Armored Core: Lunar Battle
Chapter 8 Recovery
Over in the infirmary, Nick was sitting in a chair next to one of the hospital beds. In the bed Tanja laid, her blue hair covering her bangs. She was covered with a thin sheet that the hospital used and her Raven pilot uniform. The left sleeve was ripped off to allow the doctors to properly handle the wounds on her arm, but they were minor. Her body was hooked up to a readout, keeping track of her pulse, heart rate, and her current body temperature. Behind them, teams Doom and Breaker watched them from the door, being cautious not to make any sort of sound that would distract Nick from his vigil. He knew they were there, but ignored them non the less. "See?" Sara asked, pointing at him.
"What's the big deal?" Chris asked stupidly, earning him a few glares from the group. "He's just sitting next to her."
Linda bopped his head. "You idiot! He has been sitting there ever since she was dragged up here. That means he hasn't move from that spot for almost twenty four hours."
"She's right," Eddy added. "He never left her side for any reason. Nothing to eat or drink there at all. Hell, he even fell asleep in that chair."
"Just tells me that he will need to take a hell of a piss," Chris replied. He then dug into his street jacket and pulled out a bottle of his strong liquor, which he then opened and took a drink from. He turned to Eddy and held the bottle to him. "Want a zip?"
Eddy glared at him. "No thanks. That one night taught me never to try your drinks!"
Chris shrugged and held it at Linda. She grinned and took the bottle from him and made to take a sip. Before the bottle even reached her lips, she whipped it at the back of Chris's head. The bottle shattered and the liquid spilled all over his body as he was knocked out. "That was for that same night, ass hole, for tricking Sara and me." She gave the unconscious pilot a swift kick in the side to prove her point, then went back to watching Nick. Eddy was surprised by her sudden change in mood, deciding that it is never a good idea to piss off any girl whatsoever. Unfortunately for those two, they never were aware of the fact that Chris's liquors are so strong, just the vapor is enough to get a person drunk. When Sara looked up, she noticed that Eddy and Linda were looking at each other woozily, both of their faces flushed red.
She sighed. "Come on, you two. Follow me." She grabbed Chris's body off the floor and walked down the hall out of the hospital, wondering how he was able to make an alcoholic beverage so potent as the other two followed her as well as they could, leaning on each other to help support themselves.
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"ENEMY ATTACK!!! ENEMY ATTACK!!!" A group of space MTs exploded as powerful explosives struck them, armor fragments flying all over the place. About ten MTs were already functioning and seeking out the enemy that now attacked them, but they couldn't locate him fast enough to stop the carnage that already was ensuing.
"Base bravo, this is battalion 106. Where is the target?"
"CANNOT LOCATE TARGET!!! THE RADAR WAS HIT FIRST!!!!" The pilot grimaced, this was sounding too much like the last couple bases on lunar. Those ones are out of service for now, considering it would take weeks to repair them. Rumor was spreading around that it was a Martian AC causing the havoc, but that was impossible. There were too few of those Ravens that actually made it down almost a week ago, and no additional reinforcements had been sent. Even if the ones that did make it survived to Lunar, they should have been long dead from suffocation. Whatever the case, something was taking these bases down, and all of them seemed to lose their radar before being attacked directly. His thoughts were ripped away from him when he heard a yell from his comm as one of his wingmates opened fire with his gatling gun. He turned in the direction the gun was pointing, but..
"Private, what the hell are you shooting at?!?"
"Something moved over there, sir. I saw a red glow."
"I don't see..." His MT interrupted as his radar picked up a heat signature. His MT identified it. "SHIIIIT! ITS A ...." He never finished his sentence, for his Mt was hit in the core by a laser cannon and exploded. The MTs opened fire on the unseen target, trying to hit whatever was out there before they met a similar fate. More laser blasts were fired, those soon backed up by chain gun rounds. Eventually, all the MTs were destroyed as was the base. Among the wreckage, a single light fixture shone upon a dark colored AC, its chain gun smoking.
The twenty two year old boy within sighed. His green eyes scanned his radar as he set up an encoded communication. "Destructor, this is Dark."
A female voice greeted him, who he recognized as Doom. "He's fiddling with the bathrooms this place has." By the sound of her voice, she was slightly irritated. "How'd it go?"
"This is the third base I have taken out within the past day," he replied, confirming that there was nothing left in the area. "I'm returning to base now. I should be back within a few hours." He steered his AC in another direction of the base and started to boost off at OB speeds. "What's wrong with the bathrooms?"
If he had a visual, he would have noticed a sour look on her face. "The toilets got backed up and the shower water is all mucky. Destructor appears to know how to fix them, so he went in and tried to handle them."
"Right. I'm going into comm blackout right now, so I'll talk with you when I get back."
"Understood. Be careful coming back."
"Don't worry, they'll never find me in this mess."
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Tanja stirred in her sleep, her consciousness returning to her. She tried to open her eyes, but was forced to squint because of the powerful light fixture above her. Once her eyes adjusted, which took about a minute, she immediately realized where the hell she was.
"Welcome back to the mortal world." She turned her head towards the voice, spotting Nick at her side. She now could confirm where she is.
"Let me guess," she said in a soft voice, "I'm in the infirmary right now." He nodded. "I'm here because of the severe heat from my AC's cockpit and my AC is in desperate need of repair." He nodded again. "Been in this damn room for a week."
"Try twenty four hours," Nick interrupted. "You weren't exposed to that much heat for as long as I have. As for your AC, it will take about a week just to do the repair work. But it will take even longer to get all of your systems wired up, repairs need to be done to your FCS, the EO needs to be replaced and aren't that easy to come by separately, and your AC is among the twenty or so units that made it back with a living pilot."
Tanja ignored this, for she was still trying to check for a feeling in her toes. "I couldn't stop him, my AC wasn't good enough."
"Just be grateful that your AC design was built up enough to keep you from dying from that last shot of his. If it makes you feel any better, I barely managed to fight him off, even with intensify."
She frowned. "It doesn't." She found feeling in her hands, immediately making an attempt of propping herself up more. After barely managing to get into a sitting position, she looked him in the eye. "Don't tell me you were in here the whole time."
He shrugged. "I did, only because it was Oblivion that we're talking about. Why?"
"Because you stink like a dog. You may want to consider high strength soap." She looked around the hospital room, noticing all the other Ravens that were currently stuck in the beds. "How did our friends fare?"
Nick looked at her calmly before responding. "They made it out all right. Nothing more that a bit of exhaustion and a few bumps and bruises, whether those be on their bodies or their ACs." He looked at the window. "But I haven't seen our Martian friend, Pilan, anywhere." Tanja thought she saw a red headed Raven well across the room, but there were nurses around the mercenary and were making hard to see who it was. It seemed that the nurses are very concerned about their patient, for Nick looked up. "Those nurses have been messing around with that Raven over there ever since before you got here. I can't figure out what the big deal is over there at all."
Tanja just looked around and thought for the next few minutes while Nick looked outside. "So, anything interesting happen while I was out?"
"Hardly," was Nick's reply. "There haven't been any new raven missions and the arena fights have been postponed until further notice. All of the operators have been in conferences, as far as I can tell, ever since the incident ended." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "If you ask me, the situation will have us in a similar position to Nerves Concord concerning Lunar. If that is the case, then I'll bet we'll be among the Ravens sent up to teach that corporation a lesson." Tanja smiled weakly, for the thought of a war looming upon them was not something she was used to, not since the Controller had attacked Layered. She shifted her attention to the TV on the opposite side of the room. Every bed had a TV near it, so that the patients could relax watching what they wanted. It was currently playing a scene from some ancient show called "Mobile Suit Gundam: 8th MS Team."
"I see your taste in television took priority here," she muttered so that he could hear. He turned red in annoyance as she changed it to the news channel. There was a motion clip of the battle that had occurred just the other day. "What the..."
"...Neo Core's surprise attack on Layered was a breach in neutrality laws that were instated when Mars declared war on the new corporation about a week ago. This recent act took the lives of thirty brave Muscle Tracer pilots and about twenty or so unnamed Ravens, a heavy blow for Global Cortex and the corporations that hire Ravens from them." The screen then changed to show an operator leaving the conference room right into a field of reporters and cameras. "Moments ago, the operators and officials of Global Cortex, who have been in a conference since the situation was brought back under control, adjourned their meeting with one thought in mind, revenge. They are now seeking skilled Ravens that have survived the battle to accept some sort of mission, but specific details pertaining to this mission haven't been disclosed to the public. All that is known is that it involves the cooperation of all the earth corporations and some of their specialist pilots." The screen changed again, showing the remains of what appeared to be a base. "In other news, beams from the silent line satellite rain down..." Tanja turned off the TV right there, not really caring about the damned satellite.
"Seems they did just what you feared they would do, Reaper," Tanja said as she struggled to get out of bed.
"Tanja, you really shouldn't be moving right now!"
"That didn't stop you the other day, did it?" Nick groaned upon hearing her response. "Besides, I'll never feel any better without moving around." She managed to stand herself up, but she almost fell upon trying to step away from the bed. Nick managed to catch her in time.
'Seems that I am rubbing off on her. Why is she acting like this?' He shook the thought to the back of his head as he looked at her. "Guess it's my turn to help you walk, eh?" She nodded. "Fine then," he stated as he led her out of the room, "Where to?"
"The garage. I want to check up on something..."
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"Doctor, I think you should take a look at this." The nurse's eyes were wide open in surprise at what she was looking at.
"Mary, what is it this time?" a doctor muttered as he walked towards the nurse.
"These PET readings for that one Raven are unusual."
"Which raven, there are almost twenty in here."
"The red head girl. The one without any physical wounds, yet has been unconscious for over twenty eight hours." The doctor knew which one she meant now and checked the scans.
"Are these right? No person has these kinds of readings while unconscious!"
"That's not all, she's been muttering something in another language and has often been thrashing around in her bed since midnight." The two looked at the Raven they spoke of, who still wore a red Raven's flight suit belonging to Nerves Concord. She suddenly opened her eyes and scanned the area quickly. She then immediately sat up, startling both medical personnel with her sudden movement. The raven looked around a little bit more with pure red eyes before getting up and walking away, leaving the two staring after her.
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Tanja and Nick made it to the Garage within a matter of minutes, in which they continued on towards her AC. It definitely looked worse on the outside than it did within. Almost the entire head was destroyed by Oblivion, only a sliver of its visor had remained intact. The right arm was dangling off of the unit by a few wires at the shoulder guard, but there was a mess of cables where the main segment of the arm used to be. It also turned out that the Karasawa rifle was damaged because an MT had stepped on it before the battle was over, making it chancy to use in another fight until it could be repaired. The blade arm was in shambles, considering cables were jutting out of the socket where the shoulder should be. Although the arm itself was recovered, it was flat as a pancake due to yet another unit landing right on top of it. The rockets were decimated, and her core had blade stabs, bullet holes, and good chunks of armor blown off from battle.
"I can't believe I survived that," she mumbled under her breath, unaware that Nick had heard her.
"Same thing I though," he said. "I barely survived my encounter, and my AC wasn't in much better shape." He looked behind him and saw the still charred remains of his Deathsythe VII, with the repaired Deathsythe VIII standing next to it. "Of course, I might never be able to pilot that old one again. By the looks of things, your AC might end up giving mine company." The two Ravens just looked at what remained of Hunter III.
"You were right about one thing," Tanja said in a low tone.
Nick looked at her. "Right about what?"
"The unit was too focused on energy use." She looked at Nick, their eyes meeting. "I partially lost because I had to use my missiles and couldn't use my EO, Rifle, or boosters." She glanced at Hunter III again.
"Why did you even bother with all that energy equipment anyway?"
Tanja just stared emptily at her AC. "My aunt piloted an AC that was exceptionally powerful," she murmured so that only he could hear. "It was said that her AC used nothing but energy based weapons, and she had never lost a match." She started to look a little depressed. "I never got a chance to see her or her AC, for she died when I was about eleven on Mars."
'Mars,' Nick thought. 'The Martian Colony Massacre.' He looked sorrowfully at Tanja. "She died in the incident, didn't she?"
"That's what I've been told," Tanja murmured again, then turned to Nick. "But she died fighting in the cockpit."
"Your motto," Nick noted. "I'm assuming that you are still going to stick to it."
"Of course," she said with a smile. "All I need is either a new AC or this one repaired." She turned back and looked at Hunter III one last time before motioning Nick to help her move on.
"If we get another mission, your going to need a new AC anyway," Nick mentioned. "It might be wise to visit old Greg again. He can get you a new AC built within a day, after all." Tanja nodded in agreement. They walked past the other Raven garages before arriving at the shop, where they were greeted by Greg himself.
"Didn't expect ya both back so soon," Greg said in greeting. "What can I do fer ya today?"
"Hoping to build a new AC," Nick said.
Greg's expression changed quickly to anger. "WHAT!!! DON TELL ME YA ALREADY WASTED YER AC! YA BARELY HAD ER FOR A DAY, AND NOW YA EXPECT ME TA..."
"Chill, Greg," Tanja yelled loud enough to shut him up. Nick was still recovering from Greg's sudden change in emotion when his ear started to ring from her yelling. Tanja noticed this. "Sorry, Nick," she murmured before turning back to Greg. "We're here because MY AC got totaled yesterday.
Greg blinked in surprise from both of her statements directed at him. "Oh, in that case, apologies fer my reaction. Help yerselves, ya both know where they er." He started walking towards the back to warm up the assembly equipment when he turned his head towards them. "So, wen da wedding?" The two shot him deathglares, which made him hasten his movement.
"What did he mean by that, exactly?" Tanja questioned Nick as they moved towards the Core terminal.
"He saw you in my bed yesterday," Nick murmured, "when he was telling me that Deathsythe VIII was ready."
Tanja's eyes widened. "So, he thinks that we.." Nick nodded. "I'm going to remind you to help me kick Chris's ass when we bump into him again." Nick nodded in agreement as Tanja skimmed through the new parts that became available. She was in luck, for new Mirage parts had just come out of the factories and now were in stock. Comparing the statuses of each new part, she finally made her selections. For the AC's body frame, she once again went for a human look with primarily Mirage products. She used the new MCM-M1/008 as the core, a new Mirage model featuring an overbooster and a sleek design similar to her MX/002 core. She also equipped the new MAM-MX/MDD arm, giving the AC angular shoulder guards and light spikes on the elbow. The legs are the new MLM-XA3/LW, a sleek set of legs that offered good speed and could take a load. She chose the CHD-09-OXI, a new Crest head that featured the latest in lightweight, high strength armor plating and featuring an impressive radar range that only a back radar could provide. The boosters are the same FLEET model that she used for Hunter III, with the same generator and radiators as before. For her weapon systems, she purchased three Crest weapons. She ordered the CWM-36-4 medium missile launcher, the compact CWR-S50 small rockets, and the CWG-ARF-180 combat burst rifle. She decided that she would use her Moonlight she purchased last time for the left arm. Once they were done buying the parts for Hunter IV and checking for when it would be ready, the two left the shop and made their way out of the garage, only to bump into a familiar red head.
"Pilan," Tanja said in surprise. "How have you been?" Pilan glared at both Nick and Tanja with her unnatural red eyes, surprising both Ravens. "Pilan?"
"Fine," she muttered, in a tone that didn't quite match her normal voice. Her eyes averted to her AC, which was standing next to an identical one.
"I thought you only had the one AC," Nick said.
"This one," Pilan pointed to the one that had an A under 'Zeo Matrix,' "belonged to the pilot that broke in." Her tone was far to monotonous. She then walked towards her AC. "By the way," she said as she turned around to face the Ravens. "The Cortex is seeking Ravens to go to Lunar to fight Neo Core on their own turf. If your interested, you should sign up." She then turned and entered her core. Nick was about to ask her another question when her cockpit sealed. Her AC was activated and left the Garage.
'Is it just me,' both Ravens thought simultaneously, 'or is there something bothering her.' They glanced at each other for a brief moment before leaving the garage.
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Chris and Sara were standing outside of the door to the Breaker's room when Tanja and Nick managed to get back up to their level. The two reacted the instant they saw them. "Tanja," Sara exclaimed in glee, "It's great to see you out of the hospital."
"Good to be back," she replied, grinning slightly. Her eyes adverted to Chris, who was currently greeting Nick. Unfortunately for him, Nick smashed him into a wall.
"That's for yesterday," Nick muttered before turning back to Tanja. He then noticed where they were standing. "Sara, what are you doing standing outside your room anyway?"
"Eddy and Linda," she murmured.
"What about them?" Tanja asked confused.
"Well, Chris tried to get them to drink some of his alcohol," Sara started. Tanja and Nick started to advance on Chris. "Before you think of punishing him, will you two hear me out!" she yelled, startling the two. Positive that they wouldn't pound the Raven, she continued. "Anyway, they declined and smashed his liquor over his head. What we didn't know is that his liquor is potent enough to intoxicate by just breathing in the air around the liquid." She paused for a second. "I brought them into our room to try and have then rest it out of their system, but they found their way into your liquor cabinet in their drunken states." She pointed at Tanja when she said that part before continuing. "By time I knew what was happening, they both threw Chris and me out and locked the door behind them."
"MY LIQUOR!" Tanja yelled, startling the three Ravens. "OUT OF THE WAY!" She tried to get to her door, only to almost fall over. Nick rescued her from a fall and helped her to the door, determined to drag Eddy's drunken ass out of there. She took out her key card and unlocked the door. They both looked into the room, which was darkened due to the lights being out. The instant they entered, they could smell the booze the two had opened and consumed, but they could also smell something else in the air. They cautiously entered the room and easily found the two they were looking for, namely because they were making mild noises on the furthest bed. Before they could get any closer, both of them were hit by something soft, which covered their faces. They removed the items and looked at them, immediately identifying them as undergarments belonging to both Ravens. They looked at each other in the dark, looked at the bed, then slowly left the room. When the door was closed and locked behind them, they simply slumped against the wall, their eyes wide as saucers.
"Yo," Chris said in an attempt to get their attention, "why did you leave without Eddy or Linda?"
The two didn't respond immediately. When Sara asked them the same question, they both murmured simultaneously, "You don't want to know." Confused, both Sara and Chris inched towards the door, forgetting that they needed Tanja's key to open it. That is when they both heard a low moan of pleasure, followed by a series of noises. Realizing what they heard, the backed away from the door.
"They aren't doing what I think they're doing," Sara said, "are they?"
"Both of you," Nick said, "Can use my room tonight." He struggled to get himself up, partially because he was trying to help Tanja up as well. "I'm gonna get some fresh air," he murmured, trying to get Tanja to use Sara for support. He turned his head towards her when he felt her not getting off.
"I think I'll go with you," she muttered, leaning her weight onto his shoulder. They both moved off down the hall, leaving two confused Ravens in the hall.
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"Nick, what are we doing back in the garage?" Tanja asked fifteen minutes later.
"I wasn't kidding about getting fresh air," he responded, helping her move towards the changing room. "I'm taking my AC to the surface to try and relax." He looked into her eyes. "If you still feel like coming, you might as well get your pilot suit on, otherwise Deathsythe won't let you in." Tanja nodded and started to get changed, while Nick left her to get his own on. Once she was finished, she used the wall for support, although she did chance trying to walk without it before she got to the exit with success. Nick was already waiting there. "Think you can chance walking to my AC without help?"
"I think so," she said. She led the way to the black AC, Nick following her in case she lost her balance. They easily got there without mishap and got into the AC. It may have been designed for one person, but there is plenty of room within the cockpit for a second person to squeeze in. While Tanja found a spot to get comfortable, in case Nick boosted it to the max, Nick began the startup procedures. He activated the generator first, followed by the radiator and the main computer system, allowing the computer to finish the startup.
"Welcome, Grim Reaper," the AC said in a feminine voice. "Deathsythe VIII is fully operational, currently running on normal mode. Scanning unit..." Nick made sure Tanja was safely secured in the cockpit before he sat at the control seat and fastened himself in.
"Deathsythe, remove the machine gun." Nick said.
"Acknowledged," the computer responded. Mechanical arms grasped the machine gun tightly before the AC released it. "MWG-MG/800 removed." There was a beep at the console. "Warning: unidentified biosign in the cockpit."
"Deathsythe, override biosign warning for Raven Tanja."
"Processing...vioce print of Raven Tanja requested. State name of unit."
'I didn't think that I would be asked to confirm myself in an AC,' she thought to herself. "Deathsythe."
"Processing...Raven Tanja recorded. Scanning biosign Welcome aboard, Tanja," the computer said.
"Thank you," Tanja replied.
"Alright then, let's go," Nick said, motioning his AC forward towards the lift. It cautiously stepped towards it and was lifted up towards the surface of the planet. A starry, moonless night greeted them, which became blotched out as the screen turned green. "What the hell..."
"Night vision mode engaged," Deathsythe said. Nick muttered something as he turned the unit left. Once he found where he was going, he eased the mech off of the lift and let it touch down onto the solid ground.
"Alright, Tanja. Here we go." The roar of boosters was heard as the unit accelerated forward, the unit disappearing into the night.
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Sorry for the long wait, problems always seem to rise. No matter, this chapter is done, and the next one is coming up, reguardless of how many reviews I get for this one, because i just like all the reviewers who always come back for more.
Bloodykitsune: feeling's mutual, hope to hear from you again
Xardion: I already know. As you see, though, Tanja is down, but certainly not out yet.
i may make a sequel if this actually lasts to completion. till next time