Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,
or corporate name in this story. They are
property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC
stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is
purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.
Beeeep!
Beeeep!
Beeeep!
Beeeep!
Click!
Shut the fuck up. Damn, am I ever hammered!
"Incoming message, channel two."
Where's the damn respond button. There.
"Yeah. Who the hell is it?" I ask, quite groggily.
"Wakey, Wakey, little Jakey! Come on Jake, it's eleven hundred. Meet me in the mission room
"Fuck Off, Zak!…I'll be there in thirty minutes."
I take that back, I'm not hammered, I'm nuked. Sitting up, I feel my head throb like a jackhammer. I throw off the covers and place my feet on the cool metal floor.
"Mmmm. Where ya goin', Dark Vent?"
That delicious voice, don't tell me. No… it can't be! FUCK! It is!
"Sorry Venom, I've got to get to the mission room in thirty."
"Come on, stay with me." She says in a seductive voice, lifting the covers to show me everything.
And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING! Her soft, creamy golden skin. Her breasts, so gorgeous and supple. Even her long, silky, muscular legs, that, when in her jumpsuit, look like the pillars of Heaven itself. Damn I must've been really nuked to sleep with her!
I swore, after we dated, that I would never see her again. This is going to be a Really bad day!
"I can't, I've got to get to the mission room. But feel free to stay awhile."
I gotta take a cold shower, right now!
(twenty minutes later)
Clean pilot jumps, cup of coffee, this day's already starting to turn for the better. Aahhh! There's the mission room.
"There you are Ja…" Thwak!
That felt good. He'll be feeling that punch for the rest of the day. Hell, I'll be feeling it in my hand for the rest of the day.
"Agghh!" He says, spitting some blood, and a chip from a tooth, "What the hell did ya do that for!"
"Next time, don't let me get so nuked that I'll sleep with Venom Strike!"
"You were sitting at the god Damn BAR ALONE when I left you at twenty two hundred last night. Whatever the Hell you did, I wasn't there to stop it!"
"Shut the FUCK UP! Both of you!"
"Sorry Lyn," We say in unison.
Lyn always was the one who could put up with our bullshit.
"Now, Both of you, Sit!… Kisaragi has requested the service of two Ravens. In fact, they asked for you two in particular. Computer, start breifing."
As the room went dark, a map of Layer 3 comes up on the display.
'Requestor: Kisaragi'
'Advance: 0c'
'Upon completion: 14500c'
Then the familiar snake oil voice of the Kisaragi VP starts his ramble.
"We have recently built a new Development Lab in Sector 716. Since it's completion, activity in the area has risen drastically, causing great concern to us. Upon investigation, we learned that a squad of Mirage MTs were snooping aroound, and reporting to a leader known only as Ragnorak. We suspect that this may be an AC. Your mission is to search out and destroy the squad, and search out Ragnorak. You will Each be paid he full reward mentioned. Failure is NOT an option."
'Area: Layer 3, Sector 716'
'Enemy Forces: MTs (unknown number), ACx1'
'Objective: Destroy All Enemy Forces'
"Okay Lyn, we accept." I say while reaching for the comm button.
"Good. See ya, guys."
Pressing the button, I call "Rec Room."
"Ted here…"
"Ted, have a hot sandwich ready in five minutes."
"Ahh, mobile breakfast special, gotcha."
(fifteen minutes later)
Climbing into my cockpit, sandwich in hand, I hit the power and buckle in.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Oblivion online. Checking systems… All systems online. Checking weapons… Laser blade unit ML-F550/A detected, no other new weapons added. AC Oblivion, online. Hello Jake."
Hitting comm two, "Nightwatch, you there? Come on Zak, Respond. Zak, resp"
"I'm here. My comm momentarily fritzed. Let's move out!"
After about twenty minutes of walking, boosting, and riding elevators, we arrive at Sector 716. It's a pretty desolate area, mostly industrial complexes from the time of The Controller. You can still see Crest logos on most of the old buildings. This particular Crest area is now under Kisaragi Control. It's a shame, really, 'cause Crest made some of the best parts before it went under. Unfortunately, when The Controller was destroyed, Crest soon followed.
"There's the lab. Let's find the squad. "I say.
As time goes by, I become really bored. The action of keeping Oblivion moving is the only thing keeping me awake. Then, my radar blips at me. What is it? It was just there and SHIT!
"Nightwatch, Ten O'clock!" I yell as bullets start to rain on me from the shadows. Then I let loose my own rounds. Damn! I can't get a lock!
"Dark Vent! They've got stealth!"
"NO SHIT! I can't get a lock"
Got One! It was just a lucky shot though, and I know it won't happen again. So I boost to the nearest one and swinging my core's arm in the largest possible arc, slice a second MT in two.
"Nightwatch! Let's Slice-n-Dice!"
"Roger!" He yells, destroying an MT that had snuck up behind me.
The battle lasts for several minutes, as Zak and I destroy one MT after another. As I carve up the last MT, I hear the pilots voice on the comm call "Ragnora…". Then there was only the stump of the legs left.
"I think that's all of 'em, Nightwatch."
"I think so too."
"Dark Vent to Operator. We've gotten 'em all."
Luckily, Lyn is our Operator as well as our Liaison officer.
"Good job boys. Switch to normal mode and… wait… I'm picking up an AC sign… two, no three… FIVE AC SIGNATURES CLOSING IN FAST! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Shit! "Let's MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" I scream. There was supposed to be only one AC, if that!
"… Surround Them!"
"Beta to Epsilon. Commence attack!"
I'm getting showered from three directions now with various rounds. I fire my orbit cannon and rifle at two different ACs at once. Yes, I got one dropping!
"Dark Vent, My AP's low! We've gotta move!"
"I'm trying!"
"You Fools! We are RAGNORAK! You will not escape u…"
I have to shield my eyes from the explosion, because that guy is directly in from of me, though there's a hole where his head used to be.
"Beta's Down! Find the Damn shoot…AAAaggh!"
Another one's gone, straight through the cockpit. So, I just start blasting away at the nearest enemy AC, dropping my Orbit cannon in the progress, to lighten the load.
"Eat Blade!" I yell at the AC.
"You First!" He says, bringing his blade up underhanded, just missing his own two front legs.
A buzzer sound, and a warning starts to flash:
'Left Arm Extreme Damage!'
Suddenly, Orbits appear over my head and, amazingly enough, start blasting my opponent. In the confusion they cause, I see my opportunity to strike, and I TAKE IT! I circle strafe left, raise my rifle, and blow his core's head clear off. The ACs quadraped legs tremble, then give way and the guys core sinks to the ground.
At that precise moment, I hear an explosion from behind me. I turn around and see Zaks AC, barely standing, with a smoking heap between him and our savior.
I finally get a chance to see him, and I notice that a lot of his parts are outdated. The strange thing is, his core is configured very similarly to mine. The rifle and legs are clearly outdated, and it's obvious that repairs on them weren't professional.
The flamethrower, which I would normally have on mine as well, is an older, and recently discontinued, model of mine. And from the looks of it, bought just before they were discontinued. On the back left hard point, an orbit cannon from the period when they were commonly used and popular, which is about seven years ago. A head, from before the upgrade recalls, of a similar make to mine, is mounted on the unit. The only part clearly shared, is the core, which is a relatively heavy middleweight with a duel exceed orbit rack.
"You, Unidentified AC. Who are you?" I ask the guy, hoping for a legit response.
"…Just a memory…" is all he said.
"Operator, identify the unidentified AC."
"What AC are you babbling about Jake?" Lyn says.
"What do you mean what AC? The AC right in fro… Where'd it go?"
"Jake, what are you talking about. You and Zak have the only active AC signals within fifty clicks of your current location."
"Jake's not jokin', Lyn. There really was an AC right in front of him. It was an older one, too."
"Look, You two are delusional. Switch to normal mode and return to base. Then, I want you both to check into the infirmary."
"Oblivion switched to normal mode."
"Backlash switched to normal mode. Returning to base."