The Hatchling- Part 7
"We're nearly there. I'll go over the mission one more time."
I sat in my AC, feeling neither excited nor nervous. Why should I be? I had trained two years for this day. Two long, uneventful years filled with AC mechanical and operational training, special combat instruction and virtual simulations, and mostly sleepless nights. I even managed to get in some regular high school too. You're probably confused, so I'll backtrack a bit:
After my little skirmish in the shop and my chance encounter with Strife, I was whisked away to the nearest airport and flown first class to the secluded headquarters of the Kisaragi corporation. There, I met up with the president of Kisaragi, and his V.P., the suit who brought me here in the first place, explained my accomplishments in Avalon, greatly exaggerating the details. I considered stopping him, but realized that it was in my favor anyway, so I let him lie for me. The president listened with great intrigue, and jumped at the chance to sponsor a pilot with my potential. But the disheartened look in his face when he learned my age was enough to make me cry. Was this whole trip for nothing? I didn't want it, and apparently neither did the president. After a few minutes, he snapped his fingers and beamed, as if he'd just come up with the most clever idea in history. Well, I thought it was anyway. He explained and I painstakingly agreed that fourteen was too young for me to be a legal AC pilot. So we made a compromise: if I went through intensive training till I was sixteen and promised to do run exclusive contracts for Kisaragi, then he could probably pull some strings and get me a license, two years under the legal age of eighteen. Compared to Ness's old deal of not even being able to touch an AC till I was seventeen, this was pretty sweet. If all I had to give was two years of my life in order to own an AC of my very own, then so be it.
So here I was, sixteen years old and in my AC. Barely old enough to drive a car, yet here I am preparing to head into live combat, but like I said before, I'm not the least bit worried. I had memorized the basic layout of the initiation exam by heart, but figured that listening to my proctor one more time couldn't hurt. It was old hat, go through the city, eliminating all MT's that had entered the region, blah, blah, blah. I looked over at the other AC standing ahead of me, wondering how that pilot must be feeling right now. Was he feeling scared and skeptical of how they would perform tonight? Or were they like me, feeling nothing and thinking of nothing now except for the task at hand? I was taken aback by that last thought, wondering, have I lost all sensations of fear and doubt because of what I've been through? The sudden shuddering of our transport as it prepared to decent knocked me out of my train of thought. The cargo doors opened to the artificial cityscape below us, the perfect model to simulate fast-paced urban combat.
Personally, I was a quite annoyed that the popular setting that they used to get pilots accustomed to the intricacies of mechanized combat was a place that could easily emulate a place where people live and work. Was this how they drilled the cold, calculating mindset of a master Raven into new pilots, so that engaging an enemy in surroundings such as this, where the lives of many innocent civilians hang in the balance, will be like second nature to impressionable new recruits? My hand clenched the movement stick tightly as I tried to maintain my cool that I had trained so long to gain at times like this. My time would come.
Showtime.
My partner filed out first and I followed a few seconds later, giving each of us a comfortable buffer to work. As we exited, our proctor let us off with a little warning:
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't blow it."
I landed relatively smoothly, with an MT welcome party waiting to blast us to pieces. Yeah right! These unmanned test units were so poorly armored, and their semi-automatic rifles were just as weak as the units that tote them. I targeted the first MT in front of me and tried to let loose with my initial-equip rifle they gave me, but it was only a moderate improvement over what the MT's were packing. About fifteen shots and some smooth footwork later, I was rewarded with the resonating explosion of the MT. One down, about seven more to go. If the rest of the test is this easy, this isn't going to be any fun at all.
Movement on my radar! An MT was rounding the corner behind me, trying to sneak up on me? Fat chance! I boosted forward while turning around and switched to my rocket launcher. Also initial-equip but hey, it's all I have to work with right now. It takes three missiles to make sure the MT is indeed destroyed. I don't have time to celebrate, to my right another MT was hitting me with his rifle. I ran behind a building to get cover, trying to figure out how to approach this one without taking too much damage. The small square shape of the building gave me a good idea. Radar showed that the MT was coming down the street to investigate. I quickly used my boosters to dash around the building and came up behind it. Before it could turn and react, I slashed it with my laser blade. One slash to topple the unit's top half and gun, one more to send the MT ablaze and falling backwards. Boom! Piece of cake.
It was after I had destroyed my fourth MT that the transports came. According to the proctor, they were carrying enemy reinforcements. Now why would unmanned test units have backup flown in?
"This isn't part of the scheduled test. Destroy them anyway."
Just what I need, more things trying to kill me tonight. I rushed to find my partner, because I didn't know what to expect. I found him under an overpass, tearing the shit out of an MT that was already smoldering with his blade, as if he believed it would get back up again. He saw me and stopped, having had enough fun with his MT. He pointed up to the sky at the passing transport ships, and I nodded my AC's head in agreement about the reinforcements. They landed a few seconds later, three burly, heavily armored MT's packing enormous metal shields and what looked like compact bazookas. These guys were not to be taken lightly, but my partner obviously didn't care. He already had his blade out and was charging forward to attack them head on. He had to learn the hard way as a trio of bazooka rounds rained down on him, the first severing his left arm at the elbow, disabling his initial plan of attack. He was lucky that he was able to avoid the other two, now a little wiser about these new opponents of ours. We both retreated behind a nearby building, now a little worried about what we should do next. You could tell my partner was crushed over the loss of his blade, the way he seemingly held the crackling stub with his other arm. It was as if he had lost his only means of attack, oblivious to the fact that he still had his rifle and missiles. I snapped him out of it by taking off my headset and jamming the microphone into the speaker. The feedback was so loud it caused my partner's AC to twitch a little. He turned his robot to face me, not the least bit happy about what I just did to him.
"Why the f-"
"Save it! I'll get you another blade, just snap out of it! We-"
I fell silent when I heard the sound of slowly advancing feet. I turned back to my partner. I had just remembered something about these seemingly invincible MT's. Their fronts were extremely well guarded, but at the cost of a pathetically weak backside. If I could just get behind them.
"Listen, I need a distraction."
"What?"
"I need you to give them something to shoot at. Just keep running back and forth between here and that building", indicating the one across the street from us.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna come up behind them and take care of them."
He looked towards the other building considering it. He turned and prepared to dash, signaling his agreement. He cocked his head to the side and gave me a warning, stern and cold as ice.
"Don't screw up, or I'll waste you myself. I don't want to be known as the trainee who was turned into fodder on the last part of my exam."
"Right."
I dashed around to the other side of the building and got into position. Turning the corner, I ran smack into one of the MT's as he was trying to flank us. I panicked and just fired away at his head with my rifle. Some hit, but then he put up his shield to block. Before he could get a shot off, I flexed and jumped straight over him. Landing hard behind him, I wheeled and slashed him, making a deep incision right about where the MT's cockpit was located. It staggered a few steps before falling to one knee, smoking and shooting sparks everywhere. I looked at my radar and saw that the MT's were doubling back to my location. I jammed my headset back on and called for my diversion.
"Now, damnit now!"
On cue he jumped out and popped off a few rounds at the MT's. When they turned to fire back on him, that was the signal for me to start. I punched the Over Boost and jumped out from the building. This was the first time I would ever use it, and no amount of training can emulate the sudden rush and weightless sensation of going speeds in excess of five hundred miles per hour. You just have to go with it, and pray that you don't overshoot you target, or you may find yourself stuck right in their crosshairs. Right now, was going straight for the second MT. In a flash of blue light, I was a blur, the largest, most deadly bullet in this battle. I was upon it in seconds, he never even saw me before I slashed him. Apparently my decoy was working wonders, but he couldn't keep the MT's partner from noticing his partner go sprawling forward dead. He turned and would have caught me, but I was faster. I dropped my rifle, empty from my previous encounters, and grabbed the MT's arms. With an otherworldly use of force, I turned the MT around and held his arms behind his back, almost ripping them off. I adjusted it to face my partner, who was waiting with his rifle.
"Do it!"
Needing no further invitation, he let loose, pelting the now defenseless MT with an onslaught of heated rifle rounds. I held the thrashing AC there until I could feel the explosions jar my unit, and then I I released, letting the very dead MT fall with a satisfying crunch to the ground. I sat back in my seat, wiping off the sweat that had collected on my brow. If you think that operating an AC isn't as physically demanding as it is mentally, you're dead wrong. I was beat. Thankfully, the proctor picked this time to end the test.
"All targets destroyed. You both did well."
"Welcome to the ranks of an elite few. Ravens"
* * *
We stood in the debriefing room of the Global Cortex Office of AC/MT Registration, awaiting the scores for our exam. We stood silent for a few minutes before he turned and with much difficulty, thanked me for helping him come out of that test alive. Nice to hear him talk after all this time. You should have seen the look on the other pilot's face when he saw he had been fighting alongside a girl two years longer than him. He wouldn't give me his real name, but gave me his registration alias, Remi-Roth. He was cute, tan skin. maybe Spanish? He was a little taller than me, but then again I'm short. Dark brown hair, a cute round face, and glasses that helped bring attention to these gorgeous black-brown eyes. He would be a definite chick magnet if it wasn't for his demeanor. He came off as frigid, like someone with a dark ulterior motive waiting to be fulfilled, kinda like me I guess. Except that I wasn't consumed by the need to avenge my family's death, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hold priority in my mind. I wonder what Roth's story was.
The director's door opened and we were both called in. We stepped into an elaborate office decked out in video monitors and recorders that were playing and replaying sequences from our battle. In the middle of the room was a man in a dark suit with even darker hair to match, seated at a desk, flanked by another man in an AC jumpsuit. possibly our proctor, and a woman in a short dress suit taking notes on a clipboard. We strode over to the desk confident as hell, wondering what was next. From across the table slid two electronic identification cards, our Raven and Arena registration cards. Success!
"I must admit that that was the most entertaining performance we've seen at quite some time here at the G.C.", the suit declared. "Keep up that mastery of combat during you're time as Ravens and we could have a new pair of Aces. Remi-Roth, you did extremely well with a score of 913. Next time however, try to think ahead before you launch yourself into thick concentrations of enemy forces; a laser blade can only do so much for you. As for. I'm sorry, we don't have an Arena alias for you yet, Miss.
I had been thinking about what to call myself for a while now. It needed something that would reflect my plight, but that would also make other pilots think twice before messing with me. Suddenly it hit me.
"Scarred," I replied. "I am Scarred."
"Well Scarred," he continued, " I am pleased to announce your perfect score of 1000. Congratulations."
His voice was devoid of all enthusiasm, but that didn't help stop the spread of the huge smirk across my face. Roth gave me a bewildered sideways look as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. I guess it must be embarrassing to be put in your place by someone younger than you. It was hate at first site, an instant rivalry. Good, it would be a interesting twist to my journey. The suit continued:
"I wish you both the best of luck. Never hesitate to spread your wings to fight for what you believe."
Our proctor stepped forward to put his word in.
"Continue developing your skills, and maybe one day I'll meet you two at the top."
"Forgive Ace. He's been so long without a decent fight he's become a bit restless."
So, our proctor was the current Arena champion, Ace. It figures that someone of his standing would take the time to oversee a training exam. He wanted to scout raw potential for future challenges. I promised myself that I wouldn't disappoint him. Now it was the woman's turn to say her piece. She turned from the video screens with a look of excited admiration, obviously pleased to know the likes of us.
"My name is Laine Meyers, and I will be acting as your G.C. contact. Judging by this exemplary performance, it will be a pleasure to be working with the both of you."
"Now go forth, and make yourselves known to the world as Ravens."
And with that the suit sent us both off. I still couldn't believe that I had finally become a Raven and gotten a perfect score! I'm sure that if my dad was alive today that he would be so proud of me. Except he was dead, and that is why I'm here, to make sure that no more murderous bastards like Nineball ever live to wreak havoc upon this world ever again. Now that I had the means, it was up to me to fulfill my revenge.
(END CHAPTER SEVEN)
Hopefully, this chapter was able to satisfy the many qualms brought up by my readers, namely age. The only thing that is still out of synch is the timeline. I had never realized the time difference between the three main titles before I set this story in motion, which begins in the Master of Arena timeline and continues on through Armored Core 3. If you can bear with me a little, I'm assure that I can keep a great story going. R & R!
P.S. My apologies for the cheap self-insertion. I wanted to incorporate some of my most ruthless creations in with the story as well. Oh, and if you see all these sentence fragments, it's because FanFiction.Net doesn't upload the many dot, dot, dot's I put in. Sorry!
"We're nearly there. I'll go over the mission one more time."
I sat in my AC, feeling neither excited nor nervous. Why should I be? I had trained two years for this day. Two long, uneventful years filled with AC mechanical and operational training, special combat instruction and virtual simulations, and mostly sleepless nights. I even managed to get in some regular high school too. You're probably confused, so I'll backtrack a bit:
After my little skirmish in the shop and my chance encounter with Strife, I was whisked away to the nearest airport and flown first class to the secluded headquarters of the Kisaragi corporation. There, I met up with the president of Kisaragi, and his V.P., the suit who brought me here in the first place, explained my accomplishments in Avalon, greatly exaggerating the details. I considered stopping him, but realized that it was in my favor anyway, so I let him lie for me. The president listened with great intrigue, and jumped at the chance to sponsor a pilot with my potential. But the disheartened look in his face when he learned my age was enough to make me cry. Was this whole trip for nothing? I didn't want it, and apparently neither did the president. After a few minutes, he snapped his fingers and beamed, as if he'd just come up with the most clever idea in history. Well, I thought it was anyway. He explained and I painstakingly agreed that fourteen was too young for me to be a legal AC pilot. So we made a compromise: if I went through intensive training till I was sixteen and promised to do run exclusive contracts for Kisaragi, then he could probably pull some strings and get me a license, two years under the legal age of eighteen. Compared to Ness's old deal of not even being able to touch an AC till I was seventeen, this was pretty sweet. If all I had to give was two years of my life in order to own an AC of my very own, then so be it.
So here I was, sixteen years old and in my AC. Barely old enough to drive a car, yet here I am preparing to head into live combat, but like I said before, I'm not the least bit worried. I had memorized the basic layout of the initiation exam by heart, but figured that listening to my proctor one more time couldn't hurt. It was old hat, go through the city, eliminating all MT's that had entered the region, blah, blah, blah. I looked over at the other AC standing ahead of me, wondering how that pilot must be feeling right now. Was he feeling scared and skeptical of how they would perform tonight? Or were they like me, feeling nothing and thinking of nothing now except for the task at hand? I was taken aback by that last thought, wondering, have I lost all sensations of fear and doubt because of what I've been through? The sudden shuddering of our transport as it prepared to decent knocked me out of my train of thought. The cargo doors opened to the artificial cityscape below us, the perfect model to simulate fast-paced urban combat.
Personally, I was a quite annoyed that the popular setting that they used to get pilots accustomed to the intricacies of mechanized combat was a place that could easily emulate a place where people live and work. Was this how they drilled the cold, calculating mindset of a master Raven into new pilots, so that engaging an enemy in surroundings such as this, where the lives of many innocent civilians hang in the balance, will be like second nature to impressionable new recruits? My hand clenched the movement stick tightly as I tried to maintain my cool that I had trained so long to gain at times like this. My time would come.
Showtime.
My partner filed out first and I followed a few seconds later, giving each of us a comfortable buffer to work. As we exited, our proctor let us off with a little warning:
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't blow it."
I landed relatively smoothly, with an MT welcome party waiting to blast us to pieces. Yeah right! These unmanned test units were so poorly armored, and their semi-automatic rifles were just as weak as the units that tote them. I targeted the first MT in front of me and tried to let loose with my initial-equip rifle they gave me, but it was only a moderate improvement over what the MT's were packing. About fifteen shots and some smooth footwork later, I was rewarded with the resonating explosion of the MT. One down, about seven more to go. If the rest of the test is this easy, this isn't going to be any fun at all.
Movement on my radar! An MT was rounding the corner behind me, trying to sneak up on me? Fat chance! I boosted forward while turning around and switched to my rocket launcher. Also initial-equip but hey, it's all I have to work with right now. It takes three missiles to make sure the MT is indeed destroyed. I don't have time to celebrate, to my right another MT was hitting me with his rifle. I ran behind a building to get cover, trying to figure out how to approach this one without taking too much damage. The small square shape of the building gave me a good idea. Radar showed that the MT was coming down the street to investigate. I quickly used my boosters to dash around the building and came up behind it. Before it could turn and react, I slashed it with my laser blade. One slash to topple the unit's top half and gun, one more to send the MT ablaze and falling backwards. Boom! Piece of cake.
It was after I had destroyed my fourth MT that the transports came. According to the proctor, they were carrying enemy reinforcements. Now why would unmanned test units have backup flown in?
"This isn't part of the scheduled test. Destroy them anyway."
Just what I need, more things trying to kill me tonight. I rushed to find my partner, because I didn't know what to expect. I found him under an overpass, tearing the shit out of an MT that was already smoldering with his blade, as if he believed it would get back up again. He saw me and stopped, having had enough fun with his MT. He pointed up to the sky at the passing transport ships, and I nodded my AC's head in agreement about the reinforcements. They landed a few seconds later, three burly, heavily armored MT's packing enormous metal shields and what looked like compact bazookas. These guys were not to be taken lightly, but my partner obviously didn't care. He already had his blade out and was charging forward to attack them head on. He had to learn the hard way as a trio of bazooka rounds rained down on him, the first severing his left arm at the elbow, disabling his initial plan of attack. He was lucky that he was able to avoid the other two, now a little wiser about these new opponents of ours. We both retreated behind a nearby building, now a little worried about what we should do next. You could tell my partner was crushed over the loss of his blade, the way he seemingly held the crackling stub with his other arm. It was as if he had lost his only means of attack, oblivious to the fact that he still had his rifle and missiles. I snapped him out of it by taking off my headset and jamming the microphone into the speaker. The feedback was so loud it caused my partner's AC to twitch a little. He turned his robot to face me, not the least bit happy about what I just did to him.
"Why the f-"
"Save it! I'll get you another blade, just snap out of it! We-"
I fell silent when I heard the sound of slowly advancing feet. I turned back to my partner. I had just remembered something about these seemingly invincible MT's. Their fronts were extremely well guarded, but at the cost of a pathetically weak backside. If I could just get behind them.
"Listen, I need a distraction."
"What?"
"I need you to give them something to shoot at. Just keep running back and forth between here and that building", indicating the one across the street from us.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna come up behind them and take care of them."
He looked towards the other building considering it. He turned and prepared to dash, signaling his agreement. He cocked his head to the side and gave me a warning, stern and cold as ice.
"Don't screw up, or I'll waste you myself. I don't want to be known as the trainee who was turned into fodder on the last part of my exam."
"Right."
I dashed around to the other side of the building and got into position. Turning the corner, I ran smack into one of the MT's as he was trying to flank us. I panicked and just fired away at his head with my rifle. Some hit, but then he put up his shield to block. Before he could get a shot off, I flexed and jumped straight over him. Landing hard behind him, I wheeled and slashed him, making a deep incision right about where the MT's cockpit was located. It staggered a few steps before falling to one knee, smoking and shooting sparks everywhere. I looked at my radar and saw that the MT's were doubling back to my location. I jammed my headset back on and called for my diversion.
"Now, damnit now!"
On cue he jumped out and popped off a few rounds at the MT's. When they turned to fire back on him, that was the signal for me to start. I punched the Over Boost and jumped out from the building. This was the first time I would ever use it, and no amount of training can emulate the sudden rush and weightless sensation of going speeds in excess of five hundred miles per hour. You just have to go with it, and pray that you don't overshoot you target, or you may find yourself stuck right in their crosshairs. Right now, was going straight for the second MT. In a flash of blue light, I was a blur, the largest, most deadly bullet in this battle. I was upon it in seconds, he never even saw me before I slashed him. Apparently my decoy was working wonders, but he couldn't keep the MT's partner from noticing his partner go sprawling forward dead. He turned and would have caught me, but I was faster. I dropped my rifle, empty from my previous encounters, and grabbed the MT's arms. With an otherworldly use of force, I turned the MT around and held his arms behind his back, almost ripping them off. I adjusted it to face my partner, who was waiting with his rifle.
"Do it!"
Needing no further invitation, he let loose, pelting the now defenseless MT with an onslaught of heated rifle rounds. I held the thrashing AC there until I could feel the explosions jar my unit, and then I I released, letting the very dead MT fall with a satisfying crunch to the ground. I sat back in my seat, wiping off the sweat that had collected on my brow. If you think that operating an AC isn't as physically demanding as it is mentally, you're dead wrong. I was beat. Thankfully, the proctor picked this time to end the test.
"All targets destroyed. You both did well."
"Welcome to the ranks of an elite few. Ravens"
* * *
We stood in the debriefing room of the Global Cortex Office of AC/MT Registration, awaiting the scores for our exam. We stood silent for a few minutes before he turned and with much difficulty, thanked me for helping him come out of that test alive. Nice to hear him talk after all this time. You should have seen the look on the other pilot's face when he saw he had been fighting alongside a girl two years longer than him. He wouldn't give me his real name, but gave me his registration alias, Remi-Roth. He was cute, tan skin. maybe Spanish? He was a little taller than me, but then again I'm short. Dark brown hair, a cute round face, and glasses that helped bring attention to these gorgeous black-brown eyes. He would be a definite chick magnet if it wasn't for his demeanor. He came off as frigid, like someone with a dark ulterior motive waiting to be fulfilled, kinda like me I guess. Except that I wasn't consumed by the need to avenge my family's death, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hold priority in my mind. I wonder what Roth's story was.
The director's door opened and we were both called in. We stepped into an elaborate office decked out in video monitors and recorders that were playing and replaying sequences from our battle. In the middle of the room was a man in a dark suit with even darker hair to match, seated at a desk, flanked by another man in an AC jumpsuit. possibly our proctor, and a woman in a short dress suit taking notes on a clipboard. We strode over to the desk confident as hell, wondering what was next. From across the table slid two electronic identification cards, our Raven and Arena registration cards. Success!
"I must admit that that was the most entertaining performance we've seen at quite some time here at the G.C.", the suit declared. "Keep up that mastery of combat during you're time as Ravens and we could have a new pair of Aces. Remi-Roth, you did extremely well with a score of 913. Next time however, try to think ahead before you launch yourself into thick concentrations of enemy forces; a laser blade can only do so much for you. As for. I'm sorry, we don't have an Arena alias for you yet, Miss.
I had been thinking about what to call myself for a while now. It needed something that would reflect my plight, but that would also make other pilots think twice before messing with me. Suddenly it hit me.
"Scarred," I replied. "I am Scarred."
"Well Scarred," he continued, " I am pleased to announce your perfect score of 1000. Congratulations."
His voice was devoid of all enthusiasm, but that didn't help stop the spread of the huge smirk across my face. Roth gave me a bewildered sideways look as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. I guess it must be embarrassing to be put in your place by someone younger than you. It was hate at first site, an instant rivalry. Good, it would be a interesting twist to my journey. The suit continued:
"I wish you both the best of luck. Never hesitate to spread your wings to fight for what you believe."
Our proctor stepped forward to put his word in.
"Continue developing your skills, and maybe one day I'll meet you two at the top."
"Forgive Ace. He's been so long without a decent fight he's become a bit restless."
So, our proctor was the current Arena champion, Ace. It figures that someone of his standing would take the time to oversee a training exam. He wanted to scout raw potential for future challenges. I promised myself that I wouldn't disappoint him. Now it was the woman's turn to say her piece. She turned from the video screens with a look of excited admiration, obviously pleased to know the likes of us.
"My name is Laine Meyers, and I will be acting as your G.C. contact. Judging by this exemplary performance, it will be a pleasure to be working with the both of you."
"Now go forth, and make yourselves known to the world as Ravens."
And with that the suit sent us both off. I still couldn't believe that I had finally become a Raven and gotten a perfect score! I'm sure that if my dad was alive today that he would be so proud of me. Except he was dead, and that is why I'm here, to make sure that no more murderous bastards like Nineball ever live to wreak havoc upon this world ever again. Now that I had the means, it was up to me to fulfill my revenge.
(END CHAPTER SEVEN)
Hopefully, this chapter was able to satisfy the many qualms brought up by my readers, namely age. The only thing that is still out of synch is the timeline. I had never realized the time difference between the three main titles before I set this story in motion, which begins in the Master of Arena timeline and continues on through Armored Core 3. If you can bear with me a little, I'm assure that I can keep a great story going. R & R!
P.S. My apologies for the cheap self-insertion. I wanted to incorporate some of my most ruthless creations in with the story as well. Oh, and if you see all these sentence fragments, it's because FanFiction.Net doesn't upload the many dot, dot, dot's I put in. Sorry!
