Departure (Nadesico Crew)

[Nemesis]

December 7th, AD 2880
L1 Colony Branch, Clockflower Colony
Nergal Stadium
9:30 PM

idol

(ˈī-dᵊl ):
1: an object of extreme devotion
2 : a representation or symbol of an object of worship
3: a likeness of something
4: a false conception
5: a form or appearance visible but without substance

The air was heavy with excitement. The lights were dimmed, and for the thousands that had flocked there, their raucous calls and cheers fell into silence. A faintly glowing mist flowed across their feet, and it wasn't long before thin beams of light, lasers and holo-axis projectors, arced gracefully through the still silence. It was as if a spell had been cast, and all now waited breathlessly for their object of desire.

Out from the dreary darkness of reality plumed fantasy, painted in vivid, hallucinatory streaks, golds, reds and whites mingling with softer, whispered blues and greens, weaving and winding into one another, taking shape as if all present were pulled into another world, down into the deep depths of a warm, numbing ocean.

And this world, like all others, had its ruler.

The appearance of the apparition was greeted not with cheers, nor with hoots of jubliation, but only the murmured sighs of content. Her illusory fingers brushed their cheeks, beckoning them closer, her features as surreal as the landscape that surrounded them. Eyes that adored swept over the crowd, and all present felt in their heart of hearts, as though Sharon Apple were looking - speaking - directly to them.

Her hand reached out towards them, and her lips moved.

"Won't you come with me?" She asked, softly.

And then... began to sing.

"I sa ya, I sa ya..."

Elsewhere, yet not far from the festivities, a metallic form towered over the surroundings. The Bernard and Felix manufactured NEXT turned its head slowly to the side in the manufactured evening, bright blue cycloptic eye rolling about, keen and alert for danger. Within its cockpit, the Lynx drummed his fingers in synch with the tune emanating from the stadium. Wasn't his jam, he thought privately to himself - seemed like the kind of thing you'd listen to if you wanted to put people to sleep, not hype them up.

Still. At least he wouldn't have to worry about any UNACs bumbling into his line of fire - The League had seen to that. No, security was a job best left to a company man - and his wallet couldn't be more grateful for their skepticism.



Some things you just couldn't trust to a rust-bucket.

---

Also Elsewhere...
Nergal Industries
Nadesico Dry Dock

"Move it! I can't hear Sharon!"
"I can't hear her either!"

On the roof of Nergal's fantastically expensive and elaborate artifical lake-concealed factory, a pair of figures strained in the direction of the distant lights, listening for even the slightest hint of their angel's voice. They could always catch the recording later - but it wasn't the same. Sharon Apple live was an experience, they had been told. And because of her, because of that woman... they were missing out.

"Why oh why did the boss have to pick tonight?" Moaned one, letting his head fall into his hands as his companion joined his wailing.
"My tickets... My poor, poor tickets..."

Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, their woe was short lived.

Quick as lightning and almost as loud, a pair of hands snapped out behind them, seizing each man by the ear and dragging him back. A very familiar voice raised itself, stern and proud, as if it had never known the bending of a knee.

"If you have time to to worry about your imaginary girlfriend, you have time to finish adjustments on the ship."
"Yes Miss Blachefleur!"
"Yes, Boss!"

Faustine Blanchefleur, Chief Executive Officer of Nergal Industries, released the two hapless technicians, letting them scuttle back towards the dock in a storm of apologies. Her black hair fluttered in the artificial wind, and she sucked in a breath of the cool air. Sharp, almost eagle like eyes registered the performance in the distance. Giving a low sigh, a lighter flicked open and closed in her palm, as she lit up a cigarette.



"What does a machine think it knows about music, anyway?" She muttered, turning her back on the spectacle and stalking back indoors.

Today was the big day... and screwups would not be tolerated.

 

[Tackle Jackie]

Today was the big day, and Makurol was struggling to not look as excited as she felt. She had hitched a ride with a produce delivery to Clockflower, since the rest of the commercial flights to the PLANT had been filled up for a concert-

And it was still wild to the young Meltran that she’d be on the same anything as Sharon Apple herself… not because she was a big fan, but simply because she was so much of a legend on her own. But there would be time to process all this culture later. Still needed to find her ship and all that.

Being nearly ten meters, her approach was probably as notable as any other mobile weapon, with a cargo container sized duffel stuffed under her arm. Catching a glimpse of someone stalking their way back indoors, Makurol raised her hand in greeting.

“Oh, pardon me, but is this the meeting point for the Nergal job? Ah’m Makurol, a pilot?”

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As the show went on, all seemed quiet on the western front. The calm atmosphere amplified by the idol at the colony’s center. Today seemed like a good day as any to write something down, cook a nice meal with lots of prep time. It felt like you had the best seats in the house for a nice chill playlist played live.

Beep…

The radar of the NEXT would pick up a small ping. It was probably nothing, maybe just some space debris floating in the distance.

Beep…Beep…

There is was again, what was it that could be causing such a-

Beep…Beep…Beep…

At rapid speeds red lights could be found in the distance, they were approaching fast. And it was no small pirate force. The radar of the NEXT lit up with dot after dot, until it seemed like there was a full platoon sitting right in front of him. But before he could react, the red lights closed in. Raptors… Orbital Frames. It was BAHRAM. But why would they attack those likely to have sympathy for them? The pilot would never know the answer.

Humanity has had many gods, divine beings of unparalleled power. And one such being would return this day to bring about humanity’s salvation. The beginning of their end. The space around the NEXT seemingly had changed. Then with a blade in hand, the god struck down its first mortal without so much as blinking.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
As Sharon’s song reached its climax, the power throughout the stadium went out. Sharon, their idol, was gone. It its place, the sound of a large metallic object crashing through the roof and landing on the stage would be heard.



As the lights came back, the people would be presented the mechanical mass before them. It looked like a gigantic jellyfish, and it clearly had its own sting as it lit up fire in the air with its upper limbs. From it, a male voice filled with an air of cockiness called out.

“HELLO PEOPLE OF CLOCKFLOWER! How are you all enjoying your program? If you were, then good, because I think you’ll enjoy the next segment we have in store for you.”

Around the stadium, multiple Raptor Orbital Frames landed and had their scrying eyes pointed directly at the occupants. It was clear that the festivities were over, and something far worse was about to become of them.

“It’s called a hostage situation and you’re going to enjoy it!“

The arms of the jellyfish-like Orbital Frame pointed towards the edges of the stadium’s open roof before setting fire to it with its 6 appendages. The fire soon began to spread around in a fiery halo, the oxygen began to drain from the inside. If no one hurried, there would be nothing left to save.

The time to awaken the gods had come, all that they needed was the spark of the human soul.​

 

[Nemesis]

"Oh."

Blanchefleur stopped in her tracks as the Zentradi loomed into sight. Surprise registered in her features for only a moment - evidently she was used to the presence of what were sometimes affectionately referred to as "*BFG*"s. She gave a friendly wave, evidently pleased the woman had not only found them, but had showed up ahead of time as well. Proactive behavior at any level should be rewarded, no matter the size of the individual.

"You've come to the right place, Miss Makarol." She called up at the woman's massive features,

"If you'll kindly come around there to the right, you should find-"

Boom.

The distant flare of fire stopped Faustine's words in her throat, her gaze immediately enraptured by its appearance. BAHRAM... They were out of time. Even so... It was a shame not to even have time for new employee orientation.

"...i apologize." She said, sternly.

"Looks like we're skipping the formalities, for now."

---

The music stopped. Confusion turned to panic. Panic turned to a chorus of screams, as Sharon Apple faded from view. Yet, to the pilot of the Tempest - it was almost as if, for a brief second before the vision faded, she was looking directly at him, ghostly eyes staring through him, as though...

Accusing.

Flame spread quickly, lashing the stadium, surging into the surrounding area at blistering speed. The AC nearby rounded with surprise as the enemy closed in - how, he thought? How could they possibly have gotten so close? ...and then-

Darkness swallowed him. Instinctively, his hands slammed down on the control rakers - and that impulse saved his live, as something arced through the air, causing a bright scar down the front of his machine's chest as it stumbled back, thrusters fluttering, sirens in the cockpit blaring. Enemies, enemies everywhere. Was that a Martian Arms Fort? He'd heard of these things - Orbital Frames, entities that ran on some crazy rock from the outer rim. How could they possibly have been built in these numbers...? This was far and above what he'd signed up for!

"Damn BAHRAM!" He spat, the AC's eye glowing a dull blue as it glowered at the new arrival.

"I'm not going down like this!"

There was a low hum, and an ominous flickering in the air about the AC, a sort of aura starting to shroud its form - Kojima Particles. It bounded back, thrusters flaring - and let rip with a pair of dual machineguns, raking left and right at the crowd of Raptors. For the dark form that had emerged before it, a spray of homing missiles howled forth, all subtlety abandoned as the Lynx within fought back in a wild panic.

In his terror, the Lynx had failed to notice just one thing, which perhaps might have come to the attention of the BAHRAM ringleaders as well: A second signature had appeared, approaching from the rear. The energy signature and pace at which it moved suggested that it too, was an AC... albeit, it seemed, an older model. A Normal, perhaps?

---

Nadesico Bridge

A white haired girl watched the battle now unfolding not far enough away on the ship's monitors. Little more than a child, her knees were folded against her chest, her eyes flicked back and forth, taking in ever detail. As the doors to the bridge opened, she raised her soft voice, so that the Captain could hear.

"NEXT Silver Bullet has activated his Primal Armor."

Faustine stepped onto the bridge, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she surveyed the situation. BAHRAM had invaded the Colony, and already incapacitated 60% of its defense forces within five minutes. Honestly? Better than she was expecting. If she didn't have what they wanted, of course, she thought to herself, they probably would have been a lot less gentle.

"Thank you, Luce. That's what happens when you cheap out." She sighed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Can't wait for that lawsuit."

Tapping the control panel, she cleared her throat, sending an announcement across the ship, her voice echoing down the halls and through the communicators of every last person on the ship:

"All crew, prepare to launch. Hold the line for five minutes while the dock finishes draining - We'll save the welcome party for later!"

---

Nadesico Hangar

The dark within the container was comfortable. Isaac Gaius liked it. Sure he was just an intern and wasn't exactly supposed to be fooling around in places he wasn't expected to be in, but sometimes you just couldn't resist. His fingers moved over the holographic controls eagerly, the lines of power illuminating his grin as it responded to his every touch with a pulse of power. He'd never seen anything like this, not in his entire life. Ms. Blanchefleur hadn't been able to get it to move, nor could anyone else - but maybe, just maybe he could...

As the seat beneath him hummed along, a display popped up, causing him to start slightly. He froze momentarily, waiting to see if the Orbital Frame would detonate beneath him - but when nothing happened, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"A.D.A, huh?" He said, finally.

"So is that your name?"

Before he could venture any further, however - a distant boom caused his gaze to flick upward, followed shortly by Blanchefleur's voice in his ear. Hurriedly he scrambled out as quietly as possible, closing the cockpit hatch behind him as he went. There would be more time to play around with it later. So rapid was his exit, he failed to notice the glowing words on the monitor, printed just above the AI's interactive screen.

PILOT REGISTRATION COMPLETE.

As he eased his body through the crack at the corner of the OF's container, his gaze was immediately drawn to the arrival of the Meltran. Unlike his superior, it was the young man's first ever time seeing a Zentran in person, and the way his jaw practically slammed into the floor couldn't have given it away faster.

"...Urk." He gulped, realizing how it looked; but just as quickly tried to force himself to be composed, pulling himself out completely into the open and trying to look nonchalant.

"I mean... Hi!"

 

[Tackle Jackie]

The explosion caught the poor meltran off guard, as both she and the woman glanced back over towards stadium, filling with with a strange relief that she wasn’t in attendance. Of course, that was very quickly replaced with concern. A bombing? Possibly, but it looked more like… somethings were flying around.

“Ah, to the right, got it-“

Makurol ran for the open hangar, not really getting a better view as she climbed in, but it was good enough to try and take stock of the large room. A few Aestivalis, some strange looking… orbital frame(?) and what she could only assume was her new powered suit- and another pilot? Seeing a… Well, another human, pulling themselves out of the orbital frame, Mak gave him a hurried wave before she started to climb into her suit.

“Hey, you another pilot? Ya might wanna get back in and prep for takeoff, there’s something going down at the stadium.”

The Quedluun-Quiplua hummed as she fiddled with the controls, the cockpit closing back over herself.

“Makurol, ready for orders.”

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As the NEXT fired away countless bullets towards the Raptors, they began to move out of the way, with 3 of the group disengaging to fire back at the NEXT. Their eyes emitting a glow before firing off a particle shot towards the NEXT. The mysterious enemy would not yield to the missiles however, simply flying through them as a field shielded their angelic form. The missiles seemingly left not a single scratch on it, nothing but a cloud of dust was left. And when the dust settled, the machine was nowhere to be found.

“You won’t run away now, traitor!”

The pilot of the machine said as she phased into view of the NEXT, seemingly appearing without any forewarning. A hand would quickly grab the head unit of the NEXT before a sword would move to pierce its chest. The Lynx finally had a closer look at the thing. It seemingly looked just like… THAT machine. The same one from the final incident reports. A ghost of Mars’ past.



“Don’t think you can run away from your past!”

Should the NEXT think of retaliating, the wings of the machine made sure that any projectiles would be shielded from, protecting the main body of the machine.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The pilot of the Tempest Orbital Frame flinched as he saw the female AI staring him down. All he could do was chuckle at the absurdity of such a concept.

“To think all of you maggots worship some hologram that speaks and sings gibberish. I think it’s better that I burn you all right now. But nah, that would end the fun too quickly.”

His sensors then picked up the approaching new Armored Core. Whatever it wanted to do, there wasn’t much a hunk of junk like that could do against a heavily armed Orbital Frame.

“Looking to pick a fight old man? Because I’ll happily oblige!”

The Tempest pilot said as the towering Scyphozoa turned towards the approaching signal. From atop its head, an orb of energy formed and fired multiple particle shots towards the AC. The Tempest wasn’t going to give up its foothold so easily.

 

[Nemesis]

"Hi Mr. Valentine, Mr. Mironov, sirs. Ms. Makurol." Said Isaac as he clambered out, waving a hello to the individuals as they moved about.

"BAHRAM are invading the Colony, sounds like. Guess we should help."

Fortunately, his Aestivalis was just a short ways away, and he was quickly lifted into its cockpit. Not that he was thrilled to be the ship's primary line of defense at this point - but he'd trained for it, just in case. His fingers moved over the interface, selecting the related equipment. Zero-G...? No, they were still in the Colony, at least for now. He'd have to rely on artificial gravity to hold out, at least for now.

"Isaac~, Makurol~."

The CEO's uncharacteristically wheedling voice threaded through the machine's speakers as Isaac selected a rifle from a rack, his dark-blue Aestivalis steading itself on the launch catapult.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Could you hold them off for about five minutes or so? We're beginning final preparations for the ship's launch. The Nadesico will take care of them after that."

"Sure. Five minutes. No problem."

"Good luck~"

With a roar of electricity, the Aestivalis Ground Frame burst from the underwater dock, landing on its feet as it cradled its rifle, looking anxiously at the distant Raptors. So long as they didn't come this way, he thought... He ought to be fine. Hopefully he could count on this Makurol lady... Or they'd be in trouble.

---

The Silver Bullet danced back, spitting death like a man possessed. Hathor's hand reached out, ensnaring its head, tearing free the armor plates as its blade bit deep into the machine's chest - but it seemed far from dead, Primal Armor already in mid-materialization as it readied yet another salvo from its machineguns. Just a second...!

Just a few more seconds!

Then, he would be invincible!

Even if he was given a reprisal by Omer, it was better than ending up in a casket! A rising star like him couldn't die here, not to these freaks!

So busy were its pilots thoughts he barely even realized the flames enveloping his body until it was too late.

"WHAT?" He barely had the time to cry out-

Before the NEXT Silver Bullet exploded into a thousand pieces, an explosive round to its back having split the slender machine clear in two. Meanwhile, Tempest's flames surged in the direction of the shot, towards the new arrival, turning the city into a sea of flames. A strange silence settled in. Had that done it? Had BAHRAM's elites managed to halt the oncoming terror?

A distant, insistent whine of propellant began to fill the air. One that had not been heard in a long, long time.

Spoiler: Vweeeee-

What was it doing here? Had it simply been waiting, slumbering, for them? Or had someone called out to it, beckoning it from its slumber in the history books, to come to their aid?

The red AC passed through the flames, its shoulder mounted grenade launcher - a silhouette that had made the name of the AC synonymous with terror, folding neatly back into place. Cradled in its hands was an antiquated pulse rifle, its posture tight and almost crouched as it boosted forward towards the BAHRAM forces. A blue visor lifted, peering at them as an internal computer drew locks on each.

Around twenty Raptors. It hardly seemed fair.

For them.

https://soundcloud.com/loop_stratos%2Farmored-core-original-best-track-17-9
​

The crimson terror, the ghost of the Raven's Nest, the Master of the Arena drew a bead on the closest Orbital Frame, a flash of bloody red coloring its visor. Across a public channel, Hustler One issued its challenge in a static-flecked monotone.

"Target verified.
Commencing hostilities."
​

With a whine of its boosters, the Normal closed ranks. The pulse rifle was brought up - one, two, three shots in rapid succession snapped off at the frontmost Raptors. The AC's back-mounted missile launcher flared, spewing a quartet of projectiles in the direction of the silver one - it was closing fast, surprisingly quick for a design almost three hundred years old.

 

[Tackle Jackie]

"Copy that. We'll try and draw their fire away from the docks- And the civilians."

Adding the last addendum to her mission, Makuro's Queadluun quickly joined the Aestivalis in launching out of the bay, but keeping her flight path upwards- Hopefully she could catch a better view of her opponents from above before they could even make their move on the docks. There was at least one big bot over the stadium, and... Definitely orbital frames. Which immediately brought to mind the fact that she was pretty sure there was one in the Nadesico's hangar...

"Issac, Miss Boss, there's some red unit engaging the Raptors I think- And there's another unit down it seems. Permission to shoot the big dome in the back?"

While she waited for that permission, Mak began to prepare herself for all out combat. All bore cannons ready to fire, smokescreen ready to deploy at a moments notice- But no missiles. That would be too risky yet...

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As the pilot of the mysterious Orbital Frane sought to tear its sword out of the next to finish it off with an energy shot, it exploded unexpectedly in front of the white angel. Thankfully the wing that was there to help block projectiles made sure that the shrapnel would not harm the main body of the mech. The pilot clenched her teeth and gripped the controls as she looked down at the red blur speeding towards the squadron of Raptors. An Armored Core? This wasn’t good.

As the old AC launched its compliment of missiles towards the white Orbital Frame, it fired a small barrage of homing beams from its left hand and destroyed the missiles before they could get anywhere close. After the missiles had been dispatched, the pilot took a short while to consider their actions.

“Status report, Charlie. Time is of the essence.”

A voice from the pilot’s comms would ask firmly yet with urgency.

”There’s been a complication with Target Bravo. It’s already loaded onto the Nadesico, and a third party seems to be intervening. Our distraction won’t last long.”

The pilot started to worry, a look of indecision on her face as her eyes darted back and forth.

“Remember, the priority is Jehuty. Blow up the ship if you have to. The designs we sent to Nergal can always repair themselves with a bit of energy and time, so really all you’ll be doing is decommissioning one of the League’s best warships before it can even sail from port. Target Alpha is safe with me, now do your job as I have done mine.”

There was a slight silence as both people on the communications call opted to remain shut before the voice spoke again to the pilot.

“This is the first step. With the power of these Frames, the League will never doubt our strength, the strength of Metatron. We will take back Mars. That is the promise I made when I began to lead BAHRAM.“

The pilot sighed before turning towards the port where the Nadesico was. Rushing off towards it with its crystalline and angelic wings, before take-off could occur.

”Then I won’t let them escape with our future!” The pilot said with resolve as the white Orbital Frame came closer and closer towards the port area. As it flew, a few high speed Raptors followed and charged towards the Queadlum. Their flight patterns were clearly a lot more coordinated and faster despite sharing the same design and armament as the rest invading the stadium. Energy blades sprouted from their tentacle-like arms as they got closer to Makurol‘s position, with full intent to make a Meltrandi kebab out of her.

Meanwhile the white Orbital Frame kept speeding towards the port, only focusing on the destruction of the ship.

“Yes… Destroy them. You know they deserve to suffer.”

A voice echoed through her head, but she seemingly paid no heed to it as she still kept her focus on the objective.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Meanwhile at the stadium, the lumbering Orbital Frame turned its focus to the agile Armored Core that just showed up. It watched as each of its shots found marks within the Raptors. Thankfully they still had plenty more to spare, but for how long would they last was the question. The fuse has already been lit, the hostages lives would burn out in a few minutes. There was no time to bargain. They brought this on themselves.

“I never should have taken this damn job! What was I thinking?”

The pilot talked to himself. Damn… He messed up big time. He knew that by talking to himself he had already screwed up. But this was bound to happen at some point, he probably guessed it was going to be later rather than sooner. All he could do now was slow down the inevitable. He brought up a status screen showing the active Raptor squadrons, they would need a way to deal with this Armored Core.

“A Clod squadron should do the trick then.”



A holographic representation of the machine in question would show itself on the display as a squadron of 3 showed itself, coming down from a different section of the colony. They would affix their eyes upon the speeding Nineball, and would charge up for a boost down to the ground where they would stop moments before impacting and would fix their stance to face the Nineball. All 3 would group up before using a tractor beam in an attempt to slow down the movements of the Nineball. As they did so, they charged up their thrusters again to perform a tackle should the Nineball be pulled in. This was all while the Raptors would attempt to fire a barrage of shots towards the Nineball in its slowed state.

 

[Nemesis]

"Oh crap, here we go!"

Isaac audibly gulped as the group were now collectively in the foe's crosshairs. He broke off from Mak's powered suit, Aestevalis zipping away across the ground towards the advancing Hathor. The contrast between the two couldn't be more stark: one was a silvery, gleaming avenger from the heavens, and the other a miniscule, industrial product fresh off an assembly line. Still, even so...

He couldn't just sit back and let Nergal be destroyed. His advance was accompanied with a burst from the Aesti's Rapid Rifle, a hail of bullets aimed vaguely in the OF's general direction to get its attention as he engaged the external speakers:

"HEY, UGLY!" Isaac yelled, breathlessly.

"Yeah you, with the stupid wings! OVER HERE!"

As the gap closed, the Aesti's open left arm was pulled back, threateningly, fingers curling into a fist. What was it you were supposed to yell, again? Oh, right-

"GEKIGAN! PUUUUUUNCH!"

The rocket-propelled fist fired off at high speeds, aimed to smash into the Orbital Frame's thighs and - hopefully, impede its movement, or at least distract it for a few moments. He didn't like his odds here, but with the Distortion Field, he could at least count on being safe... maybe.

---

"Mak, darling? The enemy unmanned frames are advancing, but if you could deal with them, we seem to have a bit of a hostage situation on our hands. No need to ask my permission, dear, we're not in the military - Kick their asses!"

Miss Blanchefleur's reassuring (?) voice crackled over the battlesuit's speakers in response to the Quenluun's hails, fading out just as quickly. Evidently the woman was preoccupied with getting the vessel settled, and didn't have time to micromanage their actions on the battlefield. How would the Meltrain fair against the onslaught?

---

Nadesico Hangar

As Mironov wheeled into the interior, he might have been greeted with an unusual sight - but a definitely familiar scent. The astringent stink of alcohol, wafting up to meet his leathered nose, and bickering voices.



"Miss Merlot, you really shouldn't-"
"I'm fine. Get off me."

A middle aged woman, yet with the features that indicated extensive and expensive genetic therapy, with short light-azure hair was waving off what looked like a nurse from the ship's infirmary. Clutched protectively close to her chest was a tall bottle of what looked like imported spirits of some kind, which only seemed to add to her bedraggled appearance. The woman ran a hand through her hair, wincing at a headache as she continued, morosely.

"The concert's ruined anyway! Do you have any idea what this is going to do to my career?"

Her fingers moved to pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"This was supposed to be Sharon's big debut and those... those... terrorists ruined it!"

As the Nurse reluctantly backed away, Catalina Merlot turned her attention on the new arrival, hearing his request for alcohol. Her bleary eyes narrowed, skeptically.

"...What are you looking at?"

---

Concert Hall Perimeter

Nineball - or rather, Hustler One surveyed the situation before it with a reptilian, mechanical intellect, coldly weighing the pros and cons in the span of an instant. As the Clods began to descend, it cannonballed up into the air to meet them - one machine was targeted immediately, the pulse rifle blazing to life, emptying a series of rounds into the Orbital Frame's chest before the arm-mounted laser blade came to life, and the old AC put on a bust of speed, driving the weapon through the chest of the Clod before turning on its fellows-

But perhaps it was a little dated, or simply hadn't registered the capabilities of BAHRAM's technology in its databases just yet, as the twin tractor beams ensnared it, causing it to slow in midair, thrusters sputtering and spitting with fury. The Grenade launcher folded over threateningly, and it spat missiles in defiance at its captors, but not in enough time to avoid their tackle - and the sudden rain of javelins from the Raptors, piercing its armor like a pincushion.

Now riddled with several large holes, the Master of Arena exacted its vengance - the Grenade Launcher flared once, twice - sending incandescent rounds that were the signature of the Armored Core into the chest of both Clods before accelerating into the pack of Raptors, carving left and right with its laser blade as it began to make its way towards its true target:

The Tempest.

 

[Tackle Jackie]

“Awesome- And we had to skip the employee training.”
Her plans to engage with the Tempest were obviously going to have to wait, as a swarm of raptors were surrounding her. Might have been a difficult situation, if she weren’t planning on engaging. The Quedluun threw up its arms as they approached, a hail of pulse gun fire from their arms, while the missile pods on her shoulders fired off an introductory round of high maneuverability micro missiles after the raptors.
The Quilqua was tearing backwards as it fired upon the raptors, while Makurol was trying to focus on her opponents. Didn’t mean that she failed to hear Issac’s taunting from the ground, a huge smile creeping onto her face. “Oh shit, is that what we’re doing? In that case-“
“GEKIGAN SHOOTING-“

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

As the white orbital frame known as Hathor continued its flight path towards the Nadesico, the light chatter of the Aestivalis’ Rapid Rifle did little to slow the C Type down. The shield surrounding the Orbital Frame ate up any incoming fire. The pilot only had one thought as she blocked the insignificant rabble of fire. ‘A child? They sent a child to fight one of BAHRAM’s best? They were either short handed, or stupid. The battlefield was no place for such people.’ She knew that all too well, but that wouldn’t stop her from achieving her goals.

The easily telegraphed Gekigan Punch was dodged by Hathor. ‘Maybe people should stop shouting attack names BEFORE attacking?’ Either way, it would be hard to get a hand back after one were to cut ties with it. As the Gekigan Punch rocketed forward, Hathor utilized their arm blade to cut the arm right off the cable that connected it to the Aestivalis.

The space around Hathor would seemingly warp as it disappeared into thin air. A few seconds later it would reappear on the side of Isaac’s Aestivalis that was missing an arm, there was no forewarning as it simply came to exist at that point in space.

”Stay out of this!”

Hathor would surge with energy for a moment as the blade arm became empowered and moved to cut off the Aestivalis’ legs. As of course no man can walk without their legs, much less fly to the Nadesico’s rescue.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Raptors that converged on Makurol would attempt to fan out but to no avail. 3 of them would quickly fall to the hail of gunfire and missiles. Only one seemingly managed to survive her onslaught and charged right through the smoke. The singular Raptor changed flight patterns as it soon began to close in on Makurol. The lack of a human element in the machine meant it wouldn’t stop even if you threw it around, it was dead set on landing a hit, even it is meant being torn to shreds. A burst of speed sent the Raptor flying forwards in a red light, it’s blades ready to tear into the mask of the Queadlum.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Tempest began to slowly turn itself towards the approaching Nineball. It may have slowed it down and made it waste tons of ammunition, but it certainly did not deter the pilot whatsoever.

“What is this guy’s deal? Is he crazy?”

The pilot of the Tempest would order more Unmanned Orbital Frames to attack. The rest of the Raptors standing on the other parts of the stadium would move into position to form a firing line where the Nineball would appear. Once the Nineball was in the position they wanted, they would simultaneously open fire. All the while the Tempest itself would utilize 4 of it’s appendages to cut off the Nineball’s movement with its flame throwers.

“Why the hell won’t you just give up?”

The pilot wondered as he shuffled uncomfortably in his pilot seat. Was this going to be the end? Fighting for a cause he only just signed up for? A cause where he would have to sacrifice more of his humanity?

 

[Nemesis]

"..."

Raptor fire rained down on Nineball as it advanced mercilessly. It skipped back and forth on its thrusters - but there was only so much that the aged devices were capable of doing against the cutting-edge Orbital Frames. Yet more spears of light punctured its body, and jets of flame began to spew from its torso alongside waves of dark smoke. Its visor glowed red through the fury, as if a demon had possessed the metal beneath, forcing it forward. It danced into range of the Orbital Frame - but the flamethrowers licked out, and as it sought to evade them, one of Tempest's arms seared away the AC's left arm, sending it tumbling away into the black.

The over-the shoulder grenade launcher was brought to bear once more as Nineball cast its Pulse Rifle aside - and this time it wasted no time with the small fry. The muzzle flared once, twice, sending two of the powerful rounds howling towards Tempest's "shell", looking to smash the head of the strange-looking machine to pieces. It ignored the Raptors for the time being, seemingly completely focused on the ringleader, but...

What had the Tempest done to earn its ire?

---

Nadesico Hangar

"Prostitute...!?"

Catalina's hackles were raised as her eyes widened. One foot came up to slam against the old man's wheel chair, sending it for a tumble as she glared with such intensity that it could have bore holes through his forehead. It had been far too long a day to put up with this crap - as if she hadn't been through enough harassment already!

"Listen here you miserable old sack of shit-"

She was interrupted by a loud mechanical click from the large container in the hanger. A voice - female, with an artificial, stilted tone, spoke flatly to nobody in particular, accompanied by a slow, rising whine.

"Idolo-Series Orbital Frame detected. Pilot in danger. Emergency restrictions lifted. Beginning autonomous operations."

The woman's head craned slowly towards the container, before giving a suspicious look at the drink in her hand.

"...Did you hear something? WHOA-!"

There was a blast of heat, a wave of sound and the shattering of plastic and metal, as something not so much as emerged but erupted from the crate beside them, cannonballing out of the open hangar doors at breakneck speed, leaving behind only the silhouette of gleaming, radiant wings. Catalina was left standing, covered in dust and leftover packing material coughing and rasping.

Now what?

---

Whoops.

Hathor's laser blade licked out - and slammed home into the Aestevalis, unable to get out of the way in time. For the briefest of seconds, the Distortion field held against it - but the Orbital Frame's superior strength pushed through, tearing the machine loose at the waist, sending its body for a tumble across the veranda. All Isaac could do was hold on for dear life, and try not to black out from the noise as the Ground Frame's torso plunged into the artificial lake that formed the covering for Nadesico's dock.

Was this it, he wondered?

Was he going to die?

There was a loud, sudden crunch, and the cold rush of water-

And then... Light, and a familiar warmth.

Something burst from the surface of the water, directly into Hathor's path in a spray of foam, a pair of hawk-like wings radiating bright white power that cast dazzling reflections across the lake's surface. The water that ran off its body, a mixture of curves and angles that almost seemed to mirror Hathor's own, mixed with the neon-green pulses that ran across its steel "flesh", and its emerald eyes as it affixed its foe in its sight, meant its identity was unmistakable:

Target Bravo: Orbital Frame Jehuty.

​

The long, keen looking blade along its forearm folded over threateningly as it stared down its older "brother", a transmission crackling over its loudspeakers.

"Pick on someone your own size."​

 

[Tackle Jackie]

The heartless Raptor very well might have succeeded in its attempt to strike a mortal haircut through the Queadluun- if not for lining itself up with the torso of the Powered Suit.

A resounding booming came as the medium bore cannon on her torso tore through the “chest” of the Raptor. The Meltran gave a hoot a excitement, before she could turn her attention back to…

Where did Issac go?

She could have sworn she saw him beginning to engage with the white orbital frame before she was engaged, but now there was… the Orbital Frame from the Nadesico’s hangar, and now that she could see it standing-

“God damn those thighs-“

The Quilpau’s arms raised once more, firing down another barrage of wrist fire towards the enemy frame, keeping itself as mobile as she could.

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

“Jehuty.”

“Jehuty.”

”Jehuty. So you’ve finally shown yourself.”

Hathor’s arm blade would seemingly retract and would reform itself into a hand. It seemed like this unit was more autonomous than initially briefed on. If that was the case, maybe it had more sense to go with its creators, or rather second hand creators.

”You’re intending to fight?” She said in response to Jehuty’s transmission. “Well I suggest you stand down. As you are, you’re no match for Hathor. Come with us and we will give you a better purpose than working for these League traitors.”

It seems like it rescued the child as well, she would attempt to reach out to him as well.

”That goes for you as well, Runner. Don’t fall prey to either Nergal or the League’s lies. They’re no substitute for a government, they’re businesses that exploit every opportunity at every turn. You’re better off not selling your future to them. Trust me, I would know…”

Her words sounded somewhat like a plea, a chance to be granted mercy. She didn’t want to be responsible for another child losing their life. Not again.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Meanwhile, Makurol would make scrap spaghetti out of the Raptor, with an extra side of all-American pepper… I mean dust. Now she would be free to either help Jehuty and Isaac, or to deal with the Tempest occupying the stadium.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Speaking of the Tempest, the grenades of the Nineball would find their mark on the Tempest’s domed head, causing it to crack apart.

“Well you’ve done it now!”



The cracks in the dome soon lit up as the shards of the dome were purged, revealing a tall head atop the Tempest. It’s arms would spread out as they each formed a ball of energy at their tips. As the Nineball dashed past the Raptors, they spread out and began to chase him while keeping themselves a set distance away from one another in order to avoid being blown away all at once.

Whoever was piloting that thing was making it completely worse for the people still inside the stadium, at best they had only a minute of air left. The fires around the stadium would need to be put out in one fell swoop.

“I’m not your only problem, damnit! Why won’t you save them?”

The Tempest would fire off the balls of energy it had been charging up, firing a continuous torrent of projectiles towards the Nineball. At this rate, he might as well be shooting a moving practice dummy with the amount of hits this thing has taken.

 

[Nemesis]

"Of all the-!"

Catalina's face flushed with horror - and she quickly tore the money free, tossing it to the floor as she stalked away, features crimson with fury and embarrassment. She had been invited to be a part of this ship's crew following her concert - but no way in Hell would she be sharing a space with that... that man! She disappeared from view down the ramp, even as the sounds of the Nadesico's engine roaring up became deafening, the door sealing shut behind her as she blinked through tears of indignation.

It was time.

---

"Whoa."

Isaac, for his part, could scarcely believe his eyes as he opened them. One moment had been all metal, fury, and the sound of rushing water - and now he was here, in the cockpit of that Orbital Frame. Jehuty remained on guard against Hathor - but a hasty conversation was taking place in its cockpit as the young Coordinator listened to her words.

"Is she right? How's our chances looking?"

"Combat not advised." Quipped ADA;

"Probability of victory: 0%. Hathor is capable of Zero-Shift, the gap in the Runner's performance levels is high, and Jehuty's functions have not yet been fully restored."

"That's... not good."

Isaac looked back up at the Hathor with its arm outstretched. What was it he was supposed to be doing again? Jehuty made no further moves, but it didn't retreat either, instead the young man retorting:

"Not everyone with a logo is a bad guy. You want to tell me fighting for terrorists is any better?"

---

It seemed as if the BAHRAM pilot would get the last laugh against the ancient Armored Core. Legendary pilot or not, there was only so much it could do, thrusters flaring defiantly as it shoved itself towards the Tempest - only to be swallowed by the energy balls, its body wreathed briefly in brilliant, searing plasma before its reactor finally was breached. With a sudden, violent explosion, Nineball detonated in midair, sending flying chunks of metal in all directions.

And yet...

On Tempest's monitor, something flickered briefly. A pale, phantom, holographic smile, and a whispered, ghostly giggle in his ear - so quick it could have been little more than a trick of the light, or the product of a tired mind. Despite registering a moment's unexplained mechanical interference, the OF otherwise resumed combat operations, with the harrowing second or two quickly fading from its diagnostics...

 

[Tackle Jackie]

While she might not be able to see clearly into the stadium, Mak didn’t need to a a genius to tell that the sounds coming from it certainly didn’t sound very good. Figuring it would be a good idea to help things “cool off”, the Quilqua would veer off towards more of the surrounding area, ripping up a sizable water tower from one of the nearby buildings.

“Alright, let’s see how this works out-“

Firing app thrusters, the powered suit would start orbiting around the stadium, releasing a cover of multicolored, rainbow smoke behind it, and soon disappearing into it. The Meltran did her best to dump the water as evenly as she could onto the fires- whipping the emptied water tower into the back of the Tempests head on the next go around-

 

[ShadowVigilante1]

The Tempest would lay motionless as Mak put out most of the fires surrounding the stadium. Thankfully most of the fire remaining were in isolated areas with nothing to act as tinder for the flame. But in the cockpit sat the Runner, looking down at the stadium below him. Every person either unconscious or dead, some burnt till their skeletal structure started showing or crushed underneath the rubble of battle.

“What have I done? All… that for… what? Some stupid Medal of Honor?”

The Runner would slam his control console repeatedly, cursing at himself. Cursing his decisions and the gall to even light this place on fire. They were happy, accepted as people. Right?

He let out a cry inside of his cockpit. It rang out throughout the confined space he was in. He should have just quit while he was ahead. There was no way he could live anymore, not like this. Then a voice came to seemingly ease his problems.

“Tempest, get out of there. You’re done and we need to begin pulling back. Move.”

The voice of the group’s leader spoke privately to the Runner who sat silently as he activated the Tempest’s boosters, the legs of the machine splitting open like an octopus swimming forwards. It flew back towards the point it had inserted from, way above Mak by that point. After that, he was done. No one needed a broken tool like him, nobody needed James Carter.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

As Jehuty stood defiant against Hathor, an overwhelming presence began to overwhelm the systems. Resonance. “He” was here, where Jehuty lives… “He” thrives

ANUBIS

From above a winged creature descended and was distorted on Jehuty’s sensors. The mere existence of another, a challenger so blurred Jehuty’s vision that it almost seemed like it was staring into the sun.



“So… it seems Jehuty has found itself a Runner. Impressive. To already share such a bond with your machine’s AI shows the potential you hold.”

Hathor turned around and looked up as the form of a winged jackal-man descended from above. Kleine would remain silent for a moment before responding.

”Hellas. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to make off with your prize?” Kleine was clearly confused, she didn’t expect him to just show up right next to where Nergal was with the very thing he just stole from them.

“Well… I thought we might as well put this Frame to good use to recover Bravo. But it seems that will no longer be necessary. Once an Orbital Frame has a Runner, it will be very difficult for it to change hands. So it is not for us to decide sadly.“

Anubis would give Jehuty a glare, it’s red sharp eyes simply observing as a long wire meant to resemble a tail slithered behind Anubis. It seemed to have no intention of fighting, simply to watch and observe as if it were invisible and omnipotent with its stance. Almost defiant to all other stances against it, save but it’s own ideology.

”What do you plan to do then?” Kleine asked plainly, making sure he wouldn’t harm the child within. After which, a smirk came across the Hellas’ muscular face.

“Allow me to answer your question. If we were to call ourselves terrorists, from our perspective who would be good, who would be evil? Of course, we would be. But if that were the case, we would not be a thorn in the League’s side, we would not have the numbers or the resources to show them our strength. Ours and yours, as long as you pilot Jehuty, you are much like us. Those who once ate the dirt underneath the oppression of the League and their conspirators, now command the means by which to deliver Justice and salvation.”

Hellas would sigh as his gaze went over to the stadium. That sacrifice was needed, otherwise their attention would not be so divided.

“Lives are lost, yes. But it was no better before Alternative V. Sacrifices made day after day all for the sake of making sure everyone else stayed alive. This, is no different. So come, we will give you a home where you truly belong. We will show you the way, the truth.”

With that, silence. As the voice from Anubis stopped talking and the last words simply echoed out as a reminder, he would wait for an answer. Watching… judging. Then there was one more, before the weighing could be done.

“What is your name, Runner?”