Sam was frightened by how quickly and naturally she pulled the trigger as the reticle placement sent its rail slug right into the upper core of the A-7 nearest to the building. It was the one closest to causing the most potential civilian casualties, and taking it out as a still-target would be priority before potentially facing two more moving targets. When did that conscious calculation take place? Why did she aim for the cockpit module? Why didn't she hesitate?

All those questions flashed through her mind and only once.

The reticle was quickly placed over where she felt the next trigger should be pulled, slowed only milliseconds by the trembling of her thumb. Another squeeze and a click of the trigger, and another thud followed by a horrible electrical coil whine as the next capacitor's charge became available for the next shot.

"Sam!? What's going on up there!?"

Sam had no choice but to keep full focus, watching the spray of metal and sparks erupt from the jolted, collapsing A-7 which failed to react in time to it's neighbor's equally shocking demise. And as another cascade of shattered glass fell from the nearby Hall's front-facing side, a breath in between shots filled her lungs. No misses. No strikes to the building itself. Only two toppled A-7 mechs and one to go, which was now firing off both main thrusters in a frantic hurry.

The A-7 had always ruled the skies since its inception, only suffering a year's capitulation to the Rebellion's Tiger. It always had an effect on those who looked at it from the ground up in the way its massive stabilizers that doubled as shields spread out from its back like wings, and right behind it were even more impressively sized thrusters that gave it long distance flight capability. From anyone who looked to the Alliances to keep their nations safe from foreign attacks, the A-7 always stood as a symbol of strength, protection, and safety.

But this was now the second marked time an A-7 was used against its own.

Sam never saw the first attack until Sebastian showed her several recorded sources that documented the entire incident. Perhaps that particular pilot stood to serve an Underground purpose similar to Bishop's as of recent, but now that she came at the close of the second major incurrence, her heart already confirmed it would be their last.

"Sam!!" Kerry insisted, especially now that her sensors went crazy after visual detection of a large, aerial threat on the move.

Sam only prepared an energy reserve for three shots, so she had to make this next one count. Already a massive upgrade from the Ap-50, the energy conversion rate for the Arondight was plenty capable of more, but she didn't want to risk cutting any evasive maneuvers or retreats shorter than she had to. Now that she was likely the target for the mobilized A-7, she flicked her LADAR targeting back on and took off with a powerful jump, aiming for a good landing spot headed in the direction of the sea. "Kerry! Follow about two blocks behind me!" Quickly falling behind the cover of a row of taller buildings, she raced eastward down the empty streets that had long been evacuated, given how close it was to the scene at the Assembly Hall.

Kerry landed soon afterward on the same street, but instead of focusing on the incoming A-7, she switched back over to her Hexa Satellite communications channel and turned it back on but only on her outgoing. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Infinity pilot Kerry Melancon! Hostile A-7's active in the area! Southeast Palermo District, SAU Argentine Assembly Hall vicinity!" She then immediately changed connections to Enrai's network. "This is Chalmette! Lost connection with Cruella and she's engaged in combat with the remaining Alliance A-7! Not sure what their counter response will be from here on out! Please advise!"

Sam, unaware of Kerry's distress calls, pressed on, taking aim for the skies above as if expecting her target to appear, which it did.

There's no target to worry about behind him now.

LADAR tracking helped snap the reticle in place while she slightly tilted her hat switch upward, following it up with a squeeze of the trigger. All took place in less than a second, and the instant the slug left the accelerator chamber, she pulled back on her brakes and reverse thrusters as a string of asphalt fountains erupted in front of her. Only one string would approach her, and as the Arondight's angled rollers screeched to a halt, the asphalt dust settled in showers as Sam watched the spiraling carcass of the A-7 on its way down to the sea below. Her eyes then checked the sky above it, noting the trail of smoke that carried the cockpit module off the other direction.

"We have to recover that cockpit module!" Sam barked, more aware this time of what to be on the lookout. "With everything we take down, we need proof of who did what before they have time to fuck around with the evidence!" She continued, turning to find a solid launching point from which to chase the ejected module.

"This is Chalmette! A-7 threats all eliminated! Request tracking assistance on the ejected cockpit module!" Kerry added on her outgoing channel to Enrai before switching back to her line-of-sight channel. "Sam, wait up!"

Sam was determined now to end this as quickly as humanly possible and without losing anyone else. She now felt fortune went her way for once, having experienced minimal resistance from the over-sized threats and now fully on the offensive.

"If I am guessing things right, this is that very someone we talked about- the guys inside the SAU trying to finish forcing their way into control over the whole alliance!" She finally found a spot to jump over, seeing no building solid enough to try to land on. "Where else to go but where they last left off!? They're really idiots for thinking we'd just put everything back in their hands!"

Kerry caught on to Sam's jump trajectory, quickly falling in behind. "So, this was our change in plans? Taking down Alliance Mechs and going after a downed pilot?! Can we not stop and regroup here?!" She carefully guided her fall just in line with Sam's direction, approximately one block behind. "Listen! You just took out Alliance military vessels just now! Shit we completely skipped out on planning, remember?!"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I get that, but…!" Sam couldn't find the time or place to process everything well enough to formulate a proper answer, instead keeping an eye on the cockpit module she gained on quickly. "Shit! It's headed too far north- just the area where we DON'T want it to travel!"

Reality quickly sunk in. Kerry was right in her head. She was travelling with only a few rail slugs left, and Kerry herself had no means to defend herself against another such threat if more were to come. And then a certain thought dawned on her.

"Kerry!" Sam shouted as she slowed to a crawl. "What did you give to Director Braun!?"

"I don't know!" Kerry fussed back, catching her breath as she rolled up beside her. "I just did what I was told! Why?!"

Sam remembered now how much she at first toyed with the idea of preparing for A-7 – or perhaps even worse – encounters while they planned over the past two days. Each time, both agreed it was too far-fetched, and both required absolute and direct SAU involvement, which both assumed wouldn't be as bold given how poorly the Tiger incident ended for Bishop's supporters within the Alliance. Yet, somehow, it was exactly what happened, and it wasn't just Hexa being nice by equipping the Arondight with the Galatine's cannon. She now realized Hexa knew something in advance.

"Why don't you ask them!?" Kerry continued.

"Ask what? To who!?" Sam fussed back, confused.

"Enrai! Who else?!"

Sam didn't even get to start to reply before a connection invitation popped up on the side of her visor. "You… you've been connected all along!?"

"Girl, I wasn't about to let you go THAT dumb! Besides, I got ZERO response from Eye in the Sky! What gives?!"

Huh?! She was contacting both parties just now!? "I said-!"

Sam stopped herself before going where she knew better than to. No, she's right again. She stopped me from going down another stupid, self-isolating path. The painful, regretful memories from Dhaka and Manila flashed for a moment before she snapped back to the situation at hand, accepting the connection back into Enrai. She wished she had listened to Sebastian the same as she just did now, and as much as it burned deep down, this was the best she could do.

[Do not disconnect if you want to remain a value to your friend!] Enrai was quick to warn the second the connection was established.

Why didn't he speak to me about that earlier, then!? "I'm trying not to drag-"

[Now, stop your pursuit! Alliance fighter jets have been scrambled and are less than two minutes to arrival!]

Fighters?! Sam had never even remotely considered such a threat, much less ever once considered how to face one. All she knew was that hitting such a fast moving, small target would be out of the question. And even if she were to avoid any projectiles sent her way, it'd be a complete waste of nerves and resources at best, death at worst.

"But what about the cockpit module!?"

[I got tabs on it! Don't worry, Cruella!] Eryx chimed in to her relief. [You worry about the threat of Reaper showing up! Stick to cover and get back to your original approach!]

Sam's pace slowed, taking note of how wide the distance was between buildings. She slowly turned away and toward a narrower path that would still get them to the Assembly Hall, but at a much slower pace. "Understood. On it." She then noticed her headlamps kick on, brightening the view throughout the darker, less-lit two-lane street. Damn it… that's what it was. She shot a quick glance up as she realized how clouded it had become, bringing on a faster-than-expected night sky. "Kerry, with the jamming already this heavy, all that cloud cover ruined the transmission we had with the satellite."

Kerry's Ap50 carefully rolled close behind, turning off her headlamps to prevent them from being a distraction. "This reminds me way too much of my first night in Dhaka. All we're missing is the endless rain."

"Don't jinx it," Sam replied in an attempt to keep the mood from continually growing worse. Darkness like this meant ease of ambush attacks from unguided weapons, as even if their alarms were to detect them, a quick move wouldn't give them much time to react properly. "Just a few more blocks and we should be able to roll up to where we need to be."

"Man, it's way too quiet," Kerry nervously added, noting the absolute absence of both foot and automobile traffic. "There's no way they'd lose whole A-7's and not be swarming the whole fucking place."

.

.

.

Down the way and across the other side of the sector, Isaiah remained in place where he had been waiting all along. Cross-armed and head cocked downward as if napping, he focused on conserving his focus and strength, waiting until he knew it was time. The only distraction that intermittently broke his calm was the fifth, sixth, maybe seventh time Marian's call had to be ignored. But this time when his watch buzzed, it was a different number.

"Have they arrived?" He asked, straightening up, taking in a deep breath.

"You are hard to get a hold of."

Isaiah's heart skipped a beat. Why was Rex of all people calling through the General's line?

"Good thing that good sense has a price. You can surrender now. Consider the Curtana fair for what you have cost us."

Isaiah knew that anyone could backstab him at any time. He never let his guard down. Even with the agreements he had ensured connected with great successes, they were always nothing more than a means to his next stop and never the gain of an ally. His only true allies he ever had out on the field were all dead, now, and the last remaining ally was no longer available. But the General backstabbing him now made no sense. He strongly predicted it to come after taking down the Arondight, not before.

"You're the one being conned," Isaiah chuckled after realizing Rex could once again amount to nothing more than a troublesome inconvenience. "Are you really helping out those who stand directly in your way of ushering in an NAU and EU-led Confederacy? Can you really trust a little man upset he lost the pawns he poorly played and expected me to do the same?" He questioned, referencing the A-7's the Arondight had just downed so easily. "Well, Rex, the PLA would love to take their first field test in years against you."

"You're surrounded. You don't get the option to sneak off this time.

"I'll get what I need accomplished even if it takes downing some of these high-rises in the process. The PLA is ready to pounce when I dictate so."

"If that's so, are you willing to die for it?"

Isaiah gripped his controls tightly, ready to take off in the event Rex wasn't bluffing. "My survival isn't required after tonight. Is yours?"

Silence continued.

Isaiah smiled at the irony of everything. He knew this might be his last night standing, especially under the threat his sister posed. But everything led up to this night in his mind. This was the event that would cataclysmically align the former global alliance powers as one to force control back into their hands as a way of restoring order. And in his mind, he always detested the forceful methods of the NAU and EU which controlled global policy up until its collapse last war, putting all bets on his ability to lead the Eastern powers to fill the power vacuum. Only the Eastern powers once prioritized a more pragmatic approach to trade and other key compromises with the Space Unions.

Whatever response would be to restore a rogue power from rising to a dictatorial status, it would be the response from an old Alliance that could be the firs to rise to the occasion and take opportunity by the presented reigns.

The China Sphere Alliance.

And all cards he dealt ahead of time under all the tables and behind closed doors up until recent were in hopes they would respond tonight, and respond emphatically.

"Rex. Watch your back."

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