A towering metal entity stands, dark, in a large hangar-like room with several other similar models of mechs. Most of the large plates covering its medium build are lit blue, and several signs of welding are evident on most of them. These are usually unnoticable on the large scale these machines battle on. A hovering silver semi-circular platform hovers at chest-height to the metal man, several men carefully inspecting it, ignorant of their height. The traditional cannon-like standard chassey of the men is installed, as well as fairly thin arms and legs. A surpressed-fire rifle is by its side, as well as the normal radar and missile parts given to new Ravens. Beside it stands a nearly identical yellow machine, however, the mechanics are hard at work in the stead of studying the build. Several smaller platforms hold divisions of welders, each working hard to carefully replace the torn ligiment from the metallic behemoth of a machine. Between its large feet stand a man in pale tan robes, an old and mostly forgotten symbol of martian pilots. His hair lays smoothly, half of the length of his back on his robes.
"That was quite a fall you took back there, is your head all right?" the young voice of Izzy echoes around the hangar from behind the tan man. He turns around to face the red-haired man.
"The name's Izzy, I pilotted the blue AC in the test"
A fairly soft voice comes from the tan one, "Ah, I see, and I'm fine thanks to this magnificent piece of work. My name is Cedric, it's good to meet you. You put on quite a show in the test"
Izzy chuckles a bit before answering. "I was just lucky, being the last person he set his eyes on. You weren't so bad yourself, really"
"If you say so...I can't wait to start work, I've always been a fan of these machines. I look forward to us working together"
Izzy nods, taking a look at the mechanics working on the yellow mech. "They certainly didn't spend a lot on our models...the firepower is lacking a lot, and the defence...Makes you wonder if the red one made it out alive at all"
Cedric nods solemnly, an announcement echoing throughout the hangar soon after. "We'll be arriving at the docks in approximately ten minutes. Please clear the hangar in the case of turbulance and prepare to disembark. That is all"
"I suppose that's our cue to head out and collect our things." Izzy says, beggining to walk away. "I think we share a room, I'll see you there later, after I see to the shop. It was good meeting you."
The large ship drifts slowly towards a closed hexagonal panel, which slowly opens, showing a massive docking station built for a single of the pieces of engineering the ship represents. It holds up to twenty of the mechs, leaving plenty of space for personell and comfort. As it drifts inside, a magnetic field pulls it towards the bottom of the hangar as the panel again seals itself, and air is released to the chamber via massive airlock systems. Several men exit through a main ramp off of the ship, whilst a large front panel to the ship opens to move the ACs to the storage and modification sections of the towering base structure.
A few moments later, Izzy stands, his hair slowly falling back into place from running, in the front of two shining steel elevator doors. His feet are still moving impatiently, the door openning only a crack before he slips his hands into place and forces it the rest of the way open. With a quick tug he pushes out what seems like a businessman and a secretary,
scattering a few papers from each. "Sorry, in a hurry, gotta go!" He says, hammering on one of the buttons in the elevator. The two give him a disgusted look as the doors separate them.
A few moments later, the door opens again, this time in a hangar several times larger than the one on the ship. Hundreds of the machines line the walls, each divided neatly via letter and number coding. Izzy sprints through several hundred yards before nearly collapsing onto the steel plating next to a desk.
"Uhh, sir, can I help you?" a woman in a grey uniform asks from behind the desk. Still nearly on the ground, the tired man asks, "Where did the ACs that just left the ship go to? You know, the ones from the new trainees"
The woman looks at him, puzzled for a moment, then looks at the monitor. "It says here they're going to the shop grounds. This is the storage hangar. The shop grounds are used for modifying, I'm guessing they expected modifications on the two before arriving here for final touches"
Izzy finishes his job by falling the rest of the way onto the ground, moaning.
A few minutes and several failed attempts to pass out later, Izzy rises from the ground, brushes himself off, and walks away calmly enough that the people who were staring moments ago nearly forgot precisely why they were watching him instead of inspecting their mechs. Descending the elevator a floor, Izzy walks over to the counter of a much smaller hangar. The counters are melded into the wall structure to make them more convinient, and several monitors of the ACs in the shop hangar rest on the walls. Another one of the desk-keepers walks over and takes a look at the man nearby. "You're the new pilot, right? Izzy, of the blue mech over there?" He points.
Izzy nods. "Alright, tell me what I can do with that thing as of now. I'm not exactly happy with its current state"
The shopkeeper points to a monitor next to the counter. It shows a basic model wireframe of an AC, as well as a numeric color-code on the bottom.
"If you're really unhappy with its current state, you can hit the delete button at the bottom to ship all the money into your shop account and sell the parts, then redesign it from scrap.
That's not reccomended, though, as people tend to overspend on certain parts and forget their limited funds"
"I see..." the red-haired man says, drifting over to the monitor. Several other people are occupying similar machines, including Cedric and a few recently-returned ravens that embarked on missions.
After selling the radar and replacing it with a better-equipped head, Izzy settles for upgrading his rifle to a more powerful laser rifle. A few changes in the color also turn it into a black with the larger plates orange, in place of the silver with blue highlights it stood previously. Satisfied, Izzy finishes by hitting the large "Confirm and install" button on the bottom-right of the monitor. He walks towards the door, soon stopped by a group of important-looking people from the Nest. One of them, a woman, in a familiar grey uniform, speaks.
"Izzy, isn't it?" Izzy nods. "Good. We're here about your arena arrangements. You'll be given a position in the arena upon completion of a training exercize tomorrow. This will be a two-on-two match, you'll be paired with Cedric, whom I beleive you've met"
Cedric, overhearing, walks up beside Izzy and listens as well.
"You'll be facing two of our other newer candidates, named Orlic and Claive. Succeed, and you'll each be given a fairly high rank in the G section of the arena"
The two nodd.
"Tomorrow at nine, be prepared. Your ACs will be transported to the arena grounds inside the Nest at eight to prepare, so finish any modifications by then. We'll see you soon"
Cedric nods and responds as the group turns and begins to leave. "I'm looking forward to it, thank you"
Izzy points his thumb at Cedric, saying merely, "Err, yeah, what he said"
"Oh, by the way..." Izzy continues, turning to the robed one now. "Did you catch our room number? I'm going to head there after I watch a match or two at the Arena"
"Sector L, number 4-02. Remember that"
"Got it."
The glint of shining and towering sheets of metal shines far and wide in the home arena of the Ravens. Two towering machines stand at opposing ends, giving off the normal magnified grunts and screeching of preparation for battle, although coming from different sources than hand-to-hand combat. A thick mist pours from the joints of both as the restraints release, and a towering blue barrier encases them into a dome, trapped to fight to the death. The metal giants lift their weapons, and the battle begins.
A loud bang echoes throughout the arena, followed by the cheering of the fans sitting outside the forcefield in towering rows, like a stadium. Screens from the many microscopic, floating cameras are displayed around the rows to provide many different angles for the fans' enjoyment, and to rake in more customers to pay for the expensive exhibitions.
A four-legged figure bursts from the red explosion, blending in with the steel of the ground in a silver glint. Behind it trails twin blue bursts of flame from two boosters mounted on its thin frame. With a raise of its arm, a red beam appears in its left arm, slowly forming into a blade. Two hatches on its back pop up, and a magnificent purple burst of energy pushes from behind it, hurling it at uncontrollable speeds towards its bulky, tank-like red target. Only a few moments later, it and a green blade meet in mid-air, forcing the silver figure into the air. A long, slender black barrel descends into its left hand as the blade disintigrates. A beaming red object rockets out of it, met by another similar object. The two collide in front of the silver spider-like mech, hurling it faster into the air behind it. The two hatches on its back open once again, taking a moment to collect energy before releasing a powerful beam of propulsion behind it, barely enough to stop a collision against a steel pillar at the edge of the arena, but still leaving a wonderfully large scorched mark on it.
A host of missiles quickly meet their mark at the silver AC's position soon after, however. Three of them hammer into the chest of the AC, one last one ripping a leg off of it before the mech hurls itself back into the air. In its right hand, seven rapid shots fling from a machinegun, each sinking only slightly into the tank-like mech's armor. Another barrage fires off, sinking again into the thick armor of the grounded being, slightly closer to the head, and a third series of bullets soon makes it clear what the target is. One of the bullets hurls towards a fairly thick antenna sticking out of the top, sending it hurling backwards, while another smashes one of two red-tinted glass cameras. The silver entity begins its descent afterwards, hurling with a familiar red blade from its arm.
The tank also powers his green saber up, but the deja-vu of events ends quickly after it ends, the green blade stabbing far too early whilst the spider-like mech lands with blade extended, ripping the extended blade-equipped arm off. Taking a moment to balance due to a missing leg, the silver mech slices at the center of the tank-like being, only to be met by a surprisingly strong bazooka barrel from the right arm of the obviously outclassed core. As the two struggle for their lives, a machinegun falls into place over the bazooka barrel, pointed straight for the damaged head of the nearly-immobile red mech. A series of bullets pour out the back of its head, ending the match fairly quickly.
The fans slowly tunnel out of the stands, leaving only a few people there. Izzy stands in front of the benches for a few moments, watching the two beings frozen in their last position of the battle. A smirk shows on his face as he turns and heads for the exit, done wandering for the night.
