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As a knight only in codename and persona, Ballista was a loner up until he was recruited by a team of mercenaries. He coined the title of Metallic Knight for valor, not virtues.
There was no point in chivalry if he had nobody to serve aside from clients. Honor served no role in a field that was inherently devoid of allegiance to anything. Even amongst his mercenary group, they were all after the single goal of obtaining profit. Attachment was a hindrance; it went against everything that the job demanded.
Ballista only joined them to reap generous rewards, the ultimate goal of the job. Their renowned reputation made getting assignments amongst the elites of the Outernet disturbingly easy. Not to mention, the sheer thrill of fighting was enough to keep him occupied.
Agent had taken a keen interest in Ballista's talent with skillfully using anything quartermasters could give him. His amorphous body structure allowed him to transform into turrets and a myriad of other artillery.
The coding within Ballista had from the beginning of his creation had made him a living weapon. His potential for sheer brutality was what the group needed.
After some deliberation, Agent had recruited him and given him a valuable role in the group.
The induction was terse, consisting of only a few lines and introductions before Ballista was thrown into action within the next few days. Since everybody were experienced mercenaries, there was no need to explain rudimentary information.
Just how he liked it.
Soon enough, Ballista found himself on the field infiltrating a battleship with three other mercenaries. He eagerly hopped on board, following after the rest of them. Getting on was the easy part, staying on the ship was a more arduous task.
The wrrs of machinery filled the air as they snuck on the ship. Torrential waves were crashing up against the hull of the ship. A clash of thunder roared from the skies. Rain fell like soldiers in a war.
The objective was to eliminate the captain of the ship, using the stormy weather as a diversion. With unparalleled naval technology, he was deemed too much of a hassle to keep alive for the client.
Agent spearheaded the operation, directing in silence. Despite a constant apathetic look on their face and sunglasses obscuring their eyes, their thoughts could be deciphered through subtle gestures.
A slight turn of the head towards a long hallway.
Go there.
A swerve over there. Ballista hadn't figured it all out yet, following the flow from the other mercs' actions. As much as he tried to synchronize himself with the group's rhythm, he couldn't help but follow his own beat instead. With every step the rest took, his would be harmonized to a different melody.
Though, there would be times where the choruses of combat coincided with each other.
Agent pointed towards members of the crew with a free arm. There were entire crowds of them concentrated here.
Immobilize them.
His allies struck them first.
An arrow striking down a soldier, an electric shock from the other side, and a whack with a pole.
Ballista held out two pistols, tightly gripping their handles as he tried to aim towards two stick figures. Having his fingers on the trigger, the guns felt like organic extensions to his arms. With an onslaught of bangs, their enemies fell down like diminuendos. Holstering his weapons, he was about to arrive at the deck of the ship.
With a forceful push of a door outside, there was a tall stick figure dressed in a naval uniform. Standing on the end of the ship, there he was from a view to a kill. The captain of the ship ready to be sliced.
The rain swirled around the captain in a cacophonous dance as lightning illuminated the skies. All of the heaven's screams of thunder were concentrated here.
A perfect symphony for a battle.
Ballista could see Agent gesturing towards themself in the corner in his eyes.
He wasn't used to having a leader attempt to direct him. Wasn't retreating or staying behind contrary to the objective? What he did know was how to annihilate an opponent without question.
"Metallic Knight," A static buzzed in Ballista's ear as Agent's voice ripped through the comms, "Fall back!"
That was the first time during the mission they had actually spoken clearly.
Ballista shook his head in response, unsheathing his greatsword. He glared at the soon-to-be victim with his cape proudly billowing in the wind.
Why stop now when they were so close?
One of the few things Ballista owned up to about their knightly persona was that he could never turn away from vanquishing a foe. Especially when he was this close to taking their head off.
A raise of the sword.
A leap up into the air.
Footsteps from behind came rushing in. The crisp sounds of icons being shuffled through on Agent's UI was the last thing Ballista heard. Then, there was the pause button being thrown right at him.
The next second, Ballista had been left disoriented in his quarters at the mercenaries' base of operations. He didn't feel the weight of his sword in his hands. With a blanket set on top of his body, he was confused why he mysteriously found himself in bed.
His muscles felt stiff, aching. A sharp twinge came from his arm, traveling through his entire body. Bandages covered his arm, wrapped tightly around it.
There was Agent sitting on a chair beside him. They sighed as they sat upright against the back of the seat, "I told you to fall back."
"A valiant knight doesn't back down from any enemy," He rolled his eyes, "I could have taken him."
"Ballista," The atmosphere grew frigid as Agent spoke, "A knight isn't reckless. You were two steps away from being killed. There is a reason why we work in a group."
They motioned towards the bandages wrapped around Ballista's arm. Now that he had come to think of it, the injuries seemed too profound to be any of the typical gunshots or cuts normally sustained in his standard fights. They had appeared to be burns, presumably from electricity.
The staging had been too eerily convenient as well. Too orchestrated were his movements and positioning. Moreover, they had been able to sneak on without any problem only to be bombarded with the entire crew towards the very end of the mission.
The captain must have known about the operation beforehand and timed it to the weather. Then he harnessed its power for an all out attack.
He must have sent someone to post the bounty to lure them over and eliminate a threat.
"It was a trap, was it?" Ballista murmured, surprised by the realization. It was framed as any ordinary battle against the leader of a pack.
"Exactly. Not everything is like the animations you're from where you prevail in the end one way or another," Agent crossed their arms, "Primal had to fix you up while you were paused."
Ballista found the extra effort put into him a bit off-putting, given how he barely knew the others. Though, he did appreciate it. After all, he was able to live another day to see another duel.
"Listen to orders next time," Agent let out a harsh sigh and glanced away from the other, "I much prefer you stay alive."
Their shoulders tensed up as they turned to look at the other mercenary once again, "I also would prefer you stay in our group. Pull another stunt like that and you'll be dismissed."
Ballista could only nod to that.
It'd be embarrassing to be expelled from a mercenary group so early on. Though he didn't properly integrate himself into the team yet, he did oddly enjoy his time there. It was a bit paradoxical. It didn't matter who or what they were working for as long as the rewards sufficed. On the other hand, Ballista's life felt like it mattered more beyond being a weapon with them.
The mercenary field was one shrouded in solitude, but it wasn't necessarily lonely.
"Fine," Ballista nodded once more, agreeing to the terms. Though, he knew full well that he'd get into more trouble again with Agent. Rushing head-on into action with whatever he carried was his specialty.
"That's what I like to hear," Agent rose up from the seat and got ready to leave, "I'll inform the others that you're in stable condition now. You should be ready to return to service in a few weeks."
Ballista had never been one to show gratitude, there was never any need for it. Though, it would have been wrong to not express it for once. They were foreign words to him, but they were the only ones he could use.
"Thank you," He hastily said before the other opened the door, "Tell Primal that too."
Agent paused in their tracks and gave a singular nod. They looked back at Ballista with a nearly indiscernible smile on their face, "You're welcome. I'll tell her as well."