Disclaimer: See initial chapter
-VIII-
-An emergency situation has just come up that requires immediate attention. We've confirmed that Evangel and some of those loyal to him have abandoned their duties with us to join Vertex.-
-This is completely unacceptable. We must show the traitors that their actions will not go unpunished. We'll make it worth your while to help us get rid of them.-
'Well, this certainly changes things.'
Reading the message on the screen sent from the public broadcast of the Alliance, Elijah quickly contemplates the full meaning of the words. Evangel, the leader of the Alliance Tactical Unit, had switched sides to Vertex. Not only that, but it looks like he took a few others with him. In doing this, it appears that the Alliance had lost its greatest military asset; so much so that now Elijah was being sent a message to let him know that he would probably be taking up the slack for that. And he figured that he wasn't the only one either.
Still…
Personally, all it means was that Elijah would have harder missions, most likely against other Ravens. But that would also mean more bounty rewards. 'Perhaps this is a good thing.' He could use the money. But there was more to it for him than that. In resent time, he had faced only a scarce handful of Ravens, but the adrenaline that surged through him during each battle was addicting. He liked that feeling, testing his skills against another opponent to see where he stood. 'Oh, great. I sound like him.' Which was no real surprise; he was his mentor after all.
It was then that another message came up on his screen, a mission. Opening it, Elijah read away.
-"This is an emergency request. We need help eliminating the AC named Vigilance. The AC's pilot, Triturate, has joined with our former tactical unit commander, Evangel. He has betrayed his loyalties to Alliance. Some of our troops are already locked in combat with the target, but this is more a delaying action than anything else. They won't last much longer. Head to the Garav Desert and make sure the traitor is eliminated. It's possible that Evangel may get involved, so proceed with care. We can't afford any mistakes on this mission; do not let us down."-
His brows beginning to narrow, Elijah read the mission over. On the one hand, he was getting what he had wanted, another battle against a Raven, possibly two. But on the other hand, being used as clean-up didn't really bode well with him. That particular thought had been nagging at him ever since reading Zinaida's challenge. But he had already gone over this in his mind and came to the conclusion that it couldn't be helped. The least he could do was take out of this something that reminded him that he was more than just a hired mercenary.
Another mission, another battle…
Name - Triturate
AC - Vigilance
Profile - Not only was he a member of Alliance's Tactical Unit, he was also their second-in-command. A fairly skilled Raven, his greatest quality is his unwavering loyalty to Evangel. This may be the reason he was chosen for his role within the ATU.
Garav Desert loomed in pretty much the same way all deserts and ocean did; completely dominating the horizon. Ruins of machinery were scattered about in the sands, some he barely recognized as parts from ACs. The sight brought a memory of another wasteland, another battle, and a more familiar AC and pilot, gone long ago.
-/-/-/-
"Are you sure he's…?"
"I checked. It's… I checked…"
"I guess…we won't be able to have that drink in Silent Line."
-/-/-/-/-
The sight of energy fire and the sounds of battle hit him immediately as Havoc jetted into the scene. Elijah quickly made out the opposing combatants, particularly the AC. Vigilance was a grey and black middleweight machine with red and yellow markings. Quad-legged, with a linear-cannon on its back, it also had energy supplements on its shoulders and with good reason. Rather than the standard set of arms and weaponry, the arms themselves were the weapons, both laser-cannons and high-powered considering how easily they demolished the attacking ACs. As the last MT blew to smithereens, Vigilance then turned to Havoc.
-"HQ sent you, didn't they?"-
Elijah didn't have a chance to respond as Vigilance soon turned to him fully and opened fire, the dual laser fire streaking toward him like lightning. Jamming hard on the controls, Elijah just barely dodged it and one of the beams and nicked Havoc's arm, with the damage sprouting sparks as a result. 'Too close, way too close.' He had to be extra-cautious. Damage from laser weapons, particularly from cannons, was significant.
-"Better try harder!"-
Strafing, Havoc returned fire, unleashing a full round of machine-gun fire on the AC. Several of the bullets hit home, but not enough to put Vigilance down, who began to strafe as well and fire back. Once again, Havoc managed to dodge it and once again only just barely. 'This isn't going well.' Given his opponent's weaponry, he wouldn't be able to use the grenade launcher, leaving him with his machine guns as his main offense. And while he was proficient with them, Elijah knew that it would require him to fight at close-to-mid range, which was perhaps the most effective range for laser cannons.
Long story short, not good odds…
His only option was to move fast and not be struck. Since laser cannons had a longer reload time than machine guns, he would have the advantage in attacking. He just had to do that long enough and not be hit in return. Jerking the controls in the opposite direction, Elijah caused Havoc to suddenly stop and strafe in the opposite direction, just as Vigilance let loose another shot, missing him completely. With the enemy AC exposed, Havoc let loose another rain of gunfire and activated his EO option, tearing into Vigilance's side with extra damage. By the time Vigilance was able to turn again and lock on to him, Havoc strafed again in the opposite direction, repeating the pattern.
He wouldn't have to repeat it again…
As the final round of gunfire brought Vigilance down, Havoc finally stopped, watching the AC break down. He had been a bit concerned that Vigilance and its Raven would prove to be a much greater threat. Relatively speaking, aside from the threat of the laser cannons, defeating Vigilance wasn't too difficult, once Elijah managed to form a strategy. It was odd, seeing that this performance was from the former second-in-command of the ATU. It made Elijah wonder if Evangel really was as good as he was rumored to be. Given the event as of late, he may have a chance to find.
In any case, mission complete…
Returning from his mission, Elijah decided to take a night out on the town. Usually, he'd just stop of the nearest bar and have a drink or two (or three). But now, he figured that bit of a routine was becoming a little too repetitive. Besides, it was no fun drinking alone. So here he was, walking the streets of the city that housed the Alliance HQ. He had thought to do this to clear his mind, but it only wound up back to the message he had received from his operator after his return
-Triturate was actively involved with the ATU for a long time. It seems he fell out of favor with HQ once he decided to follow in Evangel's footsteps. Things are growing more complicated with the passing of every hour.-
Complicated; that's all he needed in his life right now. The plus side of course was that he would have more missions, like he wanted, but only at the whim and order of the Alliance. That fact hadn't bothered him before, but now it was just beginning to nag at him, like an itch in his mind. It could he ignored at first, but the more it persisted, the more it bothered him. He didn't know why it though. He had already realized that he really had no options, so there was no reason to give it any more thought.
Right..?
Partly distracted from his thoughts, he almost failed to notice the dark form following him from behind. Whoever it was too far out of his peripheral vision, so he couldn't tell who it was exactly. Not that it would have mattered, since there were very few people he knew, even fewer who knew him personally enough for them to follow him. Keeping an even pace, he turned around a corner, taking a quick glance to see that the area was void of people before planting his back against the wall. His stalker soon came in close and just as they reached the corner, Elijah grabbed them from the front, whirled them around and slammed them against the wall.
"Why are you following me?" he growled.
It wasn't until after he said this that he fully realized the person he was holding; a young woman with dark hair, the ends of which were highlighted in dark violet. Equally violet eyes pierced back at him from a lovely face as the woman replied to his question, with no signs of panic in her from his actions.
"I just wanted to see your face."
A click caught Elijah's attention and his gaze lowered to notice a small gun in her grasp, aimed right at his chest. Strangely enough, Elijah was more annoyed than afraid at this, but it did confirm something he suspected. She was a Raven. There was just something about her demeanor that told him this. But that didn't answer why she was following him, at least not until her next words.
"I told you next time we met, we'd be enemies."
"Zinaida."
