moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Nov 4, 2018 23:21:09 GMT -6
“Appreciated, Basset.” Lin paused. “… and Cinco, too, I suppose.” While the Kirin was quick to react in tandem with the Arlington’s takedown, sending another round towards the fallen Peltast, there was still a notable pause before the actual act – a handful of seconds that were partially attributed to prepping the rifle in its arms, but also… One, two three, four five— “The other GR4 is missing. Might be flanking.” Having remained safely within the backline of the group, the Kirin ducked back behind the factory’s walls – or at least the part of it that remained intact after the Red Sun’s inferno – and turned to the door proper, rifle aimed.
“Or maybe it’s just fleeing,” Myra chimed in. “Let’s not give it the chance.”
The Nemea pushed forward even as the enemy Hoplite approached, heat sword digging deeper into the metal flooring. A quick dip to the right was all it took for her to dodge its initial -strike. Even as the Hoplite backed away, her own blade reached out in retaliation. Though the heat sword narrowly missed its target, molten metal collected along its edge splashed against the Hoplite’s helmet, melting fragile electronics and frying the circuitry inside.
Disoriented, the enemy machine flailed its blade wildly around itself. Myra shifted her heel as her Peltast regained its stance. The moment she saw an opening, the Nemea lunged forwards. Her heat sword thrust deep into the Hoplite’s core, lingering only a moment before she pulled her weapon from the machine’s gutted corpse.
“Can’t say I’d be surprised if they wanted to run after an intro like that. Poor bastard that’s left must’ve blinked and missed what happened.”
The Red Sun emerged from its freshly-created entryway for the factory, stepping over the smoking remains of the wall and various GR4 parts. The red Phalanx rounded the corner, weapon at the ready for the final Martian AA. To Gabe’s surprise, he would be faced with a rifle pointed straight at him, a shot barely missing him as he immediately rushed to one side, returning fire with a shot to the legs from the bazooka, managing to take out a leg as it attempted to dodge the explosion. With the machine effectively pinned, it was a simple matter to finish it off with a rifle shot.
“Phalanx makes five. Any eyes on that Peltast?”
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Post by fen on Nov 8, 2018 22:08:26 GMT -6
The crew’s takedowns were quick and efficient, showcasing how far they had come as a group- though still a Peltast remained, hidden somewhere outside the factory. They could have continued to hunt it down, were it not for the sound of ensuing combat becoming obvious to them. High above in the sky were the sight of several more Gusuku-class Martian cruisers, and in the distance, a familiar shape…
...what appeared to be the Menaulion, yet colored differently, sailed through the sky. It was gray rather than black, and it bore its guns full force, blasting away at the collected cruisers without a second thought. Though distant, the group could spot the silhouettes of AAs being launched from its ramp.
Some of the figures remained in the air, while others fell outside the premises of the factory- easily a few hundred meters out as they engaged in combat with the recently deployed Martian AAs.
The brief distraction seemed to serve its purpose as the Kirin’s radar flashed once more, indicating the presence of the opposing Peltast. It had remained out of distance apparently, briefly leaving the area once combat had begun. It jumped onto the top of the factory with the strength of its boosters, and with the Red Sun in its gaze, it jumped once more to plunge its heat sword straight down into-
Bang!
The shot echoed as it struck the Peltast in its chest, tearing through it to exit and hit the roof instead. Its trail of fire seemed to consume the remains of the Peltast as it fell to the ground, scattering around the Red Sun.
“Woooooo! Nothin’ like a warm up shot to get the irons pumpin’! You alright there, Short Stuff?”
A Hippokon and Hoplite duo skirted around the factory, the communication to the group indicating it was from the pilot of the Hoplite. While most comm links were audio only, this time their newfound ally made sure it included video too.
The group was treated to the image of the Hoplite’s pilot, a tall blonde lady with a face full of freckles and the attitude that seemed to be more appropriate for a farm girl, with the guns to boot. She did bear that grin to the group, one hand on her hip as she moved to begin her Hoplite’s reloading macro.
“Aw wouldya look at that? I was right for once, you really are short! Y’all must be… Hrm, well I know there’s a Fawn, and that’s about all I remember.”
A gruffer, deeper voice rumbled. “Shockwave, Basset, Jingo, and Fawn. You remember now?”
“Oh! Right! Ayyye! Well, y’all can just call me Spittle, and this here’s-”
“Buffalo. We’re your backup, from your sister ship the Nias. Whatever it is you guys are doing down there, better make it quick, I think they’re getting ready to bomb the place!”
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Nov 10, 2018 19:38:25 GMT -6
“No shit? Knew I should have trusted my gut on that one,” Myra mumbled to herself. The Nemea quickly surveyed its surroundings before sheathing its weapon. For now, the perimeter was secure; there was precious little time to wait and see if the enemy would send more reinforcements.
“You two better pull your weight around here, then, because we’re working double-time.”
The Peltast motioned for the others to fall in behind her, approaching the elevator once more. It cautiously stepped onto the platform and waited for its teammates to follow suit. Once they were all aboard, the Nemea began to fiddle with the elevator’s control panel.
“...”
The elevator remained in place. The Peltast continued to mash seemingly random buttons, growing increasingly frustrated with the device as her machine started kicking against the metal like it was a faulty vending machine stubbornly refusing to give her candy. Soon, Myra’s shoulders collapsed in defeat.
“Haven’t got a clue how to work this thing. Unless someone has a better idea on how to get it operational, looks like we’re dropping down there the old fashioned way.”
“Sometimes that’s the best way to do a thing.” Ernest interjected. “If we can’t get the elevator workin’ I’m sure Buffalo and I could keep this wagon train rolling. That is unless enemy artillery brings the place down on top of us beforehand. Jingo, this is your show. Are we goin’ down or bugging out?”
“And leave them to bury their dirty laundry along with the facility? Not a chance.”
She glanced over to her teammates, rolling her tongue around her cheeks in thought. “Second Hippokon makes this a whole lot easier. Each of you take one of us down with you, it’ll only be a couple trips total. If I was to split the rest of us up in half, I’d take…”
Beat.
“Fawn and Shockwave down first. The Kirin is equipped to make heads or tails of the enemy force, while the Red Sun has enough firepower to deal with whatever they find. Spittle and I will follow in behind soon after. Does everyone copy?”
“Err, sorry, did you just say we’re goin’ in?”
The look on Spittle’s face was more or less disbelief, the pilot awkwardly shaking her head. “Wow, I mean, ya seem sweet an’ all… But shouldn’t ya take me out to dinner first?”
“What she’s trying to say is that we have strict orders to remain near the combat area. If you guys are trying to go further or deeper or whatever that’s all good, but we aren’t coming.” Spoke up Buffalo, making their point clear. Spittle seemed to settle in her seat. “Aww, why is it that you get to make all my orders…?”
Comforting as it was to have some backup from the Nias, Gabe wasn’t going to shed a tear if they weren’t under orders to follow them. He barely even blinked at Spittle’s short comment, but it didn’t make a great first impression.
“Even if it’s fortified, I’m gonna be kinda limited on firepower, to be fair. These models are pretty tough even after the abuse we put ‘em through, but a missile could seriously fuck everythin’ up unless we’re goin’ into some crazy-big caverns. Still, can’t hurt to have people watchin’ the outside, make sure shit doesn’t hit the fan with us gone.”
“Shit will hit the fan whether or not we leave a couple guard dogs behind,” Myra remarked. Her voice betrayed her frustration with the situation. “Orders are orders, though. No reason to question the good sense of our superiors.”
A sigh escaped her lips.
“Even less reason to bother splitting up. Shockwave, you just made an excellent case for being the one who has to slide down the service shaft with me while the Kirin hitches a pleasant ride with the Arlington. Hope you like the sound of screeching metal and systems warnings.”
The Nemea perched itself along the edge of the elevator. A short hop over the rail was enough to propel her into the service shaft, metal feet colliding against the railway and skidding with a screech as she kept her momentum.
“It ain’t a real mission unless the mechanics wanna bash my skull in with a wrench. Let’s do this.”
The Red Sun swiftly followed the Nemea over the edge on the opposite side, the red Phalanx disappearing into the darkness with its fellow grind-racer. The Kirin, now hoisted onto the Arlington’s back, followed the two down, down, down into the depths of the facility.
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Post by Charredgp on Nov 19, 2018 15:34:14 GMT -6
Their miniature vanguard certainly made sparks fly as they descended into the darkness, eventually coming to a halt at what appeared to be the bottom. From their ride they were able to tell that they had made a descent of about 30 meters, though given the size of the tunnel and themselves, how much ground they had actually covered meant that they were some ways away from the initial factory area.
Though not pitch black, it was fairly dark, with little else but a few lights built into the floor and ceiling. Huge metal claws hung AA chassis in various states of completion, with two rows of incomplete Hoplites lining their little entryway. The hall opened up to a wide ‘factory floor’. A larger variety of hooks and arms built into various moving walls and into the floor were present. The room eventually ended in a wide wall, though various other hallways seemed to branch off around the corners of the larger room.
At the top of the back wall were several window panes, stretching from one end of the wall to the other. The way they were lit seemed to indicate that there was, indeed, someone alive down here, even as they were surrounded by empty shells.
Much of the space seemed to be intended for manufacturing, but towards the back wall there were a handful of considerably more spacious slots to store or rack completed AA. Walkways extended from these slots, and it seemed that there were at least two- where those walkways led, however, appeared to be a mystery.
“Well shit, we don’t have time for all this.” Ernest spat. “This facility is more expansive than I expected.” He shined his headlamps ahead down the walkways, but didn’t see much beyond a doorway at the corner. “Jingo, whatcha think? Should we send someone on foot to check it out?”
“Volunteering for the job?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t into this kind of thing. Feels like old times.” Ernest popped open the “glove box” on his console and took out a flashlight, disengaging the Arlington and preparing to exit. “Anyone coming with or am I flying solo on this one?” he asked, giving his trusted sidearm a once-over. “I hope no one here is afraid of the dark.”
“No reason to stick it alone. Waitin’ down here for ya to come back sounds shitty anyway.” The Red Sun’s cockpit would open up as it settled near the walkway near the Arlington, Gabe stretching as he stepped onto the floor. “Five bucks says we find a dead body.”
“Ten bucks if we make one,” Ernest said, checking his pistol. He clicked on the gun’s maglight, illuminating the area in front of them. “Let’s keep it tight, Shockwave. I’d rather not come home with more holes than I left with.”
“Please, that’s a sucker’s bet.” Gabe kept behind Ernest seeing as he’d been the first to volunteer to explore. He was equipped similarly to Ernest, a simple pistol and maglite, fiddling idly with the weapon as they got ready. “Probably shouldn’t go too far without the rest of the team till we know what’s what in there. No way they’re just gonna just assume we fucked off after gettin’ spooked by some empty AAs.”
The walkway led to a sliding door not too far down, and a brief glance inside only revealed a lit hallway that went forward for a few meters, before ending in what appeared to be a collection of lifts. This suggested that the area they were in was intended to be traversed by plenty of people, to make use of each floor in the factory. Yet it was strangely empty, and there wasn’t much evidence of these halls even being used often- for all intents and purposes they seemed brand new.
Sure, there were a few doors along the sides of the hall, but brief glances inside revealed nothing more than office space and maintenance closets, nothing substantial either way.
“Place seems pretty sterile. Did the bastards even get a chance to use it before we got here?” Ernest pondered, peering through a window into an empty office. “Seems deader than those unfinished AAs…”
“It don’t make sense…” Gabe muttered as they peered through room after room of...nothing. Barely any signs of habitation or work at ALL. “Someone sent them up. And this factory ain’t that new since they got all that shit up above. This feels wrong. Like we’re bein’ set up. Or we’re gonna turn around and the main door’s gone but we see our dead bodies propped up or some crazy bullshit.”
“Hah, like in Blood Factory. What a cornball horror movie.” Ernest continued to press forward, shining his light in each window they came across. “The sequels were just as bad, except for the fifth one. I liked the twist ending, how it tied all the previous movies together.” Approaching the lifts at the end of the walkway, he shined his light upwards. “Ready to head to the next level?”
“I think I only ever saw the third one. Seemed pretty dumb, but I never got ‘round to watchin’ the rest. I’ll have to give ‘em another shot when we’re done.” The levity was nice, but it was hard to ignore the strangeness of where they were. The lift offered potential answers...but it also meant they’d be that much farther from the team. “Ready as I can be, I guess. Dunno if a change of scenery is gonna be better or worse.”
Pressing a few buttons on the console, Ernest engaged the lift. “Better or worse, we’re pressin’ on.”
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Post by S☆E on Nov 19, 2018 17:38:07 GMT -6
The lift began to travel, carrying the two upwards into the unknown. They passed a floor, the lift not bothering to slow to a stop as it passed yet another one. And another. And another. Five floors had past before they began to hit uncharted territory, with the lift continuing for several minutes past the highest floor.
It eventually stopped, the lights dimming only slightly as the door opened into a narrow hall, fraught with dangling wires and exposed machinery in the walls and flooring. The hallway extended for at least five meters before ending in a single door. Lights slowly illuminated the path as the lift door opened, at least giving them some semblance of vision in an otherwise pitch black hallway.
“Well that looks ominous,” Ernest said, shining his light down the corridor. He cast his eyes around, stepping towards the door at the end. There wasn’t anything to see, just the pathlights casting their dim glow across the floor. “Sheeit,” he whispered, lowering his voice. “I kinda regret talking about them horror movies on the way over…” His casual chatter did nothing to conceal his tension, however. He felt like coiled up, like a snake ready to strike. Been awhile since you’ve been in the field, old dog, he thought, a bead of sweat trickling down his brow. We’ll see if you can remember your old tricks.
As he approached the door he radioed the others. “Jingo this is Basset, we’ve gone up a ways and reached an unfinished or damaged corridor with a single door at the end. Shall we proceed or return?”
“No activity on our end… at least, not yet.” Myra idly poked one of the unmanned AAs with her heat sword. “Feel free to proceed.”
“Roger wilco.” He turned to Gabe and gave him a nod, the two of them quietly approaching the door. Ernest pressed his ear to the door, holding his breath. Nothing. Not a sound, possibly too thick to listen through. His gun at the ready, he pressed the entry key and lunged through, aiming around the room.
What greeted him was an odd sight: scattered bits of scrap and electronics, barely visible through the dimmed lighting built into various crevices within the walls and floor. The room opened up into a wide, circular area. Windows framed the back, revealing (just barely) the sight of the Nemea and Kirin from high above. Against these windows were various computers and other machinery, wired into the floor and ceiling. The wires hanging from the ceiling gave the windows the effect of being framed, while the ones from the floor seemed to raise it in odd areas, like tree roots which have long overgrown.
In the center of these machines was a tall chair, fixed into the floor by a ball. Though the back of the chair was facing them, they could see that there was someone sitting in said chair. Their arms, one mechanical, one flesh, seemed to be working on something. A thick metallic pen sketched out plans in the normal arm, while the mechanical one appeared to be hooked up into something in front of it.
Whoever they were, they did little to acknowledge their new visitors. Ernest stepped forward, into the glow of the monitors, gun pointed at the figure’s head. “Identify yourself, and no funny business or you’ll be painting these screens red!”
Dammit. Gabe was sort of hoping to be the bad cop. He followed lazily behind Ernest, looking around the room for any surprises that might suddenly spring up on them from that announcement, but his grip on his weapon was tight and he was ready for action despite appearances. “We ain’t here for blood if it doesn’t gotta be shed. Just cooperate and ya won’t gotta worry.”
Silence at first, followed by a few clacking of keys. After a moment of uncertainty (had they not heard? Or were they purposefully ignoring them?) the movement seem to stop. Instead, the sound of hydraulics could be noticed as the chair lifted ever so slightly, before spinning around.
What came in full view was… Perhaps not expected. An older gentleman, clearly in his 70s, hands tented together. Though he was primarily human, it was clear that he had undergone some of the more invasive modifications: robotic arm, and a partial ingrained metallic skull. The right side of his face was entirely metal, ending in a closed off metal ‘mouth’ (which was essentially just a plate covering where his mouth should have been). Though pale, the whispers of hair that remained on his head were oddly a deep brown, not yet fully gray.
“An’ a hello to ya tu’.”
A voice, clearly projected from a speaker system somewhere, responded.
“I see ya brought ma’ boy ta me. It’s been some time, Gabriel.”
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Post by Charredgp on Nov 25, 2018 11:31:18 GMT -6
The sound of hydraulics drew Gabe’s attention back to the seated mystery person, the younger soldier visibly grimacing at the more hardcore implants and modifications. He’d seen some prosthetics and such, but this was much more visceral. But even through the metal, there was no mistaking who it was underneath.
“Gramps?”
Gabe stepped forward, gun lowered and gesturing for Ernest to do the same.
“The hell are ya doin’ out here? Why are ya…” He gestured to the older Crwydryn’s whole general area, not even sure where to start with that question. “Like that?”
This didn’t sit well with him. The alarm bells that were already ringing in his head as they had wandered through the abandoned lower levels were going off at metaphorically deafening levels now. But he was willing to at least hear the old man out for now.
“The hell ya mean the ‘ell am I doin’ here? Ya pops ‘as been one o’ the top dogs of Olympus for a while now.”
He gestured towards the machinery around him, amidst the various screens and wires. “I designed this, well, part o’ this automated mess.” Though he could only shrug in response, he shifted forward to stand up. A metallic exoskeleton formed around his legs and waist to assist in walking, and he took a few steps forward, hands behind his back.
“Can’t say I expected to be here. In a war.”
A few more steps until he was in front of Gabe, resting his real hand of flesh and blood on his shoulder. “Can’t say I expected ta see ya either, though I had a bit of a cheat in that… Proud ta see ya alive.” It was impossible to tell from the way his mouth was hidden, but with the way his skin tugged, it seemed like he was smiling.
“...’an you! Ya ol’ warhound, ya got some spiffy pilotin’ ta get yaself down ‘ere in one o’ those brownies! I should know, I designed ‘em.”
“I meant more specifically in this factory, on Earth of all places. Dunno if ya can tell but a lot of shit’s goin’ on up there.”
Gabe forced himself not to step back as the old man approached the two of them. He wanted to believe that there were only good intentions, but...It still seemed wrong. Like the other shoe was about to drop. Something clicked in his head, and he narrowed his eyes slightly in realization. Ernest didn’t respond to the old man’s praise, his gun still trained on his head.
“Ya sent me that weird message, didn’t ya? I didn’t even get to see what it said. I never was much of the hacky type, ya know.”
“Mhmm, that was ol’ me. I needed ta’ send ya somethin’ encrypted, but I guess I was too good at it! Yarhaha!” He gave his grandson a pat, before turning back and walking over to the console he had just been working on. A few taps opened a hidden chamber within the machine, and upon inserting his mechanical finger and twisting it, holographic projectors flickered to life.
In the center of the room a huge orb began to display, emitted from those flickering projectors. The orb slowly shifted, changing from a simple sphere to more complex shapes. It failed to settle on any one object, always changing.
“The truth is, this operation you are performing is a farce. Well, not quite, but ah, that doesn’t matter.” His tone went from light hearted to a touch more serious, his vocal emitters changing to reflect this.
“Unbeknownst to you all, it’s really just a cover for an exchange. The ESU has something I want, and they want something I have.” Another twist of his wrist, and the hologram settled. The shapes turned into sculptures- of the various Martian AA.
“My master planning… My black box data… Ah yes, the ESU would want it all, wouldn’t they? It would grant them full and total control over the modification of their army, and would give them the correct specifications to reproduce our machines in full.”
He pulled his finger out of the machine. The hologram faded. Both arms of his shifted towards his back, and the old man returned to the two soldiers.
“However, you have to always be careful when making these deals. Don’t you? It’s a shame we met under these circumstances, Gabriel, but unfortunately this won’t be a fairy tale ending for either of us.”
Slowly, he extended his mechanical hand out to the two of them. Attached to his pointer finger was what appeared to be a storage device.
“Here, the master plans. Take them.”
Gabe watched silently as his grandpa monologued and showed his work to them, brows furrowing as he realized just how much everyone had been played...And for something he definitely wasn’t expecting.
Slowly, he reached out to take the storage device, hardly believing what he was hearing. “This ain’t just Olympus, is it? We’re talkin’ Tartarus, yeah? Those AAs that we saw that shredded the hell out of us. What do ya get outta doin’ all this? Revenge? Amnesty?”
“Maybe if I was younger, I would have cared for revenge…” The old man shook his head, his non-mechanical hand stroking his chin as he gazed off towards the monitors. “I used to feel strongly about this war, the purpose behind it. Not so much, anymore. I’m too old. I wanted to get my last hurrah in before I bit the dust, but by the looks of it, I’ve been played.”
As if to dismiss his own thoughts, he waved his hand at nothing in particular, before walking back over to his seat. Both arms came down onto the armrests, the old soul looking weary beyond anything else.
“Of course it involves the family business, Gabriel, it always does. Why do you think your mom and pop haven’t come searching for you? There is a lot going on right now, tiny, little pieces moving in the background- whispers, screams, dialogue, all these things going on in the dark, in the shadows where you’re not looking.” He shook his head. “When you get to my age, you realize all that noise is just that- noise. Don’t let it consume you, the machinations and the planning. It doesn’t matter. What matters is,”
A single, mechanical finger pointed towards Gabe, focusing on his head. His grandfather stared straight at him. “You are alive.”
He nodded, retreating his hand as he leaned back in his seat. Both eyes went shut, by the way his chest moved, it seemed as if he had let out a long breath- though there was no sound. A few clicks, and his voice modulator shifted back to his previous tone.
“You’d best be leaving, both of ya. There’s nothin’ left here but an old man and his delusions. The drive should have everythin’ ya need to make those brass chewin’ superiors of yers happy. Judgin’ by the sounds, it seems like this place’ll be yours soon too.”
“And what’s gonna happen to ya when that happens?”
It was a dumb question. Gabe knew damn well what would happen. Best case scenario, he wound up behind bars and interrogated. The worst case, well...He didn’t want to think about that. But a fast death was all he could hope for in the worst case.
“I don’t want ya to die…”
The last part came out quietly; a sudden bout of childishness in the face of family. He didn’t know what else to say in such a serious situation.
Gabe’s concerns were interrupted by the sound of laughter, his grandfather slapping his knee with his metal hand as he doubled over. “Me? Die?! Ya softer than I thought, boy!”
A rumble could be faintly felt through the floors and walls, momentarily drawing the attention of the older gentleman. “Hrmm. Seems like it’s time.” He turned once more to the two, eyes shifting between his grandson and the older soldier. “Now, any last questions before we get busted?”
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Post by S☆E on Nov 25, 2018 12:18:56 GMT -6
Ernest lowered his pistol. “I’m sure I could think of at least twenty, Gramps, but only one’s burning me right now.” Despite resting his firearm his gaze hadn’t softened. “What do you know about that red machine? The one piloted by a ghost?” He swallowed the tremble in his voice, smothered the shake in his hand. “Tell me.”
There was a glint in his eye, or maybe a sparkle? Both of his hands came to the center, forming a comfortable looking tent as his face did its best to make a smile. “Ernest Malkovich, yes? I see. Can’t say I expected someone like ya on their lil’ squad. I can’t answer that question, ‘cause I’m an old fool and they don’t tell ol’ fools much like that anymore, but what I do know is this,” He leaned in. “Dead don’t talk, or walk. We both know this, ya?”
“Yeah, we both know that, but in this day and age… it sure could feel like it.” Holstering his sidearm, he turned to leave. “Jingo, we’ve got what we came for. How’s the backup doing topside?”
“They're eating fish and chips,” Myra replied, offering no further explanation. “Two ready for extraction, or are we going to wait until the roof falls over our heads?”
Ernest looked over to Gabe and his grandfather. “Just two, Shockwave?”
“Two and a half? I think we’re still tryin’ to figure out if we round down or up here.”
Another rumble shook the room, Gabe’s grandfather looked over to one of his consoles.
“Mhmm, just two. Looks like they’re shuttin’ down the transit tunnel under the lake… With explosives.” A fuzzy chuckle could be heard, barely pronounced by his vocal emitters. “If they succeed, they’ll likely flood the lower levels, an’ by that I mean our levels.”
“No time to waste then,” Myra interjected. “Don't know who you are but I appreciate the warning. Shockwave, Basset, sounds like you two better haul ass. Is there any way we can help you get out of there?”
A quick jab in the side by Gabe’s grandpa brought him to attention. “She seems smart, you know ‘er? Oi, lass, are you single? I have a lovely grandson who’d be perfect for ya-”
Gabe would respond with a smack on the (robotic) arm, and a hushed, embarrassed “Gramps!”
“Ugh, fuck...If they’re demolishin’ the tunnels then it depends on how quick it’s comin’. If we’re lucky, we should be able to haul ass back in time. Just make sure the engines are still runnin’ for us.”
Although his grandpa was doing his best to keep things light, it seemed, Gabe’s gaze lingered on him. “Ya could probably come with us, yknow. Lord knows the mechanics would appreciate someone new on the team that knows what they’re doin’.”
“Didn’t we just talk about this, sonny?”
“Don’t mean I can’t give it another shot.”
“Just knock out the old coot and drag his wrinkly ass back here,” Myra interjected once again. “Be disappointed if I never get to hear about his adorable grandson's childhood antics.”
They had a point. Time was running out and they were better off returning alone. Gabe sighed, glaring at an imaginary Myra in lieu of the real thing. “Well get used to disappointment. The data we got is gonna be good enough.”
He turned back to his grandpa, giving him a nod as he tried to keep his sentimentality under wraps for now. “I hope we hear from each other again. Put some of that family stubbornness to good use and try not to die, yeah?”
“Har har, well you-”
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud crack, which echoed throughout the facility, becoming loud enough to be heard by the two pilots outside. The older man flicked a few buttons at his console, bringing up what appeared to be a map of the facility. The section they were in- a manufacturing section, was large and obvious. Yet to the left, connected by a tunnel which began to travel underneath Lake Malawi, was another section: a research and development area.
“Woo boy, it seems like they got started early. Best be gettin’ out now before, well-”
Though quiet at first, it slowly became louder and louder. A sound. A rushing sound, like a river after a fresh rain. To the pilots outside, it seemed to come from nowhere, but as they looked around for the source, they could hear it become steadily closer. Inspecting the rightmost hallway with their cameras, they would find (meters off) an encroaching wall of lake rushing towards them.
Ernest’s eyes widened as he realized what was onscreen. “Gabe, we gotta triple-time it outta here! Gramps it’s been fun, we’ll see ya at the next family reunion!” Grabbing on to his partner’s shoulders, he shoved him out of the room until they both were running to the lift. Pressing the buttons to go back down, the speed of the lift felt way too slow in the face of what was coming towards them. Five floors down… four floors down… three floors d- “Oh fuck this, we gotta go faster! Get ready to jump off!” Ernest turned and fired a few rounds at the lift’s hydraulic system. The pistons hissed and sprayed fluid as the whole platform started falling much faster, whizzing by the third and the second. As the landing for the first catwalk zoomed towards them Gabe and Ernest jumped off the lift, rolled and kept on running. The sound of the factory elevator hitting the service floor some distance below echoed loudly through the chamber that was slowing filling with the sound of rushing water.
As they ran for their machines Ernest hailed Myra and Linnea with what breath he could spare. “Jingo! Fawn! Flooding! Emergency! We gotta- Get the fuck out!”
“Tell me something I don’t know, Basset!” The Nemea had knocked down several non-essential structures in a futile attempt to bar the hallway from the oncoming wave, tearing away any sort of plating or metal girders off their hinges and welding them between the ends of the hallway with the heat of her sword. “Two don’t get your asses in those cockpits quick we’re going to make like a banana and split!”
A deep blue rushed towards their room, crashing into the inappropriately formed wall, water jets from the cracks impacting the Nemea almost immediately and sending it tumbling back. The machines were greeted with a haphazardly forming pool of water, steadily climbing up to the catwalk Ernest and Gabe ran down. They made it to their machines, sliding into their cockpits with as much ease as they could muster.
Familiar glows of their camera-eyes greeted them with waist-high water levels (for an AA) and more. The weak wall that Myra had created was, at this point, about ready to tear off from its poorly welded hinges as the rest of the lake it was holding back pushed it to its breaking point.
The Nemea lifted itself off the ground as water rushed past it, buffeting the cockpit as it pooled up around the metal frame. The Peltast steadied itself with its sword. Steam erupted from its red-hot edge, fogging up the machine’s cameras.
“Elevator shaft is our only way out,” Myra cautioned. “Shockwave can hitch a ride on the Arlington, but Fawn and I will have to take the long way up.”
Gabe practically threw himself into the cockpit once they had cleared the worst of their desperate run back to the AAs, legs already smarting from Ernest’s little speed boost.
“Once ya get some distance I can try and collapse some more tunnel with the bazooka. It ain’t a pretty solution, but it’ll buy us some time before we gotta start swimmin’ up.”
“With any luck that’d block the tunnel a bit. Good thinkin’!” Ernest slid into the driver’s seat of his Hippokon, hands already busy with the controls before even sitting down. “We’ll give the Nemea and Kirin a head-start and then I’ll take the two of us up behind so you can do your demo work unhindered.” The Arlington’s thrusters kicked up as he lifted his machine from the water. “We’ve gotta haul some ass here if we don’t wanna be permanent installations down here like the rest of those suits. Let’s hit it, people!”
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Post by fen on Nov 25, 2018 22:10:49 GMT -6
The group of four began their ascent as quickly as they could, thrusters sending them upwards as the sound of crashing waves beneath them began to taper out. The Arlington took the rear with the Nemea and Kirin in front. The two lighter suits were able to make their climb with relative ease, stopping against the ramp for a brief respite before kicking off once more.
A loud boom shook the tunnel as the Red Sun did its demolition work, blocking any further water as steel and cement rubble cascaded down into the hole.
Sun, shining sun greeted the four as they emerged from their hole, blinding them for only a moment…
...before the sight of both the Menaulion and the Nias perched in the clear blue sky greeted them all. The sound of combat had seemingly long since gone quiet, with a collection of ESU AA surrounding and manning the facilities; weapons drawn at the surviving MR troops.
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