The Arondight landed on a four-lane street that had an open lane down the middle at fast, shallow angle as if in an attempt to escape someone or something. The second it's momentum settled, Sam swung its feet around as it allowed its rollers to carry it on its course in reverse and then scanned the skies from where she had just emerged, breath rate heightened.

These scanners aren't worth shit at this speed! Where were those shots coming from!?

But what had her most scared was the continuing fireworks display far above in the clouds, unsure what was about to potentially rain down on her. But a sudden, eerie sense of relief mixed with intensified nervousness shot throughout her body, all the while feeling the expected jolting burst of information from Antares. Without questioning the situation, she followed the distance metrics attached to brightly lit boxes that grew as they neared, all moving upward toward the skyline.

Hearing a collision alert, she burst forward, both to evade the pileup she was about to run into and also to intercept the incoming trio of bogeys.

"Knight, do you read?!" Braun's voice had Sam jump in her seat, but it was yet another wave of relief sent along with the surprise. "Respond if you can hear this!"

It was fuzzy, but it was still clear enough. "Yes, sir! Being pursued by unknown LTAC frames at the moment!" She knew to keep her eyes trained on the incoming boxes, and the silent seconds that followed allowed her to realize what had just happened. "Is that an orbital drop clearing that storm cloud?! Is that how we got Eye in the Sky?!"

"Yes! Now, two quick and urgent messages for you!" Braun continued as Sam felt a nerve-unsettling pair of rumbles rip overhead, knowing it was possibly the same jet fighters from earlier but after a different target. "This one is from your dad by way of Chairman Lucian himself!"

With everything that had Sam so caught up, she never thought she'd hear from her father, especially after having given up so much hope with the signal blocking jamming and cloud coverage. But now wasn't a time to respond as she needed to hear what was to come next while focusing on the now visible LTAC leaping over the buildings in front. Pre-firing!?

Sam's eyes widened, blasting forward with shield pulled up. She allowed the rounds to come in uncontested and bounce off with a series of thunking noises, then kicked one foot forward to strafe to her right into an alley before the target could land. That son of a bitch pre-fired me! Must not be Rex's run of the mill grunt- AND they have better sensors or something set up!

"He said that if you choose to disobey Vrey's direct orders that your number one priority is to not let Antares wear you down!" Braun continued over the line, unaware of Sam's situation.

Sam heard him loud and clear, but was far too preoccupied to respond as she rapidly calculated her risk of jumping up and over the building to clear herself a line of fire, or to wait for the enemy LTAC to make its move first. The sudden approach of a peculiar, loud shriek akin to those an A-7's aerial boosters would produce suddenly took over as the major risk factor, biting down and waiting for her move. "I never got any orders from Vrey! This is the first of anything I've been told since who the hell even knows?!" Sam finally got around to responding, still left in confusion from her father's somewhat cryptic message. "I have to chase down Reaper first and foremost, anyway!"

Sam thrust both control sliders forward the instant a reading appeared on her screen, rushing the same LTAC from earlier with her left shield up and her rifle behind her, either in hopes of ramming it or at least forcing it to take evasive action.

"Doesn't matter now since that's your clear choice," Braun continued in her ear as she recognized the footwork of the LTAC giving away it was about to jump backward toward the direction from which it came. She pushed off the opposite direction, allowing herself the critically important extra few meters to give her room needed to take aim once she began her pivot and spiral, bringing her rifle back to her front-side as she took aim. Got him. Sam hoped it would expect her to follow through her original trajectory, noting that her target did just that as she fired before it could, landing her three-round burst across its exposed cockpit module.

"But the second thing is what I need you to be aware of as you hunt down Reaper!" Braun added as Sam let out a breath.

Just like Kerry and I spoke of earlier, she thought as she turned to continue her chase, noting the larger numbers appearing on her radar as each minute passed. I can't leave a single enemy behind to come up and shoot us in the back. Not a single one. It was in stark contrast to her first few campaigns, refusing to shoot to kill, but too many had been lost on her side to care as much anymore, and today was the day it had to end.

"Go ahead, I'm in the clear for now!" Sam shouted back over the channel, now back to full pursuit speed. She instinctively jumped in her seat at the sound of a massive explosion not too far off above, soon followed by a fiery wreck spiraling down into the side of a high-rise just ahead. That was an A-7 frame! Her thought was quickly followed by several large explosions from the same direction. With the relatively clear lane ahead, she couldn't help but pivot her camera to her immediate above, noting a pack of aerial mechs far too fast to be A-7's soaring overhead before quickly veering off out of sight. What?! C-9's!? They dropped their most expensive units for this?!

But despite feeling safer to make jumps now with what seemed like the perfect safety net overhead, the silence on her radio had her nervous again. "Director! Are you still there?!"

Sam looked back at her radar before making a calculated jump that should bring her over one of the larger LTAC packs headed for Casa Rosada, noting that was where the other units on radar were headed, even from other directions. "Director! Status on the Infinity forces located at the Casa Rosada! I think Reaper is headed there alongside every single Rex and Bishop unit out there!" But nothing but silence ensued as she took off under full boost. "Director Braun! Director Braun?!"

I have to get a hold of Kerry! She furiously switched over to another one of her default channels she set earlier, hoping only to use it in emergency as she knew distractions had to be kept at a minimum. "Kerry! What's your status?!"

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

As the Arondight sailed over the highest building in front, she could now get a clear view of the Plaza de Mayo dead ahead. And during that same ascent, she caught a whole view of what she never thought she'd ever experience in her lifetime witnessing.

Holy shit…

She had never seen a true warzone before, and the way the skies were completely littered with balls and trails of smoke mixed with the flashes of explosions and zings of tracer fire. It made her rethink her jump, hoping not to catch any stray rounds, but the silence from Antares was somewhat settling at least.

What used to be her biggest worry as a threat was now fully occupied by the forces that dropped overhead, but that did nothing to abate the fears of what waited below as more radar readings became clear from her less-obstructed view from above. But even in that same second of realizations came the disappearance of one enemy reading, signifying where Kerry must be.

"I don't know but it's like Rex was expecting me or something- they're all marked the same, even! They just keep coming- but I got it! I'm good!" Kerry's voice finally came through, evident to have been under heavy duress.

"Reaper's target was the same as ours it seems! About to intercept now before he gets anywhere near you!" Sam quickly responded as she landed with a jolt. "Let me know if you need help! And if you EVER see a green LTAC frame, avoid it at all costs! Your AP is not equipped to break through Reaper's defenses!"

"Don't have to remind me twice! I got a score to settle with Rex, anyway! Now, if you don't mind!" Kerry answered before disconnecting, not to any of Sam's surprise, however. Focus was key for both, after all.

She didn't know anything about Director Braun's whereabouts, but if anything, he tried to evacuate with the rest… Damn it… She felt conflicted, both out of selfish and unselfish reasons now that her only trustable sit-rep source had gone missing, hoping he had made it out of whatever it was he got caught up with.

But moreover, Reaper was definitely near enough for her next step in preparations. Clicking over to Enrai's channel, she took a second to remember the Guarani phrase she used the other night, knowing now was the best time to have the Icarus' cannon delivered.

.

.

.

A few blocks away from the Plaza de Mayo and near the highway that ran alongside the coastline headed north, a fire blazed and a thick column of smoke billowed from a gashed hole the size of a mech in the side of an office building. Nearby was the wreckage of an armored shuttle, having likely been part of the fallout as it had left streaking gouges across tens of meters of asphalt on the adjacent highway where it halted against the shoulder's barrier.

And as a hand slowly emerged from the crack in the main hatch, it took a sweaty grip and pulled with all its might, trying to force open the sliding door. After a fifth heave and a loud groan from inside, the door finally opened just enough for someone to slip through.

Sebastian weakly emerged, dizzied from his rapidly expended strength. He paused to prop himself up with hands on his knees, catching his breath, hoping his sight would straighten up before standing. Slowly he turned behind him, seeing two more figures carefully emerge. Behind them was a dressed officer they had to gently carry out. But with how roughed up everyone was, it wasn't apparent who Sebastian was talking to as he yelled to them indiscriminately: "We have to hurry him to safety!"

But to where was his next question as he turned to the nearest building behind him, noting it was dangerously close to the building where the mech crash occurred. But anywhere was safer than there, and even at that distance he felt the blistering heat radiating from the fiery disaster. He instead turned to the other side of the street. It'd be a long, exposed trek, but it also showed the safety of a narrow alley where they could at least hide for now. "Over there!" He yelled out, pointing in that direction.

He then jogged over to help the two safely pull the officer out from the shuttle, which now in the better lighting revealed it to be an unconscious Director Braun. And right after them emerged Rodrigo, who helped get the Director to the door it had seemed. After helping Rodrigo out, Sebastian caught back up with the two in front as he asked: "Is there no way to contact emergency responders?!" He asked the two as they slowly made their way across the empty highway, gunfire and rockets still popping in the near distance overhead.

"Take my radio! Left vest pocket!" One shouted back in response. "It's connected with our liaison working with the President! She should know who to contact for us!"

[I'll go run ahead and check the area!] Rodrigo spoke up as he took his pistol and flashlight out. [I'll flash a signal if I need you to change direction!]

[Thanks, and got it!] Sebastian then quickly fished out the communicator from the man's pocket and found the channel selector. But before he could ask how to confirm the channel, the other staff member next to him spoke up: "Wait, you're Sebastian Navarre, right!?"

"Yes?"

"That's also connected to Infinity's main relay! You should get a hold of Samantha Knight! She's out there in the Arondight somewhere! You're ready to get back out there, too, right?!"

That was exactly what he had been hoping to hear all night, and both could see the relief flash across his face even if for that brief second. Why the Director didn't share that detail was one big question to him, but that would be for later. "Thanks! I'll call both- but first, what's the channel for the President's… ah… liaison?"

The other staff member spoke through his rapidly onsetting exhaustion: "It's already set! Just-" He suddenly pulled back on both his partner and the Director as he shouted in response to what caught his eye down the highway. "Shit! Everyone! Get down!!"

Sebastian almost dropped the communicator upon turning around to see two LTAC's blasting their back-thrusters for a landing about a hundred meters out and headed straight for the wreckage. [Damn it! They're looking for us?!] He angrily shouted his thought out loud as he jumped back to help them get to the ground as quickly as possible. Faces hugging the hot asphalt, he now hoped they would go unnoticed, having only made it about twenty yards from the wreck.

"Hey," one of the men quietly but exasperatingly called to the other just inches away. "Did you pull the SOS switch earlier!?"

"Yes, but why wouldn't I have?!"

[Fuck me…] Sebastian muttered, clenching his eyes tight. He knew the switch must be why they jumped in all of the sudden. But at least Rodrigo must have been safe where he was, and he realized he never saw a flash indicating any danger. Or at least for that one moment, for a second later they all felt the thud of a third LTAC touching down. [Rodrigo… run while you can,] he mumbled to himself, wishing he could call out to him.

.

***TA-TA-TAH!!! TA-TA-TAH!!!***

Loud bursts from ear-splitting shrieks, which could only come from the only rifle Sebastian knew to make such sounds, caused him to widely open his eyes and turn to face the headlamps headed their way, only to see the nearer two take a sudden, violent tumble and fall. Standing up in disbelief, the third LTAC roared up and slammed on his back-thrusters as it came to a snapping halt just yards away, now rolling about-face to check the horizon.

From that incredibly close distance, Sebastian couldn't make any mistake. It was an Ap50 unit that was the third LTAC they heard, and a huge grin broke across his face. "Th… thank you!!" He wasn't sure who he was thanking, but he wanted to cry in that moment.

"We need that man alive!" Kerry's voice commanded over her loudspeaker, much to Sebastian's shock and confusion. "Hurry! Get the Director to safety!" She barked, now reacting to several LTAC headlamps appearing on the distant horizon, prompting her to blast off in that direction.

"Hey- You heard her! Let's go!!" Sebastian roared out in rejuvenated hope as he helped pull the three back up to make their run across the rest of the open highway.

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