"Raven, I've sent for supplies and some extra weapons. The supply lander should be down here relatively soon." Ayre said. "In the meantime, we have a mission request. It's from the Liberation Front's Central Ice Field Command, Middle Flatwell. Bringing it up now."

Raven took his partner's hand as they sat together in the quiet belly of OBSIDIAN WING, hidden out of the way further in the tunnel system.

"Raven. I'll get straight to the point." said Flatwell, "Now that the entrance to Watchpoint Alpha is clear, the corps have resumed full scale war above ground. Arquebus was the first to make it down the lift, and we expect they will be fighting tooth and nail to keep Balam from making it down as well. With the stocks of PCA technology they seized, they're in a good position to defeat Balam... But they're still human. Tired from the endless conflict between powers. Open to an attack on their key forces. We want you to eliminate two of the Vespers' numbered officers."

The display switched from diagrams of troop movements and tunnel routes to AC dossiers.

"V.V Hawkins. Their officer overseeing the transport corps. V.VIII Pater. His adjutant." Flatwell continued, "We know what their assigned route is for Arquebus' planned Depth 2 survey. When they enter the communications deadzone, we'll ambush them. I will assist you on this mission, it'll be a good opportunity to catch up with a veteran. I look forward to your favorable response, Raven."

The briefing ended as the icon of Middle Flatwell's AC, a soaring bird, winked out.

"There's also a request Walter sent over, from the Arquebus Group." Ayre explained, "They want you to ambush the Redguns that are attempting to get inside Watchpoint Alpha."

Ayre seemed to hesitate.

"It's your choice which mission we take..."

<>

...

"Raven, we've received a set of coordinates," Ayre said. "I'm marking it on your map now. The room you fought the Enforcer in is where Middle Flatwell has determined to be a communications deadzone. He requested that we wait in the rafters to ambush the Vespers as they arrive."

Raven guided OBSIDIAN WING to stand next to the door that led back toward the entrance to Watchpoint Alpha. The supply sherpa that had arrived after their last survey section had allowed her to repair the damage OBSIDIAN WING had sustained and restock her ammo, though he'd elected not to change his weapons at all. His contemplation was broken when the door hissed open to reveal an Elcano AC, FIRMEZA model.

<>

"I'm pinging him with the crypto key you used at the Gallia Dam. Handshake successful. Routing the communications channel to you." Ayre went quiet as the channel stabilized.

"I barely managed to make it down in time, Raven." The Liberation Front commander was as monotone as ever. "They're not far behind me, though I think I avoided being detected. We should still be safe to ambush them. Whenever the moment is right."

Flatwell retreated to the opposite side of the door, standing and waiting. OBSIDIAN WING stood opposite the door from TSUBASA, both machines still as could be.

"Raven, I'm detecting radio chatter on the Arquebus frequencies. Patching it through to both of you now. The Vespers we're supposed to ambush must be close," Ayre warned.

Raven quickly pinged a notification to Flatwell about the comms intercept, who pinged an affirmative back.

"What could this emergency call from V.II be about, sir?" he asked.

The first voice on the line was V.VIII Pater. So somehow the RLF must have faked a transmission from the Vespers' commander to get them here. A man on the inside, perhaps.

"That's just Snail being Snail, my boy. He loves to send his 'minions' running." Hawkins answered.

Seemed Snail couldn't help being an ass to even his own squad. The door began to slide open, the two ACs likely waiting on the other side.

"Sir, there'll be trouble if he hears that kind of -"

The adjutant's voice was cut off when Raven stepped to the side and brought his handgun and missles to bear on the unprepared DUAL NATURE, rocking the light frame and sending it reeling.

"Wha-!" they shouted.

Pater immediately burned a repair kit as he deployed his pulse buckler, leaping on reverse joint legs to escape the choke point while Hawkins' RECONFIG deployed pulse armor to escape.

"Ambush! Pater, what's your status?!" Hawkins called out as he moved to engage Flatwell.

Raven launched OBSIDIAN WING after the lighter Vesper, pinging a message to his comrade as he did so.

<>

"Superficial damage, no abnormalities!" Pater reported as he unleashed a volley of pulse gun fire, the high energy waves scorching OBSIDIAN WING as strafed. "Raven... Is this how we meet in person?"

"I see the other one's 'Uncle' Flatwell... The Liberation Front's big cheese. Look alive, Pater." Hawkins chimed in.

"Yessir. This'll be fun, sir." Pater answered back.

He then deployed his pulse buckler to absorb both shotgun shots as OBSIDIAN WING got closer, only to be hit with an assault armor blast, overloading DUAL NATURE. The JVLN Beta missile he'd launched before streaked in, further weakening the light AC.

He drew his left arm back as he boosted into range, squeezing the trigger as he charged the laser blade on his arm. As DUAL NATURE began to recover he reached it, the blade shooting forward and skewering right through the waist of the light machine, nearly bisecting it as it crashed to the ground, legs unresponsive.

"My AC can't take anymore...!" said Pater, "Sir... I can't...!"

Raven watched as Pater's AC core ruptured and leaked fire. An ejection pod went off a moment later, skidding across the ground.

"V.VIII Pater down," Ayre reported.

"Pater! ... I'm sorry, son. I'll finish this." Hawkins' voice was hardened by resolve.

Raven turned back to the remaining Vesper, noting that Flatwell seemed to be holding his own fine, but wasn't likely to get it done on his own. He engaged assault boost, rocketing toward RECONFIG, firing his missile launcher as soon as it locked before delivering a kick as he got into range, launching the tetrapod back. A well timed boost from Hawkins got him out of range of his laser blade, only to be hit by another shot from TSUBASA's bazooka..

The pair continued to tag team RECONFIG, running circles around the slower machine and forcing it out of the air when Hawkins tried to use the hover mode to gain distance. The assault armor had finally finished recharging when Raven again closed the distance, RECONFIG crumpling under the energy wave and eating pile to the chest.

"It's over, Pater... I wish it could have been me..." Hawkins' voice was wet as the machine slumped over.

The projectiles must have impacted on the cockpit, because the AC was dead in the water but still active according to his sensors.

"V.V Hawkins down. Both Vespers' have been eliminated." Ayre reported. "Mission accomplished."

"It was a privilege, Raven." Flatwell said. "We're war buddies now. Maybe I'll find a comrade in you yet."

With that, TSUBASA turned to leave, heading back the way it had entered. He'd need to escape quickly, before Arquebus figured out two of their Vespers were missing in action and started a full scale search.

Raven turned toward the door that led deeper into the facility, where he'd stored the supply sherpa she'd used to rearm and swap her weapons. He contemplated the ambush they'd just carried out as the small drone repaired OBSIDIAN WING.

The way Flatwell had referred to her as a war buddy was eerily similar to the last person to do so.

...

OBSIDIAN WING was gliding through the tunnels when a comms link request came in. Walter had somehow managed to get a signal down to them, likely a relay drone, or perhaps he had tapped into the computer systems of Watchpoint Alpha.

"I've seen reports of missing Vespers coming in. Back to work, 621." he ordered, "Depth 3 is next... and it's where our intel gets sparse. It's an underground cave, blocked at the edge by a high-powered laser barrier. As long as it's in operation, no one's getting any deeper inside. Which brings me to the job. The laser is powered by a massive reactor. I want you to destroy it from the inside. Once the barrier's down, we'll step into the unknown... where the Coral's waiting for us."

Walter went silent as Raven flicked through the briefing, taking in the diagrammed images of the barrier system retrieved by scouting drones.

"Walter... It's like he already knows where the Coral convergence is." Ayre said. "What makes him so confident?"

Raven just sat silently, without an answer to the question her partner had posed. A series of ledges ahead led further down into the cavern, the massive reactor platform in the middle.

"High level threat detected." A robotic voice announced, the same one that had broadcast at the spaceport just before the PCA unleashed the Ice Worm.

"'High-level threat,' huh. That's a step up from 'intruder.'" Walter observed, sounding almost proud. "Trace around the outside, 621. There must be a way in."

The platforms ringing the outer edge of the cavern wall continued for a bit further, and Raven was about to leap down to the support beam when he noticed a power signature further along.

<>

"Of course, Raven." Ayre said. "Marking it now."

OBSIDIAN WING leapt off the edge platform and down onto the support beam, gliding across it toward the door visible on the central platform.

Two PCA autonomous MTs leapt down from an adjacent platform, dashing forward to engage with blades. The first one ate two handgun blasts and collapsed in a wreck. The second stood still for a moment two long and was unable to defend as Raven leapt forward and swatted it off the platform with his laser blade. He watched as the machine was sliced into pieces by the laser barrier below, like being pushed through a wire net.

Walter's voice returned as he opened the massive external door.

"Find the pressure chamber, 621. Destroy it, and the resulting overload will cause the reactor core to explode." he ordered.

The first section leading toward the core had another pair of drones that were dispatched just as easily as the others. The enormous door sat open, while the one on the opposite side was visibly closed. As soon as OBSIDIAN WING was inside another trio of drones fell from above.

"The threat has entered the reactor. Defense Phase 4.5." The robotic voice announced.

The first drone ate a shotgun blast as it dashed into range with a blade, exploding when its generator was breached. The second was more cautious but unable to defend against a kick that opened its guard, exploding from a shotgun a moment later.

The final machine was equipped with plasma launchers, having no way to defend against missiles, and found itself staggered before being crumpled by a pile bunker swing..

"They really went above and beyond to keep that laser barrier going," Walter said. "The PCA wanted this place locked down no matter what."

"Defense weapons destroyed." Ayre noted. "The pressure chamber is behind that partition."

The massive door unlocked and swung open, revealing another chamber.

"There, 621. Destroy the target," Walter ordered.

OBSIDIAN WING's laser blade ripped clean through it, the metal siding bursting under the pressure release and backing up along the piping. The whole structure shook in the aftermath of the initial explosion, warning lights flashing as it continued to rock.

"Pressure chamber destroyed." Walter informed, "Get out of there before it explodes 621."

Raven had just made it back into the reactor chamber when the doors slammed shut, trapping her in.

"The partition!" Ayre gasped.

"Defense program, Phase 5.0. Pattern C. Terminating threat." said a voice.

A sudden energy signature appeared on the local radar as an AC dropped from the ceiling. It stopped for a second before unleashing a blast from the blade on its left arm, an arc of light ripping through the air and impacting on the wall behind as OBSIDIAN WING jumped and hit her boosters.

"No vital signs, there's no pilot!" Ayre warned. "Meltdown in progress! Calculating time until core explosion... Raven, there's only two minutes left!"

Walter's voice was a growl as he spoke.

"That's Institute tech..." he said.

OBSIDIAN WING closed on the unmanned AC, eating a splash of light wave energy that bubbled the armor across his torso and arms.

In return he delivered a pair of handgun blasts followed by a kick, sending the other machine reeling. The vertical missiles that would have staggered the machine and left it vulnerable was blocked by the sudden deployment of pulse armor, not even managing to down the barrier.

"Upgrading to threat level 9." said the voice again, "Terminating."

A quick boost dodged the first few shots of the plasma cannon as the machine went on the offensive, the rapid blasts continuing until they eventually found OBSIDIAN WING. His leg armor bubbled and weakened under the assault, forcing a repair kit.

The EPHEMERA unit couldn't keep its distance any longer in the confined space as OBSIDIAN WING engaged assault boost, rocketing into range and crouching to unleash a blast of assault armor, following it up with his handgun before he began charging the laser blade.

The EPHEMERA began to move, having recovered just as the charge finished, the spike ripping through the chest plate and leaving it dangling in the air as it seized and sparked. Raven stepped back, retracting his weapon and sending the wreck toppling to the floor.

"Verdict... Threat... to... Institute City... losure..." The voice of the Enforcement System crackled and died as its avatar exploded.

"Raven, release the partitions!" Ayre's voice was urgent.

The timer at the edge of Raven's field of view flashed again. Just over a minute left. His systems made contact with the door and it swung open, OBSIDIAN WING leaping through after it.

"Enforcement... System... Ultimatum Protocol..." The tremors began to grow stronger, as though the platform was trying to shake itself apart. "Lock all... rgency valves... Accelerate... reac... meltdown... Ter... nate..."

"You've got a job to do, 621... Don't fail me now!" Walter encouraged.

Raven activated assault boost, rocketing through the room toward the opening he'd entered from, the air rocked by detonations. He landed hard on the support beam outside and kept moving, putting as much distance as she could before it went critical.

"It's gonna blow, brace for impact!" Walter warned.

As he spoke the platform began to shake harder, a series of explosions ringing out, launching chunks of it away to be melted by the laser barrier or embedded into the rocky walls. The smoking wreck began to quiet, the ever-present hum disappearing as the laser barrier deactivated. All that was left was the sparking wreck that had once blocked off the depth below.

"Look, the laser barrier's gone." said Walter, "The Coral's near... That's another solid milestone in our work."

While Walter was talking, Raven had turned back to the marker from earlier, eager to find what was hidden down here. The platform was in easy reach for an AC in assault boost mode, and it opened to reveal an FCS module.

"Raven, that's an Institute FCS module." Ayre warned. "If the info I have pulled from it is correct, it's highly accurate at close range, perhaps the best model ever created for close combat. It would make an excellent compliment to Zimmerman shotguns."

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