[quote]"Need support on the bridge, Yuga and Vakarus are down. Owen is pretty badly wounded."[/quote]
Porter, after he regained his balance, ran towards the bridge. His footsteps shook the ground as he trotted down the hallway to finally come across the bridge personel in awful shape. "C'mon, let's get them to the medbay," Porter shouts as he's about to grab Vakarus, "Will you be okay, Taylor? Need help?!"
Amelia pokes her head in, "Holy crap! What happened here?!" she proclaims, "Are we gunna die?" she bites her fingernails, sounds like a very fast nut cracker.
Taylor looks up, after pulling another bit of shrapnel from her stomach with a groan. It wasn't deep, so she didn't have to worry about bleeding out. It just hurt like fuck. Alex rushed in, and found the bridge in disarray. Yuga and Vakarus on the floor nearby with Taylor tending to herself as Owen sat in his seat nearby, guiding the ship while he himself was close to collapsing. She then saw Porter rush in behind him, with Amelia poking her head in.
[QUOTE]"Will you be okay, Taylor? Need help?!"[/QUOTE]
"I've been through much worse. Get them to medical quickly. Alex, I need you on Navigation. Someone else get on the guns. We've got no time to lose." she said, straightening up and near-limping over towards where the radar was. Looks like everything was back up. Good. Bucky had done well. She looked the radar over, as it pinged the area around them for a good distance.
The fighter that had survived the engagement was leaving, but a larger figure had appeared. Pretty decently sized too. She guessed a frigate or corvette. The Kanads were determined to take them out, it seemed. And the Muramasa would be no match for a long brawl with a frigate. Especially in the condition it was in. She stepped back over to her chair, and flipped on comms to the Cataract and Sparrowhawk.
"This is Captain Caine. We have a Kanad frigate inbound." she stated. "Evasive maneuvers and hit it with any heavy ordinance you still have at your disposal. You know what to aim for." She stopped, looking back at Porter and Amelia. "Whichever of you two that gets on the guns, switch to the missile pods. The frigate is likely well armored, and we're gonna have to beat the shit out to take it down. We take out its firepower first, so destroy its turrets with some well placed shots. [I]Its do or die time, people.[/I]"
She switched comms once again. This time, to the ground team. "Hustle it up, guys. We don't have much time left. Get Jason and the Archive on that dropship ASAP."
[quote]"Whichever of you two that gets on the guns, switch to the missile pods. The frigate is likely well armored, and we're gonna have to beat the shit out to take it down. We take out its firepower first, so destroy its turrets with some well placed shots. Its do or die time, people."[/quote]
Porter is nudged aside by Amelia, "I'll do it easy peasy."
She sits down on the gun station, headphones in, ready to kick some butt. The hud is very similar to some of the vidya games she plays. "Whoa," she whispers, giggling afterwards. This should be a piece of cake.
Switching the guns to fire missiles, she takes aim at the frigate and fires a shot at the target on screen: their weapon systems.
Markus jumped as the sniper fire blasted a rock next to him and set fire to his jacket.
He shrunk behind his cover and laid flat behind a rock, taking aim at one of the the commandos, as it would be suicidal to start looking for a sniper when he had no clue of where to start.
Hariim closes his eyes since they're blinded for the moment, and relies on his suit's sensors to guide him to some cover. To others, the motion looks natural and smooth; there is no jump or holler from the flashbang. Hariim appears to simply turn and bolt for the nearest rock large enough to give him cover, and which will separate him from the melee that Maddox is currently engaged in.
Inside his own helmet, Hariim is already programming detonation ranges for his airburster slugs based on range data he's receiving from his suit's miniaturized radar array. Once in cover, he peeks out and lines up his rifle where his implants tell him to, and squeezes the trigger to send a burst of fire at the OBN troopers he'd shot at earlier.
He doesn't trust his blinded-but-augment-aided self to join a CQC battle where he might pike Maddox on a thermite spatha, or otherwise get in the way. Better by far to take out some of the bastards that are still a semi-safe distance away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bucky does what she can to help her stricken ship onward, but doesn't like how things are looking. She calls Taylor and asks for orders.
"Cap? You got orders for me? Reactor is still running like a champ and most of our primary systems are alright. I can divert power to some places or get the missile tubes primed."
Alex carried Yuga quickly and carefully as he could to the medbay. Porter following close behind with Vakarus. "Hestia, we got wounded! After you're done patching them up, head over to the bridge. Captain and Owen are really hurt. Could use you there." he said as they entered the medbay and placed the wounded on the beds.
Afterwards he spun around and rushed back to the bridge. On the way there he couldn't help but hear his tutor in his head. "Well Koronov, lets see if you will crack under this like so many 'lordlings' before you." He burried that deep once he entered the bridge and stood at his position. Now is not the time for doubts and he needed to focus.
"How bad is it?" Asked Varia as she ran the final system checks on the Aegis.
[i]"The Athena and a small group of cruisers are in full retreat after the enemy vessels neutralized nearly all of their onboard weapons and hangarbays, turning them into unarmed flying piles of metal. Meanwhile a dozen of new enemy contacts have made planetfall and are right outside the killzone set up around Atar."[/i] Replied the hologram of general Harkin.
"Fucking scum..." Said Varshokk over the squad channel.
"Stow it corporal." Replied Aquino.
Varia sighed. "What are our orders, sir?"
The miniature holographic general crossed his arms. [i]"To defend Atar, to defend our capital. I'm not going to lie; most of us won't make it off this rock. But, as long as those evac ships manage to take off our people will survive. There are hundred of worlds that would take them in."[/i]
He paused and sighed. [i]"We just need to buy them time."[/i]
Varia nodded. "Will do general, good luck."
[i]"Same to you. Harkin out."[/i] Suddenly the hologram vanished.
"We're ready when you are, captain." Said Aquino.
Varia smiled and turned one of the mech cameras towards the second dropship flying next to hers.
The doors to the transport compartment were open and both Aquino and Varshokk were visible inside.
-----
A few minutes later and the dropships had dropped off most of the EAF MechForce with the exception of three mechs and two trooper teams which had not made it out from the mountains.
As soon as the mechs hit the metal roads of Atar with their feet all the mech pilots snapped out of whatever other thoughts they might had prior to landing.
Ropes were tossed out of the troop dropships and soon all the MechForce soldiers had rappelled down to the ground.
"All teams listen up! Defensive forces are already in place around the city, what I need you to do is to spread out and assist wherever you can. Do whatever it takes to keep the enemy forces away from the evac ships."
She pointed down alongside one of the streets. "WarCom and AirCom have set up a temporary base at Founder's Square while DefCom are working from the ODI HQ. These are all strategic targets however they are not your primary priority. Good luck."
With that said Varia loaded her weapon. "Move out!"
The MechForce squads quickly dispersed and began to spread out inside the city. Varia and her squad made their way north after a police officer requested support with panicking civilians.
As they arrived to the police checkpoint infront one of the many entrances to the Atar metro highway Varia spotted a group of maybe ten officers trying to maintain order as civilians disembarked from their cars and attempted to overrun the checkpoint on foot.
"Squad, move in to assist."
Aquino, Varshokk and the other troopers nodded before rushing towards the checkpoint. "EAF! Clear the way!" Yelled Aquino as he fired a burst into the air which caused most of the crowd to disperse.
The police officers sighed with relief. "Thanks for the assist, things were about to get ugly."
"Don't mention it officer, now let's keep the flow going." Said Aquino as he holstered his rifle.
Under Varia's, and her squad's, watching eye the vehicles continued to slowly pass through the checkpoint.
Suddenly the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard far off around the northern city limits.
"Captain! You might want to hear this!" Yelled Varshokk who was manning the checkpoint radio.
"Patching it through."
The HUD of the Aegis soon notified her that she was now receiving live feed from the DefCom channel.
[i]
"North One, this is DefCom. Repeat last, over?"
"DefCom, North One here. Assaulters have been repelled. Ground forces only. Our fortifications are holding for now. We're gonna need AA support soon though, I got eyes on a enemy cruiser heading towards my position. How copy?"
"Copy North One, support coming online. Hold. ADB One, status?"
"ADB One to DefCom, we're standing by and awaiting orders."
"Copy. ADB One, load magazine and prepare to fire. Wait for my mark."
"Roger DefCom, ADB One primed and ready to fire."
"DefCom to ADB One, fire mission. One shot. Target delta. Mark."
"ABD One, firing. Shot."
...
"DefCom to North One, status on enemy vessel?"
"Negative effect on target, I repeat, negative effect on target."
"Copy. ADB One, fire on my mark."
"Roger DefCom, second shot ready."
"Mark."
"Mark, roger. Shot."
...
"North One, status?"
"Negative! Negative! Target is still inbound, we need to get the hell outta here now!"
"Roger North One, disengage and fall back. ADB One, prepare third shot. Mark."
"ADB One, shot."
"North One, status of target delta?"
"Fuck! It's still coming! Move it private, we don't have time to lie around!"
"ADB One, continuous fire on the target."
"Copy, continuous fire."
"It's not working! Fu-"
[/i]
Suddenly the feed was interrupted by loud static.
[i]"North One, this is DefCom, are you still with me? North One? North One, come in!"[/i]
The operator could be heard sighing. Varia killed the feed and looked at Varshokk and the others who had also been listening in on the DefCom channel.
Aquino and Varshokk had a grim expression on their faces underneath the helmet visors. The police officers had grown visibly pale.
"We're all going to die." Muttered one of them.
[QUOTE]"Cap? You got orders for me? Reactor is still running like a champ and most of our primary systems are alright. I can divert power to some places or get the missile tubes primed."[/QUOTE]
"Good work. Prime [B]all[/B] missile tubes, and keep a lookout for any more damage. We might take a hit or two from that frigate. Hopefully not multiple hits, but still. Be prepared." said Taylor, as she responded to Bucky via intercom.
Hestia quickly spun her head at the slight of the unconscious Yuga and Vakarus while they were being brought in by Porter and Alex.
After helping ease the injuries onto the stained beds within the medbay, Hestia quickly preformed an physical diagnosis on both while getting them stabilized with the various automated medical systems available.
Both we're carefully sedated with a precise mixture of chemicals where they laid motionless. Hesita making sure to select the right tonics and drugs to ease their damaged bodies out of shock.
With haste, Hestia made sure to keep them both stable with the equipment at hand though her antonymous link that interconnected with her synthetic conscious.
Allowing her to monitor both Yuga and Vakarus while she assembled her mobile medical kit for attending to the wounded on the bridge.
That being Mister Owen, preparing an injection of fast acting nanites to minimize the damage the fireball caused aboard the bridge. While also repair any concussions sustained during the explosion.
After a second of tinkering and an second too soon, Hestia arrived on the bridge to deliver the shot discreet to Owen's left thigh, though with added benefit of some morphine being injected into his bloodstream
to subside the quite pronounce pain of nanites at work.
It's projected effect was to be unnoticed by Owen as he focused on keeping the ship in the air while mending his borken bones and organs.
[B]-----[/B]
After taking a second to scan the situation, Jag begin turn to towards the borken OBN and the OBS ranks as they rolled about on the ground.
Jag begun violently thrashing it's 'shield', tossing the body towards the dazed operatives with the intent of shattering their stained morale.
However, wanting to keep some form of protection. Jag hastily dashed towards it's left to cover to doge any incoming sniper fire.
((From here on, I'm making a small change to formatting. To make DMG rolls more legible, I'm only going to bold the number which actually factor into attacks, rather than the entire damage formula.))
The away team continued to put pressure on the kanads, gradually closing in on the heavily battered truck as it billowed smoke into the acrid-smelling rain. By the time Jag had reached the armored troopers, half of them were already out of the fight, but the other two were still standing and preparing to strike again. Jag was faster, though, and hit them with something they didn't expect- one of their own comrades. The commando's body thrashed about as Jag slammed it into the OBN operators.
Jag: {2, 9, 2} x 1.5 x Dismemberment(CH1/2, {2, 2, 2}, 3 Passed, x2) = {[B]6[/B], [B]27[/B], [B]6[/B]}
The kanad screamed in terror as it was thrown around, smashing into the ground and his comrades at high speed. While certainly intimidating, it wasn't very effective until the commando slammed into the second of the two OBN carriers with just the right angle to catch the trooper's helmet. The resulting concussive impact was enough to knock the latter unconscious.
[B]Enemy Neutralized.[/B]
In such a situation, the commando locked in Jag's grip was barely able to avoid having his neck snapped by the force of the attack. Dizzied and in horrendous pain, he attempted to break from the sanghvi's hold.
CH Estimate: 2/5
[B]Actual: 2[/B]
Roll Failed.
Despite his struggling, he could not escape from Jag's clutch and would continue to be used as a shield. Inside the tank, Jason was feeling more confident as the enemies surrounding him were gradually beaten back. He switched the turret to automatic fire again and slid down into the cabin to heal himself, only to notice what had occurred earlier, when the truck was taking a beating. With its computer systems offline, the drones he had deployed earlier were no longer working, and the turret wasn't firing automatically anymore. Grumbling, he worked on patching himself up.
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: 2[/B]
Roll Failed.
In the darkness of the truck's cabin, it was difficult to see what he was doing, and after a few more hits to the armor plating, Jason was forced to give up first aid and keep fighting. After all, it wouldn't be long before someone could cover his escape. Unfortunately, in the time it took for him to reach this conclusion, the kanads had readied themselves for another volley.
OBN Trooper 1:
CH Estimate: 3/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 1
Roll Passed.
Without the help of the second armor-piercing rifle, the OBN user could only do so much- in this case, the shot pounded its way through the dash console of the passenger side, narrowly missing Jason's leg in the process. [B]10 DMG to Yadahr's Truck[/B]
Yadahr's Truck HP: 306/500
Commandos 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, NSK: {[B]7[/B], 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = [B]20[/B], [B]7[/B], [B]6[/B], [B]8[/B], [B]6[/B]} = [B]54 DMG[/B]
Yadahr's Truck HP: 252/500
The metal was glowing all over from the repeated plasma impacts. If nothing were to change, it wouldn't be long before the OBVs could penetrate the truck's outer shell and possibly wound Jason inside. Their single-mindedness was impressive, but while it was gradually wearing Jason down, the strategy wasn't going to win the battle. Jason checked to make sure the machine gun was still functional before unleashing another wave.
Jason: {[B]2[/B], 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 1, Failed, x1) + 4(Assault) = [B]14[/B], 9 + 9(Assault) + 4(Assault) = [B]22[/B], 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 1, Failed, x1) + 2(Assault) = [B]12[/B], [B]5[/B], [B]1[/B], [B]6[/B]}
With another round of punishing fire, Jason raked the enemy with bullets which killed one and heavily wounded several others, further tipping the battle in favor of the Muramasa team. While the sole remaining OBN operator was still standing, the commandos received a series of devastating blows.
[B]2 Enemies Neutralized.[/B]
[B]Enemy Eliminated.[/B]
While this was going on, Hariim could be seen awkwardly high-stepping toward cover- the movements of a blind man being fed descriptions of his surroundings. Kicking up mud as he went, he managed to feel his way into position behind one of the many jagged rocks in the area. His senses still hadn't quite returned as he attempted to line up a shot, but it was actually Markus who got one off first, unseen in the outskirts of the battle to everyone except the other sniper. It was a closer shot this time, requiring far less skill than what Markus was akin to. He squeezed the trigger-
Markus: 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) x 3(Ambusher) = [B]60 DMG(!)[/B]
...and the enemy's head [I]exploded.[/I] The remaining OBN trooper cried out in shock as a splash of chunky salsa covered a nearby rock and his comrade's headless body tumbled into the mud. Hariim's sensors picked up on the enemy who reacted, and he unleashed his attack.
Hariim: 5 x 1.5 x (No Feat Applicable) = 7.5... [B]8 DMG[/B]
The slugs pounded against the armor protecting the OBN trooper, and while the hit wasn't lethal, it staggered him badly. He appeared slow to react, and failed to set himself up for another attack- it appeared as if he were at death's door.
---
The missiles were primed aboard the Muramasa, but the time it took to prepare them allowed the Tovokra to make the first move. Captain Vixe watched as the target in her HUD turned a bright red, and with no discernable pleasure, she ordered its destruction. As it fired, however, Owen did as he was told and took evasive maneuvers, and the Muramasa's nimbleness came into play.
Owen:
CH Estimate: 3/4
[B]Actual: 3[/B]
Roll Passed.
The crew on the bridge heard what sounded like a crack of thunder as the entire sky before them turned a harsh shade of neon blue. The Muramasa rose through the air, rotating like a helicopter while pulling toward the right, a spiraling movement which held no name nor any place in a pilot's manual. It was a purely instinctual technique from a barely-conscious pilot. Hestia injected him with healing nanites in an attempt to keep him in the fight.
+20 HP
Owen HP: 40/100
Owen grimaced as the little machines set to work, the morphine dulling his sense of pain as he continued to pull on the stick, trying to get an angle... Onboard the Tovokra, Captain Vixe smiled. The mouse still had some kick in it after all. But her amusement was interrupted by the Sparrowhawk's intervention.
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: {5, 2, 2, 3}[/B]
2 Rolls Passed.
2 Rolls Failed.
The Sparrowhawk unleashed its air-to-air rockets on the frigate, aiming squarely at the massive laser weapon placements on the underside. The Tovokra responded with a flash, shaking the air itself with the power of the beams. Two of the rockets were blown apart in mid air, but the other laser actually managed to miss, and the two rockets slammed into the emplacements. A fiery cloud of smoke and debris descended from the bottom of the craft like volcanic rain, but instantly it was clear that the only thing destroyed were the rockets themselves. The massive laser canons began to charge again.
"[All four lasers have fired, Captain,]" the gunnery operator warned. "[Twenty seconds to recharge.]"
"[Acknowledged,]" Vixe replied. "[The enemy's projectiles are too small for reliable interception. From here one, we take them as they come, understood?]"
"[Yes, Captain.]"
"[Target the bodies of both hostile ships and ignore the cowards in the third,]" she ordered as the Cataract began to create distance between itself and the others. It was clearly not fit for this fight. "[Fire as soon as the cannons are charged.]"
Back on the Muramasa, the temporary gunner Amelia had just gained a target lock on the Tovokra's weapons. Once confirmed, Amelia dedicated the top row of five missiles to the upper weapons placement on the enemy frigate and the bottom five on the corresponding lower package. As she pulled the trigger, alarms sounded on the bridge of the Tovokra. Captain Vixe could see the missile battery jutting out of the top of the Muramasa just before the bright flashes of each missile's ignition.
"[Shields up, maximum power!]" she boomed as she jumped to her feet.
CH Estimate: 2/5
[B]Actual: {3, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 5, 3, 1, 5}[/B]
2 Rolls Passed.
8 Rolls Failed.
The missiles raced to their separate targets in seconds, with most of them being intercepted by the frigate's shields. The remaining two collided with the lower weapons packages below the warship with catastrophic effect: the lower guns were struck by two consecutive blows which crippled one of the lasers completely.
"[Captain!]" the gunnery operator yelled.
"[I know, stay focused!]" she commanded. Vixe gritted her teeth; it was all fun and games until the urchins put a scratch on her ship. Even more frustrating, the power diverted to the shields delayed the recharge time further. Still, she would have the chance to attack again, before the Muramasa could reload that cumbersome missile battery. Unless, of course, the Muramasa had some sort of machine which could drastically speed up the reload time.
Bucky:
CH Estimate: 1/4
[B]Actual: {3, 4, 1} (Multitasking)[/B]
Roll Passed.
Just over thirty seconds later, the Tovokra was ready to fire again. But just [I]under[/I] thirty seconds later, the same could be said for the Muramasa! For the briefest moment, a look of genuine worry crossed the ever-confident visage of the frigate's captain as she witnessed another ignition flash from the Muramasa's missile battery.
(Auto Roll)
Amelia:
CH Estimate: 2/5
[B]Actual: {3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 5, 2, 5, 5, 2}[/B]
4 Rolls Passed.
6 Rolls Failed.
Another barrage fired from the Muramasa's battery, shocking the bridge crew of the Tovokra with its rapidity. Vixe, unwilling to lose the charge of the cannons, refused to allow the shields to be raised. After all, the last batch only had a 20% success rate. This time, however, the haughty captain wouldn't be so lucky as one missile collided with the upper weapons placement, mildly damaging it, and another three slammed into the already damaged lower placement. The force of the explosion ripped a deep gash into the underbelly of the frigate and completely disabled the cannons there.
"[We're losing a lot of cap charge, Captain]" the frigate's navigator warned. Vixe pounded her fist on the captain's chair's armrest.
"[We've got enough charge, shoot them down!]"
"[Yes captain!]" a chorus of officers replied in unison. Their rivals aboard the Muramasa now took evasive action while the Sparrowhawk prepped another raid with its small rockets.
(Auto Roll)
Owen:
CH Estimate: 1/2
[B]Actual: 1[/B]
Roll Failed.
There wasn't enough warning for Owen to avert the impact. With another thunderbolt, the ship was briefly engulfed in a flash of blue- the sound was deafening and a shudder could be felt all over. The ship's defense system warned of a straight breach through the shields, armor, and hull, boring a new open-air window into the brig. Throughout the ship, the crew was able to taste ozone...
Vixe:
CH Estimate: 3/4
[B]Actual: 3[/B]
Roll Passed.
The other laser easily struck the Sparrowhawk, and from a distance, the Muramasa crew was able to see the deep gouge the blast was able to leave in their ally's thick armor. For a moment, the Sparrowhawk seemed stunned; its weapons didn't fire so quickly, as if the captain was contemplating retreat. Instead, four rockets once again streaked toward the Tovokra unopposed.
(Auto Roll)
Cheng:
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: {5, 5, 5, 4}[/B]
Four Rolls Passed.
Since the previous set had been directed at the enemy's weapons and had done nothing, Captain Cheng switched strategies and aimed for the bridge instead. At the moment they arrived, the kanads had just committed to using what was left of the capacitor power to guard their weapons systems, as this appeared to be the enemy's focus. Not this time: the rockets pounded against the bare armor of the bridge, sending powerful shocks through the frontal sections of the frigate and even piercing through, damaging the hull. Unfortunately aside from flickering lights and various computer errors, the actual bridge crew escaped unscathed.
Vixe, however, was wounded on an invisible level. Grabbing her comm, she sent word back to Yovek HQ: "[The enemy is better equipped than previously thought, we are under fire and need assistance immediately.]"
To which she received a reply:
[quote][Negative, Tovokra. The Batakya is currently engaged in close-orbit with the enemy; no ships are available. State Security provided intel on your opponent's craft, were the reports inaccurate?][/quote]
The bridge crew looked at Vixe expectantly. "[No sir,]" she replied, solemnly. She couldn't be sure whether the reports were, in fact, accurate, but she wasn't about to admit that she had failed to read them. Snapping back into the current situation, she requested an update on the capacitor recharge situation.
"[Thirty-eight seconds,]" the operator replied.
"[Understood,]" Vixe replied, sitting back down. "[We must not lose next exchange. Focus both cannons on the Muramasa.]"
"[Yes, Captain!]"
((You forgot to roll for Maddox.))
Taylor checked the ships status, after that last blow the Muramasa had taken. That shot the Frigate had scored on them had tore clean through the ship's hull and had blown a hole in the brig's wall. She flicked on the intercom quickly. "Porter, make sure János is alright, and seal off the Brig for now. Bucky, keep it up with the missile tubes. We have to keep the pressure on that Frigate."
She released the intercom's button, then turned her attention to Owen. "If you have any tricks up your sleeve, now's the time to use them. We have to dodge those shots or the Muramasa's gonna get shot to shit." she said, before looking over towards Amelia. "Keep up the missile barrages. We've almost crippled their firepower."
Then, she opened comms to the Sparrowhawk. "Captain, keep firing on the bridge. We'll focus on the guns. They can't defend both of them at the same time." And with that, she gripped her seat tightly. It was down to the wire, and they had to take out the frigate now or [I]at least[/I] scare it off. Otherwise, they'd be swatted out of the sky like bugs.
Markus had been able to determine from what general direction the sniper was firing, but not his exact location.
He shuffled a bit on the ground and pulled out a very basic flare tube. He aimed the tube upwards and pulled a string, sending a flare up which then ignited itself and began to slowly descend whilst illuminating the area with a dim red light.
He then used a custom-made handheld periscope to peak over his cover to scan the area. He had placed a yellow lens on it, which would magnify glints from rifle scopes or from the visors he knew adorned the Kanad's masks.
After taking an moment to focus, Jag pushed once more into the Commandos broken ranks with a charge directly at them after throwing an smoke grenade ahead of itself.
The grenade detonate suddenly mid air in the Kanad's faces as it's implant had wireless programed it's nature before ever leaving Jag's belt.
With it's fragments still burning to keep the cloud alive as they fell into the soft ground, the programed detonation let out a dense smoke that consumed it's occupants in instant.
Hoping finish off it's own dazed foes, Jag was able to see past the smoke with it's thermal vision.
Able to use appendage freely, Jag still dashed about randomly to put itself between the Kanads engaged in the melee to avoid the Sniper that lurked about.
Hoping that it could make itself too difficult of an target to track down without the Marksmen risking it's fellow comrades lives if the they packed an thermal sight.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfBuQjrHCWY[/media]
The night was dark enough that Frosty couldn't see his hands infront of his face. He had to tread carefully and stay out of the light coming from the street lamps to avoid being detected, but that would mean having to be completely surrounded by the darkness. What he witnessed during the day at the mosque made him want to take action against CoG, even if he couldn't do much. He wasn't going to do what he wanted to do because he liked the pirates, but seriously thought they didn't deserve whatever CoG did or was going to do to them. Some of them were placed into holding pens under the mosque when the mass was finished, and Frosty wanted to try saving one from such a horrible fate. If he could save at least one, it would make him feel easier after witnessing what happened during the day.
Fortunately, due to night time on Karbala being pitch black, Frosty was able to make his way to the mosque without getting spotted. Nobody was out, and the mosque wasn't in use. The main doors were locked, so Frosty had to find another way in.
Behind the mosque was a massive partially underground building, a warehouse of sorts which contained all the various loot that was collected off of whatever victims that were sacrificed. The entrance was also locked but there was a palm scanner next to the door. Frosty placed his hand on the scanner which beeped a confirmation, unlocking the door. At first glance, it's as if the inside was much larger than the outside as shelves and boxes full of various things seemed to go on forever. Stacks of armors, racks full of weapons, and even a few salvaged vehicles from numerous races and groups far beyond the eye can see littered the inside of the warehouse. It all seemed to be an endless supply. If one thing was made clear by this, it was that CoG had been doing this for a long time. Frosty didn't want to think of what they did with the bodies. After searching around for a passage to the mosque, Frosty finally found the door leading to it amid all the loot.
The lights were off with the only thing illuminating the inside were the orange glows of the streetlights penetrating through the stained glass. Frosty stumbled around in the dark, attempting to find his way around the large interior. He climbed up on the stage and looked around the altar, still stained with pirate blood. During the ceremonies, Frosty noticed somewhere on the stage was a passageway at the back which he saw the captives being dragged out from. Looking around, all he found was a rather large and ornate looking chair. However, behind the chair, he felt a breeze pass through it's frame. This was it, and Frosty pushed the chair aside with all his strength. Now in front of him was a passageway, completely black and devoid of any lighting. Frosty stepped forward into darkness, only for a cable to come straight out of the wall, whipping him quite hard in his leg. He fell backward and held his leg in pain. The impact of the wire was hard enough that it caused him to bleed, sprinkling a little of his blood on the passage floor. It was now clear to him, the passageway was trapped. Frosty had a feeling it wasn't just captives that the ayatollahs wanted to keep inside... or perhaps, they didn't want anyone else to find out what else may be inside. It took Frosty a while to figure out where the traps were, although by the end of it he had been cut, singed, and was pretty sure he had been impaled by a spike. After the trapped hallway was a flight of stairs going down. Thankfully it was lit, and even better: no traps to put Frosty in an even worse shape than he is now. Though, he heard something in the air. Something that sounded like static.
The basement of the mosque. The holding cages for pending offerings to god. The torture pits where the ayatollahs could have their way with certain otherworldly intruders that seriously got under their skin, or proved rather difficult to capture. Frosty pressed onward, not wanting to find out what horrible tools the ayatollahs used, he kept his eyes to the floor until he found the cages. He looked around in each of the pens, but found nothing except for messages for help left by previous captives, blood stains, and cracks in the wall made by various escape attempts. Only in one of the pens did he find something; the source of the static. It was a little dark, but Frosty could make out [url=http://pre01.deviantart.net/b24b/th/pre/i/2014/151/9/b/cqb_by_sttheo-d4opu7e.jpg]a set of powered armor[/url] that was restrained against the wall. A dented radio was strapped to it's vest with wires entering it's helmet, which was the cause of the strange noise Frosty was hearing. At the sight of Frosty the person inside the armor began to thrash about wildly, and tried it's hardest to break free of it's constraints. The static got louder with anguished grunts.
"Oh! No, no! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm not here to do that! Please! [I]Please calm down![/I]" pleaded Frosty.
The captive continued struggling to break free.
"[B]Please stop![/B] I am not like the others! [I][B]I am not one of them![/B][/I] I want to help you!"
The static got a little quieter.
"I'm not like them! I'm just as confused and terrified as you are! I don't like what these people are doing, and what they've done to your friends! I want to help you... I want to set you free. Away from this horrible place..."
The captive stopped. It turned it's head and stared right at Frosty.
"I was there at the ceremony... I saw what they did to your friends... I didn't like what they did, and I don't want you to go through that! Nobody should!"
It tried talking to him through the radio in a masked, synthesized voice. But due to it's poor state, Frosty could just barely understand what it was trying to tell him. It gestured towards it's restraints. He searched them to see if he could find a release switch or a something. There was nonesuch thing, but there was a hole however.
"There's some sort of key hole here. Did any of your captors happen to have a key or something?"
The captive nodded.
"Ahh, hmm..." Frosty pondered. "Is he large and wears a red tunic? And a cowl with a crown of spikes by any chance?"
The captive nodded again.
Moloch had the key somewhere. Hopefully not on his person. Though, the captive had an idea where to look and tried to relay this info to Frosty. It tried to tell him that there's a second floor where the ayatollahs have offices, and that Moloch might have one there.
"Ok, ok... Listen. I will go and search for this key. I will tear apart his office if I must, but I promise you, I will find it. Ok? Do not worry, I will return."
Going back through the passageway was easy for Frosty now that he knew where the traps were. He'd have to tell the captive where they are, though. The stairwell to the second floor the mosque was right near the altar, and Frosty went up. A long hallway stretched before him, full of doors that had the names of various ayatollahs on them. [B]BEHERIT[/B]. [B]AMON[/B]. [B]DAGON[/B]. [B][I]MOLOCH[/I][/B]. The door to Moloch's office was open, thankfully, but there was a problem. Frosty saw a cleaning cart out in the open. He was not alone. Looking around, making sure nobody else was out in the hallway with him, Frosty sneaked inside.
He was expecting the worst. He expected to see the flayed skin of his victims lining the walls with their names written on them. He expected their severed heads piled up behind his desk. But what he saw, he just could not process for what felt like an eternity. Frosty certainly did not expect to see what he was witnessing.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZgFUkyGkcQ[/media]
The inside of Moloch's private office contrasted so much with the middle eastern theme the rest of Karbala has. Centuries old 70s rock music was playing on a radio. The desk, floor, ceiling, and several bookshelves were made of the finest carved wood, and were also polished. The walls were an off-color white. A brown sofa chair next to a potted plant rested in the corner. These weren't the most surprising features. It's what decorated them that made Frosty absolutely flabbergasted. Behind Moloch's leather desk seat was a large flag. It had red stripes but the upper left portion of the flag was entirely blue with white stars in it. A smaller version was inside a pen holder. Another on one of the bookshelves was folded up like a triangle and placed inside a frame. A picture on Moloch's desk was of him standing in a desert with that very flag waving in the background. He looked quite happy in this photo. Whatever nation or empire this flag represented, Moloch seemed to wave it with pride. Frosty tried to be careful to not accidentally knock anything over, though, as the cleaner was in Moloch's office, but seems to have fallen asleep on the brown sofa. The music playing ought to keep Frosty's presence hidden.
A crumpled letter was on his desk; Frosty unfurled it and started reading.
[quote]"[I]I cannot understand. Our people are so willing to praise God during our masses and sermons and sacrifice those fetid pirates whenever we demand it, and yet every other time when the ayatollahs and I are not around, they grow complacent with the situation we are in and turn cold. They've accepted defeat and our exile. The very idea of taking our homes back on Earth does not appeal to them anymore it seems. Only when they are in our presence do we see any shred of true faith in them, and it is unfortunate there's so few ayatollahs and others like I who understand what it really means and takes to be a chosen of God. If only Chemosh was here, he would know what to do. I remember it clearly when he gave that sermon on the dune after the Holy Father Most High's exile. During that time our people still loved the Holy Father Most High, but he managed to make them listen to him instead. That itself I believe is an act of God.[/I]"[/quote]
This made Frosty quite disgusted with Moloch. He saw firsthand the monstrous zeal of the Artisynth, and he wanted them to be even more barbaric? Frosty tossed the letter in the trash where he thought it belongs. Nevertheless, he found the key inside a drawer, and hurried back down to the cells. The captive was still in the cell, eagerly awaiting Frosty to remove the restraints binding them to the wall. As he did so, he told the captive of his plan.
"Now, I understand you must be traumatized beyond belief, but I need you to remain calm. There is a way I can get you off world. On my way here I passed through a large warehouse full of weapons and vehicles. My idea is that you could 'borrow' one of those vehicles to get off world! For your sake, I do hope they have warping capabilities to aid in your escape. Now just follow me and-"
The moment the captive was free, it tackled Frosty to the ground and was just about to strangle him to death. But, something made it stop. Frosty felt a wind sweep over his mind, like if someone was scanning it. He had felt this sensation once before, but he couldn't remember where. The captive released Frosty and stepped back, as if it felt bad about what it was going to do. It pulled Frosty back up and dusted him off before eagerly waiting for him to lead the way, while telling him it merely tripped. It struggled to walk and more than once did Frosty have to help it move as they made their way out of the mosque. Once the two were in the well-lit interior of the warehouse did Frosty see the extent of the captive's injuries and damages. Bullet holes and scorch marks all over, several straps were torn apart, and there were even [I]claw marks[/I] around the neck. The one thing that made Frosty reel the most was the helmet. When Frosty first saw the captive, he presumed the helmet had a monocle of sorts. Instead, the face plate had been smashed in hard enough that it partially shattered and concaved inward. What he thought was the monocle itself turned out to have been an [I]empty eye socket[/I]. The artisynth had beaten this person to hell. Frosty offered to provide first aid, but the captive declined, expressing that it would take care of that itself.
Fortunately, they came across a gunship that belonged to an earlier pirate group, and even more fortunate was the fact this one seemed to have sophisticated stealth capabilities which made it ideal to slip away from Artisynth space. Inside was an unused first aid kit, which the captive opened up and started using to heal it's wounds. Frosty was busy trying to open up the large warehouse doors on the far end which were used to move the vehicles inside, but he turned around to check on the captive, giving him a peek at who is inside the power armor as they removed their helmet to patch up their missing eye. He could only see what the back of their head looked like, but from what he could tell, they appeared to be some sort of humanoid. They indeed had humanoid features, but their skintone was this subdued reddish color, and some of the cuts it had bled this almost black-like colored blood.
"You are not human, are you?"
It quickly applied the rest of the bandages before putting it's helmet back on. It turned to face Frosty and gestured at him to be quiet, wanting none of it's identity known or revealed. It had also replaced the broken radio on it's vest with another it found on a nearby shelf. The voice that came out was still heavily synthesized, but there was no more static and now Frosty could understand what it was saying much better.
"If I told you who I was, they would surely squeeze whatever I have said out of you! And then they'll track me down and drag me back here! I am sorry, but I do not want to risk that!"
"Hey now, I too plan on escaping this planet as well. I especially do not plan on staying long enough for them to figure out it was me who helped you escape." responded Frosty.
"If you plan on leaving too, then I think it's best we go our separate ways instead of fleeing together." The captive placed it's hand on Frosty's shoulder. "If you freed me because of the cruelty of these people, you [I]wouldn't like where I will be going.[/I]"
The doors were now open with the way off world completely clear. Before the captive took off however, Frosty took several supplies off the shelves, placed it in a bag, and handed it over. He still had something to say, though.
"I don't ask for favors or anything in return for this, but please listen to me when I tell you this. Please, whatever you do, don't ever come back here! Don't come back to this planet for whatever reason, not even revenge! Look at all the spoils they have! If you come back with a fighting force, it will only serve to have them expand this warehouse more! Please, stay away from this planet! You really do not want to know what they will do if they capture you a second time!"
The captive pondered for a moment. It certainly did want revenge for the friends it had lost, but perhaps that would have to come much later if it ever decided to face off against the artisynth once more. It climbed into the pilots seat of the gunship as Frosty went in front to guide it out of the warehouse. As it lifted off into the sky, the captive gave Frosty a thumbs up and he responded with a wave goodbye. He felt like he did a good deed today, preventing someone from dying an agonizing death. He felt that this made up for what he had witnessed earlier that day. And yet, the thought still hasn't occurred to him. Just what would he do or tell Moloch if he ever finds out that he had practically committed an act of blasphemy against the Artisynth?
After finished with Owen, Hestia turned her attention over towards Taylor. Preparing to carefully remove the shrapnel and quickly treat the wounds, doing it via the many medical instruments built within her forearms and hands.
"Please, Captain. Could please hold still while I perform necessary surgery to treat your wounds." Hestia told her while leaning over her back.
Meanwhile, Hestia messaged Buckley while preparing to work onto Taylor injures.
"Miss Fermi, While it's unfortunate to introduce myself in such a inopportune time. I do request that you please allow me I assist you in your efforts with Muramasa's targeting matrix."
Hestia asked while linking her synthetic conscious with Muramasa's digital weapon systems.
((Note: Maddox goes first this turn because I missed his action during the last one.))
[video=youtube;pURJDToKA0k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pURJDToKA0k[/video]
While chaos continued to unfold all around, Maddox gained leverage on his opponent and pinned him against a rock. The kanad, still blinded by the flashbang launched by Jason, was unable to strike again through the human's defenses. Maddox, seizing the opportunity this moment presented, then pulled out his stun baton and jammed it into the commando's neck. If done properly, the electric shock would render the enemy helpless.
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: 4[/B]
Roll Passed.
Maddox: 10 x 1.25(Machinist) x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = [B]25 DMG[/B]
With a loud crack, the electrodes discharged onto the kanad's flesh. He yelped and released Maddox, as well as his own combat knife, pulling his hands back to protect his face just as his senses were returning to him. With a number of swift punches to the face and body, Maddox shut him down even further before the kanad dropped to the muddy ground in complete disarray, too stunned and injured to respond. Desperation was setting in among the enemy as Jag roamed among them, hunting the weaker ones.
Still gripped by the neck, the kanad being used by Jag as a shield was beginning to become a burden. Jag was looking to move quickly, and so, after deploying a smoke grenade, the sanghvi threw him to the ground while simultaneously attacking three other wounded enemies. The grenade splashed mud into the air as it bounced, before detonating.
CH Estimate: 4/5
[B]Actual: 3[/B]
Roll Passed.
The cloud of smoke obscured the area immediately surrounding Yadahr's truck, disorienting the enemy just as Jag began swinging.
Jag: {6, 8, 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = 20, 8} x 1.5 x Dismemberment(CH1/2, {2, 1, 2, 2}) = {[B]18, 12, 60, 24[/B]}
With a massive overhead swing, Jag hurled the kanad to the ground, aiming for a sharp rock which was jutting out of the mud. The impact was powerful enough to impale the unfortunate commando before the backswing disemboweled him and splintered his spine, sending his guts and his legs flying above the battlefield in a ridiculous display of force. Of course, he was killed by this action, but Jag wasn't satisfied with just one kill, oh no-
In a lightning quick series of pouncing attacks, Jag's enemies were caught off guard, stabbed, slashed, and pulled limb from limb, until their corpses were so utterly mutilated that the pieces fell into a pile and could no longer be sorted from each other. The remaining OBN operator and three commandos were taken out before the smoke cleared.
[B]4 Enemies Eliminated.[/B]
The way was now completely open, and so Maddox, Hariim, and Jag reached the smoldering truck intact. Jason, still alive inside, opened the door and for the first time, he came face to face with the Muramasa crew. Meanwhile, Markus launched a flare to illuminate the battlefield, and also used a periscope with a colored lens all in an attempt to locate the enemy sniper.
CH Estimate: 2/5
[B]Actual: 2[/B]
Roll Failed.
This did not work; the sniper must have been in the process of moving, probably by crawling on her hands and knees. Or maybe she was simply hiding behind cover and just got lucky. It was frustrating, because there was no way for Markus to know what exactly was happening. There was movement all around, the NSK operator was still alive but was running away, toward another commando which seemingly appeared out of nowhere moments earlier. Their operation seemed to be shattered.
---
The Muramasa's engines roared as Owen received the order. The answer to this puzzle wasn't any trick maneuver or play- the Tovokra's weapons were destroyed on the underside, and the Muramasa's missile pod was located on its back. Owen simply maneuvered the ship so that it was underneath the enemy.
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: 5[/B]
Roll Passed.
"[We're losing them!]" the radar technician warned as Vixe gritted her teeth. The capacitors continued to charge, but as the mercenary ship disappeared under the body of the ship, the Black Fleet captain realized that she had nowhere to throw her lightning bolts.
"[Fine, fine! Fire on the escort ship, then!]" She was shaking with rage, how could she have allowed them to pull off such an obvious maneuver? This would surely reflect poorly on her competency. At least a downed enemy ship would bolster her crew's morale, in the meantime. The lasers then discharged on the Sparrowhawk, instead.
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: {2, 5}[/B]
1 Roll Passed.
1 Roll Failed.
The shot came as a surprise to Captain Cheng, who barely had time to increase his shields before the blast ripped a hole in his ship's cargo hold. From the ground, the away team was now beginning to notice that the occasional streak in the cloudy skies above wasn't lightning, but rather a weapon of sorts. The bridge crew was more intimately aware of the destructive potential, as flames poured out of the Sparrowhawk and Cheng's nervous voice came over the comms:
[quote]Muramasa, I can't take another hit like that![/quote]
Taylor acknowledged his concerns and reasserted the need to attack the frigate from multiple angles. The Muramasa emerged from beneath the opposite side of the warship and arched backwards, waiting for Bucky to give the go ahead to fire again.
(Auto Roll)
Bucky:
CH Estimate: 2/5
[B]Actual: {1, 4, 3} (Multitasking)[/B]
Roll Passed.
Having more time to work with, Bucky was easily able to get the missiles ready to fire again. Amelia locked onto the two laser placements on the frigate's back and opened fire. She was assisted by Hestia, who had uplinked her processing power to the ship's computer to increase targeting accuracy. At the same, the Sparrowhawk unleashed another quartet of rockets on the bridge.
(Auto Roll)
Amelia:
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: {3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 2, 1, 5, 1, 5}[/B]
6 Rolls Passed.
4 Rolls Failed.
Cheng:
CH Estimate: 3/5
[B]Actual: {2, 1, 5, 4}[/B]
2 Rolls Passed.
2 Rolls Failed.
Captain Vixe's face was blank. The enemy was firing [I]again?[/I] Who do these people think they are? There was no charge left to protect the weapons systems and the bridge, and so the later took precedent. Explosions rocked the whole craft, penetrating several decks deep at the same time the rockets pounded against the exterior of the bridge, blowing out a few porthole windows in the process and shutting down crucial computer systems.
"[Captain, we cannot sustain-]"
"[-weapons are offline-]"
"[-must account for contingencies-]"
"[-losing altitude!]"
Captain Vixe was transfixed, staring at the Muramasa as it dove down, directly into her view. It was unreal. She... couldn't possibly be losing this fight, could she?
"[...break off from the attack. All power to shields, we're returning to base.]"
---
Onboard the Muramasa, the crew watched in amazement as the frigate began to turn, wobbling drunkenly, toward the direction from whence it came. The fight was over, and all that was left was to tend to the wounds. Hestia ensured that the captain was in stable condition.
+20 HP
Taylor HP: 65/125
"Brother Matheas. Do you see anything outside?" Matheas looked to Oberin and then outside the broken window. He squinted as he thought he saw something behind a turned over car. Thinking it was one of the few SWAT officers or planetary deffenders that had survived the failed attack on the compound, he looked through the scope of his rifle. It was just a street dog dragging whatever it could as food. Be it heretic or some other street animal. He sighed and lowered his riffle. The last attack left him on edge. Somehow, the location of the Crusaders' base of operations had gotten out, and now they faced the combined force of the planet's defenders and SWAT units. There were no signs of the mutants, although the total silence after this morning's attack made him suspicious. Just what could they be planning? "Negative brother Oberin. Nothing." He said without averting his gaze from the window.
"I don't like this quiet. The heretics are planning something. I can feel it in my bones. And those abominations, where are they?" Oberin waved his hand while walking around the room and trying to figure out his enemy's plan. The room wasn't small either. It was large enough for a dozen of the Creed's numbers to fit inside and take positions behind pilled up desk barricades. There were two entrances inside and they had both of them covered. The only way they were concerned is the one leading to the underground garage and the room underneath that. Oberin kept going. "There is no way for us to-Wait. Do you hear that? What is that sound?"
Matheas listened closely, the noise in the air sounded oddly melodic. Once he recognized it as a [URL="https://youtu.be/EqQuihD0hoI"]song[/URL], he remembered the briefing he read the day before landfall. His eyes widenned as he looked at the one weakness they couldn't figure out how to get rid off. The skylight. "THAT SON OF A BITCH IS-"
The glass shattered to pieces as an armored figure smashed through with flashbangs following it. The few seconds of confusion was all he needed for the flashbangs to do their work. Now that the creed soldiers were even more confused and disoriented, the figure got to work right away. With a blade extending out of his wrist he sliced the throat of the nearest fanatic and grabbed his gun as the light faded away from his eyes. He managed to let out 2 or 3 bursts, cutting down two more before going behind a pillar. Mateas had regained his sight and hearing and started shouting, hoping that the rest had done the same. "SHOOT YOU IDIOTS! HE"S JUST ONE MAN! SHOOT!" The Creed soldiers, who had regained control, started to shoot. Their fire started to slowly chip the pillar away from the shots. Matheas smiled before he managed to hear something. "Noble! Now!"
The doors on both sides of the building blasted forward as heavily armored men stormed through. The zealots didn't have much time to react as plasma bolts started ripping through them. One by one, they fell. The smell of charred flesh and blood started to fill the room as Matheas realized what had happened. With one final desperate move he pulled the pin of one of the grenades he had. He wasn't going to let the abominations take him. "DEUS VULT!". Two seconds lated the makeshift baricade blew into splinters as the explosion tore it asunder. The figure behind the pillar managed to get off with minor singes to his armor and part of his waist cape being burned off. The brief sillence was broken from one of the marines.
"The fuck kind of plan was that? Do you have a deathwish or something?"
"Nice to see you cared, Noble."
"I care because my commanding officer nearly died becuse he relies on his luck too much! And turn that garbage off."
"Isn't that what we're famous for?" Seth chuckeled as he turned the music off. "[I]Or is it our amazing willpower.[/I]"
"Just lead the way, jackass." Noble was getting aggitated. Everyone could tell by his voice.
"Alright, form up on me. We're gonna go down to the garage and find the hidey-hole of the bastard leading this shitshow. We pulled off what we did because we surprised them. But now they know we're here, so stay sharp. Lets move!" The Boome's followed their leader down to the garage. The underground part of the structure had been blocked off from the surface due to debris and several barricades, which is why they could keep them from escaping. But Seth had a feeling in his gut that escape wasn't what the crusader had in mind. Martydom was popular among the Creed. A symbol to inspire others into their perverted sense of justice. Now he wanted to capture the bastard alive and strip him of that. If he would die, it would be rotting away in a cell on Boome.
The garage, at first glance, appeared to be empty of life. Cars ,which haven't seen any kind of use for a long time, littered the place. However, Seth spotted something, or rather someone, among them.
"Well, well. It seems my men couldn't hold out for too long. A pity, but they are with the lord in heaven now! May they serve him well."
"Crusader Koronov I assume."
"You are correct, mutant. I see that your hellspawn eyes work well." Koronov crossed his hands behind his back as the mercenaries got closer. "I would advice that you turn around and leave. I'm in a rare mood today."
"I think we'll just grab you by that goat beard of yours and drag you to a cell instead."
"Verry well. Men, you heard them." Koronov turned around as two garage doors opened behind the Boomes. It was a trap, and they had walked right into it! From the one on the left a large armored figure [URL="http://orig13.deviantart.net/675c/f/2011/037/c/8/starcraft_2_firebat_merc__by_pastrano-d38ypy0.jpg"]emerged[/URL]. With plates painted red and two large canisters strapped on his back. This lumbering brute had his face hidden, but his voice could be heard.
"The cleansing! Must! Begin! Purged by holly flame!" He raised one of his hands and flames shot out from it, igniting two of the Boomes who haven't made it to cover yet. Just as the screaming in agony started to fade, another figure emerged from the other garage. [URL="http://us.media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/artwork/portrait_maraudermercenary-large.jpg"]This one was just as large[/URL], with black armor and two grenade launchers strapped to his arms.
"You dumb mothafuckas did it now. Eat shit!" He yelled as he shot grenades out of his cannons one blowing up in front of Seth's cover and the other bouncing next to another merc, exploding and killing him instantly.
"Seth, if you got a plan, now's the time." Noble yelled from behind one of the cars. He popped up and shot at red-armored foe. The plasma did very little, only leaving scorch marks on the armor. In return, the flamer shot a stream at his direction, nearly setting his head on fire.
Seth sat behind cover, thinking on what to do. A straight up fight was not going to do them any good. But escape was next to imposible due to them blocking the way. One other option, the rout Koronov used. But could they use it? One way to find out. "Fall back.We're leaving through another way!" he aimed down the sights of his rifle and let out a burst of plasma towards the Red one. The shots connected with the hose of the flamethrower, shatering it and making it useless. Big red noticed this and let out an angry yell. Giving Noble enough time to fall back.
Out of the six men who entered, only 3 remained, running towards the door Koronov had used to leave. Opening the door revealed a smaller room filled with charts, stacks of paper and equipment used for torture. Seth would have taken his time to dig through the madman's notes to find a clue to where he would go next, but the two angry zealots behind them didn't let him have that luxury. He slammed the door behind them and moved the desk infront of the door. Noble pointed towards a hatch in the corner of the room. The marking around it showed that it was hidden under something heave to better hide it. "So that's how he got out." the third member muttered under his breath. The two brutes were getting too close and started to slam against the door. After a few heave thuds, one of them started to talk. "Fuck we doing? Move over homie, Im about to blast these dumbasses.". The three men on the other side openned the hatch and started climbing down the ladder as quick as they could, the sounds of grenades hitting the door and exploding could be heard as they climbed down.
The bottom of said ladder was a sewer. They wondered for some time through the sewage covered maze and managed to find an exit that took them 5 blocks away from where they started. Seth turned on his comms and started to give orders. "This is White wolf. Listen up. Koronov got away through the sewer system. This is not over. I want eyes kept on every starport on this planet. Nobody leaves without me saying they can. Hunter squad, you better have those hostages out of there, otherwise it was all for nothing."He turned to face his men. "Noble, I want you to keep track of updates. For now we're walking to the LZ so we can get back to base." Noble nodded and in turn started to give out orders to his subordinates while on the move.
After a few minutes of walking, Noble tapped seth on the shoulder.
"Uhh, Seth. I got some news. You want the bad news or the good news or the really bad news?"
"What's the bad news?"
"Well, one of your friends just became an intergalactic terrorist."
"Good news?"
"We already found Koronov."
"And the really bad news?"
"He's with an armored cavalry unit."
Maddox jogged up to the truck. "Koval, keep an eye out for that sniper." As Jason hopped out Maddox nodded.
"Are you Jason Bradley?"
"In the flesh. and who are you i may ask?" Jason told Maddox with relief in his voice as the battle is no over, carrying himself off the top hatch and then slowly going down as many marks of plasma shots can be seen in his uniform. and held out his hand to Maddox with the other in his stomach to hold in his pain there.
"Maddox Graves of the Muramasa. We're here to get you out." He nodded towards the truck. "I'm guessing the Archive is in the back?"
"Yessiry. you might wanna get the ammo and equipment that's inside the truck though, its all filled with good stuff." Jason replies at he makes his way to the back and grabbed the tarp and pulled it revealing The Archive
Markus peeked out from behind cover and nodded at Maddox.
He grabbed his communicator and contacted the Cascade, "Right-o, boyo. Ya can set the bird down nice an' easy. We're gonna haul the stuff outta that truck and split right quick."
He began walking towards the truck, looking around for the illusive sniper.
He didn't like it. Either the sniper was lying in wait to strike as a final blow for his mates, or it had actually run away. Either way, he kept his eyes open.
Maddox nodded and tapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll take it from here." He nodded towards Mercy. "I recommend you let the good doctor here patch you up."
His focus then returned to the truck as he began inspecting the contents stored in the rear. "Muramasa this Extraction Actual. We've secured the cargo and are awaiting exfil, over."
Positive now that the Archive was more or less in-hand and ready for airlift, Maddix readied his rifle and checked the ammo count. "Hariim and Jag, you're running perimeter defense for now. Stay sharp. Koval, you see anything?"
Markus was kneeling against a rock near the truck and looked over the destroyed landscape.
"Can't say I do, grease monkey. Little cunt's probably run off to get some more of 'is mates I reckon."
He turned his face towards Maddox, adorned with a frown, "'S why I'd like to get the fuck away from 'ere soon's possible."
Maddox chuckled as he hunkered down next to Koval. "Ten-four on that." He activated the recon mode on his visor, hoping that the perimeter would be clear or, incase it wasn't, that any of the commandos would be detected and highlighted.
"So your the medic? Thank god. some relief." Jason extends his hand to Mercy for a handshake, but pain made him decide to sit down and holds his poorly-bandaged stomach.
"Umm.. Medic?" Jason said with a grin to Mercy.
After the shattering OBV Trooper's right arm in half, breaking the limb into two like an water rotten wooden plank.
countless fragments of bone and muscle flew out around Jag, just like the others, just like so many times before.
The rush and ecstasy of it's all grinned to halt after last Kanad, or what ever had remained of him, had stopped twitching the last part of the head that still attracted to his mutilated torso.
Jag halted self and put it's arms at it's sides, holding still in the middle amidst an dozen severed limbs and ravaged corpses.
As the smoke begin to clear and the Carmine Red blood on it's limbs continued dipping down like rain onto the gorily mess bellow.
Jag stared blankly with it's head down at it's handily work, gazing in what seemed to be an entirety ago as teared apart Kanads limb by limb.
Turning it's glaze over towards it's weightless arms, their pale white texture now shining bright with the red liquid competently covering them.
It's locked onto this sight with an narrowed intensity, locked in with the moment of ecstasy just a minute before and ones it has experienced beforehand.
Though with each time, it chip away at it's could mental interior.
Each time, these common emotions and feelings that other common sapiens endure would be lingering in it's mind..
Jag's tired to get it's mind off such an topic but have gotten itself caught in an diffident place within it's weary mind...
Hariim takes advantage of the lull in the action to right his senses and refresh his sensory scans. While the others handle Jason and the other tasks at hand, Hariim starts scanning the local area and the comm bands for any indication of additional hostiles. He's already compiling the data he's collated for a report and analysis for future reference.
After that, he slots a fresh magazine into his rifle and starts up a basic patrol sweep, prioritizing investigation of former hostile positions. He's looking for useful or interesting salvage and information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bucky swears [I]loudly[/I] and often while she works away to keep the Muramasa in the air after its pummeling. She even begins to strain her artificial neural lace with the amount of data and tasks she's processing. She's running at the upper limit of what she's physically capable of doing. She's a miracle worker, but even her impressively advanced brain and body can only be in so many places at once doing so many things. She simply does her best, and hopes that it's enough to get the limping scrap heap to the next port for repairs.
[Sorry I've not been in the thread for a bit. A class just started up and that's thrown my usual schedule out of whack. I hope I've not hurt stuff with my absence.]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
