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Dot
Dotting in!
Dot!
You awake with a gasp, the shock of waking from cryosleep never quite something you could get used to. Your glass and titanium coffin tilts upright slowly until you are nearly standing, the lid unfolding as it comes to a complete stop.
A broad-faced man with dark eyes and tan skin grins at you ten feet away, the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth becoming more pronounced with the expression. "Good morning," he exclaims. "How are you feeling? It's perfectly normal to feel confused. You likely haven't been briefed, so I'm Captain Thernand and you're aboard the Zintu Queen." He gestures to the stasis deck, and to the ship beyond.
"Now hold still so the medical officer can make sure that all of your vitals are normal." A man in a grey jumpsuit plugs something into the coffin and runs a diagnostic. Small chimes ring out as certain health parameters are met. "Now I'm sure you're wondering, where are we? How did we get here? What in the hell is going on? But I can assure you that it's all on the up and up." He grins again, this time with a bit of a nervous edge.
"You see, while you were in stasis with your detachment, you were diverted for a special assignment. Mirrorsmoke hired my ship to transport you, since the stop was already on our way. I have the assignment packet ready for you as soon as you're feeling up for it."
The final chime sounds and the medical officer nods. "It seems like you're in the clear. Welcome aboard."
June steps out of her cyro coffin yawning loudly, before she dips down into a sharp squat. Stretching her legs to both sides, she then stands up and rolls her shoulders back. After completely her stretches, she looks to the Captain, then across to her lance's cryo coffin as they slowly rouse awake.
She takes a moment to gather herself scanning the room for danger, "Diverted? How long have we been under, and where the can I get a cup of coffee?"
The sharp, saw-edged cold where her organic bits ended and where augments began is almost worst than the burning, ice-cold fire in her lungs as they sucked in the still frigid air. The temperature is still too cold for comfort when the lid to her coffin opens and Jaq steps out into the Morgue. Part of her envies the easy way June goes from stepping out to stretching, but then she remembers that she doesn't really have any stiffness to stretch out in the first place.
"Don't suppose you have any tea, either," she asks the captain while hoping that she slight shivers still running through her aren't heard in her voice. "Be nice to have something warming up the insides while we read over what our new mission is."
Captain Thernand nods. "You've been under for near 16 months realtime. We picked you up about a month ago, you were diverted from the rest of your detachment. It's all in the file."
"And you're welcome to the galley. We're well-stocked with coffee and tea, plus some food if you're feeling up to it. Once you're feeling up to it, I'll take you to there."
"If you'll throw in a blanket, I'd be ready to head there as soon as the others are."
Baywulf pulls himself out of his pod, grunting at the rapid transition. The cold didn't bother him much, but a defrosting brain never felt good.
He exhales heavily before looking at the captain and saying in a deep voice, thick with the clipped accent of the Sparri, "Yes. Coffee. As soon as possible."
[ooc]I'm thinking Baywulf speaks with an accent a bit between Russian and Scandinavian.[/b]
Roth drags the back of his hand across his eyes, wiping away the cryo-crust from his lids. "Thanks doc," he says as the medical examiner shuffles along to the next pod, "never did care much for cryosleep."
Taking a tentative first step, he's greeted with an audible "pop" from his knee.
Shit. Well that's new.
Roth's grey eyes search the room for June, and after spotting her he relaxes a little. He's had more than one soldier not make it through cryo and he'd be lost without her.
He swings the gimballed monitor over to take a closer look and says, "So where exactly are we Cap?"
[ooc] Roth's voice is gravelly and low. He speaks with a confident tone, like someone who is used to command.
Alphons' pale eyes stare out from their sockets as the coffin opens, the pupils flicking from the Captain, to the Medical Officer, to the rest of the lance as they emerge from their sleep. After taking in the whole of the room, their focus fades, glazing into the middle distance.
Heart rate? Normal. Response time? Rigid and sluggish from sleep, but loosening rapidly. They stand impassive, uninterested in the Medical Officer's instruments' opinions.
After standing for a couple extra moments in the coffin, Alphons takes a pair of long, graceful strides forward into the room proper. Their toes knead at the cool metal floor. Their slightly-lidded gaze travels aimlessly around the room for a moment, their body perfectly still. At the words from Athena and Road Block, they offer a sharp nod.
Yes, they say, their smooth tenor emerging as an almost musical chirp. The file. And tea.
At the pop from Road Block's knee, Alphons' focus sharpens instantly to a point, their gaze singling out the offending joint with a machine's speed and a surgeon's certainty. They stare for a long moment before moving again.
Time and wear...the inescapable enemies of a soldier. How long until... They give an uncharacteristic shake of their head. When is pointless.
At that, they begin to move down the indicated path to the mess, their strides perfect and measured, their balance impeccable, and completely uninterested in anyone's state of dress.
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Captain Thernand gestures for you to follow him. He leads you out of the lone door, and into a hexagonal room. Another door flanks the one you just left, two more mirror them on the opposite walls—all are clearly marked as cargo. A lift-shaft runs through the center of the room, dropping from the ceiling and vanishing into the floor. The captain presses a button to call the lift and turns back to you.
"We're in the Atlas Line, left Toubkal Station about three weeks ago. We're headed to the planet Hercynia, a backwater colony project." He shrugs. "We're seven days out from orbit, so I decided to pull you out and let you get your feet under you."
A chime rings as the lift arrives and Captain Thernand ushers you aboard. "The lift," he explains, "runs the length of the Queen. Below us are another two cargo decks, our water supply, engineering, and the reactor. Above, we have the medical bay, the lounge, the galley, crew quarters, operations, and flight deck. While aboard for this week, you're welcome to any of the public spaces. Anything else and you'll need my permission."
The lift ascends, stopping briefly for the crew to get on and off. The galley is a simple affair, four tables arranged around the hexagonal core of the ship. Built into walls are storage units for cutlery, dishware, and food, and a pair of small kitchens. Two of the tables are occupied by crewmembers, which eye you with momentary curiosity before returning to the quiet noise of conversation. The captain seats you at one of the tables—the chairs magnetically fixed to the floor—before yelling after one of the crew nearest to the kitchen. "Lavigne, be a good host and grab four coffees for our guests here, and a tea." He turns back to Alphons. "I hope green is okay. I think it's all we have."
Once beverages have been provided, he produces a slate and flicks through it. A chime sounds on each of yours. "I forwarded each of you the MSMC file. I don't know what's on it, but I hope it answers your questions. I've asked my crew to give you some privacy while you review. I'm going to head up to the flight deck and check on some things. If you need me, just use the comms panel over there." He points to a screen on a nearby wall. "There's one just like it on every deck. You can also use it to speak to Manifest, the ship's NHP. Reach out to him if you have any other questions."
With that, he leaves you to inspect the file. Your proprietary software decypts it quickly, a certain key made for a certain lock. A video plays, either on your slate or, for those with augmented eyes, directly in your field of vision. Two people sit at a table, the logo of Mirrorsmoke Mercenary Company emblazoned on the wall behind them. The first is a large, dark-skinned man dressed in the gray uniform of MSMC command. Despite his rank, his bearing is loose and informal, his hair slightly too long and non-standard beard showing signs of gray hairs. You've seen him before—Major Harun 'Ziz' Suri, the commanding officer of the MSMC 501st Detachment, also known as the "Here-for-Nows". Your detachment, your CO. The woman is less familiar. She wears stylish, professional civilian clothes and the kohl around her eyes compliments her fair skin.
Major Suri speaks first. "I hope this message finds you all in good health, Delta Squad. You know who I am," He gestures to the woman seated next to him, prompting a smirk and curt nod from her. "And this is Nijole McCaffity, legal liason to the 501st and your new executive officer. My apologies for the new situation you find yourself in, but we know that, as soldiers, our mission can change. I know it might be disappointing that you will not be joining the rest of Whiskey Company and the 501st in our new campaign, but we have need of you elsewhere." He gestures again, this time changing the screen to show a planet shrouded in cloud cover.
"This is Ardennes-3, Union designation 'Hercynia', home to the colony Evergreen." A new voice—feminine with a slightly musical accent, McCaffity's. "Hercynia's charter is owned by Landmark Colonial, a subsidiary of Smith-Shimano Corpro. Evergreen is roughly fifty years old at this point, still under the leadership of an administrative NHP, named Patience. About a month ago, we received a contract from Landmark in response to a distress signal issued from Evergreen. The planet is fairly isolated, and it required we act with some flexibility. Hence your unusual situation."
"The distress signal indicates that the colony has come under attack from unknown assailants," Major Suri continues. "Your mission is to make contact with the colony and defend it from any further attacks. We're giving you some autonomy here, but any strategic decisions you make should be discussed with Evergreen's administrative and security personnel. Miss McCaffity will serve as your executive officer for this posting, her contact information is included in this dossier."
"Do not hesitate to reach out," McCaffity offers. "I know that we in Legal have a scary reputation, but I am your ally here."
When she's finished, Major Suri finishes his briefing. "Your posting will last a total of one year, upon which time you will be picked up again by the The Zintu Queen making its return journey. Any further questions can be directed towards McCaffity or the COMP/CON dossier included with this file. Good luck on Hercynia, Delta Squad. Make the 'Here-for-Now's' proud."
The video cuts out, displaying a menu of informational options relevant to the mission.
Secondary Objective: Integrate with local hierarchy and security apparatus.
Tertiary Objective: Ensure accurate data collection.
Quaternary Objective: Maintain MSMC rules of engagement.
Union records indicate that Hercynia was once subject to a widespread and catastrophic SecComm expeditionary campaign. The records lack details but information collected from the old Union Colonial Mission suggests that the Second Committee mounted a handful of similar campaigns against entrenched and hostile populations. Its history as a SecComm warzone likely accounts for the massive amount of radiation and signal "noise" coming off the world, especially at its desolate polar caps. Personnel should expect to encounter abandoned Union military infrastructure and technology. Leftover radiation and unexploded ordinance are possible hazards.
Evergreen was planned as a council community—a worker's city, collectively owned and organized around responsible harvesting and exporting of Hercynia's natural resources. It has no common currency, as all resources are appointed by Patience.
As a nearly finished colonial project, Evergreen has access to the omninet and a printing facility.
Jaq thanks Lavigne for the coffee, although she's never really liked the stuff. This cup was about what she expects: black, caustic, and bitter. As the mission brief plays across one eye, she walks over to where the cream and sugar are and tries to salvage the situation. A few moments later, she's gotten the coffee to be palatable and makes her way back to the table with the others. She runs the briefing again, marking sections and making notes using her AR rig. It looks to others as if she's miming writing on the table, but her handwritten notes were being saved to her slate for later review. She does the same for the appendices attached to the brief. About fifteen minutes later she's dismissed the AR overlays and returned her focus to the reality about her instead of the one in her head.
"Well, This looks relatively straight-forward. I wonder what kind of snake pit we're about to walk into," she says once everyone has had a chance to review the brief and intelligence. Her tone is wry, and a corner of her mouth curls up as she waits for the others to reply.
Alphons' eyes clear for a moment, and they meet the captain's gaze, a rare smile cracking the porcelain of their face.
Green...a lovely sound.
Alphons settles pristinely into their seat, and begins the briefing. Almost instantly their eyes glaze once more into the middle distance, as if they were only half-listening to the Major and the liaison. Yet, as soon as the video-brief is finished, a single effortless flick of their wrist dismisses the recording and opens the next.
With further details buried in text, Alphons' gaze returns to the task at hand, sharpening as they make their way through the Parameters, details on Hercynia and Evergreen, and finally the SITREP. After quickly taking in all the information of each, their focus fades once more, their expression purposfully blank, their eyes barely moving before they move further in the brief.
After a full minute of sitting motionless after dismissing the OPFOR, Alphons shifts their weight quickly, leaning forward, wrists across the edge of the table, their eyes roaming the room aimlessly.
A pit of snakes...Hmm they mutter, mulling. Snakessss... they drag out the fricative with vague relish. Hmm. This certainly sounds like we know nothing. Pirates? A guess. They turn their head to the side, examining the skin between their thumb and forefinger. A small grin breaks across their face. A settlement without currency. Fascinating... They grin before returning their attention to the rest of the lance. And an NHP...exciting.
Baywulf gulps down his cup. Since leaving Sparr, he's gotten a taste for the stuff. He skims through the data they've been given before saying to Alphons, "With the spirits of the machine, it is best to tread lightly, especially for one's well-seated in their power. I suppose, though, we are here to destroy the attackers, not commune with the powers that be. It matters little who they are, we will grind them into the dust and stand victorious over their remains."
"Well, smashing the baddies is priority number one, integrating with the locals for the duration of the deployment is priority number two. I think we'll be dealing with Patience quite a bit on this mission," Jaq says as she nurses her cup of cream and sugar with coffee. "And there are plenty of worlds in the core that don't have any currency beyond mana. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that you find that more fascinating than the fact the planet is habitable at all, Poise."
Alphons' pupils flick briefly towards Jaq, but pass over her, aimlessly pursuing the various panels and lights in the room. A faint grin crosses their face.
It would have to be habitable, there are people there! Their eyes meet Jaq's, the grin turning into a beaming smile.
Scanning through the intel on his slate, Roth takes a long sip of his coffee. After a moment he takes the slate in one hand and raps it hard against the table a few times.
"Bah! Damn thing's always locking up."
He tosses it unceremoniously to the table and it becomes apparent that the tech is a few generations behind.
"I agree with Jaq on priorities here, though I think it'd be prudent to contact Patience prior to landfall and see if we can find out a little more about what we're dealing with. Pirates is a fine guess, but we'll be flying blind as to how many or how well equipped. Plus we need to know that they'll have our frames printed and ready for action, should it come to that."
With a grunt, Roth gets up from the table and walks over to the comms panel. He touches a few elements on the UI and a face flickers to life on the screen.
"Manifest, I presume? Are you able to establish a comm link with Patience at the Evergreen colony?"
Athena's left eye lights up a in soft green color as the data plays across her iris. She takes in the information while softly humming what seems to be a rather high energy song half jumping as Road Block slams down his slate. She scoops it up in her left arm and takes a quick glance at it before, standing up and grabbing her coffee in her right hand.
After a quick walk to the condiment bar she sets down the slate, and links to it by a small port that opens up along Athena's pointer finger in her left arm, a pristine silver cybernetic attached at the shoulder. She turns back to the group before making eye contact with Road Block and speaking clear enough for him to "You managed to pause it again while opening notes mode."
Athena turns back around to grab the creamer and pours a small amount in her coffee, then picks up the sugar shaker and sprinkles a bit in before speaking to her NHP, "Kopi, remind me later after my run to reconfigure pops UI again. He's still fat fingering it."
Her coffee properly sweetened, she walks back to the group, slamming down in her chair, and sliding the slate back across the table towards where Road Block was sitting. Catching up on conversation Athena jumps in, "Besides what use is currency when we can just print..." she throws her hands back gesturing at the room as a whole, "...all of this. What might be the better question to ask is, what is on the planet that is worth killing for? Land? A rare material? A backwater blood fued?" Athena leans back in her chair, takes a sip of her coffee, and spins her chair around once slowly, as Road Block begins speaking to Manifest.
As she re-aligns with the table, she slides down deep into her chair, taking another sip of coffee, and closing her eyes, before sitting back up, and saying, "I suppose there's no harm in getting a jump start on the work." She gestures with her left hand which pulls up AR schematics of the groups lances, and begins to break down the unique atmosphere of the planet, to take into account for the slight irregularities, their lances might encounter. After a few seconds she pauses scrolling through the schematics only for her stomach to gurgle. She let out a full laugh before looking at the others posing the most important question yet, "What do you think passes for a good meal down there? Can't imagine a lot of crops on a planet in constant cloud cover."
"There's ways around both uninhabitable planetary surfaces and cloud cover. All you'd have to do is build a sealed habitat and then you could live anywhere. Food just needs water, nutrients and light. If you have a good enough power source, then light isn't that big of an issue."
Jaq barely looks as the others as she launches into a full-blown monologue on how to make a self-sufficient colony even on an airless rock in the middle of nowhere.
In response to Road Block's question, a face appears on the panel, the face of a young woman, her long hair dark and curly. "In the flesh, Mr. Road Block, such as it is. One moment." Manifest's eyes shift focus, looking past Road Block for a moment. "Hmm," she murmurs, frowning. "I'm struggling to maintain a steady connection to Evergreen's omninode. Meteorological data suggests that Evergreen is experiencing its 'monsoon' season, perhaps the weather is interfering. I will continue trying." She pauses, looking sheepish.
"You're mech pilots, right? Is there any chance I could interest you in a training simulation? Something to knock off the rust and maybe pass the time?"
"I wouldn't mind stretching my legs a bit, so to speak. How about the rest of you?"
Alphons stares wistfully at the panel displaying Manifest, a jubilant grin across their face as the NHP interacts with Road Block.
At the mention of a simulation, their face recedes into a blank, impassive stare into the ether.
I suppose we should. They stand, moving gracefully to stand beside Road Block. I suppose business should come before the rest..
Judging by the monotone now prevalent in their voice, it is difficult to determine if they are being sarcastic, but they stand ready nonetheless.
Athena quietly whispers to Kopi while kicking her legs up on to the corner of the table.
As Jaq begins her ramble, Athena examines her reflection in the datapad in her hand and fixes the shock of red hair on her head. She let her teammate go on for a few sentences while taking a few long sips of her coffee.
Athena waits for Jaq come to a natural pause before speaking up, "We all know how food gets made Jaq, my question was, how do you think the food is down there? And yeah we can cram a bunch of people in an airtight asteroid in the middle of deep space, but it has to still have a value in the end right? Whether its wealth, research, or just a home."
"Hold that thought." Athena swings her legs around and hops up at hearing Manifests offer. "That sounds truly great, anything to shake off months of Cryo-pod Crawlies. Any chance we could get a lunch when we get out?" Athena drops one hand to her stomach patting it lightly. "It has been a few months since we ate."
Baywulf nods, ”A good plan. Too long since I really moved.”
"So are we going to go against an op force or are we having a match amongst ourselves?"
Jaq's avatar knocks on the door to Pix's room in the virchy-scape representing the various processes running on her mech's mainframe.
[Hey, Pix. Are you awake?]
As Jaq waits, a fluffy, baby-blue unicorn rolls on by like a tumbleweed and meows as it sees the lancer's avatar.
Manifest beams inside her panel. "I'm your op force! This is so exciting, I've never squared off against some honest-to-goodness Lancers before. When you're ready, just head up to the lounge, we have a VR rig." With that, the NHP blinks away.
---
The lounge is a cramped space, made comfortable by constant use. Booths with omninet access sit unused, although a pair of Zintu Queen crew play an analog table game, knocking a ball back and forth between ranks of plastic men.
The VR rig itself is a central console with clunky headsets draped over a series of couches. Manifest appears in a panel on the rig, practically humming with excitement. "Okay. I've uploaded your mech's specs into the program. They should be pretty accurate. If you have a subjectivity-enhancement suite, you should be able to jack directly into the simulation. Otherwise, grab a helmet and I'll see you inside."
---
The simulation is bizarre, a black void save for a series of islands connected via land bridges. Grey, hexagonal pillars of varying size run throughout, offering some level of protection. In the distance,
Manifest appears in the sky, a blue god. [How does it feel? Hopefully I got the builds right. Your mission will be to escort the three VIPs into the central island.] Three small vehicles appear on the path next to your mechs. [I'll do my best to stop them, but I won't be gunning for them directly. To keep things interesting, I've deactivated your mech's Core Power for this match. If that seems unfair, remember that while I play here, I'm also monitoring crew vitals, maintaining the ship's atmosphere, managing the reactor and radiation levels, advising the pilot, double-checking the navigational figures, and assisting the chief engineer with a repair.] Manifest grins again and vanishes from the blackness above you, although her voice remains—as clear as though she were inside your own mechs. [Radio silence from my side begins in 10 seconds. If you need abort the simulation at any point, please say "Manifest, end this." Play will begin when your first mech moves. Have fun!]
In the distance, you see a pair of hulking mechs appear. One wields a massive hammer, the other seems unarmed. Two smaller mechs lurk on either flank, hefting heavy machine guns. Further back, a pair of agile looking mechs dart from cover to cover, their shifting energy blades bright against the darkness of the horizon.
Yup, and we're about to have some fun. Manifest, the ship's NHP is setting up a simulation for us. I thought you'd like to join in and see what we can do.
Jaq gives Pix a huge grin and barely keeps herself from bouncing from foot to foot with excitement. The highlights in her hair sparkle as they fade from red to electric blue.
Jaq takes a seat on the couch and gets comfortable before seeming to doze off.
====
Looking around the virchy-scape, Jaq can't help but grin as she hears Manifest's excitement. In one of the holo tanks, Pix's avatar appears and gives a ferocious grin.
"Seems fair to me, Manifest. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble and not be able to play with us anymore," Jaq says as she looks over all of Queen of Heart's readouts. Everything looked green, though it was a little hard to tell with all of the >:D emojis covering the status boards.
Alpons walks as if a machine to the lounge, their eyes unfocused, their movements graceful and effortless, but strangely without purpose. As the door to their destination opens, their gaze moves once over the whole space, taking it all in in a single pass.
As the group moves to the VR rig, Alphons pauses as they pass by the crew members playing their game, and the Lancer stops, enthralled. Their pale blue eyes focus to a crystalline point as they watch the ball batted expertly back and forth between the various ranks of toy men, a movement too quick to be entirely seen. They take in the fast twitches and jerks of the shoulder, wrist, elbow, and the arms as a whole, and standing as a spectator, Alphons' arms start to mimic those of the players. An inward yank of the right hand and a twist of the wrist sends the ball to the rank behind, to be received by a quick swivel of the left hand and a sharp rotation, sending the ball through all the columns to score. Standing in imitation, Alphons' face breaks out in a grin of awe, and it takes several moments for them to catch up with the rest of the group as they take their places at the couch.
Alphons resumes their impassive expression as they daintily sit at the edge of their seat, one knee crossed over the other, hands folded neatly in their lap. The sit as a stone for a moment before reaching forward, taking the headset, and placing it over their head, closing their eyes.
Alphons keeps their mind's eye closed as the simulation resolves itself with their natural balance, but the eyes open wide as they take in the heavily detailed mock-battlefield before them, complete with delightful terrain. The SitRep provided passes through their awareness almost unheeded, instead fixating on Manifest's blue effigy in the sky, and both the VR representation of themselves and their physical form back on the couch grin widely.
The rules have been laid, the tasks made clear. Alphons and the Elegance both hold perfectly still; one would be forgiven had they thought there to be a glitch in the system not rendering movements and fidgets. Poise' voice cracks over the comms.
What is the play, Road Block?
Elegance flares her flight systems in the first indicator of any locomotion from the mech, and Poise' companions recognize the telltale, tiny tremble of eagerness in their voice.
Roth fiddles with his goggles before finally resigning and handing them over to June for adjustment. "Thanks," he says as he straps into the rest of the VR rig.
"Poise and Thunder Walker, you'll act as the hammer. Engage the enemy forces directly and don't let them near our first priority, the escort vehicles. I'll move into position in the center of the battlefield and act as the anvil, drawing their fire. Don't forget, you can use me as cover, the Broken Wing may be an old frame design, but she'll hold up when it matters. Blackjack, you've got point, inserting yourself wherever you deem necessary. Athena, hang back with the escorts and provide support. That said, you know what they say... everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Everyone clear?"
Baywulf takes a seat on the couch, jacking directly into the VR machine through the cybernetic implant in his neck. His lips move in barely-audible, murmuring prayer to the cyber-gods of Sparr as he transitions into virtual existence.
He hefts his war spear nodding to Road Block, "Copy that."
"Road Block, Blackjack, roger. Blackjack will take point and engage the enemy as opportunities warrant. Do you have any priorities for targets? Over." Jaq's voice and cadence are more clipped and formal as she acknowledges the orders. With the need for getting down to business at hand, Pix clears her additions from the displays and pops out of existence. In her place is a detailed map of the engagement zone with markers for the mechs the Queen of Hearts can see.
[Soooo, we have some lovely turrets. It'd be a shame to waste them.] Pix's voice comes over the dedicated channel between her and Jaq.
[That's a good point. Care to mark any good choke points where we could deploy them for me?]
Athena falls behind the others taking long moments to examine different areas of the ship. Realizing she was lagging behind, she sprints to catch up, nearly tripping as she passes the men playing the ball game. "Oh that might be fun."
Athena's eyes flash over the old VR system in front of her, before she slides in next to Jaq. Her eye flashes over the connectable systems around her before she finds the holorig, links in, and then lays her head back.
===
Athena slides into her mech, feeling instantly right at home. Kopi, in the form of a small bronze owl sits on a perch next to her. She mutters to herself impressed with the NHP's level of detail in the hologram. "Not bad Manifest, you even got my seat position right, no adjustments required."
She tunes in right as Road Block lays out the plan, "Message received, waiting on our Hammer's to engage. Prepping for Castle-Down Protocol until then."
Athena spins in her rig, flipping up three different switches as different aspects of the Voskos flair to life. The mech's left shoulder begins to hum to life as thousands of drones activate in a bright teal light. The right arm of the mech, opens slightly, the same drones, buzzing with a bright light. Athena leans back in her seat, and kicks her feet up on to her dash. "Sheep are awake Kopi, you know the drill, guide them home."
Baywulf runs forward, getting ready to meet the enemy headlong.
The Queen of Hearts moves like a dancer, despite the array of weaponry it carries. Once out it front of the others, Jaq really shows off the mech's mobility by covering most of the distance to the EZ in just two long strides with the help of the Queen's jump gear.
The two machine gun-toting mechs advance quickly into cover, one bringing its LMG to bear on the lead adversary: Blackjack. The Queen of Hearts comes under a withering hail of fire, plumes of virtual ground rising from the impacts.
The orders given, Alphons' grin fades, and they and Elegance become completely still, the loud cracking of the Archer crashing in the distance.
With a burst of motion, Elegance opens her flight engines wide, and the mech strikes forward over the dark and endless voids of the Simulation, fast and deadly as lightning. The engines whine with the strain, and in the cockpit, the virtual temperature starts to rise, Poise' virtual body quickly starting to sweat.
Despite the protestations of the engines, Poise pushes forward driving the mech onward, finally halting a short distance from the less-trigger-happy archer. Elegance extends her left hand with mechanical precision, and rotating out from a hidden actuator comes the Predator V Heavy Pistol, training on its foe. The barest hint of a pause.
Bang! The heavy pistol fires:
Without waiting for damage to become apparent, the Elegance lurches forward again, the recoil from the Predator spinning the pistol backwards, and instead revealing the wicked Alice's Legacy knife, which Elegance brings to bare as she flies towards her foe, the mechs feet finally finding ground after an extended flight.
The Knife stabs forward:
Poise' voice cracks over the comms, a dead monotone. Enemy engaged on left flank.
As battle is joined properly, Elegance begins waving her Ex-Caliber blade, and the normal economy of motion of the mech and pilot has been replaced with a jerking, seemingly staggering gait. Those who look closely, however, find a deceptive balance in the waving; a carefully measured dance in the chaos, and the waving, menacing weapons form a whipping curtain of steel.
One of the nimble mechs equipped with energy blades moves the western land bridge, loping strides eating up distance quickly as it moves to a new position of cover.
Elegance's systems pings an alert to Poise, some sort of foreign diagnostic scan. The alert indicates that no damage was done, but the mech in question has learned something of Elegance's potential.
Road Block wraps his hands around the familiar controls. It feels good, like touching down after a long spaceflight.
I'm home.
The Broken Wing stirs to life and takes a few ground-shaking steps forward which transform first into a run, then a jump jet assisted leap, bringing Road Block into a position more akin with his namesake.
"Copy Poise, I'm not sure they're going to know what hit 'em. Blackjack, I'm moving up to provide support. Take down long range targets first, we don't want them sniping our escorts out from under us."
A hatch opens in the armor plating on the left arm of the frame and he fires a smoke grenade nearly directly down into the ground between himself and Blackjack. There's a loud pop, followed by thick volume of smoke spewing in all directions.
As if in response to Road Block, one of the large mechs in the center rumbles forward, pushing up the center.
Athena kicks Voskos into gear as the others move, crouching her Everest down close, and yelling through her speakers, "Alright boys let's roll out."
With a small jump, Voskos moves forward keeping pace with the now moving VIPS.
The enemy mechs push forward, another of the nimble darting types along the eastern ridge, and a hulking, hammer-wielding brute up through the center.
[You've got to get those VIPs moving, friends,] Manifest says. Although you cannot see the NHP, it sounds as though she's smiling. Then you see why.
On the northern platforms flanking your starting position, two pairs of identical mechs blink into existence—squat and quadrupedal, with a cylindrical "tower" at the center. Panels along these towers slide away to reveal dozens of tiny ports, from which clouds of tiny drones pour forth.
Manifest has brought reinforcements.
As Elegance bobs and weaves a curtain of steel, Poise' eyes flip to the readings, taking in the sudden and drastic change in situation. Their comms flip open.
Repositioning to the cover on our flank. I'll try to sting at them from the mist.
On the turn of a dime, the weaving blades surrounding Elegance change orientation; the elbow joint wielding the heavy Ex-Caliber suddenly reverses direction, turning a threatening slash into a devastating thrust, at the same time as the grip on the tac knife flips, driving the point towards the collar of the Archer.
As the screech of metal on metal resounds throughout the simulation, Elegance is already moving in a new direction, one foot kicking the mech backwards, into the mist behind it, the blades scratching free. Without waiting to see if the archer was disabled, Elegance hurls herself into the fog, and into the path of the oncoming swarm.
The Archer slumps forward, machine gun dropping from its hands. It collapses to the ground—lifeless—as Elegance jets away.
The second Archer continues to pour bullets on to Blackjack. Road Block's smoke grenade helps to keep her from the worst of the fusillade, but the Queen of Hearts takes some glancing hits.