Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Armored Core series. That belongs to Agetec and From Software. I only own the original characters. Thank you.
In TALON's Grasp
by: T.R. Fanatic
Chapter 26: Lessons
A warm, cloudless day was blessed upon the AC's.
A gentle breeze caused the tall wild grass to sway to and fro, brushing along the four pairs of giant metal feet while songbirds sang of a peaceful tune off in the distance.
...It was almost as if Kaze could hear the enemy coming. In the comfort of the cockpit seat, the pilot of Mecha tensed up, guiding the machine gun, carried in the right hand, to the wall of trees not far in front of the four AC's, discerning the sound of the jet engines, either whistling softly in his ears or in the back of his mind.
I promise you, brother. his mind hissed while his grip on the control became tighter. Murakumo won't even come near me this time!
A minute passed...
The pilot loosened his grip and eased his back to the chair, letting out a sigh. "Hey, Goki." he called out.
"...What?" the nervous R.O.M. pilot replied.
"Sensei's words are coming back to haunt me..."
"Which rule is it? 'Rule number seventeen: never let you guard down for an instant! (1)The moment you start thinking about what you're going to do when you get back home... BOOM!'"
Kaze smiled while he shook his head, eyes still poised to the forest's edge. "No, no... But, that's a good impression of Sensei, right there."
Goki chuckled. "Y'think?"
"It was what she said on the first day of class. 'Rule number one: ...Relax, will ya?'"
"I remember that!" Goki stated, withholding his laughter. "Yeah... I'm gonna get an ear-full from Sensei when the Arena matches come up next week..."
"'Arena matches?'"
"You don't know?" Hyper asked. "It's one of the biggest events that comes around every year!"
"I do know. Our Sensei gave us a special lecture on that a few weeks before the opening ceremonies. She said that if she talked it over with the rest of the class, it would calm her nerves."
"And she was right about that, Kaze." Goki added. "She literally shot right up the rankings! Right to tenth place! ...She was going to go for ninth, but..."
"But, what?" asked Bug.
"She was beaten by the ninth-ranked pilot:" Kaze stated. "a long-time friendly rival to our Sensei and one of the other teachers at the academy."
"Oh, now I know who you're talking about!" Hyper said. "Bad Apple and her AC, Detention going up against Barracuda and Torpedo. That battle made front page on every form of media!"
Bug nodded in agreement. "It must've been more popular than when Nine-Ball faced-" He was interrupted as soon as Mantis took a hit: a small missile to its right arm-weapon, doing little damage.
"Bug, are you all right?" asked Hyper.
"I'm okay!" Bug quickly adjusted his glasses and pulled the trigger on both controls, sending out two bright plasma beams to the direction of the missile's origin.
The MT, a Shogun model, staggered out of the forest, head and chest armor ripped away and missing an arm. A faint scream, mixed in with static, could be heard through the four AC's radios as the MT exploded.
"Shit!" a Shogun pilot cursed. "They spotted us!"
"All units, engage the AC's!" another Shogun pilot ordered.
A wall of black armor appeared from the forest, marching towards the four targets. In the sky, glider-like jets, armed with chain guns flew past the AC's before turning around to make a pincer strike with their fellow MT's.
"You kids know what to do now?" Chief asked over the AC's radio.
"Look after everyone's butt until the mission's over?" Kaze asked.
"Right. And if your AP's in the red, feel free to retreat. I won't yell at ya."
The AC pilots nodded.
"Okay?" Chief said. "...Go!"
To be continued...
Footnotes...
1. Oh, the irony... XP
T.R.: You won't be able to see the designs for Detention and Torpedo until later. (If you read my plan for turning this into a trilogy in my profile, those two AC's may not come around until the second act.)