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Armored Core: Journey of a Pilot


Chapter Two: A New Home



Alex Raven stood at the entrance of the spaceport, looking over the city of Baltimore. Breathing in the air, he couldn't believe how fresh it smelled. Ever since they had made the renewable energy reactors, they had started cleaning up Earth's atmosphere, and soon, it was good as new. Hailing a taxi, he gave the driver the directions to his friends house. Piling in with all of his two small duffel bags, he relaxed in the comfortable seats.

Stopping just outside of the home, he looked upon his old friend's house one more time. It was large, very large. He had befriended Kae in school, and had never regretted it. Kae was the kind of person who was always picked on, but was smarter then Einstein. And he was. He had invented a brand new search engine, and had sold it to one of the major computer companies for over 28 million dollars. He then went on to revolutionize technology by creating the world's first micro-holographic projector. Before that, they were the size of chess tables. Now, they could be the size of a pinhead. Not to mention he had inherited Microsoft from his father. All of that combined, it was an understatement to say he was wealthy.

Walking up to the fence, a camera turned and the lens zoomed in on him. From the intercom, a voice came, “State your name and business with Mr. Virial.” “My name’s Alex Raven. I’m a close friend of Kae. He said I could stay with him until I get on my feet.” “One moment, please.”, the voice said. “Welcome to Virial Manor, Mr. Raven.” Alex smiled to the camera and said, “Thank you, sir.” There was no response as Alex made his way up the winding driveway.

As Alex made his way towards the large doors, they began to open slowly, a figure darted out and rammed into Alex, full speed, shouting, “ALEEEEEXXXX!!!!!!”, knocking him to the ground, dropping his bags, Alex smiled, “Hey there Shana, how you doing?”, he said as he greeted the seventeen year old. She looked up at him and smiled, “It’s been a long time!” Shana was Kaekar’s daughter, seventeen years old, and just starting to “develop”. She had auburn hair, crystal blue eyes, and wore a pair of thick BCGs. Alex nodded, saying, “It sure has. You were what, seven, the last time I saw you!” The two got up, her still clinging to him, “So, where’s your father, Shana?” She smiled and said, “He’s in his study. Right now he’s in a business meeting with some big people.” Alex nodded, “Ah. Well, I’ll leave him alone so he can continue with his meeting. Shana nodded and said, “Lemme show you around the place!”, in her usual peppy mood. Alex smiled yet again. He just couldn’t get past her constant happiness, not that he had a problem with it, of course. As she showed him around the giant house, he stared at the various things. Kae may be a bit of a punk and all, but he sure did have good taste in classical paintings. There were various paintings done by people, most of them copies, likely, ones my Michelangelo, Leonardo Davinchi, the like. He also had suits of medieval armor lining the walls every ten feet. Kae loved to play games that involved them.

“And this is your room.”, Shana said as she stopped in front of the only room that wasn’t currently being used for something. Alex looked in find a queen sized bed, a walk-in wardrobe, and a wall covered with a bookshelf, which was packed with books of all kinds, from self-help books, to books on computers, to books on religion. That was another Alex didn’t understand about Kae. He still used books, and didn’t imput them all into his computer. He enjoyed reading them. Guess he wasn’t lying when he said he was a bookworm, whatever that meant. Alex walked in and set his duffel bags down on the bed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. It was good to have a soft bed again, instead of the hard-mattresses cots on the Mars Sara station. Looking at Shana, he said, “Home sweet home. For now at least.” Shana smiled her usual smile, saying, “I missed you so much, Uncle Alex.”, walking in and sitting beside him. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he said, “Missed you too, kiddo.” She smiled and scratched the shot stubs on hair on the top of his head, “Why do they make you keep your hair this shot in the military, anyways?” Alex just shrugged, smiling, “I haven’t got the slightest clue. Guess it’s just a habit of the old days, before ACs. She smiled and nodded, “Probably.”