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."

IC: Hassan

"You know, the ongoing war between a world government and her rebellious colonies that started a week ago with the swift and violent seizure of every orbital mass driver on the planet except, well, here? Sooner or later the Ark Union will be putting a lot of pressure on us."

Hassan stopped mixing the sauce and set it aside.

"Time to check the chicken..."

That's what I gathered, yeah

IC: Hassan

"Well they'll think you're ready only when you do get experience, which you can't get if they don't trust you to go out...

"To be honest though, I think all of us will be dragged out onto the field sooner rather than later, given the current... Situation."

It's a little too late to join it right now, as I understand it

IC: Hassan

"And why would that be?"

OOC: Yeah, that's why some simple rummaging turned up fresh ingredients in the pantry.

IC: Hassan

"Don't feel bad, I didn't get out onto the field in my Mech in time. Maintenance problems. Thankfully, Gwen here fixed her up.

"Speaking of which, where'd she go?" Hassan asked, looking up from the bowl to find the over-excitable mechanic.

IC: Hassan

"Regulation Schmegulation. Ingredients don't come in ration packs.
 

"No action, though? Huh. Missed the base attack a week ago?"

IC: Natalie

The electrified blade should have shut off some of the Miss Direction's arm systems. Perhaps she didn't hit hard enough?

Natalie held tight as the blow bounced off the shield. The enemy's shield now practically covered the front arc of the enemy Mech.

Natalie reacted before she'd even realised what she did: she activated the thrusters, and the Valkyrie launched upward and toward the Gunner Mech. Counting on the huge civer blocking her enemy's line of sight, she cleared the top lip of the shield, and thrust the shield downwards, connecting with the top of the Miss Direction's expanded cover. Pushing herself off and letting go, the Valkyrie vaulted over and above the enemy Mech.

Up in the air, Natalie wrenched the controls, bringing her Mecha around to face the enemy from above and behind. The telltale glow indicated that the electrical discharge was active.

Then, descending from on high like a vengeful Valkyrie, shimmering sword held aloft, teal wings roaring fire against the picturesque simulated blue sky, Natalie charged again, both hands wielding the sword, cleaving downwards as she reached the exposed head and rear of the enemy.

IC: Hassan

"That's a certainty when I'm around!" Hassan smiled.

"Especially since the rations are usually ######," he muttered under his breath, grabbing a handful of peanuts and tossing them into the bowl of soy sauce and lime juice.

"Gwen could you pass me the grinding stone over there?"

IC: Natalie

"Merde!"

The Valkyrie shook as heavy rounds pounded into her front armour. Natalie pushed away from the enemy mech and activated the boosters for a second, causing her to move back several metres, dodging the rest of the gunfire.

"I've been waiting for this..." Natalie switched her shotgun for the K8(s) vibro-longsword, shield still upright. As the Miss Direction started to struggle upright, the sensors of her mecha picked up the damage in the right arm and shoulder of Miss Direction.

Grinning, Natalie activated her weapon. She charged forward and closed the gap, glowing sword swinging down on the enemy mech's arm.

IC: Hassan

"Oh, hi there, didn't see you."

Hassan tossed the chicken slices into the boiling water, before starting to squeeze the limes into another cup.

"We're making kebab. You can have some once we're done!"

IC: Natalie

Thrown against her straps, Natalie grunted as the first missiles struck the shield. She ducked, dodging the second. But the Valkyrie wasn't agile enough, and the last missile struck the centre of the Valkyrie.

The thick armour absorbed most of the blow, the front layer peeling off.

Natalie continued onward, smashing full-force into the Miss Direction with the damaged shield. As they made contact, Natalie pushed the shotgun past both their shields and fired point blank, again and again.

IC: Hassan

The cook had already begun chopping off pieces of raw chicken in preparation for cooking.

"Sure, could you fill up that pot over there with water and heat it over the stove?" He absent mindedly pointed in the direction of the stove, focussed on the act of slicing meat apart with a knife.

IC: Hassan

Hassan laughed. He had to admit that all the exercise that came from working with mechs 24/7 did make Gwen somewhat "shredded", as she put it.

"I'll take it as a yes for the chicken, than?"

IC: Natalie

Natalie's hairs stood on end as she saw the thermal signature of the other Mech stop, before beginning to glow brighter...

They're firing! She panicked, wrenching the sticks sideways as the railgun fired.

The heavy slug, travelling at supersonic speeds, just missed the Valkyrie, plowing through the cover between both Mecha. While the shot did not hit Natalie, the veritable shotgun of debris struck the Valkyrie, momentarily stunning her.

Alarm panels signalled that the debris had dented the shield of the Valkyrie. Natalie cursed. A few more good hits would render it useless.

Natalie snarled and slammed the booster controls. Engines roaring, the Valkyrie moved out of cover and charged the Miss Direction, shield raised in anticipation of enemy fire. As the distance closed to half, then a quarter of the original, Natalie shifted the shield away from the front and raised the MA-37. The enemy mecha filled her sights.

She fired her shotgun several times as the distance closed, before re-positioning the shield ahead of her in order to slam full on into the Miss Direction.

IC Alex:

 

Luckily or unluckily for me, I happened to spot the heat sig on my sensors. I grimaced. Too large and hot to be a burning tank; it seemed I had inadvertantly run close to someone else. And if I had spotted them, there was no way they hadn't spotted me, too. 

 

Miss Direction hefted her shield, and readied her Heavy Machine Gun as I took her around the buildings, hoping to move past the other's position to an area where I'd have a clearer line of fire, and a bit more distance between me and them. The less damage I took early on, the longer I could stay in this thing.

IC: Natalie

The heavy footfalls of the Miss Direction tipped Natalie off that the other pilot had detected her in time. The sensors indicated it moving off, towards where the enemy would have a clear line of fire.

Natalie pondered her options. She needed to get close to capitalise on the Valkyrie's strengths. Or she could charge once Miss Direction came into view.

Natalie raised her shield and drew the MA-37 at her hip, feet hovering over the boost pedal...

IC:

 

"Uhhh ... what are my options?"

 

-Void

IC: Hassan

While the pantry contained a deceptively large variety of condiments (for a kitchen in a military base), too much of it was either unsuitable for kebabs or simply expired. Rummaging through the cupboards, he listed pff the options.

"Well, there's chipped beef, or shredded chicken. As for sauce..." he stopped when he found what he was looking for.

Soy sauce Here? And some limes...

"I can make some peanut sauce to go with the kebab."

IC: Rail - Gym

 

"I think... I can manage," he tried to say as he returned to his feet, only for the leg below his wound to violently seize up, causing him to come crashing right back down on the platform. "On second thought, that's probably a good idea. Crawling my way over to the infirmary honestly doesn't sound too appealing at the moment."

 

IC: Thurisaz / Gym

 

 

Another match ended, and this one without him having to call it, thankfully - Glass' macuahuitl was brutal, things could have gotten bad quickly. He had a line inscribed through Rail's name and Glass' moved forward, as he had done for Fountain and Geuua's names respectively. "Well fought, both of you. If you'd like, one of my assistants can help you to the Infirmary," he offered Rail, gesturing to Aerahk.

 

 

OOC: I'm aware that I need to do Shock, but I've been busy and combat is the hardest to work out. Sorry, I'll try have him up soon.

IC: Rail - Gym

 

Once again nodding in approval, Rail reached out with his mind, commanding the gym to envelope his crossbow before having it spat back out at his feet.

IC: Glass

"Thanks mate, we'll take you up on the offer."

Glass helped Rail up, waiting for Aerahk to join him in helping the injured Rahk to the Infirmary.

 

IC: Glass

 

Glass reacted quickly, using his weapon to block the claw. Its destructive powers manifested and tore through the claw. Glass followed it up by reversing the swing and slashing a wide arc in front of him, aimed at Rail's body. Hopefully his armour wouldn't be all destroyed.

 

IC: Rail - Gym

 

By the time Rail even knew what was going on, it was already over.

Still locked in both his swing and his lunge, he had just enough time to watch as the block ate through his weapon, his body still in the process of completing it's twist as it then went on to completely disintegrate a large portion of his side. Growling as he fell to one knee, he felt one hand imediately try to close the wound as he thrust the other in the sand in an attempt to maintain his balance, only to find his fingers brushing up against completely mutilated pistons as bits and pieces of destroyed gears and other various shrapnel began pouring out onto the platform around him. Had he been a step or two closer, the strike would've likely cleaved his suit in half.

It wasn't often that he came across someone who could put him in his place, but when it happened, he nearly always found himself filled with a sense of excitement. Just being faced with the constant reminder that there was always going to be someone out there who could best him simply meant that he still had room to grow and better himself, whether it be in tactics, powers, or strength. His mind was already racing with thoughts of increasing his training and raiding the armory once he returned from the infirmary, but for right now, he was just focused on getting there in the first place, preferably without inflicting any more damage upon himself in the process.

That being said, it was painfully clear to him that he was no longer fit to continue fighting.

Turning his attention back towards his opponent, he issued them a simple nod of approval.

Hopefully, things will be different should we ever cross weapons again.

"Fight's over. Well played."

IC:  Glass

Oh. Wow.

We won!

Glass rushed forward to help Rail sit up.

"Thanks, but your armour looks real messed up. Should I call a medic?" Glass asked, trying to cover the wound and prevent more gears and pistons falling out of the armour. Hopefully, the Kraata under the armour was unhurt.

IC: Glass

Glass reacted quickly, using his weapon to block the claw. Its destructive powers manifested and tore through the claw. Glass followed it up by reversing the swing and slashing a wide arc in front of him, aimed at Rail's body. Hopefully his armour wouldn't be all destroyed.

IC: Natalie

A new reading on the Valkyrie's sensors alerted Natalie to the Miss Direction's presence. The Gunner- as indicated by the sensor display- was making a steady trek down towards the coast, clearly making an ingress to the pair of mechs already locked in combat.

An ingress that passed right through Natalie's position.

"Merde!" She cursed in her native tongue. The Valkyrie was already lacking in the stealth department, and if the Gunner got any closer, her heat signatures would appear clearly to the other pilot, even if she were to hide inside the warehouse.

Hurry up, think!

There was nothing else to it. She had to hide elsewhere, or face a heavily-armed Gunner in a direct attack.

Triste, mon cher. Your formidable armour would still take much damage from sustained, direct fire. Natalie silently consoled her machine. Throttling forward, she drove the Mech away from the warehouse and, positioning the warehouse between herself and the incoming Mech, made use of the building as a cover to scale away from the beach to higher ground while keeping low.

Natalie turned down most of the mech's systems to lower heat dissipation, waiting for the Miss Direction to come closer.

IC: Glass

Watching Rail eye him, Glass decided that the other Rahk was trying to test the waters again, so there was no point in countering hard and pressing an attack. Glass stepped back from the lunge, and kept his guard up in case Rail pressed forward.

IC: Glass

Back to square one.

Glass decided to counter the close-range weapons by switching his staff for Terrortooth. If Rail tried to parry, Rail's knives would be disintegrated on contact.

But he didn't need to know that yet.

Glass slowly followed Rail's circling.

IC: Hassan

"I'll whip some up asap."

They reached the bunk section of the building, and Hassan immediately got to work in the communal kitchen.

The moment he donned the stained apron, he felt awash with a new energy.

"Let's start."

He worked with a feverish energy, his concentration aimed at the seemingly small yet spiritually monumental task in front of him: making a kebab for a new customer.

"What kinda toppings you looking to get?"

IC: Hassan

"Would you like to try some of mine? It's the real deal, which is more than can be said for the kebab bars in the city. And I've never had an unsatisfied customer yet!"

IC: Natalie

Deep breaths.

Natalie emptied her mind. Stepping inside Valkyrie had been harder than she thought.

While the traumatic loss of her family was not witnessed from inside her companion, getting into the cockpit for battle, if only a simulated one, still brought back the mix of emotions that gnawed at her every battle since that day.

Don't be such a drama llama. It's only a sim contest. Only... Only a simulation.

Countdown reaching zero, she opened her eyes. Ruined buildings and wreckage...

Natalie slowly moved Valkyrie forward, keeping low and listening for sounds. She was near the coast, and stopped behind a half-intact factory complex, scanning.

IC: Glass

Feeling Rail's yank, Glass passed an electric current through it while pushing back against Rail's thrust. The shock would lock Rail's muscles in place, preventing him letting go. The stalemate lasted for a second, but that was all Glass needed.

He let go, hurriedly pulling out his close-quarter staff and closing the distance to the stunned Rail, jabbing down at his chest armour.

IC: Hassan

Hassan led the way. A thought struck him.

"Do you like kebabs?"