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Post by S☆E on Feb 2, 2019 19:22:30 GMT -6
The Canyonero stood fast behind its reinforced shield, the barrage from the smaller machine clattering against it. “It’s not fantasy to want a world where kids don’t have to suffer like we did.” He waited for an opening, sliding through the smoke and hoping his machine’s armor plating would hold out. “Fawn, I’m gonna need y-” That thought that Ernest had, that urgent command and anything that would’ve came after it screeched to an abrupt halt as, over the clamor of the chain gun he heard something that made his gut clench and roll over. A sound of thunder, greater than any Mother Nature could produce, accompanied by a blitz of emergency signals. He turned his viewfinder upwards and saw the sky was falling. Streaks of green flickered like gossamer webbing catching the sunlight and connected with the fleet above, and when that light hit their hulls the ships just popped from stem to stern. Ernest couldn’t look away from it. It was all he could see, the only thing in his mind as the surrounding hail of gunfire faded into the background before this horizon-sweeping display of indifferent carnage. At least if even Ernest had his words taken from him, she could forgive herself for stopping. But Lin hated not being able to do anything as she watched a distant machine rise to the sky. Hated how it only took seconds for everything to go awry. As ships burst into spectacular displays of fire, light and metal, she could bring herself to do little else but watch the scene like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time. She might have stayed like that, too, had she not caught the sight of a nearby ESU machine getting downed by stray fire from their opponents. Despite the weight of all that had just happened, she forced the Kirin forward, using its shield as cover as she took up a spot closer to the Canyonero – maybe not too close, given the focused fire onto the allied machine, but enough to make its presence known. “A world where kids don’t have to suffer like we did… just take a look around and see where that’s led you, Orthrus.” Step by step the Rubicon marched towards the Canyonero. Beads of sweat dripped down the pilot’s back, trapped inside their skin-tight suit. The Brutus lurched to the right, circling the Canyonero to flank it from behind. Just as its chain gun burst to life its bullets were met by the waiting shield of the Kirin. The Canyonero and Kirin stood back-to-back, their shields quickly torn apart by the combined force of the Rubicon and Brutus. “Truth is you’re just as much a part of this as anyone else. Our suffering is the only thing we have left to impart upon this world.” “You might be right, whatever you are,” Ernest replied, his voice sounding far away, almost a detached hush. “In that case, let me give you a lesson in what real suffering breeds in a man.”
He kicked the Hippokon’s thrusters into high gear, launching himself above the Kirin and emptied the contents of his leg-binders up into the sky, a torrent of missiles that arced back down and split into smaller individual payloads. Some hit the inert husks of his allies, some exploded after hitting the ground, but more would find their targets. There were too many for their coordinated fire to shoot down before impact. In the brief moment that bought he changed position and fired a double-burst of molten energy into the Rubicon, shooting head-on through its chaingun and melting through its armor as it staggered from the explosives hits. He knew the Brutus wouldn’t be as fazed and spun his machine in a quick 180, firing his heavy laser rifle at the decoupled Brutus. Before he could touch the ground he thrusted his machine forward, firing off his last remaining missiles while he laid on his rifle’s trigger, careening towards the enemy machine as its heavy gatling cannon chewed through his AAs guts. His momentum was too much for the beaten-down mech to weather combined with the lasers and explosions, and the two of them collided, going down in a pile of shredded metal.
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Post by Charredgp on Feb 3, 2019 23:58:58 GMT -6
The order to retreat had been given. And though the battle was almost certainly lost after such a devastating betrayal, Myra wouldn’t have more than a moment to herself before the Hobgoblin opened communications.
“-re ya fuckin’ jokin’, Jingo?! Cause I ain’t fuckin’ laughin’! We should all be blastin’ that son of a bitch out of the goddamn sky, not sendin’ one person after them and hopin’ for the fuckin’ best!”
“Does it sound like I’m joking to you, Shockwave?”
The Nemea didn’t bother turning towards the Hobgoblin, hand lingering just above the beam saber at its hip.
“No, it sounds like you’re practically givin’ the bastard in that thing an easy fuckin’ escape!”
“Believe you me, there is nothing I want more than to see him hanged, drawn, and quartered. Nothing.”
The beam saber extended towards the Hobgoblin, challenging its pilot to doubt her conviction. Myra found her thoughts lingering towards Kara. And every time she saw her friend’s face in her mind’s eye, the rage that burned deep in her gut threatened to boil over. Her whole body was on fire yet her hands trembled like they were cold. The Nemea lowered its sword, withdrawing the beam and sliding the weapon back into the slot at its hip.
“Moment he sees the rest of us, that rat bastard will scurry back to whatever hole he came out of. Only chance we have at killing him is goading him into a one-on-one… because even a rat has its pride. Dropkick’s the best shot we have at this, you know that as well as I do.”
From within his cockpit, Gabe stared at the weapon drawn, then at the mech, as if ready to challenge the Nemea with his own hands if necessary. Even as the beam retracted, his face was still a mixture of cold fury and barely-restrained rage, knuckles white with how hard he was gripping the Hobgoblin’s controls.
“Out of anyone, I’m the last to doubt Sean. But that’s a pretty heavy gamble on Merlin’s pride given what a ratshit he’s been so far.”
He couldn’t say his name. Even his callsign was spat out like something squirming and rotten that he couldn’t bear to have in his mouth any longer than necessary.
“Maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought,” Myra begrudgingly admitted. “Maybe none of us did. But if there’s one thing I do know, it’s that Cain seeks validation—to prove himself Sean’s better. Could tell that much just by the way he looked at him.”
She had a point. And maybe she was right. In a one-on-one, Sean almost certainly had the advantage. Maybe he was arguing for the sake of having someone to yell at. Or he was concerned for Sean. Or he just wanted to get revenge alongside him. Or all of the above.
“He doesn’t deserve it. Best that bastard deserves is a bullet to the back of the skull and to be left in a fuckin’ ditch.”
“Awfully merciful of you, isn’t it?” She afforded herself a grim grimace. “Had my way he’d be dropped into a lion’s den and fed to the beasts. They’d have to pick his bones out of cat shit.”
“Or just see how long we can keep him ‘round as a punchin’ bag. Lord knows everyone would want a swing at him before someone goes and cave’s that shit-eater’s skull in.”
“Dibs.”
“I’ll fight ya for those dibs, Jingo. Don’t think I won’t.”
With that, comms were closed, the Hobgoblin begrudgingly joining the retreat, managing to drag its heels even better now that it hovered. From inside the cockpit, Gabe looked over at the Highlander, staring it down with a heavy, focused glare. He wasn't one to try and break Sean's concentration, but he was sure as sworn brothers the sentiment would ring clear without words. And perhaps it was for the best he didn't have to hear the undistilled hatred dripping from his comrade's voice.
"Make him beg for death."
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Post by fen on Feb 4, 2019 21:13:20 GMT -6
Gunfire flashed, poking holes in the weapon’s massive hull. The Wolfsbane turned in the direction of the fire, its altitude having dropped significantly since the weapon’s firing. Though it turned the gun towards the Highlander, both of them knew there was no way it would be firing again.
Its two thrusters came to life again, and fire spat from them as the weapon lurched forward. Rushing towards the Highlander with gravity on its side, each shot dug deeper into its frame, cracking first, shattering second.
A cracked thruster spelt the end of its life as it ruptured into an explosion of light and heat. Through the fire and the flames shot out the Wolfsbane, swinging a blade of white-hot plasma towards its foe.
“Let’s get this over with.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
The Highlander Mk.II stood its ground, casting aside its rifle to reach for the plasma cleaver hanging from its shoulder. Each hand gripped the hilt, thrusters built into the arms flaring to life as the Highlander unsheathed its sword. The truly titanic weapon matched speed with power as it crashed against the blade of the Wolfsbane.
The very mountain trembled.
From the Highlander’s right shoulder the chain gun shifted into place, blasting high-explosive rounds directly into the Wolfsbane’s visor.
Sparks of plasma arced off their clashed blades. It was the maiden fight for both of these weapons, the swords of fire only recently having been completed and equipped for the pilots to use. Though the cleaver the Highlander brought down was made for larger foes, it failed to intimidate the pilot of the Wolfsbane.
Its mono-eye visor swung back up, bringing back its twin eye set up. Right as the chain gun braced itself to fire, the Wolfsbane kicked up, putting all power into its thrusters to budge the cleaver backwards. It was just enough space for it to blast backwards and disengage, narrowly dodging the brunt of the chain gun fire.
“Not very fair to bring a chain gun to a sword fight, is it?”
Flying at a distance, the Wolfsbane circled the Highlander’s position, its shoulder vulcans revealing themselves and firing. Each bullet found its mark, but it wasn’t the Highlander. Rather, each hit chipped at the ground beneath it, until the cliff face it had chosen began to crumble away.
“Sorry, ‘Dropkick’! I’ve got places to be, and we both know you’re not good enough to take me down. See ya.”
A blur of gunmetal gray whizzed past the Highlander’s visor as the Wolfsbane shot off into the distance. Smoke followed it, signaling that the Highlander’s attacks had done something, at least.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 4, 2019 21:15:27 GMT -6
The Highlander reversed its grip on the plasma cleaver, plunging the weapon deep into the ground. With one foot resting against the dull edge of the sword, the machine reached for the rifle it had unceremoniously discarded only moments prior. The Highlander’s weight triggered an avalanche starting along the stress fractures of the mountain. Consumed by clouds of dust and dirt, the machine was lost to the naked eye.
But only for a moment.
The Highlander emerged with rifle in hand, a red-hot trail streaking down the mountain as the plasma cleaver tore through the granite. His eyes followed the smoke billowing from the Wolfsbane. Bullets fired from the hip forced him to wrestle with the rifle’s recoil, but Sean knew that he only needed one good shot to take out the Wolfsbane’s thrusters.
“Ye’re going to have to come up with a new vanishing act, ‘Merlin’. Only place ye’re headed right now is six feet under.”
Bullets arced past the speeding AA, not quite catching it by surprise, but it was impressive all the same. The Wolfsbane rolled, its movements becoming increasingly more erratic as the two coasted away from their mountain battlefield. A small stretch of jungle stood between the mountain and a small lakeside town.
The silence was deafening, punctuated only by the rounds of explosive shells launching upwards, many of them careening into the lake after missing their mark. One finally struck the back right of the machine, causing a loud boom.
Though it shook for a few moments, its smoke billowing even further, the AA controlled its descent into the town instead of simply crashing, and it quickly disappeared behind a handful of buildings.
The Highlander leapt into the air as it neared the base of the mountain, thrusters holding the machine aloft as it tore through the jungle canopy. Trees bowed and snapped like twigs under its weight. The Highlander didn’t slow its momentum as it crashed into the underbrush, plasma cleaver slicing through foliage. It soon emerged on the other side of the jungle, scanning for smoke from the Wolfsbane.
A laugh escaped from his lips as he followed the trail straight into town.
“Here I thought ye didn’t enjoy watching innocent civilians die. I remember watching ye pore over those videos they posted about our little ‘excursion’ into Shanghai.” Sean shook his head, though Cain couldn’t hear as much. “Or was that all just an act?”
The Highlander raised its cleaver into the air, beckoning the Wolfsbane to emerge from hiding.
“Either way I’m coming for ye. How about ye make this easier for the both of us and fight me face to face?”
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Post by fen on Feb 4, 2019 21:20:09 GMT -6
What little smoke there was from his landing seemed to blend in all too well what lingered in the air from his flight. Was that his plan? It didn’t seem to matter at this point, with the Highlander now inside the town itself. Citizens scurried away, shouting at and about the machine. Streets that had been busy quickly turned into messes as cars attempted to break away from the path of the Highlander.
“I should have finished this back in Shanghai.”
The Wolfsbane didn’t emerge, but the smoke was fading. Slowly it would…
“...but I let my conscience get the better of me. I can’t believe I thought you were all capable of seeing past their lies. This should have been finished there.”
A heat signature suddenly spiked up on the Highlander’s radar, indicating the Wolfsbane’s presence, but…
“The people of Shanghai never asked for us to show up at their doorstep, they wanted to be free of the ESU. Why do you think we were kicked out? Did you even think about all the people working against you? They had the help of criminals, what does that say about the people you work for?”
From behind a building launched the Wolfsbane. It arced upwards and into the street, its sword arm bringing down a veritable wave of plasma against the Highlander’s reflexive cleaver, the two clashing in the street. Its thrusters held it in the air, but it was clear that one of its legs was damaged beyond repair.
“That’s the difference between you and me Dropkick! I have conviction! You’re in this for the ride, you can’t see five steps ahead of yourself!”
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 4, 2019 21:22:14 GMT -6
“And ye’re so busy looking five steps ahead that ye can’t even see where ye’re standing.”
The Highlander dug its heels deep into the ground, thrusters forcing the weight of the Wolfsbane’s sword to the side. The machine lunged forwards, one hand releasing the handle of the cleaver to grab the Wolfsbane by the neck. The two crashed into the building the Wolfsbane had so gracefully leapt over, as if to drag its pilot through the mud with him.
“For all that talk of ‘freedom’, I’m starting to believe ye wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if it stuck its cock up yer arse.” The Highlander pulled its arm back before shoving the Wolfsbane right back into the building’s battered scaffolding. “Only thing the Martian Republic is interested in is subjugation, plain and simple. If Shanghai wasn’t strategically valuable they’d leave the whole country high and dry without a moment’s hesitation.”
The Highlander released its hold on the Wolfsbane, gripping the handle of the plasma cleaver with both hands and swinging it down, freeing the Wolfsbane from its sword-arm.
“But I think the two of us are long past talking politics. What matters here and now is the fight, and we both know I’ve already won.”
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Post by fen on Feb 4, 2019 21:25:51 GMT -6
To say the Wolfsbane was falling apart would be doing a disservice. As the two rumbled against the building, tossing blows against each other that sent debris flying and people running off the streets, the traitor’s machine was ripping at the seams. The damage from firing the gun, combined with everything else the Highlander inflicted on it was enough to spell the end. Yet even as his sword arm was ripped from its socket, a jumble of wires and liquids splattering out as it fell to the ground, the Wolfsbane did not relent.
Its chest vulcans opened and fired once more, shredded away at the Highlander’s beefy chest armor. Its weakened leg barely managed to lift itself upward, revealing its hidden heat dagger and plunging it into the Highlander’s waist, giving its pilot a critical error reading.
“This is what I meant by not being able to see five steps ahead, idiot.”
For all the venom in his words, it was hard to see what he was talking about when the Wolfsbane essentially crumbled back against the wall of the building, no longer operationable to the point where it posed a threat. The gunmetal gray machine’s visor slowly powered off, and the rest of it followed suit until the machine was completely disabled.
“Maybe I am an idiot,” Sean admitted as his machine ‘sheathed’ its plasma cleaver, gripping the handle of the blade lodged in its waist. “But if I am, then I’m the idiot who just wiped the floor with yer sorry arse.”
The Highlander wrested the dagger from between the cracks in its armor, playfully twirling the weapon in its hands. He almost seemed amused by the Wolfsbane’s desperate (yet ultimately futile) attempt at resistance. Just as he brandished the short blade to deliver the final blow, the machine’s eyes suddenly darted to the side. The Highlander lifted itself to its full height as warnings signaled the approach of an unknown machine.
“...it seems our little cuckoo was caught.”
A new voice came in through the Highlander’s comms, but the identification was nothing he could recognize.
“Unfortunately, I can’t just let you kill him. Not when he’s got so much important work to do.”
From behind the Highlander, above a building across the street, was another machine. Crouched low along the side of the roof, it tilted an oddly circular metallic hat which seemed to hide most of the machine’s features. A tattered brown cloak extended from the neck down, covering most of the rest, but that which wasn’t covered appeared strongly segmented into various pieces, as if the machine was horizontally striped every half meter up.
It slowly stood from its crouch until it reached full height, easily making it two meters taller than the Highlander. There were no immediately visible weapons, but given its size and stature, it appeared more than capable of taking the Highlander in a fist fight.
...In fact, its movements appeared to be all too real. Not unlike the machine in Shanghai.
“Roland, right? I knew your dad, he was a good man.”
It took a step forward, falling to the street and inadvertently crushing an abandoned car.
“I owe your dad one, so do me a favor and just go, alright?”
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moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Feb 15, 2019 18:57:22 GMT -6
The Rubicon dropped to its knees, the remains of its chain gun falling from its hands. A ring of molten metal stretching from its neck to its shoulder was carved into its armor. Wires that suspended its right arm from its chassis snapped in quick succession, the Rubicon unable to brace itself as the machine slumped over. The Rubicon’s eyes flickered before finally turning dark. Seconds later the cockpit opened. Its pilot crawled out of the lifeless machine, tumbling down its frame and onto the ground below. Their right arm matched their machine’s, a mess of warped metal that dangled from their body. Struggling to breath among the fire and smoke, the pilot grasped the bottom of their helmet and tossed it to the side. Blonde, matted hair met the open air. “Hhhaa… haa… out in a blaze of glory,” Nona muttered, her voice hoarse and uneven. “Somehow… that doesn’t surprise me.” Nona attempted to stand, eyes flicking upwards to meet the impartial gaze of the Kirin. Her battle-scarred face wore a familiar smile. She hobbled towards the wreckage of the Canyonero and the Brutus, the world (almost literally) melting away around her as she tore her damaged mechanical arm from its socket. The metal dragged behind her through the ash-covered dirt. He never did tell her what he needed her to do. And once again, Ernest acted quickly, almost automatically, as if driven by something. Something enough to compel him to blow everything he had and face the enemy head on. Closing her eyes right at the moment of impact didn’t help, because it wouldn’t change the outcome. Instead, Lin was greeted with a sight that made her heart drop.
Not again. Not again. “Basset!” There was no hesitation. It was only by luck that the Kirin did not step on the exposed, unknown pilot in its rush to the wreckage of the Canyonero. It knelt beside it, steel hands clumsily grasping at the cockpit area for anything she get a good enough grip to pry the latch away. “Basset! Basset! Do you hear me? Answer me!” An agonizing minute passed as the Kirin worked to wrench open Ernest’s machine. Before Lin could work her way into the wreckage a notification pinged from her system UI. fawn that you outside “Yeah, I’m here. What were you thinking? You could have died!” had to do it coudlnt risk you lost too much tday "And you would rather subject me to losing you instead..." A sigh. "That aside, are you alright? It may take me some time to get you out." cant see to tell sharp paain in chest breath hurts "... hang in there. I'll... I'll get you out. But first..." The Kirin's head turned slightly to the side, cameras focusing on their enemy. It took a single step to the side, slamming a giant foot down mere meters away in front of its target. The impact kicked up ash, dust and dirt into their face, but nothing more – a warning. "I don't know who you are, or what you have to do with Basset... but this fight is over." Even when projected outwards from the Kirin and subjected to the background noise of battle, the tremble in Lin's voice could still be heard. "I am giving you a choice. You may insist on continuing this, in which you will be cut down, or you may leave. You have no reason to be here." “ No reason to be here?” Wiping the layer of filth from her eyes with the back of her wrist, Nona cast the Kirin a scornful glare. The violence kindled in her eyes was quickly snuffed out. She coughed, once and then again. “I have more than enough reason… far more than you.” Nona brushed past the Kirin’s foot, dragging the loose metal fingers of her dismembered arm along its edges. “Just look at you… the little ‘fawn’ that strayed oh so very far from home. What do you think will happen to your family should you continue walking this path?” The threat that lie in wait just beneath her words was betrayed by the melancholy in her voice. “Don’t make the same mistake that Orthrus and I made. Go on home while you still have one to go home to.” Ernest couldn’t make out their exchange, but he could tell Lin was talking to someone out there. Unable to see, his heart shuddered at the thought of leaving her to deal with the thing his friend had become. He typed faster, ignoring the blood trickling down his working arm and what felt like a jagged length of metal lodged in his side. is robbbie stll aliv ar you n dfanger The Kirin was motionless the entire time. The words had cut deep, unexpectedly so. She might have considered why her enemy knew that much about her, or the odd sincerity in her voice, but the words themselves stopped all reasonable thought. She didn’t speak until she saw the message from Ernest. “I’m… I’m fine,” she mumbled through the tightness in her chest. “I’ll take care of it.” There was a horrifying groan as the Kirin wrenched a beaten sheet of metal from the wreckage, stepping around it as it did so. And when Nona was a fair distance away, it raised the sheet up high and slammed it down towards her. Nona could only stand and watch as the machine lifted the makeshift weapon into the air. For but a moment, she felt the familiar squeeze of a ring placed over her finger just a shade too tight. The unexpected tug of a flowing white dress caught along rusted nails that jutted out from the pews of an abandoned churchouse. The reassuring kiss of a dying man stopped short by the visor of her helmet. She wondered… if Ernest had that same look on his face right about now. “Well you can’t say that I didn’t warn y—” Crunch.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Feb 20, 2019 13:40:04 GMT -6
“Now doesn’t that sound a little too convenient? If ye knew my dad so well, ye’d know that no son of his would back down from a fight.”
The Highlander turned to face the cloaked machine, thrusters throwing its arm forward to send the dagger flying towards it. The Spartan reached for the submachine guns at its waist as its chain gun revved to life, but only one produced a spray of bullets—the other was damaged beyond repair by the Wolfsbane’s last-ditch attack.
“They didn’t call him ‘Ironclad Roland’ for nothing…”
A hand reached out and caught the dagger, twirling it in its fingers as the blade continued to heat itself. The machine stood still as explosive shells rained on it, and as the gun ran through its ammunition the cloaked figure was consumed in flame. Yet as the flames abated, the figure still stood, its stark black and gray frame framed by fire.
“It was either me asking nicely, or me having to put you down. Figured his kid would have more sense than to die on the battlefield nameless.”
It moved forward snapping its hand out as it dug the heat dagger into the barrel of the Highlander’s chain gun, cutting clean through it. The dagger punctured down into the top of its chest, where the figure was content to leave it, before digging its other hand into its already damaged waist, ripping out spare cable and tossing the Highlander to the side.
As the machine cracked asphalt and pavement, the figure stared it down.
“I’ll give you another chance.”
Between all the fighting was the Wolfsbane. Though it had powered down, its cockpit opened up. A shell-shocked Cain emerged with a heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He glanced just briefly in the direction of the tossed Highlander before looking back up at the mystery machine.
His mouth moved, but Sean wouldn’t hear what he said.
As the Highlander skated across the asphalt, its hands reached for the plasma cleaver hanging from its shoulder. The weapon dug deep into the ground and slowed the machine. A sharp pang knocked against Sean’s temples like an overeager door-to-door salesman on his first day of the job. Once the adrenaline wears off I’m in for one hell of a headache, he thought, if I somehow survive to see tomorrow morning.
“Not afraid of dying nameless. I will never know the names of many, many good soldiers that died today because of men like ye.”
His hands trembled at his controls. For as many times that he told himself that they trembled out of frustration, something deep inside him whispered otherwise. It didn’t just whisper; it shouted, it howled, it screamed, it bellowed. And no matter how tightly he cupped his hands over his ears, he could still hear it reverberate through every ounce of his body.
Nevertheless, the Highlander stood.
“There is value in that nameless struggle moments before death. So even if it’s futile, I will stand and face ye a thousand times. And every time ye ask me to stand down I’ll tell ye to save yer goddamned breath and fucking fight me already!”
The Highlander lurched forwards, dragging its sword behind it as its offhand reached for the grenade housed at its side. The machine lobbed the explosive into the air, racing into and through the smoke that burst from it as the plasma cleaver swung upwards.
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Post by fen on Feb 20, 2019 20:46:39 GMT -6
As the sword came up, the smoke was cut away by a sweep of his opponents hand. The Highlander’s blade was now a few meters shorter as its shattered front half fell to the ground beside it, its plasma generators fizzling out.
“This isn’t much of a fight.”
Its free hand lunged forward, striking down in a v towards the Highlander’s chest, ripping opening more of the cockpit. Heavy plated metal struck the ground, forming more cracks into the asphalt. The bright sky blared into now visible slits in the Highlander. Another strike sent the Highlander’s head flying clean off its frame, and it crashed into the forest beyond.
“Funny how the ESU leaves their toys to gather dust while they send off their best and brightest to get shot.” It brought its hand back and flexed each finger individually, ending its movements in a burst of energy that felt distinctly alien to see from a machine. “Give ‘em my regards for me, eh?”
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This had to be the dullest mission Val has ever been on. Staying put and keeping watch for "a couple weeks, at most"? Bullshit. It was getting closer to three months by now, with basically nothing to show for it. And honestly? She was being wasted here.
So, to kill time, she'd been busying herself with daily routine checks on her machine. It was almost certainly overkill for a grounded mech, but that was besides the point. Truth be told, the tedium of being kept on stand-by was doing a number on her nerves, and she had to do something even remotely useful to ignore it.
As she went over her mental checklist and moved onto the Meléagros' hydraulics, garbled words spat out of her radio, as if it had become possessed. It took a few moments before the signal was strengthened, but once it was finished the words began to have structure.
“Heeeeeelloooooooo-!”
There was a pause as the audio turned back to static. Val let out an annoyed sigh. Piece of junk.
The voice became audible again. “Someone there?”
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Not exactly crystal clear, but I'm here. What gives me the honor?"
“Oh woops, sorry about that, orbital communication systems can get wonky, you know how it is… But anyways, I’m sure you’ve noticed all the explosions going on in the background! If you’re still in Mozambique, which, I mean… I hope you are, then I need you to get to work.”
Val perked up at the words coming from her radio. Finally.
"Ooh? Thought you'd never ask. So, you want me to crash that little party, right?"
“I’ll send the coordinates to you now, but it shouldn’t be too far from where you’re currently located. The short of it is… Well, the Captain told me your machine reacts to unique AAs, and I’m confident this is your best shot to test it.”
"Fine by me. Nothing beats some good old-fashioned field testing. Anything else?"
“Don’t worry about how the ESU will react to you, in fact, it’s better to get caught at this point. I’ll pass down a message telling them it’s okay. Hope you don’t mind a change in our plans, but don’t worry, you’re still getting paid!” Crackling interrupted her employer’s voice. “Oh boo, well, I have to go. I have to prepare for orbital descent and all that… See you soon!”
The line went silent as the communication cut abruptly. Change of plans, huh? Well, she got what she asked for, at least. And on top of that, this sounded like a chance to find out what her machine was really capable of. The thing was...
"Hold on, what was that about getting caught?"
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‘Creaaaaaaak.’
Metal fingers buried themselves into the Highlander’s chest, stretching open the gaps in its frame. The still-beating heart of the machine was exposed to the wind and smoke, coughs erupting from the pilot’s lungs. Sean’s eyes met the open sky blurred by tears. He wasn’t sure when he started crying, nor why— the emotions weighing on him remained as nameless as the men whose bodies lay scattered across the battlefield. Leaning into the crack in the Highlander’s frame, he roared.
Primal. Animalistic. Beastial.
The Highlander reached for the rifle still holstered at its back, the only weapon remaining in its arsenal. Its arms struggled to even lift the rifle to its chest. The rifle took aim at the cloaked machine, forced to line up the shot by sight alone.
“If ye have something to say,” he growled, “...best say it yerself.”
The rifle abruptly turned, aiming towards the now-grounded pilot of the Wolfsbane. And though the machine sent the signal to the gun to fire- it didn’t. It couldn’t, because a foot had gently stepped onto the barrel, bending the gun in a way it shouldn’t be bent. Realizing that there had been a catastrophic system error, the gun didn’t fire, reporting to its user that it simply couldn’t.
“It’s a shame it’s come to this, but I suppose it saves us some trouble later.” It reached for its waist, pulling out a sleek edge blade, seemingly lazer-cut to perfection. The sheath had been previously hidden, along its back, but now it hung from its waist. Slowly, it brought the blade up to bear on its fallen and nearly eviscerated foe, as if readying for the final blow.
“See you on the other side.”
There was a crashing sound at the end of the street, as another machine had come leaping onto the scene, sending concrete flying. For a single moment, the blade aiming for Sean remained frozen in place, its wielder seemingly taken aback by this new development.
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ned
Little Twinkle
Posts: 12
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Post by ned on Feb 21, 2019 4:07:29 GMT -6
That moment was enough.
The interloper had already kicked into high gear, their machine skating across the asphalt in a burst of speed that belied its frame. As it made its way towards the mech threatening the Highlander, it was clear it had no intention of slowing down. Instead, it braced up its bulky right arm as it rammed into its target at full speed.
The sound of metal on metal cracked through the air as the collision sent the two mechs barrelling into a nearby building. Before the smoke could clear out, the newcomer's machine came jetting out of the debris, thrusters set to reverse, and strategically positioned itself between Sean and his opponent. From the mech's speakers came Val's voice, directed towards the Highlander's pilot.
"You look like hell, buddy. I hope you don't mind if I take this one."
“...have the feeling… not much choice in that.”
A chunk of building dashed across the street, crushing an abandoned bus as it dug into the building parallel. The sword wielding machine emerged from the rubble, much of the building it had been crushed into slowly crumbling away as it did. With its sword in one hand, it rose the other to crack its metallic neck.
With its cloak sufficiently torn, the entirety of its visage was revealed to the group.
It was tall and sleek, lacking the heavy armor and frames that made so many AAs look like machines. Its gunmetal gray body possessed something akin to tiger stripes, but a closer inspection in the light revealed short indents in its body, not colored streaks. Its body was almost too human-like, its proportions too accurate.
...its face…
...its face could have been human, but a huge indent in the center, home to an array of bright orange monoeyes, which fluttered and slid about, made it appear as anything but human. The metallic hat it had been adorned with was now lost, but that didn’t seem to stop it.
Flashing its blade, it took a stance not unlike that of a proper swordsman before rushing forward. Though verniers flared, they did so only in support of its sprint.
A lazy, almost far too confident swing was met with a fist. The gauntlet of the Meléagros caught the blade with ease. Though it dug into the hand, it was only able to go so far.
“Tell me, who are you? That machine isn’t ESU… Is it Martian? Jovian?” The various monoeyes in the shattered head swung around as if to scrutinize every detail of its opponent, before clustering in the center.
"Me? I'm just a freelancer."
Val took advantage of the opening created by the parry to unholster her machine's rifle, disengaging as she fired a few potshots in her opponent's direction.
"And this machine? It's not ESU, or Mars, or anything like that. It's one hundred percent Val and it's going to kick your ass."
For all her bravado, though, this fight really wasn't one her mech was built to handle. She had speed on her side, sure, and that right arm of hers was packing some serious power, but it was too unwieldy for its own good. If her opponent was even halfway decent, she would never get a chance to get a punch in. Now, the way she usually did things, she'd be in and out before anybody knew what happened. But the moment she'd been dragged into a proper fight, she'd already fallen behind.
The Meléagros remained uneasily outside of melee range, unsure of what to do. The enemy unit didn't seem intent on making the first move, either. Val exhaled a sharp breath and laid back in her seat, before asking to seemingly no one. "Hey, tin can. Got any bright ideas?"
A disembodied voice replied over the mech's internal speakers. "Several, in fact. In the future, I would advise against using the Meléagros' arm the way you did just now. The armor's structural integrity-" "I meant right now, dumbass! Give me something to work with!" "Language." "...I'm not sure why I ever ask you anything."
Normally, her best option would be to put some distance between them and wait for another opportunity, but her objective was different this time. One look was enough to tell her that the fallen Highlander was in no shape to fight back. If she pulled back here, its pilot would die. Simple as that.
Only one thing to do, then. Val engaged the Meléagros' thrusters, sending it hurling towards the sword-wielding machine, punching arm at the ready.
"You better not have been lying about that hidden potential."
A flash of orange and purple light from her opponent was all she saw as blade met fist once more, the machine not even staggering as the two clashed. For all their talk, the Meléagros was able to meet each blow with enough raw power that the fight would appear at least somewhat even.
“You really don’t quit, huh?” Each blow sparked, and as much as the sword wielding machine wished to break through its defenses, it seemed unable to. “This is starting to get annoying.”
Another flash of light, and suddenly the machine was two steps ahead, fully behind the Meléagros. It spun as it appeared, ready to strike against the now defenseless machine out of the blue before-
Receptive particles detected. Kheiros System, fully operational.
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Post by fen on Feb 21, 2019 4:13:51 GMT -6
One flash with met with another as the back of the Meléagros seemed to flip open, pushing aside its roaring thrusters to reveal another hidden set. It boosted a meter, spun, and met the blow that should have ambushed it with the full force of its fist, using its new thrusters to launch itself with force shy of breaking the sound barrier.
The blade shifted as Val’s opponent took a defensive posture at the last second, but the damage had been done as it found itself being forcibly pushed back several meters from the blast.
As the dust and pavement from the scraped road settled, the mysterious sword bearing machine stood tall, its weapon no longer in its hands.
“I see,” spoke its pilot, the machine flexing its fingers as its various monoeyes calmly settled on the visage of the empowered Meléagros. “This is… A surprise. We’ll have to pick this up another time, then.”
Before either the pilot of the Highlander or Val could protest, the machine stomped its foot, kicking up another dust cloud. Yet as the cloud settled, the machine was no longer present. A cursory examination of the area would reveal that even Cain had left at some point, and beyond the wrecked Spartan, there was no one left that could inflict any more damage to the town.
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ned
Little Twinkle
Posts: 12
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Post by ned on Feb 21, 2019 4:14:50 GMT -6
The sound of the Meléagros powering down punctuated the end of the skirmish. Its pilot allowed herself a breath of relief. No sense in pursuing the other mech - it would take too long to track it down, and it wasn't the main objective anyway. Knowing she'd sent it packing was satisfaction enough.
Val turned back towards the Highlander, taking a longer look at the eviscerated machine. "Geez, that looks nasty." She did feel a pang of regret at the idea of leaving the metallic husk on the scene, but there was no salvaging it. What a waste. "Anyway", she continued, "no way you're walking home like that. Let's get you somewhere safe."
The pilot didn’t answer.
Or to be more precise, he couldn’t. Sean’s unconscious body slumped over the dashboard, left arm dangling outside the lacerated metal that once protected his cockpit. Reaching for something far beyond his grasp. His other arm— nowhere to be found.
The Meléagros picked up the grounded pilot in its offhand. As it reached inside the Highlander's chest, Val was reacquainted with the stiffness of her machine's controls. Nothing abnormal for a mech of this size. But for a brief moment, during the fight, it had felt... lighter. Light enough to forget she had fifty tons of metal at her fingertips. And now that it was back to normal, piloting it felt sluggish, like a bad hangover.
...well, she'd have all the time in the world to dwell on that later. Now that she'd extracted the other pilot, all that was left was to book it and get out of there. Which meant... fulfilling the other part of her job. Val sighed as she inputted a frequency on her comms panel, opening a radio link. She still had a long day ahead of her.
"This is the Meléagros, speaking to the Menaulion. Believe you dropped something. Tall, red hair, answers to Roland?"
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Post by fen on Feb 21, 2019 16:23:41 GMT -6
The Menaulion gained altitude, quietly lifting from the waters that had contained it. Its temporary stop near the Enceladus allowed for the recovery of the Kirin and Cayonero, though the latter’s pilot was quickly rushed to the medbay the moment the scrap heap touched the hangar floor. As the sight of the factory outpost faded away, there was only one individual missing. “Captain, we have a new signal coming from the location of the Highlander... It’s not on our records as anything, could be an entirely new machine.” Though the Menaulion was in flight, it was flying low to avoid catching the ire of the descended Martian fleet, as well as to hopefully recover their last missing pilot. Its guns were stashed away for flight, but the stationed gunners were on the edge of their seats as the bridge gave them the a standby message. As the machine approached, neither gunfire nor explosions came about from either side. In fact, it opened a communications channel with the Menaulion instead, sending, This is the Meléagros, speaking to the Menaulion. Believe you dropped something. Tall, red hair, answers to Roland?All eyes on the bridge stared back at Adamaris, both unsure of what to do, and what to make of this situation. Begrudgingly, she let out a sigh and motioned towards the hangar operators. “Let them in.” The hangar door to the Menaulion slowly shifted open, creaking as wind rushed in. The Meléagros flew in not long after, its thrusters flaring as it settled in the middle of the hangar. Its thick, monstrous gauntlet hand opened up, revealing what remained of the bleeding out Roland. As the machine knelt down and lowered its hand, medical crew rushed forward. ----- As the Menaulion left the combat area, so came the cavalry. A small entourage of ESU ships had descended not long after the Martian fleet. Their speed was an advantage to their design, and as they neared the recently settled Martian fleet, their cannons fired at full power. Thunderous strikes resounded through the area as cannon fire met Martian ship. Flames engulfed many of the smaller ships, while the Argos and its escort ships began to turn to meet the fire head on. The ESU, however, had the high ground. As the Caladbolg surged forward, its twin plasma cannons primed directly at the Argos, it fired. A huge fireball engulfed the bow of the Martian fleet ship, followed by smaller explosions that lined its underside. The ship almost immediately lost altitude, causing the rest of the Martian fleet to take to the defensive. ---- Much later, during the evening…The silhouette of the Argos plunged the small convoy of Liberator vessels into darkness. The massive ship had sustained damage during the earlier skirmish with the ESU, and while the Martians had reclaimed Enceladus, they had been barred from heading towards the sub-Sahel zone. Mechanics huddled and shouted between each other as the final machine was loaded into the small Liberator freighter. Standing watch was none other than Steel Hawk. His clawed, metallic fingers tapped against his armor, his expression hidden but nonetheless telling all to leave him alone. Well, mostly all. Having not changed out of his operative gear since earlier in the day, Kenichi Uoya stepped up to the side of his leader, hands behind his back as his gaze fell upon the freighter. “I can’t say I feel comfortable here.” There wasn’t an immediate reply from Hawk, especially not over the shouted commands of the mechanics working, but he stopped his tapping. “There’s no reason to feel unsafe, we have a good working relationship.” Ken cocked a brow, gazing over to his leader with that stone face he normally had. “In any case, today went exactly as you predicted. I’m sure the ESU will be reeling.” A comment that would have normally incited a chuckle from Hawk had him quiet. His hand hovered over the dogtags around his armored neck, the bomber jacket he wore fluttering just slightly in the cool evening wind. Ken paused. “...Something wrong, sir?” Hawk turned around. “No, I was just thinking… How’s our pilot?” “You mean Bernard?” “Yes, how is he holding up? Any signs of cracking?” The two looked towards the sight of the Pigeon, hidden both by the jungle and the shade of the Argos. The sleek ship looked nothing like a ship that existed, either ESU or Martian. They had gotten some curious looks from the roaming Martian soldiers on their air strip, but they had the sense to keep their distance. “I can’t tell. On the surface he seems perfectly fine, but I’ve gone over his debriefing, and considering what he did to his former squadmate… I’m surprised he hasn’t shown any outburst or discomfort.” “Good.” Kenichi’s hand gripped the others wrist as he kept them behind his back. There was something gnawing at the corner of his mind, a concern, almost. Yet he couldn’t, and wouldn’t question Hawk’s judgement. No matter what. Satisfied, Hawk turned back towards the freighter. As its rear storage hatch was shut, the mechanics began to pour back into the ship, giving both Hawk and Ken the all clear. “Let’s go. They’ll get their orders once we’re back in orbit.” Ken gave the Pigeon one last look before turning back.
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