Search results for query: *

@Kabronex @Ironboi13 The beast's attempt to block the sword with its drill claws ended in failure as it was run through by the Great's blade and promptly cooked from the inside out. However, laden with weapons as it was, all that ammunition, power cells for its energy weapons, and whatever fueled its half-machine body getting exposed to all that heat and energy from the Thunder Break? The resulting explosion was loud enough to be heard and felt all the way back to the interdicted Convoy the erstwhile team was supposed to protect as well as causing a cascade of avalanches on the surrounding snow-capped peaks. Bearing witness to the rising mushroom cloud even from the altitude their plane was, Stella clenched her teeth at the sudden and very unwelcome development. She isn't exactly sure how tough those machines of theirs were but they're not going to walk an explosion of that magnitude off. Still, this is the only real thing she could do in this situation aside from a pyrrhic...

The crewman makes an aside glance and a rather uncomfortable grimace as he prepares to give Hanar a very abridged version of the sector's current political maze... "You can try. But the political situation is... Volatile to say the least, as PACT is making moves to try and annex Ceran space, they claim worlds and systems for "freedom", "the revolution" and "equality for all", but it just seems like they've merely become the new bosses of the Old Empire..."

The tail is severed in a wild storm of forked lightning, followed by a thunderous roar of pain from the mechasaur. Unfortunately, it still had some tricks left in its bag as it whips about towards Perun, albeit slower now that its center of mass and balance were all out of whack from the loss of its primary stabilizer, panels on its chest spring open to reveal an array of gunbarrels and the ox-like Zord is buried in a barrage of projectiles that while not particularly large or very good at penetrating armor, was very distracting and gave the monster enough time to swing its drill claws at the Perun in an attempt to knock it aside before sequencing to try and block the Great's sword strike as well as giving it a taste of steel rain from its chest to further improve its chances.

There was a bit of a commotion when the Thunderbird attempted to squeeze into the cargo hold of the armed merchantman, the crew screaming in horror at what the outworlder was trying to do and desperately begged for him to stop; only for their fear to transform into utter bewilderment and disbelief as Hanar was somehow able to fit his mech in with nearly no issue, which was mindboggling as it was nearly 50% taller than the Ryders their Navy counterparts used. Crewmembers standing by on the cargo hold to meet the new arrival beheld the mountain of a man responsible for turning their humble ship into a space clown car with dumbstruck looks, their stupor remaining unshaken or perhaps inadvertently extended when Hanar started giving away junk food as freebies. It was only when he began to request a sitrep did one of them eventually snap out of it and answer his query. "W-We're a neutral planet, sandwiched between the territories of the Solar Alliance and PACT, two nations in a cold...

The buster rifle blasts its oncoming missiles apart and rakes across the beast's back, the tide of plasma scorching its armor and pushing it forward into the waiting axe of the Zord. Unfortunately, the dinosaur's armor plate held strong, and aside from staggering it and leaving an ugly mark on where he had shot it, the beast was seemingly no worse for wear. But then, David would get a radar lock warning and he'd suddenly find himself under ground fire. Namely a high-power plasma beam coming from... The valley below! A new hostile? But how did it get there without anyone noticing? While Kane managed to ignore the beast's pulse laser fire, its next trick wasn't nearly as easy to brush aside... As the Great dashed into melee, the Mechasaur's tail suddenly telescoped and expanded, a nimbus of crackling lightning materializing around the unfurled appendage before it quickly lashed out like a serpent toward the super robo's center of mass!

The golden warrior lies silent and unmoving, ruminating on an answer to Jameson's response. Internally, however, the Custodes was fairly impressed at his intuition, to conclude that the Men of the 41st Millenium had such terrible experiences with Artificial Intelligence, and from what he had said about where he hailed from, his people were starting to develop the very same attitude towards them. That and would it be fair to consider a copy of a human mind a true abominable intelligence? A mind that can truly comprehend what it means to be human? He honestly cannot say... Immortality was a poisoned chalice at the best of times, all too frequently would those who at last achieved it lose themselves or all they cherish in exchange... But from the way the boy spoke of his partner, Of how important the man the AI used to be to Jameson... Perhaps the benefit of the doubt should be given, he knew what his transfiguration into a digital being would ultimately entail, to be forever...

One of the Ceran Navy's merchant marine vessels on a routine patrol suddenly picked up a contact. Another outworld stray from the looks of it. Where were these guys coming from? Whatever was bringing them here seemed to have a thing for Cera as the last time this happened was when it all went down 10 years ago... Whatever the case, this one requested to dock and resupply, a major from wherever he came from. He even offered things to trade in return for some hospitality. A somewhat welcome gesture, at least. "Major McKallister, you are in Ceran space. We are not whatever these...Zetans are. You have permission to come aboard. You can explain yourself more afterward." Fort Ladon would soon receive news that they've got yet another outworlder coming over. And the day was just getting started too...

Aside from the mechs and their pilots, Jameson and Maverick would be greeted by a very, very, very tall man in golden armor standing alongside the war machines and matching, and in some ways exceeding them in sheer presence despite his small stature, with the way he carried himself around as if he was confident that there was nothing in his sight that could even hope to stop him... Is he even a man? He's far too big... Not to mention that Maverick could tell that the golden giant- or at least his armor was the source of the first data entity that attempted contact and most definitely not the one that tried to lock him out of the Gundam's systems. "It is either a confident warrior who throws his weapons aside before potential foes. Or one who has nothing to hide." Then the giant cranes his head to lock eyes with Jameson himself. "So which are you?" With the way he phrased and enunciated his words... Even past his booming baritone voice, which further divorced him from mortal...

Turning towards the new hostile that emerged to ambush the ambusher, the lanky beast's claw-drills began whirling in anticipation of bloody melee before it attempted to parry the incoming axe with a swipe from its right arm, and then followed up with a thrust of its left, drills spinning all the while and relying upon its longer reach and taller stature to keep the human machine at a safe enough distance where its bulk and strange proportions could not become a liability. Unfortunately for the team, the lizard freak was equipped for multi-directional combat and dissuaded any attempts at attacking from the rear when it brandished another set of weaponry, its organic missiles sliding back into its armor for safety, unfurling a set of light pulse lasers mounted on the sides of its long neck before opening up on the Great when it tried to get closer all while keeping its eyes and claws on the Zord in front of it.

At Jameson's revelation of his machine possessing something that should not be allowed to exist, of what is essentially a demonic being to the faithful of both the Omnissiah and the Emperor; the temperature around the Custodes and Ignis abruptly dropped. It was a figurative thing, yet the two Imperium representatives' erstwhile companions suddenly felt chills up their spines... Sending a shrouded vox message over to Valrin, the Custodes tells the knight to not act rashly... But also to be prepared. "Give the boy a chance, just one. A courtesy offered to the ignorant and innocent." Innocent... Funny that a Talon of the Emperor understands the meaning of that word... Meanwhile, a bunch of ground mechs aside from the ones he had been paying attention to were making their way toward his approximate location, given their paint schemes and IFF readings, these must be the "Ryders" of the Ceran Army and they're heer to both escort him into Fort Ladon proper and act as an impromptu...

Jameson's and the Maverick's first response to their hail would come from a rather... Odd source, while it appeared quite normal at first glance to the pilot, the Gundam's AI would pick up certain discrepancies with the way the data was received and how it was relayed back to it. It was not quite an AI as Jameson would know it. In a sense, it was highly advanced, but not merely in a technological sense. The source was arcane in a way that can only be called supernatural. This was not simply two AIs communicating, but a living entity adapting and altering itself to speak with something entirely different from itself, forcing an understanding between both parties... And yet whatever this data-entity was, it did so with just enough care not to give any undue harm to the Maverick's systems even though it was readily apparent that it could do so much more if inclined... Meanwhile, at Fort Ladon, the Custodes kept staring into the sky; his form ramrod straight and as still as a rock...

The surprise missile volley providing plenty of cover and distraction to safely emerge, the attacker rose from the dust and debris created by its sinkhole with a series of drills chewing its way out of the earth with such speed it was as if the alpine soil were made of cotton candy and was soon followed up by the creature they were attached to: A large long-necked cybernetic theropod decked out in heavy-duty armor and with disproportionately lanky arms that ended in large drill-claws contrasting with stout, stubby legs that further added to its bizarre appearance. While it looked odd, perhaps even comical, the sheer speed it quickly acquired its targets and deployed its weapons was no laughing matter. Snapping its left arm forwards, it stretches out its drill-claws to reveal a gunbarrel recessed in its palm and then proceeds to fire off a rapid fusillade of particle blasts at the Great Mazinger with little warning, the shimmering pulses streaking towards the Super Robo like a...

The mechasaur was able to escape getting bisected by the Great Boomerang with ease, but Kane's follow-up was far more successful. its pilot caught off-guard by the sheer number of projectiles, it only took a single mistake for one missile to get close enough to damage the cyber-beast with its explosion, shredding its wing and leaving it trailing blood, smoke, and fuel as its engines began to lose thrust. Leaving the stricken Mechasaur to crash and burn on its own, the enemy was left with only two units in the field, one of them being on its last legs. Unfortunately for the humans, what was soon supposed to be an inevitable victory quickly changed when a high-priority message straight from Almace and the tone she had was suitably grim and urgent "Return to the convoy at once! They're under attack from the ground!" Radar scans corroborated her claims as a large contact appeared dead ahead of where the convoy was headed and if they turned around, they'd see several trails of smoke...

In an unsurprisingly longer amount of time in comparison to the time it took for him to actually leave Cera's atmosphere, the patrol craft's descent quickly began to slow and soften, and soon enough, the hangar doors opened up to the dark blue of the upper stratosphere. "If you're ready to disembark, go right ahead."

As expected, the beast pulled off an evasive maneuver, performing a short dive so as to not bleed away its precious airspeed and energy in case Mazinger would follow up its rocket punch, its pilot's prudence quickly paid off when the Great suddenly hit afterburners and attempted to ram into it with a shocking burst of speed for something so bulky as a super robo. Hitting its afterburners as well, the mechasaur then executed a barrel roll, barely managing to avoid getting plastered across the Great's grill, though it didn't do so unscathed as the radar crest upon its skull was sheared clean in half by the Mazinger's razor wing. While it would take time for the mechasaur to retaliate, unfortunately for Kane, its wingmen had no such worries and now he found himself pounded from multiple directions with linear cannon and pulse laser fire. The missiles were destroyed by the CIWS fire, but they had fulfilled their purpose in preventing David from pursuing the Mechasaurs, giving them...

Jameson boards the patrol craft without incident. Inside its hangar, he would see the typical complement of such a ship: shuttles, probe drones, and the like but with the only standout being a repair and recovery mech stripped down to the barest essentials to save weight, which again; had a completely alien design philosophy compared to what the mercenary was used to. It took a short pause for the response to his question to be answered, preceded by a scoff of bemused disbelief. "Let's just say that those guns you saw on the Empty Quarter aren't there just for show. The galaxy isn't a friendly place and it's gotten even less so as of late." Then the patrol craft abruptly began to lurch, judging from the way it did so, it seemed to have begun to reenter the planet's atmosphere. "We're already aware that your machine was able to escape our planet's gravity well, so consider this ride a courtesy from the Ceran Navy." "Fair enough, this is their planet." Then Liam would get a...

There was a period of silence as the crew of the patrol craft considered what Jameseon had said, but the ship had not slowed from its approach towards the Gundam at all. At the very least they killed their lights. A bunch of unfamiliar terms and a failure to recognize our planet... Definitely an outworlder. Perhaps that anomalous event that was reported on the empty quarter had something to do with it? Not only that but the proximity of the event to Fort Ladon... Shit, did this thing escape the atmosphere on its own? I'll get them on the horn. I think they have a right to know, even if they're a bunch of groundpounders. Tell the outworlder to sit tight. "We are unfamiliar with those entities. But you can explain further once you come aboard, pilot." And to show that the patrol craft's crew wasn't speaking in jest, the guiding lights towards the hangar doors on its sides light up; inviting the Gundam into its cavernous embrace and towards an uncertain fate. Meanwhile back at...

It did not take long for Jameson's distress signal to get a response and on the very edge of his sensor range, his Gundam picks up an incoming contact. Fairly small, 500 meters or so, given the surprisingly clear "skies" so to speak and as soon as it got to visual range, it sent comms towards his machine, though the contents were... Not as friendly as one could hope. "Attention unknown Ryder, you are violating Ceran space. Deactivate your weapons and identify yourself." Taking into account what he had seen groundside, this sort of welcome from a society that had openly displayed its surface-to-orbit weaponry shouldn't be that much of a shock. But what was, is that a closer look at the ship revealed it to be a class that the mercenary had never before seen and whose design philosophy, while identifiably human was something completely foreign to the Earth sphere. Not to mention that as far as he was aware, there was no such entity known as Cera...

"The offer is appreciated, but there is little need. Furthermore, I must see for myself if my armor has suffered any... Undue damage." There was no pomp or ceremony to the reuniting of the quartet and their machines, they were simply led towards the hangar and given all the time they needed to go through pre-flight checks and whatever esoteric procedures their mechs needed to go through, especially in regards to Valrin's Knight, to rouse from their slumber. As soon as they were all ready, the pilots got a sudden communique from the Cerans. Likely from the base's air control. "We're sending the coordinates of the phenomenon now and if you make contact with the patrol we've already dispatched, merge at your convenience but leave first contact with them." Soon enough, a waypoint winks into existence on their HUDs, leading to a patch of sand about 10 kilometers from the base. But before the quartet could sally forth, the Custodes interrupts. "I picked up a vox signal from the...

Taking note of the quartet's eagerness to volunteer, less due to wanting to prove themselves and far more likely to be them wanting some private time inside their cockpits after everything that happened, Granger nevertheless sees sense in their reasoning. In case the new arrival was even less friendly than this bunch, then it'd be on them if first contact breaks down. "Fine, I'll let you come along with the patrol. I hope for all our sakes you can handle this." Meanwhile, Vicious was trying to contain his disbelief and confusion at the entire fiasco and how everyone seemed to have brushed it off all of a sudden after it was all over in favor of the new thing... That immensely powerful presence, there was no mistaking that it was a psion of godlike power, almost like... No, it can't possibly be the same; whatever or whoever the source of that light was, it was without a doubt human, the presence was nowhere near as horrific or violating to be anything but. If anything, he should...