0820: Diorgan Distribution Center

The first rays of light illuminating the sky slowly turned the sky to a very light blue as the sun rose. Having just been captured, the Diorgan Distribution Center was already put under intense productivity to help generate the finances that Vertex would need for the oncoming all-out war.

Outside, Thunder Strike, a shimmering purple reverse joint AC, with its intimidating LX begging to be activated, sat guarding the area in preparation for the inevitable strike by the power-hungry Alliance amalgamation. The pilot, Bolt, sighed as he put on his helmet over his spiky blonde hair, reminiscing the old days back at the Ark. He also thought about how badly Jack-O thought of him, despite his raw skill, shown even back there as a firmly rooted ranker.

"I'll get his respect!" the 30-year old "veteran" thought. "All I have to do is kill whatever Raven they send against me… hopefully, it will be a skilled one."

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a radio transmission. "Bolt! Do you copy? We're under attack! He's a really skill- ARRGH!" The MT pilot screamed as he and his comrade were both destroyed.

The MT, however, did manage to get a video shoot, which relayed to his AC: a dull, gray AC came to view, skillfully dodging the MTs' dual lasers and exchanging fire with a deadly combination of Shade and Gast rounds. "Tch!" Bolt sneered as he switched his AC to combat mode.

"AC Paradigm detected," his operator said. "We don't know much about this new Raven, but he seems pretty skilled; proceed with caution, but show no mercy." Her voice slowly escalated to a bark. Such a shame he didn't join the Vertex cause, she thought.

"Yeah, I get it," Bolt returned.

"Look out! It seems like the Raven has already reached the outside…" the operator exclaimed, suddenly taken aback.

Ajax reached the end of the hallway and opened the door to find Bolt waiting. "Dang it…" he lamented. "I should've thought that there was a catch to the abnormal reward."

Upon hearing this, Bolt could take no more. "What took you so long?" he taunted. "So… you joined Alliance because of the pay?!" He barked as his AC took off and lowered its intimidating LX cannon. "My orders are to kill you!"

Ajax was not surprised by this incredible feat due to the conditioning the VR Arena offered, but was still quite daunted by the massive gun facing him. As Bolt shot the blast, Ajax attempted to dodge with a jump, but was unable to completely avoid it: the heat and splash damage of the blast shook his Cougar2, and already his S2 head began to show the "yellow" warning, signifying the amount of damage it took.

"I thought you were better than this!" Bolt shouted in an arrogant tone, releasing another shot that Ajax completely avoided this time; however, the blast hit one of the generators instead, completely destroying it and causing it to crumble.

"He's attacking; take him out!" Sheila said in a determined tone. "Also, try to avoid damage to the facility."

Stabilizing from the damage, Paradigm began to unleash a flurry of Shade and Gast shots. While Bolt managed to dodge some of them, a lot of the shots sparked off his core, causing a Level-1 warning at Bolt's cockpit. Taking moderate damage, Thunderstrike backed off a bit, exchanging fire with his own laser rifles, and went behind a generator.

Ajax bit his lips in hesitation when he realized Bolt's strategy: to get farther and avoid damage as he recharged his generator. If he attacked another generator, another 10,000 credits would be wiped off him, but if he didn't attack he would expose himself to more of the energy-based rage Bolt was delivering. Whatever the case, he knew it would be one heck of a fight.

"What are you doing? Recompose yourself! Just shoot the generator because what I care most about is your safety!" Sheila shouted in an attempt to help Ajax make his decision. Ajax, however, was still trying to find a solution.

"Unwilling to shoot it?" Bolt asked confidently. "THEN I WILL!"

Thunderstrike's Griffin shot the generator to reveal his LX as he shot another high-caliber shot. Paradigm struggled to escape the sudden blast, losing its right Loris and Shade in the process. As Ajax prepared to exchange fire, Bolt had already taken cover behind another generator.

"Dammit…" Ajax seethed as he gritted his teeth. "How will I be able to draw him out?" Then, it hit him. "I see!" Ajax smirked.

Suddenly, Paradigm turned back to the narrow hallways and fired his Vulture2 towards the door in escape.

"Ha! Do you think you can retreat?" Bolt nearly cheered as he shot after Ajax. Using his Griffin, he fired a precise shot at Paradigm's back, frying one of the boosters in the process. "Give up already!" He said haughtily.

Bolt pursued Ajax down the hallway, where the turned right. Activating his LX at that time, he followed only to find out the ambush set in place.

"Why, hello there." Ajax said as his ELF3 whirred into life, slashing at the core. In a wave of instinct, Bolt put up both of his arms in defense, but it barely saved him, cutting through the arms like hot butter with the aid of the energy supply the Loris provided and making a deep cut at the lower core.

"You're pretty skilled there…" Bolt admitted. "However, I'm not done yet!" he exclaimed as he lowered his LX once more. "Bow down to this assassinator at point blank range!"

However, the once threatening LX simply refused to fire. "What's going on? Why won't it fire?" Bolt barked as he tried again.

Then, he realized, the truth hitting his face with a thousand needles. "My… my generator was disabled?"

"Finally realized it?" It was now Ajax's turn to torment Bolt. "Before I finish you, perhaps I'll tell you several things. Firstly… I am not an Alliance whore!" he shouted with a surge of anger as he detached the massive cannon and the head from the rest of the AC. "I have simply decided to take the toughest missions, to fight dangerous opponents and prove my skill." "Also…" he continued as he readied his ELF3 for the finishing blow. "The reason Jack-O does not see you too highly… may be your damned arrogant attitude!" He almost screamed as he slashed the core one more time and boosted away.

"T-t-this can't be!" Bolt stuttered in defeat as his cockpit began to heat up just before everything went black.

"Whew…" Sheila exhaled. "You had me quite worried there. On the other hand, nicely done, you just picked up a bounty reward." She said.

"Alliance may not be too happy with those two generators… not only that, I'm unhappy myself about needing to replace a Loris arm and one half a Vulture2 booster." Ajax countered.

"Conversely, the original purpose was just to conduct reconnaissance; with Bolt killed, this will lead to the takeover of the entire facility. As for the second argument, you're still making a profit." Sheila said with a reassuring smile.

"Hmm… that's true. One more thing though… Sheila? Try not to get too attached to me; it may interfere with our overall work." Ajax responded with some seriousness.

"Y-yes." A surprised woman acknowledged. "Anyway… head back here so that you can receive your next mission."

0900 Hours

Jack-O landed and surveyed the area at the outdoor portion the Distribution Center. His combat-hardened eyes weren't surprised at the outcome of the battle.

"I expected this would happen," he stated coldly. He must surely be one of those rarities to have defeated Bolt… "We must hurry!" He exclaimed to himself as he activated the overboost on his Atlas and took off over the walls.