Chapter Text
“Scarlet, remember the mission?” Spoke a calm, welcoming voice. “Yeah yeah yeah, Four I can listen and read well enough,” retorted a feisty young girl with long reddish-brown hair over the static filled speakers on the headset Rusty wore. “I know, just wanted to double check… when we get to the facility target any LCs or HCs, in and out, then regroup with Raven at the Spaceport to finish the sortie.”
“Yep… Why are we working with that merc again? Like, I know they're a good pilot, but Snail seems to hate anything aside from Arquebus members, sooo…”
“Snail sees something in the fourth gen, so do I honestly, buddy has guts… hard to tell sometimes, but they can handle the Spaceport themselves.”
“Oh kay… so… buddy?”
“Yeah? They’re good, a friend, so buddy.”
“Eh,” Daiwa dismissed as a red light turned on inside the AC piloting station. “Alright! Time to drop in Scarlet, ready?”
“Yeah, of course!”
“Good!” Rusty shouted as the back hatchdoor of the bicopter transport flung open, the frigid arctic-like winds of Rubicon 3 chilling the outside environment. The air surrounding Daiwa’s AC began to heat up, then with one sudden burst the mech shot out of the transport into the open air. The boosters on Daiwa’s unit firing up, softening the fall. As the building high mech landed on the frozen ground, snow swirling in the air as the engine cooled, another thud rang out in the frostbitten world. “What’s this, your sixth sortie in the field? First against PCA?” Said Rusty talking over the headset, the warmth of his mood juxtaposed to the outside winds in the near negativities. “Yeah… Why do you talk so much? We got a job to do, this isn’t a meet and greet.”
“C’mon gotta have some fun on the job.”
“That doesn’t mean making silence a commodity.”
“Sure, sure…” sighed the Vesper, “auhh… let’s get goi-“
“HALT. Corporation forces, such as Arquebus, are prohibited from entering PCA sanctioned areas such as this, leave immediately else face a forced relocation, or termination,” shouted out the automated voice of the fortified facility before them.
“Hay kid, wanna poke the beast?”
“Heh… sure,” Daiwa Scarlet chuckled, “On behalf of Arquebus,” she spoke over the built-in intercom on the outside of her AC, “Come and try to remove us PCA mutts!”
“Learn that from Snail yeah?”
“Sure did, got a way with agitating people.”
“True that kid.”
“Resisting… lethal force permitted, LC units will meet you soon, enjoy the hospitality,” the polar winds whipping at the metal frames of the ACs filling the silence of the midday light. “How long do you think till they show up?”
“How about watching above the outpost, they’ll be flying over undoubtedly,” and right on cue four metal humanoid figures came flying over the concrete walls. Three identical in design with a large plate attached to their left arm, and one with broader shoulder pauldrons and larger frame dimensions, a Heavy Calvary unit. “In accordance with PCA doctrine, put down your arms, exit your Armored Cores, and surrender yourself for incarceration…” commanded the HC pilot with a small chuckle at the end, “what am I saying… you’re resisting and we’ve been given authorization! This is the part I love! Killing corporate forces…” The HC pilot’s thrust firing the mech forward at breakneck speeds towards the pair of Vespers, the armament in his right hand glowing bright blue with electricity. Within a short few seconds the HC was within range of Daiwa Scarlet, the charged weapon swiping at her AC. Scarlet's sharpened senses tracking the Cavalry unit, and with super human timing she activated the boosters on her AC propelling it backwards to avoid the laser blade attack. Pulling back her arm she readied the Pilebunker attached to her left arm to strike back at the HC, with frightening speed for such an enormous weapon, her arm shot forward and in tandem the sharpened rod within the Pilebunker’s frame shooting out into the HC’s armor. The attack struck the engine of the Heavy unit’s structure causing an explosive chain reaction, the PCA mech violently bursting into flames.
Without hesitation the LC units circled the Vespers moving with greater speed than the Heavy unit. “I got the one on the Left, think you can handle this kid?” Rusty asked Daiwa, “Wha? Of course! What about the third?”
“We each take one each, then converge on the third.”
A LC charging into Rusty using its metal frame to strike Steel Haze, metal scraping against itself. Daiwa’s eye focused on V.IV only to feel the sharp sudden tremors of another of the LCs striking her AC. Her head shot forward, “Agh!” Daiwa groaned out in pain. In retaliation she raised her KRSV plasma rifle towards the LC, firing a shot but missing as the jolt of another heavy strike hitting the back of her AC threw off her aim. “Ragh, Hay Rusty they’re teaming up on me! Rusty?!” The other Vesper gone, having moved on to attacking the facility leaving the ruined mangled corpse of his Light unit behind. “Sorry Kid, mission’s gotta get done, but you should be able to handle yourself against a couple Light Units, at least until I hit the target.”
“Oh yeah sure! Get back over he-“ the remaining units firing at once on Scarlet, her AC low attitude stability showing its troubles, “Hey hey hey!! Turn on, turn on!!! Daiwa attempted to reactivate her AC after it took severe damage. After the cameras within her ACs head turned back on, a LC began charging at Scarlet, suddenly the LC went flying back, getting struck with two small projectiles at lightning speed. “Huh?!”
“Taking on more than you can handle? Typical Corpo,” interjected a familiar sarcastic tone, “Egh?! What’s a junker like you doing here?!? How’d you know about the operation? Did that merc tell you! Trying to swindle me out of a promotion?”
“Woowwww… slow your roll there corpo, over heard the boss talkin’ bout it and thought I’d put my hand in to make sure Carla’s favorite tourist gets home safe, can’t trust Arquebus with nothing, and maybe I’d get to knock some dents into your overzealous frame haha!!” Laughed the RaD scavenger, “Sober”, Vodka. “You’ll get in the way! Go back to your trash pile hovel and leave the work to those with the paycheck.”
“Oohhhh… Whoopty doo, you get nursed by the big bosses at the head over destroying Rubicon and that gives you more authority here? You’re quite the comedian for someone working with Vespers.”
“Arrgh… stop talking, just shoot the PCA and we can get this over with as soon as possible…”
“Heh, tight-ass,” the junker Uma chuckled, as the chains on her “Double Trouble” began to spin at great speeds. An LC boosting towards Vodka aiming their rifle, the spinning blades attached to Vodka’s arm shooting out further, clipping and grinding into the PCA frame. Removing the chainsaw staggering the LC, and raising a sixteen barreled shotgun to the frame’s torso, letting loose a volley of car-sized shrapnel into the LC. “Would you look at that! Score one for the junker, zero for the corpo! HAHAHA!!” Scarlet’s profusely irritated silence deafening the surrounding fire fight.
With one Light Calvary unit remaining Vodka and Scarlet rushed towards it, Vodka unintentionally corralling it towards Scarlet as she charged her plasma rifle, the pulsing blue light turning into crackling purple electricity. As the LC came closer to Scarlet in its attempts to avoid the junker, she thrust forward her Pilebunk striking its back stagger it, then firing off the KRSV rifle blowing a hole through the back of frame. “Score for the ‘corpos’-“
“You only got that because they were more focused on me, clearly I was more important!”
“More like an easier mark! Take out the gnat then focus on the real threat, me!”
“As if Arquebus hound!” Continued Vodka in the admittedly childish argument between these pilots, which was cut short by the ground shaking explosion from within the PCA communication facility. “Target down, the PCA’s comms will be out temporarily so we have to make our way to Spaceport, copy… hay Kid you there!”
“Ugh… yeah, copy, Rusty we’ve got an uninvited guest…”
“I heard your friend-“
“Not friends.”
“Either way, she seems to have been a good help, let’s just get moving.”
“You go ahead, I’ll handle the trash rat-“
“I said leave her, we don't have time to, remember Vesper's Honor.”
“Since when??”
“Since now. C’mon.”
“Augh… fine…”
“Care to join us, friend?” Rusty asked the RaD pilot, “Sure, you seem cool… for a Vesper.”
“Alright, settled. Follow my le- Kid behind you!”
“Huh?!?” The incoming danger sensor blared in her cockpit as a pulsing blue blade sliced through her AC’s frame bisecting the torso and waist.
“Insolent corporate dogs and anarchiest mercs! You’ll burn Rubicon scrounging for a few extra Coam.”
“Shit… a commander, I thought I got all the HCs,” Rusty growled under his breath. “HEY! That was mine to bre-“ a light beam shot through the torso of the RaD AC piercing the engine. The side of the mech violently shot large metal pieces from its side as fire ripped from the inside. “Anarchists eradicated! Converging on the remaining Vesper, move in commander!”
“No, move to the Spaceport, this assault was a red-hairing.”
“Affirmative.” Responded the remaining LC lieutenant as both PCA units jetted off. “Damn, I’ll call a recovery team later, hopefully the kid’s alive under that wreckage, shit,” Rusty said to himself as he chased after the Calvary units.