Chapter 10
SANCTIFIED DECADENCE
Outside the prismatic Layered City that was close by, the free corporations held their own battle against the Kisaragi ground troops.
One sergeant who recently assumed command kept together the troops at the front. Panic was now a common occurrence, but he tried his best to keep the peace.
The sergeant and his men secured the left flank of the LC as Kisaragi heavy-end MTs came in with portable shield generators and energy bazookas.
"Kisaragi scum... They sent in armies of additional troops!" he shouted. Dropships were flying in tight formation, creating haunting shadows encompassing the entire area, unloading dozens of AI troops.
The soldier next to him gave him sound advice, "Sir, we should pull back before they get the smarts enough to bombard us with that mammoth satellite of theirs!"
"No way, just keep fighting! The outcome doesn't matter as long as we keep fighting! Kisaragi spares no-one, certainly not us!"
Out of the blue, a tremendous tremor rocked the countryside.
"What's this, more troops?" the sergeant pessimistically questioned.
A plume of dust and dirt filled the air as a gigantic figure emerged from an underground fissure. The haunting image was none other than the Big-O.
"What is it?" the sergeant questioned.
"It's an unregistered AC, it's not in any of our data!" the officer exclaimed for the officer squinting at the horrific sight.
Raven looked across the pavement at the battle, the free Layered soldiers were being engulfed by the Kisaragi armored MTs. Raven extended and charged the compression buster on the left arm, swiped it back behind, and dashed towards the Kisaragi troops at speeds that no MT could match by just running.
Raven dove into the hail of fire, zooming past enemy soldiers and cutting them down with the eye laser cannons before they realized that they were targeted. Another group was engulfed in the compression buster's vacuum as it was hastily released.
After a couple dozen Kisaragi troops were nothing but scorching pieces of scrap, Raven swerved towards a group of Layered troops with an unknown urge to eliminate them. He was going to overshoot them when he could sense their fear. No, Raven could see a soldier panicking in fright inside his head. He shook out of the vision just in time to a dead stop, preventing himself from bulldozing over them.
Raven stood a dozen meters from them, his mind now pounding with disarray. "No, they're not my enemy; they're just being told to fight." I said to myself.
Suddenly, another vision struck Raven. One soldier shouted to the others, "Fire! Attack it!" At the same time, he saw that the soldiers behind him started firing, but the bullets ricocheted away. "Then . . . are they the enemy? No . . . Aagh!" Raven cried as his head and body surged with pain and an urge to kill them all.
"...It's the same, it's exactly the same as the ZG my sister warned Roger about! Nng . . . gyaaah!" Raven shouted as the pain stopped and an insane whim grafted itself into his mind. He raised a lever to his upper-right, "I'm getting rid of them all."
The shoulders of the Big-O snapped open, a kind of internal shield generator was revealed. "No-one will repeat the sad history of our past! Anyone who fights is my enemy!" Raven shouted as a spherical barrier with an orange haze expanded from the Megadeus. The air cracked, the ground split, and the troops . . . Layered and Kisaragi . . . were consumed.
In the ensuing chaos Raven saw his earlier experience with Kylia's death, the thievery of the Dalriadan, the fight with Exile and Forever Zero... his mother's calming voice and kind face.
"I can see . . . my memories . . . my death?!" Raven said as he came to, noticing that he was covered in his own vomit, looking over the devastated area. The armies were nothing but heaps of rubble, the forests and fields aflame, and the corpses of every soldier there. All Raven could hear besides the crackling of flames was his own heart pounding with fright.
The cockpit door opened, a male voice ringing in his head, "Simulation . . . terminated. Returning to safe mode."
Raven fell out of the AC onto the catwalk, face first. It was difficult for him to get up, let alone comprehend the experience he just had.
Roger walked up, a pleased expression on his face. "So, did you see your future?" he asked.
I just stood there, panting in shock.
"Well then, let's get started," he said as he handed Raven the calling mechanism for the Tallgeese II.
"Roger . . . I don't have the right to . . ." Raven managed to say before he blacked out from the traumatic event.
Roger merely stood, glanced at the fallen being, and then at the Big-O. Dastun then finished his conversation he had with Roger earlier, "I do hope that you were right about his abilities to cope with that system. Was it such a good idea to install it in the first place?" he asked.
"He'll be ready when the time comes. This was just a warm-up."
Two more beings emerged onto the catwalk, one was a tall man, the other female with blue hair. The man moved closer to Raven, "You need to be careful with this kid; he's no rookie." It was Lexington, Roger called him in from the Guardian Temple not too long ago. His wounds were now completely healed.
"I completely agree, Roger. That man saved my life more times than I want to remember... so don't overwork him." That was Reese. She followed Raven from LC 086. "I want to repay his deed to me earlier any way I can. Helping him on the biggest joint-mission ever should be a good start."
***
Alicia went back to Kisaragi HQ to gather her personal belongings; all her office supplies, and an old photo . . . of all her friends in Engelhaft. Gustave was so kind then, but . . .
She didn't hesitate any longer than necessary to leave to the nearby spaceport. The spaceport was covered in snow and wreckage, but it was unusually warm out. All of the requirements were met as she stepped into the elevator leading up to the shuttle. In the elevator, however, was Christov.
"Good evening, Fiona. I hope you didn't leave anything." he said as he leaned up against the door. Fiona walked in, and the elevator immediately began to rise.
"Shut up, Mr. Ramirez." she stated, "Doesn't it bug you in the least that your father is fighting against you?"
"No... not in the least. I could care less if he dies fighting for his Layered's so-called independence. Independence breeds chaos; we must submit and be strong."
"Now, where have I heard that before? Oh, yes . . . Macross."
Christov slapped Fiona hard enough for her to loose her balance. She slumped against the far wall with a red mark on her face. Her hand feeling the bruise, she now had a look of utter disgust, as well as fresh tears.
Christov took the picture from Alicia's right hand, "Ah, yes. You still have a thing for him, don't you? You don't get it . . . he's lost it! Forever! The real Gustave Macross died months ago. Now..." he said as he grabbed Alicia's shoulders, pulling her up to his face, "Since we're going to the space satellite weaponry to escape Gustave's carnage, I'll need a little company of my own..."
A hint of fear appeared in Alicia's eyes, and Christov knew it. He liked it. The shuttle began the pre-flight countdown under the gaze of a blood-red moon. The final battle was at hand.
***
Raven awoke to find himself in bed, looking at a figure across the room. His vision was blurry at best, but Raven immediately noticed that the man was playing a handheld entertainment system. A few moments, and Raven knew exactly who it was.
"Lexington? What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I was hired by Roger to accompany you as a chaperone . . . not that you need one. It's good to see you, by the way."
"Now what am I doing here?"
"Well, you fell unconscious after Roger introduced you to a new kind of system, and I was stuck with dragging your mass back here. You're somewhat lightweight..."
It was dark in the room ever since Raven got up, so he couldn't really find the light switch. Instead he hit the window switch, raising a few screens to view the morning sun. He was temporarily blinded by a light coming from outside the bunker, mistaking it for a big light bulb.
"Ahh!" Raven shouted, "Lexington, turn off that damn light!"
"Raven... that's the sun," Lexington pointed out.
"I don't care, turn it off!" Raven shouted again, shielding his eyes.
"You know, the sun is a few hundred million kilometers away from here."
"...Well, be a pal, take your AC and shoot it down for me!"
"How about . . . no," Lexington said as he shut the screens. "By the way, what else have you been doing while enjoying your 'vacation' away from me?"
"Oh, the usual; I wrote another symphony. And while I was at it I wrote a draft for intergalactic peace! Where's that damn switch?"
Lexington opened the door to the hallway, "Come with me. I'll have a talk with you on what to do next, while at the same time mock you about your cynicism, sarcasm and your obvious defects such as poor piloting talent."
"You want sarcasm? How about...'Nice to meet you.'"
***
Raven didn't have a long talk, he heard the annoying alarm for an incoming enemy soon after. Luckily he was in the elevator by then, so it didn't take more than a minute to get to the garage. Roger and Reese were there, discussing something.
"...NO! You can't go, Raven will kill me!" that was Roger.
I intervened, "Oh, God. Is that you, Reese?"
She turned to face Raven, and nearly plowed him over with a hug. "Oh, thank the Maker you're alright! How've you been? Where's that sister I keep hearing about?"
A sober expression appeared on Raven's face, "She's . . . currently disabled from helping us."
A similar expression hit Reese, "Oh . . . I see."
Roger stepped forward. "Er-hem... Raven, I was just discussing about Reese's role in the next encounter. It has to do with a nuke."
"Ooh, I said I'll volunteer! I want to do that! I'm telling all of you that I want to go fight!" she was practically hopping foot to foot in excitement.
"What... but why?" Raven asked. "You don't need to risk your life again! But . . . can you give me a reasonable . . . reason?"
"I'm just sick of the people here, they keep talking like they're all this and that! I'm sick to death of 'Hello, I'm so-and-so and I've killed this many enemies and I challenge you to an arena duel, and we bow and go by the rules and say cute things to one another, and isn't it nice that we're all dead now because we're not man enough to fight Gustave?' Raven, I want to shoot something. I want to blow something up. No apologies, no advanced warning. Just lethal efficiency. Before frustration kills me."
"That's more words than she's ever strung together since I've known her," said Lexington.
"Okay," Raven said. "You can go, I know you'll strangle me if I disagree with you. But don't die on me, now!""
A large grin appeared on Reese's face, "Yes!! I'll use my new AC! I'm going to devastate! Over and over, over and over and over and over, hehehe-hahahahahahaha!!! Watch out, Kisaragi!"
"I better accompany her," Lexington whispered in Raven's ear. "She doesn't appear entirely sane right now."
"Granted."
"That was a joke! I don't have time to play babysitter."
***
Before our launch, Roger made us listen to Serge Ramirez's final speech to the free Layered cities. I didn't see the point, but he didn't know we're going to take care of the problem for him. The speech started as everyone was about to enter their ACs.
"Greetings fellow Earth citizens, Androids, and Layered citizens alike. I won't say 'good morning,' because it certainly isn't. A lot of you if not all may recognize me as Serge Ramirez, the former president of the Earth Government.
"Regardless of whether you do or don't, I suspect that those of you who still have the strength, hate me for abandoning you in your time of need. I don't blame you. Especially given the fact that I came back to urge every single one of you to fight harder. Something which, believe it or not, I'm actually going to do.
"Not because of politics, not because I was asked to, but because I want each and every one of you to survive."
Serge paused to feel the atmosphere around him, to scan the faces before him on the promenade of his massive airship command base. "Some of you think I'm crazy, that there's no way you can survive, and that there's no good reason to do so. Well, you're wrong.
"Some of your ancestors, dead for thousands of years, were slaves. They survived. Some of you oppressed each other like fools, but they survived. My great-great-grandparents were forced to do labor for the Controller, but they survived.
"The proof of their survival, of the courage they had, is right here in front of me. You are the proof, you are what they lived for, you must survive. For them, for yourselves, for the future.
"So if you have the strength to fight a little harder, or the knowledge to fight a little smarter, then use it. Who knows? Maybe Gustave Macross will stop his merciless campaign to wipe us all out. Whatever happens, it won't mean much unless you're alive to benefit from it."
Serge paused, and Raven listened to the person in amazement. The question of what he could say to the public to make them fight on was on Raven's mind ever sine he mentioned it. And now that he has, he was amazed.
"Please, don't be afraid to fight for the life of others," Serge continued, "for fear is our greatest enemy. Remember, fear is only nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes the needed efforts to convert defeat into victory. If that is so, it can be overcome, for in every dark hour of society, a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding, which is essential in achieving the desired goal. I have known fear all my life, and now I have grown accustomed to it. I am confident that you will once again give that support to leadership in these critical days."
The cameras shut off, and in thousands of Layered Cities the views of people of every kind changed for the better.
***
Now, here in the snowy fields, ever so close to Kisaragi HQ, the knots that found its way into Raven's gut became worse.
It had been months since they had taken him away from Raven, his AC Dalriadan… in battle they had become as one, and their power rivaled all assassins they sent to destroy them, up until that day, a grim day indeed. A blasted ambush sent Raven into a spiral of confusion, he was hit too hard. When Raven had awoken he found that he was without his weapon, his partner was gone, they took away the AC that had gotten him through so much, his crimson AC which has shown him the way to victory so many times.
It had been months now, months that Raven's been searching and finding so many broken links to the thing he's seeked. After a while he came upon a clue. An old pilot told him of a star in the sky he has once heard of, a fortress which floated above the clouds, such a stronghold that none dare reach and expect to survive. This was quite farfetched, yet Raven could not refuse pursuit of it for the small possibility of his goal being there. Thus Raven searched for the coordinates of the space satellite, and a long and grueling search it was.
After weeks of exploration, with the aid of a close ally named Roger Smith, he found where this gigantic beast was, and he would not stop until he could find the Dalriadan, until he could punish those who had attacked him and his allies so many times for reasons still not quite known to him.
Raven stood there, at the helm of his strong biped Armored Core, the Tallgeese, and with him were his two closest allies. Behind Raven was Lexington, who had been Raven's ally from times long past. He piloted a powerful heavyweight black and red AC designated Heavy Metal. At Raven's right was the female pilot Reese, a high attack-power sniper who Raven saved from death on a mission that went wrong. Piloting her lightweight silver and lavender AC, the Everlution, she would often pick off unsuspecting enemies before they knew what hit them. Raven expected many enemies, and they knew it would be a tough fight, yet they stood by Raven and were ready to fight to the death if necessary.
The snow storm, it seemed, grew violently over the horizon. Loud clasps of ionic thunder could be heard, preceded by the strike of the brilliant lightning. This atmosphere seemed somewhat appropriate for a predictably intense battle, and it all seemed to be portentous. Perhaps all of this was an omen of their eminent demise... perhaps they were in over their heads, Raven thought. Yet he couldn't turn back. They stood their ground, and as the last few sparkles of snowflakes hit the ground, there it was, the fortress of Kisaragi. Our previously unseen enemy finally shows it's real face.
Something flashed in the sky. Lightning? No . . . something was crashing down next to the fortress. A wicked meteor. Screeching through the sky, it created a tremendous explosion of snow, ice and dirt. It left a crater, and whatever hit it was now covered.
"What was that?" asked Lexington, "A missile or something that missed?"
"Yeah . . . Let's not worry about that now," said Raven.
The clouds seemed to part ways with the advent of this gigantic fortress before them, and as they all gazed upon it for the first time without the snow blocking their vision, they were shocked. There in plain view they saw this hellish contrivance for the first time, it's sheer size was enough to drive any realist into madness. As it's huge shadow covered the frozen ground where they stood, it seemed to laugh at Raven and the others. .
Reese gasped in disbelief. Raven got a message from Lexington... "Dammit . . . this is huge, what do you think we should do?"
Raven replied in a low tone, "You know… you could always turn and leave, no one is holding you back. Just remember that from this point onward, there is no turning back." With these words Raven began to walk his AC forward towards Kisaragi HQ, and as Raven drew away from them he heard her voice.
"Raven, you don't really think I'm scared of Gustave... do you? Even if we can't accomplish this mission, at least I'll know I went down fighting like my father. Fighting an enemy who's been terrorizing so many different ravens for such a long time. Didn't I tell you I'd never leave your side unless I repay my debt to you?"
Raven never expected Reese to be so open with her feelings; to actually admit that this would be challenging. These must be severe circumstances to change her attitude. Raven then turned towards her AC, a moment later Lexington came across on his monitor.
"Hey partner, what do you take me for? You know I'll never back away from a chance to cause a little destruction against some annoying Kisaragi AIs, whatever the risk may be. Remember, we're ravens, and at heart we all have to fight, meaning we should stand together especially against enemies like this, right?" Lexington seemed more optimistic than usual, could it be that he was in grim denial, or did he genuinely believe we had a chance? The three of them, could they have a chance against something so powerful as the whole of Kisaragi?
With those words said, they looked up to the fortress, something seemed to be moving on the roof. A large gathering seemed to be forming atop the platform, and moments later came their adversaries. Hordes and hordes of enemy machines came. They seemed to be a new type of MT, a variant to the heavy-end humanoid model. Much bigger and much, much more armored. Large arms atop heavily armored legs many appeared to hold what seemed to be specialized energy bazookas. Others carried types of machine guns and energy weapons.
There Raven and the others stood, ready to face all those who would come to oppose them. As the enemy fell to the ground, the numbers seemed to never stop, they just kept coming. Moments later with no hesitation, Raven cried, "NEVERMORE!!"
And with a flare of their boosters, they were off towards the enemies that threatened a whole lot more than just them.