D. Kouda let out a deep sigh, trying to expel all the annoyance and frustrations with the breath leaving her lungs. 'V.II' Snail was a pain to deal with, while bright and committed to Arquebus compared to the rest of the Vespers, his hubris was unbearable, especially knowing that practically speaking, he's untouchable since the Corporation wouldn't risk the lives of any senior manager to oversee operations on Rubicon 3. The solution was to assign one of the Mercenaries to act as one, and ideally it should've been 'V.I' Freud except he turned out to be the most unhinged pilot out of the entire roster. The others refused the position for one reason or another, no one wanting to play supervisor over the others which she yet to grasp why anyone would pass that up.
But she didn't have to worry or deal with those non-sense much longer, it took a long time but it was worth the wait. 'V.X' is planet side and had made contact with the Vespers, the whole unpleasantness with Snail was about integrating him into the Vespers and getting him augmented like the rest of them. 'V.II' argued about everything from his callsign 'V.X' instead of 'V.VII' that is yet to be filled, to his augmentation procedure and cost, to him having direct contact with Arquebus Command instead of going through proper channels, which is to say, through 'V.II' himself. Kouda managed to placate him by letting him pick the remaining spots between 'V.VI' and 'V.X' which should keep him occupied enough and satiate his ego for a while. In the meantime, preparations are to be made for the coming days; Kouda's ambitions and goals for Rubicon might be a personal agenda but they run in parallel with Arquebus' Vision. For that, she needed a firm control on whatever variables she could, if only just to steer things towards that common goal. She thought back on her conversations with 'V.X', as anticipated his performance weren't up to the level the other directors were hoping for, putting her in the spot for criticism and poor judgement, almost bad enough to lose her seat in the board of directors. As far as she's concerned, he was exactly the person for the things she needed done; not outstanding enough to be in demand for every crucial mission, not terrible enough to be a foot soldier in Arquebus' plans. The only point left to evaluate is whether or not he was capable enough to complete the tasks she would privately ask him to do. If his shortcuts are any indication of his high-level intuitions then chances are he'll be fine.
Either way, Arquebus have enough stars for their needs, one being Schneider's newest AC pilot "Rusty", a rising star within the Vespers. Kouda and 'V.X' can go about their own missions and surveys without command missing him too much.
"So, he's the new pilot that Arquebus Command wants to enlist into the Vespers..."
"At least he still has life in him, I'll give him that. I can't remember the last time I've seen that look in his eyes in any of us."
"No wonder Snail hates his guts, I don't think he had that look ever in his lifetime. Or maybe the augmentation will change that, as it did to us."
"We'll have to wait and see, the doctors said he'll be undergoing 4th Generation Augmentation under Snail's orders. Guess he doesn't want newbies edging him off his seat."
"Tough luck for him then, I'm getting my augmentation upgraded in the coming weeks, and Snail knows better than to argue with me."
"One thing that never made sense to me... Why did Command insist on calling him Vee Ten? We're still missing 3 numbers."
"Don't know. Even through our private intelligence channel, nothing came up. Best guess is 10 is a special number to Command, either as a start of something new... or some secret project."
"Secret, huh? So, Vee Ex rather than Vee Ten."
"Probably. 'V.X', the unknown number. Or non-existent. I'd hate to lose my number to a guy like him."
"From 'V.X' to 'V.III'? That's quite a leap. Still has a lot of people in line ahead of him."
"Not if we all die in this stupid expedition, 'V.V'. This is a waste."
The report reached the end and Kouda felt her body twitch as if waking up suddenly to the world. She had been so engrossed in the Coral survey on Rubicon, with the last of the reports confirming the dead ends, leaving only the very few potential veins. All of them, unfortunately, either under the PCA's control, or the RLF's. Ideally the Planetary Closure Administration is the one to avoid out of the many obstacles on Rubicon, but Kouda couldn't help but think the PCA is oddly very protective and secretive about its operations on the ground. Not to mention that is was the PCA who declared the planet uninhabitable and inaccessible to all after conducting their own investigation after the Fires of Ibis incident. Yet the PCA's hold and forces planet side was secretly growing, which would've gone unnoticed had the leak about resurgence in Coral not reached the ears of the Corporations. The PCA had reluctantly allowed them to conduct their own surveys to allow each to determine whether or not there was Coral reservoirs that justified sending expeditions for.
For the most part, the surveys turned up negative or too little to be a viable investment for any of the Corporations to move in. But Kouda had been unconvinced of those reports, especially when certain surveys simply vanish around certain areas without any obvious signs or word how. The PCA's investigations would tag them as either hazardous areas or high levels of radiation that affect both machinery and personnel, which conveniently enough is true with regards to Coral. The substance was used in both power production and technological research, and was highly volatile making any mishandling of the resource extremely costly.
Which was why 'V.X' would be the best way to go about her research. While Arquebus and Schneider take the time to evaluate and integrate him into the Vesper ranks, she would take her time to pinpoint areas of interest, sending him on classified recon missions from time to time till they got used to the whole arrangement before sending him on more... critical missions. Snail and O'Keefe had initially objected to the recon mission earlier which nearly got one of their survey members killed along with 'V.X' who had just landed a few days before. Luckily, they both came out of it alive and had given them potential locations of Coral reservoirs that were hidden by some rabble there weren't part of the RFL. While the report of them having a functioning AC was somewhat worrisome, the Coral reserve they were holding onto wasn't worth sending in a force in to take over the facility. Not to mention that 'V.X' had severely damage the AC that unless they had the resources or were connected to BAWS industries in any way, the AC wouldn't be used again after that skirmish.
Snail's analysis of the BAWS AC indicated that the pilot was barely able to utilize the AC's full capabilities, and its movement being sluggish and pitifully inadequate comparable to MTs. Thus, concluding that the pilot wasn't really an AC pilot but someone who had been forced into it by circumstance and desperation.
She didn't understand what all his analysis proved or how it would affect operations going forward but it at least reassured her that 'V.X's mishap of nearly being taken out by some random untrained pilot was just a fluke. Kouda had a lot of hopes and plans riding on this pilot for her to lose him so soon in the campaign. Speaking of which, it was about time she checked in on him personally. It had been a busy period since her first interactions with Snail about getting him augmented after that recon mission. She had been irritated that against her wishes, Snail had decided to have him undergo Gen 4 augmentation when newer and safer operations were available. He'd rationalized it as preserving the limited Coral reserves they had to work with and that it was the most stable augmentation procedure until further tests were done on the newer procedures. A flashback came to her during her time at the AllMind facility, when the Director there was explaining how all the candidates were secretly being introduce to Coral weekly and their reaction to the substance being recorded over the 10-week program. That, as the Director said, would immensely help with the augmentation procedures when the body is receptive to Coral instead of suddenly introducing it to individuals during the operation.
Using Coral didn't come cheap, especially decades after the supplies were cut off due to that catastrophic event. Kouda could understand the reluctance of augmenting new, untested pilots with that limited supply to begin with. That's not to say she wouldn't still force it had Snail took it upon himself to disregard her directives.
She keyed a few search parameters along with 'V.X' on her computer, and the projected screen dissolved and materialized with a different display. 'V.X Moon Walker's status was highlighted as deployed. Already on another mission? She mumbled to herself. The AC configuration slid into view as she swiped off the first page. The same full Arquebus manufactured AC he had landed with, except with new paint job and markings, and a different weapons loadout than the one she saw in the report.
It was dark blue and the faded white from the original paint job, the LEDs that dotted the different parts were now bright Teal instead of Maroon, a much less contrasting glow to the overall paint scheme. The Arquebus logo was still glistening on each part with the exception of the left shoulder which sported a new Emblem, the shield shape that matched all the other Vespers and an artistic 'MW' embossed in the center cornered by Dark blue Arcs that almost blended with the AC's own paint. She zoomed in on the alpha numerals that striped different parts, feeling like she'd seen them somewhere before. But then she got it when she noticed the identical lines on each arm; they were part names, labelled on each part like sponsor tags. Kouda had to smile as she now noticed the 'V.X' callsign also tagged on more prominent features of the AC, as if the piloted wanted his opposition to recognize him even while in the middle of a firefight. As if to make the AC even more distinct, the color scheme of the leg parts seemed to be the inverse of the rest of the AC, mostly faded white with dark blue details, giving the AC the impression of wearing dark blue long sleeve shirt and white pair of pants.
In terms of weaponry, the AC now had two laser cannons on the back as well as two laser pistols in its hands instead of the rifles from the last report. If Arquebus ever wanted a frame to represent its AC manufacturing ideals, this AC would look the part. Except for the AC name, she thought amusingly, "Shortcut". Kouda doubted anyone who wasn't familiar with his story would appreciate the name. While she herself can't figure out why he named it Shortcut, not even his emblem gave any clues, she could imagine the grin plastered on the pilot's face from months before vividly. A childish grin that hinted that he had seen what no one else saw.
And that was what was happening on the mission live feed as she changed screens again, the dark blue AC was weaving through what looked like a giant refitting station on the hanging industrial complex Grid 140 towards the mission target tagged as Strider. The defense units consisted of utility MTs retrofitted with weaponry and a couple of those large Tetrapod MTs with a laser blade extending out of one of their arms, and cannons on the shoulders. There were too many units scattered about and the place was starting to look like a whirlwind of bullets and missiles. Kouda flinched each time the onboard alert beeped about incoming fire only to have 'V.X' deftly dodge out of harm's way. She felt her jaw drop when screen highlighted the target, the sheer size and length of the Strider, broken into sections and parts that were individually being worked on at various locations throughout the Grid, too far apart to be covered in a single trip. The current target, which was the lower part of one of the hind legs, was at least 10 times the AC's height set flat horizontally on the factory floor with all the various machinery working on it.
It was obvious from the way the laser cannons dissipated into the outer shell, leaving only scorch marks, that this thing was heavily armored. Even the defense units were firing carelessly at the AC, either knowing full well that the rounds would bounce off the plates, or ineffectively damage them. This is suicide. How did they expect him to destroy something that big!? Kouda was about to pull up the mission briefing when the AC's view shifted from targeting the defenses onto the far end of the factory. The AC flew forward with a sudden jerk and was accelerating to its top speed in less than a second. Is that the so called 'Assault Boost'? The AC's view cleared as it slowed down coming up to one end of the Strider's leg. It looked like a joint part as it had groves and linings that appeared to connect to some other part of the giant machinery. Hanging above it were armor plates similar to the ones that covered the majority of the parts, and it seemed like this section hadn't yet been fitted. It was there where the AC Shortcut started firing laser cannon and pistol beams at different exposed sections and the factory cranes and utilities, setting fire and explosions in the vicinity and melting sections of the chassis that have yet to be covered. Then with a final charged shot, the armored plates that were hanging above in crashed on it, bent out of shape severing the thick cables woven within the chassis.
It wasn't long before the hail of bullets and missiles flew past the screen, with the alert indicators flashing and beeping in the direction of the attack. The AC leapt over the Strider's leg and glided along its length, while the defense units kept firing up at it while mostly being blocked by the armor plates as the AC ducked from their line of sight. Half way down the length, the AC spotted one of the exits to the side and slipped out of the factory.
Kouda now leaned back on her chair, collecting her thoughts and replaying the whole engagement as the screen slowly faded out of focus in front of her. She could see it, but it was running like a rolling video that her mind wasn't paying much attention to.
To break it down in points: First, 'V.X' hadn't done much to sabotage the Strider aside from superficial damage since the contraption was heavily armored in the first place. Second, the Strider is modular in design, meaning it can have multiple sections and with more legs to support it. So, even taking out one leg doesn't even dent it. Third, for what it's worth, having practical data on the Strider would change the forces planet side's approach against that absurd machine but it still won't solve how to get rid of it once it's deployed. Based on those points, the mission could hardly be called a success in the eyes of the idiot who came up with this suicidal mission in the first place.
However, the damage to the joint of one of the strider's legs is significant; it could delay the repairs and refitting at least, or cripple the Strider should they use it as is at most. In that regard, 'V.X' did actually sabotage the machine as required... mostly. Kouda shook her head, this wasn't a time to be cynical, Snail would probably spin this report to reflect poor performance on 'V.X's mission, and her by extension. Unconsciously she split the screen in half, keeping her eyes on running stream of 'V.X' while drafting a report on his mission and performance in a more favorable light. She didn't even have to think or see her work from all the years she'd been with this Corporation, phrasing reports in an optimistic view was second nature at this point, and she'd wager her salary that even 'V.II' Snail's report would change their mind of the facts she'd present. More importantly, the blatant inefficiency of the mission parameters would be pinned on the one who drafted it, be it Snail or otherwise. Pointing out that a more direct task assignment from Arquebus Management would not only negate wasted resources but would also direct them to more meaningful and precise campaigns.
She was halfway through her preliminary report when the screen changed abruptly from the industrial environment of Grid 140 to a hazy sky with tufts of clouds racing upwards. It wasn't till the AC looked down that she realized that it had jumped off the grid and was now in free fall towards the rocky grounds below. It was a brief look before the view stared into the horizon again, noting different landmarks on the Belius Continent: The Wall, Galean Dam, the various industrial sites scattered around the continent to mine Coral..., and Watchpoint Delta, looming in the Northern part of the continent, jealously guarded by the Planetary Closure Administration. A flicker of frustration crossed her face. The PSA had full control and authority on Rubicon and no person with brains would take their reports and word at face value about the state of Rubicon and its Coral. Especially not after the constant interference and hostile attitude of the PSA toward inquiries and surveillance requests into the planet itself. Maybe the Watchpoint will hold some answers regarding the Coral reserves, but that matter will have to come much later. As of now, the RLF are added nuisances that Arquebus can't afford to spend too many resources on, especially with the other Corporations racing to secure the Coral for themselves that they need to shoulder past and get there first.
The POV of the AC shifted again and the ground was rushing towards the screen, only to gradually slow down before landing using the boosters to counteract the gravitational acceleration. A transport helicopter came into view shortly after, with Arquebus' emblem on the side, presumably to recover 'V.X' and return him to base. Feeling the tension leaving her, Kouda swiped away that screen and went back to finishing her report. 'V.X Moon Walker' definitely isn't that rising superstar any Corp would've paid big money to have on their side, nothing like 'V.IV Rusty' presently or 'V.I Freud' when he first joined. Nonetheless, 'V.X' is performing as a satisfactory level to maintain his position in the Vespers, and only time will tell if her private investment in him will pay off before long.