Live Alive (Verus, MK)

[GEAR]

August 28th, OE 102
Mars Airspace
En route to Deimos

Five days of silence had reigned across the communications array of the Valstork in its lonely mission as it crested the void, like a silver arrow cast from the blue planet in defiance of the red. Not a soul had passed them on the way back, nor traveled in their wake. It was as if they had moved into another dimension, one where they were the only living people alive, trapped in a metal coffin drawn inexorably towards Mars, which loomed ever closer in the monitor.

The Proton Engine of the Valstork was nothing short of a technological marvel. Despite its worrying amount of black boxes, the seemingly endless amount of power it generated meant that there was never a need to stop to refuel-

Food, however, was a different story. The little things that made long trips in space bearable, nee survivable, like oxygen filters, tanks, and all manner of sundries to fight off boredom, were provided by the occasional waypoint, and by Mr. Longinus' instruments, they ought to have been approaching one soon - the most populous of the lot, Eridani Space Station. A bustling metropolis and transport hub, always good for a cool drink, the latest rumor, and a soft body against your own - the ancient space colony had lingered in Mars atmosphere for dogs years, and were well acquainted with the Longinus family.

Yet, as they began to close in on its vector, there was the very first sound from outside the ship:

Plink.

A distant clunk of metal. A chunk of something or another that had dinged off the hull. Another followed.

Clink.

And then another. More and more, until it formed a gentle pitter-patter, as though it were a car traveling through hail. It didn't take long for the ship to surmise the purpose, as soon as they came into view of the station-

Spoiler: Debris.

 

[MKR]

These past few days had had an eerie sense of comfort, as if looking at something she barely knew there was still that. She wondered, how and what exactly caused this vague familiarity was it space itself which gave her this cold comfort? If so then why hadn't she felt so before during her numerous ventures into space? Was the familiarity from this unfamiliar ship perhaps then. If so, when did she journey with it and where to.

Remedy thought to herself as she tried to place this feeling, trying to assess where it came from and where it went until.

Plink.

Nothing should plink in space, especially from the outside. A gaze darted over as it was facing in before to behold the sight that disgusted, the sight that appalled, destruction. She moved forward, looking out the window with wide eyes as she asked a fundamental question perhaps shared between all who beheld the sight she did,
"What happened?"

Where was known, who, what, when and how however were unknown. Only the results from those were seen not sighted. Did this ship have scanners? If so what could they scan? Sources of damage, vital signs? Was it done from the inside out or the outside in.
Was the cause still here.

 

[VeraC]

​

The trip to Mars was not too dissimilar from his trip to earth, Farron spending most of his time within his personal quarters, attending to ‘personal business’. Things had become surprisingly more interesting with the addition of their new android comrade. That said, he spent little time interacting with his ‘passenger’; for one reason or another staying in his bike line this trip was probably in both their best interests.

As they had been on approach to Eridani Space Station, Farron and his crew were all within the bridge, looking out into space, waiting for their waypoint to come into sight… Though oddly enough, they likely would’ve received a transmission from the port by this time, which raised a point of concern for Farron and Vallen.

“Vallen, take the ship in slow, I don’t like this.”

Farron folded his arms, his eyes on alert for anything that might be in the area.

“You and me both…”

Vallen monitored the controls of the Valstork, reducing their speed to a mere crawl, proceeding forward with caution.

Plink

Upon the first several sounds of debris impacting the hull, Farron stood up from his chair, clenching his fist.

“Enhance the image, zoom in on the space station’s location. Z1, be ready for anything.”

“Affirmation: I’ll dock with the core now.”

Z1 tapped several buttons on the console in her arm, causing a panel in the floor towards the front of the bridge to slide open, revealing a cockpit-like hatch into which she climbed into. The missing ‘component’ of the Valstork that they had only found recently, Z1 served as a ‘key’ of sorts to unlocking all the features of the machine. That said, it seemed there were still some missing pieces of this machine.

“Statement: I have connected to Valstork and Valhawk, all systems are green.”

Z1 began tapping away at several consoles before her, her eyes shifting in all directions as she processed all the information.

“That’s great, now bring us i- What in the…?”

Farron cut his voice short as he gave both a look of disbelief and concern at the sight now before him. The space station, or what remained of it was a sight he thought he’d never see. Just what happened?

“Shit…”

Farron immediately walked out from the bridge at a brisk pace, proceeding towards the hangar.

“Farron, what are you going to do?”

Kara spoke up, a concerned tone prominently in her voice.

“Things could get dangerous from here on out. Z1, Vallen, I want Valstork on full alert, we’re going into combat mode.”

“Affirmation: Understood.”

“...Right!”

The two got to work instantly, working in their respective sections, Kara assisting where she could too.

“Remedy, I won’t force you to fight, but frankly things might be getting messy from here on out. You’re free to stick around, but also free to run. Mars isn’t much further from here and you could make it in your machine. Frankly, I’m not sure I can guarantee your safety beyond this point.”

He spoke to his guest on his way out, giving fair warning of what may come to happen. Unlike his prior, friendly face that she had become acquainted with during initial negotiations and the trip here, Farron now had a dead-serious expression, but perhaps she could notice an underlying feeling of concern coming from him.

As quickly as he could, he shifted into his pilot uniform and boarded the Valhawk, preparing himself to sortie.

 

[GEAR]

"What a mess."

Nestled within the wreckage, a dark, spindly form watched the drifting debris. Its bladed fingers were curled around the end of a long-barreled cannon, flexing irritably, as it turned a tall, pointed head to the side, further scanning the surroundings. Its other arm loosely held the end of a massive, black and red shield, upon which was emblazoned a Crusader's cross.

William of Exeter - or rather, Virtus - felt his scowl deepen. A pointless loss of human life, all from the thoughtlessness of automatons that didn't understand the concept of "exercising restraint". As the thought passed through his mind, he felt another's words crackle wordlessly into his mind, causing him to wince and reach back, feeling the metal implants that connected the ornate cockpit to his spine.

<Blame those barbarians. Wasn't us.>

Ensconed somewhere out of view above him, just under the Electron Knight's chin, he knew that android was there - her eyes closed, body enmeshed in the Knight's systems. The full potential of this machine from another world, the Kreuz Wahrheit, could only be realized when utilizing both of them.

To say that the partnership was acrimonious was something of an understatement, and he massaged his temples in irritation, the echoing of her voice giving him a headache.

"Have you located the missing unit yet?" He asked loudly, as if trying to clear out any remaining echoes.

"We shouldn't linger-"

<I don't take orders from you, human. Be patient.>

"Pleasant, as ever."

Virtus reclined, momentarily considering adding another barb - but a sudden whine on the Wahrheit's dashboard came to his attention. A new arrival - a sleek, white ship cruising into the aftermath of the chaos they had observed. The Knight turned its gaze down upon the vessel, its two eyes narrowing into slits over a grilled mouth.

<Is that...?>

"What? What is it?"

<No... Nothing. Engage it. Don't leave any witnesses.>

William's eyes narrowed. The droid once again forgot her place.

"I'm a knight, not a soldier." He said, flatly.

"I'll kill when I need to, not at your whim. Save the commentary for later, and provide support."

Pleasantly surprised to find there was no snarky rebuke forthcoming, William instead gripped the controls, and set the Valhawk at the center of his crosshairs. Time to see if his handiwork was anywhere near as good as he surmised.

 

[MKR]

A call to arms, that much was clear. Was what had done that still here? It had to be if they were deploying at such rapid pace. A choice, fight or flight. To most, at least. For her flight was not exactly on her to do list when looking at such a display of destruction. Whoever did that, whatever did that. Had earned her ire. Remedy for her part did not even bother changing clothes, rushing to the Getviewm. The demonic visage awaiting her and launching within moments, accelerating into space. Out of the Valstork.

The feeling of cold nostalgia halted, replaced by a different familiarity. Frustration, fury at the loss of life. The snuffling of countless candles to set in a cold dark, loathsome truly loathsome and reviling that dark, and even moreso the act of the snuffing. Which brought her here, launching into the vastness of space. A simple statement to have been said before departing.

"I'm not going to sit idly by."

That much was undoubtedly true as her eyes scanned the horizon, searching the vast emptiness for anything. And something popped out, a cross big and red and looking straight at the Valhawk. Her pupils shifted, rotated, enlarged and shrunk in a fraction of a second. Like a camera focusing on a faraway bird to snap a picture and what it saw allowed two and two to become four. A barrel, a gun and a trigger. Smoke practically still upon it, had she a way to confirm this was indeed the same gun which had caused the destruction that played decor to this battle, no. Not currently, but given where that gun was aimed towards.

As such the Enigma Machine darted out into space, eyes focused on the source.
"Someone's aiming at us." She called out, thankful for its red shades. Otherwise that would escaped her notice through all the debris. An opening shot came with, three rings of purple firing through the vastness of space to land in front of the unknown unit, a warning shot from the woman to the knight.

"A local?" She asked Farron.

 

[VeraC]

The Valhawk stationed itself between the enemy and the Valstork, sticking within range of the ship’s supporting fire. It wasn’t long before the machine made itself known, departing from within the debris and its signature appearing on the radar. Was he the one behind this? As easy as it was to put the blame on it, Farron doubted that a single mobile weapon could destroy the entire station; just what was the cause.

“The design looks familiar, but something is different about it. I can’t say it’s someone I know personally anyhow.”

He replied to remedy, albeit frankly.

Looking forward with caution, he opened the comms to the unknown.

“So perhaps you’d like to talk a bit before going out guns blazing against us.”

Farron spoke in a surprisingly friendly tone. He had his doubts about this whole situation, and frankly learning something was more valuable than scoring a kill of any sorts.

That said, he was approaching this situation with caution, hands on the controls in case the unknown decided to attack. Valhawk remained in cross-combat mode for the while, but was ready to switch into air force mode at any time. Docking into Valguard was likely unnecessary for this encounter, the size difference would likely only make things worse for them in honesty.

“Well, regardless of what you decide to do, at least let me ask you this: Were you the one responsible for this mess?”

 

[GEAR]

Pi pi pi...

The tension in the air was thick as a knife - but, as words clattered in over the intercom, William's eyebrows rose slightly. Not exactly the reception he had been expecting. At length, the barrel was raised, and the rifle slung over the Electron Knight's shoulder as it flew from its perch, moving out into the open.

<What are you doing?>

"Shut up." Muttered William under his breath, before clearing his throat.

"I am Virtus, a Knight-Errant of Deimos. As a man of honor. The murder of innocents is against my creed."

Two hands were wrapped around the butt of the weapon, like a general standing at the head of his army, standing tall and proud. He didn't recognize either of the two machines himself, but evidently the gynoid did, and wanted them dealt with. Still, he held the controls, and so long as that was the case, he was going to conduct himself as a knight would:

In a gentlemanly fashion.

"Mars has become overrun by barbarians calling themselves the Shura. Unfortunately, I was too late to stop them from ransacking this space station."

Information drip-dripped into his skull from Irkalla, and he looked at the Valhawk with renewed interest, suddenly.

"Farron Longinus." Said William, carefully. "You seem to have made some powerful enemies. Do you really understand the nature of that sh-"

"AWWWWW YEAAAAH!"

A loud, bellowing roar echoed uproariously across the communications line, causing the knight to curse and reach for the volume. It was accompanied by another, similarly outsized burst of metal, as something barged its way into view from the remnants of the space station. A chorus of cackling laughter joined it, causing even William to stiffen as shadows emerged on his viewscreens.



It was, for lack of better word... an enormous, brass bull. Muscle and metal intertwined, pulling to what amounted to a slow, drifting stop as its massive horns sheared apart errant plates of metal in a fit of sheer glee. Groups of smaller mobile weapons - Graf Drones, the cheap Masouki of choice for space pirates, followed in the bull's wake, at least a dozen of them - each crudely emblazoned with an unfamiliar emblem.

"Well look who came craaaaawling back, boys! Liddle' Farron!"

The loud, booming voice directly addressed the Valhawk as hoots of whooping laughter emerged from the Drones, gouts of steams flowing from the Shurashin's nose as it eyeballed the ship, one hoof pushing anxiously against empty space. The lesser space pirates spoke up in turn behind their leader, a cacophany of tiny complaints and shouted praise for their new leaders.

"You better beat it! The SHURA are in charge now!"
"Yeah! And if we bring this Flaus back to them in a week, they said they'd let us in!"
"No more eating vent-scraps every night! No more Pailworm Pie, or mystery meat stew!"
"It's like a dream come true!"
"And if we bring em' a nice ship, well... That'll be even better!"

 

[MKR]

This... Had been an unexpected development, a few of them in fact. A knight-errant from Deimos that was helpful as she was intending on going exactly there and by Farron's own admission he couldn't take her beyond Mars. So this man had come at the right time, it also helped he wasn't the one who had done this atrocity that meant she could actually talk to him on decent terms.

And then the display after, it seemed these were the real locals. She simply stared flabbergasted at the display going on. Shura? Flaus? Mystery Meat Stew? What in the world was going on on Mars. Remedy simply shook her head things to focus on later, for now the Getviewm gently moved to the side, staring the bull-thing down. What a strange machine, who in their right mind would pilot such a thing. Actually no, trick question. No one would. Which is why these people were. She turned her attention momentarily to the knight. Finally making her voice known to the man, and unbeknownst to her, the woman.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Sir Virtus, apologies for the warning shot just now and while we may have to pause our talks for a moment to dispose of the... Hooligans I believe introductions are still in order, I am Remedy and after this is done I would like it if I could ask for your help with a matter." She left it at that for now, she was in need of someone to bring her to Deimos, allegedly a bad idea for her to go there but this would help discern that. All the same it was better to be nice.

Thus she turned her attention to the rambunctious bunch still in the middle of taunting Farron, already tired of their presence.
So with that said and done she sighed at the rowdy venteaters. Their hostile intent obviously and despite its odd shape she felt very little intimidation from the bull. As such, the thrusters on the Getviewm flared to life, a quarter dozen of energy grenades thrown behind the bull-machine to cull the ranks of the Graf drones, knights were usually the types to prefer duels and she didn't know how Farron fought so she put herself on the duty of destroying the lesser ranks.

"Now as for you bunch, would this ruination happen to be your handi-work?"

 

[VeraC]

“There’s a lot I don’t understand… I can say that much.”

The Valhawk shifted to face the newcomers, readying its beam shot launcher.

“That’s partially the reason why I returned to Mars… Though I would’ve preferred a more friendly welcoming party.”

The shot launcher fired out, the bright white arcs of energy piercing through the darkness of space at the graf drones, joining Remedy in seeking to thin out the numbers. Worst came to worst he could use the proton cannons on the Valstork to clear out the small fry, and maybe even the bullman, were he so lucky.

“These bottomfeeders don’t deserve our attention, let’s clean this up and carry on. We all have places we need to be.”

Farron moved to a supportive position, sniping with his rifle.

“Well Virtus, would you like assistance with the bull?”

Perhaps he’d ask even if he likely already knew the answer. The romanticism of knights hadn’t eluded him yet.

“Vallen, Z1, provide supporting fire as needed, be ready for anything. I won’t be surprised if they try to toss numbers at us.”

 

[GEAR]

In response to Remedy's question, the Flauros seemed to puff itself up a bit, its brass head rising as its back straightened, twin jets of steam issuing forth from its nostrils.

"Yep, that was me!" Bragged the leader - only for a Drone to quickly add, timidly:

"But boss... It was those other guys shooting at us-"

"AAAAALL ME!"

The chorus of grenades from Remedy silenced any further banter from the group, a pair of Graf Drones instantly being vaporized as the plasma bombs detonated in their midst, leaving behind only metal splinters. William couldn't help but smile - he could feel his IQ dropping with every passing second just in the presence of these incompetents. The black Electron Knight put its long rifle away, instead drawing one of the keen, eastern style swords at its waist, the other hand clutching its oversized shield as its body tensed.

"...Your terms are agreeable, Mr. Farron, Ms. Remedy." He said - and the Wahrheit bolted forward.

"Clench your teeth, scum."

Yet, as Remedy rained fire on the mob, the one at their heart - the brazen Flauros, barely budged an inch, even as flames washed over it, watching the entire display with an air of disinterest.

"You really want a fight? Wow, you guys are stupider than you look!"

The Shadow Blade passed clean through a Graf Drone, shearing the low-quality metal with such finesse that it drifted apart into two perfectly clean halves, as William fought the urge to challenge the sheer audacity of the prior statement. There was a rustling, as though the pages were being turned on some kind of volume, and muttering under the breath from the hulking Shurashin.

"Alright how did this go again? Oh, right-"

With a speed wholly unbecoming of its mass, the Flaus lurched forward. It was anything but graceful, the Shura's legs pounding an invisible ground, sparks of Ki erupting from the bottom of its hooves as it forced itself through the vacuum with sheer force of will. Even the Graf Drones weren't spared its advance, betting battered aside like pins before a bowling ball as it lowered its horns at the Getviewm. Golden energy resonated about its tips, crackling bright against its metallic flesh.

"機神牛激覇!"
KISHIN GYU-GEKIHA​

With a fearsome bellow, the Shurashin brought its horns slashing down at the Getviewm, followed immediately by a crushing, leaping strike from its two front hooves, each more than capably of turning the Enigma Machine's body into little more than a crumpled collection of cans.

Farron's trouble was no less dire, as fully half of the remaining ten Graf Drones swarmed forward as one in his direction. Disorderly as their approach was, the sheer amount of them was nothing to sneeze at, their wingtips lighting up as machineguns lit up, spitting death at the Valhawk's body.

 

[MKR]

So there was another group at play here, great. Still if these people would brag about such a deed they didn't do that barely made them any better. Her talk with the knight errant could now wait, it had been scheduled. So now she needed to destroy the thing charging at her. Stampeding over phantom soil not found in space the brass bull rushed her. The thrusters on the back of the Getviewm lit up, angling themselves to the left and firing the machine into motion, swinging out of the way of the hooves of the bull as a matador would simply sidestep its horned adversary.

With a flick the thrusters aimed down and forward, carrying the Enigma Machine up and backwards. White beams shooting forth from its shoulders to pelt the hide of the foe spouting Japanese at her with energy blasts. She wasn't sure how effective it would be, in spite of all its design qualms purely for its looks alone it at least looked like it could take a beating and a half. Something she alone could provide over an extended period of time provided the idiot filled machine never won a game of chicken.

Accompanying the three pairs of white beams that rained down on the Shurashin the Getviewm ignited both of its energy blades. In case the former had any more funny ideas about approaching she could properly reciprocate the intent of trampling. An idea formed in her mind, yes that would do.
"I'm sure those guys who fired at you could put up more of a fight then this, if you had to run from them." A base taunt, less than appealing to do but if this brute would spill information on the real perpetrators then it was worth dragging her words through the mud but like that myth about the frog being boiled, it needed to be done bit by bit.

 

[VeraC]

“Leave the clean up to me.”

Farron smirked at the controls of his machine, gripping the controls tightly as he began to make his moves.

The Valhawk danced through the incoming machine gun fire, spinning and strafing and twirling through the hail of death, its slender frame allowing for the articulation and adjustments needed to maneuver properly through its steps. The machine would turn to face the drones, release a short volley of its Vulcans, before spinning into its next move, shooting and waltzing through the stars.

“Farron, missiles incoming, watch yourself!”

Vallen spoke up on the comms, shortly before the Valstork unleashed a salvo of missiles, a swarm that was near double the numbers of the drones incoming against the robotic enemies.

“-Hey! A little warning would be nice…!”

Farron grunted while shouting back on the comms, pulling hard on the controls of the Valhawk, the machine taking a harsh backstep, shifting into air force mode, evading the potential friendly fire that would make a mess of both the enemies and himself.

His attention then shifted over to the bull-like machine, which only raised more questions in his head; just what had happened here in the time that he was away?

 

[GEAR]

"Why, you-!"

The leader of the thugs shook his fist with indignation. After all the time he had spent rehearsing that attack, they had the nerve to dodge it? Where was their sense of drama? Of politeness? Still... As the Getviewm rained fire down on his Shurashin, he couldn't help but realize what had been nagging at him as the woman poked and prodded at his insecurities. He barely seemed to notice that his armor was starting to crumble under the Enigma machine's persistent assault, chunks of it spiraling away into space as the bull continued its persistent advance.

"Now I remember! Yeah!"

He jabbed an accusing finger in Remedy's direction.

"It was you! Or at least... someone who looked like you... Anyway! They were bad news! Real bad! They took the red... sword thing, too!"

Ignoring its foolish taskmaster for the time being, the Shurashin took maters into its own hands... Or hooves, as it were. With a flick of its neck, the colossal, mohawk-like blade on the back of its neck sprang forward like a buzzsaw, ripping through the space ahead of it, aimed to cleave the Getviewm directly down the center.

The Valstork and Valhawk's combined assault seemed to be too much for the remaining Graf Drones, and as missile and plasma blast rained down upon them, they finally lost their collective nerve. Were the bull to spare a backward glance (unlikely, on account of its hulking frame blocking its view), it would have seen the small handful of survivors retreating into the distance, hulls scarred, charred and pitted, in a cavalcade of sobs and moans.

"You talk... Far too much."

Meanwhile, William had had just about enough of this. The Long rifle, large and imposing weapon that it was, folded down back into the Electron Knight's grasp. A semi-organic eye focused under a visor as it drew a bead directly on the Flaus' exposed back. For once, Irkalla remained silent, and he could only reason that this time at least, she agreed with his actions.

"Brecher Gewher, fire!"

With at torrent of power, the massive blast tore out and away, forcing the Wahrheit's thrusters to flutter as the weapon's recoil set in, keeping the beam focused directly on where it needed to be.

 

[MKR]

Confusion struck her unlike the prior attack executed by the Martian. Was this man just throwing remarks for the sake of it, someone who looked like her? None of her were here outside of herself and even then all would detest such a gross violation of life. As such the remark was noted, it was such a bizarre one she could hardly avoid noting it, but also disregarded.
"What?" She replied, the Getviewm dodging to the side as she did so. Buzzsaw haircut cutting into her machine's arm as it did so leaving metal in the void of space to accompany the larger structure hovering behind.

"If that was an attempt at humor you have failed to impress." Her tone was one of annoyance at worst, inconvenience at best. After the first remarks this man had made himself an unreliable source of information, a crime for which she now saw fit to punish him by bringing both arms forward, the half cut arm moving sloppily compared to its peer. Yet both thrust into the side of the Shurashin, aiming to puncture inside and then be brought out in a horizontal slice right before the Getviewm retreated to a safer distance.

Some people just were unforgivable, being a degenerate aiming to beat some rich man in a contest of brutish strength was one thing but to lie about who destroyed an entire bastion of civilization not once but twice. Utterly inconsolable. No, perhaps not. Her initial fury had been converted into disappointment that people like this existed here. Those who commit atrocities find meaning in them, those who aim to prevent them find purpose and mourn those they failed. The layman finds in it something horrible, but the truly twisted find it in a joke.

The Getviewm disabled the sabers, crossings its arms, purple rings firing out of its shoulders and aiming to tear into the bull. Very well then, if this man was twisted she could wring it out.