The 31st Lynx - An Armored Core Fanfiction

Pray for Ravens

     Michael sighed and rubbed his eyes. The Crest Corporation was organizing a major offensive, and every available pilot was needed. Thankfully he only needed to send the emails. He hated the way his voice sounded on the recordings. He put his signature on the last of the emails and logged out of his station. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards the exit.

    Selena stopped him. "Michael, did you finish the Crest job postings?" He nodded. 
    "Yup, just finished." Selena smiled. "Oh," Michael turned just before walking out, "I'm taking next week off. I've submitted all the paper work, and its been approved." 
    "So I see. Going to do some more digging?" He smiled and blushed. 
    "You know me too well. I found a lead a few days ago. Might be something, might not." He left, waving behind him as he exited. "I'll fill you in when I get back." 

    The outside was dimly lit, letting those still working know the hour. The Controller's drones flew by on patrol. Michael pushed a button on his watch, and a taxi soon pulled nearby. He hopped in. "Hey there; Layer 5, East Lane." The driver nodded and began driving. Michael pulled out his laptop. He had downloaded some of his research notes and things onto it before leaving home this morning. 

    "Hey, you work for Cortex, right?" Michael nodded and flashed his ID tag with a smile. "Right on. My kid's trying to become a Raven. Wants to go by the name 'Apple Boy', hah! Any tips I could pass along to him?" Michael looked out the window at the passing world. 

    "Uh....let's see." He put his hand on his chin thinking. He didn't have the heart to tell the driver to get his son out of those machines before he gets himself killed. He had seen footage of battles. Mangled pieces of machinery flying everywhere, bullets tearing straight through cockpits, swarms of missiles and corporate assassinations. If your core was damaged during a mission, your chance of surviving went down to nil. 
    "Find a good operator, someone you can trust. Cortex Operators are just doing their job, but having someone encourage you can help in a pinch. When the credits come, invest in armor first. And, know your limits. A healthy amount of paranoia never killed anyone, yeah?" The driver nodded, and a light flashed on his dash. 
     "Good, thank you. We are being redirected to Layer 2, sorry. A battle is going on further down." Michael nodded and returned to his notes. He felt the taxi shake and the driver cursed. "Oh no. No, no, no!" The driver slammed on the breaks and turned to face Michael. "Get your stuff and run." Michael didn't need to be told twice. He slammed his computer shut and jumped out of the car. Within seconds, a third generation Armored Core came bursting around the corner and opened fire. 

     The Armored Cores were magnificent machines. Ten meter tall humanoid weapons, armed to the teeth, and built to withstand old-world nukes. Each one could tear through an army of lesser machines and defenses. The top pilots could make a fortune working as a mercenary or fighting in the arenas. Each Raven-Core combo was worth more than Michael made in five years, including holiday bonuses. 
    Today, this machine of war had breached the Kisaragi Tunnel and opened fire. The vehicles that were unfortunate to be caught were vaporized, leaving only a burned spot on the ground. People scattered, barely noticeable from the cockpit of the machine. The rhythmic thump of the Core's rifle was deafening. Michael ran towards the walls, keeping his head down. The exits had become blocked by debris. With escape cut off, he turned around and got a good look at the mech.
    The machine was built using Crest's heaviest and strongest parts. It had become a walking wall of metal alloys. It carried a heavy rifle and an energy shield. It had come to stir up trouble. On its back it carried an experimental grenade launcher produced by Mirage, and a simple radar. It turned its blocky head towards the group of stragglers and pointed its rifle at them. 
    A lighter craft rounded the corner behind the dark-red Core. This one bore Mirage's logo; prominently displayed on both shoulders. The new craft carried a Mirage produced rifle and wrist mounted energy blade. It was blue and white, with hints of purple. A feminine voice sounded over the crafts on-board speakers. "Stand down, Black Siphon." The light core took a step forward and pointed its rifle. The arm moved stiffly. 
   The pilot of Black Siphon didn't respond. It just turned and aimed. A poor decision. By the time he had turned, the enemy Core was already at his blind spot. A well timed boost gave it the speed it needed to outrun the slower and heavier Black Siphon. Siphon fired its boosters and backpedaled at an impressive speed given its size. The Mirage Core kept up the attack, pounding the shell of Siphon with a barrage of high impact rifle rounds. Michael pulled out his camera and began recording.
    Siphon held up its shield, protecting it from a fair amount of projectiles. Just enough time to return fire. The two cores exchanged fire, but it was clear that Siphon would win this battle. It had too much armor and the grenade cannon was slowly unfolding. If the Mirage Core was hit by that, it would be over. As the launcher extended to its full length, the Mirage craft engaged its Over Booster. The warm-up time for the booster was faster than Siphon's lock speed, and the Mirage craft darted to the side at breakneck speeds. Ravens went through special training to avoid injury. 

   A purple light shone as the Mirage craft activated its blade. The sword extended a good six meters. The purple light shimmered as it touched Siphon's hull. There was a hissing sound, and the hull glowed red. Siphon shot backwards; the core responded autonomously to the impact. But the damage was done. Within seconds, Siphon had burst into flames, its radiator unable to cool the craft quickly enough. Siphon took a knee, and the flames consumed the craft. The female Raven spoke again. "All civilians evacuate immediately." She pushed Siphon further down the tunnel as Michael and the others ran the opposite direction. The last thing Michael recorded before putting the camera away was the resounding explosion. He turned just in time to see the Mirage Core gliding past them to the extraction point.
    "Shit, that was... too close." Michael shifted uneasily. It would be awhile before he got home now. 

   Michael tossed his bag onto the couch of his small apartment. He sat down at his desk and opened his computer. He had five emails from Cortex. Each one informed him that his presence at the fight was not to be discussed and that he would be given time off to 'recover'. Michael was glad however, this week off wouldn't affect his total vacation time now. 
    He went into his room and began packing for the next day. He had an PDA, one more powerful than his laptop and with many more functions. He packed some food and drinks, as well as a small blanket and some portable lights. He had hoped that this trip would take three days, but he was preparing for a whole week just in case. He also made sure his pistol was working properly. It wouldn't do much against any machinery, but looters and scavengers could be dangerous. He took his time looking over the plan. 
    Michael would grab a taxi to the second layer, then as far towards the abandoned Kisaragi plant as possible. Once there, he would continue on foot to the abandoned Sector 71. Once there, he would spend an entire day getting to the building marked on his PDA. Hopefully, he could find a discarded car or MT in working condition. That would make his life so much better, and he could make the trip in one day then. 
   After that, he would explore the building that was marked for any information or tokens from the surface. He would spend one day exploring and scavenging, then he would return back the way he came. He'd reek to the ceiling, but at least he had planned for most everything. The last bit of preparation he had to do was the most morbid. Should he die or never return, he had written his will and a few other letters explaining what he was doing. He hoped that this would either give closure or at least let Cortex know to send his last paycheck to his sister's account. 

    With that done, he put his travel bag next to his bed and walked to the mirror. He figured he needed to shave, and he would need to bring a hat. Michael had always felt sadness at his early baldness. But he had made peace with his self-consciousness, at least. He finished shaving and preparing for bed. He tossed his brown beanie on top of his bag and sat down in bed. He ran his hand over his Global Cortex badge. His picture was awkward, but nobody really saw his face thankfully. Michael read his favorite quote put on his tag: 'Pray for Ravens'. Michael laughed to himself and settled into bed. "As if I'd ever pray for a Raven's help."

How wrong he was.