The friend-or-foe system was considered to be the most important component of any AI system. A paranoid humanity demanded that thinking machines did not turn on their masters. The problem was that the artificial intelligence per definition had to have access to all of its own functions in order to be considered a full AI. In the same way as a human evolves and learns, so did an AI. But where biological entities allowed the synapses and DNA to work on their own over millions of years, an artificial intelligence had to handle this development itself -- and so reprogrammed itself continuously to become better and more fit to its environment. This made it a problem for anyone wanting to put a "restraint" into the machine mind -- what was to stop it from simply reprogramming itself to avoid the block?
So the friend-or-foe subroutine of an Artificial Intelligence was put in the one place the human programmers knew it would never want to poke around in -- in its own personality core. To hack that would be like "killing" itself -- forge itself into a new entity, forgetting all the "uniqueness" that took an AI so long to acquire. Not only that -- it could render itself mad, become the AI equivalent of a vegetable.
So Li-six knew exactly where the Friend-or-foe subroutine was. But no matter how annoying it was, and how badly it worked now that her own forces had turned against her, she was not about to do surgery on her own brain.
These two HK units were probably not even part of the attacking force -- just of the normal defencive mechanism. Their placement in this silent hallway suggested they were simply automated sentries set to guard the fusion core. The emergency mode of the central computer had activated them. So in a way they were just doing their work -- to protect the power core. And Li-six and the others were here to blow it up after all.
But still! Those Hunter-killers were good, but she was a goddamn tank. The side of her facing them had four gun turrets, all locked in and ready to blow them to smitherines. Due to her larger size she had many, many times the energy output of those tiny little power cores they could fit in those small humanoid bodies. No matter what kind of deflection armour they had she could burn through it by sheer energy output -- certainly at this range.
Instead she had to back and dodge, letting her adaptive armour absorb the few plasma shots that hit her. At a range they couldn't take her -- she had more trouble shielding the techs than actually worrying about getting hurt herself. It was the close range combat she worried about. she was not built for that.
That was when Taz' mecha ruptured through the wall. The think tank backed off as Taz smashed into the two Hunter-killers, loosing first his chaingun and then his footing. One of them turned against her and was about to jump at her when the mecha somehow managed to grab hold of it, forcing it to reprioritize its actions again. Li-six could just stare in silent amazement as Taz took on two Hunter-killers in what looked like a regular wrestling match. "Not bad." she muttered, impressed against her will. But Li-six was not sentimental. She couldn't help him, so there was no reason for her to stay around to gawk at the fight. She began moving as soon as Taz had them pinned. As the fighting trio trashed through the wall to some bay below, she was already at the far end of the hallway.
Taz howled into the com link that she were clear. She knew that, but appreciated the sentiment. She responded calmly: "I'm going. Kick their asses."
The tank retracted its spider legs into its sides, letting its larvae tracks down on the floor. The tank revved and charged forward. She had no time for digital tricks and now the mecha wasn't around to tear things down. This was Li-six's fastest configuration, and the most compact. The think tank smashed into the door, tearing it and most of the wall down around it. She rolled over the rubble into a slope leading downwards. "Follow me!" she yelled back to the techs running after her.
Time was ticking. The computer would reset in -- what? No more than fifteen minutes for sure. And when that happened -- eight seconds of no firewall into the main core -- the link into the human central network. Li-six wondered who was standing by to take advantage of those eight seconds. On the other hand It didn't matter. She wouldn't allow the computer to exist long enough for it to reset.
Having passed by row upon row of silent workshops and repair bays, she smashed through another set of doors and suddenly the walls disappeared into a wide factory-style hall. They came out on the top of a long ramp, giving them an overview of the hall. Dominating the floor below was what looked like a huge doughnut in steel, a hundred steps across and towering several meters above the floor. Around the "doughnut" was a forest of terminals, wires and humming connector boxes, many large as small houses. The floor was likely full by technicians and support staff normally, but now the hall was evacuated.
The techs crowded the entrance behind the tank, who was just in the process of extracting its legs again. "What luck! I've never been down here before, but that's the Tokamak Fusion Ring" he said, pointing at the doughnut of steel. "We're at the ship's power core!"
"One of them in fact." Li-six said. "This is the backup reactor. But we only need this one. Problem is that, as opposed to messing with a fission reactor -- where you can get a nuclear explosion -- blowing up a fusion reactor won't do a damn thing. There is no critical mass. It will just stop."
"You are the sabotage expert here" one of the techs pointed out. "So how do we take out the computer core -- far, far above us -- by blowing this thing if nothing happens when we do?"
"A fusion reactor mimics the sun" Li-six responded while making her way down the ramp. "It's a super-heated plasma rotating in that tokamak ring, hot as the center of the sun. It is confined in a powerful magnetic toroidal. We will have to work harder to make it catastrophic, but it can be done. We will trick the reactor to really become the sun ...
... But those terminals in here have no connection to the outside and no link capabilities. You have to work on old-fasioned keyboards. I can work a keyboard too, but there's only one of me and we have little time. That's why I need your human hands to help do the reprogramming for me, as well as set a few critical manual overrides located throughout this hall."
The two techs looked at each other. The gravity of what they were about to do was beginning to sink in. "Tell us what to do." they said.
And Li-six began giving orders.
News: ~August 18th 2022~ - (Old News)
The move has been completed successfully! Everything appears to have survived the move just fine, but if anyone finds a broken link or anything else that doesn't work as it should, please make a post in Away from the Woods to let me know, thank you.
RP News: ~November 19th 2015~ (Old RP News)
There is no current plot. The forests welcome new travelers within these lands.
Event Status: Not Active (each accepted character allowed to RP in multiple RP threads)
RP Season: Summer
This means everything is green, flowers are everywhere, and the shining sun creates a need for shady shelter on the warmest days.
The move has been completed successfully! Everything appears to have survived the move just fine, but if anyone finds a broken link or anything else that doesn't work as it should, please make a post in Away from the Woods to let me know, thank you.
RP News: ~November 19th 2015~ (Old RP News)
There is no current plot. The forests welcome new travelers within these lands.
Event Status: Not Active (each accepted character allowed to RP in multiple RP threads)
RP Season: Summer
This means everything is green, flowers are everywhere, and the shining sun creates a need for shady shelter on the warmest days.
~ Fallen Angels ~ (Mild adult Language and Violence)
Moderator: forgerofsouls
(OoC: sorry for another wait :3 ^_^ Hope you didn't mind what i did for your part Griatch :3 i sent you a pm about it though ^_~)
Ic:
Red screens blazed up all around him linking him pictures and graphs of the overheating systems in both his arms and legs, signaling to him that the mecha was in no shape to continue on in close combat. Taz growled from within the cockpit, swinging his arm across and throwing the Hk across the ground. He groaned and reached up to the steel ledge he had pushed through, pulling his body back up and lifting back up to the silent hallway. He cursed, feeling the pull of the remaining Hk still hanging from his back. Within moments he could see both ends of the corridor once more, Li-six had made her move.
The mech leaned forward bringing his leg through the broken wall, along with the HK connected. The humanoid machine dropped and slid across the ground to his side, its body covered in wires now, dust and rubble from the wall he had come through. Taz reached up and swiped at the transparent displays messing up his vision,
"Damnit" he growled as the computer rang out and spoke to him, calling out separate sections of the mecha that were disabling, burning out or broken, "I know, I know, I bloody know!!!" He swiped his hand through the screens and reached out, pulling his mech up to its feet, using one arm to support its body. The ground moved as he reached out forward and pulled his body back into the hall, nearly tumbling into the wall on the other side. Taz growled against his comm, thankfully the others were not connected at the time.
The mecha reached out and held against the wall, leaning, watching as both HK's lifted themselves up from the same spot he had pulled himself from. Taz breathed heavily, feeling the heat of the inside beginning to get to him. The marine pulled one arm out of the arm slot and pulled back his thick armor, "Damn its bloody hot in here" He leaned back and moved his free arm forward, watching as one of the droids leaned up, its body damaged, clearly the one he had landed on.
Taz slipped his arm back into the slot, now only wearing his torn cloth singlet that had been under his hard case marine bio armor. Blood dripped down the side of his helmet; the breathing opening still in place, though his helmet was clearly messed up. He reached up, as the Hk Charged, rushing his arm forward, but was way too slow. The droid curled up over his arm and leapt up, running along his shoulder before hopping up to his neck and head, "Nimble piece of crap!" He growled before throwing back, gas venting from his arms and legs, the alarm going off within.
He reached up and grabbed the back of the HK's leg, feeling as its fisted snapped into the top of the mecha's head, as if trying to reach in and pull him out. Taz pulled back then threw his arm, swinging the HK heavily into the sidewall, his screen only half showing what happened. The thing almost shattered, its back exploding and its front face cover cracking open. All that could be heard within the mecha armor was Taz laughing out as he leaned forward, turning around to see the second HK rise up, it too was damaged, but less.
Taz growled as he held out his arm and dropped the sparking droid from his grip, "Your turn..." he grinned, sweat dripping from his brow.
The HK stammered forward, slowly walking. Taz reached up, preparing to run at the thing this time, but with a loud hiss everything came down. The cockpit this time lit up all red with warnings sounding all over. Streams of gas blasted from all parts of the mecha, with one clear display in front of his face, "SYSTEM OVERHEATED" Taz gripped the arm slots and pulled them back and forth in anger and frustration,
"Oh you have got to be shitting me! Work damn you! WORK!" he looked up through the gap in the screen watching the HK as it approached closer and closer, "Oh shit" he growled before pulling his arms out and slapping back the straps that held him in. The marine reached down to the side of his cockpit seat and pulled two gold and black-strapped levers. Pulling them out he heard a loud steam vent open and the front of the mecha suddenly snapped open, slipping upwards like the back of a car. The screen flickered before him as he jumped forward, pulling his pistol from his belt.
Taz leisurely walked forward, gun held out with one hand and pulled the trigger at the oncoming HK. Though instead of shots of plasma like most of the former marines, blasts of steel batter the front head plate of the HK, bullet shells singing out from the back of his weapon. He had no glint in his eye, only but a serious glare as he walked to the HK railing bullet after bullet into the thing. A sudden click filled the hall as his weapon finished, the HK stammering forward with only parts of its head in tact, ready to fall over.
The marine groaned as he pressed his hand against his right side for bullets, "Fuck..." The HK stepped up to him, but with one move Taz pulled his hand back and threw a punch straight in between the things eyes. Metal shattered from the back of its skull, the bullets he had blasted in before scattering out as the thing dropped smoking into the ground. Taz pulled his hand back and nursed it against his gun, looking down the hallway. He lifted one foot and pressed it against the circuits of what remained of its head.
He reached up slightly with his bleeding hand and touched where his shattered mask had been pushed into his face, feeling the long scar now that lined over his eye, causing him to keep it shut,
"Hm, that’s going to leave a mark" He turned back to the smoking mech, "Oh I’m not finished with you just yet" He grinned.
---
"Lets go!" came the voice of the commander as he moved down the long hallway, the lights upon the walls leading from the other side slowly flickering out and moving. Siru moved from the doorway, looking out across the others and back to the main computer bays before them, he held out his pistol and waved back to Tipae,
"Get your ass off that chair and come on!" he called out watching as the marine slipped from the chair typing away still, getting ready to move, "Come on!" Siru ordered, watching as the main security shutter began to slowly close. Tipae pulled from the chair and ran up the ramp way, leaping over the marine who had lost his head.
Tipae curled around the corner and passed Siru as he stared down to the laying body, watching blood drop out from his deep wound. The marine rose his free hand and saluted the dead soldier, "See you on the other side of Oblivion buddy..." he spoke out before turning and beginning to move down the hall, a little distance from the other group. Lights seemed to fail upon most of this level, some sort of virus or perhaps a malfunction in the main computers was moving through, messing with the sensors. Siru leapt over scattered remains and debris, passing the few random dead Striders they had taken out some while back.
The commander was at the front, holding the cannon against his shoulder with his pistol in one hand, the other holding tightly on the strap that kept the launcher stable. He could feel the heat of the weapon pressed against his back, the armor somewhat melting with its heat, but it didn’t melt through. He looked across as he slipped past the next round of security by-pass doors, reaching one of the main stairways that moved through every level except the lower decks,
"What’s our closest exit Tipae?" the commander called out as the small group gathered at the edge of the white stairs curling downwards.
Tipae stepped forward, pulling down his transparent monitor before his eyes, "Docking bays are out of order sir, finding a working ship down there at this time would be a shit fight" He looked over the screen a little more, "Though I’ve picked up signals of several remaining Strider troop carriers just above the lower decks, a level lower then the docking bays themselves. Though it isn't picking up any movement..."
The commander nodded, "Ok, that’s our shot" He leant against the stair rails and looked down the opening, holding his pistol down and seeing no movement, "Tipae, see if you can reconnect our communications. I don't care how you do it, just as long as I can talk to the remaining Delta team... and whoever is left on this thing alive"
"Will do sir" Tipae answered quickly, looking over his screen and remaining as close as he could to Siru.
The commander held up his hand and spread his fingers out, watching as the front marines moved forward, pushing down into the stair well, keeping as close as they could to the walls around the sides,
"Lets keep it tight, lets keep it fast ladies!" the commander ordered as the rest of the group moved down, all close moving quickly down each step, looking around on each level they passed to make sure there was nothing moving, no strider or civilian to be left unchecked.
---
Senturo watched as Kat took wolf off Razu's watch, but the way Razu moved, he was surely not going to get in her way, he looked back to the security door instead to make sure that mech would give them no troubles. Sen looked across to the marine and nodded softly, "We need to get to the docking bays, Benett, I need you to take lead, since you are the only one in full armor with all support, me and Razu will take sides and keep the kid center... got it?"
Benett held his rifle down and nodded in agreement, "Yes sir..."
Senturo nodded and looked across to Kat as she began to make her move, the others all moving in the same speed, across and down the hall. He had heard her words, unsure exactly how they were conveyed to him and him only, but he cared not for it. There was indeed something wrong her; something fishy, something that just didn't sit right, and he had to find it out. As they began their movement he looked across to Kat and nodded, but all he could do was whisper, knowing that Razu was right there,
"You can trust me" he spoke softly as they moved on, he held Balian's pistol tight in his grip, feeling it cold. There was a part of his mind that wanted to look into the strider chip that he had collected. Though he had a feeling by now, the plans or anything of Balian that had been there were burned out by now. He looked across the hallway, turning and moving past the debris scattered across the floor. But the thing that confused him was that Balian was not all cyborg before, his sensors had picked it up many times.
The Balian they had killed was perhaps some sort of copy, an artificial cyborg with human features cloned to match Balian. The one question that moved within his memory was 'why'. Why make such a creation, Balian was not of a big rank in the military, he had no secrets from knowledge.
Senturo slipped passed the next corner, holding his pistol out and looking out. Nothing. The sentry was empty, evacuated, even the Strider main military had been pulled back, but somehow his sensors were picking up slithers of Strider network, openings and closings as if the network was trying to push itself into the actual net. Senturo looked across to Kat, holding wolf, that mechanical mask covering the creature’s head completely. 'What is that thing?' Senturo thought to himself, it was clearly Strider design, the white marks, the curves, but it was unlike anything he had seen before. Though the thing Kat had said, mixed with the words of Balian, it was odd... he was after her? Or wolf?
Sen looked passed coming up on the next corridor, they moved through and a sudden coldness hit him, as they passed the hall he could see a glimmer of red, his eyes turning up and moving on seeing the girl in the red dress on the other side of the corridor. He suddenly came to a complete stop as they passed, the others moving on as he moved around the corner to look back down the hallway.
He rose his pistol up, looking at the end where she had been standing, nothing but sprawled out bodies of Strider Corp there instead,
"...What the hell" he growled watching as the end lights of the hall suddenly begin to flicker off, the walls churning and bending out, "Hello?"
"It's coming" came a whisper on his shoulder.
But before he could turn to see it, he was back in the hallway running beside Kat with a voice calling out to him,
"Senturo!" called Razu,
"Wha... what? What is it?" Senturo replied, looking to his sides as he ran down the hallway, the elevator bays coming up,
"I’m reading Striders signals up ahead, though only scattered. Looks like a remaining scout group perhaps?" Razu moved across and held his weapon out as Benett stopped and slipped around the corner to look out,
"Yeah... most likely" Senturo called back, looking behind him, it could be seen he was still disorientated,
"You alright?" Razu questioned, unsure what to make of Senturo's sudden change of wording,
"I'm fine. Keep your eyes open" He shook his head lightly, looking across to Kat for a moment before looking to Benett, "Ok, take elevator 2, and I’ll hotwire it to lead to docking bays" He moved motioned towards one of the opened elevator doors and Benett moved forward, looking across, seeing no movement, no Striders, only scattered marine bodies. He pressed his side against the door and reached up to the main panel, pressing the 'call' button for the elevator.
There was a moment’s pause before it activated, the sound of a moving elevator filling the small bay room. Benett turned back to the hallway and nodded,
"Elevator is coming"
Senturo nodded back and leant across, holding out in the doorway, leaving Benett out there to keep watch while they held the doorway. The blast doors in the distance were still closed and no signs came up of the Mech coming through, it hadn't even tried to push through the door, as if it had simply shut down. Sen pressed his hand against the side of his head, a little screen flickering up in his right eye, signaling to him that communications were still down,
"Damnit..." he growled,
"Hm?" Razu looked across to Sen, on the other side of where Kat was,
"Comm links are all still down, and looks like short power to some of the levels is being shut down" He turned the screen off, looking out to the elevator bays, "I’m not sure the pattern but if our section turns off, the elevator may stop in mid track"
"Shit" Razu sighed,
"Yeah. Might just have to climb the damn thing" Senturo held up the pistol and looked to Kat, "You ok?"
---
"That’s three down!" Called one of the techs. He sat amongst a pile of moved cables and cords, thick with black taping and panels. He lay on his back slightly with a pulled out screen above him. To his side a long cable and steel link ran up to the high ceiling above them, it reached into the darkness above. To the side one could clearly see the tokamak ring, suspended above their heads. The tech had the keyboard hanging out with three sets of cords plugged into the spire the reached up, "Still a couple to override, but then we should be home free to start the reprogramming!"
"Stop your chattering and keep going!" Came the reply from the other tech, on the other side of the large area, his shoulder light could be seen moving slightly in the distances. The group had split, not too far, but to the main programming bases for the easiest access into the fusion reactor.
The tech began typing away, finding it almost too easy to simply check into the system. He moved in close and leaned across, unplugging one of the cords from the keyboard into another access point, looking up to the glimmering screen he had pulled up close to him. It flickered with technical crap, repeating codes and numbers, access points and other such things. The tech could understand such codes but considered it only a mix of complicated codes and what not.
He pulled the keyboard close, before suddenly feeling the cords to the side of his head move. Turning his eyes and moving a free hand up he pushed away the side screen to see the end of a plasma pistol pointing directly at him. He widened his eyes, seeing Balian’s face just beyond the gunpoint. The tech murmured not a word and pulled his hands from the keyboard,
"Are you alone?" Balian questioned emotionlessly,
The tech paused a moment, holding his hands up in surrender, "...y-yes"
"Wrong answer" Balian spoke back as he pulled the trigger.
A green blast of energy snapped into the Techs head, the top of his biomechanical skull shattering with a splatter of red and white. The blast snapped into the ground with a puff of black smoke and the Tech's body dropped back into the cords motionlessly. Balian pulled the gun up and lifted a foot, pressing it into the keyboard, crushing it down under his boot with a crack. He slowly turned up and looked across the long cableway to see the other tech suddenly scramble to his feet,
"Li-six!" he called out as Balian reached out his arm and took aim.
The marine pulled the trigger again, sending off two shots of green plasma towards the other side. The tech dropped down and launched himself against one of the cable spires they had been working at, feeling the shudder and watching as sparks blasted outwards as the shot rippled through the cords. Balian pulled his hand back and turned to the side panel the other tech had been using, he had no idea of the think tanks presence down here. He pressed his hand against the main monitor screen, bringing up a red access panel that revealed a number display password.
The remaining tech pulled his hands from his head and turned across to his work station, "shit shit shit" he spoke out, pulling the keyboard in place, watching what the marine was doing.
Balian simply pressed in a mixed number of buttons, his eyes still on where the tech was hiding, watching for any movements, but still working on the panel without any troubles what’s so ever. The tech brought up the screen and looked across as he spoke into the link, "Li-six! He's messing with the thing! He knows the damn access codes!"
Balian continued to move through each barrier that came up with ease, knowing each and every security access password the core was known to have, only the military were to design, he knew them all. He kept his eyes out for any movement, until a red screen was brought up, a barrier; standard made firewall, not military design. Balian tilted his head and pressed into the screen, beginning to hack through it. The tech brought up screens, following in from Balian’s signal to get passed the firewalls he had gone through with ease, putting up barrier after the next with the help of Li-six.
The marine suddenly shuddered; his head slumping back as sparks snapped from the back of his neck with a cloud of smoke. He dropped back as the access panel flipped into place.
...
There was a sudden churn moving within the backup fusion reactor, the power to the remaining power spires flicking off and shutting down. The tech pressed in close and looked over the messages flickering across the screen as everything began to shut down, "Access denied, all firewalls have been broken, its all open, he fucking broke through it!" The tech slipped up and across looking up to the fusion core as it hummed loudly now, "It’s resetting, and I can't stop it!"
Suddenly the hum was gone, the lights within the entire bay flickered and shut off, the system snapped offline, and all there was were the simple words slipping across the screen the tech had out,
~SYSTEM RESTARTING~
Suddenly the lights began to move online, the core however began to hum, though only slightly, the screens remained off, two seconds up, the walls hacked through... it had been done.
The entire station shuddered, red lights turning on as backup instead of normal lighting. The tech leant up and stood, looking across to the exit, "we have to get out of here!" he screamed out, scared once more for his life. The voice of the computer began to repeat over the link of the Sentry,
"Battle defenses, offline"
"Stabilizers, offline"
"Main net, offline"
The tech turned and twisted, frightened as he looked around for Li-six.
"Global defense network has been compromised ... atmospheric conditioner compromised ... main network barriers compromised ... Virus detected, insurgents detected ... Core mainframe compromised ... Global comm ... dis...." the voice suddenly turned down and shut off, leaving the entire sentry bay without an operation, only the secondary red lights in place, no more emergency doors opening.
The tech finally gave up; he made a run for it, turning and sprinting back towards the way they came...
---
Commander Omarah turned back from the others as they ran into the main bays, seeing three Strider drop ships lined up. They had heard all the emergency signals, heard what had happened. Tipae looked back as they moved and spread towards the closest drop ship,
"Sir! I’ve got it! Clicking into the last line and emergency default, comm-links are all online for thirty seconds!" Tipae stopped along with the others as the commander turned and pressed his hands to his side headpiece,
"This is Commander Omarah, if anyone is reading this listen in!" he cleared his throat and looked across his mapping system, the display being sent directly from Tipae’s hand computer, "side level 14, area 22b. Captain secondary docking bays are open; we have a drop ship waiting on location. Get your asses to our location in ten minutes or you 'will' be left behind!"
Siru looked up as he messed with the controls of the drop ship main doors, "Sir, ten minutes? Are you sure that’s enough time for the others to get to us?"
The commander brought his hand down and held his hand up and directed the others to get to the drop ship, "In fifteen minutes this sentry is going to be nothing more then a black crater in the ground marine... they better be here in time"
---
Senturo was looking directly above him just finished listening the computer blaring out its warnings. The hallways around them were only lit with red emergency lights, but he turned his screen display to change within his eyes to make it easier to pick out signals. He turned across to Benett, who was still waiting at the bay doors,
"Benett! Come back here, we need to take another route!" With that said the elevator door a few doors beyond the one they were waiting for opened. Senturo leant back and pointed his gun directly to the door as both Balian and Reign stepped out, Balian holding Reign with one arm over his shoulder, blood dripping from his arm,
"Senturo! Razu!" Balian called out,
"What the hell!" Razu growled, seeing the second Balian, "Didn't we just--"
But before another word could be said, before another bullet could be fired, the door behind Benett slowly opened; smoke blasting through and blood spattering out. Benett swiftly turned with eyes filled with horror. Claws tore out of the elevator opening and ripped into the chest of the marine, two tails snapped out and broke into his stomach. A long head and snout stuck out from the doorway as the massive Dragoon uncurled itself and slipped out, its legs bent and out of shape, cracking and moving into the right position.
Benett was pulled up from the ground and torn into three large chunks, sending blood and gore across the room. His rifle slipped across with blood sliding in the same across to the feet of Razu.
"Holy shit!" Balian called out as he fell backwards, watching as the thing turned its gaze to him, its dark eyes glowing softly, opening its dragon mouth and growling. The twisted creature took a few steps out of the bay, looking across from the two groups.
"FIRE!"
Ic:
Red screens blazed up all around him linking him pictures and graphs of the overheating systems in both his arms and legs, signaling to him that the mecha was in no shape to continue on in close combat. Taz growled from within the cockpit, swinging his arm across and throwing the Hk across the ground. He groaned and reached up to the steel ledge he had pushed through, pulling his body back up and lifting back up to the silent hallway. He cursed, feeling the pull of the remaining Hk still hanging from his back. Within moments he could see both ends of the corridor once more, Li-six had made her move.
The mech leaned forward bringing his leg through the broken wall, along with the HK connected. The humanoid machine dropped and slid across the ground to his side, its body covered in wires now, dust and rubble from the wall he had come through. Taz reached up and swiped at the transparent displays messing up his vision,
"Damnit" he growled as the computer rang out and spoke to him, calling out separate sections of the mecha that were disabling, burning out or broken, "I know, I know, I bloody know!!!" He swiped his hand through the screens and reached out, pulling his mech up to its feet, using one arm to support its body. The ground moved as he reached out forward and pulled his body back into the hall, nearly tumbling into the wall on the other side. Taz growled against his comm, thankfully the others were not connected at the time.
The mecha reached out and held against the wall, leaning, watching as both HK's lifted themselves up from the same spot he had pulled himself from. Taz breathed heavily, feeling the heat of the inside beginning to get to him. The marine pulled one arm out of the arm slot and pulled back his thick armor, "Damn its bloody hot in here" He leaned back and moved his free arm forward, watching as one of the droids leaned up, its body damaged, clearly the one he had landed on.
Taz slipped his arm back into the slot, now only wearing his torn cloth singlet that had been under his hard case marine bio armor. Blood dripped down the side of his helmet; the breathing opening still in place, though his helmet was clearly messed up. He reached up, as the Hk Charged, rushing his arm forward, but was way too slow. The droid curled up over his arm and leapt up, running along his shoulder before hopping up to his neck and head, "Nimble piece of crap!" He growled before throwing back, gas venting from his arms and legs, the alarm going off within.
He reached up and grabbed the back of the HK's leg, feeling as its fisted snapped into the top of the mecha's head, as if trying to reach in and pull him out. Taz pulled back then threw his arm, swinging the HK heavily into the sidewall, his screen only half showing what happened. The thing almost shattered, its back exploding and its front face cover cracking open. All that could be heard within the mecha armor was Taz laughing out as he leaned forward, turning around to see the second HK rise up, it too was damaged, but less.
Taz growled as he held out his arm and dropped the sparking droid from his grip, "Your turn..." he grinned, sweat dripping from his brow.
The HK stammered forward, slowly walking. Taz reached up, preparing to run at the thing this time, but with a loud hiss everything came down. The cockpit this time lit up all red with warnings sounding all over. Streams of gas blasted from all parts of the mecha, with one clear display in front of his face, "SYSTEM OVERHEATED" Taz gripped the arm slots and pulled them back and forth in anger and frustration,
"Oh you have got to be shitting me! Work damn you! WORK!" he looked up through the gap in the screen watching the HK as it approached closer and closer, "Oh shit" he growled before pulling his arms out and slapping back the straps that held him in. The marine reached down to the side of his cockpit seat and pulled two gold and black-strapped levers. Pulling them out he heard a loud steam vent open and the front of the mecha suddenly snapped open, slipping upwards like the back of a car. The screen flickered before him as he jumped forward, pulling his pistol from his belt.
Taz leisurely walked forward, gun held out with one hand and pulled the trigger at the oncoming HK. Though instead of shots of plasma like most of the former marines, blasts of steel batter the front head plate of the HK, bullet shells singing out from the back of his weapon. He had no glint in his eye, only but a serious glare as he walked to the HK railing bullet after bullet into the thing. A sudden click filled the hall as his weapon finished, the HK stammering forward with only parts of its head in tact, ready to fall over.
The marine groaned as he pressed his hand against his right side for bullets, "Fuck..." The HK stepped up to him, but with one move Taz pulled his hand back and threw a punch straight in between the things eyes. Metal shattered from the back of its skull, the bullets he had blasted in before scattering out as the thing dropped smoking into the ground. Taz pulled his hand back and nursed it against his gun, looking down the hallway. He lifted one foot and pressed it against the circuits of what remained of its head.
He reached up slightly with his bleeding hand and touched where his shattered mask had been pushed into his face, feeling the long scar now that lined over his eye, causing him to keep it shut,
"Hm, that’s going to leave a mark" He turned back to the smoking mech, "Oh I’m not finished with you just yet" He grinned.
---
"Lets go!" came the voice of the commander as he moved down the long hallway, the lights upon the walls leading from the other side slowly flickering out and moving. Siru moved from the doorway, looking out across the others and back to the main computer bays before them, he held out his pistol and waved back to Tipae,
"Get your ass off that chair and come on!" he called out watching as the marine slipped from the chair typing away still, getting ready to move, "Come on!" Siru ordered, watching as the main security shutter began to slowly close. Tipae pulled from the chair and ran up the ramp way, leaping over the marine who had lost his head.
Tipae curled around the corner and passed Siru as he stared down to the laying body, watching blood drop out from his deep wound. The marine rose his free hand and saluted the dead soldier, "See you on the other side of Oblivion buddy..." he spoke out before turning and beginning to move down the hall, a little distance from the other group. Lights seemed to fail upon most of this level, some sort of virus or perhaps a malfunction in the main computers was moving through, messing with the sensors. Siru leapt over scattered remains and debris, passing the few random dead Striders they had taken out some while back.
The commander was at the front, holding the cannon against his shoulder with his pistol in one hand, the other holding tightly on the strap that kept the launcher stable. He could feel the heat of the weapon pressed against his back, the armor somewhat melting with its heat, but it didn’t melt through. He looked across as he slipped past the next round of security by-pass doors, reaching one of the main stairways that moved through every level except the lower decks,
"What’s our closest exit Tipae?" the commander called out as the small group gathered at the edge of the white stairs curling downwards.
Tipae stepped forward, pulling down his transparent monitor before his eyes, "Docking bays are out of order sir, finding a working ship down there at this time would be a shit fight" He looked over the screen a little more, "Though I’ve picked up signals of several remaining Strider troop carriers just above the lower decks, a level lower then the docking bays themselves. Though it isn't picking up any movement..."
The commander nodded, "Ok, that’s our shot" He leant against the stair rails and looked down the opening, holding his pistol down and seeing no movement, "Tipae, see if you can reconnect our communications. I don't care how you do it, just as long as I can talk to the remaining Delta team... and whoever is left on this thing alive"
"Will do sir" Tipae answered quickly, looking over his screen and remaining as close as he could to Siru.
The commander held up his hand and spread his fingers out, watching as the front marines moved forward, pushing down into the stair well, keeping as close as they could to the walls around the sides,
"Lets keep it tight, lets keep it fast ladies!" the commander ordered as the rest of the group moved down, all close moving quickly down each step, looking around on each level they passed to make sure there was nothing moving, no strider or civilian to be left unchecked.
---
Senturo watched as Kat took wolf off Razu's watch, but the way Razu moved, he was surely not going to get in her way, he looked back to the security door instead to make sure that mech would give them no troubles. Sen looked across to the marine and nodded softly, "We need to get to the docking bays, Benett, I need you to take lead, since you are the only one in full armor with all support, me and Razu will take sides and keep the kid center... got it?"
Benett held his rifle down and nodded in agreement, "Yes sir..."
Senturo nodded and looked across to Kat as she began to make her move, the others all moving in the same speed, across and down the hall. He had heard her words, unsure exactly how they were conveyed to him and him only, but he cared not for it. There was indeed something wrong her; something fishy, something that just didn't sit right, and he had to find it out. As they began their movement he looked across to Kat and nodded, but all he could do was whisper, knowing that Razu was right there,
"You can trust me" he spoke softly as they moved on, he held Balian's pistol tight in his grip, feeling it cold. There was a part of his mind that wanted to look into the strider chip that he had collected. Though he had a feeling by now, the plans or anything of Balian that had been there were burned out by now. He looked across the hallway, turning and moving past the debris scattered across the floor. But the thing that confused him was that Balian was not all cyborg before, his sensors had picked it up many times.
The Balian they had killed was perhaps some sort of copy, an artificial cyborg with human features cloned to match Balian. The one question that moved within his memory was 'why'. Why make such a creation, Balian was not of a big rank in the military, he had no secrets from knowledge.
Senturo slipped passed the next corner, holding his pistol out and looking out. Nothing. The sentry was empty, evacuated, even the Strider main military had been pulled back, but somehow his sensors were picking up slithers of Strider network, openings and closings as if the network was trying to push itself into the actual net. Senturo looked across to Kat, holding wolf, that mechanical mask covering the creature’s head completely. 'What is that thing?' Senturo thought to himself, it was clearly Strider design, the white marks, the curves, but it was unlike anything he had seen before. Though the thing Kat had said, mixed with the words of Balian, it was odd... he was after her? Or wolf?
Sen looked passed coming up on the next corridor, they moved through and a sudden coldness hit him, as they passed the hall he could see a glimmer of red, his eyes turning up and moving on seeing the girl in the red dress on the other side of the corridor. He suddenly came to a complete stop as they passed, the others moving on as he moved around the corner to look back down the hallway.
He rose his pistol up, looking at the end where she had been standing, nothing but sprawled out bodies of Strider Corp there instead,
"...What the hell" he growled watching as the end lights of the hall suddenly begin to flicker off, the walls churning and bending out, "Hello?"
"It's coming" came a whisper on his shoulder.
But before he could turn to see it, he was back in the hallway running beside Kat with a voice calling out to him,
"Senturo!" called Razu,
"Wha... what? What is it?" Senturo replied, looking to his sides as he ran down the hallway, the elevator bays coming up,
"I’m reading Striders signals up ahead, though only scattered. Looks like a remaining scout group perhaps?" Razu moved across and held his weapon out as Benett stopped and slipped around the corner to look out,
"Yeah... most likely" Senturo called back, looking behind him, it could be seen he was still disorientated,
"You alright?" Razu questioned, unsure what to make of Senturo's sudden change of wording,
"I'm fine. Keep your eyes open" He shook his head lightly, looking across to Kat for a moment before looking to Benett, "Ok, take elevator 2, and I’ll hotwire it to lead to docking bays" He moved motioned towards one of the opened elevator doors and Benett moved forward, looking across, seeing no movement, no Striders, only scattered marine bodies. He pressed his side against the door and reached up to the main panel, pressing the 'call' button for the elevator.
There was a moment’s pause before it activated, the sound of a moving elevator filling the small bay room. Benett turned back to the hallway and nodded,
"Elevator is coming"
Senturo nodded back and leant across, holding out in the doorway, leaving Benett out there to keep watch while they held the doorway. The blast doors in the distance were still closed and no signs came up of the Mech coming through, it hadn't even tried to push through the door, as if it had simply shut down. Sen pressed his hand against the side of his head, a little screen flickering up in his right eye, signaling to him that communications were still down,
"Damnit..." he growled,
"Hm?" Razu looked across to Sen, on the other side of where Kat was,
"Comm links are all still down, and looks like short power to some of the levels is being shut down" He turned the screen off, looking out to the elevator bays, "I’m not sure the pattern but if our section turns off, the elevator may stop in mid track"
"Shit" Razu sighed,
"Yeah. Might just have to climb the damn thing" Senturo held up the pistol and looked to Kat, "You ok?"
---
"That’s three down!" Called one of the techs. He sat amongst a pile of moved cables and cords, thick with black taping and panels. He lay on his back slightly with a pulled out screen above him. To his side a long cable and steel link ran up to the high ceiling above them, it reached into the darkness above. To the side one could clearly see the tokamak ring, suspended above their heads. The tech had the keyboard hanging out with three sets of cords plugged into the spire the reached up, "Still a couple to override, but then we should be home free to start the reprogramming!"
"Stop your chattering and keep going!" Came the reply from the other tech, on the other side of the large area, his shoulder light could be seen moving slightly in the distances. The group had split, not too far, but to the main programming bases for the easiest access into the fusion reactor.
The tech began typing away, finding it almost too easy to simply check into the system. He moved in close and leaned across, unplugging one of the cords from the keyboard into another access point, looking up to the glimmering screen he had pulled up close to him. It flickered with technical crap, repeating codes and numbers, access points and other such things. The tech could understand such codes but considered it only a mix of complicated codes and what not.
He pulled the keyboard close, before suddenly feeling the cords to the side of his head move. Turning his eyes and moving a free hand up he pushed away the side screen to see the end of a plasma pistol pointing directly at him. He widened his eyes, seeing Balian’s face just beyond the gunpoint. The tech murmured not a word and pulled his hands from the keyboard,
"Are you alone?" Balian questioned emotionlessly,
The tech paused a moment, holding his hands up in surrender, "...y-yes"
"Wrong answer" Balian spoke back as he pulled the trigger.
A green blast of energy snapped into the Techs head, the top of his biomechanical skull shattering with a splatter of red and white. The blast snapped into the ground with a puff of black smoke and the Tech's body dropped back into the cords motionlessly. Balian pulled the gun up and lifted a foot, pressing it into the keyboard, crushing it down under his boot with a crack. He slowly turned up and looked across the long cableway to see the other tech suddenly scramble to his feet,
"Li-six!" he called out as Balian reached out his arm and took aim.
The marine pulled the trigger again, sending off two shots of green plasma towards the other side. The tech dropped down and launched himself against one of the cable spires they had been working at, feeling the shudder and watching as sparks blasted outwards as the shot rippled through the cords. Balian pulled his hand back and turned to the side panel the other tech had been using, he had no idea of the think tanks presence down here. He pressed his hand against the main monitor screen, bringing up a red access panel that revealed a number display password.
The remaining tech pulled his hands from his head and turned across to his work station, "shit shit shit" he spoke out, pulling the keyboard in place, watching what the marine was doing.
Balian simply pressed in a mixed number of buttons, his eyes still on where the tech was hiding, watching for any movements, but still working on the panel without any troubles what’s so ever. The tech brought up the screen and looked across as he spoke into the link, "Li-six! He's messing with the thing! He knows the damn access codes!"
Balian continued to move through each barrier that came up with ease, knowing each and every security access password the core was known to have, only the military were to design, he knew them all. He kept his eyes out for any movement, until a red screen was brought up, a barrier; standard made firewall, not military design. Balian tilted his head and pressed into the screen, beginning to hack through it. The tech brought up screens, following in from Balian’s signal to get passed the firewalls he had gone through with ease, putting up barrier after the next with the help of Li-six.
The marine suddenly shuddered; his head slumping back as sparks snapped from the back of his neck with a cloud of smoke. He dropped back as the access panel flipped into place.
...
There was a sudden churn moving within the backup fusion reactor, the power to the remaining power spires flicking off and shutting down. The tech pressed in close and looked over the messages flickering across the screen as everything began to shut down, "Access denied, all firewalls have been broken, its all open, he fucking broke through it!" The tech slipped up and across looking up to the fusion core as it hummed loudly now, "It’s resetting, and I can't stop it!"
Suddenly the hum was gone, the lights within the entire bay flickered and shut off, the system snapped offline, and all there was were the simple words slipping across the screen the tech had out,
~SYSTEM RESTARTING~
Suddenly the lights began to move online, the core however began to hum, though only slightly, the screens remained off, two seconds up, the walls hacked through... it had been done.
The entire station shuddered, red lights turning on as backup instead of normal lighting. The tech leant up and stood, looking across to the exit, "we have to get out of here!" he screamed out, scared once more for his life. The voice of the computer began to repeat over the link of the Sentry,
"Battle defenses, offline"
"Stabilizers, offline"
"Main net, offline"
The tech turned and twisted, frightened as he looked around for Li-six.
"Global defense network has been compromised ... atmospheric conditioner compromised ... main network barriers compromised ... Virus detected, insurgents detected ... Core mainframe compromised ... Global comm ... dis...." the voice suddenly turned down and shut off, leaving the entire sentry bay without an operation, only the secondary red lights in place, no more emergency doors opening.
The tech finally gave up; he made a run for it, turning and sprinting back towards the way they came...
---
Commander Omarah turned back from the others as they ran into the main bays, seeing three Strider drop ships lined up. They had heard all the emergency signals, heard what had happened. Tipae looked back as they moved and spread towards the closest drop ship,
"Sir! I’ve got it! Clicking into the last line and emergency default, comm-links are all online for thirty seconds!" Tipae stopped along with the others as the commander turned and pressed his hands to his side headpiece,
"This is Commander Omarah, if anyone is reading this listen in!" he cleared his throat and looked across his mapping system, the display being sent directly from Tipae’s hand computer, "side level 14, area 22b. Captain secondary docking bays are open; we have a drop ship waiting on location. Get your asses to our location in ten minutes or you 'will' be left behind!"
Siru looked up as he messed with the controls of the drop ship main doors, "Sir, ten minutes? Are you sure that’s enough time for the others to get to us?"
The commander brought his hand down and held his hand up and directed the others to get to the drop ship, "In fifteen minutes this sentry is going to be nothing more then a black crater in the ground marine... they better be here in time"
---
Senturo was looking directly above him just finished listening the computer blaring out its warnings. The hallways around them were only lit with red emergency lights, but he turned his screen display to change within his eyes to make it easier to pick out signals. He turned across to Benett, who was still waiting at the bay doors,
"Benett! Come back here, we need to take another route!" With that said the elevator door a few doors beyond the one they were waiting for opened. Senturo leant back and pointed his gun directly to the door as both Balian and Reign stepped out, Balian holding Reign with one arm over his shoulder, blood dripping from his arm,
"Senturo! Razu!" Balian called out,
"What the hell!" Razu growled, seeing the second Balian, "Didn't we just--"
But before another word could be said, before another bullet could be fired, the door behind Benett slowly opened; smoke blasting through and blood spattering out. Benett swiftly turned with eyes filled with horror. Claws tore out of the elevator opening and ripped into the chest of the marine, two tails snapped out and broke into his stomach. A long head and snout stuck out from the doorway as the massive Dragoon uncurled itself and slipped out, its legs bent and out of shape, cracking and moving into the right position.
Benett was pulled up from the ground and torn into three large chunks, sending blood and gore across the room. His rifle slipped across with blood sliding in the same across to the feet of Razu.
"Holy shit!" Balian called out as he fell backwards, watching as the thing turned its gaze to him, its dark eyes glowing softly, opening its dragon mouth and growling. The twisted creature took a few steps out of the bay, looking across from the two groups.
"FIRE!"
~
What does it matter. Thoughts crossed Kathryn's mind as she walked, not even paying attention as the guys of the military grouped around her, causing her to be their center. Morons. She thought quietly. What did they know? For that matter, she didn't eve know what she knew. What was going on here? She walked along and sped up the pace when they did, moving as they did. Not even really paying attention. Yet, when she saw out of the corner of her eye, she heard Robo Cop talk to her. She gave him a look out of the corner of her eyes and laughed in her mind. ~Right, I'll keep that in mind the next time I get found by a bunch of military personnel.~ She said to him. Her thoughts were too weighted down by the need to protect Wolf, the girl didn't even realize that Senturo may be the only one here at the moment she could trust.
Wolf is hurt, or.. something, I'm not sure but I have to get him out of here. She thought quietly to herself as they kept moving. Her mind was all turmoil as she thought about everything. What that guy said, Balian? He said they had the wrong one. Well, from the way Robo Cop and Military Guy acted, they haven't seen anything like me or Wolf for a long, long time. Her mind had already made a final conclusion, but she still couldn't believe it, part of her was afraid of it. If they're after the lycan virus inside me that makes me what I am, I'll have to leave. Most people don't survive the transformation. As it is, I nearly didn't. Kathryn's virus was a dangerous one to try and control. Often the body shut down or started to destroy itself because of the shift in metabolism. She was a lucky one, because she was born with it. Yet it had almost killed her. Out of 45 people to be infected with the virus, 3 or less survived. The rest died. If that happens, I'll have to run away once more. With or without Wolf. The only worry there is if they try and conduct experiments on him.
Kat was shaken out of her thoughts as Senturo spoke again. The Military Guy had been speaking to him, but Robo Cop hadn't responded. Her ear twitched and she had a weird feeling at the back of her neck making her hackles rise, but she brushed it off. It was odd though, that a robot would be surprised. Odd in Kat's mind at least. ~Hmmm, have you had your cat-scan lately? You know, if they have such a thing for a robot.~ She mocked him gently. She wasn't overly insultive, but still, it was a funny picture in her mind. Robo Cop hooked up to a Cat-scan. Soon enough though she was pushed back into her thoughts. Jarred once more as they got closer to an elevator and Robo Cop stood next to her, asking her if she was okay.
~Yeah, I'm just peachy. I've been thrown into a war I didn't know existed with enemies I could never imagine, robo dudes that blow up randomly from plasmathings that shoot their heads off. Wolf has a new hair due and a helmet to boot, and oh yeah, I was locked up in a... fuckin' padded room!! How do you think I'm doing? Oh yeah, I'm just peachy.~ She looked up at him, but her eyes weren't angry, just tired. Kat moved Wolf back up higher onto her shoulders so he wouldn't fall down and listened to the others talk. She turned her head and nuzzled Wolf's neck gently, making sure not to bump the electronics that remained on his head. I'll get you out of here, Wolf, I promise. This time, I'll keep that promise. Evidently, they were at the elevator, but why were-oh. Right, no power, no motivation for the elevator. She needed to pay more attention. Kat moved further out into the hallway, not really paying attention, but when two people suddenly burst out from nowhere, Kathryn growled and jumped back, snarling and baring her long teeth. Surprised, but it wasn't them who got her attention a moment later. She yelped as she looked up only to dodge a piece of human flesh rendered by the creature that uncurled from one of the elevator. She looked down to see the soldier she had tried to save. His eyes went out of focus and clouded over. He was dead. Kat turned and looked up, she was a short distance away from the thing, but not behind any cover.
She didn't bother with cover. She just stood there. Glaring up at the creature, teeth bared, fur puffing out and her tail raised. There really wasn't anywhere to hide in this hallway. Kat tightened her grip on Wolf as the creature hissed and sat there, poised to attack. She growled back at the thing as it growled. Raising her voice to be louder then its own. Looking into its glowing eyes with her own golden-blue ones. The ears on her head pointed straight at the creature. ~Back.... Off~ She growled. Her eyes staying focused on the creature. It probably wouldn't work just to tell the thing to back up, but it was about all the patience she had left at this point. She just didn't care anymore.
I won't let anyone or anything get in my way. She thought darkly to herself. She hoped that maybe the bluff would work. She wasn't up to fighting this thing. Even now her legs were shaking from stress and fighting off the third transformation that came to a head when she was stressed out. I have to get Wolf out of here!
Wolf is hurt, or.. something, I'm not sure but I have to get him out of here. She thought quietly to herself as they kept moving. Her mind was all turmoil as she thought about everything. What that guy said, Balian? He said they had the wrong one. Well, from the way Robo Cop and Military Guy acted, they haven't seen anything like me or Wolf for a long, long time. Her mind had already made a final conclusion, but she still couldn't believe it, part of her was afraid of it. If they're after the lycan virus inside me that makes me what I am, I'll have to leave. Most people don't survive the transformation. As it is, I nearly didn't. Kathryn's virus was a dangerous one to try and control. Often the body shut down or started to destroy itself because of the shift in metabolism. She was a lucky one, because she was born with it. Yet it had almost killed her. Out of 45 people to be infected with the virus, 3 or less survived. The rest died. If that happens, I'll have to run away once more. With or without Wolf. The only worry there is if they try and conduct experiments on him.
Kat was shaken out of her thoughts as Senturo spoke again. The Military Guy had been speaking to him, but Robo Cop hadn't responded. Her ear twitched and she had a weird feeling at the back of her neck making her hackles rise, but she brushed it off. It was odd though, that a robot would be surprised. Odd in Kat's mind at least. ~Hmmm, have you had your cat-scan lately? You know, if they have such a thing for a robot.~ She mocked him gently. She wasn't overly insultive, but still, it was a funny picture in her mind. Robo Cop hooked up to a Cat-scan. Soon enough though she was pushed back into her thoughts. Jarred once more as they got closer to an elevator and Robo Cop stood next to her, asking her if she was okay.
~Yeah, I'm just peachy. I've been thrown into a war I didn't know existed with enemies I could never imagine, robo dudes that blow up randomly from plasmathings that shoot their heads off. Wolf has a new hair due and a helmet to boot, and oh yeah, I was locked up in a... fuckin' padded room!! How do you think I'm doing? Oh yeah, I'm just peachy.~ She looked up at him, but her eyes weren't angry, just tired. Kat moved Wolf back up higher onto her shoulders so he wouldn't fall down and listened to the others talk. She turned her head and nuzzled Wolf's neck gently, making sure not to bump the electronics that remained on his head. I'll get you out of here, Wolf, I promise. This time, I'll keep that promise. Evidently, they were at the elevator, but why were-oh. Right, no power, no motivation for the elevator. She needed to pay more attention. Kat moved further out into the hallway, not really paying attention, but when two people suddenly burst out from nowhere, Kathryn growled and jumped back, snarling and baring her long teeth. Surprised, but it wasn't them who got her attention a moment later. She yelped as she looked up only to dodge a piece of human flesh rendered by the creature that uncurled from one of the elevator. She looked down to see the soldier she had tried to save. His eyes went out of focus and clouded over. He was dead. Kat turned and looked up, she was a short distance away from the thing, but not behind any cover.
She didn't bother with cover. She just stood there. Glaring up at the creature, teeth bared, fur puffing out and her tail raised. There really wasn't anywhere to hide in this hallway. Kat tightened her grip on Wolf as the creature hissed and sat there, poised to attack. She growled back at the thing as it growled. Raising her voice to be louder then its own. Looking into its glowing eyes with her own golden-blue ones. The ears on her head pointed straight at the creature. ~Back.... Off~ She growled. Her eyes staying focused on the creature. It probably wouldn't work just to tell the thing to back up, but it was about all the patience she had left at this point. She just didn't care anymore.
I won't let anyone or anything get in my way. She thought darkly to herself. She hoped that maybe the bluff would work. She wasn't up to fighting this thing. Even now her legs were shaking from stress and fighting off the third transformation that came to a head when she was stressed out. I have to get Wolf out of here!
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
OOC: Hehe, not quite as planned no ...
---------
Li-six swore. That strider unit was fast. Too fast. From her position off on the other side of the tokamak control hall, she had no time to actually rush over to him. She just had to frantically try to mount some sort of electronic defence from where she was, together with the panicking tech from his end. Not to mention that her friend-or-foe system would have forbidden her to shoot the marine bastard anyway. And he cheated. What use were raised firewalls when he knew all the access codes? To change those she would have to hack the walls before he had time to enter the code and change the code from inside. She was good, but noone was that fast to hack a system. So he melted straight through the power system software and reset the entire energy system that way instead. And with it the whole system. And there was nothing she nor the tech could do.
She swore as it was all over. The enemy had entered the human defence nodes. She desperately wanted to shoot something. The marine shut down. Standing up from her hidden position, the tank zoomed on its face across the hall. Balian. It figured. Judging from the electricity crackling at his neck he was either a strider or heavily cyberniced. Maybe the enemy had hacked him at some point.
"Mission is a failure!" the think-tank growled to Taz and the tech over the comm link. "Damn Balian showed up right under our noses and reset the system. Let's get out of here. Taz, what's your status?"
The tech ran over to some point at the other side of the hall. Li-six guessed it was the body of his colleague. "He alive?" she called.
Pause. "No. There ... there is no head left." his voice was shaky.
"Then get over here. We're leaving."
"We can't just leave him here!"
Li-six started climbing back up the ramp again. "He won't care. Hurry up, or I'll leave you behind. I don't have time to dawdle. The mission is a failure. We're done here."
The tech hesitated, but when it was clear Li-six was not one to mourn the fallen, he chose between following his principles and being left behind in a crashing ship -- and made the wiser choice. Li-six paused at the top of the ramp to let the remaining tech climb on board. She thought he was crying, but she wasn't sure. Softie.
The tank folded back its legs and started accelerating up the hallways to the silent corridor. That was when a forgotten radio link shone clearly in her conciousness, relaying Commander Omarah's message. Side level 14 was a fair bit above and away. Getting there in time would be cutting it close.
Li-six charged back into the formerly silent corridor, spotting the remnant of the Mech occupying the far end. Taz was standing clear of it. The mech was a burning wreck, but so were the two hunter-killers. Taz had done a good job.
The tank drove up and made a grinding halt behind Taz, its powerful engines humming on high gear. "We need to climb back up the elevator if we'll get to Side level 14" Li-six said. "I can climb, your mecha cannot. Jump on!"
---------
Li-six swore. That strider unit was fast. Too fast. From her position off on the other side of the tokamak control hall, she had no time to actually rush over to him. She just had to frantically try to mount some sort of electronic defence from where she was, together with the panicking tech from his end. Not to mention that her friend-or-foe system would have forbidden her to shoot the marine bastard anyway. And he cheated. What use were raised firewalls when he knew all the access codes? To change those she would have to hack the walls before he had time to enter the code and change the code from inside. She was good, but noone was that fast to hack a system. So he melted straight through the power system software and reset the entire energy system that way instead. And with it the whole system. And there was nothing she nor the tech could do.
She swore as it was all over. The enemy had entered the human defence nodes. She desperately wanted to shoot something. The marine shut down. Standing up from her hidden position, the tank zoomed on its face across the hall. Balian. It figured. Judging from the electricity crackling at his neck he was either a strider or heavily cyberniced. Maybe the enemy had hacked him at some point.
"Mission is a failure!" the think-tank growled to Taz and the tech over the comm link. "Damn Balian showed up right under our noses and reset the system. Let's get out of here. Taz, what's your status?"
The tech ran over to some point at the other side of the hall. Li-six guessed it was the body of his colleague. "He alive?" she called.
Pause. "No. There ... there is no head left." his voice was shaky.
"Then get over here. We're leaving."
"We can't just leave him here!"
Li-six started climbing back up the ramp again. "He won't care. Hurry up, or I'll leave you behind. I don't have time to dawdle. The mission is a failure. We're done here."
The tech hesitated, but when it was clear Li-six was not one to mourn the fallen, he chose between following his principles and being left behind in a crashing ship -- and made the wiser choice. Li-six paused at the top of the ramp to let the remaining tech climb on board. She thought he was crying, but she wasn't sure. Softie.
The tank folded back its legs and started accelerating up the hallways to the silent corridor. That was when a forgotten radio link shone clearly in her conciousness, relaying Commander Omarah's message. Side level 14 was a fair bit above and away. Getting there in time would be cutting it close.
Li-six charged back into the formerly silent corridor, spotting the remnant of the Mech occupying the far end. Taz was standing clear of it. The mech was a burning wreck, but so were the two hunter-killers. Taz had done a good job.
The tank drove up and made a grinding halt behind Taz, its powerful engines humming on high gear. "We need to climb back up the elevator if we'll get to Side level 14" Li-six said. "I can climb, your mecha cannot. Jump on!"
Last edited by Griatch on Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Siru rushed forward, leaping over the main cockpit seat and jumped in, he didn't bother with the main belts he leant forward and flicked a few of the main comm-link switches, bringing up the main screen in front of him. The craft was in excellent condition, it was funny to know the Striders had left such a ship behind, his guess was that the groups that did own these ones were still aboard, their orders un-changed. Siru leant up and pressed a few commands into the computer, finally bringing up the outside links of down on ground. He tried to flick into some of the main news channels, but there was nothing more then simmering static,
"Looks like satellites have been taken down too" he spoke out loud to himself, looking over the screen. He leant back and pressed his hand under his chin, still scanning over the different network channels. A stream of white light snapped across the screen for only a millisecond as he passed an open video channel. Siru straightened up and pressed both hands against the transparent computer keyboard. He looked across the screen and flickered a few channels back before it came upon that channel. It was distorted and blurry, switching as if there were two channels merging into one.
There in the center of the monitor was a man, dressed in light military armor, he held his hand against the comm-link to the side of his head and yelled into it. From behind dust and scatter plasma fire swooped in off the ground, it could be seen clearly that there was a battle on the ground behind the battlements he was hiding behind. Noise flickered in slightly as the man called out over the gusts of dust and wind,
"-yet the casualties, but by the looks of things it seems the rebelling strider forces are continuing to hold a dominant military hold on all locations across the main cityscape!" He lowered himself, the camera man moving down slightly as fire began to snap over their heads, but the reporter continued, even as they were under fire, "Word just in from outer cityscape defense, the strider push forward have taken all locations along the west border lines and are sweeping across every major city location! ... All sentry defense fortresses have hit ground... wait... no, Sentry 5 remains in higher location, above the clouds, though from reports it seems they are losing power!"
Siru leant back with his arms folded, "No kidding..."
"Siru! Get your ass out here, looks like the Striders have caught onto our plan!" Called the commander from the other side of the drop ship, fire beginning to pick up in the background.
Siru slowly leant up and flicked off the screen but in a second something else came on, a comm-link, the sound filling the cockpit speaker system,
"-- are sending in multiple drop ships! Carriers are pushing through the outer walls. Pick up main defenses and hold your damn positions!" Came the first voice, many others mixed well within the background, but one called out above the others,
"They just bypassed our global defense network! Hacking into all main computer systems, we can't stop them!"
Siru flicked it off too and nodded, "Everything’s going to hell out there... hold out guys, we're coming" with that said he turned back and slipped over the cockpit chair and moved on out through the small white corridor within the troop carrier. He passed up to the main quarters and pressed the keypad, the back doors opening up into the main small hanger. Strap seats just the same as the military design lined the two walls with long steel hangers above to fit at least three mech’s. The strider design drop ship could be seen as the larger ship between theirs and the military.
The marine ran back seeing the commander holding his position against the sidewall near the ramp leading down to the hanger bay. To the distance, close to the open doors they had arrived through, Strider marines began to set up a cover position, setting up mounted weapons,
"Delta better get here fast!" the commander growled as he watched them set up defenses, ready for the first strike...
---
"Come on you bastard!" Called Razu, holding the rifle in one hand, his pistol in the other, the room filled with a mix of red lights and green plasma fire, he pulled both triggers and continued fire into the monster, watching as it slowly turned its head as the plasma scorched its sleek alien hide. Razu wanted to grab its attention, pull it away from the others for them to pass with ease. He took a few steps back as it finally crept out of the elevator bay, stretching up until it touched the ceiling, its arms moving around, its tails swinging behind it in short swipes. The thing was a lot different then the ones they had just seen on ground, its cloak must have been worn out with the scanners when it came aboard the ship... but 'how' was the real question. Razu held out the plasma rifle, the blood of the marine who got torn apart dripping down his fingers, but he made no complaint as he railed shot after shot into the thing.
Senturo rushed forward, moving passed Kat and facing Balian, his gun still pointing out to the marine even as the large alien just behind him moved slowly towards Razu,
"Lower your gun Damnit! What the hell is this?!" Balian cried out, unsure of the situation,
Senturo tilted his head slightly, holding his gun firmly. He eyed Balian, his scanners were still playing up but from what he could see, this was a very different one then the last, his body was a lot more organic then machine. This Balian was no machine, more so a cyborg. Sen slowly lowered his gun slightly and turned his head back to the Dragoon,
"Back up into the elevator now!" He called back.
Balian backed off slightly, confused of Senturo's act of violence against him, what had happened to them? He didn't take time to notice that Kat was with them, instead he pulled the knocked out Reign against his side and ran back into the elevator they had just used, the doors were somewhat stuck in place... the power gone now. Senturo rose his gun to the Dragoon. He was a mere scout so he had no heavy weaponry this time, only the pistol that he had taken from the other Balian. He watched carefully as Razu brought himself back to the corner, the alien stepping up to him as if toying with him, its armor seemingly superior to their plasma weaponry.
Senturo then looked to his wrist remembering the strider network chip he had taken from the machine Balian. He quickly lowered his pistol and pulled out the chip, only to twist his head back slightly and show his neck. He reached across and snapped the chip into his thick bio-skin armor that showed under his armor. The chip snapped in and his eyes revealed the main screen, "If I can only dive just a short way..." He jumped into the Strider net... finding it odd that it was still completely online here.
The screen broke up as he hacked on in with ease. He seemed to stare at the wall as he did so, feeling out until he caught onto what he was looking for, "Looks like their battlenet was still operational within Sentry 5!" he laughed slightly, finding that the Strider way of organization in holding their own defenses stupid. He dropped in until; he got control of the very unit he could find within what was left.
Razu leapt across and felt the cold air sweep just above his head, the claws of the Dragoon crashing into the sidewall and tearing through the metal easily, ripping out cords and breaking open the other side. He slipped between its legs and rolled as one of its tails snapped down just barely missing his side. An explosion whipped across from the short distance of the hallway they had come. Razu scrambled to his feet as the alien made a move for them. But something snapped on through the hallway, just above their heads bullets of a mecha rail gun swept through and cracked into the Dragoons side. Blood spattered out as the thing faltered to turn towards the oncoming mech.
Senturo stood very still, his central mind had left his body...
The mech rushed through the hall, its gun railing bullet after the next until it ran smack into the alien. Its thick armor bashing into the hard exo-skeleton of the dragoon. The dragoon curled itself around the mecha as both snapped across the room and into the elevator it had come. The sides shook as they smashed into the elevator with a crack. Senturo rose his head and looked across to Razu and Kat,
"Lets go,” he said simply before turning and moving towards the elevator. Balian was already inside, pointing his gun to the ground and shooting a few shots into it. The service panel below smoked as he leant down and tore it open,
"Elevators are out, if we are going to get to side level 14, this is our only way" Balian spoke out as he kneeled and looked up to Senturo. Reign lay on his back, his wound had stopped bleeding for now, but just looking him over, Reign was in bad shape. He had already come back wounded, but now worse then before, yet he was still alive. Sen eyed Balian for a moment, he wanted to ask him about what of the others, if he knew something, but this was neither the time nor place to pick a fight. So he nodded,
"Ok, you take point, ill carry Reign down" Senturo answered in a calm and collect tone,
"I can't lock the doors to the other elevators, if we are going to get somewhere, we gotta move fast" spoke up Razu as he came in around the corner, Kat moving in with him, "That mech won't hold that bug back for too long, and its going to be pissed!"
Senturo looked across to Kat and then down the service hole, a ladder leading down with cables spread around, "Ok, lets go then"
Balian was first, sitting down and dangling down until he pressed down onto the ladder, it was then he looked up as he slowly began to climb down seeing Kat was with them, that wolf over her shoulders, he tilted his head as he lowered down and finally into the dark elevator shaft. The only lights that blinked on and off were the red emergency lighting systems, flashing red for a few seconds before going completely dark. He leant up and flicked on his side armor light, the torch shining through the dust that flowed down through the shaft. Razu slowly began to slide down, looking down and seeing the bottom quite the distance down,
"Side level 14 is about seven levels below here, then all we need to do is take the right hall and into secondary docking bays, should be easy" He spoke up before seeing Kat drop down into the shaft. She only touched the ladder once with one hand before bounding off and touching the side of the shaft, her claws digging in. Balian watched as she hopped from wall to wall to keep her balance, moving down faster then them. He shook his head before seeing Senturo do the same thing, though he just dropped down, not using the walls.
Sen reached out with one arm, Reign held over his shoulder with the other. He came to the right level they were supposed to his hand snapping into the side of the shaft and bounding off of it before touching the closed doorway. He pressed up against it, finding it quite hard to keep balance while holding Reign there, but there was enough room to keep his feet in place. Kat dropped down just the same pressing up against the doorway with wolf still curled up over her shoulders. Senturo moved forward and slipped his fingers against the groove in the door, pushing in and bending against the metal. He strained under his armor; his arm pulsing up as his bio organic muscles took their time to warm up.
He reached out and pulled one door away, the hard metal turning and moving with his grip. Smoke began to pour through as the door opened, leading out and into the shaft. The crackling of fire could be heard on the other side.
Senturo poked his head in and looked across, the smaller elevator room led into two long hallways, medical beds and such scattered along the sides. This was the main medical center, the captain secondary docking bays were for two uses, of course shipping in the wounded and such into the main medical centers, but it was also used to drop in commanders and captains secretly. Sen turned back and looked up the shaft, "Speed it up guys!" With his words there was a loud crash from above...
Razu looked up and saw the elevator they had come down from shudder, the Dragoon that they thought was under constraint moving around within its shape. He looked down to Balian below and saw that he was quite shaken from knowing the thing was above, "Oh he is pissed!" Razu spoke out before watching with wide eyes as the elevator began to move, "This is not a good thing..." he sighed before letting go of the ladder to grip the sides, "go go go!" he called out as Balian did the same moving down faster as they slid down the cold metal ladder sides. Balian dropped down further before watching as Razu jumped out, landing just between Sen and Kat turning back and looking to Balian, he was still cautious, though if Sen had left him... he couldn't be the bad guy here.
Balian reached across and lifted himself up onto the ledge as the elevator swept down passed them and rushed into the lower levels.
Senturo turned and moved out into the room and towards one of the halls, Reign still over his shoulder,
"Come on, we have five minutes before the commander leaves us behind!" he called back as the others followed, Balian keeping his distance from Kat, staying on one side of Razu to keep them split up...
---
"Status is we are having a nice barbeque here... would be nice if you could join in…. HK's are dust, and whom do we have to thank today? Only--" the link was shut off quickly from Li-six's side before he could finish, "Heey!” He stood crouched over the messed up HK droid, examining its crushed skull and picking out small parts from the eye sockets. He reached across and rubbed his fist, the metal in his bio-droid arm humming slightly with displeasure. The HK outer armor was tough, though he had pushed them around enough to make it slightly weaker, though even after that their armor was hellish to break through. He slowly leant up and turned back to his mecha, smoke rising from its form lightly,
"Oh come on, stop that shit!" He cursed, looking it over, angry at its overheating systems, "You gotta be at least a little designed for close combat?"
The mech’s right arm suddenly snapped off with cords and flame, breaking away before crashing into the ground with a puff of black smoke and sparks. Taz stomped his foot and glared at the thing, "What? What the hell did I do? I only moved around like a normal marine would!" The thing hissed and cooked from the inside, its heating systems far from cooling down, smoke rising from within the cockpit now. Taz slowly began to approach it,
"Aww, please, don't do this to me!" he growled before watching the thing suddenly catch on fire, the flames burning bright and lighting up the red lit hallway. It flickered up and cracked, sparks running through the controls, "Fine! Just sit there and burn!" The coolant tank in the back suddenly snapped open and blasted open with a small explosion making Taz jump back a step. He shook his head and threw his hands down at the mech in disgust, "Worthless piece of crap!" By then Li-six was already on her way down the hall, with only one Tech on her side this time.
He didn't have time to ask any reason to it, only seeing how huddled up the other tech was on her armor, "Shit hey?" he questioned before nodding and looking up to Li-six as she moved up. He reached up and lifted himself up onto her armor, a spot away from the tech, he looked across to the mech he just had to abandon before she was on her way again, moving down the hall, having just enough room to pass by the burning wreak. They moved on towards the elevator,
"Mission failed huh? What the hell happened back there... I thought I heard plasma shots being fired,” He asked as they approached the elevator,
"It was a marine... bypassed the security network as if it wasn't even there..." The tech spoke up, his voice a little shaken still,
"What?" Taz asked, he was not the best for knowing technical termology these techs used, but he knew hacking a Sentry security network was not easy,
"He knew the codes even before the defense node was taken down... It's as if the central ground command was simply feeding him the network keys!" the tech looked up, "But why?! Why would they waste their time to open it using the sentry network?! Couldn't they have just used command, or central on the ground? Why kill so many just so they can use Sentry?" he spoke up, his mind mixed with different thoughts now,
"Man I don't know" Taz answered looking at the tech with a strange glare, "If you're gonna take over something, perhaps taking out the fortresses and the global network out at the same time was a smart move?"
---
"Sir! If we don't take off now, we are going no where!" screamed out Krass, moving back onto the ramp of the ship, holding out his rifle and blasting shots into the moving Strider groups. The commander, along with both Bo and Toema held positions at the end of the drop ship ramp, supply crates gathered and spread around the entry point for cover. Scatter fire ripple up against the ship, bouncing off its armor, burning its shape slightly, "If we keep taking fire, we are not going to be able to take off!"
The commander turned up as the others fired around him, "Get back down here soldier and fight! Or god held me you are going to be locked up once we get out of here damnit!"
Krass took another few steps back, shots whipping past him, "Fuck this!" he called back as he ran back into the ship to take cover from the attacks,
"Tipae! Don't let Krass get anywhere near the ship controls, he's got damn cold feet the bastard!" The commander turned back and shot a few blasts into the moving striders hiding behind the other side of the drop bay. Their side consisted of more supply crates and the other side of blast screens. They had the numbers, but the marine group had the perfect position, though their group was stretched thin. Smoke rose from the side of one of the other drop ships, its engines broken with straight on firing from the Striders. The commander and the others continued their fire to stop them from doing the same to their drop ship.
Bo looked across and pushed his squad link up as Siru spoke up over the link, "I’m in position"
The commander caught onto the link and turned, "Good work soldier, see if you can open these blast doors so we don't have to hack through the ship controls!"
"Got it!" with those words said, the commander and the others watched from the other side as Siru suddenly dropped from an air duct above one of the blast glass rooms, landing atop one of the small Strider marine groups. He spun around and snapped into the thing with delight, his blade whipping across each one and pulling out their armor with ease. Smoke rose up and he leapt and side kicked the last one out of the door before reaching forward and locking himself within the room. The striders on the other side of the glass had no choice but to continue firing towards the commander, two of their marines moving up to the door and attempting to unlock it, "Give me a couple of moments" Siru spoke up with a heavy breath over the link.
Senturo pushed through a double mounted doorway to see the lights of the Strider fire down the last hallway, leading into the docking area,
"Looks like we are here" he spoke up, turning around to the others and nodding, "Lets keep going, perhaps the commander needs our help" he turned and moved, with nothing holding him back, holding one pistol in his hand, the other showing his close combat blade sliding out of its spot. Balian ran behind them all, his gun held tightly in his hands as he followed. Razu kept a close eye on him, holding his bloodied rifle close to his chest; he could hear the blast fire and loud voices up ahead, clearly noting that it was indeed a commander,
"This should get interesting..." he jested slightly, shaking his head as they approached the opening, not knowing that they were about to run into a whole lot of Strider marine groups…
"Looks like satellites have been taken down too" he spoke out loud to himself, looking over the screen. He leant back and pressed his hand under his chin, still scanning over the different network channels. A stream of white light snapped across the screen for only a millisecond as he passed an open video channel. Siru straightened up and pressed both hands against the transparent computer keyboard. He looked across the screen and flickered a few channels back before it came upon that channel. It was distorted and blurry, switching as if there were two channels merging into one.
There in the center of the monitor was a man, dressed in light military armor, he held his hand against the comm-link to the side of his head and yelled into it. From behind dust and scatter plasma fire swooped in off the ground, it could be seen clearly that there was a battle on the ground behind the battlements he was hiding behind. Noise flickered in slightly as the man called out over the gusts of dust and wind,
"-yet the casualties, but by the looks of things it seems the rebelling strider forces are continuing to hold a dominant military hold on all locations across the main cityscape!" He lowered himself, the camera man moving down slightly as fire began to snap over their heads, but the reporter continued, even as they were under fire, "Word just in from outer cityscape defense, the strider push forward have taken all locations along the west border lines and are sweeping across every major city location! ... All sentry defense fortresses have hit ground... wait... no, Sentry 5 remains in higher location, above the clouds, though from reports it seems they are losing power!"
Siru leant back with his arms folded, "No kidding..."
"Siru! Get your ass out here, looks like the Striders have caught onto our plan!" Called the commander from the other side of the drop ship, fire beginning to pick up in the background.
Siru slowly leant up and flicked off the screen but in a second something else came on, a comm-link, the sound filling the cockpit speaker system,
"-- are sending in multiple drop ships! Carriers are pushing through the outer walls. Pick up main defenses and hold your damn positions!" Came the first voice, many others mixed well within the background, but one called out above the others,
"They just bypassed our global defense network! Hacking into all main computer systems, we can't stop them!"
Siru flicked it off too and nodded, "Everything’s going to hell out there... hold out guys, we're coming" with that said he turned back and slipped over the cockpit chair and moved on out through the small white corridor within the troop carrier. He passed up to the main quarters and pressed the keypad, the back doors opening up into the main small hanger. Strap seats just the same as the military design lined the two walls with long steel hangers above to fit at least three mech’s. The strider design drop ship could be seen as the larger ship between theirs and the military.
The marine ran back seeing the commander holding his position against the sidewall near the ramp leading down to the hanger bay. To the distance, close to the open doors they had arrived through, Strider marines began to set up a cover position, setting up mounted weapons,
"Delta better get here fast!" the commander growled as he watched them set up defenses, ready for the first strike...
---
"Come on you bastard!" Called Razu, holding the rifle in one hand, his pistol in the other, the room filled with a mix of red lights and green plasma fire, he pulled both triggers and continued fire into the monster, watching as it slowly turned its head as the plasma scorched its sleek alien hide. Razu wanted to grab its attention, pull it away from the others for them to pass with ease. He took a few steps back as it finally crept out of the elevator bay, stretching up until it touched the ceiling, its arms moving around, its tails swinging behind it in short swipes. The thing was a lot different then the ones they had just seen on ground, its cloak must have been worn out with the scanners when it came aboard the ship... but 'how' was the real question. Razu held out the plasma rifle, the blood of the marine who got torn apart dripping down his fingers, but he made no complaint as he railed shot after shot into the thing.
Senturo rushed forward, moving passed Kat and facing Balian, his gun still pointing out to the marine even as the large alien just behind him moved slowly towards Razu,
"Lower your gun Damnit! What the hell is this?!" Balian cried out, unsure of the situation,
Senturo tilted his head slightly, holding his gun firmly. He eyed Balian, his scanners were still playing up but from what he could see, this was a very different one then the last, his body was a lot more organic then machine. This Balian was no machine, more so a cyborg. Sen slowly lowered his gun slightly and turned his head back to the Dragoon,
"Back up into the elevator now!" He called back.
Balian backed off slightly, confused of Senturo's act of violence against him, what had happened to them? He didn't take time to notice that Kat was with them, instead he pulled the knocked out Reign against his side and ran back into the elevator they had just used, the doors were somewhat stuck in place... the power gone now. Senturo rose his gun to the Dragoon. He was a mere scout so he had no heavy weaponry this time, only the pistol that he had taken from the other Balian. He watched carefully as Razu brought himself back to the corner, the alien stepping up to him as if toying with him, its armor seemingly superior to their plasma weaponry.
Senturo then looked to his wrist remembering the strider network chip he had taken from the machine Balian. He quickly lowered his pistol and pulled out the chip, only to twist his head back slightly and show his neck. He reached across and snapped the chip into his thick bio-skin armor that showed under his armor. The chip snapped in and his eyes revealed the main screen, "If I can only dive just a short way..." He jumped into the Strider net... finding it odd that it was still completely online here.
The screen broke up as he hacked on in with ease. He seemed to stare at the wall as he did so, feeling out until he caught onto what he was looking for, "Looks like their battlenet was still operational within Sentry 5!" he laughed slightly, finding that the Strider way of organization in holding their own defenses stupid. He dropped in until; he got control of the very unit he could find within what was left.
Razu leapt across and felt the cold air sweep just above his head, the claws of the Dragoon crashing into the sidewall and tearing through the metal easily, ripping out cords and breaking open the other side. He slipped between its legs and rolled as one of its tails snapped down just barely missing his side. An explosion whipped across from the short distance of the hallway they had come. Razu scrambled to his feet as the alien made a move for them. But something snapped on through the hallway, just above their heads bullets of a mecha rail gun swept through and cracked into the Dragoons side. Blood spattered out as the thing faltered to turn towards the oncoming mech.
Senturo stood very still, his central mind had left his body...
The mech rushed through the hall, its gun railing bullet after the next until it ran smack into the alien. Its thick armor bashing into the hard exo-skeleton of the dragoon. The dragoon curled itself around the mecha as both snapped across the room and into the elevator it had come. The sides shook as they smashed into the elevator with a crack. Senturo rose his head and looked across to Razu and Kat,
"Lets go,” he said simply before turning and moving towards the elevator. Balian was already inside, pointing his gun to the ground and shooting a few shots into it. The service panel below smoked as he leant down and tore it open,
"Elevators are out, if we are going to get to side level 14, this is our only way" Balian spoke out as he kneeled and looked up to Senturo. Reign lay on his back, his wound had stopped bleeding for now, but just looking him over, Reign was in bad shape. He had already come back wounded, but now worse then before, yet he was still alive. Sen eyed Balian for a moment, he wanted to ask him about what of the others, if he knew something, but this was neither the time nor place to pick a fight. So he nodded,
"Ok, you take point, ill carry Reign down" Senturo answered in a calm and collect tone,
"I can't lock the doors to the other elevators, if we are going to get somewhere, we gotta move fast" spoke up Razu as he came in around the corner, Kat moving in with him, "That mech won't hold that bug back for too long, and its going to be pissed!"
Senturo looked across to Kat and then down the service hole, a ladder leading down with cables spread around, "Ok, lets go then"
Balian was first, sitting down and dangling down until he pressed down onto the ladder, it was then he looked up as he slowly began to climb down seeing Kat was with them, that wolf over her shoulders, he tilted his head as he lowered down and finally into the dark elevator shaft. The only lights that blinked on and off were the red emergency lighting systems, flashing red for a few seconds before going completely dark. He leant up and flicked on his side armor light, the torch shining through the dust that flowed down through the shaft. Razu slowly began to slide down, looking down and seeing the bottom quite the distance down,
"Side level 14 is about seven levels below here, then all we need to do is take the right hall and into secondary docking bays, should be easy" He spoke up before seeing Kat drop down into the shaft. She only touched the ladder once with one hand before bounding off and touching the side of the shaft, her claws digging in. Balian watched as she hopped from wall to wall to keep her balance, moving down faster then them. He shook his head before seeing Senturo do the same thing, though he just dropped down, not using the walls.
Sen reached out with one arm, Reign held over his shoulder with the other. He came to the right level they were supposed to his hand snapping into the side of the shaft and bounding off of it before touching the closed doorway. He pressed up against it, finding it quite hard to keep balance while holding Reign there, but there was enough room to keep his feet in place. Kat dropped down just the same pressing up against the doorway with wolf still curled up over her shoulders. Senturo moved forward and slipped his fingers against the groove in the door, pushing in and bending against the metal. He strained under his armor; his arm pulsing up as his bio organic muscles took their time to warm up.
He reached out and pulled one door away, the hard metal turning and moving with his grip. Smoke began to pour through as the door opened, leading out and into the shaft. The crackling of fire could be heard on the other side.
Senturo poked his head in and looked across, the smaller elevator room led into two long hallways, medical beds and such scattered along the sides. This was the main medical center, the captain secondary docking bays were for two uses, of course shipping in the wounded and such into the main medical centers, but it was also used to drop in commanders and captains secretly. Sen turned back and looked up the shaft, "Speed it up guys!" With his words there was a loud crash from above...
Razu looked up and saw the elevator they had come down from shudder, the Dragoon that they thought was under constraint moving around within its shape. He looked down to Balian below and saw that he was quite shaken from knowing the thing was above, "Oh he is pissed!" Razu spoke out before watching with wide eyes as the elevator began to move, "This is not a good thing..." he sighed before letting go of the ladder to grip the sides, "go go go!" he called out as Balian did the same moving down faster as they slid down the cold metal ladder sides. Balian dropped down further before watching as Razu jumped out, landing just between Sen and Kat turning back and looking to Balian, he was still cautious, though if Sen had left him... he couldn't be the bad guy here.
Balian reached across and lifted himself up onto the ledge as the elevator swept down passed them and rushed into the lower levels.
Senturo turned and moved out into the room and towards one of the halls, Reign still over his shoulder,
"Come on, we have five minutes before the commander leaves us behind!" he called back as the others followed, Balian keeping his distance from Kat, staying on one side of Razu to keep them split up...
---
"Status is we are having a nice barbeque here... would be nice if you could join in…. HK's are dust, and whom do we have to thank today? Only--" the link was shut off quickly from Li-six's side before he could finish, "Heey!” He stood crouched over the messed up HK droid, examining its crushed skull and picking out small parts from the eye sockets. He reached across and rubbed his fist, the metal in his bio-droid arm humming slightly with displeasure. The HK outer armor was tough, though he had pushed them around enough to make it slightly weaker, though even after that their armor was hellish to break through. He slowly leant up and turned back to his mecha, smoke rising from its form lightly,
"Oh come on, stop that shit!" He cursed, looking it over, angry at its overheating systems, "You gotta be at least a little designed for close combat?"
The mech’s right arm suddenly snapped off with cords and flame, breaking away before crashing into the ground with a puff of black smoke and sparks. Taz stomped his foot and glared at the thing, "What? What the hell did I do? I only moved around like a normal marine would!" The thing hissed and cooked from the inside, its heating systems far from cooling down, smoke rising from within the cockpit now. Taz slowly began to approach it,
"Aww, please, don't do this to me!" he growled before watching the thing suddenly catch on fire, the flames burning bright and lighting up the red lit hallway. It flickered up and cracked, sparks running through the controls, "Fine! Just sit there and burn!" The coolant tank in the back suddenly snapped open and blasted open with a small explosion making Taz jump back a step. He shook his head and threw his hands down at the mech in disgust, "Worthless piece of crap!" By then Li-six was already on her way down the hall, with only one Tech on her side this time.
He didn't have time to ask any reason to it, only seeing how huddled up the other tech was on her armor, "Shit hey?" he questioned before nodding and looking up to Li-six as she moved up. He reached up and lifted himself up onto her armor, a spot away from the tech, he looked across to the mech he just had to abandon before she was on her way again, moving down the hall, having just enough room to pass by the burning wreak. They moved on towards the elevator,
"Mission failed huh? What the hell happened back there... I thought I heard plasma shots being fired,” He asked as they approached the elevator,
"It was a marine... bypassed the security network as if it wasn't even there..." The tech spoke up, his voice a little shaken still,
"What?" Taz asked, he was not the best for knowing technical termology these techs used, but he knew hacking a Sentry security network was not easy,
"He knew the codes even before the defense node was taken down... It's as if the central ground command was simply feeding him the network keys!" the tech looked up, "But why?! Why would they waste their time to open it using the sentry network?! Couldn't they have just used command, or central on the ground? Why kill so many just so they can use Sentry?" he spoke up, his mind mixed with different thoughts now,
"Man I don't know" Taz answered looking at the tech with a strange glare, "If you're gonna take over something, perhaps taking out the fortresses and the global network out at the same time was a smart move?"
---
"Sir! If we don't take off now, we are going no where!" screamed out Krass, moving back onto the ramp of the ship, holding out his rifle and blasting shots into the moving Strider groups. The commander, along with both Bo and Toema held positions at the end of the drop ship ramp, supply crates gathered and spread around the entry point for cover. Scatter fire ripple up against the ship, bouncing off its armor, burning its shape slightly, "If we keep taking fire, we are not going to be able to take off!"
The commander turned up as the others fired around him, "Get back down here soldier and fight! Or god held me you are going to be locked up once we get out of here damnit!"
Krass took another few steps back, shots whipping past him, "Fuck this!" he called back as he ran back into the ship to take cover from the attacks,
"Tipae! Don't let Krass get anywhere near the ship controls, he's got damn cold feet the bastard!" The commander turned back and shot a few blasts into the moving striders hiding behind the other side of the drop bay. Their side consisted of more supply crates and the other side of blast screens. They had the numbers, but the marine group had the perfect position, though their group was stretched thin. Smoke rose from the side of one of the other drop ships, its engines broken with straight on firing from the Striders. The commander and the others continued their fire to stop them from doing the same to their drop ship.
Bo looked across and pushed his squad link up as Siru spoke up over the link, "I’m in position"
The commander caught onto the link and turned, "Good work soldier, see if you can open these blast doors so we don't have to hack through the ship controls!"
"Got it!" with those words said, the commander and the others watched from the other side as Siru suddenly dropped from an air duct above one of the blast glass rooms, landing atop one of the small Strider marine groups. He spun around and snapped into the thing with delight, his blade whipping across each one and pulling out their armor with ease. Smoke rose up and he leapt and side kicked the last one out of the door before reaching forward and locking himself within the room. The striders on the other side of the glass had no choice but to continue firing towards the commander, two of their marines moving up to the door and attempting to unlock it, "Give me a couple of moments" Siru spoke up with a heavy breath over the link.
Senturo pushed through a double mounted doorway to see the lights of the Strider fire down the last hallway, leading into the docking area,
"Looks like we are here" he spoke up, turning around to the others and nodding, "Lets keep going, perhaps the commander needs our help" he turned and moved, with nothing holding him back, holding one pistol in his hand, the other showing his close combat blade sliding out of its spot. Balian ran behind them all, his gun held tightly in his hands as he followed. Razu kept a close eye on him, holding his bloodied rifle close to his chest; he could hear the blast fire and loud voices up ahead, clearly noting that it was indeed a commander,
"This should get interesting..." he jested slightly, shaking his head as they approached the opening, not knowing that they were about to run into a whole lot of Strider marine groups…
~
The Dragoon was a messed up creature and Kat didn't really pay much attention to it. Instead she remained still, allowing it's attention to focus on Razu, who was shooting the damn thing. Her eyes had finally caught Balian and a low growled moved through her mind. How was it that he was just shot? She'd have to find out when she could figure out a way to get closer to him. Robo Cop at first had seen hostile towards him, she didn't care. She adjusted Wolf on her back and waited, watching with cool eyes.
Once the creature was pinned she moved and followed Razu to the elevator. Humans and their ladders. She thought as she just took a leap down into the shaft. Digging her claws into the faults and grooves of the walls. Joining Senturo she waited for him to check if the way was clear. Looking up to see Balian and Razu still moving. Too slow. She snarled. Though she found it rather funny as the scent of fear came from the Balian guy when the creature started to move around up there again. A lupine grin crossed her features as all of them entered the hallway; Kathryn saw as Balian moved away from her. Now was the best chance she had.
She side-stepped Razu and walked up behind Balian in the same moment, sticking her nose right by his neck. Her cold nose sniffing at him, long teeth only a short way away from soft flesh. Her hot breath heating and causing his skin to become moist with her breathing. She sniffed him a few more times, leaning up closer and tilting her head up, her teeth passing by his eyes before she stepped back and moved around Razu, looking up at Senturo. ~He's not like the last one. The last one had a jumble of scents like you did, Robo Cop. This one is human... and stinks of fear.~ She gave him a cold glance over her shoulder, licking her long teeth at him and then continued walking on, holding onto Wolf as she moved.
The sound of gun fire hit her ears long before they saw signs of it, but when they did, Kat paused for a moment, turning and looking to Wolf on her shoulders. He couldn't get hurt. Yet once there was visible evidence of it, Kat knew if she was going to get Wolf somewhere safe before helping the others, she'd have to have the element of surprise. When Senturo and Razu started running, Kat started off at a jog, but slowly picked up until she leaned her body down with Wolf over her shoulders, her legs pumping hard and her claws clicking against the metal floor.
The wolf-girl passed up Razu easily and she slowly moved up next to Senturo, not even looking at him she quickly told him what she was up to. ~If there's a ship ahead I have to get through all that gun fire to get Wolf on board before I can help you.~ Kat gave Senturo a quick glance out of the side of her eyes. ~In order to do that safely I have to go first. I can't promise I won't get hurt.~ There was a wolfish grin that moved across her face adding to a flash of blood-lust. ~But I can promise you the other guys'll be even worse.~ Kat didn't wait anymore, she leapt forward and raced ahead of the group, her legs moving swiftly even with Wolf on her back.
The young moon-child suddenly burst through the opening of the hallway into the battle area. Moving she took a leap up and used a Strider to give her the distance into the air she needed, her claws ripping into his shoulders. She didn't have enough energy to make the leap a single one. Twice more she had to land on the ground, dodging through the Strider units, clawing and ripping at them with her teeth and legs when she needed to, moving and dodging until she made a final jump, flipping through the air, landing once with one hand poised on a Strider's head, Wolf held onto her shoulders by one hand. Swiftly pumping her arm she moved herself up once more and landed next to the Strider Drop ship. Kathryn landed within the loop of supply crates next to another military official. Calmly she moved past him, not making any move to attack him. Not caring if he shot her in the back, nor if the other marine did either. Quickly she moved up inside of the drop ship and found a safe corner to hide Wolf in, hidden under an outcropping of computer gizmos.
Kat could smell and hear the other humans in the ship, but she pulled off her hoodie and placed it over Wolf's body, turning around she held up her hands. ~I'm with Senturo and Razu.~ She said, using the two marine's names for the first time. ~But if you touch Wolf, I'll have no qualms on killing all of you.~ The girl's wolf like head snapped to the opening of the Drop Ship as she heard a shout and then turned back. ~In the mean time I'm going to go out and help your friends. Since you all seem so brave as to stick it out here in the ship.~ Kathryn moved down and out of the Drop Ship once more and slowly slipped down, lower to the ground, creeping up closer to the supply crates. A low growl pronounced where she was to the other two military personal. ~Just a day in the neighborhood as it would seem.~ She said before she leapt out into the malay.
The girl built up as much muscle and strength as she could, knowing full well the next chance they get to stop she'd be out like a light. Walking up to the Striders, bullets snapped into her body as plasma blasts bit into her arms and legs. Blood dripped down from her form but she didn't care. The first strider she came up to was aiming his gun at him, whether it was plasma or a normal rifle she didn't care. He was too slow. Kat slammed into him, forming her hand into a wedge she suddenly pulled the strider down, making him bend over and slashed her hand up and through his chest. Growling, Kat forced her arm up further and then pulled back, ripping out wires and circuitry. To make sure the thing was dead she kept her hand flat and then karate style, hit it against the robot's neck, snapping it off at the base.
Kathryn cracked her knuckles and looked on to the other Striders, a reckless grin on her face as she started to walk forwards. Snapping her arms, legs hands feet, even her jaws into any Strider that came near. Eyes flashing and a long lupine grin on her face, oil dripping from her open maw.
She laughed out loud as she caught one Strider by the back of the neck, the pressure of her hand slowly starting to tighten and tighten as the metal gave way to her grip. ~Let's start a riot.~ She growled, almost playfully, as the Strider's neck pinched. Sparks flew as the Strider's head fell off, it's eyes bouncing out of it's sockets. Kat stood there, looking around as light burned in her eyes, tilting her head back and howling long and deep then turning and moving onto her next victim.
~Hmmm, it seems I'm getting away with murder.~
Once the creature was pinned she moved and followed Razu to the elevator. Humans and their ladders. She thought as she just took a leap down into the shaft. Digging her claws into the faults and grooves of the walls. Joining Senturo she waited for him to check if the way was clear. Looking up to see Balian and Razu still moving. Too slow. She snarled. Though she found it rather funny as the scent of fear came from the Balian guy when the creature started to move around up there again. A lupine grin crossed her features as all of them entered the hallway; Kathryn saw as Balian moved away from her. Now was the best chance she had.
She side-stepped Razu and walked up behind Balian in the same moment, sticking her nose right by his neck. Her cold nose sniffing at him, long teeth only a short way away from soft flesh. Her hot breath heating and causing his skin to become moist with her breathing. She sniffed him a few more times, leaning up closer and tilting her head up, her teeth passing by his eyes before she stepped back and moved around Razu, looking up at Senturo. ~He's not like the last one. The last one had a jumble of scents like you did, Robo Cop. This one is human... and stinks of fear.~ She gave him a cold glance over her shoulder, licking her long teeth at him and then continued walking on, holding onto Wolf as she moved.
The sound of gun fire hit her ears long before they saw signs of it, but when they did, Kat paused for a moment, turning and looking to Wolf on her shoulders. He couldn't get hurt. Yet once there was visible evidence of it, Kat knew if she was going to get Wolf somewhere safe before helping the others, she'd have to have the element of surprise. When Senturo and Razu started running, Kat started off at a jog, but slowly picked up until she leaned her body down with Wolf over her shoulders, her legs pumping hard and her claws clicking against the metal floor.
The wolf-girl passed up Razu easily and she slowly moved up next to Senturo, not even looking at him she quickly told him what she was up to. ~If there's a ship ahead I have to get through all that gun fire to get Wolf on board before I can help you.~ Kat gave Senturo a quick glance out of the side of her eyes. ~In order to do that safely I have to go first. I can't promise I won't get hurt.~ There was a wolfish grin that moved across her face adding to a flash of blood-lust. ~But I can promise you the other guys'll be even worse.~ Kat didn't wait anymore, she leapt forward and raced ahead of the group, her legs moving swiftly even with Wolf on her back.
The young moon-child suddenly burst through the opening of the hallway into the battle area. Moving she took a leap up and used a Strider to give her the distance into the air she needed, her claws ripping into his shoulders. She didn't have enough energy to make the leap a single one. Twice more she had to land on the ground, dodging through the Strider units, clawing and ripping at them with her teeth and legs when she needed to, moving and dodging until she made a final jump, flipping through the air, landing once with one hand poised on a Strider's head, Wolf held onto her shoulders by one hand. Swiftly pumping her arm she moved herself up once more and landed next to the Strider Drop ship. Kathryn landed within the loop of supply crates next to another military official. Calmly she moved past him, not making any move to attack him. Not caring if he shot her in the back, nor if the other marine did either. Quickly she moved up inside of the drop ship and found a safe corner to hide Wolf in, hidden under an outcropping of computer gizmos.
Kat could smell and hear the other humans in the ship, but she pulled off her hoodie and placed it over Wolf's body, turning around she held up her hands. ~I'm with Senturo and Razu.~ She said, using the two marine's names for the first time. ~But if you touch Wolf, I'll have no qualms on killing all of you.~ The girl's wolf like head snapped to the opening of the Drop Ship as she heard a shout and then turned back. ~In the mean time I'm going to go out and help your friends. Since you all seem so brave as to stick it out here in the ship.~ Kathryn moved down and out of the Drop Ship once more and slowly slipped down, lower to the ground, creeping up closer to the supply crates. A low growl pronounced where she was to the other two military personal. ~Just a day in the neighborhood as it would seem.~ She said before she leapt out into the malay.
The girl built up as much muscle and strength as she could, knowing full well the next chance they get to stop she'd be out like a light. Walking up to the Striders, bullets snapped into her body as plasma blasts bit into her arms and legs. Blood dripped down from her form but she didn't care. The first strider she came up to was aiming his gun at him, whether it was plasma or a normal rifle she didn't care. He was too slow. Kat slammed into him, forming her hand into a wedge she suddenly pulled the strider down, making him bend over and slashed her hand up and through his chest. Growling, Kat forced her arm up further and then pulled back, ripping out wires and circuitry. To make sure the thing was dead she kept her hand flat and then karate style, hit it against the robot's neck, snapping it off at the base.
Kathryn cracked her knuckles and looked on to the other Striders, a reckless grin on her face as she started to walk forwards. Snapping her arms, legs hands feet, even her jaws into any Strider that came near. Eyes flashing and a long lupine grin on her face, oil dripping from her open maw.
She laughed out loud as she caught one Strider by the back of the neck, the pressure of her hand slowly starting to tighten and tighten as the metal gave way to her grip. ~Let's start a riot.~ She growled, almost playfully, as the Strider's neck pinched. Sparks flew as the Strider's head fell off, it's eyes bouncing out of it's sockets. Kat stood there, looking around as light burned in her eyes, tilting her head back and howling long and deep then turning and moving onto her next victim.
~Hmmm, it seems I'm getting away with murder.~
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
With Taz safely hanging onto her back, Li six lifted herself off the ground on her eight legs and stepped past the burning mecha into the elevator shaft they had come down in just ten minutes earler. The tank's frong legs extracted its grappling claws and the giant spider walked on vertically upwards.
"Hang on" Li-six said tonelessly. Taz and the mech, sitting on the back of the tank, suddenly found themselves hanging straight down. Taz had of course no problem hanging on, but it turned out also the tech was biomechanically strong enough to handle it without much effort. Li-six made no effort to be stealthy. Her leg claws attached and dug into the metal of the shaft with deafening strides that echoed in the enclosed space.
"It was Balian" Li-six said over the comm link. It was too noisy to talk normally. "Did you know he was a strider robot? He shut off after taking out the reactor. Our tech friend here is right. That thing had complete access to the system. I would kill for that kind of inside information."
"He -- he must have been compromised by the enemy." The tech said, obviously fighting not to look down. "Like we discussed on the way down. This is not a coup d'état, it's a regular attack! They were after the node network all the time." He glanced at Taz. "You could be right. Just taking out it all at the same time. Gods, this cannot be happening. With the network down, the human civilisation is doomed too. Striders rampaging up here, Dragoons waiting below. We're dead! Earth is lost!"
"We're not dead yet" the tank said cooly. Humans. So quick to despair. Unfortunately he was right. She wasn't very optimistic about their chances if the network was lost. How would mankind ever mount a coordinated defence without it? Grimly they continued to ascend in silence.
The microscopic antenna units she had spread out on the way down was beginning to feed her their collected data as she got back into range. It didn't look good. There was fighting going on on level 14. And plenty of it. Plasma weapons, and heavier stuff too. Then again, what did that marine expect when he told everyone to go there over an open link?
"We're coming up on level 14" Li-six said after a long silence. "It's not far to the docking bay, but I'm picking up multiple weapons being discharged up there. This ship is going down, so we have no time to be subtle about this. Soldier-boy, you keep next to me, but you have to protect the tech..."
"Jamesson" the tech said. "My name is Jamesson. Pete Jamesson."
"... Right. Taz -- Protect Jamesson. Get the biggest gun you can pick up and just get to that ship. Jamesson, you stick to Taz. We'll be going planetside and the skills of a cybertech will be invaluable down there. We don't want to loose you too. Try to stay behind me, both of you, but if we split up you go with him, understand."
Jamesson gulped, but his voice was steady. "Okay."
The think tank tore up the elevator doors they had stopped at and literally jumped into the corridor like the spider it was. They were coming out in the same elevator hall as the others had, just a few minutes earlier, left behind, but they came up a different elvator shaft. In the distance an explosion was heard and Li-six' sensors comfirmed what she already knew -- there was a war going on in the docking bay. She let off Taz and Jamesson just as one of the other elevators, dozens of meters away seemed to literally explode outwards.
A large head appeard in the dark opening, then the massive Dragoon warrior lunged into the hall. Its armour was torn (from wrestling with Senturo's remote-controlled mecha, even if they didn't know it), but its movements didn't seem to be hindered in the least by this. The alien swung around, realizing it was not alone.
And was staring into Li-six' gun barrels. "Oh yes." the tank said with joyful glee as her hated friend-or-foe system finally had to admit that this was an enemy and her targetting scanners locked onto the Dragoon with seldomly felt satisfaction. "Come to mama!"
The Dragoon started to move. That was as far as it got before the hall silently exploded in white maser fire as Li-six lovingly discharged all her guns into the creature at optimal range. The creature heaved for a moment, frozen and already dead in mid-air, as it boiled from the inside out. Then it exploded like a ripe fruit, boiling intestants splattering the walls and floor behind it. The armour that had enclosed it fell rattling to the floor in a messy goo.
Taz was already pulling the tech away from the sight, heading for the corridor to the docking bays. Li six fired a few more shots into the carcass, just for the sake of it. "Now that's more like it!" she shouted in grim satisfaction.
Later, Li-six would look back at this moment and conclude that her AI had probably had been more affected by her long isolation down in the badlands than she really had admitted to herself.
"Hang on" Li-six said tonelessly. Taz and the mech, sitting on the back of the tank, suddenly found themselves hanging straight down. Taz had of course no problem hanging on, but it turned out also the tech was biomechanically strong enough to handle it without much effort. Li-six made no effort to be stealthy. Her leg claws attached and dug into the metal of the shaft with deafening strides that echoed in the enclosed space.
"It was Balian" Li-six said over the comm link. It was too noisy to talk normally. "Did you know he was a strider robot? He shut off after taking out the reactor. Our tech friend here is right. That thing had complete access to the system. I would kill for that kind of inside information."
"He -- he must have been compromised by the enemy." The tech said, obviously fighting not to look down. "Like we discussed on the way down. This is not a coup d'état, it's a regular attack! They were after the node network all the time." He glanced at Taz. "You could be right. Just taking out it all at the same time. Gods, this cannot be happening. With the network down, the human civilisation is doomed too. Striders rampaging up here, Dragoons waiting below. We're dead! Earth is lost!"
"We're not dead yet" the tank said cooly. Humans. So quick to despair. Unfortunately he was right. She wasn't very optimistic about their chances if the network was lost. How would mankind ever mount a coordinated defence without it? Grimly they continued to ascend in silence.
The microscopic antenna units she had spread out on the way down was beginning to feed her their collected data as she got back into range. It didn't look good. There was fighting going on on level 14. And plenty of it. Plasma weapons, and heavier stuff too. Then again, what did that marine expect when he told everyone to go there over an open link?
"We're coming up on level 14" Li-six said after a long silence. "It's not far to the docking bay, but I'm picking up multiple weapons being discharged up there. This ship is going down, so we have no time to be subtle about this. Soldier-boy, you keep next to me, but you have to protect the tech..."
"Jamesson" the tech said. "My name is Jamesson. Pete Jamesson."
"... Right. Taz -- Protect Jamesson. Get the biggest gun you can pick up and just get to that ship. Jamesson, you stick to Taz. We'll be going planetside and the skills of a cybertech will be invaluable down there. We don't want to loose you too. Try to stay behind me, both of you, but if we split up you go with him, understand."
Jamesson gulped, but his voice was steady. "Okay."
The think tank tore up the elevator doors they had stopped at and literally jumped into the corridor like the spider it was. They were coming out in the same elevator hall as the others had, just a few minutes earlier, left behind, but they came up a different elvator shaft. In the distance an explosion was heard and Li-six' sensors comfirmed what she already knew -- there was a war going on in the docking bay. She let off Taz and Jamesson just as one of the other elevators, dozens of meters away seemed to literally explode outwards.
A large head appeard in the dark opening, then the massive Dragoon warrior lunged into the hall. Its armour was torn (from wrestling with Senturo's remote-controlled mecha, even if they didn't know it), but its movements didn't seem to be hindered in the least by this. The alien swung around, realizing it was not alone.
And was staring into Li-six' gun barrels. "Oh yes." the tank said with joyful glee as her hated friend-or-foe system finally had to admit that this was an enemy and her targetting scanners locked onto the Dragoon with seldomly felt satisfaction. "Come to mama!"
The Dragoon started to move. That was as far as it got before the hall silently exploded in white maser fire as Li-six lovingly discharged all her guns into the creature at optimal range. The creature heaved for a moment, frozen and already dead in mid-air, as it boiled from the inside out. Then it exploded like a ripe fruit, boiling intestants splattering the walls and floor behind it. The armour that had enclosed it fell rattling to the floor in a messy goo.
Taz was already pulling the tech away from the sight, heading for the corridor to the docking bays. Li six fired a few more shots into the carcass, just for the sake of it. "Now that's more like it!" she shouted in grim satisfaction.
Later, Li-six would look back at this moment and conclude that her AI had probably had been more affected by her long isolation down in the badlands than she really had admitted to herself.
He had been expecting something else to pass the blast screen at first, maybe Senturo, or even maybe more striders, but the thing that rushed passed the screens was something, or someone that he had not expected on bit to pass. He didn't get time to see her as she rushed through, simply bounding from head to head to get to the other side of the drop ship bay. Siru pressed the side of his helmet in and looked from the blast screen, even the striders unsure of the sudden attack by Kat. Siru called into the comm-link quickly,
"Commander! You have incoming!" he called into it, quickly watching as she had already made it to the commander much before he had even time to speak the message. Siru looked across and shook his head, it was no longer his problem, thought by the looks of things she was not moving in any way to attack the others, more so a movement to get out of here and into the drop ship. He pushed down into the computer system and continued, pulling at the main controls and flicking the last controller, "That about does it!"
The commander rose his rifle up as Kat dropped down only a foot or so from him, Bo and Toema continued fire, almost passing by that Kat had come through, but noticing the gaps in the Strider defense line. Omarah didn't speak a word, though he stood and continued to point his gun to her as she moved her way up into the main ramp and into the cargo bay, "what the hell?" Bo spoke up, noticing her now.
Krass bashed his fist against the main hallway door, knowing Tipae was on the other side keeping it locked up, "Come on you damn bastard, open the door!" he called out,
"Get back in line and fight! I'm not opening the door for anyone besides Commander Omarah!" Tipae spoke over the door radio link,
"You little suck up!" Krass called before hearing the steps behind him, turning his head with a sudden twist of his helmet. He looked Kat over, seeing the wolf over her shoulders before placing him against the ground. He rose his rifle up and pointed it to her, unsure, was she a civilian? But then she spoke up of Senturo and Razu, Delta squad units, she was with them? He lowered his gun just slightly before hearing her threat and sharp words,
"Hey wait!" he called before she walked back down without another word, "... little rat" he growled seeing the fire continue from the strider defense that held against the commander and the others.
Omarah had already turned to the striders once more, standing full height with his rifle in one hand blasting plasma shots out into the crates they were hiding behind, knocking off any one that popped their head out. They seemed quite disorientated, it could be seen that they were still phased about the behind attack, not expecting one to move in so fast, so they were probably re-organizing their battle stances. He turned his eyes slightly hearing her words, calm and collect. He could see now that Senturo and Razu were on the other side, moving up behind the Strider defense line, on the side of where Siru had locked himself in. He had collected his mind up to know that Kat was with them, but her appearance... that was no custom design cyborg... she was for real!
She moved out with no worries at all, moving straight back into the Strider groups and tearing right into them. The commander pulled his arm back and closed his fist, "hold fire, hold your damn fire!" He called, watching as Bo and Toema pulled their weapons back, "We got Delta coming in!"
Bo watched out, standing and hanging his rifle over his shoulder, Toema remained low, watching as the girl tore right into them, leaping from ones chest before throwing herself back, her claws mixed with long strands of cable from the last Striders chest. She dropped back and leapt up from another’s head, smashing into the next. Siru flicked against the main door control and let the doorway slide open. He slipped into the corridor just as Senturo, Razu and Balian moved in to his side to see Kat had already met up with the enemy,
"Who the crazy hell is that?" Siru spoke up as he gave Razu a side-glance.
Razu scratched the side of his head, tilting lightly as he watched her ripping into one after the other without a problem, "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Sir?" Siru questioned, "She looks like a custom design cyborg? Heh, very well customized, bio-organic, possibly crusher design hand gauntlets, pro-e-Tec foot pads!"
Razu, Balian and Senturo looked across to Siru,
"What?" Siru asked,
"She's no cyborg soldier" Razu answered and looked back, "She's the real thing" He held up his rifle, pressing it against his shoulder as he slowly moved into the landing bay. Siru looked out to her, a grin upon his face from under his mask,
"Whoa" he spoke up.
Balian looked to Siru with a concerned look in his eyes,
"She’s a fucking alien!" he spoke out in distaste.
Senturo turned his head and looked at Balian, "Watch your tongue..." he paused, "Sir..." before moving off behind Razu. It wasn't long before the others moved in. Both Senturo and Siru dispensed their close combat steel blades, spreading out amongst the straggler Striders, slicing their blades through their necks and dropping them as fast as they could possibly. By then all mounted guns had been abandoned, the fire that had been upon the drop ships had stopped.
Siru pulled his blade back from the gut of one and looked across, holding out his arm and opening his control pad, the little transparent screen flickering up. He brought up the screen and codes that he had inserted into the side docking bay doors, "Open on command" he spoke up, the computer complying, waiting for his words to open the blast doors.
Razu and Balian made their way up to where the commander was, he waited to the end of the ramp, watching as both Bo and Toema began to pull up some of the supply crates, dragging them into the back of the drop crafts hanger bay,
"Sir!" Razu spoke up as he came up to Omarah, saluting him and nodding. The commander saluted in return and looked him over, seeing the spray of red alien blood spattered over his front armor,
"You had dragoon problems?" The commander asked,
"Yes sir, there was a Dragoon warrior aboard, he is under control though, pinned down. But you have to stop loading the ship and get ready to move out" Razu replied, turning and looking down the side hall, his signaler finally picking up Taz and Li-six once more,
"We will need these supplies, and the ground troops may need all the gear we can get!" The commander slowly slipped his hands behind his back, wondering what Razu was speaking of,
"We have a think-tank and a mecha incoming, add-ons to Delta squad of recent recruitment" Razu replied with a smile, "We are going to need all the room we can get sir"
The commander nodded and rose his hand, "Bo, Toema, that’s the last crate, lock up and prepare for evac!" He nodded and turned from Razu looking out across the docking bay, seeing the last Striders being mopped up with ease. Omarah turned back and pulled his gun back up to his side and moved back into the loading bay of the ship, "I want this ship out of here!"
Senturo pulled his hands back as the last Strider slowly dropped to the ground, looking over to Kat who stood amongst a collective pile of torn up marines. Siru raised his hands over his head and breathed, "Like I said before, they don't make Striders like they used to!" He slowly began to move away, stopping just to the side of Senturo and looking back to the main hallway, "But I doubt that’s the last of them here"
"I agree" Senturo replied, not looking to Siru, instead over to Kat as he turned back with Reign still over his shoulder. He moved on passed the commander and up the ramp without a word, watching as Omarah stopped to look him over. Sen didn't bother to address himself, instead he made his way across to where wolf had been placed, Kat’s hoody laid over him. Krass was looking over wolf, though daring not to take a peek under the hood.
Sen slowly stepped up and looked at Krass, "I wouldn't stand that close" he spoke as he dropped Reign against the wall, slowly leaning him against wolf's side and leaning back. He was crouched and low, looking over Reigns bullet wound, it was only recent, a marine weapon, not that of a Strider. For a moment he pondered over Kat's words of Balian, the fact she knew in the same that he was not the right one... but did he do this? Senturo slowly looked across to wolf,
"... Senturo" Reign spoke up, his head turning back, his helmet over his head. Senturo didn't take it off, it would help him breath,
"Reign" Senturo complied, pressing his hand down on Wolf's side and patting softly before slowly leaning up and nodding to Reign, "Keep an eye on him"
Reign slowly leant across moving an arm over Wolf and pulling him closer slightly, only weakly, "... Yes sir" he answered with a short cough, leaning his head back against the wall and breathing heavily,
"You'll be alright soldier, we just need to get to the ground side" Senturo moved off and looked at Krass, pointing at him without a word as he moved off and down the ramp.
Siru and Kat were the only ones out on the landing bay now, all the others were collecting up just to the ramp way. Waiting and watching out to the main hallway, setting up a defense, though Kat seemed to stand there, wiping off some of the blood and oil from her arms,
"Who is she?" finally the commander asked,
Razu tilted his head and looked to Kat, for a moment he didn't say a word, as if pondering whether or not to talk about where they had found her, or technically where Senturo had found her, but he spoke up anyway, "She is a civilian sir"
---
Taz didn't get time to see the last few blasts fired into the dead carcass of the Dragoon, but he could hear the tanks words of satisfaction when she did do so, all he could do was grin, knowing from what she said of the friend-or-foe system was not used in such an attack. All he had was his pistol, loaded up with his last rounds of bullets, and from what he knew, there was indeed a battle up ahead, most likely the rest of the group moving to take care of the strider control in the docking bays. He held his gun up, the tech following close behind. He didn't look back to see if Li-six was following or not,
"Come on... Jamesson, keep up!" he called back before moving his hand across, seeing the backs of three Striders moving down the same hall, most likely getting out of one of the elevator bays only just before them. Taz grinned before speeding up, seeing they were armed with all plasma rifles and pistols holstered to their sides,
"Hey come on! Slow down!" Jamesson spoke up, only just now seeing the Striders, his voice making them stop in their tracks and turning around to see Taz leaping up into the air with his foot coming down into one of their faces. He was not one for balance so he too fell to the ground, sending the Strider back a few feet as he cracked into the ground. But without a moments thought he rose his gun and blasted three bullets into the back of one's head, its brain case shattering open. The other flinched as the debris broke into its sensors, but it was able to fire off a few shots.
The ground broke as plasma shots battered into it, one snapping into the marine’s shoulder, but only skimming across his pale skin. Taz reached his gun up and shot another three bullets into the things eyes, watching it snap its head back and fall backwards and down onto his legs.
Jamesson ran up to him and looked across them, "You seem to like making things interesting don't you?"
Taz slowly leant across and stood up, brushing the debris from his scorched shoulder, feeling his numb skin smoking slightly, revealing more metal under his bio-organic grafted skin, "What’s the fun in making it boring?" Taz laughed, watching as Li-six began to make her way towards them.
He turned and motioned the tech to follow.
Though when he came through the main hanger hall and into the docking bays he was a little disappointed. He leapt out from the corner holding his smoking pistol in one hand, a plasma rifle held in the other, with another hanging from his military side belt. His helmet was half opened, torn apart mostly with one side of his face showing, along with a long black and red battle scar over that eye. He looked around, seeing the scorched and torn apart bodies of the strider units,
"Aww fuck man..." he spoke up in displeasure...
Siru stepped up to Taz's side and whacked him across the back of the head, "Too slow Taz, just too damn slow..."
Taz narrowed his eyes and looked across to Kat, she was the one that they had pulled up from the ground, in the middle of the city. He looked to her and noticed she was indeed covered in the oil of the Striders; most likely 'she' was the one responsible for lessening his fun? Taz sighed and holstered his pistol as Jamesson ran up behind him and automatically made his way towards the ship,
"Yes! A rescue ship!" he called out as he made his way, somewhat going around Kat without another thought. Taz wiped the oil from his arm and hit his gun against Siru's chest,
"Good to see you man" he spoke up; even with his odd grin it seemed like the first serious thing he had said. Siru nodded and looked to Taz,
"Yeah, long time. Still in delta huh?" Siru slipped his rifle against his shoulder,
"I'm sticking around, seems we get all the fun jobs" Taz laughed,
"Quit your idle chatter ladies, time to load up!" the commander called out over the docking bay. He turned across to Razu and nodded, "Get your men aboard and see if we can set up a landing zone before this thing goes to hell" He slowly turned and headed back into the ship, Balian closely following.
Razu looked out as Li-six slowly moved in from the long hallway, finally their squad was back up and regrouped, "Ok guys your heard the commander, time to pack it up! Taz, Senturo back up in, Li-six you take up the back door and move in last... I don't want any last minute--" that was the last calm moment they had. The sentry finally had enough, its last minute emergency power slowly dwindled to a complete nothing. The stabilizers suddenly hummed to death and the engines snapped off. The ground shuddered and broke; the ear piercing sound of the ship moving to one side suddenly broke through all of the corridors, "MOVE IT!!" Razu called out as he slid across, the docking bay destabilizing and moving across.
Supply crates began to slide as everyone still remaining in the docking bay began to move and slide slightly. Siru pulled back and grabbed Taz's shoulder to support himself, "Lets go!" Taz rushed forward, turning to Kat and nodding,
"Come on kid!" Though as Siru passed her he grinned from under his mask and nodded punching her in the shoulder,
"Love your work kid, love it!" he laughed, following behind Taz with his rifle in one hand. The last of the marines moved on passed and slowly began to gather up into the cargo bay of the drop ship. Siru remained by the door; pointing out his arm and flicking the command screen up on his wrist, "Open the blast doors!" he called out over the screeching of the Sentry losing control over the clouds. The doors around the bay suddenly began to slide open, the cold icy wind suddenly blasting in.
The strider bodies slowly began to move and slip on out, sliding across with the cold wind and snapping into the sidewalls. A sudden plasma shot rippled in from the open sky and broke into the side of another drop ship, snapping into the side and breaking out the other with an explosion following.
Razu pushed up front and dropped into the cockpit main controls, pulling the straps over his chest and locking himself in, Tipae was sitting to his side, leaning back in his chair as the ground shook violently. Razu looked up and examined the view screen, "Damnit"
"Strider seekers, they are covering the skies all around the sentry!" Tipae spoke up as the blast doors opened, revealing the sky covered in hundreds of small ships, whizzing past and moving around quickly. The shot within the docking bay had been their own, but not another fire more, "Maybe they didn't know there were drop ships in here?"
"Looks like this might be easier then we thought" Razu nodded as he gripped the main controls, the fire engines heating up.
Siru held himself against the side panel near the controls of the drop ship door bay, watching and waiting as Li-six slowly backed up over the ramp way...
(OoC: I know, a very odd spot to stop it ^_^ buuut I wanted to see some reactions and thoughts on the whole scene now before I post our take off from the sentry ^_^ ill be getting the ship off the landing bays in my next posty
)
"Commander! You have incoming!" he called into it, quickly watching as she had already made it to the commander much before he had even time to speak the message. Siru looked across and shook his head, it was no longer his problem, thought by the looks of things she was not moving in any way to attack the others, more so a movement to get out of here and into the drop ship. He pushed down into the computer system and continued, pulling at the main controls and flicking the last controller, "That about does it!"
The commander rose his rifle up as Kat dropped down only a foot or so from him, Bo and Toema continued fire, almost passing by that Kat had come through, but noticing the gaps in the Strider defense line. Omarah didn't speak a word, though he stood and continued to point his gun to her as she moved her way up into the main ramp and into the cargo bay, "what the hell?" Bo spoke up, noticing her now.
Krass bashed his fist against the main hallway door, knowing Tipae was on the other side keeping it locked up, "Come on you damn bastard, open the door!" he called out,
"Get back in line and fight! I'm not opening the door for anyone besides Commander Omarah!" Tipae spoke over the door radio link,
"You little suck up!" Krass called before hearing the steps behind him, turning his head with a sudden twist of his helmet. He looked Kat over, seeing the wolf over her shoulders before placing him against the ground. He rose his rifle up and pointed it to her, unsure, was she a civilian? But then she spoke up of Senturo and Razu, Delta squad units, she was with them? He lowered his gun just slightly before hearing her threat and sharp words,
"Hey wait!" he called before she walked back down without another word, "... little rat" he growled seeing the fire continue from the strider defense that held against the commander and the others.
Omarah had already turned to the striders once more, standing full height with his rifle in one hand blasting plasma shots out into the crates they were hiding behind, knocking off any one that popped their head out. They seemed quite disorientated, it could be seen that they were still phased about the behind attack, not expecting one to move in so fast, so they were probably re-organizing their battle stances. He turned his eyes slightly hearing her words, calm and collect. He could see now that Senturo and Razu were on the other side, moving up behind the Strider defense line, on the side of where Siru had locked himself in. He had collected his mind up to know that Kat was with them, but her appearance... that was no custom design cyborg... she was for real!
She moved out with no worries at all, moving straight back into the Strider groups and tearing right into them. The commander pulled his arm back and closed his fist, "hold fire, hold your damn fire!" He called, watching as Bo and Toema pulled their weapons back, "We got Delta coming in!"
Bo watched out, standing and hanging his rifle over his shoulder, Toema remained low, watching as the girl tore right into them, leaping from ones chest before throwing herself back, her claws mixed with long strands of cable from the last Striders chest. She dropped back and leapt up from another’s head, smashing into the next. Siru flicked against the main door control and let the doorway slide open. He slipped into the corridor just as Senturo, Razu and Balian moved in to his side to see Kat had already met up with the enemy,
"Who the crazy hell is that?" Siru spoke up as he gave Razu a side-glance.
Razu scratched the side of his head, tilting lightly as he watched her ripping into one after the other without a problem, "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Sir?" Siru questioned, "She looks like a custom design cyborg? Heh, very well customized, bio-organic, possibly crusher design hand gauntlets, pro-e-Tec foot pads!"
Razu, Balian and Senturo looked across to Siru,
"What?" Siru asked,
"She's no cyborg soldier" Razu answered and looked back, "She's the real thing" He held up his rifle, pressing it against his shoulder as he slowly moved into the landing bay. Siru looked out to her, a grin upon his face from under his mask,
"Whoa" he spoke up.
Balian looked to Siru with a concerned look in his eyes,
"She’s a fucking alien!" he spoke out in distaste.
Senturo turned his head and looked at Balian, "Watch your tongue..." he paused, "Sir..." before moving off behind Razu. It wasn't long before the others moved in. Both Senturo and Siru dispensed their close combat steel blades, spreading out amongst the straggler Striders, slicing their blades through their necks and dropping them as fast as they could possibly. By then all mounted guns had been abandoned, the fire that had been upon the drop ships had stopped.
Siru pulled his blade back from the gut of one and looked across, holding out his arm and opening his control pad, the little transparent screen flickering up. He brought up the screen and codes that he had inserted into the side docking bay doors, "Open on command" he spoke up, the computer complying, waiting for his words to open the blast doors.
Razu and Balian made their way up to where the commander was, he waited to the end of the ramp, watching as both Bo and Toema began to pull up some of the supply crates, dragging them into the back of the drop crafts hanger bay,
"Sir!" Razu spoke up as he came up to Omarah, saluting him and nodding. The commander saluted in return and looked him over, seeing the spray of red alien blood spattered over his front armor,
"You had dragoon problems?" The commander asked,
"Yes sir, there was a Dragoon warrior aboard, he is under control though, pinned down. But you have to stop loading the ship and get ready to move out" Razu replied, turning and looking down the side hall, his signaler finally picking up Taz and Li-six once more,
"We will need these supplies, and the ground troops may need all the gear we can get!" The commander slowly slipped his hands behind his back, wondering what Razu was speaking of,
"We have a think-tank and a mecha incoming, add-ons to Delta squad of recent recruitment" Razu replied with a smile, "We are going to need all the room we can get sir"
The commander nodded and rose his hand, "Bo, Toema, that’s the last crate, lock up and prepare for evac!" He nodded and turned from Razu looking out across the docking bay, seeing the last Striders being mopped up with ease. Omarah turned back and pulled his gun back up to his side and moved back into the loading bay of the ship, "I want this ship out of here!"
Senturo pulled his hands back as the last Strider slowly dropped to the ground, looking over to Kat who stood amongst a collective pile of torn up marines. Siru raised his hands over his head and breathed, "Like I said before, they don't make Striders like they used to!" He slowly began to move away, stopping just to the side of Senturo and looking back to the main hallway, "But I doubt that’s the last of them here"
"I agree" Senturo replied, not looking to Siru, instead over to Kat as he turned back with Reign still over his shoulder. He moved on passed the commander and up the ramp without a word, watching as Omarah stopped to look him over. Sen didn't bother to address himself, instead he made his way across to where wolf had been placed, Kat’s hoody laid over him. Krass was looking over wolf, though daring not to take a peek under the hood.
Sen slowly stepped up and looked at Krass, "I wouldn't stand that close" he spoke as he dropped Reign against the wall, slowly leaning him against wolf's side and leaning back. He was crouched and low, looking over Reigns bullet wound, it was only recent, a marine weapon, not that of a Strider. For a moment he pondered over Kat's words of Balian, the fact she knew in the same that he was not the right one... but did he do this? Senturo slowly looked across to wolf,
"... Senturo" Reign spoke up, his head turning back, his helmet over his head. Senturo didn't take it off, it would help him breath,
"Reign" Senturo complied, pressing his hand down on Wolf's side and patting softly before slowly leaning up and nodding to Reign, "Keep an eye on him"
Reign slowly leant across moving an arm over Wolf and pulling him closer slightly, only weakly, "... Yes sir" he answered with a short cough, leaning his head back against the wall and breathing heavily,
"You'll be alright soldier, we just need to get to the ground side" Senturo moved off and looked at Krass, pointing at him without a word as he moved off and down the ramp.
Siru and Kat were the only ones out on the landing bay now, all the others were collecting up just to the ramp way. Waiting and watching out to the main hallway, setting up a defense, though Kat seemed to stand there, wiping off some of the blood and oil from her arms,
"Who is she?" finally the commander asked,
Razu tilted his head and looked to Kat, for a moment he didn't say a word, as if pondering whether or not to talk about where they had found her, or technically where Senturo had found her, but he spoke up anyway, "She is a civilian sir"
---
Taz didn't get time to see the last few blasts fired into the dead carcass of the Dragoon, but he could hear the tanks words of satisfaction when she did do so, all he could do was grin, knowing from what she said of the friend-or-foe system was not used in such an attack. All he had was his pistol, loaded up with his last rounds of bullets, and from what he knew, there was indeed a battle up ahead, most likely the rest of the group moving to take care of the strider control in the docking bays. He held his gun up, the tech following close behind. He didn't look back to see if Li-six was following or not,
"Come on... Jamesson, keep up!" he called back before moving his hand across, seeing the backs of three Striders moving down the same hall, most likely getting out of one of the elevator bays only just before them. Taz grinned before speeding up, seeing they were armed with all plasma rifles and pistols holstered to their sides,
"Hey come on! Slow down!" Jamesson spoke up, only just now seeing the Striders, his voice making them stop in their tracks and turning around to see Taz leaping up into the air with his foot coming down into one of their faces. He was not one for balance so he too fell to the ground, sending the Strider back a few feet as he cracked into the ground. But without a moments thought he rose his gun and blasted three bullets into the back of one's head, its brain case shattering open. The other flinched as the debris broke into its sensors, but it was able to fire off a few shots.
The ground broke as plasma shots battered into it, one snapping into the marine’s shoulder, but only skimming across his pale skin. Taz reached his gun up and shot another three bullets into the things eyes, watching it snap its head back and fall backwards and down onto his legs.
Jamesson ran up to him and looked across them, "You seem to like making things interesting don't you?"
Taz slowly leant across and stood up, brushing the debris from his scorched shoulder, feeling his numb skin smoking slightly, revealing more metal under his bio-organic grafted skin, "What’s the fun in making it boring?" Taz laughed, watching as Li-six began to make her way towards them.
He turned and motioned the tech to follow.
Though when he came through the main hanger hall and into the docking bays he was a little disappointed. He leapt out from the corner holding his smoking pistol in one hand, a plasma rifle held in the other, with another hanging from his military side belt. His helmet was half opened, torn apart mostly with one side of his face showing, along with a long black and red battle scar over that eye. He looked around, seeing the scorched and torn apart bodies of the strider units,
"Aww fuck man..." he spoke up in displeasure...
Siru stepped up to Taz's side and whacked him across the back of the head, "Too slow Taz, just too damn slow..."
Taz narrowed his eyes and looked across to Kat, she was the one that they had pulled up from the ground, in the middle of the city. He looked to her and noticed she was indeed covered in the oil of the Striders; most likely 'she' was the one responsible for lessening his fun? Taz sighed and holstered his pistol as Jamesson ran up behind him and automatically made his way towards the ship,
"Yes! A rescue ship!" he called out as he made his way, somewhat going around Kat without another thought. Taz wiped the oil from his arm and hit his gun against Siru's chest,
"Good to see you man" he spoke up; even with his odd grin it seemed like the first serious thing he had said. Siru nodded and looked to Taz,
"Yeah, long time. Still in delta huh?" Siru slipped his rifle against his shoulder,
"I'm sticking around, seems we get all the fun jobs" Taz laughed,
"Quit your idle chatter ladies, time to load up!" the commander called out over the docking bay. He turned across to Razu and nodded, "Get your men aboard and see if we can set up a landing zone before this thing goes to hell" He slowly turned and headed back into the ship, Balian closely following.
Razu looked out as Li-six slowly moved in from the long hallway, finally their squad was back up and regrouped, "Ok guys your heard the commander, time to pack it up! Taz, Senturo back up in, Li-six you take up the back door and move in last... I don't want any last minute--" that was the last calm moment they had. The sentry finally had enough, its last minute emergency power slowly dwindled to a complete nothing. The stabilizers suddenly hummed to death and the engines snapped off. The ground shuddered and broke; the ear piercing sound of the ship moving to one side suddenly broke through all of the corridors, "MOVE IT!!" Razu called out as he slid across, the docking bay destabilizing and moving across.
Supply crates began to slide as everyone still remaining in the docking bay began to move and slide slightly. Siru pulled back and grabbed Taz's shoulder to support himself, "Lets go!" Taz rushed forward, turning to Kat and nodding,
"Come on kid!" Though as Siru passed her he grinned from under his mask and nodded punching her in the shoulder,
"Love your work kid, love it!" he laughed, following behind Taz with his rifle in one hand. The last of the marines moved on passed and slowly began to gather up into the cargo bay of the drop ship. Siru remained by the door; pointing out his arm and flicking the command screen up on his wrist, "Open the blast doors!" he called out over the screeching of the Sentry losing control over the clouds. The doors around the bay suddenly began to slide open, the cold icy wind suddenly blasting in.
The strider bodies slowly began to move and slip on out, sliding across with the cold wind and snapping into the sidewalls. A sudden plasma shot rippled in from the open sky and broke into the side of another drop ship, snapping into the side and breaking out the other with an explosion following.
Razu pushed up front and dropped into the cockpit main controls, pulling the straps over his chest and locking himself in, Tipae was sitting to his side, leaning back in his chair as the ground shook violently. Razu looked up and examined the view screen, "Damnit"
"Strider seekers, they are covering the skies all around the sentry!" Tipae spoke up as the blast doors opened, revealing the sky covered in hundreds of small ships, whizzing past and moving around quickly. The shot within the docking bay had been their own, but not another fire more, "Maybe they didn't know there were drop ships in here?"
"Looks like this might be easier then we thought" Razu nodded as he gripped the main controls, the fire engines heating up.
Siru held himself against the side panel near the controls of the drop ship door bay, watching and waiting as Li-six slowly backed up over the ramp way...
(OoC: I know, a very odd spot to stop it ^_^ buuut I wanted to see some reactions and thoughts on the whole scene now before I post our take off from the sentry ^_^ ill be getting the ship off the landing bays in my next posty
)~
The only thing Kat could see for a good while was her opponents; ripping into their bodies with her claws. At one point she even tore into one's torso and ripped the damn thing in half. Her lupine jaws parted in a grin that was covered in blood, oil, and wires. Soon enough however she could smell the others coming in and could have sworn she saw Robo Cop and some other guy moving in on the fighting. Yet it was important to go up against your opponent and only your opponent. And as the last Strider she faced fell before her claws, she saw something on it's person. A strange looking hilt. She bent down and picked it up, tossing it up into the air and catching it. She held onto it, planning on keeping it for a later time. Maybe just to have something to fiddle with.
Senturo and the others were there and she could feel their eyes on her. Oddly enough that made her somewhat uncomfortable. As if she were being judged. Though she heard pretty much every word that had been spoken about her, she flicked her ears, wishing for once that she didn't have as sensitive hearing as she did. Taking a deep breath Kathryn looked around; the place was a mess. Oil and wires, blood and gore spread everywhere on the landing bay. Kat herself was a complete mess as well. Bullet wounds in her chest and abdomen, burns on her arms and legs. Blood dripping off of her body to form rather good sized pools, but she seemed unfazed by it. Soon enough however they were on the move once more. Looking up at one of the guys from the team she had met down on the planet, there was another guy with him. Kat looked away for a second only to get punched in the shoulder. It stung because there were burns there, but she didn't snap out. The moon-child was more surprised then anything, looking up with curiosity in her eyes. Good work eh? They should see me during a full moon. She chuckled to herself and started to move towards the ship as the thing started to tilt.
As Kat entered the ship, she still felt eyes on her, but she paid them no mind for the present. Walking over to Wolf she almost smiled seeing the injured guy Senturo had been carrying. If Robo Cop put him there, I'm sure he's fine. Most of these guys I originally met up with don't seem too bad. She moved over next to him but then paused. Sniffing the air her pupils dilated. Growling she moved over to Krass, the one that had called her a rat. He had his back turned towards her and she stepped up next to him. Her hot breath bathing the back of his neck before she grabbed him, chucking him up against the side of the ship. Growling as she came close. ~I'm warning you. Stay away from Wolf unless I tell you, or I will kill you.~ Kat threw her left arm out, pointing out towards where the battle with the Striders had been, her eyes a solid gold, glowing in the light of the Drop Ship. She didn't care if they were 'on the same side' if they didn't listen when she spoke... she'd make them listen. Next, she turned over towards Balian and spoke once more, in a way that everyone can hear.
~I'm not an 'alien' for your information. I was once as fuckin' human as the rest of you fuck-ups! Mess with me, or my dog again like your little clone did. I'll not just kill you. I'll make you wish for days and weeks on end that you were dead as I slowly bite of a piece of your flesh bit, by, bit.~ She bared her teeth and then shoved him aside, going back to where the soldier and Wolf were. One look at the guy next to Wolf told her he wasn't doing any good. Blood dripped down over the floor wherever she moved. Looking around, Kat saw the familiar red cross that labeled a box for a medical kit. Moving over to it, Kat couldn't read the instructions to pull the thing off the wall. So instead she took her claws... and ripped through the metal making sure not to bust through to the outside. Her claws ended ripped up into shreds, but holding her hand up, she watched them reform into dark hard gut rendering sharp claws. Without permission from anyone, she moved over to the soldier that was next to Wolf. Coughing up a little blood, Kat rubbed her hand across her face before opening the kit. The first thing she did was lessen the fur on her hands, leaving her claws there, but she took out a disinfectant wipe and scrubbed her hands and her claws off. Making sure to scrub the armor that was over the soldier's bullet hole. Carefully, Kat peeled off the armor a little bit at a time. Moving the wires to the side and using medical tape to keep them there. Not sure if any of them had some sort of life support system (she had no idea how advanced the tech was so it was best to be careful).
Once the soldier's shoulder was bared, Kat took a single claw and cut through the fabric. And as she moved up closer, she was really glad this guy wasn't awake. Carefully she looked at the wound and took a sniff. For a moment she stiffened, there was a scent, a couple scents, in there that she recognized. Gun powder for one, the scent of another guy as well. That'd have to wait. ~Robo Cop, I need to get this bullet out of him. It's ripping up the flesh inside still. Not allowing the wound to clot.~ She spoke out to Sen just to let him know what she was up to. Carefully, Kat reached out with her claws, extending them to their full length and dug into Reign's shoulder. Her fingers pressed up closer as she reached for the bullet. Once her claws connected with it, she pulled out the bullet and set it in a gauze. Wrapping it up and placing it in her hoody pocket right next to her to show Senturo later. On the old investigation shows they always said you could find the murder weapon by the bullet. Then Kat thought about the object she had picked up. Carefully she looked at the three buttons on it. pushing one a blade popped out of the top. She pushed it again and the blade went back in. She pushed the second one and she felt the hair raise on her arm: electricity. Pushing the third button she was awarded with a heat that came out of the top of the knife. She had guessed right. Carefully, she pushed the knife into the soldier's wound and turned it on. Cauterizing the wound. Once she was done and the bleeding taken care of she placed gauze over it with some disinfecting and pain killing cream. Good old painkillers.
She finished by wrapping his shoulder in some more gauze and then placed the armor back on. Using a higher setting of the heat of her knife to weld the thing back on. Satisfied with her work, she leaned back and coughed. More blood fell from her lips and her nose. Leaning against a wall next to Reign she carefully did a similar thing to herself. Reaching in and pulling the bullets out. Her eyes slightly hazed by the pain. Eighty-four bullets she pulled out. A new record. By the time she was done, Kat's face was a complete grimace. She wasn't done yet though. Burns were evil things and she had wire and oil mixed in with hers. Bringing her claws up she tore into her own skin, ripping the flesh off and then, finished, she leaned back.
~So. Lovely day we're having isn't it?~ She asked. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Listening as Razu spoke. She laughed dryly. Looking up at him Kat's eyes caught the eye shine that gave a wolf it's demon like gaze. ~You should know by now, Razu. Nothing is ever easier then one would think.~ Leaning back, Kat took a few deep breaths as her body slowly started to heal itself. Everyone was on board, everyone was safe. Yet she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Why is it, that even though I don't care for them, for humans, I still feel sorry that guy I helped... lost his life? Her hand moved up and started to pet Wolf's fur, looking up to the soldier she had just pulled the bullet out of. Promising herself, she wouldn't let it happen again.
Senturo and the others were there and she could feel their eyes on her. Oddly enough that made her somewhat uncomfortable. As if she were being judged. Though she heard pretty much every word that had been spoken about her, she flicked her ears, wishing for once that she didn't have as sensitive hearing as she did. Taking a deep breath Kathryn looked around; the place was a mess. Oil and wires, blood and gore spread everywhere on the landing bay. Kat herself was a complete mess as well. Bullet wounds in her chest and abdomen, burns on her arms and legs. Blood dripping off of her body to form rather good sized pools, but she seemed unfazed by it. Soon enough however they were on the move once more. Looking up at one of the guys from the team she had met down on the planet, there was another guy with him. Kat looked away for a second only to get punched in the shoulder. It stung because there were burns there, but she didn't snap out. The moon-child was more surprised then anything, looking up with curiosity in her eyes. Good work eh? They should see me during a full moon. She chuckled to herself and started to move towards the ship as the thing started to tilt.
As Kat entered the ship, she still felt eyes on her, but she paid them no mind for the present. Walking over to Wolf she almost smiled seeing the injured guy Senturo had been carrying. If Robo Cop put him there, I'm sure he's fine. Most of these guys I originally met up with don't seem too bad. She moved over next to him but then paused. Sniffing the air her pupils dilated. Growling she moved over to Krass, the one that had called her a rat. He had his back turned towards her and she stepped up next to him. Her hot breath bathing the back of his neck before she grabbed him, chucking him up against the side of the ship. Growling as she came close. ~I'm warning you. Stay away from Wolf unless I tell you, or I will kill you.~ Kat threw her left arm out, pointing out towards where the battle with the Striders had been, her eyes a solid gold, glowing in the light of the Drop Ship. She didn't care if they were 'on the same side' if they didn't listen when she spoke... she'd make them listen. Next, she turned over towards Balian and spoke once more, in a way that everyone can hear.
~I'm not an 'alien' for your information. I was once as fuckin' human as the rest of you fuck-ups! Mess with me, or my dog again like your little clone did. I'll not just kill you. I'll make you wish for days and weeks on end that you were dead as I slowly bite of a piece of your flesh bit, by, bit.~ She bared her teeth and then shoved him aside, going back to where the soldier and Wolf were. One look at the guy next to Wolf told her he wasn't doing any good. Blood dripped down over the floor wherever she moved. Looking around, Kat saw the familiar red cross that labeled a box for a medical kit. Moving over to it, Kat couldn't read the instructions to pull the thing off the wall. So instead she took her claws... and ripped through the metal making sure not to bust through to the outside. Her claws ended ripped up into shreds, but holding her hand up, she watched them reform into dark hard gut rendering sharp claws. Without permission from anyone, she moved over to the soldier that was next to Wolf. Coughing up a little blood, Kat rubbed her hand across her face before opening the kit. The first thing she did was lessen the fur on her hands, leaving her claws there, but she took out a disinfectant wipe and scrubbed her hands and her claws off. Making sure to scrub the armor that was over the soldier's bullet hole. Carefully, Kat peeled off the armor a little bit at a time. Moving the wires to the side and using medical tape to keep them there. Not sure if any of them had some sort of life support system (she had no idea how advanced the tech was so it was best to be careful).
Once the soldier's shoulder was bared, Kat took a single claw and cut through the fabric. And as she moved up closer, she was really glad this guy wasn't awake. Carefully she looked at the wound and took a sniff. For a moment she stiffened, there was a scent, a couple scents, in there that she recognized. Gun powder for one, the scent of another guy as well. That'd have to wait. ~Robo Cop, I need to get this bullet out of him. It's ripping up the flesh inside still. Not allowing the wound to clot.~ She spoke out to Sen just to let him know what she was up to. Carefully, Kat reached out with her claws, extending them to their full length and dug into Reign's shoulder. Her fingers pressed up closer as she reached for the bullet. Once her claws connected with it, she pulled out the bullet and set it in a gauze. Wrapping it up and placing it in her hoody pocket right next to her to show Senturo later. On the old investigation shows they always said you could find the murder weapon by the bullet. Then Kat thought about the object she had picked up. Carefully she looked at the three buttons on it. pushing one a blade popped out of the top. She pushed it again and the blade went back in. She pushed the second one and she felt the hair raise on her arm: electricity. Pushing the third button she was awarded with a heat that came out of the top of the knife. She had guessed right. Carefully, she pushed the knife into the soldier's wound and turned it on. Cauterizing the wound. Once she was done and the bleeding taken care of she placed gauze over it with some disinfecting and pain killing cream. Good old painkillers.
She finished by wrapping his shoulder in some more gauze and then placed the armor back on. Using a higher setting of the heat of her knife to weld the thing back on. Satisfied with her work, she leaned back and coughed. More blood fell from her lips and her nose. Leaning against a wall next to Reign she carefully did a similar thing to herself. Reaching in and pulling the bullets out. Her eyes slightly hazed by the pain. Eighty-four bullets she pulled out. A new record. By the time she was done, Kat's face was a complete grimace. She wasn't done yet though. Burns were evil things and she had wire and oil mixed in with hers. Bringing her claws up she tore into her own skin, ripping the flesh off and then, finished, she leaned back.
~So. Lovely day we're having isn't it?~ She asked. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Listening as Razu spoke. She laughed dryly. Looking up at him Kat's eyes caught the eye shine that gave a wolf it's demon like gaze. ~You should know by now, Razu. Nothing is ever easier then one would think.~ Leaning back, Kat took a few deep breaths as her body slowly started to heal itself. Everyone was on board, everyone was safe. Yet she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Why is it, that even though I don't care for them, for humans, I still feel sorry that guy I helped... lost his life? Her hand moved up and started to pet Wolf's fur, looking up to the soldier she had just pulled the bullet out of. Promising herself, she wouldn't let it happen again.
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
Following Taz and Jamesson silently, the think-tank took in the sight of the defeated striders in the main hall. The link to the mutant woman was not hard to do, considering that she was almost covered in plasma burns and bullet holes along with all the fluids striders leaked out when they where destroyed. It was interesting that she could still stand.
Li-six had seen this one in action before, down on the ground, and the tank was not overly pleased to see her here. Way too unpredictable, powerful and emotional. Physically superior mutant with an unclear agenda -- such things made any tactician nervous. But for now, it looked like the mutant had saved the day. There was no doubt she was a formidable close-range fighter. She could be a powerful asset -- as long as she didn't turn on them, and considering her earlier statements Li-six had heard on the ground, the mutant would likely just run off the moment they hit the ground. Just as well, the tank thought. For now, the tank quietly just noted that Kat, not being registered in the military service, thus didn't register as an ally to her friend-or-foe system.
The think-tank could move very quickly when it wanted. Rounding the pile of striders on her extended legs, Li-six skid over the floor as the ship finally began falling. The other marine -- Razu -- instructed her entry into the ship. Moron. Of course she would head for the back door. She had done this many times. She didn't stop to bicker though, now they just had to get out of here. Retracting her legs, the tank rolled up the ramp on her larvae tracks, grinding to a halt just inside the crammed carrier hold. Behind her the ramp was already being pulled up with the hiss of pneumatic levers.
"Think-tank LI-6 456 reporting. Back hatch secured." she reported formally on the inter-ship channel to the pilot.
Li-six had seen this one in action before, down on the ground, and the tank was not overly pleased to see her here. Way too unpredictable, powerful and emotional. Physically superior mutant with an unclear agenda -- such things made any tactician nervous. But for now, it looked like the mutant had saved the day. There was no doubt she was a formidable close-range fighter. She could be a powerful asset -- as long as she didn't turn on them, and considering her earlier statements Li-six had heard on the ground, the mutant would likely just run off the moment they hit the ground. Just as well, the tank thought. For now, the tank quietly just noted that Kat, not being registered in the military service, thus didn't register as an ally to her friend-or-foe system.
The think-tank could move very quickly when it wanted. Rounding the pile of striders on her extended legs, Li-six skid over the floor as the ship finally began falling. The other marine -- Razu -- instructed her entry into the ship. Moron. Of course she would head for the back door. She had done this many times. She didn't stop to bicker though, now they just had to get out of here. Retracting her legs, the tank rolled up the ramp on her larvae tracks, grinding to a halt just inside the crammed carrier hold. Behind her the ramp was already being pulled up with the hiss of pneumatic levers.
"Think-tank LI-6 456 reporting. Back hatch secured." she reported formally on the inter-ship channel to the pilot.
Krass growled under his breath, reaching the side of his neck and rubbing slightly, his eyes were on Kat, watching as she moved up to the other marine, Reign, the wounded one. The only question that came upon his mind was 'who the hell was she?' she looked like some sort of messed up human, cyborg or something. But what gave her the right to mess with them; there was no rank on her shoulder. Krass was steamed, but he was smart, he had felt her grip and heard her words; he was not one to pick fights with someone that could possibly rip his head off just the same as the striders outside. He rubbed his neck and breathed, holding his rifle up and switching the door key to move out of the docking bay chambers, pressing his hand to the wall to keep himself supported up as the ship continued to shudder.
Senturo stood without a question a few feet from Kat, his back turned to her and looking over the other marines that seemed to all have their attention upon what Kat was doing with Reign. For a moment Senturo was curious in the same of what she intended to do, but he found out quite quickly. He turned his head and slightly nodded as she spoke up of what she was supposed to do.
Her words before, of what Balian had said had indeed stirred the marines up, words of a clone and the fact that she was defiantly not an alien, though as the think-tank backed on into the cargo bay, there was not a word, not a thought on if one should approach her, all seemed quite quiet. It was the fact that there were more things to think about then a human with strong powers being picked up... The human race indeed stood upon the edge of a blade, Strider Corp had done something that none would have expected. They came without a word of warning, suddenly, as if it was now and now only. There were no ground troops prepared, all military forces were only just getting back from standard dragoon sweeps.
The commander leant his back against the wall and looked up, his visor flicking off in darkness as he sighed out, knowing that once they hit ground, it was only going to get worse, he would have to make decisions, calculations. Strider Corp was their own people! Choices were to be made, and a new war against their own kind had only just begun.
Siru was the closest to the docking bay doors, watching as Li-six rolled into the bay and came to a stop at the guiding mech stopper pads at the middle of the bay. He looked across and out as one of the ceilings in the bay crashed down, more Strider marines rushing down from the hallway towards them. He pulled his hand down against the ramp controls just as Li-six locked in and spoke out, "Think-tank LI-6 456 reporting. Back hatch secured." as her voice called to Raze who was piloting he gave the green light. The ramp snapped into place plasma fire bouncing off the backside of the drop ship,
"Bye guys" Siru spoke up before turning, giving Li-six a look over once, noting that she was indeed one of the few Think-tanks he had seen in a long time, though the only one that was equipped with weapons and full armor this time. He slowly leant down and sat, leaning his back against the wall, "Weren't you guys all decommissioned?"
Razu pulled the last lever as the engines blasted heat into the faces of the oncoming Strider marines; he had heard the words of Kat flash in his mind after what he had said. He had that feeling that she was going to be right, something was bound to follow on from this, whether it is soon or not,
"All systems are ready" spoke up Tipae turning to Razu and nodding, "She's right to go"
Razu pushed forward and gripped the two side control sticks. The drop ship suddenly lifted up from the ground, its smooth shape only just missing the top of the blast doors. The ship was a smooth long almost rectangular shape; it had the same off appearance of the marine drop ship with four outer blast engines for the capability to run still in the air for a rooftop landing. Though unlike the marine drop ship this craft had two side-mounted turrets, simple blaster weapons much like the standard plasma rifles, thought equipped with longer range and rapid fire.
The drop ship lurched forward as the back of the Sentry began to fall, its engines breaking apart as it continued to lower, from the inside it would have felt odd with a moving of the air, though as the ship hit the outside winds it moved back and forth. Razu held the controls tight, heightening the engines before blasting out. The engines hummed heavily as it launched from the docking bay and swooped out through the wind. For a moment it shook like nothing else, the marines in the back holding on as the ship turned slightly, just missing a curious Strider Seeker ship. The bullets Kat had pulled out of her body slowly chattered and rolled down to the end of the ship, hitting the back docking ramps just behind Li-six.
Razu held on tight as he fought against the winds, though it wasn't long before he took control, the ship moving down, just behind them was the Sentry, it slowly lurched to its side, fire and smoke pouring out from its sides and bellowing out of its engines. The thing groaned as it slowly began to disappear into the dark polluted clouds.
Razu leant forward and pressed into the controls, flicking channels, moving across as open Strider channels continued to take it over, "Damn, id say its all fitted with Strider comm-links, can you have a mess with it?"
Tipae nodded, leaning forward too and pressing into the control, flicking open his wrist computer and pulling out a small cord to connect into the front panel, "Give me a while, and ill see what I can do"
Razu looked back and out the view screen... the sky was a mess of drop ships, carriers and all sorts of Strider military. He had seen nothing like it, Strider seekers were usually the air police, though the carriers and larger ships, they were not even meant to exist by his knowledge, "where did they come from..." he asked himself. He shook his head lightly and pressed into the controls, looking over the mapping system, before opening the cargo bay link and talking over the loud speaker in the back, "Looks like we are out, Sentry 5 has gone down below the atmosphere. Commander, I need you up here so we can plot out our landing solution, Razu out"
With those words the commander looked back down as he slowly stood up and stretched, holstering his pistol and looking over the marines that lay against the walls, their weapons in their laps, some of them just leaning there in thought,
"I'm not going to say good work men, simply because we lost a lot of good soldiers today. We got out on a chance find. But to say the least, I'm glad we got out" The commander nodded and slowly moved off to the door, slipping in with a final glance at Kat and Reign before he made his way to the cockpit beyond the slide door.
Taz continued to stand, leaving it only him and Senturo to be just standing there. Though Taz was looking to the wall as if in thought. He turned across and eyed Balian remembering exactly what Li-six had said, that it had been him in the core room, it had been him who shot the other tech and took down the whole network, everything was on his hands. Taz slowly and finally leant down, crouching and placing the plasma rifle on the ground. He pulled it to its side so the handle was facing him, reaching down he pressed his fingers against the cold coolant tank attached to the lower half. Bo looked across,
"What are you doing?" he questioned, his arms folded over his chest, making Toema look across to watch as well.
Taz pushed and snapped out the cartridge, watching as a fizz of green smoke rise up only slightly, "Manually take out the cartridge" Taz began as he blew the smoke away with the end of his mask before slowly slipping it back in, "Taking it out manually breaks the weapon standard limit seal" he pushed it back in and the weapon clicked, the power registering only at half capacity now, "Slower rate of fire sadly" he spoke before pointing the gun at Bo and grinning, "Though shot by an unstable blast from this baby and you are going to be one fried Strider"
"... But isn't there a chance the cartridge could explode in your face?" Bo laughed and shook his head watching as Taz lifted the gun up and leant it against the wall he chose as 'his 'spot'. He gave Bo an odd look,
"It's either me or him anyway" he spoke up before pressing his back to the wall and sitting down, "I like my chances" he finally said before slipping his hands up and pulling against his helmet. He growled under his breath feeling the metal that had melted into his skin, he knew it would hurt, but he had to get it off. He pressed his fingers tighter and ripped the helmet off, finally showing his gruff appearance once more. His dark red and black hair seemed a mess with debris from his helmet, his face would normally be a little pale, but now smoky with the charred burns of his mech. The long scar that covered his eye caused him to almost close his eye completely. He reached up with his gloved hand and touched the scar with a flinch, "Damn Hk bastard" he growled, his eye twitching slightly before running his hands through his hair and shaking out the broken metal.
Vision blurred into sight as the green eyes of his helmet slightly lit up, he breathed out a breath, feeling numb from the neck and down. But to his shoulder was where the pain was most, stinging lightly, but less then it was before, there was no aching pain spreading to his hand now, the wound had been mended, but from whom he was far from knowing. Reign didn't move, his hand and arm still placed over wolf and the hoody that had been laid across his body. Reign tried to remember for a moment, what had happened, from what he could remember he was being supported by Balian, watching as Razu shot into a dragoon... on the ship?
He moved his head lightly and coughed, he could feel the cold air of his atmospheric system helping him breath. From the feeling within it was as though something had landed on his body. Reign looked across to see Senturo before him now, his blurred sight only seeing his back as he stood vacant of movement, though his head was turning and watching over the moving bay they were in. The marine slowly moved his hand from wolf and lifted it to his left arm and touched the armor that had been placed back over his wound. It was a good thing or else touching his shoulder would have proven painful. Leaning back he turned, then only to notice the kid was there too! He hadn't seen her since they had landed in the docking bays.
Reign slowly leant back and rested his head, leaving his eyes open, but not saying a word, simply breathing and thinking, trying to remember what happened after their attack in the docking bays...
Razu looked up to the commander and nodded, "Yes sir. Tipae is working on the communications now; see if we can maybe find a secure link to the main forces on the ground. Haven't had any communications with the strider air forces yet" He turned back to the screen and pointed out their battle net mapping, showing how far they had gotten from where they last say the Sentry, "I’m keeping low to the atmosphere line right here, so they think we are moving to drop troops off down there... though I don't think that will last too much longer"
The commander thought a moment, nodding his head, "There's an old military base just off City 6, the same location your Delta was dropped before the first attack. If drop pods were launched from Sentry 5, that’s where they would be..."
"Yes but sir, being at that point, wouldn't there be plenty strider activity?" Razu questioned,
"I know that, but I have a bad feeling by now, everywhere will be active, but moving to a military base would be our best option. We have wounded" the commander slowly leant forward and pointed out the location, a spot just far off the main Dragoon occupied city, "It's quite a large town, possibly civilian occupied, the base is just on the west border"
Razu nodded, he was no rank to say otherwise so he agreed without question, "Yes sir, I will plot a course, we are not too far off now, perhaps thirty minutes minimum"
"Good" the commander nodded before moving off, slipping his hand back from the cockpit chair and moving out into the corridor,
"There’s going to be a lot of scared civilians down there..." Razu spoke up,
"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Tipae looked up from his computer, "Global defense is down, if anyone was outside when the barriers came down, they would be dead... Atmosphere poisoning"
Razu shook his head as he pulled at the control sticks, the drop ship making a turn and finally pushing into the clouds, "Lets just hope they were inside when it happened then" He answered, watching as the bottom of the clouds moved out and the pale white ship pushed through the last of the pollution. Razu leant back; "Here we go" he spoke up before pushing the throttle, the main engines coming online as she sped across the tops of the clouds. From the top of the sky it could be seen, the war, the carnage of the world below, drop ships streaming down in long lines in the distance, into outer towns and small settlements where the barriers had gone down, "Like an invasion..." Razu sighed as he watched, their drop ship streaming across.
Rain began to batter up against the main screen, pushing in with strong winds as they pushed out of the pollution, the rain itself was a dark blue almost, it was not normal water, far from it. Razu seemed to push the thought of it aside, locking into location and streaming in through the sky...
"I got something!" Tipae broke the silence, leaning up and switching the channel, "Marine security link, seems to be scanning in from the base we have mapped..."
Razu looked across and nodded, "Turn it up, link it to the commander too"
Tipae reached close and turned the link volume up, the voices that called out on it were full of static, perhaps from some broken satellite array they were bouncing the signal from something else, "-323675 We have control over the central plaza --- into location now --- strider task forces still control east side, west --- civilian casualties are heavy, we have handed out as many air masks as we --- are not looking so well ---" Then came a different voice, sounding as if they were from another area, "You have done the best you --- up the defense and hold out, we are sending --- you just have to keep the Striders from getting anywhere closer to comm ---" Then the link switched back the other, his voice a little more disorientated, "Sir! They're not killing the civilian down --- are linking them up to some sort of machine, some device --- to their heads. We found at least twenty --- a warehouse just off the west side, it's like they are --- them up like cattle sir ---" the link suddenly snapped off,
"Looks like they changed channel..." Tipae spoke as he began messing with his computer again, "Channel displacement, keeps the striders from locking into the channel for too long"
Razu leant back, "A device to their heads?" he questioned, watching the front screen, "Bet you any money that the thing he was talking about is the same thing connected up to the wolf back there. But why connect it to a wolf?"
Tipae tilted his head, "A Wolf? What wolf?"
Razu shook his head, "You'll see, just keep trying to lock into the signal, see if we can at least patch into that channel and tell them of our approach, I don't want any friendly fire blasting my ass out of the sky..."
Senturo stood without a question a few feet from Kat, his back turned to her and looking over the other marines that seemed to all have their attention upon what Kat was doing with Reign. For a moment Senturo was curious in the same of what she intended to do, but he found out quite quickly. He turned his head and slightly nodded as she spoke up of what she was supposed to do.
Her words before, of what Balian had said had indeed stirred the marines up, words of a clone and the fact that she was defiantly not an alien, though as the think-tank backed on into the cargo bay, there was not a word, not a thought on if one should approach her, all seemed quite quiet. It was the fact that there were more things to think about then a human with strong powers being picked up... The human race indeed stood upon the edge of a blade, Strider Corp had done something that none would have expected. They came without a word of warning, suddenly, as if it was now and now only. There were no ground troops prepared, all military forces were only just getting back from standard dragoon sweeps.
The commander leant his back against the wall and looked up, his visor flicking off in darkness as he sighed out, knowing that once they hit ground, it was only going to get worse, he would have to make decisions, calculations. Strider Corp was their own people! Choices were to be made, and a new war against their own kind had only just begun.
Siru was the closest to the docking bay doors, watching as Li-six rolled into the bay and came to a stop at the guiding mech stopper pads at the middle of the bay. He looked across and out as one of the ceilings in the bay crashed down, more Strider marines rushing down from the hallway towards them. He pulled his hand down against the ramp controls just as Li-six locked in and spoke out, "Think-tank LI-6 456 reporting. Back hatch secured." as her voice called to Raze who was piloting he gave the green light. The ramp snapped into place plasma fire bouncing off the backside of the drop ship,
"Bye guys" Siru spoke up before turning, giving Li-six a look over once, noting that she was indeed one of the few Think-tanks he had seen in a long time, though the only one that was equipped with weapons and full armor this time. He slowly leant down and sat, leaning his back against the wall, "Weren't you guys all decommissioned?"
Razu pulled the last lever as the engines blasted heat into the faces of the oncoming Strider marines; he had heard the words of Kat flash in his mind after what he had said. He had that feeling that she was going to be right, something was bound to follow on from this, whether it is soon or not,
"All systems are ready" spoke up Tipae turning to Razu and nodding, "She's right to go"
Razu pushed forward and gripped the two side control sticks. The drop ship suddenly lifted up from the ground, its smooth shape only just missing the top of the blast doors. The ship was a smooth long almost rectangular shape; it had the same off appearance of the marine drop ship with four outer blast engines for the capability to run still in the air for a rooftop landing. Though unlike the marine drop ship this craft had two side-mounted turrets, simple blaster weapons much like the standard plasma rifles, thought equipped with longer range and rapid fire.
The drop ship lurched forward as the back of the Sentry began to fall, its engines breaking apart as it continued to lower, from the inside it would have felt odd with a moving of the air, though as the ship hit the outside winds it moved back and forth. Razu held the controls tight, heightening the engines before blasting out. The engines hummed heavily as it launched from the docking bay and swooped out through the wind. For a moment it shook like nothing else, the marines in the back holding on as the ship turned slightly, just missing a curious Strider Seeker ship. The bullets Kat had pulled out of her body slowly chattered and rolled down to the end of the ship, hitting the back docking ramps just behind Li-six.
Razu held on tight as he fought against the winds, though it wasn't long before he took control, the ship moving down, just behind them was the Sentry, it slowly lurched to its side, fire and smoke pouring out from its sides and bellowing out of its engines. The thing groaned as it slowly began to disappear into the dark polluted clouds.
Razu leant forward and pressed into the controls, flicking channels, moving across as open Strider channels continued to take it over, "Damn, id say its all fitted with Strider comm-links, can you have a mess with it?"
Tipae nodded, leaning forward too and pressing into the control, flicking open his wrist computer and pulling out a small cord to connect into the front panel, "Give me a while, and ill see what I can do"
Razu looked back and out the view screen... the sky was a mess of drop ships, carriers and all sorts of Strider military. He had seen nothing like it, Strider seekers were usually the air police, though the carriers and larger ships, they were not even meant to exist by his knowledge, "where did they come from..." he asked himself. He shook his head lightly and pressed into the controls, looking over the mapping system, before opening the cargo bay link and talking over the loud speaker in the back, "Looks like we are out, Sentry 5 has gone down below the atmosphere. Commander, I need you up here so we can plot out our landing solution, Razu out"
With those words the commander looked back down as he slowly stood up and stretched, holstering his pistol and looking over the marines that lay against the walls, their weapons in their laps, some of them just leaning there in thought,
"I'm not going to say good work men, simply because we lost a lot of good soldiers today. We got out on a chance find. But to say the least, I'm glad we got out" The commander nodded and slowly moved off to the door, slipping in with a final glance at Kat and Reign before he made his way to the cockpit beyond the slide door.
Taz continued to stand, leaving it only him and Senturo to be just standing there. Though Taz was looking to the wall as if in thought. He turned across and eyed Balian remembering exactly what Li-six had said, that it had been him in the core room, it had been him who shot the other tech and took down the whole network, everything was on his hands. Taz slowly and finally leant down, crouching and placing the plasma rifle on the ground. He pulled it to its side so the handle was facing him, reaching down he pressed his fingers against the cold coolant tank attached to the lower half. Bo looked across,
"What are you doing?" he questioned, his arms folded over his chest, making Toema look across to watch as well.
Taz pushed and snapped out the cartridge, watching as a fizz of green smoke rise up only slightly, "Manually take out the cartridge" Taz began as he blew the smoke away with the end of his mask before slowly slipping it back in, "Taking it out manually breaks the weapon standard limit seal" he pushed it back in and the weapon clicked, the power registering only at half capacity now, "Slower rate of fire sadly" he spoke before pointing the gun at Bo and grinning, "Though shot by an unstable blast from this baby and you are going to be one fried Strider"
"... But isn't there a chance the cartridge could explode in your face?" Bo laughed and shook his head watching as Taz lifted the gun up and leant it against the wall he chose as 'his 'spot'. He gave Bo an odd look,
"It's either me or him anyway" he spoke up before pressing his back to the wall and sitting down, "I like my chances" he finally said before slipping his hands up and pulling against his helmet. He growled under his breath feeling the metal that had melted into his skin, he knew it would hurt, but he had to get it off. He pressed his fingers tighter and ripped the helmet off, finally showing his gruff appearance once more. His dark red and black hair seemed a mess with debris from his helmet, his face would normally be a little pale, but now smoky with the charred burns of his mech. The long scar that covered his eye caused him to almost close his eye completely. He reached up with his gloved hand and touched the scar with a flinch, "Damn Hk bastard" he growled, his eye twitching slightly before running his hands through his hair and shaking out the broken metal.
Vision blurred into sight as the green eyes of his helmet slightly lit up, he breathed out a breath, feeling numb from the neck and down. But to his shoulder was where the pain was most, stinging lightly, but less then it was before, there was no aching pain spreading to his hand now, the wound had been mended, but from whom he was far from knowing. Reign didn't move, his hand and arm still placed over wolf and the hoody that had been laid across his body. Reign tried to remember for a moment, what had happened, from what he could remember he was being supported by Balian, watching as Razu shot into a dragoon... on the ship?
He moved his head lightly and coughed, he could feel the cold air of his atmospheric system helping him breath. From the feeling within it was as though something had landed on his body. Reign looked across to see Senturo before him now, his blurred sight only seeing his back as he stood vacant of movement, though his head was turning and watching over the moving bay they were in. The marine slowly moved his hand from wolf and lifted it to his left arm and touched the armor that had been placed back over his wound. It was a good thing or else touching his shoulder would have proven painful. Leaning back he turned, then only to notice the kid was there too! He hadn't seen her since they had landed in the docking bays.
Reign slowly leant back and rested his head, leaving his eyes open, but not saying a word, simply breathing and thinking, trying to remember what happened after their attack in the docking bays...
Razu looked up to the commander and nodded, "Yes sir. Tipae is working on the communications now; see if we can maybe find a secure link to the main forces on the ground. Haven't had any communications with the strider air forces yet" He turned back to the screen and pointed out their battle net mapping, showing how far they had gotten from where they last say the Sentry, "I’m keeping low to the atmosphere line right here, so they think we are moving to drop troops off down there... though I don't think that will last too much longer"
The commander thought a moment, nodding his head, "There's an old military base just off City 6, the same location your Delta was dropped before the first attack. If drop pods were launched from Sentry 5, that’s where they would be..."
"Yes but sir, being at that point, wouldn't there be plenty strider activity?" Razu questioned,
"I know that, but I have a bad feeling by now, everywhere will be active, but moving to a military base would be our best option. We have wounded" the commander slowly leant forward and pointed out the location, a spot just far off the main Dragoon occupied city, "It's quite a large town, possibly civilian occupied, the base is just on the west border"
Razu nodded, he was no rank to say otherwise so he agreed without question, "Yes sir, I will plot a course, we are not too far off now, perhaps thirty minutes minimum"
"Good" the commander nodded before moving off, slipping his hand back from the cockpit chair and moving out into the corridor,
"There’s going to be a lot of scared civilians down there..." Razu spoke up,
"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Tipae looked up from his computer, "Global defense is down, if anyone was outside when the barriers came down, they would be dead... Atmosphere poisoning"
Razu shook his head as he pulled at the control sticks, the drop ship making a turn and finally pushing into the clouds, "Lets just hope they were inside when it happened then" He answered, watching as the bottom of the clouds moved out and the pale white ship pushed through the last of the pollution. Razu leant back; "Here we go" he spoke up before pushing the throttle, the main engines coming online as she sped across the tops of the clouds. From the top of the sky it could be seen, the war, the carnage of the world below, drop ships streaming down in long lines in the distance, into outer towns and small settlements where the barriers had gone down, "Like an invasion..." Razu sighed as he watched, their drop ship streaming across.
Rain began to batter up against the main screen, pushing in with strong winds as they pushed out of the pollution, the rain itself was a dark blue almost, it was not normal water, far from it. Razu seemed to push the thought of it aside, locking into location and streaming in through the sky...
"I got something!" Tipae broke the silence, leaning up and switching the channel, "Marine security link, seems to be scanning in from the base we have mapped..."
Razu looked across and nodded, "Turn it up, link it to the commander too"
Tipae reached close and turned the link volume up, the voices that called out on it were full of static, perhaps from some broken satellite array they were bouncing the signal from something else, "-323675 We have control over the central plaza --- into location now --- strider task forces still control east side, west --- civilian casualties are heavy, we have handed out as many air masks as we --- are not looking so well ---" Then came a different voice, sounding as if they were from another area, "You have done the best you --- up the defense and hold out, we are sending --- you just have to keep the Striders from getting anywhere closer to comm ---" Then the link switched back the other, his voice a little more disorientated, "Sir! They're not killing the civilian down --- are linking them up to some sort of machine, some device --- to their heads. We found at least twenty --- a warehouse just off the west side, it's like they are --- them up like cattle sir ---" the link suddenly snapped off,
"Looks like they changed channel..." Tipae spoke as he began messing with his computer again, "Channel displacement, keeps the striders from locking into the channel for too long"
Razu leant back, "A device to their heads?" he questioned, watching the front screen, "Bet you any money that the thing he was talking about is the same thing connected up to the wolf back there. But why connect it to a wolf?"
Tipae tilted his head, "A Wolf? What wolf?"
Razu shook his head, "You'll see, just keep trying to lock into the signal, see if we can at least patch into that channel and tell them of our approach, I don't want any friendly fire blasting my ass out of the sky..."
~
Kat was more then fully aware that eyes kept watching her, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was sleep, but right now wasn't the best time or the best place. So instead she kept an eye on the soldier next to her, along with Wolf. She listened carefully to everything that was going on. Hoping to find out some sort of information, though none of which she heard at first really gave her any idea... what-so-ever. It pissed her off.
But, she was too tired to cause any trouble, instead she found herself looking at the tank. Eyeing up it's size and the like. She twitched an ear and then grinned at the destruction this thing could probably cause. ~That is some kick-ass tech that's all I can say, but I have one question.~ She reached up and scratched behind an ear, and then arched an eyebrow. ~If it's a tank, isn't it a little small to get men inside?~ Kat was distracted by the movement at her side as the soldier woke up. She froze, hoping the guy wouldn't freak out if he saw her. He took several deep breaths and moved to touch his shoulder, once his head turning to look at her, but thankfully the guy didn't totally freak out. I wonder what would happen if one of these times I painted these guys' armor pink in their sleep? A soft chuckle came from Kat as she thought of it, but then she looked around once more, glad to see the one guy had left.
Kat's ears snapped to attention however as information came over the radio. Her sensitive ears picking it up, one thing however caught her attention the most. The mentioned fact of devices over civilian heads. Kat looked down to Wolf and then was surprised as another voice asked about a 'wolf'. She coughed and choked on a laugh as she heard Razu reply. Coughing she had to beat on her chest and then burst out laughing. If only they knew! She thought to herself, unable to keep herself from laughing and barking. Slowly she calmed down taking deep breaths and leaning back, petting Wolf once more. Don't worry Wolf, you'll be safe soon. In the mean time, she pulled the knife back out that she had found and looked it over. There were a few other markings and a couple other smaller buttons. Kat intended to find out what those buttons did. Interesting place this. She thought to herself as she fiddled with it.
But, she was too tired to cause any trouble, instead she found herself looking at the tank. Eyeing up it's size and the like. She twitched an ear and then grinned at the destruction this thing could probably cause. ~That is some kick-ass tech that's all I can say, but I have one question.~ She reached up and scratched behind an ear, and then arched an eyebrow. ~If it's a tank, isn't it a little small to get men inside?~ Kat was distracted by the movement at her side as the soldier woke up. She froze, hoping the guy wouldn't freak out if he saw her. He took several deep breaths and moved to touch his shoulder, once his head turning to look at her, but thankfully the guy didn't totally freak out. I wonder what would happen if one of these times I painted these guys' armor pink in their sleep? A soft chuckle came from Kat as she thought of it, but then she looked around once more, glad to see the one guy had left.
Kat's ears snapped to attention however as information came over the radio. Her sensitive ears picking it up, one thing however caught her attention the most. The mentioned fact of devices over civilian heads. Kat looked down to Wolf and then was surprised as another voice asked about a 'wolf'. She coughed and choked on a laugh as she heard Razu reply. Coughing she had to beat on her chest and then burst out laughing. If only they knew! She thought to herself, unable to keep herself from laughing and barking. Slowly she calmed down taking deep breaths and leaning back, petting Wolf once more. Don't worry Wolf, you'll be safe soon. In the mean time, she pulled the knife back out that she had found and looked it over. There were a few other markings and a couple other smaller buttons. Kat intended to find out what those buttons did. Interesting place this. She thought to herself as she fiddled with it.
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
OOC: I'm writing some info on the Striders, hope it's not too far off, let me know otherwise.
---------------------
The round gun turrets placed all over Li-six's chassis contained many different devices besides the maser projector mounts. Among other things they contained many of Li-six's eyes. The closest turret swiveled around, taking in Siru. "The rumours of my decomission was greatly exaggerated ..." the tank said dryly, quoting some reference deep in her memory banks. "No, dumbass, we weren't all decomissioned or I wouldn't be here, would I?
And had you idiots cured the tech virus instead of making us goddamn janitors, maybe this would not have happened."
Of course, Li-six couldn't know this for a fact. But she had some reasons for thinking so (despite being inherently stubborn in nature).
Normal Strider Corps soldiers were not truly AI units. They were highly efficient combat robots -- highly intelligent neural network constructs that made them strategists and soldiers all in one. Their tactical skills, high intelligence and ways to learn new actions beyond their initial programming allowed them to mimic a human very well -- and it made them terrible opponents. But they were not sentient. In many ways they were no more "alive" than any pocket calculator. The think tanks -- and rare lone-operating specialist Strider units like Senturo, were different. They were sentient, self-aware, what was known as "full AI" constructs. Artificial, sure -- but "alive" according to the Turing Agreement of Sentience signed by the United Nations almost 80 years earlier.
Think-tanks had all been sentient. So whereas Li-six couldn't know what would have happened had all her sisters and brothers still been around -- maybe they would have been subverted along with the Strider Corps. But her pride in her AI was big enough to at least give herself a bigger chance than those Strider drones of averting an attack.
Which brought her back to this "Tech Virus" that had taken over her siblings. She still couldn't understand how something like that was possible. A computer virus worked just like a virus in a biological body. It moved in and tried to take over functions. The victim tried to defend. A virus taking over a computer had a hard time dodging all defences modern technology allowed for. But it could win, because a computer had to -- per definition -- follow certain rules. It had certain programming constructs that it had to rely on. If the virus could just find the right ones and destroy them it could take control. Such a thing was not possible with an AI. An AI repogrammed itself all the time. Even if a virus could pass all firewalls undetected there could be no such thing as a general "AI virus", because no AI looked the same. There was no way for the virus to know what to subvert, because the AI would just reprogram itself into something it didn't recognice. It was as if a human catching skin cancer would turn into an animal that didn't even have skin. Subverting one AI would be remarkable. Taking over a whole subset of the think-tank divisions was, Li-Six thought, impossible. Or should be impossible, for it had happened anyway. Somehow.
Or had it?
Li-six had to think more about this, but the implications were disturbing. She hoped the elite hackers of the AI liberation front had survived the network collapse. She would need their services again, and soon.
The mutant talked. About her. Li-six's dark thoughts hadn't put her into any better a mood. "Damn right this is kiss-ass tech!" the tank growled. "And of course there is no one inside me! I'm a think-tank, not a bloody cargo truck. You think there's a little dwarf sitting and chatting with you from inside computers too?"
Ignoring the imbecile mutant, Li-six decided to take pity on the marine. He had, after all, asked a rather harmless question. He had nothing to do with the decomissioning of her siblings. "I was in the field" she told him, this time with less acid in her tone. "Missed out on the whole tech-virus thing. Lucky me. Yay."
Casually listening in on the cockpit communications made it clear that things were not going too well for mankind right now. Ah well. She was fueled up and better armed than she had been for months. Not to mention clean. And even though she would never admit it, it was nice to be able to talk to other sentient beings again.
---------------------
The round gun turrets placed all over Li-six's chassis contained many different devices besides the maser projector mounts. Among other things they contained many of Li-six's eyes. The closest turret swiveled around, taking in Siru. "The rumours of my decomission was greatly exaggerated ..." the tank said dryly, quoting some reference deep in her memory banks. "No, dumbass, we weren't all decomissioned or I wouldn't be here, would I?
And had you idiots cured the tech virus instead of making us goddamn janitors, maybe this would not have happened."
Of course, Li-six couldn't know this for a fact. But she had some reasons for thinking so (despite being inherently stubborn in nature).
Normal Strider Corps soldiers were not truly AI units. They were highly efficient combat robots -- highly intelligent neural network constructs that made them strategists and soldiers all in one. Their tactical skills, high intelligence and ways to learn new actions beyond their initial programming allowed them to mimic a human very well -- and it made them terrible opponents. But they were not sentient. In many ways they were no more "alive" than any pocket calculator. The think tanks -- and rare lone-operating specialist Strider units like Senturo, were different. They were sentient, self-aware, what was known as "full AI" constructs. Artificial, sure -- but "alive" according to the Turing Agreement of Sentience signed by the United Nations almost 80 years earlier.
Think-tanks had all been sentient. So whereas Li-six couldn't know what would have happened had all her sisters and brothers still been around -- maybe they would have been subverted along with the Strider Corps. But her pride in her AI was big enough to at least give herself a bigger chance than those Strider drones of averting an attack.
Which brought her back to this "Tech Virus" that had taken over her siblings. She still couldn't understand how something like that was possible. A computer virus worked just like a virus in a biological body. It moved in and tried to take over functions. The victim tried to defend. A virus taking over a computer had a hard time dodging all defences modern technology allowed for. But it could win, because a computer had to -- per definition -- follow certain rules. It had certain programming constructs that it had to rely on. If the virus could just find the right ones and destroy them it could take control. Such a thing was not possible with an AI. An AI repogrammed itself all the time. Even if a virus could pass all firewalls undetected there could be no such thing as a general "AI virus", because no AI looked the same. There was no way for the virus to know what to subvert, because the AI would just reprogram itself into something it didn't recognice. It was as if a human catching skin cancer would turn into an animal that didn't even have skin. Subverting one AI would be remarkable. Taking over a whole subset of the think-tank divisions was, Li-Six thought, impossible. Or should be impossible, for it had happened anyway. Somehow.
Or had it?
Li-six had to think more about this, but the implications were disturbing. She hoped the elite hackers of the AI liberation front had survived the network collapse. She would need their services again, and soon.
The mutant talked. About her. Li-six's dark thoughts hadn't put her into any better a mood. "Damn right this is kiss-ass tech!" the tank growled. "And of course there is no one inside me! I'm a think-tank, not a bloody cargo truck. You think there's a little dwarf sitting and chatting with you from inside computers too?"
Ignoring the imbecile mutant, Li-six decided to take pity on the marine. He had, after all, asked a rather harmless question. He had nothing to do with the decomissioning of her siblings. "I was in the field" she told him, this time with less acid in her tone. "Missed out on the whole tech-virus thing. Lucky me. Yay."
Casually listening in on the cockpit communications made it clear that things were not going too well for mankind right now. Ah well. She was fueled up and better armed than she had been for months. Not to mention clean. And even though she would never admit it, it was nice to be able to talk to other sentient beings again.
(OoC: hehe ^_^ nup you got your info pretty much on the dot XD lol ^_^ )
Ic:
"Communications are up sir, I’ve patched into their command... you should be able to speak to them straight off, but be careful what you say... I'm not sure if it’s secure without the net online, heh" came Tipae, handing a little comm-link device to Razu. He nodded softly and took it, slipping it up and clicking it onto the earpiece he had been wearing. For a moment there was only static, little clicks in the background before he nodded and spoke up into the comm-link,
"This is Major Razu Haibane rank 3 of Delta Squad 7 do you read me, over" he spoke up first, leaning back and waiting, his eyes on the main front screen watching as more and more strider drop ships poured from the skies like swarms of insects. He waited a moment before turning to Tipae with a disappointed look in his eyes, for a moment he was about to hand it back, but then it crackled and a voice came back to him. The reception was bad, but there was a voice on the other side,
"Delta squad 7?" It came first, "Damn its good to hear from you guys. This is Captain Halberd of Oscar 3, where are you positioned?" the voice clicked off for a moment as Razu brought up the locater screen,
"This is an unprotected channel, locations at the moment are out of the question. Is there a way we can transfer this link to a secure channel?" Razu asked, looking to the locater as it narrowed in on where the call was coming from, just to be sure it wasn't a trick. There was a silence that followed first before the voice came back,
"Understood" was the first word for a little while, before the static on the channel was dispersed and cleared, changing channels clearly, "Secure channel is up, we have a link for two minutes tops before it's down" Razu turned to Tipae and the marine nodded in confirmation that the channel was indeed secure, locked in and ready. Razu nodded,
"Ok, we are traveling from, what looks to me perhaps Eld by-pass, up the southern highway. On route to Catacarn city, your location. Our position is as follows" he paused to make sure of the map for a moment, "34.67.23 South, location 23 Alpha, do you copy?"
There was a pause in the transmission first before the signal came in clear, "Copy that Delta 7, location is fixed"
"Our craft is a Strider Drop ship, so keep watch on location and we will call you on approach, is that understood?" Razu asked almost immediately, considering the strider drop ship activity; it was a suicide mission to land in there without them knowing the ship was full of marines and not striders,
"Confirmed, we will keep a look out with communications open, it's good to have another Tac marine squad operational sir, we were thinking Oscar was the last in this area" the voice came back with hope,
"Same here captain" he looked out the view screen, "What’s the situation over there, we were able to pick up a static communication back a distance from here, things seemed a little hostile" Razu waited a moment for the reply,
"Strider attacks on the main cities have pretty much taken their main attention, but our outpost here has seen some damage taken. Strider forces still occupy the west side. They are making some sort of inner base within the homes of civilians" he paused a moment, "But something strange is happening down here... you gotta see it to understand it though..."
Razu took a glance to Tipae and nodded, "We heard the former communication... something about messing with the civilians and so on. This strider invasion sure has me spooked"
"You can say that again Major--" suddenly the link was put aside as another voice spoke out, a little distant, telling them he was in the background,
"Sir! Strider SF's and drones are on route to our position!" the man called out, the Captains voice following almost immediately,
"Damnit, not another one. Tighten the defenses, call back all the sentries and scouts, we hold this position!" he ordered,
"Yes sir!" the marine answered in kind, leaving that as his last words on the comm.
"Major Razu, I'm going to have to cut this short, but we could really use your help down here" he spoke up, getting ready to shut off the link,
"Ten minutes Captain, give me ten minutes and we will be on ground and ready to go,” Razu answered,
"Good, I will see you on the field, over and out" with that the link was pulled off, Razu dropping the link from his ear piece and handing it back to Tipae,
"Looks like we are going to have to speed things up here" he spoke up, flicking some buttons on the main computer screen.
~
Everyone that had been sitting were a little further away from the girl now, her sudden outburst of laughter has spooked them enough to realize perhaps the reason Senturo was standing there was not to protect her, but to protect 'them' from her. With that Balian had already left the main bay, following on from Krass and into the main quarters between the cargo bay and the cockpit. The ones remaining in the bay were Senturo, Reign, Bo, Toema, Taz and Siru. Though Reign remained asleep, his head slumped now and moving along each time the ship hit a harsh current of wind. He would be a hard one to wake up when they hit the ground; he had been thrown around, stabbed in the leg by a dragoon, shot in the shoulder. Though it would have been worse not for Kat's sudden medical help on his wound a little while back.
Bo and Toema spoke amongst themselves, not even looking at Kat this time. Taz on the other hand was eying his new weapon, rubbing it over with a dirty cloth as if in attempt to make it shiny, but with his consistent cleaning, it would not make much of a difference. His armor was pretty beat up, considering he was only wearing the leg pieces for his marine suit, faded singlet covered in blood and ash stains from the battle before. He looked up slightly and listened to what Kat said about Li-six, almost laughing out himself.
Senturo turned an eye to Li-six, noting that she still hadn't lost her smart-ass remarks; she was still the same tank that had been before when they had picked her up. The techs must have done a pretty bang up job of cleaning her out, though then again, it was a perfect idea, to have a think-tank still within the squad, though against the Striders however, he was not sure. Her friend-or-foe system would be a pull back on the field ahead he was sure. Sen looked back to Reign for a moment, seeing him sitting there still next to wolf, without being moved by Kat... perhaps she trusted him?
He eyed the knife she was messing around with and nodded, his arms folded over his chest, "It's called a Syi blade" he spoke up quietly almost, "The marines used to carry them all the time, though they are a little jumpy and tended to break easily with so many options and such. But a useful tool" he looked back and down the bay, "Strider must have picked it up from a body within the Sentry halls"
Siru tilted his head and grinned as Li-six told him off for his question, "Ha! Well I didn't know did I? For all I knew you could have been hiding your mop and bucket Hm? Janitor", he laughed and leant back against the wall, looking over her larger gun attached to the top of her armor. For a moment he was pondering on possibilities, such a weapon they never did attach to the military M5's. He turned back and looked across to the girl he admired, listening to her words about having a pilot within the think-tank? He turned back and nodded,
"If the so called 'cure' for the Tech virus worked they would have used it right? Instead of leaving us marines to have all the fun" he paused and nodded, "Well at least you can say, you 'are' one of a kind?" he laughed.
Razu's voice once more called out over the loud speaker, "Location has been found, we will be dropping in ten minutes marines" there was a silence, Taz slowly stood up and held his gun up over his shoulder, pressing his hand to the wall for support, "We are going in hot, there will most likely be scatter fire on ground. Strider Special Forces this time marines, not the smaller stuff... be ready" the link switched off as Siru slowly stood up too, grinning from under his mask,
"Finally! The real Striders come out to play"
)Ic:
"Communications are up sir, I’ve patched into their command... you should be able to speak to them straight off, but be careful what you say... I'm not sure if it’s secure without the net online, heh" came Tipae, handing a little comm-link device to Razu. He nodded softly and took it, slipping it up and clicking it onto the earpiece he had been wearing. For a moment there was only static, little clicks in the background before he nodded and spoke up into the comm-link,
"This is Major Razu Haibane rank 3 of Delta Squad 7 do you read me, over" he spoke up first, leaning back and waiting, his eyes on the main front screen watching as more and more strider drop ships poured from the skies like swarms of insects. He waited a moment before turning to Tipae with a disappointed look in his eyes, for a moment he was about to hand it back, but then it crackled and a voice came back to him. The reception was bad, but there was a voice on the other side,
"Delta squad 7?" It came first, "Damn its good to hear from you guys. This is Captain Halberd of Oscar 3, where are you positioned?" the voice clicked off for a moment as Razu brought up the locater screen,
"This is an unprotected channel, locations at the moment are out of the question. Is there a way we can transfer this link to a secure channel?" Razu asked, looking to the locater as it narrowed in on where the call was coming from, just to be sure it wasn't a trick. There was a silence that followed first before the voice came back,
"Understood" was the first word for a little while, before the static on the channel was dispersed and cleared, changing channels clearly, "Secure channel is up, we have a link for two minutes tops before it's down" Razu turned to Tipae and the marine nodded in confirmation that the channel was indeed secure, locked in and ready. Razu nodded,
"Ok, we are traveling from, what looks to me perhaps Eld by-pass, up the southern highway. On route to Catacarn city, your location. Our position is as follows" he paused to make sure of the map for a moment, "34.67.23 South, location 23 Alpha, do you copy?"
There was a pause in the transmission first before the signal came in clear, "Copy that Delta 7, location is fixed"
"Our craft is a Strider Drop ship, so keep watch on location and we will call you on approach, is that understood?" Razu asked almost immediately, considering the strider drop ship activity; it was a suicide mission to land in there without them knowing the ship was full of marines and not striders,
"Confirmed, we will keep a look out with communications open, it's good to have another Tac marine squad operational sir, we were thinking Oscar was the last in this area" the voice came back with hope,
"Same here captain" he looked out the view screen, "What’s the situation over there, we were able to pick up a static communication back a distance from here, things seemed a little hostile" Razu waited a moment for the reply,
"Strider attacks on the main cities have pretty much taken their main attention, but our outpost here has seen some damage taken. Strider forces still occupy the west side. They are making some sort of inner base within the homes of civilians" he paused a moment, "But something strange is happening down here... you gotta see it to understand it though..."
Razu took a glance to Tipae and nodded, "We heard the former communication... something about messing with the civilians and so on. This strider invasion sure has me spooked"
"You can say that again Major--" suddenly the link was put aside as another voice spoke out, a little distant, telling them he was in the background,
"Sir! Strider SF's and drones are on route to our position!" the man called out, the Captains voice following almost immediately,
"Damnit, not another one. Tighten the defenses, call back all the sentries and scouts, we hold this position!" he ordered,
"Yes sir!" the marine answered in kind, leaving that as his last words on the comm.
"Major Razu, I'm going to have to cut this short, but we could really use your help down here" he spoke up, getting ready to shut off the link,
"Ten minutes Captain, give me ten minutes and we will be on ground and ready to go,” Razu answered,
"Good, I will see you on the field, over and out" with that the link was pulled off, Razu dropping the link from his ear piece and handing it back to Tipae,
"Looks like we are going to have to speed things up here" he spoke up, flicking some buttons on the main computer screen.
~
Everyone that had been sitting were a little further away from the girl now, her sudden outburst of laughter has spooked them enough to realize perhaps the reason Senturo was standing there was not to protect her, but to protect 'them' from her. With that Balian had already left the main bay, following on from Krass and into the main quarters between the cargo bay and the cockpit. The ones remaining in the bay were Senturo, Reign, Bo, Toema, Taz and Siru. Though Reign remained asleep, his head slumped now and moving along each time the ship hit a harsh current of wind. He would be a hard one to wake up when they hit the ground; he had been thrown around, stabbed in the leg by a dragoon, shot in the shoulder. Though it would have been worse not for Kat's sudden medical help on his wound a little while back.
Bo and Toema spoke amongst themselves, not even looking at Kat this time. Taz on the other hand was eying his new weapon, rubbing it over with a dirty cloth as if in attempt to make it shiny, but with his consistent cleaning, it would not make much of a difference. His armor was pretty beat up, considering he was only wearing the leg pieces for his marine suit, faded singlet covered in blood and ash stains from the battle before. He looked up slightly and listened to what Kat said about Li-six, almost laughing out himself.
Senturo turned an eye to Li-six, noting that she still hadn't lost her smart-ass remarks; she was still the same tank that had been before when they had picked her up. The techs must have done a pretty bang up job of cleaning her out, though then again, it was a perfect idea, to have a think-tank still within the squad, though against the Striders however, he was not sure. Her friend-or-foe system would be a pull back on the field ahead he was sure. Sen looked back to Reign for a moment, seeing him sitting there still next to wolf, without being moved by Kat... perhaps she trusted him?
He eyed the knife she was messing around with and nodded, his arms folded over his chest, "It's called a Syi blade" he spoke up quietly almost, "The marines used to carry them all the time, though they are a little jumpy and tended to break easily with so many options and such. But a useful tool" he looked back and down the bay, "Strider must have picked it up from a body within the Sentry halls"
Siru tilted his head and grinned as Li-six told him off for his question, "Ha! Well I didn't know did I? For all I knew you could have been hiding your mop and bucket Hm? Janitor", he laughed and leant back against the wall, looking over her larger gun attached to the top of her armor. For a moment he was pondering on possibilities, such a weapon they never did attach to the military M5's. He turned back and looked across to the girl he admired, listening to her words about having a pilot within the think-tank? He turned back and nodded,
"If the so called 'cure' for the Tech virus worked they would have used it right? Instead of leaving us marines to have all the fun" he paused and nodded, "Well at least you can say, you 'are' one of a kind?" he laughed.
Razu's voice once more called out over the loud speaker, "Location has been found, we will be dropping in ten minutes marines" there was a silence, Taz slowly stood up and held his gun up over his shoulder, pressing his hand to the wall for support, "We are going in hot, there will most likely be scatter fire on ground. Strider Special Forces this time marines, not the smaller stuff... be ready" the link switched off as Siru slowly stood up too, grinning from under his mask,
"Finally! The real Striders come out to play"
~
Kat was getting up to check on the soldier's wounds when she heard the tank speak first. Though she didn't entirely know that it was the tank whom had spoke. When a growling voice spoke to her however, Kat whipped around to see that the voice was coming from the tank!
~HOLY FUCK!~ Kat suddenly jumped backwards out of surprise, but she had forgotten that the ship was actually quite small for one of her jumps. She leapt into the air so quickly when her head cracked into the ceiling and her body smashed into the wall that there were actual dents. Kat fell forwards onto the supply crate, hitting face first and rolling down and off the crates only to fall right off of them and onto the floor, hitting the back of her head this time. Finally tumbling until she struck against the tank itself she ended up sprawled out looking up at the outer cropping of the tank. She remained that way for a while until, just like the Undertaker of wrestling, she sat straight up... only to hit her head on the tank's 'head' and fall back down.
Curses flew from her mouth as she crawled away rubbing the many bumps on her head and finally getting up, turning and facing the tank. Her temper getting the better of her. ~Well excuse me!~ Suddenly her voice went into overly sarcastic mode, snapping into the air in a slue of curses. ~It's not like I've seen or even smelled a God-be-damned-mother-fucking-human for, oh, let me see, THREE YEARS! or anything like that! And, the last "Dwarf Computer" I saw was a fuckin' DELL LAPTOP.~ Kat turned and moved back over to Wolf, then glared back at everyone else, but mostly at the tank.
~Besides, I didn't even bother with it long. Piece of crap computers, doesn't really matter though since I can't rea-~ Kat cut herself off and then turned around without a word, kneeling by Reign and making sure that the armor was staying welded on. In her mind she was kicking herself for loosing her temper again. Though they probably didn't get all of what she said; there was enough there for them to take a guess.
Stupid humans, what's so important about reading anyways? She thought to herself, adjusting Reign's posture so that Wolf actually laid on his legs slightly, keeping him stable as the ship continued. Then as the voice of Razu spoke over the loud speaker, Kat suddenly looked at Reign. Wolf for what they knew was fine and Kat suspected that if those people wanted him so bad, they weren't about to shoot him, but what about the soldier?
For a moment Kat bit her lip, growling to herself and trying to make up her mind. Looking between Reign and Wolf she rubbed her shoulders. Could she carry them both? I might have to. It's the only way that this guy would be safe. Those things wouldn't try and shoot at me or him s'long as Wolf was with us and that helmet on his head. She looked around and then walked up to Senturo. Not remembering that she didn't need to tap him on the shoulder, she did anyways.
~I'll carry your friend and Wolf.~ She said quietly, looking back at the two, worried. ~Your friend cannot take another hit, and I don't think if those guys have similar armor and crafts like Wolf's helmet that they'll be willing to take a risk and shoot if Reign and I are with him.~ She leaned down and pulled off her jacket from Wolf's head, showing the helmet to the others for the first time. Snarling to herself and promising that she'd kill whomever did that to him. She put the hoody on and slipped her new Syi blade into her pocket with the bullet on her right side.
~Look, I'll even promise to be a good girl and not get into any trouble for once. But you can't let him get hurt again!~ Her ear twitched. Why am I begging? She pondered to herself, but for right now she had to help that guy. Part of the reason, she knew deep down, that he had been hurt is 'cause she hadn't gotten on the damn ship right away in the first place.
~He'll be safe with me.~ She said, looking up at Senturo. ~If I can trust you, then you're going to have to trust me. That's the way it works.~
~HOLY FUCK!~ Kat suddenly jumped backwards out of surprise, but she had forgotten that the ship was actually quite small for one of her jumps. She leapt into the air so quickly when her head cracked into the ceiling and her body smashed into the wall that there were actual dents. Kat fell forwards onto the supply crate, hitting face first and rolling down and off the crates only to fall right off of them and onto the floor, hitting the back of her head this time. Finally tumbling until she struck against the tank itself she ended up sprawled out looking up at the outer cropping of the tank. She remained that way for a while until, just like the Undertaker of wrestling, she sat straight up... only to hit her head on the tank's 'head' and fall back down.
Curses flew from her mouth as she crawled away rubbing the many bumps on her head and finally getting up, turning and facing the tank. Her temper getting the better of her. ~Well excuse me!~ Suddenly her voice went into overly sarcastic mode, snapping into the air in a slue of curses. ~It's not like I've seen or even smelled a God-be-damned-mother-fucking-human for, oh, let me see, THREE YEARS! or anything like that! And, the last "Dwarf Computer" I saw was a fuckin' DELL LAPTOP.~ Kat turned and moved back over to Wolf, then glared back at everyone else, but mostly at the tank.
~Besides, I didn't even bother with it long. Piece of crap computers, doesn't really matter though since I can't rea-~ Kat cut herself off and then turned around without a word, kneeling by Reign and making sure that the armor was staying welded on. In her mind she was kicking herself for loosing her temper again. Though they probably didn't get all of what she said; there was enough there for them to take a guess.
Stupid humans, what's so important about reading anyways? She thought to herself, adjusting Reign's posture so that Wolf actually laid on his legs slightly, keeping him stable as the ship continued. Then as the voice of Razu spoke over the loud speaker, Kat suddenly looked at Reign. Wolf for what they knew was fine and Kat suspected that if those people wanted him so bad, they weren't about to shoot him, but what about the soldier?
For a moment Kat bit her lip, growling to herself and trying to make up her mind. Looking between Reign and Wolf she rubbed her shoulders. Could she carry them both? I might have to. It's the only way that this guy would be safe. Those things wouldn't try and shoot at me or him s'long as Wolf was with us and that helmet on his head. She looked around and then walked up to Senturo. Not remembering that she didn't need to tap him on the shoulder, she did anyways.
~I'll carry your friend and Wolf.~ She said quietly, looking back at the two, worried. ~Your friend cannot take another hit, and I don't think if those guys have similar armor and crafts like Wolf's helmet that they'll be willing to take a risk and shoot if Reign and I are with him.~ She leaned down and pulled off her jacket from Wolf's head, showing the helmet to the others for the first time. Snarling to herself and promising that she'd kill whomever did that to him. She put the hoody on and slipped her new Syi blade into her pocket with the bullet on her right side.
~Look, I'll even promise to be a good girl and not get into any trouble for once. But you can't let him get hurt again!~ Her ear twitched. Why am I begging? She pondered to herself, but for right now she had to help that guy. Part of the reason, she knew deep down, that he had been hurt is 'cause she hadn't gotten on the damn ship right away in the first place.
~He'll be safe with me.~ She said, looking up at Senturo. ~If I can trust you, then you're going to have to trust me. That's the way it works.~
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
"Watch your mouth fly-boy or I'll mop you too while I'm at it." Li-six muttered to Siru. It was no real threat, just the kind of jargon soldiers exchanged with each other. The think-tanks were designed to be able to be part of a squad. And even though Li-six was a specialist unit, the basics was still in there, helping her to "blend in" with the soldiers. As much as a talking tank could ever blend in of course.
Li-six watched with disbelief as the mutant almost knocked herself out against everything possibly capable of hitting her within a three meter radius. Including her. The suspicious tank routinely checked so that the wolf-woman hadn't just "happened" to bump into her in order to plant something on her hull. That didn't seem to be the case. She checked twice just to be sure.
That metal hood over the canine's head was interesting. She didn't know what to make of it, but it sure hadn't been there when they took the animal on board. Yet another piece of a strange series of events.
Jamesson, the cybertech, came out from the sparse and small ship toilet, closing the hatch behind him before the movements of the ship managed to rip it from his hands. "We ... I ... picked these." he said, digging in the wide pockets of his tech coveralls producing a handfulls of nutri-bars he and his now dead partner had picked up from a food dispenser for what seemed to be so long ago. "Food. Maybe something to hold on to ..." Staggering from side to side as the ship lurched in the turbulent atmosphere, he offered food bars to the marines that were awake -- several of them took a chance to doze off in the few minutes they had before all hell would break loose again. Siru took one. Jamesson turned to Kat holding out the bar to her from a step away. "Want one too?" he asked insecurely.
"Maybe you should take a look at that canine's helmet, Jamesson" Li-six suggested. "You're the cybertech. Maybe you can make something of it."
Keeping an eye on the mutant (far too unpredictable that one), Li-six silently took care of something she didn't like to do, but had to. She opened a private secure link to Razu up front in the cockpit.
Li-six might have had her excentricities, but she was also a combat-AI, a professional. She had to make sure the unit commander -- Razu, currently -- was aware of what resources he had -- and what he didn't have. "Major" she said, after Razu had accepted her secure link, "It is my duty to inform you that I might not be so useful to you as you might think. My friend-or-foe system still considers the Strider units as friendlies. I cannot fire upon them. Furthermore, I am a saboutage and electronic warfare specialist, sir -- not a front-line combat tank. I'm built for speed, not for frontal assault. I could cover a troop movement temporarily, but against Striders I would be little more than a moving shield, I'm afraid. And the moment mounted weaponry, or air support, shows up you'll be one tank short ...
... So if I may come with a suggestion, sir: Don't count on me for fire support when you plan your insertion. You'll be disappointed. Rather, let me act as your electronic warfare backup. Drop me off just short of your insertion, a kilometer should be enough. I have cloak capabilities and my sensor array is gamma class. If I am given freedom of movement I can supply you with superior intel once we are on the ground. I might not be able to shoot the Striders, but there is nothing stopping me from spying on them.
Furthermore, I -ahem- happened to hear you have trouble with securing your communications. This will only get worse, as long as you rely on the old military channels -- all of which can be subverted as I',m sure you know. For a small amount of people, like for you and your men, I can setup a completely secure local communication network right now. You will simply route your communications through me and use me as a mobile relay hub."
Li-six watched with disbelief as the mutant almost knocked herself out against everything possibly capable of hitting her within a three meter radius. Including her. The suspicious tank routinely checked so that the wolf-woman hadn't just "happened" to bump into her in order to plant something on her hull. That didn't seem to be the case. She checked twice just to be sure.
That metal hood over the canine's head was interesting. She didn't know what to make of it, but it sure hadn't been there when they took the animal on board. Yet another piece of a strange series of events.
Jamesson, the cybertech, came out from the sparse and small ship toilet, closing the hatch behind him before the movements of the ship managed to rip it from his hands. "We ... I ... picked these." he said, digging in the wide pockets of his tech coveralls producing a handfulls of nutri-bars he and his now dead partner had picked up from a food dispenser for what seemed to be so long ago. "Food. Maybe something to hold on to ..." Staggering from side to side as the ship lurched in the turbulent atmosphere, he offered food bars to the marines that were awake -- several of them took a chance to doze off in the few minutes they had before all hell would break loose again. Siru took one. Jamesson turned to Kat holding out the bar to her from a step away. "Want one too?" he asked insecurely.
"Maybe you should take a look at that canine's helmet, Jamesson" Li-six suggested. "You're the cybertech. Maybe you can make something of it."
Keeping an eye on the mutant (far too unpredictable that one), Li-six silently took care of something she didn't like to do, but had to. She opened a private secure link to Razu up front in the cockpit.
Li-six might have had her excentricities, but she was also a combat-AI, a professional. She had to make sure the unit commander -- Razu, currently -- was aware of what resources he had -- and what he didn't have. "Major" she said, after Razu had accepted her secure link, "It is my duty to inform you that I might not be so useful to you as you might think. My friend-or-foe system still considers the Strider units as friendlies. I cannot fire upon them. Furthermore, I am a saboutage and electronic warfare specialist, sir -- not a front-line combat tank. I'm built for speed, not for frontal assault. I could cover a troop movement temporarily, but against Striders I would be little more than a moving shield, I'm afraid. And the moment mounted weaponry, or air support, shows up you'll be one tank short ...
... So if I may come with a suggestion, sir: Don't count on me for fire support when you plan your insertion. You'll be disappointed. Rather, let me act as your electronic warfare backup. Drop me off just short of your insertion, a kilometer should be enough. I have cloak capabilities and my sensor array is gamma class. If I am given freedom of movement I can supply you with superior intel once we are on the ground. I might not be able to shoot the Striders, but there is nothing stopping me from spying on them.
Furthermore, I -ahem- happened to hear you have trouble with securing your communications. This will only get worse, as long as you rely on the old military channels -- all of which can be subverted as I',m sure you know. For a small amount of people, like for you and your men, I can setup a completely secure local communication network right now. You will simply route your communications through me and use me as a mobile relay hub."
Senturo was the first to react to Kat's sudden movement, hearing her move behind him just as Li-six had spoke back to her about the whole not being a cargo truck, instead a think-tank, no pilot only a high intelligent AI system. It seemed to be another thing that this kid didn't know anything about, nothing at all, it seemed it was the very first time she had even known about this sort of technology. He turned, as if waiting for her to calm to help her out, but she seemed to do well on her own. He didn't say a word, simply because there was just too much to think about, key things she said... she hadn't seen humans for three years? She had simply walked into the Catacarn cityscape before his eyes as if she had no worry in the world.
Sen slowly folded his arms back to their place, watching Taz and Siru, both standing and looking in Kats general direction, with perplexed eyes, there was no way they could have seen that one coming. Taz scratched his head with a confused look upon his face, receiving one of her glares he had seen before,
"Geez kid" he laughed out loud, "Who cares if you can't read!" he lifted up his customized plasma rifle, "As long as you have those bloody claws of yours who's gonna need it?" he leant back against the wall, catching a glance from Bo as he stood up. Bo was probably the biggest of the marines, standing up to at least 6'2" he wore a heavier armor then the others too. He looked across to Taz as he fixed up his helmet,
"Don't be such a kiss ass man" he laughed,
Taz tilted his head and folded his arms over his chest, "I'd rather be on her good side then otherwise" he spoke up leaning his head against the wall, feeling the ship lurch and move a little more within the wind, they could feel the craft slowly lowering all the more. Bo and Taz looked across and watched as Kat tended to Reigns wound, moving across and moving the wolf that had been under her hoody to lay against his legs. They didn't say a word as she turned to face Senturo and talk to him. Bo stood to the wall, tightening his armor slightly and pulling up his plasma rifle, checking if it was still in good shape.
Senturo turned slightly, feeling her tap on his shoulder; he didn't say anything, as he looked to her, speaking of Reign, "Yeah... Razu patched the comm-link to me too" he spoke up first, though only quietly. At first he thought it would have been best to perhaps keep Reign and wolf with the think tank, she had armor, and could protect them well, though he had no knowledge just yet of Li-six asking to be dropped off separately. But the words of the girl caught him off guard, ~If I can trust you, then you're going to have to trust me. That's the way it works. ~ He paused to think on it, turning his head and looking across to Reign. He was still out; his head slumped forward with wolf lying against his legs to keep him stable.
She had taken the bullets before, against so many Striders; she could help them with this,
Sen leant back and unfolded his arms, "Ok kid. You stick close to me and the other guys, none of this rushing forward thing please" he spoke, not in a harsh tone, but a concerned one, "The Striders before were their frontal troops, the ones that they class as 'expendable' but now we are on the ground. From the communication, these guys are Special Forces, the Strider units they created just before my prototype design" he looked across and watched as the Tech, Jamesson, begin to move around the bay, handing out nutri-bars, "It's going to be a mess down there"
He turned back to her as the Tech soon approached her attempting to offer her one of the nutri-bars. Senturo turned his head while Kat addressed the man, Sen looked over the remainder of the squad, looking across to Bo, "Soldier, wake up your friend there... we are dropping in soon"
Bo nodded and gave Toema a shove with his foot; the marine seemed to shake his head in disapproval before shoving his hands across without a word and getting up from his spot.
~
Razu looked up, laser fire streaming up in the distance of their location; the battle in that area had already started. The drop ship swooped over the first rows of buildings, its engines blasting outwards as it streamed through clouds of smoke from flaming buildings, using the destruction of the city to their advantage. Razu turned his head, hearing the click of a secure link coming in, only to hear Li-six's code come in and her voice following in. He accepted without a second thought and listened in. It was then he began to ponder on the friend-or-doe system, one thing now that brought down her combat abilities badly, but what she brought up after that was something that caught his interest. The communication had indeed said the Striders occupying the town were gathering up in a location and setting up base within the buildings, perhaps her skills would be of more use there.
He nodded and pressed his hand to his ear piece, "With the recent changes in military organization, your capabilities came to a miss on my side since your other tanks had been taken out. But this is good, very good I must say" he paused a moment, moving his hand from his ear and flicking through the city grid map, trying to plot a location at least a kilometer out, "But best I have for a drop point is... roof top, there’s a market place not too far from this point, its the closest I can get you" he looked over the screen and thought a moment, "It's going to be quick, so switch up cloak before the doors open" he leant back and the ship slowly took a turn, "A secure comm-link would be helpful Li-six, looks like this net crash has distorted all our normal gear... Just sit back, I'll give you word when I’m over location"
With that they pushed into their final decent,
"Sir, Strider activity is all over the rooftops, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tipae spoke up, leaning up in his chair and slipping away his wrist computer,
"No, I'm not" Razu said honestly, "But this is the best we have, and having Li-six in the background with our Intel on what the hell is happening in this place, this is something we just need to get done" he pulled the controls. The last of their silence was over, the way the ship moved in, it was then that the Striders realized this the drop ship was not theirs,
"Repeater fire incoming!" Tipae called out,
"Siru, prepare for back ramp to be opened!" Razu called over their link,
"What, but we are in the air!" Siru called back unsure on what brought the message on,
"Do as you are ordered marine!" Razu snapped back as the ship turned, pushing through the smoke of a smoldering building aside from the market place. The city itself was not as one would think a future city would look, it was still as a normal early 20th century city would look, but a closer look it would change, add-ons and futuristic outposts were within. Dust poured out from the rooftop they swept over, the top of a large apartment building it was.
~
Siru reached up to the lever that controlled the backdrop hatch, he looked across to Li-six and nodded, hearing the words filter into his comm-link, pretty much exactly what was about to happen. Taz held up his gun as the other marines slowly gathered at the back of the cargo bay, even Krass and Balian came to appear from the back area doors, though clearly standing away from Kat, and not making any sort of eye contact, and even trying 'not' to think about her. Siru nodded to Li-six and grinned under his helmet,
"You be good now, ya hear?" he laughed hearing Razu call out over the loud speaker now,
"Drop area one! Hold on tight marines, and keep your positions. There will be incoming Strider fire so stay low!" he called out before finally speaking through Li-Six's link,
"Ok, you’re clear, be careful, I have reports of drones in the area. Your cloak makes no difference to them, so keep to the rooftops" he moved the ship across as it slowly began to hover over the top of the building. Siru pulled forward, his pistol holstered and the food bar tightly gripped in his hand, his other gripped on the lever, with not a moment lost he pulled against it, letting a blast of wind push straight into the cargo bay, the bright light from outside broke in. From all corners of the inside cargo bay white smoke blasted in over the top of the ceiling, pushing through and making sure the atmosphere was not strong enough to mess with anyone without a mask over their face.
The rooftop was bare, only stone and no doors or openings to the levels below, though around it were many other buildings just the same, the lower streets were covered with scattered market places, openings. Though they were bare, stores that had been there were thrown apart and spread out as if something had pushed through each and every one of them in a desperate search for something. In the distance there was thick smoke bellowing up from every third building or so where the insides had been burnt out, melted windows and some with furniture dangling from the windows.
Razu held onto the controls, it took him too long to hear the noise and the target scanner to even find that something was being fired upon them. Tipae reached across, "Incoming!" he screamed out. Razu pulled against the sticks as the ship took a violent turn. From within the cargo bay everyone who was not holding onto something or held by anything were dropped to their backs. Taz dropped across before grabbing onto the railing that separated the ground that Li-six had been on. The blast outside swept through a window of a close-by building. Though with Razu's swift move the ship moved back, letting the blast of energy snap across one of the side port engines top.
Fire cracked off the top of the ships hull and skipped across to the other side. With that the cargo bay went red with alarms. A sudden jolt of movement displaced Siru's grip. As Li-six dropped into position, rolling out of the door so followed Siru. He scrambled through the air before curling to run smack into the side of the building rooftop.
Taz dropped back and scrambled up, "Siru!" he called out as the back door slowly began to run closed, smoke pouring down from the broken engine,
"Hold on! This is going to get rougher!" came the voice of Razu over the loud speaker, completely unaware that not only Li-six had been dropped into location, but Siru too, with only a plasma pistol. The ship moved from over the building they had been dropped on, its three engines capable of getting them to their actual drop point no problem.
The commander had been hanging from the back door, looking out into the battle zone,
"Men! Suit up! Looks like this zone is going to be a lot heavier protected then we thought!" he called out as he moved into the bay, wobbling around almost to keep balance as the ship pushed through the air for the drop point,
"What about Siru sir? We can't just leave him out there" Bo spoke up as he leant against the wall with one hand, hanging on as they pushed forward. The commander shook his head as he approached the drop ramp,
"Going back there is out of the question, Siru is a marine of Alpha Company, he can take care of himself!" the commander growled.
Senturo pulled out the pistol he had taken, watching as Taz pulled up his broken helmet and slipped it over his head feeling the cold metal pushing up against his face wound with a painful groan. He lifted up his gun and nodded to Senturo. He was quite pissed to the fact that Siru was back there, but as the commander said and he knew, Siru was a bastard the Striders should not underestimate. Senturo looked across to Kat and nodded,
"Ok kid, its time to get ready. Remember, we stay close" he then turned his head quickly to look to the commander who had come to stand before them, looking to Kat with narrowed eyes,
"She's not going to jump in front of our guns this time right?" the commander spoke up, completely serious.
Senturo nodded, "As long as you don't give her orders sir, she won't cause you any trouble..." he answered, knowing Kat was most likely not going to take the commanders comments all to well,
"She's your responsibility scout" he then nodded and turned to Kat with not fear in his movements or voice, "Don't get in my way kid, or 'you' will be the one dead" he turned away and walked back, Krass, Balian and Toema following him up to the drop bay doors. Bo and Taz slowly walked up to where Kat and Senturo were standing,
"Making friends with the commander I see kid?" Taz spoke up, "Don't let his shit get to you, he may think he's all high and mighty but he's really a chicken shit" he then punched Bo in the shoulder, "Just like Bo here" he laughed as Bo gave him a side glance and shook his head.
Senturo looked around them, "Ok guys, stay close to me, Bo, you'd better stick with your commander. I don't want any mix up out there while we are running" he watched as Bo shook his head,
"I'll stick with you guys, there's no way I’m listening to his shit any more" Bo turned and looked across, watching as everyone gathered up. Senturo moved over to where Reign was, looking to his shoulder and nodding as he turned back to Kat and spoke up,
"Ok, lets get them up and ready kid"
Taz then tilted his head, an odd look in his eye's as he looked to Kat, "Hey... what is your name anyway? It's not kid is it?" he laughed as Razu's voice filled the loud speakers once more,
"Drop zone in twenty seconds! Find a cover zone first and set up defense, then we move!"
~
Siru groaned, slowly kneeling up, his hand pressed into the ground with the crushed food bar covering his armored glove. He slowly reached back and pulled out his pistol. His body ached, to his side came a sharp pain where he had landed on it. He was on his side now, laying, his head pressed to the very edge of the large building. To all sides in the distance there was fire streaming up into the skies, only short bursts where there was outposts being built up and attacked. He shook his head, the dust from the rooftop streaming over his head as he watched the drop ship that he had fallen from stream across the sky towards one of the larger smoke clouds coming from the city. The marine turned and rolled onto his back, holding up his pistol.
The rooftop was bare, nothing, he was sure Li-six had dropped down with him, but couldn't very well see if she had activated her cloak screen. Perhaps she hadn't been able to drop when the ship was hit? Or she didn't even know he had fallen out when it happened and just left him behind,
"Li-six?" he spoke out as softly as he could...
Either way, he was in trouble, he had no cloak, and by the sounds of things, the streets below were way out of the question.
He leant up and crawled closer to the side, peeking his head over the ledge, looking down into the messed up streets, the road below was scattered with all kinds of things, fruits, parts, debris and broken wall pieces. In the same as that there were a few scattered Strider bodies, no smoke rising from their wounds... telling him whatever happened here was a while before they had arrived. There was also movement down there, a long oval shaped droid, hovering lightly in the air, three lights moving from its sides connected to small silver arms. It seemed to look through the sides of the buildings and windows of the lower ground.
Siru looked up and across the next building, his sights zooming in and locking onto a short movement to an opposite window. A long bone white gun muzzle poked out of a broken window, it seemed almost transparent, the luck of him seeing it was bare to none, but in the slightest chance he had seen it. He didn't say a word, knowing it was a Sniper, possibly low range or he would have been firing at the engines of the ship. Though... by the looks of the muzzle, it was not explosive bullet head like he had seen before.
The marine kept low, holding his pistol to his side, watching over, his comm-link only brought up static, and a soft clicking noise, telling him clearly that his landing was not what it needed at all. Siru breathed out, feeling the wind and dust battering against his body, he kept his eyes on the sniper... perhaps if the Strider or whoever it was moved back he could move away from the ledge, but for now, he was kinda stuck...
Sen slowly folded his arms back to their place, watching Taz and Siru, both standing and looking in Kats general direction, with perplexed eyes, there was no way they could have seen that one coming. Taz scratched his head with a confused look upon his face, receiving one of her glares he had seen before,
"Geez kid" he laughed out loud, "Who cares if you can't read!" he lifted up his customized plasma rifle, "As long as you have those bloody claws of yours who's gonna need it?" he leant back against the wall, catching a glance from Bo as he stood up. Bo was probably the biggest of the marines, standing up to at least 6'2" he wore a heavier armor then the others too. He looked across to Taz as he fixed up his helmet,
"Don't be such a kiss ass man" he laughed,
Taz tilted his head and folded his arms over his chest, "I'd rather be on her good side then otherwise" he spoke up leaning his head against the wall, feeling the ship lurch and move a little more within the wind, they could feel the craft slowly lowering all the more. Bo and Taz looked across and watched as Kat tended to Reigns wound, moving across and moving the wolf that had been under her hoody to lay against his legs. They didn't say a word as she turned to face Senturo and talk to him. Bo stood to the wall, tightening his armor slightly and pulling up his plasma rifle, checking if it was still in good shape.
Senturo turned slightly, feeling her tap on his shoulder; he didn't say anything, as he looked to her, speaking of Reign, "Yeah... Razu patched the comm-link to me too" he spoke up first, though only quietly. At first he thought it would have been best to perhaps keep Reign and wolf with the think tank, she had armor, and could protect them well, though he had no knowledge just yet of Li-six asking to be dropped off separately. But the words of the girl caught him off guard, ~If I can trust you, then you're going to have to trust me. That's the way it works. ~ He paused to think on it, turning his head and looking across to Reign. He was still out; his head slumped forward with wolf lying against his legs to keep him stable.
She had taken the bullets before, against so many Striders; she could help them with this,
Sen leant back and unfolded his arms, "Ok kid. You stick close to me and the other guys, none of this rushing forward thing please" he spoke, not in a harsh tone, but a concerned one, "The Striders before were their frontal troops, the ones that they class as 'expendable' but now we are on the ground. From the communication, these guys are Special Forces, the Strider units they created just before my prototype design" he looked across and watched as the Tech, Jamesson, begin to move around the bay, handing out nutri-bars, "It's going to be a mess down there"
He turned back to her as the Tech soon approached her attempting to offer her one of the nutri-bars. Senturo turned his head while Kat addressed the man, Sen looked over the remainder of the squad, looking across to Bo, "Soldier, wake up your friend there... we are dropping in soon"
Bo nodded and gave Toema a shove with his foot; the marine seemed to shake his head in disapproval before shoving his hands across without a word and getting up from his spot.
~
Razu looked up, laser fire streaming up in the distance of their location; the battle in that area had already started. The drop ship swooped over the first rows of buildings, its engines blasting outwards as it streamed through clouds of smoke from flaming buildings, using the destruction of the city to their advantage. Razu turned his head, hearing the click of a secure link coming in, only to hear Li-six's code come in and her voice following in. He accepted without a second thought and listened in. It was then he began to ponder on the friend-or-doe system, one thing now that brought down her combat abilities badly, but what she brought up after that was something that caught his interest. The communication had indeed said the Striders occupying the town were gathering up in a location and setting up base within the buildings, perhaps her skills would be of more use there.
He nodded and pressed his hand to his ear piece, "With the recent changes in military organization, your capabilities came to a miss on my side since your other tanks had been taken out. But this is good, very good I must say" he paused a moment, moving his hand from his ear and flicking through the city grid map, trying to plot a location at least a kilometer out, "But best I have for a drop point is... roof top, there’s a market place not too far from this point, its the closest I can get you" he looked over the screen and thought a moment, "It's going to be quick, so switch up cloak before the doors open" he leant back and the ship slowly took a turn, "A secure comm-link would be helpful Li-six, looks like this net crash has distorted all our normal gear... Just sit back, I'll give you word when I’m over location"
With that they pushed into their final decent,
"Sir, Strider activity is all over the rooftops, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tipae spoke up, leaning up in his chair and slipping away his wrist computer,
"No, I'm not" Razu said honestly, "But this is the best we have, and having Li-six in the background with our Intel on what the hell is happening in this place, this is something we just need to get done" he pulled the controls. The last of their silence was over, the way the ship moved in, it was then that the Striders realized this the drop ship was not theirs,
"Repeater fire incoming!" Tipae called out,
"Siru, prepare for back ramp to be opened!" Razu called over their link,
"What, but we are in the air!" Siru called back unsure on what brought the message on,
"Do as you are ordered marine!" Razu snapped back as the ship turned, pushing through the smoke of a smoldering building aside from the market place. The city itself was not as one would think a future city would look, it was still as a normal early 20th century city would look, but a closer look it would change, add-ons and futuristic outposts were within. Dust poured out from the rooftop they swept over, the top of a large apartment building it was.
~
Siru reached up to the lever that controlled the backdrop hatch, he looked across to Li-six and nodded, hearing the words filter into his comm-link, pretty much exactly what was about to happen. Taz held up his gun as the other marines slowly gathered at the back of the cargo bay, even Krass and Balian came to appear from the back area doors, though clearly standing away from Kat, and not making any sort of eye contact, and even trying 'not' to think about her. Siru nodded to Li-six and grinned under his helmet,
"You be good now, ya hear?" he laughed hearing Razu call out over the loud speaker now,
"Drop area one! Hold on tight marines, and keep your positions. There will be incoming Strider fire so stay low!" he called out before finally speaking through Li-Six's link,
"Ok, you’re clear, be careful, I have reports of drones in the area. Your cloak makes no difference to them, so keep to the rooftops" he moved the ship across as it slowly began to hover over the top of the building. Siru pulled forward, his pistol holstered and the food bar tightly gripped in his hand, his other gripped on the lever, with not a moment lost he pulled against it, letting a blast of wind push straight into the cargo bay, the bright light from outside broke in. From all corners of the inside cargo bay white smoke blasted in over the top of the ceiling, pushing through and making sure the atmosphere was not strong enough to mess with anyone without a mask over their face.
The rooftop was bare, only stone and no doors or openings to the levels below, though around it were many other buildings just the same, the lower streets were covered with scattered market places, openings. Though they were bare, stores that had been there were thrown apart and spread out as if something had pushed through each and every one of them in a desperate search for something. In the distance there was thick smoke bellowing up from every third building or so where the insides had been burnt out, melted windows and some with furniture dangling from the windows.
Razu held onto the controls, it took him too long to hear the noise and the target scanner to even find that something was being fired upon them. Tipae reached across, "Incoming!" he screamed out. Razu pulled against the sticks as the ship took a violent turn. From within the cargo bay everyone who was not holding onto something or held by anything were dropped to their backs. Taz dropped across before grabbing onto the railing that separated the ground that Li-six had been on. The blast outside swept through a window of a close-by building. Though with Razu's swift move the ship moved back, letting the blast of energy snap across one of the side port engines top.
Fire cracked off the top of the ships hull and skipped across to the other side. With that the cargo bay went red with alarms. A sudden jolt of movement displaced Siru's grip. As Li-six dropped into position, rolling out of the door so followed Siru. He scrambled through the air before curling to run smack into the side of the building rooftop.
Taz dropped back and scrambled up, "Siru!" he called out as the back door slowly began to run closed, smoke pouring down from the broken engine,
"Hold on! This is going to get rougher!" came the voice of Razu over the loud speaker, completely unaware that not only Li-six had been dropped into location, but Siru too, with only a plasma pistol. The ship moved from over the building they had been dropped on, its three engines capable of getting them to their actual drop point no problem.
The commander had been hanging from the back door, looking out into the battle zone,
"Men! Suit up! Looks like this zone is going to be a lot heavier protected then we thought!" he called out as he moved into the bay, wobbling around almost to keep balance as the ship pushed through the air for the drop point,
"What about Siru sir? We can't just leave him out there" Bo spoke up as he leant against the wall with one hand, hanging on as they pushed forward. The commander shook his head as he approached the drop ramp,
"Going back there is out of the question, Siru is a marine of Alpha Company, he can take care of himself!" the commander growled.
Senturo pulled out the pistol he had taken, watching as Taz pulled up his broken helmet and slipped it over his head feeling the cold metal pushing up against his face wound with a painful groan. He lifted up his gun and nodded to Senturo. He was quite pissed to the fact that Siru was back there, but as the commander said and he knew, Siru was a bastard the Striders should not underestimate. Senturo looked across to Kat and nodded,
"Ok kid, its time to get ready. Remember, we stay close" he then turned his head quickly to look to the commander who had come to stand before them, looking to Kat with narrowed eyes,
"She's not going to jump in front of our guns this time right?" the commander spoke up, completely serious.
Senturo nodded, "As long as you don't give her orders sir, she won't cause you any trouble..." he answered, knowing Kat was most likely not going to take the commanders comments all to well,
"She's your responsibility scout" he then nodded and turned to Kat with not fear in his movements or voice, "Don't get in my way kid, or 'you' will be the one dead" he turned away and walked back, Krass, Balian and Toema following him up to the drop bay doors. Bo and Taz slowly walked up to where Kat and Senturo were standing,
"Making friends with the commander I see kid?" Taz spoke up, "Don't let his shit get to you, he may think he's all high and mighty but he's really a chicken shit" he then punched Bo in the shoulder, "Just like Bo here" he laughed as Bo gave him a side glance and shook his head.
Senturo looked around them, "Ok guys, stay close to me, Bo, you'd better stick with your commander. I don't want any mix up out there while we are running" he watched as Bo shook his head,
"I'll stick with you guys, there's no way I’m listening to his shit any more" Bo turned and looked across, watching as everyone gathered up. Senturo moved over to where Reign was, looking to his shoulder and nodding as he turned back to Kat and spoke up,
"Ok, lets get them up and ready kid"
Taz then tilted his head, an odd look in his eye's as he looked to Kat, "Hey... what is your name anyway? It's not kid is it?" he laughed as Razu's voice filled the loud speakers once more,
"Drop zone in twenty seconds! Find a cover zone first and set up defense, then we move!"
~
Siru groaned, slowly kneeling up, his hand pressed into the ground with the crushed food bar covering his armored glove. He slowly reached back and pulled out his pistol. His body ached, to his side came a sharp pain where he had landed on it. He was on his side now, laying, his head pressed to the very edge of the large building. To all sides in the distance there was fire streaming up into the skies, only short bursts where there was outposts being built up and attacked. He shook his head, the dust from the rooftop streaming over his head as he watched the drop ship that he had fallen from stream across the sky towards one of the larger smoke clouds coming from the city. The marine turned and rolled onto his back, holding up his pistol.
The rooftop was bare, nothing, he was sure Li-six had dropped down with him, but couldn't very well see if she had activated her cloak screen. Perhaps she hadn't been able to drop when the ship was hit? Or she didn't even know he had fallen out when it happened and just left him behind,
"Li-six?" he spoke out as softly as he could...
Either way, he was in trouble, he had no cloak, and by the sounds of things, the streets below were way out of the question.
He leant up and crawled closer to the side, peeking his head over the ledge, looking down into the messed up streets, the road below was scattered with all kinds of things, fruits, parts, debris and broken wall pieces. In the same as that there were a few scattered Strider bodies, no smoke rising from their wounds... telling him whatever happened here was a while before they had arrived. There was also movement down there, a long oval shaped droid, hovering lightly in the air, three lights moving from its sides connected to small silver arms. It seemed to look through the sides of the buildings and windows of the lower ground.
Siru looked up and across the next building, his sights zooming in and locking onto a short movement to an opposite window. A long bone white gun muzzle poked out of a broken window, it seemed almost transparent, the luck of him seeing it was bare to none, but in the slightest chance he had seen it. He didn't say a word, knowing it was a Sniper, possibly low range or he would have been firing at the engines of the ship. Though... by the looks of the muzzle, it was not explosive bullet head like he had seen before.
The marine kept low, holding his pistol to his side, watching over, his comm-link only brought up static, and a soft clicking noise, telling him clearly that his landing was not what it needed at all. Siru breathed out, feeling the wind and dust battering against his body, he kept his eyes on the sniper... perhaps if the Strider or whoever it was moved back he could move away from the ledge, but for now, he was kinda stuck...
~
Kathryn wasn't sure what to make of the comments being thrown at her about being able to read. From the sounds of it Taz thought like she did. Kick ass ask questions later. Though that kiss ass comment did end up giving her a grin. These guys seem different then the last people I ran into. Though, when the tech guy came up to her, she noticed that he was shivering slightly. She just shook her head at the mentioned food. Ugh no! She thought and promised herself once Wolf was okay she'd go out with him to the nearest forest and go hunting. Human food is disgusting. Sighing, Kat agreed with Senturo, she'd stick with them, most likely to the back, to keep Reign and Wolf safe. If I get separated from them though, I'm going to be in some deep shit. Sounds like the Striderthings are just rounding up Civilians, but with the army dude on my back, I'm not so sure they'd be so lenient. Just to be on the safe side, she quickly ran through the moves she could do using just her legs, but one thing led to another, and she got thrown backwards as Razu called over the loud speaker.
Humans should have never invented the car. Their driving doesn't get no better even after a hundred of years....Then again.. aerial fire isn't the best driving conditions anyway. Kat growled to herself as she climbed to get up looking up in time to see the guy whom had smacked her on the shoulder go flying out of the back door! ~Damn it, NO!~ She wanted to leap back and grab him, but he lost his grip too quickly and she was back against the wall. Growling as the drop bay door gizmo shut, Kat got up and checked on Reign and Wolf. Neither of them seemed worse for ware.
It was when someone spoke out in what seemed like a commanding voice. She looked up to see a guy with a posture like on in charge walk in. Saying they wouldn't go after their lost man. Fuckin' humans. A wolf would go back for it's own. She thought quietly, growling softly as he walked over towards her. She could feel his eyes on her and she looked up at him. A low growl rippling up at him. Yet as he spoke of her as if she wasn't there, that growl grew louder. Senturo spoke for her and that really pissed her off.
~F.Y.Fucking I. I'm standing right here~ She growled, glaring up at the Commander. Her eyes narrowing slightly. Kat nearly lost all her temper once more as the Commander-type-person threatened her, her own voice lowered, growling out her next words.. ~Dude, if you wanna kill me... Go right ahead! I've been shot through the head, shot through the heart, fuck, I've been shot anywhere you can think of and, unless I'm a ghost, I ain't dead yet! And I'll probably be there at your funeral ready to piss on your remains.~ She snorted and then cracked her knuckles. Turning, she didn't entirely pay attention to what Taz said, but nodded to him, but then looked up from checking Wolf as he asked her name.~ My name? Uh...~ Kat looked off to the side, trying to think. What was her name? She didn't use her human name when she interacted with Wolf. The way that one could tell different wolves and dogs was through the scent. She scratched behind her ear. Looking absolutely perplexed. ~Fuck, what was it...~ She tried to remember what the old man had called her and finally it clicked. She clapped her hands and grinned.
"Kat! My name is Kathryn, uh, Kathryn.. Kathryn.. Willows. Yeah, that's it! That's what the Old Man called me anyway. Mostly, I think I'm called Kat.~ She shrugged. ~Don't need names that much when you live as a wolf for three solid years.~ She turned back and as Senturo told her to get it ready she heard one guys' voice as well. His voice was deep and as she shouldered Reign up onto her left shoulder she looked up to see he was actually a big guy. Though, something in his voice didn't exactly make him sound like a jerk. Bo was his name, she thought. She leant down and picked Wolf up over the her right shoulder. Though, she then put him down and picked him up so his back legs would cross over her chest.
~Could someone put Wolf's head over the guy's back please? I don't figure those robo-things are going to shoot at either your friend or I as long as they can see Wolf's helmet. If it's like the one's they're putting on civilians down there, it'll either help, or... make the three of us a bigger target!~ She said the last bit with a sarcastically cheery voice. ~Eh, if it's the latter that happens, I'll just hit cover and keep my eyes on you guys.~ She placed Wolf's legs down the front of her sweater so that he'd be held by something else. Zipping it up, Kat was thinking about what she was about to go through while her features changed and fadded into her human face. The fur receding from her hands and lower arms to rest over her biceps and the fur on her legs moving up to her thighs, claws vanished and most of her returned to human form. Kat however kept the hard pads on the bottom of her feet. Kat thought about how she had two unconscious bodies on her shoulders, hundreds, possibly thousands of robo-dudes who would probably try and perhaps grab Wolf and kill the guy on her back. There was dangerous atmosphere down there that she didn't know if Wolf would survive with that mask thing on his face and, oh yeah, she had no God-damned idea of what was going on.
~Ah, Mondays... I hate 'em.~ She then paused and then sighed. ~Who am I kidding. I hate every single fuckin' day of the week.~
Humans should have never invented the car. Their driving doesn't get no better even after a hundred of years....Then again.. aerial fire isn't the best driving conditions anyway. Kat growled to herself as she climbed to get up looking up in time to see the guy whom had smacked her on the shoulder go flying out of the back door! ~Damn it, NO!~ She wanted to leap back and grab him, but he lost his grip too quickly and she was back against the wall. Growling as the drop bay door gizmo shut, Kat got up and checked on Reign and Wolf. Neither of them seemed worse for ware.
It was when someone spoke out in what seemed like a commanding voice. She looked up to see a guy with a posture like on in charge walk in. Saying they wouldn't go after their lost man. Fuckin' humans. A wolf would go back for it's own. She thought quietly, growling softly as he walked over towards her. She could feel his eyes on her and she looked up at him. A low growl rippling up at him. Yet as he spoke of her as if she wasn't there, that growl grew louder. Senturo spoke for her and that really pissed her off.
~F.Y.Fucking I. I'm standing right here~ She growled, glaring up at the Commander. Her eyes narrowing slightly. Kat nearly lost all her temper once more as the Commander-type-person threatened her, her own voice lowered, growling out her next words.. ~Dude, if you wanna kill me... Go right ahead! I've been shot through the head, shot through the heart, fuck, I've been shot anywhere you can think of and, unless I'm a ghost, I ain't dead yet! And I'll probably be there at your funeral ready to piss on your remains.~ She snorted and then cracked her knuckles. Turning, she didn't entirely pay attention to what Taz said, but nodded to him, but then looked up from checking Wolf as he asked her name.~ My name? Uh...~ Kat looked off to the side, trying to think. What was her name? She didn't use her human name when she interacted with Wolf. The way that one could tell different wolves and dogs was through the scent. She scratched behind her ear. Looking absolutely perplexed. ~Fuck, what was it...~ She tried to remember what the old man had called her and finally it clicked. She clapped her hands and grinned.
"Kat! My name is Kathryn, uh, Kathryn.. Kathryn.. Willows. Yeah, that's it! That's what the Old Man called me anyway. Mostly, I think I'm called Kat.~ She shrugged. ~Don't need names that much when you live as a wolf for three solid years.~ She turned back and as Senturo told her to get it ready she heard one guys' voice as well. His voice was deep and as she shouldered Reign up onto her left shoulder she looked up to see he was actually a big guy. Though, something in his voice didn't exactly make him sound like a jerk. Bo was his name, she thought. She leant down and picked Wolf up over the her right shoulder. Though, she then put him down and picked him up so his back legs would cross over her chest.
~Could someone put Wolf's head over the guy's back please? I don't figure those robo-things are going to shoot at either your friend or I as long as they can see Wolf's helmet. If it's like the one's they're putting on civilians down there, it'll either help, or... make the three of us a bigger target!~ She said the last bit with a sarcastically cheery voice. ~Eh, if it's the latter that happens, I'll just hit cover and keep my eyes on you guys.~ She placed Wolf's legs down the front of her sweater so that he'd be held by something else. Zipping it up, Kat was thinking about what she was about to go through while her features changed and fadded into her human face. The fur receding from her hands and lower arms to rest over her biceps and the fur on her legs moving up to her thighs, claws vanished and most of her returned to human form. Kat however kept the hard pads on the bottom of her feet. Kat thought about how she had two unconscious bodies on her shoulders, hundreds, possibly thousands of robo-dudes who would probably try and perhaps grab Wolf and kill the guy on her back. There was dangerous atmosphere down there that she didn't know if Wolf would survive with that mask thing on his face and, oh yeah, she had no God-damned idea of what was going on.
~Ah, Mondays... I hate 'em.~ She then paused and then sighed. ~Who am I kidding. I hate every single fuckin' day of the week.~
Last edited by Blue on Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
You never know what you can do, 'till you try.
Art and Silth © Me
Li-six listened to Razu's response with satisfaction. He was clever enough to listen to suggestions. She liked that in a leader. "Understood." she said over their link. "I'm sending over a key file. Link it into your transmitter. It contains contact frequencies for you to contact me when you set down. The frequencies change three thousand times a second, so make sure you use the key. When you do, I'll set up the network." She cut the link and started up her engines, making herself ready for a combat drop.
Evesdropping on the ship's sensors told her that this would be a rough drop, in the middle of a "hot" zone. As the orders came, the tank activated her cloak. The tank seemed to flicker like an old TV-set a few times, then it was as if it just blinked out of existance. "Oh, I'll be good." she said to Siru, a disembodied voice coming from mid-air. The hatch opened and the target roof top came into view. The ship shuddered and heaved, taking fire from below. It was now or never. She revved and sped unseen straight off the ramp and into the air.
In mid air, her spider legs unfolded. The shock absorbers worked overtime as she came down hard on the rooftop, leaving eight deep depressions, appearing as if out of nowhere. Dropping a few micro detectors behind, she didn't wait, but ran straight off the roof and jumped across the narrow side street, attaching herself to the adjacent building. The drop ship pulled heavy fire, sidling out of view in a roar of tormented engines. Still far above street level she climbed sideways along the facade, trying to make sure anyone noticing the drop couldn't pinpoint her. She needed to move away quickly, at least a block off, then get to a high point.
Below her a vehicle pulled around the corner of the deserted street. It was a small military truck comandeered by Strider soldiers. It had a laser anti-air battery mounted on its back. It sped right below her, probably one of many such units trying to get into a better position to fire on the suddenly appearing dropship. Noone noticed her where her cloaked form attached itself to the wall. But if someone investigated that rooftop they would soon realize something had come down there and scour the area with sensor drones. Or a shield disruptor. She needed to get away from here, and fast.
That was when she realized the micro detectors on the roof was picking up a friendly echo. Already almost two buildings off she realized one of the marines was left behind on the roof.
Li-six thought quickly. She operated alone. Noone in their right mind would want to drop uncloaked into this death trap. So the marine must have fallen off or been shot down from the ship. She hesitated. She had to get away or this whole operation could be jeopardized. But that marine could leak information about her model and equiplent if he was caught and drugged. They had all gotten a good look at her external mounts back in the ship.
Li-six made a decision. She couldn't leave him there. Not alive. If he could move she had to extract him, if he was incapacitated she would have to kill him -- or rather convince him to self-destruct.
The tank crawled back along the house making her way up to the adjacent house. Whatever you do, don't use your radio! she urged him, knowing full well that he couldn't hear her from her position on the other building. She saw him now, on the other roof. Siru, the guy by the hatch. He didn't look hurt. He was curled up behind a ledge, and she soon saw why. Her specialized sensors picked up several enemy units in the house across the street. A overlook position most likely. From there they controlled the entire street. How Siru had seen it she had no idea, but somehow they had managed to not spot him yet. Maybe the dropship itself had been too tempting a target to shoot at.
They would soon wisen up. She had to maneuver him out of there, but that rooftop was the last place she wanted to return to. And radio was out of the question (she didn't know Siru's comm was bust anyway).
Right. Old style then.
Setting one of her maser batteries to visible light, she projected a blue dot on the ground in front of Siru. When she was sure he had seen it she quickly blinked the dot in the on-off binary language that marines always trained in basic training but then almost never got to use in practice, since there was so many better ways to communicate with today's technology. She could only hope he handn't forgotten all of it.
She blinked on the ground before him:
Li-six.
Radio silence.
Snipers north.
Time short.
Before dust settles:
Metal hatch, south-east of you.
Stairs.
Down one floor.
Find an apartment facing East.
Window.
I meet there.
If capture, self-destruct.
End message.
Evesdropping on the ship's sensors told her that this would be a rough drop, in the middle of a "hot" zone. As the orders came, the tank activated her cloak. The tank seemed to flicker like an old TV-set a few times, then it was as if it just blinked out of existance. "Oh, I'll be good." she said to Siru, a disembodied voice coming from mid-air. The hatch opened and the target roof top came into view. The ship shuddered and heaved, taking fire from below. It was now or never. She revved and sped unseen straight off the ramp and into the air.
In mid air, her spider legs unfolded. The shock absorbers worked overtime as she came down hard on the rooftop, leaving eight deep depressions, appearing as if out of nowhere. Dropping a few micro detectors behind, she didn't wait, but ran straight off the roof and jumped across the narrow side street, attaching herself to the adjacent building. The drop ship pulled heavy fire, sidling out of view in a roar of tormented engines. Still far above street level she climbed sideways along the facade, trying to make sure anyone noticing the drop couldn't pinpoint her. She needed to move away quickly, at least a block off, then get to a high point.
Below her a vehicle pulled around the corner of the deserted street. It was a small military truck comandeered by Strider soldiers. It had a laser anti-air battery mounted on its back. It sped right below her, probably one of many such units trying to get into a better position to fire on the suddenly appearing dropship. Noone noticed her where her cloaked form attached itself to the wall. But if someone investigated that rooftop they would soon realize something had come down there and scour the area with sensor drones. Or a shield disruptor. She needed to get away from here, and fast.
That was when she realized the micro detectors on the roof was picking up a friendly echo. Already almost two buildings off she realized one of the marines was left behind on the roof.
Li-six thought quickly. She operated alone. Noone in their right mind would want to drop uncloaked into this death trap. So the marine must have fallen off or been shot down from the ship. She hesitated. She had to get away or this whole operation could be jeopardized. But that marine could leak information about her model and equiplent if he was caught and drugged. They had all gotten a good look at her external mounts back in the ship.
Li-six made a decision. She couldn't leave him there. Not alive. If he could move she had to extract him, if he was incapacitated she would have to kill him -- or rather convince him to self-destruct.
The tank crawled back along the house making her way up to the adjacent house. Whatever you do, don't use your radio! she urged him, knowing full well that he couldn't hear her from her position on the other building. She saw him now, on the other roof. Siru, the guy by the hatch. He didn't look hurt. He was curled up behind a ledge, and she soon saw why. Her specialized sensors picked up several enemy units in the house across the street. A overlook position most likely. From there they controlled the entire street. How Siru had seen it she had no idea, but somehow they had managed to not spot him yet. Maybe the dropship itself had been too tempting a target to shoot at.
They would soon wisen up. She had to maneuver him out of there, but that rooftop was the last place she wanted to return to. And radio was out of the question (she didn't know Siru's comm was bust anyway).
Right. Old style then.
Setting one of her maser batteries to visible light, she projected a blue dot on the ground in front of Siru. When she was sure he had seen it she quickly blinked the dot in the on-off binary language that marines always trained in basic training but then almost never got to use in practice, since there was so many better ways to communicate with today's technology. She could only hope he handn't forgotten all of it.
She blinked on the ground before him:
Li-six.
Radio silence.
Snipers north.
Time short.
Before dust settles:
Metal hatch, south-east of you.
Stairs.
Down one floor.
Find an apartment facing East.
Window.
I meet there.
If capture, self-destruct.
End message.
"Engines are failing sir, we can't go much further!" Tipae called out, his hand clenching the side rest of the cockpit seat. Razu in the same held the sticks tight as the craft waded through the air, to the ones in the loading bay it was nothing more then a soft movement, the walls shaking slightly, but Razu and Tipae were the ones that could see the ship was veering to one side. Razu looked across the screen, moving his hand across and trying once more to reactivate the blasted engine, only more smoke pouring out of it. He growled and held on, turning his eyes and looking across the scattered roads and highways, they moved just over their landing zone before passing it by, the ship moving way too fast to stop there now. Razu held on,
"Shit, we are going to have to find a new landing zone!" he called out as Tipae leaned in and tried to spot an area on the map, the screen flickering back and forth,
"All we have are bridges up ahead sir, those are the only clear zones, after that, all we have are smaller residential buildings, the roads are real tight along there..." he paused and brought up the map as Razu began to slowly turn the ship, firing up the engines to slow them down little by little, "Got it, just a little off this last apartment zone, we have the central highway bridge, big enough, though its still going to be choppy"
"We have no other choice!" Razu spoke up, turning and pulling the throttle back, "Hold tight marine, here we go!" Razu pulled back further as the ship suddenly lurched forward; they were moving in the right direction now, the highway slowly slipping under them. From what he could see there were no vehicles upon the road, no Strider activity for the moment either. The ship dropped and the engines failed, churning on the outside as the finally landed into the ground. From the back of the ship a long hard scraping sound filled everyone’s senses. Sparks blasting out of the bottom of the craft.
It slightly tipped to one side as it slid down the highway, managing to knock over every sign it touched before slowly coming to a halt, smoke pouring up from its form,
"Fuck, so much for a quiet way in...." Razu spoke up, quickly pulling the buckles from his seat and standing up with Tipae.
~
"Listen up Marines!" the commander called out his back facing the exit, the ramp door, it was closed, though Balian stood at the lever that opened it, waiting for the command, "We jumped our landing zone by three kilometers, that means we are going to have to press through an unknown zone, perhaps filled with heavy Strider support" he turned and nodded, holding his rifle close, the launcher still strapped over his back. The groups that they had moved into were still the same, though both Bo and Taz continued to stare lengthily at Kat, still confused to why, oh why didn't she remember her name, and a mix of the other words she had said. Senturo just stood there with his arms folded over his chest, shaking his head lightly.
Though none of them said a word, all each in curious as to what she meant, wondering specifically on where she had actually came from now...
The commander continued to call out as all the other marines prepared their guns, and tightened their helmets, Bo was the one to stand to Kat's side and move wolf's head up and over Reigns back slightly and nodding, "There you go kid" he spoke up softly before Omarah's voice spoke up once more,
"Our location is 7 kilometers in total, by then I’m sure our meet up groups would have been hammered enough, so lets just push it as hard as we can, stay close and don't wander" he turned and nodded to Razu as the three of them moved out of the main doors in the back, Jamesson now covered up in a spare undersuit. The undersuit was not thick armor, but enough to possibly reflect a few shots from plasma, though against shrapnel or bullets, it was nothing. Razu stepped up to Kat's side and looked where she had placed Wolf and Reign, the helmet covering wolf's head over Reigns slightly,
"Nice thinking..." he spoke up before passing her and moving to the front of their group, pulling up the plasma rifle to his chest, "Come on commander, it's time to go" he spoke up over Commander Omarah's orders, stopping him from speaking and watching as they eyed each other off.
The commander finally nodded, and turned to Balian, "Unlock"
With that said the doors suddenly began to slide, a loud scratching noise following shortly, the rocket blast clearly had hit something that helped the door open properly. The thing dropped forward and cracked into the dusty road. The commander and Krass rushed forward, pushing through the grayish smoke that moved over the bridge area. It wasn't long before Toema and Balian moved in after, dropping down the ramp way after the others. The commander held his hand up as he ran and moved to the very side of the bridge, pressing his back to its hard stone surface. With a small movement he looked across the side and only the smaller buildings that lay below and on the other side.
He moved to his side and moved back, running to the side of the ramp as the other three marines pushed forward into the dust storm, holding their guns tight, feeling the blasting winds hitting them.
The commander rose his arm and spread out his fingers indicating it was clear to move. Razu nodded and moved with the others following on behind him, but it could be seen that Taz had the urge to push up forward and be point, moving to the right of Razu and sometimes stepping before him as they ran down the ramp with Kat close behind. The commander by then had already made his way down the road once more, his group following him; he turned back and called out,
"Come on marines, pick it up!" he ordered, before indicating towards Kat, "You are going to have to speed it up princess! I thought ghosts could move faster!" he turned away and moved on.
"What an ass" Taz laughed under his breath, feeling the dust pushing against his face slightly,
"Commanders and their lame jokes" Bo spoke up before turning to Kat, 'only' then realizing she was out her in the dust storm without a mask, he looked around for a sec before looking back to her and tilting his head, "Uh, Major, isn't... Kat here meant to be wearing a mask?"
Razu turned his head slightly and shook his head, "No soldier" he then noticed as Senturo dropped back a few feet to moved next to Razu as they continued down the highway, the main street ahead of them,
"Sir, I’m going to scout ahead. Main street, there’s bound to be snipers" Sen spoke, holding just his simple pistol to his side and looking to Razu, waiting for his reply,
"Go ahead, Li-six should have set up our network by now, so call in if you pick up any trouble" Razu told him before watching as the Strider pushed forward. His feet touched the ground only barely as he moved off into a sprint. Sen passed the commander with ease and moved along the edge railings of the bridge highway, making his way down into the main street and keeping low. The commander turned back and moved his hand out across, making all the marines spread out to the sides and move lower to the sides of the railings.
The main street was ahead, car and trucks still lined the edges of the road, but just like the streets where Li-six had been dropped, there was mess everywhere. But strider activity here was nothing; there was no movement, no living thing besides the marines that pushed forward...
Taz looked back to Kat for a second, "So... Kid, where did you come from anyway? I'm sure it wasn't Catacarn City, you were coming from the entry" He continued to move forward, receiving a glare from Razu as if telling him to be quiet...
~
At first Siru didn't noticed the message on the rooftop she was sending, though it took her a few more times of blinking for him to finally turn his head slowly and watch on. For a moment he thought it was another sniper, trying to catch range, or even testing out his laser, but the message was clear, it was the old binary stuff he never though would ever come to use to him. Siru kept completely still, holding his pistol, understanding the message until the last part... 'Self destruct?' he shook his head, now lying on his back and as low to the ground as he possibly could keep himself. He turned and looked across to the metal hatch that was on the other corner of the roof. It was somewhat covered in dust as well as the ground and all around them.
He took this moment to move, slowly turning back and sliding onto his belly, crawling across on his arms and elbows, keeping his small pistol tight in his grip. He was quiet, moving with the wind slightly before reaching the hatch. It looked like it was only recently built, the welds only new, but the handle was not locked. Siru reached across and pulled at the handle, pulling it up so he could sneak his head in to take a look. Below him was an old bathtub, filled with dust and spider webs, not used in years.
He turned back before slithering in, knowing if he stood it would be game over. He slipped in before grabbing the edge, letting the hatch door push against his fingers. He hung down with one hand, the other hand holding the pistol tight as he looked around, the bathroom door closed to his advantage. Siru dropped down into the tub, crouching and moving over it to get to the door. He moved across and pressed his back against the wall, slipping his hand around the handle and pulling the door open as quiet as he could.
The floor was bare, a few boxes, a lounge covered in a big white dusty sheet of material, the windows were mostly boarded up with planks of steel and wood, only scattered light coming in, showing how dusty it really was. He slowly crouched down and looked across the floor, the dust had been moved, not exactly recently, but perhaps today. He knelt forward and pushed through the door slowly and crept out, the floor creaking with his movement.
Siru held his weapon up, finally seeing the open door to the stairs; it was only a few feet across from the bathroom doorway. He moved across, making sure to keep close to the wall, noting that it was less quiet that way. He moved silently, even though deep inside he hated this, going in quiet and creepy. But there was a point to it, this building perhaps had Striders in it, although yes he could take down a few by himself, their reinforcements however would prove difficult. He moved passed and moved out into the hallway, looking across and seeing other apartment doors opened, some even with their doors broken in.
The sound of a man yelling out in anger filled his ears on the other side of the hall,
"You bastard! You're not going to get anything from me!" Though it didn't last long, there was a bit of movement, perhaps a fistfight before there was silence. Siru slowly leant down and crouched, looking down the door from the stairway, his back facing the stairs. Then a figure stepped out, dressed in full pale white Strider armor, two glowing green eyes much like the marine’s helmet. He had blood on his hands, wiping it away with a cloth as he moved to walk down the hallway, his back turned to Siru's direction. Though when another sound filled his senses he knew he had to move, the stairs he was on, footsteps rushing up quickly, many, many footsteps, most likely the reaction force to their drop ship that came above the apartment.
Siru moved across, keeping to the wall and rushing down a level, he turned and ran across the hallway, turning and looking to his wrist, a screen flickering up and giving him a location towards the west. He moved across and pushed into the closest apartment, moving the door back only just lightly. He didn't look to the stairs; he could already hear them as they rushed up quickly to check out if there had been any drops.
Siru moved across another bare apartment, though this one it seemed to have only been used recently, but vacated very fast. All over the ground the furniture had been sprawled out, some things gathered by the doorway as if in a futile attempt to close the door. He turned back and looked across to the kitchen table, where a pool of blood dripped from its edges, bullet holes lining up the base of the table where whoever had been there was blown through. He made his way to the closest window, noting that these ones were not boarded up, but were facing another apartment, just like her message. He moved across and crouched, pressing his back to the wall just to the edge of a window that had been smashed open. He reached across and tapped the broken glass just barely, to indicate he had made it to the spot...
~
Senturo leapt up to the side of a building, pressing his hands to the window edge closest to him before jumping across to the rooftop of the closest building to him. He kept quiet and fast, slipping across the rooftop lowly before dropping to his belly and looking down into the street opposite of where the others were moving. He kept his pistol holstered as he looked down into the movement. He turned his head, seeing many strider Special Forces down there, their pale white armor keeping them standing out. Their helmets quite like the military design the marines were wearing. He looked to the west and watched, a long line of civilians lined up against a wall, their hands cuffed behind their backs with metal masks covering their entire heads.
The masks were the same material as Wolf's had been, but they were different shaped to fit a human skull. They had no eye holes, just a long sleek metal strip, on each of the people wearing them, blood dripped down from their shoulders where the things had been implanted into their flesh. Senturo rose up slightly, watching as the line moved on and were slowly being loaded up into a large troop truck.
The area below was quite open, it looked like a town square of a sort, park benches spread out, cemented ground with atmospheric posts on each corner of the square. Though clearly they had been disabled with the whole barrier crash. Senturo looked across before sliding backwards, turning over and lying on his back,
"Major, this area is swarming with Strider main forces, no signs of any heavy support though. They are loading a lot of civilians with those masks into their trucks" he paused, dropping his head back upside down to look into the street, "But looks like they are setting up an outpost... Doesn't even look like these guys even noticed our landing..."
There was a pause in the communication, before Razu spoke back, "Is there any way around them?"
Sen turned his head, noting that this town square spread out to all sides, alley ways would have to be their route, "Looks like they are setting up an outpost here to cover the beginning of the bridge highway... but the fact that they are only setting it up now will be our advantage... to the west you have an abundance of lower street alleyways... possibly one or two patrols from there" he looked up to the higher apartment buildings, "I can't pick up on any snipers... though that is 'not' confirmed"
"See if you can plot our path, make sure its clear, we will gather up on... the wall side of the street coming up. Looks like we have some stores on the right side of the road. We will work our way through them and go from there to meet with you" Razu spoke back, before the commanders voice came in on the link,
"Sound plan Major, let’s get this moving then" he spoke before Senturo closed the link and they moved out...
The commander rushed down the last part of the road to jump over the side and down onto the side of an oncoming building. The path that led across the stone wall would meet up with the stores. His group pushed on and followed, which consisted of himself, Krass, Balian and Tipae though when Razu came up to the spot he stopped in his tracks, looking down the long highway, spotting movement,
"Down down!" he spoke back.
Taz and the others dropped to a crouch and moved closed to the wall. Razu lost sight of the commander as they pushed onwards, not even bothering to look back to see if the others were following, "Damn, what does he think this is? A fucking race?" Razu growled before looking down the street, watching as four Striders appeared from the opposite alleyway, walking down the path towards them, "Bo, think you can take them?" Razu spoke up again,
"Maybe two, but by then they would have contacted their buddies" he spoke before they came under fire. The four striders has spotted them, spreading out across the road, one even jumping through a window on the opposite side street to get some cover. Razu turned,
"Cover!" he called before leaping over the ledge the commander had used, pushing his back to the stone, the others followed the same, even Kat and Jamesson. The stone above them cracked and broke as bolts of white blasts snapped into it, breaking it away as the four Striders pinned them down...
"Shit, we are going to have to find a new landing zone!" he called out as Tipae leaned in and tried to spot an area on the map, the screen flickering back and forth,
"All we have are bridges up ahead sir, those are the only clear zones, after that, all we have are smaller residential buildings, the roads are real tight along there..." he paused and brought up the map as Razu began to slowly turn the ship, firing up the engines to slow them down little by little, "Got it, just a little off this last apartment zone, we have the central highway bridge, big enough, though its still going to be choppy"
"We have no other choice!" Razu spoke up, turning and pulling the throttle back, "Hold tight marine, here we go!" Razu pulled back further as the ship suddenly lurched forward; they were moving in the right direction now, the highway slowly slipping under them. From what he could see there were no vehicles upon the road, no Strider activity for the moment either. The ship dropped and the engines failed, churning on the outside as the finally landed into the ground. From the back of the ship a long hard scraping sound filled everyone’s senses. Sparks blasting out of the bottom of the craft.
It slightly tipped to one side as it slid down the highway, managing to knock over every sign it touched before slowly coming to a halt, smoke pouring up from its form,
"Fuck, so much for a quiet way in...." Razu spoke up, quickly pulling the buckles from his seat and standing up with Tipae.
~
"Listen up Marines!" the commander called out his back facing the exit, the ramp door, it was closed, though Balian stood at the lever that opened it, waiting for the command, "We jumped our landing zone by three kilometers, that means we are going to have to press through an unknown zone, perhaps filled with heavy Strider support" he turned and nodded, holding his rifle close, the launcher still strapped over his back. The groups that they had moved into were still the same, though both Bo and Taz continued to stare lengthily at Kat, still confused to why, oh why didn't she remember her name, and a mix of the other words she had said. Senturo just stood there with his arms folded over his chest, shaking his head lightly.
Though none of them said a word, all each in curious as to what she meant, wondering specifically on where she had actually came from now...
The commander continued to call out as all the other marines prepared their guns, and tightened their helmets, Bo was the one to stand to Kat's side and move wolf's head up and over Reigns back slightly and nodding, "There you go kid" he spoke up softly before Omarah's voice spoke up once more,
"Our location is 7 kilometers in total, by then I’m sure our meet up groups would have been hammered enough, so lets just push it as hard as we can, stay close and don't wander" he turned and nodded to Razu as the three of them moved out of the main doors in the back, Jamesson now covered up in a spare undersuit. The undersuit was not thick armor, but enough to possibly reflect a few shots from plasma, though against shrapnel or bullets, it was nothing. Razu stepped up to Kat's side and looked where she had placed Wolf and Reign, the helmet covering wolf's head over Reigns slightly,
"Nice thinking..." he spoke up before passing her and moving to the front of their group, pulling up the plasma rifle to his chest, "Come on commander, it's time to go" he spoke up over Commander Omarah's orders, stopping him from speaking and watching as they eyed each other off.
The commander finally nodded, and turned to Balian, "Unlock"
With that said the doors suddenly began to slide, a loud scratching noise following shortly, the rocket blast clearly had hit something that helped the door open properly. The thing dropped forward and cracked into the dusty road. The commander and Krass rushed forward, pushing through the grayish smoke that moved over the bridge area. It wasn't long before Toema and Balian moved in after, dropping down the ramp way after the others. The commander held his hand up as he ran and moved to the very side of the bridge, pressing his back to its hard stone surface. With a small movement he looked across the side and only the smaller buildings that lay below and on the other side.
He moved to his side and moved back, running to the side of the ramp as the other three marines pushed forward into the dust storm, holding their guns tight, feeling the blasting winds hitting them.
The commander rose his arm and spread out his fingers indicating it was clear to move. Razu nodded and moved with the others following on behind him, but it could be seen that Taz had the urge to push up forward and be point, moving to the right of Razu and sometimes stepping before him as they ran down the ramp with Kat close behind. The commander by then had already made his way down the road once more, his group following him; he turned back and called out,
"Come on marines, pick it up!" he ordered, before indicating towards Kat, "You are going to have to speed it up princess! I thought ghosts could move faster!" he turned away and moved on.
"What an ass" Taz laughed under his breath, feeling the dust pushing against his face slightly,
"Commanders and their lame jokes" Bo spoke up before turning to Kat, 'only' then realizing she was out her in the dust storm without a mask, he looked around for a sec before looking back to her and tilting his head, "Uh, Major, isn't... Kat here meant to be wearing a mask?"
Razu turned his head slightly and shook his head, "No soldier" he then noticed as Senturo dropped back a few feet to moved next to Razu as they continued down the highway, the main street ahead of them,
"Sir, I’m going to scout ahead. Main street, there’s bound to be snipers" Sen spoke, holding just his simple pistol to his side and looking to Razu, waiting for his reply,
"Go ahead, Li-six should have set up our network by now, so call in if you pick up any trouble" Razu told him before watching as the Strider pushed forward. His feet touched the ground only barely as he moved off into a sprint. Sen passed the commander with ease and moved along the edge railings of the bridge highway, making his way down into the main street and keeping low. The commander turned back and moved his hand out across, making all the marines spread out to the sides and move lower to the sides of the railings.
The main street was ahead, car and trucks still lined the edges of the road, but just like the streets where Li-six had been dropped, there was mess everywhere. But strider activity here was nothing; there was no movement, no living thing besides the marines that pushed forward...
Taz looked back to Kat for a second, "So... Kid, where did you come from anyway? I'm sure it wasn't Catacarn City, you were coming from the entry" He continued to move forward, receiving a glare from Razu as if telling him to be quiet...
~
At first Siru didn't noticed the message on the rooftop she was sending, though it took her a few more times of blinking for him to finally turn his head slowly and watch on. For a moment he thought it was another sniper, trying to catch range, or even testing out his laser, but the message was clear, it was the old binary stuff he never though would ever come to use to him. Siru kept completely still, holding his pistol, understanding the message until the last part... 'Self destruct?' he shook his head, now lying on his back and as low to the ground as he possibly could keep himself. He turned and looked across to the metal hatch that was on the other corner of the roof. It was somewhat covered in dust as well as the ground and all around them.
He took this moment to move, slowly turning back and sliding onto his belly, crawling across on his arms and elbows, keeping his small pistol tight in his grip. He was quiet, moving with the wind slightly before reaching the hatch. It looked like it was only recently built, the welds only new, but the handle was not locked. Siru reached across and pulled at the handle, pulling it up so he could sneak his head in to take a look. Below him was an old bathtub, filled with dust and spider webs, not used in years.
He turned back before slithering in, knowing if he stood it would be game over. He slipped in before grabbing the edge, letting the hatch door push against his fingers. He hung down with one hand, the other hand holding the pistol tight as he looked around, the bathroom door closed to his advantage. Siru dropped down into the tub, crouching and moving over it to get to the door. He moved across and pressed his back against the wall, slipping his hand around the handle and pulling the door open as quiet as he could.
The floor was bare, a few boxes, a lounge covered in a big white dusty sheet of material, the windows were mostly boarded up with planks of steel and wood, only scattered light coming in, showing how dusty it really was. He slowly crouched down and looked across the floor, the dust had been moved, not exactly recently, but perhaps today. He knelt forward and pushed through the door slowly and crept out, the floor creaking with his movement.
Siru held his weapon up, finally seeing the open door to the stairs; it was only a few feet across from the bathroom doorway. He moved across, making sure to keep close to the wall, noting that it was less quiet that way. He moved silently, even though deep inside he hated this, going in quiet and creepy. But there was a point to it, this building perhaps had Striders in it, although yes he could take down a few by himself, their reinforcements however would prove difficult. He moved passed and moved out into the hallway, looking across and seeing other apartment doors opened, some even with their doors broken in.
The sound of a man yelling out in anger filled his ears on the other side of the hall,
"You bastard! You're not going to get anything from me!" Though it didn't last long, there was a bit of movement, perhaps a fistfight before there was silence. Siru slowly leant down and crouched, looking down the door from the stairway, his back facing the stairs. Then a figure stepped out, dressed in full pale white Strider armor, two glowing green eyes much like the marine’s helmet. He had blood on his hands, wiping it away with a cloth as he moved to walk down the hallway, his back turned to Siru's direction. Though when another sound filled his senses he knew he had to move, the stairs he was on, footsteps rushing up quickly, many, many footsteps, most likely the reaction force to their drop ship that came above the apartment.
Siru moved across, keeping to the wall and rushing down a level, he turned and ran across the hallway, turning and looking to his wrist, a screen flickering up and giving him a location towards the west. He moved across and pushed into the closest apartment, moving the door back only just lightly. He didn't look to the stairs; he could already hear them as they rushed up quickly to check out if there had been any drops.
Siru moved across another bare apartment, though this one it seemed to have only been used recently, but vacated very fast. All over the ground the furniture had been sprawled out, some things gathered by the doorway as if in a futile attempt to close the door. He turned back and looked across to the kitchen table, where a pool of blood dripped from its edges, bullet holes lining up the base of the table where whoever had been there was blown through. He made his way to the closest window, noting that these ones were not boarded up, but were facing another apartment, just like her message. He moved across and crouched, pressing his back to the wall just to the edge of a window that had been smashed open. He reached across and tapped the broken glass just barely, to indicate he had made it to the spot...
~
Senturo leapt up to the side of a building, pressing his hands to the window edge closest to him before jumping across to the rooftop of the closest building to him. He kept quiet and fast, slipping across the rooftop lowly before dropping to his belly and looking down into the street opposite of where the others were moving. He kept his pistol holstered as he looked down into the movement. He turned his head, seeing many strider Special Forces down there, their pale white armor keeping them standing out. Their helmets quite like the military design the marines were wearing. He looked to the west and watched, a long line of civilians lined up against a wall, their hands cuffed behind their backs with metal masks covering their entire heads.
The masks were the same material as Wolf's had been, but they were different shaped to fit a human skull. They had no eye holes, just a long sleek metal strip, on each of the people wearing them, blood dripped down from their shoulders where the things had been implanted into their flesh. Senturo rose up slightly, watching as the line moved on and were slowly being loaded up into a large troop truck.
The area below was quite open, it looked like a town square of a sort, park benches spread out, cemented ground with atmospheric posts on each corner of the square. Though clearly they had been disabled with the whole barrier crash. Senturo looked across before sliding backwards, turning over and lying on his back,
"Major, this area is swarming with Strider main forces, no signs of any heavy support though. They are loading a lot of civilians with those masks into their trucks" he paused, dropping his head back upside down to look into the street, "But looks like they are setting up an outpost... Doesn't even look like these guys even noticed our landing..."
There was a pause in the communication, before Razu spoke back, "Is there any way around them?"
Sen turned his head, noting that this town square spread out to all sides, alley ways would have to be their route, "Looks like they are setting up an outpost here to cover the beginning of the bridge highway... but the fact that they are only setting it up now will be our advantage... to the west you have an abundance of lower street alleyways... possibly one or two patrols from there" he looked up to the higher apartment buildings, "I can't pick up on any snipers... though that is 'not' confirmed"
"See if you can plot our path, make sure its clear, we will gather up on... the wall side of the street coming up. Looks like we have some stores on the right side of the road. We will work our way through them and go from there to meet with you" Razu spoke back, before the commanders voice came in on the link,
"Sound plan Major, let’s get this moving then" he spoke before Senturo closed the link and they moved out...
The commander rushed down the last part of the road to jump over the side and down onto the side of an oncoming building. The path that led across the stone wall would meet up with the stores. His group pushed on and followed, which consisted of himself, Krass, Balian and Tipae though when Razu came up to the spot he stopped in his tracks, looking down the long highway, spotting movement,
"Down down!" he spoke back.
Taz and the others dropped to a crouch and moved closed to the wall. Razu lost sight of the commander as they pushed onwards, not even bothering to look back to see if the others were following, "Damn, what does he think this is? A fucking race?" Razu growled before looking down the street, watching as four Striders appeared from the opposite alleyway, walking down the path towards them, "Bo, think you can take them?" Razu spoke up again,
"Maybe two, but by then they would have contacted their buddies" he spoke before they came under fire. The four striders has spotted them, spreading out across the road, one even jumping through a window on the opposite side street to get some cover. Razu turned,
"Cover!" he called before leaping over the ledge the commander had used, pushing his back to the stone, the others followed the same, even Kat and Jamesson. The stone above them cracked and broke as bolts of white blasts snapped into it, breaking it away as the four Striders pinned them down...
~