Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?

Chap. 11

Over the plains just outside of the city, the two MT's, now jointed back together again, slowly made its way toward the city. But just then, a streak flew out, flying at high speed straight toward the MT. Darkhand was flying straight at the MT. With its newly equipped parts, it covered over the ground quickly. Koemai saw the target.

"So far, so good. Let's see what this thing can really do."

Darkhand activated its over-boost and four extra boosters opened up and ignited. The speed was incredible as it tore up the ground underneath. Koemai was pressed against his seat and in seconds, he reached the MT. The MT launched its missile pods once again. But none of them made contact due to the intense speed.

"Man, what a rush! Now what should I use first?"

The shoulders opened and Darkhand fired from its vulcan guns. The MT showed slight damage and it split up again.

Good. Just what I wanted. Let's see what this gun can do.

Darkhand pointed the machine gun at the flying MT and opened fire. A hail of energy bullets shredded through the flying MT. The MT fired its grenades, but Darkhand flew aside at high speed, still shooting at the MT. The MT was getting demolished, but from behind, the first MT fired its missiles. Darkhand was hit, but still active.

"I'll get to you later, after I take care of your friend."

Darkhand's continually fire was too much for the flying MT and it suddenly exploded and plummeted into the ground and exploded further. Darkhand then turned to the first MT, its visor eyes glowing wickedly.

"Next."

The MT fired its missiles once again, but they couldn't hit Darkhand as he swooped away once again. Darkhand fired his machine gun again, but the MT was more heavily armored than the flying one and it fired energy bolts at him. Darkhand was damaged and it flew back to fire again, only to find out that he was out of ammo. Whoa, that was fast. The MT then fired a combination of both the energy blasts and missile pods, destroying the entire area in the process.

"Now what do I do? I'm out of ammo" Then he remembered. "Oh, yeah. The laser cannon weapon."

Darkhand landed on the ground and the boosters ejected two extensions and folded it frontward. Koemai's helmet lit up again with a target marker. The extensions charged and electricity surrounded the entire AC. The MT floated toward him as he locked on.

"Payback's a b***h."

Two massive beams of pure energy flew out, pushing Darkhand back and blasting straight through the MT. It seemed to stop for a moment before exploding into pieces. Koemai laughed hysterically.

"SUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Behind him, Fenrir approached. As it did, its pilot thought to himself.

Great. I created a monster.

Hanger...

Darkhand was returned to its place and the extra parts where detached and returned to its hidden chamber. Koemai came out, still laughing and Cain came up to him.

"Did you see that? One shot overkill! That was kewl!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. But you should know that you can't use this system all the time."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well for starters, such weapons are not good to use on a regular basis. I checked your AC and there were signs of overheat. Using it too much will damage Darkhand. Then there's the fact that since these parts don't exist, we don't want to attract the wrong attention."

"Aww, I was having so much fun with them."

"Don't worry. You'll be able to use it when you want, but save it for when it is necessary."

"All alright. But how come you won't try yours?"

"As I said, I don't have an Op-Intensify part. That piece is the central unit for the parts to work."

"Are you sure you don't want to borrow mine?"

"Don't worry. I've worked on a backup plan for that. Remember when I scanned the part. Well, I've found a way to copy the design. It won't be like yours, but it should be as effective."

"Alright. I can't wait to see what yours looks like. Hey, I just thought. What if we both use it at the same time? Can you imagine? We may have to change our names from the Hands of God to God himself."

"Let's not get carried away." A beep came up on his com again. "I'll be right back." Cain walked away and disappeared into his quarters. Just then, Diana came in.

"Koemai, I just heard what happened. Are you alright?"

"Of course. Your brother got me out of there and I went back and destroyed them."

"What? By yourself.? But how?"

Koemai grinned, "Well, you know me. When they're on the list, they get destroyed."

Diana put her hands on his chest, "Well, nice to see you in a good mood. How about we do something tonight?"

Koemai gripped her arms, "What did you have in mind?"

"Hello?"

The two of them turned toward the hanger door to see Alia come in.

"Oh, hey Alia?"

Diana turned to him, "That's Alia?" She examined the redhead and was speechless. Alia asked, "Is Cain around here?"

Koemai answered her, "He's in his quarters."

"Thank you." With that, Alia walked over to his door. At this time, Diana regained her voice. "Whoa. Talk about hitting the jackpot."

Meanwhile, Cain was examining the message. His copied Op-Intensify part showed up. Replication completed. Optional part 75% efficient. 75 percent. Well that's enough to make Glaive a plus and start the system. But for how long?

"Cain?"

Cain turned and almost froze when he saw Alia standing by the door.

"Alia. Hello. What brings you here?"

"Well...I just wanted to again say thanks. I really appreciated your help."

"You're welcome."

"And....I....I wanted to apologize. You know.....about that night."

"You don't have to apologize. You had a hard time that night. Just next time, try not to drink so much. It's dangerous."

"Danger is a job occupation for a Raven. And....that wasn't what I was apologizing for."

"Oh. What do you mean?"

She hesitated, "About.....trying.....to seduce you."

".........."

They stayed in an awkward silence for awhile before he spoke, "It's alright, don't worry about it. You were intoxicated, so you weren't thinking straight."

She gave a quizzical look, "You're very forgiving. And kind. And different from most men. What made you become a Raven? You don't seem the type."

Cain looked away for awhile and his eyes became a little sad.

"My brother."

She noticed his change, "Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. My brother was a Raven. One of the best. We looked after each other. I was a little young, but he let me work on his AC as a mechanic. Then, on one of the missions, he faced a powerful Raven and lost. He defeated him, but was too injured himself. After that, I decided to become one myself."

Alia moved toward him, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't worry. I had to tell someone sooner or later. Besides, you told me a bit of you personal life, so I guess this makes us even now."

At that point, he noticed that she was close to him. Very close. About a foot away from him. At that moment, both their com-links beeped. At the same time, Koemai came up to the door.

"Hey Cain, there's a....whoa!" He noticed both of them and gave an amused smirk, "What's going on here?"

Alia and Cain both turned to him. But to his surprise, they didn't back away in embarrassment, although their faces did redden a bit. Rather they gave him cold looks.

"What is it?"

Koemai gave a weird look. Whoa, tough audience. "We have a mission." He looked at Alia, "In fact, we all do."

"All of us?"

Koemai nodded, "Yeah. It's a mission issued to all Ravens from Union. They want us in a joint attack."

Diana came in, "Keini is calling me. I've got a mission with him."

"Yeah, we all do. So does this mean we're all going?" Koemai asked.

Alia nodded, "I'm going. I could use the exercise."

Diana also nodded, "Keini did ask for help. No sense in letting him have all the fun."

Koemai smiled, "You know me. Anything for a good fight." He then looked at Cain, "So are you in?"

"What would the Hands of God be without both vengeance and justice? I'm in."

________

An hour later, the five Ravens entered the facility. Koemai in Comferd, Diana in Cloak, Keini in Saber, Alia in Firewave and Cain in Lockheed. Their mission was to destroy as much of it and annihilate the generators inside. They had to enter through separate entrances.

Inside...

A few MT's that floated around in guard were suddenly shot down. Comferd swooped in one of the rooms and fired in on two MT's and a few beam turrets that were above him.

"Yaaahhhhhuuuueeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Comferd continued his path of destruction, entering nearby rooms and firing at anything. He heard firing in one of the rooms and entered. As soon as he did, two weapons trained on him.

"Comferd? So you showed up after all."

It was Cloak and Saber, both equipped with laser rifles.

"Yeah, now could you point those somewhere else. Like there." He raised his flamethrower and burned an incoming MT behind them. "How did you guys find each other so quickly?"

Saber laughed, "Maybe it's because we're twins."

Cloak grumbled something and then spoke up, "We should move on. Coming?"

"Sure thing, babe. Let's see if we can find the others."

The three AC's flew off, destroying more in their path. Elsewhere, Firewave was making her way toward the generators along with another Raven, but was grounded by heavy resistance. She backed away to a safe distance, but the other Raven wasn't as lucky.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

The AC exploded and the laser turret turned and fired on her. She hid behind one of the pillars. The laser fire continued and Firewave jumped out and fired, destroying the gun turrets. She then checked her AP. 2547 AP. This is a lot harder than I thought. Suddenly, another MT flew out and fired at her. Damn, I missed one. Firewave flew back again, taking a few hits. She was about to fire went an energy blast struck it and the MT exploded. Turning, she saw Lockheed enter the room.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. But my AP is low."

Lockheed moved next to her. "Perhaps you should stay here."

"No way. I've been in tighter spots than this."

"Your call. But perhaps you'd care to join me."

"Is that an invitation?"

"It is."

"Okay. Let's go."

Firewave and Lockheed moved to the next room. Several more MT's awaited then. But the combined power of both Ravens quickly dispatched them. Firewave was starting to spark and smoke, but it was still active. Lockheed almost asked her if she was alright, but kept his mouth shut. It would be no use in trying to convince her to stop and it would only annoy her. They then entered the generator room and saw four generators humming mildly. Together they pointed their weapons and fired, destroying all of the generators in a blaze and completing their mission. But behind them, two more MT's came up and fired. Firewave turned fired and destroyed one with her machine gun, but the other avoided the fire and shot at her, causing her AC to erupt in flames.

"Alia!"

In a snap, Lockheed blasted the second MT, destroying it completely. For a moment, it seemed that Lockheed's eyes glowed red Then Lockheed bent down to Firewave and Cain jumped out of the cockpit. He scrambled up to the cockpit of Firewave and opened it. Alia climbed out and Cain helped her up.

"You okay?"

Alia looked up at him. Why is he out of his AC? He's putting himself at risk to...help me? Why is he helping me? Why is he so concerned about me? Their eyes met amid the smoke and she stood up to face him. Like before they were noticeably close. However, this time, they were a mere inches away from each other. They stayed that way for awhile, until Cain broke eye contact and looked away.

"We.....should go. Our mission is completed."

Cain broke away from her and she looked down at her now destroyed AC. So it was nothing after all.

"Do you need a lift?"

She turned back to him, "Excuse me?"

"I figure that since your AC is damaged, you could use a ride."

She thought about it briefly, "Sure." She began to move toward him, but she stopped to look at her AC. "If it's not too much trouble, could you carry Firewave with us?"

He looked at her from the side of his head and then looked at the AC. "Okay."

Cain entered his cockpit and Alia followed, seating herself on his lap. His face reddened a bit as the cockpit closed and Lockheed re-activated. Lockheed then ejected his weapons and placed them on Firewave. He then lifted Firewave and slowly walked out. But they were unaware that they were watched by two AC's.

"Did you see that?"

"Yep. My little raven finally found a girl. Sniff. It's just too much."

"Well not quite. What they need is a little push."

"Is that a plan forming in that evil mind of yours?"

"You know me well. But let's get out of here now."