The 31st Lynx - An Armored Core Fanfiction

The First Logs

    Strayed dropped towards the ground. Serene's voice echoed in the the cab. "Line Ark defenses are deployed. Begin mission." The reticle on the HUD locked onto the nearest  MT.
    "No need to tell me twice; engaging." The speedometer on the HUD reached a steady 300km/h and bolts of blue energy fired from the right hand weapon, incinerating the first wave of MTs. "I see a few more on the right road." He turned and pointed the left hand weapon, a plasma cannon. The burst of green energy impacted with the first MT. The explosion wiped out the MT, and the others nearby were caught in the blast. 
    "Good kill. I'm detecting enemy reinforcements. NORMALs, and quite a bit of them." 
    "Thanks, Serene; I'm on it." The pilot shifted his controls and glided towards the newcomers. He let loose a mix of plasma attacks and lasers. Soon, the first wave of NORMALs were nothing but scrap. Missile impacted on the left side, sending Strayed off the edge of the bridge, down towards the ocean. The Core landed on the water and activated its boosters. "Crap."
    "AP down to 70%. Try not to die this early." Michael heard the pilot sigh. 
    "Yeah, yeah; I know. Here we go..." He fired his OB system and flew up to where the missiles came from. Strayed unleashed a wave of deadly plasma onto the enemy MTs. There was a moment of quiet while the smoke cleared. 
    "All enemies have been eliminated. Good job; almost perfect." 
    "Thanks. Switching off weapon systems. Meet you at extraction for debrief." 

   Michael couldn't help but gawk at how smooth the NEXT had moved. It was beautiful and graceful, while maintaining the deadly efficiency of modern Cores. "Wow. Such...such power. That fight would have been impossible for one pilot to handle in a modern Core. "That was amazing." Michael took his notes again, making sure to document his thoughts and opinions are the machines. "Perhaps I could adapt something from this..." he thought for a moment, then took some notes on a separate piece of paper. He would have to try out some things in the training room later. 

    "Let's see....the next mission." He closed out of the first mission folder. He hadn't viewed the briefing logs. Too much effort, he thought. The next mission came directly from the 'Interior Union', the same company that provided Strayed. He opened up the pilot log. 
    "Geez, where does Serene find these missions? I need to wipe out an entire deployment of GA America troops to protect a Union convoy. Still, the pay is good, so whatever. I just need to make sure that the enemy doesn't blow up the convoy and everything is good, right? No problem. Besides, it'll be a good chance to test out the new rig." Michael opened up the attached schematics. 
    The craft was completely different. Using a mix of BFF and Algebra parts, Strayed had gone from being a lightweight, energy weapon craft to a general purpose middleweight. Instead of a radar, a sniper cannon and missile launcher were placed on the back. The shoulders sported a pair of anti-missile flares. The right arm held a long-range rifle, and the left hand held a machine gun. In the week between the two missions, Strayed had changed.
    Micheal opened up the feed. There was less static, and this time, the feed started after Strayed had touched down.

    Strayed marched forward at a steady pace. The area was desert, like most of the surface. However, there was a small pool of water splitting the two routes the convoy could take. Next to the shortest route was a massive cliff. A perfect kill-zone for the unaware. "The mission is simple; eliminate the GA defenses along the projected route. The transport will be entering the combat zone shortly."
    "I read you loud and clear, Serene. I'm engaging." the pilot lowered the sniper cannon and missile launcher. The first wave of GA troops had spotted him. They were demolition NORMALs, with bazookas and rockets. They were accompanied by heavy cannon MTs and mobile artillery. "Yikes; GA really wants this convoy destroyed." Strayed fired a barrage of sniper rounds and missiles. The missile split into 8, then smashed into the softer targets. The NORMALs got the full force of the sniper cannon. One NORMAL was torn to shreds, the round impacting directly into center mass. 

    "I could do this all day." Strayed hopped from target to target, shredding them like they were paper. Within minutes, all defenses had been destroyed. "Huh, is that all?" 
    "Good work. Damage to the convoy was negligible." Serene responded. "How are you feeling?"
    "Tired. And hungry." 
    "You pushed yourself hard today. Get some rest; we have-" The line cut out for a moment. "Change of plans. Power down your primal armor and get to the extraction point. We need to respond to an emergency request." 
    "Not now, what could..." the pilot trailed off. "Sure, whatever you say, Serene."

    Michael skimmed through the briefing. Nothing was mentioned about an additional request. The debrief file included only information about the escort mission. Michael quickly drafted his notes on the topic. He glanced over at the clock. It was nearly noon. He had to get some practice in after lunch. He got up and made some food. When he sat back down, he started the video for the next mission. 
    "So, I'm still in the cockpit. I've been hooked up to the AMS for...too long." The voice paused. Michael could hear the labored breathing. "I can't focus really well. I'm so tired. Anyway," there was another pause, "A local reactionary force - not Line Ark - has been sighted near Cradle System 21. Information on that is included in the briefing doc. Anyway, these Liliana terrorists don't want anything, except to kill. They have already half crippled the Cradle. I'm to engage them and eliminate all the stragglers. But, I'm not allowed to activate my primal armor. The radiation would kill more people that it would save, apparently." the pilot laughed. "Shit, it's getting harder to do jack-all. Wish I was back in my NORMAL." 
    Michael's hand hovered over the HUD feed. Something felt off. He scribbled down things for him to look at after training. What was an AMS? What was a Cradle? Why was Primal Armor so dangerous? Michael didn't have answers, but he hoped the mission files would. The video started with the sound of a drop ship.

    "Strayed, prepare for deployment." Serene's voices echoed in the hollow cockpit. 
    "I hear ya. I'm up, I'm up." The pilot did not sound 'up'. 
    "Be careful out there; they may be NORMALs, but they carry heavy laser weaponry. Don't let them get too close, especially because your PA won't be up." 
     "Right. Shoot them; don't let them shoot me." the pilot pushed a button on the left and right. The missile launcher and sniper cannon lowered. "I'm just gonna..." the controls shifted a bit as the pilot dozed. Strayed dropped into the open sky. "Engaging OB now." The NEXT shot forward towards a flying fortress in the sky. Each Cradle was built like two giant 'V's stacked together. This shape allowed for advanced aerodynamics and stability. Each level had between eight and ten generator-thingies that Michael assumed kept it afloat. From the feed, several of these had been destroyed already. "I'm there, engaging." 
    Strayed landed on the lower level and quick boosted around an unaware normal. A single sniper round was all it took to destroy that one. "Eleven remaining." Strayed took to the air and found the next set. The NORMALs returned fire. A strange transmission was captured by Strayed's systems.
    "Its only a LYNX! He's a soldier, same as us." 
     "Strayed, what was that?" 
     "Just some terrorist communications. Ignore it." the pilot spoke with a mechanical tone. Strayed fired a barrage of missiles and sniper shells. The NORMALs fell in surprising number. Soon, they were down to single digits. Then, only five. Four. Two. One. The entire fight, Strayed had stayed airborne, avoiding nearly all damage. The last terrorist attempted to run, flying off out of Cradle space. "No hard feelings, yeah?" 
     The terrorist's escape was cut short by a sniper shot. The bullet tore through the NORMAL's lower half. A well timed and precision aimed attack, meant to disable, not destroy. The Core, while intact, was now free-falling from five thousand kilometers. There were no safety measures installed on the normal, so the core would only slow down when it hit the ground. "You-You're a monst--" the pilot reached up and flipped off the transmission channel. 
    "Serene. All done here."
    "Good job. You saved a lot of lives today. Damage to the Cradle was severe, but they can't blame that on you. A repair team is on their way now." 
    "Good. I've been flying for 5 minutes, on top of the previous battle. Can I get a nap now?" After that, the HUD feed ended.