Skylark Down RP (story thread)

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Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer

Before we begin, please observe the following rules:

  • Keep ALL out-of-character chat in the discussion thread. Don't even try to put it in this thread with the OOC prefix or anything. I don't want to see it.
  • Follow the standard rules of roleplaying, outlined here.

If you want to make a link to your OOC note, follow these steps:

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  2. Type the following into your story post: <a href="paste link address here">OOC</a>

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Example OOC note

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Rough Start. Getting Rougher.

The impact of the drop-pod hitting the ground, or at least that was what solomon had hoped he had hit, shook the casings of the capsule. With a moan of discomfort, he shuffled his body around trying to right himself from his fallen back position. Aided by a handle on the roof of the pod, the still rather new Vanguard got off his back, yet was still crouched under the limited head-space.
Solomon placed his head sideward to the door, knocking it a couple of times, wondering how he could get past the jammed hatch. Slowly his eyes drifted to the other side of the pod, where he spotted a downed, Female Knight. A feeling of remorse dawned on his poor soul, as he realised he had been atop of her the entire way down to the planet, and then some more coming back into a conscious state.

"Oh my...Oooh my...Im a terrible person. No. Get focussed, c'mon Solomon. This Knight is in a bad way, do something you blithering oaf."

The ghastly expressions on his face quickly turned to one of concern, as his officer's side shone through.
The now-collected Solomon was searching through a crate underneath the seating, that this woman was currently residing. With a great heave, he pulled out a large box, with a medical symbol engraved into it. Opening the case, he took out a roll of bandage & Energised Ointment in each hand. His eyes shifted from one piece of medical equipment to the other, until they laid upon the Female Knight. He was then struck with a major dilema.

"...How am I going to go about treating her without feeling perverse?". The quizical Vanguard "bit the bullet" as it were, as he leaned in with a hand coated in ointment.

"Treat first, Awkwardly explain later".

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
She's dead, Jim.

No breath blew between her lips. No pulse beat beneath her neck. The color had long departed from her face. Her unblinking emerald eyes stared up at him without life or expression.

Solomon was likely to join her in eternal sleep if he were to ignore the howls of the midnight wolvers.

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Not on my Watch.

As Solomon placed his hand ever so carefully upon the woman's skin, it became clear that she was cold. Deathly cold. The distraught Vanguard placed his hands around her helm, removing it with the upmost care. The eyes of the woman were open, lacking expression. Her lips were dry and lifeless, with skin as pale as a ghost's.

The Vanguard was hanging his head in sorrow, until an idea hit him harder than the pod had hit the ground (which he still hoped was the case, and not on the verge of some chasm, or in a tree). Brushing off the medical equipment, and tossing it all hap-hazardly back into the case, he reached in for a small box, a faint light eminating from within. A small energised heart could be seen floating in the box, when Solomon opened the lid. Scooping it up gently, he placed the object onto the heart of the Ex-Knight.

The energised object began to vibrate and break, as sparks of light started to dance along the length of the woman's body. Solomon shielded his eyes as the dancing light intensified and began to envelop her body almost like a shell. As the light dimmed down, Solomon peeked through his hands, seeing if the aplty labelled, "Spark of Life" had held up to its name.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Spark of Life? Curious...

It should have worked. Indeed, her body convulsed and shuddered as the Spark took effect, but when the light dimmed down, she remained lifeless on the ground.

Well, mostly lifeless.

Her pulse had returned, and she was breathing again, but her eyes remained wide open and dead. It was as if her will to live was gone, her soul departed from her body. No amount of sparks would ever bring it back.

Her breathing slowed to a halt, and her pulse dampened until it ceased. The magical Sparks of Life always worked back on Isora; why didn't they work here? Or...maybe some other force was at work.

Or maybe these things just took time.

Time he didn't have. Black wolvers let out animalistic snarls when they spotted their prey. With a chilling howl, the lead wolver signaled the attack upon the hapless knight.

OOC

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
RIP Trooper.

The sparks began to slow and wither, as the effects of the item began to fade. Although it had had some reaction, the result was still negative. With a heavy heart, Solomon placed his hand over her face, and motioned it downward, closing her eyes to make her seem at peace. The deathly silence in the pod was broken by an eerie howl, too close for comfort.

The armoured officer took his armet, and placed it onto his head once again. Picking up his Leviathan Blade & Aegis, Solomon barged through the door with brute force, leaving only a slight shock to his arm. Shaking off the recoil, he looked out into the Evening sun. It would be night soon, and by that point it'd be nigh impossible to fend off nocturnal hunters like these probably were. Solomon looked back briefly, and closed the hatch as best he could, to possibly deter any scavengers from feasting on the Knight inside. Focussing back on the task at hand, he grabbed some flares from his pack, and slotted them into his sash on his armour.

While the sun had yet to set, Solomon headed off, trying to get his in-built helmet comm to recieve a signal. He hoped to the gods of Isora, that Kora had remained in one peace, and could guide him to the survivors outpost. He didn't want to think about the possibility of him being the only one left, having given up on the only other a few minutes ago.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
First Blood

A shot rang out from the forest, and the howling from the wolvers stopped.

Then a second shot tore into Solomon's armor. The Morai had already landed! More gunfire opened up, but only a few shots went in Solomon's direction. The rest were followed by pained whines from dying wolvers.

Suddenly, his comlink came alive with a calm, friendly voice. "This is Intel Agent Kora. How can I help you?"

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
So it begins

[Affraiel walks off from his escape pod and headed for the coordinates for his three fellow comrades. All of them are ridiculously far, with the closest comrade, Solomon the squad leader being 5 kilo meters away from him.]

Affraiel: *sees the three energy signatures on his vent interface and lets out a frustrated sigh* “Ugh… Let’s find you first, Mister Solomon, I can’t wait to get my hands on you…”*grins in a cocky manner* “He better not be one of those goody two shoes…”

??? : *cuts into his suit communicator frequency* “Hello? He-Hello? Is that convict no. 6998?” *static*

Affraiel: *responds* “Hmph, who is this? Ozlo’s landing ceremonial party guest? And yes, this is prisoner no.6998.”

??? : *the statics are cleared up, the soft voice of a woman comes out of the communicator* “Oh, so it is you, Prisoner number-”

Affraiel: *cuts off her sentence* “-THE name is Affraiel, I have a name you know…”

???: *pauses* “… Fine, Mister Affraiel… Ozlo assigned me as your mission supervisor, intel agent Nezula at your service!”

Affraiel: *raises his eye brow* “Nezula? And how can you possibly supervise my mission?”

Nezula: *chuckles, with a great sense of friendliness* “No, Mister Affraiel… ‘Supervise’ is such a harsh word, I am only here to survey your suit status and kept you informed of the current news as well as your wellbeing!”

Affraiel: “Wellbeing eh? How about airdrop me a dirty mag and I will be on my way?”

Nezula: *laughs nervously* “Sorry Mister Affraiel, but the last copy of Skylark’s girl of the month calendar was burnt into ashes when the ship’s magazine exploded. But if you don’t mind, I could upload some of my own photos to your suit data bank for your enjoyment! If won’t take up too much memory I promise!” *giggles*

Affraiel: *feeling tempted, but quickly rejects, this is almost too good to be true* “Eh, for a second there, I changed my mind, maybe having fantasies like those isn’t the best thing to do after my landing… Ok, Nezula, before I venture any further on this godforsaken planet, I need to know more about this suit. I can see a green bar thingy on the bottom left of my vent interface, what is it?”

Nezula: *gasps* “Oh, the green bar, it is your suit’s energy meter!”

Affraiel: *sneers* “What is this? A video game?”

Nezula: “Your suit is very heavy and it consumes a lot of energy during close battle, you will have to time your moves carefully. With great defence comes great disadvantages, I am sorry, but during the design of this suit, most of its mobility and flexibility are sacrificed for the sake of protection. If your suit run out of energy, it will automatically set to recharge mode, during recharge mode, you cannot move as the power is drained out, you can still operate the suit manually, but it is going to be hard…”

Affraiel: *gotten interested* “Then how do I get those energy back?”

Nezula: “Simple! Your suit is coated with a layer of U.E.A.G.”

Affraiel: *puzzled* “U.E.A.G.?”

Nezula: “Universal Energy Absorbent Gel! When your suit’s energy is low, it can recharge its power thanks to this gel, the gel can convert sunlight into electrical energy. So if you ever run too low on energy, just sit in the sun and recharge will automatically begin!”

Affraiel: “But the gel is ‘universal’ right?”

Nezula: “Yes, so it is not only the sunlight that can recharge your suit, other sources of heat or radiation can also do the job, so go look around! Good luck with your mission, Mister Affraiel!”

Affraiel: “Thanks for the info, I will proceed with the mission, you can just stay here with me and sound sexy!”

Nezula: *hears another comlink call from her side* "Oh, sorry, I have to hang off now, another knight is in need of some answers, I will be right back!" *hangs off*

Affraiel: "Nezula wait-..." *sighs* "Guess I am all alone now..."

[Stepping onto the lash grass, Affraiel takes in a deep breath, the air was pleasantly fresh and unpolluted, he can see a forest in the distance and a few Morai drop ship has already arrived.]

Affraiel: "I better get to that Solomon kid before he gets himself killed..." *runs towards the direction of the forest*

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
The shots blurred past

The shots blurred past Solomon in a haze of bullets. Too many were missing though for Morai Warriors. The Vanguard looked over to where the origin of fire was. Flashes of gunfire could be seen amidst shadows of sleek beasts and treeline. Still moving at a brisk pace, Solomon hurried along faster through the haze of stray bullets.

As he was making a swift exit from the combat zone, a rogue round hit him in the left shoulder. Grimacing at the pain, Solomon stumbed for a few seconds. Breathing slowly and calmly, he blocked out the pain, and administered a small health capsule to the wound. As he was about to start moving after applying pressure to the slowly regenerating pain-spot, a brief transmission from a welcomed source.

""This is Intel Agent Kora. How can I help you?"

Solomon was so joyed that an ally had survived the crash, he almost gave away his position with an over-joyed yell, cuffing his right hand over his mouth at the last second. Placing a finger onto his comm-unit to activate it, he relayed a response:

"Kora? Thank Isora you're alive. This is 2nd Officer Solomon Trent. Can you give me your location so I can rendezvous? Ive made contact with some pretty hostile wildlife and Morai Scouts. Please hurry".

Solomon trekked on, the wound easing up some more, into the land that was fastly descending into night.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Kora is always awesome.

Unbeknownst to Solomon, Kora was nearly beside herself with joy that one of the Order's strongest knights had survived the crash.

"S-Solomon? Solomon!" *muffled noises as she adjusts her headset* "Good to hear from you! Let's see...uh, you're not far from the clearing where a group of knights have set up camp. They've called it Rescue Camp. It's about...five miles due north of your position. Can you get a visual?"

She stared anxiously at the screen. Dam, I can't get a video feed. She flipped open the maintenance panel, examined it for a few moments, and sighed. Where's IT when you need them? She sat back down and anxiously awaited Solomon's reply.

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne

The distraught Vanguard was now seeing far fewer round whizz past his location, as he left the battle scene of Beast & Morai. Solomon heard the response from Kora, and smiled to himself, relieved the comm-signal was strong enough for a competent 2-way conversation. He placed his finger onto the comm, and spoke as clearly as he could, his jogging heading due North from what his compass could tell him,

"I haven't got a Visual I'm afraid, daylight is falling fast, and I haven't any capable Night Vision gear accessories fitted to my Azure Helmet, besides hand-held flares on my person". Solomon pauses as he checks his compass, before continuing to relay his status, "Im heading due North now. I'll contact you when I have anything relevant to report, or vice versa. Keep safe Kora".

Solomon broght his hand back down to his side, as he continued on at his current pace toward the Camp.

Imagen de Liminori
Liminori
A Crash of a memory

Sherry tugged at his arm. "Come on, Stop zoning out!" She said, as she dragged him into the pod.
Looking one last time, The Skylark looked as beautiful as ever- That is, Until it started breaking down, Bits scattering - Flaming with friction towards this strange new planet.
The last thing Leeroy heard was a sharp scream, and a loud clanging. The lights faded... and Leeroy was no longer conscious.
(OOC)

When he awoke, He was resting face up. Sherry was sobbing on his arm.
"Uhm... Sherry." She just looked at him, and cried- "I thought you were dead, You idiot!", Her tears rolled down her face. But Leeroy couldn't tell if it was because she wanted him dead or because she was sad.

Leeroy got up and stretched- He was feeling awfully cramped from the pod crash, Not to mention some of the Skylark's rubble had bashed in on the side of the pod. "Look, It's getting dark out. I need to group up with the rest of my squad. Are you with me for now?"
Sherry wiped away her last tear, and nodded.
Looking at his map, He could see the coordinates of Solomon, Although the map itself was giving static.
Leeroy and Sherry rushed that way, Hoping that they could get to him before something else did.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Let's move the story along.

Kora stared blankly at the monitor.

Something's wrong.

The knight's life signs were clearly gone, but her coordinates were still moving. Body-snatchers? She switched to video feed, and she nearly fell back in her chair. What the- cats!? What are those furry things doing to my knight!? She grunted, stood up and marched out the door, where she spotted a Proto knight just getting his bearings.

Kora cleared her throat and spoke up. "Hey, mister?"
The knight stood to attention. "Y-yes ma'am? Oh, hi Kora!"
"Hi there. Can you do me a favor?"
"S-sure! I-I wouldn't mind-"
"Tell Feron to get his a$$ over here."
"O-okay..."

Kora marched back into her office and glanced at the video feed again. The cat-like creatures had stopped moving the knight. Suddenly, she broke out of her reverie when a large, strong hand gently touched her shoulder. "How can I help you, Miss Kora?" came a familiar deep, gruff voice. She turned around and saluted the giant man known as Lieutenant Feron. Then she pointed at the video. "Cats, sir."

Feron watched the screen for a bit until the creatures returned to view. "I see. What of them?"
"What are they? They're taking one of my knights."
"They're gremlins. Didn't you see the report?"
Kora froze. What report?
Feron stepped over to the switchboard, flipped a couple switches, and pointed to one of the screens. "That report."
Kora deadpanned and did an internal facepalm. How did I miss that? "Thank you, I'll have a look at it."
They saluted each other, and Feron walked out, closing the door behind him.

She jumped into her chair and spun it a few times. "Well! Looks like today just got more interesting," she said to herself. She had barely started going over the report when it occurred to her that Leeroy, the most recent knight she got a signal from, might need her help. So she opened a channel to him and introduced herself.

"Hello? This is Intel Agent Kora. Do you read?"

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
Gather, Delta Squad, gather!

The planetary disturbance had not gone unnoticed as Dejah slipped behind the intertwining trees, scrutinizing every detail of the strange new visitors. It was not so the actual people that intrigued Dejah, but the little conflict that seemed to be emerging from the second of their arrival.

For the moment, she remained concealed, a smile breaking upon her lips

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Gremlins again.

A lean albino gremlin, about fifteen years of age, skipped along the riverbank with a little golden whistle in his mouth and a merry tune between his ears. He nearly tripped over a root, but it didn't upset him; he could not be upset at anything on such a colorful evening.

His name was Spanner.

He had traveled nearly three miles from home; a long way for the cheery youth, but no further than he could navigate. His foot suddenly struck something metallic, and it hurt. He almost shouted an exclamation when he realized just what it was he accidentally kicked.

It was a human. He'd never seen one before. Neither had his friends or relatives. He always thought the species went extinct, due to its unusual stupidity, no doubt. This one was clad in armor; perhaps it was one of the warrior types? Intrigued, he began to sift through the creature's possessions.

Fancy weapon in a sheath...
Strange food in a bag...
Water in a canteen...
Assorted tools in a bag...

Then it occurred to him that maybe this human was alive. It certainly appeared dead, but many creatures were known to play dead. He brought his ear close to its chest and listened. Sure enough, he heard the beating of a heart. His own heart nearly skipped a beat as strange feelings of both joy and anxiety rushed through him. Oh, the praise he would receive when such a scientific marvel were brought home! A live specimen! There's just no beating that.

On the other hand, the fact that the creature was alive and probably a warrior meant that such an endeavor would be incredibly risky. But Spanner never shied away from danger; he lived for it! Determined to bring this human back home for examination, he slung it over his shoulders as best he could and began the long trip home.

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
Affraiel the middle-aged bad@ss

[At the brink of the forest, Affraiel is encountered by the medium sized Morai drop ship, four Morai troopers jumped out of the ship along with a Morai centurion, a middle classed soldier whose gears are slightly better than his fellow men. The centurion spots Affraiel in his iron might suit and orders his four fellow soldiers to fire upon him. Affraiel furiously sprints his way across the grass field while shrugging off the small calibre bullets fired from Morai soldiers. The tingling sound of bullet bouncing off the armour plating sets Affraiel into a battle rage, a sense of anger that has been piling up inside his heart is released in a wrathful berserk.]

Morai centurion: *orders his fellow soldiers* “SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM!”

Affraiel: *shouts furiously, brushes aside a neared Morai trooper with brute force, almost shattering the trooper’s skull* “OUT OF MY WAY!”*draws his leviathan blades, dual wields two blade and rends them at the direction of the Morais*

[The leviathan blades cleaved another trooper in half and Affraiel is on a blood lust, his eyes ogled with the thirst for more violence. The two remaining soldiers trembled and stepped back behind the centurion.]

Morai centurion: *yells at the two cowering soldiers* “Have courage men! These knights are inferior to us, destroy them!”

Affraiel: “Inferior?” *laughs* “So what does that make you? Morai SCUM?!” *points his sword tauntingly at the centurion*

Morai centurion: *becomes enraged* “KILL HIM!” *draw his lance*

[The two Morai trooper looked as their squad leader, the centurion takes on Affraiel in a one on one duel. The centurion glares at Affraiel with a smug, as if he is not good enough to be his opposition, this taunt aggravates Affraiel greatly. Affraiel charges towards the centurion in the open, completely disregards the diminishing energy meter on his vent interface. The centurion stabs Affraiel with the lance but the lance breaks in half when it makes impact with the armour. Affraiel delivers two vicious slash at the centurion with his twin leviathan blades, the centurion’s body was severed in half, the top torso falls to the ground and the blood bursts onto Affraiel’s helmet. The last two frightened Morai troopers fled the scene right after they discarded their weapons, they ran off into the forest. The sun slowly meets with the horizon, the clouds in the sky are blood red, glorious sunshine bathed on Affraiel’s armour and his thirst for blood has at last quenched.]

Affraiel: *pants relentlessly* “…” *see the green bar on his vent interface is depleted* “What the? The energy is depleted already?” *tries to move, but suddenly stumbles into the blood stained grass, he tries to stand up but the weight of the suit made it impossible*

Nezula: *cuts into Affraiel’s frequency* “Mister Affraiel? Are you alright?”

Affraiel: *chuckles, empties his breath* “Well, girl, you are just in time for my funeral!”

Nezula: *gasps* “Funeral?”

Affraiel: *laughs sarcastically* “Yeah, and my coffin is this suit of yours, Ozlo sure wants me dead!”

Nezula: “…I don’t know about what happened between you and him…but… You need to prioritise your survival first! Nightfall is coming!”

Affraiel: *sighs* “Like I said, the suit is a dead weight, I can’t move!”

Imagen de Hazardous-Anomaly
Hazardous-Anomaly
A leisurely stroll

Having a brief respite, Gorram found himself wandering off from the legion's camp, and into the nearby forest. With his weapon sheathed, and his helmet under his arm, he kneeled down to feel the grass.

"Yes, i do belive this will suit our needs well, very well."

He said, looking at the probable site of a future battleground.

"Sad really, all those courageous, burning souls silenced... Let her omniscience show them the way to reason."

Gorram said to himself in a rather sad tune, before standing back up and looking to the sky. It was a glorious day wasn't it?

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Mr. Sourface

Diavolo scowled. "I don't like this place. It smells." He turned up his nose and looked down upon his kneeling companion. "It may suit our needs, dear Gorram, but it is hardly fitting for ones such as ourselves to stoop to doing battle in such conditions. Forests are dirty! Should we not exert our superiority upon our foes from a rather higher and cleaner place?" he suggested, pointing at a rock outcropping to the south.

Imagen de Dmatter
Dmatter
Ejection had not been the

Ejection had not been the most comfortable of things for Gojira. Being thrown onto a foreign planet wasn't something any creature would call comfortable, and breaking through the ground didn't help with that. Or landing in an area that had a ridiculous amount of heat. Or really any part of the situation Gojira had been in. Being low on energy didn't help either, as he didn't have enough to make it to the surface to search for the delta squad. And it was so hot... so hot...

Initializing: Adaptation.

Some time had passed since Gojira had landed and, surprisingly, he WASN'T burnt to a crisp. In fact the heat felt a bit... soothing. And something about his body seemed off. Upon examination, He found that his entire body had become that of a dragon or drake. "O...Kay. That's going to take some explaining. I probably should go search for the Delta Squad." He had enough energy now, so he found the nearest exit out of a weird... fake... sky thing, and headed to the surface, making small note of his surroundings on the way.

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
Skool sux! lez jus al play fun moar

Dejah daintily tapped her fingers one by one on the hilt of her blade. She really did want to emerge from behind her cover, smiling at how fun it would be to plant her foot upon the back of the seemingly disabled berserker.

In less than a minute, the absurd rage the armoured knight had exhibited was over. Now stuck like a Tortodrone on its back - except the other way around for the knight. Withdrawing her hand to her side, she relented with a sigh.

Dejah remained debating over whether or not the humans hailing from the ships, or the now immobile knight were superior. Predictably, there were more conflicts to come, which meant many other opportunities remained in waiting. Without a second of hesitation, Dejah slipped away from the scene.

Whoever this poor soul was, he was not worth her time.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Let's get things moving.

Where...where am I?

One minute, she's putting on her tech armor for the first time; next minute, she's surrounded by cat people. How long was I out? She sat up, and all the little cat people jumped back in awe and wonder.

"Um, hello?"
They looked at each other, then back at her wide-eyed. "You can speak Common?"
"Of course."
They shuffled up next to her and sat down. "Who are you?" the tallest one asked.
"I'm a new recruit in the Spiral Order. Where am I? This doesn't look at all like Isora."
They looked at her quizzically. "Isora? Where's that?"
"It's...my home." Her heart began to sink. Surely...I can't be...
"You're on Cradle," the tall one said at length. "My name is Jackal, by the way. We call ourselves 'gremlins.' What's your name, human?"
"I'm Recruit Evaria. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"The pleasure is all mine." He began to pace around the room.

"Do you know what happened to you?" he asked mysteriously.

"No." Evaria scratched her head, racking her brain for any possible clues.
"We studied the technology in your suit. It's quite fascinating."
"Yes. And?"
"It malfunctioned."
"Do explain."

Jackal pulled down a whiteboard and began to write on it. "From what we gathered, your suit scans your brain."
Evaria nodded. "Yes. It's part of a system called the 'Lockdown Circuit.' Among other things, it periodically saves my brain state so it can be restored should I fall."
Jackal raised an eyebrow. "Intriguing! That certainly answers a few of my own questions. Apparently, this scanner isn't working."
Her eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
Jackal nodded. "It wasn't scanning your brain anymore."
"But...but that means...the last scan was..."
"...when you first put on the suit."

She buried her head in her hands. Five years...gone...poof! How am I ever going to get that back? Jackal placed a tender paw on her shoulder. "Malfunctions gotta happen to somebody, kiddo." She nodded and wiped a few frustrated tears off her cheeks. "Dam, I'm such a crybaby..." she sobbed. Spanner wordlessly handed her a handkerchief, which she promptly accepted and blew her nose in. "Thanks." She handed it back, and the gremlin tossed it into the washbin.

She wiped her eyes dry and stood up. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Where did you say I was again?"
"Cradle. The nearest town is Haven, about eight miles east of here."
"It'll take me a couple days to get there. Is there any kind of faster transportation around here?"
"There is, actually, but..."
"Where is it? Can I use it?"

The gremlins looked at each other for a few moments and nodded. At length, Jackal said, "You look like you can handle it. This planet has a massive system of biomes built underneath the surface, called the Clockworks. There are multiple tunnels scattered around the planet's surface leading to the central hub, called the Arcade. Haven was built around the Arcade. So if you can find one of these tunnels, it'll take you straight to Haven. The nearest tunnel is just outside of town."

"Thanks!" Evaria started for the door, but then something struck her as odd. She turned around and asked, "What did you mean by 'you look like you can handle it?'" Jackal parted a grim smile. "The Clockworks is inhabited by innumerable hostiles. It's extremely dangerous for lightly-armed warriors to venture into. You, on the other hand, appear well-armed, so we don't doubt your ability to cross it."

She blinked a few times, still processing what he just said. "Okay. I'm willing to give it a shot. Thank you, Jackal. And thank you too...?" She glanced at the teenage gremlin. "...Spanner," the gremlin replied. "Thank you too, Spanner," Evaria finished with a smile.

With that, she replaced her gear and stepped out of the research facility. Not a bad way to restart my life, she mused contentedly.

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
Affraiel the midnight bad@ss

Nezula: *becomes nervous in her tone* “That is not good, you used up all of the suit’s power during the battle, you were too reckless with your attacks! ...Alright, I don’t think the planet’s inhabitants can do any harm to you and your suit at night, all you can do now is to wait for the suit to recharge from your body heat.”

Affraiel: *can feel the air around him is getting colder* “Damn…who knows what is out there in the woodwork tonight.”

Nezula: *calmly* “It is okay, I am here for you… I will make sure nothing happens to you… the rescue camp is not too far away…”

Affraiel: “… Thank you…” *recalls the past* “I still remembered the days I spent in the slum, seeing the city deteriorated around me, I looked into the sky, saw nothing but grey smog, produced from the factories-” *frowns* “-Owned by the damned Spiral Order!”

Nezula: “You cannot blame us, we needed the war effort to counter the Morai threat within our system!”

Affraiel: “AND waste millions on millions of crowns to build the fleet?! What about the lives of my childhood friends, they never made it out of the slums alive, what do you know about the weak? You were never born poor, how do you know what it feels like to kill and steal JUST TO SURVIVE?!”

Nezula: “… But, you did, didn’t you? You survived…”

Affraiel: *calms down* “Yeah, I did, and I will do it again on this godforsaken planet!” *stands up with his own strength* “Nezula, sent me the co-ordinates of the rescue camp!” *starts operating the suit manually, slowly limps his way towards the forest, after a few steps, Affraiel is already covered in sweat.*

Nezula: “Yes, right away!” *inputting the data onto Affraiel’s radar*

Affraiel: *takes one more step, the crushing weight of the suit could have killed a lesser man* “I need some lightings if I want to survive the night.” *pants, and suddenly sees the two combat rifles left by the Morai troopers are laying on the ground* “What is this?” *picks up one of the rifles, sees a flashlight attached to the end of the barrel* “This should do…” *flips open the switch and the light flashes onto the eyes of a pack of starving wolvers* “…Oh, easy there Fido, easy…” *tries to step back and lower his flash light*

Wolvers: *becomes aggravated* “Rrrr…” *drooling with anger*

[The wolver pack jumps toward Affraiel, realizing that he cannot flee in this steel prison, Affraiel pulls down the trigger and barraged the pack with a volley of bullets. The firepower thinned down the pack but still, four wolvers managed tackle Affraiel down to the ground and started to bite every which way, trying to find an opening in Affraiel’s armour to do some damage.]

Affraiel: *struggles to break free* “Argh!” *breaks the jaw of one of the wolver* “Damn MUTTS!” *empties the rifle on another wolver*

[The wolvers finally give up the hunt when Affraiel’s resilience has been proven too much to handle. Affraiel, at last scared away the pack, discards the empty rifle and headed towards the direction of the rescue camp, he removed the flashlight attachment and fixes it onto his chest. Every step he took draws him closer to the rescue camp, as well as his exhaustion. After another kilometre of travelling, Affraiel is on the verge of fainting, but something kept him going, a voice, lighting up the darkness around him more than the flash light ever would.]

Nezula:*in an encouraging tone* “Affraiel, you are almost there… don’t give up…”

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
I will walk 500 miles...

He bit into another heap of toasted...Beast. The things looked like Lizards, but still tasted alright. Solomon tossed the devoured carcass ontop of the other 3 charred skeletons, which had served as his nutrients after he discovered his rations weren't in his supplies. The Vanguard glanced down to his compass which was still pointing due North. He had been trekking for a good few hours now, taking periodic rests through-out. Supporting himself up on the hilt of his blade, he gathered his helm & shield in his hands, before donning each piece of equipment.

He never found out why he never recieved confirmation from Kora, not even a good luck. May have been full-hearted trust, or that the entire situation was too hectic to focus on just a single officer. Never the less, a plateu was up ahead and hopefully it was a step closer to the campsite. Solomon sighed at his relatively full stomach, as he packed up his sleeping bag and stamped out the campfire. He set off North again at a brisk pace.

An hour or two had passed until he noticed a few lights scattered about some of the surfaces of the terrain. They looked like flares, which raised the Vanguard's hopes enough to lightly jog over to them. It was the fastest he was able to with the heavy Azure gear wearing him down, despite his physique. Coming up to one of the shears, he reached down with his load, and examined it, nodding his head at his observations,

"This is Spiral Tech, no doubt. Which means the Campsite should be around here according to Kora. Or at least some other survivors at least".

With that, Solomon placed the flare back to the ground, and made his way down to stable ground in the hill formation, hoping to find his way to the Campsite or something other than sheer wilderness.

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles...

The flames flickered, casting shifting shadows across Dejah as she hid mere metres away from another of the humans from the knight faction. Something about him caught her eye, and caught it well. She was crouched down, patiently watching him casually eat some unfortunate Chromalisks.

His armour did not seem as fortified as the previous knight she encountered, but she could identify someone of high position easily.

As he rose to take his departure, Dejah slipped back farther away from him, but did not leave. Instead she carefully stalked him as he set off once more, smiling sweetly when he sighed with content.

He was certainly more interesting than the previous knight.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Enter Rhendon

Two Morai warriors collapsed in agony as a hail of needle fire ripped into their flesh, and a well-placed grenade silenced their screams. A massive Blitz Needle disappeared behind the barricade, where its war-wearied owner struggled to find a new clip and reload it.

A hail of Typhoon shells tore into the barricade, startling the cigar out of Rhendon's mouth. "S-Scrap," he muttered as he reloaded his Blitz with his shaking left hand. He cringed as more Typhoon shells exploded dangerously close to his leg. Some of them struck a young Proto knight on the head, but no cries escaped his lips. I wish I could be that strong, Rhendon mused as he stared at the river of blood spilling from the knight's determined, broken face.

He peeked over the barricade again, and squinted as a strange figure limped into view. That...what is that? It looks like a Warden. Another Typhoon shell zipped over his head, reminding him to take cover. "Dam! Cut it out!" he whispered angrily to no one in particular.

OOC
__________

Battle reports were flying in from all over Cradle, and Kora was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Some knights simply needed directions. Some needed battlefield intel or reinforcements. Others needed to be comforted in their dying moments.

"I'll get right back to you, Umaru-Ishtil. Just hang in here." She sighed, flipped a switch and reopened a channel to Solomon. "Hey Solomon! How's it going over there? Looks like you're really close to Rescue Camp. Hurry, Morai Shock Troops are assaulting it, and we could really use your expert skills right about now." She internally facepalmed again as she realized how dull and unconcerned she sounded just now.

What she really needed was a break.

She removed her headset, closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Relax, Kora. This is just a busy period; it'll pass. She ignored the new calls for a few moments before putting her headset back on to speak with another knight.

"This is Intel Agent Kora. How can I help you?"

Imagen de Liminori
Liminori
Seeking Truth & Destination

"How does this thing even work?" Leeroy said, Fiddling with his internal communication system.
"Oh, It's simple really, You just tap it twice on the side."
"This is Intel Agent Kora. How can I help you?"
"This is Recon Knight Leeroy speaking, Requesting Coordinates of Solomon Trent, As well as the Rescue Camp."

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Kora & Leeroy

Kora smiled, even though the knight couldn't see it. Leeroy. How could I forget a man like that? He was such a sweet guy when we first met. "You're about half a mile from both Solomon Trent and Rescue Camp. Don't take the road - the Morai Shock Troops are using it. And keep out of sight from the rock face, as there seems to be a commander's group over there."

She touched her headset and leaned on the desk. "You're in the Iron Dragons, right? I think I competed with you to get into that squad. I remember how when you were selected and I went up to congratulate you, you had a really hard handshake!" She chuckled and tossed a lock of her brown hair.

More calls were incoming. She'd have to finish this off soon.

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
:/

double post, sigh, damn it...

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
Affraiel, why are you so awesome? And Nezula, WTH?

[In the never ending darkness, Affraiel, who is already half conscious, sees a beam of orange light, and suddenly, more and more beams of orange light appeared in the darkness, It didn’t take long for Affraiel to realize that, in front of him, was an all-out war. More and more Morai shock troopers arrived to assault the barricade at the rescue camp, many are firing large calibre ‘Typhoon’ grenades at the barricade.]

Nezula: *in a panic* “Affraiel! Are you still with me?!”

Affraiel: *takes in a deep breath, tries to stand still* “Yeah, I am here girl… I will always be here.”

Nezula: “This is not the time for flirting! The Morais are threatening to overwhelm the rescue camp! Many recruits are still in there!”

Affraiel: *suddenly focuses his attention* “Recruit?! How old are they?”

Nezula: “All just young, eighteen years old kids… some of them even lied about their age during the recruitment so…” *swallows her saliva*

Affraiel: *frowns* “They don’t deserve this!” *sees the green energy bar on his interface, still only about two thirds away from been fully charged* “Nezula, how long do you think the energy is going to last?”

Nezula: “If you are going to use it like you did before, it won’t last longer than five minutes! Plus, it is already night time, your suit won’t recharge in time! Their large calibre weapon will kill you!”

[Affraiel knows that he is out of option, he must make a sprint for the barricade, which will no doubt empty out his suit’s energy again. But just as he is about to lift his leg and make a run for the barricade, two captured knight suddenly appeared in his view. Two young recruits who got caught by the Morais during the initial landing skirmish, a Morai centurion has kept them captive. Behind the centurion, comes a heavy howitzer, operated by two gunners, they moved the gun to a high ground outside the barricade, ready for bombardment. ]

Morai Centurion A: *kicks one of the recruit to his knees* “You spineless knights! You have no honour! Fighting you limp sticks has been the greatest disgrace in my life!”

Proto knight A: *pleads* “Please don’t kill us!!!”

Morai Centurion A: *takes out a hand gun from his holster* “I should kill you both right now!”

[Affraiel swiftly moves behind the centurion and instantly breaks his hand before seizing his handgun.]

Morai centurion A: “Argh!!! What the-” *sees Affraiel and staggers*

Affraiel: “You should have bullied people of your own size.” *delivers a powerful upper cut, knocks the centurion stone cold*

Proto knight A: “Thank you warden-”

Affraiel: “No time for introduction, run for the rescue the camp! Take the other guy with you!”

Proto knight B: *reclaims their weapons back from the unconscious Morai centurion* “But we can help!”

Affraiel: *shouts with indignation* “You are too young! Make a run for the barricade!” *hears an unpleasant, mechanical sound in the forest nearby, he shouts at the recruits again* “GO!”

Proto knight A and B: *nods their heads* “Ye-Yes sir!” *runs towards the barricade*

[Affraiel did not wait around to see what the weird noise is, he suspected it to be Morai’s ‘final solution’ to the Spiral knight’s encampment. He quickly dispatched the two Morai gunners with the centurion’s handgun and taken over control of the heavy howitzer. With what is left of the suit’s energy, Affraiel rotates the gun to the direction of the noise, and his suspicion is confirmed when a Morai heavy tank steams its way into the open, grinding down any vegetation that stood in its way.]

Nezula: “Affraiel! I have picked up heavy energy signature at your twelve… is that, a tank?!”

Affraiel: *didn’t pay attention to Nezula’s words, loads an armour piercing shell into the barrel of the howitzer* “Right… here we go…” *aims at the tank, the tank turns its turret towards Affraiel in respond*

Nezula: “Affraiel, you need to run! You can’t face that tank alone, it is too heavily armoured!”

Affraiel: “…Sorry Neuzla, but…” *grins* “…I won’t follow your order, or anyone else’s” *pulls the firing pin*

[The howitzer and the tank fired simultaneously, Affraiel’s shell made it into the turret, setting the tank ablaze. The high explosive shell fired from the tank on the other hand, evaporated the howitzer and Affraiel is sent into the mid-air by the explosion. He is thrown across the sky and crash landed inside the rescue camp, both his suit’s energy and his consciousness are now depleted. In his coma, Affraiel can still hear Nezula’s voice, talking to him.]

Nezula: *in a monotone* “System, critical…” *the pitch of her voice gets lower with each passing word* “SYSTEM… SHUT DOoooown…”

Edit: corrected some errors.

Imagen de Dmatter
Dmatter
Gojira continued heading up,

Gojira continued heading up, noticing a prick of light in the distance. Knowing that light USUALLY meant good things, he headed for it. Almost there... 3,2,1...
Light washed over him as he took a quick look around. He seems to be in some sort of camp... That is also under attack. Getting quickly to cover, he made the obvious decision to find one of The squad members.

OOC

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Battle in the Clockworks

Evaria stepped off the elevator and into a strange new world. Gears and pistons clanked in unison as the great machine churned, blissfully unaware of the young human invading its space.

She looked around in awe and wonder at the mighty construct. "What devilry is this?" she asked aloud. Her gaze eventually settled upon a most curious creature. It appeared to be little more than a great mass of jelly, but it wiggled and bobbed as if it were alive. Intrigued, she moved closer for a better look.

The creature was equally curious. The two stared at each other for nearly a full minute before the jelly grew bored and wandered off. "Hmm! And they said this place was dangerous!" Evaria noted with a laugh. Her laugh died away when she saw three mecha knights advancing on her with their swords drawn.

She instinctively drew her weapon and held it in front. The first mecha knight hardly came within two meters of her before its head rolled to the floor. The other two fell back and mirrored her stance. This might actually be a challenge. Evaria twirled her sword in her hand for a little exercise before she suddenly launched a horizontal swing. The mecha knight easily blocked it and riposted, forcing her to jump back.

Then both mechs decided to attack together. They each stepped to her flanks and fired several quick slashes at her side. Unprepared for this development, Evaria's armor took the brunt of the attacks. She stumbled back, her pride hurt a little, but suffering no serious injury. Enough of this. She angrily fired off a series of wild slashes, each of which the mecha knights easily deflected. Frustrated by her lack of success, she kicked the nearest mecha knight and sent it sprawling to the floor. Without hesitation, she lunged at the unfortunate robot and plunged her sword into its face.

As the construct sputtered and died, its companion took the opportunity to strike Evaria in the back, and she fell face-down onto the floor. She rolled aside just in time to avoid a vertical strike and kicked the mecha knight away. This one, however, did not lose its balance, but she didn't need it to. Having cleared herself a little space, she leaped to her feet and raised her sword in time to block a precise attack at her neck.

Dam, they're good. Using the superior weight of her blade to her advantage, she pushed away the mecha knight's sword and sliced off its head with a quick, clean cut.

Having downed the three mecha knights, she surveyed the battlefield with approval. Not bad, not bad. I'd probably suck at fighting other humans, though. Before she could sheath her sword, she could have sworn that she heard an audible whisper. "What? Who's there?" She turned around the room, and seeing nothing, proceeded to sheath her sword.

Again, before she could sheath it, she heard the whisper again. "Hello?" she called out, suddenly very nervous. "It is I, Aurora," said a quiet voice. "What? Who? Did you say Aurora?"
"Your sword."
"What about it?"
"Look at it."
She held the blade in front of her face. "Okay...what now?"
"Hello there."

Evaria recoiled. "What the- how!?..."
"Do not be frightened. I am your sword, Aurora. We met in your previous life."
"You mean...before I lost my memories?"
"Of course."
"Oh. Okay...this is really weird. Hello."
"Hello."
"Can I put you away now?"
"Yes, now that we are acquainted."

She returned the sword to the sheath. "Do not hesitate to call upon my name should you wish for me to lend you my power." Evaria nodded, and a slight smile crossed her lips. "Perhaps I will. Thanks." She gazed down the long tunnel ahead of her. "Looks like I've got a long way to go."

With that, she sighed and stepped into the tunnel.

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Aint an Officer for nothing.

Nothing much happened on his trek through the Plateu since he found the used flare. A few sparse ruins of what was once a built up pathway, but now weas just a diminished archipelago of stone plates and overgrown tufts of greenery. Solomon carved through numerous walls of bushes to gain further distance along his route. He stopped at a junction, as an obstacle blocked his path. A small party of Morai, probably a scouting party to try and find ways around the main defences set up at camp, if camp wasn't already gone that is.

The Vanguard lowered his body, as he began to edge his way around the edge of a sharp incline in the plateu's features. His hand was gripped around his Blade, his other, shield around the fore-arm, rested upon the valiance. The group of Morai hadnt seemed to notice him yet. Picking up a stone from the ground, he threw it at the opposing rockface. The group looked up in response, and sent one of their number to investigate. The chosen morai scout jogged over to the stone, and picked it up, inspecting it closely. He frowned as a small succession of Potent Energy rounds impacted the back of his skull. His eyelids fluttered as his body went limp and collapsed to the floor. The others came flocking around to their commrades aid, as they looked around for the cause. Nothing. Solomon has taken cover behind a dense bush formation during the confusion. Now it was going to get interesting.

From the looks of things, there were only two more Morai. The one who he had shot wasn't dead. A Valiance wasn't capable of that in just a few shots. But he was out cold at least. The couple of remaining scouts panned out from eachother, hoping to find the threat quicker. As one of them passed by the bush Solomon was hiding, the Vanguard made a rustle. The scout was taken back, and began to open fire into the foliage. After unloading a few shots into the bush, he expected the greenery. A large, dented Aegis impacted him in the face, dazing him, as Solomon grabbed him and pulled him into the bush, the sound of a neck cracking heard shortly after. The Vanguard got up from his cover, when the final morai saw him and charged with blade held high.

The sound of blades clashed as Solomon made the parry seem like child's play. A few more blocks from Solomon's side were had, until he brought up his shield and stabbed forward in the opening that had been presented to him. The Morai dodged out the way of the incoming blade, only recieving a shallow wound to the side. The Morai looked down at his wound, and came back up to see a Shield bashing into his face. While he was dazed, a Leviathan blade made a powerful thrust into his stomach, this time hitting home and penetrating straight through. Solomon looked at the Morai behind his cold, metal visor. The panicking scout had his hands gripped around the Leviathan's guard, and was desperately trying to remove it. He shouted at Solomon in an enraged fashion, until his mouth was filled with the barrel of a Valiance. A few shots of point-blanc energy racked the brain of the morai, as a blue light could be seen eminating from varying holes in his head. Solomon withdrew his blade, and struck it toward the ground, flicking off the blood caused from the wound. The unsupported Morai fell down, dead with a smoking top. The vanguard walked over to the 1st, blade held openly to his side. He raised his blade up, and smirked some words,

"Looks like you guys struck out on your opponent. I didn't rise in the ranks of the Morai war for nothing, you know".

He struck the blade down hard, almost cleaving the Morai's head in two. Solomon sighed as he flicked the blood off of his blade, before sheathing it. He looked over his shoulder, and bellowed a few words out behind him.

"I don't appreciate being followed. If you haven't killed me yet, it means you want to talk, so let's have it. Who are you?". Solomon had his head still looking behind him, still donning his closed visor and full Azure armour, awaiting a response for the mysterious stalker of his.

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
My bitcoin site isn't loading :( - er - I mean: Confrontation

Dejah smiled seductively as she stepped out from her concealment. Swivelling her blade around twice before sheathing it gracefully, she leant back against a tree, still beaming at the knight. So he was more competent than she had previously estimated, that counted for something.

"Well, not as oblivious as I'd hoped." she stepped forward, eyes confidently locked on the knights. "Perhaps that was a good thing. For now, however, telling me your name should suffice."

"Your faction also seems to be fairing better than these losers nonetheless." Dejah gave a kick to the nearest body to demonstrate. "A bit gory though," she pointed out with disinterest.

Placed her other hand on her hip, she awaited the knight's reply, sometimes things could just get so boring.

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Conversing like a Sir.

Solomon turned his body around, facing the mysterious lady that had shown herself to him. It wasn't at all what he had expected. Before he could repeat his question, she asked her own. For his name to be precise. Remembering to be courteous to a Lady, in line with Sigmund's etiquette training, he bowed to the dame, and answered in his clearest tone.

"I am Solomon Trent, Officer of the Spiral Knight Faction. The side you've clearly taken an interest too". Solomon let the words sink in before addressing her disgust of the Morai's bloody ends.

"Sorry for the mess, I didn't realise I'd have such elegant company to entertain...".

Solomon kicked the Morai over face-down, so its deathly expression wasnt showing to the world. He sat himself down on a nearby rock, and pulled up his visor to show his handsome complexion. He then posed a question, still addressing her in his clear tone.

"You are not of Spiral or Morai faction, obviously. Nor are you a beast, so tell me. If you shan't tell me your name, how about your own faction?". The vanguard crossed his legs, and rested his chin on a pair of clasped hands.

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
"handsome complexion" lol - I mean: Quite.

"Aren't we the chivalrous one?" Dejah's raised an eyebrow with a smile, but following her statement, the smile abruptly went flat. "Except I believe anyone seemingly appearing from the stars, heavily engaged in a war owes me an explanation, and maybe, in exchange, I could assist in your trivial conflict."

Dejah remained wordless, then broke out with a bemusing grin, and curtly curtsied. "I hail from the Kingdom of Almire." Stepping up to the so intensively posed Knight, Dejah extended her hand. "Dejah Thoris, you might want to remember that."

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Moving on some more.

Rhendon peeked over the barricade again to find that the battle was already over. What the...? He stood up and stared downfield at the young man and woman conversing over a few dead bodies. Looks like a Vanguard. Who's the girl? He put away his Blitz Needle and cautiously approached them.

"Who the heck are you people? How can you two just stand here chatting like it's a social call when there's dead soldiers lying around? ****, you're so annoying!" He crossed his arms and gave them a very sour look. "Besides, don't you have business in Haven, young man?"

Imagen de Liminori
Liminori
An attempt to be a regular RPer

"And just WHAT is going on here?" Sherry exclaimed, Having found the small group.
Leeroy muttered under his breath "God Scrap it Sherry."
"You say something, Leeroy?"
"EH- I uh- No, Sherry."
"Good."
"Sir, I apologize if you find Sherry rude. We should probably get going to either Haven or the Rescue camp, Solomon." Leeroy said, Saluting to Both Rhendon and Solomon.
"Who might you be?" He said, Gesturing towards the Lady in Foreign armor.

Imagen de Hazardous-Anomaly
Hazardous-Anomaly
A setback

Looking through the binoculars, Gorram felt a slight pang of guilt for sending those "soldiers" so close to the walls. Though they were only prisoners of war dressed up to look the part, something felt very wrong about sending them in with outdated tech. But it was a direct order from her omniscience. Looking breifly over to his partner who seemed unphased by the whole endevor. He would've spoken up about it, if he hadn't already had this argument a thousand times. Instead, he activated his commlink to begin his report

"Warden Khazaim, reporting in"

In a heavenly voice, a response came through the crystal

"Continue Guardian"

With a sigh, Gorram continued

"The prisoners we sent for absolution have failed, none have made it back."

Gorram spoke, looking at the battle reports

"However, the spiral order has suffered a few casualties as well"

The commlink crackled to life again, speaking as sweetly as before

"This is wonderful news Guardian, think of all the loyal lives you've traded for those heretics"

"I will"

Gorram stated coldly

"Will report again soon, with faith and Valor"

And with that, the commlink was severed

Imagen de Kaijuhunter
Kaijuhunter
First post in... What? A year?

Diavolo yawned, a bored expression plastered on his face. He stomped upon the rocks, occasionally smashing one to bits with the sheer force of his steps. Finally reaching the top of the rocky outcropping, he drew his sword and roared out to any humans still alive "COWARDS! COME UP HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

He yawned yet again and squashed an insect as it flew past him. Just like he would crush the Spiral Knights.

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Aggrovated Response.

An expression bordering annoyance peaked onto Solomon's face, as he sighed deeply to himself, and lowered his visor back down to hide his looks once again. It seemed that this concluded any private negotiation with the Locals in charge of the planet. The vanguard turned his head toward his priorities in an order he deemed fit. First was Rhendon.

"You are a Defender Elite Rhendon, while I reside over you as both Vanguard AND Officer, so I'd remind you to address me as such. Especially in dire times such as these. But regardless, you have a point, I shall make haste toward the campsite and report in with Kora as soon as possible. She may be able to then tell me what in Isora's name a Haven is...".

He turned his attention toward the Recon Knight, who had addressed him second, and answered his query of making the trip back to the campsite asap as well.

"Ah..Leeroy was it? Yes, Yes, I'm on my way back right now. Maybe there we can discuss why on Isora you have a teenage girl accomanying you in such a place like this".

Solomon peered closer toward the girl, and said in a stern, whispered usher.

"This Recon that you're with was quite correct. You were being quite rude. Though he did apologise, so I'll let it slide"

The Vanguard smirked to himself, before turning back toward Dejah Thoris, who he knew must be growing quite impatient by this point.

"Please excuse me for all these interruptions. It seems I had forgotten the importance in returning back to my encampment in the rush of sudden events. Would you allow me to accompany you back to our current HQ? Drinks are on me".

Solomon hoped he could try and salvage the diplomatic attempt through some cheap charm, but he didn't bet on it being very successful. He awaited a response from her, and hoping the others would try and not ruin it. He knelt on one knee and bowed to the Almirian while resting his gauntlet onto her out-stretched hand, trying to gain some favour at least, being as humble as he dared.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Reports are in.

Feron heaved a depressed sigh as Sir Tristam Euclid stormed out of the room. Darnit Serris! Why do you have to sabotage my relations with my best soldiers!? With a heavy heart, he began marking off the removed squad members.

Alpha Squad:
Euclid, Squad Leader
Rulen, Squad Tech
Parma, Squad Recon
Grantz, Squad Guardian (deceased)

Beta Squad:
Jorin, Squad Leader
Echo, Squad Striker
Izola, Squad Guardian
Remi, Squad Recon

Gamma Squad, Iron Wolves:
Valentine, Squad Leader (deceased)
Desna, Squad Guardian
Rhendon, Squad Recon (transferred)
Wilks, Squad Striker

Delta Squad, Iron Dragons:
Trent, Squad Leader
Dorien, Squad Striker (deceased)
Garsouk, Squad Recon
deMarquise, Squad Guardian (deceased)

Epsilon Squad, Iron Wardens:
Zebulon, Squad Leader
Archilus, Squad Warden
Walkon, Squad Warden
Sylvin, Squad Warden

Zeta Squad:
Barrus: Squad Leader (transferred)
Daxen: Squad Recon
Virgil: Squad Guardian (transferred)
Vaelyn: Squad Striker (transferred)

Imagen de Liminori
Liminori
-Blank-

Solomon peered closer toward the girl, and said in a stern, whispered usher.

"This Recon that you're with was quite correct. You were being quite rude. Though he did apologize, so I'll let it slide."
"Yeah yeah- Leader." Sherry said, Dripping with sarcasm.
Leeroy loudly cleared his voice in the direction of Sherry.
"Eep!"
Leeroy sighed, "As for you, Rhendon- I think that there are some other things that you could be doing, Rather than scolding higher rankings, Such as doing your job as a fellow Recon Knight. Would you please give me a copy of what you have already scouted, Rhendon?"

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Rhendon

Rhendon huffed and presented a map of the area. "All right, all right, here." He pointed to a small circle on the map. "That's Rescue Camp. It's situated at the base of a cliff in a forest clearing. Haven..." He pointed to a square area north of the small circle. "...is here. It's linked to Rescue Camp by a elevator we found nearby. They're separated by a wide chasm, and aside from the elevator, the only way to get to Haven is to go the long way around."

He crossed his arms and stared intently at Solomon. "Protect your squad. Weird stuff is down there." He saluted and marched back to camp to help to help the medical teams.

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
Affraiel woke up

[Affraiel is awakened by the bitter argument sparked off a few meters besides him, it is strange that no one noticed him when he was blown sky high and crash landed into the camp in the most glorious manner possible. Again, it might be better off for him not to receive any unwanted attention, he is a convict after all. His warden armour won’t hide his identity for long.]

Serris: *cuts into Affraiel’s frequency* “Rise and shine…”

Affraiel: *still in a daze…* “Nezula…are you…”

Serris: *sighs* “Still living in a dream are we? Alright, let’s put Nezula back online, she is eager to see you again…” *statics*

Nezula: *statics cleared* “Affraiel!”

Affraiel: *fully awakens* “Nezula?” *exhale with relieve* “So I lived… huh…”

Nezula: *very anxious* “Promise me that you won’t act so recklessly again!”

Affraiel: *chuckles* “Sorry girl, but I am not promise anything.”

Nezula: *becomes serious* “I AM not your ‘girl’! I have a name too you know!”

Affraiel: *apologises* “Sorry, Miss, Nezula…”

[Affraiel lifts himself up from the blood stained battle ground. He clears his head and inspects his surroundings, he sees Solomon and Leeroy conversing to an outlandish woman, who is fancily dressed, clearly a noble.]

Affraiel: *inspects the Dejah from a distance* “I swear I saw her somewhere….”

Nezula: “I have done a background check on her, nothing came up. She is neither a Morai nor a Knight…”

[Affraiel, slowly approaches Solomon and Leeroy, but tries his best not to get any unwanted attention from anyone else, but the proto knights near him have already started to recognize the heavily armoured warden, “it is him! The guy who saved the rescue camp!”]

Imagen de Hazardous-Anomaly
Hazardous-Anomaly
Laying the plans

"Report"

Gorram said without even glancing at the slender scout

"They seem to be reinforcing their ranks at Haven sir, we have word that they have only one way through. A chasm, here."

The holomap depicted a rather narrow passage that had been abandoned by the order for awhile now.

"Very well, you are dismissed"

Gorram said to the man

"With faith and Valor sir"

And with that, the man left the small collaberation of officers.

"We can trap the recruits here, here, and here. With a defensive position, we could bottleneck their forces and force a surrender. Perhaps even recruit them to bolster our numbers."

A familiar snicker could be heard

"Would you like to add something Diavolo?"

Imagen de Liminori
Liminori
"Doh!"

Leeroy looked at his notes again, And realized that he had forgotten something important.
"You said your name was Solomon, Solomon Trent, Yes?" Leeroy said, Looking down at his notes again.
-*Fizzle*- (OOC)
"Well, If you have not been informed yet, It appears that you are a part of my Squad- The Iron Dragons, And have been assigned the Leader." Leeroy said, Putting his notes away.
"Oh, and Sherry- You might want to be careful what you say around your Higher Rankings."
"As if, Right now- I take orders from nobody!"
Leeroy sighed, Pinching his brow which furrowed- "Sherry, You'll learn someday that what you think doesn't matter all the time."

Imagen de Hexlash
Hexlash
It's a pahtea! How quaint.

As the grouchy Knight stomped off, Dejah removed her hand from Solomon's grasp.

"Such a gentlemen. It gets boring occasionally, so I accept your invitation."

Not that you could have denied me.

Unbeknownst to the Knights, she had been keenly listening to the various queries and discussions that had been progressing, attentive to every detail.

If she was to gain any influence over them, she needed to know about them; and besides, hanging around Solomon a bit more definetely couldn't hurt.

Dejah considered her previous failed intimidation, and attempted a different approach. "Why don't you acquaint me but more with your operations? I'm sure anyone would be a bit curious if warring strangers arrived on their planet."

Surprisingly, it was not at all untrue that that usually happened on Crafle. Dejah realized amusedly, her cute smile spreading across her face once more.

"After all, I'm positive we'd both like to get to know each other better."

Imagen de Viorayne
Viorayne
Leadership

Solomon smiled. It seemed like not everything was going so badly as he first thought. Maybe there was a chance to salvage the situation. He got up from his kneeling position and nodded at Dejah's response.

"I agree that building our relations will help both our factions in this dire time. However currently I cannot disclose any of our plans with members outside the Order for security reasons. None the less, allow me to show you to our base of operations where we can discuss matters further".

Solomon gestured for her to follow him, as he turned toward Leeroy & Sherry in due course. He had had quite enough of the girl's talkback attitude.

"Leeroy, if it is to be that I am your current commanding officer, please aid me in escorting this 'VIP' back to the Rescue Camp. After which, you can have some time to yourself until the time we regroup with the rest of the Dragons and make way for Haven". The Vanguard smirked as he turned his head back frontward, before raising a finger in the air to signify he had one last message to relay.

"Oh an Sherry? From this point onward you are discharged from my Squad. Feel free to take it up with Feron if you so wish". Solomon began to slowly pace off toward the camp, not wishing to be within earshot of whatever the girl would mouth his way.

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Rescue Camp

They reached Rescue Camp by nightfall.

The place was a mess. Craters and shattered stone littered the ground, and strange red mud permeated the front lines. Maimed knights sat in grim silence as they awaited medical attention that almost never came. Scrapped escape pods and pieces of wrecked constructs made up the small, lone command center, but even that had innumerable holes and scorch marks.

This was not a good place to be reassigned to. No wonder Rhendon was so sour. They followed the crude path until they reached an elevator, where a weary, battle-worn Spiral Warden stood guard. Despite the single chevron on his armor denoting his low rank and relative inexperience, he already bore himself like a veteran.

He saluted them when they approached. "Hey guys. A small team of knights got the power up and running again, so the elevator is usable now. You all headed to Haven? I hear it's a nice place."

He'd never been to Haven?
Poor guy...

Imagen de Thinslayer
Thinslayer
Evaria reaches Haven

Evaria's elevator stopped on a green, grassy road lined with bushes and leading to a long, narrow bridge over an impossibly deep chasm. A couple knights saluted her as she passed, and some even stared at her in awe. When she arrived at the entrance to Haven, Virgil was waiting for her. He saluted and was about to let her go through when he suddenly hailed her back.

"I knew I was forgetting something. You're Evaria, right?"
She nodded. "Yes sir. What of it, sir?"
"So you are alive. Excellent. Feron wants to speak with you."
Confused, Evaria cocked her head. "What do you mean by 'so you are alive?' Was I considered dead?"
Virgil nodded. "Kora monitors those kinds of things. I'd heard rumors that you were alive, but we couldn't confirm it."
"There were rumors about me?"
Virgil nodded again. "Of course. Go on; don't keep Feron waiting." With that, he saluted and continued his gaze down the path.

Still befuddled, Evaria returned the salute and entered Haven.

The place looked impossibly alien to her. While Isora was dominated by beautiful, mathematically-precise structures and elaborate buildings with intricate designs, Haven was cluttered with crude adobe shacks. While cultured, well-dressed individuals walked the neatly paved streets of Isora, here only crude knights and the mysterious Strangers walked on roads so dusty that the pavement was hardly visible.

She hated it.

After several unfruitful minutes of trying to find Spiral HQ, she eventually hailed down a passing knight and asked for directions. He saluted and tensed up as if he was speaking to a superior, and he stuttered as he pointed her in the direction of the Garrison. Evaria thanked him with a warm smile and headed off in the given direction.

Spiral HQ turned out to be an innocuous-looking building situated in a remote corner of the Garrison. She expected the door to open automatically, but she eventually realized that it could only be opened with a button. A breath of fresh air later, she found herself standing face to face with none other than Lieutenant Feron himself.

Face to face, I say, only because he was seated at his desk, considering his legendary height. He looked up from his paperwork and nearly fell over in his chair when he spotted her. "Evaria! Your- your alive!? Incredible! I heard you were dead!"
Evaria reddened and bowed her head. "Yes, I've been getting that a lot lately, Lieutenant Feron sir."
Feron stood up, rounded his desk and stepped in front of her to give her a once-over. "You haven't changed a bit since our last meeting. What happened to your helmet?"
What do you mean by 'our last meeting?' We've never met. "I seem to have lost it, Lieutenant Feron sir."
He grunted and shook his head. "Most unfortunate, that. Please, have a seat. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you."

Imagen de Midnight-Dj
Midnight-Dj
Mini Boss Inbound! Elzilia Grioneal, the 'purple talon'.

[Ignoring the cheers from the two proto knights he saved earlier, Affraiel walks slowly to the elevator guarded by a low ranking warden while trying his best to preserve his suit’s energy. He left the rescue camp before he aroused anyone’s attention. The warden who is guarding elevator casts a suspicious look at Affraiel’s modified iron might suit, it is unlike anything he has seen before.]

Affraiel: *whispers to Nezula while walks casually to the warden* “Hey, that dude is on to me. What should I do?”

Nezula: *whispers back to Affraiel* “Just use the fake identity that you are provided.”

Warden: *wants to say something* “…” *inspects Affraiel’s suit for the second time, still not sure of his ranking or which squad he belongs to* “…Ugh, which squad guardian are you? And why are you alone?”

Affraiel: *cracks his neck* “I am Affr-” *coughs* “excuse me, sorry” *coughs* “My name is deMarquise, guardian of the Delta team. I am here to ask you to grant me permission to Haven.”

Warden: *checks his name lists* “Hmm… deMarquise… the list here says you have died during the crash… it says here your escape pod is destroyed due to faulty landing system.”

Affraiel: “That must be someone else’s landing pod…” *sees that the warden is not experienced* “Hey, shouldn’t you address me as sir? And
why are you questioning my honouring identity as a guardian of the Spiral Order?”

[The warden knows something isn’t right, but dares not to question the authority of a man inside an iron might suit that is obviously more modified and battle tested than his own. The warden steps away from the elevator and granted Affraiel passage.]

Warden: *frowns at Affraiel as he is entering the elevator* “… You don’t sound like a warden, the way you walk, the way you talk in that strange accent of yours… who exactly are you?”

Affraiel: *enters the elevator and returns the warden with a cheeky shrug* “We might never know…”

[Affraiel took a rest while the elevator descends to what seems to be a chasm, the elevator stopped at the basin of the chasm and Affraiel steps out. The elevator behind him quickly closes and he is on his own again.]

Serris: *cuts into Affraiel’s frequency* “So, mister Affraiel, how is your suit working out?”

Affraiel: *laughs sarcastically* “It works like a dream, I almost died…”

Serris: *chuckles* “You will do as you are told, meet up with the Delta team at Haven, and if you think you can escape my control through this chasm, then hate to rain on your parade, but this suit that you are wearing has tracking device and only I can deactivate it.”

Affraiel: *whispers* “Damn it!”

Serris: “Oh, by the way, a few knights have reported the sighting an unidentified Morai elite. They said that ‘it’ was so fast that they never got a good look at ‘it’, before they realize all their friends are sliced in half. Nicknamed the ‘purple talon’…”

Affraiel: “Purple talon?”

Serris: “Yes, this Morai elite in question is equipped with some kind of high frequency energy blade, the purple colour the blade off gave this Morai elite its namesake. Packed with some kind of jet booster strapped on its back, it can slice a knight into vegetable salad before the knight can even empty his blaster.”

Affraiel: “Pft, those blade will not make a scratch on this ‘prison’ of yours!”

Serris: “And no prison is impenetrable, don’t underestimate, ‘it’, I still need you alive. Proceed to Haven with Caution!”

[Affraiel treks through the rocky valley while trying to forget what Serris said, the vegetation here are scarce and without vegetables, nothing big and living can survive down here. It is almost Midnight, a full moon hangs high above the sky with tiny strips of cloud lingers by. Affraiel suddenly becomes alarmed when he heard the sound of a jet engine being activated, the noise speeds its way across the chasm and roars straight for Affraiel.]

Nezula: “Affraiel! Look out!”

Affraiel: “!”

[And suddenly, a masked Morai soldier appears out of nowhere and thrusts its purple energy blades into Affraiel. The long haired soldier is armed with medium sized energy blades, one on each hand. The Morai forcefully pushes both blade against Affraiel’s chest plate while the jet engines on its back are at maximum velocity. Affraiel, at the last second, grabs the hands of the Morai assailant and allowed the blades to slide right pass him. The Morai soldier quickly adjusted its jet engine and turned around to face Affraiel. The morai is wearing a set of light armour, with smooth and sleek plantings covering the soldier’s slender limbs, with two massive flight worthy jet engine on the back, this suit is clearly designed to capitalize the weaknesses of Affraiel’s suit.]

Affraiel: *draws his twin leviathan blades* “The hell are you?!”

???:*giggles in a high pitched voice* “…”

Affraiel: *realizes that his assailant is a woman* “So you must be the ‘purple talon’… quite the fancy entry you got there.”

???:*bows and unmasks herself, a large scar on her left eye can be seen beneath her long hairs* “And you are?”

Affraiel: *sees that the female Morai is fairly young* “You can call me your good old uncle Affraiel!”

???: *smiles* “Okay, Uncle Affraiel, my name is Elzilia, and yes, I am the purple talon. I have always wanted to add the head of a Spiral Warden to my trophy board, do you think you can help with my collection?”

Affraiel: “My head eh?” *chuckles* “Sorry darling, but your uncle Affraiel here ain’t no warden!”

Elzilia: “Then what are you doing in that outfit of yours?”

Affraiel: “It is a prison, built by those who deemed me too dangerous for this world.”

Elzilia: *becomes enlightened* “Oh, so it is true then, I am not the only one out there who is carrying their own prison around…” *I guess it is time that we set each other free then?”

Affraiel: “Free?”

Elzilia: “Don’t play dumb with me! If you don’t want to set yourself free! Then I will do it for you!” *the purple energy blades are set to full power, she blasts her jet engine to maximum speed and initiates a steaming charge for Affraiel*