"Enemy MTs have been spotted in the area. And I wouldn't be surprised if the enemies had a powerful AC on their side. Once in the base, destroy everything in sight. If possible try to gather any Intel or prototype weapons, but this is not our major concern. Barrage, concentrate your fire on the main entrance. Trance, I want you to thin out these MTs before they become a problem. Be on your toes and keep your heads down. We all come home tonight! Keystone out!"
Keystone was what I considered the leader of our group. He took part in every mission, hired the consorts, and led from the front. If we could count on anyone it's him. That is why we named his AC Keystone. It was because of the way that he held the team together. He piloted a middleweight human type equipped with a powerful rifle, decent blade, missile launcher, and a chain gun. I knew that he would accomplish his mission no matter what the odds and no matter what it took.
Flames spread quickly and explosions were heard in a rapid manner. AC Barrage had started his breech of the building. When the smoke cleared it seemed that little damage had been dealt to the exterior. With enemy MTs rapidly growing in number, AC Keystone gave the order to shift fire to any enemies in the surrounding area. AC Barrage took this opportunity to unload a few bazooka rounds onto some MTs close by. They were fairly powerful, stood almost as tall as an AC, and held bazookas of their own. The first MT blocked a round with its large solid shield and continued its advance. The second round pierced the shield and tore off its left arm. Barrage lined up a final shot, but before he could fire one of his legs was damaged by a bazooka round that hit fairly close. He then noticed two more of the same MTs approaching to his left. He boosted towards them and fired a round from each of his weapons at the MTs. One MT was hit in the head by a napalm howitzer round and fell to its knees. Realizing that he was now too close, Barrage jumped over the MT and turned quickly. He managed to send two rounds into the MTs core from behind, causing it to explode violently. "Now where was I?" It was no longer before he spoke these words that bullets rained passed him from the sky. "They have a helicopter team. I count three. Trance, how about you earn your pay tonight?"
Helping Barrage was not an option. Trance was busy with his own battle. About 10 small, chicken like MTs had surrounded him and were relentlessly firing their small rifles at him from their cores. Using the speed of his lightweight hover design, Trance boosted towards the MTs and cut down two of them. He used this gap to escape the circle and boosted around them all and fired his two machine guns in unison. The MTs continued to fire and began to damage each other. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Trance was left unscathed and the MTs reduced to nothing but a pile of scrap. "So you still need that help four legs?"
Keystone had come to Barrage's aid and quickly took care of the helicopters with his missiles. "Trance, you better start proving yourself or I don't think I'll hire you in the near future." They exchanged brief laughter, but the mood quickly changed. They had grouped together too closely and a large missile exploded directly in the center of them. AC Barrage lost a leg in the massive explosion and AC Trance lost his life. "Where the hell did that come from? Be on the lookout for an enemy AC armed with a TITAN missile launcher. Come on Tripod it's now or never. You need to find us a way into that base.
"Tripod you say? You're always so damn funny! I'll knock the smile off your face right after a make a hole in this wall." AC Barrage, still with a decent amount of ammo in his reserves, continued on with his initial task of breaching the building. After 30 or so mixed rounds of bazooka and howitzer, the door began to crack and crumble away. "C'mon Keystone…this is it." As the wall began to crumble away, the rubble started to shake violently. A massive amount of small spider like robots climbed out from the debris and shot at both ACs with small laser cannons. AC Keystone knelt down and opened fire with his chain gun in support of his friend. No matter how many were destroyed they kept coming. It seemed like they would never stop. I gripped the seat tightly and bit down on my lip. Never before had I seen these two pilots struggle like this. I wished that there was something I could do to help them.
Another large missile slowly came towards the two ACs and Keystone was able to destroy it with his chain gun. The lasers worked their way through Barrage's armor and he was hit by some shrapnel in his lower rib. Low on ammo and bleeding severely, something had to be done soon or he would surely fall in battle. Keystone made the decision to send Barrage back to the base to save him. "Hell no man. I fight to the bitter end." But Keystone had his mind made up. After a quick exchange of words Barrage realized that he had no choice in the matter. He slowly and awkwardly limped his three legged AC backwards, expending what was left of his ammunition. When his weapons ran dry, he boarded the transport and headed back to the base.
"Hmm, now where is this enemy AC?" Keystone scanned the area, but saw nothing. A shot rang out from the distance and nearly struck him in the leg. He threw up his rifle and shot towards the flash that he saw from the enemy sniper rifle. An explosion was seen in the distance. This forced the enemy to move close enough to Keystone to engage in a one-on-one battle. He was fighting a similarly designed human type that wielded a sniper rifle, SOL wave blade, and a small rocket launcher. "Well I guess you had to come out of hiding now that I busted your TITAN missile launcher you coward." The AC pilot answered back in a quiet, emotionless voice. "You need to leave or I will kill you. I am not willing to negotiate." "Neither am I", yelled Keystone. From there the fight erupted with rifle fire and rockets. Keystone managed to dodge the fire well, but couldn't strike the opponent. Knowing well that he was running low on ammo, I feared that all hope was lost.
Just then I heard the transport and I rushed out to aid Barrage and get him to the medical wing. I told him not to speak as we loaded him on a stretcher and ran him towards the surgical team. "You need to…to help him", he said softly. I told him not to speak again and that he would be alright, but he remained stubborn. "You have to go. Launch an AC and get to that battle to help him!" I tried not to listen, but I thought it almost sounded like a good idea. "I can always count on you Monkey. Remember? I can always count on you." I told him that it was not an option and that my only concern was making sure he was all right. "Now is your chance!" called a voice from down the hall. It was our director. Did she really just say what I thought she did? "I don't even have an AC. I don't even have any training. I can barely pilot one of those things." She looked at me sternly and said "Now is your chance to be part of something bigger than yourself." I told her Junker was still hours away from being operational and we didn't have that kind of time. The only AC left is the standard one used to qualify new pilots to become Ravens. "Then tonight is the night you find your wings. I give you my permission to take it. Become a Raven. If this mission fails, we will no longer be able to operate from this base. It is your decision." That was it. I boarded the AC and prepared to launch my first sortie. I don't even know what I was thinking. I just forgot about all my plans for the future and my entire life for one moment and boarded that transport plane. This unexpected guest AC had really turned my life upside down…