Super Robot Wars: Calamitous Dawn

[sir_fire]

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
With a speed that almost gave him neck damage, Liam started to flap him mouth soundlesly, flabrgasted at Valrin's blatant disrespect.
Did he want to make everyone an enemy? He was the one that was causing a mess whenever he went, and Daniel and Liam had to try and patch things up.
His MS had tried to shot him and they were still willing to help, why drill them for doing the bare minimum when dealing with unknown pilots?

"Yeah, this is not the place to make these kinds of accusation, right?"

Liam turned towards his companions as if searching for approval, but he noticed soon enough that there wasn't any approval to speak of.

"I'll... just shut up..."

“I guess we are, but certainly not by choice,” Daniel said. If the three wanted to survive in worlds far from their own, they’d have to work together, though that might be easier said than done.

As they all kept walking, the trio at last met the commander of this base. He was quite understandably irritated with the current events, though the general thankfully didn’t resort to any extreme punitive measures. Instead, he clearly wanted to wash his hands clean of this matter and hand it off to someone else. That was fine in Daniel’s book. If all parties can leave here relatively intact, then that would be ideal.

“None at all,” Daniel replied. But then…

Valrin, being himself, apparently had to fuck it up. This was beyond bad, the lunatic was cratering relations with the people who were giving them some form of shelter. Well, until they were all transferred to the Sunrider anyway. Daniel resisted the urge to simply throttle him, a testament to his discipline and self-control, though both were being sorely tested.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Do you want these people to be our enemies?!” Daniel turned back to the general.

“I apologize on his behalf, the recent events must’ve been more stressful for him than we thought. It’s no excuse for his outburst, but I hope you can understand.”

Yeah, they were fucked.

Valrin upon sensing his indignity, did the only thing any Imperial Official did when confronted with surrender.

He would stretch it out to be as painful as possible.

"Actually, yes I do have a question. Why are you so indignant after most of this was your own fault? You're the one who ordered our interrogations without due process, a right upon any world owned by Men. Do correct me if I am wrong there, please, I'll have further criticisms to share. With the destruction of the Cruiser, we saved you a hazardous memetic disease from being spread across your world. Even after that was explained by your Naval Detachment, you're the one who ordered us apprehended by a Military force to be brought here. Then you decide to visit us with the lack of Hospitality, treating us as enemies or criminals for a detonation in a lifeless desert far away from any Settlement that harmed noone , and act offended when after such a slight upon us, when I return it in kind. "

Valrin stares then directly into the man's eyes. Both know exactly what he can do in such a position, yet the only thing that happens isn't Grangers mind slipping out of his control. It may be a different Miliatry, but Valrin was familiar with Lord Generals who did not understand their true role and objective.

"Why are you not taking responsibility for your own orders General? "

The entire courtyard was thrust into utterly stunned silence, only breaking with an almost exaggeratedly loud sigh from Vicious himself. General Granger meanwhile, if it could be believed; looked even more pissed off; his face reddened with anger and disbelief. Yet somehow, he once again calms himself and responds in a measured, but very hard-edged tone.

"You forget your position, Outworlder... You are mistaking my unwillingness to escalate this idiotic situation and needlessly waste the lives of Cerans for your likes with weakness, perhaps you need to be shown just where you all stand? Lieutenant? My datapad."

One of Granger's Adjutants quickly brings the device up and soon enough, the general presents it to the outworlders. The screen was split in two: One side showed their mechs parked in one of the base's hangars after having been unloaded from the Sunrider and the other the one where Ignus had laid in berth, but the real draw was the fact that the Cerans' own mechs, the Ryders were right next to the inert machines; their weapons hot and very clearly pointing at the outworlder mechs. Though in Ingus' case, the Ryders had surrounded it from the left and the right, their pilots having been informed of what it had done on the Sunrider's hangar earlier.

"Push your luck and the four of you will end up joining the Sunrider's crew as Ryder mechanics rather than pilots."

At this naked display of intimidation, the Mercury's crewmen seemed... Somewhat bemused? Murmuring amongst themselves in high gothic, they made snide comments about how the Cerans were finally giving them some of the hospitality that they had quite dearly "missed" from the 41st millennium. Kazuki meanwhile was glaring daggers at the back of Valrin's head, if his VARG gets wrecked, that'll mean the end of his aspirations and his dreams of being a somebody in this screwed-up world!

Yet the most surprising reaction was from Vicious, who also was glaring; but it was no longer directed at the Knight Scion, who had caused this situation in the first place; but at Granger. The Chromatic made his displeasure of the general's show of force known, believing that he was lowering himself to the same level as such a spiteful and monstrous creature as Valrin, a contest that would doubtlessly end in ruin for all.

 

[Sigismund]

The entire courtyard was thrust into utterly stunned silence, only breaking with an almost exaggeratedly loud sigh from Vicious himself. General Granger meanwhile, if it could be believed; looked even more pissed off; his face reddened with anger and disbelief. Yet somehow, he once again calms himself and responds in a measured, but very hard-edged tone.

"You forget your position, Outworlder... You are mistaking my unwillingness to escalate this idiotic situation and needlessly waste the lives of Cerans for your likes with weakness, perhaps you need to be shown just where you all stand? Lieutenant? My datapad."

One of Granger's Adjutants quickly brings the device up and soon enough, the general presents it to the outworlders. The screen was split in two: One side showed their mechs parked in one of the base's hangars after having been unloaded from the Sunrider and the other the one where Ignus had laid in berth, but the real draw was the fact that the Cerans' own mechs, the Ryders were right next to the inert machines; their weapons hot and very clearly pointing at the outworlder mechs. Though in Ingus' case, the Ryders had surrounded it from the left and the right, their pilots having been informed of what it had done on the Sunrider's hangar earlier.

"Push your luck and the four of you will end up joining the Sunrider's crew as Ryder mechanics rather than pilots."

At this naked display of intimidation, the Mercury's crewmen seemed... Somewhat bemused? Murmuring amongst themselves in high gothic, they made snide comments about how the Cerans were finally giving them some of the hospitality that they had quite dearly "missed" from the 41st millennium. Kazuki meanwhile was glaring daggers at the back of Valrin's head, if his VARG gets wrecked, that'll mean the end of his aspirations and his dreams of being a somebody in this screwed-up world!

Yet the most surprising reaction was from Vicious, who also was glaring; but it was no longer directed at the Knight Scion, who had caused this situation in the first place; but at Granger. The Chromatic made his displeasure of the general's show of force known, believing that he was lowering himself to the same level as such a spiteful and monstrous creature as Valrin, a contest that would doubtlessly end in ruin for all.

Ah, escalation, a language Valrin was well familiar with.

"And I believe you dont know your actual position, boy. If your wish is to destroy our mechs, I can help you in such an endeavor"

"Code Override Exemplar"
As Valrin spoke those words, the Ryders nearest to Ignus were shocked by a massive radiation and temperature spike from Ignus itself. Before any reaction could be condoned, a long held process of Ignus finished.

He had identified all of the communication networks around the SunRider and the base itself. On every channel, Radio, Internet, Hardline, even telegraph, Ignus sent interferences. Data Plagues, self replicating viruses and Scrap code thought lost to the Dark Age suddenly flooded every system nearby. Especially the nearby Ryders. From every loud speaker, praises to the Omnissiah rang out in cheer, echoing down the halls.

Then Valrin looked the General in the eyes.

"A Plasma Reactor overload as such normally produces a yield between 500 Kilotons and 10.5 Megatons of TnT equivalent. With my own powers and Ignus's runes, this can be amplifed by up to at least 3 times its order of magnitude. Quite possibly more if I am not focused upon my own survival. Add in the nearby reactor of the SunRider, and any Reactor or Ammo Depot on base will cause an even further chain of devastation."

Valrin still staring into the Generals eyes, projected his memories into him as well. Of Burning Worlds. Of Worlds that would have been better off burned. Unlike Liam, Valrin guided the General. These moments would not be forgotten so easily. The General felt the memories as if theybwrre his own. He could feel the burning heat, the dank rot, the stuffy felt air, and the humid air of those pressed close. He could see vistas unimaginable. He could taste them

He was them.

Then he wasn't.
Then he was once more shown Hell.

Again and Again, the General witnessed Hell with only Valrin there as his Virgil.

Then it ended and they were back at the beginning. With Ignus still unfurling in the background.


""I have burned better worlds, and slaughtered Tens of Billions of better people than you. So go ahead Boy, the best bet you have for your own pride and that of your planet of desert peasants is I kill us all."


Then Valrin smiled a genuine smile.

 

[Cavaliere]

The entire courtyard was thrust into utterly stunned silence, only breaking with an almost exaggeratedly loud sigh from Vicious himself. General Granger meanwhile, if it could be believed; looked even more pissed off; his face reddened with anger and disbelief. Yet somehow, he once again calms himself and responds in a measured, but very hard-edged tone.

"You forget your position, Outworlder... You are mistaking my unwillingness to escalate this idiotic situation and needlessly waste the lives of Cerans for your likes with weakness, perhaps you need to be shown just where you all stand? Lieutenant? My datapad."

One of Granger's Adjutants quickly brings the device up and soon enough, the general presents it to the outworlders. The screen was split in two: One side showed their mechs parked in one of the base's hangars after having been unloaded from the Sunrider and the other the one where Ignus had laid in berth, but the real draw was the fact that the Cerans' own mechs, the Ryders were right next to the inert machines; their weapons hot and very clearly pointing at the outworlder mechs. Though in Ingus' case, the Ryders had surrounded it from the left and the right, their pilots having been informed of what it had done on the Sunrider's hangar earlier.

"Push your luck and the four of you will end up joining the Sunrider's crew as Ryder mechanics rather than pilots."

At this naked display of intimidation, the Mercury's crewmen seemed... Somewhat bemused? Murmuring amongst themselves in high gothic, they made snide comments about how the Cerans were finally giving them some of the hospitality that they had quite dearly "missed" from the 41st millennium. Kazuki meanwhile was glaring daggers at the back of Valrin's head, if his VARG gets wrecked, that'll mean the end of his aspirations and his dreams of being a somebody in this screwed-up world!

Yet the most surprising reaction was from Vicious, who also was glaring; but it was no longer directed at the Knight Scion, who had caused this situation in the first place; but at Granger. The Chromatic made his displeasure of the general's show of force known, believing that he was lowering himself to the same level as such a spiteful and monstrous creature as Valrin, a contest that would doubtlessly end in ruin for all.

Ah, escalation, a language Valrin was well familiar with.

"And I believe you dont know your actual position, boy. If your wish is to destroy our mechs, I can help you in such an endeavor"

"Code Override Exemplar"
As Valrin spoke those words, the Ryders nearest to Ignus were shocked by a massive radiation and temperature spike from Ignus itself. Before any reaction could be condoned, a long held process of Ignus finished.

He had identified all of the communication networks around the SunRider and the base itself. On every channel, Radio, Internet, Hardline, even telegraph, Ignus sent interferences. Data Plagues, self replicating viruses and Scrap code thought lost to the Dark Age suddenly flooded every system nearby. Especially the nearby Ryders. From every loud speaker, praises to the Omnissiah rang out in cheer, echoing down the halls.

Then Valrin looked the General in the eyes.

"A Plasma Reactor overload as such normally produces a yield between 500 Kilotons and 10.5 Megatons of TnT equivalent. With my own powers and Ignus's runes, this can be amplifed by up to at least 3 times its order of magnitude. Quite possibly more if I am not focused upon my own survival. Add in the nearby reactor of the SunRider, and any Reactor or Ammo Depot on base will cause an even further chain of devastation."

Valrin still staring into the Generals eyes, projected his memories into him as well. Of Burning Worlds. Of Worlds that would have been better off burned. Unlike Liam, Valrin guided the General. These moments would not be forgotten so easily. The General felt the memories as if theybwrre his own. He could feel the burning heat, the dank rot, the stuffy felt air, and the humid air of those pressed close. He could see vistas unimaginable. He could taste them

He was them.

Then he wasn't.
Then he was once more shown Hell.

Again and Again, the General witnessed Hell with only Valrin there as his Virgil.

Then it ended and they were back at the beginning. With Ignus still unfurling in the background.


""I have burned better worlds, and slaughtered Tens of Billions of better people than you. So go ahead Boy, the best bet you have for your own pride and that of your planet of desert peasants is I kill us all."


Then Valrin smiled a genuine smile.

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
At Granger's first threat, a spike of anger lit up in Liam, reminded of the people that almost took his research from him as soon as it was proving succsesful.
He couldn't let the Null fall into the hands of yet another military, to be nothing more than a tool to kill countless people, even if he didn't have the same barganing power as before he had to try.

However, as soon as he was about to speak up, Valrin threatened them all with a nuke...

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

It took the scienist a moment to realize he was the one that shouted, yet he now found himself standing up facing the Imperial pilot, trying to shake off a twitch in his finger.
His trigger finger.

"I apologize for the outburst," Liam said, "I'll accept the position, I'll even add my technical expertise, but please let's not do anything hasty... both of you... please."

 

[Crimson Dragoon]

The entire courtyard was thrust into utterly stunned silence, only breaking with an almost exaggeratedly loud sigh from Vicious himself. General Granger meanwhile, if it could be believed; looked even more pissed off; his face reddened with anger and disbelief. Yet somehow, he once again calms himself and responds in a measured, but very hard-edged tone.

"You forget your position, Outworlder... You are mistaking my unwillingness to escalate this idiotic situation and needlessly waste the lives of Cerans for your likes with weakness, perhaps you need to be shown just where you all stand? Lieutenant? My datapad."

One of Granger's Adjutants quickly brings the device up and soon enough, the general presents it to the outworlders. The screen was split in two: One side showed their mechs parked in one of the base's hangars after having been unloaded from the Sunrider and the other the one where Ignus had laid in berth, but the real draw was the fact that the Cerans' own mechs, the Ryders were right next to the inert machines; their weapons hot and very clearly pointing at the outworlder mechs. Though in Ingus' case, the Ryders had surrounded it from the left and the right, their pilots having been informed of what it had done on the Sunrider's hangar earlier.

"Push your luck and the four of you will end up joining the Sunrider's crew as Ryder mechanics rather than pilots."

At this naked display of intimidation, the Mercury's crewmen seemed... Somewhat bemused? Murmuring amongst themselves in high gothic, they made snide comments about how the Cerans were finally giving them some of the hospitality that they had quite dearly "missed" from the 41st millennium. Kazuki meanwhile was glaring daggers at the back of Valrin's head, if his VARG gets wrecked, that'll mean the end of his aspirations and his dreams of being a somebody in this screwed-up world!

Yet the most surprising reaction was from Vicious, who also was glaring; but it was no longer directed at the Knight Scion, who had caused this situation in the first place; but at Granger. The Chromatic made his displeasure of the general's show of force known, believing that he was lowering himself to the same level as such a spiteful and monstrous creature as Valrin, a contest that would doubtlessly end in ruin for all.

Daniel couldn’t believe what he was seeing. They were so close to leaving this damn base behind with all sides being mostly content. Valrin’s diplomatic faux pas would of course have left a bad taste, but it didn’t deserve this kind of escalation. This was only going to end terribly.

“General, you’ve proven your point, now let us-”

Ah, escalation, a language Valrin was well familiar with.

"And I believe you dont know your actual position, boy. If your wish is to destroy our mechs, I can help you in such an endeavor"

"Code Override Exemplar"
As Valrin spoke those words, the Ryders nearest to Ignus were shocked by a massive radiation and temperature spike from Ignus itself. Before any reaction could be condoned, a long held process of Ignus finished.

He had identified all of the communication networks around the SunRider and the base itself. On every channel, Radio, Internet, Hardline, even telegraph, Ignus sent interferences. Data Plagues, self replicating viruses and Scrap code thought lost to the Dark Age suddenly flooded every system nearby. Especially the nearby Ryders. From every loud speaker, praises to the Omnissiah rang out in cheer, echoing down the halls.

Then Valrin looked the General in the eyes.

"A Plasma Reactor overload as such normally produces a yield between 500 Kilotons and 10.5 Megatons of TnT equivalent. With my own powers and Ignus's runes, this can be amplifed by up to at least 3 times its order of magnitude. Quite possibly more if I am not focused upon my own survival. Add in the nearby reactor of the SunRider, and any Reactor or Ammo Depot on base will cause an even further chain of devastation."

Valrin still staring into the Generals eyes, projected his memories into him as well. Of Burning Worlds. Of Worlds that would have been better off burned. Unlike Liam, Valrin guided the General. These moments would not be forgotten so easily. The General felt the memories as if theybwrre his own. He could feel the burning heat, the dank rot, the stuffy felt air, and the humid air of those pressed close. He could see vistas unimaginable. He could taste them

He was them.

Then he wasn't.
Then he was once more shown Hell.

Again and Again, the General witnessed Hell with only Valrin there as his Virgil.

Then it ended and they were back at the beginning. With Ignus still unfurling in the background.


""I have burned better worlds, and slaughtered Tens of Billions of better people than you. So go ahead Boy, the best bet you have for your own pride and that of your planet of desert peasants is I kill us all."


Then Valrin smiled a genuine smile.

Before Daniel could finish his sentence, Valrin spoke up again. That maniac responded with self-destruction! The AF army pilot was stunned into silence. For a brief moment, he considered just punching Valrin. His fist was already clenched at this moment, but the soldier’s rational mind prevailed in the end. Trying to assault someone who threatened nuclear scale annihilation wasn’t likely to go well. So what else could Daniel do?

Roll with it.

He closed his eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. Eyes opened again, Daniel faced the general with a steely expression.

“General, I advise you not to threaten us any further. In our short time here, we confronted and defeated what you would call a ‘memetic hazard’. If we really wanted to decimate this base, Valrin would have already used you as a puppet along with other high ranking personnel long before this, deeply compromising your positions. The survivors would’ve likely assisted us too, if we really wished them to. Believe me when I say we’re not here to make enemies. But now here we are facing mutual annihilation.

“Are you really willing to die along with your men just because of wounded pride?”

If they made it out of this, they would already have quite the reputation. Ridiculous as it was to think right now, that would be important. People would be more hesitant to pick fights with them, at the very least. Infamy might have some advantages here.

 

[sir_fire]

Ah, escalation, a language Valrin was well familiar with.

"And I believe you dont know your actual position, boy. If your wish is to destroy our mechs, I can help you in such an endeavor"

"Code Override Exemplar"
As Valrin spoke those words, the Ryders nearest to Ignus were shocked by a massive radiation and temperature spike from Ignus itself. Before any reaction could be condoned, a long held process of Ignus finished.

He had identified all of the communication networks around the SunRider and the base itself. On every channel, Radio, Internet, Hardline, even telegraph, Ignus sent interferences. Data Plagues, self replicating viruses and Scrap code thought lost to the Dark Age suddenly flooded every system nearby. Especially the nearby Ryders. From every loud speaker, praises to the Omnissiah rang out in cheer, echoing down the halls.

Then Valrin looked the General in the eyes.

"A Plasma Reactor overload as such normally produces a yield between 500 Kilotons and 10.5 Megatons of TnT equivalent. With my own powers and Ignus's runes, this can be amplifed by up to at least 3 times its order of magnitude. Quite possibly more if I am not focused upon my own survival. Add in the nearby reactor of the SunRider, and any Reactor or Ammo Depot on base will cause an even further chain of devastation."

Valrin still staring into the Generals eyes, projected his memories into him as well. Of Burning Worlds. Of Worlds that would have been better off burned. Unlike Liam, Valrin guided the General. These moments would not be forgotten so easily. The General felt the memories as if theybwrre his own. He could feel the burning heat, the dank rot, the stuffy felt air, and the humid air of those pressed close. He could see vistas unimaginable. He could taste them

He was them.

Then he wasn't.
Then he was once more shown Hell.

Again and Again, the General witnessed Hell with only Valrin there as his Virgil.

Then it ended and they were back at the beginning. With Ignus still unfurling in the background.


""I have burned better worlds, and slaughtered Tens of Billions of better people than you. So go ahead Boy, the best bet you have for your own pride and that of your planet of desert peasants is I kill us all."


Then Valrin smiled a genuine smile.

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
At Granger's first threat, a spike of anger lit up in Liam, reminded of the people that almost took his research from him as soon as it was proving succsesful.
He couldn't let the Null fall into the hands of yet another military, to be nothing more than a tool to kill countless people, even if he didn't have the same barganing power as before he had to try.

However, as soon as he was about to speak up, Valrin threatened them all with a nuke...

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

It took the scienist a moment to realize he was the one that shouted, yet he now found himself standing up facing the Imperial pilot, trying to shake off a twitch in his finger.
His trigger finger.

"I apologize for the outburst," Liam said, "I'll accept the position, I'll even add my technical expertise, but please let's not do anything hasty... both of you... please."

Daniel couldn’t believe what he was seeing. They were so close to leaving this damn base behind with all sides being mostly content. Valrin’s diplomatic faux pas would of course have left a bad taste, but it didn’t deserve this kind of escalation. This was only going to end terribly.

“General, you’ve proven your point, now let us-”

Before Daniel could finish his sentence, Valrin spoke up again. That maniac responded with self-destruction! The AF army pilot was stunned into silence. For a brief moment, he considered just punching Valrin. His fist was already clenched at this moment, but the soldier’s rational mind prevailed in the end. Trying to assault someone who threatened nuclear scale annihilation wasn’t likely to go well. So what else could Daniel do?

Roll with it.

He closed his eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. Eyes opened again, Daniel faced the general with a steely expression.

“General, I advise you not to threaten us any further. In our short time here, we confronted and defeated what you would call a ‘memetic hazard’. If we really wanted to decimate this base, Valrin would have already used you as a puppet along with other high ranking personnel long before this, deeply compromising your positions. The survivors would’ve likely assisted us too, if we really wished them to. Believe me when I say we’re not here to make enemies. But now here we are facing mutual annihilation.

“Are you really willing to die along with your men just because of wounded pride?”

If they made it out of this, they would already have quite the reputation. Ridiculous as it was to think right now, that would be important. People would be more hesitant to pick fights with them, at the very least. Infamy might have some advantages here.

After being shown the visions of aborted Daemon worlds, the general staggered and stumbled as if he were simultaneously socked on the gut and struck on the head by a champion boxer, collapsing onto his rear. At this, his bodyguards immediately attempted to help him up, to salvage some dignity from this fiasco. Amazingly though, Granger brushes them aside and with difficulty; manages back to his feet under his own power, yet still clearly shaken. Taking a moment to compose himself, the General then resumes eye contact with Valrin, but rather than cowing the lowly mortal as he had hoped, Granger was instead glaring up to the Knight Scion with bloodshot eyes and had an utterly maddened expression, mad in both senses of the word... Shakily reaching for his communicator, he then hails the Ryders guarding Ignus.

"Destroy the active mech now! NOW!!!"

The datapad, now discarded on the ground after the Adjutant had dropped it in the chaos that Valrin had unleashed, then showed the Ryders quickly rousing back to life after the EM wave, likely due to redundant systems before re-sighting their guns on the currently unmanned Knight. Eyes widening in terror and shock at what Granger had just said, Vicious attempted to stop the General, pushing aside everyone as he made a mad dash towards him, Liam and Kazuki included.

"You fool, NO!!!"

The Chromatic then made a leap and attempted to dive into Granger, but was stopped dead in his tracks by the general's bodyguard, who true to their titles, bodily blocked the reptilian, and as they were knocked to the ground the rest of Granger's protection detail dogpiled on the mercenary and began to none-to-gently restrain him.

"THAT WAS A DIRECT ORDER! DO IT!!! CERA'S SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE!!!"

In the midst of the chaos brought on by the prospect of mutual destruction, another would begin to act, a power whose words would hold far greater weight than anyone present combined. The slumbering man in gold stirred, unnoticed at first amidst the machines of the outworlders, though this swiftly changed as a blinding light filled the hangar and eventually came to encompass the entire base. Everything ceased, everyone silenced, and the air itself stilled.

The Custode, a guardian of the Emperor himself, had awakened.

The survivors of the Mercury’s Alacrity, despite the sheer luminosity of the light, dared to look upon its source; only to be stunned into silence, far too struck with awe to utter any words at the sight before them. The Custode, shone like a sun yet, did not burn or truly blind anyone with his presence, even the heathen Cerans. Stepping forward into the crowd, his passage utterly unopposed, the Golden Guardian turned his gaze to the one who caused this incident. A moment passed, and the guardian spoke, though his words were not his own as he was merely an instrument of something greater.

“Valrin, Scion of Mars, Acolyte of the Inquisition... Must you go down this path? To oppose my plan?”

However there was something bizarre about the Custode's voice; for Granger, still resisting with sheer spite and ego despite everything that was happening, let go of his anger the moment he heard the auric warrior speak in the voice of his beloved father, the man whose legacy he so deeply honored and dearly wished to do proud.

Yet for Liam, the Custode instead sounded like his Brother, but the problem was; that the scientist knew in his heart that he would never speak in such a tone of voice... And for Daniel? His training instructor, the man who taught him everything he knew.

 

[Sigismund]

After being shown the visions of aborted Daemon worlds, the general staggered and stumbled as if he were simultaneously socked on the gut and struck on the head by a champion boxer, collapsing onto his rear. At this, his bodyguards immediately attempted to help him up, to salvage some dignity from this fiasco. Amazingly though, Granger brushes them aside and with difficulty; manages back to his feet under his own power, yet still clearly shaken. Taking a moment to compose himself, the General then resumes eye contact with Valrin, but rather than cowing the lowly mortal as he had hoped, Granger was instead glaring up to the Knight Scion with bloodshot eyes and had an utterly maddened expression, mad in both senses of the word... Shakily reaching for his communicator, he then hails the Ryders guarding Ignus.

"Destroy the active mech now! NOW!!!"

The datapad, now discarded on the ground after the Adjutant had dropped it in the chaos that Valrin had unleashed, then showed the Ryders quickly rousing back to life after the EM wave, likely due to redundant systems before re-sighting their guns on the currently unmanned Knight. Eyes widening in terror and shock at what Granger had just said, Vicious attempted to stop the General, pushing aside everyone as he made a mad dash towards him, Liam and Kazuki included.

"You fool, NO!!!"

The Chromatic then made a leap and attempted to dive into Granger, but was stopped dead in his tracks by the general's bodyguard, who true to their titles, bodily blocked the reptilian, and as they were knocked to the ground the rest of Granger's protection detail dogpiled on the mercenary and began to none-to-gently restrain him.

"THAT WAS A DIRECT ORDER! DO IT!!! CERA'S SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE!!!"

In the midst of the chaos brought on by the prospect of mutual destruction, another would begin to act, a power whose words would hold far greater weight than anyone present combined. The slumbering man in gold stirred, unnoticed at first amidst the machines of the outworlders, though this swiftly changed as a blinding light filled the hangar and eventually came to encompass the entire base. Everything ceased, everyone silenced, and the air itself stilled.

The Custode, a guardian of the Emperor himself, had awakened.

The survivors of the Mercury’s Alacrity, despite the sheer luminosity of the light, dared to look upon its source; only to be stunned into silence, far too struck with awe to utter any words at the sight before them. The Custode, shone like a sun yet, did not burn or truly blind anyone with his presence, even the heathen Cerans. Stepping forward into the crowd, his passage utterly unopposed, the Golden Guardian turned his gaze to the one who caused this incident. A moment passed, and the guardian spoke, though his words were not his own as he was merely an instrument of something greater.

“Valrin, Scion of Mars, Acolyte of the Inquisition... Must you go down this path? To oppose my plan?”

However there was something bizarre about the Custode's voice; for Granger, still resisting with sheer spite and ego despite everything that was happening, let go of his anger the moment he heard the auric warrior speak in the voice of his beloved father, the man whose legacy he so deeply honored and dearly wished to do proud.

Yet for Liam, the Custode instead sounded like his Brother, but the problem was; that the scientist knew in his heart that he would never speak in such a tone of voice... And for Daniel? His training instructor, the man who taught him everything he knew.

The sheer Aura of the Custodes...

Ignus Immediately shut down his self destruction protocol. Valrin even withdrew all of his psychic power back to within his own soul.

"Since you are awake now to in-act your plan, I aquess to your orders whatever they may be Lord Custodes".
Even as an Inquisitor, you didn't override Custodes. The Voice of the Omnissiah himself. Valrin couldn't continence to work against this Custodes plans, whatever they may be, now that he knew he ran astray in His eyes.

As such Valrin then turned around and walked back into the crowd of the crew.

 

[Crimson Dragoon]

After being shown the visions of aborted Daemon worlds, the general staggered and stumbled as if he were simultaneously socked on the gut and struck on the head by a champion boxer, collapsing onto his rear. At this, his bodyguards immediately attempted to help him up, to salvage some dignity from this fiasco. Amazingly though, Granger brushes them aside and with difficulty; manages back to his feet under his own power, yet still clearly shaken. Taking a moment to compose himself, the General then resumes eye contact with Valrin, but rather than cowing the lowly mortal as he had hoped, Granger was instead glaring up to the Knight Scion with bloodshot eyes and had an utterly maddened expression, mad in both senses of the word... Shakily reaching for his communicator, he then hails the Ryders guarding Ignus.

"Destroy the active mech now! NOW!!!"

Well that answered Daniel’s question.

“Fucking idiot!”

The datapad, now discarded on the ground after the Adjutant had dropped it in the chaos that Valrin had unleashed, then showed the Ryders quickly rousing back to life after the EM wave, likely due to redundant systems before re-sighting their guns on the currently unmanned Knight. Eyes widening in terror and shock at what Granger had just said, Vicious attempted to stop the General, pushing aside everyone as he made a mad dash towards him, Liam and Kazuki included.

"You fool, NO!!!"

The Chromatic then made a leap and attempted to dive into Granger, but was stopped dead in his tracks by the general's bodyguard, who true to their titles, bodily blocked the reptilian, and as they were knocked to the ground the rest of Granger's protection detail dogpiled on the mercenary and began to none-to-gently restrain him.

"THAT WAS A DIRECT ORDER! DO IT!!! CERA'S SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE!!!"

In the midst of the chaos brought on by the prospect of mutual destruction, another would begin to act, a power whose words would hold far greater weight than anyone present combined. The slumbering man in gold stirred, unnoticed at first amidst the machines of the outworlders, though this swiftly changed as a blinding light filled the hangar and eventually came to encompass the entire base. Everything ceased, everyone silenced, and the air itself stilled.

The Custode, a guardian of the Emperor himself, had awakened.

As Daniel joined the reptilian mercenary’s attempt to stop the general, a most unusual thing happened. There was a sudden light that shone everywhere, intensely bright and radiant. Was this something supernatural, like what happened back in that ship? This was indeed beyond the realm of the mundane, but Daniel felt it was very much different from what happened in that ill-fated vessel. The AF pilot stood frozen, uncomprehending of what he witnessed.

The survivors of the Mercury’s Alacrity, despite the sheer luminosity of the light, dared to look upon its source; only to be stunned into silence, far too struck with awe to utter any words at the sight before them. The Custode, shone like a sun yet, did not burn or truly blind anyone with his presence, even the heathen Cerans. Stepping forward into the crowd, his passage utterly unopposed, the Golden Guardian turned his gaze to the one who caused this incident. A moment passed, and the guardian spoke, though his words were not his own as he was merely an instrument of something greater.

“Valrin, Scion of Mars, Acolyte of the Inquisition... Must you go down this path? To oppose my plan?”

However there was something bizarre about the Custode's voice; for Granger, still resisting with sheer spite and ego despite everything that was happening, let go of his anger the moment he heard the auric warrior speak in the voice of his beloved father, the man whose legacy he so deeply honored and dearly wished to do proud.

Yet for Liam, the Custode instead sounded like his Brother, but the problem was; that the scientist knew in his heart that he would never speak in such a tone of voice... And for Daniel? His training instructor, the man who taught him everything he knew.

The source of that light made itself known, and no one opposed it. The current crisis was halted, trivialized by whatever was happening now. Then the luminous man spoke, his words directed at Valrin, making it clear he was displeased. Yet that voice…it was of his mentor. Daniel then remembered his days of army training at this moment as if they just happened, the fog of time being rendered non-existent. The lessons imparted were harsh, but fair. Yet considering what happened, were those lessons actually wasted on him? The AF pilot shook his head. This is obviously isn’t his teacher back at training, it was just some weird trick. Still, he couldn’t help but remember certain memories.

The sheer Aura of the Custodes...

Ignus Immediately shut down his self destruction protocol. Valrin even withdrew all of his psychic power back to within his own soul.

"Since you are awake now to in-act your plan, I aquess to your orders whatever they may be Lord Custodes".
Even as an Inquisitor, you didn't override Custodes. The Voice of the Omnissiah himself. Valrin couldn't continence to work against this Custodes plans, whatever they may be, now that he knew he ran astray in His eyes.

As such Valrin then turned around and walked back into the crowd of the crew.

And just like that, it seemingly resolved itself. Whoever that man was, he got Valrin to back down with a few words. Someone who could do that wasn’t to be taken lightly, though the display earlier should’ve hinted that already.

“So are we still blowing ourselves up, or can we go on our way?” Daniel said, with irritation and some anger over that debacle lingering.

 

[Cavaliere]

After being shown the visions of aborted Daemon worlds, the general staggered and stumbled as if he were simultaneously socked on the gut and struck on the head by a champion boxer, collapsing onto his rear. At this, his bodyguards immediately attempted to help him up, to salvage some dignity from this fiasco. Amazingly though, Granger brushes them aside and with difficulty; manages back to his feet under his own power, yet still clearly shaken. Taking a moment to compose himself, the General then resumes eye contact with Valrin, but rather than cowing the lowly mortal as he had hoped, Granger was instead glaring up to the Knight Scion with bloodshot eyes and had an utterly maddened expression, mad in both senses of the word... Shakily reaching for his communicator, he then hails the Ryders guarding Ignus.

"Destroy the active mech now! NOW!!!"

The datapad, now discarded on the ground after the Adjutant had dropped it in the chaos that Valrin had unleashed, then showed the Ryders quickly rousing back to life after the EM wave, likely due to redundant systems before re-sighting their guns on the currently unmanned Knight. Eyes widening in terror and shock at what Granger had just said, Vicious attempted to stop the General, pushing aside everyone as he made a mad dash towards him, Liam and Kazuki included.

"You fool, NO!!!"

The Chromatic then made a leap and attempted to dive into Granger, but was stopped dead in his tracks by the general's bodyguard, who true to their titles, bodily blocked the reptilian, and as they were knocked to the ground the rest of Granger's protection detail dogpiled on the mercenary and began to none-to-gently restrain him.

"THAT WAS A DIRECT ORDER! DO IT!!! CERA'S SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE!!!"

In the midst of the chaos brought on by the prospect of mutual destruction, another would begin to act, a power whose words would hold far greater weight than anyone present combined. The slumbering man in gold stirred, unnoticed at first amidst the machines of the outworlders, though this swiftly changed as a blinding light filled the hangar and eventually came to encompass the entire base. Everything ceased, everyone silenced, and the air itself stilled.

The Custode, a guardian of the Emperor himself, had awakened.

The survivors of the Mercury’s Alacrity, despite the sheer luminosity of the light, dared to look upon its source; only to be stunned into silence, far too struck with awe to utter any words at the sight before them. The Custode, shone like a sun yet, did not burn or truly blind anyone with his presence, even the heathen Cerans. Stepping forward into the crowd, his passage utterly unopposed, the Golden Guardian turned his gaze to the one who caused this incident. A moment passed, and the guardian spoke, though his words were not his own as he was merely an instrument of something greater.

“Valrin, Scion of Mars, Acolyte of the Inquisition... Must you go down this path? To oppose my plan?”

However there was something bizarre about the Custode's voice; for Granger, still resisting with sheer spite and ego despite everything that was happening, let go of his anger the moment he heard the auric warrior speak in the voice of his beloved father, the man whose legacy he so deeply honored and dearly wished to do proud.

Yet for Liam, the Custode instead sounded like his Brother, but the problem was; that the scientist knew in his heart that he would never speak in such a tone of voice... And for Daniel? His training instructor, the man who taught him everything he knew.

The sheer Aura of the Custodes...

Ignus Immediately shut down his self destruction protocol. Valrin even withdrew all of his psychic power back to within his own soul.

"Since you are awake now to in-act your plan, I aquess to your orders whatever they may be Lord Custodes".
Even as an Inquisitor, you didn't override Custodes. The Voice of the Omnissiah himself. Valrin couldn't continence to work against this Custodes plans, whatever they may be, now that he knew he ran astray in His eyes.

As such Valrin then turned around and walked back into the crowd of the crew.

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
"Franz...?"

A lot happened in the space of a few seconds: a manic shout from a man recieving the full brunt of Valrin's psychic assault, the mad dash of the lizardfolk trying to stop him from making something foolish, his fellow pilots preparing for the worst.

Then there was light.

Honestly, Liam was never sure if the armor that they found in the ruins of the massive ship was empty or not. After all, between what happened on the ship and the revelation of Ignous true nature, this could have been anything from an object of worship to an empty husk.
However, there was no denying what he was seeing, what he was feeling.
And what he was feeling was Grandeur, staring in the face of something truly marvelus, a case study worthy of a doctorate dissertation even if no one could truly comprehend it.

But why he had his Brother's voice? Why was he speaking with that tone of disapointment so profound that it weighted on his self worth?

Was it wrong to feel satisfied at the sight of Valrin getting humbled? Or scared by the thing that put him down so hard he canceled a suicide attack?

And just like that, it seemingly resolved itself. Whoever that man was, he got Valrin to back down with a few words. Someone who could do that wasn’t to be taken lightly, though the display earlier should’ve hinted that already.

“So are we still blowing ourselves up, or can we go on our way?” Daniel said, with irritation and some anger over that debacle lingering.

"I just want to go home..."

The words came out, unhibited, too frazeled to realy stop them.

"The Ceran can help us, we can help them, why must it be complicated?"

 

[sir_fire]

The sheer Aura of the Custodes...

Ignus Immediately shut down his self destruction protocol. Valrin even withdrew all of his psychic power back to within his own soul.

"Since you are awake now to in-act your plan, I aquess to your orders whatever they may be Lord Custodes".
Even as an Inquisitor, you didn't override Custodes. The Voice of the Omnissiah himself. Valrin couldn't continence to work against this Custodes plans, whatever they may be, now that he knew he ran astray in His eyes.

As such Valrin then turned around and walked back into the crowd of the crew.

"The path is set, Knight Scion, and the way shall reveal itself in time. Rest assured that the meaning of my designs will become clear. However, your actions have nearly caused you to frivolously spend the currency that I had built the Imperium upon, your lives; and forget not that it is ultimately by my will that that currency shall be spent. There can be no victory without sacrifice, but reckless waste gains us nothing."

The ethereal being turned his attention towards General Granger, the weight of his gaze rooting the Ceran on the spot.

"Son, would it really be worth it? To have thousands of grieving families find out that their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and spouses all had to die? For the sake of honor? For pride?"

"B-but they're dangerous!"

Gone was the hard-nosed military man or the mad dog, instead, Granger sounded like a scolded child in front of a stern father.

"They are, yes. But were you not trained to handle threats in the proper manner? Destruction has its place, but not here, not now. Do not do your legacy a disservice, son. Preserve the life of your people, and their futures, for you are well aware that these wayward men are hardly the biggest threats your people face."

Bowing his head in shame and acceptance, Granger finally saw reason and with that, the Custodes turned once more towards the Outworlders, but mostly on the Mercury's crewmen, who by now had started making signs of the Aquila but resisted the urge to bow or kneel as they still had some measure of pride and dignity within them.

"Faithful scions of the Inquisition, the mission of your master has yet to be resolved; but this does not mean you have failed. Your quarry is still out there, believing his gambit to have paid off without flaw."

There is a wave of discontentment at the mention of their original mission and how they all remembered how badly it had gone wrong. To Valrin however, this was a very unsettling revelation, an entire ship, a Lord Inquisitor, and with a Custodes of the Dread Host of all things accompanying the mission? Not to mention the Emperor singling out this one enemy of the Imperium in such a manner? Whatever Lord Prozen was hunting, it was so bad that it was considered a direct threat to Terra... Or worse.

"Yet he did not count on your survival or of you finding allies in your quest."

Many thought that "Allies" was a rather strong word, but as it stood, the other three members of the Quartet were close enough.

"So live. Live in honor of your master, live for the sake of his unfulfilled duty, live to see his death avenged."

They didn't need to be told that, but hearing it from the Master of Mankind's mouth only made their resolve ever stronger. And having done all that He deemed necessary, the Emperor, at last, relinquishes control over the Custodes in a characteristically bombastic manner when the shining radiance emitted by the golden giant shoots out into the skies above, heading onwards onto the aether... A lot like the weapons fire of Fort Ladon's Surface-to-Orbit laser cannons actually, something that the outlying base personnel and sentries found rather disconcerting. Moments later, the Custodes faintly shakes his head as if he had awoken from sleep, and scanning his surroundings; the golden guardian immediately realizes the situation he has now found himself in and quickly comes to the most logical decision at the moment: Have his questions answered.

"What happened to the ship?"

The Custodes' own voice was a far cry from that of the Master of Mankind, but it still held an undeniable air of authority despite his restrained tone.

@Cavaliere @Crimson Dragoon

 

[Sigismund]

"The path is set, Knight Scion, and the way shall reveal itself in time. Rest assured that the meaning of my designs will become clear. However, your actions have nearly caused you to frivolously spend the currency that I had built the Imperium upon, your lives; and forget not that it is ultimately by my will that that currency shall be spent. There can be no victory without sacrifice, but reckless waste gains us nothing."

The ethereal being turned his attention towards General Granger, the weight of his gaze rooting the Ceran on the spot.

"Son, would it really be worth it? To have thousands of grieving families find out that their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and spouses all had to die? For the sake of honor? For pride?"

"B-but they're dangerous!"

Gone was the hard-nosed military man or the mad dog, instead, Granger sounded like a scolded child in front of a stern father.

"They are, yes. But were you not trained to handle threats in the proper manner? Destruction has its place, but not here, not now. Do not do your legacy a disservice, son. Preserve the life of your people, and their futures, for you are well aware that these wayward men are hardly the biggest threats your people face."

Bowing his head in shame and acceptance, Granger finally saw reason and with that, the Custodes turned once more towards the Outworlders, but mostly on the Mercury's crewmen, who by now had started making signs of the Aquila but resisted the urge to bow or kneel as they still had some measure of pride and dignity within them.

"Faithful scions of the Inquisition, the mission of your master has yet to be resolved; but this does not mean you have failed. Your quarry is still out there, believing his gambit to have paid off without flaw."

There is a wave of discontentment at the mention of their original mission and how they all remembered how badly it had gone wrong. To Valrin however, this was a very unsettling revelation, an entire ship, a Lord Inquisitor, and with a Custodes of the Dread Host of all things accompanying the mission? Not to mention the Emperor singling out this one enemy of the Imperium in such a manner? Whatever Lord Prozen was hunting, it was so bad that it was considered a direct threat to Terra... Or worse.

"Yet he did not count on your survival or of you finding allies in your quest."

Many thought that "Allies" was a rather strong word, but as it stood, the other three members of the Quartet were close enough.

"So live. Live in honor of your master, live for the sake of his unfulfilled duty, live to see his death avenged."

They didn't need to be told that, but hearing it from the Master of Mankind's mouth only made their resolve ever stronger. And having done all that He deemed necessary, the Emperor, at last, relinquishes control over the Custodes in a characteristically bombastic manner when the shining radiance emitted by the golden giant shoots out into the skies above, heading onwards onto the aether... A lot like the weapons fire of Fort Ladon's Surface-to-Orbit laser cannons actually, something that the outlying base personnel and sentries found rather disconcerting. Moments later, the Custodes faintly shakes his head as if he had awoken from sleep, and scanning his surroundings; the golden guardian immediately realizes the situation he has now found himself in and quickly comes to the most logical decision at the moment: Have his questions answered.

"What happened to the ship?"

The Custodes' own voice was a far cry from that of the Master of Mankind, but it still held an undeniable air of authority despite his restrained tone.

@Cavaliere @Crimson Dragoon

Sheer awe


That was all that consumed Valrin

Sheer awe. He could do naught but obey.

Then the true voice of the Custodes rang out and Valrin answered.

"Gellar Field Failure and subsequent infestation of 99% of the ship. With the possibility of Warp Born Contagion infecting this reality, the Senior surviving Magos and I decided to detonate the Plasma reactor, then to order a further orbital bombardment on the remains, Lord Custodes"

 

[Cavaliere]

"The path is set, Knight Scion, and the way shall reveal itself in time. Rest assured that the meaning of my designs will become clear. However, your actions have nearly caused you to frivolously spend the currency that I had built the Imperium upon, your lives; and forget not that it is ultimately by my will that that currency shall be spent. There can be no victory without sacrifice, but reckless waste gains us nothing."

The ethereal being turned his attention towards General Granger, the weight of his gaze rooting the Ceran on the spot.

"Son, would it really be worth it? To have thousands of grieving families find out that their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and spouses all had to die? For the sake of honor? For pride?"

"B-but they're dangerous!"

Gone was the hard-nosed military man or the mad dog, instead, Granger sounded like a scolded child in front of a stern father.

"They are, yes. But were you not trained to handle threats in the proper manner? Destruction has its place, but not here, not now. Do not do your legacy a disservice, son. Preserve the life of your people, and their futures, for you are well aware that these wayward men are hardly the biggest threats your people face."

Bowing his head in shame and acceptance, Granger finally saw reason and with that, the Custodes turned once more towards the Outworlders, but mostly on the Mercury's crewmen, who by now had started making signs of the Aquila but resisted the urge to bow or kneel as they still had some measure of pride and dignity within them.

"Faithful scions of the Inquisition, the mission of your master has yet to be resolved; but this does not mean you have failed. Your quarry is still out there, believing his gambit to have paid off without flaw."

There is a wave of discontentment at the mention of their original mission and how they all remembered how badly it had gone wrong. To Valrin however, this was a very unsettling revelation, an entire ship, a Lord Inquisitor, and with a Custodes of the Dread Host of all things accompanying the mission? Not to mention the Emperor singling out this one enemy of the Imperium in such a manner? Whatever Lord Prozen was hunting, it was so bad that it was considered a direct threat to Terra... Or worse.

"Yet he did not count on your survival or of you finding allies in your quest."

Many thought that "Allies" was a rather strong word, but as it stood, the other three members of the Quartet were close enough.

"So live. Live in honor of your master, live for the sake of his unfulfilled duty, live to see his death avenged."

They didn't need to be told that, but hearing it from the Master of Mankind's mouth only made their resolve ever stronger. And having done all that He deemed necessary, the Emperor, at last, relinquishes control over the Custodes in a characteristically bombastic manner when the shining radiance emitted by the golden giant shoots out into the skies above, heading onwards onto the aether... A lot like the weapons fire of Fort Ladon's Surface-to-Orbit laser cannons actually, something that the outlying base personnel and sentries found rather disconcerting. Moments later, the Custodes faintly shakes his head as if he had awoken from sleep, and scanning his surroundings; the golden guardian immediately realizes the situation he has now found himself in and quickly comes to the most logical decision at the moment: Have his questions answered.

"What happened to the ship?"

The Custodes' own voice was a far cry from that of the Master of Mankind, but it still held an undeniable air of authority despite his restrained tone.

@Cavaliere @Crimson Dragoon

Sheer awe


That was all that consumed Valrin

Sheer awe. He could do naught but obey.

Then the true voice of the Custodes rang out and Valrin answered.

"Gellar Field Failure and subsequent infestation of 99% of the ship. With the possibility of Warp Born Contagion infecting this reality, the Senior surviving Magos and I decided to detonate the Plasma reactor, then to order a further orbital bombardment on the remains, Lord Custodes"

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
It... was not...

'What was happening right now?'

At first, the sudden appearance of the golden armored giant was seen by Liam as yet another impossibiliy adding to the pile, a weight on his soul as more and more things piled up higher.
However, I seemed like the story was even moree complicated, as the commanding voice, the presence that he felt, evaporated after speaking to both Valrin and general Granger about plans and lives a currency.

To then pivot to a celebration of life lived to fulfil a duty...

It was surreal to see the Giant confused by what was happening, like what happened just a few moments ago was something else pupeteering the body, yet instead of horror everyone was reacting as if they witnesses a miracle or the apparition of something greater.
Which, after what he witnessed in the ship, was not a good thing.

"I... we... just tried to help the people involved in the wreck, then we tried to contain the creatures, then we are trying to just, not pay for a good deed..."

 

[sir_fire]

@Ironboi13 @Kabronex @TrickOLF

Fleeing from the battlefield, the Dino outrider's form disappears into the night sky along with its radar signature

"Hostile has disengaged. This won't be the last we'll see of them."

Despite the rather grim tidings, Almace was right; judging from how the dinosaurs fought and conducted themselves, things would only get worse from here on out... After a few moments, Kane and David would get an all-clear from Thalerhof's air control tower to return to base.

“It might be fleeing to get backup, don’t blame it since it would be idiotic to fight against a machine that took down one Dino already”

Kane said before he then use Great Mazinger to help as he spoke through the com.

“I think we should take this chance to move away before that Dino comes with a welcoming party”

"No need to tell us twice... We don't wanna see another dino any closer than that!"

A few tense, but uneventful hours pass, save for the minor dramedy of the two survivors from Punitz airbase getting helped out of their ruined TSFs and getting vetted at gunpoint due to the entirely justified concern that they could be Dinosaur infiltrators, which they, fortunately, were not and they soon enough joined with the base personnel, having properly evacuated from their former airbase along with the citizens of Graz, making surprisingly good time despite the sudden nature of their departure, likely because this scenario was something they had long since predicted would come to pass.

As the convoy and their escort traveled through the alpine plains with as much haste as they could muster, the ephemeral calm was interrupted by Almace, once again proving her worth as an operator and of the gear her team's transporter was packing.

"We have incoming, four bogeys due west. Attack vectors."



Soon the incoming hostiles made themselves known, a flight of aerial mechasaurs their backs against the morning sunrise... Straight towards the escorting mechs! Radar warning receivers blaring alarms, the attack fliers let loose volleys of long-range missiles before their formation peels off for a multi-vector attack, save for one of the beasts which was instead making a beeline towards the convoy itself!

"Bob get us higher up, we don't want to be anywhere near engagement range."

"Already on it. Here's hoping we won't need to let Split Moon out of the box."

"And having doing so without PA, since I'd rather not have us be responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians and FPA soldiers due to radiation poisoning."

"Laying it on a little too thick there Stella..."

"It is what it is."

 

[jamesonjustjameson]

[|> The Area of Responsibility of Cera, At its Orbit, at Space <|]

A bright flash on the horizon can be seen just far above the planetside, emitting an omnious blue light, before whisking away momentarily after the intial flash. Followed by the miniscule trail of particulates from the epicenter of the light source. To any energy sensors, it would be a massive spike of energy, comparative to an entire starship just dropping from a faster than light travel, without the much mass, nor weight to it. If taken a closer look, for greater detail, it would present a field of displaced debris, from somewhere, god or emperor knows where.

But at a closer inspection; it would be suspect to be the remains of a battle taken elsewhere. As the debris field sports a charred and disfigured hull, and numerous other damaged alloys, littered with gaping holes from an array of antimatter blasts and kinetic attacks. But alas, with everything drifting on about, amidst a wreckage, a white glint can be seen; the source of the particles as tachyonic particles manifested from the lining of its frame, to its thrusters and emitters. Surrounded by a series of strange equipment; metal fins that also manifested the particles from the glowing lining. Relatively intact, the machine drifted dormant with only one life source being accomodated by an intricate system of life support. It had a white paint job, with mutes of black, and red, with golden finishing to compliment its iconic frame. A head unit, remniscent of old samurai, with a distinct V-Fin on its forehead, with beady dimmed eyes... it held a heavy compliment of weapons and equipment, like a shield, and a rifle, and a seemingly large cannon behind it. It even held a broken sword, devoid of any light nor warmth...

Each particle that leaked from the machine's orfices held awesome power in its small likeness, acting as a beacon of energy for any oppurtunistic space farer to take claim of the source of this awesome energy. As the star within this system would shine upon the drifting hulk and metal mass. The machine would indicate function, as light pulsated through its frame and drifting fins, restoring it systems the best it could.

Within the confines of the machine, at the connpod, the panoramic viewscreen would spark and show the image of the machine's surrounding, illuminating the dark pod, revealing a pilot clad in a white suit, his helmet shielding him from the bright star's glare, and hiding his identity. He'd softly move at his fastened seat, weakly and mutter the question... "Where... am I?" Not that he'd be able to answer it.

He could only hear soft voices from the panels and manifests around his seat as he sat there unconscious, tired and exhausted... too tired to even hear the voice that called out his callsign...

Pilot... Gambler... And until to its pilot's name... Jameson Santiago.

From there, a will and decision is made, as it would emit on the emergency frequency, an emergency beacon, asking for help to any hospital race that would be fortunate to hear the cries for help. But there was no cries, only a beacon that asks for help...

[|] Jameson Santiago || ??? [|]

 

[Mazin Kiryu]

@Ironboi13 @Kabronex @TrickOLF

Fleeing from the battlefield, the Dino outrider's form disappears into the night sky along with its radar signature

"Hostile has disengaged. This won't be the last we'll see of them."

Despite the rather grim tidings, Almace was right; judging from how the dinosaurs fought and conducted themselves, things would only get worse from here on out... After a few moments, Kane and David would get an all-clear from Thalerhof's air control tower to return to base.


"No need to tell us twice... We don't wanna see another dino any closer than that!"

A few tense, but uneventful hours pass, save for the minor dramedy of the two survivors from Punitz airbase getting helped out of their ruined TSFs and getting vetted at gunpoint due to the entirely justified concern that they could be Dinosaur infiltrators, which they, fortunately, were not and they soon enough joined with the base personnel, having properly evacuated from their former airbase along with the citizens of Graz, making surprisingly good time despite the sudden nature of their departure, likely because this scenario was something they had long since predicted would come to pass.

As the convoy and their escort traveled through the alpine plains with as much haste as they could muster, the ephemeral calm was interrupted by Almace, once again proving her worth as an operator and of the gear her team's transporter was packing.

"We have incoming, four bogeys due west. Attack vectors."



Soon the incoming hostiles made themselves known, a flight of aerial mechasaurs their backs against the morning sunrise... Straight towards the escorting mechs! Radar warning receivers blaring alarms, the attack fliers let loose volleys of long-range missiles before their formation peels off for a multi-vector attack, save for one of the beasts which was instead making a beeline towards the convoy itself!

"Bob get us higher up, we don't want to be anywhere near engagement range."

"Already on it. Here's hoping we won't need to let Split Moon out of the box."

"And having doing so without PA, since I'd rather not have us be responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians and FPA soldiers due to radiation poisoning."

"Laying it on a little too thick there Stella..."

"It is what it is."

“I’ll stay and protect the convoy, Most of Great Mazinger are gonna be a hazard for our own Allies”

Kane said as he soon saw the volley of Long range missile as he then shouted, “GREAT TYPHOON!” As Great Mazinger mouth vents would release a violent wind, trying to disable all incoming Missiles and melting them so they can let off a chain reaction.

“Hope that good enough-“ As then he saw one of the incoming boogie, as then he busted out the Mazinger sword and flew toward it trajectory, readying for combat!

“Great Mazinger will be your opponents You overgrown lizard!”

 

[sir_fire]

Sheer awe


That was all that consumed Valrin

Sheer awe. He could do naught but obey.

Then the true voice of the Custodes rang out and Valrin answered.

"Gellar Field Failure and subsequent infestation of 99% of the ship. With the possibility of Warp Born Contagion infecting this reality, the Senior surviving Magos and I decided to detonate the Plasma reactor, then to order a further orbital bombardment on the remains, Lord Custodes"

William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
It... was not...

'What was happening right now?'

At first, the sudden appearance of the golden armored giant was seen by Liam as yet another impossibiliy adding to the pile, a weight on his soul as more and more things piled up higher.
However, I seemed like the story was even moree complicated, as the commanding voice, the presence that he felt, evaporated after speaking to both Valrin and general Granger about plans and lives a currency.

To then pivot to a celebration of life lived to fulfil a duty...

It was surreal to see the Giant confused by what was happening, like what happened just a few moments ago was something else pupeteering the body, yet instead of horror everyone was reacting as if they witnesses a miracle or the apparition of something greater.
Which, after what he witnessed in the ship, was not a god thing.

"I... we... just tried to help the people involved in the wreck, then we tried to contain the creatures, then we are trying to just, not pay for a good deed..."

The Custodes ponders upon the news, at the very least... It seems the Emperor was still watching over them if he awoke to a sight such as this rather than a vision of hell: The Inquisition's finest surrounded by the soldiers of an unknown polity of mankind, who looked very confused and perhaps fearful of whatever had transpired earlier and... A reptilian mutant of some sort? Which was also just as lost and frightened as the other humans but its facial microtwitches, such as they were in comparison to that of actual men also seemed to convey... Relief?

"I see. A prudent choice given the circumstances... But who do these men serve?"

The custodes then breaks eye contact with Valrin and Liam and upon happenstance, locks eyes with Sorell, who had also been present. Instinctively reacting, Sorell quickly comes up with an answer.

"They are heathens milord, ignorant of the Emperor's Light. Until a minute ago that is, when He used you to speak to us of our mission; the prey we hunt is still out there."

Once again the Custodes is deep in thought at the revelation... Telling the full truth to any other aside from the Inquisitor's vassals of his mission would only complicate things, burdening those unknowing needlessly with anxiety and paranoia, especially if they wouldn't even know where to look in the first place...

[|> The Area of Responsibility of Cera, At its Orbit, at Space <|]

A bright flash on the horizon can be seen just far above the planetside, emitting an omnious blue light, before whisking away momentarily after the intial flash. Followed by the miniscule trail of particulates from the epicenter of the light source. To any energy sensors, it would be a massive spike of energy, comparative to an entire starship just dropping from a faster than light travel, without the much mass, nor weight to it. If taken a closer look, for greater detail, it would present a field of displaced debris, from somewhere, god or emperor knows where.

But at a closer inspection; it would be suspect to be the remains of a battle taken elsewhere. As the debris field sports a charred and disfigured hull, and numerous other damaged alloys, littered with gaping holes from an array of antimatter blasts and kinetic attacks. But alas, with everything drifting on about, amidst a wreckage, a white glint can be seen; the source of the particles as tachyonic particles manifested from the lining of its frame, to its thrusters and emitters. Surrounded by a series of strange equipment; metal fins that also manifested the particles from the glowing lining. Relatively intact, the machine drifted dormant with only one life source being accomodated by an intricate system of life support. It had a white paint job, with mutes of black, and red, with golden finishing to compliment its iconic frame. A head unit, remniscent of old samurai, with a distinct V-Fin on its forehead, with beady dimmed eyes... it held a heavy compliment of weapons and equipment, like a shield, and a rifle, and a seemingly large cannon behind it. It even held a broken sword, devoid of any light nor warmth...

Each particle that leaked from the machine's orfices held awesome power in its small likeness, acting as a beacon of energy for any oppurtunistic space farer to take claim of the source of this awesome energy. As the star within this system would shine upon the drifting hulk and metal mass. The machine would indicate function, as light pulsated through its frame and drifting fins, restoring it systems the best it could.

Within the confines of the machine, at the connpod, the panoramic viewscreen would spark and show the image of the machine's surrounding, illuminating the dark pod, revealing a pilot clad in a white suit, his helmet shielding him from the bright star's glare, and hiding his identity. He'd softly move at his fastened seat, weakly and mutter the question... "Where... am I?" Not that he'd be able to answer it.

He could only hear soft voices from the panels and manifests around his seat as he sat there unconscious, tired and exhausted... too tired to even hear the voice that called out his callsign...

Pilot... Gambler... And until to its pilot's name... Jameson Santiago.

From there, a will and decision is made, as it would emit on the emergency frequency, an emergency beacon, asking for help to any hospital race that would be fortunate to hear the cries for help. But there was no cries, only a beacon that asks for help...

[|] Jameson Santiago || ??? [|]

Then the entire situation is once again upended by a sudden flash in the horizon, this time a brilliant, otherworldly cerulean rather than auric. At this, Sorell makes a quick, if rather redundant observation.

"That was not the Emperor's doing."

"The light, that hue... Warp?"

"I believe there is only one way to find out lord Custodes, these four."

The navy officer then presents the Quartet to the Custodes with a rather grandiose gesture. Honestly, aside from Valrin, who bore his Inquisitorial and Mechanicum symbols proudly, the custode seemed quite unimpressed by the sight of 2 children and a perfectly normal man. Then yet another surprise rears its head, this time from General Granger, who by now had broken from his stupor after the last few minutes and went back to duty mode.

"W-wait! Let us handle this! It is the jurisdiction of the Ceran Army!"

@Crimson Dragoon

 

[jamesonjustjameson]

Then the entire situation is once again upended by a sudden flash in the horizon, this time a brilliant, otherworldly cerulean rather than auric. At this, Sorell makes a quick, if rather redundant observation.

"That was not the Emperor's doing."

"The light, that hue... Warp?"

"I believe there is only one way to find out lord Custodes, these four."

The navy officer then presents the Quartet to the Custodes with a rather grandiose gesture. Honestly, aside from Valrin, who bore his Inquisitorial and Mechanicum symbols proudly, the custode seemed quite unimpressed by the sight of 2 children and a perfectly normal man. Then yet another surprise rears its head, this time from General Granger, who by now had broken from his stupor after the last few minutes and went back to duty mode.

"W-wait! Let us handle this! It is the jurisdiction of the Ceran Army!"

[|> The Area of Responsibility of Cera, At its Orbit, at Space <|]

As the dormant machine drifted amongst the debris, it continues to emit its emergency frequencies upon open channels indicating its damaged state. Attracting undivided attention that may draw in unwanted company. While it drifted, despite absent of any force to guide its course, the shield would gently bump the surface of the dormant machine, making the machine shake from head to toe with a gentle tremor, with a thud. The tremor only shook the senses of the pilot within as the seat shook. Due to his dazed state he struggled to correct his sense of balance, but this struggle only prompted him to focus, and therefore wake up with minamally recovered vigor. "Ngh..." He raised his head only

Several panels across the panoramic screens we're static, indicating damage, coupled with sparks flying from dangling wires that we're displaced from their hold. The light dimmed occassionally as the machine lacked so much power, that it was barely enough to sustain the panoramic view screens, life support systems, and its emergency signal that indicated the sorry state that the machine was in. To which all systems we're directly drawing power from the energy reserves. Seeing the machine in such a state, he grunted again, this time pushing himself to move within the chair, and get to work in salvaging as much as the machine as he could. "Maverick...? Maverick...?" He called out to his surroundings, but none responded.

He frowned underneath his helmet realizing that he had no company, not even from his AI. Just unfortunate, seeing the sustained informative panels, it seemed the machine kept datalogs about keeping the machine at stable state, despite its sustained heavy damage. Alas, the damage worsened to the point that it could only save power now by rerouting the precepts of the AI to autonomous emergency mode, which according to the information, saved power, at the expense of processing power, and automated systems that assisted the pilot in many factors. The situation became so dire for his sake that the machine chose him over himself...

This left a sour taste on the man's mouth. He grasped the main panel and caressed it as if it we're the machine's cheek. "... Thanks, Mav..." Renewed with this revelation, this only spurred more determination for the pilot to act, as he soon began access the maintenance panels on one of the access panels on the control suite, which delivered a manifest on the current state of the machine's drives. Seeing that they we're intact, with several account of damage across its flywheel section and furnace section. "They got me good there..." The pilot mattered as he studied the raw schematics of the damage to the drives. "Re-initializing drive, rerouting power to main drives."

The drives, if we're started with function far from the optimal energy output, thus relagating to emergency power, on account for the safety of the pilot and the suit. There was an option however that seemed feasible, but was too dangerous without the supervision of the pilot, thus never implemented. That changes now, seeing that this was the only option left. He began rerouting several power conduits, from the emergency reserves and into the drives, to allow it to kickstart the drives in sychronized output. After doing several adjustment, he would then take ahold of the right controls, and placed all of his fingers at each key. "Here goes nothing..."



After one final adjustment, the panoramic view flashed once and became dark. The emergency lights blacking out for a moment as the soft and cry of the drives behind him began to whine, pulsing with a crystalline like chime... And then, a pulse rocked the machine to shiver, as it felt power to flow across all of the machine's frame. The lights returning much brighter now with the screens returning to their pristine resolution, despite the damage. AMBAC was restored, amongst all subsystems and routines. "Ngh.... oof..." He panted within the conn-pod, as the machine at an outside perspective, stabilizes in space, as a sprawl of tachyons manifests around the machine as it returned to life, its eyes flashing blue as its servos cranked and turned, breaking the residual ice that has built up on machine, freeing it from its half-frozen state. While the drive continually emitted tachyon particles at a steady rate, empowering the machine slowly. With as a side result that its surroundings we're illuminated by these particles, as if they we're hyperactive fireflies, increasing the particle density in the area.

The pilot would see the funnels to begin vibrating, and glowing after being exposed to the presence of the Tachyons, to which the HORN Plate within the funnels began to empower the funnels, which caused these remote weapons to act erratically. Following this, Jameson would see its shield on its left nearby, and took it gently, connecting it to its left arm port. The left hand would then ball into a fist, as the piercing gaze of the machine would glance upon a rifle amongst the drifting wreck. With the power output steadily returning, the machine would begin to head for the rifle, as per the guidance of pilot, pushing the controls to spur the machine into action, and reached for it, easily getting close to it due to the propulsion system, propelling the suit to move. Grasping the rifle from its handle, it would take a scan of its surroundings and remainining weapons, while the Fin Funnels darted around the machine and one by one, began attaching to the pack, each 8 gradually being recharged with as much power the drives could muster, with the drives output being relatively 50%...

Seeing the results of the scans, it could be said that the machine has lost of its few weapons, and a few others rendered non-functional. It honestly wasn't favorable, but the pilot had to make do with what he had with his machine. "Dammit..." He softly sighed, seeing one of the listed weapons was its other primary weapon. No use crying over spilt milk. The pilot would begin to survey his surroundings, imbued with the faint miasma and clouds of light which we're tachyon clouds... He sees beyond the clouds, and noticed the planet he was in orbit with. A planet virtually different as he does not recognize any of its land structure, nor its main continent. This is further reinforced to see the sight of massive surface-to-orbit cannons out in the distance. He could only ask a question. "Where on Earth, am I?" He sighed afterwards, as he grasped his head, trying to remember what brought him here in the first place. But, feeling exhausted, he couldn't find the answer as to what brought him here. Though he was certain, that he was no longer at a place he was familiar with, as his instincts tell him that they we're, far from home, way too far, for any semblance of familiarity to be recognized from his surroundings. He looked at the cannons in curiousity, and it was only something that he could see from afar. And so the machine did the same as it faced the direction where the cannons we're.

The pilot would note as several debris breezed past the mobile suit. The pilot would comment to himself. "Its not safe here..." He would press on both pedals, stirring the mobile suit to climb up and levitate over the large debris of rocks,, before cutting its propulsion as it waited at where it levitated. "... And, is this even the same place?" He asked himself more question, despite knowing that it would be left unanswered...

He wanted answers, thus... he'd raise his hand towards the communication panel. Despite long range we're damaged, local range should work fine. "...." He hesitated for a moment, before announcing. "To any active units within the area, I am in need of assstance, my machine is heavily damaged. at this following location." He repeated twice his location, before continuing. "I repeat, my machine is in need of drastic repairs, I repeat over..."

"Does anyone copy? Over." He asked out to the expanse of space, and to towards the planet staring at it from above as he waited for any response. "Anyone?" He would ask for confirmation if anyone heard it so, as he slowly roamed about the area, with the use of his machine, being wary of its surroundings for the time being., as he piloted his machine in question, with a rifle, a shield a few handy equipment, that being fin funnels, at the case that the company he attracted would be nothing but trouble...

[|] Jameson Santiago || Gundam Maverick [|]

 

[Crimson Dragoon]

As Valrin and Liam already answered the golden armored man’s query, there was no need for Daniel to speak and simply observed. On that note, their newly awakened guest no longer spoke in his mentor’s voice, nor did he have that same overpowering presence from before, but he still carried an undeniable air of authority. His superhuman physical stature helped enforce that notion, of course.

The Custodes ponders upon the news, at the very least... It seems the Emperor was still watching over them if he awoke to a sight such as this rather than a vision of hell: The Inquisition's finest surrounded by the soldiers of an unknown polity of mankind, who looked very confused and perhaps fearful of whatever had transpired earlier and... A reptilian mutant of some sort? Which was also just as lost and frightened as the other humans but its facial microtwitches, such as they were in comparison to that of actual men also seemed to convey... Relief?

"I see. A prudent choice given the circumstances... But who do these men serve?"

The custodes then breaks eye contact with Valrin and Liam and upon happenstance, locks eyes with Sorell, who had also been present. Instinctively reacting, Sorell quickly comes up with an answer.

"They are heathens milord, ignorant of the Emperor's Light. Until a minute ago that is, when He used you to speak to us of our mission; the prey we hunt is still out there."

Once again the Custodes is deep in thought at the revelation... Telling the full truth to any other aside from the Inquisitor's vassals of his mission would only complicate things, burdening those unknowing needlessly with anxiety and paranoia, especially if they wouldn't even know where to look in the first place...


Then the entire situation is once again upended by a sudden flash in the horizon, this time a brilliant, otherworldly cerulean rather than auric. At this, Sorell makes a quick, if rather redundant observation.

"That was not the Emperor's doing."

"The light, that hue... Warp?"

"I believe there is only one way to find out lord Custodes, these four."

The navy officer then presents the Quartet to the Custodes with a rather grandiose gesture. Honestly, aside from Valrin, who bore his Inquisitorial and Mechanicum symbols proudly, the custode seemed quite unimpressed by the sight of 2 children and a perfectly normal man. Then yet another surprise rears its head, this time from General Granger, who by now had broken from his stupor after the last few minutes and went back to duty mode.

"W-wait! Let us handle this! It is the jurisdiction of the Ceran Army!"

@Crimson Dragoon

Daniel saw yet another mysterious newcomer about to come through. Another potential sorry member for their group? There was only one way to find out. The Ceran general offered his own opinion, of course, and it was reasonable. However…

“I’m not opposed to that, general. After all, this is your base on your world. But can I suggest that we come along as well? Simply for insurance, in case anything goes wrong.”

 

[Kabronex]

@Ironboi13 @Kabronex @TrickOLF

Fleeing from the battlefield, the Dino outrider's form disappears into the night sky along with its radar signature

"Hostile has disengaged. This won't be the last we'll see of them."

Despite the rather grim tidings, Almace was right; judging from how the dinosaurs fought and conducted themselves, things would only get worse from here on out... After a few moments, Kane and David would get an all-clear from Thalerhof's air control tower to return to base.


"No need to tell us twice... We don't wanna see another dino any closer than that!"

A few tense, but uneventful hours pass, save for the minor dramedy of the two survivors from Punitz airbase getting helped out of their ruined TSFs and getting vetted at gunpoint due to the entirely justified concern that they could be Dinosaur infiltrators, which they, fortunately, were not and they soon enough joined with the base personnel, having properly evacuated from their former airbase along with the citizens of Graz, making surprisingly good time despite the sudden nature of their departure, likely because this scenario was something they had long since predicted would come to pass.

As the convoy and their escort traveled through the alpine plains with as much haste as they could muster, the ephemeral calm was interrupted by Almace, once again proving her worth as an operator and of the gear her team's transporter was packing.

"We have incoming, four bogeys due west. Attack vectors."



Soon the incoming hostiles made themselves known, a flight of aerial mechasaurs their backs against the morning sunrise... Straight towards the escorting mechs! Radar warning receivers blaring alarms, the attack fliers let loose volleys of long-range missiles before their formation peels off for a multi-vector attack, save for one of the beasts which was instead making a beeline towards the convoy itself!

"Bob get us higher up, we don't want to be anywhere near engagement range."

"Already on it. Here's hoping we won't need to let Split Moon out of the box."

"And having doing so without PA, since I'd rather not have us be responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians and FPA soldiers due to radiation poisoning."

"Laying it on a little too thick there Stella..."

"It is what it is."

The mechasaurs flew off on their own ways, whatever their plans are unknown to the heroes and airmen of the base. One remained, and it made its way to the convoy of military personnel and their hardware. The beast screeched and glided ever closer by the second, until a shadow consumed the back of the mechasaur.



Another screech, this one different, more predatory sounded in the sky. The clouds above gathered and grayed the morning sky. The clouds rumbled as they swole. Scarlet bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, licking the peaks of the Alps.



The Thunderbird came down from the clouds, screaming bloody murder. The giant red and brazen mechanical sky god dive bombed the cybernetic creature.

"That's how we do it. Down boy!" The operator said, the arrogant mercenary who first arrived earlier last night said within the comms. His machine was almost twice the size of the mechasaur, and it resembled a raptor, tumbling through the sky with a flying pteranodon in its claws, its beak tearing and digging on to the creature while it plummeted right into a mountain, triggering an avalanche and white powdery snow kicked up, making it difficult to make out the scuffle going on. Lightning flashes, occasionally displaying the silhouettes of what could or could not have been a melee between the bird like beasts.

 

[Ironboi13]

"No need to tell us twice... We don't wanna see another dino any closer than that!"

A few tense, but uneventful hours pass, save for the minor dramedy of the two survivors from Punitz airbase getting helped out of their ruined TSFs and getting vetted at gunpoint due to the entirely justified concern that they could be Dinosaur infiltrators, which they, fortunately, were not and they soon enough joined with the base personnel, having properly evacuated from their former airbase along with the citizens of Graz, making surprisingly good time despite the sudden nature of their departure, likely because this scenario was something they had long since predicted would come to pass.

As the convoy and their escort traveled through the alpine plains with as much haste as they could muster, the ephemeral calm was interrupted by Almace, once again proving her worth as an operator and of the gear her team's transporter was packing.

"We have incoming, four bogeys due west. Attack vectors."



Soon the incoming hostiles made themselves known, a flight of aerial mechasaurs their backs against the morning sunrise... Straight towards the escorting mechs! Radar warning receivers blaring alarms, the attack fliers let loose volleys of long-range missiles before their formation peels off for a multi-vector attack, save for one of the beasts which was instead making a beeline towards the convoy itself!

"Bob get us higher up, we don't want to be anywhere near engagement range."

"Already on it. Here's hoping we won't need to let Split Moon out of the box."

"And having doing so without PA, since I'd rather not have us be responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians and FPA soldiers due to radiation poisoning."

"Laying it on a little too thick there Stella..."

"It is what it is."

"Let's mop them up quickly, the sooner the better!" David said, breaking off to intercept the Mechasaurs at one of the vectors.

He'd have to be quick, but he couldn't afford to be stupid. The Wing Freedom twisted and contorted back into its birdlike flight form! The Gundam let out a sonic boom not long after its transformation as it rocketed to meet the airborne Mechasaurs.

David swiftly engaged the Mechasaurs, firing upon them with the Gundam's Vulcans, and more importantly, the Railguns...The speed of the projectile would make it useful to make the Mechasaurs slow down! He'd fire the Railguns at multiple Mechasaurs head-on!

"These Dinosaurs...They're relentless and organized. Just how many of them are there?"

 

[sir_fire]

“I’ll stay and protect the convoy, Most of Great Mazinger are gonna be a hazard for our own Allies”

Kane said as he soon saw the volley of Long range missile as he then shouted, “GREAT TYPHOON!” As Great Mazinger mouth vents would release a violent wind, trying to disable all incoming Missiles and melting them so they can let off a chain reaction.

“Hope that good enough-“ As then he saw one of the incoming boogie, as then he busted out the Mazinger sword and flew toward it trajectory, readying for combat!

“Great Mazinger will be your opponents You overgrown lizard!”

The Mechasaur's initial volley of missiles was trashed by the Great Typhoon, some prematurely detonating from the corrosive effect of the tornado, and others flew off course and slammed into the plains and mountains in great blooming fireballs. At this, one of the fliers accepts Kane's challenge and makes an attack pass, opening up with a volley of linear cannon shots from its wing roots, the hypervelocity slugs tearing through the air with such speed that they left swirling vapor trails in their wake.

While the much smaller cannons were nowhere near as potent as that sniper railgun from last night, the slugs still weren't something that even the Great Mazinger's New Super Alloy Z could simply shrug off, especially with how the flier was specifically aiming for the head and cockpit.

"Let's mop them up quickly, the sooner the better!" David said, breaking off to intercept the Mechasaurs at one of the vectors.

He'd have to be quick, but he couldn't afford to be stupid. The Wing Freedom twisted and contorted back into its birdlike flight form! The Gundam let out a sonic boom not long after its transformation as it rocketed to meet the airborne Mechasaurs.

David swiftly engaged the Mechasaurs, firing upon them with the Gundam's Vulcans, and more importantly, the Railguns...The speed of the projectile would make it useful to make the Mechasaurs slow down! He'd fire the Railguns at multiple Mechasaurs head-on!

"These Dinosaurs...They're relentless and organized. Just how many of them are there?"

The Mechasaur fliers were smaller and more agile than the one he faced previously, easily swerving through his railgun shots before one of them got a quick lock and attempted to rake his gundam with retaliatory fire from both linear cannon fire and what seemed to be laser pulses from its mouth before quickly going evasive to spoil the transformable machine's lock, but doing so that if David were to go after one, the other wouldn't be too far off to try and get a cheap shot on him while he chases its partner down.

The mechasaurs flew off on their own ways, whatever their plans are unknown to the heroes and airmen of the base. One remained, and it made its way to the convoy of military personnel and their hardware. The beast screeched and glided ever closer by the second, until a shadow consumed the back of the mechasaur.

Another screech, this one different, more predatory sounded in the sky. The clouds above gathered and grayed the morning sky. The clouds rumbled as they swole. Scarlet bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, licking the peaks of the Alps.



The Thunderbird came down from the clouds, screaming bloody murder. The giant red and brazen mechanical sky god dive bombed the cybernetic creature.

"That's how we do it. Down boy!" The operator said, the arrogant mercenary who first arrived earlier last night said within the comms. His machine was almost twice the size of the mechasaur, and it resembled a raptor, tumbling through the sky with a flying pteranodon in its claws, its beak tearing and digging on to the creature while it plummeted right into a mountain, triggering an avalanche and white powdery snow kicked up, making it difficult to make out the scuffle going on. Lightning flashes, occasionally displaying the silhouettes of what could or could not have been a melee between the bird like beasts.

The mechasaur and its pilot had no chance as it was ripped to pieces by the aerial ambush, reduced to nothing but scrap and a few bloody chunks after the Zord smashed its corpse into the mountainside.

Slicer 2 Splashed!

The Hell?! That machine wasn't part of the briefing!

The info from those spooks clearly wasn't up to date.

We don't know how many more of them there are, defensive formation!

The mechasaur that Kane had been fighting quickly breaks away from its duel with a hard turn and a spray of ECM smoke and chaff from its belly and tail, causing its radar signature and shape to disappear behind a thick grey cloud, making hitting it a very tricky prospect and by the time he could see it again, it was too far away for any of his longer ranged weapons to get a good hit on.

The mechasaurs trying to tango with David however quickly changed their tactics, hitting the afterburners. Once they built a fair amount of distance. As he tried to chase them down, his radar warning receiver suddenly began screeching in alarm even though his targets were presenting their backs to him... Then all of a sudden, both mechasaurs launched a missile each... Which then made hard 180-degree turns before heading straight towards the Wing Freedom! Forcing his attention away from the fliers and towards their incoming ordnance.

Moments later, the 3rd mechasaur had rejoined its squad and then the now trio entered a loose formation, keeping their distance and launching opportunistic long-ranged shots from their linear cannons at the mechs and if they got a bit too close for comfort, launched a missile at the convoy. While a frustrating ploy, it is glaringly obvious they're trying to buy time for help to arrive.