Steel Against Steel (MK - Mission)

[RagnaMail]

0247 Local Time
Natural Park Sierra Alhamilla
Kingdom of Erebonia


The footfalls rang through the area as the dark-hued metal of the Armored Core walked at a fairly brisk pace. It wouldn't be too hard to follow the path of the machine for an observer; indeed the machine wasn't even trying to hide itself. The stride was a form of intimidation in fact. The sheer fact that a clearly well-armed war machine was casually strolling through nature would be enough of a clear message.

Inside MAVORS' sealed cockpit, Gideon Clements rolled his shoulders in a slightly exaggerated manner as he simply stared ahead into the moonless night terrain all around him. He didn't need his physical eyes to see outside nor his physical limbs to manipulate the controls of his Armored Core, but habits died hard. The connection cables that linked his mind to the machine's first-generation AMS made the extra parts that weren't his brain largely redundant. He'd eschewed his billowing shirt but kept the equally billowing pants; sitting in the climate-controlled cockpit bare-chested.

"The terrain never ceases to amaze me," Gideon murmured to himself as his eyes and MAVORS' cameras both swept the area before he came to a widening of the seldom-used road on which his machine had been travelling. "But it's time for work now. Let's do this." He cleared his throat and activated the communications suite in a full-strength all-channels broadcast that would reach a pretty impressive distance due to the power he was routing through his Core's power systems. There'd be no way any nearby devices couldn't pinpoint his location or miss his broadcast.

Attention, Wulf Matthäus. This is the Raven Silica. I am here to execute the lawful warrant for the acquisition of either your surrender into custody or your summary execution, by order of the Kingdom of Erebonia. I am perfectly aware that you are in possession of a mechanized weapons platform. It's deployment will not avail you of anything but a meaningless death in battle... Though if you wish that path, I will grant you the pointless end you seek.

Cutting off the transmission part of his comms system for now, Gideon sent a pulse of thought into the AMS to bring the machine up to full combat strength. He knew he was in for a fight. He welcomed the exercize. The five cameras on MAVORS' unusual head flared with bright menacing crimson light as power seemed to surge through the frame as it finished preparing itself.

Generator Operation: NOMINAL
Generator Output: COMBAT OUTPUT
Weapons: ONLINE
System Checks: OK
Armament Select: MWG-KARASAWA
FCS: SEARCHING

 

[MKR]

Gideon's secret plan to not make it a secret at all had worked, a furrowed brow bore down upon the display which issued forth audio from the broadcast.
"Is this guy serious?" He exclaimed to the speaker, as if it could answer "He's right there in his dingy ass... Whatever he pilots. Thinking he can take me!" The Goliath turned towards the source, he basically already had a bead on the asshole that should be spending his time writing poetry instead of fighting with sentences like that!

He needed to remember that one.

"Alright, we'll take his bait. I don't wanna get flanked by any cronies, so you lot. Circle around clear any schmucks on your way and then collapse on him we'll send him back in the casket he came in on to give the Erebonians a message or two." That aught to teach them who this land truly belongs to, noble worshippers thinking they could take what's his just because they said so. Hah, it would take more than that to do him in.

The other mecha that had been following in the Goliath's wake begun to spread around, making a large circle around the position of the aggressor. For Wulf himself, well contrary to his peers and very much like Gideon he was not making his approach any secret the Goliath's frame, immense for a Panzer Soldat but equal to the Armored Core opposed to it, was not suited for silly things like 'subtlety' and 'care'.

No, quite the opposite. As he approached the site where every indication was that his foe would be, down the old forgotten road there was a message to convey.
"Hey Silicon!" He shouted over the comms "Go and tell you masters that this is Gigante turf!" As he spoke the gun on the top of the Goliath's shoulder turned downwards, a haphazard spray of fire bellowing down as hot lead many magnitudes larger than one would appreciate at any size were rapidly, immediately, dispensed in the direction of the Armored Core.

In essence, a warning shot. See if the call out was bluster or confidence but mostly to see what the bastard would do.

 

[RagnaMail]

The sensors pinged the approach of the Goliath. Gideon watched in his mind's eye reflecting the additional pings of the lesser machines sweeping around to check and encircle the area. It suited him just fine. Meat for the grinding.

Spoiler: Engaging Hostiles

As he saw the gatling gun level towards him MAVORS' thrusters screamed to life and the black AC immediately strafed closer and to his right; a clear flanking maneuver as the rounds sailed harmlessly into the night leaving tracers to scatter beyond the circle. Gideon's mauve hair swayed as he moved his head in time with his machine's as a linked reflex, the cameras on the broad head flaring brightly in the bleak night as though to echo the rising feelings of it's pilot.

Bold words, meat.

MAVORS' right arm came up and unleashed a lilac-white flash of bright energy as the KARASAWA roared to life twice, aimed to lance the gatling gun mid-barrel and the shoulder assembly beneath it in a rapid and literal disarming strike. While he'd been briefed on what the machine was capable of when it had been stolen he didn't know if this target had made any modifications in the intervening time so it was foolish to take chances. The bounty to secure the machine was tempting but he figured at long as the machine didn't get blasted to molten slag he could get something for his troubles.

He'd see how things went. The battle had just begun, after all.

 

[MKR]

Heh, a gun all he had to do was just turn the shoulder shield towards the damn thing and there that'd be dealt with. With a simple turn the circular object on the shoulder of the Goliath was placed between the gun and the incoming bolt, lo and behold Wulf's surprise as there was a loud bang to his right. The shoulder shield having been blasted with power far above what he expected in the initial hit.

The second hit was not much kinder, the supporting structure for it in shambles as the shoulder plate dangled off his right arm. Cracking and plummeting into the road below. Wulf's mouth agape. A Goliath was supposed to practically be invincible against anything below its weight class! AND THIS ASSHOLE DROPPED HIS SHIELD IN TWO SHOTS?

He was livid.

It was fine, he still had the entire rest of the unit. Shield was only specific defense anyhow. No, that didn't help. Still mad.
"Two can play at that game bastard." The gun fell silent, turning towards the Armored Core still even as it stopped firing. Instead light flared at its center.
"Choke on this!"

A beam fired out of the center of the gun's barrels, racing forwards to strike back at the Armored Core. The off hand of the Goliath reaching down and grabbing the disjointed, now partially molten shield as the unit itself begun a pursuit. Slowly plowing along the ground, oh he was ready if that gun was aimed in his direction again. Sure he'd been surprised the once but now he knew. It was personal before after he had a thesis thrown at him but this made it increasingly so.

 

[RagnaMail]

It sent a trill of satisfaction through Gideon's metal-reinforced bones to see that this opposition wasn't so weak. This would be a good chance to get his Earth-legs. Fighting in Earth-standard gravity was a new experience for Gideon and he was so far loving it. Everything felt a little more hefty, the driving pistons and mechanisms of his linked metal shell surging with electrical warmth as MAVORS twisted in it's flight path.

Wulf would see two odd assmeblies poking slightly above the hammerheaded Armored Core's shoulders pivot forward towards him. An additional section also swung up and over even faster and he'd probably have a worried realization: those were some form of cannon flipping over each shoulder to end up lined square on him from the strafing MAVORS.

Armament Select: CWC-GNL-15 (L/R)
FCS: LOCKED

As one, the two mecha-grade grenade launchers roared to life pumping a shot a piece towards the Soldat's left knee assembly. It was always a solid tactic to reduce enemy mobility and this machine didn't thus far show the capability for movement anywhere near as rapid as his own. He was prepared for tricks; for the others outside their duel to interfere..

But he had a few tricks up his currently-discarded sleeve for anyone foolish enough to interrupt the cyborg's hunt.

 

[MKR]

With the grenades in the air the Goliath crouched down, leaping into the air a moment later as the grenades struck it, both fortunately and unfortunately for its pilot this meant that its legs hadn't been struck. But its feet had, sending it somewhat spinning in the air as Wulf was forced to contend with centrifugal force as a result of the force of the explosion against the mass of the Goliath. Fortunately the Goliath was a heavy machine with a low center of gravity meaning it had an easier time recovering from a low blow such as this.

As it made the decline its original intended plan of simply stomping the Armored Core flat with its weight now rendered moot by the blast it did however rain fire upon the opposition, quite literally at that as twin flamethrowers blast to life at the wrists of the machine. At that time as well, as Gideon likely expected the extra hands had finished their check for any help of his own and found none.

Thus those closest to the battle were beginning to file in, a mix of Panzer Soldats and what appeared to be blue jets approaching, the former staying some distance away as their machine guns began to fire at the singular opponent while the latter, upon closer inspection revealed to be Star Mirage Variable Fighters, flew overhead releasing missiles onto his location in assistance of their superior.

 

[RagnaMail]

As the Goliath came in flamethrowers blazing Gideon could feel through his wired connection to his Armored Core the heat wash over him. It felt like it burned skin he no longer had and heated metal in his form. Hissing at the pain the mauve-haired cyborg endured the flames for a moment as MAVORS changed course in it's flight to draw itself out of the arc of flame.

The other contacts all pinged at the edge of his senses even as the five red lights of the oddly-shaped head stared down the Goliath with what could only be described as bemused contempt. The thrusters cut out as the machine dug it's feet into the earth and skidded to a sudden halt even as the missiles were the first away. As the capacitor banks for the propulsion flooded with vital energy the black machine pulled out another trick from it's alloyed sleeve.

Armament Select: CWC-GNL-15 (L/R)
Armament Select: MWG-KARASAWA
Armament Select: MCL-SS/ORCA Exceed Orbit
FCS: Multiple Locks Activated

The spoiler fin superstructure behind the semi-flat head of MAVORS popped into the air to hover a little clear of the machine on a pulse of glowing electromagnetic cushion. Wulf would be able to tell in an instant that this was another weapon, but would have half an instant to grasp what it did as the floating turret quickly flipped to face behind the Armored Core and began spraying energy bolts like a machinegun first at the missiles to detonate them in the air before they impacted his frame then towards the Panzer Soldats in calculated bursts aimed center mass towards something vital hopefully.

The grenade launchers were still deployed, and the Karasawa joined them in their square targeting of the Goliath's frame. The three barrels all focused on the left leg up towards the pelvis and slightly inwards and roared one shot each in unison. Even if they failed to penetrate with the first salvo Gideon was hopeful that the machine would suffer serious damage to it's leg joint and be slowed down as the fight went on and the machine's weight worked against structural integrity.

As the machineguns scattershotted their hits here and there Gideon gritted his teeth against the warnings in his linked mind about the damage. If this man knew anything about Armored Cores he'd know immediately that the way Gideon was firing his weapons was super unusual. It was as though he were exceeding the limitations of his machine to Intensify his assault beyond what a normal pilot could do. The trick with firing the Exceed Orbit behind himself without theoretically looking would have been warning enough if Wulf knew about ACs.