pack,” explained the fighter pilot. “You should be able to outmaneuver that punk now!” he added as he returned to the Archangel. Filled with renewed resolve, Reia pulled out one of the Aile pack’s beam sabers as he lunged forward with a slash aimed at the torso. Caspian really did wet himself as he prepared for death…

…But instead, the saber went through his right arm, severing it at the elbow and depriving the AC of its laser rifle. Likewise the entire left arm got chopped off as well, leaving the AC entirely defenseless. Assured his opponent was no longer a threat, Reia contacted him. “Hello, Caspian,” he said pleasantly. “No need to be scared – I just wanted to talk.”

“I won’t kill you here,” this he added with a smile that turned into a chuckle as his defeated opponent’s jaw dropped. “I want you to tell the Alliance this: they’d better not get any ideas about capturing the Archangel for themselves.” He could hear the conviction in his voice as he stated his warning. “If they insist on trying, we won’t go down without a fight.”

“Can you tell them that?” he asked as he finished, giving a satisfied smile as Caspian nodded. “Good…” nodded Reia as he took the beam rifle and shot both of the AC’s legs, adding insult to injury. His work done, he returned to the Archangel, which had taken flight in the meantime. The overhead shutters opened as the warship launched, allowing the sun to come shining in. A moment later, it literally disappeared into thin air.

Reia then got out of the Strike’s cockpit, only to find both a brown-haired woman and a tall, blond man in a purple pilot suit – most likely the fighter pilot – waiting for him, both with smiles on their faces. As they got a look at his face, though, their smiles turned into expressions of shock; the woman rushed forward and hugged him tightly, like a mother being reunited with her child. Reia broke away from her and tilted his head in puzzlement, waiting for the two to say something as they walked to the bridge.

Finally, when they had gotten there several awkward moments later, the fighter pilot spoke. “Y’know kid, I’m not surprised you fight like that suit’s original owner,” he noted offhandedly, referring to the unit Reia piloted earlier.”You not only fight like him, you look like him, too! Isn’t that right, Murrue?” he asked her as he put an arm around her.

“Yeah,” nodded Murrue in assent. “You look exactly like our Kira,” she agreed, smiling fondly as her eyes turned misty. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were him…” she added as her eyes welled with tears, trailing away as the fighter pilot hugged her. Reia’s eyes were on him now; he had one very good guess as to who he was. “If she’s Murrue,” he said slowly, “Then that would mean you’re –“

“I guess you’ve heard of us then, kid,” the other pilot smiled jovially as he spread his arms wide. “Yeah, Mu La Flaga here, very nice to meet you. Now, then,” Mu’s tone suddenly became businesslike, “Mind telling us what year this is? The Archangel woke us up when you came over to visit.”

Reia told them everything he knew: how the surface world had been destroyed by the colony drop, forcing humans to live underground under the thumb of a ruthless, despotic AI as well as greedy, amoral corporate executives. How the surface eventually became livable again as the corporations took their power struggle to the next level. He told them about Jack-O’s declaration of war, and how he had joined up with the Alliance. Finally, he told them about how he had been sent here to confirm the Archangel’s presence, and that Caspian had apparently been sent to kill him. As he spoke, Murrue’s brow furrowed.

“So Kira and the others couldn’t stop it, then…” she noted sadly. “And now those corporations you were mentioning want the Archangel for themselves?” She gave Mu a bitter smile as she spoke once more. “We’ve been awakened to fight another war?”

“Take it easy,” Mu told her in his most reassuring bedside voice. “If that kid’s heard of us, I suppose he also knows better than to ask us that.” He looked directly at Reia now. “So, kid, what are you planning?”

“I’ve read about you guys,” Reia admitted, smiling, “You managed to end both Bloody Valentine Wars, right?” The couple nodded their confirmation, not that he needed it. After a short pause, Reia continued:

“Maybe we could stop this war, too. I’d have simply hijacked the Archangel,” he admitted, “But having the both of you around is even better – you guys have a reputation. I can’t be the only Raven who’s tired of this pointless fighting, and I’m damned sure some of my fellows feel the same way. What do you guys think?” he asked when he finished.

The two thought about it for a moment before Mu nodded slowly, a small smile on his face. “Assuming you’re not lying, you’re more like Kira than I thought,” he noted, smiling. “Well… Alright, kid,” he agreed, “But if it turns out you are lying after all,” he warned. “I’ll –“

“Of course,” smiled Reia as he unzipped the jacket he was wearing; now that the fight was over, he could finally get a bit of rest. “Mind showing me to my room?” He asked both of them.

Meanwhile, at Alliance’s Tartus Headquarters, the footage of Caspian’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Reia and the Strike was being reviewed in a small, dark conference room. When the TV screen flickered off as the video ended, the dark-haired man closest to it, Evangel, looked at Caspian – whose face was still buried in his hands in his embarrassment – with an expression of mingled embarrassment and disappointment.

“Being beaten by an old fossil, that was humiliating,” noted Evangel tonelessly; all who were present laughed at this. “But after the way you’ve been boasting out of your ass, you probably deserved that.”

“Well, sir,” Caspian retorted, his brilliant blue eyes filled with resentment at the laugh they just had at his expense. “I doubt you could’ve done better. You’ve seen the video, you know his unit was… - gah!” he punched the table in frustration as the younger man beside him – Jouster, another of Alliance’s Ravens and probably his closest friend among them – tried to calm him down. Given how much of an advantage Reia’s commandeered unit had over his AC, he had been lucky to come out alive.

“And you’ve seen how that thing moved, that didn’t seem like a fossil to me!” Caspian added defiantly. But to his surprise, Evangel gave a gentle, understanding smile.

“I know that,” he admitted. “I never said you were sloppy, only that you deserved it. Well, look on the bright side!” he suddenly brightened, looking at his fellow Ravens and subordinates. “At least we know who’s not coming back anytime soon… And what we’re up against. When the time comes, we’ll bury that ship for good. What do you guys think?”

All but one of the Ravens present yelled their assent at this. The only one who didn’t, a young man with untidy, coffee-brown hair, gave a snort of disgust. This was all too typical of Evangel.

The Archangel, huh…? Guess I might have to file my resignation soon.

After all, some Ravens only joined factions for the money, right?

tbc