Clad in Iron

[otter]

IC-Sayf:

 

"Here's to hoping they don't get themselves' killed," Sayf muttered, moving quickly back to his mecha, now that he was done relaying what news he needed to.

 

GM IC-Richard:

 

"I wish," Richard replied. "Still, though, you're the Smythe now, and you know what to do. I want everything you deem important enough relayed directly to me, anything else, send it through the usual channels. Understood?"

 

IC-Ilja:

 

Ilja smiled at the offhanded remark, before rolling his eyes at Jayne's comment to Audrey.

 

"I wonder who'll be replacing Jeremy, now," he said, moreso thinking to himself.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"I hear they have a few fresh pilots coming up. Straight out of the recruitment booths." The German shrugged, leaning against the railing, so he could keep an eye on both Audrey and Ilja. "Cannon fodder, by all counts. Seats that'll probably be filled, and vacant again in a few months time."

Edited March 21, 2013 by The Snark Knight

[sunflower]

IC: Audrey

 

The mechanic made a distasteful face at the mention of that. Though probably for different reasons that the other two people with her. The less experienced those pilots, the more times they got shot up. Which meant more having to repair their mechs for them. Yeah.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"Yup," Ilja replied. "I think another part of it is that they always pick Assault class mechs, though. My mech, however..." the Lithuanian grinned.

 

"It needs to be seen to be believed."

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Doubt it. I haven't seen a mech yet that could surprise me."

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"Well, then, you ought to come see mine," the young pilot suggested with a cheerful smile. "Because this is one of the first that was made, before the war. Used to be my grandfather's."

[sunflower]

IC: Audrey

At the mention of that, the mechanic perked up, paying a lotmore attention to the conversation than she was before. There really was one thing that really interested her, and that was machines. And the fact that this was mech from before the war, well, to say the least, Audrey wanted to take a look at that.

"Really?" She asked, far more causal than what in her head.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"Eeeyup," the nineteen year old replied. "Original model Behemoth, basically set the archetype. It's in Hangar 4, if you all want to see it."

[sunflower]

IC: Audrey

 

"YES."

 

...

 

 

"I mean, uh, yeah, that'd be neat."

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"...Getting a little enthusiastic over an old mech, aren't you?" Ilja asked, laughing slightly. "Whatever. Right, hangar four, follow me..." Quickly stepping out the door, Ilja jogged down the hallway into hanger four, opening that door, and stepping inside.

 

In front of the two beings now inside that hanger was a tall mech, 15 feet high in its tread mode, easily twenty-three feet high with the legs. Each arm ending with a weapon, one with a large machine gun, the other with a huge cannon. Add to that the battle-scarred appearance, each blast proudly displayed, and you had one noble, yet powerful, mecha.

 

"And that, right there, that's the original Behemoth."

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Shamil Nuradilov - Vedeno, Russian Empire)

The rebel group, armed to the teeth, emerged on the Argun-Botlikh road at about 7 AM, two kilometers from the town of Vedeno. The township was the last and final major settlement in southeast Chechnya; further down the road lied only single, solitary farms all the way to Botlikh, a town typically thought of as part of Dagestan rather than Chechnya. The road from there edged through mountain passes to Temir-Khan-Shura and other parts of Dagestan.

 

Vedeno was a small town. There were just over four thousand people there. Nevertheless, throughout history Vedeno was almost universally always the start of any major Chechen insurrection, and also usually its end. It was in Vedeno that the great North Caucasian leader, Imam Shamil, Nuradilov's namesake, led his army against the Russians and fought his last stand in the nineteenth century. It was Vedeno that was usually seen as the most dangerous region in Chechnya, if not in all of Russia. It was Vedeno, Vedeno Gorge, that was the insurmountable mountain stronghold to which the Chechens, throughout history, whenever an enemy sought to wipe them out, always retreated and held for years upon years upon years, raiding their enemies from this powerful strategic location high in the mountains, surviving attempt after attempt after attempt to destroy them.

 

Throughout history, the Chechens fought many enemies, and fought them according to a specific pattern that, with little variation, repeated throughout the ages: first a Northern invader would come and claim the Terek River lowlands, and then the Sunzha plain, driving the Chechens into the mountains. It was in Vedeno, and places like these, that the starving, beset on all fronts, Chechen people would struggle to survive until they would push back north, drive the invader out of their lands and reclaim the fertile lands of the Terek and the Sunzha plains, where their children would again have food to survive on. This was repeated with the Cimmerians, Scythians, Kypchaks, Mongols, and finally the Cossacks.

 

This was not the case with the Russians. The Russian Empire marched into the Caucasus, slaughtering the local population by the millions, deporting hundreds of thousands of innocent peoples from their homelands and colonizing them. The ones that remained were subjected to imperial rule by force. The Tsardom of Russia became the empire of evil, whose yoke was cast upon the innocent lands of the south, whose yoke destroyed entire peoples and cultures, whose yoke deprived the land of all good and truth.

 

Vedeno, in itself, was nothing special, just a mountain village. But to the Chechens, Vedeno was an actual personification of their entire history. It was with this in mind that they approached the town. Quite expectedly, a Russian military patrol came to greet them. Nuradilov counted the patrol. Three mechas, one Behemoth-type, two Warrior-types. Four infantrymen outside them. If there was a fight, the Russians had the upper hand. But would, still, no doubt, lose.

 

"We are friendly," Shamil interceded with his best impression of a Circassian accent, before the Russians could make any attempts to shoot. He, and all of his men, were wearing dark masks. "We are mercenaries hired by his excellence the governor of Terek Oblast to assist in the counterterrorist operation in this region. Ali Prokhorov, at your service."

 

OOC: Anyone want to play these Russian NPCs? Preferably someone important in the Russian faction as a whole?

[otter]

IC-Sayf:

 

And contact was made.

 

Sayf remained rather far back from the group, hidden in a typical sniper's fashion. Looking through his scope he could see Shamil beginning to speak to the group of Russians who had met him, while also taking a look at the mechas nearby. If a fight happened, he would have to get into his mecha just to help get the group out of there...

 

For the moment, though, things were going peacefully. The sniper hoped things would remain that way.

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Identification?" The guards asked, warily. It was rather easy to impersonate someone no one knew; younger soldiers called it the Bavarian Fire Drill. "You should have ben presented with some form of identification."

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Shamil Nuradilov - Vedeno, Russian Empire)

"Musa! Hand him our papers."

 

Last night, the older Chechen was well at work, during his shift, forging identification papers for them. Of course, they would soon be proven false, as all the Russians required was to call HQ in Vladikavkaz and ask whether they knew of an Ali Prokhorov and receive a negative answer. The Chechens, however, had worked out the plan beforehand. To make such a call, the Russian patrol's commander would have to return, briefly, to the military radio in the town's barracks. In that time, the Chechens would reposition themselves more suitably and, as soon as they would notice him disappear from sight, would seize the opportunity and open fire.

 

The elder of the group took a few steps forward, handing in the fake papers as Shamil whispered an obscure, coded, but immensely clear to them command over radio to the other mecha and to the guerillas' radios: "Once the elephant's legs are broken, it can no longer walk."

[25K Now!]

IC:

 

Khudat. A tiny city in the north of Azerbaijan. Although seemingly lacking in any importance, the town was vital if the Russian army wished to successfully continue its invasion, as it was where the Azerbaijian railway ended. If Russia could take the city, then they would be able to transport their men back along the line, giving them a clear route to the capital and allowing for the forces still in Russia to move into the country as well. From there, they would be able to strike out at Xacmaz and Quba, preventing the Turks from taking back the area.

 

However, on the outskirts of town there was a sizeable Ottoman base, with a rather large garrison of approximately 270,000 troops and hundreds of mechs. By the time the Russian carriers had landed, the garrison was already in combat with the invasion's vanguard. Despite the numerical advantage of the Russians, they were already falling back, the advanced war machines of the Turks brutally pushing into the Russian front lines.

 

If victory was to be achieved in these early stages of the war, then the troops that had just been deployed would have to join the battle. The very existence of their invasion would depend upon it.

 

OOC: Canis, as one of the troops deployed on the carrier, you're up!

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: "Understood," Smythe answered, throwing the king a cheery salute, "I'll go tell the missus to pack. I'm sure she'll love going somewhere warm for a change."

[25K Now!]

IC: Sophia

 

"Ah, mechs," said a boisterous voice from behind Jayne. "Pretty little things."

[Canis Lycaon]

IC: Alexander Black

Black ran out of the carrier in his mech as quick as he could, which was still incredibly slowly. He ran out, raising his minigun. The battle was raring right outside the carrier, and Black ran to the side. He saw a small squad of foot soldiers with machine guns, and he smiled.

 

Black started off by firing a missile into the group. It collided, and killed several of the soldiers. Some survived, however, and Black fired his minigun into the crowd, finishing them off. They had scored several shots against him, but his mech was heavily armored, and all that was caused were scratches.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Canis Lupus

[25K Now!]

OOC: Ara ara, Lupus-kun. Mechs aren't capable of taking down entire battalions you know? Maybe Soldier-kun A and Onii-chan Soldier B might die in a barrage, but a small battalion, at minimum, is about 300 soldiers. Pretty sure you're not Xerxes-chan today~

 

At best you might be able to take out, I dunno, a squad and a smaller fire-team? People don't suicidally charge into battalions you know, especially when they most certainly have their own mechs.

 

Turkish mechs.

 

EVEN TASTIER THAN TURKISH DELIGHT WOOOOOOOOO.

 

IC: Turkish Forces

 

It was actually rather surprising, seeing a large Russian mech attempt to charge their battalion in an attempt to take down as many as possible. The tactic had caught them off guard, with them having lost an entire squad and one of their fire-teams, so they would have to stop their enemy's momentum before it tried to wreck more havoc against the rest of the unit. The Colonel quickly pulled back the infantry nearest to the mech, ordering them to fire their rockets against the mech. It was heavily armoured, as shown by the lack of effect conventional machine guns had on it, but an entire barrage of rockets would do a lot of damage, especially when it would be incredibly difficult for it to dodge with its lack of speed.

Edited March 24, 2013 by ZHX

[sunflower]

IC: Audrey

 

The mechanic just kinda stared at the mech for a minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Three and a half.

 

Suddenly, she snapped herself out of it, and glanced over at Ilja. "Impressive, kid, but does it work."

 

There was one thing to be said about having an old mech like this in good shape, and another about having it actually work. Audrey wasn't a fan of just "collector items". What's the point of just looking at something that could be doing something?

[Canis Lycaon]

OOC:Okay, so I really meant a squad. I don't know actual what the actual sizes for groups of soldiers are.

[otter]

OOC: Then hop up and edit, soldier, and then I'll get my compatriot to edit his post.

 

Also, please confine your OOC-only posts to the discussion topic in the future.

 

IC-Ilja:

 

"If you won't believe my word that it can, you can test drive it yourself," Ilja told the mechanic. "Just remember...you break it, you fix it. With the best possible materials, not just duct tape and hot glue."

[25K Now!]

OOC: So about 12 to 13 people yeah? Still, a few of them will be alive, and another squad will come to reinforce, so try and dodge those rockets~

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"If you call a device capable of significant destruction pretty, then yes." Jayne commented, turning around, and descending down the ladder to the ground.

 

"Mind if I ask who you are?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Sophia

 

Sophia smirked, the blonde pilot giving a small bow.

 

"Sophia Friedrich, Luftwaffe."

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Jayne Powers, Anti-Armor Division. Pleased to meet you."

[25K Now!]

IC: Sophia

 

"Powers ... Irish?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Irish father. My mother was German, and I grew up in Germany. So, more German than Irish, but Irish name."

[25K Now!]

IC: Sophia

 

"I fought in Ireland back during the war."

[Krayzikk]

IC:"Oh? That was one front I was never deployed to. I fought in most of the others, but never there. I heard Ireland was rough."

[25K Now!]

IC: Sophia

 

"It was," replied Sophia. "The RAF is pretty tough."

 

---

 

OOC: Because Dovy wanted me and Kray didn't do it, Vedeno here we go.

 

IC: Patrol Leader, Vedeno

 

The guard nodded, taking hold of the papers, before turning to the rest of the patrol. "Keep an eye on them while I go verify these."

 

His second-in-command nodded, carefully watching the supposed mercenaries while the leader went back to the barracks.

Edited March 24, 2013 by ZHX

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Shamil Nuradilov - Vedeno, Russian Empire)

Musa gave Shamil a quizzical look, and Shamil nodded. The older Chechen took a step forward and gave the second-in-command his best impression of a curious look.

 

"Say, boy," he spoke, after examining the marks on the soldier's shoulder, "didn't I see you at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky?"

 

Even if the soldier would have not been wearing the decorations of a veteran of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the bloodiest and last battle of the February War between Russia and China, Musa knew well enough that pretty much every Russian soldier this side of the Pacific Ocean fought in that unfortunate affair. It went on for days and days and days and days, both sides tossing more and more troops, and to make stuff even more confusing, the Japanese joined in, shelling the Kamchatkan city with orbital bombardment. The Russians only managed staving off the two-pronged assault when their Kievan 4th Army had finally arrived. By then, the battle had gone on, without any relent, for thirteen bloody days. The Qing army had forced the Russians halfway into the mountains of Kamchatka and controlled most of the city by the time the Kievans arrived. This counterrattack, supported by the 32nd Artillery Brigade from Yakutsk and by Japanese bombing, forced the Chinese to retreat as they found their invasion of Kamchatka collapsing before their eyes. Japan and Russia agreed on a ceasefire, retreating both their troops from Petropavlovsk, which was left mostly razed.

 

"Yes, sir. Twice decorated for honor, sir."

 

"Good man," Musa said, patting the soldier on the back, subtly placing some small unidentified item on the guy. "I fought under General Pridurak, myself. Poor guy never made it."

 

The older Chechen took a few steps back to his comrades, as Shamil quietly counted to five. One. Two. Three. Four.

 

Five, his mind echoed the explosion that then shook the area, an explosion of small magnitude that did little but throw the soldier off balance. To Shamil, that was more than enough - they now had the element of surprise. Aiming both of his guns at the Behemoth-type mecha, he fired away in sync with all his other comrades except for Musa, who fired his AK-47 at the group's second-in-command, and except for Ali, who, in line with Shamil's orders, lying in the back, brought out his pistol, shot at one of the patrol guards and prepared to use the chaos to sneak into town. Timur, from his Assault-type mecha, armed with a gatling gun and a sword, attacked one of the Russian Warrior-types, slashing wildly at it, and, as it blocked the attacks, changing to firing wildly instead. The remaining two - Khuseyn and Tarkhan - brought out their rocket-propelled grenade launchers and fired a shot at the Behemoth each, after which Tarkhan dropped his straight aside in favor of his AK-47 as he turned to cover Khuseyn from fire by the footsoldiers.

 

OOC: The weaponry of the group is as described. Khuseyn and Tarkhan have AK-47s - Tarkhan's is in his hands, Khuseyn's is on his back. Tarkhan's RPG is now lying on the ground, while Khuseyn's is in his hands (he still has four shots, but that's it). Timur has a mecha, as was described. Ali has a rifle on his back and a revolver in his hands and two grenades behind his belt, Musa has an AK-47 and a revolver. I put this description here for Hubert's convenience.

 

Also, JSYK, everyone: although there was a minor autohit, the soldier not noticing something being placed on his back, it's legit as I have already asked Hubert if he's OK with it.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Eduard Bernstein

[sunflower]

IC: Audrey

 

"Those are the best possible materials," the mechanic replied, smirk only halfway hidden from Ilja's view. She studied the mech for a while longer, her eyes running along it's length, picking up every rivet, every dent, every scratch on the armor. "I'll take you up on that," Audrey said after a moment more, glancing away from the mech and to it's pilot.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

Ilja tossed Audrey the keys to the mech.

 

"Have fun."

 

Breath.

 

"Don't kill anybody."

Edited March 24, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Oh dear."

 

Jayne commented, stepping into the fourth hangar, and raising an eyebrow. "So, I suppose I should prepare to be able to deal with a rogue mech?"

 

He grinned slightly, to show that he was joking.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"Touch my Behemoth with your unholy weaponry and a manner of rage not seen since the days of the War in Heaven shall be thrust upon you. You will be killed with my eyesight, brought back to life after I repent from hearing your screams of pain, and then I will proceed to tear you apart with my teeth."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

 

"...""Do the words "disproportionate retribution" mean anything to you?" Jayne rolled his eyes. "Besides. It was a joke, learn a sense of humor."

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"You obviously don't understand how much most mech pilots like their mechs. It ends up like a brother to you. The thought of it being destroyed is enough to keep many men up at night, afraid to sleep for the thought of nightmares that involve their mechs being destroyed."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"You know, speaking as someone whose job it is to understand the psychology of the mech pilot, I can say with complete certainty that that behavior is neither normal or healthy."

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

"Too boring, didn't hear."

Edited March 25, 2013 by Ilyusha Blokfase