Eye of the Storm (Tyr)

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#1
OE 102: January 12th, 2:11 PM
Hangar of the Stork Class "Brisbane"
Entering Donguan Province Airspace, China


Chaos reigned.

It had been one week since the Lunar pulse struck - a pillar of light from the stars, which decimated the Middle East, and was believed to have caused the sudden appearance of the hostile lifeforms known as Lamalice, as well as a mass incursion of Dimensional Armed MONsters (DAMON). The Directory scrambled to it's feet, snapped out of its lethargy by the sudden mass destruction being wrought all over the world as even age old enemies found themselves fighting back to back against soul-devouring monstrosities and slavering, murderous biomechanical fiends from beyond the fringes of reality.

It was during this time that Sigrid Korppi, currently visiting Japan at the behest of Terra Sentinel, would have gotten an emergency communique through their personal terminal.

>SECURE COMMUNICTION FROM HYPERION
>TS FACTORY IN DANGER OF DESTRUCTION
>ASSIST IN PROTECTION IMMEDIATELY
>COORDINATES ATTACHED
A direct order from Hyperion, the pointy tip of the Terra Sentinel command chain, was not something to be trifled with. The coordinates attached would lead Sigrid to the Pearl River Delta, Donguan province, where a Stork class carrier would carry them. Even from high up in the air, the sight of fires burning below as Lamalice ravaged the continent burned brightly... And as they approached the Delta, traditionally a hub of manufacturing, this would become even clearer as the fighting became even more fierce.

...Who could tell what awaited them in the murky fog below?
 
Last edited:
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#2
As Brisbane neared their destination Sigrid nervously fingered Jaohm's controls, her heart beating fast in her chest. With the thick fog covering the ground below them she had no idea what the situation was. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to sense any nearby Prana, the familiar act she had done so many times helping to calm her nerves.

I can do this. She assured herself. Taking one final moment to ensure that her voice would be as steady as it could, she contacted the captain. It wouldn't do for Jaohm's pilot, no matter how undeserved, to show her nervousness. "Captain, I'm going on ahead to scout the situation down there. Open the hangar gates please."

Activating the Prana Converter, she welcomed the curious feeling that the flow of her Prana to the Elemental produced. "All systems operational, no problems whatsoever, we'll see how long that lasts..." With a frown she slightly moved Jaohm's scythe-wielding arm. "Correction, there still is a problem. Just what were they thinking when they decided on a scythe of all things?" The snark may perhaps have been a bit unprofessional, but she felt it was necessary. Hopefully it would help the nerves of the crew as well.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#3
"Roger. Good hunting, Korppi."

The hangar doors of the Brisbane opened, sirens whining and wind whipping about the Jaohm as it did so. Surprising that Hyperion had sent only her to handle whatever situation was brewing below, but at this point, all they could do was make the best of the situation. The Masouki plummeted through the fog, prana-thrusters flickering in the dim light as it sensed its way down, gracefully swerving around the pointy tips of buildings. As she reached the bottom, it would become immediately clear why they had specifically requested her services.

The ground was littered with the remains of Mass-Produced Gespenst Mk-IIs, their scratched-off shoulder markings indicating they were Terra Sentinel in origin. An entire squad's worth of machines, left torn to shreds on the asphalt. In the distance, the factory loomed, the fog curling about it like a blanket. There were no other signs of any machines, nor any immediate contacts. All around Sigrid were rusted warehouses and disused factories, giving the entire area an eerie, almost haunted feel...
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#4
Hunting? I said nothing about hunting...ah well. Tugging her braid once for good luck she set out, the nervousness and tension leaving her as Jaohm flew through the skies, replaced by the joy of flying. The buildings' tips that occasionally surprised her from the fog were welcome. They worked well as a warm-up. Her smile faded when she saw the ravaged Gespenst squad, the sight leaving her numb. Though she had no proof, her gut told her the pilots had met the same fate as their Gespies. Your battles are over, may your souls find peace. I’m sorry.

With new determination Sigrid turned her attention to the silent factory and its surroundings. Whatever doubts she held were pushed aside. She would do her best to complete her mission and to avenge her dead comrades. A raven was soaring through the skies - It’s flight promised defeat to the enemies of Terra Sentinel.

As Jaohm disappeared from amidst the shredded remains of the Gespensts towards the factory area, the scythe’s edge glowed a soft teal light, ready to strike. She circled above the factory area twice, observing it for any possible movement or shifts that could be seen through the fog before finally heading in.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#5
As Sigrid made her way through the air, navigating the mist, more details about the battlefield would become apparent as they approached the factory. Deep cuts were embedded in the side of the buildings, and the ground beneath was cracked and warped, as though... Something massive had made its way through. No radio contact was forthcoming either from the factory - only radio silence.

The silence would be broken, however, as she closed in on her location - as a gigantic claw reached around the lip of the building ahead of her. Something pulled its head forward around the bend, craning a long, segmented neck in her direction. It was black as obsidian, its body made of something between metal, rock, and flesh, with hard, pointed edges, and a reptilian, jagged head with a slavering, predatory mouth full of bladed fangs that dripped a clear, multi-hued liquid. The thing seemed to lack "eyes" in the traditional sense, but a pair of neon green stripes above its mouth seemed to serve a similar purpose as it focused on on the Jaohm.

"Gggkkrrrrrr….!"

The Dino DAMON gave a low, threatening roar that sent waves cascading through reality itself, shattering windows around Sigrid and sending cars tumbling below. DAMON weren't rare by any insance… But this? This was bigger than any ever before seen, easily standing three times the height of an ordinary one... What in the world was it?
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#6
What the hell went down here? Through here? Sigrid noted every cut and crack she saw, her worry growing with each one. Something massive had passed through, probably whatever had attacked the facility, but what? As she closed in on the factory she started to feel nauseous, the nausea growing with every meter she came closer to her goal.
The answer to her question appeared out of the fog when the gargantuan claw appeared out of the fog, followed by the head and, eventually, the rest of the body in its awe-inspiring size.
It was a DAMON, that much was clear, but it was far larger than any she had seen or heard of.
Harker I swear to all things anyone has ever worshipped if I survive this encounter we're going to have some very choice words about talking words and their ability to jinx people! I'm not a damn monster hunter! Any further internal ranting was cut short when the DAMON let out a roar, as Sigrid had to fight the urge to puke at the disgusting feel of the creature’s Prana. It was distorted, warped...unnatural. Shuddering, Sigrid stopped trying to sense Prana. It would do more harm than good.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she aimed the machine gun of her scythe-arm at the DAMON's face and released a hail of bullets while the free hand went for the Railgun that was resting on her skirt armor. At the same time she opened a comm line to anyone within range. "This is Captain Korppi, if anyone is still alive in the area there's a large DAMON in the factory area. While backup would be appreciated who am I to argue if you think whatever it is that you're doing is more important? It's just the size of a large, mean skyscraper with lots of pointy bits and taste for humans!"

Combat Music!

The glow on the scythe's edge had long since disappeared, but now the muzzle of the Linear Railgun was glowing. Switching from the machine gun to her Linear Railgun, she shot several shots aimed at the Dino’s head. The Prana Jet Thrusters flared as she burst out in sudden movement, rotating around the Dino while keeping good distance between the two. She changed her speed at times to make her movements harder to predict and read. During the circling she shot several barrages - one at the neck, two at the shoulders and one at the back, gauging its reactions and the impact of the shots.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#7
A hand went through Cassius' artificial hair, he had been moved to a forward base in China only a few days ago and now he had already received a direct order by Hyperion to defend a factory, he informed his superiors quickly and made his way over to the Personal Trooper he could call his.
The Kerberlion activated as he seated himself, the 360 degree view first showcasing a black background asking him to identify himself.

"Veritas Omnia Vincit" Cassius said, it caused the black to turn orange except for one part in front of him in the shape of Terra Sentinel's logo, it lasted only a second before the controls unlocked. With the systems built into the machine he would be able to reach the factory quickly, but it seemed that someone had beat him to it. So far this woman seemed like quite the interesting individual.

"Greetings Captain Korppi, this is Commander Price. I am here to provide backup in disposing of the DAMON." The comms seemed to come from where the ear shattering roar came from just a moment prior, which also was his destination. Two red dots could be seen approaching from through the murky fog, the turnail on the Kerberlion rotated once counterclockwise as the front opened. A dart shot out towards the massive Damon as the origin's silhouette became clear in the fog.

"Of course that is if you would have me?"
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#8
The Dino DAMON stepped out from the building completely, the ground shaking with every step. It was truly monstrous in scale - fusion of metal and mineral, with gleaming crystalline growths spurting from its shoulders and distended belly. A long tail tipped with a clawed manipulator of sorts swished out behind it, dangling menacingly in the air as it craned its neck, looking for... Something. If it hadn't been paying attention to the Jaohm before... It did now, as the agile Masouki darted manically just below its field of vision.

Slugs from the Linear railgun and machinegun shells slammed into the creature - but to little effect. A haze of multi-colored particulate indicated the presence of the D-Fault, a protective layer of dimensional energies generated naturally by such monstrosities - but some of the shots managed to pierce it, glancing off the creature's hide. It gave a shuddering roar as it turned to face Korppi, regarding them much in the same way one might consider a mosquito angrily buzzing about in the air.

It opened its mouth, multi-hued vapors pouring from its gluttonous, semi-organic throat briefly - before a wave of dimensional energy lashed out like a battleship cannon in the Jaohm's direction, blasting apart the pavement and any particular building unfortunate enough to get in its way. It hadn't yet caught sight of the Kerbelion - but it was only a matter of time before it caught
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#9
"...What?" Sigrid whispered in shock as she froze, the response had been unexpected. More importantly, Jaohm froze. Someone had actually been in range to hear her? That was...good. Not good. Both. Her shock almost proved fatal to her as the dimensional energy barreled towards her, just barely managing to dodge to the side at the last second. At least it broke her out of her stupor. Idiot! she chastised herself. Always keep moving, no matter what. Always!
She would not do that mistake again.


She moved back and forth in the DAMON's vision, re-evaluating the situation. Moving the railgun back to its resting place on Jaohm's skirt armor, she contacted Price. "I asked for backup, I didn't demand a specific kind of backup. Yes, I would have your aid with pleasure, obviously. It's the largest DAMON we've seen, I'm not in a picky mood here! I'll try to keep its attention on me, hit it hard...And please forget the end of the last message. Or the tone it was delivered in at least."

Aiming with her machine guns, she enhanced them with Prana and unleashed a continuous rain of bullets aimed at the Dino's head and neck, the bullets completely covered by a teal layer of Prana that glowed brightly. Hopefully she could keep the DAMON's attention on herself.
And hopefully Commander Price was near enough to use it to his advantage. Or able. She would like to live through this, and she could already feel a slight headache creeping in from her usage of Prana as she continued the enhanced barrage.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#10
The turnail's head closed, the rotation picked up again. The fog would be churned around the weapons as the Kerberlion picked up speed, both the rotation and the machine's speed would pick up as the deadly breath came from the DAMON. He couldn't help but laugh at the Captain's comments.
"I'm afraid I make for a tough meal."

Cassius took a moment to inspect the participants of this battle, first there was the Skyscraper sized DAMON, its back was heavily plated and several crystals sprouted from its shoulders and chest. In contrast the neck was ill protected but as it has just demonstrated, right below a deadly weapon.
Secondly, the Joahm. Prana based Personal Trooper, armed with a scythe and various ranged weapons. Its speed seemed one of its greatest assets.
He picked the relevant motion pattern as he moved in from behind the DAMON, a course being set to twist around the back and insert the turnail into one of its weak spots, the joints of the legs. The turnail's property of piercing barriers should allow it to ignore the D-Fault barrier and there was no defensive plating on the red fleshy mass there.
He moved the information on the Damon over to the right side of the HUD in his cockpit, marking weakspots around the legs and arm joints before sending the info to his ally.

"Captain, might I ask you to keep distracting the DAMON and focus your fire on its leg joints for now. If we can disable its movement we should be able to simply attack it from its blind spot without worry of a counterattack. Should it turn its focus to my Kerberlion we simply switch our roles until it switches focus again."
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#11
Sigrid's assault slashed into the DAMON - but once again, were met with the rainbow sheen of the D-Fault barrier, even the prana-enhanced bullets pinging harmlessly off its surface. The Dino DAMON's protective field, it seemed, was made of sterner stuff than the rapid-fire weapons could hope to penetrate. The beast tracked her as she darted below, its mouth still emitting vapors from its previous assault. It raised its gigantic, bladed claws, which began to spin, creating an eerie mechanical whine as they churned the air around it.

The creature hefted its weight - but at that exact moment the Kerbelion made its presence known, the Turnail slamming home and grinding into the creature's knee, causing it to stumble with a shriek of pain, metallic flesh splattering about the Kerbelion's frame as it fought to retain its balance. It's right arm fired out anyway, a spinning propeller of death easily the height of the Jaohm itself - but fortunately for Sigrid, Cassius interference had all but ensured it would miss, hurtling into - and grinding apart in seconds - a warehouse just ahead of the Herald, exposing lengths of wire and cord that led back to its forearm.
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#12
"Tell that to the DAMON! My diet, while not the epitome of health, does not contain any human flesh in it thank the spirits!" Sigrid replied to Price. It was comforting, throwing 'professionalism' to the wind and just letting loose. Gods, she probably would've been panicking already without Price.
She certainly would be yelling in frustration as her pretty bullets failed to even pierce the D-Fault, the only comfort was that at least they kept the Dino's attention squarely on her. Still, she guided one of Jaohm's arms to aim at the leg joints, while the other kept the futile barrage on the DAMON's head.

Worried about the wildly spinning claws and prepared to dodge it, her worry dissipated as Price impacted with the creature's knee at the same time as the claw was sent flying. Instead, when the claw flew past her she saw an opening: the wires and cords that connected the claw to its forearm. Ending her bullet barrage, Sigrid checked her Prana levels. Around 70%...Dropping below 20% heavily discouraged. It's enough, let's do this. There was no way the DAMON would keep its attention on her after Price's attack.

Theme again for good measure

She increased the flow of her Prana to Jaohm, grasping her scythe with both hands. More and more flowed to the Masouki's internal machinery and the scythe as she fed as much as she could to both of them, and while the scythe glowed a bright beautiful teal, Jaohm took to itself an orange glow, like a scorching sun that illuminated the foggy battlefield.
And then she moved.
With a sudden burst of movement, far above what the mech had displayed so far, Jaohm charged at the wires and cords connecting the claw to the forearm and attempted to cleave through them all with a single strike. Whatever the result, with a sharp turn she was upon the forearm, swinging wildly as she flew up the forearm. There was neither grace nor beauty to it, no pattern. Just a wild offensive brought by the Masouki's speed and as much Prana on the scythe as she could muster. With a final swing aimed at the neck below the DAMON's chin, she was above it. In a sudden surge of inspiration, she ended her assault by forming three blades of wind Prana and sending them flying at he Dino's head as the glow dissipated from Jaohm and the scythe both.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#13
Cassius' attention had turned to the wires as the monstrous DAMON fought for its balance, two lines of action formed in his head to either double down on the leg or to disable the arm now the opportunity was given. But the decision would be made for him as the Joahm moved. He made a note of the Joahms new found speed, adjusting the HUD in his cockpit to match the information.

"It would appear you have given it something else to feast on, allow me to serve the dessert."
Humans were such interesting beings, even when facing a giant being of destruction that has already slain plenty of their peers they still could make a joke about their own diet. It was a trait he was glad he could share with the Captain.

The Kerberlion turned its gaze downwards at the hole it was currently making, its shoulders opening up in a maw like fashion as red light began to shine from them.
'HMP Cannons ready' the HUD would inform him, Cassius made the Kerberlion lean forward, pushing the Turnails further into the DAMON's flesh as he did so, when he could lean no further the spectacle of red light would be released, aimed entirely at the already damaged joints of the Monster.

Some of the red beams firing from the Cannons would scatter onto the ground, punching holes into them roughly the size of a Gespenst's fist and as deep as its arm as they struck. What they would do to a DAMON at point blank was to be seen when the light faded.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#14
Sigrid and Cassius assault on the DAMON seemed to be more than the creature could bear. The Jaohm danced through the air, blade alight - and cleaved clean through the exposed wiring in a spray of oil-like blood. The DAMON gave a threatening shriek that reverberated through the buildings around them - one that quickly turned in pitch to one of shock and pain, as below, Cassius' Turnails and HMP cannons blasted apart its knee.

Cassius was now faced with a more severe problem as, if he were to raise his eyes skyward, he would see that the beast was now approaching him at surprising speed - that is, now sufficiently unbalanced with the loss of two of its limbs, it was now falling towards him. The beast flailed with its remaining scything claw towards Sigrid as they approached, doggedly attempting to rend the Jaohm from the skies, even as it collapsed - like some kind of monstrous tree of nightmare.
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#15
The scythe reignited as Jaohm desperately dodged the claw, delivering a quick attack of its own at the wrist - though there wasn't much force behind it. Inside the cockpit Sigrid was breathing heavily. That had been foolish, she had thrown so much Prana to waste with little to show for it. Molding blades of wind from Prana when it had been years since she did anything even remotely like that... Stupid. Sigrid winced. "Father wouldn't have made a mistake as stupid as that." she muttered as she withdrew away from the arm.

Changing course Sigrid charged towards the arm, darting past the arm with a swing of her scythe at the elbow where the other claw had detached itself from the main body. After her attack she guided Jaohm far above the DAMON's head, trying to catch her breath as the glow of the scythe disappeared once again.

For now adrenaline was keeping her fatigue at bay, but if the fight lasted for much longer she'd be in danger. If not from the Dino, then from expending all her Prana.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#16
Calculations were quickly processed in Cassius' head as soon as the beast toppled over to his side. He preferred not being crushed by the mass of such a monster.
The turnails would finally be removed from the monster's flesh, or what remained of it and the shoulders closed as the HMP Cannons had to cool down.

A thought formed, the optimal course. A pause, was it the right choice to avoid endangering the captain....

Yes.

The boost drive activated as the Kerberlion kicked itself off the DAMON's leg. The special feature would allow the machine to dash out of range of the falling monstrosity, even after the momentary hesitation.
The representation of the Damon on his HUD would be adjusted for the newly inflicted damage as Cassius decided between motion patterns.

"Focus fire on the neck and eyes now Captain. Disable the last arm if given the chance." He said as the turnails resumed spinning once more. For now he needed to wait and see how the monster would land.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#17
Sigrid's attack splashed against the DAMON's remaining wrist - but this time, failed to sever the limb, the blade tearing a lengthy gash across the creature's skin. As they pulled away, the monster craned its neck up - following her. Its throat bulged ominously, its jaw craning open to accommodate... Something other than what it had sent her way before. After a brief moment, it's head jerked in the direction of the Jaohm, and from its gullet rocketed forth... A glowing, green chunk of DEC, like a meteorite. Several more followed it, each tracking the escaping Masouki viciously into the sky.

The remaining arm took a swing at the Kerbelion, massive, whirling blades spinning out in the direction of the agile machine as the creature began to make its way to its knees, tearing apart the pavement underneath. Dimensional force was already beginning to congeal in the area, the monster concentrating it, beginning to work on... Repairing the damage it had sustained so far, accelerating the process with its own latent connection to the beyond... But how long the two had to counteract it, or deal a killing blow, was uncertain.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#18
Faced with the prospect of the meteoric rain coming upon his ally and the incoming claw to himself the choice was quickly made. The jaws on the machine's shoulders would open once more and with them the break field was activated as the Kerberlion dashed to save its ally from more projectiles. The machine would not go undamaged but at least it was only external, all systems remained operational and all weapons intact.

Now with the claw behind it and the beast's neck exposed Cassius would quickly move into position, a red trail of light following behind. Luckily for him the HMP cannons had just cooled off enough to be usable once more. A motion pattern was loaded in, slightly modified to fit the monstrous size of the DAMON.

"Sonic Destroyer" it says on his hud as the course was processed. He would not joke around as the turnails once again spun, his target was the beast's neck and if given the opportunity to do so, an attempt to blast the head clean off the monster's body with the HMP cannons.
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#19
Sigrid was growing increasingly annoyed as she was forced to dodge the rain of meteorites heading her way. Each time she tried to approach the Dino she was forced to back away, just barely dodging the projectiles. Right when she was about to contact Price he moved and attacked the beast's neck on his own accord.
It seemed he was one step ahead of her.

Moving to the side Sigrid prayed that the beast was at least temporarily stunned by Price's assault. She dashed towards the DAMON, approaching it's right side with the scythe raised for a strike. The scythe finally lit up and with her momentum fully behind her she swung it, tearing into the Dino's right eye. Driving the scythe deeper into its skull she attempted to dig as deep as she could.

Just die already damn it. I'm too young to die because I fell asleep all of a sudden!
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#20
Cassius's attack of opportunity would prove to be more than adequate. The DAMON, focused on striking the agile Jaohm above, failed to spare a glance downward - until the Turnails and HMP cannons dug into its throat, too close for its vaunted D-Fault to make a difference. The beast gave a truly horrific scream of agony as the plasma blasts tore into its neck... And severed it whole, before Sigrid even had a chance to strike. It hung suspended in the air for a brief moment... before the entire body of the thing began to crumple, as though it had merely been made of paper.

It was wrenched towards a central point, all of its mass screaming into a tiny pinprick of unreality before exploding in a blast of dimensional energy that shattered the pavement below. As reality began to recover from this latest offense against the natural order of the world, silence began to set in - no further monstrosities emerged to assail the two... It was only them, and the - thankfully, untouched - factory.