Tamm moves his Mech towards the bay doors and initiates his drop. Right before impact he increases power to the unit's micro thrusters for a perfect landing.
Rio raises an eye at the Eclipse's report, That doesn't sound good. Rio says, echoing the thought flashing through his head.
Eclipse, what is the probability that your readings indicate self destruct being initiated? Rio asks as he continues maneuvering the ship to avoid incoming fire, though it was starting to appear that friendly fire was going to start to become an issue.
Seeing that positioning the ship might be more critical than trying to shoot things at the moment, Lincoln jacks in, and turns to Rio.
"Lot's of things going on there Cap. Let me see if I can help you smooth things out a bit".
Piloting
WD
As Lincoln's hands reach for the controls, he realizes that he better not touch anything.
Tekumsah deploys alongside Zach, and although he looks like he's going to hit the ground hard, he fires thrusters at the last moment and touches down lightly enough to avoid damaging the suit. "Alright, boys, let's get this show on the road!" He opens his comms to broadcast generally and lets out a whoop as he opens fire with both weapons, spraying death across the landscape.
"Negative. This is not aligned with a self-destruct sequence Sir. This doesn't match anything that is within my -." The A.I. was cut off when a series of explosions impacted the Eclipse as the majority of the AA batteries had achieved lock. These missiles hit harder then the ones before as the shields were having a hard time buffering the Eclipse from damage.
Teku and Zach deployment went without a hitch, the enemy too concerned with taking potshots at deploying walker and exo-suit as they were being hammered from multiple fronts now.
The troops themselves on the ground scatter, trying to find cover due to the sudden suppressive fire from Teku. Those who weren't in the immediate area of danger began to fall back to the main doors of the base which were of a colossal size now that you were deployed to the ground. It was big enough that three Eclipses could be side by side and still have room for movement. Why it was so big must be for the industrial ships and equipment needed for the Alien Artifacts found deep in the planets core.
Unfortunately for the front line defense, it was beginning to crumble, as non-exo suit troops were being torn to shreds.
Red Eagles Exo-suits were making a hard push for the bay doors while their own dropship focused all of its fire on a single AA battery, destroying it. The Lancers were still pounding away at the orbital battery, though it seemed they were making progress as it has stopped firing.
The enemy Longbow finally regained control of his Mech and attempted to refocus his attention on Zach's walker.
AP of 8
F+!& me!!! No more!!! Rio angrily thinks before ordering, Eclipse gunners, concentrate fire on AA Batteries. Tek, Zach, keep hammering that Longbow! Everyone stay frosty, Eclipse just gave me readings of some unusually powerful energy read8ngs from inside the base! Eclipse, keep working on the AA batteries!
Rio maneuvers the Eclipse so that he can uae the ships engines to burn an AA Battery.
Tamm reaches the ground and sets his target on one of the Walkers in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he sees the Eclipse getting hammered by the enemy batteries. Damn you Rio get her out of here, he thinks as he fires at the Walker. Focus on your job he cautions himself there is nothing you can do for her now, as his shot misses its mark.
Tek lets out a laugh over his comm system as he keeps up the fire, continuing to suppress the enemy's ground troops while keeping the launcher focused on the enemy Longbow.
The Longbow was not damaged by Tek's attacks as it began to back peddle, attempting to put more distance between Tek and Zach by moving towards the bases hanger bay doors. It fired off its own dumbfire missiles at the them in retaliation. All of the missiles hit their targets with a solid hit. Both causing minor damage to both the walker and the exo-suit.
It was a dangerous move for Rio to try and afterburn a turret, though it was a brilliant maneuvor that paid off as the flames shot out, scorching the turret, causing the heat to malfunction the warheads and causing them to explode while they were still in their tubes, resulting in the turret being blown apart. Though a few more missiles hit, they only caused surface damage to the ship.
Brintak's heavy lasers tore through another of the batteries, obliterating it in a show of red beams and explosions.
"These orbital batteries are too solid for our missiles to do much damage! They have to be shut off from inside the base or their going to tear our fleet apart!" The lancers long bows then turned and focused on the AA batteries, obliterating what was left with a hail storm of missiles while the Red Eagles laid claim to two of them.
With the air defenses gone, the enemy was in full retreat to fortify the main base, creating a light reprieve in the action.
Thunderous roaring hailed the arrivial of a dozen more cruisers and dropships as the exterior of the base quickly fell into the control of the Leinder mercenary army.
"Read Eagle here, we need to take control of that base, I'm getting very strange readings from deep in the planet. Something's not right here."
Eclipse then chimed in, "Rio sir, the readings are spiking more often."
AP of 4
AP of 4
AP of 8
Tek, Zach, breach the base! All mech units, charge the base. Lancers, target the Longbow. Eclipse autocannons starfe the s~+& out of the ground forces. Eclipse, focus on songle AA gun, gain control and hammer the Longbow. Eclipse Heavey Lasers and Missiles, target barrel of orbital cannon, fire on my Mark. Rio calmly issues commands as though all hell hasn't broken loose around them. As he does so, he maneuvers the Eclipse toward an orbital battery, getting in a position so that the Heavy Lasers and Missiles have a shot at the orbital battery barrels.
Fire!!!
Will use my second bennie...
gives me Pilot total of 9 with one raise.
Tek braces inside the suit as several of the emergency missiles collide with him, and he grits his teeth as a few warning messages flash up. After a moment all readings return to normal, though, and he pushes forward, still shooting. "Copy that, Rio. Moving in now!" With that he continues to push forward, moving slowly but steadily--at least for the suit, which was of course faster than foot soldiers--and laying down fire with both weapons, aiming for the nearest entrance to the base.
Maybe it was safer on the ship, Tamm thinks as his Mech is hit. His head is still ringing when he gets the command from Rio. "Clear," he replies as he runs towards the entrance trying to keep Tek close.
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"Roger that, targeting orbital barrel now," Brintak said, lining the reticle up to his new target. As he waited for firing command, he though about his former home in the monastery and what the monks there would think of his life now. 'Probably use it as confirmation of my so-called taint,' he thought wryly. When the command was given, he was quick to comply.
Eclipse, using the readings from the planet, is it possible that it is some sort of catastrophic planetary core breach? Run a simulation using the readings you and the Eagles have detected. I want a probability assessment. Rio says as he continues to maneuver the Eclipse.
Open a channel to the base we are assaulting.
This is Rio Wolf of the Sunrunners. Surrender now before your forces and base are completely destroyed. Those who surrender will not be harmed.
The conviction with which Rio issues the command for surrender leaves no doubt that he means exactly what he says.
Lincoln decides that he needs to take out the remaining Longbow, and tries to focus his Heavy laser turret thorough the carnage of the battle.
Shooting
WD
But finds the smoke and explosions keep him from drawing an effective bead on his opponents.
A range of confirmations came over the comms on Rio's panel, surprisingly people were just listening and following his orders. Though that was attributed to the Sunrunners proving their capabilities by doing a short FTL jump through the enemy lines!
The whole scene just erupted into madness, the Longbow pilot had seemed to refocus on Zach as he begun to make his move towards the base but was interrupted by a sudden hailstorm of missiles pounding into the ground and the chasis, causing the mech to stumble and rupture in an explosion as the hail of missiles continued.
"That mech won't be a problem anymore Sunrunners. Lancers Out." There was a slight creeping static on the coms now. Strange.
The orbital battery seemed impressive, though surely not invulnerable. The single one that the Lancers had been targeting had stopped firing, though the damage you could see were minimal. As soon as the Eclipse got closer to the Orbital emplacement sudden warning sirens flared to life on the Eclipse, "Evade Evade!" came the A.I. voice as a sudden force barrier sprung up around the battery. The hexagonal pattern across the force barrier shimmering in the light for just a moment in front of the Eclipse.
All weapons fire didn't make it past the fortress shield though it was not deflected by more of absorbed, causing a ripple of energy to shimmer across it. "What the hell? Came a static filled voice com as a fighter pilot barely pulled up enough to avoid smashing into the shield.
All the other orbital batteries halted fire and similar fortress shields sprung up around them.
"Rio sir, I've done the calculations and it is not conclusive to a catastrophic planetary core breach. Confirmation: The readings I've compiled and simulations ran are result in a zero probability of planetary destruction. Addendum: The readings are close in similarity to ancient artifacts that were triggered on Colsa Alpha in the Dominus Sector.
A chime went off on the far right of the console, "We have received a message from the Leinder Hulls corporation Sir, they are now issuing a full on breach of the base. It seemed they have caught the readings as well."
The troops have fallen back to the base hangar bay doors, a firm opposition was set up but the combined firepower from the troops and Tekumsah barrage rendered it obsolete in only a matter of seconds as the enemy retreated farther into the base.
The fighting has died down in the vicinity as the top level of the base was successfully captured. Larger ships were incoming now, massive troop transports landing in the battle scarred areas. A priority message came up across all open channels. "This is - Black Wolves, the orb - eet has been dis-rsed. Emergency ground mee-" The noise on the communication was filled with static and was suddenly breaking up.
"Sir, we have lost all radio communications. The energy from below the planet has rendered all radio comms useless."
Rio's eyes open wide at having to evade the shield...
...executing a flip and roll with near AI precision.
Damn it!!! No coms! Screw you bastards, there is more than one way to get the message out. Rio thinks, as his mind works to adjust to the rapidly changing conditions.
Gunners, continue targeting AA Guns. Eclipse, did those artifacts do anything else? Also, use external lights for further communication using morse code. Send: Roger orbital fleet dispersed. Base breach commencing. End. What's the status of the our Orbital forces?
Seeing things going to hell fast, and with the enemy retreated deep into their base, Tek drops his weapons for a moment and looks to the Eclipse, waving his arms at Rio. Given how bad the comms crack when he opens his channel for even a moment, he gives up on that and simply tries to get the pilot's attention the old-fashioned way. What the hell is going on?
Crud nuggets, Tamm thinks as he tries to communicate with Eclipse with no luck. He goes over to rendezvous with Tek. "Lets secure the outer doors of the base."
"All AA batteries are down commander!" came a call from one of the red shirts operating one of the ship's guns.
"Informative: The artifacts property is known to meld to any technology it touches, being able to drastically improve any technology that it comes into contact with. No other information it known about them. Inquisitive: This artifact might have special property, thus the large battle for it." Eclipse responded as logs and references were being shot up on the consoles.
The outer doors to the base were half open, the large metallic walls hiding away a large hanger that several starships of the cruiser and battlecruiser size could be stored, though oddly it was completely empty. Most people attribute it to any ships that could fly were sent out to the orbital battle. There was numerous crates and supplies scattered throughout, but the hanger had several exits that lead deeper into the base.
Improve tech? That explains why such a big payday?
Thank you Eclipse. Use ship lights and static bursts over radio to send in morse the following message: All ground forces, clean abd sweep. Leinder ships, keep eye out for secondary ships. Rio issues.
Brintak, you feel up to joining the groundpounders? I could use you to pass along to switch to using lights for morse code. It'll be a bit slower, but it'll keep us from being completely burnt with communications? Rio suggests, those it comes out more as a command rather than actual order.
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"Aye, aye, captain," Brintak, unbuckling the seat and heading to the exit. "I feel better working on the ground anyway."
Leaving the ship, he walked over to the two mechs. Waving his arms to get their attention, he yelled out, "Switch to using your lights for morse code! The artifact in the base is blocking out our comms!"
Tek turns to Zach and nods. "Sounds good." He catches some flashing from the Eclipse in his periphery, though, and points at it. After a few moments, he sees the ship pass by the ground and pause while Brintak disembarks. At the saurian's information, Tek nods and takes off his helmet for a moment. "Gotcha, Brin. Still no idea what it is or what's happening?" He glances to the hangar doors and shakes his head. "I don't like how fast everything's gone to sh*t here."
Full on breach? We're all going to have to disembark to get this done. Rio rubs his chin, taking a moment to think about how everything has progressed.
"Sunrunners, Rio begins over the Eclipse comms, his voice confident, "we have been ordered for a full-on breach. The only way that is going to happen is we disembark and join the Mechs on the ground. The Sunrunners were the first to arrive at the base." Rio's voice becomes fuller as he talks, "We brought the fight right to their doorstep, catching them off guard. While the fight has been raging, the Sunrunners have been in the forefront - LEADING! They've seen what we can do in the Eclipse...now let's show'em what we can do on the ground. Sunrunners, gear up, prepare to disembark!"[/b]
Moving towards the hanger doors he looks at Tek, "We're still alive so things aren't so bad."
"What's the atmos like Captain? Is it time to pound the ground, and see what's going on"?
Judging by the fact that not all combatants are in exosuits or mechs, the air looks pretty breathable to me. Plus, Brintak just disembarked. Now let's see about getting the Eclipse into the Hangar.
The fighting had died down slightly as the large orbital batteries had stopped firing. Though some would see this as a boon for the fighting, it was a bit odd. The reinforcements began clearing up any remainders that were left in the fight as some had already sent their scavengers to pick the battlefield clean of any components they could use.
If one would look up to the sky they would see all sorts of ships coming out of the atmosphere to make their landings. The larger ships staying in orbit for obvious reasons as things that massive couldn't handle planetary landings or take offs.
Outside of the Eclipse, even radio communication was cut off which would make things a little more interesting.
Rio carefully maneuvers the Eclipse into the Hanger, such that it's bow is facing the Hanger Doors. As the Eclipse lands, Rio addresses the remaining onboard crew over the ships internal comms, [b]Gunners, keep weapons powered. Though fighting has died down, we won't be caught off guard by unexpected guests. Eclipse, maintain hot standby on all power systems, self diagnostic to determine issues that will need to be addressed. I will be disembarking to join the rest of the ground crews in clearing the base. Linc, get geared up, and meet me at the gear doors. Time to finish this and find out what this place was sitting on.[b]
Rio unbuckles from the Pilots chair, letting out a sigh of relief that the Eclipse and crew came through all right. Taking a moment to check his gear, he heads down to the bay doors to await Lincoln.
Tek laughs at Zach's comment and shakes his head. "I guess that's true. Things can always get worse."
After a moment of waiting while the Eclipse sets down for Rio and Linc to disembark, Tek activates some of his controls and the exo-suit opens up, allowing him to step out. He springs down to the ground and rolls his shoulders, clearly glad to be on his own feet again. "Always hate using that thing. Just isn't natural, you know?" He pats his body, checking that all his guns are in place, and nods. "Someone else can take the suit. I'm happy like this."
"Be there in a Jiffy".
Lincoln quickly goes to his room, picks up one of his trademark top hats, and rushes to join the others.
Tamm strokes his soul patch as he waits for the crew to disembark as he remarks to Tek, "There is an old Terran saying about catching a tiger by the tail. I feel like we've just done that and the worse is yet to come."
Rio nods at Linc before bounding off the ship to find Brintak, Tek, and Zach. AS he makes his way toward them, he roars loud enough for all to hear, LISTEN UP!!! Waiting a moment for everyone to settle down.
As you no doubt are aware, Communications are disabled. It seems the artifact they activated puts out some high powered interference. This is going to make getting message back and forth a pain in the ass.
This is what we're going to do, until someone from Leinder gets planetside to take control. With Hanger secured, we need to get some internal intel of what the layout of this base. Pointing to Zach, This is Mr. Tamm, the Sunrunners Computer Expert. If their are any other computer experts present, coordinate with Mr. Tamm to get us what we need from the systems. Meanwhile, the rest of you, organize yourselves into fire teams. As soon as Mr. Tamm is able to get us the floor plans, the teams can be dispersed for clean and sweeps.
Rio's voice takes on a slightly condescending tone, Of course, if you don't wish to follow my suggestions, then by all means, do as you see fit. I would rather not see anyone slagged due to lack of intel and messed up communications.
"I'd say let's Sunrunners stick together in a fireteam. Make sure Zach figures out what we're doing and where we're going safe and sound." Tek is already field checking his handguns in order, making sure everything's working and they're ready to fire. "Brintak and I can take point, since we're the CQC experts."
Thanks for the reminder Brintak. Rio responds before turning to Tek, I was thinking the same. I can hold my own in a fight, but I'm not in the same class as you or Brintak.
Now let's see about getting some floor plans.
"Well I've been known as a fantastic shot, but am certainly willing to share the limelight with others". Lincoln takes up position in the middle of the group, his eyes peeled for danger.
Notice
WD
But finds a reflective surface, and can't seem to take his eyes off the dashing figure staring back at him.
The other soldiers that were scavenging through the hangar were drawn in by Rio's commanding voice. Though most were agreeable to his suggestion of tactics, a few were mumbling their dissent but were wise enough to not bring it up to a volume that he may hear.
The hangar began to get into a flurry of motion as the other soldiers began to form their fire teams. The red shirts of the Eclipse came down and moved to retrieve the walker and exosuit, seeing as the intestines of the base mostly likely will not permit the use of such armors.
After a moment a man comes running up, his face slightly pot marked with skinny features. A thin pair of glasses sat atop the bridge of his large nose. His uniform was non-descript, more looking like sleeping pajamas then anything. "Tamm? Sir?" came his voice as he approached the group. His voice was a bit weak. He clearly was not one for active duty.
"I was sent by the Black Hounds Company to assist in retrieving information." He seemed meek almost as his hands clutched an odd looking briefcase in his arms.
Tek reacts quickly to the new arrival, stepping partly between Tamm and the Black Hound. He isn't directly in the way, but it's clear the Vaedi is in position to intercept any attacks. He also brings two of his heavy slug pistols up, pointed calmly at the meek man. "We didn't receive any word on that. Comms are out, but we still need confirmation of some kind. Name and number, kid--and what's in the case?"
Great another whelp to take care of, Tamm thinks as he eyes the newcomer. "What sort of help are you going to be kid? And what's in that case?" He asks the timid soldier.