Linkyu
Cosmic Kiddie
aaa
Posts: 47
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Post by Linkyu on May 30, 2018 16:29:59 GMT -6
Inside was your standard office fare: a wide desk centered in the entrance, a handful of couches flanking the walk in. It was all dark, and to their knowledge: there didn’t actually seem to be anything out of place inside. No people, no ‘traps’, nothing out of the ordinary. From a quick peek, it seemed they could pass by the front desk to the rest of the first floor, or take the stairs nearby to the second and third floors.
Kara motioned to follow her and entered the building; they checked each corner and advanced past the front desk. She wished they had had the time to also don body armour, but at least the wetsuit by itself made their footsteps very quiet, albeit leaving some obvious tracks.
As they approached the door that led past the reception and into the rest of the first floor, Kara eyed up at a security camera. This whole infiltration hinged on the gamble that if the building was occupied, whoever did it weren’t manning the control room. They paused. Kara pointed to the right side of the door for Myra to take position as she placed herself on the other side, back to the wall, then mouthed the countdown to her. 3. 2. 1.
The moment after Kara reached one, Myra opened the door with her palm. She couldn’t help but feel like anything–or anyone– could emerge. Part of her considered the possibility of some eldritch abomination or wide-eyed extraterrestrial coming to snap them up, jolting her from a nightmare that felt all too real. She quietly swallowed the sickening feeling that had lodged itself deep in her throat as Kara entered the door, her gun at the ready.
The two were greeted with the sight of a row of office cubicles, neatly lined up in a short-ish room. Flanking each side of the room, towards the back, were clearly marked maintenance doors. In terms of a presence, however, there seemed to be none. The moonlight eerily leaked in from the sides of the building, allowing them to confirm the lack of any other human beings.
Kara kept her weapon up and turned towards the left, crouched and away from the windows, to stay hidden behind the shadows of the cubicle walls. There was no proof to her that they were no one hidden in those, so she preferred to follow the outer wall instead of going through, in the middle of the cubicles. If they were to get ambushed, she’d rather be caught with their backs to the wall than being surrounded. With each cubicle they passed by, Kara and Myra took turns to inspect them briefly while the other advanced. Desk after desk, they steadily went through the room and finally stopped in front of the maintenance door.
Somewhere along the way, Myra had swiped a misplaced keycard from inside one of the cubicles, letting its plain lanyard hang around her neck. ‘Same as before?’ she mouthed.
Kara nodded and placed herself against the side of the door. As Myra got in position on the opposite side, she put an ear against the cold surface, but couldn’t hear anything; possibly due from the thickness of the metallic door. Once ready, she mouthed the countdown to Myra again; as soon as she twisted and pulled the handle, Kara went in, sights aligned, and Myra right behind.
The interior of the maintenance room was sparse, walls lined with tubing, with a large generator off towards the right side. The room was fairly long, but not all too wide, and the two could barely move past each other. Towards the generator, the room seemed to open up more, and the longer they were there, the more it seemed like the generator was in fact in its own room entirely. Upon closer inspection, an exit door could be seen- presumably leading out to the back.
Kara approached the generator slowly, looking around. She glanced to Myra and pondered aloud, her voice just above a whisper.
“You’d think they would put a generator of this size underground, but this works fine for us I suppose.”
“Budget cuts, maybe?”
“Maybe. Probably cheaper to have it here than to protect it properly from the humid underground, I suppose.”
Once they confirmed the room was clear, Kara relaxed slightly and investigated the machine. There was a decent chance that this was part of what they were looking for, but there was only very little designations. The SMG, dangling on her chest, sometimes clanged softly against the panelling of the machinery as she searched harder to reach places. Eventually, she sighed and brushed herself off.
“I’m not … entirely sure, but I think this is just a backup generator. Still good to know it’s there at least.” She grabbed her weapon and pointed at the door in the back. “Let’s keep going.”
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Post by fen on May 30, 2018 17:27:06 GMT -6
Click.
“It’s time.”
His words cut through the silence of the night, Kenichi checking his rifle one last time before giving his companion a good kick in the side to wake him up. He looked him over with sharp eyes, before pulling his face mask up. A mechanical click could be heard as it locked into place, LEDs briefly illuminating an outline of it before fading away entirely.
Now muffled, his voice spoke again.
“You take the right hallway, I’ll take the left. You remember where the mines are, right? If you don’t, just stay put.”
With a groan he stands, dusting himself off and slinging his weapon over his shoulder. Yeah let's pretend that doesn't smart. The dull pain in his side and leftover grogginess ebbing away, he steels himself for what's next – that is, confrontation.
The fire reignites and the smirk makes its return. "Yeah, yeah I get it, just worry about yourself," he says, giving the other a pat on the back.
He makes a start down the hall with a lot more covertness than one might expect from someone who seemed so loud, but of course, they hadn’t exactly made things easy for their opposition, and he wasn’t about to make himself a target. Still, the way he holds himself, the way he slips his gun into his hands, holds it steady, it sends a message out to whoever or whatever had cared to join them: Bring it on.
----
Ken had slipped himself down the hall, kicking the door to one of the two major rooms slightly ajar. The room was filled with cubicles, and it lead down to another hall which held the stairwell and a broom closet. As it happened to be, Ken wasn’t just staring down one of the major rooms, but also had a near direct shot of the stairwell.
His companion, on the other hand, had a similar room to look at, with the addition of a nice broom closet. Exciting. The cubicles had been layered with a handful of mines, like the first floor. Anyone with a lick of sense would realize that wading directly through cubicles would be bad news, but they could avoid it on the first floor. It was, in a sense, a way of weeding out the dumb. They had passed test one.
Test two was a different story.
Once again the cubicles were littered with small personal mines, but this time there was less room to maneuver, and though they could take a shortcut through the maintenance room, that had its own drawbacks. None of that had really concerned Ken at this point, though. They were coming up the stairs, and he pressed himself against the wall beside his door, scanning the room, waiting.
“Confirm when you’re in position.”
With the possibility of some type of face off pretty much confirmed, he's moving with a lot more enthusiasm.
"I'm here," the reply on the heels of the other's command as he gets himself poised and ready in the opposite room. Now all there was to do was to wait for further instruction ... and maybe hope the traps didn't get to his opposition before he could get a bit of action.
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Post by S☆E on Jun 1, 2018 18:33:51 GMT -6
The Red Sun’s trajectory initially seemed like it would plummet into the docks, but a quick twist on its thrusters and it rocketed to land on the dock just beside the ship. Its landing coincided with a loud crash and a flare of fire, as its mono-eye lit up in the dark, illuminating the figures below. Quite a few assaulters that hadn’t made it onto the ship, or were just playing backup, stared in shock at the machine. Some mouthed words to others quickly and loudly, pointing at the ATs set up on the road beside them.
The Arlington from above would notice much of the same: a minor road ran beside their dock, and somehow a collection of what seemed to be six ATs had snuck onto it, their barrels twisting now to aim at the Red Sun. Their assault on the Menaulion had, for the moment, paused.
For a moment, Gabe’s attention was drawn to the scurrying soldiers running on scene, the beeping of the Red Sun’s systems finding more relevant targets reminding him of what his real focus was. He didn’t like the idea of using the bazooka in a situation like this; too much of a risk of friendly fire, not to mention collateral damage. Instead, he’d elected to launch with his rifle at the ready, taking shots at the closest ATs as soon as his system had properly locked on, immediately starting to move once he’d landed.
Each shot he took landed, and one after another AT were struck, tilting at their sides before a small burst followed, spitting out shards of metal and pillars of smoke. Though some had elected to attempt firing at the Red Sun, it became very clear very fast that it didn’t matter, and soon enough the pilots began to see individuals exit their ATs, sprinting away from combat.
From his position Ernest watched Gabe make quick work of the ATs. Their enemy was grossly outclassed. Suspiciously so. “Stay frosty out there, Shockwave. I’m feeling like these small fries are not what we’re out here for. Based on the report from Echo and Merlin it’s possible there might be AA presence to contend with.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised. Couple of ATs ain’t gonna do shit versus a ship they know is crammed full of AAs.” The Red Sun looked around for any targets he may have missed, keeping close to the Menaulion and the Arlington. It was definitely suspicious that things were, at least relative to the two of them, fairly quiet. Either they hadn’t been expecting anyone to get to their mechs, or more likely, someone was waiting for them. “There any sign of movement in the water that ain’t one of ours?”
The smoldering husks of the ATs were all that remained, as the invading Martians were slowly being repelled out from the Menaulion. Armored transports lined the entrances, and the two could slowly see them start back up, one already in the process of getting geared to retreat- either foolishly presuming they were not yet seen, or simply unaware of how things had developed outside.
A comm link from the Menaulion contacted both of the machines.
“Our current prerogative is to presume the city of Shanghai is enemy territory, Merlin, Fawn, and Dropkick are going to enter the city soon to repel a possible follow up assault. We don’t detect any other contacts nearby the Menaulion, yet. Stay alert.”
“Roger that. I got a bead on the enemy APCs. Want me to dust ‘em?” The Arlington raised its rifle in the direction of the vehicles attempting to collect the remaining enemy forces.
“...Confirmed. Our current MO is to reduce their ability to perform a follow up assault.”
“Roger, wilco.” Ernest pulls the trigger, a barrage of bullets shredding through the vehicles. The transports armor might have held against conventional weaponry but it didn’t fare so well against AA-scale munitions. In moments the APCs were reduced to smoldering slag. “Shockwave, I’m going back up for a better view. If things get heated I’ve got your back.” Shifting his Hippokon into its transport mode Ernest takes to the air, scanning the area above the Menaulion and waiting.
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Post by fen on Jun 2, 2018 15:40:55 GMT -6
Cain weaved his way in through the crowd of mechanics and engineers, eventually making his way to his machine. At this point, the pain had dulled enough that he had managed to move by himself. It still sucked, but the time he bought by simply pushing through was enough to reach his maintenance ladder. With a deep breath, he began to heave himself up, carefully trying to not push too much weight onto his injured leg, until he managed to scramble into the cockpit. Fumbling inside, the pilot eventually got to his seat, hoisting himself onto it and beginning start up preparations.
The Kirin had already launched, as did the Arlington and Red Sun. From what he could manage from the radio chatter as the Wolfsbane started up was that Gabe had already gotten to work, and the two had the Menaulion more or less secured.
As his Phoros locked onto the launch ramp, he looked over to the Spartan being prepped on the ramp besides him. It technically wasn’t the first time the two had worked together, but it was the first time they would be working so closely.
Roland, huh? The grip on his throttle tightened if only for a second. The lights before them lit green, and he pushed forward.
“Merlin, Wolfsbane, launching.”
---
The Highlander was prepared only moments after the Wolfsbane, their frames standing side-by-side in the hangar. Sean gripped the side of the maintenance ladder with his good arm, letting it sidle up the cold metal as his legs carried him up. He skipped a couple rungs near the top, sliding into the cockpit like a movie star leaping into the window of a moving car. Settling into the reupholstered seat, Sean began the startup procedures on his machine.
Sean glanced over to his partner’s machine as the Spartan locked its feet firmly into the launch pad. The Phoros stared dead ahead, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Cain was thinking. Probably wishing he hadn’t gotten out of bed, he concluded with a soft chuckle. A small part of him felt the same way.
His grip on the throttle tightened, holding on as if his very life depended on it. When the light ahead turned green he jammed the throttle forward.
“Dropkick, Highlander, launching! Try and clean this place up a little while I’m gone, would ye?”
---
While the Wolfsbane shot into the sky, the Highlander hit the ground much like the Red Sun had, though his friend had no doubt cleaned up much of the trouble there. For a few brief moments, it seemed like things had already been solved, and their sortieing was a bit of overkill on the Menaulion’s part.
That was until the Wolfsbane banked a hard left, narrowly avoiding a stray shot which soon exploded behind it. For the same amount of time they had spent feeling relieved, they felt despair. Not so long after, Cain’s voice came on in the comms.
“...Three contacts confirmed deeper in Shanghai, one GR5, one GR6-”
The Wolfsbane dipped again, avoiding yet another shot.
“Fawn, Dropkick, I’ll try to provide cover. Seems like they have more on their side.”
Well this was embarrassing.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jun 2, 2018 15:51:05 GMT -6
The silence had been suffocating.
Far from the Menaulion, a hulking machine soared over the sea. Watching. Waiting. A vulture that circled a carcass that lay half-buried in desert sands. The crimson machine defied classification; though its hull was shaped like that of a light transport ship, the visage of an unidentified AutoArmor was affixed to its front. Its cameras leered forward as the machine impatiently skirted the edge of international waters.
Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.
The pilot’s heel smacked hard against the metal floor. Years they’d wait for this opportunity, and yet this final hour proved to be the most excruciating. Their teeth grinded together so thoroughly that a migraine had begun to form deep in their temples. That pain only made the pilot more irate.
“You need only observe.” Their voice was commanding, hatred boiling deep within their throat. “Today I will grind their home into dust and cast it into the ocean.”
---
Leaning with her back against the wall, the other stared vacantly towards the floor. She stood there in silence, her arms folded across her chest. Normally, the excessive tapping would’ve struck a nerve, but her mind was elsewhere— racing with unpleasant thoughts. There were no words to express how she felt, so she kept her mouth shut. It seemed as though someone could cut the tension with a knife.
“Got it.” She said once the silence had been finally broken. Her attitude quickly shifted from distant to—…cheerful? “They really had it coming, huh? I can’t wait.”
---
“They’ve had it coming for fifteen years.”
As if on cue, the signal to attack lit up the pilot’s screen. Their machine leapt into gear, blasting across the sea like a meteor destined to cause a major extinction event. Soon their targeting systems lit up with display information on the Menaulion. Two additional signals pinged: a Phalanx that stood on the nearby docks and a Hippokon that patrolled the skies above. The pilot’s brow furrowed, hands trembling with rage against their controls as their gaze lingered on the latter machine.
“Mark my words... he will tear down his own walls chasing specters."
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Linkyu
Cosmic Kiddie
aaa
Posts: 47
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Post by Linkyu on Jun 4, 2018 10:57:33 GMT -6
3. 2. 1. Kara entered the room swiftly, each breached door a routine to her. Myra followed right behind, her pistol aimed forwards as well. The heavy door swung open, and they were greeted with… ...An alleyway? They were greeted with darkness, and a wall. Specifically: the wall to the next building over. To their left, an alley that eventually ended in a high fence, to their right, more alley and more buildings. The office building they were in seemed to end not far from their right, and immediately after that was an alley which spaced the next building over. A handful of crates seemed to dot the back, as if people had been moving things around, including a few dumpsters. It seemed that one of the alleyways which was wider, shot straight from the back of the building and out onto a road. This one was flanked by the building directly across from them, and another right beside.
In other words, they had just breached out of the building.
“Phhhbbbt.” Kara turned around. “Ground floor cleared, then.” “Nothing wrong with having an alternate escape route,” Myra supposed. “True.” She checked her watch. “It’s not making us save any more time though. Let’s check the upper floors.” The two quickly retraced their steps back to the front entrance. This time, they climbed up the steps ahead and cautiously entered the second floor. Three doors stood just ahead of them. The doors to the left and right led to the women’s and men’s restrooms respectively, while the plain door smack dab in the middle was clearly marked as a maintenance hall. Farther to the left and right sat several more rows of cubicles, ending in doors that led to the back of the building. By Myra’s estimation, the rooms behind them sat just above the maintenance room from before. “If the backup generator was just below, then the wiring would lead… back there, right?” “Sounds about right.” Kara whispered. “Definitely worth a check. Although...” She observed the middle door in front of them, clearly leading to a maintenance room, and cursed herself slightly. She had grown so accustomed to work with the bare minimum that in the hurry, she did not think to take a fiberscope or any accessory that would have made this much easier. Even with an ear against the door, she heard no noise from inside. She gave up and pointed right, to the door Myra mentioned. “Let’s check it out first; we’ll come back here afterwards if need be, in the end.” Myra hesitantly nodded, her grip on her handgun tightening. This whole infiltration had been eerily quiet. Kara was no less on edge, especially after the events of that day. But more particularly, she was not growing fond of the lack of people in this building. For a place that is supposed to have workers working there 24/7, they did not see any trace of that, nor any trace of violence, which meant they were either subdued swiftly by a task force, or they walked out willingly. As unlikely as that sounded, she was inclined to believe the latter after what she’d seen earlier that day. Either way, they both kept their focus and their sights on the door and steadily pushed forward. As they passed the first cubicles, Kara quickly checked each of them. Something caught her eye, but as she turned, Myra caught the creak of an opening door. She instinctively pushed Kara down, effectively interrupting her as the two were greeted with gunfire.
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moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Jun 7, 2018 16:52:53 GMT -6
“Understood, Merlin. Let’s go, then.” As the Kirin advanced through the streets of Shanghai with its shield raised, Linnea surveyed her surroundings. Most of the buildings were taller than the AAs, and with the way they were lined up on each side of the street, it felt… surprisingly uncomfortable. Like they were fenced in. There wouldn’t be much space to maneuver, lest they opted to start climbing buildings and crushing people. And speaking of people… “… where is everyone?”
“Hard to believe they evacuated the whole goddamned city in just a few short hours,” Sean mused. The Highlander was hot on the Kirin’s heels, chaingun held tightly in its hand. He idly observed their surroundings, abandoned streets and emptied hotels littering the hollow city. A few stray cars remained lifeless on the roadside, their owners long gone. Neon signs still cast multi-colored lights onto the street, the panic of evacuation forcing them to leave the electricity running late into the night. Sean didn’t envy their electricity bill.
“To think that they kept this hidden from us the whole time we were here…” He couldn’t help but be impressed at how thoroughly they’d pulled the wool over their eyes. “We should operate under the assumption that this is hostile territory. Our friends in Shanghai are few and far between.”
The Wolfsbane gained altitude in an attempt to duck out of the GR5’s range, the pilot steadily and calmly climbing. His compatriots voices didn’t fall on deaf ears, though he had concerned himself with not getting shot (again) first. Once the shooting had stopped, Cain’s Phoros swung into position, rifle aimed at the jungle of buildings before them.
Ahead of them, set up behind a handful of skyscrapers were the aforementioned GR5 and 6. The sight of them confirmed his suspicions, and Cain’s grip on his handle instinctively tightened.
“...I wouldn’t be surprised if the city was in on it from the start. Doesn’t seem like everyone is evacuated, but they definitely had the roads cleared.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see movement. Three Peltasts, dashing forward along the streets, shields up with rifles readied, each heading down towards the Highlander and Kirin.
“The initial GR5 and 6 haven’t moved, but we’ve got three GR4’s heading our way, they look like they’re splitting up to flank us.”
There was a pause.
“...Well, you.”
“They aren’t moving…?” While the two stationary opponents were worrying, three wasn’t a bad number, either; it meant that even if they did split up, only one of them would be at risk of fighting two opponents, and they still had Cain helping from above. “Fine.” That’d be enough. The adrenaline of the previous fight hadn’t worn off yet, and Lin was getting twitchy standing still. “I’ll take west. Dropkick, east. Don’t wander off too far, alright?” She didn’t wait for an answer. The Kirin moved ahead and rounded the corner heading left, sticking to the rightmost side of the street with her rifle aimed towards the intersecting streets as she passed them.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Sean replied. The irony of the situation wasn’t entirely lost on him.
The idea of splitting up against Peltasts didn’t sit well in his stomach. Dealing with them one-on-one played in their favor, not his. Still, taking the fight to narrower sub-streets and back alleys would give the two more cover and a better idea of where they would confront their enemies. The Highlander veered right. The enemy Peltast hadn’t yet turned the corner onto his street, giving him enough time to make it behind the corner of the nearest building.
Sean aimed his chaingun towards the street corner, finger hovering over the trigger.
There was a few moments of silence as the two moved into their positions, ready and waiting for their targets to move into range.
A loud boom soon followed, and then after that the voice of Cain.
“Middle one down, you guys still on yours?”
“You know, Dropkick, I’m actually still feeling rather tired. I’m sure Merlin could handle the rest of this operation by himself, if you’d like to head back to the Menaulion with me.” Her retort was followed by a single hehe and nothing else.
“Awfully tempting, Fawn. Awfully tempting.” The Peltast had taken only a couple of steps forward, given a few seconds of preparation by the Kirin’s loud yet fast approach. She swept her shield out in a motion not unlike swatting a fly, smacking the enemy AA with enough force to knock it off balance, causing a majority of their rounds to go wide. It staggered backwards to put some distance between itself and the dark-brown Hoplite, who simply turned in its direction and lifted its own rifle. Two shots shredded the Peltast’s left leg, forcing it down on one knee. The Kirin charged forward, this time with conviction. Shield held up once more, it rammed straight into the Peltast with a vicious sounding THUNK and sent it crashing into the road. It wasn’t given a chance for recovery as the Kirin stepped over it, the bottom tip of the kite shield glowing red-hot with heat. Lin drove it straight into the enemy’s cockpit. Once, twice, thrice. Maybe a fourth time for good measure. And when she was satisfied: “The left one’s done.”
The final enemy Peltast turned the corner with its rifle held tight. Before it had the chance to find its adversary, bullets pelted its frame. The Highlander’s chaingun relentlessly tore into the Peltast, damaging its rifle beyond repair. The Peltast discarded its weapon and pulled its shield close to the cockpit. The Spartan continued spraying bullets into the machine, but couldn’t finish the job quickly enough to keep the Peltast from closing the distance.
The enemy machine lunged straight towards the Highlander, a heat dagger clutched in its hand. The Spartan pulled its left leg back towards the wall, narrowing its silhouette to avoid the strike. It grabbed the Peltast by the arm and pulled hard on its fragile joint. The Peltast’s main cameras cracked as the Highlander’s head smashed into its visor. The disoriented pilot attempted to pull away, and for a moment it seemed as if Sean would let them. Before they could escape, however, the Highlander wedged its chaingun between them and fired bullet after bullet into the Peltast’s cockpit. The enemy machine stumbled backwards, crashing lifelessly against the side of a nearby office building.
“Right one down and out. Figure those two creeps have taken notice?” He paused, counting off on his fingers. “Wait… there’s a Hoplite and a Phalanx, but didn’t ye say there were three bogies, Merlin?”
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jun 9, 2018 18:54:30 GMT -6
Cain had been tapping away at this console, idly attempting to stifle the growing pain in his leg. It hadn’t taken long for him to take his target down, considering he had a gross height advantage, the other two however...
“Correct, now that I’m closer I can confirm that-”
Another shot echoed throughout the streets, and the Phoros immediately ducked to the left, swinging itself to avoid the shot as it soon exploded in the air. Cain immediately brought it down, and the Phoros landed somewhere in the center, between the Sean and Lin. Its shoulder thrusters still flared, ready to take off at any notice, but its feet were at least firmly planted on the ground.
“...It’s hard to tell, but I think they have a Spartan as well.”
He raised his rifle, staring the barrel down the street in between a few of the skyscrapers that the enemy contacts would be behind. “Their GR5 has long-range capabilities, but we still seem to be out of its ideal range, well, at least I was.”
The Phoros glanced between its allies, before settling on the skyscrapers again. “We have a minute or two before they can close the gap, how do you want handle this?”
“If the GR5’s capable of long range, we need at least one person to keep them busy so they don’t hit us from afar. Still, I feel like that means that whoever goes after the GR5 will have to do so while fending off another enemy, so… Merlin, that means you’d have to focus on helping them.” Lin fell silent. “Alternatively, we could always lure them elsewhere, but I don't know enough of the city to know where we'd want to take this."
“I just so happen to know a place,” Sean interjected. “Think ye might know it too, Fawn.”
“I… do?”
“Aye. There’s only one place in this town we both know like the backs of our own hands.”
Sean opened up a map on his console, scrolling towards the riverbend. From the hotel windows he remembered watching cars pass along the street and over the nearby bridge. “We take this fight over to the Nin-Yo and it’ll be as close as we can get to fighting on home turf… at least, for the two of us. What do ye think, Merlin?”
“You want to use a hotel as… A battlefield?”
There was obvious hesitation in his voice, or perhaps that tone of voice meant something else. In either case, the Phoros continued to aim down the street, waiting for the aforementioned GR5, GR6, and GR7 to approach. He contemplated what the two had discussed for a short while.
“That sounds stupid, but you can try it, I guess.”
There was a sigh from Lin’s side of the comms. “Believe it or not, it actually is not the stupidest idea he’s had tonight.”
“It deserves a spot in the top three I figure,” Sean chimed in.
“As an accomplice in these crimes against rational thought, I’ll put it at a solid third place. I can see the logic behind it, but we’d have to take care to avoid collateral damage.” While she knew Sean wouldn’t feel her stare from across giant robots, Lin did it anyway, squinting towards the Highlander. “There’s also the matter of how we’d lure them over there in the first place. It’s not guaranteed to work. If we ran off, realized they weren’t following us, turned around and ran back to them, we’d look like a bunch of arseholes and probably leave ourselves open in the process.”
“Well if looking like a bunch of arseholes doesn’t work, I have a few macros that might do the trick.”
There was a long period of silence. “… it’s worth a shot.”
The shoulder thrusters of the Wolfsbane flared once more, launching it into the air, rifle swinging into view again.
“I’ll distract them a bit, I don’t think either the GR6 or GR7 are equipped for long range combat.”
The Kirin began to move back, putting more and more distance between itself and the skyscrapers to get a head start on running – but not yet. While Lin wasn’t entirely sold on the plan, she’d at least give Sean cover. … and besides. She was curious to see the macros.
The Highlander took a hesitant step backwards, as if Sean was surprised that they had (reluctantly) indulged him on this. The machine gave the two a thumbs-up and marched towards the river. He kept a close eye on his sensors as he approached one of its many, many tributaries, waiting to see if his opponents would take the bait.
The Wolfsbane took to the skies, steadying its rifle as the view of the three AAs came up. He took a stray shot, the laser beam slicing through the air, narrowly missing the lead machine, instead cutting up the pavement beneath it. Although still hesitant on the plan, he did his best to bait the group into following him towards Sean, and it looked like for the most part, they were content to follow.
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Post by fen on Jun 9, 2018 19:22:29 GMT -6
“Someone want to remind me why we don’t have a Phoros on our side?”
There was a groan from somewhere in the back, no doubt from the Milkweed. Hansel, however, had bigger fish to fry. His eyes remained locked on the machine, his Garmr easily ducking between the shots, returning a few of his own. The Phoros was out of his effective range, but by spraying some rounds he could at least convince it to move in a certain direction.
Well, that was what he thought.
“...Seriously? No one? Like, I’m just thinking of how much nicer it would be if we had one just like, swoop in and shoot-”
A stray shot from the Phoros narrowly missed the Lotus, instead carving the street behind it. A surprised yelp cut through the comms, and the Lotus boosted forward not soon after, picking up some speed as if to avoid future blasts.
“Fucker!”
Hansel, once more, sighed.
“...Does she shut up at some point?” Came the voice in the back.
“Eventually.”
“Hey!”
The three of them had certainly made for a rare team.
Each a member of the Martian Orbital Guard, they had long since given up their positions to join the invasion campaign, at the behest of their main benefactor. Martians, after all, were about efficiency and results. Three orphans like them? They had been considered dead weight, an unfortunate cause from which the great mega-corps of their domed homes would have to tend to. Nevermind entirely ignoring the causes which could have placed these natural-born Martians in such a position.
If you had a benefactor, a person of power that could vouch for you, it became a different story.
To Gretel- it just meant she could live. To Hansel- it meant that when work called, he kept it personal. Keeping it personal, in his view, was what drove him to great heights. It's what kept food on the table for himself. His loyalty to his patron was second to none, and he found himself continuously rewarded for following down this path.
Adorned member of the Orbital Guard or not, it didn’t matter. He had a job, and he was going to do it.
Bianca was no different.
The pilot of the Milkweed, an eggshell white Spartan, kept her focus on the battlefield in front of her. She had no interest talking down the Phoros’s pilot, or even engaging with these pilots at all. Their mission, their goal, was the Menaulion. Everything else seemed like a distraction. Her shield and rifle steadied as they continued to move. She followed Hansel’s lead, though she couldn’t help but feel that it was unlikely they’d achieve their goal. The last time they had encountered these pilots, from what she heard, Spitter had suffered a grave injury.
“One moment…”
Hansel’s concerned voice broke her concentration. It was unlike her.
“...Change of plans, it seems we have to entertain them.”
“...What?” Rang out her voice.
“Wait, huh?” Came Gretel’s.
“We weren’t informed of this before, and my guess is because we had to come down from the northern front, but it seems like this operation is being performed in tandem.”
“Huh?! With who? The rebels in this city?”
“Something like that. They seem more armed than they should be, though.”
“...Liberators.”
Bianca’s voice was quiet, but firm.
Gretel snorted, “Nooo way! Those crazies? They’re out in the colonies, why’d they be down here?”
“Anyways, our orders are to engage and destroy these AA. The Menaulion is already engaged by another group, and we have our command unit entering the battlefield shortly.”
There was a distinct tone at the end of his words, a scathing, almost bitter one. Bianca held onto he controls, guiding her Spartan around the corner with the rest of them.
“For now, let’s take the bait.”
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jun 11, 2018 13:47:24 GMT -6
It wasn’t obvious immediately, mainly due to the nature of the cubicles and darkness obscuring the general area, but the sound- and the sight of splintering cubicle walls soon filled their vision. The sound died down quickly, and a fractured cubicle wall came down against the ground beside them.
From the destruction, it was clear that someone was already posted by the door they were aiming for, and they had seen them.
Kara gritted her teeth and slowly kneeled back up. She pointed towards the cubicles and turned to Myra, warning her about the mines in a hushed tone. Myra cocked her eyebrow upwards. Was that how they planned to compensate for their lack of manpower?
As she re-assessed the situation, Kara improvised a new plan. She pointed towards the near corner of the room and motioned for Myra to sneak closer. Kara brought her SMG up and fired back through the cubicles to provide covering fire. Myra kept her head down as she approached, pausing for only a moment as she neared the corner. Digging her heel into the drab, carpeted floor, she leapt out from her cover and aimed straight into the crack between the door and the wall, firing several rounds towards her opponent.
Shots had been fired, but none seemed to truly find their mark. The door Myra had fired through eventually swung open, but a figure wasn’t present where she had thought there was- or maybe it had just moved. Instead, the rifle poked out from behind the the other side of the opened door, the figure having swapped his position, and blindly fired into the room. Though inaccurate, it punched some holes into the nearby cubicles, until the one closest to Kara had more or less fallen apart.
It didn’t seem to stay, and the rifle (along with the figure) seemed to retreat deeper into the room; door still left open.
Kara slowly rose up again, thankful that no mine detonated near her. This did give her an idea, however. Blowing up one of the mines might draw the enemy out… but it might trigger a chain reaction if the mines are strong enough. Myra glanced over to her. The gears in her partner’s mind were turning, her expression one Myra was all too familiar with. Making sure their assailant was out of earshot, she whispered to Kara.
“Alright, let me hear it…”
“It’s a risky shot, but I’m thinking we can draw him out if we feign getting caught by the mines. We’ll take cover from the blast from behind this door.” She checked the side of her weapon; still enough left in the magazine for a couple more bursts. “On my mark, you follow me inside and brace.”
Myra sighed, taking the opportunity to reload her handgun. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Kara reviewed her plan one last time in her head, then executed herself in split-second movements. She grabbed her holstered pistol and opened the door wide, ready to shoot; she noticed a door in the back, but not seeing anything else at first glance, she turned around.
“Go!”
As Myra passed her, she grabbed a hefty file case that had fallen on the ground and threw it towards the mines she saw earlier.
The result was instantaneous; as the file case passed by the first mine, the entire cubicle it fell into disappeared in a cloud of dust and shredded shipping inventory documents. Multiple pieces flew across the room and triggered a couple more mines, reducing the office room to a warzone.
As the dust settled, Kara kept the sight of her rifle pointed at the door on the other side while Myra aimed door their assailant had slipped into. They were both in the shadow, ready to act at any second.
---
Ken’s voice came in on his companion’s comm link, quiet and as serious as ever, though the faint sound of him reloading his gun could be heard.
“They seem to be moving, set up on that door and stay put. If you see any movement in the maintenance hall, shoot.”
The words "Stay put" are pretty easy to understand: yet the apprentice finds himself reacting, with an immediacy that can only be described as instinctual, towards the sound of the explosion.
Eager is one way to put it – bloodthirsty is another. Despite the words of his superior he's positioned himself outside of the maintenance hall, finger on the trigger, eyes scanning for movement.
Ken, meanwhile, was well aware that they had ducked into better cover. It was smart, he gave them that much, but it was looking more and more like an uphill battle for them. He tapped his waist, snatching a smoke grenade he then tossed around the door. It hit a piece of destroyed cubicle, spewing smoke into the large room.
He locked his gun once more, moving back towards the door to ready himself for his second assault.
---
Myra motioned to Kara, as if to confirm that their plan hadn’t changed. A gesture of a hand clawing in front of her face reminded Myra to keep silent. Luckily, the two were carrying a pair of rebreathers that acted as masks to keep the (potentially toxic) smoke from entering their eyes or lungs. They quickly attached the rebreathers before the smoke seeped through the doorways, once more training their guns on the entrances in front and behind them. If he had hoped to flush them out, he would have to try harder.
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Post by Charredgp on Jun 16, 2018 18:50:49 GMT -6
“Shockwave, Basset, we’ve got another contact coming in hot from the East China Sea, their speed makes it seem like it’s a jet, but it doesn’t match anything we’ve got on hand.”
Even with a warning from the Menaulion, the two had little time to react before the crimson machine came streaking across the night sky. Two large ‘bumps’ that sat atop its hull slid out to reveal a pair of heavy chainguns. Their barrels immediately revved to life, whirring as they sent bullets flying towards Ernest’s Hippokon. The machine raced past him. If the two thought this might have been a hit-and-run, they were quickly disproven as the machine slowly arced back around to face the ship.
Heavy metal impacted against the Arlington like steel raindrops, Ernest’s HUD blazing red as various systems were struck by enemy fire. “What in blazes was that? Some kinda flyin’ battleship?” he shouted over the comm. “These bastards are playin’ hardball! Shockwave, you got something big enough to put a hole in that bastard?”
“Couldn’t be a ZGA for somethin’ like this…” Gabe murmured to himself, only given a moment to muse on their incoming foe before the pair was suddenly assaulted. The Red Sun shot forward in an effort to dodge as much gunfire as possible, already going through the motions to switch to his trusty bazooka. No guarantees it would be effective, but it was better than the rifle. “Only one way to find out, yeah?” He replied, taking aim and firing at the red machine.
The Brutus tightened its turn towards the Menaulion, narrowly avoiding the rocket. The explosive lit up the night sky behind the hulking machine, leaving a sinister silhouette. A second pair of ‘bumps’ on the underside of the machine extended to reveal a pair of rocket launchers. The Red Sun wasn’t the only one packing heat around here, and the Brutus sent a couple ‘reminders’ its way as it made its second pass. The Arlington wasn’t spared in its assault, another wave of bullets cascading against its frame as the crimson machine passed.
A voice suddenly interrupted Ernest’s communications channel, whispering yet rapturous. “How’s that leash treating you, Orthrus?”
For a moment Ernest’s blood ran cold. That voice… It can’t be. He shook his head, hardening his resolve. “Our enemy’s really done their research.” Ernest replied, weaving through the oncoming fire. “I gotta say, impersonating someone’s dead friend is pretty low, even for war standards.” Bringing the Arlington around, he shifts into combat mode, firing on the red behemoth.
Ignorant of the reunion going on above, Gabe was focused mostly on not-dying and returning fire. Once he saw the Brutus send some shots his way, the Red Sun weaved side to side as it continued to rush forward. The explosions from the enemy machine’s assault were closer than he would have liked, feeling the force rattle him in his cockpit, but he was mostly unscathed for now.
“Slippery bastard, ain’t he? Might need to herd him into a solid shot, Basset.”
“Copy that.” Gliding down, the Arlington cut its engines and fired up at the enemy machine as it sped overhead. “If you are who I think you are then answer me this: Which cartoon character did we both have a secret crush on when we were kids?”
“Talulah Moxie,” the pilot shot back. “Seven Star Squad. It took three days to marathon the whole show together, but I slept through every episode she wasn’t in.” Prosthetic hands gripped tightly against the machine’s controls. Words that seemed nostalgic came out dripped with pain, hissed between gritted teeth. The Arlington’s bullets ricocheted off the machine’s hull, threatening only to chip its paint.
The Brutus made another tight turn back around, a mess of gunmetal thrusters housed at its backside visible for only a moment. The crimson machine sped towards them once more. Laser rifles housed at its front focused their fire on the Hippokon’s rifle, melting a hole in its side and taking out the Arlington’s right hand with it.
A heart-wrenching disbelief coursed through Ernest’s heart like venom, causing the old soldier to falter. “That- No, that can’t be you, Robbie.” He swallowed hard, the explosion of his machines rifle and hand shaking his cockpit. “You’re dead. Y-you and Nona-”
“Nona is dead. Only I remain, a phantom.”
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Post by S☆E on Jun 16, 2018 19:11:10 GMT -6
[♪]The Brutus gave Ernest little time to rest, slowing itself to encircle the Arlington. Gunfire from its chaingun kept the Hippokon dancing while lasers scarred the machine red. A rocket raced past him, a miss by any standard– until the explosive crashed against the hull of the Menaulion. For now, the ship held steady. “Something tells me you aren’t taking this seriously, Orthrus. Have the years dulled your edge?” A hit to the ship, and the Arlington was taking some heavy damage. Not a good sign for their part of the job. With the fire not focused on him anymore, Gabe could focus on the target at hand. Ernest seemed to have managed to catch their opponent’s eye, and he aimed to capitalize on that. In quick succession, two more shots were fired at the Brutus, one missile aimed directly at its vulnerable rear, and another just ahead and to the side. Even if neither of them hit directly, he was going to feel something from them at least. Inside the Hippokon there was silence as Ernest processed what was happening. His machine struggled to maintain itself beneath the hail of lasers and gunfire as the shock settled. You’ve already mourned the man once, Ernest. It was years ago, put away on the shelf old and bitter. Whatever Robbie was must be long gone by now, this thing left ain’t him. “That don’t mean this don’t hurt…” Ernest raggedly spat, his hands trembling on the throttle as he haphazardly swerved through the air. You’ve hurt before. This ain’t the worst thing you’ve felt. This ain’t the divorce, or the news that came before it. You gotta get back in the saddle, if not for you then for these kids you’re fighting for.The noise of his HUD snapped Ernest out of his stupor. The Arlington’s hull integrity was falling dangerously low and there was severe structural damage to the remainder of the left arm. “Robbie…” Ernest said, soft and sad, “Out of all my friends that coulda come back to haunt me, I’m glad it was you.” Bringing his AA around to face the Brutus, Ernest flipped every switch on his weapons panel. His shoulder and leg binders revealed their explosive payload and a torrent of missiles streaked towards the monstrous red machine from different angles. “It won’t be as hard to bury your stubborn ass a second time!!”
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Post by fen on Jun 16, 2018 22:23:09 GMT -6
“They’re taking the bait, I think.”
Cain’s Phoros began to back away, leading the group over closer to Sean and Lin. They were still not entirely engaged with each other, and there was a distinct worry in Cain’s mind that they wouldn’t take the bait, and instead move off to engage the Menaulion. That would be a problem all of its own, and so it rested almost entirely on Sean’s plan. That, in hindsight, felt like a dumb decision.
“You two ready? They’ll be making a pass by you. If you want to bait them deeper into the area, you’ve got your chance.”
“Afraid I don’t have time to come up with anything halfway decent,” Sean confessed. For every good idea that crossed his mind, another fifty unspeakably dumb ones wormed their way in. So long as he could provoke at least one of them into a fight, it would break their formation and force the other two to decide whether to split up or continue marching on. “Hope whatever I’ve got will make do.”
The Highlander’s pace slowed as it approached the water, turning its head to scan the area for anything that might match what he was searching for. Its gaze settled on a cigar store that sat at the edge of a small creek. On its front sat a large neon sign of the red planet itself, reminding him of how deep this city’s blood ran. He didn’t feel too bad about rending the sign from the building, hoisting it over his shoulder as he looked for the second piece of his plan.
An abandoned pick-up truck that sat in a nearby parking lot caught his attention. Someone had left it there in a hurry, and a quick test confirmed that they’d forgotten to use their emergency brakes. The Highlander used its heat sword to melt the backside of the sign, fixing it to the side of the car. It sheathed its sword and cupped water from the creek in its hand, pouring it over the welding to flash cool the red-hot metal. It quickly turned to steam and momentarily clouded his vision before dissipating. Satisfied, he left a little ‘surprise’ in the bed of the truck and positioned the pick-up truck to roll into the street across from them.
“Just about ready on my end. Merlin, give me a signal when they’re about five seconds from passing by. Fawn, be prepared to start firing once I get this baby rolling.”
The Kirin was positioned a little further down from where the Highlander stood, with Lin’s own preparations being far less… creative than Sean’s. Lin merely prepped her gun and aimed down the road, watching him go about his own plans with raised brows. … well, mostly. She turned her eyes away at the red planet sign, saying nothing until she was addressed again. “Ready.”
The Phoros backed up, opting to swing around some of the taller skyscrapers to hide itself, eventually coming out once more to spot the three entering the vicinity.
“They’ll be in about… Now.”
----
The three of them turned the corner and onto the street that should have led them to their targets. The plan still seemed off to Hansel, but it was out of his hands. The Garmr entered the area with its rifle cannon primed, black and red visage sweeping the area. The Lotus in all of its bright green glory, stepped in behind it, assault shotgun and shield primed. The Milkweed covering Hansel’s other side with shield and laser rifle at the ready.
“I’ll lead.” Came Gretel’s voice.
The Lotus moved forward, its shield held firmly against it. Despite being a heavy duty AA, its modifications clearly meant that the pilot preferred speed. Its back binders were shortened into three pillars, unlike the tri-pronged look of the traditional Phalanx. A slew of missile launchers were stored there, a sizeable amount of them looking to be smaller SAMs.
“Hey, wait, isn’t this…”
Hansel’s voice was cut off by a sharp ‘oooh!’ from his sister ahead. A small pickup truck scooted ahead, the truck slowly picking up speed as it began to approach the three machines. The Lotus moved its shield aside, its shoulder vulcans coming to bare.
“Ignore it.”
“But, bro-”
“Waste of ammo.”
----
The pick-up truck rolled uneventfully down the street. It eventually collided with a street lamp not far from the three enemy machines, casting a rain of sparks to shower the car as smoke began to billow from the truck’s bed. The neon sign flashed red as the area was blanketed in white smoke.
Its message was clear: Mars will go up in flames.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jun 16, 2018 22:33:59 GMT -6
The Highlander came out from the cover of a nearby building and opened fire with its chaingun. Sean kept his eyes trained on the cloud for any machines that might emerge, keeping his Spartan on the move. From here on out, there would be no time to play around.
At the same time, the Kirin also began to move, stepping onto the road the trio was traveling and adding to the storm of bullets. Even if enemy AAs chanced going straight past the Highlander, they’d run into her not too long after. If they didn’t and opted to go a different route, at least she was prepared to give chase.
The first to leave the storm of bullets was the Phalanx, who dashed ahead, shield raised. It took a few of the Highlander's bullets, its shotgun raised up and returning fire as it dashed around it, eventually finding partial cover behind a cafe. The shells arced, not aiming for the Spartan itself, but its weapon of choice- and instead shot into the machine’s hand. Its armor held, though Sean’s UI soon flared with a warning of a mechanical failure imminent.
The second was the Milkweed, which launched forward with a startling jump, crashing onto the pavement not too far out from the smoke, its shield and rifle also raised. It began to fire on the Kirin, moving slowly as it did, its laser shots meeting their mark on the Kirin's shield, slowly causing the metal to shudder and threaten to give in.
Through the smoke came the red glow of the Garmr's visor, the machine stepping out, its rifle-cannon swinging to aim towards Sean. It fired a shot, the cannon arcing and striking near the Spartan’s foot as it attempted to dodge any incoming fire, sending up a shock of concrete and dirt. It seemed, then, that the fighting had started.
Before the Hoplite could continue, it stopped, raising its shield towards the sky and shifting itself. What might have appeared to be a strange maneuver quickly changed, as a striking red beam cut through the sky, melting a hole in the Hoplite’s shield as it tilted its body away. As the beam cut through the shield, it slowly moved towards the body of the machine itself- but the Hoplite continued to move its shield along the path, forcing it to take all of the blow until it eventually detached.
The laser ceased, and Cain’s Phoros hung in the air as the red hot barrel began to cool. It spun away from the air space, opting to duck behind the cover of a nearby skyscraper to allow his gun to cool.
“Tch. Not bad.” Came a voice from the Garmr. Muddled by the comm system, it could be heard by the Menaulion squad.
“You may have had the jump on us before, but this time you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.”
The Hoplite swapped from its cannon to its kinetic rifle, and immediately began to spray towards the Highlander, opting to forgo cover as its frontal assault forced the Highlander to move.
As the shield took the hits, Lin gritted her teeth, torn between keeping her ground and taking cover. At the very least she’d managed to return fire before she ducked back behind the building she stepped out from. “The Phalanx and the Hoplite both have high performance engines; I don’t know the former, but I’ve seen the latter back at Sobolevo.” As Lin relayed the information on her screen to her teammates, she prepped the grenade launcher attachment on her rifle. “I’m not sure about the Spartan, but it looks like it’s been outfitted for melee combat—” At that point, she heard the Garmr’s pilot speak. Unable to stop herself, Lin responded in kind. “I would love to take you seriously, but…” She leaned the Kirin forward around the corner of the building with the launcher barrel angled upwards. “It’s hard when you guys paint dickbutts on your AAs.” And then she fired a single shot that arced up and towards the enemy trio.
The Highlander moved its left arm to block the Phalanx’s shotgun fire with its shield, firing its chaingun in short bursts to manage its recoil. Without a second hand keeping it steady, the weapon’s aim tended to veer wildly off-course. Sean casually dismissed the warnings that popped up on his screen. The Spartan took measured steps backwards as it turned its chaingun fire towards the now-shieldless Garmr.
Once the Kirin was behind cover, the Highlander dashed right to follow suit. It exchanged its chaingun for a pair of SMGs, firing back at the partially-obscured Phalanx down the street. “Merlin, mind raining a little ‘suppressive fire’ down on that Spartan? Fawn and I won’t have an easy time dealing with that armor before it enters melee range.”
Sean switched his communications channel to join in on the fun, but Linnea was quick on the draw. A rolling laughter suddenly overcame him as she mentioned… dickbutts? His mic picked up every second of his boisterous chortle, drowning any attempt by friend or foe to get a word in edgewise.
---
Gretel couldn’t help but snort when she heard the laughter, momentarily cutting off her fire as she shot a hand to her mouth, doing her best to stifle a giggle. She could already hear her brother groaning, though this time he had way less opportunity to complain given that they were still getting shot at. The Lotus didn’t have much to worry about in its position, the chaingun fire chunking parts of the cafe it was behind, but the Highlander's SMG rounds were pretty easily deflected by the distance it was at, and the shield it had blocking its way.
It steadied itself, Gretel’s own stifled laughter eventually ending as an explosion rocked the block. The Kirin's grenade didn’t hit the ground before it blew, forcing the Hoplite to duck away from the street, doing its best to avoid the incoming fire from both the opposing Hoplite and Spartan. The Milkweed, on the other hand, stood firm, letting its rifle cooldown for a moment before it swapped targets towards the Highlander, striking its cover. Though it was caught in the blast, the Spartan’s tough armor seemed to hold firm.
“Both of you shut up,” came Bianca’s voice amidst the fire.
Hansel, for what it was worth, kept his focus on blasting the Kirin's cover with its kinetic rifle. Chunks of building fired off in front of Fawn as he continued, undoubtedly forcing her to inch back to avoid the rest of the incoming fire. A quick order from Hansel amidst the joint laughter, and the Lotus was no longer sitting still. Its thrusters flared, and the machine skated forward, aiming its shotgun forward and holding its shield close.
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Post by fen on Jun 16, 2018 22:38:33 GMT -6
Cain had remained silent, even as Sean asked for backup. Though the Phoros was nearby, the comms gave them no contribution from it, even as rancorous laughter steadily filled it. At least, for a few minutes. The Garmr cut its suppressive fire as the Lotus dashed in its way, the stocky Phalanx aiming straight for the Hoplite’s cockpit. Time seemed to slow as the shotgun braced against its shield, ready to unleash a round that would shred the Kirin’s cockpit entirely. It was now, at this moment, that Cain opted to chime in. “...Are you guys not looking up?!” The road they were collected on soon came under bombardment, bits of pavement and dirt tossing up into the sky through the explosive strikes, stopping a few seconds later. The dust hardly had time to settle, however, as not so soon after, the better half of a tip of a skyscraper crashed into the road, sending up even more pavement and ground, scraping along the road until it reached the bridge. As the dust settled, a figure emerged from atop the crashed remnants of building. Pure white with sharp, jagged edges of armor and long shoulders. It stood on ruined building, its body primarily white, with odd almost crystalline looking structures embedded in its chest and shoulders- baby blue in coloration, the only things not white. The machine’s fingers seemed to flex, its head turning to lock its gaze on… The Kirin.
MUSICIt took a few steps across the shattered rooftop it had presumably… Thrown? Ridden? Its foot crunching the shattered pavement underneath it as it began to walk away from the rubble and towards the Kirin, completely ignoring the Highlander and others behind it. “I’ve come to save you, my dear! From, ah…” It quickly tilted back to look at the rubble, the visage of the Lotus emerging from the mess, mostly undamaged. “...That thing! Yes, right.” Its movements were… Too specific. It moved as if it were a person, tilting at the exact angles someone walking would. Its hand spread out as it stretched its arm to motion to the Phalanx. If the machine was macro’d, these were some extensive ones. More importantly, more than its movements, than its appearance, more than how it singled out the Kirin, it was the voice. “I hope you didn’t miss me! It’s been… What has it been? A few hours, maybe?” The machine’s right hand suddenly aligned with its arm perfectly, it's fingers straightening. A soft buzz could be heard, as a bright blue light began to be emitted from its fingertips, ending in a short blade. “I’ve been meaning to ask you for a dance.”
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