Future Age ~IC~

[Winter]

The quiet tension building within the squad sharpened to the uneasy vacuum of sewer tunnels to razor edge. Or at least, Convel felt it scraping against his skin. He had never had fought a Stalker before, only seen their aftermath, and this was far from the team he'd have chosen to change that with. The ease of their progress didn't help. Memories of clearing housing units and canals played in his head, none of them quiet. This had all the makings of a veteran's horror story.


He found himself unconsciously pressing close and closer to the front of the pack. The hobbling form of Grimm didn't inspire confidence no matter how many platitudes Naomi offered. Every few minutes he stole a glance at the taccoms pad strapped to the inside of his forearm, confirming that both the mutant and his HUD were correct and they were still going the right way. When they came to the metro his chest tensed, clutching to the last breath before the inevitable start of combat. The exhalation was rough when they found only more quiet instead.


Exiting onto the square made his nerves go into overdrive. No part of Eternity was ever this quiet. Never. The silent pull of augmented experience tugged at his brain-stem as they walked down the square. It demanded that he find cover, call in support, shout, do something other than keep walking into what the dormant parts of him had already identified as a prepared grave. His sense of self preservation was silenced when the mech materialised to send Naomi flying.


In the space between heart beats the Combat Implant took over. He moved on instinct now, scooping towards the cover of the statue and firing at the sensor package of the mech along the way. The Lieutenant was dead, of the misfits in this piss poor excuse for a squad he had confidence two or maybe three of them could actually help him get out of this alive. With his back pressed to the concrete plinth he regained enough higher thought to begin assessing.


The screech of metal and clipped echo of the mech's PA registered. He snuck a glance around the edge of his cover to see the crumpled wreck of the car next to the Goliath. As he searched for an explanation only more confusion was added to it. Naomi was standing there, yelling orders, apparently fine.


"What. The actual. Fuck."


Her shoulder struck the cover of a concrete plant block, taking a moment to catch her breath after having been winded after the mech had tossed her like a skipping stone across the square. She took her rifle in both hands, peeking from cover to let off a few shots into the Goliath's sensory array before realising the barrel was bent from her collision with the car. A sigh was the only sound that left her as she tosses the useless weapon away from her, levelling her sidearm instead before letting off a few bullets towards the machine which plinked harmlessly off it's armor as the behemoth finally recovered from it's stagger.


An amused chuckle escaped it's exterior VOX speakers as the torso rotated, levelling the cannons on its arms once more. "Not bad, now it's my turn… " as soon as he finished the cannons discharged their salvos, obliterating concrete and everything in front of the heavy blasts as the Goliath's pilot made attempts to strike down the team.


Reflexively Convel pressed himself harder into the unyielding security of the statues plinth as the square disintegrated around him. Despite the overwhelming din of the battle he forced himself to think deliberately. The Stalker was alive, somehow, they had to have something, some sort of reactive armor that explained that. Those purple hexagons must be part of it, but they were too localised to be useful to anyone else.


JD was working well under the pressure, improvising something to make the Stalker's order to commit suicide into something else. Getting in close enough to make the sight offsets a problem, one that the mech's rookie pilot wasn't accounting for. With a bolt of inexplicable lightning he took his shot at the mech's legs. In that instant Convel remembered the countermeasures for downed power lines and Glowpunk shock traps and let out a warning cut short by the knowledge it was already too late.


"Whelp...fuck." he muttered to himself.


Their ace in the hole had fired himself, the Stalker had defied death once but didn't seem keen on giving that a second go, the rest of the team was in the open, and here he was hidden behind a forgotten monument fresh out of options. In the grand scheme of things, this was one of the more frustrating ways to go out. He stood up straight, rolled his neck, and began humming to himself. He squeezed the grip of his rifle to stop the tremor that had begun in his organic hand. With forced serenity the stepped out of cover to dump his magazine and embrace the obliteration that awaited him. Eyes wide open he held his gun on the sensor array, willing it to shatter before he did.


The assault mech whirred as it's cannons spat death in hail fire across the square, reducing most of anything in its trajectory into rubble as the guns released a thunderclap of sound with each sent salvo. Warnings flashed red across the interior of the cockpit as the on board sensors registered JD's presence on it's armor followed by an engine stall as the electrical current shorted out the mech for a moment causing it it's lights to flicker and it's cannons to lower from a combat ready position. The screens inside the cockpit flickered and the lights within went onto limited backups to keep the inside lit as the pilot began to make attempts to reboot the engine.


"Fucking animals!" the pilot spat over the exterior vox speakers as Sierra began to work on weakening one of the mechs legs followed by Hana's follow up, twenty long seconds passed allowing the team a little breathing room in which time Convel's bullets managed to penetrate and destroy one of its exterior camera feeds along with it's sensor. The engine would then reboot and power up again, a high pitched whine increasing in volume as systems began to switch on once more. Grimm's grenade detonated against the hull but unfortunately the armor was designed to weather explosions greater than grenades, although the left side of the cockpit bore a scorch mark from where the grenade impacted.

Within the cockpit the pilot reacted, adding new input commands before the screen relayed the damages, discovering that its ability to move were now greatly reduced from the damage to the knee joint inflicted by Sierra. There was a hiss as metal plates slid back on the assault mechs armor revealing small pod like shapes that began to protrude along it's armor before crackling with electricity. To the novice and uneducated they looked like armed missiles but to the trained engineer what they were would make it far harder for the team to pin the mech down. Tesla coils spat electricity between each other creating a barrier that'd serve to absorb another attempt to short out it's systems.


Naomi had since moved positions, halting in firing off anymore shots as she considered how to tackle the situation in a manner that didn't get everyone killed. JD's attempt had nearly exhausted him and any direct hit from those cannons would most certainly kill anyone save for perhaps her whom might endure it for a bit longer. "Convel! Grimm! Aim for the pods on it's armor!" she called towards the two on the team she assumed might be the most proficient with guns. "Zadok, look after JD we might need him to deal another blow if he's up to it!" her words were somewhat distorted in the sound of raging gunfire, interrupted now and again by having to move between cover. Meanwhile Naomi would withdraw back towards the further side of the square, she had an idea… a poor one, but any idea was a good idea at this point.

 

[Happy Trails]

The silent tug of the implant pulled Convel back into the security of the the statue's plinth as his magazine ran dry. He dropped it in his dump pouch and forced himself to narrow in, focus on his hands and what they were doing. As the panicked surge of self destructive adrenaline ebbed to a tired calm he willed himself to mute the overflow of stimulation. At the edge of his awareness he heard Naomi's voice. He closed his eyes and focused on what she said. It wasn't enough, it didn't make sense. Everything outside of her voice told him it was time to fall back, get a better position, find something that might actually crack that Paladin's shell.

You were ready to die 5 seconds ago, don't act like anything changed since then.

He stepped to the edge of his cover and fell to a knee. With a click he set his magazine and bit the inside of his cheek. Waiting for a pause in the din of combat he focused again on his hands. They were still. When at last everything fell silent for half a heartbeat he swung himself into the open and fired.

 

[Ygor's Revenge]

Grimm scowled as he dodged more blasts from the machine, sliding and jumping wildly about the square through gunfire and chaos until he found cover behind some dumpsters. The combined efforts of the team had damaged the mech, leaving it with a crippled leg and a shorted system. But the cost had been heavy. The mutant could see Zadok hauling JD, who looked moments away from passing out. Sierra and Hanna had made it to safety in time, but now something else was happening. Strange compartments were opening along the mech's body, and strange little components were emerging to crackle with wire-thin whips of vibrant blue energy. Grimm's eyes widened as realization ticked in his brain, his teeth biting down on one another. Tesla coils. No doubt meant to stop JD from another attempt to short it out. Not that they were needed, JD didn't look up to doing another attack at the moment.

Grimm's hooded head swiveled in Naomi's direction as she barked his name. Take out the pods, she said. He looked back to the wounded mech and cricket-hopped out into the open and soared upwards, arms swinging in double arcs as he hurled a pair of grenades at the machine, watching them plummet towards two sparking, sputtering coils on its armor. As he landed he began running his eyes over the thing's surface, looking for some kind of ventilation system. Perhaps if he could get a gas cannister lodged in it, it might render the pilot helpless.

 

[Capt. Blu]

The world slowly stopped spinning, but being hoisted to his feet made JD step back to regain his balance. He nearly missed what Zadok said, but when it registered, he frowned. "Relax old man, I'm not dying that easy. I just…" He looked around, first around the area, noting the several lamp posts around. And then at the mech itself. He paused and watched the tesla coils jump to life with electricity before it created some sort of barrier. "Oh… Yeah, that'd be perfect." His expression brightened in delight. "Now only if I could get to it."


JD reached for his escrima sticks until he remembered Sierra had them. "Ah, right." The next best thing was his gun but he knew that'd be a waste of time trying to use. His aim was alright at best, and really, he needed to get to Naomi. He paused and turned his attention to Zadok again, who was apparently his assigned babysitter for the moment. "Of course I'd be up to it!" He yelled back- not entirely convincing. However instead of arguing, he dodged gunfire to find cover. "Hey, hey!" JD called between Zadok and Sven, who happened to be close by as well. "What're the chances that I can get to those pod things? They're electric right?" He ducked his head down again when another shot went over their heads. "I think those things have enough power to shut it down completely- at least, enough extra power to shut it down. Shield's in the way though." He looked at the gun he had in his possession. His aim was alright at best, so he figured he'd hold onto it until someone else needed it.


"Alternative here would be anyone else having a plan that doesn't involve getting us killed on our first day on the job?"

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

Gleeful, manic laughter echoed as Sierra arched through the air, saved by Hana and her puppeteer from Grimm's near-team-kill-bomb thing. She rolled midflight, and landed with her hands, performing a backflip to carry her momentum back on her feet. Sierra stumbled a bit and used JD's staff to keep herself steady. Where she'd landed, two large indents had broken the concrete.

"Hana! That was amazing! I wouldn't have pegged you with sense of humor," Sierra yelled to her counterpart, giggling all the while.

Her laughter died in her throat when she saw the Goliath right itself, damaged but unphased. "Oh come on!"

She had to hand it to their adversaries: their weaponry was solid, even if the pilot was questionable. She ran towards JD with her eyes trained on the Goliath, looking for extra weaknesses. Her eyebrows raised when it unsheathed its damage absorbers. "Don't think you're going to get another shock and awe, unless we can deal with those," she told the man as she tossed him his weapons back. She chewed her cheek while observing the metal monster. The joints she and Hana weakened kept it from moving far, but it otherwise remained fully functional. That was annoying. Pivoting around, Sierra looked around while ignoring the fighting happening meters away. She spotted a broken light post not far away. She patted JD's shoulder. "Lemme know when you're ready to take another shot! I'll back you up!"

She gave him a thumbs up before running to the post. Rubbing her hands together, she gripped in both fists. The ear-splitting sound of metal being twisted and ripped apart split over the gunfire. Sierra broke it apart. It fell over in her hands, the lamp part shattering against pavement. She blew out a rush of breath before leveraging the lamp post just like she had with JD's staff. An oversize javelin twice her size, with a point sharp and jagged where she'd broken it off. It took a moment longer for her to find the right balance, the lamp offsetting the post and causing her to stagger when it leaned too much one way. Sierra gritted her teeth, and planted her feet. She leveraged with one hand-- and threw her makeshift weapon straight for the tesla coils.

Sierra was well aware she was repeating attacks, not something she was overly fond of. She liked variety. Surprising the enemy was always a delight. But she wanted to see what would happen when it came into contact with the coils... if anything. She made her way back to JD.

 

[Mizos]

​

"I have trouble with punchlines but aside from that I feel my humor is relatively fresh."
Hana had little time to respond past that as she was already being pulled back into cover by Sven, his eyes narrowing as the mech continued tearing up the area. He grit his teeth not liking this new situation, they were already stuck in a trap he didn't like the fact he was in situation like this, and there was a good chance the orchestrater was watching this and laughing behind a screen somewhere. He wished he knew where the camera was so he could flip them off for making his day shit. Putting his own hatred aside over falling for such a trick, at least for the time being Naomi was providing orders again and Hana looked over at him wondering what course of action he wanted to act on. Sven had no intention of putting Hana back into danger right now, especially with those pods out, he knew she didn't have a gun on her and she wasn't getting past that weaponry without losing at least an arm or two, which he wasn't in the mood to deal with.
"...tch if I could just take over that damn system...I'd end up riddled with bullets before I could even get past the first barrier though."
Sven flexed his hands almost smiling at the idea of the challenge, but before he could give Hana an order, who at the moment was currently watching Sierra put in her applications for the olympics, JD spoke to him. Though he wanted to ignore the man teamwork forbid such a thing so he had little choice but to respond to him.

"No it's sparking because its magic," Sven said motioning to the mech. "You want to run towards the electricity? I mean I'm not going to stop you but I'm not dragging your charred corpse back."
"That's straight pimpin' JD. I like the idea."
Sven looked over at Hana who walked over to JD only ducking when a bullet flew past her face, reaching over she took his gun. Taking a moment to inspect it she glanced back over at him. There was no expression on her face as always but there was a small fire in her eyes as she motioned towards the machine.
"If Sven allows it I will offer cover fire with the other two, you may use that time as you see fit to act according to whatever is in your thoughts."
Hana readied the gun her brows arching.
"Just don't forget the warcry 'El Gato es en la Cocina' when you commit, it's apparently a good luck charm."

While Hana was admiring JD's courage, Sven was doing some light calculations at how much their efficiency would lower if they lost JD, after a bit of thought he came to a conclusion that it would be troublesome but nothing that couldn't be rectified by adding a cactus to the team if they survived afterwards. He would name it Wilhelm and with any luck it'd do more than JD did in his short life, his fantasy faded quickly however realizing that with him gone it would be one less meat shield which raised his own fatality rate. Since it now involved him and his safety JD's survivability was now immediately important.
Hana looked back at Sven awaiting his orders and with a heavy sigh Sven elbowed the car he was hiding behind, muttering and cursing as he rubbed his now sore elbow he motioning toward the two with his hand.
"Fine help the other crazy one with whatever he's doing, standby for further orders," Sven said. "Every plan so far has put us in danger, what's a few more. Also we're going to talk about what you just said later...well if there is a later."
"That's why you get paid the big bucks Sven."
"We get paid the same," Sven said peering over his cover only to quickly lower his head as a bullet ricocheted off the trunk. "I'm not putting myself in any needless danger so I'm all for watching you do your thing anyway."
"There you go then JD I will offer support, act accordingly...also don't worry. If you are turned into a charred corpse I will drag you back."
"No you're not."
"I definitely will just to spite Sven," Hana whispered putting one hand on the side of her mouth.
"I can still hear you!"

 

[Eastwood]

​

"Up you get, Divine Conduit." Zadok whispered, as much as a modulated voice can whisper, as he hauled JD up to his feet. "Now is not the time to die." And it really wasn't. To die here would be to die a pointless futile death. The mech represented a threat, but not as much as it should be. In urban, close-quarter, terrain, a lone combat vehicle was vulnerable without infantry support. Whatever grand plan their target had was still a mystery, but this was an act of suicide. To commit such a magnificent engine of war alone against a hostile force was nothing short of that. As the tesla coils sparked and hummed into life, Sensei Allen's golden eye narrowed. Such waste of potential offended him, both as a worshiper of machines and as a once-soldier.

"We will wait for an opening, then we will strike." He said to JD. And, a moment later, Sierra provided the perfect opportunity. "Now!" He pointed at the makeshift javelin thrust through one of the tesla coils. "JD, strike that with your lightning! It will overload the capacitors of the GOLIATH!" Zadok waited another moment before the lightning arced from JD's hands to the mech before breaking in a sprint towards it. He jumped, landing on the lamp post and running up it towards the collapsed mech. He jumped again and landed on the cockpit window. The pilot inside could see Zadok staring down at him, a subtle anger burning in his golden eye. His metal hands gripped the steel frame of the windows and, bracing himself, started to wrench the cockpit open. Metal studs were launched as the steel frame started to bend and warp under the immense strength of the machine-priest before ripped open and the bent remnants dropped to the concrete ground with a clatter. Then, reaching out, he grabbed a hold of the pilot and pried him free of his harness before throwing him down to the ground near the ruined cockpit. Zadok wasn't gentle, but the mech was now disabled and the pilot, while bruised and possibly suffering from a broken limb, was alive and now their prisoner.

 

[Winter]

The Pilot hit the ground between the slumped mangled arms of his mech, letting out a grunt as he landed before seeming to chuckle as he rolled onto his back, holding an arm with his other. Naomi walked up to join the others, brushing off some of the dust kicked up by the shattered fragmented tiles of concrete that now littered the area around them. She seemed slightly disinterested and said little about anyone's efforts during the fight, "Everyone still alive?" she asked, taking a look around as she mentally counted heads. "Well that's something at least... " she added before stepping over a pothole where one of the mechs shells had struck the ground.

"You lucky *cough* pricks... " the pilot spoke before spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground next to him. "If we'd known to expect more of you..." Naomi pushed the tip of her foot against his shoulder to roll him flat onto his back as she looked down. "Where is Jaclyn... " she asked simply, earning another chuckle from the pilot, "Gone kid and I don't plan on telling you shit." he replied. Naomi ran a hand through her hair as she looked around, a gentle breeze continuing to blow through from the nearby canal between the buildings as the area once again returned to it's eerie emptiness despite the occasional crackling of lose debris loosely falling apart around them.

"That's a shame, I hadn't planned on hurting you." she replied, sliding her side arm into it's holster as she continued to pat away dust collected against the black of her clothing, marking it with white dust stains here and there. "I could give a fuck, you dogs don't just let people live anyway." Naomi didn't respond to that as she looked towards the crumpled mech, technology way above what Jaclyn could afford or rightly get her hands on. "You're not one of her people are you." she replied, once again returning her attention to the pilot who spat more blood before he shook his head, "No." he didn't elaborate further.

The Lieutenant looked towards the others briefly, "Explains the mech... kind of" she commented, turning as the pilot climbed to his feet slowly, still nursing his arm in his other. "I was supposed to kill anyone who showed up looking for her, *cough* obviously they weren't expecting a team of powered up freaks." he replied causing Naomi to raise her eyebrow. "I thought you weren't going to tell us anything?" she asked, earning a sneer from the pilot. "I said I ain't telling you where she is. Besides it's not like it matters to a dead girl." he replied, his arm reaching back to pull a sidearm before raising it to Naomi's face.

'BANG!'

It happened quickly before anyone could think to act, the gun discharging a bullet point blank causing Naomi's head to flinch back slightly as she seemingly stood there for a moment, a burn mark appearing on her cheek which trailed a thin wisp of smoke where the bullet made contact with her skin. The pilot looked pleased with himself at first before his expression paled quickly when he realised the bullet seemingly did nothing but mark her face. Naomi reached up and rubbed her cheek, her other hand reaching to grab his wrist before pulling the gun from his grip, tossing it across the floor. "... Fuck that stings... " she mumbled before exhaling a small breath.

"Look, just tell us where she went and you can- " she was cut off as the pilot took a step back, "What the fuck are you?! some kind of omnic?" the lieutenant half lidded her eyes as if she seemed less than mildly interested. "As I was saying... tell us where she went and you can scamper off to whatever hole in the city you crawled out from." she pressed a finger to her ear as she opened up a link back to base. "Jaclyn isn't here, we got ambushed by some guy in an expensive toy, trying to get information out of him now for where she went."

"Understood, we'll report to Farrow immediately." came the response in everyone's ear before the click resounded as the line closed temporarily. "Alright, fuck it... last I heard she and her goons made off towards Paradesium, something about some cook calling himself Father Montaigne, that's all I know I swear, they just hired me to kill whoever showed up." the pilot held up his hands defensively. "See that wasn't so hard was it?" she replied before turning towards the others again. "That's a lead, Paradesium isn't too far away but it's a massive arcade district for tourists." she stated before rubbing her forehead a little.

Another click resounded as the com link reopened itself. "Orders from Farrow Stalkers, he says to get whatever information you can and then get rid of the pilot." Naomi furrowed her brow as she pressed her finger to her ear once more, "He's unarmed, there's no reason to kill him." a short pause followed before the voice on the other end spoke again, "Orders are orders, terminate the pilot and then proceed with any information you've gathered. If you don't have any leads you're to return to base, HQ out." she dropped her finger from her ear as she looked towards the pilot who appeared to have put two and two together.

"W-wait you said if I talked you'd let me leave!" he stammered. Naomi looked towards the others once again, as if trying to determine their stance on the subject on a glance alone before she shrugged. "Run along. But if you get in my way again... " the pilot looked relieved, "I wont I wont, I'm sorry for... shooting you... in the face and the whole, trying to blow you up and stuff." Naomi stepped away, gesturing with her head for him to get going before looking to the others, motioning them to join her as she took a few more steps away from the mech wreckage. Once everyone was gathered she folded her arms as she looked between them.

"As I said Paradesium isn't far but it's busy and it could take some time to locate where Jacklyn went. We can either follow the lead and head straight there or rendezvous with the Sparrow and head back before redeploying out that way. Since I'm forced to endure your company I'll take your suggestions into consideration... " her tone conveyed a slight condescension and sarcasm to it further implying she would rather they weren't here to begin with, though at least she was willing to hear what they wanted to do in regards to chasing the lead.

 

[Capt. Blu]

"I've seen wild things that could be considered magic." JD mentioned in casual response to Sven, seeming to not catch the sarcasm. "But no need to be worried about me, I have an idea that should-" JD's attention turned completely to Hana when she walked up. Confusion turned into bright eyed excitement when she further agreed to help him. "Oh great, even better!" He stood from his hiding spot, ducking back when gunfire was aimed in their direction. "And thank you for the consideration I wouldn't want my body to just be left to the looters. You're very kind." He gestured for Hana to follow, pausing next to Zadok when he called him over. "Ah, I think he has a better idea in mind. We'll keep ours on standby though. Just in case."

He heard Zadok's instructions, but he looked a bit confused through the most of it. "Wait, what'd you just call me? Divine what now?" The yell to strike snapped his attention back to the battle at hand and JD looked at where the javelin- or what used to be his staff- was lodged. "Man it takes me forever to get those replaced... But, this does make what I wanted to do a lot easier." He dodged out of the way of a few bullets, letting Hana take care of that part. While he maneuvered to a safer spot that wasn't out in the open, he let the electricity run up his left arm, keeping it as contained as possible. Following another tuck and roll, JD aimed a finger gun right at the javelin and pretended to shoot. Instead of a bullet, electricity struck and he grinned wide when it struck true.

"Hah! Bullseye!" He fist pumped the air and then raised a hand to high five Hana. Zadok had gotten the rest of the issue handled, that being the pilot, so JD figured that meant it was over for now. "Alright, first mission success."

During that interrogation process, JD became a bit more disinterested when information wasn't given immediately. "Always gotta be difficult." He commented, walking past. It was usually a spill of information he could never keep up with and sometimes a torture tactic or two depending on how intimidating someone needed to be. He was never really involved with the process or needed in so usually he'd wait until it's over. Or in this case, JD half paid attention to the conversation while climbing on top of the mech. He tried to retrieve his staff, but it was lodged too deep for him to yank it out himself no matter how many times he attempted. So instead, he opted to sit on the mech and reach out for the tesla coil, siphoning as much electricity as he could before sparks could start jumping off him.

From everyone else's vantage point, it looked like he was sitting on the mech patiently waiting- which he technically was until Naomi let the pilot go free. "Is it safe to just let that guy go like that?" His head tilted ever so slightly. "What if he goes back to his boss and spills info on us?" Naomi didn't seem too bothered by it so JD shrugged. If the boss wasn't worried, then he wouldn't be either. After all, Naomi was the one that got shot in the face with a bullet and wasn't phased. "I for one am all for going to the tourist-y places. Hate the crowds but all for trying the food." He paused for a moment and then shrugged. "And of course to find the Jackie lady too. Mission uh, business and all that. She might get farther away if we go back to base."

 

[Eastwood]

Zadok did nothing when the captured pilot pulled for his gun to shoot Naomi, despite having the means to stop him. He knew it would not hurt her, much less kill her, so he let it happen, taking care to observe the impact and her subsequent regeneration. What was she? He wondered, something like that was often seen. Suffice to say, Zadok was moderately impressed by her combat ability. In fact, he was impressed with all of them. "Yes, we have done well." It was rough, but everyone managed to stay on top of things.

That feeling of being impressed evaporated when Naomi had not only disobeyed orders, but had also let the pilot go free. "Are you sure that was wise?" He asked, watching the pilot stumble down an alleyway. "There is nothing stopping him from telling our target that we are coming for her now." That feeling was entirely gone now. He did not like her tone. Not one bit. It was disrespectful, not just to him but to all of them. Zadok decided that he was going to have a few choice words with her once the mission was over.

 

[Happy Trails]

With the mech's destruction Convel was left behind his cover with only the thunder of his own heartbeat. Rising he resisted the urge to take off his helmet and suck in lungfuls of cool unfiltered air. Even if there was no immediate danger to be seen he was still exposed. Instead he busied himself checking his gear and taking his time reuniting with the rest of the squad.

While experience taught him that the thing to do now was to hurry up, reestablish 360 degree security, and listen to the squawking in his head, prudence was telling him that it didn't much matter. Any illusion of organization Serenity had given him in the past few days had proven to be just that the second the rubber met the road. As he stood just outside of the huddled group, observing the Stalker give what might have been the worst interrogation he'd ever seen, the pilot did at least confirm one suspicion. She had taken that canon round earlier, and it hadn't done a damn thing.

So this was it then. The real reason Stalkers were so damnably irritating. It wasn't that they were given some special training, or were preternaturally gifted tacticians, they were augs. Just like everyone else who'd ever been too good to be true, they weren't. Once you actually saw one it came out to be just smoke and cybernetics. A disappointment.

When she added to her list of mistakes by showing the pilot mercy he caught himself shaking his head. How on earth could a terrorist spook be this naive? On the other hand, what was resistance but naivete? Regardless he knew well enough that both letting this apparent EPD plainclothes go and defying a direct order was recklessness for recklessness sake. The order had been given to her though, not himself, and he could see the rationalizing that might come if he acted too impulsively here. Drawing his sidearm he took aim at the retreating man and spoke aloud and clearly for the first time since entering the sparrow.

"Just give the order Farrow."

 

[Ygor's Revenge]

Grimm's spidery form emerged from the shadows as the mech slumped over, its dying sparks and fizzles illuminating the lenses of his mask. The behemoth's defeat had revealed several new things to the mutant, the most pressing bit of data being that J.D.'s half-staffs were merely conduits for a power he already had. The question of how he had gotten such a power pecked and needled at Grimm's brain, but it would have to be dealt with later. The pilot had been ejected and was now being interrogated by Naomi. It seemed he was a hired gun and not part of Jaclyn's unit.

The sudden flash of dark pistol metal had Grimm's hands on his firearm, but before he could act the pilot had already fired. As with the incident with the car a short while earlier, the bullet served to do little than inconvenience the young woman. The realization he wasn't dealing with the average rebel leader prompted him to reveal the information she sought: Jaclyn and her posse had moved to Paradesium. Grimm's brows raised in surprise as Naomi then turned the pilot loose. He watched him flee down an alleyway before turning to look at his leader; his parchment-leather face twisting in confusion and disapproval but going unseen behind the metal of his mask. Her next statement drew a shocked sneer from the mutant, his offense visible from the sullen slump of his hunched shoulders.

"I suppose we should continue pursuit," he muttered, "If Jaclyn is on the move, I mean."

 

[SilentxChaos]

​

Watching Zadok get all righteous on the mech, Sierra was kinda glad she didn't follow up on her javelin-like strike. She pumped a fist into the air and whooped as he took it down-- with help of JD-- whom she clapped on the back hard for a job well done.

The glee tapered off as adrenaline left her system, and Naomi approached the battered pilot to politely ask a couple of questions. Sierra tuned it out as she went to inspect the dead mech. She nudged a leg with her boot and avoided the electrified javelin. She couldn't explain it, but being in the vicinity of the lightning-riddled metal left a twangy taste in her mouth. Her face scrunched up as she worked her tongue, trying dispel it, and was completely caught off guard when someone named Farrow spoke in their comm pieces. Sierra flumped down on the mech leg.

"That doesn't seem real right. Didn't Boss say she'd let the pilot go?" the girl muttered as she placed her chin in her palm.

She yawned and scratched her head. Sounded like this was a dead end, this Jackie person fucked off to another party of Eternity. At least, Sierra thought it was Jackie. That's what JD said and she assumed he listened more than she did.

A brow lifted when the kill order was confirmed. She straightened a little.

"Just give the order Farrow." That's what Convel said. Cool as a cucumber. Shame, she was sort of beginning to like him too. Even if he was a cop.

In the next instance, Convel felt the sensation of his gun ripped out of his grip. Like it'd decided on its free will that this wasn't the best situation for it, and it'd rather just nope back home instead being used like this. That's not what happened but the thought really amused Sierra later. She made a mental note to apply more personality to animate objects later, like Zadok does. The gun flew to her hand and she gave it a twirl. It hung loose in her grip with no intention of threat. But the look in her eyes as she stared at Convel dared him to make a move. For the funsies.

"Don' you know cops aren't supposed to shoot at unarmed people? Especially when their back is turned." She wished she had gum. Making a loud pop is just what she needed to punctuate her apathetic justification.

The Boss broke her concentration. Sierra waited to be sure their new friend was out of sight before tossing Convel's gun back to him, safety on. Her chin went back into her hand. "Seems to me we keep going, yeah? Mission's not done. 'Complete the mission at all costs', ain't that what you people usually say?" Sierra mocked, ignoring Naomi's jab at the group.

 

[Mizos]

​

Hana fired a few shots at the mech running out into open to help draw its fire away from JD, she lowered her head as the bullets passed her skull, one passing through her hoodie as she moved her head to the side. Once she was close enough to the mech she quickly dodged to the side the mech's attention returning to JD though at that point it was too late. She was behind cover by the time the mech was taken out.
Once the coast was clear and the pilot had been taken out of his mech Sven came out from cover with Hana returning to his side, putting aside the few surprises he had witnessed, one instance being the weird hooded one ripping off the cockpit they were still breathing so that was a win.

Sven stared down at the pilot keeping his glasses lowered as he started complaining eliciting a sigh from Sven.
"Why do losers always talk about what if's…" he mumbled shoving a hand in his pockets. "It would have ended the same, this is a quality over quantity situation."
"…there were more of us though."
"Factor in how many men that mech is worth and it balances out," Sven said motioning to the machine.
Hearing the pilot wasn't going to be open minded Hana looked over at Sven and he motioned towards Naomi who was dealing with him, he hadn't decided if torture was above their paygrade or not so their commander could handle that business.
The moment the man went back for his gun Hana looked over at Sven on what he wanted to do, he didn't have time to speak before the shot was fired, his eyes moved to Naomi wondering how to explain why they were bringing back a dead body only to see the woman was still very much alive.
He looked over at Hana who just gave a small nod seeming to respond to the look he gave her, their silent conversation ended there as he instead focused on the reasonably confused pilot and their new orders.

When Naomi turned her gaze to them for their opinion Hana had the same expressionless look plastered on her face and Sven was already back in his tablet paying little attention to the conversation. He offered a small shrug to the idea of letting him go, kill or don't kill him either way they had shit to do and Hana just looked at Sven for an answer offering a similar shrug along with his.
When Convel drew his gun and broke his silence Hana pointed at him looking back at Sven as he raised a gun to the retreating man, Sven gave another small shrug.
"Not for us to deal with, worst case we deal with two AWOL's," Sven said putting his tablet away. "Let the Lieutenant handle it."

It seemed there was little need for Naomi to step in as the one named Sierra disarmed the man, Sven didn't bother a look in her direction but Hana's eyes seemed to glance over at the woman, no emotion showed but she seemed to acknowledge the act, whatever that meant.
At Naomi's question, Sven removed his glasses before cleaning them with a small brown cloth.
"Your magnanimity is inspiring Commander," Sven said before breathing on his glasses, making little effort to hide his own sarcasm.
The feeling was absolutely mutual, he didn't want to be here either.
"We're already out here and have been thoroughly shot at, little reason not to continue pursuit and get shot at some more."
Hana hearing Sven's opinion checked the ammo in the gun she'd gotten from JD and with a small nod moved it to her waist.
"I taped my shows over Sven's so I'm safe to continue. If we headed back they may ask for a sitrep…which would be destroying a mech and getting shot at after being ambushed. They may look bad for our first outing together."
"You're the reason 'Why is my Dog a Cat?' keeps showing up in my recommended?" Sven said glaring at his companion.
"Oh and the fact we know where she went and haven't gone there yet."
"Next time your arm gets blown off I'll remember this."
Putting the actions of his cohort aside Sven put his glasses back on and looked over at Naomi.
"If she's really that skilled I'm not sure how much good it'll do but I can expand our view a bit. Big areas with a bunch of people means extra security, which means more to tap into. With any luck a passing drone or camera could show something out of the ordinary."
Sven lowered his eyes back to his device flicking upwards on it.
"Maybe com links too to find this Father Montaigne."
"If they're not encrypted."
"Of course they'll be encrypted when aren't comms encrypted and they'll be traffic so I doubt it'll go well. I'm just trying to speed this along. We can't cover the entirety of that place with just us, a few extra tricks couldn't hurt, and they're clearly expecting us; if one of us gets caught in another ambush that may be it."

 

[Winter]

Naomi folded her arms across her chest as she listened to each of them give their opinions, her eyes shifting towards Zadok and then JD as they voiced their concerns over letting the pilot go. "Listen, if you two want to kill him then be my gu-" she was cut off by the small commotion of Sierra disarming Convel of his weapon, raising her eyebrow as she realised he was setting up to take down the pilot himself. She unfolded her arms, reaching up to run a hand through her hair before she faced Zadok and JD again, "I've had a lifetime of killing because other people tell me to." that statement alone shared more than she'd really wanted and internally she was more than displeased with herself for it. "As Stalkers we're not above orders, but we have the privilege of making our own choices... at the end of the day we're here and they're not, so if I'm pulling a trigger it'll be because I feel it's necessary, not because someone else thinks they know better."

Her brows furrowed as this was getting closer to home than she wanted, deciding to leave it at that as she turned more towards Zadok. "Tin man, that mech we dropped might have a working sensory array if it wasn't damaged during the fight. Think you can tap into it and check the area for me?" she asked before looking down towards Grimm, "Little man, you go too, the two of you together will make the process faster I'm sure. Everyone else keep your eyes open and take a minute to recover, Goliath's aren't easy... so... good job, I guess... " she added before she stepped away, making her way over to one of the large mangled mech guns before leaning herself against it, giving herself a bit of space and distance from the others before pressing her fingers to her ear. "Command this is Titan, we're proceeding with the mission. We have a lead that the target has fled towards Paradesium, requesting a supply Sparrow to reconfigure load-outs."

A pause followed before a female voice replied, the conversation audible for any of them still wearing their COM piece. "Understood Lieutenant, request confirmed, Sparrow on route." Naomi exhaled as she dropped her hand from her ear, nothing more left to do but wait till either Zadok or Grimm had news for her or the Sparrow arrived, whichever came first... although it'd be better if she knew if they were safe before the Sparrow arrived so they could switch their gear without having to go through another fight first. Her outfit was pretty torn from being thrown like a skipping stone before being shot at, though while small holes exposed skin beneath there was no blood nor a mark visible beneath them. She couldn't help but acknowledge the gentle exhale of wind blowing through from the nearby canal however.

"Sounds good Sven, although I already know where to find Father Montaigne... we've crossed paths before. He leads from the seat of a popular casino in the area called the Cathedral of Sin, he's more of a mob boss than an enterprising businessman, though... if he knows where Jaclyn is the information isn't going to come freely... or at all if he somehow has a steak in whatever she's got planned. Could be a problem for us but the only way we'll know is if we head there and talk to him ourselves." she replied, knowing that answer likely wasn't going to sit well with anyone but it was all she could really offer them at the moment. Father Monty was a peculiar man who worked often to his own benefit, so she had no illusion that if he was somehow involved with the former Stalker there was more than likely something for him to gain by helping her.

 

[Mizos]

​

Hana pulled on her cloak a bit poking her finger through one of the holes while Naomi spoke, her attention was pulled back to the conversation as she mentioned they had the option to make their own choices. Hana's gaze moved to Sven at this and she noticed that his stone face softened by a single percentage at that particular set of information. Knowing they had the option to think for themselves was a comforting feeling, she wasn't sure how the others felt about it and she was a rare exception as Sven's thoughts were to a degree her own, at least that's she had been told on numerous occasions.
"Since a majority of my opinions are ignored it is good to know that is a choice," Hana said dropping her cloak.
"Those in the desert want water," Sven said with a shrug. "You'd change your mind with more freedoms…all the more reason to keep things as they are."
"Your consideration is appreciated."
"Anytime," Sven said ignoring the sarcasm that came with her response.


It was interesting how easy it was to become numb to things, he wasn't sure if it was just the way the city was or perhaps their own pasts but looking over at the machine lying a few feet away it was weird how quickly they had gotten past the fact they had basically been on death door. That said more about the people around him than any normal conversation would, walking away from that calm and composed...these were the people the rebellion had chosen. That thought echoed in his mind for a moment as he looked at the people around him, but he pushed it to the side deciding it wasn't a subject worth pursuing.
Sven wasn't sure what to really say to Naomi's weird acknowledgement, the 'I guess' at the end made it hard to take it as praise. It almost felt like an insult on some level, as he wondered how to ignore this woman and figure out a way to still follow orders Hana noticed his narrowed expression and pat him on the shoulder.
"I helped take down the Mech Sven."
"…and?" Sven questioned looking over at her. "You want me to say something for doing your job? I helped you as well so it's 'I' took down the mech."
"I said I."
"No I mean me. You had help too, the human lighting rod and…uh…"
"Sierra."
"Yeah those two helped along with the other one."
Hana focused her attention forward again realizing Sven wasn't going to catch onto the irony of the situation; at the very least Naomi had acknowledged that they accomplished a difficult task.
"Happy to be of assistance," Hana said to the commander with a small nod. "If another comes I'm open-minded to assist again. Especially with help."
Sven waved a hand at her to leave the matter alone and focused his attention back on Naomi as she mentioned Father Montaigne; Sven knew about the Cathedral of Sin. He closed his eyes mentally correcting himself, he knew what the place was but had never gotten close to it himself, there was no need to get involved with the place. Knowing the guy was a fancy thug made things easier though, no one would miss him if things went south again.
"If Jaclyn knew we were coming, at least enough to set up an ambush Montaigne will probably be the same if they're working together," Sven said rubbing the side of his head. "If she's not stupid anyway…is this Montaigne the monologue type? You know the ones who's used to giving speeches on how he's not doing anything terrible."
"Like you Sven?"
"No like the hooded guy over there, he seems like the monologue type," Sven said pointing at Zadok. "If I have to stand there and listen to the guy go on about how he's innocent when we meet him it's going to ruin the day more than the mech. At least with the killing machine it's somewhat quick."

While waiting for the Sparrow to come Sven's gaze rested on Naomi, his eyes focusing mainly on the new holes in her outfit. He watched the woman get thrown like a dirty rag doll and he doubted that she dodged every one of those bullets, especially with her current appearance. He prided himself on his ability to gather information but Naomi's healing ability was off his radar; he had heard rumors of all manners of things in this city; the woman in front of him was easily five of those rumors in one.
"…why are you staring at the commander Sven?" Hana asked approaching him.
"…her body interests me," Sven said bringing a hand to his chin.
Hana looked over at Naomi then back at Sven and placed a hand on his shoulder drawing his attention to her.
"Sven as someone who is required to work with you let me tell you…no one likes you and probably never will. You will die alone."
"Your consideration is appreciated but that's not what I mean."
"I mean you do seem like the superficial type but for that to be thing you have to be hand-"
"What I mean missing link is that she doesn't have a mark on her body. Also it's not just her, those other two showed something interesting today. The loud one and the louder one."
"…do you mean JD and Sierra?"
"Yeah those two…I think cybernetics are involved but even if they are…I'm fascinated in how they make them function in that way…I have a few ideas but I'd feel better confirming it personally."
"What about the others?"
Sven looked over at the remaining members of their group, his eyes lowering slightly as he passed over them, his gaze lingering on Grimm for just a moment longer before returning to Hana.
"That's something to discuss later. For the time being I want to observe them a little closer."
"You could talk to them."
"That would mean pretending to care about their well being. You know I'm bad at that kind of thing. You talk to them."
"Should I mention your interest in their bodies?"
"From a scientific standpoint yes."
"Nerd."

 

[Capt. Blu]

When Naomi turned to confront JD, he shrunk back a bit. With a sheepish laugh and a hand up in surrender he spoke. "Not saying anything against you Boss. I was wondering about the chance he goes blabbing and all." He looked a little curious when she mentioned being 'told to kill'. He was told too kill sometimes too. But it was usually with good reason. That's just what bosses were about. Giving orders and the subordinates acted on them. He never thought much of it, opting to do as he was told in the Ivory Skulls instead of making a fuss. It made things easier, and like they told him, it was for a greater cause after all. Just as Serenity was trying to achieve something great... Surely she didn't think the higher ups would stray from their goals and mission? It was an odd thought to say the least so he pushed it aside and focused on the matter at hand.

When Naomi's attention left him, JD slipped off the mech and gave Zadok and Grimm more room to work. He didn't want to get in the way of their fiddling, even if the mech was a cool perching spot. Not as cool as a working mech. But also definitely not as cool as a mech not trying to kill them. JD decided to scoot towards first Convel and Sierra, but then immediately near Hanlon to steer clear of whatever tension those other two had- or would have had after Sierra's tactic. He started to say something, but Naomi's praise made him perk up a bit and grin. "All part of the job boss!" He offered a thumbs up but she was already walking away.

There was a sudden static in his ear that made him visibly flinch. He quickly removed the comm from his ear and he examined it, blinking a bit. "Oh..." By the looks of it, sometime during battle, he ended up short circuiting it. Hopefully that wouldn't have been a problem... He tried listening into it again, but only heard every few words- so ultimately he gave up and stuck it in his pocket, planning to give it back to Naomi later.

"Oh, oh! Can you ask them to get me a new set of escrima sticks? Sierra botched mine and I kind of need 'em." Naomi hadn't said anything in response, and he pouted a little- for a brief moment. If push came to shove he could probably try and find something to replace them... Hopefully before another fight. He'd be wasting a whole lot of energy too fast if he didn't have anything to focus all that electricity into- plus it was always even more dangerous when people were around. His train of thought went on a bit about the weapons, but eventually he sighed to himself and found a large chunk of debris to sit on.

There was nothing else really left to do but wait, so he got as comfortable as he could on a large rock and placed his head in his hands. "Y'know, I think all that training paid off. We're pretty good at this!"

 

[Happy Trails]

As the rest of the group milled around him Convel straightened and looked across the square at Sierra as she goaded him. He felt the distant twinge of anger at the edges of his perception, his organic hand closing to a loose fist unconsciously. Running his tongue along his gums he let a beat pass between them. He understood what was happening even if he didn't understand how it happened. After a pregnant pause he let out a sigh and tried to force back the casual air he'd had before getting the final mission briefing.

His helmet hid his expression. Only the pocked shrapnel scars along the cheek frame offering any connection between it and the face of the man who wore it. While the tinted glass eyes started nowhere in particular, the softly glowing blue ones beneath searched Sierra for any sort of give or tell. Another beat and only more silence. Finally he spoke.

"Sorry, must've been out sick that day." He tried for a laugh, but the helmet's modulator turned it into a low goading call. "Must've been the same day they showed off disarms from across a plaza."

Sierra watched him with a cheek in hand, smiling good-naturedly. Nothing changed while she stared up into his helmet. She figured he'd speak whenever he was ready, he obviously needed something. She blinked when he finally did. "Eh? Oh, you mean the gun thing? I guess you missed some training footage, huh?"

Lifting a palm up to the sky, the damaged mech beneath her rattled as suddenly a square of metal sheered off its leg into her hand. She caught it between thumb and finger without looking. She looked very smug about it.

"Magnetism. Pretty cool, huh?"

She flicked it into the ground next to Convel's feet. It embedded halfway through the solid concrete. The cheek went back into the hand again. Her expression went from amusement to downright bemusement.

"Were you really gonna shoot that guy? Right in the back? I thought that was… against the cop code or somethin'."

For a moment Convel remained silent, his vacant stare still locked on her eyes.

"Yes." he said at last. "Right in the back."

"Why?"

"Why not?" another pause. "He tried to kill us, tried to kill Naomi, never actually surrendered. He put himself in the wrong column, knew that he was doing it too. Naomi may have flowery words to say about choosing when she gets to use violence, but that is a luxury those of us without bullet proof skin don't have. This isn't a beat. We aren't keeping the peace out here."

He shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to another and finally looked away from Sierra. Instead he was staring at the alleyway the man had retreated to. Even through the helmet his exhaustion was plain. Something was...wrong. He felt off. There was something entirely new and strange happening here.

As he stared down that empty alley it came to him. He'd never had to justify his violence before, it had always justified itself. In his mind it still did justify itself. There was nothing to explain. But she was telling him there was, and that...that he didn't like. That he didn't understand.

Sierra nodded along like she understood. Then halfway through, it turned to a shake. She flexed her jaw until it cracked and looked down at her hands. She scoffed. "My Pa used to say somethin' similar, you know? 'Better to shoot first so they don't shoot you later'. He's a class sharpshooter though...never did have to look 'em in the eyes. What's the closest you've been to one of your victims? Ever watched the life drain from their eyes?"

She looked at him, unaware of the man's visible discomfort. Her gaze was unblinking. She reached down to scratch a calf. He thought for a moment, still watching the empty alley.

"He was 16. A kid. He had a kitchen knife and was hiding behind a bathroom door in Morgan Tower. We were going through cause his brother had just gotten a third warrant, got in a shootout two weeks back and someone who mattered caught a bullet in the crossfire. Well this kid buries the knife two inches in my shoulder. I shot him in the jaw, just low enough that it wasn't quick, or clean. I was still new then. Gang squad was very different from my beat. So, maybe six inches between us." He turned to look at her flatly.

"First guy I killed was a complete accident," Sierra smiled cold, eerily devoid of her robust personality. Her eyes spoke regret. "In the fighting ring, testing out new arms and this absolute bull of a man givin' me a hard time. Got me pinned on my back and was about to win the whole fucking match. I remember his sweat dripping in my eyes. His stench allover." Her nose wrinkled and her eyes lost focus, lost in the memory. "He left the jugular exposed. Managed to wiggle an arm free and grabbed his throat, wanted to choke him just enough to loosen his grip, you know? Arm craps out. I can feel my grip tighten and his wind pipe crushes like a twig. 300 plus pounds fucking crushes me and I'm left with my whole world suddenly becoming that bulls' eyes. They were kinda pretty. Silvery like, custom implants I assumed, with a fringe of blue. Like the haze of city lights in the wealthy districts?"

Her hand started to rise to her lips but she checked the motion. She focused back on Convel, the smile growing smaller. "I think that's how it should be. Up close, personal, no choices given. Me or him. You or the kid. Never understood your execution style. Just seems like the easy way out."

"You mean why do I shoot people?"

Sierra frowned. Her brow furrowed to show she was thinking. "In the back yeah. When they ain't coming after you or could hurt you. Even if they come back later with something hurtful, that justifies a kill then. Not when they can't kill you. Not when there's no challenge."

Shrugging, she got up off the mech and stretched her full height. "I get why you use guns. Most people do. Just your preferred weapon. Can't see the point of killing someone you can't know is gonna come back or not."

"Mercy is a luxury." Convel started then stopped himself. He weighed his next words, trying to bridge the gap between what he felt and what he needed to say. "Being able to let someone go is a rare enough thing that it can seem inherently virtuous. Killing is so ugly that its absence is enough for most people. The problem is we can't afford to be that rash.

We need to look past the selfish first instincts, the surface level vanity of a reputation as a merciful person. Violence isn't something that only happens to us and in neat little shootouts. Violence is a constant, and those that show themselves capable of it are always a threat. We let him go, cool, what does he do tomorrow? Does he turn over a new leaf? Does he start an orphanage and start taking in gutter kids, giving them hot soup and warm beds and the paternal affection they need? Or does he run back to what he knows, continue doing what he's good at, and now with the story of how he survived a Stalker pushing him along?

It's not a choice of whether or not I want to kill someone. It isn't even a choice as simple as stopping them from killing me. I would've shot him in the back without a second thought because now they're going to go out and kill other people. People I don't know and never will know, people who might deserve it, but still people. That blood's on our hands now. All because you and Naomi wanted to feel like good people."

"It's not," Sierra said. "Can't control their actions. Only my own. Don' tell me you've never killed the wrong person before. An innocent. Maybe it's not enough for you, but I know I got enough blood already to know that'd I rather choose what I can do with my mercy. Also, Boss's more the boss here. I don' know them others and they don' control whether I live or die out here. She does. Far as I'm concerned, her word goes."

Sierra folded her arms defensively and looked Convel straight in the eye, waiting to see if he would push the issue or not. She anticipated an attack, given the outright blame and accusation, but thought he was a calmer fighter than most. Subconsciously, her hand reached for the necklace under her shirt and started tugging it around a finger. He wasn't wrong, either. She didn't like it; it made her fidgety.

The look between them held the moment hostage. Her eyes accusing, his hidden. He wanted to say more, felt the desire to make her see burn his lungs. She was closed off though, all pushing more would do is make her resent what he had said. So he remained silent, holding her gaze.

Until finally, after at last the moment broke free, he extended his hand and in what he hoped sounded like a conciliatory voice said, "Can I have my gun back?"

"Eh?" she blinked. "Oh. Right." Her hand reached down to her hip, only to feel it empty. Sierra blinked again and looked on her person, then around on the ground until she spotted the gun on the ground next to the next. She scurried over and scooped it up. Returning to Convel, she gave his open hand a look.

Reaching out, Sierra took his open hand in hers with a cheeky grin and gave it a hard shake. "We should talk about this again. It was fun. Perhaps a good fight will determine who's right, yeah? She let go and gave him his gun.

"I'm warning you, my lucky gloves would make it basically impossible. You might need some new chrome." He took his revolver back and slid it roughly in his drop leg holster. "But if you ever want to dish, I know a few good spots near base."

Her lips split into a fighting grin. "You're on, cop."

 

[Eastwood]

Zadok ignored the bickering of his squadmates. He did not agree with Naomi's decision, but it was her responsibility to make that decision just as it was their responsibility to follow through on it. If they still had complaints, then it can wait until after the mission and in safety. A machine, after all, can only work if all of its parts work together in harmony. With time, and more training, this group could achieve a level of cohesiveness. Silently, and not for the first time, Zadok cursed Serenity for their incompetence. They were not ready to work together as a team by a leader who did not want to lead.

He walked up to the downed mech and placed a metal hand against it's shell. Zadok paused for a moment, before the tip of his index finger opened up and reformed itself to form a powered drill-like screwdriver. It was easy enough to open up the panels and plug himself into the OS of the Goliath. He stiffened as his body connected to the mech. There was still power, echoes of what still remained after it's circuits were fried, enough to power the scanning array for a single burst. He did exactly that, and found that they were not alone, and noticed the emergency beacon for the Goliath had been turned on.

Through their earpieces, everyone had their conversation cut off as Zadok said in his modulated calm voice. "Contact, contact, contact. We have enemies, estimated to be 50+ approaching from all directions. They are armed with assault rifles and clad in body armor. They are approaching the mech and responding to it's emergency beacon. ETA - 63 seconds."

 

[Arcadius]

"Magnanimous," Hanlon said to Naomi. He finished his smoke and flicked the still burning butt into a nearby puddle, where it faintly hissed and died. There was aways a puddle of water nearby in Eternity, he thought. Always a convenient reminder that there was still something perfidiously trying to wash away this sin against natural order despite humanity's best effort to cover everything in grime of civilization.

"He pulled the trigger, certain in his hope to kill you. His intention was pure and mind was made. Just because your conker is made out of titanium does not excuse his actions, but then again... it is easy to be an angel in Heaven." His attemt at cheap philosophical monologue was cut short by Zadok's report of their next impending doom.

"Well then," he started again, pulling a breath. "I guess we can get the hell out of here, or stay for the bloodbath. Suffice to say, Sierra's magnetic magic trick gave every car in this hab block a heart attack, so if we're lucky," he said, quickly pacing towards something that could be classified as a car, but a more honest appraisal would put it in the "tiny dick" category.

The six wheeled all terrain (who the hell even buys a terrain vehicle for driving around a nearly endless city?) monstrosity had all windows smashed, and the color was now "Naomi charred black". The tires seemed okay, however, and the door could be forced open. Han pulled out something from his pocked and the car started. "Ha," he said and winked at Convel. "Figured one of these police universal car keys could come in handy sometimes. Guess we have a secondary escape option if Sparrow can't take all of us. Assuming we don't want to kill fifty people more today, that is. Suits me fine, but I get to hide behind you bulletproof guys."