Standard Disclaimer here. i do not own Armored Core or Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar. this is a work of fanfiction. the previously stated properties belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 1 The Beginning of an Answer.
"Get out now! Thats an order!" I could hear Serene yelling in my ear as I overboosted to get out of the Cranium, my mission complete. three wrecked ACs far behind me now as I rushed to get out. I still felt the bitter betrayal of Thermidor in my heart, burning away at me in my anger. The Cranium collapsed all around me as explosions went off behind me, getting louder and bigger, the more time passed. I had destroyed the last Arteria at a heavy cost. My AC, Insanity, was heavily damaged, that was to be expected after what I had just gone through, the hardest fight I had ever fought against former allies. Wynne... I'm sorry, I wish things could have been different. Roy...You were a cocky son of a bitch, but you were alright. Thermidor...Otsdarva... Fucking traitor, my father should have finished you instead of letting you sink...
"In...ity...anity...Insanity come in!" I could hear the static on the comms as a voice tried to break through. The interference from the Cranium almost fried everything except for my hard link between myself and my operator and short comms. I readjusted the frequency until it came in clear as a bell, though that was probably because I was almost out as well. "Damn it Dare, where are you?! Come in!" now that I could here the voice, a woman's voice, I finally let a smile grace my face a little as I regonized the voice and knowing full well my remaining friends and allies wouldn't leave me behind.
"May, this is Dare, I am almost out. see you in a few...though I might need a little assistance once I get out...not sure how much longer my NEXT is going to hold up..." It was May "Smiley" Greenfield. probably my closest friend and ally next to my father who retired after we had defended Line Ark almost a year ago. once upon a time i had thought that THAT would have been my hardest fight.
"Savage Beast is in the field! This Beast will knock you out right good! Dare i expect a good payday for this! mopping up a bunch of normals? who do you think you're talking to? " At that i rolled my eyes though i was chuckling in amusment at Canis. another good friend and a hell of a fighter. one of few who came with me to Orca though, like the others, not an Orca member himself. i could hear the occasional explosion outside along with the telltale sound of a SULTAN plasma cannon sounding off. it sounded like Mrs. Theresia was having the time of her life for an easy paycheck. she didn't talk much but for whatever reason she had taken a liking to me and assisted in my training when Miss Haze was busy. having a veteran, and an Original at that, was nice when you needed advice and tactics.
I finally shot out of the Cranium. the filters on screen kicking in quickly as I surveyed the area, it was pure carnage with all the NORMAL wrecks and the weapon emplacements that were destroyed. My friends had kept the cannon fodder from getting in while I completed my mission. The last thing I needed was some NORMAL getting in and taking a cheap shot when I wasn't looking. I only had a few rounds each left in my SIRIUS laser cannon and my TRAVERS grenade cannon and about half of my MOTORCOBRA, and thankfully my MOONLIGHT was undamaged. I wasn't good for anything more than a light NEXT at worse, my boosters were damn near fried and my legs and arms had half of their mobility. not to mention I was over ninety percent damaged. I almost didn't make it. I got a lucky shot at the last second before Otsdarva could finish me off. I wish I could have seen his face when that TRAVERS round ripped his NEXT in half.
May in Merrygate skated over to me while Canis in Savage Beast and Mrs. Theresia in Karyon mopped up the stragglers and cleared a path for us. Wynne left a parting souvenir gash on my leg before my MOONLIGHT cleaved her in two and now, finally, my NEXT's left leg finally gave out. Merrygate caught my left arm and threw it over her shoulder and started skating after Savage and Karyon as they took point Canis being a two legged medium was faster and shot ahead to scout while Theresia stayed close by to handle any surprises though after what I faced in the Cranium I highly doubted that anything else that was that big of a threat would be in the area.
May was unusually quiet, normally she was very cheerful bright and friendly, though I could think of why. she was afraid I might have bought it in the cranium when she over heard Miss Haze on the comms. We needed to get back to our bunker so I could send orders to the regular troops of Orca to get the anti-satellite batteries charging and to start leaning on various scientists and engineers to start working on designing and building ships to get mankind off the poisoned Earth as soon as the Assault Cells had been cleared enough to give them a clear shot to outer space. Savage was waiting for us when we finally got to our NEXT transport trucks. He kept overwatch while we loaded our NEXTS before he climbed on the back of my truck. I drove the largest of them to be able to carry our NEXTs while one of us was on lookout detail. After a few checks we hauled ass out of there heading straight back home to our hidden bunker near Old Peace City, one of a few that Orca had that were basically small cities. we needed resupply and Insanity needed heavy repairs.
We had driven for a few hours before we had finally reached our base. The bunker doors opened up as we approached, May went in first and I followed second with Canis, and Theresia followed behind us, once all trucks were inside the doors closed and the bunker garage started purging the Kojima particles and cleaning the air while we parked the trucks and unloaded our cores for repairs and resupply. Insanity certainly looked like it needed a lot of new parts, I was just glad that it got me out of the Cranium. As the greenlight came on above the doors giving the all clear for sterile air we started pulling off our CBR gear and packed it up, NORMALs moved the carts that had our NEXTs over to the R&D compartments. Serene coming down one of the lifts from the cat walks from the control rooms. I was the last Surviving Orca Lynx. They had plenty other NORMAL and MT pilots as well as large teams of scientists and engineers. All from different backgrounds from the League. While my friends and allies helped me in my missions they themselves were not members of Orca. I paid them well which is why they helped me. That and the fact that after convincing them that the human race was doomed if we didn't do something to get off the planet. We at least needed to have the option to look to the stars for a future. Serene Haze walked with purpose over to us. A middle aged woman of asian descent, proud and stern., a powerful veteran Lynx and definately not a push over.
"So you finally made it back, good work out there. We have seen your Answer. The head engineer has already ordered replacement parts and repairs, they really did a number on the Insanity didn't they? You're lucky to have made it out alive, and don't worry about the rest of Orca. They have already accepted you as their new leader since they learned of Thermidor's betrayal. All his funds and equipment has been transfered to you so that should help with some of the repairs to your NEXT, the same goes for the rest of the Orca Lynx, any and all funds and parts have been transfered to your ownership."
And typically, Miss Haze was all business as usual, though I could see some of the workers smirking high up and snickering which got her attention and they shut up. I could guess why though. While she put on a strong front right now she was probably frantic with worry in the control room during the mission since she could see everything from the cameras on Insanity.
She treated me like her own kid most of the time and, while it was annoying at times, I appreciated it because I learned alot from her and she was an excellent Operator. May, Canis and Theresia were waiting for me patiently... Kinda... I don't know why but Theresia had Canis in a headlock and was slowly choking him and May was, naturally, laughing her ass off. He had probably said something to set her off so this was not a rare sight.
Theresia was about the same age as Miss Haze, she had straight brown hair that went down to her upper back in a french braid. Rather cool brown eyes and thin rimmed glasses, she looked rather proper and classy though that shouldn't fool you. She had a temper and was not above giving you a smack if you ticked her off. I would say she looked like a hot older librarian though I would never say it to her face, Canis on the other hand, didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Hence, the current choke-out session.
Canis had rather unruly dirty blond hair that looked in need of a good combing. He had dark blue eyes and his face was rather proud, or arrogant depending on who you were asking. He was in his mid to late twenties though his personality gave the impression that he was much younger. He was tall, around six foot or so and yet Mrs. Theresia who was a good seven to eight inches shorter at around 5'3", was choking him out. Canis was started to turn blue in the face and May finally decided to get involved by trying to get Theresia to let him go before she killed him. I looked back to Miss Haze as she turned back to me after giving her dirty look to the workers.
"I appreciate that Miss Haze, thank you, god knows I could use the parts and the money will help pay the others. any world on the extra power and resources going to the cannons?" I asked while May finally got Theresia to let go of Canis. Theresia walked off while May was smacking Canis lightly in his face trying to wake him up as he had passed out before Theresia finally let go.
"The engineering department has already stated that they are in the process of transfering power and materials to the anti-satellite batteries. I have already ordered that an engineer team and security force be sent to each battery to get them working as soon as possible. Everything will start tomorrow morning so you should all get some rest. We can discuss other matters in the morning." She had stated and looked down at her PDA checking a few things.
"It is going to be at least a day before Insanity is repaired and re-tuned properly. I suggest maintaining a low profile. If you need to go out I suggest taking one of your spare NEXTs." She said as she looked up from her PDA and looked over to May dragging the unconcious Canis out of the garage by his feet. His head bouncing with a thud off the ground with every step she took while dragging him along.
"Alright, I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me in eight hours, or if anything happens." I said with a yawn before heading for the door that the others disappeared through. heading down the winding halls for my quarters. It was a small room, still, it was bigger than most of the others since I was a Lynx. My room here was rather plain, grey walls and ceilings with a full bed against the wall in the back corner.
A small single drawer night stand with lamp next to it and my desk against the opposite wall. my antique M4 custom built rifle was stripped down on the desk. It a gift from my father, it was had finding the parts for the weapon since it was so old. some of the components cost as much as some of my NEXT parts. next to it was an equally old M1911, both weapons custom built over the years between me and my father. A pair of M48 Tomahawks were leaning against the desk and stabbed into the top was an Ontario MK3 combat knife, a set of weapons I was well versed in, extensively trained by my father and his friends in using all the weapons I currently owned. My father was rather adamant about making sure I could defend myself, in or out of a Next. I had a number of other weapons stored in a foot locker at the end of the bed and in a small chest against the wall a few feet from the nightstand and a few smaller guncases under the bed. I was more a collector than anything, and only a few I had actually used in actual combat.
I stripped out of my clothing tossing them into the hamper in the corner before crawling into bed and shutting out my light. It had barely been fifteen minutes before I heard a soft knock at my door before it briefly opened and then closed. I heard a rustling before a small female body crawled into bed with me cuddling up to my side to which I absent mindedly stroked her hair while I tried to doze off.
"You scared me half to death Dare... Don't ever do that again... Please?" Her soft voice came from the darkness. I felt her nuzzling my neck as I held her to me. knowing who it was. She had been sharing my bed for almost a year now. I smelled her shampoo in her hair as I held her to me stroking her side to sooth her.
"I promise... I will not die so easily..." I said softly in her ear, kissing her gently as she cuddled up closer against me. I didn't get to sleep for another hour, but I didn't care. We were just glad to be alive and together still. I finally fell asleep an hour or so later, not knowing I was going to have a rather odd dream. A "job" rather out of the ordinary. A "job" I couldn't refuse... I just wish I had the option to tell them where to stick it.
So this is my first attempt at fanfiction. I am stuck using wordpad no one to proof read and no way to see roughly how long each chapter will be. Constructive criticism is appreciated so that I may learn and better my writing. Not sure of the direction I'm going to take this. Not sure if I'm going to make this as light hearted as the anime or make it a little more serious or a mix of both with some of my own unique sense of humor. Hope to make it a weekly or biweekly chapters though with work load or possibly writer's block' or my own laziness, who can say? bitches, gripes, complaints? shoot me a message.
update: 22 Jun 2014. just finished rereading the chapter to find any errors I may have missed and sure enough there were plenty so i fixed them and added a little more here and there so this chapter is a little different in places. Going to try to start writing chapter 3 today and if I am hit but a sudden bolt of writing inspiration it may be out today or sometime this week.