The sun shined down upon the lazy city of Meta Guard. A young boy named Kirill, a Frame pilot at seventeen, was just sitting around the slack place. Poverty was to be sighted almost everywhere and the smell of booze was easy to sniff out. In the desert area of the city, the only liveliness in view was children playing in the school yard of the elementary school. Poor kids could laugh and have fun, but as they would grow older, school would be taken from them.

It was known that the other factions wanted Meta Guard. The defensive capabilities of its natural barrier, a canyon about a mile outwards from the city in all directions, except to the North, was unmatched in the world of Senricol. The Arcblades had their forest and the Gencores had their mountain, oh and the Freedom Lancers had a hilly area, but none of that compared. Aside of the known possibilities of an attack, the mayor knew of an attack to come in about one week. Instead of warning the people of Meta Guard, he simply put out a fake reward for helping out the city. For them to reach Meta Guard in time, each faction would have had to advance forwards right after the notice was sent. Den was the only close by place, about a day away by car.

Kirill, being one of the three only Frame pilots in the small army of Meta Guard, was practicing close combat fighting in his Frame. A large steel beam was set up in the junkyard, near the north end of the city. With a quick jab forwards, the mech's right arm moved forwards. His leg kicked forwards and the Frame positioned itself to put force into the jab. The sword in the right hand of the Frame nicked the beam and cut half of it to the point it started to band backwards until the top half of the beam fell to the ground.

"Hey Kirill!" spoke a young girl about one forth the size of the Frame. Her name was Nina and she was a childhood friend of Kirill.

The back of the Frame popped loose and opened. Kirill jumped down to greet his friend. "Hey Nina, whats up?" asked Kirill. Normally he was shy, but once he was used to someone, he became very friendly.

"The mayor said he had something important to tell you," replied Nina.

"What? Did he say what it was about?" questioned Kirill in a more serious tone.

"No, but he looked worried," said Nina with a look of worry.

Kirill headed towards the city hall building at once to find out what was wrong. After entering the tall building, a lady on the phone quickly pointed to the elevator. On his way up, Kirill was studying the buttons. Such a primitive layout compared to a Frame, was the thought flowing through his head. As the doors opened, on the seventh floor, the mayor waved down Kirill. Entering his office, Kirill took a seat in front of a desk. Aside from the poverty in the city, many places, like restaurants, businesses, car dealerships, Frame mechanics, existed, just a small number of them.

Inside one of the only buildings in Meta Guard with air conditioning, Kirill was being told of the oncoming attack.

"Gencore and Freedom Lancer, are headed here to take us over, if either one does, we will be forced to live like them. I am sure no one out there wants to be forced to worship something they do not believe in or forced into a military life bent on 'Freedom'. I haven't told the military yet, but I needed to let someone know, so I got my daughter to tell you to come here," explained the mayor.

" I don't get it, why me?" asked Kirill anxiously.

"You are apart of our military and a family friend. I should also tell you that I sent word to Den, hopefully Frames of mercenaries show up to help. Only a few is all we need, because I figure each faction underestimates us. So they might send maybe, five or so Frames and a few light armor tanks to fight us. I trust that you and the other pilots can handle it with the Freedom Lancers, but the Gencores will rip us apart out there. They have much more fire power than us," continued the mayor.

"What about the Arcblades?" wondered Kirill.

"Nothing was said, but they have not made any action in about a month, so it is possible they could also be there. Do remember though they may be out to take us over, the three other factions are enemies and will also be fighting each other," finished the mayor.

Kirill stood up from the chair and left. He headed home, to a shack that was run down. The roof was made out of cheap steel and the walls were made from bits of iron, welded together. Inside was a normal looking bed that was given to him by Nina, an old night stand and a picture of himself standing next to Nina, with two other friends in the picture. One had their arm around Kirill and the other was leaning on his shoulder. They all looked around the age of eight in the picture. Smiling at the picture, Kirill lied down and fell asleep. The next day arrived quickly.

Nina jumped onto Kirill to wake him up.

"Hey get up! Some mercenaries are in town and the Frames they brought are amazing!" shouted Nina in sheer amazement.

"Ok, ok, just get off me," laughed Kirill.

In the market district, near the northern entrance, was about six mercenaries from Den. The Frames beat out any of the ones in Meta Guard and this attracted Kirill's view. It was like a circus, all the city was cheering at the sight of the great mechs and the cool looking people who operated them.

Lailya smirked as she made a final check on her Frame. Her ammo supplies were loaded, her defensive and technical systems were operating fine, and she was completely fueled. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. She looked around at the other Frames. They were nice too...but they didnt give the same feel of "Awe" that her own provided her. Maybe it was because she helped build the thing...

She turned around, and leant up against her Frame. She had to temporarily close her repair shop, but for mercenary pay, she could manage. She had been part of the mercenary army for about ten years, and was still alive. She thought it counted for something. Then again, she loved doing merc work. It made her happy. She got paid to shoot shit. Who wouldnt love that? A lesser person might've questioned their values or morals, but not Lailya. She just questioned how fast her bank account would fill.

The city cheered for her like she was some kind of hero. She didnt DISLIKE the attention, but as far as she was concerned, she didnt need all of it. She saw herself as Lailya. And she thought that she was just another faceless uniform out on the battlefield. Oh well. They can do what they want. She thought. She again looked out into the crowd, seeing a blonde-headed boy heading in the directions of the Frames. She had been told something about a young man with them, with spikey blonde hair. She wondered if it could be him.

Oh God...what was his name....come on, you can think of it.... Karel? Korrell? Kline?....Kirill! She thought. Thaaat was it. She was pretty sure anyway. She began to walk calmly towards him. Once she got within earshot, she smirked and spoke loudly. "Hey! You the one they call Kirill?" She asked.

Maximilian watched the people of Meta Guard cheering. He didn't feel right about them cheering. This is not right, he thinks, don't they know that if we where offered a better deal by their enemies, we would be here helping conquer them. He was not ashamed of this it is just that he was a mercenary and he fought what he was paid to.

He proceeds to move his Frame into the hanger that had been assigned to him. Climbing out of his Frame he descends to the floor. Looking about he sees Lailya talking to one of the natives. His curiosity peaked he heads over to see what they might be saying.

As the people cheered for the mercenaries, they were completely oblivious to the incoming threat. The mayor just hoped that each of the hired Frame pilots wouldn't give much away, but he also didn't warn them about the people not knowing. The people just thought the mercenaries were staying inside of the factions hangers for a mission nearby, although, none of them caught onto why they would need that many for one mission.

Kirill was walking around inspecting the Frames and the parts so he could get an idea for what he wanted his Frame to one day be. After a minute of looking, one of the mercenaries approached him.

"Hey! You the one they call Kirill?" asked the woman mercenary that looked to be in her late fifties to her early sixties.

"Yes... I am Kirill and this is Nina," replied Kirill, "Who are you?"

Nina had he normal energy and burst out into a greeting as well.

"Hi, I'm Nina, Kirill's friend!" greeted Nina in a loud, energetic voice.

As the group said their hellos, another one of the mercenaries approached them. This time it seemed he was out to talk with the older woman instead of Kirill.

Lailya smiled as the friendly teen greeted her. "I'm Lailya, hon. You could call me Lai, or what most other mercs call me: Pepperspray. " She grinned at the nickname, remembering how she had earned it. He memories didnt last long as she snapped back to attention. "So, you're this Kirill guy? It's nice to meet one of my comrades. Always nice to chat to someone regularly instead of over a holoscreen." She was then surprised by the young woman near shouting at her. "Heh, nice to meet you, Nina! But you dont have to shout. I'm not deaf yet!" She said, snickering lightly. Lailya was a little bold, but she was nice so far. "So! Which one of these machines is yours, Kirill? Mind showin' me? I mean...If you dont mind, I'm just curious. I like knowing what my teammate is like, so I can fight along side them better, and vice versa."

She was about to continue with the explaination when another mercenary headed over to them. This one she didnt know. She calmly waited for him to say something, looking in his direction.

Maximilian notices that the group is watching him. He also takes note of a young woman he had not noticed before. Upon reaching the group he nods politely to the other merc and addresses the young blond man, "I assume that you are Mr. Kirill." Turning back to the other merc he says, "And you must be Ms Lailya or do you prefer Pepperspray." He pauses as if to await their response then he remembers that he had not introduced himself. Embarrassed he introduces himself, "I am Maximilian Rhal. Max to my friends, and Deadeye to most mercs."

"My Frame is located over in the junkyard. I usually leave it there so I can train on steel beams," said Kirill as he pointed behind himself.

The other mercenary approached and made his greeting.

"Hey Max," spoke Kirill, returning the greeting. Nina, as well, jumped into the greeting.

"Hi Max," greeted Nina.

"Well, Lailya, if you want to see it I can bring it over here and of course, if you want to see it to you can Max," replied Kirill to Lailya's previous question about his Frame.

Without delay Kirill was headed towards the junkyard to fetch his Frame. As he got there, the view of the red paint was amazing in the morning sun. A gun attached to the left arm was shining in the sun and the other machine gun attached to the right arm was covered in shade from the upper part of the Frame. Kirill climbed up the back and pressed a button next to the latch. As the latch opened, Kirill slipped inside and started up the mechanical beast. Sure the Frame was weaker than most well built ones, but for the supplies and money he had this was an amazing machine.

Nina watched as Kirill's Frame came from the junkyard and started to head strait towards them. As he neared the group, he shut off the systems and leaped out.

"This is it. A bit low grade from most, but its the best I could buy under my budget," said Kirill with a smile. He was proud of his machine because he made it with only a little help from a mechanic.

Lailya watched as the boy headed off in the direction of the local junkyard. He was odd, but he seemed like a nice kid. But while he was fetching his weapon system, she would turn to Max. "Oh, you're the one they're calling deadeye, huh? Nice to finaly meet you. Hopefully, we'll be in the same squad, huh?" She offered him her hand, meaning to shake his. She had heard a few tales of the man's marksmanship, and was impressed fairly. "I'm sure you've heard of me. I'd say I'm almost the oldest Frame pilot here." She laughed lightly. "So! What kind of gear you got on your Frame, Max?"

She was waiting for his answer when Kirill brought his machine towards them. It was a little old, outdated maybe by 8-10 years. "Aaaahhh. I see! I didnt like these models personally, but they're a witch to fight on the battlefield. Almost can manuver circles around the newer Frames. What's her top speed? Better yet, what kinda gear you have on her?" She asked with interest.

Maximilian nods a greeting to the young woman and turns toward the junkyard to see the boys Frame. Noticing Lailya offer her hand he gives it a firm hand shake. "I'd be honored to work with you," he tells her, "As for you being the oldest pilot you are probably right. But who says old ladies can't blow shit up." When she asks about his gear he pause to think about what he should tell her. "I don't know, but did you notice the large acceleration chambers on the back of my Frame. Those are Railguns and the primary power behind the machine. Although they require a core apiece to power, and firing supports because of the kick back. Other then that it has an autocannon and light pulse laser. It has a sword too. As for its internal gear the only things different from the norm are the prototype Lazarus cloaking device and a motion scrambler." Taking a deep breath, he asks for what she has on her Frame.

When Kirill returns with his Frame, Maximilian had to admit that he was impressed. It was outdated, but it looked as if it had been taken care of by loving hands. When Lailya makes her comment on not having liked them he comes fully to terms with just how long she had been piloting. Chiming in he says, "yes I want to know what gear you have on the machine their too."

"My machine? Well, I've gotten together parts from friends that work all over, and have access to nearly every part. It happens when you get old, hon. " She laughed again, smiling playfully to him. "Weeelll, I've got a LLAN Type 3 Gattling. Shoots 4000 rounds a minute, more than a pretty puppy to ANY Frame. It'll put a hole in ya. Then a hundred more." She snickered. "An MXTB 80mm grenade launcher is attached to my left arm. Pretty good for moble artillery attacks. Dont have much punch, but they stumble other Frames at least. The only thing on my back is ammo." She went on.

"Internally, I've got a lot of fun shit. Enhanced Optics, a modified BDR Sonar, Flare Launchers and a Master Computer Angle Calculator, also known as my MCAC. Not to mention a radar and communication system." She finished. She was proud of her Frame, and had fair confidience that it could take out anything in front of it.

"My Frame has a RARC machine gun, missile launcher that can shoot off one missile per shot, a short sword, a good basic booster, communication systems, and motion radar," explained Kirill as he walked around his Frame pointing out the different parts. He smiled at the sight of his Frame. After the other two finished talking about their Frames, Kirill decided in his mind to make his way to Den someday.

At that moment the mayor showed up. He greeted the mercenaries and headed to Kirill to greet the last two.

"Hello, I see you met some of the mercenaries, Kirill," said the mayor in a scruffy voice, before turning to the two mercenaries, "Thank you for coming to help us. If you wish, I had reservations at our best hotel for everyone!"

Maximilian had to admit that he was impressed with the Frames of the Kirill and the other merc. So intent on hearing what the others had on their Frames he was startled when the town's mayor approaches. Turning around to face the mayor he hears the mans offer to stay in their best hotel. Responding he says, "No, I don't require anything fancy. I just need a place to shit, shower, and shave. Oh, a bunk to sleep in would be nice to. I mean I am taking your money after all." He holds out his hand to shake the man's and says, "By the way I am Maximilian Rhal." Pointing to Lailya he says, "And she is Laiya."