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.

"Lyn, we're almost back to base. Do you want to give us the debrief asap or no?"

"You two can have lunch. I still need more time to analyze this data. There appear to be several anomalous sensor readings."

"Lyn, send put some construction MTs, 'cause BackLash is trippin' over her own two feet here."

"Construction MTs on the way, Zak. Lyn out."

Damn. Construction MTs won't have much to pick up. The armor plating on BackLash is nearly gone. And of course, Zak is wavin' at me from the exposed cockpit. His unit is BARELY standin', because the left leg is about half gone, and the right has no armor on it. At least his radiator won't overheat this way. Oop, there goes the rest of his right arm, and… Shit! There was still a round in there.

"Sorry man." I hear him say.

I return with "Don't appologize. But if it hit Anything, You're payin' for it."

There's the damn MTs. They're slower than slugs, or tank tread ACs even.

"Zak, You want your usual?"

"No, get a double hard with it."

"Got it. Meet ya in the Rec Room." I say, as I turn and head towards the garage.

Ah, there's the familiar heavy titanium doors of Bay Two. They're open too! Good. As I turn into the doors, I see another AC walking towards me. It's Cobra.

"Hey babe. Damn, you look like you've been through hell and back."

"Yeah, but Nightwatch fought the Devil himself."

"Daammn! Well, see ya baby."

Clank!

Damn! That was the remnant of my blade! Repairs on Oblivion are going to cost me a fucking fortune! There's my dock.

I walk up to it, turn a hundred eighty degrees, and start to back into the docking locks.

Clink! Clank!

I'm locked and searching for the sequence routine. HEY, there's thatDamn warning light again! Shutdown initiated.

"Oblivion systems offline. Goodbye Jake."

I open the hatch and… Damn, that was the hatch. I climb out onto the pilot lift and descend.

"Yo, Marcos!" I yell during my four-and-a-half story descent.

"Yeah dude?" He responds, while wiping grease off his hands.

"Send the report to the Rec Room, and that damn warning light's back on. Just pull it out, would ya."

"Okay dude! It'll be there as soon as possible."

Ground floor. AS I get off the lift, I see a new AC in the dock next to mine. And I mean REALLY new. Most of the most of the parts I haven't seen in the Shop yet. Must be a corporation demonstration unit. I'd better get to the Rec Room. After all, I promised Zak to have something ready.

I head towards the back of the Garage, 'cause it's the way to the shortcut. There's the Pit, where unrepairable parts are tossed, sorted, and recycled into armor plating, and other nonspecific parts. This hallway, which is the only hallway that's not blue and orange, is the only way straight through the building's core. As I approach the stairs to the next floor, I hear footsteps coming down them. Hey, it's Ignition. He normally pilots red or orange ACs with missiles and flamethrowers.

Two flights of stairs later, I turn to the right and enter the Rec room.

"Hey Ted, Zak wants the usual woth a double hard." I tell him as I enter.

"Gotcha Jake. How'd the mission go?"

I just give him this look of utter disbelief. He knows hat a normal order with hard liquor means it went bad. And a double hard liquor is even worse. He must just be trying to start conversation.

"'Bout as bad as you look."

"ouch! A regular with hard for you then?"

"Yeah. And let me know when my mail arrives."

I decide to sit at the table closest to the darts.

( ten minutes later)

"Here you are, Jake. One double bacon cheeseburger and fires, with whiskey. And one hot pastrami on rye with fries, and double whiskey for Zak. Well, Speak of the devil. Here comes Zak now."

"Thanks Jake," Zak says, "looks good Ted. Thanks."

Of course, the first thing Zk does after a mission like this is down the whiskey, and sit for five before he touches the food.

Twenty minutes, three games of darts, and another double whiskey later, I hear Ted call me.

"Jake, your mail's in, and you've got three of 'em."

"Thanks." Three messages, damn that's a lot.

I switch on the table monitor, and type in my password.

'3 New Messages'

'Hold Off: From Lyn'

'Repair Report: From Marcos'

'Urgent: From Kisaragi VP'

Let's go in order.

'Message – Hold Off'

'Jake, I know Zak's there. Both of you will get yet more time before the debrief. On the mission, I know that I didn't believe you, but I've looked over the sensor logs, and I'm reconsidering my opinion. We've noticed some anomalous readings that could indicate some form of stealth. It needs further analysis, so you guys get another couple of hours.

Lyn'

"Hey Zak, we get another couple of hours, and Lyn says she may be wrong!"

'Repair Report'

'Reward: 14500c'

'Extra Reward: 0c'

'Special Addition: 0c'

'Repair: 12000c'

Twelve Thousand! That's most of my Damn Reward!

'Special Deductions: 0c'

'Ammunition: 1750c'

'Balance: 1750c'

'Comments:'

'Dude, I'm not going to be able to get to the warning light anytime soon. Your AC is just to beaten up to work on the little pidly shit right now.'

I'm screwed! Okay, What's this "Urgent" message from Kisaragi?

'Urgent! Raven, We need your help. Our forces found a survivor in one of the MT wrecks. After interrogation we found out that they planted bombs throughout our new Development Lab. We need you to find and disarm them. We've heard of the damage to your unit, and we've provided you with a replacement for this mission. It's located in dock 137. Please, hurry. We don't have much time. You will be rewarded greatly for this.'

Dock 137? Wait, that's the AC unit I saw earlier!

"Zak, I've gotta run! I'll see ya a debrief!" I say as I get up.

There it is, my temporary AC. It's dark blue, with white and red patches. I head to the lift while still looking at the thing in awe.

I get in and flip the power on, seeing a whole new fucking cockpit design, though still quite familiar.

'… Initial Startup Procedure'

'Systems Check:'

'Power House… Online'

'Computer… Online'

'Manipulation… Online'

'AC WhipLash Online'

'New Pilot Detected… Enter Pilot Name'

"Pilot, Dark Vent."

'AC WhipLash Now Registered To Pilot Dark Vent'

'Checking Weapons:'

'Detected:'

' kb – x/Phantom'

' ki – x5/001'

' kr – 92/Rail'

' kle – Fx'

' ke – 7600m'

'Switch To Combat Mode?'

"Yes." And we're off.

On the way to Sector 716, I find out that my back weapon is actually a multi-purpose unit. It's a giant booster, a flight enabling wing, and a huge stealth generator, all in one. The gun's a rail-gun, which shoots a pellet the size of my fist, followed by a lightning tracer. And the blade is a self-contained mobile combat unit. I can't believe there're parts like this, I mean, these things aren't even on the market yet.

I reach Sector 716 in a quarter of the time due to the wings. What? An incoming message?

Kisaragi VP: "Raven, hurry! The bombs will go off any minute now! You have permission to annihilate any opposition, including our security system. Again, Hurry!"

I'm receiving another message. This one's from Lyn!

"Dark Vent, What Are You Doing! This mission wasn't approved!"

Boosting through the doors, "Gotta do it, Lyn. I'll be finished soon!" I say.

"Well… Sensors indicate nine bombs, you'd better hurry!"

Better boost all the way. I fly through the doors and, "Left room!" Okay. There's the bomb… Aaannd, the security system. Swwzzz! One gone, too many left!

'Enemy vs. Time: Calculations… Unacceptable'

'Switch Blade To Mobile Mode'

Switched to mob…

'Choose Targets'

"All!"

'Swing Blade For Attack'

Okay, swinging… Holy Shit! It's flying at all the security drnes and gun emplacements! While the blade is attacking the drones, I boost to the bomb location and grab it. It's small, so I open the cover on my shoulder, and shove it into the inside part slot.

"How do I recall the blade?"

"Recalling blade. Raise left arm."

So I raise my left arm, and the blade returns to it.

"Dark Vent, two rooms over. There's two in there."

I enable the flight mode of the Phantom wings and jet out into the hallway, and down to the next infested room. Once in, I select "All Targets" and launch my blade. This'll buy me some time. I fly into the center of the room looking all around me. There's on, near the floor. I fly towards it at an angle, so as to land near it. I land gracefully, with a soft thud, and grab the bomb off the wall.

Turning around, I instantly notice the placement of the second bomb, just as my blade flies dangerously close to it. I switch to flight mode, taking to the air like a bird. I grab the bomb, place it in my 'inside' slot and recall the blade. Time to get the rest.

It takes me all of about four minutes to get all nine bombs, but I have them.

Kisaragi VP: "Thank You, Raven. Yo… e co… or th…" I can't hear him through the stat…

"Boy! You haven't gotten them all. There's still one left. It's planted on the reactor, cloaking it from scans."

"Who Is This! TELL ME!"

"Move, Now! Ask Questions Later! Boy… GO!"

Okay, so I take off towards the lab's reactor sore. If there really is a bomb there, then I've gotta stop it. An explosion like that will take out half of Layered! I'm back in, racing down the main hall.

'Over-Boost Suggested'

Might as well. I switch the over-boost on and can't believe the power behind it. This is twice the average over-boost speed! Reactor Room, Dead ahead, so I switch off OB and bost the rest of the way. These have to be the biggest doors in the lab… and they're locked! So I pull out the holo keyboard and start to hack in. Yes! I'm in, now to find the bomb. It takes me two minutes, but I find it in the lowest and hardest to find of spots. Right under the primary heat exchanger. I still have room to stick it in my left shoulder.

"Good job, Boy." The strange voice says, and I know it belongs to the unidentified pilot.

"Thanks, I guess. But Who Are You!"

"… I'm someone how's very proud of you…" He says between the static.

"…ake, Jake, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Lyn, I can hear you."

What Happened? The Kisaragi VP lost transmission contact, then you wound up n the reactor room."

"Lyn. There was another bomb. It was cloaked by the reactor's radiation, and it was right under the primary heat exchanger. It would've taken out half of Layered."

"WHAT!" Lyn screamed.

"I'm returning to base. I'll fill out a full report when I get back. And I was helped by that unidentified AC pilot again."

I type a few commands, then hear the computer say in a male voice:

"System switched to normal mode. Returning to base."