moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Jan 31, 2018 18:45:18 GMT -6
Googly moogly it’s all gone to shit.
And while Linnea’s thoughts weren’t exactly those words, they were close. It was bad. She wasn't actually prepared for this. Glad that nobody could see her hands shake, she sucked in a breath, taking a few moments – too long, in her eyes – to sort out her thoughts. The hangars were currently being searched through, which meant all the personnel were in danger. However, there were the enemy machines that were currently pushing into the base.
“Basset. It would be unwise to try and secure the hangars while there are other threats in the immediate area. We should take care of them first.”
It was more of an affirmation to herself rather than a suggestion, as her eyes were already on her targets. She released her grip on the handles and leaped off the Hippokon’s back, firing off two shots towards one of the oncoming DAGGERs – one to halt its advance, and one to strike it square in the chest – as her machine touched down near the ALAs.
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Post by S☆E on Jan 31, 2018 20:54:38 GMT -6
"Copy that, Fa- Hell's bells you're eager, ain'tcha?" Ernest crackled over the comm. "At least give this refrigerator time to change back!" Shifting back into combat mode he fires off two rockets from his missile pod at the other DAGGER and thudded into position, his machine's kinetic shield held to deflect incoming fire off both himself and Linnea. "Shame we couldn't get here earlier, this place is a bloodbath!"
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jan 31, 2018 23:56:49 GMT -6
A beam zipped by the DAGGER, stopping the machine cold in its tracks. Its head craned towards Linnea's Hoplite. The second shot pierced the edge of the DAGGER's chest, a non-fatal wound that gave it enough time to dive for the nearest ALA. The second DAGGER turned to fire towards Linnea's Hoplite but instead found itself face-to-face against one of Ernest's missiles. The force of the explosion sent the machine reeling backwards; before DAGGER-2 could even collapse, a second missile collided against it. The contorted mass of metal skid across the mud, smoke bellowing from its hollowed innards.
DAGGER-1 lifted the corpse of the ALA and used it as a shield against Linnea's beam rifle. With only one arm left to fire, the DAGGER hoisted its own rifle over the shoulder of the ALA to steady its aim. Accounting for recoil forced the pilot to make slow, deliberate shots. The machine retreated towards the hangar, where the other two DAGGERs stirred. The one closest to the massive hangar doors, DAGGER-3, peeked outside from behind the building's sturdy walls. The other became more frantic as DAGGER-3 forced the hangar doors closed.
----
Overwhelming gunfire turned Hoplite-3 into a hulking display of modern art. Even as it attempted to strafe towards cover, the holes in its body forced the Hoplite to its knees. By the time they had finished shooting, it had become impossible to decide who dealt the final blow. The sound of reloading weapons and the lumbering footsteps of AAAs pierced the frigid silence that threatened to descend upon the forest. Myra's Peltast knelt down to their adversary as if to check its pulse.
"Believe it or not, Tango 5 is down," Myra remarked.
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Post by fen on Feb 1, 2018 19:26:32 GMT -6
The ensuing slaughter had finished, and Cain found himself staring down his sights at the hulk of wreckage that had once been Hoplite-3. There didn't seem to be any more coming in, and his mind flashed to the DAGGERs that had made it to the military base- a fact that definitely had not escaped him. Lowering his long-range beam rifle, he waited for orders to disperse- they were fast, capable, it wouldn't take long to get to the base.
...But all they got was radio silence.
"...Tadpole, this is Merlin. Opposition has been silenced. Your orders?"
Silence.
"Merlin, this is Tadpole. Relaying further orders to Jingo and Echo. The rest of you begin making your return. The situation has changed."
He stared at the screen before him, which soon blinked as the channel went silent. The marksman let out a sigh, tugging at his collar as he gazed at the scene of white snow, drifting onto charred husks of metal. Something didn't sit well with him that they were returning now, but whatever- it wasn't his to decide.
"Jingo, Echo, you heard them. We'll see you back at base."
---
"Dammit! This is not, I repeat, not what I wanted!"
The sound of gunfire, large gunfire, and explosions had not done much to aid in the senior research expert's long process of collecting as much of his garbage as possible. No, not at all! The fact that two DAGGERs had thought it was best to shut the hangar doors, trapping themselves in an area with a bunch of researchers, further soured the mood!
"Is that really what we should be doing right now?"
His bespectacled assistant, with mottled dirty blonde hair, and wearing a coat a little too large for him- but perfect for the weather, stared at him with an unamused, unconcerned smile. He had a collection of papers in his arms as well, but he seemed a lot less concerned by whether or not they'd survive the fire-fight.
Compared to his assistant, the 'head researcher' stuck out a little more. Two-toned candy-cotton hair, hung up with various clips and ties was probably the first thing anyone would notice about him- followed by a freckled face (currently contorted into a sullen frown) and...
...A spider?
A mechanical spider hung onto his shoulder, its claws dug into his lab coat. Its four beady red eyes seemed to focus in on the researcher's assistant, before swiveling to glare at the hulking DAGGER that had its rifle aimed at the door.
The one closest to them had turned, just barely, to gaze at them. Mr. Cotton-candy seemed to roll his eyes at the sight, quickly grabbing a few extra papers on the table before him.
"My lad, I believe it's time to abscond-"
"...My lad?"
"What? Too much? Not enough?"
"Too much."
The two sprinted towards the back of the hangar, ducking behind some propped ALAs that had been stationed there- but were unpiloted. The other researchers and mechanics did the same, scattering about in hope to not be the one in the sights of the DAGGER.
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Linkyu
Cosmic Kiddie
aaa
Posts: 47
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Post by Linkyu on Feb 2, 2018 13:28:04 GMT -6
"Echo, this is Tadpole. Do you read me?"
“Five by five, Tadpole. Awaiting further orders.”
“You and Jingo are to follow the DAGGERs that broke off from the main force. We’ve already dispatched Basset and Fawn to intercept. Rendezvous with them at Grodekovo; sending coordinates now.” With a ping, the coordinates popped up on the tactical map display.
“Roger that, Tadpole; we depart at once. Out.” Kara stored the reloaded SMGs back on the DAGGER’s hips, and retrieved the carbine. She stowed it behind the machine’s waist and switched comms. “Jingo, we move out as soon as you’re ready.”
“I was born ready, Echo.” Myra’s Peltast stood up from its crouch, lurching into a steady sprint towards the mountainside.
Kara followed along and observed Myra’s Peltast. It seemed to make its way up effortlessly, with almost natural movements. As natural as a 20 meters tall machine can be, that is.
“Say, Jingo.” Kara spoke up when they almost reached the mountaintop. “How much experience do you have AAAs? Your piloting has a good form.”
“I’ve been piloting for… the better part of two years, now. Piloted a DAGGER not unlike your own until today.” Myra paused. “You arrived before me, right? Surprised you didn’t take the Peltast yourself.”
“It was very tempting. The manoeuvrability of it made it very appealing. But. Mostly, when I started, it was on a DAGGER; one not too unlike this one, actually. And even then, for most of the last few years, I mostly piloted another DAGGER. Although, it was a fairly modified one, this time; those machines are very easy to customize, and, well, I really like that. If possible, I plan to work on this one here as much as I can; I feel like this can be a really nice project, you know?”
"So you're a tinkerer, huh? Never had much talent for engineering myself," Myra admitted. Her Peltast stood uneasily at the crest of the mountain, peering down at the steep slope below. Wouldn’t this make an excellent ski resort? she thought. “Hope you're strapped in tight. Get the feeling this is going to be a bumpy ride.”
“That it is.” Kara checked her navigation panel to confirm the direction for the rendezvous point. “I have visuals on the base, but no sign of the targets yet. Do you see anything so far?”
“It’s difficult to confirm a target amidst the wreckage, Echo. Smoke is clouding my visuals so I’m switching to RADAR.”
“Roger that. I’ll contact the other team to let them know we’re here.” Kara opened the channel with Ernest, leaving a relay for Myra to hear the response. “Basset, this is Echo and Jingo. We have been dispatched to your position for support. What’s your situation?”
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Post by S☆E on Feb 2, 2018 19:33:20 GMT -6
"Copy that Echo, situation is currently ass-over-teacup. Four DAGGERs confirmed. Two have taken up fortified positions in a nearby hangar, civilian presence likely." Ernest grimly responded. "One left outside, the other out of commission. Fawn and I can handle this one but getting the other two out could get messy. Collateral is already pretty high."
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Post by fen on Feb 4, 2018 22:58:21 GMT -6
While the machines prepared a counter-attack inside the hangar, DAGGER-1 aimed towards Fawn, assault rifle steady as it fired off a few more rounds. Accomodating for the weight of the impromptu shield proved to be disastrous, as the rifle rounds bounced off the edge of her shield without the pilot having to react. The DAGGER seemed to fumble its rifle, finally kneeling at the edge of the hangar door, smoke spiraling off from the tip of its barrel.
It eased its shield against the ground, attempting to lower the weight by propping it against its own frame- but you could hear the creaking and rasping of metal-on-metal. As Fawn and Basset would ready their response, they could see the DAGGER sink lower, lower... It steadied its rifle again, bracing it against an awkward angled piece of metal on its shield. The rounds fired towards Fawn, aiming towards her right once more.
Seconds later, a flash illuminated from the hangar door: it had been cracked open! Hounding right after the rounds fired by DAGGER-1, was DAGGER 3's beam shot. This one was aimed straight for Fawn's chest.
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moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Feb 5, 2018 19:55:23 GMT -6
Was their opponent’s response completely unprecedented? … probably not. It still left the young pilot shaken though – after all, there were people in there, and something inside her fumed at the fact that this happened on her watch.
Seeing DAGGER-1 fumble with its improvised shield made things… better. Slightly better. Seeing what her opponent was capable of helped. Hearing the ammunition hit the shield in front of her – held by Ernest’s Hippokon – helped. She moved backwards and strafed to the side behind the Hippokon and past it to avoid the rifle shots. Even then, they still grazed the Hoplite’s left side, but it was a far better alternative to being completely shot through.
“We’re going to have to push—“
Still, she might have gawked for too long – it was the bizarre sound of heavy metal creaking open as a shot was fired from the hangar at her.
Of course they’d be preparing a counterattack. Of course they’d fire from such a secure cover.
Didn’t stop Linnea’s heart skipping a beat or two. And it certainly didn’t stop her from panicking, even if for a moment.
The thrusters on the Hoplite’s backpack and legs flared to life, stronger than they were when she was avoiding DAGGER-1’s assault. Far more than was needed as she was forced even faster to the side and slightly upwards off the ground. She left a deep scar in the earth as she skidded towards the far side of the area, stopping just past a fallen ALA. Miraculously remaining upright (rest in fucking pieces lana), she followed DAGGER-1’s idea of using the ALA as cover, attempting to prop it up. … and she realized why they had so much trouble with it. Except for her, she didn't even bother retaliating. Not right now, anyway. She needed a moment.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 6, 2018 0:09:07 GMT -6
Static reverberated throughout Linnea's Hoplite. Her monitor buzzed, indicating that she was receiving a signal from the ALA she had picked up as a shield.
On the other side of the battlefield, Myra began calculating the rate of her descent. She considered the angle of approach, standard gravitation, and even wind pressure. The Peltast's tail-fin adjusted to Myra's specifications.
"Copy that, Basset. Sticking to melee to minimize collateral."
Her Peltast's thrusters gave her a small 'bump' upwards as she neared the end of the mountainside, allowing her to glide across the air while her forward momentum came to a gradual halt. Myra quite literally hit the ground running. Her heat sword was already drawn and ready by the time she reached the hangar doors, shield held up to protect against returning beam fire. Myra plunged her sword into the crack between the hangar doors, aiming to disarm DAGGER-3's beam rifle.
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Post by fen on Feb 6, 2018 0:44:54 GMT -6
DAGGER-3's beam rifle was struck, the heat sword cutting into it cleanly, erupting from the other side with nary a protest. The rifle's barrel fell apart, and DAGGER-3 seemed to back up as if to retreat. DAGGER-1's focus shifted from Fawn, who had barricaded herself from their shots, to quickly tilt to Jingo. His rifle began to fire, bullets pounding off her raised shield, but it quickly rectified its aim towards her cockpit, trying its best to follow up.
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Linkyu
Cosmic Kiddie
aaa
Posts: 47
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Post by Linkyu on Feb 7, 2018 13:28:05 GMT -6
Kara followed behind Myra, although she landed much earlier. Since the hangar was too close to risk using ranged weapons, she used her momentum to rush towards DAGGER-1. With her combat knife already drawn, she took advantage of the Peltast's distraction to get in close and attempted to pull the DAGGER's rifle up, away from Myra; her knife was thrust in the head's direction already. This was standard maneuvers, she thought, but the weight and sizes of the machines made it feel much more impactful.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 7, 2018 23:30:42 GMT -6
Kara’s assault left DAGGER-1 with a deep gash through its mechanical skull, exposing complex electronics that sparked wildly as she withdrew her knife. The defaced machine stumbled backwards. Bullets flew aimlessly from its assault rifle, grazing the Peltast’s shoulder. Myra adjusted her shield to block the incoming gunfire, then removed her heat sword from between the hangar doors. The Peltast reached for its hip with its other hand and drew a pistol, firing off several rounds into DAGGER-1’s cockpit to finish the job.
"Thanks for the assist, Echo. Mind helping me open these hangar doors?"
Myra holstered her pistol, silently cursing herself for resorting to a ranged weapon. It was a mistake she couldn’t afford to make once they were in the hangar.
With DAGGER-1’s destruction assured, all that remained were the survivors in the hangar. While most had fled, it wasn’t as if they were able to exit the hangar- the doorways they could have taken would have put them in the headlights of the DAGGERs still there. A certain engineer and his assistant were posted up behind the leg of a BLADE, apparently a martian capture. The engineer peeked out from behind safety, pouting.
"Oh no… I know that look in their eye-"
"…It’s a machine."
He shot his assistant a glare, the lad simply shrugging, pulling together an innocent smile in response.
"Believe me! Its saying: ‘What are we going to do?! We’re going to die!’"
"Well, you could probably get that information from other things…"
DAGGER-3 had stumbled back, the rifle essentially scrap as it crashed to the ground. It ‘looked’ at DAGGER-4, who promptly raised a shotgun, priming the barrel towards the entrance. DAGGER-3 instead picked up a shield it had set aside the hangar door, arming it against itself as it scrambled for a heat dagger. Instead of handling the door, it turned around, slowly making its way towards the back, head scanning for where the engineers may have been.
Meanwhile, Linnea caught her breath behind the fallen ALA, grateful for the backup. With the duo being closest to the hangar and DAGGER-1 successfully neutralized, she examined the ALA beside her. It wasn't completely destroyed like some of the others; the cockpit was intact, but too badly damaged to move.
... ah.
"Basset, I'm going to need your help when we're done with this. There's someone in here."
Once she'd pinged the machine on the radar for Ernest to see, she gently set the ALA back against the ground and moved out from behind it, a little closer in the direction of Ernest's Hippokon. Standing without cover, she raised her beam rifle, holding it steady with both hands, and waited.
The moment the hangar doors were open and she caught sight of the DAGGER, she fired.
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Post by fen on Feb 9, 2018 5:51:48 GMT -6
The laser spiraled out, making contact with the DAGGER's back. The first shot made a significant dent into the DAGGER'S back thruster, melting much of what was there, which caused the machine to stumble. The second shot clean through the cockpit, melting a relatively small hole from its back out from its chest. It froze, unable to move. Anyone outside of an AA might of heard a creaking noise, as the machine tilted, until finally settling- standing.
With DAGGER-3 destroyed, all that remained was DAGGER-4, which immediately began to fire out towards Myra, its spread eviscerating the hangar door- shotgun shells wildly tearing it apart. Once that section of the hangar had suitably been destroyed, the DAGGER turned to spray at the door Kara was opening- once more destroying it beyond repair, the destroyed hangar doors forcing the two to readjust.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 9, 2018 16:18:33 GMT -6
Myra and Kara stepped aside as the hangar’s doors were shredded in their hands, taking cover on each side of the hangar. Bits of the hangar doors left shrapnel scattered across their machines, most of the melted metal bouncing harmlessly off the frames. Some managed to lodge itself between the joints of Myra’s arm, and more left visible scratches across Kara’s main camera.
Myra raised her Peltast’s shield as she counted off the shotgun’s blasts, arm creaking as it settled into place. Kara kept her position on the side of the doorway. With a few switches flipped and buttons pressed, she set a macro to her DAGGER’s knife. Kara’s machine turned to Myra’s as she shouted into her comms.
“Switch and cover me, I’ll disarm the target!”
“Affirmative.”
The Peltast passed the open doorway, its shield catching wide shotgun fire. As soon as it neared the other side Kara stepped behind Myra’s Peltast, using her companion as cover. In the small window where her machine was exposed, Kara catapulted the knife into DAGGER-4’s arm.
The shotgun fell to the floor as her blade severed the pilot’s connection to its hand. Myra didn’t wait to watch it drop. Before Kara could even say “Go!”, Myra dashed towards her opponent. Her heat sword slowed as it carved its way into DAGGER-4’s cockpit, then flicked molten machine gore across the hangar walls as it emerged. The bisected DAGGER fell into two distinct pieces: its legs stood upright while everything else crashed into the ground.
“Stretching the definition of ‘melee’, aren’t you?” Myra teased.
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Post by fen on Feb 10, 2018 3:34:01 GMT -6
All four of the DAGGER's had been destroyed. Their wrecks rested silently against the pavement. The winds had picked up. Although the damage had been minimal to the base- lives had been lost. For better or for worse, one of the first engagements on Earth, one of the first of the many- had been a success. Still, it bore repeating: lives had been lost. For some, this may have been their first engagement. For others, a strange twist on an old favorite. As the machines stood there, their comms flashed and beeped, indicating an incoming message as they were connected straight to the Menaulion. "All units, prepare for evac. Prior to returning, please recover the assets on location. The base personnel should be contacting you about a transfer." Before any of them could so much as breath the start of a response, Myra and Kara's cameras could probably notice that their cameras were picking up something that normally wasn't too wanted. Two figures were looming near the slain DAGGER that Myra had just finished off, apparently not bothered at all by the cut-in-two machine, one of them even jumping up in an attempt to catch the Peltast's attention. The other, heaving as if to catch his breath: heavy books and folders in his arms, was not looking as pleased. --- HEY MUSICThe Menaulion was just off-shore. Pick-up was done either via the Hippokon, or with a particularly trust-worthy boost jump upward. In the case of the Phoros or the Athen, neither was particularly needed. Yaz would lament that this sort of thing was unfortunate, but she was in no place at all to complain. The deck would open up towards the front of the Menaulion, extending a ramp and opening up the hangar. One by one they landed, each moving into their designated stall. The hangar was busy- mechanics hustled from stall to stall, some were dedicated to a specific pilot, but many were generalists, going to wherever they were needed most. "I want teams A and D to work on the Peltast and DAGGER! We'll do maint' checks on everything else, but prioritize those two!" The voice on the intercom came from a figure who had somehow managed to climb onto a few crates placed haphazardly onto the middle of the hangar. He was clearly young, but he had the look of a polished mechanic- not too tall, not too short, the grease on his arms unintentionally showed off some muscle. Thick square glasses framed his eyes, just barely shielding them from grime and dirt. For someone young, his darkish blonde hair already had a few streaks of gray. "Ah! You there!" He pointed at the Spartan that had just entered, the machine lumbering forward into the hangar, its chain gun shot off and bearing frost along its handle. "When you get to your stall, disconnect the gun into your weapon rack! We gotta check it for warping!" There was no promise Sean would even see him- let alone pay attention to him, but Mr. Mechanic nodded to himself triumphantly as they all lumbered into their places. The Phoros's cockpit opened up, the door lowering to act as a ramp. Cain stepped out, tugging at his collar to release some of that pressure that had been building up, the pilot letting out a sigh of relief. He lifted his hand, waving at a mechanic who lowered the walkway connecting his 'stall' to his machine, finally freeing him of it. To say piloting an AA came naturally would be... Mostly wrong. He was used to flying, and yeah- the Phoros could do some of that. Yet it was still awkward to turn, and shots needed to be aligned differently. To him, it was weird. He stepped towards the edge of the walkway, another mechanic bustling by him. He pressed himself against the railing to let them through, but his gaze shot straight towards the one on the intercom- without much hesitation, Cain gave him a shout. "Hey, are you the head mechanic?" Mr. Intercom spun around, his eyes totally hidden by the glare of the light against his glasses. "Nope! Just subbing in! Yaz is busy overseeing some internals!" Huh. He thought, leaning onto the railing, the pilot's hand gracefully cupping his chin. His gaze went from the mechanic in the center, over to the Hoplite that had just settled nearby. As its cockpit opened, it slowly revealed... "HEAR YE HEAR YE!"A not too familiar blue haired man, clearly mid twenties, maybe breaching late twenties, stepped out from the cockpit ramp, precariously dangling by the edge for just a moment before spinning, arms sweeping wide. "FEAR NOT! FOR I, CINCO DEWAY, HAVE ARRIVED!" The lab-coat wearing man fell to a knee, spreading his arms wide, eyes shut- basking in the radiance of... ...Nothing? He quickly spun around, leaning forward, taking the hand of the pilot of the Hoplite- Linnea, and dragging her out. "And for you! My knight in shining armor! Oh for you... Yes, well, we must get you much nicer armor, of course!" Whatever momentum he had with that speech was lost as his eyes fell on the Hoplite's visage, his gaze locking squarely upward against its head. "Oh no no no, this will not do! A hero such as yourself, far more prestige is required, yes, far more...!" Similarly, yet also not at all, a dirty blonde lab coat wearing assistant also emerged from an AA- but from the Hippokon. He very briefly turned to its pilot as he exited, flashing an uncertain smile. "Ah, thank you for delivering me here. It was a smooth ride." From across the hangar, he could very clearly see AND hear what was going on, and the assistant could do little but to grumble as the walkway connected to the Hippokon. As each pilot emerged from their machines, the deck to the hangar would retract and slowly shut. The sunlight that had graced some of the stalls towards its exit disappeared, instead replaced entirely by artificial light. For a moment- all was quiet, until the sound of waves against metal could be heard, and the familiar creak of the vessel as it began to dive soon followed. Maybe they gave each other looks, or maybe they were quiet and to themselves. With the end of this mission was the start of a long relationship between all of them, as squad mates and more. ... .. ... Cain glanced down at his PDA, giving it a once-over as a message buzzed in. Meeting at 18:00 on bridge. Do not be tardy.
Ah, well, they had time.
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