Embers After Flames, Chapter 10.8 (Patreon)

10.8

+++

Going back and forth took a decent bit of time, but I eventually got it all worked out. When I had, the only thing that remained was the briefing.

“I’m sure it doesn’t come as any surprise to you by now, but there are, in fact, even more secret groups operating to their own ends on this planet.” I began. “Meet Branch, a group of hacktivists that have aligned themselves against the PCA.” I projected a series of readouts, showing a pair of ACs. “They’re the ones who attacked the PCA and revealed the continued existence of Coral on this planet. They’re also the ones who damaged the Closure Satellite, and made it possible for Arquebus and Balam to come here in force.”

“These designations...” Walter seemed surprised. “King and Chartreuse are a part of this group?”

“Yes indeed.” I chuckled. “They’re a group of four, three AC pilots and an Operator. Under normal circumstances, 621, they wouldn’t care about you at all... if not for one minor detail.” King and Chartreuse’s readouts minimized, and the third appeared. “You might recognize this AC. In case you don’t, you will definitely recognize the license- after all, when you arrived on Rubicon, you ended up stealing it. Meet Raven, the original, and one of the PCA’s highest priority targets.”

The readout shifted, changing into a dossier. I listed a variety of combat actions, and then started tallying kills that Raven had made over the course of the last couple of years.

“The RLF enjoyed a relatively close relationship with Branch.” I continued. “Your theft of Raven’s license was a moment of great humour to me. They went through a rather considerable amount of effort to fake Raven’s demise, and you put a pin in that unknowingly. Then you went ahead and proved yourself every bit as dangerous, and it has been deeply amusing ever since.” I laughed. “With that said, while Branch was initially content to let you continue on your way, that was never going to last forever. By now, they’re fully prepared to resume operations, if not for the matter of yourself.”

“They want revenge?” Walter asked.

“No, actually.” I told him. “They’re not coming to take back the license. What they want to see is whether or not you can do it justice.” The dossier vanished, and I replaced it with a pile of other screens, all showing varying things throughout history. “You see, they fight for ideology. ‘Raven’ is a name that has been passed throughout history, and it represents a symbol of resolve. The will to choose what one fights for. In taking the name, you made it inevitable for conflict to come your way. They will challenge you to prove your worth. Lose, and they shall continue on their way. Win, however, and that will be that.”

“That seems... weird.” Ayre spoke.

“Humans do strange things.” Was my only response.

“Dealing with this now is probably a better choice for you, 621.” I said. “Otherwise, they’ll involve themselves in your other business. At least if you confront them head on, you know there won’t be any complicating factors.”

“... Mmm.” Walter sighed. “Unfortunately, I agree 621. Three top-tier AC pilots are no joke, and you saw that kill-list for your license’s original holder yourself. A direct fight is better than them ambushing you.”

“I’m sure you can handle it, Raven!” Ayre chimed, immediately declaring her belief in 621.

“If that was all, I’d leave it at that.” I sighed. “But, as I said, we’ve enjoyed a relatively close relationship. I hold a bit of fondness for Branch, and I appreciate how much they’ve helped us over the years. This is why I have a bit of a difficult request for you, 621. I understand if you decide otherwise, but I would like you to avoid killing them, if you can.”

“Avoid-” Walter started. “It will already be 621 against all three of them-”

621’s acceptance indication pulsed through the connection, silencing Walter.

“... Alright. It’s your choice, 621.” Walter said.

“And I will thank you for it.” I interjected. “You will have both the intangible thanks and the valuable kind, 621. Anyways, rest up. You will definitely want to be at your best for this.”

+++

Determining the battlefield had been fairly easy. There were no end of wide, open spaces with minimal terrain features on the Northern Ice Field. About the most I had to do was make sure it was somewhere appropriately far from anything interesting, to ensure that there would be no interruptions.

The event was scheduled to start at seven in the morning. Branch had been nearby already, so they chose to show up a few minutes early.

Walter, in charge of punctuality, sent 621 in a few minutes early as well.

Three ACs on one side, against a single AC on the other. King, in ASTER CROWN, Chartreuse in UMBER OX, and Raven in NIGHTFALL. The morning light was a strange shade of orange-red, the sunlight filtering through clouds of Coral. The situation could have been less awkward, but it could have been more awkward, too.

None had their weapons raised, after all.

“Branch.” I elected to spend a moment talking before it started. “I see you are doing well.”

“We are.” Raven’s Operator spoke. “And you must be 621.”

A moment passed.

“If you’re expecting an answer, don’t.” I noted. “The Augmentations weren’t kind.”

“Ah, I see.” Raven’s Operator spoke. “My apologies then. I trust you don’t need an explanation of why we are here, at least?”

LOADER 4’s head shook from side to side.

“Good.” The Operator spoke.

“Raven is not a name I expected to be attached to a hostile AC.” King spoke up. “Yet, from what I’ve seen, you certainly have the skill for it.”

“From what I know, you’re a Gen Four.” Chartreuse added. “For something that belongs in a museum rather than a battlefield, your record speaks for itself.”

“... She’s a little rude.”

Neither Raven or 621 responded.

“Lock in.” Raven’s Operator spoke. “We all know that you can’t take chances with this one.”

All four ACs readied themselves. I threw up a timer, counting down the last seconds until the time came.

It hit zero.

A pair of laser weapons fired. King had one, a Back-mounted triple-barrel cannon, and Chartreuse had another, though hers was a Hand double-barrel rifle. Five beams passed through where 621 had been, but LOADER 4 had already moved out of the way.

621 chose to charge forwards. In one hand, there was ALLMIND’s Multi Energy Rifle, the 44-142 KRSV. In the other, a Pile Bunker waited, ready and dangerous. On the Back, the right shoulder held Elcano’s TRUENO Needle Missile Launcher, and the other was currently mounting a Laser Blade.

621 went straight for Chartreuse, first. She seemed more than willing to meet the challenge, her Scatter Laser beginning to charge even as her Bazooka and Grenade Cannon were readied and fired.

King and Raven both moved to intercept. King’s Pulse Scutum activating, the barrier solidifying after a few moments, even as he added his own firepower to Chartreuse’s explosive efforts, Burst Handgun spitting out bullets while the Linear Rifle charged up.

Raven’s Assault Rifle joined the chorus, a pair of Dual Missiles launching out, before the SONGBIRDS added another pair of cannon shots.

It was a truly withering amount of firepower.

It just didn’t matter.

621 was faster. LOADER 4 twitched in the most minor of ways, Boosters flaring for precisely timed periods. The bullets whizzed past, coming close but not close enough. The cannon shots, in comparison, were targeted at the ground, all three of Branch’s pilots too skilled to try and rely on getting a direct hit.

621 went upwards instead, where the blast waves of the shots provided no interference. King’s Linear Rifle thundered as it fired, but it met no more luck than any of the rest. Raven’s missiles swooped in, but they just weren’t fast enough, not designed for this kind of battlefield use.

The flashing build-up of Pulse energies forced NIGHTFALL to avert its approach. LOADER 4’s Assault Armour flashed outwards a moment later, briefly consuming 621 entirely.

But that didn’t mean that 621 had stopped doing anything.

A pair of Needle Missiles shot out of the cloud of Pulse energies before it fully dissipated. Chartreuse, already caught off guard from the sudden detonation of Assault Armour, didn’t react in time to dodge them. The needles buried themselves directly into the armour of UMBER OX’s Legs unit.

Unlike most Tank Legs, the VE-42B were not actually outstandingly armoured. They sacrificed that in order to optimise for Assault Boost speed and mid-air performance. When the needles hit, from such a direct angle, they punctured into them, compromising the armour.

621 followed behind only a moment later, LOADER 4’s Boosters firing at their maximum. The Assault Boost hadn’t even ended when 621 lashed out, Laser Blade igniting.

Credit to her, Chartreuse tried to dodge.

She simply didn’t succeed.

The Laser Blade followed perfectly into the path that the Needles had made, and the searing blade quickly did far more awful things to the internals of UMBER OX. Something flashed, a plasma detonation by the look of it, and UMBER OX’s lower half nearly blew itself in half as the internal capacitors went off.

Chartreuse herself was safe in the Core, but UMBER OX was out of this battle.

621 moved on instantly, Boosters flaring for a moment as LOADER 4 accelerated to the side. The left arm raised, and the shoulder offered the Pile Bunker up again as 621 turned around.

Raven arrived in a flash.

Both ACs pulled their arms back. Both Pile Bunkers readied.

I focused.

The pins of the Pile Bunkers triggered. Explosions went off, and both Pile Bunkers rushed forwards at concerning speeds.

621’s aim was perfect. The tip of 621’s Pile Bunker met the inside tip of Raven’s Pile Bunker. Both deflected, even though at this velocity this resulted in the shattering of both of the metal rods but Raven’s went outwards.

621’s went inwards.

It smashed straight into Raven’s ASHMEAD, and even shattered, it was still a hyperdense alloy rod.

The ASHMEAD was not simply penetrated, the forces it was subjected to were so great that it exploded, and it nearly took Raven’s arm with it. NIGHTFALL spun away, Boosters already flaring as it tried to correct itself.

621 followed the momentum, LOADER 4 turning around, even as it raised its other arm.

King came through the cloud of smoke that the explosions had left. 621 fired, the fully charged Multi Energy Rifle unleashing the full force of its power upon the AC.

If not for the Pulse Scutum, that would have been for ASTER CROWN. Half Plasma and half High Intensity Laser, the KSRV was a deceitfully nasty weapon.

The shield broke. The rest of the energy washed against ASTER CROWN, and 621 didn’t hesitate to follow through.

LOADER 4 flew forwards. King unleashed another burst of bullets from his handgun, and accomplished about as much as anyone had ever accomplished.

621 slipped past it, and lashed out with a kick.

ASTER CROWN tried to dodge, but Tetrapods weren’t exactly known for their mobility. The foot slammed directly into ASTER CROWN’s head, severely straining the neck joint. I was impressed that it stayed together, but it didn’t help that much.

621 moved around ASTER CROWn. King fired another laser burst, to no effect, even as his AC backpedalled to try and gain some distance.

It didn’t work, and the moment of destruction came a moment later when the Needle Missiles finished the reload cycle.

At point blank, there was no dodging. They slammed directly into the Head, and took it clean off.

ASTER CROWN halted. The Core damage was minimal, but King couldn’t pilot with his AC missing most of its sensors.

621 was forced to keep moving, however. Despite the damage, Raven was apparently determined to not go out just yet.

NIGHTFALL stood tall and proud. Raven moved in, purging the broken ASHMEAD entirely.

It didn’t help.

621 dodged the bullets, and LOADER 4 purged its own ASHMEAD. NIGHTFALL came in, lashing out in a punch.

For all Raven’s skill, 621 was better.

LOADER 4 caught the punch, and tugged backwards even as a leg rose up. The foot smashed into the shoulder, and the damaged arm came off entirely, the shoulder shattered.

The ACS locked up, of course. Raven was helpless for only a moment, but it was a moment too long.

The Laser Blade flashed, and Nightfall lost both of its Back Units. The KSRV fired, and a bolt of plasma obliterated the SCUDDER, leaving NIGHTFALL without weaponry and missing an arm.

If it was an actual battle, Raven probably wouldn’t have stopped.

This, however, was a test of worthiness, and it hadn’t even taken a full minute for 621 to break three of the best pilots on the planet at the same time.

The ACS reset. NIGHTFALL didn’t move to attack.

Its head merely turned to face 621.

“Ah.” Raven’s Operator murmured. “How utterly absurd.”

“Isn’t it?” I asked.

I heard her release a breath. “Well. That proves things beyond doubt.”

“Congratulations, 621.” I laughed. “Or, rather...”

After that? No. 621 wasn’t right anymore.

The name had been earned in full.

“Congratulations, Raven.”

+++

The new Raven left the battlefield shortly. The old Raven, and the rest of Branch, were left behind.

No surprise. The Hound likely didn’t care. The ideologues didn’t expect assistance in the first place, especially not since they’d come here to fight.

“What will you do now?” I asked the old Raven’s Operator. “Branch has been put on the bench, now.”

“There is nothing left to do but keep an eye out, now.” The Operator responded. “We will be true to our word.”

I detected, shortly, new transports coming in. Small ones, AC-scale. No IFFs, and low on the emission bands in all cases, but for them to be coming here, a place in the middle of nowhere, now, after the battle concluded, told me exactly who they belonged too.

“Fair enough.” I said. “In all honesty, there isn’t that much left to do.”

King’s AC shifted. A hand rose up, fingers brushing over the severed neck. He found he was looking for, and tore away a sheared piece of metal. ASTER CROWN shut down completely a moment later.

The transports were just coming into view when the man hoisted himself out of the machine.

I saw him sigh. The big cloud that emerged in front of his mouth kind of gave it away. A moment later, however, he laughed.

NIGHTFALL’s head turned to face him.

“That Hound...” Chartreuse’s voice rang out over the radio. “We just got taken to the cleaners.”

All three were alive. Good.

“You have arrangements, I assume?” I asked. They were normally prepared, but I wouldn’t really mind getting something else together for them.

“We’re fine.” The Operator confirmed. “But, thank you for the offer regardless.”

“It’s not trouble.” I said. “But I will give you one last piece of advice.”

“Yes?” The Operator asked.

“You may want to leave the Ice Field as soon as you can.” I said. “It will get very busy here, very soon.”

“I see. Duly noted, and we will take it under consideration.” The Operator acknowledged.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” I said. “Farewell.”