Return to the Raven's Nest

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1

This is Raven’s territory… Snakes don’t belong in Alaska… I will not let you pass…
-Vulcan Ravan, Metal Gear Solid

And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth…
Genesis 8:6-7

Dannistrian Central Training Barracks, Mount Dannistaan, Central Dannistaan
07:00 EPT

Kah’lad sighed as he put his backpack and holdall down on what was to be his office as well as quarters. The white, sterile walls of the Dannistrian Central Training Barracks familiar to him even though he hasn’t been there for at least 2 years. He looked out the window. The facility being set at higher altitudes meant that the weather was particularly unpleasant. Snow was falling non-stop since he arrived back from Shiro for the Winterfest period. However, the boredom of being back home got to him. Looking for other things to do, somehow he ended up becoming an instructor for the newly established “Ravens Nest” Training Camp. Or rather, re-established. Previously all Ravens, Armored Core mech pilots, were taught in ad hoc classes, regardless of level. There was previously until after cutbacks in 2006 a “school of excellence” in mech combat, otherwise known as the “Ravens Nest”, the analogy being that the trainees were given a safe environment to learn the finer points of controlling a several ton metal behemoth. However the cutbacks meant it was closed down despite the high number of success stories.

Come 2009 though, and the Dannistrian Joint-Chiefs of Staff were disturbed at the drop in quality of Ravens, many of whom had forgotten that mech combat in fictional media, and mech combat in real life were completely different things. In an attempt to raise standards as well as give training for the new generation of AC pilots, Ravens Nest was reestablished and given a new mandate of training up Ravens as well. Basic “101” training was still be carried out mostly by the ad hoc classes, but once that was done Ravens Nest would allow the trainees to hone their skills further. Something akin to a “Topgun” for mech pilots. Kah’lad somehow ended up reluctantly volunteering. His job would be to give practical experience to a special class of AC Pilots. These being “Plus Ravens” and “LYNXes”.

Plus Ravens were where Kah’lad fitted into. These were Ravens given highly experimental cybernetic implants to allow them to directly control ACs through thought alone. Kah’lad himself knew the price this came with, mostly headaches and possible insanity. The LYNXes though were a new concept. Logic Yellow Neural eXtension. The term “Logic Yellow” apparently came from the name of the defence contractor which was working on the project. They were meant to be auxiliary AC pilots who would assist Ravens either remotely or sitting behind them in dual seat cockpits. Kah’lad personally thought the acronym was another example of the military’s love of abbreviating everything, even if it meant mangling words into them.

The class Kah’lad was to teach for the next couple of months before he returns to Shiro including a group from Drakkengard. Apparently the project to reestablish the Ravens Nest was jointly run by the Dannistrian and Drakken Governments in an attempt to pool resources given the two nations were the only ones to use this particular type of mech. Other nations have either scrapped the concept of fighting robots altogether, or gone for a more bespoke solution. As Kah’lad unpacked, someone knocked at the door. However Dannistaan did allow opportunities for other nations soldiers to attend on exchange programs if they so wished. So far no one had taken up the opportunity.

“Yes?” he called. The door opened. It was an old friend, Colonel Jackson.
“Sir,” Kah’lad stood to attention and saluted. Jackson returned the salute.
“You can cut the pleasantries, Kah’lad. I’m just here to see you are OK with doing this before I set the class of rookies on you.”
“I’ll be fine sir,” Kah’lad said, “I’ve dealt with worse.”
“OK if you say so. Good luck anyway,” Jackson said with a smile before leaving. Kah’lad sighed again before gathering up his papers. He then left the office and walked down the corridor to the classroom.

2

As Kah’lad walked to the classroom, Friedrick, proudly bearind a 2nd bar that marked him as a captain, smirked and said:
“You don´t seem thrilled with this assignment, friend, and i´m not even trying to read your mind this time…”

On the medical sector, a scary laugh of a mad scientist echoes, as Ai oversee her poor assistents installing all sort of equipments, destined to measure potential and, if allowed, to augment the skills of whoever is insane enough to volunteer.

Inside the classroom, among their Dannistriann counterparts, a few Drakkengardi pilots, fresh from the military academy, chat as they wait for their 1st class as Ravens

“Raven… Yeah, that sound much more cooler than just pilot. Linxes doesn´t sound bad too eh, Agata?” speaks a oriental looking young man, reading a Dannistriann comic about ACs and listening to the lastest Kelssekian hit, with his foot over the next chair.
“Linxes might not sound bad, but look at you, Xin. It´ll be an embarassement to our nation if our future sensei enter now as see you like this!”
“Relax, we´re not in a boot camp anymore, as long as i pass the tests, its all good.”
“Argh. I wish the doctors had implanted a behavior chip on you.”
“Yeah right. You´re sounding like a Hivist now.”
“So what. Hive mind is a very sound concept. If i was sure if we´d keep being ourselves as well, i´d be supporting it.”

And they continued, as they waited.

3

“I’m not,” Kah’lad replied to Friedrick. Kah’lad was happy to see a familiar face, “Congratulations on your promotion, by the way.”

Kah’lad sighed and looked at his own recent promoted status. He was now a Corporal in order to stop Privates just mocking him for being a “low ranked” trainer.

Entering the classroom, Kah’lad returned the salute of all the soldiers there, who immediately stood bolt upright and saluted at him. Once at the front of the classroom, he and Friedrick dumped their papers onto the desk before sitting down themselves.
“At ease, ladies and gentlemen,” Kah’lad said. Looking around he nodded solemnly.
“OK, let’s get the pleasantries out of the way. I’m Corporal Kah’lad Forr’sith, the instructor for this class, supposedly the creme de la creme of the mecha elite. I will be personally supervising your progress and assessing your knowledge and abilities. I’m pretty laid back when it comes to formalities, not so laid back on people who can’t take the important bits seriously though, so pay attention.”

Kah’lad stood up and started writing keypoints on the chalkboard.
“I have been assigned to deal with this class as you are all either Plus Ravens or Lynxes. That is, you, like me, probably suffer from headaches and voices in your head…”

The class laughed slightly at the comment.
“On a more serious note, you will have performance enhancing implants that will give you a bit of an edge compared to your colleagues in the other classrooms. That doesn’t make you superior though. Not in the slightest. You are going to have to prove to me, and more importantly, yourselves that you are the best of the best here. That means a lot of blood, possibly sweat, manly tears, and other such stupid cliches like that.”

Kah’lad spun the chalk around his fingers as he looked around the room, then turned to Friedrick.
“Do you want to introduce yourself there?” he asked him.

4

Friedrick nodded and said “Thanks” then adressed to the class:

“I´m Captain Friedrick von Richthofen, and as much as Kah’lad will be responsible for you bodies, i´ll be responsible for your minds. As he mentioned, the cybernetic enhancement you all received is very taxing on both. Such is the price of power. Nevertheless, during this course i shall teach you several techniques to build up mental endurance, which will allow you to ease the suffering and keep yourselves combat-worthy.”

He stared to the class, sighed, and continued:

“I´d also would like to remind you that regardless of rank or age, as long as we´re your instructors, we are your superiors, and any lack of effort, attention or respect will be severely punished. And for our first example…”

Friedrick focus on Xin mp3 player and, using telemechanics, he increases the volume beyond the limit, creating a noise that scare the class, hurt Xin and brake the said player.

“Understood, 3rd liutenant Xin Lan?”

He, still caressing the hurt ear says:

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Friedrick smiles and turn to Kah’lad:

“Class is yours, my teaching will came later.”

5

Kah’lad couldn’t help but smirk at Friedricks trick with the MP3 player. Nodding he stood at the chalkboard and started drawing a diagram of an Armored Core mech.

“This is your chariot, as you know. The Armored Core. Years of joint research between Danistaan and Drakkengard culminated in this beast. As you also should know, they come in all shapes and sizes.”

Kah’lad drew more objects on the diagram, namely a tank, a pickup truck, a soldier with an RPG launcher, some trees and a skyscraper.

“Quick primer her to remind you. I apologise to those who are already Ravens or Lynxes and have heard this talk, but I have to go through it again. This is you,” Kah’lad pointed at the AC mech, “These other things are your enemy, except for the forest and the building…except when we say they are…”

Kah’lad spun the chalk around his fingers again.
“Whatever preconceptions you have of piloting mecha, put them out of your mind now. This goes especially to those of you who haven’t ever been Ravens before. You got to keep in mind, even with the newest, shiniest, fastest Armored Cores we have, combat in them is nothing like the comics, or cartoons, or TV programmes. Soldiers with RPGs can be just as, if not more dangerous, than other ACs and vehicles. You are essentially in a large lump of metal which can’t hide effectively behind cover so inevitably you will draw a lot of fire. Unless it happens to be a large building like here and even then, that won’t be cover for long when it crumbles. That is unfortunately an occupational hazard and such is life as a Raven or Lynx. However, don’t forget, you will have the ability to focus more firepower on a target than any other vehicle in the battlefield. I will teach you what you need to know, not just from the textbooks but my own experiences, on how to fight in one of these mechs without getting yourself killed. If you are good enough, we might even get to the fun part of the course, the practical training and exams, faster than everyone else.”

Kah’lad then wrote down more keypoints on the board.
“I’m not sure about Drakken tactics with ACs but Dannistrian tactics are divided into two main categories. Vehicular Support, VS, which is where you support tanks in the same way tanks support infantry. In a nutshell, you hang back and open fire on anything that the tank may have problems shooting. Then there is Direct Combat or DC. The more dangerous of the two. In other words, you become the tank. You are shooting toe to toe with other mechs and avoiding being shot yourself. You may be supporting infantry in here too but more likely you are trying to avoid being scrap metal.”

Kah’lad handed out a set of textbooks to the class.
“This here is, as far as we are concerned, is the bible on Armored Core mech combat. ‘Armored Core Operations 101’, 2009 edition by Lieutenant Norman McNamara. To be fair to the guy, he is actually now Colonel. I apologise if you have read this book already, but I encourage you to read it again, memorise the important bits and use those important bits when you are out there on the field. It sounds daft, but this book has saved my skin more times than I care to remember. So keep it on you in this class. Now, any questions before I start bombarding you with facts and figures?”

6

OOC: Hope you don´t mind the extended use i make of ACs. But i assure that all that is out of ordinary is limited both in efficiency and numbers.

Xin raised her hand and asked:

“Kah’lad, unh…, sir, i mean. I´m designated to be a plus raven and, given how hard the surgery was on all of us, could you explain how much better than regular pilots we can be? I believe i speak for all when i say that your personal experiences would be great to hear…” said a now attentive Xin that looked to Agata and continued “…and my friend here would like to hear about the benefit of being a Lynxs as well, but she always were too shy to speak with instructors”

Agatha only blushed and lowered her head…

Then Friedrick said:

"Kah’lad, may i explain a little about Drakkengard usage of ACs before you adress to our students question?

As the other man nodded he continued:

“In Drakkengard we employ the ACs mainly to VS and DC as well, since Dannistriaan or Drakkengardi, they´re essentially the same machines and that is their optimal uses. But there are 2 main differences in this regard: The first is that given my country focus on warfare, we manage to mantain some surplus of ACs, that is directed to militia, police, export and even civilians, if demilitarized. And the second is the development of nuclear power plants for ACs, which allowed to use that extra energy into bigger guns and thrusters, so our VS include artillery, AA, CAS and underwater operations.
However, what Kah’lad said is true to us as well. No AC can move like in the comics. It´d take an ace among aces to actually dogfight even in our nimblest flying AC, as thrust can triumph over aerodynamics only so much. And all this versatility is yet to make infantry, or even regular military vehicles obsolete.”

He then looked to Kah’lad, indicating that he could continue the class.

7

OOC: No problem Drak. I would’ve thought even with the same type of weapon other nations would use them in different ways anyway.

Kah’lad nodded.
“As for us Dannistrians, we are somewhat more limited in the deployment of ACs simply because of the different tactics the Dannistrian Army uses. We don’t have t he luxury of fitting nuclear reactors to our ACs due to politics and logistics. Most civilians in Dannistaan don’t like the idea of walking mechs with reactors and even if they did, we do not have the luxury of having enough uranium to power them. All uranium is prioritised in Dannistaan to go to the Royal Dannistrian Navy which operates vessels that have reactors. We have to make do with diesel generators, which makes some of my tactics all the more important as fuel conservation can mean the difference between you being alive or you coming home in a wooden box.”

Kah’lad turned back to the board and started sketching a diagram of human head with certain locations marked. He then turned back to the class and pointed at certain locations.
“Where you as a Plus Raven will have the edge over a normal Raven is reaction time. Normally when piloting an Armored Core, you move some controls, press buttons and switches. Nothing special. Just like any other vehicle. A Plus Raven has implants that will allow him or her to control the AC using their mind alone. I’ll try to avoid giving a medical lecture here, but as far as we are concerned, it works by electrodes from the implants reading your brain signals. When the appropriate ones have been decoded by the implants an electrical signal is sent from them to the AC’s main computer. All signals are read by this magnetic metal plate connector that attaches to the base of your neck. The signals are interpreted by the computer which then carries out whatever order you input.”

Kah’lad drew another diagram of a head with different locations marked.
“Lynxes on the other hand, are effectively co-pilots. Their task is to help the Raven pick out targets and lock on and even fire off weapons when appropriate. They need not be in the AC cockpit but can do so remotely. They can even take over controlling the AC if the Raven is incapacitated somehow. This is where we are going into new territory. Previously, these helper functions would’ve been carried out by an ‘Operator’ back at base. The Operator though is limited in what he or she can do. Mostly shout at you to ‘watch out’ or take cover. The Lynx concept would allow faster, more useful information to be sent to the Raven. The Lynx can achieve this through a special secure data link. A bit like a technology version of telepathy. I worked with a Lynx about two weeks ago in trials. It feels strange but it does work quite well as you are getting info quickly. The other new thing about the Lynxes is that they can use their own brain basically as a biological processor to allow the computer to react faster. There are risks to this but again it does help a Raven keep the edge in battle.”

Kah’lad checked his own notes before asking, “Before I continue and move on to teach you basic AC tech and battle tactics, do we have any more questions?”

“I have one,” a Dannistrian soldier, Private Cla’monn piped up, “What are the chances of us actually, y’know, getting brain damage from these implants?..I know, I was warned of the risks and I shouldn’t have undergone the surgery if I was unsure, but I would like to know.”

Kah’lad nodded.
“Nothing wrong with that, Private,” he said, “Nothing in life is 100%. Especially here when you all are part of the cutting edge. But I can tell you that you have less chance of anything really bad happening than the early Plus Ravens. Myself included. I can tell you all, hand on heart, several other Ravens and I suffered a lot so that you all could have the benefits with a much lower level of risk than we had. There are no guarantees, but I’m confident your brain will be fine, as long as you follow what I and Friedrick say.”

With that the Private seemed to be reassured and nodded in understanding. Kah’lad looked around and asked, “Any further questions?”[hr]Medical Labs, Dannistrian Central Training Barracks, Mount Dannistaan, Central Dannistaan

The Chief Medical Officer walked down the corridors looking through the psychological profiles of prospective Plus Raven candidates. Reading carefully, she made her way into the labs where Ai was setting up equipment.
“Lieutenant Jing, I presume?” the CMO said as she found Ai directing some soldiers where to set up equipment, “I’m the Raven’s Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Fahl’ow. I believe we have met before in Former Tyrsis. I just wanted to visit and say hello and give you the psychological profiles for the Plus Raven candidates before we decide which ones would be suitable for further evaluation. Can I say it’s nice to work with someone familiar? I’ve been shunted around so many different departments I’ve not been able to really get to know anyone aside from Colonel Jackson and Corporal Forr’sith.”

8

As he listened to the explanation, Friedrick thought on how science could be amazing sometimes, as not only this project allowed a link much like telemechanics between pilot and AC last time, but also they now were able to give some degree of telepahy through tech alone.

The Drakkengardi students answered Kah’lad with a chorus of “Sir, no sir!”

Medical Labs, Dannistrian Central Training Barracks, Mount Dannistaan, Central Dannistaan

As Fahl’ow not only remembered her name but also seemed glad to meet her again, Ai opened her most sincere smile and said:

“You can call me Ai, Fahl’ow-chan. And yes, it´s always better to work with people you know. That´s why i assembled a team of people who are not only competent but also work well together as soon as i became chief scientist. Isn´t that right, guys?”

“Aye!” answer the assistants

“Good, now get back to work or there´ll be whipping in the end of day!”

They hasten back to their jobs but are still smiling anyway

“See, they love when i play the evil mastermind role. The brass is always serious, but i believe that we get better results if we have fun while doing our jobs, don´t you agree?.. And here, have a beer, while i read those profiles.”

9

Lieutenant Fahl’ow grinned.
“Normally I don’t drink on duty but I guess I can make an exception occasionally,” she said as she lifted one of the cans and opened it up.
“To the success of the project,” she said before taking a sip as Ai looked through the reports.
“It does bother me slightly that the top brass only now realise that those cut backs in 2006 were not good for Raven training all around.”

Ai nodded and looked through more of the profiles. Fahl’ow singled one out.
“That guy, I’m not so sure about. A Private Ahna’pahr Jenkins. He seemed promising at first. But in one of the psychological evaluation tests, the combat simulation, he seemed to enjoy killing things a little too much. I wonder if he realises that it isn’t all fun and games?”[hr]“OK then,” Kah’lad continued, “And what about the other side of the class?” he directed his question to the Dannistrians soldiers who were looking slightly uncomfortable. Eventually they all nodded to one another and one of them, Private Cla’monn, spoke up.
“No complaints here sir. We are following so far, sir!”
“OK then…I’ll make a start on the next section of my primer…”

The class was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. Kah’lad rolled his eyes, much to the amusement of the class.
“Figures(!). Yes?”
The door opened. A nervous looking private, who was obviously a Raven signified by his rank stripes having a different ornament to normal soldiers, peered around the door. He then nodded at Kah’lad and handed him a piece of paper. Kah’lad read the paper then nodded back at the private who then disappeared down the corridor.

“This will probably be of more interest to our Dannistrian colleagues here, but I have news that the Nahrin Union has withdrawn troops from the disputed https://forum.theeastpacific.com/invision-404 However, as of fifteen hundred hours today, all troops and reserve troops are on 72 hours notice, as authorised by the Ministry of Defence, just in case Nahrin troops return. They are not going to land anyone on the islands yet but they are keeping all options open.”

The Dannistrian soldiers looked a bit nervous.
“Permission to speak freely sir?” Private Cla’monn asked.
“Granted,” Kah’lad replied with a nod.
“Do you think we might really be going to war with the Nahrin Union. And do you think we might be sent there? Even though we are just trainees?”
Kah’lad nodded. He then sat down and rested his head on his hands.
“I’ll not lie to you. There have been times where the Dannistrian Army has sent trainees out on the field. Especially in dire circumstances. I know. I’ve done it myself. I was still only a cadet at Shiro when I got sent out to the situation in Tyrsis, if you can remember those 2 long years ago. It wasn’t fun, but it did mean I learnt a lot more than just being in a classroom. If it does come to the point you have to go out onto a real battlefield, don’t worry. It isn’t going to be pleasant, but I’ll give you all the training you need to make sure you at least come back alive. As long as you don’t panic, you’ll be fine, no matter what happens.”

Kah’lad nodded with a reassuring smile.
“Besides, even if you don’t get sent to a real battle, the later sections of this course will put you through a very tough, realistic training exercise which may be more extreme than an actual battle field. Again don’t worry. We are not going to throw you all to the wolves if that is what you are afraid of. We work on a mentoring system outside of this classroom so once you are out on the field, you get help from the more experienced Ravens. Myself and Friedrick here. We consider you very valuable so we aren’t simply going to use you as cannon fodder, lets put it that way.”

The Dannistrian troops seemed a lot more relived on Kah’lad’s pep-talk. He continued with the lesson, walking to the chalkboard and scrawled more key points.
“If you turn to chapter 2 in you AC Ops 101 textbook, you’ll see a diagram of the basic parts of an armored core. Read it, memorise it. You’ll need to know what bits go where. But basically, your head section contains the main sensor array and navigation computer. In the core section, that’s where the backup navigation computer, generator, radiator for the generator, fire control computer, backup sensors and most importantly, you, go. Ammo is stored in a separate compartment in the back, as are the back weapons. Arms are either weapons themselves or have mounts for weapons. The layout we usually use is left arm for swords or backup weapons and right arm for main weapons. The legs are what are used to make your mech move. They are either bipedal, quad pedal for some of the more specialist types, tracked for heavy tank like ACs and finally hovercraft type ACs for amphibious use. With me so far?”

10

Medical Labs, Dannistrian Central Training Barracks, Mount Dannistaan, Central Dannistaan

Upon hearing this, Ai instanlty remembered Sah’lihm and the smile vanished from her face.

“Is the brass forcing him on us? Because if they aren´t, he´s out. This project already suffered more than its share of murderers.” she said in a voice already leaning to anger

Then she calmed down, looked to her surprised friend, smiled and said

“Sorry. Its just we had a real problem last time, with a raven too fond of killing… Did you knew a plus raven called Sah’lihm on your last tour on this project? Well, maybe i shouldn´t judge so quickly… I´ll mark this private Jenkins with an appointment with Friedrick first, then we decide. At least he´ll probably learn how serious we are.”

She looked the reports to the end and sighed

“Not many promising candidates again, eh? If only the surgery weren´t so demanding…” she then picked a palmtop and gave to Fahl’ow “…here is the list of the Drakkengardi candidates. Aren´t many as well, but at least, our most promising candidate, this Lt. Xin Lan, is only too confident to his own good, and i trust Kah’lad will hammer some sense on him.”

Dannistrian Central Training Barracks, Mount Dannistaan, Central Dannistaan

A Drakkengardi student raised her hand and asked:

“Will we study over the more unconventional AC parts of my country as well?”

Kah’lad then looked to Friedrick, which answered:

“Yes, but as i said earlier, the basics are the same on both countries ACs. So we´ll study aerial and underwater AC operation only after AC ops 101.”

Another Drakkengardi student asked:

“Any chance that we go to war with Nahrin as well? I heard they offended motherland!”

“Don´t be anxious to go to war. There is nothing good on it. Its just our job, no more and no less. And while a chance of fighting Nahrin exists, they didn´t offended our country, they only placed us on an insane restriction list… together with half the region.”

As silence appeared he turned to Kah’lad and nodded

11

Kah’lad nodded.
“At least you Drakken students are confident. I’l give you that. But as Friedrick said. War isn’t fun. It is hard, dirty business. And those who think it is fun turned out to be mad men.”

Kah’lad looked at the class with a grim face, thinking of Sah’lihm.
“I once saw a man who saw combat as nothing more than a blood sport. I’m not going to say much more about him. Let us just say he was a crazed psycopath.”

With the ensuing silence, Kah’lad continued the lesson.
“For the most part, Ravens will besitting in a cockpit inside the core section. Any Lynxes accompanying you sit in the rear seat in those ACs equiped to accomodate 2 people. Now, as most ACs are designed for ‘Average Joe Ravens’, there is a large number of buttons, switches and joysticks in the cockpit. I will cover what each control does in future lessons. But there are some basic controls you will all need to know.”

Kah’lad drew a diagram of a AC cockpit on the chalkboard.
“The joystick in front is the main navigational column. This move the AC to the left and right, back and forward. There is a small hatswitch on the top that controls up and down aim on the head and weapons if they are arned, The throttle lever to the left controls the rocket boosters. DO NOT TOUCH them unless you are in a clear area. Especially DO NOT TOUCH the red button under the safety flap. That’s the Overboost, which fires up all the boosters for straight flight. I will tell you when to use them.”

Kah’lad pointed at the window in the diagram of the AC cockpit.
“Get used to the narrow slit window. It will be your only real view of the outside world. In combat, the armour flap for that is usually closed and you will only see a blocky VR projection of the outside world in the cockpit. We are experimenting with a new VR system that shows you what is actually outside, but that is still being tested. By the time you are finished the practical cockpit drills, you will be used to seeing the world only in terms of blue, white and red boxes. Get used to it. There is a live video feed mode provided by the camera on the head part but it had only a narrow field of view. You will need to use it in certain situations but don’t rely on it. Next basic control you need to know is the hatch switch. This lever near the top edges of the window opens up the entry hatch above your seat. There are times where you will need to stick your head out on a battlefield. But don’t do it too many times unless you really have a death wish. Related to that, to the left and right of the seat is the ejector seat levers. I’m sure you have an idea what it does, but in case you don’t, DO NOT TOUCH IT unless it is an emergency. Once you pull the ejector switch, there is no stopping it. It blows the hatch off and shoots you into the sky. Once at a safe height, you then are parachuted to the ground. Only use it if you are in imminent danger of being killed. Related to that, the downward evacuation switches above the seat to the left and right. Those are for if your AC is upside down or where you can’t use the ejector seat for some reason. Hit those, a hatch below you opens up and you drop out. NOT RECOMMENDED if you are a large 3 storey AC unless again it’s an emergency. Personally, I used it once and broke both ankles, a knee and a femur bone, I hit the ground that hard. Keep that in mind if you ever have to use it. Finally, there is perhaps the most important for us. The master weapons arming switch, on the bottom right. Do not touch that until you are authorised to do so. I’ve seen too many trigger happy Ravens ‘green up’ the weapons arming switch and end up shooting a rocket by accident at someone. Make sure that switch is left on ‘Safe’ until you are told to arm them, or 'green ‘em up’. Oh, and don’t get confused with that slang. It goes red when armed. Get it wrong at your own peril.”[hr]Fahl’ow grimaced at the thought of Sah’lihm.

“I would rather not remember him,” she replied, “He was one very bad apple and almost put the entire project in jeoperdy. Last I heard, they sent him to Shiro despite the issues. Apparently to ‘moderate his behaviour’. I’m not so sure. By the way, that is why Kah’lad may be a little upset when you saw him coming back from Shiro. He admitted he didn’t know and spent most of the time avoiding Sah’lihm at the Shiro campus.”

Fahl’ow looked at the other reports.
“Xin Lan does seem to be a bit of a loose cannon if the report is anything to go by. I’m sure Kah’lad will manage,” she said as she looked at another report, “Jenkins will need more evaluation…and we can say no to this guy…”

Fahl’ow pointed at a report of a Corporal Sa’uh Oo’lounjou.
“I’ve seen Oo’lounjou in action. Somehow a Corporal but panics too easily under duress. He is a good soldier but not suited for high stress environments…yeah, what is with these volunteers and recommendations? It’s as if the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff are deliberately giving us the worst candidates.”

12

As Kah’lad stopped for a sec, Friedrick added

“As long as you´re recruits, you´d better listen to what Kah’lad said about boosters, but once you´re experienced enough to be trusted with your own ACs, consider the use of extension boosters to maneuver in cramped areas. But remember that you´ll have to be extra careful, like an heli pilot, and you´ll be expending a very versatile hardpoint with this.”

A Drakkegardi student raised his hand and said

“Sir, my father is a AC pilo… i mean, raven, as well. Not the plus kind, of course… I mean, he said that many vets back home ask their mechanics to mounts periscopes on their cores, like in the old subs, so they don´t need to open the hatch when the VR system gets FUBA… i mean, stop working. I always joked that they do that because they´re as old as those subs but, since Kah’lad is saying we actually have to stick our heads out there sometimes… Do you think its a good idea to use?”

“Its a nice field upgrade to have, if you can spare the weight, and the mechanic is reliable enough not brake anything when tampering with the core. What do you say, Kah’lad?”

“I wouldn´t say the worst… There are a few good apples on both lists, they´re just not the best our countries have to offer. What still foolish given the importance of this project.” answered Ai who continued

“The details are classified, but i can share with you that we have other human augmentation projects back home, and who knows which one the brass is favouring now… Not to mention that, as stable mind and honed body are needed to all, everyone will end up with less appropriate candidates than necessary anyway. Hence our share of sub-standart “volunteers”. That´s only my guess though. And with Dannistaan?”

13

Fahl’ow nodded.
“To be honest Ai, I have no idea about how the Dannistrian Top Brass finds volunteers for it’s projects. Personally, I think that they just pick them at random…”

Fahl’ow and Ai were interrupted by a knock on the medical lab door.
“Yes?” Fahl’ow called out. A nervous looking private appeared.
“Err…I was told to report here. I volunteered for the Plus Raven project and am here for my 2nd psychological profile?”
“Give us a few minutes to set up the equipment, private,” Fahl’ow said, “What’s your name?”
“Err…name is Sah’rou’ha Min’orrou. I’m with the 154th Royal Beauwater Rifles?”
“OK Min’orrou, please wait outside. I’ll call you in when we are ready.”
“Yes ma’am!”

The private ducked back behind the door. Fahl’ow nodded.
“Looks like our first customer,” she murmured as she dug up the privates file, “Here we go. Private Min’orrou. He’s a good soldier, if a little wet behind the ears. One of the more promising candidates. He’s socially nervous but a natural soldier on the battlefield. What do you think Ai? Got all the equipment ready?”[hr]Kah’lad murmured in some puzzlement before replying.

“Periscopes used to be fitted on Dannistrians ACs but fell out of favour with Dannistrian soldiers as they did not like the restricted view they provided. Nevertheless, I know some soldiers do swear by them though. I say the split is 70/30 against periscopes. Most modern Dannistrian ACs have the entry hatch designed so that is is split in two and opens laterally with one small flap at the front and a larger flap at the back so that it acts as a shield protecting the back of your head from most small arms fire and shrapnel. Nonetheless, I prefer not to stick my head out and if the VR system goes ‘FUBAR’, I prefer just to either rely on the slit window out the front or the head parts video camera.”

Kah’lad waved his hand in caution.
“A word of warning though. There will come a point where you will need to stick your head out though. There will come a point where every single system fails. A periscope isn’t a guarantee of safety. I recall one Raven who shall remain nameless who was working with me on a training mission. He fitted a periscope on his AC. Shame he wasn’t careful how he used it. It reflected some light and gave our position away to a team of rival ACs. Needless to say he ended up drawing all the fire.”

Kah’lad shrugged while the class laughed at his anecdote.
“I will say this. If you do want to fit a periscope to the core, make sure you get the chief mechanics blessing to do so. Don’t do what my friend did and make it catch light that gives you away. You are in a several ton mech, after all, and it is hard enough to hide. Don’t make it any harder for yourself.”

Kah’lad turned back to the board.
“That brings me nicely though to the electro-optical camera in the head. In some ways, it means you don’t need a periscope, assuming you still have electrical power. On request, it brings up a video feed of the battlefield here on this monitor to your left. You can also view it in infra-red, night vision and ultraviolet modes. But don’t rely on it too much. It isn’t infallible but is useful, especially when as it comes with a 200x zoom.”

Kah’lad cleared his throat.
“I get the feeling I’ve spoken for long enough for the moment. So we are going to take a short break. Give yourselves half an hour and report back here in about…zero eight hundred hours. I’ll cover main computer AI basics in the second half of the lecture and then hand over to Friedrick for his primer on mental exercising.”

14

“All set. And the boy looks good. If his mind can hold he´ll be a cut above, even for plus raven standarts… Might be hastly to talk about standarts with experimental tech though… Nevermind, bring him in.” said Ai returning the privates file

As Min’orrou entered, he gasped as he noticed how exposed Ai fine legs were by using a uniform somewhat smaller than she should. To that she smiled and whispered to Fahl’ow “Socially nervous, huh…”

She turn to him and patting a strange looking chair she purred “Please come here, Mr. Min’orrou…” The man blushed but followed the order, and after sitting, his nervousness increased as Ai strapped him and connected electodes all over his body.

Deciding that was time to be professional again, Ai started in a serious tone (to the man renewed surprise)
“Mr. Min’orrou. The 2nd psychological exam will measure your mind resilence. The plus raven surgery is a very intrusive process that taxes on the subject mind as heavily as on his body. You´re a very fit man that should survive the process, but we need to be sure that you get out of it sane as well. I warn this evalution will put you under considerable mental stress. Knowing this, you´re still a volunteer?”

As the class rushed to enjoy their break, Friedrick to enjoy a chat with Kah’lad as well, after ordering an unlucky private to bring refreshments for them.

Since Kah’lad shook his head disapproving his act, Friedick started in light tone

“Ah… The joys of rank. You should savor it as well, Kah’lad. This is the army, and is not like if getting us a drink will brake anyone´s arm… Talking about savoring, here.” He picked up the drinks and paid the private with far more than they´re worth.
“Sir, thank you, sir” answered the now happy private as he left
Friedrick then turned to Kah’lad and continued:
“There are the rewards of obedience too. I´m not heartless, y´know.”
After sharing a laugh, he said:
“No need to scare the kids like this in their first class, Kah’lad… Of course you should be ready to open the cockpit if needed, but this is really rare. I´ve had my share of battles and the only time i had to do it in the field was to aim my rifle at Sah’lihm… But its good you did. Managed to get a good feel of the class, and in fact i´m worried… Too much fear in them, even in my boys, despite the bravado. Nothing serious, but i expected more from plus candidates… Nevertheless, i always were too harsh. What do you think?”

15

“Well, I prefer to tell it like it is,” Kah’lad remarked. He took a swig from a bottle of water he produced from his desk before signalling to Friedrick to follow him out the classroom.

“I don’t know how reliable the electronics are in Drakken ACs, but in Dannistrian ones, opening up the cockpit in the battlefield is a common occurrence. Many Dannistrian Ravens don’t necessarily trust the VR readout and prefer to act like tank commanders, sticking their heads out of the cockpit. I’ve seen too many rookies though let the bravado get to their head and get sniped at due to pure stupidity.”

Kah’lad took another swig.
“If they get too scared of my stories and leave, maybe I’m being too harsh myself, but they don’t deserve to be Ravens if they get scared. There is no room for fear on the battlefield. I learnt that the hard way…”
Kah’lad was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Checking the screen, he then answered it.
“Hello?..Oh hi sis…how are you?..yeah, I’m back in Dannistaan for at least the next six months…yeah…yeah…It’s in an army base so you might not be able to visit…yeah…I’ll try and visit you sometime later in the week…yeah…OK…OK, I’ll let you go…I’ll speak to you later…bye…love you too…”

Kah’lad put away the phone.
“My older sister,” he said, “Only family I have left. I’ve not spoken to her in a while,” he murmured. He then produced a silver pocket watch to check the time.
“A little gift from her,” he said, “I almost forgot she gave me this…hmm…better head back to the classroom…almost time…”[hr]Private Min’orrou gulped but nodded.
“I understand the risk and I still volunteer,” he replied.
“Very well. First we will do a few tests and then proceed with the operation, Private,” Fahl’ow said, nodding to Ai.

16

When Kah’lad commented about AC doctrine in the field, Friedrick briefly replied: “Few ravens like the VR system on our side too, but they all use it if its not broken, and that seldom happens, unless it gets shot. That comes with a militaristic state, nearly everyone there lives by-the-book all the time. At least this also allow us to have very reliable machines, much is invested on them, but at expense of our civilians, who have to make do with cheap stuff…”

Then he only nodded in agreement when Kah’lad continued over how controlling fear is a hard but vital ability for a raven, as he remembered the few times where he nearly died in the battlefield, and how hard was not to give in to panic.

As he watched Kah’lad talking with his sister, he felt a little sad (and almost envious), then whispered “You´re getting soft, Friedrick…” and he finished the thought with a smile “…and besides, i have Ai now.”

When Kah’lad adressed to him he said:

“Yes, let´s head back. But if i were you, i´d take a little time to see her. Things are getting hot between Dannistaan and Nahris. And if that grow up in a war, i think they´ll want you in the field.”

Ai turned on a small screen if front of Min’orrou, where it showed records from some of the most savage AC battles of history, then she said:

"Private, now i´ll inject this medicines in you. They and the stimule the screen provides will make you experience a surprisingly life-like dream of being part of a battle, with a pain as close to be a plus as we can reproduce. I´ll be monitoring you. Pass this trial and i´ll give my ok to Fahl’ow.

After giving him the medicine, she said to an nurse: “Tie him well.” and went to her monitor.

17

The images shown to Min’orrou were particularly disturbing to him. He jerked violently, both from the pain and from the disturbing nature of the imagery on the monitor.
“Gah…erk…hah…nggh…” he managed to grunt, straining against the restraints. At one point he bit his tongue, resulting in him yelping out like a dog.
“EE-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

The cry echoed down the corridor, frightening some medical staff who were passing.
Fahl’ow cringed at the site, before turning to Ai and shook her head.
“EEG reading is not good,” she pointed at a readout on a computer monitor, “His neural activity under duress is basically all over the place and outwith acceptable limits.”

Finally the testing finished and Fahl’ow was still unhappy with the results.
“It will take a few minutes to get the final MRI reading but the preview is…it isn’t good I’ll admit…”[hr]Kah’lad nodded at Freidrick’s comment.
“Maybe you are right, I should go visit her. I’ve not seen her in a while.”

As the pair reentered the classroom, a private ran in. Short of breath, he handed Kah’lad a note. Kah’lad looked bemused as he read it.
“OK class. Listen up. This is important. As of 0800 hours today, the Dannistrian Central Government has confirmed a Dannistrian Naval vessel, the HMDS Crii’stolen, a Type 42 Destroyer, has been struck by a Nah’rin missile while outside Nah’vareh isle waters. Also as of 0800 hours today, due to this incident, the Dannistrian Central Government has authorised the Tep Forum | 404 - Link Expired They have also advised that all reserves are to be on 72 hours notice. This includes all reservists, full time personnel not currently deployed…and cadets. We are not at war with the Nahrin Union, but this may change in the next few hours depending on how they respond. Hal’vo hav’nar.”

Kah’lad nodded to the private and handed back the note. He saluted and ran out the door. The Dannistrian trainees looked particularly disturbed and started chattering nervously to one another.
“I reiterate the message that we are not at war yet. So I wouldn’t get too frightened. However, I also cannot guarantee you will not be sent into the field. It happened to myself, so I don’t discount it. However, I remind you all that even, assuming the worst case scenario, you all get sent into the battlefield, you won’t do so without the training required to fight, and more importantly, survive. I will certainly be there to make sure you all keep your heads on straight, so please don’t worry. Friedrick here will do the same to ensure you all are trained up to do the job. We are not in the business of throwing people to the wolves, no matter what the rumours say…”

Kah’lad looked around the classroom.
“Any questions regarding that last statement before I continue with the lesson?”

18

A few minutes later Ai picked the final MRI and looked dismayed. Then she walked to Fahl’ow side and whispered:

“Fahl’ow, we got the most dangerous kind of result…”

As both woman went to a corner to have a modicum of privacy, she continued:

“Since he´s a Dannistrian, it´s your call in the end, but if brass get to know the results they´ll force us into operation him…” She pointed at the printed charts and said:
“Here, he almost made it in all tests. In fact while he´s slightly below our ME standarts, he´s still within the test margin of error. I´d give him a 50/50 chance of becoming a plus with his sanity intact. I wouldn´t do it with these odds, but we do lack proper candidates… Well, if you decide for operating him, at least tell Min’orrou how much he´d be risking.”

A Drakkengardi student raised his hand and asked(trying to look anxious but with some fear in the eyes):

“Does this mean we might go to war too?”

Friedrick asked Kah’lad

“Do you mind if i answer this one?”

“No problem.”

Friedrick then adressed to the class

“Very unlikely, as its assumed that the Dannistrian forces are capable to meet Nahrin in at least equal terms, but our nations are old allies, so we might join this war if requested.
Nevertheless, Drakkengardi or Dannistrian, i´d like to announce now that given the risk of having to send you into battle, we´ll speed up your training process. I don´t mean we´ll reduce quality. Only that it´ll be harder on you. But trust me, if anyone here ends up being called to war, you´ll all thank us in the end.
Any other question?”

19

Fahl’ow nodded.
“It’s too marginal. I’ll go tell him he isn’t really suited.”
As Fahl’ow approached Private Min’orrou, she could already see he was already having second thoughts.
“Private, I’m afraid…”
“I didn’t pass?” there was a slight hint of disappointment in his voice, “I guessed. But I’m OK with it…I’m having second thoughts after that…experience…please excuse me…”
The private saluted and walked off, visibly shaken. Fahl’ow turned back to Ai.
“Looks like he didn’t want to be there anyway…”

Fahl’ow was about to say something else when a knock interrupted her. Another solider appeared at the door.
“Lieutenant Hah’dii’ph Spencer, ma’am. Here as part of the Plus Raven volunteer project.”
Spencer seemed to be the polar opposite of Min’orrou. He stood extremely straight and didn’t even blink while Fahl’ow inspected him.
“That’s fine Lieutenant. Please take a seat and we will be with you shortly.”
“Yes ma’am!”

Fahl’ow walked back to the corner where Ai was and dug up Spencer’s file.
“Lieutenant Spencer, age 24. He is one of the more promising, if slightly uptight candidates. He has good IQ scores, sound mind psychologically and is pretty good combat wise. My only concern is that he is a little too inflexible tactics wise and may find it hard to take instruction from lower ranked officers, Kah’lad for example. But otherwise, no serious problems according to his file. What do you think Ai?”[hr]Kah’lad nodded at Friedricks comments and added, “Sometimes the best form of teaching is to actually go out onto the field. Friedrick and I can teach you all we know but there will come a point you will need to actually ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’.”

A Dannistrian soldier held his hand up.
“If…if the worst should happen…I mean…how dangerous would our assignments be…?”
Kah’lad sighed.
“Basically, there is no ‘safe’ and ‘dangerous’ assignments in war. The only thing that is constant about them is that they are unpredictable. Safe assignments may suddenly go to hell in a handbasket real quick. Dangerous ones may suddenly seem oddly quiet and not a single enemy is seen. Rest assured though you will be trained up to cope with this and many more things. Any more questions?”

There was silence. Kah’lad nodded.
“Very well then. Turn to page 25 in your textbooks and read it carefully. Once you are done, I’ll cover the key points. That page gives an overview on Armored Core Computers and the so-called AI systems installed on them…”[hr]Somewhere on the Hal’vii Islands, approx. 100 miles south of Dannistaan proper

“Get me the MoD! Something has gone terribly wrong!”
“THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE THE TEST LAB IMMEDIATELY! REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
“LASTAR has gone rogue! Repeat, LASTAR has gone rougue! Stop it! Argh!”

Amidst the snow and ice of the Antarctic-like conditions of Dannistaan’s southern most territory, several soldiers and science personnel found themselves running away from a large bunker, sealing doors as they went. Behind the doors, only screaming and gunfire could be heard before a loud explosion ruptured a wall. More crying out was heard as an officer barked out orders into his radio set.
“GET THAT DAMN BUNKER SEALED NOW! WE HAVEN’T GOT MUCH TIME LEFT!..”

20

Ai grinned this time and said to Fahl’ow

"He´ll do it. Not perfect, but then again who is? I have the perfect test for him. If he pass he´ll prove to be flexible enough, and regarding taking instruction of lower rank officers… Let´s just send him to Kah’lad and Friedrick if he pass. Friedrick sees Kah’lad as a friend so if he disrespect Kah’lad… He won´t do it again.

Then she turns to Spencer and says “Here, kiddo!” patting the test chair.

The now shocked officer goes after muttering “Ay, ma´am”.

As the unconfortable soldier sits, Ai changes to a serious tone and instructs: “Lieutenant, take this helmet and joystick. Your test is named Kobayashi Maru. You receive a regular AC to face a dragon. You pass if there is no dragon in the field anymore.
I´ll also inject this medicine on you. This will give you a stress level and heightened senses close to plus level. Endure it. Last chance to give up, soldier.”

"The man salutes and says “I´m ready ma´am.”

Ai readies him and starts the test. Then she summon Fahl’ow

“The trick in this test is that for every dragon he kills, 2 will appear. But all dragons will leave the battlefield if he leaves them alone for some time, so if think instead of act, he´ll win.”

As Kah’lad finishes covering the key points of the AC computers, Friedrick looks at the time and announces

“Students, its late and you´re all tired. Usually i´d give you all another brake but given the circunstances we´ll start meditation lessons right away. Good thing to erode this anxiety in the air.
First, everybody sits on the floor, now mimic my moves.”
He then make the half lotus pose
http://www.chikung-unlimited.com/images/Half_Lotus_Pose.gif
After waiting for everyone to get it right, he continues:
"Now try forgetting about the war threat.Take everything from your mind. Leave only the thoughts you cherish and follow my breathing…

10-15 min later

Friedrick soothingly announces "Now everyone stand up and enjoy a 5 min break before the next task.

As the students leaves he says to Kah’lad
“Well well, at least i´m seeing some smiles now. Maybe now they´ll pay the proper attention in your class insteat of seeing Nahrineses in every shadow.”