Armored Core 6: Cold Ghost

8. THE LIBERATION

It was going to be messy, Leemo thought gravely, as he tried to catch up with the rest of the people rushing to their defense posts as the alarms blared non-stop and red lights flashed in steady intervals. The Scavengers camp is under attack, under attack by the Corporations which is bad enough, worse still is that they sent an AC instead of the usual MTs which are fairly easy to deal with using the defense turrets and their own MTs. Leemo heard enough reports of how a single AC could take on hordes of MTs and defenses and come out barely scratched. So yes, it was going to be messy. But it's the kind of messy that justified finally getting into the AC Mari brought back weeks ago and had been repaired and refitted since then. The building shook in toneless beats from the turrets firing at the intruder, and more than the rapid movement of personnel, the cannon fire stirred the dust so much the place looked hazy. Still, Leemo has a duty to protect his home and people, so AC or not, he was going to kick some corporate butt.

The scene in the Hanger was a different kind of messy, his crew were running through the usual checks in an orderly fashion but the rush to get the AC ready meant that everything else was shoved out of the way and shelved where possible. One of his engineers spotted him and gave a silent thumbs up knowing full well that he wouldn't be heard over the noise. He gestured the catwalk that was extended to the wide core of the BAWS design AC that was found wrecked in one of the Contaminated cities. The weaponry that was originally attached to his make shift AC were transferred to this one and he hated to admit it but the salvaged AC was in a much better working order than his scrap AC, and decided to practice on it instead. Whether or not he could stand toe-to-toe with a proper pilot is still up in the air, but Coral be damned if he wasn't going to give his best shot.

He was just about to leap into the core when a familiar voice called out to him.

"I got my comm headset on, how does it sound?"

He peered down into the core, then slid inside prompting her to repeat the message. "Loud and Clear, Mari."

"Good. Your team here says all systems are good to go. Hope you're ready."

"Born ready. Where's the fighting now?" He said as the AC shut and sealed the hatch to the core and was ramping up its generator with an audible hum even through the noise cancellation headphones. He could see on his screen that his engineers were already getting clear of the Hanger and into the control room where Mari is talking to him over comms.

"AC is still outside the residential areas, heading towards the coral processing plant. Figures."

"If they think we'll just let them have it then they've got another thing coming."

"Got that right. But Leemo, are you sure you want to do this?"

"This is our home. What are you asking that for?"

"Right... Look, just be careful, okay?"

"Got it. Tell the team to get the Hanger doors open. All green on my end."

"Roger."

The Hanger lit up from the light spilling through the cracks in the Hanger doors. Leemo had to squint as the entire place seemed to glow under Rubicon's star climbing the skies to its apex. It only hit him then how foolish this raid was; being done in broad daylight. The arrogance of it all. The AC jogged into the open before igniting its boosters and dashing towards the intruders last known location. The marker on his HUD superimposed over the landscape in front of him, slowly adjusting to the change in direction as the AC navigated out of the camp. It didn't take long before the flashes of cannon fire and lasers being exchanged came to view, steadily materializing into defensive emplacements firing at a faded white AC that's been doing a decent job avoiding the mortar rounds while being peppered by the rapid-fire chain guns. Even with its rapid movement, Leemo could clearly make out the Arquebus emblem that's scattered across the AC parts, and that just made his blood boil. The Corporations are showing up more frequently now, starting off with those survey teams and scouts, MTs forces to try and brute force their way here, and failed. Now they sent in an AC, clearly stating their intentions.