User:SilverCrono/TL/3

"Warning. Armor safety level below 45%. Consider retreat." The metallic voice of the AI in the Armored Unit's system spoke to its pilot with a sarcastic tone, as if it were capable of such a thing.

"I know that, dammit!" It's pilot, one Aaron Tsidaal, slapped the side of the cockpit he sat in. Letting go of the controls for even a moment was a mistake, he soon realized, as it left him with only half of the controls he should have had. As a result, when the skinny - and exceedingly fast - AU he was fighting suddenly zoomed close to him and raised its beam saber, he was unable to take advantage of the opening it exposed. "Wait, no, shit!" He fumbled with the controls to fly lower and pick up a weapon, but all his AU managed to do was raise its left arm and fly closer to the attacking Unit. While it didn't cause the attack to miss as intended, the Unit was shaken by his sudden action and sliced off the arm of the Unit Aaron piloted before thrusting an armored knee into the chest. Aaron's AU went flying downwards towards the ground.

With the force of the knee, the cockpit was shaken up, and considering Aaron had neglected to wear his seatbelt, he found himself thrust from the control seat and banging around in the cramped cockpit. "Shit, shit, gotta grab the contr-" The unit smashed into the ground and he went flying around again. "SHIT!"

"Warning. Warning. Armor safety level below 30%. Retreat is strongly advised." Yet another quip from the artificial intelligence of the suit as Aaron sorely climbed his way back into the control seat.

"Shut the hell up!" He slapped the main control screen and frantically looked around as the outside video feed from the suit's main camera flickered briefly.

"Main camera feed compromised."

"I KNOW that, dammit! How do I turn that shit off..." He rushed to grab onto the controls and start to move the AU, flashing controls be damned. In his haste, he pressed the acceleration turbine button, and the unit's thruster backpack went into full power. Because it was perpendicular to the ground, however, he and the unit simply went flying further along the ground, dragging up dirt and debris while causing further damage to the unit. "Fuck!" Aaron further maneuvered the almost locked-up controls and successfully flew back into the air.

Thanks to his unusual maneuvering of the suit, Aaron's AU managed to evade being shot at again, but the suit he faced was now moving towards him with haste and aiming its beam rifle. "Shit, this was the worst idea I've ever had, shit, SHIT!"

He clenched his eyes and absentmindedly flew with thrusters backwards from the advancing AU as the recognizable sound of a plasma shot being released rang through the air. A moment passed and more noise of battle, closer than the constant din that was waving through the destroyed air, rang through the cockpit. Aaron released the thrusters of the suit and looked in awe as he noticed three AUs, all similarly discolored by rust and damage, attack and swiftly destroy his former assailant. Beneath their dirty exterior and subtly damaged hulls, a similar color scheme was visible, and the fact that they didn't kill each other meant that the three AUs were probably allied.

"Oh fuck me. Don't do it, guys." Within moments, the flying AUs turned towards Aaron's direction. One of them aimed what looked like a large rifle and the other two extended beam sabers before flying towards his direction. "What the shit did I just say?!" In his desperation, Aaron began to swear in Draconian, and he rapidly turned the controls before flying higher into the atmosphere. He jostled the control sticks violently, throwing the suit within the almost red clouds and miraculously dodging two beam shots.

"Enemies approaching. Armor safety level below 30%, energy reserve below 23%. Retreat is highly advised."

"That's what I'm trying to do, you ignorant computer! Why don't you do something useful like tell me how to use the weapons in this thing?!" During the earlier battle in which Aaron scored exactly one direct hit, the knife that his suit had held was lost, and he couldn't figure out how to pull out some beam sabers or rifles. Now he looked back frantically, considering he also didn't know how to stagger a rear camera on his front screen, and saw a beam rifle aimed right at him. "No, no, no DAMMIT!"

The ensuing beam blew right into the thruster backpack of Aaron's unit, and it swiftly exploded. His suit, now falling from the atmosphere and quickly catching on fire, finally let loose a death groan from its mechanisms and its controls completely locked up. The AI spoke with a sufficiently tongue-in-cheek tone despite the dire situation. "Armor safety level below 10% and falling, energy reserve now at 2%. Ejecting is highly advised."

Now, as the unit plummeted towards the ground, Aaron was speechless. He felt within him a characteristically huge amount of frustration and anger, but more than anything he despaired. "I'm not ready..." He lifted his hands from the controls and held his head in desperation. "I'm not ready to die yet. This... this can't be happening." The unit smashed to the ground and was immobile as it became embedded into dirt and eroded ground. From his seat, Aaron could see the two AUs descending towards his, weapons extended. He held his head, his world, in his hands, and watched the two harbingers of death race towards him with finality and fire in their eyes. Never before did the Armored Units look more beautiful to him than they did now, rushing forward to claim him as their triumphant kill. All of the pilots involved, he realized, were likely all just broke and dirty people trying to survive, but for some reason the cyclone of chaos had whirled through Tsidaal and he was just another casualty caught up in it, his fate decided upon for him and thrust onto his lap. Piloting the AU was his mistake, he knew, but at the same time he felt no regrets for the impulsive decision.

"You and I are going to be gentlemen after all, Jeison..."

As quickly as they appeared, the Armored Units were destroyed in a flash of light.