"Raven, we just received another briefing from the Liberation Front, this must be the other mission their commander mentioned." said Ayre, "Shall we have a look at it?"

The images included with the briefing were of a massive machine, like a bizarre version of the tanks BAWS produced. The tread sections seemed to be mounted as limbs, and the turret, rather than having two cannons, instead mounted a smaller pair of gatling guns, a massive missile launcher, and a widebeam energy shotgun.

"Raven, this is Rainer, Liberation Front Belius Command. I'll be handling the briefing for this mission. The PCA has deployed the CATAPHRACT, a Special Forces weapon designed to assure ground superiority." he explained,"If we allow the corporations to seize this kind of technology, things will take a dire turn. We want you to deny them the opportunity, destroy the machine first."

A frontal image showed another pair of rotary cannons, these ones more akin to grenade cannons an AC might carry, and a peculiar bipedal machine sitting between the front tracks... or was it standing? There was a diagram, showing approximate weapon calibers and suspected energy output, along with observed ground speeds.

Ayre could then suddenly feel a single flare of hatred at the mere mention of CATAPHRACT. She thought about asking, but maybe that's for... another time.

"The CATAPHRACT is a moving fortress, equipped with almost impenetrable armor. It incorporates a bipedal MT as its core so the pilot can better control the machine, making it a highly versatile threat." Rainer explained, "That MT core is also its vulnerability, somewhat. It's abnormally well armored and will shrug off most small arms fire with impunity. We've attached footage we obtained of a corporate AC fighting the machine, so you can see for yourself before engaging it. Thank you for taking this mission, Raven. And good hunting."

Ayre pulled up the footage that had been attached to the comms message; It was a long distance recording, showing what looked like an AC built from Arquebus VP-4 S series parts and equipped with laser weaponry.

The pilot's broadcasting registration showed Independent, but with a build like that, they were clearly corporate sponsored. They engaged the CATAPHRACT, circling it and trying to get to the MT core when they made a mistake, losing momentum for just a second. The turret's rotation caught up to them and the energy shotgun bisected the machine, sending the top half tumbling before the cannons ripped it to shreds.

Ayre felt a stab of fear at how easily it had dispatched the AC. It had cleaved through it like it wasn't even there, no AC she knew of would survive a hit like that without a pulse shield to mitigate it.

"Raven, you'll need to exercise extreme caution around the CATAPHRACT." she warned, "At range, the energy projector may lose coherency and be survivable, but up close it looks as though it will cleave through an AC instantly."

<>

She watched as Raven recheck information on the boosters for the SCHNEIDER ALULA/21E. It maintained most of the ground speed and gave incredible quickboost performance, which would help with evading the energy projector. Due to this, it was best to keep them for this particular situation. What made Ayre want to giggle was the fact that Raven had seemingly forgotten to add these to his AC when he was first making OBSIDIAN WING.

The machine was exchanged for a DF-BA-06 XUAN-GE Bazooka. The attack power is 895, which makes this a range version of his powerful melee attacks that can offer significant damage in a range weapon. It can also allow him to replace his melee weapon with a handgun if he would rather go entirely into range while keeping damage high. Although, for this situation, Raven wasn't interested in using a handgun today.

He did want to use the DF-GR-07 GOU-CHEN Gernade Launcher however. It was developed by Dafeng Core Industry, the corporation of the Reguns. Grenades create spheres-shaped explosions centered on the point of impact, allowing each shot to deal significant damage to multiple targets in a wide area. However, Raven feared it would overburden both the arms and the AC itself. Not to mention it might cause an EN shortfall, which would just outright insult OBSIDIAN WING.

Some EL-PW-01 TRUENO Needle Launchers would be nice. However, since they're not like missiles, Raven would have to force himself to stop. He doubted the CATAPHRACT would even think about giving him time to land a shot.

He had... seen what these things can do to ACs...

Both shoulder mounts were exchanged for his old SG-027 ZIMMERMAN Shotguns. They have extremely high effective range, best-in-class damage, heavy stagger, solid direct hit damage, and a forgiving reload time as well as high total ammunition.

And as for the laser blade, Raven switched it with the deadly PB-033M ASHMEAD. By stats alone it looks like Pile Bunker is by far the best even an uncharged PB hit out-dps the Lance and Moonlight. Raven's been playing around with the Lance in the arena, and it seems to be worse than Pile Bunker in every category, much lower dmg, and much heavier which means a slower boost. And "slow" wasn't something Raven was a fan of.

<>

"I'll let the Liberation Front know we're preparing to drop," said Ayre, "and have the chopper stashed somewhere safe."

...

Raven immersed himself in the feel of his machine as the drop sequence started. Ayre had synchronized with him a moment ago, their embrace in the dark cockpit her reminder. He could afford no mistakes here. Other sorties had the potential for dying, like fighting the HC with a laser blade or the lance carrying EKDROMOI, but none carried the terrifying power of the CATAPHRACT.

Her partner could feel his worry, his tense muscles.

"Raven. I believe in you, in us." she assured, "I'll support you."

The clamps released, OBSIDIAN WING falling through the icy clouds to land on the ground below. The PCA forces would undoubtedly be able to detect them now as Combat Mode activated.

"Raven, CATAPHRACT detected, incoming!" Ayre warned.

A plume of snow in the distance was steadily growing larger, the hulking tank-like form of the machine roaring toward them. The PCA pilot joined the open frequency.

"Code 23. Enemy AC confirmed." said the pilot, "Presently exchanging fire."

It barreled down on him, trying to run the smaller machine over with its massive bulk, but missed as OBSIDIAN WING jumped and boosted overhead, firing as the CATAPHRACT passed. The heavy armor of the MT core shrugged off the shotgun blast, the sloped armor defeating it even at relatively close range.

"Raven... priority target for removal." said the pilot, "You've got some nerve showing up here. That leak of yours started all of this. Did you really think we'd let you walk away?"

Ayre's confusion intermingled with her own at the PCA officer's declaration.

"Leak...? What does he mean?" she asked.

The tank swung around in a massive arc, turret tracking to keep the Gatling guns spewing fire. Most missed, but the short burst that impacted savaged the armor on the right side of his torso, forcing him to use a repair kit.

<>

"You made Rubicon the corporations' playground." the pilot continued, "We had law and order under the PCA's watch!"

The energy shotgun began to glow, quickly gathering charge before unleashing a blast. Raven's eyes began to widen, not in shock, but in fear. All of a sudden, a familiar memory came back.

Why now? Why now?

...

617 ducked low, but the bottom of the CATAPHRACT was able to break off his shoulder-mounted weaponry, leaving him with just his gatling gun. They had a standoff for a moment, and then 617 started blazing around with his gatling gun.

"Eat this mother-!" he screamed.

620 came right by and began assisting them. "Hang on, buddy, I got you!"

They went to the other side to get the CHATAPHRACT's attention. However, it seemed that it had too much attention. 620 shot out a round. The bullet ricocheted off. Damn it, 620 cursed mentally, Wish I went for a more powerful build. He then fired another round, aiming for the neck of the MT core. It barely chipped off a piece. But didn't bounce off. Now we're getting somewhere. He fired a third time. Chipped off a bit of the head.

The CATAPHRACT then fired three consecutive shots from that massive thing's laser turret.

"620: Signal lost." said the voice.

621 suddenly charged in right past 617.

"621, don't!" he commanded.

But he was only ignored. 621 would dodge from the right to the left. It then charged right for the CATAPHRACT. It engaged its assault boost. The forced cause the hulking the CATAPHRACT to stop.

He then aimed its assault rifle at the MT's neck and let it all out. It then suddenly felt 617 pull it out of the way and continue the blazing with his gatling gun.

And soon, an explosion occurred.

...

He snapped himself back into reality and quickly activated quickboost as the radar alert flashed, changing direction to escape the cone of fire as a barrage of rockets pursued, splashing against the snow behind him while he raced over the drifts.

He dodged the next blast from the energy cannon in the same manner, slowly getting closer as they circled each other. The PCA soldier turned the massive machine, treads spinning and throwing snow before it accelerated hard toward OBSIDIAN WING in another attempt to ram him.

The AC had to brace itself for a second to fire the Truenos, the massive spiked penetrators deflecting off the MT core as he boosted to the side, narrowly avoiding being run over.

"Once you're on the list, termination is inevitable." the pilot sneered, "The PCA makes no exceptions. You started this fire, Raven. You were the spark that set it all off."

He tried to find an opening to attack the MT core, only for the machine to start crawling on the opposable treads like legs, shielding the vulnerable center from his weapons while the turret sprayed Gatling gun fire at the snow behind him. The energy cannon began to charge, and a quick jump gave the SP pilot the confidence to fire, only for Raven to disappear from the firing line, another quickboost throwing him opposite the direction of travel again.

"Code 44. Send me what you've got on priority target Raven." they heard, "The combat simulator has misled me."

The pilot grunted in frustration as an attempt to reverse his machine over the smaller AC was dodged.

"Who are you... ?" he asked.

"Code 44 received. Sending data." saida nother voice, "That AC partially matches the profile for priority target Raven. Verification failed. Provisionally raising threat level. Contain the situation."

...

Ayre watched as her partner's weapons did nothing against the MT core, the one supposed vulnerability of the CATAPHRACT.

"Raven, you might need to get closer to stand a chance at penetrating that armor." she advised.

The special forces craft jinked back and forth, launching missiles and spraying gating fire before it turned to face his, the rotary cannons firing a rain of high explosive shells. OBSIDIAN WING was already in the air above them, and as the CATAPHRACT came down from a leap, he took aim, firing both shotguns at the same time. The penetrators impacted on the torso of the MT core, their height difference negating the slope of the armor as they embedded into it. The machine immediately reversed away, shielding the core to prevent a follow up strike.

"Code 18. Whoever this is, it's not Raven." said someone on the coms, "Regardless, they're as much of a threat to the PCA, if not more. I don't know who you are, but you're dead!"

The energy projector suddenly began to charge, the buildup continuing long past when it should have finished. Raven activated his assault boost, rocketing forward as the weapon fired. The projectile was easily the diameter of an AC's core and blindingly bright as it lanced forward.

It melted the snow below it as it raced toward OBSIDIAN WING, barely missing as he boosted to the side.

Ayre could feel her own fear mixed with her partner's. The CATAPHRACT fired volleys of missiles, only for Raven to hand on top of the turret, crouching as the overboost system deployed, assault armor overwhelming the enemy machine and leaving it vulnerable. A tap of the boosters had him over the front, plainly in view of the MT core.

A second round of shotgun rounds fired, further weakening the frontal armor, before the bazooka fired another blast and the pile bunker slammed its fatal point, tearing through the now weakened armor and deep into the machine.

The pilot must have known his machine was doomed, but he still did his duty.

"Code 5... Sending combat log... Requesting verification..." he said.

The MT core and the underbelly of the tank ignited, the acrid smoke billowing around the now useless armored body, secondary explosions going off as the magazines and missile racks cooked off in the turret.

Raven was looking at the burning wreck when Ayre spoke.

"Huh... What is Walter doing here on Rubicon...?" said Ayre, "And why did he bring you along with him...?"

A moment later an incoming comms notification sounded and was routed onto the private frequency.

"Raven, this is Middle Flatwell." said the man, "We've detected another PCA force heading for your location. Unknown model, they appear to be two AC-sized machines."

Raven tensed in his cockpit. That description sounded like EKDROMOI. His AC was still intact, and hadn't used much ammunition, but a surprise ambush by more SP forces was never good news.

There was no chance to avoid it either, with the helicopter being safely hidden a few kilometers away. They'd have to stand and fight.

The two machines appeared on the long range radar, easily spotted as they were in overboost mode to cover distance. They wouldn't be able to tell who they were facing for sure until they got closer, but with the incoherent, squat signatures it was almost certainly EKDROMOI. Ayre immediately tapped their comms now that they were in range.

"Code 23, attending scene." said the first one, "We've got a 31C on our hands."

"We've lost the CATAPHRACT." said the other, "Merc made a big mistake."

They touched down by the train tracks, landing heavily in the snow. One appeared to be the same model as before, wielding a plasma rifle. The other was new, with the same body style as its partner rather than the extra armor and thrusters of the lance wielding design.

It carried two of the machine guns and had rocket tubes mounted on the back. It set down in front of the other, shielding it.

"IDed the target, sir." said the other, "Independent merc, callsign Raven."

The transmission came from the one carrying the submachine guns, likely the lower ranked officer.

"Raven... We thought you had escaped somehow, but the report says otherwise." they said, "Raven's dead. You may have taken up the name, but you'll be following them soon."

With that, the two machines separated, trying to trap Raven between them and force him into a corner. He quickboosted out of the way of a blast of plasma fire and missiles, then a volley of rockets, finding himself nearly out of energy and still being hounded by the SP craft.

The lack of cover meant he'd need to get creative. The final quickboost put him in range of the one with the machine guns, delivering a kick that was met by a kick in return, both machines knocking each other away.

Their close proximity allowed the hail of gunfire to chip away at the armor of OBSIDIAN WING, forcing him to use a repair kit while the EKDROMOI ate a bazooka blast in return before it jumped away, denting the armor that it had no way to repair.

The second SP craft attempted a shot as Raven boosted after his target, the pattern of irregular jumps throwing off the FCS and sending the shot high as she closed the distance. Another bazooka blast staggered the machine before it could fully recover and a quartet of Trueno spikes embedded themselves in the torso a moment later, the machine toppled backwards with the impact, leaking fire.

"Damn you... Raven...!" they grunted.

With one of the EKDROMOI down, it would be much easier to destroy the other.

"Raven," Ayre said, "One hostile left. It's not over yet."

The other pilot tried desperately to keep his distance, pelting plasma rounds at OBSIDIAN WING to keep it away. When he assault boosted into range, the other machine attempted a kick, counting on the reverse jointed leg actuators to stagger his only to be disabled by the assault armor blast that was unleashed. It hung limply, thrusters maintaining its position until another round of penetrators slammed into the torso under the chin. A gust of fire erupted from the holes torn in the hull, the generator entering meltdown as the machine sagged to the ground.

"It... it can't be..." they grunted, "Who the hell are you, Raven?!"

The tundra was silent except for the whistling of wind and the sparking of the slagged wrecks.

...

Flatwell leaned back in his chair, glancing over at Dolmayan and Rainer as they watched the feed. One of their scouts had remained nearby, observing the fight and relaying the feed back to them.

"Like we told you, Dolmayan, Raven is an incredibly valuable asset." he defended, "He's been instrumental in keeping the corps away from PCA technology, and we're hoping to keep leveraging that until the end of this conflict."

The Father of the Liberation Front just nodded, seemingly transfixed by the destruction on screen. Three elite PCA special forces craft, dispatched without a single AC loss.

Rainer standing disrupted the silence, and he excused himself.

"I need to get back to the floatship before it leaves." he said.

...

Raven pulled up the incoming comms message, sent by the Liberation Front commander, Rainer.

"Raven. Thank you for taking the CATAPHRACT mission." Rainer thanked, "With your help, maybe we can beat the corporations, and the PCA. I'm not sure when we'll have another mission for you, but I hope you'll consider it when we do."

The young man nodded and shut the link off before Rainer could.

Ayre could feel a spark of sudden despair flush into his mind. She could feel some kind of sadness beginning to grow within his heart, causing it to ache.

She then thought back to that memory that caused Raven's panic attack to all of a sudden trigger. Those other ACs... and their pilots; 617 and 620, who were they? She looked over to Raven. She knew he probably wasn't in the best state of mind but... she just had to know.

What has happened to him?

She made sure to keep her voice soft and calming. "Raven?"

Raven hummed in reply, signaling her that he was listening. He took off his helmet, watching the outlines of his vision beginning to become coated with a shade of red.

<>

Ayre took a moment to respond. "Back there, when you fought the CATAPHRACT, before the laser fired... I... saw something. A memory I should think."

Raven stiffened. Looks like remembering things is something that Ayre could see. Then again, she already mentioned that she could see through his memories. She was probably just going through the more recent ones rather than those that were supposedly... long forgotten.

<>

"'It?'" asked Ayre.

<

"Wait... is that what you meant by being 'thrown away, again?'" asked Ayre, "I get it you were angered by their deaths but-"

She then felt Raven focusing on another memory. She didn't want to force him into another traumatic issue, but there was nothing she could do to stop him now.

...

617's voice was weak over the comms. "62... 1... the mission. Finish it..."

The gatling gun glowed red hot from the overheat as the static died down. 621's highly-damaged AC sparked from so much damage it had taken during this mission, the insides flaring up from second to second. They struggled as they forced themselves to get back up.

"Updating target parameters." the voice informed once more, "Pattern 3, pattern E."

A cylinder-shaped object appeared on the top of the AC, charging up as sparks flew wildly.

While Kojima Particles were widely known for their defensive applications (Primal Armor), it was discovered that they could be weaponized.

First appearing in the prototype unit known as the, Assault Armor allowed a unit to expend its Kojima particle shielding to create a 360 degree explosion around the unit. Doing so completely depleted the unit's and any surrounding units Primal Armor, but resulting in devastating damage around the unit.

Despite its application, the technology did not become widespread until significantly later on after the destruction of Anatolia. It did see sporadic usage however, such as in the case of the Sol Dios cannons which operate around the same concept.

Omer and TORUS were the only companies that have deeply invested in the technology, although some such as Cougar have developed experimental parts. Some older models such as Akva Vit's still exist.

621 knew the risks, but didn't care. All of its friends were dead now. Might as well die with them too.

It charged right at the very heart of the base, causing a gigantic explosion.

...

Ayre gasped. "You... you tried to kill yourself..."

<>

Ayre almost wanted to cry. It must have been so hard for him. He was forced to watch his friends die, one by one. But what was most painful was that... Raven was willing to kill himself. And as for the others, they weren't much other than full-time teammates and "aquiantences" to Raven, but they were all that was left.

The AC pilot then felt a hand on his shoulder, feeling the comfortability through it.

Ayre sighed. "...Raven. You are never alone. And if you truly believe that you've lost... everything... Well, don't forget that I'm here now. And... I'll always support you."

Raven felt small tears bleeding out his eyes. That was... so caring of her. Wait... he felt them. He felt tears. How? How is this even possible? He then looked at Ayre, wondering how she was able to make him feel tears.

And he'll admit it, 617, 620, and 619 were of course the best teammates he could ever ask for but they were merely kind of aquiantences to him. They'd be rough at times, trying to "toughen him up." Only 617 could truly get them to shut the hell up for two minutes at least. But even he was very strict with him, maybe even more. But despite all of that, they still showed that they'd never wish harm for him, looking out for him like the big brothers they were to him.

The young man then felt his lips twitch just a bit. He was trying to smile. But it wasn't working. He tried again, harder this time. But Ayre stopped him.

"Raven," she soothed, "It's okay. I don't like it when you strain yourself. I can tell you're happy. And I don't always have to use our Contact to help me notice how fine you are. I know you."

Raven then smiled mentally, causing Ayre to seemingly do the same, despite him not being able to tell where she is.

<>

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