Within someone's dark personal quarters, a display comes to life. It now reads:

Pilot: Q

AC Name: Echoic

AC: CR-H81S4/CR-C69U/CR-A80S3/CR-LH89F/CR-B81/CR-WB78GL/CR-WR73R2/CR-WL69LB

Color: Night Black

Mission: Special Forces Removal

Chapter 2: Matinee Idol

Bayload City, the peaceful and secure stronghold of Navis, encased within a great outer wall. Many well established people have come to live in this large city of hope. Though humanity has finally returned to the surface world, many communities still remained sheltered in some form or another. Obviously to protect themselves in this dangerous world. And maybe because they've also developed an almost symbiotic bond to this way of living.

Perhaps a result of spending so many generations within the Earth's womb. The citizens of Bayload City have cleared the streets on this night. Earlier that day, it was broadcast that a scheduled city cleansing was to take place at this time. As the outer wall vents lay open, a rainstorm pours heavily throughout the city. An AC now comes into view. AC Echoic, and its pilot, who simply went by Q. Inside his cockpit, a casually dressed Q surveys the city with a determined look on his face.

He's a scruffy looking young man (sixteen) with medium length brown hair. And his patience seems to be wearing thin.

"I've been here for over an hour…" he mumbles. "How long is it gonna take for these guy's to make their move? Maybe that tip the Navis people got was bogus." Q sets his face in hand, tapping his cheek with finger.

"Damn…Why do I keep accepting these lame ass missions?" the youngster grunts.

Q shakes his head and begins to remember exactly why. Why he accepts every Crest mission that comes across his table. Even though this was a Navis contract, Crest was fully backing them at this time.

"To be like him." Q stated aloud. "Yeah. I knew it wouldn't be easy." he added while looking into his open hand with proud eyes. "It won't be."

A spike of determination strikes the young Raven. "But I'll prove to him that I'm worth notice. I'll show Genobee what he means to me…" Q's glowing confidence is interrupted by that last statement. "Ahem! As a fellow Raven! As a man! " he quickly adds.

His manhood reasserted, Q continues. " I'll become just as good as he is."

The pilot leans back in his cockpit and smirks a little. "Hell, even better." he confidently adds. "It's nothing new for a Raven to be inspired by the current top-ranker. But I'm not just some fan…That man changed my life."

Q thinks back to a personal moment in his troubled past. No…He saved it…Without even realizing...the Raven thought while he adjusted Echoic's display.

The voice of a young women now emits from his AC's radio. "You know, you should really stop doing that during missions. It's not healthy. Focus on the mission, Q."

"I wasn't talking to myself. I was talking to you…" he pouts in response.

A cold and professional voice now responds. "Speaking with pilots on personal matters during a mission is prohibited." the woman explicates.

An apologetic expression follows Q. "Right, right. I was talking to myself. Sorry, Sis." he replies.

"Q!" the Ark operator shouts.

The pilot squints and cowers a bit in his cockpit. "Operator. I meant to say Operator…man…" he whimpers.

Q begins rubbing his head as he mumbles a bit more under his breath. Suddenly, out of the darkness, four large special forces MTs come racing into the city.

"We're on scene. Commencing operation." the special forces leader tells his elite team.

Taking notice of the enemy, Q shoots up in his cockpit, and now prepares for battle. The Raven's eyes have fire, but they don't blaze as those of a seasoned warrior. As two of the MTs cut around the corner before Navis HQ, they notice Q's soaking AC.

In a calm voice, the team leader speaks to his people again. "No one panic. They found out. No matter. It's just one AC. From the looks of it, I'd say C class at most. Activate ECM and take it down." he orders.

"Roger!" they reply.

"Take out those MTs." the Raven's operator commands.

Fired up, he replies like the professional he believes himself to be. "Copy!" Q responds loudly.

Echoic fires its rifle at the two MTs before it, however, the ECM effect begins to present its cruel and impish charms, as Q's display begins to go haywire.

Q bangs down on the screen. "Damn! No!" he shouts.

"They're using electronic countermeasures. Stay alert." Q's sister says in a calming voice.

"Easy for you to say!" he barks. "But I'll be fine, don't worry!"

Echoic races down the streets in pursuit of the now fleeing MTs. As Q fires at them again, they separate down two different streets, and now take cover. His rifle shots tear across the side of a building. A realization drills in. One that should have been fairly obvious from the start.

"I-I can't risk the lives of the people here." he grits. "But, I can't just-"

Q is cut off by the surprise attack of the other two MTs, who have now appeared behind him. Echoic staggers from the shots received to its back. It spins to return fire, but the MTs duck for cover behind the buildings. Q once again hesitates. A rookie's blemish.

"Cowards!" an enraged Q shouts out.

Sensing the Raven's dilemma, the special forces leader provides tactics on the fly. "What a fool...He's afraid of causing damage to the city! Take advantage!"

The MTs break off. "Roger!" they respond in chorus.

The MTs Q had originally chased down the street now take their turn and blast him from behind. Echoic turns and fires two safety shots. From within the highest corridors of Bayload City, another black AC watches this pluvious battle. The reason, the idol, Duel Face. The ominous machine quietly watches and waits. Back inside Echoic's cockpit, Q is losing his cool.

"Come on…Think! What would Genobee do in this situation?" he desperately asks himself out loud. "He'd take flight, and let them have some aerial grenades." the greenhorn answers.

Q turns his controls sharply, as the sounds of the MT's rifle fire blares outside.

"My AC doesn't have that ability just yet. I could barely afford what I have now." he mutters.

As the battle commences, Echoic occasionally ripples with energy, a result of the powerful electronic jamming. The enemies continue hiding in the darkness as another series of blast pound on Echoic. The poor Duel Face inspired AC takes uncertain cover. Now fed up with the MT's irritating tactics, Q bites down in frustration and decides to act.

"Fine!" he yells, as Echoic now takes to the air.

Within the cockpit of Duel Face, a suited up Genobee sits. His dark helmet turns in disagreement to Q's decision. Echoic locates one of the MTs and fires. He hits. But it was all a decoy maneuver. The three remaining MTs have taken positions, and now fire a triangulated series of shots directly into the airborne AC. Echoic feels this attack and comes crashing down to the ground as a result.

"I had no idea these guys would be this good. I know they're special forces, but-" Q cuts himself off and begins to collect his composure. "Stay calm. Focus. Think. How to beat them? And without harming civilians?" the Raven asks himself.

With an answer to his questions, the readjusted Raven smirks. "Humph, when you can't beat them-" Echoic dashes into Bayload City's shroud of darkness.

"He's retreating?" an MT pilot asks.

"Ha! Don't let him escape! Another Raven kill for us means promotions." the leader reminds his squad.

"Roger!" they answer with a hint of excitement.

The MTs split up and race to cut off Echoic. As one of the MTs comes around a street corner, it finds itself facing down the barrel of a kneeling Echoic's grenade launcher.

"Hey." Q smoothly says to his prey.

Echoic lets loose an explosive round, sending the green MT flying down the clear street in slabs. A perfect and safe attack. The ECM counter begins to lower, and the effect is now less problematic. Q smirks, relishing the moment. Perhaps a bit too long. A channel opens to the Raven.

"You'll pay for what you did to Miller, Raven!" the lead MT pilot yells to Q.

The lead MT has appeared behind Q's kneeling AC. He rushes, and begins firing precise shots into Echoic. The other two MTs now come on the scene, joining the revenge bombardment. Echoic struggles to rise while taking serious amounts of damage. Upon witnessing this, Duel Face's blood-red mono-eye now comes to life.

Echoic is up. It aims its rifle and fires at the lead MT. He connects with a few shots, but the MT resorts to the usual tactic, breaking behind a building.

"This is too much! I-I can't risk innocent lives. I won't!" Q sternly shouts as his AP alert begins to ring.

A powerful blast hits hard, and Echoic goes down into a smoking crouch.

"Q…" his sister calls worriedly over the radio.

The Raven is injured. Q squints to the display as the lead MT grows closer.

"I can't believe this…All because I…" the fading youth grumbles.

Echoic is surrounded. The lead MT, now upon Echoic, aims the barrel of its rifle towards the AC's cockpit, which is situated just below and behind the head. It's fairly obvious, the MT pilot has done this before.

"Sorry, Sis…" Q exhales in remorse.

Without warning, Duel Face comes speeding around a corner. The lead MT turns, and before it can act, is horizontally slashed with a magnificent spinning maneuver by Duel Face and its blade. The MT, and its now separated arm, fall to the ground defeated. The second nearby MT now begins to emit smoke and sparks from the waist.

Genobee had sliced this MT in half during that precise attack as well. The final MT steps back in horror. It prepares to make a break for it, but Duel Face continues the assault with another twirling tactic. This one ending with its rifle pointing directly at the final MT. He fires.

The MT is pierced by the deadly accurate shots. Several of these rounds tear into the building behind. However, Genobee doesn't let up. He continues firing until the MT falls. Q struggles for a button in his cockpit. He opens a channel to his hero.

"Gen-Genobee? Why…are you here?" Q manages to ask. He then lowers his head in shame. "I'm…I'm sorry…I…failed you." he cries.

Duel Face now turns and faces the conquered AC.

"Please…Please, tell me…How do I become…the best? Like you." the broken Raven asks with tears building in his eyes.

Duel Face stares him down for a brief moment. Its mono-eye seems to pierce Q from the display in his cockpit. Q begins to look as if he's become hypnotized by it. As if his very soul is now listening to the AC's arcanum advice. And with that, Duel Face activates its boosters and tears off into the night. A weak call comes in over Echoic's comm-system.

"Q! C-Come in! Q! C-can you h-hear me?"

"Yes, Operator. I hear you. I'll be fine." Q responds while wiping his eyes.

The space just behind Echoic's head slides back. The cockpit rises to the surface, and Q exits his AC, as the rain now drowns out the machine's wounds. Q looks to the remains of the MTs. The damage Duel Face's bullets caused to the building in front of him. The blade scar across the building behind the still standing MT to his left.

"I see…I understand…what you were telling me." Q responds to Genobee's wake. The soaking Raven looks to the darkness Duel Face followed.

"Never again…I'll never hesitate again…Not for anyone…Not ever..." the Raven declares in a new voice.