Fandom Coral, Abide with Rubicon!

[EllieMcEllie]

"That's what I was worried about." Walter sighed and stared blankly at the wall in front of him. She wasn't going to have that kind of information on. Looks like he'd have to reach out himself and hopefully get a foot in the door. He knew how to play nice, and how to appeal to the man formerly known as Hostage Killer.

Still, her intel was still top notch as always. Carla had at least heard enough about Arquebus's missions to give him a time, even if it was just 'soon'. Soon didn't mean now, which would give him the time he needed to cast his net, catch Snail's attention. He was unsure just how to do that but that was a problem for future Walter. For now, after the day he and his pilot had, he needed sleep, and badly.

"Carla? Thank you." He wasn't too good with his words when expressing graditude, but it was something. Walter said his goodnight and ended the call, leaving the binder of information on his desk to read more of in the morning. First things first, sleep. The coffee was already wearing off and he knew he'd be sore if he fell asleep at his desk again.

The next morning, after a cup of coffee and a plate of breakfast, Walter practically locked himself in his office, mulling over the facts and just how he could get through to Snail. His pilot was worth the risk, he knew that, but how would he convince Snail of that? He'd had to wing it, it seemed. Snail was methodical, but could be budged if given the right information and prodding. Now was as good a time as any. He sent the message request, waiting for the man to call him. It didn't take long.

The shrewd voice of Hostage Killer, now known as V.II Snail, patched through his computer, his emblem showing up on the side. "You must be the Handler, I presume? Of the Independant mercenary Raven" Pretentious wasn't the right word because it wasn't strong enough to describe this man. A man that he had to play nice with in order to get his way. A man that he'd rather bypass entirely if the situation allowed for it. Unfortunately, it did not.

"Honored to make your acquaintance, V.II Snail." Polite, but blunt. He had to be, lest the Hostage Killer himself grandstand about himself for too long.

"I understand you want to join Operation WallClimber?"

This was it.

Walter and V.II Snail would spend the better half of ten minutes deciding the fate of the Handler's pilot and her role in the operation before coming to a decision. Another team mission. V. IV Rusty and V.IX Huntress. The man quirked a brow, the last callsign familiar from Aurelia's last sortie. The sibling to the Gemini Brothers. This could go many ways, but he chose to hope they would go as smoothly as possible. They had a few days to prepare anyway, so he'd let her know about the sortie and go from there.

After preparations were done, all that was left was to brief his pilot, so that's where Walter found himself; sitting at the table with his black coffee in hand and her own coffee how she liked it in a mug across from him as he waited for her to wake up and join him. The sortie tablet was placed between the two seats with the recording from Arquebus up on it, waiting to be played for them both as Walter took a bite of his waffles.

~***~

This was how she was going to die; at the hands of Rusty who seemed to delight in how easily flustered she was. Time flew by quickly, however, and she got the hang of the techniques quicker than she thought she would. Huntress was more surprised that it had ended as soon as it did, though her ribs hurt something fierce. She'd need to take something for it before bed, but a hot shower would help too.

"And keep getting my ass kicked by you? I'd love to," It was all in jest as she giggled at her own little joke. "It was nice to see your squad too, you all seem like a great group. You know, I just started movie and game nights with mine if you and your squad want to join us sometime? It's mostly card games and outdated, cheesy romcoms and action movies, but it's fun!" Back was that bubbly voice of hers, though less energetic as she was doused in sweat and exhausted from the training. "I'm hitting the showers, see you later buddy!"

That night, after her shower, she reflected on the events of the training and couldn't keep the wide smile --or the blush-- off her face. She'd need to work more on her upper body strength, but these sparring sessions would help her get stronger, help her better defend herself and in turn, better provide for her family. The best part was that she got to hang out with Rusty while doing it, even if that meant getting into suggestive situations. Gods... She couldn't believe Lilith was right! She was going to rub this in her face with memes for weeks.

Still, she should probably thank him, right? Pulling out her personal phone, she texted Rusty a meme before adding a message.

I had fun getting my ass kicked today, can't wait to do it again. Thanks again for inviting me to Vesper Fight Club, buddy!
​

The next few days passed again without incident, though things were a little awkward around Rusty as the red head became very aware of her own growing feelings for him. It was the same routine as usual; Work out, shower, eat, drills, hang out with Hawkins and Rusty. She wasn't quite ready to go back to a BAWS town just yet, but maybe after a few more sparring sessions she would feel confident enough. When Huntress had gotten the message on her work phone that V.II had a mission for her and Rusty, she threw on her flight suit, and made herself presentable.. Time to make money for her family, and get back in the cockpit of her AC, which had been restored to its regular colors and frame.

If Rusty was going with her, it was probably just another information sortie. Something that wouldn't hopefully ruin more Rubiconian lives, like the generator mission had... The fight was still fresh in her mind, as were the almost haunted looks of the children who were displaced there. That was her fault. Would they even live? Would they survive the cold? Her thoughts were cloudy and depressing as she made her way to the fridge to grab herself a plain chocolate ration shake. Maeterlinck and Hawkins were already there, eating their own respective breakfasts. "Good morning!" She called out as cheerfully as she could manage, giving them both a smile as she opened the weird metal pouch top to expose the straw. If she was lucky, she'd run in to Rusty before the meeting to at least say hello before they had to deal with Snail.

"Good Morning, V.IX. Waiting for someone, huh? Maybe a certain 'Buddy' of yours?" Maeterlinck's voice had a teasing edge to it, knowing exactly who the red-head was looking for. In the short times she'd seen the two interract, it was clear there was something going on there. The red head flushed predictably, almost choking on her shake.

"I'm sortie-ing with Rusty today, I thought I'd wait for him, that's all...!" Maeterlinck snickered in response to the answer.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the whole reason,"

Huntress turned away to hide just how red her face had gotten, pouting slightly as she took a drink of her ration shake with Maeterlinck laughing in the background. She had always been easy to fluster and make blush like this, even when she was younger. Something that Lilith and the twins used to take advantage of while teasing her, knowing which buttons to push to have her face matching her hair.

 

[Lucyfer]

Sleep was a ridiculous notion with how much work LEMURES needed after the damned C-Weapons. Aurelia had already decided she had a personal vendetta against coral before the C-Weapons, but that had significantly intensified as she went through the manual process of repairs, leaving as few things to automation as possible. That included the new coat of paint, and re-establishing her skull emblem on the front of the core.

She went for a dustier pink this time, like snow blushing, really.

Or at least, that was the color she hoped for.

The red never cleared from her vision, not even after she did, eventually, sleep.

Somehow, she’d known. It was another reason she hadn’t wanted to sleep. She hadn’t wanted to confirm this new ailment wouldn’t be cured by sleep. Nor was it cured the second time, and she woke to the red tint over everything as she prepared for the day, taking note of the message from Walter about a mission. ‘Good thing LEMURES is ready.’ It had taken a lot of work, but Aurelia had little else to do.

This ship was her life, after all.

And she didn’t have enough coam to afford the full frame for LEMURES. She’d gotten the pictures, and was told it was done, but it was out of her price range. She’d paid some towards it, of course, but she needed more. Then, she’d update the hand weapons.

She dressed in one of her many flight suits and found Walter in his usual place. Her coffee was already prepared, which did cause her to smirk, a bit, as she took her seat and took a sip of it first, quietly grateful, before she set it down and nodded. “What mission do you have for me this time, Walter? Hopefully something involving dispatching wherever those C-Weapons came from,” she doubted it.

No one would be paying for that. Not yet, anyways. She doubted the RLF had tracked them down.

This would be more of the usual, no doubt. Corpo shenanigans, or RLF ones.

~***~

The meme certainly made Rusty smile when he saw it.

You’re always welcome in the fight club. Just don’t talk about it. ​

Obviously, Snail knew about it. Rusty kept most things on the up and up with Snail, if only to make it seem less likely that he was hiding anything. The impending Wall mission was one thing that made him struggle. The Vespers continued to launch attacks against generators, increasingly not related to the Wall.

The RLF knew it. They all understood what Arquebus was doing, it wasn’t subtle, but they had to start protecting the generators, and protect life. So, they started to scatter, as Snail hoped, away from the Wall, until the day of the Wall finally arrived. Rusty knew it even before the meeting with Snail, just as he knew it was going to be a difficult mission.

He knew what the RLF had left behind in place of AC pilots. Tetrapods, several bits of automated artillery, and of course, the Juggernaut.

The ribbing from his squadron over Huntress was endurable if only because it was a change from the talk of the Wall that was never-ending, though they weren’t with him as he made his way to the dining hall.

This time, he didn’t grab food.

He just grabbed a shake, this time chocolate, and almost completely missed Hawkins, Maeterlinck, and Huntress, focused on getting to Snail’s office. If Hawkins hadn’t whistled, he likely would have missed them entirely – but he did.

“Oh! Hey, sorry,” he went over, sheepish, “I was in another world.”

“I know,” Hawkins said, “you haven’t seen Snail yet?”

Rusty shook his head. “On my way there. Why?” a coy smile crossed his lips, “did you sneak in some of your independents to this job?”

“Mmm,” Hawkins hummed, “quite a few, actually, but I saved the best for you and Huntress,” he said, “might be necessary with their reputation, too,” he pursed his lips a moment.

Hiring Raven was not something Hawkins had wanted to do, but Snail insisted. They had to offer a rather substantial sum to make sure the RLF couldn’t pay her off. Snail was certain her Handler had her under control, but Hawkins held some doubts. There was every chance Raven could turn on them, and in that case, fighters like Rusty and Huntress would be needed to put her down.

Though, the idea was that the Juggernaut would do that.

All of the independents on this were destined for death so Snail didn’t have to pay out.

“And who is that?”

Hawkins shook his head, “Snail will have the honors of briefing you both. I can’t say more,” Maeterlinck was there, and while she might not be a spy, he couldn’t trust anyone. If the RLF got a head’s up about Raven being there, they might come up with the funds to turn her. And her Handler.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter gave Aurelia a nod in greeting, letting the corners of his lips twitch upward for a moment.

"No, nothing for that yet. I managed to get you in on Operation WallClimber. It's another team mission, corporate this time. You'll be working with V. IV Rusty, and V. IX Huntress to take the Wall and bring down the Juggernaut. Arquebus learned from their mistake last time and upped their hiring fee for you. Here's the briefing."

The pre-recorded audio of the briefing was introduced by a man named V. V Hawkins who described the mission ; Take out the automated artillery, the Tetrapods, mid-route rendezvous with the two Vespers and make their way to the top to deal with a machine called the JUGGERNAUT. In short, infiltrate the Wall and help bring it under Arquebus control. All for 400k COAM.

Assuming all went well, and she didn't take too much damage or use too much ammo, that would line both their pockets nicely, and the RLF would have a hard time matching it.

"This'll get you the reputation that you need to get better jobs, ones that pay more, and earn you the trust of the people wanting to hire you." Except the RLF. They should have been on the ball with this. "Get some breakfast. Any questions before you ship out?"

Walter split his attention between her and the waffles in front of him, ready to answer any questions, and hoping she didn't try to kill him for putting her on a mission against the RLF. He was still her Handler and had to pick her sorties out.

~***~

Huntress turned at the sound of Hawkins' whistle, eye lighting up when they fell on Rusty only for her face to contort in confusion. It wasn't like Rusty to be so distracted, but she supposed that she had been pretty distracted lately as well.

"Good morning, Rusty!" How was it possible for him to look even cuter when he was all sheepish? Just as her face had finally started to cool down, a faint pink dusted her cheeks once more.

Wait, did they have matching shakes?

She was left with her thoughts as Rusty and Hawkins talked about the mission ahead. It seemed they knew more about what was going on than she did, and the way that they talked, this wasn't going to be an information mission. That could only mean one thing.

They were being sent to the Wall, weren't they?

It had been described as almost a suicide mission for those who attempted it, and even with the promise of other independants, she wasn't sure she liked their odds. The Redguns had tried and failed already! Still, she had to keep her head up. Her family was counting on her! She just had to be like Shere Khan. Big, strong, fast!

"We shouldn't keep Snail waiting too long, huh buddy?" The red head canted her head to the side with a languid, half-hearted smile. She couldn't find it within herself to fake a big smile, knowing just what was at stake, and she was never great at hiding her real emotions.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘You hate me, don't you?’

Aurelia could only groan at the announcement of this as a team mission, this time with Arquebus, so far her least favorite of the groups. Hawkins was part of that. There was nothing offensive about Hawkins, but he sounded so pretentious, so utterly fake, that Aurelia couldn't find Arquebus agreeable.

She still listened, and at least it sounded like she was only working with a group near the end to deal with a JUGGERNAUT. She recalled Huntress from the RLF group. Family dinners had to be wild.

“The RLF offered more for that STRIDER job,” though it seemed there was no competing offer. Yet. Perhaps that would change when she took the field. The amount felt low after that mission, even if it was a failure.

She'd just have to hope.

She didn't really want to do this.

She got up to grab a protein bar, but asked, “Will I be allowed to switch if they offer more again?” Walter mentioned trying to earn trust this time around. Perhaps that shift with the Redguns truly had done more harm than he anticipated.

~***~

Rusty’s expression did brighten when he heard Huntress greet him. He was glad to see her, even under mission circumstances. Ones that Hawkins wasn't elaborating on.

“No, we shouldn't,” Rusty agreed, though he'd known that waking up. He could tell it was starting to sink in for Huntress just how dire this particular mission could be. Of course, her stakes were different than his. Likely she was concerned with getting out alive.

He had several more pressing concerns beyond just that, though he knew it was a real issue, too. Not everyone in the RLF knew who he was, and they couldn't spare him even if they did in this situation.

He couldn't spare them.

He'd have to hope they ejected.

“Catch ya later!” Rusty bid up Maeterlinck and Hawkins before he and Huntress would leave and head to Snail's office. The halls were busy with people rushing about, a further sign to how quick things were about to move with the Wall situation. Snail's door was partially open, so Rusty didn't even have a chance to hit the comm before Snail spoke.

“Enter.”

Rusty pushed the door the rest of the way open for himself and Huntress. “Close it,” Snail directed and Rusty followed.

“So, today's the day?” Rusty asked, using his anxious energy to show excitement instead.

“Astute.” Snail didn't sound pleased with that. “Yes. The Wall is clear of RLF AC units. Only their MTs, artillery, and the JUGGERNAUT remain. I am assigning you and Huntress to clear the East and West sides respectively, and meet at the central high wall, where the JUGGERNAUT is. Assuming they do not die on the way, you will be aided by the independent mercenary Raven, though neither of you should require their help. JUGGERNAUT’s entire backside is unarmored. Flanking it, or flying above it, will be enough to bring it down.”

“Then why waste the coam?” Rusty had to ask.

“It's only a waste if they survive, and I have no hopes for the fodder. I'd rather waste them than our own forces.” Pragmatic and cold.

Rusty never liked it, but it was why the Vespers did better than the Redguns.

“Any questions?” Snail sounded like he really didn't want to answer any more questions.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

"It seems that Arquebus thinks that the RLF can't beat it." He'd heard about the strategic attacks on the other generators in the area to weaken the wall, likely to draw the heaviest hitters away to hit with the least opposition.

After the losses of the STRIDER and the generators, it wouldn't surprise him if they took a while to hire more independents at the rate she was being hired for, especially if Arquebus did take the Wall today.

Ah.

He was waiting for that question. Time to rip it off like a bandaid, he supposed.

"Not this time. We need to build back some trust with the corporations. Show them that you can commit to a job without being bought out." It was a half-truth, really. He wanted her on this job, hawking her skills as a pilot to the snooty man until he relented.

"Completing this job could get you access to jobs that pay more for less." Maybe that would sweeten the deal, maybe it wouldn't. He knew what might have a better chance of sweetening it though.

"I'll keep an eye out for more RLF jobs and let you know of any we are offered. I know you prefer them over the Corporations. Anything to get your name out there as long as you aren't burning bridges." In a way, he felt guilty for putting her on a mission that she clearly was going to hate doing especially after his conversation with Carla the other night.

If it weren't their best option for gaining corporation trust to find the Coral convergence through their missions, he would have been less inclined to work with Hostage Killer in the first place.

~***~

The walk to Snail’s office was short, though seemed much longer with the impending doom the red head felt and the hustle and bustle in the halls. Did Rusty feel the same? Was he worried about the Wall too? Is that why he was so distracted?

Snail was more irritable than normal, more curt. It was understandable if this was as big of a mission as Huntress thought it was. So many forces, so many places to put them, so little time to get them moving.

His explanation left nothing to the imagination either. It was straight and to the point; exactly what they needed to do. The name Raven was familiar for several reasons, but one was the fact that Lilith had made the signature Pinkgun rockets that they used. Despite everything, it would be cool to see them in action, assuming they made it to the top of the wall with them.

“No questions here, sir.” Huntress did have questions, but none that she could ask Snail. Questions like ‘Are we the bad guys?’ and ‘How many innocent people will die because of our actions?’ and 'Will this affect my family?'. Her stomach twisted at the thought, and almost thought she'd be sick.

Thankfully she was able to keep it together enough for Rusty to ask any more questions he had, before the two were dismissed to head to the transport copter where their ACs were already stored for them. Huntress was silent the whole way there, lost in thought with a small frown pasted onto her normally cheerful face.

Once they were loaded up and the helicopter was off, Elliot turned to Rusty, her lips still pulled downward as worry sparked in her eyes. "Stay safe out there, Rusty. I can't lose my buddy to the Wall of all things." He was skilled, sure, as was she, but if the Wall could take down the Redguns, it could easily take them down too.

 

[Lucyfer]

Aurelia was indeed unsatisfied with Walter’s answer as she opened her protein bar and chomped into it. However, she’d not protest further. The coam would get her closer to finishing LEMURES, after all, and after her experience with the C-weapons, it was obvious that LEMURES needed a major frame upgrade with her style of fighting. She knew that from the start, but she had adapted a bit.

Not enough.

Nor would she.

The heavy frame suited her.

“I thought this was about coam,” she still couldn’t help but say, “If the corpos think I’m bought over, they can learn to offer more than their competitors. I gave Michigan the option,” and he chose not to pay. Sadly, she knew she wasn’t going to get to test Snail on this, so she waved it off and leaned against the counter, “But fine, if I need to seem reliable and not just help for the highest bidder, we’ll try it your way.”

For now.

“I’ll just have to be faster than Huntress and Rusty so I don’t have to deal with them,” which probably meant shipping out soon, so she ate the rest of the bar quickly, wanting to get as much of a head start as possible to avoid this team nonsense again.

~***~

Rusty didn’t have any questions, and so he shook his head, “I understand what’s needed,” and he did, only too well. He hated these missions, but he could execute them effectively. He wasn’t IV for nothing, after all.

“Good. Dismissed. You are to dispatch immediately with your squadrons.” Snail directed, and Rusty nodded, before he’d step out, and send a quick text message to his squad as he walked alongside Huntress. They were already prepared, knowing Rusty had a mission, but likely not as prepared as they needed to be.

That was evidenced enough by his AC being set in the copter with ARTEMIS. He could only groan; he needed to be with his squad, damn it! Snail’s need to keep this quiet was going to cost them, but he’d deal with it, and keep his complaint of Snail’s minor flaws to himself. He rarely thought of the MT squads, it was amazing he could even lead a squad while dealing with everything else.

A shame that flaw hadn’t translated into much the RLF could exploit.

When Huntress spoke, he tilted his head down to acknowledge her, “Heh. Don’t worry about me, Buddy. The Wall’s going to be nothing. Don’t let the Redgun failure get you spooked,” she should be on her guard, of course. She should be spooked.

And he ought to try and get into her head over it, so she would fail, but he couldn’t.

He couldn’t wish that death upon her in the field, even if he’d do that to others. Likely his own squadron. “I think you’ll drop first at your meet-point for your squad,” Rusty noted, “you don’t have to move until I drop, we need to make sure to time this well since Snail didn’t prepare us to head out with our squads, and communicate with Hawkins so we know the position of the mercs he’s scrambling.”

And likely, his MT squadron for the frontal assault.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter wanted to say that the RLF couldn't afford her rates forever, but getting into a fight before a sortie wasn't the best idea, especially if he wanted her to follow the mission correctly and not go AWOL. He had heard of Iguazu's stint at the Wall from the grapevine of rumors and didn't want that kind of reputation attached to his pilot. No, she needed to be known as reliable.

"The corporations will be more willing to outbid the RLF if you give them a reason to hold confidence in your skills. Michigan has been regretting his decision since he turned the offer down. I'd say he won't make that mistake again anytime soon." Walter finished up his waffles around the same time she finished her protein bar and put his dishes in the sink, ready to head to his office.

Her comment had him relieved in a way. She at least was going along with the mission. "That'll get the Corporation's attention, that's for sure. You better get moving if you want to beat them, 621," With that, he made his way to his office and started booting the combat and mission systems online. Some time after, Aurelia's vitals came across the screens and a notification of the helicopter leaving the ship chirped on a side screen.

The Wall would be a hard mission, but knowing his pilot's skill, she'd get through it with or without the help of the two Vespers. The RLF were going to be upset about this betrayal, and it would likely be a while before they offered her another mission. That was an issue for later. There would always be other contracts that they could take from corporations for coam, and after this, he could ask for more for her services.

"Almost to the drop off. Get ready." The feed from the Helicopter itself was hectic. MTs from Arquebus and the RLF were locked in combat as a few independent mercs fought inbetween the group, some falling, and others struggling to hold back the RLF. Walter watched as the JUGGERNAUT fired a missile into the chassis of an independent, tearing apart the metal and killing the pilot in an instant. Closer to the bridge that lead towards the wall were two automated turrets that ripped through MT and AC alike, felling them as they ventured too close on a missio nto bring them down.

"Seems they've already started, 621. Time to show them you don't play around."

~***~

Rusty's reassurance did little to sway her worry, but she nodded, not wanting to dwell on it any longer. "I trust you, buddy," It was true. She trusted him probably more than she should, though he'd never given her a reason to not trust him. He was her buddy, and if he said they'd be fine, he had to be right.

Her squad was scrambled into action moments after leaving Snail's office, though the confirmation text on her work phone from Dalilah, 9th squad Actual, let her know that they were successfully loaded up and headed to the drop off point. The thought of losing those in her squadron during this mission threatened to make her sick all over again. She knew all their names, and the thought that many may not be coming back hurt her deeply.

"Understood. I'll wait for your signal then, and see if Hawkins can't give us a better idea of our situation to better strategize." The red head nodded, absorbing the information. While not great at strategy, she was good at following instructions. "I'm dying to meet Raven. My sister Lilith made the Pinkgun missile launchers and I can't wait to see them in action!" Seeing Lilith's work would be like seeing the giant woman herself in a way. Maybe she'd pay her mom and Lilith a visit next time she had a day off. If I make it out of here.

As they got closer to the drop off, Huntress hurried over to ARTEMIS, placing her hand on the metal beast's foot. "ARTEMIS, please keep us safe out there. This'll be a hard one." With her sortie ritual complete, she hustled up the catwalk before dropping into the hatch of the cockpit, slipping the neurolink on her head. She had been practicing during drills with using her necklace and AC at the same time and gotten pretty good at recognizing her limits to safely disconnect before causing herself issues.

Not long after getting ARTEMIS turned on and prepared to launch, they had arrived at her drop location. "I'll see you at the Wall, buddy!" The striped beast dropped out of the helicopter, only activating the thrusters to slow her descent before landing near her MT squad with a big puff os snow that scattered everywhere.

"9th squad, 9th squad actual, do you copy?"

"We copy, V.IX! Are we ready to take this Wall, men?"

"Hell yeah we are!" There was a loud round of cheers on comms from her squad that only made that sick feeling return. She hoped that their deaths would be swift, should they be killed in combat.

"V.V, do you copy?" She got her confirmation and moved on. At least she'd have her buddy and her friend in the cockpit with her this mission, even if over comms.

"V.IV, do you copy?" Another confirmation, which lead her to move on to her question for Hawkins.

"I'm at Western drop off, awaiting Eastern drop off confirmation. What kind of positioning do we have for the independents over here? Do we have eyes on Raven's position?"

 

[Lucyfer]

The party had begun without Aurelia, it seemed. She turned the music up as she dropped, as Walter made his comment, and although she wanted to feel that confident boost, she couldn’t find it in herself to be smug about the absolute wreckage she was going to leave behind here. Not even as Hawkins’s voice came on over the comms.

“Raven, apologies. Some independent mercenaries decided to jump the gun, so to speak. Focus on the outline of your own mission, although do know there will be bonuses for additional MTs and artillery units taken down.”

“Keep count, Hawkins,” she suggested, before boosting not towards the bridge where MTs and ACs were being decimated, but towards the left, taking a path that put her on the wall ahead of the Wall, before the RLF noticed she had arrived.

I'm not afraid of the war you've come to wage against my sins
I'm not okay, but I can try my best to just pretend​

She obliterated four artillery units in short order, dodging shots from the units on the Wall, and dropping down on the units in front of the bridge and cutting through the heavier MT unit there with no issues.

‘Tch. This is what they struggle with?’

She was…disappointed in the RLF.

Angry.

Where were their ACs? The Gemini Brothers? Dolmayan?

Instead, she smashed through MT units and the artillery along the right side. Why leave the Vespers anything useful? Destruction sounded like a great idea as she finished up there, and wove around the buildings – homes? businesses? – that were being shredded by the artillery fire trying to keep up with her, the Arquebus MTs, and the other independent mercenaries.

‘How many lives am I destroying today?’

She hit the tetrapod with her missiles, coating it in pink, and pinning it down in overheat. A bazooka blast knocked it into the corridor where the artillery along the Wall couldn’t reach her.

So will you wait me out
Or will you drown me out?
(I might have to let you go)​

A hailing signal reached out to her as she dove into that corridor and strafed to avoid the missiles. She punched it through.

“Raven,” the unknown speaker addressed her, “what is Arquebus offering? We’ll double it, as well, to push them back.”

“Sorry – can’t,” she answered, careful to be short in the midst of combat. Whoever was speaking, wasn’t the one in the tetrapod – although the voices of others cut through, now that she was in the RLF line.

“So it is not just coam that motivates you? You believe in Arquebus’s destruction of our planet?”

‘No.’ She couldn’t answer as she pushed LEMURES forward and lashed out with the blade, knocking it into overheat. She didn’t dive to finish, but boosted back, and took the moment out of combat to respond.

“That’s not it. Tell your tetrapod pilot to eject, I don’t have to kill any of you, just your MTs. My handler—”

A barking laugh came from the other side of the call, “Handler! Are you not Raven? Are you not Freedom Itself? Fly, Raven! You do not need to follow the whims of a handler, if that is all that is keeping you fighting alongside the corporations. You are not some hound to be collared and led.”

Aurelia hesitated. She couldn’t imagine Walter was enjoying the conversation from his end. Obviously, the thought had crossed her mind. It would continue to. She didn’t enjoy being caged. They were offering her an out, to join with them not as a freelancer, but something permanent.

And damned if she wasn’t tempted.

Even the tetrapod waited, when the overheat expired.

“Sorry.” She hated the word, “for all I know he has an explosive tracker in my head,” half joke, half truth. She didn’t know what he’d done, if anything, to make sure she couldn’t leave. He hadn’t mentioned it, as one would if they could wave that kind of power, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“We’re sorry as well, Raven. We hope that you will come back to us.”

I can wait for you at the bottom
I can stay away if you want me to​

The words pulled at her mind, at the re-education, as did the unbroken connection that she wasn’t able to snap off, full of RLF commentary as the tetrapod re-engaged, rather than eject. Aurelia made short work of it, though the vitals would show that sudden spike of her heart.

Aurelia tried to get it together, tried to turn up the music, and reached to cut the connection after that. Unfortunately, the other independent mercs that Arquebus had hired really weren’t that great, and she’d trapped herself in the corridor. The MTs saw an opening, and sought to pin her in and obliterate her like a cornered animal.

Re-education took hold amidst the familiar liberation cries. She didn’t punch through them as she usually would, but boosted up, and sent the explosive shots down, before boosting out of the corridor.

One trap into another.

The artillery along the Wall was still very active, and locked onto her attempt to escape via flight quickly. She’d spent the booster’s energy on the escape, and was struck on the return to the ground, several times. Right into overheat.

And right out of re-education.

Weigh down on me, stay 'til morning
Way down, would you say I'm worthy?​

“Fucks SAKE!” she yelled at herself, grasping the repair kit and turning the comm link the RLF had set up, off, before flying back into the safe corridor where the MTs were leaving to try and follow her.

She blasted them to pieces, and hugged the Wall as she ascended, taking out the artillery that had hammered into her one by one out of pure spite now, until everything in front of the Wall seemed…quiet.

‘Oh.’

That burst of anger settled into discomfort, as she remembered who it had turned against.

“Raven? Mission parameters have changed. V.II Snail would like you to clean up the inside of the Wall on your way up,” Hawkins came over the comm.

For a moment, Aurelia considered not answering. Shutting down. Letting the remaining forces just destroy her, but she swallowed that down. ‘No. No, no, no, finish the mission, talk to Walter, find out if he has an explosive in your head….’

“I understand,” emotionless. She found the entry with the new signal he provided, and powered through it, and the MTs within the Wall, trying to protect it from there.

They were nothing against LEMURES.

Nothing against her.

Blissfully unaware the parameters had changed because V.II Snail was trying to get her killed so he didn’t have to pay up what he’d offered, and the bonuses for every slain foe. If nothing else, it was certainly running her low on ammunition.

And it was with a couple silos of missiles left, and a handful of bazooka rounds, that she arrived at the top of the Wall, and walked out into the snow, just as a blue AC with reverse jointed legs came sliding onto the top of the Wall, skidding to a stop a bit ahead of LEMURES.

“You must be Raven,” he greeted, “the infamous Handler Walter’s newest hound.”

~***~

Rusty wasn’t nearly as enthused to meet Raven, even if they were going to be on the same side, this time. It meant they weren’t on the same side, though he wondered how much of it was Raven’s sincere opinion on things, and how much of it was coam. Or, well, her Handler. He’d learned through the RLF that her Handler was the one selecting missions, and his name was infamous.

He'd killed 620 hounds, as he called them.

Raven wasn’t in very good hands, at all.

“I’m just glad to have Raven on our side,” Rusty chuckled, “it’ll be a shame if the RLF pays her off on this mission like they did with the Redguns,” he did half-hope for that, though. The RLF might hold the Wall that day. Rusty might have to throw the fight a little, but…he could do that to keep the Wall in their hands.

He didn’t immediately get into STEEL HAZE. Not until after ARTEMIS had already left with Huntress. Only then did he resign himself to the fact he had to get moving again. He had to take the Wall for Arquebus. So, when Huntress bid her farewell, he got into STEEL HAZE, and prepared himself mentally for the events.

He dropped ahead of his squad, and waited on their arrival, which wasn’t too far behind. The 100 MTs were all prepared for this, “All right, Squad. We’re waiting on confirmation from V.IX’s squadron leader, and V.V’s report, before we get moving. The job is simple: we clear the path from here, to the Wall, of hostiles. Squads of 10 MTs will stop to secure areas at various checkpoints, and the rest of us will continue. I will announce the checkpoints and squads by their Decimii. Understood?”

The squadron sounded off, and not long after, Huntress’s voice came through the comms. “Loud and clear, buddy.” They were looped into the larger Arquebus comm link by Hawkins.

“Some of them got a little too…eager,” Hawkins admitted with a sigh, “Raven has yet to land, but their handler informed me they would be there soon. You are free to move ahead and secure your paths.”

“Understood,” Rusty said, “See you on the Wall, Huntress,” he said, before he would indeed boost ahead, and lead his squadron.

The fighting wasn’t terrible out here, but that was expected. It wouldn’t get bad until they got closer to the Wall, but even so, Rusty assigned out his checkpoints along the road that led to the Wall as they went through the MT security positions, securing supplies and continuing along, until the Wall was towering over them, casting its shadow long, and the fighting.

“Raven has landed,” Hawkins reported. “Try not to move too fast. Should let the independent mercs earn their money.”

‘Earn their deaths, more like.’ Rusty didn’t say that, of course.

“Hey, not my fault if they can’t keep up with the Vespers,” Rusty joked instead, “Don’t worry, I’m not rushing at the expense of my job,” he added, which was true.

He was rushing to be ahead of his squad and cover a few ejections. He couldn’t speak to the RLF, and he didn’t allow any hailing to come through on his comms from them. He couldn’t bear it. It wasn’t like he could turn away, and most wouldn’t know who he was, anyways. He just did his duty and cut through his foes with the laser slicer, always staying ahead of his squadron as much as possible to cheers that he was doing most of the work.

Not a lie.

His squad had it pretty easy.

Except when they were left at their checkpoints, of course.

Most of those ended up being scattered along the base of the Wall. The artillery was pretty well cleared, so they didn’t have to worry about any heavy fire, at least, and Rusty didn’t have to rush in to try and stop it from decimating his squad as he made his way to the Wall. He didn’t enter it. He simply boosted up, using the various points where artillery had been placed as his stopping points to rest when he saw the boost almost hitting its limit, but he was able to get there – and he saw the JUGGERNAUT.

Just as he saw the metal doors opening.

“V. IV Rusty, at JUGGERNAUT,” he sent through, before dropping down and sliding to a stop at the top of the Wall, just ahead of the one who had to be Raven.

“You must be Raven,” he greeted, noting the almost ghostly pink AC they were in, “the infamous Handler Walter’s hound.” He couldn’t help the clear dislike towards the Handler in his tone, as he turned the head of his AC unit towards the JUGGERNAUT as it burst through a few structures that stood between it, and the ACs.

“And you must be a Vesper,” Raven didn’t seem to have a great opinion, by their tone.

Rusty smirked, a bit, and confirmed, “V. IV Rusty,” he offered, “V. IX Huntress will be here soon.” The JUGGERNAUT locked onto them. “Ready to climb the Wall?”

He heard the scoff, just as the JUGGERNAUT charged them. The two split separate ways.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter was all business the moment that she dropped in, keeping an eye on her surroundings as well as her heart rate and other important information like Comms. He didn't think his pilot would defect, but the possibility was still there. Especially if the RLF made the right counteroffer. He had enough trust in her to at least hesitate first.

"I'll keep track too, make sure those cheap skates at Arquebus don't short you on coam." It would be the least he could do for a mission he knew she already hated. Hopefully the corp missions would be against each other for a while after this and not the RLF. He didn't think he could convince her to take another mission against them so soon with the excuse of trust and reputation.

"That's it, 621. Keep it up," He was careful on how to cheer her on, careful on how he praised her, not wanting to piss her off mid-mission. Well, more than she already seemed to be, judging by the war path she was carving through the Wall. Like he promised, Walter kept count. At this rate, Arquebus would be paying her at least half a mil for the job. He didn't know how much the DI MANES frame would cost, or if she had already paid for it, but that would maybe be enough to cover it.

A hailing call, likely from the RLF, came through and Walter listened in, hoping she would refuse just like they talked about. Like he told her. Thankfully, she did, though the RLF was quick to push back, urging her to reconsider with the promises of freedom. The last line had him uncomfortable, as it should. She wasn't a hound, and yet he still ordered her around like one. Not only that, but these freedom fighters were offering an out for her, to escape his control, to fly free like her stolen callsign.

Walter had his mission; find and burn the Coral to protect humanity from people like his father and the dangers the coral possessed. Yet, still, he found himself acting like the very man he swore he wouldn't be like. For the second time in under 2 weeks, he had been reminded that left unchecked, he would become just like the man who had killed his mother, if he already hadn't become that. Her joke dared to confirm his fears. He didnt' have such a device in her head, and the thought that she thought that only furthered his unease.

It seemed that it made her feel a kind of way too as her heart rate spiked. The grizzled man kept an eye on it and her fighting, watching her fight in a different way than usual. Like when she wasn't herself. "621, don't let them get to you. Focus," His words seemed to fall on deaf ears and watched nervously as she tanked hits as she made her way back down to the ground. 'Come on, snap out of it,' He didn't want to have to yell in comms to bring her back. Thankfully, it seemed that the overheat did that for him. Her shout of expletives was his cue that she was back.

Before he could make a comment though, V. V came back through comms, updating her mission peramiters. Was Snail trying to get her killed? Who knew what kind of reinforcements were inside the Wall! Her emotionless call back to Hawkins let Walter know that something wasn't quite right still, but he'd keep that to himself and monitor her vitals.

Thankfully, she made quick work of the MTs inside the Wall, making herway to the door that lead out to the top where she was supposed to meet up with the two Vespers. This was it. The JUGGERNAUT. If anyone could take it down, it was her. The first Vesper to arrive was a Blue reverse jointed AC, identifying himself as V. IV Rusty, a light weight, speedy build. The two exchanged greetings, although terse, and Walter found himself wondering how the Vesper had heard who her handler was. It was common knowledge for Snail, and Michigan and those in charge of handing out missions, but last he checked, this Vesper didn't hand out missions. He'd be thinking about that for a while.

As combat started, the other Vesper appeared in a lightweight red and black striped AC, shouting expletives and diving right into the fight besides the others. Out of the two Vespers she seemed the most fired up. So this was the sister of the Gemini brothers? Interesting. It seemed that it was a family trait to favor dual triggers. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this. "You've got it, 621. Don't let those two distract you, I know you can do this."

~***~

Hearing that the independents had already started ahead of schedule made the red head leery. Is this why they didn't usually work with independents? They didn't listen to directions, or charged in like brainless idiots? Maybe it was their instructions, though the way Hawkins phrased it made it seem that they acted out of antsiness and not ordered chaos.

"10-4. Thanks, Hawkins! Come on 9th squad, lets show them how it's done! See if we can't beat 4th squad to the Wall!" She did her best to hide the inner turmoil ripping through her for the sake of her squad. Another eruption of cheers from her squad as she lead them forward. "See you at the Wall, Rusty,"

Huntress did her best to shield her MTs from danger, taking a few hits. She knew she'd hold a memorial later for the squad members lost, but if she could prevent their deaths, she'd do her best to do so.

The closer to the Wall they got, the more dangerous the fighting was and the more MTs she lost. She was almost to the Wall when the incoming danger indicator lit up her field of view and she boosted to the side, unable to warn her squad in time. To her horror, she watched as Delilah and almost a dozen more of her MTs were dismembered by the blast. All the turmoil that had been building up in her since the incident at the BAWS town turned to anger and grief as she emotionally snapped.

"No! Delilah! Fuck! Shit! Damn it! Now this is personal, you big metal bitch! I'm coming for you! Arlo, you're new 9th actual. Hold this line, and watch for more of those shells. I've got a giant missile-firing bastard to deal with!"

"Yes ma'am! You can count on me!"

Rusty's voice came through the Arquebus line, saying he had made it to the top. Shit! She needed to get up there to help him and Raven, put that JUGGERNAUT in the ground! Snapping firmly back into the role of leader from distressed compatriot, the red head boosted ARTEMIS up the side of the wall, using the platforms as resting points as she made her way up the western side.

Once she was at the top, she sent her own confirmation of being there. "V. IX Huntress, At JUGGERNAUT."

The tiger striped AC assault boosted over the top of the wall, LUDLOWS firing a constant stream of unholy hell into the back of the distracted JUGGERNAUT. "Sorry I'm late to the party. Ran into some trouble below. Let's take this fucker down, huh?" There was an abnormally sharp edge to her voice, and inside the cockpit, the pilot was fuming, itching to enact revenge for her fallen squad members.

A missile flying towards her AC from the machine they were fighting sent ARTEMIS strafing to the side to avoid it. "Motherfucker! Eat shit and die! This is for Delilah and the others!" snarked the pilot angrily, practically growling and sending a TRUENO bolt and a whole clip of machine gun fire back in retaliation. That thing had already taken out more of her squad than she'd like to think about and the grief was all consuming. She'd deal with it later, use it to fuel her fighting and have a good cry in the transport helicopter afterwards.

"You think you can take out my squad members and get away with it? You've got another thing coming, asshole! Fuck!" She was nearing her limit with the necklace from the sheer fury boiling inside her and having piloted her AC through several fights to get to this point. "Necklace disconnected. Hit limit. Still gonna kill JUGGERNAUT," A distinct change in tone and sentence structure, though she still fought with the same emotional furocity.

 

[Lucyfer]

As the two split ways, ARTEMIS joined the fray, announcing herself on the comms. It seemed she was indeed fired up, and Rusty didn’t have to question it. She explained well enough with her constant stream of ammo and constant use of expletives, something he was quite unfamiliar with. “Shoot – sorry about Delilah,” not that Rusty knew who it was, but it was clearly someone dear to Huntress.

He'd have to ask after her later.

Raven was quiet on the comms as Rusty played distraction, though ARTEMIS ended up being roped into the path of the JUGGERNAUT’s rage often enough, given she didn’t let up on firing on it. Rusty was content to stay in front, if it meant he could turn it for Huntress or Raven to get a good shot in.

Raven seemed careful with her ammunition, not firing until she had a good shot – and each one seemed to knock JUGGRNAUT into overheat, paired with what Huntress was doing in trying to stay at its back. The problems started to arrive when JUGGERNAUT sprayed landmines all over the field, not giving any of them many places to land after they boosted up.

That, and it had repair kits.

Rusty knew about it, but it didn’t make it easier to deal with it, as it continued to bring itself up.

Huntress’s voice changed over the comms, “No worries. Don’t want you wearing yourself – tch.” He had to cut himself off, as STEEL HAZE touched a mine and it blew up underneath his feet. He could take that hit, but it wasn’t welcome, and it still jarred him into nearly biting off his tongue.

“Careful.”

It was unclear if Raven’s advice was to him, or to Huntress, given the barrage of missiles that followed towards Huntress. Rusty opted to aim at the mines to set them off prematurely and start opening up space, before jolting forward and around JUGGERNAUT, landing in a few good hits at the back.

JUGGERNAUT was going down – slowly but surely, with the combined forces of the three ACs, even with its repair kits.

So, the call from Snail shouldn’t have been unexpected, and yet, it was.

“V. IV and V. IX, withdraw from your positions.”

“What?” Rusty couldn’t help the irritation in his tone, but he did his best to leave it at that, aware Raven could hear him, even if she couldn’t hear Snail.

“Withdraw from your positions and secure the Eastern and Western fronts. I believe Raven has this handled. We do not need to waste more money on repairs and ammunition than necessary.”

‘You believe Raven’s costing you too much.’

Rusty knew better than to say that. He could only imagine how furious this order was making Huntress, so he opted to speak before she could. They had orders. They were Vespers, after all. They couldn’t question Snail on this, or they’d risk re-education.

Instead, he said, “Understood,” before boosting up and back, “Raven, I just got an update from Snail at Command. We have enemy reinforcements incoming. If we don’t intercept them, we’re both toast. I hate to leave you like this, but you’ll have to finish with us.”

Securing the East and West could just as well mean reinforcements were incoming. It was clear they weren’t, but he needed a convincing enough lie in the moment.

“Go on then,” was all Raven said, not sounding too bothered to be left on her own.

Rusty really was pulling for her, if only because the Wall was lost even if she died. That was when Snail would send him and Elliot back to finish things off. “Good luck, pal,” he added, before he’d head off the Wall to get back to his post.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

To say that Huntress was playing it safe would be a lie. She was getting good at dodging hits when they came, but she was taking enough of them too, blasting away at the armored plating of ARTEMIS as she sprayed the area with machine gun bullets.

She wasn't so far gone into anger that she wasn't fighting smart, taking advantage of the openings that Rusty was leaving for her, and the overheats that Raven caused with her explosives. That was when the landmines appeared and suddenly, the fight got just that much harder. The problem with having ammo was that it ran out, and she was half down on both sides.

Just as Rusty was talking to her, she watched in horror as he took a hit from a mine, only serving to fuel her anger more. "Buddy!" she called out in worry, reaching out. Even Raven's voice came through comms. Huntress didn't have time to worry more as she had to dive out of the way of the missiles, taking a few to her frame again and sending her into overheat. AP at 30%.

Huntress used a repair kit quickly, grimacing from the pain transmitted through the Neuroset. The bright side was that they were wearing this thing down. "Fuck! Almost there! Let's go!" The red head pushed ARTEMIS forward once more, ready to unload into the machine again when Snail's voice came through.

Elliot had never felt anger so strong as Snail's words echoed in her AC, setting her nerves ablaze with white hot rage. He was pulling them out of there. He was pulling them out of there before she could avenge her squad mates. She quickly muted her mic and screamed as loud as her body would let her, yelling until her throat was raw and scratchy and her face was scarlet from the force. Tears brimmed her eyes, threatening to spill over her scarred cheeks as slender hands found themselves in her hair, tugging on the cherry red tresses painfully.

No. No! She had to take this thing down! For her Squadmates, for Rusty's, for those they lost! The red head slammed her fists into the arm rests of her cockpit seat with a gutteral cry once more, tasting the tang of metal in the back of her throat from screaming too much.

But Huntress knew better than to question or disobey Snail's orders, so as Rusty announced to Raven that they had to leave, she followed silently, keeping her mic muted. She didn't trust herself to speak just yet, not wanting her sharp tongue to earn her a very unwanted spot in re-education. As they dropped back down from the wall and headed to their respective positions, Huntress continued to keep silent.

The woman only unmuted to check in with Arlo, though her voice was raspy and quiet. Thankfully, them distracting the JUGGERNAUT up there meant that there were no more casualties for the Western side. 'Come on, Raven. Take it down. You've got this,' She thought as she turned her AC's head to watch, barely holding herself together in the cockpit.

Back up on the Wall, Walter continued to monitor the fight between Raven and the JUGGERNAUT. She was dangerously low on Ammo, especially now that she was going to be taking it on herself. If he was careful, he could send in a supply sherpa to a place that was hidden from the machine's range of fire and give her the upperhand.

The fact that Snail had sent the two Vespers away to deal with 'reinforcements' only solidified that he was trying to get her killed. She had done too good a job.

Was this his plan all along? Not a single Independent merc aside from her was still standing. Well, he'd just have to make sure that she took the Wall instead of Arquebus. He was already regretting talking to Snail about this mission. They should have just helped the RLF defend it and rub it in Arquebus's face when they failed. They couldn't do that now though. The Wall was falling, and the reputation boost his pilot would get from taking it herself would definitely get them in on better jobs. She just had to survive the JUGGERNAUT first.

"Some help they were..." grumbled Walter as he readjusted himself in his computer chair. "Focus on the fight, 621. I'm sending you a supply sherpa. It'll be there in a few moments, sending you the coordinates now." He hit launch on the pre-loaded Sherpa, watching as it rocketed off towards the safe spot.

True to his word, it landed, ready for her to reload and patch herself up some. "You've got this. Show them you're worth the credits."

 

[Lucyfer]

The two vespers left Aurelia to deal with the JUGGERNAUT to deal with some other problem of reinforcements. ‘Hells.’ She had two shots left with her gun, and only three more silos of missiles. As the JUGGERNAUT used another repair kit, she knew she didn’t have this fight. Perhaps if she could overheat it near an edge, she could push it off the side, and indeed, that was what she tried to do.

Her speed was nothing compared to Rusty or Huntress. She couldn’t turn to follow it as well, and though her missiles went up and came down, it was difficult when the JUGGERNAUT didn’t stay in one place. She didn’t intend to throw her caution to the wind and just unload, but impatience gnawed at the back of her mind.

Walter promised supplies, but she didn’t know how the hell that was going to work. She’d never loaded ammunition from inside her AC before. It was always something done after the fact. Still, she had figured out repair kits, she was sure she could figure this out as Walter sent the coordinates, and she blasted her last two silos of missiles at the JUGGERNAUT to keep it distracted, and maybe temporarily blinded, before she boosted in the direction of the sherpa.

The cargo did indeed have ammunition for her missiles, her bazooka, and repair kits. She used a kit first, needing it after the numerous mines she’d tanked, before she began shoving ammunition into her bazooka.

The JUGGERNAUT seemed to still have plenty of missiles, and no concern for the concept of ‘safe’. It barreled through, breaking parts of buildings on the roof off, in its effort to get into a range where its missiles stood a chance of striking.

Aurelia didn’t get to fully restock, but she got some, and she shoved the sherpa off the roof before boosting out of the way of the incoming missiles, hoping the sherpa would fly off with the rest of its cargo safe. She didn’t need to be charged for all of that.

She kept to the air as she returned to the JUGGERNAUT and rained missiles and bazooka fire down at it, before diving in to hack at its overheated form with her blade. It was a strategy she repeated as much as possible, touching the landmine laden ground when she was forced to, and then getting back up to avoid most of what the JUGGERNAUT could throw at her. Now that she had ammunition to waste, she just made sure to keep the hits rolling, until finally, one hit from the bazooka clearly hit a weakened point.

The JUGGERNAUT had no more repair kits, and it began to combust. ‘Shoot.’ Aurelia opted to fly off the wall rather than deal with it, landing where an old artillery unit used to stand as the explosion of the JUGGERNAUT shook the Wall itself, and pieces of it came raining down.

“Am I done now?” Aurelia wasn’t sure if she was asking Walter, or if she was asking Hawkins, as she spoke into the comms.

Hawkins answered, sounding a bit surprised, “Yes, Raven.”

~***~

Rusty regrouped with his companions, Art immediately asking, “The JUGGERNAUT dealt with that quick?”

“Nah,” Rusty answered, “Raven’s got this,” he wanted to sound confident in that, “Snail wants to make sure we don’t lose our two fronts, thought he might have seen some reinforcements coming. The RLF ACs could be on their ways,” a lie, but he wasn’t about to tell his MT squadron about Snail’s orders.

They didn’t need to know how cutthroat Snail was.

Besides, the thought of ACs arriving had them scrambling and making them alert. For no reason, of course, but it was better than the alternative of more questions as they chimed in from their positions on whether or not they saw anything.

His attention strayed back to the top, even if he didn’t have the best view from where he was. He could occasionally see blasts of pink, but little else – until an explosion seemed to shake the very well, and pieces began to fall from over the side. ‘That’s not Raven.’

Hawkin’s voice came through on his and Huntress’s comms. “The JUGGERNAUT has been taken down. The Wall is taken. Make sure to take down any escaping RLF MTs.”

Snail had to be furious. “Loud and clear, Hawkins,” to his own squadron, he noted, “Scramble, we have RLF forces to stop escape runs from. They lost their JUGGERNAUT and remaining forces are attempting to pull out.”

He’d have to send a message to Raven, when all was said and done.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

The cargo drop was a success, and Walter couldn't hide a faint grin of satisfaction as he saw Raven swiftly restocking her arsenal. "That's the way, 621. Load up and give 'em hell," he muttered into comms, the enthusiasm in his voice barely contained. She didn't get a full resupply, but the Sherpa, once kicked, zipped back off to the hangar safely.

Aurelia's agile maneuvers to avoid the JUGGERNAUT's missiles and her relentless assault on the massive enemy made Walter's eyes widen slightly with a mix of awe and pride. The coordination between them, the dance of metal and pink fog on the Wall, played out on the screens before him.

As the JUGGERNAUT, now weakened and without repair kits, succumbed to the explosive aftermath, Walter let out an almost involuntary cheer. "Fine work, 621! That's how you handle business!" His gruff exterior cracked, revealing genuine excitement and support.

This is what he had been waiting for. A break, a surge forward in reputation. They could take better jobs, ones that paid more, ones that got them closer to finding the convergence.

When Aurelia's voice came through the comms, uncertain yet seeking affirmation, Walter's response was swift and enthusiastic. "Mission complete. JUGGERNAUT down. You really showed them how it's done,"

He allowed a moment of triumph to wash over him before his thoughts turned more somber. V.II Snail's attempt to get her killed gnawed at him. The Wall was a strategic asset for the corporations and himself to get closer to the Coral, and taking down the JUGGERNAUT herself undoubtedly boosted her reputation. A chance at better jobs beckoned, but the cost was high – risking the life of his skilled pilot. He couldn't shake the sense that Snail's intentions were more self-serving than he let on.

"Well done, 621," he spoke into the comms, his tone filled with pride. "We just showed them the real deal. And as for jobs, let's just say we've got options now, better options that don't burn bridges with the RLF and keep coam in our pockets. Keep your guard up, though. A big reputation puts you on the radar to get taken out." He'd deal with Hostage (and apparently attempted pilot) Killer later. Now that Aurelia had survived and took the wall, Snail would have no choice but to pay up.

"Sending the transport helicopter your way. Time to get some rest, you've more than earned it."

Within minutes, the helicopter showed up to pick up the dusty pink AC and the pilot within. When she was safely within, Walter spoke once more in their private channel. "Aurelia, how are you holding up?" His way of asking if she were alright, beating around the bush about the fact that she had slipped back into the re-education mindset and not wanting to piss her off more than she likely already was.

~***~

The suspense was eating Huntress alive, watching the top of the wall with its puffs of pink and other explosions. It was hard to truly see what was going on from the Western front. The Wall itself was huge even for an AC, so trying to watch two blips at the very top duke it out almost hurt her eyes from the strain. Thankfully, the massive explosion on top was easy to see, being too big to be from an AC. Blue eyes widened in surprise as the debris rained down the side of the Wall.

She did it. She really fucking did it! If Huntress's throat wasn't shredded from all her screaming, she would have whooped in excitement. Her AC did the cheering motions though, punching up at the air and jumping. Although she hadn't avenged her fallen comrades herself, someone did, soothing some of the hatred and anger brewing in her soulallowing room for grief to slip in.

Hawkins' voice only further confirmed it, instructing them to take out those escaping the Wall. "10-4, H-" The scratchiness in her throat cut her off, making the Vesper cough as she released her comms button to hide it. "-Hawkins" Her voice was rough, but she still answered. Turning her comms to the one with her squad, she spoke again."Take out escaping MTs."

"You got it! You heard her, or if you didn't, take out the escaping MTs! We've got this, let's show them why you don't mess with Arquebus!" Huntress couldn't be more proud of Arlo who had stepped into the position of leader as well as he did with so little preparation and with the death of his comrades fresh on his mind. She'd have to commend him later.

The next 10 minutes were spent taking out the remaining MTs with Huntress taking more hits for her squad. If a hit to her could save them, she'd take it. This wasn't about money right now, but the lives of her comrades, her friends, the squad members that she had bonded with over movie nights and drills and games. ARTEMIS was looking rough even after another repair kit. She wondered if she'd even get any money in her paycheck from this mission. Probably very little, if at all. That was fine. Lils had told her that she was going to be taking over supporting their mom soon anyway, not giving her the choice to say no to giving up her decade long commitment. It was... freeing... Not having to be so stressed about coam all the time would let her eat real food at lunch, and buy comfortable clothes or blankets for her room.

With all the forces taken care of, the red head practically herded her MTs towards their transport ship, following them up inside the belly of the massive space and letting the loading clamps grab onto her AC. When it was securly in place, Elliot removed her neuroset, letting the machine go still and shutting down everything but the comms. A heartwrenching sob echoed on the comms with her squad, the red head refusing to mute herself this time and reconnecting her necklace.

"You all did fucking amazing today despite the odds we were up against and I couldn't be prouder. All our training paid off. Keep up the good work, team. Arquebus may like to think you all as expendable as MT pilots, but I do not. I may be new to the Vespers, but I refuse to see you as anything less than human fucking beings with lives outside of here. A moment of silence, rememberance for those that fell in today's sortie. As I name them, please remember them as they were, and may the gods accept their souls into paradise where they may finally know peace. Delilah, former 9th actual, number 92, mother of 2 beautiful children and wife of Eryd. Eyrd, number 12, mother of 2 and wife of Delilah. Marus, number 38 and comedian of our group. Colin and Lyla, numbers 14 and 15, twins and the youngest among us at 18. Fern, number 1, the longest standing member and eldest among us. Markus, number 64, single father of 3 and teller of dad jokes. Erik, number 52, father figure of our squad and the best hugger. Paris, number 82, the best damn cook among us."

The comms echoed with sounds of crying and hiccuping from the many pilots as she would continue to name off the names of their fallen squad mates. For once, she was glad to have the necklace because it allowed her to speak while bawling hopelessly into the sleeves of her flightsuit. "And whlie I may not know Rusty's or Hawkins' squad members as well as I probably should, may their pilots who gave their lives to take the Wall find paradise and peace as well. I will begin planning a memorial for those we lost when we get back to base and will keep in touch with you all over the coming weeks. Please, reach out to me if you need anything. And I do mean anything." There were several affirmatives and confirmations that filtered through, slowly tapering off to total silence as everyone sat with their thoughts.

Elliot was still crying when she got back to base and walked her AC into its LOADER manually. Between the fight, using her necklace, and her overwhelming emotions, the pilot had a smarting headache. It wasn't quite a migraine, but it was still rather painful. Paired with her raw, raspy throat, and the lingering ache from taking so many hits in the fight, she was miserable. At least the debrief with Snail would be minimal, if at all, considering how closely he was monitoring it all. The red head crawled out of the cockpit hatch and made her way down to the feet of the now-beat up ARTEMIS.

"Thank you for keeping most of us safe. There is no AC I trust more than you to keep me safe out there, ARTEMIS. You did so good in that fight. I promise, I'll get you fixed back up. Thank you. Get some rest, old friend," Huntress wiped gently at the tears still streaming down her face, though it did nothing as the sleeves of her flightsuit were already soaked with tears. Little hiccups left her as she finally moved away from the foot of her very damaged AC, mindlessly starting to head out of the Hangar.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was evident that Walter was pleased. His tone broke several times with barely suppressed glee, but Aurelia couldn’t imitate it. This didn’t feel like a fight at all. The JUGGERNAUT wouldn’t have been so difficult if she hadn’t been nearly out of supplies at the outset. The victory felt hollow for that, and a host of other reasons, including the fleeing RLF MTs being shot down as she loaded in the transport and locked LEMURES in.

She leaned back in her seat and stared into the red. ‘How long, I wonder?’

The shift of her mindset earlier plagued her.

What would take her first, the Coral or the Re-Education?

Walter’s voice intruded into the silence and she exhaled as she shut her eyes. Still, red. “I’m alive. That’s what matters, isn’t it?” She could have run. She could have left him behind. Perhaps she even should have, as she considered she was just slipping back into what she’d been brainwashed to do.

Walter didn’t even have to brainwash her to do this – although, isolation was one hell of a drug. She knew that too well. The next time, would the RLF even humor extending such an offer, or just shoot her down like a rabid dog?

‘Why didn’t you run?’

Of course, she knew why, but she still beat herself up over it. She didn’t speak it through the comms, it wasn’t a conversation to be had over comms. Aurelia hoped Walter was reasonable. She hoped that with this damned job done, he could be talked out of taking more jobs against the RLF.

Otherwise, she would run at the next one. Show up, and just walk over to their side. If he had a damned explosive in her head, so be it. She was dying anyways. She should have died on Pluto.

But she didn't, so the funds that came in, she sent right to RaD. She didn't want to keep it.

So when the helicopter returned to Walter’s ship, she unloaded LEMURES back to its spot to be worked on later that evening, and climbed down the beast to the floor, where Walter was. She tried to blink away the red, but of course, it wasn’t going to fade out that easily for her.

She didn’t beat around the bush: “I’m not doing another job against the RLF, Walter. I don’t care how much the corporations offer. If you accept it, I won’t fight.” He’d need another dog for that…and she wouldn’t guarantee the safety of that dog, either. “My life is too short to waste it making the same mistakes I couldn’t refuse before. I won’t do it again.” She hadn’t meant to slip in anything about a ‘short life’, but she’d have to hope Walter took nothing from it other than the span of a human’s life.

~***~

Again, Rusty did his best to just destroy MTs, and not lives. Covering ejections was a difficult task, but not quite as terrible as the ones he missed. Those who tried to eject were only cut down on the ground by the MTs, not small enough to go unnoticed as they stood out against the snow. Their bodies were crushed in an instant, their lives forfeit, under the order to not allow anyone to go free.

The squad wouldn’t let survivors go if they could avoid it.

It took ten minutes for the combined IV, V, and IX squadrons to clean the area up. Arquebus would move in and start the repair work. They’d start to take it over and secure it so they could push further into Belius and try to find the coral.

It’d do no good for Rusty to tell them it wasn’t there.

Rusty just wished he knew where it was, as he loaded up into the transport copter. Among IV, there was little mourning. It was mostly jokes at the RLF’s expense, and even at the expense of some of the dead.

“I can’t believe Chen missed that MT! This is why he should have come to the extra drills.” Art laughed, not bothering to consider what life Chen may have had outside of Arquebus. Having a life was deadly.

The positions would be filled by Snail. There were always MT pilots waiting in the wings, dreaming of more, to add to the squads and fill them out.

So of course, they tried to discuss the kind of people they wanted in the squad, and insist that Rusty get these kinds of people. He could only chuckle and promise to talk to Snail, which was inevitable for the debrief that would follow. He wasn't sure he'd have that conversation immediately unless Snail asked. It could wait until the next day.

His ship arrived first, and everyone unloaded their MTs, as Rusty took his AC to the hangar. Hawkins was waiting and Rusty grinned as he saw Hawkins on his tablet. He palmed a UBS drive as he got out of STEEL HAZE and snatched the tablet from Hawkins – driving the UBS into it's slot and keeping his palm over it.

“Sending a love letter to Raven?” Rusty teased as he began to download the information on Hawkins’s tablet while turning the screen towards himself.

To his surprise it was a message to Raven that Hawkins was setting up.

Hawkins immediately tried to grab the tablet back, but Rusty held it away, still skimming the message. “How pissed is Snail?”

Hawkins sighed, but watched Rusty as the ban seemed to be reading his message, “Snail is not upset. Our mission was a success.”

“Except Raven.” Rusty was treading on dangerous ground and they both knew it. “C'mon Hawkins. Snail said as much to me, that the independents were fodder. He pulled me and Huntress back for no reason.”

Hawkins finally snatched his tablet back when he thought Rusty let his guard down. Rusty snapped his hand back as if trying to pull it back, but it ‘slipped’. The act covered securing the UBS in his palm and he stuck both hands into his pockets, letting the UBS slide into safety for review later.

He'd have Raven’s contact information now.

Hawkins slipped into an impression of Snail, “We have paid that handler what was owed for his mutt's services. Next time we request their aid, make sure we do not offer such an exorbitant amount.” Hawkins cleared his throat and added, “O’Keeffe wants to recruit her, but she's a Gen-4. Hard sale even if she'd consider it.”

“Yeah….” Hard enough to get Huntress in. She was returning, and she'd locked her AC in. Sure paused at the foot of it before setting off, apparently not noticing the two of them.

Rusty called out, “Hey buddy! Going to confront Snail alone?”

That was probably going to snap her out of her daze. He imagined she wanted peace after this, given how angry she had been against JUGGERNAUT, but sadly, Snail didn't care about that.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

From the sound of her voice, he could tell she was exhausted, and upset. It had been a hard sortie, especially with Snail trying to get her killed without giving the order outright. Still, her words hit him harder than they thought they would. Just alive? Well, what else did she have to live for right now. She lived on the ship, ate on the ship, worked on the ship. She only really left for sorties.

There wasn't much to do on Rubicon other than sorties, or going to shop at BAWS towns. Maybe sight seeing, but it was all snow, and who wanted to do that alone? It wasn't something he really thought about normally, having his head typically buried in his work and the mission he needed to complete.

Unable to think of something to say in return, the man merely made a disgruntled hum. What else was he supposed to say to an answer as blunt as that? He supposed he could inquire about injuries, but would that be wise? For all he knew, she planned to kill him when she got back.

Still, he wanted to be better to her than his other pilots.

"There is more that matters than just being alive. If you are injured, the medbay should have what you need to get patched up."

Walter took the remote comms device with him just in case she had more to add. He didn't think she would, but it was better to have it on him anyway. Just like after every sortie, the cane-wielding man made his way to the hangar to greet her. Her AC was damaged, but not nearly as bad as it was the last time.

As he walked, he got the notification that the money was in his account and whistled at the amount. No wonder V.II wanted her dead. She made well over half a million coam with the bonus MTs and artilllery she took out and he had to pay up. After subtracting her expenses, he sent the rest over to her account.

It seemed he was right on time, as she just locked LEMURES into position and crawled down the metal beast to stand in front of him. It seemed that she had no inclination to mince words, speaking candidly about her demands. Just as he had expected, he had made a grave mistake in seeking out this job from Snail. It had angered her, and the Vesper's second squad leader tried to have her killed during it.

He couldn't just deny her request, not after reading her files, and seeing how she fought, but it would liimt the jobs that she'd be able to do. Walter felt trapped, but he tried to keep a straight face as his mind whirled over the many ways he could respond to this.

And what did she mean by her life being too short? Was this just a play on the fact that she was a human? or were his suspicions from before confirmed? Was she experiencing Coral Burn-in? He really hoped not. He didn't want to have to retire her. She was one of the most skilled pilots he had worked with. She had the potential to take him all the way to the end of his mission! That was something he could worry about later. After pondering silently, listening to her speak, he finally spoke up.

"Understood. There will be plenty more jobs. There always are. And now that you've taken the Wall, we can afford to be more picky about the sorties we choose." Walter tried to keep his voice as level and calm as possible, though under the surface, his mind was racing and he was preparing to have to defend himself should she attack. Truthfully, he wasn't going to try and say something that would get him stabbed in his sleep, or attacked outright.

Carla would be pissed if he died, but maybe she'd also laugh at him for being such an idiot for choosing such a volatile pilot and not reading her files to begin with. He made his bed though, and now he had to lie in it. It was ironic that the 'handler' would be so controlled by his 'hound', but if he wanted life to continue peacefully, he'd have to give a little to her demands. He wasn't like Michigan who beat his Redguns into submission. He wasn't built for combat like Antares was. As long as the RLF missions didn't conflict with his mission, he could give her this victory.

"I'll send them a message and let them know our position. I do not know if they will answer, but I will stick by your decision."

~***~

Her head was pounding, her throat hurt, and all Huntress wanted to do, was curl up in her bed and hold Shere Khan close to her while she mourned. But no. She couldn't do that. She had to talk to Snail first all while looking like a godsdamn mess, and she knew he was going to hate it. He hated everything she did though. That was nothing new.

The call out from Rusty had her step faltering, and looking up at both him and Hawkins, neither of them looking like they had even mourned. She simply shook her head no, reversing her direction to turn back to them. How could they be so... so okay after the losses sustained? As if this were just another Tuesday?

Emotions flashed across her face at an alarming rate; Surprise, sadness, disappointment, anger. The pilot's tear-stained face scrunched up to match the fire inside her, pulling her scarred lips up into a snarling sneer as she jabbed her finger at them.

"How can you two be so utterly normal right now? How are you not grieving for those that were lost? Mourning the dead that fought and died under your command? How are you not absolutely devastated at the loss of life? You can't tell me it gets easier, because I won't let it get easier. Those people had families, lives outside of here, friends, children! We spend every week training them and teaching them drills! Rusty, you even host sparring training for yours, surely you've gotten to know some better than others!" Huntress poked her finger into his chest, practically growling up at him. "And here you two are, not a single tear on your faces, not a look of sadness in your eyes. How heartless can you be? You should be disappointed in yourselves, I know I am. Would you even mourn if it were me who had died out there? Or is that all Arquebus trains us Vespers to do? Use pilots as cannon fodder for their missions and boast of big successes without the thought of the human lives that got us there?! I thought I knew you two better than that. I guess I was wron- Nggg!"

Huntress's verbal explosion, accompanied by fresh tears, was too much for her aching skull, clutching her head and gritting her teeth as a wave of pain slammed into her. It was enough to make her breath hitch and it took her a moment to get her bearings again, her mind automatically disconnecting from the necklace. Still angered but unable to continue, Elliot turned away from them, eyes downcast as she spoke with her physical voice before walking out the hangar door, not waiting for them. "Let's get this over with."

 

[Lucyfer]

Walter took a few moments to answer, and he responded positively to the demand. If he was right about what the Wall was going to do for her reputation, then jobs shouldn’t be an issue going forward. He seemed to struggle with it a bit, his voice not entirely calm, although it was obvious he was trying to put on that front.

Aurelia didn’t quite soften, but her posture relaxed.

There wasn’t going to be an argument, so she didn’t need to worry about defending her desire here. She shook her head, “You don’t have to tell them. You can just keep denying those jobs. They’ll get the hint,” Aurelia cocked a bit of a smirk, “besides, if they tell us about jobs, we can always suggest to the RLF that we might take them, and see if they’ll pay more to do otherwise.”

This was still about coam for Walter, after all. He didn’t have to completely burn some bridges – openly.

She shifted her weight, “And, look. I don’t need the coam once I get LEMURES upgraded.” What did she have to get, anyways? She wasn’t paying for room or food. Clothes. Anything. “Just…keep LEMURES repaired with what I earn and you can pocket the rest,” that should ease this further, if he was worried about his retirement.

She didn’t think he was.

But he’d break his front on his own time. She’d just add to the cracks, until there were too many for him to deal with. This would be another crack in all of it. “The sooner you have the coam you want, the sooner we can both get on with life, and I’ll find a way. I might stay here on Rubicon-3,” help the RLF, push Arquebus and Balam out, let them live the life they wanted. Something she couldn’t do for Pluto, but maybe here.

Why not?

If she was going to die, she’d rather go out trying to be a hero. “That should help if jobs are harder to find, too.”

~***~

Rather than be grateful that Rusty had alerted her to their position, Huntress approached him and Hawkins and immediately dug in. Tear-stained, red-faced, it was obvious she was in deep mourning. Rusty’s face screwed up in confusion, though Hawkins remained completely impassive.

It was as she continued that Rusty’s expression darkened to anger.

‘Are you only mourning your squadron? What about your family, the Rubiconians you killed?’ Disgust wormed its way into his heart again, as he was reminded that no, Huntress wasn’t mourning them. She mourned the Arquebus scum who perished trying to take precious resources from the Rubiconians. Not that he could say that, and thankfully, he didn’t have to respond.

Hawkins did, and the chill in his voice was enough to even surprise Rusty out of his anger, for just a moment.

“Thank you, Huntress,” he began, “for that riveting judgment of how other people are allowed to grieve and express themselves. I will be sure to let Pater know you two share a common trait of knowing what is appropriate behavior for all people, at all times, in all situations.”

‘Oh.’

Huntress hit a nerve, and Rusty couldn’t have said it better himself. Not that he was grieving the squad, no, he was grieving the fellows in the RLF he lost…but he was hiding that. As Hawkins was hiding his own genuine grief at losing members of his squadron – and possibly, independent mercenaries he had forged a relationship with, and had to betray.

Was that why he was also shady about Raven?

“You will do all the talking for Snail, as I am sure you can adequately express the situation to him, as well,” Hawkins said, though he walked right ahead of Huntress, gait faster than a walk, but only just. Rusty’s brows remained raised in surprise, but he didn’t speak against it.

Nor would he intend to change Hawkins’s order, as he quickly jogged to catch up. He passed Huntress a glance. That anger returned, darkening his expression, before he broke his gaze from her and followed silently after Hawkins on the way to Snail’s office.

Hawkins would buzz the comm.

“V.V Hawkins, V. IV Rusty, and V. IX Huntress, to debrief.” Hawkins said flatly to gain them entrance, and the door buzzed open to allow them entry.

The office was neat, as always, and Snail focused his attention on the three of them, though his gaze went to Hawkins, despite Rusty being of a higher rank.

Hawkins, however, only gestured to Huntress, which fouled Snail’s expression as he fixed his glare on her, wondering what she had to say that could be more important than Hawkins’s debrief.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Seeing her posture relax eased Walter's own growing anxieties. He had said the right things, he wasn't in imminent danger. To his knowledge at least. She was too damn smart for her own good, testing him even now as she practically had him cornered in the hangar.

She was right, and he felt a little silly for even suggesting that. Perhaps his touch was slipping, or it was the anxiety. "That's a smart move. If we're going to be supporting them, the extra information would help them."

Carla was going to call him stupid for other reasons, like picking a pilot with a past like hers, but also giving her as much run as he was. He supposed it wouldn't hurt, but it may come back to bite him in the ass in the long run. He hoped not.

All they had to do now was find the Coral convergence, take jobs that lead them to clues on it. He'd have to ask Carla if she got any information from the C-Weapon wrecks in Bona Dee Dunes.

He couldn't stop his brow from quirking at her suggestion. She was calling his bluff, but how could he refuse it without breaking the facade. "I can't accept that, Aurelia. I can take a higher cut, if you'd like, but not the whole thing. I need the coam to retire, it's true. You will also need it when we go our separate ways." If we go our separate ways. If they survived this. "It'll be hard to start a new life without the credits to do so."

There, that should be a good enough excuse, right? She planned to stay on Rubicon-3 after this was said and done, but he wasn't sure that there would be one for her to fulfill that dream.

"I see you've grown to love the planet and the people." He commented, as if it were a surprise. "I'll find myself a moon, maybe near Jupiter. Settle down and relax." Even though Rubicon was his first home, Jupiter was his second. If she was sharing her plans for when he would 'retire', he might as well share his. They weren't false. If he made it, that's what he'd do.

~***~

Huntress was expecting push back, she yelled at them after all, but out of the two of them, Hawkins, sweet, goofy, father-like Hawkins, was not the one she was expecting to yell. It was shocking enough to sober her up from her anger, the hole in her heart where the anger lied was filling up with guilt. Never before had she felt so much anger, and here she was, lashing out at the two people that had been there for her this whole time. Not only that, but to be compared to Pater... A chill went up her spine though she kept her eyes glued to the floor, keeping pace with the ginger, but slightly back to give him and Rusty space..

In short, she fucked up.

Royally.

Would they even still want to be friends after that? Likely not.. That's not how friends treated each other. Friends didn't attack their friends like that. It made her want to curl in on herself in her room and rot away. Her first real friends, gone in a flash. Did she even say sorry right now? Or would that make them both angrier? "Yes sir." Simple, sorrowful, dripping with shame.
Hesitantly, the red head looked up only to meet Rusty's darkened gaze and she looked away, ashamed.

Gods... Even Rusty was looking at her differently... Her buddy... Her mom was going to be pissed at her for this. She was pissed at herself for this. The pain from her actions hurt more than her headache or post-fight body aches ever could. All she wanted right now was a big hug, and and to be comforted through her grief. Two things that she wouldn't be getting.

She was quiet the whole way to Snail's office, saving her strength to give the debrief. She'd have to find a way to at least apologize, but she was sure they needed space first. There would be time for apologies later, hopefully. Maybe she could write them letters to better articulate her words, so that she didn't have to worry about heightened emotions crashing the voice aid. First things first, she needed to debrief Snail in all her puffy-eyed, tear-stained glory. His scrutinizing glare made her want to shrink and disappear.

"I was told that it was my responsibility to debrief, sir. I lost my temper in the hangar and lashed out at my teammates in anger. This is my punishment for that." She started shamefully, standing at attention and doing her best to ignore her pain and deliver a debrief that she only knew her half of. So that the point Hawkins was making... "Western front lost 23 members, I do not know the numbers for the Eastern front, or Central, or the losses from the independents. Western front held their half while Rusty, Raven and I took on the JUGGERNAUT. 9th squad ran into very little fleeing MTs until the JUGGERNAUT fell to Raven. From there 9th squad dealt with our half of the escaping MTs. I do not know more. I apologize, sir."

The red head hung her head, though still stood up straight, ready for his scrutiny. She would take whatever punishment he had for her, even if that meant re-education. She deserved it for how she treated them. What kind of friend was she? A bad one, that's what. She was no better than the angry townsfolk who attacked her and Rusty a week ago...

 

[Lucyfer]

‘I’m not going to live long enough to need the coam.’

Aurelia didn’t say that. She didn’t want to put urgency on it, or reveal what she was still trying to deny. The red tint over everything didn’t mean death was imminent. Plenty of Gen-4s lived a while. Even earlier generations could make it for years. She didn’t know the signs of decay beyond hallucinations. ‘So what would you call what happened in the dunes?’

Totally real. Definitely.

‘Fuck.’

She scoffed a bit at loving the people and planet, “I don’t even know them,” that much was true. She didn’t. She was placing Pluto’s struggles on top of their own, mirroring her experiences, and finding that same sympathy for them as she had for Pluto. “I just don’t want to die for nothing, and no offense, Walter, but just getting coam for you isn’t exactly the heroic end I had in mind.”

She’d never really focused on having something to live for. She preferred things to die for, because she didn’t know how to live. Living, was fighting in her AC, and that was only a way to die. She’d accepted that on Pluto. She accepted it now. “I’m sure Jupiter will feel nice to return to when we can get you back there. I don’t even remember it anymore.”

She didn’t really care to return to Jupiter. For all she knew, her parents were still alive, and she wasn’t going to deal with that. They didn’t want her, and she didn’t want them. She’d rather avoid the awkwardness.

~***~

Rusty could have palmed his face at her admittance of guilt. Snail wasn’t the sort of person you said those things to, at all. But, as he was in front of Snail, he made no reaction, just kept his expression stoic, rather like Hawkins. That she would call debriefing a punishment was definitely not going to win her any favors.

And Snail definitely did not look impressed.

“Who’s idea was it to make V. IX Huntress face this punishment?” Snail hissed the word.

“I did, sir,” Hawkins reported, “I did not refer to it as punishment.” Rusty gave a minute nod at that, “though I knew it was something she would dislike doing, but it is something she has needed to do. We are all Vespers. We all report to you and debrief properly. She has a speaking aid now to allow her to undergo the same process. The reason I insisted upon it was due to her behavior in the hangar. She chose to confront myself and V. IV for what she considered inappropriate lack of grief.”

“I see,” Snail leaned back, “V. IX will undergo re-education, beginning tomorrow, lasting until she understands how to lead through grief so that she does not become a liability on the field, as she did in the JUGGERNAUT fight.” He’d heard the comms, obviously. It was a damning statement, but neither Hawkins nor Rusty jumped to say otherwise. There was no defense. She did need to learn her place among the Vespers, her actions had shown she could not handle the loss they were expected to handle. “Continue the debrief, Hawkins, Rusty.”

In order, Hawkins went next, “Squadron V faced minimal casualties, thanks to the independent mercenaries. Three were lost. All independent mercenaries except for Raven fell in combat, the others were efficient in clearing up areas for my MT squads to secure, with very little resistance encountered.”

He had done his job and led the mercenaries to their deaths, letting his squadron step in only at the end.

“Squad IV lost nine members,” Rusty’s darting ahead and the reaction of the RLF had been a major reason for that. Some of the leadership had insisted on ejections rather than fighting, in the early portion. It was the second portion, when the RLF was trying to flee, that they fought for their lives. “We secured the eastern half well with groupings along the way, before I joined the fight against JUGGERNAUT, as you know. I assisted Raven until you called us back to secure our fronts, which we did, and were then in position to deal with the fleeing RLF forces. A clever move,” he cut a smile at Snail.

It was.

Even if it was needlessly cruel to Raven.

“There was little else found to report,” Hawkins concluded. “Those independent mercenaries without handlers, I made sure my squadron took the AC scraps to be used by Arquebus.”

Snail nodded. “Nothing more?”

Rusty and Hawkins shook their heads. No.

He expected nothing from Huntress, even if she tried to suggest otherwise. “Dismissed.”

 

[EllieMcEllie]

There was no more fight, at least that he could tell by her body language and tone, which allowed himself to relax even further. No more jobs against the RLF. He could do that, for now. There would a time where he would have to pull the rug out from under her, but hopefully he and Carla could find this convergence sooner rather than later. There was still the worry about Aurelia possibly dealing with Coral Burn-in, but seeing as she hadn't said anything, he'd leave it to rest. For now.

It seemed that he misread the situation though. It wasn't that she loved the people, or the RLF, and if he were paying any kind of attention, especially after reading her files, he would have known that. He would have seen that she was just projecting her past failures onto her current situations. Her comments proved as such, drawing a wry smile to his lips. "No offence taken. Your life if your own once we make the coam I need." It was almost sad in a way, the fact that she wouldn't get to do that, should the mission succeed. The Coral was just too dangerous to leave it be. The corporations had already taken some, and now that the Wall had fallen, it seemed that it would be a race to find the convergeance.

She was so focused on death though, talking about it as if it were something that would be sooner, rather than later. She had already proven that she was at least a B rank pilot, if not higher, and the old ALLMIND systems had her on par with Antares in the top 5 when she was piloting DI MANES. His pilot was hard to kill, he knew that now. Hells, she had survived the explosion of the STRIDER, several institute weapons, and the JUGGERNAUT, which is more than most pilots here on Rubicon could say. Maybe he would check in with her. Not now, as he felt tensions were a little too high to ask, but later, when everything cooled down and he felt it were safe enough a topic to broach. Besides, he needed to call Carla again, and see what she had found out from the wrecks of the C-weapons.

"That's a shame. It's a beautiful planet." It was likely still plagued by the aftermath of the wars, but it was a good bit away from Rubicon-3, so the travel time to get there would give it even more time to recover. Not that he really needed to think about that, but it had his bases covered in the event that she would question him on it. "I have post-mission debriefs to conduct with Snail. Get some rest, Aurelia."

Walter took his leave, his cane sounding off the floor as he retreated to his office. He didn't need to debrief with Snail. He needed to call Carla, once again for multiple reasons. This time it was mostly just one big reason. He still hadn't called Michigan back, but maybe he wouldn't after all. Walter was a grown man, and could handle himself. He didn't need Michigan to worry so much about him. Sitting down at his computer, he sent a message request to Carla.

Are you available? We need to talk.
​

Not a moment later, a message popped back in, causing him to eye the tablet curiously. It seemed that Carla had passed messaging duty off to one of her engineers.

You've got Tiny. You must be Handler Walter. Boss said you're a high priority client. I'll pass your request on to her.
​

Walter didn't answer, not being one for casual, meaningless conversation, and instead waited for a message back either from this 'Tiny' or from Carla herself. He didn't have to question what kind of name that Tiny was. Carla was fond of giving her pilots and workers nicknames that were contridictory to some aspect of their personality or appearance. Tiny was either very large, or very tall, or both. Not that it mattered. He needed to talk to Carla, not Tiny.

~***~

Pissed. Lilith was pissed. And upset. And freaking out. Not only had her sister put herself in danger but she had gotten herself sent to a re-education camp for gods knew how long. How could she be so stupid? Something wasn't adding up, like she wasn't given the full story. Losing your temper on your coworkers shouldn't be enough to get sent to a camp, but yet she was. Would it even be worth pulling her out of Arquebus now? Working with her brothers to save their eldest sibling from the clutches of the corporation if they brainwashed her into loving them? She'd have to talk to Carla about it, see if it could be broken somehow.

Elliot had always been so level headed, so sweet and almost naive. The thought of her losing her temper was almost impossible to imagine. It had to be something outside her control, or some trigger that set her off bad enough to yell at her little crush . Plus the fact that taking the Wall meant that she and their mom went without power for a few hours while BAWS R3-291 scrambled to reroute it. It was just a bad situation. How could she not see the damage that Arquebus was doing to Rubicon-3?

There were other things to worry about now though. Like the DI MANES frame that she and Carla had worked hard on to research and build, and messaging Raven! She didn't know just how excited or antsy that the pilot would be to get her new gear and there was the problem of shipping. With the Wall down, RaD was having to deal with the Junker Coyotes looking for scraps and they were more than happy to take down a shipping helicopter or two if it meant they got the parts from inside it. Lilith couldn't let them get their hands on the design when it was so special. It was better to keep it as a custom work, a one of a kind product. That's how Lilith found herself, in her lab, sending Raven a message.

Hey Raven. Your new frame is done and ready for shipping. We can't ship it all out at once like normal due to some issues on our end, but boss said that you and your handler are welcome to come and pick it up.

-Tiny
​

Message sent. She didn't have it in her to say more than what was needed, but hopefully it didn't put Raven off too much. Once she knew her sister was safe, then she would be able to relax again. Wait, who was on guard duty again this week? Was it Handsome? She'd need to alert whoever it was on duty in the event that Raven and her handler came in person to grab it. Can't have Handsome shooting the helicopter down or Rummy trying to fight them thinking it's the Coyotes! Not long after sending her message to Raven did she get a message from a contact in the messages named 'Walter'. Ah, so this was that high profile client that Carla talked about. He was kind of blunt and cryptic, just like the boss had told her he would be. She'd just have to let her know then.

~***~

Huntress paled visibly at the mention of re-education, but she didn't protest, or even speak up the rest of the meeting. She'd earned this punishment for being a bad friend and letting her emotions get the better of her. After Snail dismissed them, she kept her head down and made her way to her room, not even sparing a glance at her former friends. She'd need to inform her mom and sister in the event that she was gone for a while. She didn't know what all re-education entailed, but she did know that it was bad, and that she wasn't too bright. She could be there a while learning things.

To say her mom was upset was an understatement. She wasn't just mad, she was disappointed. Her and Lilith were. Maura had gone on a 10 minute long rant about how she raised her better than this, and how her dad would be disappointed too. Lilith didn't quite go into it as heavy as their mom did, but talked about how she looked up to Elliot for being so level headed, and strong and compassionate. None of her actions that landed her in this situation were that.

It was a further kick in the gut that had Elliot so upset that she threw up several times that night. She couldn't go home, she couldn't get comfort from the people she loved the most, she didn't have friends to talk to anymore. She had no one. Not even the first few weeks of being a Vesper felt like this, she at least always had her mom to talk to about something but now even that was taken away. She should have just kept working at that BAWS factory and stayed away from ACs. At least then she wouldn't be in this situation, questioning everything she was told, getting beat up for being part of Arquebus, losing so many squadmates in one mission that it broke her. No. The only good thing about this place were her friends, and she didn't even have those anymore.

Elliot was taken from her room early the next morning and spent the next 3 days in re-education. It was a privelege to learn from the best, even if it took her a while. It was a fault she'd need to work on; learning faster. She had been wrong, after all. Letting her emotions get the better of her and talking so hatefully to her superiors was not befitting of a Vesper pilot, not befitting of Arquebus! Especially not when they were doing such good work to benefit Rubicon-3! It was better for all of them if she just kept her head down and stuck to her work. Making friends is what got her into this situation, so she needed to be more professional, be less like herself and more like Arquebus, just get her job done. The night she got back, she placed Shere Khan under her bed. She couldn't bring herself to get rid of him, but with him looking at her there, she could only think about her failures to Arquebus. He needed to be hidden.

The morning of the 4th day is when she finally reappeared, this time in Arquebus blues and whites instead of her preferred maroons and blacks. Even her hair was slicked back and styled to be made more presentable. Seeing Rusty and Hawkins at the table didn't bring about her normal, energetic smile, instead giving them a polite nod with a calm, inexpressive face as she went to get her food. She wasn't upset, she wasn't happy, she just... was. Instead of her normal strawberry ration shake, she grabbed a protein bar before coming to stand across from the two at the table. She needed to apologize.

"Good morning V. IV, V. V." She greeted calmly, keeping her eyes cast away from them. "I apologize for my actions after we took the Wall. It was wrong of me to let my emotions get the better of me and criticize you two as my superiors. It wasn't befitting of me as a Vesper and it won't happen again. I will keep my thoughts and emotions to myself next time. Sorry for interrupting your breakfast, sirs." Elliot bowed respectfully before stepping away from the table, turning to head to the gym to do her morning workout. She needed to be stronger to be a better asset to Arquebus after all! Pater passed her as she walked by the tables, giving her an annoyed look as always. "Good morning, V.VIII" she greeted politely, nodding to him before continuing on her way.

The 8th squad leader was surprised by the new look and body language. He couldn't bring himself to make one of his normal self-boasting quips, his face showing how unsettled he was as he grabbed his own food and sat across from Hawkins. "Looks like Snail really got to her. I don't know what's worse. How she was before or this new robot version of her..." He commented, though was secretly relieved that maybe now he wouldn't have to worry about losing his position to her.

 

[Lucyfer]

Carla saw the message ping her pad, and she almost laughed, before she sent a call through to Walter, not bothering to respond with a text. Her eyes were glued to her screen, skimming details of a new code, as Chatty went through it with her in the background.

When the call would answer, Walter would be on speaker, “You know Walter, you have my direct line. That frazzled after the Wall?” Quite possibly, given the anger and backlash he likely faced from Aurelia. “Quite the show,” she added, “The Vespers and your new hound made short work of it all.”

Rusty and Huntress – Lilith’s sister. What a shame she got wrapped up in Arquebus. She was a hell of a pilot, too.

“But you’re not calling to chat, I know, I know,” she leaned back and removed her glasses, setting them on the desk to give her eyes a break, a silent signal for Chatty to also pause in their exploration of the code, trying to find the one thing off in it that kept it from functioning the way Carla wanted it to.

“You’re hoping I have some updates on those C-Weapons, aren’t you?”

She wished she had more. It felt like she had a handful of nothing. Mismatched parts. It didn’t make much sense, although she knew there was going to be news in here that Walter loathed. Things were never personal with his hounds…but some things should have been.

~***~

Aurelia went to work repairing LEMURES when a message chimed through. It was from a number she wasn’t familiar with, but even so, she opened the voice mail, and was surprised to hear the familiar voice of Rusty from the Wall on the other line.

“We're war buddies now. I think I should tell you something. During Operation Wallclimber...Arquebus was planning to sacrifice you. The plan was to use independent mercenaries to clear the way so that the Vespers could step in and take over. But instead...you took the Wall. The higher-ups are going to remember you now, that's for sure. As will I.”​

Aurelia’s brows lifted. ‘So you and Huntress pulling back….’ It was to get her killed. Her blood boiled under the surface, and she wondered how she could get back at Arquebus for this. But, more than that – she wondered why Rusty was telling her, and how he got her contact information.

Telling her had to go against orders, and Hawkins was the Mercenary contact, not Rusty. Aurelia debated telling Walter about it, but in the end, decided not to.

Just as she opted not to respond. Some secrets, ought to remain secret, for everyone’s sake.

Another message came through as she was finishing up with LEMURES, and it made her chuckle. “All that work for nothing, eh? Well, I suppose two AC frames aren’t bad if I need to do a job fast,” she might consider buying two sets of weapons. Either way, this was good news, minus having to pick it up.

She sent a quick message to Walter.

RaD is done with my frame. We need to pick up. Let me know when is good. ​

And then, to Lilith, she sent:

Glad to hear it’s done. With the way jobs have been going, I need the extra defense. I’ll get back to you on weapons once I warm to the new frame. Let my handler know the situation. I’ll let you know what times work for us to pick it up. ​

It was sent, and then Aurelia almost palmed her face, and sent a quick:

Thank you.​

~***~

“Conri, Edwin may be returning home.” ​

It was a message that Rusty never wanted to receive, and it came one day after the Wall. It meant his cover may have been blown, but he didn’t get any additional details. It was a warning, not an order – the RLF didn’t know, either. It kept him distracted from going to see Huntress during such a critical time as her re-education, which in a way, was probably the best thing for his future with Arquebus.

No one could say he was interfering.

When he finally got details, he learned that Raven had taken a mission from the Redguns to gather intel on his and Huntress’s path to the Wall. He was relieved until it was mentioned someone tried to send a comm to him, mentioning his connection, and Raven had picked it up. ‘Hearsay.’ And Michigan had to be cruel enough to use it.

And smart enough.

Michigan might also enjoy the thought of Arquebus being undermined from within. ‘There’s a chance Raven and her Handler are smart enough, though.’ That was debatable. He hadn’t gotten a feel for either of them.

‘I warned her about Snail, so maybe….’

Maybe.

Rusty’s mind was still buzzing with doubt as he went to breakfast and joined Hawkins, noting that once again, Huntress wasn’t with them. He did wonder how long the re-education was going to take in her situation, though he wouldn’t speak of it aloud. Although they were reassured re-education was nothing bad, everyone knew. It was an open secret. Arquebus decided it was good, because Arquebus was good, so anything in favor of Arquebus was a good thing.

Terrible logic.

But Huntress did show up, not in her vibrant maroon, but Arquebus hues. She didn’t really smile – not like herself. Rusty felt his heart sink at the sight, and exchanged a look with Hawkins. Hawkins didn’t say anything, of course. He just looked away. Rusty scowled at that, before looking up as Huntress approached, and apologized for her actions.

“Thank you, V. IX,” Hawkins said, substantially more subdued as he accepted the apology, and eying Rusty.

“Er. Yeah. It’s…appreciated,” he didn’t like agreeing, and didn’t want to accept that she should keep her thoughts to herself. He wanted to say as much, but she was already heading off, not joining them for breakfast. Rusty looked back at Hawkins, “That’s….”

“Reality,” Hawkins said, focusing back on his meal, “You never knew Maeterlinck before she was re-educated.”

“What, is it only the women?”

“O’Keeffe,” Hawkins said, “he seems to have shaken some of the quirks, though. Snail considered it a necessity given his past, so it was a requirement of him joining, unlike the usual training we all undergo. I’ve mostly seen MT pilots undergo it,” Vespers should be rare.

Pater joined them, of course adding his own comments. Rusty could only snap, “Maybe it’ll happen to you one day and you can tell us which version of yourself you like better,” a comment dangerously close defiance, but Rusty had been pent up with worry for days now about his position, he couldn’t help it.

“It’s best not to talk about it further,” Hawkins interjected. “Lest V. II decide we aren’t loyal enough for considering the change to be negative at all.” A word of caution to all of them – even Pater’s comment was dangerous.

“Right,” Rusty picked up his tray, “I’ll catch you all later,” Huntress had just left, and he figured he could catch her, as he put his tray up and jogged out of the mess to find her just turning a corner. He caught up, slowing to her pace as he did so, “Hey, you left too quick back there,” he said, adding a joke, “are they telling you it’s bad to foster community within Arquebus?”

 

[EllieMcEllie]

The call from Carla came in shortly after his message was relayed by Tiny. Had he been in the right state of mind, he would have texted the right contact, but with the events of the Wall and the threats made by Aurelia? No, he could get a pass this time. It seemed that Carla was not keen on letting it go without some kind of quip though, calling him out on it. IN true Walter fashion, the man grumbled, not entertaining her jabs with an answer, instead wanting to cut to the chase.

At least she seemed to understand that, after decades of working with him. He should hope so, as she practically raised him. She was like a second mother to him. No one could replace his biological mother, of course, but Carla came damn close. "Did you find anything?" Gruff and blunt as always.

It was just in his nature. As was worrying about, well, everything. Worrying about the mission, worrying about relations with the corporations and the RLF, worrying about keeping up the facade that he had to with Aurelia. There were a lot of pawns in play on this chessboard of life and he was managing a good few.

He was still worrying about if his pilot was experiencing Coral burn-in, even though she seemed alright enough. It just came with the territory, he supposed, working with Coral augmented pilots and all on a planet contaminated with the stuff.

As he waited for Carla to answer his question, a notification pinged on his tablet, causing him to hum in a tone almost similar to amusement. "Seems I need to drop by RaD anyway." he murmured to himself, waiting to send an answer back to his pilot. He could answer her once he was done with his conversation with Carla.

~***~

If Raven had noticed a change in message tone, it wasn't brought up, instead continuing the conversation as if everything was alright. It wasn't, but Lilith appreciated it. It was almost a sense of normalcy, something that the red head craved, even if she couldn't bring herself to respond back. New weapons for Raven would certainly keep her busy while she waited for news on her sister.

That reminded her. She needed to talk to Carla about that. Fast fingers skimmed across the tablet in her hands, pulling up the Boss's contact information. She knew information from Carla didn't come free, but for her sister who had given everything short of her own life to support their family for the last decade, she'd pay whatever price it was.

Boss, when you get the time, I need some information on how to break re-education, if such a thing is possible. Huntress is being re-educated and I need to figure out if its possible to still rescue her from Arquebus or not. Name your price, I'll pay it.
​

Lilith took a deep breath and hit send before letting herself collapse into a chair. This was just one big mess... What would her brothers do in this situation? She wasn't supposed to be the responsible one, that was always Elliot and the twins, and now she was finding everything to be falling onto her shoulders. In short, this sucked.

​

~***~

Huntress, deep down, was hurting. She wanted to hang out with her friends again, wanted to talk with Rusty like nothing had happened. Very deep down. At a level that was suppressed by the re-education. No. Having emotions like that were troublesome, and only served to make her a liability to Arquebus. After all, if she hadn't lost her temper at the Wall, how many of her squad would have survived? She had the highest death toll amongst the three squads. Surely that was her fault!

If she were smarter, she would have realized just how stupid that sounded, how unsound the logic was. But no, she wasn't smart, at least smart enough to see past it. She got into Arquebus because of her skills in the cockpit as a gen 4, not for her smarts. If she were smart, maybe she'd have a better job than AC pilot, like an engineer. No, piloting was in her blood, she'd just be a smart pilot.

That hurt intensified inside her as she heard Rusty's voice though it didn't show, continuing on her way to the gym. It was unbecoming of her. Feeling such painful emotions were better left repressed, lest she get him killed out there. She needed to be the perfect example of a Vesper.

"Yes. Inappropriate fraternization with my superiors and inferiors led to my outburst, led to me being a disappointment as a Vesper. More squad members will live if I keep to my thoughts and emotions to myself. If I keep my head down, and stick to my work, I won't fail again. I won't be defective again."

Huntress kept her gaze to the floor, though recoiled harshly as she expressed the tiniest hint of feeling in her words, almost as if she was expecting to be hit. "Apologies, V. IV. I did not mean to show emotion. I will do better, next time. I am ready for my punishment." Back was the calm, inexpressive look on her face, though inside, she was working to push down the panic that was rising from showing emotion despite her new education. She didn't want hit again. Gods, did she not want him of all people to hit her, but she had shown emotion. Showing emotion meant she got hit, and nose thrown into more Arquebus literature about how great they were. They were great! They were improving Rubicon-3, and helping the Rubiconians out. She was privileged to work for such a helpful company!

 

[Lucyfer]

Barely even a greeting! Not that Carla gave him room for one, but it caused her to laugh as he did indeed focus in on that subject. “Of course I found some things,” Carla said, “it’s nothing you’re going to like, though.” Not that either of them expected to like anything about C-Weapons being active.

“These weren’t in use by the PCA. That was my first thought. The PCA has used C-Weapons before, but it’s still rare. The Coral has a mind of its own that tends to override their programming. You know. Same problem the Institute had.”

Among other problems that led to them trying to burn the Coral. They didn’t get it all. That was their problem now. So much of the Coral had hidden underground and repopulated. “That’s where the good news ends,” as if that was good news, “the bad news is that they weren’t just still running around in the desert. They weren’t even active until a few days ago.”

Not that they’d run out of Coral. Just that they’d been turned off. The PCA had gotten to them, but like many others, found a way to turn them off until they were ready to try using them. Sometimes, Carla wondered if the Coral would figure out a way to turn the machines on, on its own.

She worried about the IBIS series in particular.

“I traced the information I could of the activator. They used an AC plug to turn the weapons back on. Any guesses?” She knew Walter wasn’t going to guess it. He didn’t play these games, and so after just a few seconds, she gave the answer: “ENTANGLE.”

She heard a ping on her tablet, but didn’t glance down to it. RaD wasn’t exploding, so it could wait.

~***~

“That’s inapprop—” Rusty started to interrupt, to make a point, before he heard her ask to be punished. His face screwed up in confusion as Huntress requested punishment for her error, and he started to shake his head, unable to hide the frustrated look on his face.

He wondered, then, how many Rubiconians were put through re-education as MT pilots, or in other jobs. Did they once realize what they were doing and try to rebel against Arquebus, only to be put through this? Suddenly, his hatred of those Rubiconians faltered, looking at how Huntress seemed prepared to accept any abuse for her slight.

“I’m not going to punish you,” he stated flatly. “I’m trying to make a point. There’s a difference between appropriate and inappropriate fraternization. You don’t see me and Hawkins getting sent to re-education for our friendship, right?” So, obviously, that wasn’t against the rules. She could have friends.

“It was only your, er, reaction to different expressions of grief that got you sent to re-education. And yeah – calling people out on grieving differently isn’t good. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, and you have to run away from us at breakfast.” Okay, Hawkins might still be a little upset, but not upset enough to think this was good, right?

He hadn’t seemed thrilled with the way Huntress returned to them.

“You’re gonna have to learn what appropriate fraternization is, too. Strong bonds keep the Vespers strong, right, buddy?”

He had to reach her, somehow.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Nothing he was going to like? Well that could be anything. There weren't a whole lot of things that the greying man did like when it came to their over-arching mission. He liked that they had a better chance at completing it, and that he had the support of Carla, but the list of 'don't like' was much longer. Bracing himself, he tried to think of just what it could be.

Not the PCA... That was his first guess too. The man made a pensive, grumbling 'hmmm' as he continued to listen to her list off the information. But why would the PCA take out a mining ship? That's why that theory was tanked first. The PCA was here to keep the Coral from leaving and the RLF wasn't keen on sharing the Coral anyway. Maybe Carla was right the last time they talked? Maybe it really was just Coral acting on its own to get back to itself as it was known to do. "Yeah..."

That was the good news? That it wasn't the PCA? It seemed that she knew that it wasn't much of good news as she quickly followed up with the so called bad news.

Oh.

Oh!

"What...?!" As bad of news as it was, it was probably a lead, right? Who the hell could have reactivated them then if it wasn't the PCA? He doubted Arquebus could have gotten their hands on Institute tech. Balam definitely couldn't have. Michigan was smart in his own ways, but not in the way of tech like Carla or Arquebus could be. If someone could turn them on, then they were in for a world of trouble.

An AC had activated them? That would mean it was a corporation or an independant working for a broker like him. Would they have competition? Walter definitely wasn't going to entertain her inquiry. Not when she could just tell him what she found. His hum of curious displeasure in response seemed to get his point across as she revealed it shortly after.

ENTANGLE.

Sulla.

C1-279.

"Shit."

Shit indeed. If Sulla was involved in this, it meant he was right. There was definitely another pawn on the board that shouldn't be there. He'd hunted more than a few of his hounds after leaving Walter's service.

"What is Sulla doing with C-Weapons and Institute tech?" Was he siding with the Coral? He was a dangerously skilled pilot, one of Walter's best. If he was actively working against Overseer, they'd have to do something to kickstart their mission to ensure they could still complete it. "And who is he working for?"

~***~

Huntress froze momentarily as Rusty's words pierced through the layers of her re-educated mind. She had braced herself for punishment, for the expected consequences of her supposed failure. But his refusal to punish her and his attempt to reason with her stirred something deep within her, a faint echo of the emotions she had been conditioned to suppress.

Her gaze remained fixed on the floor, but inwardly, turmoil raged. He had a good point. He and Hawkins didn't get in trouble for being friends. Could it be possible that there was more to her interactions with her fellow Vespers than mere protocol and obedience? Could there be room for genuine connection, for deep bonds of friendship, even in the rigid structure of Arquebus?

Maybe not. He and Hawkins didn't yell at each other after the mission. She was just weak. Not suited for the death toll that Arquebus accrued in their MTs. She had to suppress those painful emotions like grief to handle it. It had been quite literally beat into her.

"Understood, V. IV," she responded, though a hint of hesitation lingered in her voice. "I will... endeavor to understand the boundaries of appropriate fraternization."

The term "buddy" struck a chord within her, resonating with the memories of their friendship before the re-education and her outburst and forming the smallest hairline fracture in the foundation of the re-education. Despite her best efforts to suppress it, a flicker of warmth ignited within her chest at the familiar term, just barely reaching her eyes. She fought to keep them from widening, or the painful push of excitement that threatened to bubble to the surface.

He still wanted to be her 'buddy', even after all that. After yelling at him, poking his chest and practically snarling up at him like some crazed beast. No. These feelings... They weren't right, they needed to be pushed down! Huntress quickly smothered them, burying it beneath layers of conditioning.

"Thank you for your guidance, V. IV," she added with a slight nod, the slight warmth in her eyes dissipating. "Am I free to go to the gym now, sir?" Part of her hoped deep down that he was also headed there, so things could be like they used to even if the re-education prevented her to express herself. The loneliness was tearing her up inside, and it only made it worse that she couldn't show him just how happy she was that he was even there talking to her.

 

[Lucyfer]

Sometimes, Carla wondered if Walter forgot all the hounds he’d condemned to death. Sulla was a special case; she didn’t have to wonder about him. Sulla didn’t die, after all – he left service, and who his employer was seemed a mystery. It was one Carla hadn’t bothered trying to solve, although he seemed to hunt Walter’s hounds occasionally, most recently 618.

Walter’s reaction was not a surprise.

“I don’t know, Walter,” Carla shook her head, “he didn’t exactly leave a note describing his details and plans,” she smirked a bit, although she knew how grim this truly was. Walter probably wouldn’t see the smirk, but he’d hear the condescension. “You know Sulla’s never offered his services as a freelance mercenary. We don’t know who his new Handler is.”

Someone who didn’t spread their name around.

“Might check in with the Corps. See if they’re willing to sell out the names of the other Handlers they’re working with on Rubicon. The number must have depleted substantially after the Wall,” which, as far as Carla knew, Sulla wasn’t involved in. “Maybe you can ask specifically about the ones who didn’t join the Wall mission.”

It was frustrating not to know, and Carla did know the vast majority that were around here. Plenty reached out to see about buying from her, checking their options between BAWS, Balam, and Arquebus.

“Either way, I suggest you deal with that loose end first. Find him, and sic your new hound on him before he can surprise her.” Sulla was good. Possibly good enough to win – in a surprise match. If Aurelia was the one doing the surprising, that might be turned around, though. Hard to say.

They didn’t know how much Sulla improved since his time under Walter.

~***~

Hesitation was good, in Rusty’s opinion.

It meant that Huntress was thinking and processing information, and that she might actually consider what he said about the appropriate forms of fraternization. He had to hope she would. This…robotic version of her wasn’t something he wanted to interact with for long, though he knew breaking out of it might not be easy.

So of course, he smiled to reassure her that it was a good thing.

He sighed a bit at her asking permission to go to the gym, and he waved her off, “You don’t need my permission for that. I may be ranked higher, but I’m not your superior. I’m only superior over my squadron.” He knew others took the ranking seriously. Usually the lower ranks. He had priveliage, he supposed, since he could disregard it in most cases, save with Freud, Snail, and O’Keeffe – though even O’Keeffe was fairly casual. “They’re not paying me enough to be anyone else’s superior,” he joked, hoping it would land.

Hoping, and knowing it was probably in vain.

“I’ll catch you around, all right, Buddy? I hope you’ll still be coming to the sparring nights,” he didn’t know if she would.

He didn’t know if she’d still be maintaining her game and movie nights with her own group, but if she was, perhaps he would have to see about going to them, just to help her remember what appropriate fraternization was.

Seeing people…as people, was good.

It was a shame Arquebus didn’t have that view.

 

[EllieMcEllie]

Walter's jaw clenched as he listened to Carla's assessment of the situation with Sulla. Memories of past hunts, of pilots lost and battles fought, stirred within him, fueling a simmering anger and nervousness beneath his typically stoic exterior.

"Sulla," he muttered, the name heavy on his tongue, laden with history and regret. "Always one step ahead..."

Carla's condescension grated on him, but he pushed aside the irritation, focusing on the task at hand. "No notes, no real breadcrumbs to follow," he grumbled, his frustration palpable. "Just another loose end to tie up."

He considered her suggestion about checking with the Corps, a flicker of hope dancing across the forefront of his mind. "Good idea. I'll send V.V and Gun 6 a message. Might be our best shot at tracking him down and nipping his meddling in the bud."

The mention of the Wall mission brought a grim reminder of the recent events, of battles fought and Snail's attempt at his pilot's life. The prospect of facing off against Sulla once more, of sending Aurelia to confront the skilled pilot in her new frame, filled him with a mixture of apprehension and determination. "We'll deal with him," he grumbled, the words firm and resolute, hinting on almost annoyance. "Won't let him catch us off guard again."

Walter's mind raced with thoughts of the future, of the alliances and betrayals that defined their world. Who the hell could 279 be working for? Surely not the PCA. No Carla would have found traces of the PCA interfering, right? All in all, it didn't truly matter who he worked with as long as he was found.

Sulla may have slipped through his grasp once, but he was determined to find him and ensure that 621 would put him down like the mad dog he was. He could only hope that the other pilot hadn't gotten significantly better. He couldn't lose Aurelia. She was too good of a pilot, and despite the threat she posed on his life, he had come to like her attitude and willingness to stand up to him. Even if it scared the hell out of him at the time.

He still had to figure out when they should go to Grid 086 to pick up her custom work. He doubted she'd be ready so soon after a mission so stressful. Perhaps tomorrow, or in a few days. It would be good to get her out of the base on a non-mission. Had she even left the base for anything other than a mission? No, he was sure she hadn't. He pulled his tablet out sending a message back to Aurelia.

Tomorrow is good. We leave in the morning.
​

Turning his attention back to Carla, he spoke once more, relaying the same information. "We're picking up the frame tomorrow."

~***~
Huntress felt a flicker of something unfamiliar stir within her as Rusty's words resonated in her mind. Maybe there was a chance to reclaim some semblance of her former self, to break free from the suffocating grasp of Arquebus's conditioning?

As he waved her off, granting her permission to go to the gym, Huntress felt a pang of relief wash over her. The simple act of being treated as an equal, rather than a subordinate, lifted a burden from her shoulders, if only momentarily.

"Sparring nights...?" she mumbled, her voice softer than before, betraying her conflicted thoughts as she struggled, and failed somewhat, to keep her face from scrunching up in the way it did when she thought too hard about something.. Should she still attend the sparring nights? Would it be seen as inappropriate fraternization? A mental debate raged within her, torn between the desire to conform and the yearning for connection. Ultimately, she reasoned that attending the sparring nights could serve as valuable training, honing her skills and making her a more effective asset for Arquebus.

"I'll be there. See you later, buddy." The tiniest, faintest hint of a smile tugged at the edges of her lips, though it felt foreign and stiff, like a part of her she no longer recognized. Even the buddy was almost forced and off somehow. Not her usual, almost lilted, over-pronounced syllables, but a bland, robotic rendition.

Yet, as she made her decision, another thought surfaced—her squad's game and movie nights. Despite the risks of veering from the prescribed path of re-education, Huntress couldn't shake the feeling that maintaining these gatherings could bolster morale, fostering a sense of camaraderie among her squad. How were they supposed to be expected to work well together without having that foundation?

With a newfound resolve, she made a vow to continue attending both the sparring nights and hosting the squad's recreational gatherings, navigating the delicate balance between keeping her emotions in check and the longing for friendship and connections. As she made it to the gym and got herself set up to start the stretches that Rusty had shown her during Vesper Fight Club, Elliot pulled out her work phone and texted the group chat for her hosted gathering, Rusty being apart of it after she had extended her first invitation.

Movie/Game night, this Tuesday, 1830. Squad IV welcome. Bring snacks.​