Dwan was steadily following the group when he stopped in his tracks. Up to this point, Dwan had been feeling the Conduit's powers, but he also felt what he considered 'sparks' coming from the fire that was the Conduit. At first, he barely noticed them, as he thought they were just part of the main source. But as the group got deeper and closer to the Conduit, that thought soon changed. He looked around himself, as he felt those sparks appear and re-appear.... as if someone was using them.
"[Kyrios almighty... why this?]", he asked himself in Enochian. Then, as he looked around, he noticed a spark nearby. "Guys, we might have some company over here.", he said, as he pointed in the general direction of said spark.
---
Aver, Nokhea and Mavis looked worryingly at the destruction of the Daedalus. "Contact the rest of the Wave. Check for injured and tell them to help any injured.", Aver told Nokhea, who quickly got to calling.
Mavis turned to Mordecai. "I believe we were talking to the Argos Command Team.", he told him.
"How's it looking out there?"
Noble shook his head. "Whatever that thing was, it pretty much took out a big portion of the front line troops. The sun would definitely try to push through the opening. Best to wait to see what the commanders think."
---
Seth was thinking on his next move. " The new intel is that giant robots make a big boom when damaged hard enough. Otherwise this is the plan for now. We need to make sure that the Sun won't brake through our lines. The blast already tore a hole in there, so we need to close the gap quick. Argos, we're still waiting for whatever your plan was."
"Commander, the kanads you wanted are here. They're the ones who took down that thing, but are in a rough shape."
"Assist the wounded if they need help and let them resupply from our ammo. Just send whoever is in charge here."
Lion nodded. "You heard Dwan, stay sharp people and keep your eyes peeled."
Lion then activated his triple laser sight as he scanned the surroundings.
-----
"That's too bad, the command team could've used some good news." The perimeter guard stepped aside. "Go ahead, they're waiting for you."
-----
"That's hardly any intel, is it?" Replied Kaspar as he shook his head.
A SDF soldier suddenly appeared and saluted quickly.
"Sir! Frontline units are sending in preliminary reports; multiple casualties but our forces are forming up. Privateers and mercenaries took most of the hits so flank protection is down."
Kaspar nodded. "Make sure all our units go on the defensive untill ordered otherwise. We can't afford to go Ramboing right now."
Mariahlus continued to concentrate and searched across the area in her range once the two Privateers where down. After a moment she found a host.
A Privateer near the Archius started to twitch his legs, arms, and feet. The Privateer went abrupt and stood upright. Violet eyes glowing beneath his helmet. He looked at the squad and saw a robot scanning. The Privateer pulled out a small yet overcharged grenade from his pouch. The Privateer locked the grenade within his hatch and unpinned it for detonation.
"Grenade!" Yelled Lion in shock before opening fire.
( can someone fill me in i've missed a bit)
[what did you miss?]
As Dwan felt the sparks, he noticed how the spark nearby was becoming stronger. As he continued to stand frozen, he then noticed it stop... before feeling its energy move. He didn't know where the energy was going, it was going too fast for him. Lion's yelling made him realize what happened.
"That man is possessed!", Dwan yelled in response. He opened fire as he rushed back to avoid being in the grenade's radius.
(i don't know but now someone's apparently possessed)
[It's a privateer, posessed by Mariahlus.]
[i]"Fire!"[/i] Yelled Zhaneys a moment before the Mjolnir engaged the black-colored Crimus battlecruiser that had emerged.
Thousands of lasers, kinetic projectiles, rockets and missiles flew towards their target at a alarming speed and it would seem that the destruction of the menacing ship was imminent only for all of the projectiles to collide with a red energy shield.
"Cyka!" Zhaneys slammed one of his hands into his chair. "Fire another volley! Refocus all our fleets on that target!"
Several officers nodded and went to work, relaying new orders.
Another volley was fired away, triggering the shield again.
-----
Several alarms came on once more as the second volley hit the shields.
"Shields?" Asked the captain.
"Holding steady, sir." Replied an officer.
The captain smirked. "Return fire."
-----
"Brace!"
The giant ship shook as three volleys of concentrated laser and plasma fire caused the Mjolnirs forwards shields to collapse.
All over the ship crew struggled to stay on their feet after the numerous shocks.
"Status?" Asked Zhaneys.
"Bow and port bow armor is down to 50%! Tow sections venting atmosphere has been resealed."
"Helmsman! Bring us up broadside!"
"Aye aye, Captain!"
The Mjolnir moved up to the port side of the Crimus battlecruiser.
"Fire!"
The dozens of heavy kinetic turrets let out a thunderous sound as they opened up on the hostile vessel, causing the stronger Crimus shields to finally collapse.
"Another volley! Concentrate on vital targets! COC, I need a status on our squadrons!"
One of the officers turned around. "They are inbound on the target!"
-----
A heavily modified Adeptor-class dropship with the name "Nessie" painted on its side appeared from behind a SDF destroyer.
"Target is dead ahead, lads. Let's show 'em what we've got, ain't that right?" Asked McKinze.
"Hoorah!" Replied the Edison brothers in unison as they powered up the two ball turrets modified onto the dropships left and right sides.
As the dropship became fully visible several swarms of SDF fighters, heavy gunships and bombers joined them.
"This is Boomer 9-3, got a lock on target."
"Switchblade 7-1, joining formation."
"This is Griffin 5-5, we're with you Nessie!"
Slowly the swarm of SDF squarons formed up into a arrowhead.
Infront of them was a swarm of sleek, black-colored Crimus interceptors. At the tip of the enemy formation were three squadrons consisting of red-colored heavy starfighters full of kill marks on the hull.
"Here they come boys, watch out for those red bastards. Bombers, stay on target. We got yer' backs."
Time seemed to slow down as the swarms approached.
Suddenly ship AI's in every single ship let out a notification: firing range had been achieved.
The ensuing battle was a chaotic mess as lasers, plasma fire, kinetic projectiles and missiles struck and took out hundreds of ships in the first seconds.
Deadeye zoomed in on the tunnels using the optics while Storm sat on a dead body piled on multiples. Archer was busy checking his ammo while two hover tanks were set aflame. Deadeye turned to the recent rookie and gave a thumbs up. "See that? We're almost there, a few more yards and we're safe." Deadeye reassured as he turned to the tunnel. Several large figures approached from the tunnel and were alerted to their presence.
"Elite?" Storm asked while bobbling her head at the arrivals. Deadeye rose from the corpses and walked up to the squad. "Crimson Elite, we are to enter through that secured tunnel and make our way to the city." Deadeye opened his arms. The leader of the squad unholstered his armament and went closer to Deadeye.
"State your opposition, you are no Brigade soldier, that is clear." The squad leader said to Deadeye. Deadeye laughed and raised his arms. "You are aware of us yes?" The Crimson Elite lowered his weapon and stared at him. "I am familar with Instigators. But there's no part of you on this battlefield. What's your purpose here?"
"Well, we've eliminated HarkArk High Personnel and are ordered to go to hiding until further notice." Deadeye scratched his head. "Hmph, there is more to that explanation is there?" The leader asked him.
"That's... classified." Deadeye answered. "So it is. Retreat to the lower sectors and do not interfere with us Instigator. We are going to intercept enemy fleets." Storm tilted her head at interception.
"Storm Hawks?" She asked. The leader turned to her and nodded before moving out. Archer looked at the Crimson Elite squad before a tap on his shoulder
"Let's get going. I don't want any stray bullets grazing my forehead." The trio entered through the tunnel and went closer to Zeruel. Archer checked his surroundings and followed through with the Instigator's plan. "Don't worry Archer, as soon as we hit Sector 4, everything will be all right."
...
Before the crew could do anything about the Privateer. The grenade unleashed a wide explosion in front of everyone, consuming the Privateer with thick energy. Mariahlus spotted several running people in the street and shot through many before they went across. The battle had begun.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLvgvsI5jAg[/media]
[b]AUDITOR MARIAHLUS - WAR[/b]
Lion managed to slide into cover before the explosion could engulf him in flames. As he went back to re-secure the street he spotted Mariahlus who opened fire on the squad.
"Contact! Dead ahead!" Yelled Lion as he began sidestepping while also firing on the move.
Iska and Pippin arrived just when the Privateer activated his grenade.
Iska quickly grabbed Pippin by his shoulder and drew him back behind the wall they just passed.
As Lion began to shout out orders about an enemy that had been spotted, she Looked at Pippin.
"Look over behind wall for enemy, Iska needs to see if weapon still work and have ammo"
"Our commander, Seth, wants to speak with you directly," a Boome Marine explained to Yanim. "Your team can rest and resupply out of our stockpile until we're ready to move on."
"...Move on?" she asked as she looked back at her crew. Gataska and Neasha were totally spent. The former glared at Yanim with obvious ill-will, while the latter seemed more defeated than anything else. Rask seemed willing to fight on at least, but his physical state was unconducive. Regardless of how they felt, transportation off the planet might not yet be available. Yanim sighed. "I see. Rask, get a synthblood transfusion and then join us. Gat, Neasha, I'll see what I can do to get us off the planet."
As the pilot and the medic shuffled away, Rask lingered for a moment. "[Does this mean something?]" he asked somewhat quietly.
"[What do you mean?]"
"[Never mind.]" Rask smirked and waved his hand dismissively before staggering off to a medical station to receive treatment.
Confused, Yanim turned away and walked with the Boome soldier over to Seth. "You wanted to speak with me?"
---
"<This is abuse, Neasha. I don't care what happens to Yanim; I don't care about this war; I don't even care about my cut anymore. She's a psychopath and she's going to get all of us killed. You said it back on the ship.>"
"I know. If Rask had just let her do her thing, she would have been the only one risking her life-"
"<It could have gone worse. Just think about it- what if those humans hadn't joined in? We'd all be dead and that mech would still be out there. It wasn't a good idea. It was luck. And worse yet, even after Virin died protecting her, she doesn't care.>"
Neasha paused, remembering her earlier conversations with Yanim on Terra. "I wouldn't say that. It looks callous, but that's how she shows grief. If she were to break down sobbing over the whole affair, how would that do us any good?"
Gataska huffed and crossed her arms. "<Nobody's breaking down. But you know there's a difference between how we feel and how she feels. I've never known anyone so cold.>"
"Actually, I've known plenty of worse people. Have you ever looked at Rask? I mean, it was his idea to put us on the ground in the first place."
"Akha. <They're both awful, I agree. The only reason I would ever work with them was to work with Virin. He was the [I]light in the window[/I] for our group. I don't know if that idiom translates...>"
"What, you mean like a silver lining?"
Gataska waited for the translation. "Yakka. A seel-ver lining. <Without Virin, this group is toxic. But one thing that's clear to me: even if it was Rask's idea to set down, Yanim was the one who should have overruled him. Remember how selfless she tried to sound, just before? Why would she volunteer to go alone, only to agree to a plan which risks all of our lives a moment later? I think she was just blustering; in truth she's just another coward and she deserves the worst of everything she does.>"
Neasha had mixed opinions about Gataska's strong words. In truth, she silently wondered whether it had actually been her own fault that they had been surrounded. Had she picked a better landing spot, especially if she had found a way to land in friendly territory, everything would have gone much smoother. At the time, however, she was preoccupied with the injustice of sacrificing her beloved ship. In hindsight, her own outburst seemed juvenile.
"<To be honest, I don't know if I'd save her, if she needed it...>" Gat continued absentmindedly.
Before Neasha could speak about her concerns, Rask caught up to the two of them. He had approached nonchalantly, but a look on his face implied that he had been eavesdropping. "[I heard that just now,]" he said to Gataska. He shook his head and kept walking, while the medic was left looking pale.
A hastily deployed medical station had been set up in one of the hillside trenches. Guarded by a squad of mixed SDF and Boome marines it appeared that there weren't too many wounded as of yet as only a handfull of field beds were occupied by wounded.
A SDF medic was seen handing out orders to a mysterious-looking Argos medic.
The SDF medic wore the standard issue black and white armor with red medic markings, but with no helmet.
It appeared to be a woman in her late twenties with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes and overall fair facial features.
"I need you to request some more supplies before we get dozens of new wounded thanks to that mech collapsing. You think you could do that? Thank you."
She turned around and spotted the worn kanads which looked as if they been through hell and back.
"Are you wounded?"
Seth examined Yanim carefully. When he spoke, he made sure to sound as relaxed as he could. "Yes, actually. I did. Initailly we wanted you to come here, since you looked like you knew what was going on with that robot more than anybody. We wondered if you could help us come together with a battle plan on taking it down." His eyes stopped on the gun in her holster. "You took care of it and for that, you have our gratitude. But, I'm sure you figured it out that I didn't just want to talk tactics. I want an answer to a question that's been bugging me ever since our ship joined the fleet." Seth took a step closer "What is State Sec doing here?"
Dwan had rushed back enough to avoid severe damage from the grenade. As he tried to get his bearings together, he noticed Lion firing at something. He looked over at where we was shooting and saw the Auditor. "[Oh look, it's her. This time, I won't miss.]", Dwan thought to himself in Enochian, as he prepared himself.
He got behind cover and switched his howitzer to plasma mode. He positioned himself and fired away at Mariahlus.
---
Aver noticed Yanim's arrival. "Hm, another commander?", Aver asked Nokhea. "Possibly.", Nokhea replied. "I'll go see what's going on.", Aver told her. "Also, send some of our medics out. Other folks might need them more.", Aver said to Nokhea, to which she replied with a nod. As Nokhea called their medics to help others, Aver went over to Seth, Mordecai, the Argos Team, Kaspar, Yanim and Mavis.
She gave Mavis a pat on the back. "What's going on here?", she asked him. "Seems like the Kanad here is responsible for taking down the mech. Seth called her here.", Mavis answered. "I see. You go and get our teams organized with the SDF, the Boome Marines and the Death Vigil.", Aver told him. "Alright.", Mavis replied, as he moved away and gave their teams the commands.
Aver rejoined the meeting and listened in on Seth and Yanim's conversation.
[QUOTE=Viper123_SWE;49441467]Lion managed to slide into cover before the explosion could engulf him in flames. As he went back to re-secure the street he spotted Mariahlus who opened fire on the squad.
"Contact! Dead ahead!" Yelled Lion as he began sidestepping while also firing on the move.[/QUOTE]
Mini Roll[3]: As soon as Lion tried to sidestep, Mariahlus antipatied her shoot and looked towards his moving position, she wasn't worried about getting shot from this distance. She unloaded two shots, they fired like lightning and pierced through his torso like thin paper, going through the thick concrete below exiting. She marked Lion on her visor and saw Dwan try to do something.
[QUOTE=Damian0358;49446943]Dwan had rushed back enough to avoid severe damage from the grenade. As he tried to get his bearings together, he noticed Lion firing at something. He looked over at where we was shooting and saw the Auditor. "[Oh look, it's her. This time, I won't miss.]", Dwan thought to himself in Enochian, as he prepared himself.
He got behind cover and switched his howitzer to plasma mode. He positioned himself and fired away at Mariahlus.[/QUOTE]
Mini Roll[4]: Dwan positioned himself and fired, only to miss completely when he was too far to actually land a shot. Mariahlus however, had the high ground. She saw his personal cover spot and shot through, damaging the howitzer but thankfully taking the bullet. Unfortunately the howitizer no longer functioning.
Mariahlus utilized her powers once more and concentrated. Tendrils formed within and began to open up a tear near the street.
Lion's armored torso was completely penetrated, causing him to collapse sideways. "Shit!" He pulled out one of the LWA Lionclaws and started firing in the general direction of his enemy while pulling himself into cover behind some debris.
[QUOTE=Viper123_SWE;49447063]Lion's armored torso was completely penetrated, causing him to collapse sideways. "Shit!" He pulled out one of the LWA Lionclaws and started firing in the general direction of his enemy while pulling himself into cover behind some debris.[/QUOTE]
Mini Roll[6]: The general direction Lion was aiming mostly missed but nevertheless landed a single hit, irriating Mariahlus's shield while she attempted to bring out offensive help. The tear, filled with a violet aura and summoned a bipedal figure with a fiery sword and spotted Lion. It's glowing eyes laid dead set on attacking the robot and walked closer.
...
Sertum walked through as many civilians went by the ships loads. Evacuations entering through the Synergy port. The port was sure to take these people to safety so long they weren't reckless. Sertum marched along the aisle as several faces stared at him. He ignored them and turned.
“This will take you to a safe point. Zeruel is under great danger.” Sertum gestured as he saw [b]both.[/b]
Dwan was caught off guard by Mariahlus' shot. He quickly checked himself for any injuries, before finding that his howitzer was shot through its power source and its mode switching mechanism. Now, it was only a backpack.
He looked from his cover and saw the bipedal figure walking towards Lion, fiery sword in hand. Dwan was nervous. He knew he had to stop the figure, but Mariahlus might shoot him down if he tried. He decided the risk was worth it.
Dwan pulled out his Bellevue Ancaria and fired at the figure, whilst gesturing towards the others for help.
"Well, fuck me then." Mercury tapped one member of his squad on his shoulder."You go and help Lion get up on his feet. The rest of you, open fire on that thing."
[QUOTE=Damian0358;49447278]Dwan was caught off guard by Mariahlus' shot. He quickly checked himself for any injuries, before finding that his howitzer was shot through its power source and its mode switching mechanism. Now, it was only a backpack.
He looked from his cover and saw the bipedal figure walking towards Lion, fiery sword in hand. Dwan was nervous. He knew he had to stop the figure, but Mariahlus might shoot him down if he tried. He decided the risk was worth it.
Dwan pulled out his Bellevue Ancaria and fired at the figure, whilst gesturing towards the others for help.[/QUOTE]
Mini Roll Critical Failure[[highlight]1[/highlight]]: Mariahlus saw the plan go off without a hitch. The assistant was simply cannon folder for the rest to shoot out. Mariahlus saw Dwan switch and go for the risk. Yes, this was it, he left himself open for the taking. Mariahlus quickly concentrated as her energy migrated to Dwan. Dwan stopped functioning and began to shake. His mind was getting occupied by Mariahlus herself. All these memories, these experiences.
Mariahlus saw everything. And was in control. "You are not who you say you are." She muttered to herself.
[highlight]Dwan POSSESSED: 4[/highlight]
Iska looked over at Dwan, and noticed he was doing the same thing as that soldier earlier was doing before he blew himself up.
She she threw the heavy machinegun aside and darted towards Dwan, intent on tackling him and putting him in a subdued state by strangling him.
Dwan did not know what would happen once he had taken the risk. He didn't realize this was a trap. He felt as foreign energy entered him, forcing him to a standstill. He dropped his revolver as he began to shake. As his mind was being occupied, he dropped to his knees, raised his hands to his head and yelled demonically in pain.
Soon, Mariahlus was in control, as his possessed body rose from his knees. Meanwhile, she heard a whisper. "[highlight]For this, you will die.[/highlight]", she heard in a demonic tone.
[QUOTE=Radley;49447431]Iska looked over at Dwan, and noticed he was doing the same thing as that soldier earlier was doing before he blew himself up.
She she threw the heavy machinegun aside and darted towards Dwan, intent on tackling him and putting him in a subdued state by strangling him.[/QUOTE]
Mini Roll[5]: Dwan immediately saw Iska's tackle. He moved out of the way and dodged.
Dwan pulled out his weapon and fired at Iska's backside.
Mini Roll Critical Success[highlight][9][/highlight]: Dwan walked close to her and hauled her off her own weight using one hand and pulled out his gun, firing repeatedly until he was out of ammo.
"[highlight]For this, you will die.[/highlight]"
Mariahlus shook her head. "You've killed Dirge, you've killed Zane, you've accidently let loose your mechs and killed countless of innocent people. I swear to you if you live to see another day I will personally hunt you down myself until I find my friends' bodies."
Iska's flakjacket had prevented the bullets from piercing her torso, but the shock had definitely caused some damage.
Iska picked herself off the ground while mentally recovering from the shock.
She looked at Dwan again, spat out some blood and hunched down into a boxing stance.
"You not Dwan. Why you not show me what you have?" She said between her breaths.
Dwan watched as he fired into Iska's backside, unable to stop himself from hurting her. After hearing Mariahlus' response, he thought for a bit.
"[highlight]I can feel you looking through my memories and my experiences. Take a good look at them. Do you not realize I never intended for the civilians to be hurt?[/highlight]", he asked her. "[highlight]We all thought this was just your military HQ. We never thought that this planet would ever have civilians. No normal government would put its civilians on a barren planet.[/highlight]", he told her.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
