The Lost Legion - Chapter 1: The Creeping Unknown

Dalia bowed her head down in respect. The leader had presented itself. She took a "submissive" stance. This was their home and should they accept her she may find bestial allies. She growled low, then dialed it back. She curled her tail under her body. She lowered her head to the beast. "We respect your territory", she seemed to try to say. "We are not a danger."
 
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As Karnix finally caught up to the Drakairis woman, and she bowed her head and backed off, Sarnai let out a breath of relief from inside of Zaya. Unplugging her railgun and replacing it on her back, she stood back up from her firing position and retrieved her assault rifle again. Doing a perimeter sweep with her sensors she notices the PCL troops approaching and scanning some sort of structures. Focusing her sensors in the same general area, she started moving in that direction. Not needing additional speed to keep up with a crazed Drakairis, she primarily trudged on foot through the undergrowth, clambering over and around vegetation and trees when it got too thick for Zaya to move through it.

As she approached the PCL troopers, she started catching snatches of their conversation, including a mention of "the commie mech". Rolling her eyes, Sarnai checked her battery levels. Still pretty high....I shouldn't waste any charge time on making these idiots pucker their cloacas but....oh fuck it, sometimes you have to have fun. she thought, a grin spreading across her face as she flipped on her active camouflage and slowed down as to make as little noise as possible until she got within easy speaking range of the three PCL soldiers.

Switching her external speakers on, she lets out a harsh cawing noise in imitation of a human cough, before deactivating her cloak as she stood casually near them, "I really consider myself more of an anarchist mech pilot, Zaya is the communist. However, Zaya would like to thank you for recongizing the Shon-Vuu tradition of naming their suits and considering them as an extension of the self."
 
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The signature was familiar; powered armour, foreign in nature, but not alien to this world. It blinked into view, active camo deactivating and a familiar series of readings returning to his data-analysing cyberbiological systems. Tall and looming but hiding a scrawny avian body within, packed with advanced weaponry and armour. Green and grey; the colour of an enemy.

He had seen a few fight under his kind's banner; paid mercenary, disgraced revolutionary, rogue nobleman. This one, standing not far from the league troopers, was an enemy too. None of them should have been here.

Loud, arrogant, cocky - just like the rest of them with their blurr-tone vox-speakers and squawking, avian language. All void-trawling locusts, devouring worlds and playing martyr and saint alike. He hated them all, hated that they had reduced their proud armies to tattered, warring bands of would be tyrants and chesspieces in the power struggle masquerading as a battle for the soul of Caracosa.

He had been there before the League and Assembly had set foot with gilded promises of utopia and remembered when the Carnazir once trembled at their divine right of rule.

The spike-rifle clicked; safety off. Scope; computerized, remote-link to his own optical implants. Additonal branch-arms emerging from his back internally reinforced by ball joints that could lock into position; he moved his rifle into it root-like hands and moved its barrel to the corner of the film-window, remaining crouched as the crosshairs settled onto the mech-suit.

"May your days of rule be defined by tragedy."

He pulled the trigger.

----------​

A sound like a blast of lightning crossed with crashing metal sounded out. A trio of bursts as bright flashes erupted from the window of the blocky building, the one Dalia had detected earlier. Airborne creatures that had not already scattered from the prior ruckus now rose in a swarm, the cacophony of cawing, screeching, and chittering momentarily blurring into the report of the rifle.

A burst of rounds flew straight at Sarnai; fist sized spikes cackling with electricity. One smashed through a thick tree branch, another ripping a trench through a dense trunk. A few leaves ignited as they passed from the dancing arcs of power, their complex internal chemicals ignited into puffs of flame as the barrage continued.

Another salvo this time raking the tree line. The PCL troopers swore, barely able to fire a few hastily aimed bullets as their cover crumbled and collapsed, one of the trees now falling backwards and nearly crushing the voidhanger. He cursed as he fell onto his back, rolling away as dirt, leaves, and bark were tossed about by the concussive force of the rounds. Worst, the bursts of electricity were messing with his aiming systems and sending unpleasant jolts of pain into his body.

"Somebody suppress him!" A voice cried out; one of the human troopers had slid behind the fallen tree, firing a burst of blue-dootted bullets that cracked against the wall around the window, a few piericng through the pilm and going off in blue sparks inside. He ducked as a round nearly took off most of his head and cursed, feeling the electricity momentarily disrupt his systems. "He can't keeping firing for long! Spike rifle, maybe 20 rounds max, can't have more than half of that now!"
 
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Dalia charged forward on her fours and moving to a flanking position. Her body pulsed with rage and magic pooled into her. Her senses sharpened immensely as she flicked her eyes over the enemy. She kept mobile and drew in a breath. What emerged was a thick cloud of thermal smoke around what she could assume was the head of the structure where sensors would be housed.

She then started to aim for the corners of the and vulnerable points of of the building spitting the sticky flames to let the plasma do its damage. Lastly sge let out a roar of challenge. If the thing had a translator and she would assume it did she spat an insult at it in her own tongue. "Come weak thing. Come and die by my maw!"
 
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Sarnai was quietly chittering in amusement to herself as the PCL troopers turned to look at her, and was about to suggest pumping a few rounds into the outpost to draw out any remaining forces that might be hiding inside when a burst of fire blew through the air around her. Thankfully she had been paranoid enough to leave her ether shielding up and the bursts of lightning from the shots that impacted the tree around her were largely absorbed, protecting the delicate electronics inside of Zaya. What they couldn't absorb however was the heavy spike that slammed along the right side of Zaya's upper chest armor plating, leaving a huge gouge along it as the spike dragged against and past her erupting on the tree behind her in another burst of light and heat.

Acting on years of battlefield instinct even as she squawked out a variety of vicious curses in her native language, she turned off her external speakers and immediately launched herself to the side with her jump jets into deeper foliage. Repeating the quick burst of maneuvering two more times to get out of the line of fire, she pulled her jump jets offline and reactivated her camo, sensors rapidly twitching to try and track the chaos.

Hearing more then seeing the Drakairis woman burst out of cover and engage the enemy at close range, she cursed even more and swapped to thermal imaging only to see a mass of obscuring, hot smoke, preventing her ability to accurately target. Swapping to ether flux imaging, she could see the bright blue ball of ether being churned inside of the dragon woman's body to produce the smoke and plasma she was spitting all over the building. Now that she had knew roughly where her nominal ally was, Sarnai started firing bursts of frangible anti-infantry rounds towards her sensor system's approximation of the enemy shooter's position.
 
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Hidalgo easily backflips not once but twice out and out of the way of the gunfire and lands on his feet like a cat turning on heat and night mode on in his right eyes. He then takes out a sleeping nade up in the air and it arcs over and it goes high enough that some would have a hard time seeing where it's coming from the firing of other weapons should provide enough cover not to be noticed as it comes back down.
He runs and diving and ducking behind some of the nearby thick trees, for some cover for gunfire. In his mind' i don't think this would be nearly as easy if we had a small group but nevertheless, for now, we have the numbers and lots of places to hide so that really helps things'.
 
Vaygus let out a computerized war sound. Like an ancient horn of war had been sounded from an unknown source "Heidon cover fire and Suppress" Vaygus moved from Heidon and kept to cover. The soldiers in the PCL troops would follow their training. But Vaygus had other plans. As Heidon was firing at the structure he got a position he found to be adequate. Placing his glaive in his hands he knelt and aimed. Though it was not normally used as a distance weapon with proper aim and skill it could be made as one. Vaygus aimed at the structure and got in contact with those around him even those who were not of his current employer "Going to attempt to open a hole. Prepare to focus fire" With that he aimed at the window. And the trigger was pulled five times. The explosive shells could easily be used against vehicles so Vaygus aimed two at the window and three just below it maybe to blow a hole big enough for entry. Heidon's suppression may also have a chance of a kill shot.

Vaygus looked as the rounds met there mark. The two hit the window detonated. One breaking through and the other detonating inside. While the three he had shot at the wall under it and they detonated with destructive force "Heidon, focus there" Seconds after the order the storm of shells were aimed and pounding the location. Vaygus kept his glaive aimed and fired only single shots. Only when he saw a possible target.
 
Shock and awe.

Stein's eyes refocused to a more appropriate light curve as the building was bombarded with fire and munitions. What an awkward waste of finite resources - though he cut his judgement short, the other factions can make their own calls. The less ammunition they had, the healthier it was for his team. Whoever it was in that structure though - clearly not a fan of PCL or ASR. Stein hadn't been with Carnazir long enough to identify the typicalities of their outposts, though even if it was a Carnazir in there, the android didn't empathise with either side enough to get immediately involved. Hearing one of the PCL troops loudly state the remainder of the spike clip, it was still no guarantee that there wasn't a secondary weapon waiting behind cover, or on the belligerent's person. There was greater power in certainty, particularly in the kind where all the cards are removed from their hiding in the deck.

"Should we help them?", Stein asked the rest of the Carnazir team in a tranquil tone without taking his eyes off of the action. There was an element of gain in this for sure, on an emotional level - but not a personal one. Putting more ammunition into that structure, or risking to move into the way of that explosive flurry for a more expedient solution was the definition of overkill. But it might instil a greater sense of a 'team' connection.
 
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Once Rho-Hux could see shots being fired from one of the buildings he crawled down the tree and ran to his soldiers. The cyborgs had given him a brilliant idea with their explosive rounds. "Explosives," Rho-Hux said quietly. "Did any of you worms remember to bring a grenade?" This time Rho-Hux spoke clearly as he held out a hand to one of his PCL troopers. Thankfully one of them had listened to him and handed him one of their grenades. "I'll also need some tape." Once he acquired everything he needed he Turned on his communication device he yelled out his next plan.

"Listen up! I'm going to plant this grenade on top of their building. You three grunts continue to fire at their base so the last thing they'll expect is an attack from above! Once the roof collapses, I want the rest of you, PCL or otherwise, to fire down inside the building if you can. I theorize that once the roof collapses the enemy will be temporarily disorientated if they aren't already crushed to death. That should give some of you enough time to get into a better firing position. If firing down into the building is impossible then continue to advance on them one the roof explodes. We will make hell itself rain down on these Godforsaken sons of bitches."

They were too far away from the enemy to be heard but for once Rho-Hux hoped some of the ASR or nearby Carnazir overheard his orders (at least the ones who hadn't already charged into combat). With the grenade in one of his hands, he aimed his grappling gun at a building further away from the battle. Once he activated his cloaking systems he began maneuvering around the small village until he was able to get a sight on the top of the building. The Drakairis woman had saved Rho-Hux a lot of trouble, her fire was surely distracting the shooters and might possibly be tweaking the building. However, he had to make sure his bomb didn't touch the flames. Once he was on the roof of the enemy building he scaled the oblong-shaped roof until he was on top of it. He carefully taped the grenade to the roof before setting off the device. Once it was activated he retreated and didn't dare look back. He had seen these grenades blow up tanks and heavily armored fortresses. Surely this hut made out of scrap metal and wood would offer little protection for them.

As he fled the building he counted down the seconds until the grenade exploded.
 
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Jiāo'ào de zuìguo
As she followed the group she was entranced by her thoughts on the situation that they are all in and most especially, she was thinking about crimson because what she possessed is very important and she knows after this. Everyone will go back and take things that they shouldn't and that made her a little pissed off at how everyone might be great at acting she she wouldn't accept a sorry if that happened

Her thoughts were put away when she heard a gunfire ‘oh shit’ she thought as she stumbled on holding onto her Twin pistol before she quickly grabbed it and pointed it to whoever was shooting when suddenly someone threw a sleeping gas in the building. She turn around to see who it was but she didn't manage to caught a glimpse or even a clue and that made her alerted in thoughts as she walk into the trees to look who ever throw the thing in the building and weather it was a friend or a foe

@Rads
 
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Marjan had been quietly watching the ensuing chaos grow. The organic material of his armor allowed the slow and steady movements of his breath to be seen. Jumping into the fray, firing shot after shot, until the enemy was down. That was not the way of the Carnazir and it would not become the way. However, he recognized that the enemy shot first and an attack is an attack. Marjan, now fully donning his armor, did not need to tap his earpiece to access his communications and with a simple thought he was radioing his team.

{Carnazir units. Follow me. The ASR and PCL are going to bring that building toppling down with their firepower. Judging by your current loadouts we would do little, but waste ammo. We'll utilize guirella tactics and wound whoever comes out of that building.}

Marjan then looked out at the battle and saw Rho-Hux follow through with his plans and he shook his head. Then at the same time his gaze turned to focus on the other structures around the small shipping container currently being bombarded with munitions meant for a tank. In one structure there was a spike in ether energy. For Marjan it was like particles of ether started to cling to this blob (most likely the person folding over or overlapping themselves in their silhouette) and his brow raised. Across from this figure in the other tent-like structure was something much larger. Marjan studied the silhouette of this beast and figured the only thing that could accomplish a feat like that were the Tarhaidim.

{Scratch that. Two targets identified. There are two other structures around the facility being fired upon. Both look almost like a tent. One has a large--and I mean larger than life large--Tarhaidim mass hiding inside. The other, I don't know what's inside, but I will investigate further. Leave that one to me. The rest of you need to relay the information to the group. That Tarhaidim will rain hell on those unsuspecting PCL and ASR troops...}

Marjan voice began to trail off, but he quickly shook the devilish thoughts in his mind.

{The Tarhaidim will be labeled as such, but as for the unknown mass I will be hunting I will refer to it as The Husk. If you can, show them our Carnazir markings, they may reduce their hostility. Marjan. Over and out.}

Finally. Something normal.


Marjan never knew why, but there was always a sense of peace in him when he was chasing down prey. He hated the thought that the feeling of him running on all fours, chasing down a prey, and finally catching up to him were all pleasures given to him by the bloodlust of his family line. He tried not to focus on it and instead focused on rushing through the brush of the forest. Marjan was fast and covered the distance between him and the tent rather quickly.

As he slid to a stop he slid the biggest fuck you of all his arsenal out of its place on his left leg: The hand-cannon with absurd penetrating power. Marjan then aimed at what he assumed to be a foot and shot at it through the walls of the tent. Next he'd roll a canister of his spore gas into the structure before walking in with his gun at the ready.

"I really wouldn't do anything rashhhhh. I don't even need to shhhhoot in your direction and it will be a very bad day for you." Marjan said as he approached the entrance.

@steinOS @Elusive Thorns @Damnation's Hunger
 
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Crimson's eyes remained vigilant as she trudged along the beaten path overlooking a small outpost. The technology that whirred all throughout the base gave her hacker mind a feeling of ecstasy. The thought of breaking into the various databases and looting them for anything they had presented itself as a fun task while the group took pause to survey for any intelligent life.

Crimson found a nice seat near the base of a shady tree and activated her autonomous system. Looking past the various blues and greens of her overlay and out at the base she looked for a target before locking onto the odd tree. The half-hidden wires and metallic texture of some of its foliage intrigued Crimson.

"Good enough for a start I guess." Crimson said softly to herself.

Her gaze became fixed on her computer overlay as she fiddled in the air to bring down a keyboard. Peacefully, she typed away as the group chit-chat among themselves. Most of the Carnazir seemed as equally uninterested in getting involved with the base as she, but without any orders to go off of it seemed hacking into the base was the next best thing to do. However, it didn't take long before shooting commenced.

KRACK!

Like lightning, a piece of metal lodged itself into the giant mech, Crimson cursed as she scrambled to her feet and ducked behind her tree for cover.

"What in the actual fuck did you people do!" Crimson shouted out.

The PCL and ASR sure didn't waste time returning fire, but as for the Carnazir it seemed most of them were standing by. Crimson looked around for Dead Eye to make sure she was safe before turning to respond to Stein.

"Should we help them?", Stein asked the rest of the Carnazir team in a tranquil tone without taking his eyes off of the action.

"I don't know. Above my paygrade to care really." Crimson muttered as she shut her computer off. "I'm more interested in stealing whatever data I can from..." Crimson paused. She remained behind the cover of the tree, but it was painfully obvious she was thinking. The tree she was trying to hack she actually didn't know what it was or what to call it other than a tree. "The tree. Fuck that sounds crazy."

It was then that the order from Marjan came out and Crimson chimed in.

{Roger that. I'll send out a warning ping.}

It was a simple task. Short range comms and several people focused on other activities. There was little resistance to worry about to say the least. However, Crimson took it a step further and any interface she could access she placed a visible ping on the location Marjan described. Her voice then boomed through their various communication devices.

{Attention all fuck faces. Marjan has identified a very large mass hidden in the disclosed location. He emphasized the sheer size of this beast and claimed it may be Tarhaidim. Do what you will. Crimson. Over and out.}

Crimson then stood up and faced Stein. "He said we should show them our Carnazir markings, but, and this is just me, if I had a bunch of idiots shooting me then I wouldn't care who the fuck you are. I'm going to kick your shit in. But, I'll try it regardless. Real question is how do we do it without getting shot..." Her gaze remained on Stein as she sized him up. "Are you bullet proof?"

@Damnation's Hunger @steinOS @everyone
 
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The android watched Marjan take off, then turning his head to Crimson after she began talking to him. Beginning as mostly a motionless stare, it turned into a brief nod to acknowledge her general line of thinking when it came to be under fire; though her final question brought the faintest of smirks onto his face. “Only on Thursdays.”, he commented rhetorically, the expression disappearing as quickly as it came. “Ballistic weaponry is substantially less effective against me than an organic, however.”

Stein also received Crimson’s transmission, the location of the large target being marked by an icon in his vision. Keeping it at a distance might have been the appropriate way to proceed; it was uncertain whether the presentation of Carnazir markings would have any effect. “Showing allegiance may be a futile effort.”, Stein mentioned as he moved a little closer to the scene, crouching to get a good look at the situation with the building, the tree and the alleged Tarhaidim hidey hole. “I could don a League or Solar trooper’s armour and conduct fake flag operations. It is easy to pretend to be someone you’re not. Suspicions of that could ruin said plan; though I suppose we have nothing to lose. Taking them alive could be our best opportunity to obtain valuable information from this site.”

His irises flickered as he followed through on the short wave communication channel to the entrenched parties. “Reload and hold your fire. We will attempt a diplomatic resolution.”

@ShiroKiyoshi
 

Dalia unleashed a torrent of burning plasma that began to melt through the metal of the building and swamping it in a smoke that began to blur the infrared targeting of both the soldier inside and those outside. It was a makeshift smokescreen and a structural attack, sending up a foul cloud of melting metal and igniting the camo-netting as the entire building began to become engulfed in a blanket of flames.

The spike rifle did not get another chance to fire before a storm of high explosive rounds, anti-infantry frangible bullets, a sleep grenade, and a blizzard hail of minigun rounds rammed into the building. Smoke billowed outwards as flame and light erupted behind them and a massive hole was blown into the wall of the structure. A few rounds spewed out; wildly aimed bullets, spraying at the overwhelming onslaught but before any substantial fire could be laid down, an explosion tore open the roof.

Grenades were typically not used for demolitions but these ones were a special kind of heavy duty, trading in fragmentation capability for raw force. In less than the blink of an eye the roof was scourged open by a sun-coloured blast, the concussive force not only scalping the structure but sending out a wave of force that crashed through its melting walls, smacking into Dalia and sending the structure crumbling to the ground as what remained of its roof and walls crumbled onto its remaining inhabitants. Burning metal and camo-netting were flung outwards around the base and into the surrounding foliage.

----------


However, the battle was not merely concentrated on the largest structure. Off to the side, a guttural noise sucking inwards like a vacuum cleaner in a swamp gurgled out from behind a door of hardened metal-laced lichen. Limping on one leg and writhing with the rest of its body, a tarrhaidim etherealist in camo-pattern fatigues and hardened fungal-synth ballistic plating grabbed at his leg, squirming on the ground as his free arm pulled himself away.

A notable insignia could be seen on his shoulder padding and a small flag hanging from a wall, above the scattered cutlery and miscellaneous survival supplies he’d knocked over as he stumbled. Two dark purple triangles flipped to their sides, top points overlapping and ran through from tip to bottom by a pair of dark green spears. Framed at their topmost corners of both triangles were three ovular purple eyes each bearing a cold and piercing red, bridging towards the corner of the opposing triangle with a gap in their middle occupied to the mask-like silhouette of some hawk-like creature’s ravenous maw.

It was the symbol of the original Caracosan regime, the one that had been torn apart by the years of civil unrest it had formented knowingly and unknowingly in its long rule before the Carnazir had ripped out the pride of its once proud and majestic armies as whole battalions defected in a manner of months. Gutted and scattered by the ensuing chaos or hungrily consumed and absorbed into the various conflicting forces, the remaining loyalists were not any less dangerous. While they lacked the logistics, structure, and numbers to match the Assembly, Carnazir, and League aligned forces on Caracosa, they made up for it in excellent training and tactics backed up by an impressive vitriol for those who had descended as vultures to their sacred soils.

As an example of this contempt, even as the etherealists finger’s frothed with his fungoid skin twitching and peeling like as if the orange spores burning into his flesh were flames, he only tightened his grip on his rifle, its butt stabilized against his body.

FOUL VOMITED SPAWN OF A THOUSAND WHORE WOMBS! BORN OF SCAVENGER DESCENT, BE CONDEMNED TO ROTTED SOILS! His voice gurgled from a chasm deep in the strange tongue of the tarrhaidim as he pulled the trigger and wildly sprayed at the direction of Marjan.

----------

Outside the battle had entered another phase as a series of *SSSSHHRIP!* sounds emerged from one of the large tent-like structures. A flurry of black bolts flew skywards as the strange machine tree began to sway and twitch, its leaves spreading outwards. Reddish circles of pigmentation formed on their centres, a few shrivelling as some of the flaming debris landed upon it.

They did little to stop it as a wave of electrical interference was emitted outwards towards the mixed-faction intrusion. Most electronics not properly hardened would be washed with static and momentarily frozen in their functions, blurring HUD’s with static and muting communications or even sending targeting software haywire, registering even branches and stone as hostile.

Yet for those who had more advanced systems, this was not a mere disruptive strategy. Markers had been placed on Rho-Hux and his PCL troopers as well as Hidalgo, Heidon, Vaygus, and Karnix. The black blurs in the sky paused for a sharp second and darted forwards; little ovular projectiles trailing lengthy flagellum-like tails, undulating rapidly as they twisted through the air and into the forest. Swooping above their targets, nano-chemical reactions would react within their bodies before they erupted into chemical flame and wood-shredding force.

With the electronics disrupted, foul smoke, and flaming debris falling about it was difficult to tell who was hit and who was unscathed. Another series of projectiles were launched from the now open roof yet they hesitated, shrouded in the leaves of the upper forest level above the area where the majority of hostiles were located. Something had disrupted the tree’s targeting systems as its leaves began to curl and its arms pull and stretch. While it was not a very large tree, being rather thin bodied and its branches skinny, it looked positively menacing as its green and red flared into an orange and vibrant mix of blue and red.

Crimson’s own data-streams blurred and did what could be vaguely described as bending; the miniscule equations that comprised every tiny bit of information and processing power changed at the most miniscule level; new equations that defied logic and calculations of cryptic raw data not meant to be analysed by her software yet somehow deciphered and decoded itself. A new channel had been opened, one filled with screeching, scrying, prying tendrils belonging to the alien presence she’d unknowingly captured in her data-storage.

The perverse force reached out, whispering currents of unearthly power translated into digital disinformation, and the tree shuddered and its limbs contracted, splintering and cracking as its hidden endoskeletal cybernetic array began to creak under pressure. Something perverse and not of this world or plane had touched it and the semi-sentience it had been gifted was gripped by a primal, alien fear.

Realizing their means of indirect attack were stalled, the forces within the biotech structure knew it was time for a more direct approach. Karnix’s hellhammer rifle had zeroed in on the hidden projectiles, his many eyes detecting the subtle movements in the leaves, and fired a volley of rounds. The upper curtain of leaves erupted into yellow-green flame, momentarily obscuring the sensors of the old regime forces exiting the structure. Four loyalist troopers emerged; two from each of its doors, firing quick bursts of solid rounds beneath the haze of small ash-like particles descending from the explosion, barely dodging return fire and falling into cover behind the other biostructure.

They were unaware with all the noise and confusion that their own etherealist was engaged in combat with the aixue beast; a creature specialized in hunting down their kind. Moving around the corner, two settled behind the wreckage of the metallic oblong structure, another two remaining behind the biostructure (the one in which Marjan and the etherealist were battling), and began a staccato series of machine gun fire and rifle bursts, attempting to force those who had been mostly firing on the collapsed shipping crate like structure behind cover or six feet under.

One more emerged as the entire wall of the biostructure they emerged from peeled open like a pair of splitting, desiccated lips, sticky threads of fibrous substance snapping before the enormous shape that lumbered out of it. At 13 feet tall, the creature’s full height was not clear until it walked out from behind the structure, stomping forth on thick pillar like legs arranged in digitrade by integrated swivelling joints, connected to a broad and densely armoured body with its front slanted like the armour of a tank. It was almost akin to the skull of some wild beast in shape with its notable width. Where there would be fur or one would expect flesh however was something else.

It was a tarrhaidim gestalt biomech, made of a living mass of combined biomatter from somewhere between four and 10 different bodies. A mixture of mottled light green and grey-brown with a sort of gangrenous, fleshy semi-hardened matter covered its body and out of which could be seen dense grey armoured plating scarred and blast-marked, attached to its towering body. Beneath its broad “shoulders” emerged a downwards slope, partially tapering to a reinforced bulkhead with a number of green dome-like eyes. Across its top was a series of boxy cuboid appendages lined with veins and partially held in place by red pulsing veins, sliding in their bioslots as black tadpole like forms wriggled within. It had two smaller arms like brown metallic cylinders connected by a mixture of false muscle and ball joints near the sides of its sloped head, likely for finer manipulation.

Off to the sides however were its weapons. Both were integrated into trunk-like arms with heavy cybernetics and gears woven through it, integrated into the very transmogrified fungoid biomass itself. One ended in a quartet of heavy machine gun barrels with notable braces, framed in cages of criss-crossed metal enveloped in hardened growths locking them in place. The other appeared to have been root-like fingers hardened and shaped into curving sickle-like steel-grey claws, arranged in a square formation with a series of fang-like prongs emerging from its palm, cackling with electricity.

This is a general idea of its bodily structure.

the_fiddler_by_flyingdebris-d345p45.jpg

Raising it’s quad-linked automatic weaponry, the enormous bioweapon laid down a massive barrage of fire, each machine gun firing separately and sending large armour-piercing slugs in a widening cone of raking fire. Trees were bisected, rock formations having their tops shorn off, and karnix would stagger backwards as a flurry of rounds slammed into his body, causing him to stumble backwards.

“WHAT REVOLTING UNITY IS THIS? THE TRAITOR-SPAWN OF THE CARNAZIR WHO GROW FAT ON OUR MISERY!” *BLAM BLAM BLAM!* It fired a synchronized burst, almost louder than its digitally filtered flanging voice. It had aimed at Jiao, tearing through two already partially annihilated trees as the rounds flew before changing its targets.

“THE SNIVELLING SOLARIANS WHO FED THEIR REVOLUTION WITH MASS EXTERMINATION-” His weapon swivelled to a different target as targeting lasers, sweeping the battlefield until stopping on Dalia. Another vicious quad-barrel barrage.

“AND THE CELESTIALS WHO OFFER PROGRESS IF WE BEND OUR PRIDE AND CHILDREN TO A GILDED BOOT?” Unseen to normal sight, hidden beams of ethereal energy swept over the battlefield, focusing on Rho-Hux as it attempted to lock onto the vicious commando, firing another burst his way.

A round of shrieks and cheers emerged from its allies; two humans, two tarrhaidim. Well maintained armour a drab grey and green, somewhat dated older generation rifles and machine guns, and a rigid fire discipline far from that of a backwater militia. They only seemed further incensed and enraged, a human grabbing what appeared to be a disc-like object and slamming it into a circular slot on his rifle. The next thing they knew, rounds jacketed with vile purple energies flew from his rifle, spraying them towards the PCL trooper in vicious suppressing fire.

“YOUR KIND WILL INHERIT THE GRAVEYARDS OF YOUR OFFSPRING AND THEIR FEAR OF OUR HUNGERING MAW, EVER TEMPTED BY YOUR FEEBLE THROATS!” It gargled, its explosive-flinging launchers rising upwards and attempting to get a lock on multiple targets. If it couldn’t use the tree, it would use its own ether-lasers to target the everyone in front of it, sweeping the unseen targeting beams over them as it gathered data. It was relying on its quad-linked weaponry and its four squad mates to suppress the targets for its forthcoming explosive barrage.
 
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Dalia eyed the large mech. She darted in an inward circle to make its aim that much harder. Her mind noted how it fired and adjusted according to its pattern, finding its back eventually. Bullets grazed her, but she was engaged and the rest of the rounds plinked off her. They were annoying, but certainly not lethal.

Now that was a thing that she wanted to fight. She charged up behind the towering monster of a mech while it seemed to be distracted by everyone else and gripped firmly onto its back with her claws. She meanwhile spat plasma at the thing where she could, aiming for the barrels of the weapons first, then sensory systems, then whatever looked closest to the head itself. "Feed Dalia more than salad, stupid giant tree-bot!"
 
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Keeping her rifle in burst mode, Sarnai put a disciplined field of fire down on the area the shooter seemed to be in, slowly strafing along to stay mobile. She began reducing her fire rate as others showed up and added in their contributions to the fight, stopping entirely once the building exploded and collapsed. Peeking around a giant tree to giver her sensors an unobstructed look on the area, she turned off her active camo to let her battery start recharging, watching as the various factions milled about, the Aixue dashing into the camp and discharging a monster of a pistol a single time towards something. She was about to try and broadcast on an open channel to ask if anyone knew what the markings on this base meant when a burst of scrambling energy overtook her momentarily, forcing her to rapidly reroute power through a number of systems to power cycle other systems and get everything back online.

Seeing a number of black shapes fly towards the ground and explode, she began scanning the skies above her for any incoming munitions, cursing wildly as this assault was followed up by a wave of troopers and a hulking figure bursting out from further inside the small outpost. Quickly removing the partially emptied magazine from her rifle as the massive biomech lumbered forward and began spewing firepower, she watched as the enemy forces took the chance to regroup and get a fighting line in place. Slapping in a magazine of armor piercing rounds, she stored the rifle on her leg and pulled her rail gun into her hands, plugging it into the reactor core.

Peeking around the tree again she chuckled darkly as she saw the Drakaris woman had already begun climbing on top of the biomech. "Fuck me, but I am starting to like that one's attitude." she muttered to herself as her targeting systems began identifying a number of possible weak points on the mass of armored flesh and weaponry. Waiting for it to start turning towards her, she charged up the coils and waited patiently for the sensor cluster on the front to be exposed before firing grinning to herself at the thick, whining scream of air being displaced by the hypersonic projectile.

Ducking behind her tree cover, Sarnai quickly pulled open the material chamber and pulled another super dense metal round out, slotting it in place as the coils began recharging, popping out to try and launch another round towards the weapon systems of the monster rampaging across the camp.
 
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Pausing to see matters aggressively escalating without much warning, Stein didn’t even have time to leave the common communication channel. Diplomacy is cancelled. “…Belay that.”, he concluded, moments before the pulse shockwave came from the convulsing tree. His jumpsuit was a reactive semiconductor by nature, blocking out the immediate blast from entering his body; polymer composite skin insulating against the trace energy. Stein’s eyes were open however, exposed to the EMP - though not rendered blind, his AR interface and target tracking was scrambled. His palm pressed against his forehead briefly.

|Diagnostic… … … |Abnormal current detected in; Cortex |Cortex; Status: Stable |Running checksums… … … |Software instability detected in; module_045x$tsi%Ge5St |Finding compatible hash; hash found |Reconfiguring; module_045x$tsi%Ge5St |Remaining; 00:06:00

A machine gun round wildly screeched past behind Stein’s head, causing some of his hair to flick from the following turbulence. The rest pelted the area ahead, leading to a flurry of splinters from the trees. Eyes gazed to the side where the biomech was displaying its frenzy, but it couldn’t be seen. The fire was spreading through the immediate area, burning synthetic materials into a putrid smog which mixed with wood smoke; a curtain had risen, it was time to perform. The android activated thermal imaging to get a greater bearing on who was where, toning the observable temperature to a range below 70°C (158°F) to remove the flames from the equation. Picking up a medium sized rock next to him, he moved forward into the smoke without much more forethought. The biomech being distracted was a chance to exploit.

Stein’s own heat signature aligned with the colder tone of the ground, blending into the smoke without any highlights, hair gradually adopting a dirtier tone from the floating particulates. His walk could only be described as decisive as he circumvented the kill zone, around to the troopers he could see. Refraining from immediately approaching the Tarhaidim, the android singled out the human on the periphery of the cheering group where the biomech would not lay fire. The one putting down suppression against the PCL. Swerving through the plume, Stein tossed the rock up and over along a pre-calculated trajectory - but he missed the human trooper. Instead, the rock fell vertically off to the soldier’s flank, pounding down onto the ground and causing dust to rise.

The goal was to spook the human, provoke a fear of having an exposed flank from which a potential enemy was approaching and cause them to raise their weapon in that direction. But now the ‘flank’ was different, and the real ashen predator was already within arms reach.

Before a word could be uttered, a black blade thrusted into the gap in the armour of the inside elbow, a swift merciless jerk crunching the ulna of the human’s weapon hand out of its socket, permanently. Stein’s blade arm moved forward, the bloodied edge retracting back into his forearm so his hand could grasp the loyalist’s gun and yank it from their pained grasp. The android left no room to breathe as his other arm shot forward, the dull glint of another blade faintly visible to the eye as it aimed for another gap in the armour - this time at the joint of the trooper’s gut.

If the blade managed it’s task to bury itself in the soldier, Stein would use the strength of his arm and shoulder to lean lower and barge forward with the trooper; carrying them as a body shield to draw their teammate's fire. The weapon he took from the trooper would promptly make its way against the soldier's ribs, the purple coated clip being accurately used against the Tarhaidim infantry from the other side of the onslaught.
 
Hidalgo is hiding behind the tree, his so-called spider-sense is going off the bloody chain before he could attack again, explosions ripped the tree he was hiding behind, the sound of gunfire and so much more could be heard on the battlefield. He manages to get his medium power shield up just in time so he wouldn't get any vitals hit, he had some light scraps across his face and along his shoulders but nothing fatal. He's thrown back into the bushes and is knocked on his ass now in a concussed state in a bush somewhere. While he couldn't think like he normally would be able to and his body a little out of whack. He lays in the bush and his inner spirit is screaming' I'm going to kill you pieces of crap in ways you had long forgotten and yes it will be ugly and yes I'm going to enjoy and no I don't feel bad your the dumbasses that awoke the beast within me so now become its meal'. Even in this state, he has just enough thinking and body movement to play dead until he recovers. He lays there pretending to be asleep hoping he would be left alone till he recovers.
 
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"The mech is the primary target! Yuri I need you to focus on its joints!" Rho-Hux roared and he threw himself through the window of one of the abandoned houses. The shrapnel from the enemy's explosive devices shattered what remained of the window and stone. Had he not used his grapple gun to enter the house when he did we would have been torn to shreds. Bits of grass, rock, and explosive shells torn into his legs and one of his arms. It was a good thing he took some tape for his bomb, now all he needed to do was find something made out of cloth and he could make a makeshift bandage for himself until he could get proper medical aid. As he dragged himself through the house he counted to give orders in between hissing in pain. He kept his main gun steady and armed.

"Vaygus, Heidon, if you're still alive take cover and try to eliminate the mech's legs. Troopers fall back, take cover, and target anyone supporting that hunk of scrap metal. Watch out for those tracking missiles, if it fires them again shot them down and find something sturdy."
 
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Vaygus and Heidon took cover as the machine revealed itself. And as they saw its fire power it was impressive. Though the reports from the major was sound enough. Vaygus climbed up a tree that he judged sturdy enough. And perched on it aiming his glaive. The heavy explosive shells could do their work on weak points if spotted and placed there. Aiming he prayed closing his eyes then opened them. The sacred texts hanging from his hood made no hindrance to his eyes as the shots range out. Two more rounds then he reloaded. Doing so as quickly as he could he fired four more. The first two aiming for the left leg. The third joining the pair and the next three attacking the right leg.

Heidon never saw his master but knew when he had attacked. The barking shells of his glaive were distinct. He took a moment to reload having carried more than enough shells for a serious engagement. Once the heavy weapon was brought to aim at the mech he fired. This time he did not spray the machine. Rather he wanted controlled bursts. Sending the shells also at the joints. Following the explosive shells to their mark. To others it possibly looked like he took cover. Or saw the attack coming. In truth Heidon looked and had stumbled to his left to another suitable area. Only to notice his cover he previously inhabited exploding under sustained fire. Shaking his head Heidon got back in the fight keeping a better eye on the target's weapons.
 
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