Fandom Coral, Abide with Rubicon!

[EllieMcEllie]

The cool, almost sterile-feeling of the liminal space that was the inside of Handler Walter's sleeping quarters was a familiar, yet strange comfort. In this race to the Coral, it was almost a necessity for independent handlers to be safely off planet to avoid all of the conflict and betrayal that came with having no solid corporate backing or a safe house to hide in away from the titanic Armored Cores that ran the planets surface, carrying out various missions in the stead of their Corporate handlers. Running a hand down his grizzled, pale face, Handler Walter sat up from the half-stiff mattress underneath him and looked out the window that showcased the vast expanse of space and the planet below.

Today was the day. Although it didn't show on his face outwardly, he was worried; worried that this hound that he acquired wouldn't be as effective as he was hoping her to be, that he was wasting his time yet again. He couldn't think like that. He had to keep his thoughts in line. This was his last chance to get someone down there and have them do what he needed done

Rising from the bed, the salt-n-pepper haired man went about his morning routine; getting a shower, dressing himself, eating breakfast, and reading through his logs. There weren't many logs to read as they hadn't even landed on planet yet, but old habits die hard. It was nearly time to wake up his hound, C4-621, for the mission. At least, if she wasn't already awake and getting ready. Cup of coffee in hand, Walter leaves the confines of his quarters, his gaze steady as he looks ahead of him.

It wasn't a long walk to the bunk quarters of the ship, all empty except for 621 and her scarce belongings. He knew that she was a 4th gen, and had previously killed her old handlers; leaders from the Hades Syndicate. It didn't seem to be an unstable break, at least from what he gleaned from the paperwork. It seemed to be targeted rather than wide spread, despite how explosive it was. He could only speculate what they had done to cause such a reaction, though he thought it might have something to do with the re-education.

Approaching the white door of the sleeping chambers for his hounds, Walter knocked. "621," he called out, announcing his presence. "The time for rest is over. I've got a job for you. Get up, get ready, and meet me in lunch room to discuss the details," He didn't want to walk in without knocking, just in case his theory of her being more stable than believed was false. Turning and walking away, Walter took a draught of his coffee as he went to check and make sure that there were at least some ingredients for the hound to make herself some food for breakfast. Satisfied that there were ingredients, he takes a seat at the head of the table and nurses his mug of coffee, waiting for the new hound to make her appearance.

~~~~~~

Flashes of red and pinks shot across Elliot's vision as the early morning sun cascaded in through the small window in her private room, causing the redhead to groan tonelessly. She didn't need to start her day for another half an hour, but it seemed that the sun had other ideas. Taking a deep breath, the short AC pilot pulled herself out of the covers and placed both feet onto the floor. Today was her first mission with one of the others instead of by herself. She hadn't had much interaction with the others yet, aside from getting food from the communal eating area. She wasn't shy by any means, but she didn't quite feel like part of the team just yet. It was hard to feel like part of the team when she had a hard time participating in the banter between teammates as effectively as the others.

So she kept her head down, and spent the majority of her time working on her AC, doing training drills on the AllMind system to keep her skills sharp, or doing solo jobs here on Rubicon. It didn't mean she didn't give her teammates a friendly smile as she passed them, or saw them in the lounge area, but she kept her interactions to a minimum.

In truth she didn't want them to find out about her weakness. They were an Elitist group, and had a sinking feeling that if they found out she had flaws from her original augmentation, they would look down on her for it. Despite the augmentation upgrade to 9th generation, she still had permanent damage from the original surgery. Thankfully it wasn't anything that limited her ability as a pilot. It was just annoying. She continued along with her morning routine; showering, rubbing scar gel on her surgery scars, and getting dressed.

Now dressed in her flight suit and ready for the day, V. IX Huntress headed out of her room, shutting it behind her gently. All she needed to do now was make breakfast, and then she would hopefully be on time to meet V.II Snail for the mission briefing. 'No, would be on time,' She thought to herself as she strode with purpose down the hallway and into the communal area. Not many of the pilots were in there, to her relief. Not only could she avoid conversation, but they were also all taller than her and it was a tad intimidating.

There were many options, ranging from nutritional shakes, to rations, to full blown ingredients and pre-made foods for them to access. The shakes and rations were free, but she would have to pay for anything else. Deciding on just a nutritional shake, Elliot grabbed a strawberry one from corporate refridgerator and started to head towards the meeting room. By the time she was halfway there, she had finished it and tossed it in the appropriate receptical. She was so focused on getting to the brief that she didn't notice another in the hallway with her, heading in the same direction.

 

[Lucyfer]

It had been one week and two days since Aurelia woke to consciousness again. One week and two days…but six years, one week, and two days since she ran to Pluto in disbelief over memories that told her she'd worked for the Hades Syndicate, and took their orders to kill friends and allies alike, after they brainwashed her into feeling such loyalty towards them.

Such guilt for stealing an AC from them.

Fresh from cryostasis, Aurelia was told her debt was sold to some man named Walter. She was rushed through the rehabilitation from being frozen, shoved in a ship with a bag of clothes and basic needs, and then shown to a room to rest.

Aurelia couldn't rest.

She stared at the metal ceiling of a room clearly meant for more people, and tried to grapple with the lost time, and all that was remembered as if it happened to someone else. Too far away to feel, but so close she could do nothing but try to grasp it.

She likely deserved that.

She didn't deserve another round of slavery, though.

Despite how calm she'd been on arrival, shock still settling, she felt a bit of anger as the one called Walter knocked and told her there was a job ready.

As if she wanted to do any jobs for him.

‘Patience. Blind rage won't get you out of this. You don't know where you are or what's going on.’ but she still had her mind. She didn't want to risk losing that.

She rose from the top bunk and slipped down to the floor, landing lightly, and dressing in the simple black flight suit with the white stripes she'd been provided. It wasn't a perfect fit, a bit large. Likely a hand me down, from one of the slaves that didn't survive.

Walter was an old hand at this game.

Dressed, cleaned up, Aurelia moved through unfamiliar corridors to find the lunch room. She had been shown it with a whirlwind of other rooms and information, but it hardly stuck in her mind. Thankfully, she was good at not backtracking passages she already traversed, and soon enough found the room again.

Walter was sitting with coffee.

Calm. Assured.

The scent of coffee filled the air and though get stomach protested the thought of it, the memories associated with the smell were too much to deny. She held up a single finger to call for a moment from Walter before making a beeline to the coffee and pouring her own cup. She added sugar and found cream in the fridge, along with other, actual ingredients.

She hesitated in grabbing any, recalling she had been granted permission to eat, but not the details or if there were restrictions on it.

It was a bit overwhelming all at once, and her stomach didn't want to be happy with anything, so she just grabbed a ration from the cabinet and then joined Walter at the table.

She set the ration down but not the mug. It was warm, and smelled good.

She cleared her throat, asked, “What exactly do you have in mind for me?” Her voice was softer than usual, more from strain, and disuse, than anything. She'd screamed it out the first day at the people who froze her, and then had fuck all to say to them after that.

She hadn't said anything to Walter until then, either.

~***~

Rubicon-3.

Conri Flammis, better known by his callsign Rusty, couldn't help but dwell by the window in the Vesper’s mess hall, which was far from a mess. The morning sunrise over his home planet was always a beautiful sight, the red and pink stretching out over the sky, reminding him of his aunt, who had played the role of a mother to him. Fitting, of course, given a planet was akin to a life giving mother. Rubicon struggled after the Fires, but still, she gave to her children.

It was time her children gave back, and got rid of all interlopers. Rusty always thought he'd find himself a PCA spy, but with the arrival of Balam and Arquebus, the situation changed. Arquebus offered the best deal, and Rusty joined, rising quick with O’Keeffe’s help to the position of fourth, rapidly.

Rusty was still relatively new, and wasn't looking forward to the meeting with Snail that morning, as he finally tore himself away from the window and started to walk with his ration bar towards the meeting room that Snail had reserved for them. He was already in his flight suit, the Arquebus ‘A’ quite visible upon his chest.

Jokes about putting the ‘V’ nearer the hips didn't go over half as well here as they may have with the Redguns.

He probably would have fit in better with them.

As he walked into a hallway closet to the meeting room, he did notice an additional set of steps, not quite thudding with Snail’s oppressive authority, or skipping with Freud's devil may care cavalierism. As he turned his head, he caught sight of a familiar splash of red hair atop a shorter woman. He recognized her as another Vesper, Huntress, and lifted his empty hand in greeting before recognizing she seemed lost in thought.

“Hey buddy,” he called with a smile, lowering his hand and slowing his pace so she could catch up if she wanted to. “Don't tell me Snail's got you pulling duty this morning, too.” Rusty knew this wasn't a solo mission but he hadn't asked who he was going with.

He would have assumed a heavier AC than ARTEMIS to make up for STEEL HAZE’s weaknesses. Nonetheless, he wasn't upset with this possibility.

He needed to know all the Vespers to better break them.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

"621," The gruff, deeper voice of Handler Walter greeted, honey brown eyes tracking her every movement with curiosity and apprehension. Watching as she asked for a moment silently and grabbed herself a cup of coffee, he fought the gentle tugging at the corners of his lips. He always forgot just how similar his hounds could be to him despite being in different situations. They were victims of circumstance, and yet still retained that bit of humanity, like having a cup of coffee in the morning.

This was especially true to 621, having reviewed the information and footage that "Cinder" Carla was able to retrieve for him. There were a few pre-augmentation videos that he watched as well as the security footage of the incident that landed her as one of his hounds.

She was certainly a skillful pilot, which prompted him to supply her with a decent AC. After all, her chances of succeeding this mission were higher if the rig she was using wasn't outdated. He even made sure to buy a mounted missile launcher, seeing as she had an penchant for explosives. Perhaps it would give her a little more incentive to try and do a good job if she had a half-way decent AC to pilot.

If she made it through this mission and found herself an ID, then he would see about getting her to the parts shop to customize her mech better.

Walter watched as she grabbed a ration after what seemed to be a moment of hesitation, and he quirked a brow. "You don't have to eat just rations, 621. The ingredients in the refrigerator are for you to use as well. I need you at your best." The pale man took a sip from his coffee and stared out across the table at her.

The grizzled handler had to approach this situation delicately. Too harsh, and his head could be on the chopping block. Too soft, and he ran the risk of her not listening to him or running off. He had to have the perfect balance between the two.

"Today, you'll be entering Rubicon-3. There is talk of there being Coral down there, and if we can find it, you'll have enough money to upgrade your augmentation, maybe even buy your life back." His deep voice carried across the table with the authority of his position.

"I was able to forge the papers for us to be able to enter their planet, but from there, you'll have to find an ID. Too risky to get you one of your own. You can take one off of a fallen AC." The middle-aged man took a deep draught of his coffee before continuing. "Take your time to eat, I'll show you to your AC after you finish,"

~***~

The smooth tenor voice of V.IV Rusty calling out to Elliot pulled the red-head from her one-track mind and her head craned slightly to look up at him. He was one of the taller Vespers, though his friendly demeanor helped slightly to ease the intimidation she felt. Faced with the opportunity to engage in a teamly manner or remain aloof, she chose to engage. Falling into line with his much larger strides, the pilot woman listened to his almost soothing voice.

Did she dare answer verbally? It was likely that they were paired together for this mission seeing that they were both headed to Snail's office. He would hear it anyway in the briefing, or if she needed to communicate through comms during the mission. Steeling her resolve, she spoke up, nodding with a friendly smile on her face.

"Hi. Yes, group mission briefing. You going too?" The awkward, toneless cadance of her voice was a stark contrast to her friendly smile. She tilted her head to the side to indicate questioning, just in case her tone didn't indicate it.

It was the first time she had spoken to another Vesper aside from Snail or other higher ups, and the terrifying thought of how he would react to her speech pattern consumed her.

Still, she kept the smile on her face, and pushed down the fear, keeping pace beside him as they continued to Snail's office.

 

[Lucyfer]

621, 621, 621.

Aurelia wasn’t exactly a fan of being just a number, but she was not going to make any dislike apparent and let this stranger know she had any weaknesses to prod. She gave a simple nod to his mention of eating what she liked. The logic was sound – strength was useful to his cause, which seemed to be using her as an AC Pilot on Rubicon-3.

‘Rubicon…isn’t that the burning system?’ How long had she been out? Was it really just six years? Did it stop burning in that time? She took a sip of the coffee, found it too hot, and set it down to open the ration bar. Even given the option, she wasn’t sure she was ready to actually eat anything.

She was barely keeping food down before they shipped her out to Walter.

She dipped the bar in the coffee to soften it and then bit into it, as he suggested buying her life back. She audibly scoffed. He was the one who decided when her life was restored. She didn’t imagine she was going to see a single damn coam from these missions, and if she did? He’d still be making more.

Why give up a good hound for a pittance?

An upgrade, though… “So there’s still no way to go back,” she didn’t want an upgrade. She wanted to be human. Actually human. The dark-haired woman took another bite to stave off further complaints on that. It didn’t matter. Nothing really mattered anymore.

At least she understood the need to steal, given her history. She could steal an ID.

She swallowed down that second bite, dipping it again a bit longer, as it was still terribly dry. “What are you going to do with the coam when this coral mission is done that you can afford to let your only mercenary go?” She didn’t look at him as she asked it, just took that next bite to shut herself up again, and wait on his answer. Get his measure with his own goals.

Maybe he was looking to retire and this was his ‘last gig’ to strike it big.

That never worked out.

~***~

Huntress smiled up at Rusty, and her words were…inoffensive, but the tone left some room for question. Not that Rusty’s own smile ever faltered. He’d known enough people in the RLF with Coral damage from dosing to have been met with similar speech patterns, although he wasn’t expecting it in the Vespers.

For one, any doser would be out on their ass.

Two, anyone of a generation that used Coral likely wasn’t good enough to be a part of the Vespers.

That left a few options, not that Rusty was going to pursue any personal questions right there. No, he answered the impersonal one, “Yeah, he booked me for the mission, too,” he answered fluidly, as if there was no hiccup in his understanding.

There wasn’t, after the initial surprise. The cant of her head helped quite a bit in solidifying that this was meant to be a question. “Hopefully, we’ll be back by lunch,” as he said it, he lifted the half of his ration bar, “these aren’t exactly my favorite food,” but best for a quick meal before a mission.

He might have asked what her favorite meal was, to keep it light, but the room was visible by then, so he just lowered his bar and approached the door, pressed the comm besides it. There was a moment of silence, then a beep, but not an unlocking, that allowed him to speak into the comm, “V. IV Rusty and V. IX Huntress, here for the mission briefing.”

Snail’s door clicked, and Rusty opened it, and gestured for Huntress to go on ahead.

Snail was sitting at his desk, prim and proper. Despite his age, he looked in his 30s, all the augmentations and upgrades of generations expanding his life substantially. Although, some could argue the shock of white-blond hair was a sign of aging, as well as how dead his blue eyes simply looked when they looked at, well, anything.

Nothing seemed to give Snail any life or animate him much at all, and it was with that deadened gaze that he watched Rusty and Huntress make their way into his office.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter drank his coffee in relative silence as he let his words settle with 621, thinking over what he was going to make himself for breakfast. Deciding on an omelette, he got up from his position at the head of the table, and set about making his own breakfast.

The nearly 6' tall man grabbed the carton of eggs from the refrigerator and a few other ingredients before turning on the burner for the stove to heat up the frying pan.

621 asked him questions while he cooked, and he was pleasantly surprised by her wit and attitude. She had some spunk to her, that was for sure.

A frown made its way onto his face at the mention of 'going back'.

"No, 621. There is still no way back." He leveled, chopping up a few kinds of vegetables as the smell of his cooking began to fill the lunch room and kitchen. He chose not to focus on the fact that she was forced into the augmentation surgery, electing to answer her questions on the surface level.

Her second question caught him off guard, making him ponder as he added the cheese.

"I have one more chance to get this done, and I'm not getting any younger. I have faith that you'll be the one to finish what the others started."

Not a total lie. Walter wasn't one to put blind faith into someone, but he did have the smallest fraction of hope that she would be the one to get the job done right.

"I'll hopefully retire." Another half lie hidden behind the false sincerity in his voice. He doubted he'd live past the completion of his big plan, the plan of his predecessor.

"Are you sure you don't want more than that ration bar?" He asked as he flipped his omelette.

~***~

Huntress was in shock. Not only had he continued smiling, but he continued to speak to her as if she were a real person. Relief flooded her system as she nodded again.

He understood what she was saying and was choosing to interact more.

How did she get so lucky? It almost felt too good to be true. Maybe she had even found a friend?

Perhaps he knew people like her? It wasn't too uncommon on this planet with all the people with Coral augmentations or dosers. She hoped that he didn't think her the latter.

She decided to not give it any power in her head. She had possibly made a friend here in this place full of Elitists and people who constantly judged her based on her voice and not her skill in the cockpit of an AC.

The mention of lunch brought her back from her thoughts. "Agreed." she answered in her monotone canter, making her own banter back to him.

Once at the door to Snail's office, Huntress snapped to attention, her back straight and shoulders back in an attempt to appear more professional than she had moments before. Snail already hated the way she talked, she couldn't afford to appear anything but well put together.

Getting the go-ahead that was the door unlocking and Rusty opening it for her, she walked into the nearly sterile room. She nodded her thanks to Rusty, not daring to speak in Snail's presence if it wasn't necessary.

She could feel his almost lifeless eyes on her, but kept her gaze ahead and stood at attention with her arms folded behind her back, waiting for him to start the brief.

 

[Lucyfer]

No, of course Aurelia couldn’t sleep long enough for a cure to augmentation to be a reality. She tried not to let it nag at her, but of course, it cycled in her head. She wasn’t even sure what it had done to her, she’d spent all her time augmented barely aware of her actions, “re-educated” to following whatever direction she was given by Aidon, until she finally wrapped her hands around his neck….

She really hoped, right then, the heavy scent of cooking was just a sign of cryostasis recovery. Her stomach ached at the scent, promising to ruin her entire day, but she still forced the last of the ration bar down. She had to eat solids, or she’d never recover her ability to do so at all.

“Six-hundred-twenty-one is the lucky number, I’m sure,” were her emotions fucked? Hard to tell. She had every right to just be angry here. She believed Walter about retiring, though. Looking over at him from the table, and cupping the mug in her hands again, he was…strangely average.

Not too tall. He did nothing to cover his graying hair. He looked like someone who could have had a military history of their own, leadership – but that was likely years of running a mercenary organization. One that likely was in better shape, once, before he got to lucky 621.

“I’m sure whatever group you bought me from, told you I’d be perfect in a week,” she noted, “that’s a lie. When you go into cryostasis, your stomach ends up shriveling up to its smallest size. You’re preserved in a shriveled fashion.” Necessary. Liquids had to be drained, even blood, because when you unfroze, they expanded. She didn’t need all her veins to explode, or her stomach acid, for that matter. “I’ve done it before, willingly. I know how to get better.”

Ration bars gave her the necessary nutrition, without being too much, in the realm of sensation, flavor, or mass.

“Unless this is all augmentation fuckery, then maybe I’ll never want real food again. Who knows?” Not her. But she made it sound flippant, over the bitterness, before she took a sip of the coffee.

Well.

That was still good at least.

“How much coam do you need to retire?” She could at least set a goal, even if it was a lie.

~***~

Snail waited until Rusty was in the room, acknowledging Elliot with only a glance before he settled his tablet on the desk between them and used it to bring up a holographic display of a PCA base, “V. IV and V. IX, you will both go to the Capua PCA base in northern Belius. A transport is prepared, your ACs have already been loaded,” so there would be no reason for delay with the petty activity of preparing their ACs.

“The base was abandoned before we arrived. We still have a limited understanding of why the PCA abandoned a multitude of bases, so your goal is to seek that answer. Get in, examine whatever terminals you can find, grab any clues, and get out,” Snail stated. “Any questions?”

It was hard to question Snail’s requests when they were often short and direct. Snail wasn’t one to drag out meetings. He gave jobs, and expected them done.

Still, Rusty was ever a thorn in his side, “You indicated to look for clues. Do we have any sort of ideas of what happened to drive the PCA from their bases to help us guide the search for clues?” Admittedly, even with his connections to the RLF, Rusty didn’t know what did it. They weren’t sure why the PCA started to leave bases behind, and allow the corporations to start getting a foothold on Rubicon-3, after news of Coral was spilled out into the galaxy.

“We suspect foul play, an attack, but we don’t have evidence of it, and it’s unlikely it struck Capua. The base is not pristine, and there have been sightings of RaD dosers in the area,” Snail did not hide his disgust, “so you may have to deal with a few drugged up MTs. I’m sure that won’t be a challenge for you two, correct?”

“Nah, not at all,” Rusty grinned, taking point to answer for both. It wasn’t like Huntress could say it would be an issue. “We can handle that!”

 

[EllieMcEllie]

A smirk quirked his lips up ever so slightly at her comment, only willing to let it show because his back was to her. Yes, Lucky 621. Or at least he had hoped she would be, had a feeling she would be.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, 621. First things first, we need to get you that ID first without being caught." There was almost a hint of amusement in his voice at her laughing bitterness. He supposed he would feel the same if he was in her position; the weight of his goal riding solely on her shoulders.

Walter pursed his lips in thought, his brows furrowing at the information presented to him as he transferred the omelette to his plate, joining her at the table once more. He had thought that cryostasis was relatively safe, though this new information presented to him possibly said otherwise.

"I see." What else do you say to something like that? She underwent cryostasis twice, once willingly. Walter took a bite of his omelette and washed it down with a sip of coffee.

"You know better than I do about the subject. What can I expect from you?"

A reasonable question in his opinion. If he asked too much of his hound right away, he risked damaging her, but he was also on a time crunch.

The corps were moving in and the chaos below was the perfect opportunity to get 621 down there without too much of a fuss. He hoped that the chaos would help her get that ID without issue.

Her question brought him back to the present.

"100 million. Finding the Coral will provide that, and of course your pay from your missions will be deposited into an account for you to upgrade your AC or save up for a better augmentation if you'd like,"

He was on fire with his half truths today. He would pay her, but also take a cut from the earnings to help pay for her food, the ship and himself.

Walter took another bite of his food, continuing in silence as he waited for her to answer.

~***~

Huntress was a little upset that she didn't get to prep her own AC, but she didn't let it show on her face. She didn't need another reason for Snail to see her less than perfect.

It was something she missed from her AC Training camp days. It just felt so impersonal for others to handle the giant machine that kept her alive out there, but that's just how things were now; Cold, out of her hands, handled for her.

The PCA though? What could he possibly want there? Information most likely.

Her thoughts were correct. Information and scouting missions were usually what she was sent on and this was no different. She didn't understand why it was a two person mission, but perhaps it was to get the job done faster. Or maybe there were expected to be more forces than he was letting on.

She was about to confirm there were no questions from her, but Rusty spoke up, asking his own question. It was a valid question. Why did they pull out of their bases? The PCA usually seemed to be a strong enough force to fight back ACs, but maybe there was an attack further out that needed the reinforcements that were at these bases?

They would hopefully find out soon.

The disgust in Snail's voice at the mention of dosers was palpable. She could understand why. At least the fighting would be easier with them all drugged up, not that she minded a challenge. Again, she was about to speak up and confirm, but Rusty spoke for her. She didn't let the relief she felt reach her face, but she was grateful that she didn't have to speak.

Elliot continued to stand at attention until Snail to released them from the brief, where she nodded her understanding and left his office. She held the door open for Rusty like he had done for her, smiling up at him. When they were back in the hallway, she fell back into step with him.

"Thank you. Hates my voice." Elliot nods her head in the direction of Snail's office, trying to get her point across. She was thankful that she didn't have to speak in front of Snail. A reminder that she wasn't 'perfect' like the others.

As they continued to walk towards the transport ship, she attempted to explain. "Coral damage. Was 4th gen. now 9th gen. Damage not all reversed. Not perfect like others," Huntress does her best with her limited speech to explain the situation, hoping that he would still understand her with the lack of tonality in her voice. "Good pilot, bad speech."

 

[Lucyfer]

‘You can expect a knife at your throat at some point, probably.’

Aurelia didn't say that as she sipped her coffee, the scent covering that of the freshly cooked food he brought over.

It made her sick.

It made her ravenous.

She swallowed her discomfort. “You can expect I may start actually eating in another week. And I like fresh fruits.” She knew she wasn't getting fresh fruits. The cost of importing it in space to a burning system would be ridiculous. “Bouts of nausea. Random cramping. Probably a migraine left. I'm over the worst of it. I can function for stealing an ID, I'm sure.” That's what he actually cared about. She'd suffer the rest.

If not, well, they were both screwed, weren't they?

But Walter was offering to actually pay her. The way he said it…the AC was hers?

Hers?

The first swell of hope she'd felt since being unfrozen proved anger and confusion weren't her only two feelings. No matter where she was in life, she always wanted her own AC, and being frozen and augmented hadn't changed that. “My AC?” The important, clarifying question. “You mean an AC I'm borrowing, right?”

He wasn't that trusting, was he?

Then again, if they were on Rubicon-3, she wasn't going anywhere on her own with just an AC unit, so perhaps it wasn't trust.

~***~

Rusty chuckled a little at the favor returned, but exited the door held for him with a, “Thanks, buddy!” where he waited for her to join him on their walk to the transport.

Elliot filled in some details to questions he definitely had, but hadn't been prepared to ask her just yet. It seemed she was an early Gen augmented human, and not everything could be fixed. “Augh, shoot, I'm sorry he's judging you for that. Your voice sounds fine to me. A bit monotonous, but every word is clear. That's more than I can say for some,” he offered, making sure not to lie in the effort to cheer her.

“And between you and me, I don't think any of us are perfect. I'm an 8th Gen, though, so maybe I can't speak for those who are 10th,” Snail wasn't that. He was just 8th, too.

Not that Rusty was actually 8th. He was a lucky survivor of the 6th generation, but Starbucks y wouldn't have let him in as easily if he told them that. His false file provided enough false proof to satisfy their curiosity.

“I am looking forward to seeing the skills that convinced the Vespers to add you to our ranks, though,” they cleared the building and stepped out into the Rubicon morning. It was a hazy day over the Arquebus base, making the sky seem orange, as they walked to the transport that was prepared for them.

“I've seen ARTEMIS around and wondered how she'd handle. That's STEEL HAZE,” he gestured to the reverse joint AC already locked in. “Can't take a hit, but he can dish them pretty well.”

And Rusty just made sure not to take hits too often.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Now at the table, Walter kept his facial expression neutral while listening to the 621's explanation of the horrors of cyrostasis recovery. Perhaps it wasn't safe. "Understood. Fresh fruit would be near impossible to import this far out, but other ingredients are available to you."

He didn't doubt her words, though Walter couldn't help but wonder if she was telling the full truth. Would she truly be alright for the mission? They didn't have much of a choice with the time sensitivity of this mission. If they failed this, it was all over.

He took another bite of his food as he attempted to chase the doubts and negativity out of his head.

Her question was expected. It wasn't often that pilots got their own AC in these situations, but after the hell she had been through just to land here? She deserved it. He could afford to be a little lenient here as there would be little chance of her escaping Rubicon-3, and very little to do besides missions down there.

"No, 621. Your own AC." He took another bite of his food and another sip of his drink, both nearly gone now.

"I saw some of your fight videos from the past thanks to a friend, and I've taken the liberty to get you a missile launcher. You seemed to take a liking to explosives. I'll show you it when you are done."

Walter finished his breakfast, waiting to answer any further questions she had.

~***~

His clear support of her and friendliness nearly put a skip in her step. She had found a friend and he didn't mind her voice.

Her friendly smile grew wider as they walked, talking more to him. "Clear, yes. Full sentences hard. Mind intact."

So he was 8th Gen? It made sense to her. The Vespers only took her in as a 4th gen because of her skill in the cockpit of an AC, but she was required to upgrade to be part of their team. He was already 8th gen and likely had no issues getting in. He was the 4th Vesper after all.

Excitement sparkled in Huntress's eyes at the thought of showing a fellow Vesper just why she was picked. "Show you." The excitement on her face was hopefully enough to convey that she was excited to show off her AC and skills.

It was another beautiful morning on Rubicon-3 and she couldn't help wonder what her mom and siblings were up to now that they had the COAM to focus on things other than finding food. She didn't have much time to think about it as they both loaded up onto the transport.

ARTEMIS, Huntress's Red and black striped bipedal AC, was locked into the bay next to STEEL HAZE, her “1st round is on me” sticker bright and visible on her right shoulder. He seemed to be a speedy AC just like hers, though he seemed to have a distinct lack of dual triggers. Not everyone was obsessed with Dual triggers like she was apparently.

"Fast. Dual trigger." It took a moment for her to figure out her next words with her limited speech. "Good Damage out. Cant take hits." Their ACs had similar weaknesses, but also the same strengths. Maybe he was right? Maybe they would get back before lunch?

The red-head practically jogged to the feet of ARTEMIS, placing a hand on the hard metal and looking up at her mech with a bright grin. "ARTEMIS. Keep us safe?" It was mostly said to herself, asking her AC to keep her and Rusty safe during their mission. With her little pre-mission ritual done, Huntress loaded up into the striped metal killing machine.

Huntress pressed the comms button, getting the encrypted link set up with Rusty and Arquebus. "Rusty. You hear me?" She asked over comms, making sure they were connected.

 

[Lucyfer]

Aurelia hadn’t really needed an answer about the fruit; she knew that was impossible. Apparently, what wasn’t impossible was the AC. It was hers. She had very little interest in the dregs of her coffee, and it seemed like Walter was indeed a fast eater. ‘Military.’ That possibility for his past continued to beat into her head with his demeanor.

So, she set the cup down and set her hands on the table to push herself up.

“What can I say? Fireworks make everything better,” well, it seemed he did his homework on her, and had a friend with interesting access. “I’m done,” even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have waited to see the AC unit, “I want to see my new AC, and find out if this friend of yours slipped you any other less than decent videos.” It was said as a joke, she was about 98% sure any such indecent videos didn’t exist.

But her memory under brainwashing was a bit fucked, so she also wasn’t 100% sure.

She wanted to get ideas for modifying the AC immediately, though – she wanted to test and see if it was really hers by painting it something obnoxious as hell, like bright pink. DI MANES she’d at least kept a respectful hue, blues and purples mingling as the guardian of Pluto, but this? If it was truly hers, she was going to make sure everything about it was loud, to stand in for all the lost years. It would scream for her with its color, its explosions – everything.

“I do hope your friend got the videos of my AC fights pre-augmentation. That’s when I was good,” that’s when she had a choice. After that, she supposed she wasn’t bad, but…it wasn’t her. Not mentally. She couldn’t attest for how well she did under the influence of the brainwashing, since she was even under their instruction on how to pilot. The AC was worth too much to them.

They wouldn’t let her be as reckless as she usually was.

They didn’t trust DI MANES as she had.

~***~

Huntress’s voice was in clear disparity with her expressions. Rusty was grateful she still could make expressions, and understood how to use them to get her points across. Her excitement to be in the field and show him how ARTEMIS handled was practically adorable. It was obvious she must have felt some isolation among the others, who would indeed judge her for her voice, and much else.

At least they could recognize talent, though.

Rusty knew if she got in, she had to be a rare sort. Snail would have issues allowing it, otherwise.

The little symbol on her AC spoke of her humor in a fight, and Rusty snickered when he laid eyes on it, eyes retaining their sparkle of interest as she mentioned how ARTEMIS handled. “Yeah, about what I expected. Similar to mine, though I always keep an energy weapon on me,” he said, “I’ve run out of ammunition before, it wasn’t fun,” he chuckled. It was a lesson he learned, and as she approached ARTEMIS, he went to STEEL HAZE.

He had no particular ritual with the beast. In truth, it didn’t feel like his. He got to specify, but he was forced to stay within Arquebus’s guidelines.

He couldn’t wait until he got the upgrade from Elcano.

When his true emblem could be displayed, wolf unmuzzled.

For now, this would do, and he loaded up into the belly of the beast before the transport rumbled to life, and lifted into the air.

Huntress tested their comm system first.

“Loud clear, good buddy,” he confirmed. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Not that either of them could do much except wait until the transport announced they’d reached their destination, and open the door to let them drop out, which Rusty did with all haste, noticing how close they were to the base. ‘They really did abandon it, huh?’ not even the stable artillery units fired on them.

Rusty boosted STEEL HAZE over to the gate, and the closer he got, the more he expected fire – but none came his way.

Of course, the closer he got, the more he realized it was a bit wrecked. When he had his scanners pulse out from his unit, no enemy readings were picked up. “Stay on guard. There still may be dosers, or other traps left around here.” For now, however – clues to who tore up the base, and clues to why they cleared up.

That’s what Snail wanted.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped him at her joke, clearing his throat afterwards and getting to his feet. "I assure you my friend found no such videos." His voice was laced with amusement as he deposited his plate and cup in the sink with a clink.

"This way." His authoritative voice carried once again over the lunch room as he lead his new hound in the direction of the AC Hangar. The ship wasn't expansive like some of the corporation ships, but it was large enough that one could get lost and turned around if they weren't careful.

Her statement gave him pause, though he didn't let it show on his face. Just how much should he reveal to her? He needed her to listen to his instruction, and he had already told her lies, though if she could tell, that was to be seen. There wasn't much harm in telling her he knew enough.

"Yes, there were some from pre-augmentation. There were a few that were post-augmentation as well. You were more reckless pre-augmentation, but got the job done more efficiently. As long as you come back in one piece and do the jobs you're given, there will be no qualms with me."

After all, he had seen the videos and she was right. She did some of her best work from before the surgery. Why would he impede that? First things first, she needed that ID. Then he could worry about the costs of repairs. It was a RaD base model, curtesy of "Cinder" Carla herself. Something about supporting a fellow explosives lover. He didn't quite understand it, but he got a fair deal on the AC.

Walter pushed open the human sized door that led to the hangar, walking inside of the large mostly empty space.

Standing there in all its glory was 621's new AC. Nameless and ready to be piloted by his new hound. It was a standard unpainted chrome and steel base model RaD design with 2 horizontal missle-launcher back kits, a Xuan Ge bazooka and a pulse blade. It was basic, but he was interested to see how she would customize and upgrade it. If she was half as good as he thought she was based on the videos, she might just be the lucky break he needed.

"621, meet your new AC."

~***~

"10-4" Though Rusty couldn't see it, Huntress was nearly vibrating in excitement as she sat in her cockpit. This is where she belonged; at the helm of a five and a half ton AC, flying through the Rubiconian skies and admiring the planet in only the way a mech pilot could.

Being in the cockpit was the closest thing to at home and at peace that she felt since leaving her family behind to support them. It was almost second nature to her, piloting the giant mechanical beast.

Adrenaline shot through her as the floor moved below them, signalling their imminent drop to their destination below. Her thumb hovered over the button for her thrusters to engage. As ARTEMIS was dropped, she pressed it, zipping forward and using her radar to search for enemies.

It was strange that there was no fight out here. It set her skin on fire with anticipation and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Following Rusty's AC toward gates, the feeling of uneasiness only got worse.

"Very strange. Too quiet." Huntress complained tonelessly over comms, her red-stripped bot boosting towards the western most side of the base. There weren't any terminals here, but there were signs of a fight. It was hard to tell if it was caused by the RLF and Doser territory wars, or something else. The terminals would tell them more.

"No terminals. Signs of fight. RLF and Doser maybe?" Her voice sounds off again, relaying her findings as she heads towards the larger building. It was likely where the terminals were located, and where they would find the information that Snail wanted.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘So, there is some humor in there.’ Aurelia thought. She knew, of course, that she shouldn’t warm to someone who bought slaves and saw to the end of, possibly, 620 others before her – all to afford an extravagant retirement. However, a touch of humor, and her own AC, were vastly different circumstances from her previous ‘masters’. He didn’t even seem to think that her previous combat methods were terrible.

How he felt when the bill reached him was another story.

Even the Pluto Resistance had winced at it a few times.

“I can do that, Handler. Jobs are easy,” a small resistance, to remind herself. If she was 621, he was Handler. Dehumanize. Make it easier, in case the tides turned, and everything about the man in front of her became much worse.

She tried to pay enough attention to remember the path to the hangar, but she knew she was going to forget it. She just needed to walk around the ship. A lot.

As the hangar doors opened, she was greeted with the sight of the bland beast in its LOADER, awaiting its pilot. It was indeed equipped with missiles, eight total if she counted right, and a bazooka, along with a pulse sword. She hummed approval as she looked it over. That was another thing; she didn’t like to be left without ammunition, a trait she shared with a few other pilots. Not to mention, pulse blades just wrecked armor, and no one expected that personal touch from an explosives beast, even if they saw the weapon.

Aurelia didn’t hesitate to approach her new beast. ‘At least I can dream again.’ And not the dead darkness that was cryostasis, the brain turned off by the cold, but a certain, terrible awareness lingering. Her fingers moved over the frame almost reverently, “A bit underdressed, but we’ll fix that,” she wasn’t talking to Walter anymore.

Her mind ran with old Elcano designs, but she recognized these weapons and frame were nothing she was familiar with. Well… “Dafeng, couldn’t miss their signatures if I tried. They haven’t changed in six years. Furlong missiles – always quality, but they have to be to keep Antares, I suppose.”

She didn’t know that nowadays, Antares ran under the name Michigan with Balam. He’d been her hero when he came out of the Jupiter Wars; he was the reason she wanted so desperately to be an AC pilot – to be the Hero of Pluto. “Don’t know the blade maker. Or the frame,” she admitted.

RaD, of course, never made it far beyond the Rubicon-3 system.

“I can work with this,” definitely. Her eyes already showed a hungry gleam to get into it and wreak havoc. Learn the beast, find its name, find herself inside it.

~***~

Rusty certainly agreed that something was off with the fresh smoke rising up from some MTs. The MTs themselves seemed to be dosers, from what he scanned as he continued moving centrally, heading to the back of the base where the large doors to head under to the MT and LC units likely went for repairs. Well, and to plug in. He knew that under the authority of the SYSTEM, many areas were built for AI interaction, and so, AC or LC interaction.

He just hoped they wouldn’t run into any still-running automatons of the PCA.

He didn’t see any PCA wreckage.

“Not sure, I’m just seeing dosers,” Rusty commed back. “Might find some evidence of who they were facing inside – or, who knows, maybe they were fighting each other?” he scoffed, though to him it didn’t seem unlikely. As much as he empathized with some dosers, there were others who clearly needed to stop using, because they got…well, messed up.

Even Father Dolmayan had learned when to stop.

Huntress was coming his way, “I’ll take point,” he said, before diving on ahead, using his thrusters as the path sloped downwards, before pathways spread out in all directions. There were signs, thankfully – this was a military base – that pointed towards bunkers, repair areas, and indeed, even a central communications network. “There. Keep heading center, buddy.”

Though as they continued, other sounds cropped up. His radio burst with static from another communications line, not too far off from the one he and Huntress were using. He came to a quick stop, and STEEL HAZE held up a hand as he tried to tune into that other station to hear who was talking.

Eventually, chatter came through.

“…hurry up, place is giving me the creeps.”

“I’m sure it’ll be done soon. There’s nothing here now, everything’s dead.”

“Yeah…yeah….”

Rusty turned back to their radio, “Some people up ahead. They might be gathering information, too, from the sounds of it,” they were waiting on someone, at any rate, to finish up some task. Had to be hacking. “I think we can surprise them, but we need to turn to another comm wave. I’m shifting over to the Vespers encoded channel 3.”

Just so she’d know how to get back in touch with him. He didn’t want their current radio waves to give them away as they got closer.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

'Handler.' His title. It seemed that she was at least not looking to kill him just yet. It seemed that this was the way. Give her some leeway and she'll do the jobs she's tasked with. She didn't even seem that snarky in this moment. Probably because they were looking at her AC.

The grizzled hound master stayed back to give her space to check out her metal beast. He watched as he ran her hand along the shining metal and began to talk to herself. Could this be an effect of the cryostasis? Maybe. Only time would tell. She could just be excited.

621 was knowledgeable on her weapons, that was for sure. She was quick to identify the Dafeng bazooka and the Furlong missiles, which only furthered to solidify the fact that she loved explosives.

Walter heard the name Antares and his lips curls upward slightly. The Hero of Jupiter, now known as Michigan under Balam's RedGuns, also favored his missiles. Should he tell her? No. If things went well down there -- and they had to-- she would have the opportunity to meet him through missions.

"You know your weapons, 621.The blade is Takigawa Harmonics and the frame is RaD, courtesy of my friend who works there." He couldn't help but feel a little impressed by her knowledge, though it didn't surprise him.

"When you're ready, load up. This job is time-sensitive. The sooner you get down there, the sooner you get your ID and can start getting paid." And the closer he can get to completing his predecesor's mission.

~***~
"Strange" This mission was just getting more and more interesting. There were just dosers like Snail had said, but there wasn't a force of opposition. Rusty's voice came across her comms loud and clear. He was taking the point and she would follow.

"Understood," Huntress commed back, following Rusty's lead as he took the charge into the base itself. The wreckage seemed fresh, but there weren't any sign of PCA MTs or even working autonomous bots. Her skin still prickled as they got closer to the building. It was an information mission, but the lack of fire kept her on high alert.

His voice alerted her of the direction that they were supposed to go and she followed it faithfully. As STEEL HAZE came to a stop and held up his hand, Huntress brought ARTEMIS to a quick stop as well, halting in place. He must have been tuning to the other station where the static was coming from. Not good, it was too close to theirs, but they could always jump channels.

When he came back, he confirmed that there were other people there and that he was switching to the Vesper channel 3. "10-4, buddy," She was quick to switch to the other channel with him, using his friendly term back at him. There was something about how he said it that felt like a nice warm hug and made her feel accepted.

As they continued into the Central command building, Huntress kept her guard up and ran her scanner. It was all clear, and she continued on with Rusty, scanning periodically for the others who were in here.

They walked on for a little while until they reached a medium-sized room with a large door on the other side. Standing right outside of it were 4 MTs seeming to be standing guard over the door. If MTs were guarding that door, it meant that that was where they needed to go for the information.

On the other line of the comms, the MTs called out to whoever they were working with.

"We've got company!"

"I knew this place couldn't be empty!"

"Vespers! V. IV Rusty and... Wait, who is that?"

"I don't recognize the other one!"

The MTs opened fire which ARTEMIS carefully avoided as Huntress surged her forward, "Show time," Huntress spoke up into the new channel with Rusty, both robotic fingers held down on the triggers of her Chang-Chens and peppering the area and machines with her dual machine guns. The room was hard to strafe about in, but with the damage output she could do with her guns, she was confident that she could resolve the situation quickly.

The first MT fell within the first few seconds, the second quickly following after. She took a few hits from their rounds, but nothing substantial as she blew right through the 3rd, lighting the poor MT up with her firepower. She reloaded her left hand as she pumped the last MT full of lead with her right. As the last one fell, Elliot was grinning ear to ear inside her AC. She was deadly fast with a level head during fights and two machine guns with the firepower to overwhelm MT forces.

"Show you," she spoke in comms again, repeating the phrase from earlier in the day when she had expressed her excitement to show him just why she was picked.

 

[Lucyfer]

Walter confirmed the other two brands. The entire frame was one company, thanks to a friend. Aurelia never heard of RaD or Takigawa. She wondered if they were new, just as she had to wonder if it was the same friend who found old videos of her. A problem for later. Although Walter remained calm, he noted the timing again.

“I suppose downed AC units don't remain in place for long.” If he knew about them, so did others. They'd be examined, and then their licenses would become useless. “I’m ready enough,” she noted the catwalks near the LOADERs, but didn’t bother with them.

She’d always claimed if you couldn’t get into an AC from any position, you didn’t deserve to be an AC pilot. Definitely, not a good claim – but one she lived by as she found her footing, and climbed up to the core of the nameless beast. She opened it right up and slid into the core, taking a moment to refresh herself with the view, and instinctively reaching up for the neuro-set that would connect her to the beast.

“You always knew you were nothing without DI MANES. It’s okay. You can still be everything with us.”

Aurelia flinched her hand away from the neuro-set, though let it hover there, near it. ‘Oh.’ For a moment, she had clarity enough to realize this was a bad idea. She’d snapped out of the re-education, but it was just that – a snap.

The break was jagged, brittle, and incomplete.

The AC unit was what they broke her for, and Aidon’s voice was still there, in the back of her mind, waiting. ‘This isn’t DI MANES. I won’t be near Pluto. It’s fine. It’s fine.’ She reassured herself of that, and put the neuro-set on.

Red flared over her vision as sight adjusted to everything outside the AC from the height of the AC’s head.

‘Deep breath. This is something new. It’s fine.’

The AC gave a thumbs up to Walter, before she looked for where to head, to get down to the planet for the mission.

In and out. She’d make this fast and find a good ID.

~***~

Rusty felt a silly grin come to his lips as he heard that ’10-4 Buddy’ come across the comms. He chuckled to himself, not sending that through, as he couldn’t help but think how terrible it was someone like Elliot ended up in the Vespers. His heart ached at the isolation she must have been experiencing, and how it was all just going to go to shit from here.

Well, maybe then she’d find ways to become a true Vesper.

He hoped not, though.

They continued on their path to the central communications network, and when they got there, Rusty stayed back. He didn’t need to, he could have easily jolted STEEL HAZE forward and dealt with some of the foes, but Huntress was promising a show, and he was inclined to see why she was let in.

The answer was obvious. She piloted with skill, even in close quarters, strafing and avoiding shots, while taking down the MTs. “Good work, buddy!” he declared as the last of the four fell, and he boosted ahead to get into the room to find –

No one.

Nothing.

‘Huh?’

The terminals, however, were rapidly going through information, which kept flashing on the screen. He saw a downloading bar, and went right over to one, a finger of STEEL HAZE opening up to reveal a plug for the drive on the terminal that he quickly put in – and then was jolted out by whatever presence was in the terminals, almost frying the finger off.

He had another on the same hand.

“Easy there,” a woman’s voice came through the comms in the room, “Didn’t anyone teach you manners? You don’t just go interrupting another download. I’m making copies. You can wait your turn.”

“Who are you?” Rusty asked, “Where are you?”

“Nowhere you can fight me, if that’s what you’re looking for,” he could hear the sly grin in her voice, “I’m Cinders Carla, rookie,” she introduced, and Rusty noticed a red, blinking light, plugged into another terminal.

That had to be her access. He could unplug it...and he considered it, but hesitated.

Cinders meant something to him, after all, even if he didn't know who this Carla was.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

"They do not." His gruff voice spoke up, trying to keep as calm and cool as a cucumber. Who knew when this opportunity would happen again? His thoughts raced behind his eyes as he kept his expression locked into a stoic one. She couldn't know just how desperate he was for this mission to go right. He hoped - no, knew- that she would do it. She had to.

Walter was caught off guard as he watched her scramble up the body of the AC towards the core instead of using the catwalks. That was certainly different. The way that she had climbed rather easily up the metal frame of the mech was a hint that this was not the first time she had done something like this. 621 was definitely something else, and not even in a bad way. He had seen her fight before. If she could pilot this AC like she had the one in the videos, she had a sizeable chance to complete this.

The salt-n-pepper haired military man made his way over to the communication hub in the hangar, locking the airlock to keep himself safe from the vacuum of space. He watched from the hub, waiting for any sign that she was connected to the device. Walter did his best to remain patient, knowing now what he did about cryostasis. A few minutes to chase off dizziness or nausea could be afforded.

When the AC's systems started to come to life on his screens, he knew she was connected to it. Her thumbs up was another sign that she was connected to it and adjusting to the new AC. Walter started up the configurations from his side and tapped into her comms.

"621, the hanger exit is to the left there through those double doors. Its a two doorway airlock system. When you're ready, I'll open the doors and get you down to Rubicon-3." His voice seemed gruffer over the comms with the static, but his words were still clear.


~***~

The words of praise soaked into Elliot's being like a sponge. Of course Snail would pay her for her job, and tell her things like "As it should be" or "exceptional" but it didn't hit the same. it was almost disingenuous. Rusty's words were different. He meant them.

That thought alone brought a smile to her face so bright that it felt like the corners of her mouth would crack under the pressure.

Huntress followed Rusty into the room, ready to help out with downloading the information and to watch his back. Surprisingly though, there was no one inside the room.

She watched as Rusty tried to plug into the terminal but immediately get his port zapped. She readied her guns for a fight but the voice in the room made it clear that she was hacking remotely. Wait, did she say Cinder? Holy shit!

"Cinder? Survivor of Ibis Fires...! Buddy, wait. Be patient, don't touch!" The sound of Elliot's monotone voice came through as ARTEMIS held an arm out in front of the terminal with the red, blinking light.

As a Rubiconian native, Elliot had a deep respect for the Cinders and it wouldn't impede their mission right now to be patient. They could wait their turn, especially if she wasn't trying to fight them.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Breathe in.’

The voice over the comm was not Aidon. It was Walter. Perhaps not any better, but she didn’t know that – yet. His quality was to be determined. She heard his instructions, and the Beast moved with her commands. Her fingers itched to grasp a lever, or flip a switch, but the thing about augmentation was that it all came from the neuro-set now.

Her brain issued commands as it would to limbs, and the AC followed.

She’d never fought that way with her own mind, and she found her mind struggling with it, though it wasn’t visible.

It wouldn’t be visible even as she loaded into the entry capsule, which launched her towards a planet she couldn’t see – and waited on the commands from Walter, trusting that he hadn’t spent his money just to kill someone.

A laser struck the capsule, but it didn’t cut through to her, didn’t disrupt the fall by much, and when the capsule displayed the alert to prepare for breakthrough, she did, the capsule coming apart around her, but the snowy ground of Rubicon below—

--snowfields of Pluto, glittering, crunching beneath DI MANES. Red caught the artificial lights, fuel leaking and splattering from—
Aurelia swallowed hard and boosted the new Beast so she wouldn’t land too hard, as she broke through not ice and snow, but metal debris from an old, abandoned civilization. ‘Not entirely abandoned.’ Her scan was picking up MTs ahead in the derelict building.

“Bit off target,” Aurelia said, mostly to speak, to try and make her own voice ground her. “Any quick way to get to that city? Boosting alone is going to take a bit.” She would, obviously, do that, but she was hoping Walter had some plan or knew something about the area she landed in, since it seemed close to where he wanted her to fall.

She didn’t wait on an answer before zipping ahead, staying on the catwalks of the building, and finding, indeed, MTs.

She tried to send a hailing signal to see if she could just talk her way around a fight – she didn’t care about them, they didn’t have to care about her – but it seemed they had a death wish. Her hailing signal wasn’t picked up by any of them before they opened fire on, so she quickly shut that down.

She shot the missiles out of the back-kit, targeting to missiles to a target, not wanting to even waste a shot with her bazooka as she went to hack through one of the closer MTs as her frame was being chipped away, little by little, from the pithy shots. The swing went through, the MT buckled under it, cut right in two like paper.

‘AC is taking damage. AC shouldn’t be taking damage. You should never take damage. Never. The AC is worth more than you.’

She felt that terrible pull as the shots were, indeed, doing more than ricocheting off the frame. This was a weak frame, compared to what she was used to. But faster – so Aurelia tried to master that speed, to harness it as her missiles reloaded and she knocked out a few more MTs, but her heart rate was spiking, fear for a long dead foe rising with each alert in the beast reminding her, and each fallen MT speaking to the remembered devastation she used to wreak.

The area was cleared rapidly, and in truth, with little damage to the AC other than the entry damage.

~***~

Elliot knew the term Cinders, which caused some surprise in Rusty. He hadn't expected it, and wondered then if she was native, or just well informed. He hadn't reviewed those details for her, though even his were a lie. His file made him out to be from a different planet entirely, as well as a different generation.

The RLF would have told him if anyone else was in the Vespers.

Why would a Rubiconian want to be here?

Confusion, more than anything, made him hesitate.

Carla spoke into that silence.

“So you're not a tourist,” she sounded disappointed. “Can't say you have good judgement, though, other than waiting for me to finish up. There's nothing here to hide, so don't worry.”

‘Nothing we'll know about, at any rate.’ Rusty considered what they'd tell Snail. He considered that Snail might not be happy with any waiting. Well, it was hardly the first time he'd lied to Snail. He'd have to talk to Elliot outside of these ACs to get a clear story though. None of them wanted to deal with a re-education threat.

“Yeah? What would be worth hiding, Miss Cinders?” He opted to play up some of the assumed ignorance.

Carla snorted. “PCA secret recipe for cinnamon rolls, obviously.”

No, she was too smart to give anything away.

“Alright rookie, you can have the leftovers, but don't be long. This base is set to blow in five minutes.” And indeed as the red faded from the plug, the monitors showed a countdown.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter waited on baited breath as the entry capsule was launched, his eyes glued to the screen showing her descent towards the planet. Of all the places for things to go catastrophically wrong, space was one of the most helpless places. Space debris, satellites, other entry capsules. "I'm powering down your entry capsule. On my command." The pepper-haired man watched the screen intensely, waiting for the right moment. "Now! Activate the Ac."

He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he watched the laser strike the capsule, causing the man to release the air in his lungs as his heart dropped to his stomach. 'Damn it!'

Luckily for both of them, her AC wasn't knocked too off course, and more importantly, she wasn't damaged. He let out a sigh of relief, his knuckles white from how hard he was gripping the seat of the command center's chair. All she had to do now was land safely.

He watched the screens like a hawk until he got the confirmation message. "Descent to ISB2262 'Rubicon 3', complete." Checking the gps signal and location, he was able to determine her location.

"Your position is... Grid 135. Off Target but in permissible range." Walter did a further scan of the structure that she was in, looking for anything to get her closer to the city faster than her boost alone. Were there any catapults? The screen that held her AC stats lit up as she started to take damage in small incriments. "Take them out, 621,"

"There's a catapult up ahead. Use it to close the gap." His gaze was locked onto the heart rate meter as he noticed it going up steadily, a frown making its way onto his face as he made a mental not to keep a closer eye on it. A panic attack on the field could mean death before their mission even truly began. When the MTs were dead, Walter assessed the AC's damage. It wasn't too bad, but a repair kit wouldn't hurt.

"Good work, 621. Your AC has taken some damage. You should have repair kits on you. Patch it up." Walter did a further scan and nodded to himself. "See that contaminated city below? That's where you'll be landing. Up ahead is the catepult. Access it when you're ready."

~***~
Huntress was confused by what Carla had meant by having bad judgement. Did she mean why she was with the Vespers? Probably. It wasn't like she had a choice though. She took the Gen 9 Augmentation offer from them to fix the damage, now she had debt she had to work off.

The red head was vaguely aware that they might have to lie to Snail, and the thought made her nervous. She could only hope that Rusty was a good liar.

Carla's sense of humor is what brought the smaller pilot out of her thoughts, pulling a soft, almost silent snicker from her. She shouldn't be laughing in a situation like this, but the humor was just so unexpected that she couldn't help the laughter that left her. What she truly wasn't expecting was for the hacker woman to give them a countdown, though she was just glad she didn't blow up the place without the warning.

"Oh, fuck me," Huntress groaned monotonously in frustration, snapping ARTEMIS into action. She pulled Carla's access from the other terminal and plugged her own access into the open spot, starting the download. If they were quick enough, she and Rusty would make it out of there with more than enough time to clear it by a large margin before it exploded.

The download was taking longer than expected and she alternated her gaze between the countdown and the download progress bar. "Come on, motherfucker..." 3 minutes and 15 seconds with the download bar reading 98%. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She still had time, but that didn't mean she couldn't complain a bit about it.

The ding of the download being done was the signal for Huntress to get the hell out of there. Rusty had finished his first and was waiting for her. She took one last look at the clock 2 minutes 37 seconds. Shit. "Sorry, longer than expected. Let's go," With that she took the lead, making sure Rusty was right behind her as she pushed her metal beast as fast it could possibly go.

It wasn't until they got outside and far away enough from the self-destructing base that she was able to slow ARTEMIS down and take a breath. "You ok, Buddy?" Huntress turned her AC to face STEEL HAZE, making sure he wasn't hurt.

 

[Lucyfer]

Walter remained in contact, despite his gruff nature. His voice was grounding, a reminder it wasn't Aidon barking commands, but his comment on a repair kit baffled her. “Repair kit? What the hell….” But as she said it aloud, the thought of it registering with uncertainty, an alert appeared on her screen, transparent over the world she moved through, giving her a damage report and options for how to use the repairing nanobots.

“I never had these….” Was it a new invention? Was Pluto to backwater to have it? Either way, she noted three kits, and used one, saying the way the damage report changed as the electric and fiery sounds of hasty repair reached her ears.

She continued on to where the catapult was, and with no hesitation, loaded herself into it after making sure the targeting parameters would get her where she wanted to be.

It did, though the flight was a bit jarring. AC units weren't made for this, and she certainly wasn't using catapults on Pluto. Stabilizing the AC with the boost system kept her occupied, at any rate, until she landed on the crunchy snow and could try to catch her breath.

She was granted that, “All right, Walter. Tell me where to go to find these downed AC units,” she wouldn’t wait for him to relay the information before boosting ahead towards the city, where she could see smoke rising, and could see MT units moving about. The downed units had to be in there, so she may as well make her way towards it.

She would, of course, follow the instructions when they came.

Aurelia tried to send out a hailing signal when a few MTs took note of her. It wasn’t picked up by any of them before they opened fire. ‘Fine. Die.’ She didn’t really know what the MTs expected up against an Armored Core, even the one with the shield and heavy armor. It was fairly useless against the pulse blade, which opened them right up to receive a heavy blast in their own center, the debris of their destruction flying out in a blast radius that destroyed another MT.

It also damaged her own AC, the shockwaves jarring her. Closing her eyes didn’t turn off the sight of the neuro-set, and she felt her stomach churn, anxious energy rising to the top as again, and again, and again, Aidon’s voice hit at the back of her head.

Hit at the back of her head, again, and again, as bullets chipped away armor from the frame.

As someone finally answered the hailing she hadn’t turned off, and she heard a voice.

“Corporate dog! We will put an end to you here! We will protect the Coral! Rubicon is ours!”

That was what they said, but memory overlayed reality.

“We will protect Pluto, even against you.”​

She had to protect the AC.

She had to kill everyone who dared to defy the will of Aidon. ‘This isn’t Pluto.’ A small whisper that failed under the sound of the crunching snow and resistance cries, as Aurelia’s style changed in an instant, heart beating harder with the rush of panic at the relatively minor damage the AC had taken. She boosted up, getting clear of the shots being fired at her, and launched missiles downward, launched explosives downwards, where she was clear of the blast radius from the bazooka.

She didn’t care about hailing any longer, there was no need to talk to anyone. The hailing signal was cut, without a word ever leaving her lips to explain herself to the MTs that she wasn’t some damned corporate dog.

‘Need—destroy Resistance. Save the planet. Get it under the right—authority.’

~***~

The only silver lining to this situation was the hacker gave them a countdown. Rusty heard the curse over the comms as he rushed to try the download again for himself. Blessedly, there was no shock this time. The download began in earnest, and with haste, though that was no surprise as his eyes tracked the numbers changing rapidly on the screen. STEEL HAZE was made to download information quickly.

He had to be fast, lest Snail notice.

He ejected the plug as soon as he had what he could get and he boosted back towards the exit of the room, but hovered there, waiting for Elliot to catch up. He bit his bottom lip to keep his anxiety from spilling out from behind his teeth as she cursed away at the download. He resolved to speak up if it got to halfway.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that.

They rushed out as soon as she got the ping. Without enemies in the way, the exit was smooth, but still tense. Rusty sent out the call for their transport to meet them, turning on the beacon signal so it could locate them. Not that they'd be hard to find as two AC units out in the wastes, but still.

“Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, buddy, but I gotta ask – how did you know that term back there – cinders?” He brought STEEL HAZE to a halt once he was sure no stray debris would be a danger at this distance to the copter.

There was plenty more to say but that could wait until they were off comms. Lies didn't need to be recorded.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter found himself shocked for a moment that the pilot didn't know what the repair kits were, but quickly reminded himself that she had been in cryostasis for a while. "It's something that was invented in the last few years. Useful when pulling back isn't an option."

He watched as she loaded up into the catapult without another word, making sure it was calibrated. "Time to fly, 621." It took all of a minute for the catapult to hook onto her legs, before sending her forward at speeds that ACs weren't designed to go at. The radar showed that they were quickly traversing land and would soon need to land.

"If we get our hands on Rubicon's Coral, we'll make a killing," he started, looking out across the destroyed city through the radar. "Enough to buy your life back, enough for me to retire." The crunch of the snow and ice under her AC was present in the comms as she landed hard against the frozen tundra, signalling the next steps. "Enough chat. Back to work. Scavenge the AC wrecks ahead and find a valid mercenary license. We're illegals here. You'll need valid ID to operate."

The grizzled man kept an eye on the radar and screens in front of him. He saw that she was sending up a hailing signal again, but the MTs were trigger happy. "Guerillas from the Liberation front. They'll get in the way of your work. Eliminate them."

Watching her work was almost like watching a painter paint. She was thorough but reckless in a way that got things done. As she took damage, he took note of her heart rate going up higher. If it went any higher, he would have to step in, try to ground her. "I'm picking up signals from AC wrecks. Follow the Markers."

That was when the response to the hailing signal came in and everything changed. Her heart rate skyrocketed and her fight tactics changed up. He studied them closely, suddenly realizing that she was fighting like she had in the videos of her under the control of others. Damn it! Was she back under the control of those who she killed?

He had to put a stop to her panic before it jeopardized the mission. He needed her thinking straight for both of their sake.

"621. Can you hear me? I need you to pull yourself together. Use my voice to ground yourself. We have a job to do here and you can't do it if you are panicking. 621, do you copy?" He could only hope his voice would cut through to her, to help bring her heart rate down and pull her back to the present.

~***~
A smile made its way onto Elliot's face inside her cockpit. Looks like they got out of there mostly unscathed, aside from the small bit of damage that ARTEMIS took while she was showing off to him.

His question reminded her that a lot of the people in the corporations weren't native to the planet. She tried to find her words, trying to figure out how to say it in a way that her brain would let her. A sharp, frustrated intake of breath came through the comms as she struggled. It took her a good 2 minutes to get her words in order.

"Was born here. am Rubiconian," ARTEMIS points to herself, indicating those were about herself. "Cinders are Ibis survivors. Cinders are respected. Rubiconians don't forget." As she finished up her explanation, the chopper landed, allowing them to load up again.

Once ARTEMIS was secured in the transport container, Elliot was quick to remove the neurotransmitter, shut down the striped machine, and scrambled out of the cockpit down to the feet of the beast. "Thank you, ARTEMIS," The red-head said, patting the large metal foot like she had when they started the mission. ARTEMIS had kept both of them safe today thanks to her speed and her dual triggers just like she had asked of her.

When Rusty finally left the cockpit of STEEL HAZE and descended the catwalk, Elliot joined him. "Good team work, Buddy." She complimented with a wide smile as she stood across from him. She was a little frustrated by the difference in heights and the need to crane her neck to look up at him. At least in their ACs, they were almost the same height. She hated being so much smaller than the other pilots.

 

[Lucyfer]

Of course, Aurelia could hear Walter. She didn’t turn off their comms. His voice was like static, disrupting the flow of an already weakened process. The voice was nothing like Aidon’s, though the memory of Aidon kept pressing on every sense. She knew what failure meant, and although she fully believed in what Aidon was trying to do for Pluto, fear kept her in the lines he wanted to enforce his will.

But it wasn’t Aidon.

It wasn’t Pluto.

Because Aidon was dead.

Aurelia grasped at the voice on the other side to pull herself out of the past. “FUCK YOU!” The venom and fury wasn’t directed at Walter, though he may not be able to piece that together immediately, especially paired with her next act – to rip the neuro-set off of her head. The AC shut down mid-air and plummeted to the ground, but Aurelia ignored the falling sensation, even though the nausea rose with it.

She grasped at goggles instead, and pulled them over her eyes.

She found her hand-holds, the levers, the switches, the buttons – those things most AC pilots disregarded in favor of the neuro-set, and barely knew how to use if they lost contact with it.

The nameless beast crashed, though the fall wasn’t far. It was enough for the surrounding MTs to pause, enough for her to power the beast on manually and restore contact with Walter, “Sorry about that,” the field appeared in the goggles, not taking away the view of the AC’s cockpit like the neuro-set did, but still quite visible, “Seems I’m not quite ready to fight like I’m augmented yet, but don’t worry – I’ve got this.”

The MTs weren’t fast enough to respond to the sudden return of the AC’s power.

They were blasted into smithereens with a hail of missiles and the bazooka blast, as she just zipped through the fallout of their destruction to the AC she’d been heading towards, where her nameless beast put out a scan into it so Walter could get the details of the license.

Whatever happened could wait for after the mission to be discussed. She just had to hold onto the threads of herself until then.

~***~

A Rubiconian.

And not part of the RLF.

They would have told Rusty if he was receiving another companion, after all. This was someone who joined Arquebus willingly. He wasn’t sure if he should be furious, or utterly depressed, by this knowledge. He knew there were Rubiconians who worked with these groups – he wasn’t an idiot. He knew they didn’t care about coral, or the liberation of their planet.

They saw a dead world, and they saw the companies as their way off. No one really enjoyed subsisting off meal worms. Rusty certainly didn’t; the Arquebus menu was plenty more enticing than all of that, as was the pay, but he was still Rubiconian. He still didn’t want to lose his world.

And so, Rusty still resented those who fell for the charms of the corporations, and he felt that resentment start to blossom in his heart towards Elliot, though he knew he couldn’t show that as he loaded STEEL HAZE up into the transport. He got STEEL HAZE in the loader and considered staying in it, even though it was stupidly hot after the mission, as it always was.

However, he saw Elliot leave ARTEMIS, so he pulled himself from the core.

They needed to talk about what to tell Snail, anyways.

He arrived at the ground floor with a smile on his face, looking down to her with that same warmth, even if now it was tainted by some anxiety. “Heh, thanks, but we got a bit of a problem,” he wouldn’t beat around the bush, “Snail isn’t going to accept that we let a Cinder guide our actions. He doesn’t exactly have the same respect for the locals, given a lot of them have made us out to be their enemy,” he put a hand behind his head, mussing his dark brown hair with it, “I’m thinking we don’t mention running into her at all. Tell him we tripped something in hacking the PCA systems that started an auto-shutdown procedure. What do you think, buddy?”

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Just as he thought he was getting to her, she was screaming profanities at him. Or at least he thought they were at him. The pure venom in her voice caught him off guard and when the neuro set and AC went offline, adrenaline filled his system. "621, What the hell are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed! 621!" His voice was lost to the ether as the AC was powered off and he had no connection.

"FUCK!" he slammed his fist down on the desk. Everything he worked for, everything that he had risked on her, gone in the blink of an eye. The memories of 617-620 played in his mind as his fists gripped the chair arms.

619, signal lost.

The mission was already going wrong, and now his dogs were in the fight of their lives. It wasn't supposed to go like this . It wasn't supposed to take all 4 of them from their mission, from him. They were doing so well, excelling where he needed them to. He was proud of them.

620, signal lost.

Damn it. 2 left. 2 left against a rail gun, and the Juggernaut. Walter watched in horror as 617 and 618 engaged with the larger mech while the Railgun kept taking shots at them. It was then that he knew they wouldn't be coming back unscathed, or even at all. 617 rushed forward and pumped all of their ammo into the beast, taking the large AC and themself out.

617, down.

One left. One left. His hands gripped his desk as 618 rushed in, destroying the railgun at the expense of their own life.

Suddenly, the system was back online, and 621's voice was coming through loud and clear. Walter hadn't realized that he was breathing as heavy as he was, or just how hard he was white-knuckling the arms of the chair. He slowly let go of it as relief slammed through him like a tidal wave. The gruff man slumped into the back of the chair and rubbed his sore hands together. She was still alive. She was still alive. Her reasons made sense, even if he wished it were better communicated. He took a moment to compose himself, running a large hand up his face and through his peppered tresses.

"I see. Take out the MTs and get to the downed AC." He could only hope his voice sounded composed as he came down from the panic and adrenaline fueled reaction to her signal being cut. The first license that came up was expired, belonging to Callsign, Thomas Kirk. An independent.

"This one's already expired. Keep looking."

~***~
Elliot listened intently to what Rusty was saying. She had an inkling that they would need to lie earlier, and he just confirmed it. The pilot swallowed thickly but steeled herself. Of course the corporations didn't care, she should have known this after the types of missions she had been on. But still it caught her a little off guard. She didn't want to risk re-education. The thought of it was terrifying to her. She needed her mind in tact to keep doing what she was good at and she had her family to take care of; Lillith, Xander, Xavier, Mom...

She leaned in, speaking just loud enough for him to hear. "Fuck Snail... Lie to him."

Anger, fear, and dissension flashed through her eyes at the conflict of morals. It wasn't directed at Rusty, of course. No, her new friend had good ideas. It was more directed at the corporation she was indebted to and the situation that she found herself in now. It was hard to fight her morals, fight how she was raised, but she would have to be more careful in the future. That is, if she ever ran into that cinder again. Maybe it was a one time thing?

The way he spoke about it though... Was he a native as well? He was just as willing to lie to V II as she was.

"Good lie, good idea. Am not good liar. You seem to be good liar, though." She wasn't the best at lying, but he seemed to be judging by the excuse that he made up on the spot. Unless he had been thinking about it since she stopped him earlier? Regardless, if he was the one doing the speaking, they would have a far better chance at avoiding re-education.

"You do the talking? Please?" Just like earlier, she tilted her head to the side to indicate a question.

 

[Lucyfer]

The license was expired.

Of course it was. Why would this be easy? Aurelia wondered if Walter had a backup plan; based on how he sounded, she doubted it. She really was his last shot. ‘What a terrible gamble.’

621 couldn't be a lucky number.

Still, now wasn't the time for commenting on anything like that. Now was the time to head towards another downed unit. “Understood. Two more to check.” She headed away from the downed ship where the first one was and into the city, using the cover of buildings to avoid as many MTs as she could.

She was a bit startled by the sight of blue lasers overhead, and when she looked up, she saw a heavy helicopter moving over the area.

She got out of it's shadow quickly, as it began to take down MTs, clearly not on their side. She didn't see any corporation branding on its hull, though. “Do you know anything about the helicopter that just showed up, Handler?” She definitely didn't, and imagined she didn't want to go against that thing, either.

Not with this light frame, anyways.

~***~

‘Better than you know.’ Not that Rusty would admit that. He just gave a bit of a chuckle and an embarrassed head scratch before he lowered his hand. “It helps that I can add some fluctuation to my tone. I can cover us, don't worry,” he did this often enough.

Snail trusted in incompetence when it wasn't his own. He'd trust that Rusty and Huntress could fuck up a simple mission to gather information. That wasn't even a question.

Re-education wouldn't be required for this.

He went to sit on the foot of STEEL HAZE. He wouldn't need to get back into it until they were closer to base, to walk it into it's LOADER. “How long have you been with the Vespers, anyways? We didn't reach Rubicon until a few months ago.”

Yet another reason he'd needed to lie. As soon as those barriers went down, and he went into the Vespers, he had to make sure they couldn't trace him back. He'd joined almost immediately, of course. He had to, after all. The sooner, the less suspicious. Before Arquebus really knew they had ACs and a rebellion against them that had been trying to throw off the yoke of the PCA.

Now they had to deal with this….

Rubicon really was down on its luck.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Either his composure held, or she just didn't say anything about it. Regardless, after a few minutes, he was able to at least get his voice to stop its warbling. His hands were still shaking though. 621 had to be his lucky number. She had to be.

As his hound continued forward into the city, he kept his eyes on the radar. Despite the MTs, it was surprisingly quiet. Too quiet. That's when the sound of a chopper blades came through the comms. "What?" He ground his teeth as he accessed the new information.

"That's the PCA's planetside force. Keep a low profile. We don't want them breathing down our necks." He knew she wouldn't have any issues with that in that lighter weight AC. And he certainly didn't want the PCA looking into them before they were able to get a license.

"Analyzing,"

The next license wasn't expired yet, but it was a corporation license. Damn it. They definitely couldn't use that one.

"Corp license. Easily traced. Forget it. One more left, 621."

~***~
Relief filled Elliot's body and her smile returned to her face. "Thank you, buddy." With the lie decided on, the air seemed to clear, and Elliot allowed herself to relax. She would be safe, for the most part. They both would be.

She followed his lead to get comfortable and sat on her own AC's foot. The two ACs weren't too far apart from each other, so they wouldn't have to yell. When he asked her when she had joined the Vespers, she had to mentally track back the days.

"Three weeks. Was in AC Training Camp to make money for family as AC Pilot. Arquebus offered to fix Coral damage after seeing skills. Now am here and have debt." Elliot shrugged, laying back against the cold metal of ARTEMIS's metal foot and looking up at the AC and the ceiling of the transport chopper.

"Send them money after missions to feed them. How long you been with Vespers?" The red-head turned her head to look over at him.

She caught sight of the clock on the wall of the transport and a big, goofy smile spread across her scarred face. "Made it back for lunch,"

 

[Lucyfer]

PCA. That was a vaguely familiar term, one that Aurelia never needed to know, but did anyways. It had come up as a fear on Pluto. The Planetary Closure Administration was a death knell to any planet they shut down. No one wanted their interference.

Aurelia didn't need to ask why they were here, and she did her best to keep a low profile, avoiding any fights she could, and managing what she couldn't with the blade. It was quieter than explosives, after all. She got to the second AC and that was another bust.

“Might not want to forget it, in case the third is a dud. Maybe you can pull a favor with one of the corporations,” Aurelia suggested, before zipping off to the third one, and letting the scanners take it in.

Another dud.

But a fourth came up on the scanners. She kept a snarky comment about four being the charm before heading up to it, and let Walter do his thing with the scanner. “May want to hurry,” though she kept that comment to herself rather than sending it through the comms. She was exposed. High up.

And she swore she could hear the helicopter.

She wouldn't disturb Walter’s work with an inane comment, in case it was sensitive.

~***~

Three weeks.

Not that long ago at all.

The reasoning was sound, but it always was. Everyone needed money. Everyone needed supplies. All that they could buy from BAWS corporate towns were stupidly expensive since it was items that had to be pushed through the PCA. That was no easy task. Balam and Arquebus made things a little cheaper, but the cost of their presence was far too much.

Didn't she see that?

Then again, there was the debt part.

She had to save her own life, in a way.

Arquebus was good at that. He knew they had O’Keeffe's loyalty bought from that. He'd likely never pay that debt off.

Neither would Elliot.

“A few months now,” he said, “I was the rookie until you showed up, actually,” despite what his number said, he was young blood in the Vespers. “They had to promote me, though. I'm sure you'll get there, with your skills. No offense to Pater, but I don't think he's better than you. Can't say much about Maeterlinck, though. I haven't seen her in action too often, and she keeps to herself.”

Kind of like Elliot, though it wasn't any sort of shunning. She was more alone by choice.

At the comment of time, he glanced up, and then laughed. “So we will. I guess now I can make sure to dig into a huge hamburger to make up for a small breakfast.” He definitely preferred the real food. “What about you? Or are you stuck on the bars and shakes?” Might prefer it, if her money was feeding others.

He did feel a pang of sympathy, despite it all.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

"Come on, be something we can use..." It was a comment kept to himself as he watched the download bar cross his screen. The scan of the fourth AC wreck loaded up and the man let out a sigh of relief, running his hand through his hair once more as the corner of his lip quirked upwards.

Yes. Yes! This one was perfect. Exactly what they needed! Small victories, especially after that scare that they had, were sweet.

"Rb-23, Callsign, Raven" He repeated aloud as he read the license, getting himself familiar with it. Corps would check the license, and Walter would do his best to keep her true identity a secret. This would let them do missions here legally and build up a reputation for her here."Good work 621. Mission complete. I'll send the transport copter to get you."

The first big hurdle towards his ultimate mission was dealt with, and now they could focus on bigger, more pressing hurdles. His hopes were squashed when his screens sent off a blaring warning, identifying the PCA copter that she had avoided until now. Damn it.

"Get out of there, 621! Take cover!" As the illuminated screen shouted warnings to him, Walter watched in horror as the battle copter got closer to her, opening fire in an attempt to draw her out. How did they even find her out here? Had they been tracking her from the heart of the city? Regardless, it looked like 621 was in for the fight of her life and all he could do was support her through the comms and trust in her skill as an AC pilot to get her through this. "If they want a fight, then a fight they'll get. Give them hell, 621."

~***~
The red head nodded in understanding, crossing her arms behind her head and laying back into them. A few months? So he was newer just like she was. Maybe that's why he was so friendly and willing to lie to Snail? His next words were almost lost to her as she pondered, but she thankfully was paying enough attention to catch it.

"Think so? Haven't talked to anyone other than higher ups. Don't have reference for team's skills. Except you."

Elliot was happy to hear that he would be getting a big meal after their stressful, life threatening mission. If she wasn't feeding her family with her Coam, maybe she would have splurged as well. "Real food expensive. Family more important than my wants. Bars and shakes for me." She'd go hungry if it meant that her family could eat off the Coam she made.

A ding in the transport copter signaled that they were almost to the Arquebus base and that it was time to get back in the beasts to put them in their LOADERs. Sitting up from the foot of ARTEMIS, Elliot gave him a friendly smile, canting her head to the side. "We talk later?" She sure hoped so. Having no one to really talk to was driving her a little batty and with him doing the talking, she likely wouldn't have to talk to Snail during the debrief.

She loaded up into her AC, waiting for the helicopter to land so they could put their giant metal death machines away. The red-head placed the neuro set on her head and felt her AC roar to life again under her. It was a sense of comfort and familiarity to handle the maintenence of her AC.