With the first swarm of drones spectacularly eliminated at the very start, Camelot's Valiant Vanguard entered the course from the far end of the rectangular field to the middle where the course begins in one burst of speed. Immediately the foremost turrets opened fire, a mix of machine guns and missile launchers spewing deadly ordinance towards the IS, which had slowed itself down through its frontal boosters on the hips as the giant one at the back deactivated. But not slow enough that the pilot became a sitting duck as with quick boosts to the sides burst of high-calibre rounds were narrowly dodged and missiles were swerved and spiralled around while she manoeuvred into a dive between the fake buildings. Throughout her movements the pilot retaliated with bursts from Vanguard's rifle with pinpoint accuracy, managing despite all the high-speed manoeuvres to disable several turrets and causing some to detonate from exploding munitions.
"What a spectacular start! I can see that the armoured IS designed by Camelot will certainly not lose out to other IS out there when it comes to speed and manoeuvrability. Really outdone themselves on that part actually with the near-supersonic charge, as our staffs' instruments have determined." Spoke the announcer. "Bravo!"
With Vanguard Valiant now darting around between the fake buildings the monitors in the special suit and out in the regular stands were utilised to reveal the actions going on through specially hidden cameras scattered around. Claire can then see the armoured IS flying towards an intersection, a swarm of drones now hot on her heels. And thanks to the angle of the camera she and the rest of the audience can see one of the RAF's IS pilots waiting to ambush right around the corner.
"Alright, gotta admit being wrong on that one." Phoebe spoke up, sitting up properly now to better watch the action going on. "As fast as the average IS built everywhere. But I still think regular IS can beat it!"
Meanwhile Valiant Vanguard had turned and was now flying backwards, heavy machine gun firing away accurate bursts that hit more often than not, whitling down the growing swarm of drones until only eleven were left. Return fire in the form of machine guns and rockets were evaded with jinks and swerves on the pilot's part, energy shield absorbing what few that managed to hit with no visible strain. Then the EM cannon on the shoulder swivelled up, pointed towards the swarm and fired with a sharp crack. The next moment an explosion bloomed in the midst of the swarm, the drones then shredded by hundreds of metal fragments, to the delight of the audience by their heightened cheers.
"Doubtful." Edith uttered, with Claire's best friend harrumphing in response. The Bennett girl smirked at the duo's exchange with her gaze still on the monitor.
Studying the waiting pilot's IS, Claire analysed her loadout. Standard BAE Systems 2nd gen Supersky IIc used by the Royal Air Force's No. 3 Group (IS Division) painted RAF blue-grey, the pilot arming herself with a heavy automatic shotgun in one hand and a standard combat sabre in the other. "The RAF pilot looks to be using a close-combat Equaliser." She described, finger tapping on her thigh. "Very suitable for environments like the urban course decided for this year's exhibition."
"Vanguard will win in melee." The Scot girl declared suddenly. Before the other two girls can ask for her reasoning Valiant Vanguard neared the intersection, back still turned when the RAF IS pilot swung around the corner, shotgun aimed for the Camelot IS, range so close that it was a sure hit...
When Valiant's pilot again activated the supercharged boost that rocketed her towards the course at the start, the massive plume of fire blinding the RAF pilot and forcing her away at the same time as the intense heat and thrust was directed entirely towards her. The supercharged boost lasted barely a second, just enough to quickly cancel the Vanguard's momentum as it spun to face the RAF pilot, before quick-boosting forward with gun blazing and sword readied for a sweeping attack.
"Shit-!" Cursed the RAF pilot, her words audible to the camera there, as with how sudden the table had turned on her she had no time to dodge. Quickly she raised her own sabre to block, energy shield absorbing the heavy calibre rounds. For her effort she was knocked hard hard enough towards the ground to bounce off when their blades met with sparks and a resounding clang.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt!" Commentated the announcer, parts of the audience sharing his reaction to the attack. Phoebe was one of them, wincing in sympathy.
"Oooh, yeah alright. I admit I'm wrong again." Her best friend crossed her arm and sank into the couch, sulking. "Camelot Arms' too good at everything they do, damn."
"Greater mass, greater force." Spoke Edith, sounding almost smug as she nodded to herself. Then, glancing quickly at Phoebe she added, more softly. "It's ok to be wrong. Sometimes."
And that was enough to seemingly cheer Phoebe up, the tanned girl gaining a sunny smile and grabbing the smaller girl to hold the girl in a side hug. "Aww, love you too, E!"
Meanwhile Claire remained focused on the fight, noting the extreme smoothness in the Vanguard's every movement, nearly up there with the most cutting-edge models. Both IS on the field have put distance between them, the RAF one moreso, the tempo of their duel reset.
"Alright luv, underestimated you there." Spoke to the RAF pilot, her lopsided smile beneath her helmet visible to the camera. She was shaking her sword arm hard, must be trying to rid herself of the numbness. "Name's Beth. Care to share yours?"
Vanguard's pilot didn't immediately answer, reloading her heavy machine gun first before she did though her voice was heavily distorted for some strange reason. "...When I finish this course, then you'll hear it."
"Playing up the mystery knight angle, hm, Sir Vanguard?" Beth replied as she dismissed her sabre, replacing it with a submachine gun knowing she's outmatched blade-to-blade. Raising both weapons skyward she leaned eagerly towards the Vanguard. "Sorry mate, you're not convincing me to take it easy on you."
"I don't need you to." Vanguard's mysterious pilot replied. Both pilots then tensed, waiting for one or the other to make a move. A second, two. Beth moved first, snapping her guns forward and boosting right. Shotgun and SMG barked as they spat a wall of lead towards Vanguard, who dodged by boosting herself up quick enough to barely evade the bullets. Vanguard countered with bursts from her own heavy machine gun, as well as with her missiles as four warheads burst up from the back of the armoured IS and streaked towards Beth. The audience's renewed excitement for the battle made itself known by the roars from the stands as the two resumed their duel.
The RAF pilot zig-zagged with practised skill, dodging most of the MG bursts, but when the missiles were launched a smirk appeared on her face before she darted towards the nearest big open window and disappeared into the six story building. To hers and everyone else's surprise, instead of losing track of her like every other missile, Vanguard's followed her right in. No cameras were placed inside the buildings, but those from outside clearly captured the muted explosions coming from inside while Vanguard remained hovering outside. A drone swarm appeared and attempted an attack run from above, but without even turning another volley of missiles were launched towards them and quickly blew them to so much smoking debris. Vanguard finally moved after a while, flying upwards in front of a blank section of the building and readying her sword.
Three detonations were heard, one after the other every few seconds before Beth reappeared by breaking through a wall two floors up, coincidentally right in front of Vanguard. Even with the helmet obscuring most of her face, Claire can still see the shock running through the RAF pilot's body as the first thing Beth saw was the Vanguard hovering in wait. Then, the mystery pilot struck forwards with a wide swing, catching the RAF pilot flying at high speed right on the chest. She was clotheslined hard.
Beth went careening down, bounced off a stop sign and rolled several times as she skid on the ground and came to a rest against a wall with a muted "Oof." Afterwards, on the monitor Claire and her friends were watching the RAF pilot's downed figure was outlined in bright red, followed by panels appearing above Beth showing her status:
[Energy Shield at = 28% - CPL. Beth, Defeated]
"And that's it from one of our RAF's IS pilots, ladies and gentlemen!" Exclaimed the announcer, rousing the stunned crowds back to cheering. On screen, Beth had sat up against the wall, rubbing the top of her helmet before giving a thumbs up. "From the spectacular showing so far, I dare say that Camelot Arms' very first Infinite Stratos will be just as successful, if not more so, as everything else that comes from their labs!"
On the screen Vanguard's pilot raised her sword to the camera in a salute, drawing out more cheers from the audience. Claire smiled at the sight, happy for her brother who'd surely be receiving accolades for the performance of Vanguard Valiant so far. Something was nagging at the back of her mind though, something she'd forgotten, her eyes narrowing as she thought...
Which was interrupted when from off screen another RAF pilot dove in above and behind the Vanguard, who was still saluting towards the camera. The sight drew a gasp from her, seeing the silent newcomer charging forth with blade in hand about to skewer the Vanguard, her mind paying the announcer's exclamation of surprise-
A missile, the fourth and final missile launched from earlier then streaked out from the hole in the building Beth created in her bid to escape, intercepting the charging RAF pilot and exploding in a flash of blue light. Said pilot was thrown out from the smoke cloud created by the explosion, tumbling momentarily onto the ground before she regained her footing and kicked off back into the sky. All the while Vanguard's pilot hadn't moved from her position in the air, remaining unphased by the attempted ambush. To Claire, Vanguard projected an image of supreme confidence like no other IS pilot she'd seen. Not even her mentor-
...
Nevermind, she thought with a shiver and averted any and all thoughts about the scary woman and focused back on the battle ongoing through the screen. Absently she glanced at the timer at the corner of the screen.
[8:41]
"One minute in and she'd already defeated one of the RAF's pilots." She wondered, gaining Phoebe's and Edith's attention. It made the two calm down for the moment, as the latter was trying to escape the former's side hug. "Could she be seeking to break the newest record?"
"I learned my lesson so I say Camelot's beating BAE today!" Phoebe, in a complete turn around from her previous stance, confidently asserted. "I'll even bet my allowance for this- no, next month!"
"So you aren't going to spend a few-hundred pounds for another of your toy figurines this week?" Edith grumbled as she resumed trying to break out from the taller girl's hold, though was failing miserably by the fact Phoebe's arm was barely budging. A vein bulged on Phoebe's forehead at that. Claire turned back towards the monitor as Vanguard faced off against another RAF pilot, who'd stopped who'd exchanged her sword for a sniper rifle.
"Nice hit, but that'll be all, Vanguard." The RAF pilot spoke as she racked the bolt on her rifle. "You won't be finishing this course so easily."
Before she finished her sentence she aimed her rifle and opened fire. Amazingly, Vanguard's pilot dodged the first shot by turning sideways and fired back with MG bursts. The RAF pilot was forced to strafe right immediately to evade the bullets, making to try and fire again. Then six missiles burst out from Vanguard's back, launched from a pod mounted behind the armoured IS's left shoulder from what Clair could guess, and the brightly glowing warheads flew towards the RAF pilot. She did her best to avoid them, spinning and diving and twisting away but luck wasn't with her; one eventually clipped one of her wings throwing her off course. Then another, and another hit her, sending her crashing onto the side of a building through a wall.
When the smoke clouds dispersed the RAF pilot was revealed collapsed on the rubble, struggling to sit up with a grimace. Her outline then lit up red, similar to Beth earlier with a panel appearing to reveal her status:
[Energy Shield at = 22% - LCPL. Poole, Defeated]
"Another one bites the dust!" The announcer shouted to the roar of the crowd, Phoebe joining in with a joyful cry of her own. "Vanguard Valiant is certain to gain a very high score after this. Two IS takedowns in under two minutes, can you all believe it?!"
Vanguard then flew off, deeper into the urban course followed by the three remaining missiles that didn't explode. By this point it was clear that Camelot has developed a new type of missile in a huge leap in smart missiles, nothing else can explain the behaviour of Vanguard's missiles. Demonstrating their effectiveness in the bi-annual exhibition will surely get them a lot of customers, a move done by many others, most often by BAE Systems.
As the Vanguard flew, the various obstacles in the pilot's way were left in ruins. Turrets were destroyed by accurate shots or missile volleys, drone swarms were shredded as the armoured IS blew past, and near the end two more RAF pilots tried to stop her together this time. But still Vanguard defeated the duo, launching a volley of missiles at one to occupy her while focusing down on the other. The heated duel lasted a few seconds until Vanguard knocked her out of the space between the urban towers with a supercharged sword strike, and then whittled down the other's shield with missiles and her MG until she was outlined in red, then flew off to the other end of the stadium. All the while the Vanguard barely took any damage as the pilot swerved, jinked, spiralled and evaded all that threatened her with preternatural skill and grace. To the three friends watching, it was an awe-inspiring sight. Claire moreso, knowing her genius brother was involved in the Vanguard's creation.
Finally, the Vanguard made it out on the other side of the urban course with a final supercharged burst of speed, leaving all the drones and missiles chasing her in the dust. Camelot Arms' armoured IS has completed the course, finishing at a time of three minutes and forty-seven seconds. The newest record time, breaking the one BAE Systems set just prior, and the crowds went wild as the results were announced.
"What a show, what a show!" Cried the announcer, the crowds settling back down after a few moments of cheering. "Camelot Arms' Valiant Vanguard, guaranteed star of this year's IS Exhibition! The UK's rising star of a company wowing the world once again and advancing IS technology by years once again. And yet, we haven't got a face nor a name to remember for her spectacular performance."
Claire's interest was peaked by the announcer's words, leaning forward to focus on the screen. There, hovering over the finish zone Valiant Vanguard spun to face the announcer's box, on which a high-quality camera was mounted.
"I don't get why she hid her face and name in the first place." Phoebe said, arms crossed as she finally released the Scot, who was rubbing her cheek after getting pinched. "What's so bad about becoming famous?"
Claire's mind immediately recalled the many times Arthur lectured her of the dark side of the internet, of certain... artists whose works are based on the more popular IS pilots. She never looked at her piloting suit the same way again after the first time he did.
"What say you, oh mystery knight?" The announcer continued, now directly addressing Vanguard Valiant's pilot who hasn't moved from her spot. "Your newly acquired fans await your answer."
Vanguard's pilot didn't say a word or move, staring forward in silence. Then, a sharp hissing sound of rushing air was captured by the mics, followed by armour plates shifting. Vanguard's chestplate jutted forward, and as it split into two halves all three girls on their couch leaned forward in anticipation. The bottom half swung down to form a short stairway, while the top half came to a stop covering the head. The camera zoomed into the chest of Vanguard, the armoured IS right in the middle of the screen giving everyone watching an unobstructed view of the pilot.
Her form was covered completely by a full bodysuit, though opposite to the suits that Claire and her fellow pilots wear that emphasises their curves, the Camelot pilot wore a suit like those race drivers use with enough padding to make her look androgynous. Her chest and shoulders were covered in armour plates even, and when she fully stepped out onto the lower chest plate a futuristic knight helmet beheld the world. Gauntlet-clad hands grasped the helmet next, and after a slight twist smoothly tugged it off her... no...
"What?" Claire muttered in disbelief, eyes widening as she saw... his face.
"Impossible." Edith's shock was great enough to make her Scottish heritage come to the fore. "Tha' cannae be..."
"Oh." Phoebe had stood up at seeing the pilot's face. "Oh, OH! Claire it's him! It's-!"
"Arthur." She spoke his name in wonder as she too stood from the couch and walked a few steps towards the monitor. "My little brother Arthur..."
Around her the special suite had gone silent, a muted shock being shared by everyone there. On the screen, standing there on the Vanguard Valiant was indeed Arthur Bennett, brown hair messed up by the helmet and his blue eyes the same as hers staring straight at the camera. And on his face was the happiest smile she'd ever seen him make.
"My name is Arthur Bennett." His words flowed out with great confidence, resounding clearly throughout the shocked silent stadium. "Lead developer and pilot of Camelot Arm's first Infinite Stratos, the Vanguard Valiant."
Confirmation. Claire covered her mouth as tears threatened to fall from her eyes, such was her immense happiness for Arthur. Her sweet, genius little brother who always wanted to fly in an IS. And there he was, defying the long-established truth that only girls can pilot an IS. The stadium once again erupted with noise as he introduced himself, the audience letting out their confusion, surprise, amazement, denial, and many other emotions in one deafening roar. And in the face of it all he did naught but continue to smile joyfully.
"Claire, Claire, your little bro looks so damn cool right now." Commented Phoebe as her best friend grabbed her shoulder and shook her lightly. Edith remained seated, still staring in shock at the monitor. The announcer was saying something but whatever he's saying wasn't important enough for Clair to pay attention to. Because in the next moment she was too busy gushing over how great her little brother was, really laying it on thick, completely discarding her aloof persona.
"Eh? What, what?" Spoke a young woman as she watched the events of the bi-annual IS Exhibition unfold. Eyes grown red from staring unblinking at the screen for too long laser-focused on the man's face as he stood atop the IS he'd piloted despite the hard gender limit she coded in her precious cores.
"That can't be right, no, no!" Mechanical rabbit ears twitching erratically, she opened a holographic panel and inputted a command to search and access the core of the man's IS, looking to find a glitch or error. Because what else could explain the impossible happening at the moment? It's not like anyone could hack into something she, the world's greatest genius, created. No one had been able to in the years since she proliferated IS cores around the world. Hands dexterously typed and dragged on the panel keys, characters and codes ran fast across windows that appeared and disappeared until at last information on the Vanguard Valiant's core, C#169 appeared before her. The young woman inputted her admin credentials to access the core's, well, core and when she finished she pressed the check enter key.
But where other IS cores easily granted her access as was her right as inventor and sole creator, this one... didn't. An error message popped up, followed by another, and again, and again and again and again and again-
Until the whole panel of Vanguard Valiant's core was covered in bright red error messages. Then it blacked out, replaced by a message pannel that threatened to fray her sanity:
[Unauthorised. Access, DENIED]
And there, on the screen, Arthur Bennett smirked. His eyes boring straight into her own. The young woman ground her teeth, the smile on her face lit up red by the message panel twisted into a rictus grin as she glared hatefully at the man on the screen.
"Oh you." Shinonono Tabane spat at the smirking man on the screen. "We'll be having so much fun!"
A.N. - Thoughts? Comments? Did I make Tabane sound too unhinged? Leave a review.