Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 4

Wasteland

Havok, Glaive and Bloodhand all soared across the desert wasteland in search for their contact. He had said that they were to meet together here so that there would be no tricks. As the three ACs continued on, Elijah was giddy inside is machine. Not only was he now included as one of the Hands of God, but now he would be a part of an even bigger group, a clan.

"There they are."

In the distance stood three ACs, all awaiting their arrival. Cain recognized both White Wolf and Phantom. Phantom was a four-legged lightweight model with a laser rifle and a howitzer. On its back was a single set of warhead-missiles. And the shoulders supported a stealth extension, thus granting it invisibility in radar. White Wolf was a mid-heavyweight machine, colored in white and grey with some splashes of red on it. It was armed with bazookas in both hands, a chain gun and a linear cannon on the back, and missile interceptors on the shoulders.

However, the third machine was unrecognized by all. It was a middleweight machine, tan in color with streaks of black across it. It was armed with a sniper rifle and an energy saber. On its back were dual grenade launchers and its shoulder sported a mid-flight hover extensions.

"That must be him. Let's go."

The three machines zoomed toward the other and stopped before them. The three Ravens stepped out of their machines and onto the cockpit hatch. Looking around, they saw the pilots of the other machines as well. The unrecognized AC stood in the center and standing on its hatch was a tall, dark-skinned man with a thick beard. He wore a pair of dark glasses on his face which obscured his eyes from view thanks to the sun. He tilted his head to look at the three arrivals.

"So you guys made it. The Hands of God team. It's been awhile since I've seen you in action."

Koemai joked, "Yeah well, we can't become legends if we don't disappear every once in awhile."

"True." The man smiled before turning his gaze toward Elijah. "And I see you've added another in your ranks. Who is he?"

"This is Elijah." Cain answered. "He's in training with me."

The man nodded, "I see. Well, you guys already know Baron and Ellie."

The Ravens in question were on his right and left sides. Baron, who stood on his AC White Wolf, was a large guy wearing thin glasses and a jacket. Ellie, who was on Phantom, was a thin woman wearing dark clothes. Her jet-black hair was tied in the back and her eyes were like a hawk's; sharp and piercing.

"By reputation only."

The man continued, "Well, we just have to wait for one more...ah, here she comes."

Turning around, the group could see a trail of dust flying up from the distance. In the center of it was a dark shape, an AC moving at high speed.

Koemai grinned, "She? Alright, another woman. I think I'm..."

His grin faded as the AC drew closer. It was a dark blue AC with hover legs. It held a machine gun in one hand and a missile launcher in the other. On its back was a long range energy cannon and extra ammo. And the shoulders had extra shielding. Koemai's face turned into a sullen frown.

Cain also recognized the approaching AC, "Isn't that Cloak? Then the pilot must be..."

The dark machine stopped in place and the hatch open. A gorgeous woman with brown hair and eyes came out of the vehicle.

"I didn't know you were invited." Koemai grumbled.

The woman looked at Koemai with a scowl, "Ditto. I might have reconsidered coming."

With everyone present, the Raven lowered down to the ground below. As they touched down, the woman ignored Koemai for a moment and came up to Cain.

"Cain, hiya!" She suddenly jumped at him and clasped him in a fierce hug, "I haven't seen you in awhile. How's it going?"

Cain nervously hugged back and she moved away, "The same. You haven't changed much, Diana."

Diana brushed a hand through her hair, "Why change perfection?" She then looked over to Elijah, who was standing on the side. "And who is this?"

"Diana, this is Elijah. Elijah, Diana."

Diana's eyes narrowed as she stalked toward him. "Hmm, he's cute." she said seductively. She then reached her hand up and lightly stroked his cheek. "You have a girl?"

Elijah was utterly stunned by the woman's advances. Koemai growled in the distance while Cain decided to intervene. "Don't get any ideas. I need him reasonably sane."

The woman gave a fake pout, "You haven't changed either. Okay, I'll lay off." She began to walk away, but turned to give him a sly wink. "For now."

At this point, Koemai couldn't contain his annoyance any longer, "Don't you have anything better to do than trying to pick up under-aged boys?"

Diana frowned, "Well, I once knew a man, but he then showed himself a punk."

"Better that than a slut." he countered.

"The hell with you!"

"You first!"

As the two argued, Cain strode next to Elijah, "They used to date each other for a while, and then well...you can see what happened."

"He dumped her?" Elijah asked.

"I'm not sure really." He looked at the young man and realized that he was still staring at Diana dreamily.

"Get your head out of the clouds. She's way out of your league and level."

"Yeah, right." he responded. "If you ask me, she right in my league."

Cain shook his head as he looked at yet another victim to Diana's charms. "Yeah, right in a league of trouble."

"Ah, hem."

Charles had called them into attention, causing the two to stop arguing.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Charles and this is my AC, Professional. I called you all here because I recognize the talent in each one of you." His gaze circled around to each person. "This clan, Nightwatch will become the most powerful clan in existence. But in order for that to happen, we must complete a task that no one has done. A deed that'll put us over the top and make our mark."

"What are you talking about?" Baron asked.

Charles stayed silent for a moment before answering. "Silent Line. We're going to be the first to cross it."

Everyone gasped. Silent Line is the border line into a secret territory. From long distance, there can be seen faint images of a city, far advanced than ever seen. However, no one has ever entered it. The border line is guarded by powerful satellites and unknown defenses. Any attempt to cross the line meets these forces and disappear, thus the name Silent Line. No one, corporation or other, has ever crossed it. It would be considered suicide to even try. And everyone knew it.

"Are you insane?" Diana shot out. "Silent Line?"

"That is crazy even for me." Koemai added.

Charles held his hands up, "I know. But think about it. If we can get beyond Silent Line, we would be able to obtain the technology there. Just image the sheer power that can come from it."

"Even so, there's no way across." Ellie responded. "All who have tried have died."

"No, not everyone. I survived."

This shocked everyone even more. The fact that someone had survived going into Silent Line was nothing less than a miracle.

"In a solo mission, I tried to cross Silent Line and I almost succeed." Charles began. "But my AC was too badly damaged and I was unable to continue on so I had no choice but to turn around." He looked up at his AC. "My machine still bears the scar, as do I."

The others looked to see that one of the black streaks that were on Professional was actually a damaged point that was left alone. And looking at Charles, they could faintly see the edge of a scar on his shoulder that looked like it ran straight down his chest.

"I know what to expect and what to face." He continued. "But I can't do it alone. A single Raven can't do it, but a clan can. But each Raven has to be good. Really good." he stressed. "That's why I called you guys. You are some of the best around. And together, we can break through the Silent Line."

"Well...It sounds like a long shot." Baron responded.

"I'm not saying we go right away. That's just crazy. What we do it train ourselves for it." He lifted his head as his eyes roved across each individual machine. "We learn each others strengths and weaknesses so that we all know what to do in a crisis situation. Once that is done, we make our dominance known in the other clans. That way, when we do cross the line, everyone will know who we are." Looking back down at the Ravens, "I'm not asking you to go in this half-baked. As my AC indicates, I'm a professional. You help me get across and we'll share in the spoils. So what's the verdict?"

The group stayed quiet for a while as each person was in thought. Finally...

"I'm in." Ellie responded. "I like the thought of making history."

"I'm in as well." Baron added. "If we reach it, such technology would put us over all."

Diana shrugged, "Aw, why not. Things have been boring lately. This sounds like fun."

"The chance to be the top always works for me." Elijah agreed.

"Count me in. I need the challenge." Koemai responded.

Charles then turned his attention to Cain, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange. "And what about you?"

Cain folded his arms, "This is dangerous on an entirely new level. But I guess that's part of the game. I'm in."

Charles smiled, "So it's unanimous. We are clan Nightwatch. We see things no one else will see. We do things no one else can do. Our mission is to be the ultimate clan. Our goal...our destiny is to be the first to cross the Silent Line."

And so, a new clan is born....