News Reports for Week 66: Cyberlin Deathmatch Showdown

Vendetta in the Tundra: Ai Jinn vs Shi Yukiro vs Western Federation
Bright & Sunny Media is here with all the live feeds and expert analysis you will ever need for this glorious day of (potentially) honourable combat. For today only, 90% of all media channels are dedicated to this historic event and thanks to Bright & Sunny Media, no one will be disappointed... At least with the coverage.

The Arena
The battle will take place in an E.I administrated area of Siberia. An area of wasteland 100km x 100km was set aside and filled with cameras and sensors. Satellites high above the battleground offer live footage and data feeds. No humans except for the cyberlin pilots will be anywhere near the action.
The terrain is a mixture of snow-covered, open areas and dense coniferous woods. Both are difficult for even cyberlins to cross.

The Contestants Arrive
The Shi Yukiro cyberlin was brought to the arena by a flotilla of anti-grav ships, attached to the cyberlin by thick cables. A thick covering was then draped over the vehicles and a temporary camp set up at the edge of the arena for the service personnel. The world got a good view of the giant robot and could see it was decorated in the style of a Shi Yukiro Samurai, helmet and katana included.
The WF cyberlin was carried to the arena by a single, enormous anti-grav ship flanked by almost one hundred military aircraft to escort it. The vehicle was covered and kept relatively hidden, but sources at Bright & Sunny Media have confirmed that it is a modified A6-HS, one of the WF's most established and proven workhorse cyberlins.
The Ai Jinn cyberlin arrived only an hour before the event began. A fireball streaking across the sky like a meteor before it smashed into the Earth 25Km away from the arena's edge. The forests for miles around were flattened, and some were set ablaze. It offered the perfect backdrop to the cyberlin as it uncurled from its foetal position and emerged, towering above the flames and terrain. The Ai Jinn cyberlin stood at least twice the height of the other entrants, and larger than any other cyberlin seen to date.

To be Continued...

The Initial Bout
The SY and WF cyberlins were much faster and more mobile than the Ai Jinn's Both headed to the other end of the arena to face off with each other first. A better plan would perhaps have been to team up to defeat the larger threat, but it looked like everyone was playing to win. The SY vehicle immediately cloaked with an impressive invisibility field.
Shortly after the start of the battle the WF cyberlin launched an unmanned drone which began to fly overhead; it provided the cyberlin with eyes in the sky high above the arena. The judges ruled that this was allowable, as the craft was launched from inside the vehicle and was remotely operated from the cyberlin, not by an A.I or other pilot.
Both cyberlins moved around to gain a tactically advantageous position, but the WF's drone gave them the edge, allowing them to track the invisible SY cyberlin by its tracks in the snow and trees. The ninja-mecha stopped in a prime ambush position. The WF weapon platform then took up a firing position over a kilometer away and opened up with a volley of devastating missiles; devastating to the WF mecha that is. One of the missiles exploded inside the launch-tube, heavily damaging one half. The malfunction did not prevent the bombardment, however. Within seconds the targeted spot was engulfed in a colossal fireball that Bright & Sunny Media experts say would have easily annihilated almost anything; even a cyberlin.
The WF cyberlin did not get a chance to repair the damage it had dealt itself. Before the fireball died down a single, powerful laser blast came from inside it. Analysis of the footage showed that the beam came not from the centre of the missile's attack, but some 200m to the side. The SY cyberlin had disguised its movements by walking backwards over the top of its own tracks and lured the WF into a trap. The calibrated, carefully aimed laser fire struck the WF's cockpit exactly and vapourized the unnamed pilot before anyone realised what was happening.

To be continued...

Preparation for Conflict
The SY cyberlin was damaged by the WF's missile strike and its cloaking ability had been rendered almost inoperative. Meanwhile, the Ai Jinn's giant of a mecha had made its way to the centre of the arena zone, probably to reduce the chance of the other cyberlins simply running and staying out of weapon range. The SY cyberlin made no such tactical withdrawal.
The Ai Jinn and SY are ancient enemies with very different combat philosophies; the SY pilot had apparently changed from being a ninja to some kind of giant mechanical samurai. With the loud hiss of pneumatics, a hatch opened on the SY cyberlin's back and allowed it to draw an enormous Ion Katana from the relative safety of inside the vehicle. The weapon's edge glowed a bright red with the heat being emitted from the blade.
The Ai Jinn pilot also changed his attack mode slightly and began opening a number of ports all over the cyberlin's arms and chest. Each port held an ordnance class weapon, and each one began to charge, load, deploy or unfold, making ready for a show of terrifying force.

Brought Guns to a Swordfight
The Ai Jinn did not fire all of its weapons at the same time as the SY cyberlin approached. The energy drain of such an attack would likely have left it defenceless. Instead, the air was filled with a stream of weapons fire of every kind, creating a veritable wall of plasma, laser and bullets between itself and its opponent. High quality SY shields managed to absorb around a second of such heavy punishment before going offline, but this was enough for the nimble mecha to cover a good portion of the distance between the combatants. The rest of the distance was crossed with an incredible display of dodging and use of the relatively sparse cover available. In the space of a minute the two vehicles were almost within spitting distance of each other, with the SY cyberlin suffering damage to its torso, arms and legs in its mission to get into close combat range.
Even in close range the Ai Jinn Goliath continued to fire a continuous barrage of varied weapons from weapon ports spread across its entire body. The vast majority of the shots missed their agile and possibly supernaturally skilled opponent, but enough were making contact to slowly wear it down for every moment it spent nearby.
The entire world witnessed the giant ion blade glow even more brightly as it slashed back and forth across the Ai Jinn cyberlin. Each strike drew a spray of lubricant, plasma and fire that erupted forth from the beast's wounds, focused mostly on its torso. It looked as though the battle could almost be over.

From hell's heart I stab at thee...
Instead of crumpling to the ground, or falling sideways, or just exploding, the Ai Jinn cyberlin continued to operate as if nothing had happened. Bright & Sunny Media Experts have analysed the footage and sensor readings of the battle and calculated that the Ai Jinn vehicle is approximately 50% (by mass) back up systems and 10% armour, with the rest of the mass consisting mostly of structural components. Almost every piece of damage caused by the ion katana was being routed around and ignored, and the shear size of the vehicle was preventing the brave samurai warrior from severing its limbs or reaching critical components deep inside it.
The battle continued in this fashion for several minutes. Both combatants damaging the other with either a lightning-fast blade or barrages of weapons fire. Neither could score a decisive blow this way. Both knew that if the battle continued in this way it was only a matter of time until the SY cyberlin took enough damage to slow it down and prevent its dodging and maneuvering.

...For hate's sake I spit my last breath
The SY cyberlin stepped back from combat for a few moments to gather itself. The grip on its sword changed. A second later it was charging forwards and holding the bright red blade out in front. The tip of the sword remained completely stable as the cyberlin ran forwards, completely dedicated to this final attack and pointing towards the Ai Jinn's 'heart', or rather, where the heart would be in a human torso.
Plasma scorched and melted the samurai's armour. Shells tore large holes through it. But it was not enough to stop the determined warrior. The SY cyberlin leapt through the air to reach the correct height and sunk its ion weapon deep into the Ai Jinn behemoth.
In this moment of stillness the Ai Jinn was able to aim the majority of its weapons at the normally evasive target and fire a single, devastating volley. It sent the samurai flying backwards in a storm of broken and separated parts that rained down for over a mile of the battlefield. There was almost nothing recognisable left of the cyberlin.
The Ai Jinn cyberlin stood still and quiet on the snow covered tundra. All of its weapons had ceased to fire. An eerie silence fell across the entire world as billions of people all looked on and wondered what was happening. Was it over?

Victory
Bright & Sunny Media took this opportunity to begin to broadcast an exclusive live interview with the remaining pilot (negotiated with the Ai Jinn for a considerable sum of course). Inset with the footage of the motionless mecha was the close-up of a young Chinese man smiling, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He coughed, and more blood covered his chin and part of the camera.
"Did I win?... Is it over?" he asked out loud in Mandarin. He sounded excited and relieved, but colour was draining quickly from his face. The camera panned down to show the still dully glowing ion katana which had cut through the cockpit. It remained embedded in the cyberlin, and in the pilot's stomach. He was not completely cut in two, the blade was off target and only caught two thirds of his gut.
"There is... *cough* ... only... Ai Jinn." he said. And then he died, leaving the cyberlin completely motionless, the only sound in the entire arena that of the small fires burning were wreckage had landed or shots had gone wide.

Result: Victory for Ai Jinn. Taiwan will be under Ai Jinn control for the foreseeable future.