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Post by Wedge Lourde on Jul 12, 2005 18:16:11 GMT -5
The Liberty was still parked near Sudanjin. I thought about my fellow Legionnaires. I didn't know a thing, and the thought of dead Legionnaires made me want to get up from the sick bay and kill someone.
I returned to my movie. An old movie from the First Millenuim. Before the BattleMech was even a tiny thought. There were gas powered cars, and planet Terra was the only planet. They kept referring to Terra as "Earth". I wondered if all this old technology was real, or if it was all made up. Before the Star Leauge, before the WoB, and before the Houses... Just a single planet, polluted, disease run, and disgusting.
Then, there was a mighty rumble. Whatever the Liberty was doing, it caused a small power failure. Then I thought about Garland... If they had ever found the Commander...
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Nicholas Schuster
Regular
DECEASED
"Blakists are like a virus. And WE are the cure."
Posts: 139
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Post by Nicholas Schuster on Jul 13, 2005 7:48:15 GMT -5
My eyes went wide as I saw Mamba leave her 'Mech right in the middle of combat, running toward some unknown point. I didn't have too much time to think about it, though, as the low whoosh of the Fafnir deploying a Heavy Gauss round toward my 'Mech cut through the air. I fired my JumpJets, but the Fafnir had anticipated my movement, and fired a second round. The first glanced off my Shadow Cat's reactor casing, tearing away a few sections of armor, and bending the frame a bit, but the second round hit dead-on, tearing off my Shadow Cat's left arm completely. So much for my lasers.
I still had my Clan Gauss Rifle, though, and as I landed, I snapped off a shot at the huge Fafnir. It bucked under the impact, but recovered quickly, scorching my center torso with a punishing laser barrage. My armor indicators flashed to yellow as I punched my throttle up to full, trying to get out of the assault 'Mech's firing arc. As I moved behind it, my Shadow Cat was suddenly jolted hard, and I pivoted to see a Raptor bearing down on me, trigger-slapping its weapons to bombard me with Swarm SRMs and autocannon fire near-simultaneously. My 'Mech shook under the repeated blasts, and I punched my Jump Jets once again to avoid the worst of it. Airborne, I sailed over the Raptor, coming to land behind it as it circled around for another attack run.
"Not now you don't!" I exploded, leveling my sights on one of its legs and firing my Gauss Rifle point-blank into the reversed knee joint. The round hit true, and the Raptor lost its balance, and plowed into the dirt. As it struggled to stand, I fired my Jump Jets to get above it, and then switched them off. My 45-ton 'Mech dropped like a rock onto the Raptor's cockpit, crushing the pilot instantly.
"Sigma-1 to Echo-1...scratch one bad guy."
"Roger that, Sigma-1. Good job. There's plenty more where that came from."
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Post by Holms Net on Jul 13, 2005 8:00:15 GMT -5
I was getting in over my head. The Fafnir had me WAY outgunned, and there was no way that I was going to go after it...I saw the results of mechs that had strayed too close. Even the Raptors had the size and weapons advantages over my Raven. This made me a walking target.
I pushed my scout mech to its maximum possible speed, charging into battle just behind Captain Maxwell. His Hellhound broke left, spraying one of the Raptors with LBX 10 fire. The Raptor became interested in him, and ignored me as I strafed to the right, hitting it with my pulse lasers and LRM-15s. The lasers didn't do much at all, but the missiles ravaged the Raptor's rear armor like nobody's business. Captain Maxwell held his fire as he swung behind me, before unleashing another LBX punch into the Raptor's reactor. It was starting to smoke, and I backed away, launching another LRM-15 salvo into its back. A blue light shot out from inside its body, and it exploded, cratering the ground.
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Jul 13, 2005 8:45:11 GMT -5
I steered clear of the exploding Raptor as Holms Net sent it to an untimely end, my Hellhound's massive feet kicking up clumps of dirt and debris as I leaned it into a hard turn. Another Raptor appeared before me, its NullSig switching off as its weapons fired, and a wall of fire arced across the battlefield as my AMS swatted its inbound SRMs from the sky.
I replied with an Alpha Strike, my entire weapons suite firing simultaneously, pouring coherent energy, high explosives, and 'Mech-sized buckshot into the marauding Raptor. The smaller 'Mech bucked violently as the volley impacted its slender torso, but the pilot kept his balance, snapping off an autocannon retort which flew wide.
I swung my 'Mech into a Circle of Death, shredding the Raptor's armor with my Streak SRM-6 launcher and my LBX AC/10, as I waited for my energy weapons to cool. The relentless onslaught weakened the Raptor substantially, as its shoulder-mounted autocannon was blown completely from its mount, and an internal ammo explosion destroyed one of its SRM launchers. The pilot of the Raptor tried to trigger the 'Mech's NullSig in a desparate escape maneuver, but I wasn't about to let him go that easily. I closed to melee range, and fired an LBX round, point-blank, into the BattleMech's reactor casing. The Raptor collapsed to the ground, its systems overloading, as the mighty fires which burned deep within its reactor began to destabilize. Soon, the all-too-familiar lances of white light spiled forth from the fallen 'Mech, and moments later, it was consumed in a hellish fusion explosion.
"Echo-1 to all units: scratch another Raptor."
There were several more hostiles left on the scope, and I turned to engage my next closest target. But at that moment, twin sonic booms echoed across the battlefield, and my Hellhound plowed into the dirt as its center torso was struck with dual Heavy Gauss rounds. After a dazed moment, I began to right my 'Mech, and as it rose to its feet, I found myself staring down the gun ports of the massive Fafnir, which was in the midst of unleashing a massive laser barrage into my diminutive 'Mech.
Crap.
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Post by Lance Commander Marcus Taylor on Jul 13, 2005 9:07:02 GMT -5
Spectre-4 to all engaged units. Keep that Fafnir distracted, I think it's high time he learned his lesson.
Spectre-4 you're crazy!
Yeah, cool ain't it?
I slammed my 55 Ton Bushwacker's throttle to the stops at max speed. My mech balked at the surge in speed and ferociuty of the turns I was making evading the Raptor's punishing fire and the staying one step of the 100 Tons of death that lay before me.
I took several laser blasts along my left torso as I watch from the corner every Legionnaire that was engaged in combat trying to desperately draw the attention of the mech that out weighed me by 45 tons and severely outgunned me.
My mind focused as pressed my mech to it's extreme limits and the lessons that I learned from Commander Wayne came into view.
Cold...calculate...assess...wait...NOW!
The Fafnir made the error of turning at the last second to fire off towards another Legionnaire as I tore past and swung around behind it.
DIE!
The armor of the Fafnir in the rear tore and howled as an Alpha Strike bore into it. The Fafnir spun wildly as the force of the near point blank blow forced it forward unexpectedly. I fired my jump jets and plowed into the mech and pushed it the rest of the way. The pilot tried to right himself, but the added blow of the 55 ton Bushwacker being used as a battering ram was too much.
My computer howled as the force of the impact took it's toll on my gyro. I moved back and unleashed another Alpha Strike as I backpedaled. The Fafnir managed to get up and swing itself around and dual Heavy Gauss rounds hissed past my cockpit tearing off one of my LRM-5 launchers.
Oh, now I've got your attention don't I?
I gunned the throttle and tore past the Fafnir in tow as I watched laser fire bore past my mech now in full retreat.
This is Spectre-4 Let the Fafnir follow, I'm not done playing yet, but I'd sure appreciate if you keep those Raptors off me.
It was Holms Net.
Roger that Spectre-4. You heard 'em Legionnaires, let's give him some cover.
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Post by MechWarrior Sergei Zhukov on Jul 13, 2005 10:21:36 GMT -5
Kintaru had clearly lost it. As he charged toward the Fafnir, all hell broke loose as the balance of the unit chased after him, and the pirate forces defending the spaceport reacted to our sudden, unwelcome presence. I pushed the Legionnaire as hard as I possibly could, trying to catch up with Kintaru's blindingly fast Hackman. As I lumbered toward the spaceport, I saw the Lieutenant power his Hackman down, and leap from the cockpit, hurtling down his escape ladder and dashing after a shadowy figure.
"Kintaru! What in the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed, to no one in particular.
My Legionnaire pounded to a halt beside Kintaru's 'Mech, and I powered it down. Rising from the command couch, I pulled off my neurohelmet and cooling vest, grabbed my jacket, and a fully-loaded MAG-18 assault rifle, and scrambled through the Legionnaire's roof hatch. I saw Kintaru disappear into the ruins of the spaceport, and as the battle raged around me, I took off after him.
The interior of the Tikonov Union spaceport was a shambles. As I wandered through its shattered, gutted shell, I could hear voices echoing through the crumbling corridors. I instinctively gripped the assault rifle tighter, listening for the voices as best I could, trying to ascertain their position over the noise of the combat which roared outside.
As I rounded a corner, and found myself stepping into the wreckage of one of the spaceport's hangers, my heart began to race. In the middle of the bay, whose roof had long ago been torn off by forces unknown, sat a small, weatherworn, spacecraft, its exterior covered with craters, graffitti, and a great deal of rust. Incredibly, it was fully powered, with its gantry extended, and flickers of light could be seen eminating from its open hatch. The voices grew far louder here, and they were speaking Standard. It appeared I had found the pirates.
I slowly made my way up the gantry, my MAG-18 raised in a killing stance, and entered the vessel. A man's voice bellowed from the ship's forward compartment, and I made my way to a service alcove that afforded me a concealed view of the ship's command center. As I peered into the cramped confines that comprised the smallish bridge, my heart jumped into my throat.
The voice belonged to General Ren himself. Engaged in an argument with a bespectacled, elderly man, who was frantically keying commands into one of the ship's computers, he took no notice of my presence.
"What do you mean, you haven’t downloaded all of the data yet?" Ren demanded, slamming one of his huge fists against a bulkhead. His agitation was becoming quite apparent.
"I’m going as fast as the software is permitting me, sir..." the elderly man replied, in a meek voice. Suddenly, a third man - wearing a cloak - stepped into the compartment.
"I don’t like the sound of what's going on outside," the cloaked figure intoned, in an icy manner that literally sent a chill down my spine. The man's remark fed Ren's fury even further.
"Exactly! More reason to get a move on, Faulkner! My patience is running dry. I may even have to take care of things outside myself."
These three were clearly lost in a world of their own. With a single burst, I could wipe out the entire room with my MAG-18. And I fully intended to...right after I settled a score with Ren. I stepped from the alcove into the command center, racking my assault rifle loudly as I did so, and training it on the General.
"Well...it appears we have a...guest." The cloaked man sounded amused.
I drummed my fingers against the grips of my assault rifle, my eyes shifting between Ren and the cloked figure as I tried to assess which was truly the bigger threat. Then, locking eyes with the General, I cleared my throat, and spoke.
"I hate to break up this party… but I want words with you, Ren."
The General slowly turned around, a shocked expression flashing across his face. I couldn't tell if he was truly taken aback by my remark, or if he was simply mocking me. Before I could consider it any further, however, a huge, Cheshire-cat grin spread across his face, his eyes narrowing into slits as he bore his blinding white teeth.
"Ahhh...Mister Zhukov. What an unexpected surprise! I’m glad you're here. I was beginning to wonder where my special agent had disappeared to."
As Ren spoke, he began to step toward me, his massive frame nearly obscuring his companions. I gripped my rifle tighter, and raised it as he approached. His jovial appearence faded from his face as quickly as it had come, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated rage. I could practically see the heat waves rising from his body.
"I was wondering WHERE the Jade Map Stone was that you PROMISED ME!"
"Well...let's just say I had a change of heart." I clicked my assault rifle's safety off and began taking steps backward as Ren continued toward me. I could feel my own brand of rage welling up inside of me.
"I was a fool to think you would be a great leader of the Inner Sphere. I was a fool to allow you to use me as a tool for your own personal gain. And I was a FOOL to allow you to manipulate me and turn me against the Legionnaires!"
Ren began to chuckle. I blinked. The chuckles gave way to hearty laughter, and that, in turn, gave way to hysterical cackling. The General had clearly lost it.
"ENOUGH!"
I squeezed the trigger of my MAG-18, spraying the General with a hail of depleted-uranium, armor piercing slugs. Shell casings flew everywhere as my rifle unloaded its entire clip in under a minute. The bullets tore through the air, and I fully expected them to shred Ren's pathetic body into a bloody pulp. Instead, upon reaching the General's hulking constitution, they rained to the floor, never even contacting his flesh. My eyes widened with fear, and I lost my grip on the MAG-18, which clattered to the floor.
"Oh...shit!"
"What’s the matter, Mister Zhukov? You look as if you are...staring death in the face?"
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Post by General Archdale Ren on Jul 13, 2005 11:55:19 GMT -5
Zhukov’s appearance had astounded me… temporarily. Then I was overcome with a… near joy, so to speak.
"Ahhh...Mister Zhukov. What an unexpected surprise! I’m glad you're here. I was beginning to wonder where my special agent had disappeared to." I said with a hearty voice, in an attempt to figure out who’s side he was on. The tapping of his MAG-18 suggested otherwise.
Looks like I’ll be beating the information out of him…
I stepped forward, blocking my associates. With a Mag-18 pointing in that direction, I didn’t want them getting hit. As I moved closer Zhukov took a couple steps back, but still maintained his eye contact with me, showing no fear. He had balls. And quite frankly, THAT was pissing me off.
"I was wondering WHERE the Jade Map Stone was that you PROMISED ME!" I bellowed, as I activated my AZPES suit and taking a few more steps forward. The heat wave signature that the suit gave off indicated that the generator was active and fully functioning. I could even feel the slight heat that the fabric suit gave off… which comforted me so to speak. And best of all, because I wore it underneath my uniform, Zhukov had NO idea what he had in store.
Zhukov continued to take small steps back, as well as babbling about his change of heart. Heh, change of heart? I couldn’t contain my laughter. Such a fool! In this time of war, who needed a heart?!
"I was a fool to think you would be a great leader of the Inner Sphere. I was a fool to allow you to use me as a tool for your own personal gain. And I was a FOOL to allow you to manipulate me and turn me against the Legionnaires!" the fool said, adding to my delight. I burst out with into a fit of hysterical laughter. Although I had put a lot of effort into my laugh just to piss Zhukov off… most of it was genuine.
"ENOUGH!"
The traitor fired an entire magazine of ammunition in my general direction. Unfortunately I had anticipated this. I squeezed my hand, activating the small AZPES generators located on my back which caused them to charge the electro magnetic field around my body. The depleted uranium slugs stopped within three inches of my body. The stopped dead. The suit was working at a fantastic level, much higher than I had thought it would. I lowered the level of the field to allow the slugs to fall to the ground, adding to Zhukov’s shock. Yes, this is what I wanted. To show the traitor I could still fill his “heart”, as he had called it, with tremendous fear. My associates behind me were fully protected, as was the Oracle.
"What’s the matter, Mister Zhukov? You look as if you are...staring death in the face?" I said, continuing my hysterical laughter. Zhukov stood perfectly still as fear purged his body. Excellent, just the reaction I was looking for.
“I see I’ve caught you full attention!” I continued to say.
“B-But how… all my shots… were stopped.” Zhukov stuttered as fear completely took over.
“Would you like me to tell you? All you had to do was ask Mr Zhukov.”
I walked closer. Zhukov kept perfectly still.
“Absolute. Zero. Point. Energy. Suit. Or AZPES as I like to call it.” I said with pride in my voice as I walked around the traitor.
“Courtesy of Dr Faulner… WHO SHOULD BE CONTINUING HIS WORK!” I said, locking daggers with the Doctor's eyes. His old hands leapt back onto the ancient keyboard and began furiously typing.
“As I was saying… The AZPES suit uses micro generators to create an electro magnetic field. It‘s the perfect defence. The field repels most objects away from me. Bullets, blades, explosives, plasma, laser… you name it Mr Zhukov, and I the suit can defend against it. There is so much more I would like to tell you Mr Zhukov… but time is short”
I stopped dead in front of him. Another explosion rocked the space port. I’d have to be quick. If Faulkner wasn’t fucking around with the hardware adjustments, we would have had the coordinates to the Jade Stone Fortune by now. However, if we could get the Jade Map Stone that Zhukov promised me many months ago, research could continued on the location of the tomb.
“Now, I’m going to ask once Zhukov. ONLY once. Where is the stone.” I asked, creating a larger field around me. The stirred up some ancient dust off the ground. As the field stabilised, resonating into a glowing blue aura like shield that coated my body, the dust settled. Faulkner’s typing and the battle outside were the only things that chocked the silence. Zhukov swallowed hard as he tried to measure up to me.
“Fair enough…” I said quietly.
The blue field intensified as I brought the generators to 30% of their maximum capabilities. The ground shook as my power increased. Heh… MY power. The AZPES suit, combined with my strength meant that I could easily beat the crap out of this maggot.
Suddenly, from the corner of my eye something metallic gleamed as the reflection of light bounced off it. Several throwing daggers stopped within my field. I manipulated the field to throw the daggers back into the direction from which they came; this was another talent of the AZPES suit. The daggers hit a pillar and stayed there. Stepping out from the shadows behind the very pillar i hit, came a surprising figure.
“You murdered my family… you destroyed my entire village… and you stole the very thing we swore to protect with our lives…” The young man said as he crept from his shadowy hide away.
“REN! I swear that THIS is the day you DIE!” the young man said, unsheathing his pathetic looking katana. This sure as hell wasn’t going to save him from the AZPES suit.
“K-Kintaru?!” Zhukov stuttered. Then I finally remembered. It was that pathetic Kintaru brat that managed to steel away MY precious Jade Map Stone.
“Well, well, well! Looks like there are more rodent to be taken care of!”
The boy was shaking with anger.
“Ten years ago… I swore this oath. Today it will be realised!” he said bringing his sword up.
“Zhukov, stand back!” he shouted. Rage had obviously blinded his intelligence.
“My goodness! If it isn’t a member of the Kintaru village. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t I put an end to your silly tribe?” I cackled, sending the boy into more fits of rage.
Maybe I could have some… fun.
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Post by Wedge Lourde on Jul 13, 2005 14:38:52 GMT -5
My family was dead. My family. I had no idea about my cousins and aunts and uncles, though. Then, the Lourde Universal address popped into my mind. I could message them about the Legionnaires!
I summoned Tech Wyatt to bring me my handheld. I logged in, and put in the mail addresses, then began typing:
=messagebeg=
This message is to any Lourde whom may receive it. I am Wedge Lourde, Jeremy Lourde's son. I have joined the mercenary group titled 'Legionnaires'. I am moving up in rank, and we are in the proccess of completing an Operation. All is well. They have plenty of room for pilots, and I would love another Lourde around. If you receive this message, please foreward it to all our relitives. I would love to see any of you. Please reply if you are alive, and I will include an attachment of the DropShip Liberty's tracking signal.
Best Regards, Sargeant Wedge Lourde.
=messageend=
Content with the message, I set it down, and quickly fell asleep to the Liberty's soft vibration.
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Post by Gen Miyamoto on Jul 13, 2005 16:11:12 GMT -5
When I found them, the Legionnaires had landed themselves in one hell of a firefight. The ground was thick with giant metal corpses, Legionnaire and opposition alike. I doubt anybody noticed my approach, due to the E.C.M. I would see to that changing directly.
A Raptor and Raven had taken into a running gun battle, with missles flying and shell cases dropping. I announced my intentions with a twin blast from my ClanLBX-Autocannon 20's to the rear of the Raptor's left leg. The cluster rounds shreded the leg into a useless amalgam of wires and metal as the former bird of prey fell groundward. I began to throttle up to engage the next target and sent a parting volley of StreakSRMs which did little compared to the onslaught unleashed from the Raven.
At this point, my entry into the battle was well enough known that I could risk an open-channel transmission, a well timed decision considering a badly damaged Shadow Cat mech was drawing a large calibur bead on me.
"Hope you Leggionaires don't mind, I've got some bounty to earn." I wasn't taking chances on a cryptic announcement though, and swung hard left to circle to the far edge of the battlefield.
While rounding the carnage for another easy kill I nearly collided with a Bushwaker sprinting with reckless abandon away from a very enraged Fafnir-pilot. As I corrected course to clear the HeavyGauss line-of-fire the cannons let loose thier mighty rounds and struck the bushwaker in the rear armor, sending it sommersaulting over itself and landing on its back. Not a good position to be in when your out gunned.
"Let's dance, you and I." I said on the open frequency, in the hopes that the pilot could hear my taunts. I closed in for a tight circle of death, and she seemed game as she intiated a light barrage of lasers.
I let loose with my LBX-20's, trying to remove one of the mamoth H-Gauss cannons, but instead nailed the arm. Appropriatly , the laser fire reduced signifigantly with the jolt. As I rounded behind the enormous mechanized monstosity, the pilot, in all thier wisdom, swung the mech around the opposite direction to head me off. A classic manuever that I thrived on. I slammed my mech in reverse and after the crunch and hum of gyros and actuators my mech was striding in reverse in a counter circle. I smiled to myself as the mech crossed the point at which he *should* have seen me. The computer hooted as my 20's cycled to ready again and I fired everything I had into the Fafnir's rear armor, taking it down to critical. I ceased circling, and I began instead creating distance between it and me.
A few hundred meters later the Fafnir finnaly drew around completly to face me once again. I cringed as it leveled it's sights on me. A hell hound had crested the high dune and attempted to assist me in my battle, but the Fafnir did not flinch. The enormous scream of the railguns sung the song of my doom as I covered my face and braced for impact. My mech rumbled and I felt a tremendous surge of pressure.
I was alive, I guessed. But the landacape was completly different and alarms were rhythmicly blarring. My alignment was all off. The fafnir must have missed my center and glanced a side torso. I thanked every name for God I could think of as I spun my torso around completley and threw a hard turn left to clear whatever else the Fafnir had to throw. As I faught the controls to wildly turn to face the Fafnir again I noted that damage control read only one shell impact. That Hellhound must have timed a good LBX shot and thrown off the Fafnir's aim. I'd have to thank whoever it was later.
"Calculate D.F.A pattern Kappa" I yelled, and added"audio countdown." "Confirmed"acknowledged the computer system.
I was now running towards the fafnir, ignoring its pathetic lasers while it laboriously backed away from me."Trajectory set in 4...3...2.."I kicked up the throttle to full and charged straight for the hulking warmachine. "Execute" I said as I yanked back on the JumpJet control linkage.
My Thor roared as it lifted off the ground with the forward and vertical manuever jets at full burn. Then suddenly my mech tilted inverted mid-air as I began to achieve an arc. When I reached the pinnacle of the arc, I pulled back on the Joystick bringing both LBX-20 laden arms in line with the Fafnir below. I had but a split second and didn't waste it. A resounding *BOOM* echoed as my cannons fired down on the roof of the Fafnir's cockpit, crushing the pilot completley and sparing me from the deadly radioactive aftermath. The landing was rough, due to a little impatience on my part, but the manuever was a success in my book.
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Post by Lance Commander Marcus Taylor on Jul 13, 2005 16:57:02 GMT -5
I watched from the corner of my eye a Thor that decided to join the already hectic fray. My comm crackled and I heard a voice that was friendly, but not one I could put my finger as to it's owner.
Hope you Legionaires don't mind, I've got some bounty to earn.
I lost the Thor as it went behind me, between the Fafnir and my Bushwacker. I still hoped that the Fafnir was baited on my hook still as I saw the mech trap that I was trying to lead it towards.
Unfortunately, it seemed my luck had run dry and the Heavy Gauss rounds from the Fafnir plowed into my Bushwacker's rear armor. My mech toppled forward and I essentially somersaulted onto my back.
Alarms screamed as the armor indicators blared and revealed a deep hue of red. Luckily, it seemed my luck had only run short and there was no armor breech. It also seemed that the new arrival decided to attack the Fafnir, which meant that I wasn't going to die from a followup attack.
For several seconds...maybe even minutes I laid in place watching the Thor eventually take out the Fafnir. I tried to move my mech, but it seemed the force of my landing had thrown something out of sync and I could get a response from my mech.
This is Spectre-4, I seem to be out of commission for the moment, I'm getting zero response from any of my movement controls.
Hang tight Spectre-4. You have any serious injuries?
Negative Echo-1. I'm good to go, I just don't think my mech is going anywhere anytime soon.
Copy that Spectre-4. Good thinking by the way, this battle should be a little more fair with that Fafnir out of the way.
Anytime, sir. Anytime.
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on Jul 13, 2005 16:59:56 GMT -5
I stood there with near blissful rage scorching my body. “Ryu” was shaking in my hands. I wanted to strike. I needed to kill Ren.
My lord… let me take care of Kei-teh…” the cloaked man said. His cold voice reminded me of someone I once new.
Kei-teh… he said my first name in Kintaru tongue… I thought to myself. How did he know? It nagged at my brain for a micro second before my train of thought was interrupted by the rage boiling away within.
“Do not concern yourself with this petty piece of trash!” Ren shouted as that mysterious blue aura coated his body.
“…My lord, please! I Promised--”
“DO NOT concern yourself with such pathetic things as “fighter’s pride” and “warrior’s promises”. I WILL take care of these. My law is absolute and I will not tolerate such insubordination!” Ren screamed in very commanding tone. The Cloaked man feel silent and shifted very subtly.
“Besides… I need you to watch Faulkner and that babbling idiot To’bal… we may need him as a hostage… I trust he is still waiting outside in the Space Port?!” the psychopathic General said.
I had had enough.
“REN!” I shouted charging towards him. I swung my blade furiously towards the murdering dog. Every one of the swings looked as if my skill level was that of a child‘s. Ren seemed to skilfully dodge ALL of them. This mounted to my frustration. Holding my katana back with my right hand, I decided to try and attack him with a flurry of jabs and swipes. Still, he managed to block and avoid them all. Very quickly, I became exhausted… and the battle had only begun!
Suddenly, Ren lunged for my left arm and clamped his hardened hand around my wrist. As he did that I swung my katana, knowing I would hit. With his left arm, Ren blocked my razor sharp blade. I couldn’t believe it. At first I was puzzled, perplexed by what had just happened. I could feel that the blade HAD made contact… with something. It almost felt similar to… two magnets repelling each other.
“Surprised boy?” Ren said with that horrid grin spreading lavishly across his face. I detested it. I pushed harder, I forced myself to bring my sword to touch him. I struggled, summoning all the strength in my body. This only made Ren laugh more as the light blue aura intensified and ultimately pushed my blade back even more. His grip around my wrist tightened with such tremendous and godly strength… it was unreal! The pain surged down my arm causing me to strain under the pressure.
“Now… I seem to recall you telling me… I was going to die at your hands?” Ren said, with no strain or discomfort in his voice. In one swift move, he shifted his arm and grabbed the blade with his bare hand, adding to my shock and surprise. This was impossible… this was a nightmare.
He released his grip on my hand just before punching me in the chest. The punch sent me skidding on the Oracle’s floor and eventually sent me into the door way that connected to the tiny bridge of the ship. He then swung his arm back and through my katana as hard as he could, sending it flying across the air. “Ryu” impaled itself into the wall directly to my left. It had just missed my face by about three inches. I laid withered on the floor with my back to the wall gasping for air. I felt like I was chocking… struggling to breath. Ren cackled with delight as he watched me struggle to my knees.
“Are you finished now?” Ren snarled, after which he burst into another hit of hysterical laugher. As I looked up I noticed Zhukov standing there… watching, not knowing what to do. I eventually stood to my feet and attempted to pull my katana out of the wall. Not only did I have to use both of my hands, but I also had to use my foot to withdraw my weapon from the grip of the wall. I eventually removed the sword and stumbled backwards. Ren simply stood and watched as pulled myself together.
“There… are you comfortable now? I would offer you a drink, but I’m afraid I’m a little short of the required resources.” the maniac said with much delight in his voice. The sick bastard was enjoying this.
“I’ll give you something to wipe that smug grin off your face…” I said, struggling to regain myself. I closed my eyes… eased my breathing. I began to build up the required strength for my next attack. This attack would require everything that I had… and more. This was the highest level of Kintaru martial arts… no one within the Legionnaires had seen me perform this technique. I focused… focused… focused.
“NOW!” I shouted, my eyes snapping open. I lunged forward, with my katana hidden behind my back, my right hand gripping the hilt. With my left hand out I began the attack
“Chou - bakuhatsu - zan!!!*” I screamed. My left hand went into a lightening fast blur of hand techniques. I could feel them all hitting my enemy. I was sure of it. Finally, I leapt up, bringing my katana up with me for a perfect horizontal slash. As I flung myself up I began to twist my body, finishing the manoeuvre. Surely this would have taken care of Ren? To my shock and horror, I felt something wrap around my ankle. Looking down I saw Ren’s evil smile caked across his face. Ren snapped me back like a piece of wet clothing, sending multiple shots of pain up my body. He then proceeded to launch me through the bridge door and into the small cargo bay of the ship. I rolled several times upon impact and finally stopped 15 meters from where I once stood. Immediately, I could see Zhukov running towards me.
“Kintaru?! Oh god, are you ok?!” he said, trying to grab a hold of me. I withered in pain. My severe battering from Ren had cause me to ache all over.
“I… I don’t believe it Zhukov.” I finally spluttered out. “I… I was so sure! SO Sure I hit him!”
“He’s wearing some sort of… suit. My bullets couldn’t even hit him--” Zhukov was cut off by a hearty laugh that bellowed from the mouth of the mad tyrant that stood that the bridge door way. He kicked aside the old rusted door he had sent me through and continued to take a slow walk towards us.
“OH you Kintaru’s are SO predictable!” he said chortling with delight.
“And here I thought you people were WARRIORS!” he said mockingly.
“Now, Zhukov… where… is… my… STONE!” Ren roared, as the blue field surrounding him intensified, sending dust and debris flying everywhere. I could even feel the vibrations through the metallic floor. To my surprise Zhukov stood directly in front of me… blocking me from Ren’s sight.
“THE STONE STAYS HIDDEN AWAY! It stays out of your reach you disgusting swine!” the Russian mercenary said with strength in his voice. Turning his head to look back at me he said:
“Are you able to fight?”
I struggled to sit up…
“…If I force myself…”
“Kintaru… we can beat him together! I know it!” Zhukov said, turning around and lending his hand to assist me in standing up. I eventually forced myself to my feet and used my katana as a temporary walking cane of some sort. Ren burst out into another one of his famous laughing fits.
“You can NEVER defeat me! I’ll murder the both of you until I get that stone! It belongs to ME!” Ren screamed into a mixture hysteric laughter… and manic anger…
* (translation: Ultimate - Exploding - Slash)
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Post by MechWarrior Sergei Zhukov on Jul 14, 2005 12:24:45 GMT -5
“You can NEVER defeat me! I’ll murder the both of you until I get that stone! It belongs to ME!”
With that, Ren charged toward me, fist drawn back. I unloaded a fresh MAG-18 clip in his direction, the bullets getting caught in the electromagnetic field generator he wore, and clattering to the ground. But I didn't care. It was the only defense I had.
The General closed to within striking distance, and I inverted my rifle, smashing its butt against Ren's right temple. Its impact deflected off the EM field, knocking the heavy weapon from my hand, and I stumbled backwards, tripping over a fallen support beam as Ren delivered a punishing roundhouse to my right shoulder. I was tossed into a stack of crates, which collapsed on me, temporarily shielding me from the onslaught. The clang of Kintaru's katana striking Ren's protective armor signified a change in direction for the fight, and I dragged myself to my feet, loading my personal sidearm with a magazine of armor-piercing ammunition as I stood up. Peering over the crates, I bore witness to Kintaru unleashing a barrage of martial arts maneuvers, unlike anything I had ever seen, into Ren, who skillfully deflected every blow, before forcibly tossing Kintaru against a bulkhead. Keith sunk to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, and I couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not.
As Ren strode purposefully toward his fallen adversary, I made my move, diving toward Kintaru while simultaneously unleashing round after round of fifty-caliber bullets into Ren. It didn't stop him, but his attentions were momentarily diverted, and he came at me angrily.
"I have had ENOUGH of you, BOY!" he roared. "I WAS going to SPARE you! But now, you're just PISSING ME OFF!"
His fist coming at my face was the last thing I saw.
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Post by Holms Net on Jul 14, 2005 12:43:30 GMT -5
The huge Thor crashed down on the cockpit of the Fafnir, crushing its pilot instantly. I saw a wash of blood spray against the inside of its canopy right before the glass blew out. I grimaced.
As I turned on the general com to address the Thor's pilot, I saw its torso swing 180 degrees to face the spaceport. A lone Raptor was charging toward the Thor, head-on, firing its weapons angrily. The Thor took a few steps backwards and fired its autocannons once, demolishing the Raptor's cockpit, and causing it to fall to the ground, dead. My scope showed clear.
"Spectre-2 to all units: I think we can call it clear out here."
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Jul 14, 2005 12:50:02 GMT -5
The pilot of the Thor was Miyamoto. There could be no doubt about it. The 'Mech's blood-red and jet-black paint scheme, coupled with its Davion markings, looked exactly the way the masterful pilot had described it to our salvage crews prior to our departure. It stood a bit taller than normal, however, having been refit with a working pair of leg actuators pulled from a Cyclops we had salvaged a few Ops back. As I made my way toward the spaceport, scanning the horizion for the rest of the hijackers, I opened my comm channel.
"Mister Miyamoto - thanks for dropping in. Nice shooting. I'm glad to see you're up and running again. As you can tell, with your directions, we didn't have much trouble finding the place."
I paused for a moment.
"I understand you're a lone wolf at the moment. We could use a pilot with skills like yours. How would you feel about signing on with the Legionnaires?"
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Post by General Archdale Ren on Jul 14, 2005 13:10:43 GMT -5
"I have had ENOUGH of you, BOY!" I roared. "I WAS going to SPARE you! But now, you're just PISSING ME OFF!"
I grabbed the maggot by the tuft of his hair before pummelling him with a variety of powerful punches. As soon as I saw his eyes roll back into his pathetic skull I released him. He dropped to the ground, snorting like a pig as he gasped for air. The broken nose I had just given him allowed for his breathing to be just as difficult. Excellent. With that pathetic Kintaru child out of the way, I could interrogate this worthless pile of excrement. I WOULD get the stone. Grabbing him by the collar, I dragged the traitor towards the closest wall, propping him up against it so that he could sit up. His head and torso slumped to the left a little as his eyes fluttered wildly. I wasn’t sure if he was unconscious or just stunned… I was pretty sure Zhukov didn’t know either. I waited a few seconds, crouching down to his level to observe him. A thunderous explosion that occurred outside reminded me that time was short.
I held back the urge to completely crush his skull into Zhukov soup as I gently slapped him.
“Mr Zhukov… this is your wake up call…” I said in the most gentlest tone I could conjure up. I sounded like a talk show host. It irritated me.
“Mr Zhukov…” I said in the same tone as I stood up. "...its... time... to... wake... UP!"I shouted as I thrust my gigantic foot into his chest. The traitor snapped his eyes open as tremendous pain shot through his entire body. His scream of pain would of sounded impressive, even dramatic… if I wasn’t crushing his lungs.
“Finally! You was beginning to bore me…”I said, releasing only the slightest of pressure to allow him to suck in more air.
“Mr Zhukov… I’m not going to lie. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to crush your chest until you die. Its that easy for me to do this. Although your end is definite Mr Zhukov, I will allow you two choices. Either you tell me where I can get the Jade Map Stone, and I PROMISE your end will be quick and as painless as can be… OR…” I said, pressing harder into Zhukov’s chest… “OR, Mr Zhukov, I will make your death as SLOW and as PAINFUL as I can possibly make it. NOW tell me, where can I find the stone?”
Zhukov twisted and withered in pain as his hands began to pound on my leg as hard as they could. This was of coarse futile. It wasted both my time and his. I released the pressure.
“WELL?!”
“…” He muttered something as his head hung low.
“I cant hear you Mr Zhukov?” his head raised and locked eye with my own.
“..F-FUCK… Y-YOU…” he gasped out as I began to reapply the pressure.
“You poor deluded fool. You had the honour of dieing a warrior to a being far superior to yourself. NOW you die like a worthless dog, GASPING for life as it is SLOWLY drained away from you!” I shouted as I applied my full body weight into his chest. Zhukov shifted in pain as I felt one rib… NO, two ribs crack under the extreme pressure.
Suddenly, after a set of five explosions rocked the space port. The Oracle began to move. It was taking off?! I stumbled slightly, taking my foot off the traitor. The AZPES suit stopped me from falling to the ground as the ancient ship began to lift into the air. Flicking open my microphone attached to my General’s hat, I patched right through to Faulkner. What the HELL was he playing at?
“FAULKNER! I want a reason for why you have just launched the ship. A REASON, not an EXCUSE!”
“My Lord… I apologise, but the battle outside was beginning to become TOO intense. I took the liberty of calling in the mother ship into orbit. We shall take the Oracle into the “Trestin” and continue to download the data logs in safety.”
I paused for a moment. Though his actions HAD interrupted me… he was wise in his decision to move the ship onto the “Trestin” for further, safer study.
“…Very well. Insure that you two are secured safely. Where is tribal leader?”
“He is in the very cargo bay you are standing in sir.”
I looked around widely as the ancient ship rocked a little more as it lifted 10 meters off the ground. I looked at Zhukov wheeze on the floor… the sight spreading a smile on my face. I swung my head around and saw the Kintaru boy in his unconscious state… but about 5 meters away from the brat, sat the tribal leader, gagged and tied and WIDE awake with shock and horror. Excellent…
Nothing could stop us now!
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