Titanomachy - Phase Cronus

[Kujo]

December 25, 8:15 AM
Lagrange Point 1
GAE Container Colony

A shuttle hurtled silently at the scientific colony, a dense field of ECM occluding its immediate approach. It was almost no wonder that this was where the secret development of a new Arms Fort was happening; Regal kicked herself mentally for not just coming here first during her probing.

The long container ship that carried the ex-Lynx and previously her compatriot in the Gundam continued steadily on a direct collision course with the colony. Whether the base defenses blew it up or seized it, they would find little victory in this as she too had already slipped off and infiltrated the ring of the old style colony.

The air shimmered as a sleek, dark form revealed itself in the shadows of the industrial complex. Three red eyes and a large camera glared out at the surroundings.

​

"Oh this is too easy. Those balls are gonna be mine!"

 

[xekuzwei]

"Patrol? Your boss must have deep pockets if he's paying my fee just to put me on patrol. How much do you get paid, again?"

"Just...just get out there and run the grid, will you? Like you said, you're gouging us enough not to complain."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm already on the way so pipe down and let me do my job."

The click from the other end of the line seemed to somehow convey the man's annoyance - but Liam, for his part, couldn't be bothered. It was true enough that he was being paid handsomely despite the ease and boredom of this contract. The bigwigs at the top of their little clandestine AF project had gotten skittish over some unusual sensor activity near the colony, and now some...freighter?...had shown up unannounced. But that wasn't his problem, there were plenty of spaceborne defenses. No, they wanted an extra set of boots to go stomping around on the ground in case an uninvited guest had somehow slipped through.

And so here he was, trudging down a lane amidst warehouses and factory structures. Glimpses of GAE's own Normals stalking out similar patrols caught his eye now and again as they passed through intersections that met up with his route, but that was the only activity to be seen so far.

 

[Nemesis]

"What's the situation?"

In the GAE control room, Owen Koenig watched the hubbub unfolding before him with no small amount of amusement. The LCC had been sent oversee the merger between elements of GAE following the demise of its parent company, and what had greeted him was... this. Apparently, some form of terrorist attack unfolding. The atmosphere was thick with tension as they watched the AS unfold itself from the crashed shuttle, loping murderously off into the depths of their facility like some sort of deranged metal rabbit.

Just his luck, he thought, that he'd be filling in Rowena today. A GAE representative, the local garrison commander, cleared his throat:

"We have an intruder. A lone Arm Slave, looks like... Same type that hit BFF's bioweapons facility a little while ago."

A hand circumnavigated a stubble-ridden chin. Rowena would know what to do, he thought, as he closed his eyes, muttering to himself as he rubbed his temples:

"Of all the times..."

These were the moments that leadership was needed, and though he was good at it... It wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. He was going to be home late tonight - Clio would give him an earful. A short exhale... and he went into action, addressing the room writ large. Someone had to turn this disorganized mess around, and it wasn't going to be any of the corporate ratbags:

"Contact Liam, we're going to need all the help we can get." He said;

"Start sealing bulkheads and venting Kojima Particles into its path. Rout the AS away from the residential and storage zones, and towards the testing area. Start emergency shutdown procedures, just in case - we don't want a chain reaction."

There was a moment of dumbfounded silence, before a general murmur of agreement. Few expected any kind of competence from those in the League's upper echelons, less so from the oft-derided LCC - but they were grateful someone was taking charge, at least.

"Yes, sir!"

"What about the Sol Dios?"

Owen's thoughts turned to the weapons bubbling down in the depths of the facility - Kojima particle cannons, miniature Arms Forts. If he had his way, he thought, those monsters would never see the light of day. However..

"If this is similar to what happened with BFF, they might be after the research." He said;

"Start bringing the Prototype online, just in case."

"It'll take some time-" Said an engineer, hesitantly - before Owen clapped him on the shoulder, already reaching for some emergency protective gear. Everyone was going to need to get suited up, for all the good it would do them in case of a meltdown.

"Let's get cracking, then."

Rowena, he thought privately as the radiation-resistant helmet was snapped into place, accompanied by the hiss of canned oxygen;

Wish me luck.

 

[Kujo]

"Now, if I were a League rat, where would I keep my cheese... Oh?"

A warning came up on the Erigor's monitors notifying of errors in the sensor units. Even as Regal read the screen began to jitter with static at the edges and she could see the drifting green lights of Kojima particles. "Tch, they've got better eyes than I thought." The Erigor peered around a corner and spotted a Normal in the distance swiveling in place- searching for her no doubt. Turning the other way, she could see large shutters closing on a number of shafts and tunnels. "Guess I really am the rat today, but you know what they say about rats and corners."

The midnight colored Arm Slave lurched, as if loosening its joints before excercise; energy welled up around it and its cameras lit up while the fin on its back raised up. The Erigor lugged its large rifle up over its shoulder and crouched for a moment before suddenly springing forth with impossible speed, the Lambda Driver pushing the small machine well beyond the realm of rationality.

Speeding down a straightaway, Regal looked to outrun the slowly closing bulkheads. Quickly reading signs well in advance of the Erigor's passing, the ex-Lynx smiled as she had an idea. Darting off to the side, Regal was now headed directly for the closing shutter leading to the urban sector of the colony. "If those eggheads like Kojima so much..." The gap in the gates was hardly wide enough to fit even the relatively small Mobile Weapon, yet Regal continued her empowered sprint forward. "Then they can have some of my share!"

The power of the Lambda Driver poured out around the Erigor before it slammed its feet into the ground and lept forward at the closing bulkhead. A small explosion rocked the mechanism as force met metal, but the shutter closed nonetheless- albeit with a vaguely Arm Slave shaped hole in the middle.

 

[xekuzwei]

Static crackled in Liam's ear as an operator relayed an update, alerting him of the spotted AS. "Well I'll be damned," he muttered to himself, "There really was something to this. Good." Viridescent light flared from the form of the ARGYROS, lifting the machine from the ground with ease: Kojima particles, rather than fire and brimstone, came forth from the thruster nozzles across its body to grant it flight. An environmentalist's worst nightmare.

"Dammit...he's headed straight for the residential sector!"

Don't blame the mouse for running when you flush him out, he thought, but responded simply with an affirmative. This was a clever one, fleeing to the area they were least likely to contaminate as soon as they began flooding him with radiation. The success of that plan, however...depended on everyone involved following the same ethical compass. With directions from on high it took nary a moment to spot where Regal had burst through the containment door. Impressive work for an Arm Slave.

"Ready or not, here I come..."

The luminescent halo of particles that had surrounded the ARGYROS would rapidly be eclipsed as the orb-like structure that adorned its back unfolded, extending rearward and upward. Energy gathered - and then erupted, turning the heavy NEXT into a blur as it rocketed forward under Overboost, directly toward the same portal the Erigor had taken. Thought their heights were close enough, the opposing machine was far leaner: there was no way he would ever fit through the gap as it was.

The right arm snapped up, laser rifle unleashing a handful of shots that scorched a perfect array of glowing points around the comical outline already punched through. Liam braced himself as the ARGYROS collided with what was left of the blast door, sending slabs of steel careening in every direction as it split further, weakened appropriately by his impromptu structural modification. Primal armor sparked and shimmered but held readily against the impact.

If the tremendous clamor and glow of the fading Overboost didn't give away his pursuit, the intense and spontaneous uptick in Kojima radiation almost certainly would.

 

[Nemesis]

Buffeted by explosions as laser rifle rounds slammed into the surroundings, the lithe Codarl sprinted madly through the guts of the Colony, parkouring its way through obstacles with the hulking Armored Core in hot pursuit, Primal Armor gleaming as anything in front of it pinged off harmlessly, or was hurled aside altogether. Eventually, the path would drop down, depositing the AS... at the center of a busy intersection in the Colony's Residential sector.

It had the appearance of a modern city at night in all directions, complete with all the modest creature comforts of home. There was the wailing of a car alarm as the landing caused automobiles to swerve at its feet, and a moment of awed, horrified silence. Then, as the AC came crashing through the ceiling - panic. Superheated Kojima particles washed in through the breech and outward from the AC, causing the light fixtures to hum and flicker treacherously as people abandoned their vehicles, and began fleeing on foot, coughing and gagging as the wave of particles overtook them.

Meanwhile, Owen watched the situation unfolding on his PDA with horror. The entire area was now those two's playground, and all he could do was watch... and do what he could. From the command-cockpit of the Land Crab, he began issuing commands as quickly as his hands would follow, adding the wail of a siren to the already monster-movie like ambience unfolding in the residential zone.

"Emergency evacuation, now!" He ordered, as the GAE staff about him were jolted out of their own shock;

"Get everyone who can move to a shelter immediately! SOLARWIND teams, move to intercept!"

 

[Kujo]

As the dark Arm Slave dashed, Regal would note her pursuer, the ex-LYNX quickly opening a channel to taunt a former peer. "Aww, the League left their dog at home. Get along little doggy, I can't play with you right now," she jeered. Cackling as the two touched down in the city, Regal wasted no time watching the citizens run in panic and burst forward to continue her run.

Chaos was Amalgam's specialty and Regal reveled in it. Skirting past rows of vehicles and cutting corners on city blocks, she freely blasted and knocked over various objects as she led the radiation spewing hulk on a wild chase. Hooking the Eregor's arm into the corner of a building as she swiftly rounded a block, Regal hopped over a container truck and skidded to face it before delivering a sharp kick and sending the vehicle at the NEXT. Leveling her specialty rifle at it, she pulled the trigger on the underslung shotgun and blasted the vehicle with an empowered spray. The truck ignited into a fireball as it rolled over its sides from the surprisingly forceful spread of shot.

The recoil of the shotgun seemed to push the Eregor back more than it ought to have as it launched backwards and tumbled around before continuing to dash away from its pursuer as Regal practically giggled, clearly enjoying herself.

 

[xekuzwei]

"Not bad," Liam grunted out in response to the Arm Slave's continued flight, leading him to ping his Operator - the woman back on their transport, not this colonial flunkie who was barely competent enough to utilize a radio. No doubt she was already tuned in to the ARGYROS' video feed. "This thing moves pretty good. Whaddaya got for me?" A brief pause that he imagined was filled with the furious clacking of keys, then - "I think I've heard of this, cross-referencing League archival footage against your data. Some kind of advanced AS tech...'Lambda Driver'? Hell if I know how it works without a deep dive, but it's a big-time performance booster. Effectiveness against Primal Armor is unknown." "Great, very helpful." "Smartass. Just shoot it until it stops moving, that's what they're paying us for."

Their game of cat-and-mouse continued for a lengthy minute, light-footed Arm Slave skirting obstacles this way and that which the pursuing NEXT elected to simply crash through like a humanoid battering ram. Potshots from both resulted in no real effect sans further damage to the colony which neither seemed to pay much mind to. It wasn't long before they reached Regal's intended destination, bursting one after the other into the densely-populated residential sector. Not somewhere Liam would have led their little game intentionally, but far from adequate to cause him to shy away from the task at hand. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

"Aww, the League left their dog at home. Get along little doggy, I can't play with you right now,"

Bitch. An irritated vein pulsed on the man's temple. "Even if they weren't paying me a pile of money to dust you and your little toy..." the NEXT maneuvered with expert precision in the AS' wake, thrusters strategically cutting out as it rounded corners to allow the machine's feet to drag for traction with the horrifying screech of metal on metal and tremendous plumes of sparks, "...just for that, I'd do it for sport." He rounded a housing block only to find an airborne container truck tumbling towards his machine, one which promptly exploded with gusto. The ARGYROS barreled straight through the ensuing fireball and shrapnel with nary but a flicker from the Primal Armor.

The momentary pause to send the vehicle hurtling Liam's way had given him a bit of delay to close the gap - enough so that he had a clear shot for a brief moment's time. Both back-mounted pods on the NEXT flicked up and belched flame in unison. From the right, a handful of high-speed missiles that far exceeded the velocity of standard fare and arrowed in on the Eregor of their own accord. And from the left a veritable wall of munitions, dumbfire rockets that spiraled out into a wide pattern that sent a rippling wave of explosions racing down the lane to engulf the smaller machine.