Krayzikk

IC: Well now this was interesting. Ayane's gambit had worked just as planned, but she hadn't expected her opponent to turn the trick around on her to handle the strike from her katana. Not that there was much left of the poor Boom, that last strike had all but bisected the remains, but the last minute ploy served to save the Gallia. She even turned that desperation move into an opening to boot. Pretty impressive. There was nothing she was going to be able to do about the incendiary cannon. The Gallia had created an opening in her defenses when Ayane over-extended, and nothing would get her out of the way in time. Rather than fight the inevitable, however, she looked a step further ahead; the torso was the most armored part of a Walker, and Ronin's was virtually undamaged. She could take the hit, and use the chance. It was time to create an opening of her own. While Gallia's right arm moved in, the Ronin pivoted on its left foot and stepped in with its right. Ayane couldn't completely evade the thermite, but she could mitigate it. More importantly melee was her territory, and in the Ronin's state she couldn't afford to let the other Warrior escape to a longer range. It was all or nothing. She heard the warnings as the incendiary munitions licked across the Warrior's side but she ignored them to focus on her maneuver. Before the offending arm could be withdrawn caught its elbow between Ronin's bicep and its torso, leaving Gallia's right forearm (and by extnsion incendiary cannon) stuck protruding harmlessly past the Japanese Warrior's back. Its left foot took a half step forward, blocking her foe from moving any further to the other Warrior's right and fired her maneuvering thrusters at full power to cancel out Gallia's momentum as best she could. Her foe's carbine was similarly trapped, ensuring no risk of bullets being pumped into her at close range. That only left one blade and one cannon, those of the left arm, that Gallia could strike with. In such close quarters, however, she wouldn't be able to build up much momentum for her blade. The cannon, too, was more likely to damage them both than harm just the Ronin. Same went for her remaining missiles, too. With both Warriors all but chest to chest her swarm rockets might take out Ronin out, but would probably take the newer Warrior down too. Not that Ayane was going to give her the chance. The maneuver hadn't just been for defense, though her foe probably wouldn't notice until too late; the movements, combined with a little lean forward at the waist, had brought the Naginata's to rest its barrel against the very top of what would have been the slightly-shorter Gallia's sternum. The weapon was angled down almost forty five degree. A clean shot down through the upper torso, down into the reactor, and potentially back out the lower back. She squeezed the trigger without hesitation, sending the round lancing out less than a second after she had caught the Gallia's arm. To be sure she rammed her rifle's barrel into the Gallia's side, holding the trigger down to pump round after round into the spot she had damaged earlier with the Naginata. Ayane wasn't entirely sure she'd manage to take down the Gallia, though she was pretty sure she had a good chance, but she was finished anyway. If Ayane couldn't take her down, she'd at least keep her still long enough for Lauren to blow both Warriors to kingdom come.

IC: "The Vilda are a clan. One of them, Soraph, was the one who wanted to capture the Parakuka."

Well that was helpful of her. Ayane had only been advancing for a few moments before she saw that the Gallia had been thinking the same thing, approaching at a breakneck pace. At this distance, with a clear look at the Walker for the first time, she could see that it wasn’t just a customized Warrior. The changes were too extensive for that. It looked less like the utilitarian military machines she was used to, and more like the supercars she grew up seeing at Japanese auto shows. The sleek curves reminded her of a Mitsuoka concept vehicle or a Nissan GT-R, the sort of thing you might see as a display of technology to come. The matte, unpainted material reminded her of a prototype, something that deserved to be on display as a testament to Federation innovation. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to smash it. After all, it was just a simulation. As the Gallia lunged Ayane responded reflexively, yanking up on the hilt of her katana and dragging The Boom up with it until the inoperable Walker hung over the Ronin’s head supported by the blade’s tsuba. Not a second too soon, either; missiles hailed down one after another onto her improvised like meteors, twenty swarm rockets subdividing into sixty submunitions in the short distance between source and target. Sixty explosives raining down, blanketing the target area with smoke and shrapnel. Even within the armored walls of her cockpit the sound was loud, like sixty thunderclaps in the mother of all storms going off above her head almost at once. She didn’t know what the result was going to be; it was happening so quickly that she wouldn’t know until it was over. Either her simulation was over, or her defense worked. There was no in between. The Ronin crouched a little as the force on her ‘shield’ intensified, bracing the Ronin to better deal with both its weight and the pressure of the assault. When, as the thunder of Biblical proportions ended, her sensor feeds were still active she had her answer. She couldn’t see much, not yet, through the immense smokescreen that had her at its epicenter. Sixty explosions above her head and around her feet had sent up plumes of dust, smoke, and debris; stone, concrete, metal, shrapnel all swirled in a cloud of thick choking smoke. She couldn’t see out, and she knew no one could see in. But her sensors told her plenty. Impact warnings went off around the shoulders and lower legs, registering shrapnel or nearby explosions. The Naginata unit registered potential damage, though nothing that impeded its functionality just yet. The Ronin, in short, had survived. If The Boom was real and its pilot were inside, he would not have. The barrage had ravaged the poor Walker, its armor torn asunder and scattered about the Ronin’s feet, and its left arm lay ruined on the ground before her. The Warrior’s left shoulder had been damaged in Ayane’s first assault, and the joint couldn’t hold up to the destructive forces loosed upon it. The right shin dangled by a few thick cables and the tenuous grasp of its ruined servo motor, and its cranial unit was just gone. Nothing identifiable remained. The Boom’s upper torso was a burnt out husk where the explosions had wreaked havoc through the breach her blade had created, and the Walker’s front had been stripped of armor save for its last two stubborn limbs. Its husk, for it could no longer even be called a Warrior’s corpse, glowed molten and smoked with the smell of cooked electronics. What few pieces could still be identified were scorched and scarred, a unit beyond salvage. Not that the Ronin would win any beauty contests. The old girl’s functions were intact, but she wasn’t unscathed. Some of the shrapnel and explosive force made it through the tear in The Boom’s torso, cutting down and across Ronin’s cranial unit. Half its kabuto had been torn off, the shrapnel continuing down to scar half of its ‘face’. The green lens covering one of its ‘eyes’ had shattered, revealing a red glow behind. Submunitions had made their way through the space The Boom’s left shoulder had occupied to strike at the Ronin’s, leaving its pauldron pitted and scorched. Functionality wasn’t impaired, it was one of the thickest points of armor on the machine, but the top few layers of armor had been ripped away. Missiles that had been just a little off the mark had instead detonated around her feet, lapping at its lower legs with thermal and concussive forces while peppering them with shrapnel and debris. The mangled remains of her shield still clung to her left arm, only just recognizable. The Boom’s right shoulder had held, thankfully, protecting the Naginata assembly from the worst of the damage. It had received its share of debris from above, the shoulder protecting it was far from unscathed, but it was intact. For now. There was a very real risk that the mild damage it had taken would render it inoperable after the exertion of a few more shots. But the Warrior still stood. Ayane processed all of the damage in the span of an instant and reached a simple conclusion; it was time to attack. She couldn’t flee, not even if she wanted to. She didn’t have the thrust to escape quickly enough. Ronin would be torn to pieces before she found cover. Besides, Luna had so politely closed to range for her. Ayane couldn’t pass up such an open invitation, now could she? This decision made in an instant, several things happened at once. Ronin’s coiled legs pushed off violently like a batter, and the Walker swung its katana in much the same manner. The ragdoll-like husk impaled upon it slid off, hurled forcefully out of the smoke and towards the Gallia’s center mass. Forced up against the side of the building as she was, and distracted as she was by the Sidewinder Ayane heard explode, she wasn’t likely to see it coming. Nor evade. So as Luna brought her rifle back up, she found the husk of The Boom filling her field of vision at a rapid rate. The same motion brought Ronin’s left forearm into position, guarding its body with what remained of her shield. It wouldn’t hold up long, but it hadn’t taken any more damage. It would still be enough to stop a few rounds, and that was all she needed. Her katana was poised to slice, up near her shoulder, and her rifle was tucked in close to the body. The Far East Brigade pilot, now prepared, fired her thrusters. All of them. Luna had caused severe damage to her primary forward thrusters, but they weren’t all destroyed; some were just damaged. Not enough to provide their usual continuous thrust. But they could hold on long enough for a single burst. And the Gallia? The Gallia’s own maneuver had put it practically within spitting distance. A burst was all she needed. The Ronin rocketed forward, pushed for just a few moments to almost its usual speed, following closely in the wake of The Boom’s husk. It was Ayane’s turn to erupt from the smokescreen, now, . Her former meatshield served her one last time to obscure the Ronin’s approach from view, soak up potential incoming fire, and if she was lucky, knock the Gallia off balance. Small explosions resounded from the Ronin’s back, alerts warning Ayane that pushing the thrusters that were already damaged had ruined them completely, but it didn’t matter. She was in range. She fired a burst from her rifle during her lunge and prepared to slash at Gallia’s center mass once she covered those last couple meters. The Japanese women let out what could only be called a kiai over the comms during her unconventional blitzkrieg, the sequence fast enough to catch even experienced pilots off guard. She hoped, distracted by the Raptor above, she would catch Luna the same.

IC: Without vulcans and with her primary thrusters damaged, missiles were a real pain. The incoming pair shot through the fire and smoke, splitting on their way towards Ronin, but the sight gave her an idea. Bracing for impact, she focused on offense instead of defense; the thermite and smoke helped to mask the details of Luna's maneuvers, yes, but it failed to mask her position. She had already prepared her targeting, and not being able to see her target clearly didn't mean she couldn't tell where the Gallia was. The bright light was painful, but far from intolerable; she'd have spots in her vision for a few moments once she looked away, but Ayane could deal with that. More importantly knowing that the thermite came from Gallia, and knowing the direction she was headed, allowed her to adjust her planned shot just a little and send a high-caliber round rocketing towards Gallia's center mass. The thermite had been a surprise for only a second; her shot still went on its way mere seconds after Luna abandoned cover. She would have preferred to hit the shoulder as planned, but this would have to do. It helped that the thermite was a double edged sword; Luna wouldn't see what was coming. She followed with a burst from her rifle, a good long one to send a thick enough hail to make up for a lack of precision. Then, however, she had to deal with the missiles. Impact warnings blared in her cockpit as they impacted with her shield, though one of the submissiles struck her right shoulder and one passed harmlessly over the left. Damage to the Ronin was minor, but her shield... Didn't really qualify anymore. Permitting Ayane her chance to strike at an unsuspecting Gallia had been its last gasp. The metal was twisted and warped, and the forearm behind it was showing some superficial damage. It wouldn't block any more explosives. Maybe a few bullets, but not many. She needed a new shield. Fortunately, she decided with a grin, her previous opponent had provided one. Withdrawing a short distance to the wreckage of The Boom she rammed her katana through its torso, using the 'handle' on her new shield to pull it up to hang limply in front of her. The Boom hung limply like a gruesome doll, one half of its bisected cranial unit ripping free of the few wires still holding it on and clanking against the pavement. As insane as it seemed... A quick glance confirmed the plan's merit. The Ronin was completely protected by the mass of its fallen opponent, while the leverage its 'handle' provided let her still fire around it, Then she advanced. The thrusters she had left fired at maximum capacity, carrying her forward while the Naginata ejected its previous shell and slid a new one into the chamber. She wasn't making swift progress, but she was definitely getting there; and with a whole Walker between her and her foe, she didn't need to fear attacks for a while. Ayane's grin couldn't be wider.

No idea who's supposed to be providing something for that. I'll try and take a look when I have time.

If you keep it to smaller skirmishes, though, what does everyone else do in the mean time? There's only so much hanging around in the locker room, so to speak, you can do before that interaction starts to get stale. Which is a big portion of why tournament games usually need some kind of plot. Otherwise it might as well just be something like the original game Bionifight, where it's just about the fighting.

IC: "Well, I'm already making room for a buoy," I said amidst another sip of coffee. "How much harder can a cow be?" -Void IC: "That depends, I suppose. Do we know how big a cow is?"

IC: "I need stop stop by Ferron's to pick up some of my gear, but other than that..." The Onu-Matoran thought for a moment, considering the best course of action. He didn't have any other responsibilities for the near future, and the trip to Kini-Nui wouldn't take too long, but he wanted to be sure any necessary precautions were taken before they walked into a potential trap. "We should probably inform someone of where we are going, just in case, but I can leave as soon as we make that stop."

Arena games are... Tricky. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; most arena games can't survive for long purely as an arena game. Without plot people may get bored, and you will certainly need a heavy GM presence. Heavily PvP oriented games (tournament and arena games, namely) require a heavy GM presence to deal with the many, many disputes that crop up. Bionifight is a good example of a lot of these issues. It was popular enough to last for a pretty long time, but it needed a nearly constant GM presence and disputes over combat were pretty much eternal. You would get half a dozen per tournament round. Since you usually can't survive on arena alone, either, the plot generally needs to be integrated well enough that a transition in focus isn't jarring. It's a difficult balancing act in all respects.

It's in progress. I am the captain now.

I don't see anything particularly wrong, other than the (apparent) lack of a co-GM. Since they are not strictly mandated, and since games these days don't exactly run at breakneck pace, I'm not going to withhold an approval for it but I would advice getting one. Assuming, of course, you don't have one. I may have missed it. Skyrise approved x1.

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."

IC: Given that there was now an entire Marine between her and the table, Sinshi had to change tactics. Not that the change was bad, given that Whitehot's arrival briefly obscured the faint contrast of red and blue on the Menti's cheeks. To deal with her new position Sinshi wrapped her arms around the Toa's middle, allowing her to reach the table, and rested her chin on White's shoulder so she could see. Then she calmly brought her mug up and took a sip over the native's shoulder. "You're quartermaster, Daijuno, finding a way to fit everything in the hold falls to you."

There's no 'all of a sudden'; we're right here. I never go more than two days without checking in on the forum, whether I have time to post or not. And usually it's a few times a day. While we value player initiative, if there's ever anything you're unsure about you should PM us. Whether you realize it or not, we're always here. At least one of us.

IC: "We don't have much in the way of Rahi on the land. Kanohi Dragons live up on the mountains, however. We get much of our food from agriculture and the sea." The Menti explained calmly, sipping her coffee while her eyes moved sideways to regard the face perched upon her shoulder. They swiveled the other way upon Daijuno's comment, narrowing slightly. "Yes, Dai, I would."

IC: "I imagine we would have." The Menti was very interested in her coffee, taking a very long drink that happened to hide her expression, and studiously elected not to look over at Daijuno. "I suppose you have dealt with foreigners before, yes. Query withdrawn."

IC: "Siri is, among other things, a virtual assistant I've been tinkering with. Calling her 'Siri' is really an artifact. I doubt there's half a dozen lines of code left of Apple's Siri." The technopath answered, casually sipping at his coffee. "She's also the closest thing to an AI I've ever made, and she helps make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Yes and no. Such things are not exactly the norm, but they are permitted... Provided they are, to use a rather vague term, "Bionicle-y enough". This is the Bionicle RPG forum, RPGs should be focused on Bionicle if other elements are present. RPGs with a focus on something else would belong in OTC or in Lego RPG, depending on that something else.

IC: "Is there a different type of new alien friend?" SInshi queried curiously, taking a sip of her coffee and looking contemplative. "Would you be familiar with them if there were?"

IC: "Depends." The Ta-Matoran paused long enough to pick up a mug off his desk and sip at what was, judging from the slight grimace, coffee that had gone room temperature a long time ago. His eyes were thoughtful the entire time, that momentary lull used to consider the question. He let the tap of ceramic against wood resonate a moment when he set the mug back down, then continued. "If you mean whether I feel safe heading outside day to day, no. I never do. Being wary kept me alive when a lot of people didn't want me to be. I pay as much attention at high noon as I do heading home at night, on the rare night that I have time to go home." "But least of all do I feel safe when fanatics have taken over my neighboring Koro while I'm still handling the first exceedingly public failure of the Toa Maru alongside a terrorist attack that destroyed my most popular inn. It's not a matter of personal safety, it's a matter of atmosphere." He paused again, leaning back in his chair. Jaller looked Tuara in the eye, not an easy feet for a being much shorter even seated, and the look wasn't quite as warm. There was an undercurrent of cool steel in his eyes, despite the casual airs of his posture. "If you mean whether I, myself, feel safe right now then yes. I'm having a meeting with an old friend in the heart of Guard HQ. If you were an assassin, there would be guards in here before you could get across my desk. They might not even get the chance. You're good, Tuara, but I didn't live this long by making people do my fighting." The Matoran smiled again, and this time the expression was warmer. "I'll see if I can't get you some work. You won't have to do any training, but it won't be your old rank. I hate to say it, Turara, but after what you've been through... I need to give you a little time back on the job first. I trust you, but being a Guard's stressful. I need to make sure you can take it again." IC: "No speech. I'm not drunk enough to handle that." IC: "Awesome." The Ta-Toa commented, counting out the widgets for her share of the bill and dropping them on the table. Her coin purse was a little lighter after that, but she wasn't about to say anything. "Where to, guys? What d'you usually do after breakfast, Red? Sparky?"

No spamming, Raz. Had to do it one last time for the road.

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."

IC: "Of course." The Matoran nodded assent and gestured towards the door. Neither guard expressed any opposition to her approach, and in fact one of the two returned her nod silently. The door swung open easily, and accepted Tuara inside. The Akiri himself did not immediately speak, though the raising of a single finger acknowledged her presence. The Ta-Matoran was consumed in the reports on his desk, occasionally pausing to make a note or shift one aside to look at another. The same free hand he had used to request a moment gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, silently offering her a seat. Jaller didn't interact any more, not until he had reached what he deemed a stopping point, but he did noticeably pick up the pace. "It's good to see you." He greeted, the sentiment accompanied with a warm smile once he looked up from his desk. "As much as I'd like it, I don't think this is a social visit. What can I do for you?"

IC: "That's about the highest compliment you could have paid me, Sinsh." -Void IC: "You're welcome, Dai."

IC: Once truly committed, there was no falling back. To turn the Ronin's back was to open herself up to more damage than she would by pressing on, pursuing victory. The Boom was in sight, it had been weakened, and the Japanese pilot could feel the advantage. So rather than evade or fall back, she drew the Ronin's shield up higher and brought the Walker closer to the ground. The first HEDP round was accurate, but mostly glanced off of the angled surface the shield provided. The second did much the same, but Ayane's shield was looking worse for wear; they could stand up to a lot, but repeated strikes didn't make it easy. If the Boom had the time to keep up the barrage, she would have been in trouble. Not that his empty magazine would give him the chance. And even if it would, she was too close now. Ronin had pressed forward relentlessly, the unexpected nature of its assault and its swift nature let her close the distance rapidly. By the time the second round connected she was in range. The Warrior fired its thrusters hard, eking just a little more speed to add some force to its next strike, while its sword arm raised up high in preparation to come down. The movement brought the Ronin's shield away from its body just in time to give Khiêm a clear look at its cranial unit... Just in time to see its visor flash green, and the red-hot edge of the katana coming down in a vicious vertical strike towards the top of Boom's cranial unit. "Men. Sayōnara."