Roaring Dynamo (Shadow Mirror)

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#1
Clink. Clink. Clink.

A gentle noise in the darkness, a smokey room. On a desk, several dozen gleaming blue cards had been stacked, their crstalline surfaces gleaming under the lamplight.

"Four hundred eighteen thousand credits... each. As promised." Said a voice, a woman's - low and sultry, full of a tempered confidence.

"Enough for the Reflectors... and of course, to tie up any loose ends, yes?"

There was a gentle grumbling in the room, murmured discontent swirling like sharks as uncertainty clashed head on with greed. The deal had been worked out far in advance - this, they all knew, but it was quite a bit different when certain destruction was bearing down upon you.

"Hmph. Fat lot of good it's going to do us if the Lamalice tear this place apart, like L5."

She couldn't help but give a smirk, unseen in the gloom. Traitor had a terse, penetrative ring to it, one that instantly made the head turn. Small wonder that they would seek to avoid being painted with it at any cost... a weakness that was easily massaged away by talented fingers.

"My benefactor isn't going to let that happen." She replied, reassuringly. "Our partnership... Will never need come to light."

Gradually, the murmurs began to die down. At length, a gloved hand reached out and gripped one of the cards on the table.

"For your sake..." Said a faceless, terse voice; "You'd best be right."

Viper-like, it retracted into the darkness - and there was the sound of hurried footfalls. More followed threats - murmured threats or expressions of gratitude multiplying in her ears, until every card had disappeared from the table. Sometimes, conducting business face to face was still the best way to ensure that everything went exactly as it needed to.

There was a whisper in her ear, and she leaned back, slender eyebrows creasing in concern. A long-nailed finger was raised, waving away the newcomer, and she turned back to the assembled group with a smooth, corporate smile.

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"Gentlemen, we'll have to continue this conversation later..."



OE 102
January 19th
4 Cluster Space
Clyburn Colony Shipyard


All across L4, the populace of the Colonies was either rising up in defiance of certain destruction, falling into complete disarray, or quietly waiting for the inevitable apocalypse... Except, of course, for the Clyburn Colony, the latest of its kind. Little more than a skeleton with several lobe-like habitats carved out along its shape, the Colony's exterior was pockmarked with holes, and decorated with tethered, now silent construction equipment and ships. Construction of the new branch had been kept in political limbo, as representatives from the Directory sought to have the funds reallocated towards their own home districts - leaving the already dramatically overpopulated Colonies as they were.

What had once been seen as a marker of hope, of better things to come... Had become only the latest of symbols of oppression, and the residents status as second-class citizens in their own nation. All that dwelt on Clyburn now were space pirates...

...Or, so it was said.

The soldiers of Shadow Mirror, perhaps knowing better than most where to place a keen and sensitive ear, would have perhaps been aware of the Colony's other, lesser known function - one unfathomable to not only the heads of the Directory, but the very thing of their paranoid, propaganda-ridden fever dreams.

The Shipyard - heart, soul, and lifeline of any space Colony to the outside world, was dimly lit - even as the Lamalice descended elsewhere on L4, here, it seemed that some figures had congregated for an unusual meeting...

One that was about to receive an unexpected interruption.
 
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Aug 4, 2018
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Somewhere in the UK
#2
"Objective sighted. Laura, are you in position?" Life signs... noise... heat... Liana scanned the abandoned construction site with every method she could, trying to find the most obvious meeting site among the pirates and other possible threats. Well, almost every method - the negative energy scanner had been disabled by this point. Several hours of it freaking out at the Lamalice swarm was more than enough for her patience.

Her Aion had settled itself down on top of one of the ships, already transformed in preparation for their attack. Both cannons were active and glowing - able to fire at a moments notice.

The Circle was a threat. Prometheus didn't want the circle to get a foothold. The Circle must be destroyed, with all collaborators.

Thoughts reverberated through her mind... but were they really hers? Did she really agree with them? So many things on this side had already proven to be different, and for all she knew this Circle would be different from the one her associates had told stories about.

Things to work out later. For now the mission was all that mattered.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#3
"Naturally." Like Liana, Laura was scanning the abandoned construction site. The Vermilion Protector was among the machinery that haphazardly laid around the site, away from Liana's Aion and most likely on the opposite side of the meeting place they were searching for. The indistinct crowd of constant murmuring that always welcomed her to the cockpit of the Autowarlock was different from normal. Normally at the edges of her senses, always present but the words never decipherable from the mass where everyone was saying different things, it was clearer than ever since they had arrived in L'Isola, the spirits calling the same thing like a choir. Almost enough for her to make up single words, but certainly clear enough for Laura to understand their instinctual urge. They were agitated by the mass of Lamalice that was laying siege to the nearby colony, and were pushing her to go there. To fight against the sea of negative energy, likely mistaking it for the Encroaching Darkness. The situation the colony was facing reminded Laura of her lost home.

She wanted to be there. Even without the slowly fusing mass of spirits her heart longed to help the colony in its defense. It wasn't because of any residual guilt over having failed to defend Maake, though her past played a part in it as well. No, it came from something far simpler: No one deserved to lose their home, and the massive loss of life would be uncomfortable to swallow.
Laura had changed since they arrived in this world.

...Yet here she was, trying to delay the arrival of the boogeymen that had for a time held Earth in their home reality at the orders of Shadow Mirror's mad leader. Laura's earliest years were under the occupation, but she didn't remember much from it, the clearest memory being the pure joy and relief on her parents' faces when the final victory had been announced. But would this Circle with all the things that were already different in this world be the same? No one knew. Over the years Laura had started to resent Shadow Mirror and working for it.
Why was she here still, working for Shadow Mirror? Especially now?

Right, because of her. "Hey Captain Sheep." Laura spoke to the younger Elaima that was nominally her superior. "Don't you think it's questionable that we are here, especially now? How does eliminating few targets who are in cahoots with aliens further M- Prometheus' goal? Especially when millions of people are under the threat of genocide near us? How do their deaths - how does such a loss of life help the organization's goal?" The tone had started as lighthearted and conversational, but it had gained an undercurrent of steel and anger as she went on.

It was ridiculous. Somehow she had grown fond of the girl she worked with. The pitiful indoctrinated girl that had been tasked with turning Laura into something similar to herself. Liana questioned Shadow Mirror...if only she would even start questioning the madman that led it.
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#4
The two Shadow Mirror machines took up their positions, Liana and Laura having already managed to get relatively close to where the collaborators were holding their meeting. As they did, lights that had previously been flickering across the dock began to go out, one by one, plunging the area into darkness.

Yet, it was not without movement. On the long-range sensors of the Aion, a set of large, distinct shapes was visibile - a trio of vessels, starting to accelerate, each heading in a different direction - one north, one west, one east, from the central docks, their large, cumbersome forms barely visible against the distant explosions.

That wasn't all.

Multiple smaller contacts began to pulse into life across the two's radar - and a series of distant tail flares confirmed it: Mobile Weapons.


Closing in quickly on their position, flying in three formations of three, were the legless silhouttes of black-painted Cupids, their IFFs displaying as... unregistered. They were regarded as Colonial security weapons - but no less dangerous for it, as their agile nature and compact bodies made them difficult to hit. Such machines were little match for even standard prototypes... But in their current numbers? More than enough to overwhelm a couple of isolated combatants, or at least-

Buy time.

3x Peregrine Class (Time till Escape: 3 turns.)
9x Cupid
 
Aug 4, 2018
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Somewhere in the UK
#5
"I don't... don't think anyone knew about the space monsters when this operation was planned."

Liana didn't want to think about the possibility that she was wrong. Thankfully a distraction came in the form of their detection. Not at all welcome, but useful for her purposes.

"Three ships - I'm going to eliminate the north one with the buster cannon. Prepare to strike at two and three."


The western and eastern ships were swiftly marked, their locations being transmitted to the Protector. As for the northern target... they were unfortunate enough to have been the first target in her sights.

"Double buster cannon, firing." Goodbye.

As Liana whispered into the microphone, her Aion was finally unleashed. Twin beams of blue energy shattered the darkness of space, ripping through the flimsy debris and aimed at the bridge of the northern Peregrine. Should they hit the ship would practically be torn in half, two cleanly-cut cylinders through its midsection removing most of the vital parts of the ship - along with its crew.

Her payload delivered, the Aion Gamma would transform back into it's Mobile Weapon shape and push off the ruined ship. While the previous site had been perfect for an ambush, anyone with half a brain could simply follow the glowing beam back to its point of origin. She ducked and dived through the wreckage, trying to keep her distance from the cupids as the surviving ships got closer and closer. A sigh would come over Laura's speakers - Liana deciding to get her thoughts out of the way before they had any chance to disrupt her battle performance.

"...The mission is our current priority. Once we're done with that, I'm permitted to use my discretion. After we're done here we can go assist the colonial defense - it'll give us an alibi if anyone investigates."

And save lives.

The key part, but for some reason left unspoken. The Directory sometimes didn't even consider the colonials human. Or people like her. Elai- Changelings. That was the local term. The one that described her. The one that mattered.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#6
Laura snorted at her companion, but replied in affirmation nonetheless. As the Aion shot its twin beams, the Vermilion Protector began to rise from the floor it had been standing on. Unlike the Aion the Autowarlock didn't have anything that could shoot straight through this debris while still destroying large targets. And while it was true that it would be a target on the open air, that wouldn't matter much. Laura shook her head to clear the stray thoughts, combat was no place for them.
The area they were fighting in was dark. It could use some light.

As the Vermilion Protector halted its ascent it opened its palms towards the two Peregrines Liana had assigned to her. A pair of soft red glows illuminated the area in front of the open palms at the same time as Laura started to speak to everyone present. "It is I, Laura Woodweaver of the Deucalion Duet." The red glows turned to a magic circle with two layers of triangles...but they were not alone. Around them several copies of the circles bloomed into existence next to them. Two...Four....Six....Eight. Ten red circles total. Laura grinned, the voices of the spirits had mostly been muted temporarily, only the small crowd that was casting the additional Dogmas could be heard now as Laura guided the casting process that was going through her. "We're the best Spacefaring Supers there is!"

The outer layer of all the ten circles began to spin, birthing a fireball in front of the circles. Small at first, the balls rapidly grew in size and stray flames bursted forth from them. Four of the additional balls of fire were smaller than Laura's, but two were larger. Talking while keeping the Dogmas together was difficult, but Laura was the best at what she did.
And she had practised a lot to be able to talk while casting. "We have been hired to exterminate you. It is nothing personal."

A wave of fire was unleashed as the fireballs exploded away from the Vermilion Protector in countless smaller balls of fire, bathing the derelict construction site in orange light. But it was not like a wave one might see while walking on an Ocean beach. It was more similar to an erupting volcano. And while some of the numerous streaks were shot horizontally towards their quarry most instead were thrown in a wide arc, falling towards the Peregrines in a sudden rain of fire.
"If by some miracle you survive this day please consider hiring us in the future!" Laura concluded her advertising cheerfully.

Admiring the lights that came from her IGNESTs, Laura turned her attention to what Liana had said last. "As you say."

Unlike the Aion the Autowarlock didn't have anything that could shoot straight through the debris and still annihilate large targets. But it didn't need to.
It had the firepower of a battleship.
 

GEAR

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#7
The Aion's beam punched out into the construction site, incinerating everything in its path. The enemy seemed taken aback, the northernmost Peregrine starting to bank as it detected the oncoming blast, verniers fluttering against the gloom as it pitched-

Too little, too late.

With a scream of tearing metal, the rear half of the craft was shorn open by the twin blasts, briefly exposing a superheated engine core before the cruiser exploded, briefly illuminating the entire area as chunks of shrapnel ricocheted off buildings and constructs.

One down.

Retribution was swift, however - the Cupids, summarily ignored, had closed ranks quicker than their equipment suggested, and their diminutive forms now darted through skeletal structures and featureless streets, red camera eyes glowing as they spied the Aion. Five of the machines total had spread out around Liana, and were beginning to draw the net tight about her, muzzles from their beam guns flaring, as well as scattered tail flares of missiles as fire rained down about her position, pulverizing apart her cover, trying to drown her in an avalanche of concrete and metal.

Meanwhile, the four Cupids that had closed on the Laura's machine suddenly found themselves awash in a tidal wave of burning fury. Two of the machines went up in flames instantly, their rounds cooking off, sending a spray of missile-fire into the surrounding area that further smashed apart the already damaged landscape, before detonating themselves in a pyrotechnic display of fury. The remaining two loosed their missiles upon the Autowarlock as they charged, guns blazing - in what appeared to have all the makings of a kamikaze attack.

As flames splashed against the remaining two Peregrine Classes, their surfaces were scorched and blackened - but, despite all appearances, the craft had a reputation for reliability, and they continued along their path - only this time, two turrets turned back, each unleashing a pair of blasts back towards the Protector in an attempt to halt any further interference.
 
Aug 4, 2018
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Somewhere in the UK
#8
Liana stared back at the swarm of missiles approaching her, maintaining her focus as she flew through the wreckage. Debris was raining around her, but seemed to just... stop whenever it got close to the machine - as if being pushed away by an unseen force.

Alpha strike failed... things are getting out of control.

Encrypted Communications online. Target:Shadow-Mirror Control.

"This is Liana. Prepare DCM-01 to cover the eastern side and the 03 on western. Should we fail, deploy as appropriate."

Message complete, she returned to the mission. While the Telekinetic Barrier was allowing her to keep the wreckage from damaging her machine... that was just delaying the inevitable. It was already starting to break down, the green glow surrounding the Aion flickering and weakening. Something had to be done.

The Aion's chestplate opened wide and lit up in a storm of missiles, her barrier starting to waver against the backblast from the detonations as she blasted her way straight through the rubble.

T-LINK BARRIER - OVERLOAD IMMINENT. RECOMMEND COOLOFF.
It smashed out through the ship in a cone of fire and smoke, matching the pace of the fleeing Peregrine while the few remaining missiles flew towards the ship.

"Fox! Take out their thrusters! And stop trying to advertise, we were supposed to be incognito!"

She barked an instruction at her colleague while the barrier winked out, bringing up the Aion's palms and firing a series of beams into the side of the fleeing ship.
 
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Aug 25, 2018
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#9
The Vermilion Protector advanced towards the Peregrines - and the rockets coming from that way - with no fear. Despite floating in mid air it still looked like it was walking forward as the rockets landed on the hardened metal of the Autowarlock...and did little except blacken the impact zones. Laura felt her head throb at the two Cupids' actions. Couldn't they at least find a better cause to die for?
At least Liana was amusing for once.

"Can it sweater!" Laura retorted. "Our machines are a dead giveaway, there was no way we could do this incognito! At least you gave a good suggestion for once. You should do it more often."

Now then, how to do this? The Vermilion Protector, never stopping in its deliberate walking pace, brought together its hands in a single clap. Four small, slowly rotating circles appeared out of thin air, aimed at the Cupids coming for the Autowarlock to keep them at bay. But that wasn't all. Far more circles appeared behind the machine, spreading out like bright wings of energy. Eight circles spun to life on the left side, while ten circles did so in the right side.
Laura frowned while keeping the Dogmas going. It was easy to cast multiple Tontatons at once. That there were so few at once...

She sighed. Whether it was because the spiritual mess wanted her to be fighting the negative energy creatures, or because of simple luck of the draw mattered little.
The pace of a single rotation quickened for each circle, after a few ever-quickening spins the circles shot themselves at their targets as white-yellowish beams, flying straight at them through the space. Four were headed towards the two Cupids, Eight at the thrusters of the eastern Peregrine and ten at the western.

"Besides, I'm better at advertising than what you will ever be. Just let the PR side do what it does best." She added.
 

MKR

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Aug 19, 2018
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#10
Liana would get a simple response, but it would be all she needed to know.

Affirmative, reinforcements will move into position.




A short distance away three units were gathered, one titanic in size dwarfing both its peers but containing no pilot within. A green Masouki sat on the titan's shoulders, on its legs rested a blade with instead of a hilt the grip and trigger of a gun.
The third of the trio seemed to be the middle ground between a Guarlion and a Masouki in design, it stood atop a piece of rubble as it seemingly gazed into the horizon its lone weapon, a lance, firmly in its grip.

The titanic unit, known as Pater-Mater within their ranks, gazed onto the waves of lamalice. Its sensors wishing to partake in the destruction of the purple beings but it stood there, unmoving. It was ordered to remain still, so it did just that. From the unit on its shoulder a female voice spoke up as it looked to the silver unit.
"Hey, Amin. What're you looking at?"

"What we both are supposed to look at." A male voice calmlyresponded, a bright flash coming from where he was looking shortly after.
"They've eliminated one of the targets." He let her know.

"Oh they're finally getting started? Pater-Mater, 163 degrees to the left please." She commented, her view rotating as the unit she sat on did and it was quiet for a moment as they both watched. A silence that did not last.

"Oh yeah, the leader uses the unit Pater-Mater was based on... Does that make her its mother?"

"That question doesn't even warrant an answer." The man simply replied in a flat tone.

"Yeah that's fair. Hey so-"

Their comms both received a message cutting off the question as the girl turned her attention to the message.

Unit 1 move into ambush position west of combat zone, unit 3 move into ambush position east of combat zone.
"Well that's our cue. Lets go Pater Mater get your engines ready to blast one of those things wide open. Good luck Amin." the woman said.

The Silver unit simply took off, beginning to move into position but not without giving a reply.
"Stay safe Jikoh."
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#11
The hail of missiles from the Aioh buried two of the oncoming Cupids, their spartan frames vanishing under a cloud of devastation that sent rumbles through the whole structure, sending a chorus of treacherous creaks and groans reverberating far and wide. Flares dropped out from the rear of the escaping ship, bursting like little stars in the dark, sending the remaining missiles wide as it continued to try limping to safety. Still, however, as she burst from the shade, the remaining three foes emerged from the gloom, now effectively exactly where they wanted to be:

Right on top of her.

Their arm-mounted pulse cannons flared to life, spitting death in her direction, aiming to chew her apart as they danced about the larger, slower machine. How much longer could the artillery unit hold out on its own?



Meanwhile...

Dust and chunks of metal clattered from the ceiling as yet another explosion rocked the Colony interior. Within, a pail-haired woman cast a glance up, grimacing as she walked, barking orders to a pair of masked troopers that flanked her on either side. Were it not for the clear, almost gelatinous mass that was clear inside their visors, one would have almost mistaken the Bioroids as human - but there were strict regulations regarding their appearance. Such was the era in which they lived, where one's identity could be so easily threatened, from the smallest stolen hair.

"Send out the Kaleitseds. Stall them out until all the archives have been destroyed."
"Roger."

Her gaze flicked over to the waiting machine in the dock as thy approached, the two Bioroids breaking off to run towards their own machines. Its smooth, curved armor, and broad, thruster-laden shoulders gave its otherwise legless form a surprising amount of presence compared to the linear, pragmatic bulk of the heavy mobile weapons that were taking off around it.

"So much for discretion." She sniffed.

"I'll have to deal with this myself."



Laura, for her part, met with more success than her embattled comrade. The thundering blasts of magic-infused lightning blasted apart the two Cupids in a spectacular display of sparks - and traveled forward, impacting the Peregrines flanks as thy continued on their course. Their thruster arrays sputtered and flared, several of the main nozzles now badly damaged by the electric assault - one of them, by now, quite badly hobbled as fire blasted from holes in its exterior.

As reinforcements from the Shadow Mirror enclave made themselves known, it appeared all but certain that the jig was up. The Peregrine faced with the sudden appearance of foes in its path slowed to a crawl, as if... Uncertain of what it should do. Perhaps there was some kind of panic breaking out on the bridge?

The halt in hostilities wouldn't last long, however.

"Photon Beam!"

A lance of pure, crackling energy snapped out from the central platform, directed at the silver unit moving to intercept the remaining Peregrine, aiming to blow it out of the sky with precision that could only be described as... alien. A silvery turquoise form darted forth from the hidden hangar located beneath the center, a pair of yellow eyes flashing as the Silverwind began to home in on the intruder with incredible swiftness.

Further adding to the confusion, a quartet of four stocky, armored forms began to emerge, each squat, beady-eyed yellow form loaded down with enough heavy weapons to make the Aion blush. The four Kaleitseds fanned out across the platform, and began to power up their weapons systems - determined to stymie the approaching foes, whatever the cost.
 
Aug 4, 2018
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Somewhere in the UK
#12
"We don't need to advertise!"

A loud sigh came over the line.

"Never mind. Do what you want, just don't transmit it over this channel. I need to concentrate."

The Aion continued sailing alongside the Peregrine, not even trying to dodge the cupids swarming around it. While the outer armour was tough enough to take the hits for now, the continuous barrage of fire was beginning to take its toll.

Liana's breathing slowed as she forced herself into a more fitting sense of mind. Even as pulse shots thudded into her outer armour, the sound seemed to fade into nothing for her. After all, the Aion could take it. It had been designed and built to take hits without a barrier, so it could last the time she needed. And right now, time... was on her side.


In...

Out...

In....

There.

Movement pattern established. Predictable. Complacent. And with nowhere near enough plating to fight her at this range.

Goodbye.

All thrusters ignited as the Aion suddenly lunged sideways, both arms moving independently to reach out for a cupid. The left arm simply twisted to smash one of the Cupids with surprising force, while the right moved to do the same but came up short - stopping right in front of where a Cupid was going to move. The instant it passed the spike would extent outwards, more than capable of smashing through whatever the alien machine had for plating. Once the first two cupids were dealt with she'd redirect the Aion with a rapid change in activated thrusters, hoping to crush the final unit with the sheer bulk of the Aion.
 
Aug 25, 2018
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#13
"Fine, be that way." Laura muttered to herself. Advertising was never for nothing! Did they skip that lesson in the Prometheus' Academy for Indoctrinated Youngsters? They were meant to be economically independent, free advertising should be embraced. Besides, she had already dealt with her side of things, especially with the reinforcements coming in.

Said reinforcements made her feel conflicted. The designs were obviously based on Maake's, and it was...nice to see something from her home again. But they weren't actually from there. Whereas Liana's Aion had been built there and her Vernie had been finished there those were entirely Shadow Mirror make.
At least they knew good design.

Her immediate enemies dealt with one way or another the massive Autowarlock was left hovering above and away from the action. She couldn't very much leave that unpunished could she? Laura turned her attention to the Kaleitseds, focusing on the two closest to her. For a while she was just content to watch them and study their movements... And to let them get closer.

Almost there.

Good enough. Again, the Vermilion Protector brought its hands together in a single clap. Again, four circles appeared before the Autowarlock. The attack was otherwise identical to the one it had just unleashed, but the number of the magic circles that appeared after the initial four was different.

Five on the left side, and three on the right side, much to Laura's dismay. That was pitiful. Still, the bright charges of magical energy shot through the space towards two of the Kaleitseds, five going to her first target and seven to the second. The Tontaton beams were aimed at the shoulders of the Kaleitseds, aiming to blow up the rockets resting in them. The Dogmas done, Laura sighed in annoyance. Was Liana done yet? Taking her situation and previous combat situations into account she should be done with her Psychodriver business.

"Come now Liana." She talked to their comm again. "There is nothing wrong with little advertising."
 

MKR

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Aug 19, 2018
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#14
Inside the Justinia Jukoh was practically beaming, the enemy had brought out their own big guns in the form of a Silberwind no less! Her Masouki stood up and floated off Pater-Mater's shoulder. The massive unit re-configuring the shoulders as it gazed directly at the oncoming Peregrine much like the Aion before it the barrels on its shoulders began glowing with a dim blue light.

Above it the small Masouki hovered, its sword pointed skywards.

"Aaaaand- Fire! Double Buster Cannon!" Jukoh announced, her gunsword raised down and firing its single simple beam, one that would inflict harm to a lightly armored machine but a Peregrine should be able to shrug off.
But that was not the attack she called out, the giant's face flashed affirmatively as the blue dots became highly concentrated energy beams, a more dangerous weapon to the ship.
With that done the shoulders went from forwards to sideways again and the emotionless machine observed the carnage it had wrought.

On the other side of the battlefield the Argreion dove forwards to be met with the retaliation by the Silberwind, currently however it had two advantages. Distance and cover. The two units had similar speeds but DCM had been made to fight something worse than even these elite Xenos units.
In a swift turn the silver unit dove down, it needed to close the distance but that is where the cover came in as the Argreion brought out a lance of its own it dove straight for the bridge of the Peregrine intending to not only disable the command center of the ship but also use it to hide from any retaliation the Silberwind might intend to bring his way and in turn force it into close combat.

"Oh yeah advertising is fine." Jikoh cut in over the comms after Laura's closing remark with a casual tone "Long as your clients don't try to destroy or enslave everyone that is."
There was a pause, the newcomer to the conversation seemingly milling over something.

"More importantly however, would calling Pater-Mater your kid be a stretch? It is kinda based on all your stuff after all."

An audible sigh came from the second ally as the question was asked.
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#15
Liana's patience under fire, surprisingly, was rewarded. The Aion's fist lashed out, impact one of the units in its visor, sending cracks and sparks vomiting from its faceplate as it sputtered - and then collided with a building, bursting into a bonfire of cooking fuel. The wrist-spike lashed out, punching clean through the chest of the second unit that danced about her, causing it to similarly give a death-rattle before exploding, its own reactor going critical as it detonated right in the machine's arm.

The third unit, then, seemed to display a degree of shock as the Aion suddenly accelerated towards it, raising its blaster to fire once - twice - as the unit charged - before they collided, hurtling through the remnants of a pair of hangars before coming to a grinding halt. It wasn't quite dead yet, still weakly flailing beneath her, but it wasn't going to be doing any harm for the immediate future either.

Laura's efforts met with similar success. The Tonatron bolts roared out, and the twin, heavily armed alien machines had barely any time to evade - the entire half of the platform they had resided on was vaporized in a storm of mana-infused thunder. The remaining two, seemingly wary of meeting the same fate as their ally, turned - and spat death in the immediate direction of the Autowarlock, unloading with a furor that could be seen across the battlefield - plasma cannons, missiles, and chattering gatling guns all lighting up across their frams as a truly staggering amount of ordinance was leveled in the direction of the most immediate threat - the outsider.

The Justinia's beam punched down - and, true to her thoughts on the matter, it was more than enough to finish the job. The already damaged Peregrine's bridge exploded, glass and metal bursting in all directions, as detonations ripped across its frame in a chain reaction, until nothing was left. Whoever the collaborators aboard had been, they existed no more... Leaving only the one ship.

As the Argeion dove, brandishing its lance, there would have been a sudden sense of... uncertainty that rippled through the machine's frame. It wasn't necessarily that there was anything wrong with it... So much that the space around the machine appeared to be distorting, slowing - as if she were trapped in a vortex of some kind, slowing her acceleration.

"Seems you're familiar with our weapons." - A voice crackled over the communications line. The two were so close now that, even with all the interference, it was possible to hear one another with clarity.

The culprit was immediately apparent: Its lower chasis opened, the Silbelwind was pointed in the direction of the two, the Vortech Shooter running at full burn as the technology of the alien invaders - a magnetic storm - wreaked havoc. There was a reason, after all, that the Silbelwind never lost a dogfight - and it certainly wasn't that it played fair.

"Lets see how you handle this, then!"

With a burst of speed, the insect-like machine darted forward, cleaver-like blades activating with a blueish gleam as it accelerated, the same storm that appeared to drag down the Argeion only increasing the already breakneck pace of its foe as it rushed forward, extending a glowing edge, attempting to run the foe through with a single strike originating from its right.
 
Aug 4, 2018
334
0
16
Somewhere in the UK
#16
Cupids removed. Now for the Peregrine. Bridge is primary weakness, secondary is engine. Let the aliens fight, eliminate them bo-

While Laura's distraction came just after she was done needing to focus, it didn't break her out of it.

That was reserved for Jikoh's comment. A confused splutter came over the line in response, Liana being well and truly thrown by the bizzare remark.

"I... what? NO! Why would you even think that?"

Gods, she was surrounded by morons. And Children. Childish morons who refused to act their age. But their segment of the operation was almost done, and then they could flee for now. The Aion's thrusters roared into life, propelling its battered form after the Peregrine with renewed vigor. Her second - and final - missile bank opened, launching out a second storm that flew ahead of the Peregrine and detonated in its path. Half to blind the ship, and half to hopefully catch a lucky hit on the bridge.

Meanwhile her machine was catching up on the underside of the Peregrine quickly, both pile bunkers retracted and ready for use. Liana allowed herself a temporary excess, whispering into the Aion's microphone seconds after she activated the bunkers.

"You're mine."


Both spears would be launched into the bridge of the Peregrine through the underside, her claws following shortly after to hopefully rip the unfortunate ship in half. Her objective complete she would then start to withdraw - signaling to the Vermillion protector that it was time to go as well.
 
Aug 25, 2018
205
0
16
#17
"Now now Liana, you must always be nice to re- hold on." Laura's pleased laughter was interrupted by the storm of firepower launched her way. The Vermilion Protector halted and began to drop as quickly as it could, bringing its arms to protect the chassis as the blades of the wings began to fold. Attempting to dodge everything was an exercise in futility with a large machine like Vernie that wasn't built for speed - oh how she missed her Aion sometimes! - but at least the damage would be lessened. As the cloud of ordnance met the Autowarlock some of it flew past the large machine, but the rest buried it, most of the Protector disappearing under the cloud. Unseen to others, the craftsmanship Shadow Mirror, reinforced by Maake's best - and final - work clashed with the Circle's weaponry.

Silence reigned from Laura's side as the onslaught came to an end, but as the cloud of dust and smoke dissipated, the Autowarlock was revealed to be still standing. Battered, yes, but standing. The left wing, having taken higher portion of the fire than the rest of the Autowarlock was badly battered, and in several places the damage had punctured deep, revealing glowing lines leading towards the chest, almost like a massive neural pathway. The other wing had fared much better, with most of the damage being surface-level.

While much of the arms' surface had been badly damaged the arms were still fully operational, if vulnerable to any further damage.

The spirit collective within Vermilion Protector roared at the attack in instinctual anger, for a moment forgetting their displeasure at being here instead of fighting the Lamalice as much of the spiritual choir demanded vengeance for the attack that had damaged their mechanical temple. Something that Laura didn't disagree with... but first she had to re-orient herself, as the damage to the wings had destabilized Vernie somewhat on top of disrupting the Od intake. The black-red machine swayed like a drunk a few times, before straightening itself, Laura quickly adjusting to the situation.


A pulse of green energy ran through the visible lines on the wings, from the tips towards the chest as Laura began to cast the next batch of Dogmas: Shtrowes. Not even entertaining the notion of talking this time, Laura was fully concentrated on the Dogmas alone. This time, distractions could very well be seriously damaging, if not fatal. Two magic circles appeared in front of the machine, but they were far from alone. More and more circles of varying sizes came to existence on both sides, until there were five on the left side, and three on the right side, though the circles on the right side were much more pronounced and larger than both Laura's and the left ones. Curiously, there seemed to be holes in the left formation, like there should've been more.

The circles were light brown in color - more specifically, the color of mud. The glow in the middle of the circles hollowed as the edges shone brighter and brighter... until all the circles spat out rocks. It would've been a disservice to call the attack a mere swarm of rapidly shooting rocks of varying sizes. No, this was much more like an avalanche of earthen fury, ready to destroy anything unfortunate enough to stand in its way.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, Liana you must always be nice to your relatives. And Liana's Aion is the only machine entirely built in Maake here. Much like your Pater-Mater Vernie here was originally just based on Maake's technology, which would make it a...cousin. I would be an aunt as, unlike Liana, I'm too young to be a grandmother anyway." Laura explained cheerfully, like her and her machine's fury hadn't been clear to see.
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#18
Inside the storm Amin focused entirely on his imminent foe, trusting in his allies to conclude the mission as the magnetic storm bashed against his machine.
In this regard however the Argreion had three advantages. Its choice of weaponry, its control system and the fact it had been built to stand toe to toe with a worse foe.
Recognizing the movements of the Silberwind in one smooth motion the DCM unit switched its lance to its left hand and folded its wings inward, regardless of its advantages inside this storm dodging was a gamble, and this pilot took no chances.

And right as the attack came which would have been able to gut the lightly plated mech the unit rose its right hand to meet the blade, the fierce cut horizontally entering the lower arm of the Argreion, more than halfway though the reason for this move would reveal itself as it provided too much to cut through.
The left arm spun around, revealing the Archilles lance being held like one would a javelin, but he wouldn't throw it.

No, the intent was much simpler, puncture the face of the Silberwind with the first strike and disable the unit with repeated thrusts to its arm joints immediately after, the arm without its blade inside his right arm being his priority.
"You are late." He simply said in reply, disregarding the opponents remarks. "How many stars yet shine over the circle?"




Outside the storm Jikoh directed the Justina forwards with the massive Pater-Mater in tow. The Masouki's sword opening to release the spent cartridge into space, leaving the shell floating amidst the void.
"Man you almost are as much of a stick in the mud as Amin." She said to Liana, but to Laura she had a different message "You however, I like you."

"We should really talk more often, it's a breath of fresh air to meet someone who isn't super serious all the time. For now however, Pater-mater! Give the Aion a hand." The Justinia's sword clicked back together as the two split paths, the massive DCM unit heading straight for the last Peregrine while the Masouki headed downwards to the Kaleitseds intending to bring down its blade on any of the enemies fortunate enough to not immediately perish in the hail of stone. Her sword gleaming a dim light blue as the unit observed the carnage.

The other half of her contribution to the fight instead activated its auxiliary thrusters headed straight for the Peregrine as its massive frame cast a grim shadow over the devastated surroundings, uncaring for anything or anyone in its path as the giant approached its target. The AI within had a simple yet brutal course of action for the ship, assist the Aion in its plan to tear the Peregrine in twain with simple brutish strength directed at the ships backside.
 

GEAR

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 15, 2018
1,165
1
18
#19
The Silverwind blitzed its prey, spearing clean through one of the Argeion's outstretched limbs. The return strikes would fall far, far too late, hitting nothing but vacuum as the agile alien machine bolted past, already spinning about as it prepared to deliver a killing strike... But, it was all for nothing. Below the Peregrine class, the Aion's stakes found purchase in the vessel's tender underside, smashing clean into its surface. With a horrible groan of tearing metal, the vessel began to break - and then split down the center, its already damaged hull no match for the pressure being exerted upon it.

As the two halves detonated into blossoms of flame, the distant forms of the Kaleitseds barely had a prayer. Though they had successfully concluded their rearming, it was all for nothing - they found themselves buried beneath a sudden avalanche, materializing with the powers of what they could, in their last moments, only describe as pure magic. Spikes of sharpened earth jutted out from the central platform, as explosions began to rip across its frame, whatever self-destruct protocols that were embedded in the machines finally bearing fruit.

"Damn it all." Spat the Silverwind's pilot as it pirouetted about, witnessing the destruction of the Peregrine.

Now what? She thought, The barbarians weren't supposed to be this strong!

As if to answer her silent prayer, a private communications line opened - and a familiar face flashed onto her screen, calm and collected as ever.

"Lyncis." Said Alan Cicero, flatly.

"Serpentis...?" She gasped, before angrily bringing a hand back to her mouth.

"...That wasn't a call for help. I can handle these-"

The Colonist spoke, brushing aside her protests with the wave of a hand. It wasn't the action of a superior - rather, he was pressed for time, and his words were tight, and carefully chosen.

"Not to wound your pride, but these foes are beyond you."

"What do you mean?"

"They were aware we would appear here, and they have advanced knowledge of our forces. Something unusual is afoot."

"That's... impossible-"

"I'm certain of it. There is a ship that will harbor you, the Shinryu. I've sent you the coordinates. Fall back immediately."

"What about you?"

"...There's something I need to confirm. Go ahead without me."

"..."

"What is it?"

"Don't die."

With that frank exchange of words, the Silverwind suddenly peeled off from its target, accelerating as it began to achieve escape velocity. Even as it did so, a second form was bearing down on the battlefield like a verdant comet.

Blasting in on a trail of flame, the Ganonia Augar pulled up, surveying the combatants below as it took them all in, one at a time. Its horned silhouette was reminiscent of the Demon Kings of old, and indeed the vaunted Odai of Colonial legend, and the long, crackling scythe grasped in its hands only further added to the menacing aura of its presence as it sized up each machine in turn.

Alan Cicero had arrived - but to what ends, and why?
 

MKR

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 19, 2018
626
3
18
#20
Too slow, he had been too slow. Sloppy. Yet his failure mattered not, as the front of the Argreion shone with the bright light of detonation. They had succeeded in delaying a C3 tier planet siege by at least four weeks. Amin rotated to face the Silberwind once more, spotting the new arrival in the distance. Nothing they'd seen before not on this side or the other. Given the Xenos machine passed by it this Verdant Comet was either associated with or a product of the Circle.

To his allies he opened their comms line, speaking to them at long last.
"We've done what we set out to do. The two of you are now free to do as you see fit, be that aiding in the defense of L4 or otherwise there should be no reason for you to worry about assisting the forces present regardless of what we did here. Jikoh, the same goes to you but please remain for a minute. In case the new arrival dislikes our presence I may have need of your assistance. Regardless, I intend to head over to deal with the Lamalice should it be possible."

The Justinia shot up, leaving the carnage behind it as it joined Pater-Mater around the wreckage of the Peregrine. Both hovering behind the Argreion as it looked at the Ganonia. Jikoh remained uncharacteristically quiet, it seemed she could be serious in some capacity after all. There was a silent staredown for a moment, as the Ganonia looked over the assembled group, and at least part of it looked back.

Amin at long last hailed the Odal-esque machine calmly.
"You'll have to forgive us for the noise and environmental damage. We are however done here and several of us were planning to use our strength to help dispose of the Lamalice threat." He stated, gesturing among his allies with the half broken arm. Though the intact one had the lance aimed down, it was ready to be fully brandished at a moment's notice should the situation turn sour.

The Justinia also lowered its rifle blade, keeping an eye on the retreating Silberwind but not acting against it.