Futuristic ℋ℮їґṧ: SIGMA (Sci-Fi/Powers/Interstellar Warfare RP)

[LoneSniper87]

I opened my eyes and looked up, thinking why we were being boarded. I rose and shouldered my rifle, jogging out of the dropship and back into the hanger. I jogged up next to Katherine as she put a few rounds into a Beserker, and I realized that maybe a bolt-action sniper wasn't the best choice for a CQC engagement. I holstered it and pulled out the Colt once more, as well as my knife as I glanced to Katherine. "I got your back if you need the help." I told her, then went into the comms. "Sir it seems like we are being boarded on all sides, what's our fallback?" I asked, then motioned for Katherine to start moving down the hall towards the medbay, as I held my handgun wielding arm rest on my other arm, forming essentially a cross out of it. I searched the halls for any sign of Smierc but suprisingly came up empty for the first few rooms.

 

[Perambulation]

(sorry for the late response people. had a college visit to attend, and just returned recently. will get back to the swing of things now)

DM

The Smierc Collective boarding ships had specialized rams that allows them to penetrate most defensive naval armor, and this time was no exception. Several points along the NUSS Artemis III have been compromised as a result of the sudden appearance of the Smierc Collective naval forces, as the boarding ships began to spill their cargo of Mortus Troopers and regular grunts into the ship.

The areas compromised includes the hangar, the common halls, the cargo holds, and most importantly, nearby the ship's fusion generator. If the Smierc Collective boarding troops manage to get their hands onto the fusion generator, the NUSS Artemis III is doomed.


Adrian

I got Fireteam Nexus to move out the dropship and provide some suppressive fire to keep the Smiercs at bay for a little longer as the dazed New Union troops got into their defensive positions. As my Fireteam was in the hangar, we faced the brunt of the boarding operations, as several Smierc Collective boarding ships had managed to ram their way into the closed shutters of the hangar doors. The ship's defensive turrets are now online and helping us with keeping the Smierc troops in their ships, but several well placed shots from the Mortus Troopers managed to knock them out.

"This is Fireteam Nexus reporting in from the main hangar. Will appreciate any help from nearby Fireteams with keeping the Smiercs at bay, over."

As I get the radio message out there, Sergeant Amis and Corporal Ingris both place synced shots to several Mortus Troopers' heads, startling the newcomers with their precision and accuracy. I let out a small smirk and tap the shoulders of the new guys of the Fireteam, telling them to provide me with some covering fire.

With my Fireteam covering me, I decide to pop out of cover and activate one of my abilities, the Boulder Mortar. I gather the surrounding debris of dropship parts and damaged ship parts into a massive ring, shattering them each into deadly pieces as I launch them straight into the mass of Mortus Troopers filing out of some of the boarding ships. That manages to crush many of them to death, but some do survive and fire return shots.

As I rush to cover, I see the IRESS indicator of my HUD flashing, telling me that I'm taking some damage to my shields. No matter, since the IRESS should last until I get to safety and return some secured shots of my own. Slipping into cover, I decide to activate one of the newest features of the KAISYS armor software update, the personal AI assistant.

"Noa, do you read?"
"Read you loud and clear sir. What are your orders?"
"You could drop the respectful tone Noa. Anyways, could you plot the easiest path for my Fireteam to get into a more favorable position for a firefight?"
"Roger that Captain. Plotting route."

With that, I now saw a marked path through my HUD as I tapped Amis on the shoulder for us to move out. I made sure the new guys followed me first as the older soldiers, Amis and Ingris, provided us with covering fire. As the three of us made it into the new position, we returned the favor and provided suppressive fire so that the rest of the Fireteam could make it to the new position.


(People, I actually forgot to include a category in the CS for the original post for a Personal AI assistant in the armor category. Feel free to update your armor CSs with the new category of "Personal AI Name: ". AIs will act as NPCs without a body and will serve in an assistant position to your characters)

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

As the ship was forcibly boarded, the rooms shaking from the impact, the battle-worn and battle-born mercs of her squad all immediately took cover. In fact Riley had only but a single chance to yelp as Coats hand wrapped around the hood of her jacket and wrenched her behind cover.

It was a bold move, and one the not so warzone ready girl was thankful for as crystalline rounds peppered the area she'd just been. Of course it didn't last long as Looker and Coats hefted their machineguns and laid out suppressive fire as Sulano started barking orders. She watched as Cherinsky and Uncle moved around a landing craft. Once they had a better position they fired an anti-personelle grenade into the hold of the enemy craft.

There was a few seconds of silence after the barrage of fire in which Sulano led Uncle and Looker to clear the craft. Once satisfied the fireteam leader flagged down a Union officer, snapping at him for a situation report. It didn't take long, all the Union soldiers already had a solid understanding, and the biggest worry, and target, was the reactor.

"Then that is where we would be of the most use, correct Mr. Sulano?" Riley queried as her voice caught the attention of most there, and when she realised this she spoke again, "I, my apologies, was there a protocol or method I should have followed before speaking?"

Sulano just shook his head and gave the girl a half smile. "No, you're fine kid, just surprised you spoke up. You really clammed up for the fire fight. Any way, boys, the kids not wrong, the reactor is likely the one of the primary targets. That said, it's going to be one of the most dangerous to get to, and to protect. You know I'm honest with you, so it's a decision for all of you. We cover the reactor, or we clear halls?"

There was some chatter amongst the men, including Riley, much to her enjoyment at the inclusion, before Looker finally spoke up.

"Eh, could die if we defend reactor, could die if some other fool fails to defend reactor. Methinks plan is simple. We got to reactor, we make corpse of anything that tries to stop us."


As everyone came to likewise agreements, Sulano leaned down towards Riley and spoke to her directly, "I want you in the middle of the group. Myself, Coats and Looker will take point, then I want to with Uncle and Cherry behind you. No need to try to be a hero kid, this is your first time in field so stay inn formation, alright?"

Honestly he didn't need to tell Riley twice. She knew she didn't have the experience or know how, so if Sulano was telling her to stay in formation, then formation was the place to stay. Keeping pace easily as the group headed off into a nearby hall way, it took a couple different turns before they eventually came across a heated fire fight that slowed them down. They were on one side, on the other the struggling defending force for the corridor that would lead to the reactor. In between was a sizeable force of Smierc. Keeping tight to the corners, the fireteam took their chances but was largely kept pinned from advancing despite their potshots.

Doing their best to lay down suppressive fire, again, Coats and Looker eventually realised that it was largely a lost cause as the walls next to them were peppered with return fire. The halls gave another shudder as the screeching of metal bit harshly into Riley's ears. Cherry leaned around the corner only to cry out and collapse roughly. As Sulano pulled him back around the corner, they could see the young man grimacing at the round buried in his shoulder.

"Coats, get Cherry away from the combat, come back only when he's secure. Riley, you're small, you think you can tell me what's around that corner?"

Nodding, Riley moved up to the edge, drawing her sidearm for good measure, before peeking around the corner. What she saw was another boarding party filtering off a second craft puncturing the hallway. It didn't help the case either, as two heavies and a handful of standard soldiers came lumbering out of the craft.

Relaying the information to Sulano, Riley listened to him asking about ways around through the radio, but her mind was elsewhere. Namely, on ducts. Casting her eyes up, she noticed that every few metres was swing down ducting for access to the light works. Getting Looker's attention, she got the large man to heft her up. Pulling the duct work open, Riley asked for a radio before she set off, crawling through the wires and doing her best not to get stuck. At some point halfway down the crawl space she had to abandon her hoodie, but once she reached the right spot she called out for the fireteam to open fire down the hallway.

Watching as the secondary team of Smierc made to return fire Riley dropped down. Her first move was to kick out, striking one of the soldiers in the chest. He hit a wall and his shield crackled viciously, but Riley was already on the move. Spinning around the second solider while holding the barrel of his rifle towards the deck, she lit up the third soldier with her sidearm, causing him to scramble around one to the heavies, both of their shields starting to strain under the fire of her team mates.

Letting him escape Riley wrenched the rifle from the hands of the second soldier, but it didn't do much as her neck was suddenly viced in the grip of one of the berserkers. Swinging the rifle twice at the berserker whilst the other troops tried to maintain pressure, two things happened at once. The first was that the shields of the first and third soldier broke under precision fire, both dropping to holorifle rounds. Second was that the rifle Riley was beating the berserker with broke under the strain of the strike.

Suddenly realising that despite her strength, her form was still much smaller than her opponents, and also realising that her lungs were beginning to constrict, Riley's fight or flight instincts went wild as she started to fear this was going to be the end of things for her.

That was about the time she heard Coats voice echoing through the halls, and the tell tale sounds of a second light machine gun cracking through the halls. Out of the corner of her eyes she watched as the other berserker crumpled under the sustained fire. With the only target left being the one that held her, Riley watched as his shield began to overload, and despite the pounding in her head she began to thrash against him viciously. Either luck or divine intervention, Riley's foot caught the Smierc in the stomach just as his shield fell. As soon as the Smierc doubled over Riley headbutted him hard enough to send a spatter of blood down her face, but also secured her freedom as the berserker let her go.

Riley stumbled back a few steps and the Smierc made to move towards her again, but to her surprise the berserker took four rounds to the side of the skull. Moving forward from their original position was Sulano, lifting Riley and moving her into the safety of the Smierc pod as Uncle followed them in and Coats and Looker continued laying out fire to keep the original team of Smierc pinned down.

Inside the pod Riley coughed harshly, her throat sore and the beginnings of bruising already appearing around her neck as she sat on the floor. When Uncle pulled a canteen out and offered it to her, Riley swallowed it down eagerly, relishing in the soothing process it had on her throat.

"Sorry," she croaked roughly, "I did truly think that the plan would have gone more smoothly. It seems that I was quite mistaken, does it not."

From the exit of the craft Sulano laughed slightly as he made sure none of the Smierc tried to advance upon them, "I don't know kid. Seemed like you did great, we've managed to move up. Before I headed down I made a call for reinforcements."

Still reeling from her encounter Riley only nodded as she continued to try to gather her wits. Sliding a hand up her thigh, she pulled a secondary magazine from a tucked away holster and reloaded her sidearm as she pulled herself to her feet. Walking over to Sulano with a slight stagger, and a hovering hand from Uncle, Riley did her best to shake off her fatigue.

"Alright then, Mr. Sulano, when may we expect reinforcements? I would very much enjoy not playing another round of hugs from thugs, after all." despite the jibe, there was a remainder of nervousness in Riley's voice that betrayed her mild anxiety.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

After savoring my kill and grabbing a few rounds and grenades off of the dead Berserker, which was awfully too stupid for my taste, I followed Captain Miller around, bursting through the door of several rooms pistol up, to disappointingly find that there is no one to shoot at.

Judging by the even louder crashing, there are ships crash landing into the inner halls from the ceiling, and upon closer inspection while running to safety, mine being a fallen door that got knocked down from some idiot tackling it down, I was further in shock to find that some have even made it into the reactor room. If we lose our power supply, we'll be out here stranded for months. No way am I letting that happen.

I take a peek over my mediocre cover, looking into some unlucky Mortus Berserker's eyes and wrenching control over his body, making him shoot down several allies before giving him a violent, explosive end to his career, and life for that matter, going kamikaze and kaboom in his own boarding vessel with his own explosives, effectively wiping the rest of his squad and giving me another couple of clips of crystal LMG bolts.

"Miller! The generators!" I yelled, thankful for the map that my brother projected for me of the interior of the ship, complete with all the little blips of Smierc and New Union forces, the one the Commander of this mediocre army couldn't trouble to give to his forces. What a fucker...

I start running in the halls towards the back of the ship while re-holstering my pistol and sheathing my katana in their latches before flinging my rifle over and against my shoulder, aiming and firing a few rounds down the halls, nailing a few Mortus Hunters in the face as they scramble for what little cover is left and nicking an anti-personnel mine on another Berserker, vaporizing a good chunk of the squad, and pausing very briefly ever so often to replace a magazine with a fresh box, or operating the bolt with nothing more than two flicks of the wrist.

I got a few hits landed on me, but considering how much I was jumping on the wall or ducking behind cover while I was firing away, I'd say nothing more than a few scratches, thanks to the personal shields, and the close shaves were more therapeutic than painful. The remaining ceiling lights started flickering a bit as I heard explosions rock the halls coming from the back of the ship near where the generator should be located. That... really cannot be good...

 

[Perambulation]

(bump for other responses)

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

(I believe the current known locations are-
Riley and her squad, sans an injured Cherinsky, taking a route towards the reactor room.
Katherine taking, I believe, a separate route towards the reactor room.
Adrian still in the hanger where the briefing took place.

Once she recovers, or some reinforcements arrive, Riley will be ready to go again. She's just catching her breath.)

 

[Perambulation]

(Oh, I know the rough locations right now. Just waiting on other responses from the 3 other RPers)

 

[An Khang]

Just as I asked my question, the Smierc broke in. I turned to them, the cig dropping from my mouth, my combat reflex activating. I aimed my laserfanner at them, fanning three times before dashing behind cover. I doubted that I killed any of them, probably broke a few shields.

I reloaded and waited until the craft was taken out by the grenade. I stood up, overhearing the fireteam making their plan to defend the reactor. As they left without me, I decided to look around the ship; see if I could help out in any other way. See if anyone needs help in the common area, and eventually flank around to the reactor.

I jogged to the exit to the cargo bay, opening the door before moving to the side. Hearing nothing, I assumed there were enemies on the other side and they were just waiting for me to pop out. After waiting for a second, I moved into the open, my gun at my hip, left hand on the hammer. No one. I held my gun with both hands as I walked down the hallways, peeking around corners.

I ran when I heard a gunshot up ahead. I stopped when the four Smierc soldiers were in range. The alien was just finished with taking out a few Union soldiers. I fanned again, the shots breaking past their already damaged shields and killing them all before they could take a shot. I checked the Union soldiers. All dead.

I advanced slowly, knowing people heard the reports from the gunfight.

 

[LoneSniper87]

I followed after Katherine, keeping an eye on my surroundings as Katherine took out most of the Smierc we came across before I could get a shot off. "Hey Tex, what's the ship status?" I asked as I waited for my A.I. to respond. "You mean beyond fucked? I'd say the Artemis is being boarded and that they are focusing thier attack and the reactor." The A.I. responded, sounding a bit pissed.

The A.I. wasn't military issue, nor was it connected to any formal database. It had everything uploaded to it and was a bit of a bitch at times. "Remind me to get rid of your sarcasm." "Touch me and I will shut down this suit." The A.I. Shot back and I grinned.

"Fine. Plot a course for the reactor then." I said, and Tex put up a route on my HUD without another word. "Hey Kath! Follow me!" I said, rushing ahead of her, running on a wall for a few steps to dodge some debris as I followed the course to the reactor. I rounded a corner and came across of several Beserkers, all of which looked at me. I quickly fired an entire mag, trying to kill as many as I could. I managed to kill a few and incapacitate one, then I ducked back and put in a fresh clip, getting ready to move before stopping as a salvo of crystal bolts went flying at the corner.

I sheathed the knife then deployed my shield and stood in the hall as another barrage came my way, all of them hitting the shield. I had in essence made a cover for others to stand behind and finish them off. "Katherine, take 'em out!" I shouted, watching them prepare another assualt. I wouldn't be able to take much more, so I hoped Kath was quick. "Jao, Dav, can you and your guys come rally on me and Katherine ASAP? My FT is working on evacuating the injured and couldn't spare anyone." I informed them.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

As Miller headed for cover, I sprung into action, taking up katana and pistol again as a Berserker swung down his arm blade in an attempt to kill me, as I parried it before spinning around behind him, twisting his arm back, and using him as a shield before he lost his bio-field, kicking him forward and planting 2 rounds in his skull as he ran out of field, and then stabbing another poor soul in the chest before ripping the blade out of his collarbone.

I leapt for cover to go over where I got hit several times by a volley of shots, most mainly feeling like pins hitting me in the chest and legs, with some leaving a couple of scratches on my clothes and skin. Knowing I needed to give my shield a bit of a break to recover for a while, I grabbed an assault rifle from a dead Mortus Trooper, firing in three round bursts at any heads and body parts that appeared.

"Yea, I think some help right now would be nice." I said, hurling a grenade into the slowly advancing crowd of Berserkers and Knights, exploding soon after, followed by sounds of overloaded bio-fields.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

Shit. It all happened so fucking fast. How the fuck did they even get here what the fuck are they doing what are we doing what has this come to oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit--

All the voices in my head were screaming the same thing for once, as the shit hit the fan. Well, at this point, I think the fan is made of shit. Multiple Smierc dropships have boarded our ship, all over the place. My A.I., newly installed after that shitstorm on Yabrao, started up immediately, and informed me of the situation, as I whizzed past crystal bolts on my way to decent cover.

The entirety of Fireteam Comet scrambled to cover as soon as the whole thing went down, with Parkins springing into action and taking down the nearest dropship just as the landing hatch opened, his mechanical arm making use of itself as it tore into a Smierc Knight's face armor and digging out its details, as John and Danny provided fire into the rest of the crew, tearing through the landing team within seconds. Seems that the armor-piercing bolts that I paid for were worth it.

Adrian and his Fireteam was engaging some other Smierc squads down the hangar. I arm my machine gun, and start putting rounds downrange. The New Union troops are taking a beating, as Adrian's Fireteam bore the brunt of the boarding forces. Seems like the Smierc really want to disable this hangar. Defense turrets are going off like crazy, tearing up ship after ship, although they are being taken out quicker and quicker. It reminded me of something. Something from a long time ago. Wait, I think Miller's Fireteam is named after that thing. Yeah. The sight of entire shiploads of soldiers being chopped down by machine guns as soon as the landing ramp dropped reminded me of that disastrous invasion of Omaha Beach back in 1944.

"This is Fireteam Nexus reporting in from the main hangar. Will appreciate any help from nearby Fireteams with keeping the Smiercs at bay, over." rang the comms. I ordered my A.I. to open up a comms channel to all Nexus members, as both of my hands were too busy mowing down another shipload of troops. Most of the ones in the front were dead immediately, but the Dziki wearers in the back managed to get through my hail of holo-bolts.

"Nexus, this is Fireteam Comet! Moving to support you, over!" I then immediately turned to my own Fireteam. "C'mon, let's move it! Forward fire, concentrate!" I yelled, as I moved up, with Dav and Carl coming in close behind. Sgt. Parkins was on babysitting duty, dragging the two Corporals forward, pausing when the fire gets too hot.

As Fireteam Comet made its way towards the fierce fighting, our share of the fighting suddenly increased, as not one, but two boarding ships rammed through the hull right where we are. One rammed through just in front of where we are, while the other one rammed through between us and Parkins, dividing our forces in two. Things were getting heated up.

Utilizing our quick thinking, we sprung into action. Carlison decided to be helpful for once, and manually deployed his IRESS, voluntarily sacrificing his shield. It would be devastating for him if he gets hit, but if he plays it right, he won't need to get hit. He's a marksman, after all. All three of us took cover behind some crates, with Carlison and I dealing with the boarding ship separating us from Parkins, while Dav takes care of the one in front.

As the ships opened their hatches, and the Smierc poured out, Carlison's IRESS served as a shield for both Carlison and I, glancing off hits and blows, while my machine gun makes quick work of them at a range of less than 15 meters. The sight was magical. I could also hear holo-bolt fire on the other side of the ship. Must be Parkins and the Corporals doing their share of the work.

To my rear, I could hear nothing but crystal bolts, and then a loud bang, as Daelen, lives up to his nickname, "Boomer". Upwards of 10 Smierc Troopers were anihilated by sticky explosives thrown directly at them. The crystal bolts picked up again, as the rest of the payload turned up, but they were also quickly dispatched, this time with his revolver, with the distinct sound of high velocity holo-bolts. The armor-piercing holo-bolts are vastly better than any modifications achievable with the crystal bolts, sadly. Although we might be able to think of something together. After all, Miller and Katherine managed to convert that old-ass .45 into a viable modern battlefield sidearm. Maybe we should go ask them about that-

My highly distracted thoughts were once again cast aside, as one last Smierc Trooper, a Dziki wearer, emerges from the boarding ship behind us. It headed straight for us, guns blazing. Carlison's IRESS had dropped to zero, and so I quickly took his place, both of us trading machine gun shots as we charged at each other. The thing manifested an arm blade in anticipation of close quarters combat. I drew my holo-machete.

An epic battle ensued, as we clashed blades with each other. His chitin appendage clashing with my holo-machete, creating deafening noises, as both of us struggle for supremacy over the other. He kicks me in the stomach, which I partially blocked with my other arm, but we managed to detach from that blade lock. He manifests the blade in his other arm, and goes for a horizontal swing, in an attempt to lob my head clean off. The attempt was unsuccessful, as I quickly ducked and went up, throwing my holo-machete sideways to deflect the incoming blow from his remaining Blade arm.

The battle was quickly over, as I manifested my Claymore, jamming it deeply into his chest. The stab was largely unsuccessful, as Dziki armor is notoriously tough, but I managed to make a sizeable dent. I pull the thing out, with only little droplets of blood coming out, and receive a frontal kick to my stomach, throwing me back several meters. The thing roared in anger, but was quickly put down by a hail of bullets from Davo, combined with some close-range rifle shots from Carlison, aimed at the hole in his armor system caused by my stab.

The lifeless husked collapsed, blood sputtering from its wounds. Fireteam Comet linked up together for a breather. "Jao, Dav, can you and your guys come rally on me and Katherine ASAP? My FT is working on evacuating the injured and couldn't spare anyone." rang up on my comms system. Now, new decisions need to be made. The hangar needs to be held, and it can't be held without our help. But then again, evacuating the injured is a big deal. I decided to make a decision.

I open up my comms, first to Adrian. "Nexus, this is Comet. We're splitting up our Fireteam, one headed for Omaha's location, one headed for yours. Sorry we couldn't bring enough support, over." I then turned over to Miller. "This is Comet, we're splitting up, half of us are headed for you, over." I then turned to my team and issue some quick orders.

"Parkins, John, you're with me. We're heading towards Katherine and Miller. The rest of you, assist Adrian and the others at the hangar. Got it? Let's go." I said, as I began moving towards their position, guided by my AI.

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

Sulano cursed as he finally got his answer. Coats and Looker had backed into a storage room as per his command as the answer came to light. Their lack of reinforcements was because Smierc had been boarding behind were they'd made progress, cutting them off from the main group. Any reinforcements were going to have to fight to reach them.

From his position at the entrance to the Smierc boarding ship Uncle used a small can lid to check on what was going on down the hall, towards the reactor. "Seems like the last of the soldiers ran off towards the reactor. That leaves us with two heavies, but no back up fro, their own heavies made the fight daunting. Sulano was about to recommend they just stay and hope for help when Riley got up, looked at the flat metal bench she'd been sitting on and suddenly ripped it from its moorings to the wall.

"We simply do not have the time. Please focus on the one I am not going to be in front of."

Without any other words she leaped out into the hallway, utilising the precious seconds of reaction time from the heavies to hold the bench piece in front of her as a makeshift shield. Rushing forward, the 'shield' was met with a barrage of fire from the heavies, Riley cursing as crystalline rounds punctured the metal and stopped hallway through. Halfway there her compatriots suddenly opened fire on the heavy they had clear sight to, rounds rippling across its shield as they laid into it.

As one heavy ran out of ammunition and the other faltered as his shields began to run low under the barrage of rounds from Sulano and Uncle, Riley shifted her grip on the chunk of metal before swinging viciously into the heavy in front of her. Its shields shattered on impact from the force of the blow, and the shards embedded in the metal shredded and flayed the skin not covered by armour.

Letting the metal go and leaving the first heavy to sort out its issues, the leaped at the second heavy and sent a fist across its face hard enough to finally shatter its weakened shields. With the upperhand hers this time around, she watched the heavy stumble off into the wall for but a second before returning her attention to the recovering first. Moving forward, she used his bent leg as a launching pad to get high enough to drive her own knee into the first's jaw with an audible crack. Toppling the heavy Riley made sure to stomp on its neck after it hit the ground to make sure it was done.

Turning to settle things with the second one, Riley was almost caught off guard as it made to fire it's sidearm at her. Dodging left, she hissed as a round scoured her arm, grazing it painfully. Still, with little time to worry about that she rushed forward, grabbing it by the arm and twisting cruelly. A pop and a snap later, the heavy was staggering back in surprise, fear, anger and agony as it's dislocated shoulder let the broken arm attached to it dangle uselessly.

The two stared each other down for but a moment, the Smierc roaring something at her in its own language. In response Riley drew her sidearm, aiming it up at the brutes face as it talked, and pulped the defiant Smierc's head with a barrage of rounds before reloading again.

"I think not sir. Fuck you too."

Simple words spoken as the behemoth dropped. Stowing her sidearm, Riley instead pulled out her triage kit and tore open a small package of powder. She poured it on her wound as Sulano and Uncle came down the hall towards her, and there was a faint smell of burnt flesh to be found lingering as Riley winced at the sensation of the powder cauterising her arm. Taking a quick ammunition check, and accepting the extra magazines for her sidearm from Uncle, Riley explained her plan.

"Essentially, you two head back, get Coats and Looker and go back to flank the enemy blocking our men. I know I;m not in charge of the fireteam, but I can fit in the maintenance ducts, so I can sneak ahead and gain information. We need those reinforcements."

Sulano personally didn't like the plan, especially because despite her display of prowess, it was clear that her size still worked against her. Despite this, and after some clarifications, the man and his subordinate ran back the way they came.

Watching them go, Riley turned and ran towards the main corridor towards the reactor. I didn't take long for her to hit the flank of the enemies, and the girl couldn't help but stop short and take cover as she tried to assess her plan of approach.

(Sulano, Coats, Looker and Uncle are headed back towards the hanger to help clear any Smierc between them and the hanger. Riley is, uh, well, not doing anything more than hiding behind a crate realising that she should have indeed waited on reinforcements.)

 

[Trappy]

Daelen

We split up. Corporal Danielle and Carley were with me to assist Adrian and the other folks holding off the Smierc at the main hangar. We ran across the hallways, our eyes peeled for the enemy. Shit, the whole thing just went down like that. Too much for one easy op. I figured I wouldn't be surprised if there was going to be a revolt by the already frustrated mobs. And how the hell did the Smierc got so close to New Krona? Did some fat pencil-pusher at New Union Command forgot to watch the sensors and scanners? I didn't have time to answer the questions I had, and I couldn't if I had tried. Conveniently, my recently installed combat assistance A.I, Eva, mapped the interior of the Artemis III and suggested the closest route to the main hangar. I paid good money for its programming, or should I say, her programming. It's always a good thing to have an assistant, a partner who understands you.

We stumbled on some Smierc brutes on our way. There were 4 of them, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. One of them was a Mortus trooper, I supposed, it was holding a New Union naval officer, choking him. It didn't have its helmet on, and there was this goo coming out of a hole on its face. Whatever it was, I do not intend to find out, but it was literally melting the face of that poor lad. Some kind of acidic compound, maybe. Carley quickly took the shot, annnddd it was a golden shot. The Mortus Smierc's ugly head was reduced to an uglier, bloody pulp. Danielle fired and managed to kill two brutes. Then the remaining two brutes fired. Crystal bolts ripped through the air towards us, while I dashed my way towards them. Luckily, my IRESS absorbed a considerable amount of damage. I dodged a salvo of crystal bolts behind a crate, then I got up and charged at them again. It was one of my bad habits. One of them was hit, but its armour deflected the shot, leaving it stunned. I went for that brute. I ran towards it, grabbed the head and smashed it into the ground as hard as I could. I heard gunfires from behind me, and a soft grunt from the other brute, the lads took him out - I thought. I stood up as Eva confirmed our surrounding area was cleared of enemies. That brute's head was messed up more than I expected, with broken pieces of the helmet mixed into its bloody, ugly face.

"Blah'dy 'ell Cap'n." -Danny walked up behind me, staring at the dead Smierc. "You're giving them janitors a messy load!"

"Aye, that is if we success defending the ship, mate. Or else there won't be any janitor cleaning that shit up." - I chuckled, and we ran to the main hangar.

I opened up my comms. - "This is Daelen of Fireteam Comet to Captain Adrian. We are close to your position, watch out for friendlies. Over."

 

[Perambulation]

Adrian

Thanks to my radio comms, I've got elements of Fireteam Comet heading over to assist with defending the hanger. Seems like some of the other Twisted Wolves are also heading over here to help in the defense. The hangar cannot be compromised by the Smiercs at all costs. If we lose the hangar, we lose our access to the nearby airspace through our fighters and dropships. That leaves the NUSS Artemis III even more vulnerable to Smierc Collective attacks.

However, the tides are turning in our favor, as the combined efforts of the New Union Marines and the few Sabre Corps Fireteams are finally flushing out many of the boarding Smiercs. The point-defense turrets defending the NUSS Artemis III are now adjusting to the incoming Smierc Collective boarding pods' patterns, taking them out in an increasingly efficient manner. It's only a matter of time now before the hangar is once again ours.

"Roger that Fireteam Comet. We'll be standing by for your backup, over."

Meanwhile, I activate my Focus Crystal Blade and start to rush a group of Mortus Trooper Knights, slashing at them and parrying any slow melee attacks of their own. My Fireteam caught any of the enemy soldiers trying to hit my backside, as I continued my slashing ways.

That's when I noticed one of the newcomers, Carboni, was isolated and seemed a bit lost in the midst of the firefight. He is exhibiting the classic signs of trauma from his first battle, and I could tell that's going to get him killed. Before a burst of crystal-bolts found their mark on Carboni's KAISYS armor, I grabbed him and shielded him off with my own IRESS. The HUD indicator notified me of the shield's status.

"Carboni, you're going to have to stick with us. I can't have you going off and dying too early, ya hear?"

The bit shook Corporal nodded rapidly back, and I gave him a pat on the back as I led him to the rest of the Fireteam. Only about 5 or 6 pods remained with Smierc Mortus Troopers, and we should be able to wrap this up.


DM

Several Smierc Collective boarding pods did indeed make their way near the NUSS Artemis III's fusion reactor. The Mortus Troopers began to quickly make their way to the sealed reactor room, firing their weapons and killing off any possible intruders as they neared their objective. It's only a matter of time before they begin to set up explosive charges to attempt to blow the entire ship up.

 

[An Khang]

After taking down what I assumed was the last group of small group of Mortus troopers in the common area, I ran to a map on the wall. I needed the location to the reactor, since I was new to this ship. I glanced over it, eyeballing where I needed to go. I'd cut through the hangar, maybe get some help.

The sound of gunfire in the distance grew louder. I reached the doorway into the hangar, hearing the gunfire die down a bit. Someone was about to win the fight.

I wasn't sure which side I would be facing when I opened the door, so I stood out of the way when opening. I peeked for a second, seeing Smierc crafts and some enemies to the near right of the doorway. I was on the wrong side.

I decided to support the soldiers firing from the other side of the hangar, so I took out a sticky bomb, peeked again to check if there were any friendlies in range, there weren't, and blindly threw the bomb. After about two seconds, I detonated, hearing shields breaking and grunts of pain. I turned around the corner, and shot anyone I could before they reacted. I backed up behind the doorway, slightly flinching as several crystal bolts hit the door, barely missing. I shut the door behind, pulling my lever as I ran around to find the doorway to the right side of the hangar.

I heard footsteps. Footsteps of action. I glanced behind me while running, seeing a group of Mortus knights. I turned the corner just as I noticed them, dodging more bolts. I dropped another sticky bomb behind me. I turned another corner before detonating. Still hearing footsteps, I took a shot behind me with one hand. Probably missed. Either way, I found my way to the right doorway. The gunfire was louder from here.

I turned around, awaiting the knights. Within a few seconds, a head and a gun peeked around the corner. I fanned instantly, killing them in two hits. Another dove out of cover, firing midair. I fanned at the same time. I was hit in my chestplate three times in quick succession, but not before taking them out. I spun out, falling on the ground, clutching where I was shot. Two of the bolts broke past my armor and my skin, burning the area near my heart.

"Fuck!" I grit my teeth, stood up, and faced the doorway. I opened the door, seeing the Sabre troops and Wolves. Several of them turned and aimed at me.

I quickly let go of my laserfanner with my right hand, and brought both up. "I'm a Wolf," I blurted out. "One of yours."

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

I ran down a hallway, with Parkins and John following closely behind. The dim red light illuminating our journey through the tight confines of the ship's interior flickered ever so slightly, as we whizzed past them, one after another. Our footsteps rang out throughout the hallway, deafened slightly by the terrible shredding sound of another boarding ship tearing through our ship's paper-thin hull, and the occasional staccato guitar riff of death, as a cacophony of holo-bolts and crystal-bolts are unleashed upon each other.

I pressed up my comms. "Katherine, Miller, we're almost to your location, what's your status, over--" of course, it was cut short, by yet more uninvited and unwelcome visitors. Some jerk-off boarding ship pilot on the Smierc side decided to almost ram me at a 40 degree angle, cutting through the corridor we were in, and diving down some more floors. "Cancel that, girls. I've got business to take care of." I replied to my own question, as my team and I made our way down, following the newly created trail that the boarding ship left. Soon enough, we arrived in an area with crates and the like.

So this is the storage hold. Big place, with all the supplies necessary for interstellar travel and military purposes. Never thought I'd have to fight in one of these, but life holds many surprises. It's funny, because I have a slight advantage in this playing field, as in my free time, I'd like to play 'Shoot the Bad Guy', where I would assume that the area I'm in is a battlefield, and I must fight in it no matter what. And I've played that game too many times in storage areas.

I signal to Parkins and John. 'Fan out. 3 metre spread.' was the message. We passed two rows of neatly stacked crates and supplies, before coming across the boarding ship, with its fuselage smoking. A light or two was aimed directly at the boarding ship, and the Smierc troopers coming out of it. They were a bit shaken around by that impact, and judging by their armor appearances, it appears the pilot was dead on impact. Serves that guy right.

The Mortus Troopers appeared dazed by the rough landing, stumbling out clumsily, shielding their eyes from the blinding lights that were shining directly on them. We were concealed in total darkness. I counted 10. Judging by the commotion inside the boarding ship, about 3 more. The perfect time to strike.

Parkins hurled a grenade right at them, rolling up towards their feet. They obviously spot the threat, and one literally did an action hero jump away, as the grenade went off, taking one by surprise, killing it. They hustle towards cover, as all of us opened fire. It was here that my money paid off. The custom-built armor-piercing holo-bolt rounds I had for my entire team worked miracles against their Bio-Fields at such a close range, tearing 3 of them apart. 4 down, 9 to go.

One of them crawled behind a hover-jeep, fastened down with magnetic latches, and began opening retaliation fire, pinning John down. The poor lad cowered behind that crate, as crystal bolts tore up the front end, and packets of rations fall out. That's an entire month's worth of rations for a platoon. Unacceptable losses.

I spin my LMG around, and sprayed at that Mortus Trooper. The hail of holo-bolts proved too much for him, and as his Bio-Field sputtered out of existence, his head popped in a spectacular way, spilling dark liquid all over the floor. Such a pity that I accidentally destroyed a fine hover-jeep in the process. After all, armor-piercing holo-bolts work wonders against thin armor, especially hover-jeeps. Whoops.

There was commotion in the boarding ship, as the 3 who were in there rushed out, were shot, and ran back in. I could see a trail of blood leading back into the opening hatch, as one of the Mortus Troopers were dragged in there by the other two, no doubt being patched up with that fancy shmancy Revival Serum that they had. I put an end to that, as the Legio Ferrum torrent from my right arm set the interior on fire, and they ran out, on fire, accordingly. They were unceremoniously gunned down by holo-bolt fire, as the gunfight raged on.

Sgt. Parkins and I cleaned house, whilst John picked off the stragglers. We were a good team down there. These Mortus Troopers, they like close quarters combat a lot. And I could probably see the reasoning behind that. Their command, unlike ours, pays close attention to the conditions of their troops on the battlefield, and close quarters combat was most likely going to happen on confined spaces such as ship interiors, so it would make sense they were trained in this particular field.

Doesn't work so well for them against us, though. I had learned to use the holo-machete more, only relying on the Claymore when needed. And as such, I fought with a clear mind, hacking and slashing through the Mortus Troopers who tried to come close, whilst Parkins... I'd like to say, I helped him tremendously by attaching the bionic limbs to him. I saw him deflect a Mortus Trooper's Arm Blade with his mechanical arm, and giving him a fatal knee to the stomach with his mechanical foot. The thing went flying, landing on a crate, coughing up blood and then ceasing its movements.

Soon enough, the field was silent again. Nothing but the hissing of our gun barrels, with mine being extinguished, as I absorb the energy. The crisp burning of the boarding ship continued for a while, too, before I absorbed it all. If someone were to turn on thermal imaging, absolutely no heat would be found near me. That's also one of my silent attributes. Partial thermal camouflage. I automatically absorb any heat around me. That's why I like hot climates. Fills me with energy, and demoralizes my enemies, as the heat plays a big role. Unfortunately, my allies are also usually demoralized as well in those situations.

"Comet here. Just dealt with a Smierc boarding ship in the storage hold. Moving to reactor, over." I broadcasted on an open channel. I suppose it would be a welcome message, a sign of some success, to boost the morale of the troops. But little did I know, I just unknowingly played myself.

I heard more commotion, as we moved through the storage hold. If I remembered correctly, this was also one of the targets for the boarding ships. But up ahead, I heard a strange, yet eerily familiar noise. John and Parkins have no idea, but I have some knowledge about this sound. As the gunfight up ahead died down, I could hear abnormally huge footsteps, along with metallic clanging, and chitin scraping against each other. It could've been a Dziki wearer, but the sound of chains clashing together made it clear.

It was The Unstoppable One.

We took cover, as we looked forward. A standard Smierc group, making their way about, recently clearing a group of Sabre Corps troopers assigned to holding the entrance to the storage hold, it seems. None of them were special, but one stood out in particular: A towering figure, ripped with muscle, emanating masculinity. A menacing behemoth, standing at least 3 heads above everyone in my Fireteam.

They say his name is Kogo'morragh, a drug baron from the planet of Portus. Others say he is the son of Y'drul Moczingo, the famed space bandit with a 10 million credit bounty on his head for 30 years, an unprecedented achievement. But everyone in the Twisted Wolves, no, everyone in The Falcons, knew that he was The Unstoppable One.

He wore a suit of armor unlike any other on the field. And possibly, unlike any other in the galaxy. For you see, the normal Twisted Wolf either has KAISYS, or SKANDIA armor. No one has both at the same time. Except for The Unstoppable One. He had undergone similar 'preparations' as the Smierc troopers, some even say that he was a Smierc trooper himself for some time, part of the hulking 14th Legion that devastated New Union troops on many of the planets in the Outer Territories. And now, he is the first, and possibly the only, person in this entire universe who wears both KAISYS and SKANDIA. His SKANDIA layer is his skin, he has it at all times, and his KAISYS wraps around his armor, giving him both the Bio-Field and the IRESS.

For the extra scare factor or something, he also carried around a big metallic, archaic thing, called a Warhammer. It was a 200kg hunk of titanium alloy, reinforced with holographic technology, with a hammer at one end, that allegedly crushed a hover-tank once, with no assistance, and a few chains on the other end. The chains had a counterweight at the end, so in times of need, they would be sprung, latch around a target, and the target would then be manipulated by the chain's movements. That's his favourite technique. He also carries around a Dzida.

This poor Sabre Corps trooper crawling away, trailing blood behind him, as The Unstoppable One walks forward, Warhammer in hand. He pleas for help, but none of the other Mortus Troopers interfere. They would know best not to steal kills from The Skullcrusher. That was also one of his names. He had many names. Too much to remember.

I had to open fire.

A hail of holo-bolts, directed at the Mortus Troopers. Two of them went down immediately, as the armour-piercing holo-bolts still retained immense power at a long distance. Not that 50 meters is a long distance by any means. Especially when you're facing The Spine Ripper. Or whatever his name was. The guy's surprisingly fast for someone that bulky.

"Uhh, change of plans again, Miller. We're not gonna be able to provide support for you. Encountered..." I paused, as I unleashed half a magazine's worth of holo-bolts into the enemy team, as my soldiers fall back under fire. "...Unexpected resistance. We can't reach you. Sorry, over." I then immediately switched to Daelen's comm channel, after I slice a Mortus Trooper in half as he dashed towards my position, guns blazing. My IRESS is already down to half.

"Dav, we've got a big fucking problem here! It's The Unstoppable! Need help now! C'mon, man!" I yelled, as I ran for my life, through the corridors. As we played our little run-and-shoot game, the Smierc numbers dwindled and died, until there was one. The Unstoppable One.

I make a stand, at the other side of the entrance, praying for Davo to show up soon. I was gonna need all the help I could get right now.

 

[Henrypika]

Katherine

Larger blips started appearing towards the back of the ship as my private communication channel came on again. This time with a different voice. I'm glad I have a lot of support from outside to counter the Commander's obvious unwillingness to even bother to give us any information whatsoever, or rather may be they're fighting as well, or just letting us die.

You know what? Pessimism isn't my style.

"Large amounts of enemy explosives detected in the back of your ship's reactor. Marked it on your friendlies' maps." he, judging by the voice, said. "Also, there seems to be a juggernaut near Joachim's position. Also marking that on your team's navigations."

"Miller, we need to start busting open the door to the reactor." I said, finishing the last clip of the assault rifle I got from the dead Knight before jumping out of cover, with a fresh IRESS, and with a deft downward swing, smashed it into some Berserker's helmet, which quickly destroyed the assault rifle, but left a clean crack for me to plunge my standard issue Holo-blade, or whatever the fuck it's called, into its head, which I won't even bother to retrieve.

Another round of explosions rock the ceiling as I hear several fighters letting loose their fire, as I start running down the hall, in double-time or rather images, as to throw them off, slashing through a Knight's chest, leaving him bleeding out and through the base of a Berserker's helmet, decapitating him. After I checked it was clear, I motioned for Miller to meet me near the reactor door, where the other FT of mercenaries should be meeting us in the hall any time soon.

 

[Perambulation]

(I just love the way the RP is run, kinda more freeform than really restricted. Anyways, waiting for more responses before I move on)

 

[Pequeno Burraidh]

(Suppose due to proximity, I could get Riley started in the reactor room. Does it make sense to anyone else that the closer to the reactor and bombs we get, the more standard soldiers and scouts we'd see, with the heavies having been left to slow us down from getting to the bomb placers?)

 

[Trappy]

Daelen


We ran into an intersection point. Judging by the scorch marks on the walls, deployed Holo-shields and obviously, bodies, Smierc and human, quite a fight took place here. We were close to the main hangar, I could hear an orchestra of crystal bolts and holo-bolts being fired, which is something I am familiar with. Projectiles flew around as thick as winter hail on Vaccaro. Projectiles cutting through the frozen air, oblivious to their purpose. Each one rips into something, be it inanimate or living, spilling oil or blood with equal coldness. There was a time at least the ones pulling the trigger might have felt something, remorse, guilt, compassion. Although I was not certain I could say that about the Smierc.

My chain of thought was disrupted by Joachim on the comms, and I halted, staggering the men. Danielle quickly fixed his Type-BC rifle, scanning the surroundings, peeking down hallways for the enemy. I signalled him to stand down.

. . .

"I'll be right there, hang on." - I replied to the man.

"Adrian, I'm sending over Carley and Danielle to assist you. I ran into an . . . Unexpected guest. Try to keep them safe for me."

Ah shit, that giant, literally. The Unstoppable One, a notoriously fearsome fighter. He was famous among the Wolves for his tendency towards extreme and excessive violence. That, and he was freakishly huuuuge. I've heard stories about that man, stories that would drive a man insane with an endless wave of nightmares. And now that monster is on the other side of the fight.

I told Carley and Danielle to assist Adrian at the main hangar, and quickly scavenged as much as I could for the showdown. A good handful of grenades wouldn't hurt. I melted a big plate off the Smierc dropship's ram. As I recalled, The Unstoppable One carries a unique weapon, a giant-fucking-hammer, or Warhammer, as they called it. I didn't think this excuse of a combat shield could save me in a close-in fight with that guy, but whatever this thing is made of, it survived the impact and penetrated the Artemis III's hull plating. I rushed as fast as I could to Joachim's location, the lads wouldn't survive against that beast, not even my friend Joachim.

I was close, I could hear the heavy, metallic sounds of his giant armour. The chains were rattling a melody of imminent death. Closer, I could hear Parkins shouting battle cries, and a salvo of holo-bolts were fired. Closer, I heard the menacing sound of Joachim summoning his Claymore. The Unstoppable One was getting close to them.

Past a corner, I saw him. Huge and menacing, his chains were rattling as he walked slowly towards his prey, Joachim's lads. His heavy steps, strong enough to reduce one's skull into paste. I dashed towards him with the dropship armour plate in front of me. Oh god he was enormous. As I got closer to him, he got bigger and bigger. It was like I struck a metal pillar. He was staggered as I bashed the plate against his neck, but once he got it together, he sent me flying. I flew at least 5 metres backward, and hit my head against the wall. When I opened my eyes, I saw him towering over me, tightening his grip on the Warhammer. Pathetically, I tried to crawl backward as fast as I could.

The hammer went down. And I was this close to being castrated. Joachim and his Claymore blocked the Hammer just in time. Great fuckin' save, Joachim, I owe you big time.

But there was no time to waste. And Joachim sure knew that. As soon as he blocked the Warhammer, he pulled out his trusty Holo-machete and struck the Giant horizontally, narrowly missing the man, as it hit the other end of the Warhammer instead, cutting off some chains. I quickly got up on my feet and picked up one of the chains. The chain had a counterweight of sorst at the end, a large, crude chunk of titanium alloy. I fixed the metallic plate on one hand and tightened my grip on the chain with the other. Shield and flail, and the fight had just begun.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carlison

It was just me and Danielle. We quickly exited the hallways into the main hangar. And almost immediately, we were welcomed by a deadly burst of crystal bolts. Danielle ducked with inhuman reflexes, and quickly took out 3 brutes as soon as he entered the chaotic fire fight. I tapped on his shoulder, instructing him to provide me suppressive fire.

All set, I quickly raised my head to scan the friendlies, then ducked behind one of the crates again. Thanks to my ability, I quickly spotted Captain Morrison. I cooked a grenade, threw it at the enemy's direction as Danielle raised to cover me. Then I sprinted with my head between my knees, almost literally. Yet, a salvo of crystal-bolts narrowly missed me. I landed on my belly in front of the Captain, before I got up on my knees and reported in.

"Captain Morrison Sir! Corporal Carlison of Fireteam Comet, reporting in!" - I said at the top of my lungs.

 

[Kabboom]

Joachim

My team and I were helpless against this giant. We were firing everything we got at this fucking guy, but his armor is just too strong. He had also picked up one of the deceased Smierc knights, and is using the body as a shield. Our holo-bolts tore up the body, but it did no harm to The Unstoppable One.

The door behind us had malfunctioned, the result of some technician delaying his repair work until the next day, or something like that. A bullshit reason for us to die. Parkins is trying his best to open it, but even with his bionic arm, the door wouldn't budge. As The Unstoppable One got closer and closer, he drew his Warhammer, and started rattling the chains, causing a terrifying noise. Seeing no other choice, I activated my Hellsmoke Generator, in a desperate attempt to surprise him, maybe play tricks with his mind or something, anything to give myself an edge in combat against this behemoth. I draw my Holo-machete, and summon my Claymore with all my strength. I charged in, for a one-on-one duel.

Well, it would've been a one-on-one duel, but my friend Dav jumped in, with that grand entrance of his. What is that, even, a shield? Where did he get that? Doesn't matter, he's got a shield. And his, like, jump charge, did quite a bit of damage against The Unstoppable One, it seems. I've never seen that juggernaut of a man stagger before, and I definitely didn't expect someone like Davo to be the one who does it.

His bold move faced retaliation, as the behemoth quickly grabbed him by the chest and hurled him backwards by at least 5 metres, banging his head against the walls of the corridor. The thing then stomped up to the man, grip tightening on his Warhammer, raising it to his head, poised for the killing blow. I put a stop to that, of course, with some quick thinking and even quicker foot movement. I almost tore off my wrist, as my right hand, the one with the Claymore, blocked the Warhammer's strike, mere inches away from Davo's family jewels. Close one.

Almost simultaneously, I swiped my holo-machete left, trying to cut his stomach open. He managed to lean back and dodge the thing, though I managed to scrape off a chain from his Warhammer, one that Davo would use less than a second later. A second later, though, is a considerably long time, especially when fighting someone who could probably amputate you with a handshake.

Using my Claymore as a resting point, he swung his Warhammer far to his right, forcing me to do a spectacular dodge, as the hammer head narrowly scraped my face mask. I could hear a thunderous clang, as the Warhammer created a sizeable dent in the other wall of the tight corridor. I stagger backwards, from that stunt I just pulled, to regain balance, whilst Davo picked the chain up, gave it a twirl or two, and went for an uppercut against The Unstoppable One's chest. A fine blow, but the behemoth caught the chain, and yanked it behind him, in an effort to draw Davo in for the kill, but thankfully, my quick-witted friend let go in time.

The Warhammer came back for another swing, as I charged back in. I grabbed both my holo-machete and my Claymore, and did my best to hold the blades against that monstrous swing. The result? Ow. My holo-machete was flung out of my grip, and my Claymore snapped in two, before regenerating itself. Davo turned his shield around just in time to block the strike, falling down to the ground.

The Unstoppable One followed through with the inertia from his swing, and tried to stomp Davo dead with his right foot. Dav quickly rolled to his side, avoiding the stomp, as his foot tore through the floor, holding him in place for the time being. I went in for an attack or two. One quick slice, leaving a scorch mark, as I spun around for a heavier slash, leaving a scorch mark trailing down vertically down his back. I ducked my head after that slice, narrowly avoiding the Warhammer as it swung around, aimed at my chest.

The Unstoppable One freed himself from the hole in the floor, and had spun around completely by the time I looked up. His hand reached to my throat, grasping it firmly, as he lifted me up into the air effortlessly, as if I was a toy. My neck felt like it was collapsing in on itself, as I found it very hard to breathe. My vision fades to black slowly, as my mind goes frantic with pessimistic thoughts about how "this is the end", "this is how I go", blah blah blah. There were just too many thoughts.

Besides, none of them were true. The grip on my neck was released, and I fell to the ground, taking big gasps of air. My best friend, Davo, who was always there when I needed him, proved himself again, as he reached for my holo-machete and went for two quick swings at The Unstoppable One's legs. I could see the behemoth's IRESS sputter and die, as his Bio-Field now takes over, with his Warhammer swinging above my head, aimed at Davo. The man skillfully ducked below it, and went for a vertical slash upwards.

As I had collapsed down, Parkins and John now had an unobstructed line of fire at The Unstoppable One, and they opened fire accordingly, sending painful bullets into the Bio-Field, weakening it greatly. He swung his Warhammer around again, narrowly missing Davo as he did a fancy little sidestep-spin-duck to the right, stabbing the behemoth with his left hand, which had turned into a spear, thanks to his ability. He was met with a punch from The Unstoppable One's free arm, though, and slammed against the wall. He was now in a similar, if not exactly identical situation that he found himself in at the start of the fight, as the Warhammer was again, raised above the head, poised to deliver the killing blow.

And just like the beginning of the fight, I intervened. I grabbed my Claymore with both hands, and went for a big vertical strike upwards, as I got up to my knees, directing the Warhammer elsewhere. Enraged, The Unstoppable One raised his knee and planted it right in my face, blocked only by the Claymore. I was knocked to the ground, and he tried to stomp me, the same way he tried to stomp Davo. This fight is turning into a big pile of deja vu.

But once again, Davo intervenes, getting on his feet and going in for a shove, surprisingly pushing the behemoth to the side. I guess he was getting weaker, as shown by his Bio-Field sputtering out of existence with the slash that Davo delivered after the shove. The Unstoppable One swung his forearm around, smacking Davo, knocking him down. And for the third time, Davo was on the ground, with Warhammer lingering above him.

But the Warhammer was dropped, and thankfully, it wasn't dropped on either of us. I intervened, yet again, by throwing my Claymore at The Unstoppable One, piercing his back. And for the first time, except for grunts and sharp exhales, I heard a sound come out of this towering figure, one that showed that he was still mortal after all. A scream of pain. He turned around, with murderous intent, reaching down to try and grab me, but the holo-machete pierced his back in the same fashion my Claymore did, making him almost jump up in pain.

Dav did the same thing I did, hurling his holo-machete to save me. Angered beyond all reason, The Unstoppable One turned around to face Davo, who is now frantically crawling backwards. I throw a kick at him, slamming him against the wall as he turned around, piercing both the holo-machete and the Claymore through his chest. He stood there, stupefied by the pain, and I quickly got on my feet, and grabbed a hold of my holo-machete.

I yanked it out, forcing the behemoth to its knees. I went for a slash, forcing him down to his hands. I swung the holo-machete around for another slash, but was blocked by his hand, raised to intercept mine in a last ditch effort to stay alive. I gave him a right knee in the face, making him get up on his knees. Davo and I both joined forces, and gave the guy a kick in the chest, flinging him backwards, slamming into the wall behind him.

I guess, for some reason, Davo got carried away too much, and his feral nature returned. He took out a small stick of explosives, and jammed it into The Unstoppable One's face, now uncovered, as our constant attacks had damaged his face mask to the point that it just... fell out. He tried to reach out, his hand open. Maybe it was a beg for mercy, maybe it was a panic reaction, whatever it is, we'll never know. Davo punted the thing, shoving it further into his face. We both dove for cover, as the explosion, albeit small, took out his entire head, spreading his brain matter all around the corridor.

My friend and I remained on the floor, panting heavily, as the adrenaline wore off, and fatigue set in on our badly hurt bodies. We laid there for a good 10, maybe even 20 seconds, I don't remember, before Parkins and John made a move. They were just... stupefied by the fight, I guess. They moved, and picked us up back on our feet. I turned to see a headless figure, leaning against the wall. The mighty Warhammer, lying on the ground, making a sizeable dent on the floor. One hell of a mess for the janitors.

I order Davo to give a comms report to the other members, tell 'em we're safe, whilst I set off to do my own business, namely, forcibly removing the unique Focus Crystal from this hybrid armour system. It was an abnormally large Focus Crystal, in the shape of a dodecahedron or whatever it's called, with a dark red glow to it. I grab this carefully, as if it was something a lot more precious, and put it in a secure pocket.

I stood up, and grabbed my stuff. My energy had decreased greatly, but had been made up for somewhat by automatic absorption of the heat residue after the blast. I nod to my friend, Davo, and we part ways, headed to our original goals.

 

[Trappy]

(bump?)

 

[Perambulation]

(Sorry about that. I'll be sure to get a reply in sometime today)

 

[Perambulation]

DM

Some of the Sabre Corps soldiers snapped behind them and aimed their weapons at a presumed stranger, before their IFF indicators on their HUDs told them it was a friendly Wolf ( An Khang ). They also turned their attention as another Wolf Fireteam slid nearby Fireteam Nexus's position.


Adrian

I acknowledged the Fireteam Comet member, Corporal Carlison I believe, albeit a bit awkwardly. Still sounds weird to be called a Captain, considering how detested I am by the other two veterans of the Fireteam. Meanwhile, I saw several crystal-bolts heading our way, so I boosted into cover using the KAISYS Booster Pack.

"Corporal Carlison, you'd better get your Fireteam members into an assaulting front. We'll provide the suppressive fire you need to clear out the last five pods from the hangar. After that, we should be able to head to the fusion reactor room to secure it from the Smiercs, got it?"

After relaying my field orders, my attention was diverted once more to several pings by my AI, Noa. The newcomers are holding their own somehow fine, but it's getting to be a bit of stressful moment for them. Corporal Carboni is a bit dangerously leaning into a PTSD meltdown, so I make my way to his position, braving the several bursts of crystal-bolts using the IRESS. As I reached Carboni, I noticed he was shaking almost uncontrollably and almost blindly firing into the enemy.

"Carboni, Carboni! Snap out of it! Look at me. I'm your Fireteam Leader, and I'll be here for you. Relax a bit, and take a breather. Let me get you some meds to calm you down and perform as a Sabre Corps soldier should."

Reaching into my Field Medical Kit, I manage to connect a medicine dispensor to his KAISYS armor's medical dock, releasing the medication all over his body. That should stabilize his mental condition now.

"Keep up the work Fireteam Nexus. Let's provide these members of Fireteam Comet some suppressive fire so that we can end this hangar battle!", I shouted into my local comms.

"Roger that...", came in the dull response from Sergeant Amis.

"Still can't believe I'm supposed to trust this guy with my life... For goodness sake...", came in a haggard whisper inadvertently through the comms. Guess I still can't count on Amis or Ingris to support me all the way. Still, better than being completely unresponsive I guess...

 

[Kabboom]

(Bump. Guys?)