Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Chapter 11: Beyond Scorched Skies

It had been a tense day after Walter realized that his hound had again decided to go off and do something on its own again.

It had sent him a message that it accepted a job from the Liberation Front, but he had no idea where. And when it returned a little over a day later, he was hearing rumors that the seventh Vesper, Swinburne, had been killed when Arquebus lost contact with their garrison at the Wall survey base.

Hopefully the hound's actions wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.

...

After the BAWS floatship had touched down and OBSIDIAN WING was safely unloaded, Ayre had made sure they let Walter know that Raven had returned; They received a message back nearly instantly.

"621, Balam wants your participation in their operation tomorrow." he said, "I've let them know that you'll be there, make sure you review the briefing."

They watched the briefing while Ayre guided the chopper to a location near the mission target.

Balam wanted them to assault the Engebret Tunnel, just inside the closure area and near the PCA's Outer Perimeter Base Theta. It was a derelict Watchpoint, slated for restoration in the near future, so an attack on it would force the PCA's garrison to divert there rather than respond to an attack on the base. Inside was a device that the PCA would be restoring that was listed as a secondary target.

Ayre felt distinctly uneasy after seeing what it was they wanted destroyed.

"I know you prefer to complete all secondary objectives for the missions you're given Raven... but maybe we should avoid destroying another Watchpoint control device." she suggested, "The last one nearly killed you, and I don't want to see that happen again."

...

Walter watched the feed as 621 prepared to deploy. Balam was using it like bait. He'd thought, with the reputation it had built, that the corps had realized by now that it was far more valuable than that.

"I don't think Dafeng appreciates your true value..." said Michigan, "I'll talk to them."

Michigan knew how effective it was, especially after the Redguns got a first hand demonstration of it. So this plan was likely from the corporate paper pushers, not the commander of their AC squad.

It didn't matter either way. Balam would waste the talents it was paying for, fail to achieve anything meaningful, and likely fall even further behind Arquebus. They were only marginally stronger than the RLF now, who had husbanded their strength after their loss of the Wall while Balam and Arquebus squabbled with each other.

...

621 smashed its way through the tunnel, the only resistance being that of the standard Subject Guard MTs and a lone sniper LC, all of which were easily dispatched.

A comms request appeared, from G6 Red, as they neared the end of the tunnel.

"G13! Come in, Raven! PCA ground forces are converging on your location." said G6, "Make sure they stay busy, you know what to do. Over and out!"

Movement suddenly lit up the close range radar. Over a dozen small machines had dropped from the ceiling where they'd been hidden, deploying an electrostatic field around them. 621 could feel Ayre's curiosity, then her concern.

"Those machines are going to disable your AC if we don't get rid of them, Raven!" she said with worry, "Electrostatic load is increasing."