Oh yeah, one last promotional bump. Go to acravens (add a "www." before and a after) before May 14th. It's a comprehensive community about the Armored Core series, not just AC4 (which this fic is based off of). Sign up and have fun- that site is what got me into this! You better hurry though, because as I said, on May 14th, the site closes for good. So head over there and get to work! Oh, and enjoy the story. :D
-Chapter 2: Water Gliding -------------------------------------------
"Welcome aboard the GA heavy carrier GA Battalion. It's good to have you with us." The naval captain saluted. "Musashii, if I'm not mistaken?"
Musashii returned the salute. "Yes. Musashii Handven." He didn't like to give out his last name, but the situation called that he be fully identified. "I've brought an AC with me, if you don't mind."
The captain lowered his hand and chuckled. "Not at all. This carrier was designed to carry four ACs, their pilots, extra equipment, and a tech crew all at once, and still reach a high speed. One mech is perfectly fine."
The captain turned and headed down the side of the ship. Musashii followed, intrigued. AS they headed aft, he could look out to his left to see the ocean, to the right, the flight deck for deploying the ACs. It was very wide and scored all over with energy burns from quick takeoffs. A few choppers sat off to the side, ready for deployment at any time. "Come on- I'll take you to the hangar." The captain turned and walked further down the ship. Musashii followed, silent.
-----
"So this is where your AC will stay while we are in transit." The captain indicated Rising Sun, securely strapped into its slot in the hangar. "I've already got my crew working on repairing it- I have to say, the crew that built it did the worst job I've ever seen."
"That's because I was the only one working on it." Musashii said quietly. The captain turned to him, abashed and amazed at once.
"My apologies..."
"No need. I understand where you're coming from. The mech is falling apart, somewhat. I barely managed to buy all the parts I needed for it." Musashii cast his eyes over it. "Most of the parts were in working order, but the generator... whew, that is a piece of crap."
The captain merely nodded. "You know it's a GA America generator, yes?"
"Oh yeah." Musashii covered his surprise at the captain's knowledge. "The thing is, it took me two weeks just to get it to generate enough power to lift one arm. The previous owner wasn't to nice to it, so is my understanding, and I don't exactly know a generator like the back of my hand by which to repair it."
"Understandable. Which is why there are crews that work on these sorts of things." The captain looked to his belt as his walkie-talkie squawked. He brought it up to his ear, and began listening. Musashii couldn't make out much, but the captain apparently got the message and clipped it back to his belt. "You're wanted in my office, follow me and I'll take you there."
"Right. And thanks for taking care of my mech." Musashii cast one last glance at it as he turned to follow the captain.
"We're just doing our jobs. You do yours and we'll be all set."
----
"Welcome." A gray-haired man offered Musashii a seat in the captain's office. It was small by normal standards, but on a ship this size, it was luxury. He had enough room to fit two couches on opposite bulkheads, with a small coffee table bearing a potted plant in the center. The captain's desk, grayish metal welded to the floor, had all sorts of mementos and knicknacks lying about on it. The captain waited at the door as Musashii sat down on the offered couch.
"I'm going to return to my duties." The captain saluted. "Until we meet again, Raven." Musashii returned the salute from his seat, and the captain turned and left.
The man sat down on the opposite couch, next to a fair-skinned dark-blonde-haired woman. "Glad we could finally meet, Mr. Handven."
"Please, call me Musashii." Musashii wasn't too fond of his last name- it tied him down to one of the last places he'd rather be.
"Musashii, then. I am Colonel Winthrop of GA America's Armed Forces division." Winthrop let a smile crease his face. "What I've heard about you so far sounds promising."
"Well..." Musashii said. "I haven't had the illustrious career afforded to my... counterparts."
"Oh, we realize that. But the missions you have partaken are most impressive." He held up a manilla envelope and opened it. "20 Normal kills in four different engagements while sustaining minimal damage..." He ran his finger down to a certain point. "And fighting an enemy Next to a standstill."
"To be fair, it was a draw." Musashii recalled the event- it was when he had met Anjou. "Orleans had already been heavily damaged, and I was lucky enough to hit her right to the side of her generator- cut the cooling loop right out. She had to shut down the generator or risk an overheat. She had already disabled me and was about to take me out- I just happened to remember the laser rifle I still held."
"Yes, but the fact of the matter is, you did stop Orleans from taking out the rest of your platoon." He slid the envelope's contents back inside and sealed it up again. "Your mech is also a nice design. Power and speed- I like it."
"Thank you, sir." Musashii let his gaze drift to the blonde. She was pretty, but had an air about her that screamed "leave me alone"- perhaps she was just nervous about meeting someone new.
The colonel had apparently caught Musashii's gaze, because he beamed and stood up. "This is Major Erin Shinn. She will be your Executive Officer, battle coordinator, and strategist. She will also act as your quartermaster- anything you need, you ask her, and she asks me."
"Gotcha, sir." Musashii stood as Major Shinn rose as well. "Nice to meet you." He extended a hand.
She looked at it for a second, then, as if snapping out of a reverie, grabbed it and shook it warmly, smiling.
"It is nice too meet you too, Musashii." Her eyes, earlier cold and distant, now seemed to radiate friendship and comraderie. "I'll head down to the hangar- I want to see your mech for myself. We'll work on the specs later." She saluted the Colonel and left the room promptly.
"Eh... wha... huh?" Musashii was at a loss for words. Winthrop smiled and shook his head.
"She suffers from a low-grade bipolar-disorder. Normally, it isn't that bad- she's usually very outgoing and cheerful. On occasion she gets a bad fit of depression, but it only lasts for a day or so. She does have medication, but she prefers not to use it." He took his hat off the table from where it had been hiding behind the plant, and placed it under his arm along with Musashii's file. "You'll find that she's a pleasure to work with, though her outgoing personality can be sometimes overbearing." The Colonel smiled as he walked to the door, Musashii behind him. "Well," he said, turning. "This is where I leave. I'm going on ahead to secure the temp berth you were assigned in the hangar for your AC- you'll remain here with the Major until the ship returns to the States. And Musashii..." Colonel Winthrop extended a hand. Musashii took it, and was surprised by his firm yet friendly grip.
"Welcome to GA America Armed Forces."
----
"So this is the rig you piloted yourself over in."
Major Erin Shinn scrutinized every rivet of the mech as she (in a very unladylike manner) climbed up and down the machine. "A hunk of junk, if you ask me."
"Now hold on, there, Major Shinn." Musashii approached her as she slid down the service ladder. "I worked hard to build this thing from scratch."
"First of all, call me Rin. I hate formality. And second, I never said it was a BAD hunk of junk, just that it currently could be the stunt double of a wreckage heap." She smiled at him, then looked up at his mech. "The Colonel told you?"
"Huh?" Then it hit him. "About your- Oh yeah! He did."
"Well?"
"Well what?" Musashii looked at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just your impression of me. I am told that I can get in people's faces veeeeery easily." She leaned towards him. Her shirt was somewhat open, possibly from her climbing escapade, and well... Musashii blushed and looked her in the eye.
"I find that you are capable of getting in anyone's face very easily, but you are very friendly and seem to enjoy what you do." Musashii let the truth fly.
"I see... you're going to be a fun one." She stood upright, satisfied.
"Right..." Musashii wiped his brow, surprised by his own sweat, and followed her over to his mech.
"I had the AS missile launcher restocked, as well as your shoulder chain-launchers." She pointed as she indicated the restocks. "And refilled your gattling gun as well."
"Thank you."
"But one thing troubles me. Why..." She moved closer to the mech and indicated the laser blade. "...do you have this? This is Orleans' MOONLIGHT."
"Well..." Musashii looked at her plainly. "It was a gift from Anjou."
"Girlfriend?" There was no jab in the question, only plain words.
"No. She's number 3, and I'm unranked. Besides, how would have that looked? 'Famous Raven Dates Former Normal Pilot'." Musashii shrugged. "We were friends, though- which is why she gave it to me."
"I understand." Rin looked up at the mech, then stumbled as the deck shook. Musashii caught her and helped her upright as the ship steadied.
"What the hell was that?" He let go of her, as she regained her balance.
"Felt like an explosion of some sort." She looked up as the red alarm lights turned on and a warning siren began to blare.
"Attention all personel." The speaker overhead blasted the captain's voice across the hangar. "We have picked up enemy submarine signals and one carrier approximately one kilometer distant. Confirmed BFF ships. Targets have begun firing vertical-launch missles and torpedoes. No Normals or Nexts sighted. All combat personell, battle stations." The voice paused, as if recieving more instructions. "Authorization granted for launch of AC Rising Sun. Primal Armor usage approved"
Musashii and Rin eyed each other, then sprinted to his unit.
"You said they loaded the missile launcher, correct?"
"Yeah, I made sure." Rin tossed him the unit's green jumpsuit as he ducked behind a bulkhead to change.
"You gonna be okay to fight?"
"No sweat." He zipped it up, then stepped back out. The jumpsuit was colored green, camouflaged, like the mech unit itself, and had "Musashii" embroidered on the left breast pocket in gold. He had pulled on his boots over the ankle part of it, and left the topmost part slightly unzipped, revealing his white undershirt. A pair of green fingerless gloves completed the ensemble, his other clothes folded neatly in his hands.
"My, my. Anjou better watch out..." Rin said coyly, taking his clothes. "Someone might just steal you out from under her." Musashii's blush contrasted furiously with his jumpsuit, while Rin laughed her head off at his obvious embarassment.
-----
"Musashii and Rising Sun, ready for launch."
The launch deck opened up and the green mech rose up smoothly. Musashii, inside the cockpit, called up a tactical readout of the battlefield.
"Musashii, this is Rin. Can you hear me?"
Her voice crackled over the earpiece he had fastened to his right ear, and he jumped- normally, he would have used the mech's internal speakers, but he didn't want the XO's communications to get in the way of battle frequencies. "Loud and clear, Rin." Musashii thumbed his mike to life. "Now what is the Kojima radius?"
"The enemy ships are holding at a distance of one kilometer. You're going to head out, and eliminate all opposition. Don't worry about damage or ammo- we've got you covered."
"But how do I get over there? They're a kilometer away on open ocean!"
"Ah, yes. You're new to water combat. Look to your right." Musashii followed Rin's instructions. "See that red switch? That'll activate the booster capacitor." Musashii flipped it.
"Booster capacitor?"
"Yes. While Quick Boosting and regular flight use up generator power allotted to it, the capacitor is always charged. It keeps your mech above the water so you can glide around while the main reactor recharges."
"Awesome." Musashii grinned and thumbed his controls to missles. "Alright, I'm heading out. Primal Armor will come online at 200 meters from base ship."
"Roger, Musashii." Targeting data came up on one of his miniature monitors. "You have five enemy subs and one cruiser. I suggest taking the cruiser first- kill it, and the subs may scatter."
"Gotcha. I'm heading out." He hit the Overboost button and waited as it built up.
"Good hunting, Musashii."
"Thanks, Rin." The Overboost fired, and he rocketed off the deck, firing ballistically towards the enemy.
----
"Sir, we've got a high-speed projectile heading for us."
"What?" The cruiser's captain looked at the spotting officer. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that about 10 seconds ago a large thruster emission was confirmed leaving that carrier's flight deck."
"Let me see." The captain grabbed a spare pair of binoculars and eyed the disturbance a klick out. "Oh... my... God..." He dropped the binoculars.
"Sir, what's wrong?"
"That's an AC! GA has launched an Armored Core at us!"
"What?!!?"
The captain turned to his communications officer. "Order all subs- surface and prepare their guns and close-range missles." He twisted around to his gunnery officer. "All hands to battle stations- prepare the heavy cannons for fire and prep the machine guns. I want that scrap metal taken down- NOW!!!"
----
"Enemy fire ahead!"
Musashii heard Rin's comment just as his Primal Armor finished charging. He saw the flashes of light ahead, and started to throw his mech into a zigzag weave.
The first of a hailstorm of shots blasted past him. He dodged left and right, and though he avoided a vast majority of the shots, those few that did hit punched right through his PA and pinged off his mech. "Tch..." Musashii gritted his teeth and checked his tactical display.
"Sub surfacing to your left!" Musashii looked to his left viewscreen at Rin's shout. He switched off of shoulder missles and prepped Moonlight.
The sub's nose burst out of the water as a whale breaches. The maneuver brought the whole sub on top of the water- easy prey for an AC. "One down."
Rising Sun slid in front of the sub's spherical nose, Moonlight flashing as it passed. The rounded snout slid off of the sub, scorch marks scoring all around the cut from the heat of the laser blade. Water rushed into the cut, drowning the mechanical fish. Musashii wasted no time in sliding around to face the next sub- surfacing not too far away from his current location.
"Switching to missles." He tapped the thumbswitch again, and his shoulder missles whirred as they clicked into place. Another switch activated the shoulder-mounted chain missles.
"C'mon... lock..." He let the recticle slide over the sub... and it pinged red. "Firing!"
A barrage of missiles lanced outward towards the rising sub. The AS missles rose, then vectored in, while the chained-fire missles smashed head-on into the nose-up sub. Explosions ripped through the undershielded metal, chewing it to char, and sending that particular machine down to the watery depths.
"Now, let's take the cruiser." Musashii twisted the controls and the cruiser slid into sight. "Time to die, you..." His words were cut short as several missles arced out of the launch deck and flew off towards the GA carrier.
"Shit!" He quick-turned and tracked his gattling gun on the streaks of missles, but suddenly his mech buckled under. He twisted around again, keeping the missles on a secondary monitor. The cruiser had punched into him with their heavy-duty cannons, taking a huge chunk out of his operating power. Letting the targeting recticle drift over the cruiser, he pulled the trigger for the gattling gun. A burst of bullets ripped out towards the floating battleship, stippling it with pockmarks. As it turned red for a missile lock, he pulled the trigger and simulatenously hit the boosters.
The missles launched outwards, turning to stay on their lock, as Musashii himself jetted back towards the now-retreating missles.
"Gotta... catch... up..." He looked at the trails. "I'm not gonna make it." His mind flashed to the crew- the captain- Rin...
Several pinpoints of light flashed outward from the carrier. The missiles detonated prematurely, nearly 100 meters away. Musashii hit the comm. "Who did that?"
"Someone had to pick up your slack, Musashii!" Rin's cheerful voice echoed over the comm as her image came up on the secondary monitor. She appeared to be in a cockpit of some sort.
"When did you... How did you...?" Musashii's jaw refused to function properly.
"Duh, I'm in the Armed Forces- did you think I got up here on my amazing looks?" She tossed her head at that comment, as if to throw her hair back from a high wind. "I'm a fairly decent Normal pilot, or so I'm told. Not enough synchro to pilot an AC, but enough to use a Normal to great effect." Musashii didn't say anything. Rin looked to one of her monitors, then back to him. "The cruiser has been eliminated, and remaining subs have scattered. Good work, Musashii, come on home."
----
Rising Sun settled to the deck to a round of applause from the crew. Popping the cockpit open, Musashii clambered out, drawing even more applause from the assembled shipsmen. He would have waved, but piloting always made him overheat and he didn't want to risk poisoning them all through the air. He jumped down into a sea of backslaps and congratulations.
Wading through, letting the crew do as they pleased, Musashii came upon Rin. She, too, was in a jumpsuit, but hers was a navy blue with "Major" embroidered on in white over the left breast pocket. She looked to him as he approached and smiled. "Good shooting, Raven."
"Good shooting yourself." Musashii smiled back. "Thanks for pegging those missles. If they had hit..."
"They would have done nothing at all."
Musashii's jaw dropped. "What?"
"We have a built-in anti-missle gun-cluster. Also onboard are several countermeasure deployment units, as well as a radio jammer, any of which could have been used. Besides which, this ship is layered five times thick with armor specifically designed to repel that sort of firepower." She grinned. "I had just wanted to get some target practice." Everyone around broke into good-natured laughter. Musashii couldn't help but go along.
"Well," he said as it died down. "It was still a mission accomplished. And let's hope for many more of those."
"Hear, hear." Rin raised a closed fist in the air, accompanied by everyone around. "GA America!" Musashii threw his hand up too.
Things were already looking up.
-End Chapter 2 ------------
I write waaaaaaaaay too much. Anyway, feel free to leave comments, and look forward to the next chapter- hopefully hitting the site on or around May 20th or so, provided I survive the AP's. Until next time!
-RavenMusashii-------