Breaking Point

[NorikSigma]

IC: "Oh, THAT situation," Maya smiled, somewhat embarrassed at even having to ask the question. "I'm sorry, Nobody tells me much. I've spent the last week either sharing the barracks with a bunch of recruits or workin on my mech. I haven't exactly been briefed on what's going on. The other recruits know as much as I do, sometimes even less. And while I'm still seen as not ready nobody's felt the need to keep me posted on anything."

 

IC: Hassan

 

"Well, I assume the higher-ups are still scrambling to work out plans, so there aren't any plans to share with us yet. I dunno, I'm just a lowly Corp'ral."

[Atton Rand]

IC: "And I'm just a soldier. I go where they tell me to go. I shoot when they tell me to shoot."

 

Maya paused.

 

"I suppose I should introduce myself. "Private Logan."

[NorikSigma]

IC: "And I'm just a soldier. I go where they tell me to go. I shoot when they tell me to shoot."

 

Maya paused.

 

"I suppose I should introduce myself. "Private Logan."

IC: Hassan

 

"Ah, excuse my manners."

 

Hassan stopped with the meat and washed his hands.

 

"Hassan bin Ahmad, Lance Corporal of the Walker Corps," he said, offering his hand.

[Atton Rand]

IC: Maya looked at the hand stretched out in front of her. Reluctantly, she reached out, gripping it firmly.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Hassan

 

"So what's your thoughts on the war?"

[Atton Rand]

IC: "I don't know much other than whatever scraps of information got spread through rumour, but as long as I get to bust something I don't really care who we're fighting."

 

OOC: Would it be possible at all to get a basic overview of the war, at least enough that I can get some context for what's going on? 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Atton Rand

[NorikSigma]

OOC: The Ark Union, a political and economic alliance of space colonies and settlements on Mars, launched a surprise attack on Earth Federation bases after decades of increasingly worsening tensions(due to the Ark Union employing outlawed technology as a matter of necessity), most importantly seizing or causing the destruction of all of Earth's mass drivers except for the one in Horizon thanks to the players. It's been a week since then.

 

IC: Hassan

 

"Huh, I'd have thought the modern soldier gave more thought to why they fight."

[Atton Rand]

 

IC: "It runs in my family. My grandmother and father both served in the marines. I was in the corps myself only nobody seemed to have a use for us anymore. That's why I transferred to walker duty."

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

" ...." I muttered, frantically running my hands over the controls.

 

Having backed up after deploying the shield, I was able to put a few shots into the enemy Walker as it soared over me, yanking left on the joy stick.

 

The blade of the other Walker hit metal, but I'd managed to turn enough to try and intercept with Miss Direction's left arm.

 

It half worked. The blade jammed itself deep into my left shoulder, the reinforced joint barely managing to stop the vibroblade.

 

'Left arm: non-responsive' the computer informed me.

 

"I know!" I snapped back, trying to put enough distance between me and the Warrior to return fire.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Strider!

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"The one with the railgun-handed Warrior?" The German queried without turning any attention away from his work. Vernichten had taken no damage during the battle, and not even any dents that he hadn't already fixed, but the war made for a pressing need to refine. Any edge he could get would be well worth it. "Haven't spoken with her. Her machine is interesting, though I haven't had a chance to examine any specs in detail."

"What are yours?"

IC:

The Far East Brigade pilot registered two things at once. Firstly, and to her great satisfaction, her blade had cut through The Boom's head and deep into its torso. The way it slumped, all control severed, indicated that it was finished. Secondly, to much her irritation, was the impact of a handful of armor-piercing rounds to Ronin's back. The alarms blared, flashing red lights informing her in no uncertain terms of what had happened. She was still in the fight, neither the reactor nor her cockpit had been breached, but the attack had struck some of her primary thrusters. She wouldn't be moving as quickly.

 

The rational piece of her lauded her assailant's practicality. The rest cursed her as a coward.

 

Both were in complete agreement as to what came next. Ronin yanked its blade free from the husk before it and pivoted in place, bringing its shield to bear. It had taken damage while closing to range with The Boom, but it was still serviceable for now. Rather than permit her attacker to get comfortable, Ayane responded with a round from the Naginata system on her shoulder aimed towards where she estimated the Gallia's trajectory would take it and a brief burst from her rifle.

 

"Yes," The Japanese pilot answered Fairuza's question for Lauren with an undercurrent of frenetic steel to her voice. "I am. With luck it shall not be the last Ronin's blade reached today."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

Pulling the blade out to a shower of sparks, Natalie punched the thrusters and surged forward to grab the Miss Direction's remaining usable arm with one hand, using the other hand to swing the sword down on it. With the added speed and the other pilot unable to backpedal beyond a certain speed, she swas sure to catch him.

 

IC: Hassan

 

"Oh? And how did you find the transition?" Sizzling in one corner, the last pieces of chicken were closing to perfection...

[Atton Rand]

IC: "Dull. They never had anything useful for us to do in the marines, and when I was given the offer to transfer I was hoping there'd be some action. So far, nothing. I need to get out there."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Hassan

 

"I'd say that the Marines do important work for the Federation, but I guess it's been a while since they've been needed.

 

"Until now. In fact, if you're looking for action, I'm sure we'll see some soon, foot slogger or mech jockey."

 

The chicken started to char as the Levantine stared out the window.

 

"And I'm not too excited about the prospect."

[Atton Rand]

 

"Yeah. These days it's the mechs that get all the fun."

 

Maya paused. "Your chicken's burning," she muttered.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

They had me, but I had them, too.

 

I pulled the remaining arm in, the grab reaching my rifle instead, and so too the sword.

 

Their mistake however, was clear to me, as I launched six missiles at point blank.

[sunflower]

IC: Marcus

 

A barrage of weapons fire lanced out from the sky, cutting through the trio of missiles before they could reach their target, though Luna was far too focused on the task at hand for the confusion of those being targeted rather than her to set in completely. Her sideways momentum still augmented by the Gallia's thrusters, Luna squeezed off another burst from her rifle before the high-speed strafe pushed her across and behind the opposite building flanking the intersection, just as the ornate warrior turned to return fire. The side of said building quite literally exploded less than a second later, as a burst of rounds shattered its face, before a high velocity projectile finished the job.

 

It was then that it registered for her, and Luna responded almost sheepishly as she made sense of the peculiar attack on her munitions, "Oh, uh, sorry, my bad."

 

Another strafing run of rotary fire appeared in her line of sight, and the near-vertical plumes of vaporized roadway left little question as to what they were tracing a line towards. Luna punched her controls to the side, hard, and braced herself for the stomach-wrenching sensation that followed that command. It took her arm fully extending outward before she realized her mistake, and pulled back as quickly as she had shoved them across the cockpit eyes snapping wide and expletive rolling off her tongue. The Gallia was quick to respond, but she had been too slow herself to recognize what was going on, and what angle the attack was originating from. Too late; a line of impacts stitched their way across the armor protecting the top of her Walker's left shoulder before her hasty maneuver had taken effect.

 

It was, thankfully, the worst of it. The second push from the thrusters had eaten up most of her forward momentum, causing her to just shoot to the side violently rather than the slight diagonal she had intended at first. To the side, and up against the street-facing side of another building, and then through it. The building was far more intact than the first structure she had sent the Experimental Walker through, but she was forced deep enough to provide cover to stop the rest of the barrage from straight above, and to give her a moment to designate a second target for her missiles. Masonry and glass peppered her Walker's armor, the sound not unlike hail hitting a window.

 

Two distinct waves of warheads launched; the first set of three arcing up to meet the Munequita in the Raptor's full-on dive to catch the machine before it had a chance to pull out of it, the missiles spreading out and splitting into the swarm from which they received their name to prevent an easy neutralization. The second cutting off to the side and back where Luna had just sprinted full-tilt from, in the hopes of hitting Ronin with another attack.

 

Only then did Luna begin to move again, accelerating to full speed to circle back around, this time being sure to keep tabs on the Raptor's progress. So maybe it took seeing the maneuver twice for her to get it into her head that it was something to watch out for, but better late than never, right?

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

The Valkyrie had proven her worth in battle dozens of times, shrugging off pounding attacks for extended periods of time in heated battle.

 

But six missiles at point-blank were something else.

 

Natalie could only pray the Mech had not blown up as she followed through with the now useless swing, exposing her right profile to the missiles as opposed to the frontage of the Valkyrie. Sim competition or no, the wrench of terror that twisted her gut was real enough as she envisioned the missiles penetrating the armour, detonating inside and causing the core of the Mech to go critical...

 

"Yaaaargh!" Adrenaline pumped into her veins as three of the six missiles struck the Valkyrie. She could faintly hear the armour integrity alarms blare in her ears, but her mind was now filled with too many bad memories, flooding into her mind to take notice of the annoying alarm.

 

No, not now, don't let the memories take hold-

 

Too late.

 

With a cry of rage and anguish, Natalie boosted again, slamming the ruined shoulder and arm into the Miss Direction at full speed.

 

And kept going.

 

The engines sounded alarms and her cockpit monitors started to crack, but her vision was too blurred, too tinged in red, to elicit a response.

 

Slamming the Miss Direction into a nearby warehouse, Natalie slashed down, again and again, vibroblade on full charge, the kaleidoscope of colour formed by the energised blade blinding her, shorting out any component if it touched them.

 

And on and on the blows fell.

 

 

IC: Hassan

 

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Memories."

 

The chicken was taken out and deposited on a plate. Peanut sauce drizzled onto it. Skewers produced and pushed into the meat, separated by the vegetables he'd need cooking to the side.

 

"Kamal. I wanted to wrap it in that Italian pita bread, but no such luck."

 

Hassan took one of the kebabs and ate it.

[25K Now!]

IC: Christoph Lockheed

 

"She needs better missiles."

[The UltimoScorp]

ooc: auto hit?

 

IC Alex:

 

Toppling over unexpectedly sent a wave of nausea through me, but my attention was grabbed by the barely holding together Warrior currently beating on Miss Direction.

 

Some fuzzy part of my mind noted that it was hardly any way to treat a lady.

 

The other's strikes were sloppy, edge alignment all but nonexistent. Three hits she managed before I managed to position my rifle(functioning, but much shorter now) up against her Warrior's chest, and pulled the trigger.

 

One glanced away, leaving a ragged gash in the armored chest of Miss Direction's armor.

 

The second managed to dig into one of the missile tubes, and I felt a slight rocking as one of the missiles went off. "Dump missile ammo!" I shouted, the computer responding sluggishly, but obeying my verbal command, and relaying damage reports. 'Left torso: Critical damage.'

 

The third, like the first, had bad edge alignment, but tore a chunk out of the head of my Walker.

 

IC Maigo:

 

Her only response was a frown, and pushing from a slow walk into a run

[NorikSigma]

OOC: Oops, sorry, got a bit carried away xP

 

IC: Natalie

 

The rifle aimed up, and Natalie didn't have time to think as it blasted away, riping into the chest armor.

 

Thrown aginst her straps, Natalie knew that the point-blank shots would destroy the chest soon. Shaking the dizziness away, she hurriedly yanked the controls to the left, stashing the sword at her hip and pushed the remaining Miss Direction arm inward, attempting to wrest the gun away by grabbing the barrel, twisting it inwards. At the same time she activated the boosters and shoulder slammed the enemy mech.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Norik Apple Juice

[Atton Rand]

IC: Maya approached the plate and grabbed one of the kebabs, taking a mouthful of chicken. 

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Good" --chomp-- "chicken, Hassan," Gwen said, tearing into the kebab with a viciousness that only an overworked engineer can muster. "Really good!"

 

-Void

[NorikSigma]

IC: Hassan

 

Hassan beamed. Another satisfied customer.

 

"You're welcome! Have another if you want. It's not every day I get to give away free kebabs.

 

"So what about you, Gwen? What do you think 'bout the war?"

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

How resilient was that thing?! I resisted as best I could, not letting off the trigger, and adding the only other weapon I had: the 40mm Vulcan miniguns in the head. They spat fire and depleted uranium, chewing into the compromised armor of the enemy Warrior.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

WARNING: Torso Armour Integrity: 32.3%

 

"That's it, then!"

 

Teeth rattling as the Vulcans chewed into her armour, Natalie felt the Miss Direction's rifle crumple under the fingers of the Valkyrie through the feedback sensors.

 

Natalie unstowed her shotgun from the back of her Mech and delivered point blank blasts of hot tungsten alloy into the enemy's head, before proceeding to point it up the exposed side torso portion of the Miss Direction and squeezing the trigger.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

'Machine gun: destroyed. Miniguns: destroyed. Sensors: Critical. Head: Critical damage. Left Torso: destroyed.'

 

The shriek of metal sounded as 15 tons of arm and torso were torn free, falling to the simulated ground. In this time, I'd released my grip on the now useless scrap of metal in the right hand, and sent a giant mechanical right hook at my opponent's head. Static washed over several of my view screens.

 

This fight was getting patently ridiculous.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

"Didn't penetrate cockpit? Wha-"

 

Natalie was cut off by the Miss Direction landing a solid blow into the Valkyrie's head.

 

The screens started to turn to static.

 

"Why you little-"

 

French expletives punctuated Natalie tearing off her now useless right arm and swinging it into the legs of the enemy Mech, hoping to topple it.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

The blow struck, but O'd already been toppled over, and despite taking some damage to my legs, little else happened as I pushed miss direction up and out of the building she'd been slammed into.

 

She must have been quite the sight, numerous scars, visor cracked, the left side all but completely gone, sparks and smoke pouring from her wounds.

 

All I had left were the missiles on the ground, and the three still tubed in the right torso. And the Rail gun a ways behind my opponent.

 

My options were pretty limited, and my Walker was on its last legs as it was.

 

...."Ah, what the , let's try it."

 

'Target lock.'

 

I took a step. Fired one missile.

 

Another step. Another missile.

 

Hand reaching down, scooping.

 

Another step. The final missile.

 

More steps. A charge.

[Constructelf]

IC: Lé Thanh Khiêm

"Might as well watch the kill cam..."

 

And just as Fairuza had done earlier, Khiêm fiddled with a few controls before entering into spectator mode from the POV of the Ronin.

 

"Let's see how you do it, you manic Shiba..."

 

IC: Susan Dreary

It was a shame that she could not participate.

 

Still, being on the sidelines afforded her an opportunity to reflect on her technique. Sometimes, onward reflection was not enough. It was sometimes necessary to compare one's performance to one's betters. Not so much as to put oneself down, but moreso to learn from both their strengths and weaknesses.

 

In any case, Susan turned her eyes toward what she believed could be her new flight leader. The Mune... What? She couldn't remember.

 

"Teaming up with a ground unit; I guess that's simply a tournament strategy. You would only do that in real life if you got separated from your squadron, I suppose."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

Grey orbs staring out from under caramel hair, Natalie grinned, a feral smile that distorted her delicate features. Valkyrie dropped her arm and pulled out her sword. The shotgun might have been safer, but it was clear the other mech would not stop until it was shut down completely.

 

The ruined sensors of the enemy made the first two missiles careen past, easily, dodged, but the last flew dead center.

 

Natalie twisted and the proximity charge detonated, damaging the "wing" thrusters of the Valkyrie.

 

Armour Integrity: 21.1%

 

"Montjoie!" Servos whirring and engines audibly chugging, the Valkyrie charged, sword held forward, aimed dead centre at where the Miss Direction's cockpit would be.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Norik Apple Juice

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

Throw!

 

The missiles from the ground flew out of my hand.

 

They would hit the sword before I did. The electric blade would cook them off for me. The explosion would at best ruin the sword, and at worst throw off the point.

 

Whether I was sure of that or just trying to convince myself remained to be seen.

 

I kept going anyway.

[25K Now!]

IC: October M. Brightbridge

 

Delighted twinkling, akin to the august satisfaction of a blessed mother beholding the initial steps of their flesh and blood.

 

"What direction will you take in life?"

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

The missiles, flung in her general direction, were easily dodged, and the electirc current in the blade wasn't so unrestrained at to cook them off. Nonetheless, one of them hit the Valkyrie's head and almost blew it off. As Natalie's screen quickly started losing resolution and colour, another warning popped up:

 

REACTOR STATUS: FAILING.

 

"That's it then," Natalie resigned herself to the fact that she wasnt going to win the competition after all. But she had gotten back in the cockpit and do some conbat practice, which was al she had aimed for.

 

Warning alarms of the core going critical sounded.

 

"So that's how those warnings sound like..."

 

Stumbling forward, the Walker continued on, tip of the sword barely a few metres from the enemy...

 

OOC: Yeah, the valk is gonna blow, though the miss direction doesn't look in any batter shape

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Alex:

 

'Coolant levels: critical. Reactor meltdown imminent."

 

My eyes widened and I swore aloud. Here I was fighting til my reactor went critical and I had nothing to show for it.

 

But I'd given it my all, and that's really all i came to do, wasn't it?

 

The two titanic Mechs slammed into each other, the blade 'killing' me seconds before Miss Direction's simulated reactor reduced itself to simulated burning radioactive slag.

 

I sat back in the now darkened sim pod, blowing out a breath of frustration.

 

It seemed I still had a lot to learn about Walker piloting.

[NorikSigma]

IC: Natalie

 

The screen went white, the sound of screaming metal blasting into Natalie's ears...

 

All went black. The only sounds in the pod were Natalie's ragged breathing and the computer beeping softly.

 

Simulation End. Analysis: Core Meltdown. Score: Analyzing...[]

 

Natalie sat back, calming her nerves. She had gone over the edge again, the primal roar of battle swamping her thoughts again.

 

She removed her gloves and waited for her breathing to slow.

[Void Emissary]

IC: Hassan

 

Hassan beamed. Another satisfied customer.

 

"You're welcome! Have another if you want. It's not every day I get to give away free kebabs.

 

"So what about you, Gwen? What do you think 'bout the war?"

 

IC:

 

For a while, Gwen just chewed her chicken silently, her eyes turned down.

 

"I think it's a mess," she said, "and I think a lot of people'll be happy if we can find a way to fix it so we aren't left with any more busted mechs."

 

Or busted folks, she thought, the image of a man in a hospital room filling her head.

 

-Void

[NorikSigma]

IC: Hassan

 

"I hope we find that soon, then."

 

They are in silence.

 

"So, Gwen, how did you get around to working on Mechs? You seem to have quite the knack for it," Hassan said, changing the subject.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Nadia White was grinning her off.

 

Luna had been watching her first duel with Fairuza, so no doubt she was paranoid of the exact same death from above that had befallen the quirky Test Team pilot - paranoid enough that at the slightest dip of Munequita's nose, she had fired off a trio of missiles expecting them to meet the Raptor's dive head on. That hadn't been in Lauren's game plan at any point, but it let her know that at least she was in the Gallia pilot's head. That would make all the difference in a fight like this - especially when she was already growing used to the limits of a new machine.

 

Continuing her Raptor's climb, Lauren practically sat back and played the waiting game until all of Luna's missiles had run out of range below her and gone off. Now she had a couple options. She could just spam 100mm rounds from up here mindlessly without fear of reprisal, sure (Nadia would need to have some long talks with Horizon's Walker pilots about the risks of aerial assault...) but that would only leave Marcus more time to focus on Ayane. And though she had no doubt her girlfriend was the superior pilot, Ronin was a far older mech, and Luna's cowardly first strike had dealt her thrusters a pretty big hit. If Luna wasn't kept out of range while Ayane sniped...

 

A-ha.

 

"Heyyyy, Aya!" came the perky transmission from Munequita to Ronin. "Keep an eye on her left shoulder, mmkai? The armor there should be nice and soft for you, thanks to your girl. Just pretend she's Tokyo!"

 

All that left was luring Luna out for a shot. She had watched Gallia fly through an apartment building like a fleeing mistress after a bad tryst, but had yet to see her actually come out the other side. That meant she was either still in the building or was taking cover behind it, much in the way Fairuza had. So, kilometers above the battle taking place, Munequita banked to the left and began scanning for Gallia. Sure enough, Marcus was circling around the back of the building as fast as she could - which Munequita was still more than capable of handling. The Raptor began spitting SUPER HOT HUNNIT MILLIMETER FIYAH directly at the sides and back of the cranial unit from above. If Gallia ran around the sides of the building and gave Ronin a view from the street, she could kiss her left shoulder goodbye. Or she could sit there and let a super-fast tank gun equivalent chew through her new Warrior's sexy little head and take her chances blind, the way Fairuza had.

 

Nadia squeed.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

tOkYo

 

Before she could address the machine that now bore, in her mind, the visage of her nemesis Ayane had to deal with a more immediate problem. The three missiles streaking towards her location were clearly visible from the moment they banked out from behind Luna's cover. No catching the Far East Brigade pilot unaware this time. They hadn't split yet, but she didn't plan to wait for that. Her forward thrusters were severely impaired, but the rest were still fine; it was these that she was relying on. 

 

The Ronin rocketed forward and to the right, rotating to present the smallest target to the missiles and allow for a clean shot. A brief burst from her rifle, directed towards the missiles, destroyed some of the projectiles after they split. More soared harmlessly through the air it had previously occupied, and the small remainder exploded against the battered surface of the Warrior's shield.

 

She really needed to see about getting the Ronin fitted with vulcans.

 

Nevertheless, she hadn't taken any more damage. Her shield was almost useless, but it had served its purpose. The Naginata unit rotated to take aim at the edge of Luna's cover, rifle following suit while she waited. If Luna presented a target, she would be ready. 

 

IC:

"Is that really your only comment?" The German asked, then added after a pause; "It is true, though."
 

[25K Now!]

IC: Christoph Lockheed

 

"She also panicked quite quickly," added the usually quiet pilot. "It was detrimental to her performance."