Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Chapter 16: NIGHTFALL

Their transport helicopter was nearly at the offloading point when Ayre received an urgent message from her Liberation Front contact with a briefing attached.

[We have an urgent situation developing at one of our Belius locations, and would like to retain the services of Raven to defend it. The timeframe is very short, and we are prepared to arrange for high speed transport for her AC across the Alean Ocean if necessary. Please let us know as soon as possible if Raven is available for this mission. Briefing is attached.]

She quickly sent off a message to let the Liberation Front know they were available and in the Belius region already.

"Raven, we've received an urgent request from the Rubicon Liberation Front. They were prepared to fly us back over to Belius within a few hours if we accepted, so I've let them know we're on the continent and our location. They'll be there shortly after we land to pick us up, along with your extra munitions and weapons. Here's the briefing," Ayre explained.

The voice of Rainer, part of their Belius Command, sounded rather worried as he spoke during the briefing.

"Raven, we have a mission we'd like you to take on." Rainer greeted, "The objective is to defend the Gallia Dam complex in the Belius region. Arquebus has been using independent mercenaries to step up pressure on the Rubiconians while fighting the PCA. They might be laying the groundwork to take effective control over the entire planet."

Images of two ACs flashed next, then a number of diagrammed images showing best-guess frame and loadout compositions.

"They've dispatched two high-ranking independent mercenaries to raid the dam." Rainer further explained, "You'll need to be ready to take on both ACs at once: ASTER CROWN and UMBER OX... As you know, we have few cards to play. I hope we can count on you."

Raven sat for a moment, taking it in, before he sprung into action.

<<I'll need to prepare myself with info while we're en route, you've let them know we'll take the mission? I'm going to review the data we have on those two until then, I need to prepare.>>

"Of course, Raven," Ayre responded. "I've already let the Liberation Front know where to pick us up and told Carla to cancel our berth on the return trip for her cargo hauler."

<<Thank you Ayre. What's the timeframe for the opfor arriving at the Dam?>>

"Based on the Liberation Front's projected travel method, they anticipate sometime in the next 6 hours," Ayre estimated. "We should be able to make it there by helicopter by then."

<<As long as we make it in time. We'll stop them cold.>>

...

Rainer could feel the tension that had been tight in his shoulders begin to unwind when he received a message back from Raven's operator just a few minutes after he sent the request.

They were in the Belius region already and were available to sortie. He'd been given coordinates to send a chopper to, and one was already lifting off.

The fact that they had any forewarning about the impending raid on the Gallia Dam was a very lucky break, and Raven being available and nearby even more so. It was still worrying, seeing as it was two of the highest ranked independents Arquebus had hired, but if there was anyone who could make this work, it would be Raven. He'd seen him do incredible things fighting the PCA machines, and with the way he dismantled Dolmayan, by his account, meant he was possibly the most dangerous pilot in the system.