Data File 0297: Nashorn Missile System

The Unguided Missile System No. 208 (UMS-208), designated "Nashorn" is a multiple missile launching system developed by Underline Defense. Developed as an anti-tank kit for the Titan mechs, it carries 4 30cm rockets that can fly up to 120 mph. It has the ability to pierce all armor, including the Paladin tanks. These rockets are usually mounted on the shoulders of Titans, but during the Middle Eastern War, unconfirmed reports were brought to light with images of Ogre Titans wielding four launchers on each wrist, including the two on each shoulder. Hammond has denied such reports. The missiles themselves are deadly to IS Pilots, with reports of Hammond Hybrids engaging DPRK IS models and destroying both IS and Pilot with these missiles. The UN has called for Hammond to disarm them from their Hybrids, but this has been largely ignored by both the populace and the government of Hammond.

Dorm rooms, day after chapter 7

Gio opened his eyes slowly, wondering why he felt such a heavy pressure on his chest. He assumed he wasn't having a heart attack, since he was 17 and very healthy, so either someone was in his bed or gravity had decided to fuck with him. Gio threw off his covers, and looked down at the sleeping figure of Laura Bodewig, who was lying on his chest.

"Oh shit." He mumbled. "This is going to end swimmingly."

There was a knock on the door, and Gio realized he wasn't in his own room. He also realized he smelt like...an eventful and sleepless night.

"Laura? Are you awake?" A voice asked.

Later that day, Classroom 1-1

"So what you're telling me is that you slept with Inferno?" Chifuyu asked Laura, who was now dressed. "May I ask why?"

"He owed me for that one time during Operation Europa's Shield where I saved him." Laura answered. "So I wanted to experience what is called a 'first time' with him."

"Hm...Inferno, what do you think of all of this?" Chifuyu asked.

Gio didn't respond verbally, since he was rope tied and duct taped gagged. He nodded, validating Laura's story.

"I expected this to happen, so why am I disappointed still?" Chifuyu sighed.

"Because you wanted it to not happen." Gio said, standing next to her while leisurely swinging the rope that had tied him up. "By the way, you all suck at tying people up."

"How did you get untied?!" Houki shouted.

"Easy, you all tied me like I was unconscious and not expected to wake up. Lemme guess, Ichika couldn't understand the orders you were giving him." Gio stated.

Ichika hid the extra rope he was holding behind his back.

"Bingo."

Laura went back to her seat, while Gio threw his rope back to Ichika. Chifuyu gave up on questioning any further, since it would be pointless to assume he would do the same thing again. No one was as close to him as Laura was. Though, Gio needed to be brought down a peg. His blatant disrespect needed to be replaced with obedience

And Chifuyu had a perfect idea.

Outside, training field

After a brief lesson on basic IS movement, the class of 1-1 was told to go outside. Gio was, once again, waiting on the training field already in his IS. Unlike last time, he had been told to get into his IS by Chifuyu. He had intended to work on Firestorm a little more, but he lacked time since his past week had been filled up with helping Kanzashi.

"Inferno, do you know why you're in your IS?" Chifuyu asked.

"Well...it probably has to do with me sleeping with a student. So, are you fighting me or what?" Gio answered and asked flatly.

"No, but she is." Chifuyu answered, pointing up at the sky. There was a small gleam, and then something rapidly falling from the sky.

"Oh my, is that Ms. Yamada?" Gio asked, watching the figure get closer and closer, until the Identified Flying Object slammed into the ground, where Ichika was standing.

"Ah crap, Ichika's dead." Gio said, peering into the crater. "You okay?" He shouted.

"Hrngh." Ichika grunted, trapped under Ms. Yamada and the modified Raphael Revive she was using.

"I'm fighting her? So you're finally giving me a challenge?" Gio asked, his face reflecting his flat tone as he turned back to face Chifuyu.

"I debated it, but I figured you needed to learn your place and remember what respect is." Chifuyu answered, grinning. "Hope you're ready."

"Ichika, not there!" A voice cried from the crater.

"You should get that checked, before Ms. Yamada becomes your sister in law." Gio stated. "I hope she's ready."

Ms. Yamada flew out of the crater, in a battle stance. "Right, now onto the lesson for today. Hope you're ready, Inferno!"

"Begin!" Chifuyu shouted.

Yamada charged at Gio, only for his Trebuchet to aim at her and fire. The armor of the Revive was blown off and Yamada was blown backwards and landed on her back.

The class stared at the scene. Ichika was being helped out of the crater by Charles, and both had seen the end of the "fight".

"Dunois! Analysis!" Chifuyu shouted, her face not reflecting what just happened was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

"Well, it was one sided." Dunois answered curtly.

"Be more exact."

"It seems Ms. Yamada was unaware of the fact that Trebuchet cannons are always charging when they are in our dimension, except when they are firing. Inferno got out here to the field first and you made him summon his IS right when he got out here. This means his Trebuchet was charging from the second his IS came into real-space to the time he fired at Ms. Yamada. A Trebuchet is at full power after twenty three seconds, and it doesn't have an overcharge limit." Charles explained.

"So?" Ichika asked, voicing everyone's question.

"Inferno's Trebuchet was overcharging the entire time he was waiting out here for us to finish changing, get into formation, and for Ms. Yamada to arrive. In total, he overcharged for around 10 minutes."

"So it was powerful?"

"A two minute charge has been known to disintegrate an IS core regardless of shield level and go straight through a pilot, killing them instantly."

It took everyone a second to realize Gio could've killed the teacher almost eight minutes ago, and could've wiped her off the face of the earth just now with one shot.

"You're telling me," Ms. Yamada said as she got up. "That Inferno held back?!"

"Yes, any excess charge is immediately redirected to the shields. So right now, Inferno's shield count is overcharged." Dunois finished. "What are you at right now?"
Gio looked at his shield count. "My max is 22k points, but I'm sitting at 30k now."

"How is your IS handling that?!" Houki shouted.

"You see, there is no good answer to that question. In fact, there's only one. No one knows." Gio answered. "At least, no one in Hammond knows. But since no one outside of Hammond knows about our IS tech, they wouldn't know why our IS mechs can handle overcharge."

"He makes a good point." Ichika stated.

"So...my guess is I'm going to clean this up?" Gio asked, gesturing to the armor pieces now just lying all around.

"No, now you and the other personal IS users will teach the others about basic IS movement using your ISs. Class, divide into five groups, then order yourself based on attendance order!" Chifuyu ordered.

The class did as they were told, and evenly divided themselves up into five groups. Gio looked to see a group of five scared students lined up to use his IS.

"Okay! So...you all have gotten the rundown from the teacher, so I won't reinvent the wheel. Get in, and I'll fix you from there. Who's first?" Gio started.

A girl with light blonde hair and fair complexion walked up to him. "M-my name is Allison Hallifax...Please don't sleep with me."

"You don't consent, so I won't. Hop in the mech, show us what you know." Gio explained, sweatdropping at the last statement.

Allison nodded timidly, and hopped into the mech. Gio noted how effortlessly she did it, nodding his head in satisfaction. He also noted she was a little unbalanced on the side where the Trebuchet was, but he expected that.

He also expected her to fall over, which she did.

"Ms. Yamada! It happened!" Gio shouted.

"Yes! Ichika owes me five hundred yen!"

"Dammit!"

Gio went over to the down figure, looking down at Allison. "You broke it."

"What!?" She exclaimed loudly.

"I'm kidding. This thing has withstood a Nashorn missile. You falling over is nothing to it." Gio deadpanned.

"This gun is heavy!" She complained. "How do you move so effortlessly?!"

"You get used to it." Gio shrugged. "Here, lemme get that." He reached under FireStorm, and started screwing with the Trebuchet. "Almost...got it." He stood up, holding the railgun and walked towards Chifuyu. "Merry Christmas." He dropped the giant railgun into her hands, and walked away.

"...Thanks?" Chifuyu said, watching the Trebuchet disappear in her hands. "Dunois? A moment if you would."

Gio walked back to Allison. "Okay, try getting up."

Allison got up shakily, but nonetheless got up. "I can...somewhat stand."

"Here's the thing with Hybrids. Since the mech suit is still part Titan, it still partly carries the weight of one. That's why these things are so deadly in melee combat." Gio explained.

"Because they can hit harder due to momentum and inertia?" Allison asked.

"That would be correct. It doesn't help that our weapons are heavier than standard IS types. A standard rifle for IS models is tailored to be able to be held by the pilot. A Hybrid model rifle sits at around 65 pounds without the magazine." Gio continued. "Standard Hybrid pilots will use the box magazine, turning the rifle into a LMG, and put the weight at 100 lbs."

"So if I got hit with a standard Hybrid rifle...it would hurt?" Allison asked.

"It would hurt a lot." Gio said. "Now, if you would please step out of my IS."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

Allison complied, and got out of the IS. Gio got into Firestorm, and raised his sword quickly to block a strike from another IS.

Charles was in his IS, and tried to hurt Gio with his shield pierce. Gio pushed him away, twirling his broadsword. "Alright, Dunois. We're supposed to be teaching how to walk in an IS, not fighting each other."

"Perhaps, but the instructor told me to." Charles stated. "I know you still got energy from the last fight."

Gio said nothing, put his sword back on his hip, and flicked his wrist. It opened up, revealing four Nashorn missile launchers.

"Wait...are those?" Ichika started to ask. "They can't be."

"Inferno! Those missiles are prohibited to be used on school grounds! As well as anywhere in the world!" Chifuyu shouted.

Charles backed up slightly, summoning two SMGs. "I'm not scared of you!"

Gio's railgun reappeared and took aim, leading Charles's sensors to scream in alert at him. The railgun was overcharged.

"I'm slightly scared of you!" Charles shouted. "But I will beat you!" And with that, he charged.

Gio put the Nashorn launchers away, pulled out his sword again, and charged as well. Charles's SMG rounds bounced off of Firestorm's shields. Gio's 40mm cannon, now pointing at his opponent, thundered a response. The class had backed away, watching as stray rounds and sparks flew all over the place.

"Now, who wants to analyze this fight?" Chifuyu asked. "Shinonono, go ahead."

Houki stayed silent for a second, watching as Gio hooked Charles with his broadsword, and started firing 40mm rounds into his chestplate. "Compared to other IS pilots, Inferno uses a very harsh and crude fighting style. He keeps his close opponents down with brutal hand to hand combat that is similar to what you would see in street gang fights, and at ranges he is deadly with a wide assortment technology."

"How can he keep opponents in check with street moves?" Cecilia asked. "It sounds rather barbaric."

"Inferno's IS is heavier than ours by a long shot." Allison stated, walking up to watch the fight. "Hybrid ISs maintain some values from their Titan counterparts. Inferno told me that his still holds the weight of a Titan, and if I were to guess...an Ogre class?"

"So that means-" Houki started, but quickly turned to see Charles land a punch on Gio's face, causing Gio to stop firing his 40 mm, but not let go of Charles. He looked down, rubbed where he was punched, and punched back at Charles's chest. This punch caused Charles shield to fall and for his chest piece to break, falling off the mech and landing on the ground. "-he hits harder than us." Houki finished.

"A IS with the strength of an Ogre Titan is dangerous, especially since it also comes with the same layout as one. Save the Trebuchet." Allison finished.

Chifuyu turned to Allison. "Hallifax, you come from a military family in the US, correct?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"So you probably know all the Ogre subclasses then?" Chifuyu asked.

"You mean the Scorch, Legion, and Kaiser classes? Yes, that was drilled into me by my father." Allison explained.

"Wait, I've heard of the Scorch class, but what were the last two?" Ichika asked. Before he could get an answer, Charles was thrown over their heads, and landed behind the class.

"Legion is an area denial mech, armed with overshield capabilities and a Predator gatling gun." Gio explained, walking over to the class, though he still was clad in his mech. "The Kaiser class? Well...that class is almost in the same boat as the mechs that had attacked during the tournament. But I can explain what I know."

"Wait, so there's a Titan armed with a giant gatling cannon?" Ichika asked. "If that's normal, the Kaiser class must be a beast."

"The Kaiser class is an over-armored Ogre armed with a 50mm cannon, instead of the 40mm original. It's right shoulder has a Trebuchet mounted on it, it's left has a 150mm Howitzer." Gio explained. "The technology needed to keep the Howitzer light and small enough to be on the mech is expensive, so in terms of Hammond logistical numbers, the Kaiser class is a rarity."

"So that means you have a thousand of them?" Ichika deadpanned.

"Yep."

"Hey Inferno?" Charles asked. "Did I win?"

"Yes, can we end this now?" Gio asked. "You aren't going to beat me."

"Very well…" Charles said.

"Can I fight him?" Laura asked.

Gio opened up his Nashorn launchers again. "Do you wish to die?" He said in a very foreboding tone.

"That's not the tone you use with a girl you slept with." Chifuyu smirked.

They both turned to Chifuyu. "Do you wish to die?" They both so ominously, now clad in their ISs.

"Uh...Ms. Orimura?" A student asked. "Are you going to wipe the floor with them?"

"I wasn't aware Inferno was armed with Nashorn missiles, so technically no one can beat him at this school. Unless someone is packing a Titan." Chifuyu deadpanned.

"Oh...:" The entire class wilted. "Can you at least try?"

"Would you?" Gio asked, now facing the class.

"I see the point."

Later, in the garage

Gio was working on Firestorm, he had decided to remove the 40mm cannon and replace it with something else. The Hammond Armory Company had sent him a new toy he wished to try out in the doubles tournament. He hated to see the 40mm cannon go, but things change, and he needed a faster weapon. Thankfully coming in the form of a gatling cannon.

The Assault Cannon Mk-6 was a rotary cannon that could be equipped onto the wrist of a mech, and fired a 75 caliber round at a speed of 600 rounds a minute, or 1200 rounds a minute when boosted. The boosted form could only fire for a short time before the barrel needed to cool down. A terrible waste of bullets, but effective against both Titans and IS mechs.

"Inferno?"

Gio turned around, almost unholstering his pistol. "Oh...hi Kanzashi." He greeted, relaxing his posture.

The blue haired girl walked up to the former soldier, her hands behind her back and her head was low. "I...want to apologize."

Gio stayed silent, intent on listening.

"I want to apologize for-"

"Stop." Okay, maybe he wasn't intent on listening.

"What?" Kanzashi asked, surprise evident on her face.

"You don't need to apologize." Gio explained. "I shouldn't have blown up at you."

"But I shouldn't have questioned you about why you were helping me." Kanzashi countered.

"Then I guess we both did something wrong, didn't we?" Gio asked, getting closer to the girl.

"I guess we did." The bluenette said. "What do we do now?"

Gio stared at the girl. "Guess we should probably talk about what happened."

Kanzashi nodded. "Yeah…" She grabbed Gio's hand and led him out of the garage.

Ichika and Charles Dorm

Ichika opened his and Charles's dorm door and the two entered their room. Once again, Gio had messaged them that he was going to be late getting back. Ichika had messaged him back saying not to sleep with anyone, to which the Hammond pilot responded with "Very funny."

"So Inferno is busy? I wonder what he's doing." Charles asked.

"You mean who he's doing?" Ichika laughed. Charles just stared at him flatly. "I'll shut up."

"Thank you." Charles mumbled as he gathered his clothes. "I'm going to shower."

"Okay." Ichika responded as he got onto his bed. He heard the door close and the shower turn on. He quickly remembered that there was no shampoo in the shower. He went to the desk where the other bottle was and walked towards the shower.

Sikorsky Factory, Connecticut USA

The Sikorsky Factory in Connecticut was the original factory and the headquarters for Sikorsky. The factory was a grey building with a large square tarmac on the outside for testing new products. The company had designed and produced the ever-famous UH-60 'Blackhawk' helicopter.

But this factory no longer produced helicopters. In the era of the IS, Sikorsky produced engines needed to keep the US Military's IS suits in the air. And they were on the verge of a huge breakthrough.

Inside the factory, two scientists in grey lab coats were writing on their clipboards while watching their newest system. A jet engine reverse produced from information stolen by Whitehat hackers in the US Government. Now, after multiple failures, the system was theoretically stable and ready for flight.

But theory didn't always hold up. Hence this test.

"Jenkins." One of the scientists said, turning towards a worker at a control panel near the engine. "Power it up."

The mechanic nodded, and pressed some buttons to get it working. The engine hummed to life.

"Watts! Tyson!" The two scientists turned around, seeing a uniformed officer walking in with a group of US Army soldiers. "We have a situation."

"Captain Glypher, what is it?" Watts asked, worry slightly evident on his face. "The system is almost ready, I know it's late-"

"That's not it. Did the ramen junkies up in the Government tell you where they got that information?"

"You mean the Whitehat hackers? We were told this was a russian system-"

"That's a lie." Glypher interrupted. "They said that not to worry us. But one of them broke down in a Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting after working his way through all the security. He apologized so many times it took all of them and the President to calm him down to figure out what was wrong. That system isn't russian, it's not even from Russia." Glypher continued.

Tyson scowled. "What, is it Chinese? Would explain why it was in english, they're probably copying us."

"It's a Hammond system."

Watts and Tyson froze. All the workers froze as well. The soldiers behind Glypher suddenly spread out around the factory. Some took cover positions, others set up heavy machine guns.

"Captain...what does this mean?" Watts asked as Jenkins shut the system down.

"It could mean anything really. But NORAD detected something over the Pacific, and it was confirmed by a radar station on Guam. A fighter squadron was dispatched, but if it's Hammond-"

"They don't stand a chance." Tyson said gloomly. "Hammond deploys Hybrids for any international issues they have."

Captain Glypher nodded. "The two squads I brought are the last line. We have IS suits and anti-IS squads outside the building and already have an established perimeter."

"What about us?" Watts said, motioning to the civilians in the building.

Glypher was silent.

Suddenly, the radio on Glypher crackled to life. "Perimeter reporting, NORAD has just detected something flying over Vermont. Another IS group, matching Hammond hybrid speeds."

"Sonofa-Get to safety, those things will be here any moment." Glypher told Watts. "Copy, perimeter. Is it possible to evac these civilians in the building?"

"No can do, sir. The forces will be on top of us before anyone can leave."

"Dammit."

"Sir? They're here." And with that, the radio went silent. The building shook, and muffled explosions could be heard.

"It's been an honor, all of you." Glypher mumbled.

Outside the building

"Fire everything!" A US IS pilot shouted. Bullets and laser flew from the defenses around the building. Tracer rounds from temporary AA placements lit up the sky, and explosions lit up the night. The explosions did little to deter the Hammond pilots, and their mechs landed on the ground.

The earthshaking landing was telltale to the US forces that these weren't IS Hybrids. The total darkness of night and cut power from the lights around the facility hid the mechs from view of the US military.

A Marine flicked on his night vision goggles, and looked to see what had landed. What had landed was, simply put, absolute terror.

It was an Ogre Titan with bulkier armor, shoulder pauldrons, a Trebuchet railgun on one shoulder, and a 150mm Howitzer on the other shoulder. The entity was also holding what appeared to be a large weapon similar to the 40mm cannon, nicknamed "slugthrower" by the US Military.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Another Marine whispered to his buddy. "It looks like a-"

"KAISER TITAN!" The first Marine shouted.

Inside the building

The radio on Glypher's body crackled to life again. "Captain Glypher, this is McGuire Actual."

Glypher took the radio off his person. "Go ahead McGuire Actual."

"Satellites are giving reports of Kaiser Titans attacking your AO. Air Combat Command has scrambled a F-35H squadron and an AC-1000 to your location, over."

"Over, can I get a count?"

"Looks to be 5 count."

"Understood McGuire Actual. ETA?"

"They were scrambled immediately after squadron was detected. 5 minutes till arrival."

"Understood, Glypher over and out." The captain put his radio back and turned to the civilians. "Kaiser mechs are assaulting the building. No hybrids, but that doesn't mean they aren't coming."

"Captain, a second squad has been detected!"

"What-"

There was a crash from the ceiling of the room, and three IS suits landed on the floor. They were Hybrids similar to the one Gio used on the raid at Storyuski, the pilots wearing ocular sight helmets used by Hammond Grunts. One of them looked down at the IS it was standing on. It was a Quad Phalanx IS, but the guns were broken and the suit was badly damaged.

The pilot looked up at the Hammond pilot that was on her. "Fuck you-"

Before she could finish, the Hybrid pilot pulled out her Broadsword and slammed the blade through the skull of the US pilot. The head was split in half clean through.

The lead pilot looked at the IS engine behind it. "So this is what they used."

The other pilot looked towards her leader. "Ma'am, what do you mean?"

The lead looked at the one who spoke. "We used an old engine to find this site. It worked…" She turned around and took out a 40mm cannon. She aimed at a pillar and fired. The shot hit the pillar and brought down a platform onto a pair of soldiers with an Anti-IS railgun. "...like a charm. Clear out this room."

The two other pilots nodded, and took out their weapons as well. They quickly got to work. The lead pilot went up to the system, and punched her fist into the center of it. She pulled it out, and looked at what she grabbed.

The nuclear detonator.

"How did they miss this? Oh well." She slid her finger over the small silver ball, and it started to beep. "Nel! Avery! We're leaving!"

The two nodded, and stopped firing. They holstered their weapons, and the three hybrid pilots shot off into the sky.

Outside with the Kaiser Titans

The Kaiser Titans looked up at the hybrids leaving. Thye quickly holstered their weapons as well. To the surprise of everyone on the US side (read: survivors), they unfurled metal wings, and blasted into the night sky as well.

"...Okay, what the fu-"

Before the Marine could finish, the nuclear core went off inside the building.

So, I'm somewhat back and slowly updating stories. I thought I'd give you a look at the outside of the ISA and Hammond's interactions with the world.

.

.

.

Also, the Sikorsky Factory in this chapter is real. I've seen it while I was driving home from Vermont. No, they didn't sponsor me.