Chapter 1: What hope may come
In the busy daily bustle of the Siria Colony marketplace, Grail, cloaked and hooded -as had now become his uniform- moved swiftly between the massive tide of bodies. One might wonder how a man with platinum white hair, skin of a deep pallor and eyes as yellow as a topaz could go unnoticed, but the people of the colonies are stauch believers in "mind your own business, leave out of the affairs of others," and so he goes about his business, unnoticed. He walked quickly, striding almost, along they way, five foot nine with a boyish face. The cloaked trailed behind him , darting in and out and between people as he went along. Eventually he came to a stall, no different from several others he may have passed, but at this one he stopped, looking at the man on the other side of him, a bald headed, hunched over old man, with particular interest. " What can I do far ya ma boy? I got the finest produce in all Siria." " Got anything sweet from the Out colonies?" asked Grail. " Westember or so." " My what exotic taste you have. Good fruit indeed do they grow there. Very hard to get this far in the Colony Enclosed." He searched around on his table. "But I do have a few. Hard to come by these ones. Mens lose their lives for these. Here they are. That'll be thirty credits!" The old man handed him two large Orange-red melons, smiled, and wiped his hand in his apron. Grail reached beneath his cloak and produced two one thousand credit chips. " Here. Take these." The old man look at the credits then at him. "No son, that's alright." " Please," implored Grail, "take it. It's the best I can do." " No," the old man said, reaching across to take his hand, "do the right thing.
In a moment Grail disappeared from before the stall and ,checking all ways before he did, descended into a alley The busy marketplace provided isolation of a sort you could not find anywhere else. Amidst all this bustle, an alleyway was the most secure place one could be. For a moment he studied the melons, turning each slowly to see if there were any discernable marks on it. This was extremely important. When scrutiny yielded none he smashed the first against the wall. Nothing. He took the second one and did the same, smashing it against the wall. Between the broken pieces of melon and the orange insides a thin clear tube was hidden. Grail attended to it. He wiped it in his cloak and then opened it unfolding the letter inside.
Dear Grail
I know that is has been a long time since last I made contact and I am sorry for that. Much has transpired since the last time we met and communication has been at times dangerous, at other times deadly. I report to you sadly that our numbers grow yet thinner and several of our members haven fallen at the hands of Inex, Mirage or Zio Matrix. Sadly there is no time for us to lament the fallen and in due time the injustice done against our flock will be righted. But for now we must lay low at the peril of destruction. I must tell you - for I know it will be of great concern to you - we have not found Laine. You know how I feel; that she was in fact lost -with so many of our kin- in the fall of Nerve 1, our great home, but the search will go on indefinitely. For you. Master Talbot is well and it is by his order, as much as yours, that I keep the search parties out and looking for his daughter.
Now we must get down to matters of business. Through my network I have fallen privy to information of a vital nature. Emeraude's Military operations are preparing begin a new stage in order to compete with the impending Zio/Inex merger. For two weeks now they have been moving heavy equipment into their desert base, Phalmut, under cover of night- perhaps for research purposed, I don't know. What I do know is that it is a storage base of vast proportions and they very likely keep A.c's or Vital A.C. part in stock. Whether because of the relatively obscure nature of the base or security cutbacks doe to operation restructuring, security at the base is particularly lax. And this is where you come in.
Through painful discoveries I have managed to acquire an Armored Core. This is now small feat in our day, as you well know. And after consulting with the Master Talbot it has been decided that you will vanguard this mission. Why you? I know you will be asking. Why not Ace? Why not Gunner, Why not Tremble? Because Tremble is dead, Gunner awaits execution and Ace. The point is we have chosen you. And though this unit is vastly different from your Kamek-2 it is in working condition and once belonged to a very good pilot. I have no doubt that it will see you through. Enclosed is all the information you will need in order to make contact with my associates, Euganz, the code you will speak to him, who will turn him over to you. There I will also leave you a letter to tell you more about the upcoming mission.
I must admit that I am very excited, Grail. I believe that you will succeed and I believe that the Ravens will soon take to the skies again. 3 years we have been land bound and under the yoke of Zio Matrix. But our return is close at hand. Till later, Goodbye.
Kline W.K.
In the busy daily bustle of the Siria Colony marketplace, Grail, cloaked and hooded -as had now become his uniform- moved swiftly between the massive tide of bodies. One might wonder how a man with platinum white hair, skin of a deep pallor and eyes as yellow as a topaz could go unnoticed, but the people of the colonies are stauch believers in "mind your own business, leave out of the affairs of others," and so he goes about his business, unnoticed. He walked quickly, striding almost, along they way, five foot nine with a boyish face. The cloaked trailed behind him , darting in and out and between people as he went along. Eventually he came to a stall, no different from several others he may have passed, but at this one he stopped, looking at the man on the other side of him, a bald headed, hunched over old man, with particular interest. " What can I do far ya ma boy? I got the finest produce in all Siria." " Got anything sweet from the Out colonies?" asked Grail. " Westember or so." " My what exotic taste you have. Good fruit indeed do they grow there. Very hard to get this far in the Colony Enclosed." He searched around on his table. "But I do have a few. Hard to come by these ones. Mens lose their lives for these. Here they are. That'll be thirty credits!" The old man handed him two large Orange-red melons, smiled, and wiped his hand in his apron. Grail reached beneath his cloak and produced two one thousand credit chips. " Here. Take these." The old man look at the credits then at him. "No son, that's alright." " Please," implored Grail, "take it. It's the best I can do." " No," the old man said, reaching across to take his hand, "do the right thing.
In a moment Grail disappeared from before the stall and ,checking all ways before he did, descended into a alley The busy marketplace provided isolation of a sort you could not find anywhere else. Amidst all this bustle, an alleyway was the most secure place one could be. For a moment he studied the melons, turning each slowly to see if there were any discernable marks on it. This was extremely important. When scrutiny yielded none he smashed the first against the wall. Nothing. He took the second one and did the same, smashing it against the wall. Between the broken pieces of melon and the orange insides a thin clear tube was hidden. Grail attended to it. He wiped it in his cloak and then opened it unfolding the letter inside.
Dear Grail
I know that is has been a long time since last I made contact and I am sorry for that. Much has transpired since the last time we met and communication has been at times dangerous, at other times deadly. I report to you sadly that our numbers grow yet thinner and several of our members haven fallen at the hands of Inex, Mirage or Zio Matrix. Sadly there is no time for us to lament the fallen and in due time the injustice done against our flock will be righted. But for now we must lay low at the peril of destruction. I must tell you - for I know it will be of great concern to you - we have not found Laine. You know how I feel; that she was in fact lost -with so many of our kin- in the fall of Nerve 1, our great home, but the search will go on indefinitely. For you. Master Talbot is well and it is by his order, as much as yours, that I keep the search parties out and looking for his daughter.
Now we must get down to matters of business. Through my network I have fallen privy to information of a vital nature. Emeraude's Military operations are preparing begin a new stage in order to compete with the impending Zio/Inex merger. For two weeks now they have been moving heavy equipment into their desert base, Phalmut, under cover of night- perhaps for research purposed, I don't know. What I do know is that it is a storage base of vast proportions and they very likely keep A.c's or Vital A.C. part in stock. Whether because of the relatively obscure nature of the base or security cutbacks doe to operation restructuring, security at the base is particularly lax. And this is where you come in.
Through painful discoveries I have managed to acquire an Armored Core. This is now small feat in our day, as you well know. And after consulting with the Master Talbot it has been decided that you will vanguard this mission. Why you? I know you will be asking. Why not Ace? Why not Gunner, Why not Tremble? Because Tremble is dead, Gunner awaits execution and Ace. The point is we have chosen you. And though this unit is vastly different from your Kamek-2 it is in working condition and once belonged to a very good pilot. I have no doubt that it will see you through. Enclosed is all the information you will need in order to make contact with my associates, Euganz, the code you will speak to him, who will turn him over to you. There I will also leave you a letter to tell you more about the upcoming mission.
I must admit that I am very excited, Grail. I believe that you will succeed and I believe that the Ravens will soon take to the skies again. 3 years we have been land bound and under the yoke of Zio Matrix. But our return is close at hand. Till later, Goodbye.
Kline W.K.