Walter skimmed over the briefing Arquebus had sent over. They'd asked for Raven specifically, which meant it was getting noticed. 621 had been performing well on the open call missions it had taken for Arquebus and Balam so far, singularly focused on the objectives and completing them as quickly as possible, which tended to please the corps.
No signs of the side effects of fourth gen augmentation yet, but it had only been a couple weeks. And it didn't seem to be particularly troubled by its actions, if the way it crushed the Dafeng student pilot was to go by. The dog would need that attitude for the next job.
Maybe after this mission he'd be able to bargain a way into Operation Wallclimber. With something like that on the hound's resume, they could start to truly get involved in Rubicon's messy affairs.
...
"Your attack will focus on the Eye, a giant laser cannon connected directly to the main generator. It's protected by a shield, which is powered by auxiliary sub-generators." said Walter, "These should be your first targets. This concludes the briefing. Good luck."
621 felt the jolt of the machinery as the chopper bay began the deployment sequence, rotating the AC in its clamps into position and shifting it toward the back as the rear door opened. The rush of air could be heard through the sensors, and the dry whispers of desert sand.
"Time for a little self-promotion, 621." said Walter, "Smash the STRIDER and Arquebus HQ will be sure to remember your name."
...
A thunk of metal sounded and the AC went into a short freefall, landing nimbly on its feet next to the burned out wreck of a tracked vehicle.
[MAIN SYSTEM | ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE]
A nudge to the controls engaged the boosters, rifle at the ready as it glided over the sandy dunes, the outline of a massive, lumbering form visible through the clouds of dust obscuring the area.
"First, get through all that dust and make contact with the STRIDER." Walter ordered.
621 listened as chatter filled the RLFs unencrypted comms.
"An unidentified AC... Must be one of the corporation's dogs." said a soldier, "Activate the Eye! Burn them away!"
"Yessir! Coral, abide with Rubicon!" The exuberant voice of a younger member acknowledged the order.
"Abide with Rubicon."
A long range targeting warning flashed on 621's HUD, an energy surge spiking near the bow of the massive walker.
A second later, a beam of blue energy lanced the ground, rapidly slashing across the dune toward the AC, intent on evaporating it. 621 engaged quick boost to launch off to the side, then rapidly accelerating parallel to the beam's direction of travel through assault boost.
"What?!" said another member, shocked, "They evaded the Eye's laser!"
"All hands, prepare for close-range combat!" said another, "Intercept!"
Temperature warnings flashed at the near miss, followed by missile lock warnings. The AC strained as it attempted to boost clear, the blast of the final missile close enough to scorch the right shoulder, the pressure wave buffeting the machine.
"Alright, now you're up close and personal." said Walter, "Take out one of its legs and bring it to a halt."
The exposed leg joint was easily crippled by the pulse blade on its arm, and the rear section of the massive machine began to crash to the ground.
...
Walter tracked 621's progress as it managed to board a gantry on the underbelly of the STRIDER before the Rubiconians could cut the rear section loose, listened to their panicked cries as his hound methodically tore through the sub generators before advancing to the Eye.
The laser cannon might have been formidable at range, but up close it had no chance against an AC, and was summarily destroyed.
"Sir! No response from the Eye!" Panic had overwhelmed the doomed crew, and their captain knew despair. "No...! We... We can't lose the STRIDER..."
"Confirmed, Target destroyed." said Walter.
Sudden gouts of flame and electric discharge burst from the ruined structure of the Eye, the machine shaking as it entered its death throes.
"It looks like all that energy it was sucking up has nowhere to go." he said in warning, "Move 621. You need to get clear of the STRIDER!"
The hound was already engaging overboost to put as much distance as it could between the doomed walker and it, rocketing off into the desert before it alighted to the ground. The camera feeds from the AC suddenly filled with the visage of the RLF machine as it cracked in half and crumpled to the ground, billowing clouds of dust and smoke thrown up by the impact and the exploding wreckage.
621 focused on the machine that was falling apart, hardly paying attention as it continued boosting backwards to watch the spectacle in front of it. A feeling like ice had taken hold of its gut as it watched the massive machine, and all of the lives on it, begin to crash into the dunes.
"You damn hyenas... scavenging the planet..." The transmission was filled with static and unmistakably the captain. "Coral... abide with Rubicon!"
Walter's voice was suddenly on the comms again.
"See that, 621." he asked, "The STRIDER's blowing itself up. A fitting end for something built to fail."
The transmission from the RLF machine cut out as a massive explosion went off when the fuel and generators inside it exploded from the impact, the screeching of twisted metal audible even from this distance.
621 brought its closed fist down on the button to mute external comms.
...
Walter looked at the comm unit in surprise as the sudden click came from it. Had his hound just...hung up on him?
Frowning, he checked the link, seeing that signal integrity was fine. "621, do you read me?"
An acknowledgement code was returned in response, and Walter leaned back in his seat in satisfaction. Must have just been a momentary hiccup.
"The chopper is inbound, I've forwarded you the coordinates." he informed.
...
621 sat in the cockpit of its AC long after having returned to the hangar. The sensor systems were powered down, the generator deactivated as the AC drew power from the base. It sat in the dark, quiet cockpit, looking at nothing. No memories of who it was before, or what it had done as an AC pilot.
That was the first major sortie that 621 had been on as Raven, and it had just claimed a three figure kill count.
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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
General FictionIn a future where humanity has developed an interstellar civilization. On the frontier planet of Rubicon 3, a substance called, "Coral" was discovered that could be used as both an energy source and a data conduit. Coral was hailed as the key to hum...
