The 31st Lynx - An Armored Core Fanfiction

Hunter Killer

    Michael rolled out of bed and stretched. He did his morning exercises then ate some breakfast. His beard had grown out a bit. He decided he would need to shave. At least he could wear a hat under his helmet, but the beard scratched at his neck in the pilot suit. After he was done all that, Michael sat down by his terminal. Next to him was a list of things he wanted to try in his Core. It was a shorter list, as he compared the capabilities of the NEXT compared to a modern Core. He circled one maneuver he wanted to try, then turned back to the monitor.
    "First thing, AMS and Cradles." He opened up some documents that came along with the Collard information. "'AMS is a semi-psychic enhancement tool. It improved pilots survivability in insane G-forces, while also allowing them to pilot the NEXT with their minds?!'" Michael leaned back. "No wonder Strayed's pilot could only do one mission at a time. It probably did a number on his mind and body." He closed that tab. The old world pilots were on another level, quite literally. 

    The Cradles, on the other hand, were a nice diversion. They were created to house the majority of humanity due to the pollution on the surface, mostly due to Kojima particles. Each one could comfortably house twenty million, with additional space for population growth. These massive ships floated miles above the surface and the NEXTs were restricted from entering Cradle airspace due to their Primal Armor. However, all the cradles were grounded shortly before the humanity entered the Layered. Only a meager percentage of those on-board made it underground. 

    Michael began the next audio log. "Nice. Serene is such a great person." There was a brief pause and some yelling behind him. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Geez, she is such a kill joy. Anyway, I wanted to destroy the Arms Fort Spirit of Motherwill. However, Serene would like me to handle the AF Cabracan while Noblesse Oblige takes Motherwill. Whatever. At least this one should be easier. GA is sending one of their mass produced Forts to help out. " Michael took a good look at Cabracan. 
    The Arms Fort was bright red, and shaped a bit like a handgun. While the fort itself had no visible weapon systems, it looked heavily armored. It didn't look like anything could damage it. Michael played the HUD feed and watched.

    Strayed stood in a desert filled with abandoned buildings. Mines scattered the area, and the Cabracan lumbered towards it. Strayed shot forward towards the machine. "Remember, you are just trying to disable it. Get under the armor skirting and we'll deal with it from there." 
    "Roger that. Onward, then. He positioned himself just in front of a mine and waited. When Cabracan hit the mine, the skirting raised up a bit. Strayed boosted in and began shooting at the treads. The damage was done, and Cabracan came to a halt. "Alright, Serene. Done and done."
    "Hold on, somethings happening." There was a sound of many explosions, and then something that sounded like machine gun fire. "Drones? Look at them all?"
    "Serene? What do you mean, drones?"
     "Cabracan is a drone transport. Damn...there has got to be dozens." 

     "So, I'm just gonna wait here for GA then?"
     "That's what we'll have to do." A new voice echoed on the channel. 
     "This is the GA Arms Fort Giga Base. We are on our way, but progress is slow. Hold out; we are doing the best we can." The pilot scoffed. 
     "Of course you are, big guy." Strayed entered a standby state. The skirting would protect the NEXT. If his weapons couldn't punch through it, then the drone's couldn't either. The GA operator got back on the line a few minutes later.
     "Um...We're sorry, but due to technical difficulties we will not be able to assist you." Serene began yelling at the man. "Hey, listen; you are the one getting paid the big bucks, you go earn it." Then the transmission cut out. 
     "Oh, you and I will have words after this." Strayed resumed its combat mode. 
     "Cool it, Serene. Let's just get this over with." Strayed unleashed a volley of bullets at the interior of the armor. The inside collapses quickly, and Strayed boosted out. Nearly a hundred drones were waiting for him. "Oh. Aw shi-" He boosted back under the skirting as a wave of laser rounds pounded the sand. "Alright. Bad idea. New plan." He lowered the missile launcher and sniper cannon. "Blow 'em all to Hell and back." Strayed popped out and began firing. Wave after wave, the enemy had no chance. The drones couldn't keep up with the machine. It's speed and accuracy didn't give them a moments rest. By the time the drones got a lock, Strayed had moved to another area. It took about five minutes, but the drones were all wiped out. It was a sight to behold. 
     "Done. All drones, down and accounted for." Serene was silent for a moment. 
     "I...don't believe it. I can't believe you beat that monster." 

    Michael sat back and sighed. Watching these LYNX fight was something else. He felt so inadequate, so inferior. He leaned back and opened the next folder. No HUD feed. Just a audio log. Disappointed, he opened the log. "This...this is it. Due to the nature of the next couple of missions, I'm disabling my HUD feed. I'm doing missions for Line Ark. The League may very well try to kill or reprimand me for my involvement. Therefore, I'm not going to leave them any evidence to accuse me. For this first mission, I've been asked to defend Megalis, their energy production facility. Then, I'll be defending Line Ark itself for a while, working in tandem with their NEXT White Glint. I hate that guy. But, anyway. That's all I have to say." The log cut out.
    Michael reached to open the next folder but paused. He was at the end. There was nothing left. No more folders, no more logs. He slumped into his seat. That was it. The mystery had hit a dead end. No more stories, no more history. "I guess...some mysteries will never truly be solved." Michael flipped the terminal off and went off to training.