"I've looked into 'Branch,' the independent mercenaries you fought at the dam," Ayre said. "It appears they don't have a fixed membership... Instead, they maintain independence and anonymity with a revolving door of select mercenaries. Now, it seems, they've left it to you to champion the free will they stood for. Sooner or later... you'll have to make a choice no one can make for you. When that time comes, I hope I can support you, Raven."

Raven could feel her partner's pride at that, then surprise.

"I just received a message from the Raven's Operator." she continued, "Branch will be withdrawing from the conflict to recover. And she said that they might be able to offer a favor in return for letting them live, but only Chartreuse will be in fighting shape any time soon. The others were injured by damage to their AC before ejecting."

<>

The rest of the ride back to the Central Ice Field was quiet, Raven basking in their Contact as she dozed in the private cabin the Liberation Front had taken to providing for her.

...

OBSIDIAN WING had just been secured in the hangar clamps when a message from Walter arrived.

"Raven, Walter has a message for you, putting it on now." said Ayre.

The handler sounded tired, worn out.

"621, I've been trying to help Arquebus and Balam hash out a plan to deal with the Ice Worm." Walter explained, "The corps have made gains against the PCA, but they're being bottlenecked and have no solution for now. We're going to provide that. Arquebus has developed a new weapon they think should be able to disable the outer Coral shielding; You'll likely be carrying it, see the attached info for where to pick it up. They've also granted you full access to their available catalog, pick what you need and be ready, the plan should be finalized in a few days."

Ayre watched as her partner ran through half a dozen different loadouts trying to find something he liked. The VE-60SNA Stun Needle Launcher was a heavy piece of equipment and he'd only be able to carry one if he wanted any weapons besides something like the handgun. She watched as her partner simmed with a variety of weapons, from a gatling gun to a pair of assault rifles, double plasma or laser rifles before finally settling on a single weapon.

It was an Arquebus ADD VE-6LRB, a massive dual-barrel laser rifle. A VE-20C generator enhanced the already formidable firepower of the massive laser rifle, while a VE-20B allowed for better targeting in a long range fight against something like the Ice Worm.

Raven filled an order for the parts he needed and Ayre logged it for her.

"It will be ready later today, Raven." said Ayre, "Is there anything we need to get done now?"

<>

A quick check of the local map revealed it was a coastal location, near where Xylem was.

"We're heading that way now." said Ayre, "Is there something we need to do?"

<>

Ayre took a moment to obfuscate the location the transponder was reporting before she replied.

"Then I'll make sure Walter thinks you're busy in the meantime." she said, "Perhaps a geological survey will be a good excuse..."

...

Raven stood on the edge of the ice shelf, overlooking the expanse of water and the distant towers of the floating city, Xylem, just visible on the horizon. He elected to bring along paired shotguns and Trueno launchers in case there were still PCA forces roaming around the area.

A quick system check showed that everything was ready for long distance travel. Sustained output mode was ready, intake system was ready, thruster nozzles were primed. OBSIDIAN WING rumbled as the generator spun up and thrusters activated, jumping to gain height before launching forward, all available power allocated to nav systems and thrusters. His limbs were locked in position and weapons stowed for the long distance flight.

The view from above was beautiful, the skies at this altitude clear of clouds. The ocean stretched out across the horizon, blue and unending. Raven could feel the wind whipping around his metal body as OBSIDIAN WING flew.

He reached out for Ayre, his partner holding him close as they approached the floating city and landed near where the third fog control device was. OBSIDIAN WING stood, surveying the area as he waited a second for the boosters to cool down after the extended flight.

"Raven, I've identified the wreck of the combat helicopter that tried to ambush us, along with the LC wrecks. We can see if they have any data that can be extracted," Ayre said. "I'm marking them for you now."

The closest wreck was an LC, or the scattered remains of one. Nothing left that could be interfaced with. The next was a mostly intact LC, missing a leg and arm but the core appeared fine. Raven activated her scanner system to begin pulling data from the downed machine, watching the feed as the byte stream started. Ayre was likely already watching.

"There's a bit of info on standard enforcement squad compositions." she informed, "I'll see about selling this later."

The third LC was completely wrecked, but the fourth one contained some info on PCA comms protocol. The wreck of the heavy combat helicopter nearby would surely have something useful in it.

Raven maneuvered himself over near what appeared to be a cockpit at the front of the helicopter. The destroyed hulk was far larger than his Armored Core, even after catastrophic damage. The computer systems in the chopper were still active, stuck in a loop of some kind when the machine went down.

"Raven, this one could be very valuable." said Ayre, "It's a PCA fire control system algorithm that we just pulled from the active memory modules. This should fetch a decent price."

<>

Ayre's confusion bled across their connection as OBSIDIAN WING stowed weapons and prepared for long distance overboost travel again.

"Are we heading back now, Raven?" Ayre questioned.

In response, Raven activated the thrusters, launching upwards and angling toward the towering central structure of Xylem. OBSIDIAN WING spiraled upwards, cutting thrust as he reached the top and alighting on the metal surface. Below, the flooded city of Xylem was stretched out, and the oceans beyond that.

"It's beautiful, Raven..." said Ayre in awe, "Thank you."

Raven reached for the presence of his partner, feeling her hand in his own as they watched the cityscape below them, Ayre resting her cheek against his shoulder. No words were needed.

<>

...

"Michigan. So Arquebus met us halfway?"

Seeing the call request from the Redguns commander meant that the corps had finally hashed out a deal of some kind. Hopefully Michigan had heeded his advice.

"I gave them the southern portion of the Central Ice Field, while Balam will handle the north. They also said they'll contribute a pair of top Vespers for taking down the beast." Michigan chuckled at that. "I guess they don't trust us."

"Better than nothing." Walter sighed. Perhaps they had a chance to make this work. "I'll provide what support I can, too."

"Yea, your mad scientists... RaD or whatever." said Michigan, "And that hound of yours..."

Walter's voice was sharp.

"Michigan. Don't underestimate 621. That hound always delivers." he promised darkly.

...

There was a message waiting for her partner when they arrived back at where she'd stashed the chopper and Ayre put it on for her.

"... What kept you, 621? You're a famous mercenary now. Time to act like one." The handler let out a sigh. "This next mission's all or nothing. Make sure you attend the briefing."

<>

"I'll take care of it, Raven," she assured.

...

It was an easy thing to set the route and monitor it while watching the briefing.

The final agreement was that V.II Snail and G5 Iguazu would be deploying to the field along with Chatty Stick, while Raven carried the Stun Needle Launcher. G1 Michigan would run remote support, and V.IV Rusty would control the Overed Rail Cannon.

But it was almost more fun when Raven was actually attending the briefing in person. And Ayre was happy to "attend" herself.

It began when Walter, smoking his cigarette, and Raven both walked to the room where the discussion was to take place. The broker thought that itd be more proper and formal for his hound to attend to this briefing.

"Listen up, 621. This will be a joint operation led by Balam and Arquebus," Walter informed, then added, "The briefing's about to start, and I figured that you'd attend in person."

The AC pilot turned to him and nodded in acknowledgement as they entered the room. Attending in the flesh made him feel nervous. But he'll have to get used to the "less secure" area if he has to.

There they saw the entire group.

G1 Michigan stood closest to the board saying, "Loading..." He waited patiently for it to finish, tapping his finger on one of his crossed arms.

He wore what seemed almost like a red cap, one of those things some military-looking men would wear.

His black hair was brushed back quite a bit. He had shades over his dirt brown eyes. He seemed to have a beard growing in progress, not full, but not clean shaved off. He had two small bandages of some kind, one was located on the corner of his mouth as he grinned, the other was taped on right on his cheek bone. His mouth seemed to be chewing on some kind of stick.

He had on a thick black jacket with green trimming, its sleeves rolled up, showing the hair on his forearms. The Redguns logo was located on his shoulder, carrying the "G1" addition to it. He also seemed to also be wearing a red shirt beneath the jacket, it being zipped up was hard to tell.

He also wore black pants along with a pair of green boots and was pretty much the tallest person, taller than Walter in fact.

Raven's imagination of what he'd look like was pretty much guessed out. Michigan surely looked like a grizzled military soldier in his apparent either late 30s or mid 40s.

Next to him was the prick himself, Iguazu.

His black hair was slightly messy and mainly curled downwards. His light green eyes made him look outright annoyed. His skin seemed a little pale. Guess he likes being in his AC too. Well, Michigan did claim that the little dude was a "good-for-nothing." Now, Raven was pretty much convinced by now.

Speaking of height, the guy barely reached Michigan's shoulders. He didn't seem to be any taller than Raven either. He seemed in fact an inch shorter.

But one could tell that he was at least a year older than the mercenary himself.

He wore a green jacket with a black shirt underneath. He had on black fingerless gloves on his hands. A brown belt was strapped around his waist.

His blue jeans were worn with his black shoes at the very bottom.

V.II Snail stood on the exact opposite of the board, also patiently waiting.

He had apparent somewhat shaven hair on the sides. One of his blonde strands hung over mainly to the right, another more shorter and looking forward, and a much shorter third strand curling to the left. His aqua blue eyes stared impatiently at the board.

His skin seemed fair. His height pretty much matched Micigan's.

He wore a dark gray jacket with lighter lapels. He had on a black shirt beneath. He had on black pants with purple stripes going down along with knee-high black boots.

His mere stern looks alone convinced Raven that this was V.II Snail alright.

He saw Rusty in his usual look.

His silver gray hair remained in the small ponytail. He had on his black flight suit on. The dark blue slight bulky armor around the chest, shoulders, outer arms, outer legs. The Arquebus logo was printed on his chest, symbolizing his loyalty to the corporation.

He was almost just about as tall as V.II Snail.

Raven remembered Ayre admitting that he looked pretty nice. Very nice. The young man then felt something... he couldn't remember what it was called...

Damn surgery...

Carla was sitting on a couch, her legs crossed. She seemed to be three inches at the most taller than Iguzo. She was... quite younger than he expected. Ayre estimated her to be in her 70s or something. By this case, she seemed to be in her... mid-30s, maybe early-40s at the most?

Looks like augmentations have a bit of a... age delay or something.

Either way, she was laughing as she seemed to be talking to some kind of a... robot apparently. Chatty, Raven thought.

Chatty's body seemed to be skinny, possibly for more movement or something.

The upper body was mainly yellow with some purple trims on the front of the chest, back of forearms, and the waist. His lower body was mainly green except for the yellow shoulders and very bottom of the feet.

His head looked almost like a very old-fashioned TV as far as Raven could understand. It looked like it used the screen to project a simple smile on his face. Two microphones were located on the chin of his head, where his voice would come out. Around it, he wore a set of yellow headphones.

A baggy jacket was worn on his body, possibly to conceal at least most of the exposed wires. The shoulders were yellow, purple down until they reached the rolled up parts. The middle was yellow while the top and bottom were purple. The shoulders also had the RaD logo.

His shorts protruded a bit thanks to the clunky upper legs. There also seemed to be some kind of gray knee-pads on them however. There was also something similar in the calf art.

The feet also had more of a shoe appearance. The top was yellow with a bit of a metallic gray outline.

Raven wouldn't hold back if he were to say he never cared about A.I robots and say that apparently "dressing" them always sounded very stupid, however, seeing Carla laughing along with Chatty, sounding human, seemed to spark something in him or whatever.

Everyone was pretty much here.



Everyone turned to acknowledge Raven and Walter walked inside.

V.II Snail sighed in annoyance, taking on a simple glimpse at that pathetic dog sitter. Iguazu's eyes widened. So the freelancer did have the guts to come over himself, huh? He growled and glared at Raven, who replied with a death stare.

Rusty looked over and grinned and walked over. Carla and Chatty stopped and followed him. Michigan was last to notice and came by as well.

"Hey, Walter," said Carla, "glad you came to the party."

"Same here, Carla," replied Walter.

"Greetings, tourist." said Chatty, holding his hand out to Raven, "So wonderful to meet you in person."

Once the mercenary was done shaking his hand, he suddenly felt Rusty grab onto him and pull him close. He heard the older young man laugh as he was giving him a knuckle sandwich.

"How're you doing, buddy?" he said, "Knew you'd drop in to say, 'hi!'"

Raven probably won't admit it for a long time, but he silently grinned in his mind. He appreciated the greeting Rusty was giving him. He could hear a small giggling from Ayre, he then sighed in annoyance.

Michigan walked proudly towards the mercenary and stood, bringing his hands to his hips. He was surprised to see that the former "tag-along" was about up to his neck, slightly younger than Iguazu, but better for sure.

"Nice to see you again!" he greeted, "G13 sound off!"

It got awkward very quickly.

"Good enough," said Michigan, rolling his eyes with half-annoyance.

"So nice to meet you, freelancer," said Iguazu sarcastically.

He then held out his hand in front of the mercenary. Raven did nothing in response. The atmosphere then once again got awkward once the two crossed their arms and stared at each other.

Iguazu's annoying pissy glare was no match for Raven's horrifying death stare.

The mercenary then waved his fingers at the slightly older AC pilot, grinning playfully with a hint of arrogance.

"You little-!" Iguazu cursed.

Suddenly, Raven tripped him and pinned him down. The mercenary shoved him away as the prick taken down forced himself back up, rubbing the back of his head.

"I know you can't talk, freelancer," Iguazu grunted, "You had your vocal chords cut out for a feeding tube! You're just a freak! A weakling!"

Raven knew that wasn't true, he could use his voice, just didn't want to. But that didn't stop from him thinking about about 618, that other hound Sulla had killed. That pilot had their vocal chords removed.

Rusty then all of a sudden grabbed onto the little Redgun by the collar and pulled him in close.

"Where were you while my buddy here when Operation: Wallclimber was engaged, huh?!" he asked aggressively, "Well let me tell you something! Raven here, became known as the 'Wallclimber' and took down the JUGGERNAUT single-handedly. You're merely just a low-life pilot who's only good for ass-wiping duty!"

He then let go of Iguazu and pushed him into a wall. He was too busy walking back to Michigan to see Raven's shocked face.

"Are you okay, Raven?" asked Ayre.

<>

"It's okay, Raven. And... I'm glad you've made a few other friends besides me. 'Friends keep you sane,' I hear."

Raven calmed down, liking the fact that she was perfectly fine with that. Soon, it was time for the briefing.

"First, some background before we go into detail," V.II Snail explained, "The intercorporate ceasefire is now in effect, and we will be carrying out coordinated attacks on the PCA. The targets are the enemy occupied bases, their heavy warship fleet, and the recently activated-"

"I'll cut to the chase!" Michigan suddenly interrupted, "This is an all-out war against the PCA in theaters across Rubicon. And y'all got the short end of the stick! You're here to take on the worst of our dirty work: Hunting the beast of the Ice Field!"

Snail let out an annoyed "hmmph" at Michigan's rude interruption. But he was going to take in forever. That's why G1 just had to take over. And he could assure everyone that it was going to be just fine.

"Sure thing, chief." said Iguazu, "Tell you what, I'll watch and tell you know how badly that goes for us."

"G5! You just volunteered yourself for the frontline." Michigan announced with a smirk.

Iguazu's eyes widened as he heard that. Shit. Why'd he say that? He watched as Raven smirked.

"Moving on, let's talk about how we're going to neutralize the Ice Worm's Coral Sheild." Carla came in, "You'll be dealing with a layered barrier, made up of a primary and secondary shield."

"Arquebus will provide the means to break the first layer: The state-of-the-art Stun Needle Launcher." Snail answered her, "Aim for the face, and it will deliver results... I assure you."

"What about the second layer?" asked Michigan.

"RaD's cooked up just the thing, a neat little toy we call the Overed Bail Cannon." Carla answered him, "It we divert the spaceport's standby power to the ORC, it should hit hard enough... assuming we land the shot."

Her voice sounded a bit doubtful at the very end.

"You can leave that to me," Rusty assured, "I know a thing or two about sharpshooting."

"I'll oversee operations on the ground." said V.II Snail, "A ragtag crew like this needs leadership."

"We should use more suppressive fire." Carla declared, "I'll send Chatty."

"That just leaves the question of who'll be taking charge of the Stun Needle Launcher..." Rusty pointed out.

Everyone paused.

They haven't thought this part through. Then an idea formed in a certain someone's head.

"I know just the volunteer to go poke that beast with a stick." he announced.

He then slapped his hand against Raven's back.

"G13!" he shouted, "You get all that? Good! Time for another field trip!"

Raven then nodded. And that was it. They then started walking outside the room. Ayre then got the message from her partner that she was free to talk again, now that business is over, that is, until the mission.

"Raven, we'll be at the pick up point soon." Ayre informed, "And then we'll head toward the operation area."

<>

...

Ayre looked as she watched Raven try to figure out how to deal with his AC carrying the stun needle launcher. Now obviously, with the parts he currently had, it was over burdened almost immediately.

He went for a laser lance for the left arm, a pile bunker on the left shoulder, and a grenade launcher for the right arm.

What made Ayre very anxious was when he chose the LAMMERGEIER/40F. This model strives for a lightweight build to the point of exposing the core block itself, putting Schneider's daring engineering showmanship above pilot safety. That means that Raven is literally protected by close to nothing.

"I don't like this at all, Raven," she said, "You're exposing yourself too much."

<>

The Coral Intelligence ultimately knew that he was right. She was just scared of how easily breathable the core it. It wouldn't take much to breach through.

...

"Raven?"

The voice is welcome, Raven thought, but unexpected. By this point, he and Ayre have grown to have an understanding; No talking during pre-operation checks.

Even if he is an augmented human, capable of processing battlefield data far faster than any normal person with enhanced reflexes and thoughts, some things are too crucial to be attended to with anything less than the utmost attention.

Like, for example, the state of OBSIDIAN WING, his second body, his armor and power and lifeline, which has seen him through so much, and must hold if he is to make it another day on God-forsaken Rubicon.

Then again, this is no normal operation, is it?

So Raven turns his attention away for a few moments from the checks and attunes his thoughts with Ayre's. As usual, the field of his vision turns slightly red; He relaxes in his cockpit seat, idly watching the figures and lines flashing across the displays as he switches off his retinal HUD.

<>

"Sorry to intrude..." Ayre sounds bashful, but determined. "I know what you're doing is important; It's the first time anybody's used that stun launcher in live combat."

<>

Ayre sniffs at that.

"I'd rather we had nothing to do with Arquebus, after our run-in with Swinburne." she replied, "Nor 'Cinder' Carla."

<>

"All she does is flirt with you!"

<>

Raven quickly mentally noted the sudden emotion in Ayre's voice, and cocks his head in mock innocence.

<>

"Sorry, bad joke." Ayre apologized, "It's just, I'm worried, Raven. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Nobody will see Raven smile, even though he can't; The oxygen mask that has covered his mouth for years ensures that. Yet he's sure that Ayre can see it from her unique vantage point within his head. Just how does she manage to do that, come to think of it?

<>

Indeed. BALTEUS, just after their first meeting, spitting missiles and fire until all she could hear was the warning sirens within her battered cockpit; SEA SPIDER, stabbing with Coral-tipped legs like a beast alive; The sleek enforcers of the PCA in their huge modern HCs, lunging behind mighty shields.

OBSIDIAN WING endured their onslaught; Ayre held her firm; She overcame them.

"I suppose so," admits Ayre. "I should have more faith, apologies. I'll trust you. But please, make it through this. Because I reckon, once this is over, I have something to tell you."

<>

"Not the right time. Our Contact is strong, but it won't resist the, well, worst case scenario. You need to focus on the fight."

<>

"Good luck, Raven."

<>

Ayre withdraws, just as Walter opens the channel to check in. Raven goes back to doing what he has always done: Listening, like the hound he was trained to be.

...

The center of the ice field where the worm was rampaging was overcast and gray when they arrived.

A trio of other choppers were already waiting and began their deployment sequence as they arrived. OBSIDIAN WING was already activated, the new parts installed and ready. The comms link to Walter had been opened as they got close.

"It's time, 621." said Walter, "You ready?"

The clamps rotated to begin the drop, trundling backwards to where it would release the armored core they held.

"This mission depends upon you, Raven." Ayre's voice was tense. "Let's go. I'll be here to offer support."

<>

The clamps released and OBSIDIAN WING was falling toward the bleak gray landscape below.

"Commence mission." ordered Walter, "Michigan will take command."

"Commencing operation with combined AC force as per the Balam-Arquebus agreement." said Michigan with pride, "Move on, maggots! Time to die!"

That was much more like the Michigan he remembered from the dam.

For a moment, Raven felt like he was, for the first time, part of a big team. It almost reminded him of him being with 617, 620, and 619 for some reason.

They got V.II Snail, the leader, as expected from a grouchy old man. The same dude who keeps claiming that he's Arquebus itself. Walter was right. It must be hard being the Vespers' Deputy Commander. Then they got V.IV Rusty, the sharpshooter of the overail cannon. Snotty, arrogant-sounding. That one guy who respects you despite being part of the number one corporation that's disturbed merely by your very existence, goes so far to call you "buddy" every time you meet him. There's also Chatty, the suppressive fire expert. A bit quiet, doesn't talk much, as Carla explained. Although, he can be quite useful in specific areas.

And then there's G5 Iguazu, the extra.

Everyone will just have to hope that that pipsqueakly excuse for a Redgun doesn't screw up the whole plan.

"Act like a professional outfit and you might live." Snail jibed.

"Who does that creep think he is?! I ain't here because I want to be," Iguazu hurled back.

A sudden rumbling was all that preceded the massive figure of the Ice Worm burst from the ground, quickly diving back below the ice before anyone could fire on the head. Raven watched as his FCS struggled to track the quick moving target and realized he'd likely need to rely on manual aim.

The link between the deployed ACs must have shown that information, because Iguazu couldn't keep his lousy mouth shut again. "You're not that good, freelancer. Quit fucking around and take this seriously."

The Ice Worm burst from the ground again, taking just a moment to look down at the ACs below it as the stun needle round hit it in the face, throwing sparks.. Raven then aimed as carefully as he could, going so far to close one eye.

He fired, and OBSIDIAN WING's entire frame flew back

It crashed into the snow. Raven forced OBSIDIAN WING back up. He shook his head to clear his mind. Now that was unexpected. He was surprised that no one was paying attention to him. Then again, who'd pay attention to a hound?

Raven grunted as he heard Ayre's voice. "Primary shield disabled!"

"Shield loss confirmed. Initiating ORC firing sequence." Rusty said. "Connecting EML modules. Opening energy turbines. Output at 80%."

A sudden glow began to build on the horizon, where the base and the ORC were located. The comm link to Rusty was staticky when he next spoke.

"Sighting correction A-OK. 90... 95..."

A patch of ground began to rumble and a massive contact began to show on the radar. The Ice Worm then sprang out of the ground. It was in all of its glory, shining from slightly light reflections. It stood up high and mighty, ready to take down the three ACs below itself. Everyone braced for impact.

Rusty closed one eye. "I won't miss."

The ORC round impacted the Ice Worm with a sound like shattering glass, sending it reeling. Raven boosted into range, charging his energy rifle as the others began to rain weapons fire on the exposed head.

"Secondary shield down!" he heard from the coms.

Another round from the stun needle impacted before OBSIDIAN WING braced, readying its stun needle, firing a shot. They tore through some of the machinery in between the drill heads, liquidating and evaporating in equal measure. The Ice Worm reeled back, the shield reforming as it dove below the ice again, trying to swipe at the other ACs with its tail.

"That freak actually did it..." gasped Iguazu.

He wasn't the only one shocked at the excellent marksmanship, Raven could feel his partner's surprise that it worked as well as planned.

"Did what, the bare minimum?" he heard from Snail, "This is just the first hurdle."

"V.IV! Load the next shell!" Michigan boomed.

Rusty's cocky grin was almost audible."One step ahead of you, Commander."

Michigan was then happy. "Finally, someone had their heads screwed on straight! Ever thought about switching sides?"

"Sure is an honor to be praised by the Redguns' 'Hell-on-four-legs.' But I'll pass."

The worm re-emerged a few kilometers away, a dozen smaller drones deploying from it and floating along. It'd make for a confusing environment for his FCS. Assault boost got him into range as it was diving below the ground, and he missed an opportunity while dodging drone fire as it surfaced for a short second.

The second time it prepared to emerge he made sure he was watching, taking a laser shot to the shoulder in exchange for giving it another needle to the face, popping the outer shielding again.

"Primary shield disabled!" someone shouted.

"Shield loss confirmed." said another, "Preparing to fire Rail Cannon."

Raven could barely hear, being so focused on the battlefield. He still couldn't get the "worst case scenario" Ayre had mentioned earlier. No, no. He had to focus right now.

The drones seemed to change tactics, laying horizontal and spinning to orient toward the ACs. Raven blasted the three that were nearest to him before he was forced to let his laser lance cool off. A sudden movement on the radar had him dodging; The drone that had tried to ram him exploded in a Coral reaction.

"Energy turbine output at 80%." said Ayre, "Output 95%... 100%..."

The glow from before was back, like a miniature star had been born. The rest of the team seemed a bit worse for wear and Raven quickly went to work thinning out the remaining drones so they wouldn't get taken out by them. The ground began to rumble again before the Ice Worm burst through it, towering over the field of snow.

"Watch out for friendly fire." he heard again.

The massive machine stiffened as the round annihilated its shields before it fell over.

"It's all yours now, buddy." definitely Rusty.

Raven could feel his partner's worry as he moved into range. Another blast from the reloaded stun needle launcher rifle was sufficient to give the others the opening they needed, Coral explosions rocking the worm again before it curled in on itself after the shielding came back online.

It didn't attempt to retreat below the ice again though. Instead, it reared into the air, a massive surge of energy sparking along the body. Raven was already boosting backwards when Walter spoke, and he watched as the blast fried the two corporate ACs, both far too close to escape unharmed.

They both appeared to eject fine, so the AC likely just lost all of its electronics, though a reactor meltdown would follow soon enough. Chatty Stick had been far enough away to survive with minimal damage, fortunately.

"We've underestimated this beast!" Snail's voice was garbled by electromagnetic interference from the blast. "My AC was compromised, withdrawing."

The worm dove below the surface again, disappearing from view.

"The Coral, it's out of control!" Ayre warned.

Rusty's voice was grim.

"Looks like things just took a nasty turn... I'll set the ORC to maximum output." said Rusty, "We can't afford to lose control of the situation. This next shot'll be my last."

A flight of missiles was launched by the worm as it made short, bounding leaps above ground to close the distance again. Raven dodged the flight and placed hisself in the worm's path, waiting for it to re-emerge, launching another stun needle as it did. He saw the impact of it, but nothing seemed to change.

"... We're not through yet." said Ayre, "Its primary shield is getting stronger!"

Ayre must have been monitoring the C-band sensors. So it would need another shot to get through. With the damage he'd done to it so far, hopefully this would be the last of it.

A wave of ground traveling bombs appeared on radar, swarming Chatty Stick and detonating in a sea of fire, the remaining ones beginning to chase after Raven as he took to the air to evade them.

"I'm out, tourist." he heard Chatty say, "You're on your own now. Withdrawing."

Now it was just Raven and Ayre left.

The body of the Ice Worm was sparking with Coral currents when it emerged again, flopping down across the ground before swinging itself, as though it wanted to roll over the ACs that were pestering it. The front of the head was just barely visible when it stopped, the angle too poor for the FCS to reliably hit it.

A manually aimed stun needle round was plenty accurate though, popping the shielding like a balloon as the worm dove to protect itself again.

"Good work, buddy. All emergency valves closed. Disabling limiter...!" Rusty's voice was distorting as he spoke. "100, 110... 115... Rail Cannon at maximum output."

By the end, he was barely understandable over all the interference. The worm emerged again in a burst of snow, preparing to squash Raven with its drill head.

"All or nothing!" he heard.

The shot was wreathed in a halo of light as it flew, blasting through the Ice Worm's newly improved shielding like tissue paper.

"The target's Coral shield has been wiped out!" Ayre exclaimed.

"It's all on you now, buddy!" Rusty's comms cut out before re-establishing, likely damaged from the overloaded shot.

A shot from the stun needle and a slam from the pile bunker damaged the frontal drill machinery, but it still wasn't close to breaching anything critical. With the other ACs gone she couldn't afford to just fire a charged shot with no follow up.

A stun needle shot and laser lance double charge and it was starting to weaken. Raven began to charge his cooled down pile bunker before firing another stun needle shot, the machinery crumpling under the onslaught. The next one should breach something critical. OBSIDIAN WING braced in a firing stance and raised the pile bunker, the massive barrel shrouds pulled back and arcing with energy.

Time seemed to slow as the shot fired, lancing forward like a bolt of lighting and slicing right through the front of the Ice Worm. A small Coral explosion went off, followed by another as the worm stiffened. Gouts of fire erupted from joints between the armor all down the body.

"Is it over?!" Rusty's voice was clearer now, his equipment recovering.

Raven was already boosting backwards as Michigan yelled a warning, the Ice Worm's body glowing red around the armor plates as it went rigid. The explosion that enveloped it buffeted OBSIDIAN WING even from a few kilometers away, the massive beast crumpling on itself as it began to fall over.

The impact shook the ground for miles, throwing snow and ice all over as it unearthed the sand below.

"... It's finally over." Walter's voice was relieved. "The blast will contaminate the area. Get out of-"

Ayre had turned the external comms off. A sound like an exhale, a shuddering breath.

"Coral voices... lost again... " said Ayre in a sad voice, "Raven. There's something I have to tell you. The Coral... It's my family. My brothers and sisters. I am but a single wave... born from the Coral tide. A Rubiconian without a body. No one even knew I was there... for such a long time. Raven, you're the only one who -"

<>

Raven had to admit that Ayre was very quiet at first and was very quiet for some time. She hadn't really spoken since the battle with the SEA SPIDER.

Ayre's eyes widened for a moment before taking another look at the AC pilot when she felt him remembering the C-Weapon. He had a right to know. They were going to stick together until they reached the Coral Convergence...

...or maybe perhaps... no. Too impossible, but she might as well explain anyway. This is her partner. Her only best friend.

"It's the SEA SPIDER." said Ayre, "I can't believe it. They're using Coral, as mere fuel."

Raven furrowed an eyebrow with confusion. Then he got it. The Coral was pretty much an organism. And like Ayre said, she was nothing but a single wave in comparison. But what's that got to do with... then it hit him.

<>

Ayre was silent, giving Raven the answer to his question. He could only guess out that whatever Coral was shot out of the SEA SPIDER's weaponry was pretty much burned out either after usage or once the machine itself went boom.

"Yes," Ayre admitted, "I don't want to be used as fuel... or a data conduit. I don't want to be burned out."

Raven then finally got it. She's afraid that he'd probably be using her as some kind of emergency fuel tank or something. But no. That's clearly not what he'd want to do with her. He'd never try to kill her, the only person who's shown genuine care, not even calling him a "hound" or anything.

<>

"Th-Thank you, Raven," Ayre sighed in relief, "Thank you, so much."

The Central Ice Field is silent at last. The Ice Worm is felled, spilling the Coral inside out into the atmosphere. The red particles mix with the white snow, drifting down in a display of two-toned beauty.

Raven watches it, blinking, in the aftermath of Ayre's revelation.

<>

"That's why I'm so focused on reaching on the Coral convergence. Those you see right now..." Ayre sounds distraught. "They're orphans now. Rubicon has made far too many orphans."

<>

"Yes. I'd be scattered again in the Coral tide. Alone, drifting, helpless."

<>

"Yes. Yes, I am, Raven. I don't want to go."

<>

"At that time, I don't think I knew what life really was. Coral and humanity are so, so different, that it took meeting somebody special for me to learn."

Raven's heart skips a beat. And, although it really shouldn't, he swears he hears a change in the thrum of OBSIDIAN WING's reactor.

"Thank you, Raven," Ayre whispers. "For teaching me just how precious life is."

Instinctively, Raven moves his gloved hand to the chest of his flight-suit, placing it over his heart.

<>

"I'm asking so much of you every day, Raven, when for you, I'm just some... alien." said Ayre, then asking, "How can you?"

<>

"Don't say that."

<>

Raven almost laughs noiselessly, mirthlessly, tightening his grip on his armored chest. His eyes then went back to almost lifelessness again.

<>

The STRIDER, the Dafeng test pilot, the Wall's defenders...

<>

"Raven..." said Ayre, moved.

<>

"... Thank you."

A warm wave spreads through Raven's ravaged, altered, inhuman body, the equivalent of, what is it called? Raven hasn't had one for so long.

Ah.

A hug.

How nice it would be, to stay like this forever.

But the world won't let that happen. Walter's helicopter is descending now, the herald of war, the reminder of the jobs and missions that Rubicon still has to offer. Along with it, all over the Central Ice Field, come the dropships and carriers of brutal Balam and arrogant Arquebus and insane RaD, ready to continue the Coral War and trample each other into the snow. Their violence will stain the planet red, just like the Coral upon the drifts.

Still, let them come, Raven thinks. He's got a name to live up to, and a lady in need.

He reaches out a hand, and feels joyful tingling in his skin, as Ayre takes it and holds him firm.

https://youtu.be/WEsibVKPNA0

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Thanks for Reading!

3/10/24

Taking a short break so I thought about ending with my most favorite mission...