Okay, so I wasn't very fast. Oh well. Being prophetic about my own life
never was my forte.
ENOUGH EXCUSES!
You know the drill: I don't own Zone of the Enders. D'you think I could just let everyone assume?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3: Blood Angel
Amante was quite happy now that her new frame was had finally been completed. It had seemed like an eternity, and, in light of recent events, two years was certainly too long to wait for anything. Furlair had managed to wear out four "Scarmiglione" frames in the on-and-off battles with BIS over the months. And she hadn't managed to take out a single one of them! It was infuriating, but now, right after her eighteenth birthday, Serqet was finally ready for battle. The design was similar to Scarmiglione or Neith, but this one had a much more devilish feel than the older models. It was like "Anubis" in the concept of having a tail, but this tail was heavily armored, and had a stinger-shaped laser at the end. Serqet was the ancient Egyptian scorpion goddess, who ruled over the isle of the blessed dead. The frame was quite appropriate for that namesake. Its weapon systems were absolutely cutting edge. Amante would be able to rule over fate, choosing who lived and who died. The OF would be completely and totally interfaced with her mind. Serqet virtually became its runner's body. The frame was mostly black and crimson, though portions of the head and weapons imitated Furlair's hair color. The wings were long and bat- like, and quite slender, like the rest of Serqet, which had the odd feminine qualities of "Orcrist" or "Nephthys." The legs were the standard lower appendages of an orbital frame, though the feet were significantly more defined than those of most equipped with the signature anti-proton reactor. The hands had five fingers each, though they quickly extended into laser claws. On the shoulders were two bright-red energy cannons, each shaped somewhat like a scorpion's pincher that held a gun barrel. Amante found herself already in the cockpit, about to be strapped in.
"It's time for my comeback special!" she cackled. BAHRAM's childish she-devil hadn't matured much in two years' time, but one could be sure that she was as dangerous and seductive as ever. Furlair donned the specialized helmet that would connect her with Serqet on a mental level. The interior was made with a lining of very old Metatron. This allowed the frame's computer to create a complete link with the runner without frying her brain by transporting too much energy at one time. Most of the test subjects from the original version of the OF had died, lost most of their memory, or turned to vegetables. But this model was made especially for Amante, and all of the prototype linking systems used with other girls had been successful. "The other girls... Most of them kicked and screamed, even though they weren't going to die or anything. Each and every one of them freaked out... except for her. Maybe she'll make a good runner... or maybe not!"
"Miss Furlair, we're going to begin the complete Mindflow Link program. Are you ready?" a voice from outside asked over the radio.
"All set!"
"Initiating link."
Several cables wound their way into the back of her helmet, and the frame attached Amante to her chair with one-of-a-kind metal restraints, which also bounced a current back and forth through her nervous system. The linking energy between Furlair's brainwaves and the ship's computer reached a maximum, and the runner blacked out for a moment. When she came to, Amante found that she was looking out into the darkened hangar that housed her frame. As far as she could tell, she really was Serqet. She'd tried it out times before, and found it quite entertaining. A voice crackled in her mind.
"Is everything running properly, Miss Furlair?"
BAHRAM had truly perfected the I.D.O. Mindflow system. The runner was one with her frame. However, the pilot had to be female. The male brain chemistry just didn't work right. But there were other versions of the program that could work fairly well for men, though they could not link completely. Cage Midwell's frame "Testament" had been a great example, though it had been blown out of existence. Amante grinned, thought neither her body nor Serqet made such an expression.
"Systems at one-hundred-percent! Hello down there!" she answered with a sense of giddiness in the transmissions received by the scientists' radios.
"Are you ready to proceed with your attack on BIS Headquarters?" the BAHRAM engineer asked.
"Yep, though I'd like some escorts, please!"
"We'll be sending some 'Mummyheads' and some of the new 'Venators' with you."
"Super!"
As the docking mechanisms released Serqet into the air, thirty more frames came online. All of them were unmanned. Completely soulless beings of pure logic, they would proceed to destroy until told to stop. Fifteen were Mummyheads, the brownish-gray metal skeletons supporting jar-shaped armor and two turrets on either side of the fairly simple, nondescript head, either firing missiles or powerful blasts of energy. The other half were the dull red dragons of steel and Metatron called Venators. The name meant "hunter," and hunting was what they did. They were designed with large, complex legs capable of running, which featured talons for seizing enemy frames. There were also two large, sharp wings each, triangular heads equipped with precision lasers and narrowed eyes, and long, skeletal tails, among other unpleasantly brutal features. The sleek bodies sported projectile weapons of various types. They had two arms, which terminated with hands exhibiting a strangely high level of articulation for a runnerless machine. The claws were equipment for firing two types of impaling attack. One version was to be swung at an enemy when the fingers converged, and the other was an energy spike fired from an open hand. These man-made demons were deadly, and they would do all they could to destroy anything considered to be hostile. Worst of all, these things did not fear death. These frames could not experience such a sensation. They would willingly hurl themselves in front of a full-force burst attack to protect a slightly more strategic ally without a second thought.
"Is everybody ready to go?" Amante asked the unmanned frames in her transmitted tone of destructive glee. Each simply answered with the signal for "affirmative" as they fell into ranks around Serqet. The hangar door opened into an airlock, and the squadron moved as one into the new room. The gate closed and sealed itself behind them, and the second slid away to release some of BAHRAM's finest technology into the thin atmosphere over the red Martian desert. Furlair mentally activated the closed-circuit radio to command her loyal death commandos. "Let's go!"
The thirty-one frames raced across the terrain in the direction of the BIS HQ. It wouldn't be too long at this speed. Amante sang a little ditty in her head while the OF group soared along, Serqet in the center. Each Venator was paired with a Mummyhead, and they fell into five rows around Furlair's frame, six in each, or three unmanned duos. As the hovering platoon approached the territory closely surrounding the enemy hideout, the A.I. partners stopped as Amante saw a flashing red arrow suddenly appear in her field of vision, prompting her to discover that something very fast was approaching from the southeast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who could it be? Me, of course. Anyway, I'll be filling in that plot gap in the next chapter. I figure that come chapter 5, BIS will show up, and there's gonna one heck of a confrontation. So, if you were loyal at one time, then semper fi. (that means stick around) As always, I'd appreciate a review. Maybe I should just do like everyone else and make you review on pain of death. That's what I'll do! Review or else! And don't nobody does "else" like I do! Fluff-filled and unoriginal reviews are fine, but I KNOW that you could give me some constructive criticism here. All you happy people...
ENOUGH EXCUSES!
You know the drill: I don't own Zone of the Enders. D'you think I could just let everyone assume?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3: Blood Angel
Amante was quite happy now that her new frame was had finally been completed. It had seemed like an eternity, and, in light of recent events, two years was certainly too long to wait for anything. Furlair had managed to wear out four "Scarmiglione" frames in the on-and-off battles with BIS over the months. And she hadn't managed to take out a single one of them! It was infuriating, but now, right after her eighteenth birthday, Serqet was finally ready for battle. The design was similar to Scarmiglione or Neith, but this one had a much more devilish feel than the older models. It was like "Anubis" in the concept of having a tail, but this tail was heavily armored, and had a stinger-shaped laser at the end. Serqet was the ancient Egyptian scorpion goddess, who ruled over the isle of the blessed dead. The frame was quite appropriate for that namesake. Its weapon systems were absolutely cutting edge. Amante would be able to rule over fate, choosing who lived and who died. The OF would be completely and totally interfaced with her mind. Serqet virtually became its runner's body. The frame was mostly black and crimson, though portions of the head and weapons imitated Furlair's hair color. The wings were long and bat- like, and quite slender, like the rest of Serqet, which had the odd feminine qualities of "Orcrist" or "Nephthys." The legs were the standard lower appendages of an orbital frame, though the feet were significantly more defined than those of most equipped with the signature anti-proton reactor. The hands had five fingers each, though they quickly extended into laser claws. On the shoulders were two bright-red energy cannons, each shaped somewhat like a scorpion's pincher that held a gun barrel. Amante found herself already in the cockpit, about to be strapped in.
"It's time for my comeback special!" she cackled. BAHRAM's childish she-devil hadn't matured much in two years' time, but one could be sure that she was as dangerous and seductive as ever. Furlair donned the specialized helmet that would connect her with Serqet on a mental level. The interior was made with a lining of very old Metatron. This allowed the frame's computer to create a complete link with the runner without frying her brain by transporting too much energy at one time. Most of the test subjects from the original version of the OF had died, lost most of their memory, or turned to vegetables. But this model was made especially for Amante, and all of the prototype linking systems used with other girls had been successful. "The other girls... Most of them kicked and screamed, even though they weren't going to die or anything. Each and every one of them freaked out... except for her. Maybe she'll make a good runner... or maybe not!"
"Miss Furlair, we're going to begin the complete Mindflow Link program. Are you ready?" a voice from outside asked over the radio.
"All set!"
"Initiating link."
Several cables wound their way into the back of her helmet, and the frame attached Amante to her chair with one-of-a-kind metal restraints, which also bounced a current back and forth through her nervous system. The linking energy between Furlair's brainwaves and the ship's computer reached a maximum, and the runner blacked out for a moment. When she came to, Amante found that she was looking out into the darkened hangar that housed her frame. As far as she could tell, she really was Serqet. She'd tried it out times before, and found it quite entertaining. A voice crackled in her mind.
"Is everything running properly, Miss Furlair?"
BAHRAM had truly perfected the I.D.O. Mindflow system. The runner was one with her frame. However, the pilot had to be female. The male brain chemistry just didn't work right. But there were other versions of the program that could work fairly well for men, though they could not link completely. Cage Midwell's frame "Testament" had been a great example, though it had been blown out of existence. Amante grinned, thought neither her body nor Serqet made such an expression.
"Systems at one-hundred-percent! Hello down there!" she answered with a sense of giddiness in the transmissions received by the scientists' radios.
"Are you ready to proceed with your attack on BIS Headquarters?" the BAHRAM engineer asked.
"Yep, though I'd like some escorts, please!"
"We'll be sending some 'Mummyheads' and some of the new 'Venators' with you."
"Super!"
As the docking mechanisms released Serqet into the air, thirty more frames came online. All of them were unmanned. Completely soulless beings of pure logic, they would proceed to destroy until told to stop. Fifteen were Mummyheads, the brownish-gray metal skeletons supporting jar-shaped armor and two turrets on either side of the fairly simple, nondescript head, either firing missiles or powerful blasts of energy. The other half were the dull red dragons of steel and Metatron called Venators. The name meant "hunter," and hunting was what they did. They were designed with large, complex legs capable of running, which featured talons for seizing enemy frames. There were also two large, sharp wings each, triangular heads equipped with precision lasers and narrowed eyes, and long, skeletal tails, among other unpleasantly brutal features. The sleek bodies sported projectile weapons of various types. They had two arms, which terminated with hands exhibiting a strangely high level of articulation for a runnerless machine. The claws were equipment for firing two types of impaling attack. One version was to be swung at an enemy when the fingers converged, and the other was an energy spike fired from an open hand. These man-made demons were deadly, and they would do all they could to destroy anything considered to be hostile. Worst of all, these things did not fear death. These frames could not experience such a sensation. They would willingly hurl themselves in front of a full-force burst attack to protect a slightly more strategic ally without a second thought.
"Is everybody ready to go?" Amante asked the unmanned frames in her transmitted tone of destructive glee. Each simply answered with the signal for "affirmative" as they fell into ranks around Serqet. The hangar door opened into an airlock, and the squadron moved as one into the new room. The gate closed and sealed itself behind them, and the second slid away to release some of BAHRAM's finest technology into the thin atmosphere over the red Martian desert. Furlair mentally activated the closed-circuit radio to command her loyal death commandos. "Let's go!"
The thirty-one frames raced across the terrain in the direction of the BIS HQ. It wouldn't be too long at this speed. Amante sang a little ditty in her head while the OF group soared along, Serqet in the center. Each Venator was paired with a Mummyhead, and they fell into five rows around Furlair's frame, six in each, or three unmanned duos. As the hovering platoon approached the territory closely surrounding the enemy hideout, the A.I. partners stopped as Amante saw a flashing red arrow suddenly appear in her field of vision, prompting her to discover that something very fast was approaching from the southeast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who could it be? Me, of course. Anyway, I'll be filling in that plot gap in the next chapter. I figure that come chapter 5, BIS will show up, and there's gonna one heck of a confrontation. So, if you were loyal at one time, then semper fi. (that means stick around) As always, I'd appreciate a review. Maybe I should just do like everyone else and make you review on pain of death. That's what I'll do! Review or else! And don't nobody does "else" like I do! Fluff-filled and unoriginal reviews are fine, but I KNOW that you could give me some constructive criticism here. All you happy people...