"I started this chapter because I was so stuck on number four, so since I have it here and I'm trying to salvage at least a shred of people's faith in me to deliver the goods you get to see it before it should even exist! Please keep in mind it is pretty rough, and who knows the following section may not even be in the final product. But it is a tidbit if nothing else. Hope you like it!"
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The crowd roared, the lights flashed, the smells of deadly machinery and snack food swirled about and it all blended together in a montage that berated the senses and psyched you up for the main event. It was this generation's favorite sport, the bloodless combat of the Arena where two or more of the few and elite Raven's compete against each other for cash and prizes.
Today's match was in the standard arena. Sometimes other battlefields were used but these weren't as favored by the fans since they couldn't be right there to watch. The crowd waited restlessly for things to get under way and soon the level of noise in the seats soared to new heights as the two ACs were lifted into the arena from the underground hangers. On one side the AC shifted slightly as the magnetic clamps released its large feet. It was a white and light blue AC named Snowfall and was the defending AC today. The challenger, a much thinner AC by the name of Angel Hunter, a black and white mid-weight humanoid with missile pods for arms, stealth extensions on the sides and a pulse cannon and radar on his back. One woman in the front row was cheering a little louder for the Raven in the black AC. She wanted her partner Zodiac to win of course. She had the daring look of a Raven about her with her red tank top under a denim vest and jeans, her muscular build and short red-brown hair that was held back by a red bandana.
"Three…" The mechanical voice sounded and if anything the shouting got even louder "Two… One… Go…" Both ACs hit their Overboost and the deafening roar rose another few notches. The female pilot smiled, thinking that her partner had been too hard on himself when he feared that no one would want to see his battle.
Zodiac's stealth activated and he fired four pair of missiles out in quick succession. Snowfall didn't budge, didn't even flinch as its missile interceptors made quick work of haff the missiles. The last four hit it and didn't seem to phase it at all, only leaving long silver streaks where the top inch or two of armor was destroyed. Zodiac stopped and jetted sideways but Snowfall followed him, never cutting off his Overboost. This wasn't exactly a standard tactic and Zodiac didn't know what to expect until Snowfall collided with his Angel Hunter.
Snowfall lifted Angel Hunter off the ground and even with their combined weight it didn't take long before they hit the protective energy barrier that shielded the crowd hard enough that it rippled and sagged momentarily. With its OB still going Snowfall pushed Angel Hunter up the shield. Its back equipment, boosters and miscellaneous bits and pieces fell like so much stale confetti. When they hit the ceiling Snowfall cut its thrust and let Angel Hunter go. It fell the whole length of the arena and his partner nearly choked on a malt ball when Zodiac's AC hit the ground with a pang loud enough that it cut through the crowd. He didn't get back up.
"Silver, piloting "Snowfall" is the winner!" This time the voice was a human announcer, but Silver wasn't done. He landed hard next to the heap Angel Hunter was in and took one step forward onto the core of the fallen AC. Boo's and hisses sounded all over the arena from this show of excessive force but Silver didn't stop. His machine gun rose up and fired into the open missile pod arm, setting off the highly damaging warhead. It blew and took out a considerable chunk of the core with it. His aim shifted and the other pod went up in a fireball. Now satisfied Snowfall stepped back and started to slowly walk away from the possibly dead Raven while recovery teams rushed passed him.
Fifteen minutes after the battle the worried partner of the decimated pilot paced outside of the hospital wing. She hadn't heard news about Zodiac yet, and she didn't know if that was good or bad. Finally the door slid into the wall and he walked out. Zodiac looked a bit shaky but the only injury she could see on the man was a cut on his forehead that was closed with a butterfly bandage.
"Jesus Christ I nearly pissed myself watching that fight, are you ok Joe?"
"Huh?" Zodiac, or "Joe" as he was known outside of the Ravens, looked up. His eyes were a little glassy, like he had just gotten hit in the head with something. "Yeah Jo, I think I'm alright. I'm just worried about my AC."
The two were a fairly mismatched pair. On one hand Jo, Josephine if you wanted to be formal or Bull God in the arena, was tall and fairly butch, not to mention a total tomboy. Joe was skinny and a little short, with long and black hair and gray eyes. He was generally considered very goth with the way he dressed though right now he was wearing a black pilot jumpsuit. The two met on their Raven test six months ago and they had stuck together since then just out of convenience's sake.
Jo shook her head "Dammit, that sonofabitch Silver is going to get a shiv in his ear for that fight, I kid you not."
The two walked off down the hall together, Joe moving a little slow and Jo having to shorten her stride to compensate "Is Global Cortex paying for my AC?" Joe asked very worriedly.
"They should, you drew more people then you thought you would, plus Silver is good for the rating just 'cus he's such a bastard." Jo answered. In the arena Global Cortex would pay for ammunition and repairs even if you lost, just as long as they got enough revenue from the fight. If there wasn't enough money you'd have to pay the difference, which made it hard on the lower rank and less popular Ravens. It did weed out the meek though.
"Well, I heard that that pilot who was killed a few weeks ago was his friend." Joe had always been too forgiving.
"Pshh, that's no excuse. If the asshole cared about anyone he'd be thinkin' about the friends of the pilot who he's beating the crap out of."
"Hey now, don't remind me." Joe muttered. The two took an elevator up and on the way to street level Jo's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" She answered. Whoever was on the other end talked into her ear a little "Really?" He responded to something the person said "Wait… You don't mean the arena in downtown do you?" She was answered by the elevator opening to the sight of an attack helicopter crashing into the street. People were scattering everywhere and a blue car in front of them skidded to a stop and several cars hit into it from behind. Even these young Ravens were rather jaded and calmly peeked around the corner to see what was going on. Several basic battle MTs complemented with an advanced battle MT and a few helicopters were fighting with a detachment of Guard units. Joe reached out and hit the button to take them back down. Jo was still talking on her phone "Yeah sure I'll take it. Is my AC here? Ok good." She hung up and pocketed the phone.
"I take it that that was about the battle up there?" Joe asked nonchalantly.
"Yep, Bern is transferring my AC over here to padlock eight." ACs were normally docked at the Global Cortex hanger but to keep air traffic down high-speed underground transport trains were used to transfer ACs to the arena, so Jo would have her AC here in just a couple of minutes.
Nine minutes and seventeen seconds later Jo stepped out into the street, her quartet of legs moving her along at a brisk pace. Her AC had fairly light armor but heavy firepower, a somewhat odd mix. Tank legs were a better firing platform but she didn't like the lack of speed and maneuverability, and quadruped legs (sometimes referred to as spider legs) were almost as good but boasted some of the best mobility around.
"Main system, engaging combat mode." The calm female computer's voice filled the cockpit and her weapons were alive all at once. She had a high-speed rifle in her right hand and a flamethrower in her left. On her back was mounted a triple-barrel laser cannon and a chain gun, and concealed in her shoulders were napalm rockets. Her core was even set up with an energy machinegun Exceeded Orbit gun. She defiantly wasn't one to do things subtly…
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"Well, that is it for this special preview edition of "A Mercenary's Vicarage". Please have a little faith that both these chapters and the one (or possibly two) after it will in fact be completed. I've just suddenly had a bad case of writer's block and worse case of the real world blues crashing in on me like a ton of freakin' bricks! But this story and my readers (yep, even you) are never far from my mind. I'll get it done, just wouldn't be able to sleep good at night if I didn't!"
"As always feel free to e-mail me about anything at Butterfly Edge@aol.com or neptune_lamour@yahoo.com (I tend to forget about the second one so try the first one… well… first."
