Armored Core the Uprising
Chapter 1: The old Raven, a mysterious girl, and the great escape
Anatolia, more than ten years ago.
Inside of his Armored Core NEXT "White Glint" the signal lights and warnings kept flashing and screaming to him. The Raven from Anatolia continued to fight hard against Joshua O'Brian, his friendly rival, frequent business partner, and previous owner of White Glint, and his NEXT "Aretha" a prototype NEXT with unbelievable power.
The armor rating was lower than %50 and ammunition in his rifle was low with the only weapons left being the two wing shaped WC-IR24 triple barrel laser cannons. Yet, the Raven sat in the cockpit of White Glint, as quiet as ever. He kept pressing on in the attack, quick boosting left and right, dodging fire from Aretha while keeping a constant boost toward it.
"Damn! You're pretty good Raven, but I wont die that easily." Joshua O'Brian calmly commented to the Raven.
But the Raven still remained silent. Instead of speaking he responded with bringing up his back mounted WC-IR24 triple barrel laser cannons and fired six devastating shots of brilliant light. The six shots hurled toward the Aretha and grazed it.
"SHIT! *panting* You almost got me Raven, heh heh, I'd better keep my Guard up!" Joshua O'Brian responded.
But the Raven still pursued him. The Aretha had some incredible boost capabilities, but no matter, nothing phased the Raven, whether he was afraid or not still remains a mystery. Did he ever feel fear in battle? Or did he not have time to?
Joshua continued his attack on Anatolia while trying to evade the Raven, but he could never outmaneuver the Raven, no one ever could. The Raven fired another six shot simultaneous burst of energy toward Aretha. It missed completely, the energy was running low on the WC-IR24s, and with thirty two shots per wing, he was down to twenty six per wing.
The Aretha's quick boost was able to dodge the shot. This is bad, if he can dodge something like that, it might prove difficult for the Raven, all he would have left to work with after the wings would be the rifle and his laser blade. The Raven decided to try again one more time, he lined up his shot to Aretha as best he could, while on constant boost, and fired.
This time, all six shots of that amazing light hit him dead on. Ammunition count in each was now down to eighteen.
"UGH! DAMN! I'm not done yet!" Joshua Said as Aretha's warning lights and signals went berserk. The Raven continued to attack. He brought up his rifle and began firing his last ten rounds. Joshua had dodged them all.
"Out of ammo for that thing? Hmm, I guess all you have left is that set of wings and your laser blade eh? Ugh! better watch out for those." Joshua said
As he purged the rifle, a handgun came from within the arm of his NEXT. Only 72 rounds total. Not sure about how much damage he could deliver, he began firing.
"NO WAY! A HANGAR MOUNTED WEAPON!? BUT THERE'S ENOUGH WEIGHT ON THAT NEXT WITHOUT IT! HOW….?" Joshua responded in surprise.
The Raven managed to land a majority of the rounds from his handgun onto the enemy NEXT but it wasn't enough damage. With the handgun's ammo depleted, he purged the handgun and brought up the WC-IR24s again and lined up for another shot.
"Oh shit! C'MON MOVE!" Joshua yelled to his NEXT.
The Raven fired another six shot simultaneous burst, hit the Aretha completely. The Aretha stopped moving.
"So this…is the end…Its for the best." With those last words, Aretha exploded. Joshua's last words had some satisfaction in them, no one was ever sure, but some say that he had planned on his death after destroying Anatolia. Joshua O'Brian was presumed dead, thus being the end of the National Dismantlement War. What happened to the raven and his field operator, Fiona Jarnefeldt.
It is not confirmed, but it is believed that they left the on-going wars between the mercenary companies, and lived a quiet life for a while……that is……until the Kojima type devices released their deadly particles throughout the atmosphere. Nothing is even theorized about what happened to them afterwards.
Now, more than ten years after the first sighting of the deadly Kojima particle outbreak, everyone knew that the particles would swallow up the surface of the planet as soon as it began, no one could do anything about it except escape the surface.
The new world leading power, the League of Ruling Companies, developed massive airships meant for holding the civilian population seven thousand meters above the surface. They called these airships, the Cradles. Though it took a few years to finish, about half of the human population are aboard the Cradles. Now the surface of the planet is just a large battlefield where the NEXTs constantly fight. Another development came from each company and faction during the time of the Cradle's development. Massive weapons called Arms Forts rose from each company, each type having its own strengths, weaknesses, and special characteristics.
These devastating weapons now mark the largest and most dangerous weapons on land, in water, and in the air. With the power of these Arms Forts, it is said that not even highly trained LYNXs could stand up against these monster machines.
However, with the conventional militaries (such as the U.S. military, U.S.S.R., British Armed Forces, etc.) constantly deteriorating, there's not much defense for the cradles aside from hired mercenaries from the League of Ruling Companies and their Mercenary managing organization, Collard, and they don't even last that long.
Problem is, some of the mercs that were hired to protect a Cradle at one time, can (and most of the time will) be hired by another company to destroy it. And so, it has left the civilian population to lose their trust for the mercenaries and even hate them, despite that the company they support most is the company that built the Cradles and that the mercs are their best defense.
So the civilians decide to rely on their selves as much as they can, having the police forces joining in defense and pulling late middle school and high school students out of classes as well as other civilians older than that as militia during attacks…
Meanwhile, Line Ark, the largest surface based power, has a powerful military asset, a NEXT called White Glint…could this be the Raven…or is someone else piloting it?….
Cradle 02 7000 meters above earth's surface present day. (Jack's perspective)
My name is Jack…I don't know my last name. My family never told me…they never tell me anything. All they do say is that I'm the son of 'scumbag' mercenaries. I don't imagine my parents did anything that bad. And why do they blame me for them being mercenaries? Its not like I'm going to be one…A son doesn't choose his parents.
Anyway, I live with my family aboard Cradle 02, above the pacific. I'm still in high school but things aren't going well for me…no friends no help on anything, everybody is either afraid of me or just flat out hates me just because of my parents. Could they have really been that bad? I cant help but wonder.
I'm heading to my job now, My watch says it's about 5:00 now, I fly cargo planes from my Cradle to the nearby Cradles and basically ferry cargo and supplies, I've also flew in the fighters for defending the Cradles from extremists on multiple occasions, only reason that I'm ever in the cockpit of a fighter is because I'm the only one who can fly a plane aboard this Cradle.
I've even flew defense for some of the earlier Cradle models and various aerial battleship prototypes, but those never made it past prototypes…not yet anyway. Although I wonder why I even bother defending these people sometimes, it seems kinda pointless. As bad as it sounds, I don't hate them. I don't understand why I should put my neck on the line for people who could give a shit less about me. With the way everyone treats me, it just doesn't seem fair. I just don't see anything good for me if I stay here. Hmmm, maybe joining the Collard organization under the League of Ruling Companies would be a good idea.
Yeah, I would be a mercenary and everyone here would only hate me even more…but, I wont have to be exposed to that anymore…Yeah a life of complete freedom, where I'll have other people who'll welcome me with open arms, and I'll be able to pilot those cool Armored Cores…
Hmmm I am sixteen though, would they even accept me? Then again, they do have programs to train new people with the education needed to do the job…I think I'll-
"WARNING! WARNING! INCOMING ATTACK! ALL CIVILIANS INCAPABLE OF COMBAT REPORT TO YOUR QUARTERS! ALL COMBAT PERSONEL REPORT TO BATTLESTATIONS!" The Captain yells. The alarms! Oh man! An air attack!? I guess I'll miss my job, I've gotta hurry!
"MOVE! MOVE!" I yell as I run through the Cradle's halls. I have to get to my fighter real soon! If I don't, We'll be in trouble!
"JACK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" The Cradle Control Tower yells to me. He just has to yell doesn't he?
"I'M ON MY WAY! JUST MAKE SURE MY FIGHTER IS READY FOR TAKEOFF!" I yell back to him.
"ROGER! YOUR FIGHTER IS READY! JUST GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Control continues to yell. Man this has been real old for a while.
"C'MON GET OUT OF THE WAY WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" I yell to everyone around me. I understand that they're in a panic but still, they don't have to crowd the freakin halls! I'm almost to the hangar though! As soon as I get to my fighter, I'm gonna have to put her into full afterburner! Man the crowds are really bad, its like a sea of people! Everyone running and screaming! Ugh its hard to move!
"JACK WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU HERE YET!? WE HAVE ENEMY PLANES ATTACKING FROM ALL SIDES! WE NEED YOUR AIR SUPPORT NOW! HURRY THE HELL UP!" Control Yells at me….AGAIN! Ugh gawd I'm getting tired of this! "GODDAMIT! MOVE OUT OF MY FREAKIN WAY, I HAVE TO GET TO THE HANGAR AND LAUNCH!!" I yell to the crowd. Everyone just turned to me and looks pissed now that they know its me, they're moving but they're giving me the evil eye and telling me to hurry up to the hangar! WHAT THE HELL!? AH!
I HAVE TO FOCUS! I cant afford to get distracted! Now that I have a clear path to the hangar I need to move! Finally the hangar!
"WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED UP, BOY!" Control starts again. Beautiful! I get caught in bad traffic and I get yelled at!
"YEAH YEAH JUST GET ME IN THE AIR!" I yell back. Man cant these guys just cut me some slack once in a while? "GLADLY!" Control seemed to sound pleased, like he always does when I take off. Well while he's clearing me for takeoff I'll do my flight check. Ok now to start the plane.
"COMMENCING PRE-FLIGHT CHECK, OIL PRESSURE, NORMAL, WEAPONS, ARMED, ENGINE SOUNDS GOOD, OXYGEN LEVELS NORMAL, GUNS, ARMED AND READY, FUEL, TANKS FULL, ALL SYSTEMS GO!" My plane is ready I just need takeoff clearance now!
"JACK YOU ARE CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF! HURRY UP AND SCRAMBLE!" Control gave me clearance!
"ROGER THAT! TAXIING TO THE RUNWAY!" I respond to Control. Why is there an attack now? This is the fifth time this week! Who the hell are these people!? All right I'm on the runway!
"THIS IS JACK, CALLSIGN: FIREBIRD, LAUNCHING! INITIAT SCRAMJET SEQUENCE!" UGH! SHIT I'M MOVING FAST! My jet must have been loaded with something that makes the engines go NUTS! MY JET IS FLYING DOWN THE RUNWAY! 0 to 300 Knots in SECONDS!
I was never aware that even the X-02 was able to take this kind of immediate stress! Ok I'm in the air now! Where are the enemy forces!? And why hasn't Control contacted
"FIREBIRD LISTEN UP! YOU'R UP AGAINST A DOSEN F-22 RAPTORS, AND A FULL SQUADRON OF NORMALS! YOU'R OBJECTIVE IS NOT TO LET THE NORMALS GET INSIDE! UNDERSTOOD!?" Control finally gave me my objective!
"ROGER THAT CONTROL! FIREBIRD ENGAGING!" I'm ready for combat! I have my orders! Time to do some damage!
"DON'T SCREW THIS UP!" Hmm, Control didn't seem to have the same hatred in his voice as he normally does! That's weird!
"Jack!" That voice! Is it…? IZZY! The one person who has ever been nice to me and the only reason I fight so hard to protect the Cradle. My twelve year old little sister, Izzy. She is the only thing that keeps me from being a total jerk like the rest of our family.
How did she get into the control room? Oh, I think I know, they must have let her in. That's what I don't understand about my family and everybody on this Cradle. They treat her extremely well but not me. I'm not resentful to her but I just don't understand why they treat us differently from each other.
Maybe they're thinking they can take the innocent, young mind of a girl and keep her from being a merc. Hmm, must have thought that since I'm a guy that I'm screwed. Oh well, no sense in thinking about that now. I've gotta do what I can to make sure the Cradle doesn't fall! for her sake.
"I know you can do it Jack! Go out there and take care of those jerks!" She believes in me so much. She looks up to me despite what everyone else says about me.
"I will sis! I'll make short work of those guys!" I tell her this in hopes to keep her confidence high.
"YEAH! AND MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK TOO! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU DON'T!" She really does care about me…the only one who does.
Ok, time to do my job! PULLING UP! Heh, I kinda like the upside down view! But no time for sightseeing! Ok missile armed. Huh? AIM-9X SIDEWINDERS!? These are antiques!
What the hell am I supposed to do with these!? Oh, well at least I have AMRAAMs and BVRAAMs to work with. Ok.
"TARGET LOCKED! ENEMY PLANE: F/A-22 RAPTORS! AMRAAM ARMED! FOX 3!" I launched one of my air to air missiles! Hope it hits! AN EXPLOSION!
"MISSILE HIT" Alright got a kill- HUH?! MISSILE ALERT beeb beeb beeb… ENEMY PLANE LOCKED ON! HOW WAS I SO CARELESS!? AH, NO MATTER, YOU CANT KEEP A LOCK ON A FAST MOVING TARGET! Bank left! Pull up! Flares! Bank right! Scissors maneuver! Break! Pull up! Drop in behind him!
"GOCHA! SIDEWINDERS ARMED! FOX 2 FOX 2!" I launched two more air to air missiles! Only have 4 AMRAAMs, 5 BVRAAMs, and 4 Sidewinders left! Another explosion!
"MISSILE HIT! ALRIGHT 2 DOWN!" But ten to go! Plus the Normals!
"DON'T GET COCKY FIREBIRD! FOCUS AND SHOOT THEM DOWN!" Well whaddya know, Control got his hate sounding voice back! I kinda missed it!
"ROGER THAT CONTROL!" I yell to him. Man I cant stand him!
"All fighters, engage the enemy plane! He's no average pilot, don't get careless and don't let him get to the Normals!" The enemy squadron is talking about me? Hmm. This just got a whole lot more interesting!
"Roger that sir! Concentrating fire on the enemy fighter!"
"Squad lead to all fighters, we will make Line Ark proud! There's no way a single plane will be able to defend the Cradles! Lets get the job done right!" Line Ark! That's the largest surface based company! And they're against the Cradles?!
"ARMING ALL AIR TO AIR MISSILES! LINE ARK SQUADRON! YOUR GOING TO FAIL!" Target lock to Multiple targets!
"AMRAAMS, FOX 3!" All AMRAAMs USED! C'mon! get them! MISSILE HITS! ONE! TWO! THREE! C'mon hit the last one!…It missed! FOUR MISSED!
"THREE MISSILES HIT! LAST SHOT TRASHED!" Man I'm down to seven missiles! Damn! WHY COULDN'T THE X-02 BE DESIGNED TO HOLD MORE MISSILES!?
"All Line Ark fighters! This one seems to be more than an average ACE! we've already lost too many planes, if we keep this up we will all be shot down and the Normals will be defenseless! We're gonna have to pull out! This operation is a failure! All Normals return to base!" They're…retreating?
"THIS IS FIREBIRD! PURSUING ENEMY TATGETS!" I yell to command hoping he will clear me for continued engagement!
"NEGATIVE FIREBIRD! RETURN TO THE CRADLE!" WHAT!? HE WANTS ME TO DISENGAGE!?
"WHY!? I HAVE A GOOD SHOT AT THEM!" Somehow, I don't think that will change his mind.
"I DON'T CARE FIREBIRD! I ORDERED YOU TO DISENGAGE AND RETURN TO THE CRADLE! IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSIQUECNES!" He yells THAT to me?! Damn I hate when he pulls this bullshit on me!
"Roger that Control! I could have gotten them though!" I respond to him. Why did he have me disengage? Well I guess I don't have to worry about my missile situation anymore.
"Firebird, just Return to the Cradle! You don't need to be in that fighter anymore!" Control said that sounding a bit more pissed than usual! I wonder what's going on? Oh well, time for landing. "This is Firebird beginning landing checks." I cant think of anything I did to make them even more mad than they normally are. Hmm, was it my flying? Or could the fuel in my plane? Man what could he be so pissed about?
"Firebird, your clear to land!" Now he just sounds cold. What's his deal?
"Roger that Control." I respond. Man, I hope nothing bad happened there. Ok now I'm approaching the hangar. Its amazing how small things look when I'm inside the cockpit of a plane. Ok landing in 3...2...1...
"Touchdown! Landing complete!" Maybe I should have just taken this fighter and left the Cradle altogether. It's not like I have anything of value here. OH! JESUS! My sister! There's no way I'm leaving her here with this poor excuse for a family…we do have cloths to pack, and there are some things I need to get if we're gonna leave.
I'll worry about that when the time comes! Lets just get this plane into holding platform 2. Ok taxiing to the designated aircraft platform, center in 3...2...1...center.
"Activating magnetic locks." The password screen just showed up, each plane onboard the Cradles have their own individual magnetic locks, comes in handy on the battlefield from what veteran pilots have told me. Hmmm…should I make a new password?…one that only I will know about? It might be a good idea. Sure I'm stealing a plane but you know what? I'll take it as compensation…
I've never once even got a 'thank you' for anything I do aboard this heap. I always get the lowest pay for my work, I've never been treated the right way and I'm SICK of it! This will be my way to make up for all that. This plane is going to be mine and me and my sister will live in a better place for both of us!
Besides, I'm going to need something to start off with if I'm going to me a merc. Come to think of it, the plane is already mine seeing as it was assigned to me, I am the rightful owner if the jet. Interesting how things work now a days, a pilot owns the assets he uses for his job. Ok, no one watching? The hangar ground crews seem busy…Control Tower is occupied…
Hey! There's Izzy, she's waving to me…yeah she is always happy when I land safely. I'll signal her to wait for me. Still have things to take care of in here. Ok no one looking…I'm in the clear. Ok, new password…everyone still occupied?…ok good…entering my new password now…********…no one will be able to fly this jet but me now. Ok time to get out of here before someone gets suspicious. Canopy opening.
"HEY! JACK!" here she comes, running and laughing in joy to see me as I climb down from the X-02s cockpit.
"Hey sis!" I say as I meet her with a hug.
"I knew you'd come back! You always do!" She's the most precious thing to me. I'll do everything in my power to protect her…even taking her away from here and living in the work environment of mercenaries.
"Yeah, Come on Izzy. Lets go home." She grabbed onto my arm as I said that.
"Jack?" She sounded so soft!
"Yeah?" I wonder what she wants?
"Do you know what mom and dad were like? Did you ever see them?" I only wish.
"I…I never knew them. I don't know what they were like." I hope that we can find out the truth about them, weather they were mercenaries or not, I don't care.
"But I promise…" she's looking at me with intent.
"I will find out what is the truth about them, for both of us." She has that smile, the one that keeps me going.
"Thanks Jack." I wont break this promise, Izzy. No matter what.
Ok, now I think I should just avoid conversation with anyone except for Izzy for a while, with how pissed Control sounded, I'm not sure it would be a wise decision to talk to anyone.
"Ok I'm out of here. Be back tomorrow." I tell them this as Izzy and I leave the hangar, but I'm not going to be here when they expect me.
"Just get out of here boy!" Ah, the lovely sound of insults. Well I'm not going to have to deal with this any longer. I'll be here a whole lot earlier than I normally do. Maybe like 3:00 AM. No one but the People in the bridge of the Cradle will be awake then. I'll have to make my get-away fast before they can do anything to stop me. Good thing that the fighters are always ready for a sortie, would be hard to get past the hangar doors without being armed…assuming I cant open those doors from the plane. Oh! I need to talk to Izzy about us leaving.
It's a good thing the halls are dead, perfect time to talk about it.
"Izzy?" I say to her as we stop. She's looking at me, probably wondering what I'm gonna say.
"Yeah Jack?" I have to tell her what I'm planning.
"I…I'm not staying here." She looks surprised.
"I cant live like this anymore. I'm going to leave the Cradle and join the League…And I want you to come with me." Now she looks in a mix of happy and sad.
"W-why cant you stay?" She sounds almost scared.
"You've seen the way everyone treats me. Everywhere, everyone talks down to me and many people have beat the crap out of me just because our parents were supposedly mercenaries. Even in my work I'm being treated like a slave." She is looking even sadder now but realizing everything she has seen.
"Our families make me pay for my own food on top of rent and I'm not being paid enough to keep up with that. They're breaking me down, making me survive on the bare minimum. I cant keep living like that. You've seen all that, Izzy." There's tears in her eyes. She fully understands!
"I want you to come with me because you are the only person who understands me and even cares about me. Please, come with me, you don't want to stay with people like this do you? People who can hate someone just because of their parents?" She looks shocked!
"I…I'm so sorry Jack!" She's crying and she just grabbed onto me. Its my job to protect her no matter what kind of situation. Her crying…is no exception.
"It's ok, Izzy." I say as I hold her. She's clinging on to me.
"I will protect you, Izzy. No matter what. I will always protect my little sister."
"Yes I will come with you! I've wanted to leave here for a while myself! But I had no way and…I didn't want to leave without you Jack!" Huh!? She…really wants to come? I was thinking the opposite. I thought she wanted to stay and would be afraid of leaving the Cradles.
"Ok then, we're gonna get up real early in the morning, and be at the hangar at about 3:00, get to the hangar and fly my jet out of here. Ok?" I hope this works.
"Are you sure this will work, I don't know much about planes but, doesn't your fighter only have one seat?" OH SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT THAT! Uh…well we have to make due with that. I guess it'll be a tight squeeze.
"Uhh, as much as I'd hate to do this to you but…" She looks awfully curious.
"You're gonna have to sit in my lap. It will be a tight squeeze I know but it's our only option." This is the only way I can get out of here with Izzy, she's smart I'm sure she understands.
"EEEEHH!? YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT!?" Yet I had a feeling that would happen.
"It's the only way I can get you and me off this Cradle. I don't like it ether but it's our only option." She's thinking about it? If she wants to leave with me this is how we're gonna do it.
"What about a flight suit?" WHAT?! She's thinking about THAT!? Oh wait! I can't believe I didn't think of that!
"Hmm…OH! I know! I have special flight suits that are even child sizes along with G-suits and helmets in my locker back home! You can wear one of those!" Man I really am prepared.
"Ok…and…I guess sitting in your lap will be ok. I mean, you are my brother so I guess it's fine." Well at least she's willing to do it. Whatever it takes to get her safely off this Cradle.
"Ok lets get moving. The halls might be dead but anything could happen, lets not take a chance that someone might be listening." I tell her as we start walking again, things are getting serious.
"Ok Jack!" Wow, she sounds so confident. Lets lake sure she keeps that.
Hmm the halls are dead even more than I thought. And to think that they were so crowded before. Hmmm. About 5:43 PM now. I have a few hours to pack the basic necessities. Cloths, food, anything absolutely needed for survival until we get to the League HQ. I wonder why the halls are this dead?
Its not normally like this. Not unless there's a lockdown procedure going on but I didn't hear anything about lockdown, Man. this is weird.
"Hey Izzy, you sleep in my room tonight, ok?" Doing this will make sure we're ready at a moment's notice.
"Yeah! I'll set my personal alarm for 3:00!" She tells me. Wait, 3:00? That's the time we need to be in the hangar by.
"No! set it for 2:30. 3:00 is too late." if we get to the hangar later than 3:00 that will only decrease our window for escape.
"But you said we're getting up at 3:00." She says this to me with confusion, better clarify it for her.
"I said we will be in the hangar by 3:00." she's gonna be tired.
"we're gonna have to get some sleep early ok?" This hopefully will work.
"Ok! Good idea. This is kind of exciting. Tee hee!" I'm glad she's enthusiastic about it but…I just hope this doesn't ruin her life in some way or another, all I can do right now is assume that this is the right thing to do. Ok here's our home section, if I'm lucky everyone will be pre-occupied with something and just make minor insults so I can just go to my room. Ok door's opening. Good, they're pre-occupied with other things.
"Hi everyone we're back!" Good Izzy, just make it look like a normal day.
"Izzy! Welcome home, dinner's ready for you." hmm they're completely ignoring me. Strange, but I'm not complaining.
"You know, I feel kind of tired, I think I'll take a nap after I'm done eating." Good job sis. Just make everything look like normal. In the meantime, I gotta start packing.
I wonder why they're not saying anything to me, not even the slightest hint of aggression toward me. This isn't normal. Ok here's my room. Door's closed behind me. Good now I'm in solitude. Ok all I need is some changes of cloths, food, GPS, and particle scanner.
I'll just put my bag under my bed right next to our flight suits and helmets once I'm done. Man I REALLY hope this works. If not, me AND Izzy will be in trouble. Lets see, socks, shirts, pants, underwear, shoes, jackets…I think we're good on cloths, food…this should be enough, particle scanner, GPS. Ok all of that is packed, am I forgetting anything? Hmm nothing I can think of. Ok, time to get some shut eye. sigh laying on my bed I wonder how everyone's gonna get along without us. Then again, I'm not so sure I care. They never had the slightest care for me. Why should I for them? Oh well, not my problem anymore, better set my personal alarm…2:30, ok I'm set. I love this personal alarm system, a small device attached to my body that has an alarm only loud enough to wake me up. I'm glad I have this, with this I'll be able to wake up without anyone knowing. hmm? My door opened?
"Ok, Jack, I'm here. I even got some things together for the trip." she's all set, I'm real proud of her.
"So what did you tell everyone else? I'm sure they asked questions of why you have a bag of stuff and why your coming in here for a nap." She's pretty smart, I'm sure she came up with something believable.
"Oh I just told everyone I'm going to a friend's for a sleepover tomorrow and that I just wanted my stuff ready today and that I wanted to talk to you and take a nap here, your bed is VERY comfortable! Tee hee!" Wow, that is a believable story.
"Nice job bud. Now, lets get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow." She really is something.
"Ok, night." She yawns. She's out. Man she can get to sleep fast. Hmmm…getting out of here should be no problem, the only potential problem is…probably…gonna be…getting out…of the hangar……
Personal alarm beebeeb beebeeb beebeeb…
"Uhnnn…is it time already?" As I look over at the clock, I realize what we now have to do.
"…morning…lets get to it!" As she deactivated her alarm she's already up and moving. We just need to get to the hangar unnoticed by anyone and…!
"Wait a minute! My bag and the flight suits! Where did I put them? Man all that preparation and now I cant find-! Oh…here they are. I forgot I left them under my bed. Ehhhh heh heh." Man I feel stupid now.
"Quit messing around and put on the flight suit! You said we're gonna have to hurry." She's right, I did say we have to hurry.
"Ok ok, Izzy, I'm up." I'm putting on the flight suit now, gotta be quiet about this. Ok zipped up, strapped in, G suit parts are on, helmet's on, ok I'm all ready, Izzy's all ready too. Not bad. with my bag on my back now… Ok 2:33,
"Time to go." I tell her. Ok I just need to ease the door open. Ok slowly, slowly, slip out quietly, first I slip out, and here she comes, ok, we're in the clear…from here anyway. Now to close the door, ease it in slowly and gently… ok door's closed. Good thing everyone is out cold. Moving across this floor is easy enough, thank god for sound proof material.
"HEY! WHERE YA THINK YOUR GOIN!?" AH! SOMEONE COUGHT US! Huh? No one's awake. Then who…? "GET BACK OVER HERE WITH THAT!" get back over where with what? Who's saying that?
"I'M TELLING YOU, THAT'S MY PIZZA!" Huh? PIZZA!? man I thought for sure we were busted. Man, that was a scare. Now we need to go, before someone does wake up. Ok the next door, gotta be extra careful. Grip he handle slowly…light pressure…turn…and push…it's almost open enough to slip out. "JACK!" OH NO!!! THEY ACTUALLY GOT US!!
"YOU CANT FLY…worth shit!" What!? They wake up and tell me that? Oh they've gotta be asleep…yeah they're all asleep. both sigh. Good thing too. We're almost out of here. Ok now to slip past…slowly…made it. Ok now for Izzy, slowly…made it. Now to close it…gently, easy, easy Jack. click. ok door's closed.
"Ok, I want you to hold my hand until we're in the fighter. Ok?" She nods, she has that
"I'm ready for anything" look on her face.
Now we just need to make our way to the hangar. Left from here, a right on the intersection and-HUH!? WHO'S THAT GIRL!? I don't recognize her! Better get out of sight! As I get behind the left wall with Izzy of the nearby intersection, I can still see her! DAMN IT! I should have gone right!
I'm holding Izzy out of sight and my hand over her mouth, cant risk any noise. Wait…who is she? I know there's twenty million people aboard every Cradle but…there's something different about her. I've ran into just about everyone else onboard this cradle and aside from my sister, they all give off the same vibe, but her…
What's she doing up this late? No one but the pilots should be up at this time of night…man she's pretty! Wait! That mechanic uniform! It's a Cradle 21 uniform! What the hell is she doing onboard Cradle 02!? Hmm, oh well, I don't have time to think about this now… 2: 41...we need to move.
Is she looking over here? OH SHIT! GETTING BACK INTO COVER! I think she saw me! Shit! I'd better move! Fast! Just need an opening… If we can get across this intersection, we can get moving to the hangar. I just need an opening. Oh god, my heart's racing! But no turning back now.
If we get caught we'll be in deep trouble. Ok she's not looking over here, I just need to make sure she keeps her attention away from me…maybe I have something expendable
"Izzy, stay quiet, I'm gonna try to make a distraction for that girl, as soon as she notices the distraction we have to run across the hall, got it?" she nods. Ok here goes come on I've gotta have something. HERE!
A screw should work, wait…since when do I have random screws in my bag? Oh well, whatever. Now I just need to throw it past her. Maybe I can get her attention over there just long enough for me to get past. Ok…NOW! I threw it…Oh no its gonna hit her! If it hits her she'll know it came from over here! Huh? It just missed her!? Phew that was close! ding…ding, ding…She heard it. Here's my opening.
"Now Izzy!" WE'RE RUNNING OUT IN THE OPEN NOW! SHE DOSEN'T SEE US! GOOD!…MADE IT! Ok now a straight shot to the hangar. Better continue to keep quiet till then. Man it's kinda stupid that I have to be running around my own cradle, in the middle of the night, being as stealthy as possible, in a full combat flight suit, and to top it off I'm dragging my 12 year old sister doing the exact same thing!
Ugh god! How the hell did I get into this situation? Oh that's right! We're leaving this crappy excuse for a lifestyle. I'm gonna things better for us. Its about damn time I did this! Just a little bit farther until we reach the hangar. Almost there Jack, just a little further. HUH!? FOOTSTEPS!? OH SHIT! SHE'S FOLLOWING US!?
"Izzy, the hangar is just past this door! Quickly, we need to get in before she sees us!" Good thing its dark, it will be a few seconds before she can see us.
"Got it!" she says as she begins opening the door to the hangar. Ok the door is just open enough for her to slip through. Hurry up! She can almost see us! Ok she's in. now for me. Quiet Jack. Ugh! Come on she's almost here…made it. Now ease it back. click ok it's closed. Phew! Ok, all we need to do is get in my plane and get the hell out of here.
"Ok, I left the X-02 in holding platform 2. Lets get to it." it's a good thing no one is in here at this time of night. No one to hear our footsteps, they echo In here. Ladder's down, cockpit's open, we're good to go.
"Let me climb in first, then you get in right after me, ok?" I say as I climb the ladder.
"Ok, but where are we going to keep our stuff?" she asks as she climbs the ladder.
"There's a compartment that will hopefully fit both our bags." Ok here's the personal compartment, wow! Our bags actually fit!
"Come on." she lands right on my lap. I strap us both in the same harness and both our G-suits are connected to the plane.
"Izzy, put on your flight mask." I tell her as I put on mine. Engines active. I love the sound of a fighter starting up. Oh the password screen came up! Time for the code…********…ACCESS GRANTED Closing the canopy. Disengaging magnetic locks and taxiing to the runway. Activating system check…fuel, tanks are full, engines, fine, ammunition, fully loaded, oil pressure, in the green, ejection systems, operational, all systems ready. we're on the runway and ready for takeoff. Ok lets open the hangar doors. Hmm…they won't open.
"Izzy, this might be a bit shocking, brace yourself." Arming AMRAAM. Target the hangar door. Heh, She was right, this is exciting. Now I don't have to worry about anyone seeing us as long as we make it out of here.
"Jack? What are you doing!?" she asks.
"AMRAAM, FOX 3!" MISSILE AWAY! BOOM! WOW, THAT WAS COOL! Man her eyes lit up! Uh oh the alarms are going off!
"INITIAT SCRAMJET SEQUENCE!"
"Huh? JACK! THAT GIRL! She…isn't alerting anyone?" Huh? the girl is smiling and nodded to me. We nod back to her. She was seeing us off. Its like she wanted us to make it off the Cradle. It looks like she's saying something but I cant make it out. UH OH! Now there's the ones who'll stop me if I don't leave NOW!
"Arming tactical music." I say as I put on 'goodbye' by SR 71.
"ENGAGING AFTERBURNERS! HOLD ON IZZY!"
"!" Izzy screams as we fly down the runway! DAMN! I CAN FEEL HER BODY PRESSING DOWN ON MINE AS WE GAIN SPEED! DAMN, THIS FUEL!
"JACK! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE WITH THAT JET!" control…well what took so long?
"JACK! YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE-" Now I don't have to listen to him anymore.
"GOD I love radio silence! Ok we've cleared the gate! Now to find the vector of the League HQ-" BOOM!
"WHAT THE HELL!?" THEY'RE FIRING AT ME! Time to evade!
"KEEP HOLDING ON IZZY! WE'RE GOING VERTICLE!" Afterburners, pull up! Now flying up at a perfect 90 degree angle! Gotta get my altitude above their firing range! I think 9000 meters total altitude will work! Climb, climb, climb! 7300 meters!…AH!
"AAHH! WHAT'S HAPPENING JACK!?" Damn! There's so much flak!
"THEY'RE FIRING ON US! STAY CALM" 7600 meters!…Man the flak is exploding all around us! 7900 meters!
"AAAHH!" Izzy screams. AH SHIT! Another flak burst right next to the cockpit! 8200 meters!… just 800 meters to go! missile warning BEEB BEEB BEEB BEEB...
"A MISSILE! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! COME ON!"
"JACK WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!?"
"DON'T WORRY I'LL GET US OUT OF THIS!" breaks! Pull up! flares! Now at a 180 degree angle!
"OH MY GOD WE'RE UPSIDE DOWN!" She screams. I hope I can get past this missile and continue my climb! 360 DEGREES! JESUS! HER BODY IS PRESSING SO HARD AGAINST MINE! HARD…TO BREATH! AH SHIT HERE COMES THE FLAK! KEEP PULLING UP! SHE'S CLINGING TO ME FOR DEAR LIFE! DROPPED TO 8017 METERS! 0 degree angle!
"come on come on come ooonn!" 90 DEGREES!
"FULL AFTERBURNERS!" We can hear and feel the X-02's engines! They're roaring with power! YES! CONTINUING CLIMB! Come on baby! Come on! 8200 meters! GOD, I'M LUCKY I'VE DODGED THIS MUCH FLAK! She's got her eyes shut tight! 8400 meters! Gotta stay ahead of this! STAY AHEAD! 8600 meters!
Just 200 meters to go! Almost there! 8700 meters! Almost there! 9000 meters! MADE IT! Level out! Good, she's more relaxed now.
"Phew! That was one wild ride! You know I'm gonna send a message back to that cradle. Opening com channel."
"I have to tell ya. That was some good shooting, gave me a rush!" I wonder what they'll say.
"JACK! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE WITH THAT JET! THAT'S CRADLE PROPERTY!" Oh he's trying to pull something new. Hmph, that's not gonna fly.
"Wrong! This jet belongs to me! It was my job to fly jets and cargo planes for that cradle and I quit by leaving. The jet is mine! Good bye!" I say as I close the com channel. I'm right and they know it.
"Jack?" She asks.
"Yeah?"
"That was real scary but…thank you for bringing me with." I just return a smile to her.
"Ok, I have to find the League HQ. I'll try to find it through my GPS, good thing I was able to get a military GPS system." Searching for desired location…
"That's weird. It can't find it. Hmmm. What should I do?…OH! That's right, if I'm going to be a mercenary, I need to go to the Collard organization. I bet they can be found with the GPS." I start putting in the information of my desired location.
"Mercenary? But aren't they the kind of people who attack the Cradles?" Oh shit! I never told her that.
"Oh man, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that. Yeah I'm going to be a mercenary, they're paid good and the League supports very well all the mercs that stay loyal to them." I tell her hoping that she understands.
"Ok, I'll support your decision." What a relief. Ok…searching…Collard locations found. The onboard computer is feeding information about collard.
"Locations? There's more than one HQ for collard? Interesting…apparently they have mobile HQs…Arms Forts. Wow, they use Arms Forts for HQs? that's interesting. And they even have Arms Forts from different companies…even the walking carriers built by the Bernard and Felix Foundation…very interesting.
"I wonder if I can land my X-02 on one? Lets see…It's been confirmed that multiple types of aircraft have been tested in the carrier's capability even aircraft such as the F/A-18, F-14, F-35 JSF and other carrier based aircraft along with 'non-carrier based' aircraft as well! Good! Ok plotting co-ordinates for Collard carrier Arms Fort. Looks like it's near an abandoned city in the desert…hmmm a strong magnetic field is there, I guess it hids them from radar." Auto pilot engaged. ETA to carrier, four hours and thirty minutes.
"I'll set my personal alarm to 7:00. Gonna get some sleep. I'm tired." I tell her.
"Ok, I wont set mine this time, I'll feel you moving when you wake up." she tells me
"Works for me. Night Izzy." Now the only thing on my mind is…who…that girl…was……Personal alarm beebeeb beebeeb beebeeb… mmm?…ok I should be in radio range of the carrier soon. I can feel Izzy moving around in her sleep. I think she might be waking up.
"Izzy?" I wonder if she can hear me yet?
"Izzy? Are you awake?"
"Unnnnmm…" she's still sleeping.
"Izzy, wake up, we have 30 minutes till we reach the carrier." not that this will have much effect…
"Mmmm okay…I'm up." Man she's tired. I hope I didn't push her too hard. I disengage the autopilot and as I reach for the flight control stick I notice that she's stretching. Uh oh!
"AH!" HER LEG BUMPED THE FLIGHT STICK! THE PLANE'S ROLLING!
"AAHHH!!" We both scream as we see the plane go inverted and on a decent! Come on I cant reach the flight stick! Dead vertical decent! Can't…reach the flight stick! 8700 meters! Come on! I need to get a hold of the flight stick! 8400 meters! Damn its hard to do with someone sitting on your lap!
"IZZY, SIT UP!" As she does so, I re-align the plane. Finally! I can reach it!
"Phew. That could've been bad. Good thing we're at a high altitude. Sure we're gonna have to drop to a lower altitude but let's try for a gradual decent eh?" I just hope she can go without stretching till we land.
"Sorry about that…" Oh man, going silent after an apology is NEVER a good sign.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's completely natural to want to stretch after you wake up. By the way, you have a good sleep?" Hope this makes her feel better, the last thing I want is for Izzy to be sad.
"Thanks Jack." A smile, good. that's what I want to see. Now, where is that carrier Arms Fort?…
"Izzy, keep your eyes open for anything that looks like the Arms Fort we saw in the computer. We have about 30 minutes till we get there but just keep watch for it, I'll drop to lower altitude." I tell her.
"Ok" She responds. I push forward on the flight stick and I can feel the weight of Izzy's body gradually pressing against me as the nose of my fighter lowers to a downward angle of 45 degrees. We're loosing altitude quickly, but not as much as when we were at a 360 degree angle.
8300 meters. A steady decent, should be a smooth flight all the way to the carrier…only 23 minutes till we reach it. I wonder if we're in radio range? Opening com channel…
"Collard carrier Arms Fort in sector Beta Delta, this is former Cradle pilot, Jack Callsign: Firebird. Do you read me?" I can only hope we're in radio range…I only hear emptiness in the speakers. Hmm, I'll try again.
"Collard carrier, do you read?"…again nothing.
"Maybe we're not close enough to them?" Izzy asks me. Smart thinking.
"Probably not. I'm gonna keep it to radio silence for now, don't want to risk anyone against the league to think we're easy prey." I may have already done so, but I don't want Izzy to worry.
"You know, Izzy, since I'm going to be a merc now, I'll have to pay tuition for your schooling." She looked back in pure shock.
"WHAT!?" Oh yeah. She's shocked.
"Well, I have to get you into school of some kind and the schools of the Collard organization as well as the League have classes for whoever needs them, basically they can take in outcasts like ourselves. You can get all the education required for survival and for being able to work for them." I tell her.
"You'd do that for me?" She asks in a way that sounds happy and sad at the same time.
"Of course, I pulled you off the Cradle which means you won't be able to go to the schools there anymore, so I need to get you in school too." I tell her.
"How will you pay for it? You don't have a job anymore." She has a good point. Oh!
I have some money that I was able to save up, it's not much but it will get you started and I just remembered that Collard and the League pay anyone who joins them, even for schooling. So I can take care of that." I tell her. She's about to cry!
"Thank you, Jack." she says this with tears in her eyes. I wipe the tears off of her.
"Hey!" she looks to me.
"It's me job to take care of you. No matter what, got me?" She nods.
"I probably wont be able to give you as nice a life as you had aboard the Cradle but I'll do what I can to make sure you're healthy and comfortable." I tell her.
"Jack, don't push yourself too hard, ok?" she tells me.
"Hey, I have to-" *Radar warning, BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEB*
"OH, COME ON!" MULTIPLE ENEMY CONTACTS CLOSING IN! pulling up long range scanner!
"It's the same IFF of the fighters that attacked the Cradle!" I say out loud. They're in different fighters this time.
"Line ark squadron, this is your captain, target sighted, you are weapons free! Engage at will!" THEY'RE AFTER ME!? SON OF A BITCH! 7500 meters! Missile warning BEEB…BEEB…BEEB BEEB BEEBEEBEEBEEB…
I need to evade while keeping my heading!
"HOLD ON, IZZY, WE'RE GOING INVERTED! I say as I begin me evasive maneuvers. Roll 180 degrees, upside down, pull up, dead vertical dive, roll again 180 degrees, full afterburners!
"!" Izzy's screaming from seeing us go at 1500 knots toward the ground. Her body is pressing against me again! This time it's the most pressure. MAN WE'RE SCREAMING TOWARD THE GROUND! 5500 meters! Oh man this wont be good if I black out. 4500 meters!
"J-JACK! S-SLOW DOWN! ALL THE B-BLOOD IS RUSHING TO MY HEAD!" She screams. Just a little longer. Ease up from 1500 knots to 1000 knots. 3500 meters! Missile warning, BEEBEEBEEBEEB… IT'S STILL…ON…ME!? Everything…is…blurring around me… 2500 METERS! "!" I yell. PULL UP! LEVEL OUT! I managed to level out and now we're flying straight on to our destination at 500 meters above the surface! Ugh, man that was pushing it! 15 minutes to target!
"JACK! DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!" Izzy is surprisingly resistant to G-forces. I nearly blacked out and here she is wide awake.
"SORRY! BUT I'LL DO WHAT'S NECESSARY TO KEEP US ALIVE!" It's my responsibility to protect her!
"AT THE RISK OF OUR LIVES!? YOU NEARLY BLACKED OUT WHILE FLYING AT FULL SPEED TOWARD THE GROUND AND YOU SAY THAT'S NECESSARY TO KEEP US ALIVE!?" As much of a good point she has…
"WE'RE ALIVE NOW AREN'T WE!?" I still did it.
"QUIT PUSHING YOUR LUCK!!" She yells. Right.
"WE'RE NOT OUT OF THIS YET! FIGHTERS INBOUND!" I yell as the Line Ark Squadron pursue us.
"Cradle defender, why are you so far away from your home?" They're questioning me mid-flight!?
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR CONCERN! TURN BACK OR I WILL ENGAGE!" Hopefully they remember our last encounter.
"Fool, you can't possibly expect to defeat us, not when the odds are against you. I have 11 planes under my command! You are alone and have no support! What makes you think that you can defeat us?" I've got a trick up my sleeve that you wont know about till its too late.
"JUST TRY AND SHOOT ME DOWN THEN!" I yell to them.
"JACK ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Izzy yells to me.
"Don't worry, I've got something planned!" I assure her.
"What!?" She asks.
"You'll see! Hold on!" I say as we fly low to ground at 50 meters above the surface and between the buildings. Any missile fired will more likely hit the ground than us at this height…assuming they stay at their height. 5 minutes to target. missile warning BEEB…BEEB…BEEB BEEB BEEBEEBEEBEEBEEB… The magnetism in the area should mess up the missiles. Ah! the radar's out! Well at least we have the odds with us now.
"That's your plan? Flying in a magnetic field, between the buildings, with the radar out, and, oh! Low on fuel!? YEAH GREAT PLAN!" She says to me in a sarcastic way.
"That's not all of my plan if you'd be patient!" 2 minutes to target!
"Remember that Arms Fort we're going to?" I ask her.
"Yeah, what about it?" she asks.
"Keep an eye ahead for it!" I tell her.
"Got it!" she responds.
If I can just get to that Arms Fort…DING DING DING AH! THE WING'S BEEN HIT BY GUNFIRE! THEY'RE ATTEMTING TO USE THEIR GUNS AT CLOSE RANGE! 30 seconds to target!
"JACK, THERE! I SEE IT!" She spotted the Carrier! Finally! Opening com channel…
"COLLARD CARRIER ARMS FORT, THIS IS FIREBIRD, FORMER CRADLE DEFENSE FIGHTER PILOT, REQUESTING SUPPORT FIRE!" I yell to them.
"Roger that Firebird, we have you in our sights, targeting the enemy planes now!" They respond.
"Begin climb to 1000 meters as soon as we tell you Firebird!" they instructed me to climb? I wonder what they're planning?
"Missile barrage will commence in 10 seconds, climb after the first wave of missiles have passed you!" they instruct me.
"ROGER THAT, AWATING FIRST MISSILE WAVE!" I respond.
"Missile barrage commencing in 5 4 3 2 1 Fire!" the missile batteries on the carrier just lit up and the countless contrails of white smoke from the missiles fly just above me and burst in mid air above the enemy fighters! What an amazing sight!
"Firebird, begin Climb now!" Oh right! Here we go!
"ROGER THAT!" I say as I pull up on the flight stick.
"Second missile wave will commence in 10 seconds!" They tell me. Will I be able to make it in time? 400 meters
"Next missile wave in 5 seconds!" they tell me. Shit I'm only half way! 4! 600 meters, 3! 700 meters, 2! 800 meters, 1! 900 meters, Impact! 1000 meters.
"OH MY GOD! THAT WAS CLOSE!" Izzy screams.
"You said it!" I say as I look behind us. The smoke clears and all I see are torn up parts of the planes that were chasing us. Above where the explosion was, I see white parachutes, if they have flight suits like mine and Izzy's, then we haven't seen the last of them. They probably do seeing as they decided to eject rather than stay in their fighters.
"Firebird this is Carrier Arms Fort: Prominence. Commence landing checks, you're clear to land." They gave me landing clearance. Good thing, I'm not sure how much longer we could have been flying. As I bring the X-02 to landing on the runway of the Prominence, I get a sense of relief that I've never felt in my life.
"3 miles to touchdown…2 miles to touchdown…1 mile to touchdown." they tell me. Touchdown in 3...2...1...down! Breaks!
"Nice landing Firebird! Taxi your jet to the center platform for storage Firebird." they tell me.
"Roger that Prominence. Oh! I would like to make a request." I tell them.
"Yes? What is it?" they ask.
"I have left Cradle 02's military so that I can join the League. I would like to become a mercenary of the Collard organization."
End of chapter 1.
Jack and his sister, Izzy, have made an explosive off of Cradle 03, a mysterious girl from another Cradle helped them off, and an ace fighter squadron is determined on hunting down Jack. Aboard the Carrier Arms Fort: Prominence, Jack meet's the captain, requisition officer, and his teacher for his armored core training, A new girl joins the team after two years seeming familiar, Jack can't place where he's seen her before, and the legendary fighter squadron won't give up on hunting Jack, but do they have a trick up their sleeve? Find out in the next chapter of Armored Core the Uprising: The new LYNX ! See you next job!