"Have you thought of a name for it yet?" The short-statured yet athletically-built female asked her companion as she typed frantically on the keyboard. The last few simulations using her latest design had gotten her quite excited so she quickly made the adjustments before the idea left her head. Clack! The keyboard made a loud noise as she hit the last character harder than usual. All that was left was for the computers to automatically do the calculations and her work for the day is done.
"Hon?" She asked again then turned, wondering why her question wasn't being answered. She found him sitting on a nearby crate tinkering with his camera's settings. "Grad!" she called out to him as he lifted the camera to eye-level, prepared to take a shot. She quickly raised her hand and made a peace sign to pose for the shot.
"Mariel...it's your design so I leave it up to you." He half-pressed the shutter release then pushed harder after a soft beep. The camera responded with a quick flash then the click of the shutter as the picture was taken.
"Blurred," he muttered then quickly deleted the photo.
"Just hurry up and give me a name! I need to send your registration to Signs so we can start earning Au." She reached into her pockets and pulled out her phone. After a few button presses, she looked at him and waited for his answer.
He looked up and gazed at the 5-meter tall blue AC behind her. After a slight pause, he sighed then responded, "RX18...CALEB."
"...still not over her, huh?" She murmured while typing the name on her phone. She then raised the device high above her head as she pressed 'Send'. In just a few seconds, the phone made a ringing sound to confirm that the message was sent.
Gradlein gaze turned to the floor as he realized what he just said. "...sorry," he apologized dejectedly.
Mariel slipped the phone back into her pocket then went over to him and pulled him close. She gave him a hug and pressed his head against her chest. "It's okay. I've already accepted everything about you," she said while stroking his short spiky hair. "...even that." She made a quick smirk and even though Grad could not see her, he already understood that she was making a joke about his crotch.
He gave a quick but soft jab to her sides, to which she responded by releasing him and laughing as she moved away and quickly left the workshop. Thanks, he thought as his eyes followed her.
------------------------
"So...who's the new guy?" Gradlein asked over the speakers while munching on a chocolate bar. He was seated inside his AC's cockpit while being transported to the South Islands with five other ACs for a sortie. He had recently joined a mercenary team named Raven Republic, the same team he encountered when he first received his AC.
"Hey, Arrui!" A silvery male voice announced on the speakers, the same one that warned him in the Middle East. "Introduce yourself." It was Flau. He pilots a mid-range medium bipedal AC called AST-Sublimer Mk. II and calls it a "hero" type AC. The design is well-balanced and it can hold its own in any situation. The pilot himself, although quite young, is an excellent pilot and can unleash the full potential of the AC.
"Hello, sirs." A low, modest voice responded. "You can call me Arrui. I'm glad to be a part of this team."
"Sirs!" Grad and the others exclaimed, almost in unison, before laughing.
"Grad's the only 'sir' here. He's 30." The modulated voice came from a dark pink medium bipedal AC named Scylla Drake IV. Its pilot, Jiro, preferred energy weapons and his AC's design reflects that with an all energy weapon load-out.
"Hahaha, yeah, he's old," the pilot of the sortie's only lightweight AC agreed. The voice sounded very young and Westerners would probably mistake it for a female's. It was Zeph, the close quarters combat specialist. His AC usually carries either shotguns, blades, or pilebunkers, all of which are used in close range. In most encounters with enemy ACs or UNACs, he can be heard laughing within 30 seconds of contact and the team would understand that he already took one out with the pilebunker.
"Really?" The voice came from another middleweight bipedal AC. It carried a large curved laser blade called the Moonlight. The AC is piloted by two brothers, both called Cross, and the team can rarely tell if they're talking to the older or the younger because they have the same voice.
"Ah, darn. Why did I have to mention my age?" Gradlein said wearily then tried to change the topic. "Hey, Zeph! I brought a heavy so I can test something."
"Huh? What do you need?" Zeph asked in response.
"Just hit me with any melee weapon you have. I want to test this thing's defenses."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. I'll just stand still. I also didn't bring any shields." Grad assured him.
The Storks dropped the ACs a few kilometers away from the mission area. The enemy doesn't seem to be aware of their presence since there was no movement within the enemy camp.
"Ready when you are, Zeph." Gradlein told Zeph over the speakers.
"Hmm. I have an idea. Hehehe...," Zeph replied.
Gradlein scanned the area then moved his AC backwards and turned towards Zeph's position. Then he made the AC switch into its bay weapons while trying his best to hold his laughter. He had a surprise waiting for Zeph as well: a pair of pilebunkers.
Zeph's AC hovered slowly in the air but steadily advanced towards him while holding a pair of laser blades. Gradlein thought that he was probably adjusting his aim to ensure he would hit at the proper range and maximize the damage of the blades.
"Come and hug papa bear! Hahaha!" Gradlein joked to maintain his facade. The AC raised its arms like it was urging the other AC to come forward.
With less than 20 meters between them, Zeph's AC raised its arms to prepare for a downward slash at Gradlein's AC. Gradlein quickly moved forward and fired both pilebunkers, hoping to hit Zeph's arms before it could execute the slash. They somehow managed to hit each other at the exact same time. The impact pushed Zeph's AC back by a few meters while Grad's AC was forced to kneel because of the slash's downward force. Both ACs automatically shutdown because of the heavy damage from losing their arms.
"Huh? What happened?" Zeph asked. Although the ACs are inactive, the external speakers can still be used for communication.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gradlein laughed maniacally. Although it didn't go as well as he planned it, the reaction he got from Zeph was still priceless. Soon, the rest of the team aside from Arrui, who didn't seem to get it, were joining in on the laughter.
As if forgetting about the mission, the others tried to join the fun. Flau began to chase Cross and Jiro with a pilebunker, Jiro sprayed his plasma gun to block Flau's attempts, and Cross tried to flank either of the two so he can hit with his Moonlight.
"Are you guys going to leave me to finish the mission by myself?" Arrui asked somberly over the team's private channel while raining bullets over the enemy's camp. It barely had any defenses aside from a small number of GOLEMs and WETAs.
"Sorry, Arrui." Flau replied. "I'll help you out."
The AST-Sublimer Mk. 2 quickly boosted towards the mission area and closed in on Arrui's Komurasaki. As Flau passed by Arrui, the latter's AC suddenly grinded to a halt and fell forward to the ground.
"Whoops!" Flau exclaimed then laughed as he boosted away and took down the last few targets.
"I-...what...," Arrui uttered, not knowing how to react or what to say.
But before he can think about it, Gradlein said, "...there's your official welcome. Welcome to Raven Republic."
--------------------
"What the hell is this?!" Mariel shouted at Gradlein's ear while holding what seems to be a printout of a payslip. "You forced me to design a heavyweight saying, 'Don't worry! It will pay off by cutting our repair costs,' then you come back from a mission owing a debt to Signs?!"
"But it wasn...," Grad started to explain then held his tongue. He knew her temper will get worse if he tried to make excuses.
Mariel stormed off into the bedroom then returned and threw a blanket at him. Her face was flushed with anger. "Don't you dare go inside or I will kill you," she said before slamming the door shut.
Gradlein simply sighed and thought, ...this is going to be a looooong night.
"Hon?" She asked again then turned, wondering why her question wasn't being answered. She found him sitting on a nearby crate tinkering with his camera's settings. "Grad!" she called out to him as he lifted the camera to eye-level, prepared to take a shot. She quickly raised her hand and made a peace sign to pose for the shot.
"Mariel...it's your design so I leave it up to you." He half-pressed the shutter release then pushed harder after a soft beep. The camera responded with a quick flash then the click of the shutter as the picture was taken.
"Blurred," he muttered then quickly deleted the photo.
"Just hurry up and give me a name! I need to send your registration to Signs so we can start earning Au." She reached into her pockets and pulled out her phone. After a few button presses, she looked at him and waited for his answer.
He looked up and gazed at the 5-meter tall blue AC behind her. After a slight pause, he sighed then responded, "RX18...CALEB."
"...still not over her, huh?" She murmured while typing the name on her phone. She then raised the device high above her head as she pressed 'Send'. In just a few seconds, the phone made a ringing sound to confirm that the message was sent.
Gradlein gaze turned to the floor as he realized what he just said. "...sorry," he apologized dejectedly.
Mariel slipped the phone back into her pocket then went over to him and pulled him close. She gave him a hug and pressed his head against her chest. "It's okay. I've already accepted everything about you," she said while stroking his short spiky hair. "...even that." She made a quick smirk and even though Grad could not see her, he already understood that she was making a joke about his crotch.
He gave a quick but soft jab to her sides, to which she responded by releasing him and laughing as she moved away and quickly left the workshop. Thanks, he thought as his eyes followed her.
------------------------
"So...who's the new guy?" Gradlein asked over the speakers while munching on a chocolate bar. He was seated inside his AC's cockpit while being transported to the South Islands with five other ACs for a sortie. He had recently joined a mercenary team named Raven Republic, the same team he encountered when he first received his AC.
"Hey, Arrui!" A silvery male voice announced on the speakers, the same one that warned him in the Middle East. "Introduce yourself." It was Flau. He pilots a mid-range medium bipedal AC called AST-Sublimer Mk. II and calls it a "hero" type AC. The design is well-balanced and it can hold its own in any situation. The pilot himself, although quite young, is an excellent pilot and can unleash the full potential of the AC.
"Hello, sirs." A low, modest voice responded. "You can call me Arrui. I'm glad to be a part of this team."
"Sirs!" Grad and the others exclaimed, almost in unison, before laughing.
"Grad's the only 'sir' here. He's 30." The modulated voice came from a dark pink medium bipedal AC named Scylla Drake IV. Its pilot, Jiro, preferred energy weapons and his AC's design reflects that with an all energy weapon load-out.
"Hahaha, yeah, he's old," the pilot of the sortie's only lightweight AC agreed. The voice sounded very young and Westerners would probably mistake it for a female's. It was Zeph, the close quarters combat specialist. His AC usually carries either shotguns, blades, or pilebunkers, all of which are used in close range. In most encounters with enemy ACs or UNACs, he can be heard laughing within 30 seconds of contact and the team would understand that he already took one out with the pilebunker.
"Really?" The voice came from another middleweight bipedal AC. It carried a large curved laser blade called the Moonlight. The AC is piloted by two brothers, both called Cross, and the team can rarely tell if they're talking to the older or the younger because they have the same voice.
"Ah, darn. Why did I have to mention my age?" Gradlein said wearily then tried to change the topic. "Hey, Zeph! I brought a heavy so I can test something."
"Huh? What do you need?" Zeph asked in response.
"Just hit me with any melee weapon you have. I want to test this thing's defenses."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. I'll just stand still. I also didn't bring any shields." Grad assured him.
The Storks dropped the ACs a few kilometers away from the mission area. The enemy doesn't seem to be aware of their presence since there was no movement within the enemy camp.
"Ready when you are, Zeph." Gradlein told Zeph over the speakers.
"Hmm. I have an idea. Hehehe...," Zeph replied.
Gradlein scanned the area then moved his AC backwards and turned towards Zeph's position. Then he made the AC switch into its bay weapons while trying his best to hold his laughter. He had a surprise waiting for Zeph as well: a pair of pilebunkers.
Zeph's AC hovered slowly in the air but steadily advanced towards him while holding a pair of laser blades. Gradlein thought that he was probably adjusting his aim to ensure he would hit at the proper range and maximize the damage of the blades.
"Come and hug papa bear! Hahaha!" Gradlein joked to maintain his facade. The AC raised its arms like it was urging the other AC to come forward.
With less than 20 meters between them, Zeph's AC raised its arms to prepare for a downward slash at Gradlein's AC. Gradlein quickly moved forward and fired both pilebunkers, hoping to hit Zeph's arms before it could execute the slash. They somehow managed to hit each other at the exact same time. The impact pushed Zeph's AC back by a few meters while Grad's AC was forced to kneel because of the slash's downward force. Both ACs automatically shutdown because of the heavy damage from losing their arms.
"Huh? What happened?" Zeph asked. Although the ACs are inactive, the external speakers can still be used for communication.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gradlein laughed maniacally. Although it didn't go as well as he planned it, the reaction he got from Zeph was still priceless. Soon, the rest of the team aside from Arrui, who didn't seem to get it, were joining in on the laughter.
As if forgetting about the mission, the others tried to join the fun. Flau began to chase Cross and Jiro with a pilebunker, Jiro sprayed his plasma gun to block Flau's attempts, and Cross tried to flank either of the two so he can hit with his Moonlight.
"Are you guys going to leave me to finish the mission by myself?" Arrui asked somberly over the team's private channel while raining bullets over the enemy's camp. It barely had any defenses aside from a small number of GOLEMs and WETAs.
"Sorry, Arrui." Flau replied. "I'll help you out."
The AST-Sublimer Mk. 2 quickly boosted towards the mission area and closed in on Arrui's Komurasaki. As Flau passed by Arrui, the latter's AC suddenly grinded to a halt and fell forward to the ground.
"Whoops!" Flau exclaimed then laughed as he boosted away and took down the last few targets.
"I-...what...," Arrui uttered, not knowing how to react or what to say.
But before he can think about it, Gradlein said, "...there's your official welcome. Welcome to Raven Republic."
--------------------
"What the hell is this?!" Mariel shouted at Gradlein's ear while holding what seems to be a printout of a payslip. "You forced me to design a heavyweight saying, 'Don't worry! It will pay off by cutting our repair costs,' then you come back from a mission owing a debt to Signs?!"
"But it wasn...," Grad started to explain then held his tongue. He knew her temper will get worse if he tried to make excuses.
Mariel stormed off into the bedroom then returned and threw a blanket at him. Her face was flushed with anger. "Don't you dare go inside or I will kill you," she said before slamming the door shut.
Gradlein simply sighed and thought, ...this is going to be a looooong night.
![[Image: 21.jpg]](http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/21.jpg)
