621 came into consciousness in familiar surroundings. It couldn't remember a name, or a place, but the cradle of an Armored Core's cockpit was like the embrace of a loved one. Familiar, warm, comforting. He knew instinctively where to place his hands, fingers wrapping .

"Handler 'Walter' verified. Activating cerebral Coral control device. Augmented human C4-621 has awakened."

The mission was what mattered now. It could familiarize itself with the particulars of this machine later.

"Time to get to work, 621." said Walter, "I'm powering down your entry capsule. On my signal."

Walter watched the telemetry of the shuttle from his own secure location on Rubicon. He'd had to call in favors to get yet another hound and the AC it needed, not to mention getting it and himself on planet, but the funds lost to get this venture started would be easily replaced.

More than enough to see the mission through. The entry capsule rocketed past the nearby closure system satellite and approached the deceleration point. No indications of any unusualness from the hound so far.

It was rare, but sometimes gen fours could show signs of early onset psychosis caused by the augmentation process during their first connection to an AC in an uncontrolled environment. Fortunately it seemed this dog wasn't one of the unlucky ones.

"Now!" Walter commanded, "Activate the AC."

An array of lights across his console lit into being. The AC, and the hound inside it, were fully functional.

LOADER 4, 621's AC, was a tan and gray RaD Scout C-2000 AC to enter Rubicon 3. It wields a Balam assault rifle, a Furlong missile launcher and a Takigawa pulse blade.

The entry vehicle was nearly to safety when warning lights began to flash, first a low frequency wide-area scanning radar alert and then the higher pitch warning beeps of a high frequency targeting radar locking on.

External cameras focused in on the nearby closure system satellite, its glowing red eye now awake as it spun in its cradle to orient the keel rail gun. Walter watched in trepidation as the rails charged, followed by a brief flash before the discharge and sudden loss of the camera feed.

A glance at the status indicators showed that the rear of the craft had been lost, but the atmospheric insertion pod was intact, if a bit off course. Satisfactory.

The mission would yet continue. And with a little luck, the PCA would assume that it had destroyed yet another attempted intrusion before it made it to the surface.

...

Walter breathed a sigh of relief as 621's pulse blade tore a gaping wound in the side of the Subject Guard helicopter, a follow up strike melting critical internals and breaching the generator to trigger a meltdown as the hound made space from the doomed craft.

Killing MTs and anti personnel helicopters was like swatting flies for an Armored Core; It told him nothing useful. The real test was something like this, with enough firepower and armor to be a real threat to an AC. The doc hadn't disappointed him yet, but there was always some worry. His bets had paid off, and this hound, while still new, or somewhat, was clearly skilled.

"Confirmed, combat helicopter is down." he said on the com, "That's all for our work here today, 621. Here's the callsign from that license you picked up."

With a gesture, he sent it to 621 while he looked it over himself. Registration number Rb23, Callsign "Raven," Rank F, Independent. The analysis diagram of the frame and weapons was attached, automatically compiled by the AC's sensors. A RaD frame with effective and dependable weapons, startlingly similar to what he initially equipped his hounds with. A solid, unassuming cover that nobody would be worried to see make sudden changes.

"'Raven.'" he said, "That's your new name here on Rubicon."

A sudden incoming message startled him.

[Acquire head frame part HC-2000/BC SHADE EYE]

Given the similarities in the AC frames, it seemed like it was taking this borrowed license business a bit too seriously. But if that's what would put it at ease, he saw no issue with obliging it.

A satisfied dog would be more eager, and while he had no worries about its loyalty, he needed it at peak performance.

...

621 relaxed in the cockpit as it approached the mercenary base. The COM system exchanged license codes with the base control tower when it was in range and 621 disengaged the overboost system while bringing its legs underneath it to transition to a glide down the landing strip, sparks flying as it came to a stop at the end.

With practiced movements, 621 guided itself into the indicated bay and backed into the waiting restraints, which locked on and held the AC firmly in place.

It took a moment to feel the loss of sensation as the generator powered down, the powerful, metal body transitioning back to flesh. The bipedal design was solid, a sturdy machine with good handling, not too heavy but not incredibly light either. It would need to familiarize itself with the way it felt some more, but it was a good start.

The cockpit unsealed with a hiss, fresh air from outside flooding the cramped area as 621 disembarked onto the waiting catwalk.

"Registration number Rb23. Callsign: Raven. Authentication complete. Removing MIA status. Restoring access privileges." said a voice.

A number of cascading notifications filled 621's vision display before the ALLMIND logo flashed.

"This is ALLMIND, the mercenary support system." said ALLMIND, "Welcome back, Raven."

Once, it had a name of its own. Now it was a grave robber, hiding behind the name of a dead pilot. C4-621 was all that remained of what it used to be.

https://youtu.be/WEsibVKPNA0

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Thanks for Reading!

Added these "intros" and "outros" mainly because I mean why not?