Post by Tailsnake on May 24, 2006 17:40:10 GMT -5
Chapter 1 – Those Who Stand At The Top Of The World
Jacques could see the hot Martian sun setting in the distance as the car he was in hovered across the desert sands. A mound rose in the distance, but he really couldn’t appreciate the magnitude of its size until the car got closer. Jacques got out of the vehicle and paid his fare, he swallowed as he walked up to the gigantic steel doors - for the first time since he left his old home he finally realized he was nervous; what was a 24 year-old physics major doing becoming a raven. What had he gotten himself into; this place looked more like a missile bunker than any hangar he had ever seen. The door began to slowly open, he wondered how much money this must’ve cost; the doors were at least 60 feet high. Jacques entered through the opening between the doors, they began to close behind him. The Hangar was huge, there were two ACs ahead of Jacques and about a dozen people working on them. One of the engineers on the ground came up to Jacques, “Hey, are you the new guy?” he asked, running his dark greasy fingers through his brown hair. “Yeah, my name’s Jacques Laurier,”
“Hi, I’m Mitch, Richard is waiting for you in his room. Just head up the stairs on your left and go into the hall, it’s the third door,”
“Thanks,” Jacques replied. He began to walk towards the stair when he heard Mitch say, “Welcome to team Exotix,” Jacques looked back and smiled at Mitch. Team Exotix was a renowned W-League team (World League), out of the 200 W-league ACs 3 of Exotix were in the top 50, the highest ranked being the Architect Richard’s AC, Long shot. The other ACs in the top 50 were ranked 33 and 47. The two final ACs on the team were ranked 62 and 200. Jacques would be ranked 200th in the W-League when he got his AC. But even being ranked 200th was impressive, it meant he was the 200th best Raven in the world. Jacques opened the door to Richard’s room, in front of a computer sat a man in his mid forties. He had heavy bags underneath his eyes and short messy red hair. He had a medium build, and a small mustache. “Huh, Jacques is that you?”
“Yeah, I came”
“Good, let’s get started. Welcome to team Exotix, I made an AC for you based on what I saw you do in your match”
“Don’t you think it’d be better if I had some input?”
“I’m the Architect here, you’re a Raven; I build, you fly”
“Yeah I understand the W-league team structure, but we could make a better AC if I helped design”
“For someone who got a place on one of the best AC teams in the world without any real prior experience, you sure are mouthy”
“I’m sorry I di-”
“Save it kid, I just finished the build would you like to try it, I’ll set-up a simulation battle with another team member”
“Yeah, I guess”
“Oh, kid, you better not lose this match”
Jacques smiled, “I never lose.”
“Good to hear kid, I’ll setup a match with DeAngelo and his ArachnaPhobe AC,” said Richard. He went back to his computer and started typing furiously. “Sit down at the console over there, I trust you recognize the controls.” Of course Jacques recognized the controls; he had seen them dozens of times in his arcade’s backroom. He played it nearly everyday and his skills had gotten rather polished, his record was 78-13, the best in the games records. One day Richard had seen him playing and offered him a position on the team. Jacques had heard of the team before and even knew of Richard’s AC, but he didn’t recognize him until he did some research on the team. When he realized what he had been offered he immediately left his job and hired a taxi to take him to the team’s hangar. Jacques looked at the controls with a little trepidation, but he couldn’t back down now. He sat at the controls and saw an overview of his AC’s parts: M2 and Pixie machine guns, OB/Hangar core, Right and left arm blade hangar units, Chimera Dual back part, Cicada2 head, and mid-weight biped legs. He was prepared for the battle ahead of him. A message then popped onto his screen, ‘Don’t worry too much newbie, Richard did this too all of us. I may feel sorry but I won’t hold back, show me what you’ve got. DeAngelo.’ Jacques waited for the battle info to come up on the screen, when it did he realized the challenge he was up against. They would be playing in the classic Dimcage Town battlefield, a remnant from the original formula front league, but what caught his attention wasn’t the arena, it was DeAngelo’s AC. It had dual grenade launcher arm weapons, a heavyweight OB core, the GL Grenade back cannon, and quad legs. The screen started to switch to the battle. Jacques took hold of his controls and prepared.
Jacques’ AC was positioned behind a large building, he had the defensive advantage. Jacques quickly boosted out of the safety of his building with his dual Machine Guns blazing but quickly pulled backed when he saw two grenades heading towards him. He dodged the first one, but second hit his AC causing massive heat, Jacques boosted behind a nearby building to wait for his AC too cool down. His heat was dissipated quickly his AC had excellent forced cooling. He prepared to leave the safety of his building for a second assault when ArachnaPhobe OB’d into view on the opposing end of the building. Jacques activated his OB and launched at ArachnaPhobe while firing. He took some heavy damage from Grenades, but he still continued his assault. When he got closer he dropped both weapons and switched to his hangars, he was able to score dual blade hits before ArachnaPhobe OB’d out of view. Jacqes once again waited for his AC to cool, this time keeping an eye on his radar. Once cool he used his OB to boost to the top of a large building, narrowly being missed by a grenade as he did. When he got to the top of the building he quickly switched to his Back lasers and waited. ArachnaPhobe fell right into his trap, trying to use his OB to get behind and above Jacques. The second Jacques saw ArachnaPhobe he fired the Chimera and got a head shot. The laser completely destroyed his opponents head and blasted ArachnaPhobe out of the air. Jacques was hit by another grenade shot before ArachnaPhobe was hit and he was really beginning to feel the effects of the grenades: His heat was skyrocketing and his legs had taken much damage, limiting his mobility and stability. Jacques scored a major victory with his previous attack, ArachnaPhobe had no back radar – without it’s head it was nearly blind. Jacques boosted down from the building deliberately letting ArachnaPhobe see him and almost hit him before he could get behind a building again, once in hiding he prepared his Chimera. ArachnaPhobe followed and fell into another trap. Jacques OB’d out of ArachnaPhobe’s view and dropped his back part, with the damage to his legs it was more of a hindrance than a help; he would end this battle with his blades. His plan was simple enough: OB behind ArachnaPhobe and attack his core, he had already done some heavy damage to it’s core, another two hit’s should’ve been enough to cause critical damage to ArachnaPhobe’s generators. Jacques checked his radar, ArachnaPhbe had retreated into the open; he was trying to draw Jacques out. Jacques began boosting towards ArachnaPhobe and started activating his OB once in the open he launched his OB and began trying to circle ArachnaPhobe, but he was caught by a grenade from the GL. The right leg of Jacques AC had been blown off, if he landed he was done for. He continued OBing if he stopped he would be hit again; he had to make one last desperate attempt. He dived in, activating his blades as he did. ArachnaPhobe OB’d out of the way and a shot from it’s GL sent Jacques AC crashing to the ground. Jacques looked at his screen as his crippled AC was repeatedly blasted by grenades, then in large, red block font the words “You Lose” appeared on the screen. Another message appeared on his screen, ‘Nice match Newbie. I lost too on my first try, but you were close. Come see me later, I’d love to talk strategy with you. DeAngelo.’ Jacques didn’t even care about the message; he had lost his match. He was told not to lose and he still lost. It was pathetic. He began to leave the room when Richard called him. “Where are you going kid?”
“I lost didn’t I?”
“No, you won that match. You out maneuvered and out strategized your opponent, your only weakness was your AC. I’ll go over the video and see what I can do about that your AC. Here, your room’s number 225, you’re an official member of the team.” Richard finished and threw Jacques his key. He got into his room and immediately turned on his computer and went to his net identity profile, he changed it so it read: Jacques Laurier, Male, 24-Years Old, World Class AC Pilot.
Jacques could see the hot Martian sun setting in the distance as the car he was in hovered across the desert sands. A mound rose in the distance, but he really couldn’t appreciate the magnitude of its size until the car got closer. Jacques got out of the vehicle and paid his fare, he swallowed as he walked up to the gigantic steel doors - for the first time since he left his old home he finally realized he was nervous; what was a 24 year-old physics major doing becoming a raven. What had he gotten himself into; this place looked more like a missile bunker than any hangar he had ever seen. The door began to slowly open, he wondered how much money this must’ve cost; the doors were at least 60 feet high. Jacques entered through the opening between the doors, they began to close behind him. The Hangar was huge, there were two ACs ahead of Jacques and about a dozen people working on them. One of the engineers on the ground came up to Jacques, “Hey, are you the new guy?” he asked, running his dark greasy fingers through his brown hair. “Yeah, my name’s Jacques Laurier,”
“Hi, I’m Mitch, Richard is waiting for you in his room. Just head up the stairs on your left and go into the hall, it’s the third door,”
“Thanks,” Jacques replied. He began to walk towards the stair when he heard Mitch say, “Welcome to team Exotix,” Jacques looked back and smiled at Mitch. Team Exotix was a renowned W-League team (World League), out of the 200 W-league ACs 3 of Exotix were in the top 50, the highest ranked being the Architect Richard’s AC, Long shot. The other ACs in the top 50 were ranked 33 and 47. The two final ACs on the team were ranked 62 and 200. Jacques would be ranked 200th in the W-League when he got his AC. But even being ranked 200th was impressive, it meant he was the 200th best Raven in the world. Jacques opened the door to Richard’s room, in front of a computer sat a man in his mid forties. He had heavy bags underneath his eyes and short messy red hair. He had a medium build, and a small mustache. “Huh, Jacques is that you?”
“Yeah, I came”
“Good, let’s get started. Welcome to team Exotix, I made an AC for you based on what I saw you do in your match”
“Don’t you think it’d be better if I had some input?”
“I’m the Architect here, you’re a Raven; I build, you fly”
“Yeah I understand the W-league team structure, but we could make a better AC if I helped design”
“For someone who got a place on one of the best AC teams in the world without any real prior experience, you sure are mouthy”
“I’m sorry I di-”
“Save it kid, I just finished the build would you like to try it, I’ll set-up a simulation battle with another team member”
“Yeah, I guess”
“Oh, kid, you better not lose this match”
Jacques smiled, “I never lose.”
“Good to hear kid, I’ll setup a match with DeAngelo and his ArachnaPhobe AC,” said Richard. He went back to his computer and started typing furiously. “Sit down at the console over there, I trust you recognize the controls.” Of course Jacques recognized the controls; he had seen them dozens of times in his arcade’s backroom. He played it nearly everyday and his skills had gotten rather polished, his record was 78-13, the best in the games records. One day Richard had seen him playing and offered him a position on the team. Jacques had heard of the team before and even knew of Richard’s AC, but he didn’t recognize him until he did some research on the team. When he realized what he had been offered he immediately left his job and hired a taxi to take him to the team’s hangar. Jacques looked at the controls with a little trepidation, but he couldn’t back down now. He sat at the controls and saw an overview of his AC’s parts: M2 and Pixie machine guns, OB/Hangar core, Right and left arm blade hangar units, Chimera Dual back part, Cicada2 head, and mid-weight biped legs. He was prepared for the battle ahead of him. A message then popped onto his screen, ‘Don’t worry too much newbie, Richard did this too all of us. I may feel sorry but I won’t hold back, show me what you’ve got. DeAngelo.’ Jacques waited for the battle info to come up on the screen, when it did he realized the challenge he was up against. They would be playing in the classic Dimcage Town battlefield, a remnant from the original formula front league, but what caught his attention wasn’t the arena, it was DeAngelo’s AC. It had dual grenade launcher arm weapons, a heavyweight OB core, the GL Grenade back cannon, and quad legs. The screen started to switch to the battle. Jacques took hold of his controls and prepared.
Jacques’ AC was positioned behind a large building, he had the defensive advantage. Jacques quickly boosted out of the safety of his building with his dual Machine Guns blazing but quickly pulled backed when he saw two grenades heading towards him. He dodged the first one, but second hit his AC causing massive heat, Jacques boosted behind a nearby building to wait for his AC too cool down. His heat was dissipated quickly his AC had excellent forced cooling. He prepared to leave the safety of his building for a second assault when ArachnaPhobe OB’d into view on the opposing end of the building. Jacques activated his OB and launched at ArachnaPhobe while firing. He took some heavy damage from Grenades, but he still continued his assault. When he got closer he dropped both weapons and switched to his hangars, he was able to score dual blade hits before ArachnaPhobe OB’d out of view. Jacqes once again waited for his AC to cool, this time keeping an eye on his radar. Once cool he used his OB to boost to the top of a large building, narrowly being missed by a grenade as he did. When he got to the top of the building he quickly switched to his Back lasers and waited. ArachnaPhobe fell right into his trap, trying to use his OB to get behind and above Jacques. The second Jacques saw ArachnaPhobe he fired the Chimera and got a head shot. The laser completely destroyed his opponents head and blasted ArachnaPhobe out of the air. Jacques was hit by another grenade shot before ArachnaPhobe was hit and he was really beginning to feel the effects of the grenades: His heat was skyrocketing and his legs had taken much damage, limiting his mobility and stability. Jacques scored a major victory with his previous attack, ArachnaPhobe had no back radar – without it’s head it was nearly blind. Jacques boosted down from the building deliberately letting ArachnaPhobe see him and almost hit him before he could get behind a building again, once in hiding he prepared his Chimera. ArachnaPhobe followed and fell into another trap. Jacques OB’d out of ArachnaPhobe’s view and dropped his back part, with the damage to his legs it was more of a hindrance than a help; he would end this battle with his blades. His plan was simple enough: OB behind ArachnaPhobe and attack his core, he had already done some heavy damage to it’s core, another two hit’s should’ve been enough to cause critical damage to ArachnaPhobe’s generators. Jacques checked his radar, ArachnaPhbe had retreated into the open; he was trying to draw Jacques out. Jacques began boosting towards ArachnaPhobe and started activating his OB once in the open he launched his OB and began trying to circle ArachnaPhobe, but he was caught by a grenade from the GL. The right leg of Jacques AC had been blown off, if he landed he was done for. He continued OBing if he stopped he would be hit again; he had to make one last desperate attempt. He dived in, activating his blades as he did. ArachnaPhobe OB’d out of the way and a shot from it’s GL sent Jacques AC crashing to the ground. Jacques looked at his screen as his crippled AC was repeatedly blasted by grenades, then in large, red block font the words “You Lose” appeared on the screen. Another message appeared on his screen, ‘Nice match Newbie. I lost too on my first try, but you were close. Come see me later, I’d love to talk strategy with you. DeAngelo.’ Jacques didn’t even care about the message; he had lost his match. He was told not to lose and he still lost. It was pathetic. He began to leave the room when Richard called him. “Where are you going kid?”
“I lost didn’t I?”
“No, you won that match. You out maneuvered and out strategized your opponent, your only weakness was your AC. I’ll go over the video and see what I can do about that your AC. Here, your room’s number 225, you’re an official member of the team.” Richard finished and threw Jacques his key. He got into his room and immediately turned on his computer and went to his net identity profile, he changed it so it read: Jacques Laurier, Male, 24-Years Old, World Class AC Pilot.
