Futuristic NCQuest: Mecha flavored action, Story

[Windsock]

Operation 1A: First Wave
The Emperor started off the initial attack; a vicious opening blow from his mounted field artillery scattered his designated opponents, cracking the middle tank of the lot in half as it blew apart from a direct hit. The impacted shell drilled to the backside of the tank and blew the turret straight off, exploding vigorously. One flip through the air later, and it landed upside down in front of the tank, the hull impacting the debris and lightly bouncing from the collision before it rolled over and died.

A few rounds from its battle-rifle, another weapon well conducive to this anti-armor work, made mincemeat of another two targets. Hitting vulnerable spots as the Emperor glided above the battlefield, the upper armor not truly there, the solid shots penetrated or fragmented deep inside the fragile innards of the vehicles. Their inner systems damaged irrecoverably, the tanks slowed to a crawl. The other two ignored their comrades' plight, and continued tracking the Emperor; one after another they fired at the low and slow aerial target, one missed completely but the other managed to graze the side of the machines' chest; his first taste of true feedback pain coming from a glancing, heavy blow that bounced and detonated behind him.

Light fragmentation embedded itself skin-deep into his back as the explosion rocked the Neural Combatant. A quick diagnostics revealed minor, but evident damage. A coolant pipe was severed and was benefiting from the advancement of self-sealing technology, cutting itself off with haste. The Emperor's self-maintenance protocols whined to life, diverting systems appropriately. Superficial damage. No major change to performance. Malthus noted the damage, and calmed down Friedrich in his own, special way. "Readings say it's nothing major, just a little boo-boo. Are they playing too rough for you, over there?", laughing afterwards.

Hardpoint was acting on its own; watching the Emperor, it sympathized with the idea of using heavy artillery to initiate an attack, and fired off its own round. A heavy, high-explosive cracker, the shell dimly flew past to her destined opponents before the Emperor's launch-smoke occluded her view. Maneuvering past it, the Hardpoints' sensors happily reported the shell impacting with an apocalyptic conflagration between two enemy vehicles, a one-shot double-kill from flipping the two ass-over-end and shaking them apart from the sheer shockwave.

A quick turn of the cylinder, and another round was already prepared; but the Hardpoint switched to using its rifle, peppering another with ninety-millimeter rounds. Not deeply hurting the tank, it and its companions nonetheless needed time to re-calculate; the smoke not helping with the fact that the shockwave jumbled their electronics. One fired off a shot, too fast for the Hardpoints' point-defense to properly react against, yet it fell short of the Hardpoint anyway.

The explosion barely buckled the Hardpoint, as a minor change in the drones' behavior could be perceived. The tanks stopped for a short moment, apparently communicating with one another; before they started moving as a cohesive whole instead of distinct bunches. The mass of ten remaining units attempted to congeal on a central point, the units turning their hulls to intentionally present strong-sides to their attackers.

The battle was truly starting, and the observers offered quick advice centered on Emperor's small incident. Dreadnought spoke simply on the matter; "Hmph. A wise move, nonetheless punished. You can do nothing wrong and still get hurt. Continue your mission.", and the Senbazuru agreed, even more curtly. "The reality of combat..."

 

[YsFanatic]

Operation 1A: First Wave
After hearing Emperor's response as well as seeing how the test was setup, Adam frowned when he realized that the job wasn't apparently meant for them to tackle as a team. That didn't change the fact that he needed to give this his all however, and with that thought in mind he started to take aim with Vanguard's rifle only for the dust scattered by Emperor obscure his vision. Resisting the urge to curse for fear that he would accidentally broadcast it, Adam paused to consider his options for a moment.

Remembering that he had a jamming device, Vanguard's Linker realized that this dust cloud might actually be helpful. Adam could hear the noise from his reactor becoming louder as it worked to deal with the increased energy demands caused by the activation of the device, the jamming field extending to cover Emperor and Hardpoint in its protective embrace. Hoping that the combination of dust and the jamming would prevent the tanks from targeting him, at least for now, Adam started to strafe to the side as he looked for a gap in the dust he could use to aim. As soon as he found such a gap he let loose with a burst from the Precision Rifle before the dust hid the tanks from view again.

Fuck it, he decided before firing another trio of rounds in the same direction despite not being able to see. Adam knew that the accuracy of that second attack was going to suck, but his goal right now was to weaken the tanks assigned to him as much as possible while remaining in cover. To that end he started walking back to where he had started while looking for another chance to aim at his targets.

 

[Malphaestus]

Operation 1A: First Wave
FREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

~~~~

After having loosed an ensamble of precise shots, obliterating a total of two additional combatants in addition to his opening act of ripping apart the earth and his first kill with his artillery cannon, he felt himself rocked as a sudden shock scraped against his chest. As it did, he felt immediately thereafter a piercing pain in his back, though still nothing major; a distraction to say the least, but one he would use fully.

He was hit by the explosive force of a round detonating in mid air, rocking his frame, and sending fragmentation into his metal; using that force, he immediately redirected his thrusters forward, proceeding to storm towards the automated battalion of combat drones with the maximum power he could possibly muster utilizing the shockwave behind him to accelerate the frame with more rapidity than it could otherwise. Malthus immediately responded to the situation with his typical snarkiness, a welcomed familiarity. Firing the battle-rifle as he did towards the increasingly homogenized attack force, Emperor responded to his Handler simply over the team's shared communications network.

"It means nothing," the synthetic audio becoming increasingly warped and metallic as Emperor's mind focused all the more on the battle at hand, as opposed to retaining his familiar voice over something as unimportant as the communications network. Whereby he received Senbazuru and Dreadnought's 'advice,' prompting his head to turn aggressively at their distant position briefly, a mental frown almost eminating from the machine as the reactor spooled even harder, and the jets grew more powerful, creating a vapor trail with every meter gained, before he rapidly snapped his head back towards the battlescape.

Observing the fighting below, he could clearly see the actions of his fellow NC combatants as they themselves dealt a reasonable blow to the enemy. And he also saw the changing tide of the battle flowing into one favouring unified fighting forces. He noted their actions in his mental book before re-evaluated his options. Calling out to Vanguard and Hardpoint as he did:

"I will push above them, strike them from on-high where their turret elevation is unable to deal with me. Vanguard, Hardpoint, I need you to distract the enemy whilst I do so."

He lowered his left arm as he did, gripping his taloned fingers against the handle of his assault-rifle, unmagnetizing it, and bringing it to the fore of his cruise. Now wielding both of his main combat armaments, he proceeded to rain a mighty barrage of rounds as he gained ever more proximity to the on-coming formation.

Whilst he could feel the damage that the round had previously left in him, it would not stop him from his objective.

The reality of combat is that the Emperor trumps all other cards.

Punishment is only punishment if the Emperor fails.

The Emperor does not fail.

He continued to think, to analyze the battlefield, flying erratically to shake off any would-be ambitious drones from landing another blow on him.

Firing his battle-rifle and assault-rifle in tandem as he did.

 

[SkyHawk MK IV]

Operation 1A: First Wave
Pleased with her half-arsed aim with the grenade launcher destroying which destroyed two out of the five intended targets, a shot came just short of her. The 30mm was too slow to react to the incoming round and Hazel felt the small damage of splintering shrapnel scrap across the part of her left, lower leg. Damage to Hardpoint consisted of a few scratch marks that the shrapnel made, making Hazel happy about not painting the NC before the mission. Making a mental note of doing so when this was all over.

Hearing the elder observers notes on Emperors actions and Emperors response gave her the feeling that maybe her teammate wasn't all mentally sound when in battle, though dismissing the idea on the grounds of focusing more on the battle. Emperor continued on to order Hazel and Adam to be used for target practice, or that's what she heard at the least, while Emperor himself attacked from above with Hazel responding swiftly to his idea "Not sure I like that idea, Emperor, but I can't really stop you, can I? Just don't leave us hanging. I'm not exceptional at shooting, nor can I use some of my more favourable weapons that I would enjoy." Hazel opened fire in small shots at the remaining tanks, now slightly jogging as she did. Her aim would be shit, though it was better than just standing there.

Mixing it up, Hazel dashed in the opposite direction, though such movements would take time and Hardpoint wasn't exactly the best at making a quick movement. Most likely the tanks would easily guess the movements that she would make.

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1A: First Wave
The trio began to operate towards something resembling teamwork, the two ground-bound fighters offering withering hails of rounds that matched the destructive force available to the receding swarm of drones. The Vanguard activated his radar-jamming device; in combination with the dissipating smoke for just a few seconds more, the tanks' fire control could do little but offer snap-shots that steered clear from the targets, impacting nothing but the dirt around them and exploding harmlessly with spalling reminiscent of venomless bee-stings. Even if their aim wasn't entirely true, the swarm itself was a shapeless mass that could hardly be missed at such mediocre range; add in sympathetic ammo detonations from the rare lucky shot, and it was looking to be over too soon already.

The sheer thundering force from the Vanguard and the Hardpoint quickly belittled the drone swarm, discrete bursts and rapid streams of fire alike finding good purchase and disabling specimen after specimen. The noose was only tightened further by the Emperor above, consigning the subjects under his Neural Combatant to a quick death. Wielding two rifles on his own, his weapons offered only another avenue of intense barrage at the swarm below. It was a short while of relentless steel carnage before the dust began to settle.

Even when used to a low capacity, three NC's working on the same field was almost terrifying in its potential. The scrap-field that was once fifteen perfectly acceptable armored fighting vehicles laid in ruin; a stark reminder of the power Linkers possessed. Miss Nielsen was audible on the line, confirming the situation. "First wave down. That was pretty easy, right?", and the Director from before seemed to agree. "I'd say so." A momentary pause, some mechanical switch audible through the line before he continued. "You are all within the expected range. Please stay on the field. The next wave will actually test your performance against worthwhile targets."

Operation 1A: Second Wave
And on queue, a second wave of enemies showed themselves in the extended sensor envelope; a single ping of Identification Friend-Or-Foe data being sent directly to the rookie NC's through their links. Six targets; three on the ground, three in the air. The units in the air were visible first; flying over a small hill and sending up debris as they went on their rotors. The three flew as one wing, tilting forwards as their bodies came into view; very heavy combat helicopters. All of the same model; a stoutly built, slab-sided machine with four powerful rotor assemblies, holding aloft a central mass with a large under-slung weapon, currently untraceable. Further armed by side-pods containing an assembly of anti-armor missiles, an all-aspect autocannon turret pointing forwards on their noses rounded off their arsenal.

They were tagged as 'PPM UH/C-S 06', which was soon automatically translated into something actually usable. These machines were from Paragon Paramilitary; these models actually intentionally built as drones, intended for use in heavy assault or siege operations. With data being input from their respective Handlers, it seemed their prodigious strength was also noted as quite capable against most NC's, and they were just agile enough to keep Linkers in their sights, at least most of the time.

The ground-targets contrarily refused to show themselves, apparently setting up camp behind the very same hill that the helicopters flew over. Those aerial monsters then skulked about the area, patrolling an imaginary defensive line while maintaining their line-of-sight to the Linkers, a long range away. Xavier talked again, "Please, handle this situation as you wish. I'll be grading your performance.", suggesting that they were supposed to think about this before dealing with it.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
"I'm tapped into the enemy comms," Peyton stated. "It's bouncing back and forth. Between four and six tangos in the area. By the sound of things they have something waiting for us, someone tipped them off to our transports."

“Well, shit,” Cammy muttered under her breath. If that’s the case, we’re already calling their bluff just by being here, she thought. She didn’t really care about losing the element of surprise. NCs weren’t exactly stealthy, even ones designed to be such, so it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. If anything, this revelation came as a bit of a relief, as it proved these bandits were all bark and no bite.

Or it proved they were smarter than they initially seemed. Amateurs might lose their cool when they saw two NCs moving on their location. Whatever they were doing, they were doing it relatively quietly. She couldn’t know what they were thinking until they showed their hand…

“Yo, Ell, keep us posted if they up the ransom or make any new threats,” she said, and left it at that.

“Understood,” was Halliwell’s simple reply.

Meanwhile, Peyton and her handler were discussing the terrain. Alice seemed to have identified some juicy vantage points along the ridgelines bordering the canyon. The mission brief said the bandits' base of operations was likely somewhere within that canyon, so moving along the ridge seemed like a decent idea.

After a moment, Peyton came up with a plan and explained it to Cammy, while also sending the vantage points Alice had spotted.

Cammy considered Peyton’s strategy for a long, silent moment, which was rare for someone who usually had a smartass comment locked and loaded. It was a sound strategy, if all they wanted to do was stir up the hornets’ nest and clip the wings of every poor bastard who buzzed out of it. But that was phase two of the operation…

“We gotta find those launchers,” Cammy said, more as a thought spoken aloud than an actual response to Peyton. “I’m all for introducing a little chaos, but a shitstorm like that might make ‘em bust their load early. Unless we have some idea of where the big guns are first, I don’t like it.”

“The chemical weapons are their trump card,” Halliwell explained, in a soothing tone. Cammy could tell she was trying to calm her down, which only annoyed her more. “Before playing their best hand, they will issue a warning, a final threat of some sort,” the woman went on to say. “And, when they do, Chimera will pinpoint their location and you deliver the killshot.”

“Yeah… but that assumes we’re actually able to. You’re assuming they’re not miles away from here already,” Cammy replied. “Our intel said MAVERICK thinks the bandits’ main base is somewhere in that ravine, right? You don’t fire artillery from down in a ravine. And you don’t pick a fight with MAVERICK unless you’re real good at running and hiding. It seems more likely that the guns are mobile.”

While she spoke, Raijin’s body language betrayed her eagerness. The NC slowly prowled around, in circles, stopping occasionally to look left and right. The triangular, ‘cat ear’ intakes on its head made it look as if it was listening for something. And, in a way, it was. Its jet engines had spooled up to a slow idle, emitting a dull whine that resonated with the reactor’s own turbine to produce the reverberating purr that would someday become Raijin’s battle cry.

“Clock’s ticking. I know we gotta move,” Cammy said to Peyton, before turning and beginning to walk toward the ravine. "I'll take point. You monitor their comms. If anybody slips up and says or does somethin' that tells us where the objective is, that's when we start the party. Sound good?"

Remaining ResourcesHE Rounds: 40 | AP Rounds: 25 | FAEB : 10 | MMHR: 5 | Jet Fuel: 100%

 

[Viper Actual]

OPERATION SPRING CLEANING​

Peyton held her breath and remained silent as Cammy responded to her. She provided some valid points, as did Halliwell.
Self-propelled guns made sense. Considering that the bandits in question were ex-Cronus mercs they'd know how to handle themselves as as a mobile mechanized force.

Then again the ravine was the only location where they had the homefield-advantage. Hiding spots, aerial coverage and so forth.

It made more sense for them to try and maintain that advantage to the bitter end or, as their comms hinted at, until they could show their hand at the right time.

I guess we'll have to find out.

"I'll take point. You monitor their comms. If anybody slips up and says or does somethin' that tells us where the objective is, that's when we start the party. Sound good?"

Peyton glanced over at the Raijin. "Sounds good. Let's move."

She shifted slightly in her seat and tightened the grip around her controls as her NC began to move. Gently, it followed the Raijin as the two of them began to make their way towards the ravine.

 

[Malphaestus]

Operation 1A: First Wave
FREDRICH-ALEXANDER VON STREUBEN
To some's surprise, he also responds to "Tower-Upright."

~~~~

After the cacophony of destruction of the first wave had drawn to its closing act, the Emperor cut its engines, and fell serenely ontop of the last remaining vehicle, staunchly crushing it under its feet as dust bellowed from beneath and around the impact point, before taking a resolute step off of it. Their victory only compounded further by the comms channel sprawling into life once more after a brief bout of silence as the Linkers had focused on dispatching their foes. Ms Walks-Too-Fast and the esteemed Director of Resources taking up the comms. A brief intermittence bared its fangs as the next wave was prepared. Hardly hard, or difficult, but it served as a good ground to steady one's feet and ascend further heights. He felt just right at home amidst the carcasses of the now-diseased, though they were of course not exactly living creatures.

He re-magnetized his assault-rifle against his leg once more, as it snapped back in place with a roaring thud, before he put all ten of his taloned fingers upon his battle-rifle, lastly returning his senses to Hardpoint, or rather, Hazel Scott, who had disagreed with his optimum plan for the enemy's total annihilation. Obviously it had gone well, but her disagreement nagged at him. He was confused, before finally deeming it prudent to respond, the lull of battle no longer affecting him as it had. With perfect clarity, his voice was perfectly recreated through the internal mechanisms of the Emperor's rather tenacious neurology and computational matrixes.

"It was the best action available at the time, though I understand if it seemed dangerous or haphazard in the heat of the moment." Pausing briefly, he continued monotonously, "The best I could come up with anyway."

Not long thereafter, their enemies showed themselves on the tactical display, their IFF tags presenting the trio of mechanical warriors much welcomed tactical analysis. A chopper, armed with a powerful underslung weapon, in addition to several secondary armaments; an unknown foe placed beyond the horizon, or rather beneath it. His brain began working, and he deemed it prudent to broadcasting his thinking across the channels, as that was what Xavier Crowley had desired.

"Helicopter platform with a purpose-built weapon, is my guess. Probably some sort of long-range cannon, assuming the reason for its four rotors are because of it. The information seems to suggest it, considering it is apparently quite good." He paused briefly as he continued to think about what might be behind the dunes, but nothing came to mind which had anything concrete. "Can't really guess as to what is behind the horizon, not that we necessarily need to." Might be mortars, or any form of precision artillery beyond that, munitions in this day and age were quite scary when it came to them, satellite guidance had become quite capable. But at the same time, it could be a long-range cannon, or railgun, waiting on his concenration to shift before leaving him combat incapable. "Probably dangerous too," he concluded promptly.

"Hardpoint, how far can you shoot your special weapon? Might want to arc a round across the dune if we can, so we don't have to deal with those things beyond the horizon."

He turned around his NC, casually kicking the tank carcass to the side with the unbelievable internal force hidden yet laid bare within the synthmuscles and awe-inspiring machinery of a neural combatant. As he did, he locked eyes with Hardpoint, in the distance, before looking to Vanguard. "Whatever you did with your NC, it was good; those drones couldn't hit us." Of course it had to have been Vanguard, neither the Emperor nor the Hardpoint had any form of auxilliary systems which could allow for such mission performance. He knew, because he was there with Hazel when she had discussed it with the GR Construction Director. "How long can you shoot with your rifle?" As much as he might not want to admit it, his present loadout was, as James Andala has said, all-around good. Not excellent, he did not have the ability to potentially destroy the enemy before they became a problem, but his two allies did, Vanguard with his rifle, could deal with the Helicopters, and Hardpoint with her launcher could deal with the unknowns, assuming she could shoot from reasonable enough ranges before they show themselves.

He already had a plan in mind, but decided against revealing it yet, considering it would be useless if every variable involved on his comrades' side did not fit the parameters it was made for. Though no matter the circumstance, he would likely have to step up himself, act as bait, and allow those behind him to do their own work. Since apparently taking damage was something people were not want to do.

Pausing his internal monologue briefly, he turned around towards the distant foe, and stared simply.

He had felt his newly-found agitation return to him, a very strange sensation.

The Emperor will lead from the front, either way.

 

[SkyHawk MK IV]

Operation 1A: First Wave
The first of many waves were complete and Hazel was quite happy with the contribution that she made, however another wave headed their way made up of two sets of enemies both of them appearing on the HUD. One being a group of drones, equipped with some sort of weapon slung underneath it and the next group which refused to show themselves over the ridge. Hazel smiled the second wave, the 30mm could easily take care of those drones though the enemies hiding behind the ridge would require some thinking.

Listening to a the radio chatter between the Director and the others, Hazel focused on Emperors response, giving it an eye roll and he finished off with a question about the launcher or that's what she thought when he said "Special weapon". Giving a mental shrug and a small internal sigh, Hazel responded to both the comment and the question. "Well for starters, I can't blame you for thinking on your feet, it's practically required since we've been dropped into this blind. For your question about the max range of the launcher, I'd put it about 3 miles, give or take. So don't expect pin point accuracy. Seriously need to get a targeting system for this damn thing...." The last sentence she muttered to herself, already covering the required information.

Digesting everything, Hazel smiled and added "You know, I can you a two for one. My 30mm can rip those drones out of the sky. Given that it might be within 2 miles of where I'm standing. In addition to the launcher being able to hit around 3 miles out, I could hypothetically drive out our hiding friends for you and Vanguard to rip up while I take care of drones. Makes life easier for all of us. Any disagreements?" Finishing off, Hazel looked at Emperor and Vanguard in turn, gauging their reaction to her idea. Whilst this was happening, Hazel mentally checked to see if the right ammo was loaded for her 30mm and holstered the assault rifle, picking up the launcher once again in anticipation of firing off the first shot at the hide-and-seekers.

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
The two Neural Combatants meandered carefully to the ravine, watching for enemy contact as they went through the safe path that Peyton and her handler had identified earlier. Soon peering over the eastern mouth of the ravine, it was obvious why intelligence thought it was being used as a headquarters; there were basic structures peeking out from the visible cliff-face, and almost certainly right below the two walking war-machines.

The visible structures suggested a larger installation hiding here; the thick-looking sheets of metal barely glinting through the dirt implied perhaps a Pre-Disaster facility of some kind the deserter-bandits found and were using as their base. Even at the mouth they could see that just before the middle of the ravine, a great path of debris was obvious. Going from one side of the vale to the other, their gawking of the structure was quickly halted by another detection, Peyton's snooper finding more detailed information.

There was something in that facility communicating with the other six tangos previously detected... and those contacts were apparently in the facility with it. Another look at the debris-field, and a stark opening that's just big enough for an average NC was obvious; perhaps the easiest ambush point ever found in the history of humanity. Just as the situation dawned on them; movement.

The movement was of a singular person, walking just to the exterior of the impromptu tunnel with a pair of binoculars in their hands, quickly putting them to eye-level and surveying the area. Wearing the modified garb of a certain Ruling Company, the magnification systems available to the specific NC's above quickly noted. Peyton in particular found the overall getup familiar, much more starkly so. This unit was evidently made from members of one of Cronus' few mechanized infantry, or 'internal security' forces; the 6th Battalion, as they were usually called.

Of course, the actual unit markings and the small, tasteful emblem they used to bare proudly was now a rough, custom design; amusing they found the time to make one of their own. 'The Sons of Zeus', very visibly borne on their backs as this specific member of the outfit turned around, his quick survey missing the NC's behind an extended arch at the top of the valley.

It was obvious that whatever they considered an 'experiment' was likely in that facility itself, but their primary implements in the ransom could still be anywhere.

 

[YsFanatic]

Operation 1A: First Wave
The complete and utter destruction of the tanks, topped off by Emperor landing on the last one caught Adam by surprise. It was one thing to hear about the devastation that NC's could cause, and another thing entirely to take part in causing such carnage outside of the simulator. Caught up in the sight of wrecked drone vehicles as he was, Adam almost missed the announcement for the second wave. The new situation that was presented to them gave Vanguard's Linker pause as he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. Charging seemed like a stupid idea with the unknowns behind the hill and he wasn't sure how well his rifle would perform against airborne targets at that distance, making him wish that he had some kind of long range missile system.

"Whatever you did with your NC, it was good; those drones couldn't hit us."

The praise from Emperor dragged Adam from his thoughts and had him blinking in surprise, but before he could respond the other Linker asked about the rifle Vanguard carried. The wording of his question puzzled Adam for a moment; he wasn't sure if Emperor was asking about the distance or how much ammo was left. Distance made more sense in this situation and that was the answer he gave out. "The weapon is rated for medium range, should be enough for this situation." At least Adam hoped it was.

Then Hazel spoke up and he found himself liking her plan. "I'd be fine with that plan..." Vanguard's Linker trailed off for a moment. He didn't want to reveal the downside of his jammer, but he knew the information could improve their ability to coordinate and that would help all of them get a better rating for this test. And with any luck being upfront about his abilities now might make them more willing to work alongside him in future missions. "... but beware that my jamming device is an energy hog. If something gets in close I may need to turn it off to deal with the threat or if you need me to get somewhere quickly." The last part he felt was especially important, simulator testing had shown that the hover system wasn't all that great when the jammer was active.

 

[Viper Actual]

Approaching the ravine proved easier than expected. So far the terrain had been relatively generous, offering ample cover and no traps or ambushes. The rudimentary structures jutting out of the cliffs on both sides of the ravine as well as the old and torn facility that one side entailed provided some insight into the bandit's operation. It did also however prove to be an issue. Judging by the look of things they had no external defenses and with bad luck the bandits might as well button down and attempt to hold out for as long as they can in case of an assault.

Peyton glanced at one of her hull-mounted cameras, studying some of the larger pieces of ordnance Cammy was carrying. She shook her head. They stand a better chance on the move than they do as static targets.

The additional contact on-screen made Peyton furrow her eyebrows. Something was definitely in the making and she didn't like it. "I'm detecting another contact inside the main compound. Judging by the size of that entrance we should stay on our toes."

Just as she finished there was movement. Jennifer froze and felt a chill run down her spine. Initially she was more afraid of the prospect that the bandit had spotted them though those thoughts quickly changed into a mixed flurry of annoyance and curiosity once she recognized the uniform.

"I recognize that unfiform," stated Peyton as she shifted in her seat. At this point the man was heading back inside. "Ares Defense. Mechanized Security Forces 6th Battalion. I worked with them once when I was still in Ares' Static Defense Operations Group. Grizzled veterans most of them, tough as nails too."

She looked over at Cammy. "These guys were known to never retreat back in the day. We're going to have take them out one by one."

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1A: Second Wave
Ironing out a plan to take out the heavy helicopters with rifle-fire, the rookies were being carefully listened to and watched by the elders on-site. A short movement as the two senior pilots examined the situation on their own, they looked to one another and once more had a wordless discussion. As they deigned to not audibly say anything, the rookies finalized a plan of attack; another barrage of rifle-fire initiating battle with the helicopters, as grenades would be lobbed over the hill to impact with the unknowns on the other side.

Situating themselves in the mid-range envelope for optimal rifle use, the group collectively raised their standard weapons and began to fire; the majority of the rounds aimed for the closest, central siege-chopper. As soon as the first muzzle flash shone in the early morning, the drones collectively entered a proper combat mode, rushing to meet their opponents head-on. The main target dodging a good share of the shots, even the rounds impacting into its hull solidly did surprisingly little; its advanced armor composites keeping it safe against the kinetic assault.

Meandering closer with vigor, the one helicopters' side-pods flared open; revealing its battery of powerful anti-armor missiles and quickly firing them, a sequential outpouring of shaped-charge rockets that was dimly aimed at the collective of the group. A wide spread as their parent vehicle was destabilized by the barrage it was being pounded by, the rockets were quickly followed by a rapid stream of 30mm rounds; the chopper linking its firing solutions with its comrades who shortly joined in with their own standard weaponry.

Even besides the obvious, pitched battle; the artillery NC that was the Hardpoint quickly calculated a basic firing solution of its own, another heavy high-explosive round lazily arced through the air as it reached over the cacophony, dimly higher than the lowering helicopters as it flew past and sought an impact with an unseen opponent. As it escaped from view, barely a second later a mass gout of dirt shot up as the round found a spot of loose soil to tear up, another indirect but brutal shot as the impact point was roughly triangulated as striking the midpoint of the hidden enemies.

As their short collective onslaught of rifle-fire neared its conclusion, their primary target finally began to tear up, its rotors unable to provide enough maneuverability to dodge their rounds some moments ago, ultimately crumpling into inert chunks of steel as a round tore one of the winglets propping up its many rotors cleanly off. A cascading structural failure, its mysterious weapon-canister finally revealed its content.

Malfunctioning, the strange-looking weapon was difficult to make out; whips of crackling energy concealing a hardened center of conductive material, the metal branching wildly as a fractal. Soon enough, as the debris from the helicopter began to impact, its methodology was made more clear. Fail-deadly, the electro-weapon shot out intense vines of lightning, its entire capacitor-array dumping enough energy into the surrounding area to outright vaporize small lumps of what used to be its combat helicopter.

Some type of close-range tesla-weapon. Even at this longer range, the intense energy field could be felt by the three NC's; diluted whisks of directed electrical discharge reaching their armor and imparting a stress to their systems. Thankfully mostly harmless, their senses were nonetheless bombarded by error notices and surge warnings; electrical systems re-routing as some of their wiring and synapses overloaded and blew out. Minor convulsions were quickly corrected, and their NC's were still operating at the vast majority of their specifications.

On the communications line, Sarah Nielsen was obviously about to say something; followed by her current co-worker, but the two silenced themselves for several precious moments. Re-calculating what she almost said, Sarah nonetheless managed to air an objection; an obvious hint of a surprise revealing her unease. "...Mister Crowley, why are such non-conventional weapons being used in this test? Their synapse connections, they were directly damaged... What if an overload happened?"

Xavier's line was open, and obviously heard the question. But he didn't dignify it with an answer. Malthus just huffed on the line, sympathizing with Sarah's surprise. The senior NC that was the Dreadnought moderated the situation, the two observers quickly moving closer to the battle as he spoke. "As I said earlier, we have shut-down codes. It's nothing you greenhorns can't handle. Continue your operations.", his reassuring followed by the Senbazuru. "Far more likely to just puke than to die. I should know."

The two remaining helicopters entered the direct combat envelope themselves. Their primary weapon-bays containing either more examples of that tesla-weapon, or things even worse. At the same time, the three hostiles hiding behind the hill began to move; their IFF returns beginning to crest the hill. Whatever damage they took, they were still mobile and combat-ready. That didn't bode well either.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
"Never retreat?" Cammy commented when Peyton explained who the enemy was. "Good, I'd hate to have to chase 'em all over the badlands. One way or another, this'll be over quick."

While she spoke, her NC shifted positions, moving slow and low from the stone arch they were using for concealment to a small gap in the rock. It looked oddly at-home, crawling on its belly. Although she didn't say her intentions, it ought to be clear to Peyton that she was looking for a concealed position which would give her a good firing angle. Unlike a typical NC, which carried its weapons in-hand, Raijin couldn't use walls and corners for cover. However, its back-mounted artillery was perfect for firing over low obstacles... or down from the edge of a ravine.

Hell, once she got a proper fire-control system installed in this thing, she could probably lob artillery from two dozen miles away, with the help of a spotter. But where's the fun in that? Nah, I wanna see the look on their faces, Cammy thought.

"I have bunker busters that might be able to punch through that big door," Cammy said. But without knowing how thick it was, that was a risky proposition. If she damaged but failed to destroy the door and caused it to jam, that would trap the enemy inside, forcing a long, drawn-out, war of attrition. Or, worse, force the enemy out of another, hidden back entrance she couldn't see. "Or we can wait for it to open," she added after some thought. "One FAEB through the gap will end everyone's day inside. Can't run or hide when the fucking air you breathe is on fire. But waiting isn't really my style..."

She sucked in a breath, her frustration beginning to show. "What're you gettin' on comms? Are they scattered all over or concentrated here? Think you can send some dummy messages their way to stir up some movement and maybe get 'em to tattle on themselves?"

Remaining ResourcesHE Rounds: 40 | AP Rounds: 25 | FAEB: 10 | MMHR: 5 | Jet Fuel: 99%

 

[Viper Actual]

OPERATION SPRING CLEANING
​

"Sporadic chatter at best," Peyton responded. She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck while looking at the screens in front of her. At this energy-output she could only pick up faint signals and some words here and there. It'd take more power to listen on anything in detail- not to mention creating dummy signals.

She looked over at the Raijin which looked like it was ready to pounce. "I'm going to create some decoys. Hopefully they'll take the bait. Just be sure to keep your fingers on the triggers."

That said Peyton got to work. She opened up her E-War suite and its respective controls. It was time to go over it in much greater detail than at the start of this operation. Duplicating and altering signals was, after all, far more advanced than just listening in on someone over the radio. Any amateur could do that.

As she went over her controls Alice gave her some tips and shared her own thoughts, though the handler remained mostly silent as she had only managed to take a glance at Peyton's NC and its vast array of gizmos.

To begin with Peyton began to design dummy-signals that looked like they originated from a trio of medium-sized NCs. She added in some static and un-encrypted, faint, IFF-signals to create the illusion of the NCs being of a much older generation. Each signal had its own unique ID tied to it which only added further detail and realism to the ruse. Next up was creating radio chatter. Being a walking spy satellite meant constantly recording most audio and video in and around her NC. Peyton sampled audio from both her own and Cammy's truck-personnel, Halliwell and Alice.

While the words were relatively random and inconsistent that didn't matter as the chatter was only supposed to be heard in shorter bursts to illustrate older types of comm encryptions. It would serve them well enough as the chatter between the three non-existing pilots and their lone handler created a believable scenario. Whatever gaps that existed were covered by static and distorted voices in an effort to minimize suspicion.

As the signals and chatter was done only one thing remained; external equipment. From where she was standing Peyton detected a partially-obscured antenna somewhere in the ruins, most likely connected to the bunker, as well as pre-war sensor system. Bouncing signals on the antenna would be easy and the sensor system's own mainframe was no match for modern-day brute force programs. Peyton made her way into the system easily, her brute-force program making quick work of an anti-virus program designed to counter malware- not military-grade E-war protocols.

Once she had control of the external sensors the stage was more or less set. Like with all electronic warfare ruses it was all about creating a scenario that seemed realistic to the enemy. In a way it was sort of like a movie. If they weren't drawn to it and immersed by the story it was trying to tell they'd lose interest, see through it all and wait it out. Assuming they aren't trigger-happy.

Peyton cleared her throat. "I'm ready to deploy. You're going to start hearing chatter in a couple of seconds and your sensors will begin to pick things up as well. Try to ignore it."

That said, Peyton deployed her decoys.

At first the sensors would start picking up faint thermals and radiation from the supposed trio of NCs. It would be followed by distorted communications bouncing back and forth on the antenna that had been so cleverly hidden. By now, assuming they were listening, the bandits would hear clear voices.

"*pbzt*-anding by, reques-*bztpt*-ation."
"Roger, advanc-*zptz*-ompound."
"Sweeping for-*pztbtz*-ostiles."
"Move to-*pbztz*-ext sector, over."

By now the NC-signals would place them outside the large door and appear as if moving on through the ravine while the decoy-chatter and faked thermals confirmed their positions, speed and very existence. Or at least, that's what a screen would tell you.

Now Peyton and Cammy only had to wait and see...

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
The 'Sons of Zeus' had no obvious reaction at first; besides a sudden, all-encompassing end to the radio chatter, at least visibly. They must've noticed the decoys, but did they see through the ruse? Did they change encryption, or did they just commence radio-silence? Perhaps both, but nonetheless the sudden shift to a complete dead-silence was palpable, even without snooping equipment. The impromptu entrance-door to the impromptu tunnel stood firm; when, alongside a short burst of radio communications, the roughened door slightly, barely opened itself after a tense moment of waiting.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, before a faint light was seen emanating from deep within; a dark, gloomy blue that suggested something peeking out from the facility. The sensor-phantoms inched closer to the door, as the blue glow finally stopped, alongside the ghosts coming to a rest in front of the opening. A split second as the Linkers aboard Raijin and the Chimera likely wondered quietly about how their enemy was going to react.

Then all of hell's devils broke loose in an instant. The voice of an enraged thunder-god hollered out, an intense, solid wave of deific fury in the form of atmospheric reverberations following alongside a perceptible gout of flame and crushed air mingled with rock and metal. The flash-suddenness of the attack was something impossible to fully defend against; a single frame of auditory and visual overload that was akin to an all-encompassing screech of impacting metal and pain.

Thankfully, whatever the hell that was, it missed; mostly. In not even a second, before they were even fully conscious in a regular way again; the two NC's own altimeters and stability readouts were notifying a very sudden change of their own. The entire cliff-face they were sitting on was very quickly reacting to the sudden influx of kinetic energy; the base of the rock-wall instantly liquefied by the crushing impact.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
"On it," Cammy said when Peyton advised her to keep her fingers on the triggers. Raijin waited near the edge of the ravine, but just far back enough to avoid direct line-of-sight. The NC was crouched low, down on all fours, with its dual cannons aimed in the general direction of the main door. All she had to do was move forward a few meters and she'd be in a perfect firing position to rain heavy ordinance on the enemy stronghold.

Peyton's communication trickery seemed to be having no effect at first, but Cammy knew better. The sudden silence from the enemy was a reaction, like a calm before the storm.

"Halliwell?" Cammy said as she inched Raijin forward, toward the edge, like a cat stalking a mouse.

"Nothing on my end," her handler replied. Cammy's concern that the enemy would get spooked and threaten to use the chemical weapons was, thus far, unfounded. Based on what Peyton said about these guys, it seemed unlikely they would try to negotiate or talk their way out of this.

They're gonna strike, Cammy thought as her trigger fingers began to itch. Literally. The reinforced door opened ever-so-slightly, too narrow to risk squeezing a shot through, even though every bone in her body told her to go for it anyway. An instant later, it was too late.

The weapon's sound hit nearly as hard as the weapon itself, a bone-jarring, soul-shaking, eardrum-splitting thunderous boom, which made Cammy mash the accelerator long before her NC's sensors told her the ground was falling away beneath her. Raijin's twin jet turbines spooled to maximum speed very quickly --probably too quickly-- punching the massive machine away from its failing footing. The afterburners kicked to life, pushing the engines past their safe limit and into get-the-fuck-outta-here territory.

"The fuck was that?" Cammy hissed between her teeth as Raijin nosed over, pushed down by the overwhelming force of its own thrust. The jet engines weren't really meant for flight. Their position on the NC's back tended to cause Raijin to pitch forward, which was good when running on all fours as it acted as crude downforce and kept its feet planted, but not so good when trying to sustain level flight.

So, fuck it. She didn't need to fly anyway. As the ground crumbled, Raijin went with it, accelerating toward what used to be the cliff's edge and down into the chasm, moving with the falling debris. Rocks and metal tumbled all around her as she matched and, eventually outmatched their pace. Can't be buried alive if you outrun the undertaker.

"I detected a high electrical output a moment before the attack," Halliwell said waaaaaay too calmly, as Raijin plummeted into the ravine, riding a rooster tail of white-hot afterburner exhaust. "The blue glow... the plasma trail.. the absurdly high muzzle velocity. I'd wager it can only be one thing..."

"Railgun? Good," Cammy said with a sadistic grin, drunk on the speed and recklessness of what she was about to do. Every joint of her NC groaned and clanked as they moved at speeds they really shouldn't. Her HUD glowed with error messages and warnings, flashing like Christmas tree lights, as the ravine floor rushed to meet her.

"Chimera, if you're still alive, I'm crossing to the other side," she said. "That thing probably has a charge-up time, so I'm gonna hit 'em before they build up steam to fire again." Or, if it doesn't have a charging time, one of us is about to get smoked. At least I'll make 'em choose, instead of letting them have two birds with one stone, she thought.

They say it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop. But every person who ever said that was alive, so what the hell do they know about being killed? Don't black out... don't black out... Cammy quietly prayed as she pulled hard on the controls, vectoring the thrusters full left and up, while simultaneously squeezing off three rapid shots from her left 200mm artillery cannon. She aimed for any structures in the canyon walls, but the shots were really meant to help turn Raijin's mass via the recoil and not only avoid smashing straight into the ground, but reorient herself toward the railgun's den.

She felt something warm trickle from her nose, which was good. If your nose is bleeding, that means you still have circulation to your brain, right? This is the part where the simulator would shut off and say 'mission failed.'

WARNING! OVERBOOST
WARNING! CRITICAL G LIMIT EXCEEDED
WARNING! ASYNCHRONOUS COMPRESSOR HARMONICS
WARNING!
WARNING!!!
WARNING!!!!!!

Wow, she really needed to have a word with whoever wrote these error messages. So many big words, just to say, 'you're turning too hard' and 'your engines are about to explode.' Whatever. She pushed the throttle even harder, allowing Raijin's speed to carry her down and diagonally, across the bottom of the ravine, where she dodged and wove through debris, wreckage, and ruins, as well as the falling remains of the cliff face. She popped off another shot as she rocketed across the bottom and up the opposite wall, arcing toward the open door.

"Got somethin' for ya," Cammy remarked as the right cannon's ammo drum rolled over with a satisfying ratching noise and a mechanical clunk as it slammed an FAEB round into the chamber. Raijin throttled down, took aim, and dug its tentacled claws into the cliff face as it bowed its cat-eared head to the ground. The cannons on its back converged on the crack in the doorway and unleashed their fury.

Remaining ResourcesHE Rounds: 36 (-4) | AP Rounds: 25 | FAEB: 9 (-1) | MMHR: 5 | Jet Fuel: 88%

 

[Viper Actual]

OPERATION SPRING CLEANING
​

Peyton barely afforded herself to blink as the dummy-NCs caused everything to fall silent. She half-acknowledged Cammy's response and saw the Raijin ready itself to pounce at the very corner of her eye. Then came the blue glow and the subsequent explosion that followed. Jennifer reared back in her seat and instinctively used one of her hands to shield her from the light even though her NC's cockpit cameras and viewports automatically adjusted their brightness and tint to prevent or at the very least mitigate the blinding effect.

When the entire cliffside came tumbling down Peyton cursed and managed to get hold of her controls in the nick of time. Clumsily at first her NC tried to sprint in a zig-zag pattern while desperately clutching to its rifle. Despite all the chaos and noise the alarms blaring onboard the Raijin echoed over the comms and joined in with Peyton's own alarms creating a quite literal symphony of doom as the two NC's ran for their lives with the debris.

"The blue glow... the plasma trail.. the absurdly high muzzle velocity. I'd wager it can only be one thing..."

"Railgun? Good,"

Peyton didn't exactly share Cammy's enthusiasm for the railgun. At this range even a pre-war railgun could easily shear a limb or two off like a knife through butter. Hopefully it was still recharging its coils and adjusting its own power supply. Hopefully.

When Cammy began to open fire mid-sprint Peyton shook her head, engaged her thrusters and, while gliding momentarily, fired one APFDS shot towards the door. At the same time her E-war suite delivered a powerful pulse which would translate into a high-pitched electronic screech on enemy communications. As she neared the base of the ravine Peyton placed the sniper on her back and grabbed hold of the SMG on her hip, making her NC enter a much more agile one-handed stance as it continued to maneuver into cover just as Cammy launched one of her FAEBs.

 

[YsFanatic]

Operation 1A: First Wave
Adam was pleased that his jamming device once again proved its worth, the bullets and missiles all failing to hit any of them, but unfortunately it was of no defense against the electrical surge that washed over them. A sharp intake of breath was Adam's response to the sudden burning pain he felt when his NC suffered its 'nerve' damage from the electric shocks, but thanks to his training he was able to remain focused on the situation. Other than a small decrease in the jammer's effectiveness everything seemed to be working fine, at least for the moment. The fact that the shock nailed all of them reminded Adam of similar situations in both training and in various video games as well of one of the easiest solutions for the problem. "Let's spread out so we don't all get tagged at once." With that he mentally willed Vanguard to start moving to the right to put some distance between him and Hardpoint, the NC moving somewhat sluggishly due to the power draw of the jamming device.

"Attacking the next target." Vanguard's rifle spat out several bursts at the closer of the two remaining helicopters in the hope of downing it before it got close enough to use its main gun, whatever it may be. Adam didn't ignore the other drone vehicle however, he made sure to keep an eye on it as well as he wanted to know if either of them aimed their big guns at him. The jammer was working fine against the regular weapons, but he didn't trust it against something with more splash radius like the telsa cannon seemed to have.

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
The two NC's re-oriented themselves admirably, and with the Raijin at front offering heavy explosive firepower through a quintet of chemical rounds, the door was blasted open for the Chimera to offer a precise sabot clean through the bulkhead. The left-over munitions from Raijin's own barrage cleared out the innards of the facility as the kinetic penetration found itself nestled deeply in something or other. As the Chimera impacted the side of the door and reached for its submachine-gun, the two would ultimately detect no further activity and perhaps look inwards.

Looking in, the entrance, or ambush point more like, was bereft of activity; the all-too-sudden impact of two NC's firing heavy artillery in there quickly changing the physical status of everything from 'acceptable' to 'really quite annihilated'; piles of debris and viscera emblematic of a few unfortunate souls directly being in the blast radius of a thermobaric warhead, merely accentuating the carnage of the room itself being notably damaged. Small pieces of ceiling were dropping, and a new hole in the wall was letting rock and earth lightly pour in; but it still seemed structurally stable for the most part.

Their primary weapon in this ambush, the railgun, was mostly in one piece; comfortably hidden behind applique armor made from scavenged war material. Excepting, of course, the under-most rail of the two-pronged design being completely broken in half, the shattered remnants of its conductive metals scattering the floor alongside the form of the solid finned penetrator visibly buried deep within the firing chamber. It looked quite salvageable, and a fine design besides; it appeared to be a pre-war model of some form that was hastily refitted, likely by the folks hiding in this facility. Of course, it was effectively trashed currently, but it could be salvageable, a second time.

From outside, there were pathways to elsewhere in the facility; but with the fact they just initiated combat, anything could happen now concerning their ransom. It was unlikely their primary artillery was actually in there, but the snooping data suggested a bulk of forces were hiding out in these pre-war catacombs. What would the rest of the 'Sons of Zeus' try now?

 

[Viper Actual]

The sheer carnage of the bunker entrance was on the same level as some of the post-war ruins Peyton had fought in but with the entirety of all destructive powers having been localized to a singular room rather than a conventional battlescape.

As rubble continued to pour, burn and crack Peyton peeked around the corner of the door and trained her massive SMG at the railgun.
"Enemy railgun neutralized. Let's make sure to mark this for the salvage crew," said Peyton while her SMG continued to hover between potential threats.

She glanced at the Raijin before continuing to scan the room. From the look of things everything and everyone seemed to have been utterly annihilated by Cammy's violent counterattack.

"Nice shooting, Ace."

That said Jennifer didn't like leaving things by chance. Silently her electronic warfare suite began to scan for potential targets farther into the base. Signals were sent to (hopefully) bounce back and forth.

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1A: Second Wave
Spreading out, the three NC's diluted the possibility of a second stream of conductive energy reaching their collective bodies and continued their own barrage, accurate rifle fire hitting another of the helicopters as it reached a combat range. The two heli's maneuvering in formation, their weapon-bays opened with more of those conduction weapons, and this time the two's conductors began to work together; a gout of intense electrical energy forming between them as they rushed to catch the NC's in between them to be fried. Thankfully, however, it seemed the helicopters were having difficulty; their speed notably slowed as the electricity whipped between them, likely finding their engines overtaxed to provide both energy and lifting force.

With this in mind, the closer of the two helicopters could hardly dodge Adam's accurate barrage, the rounds impacting its left-frontmost rotor and causing it to begin flipping before it could correct itself, nearly impacting the ground with a close save. Still, it could hardly move at all now; breaking off the duo's attempted 'ramming attack' long before it could impact. The remaining fully combat-ready helicopter decided to go down fighting, with the other acting as an impromptu turret, their combined conventional armaments focusing on laying down covering fire.

At the same time, the three ground-targets from before began to reveal themselves; one finding a good spot at the top of the hill, and the other two sitting comfortably at the left or right of it, on the ground itself. Heavy tanks; large-bodied tracked vehicles with a solid casemate. Perhaps more accurately called tank destroyers in this case, they towered over their dead compatriots, each with four independent tracks keeping it aloft. Finding out croppings to hide behind in hull-down positions, their only visible portions were their cannons and solidified casemates as they began to calculate firing solutions.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
The 1-2 punch of an incendiary round followed by a sniper round was more than the enemy's stronghold could bear. The FAEB passed through the doorway in what appeared to be slow-motion. It disappeared inside and the only indication that it had done anything at all was a wafting cloud of white mist a moment later, followed by a dull "whoompf" sound as the flammable gas ignited, filling the interior with white-hot flames. It was oddly satisfying, despite knowing she'd just roasted dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people alive in there.

Whatever, Cammy thought as she began to trot Raijin toward the now-silent entryway while the smoke cleared. They started this. We're here to finish it. Get fucked, losers.

The inside was absolute carnage. The base probably wasn't the nicest place before getting bombed, but now it was absolutely wrecked. Anything near the epicenter of the blast had been reduced to pale ash. Further away, things were barely recognizable. She spotted the warped remains of a vehicle, sitting in a puddle of what used to be its tires. Behind it was a cluster of human-shaped scorch marks, where some unfortunate souls had tried --and spectacularly failed-- to take cover. And, deeper into the base, sat the target of their attack, the thing that had instigated all of this violence: the railgun.

"Enemy railgun neutralized. Let's make sure to mark this for the salvage crew," Peyton said. "Nice shooting, Ace."

"Fuck your salvage crew. I'm takin' it with me," Cammy said as Raijin circled around the mangled weapon, as if searching for a place to pick it up without causing further damage and drag it home.

"The mission, Camille. Stay focused," Halliwell said. "I will arrange delivery after the operation has been deemed a success, along with any other junk you come across. Winner takes all... but you haven't won yet, rookie."

"Whatever," Cammy grumbled as Raijin prowled around, leaving the railgun behind for now to aim its cannons down the corridors leading deeper into the facility. She really didn't like these quiet moments or the way the enemy lurked and waited to ambush them. For a group that called themselves the Sons of Zeus, they were awfully timid.

"Are you gettin' anything on comms, Chimera?" she said. "If they haven't already seen through that smoke show you sent earlier, they will soon. We'll see how they react when they realize it's just the two of us." Her NC's sensors highlighted structural weakpoints in the facility itself, identifying things to look out for if they were forced to engage the enemy here. The possiblity of being buried alive --by design, or by accident-- was too obvious to ignore. "I don't want to be in these tunnels when the shit hits the fan," Cammy said plainly. "I've done my fair share of time underground, thankyouverymuch."

Remaining ResourcesHE Rounds: 36 (-4) | AP Rounds: 25 | FAEB: 9 (-1) | MMHR: 5 | Jet Fuel: 88%

 

[SkyHawk MK IV]

Operation 1A: Second Wave
Hazel's NC shuddered as it was smacked by the blast received from the downed drones sudden outburst of energy. Feeling the small shocks and the error messages afterwards, a simple digestible report read out that the NC was still functional apart from a few blown synapses here and there. Recovering from the attack, Hazel listened to the small discussion, understandably annoyed by the surprise treat that the helicopters revealed "Hardpoint here; How's everyone holding up? I'm guessing those bloody things didn't do a lot of damage reading my reports." The annoyance was clear in her voice though look at the situation fully, it was good that the only two heli's were still operational out of the bunch, though the IFF tags of the hidden enemies had come crawling over the hill. Hazel cursed that the launcher didn't do much, if any, damage by the looks.

Thinking it over, Hazel began to walk backwards slowly, re-arming and reloading any necessary weapons before once again taking aim at the reaming aerial targets. It was best to put the distance between herself and those damn tesla and missile wielding targets. Hazel came up with another on the fly plan. It wasn't great but never the less better than nothing "Hardpoint again; Since our buddies over here love to use tesla and missiles, I suggest keeping as far away as possible not only from them, but each other. It's only two, but bloody hell I ain't risking it after what they can do. Our friends on have crested over the hill so your own NC's will pick 'em up easily." Mentally checking that was all, she quickly added "Oh and for the love of god, do not exit the range of my 30mm. It can't cover you when you're 1000 miles away."

Hoping that was enough, Hazel prepped herself for the next attack, though something in the back of her mind told her that the next wave probably wasn't going to be any easier.

 

[Windsock]

Operation 1B: Spring Cleaning
Entering deeper into the facility, the two NC's took the left hallway, finding it cramped in any formation besides single-file. As the Raijin prowled close to the ground, the Chimera found the arrangement provided a fine field of fire nonetheless, heavy armaments down below being supported by the carefully sweeping SMG of the Chimera. Like a soldier crouching, and another standing behind them, both with their weapons drawn. Although neither NC was particularly well suited for these cramped close quarters, a Neural Combatant is still a fifteen-meter tall war machine weighing many tonnes, and that offered much comfort to the Linkers interred.

The catacombs being stable for now, the Linkers would find the darkness getting stronger as their sensors re-calibrated to the lower levels of light. Nearly tripping, there was another large room in the facility; the room they found themselves in after their walk resembled a cargo storage or maintenance facility of some kind, pieces of machinery strewn about every which way in this workshop-warehouse. Nothing in particular could be made out, it was a horde of engineering knick-knacks that had no obvious purpose, everything immediately useful being picked clean at some point.

As the NC's found it was still quite cramped, they were surrounded on all sides by the shelves of heavy machinery and big pallets of whatever-they-were that dominated the room, all the way to the ceiling just above their heads. Access ladders and elevators hugging the shelves offered access to the higher levels for people in the past. There were two other exits in the square-shaped room. They were at one point of the square, coming in, and the other doors were at the far faces of the square, like a 'Y' shape, with them at the bottom.

Even with a stock NC's human-perfect vision, it was difficult to see anything in these dark corridors, and they couldn't see anything deeper into the two forks from where the two were standing. On the other hand, they were safe where they were; any ambushers in the deeper corridors couldn't see or attack them either.

A few moments passed as the two likely considered their options, before the Chimera's snooper received a hit of something from the right door. Alongside a burst of static resembling drone command codes after a quick decryption, a noise reverberated through the dark corridors. It was like the sound of a heavy vehicle quickly hitting the brakes.