Embers After Flames, Chapter 9.3 (Patreon)

9.3

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Hopefully soon, I said.

Evidently not just yet, though.

The aftermath of the assault on the Gallia Dam Complex was, not to put too fine a point on it, an absolute shitshow for Balam. Arquebus as well, but only to a lesser extent.

The megacorps were three for three on failed major assaults against the RLF. They could not break the sensor nets, they could not destroy the mobile fortress that was the Strider, and they’d failed to breach the Gallia Dam at all.

Both factions had lost a significant amount of AC pilots, and a considerable amount of MTs on top of that. Both corporations had long ago followed in the PCA’s footsteps of shifting towards unpiloted MTs, however, and so the actual number of casualties was lower than it could have been on that particular front.

Neither one of the megacorps was happy about the current state of affairs. All this time and they still had nothing to show for all of their effort.

Rubicon had turned into a money pit, even for the Megacorporations. They wanted a win, some, in some form or another, that would let them say that all of this was ultimately worth it.

Yet, even the both of them together had been denied three times in a row, now, and they were beginning to pick up on the fact that something wasn’t quite right.

Their bases were hives of activity, busy enough that I didn’t want to risk sending my Antigens too close to the area. The fact that we had met them in exactly the worst times and places had put them on edge, and they were trying to find out how, desperately.

They were planning something. It was only a single day after Balam’s second failure that one of their transports departed form their HQ and went eastwards, going to Arquebus’ own Headquarters.

What was inside, I didn’t know. It had been loaded inside of their main buildings with all the doors shut, and it had been unloaded inside of their competitor’s main building with all the doors shut.

It was... certainly bold of Balam, to do that. Moving in on Arqeubus’ home turf like that... It was dangerous. In order to negotiate in person, whoever had been sent had to have been ranked fairly highly, but to do it secretly enough that nobody on the outside was able to monitor...

It allowed potential for shenanigans. Subterfuge. Balam was less prone to that sort of thing than Arquebus was, yes, but they were both Megacorps. Neither could ever be strangers.

They did it even so. The ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘why’, and ‘who’ evaded me.

The transport left a couple days later. Judging by the mood around both Megacorps’ bases in the few days after that, some kind of agreement had been reached.

Listening in took some rather creative measures, but ultimately the rumours began to reach my ears. Confirming them took even more work, and an uncomfortably close call with having one of the Antigens being revealed, but I was able to get it done in time for something useful.

Informing Flatwell was the first thing I did, as usual.

“They’re planning on hitting the Wall.” I said.

“Is this overconfidence, stupidity, or a devotion of heavy resources?” He asked. “They should know how heavily fortified the Wall is.”

“I think it is actually the third option, in this particular case.” I elaborated. “I would like to intercept them outside of the zone just to make sure they don’t pull a fast one. I intend to hire 621, and I’d like to make sure that things are firmly in our favour. Do you mind if I borrow a pair of pilots?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I have no specific plans for anybody. Are you sure you only want three in total, though?”

“With the two I’m thinking of plus 621, they’ll be three of the best.” I replied. “I’ll send the details when I’ve gotten them worked out. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I sent messages off to my intended pilots. Both got back to me immediately, confirming that they were available. Excellent.

Next thing to do was send the job to 621. That meant it was time to make yet another pretty little briefing, which never really took me very long.

Also, I don’t know why, but they’re so satisfying to put together.

“Greetings, 621.” Starting it like this was practically a habit by now, so why not? “I’ve got another job for you. Your prior efforts have stymied Arquebus’ and Balam’s attempts at breaking our stuff, and now they’re getting annoyed by the fact that they haven’t achieved anything. They’ve decided to pull out the stops.” A bunch of transport helicopters appeared on the briefing, showing an approximate path from Arquebus’ base to the Wall. “They’re planning on attacking the Wall, the RLF’s central base, its most heavily fortified point, and the core of the RLF’s transport and transit routes throughout the continent. It’s rather very important to us, as you might have guessed.”

The image changed again, zooming in on the transports. The solid pictures transformed into schematics, showing the machines in all their glory. “The problem is, we don’t know what they’re deploying.” Big, red question marks appeared over the cargo bays of the helicopters. “From what I’ve been able to uncover, they’re sending something of considerable importance to both corporations. Whatever this something is, they have a reasonable expectation that it will be able to breach the Wall.”

And wasn’t that a kick? The number of transports they had ready was too small for an army, which undoubtedly meant that they wanted to try sending a smaller number of superior machines. ACs, in other words.

But they had sent ACs before, and their pilots were significantly depleted. Were they really willing to risk sending more?

“Whatever is coming, I would like you to intercept them before they get to the Wall. Your battlefield will be the outskirts of the zone, nothing but open ground in every direction.” I continued. “Just like last time, this isn’t a solo operation. Two RLF pilots will be joining you on the intercept. Don’t worry, they’re more than capable of taking care of themselves. If this final effort is broken, that should be it for large-scale threats to the RLF. That’s all I can give you, 621. Sorry about the lack of information, but they’ve done pretty well on keeping this one quiet. So, how about it?”

I got the confirmation of a contract acceptance soon afterwards.

Most excellent.

That was most of my actual concerns about this out of the way.

It still took nearly two days before the whole thing kicked off, though. All three of the pilots I’d chosen were on standby, right up until I’d detected a trio of Arquebus transports taking off from their headquarters. All three were promptly informed, and when I eventually narrowed down the exact route they were taking, I sent them off to go greet the transports before they could make it to the Wall.

621 was the first one there, arriving well before the scheduled time. The other two also showed up early, just not as early as 621 did.

“So, you’re the one who’s been helping us out, huh? It’ll be a genuine pleasure to fight alongside someone of your skill, buddy.” Rusty greeted 621 first, landing STEEL HAZE next to LOADER 4.

“We do owe you some thanks. Not many in your position would have chosen to stand by us.” Dolmayan did the same only a moment later.

621 did not respond, save for a slight turn of LOADER 4’s head. A subtle motion. Difficult to do for a lot of pilots.

Dolmayan, Rusty, and 621. Not a combination I’d bet against.

“You are the ones paying.” Walter noted, his voice... not quite gruff, but close to it. “Eyes up, 621. The transports are entering the AO.”

And indeed they were.

Three Arquebus transports. Relatively small, but decently armoured while still being quick. A coat of metamaterials left them hard to see across a significant portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as well, so they were also decently stealthy... so long as you weren’t tracking the thermal bloom of their engines.

“Beginning the engagement now.” I reported.

A series of missile launchers I’d prepared engaged, targeting locks confirming only a moment later. Off they went, shooting upwards on a trail of smoke and fire.

All three transports immediately launched their flares, banking in different directions. A decent chunk of the missiles did peel off, but not quite all of them. All three transports took several direct hits, severely compromising their armour... but they survived.

Six energy signatures lit up inside the transports. Two each. Scale and patterns were consistent with Armored Cores.

“Hmm. Seems you’re in for a tough one.” Walter stated. “Six enemy ACs. Keep your guard up, 621.”

The transport’s bays opened, and the ACs abandoned their transports.

“What-” Walter sounded surprised, and I didn’t blame him one bit.

I recognized all of them.

The first transport held two ACs. Both were Tetras, but the first was a blocky machine, made entirely of solid armour plating and hard angles, the combination born of both Balam and Dafeng.

LI LONG. G3, Wu Huahai.

The other was sleek lines and aerodynamic smoothness that couldn’t be anything other than Schneider’s and Arqeubus’ work, save for the head piece alone, which was a part developed by ALLMIND.

BARREN FLOWER. V.III O’Keeffe.

The second transport held a pair of Bipeds, both of which were large and heavily armoured. One, however, was slabs of armour, stacked on top of each other. Ridiculous pauldrons covered the shoulders, and equally ridiculous guards covered the upper legs. The Frame was all green, but the weapons were all red.

DEEP DOWN. G2 Nile.

The other was rounded curves, nearly as wide as it was tall, coloured head to foot in purple and black, and honestly fairly goofy to look at.

OPEN FAITH. V.II Snail.

The last transport released a Tetra and a Biped. The Tetra was another of Balam’s and Dafeng’s, but it wasn’t nearly as thick as the first. It was coloured a desaturated cyan, with accents of a deeper blue.

LIGER TAIL. G1 Michigan.

The Biped broke the pattern. It wasn’t just Arquebus parts, no. Balam’s designs had been incorporated into the machine, with an array of eclectic weaponry attached. Its deep blue colour scheme could, at first glance, seem to compliment its partner, but that was a trick. Its pilot had chosen for himself, without any consideration for others.

LOCKSMITH. V.I Freud.

“Well, that explains things.” I said. “Heads up, you’re up against a combined Arquebus and Balam force. The top three Vespers and the top three Redguns are your foes.”

Seriously...

The first transport had held G1 Michigan and V.I Freud, both of whom should have been enemies on opposing sides, but today were standing together. The second transport had held G2 Nile and V.II Snail, one part corporate officer and one part corporate snake, which I’m sure must have made for a terribly awkward ride for the both of them... If Snail was capable of awkwardness through all that arrogance. The last transport had held G3 Wu Huahai and V.III O’Keeffe, one a con artist and the other a spy.

That was a lot of highly skilled and dangerous pilots in one place!

That was... incredibly bold of them. I guess they really hadn’t appreciated what we’d been doing to them at all.

The corps really weren’t fucking around this time.

“My... an unexpectedly highly ranked series of guests.” Dolmayan mused.

“Shall we roll out the welcome mat, then?” Rusty asked.

Dolmayan let out a noise of amusement.

“Don’t mess around. Keep your head in the game, and take them down as quickly as you can. You’re outnumbered six to three.” Walter advised. “Now show them what you’re made of, 621.”

Boosters ignited, and a moment later, all three of them shot forwards.