Liner in a Strange Land (Open)

[Kujo]

March 15, AD 2880
Northern Zaragoza, Spain
1:15 PM

Aos caughed, waving smoke away from his face as he veered out of a billowing black room and hurriedly shut a bulkhead behind him. Bending over, the Headdliner continued to hack out the fumes from his lungs. From the corner of his tearing eyes, Aos saw Io proffer to him a cloth which he promptly took and wiped grease and soot from his face before giving a last cough into the rag. "Io, I'm beginning to think that they sent us off with this dorrey for the express purpose of it breaking on us." The small Fatima gave a curt nod and lifted up to Aos a hefty box of tools. One tacit grimace from the Liner later and the quiet Fatima had acquiesced, setting the tools aside.

"I truly would if I could, Io, but we're simply out of parts. And with that old replicator out as well, we're out of luck unless the locals have any ideas about Ezlaser bypass coolers." Aos sighed as he paced over to a viewport of the air dorrey, Io trailing along behind him. "Trust me to underestimate the size of an ocean," Aos muttered to himself as he stared out across the terrain. The rocky plains and smooth folds of northern Spain stood before him, dotted by old ruined keeps and walls. The open fields Aos had landed in provided no cover for his dorrey, much less the pillar of smoke rising from its aft, but Aos thoughts had been caught by the sights of the old forts; a sort of reverie came over him as he was reminded of the similarly decaying structures in Joker.

"I guess this is just a reminder that everything crumbles eventually." Aos huffed, steeling himself against the melancholy. "Well, for now we should figure out our rations and take a look at how we can sell our services. Though I can't imagine what this planet has for us to do."

 

[MKR]

The Pyrenees had served as a natural barrier for Erebonia for a long time, easily defensible and an obvious indicator of the end of territory it was no wonder why nations of eld had come to the same conclusions as they had not that long ago. But the time for that had passed, if anything the agreed upon conclusion was that the mountain range had served more as a box containing the imperials rather than a wall of safety. The time in turn had finally come to expand beyond the reaches of the stone border.

---

"Visual on stranger. It seems to have crashed." A voice came over a military channel.

"Visual confirmed." The radio operator replied, hanging over him a man in his forties. The most important man in this camp, the general himself. But the operator wouldn't let that distract him, there were more important things. Like the sudden appearance of a wholly unknown craft.
"Linking visual feed of Drakkhen, any luck identifying the stranger so far?"

"Negative. It's...." the response paused for a moment "Different."

"Different how?"

The screen linked, showing the Air Dorrey to those present. The design was almost outlandish, obviously it was a carrier of some sort the design made that purpose clear and by the size it seemed to be one aimed for something larger then mere personnel. The general silently turned to the screen, a hand coming to a bearded chin the operator could see him trying to piece the machine together like a giant puzzle. Aiming to place it together piece by piece in an attempt to reverse engineer the entire thing for its affiliation.

He'd only ever served under General Engström before this expedition, that had made it evident that anyone holding that title was insane in more than one ways. After all he had witnessed Engström command a mock battle from the top of a tank which was in the thick of combat. Few things pushed people to their limit as much as the pressure and confidence exuded by such a move.

But General Vollan was an entirely different brand of insane, this man had near encyclopedic knowledge of parts and maintenance so it was quite something to hear a scuffed mumble.
"Proceed." Came the word from the general.

"Yes sir, party 1 proceed with caution. Party 2 remain on standby."

Two Drakkhens and a Hector moved further into the plains passing by ruins of their own. The soldiers inside observed their surroundings beneath all the ruination this place sure was pretty. Remains of pasts lived ruined under the hands of warlords in that sense they were almost like liberators.
But thoughts of romantic voyages to save ruined lands had to wait. The man in the Hector clearing his throat before flicking on the public comms channel.

"This is Lieutenant Samuel Mathis of the 7th Erebonian Armored Division. Unknown aircraft please identify yourself." Some common courtesy couldn't hurt. Hardly ever did even if it was more of a demand than a request. Still, Mathis wondered, there was no way that the warlords here could have cooked something like this up without their knowledge unless they dug it up from somewhere.

For now all he could do was wait. If there was no immediate response he would have to check for survivors. Even if black smoke was a bad portent for the fate of those inside, or at least the machinery inside.

 

[Kujo]

Aos raised an eyebrow as he heard the transceiver come on, turning his head to hear it from where he stood. He quickly turned his head back to the view port and peered back out. To his side, Io had lifted herself up to do the same. Sure enough, several figures appeared to be approaching his position. The forms began to take shape, marching steadily before stopping at a safe distance.

"Knights? Interesting, the people of this system have developed their own electric knights... Or rather, something more rudimentary." Aos mused to himself as he observed the quaint units. It didn't take a meight to see the simple construction and movement of these units.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the Headdliner strode over to the communications board.

"This is Aos Llan. I am a... Traveler. My craft is suffering from engine related failures and I was forced to land. If this area is restricted, I will be unable to vacate my vehicle, Sir." Aos wondered to himself just how a military would take this; hopefully they didn't want to know where he was from, although it wouldn't mean anything even if they believed him.

 

[MKR]

"Your engines picked an unfortunate place to fail friend." Mathis replied "The area is not restricted but it will very soon be in the middle of a warzone." A traveler? A possible reason but the pause made it more sound like this man was a Jaeger or some other bland of mercenary travelling in some unique machine sounded like one hell of a joyride though.

"What kind of engine is that... Actually what's that ship called and what kind of engine is it sporting?" the General was gonna want to know that one at least both to know what factors were at play here as well as for his own knowledge. During this process the Panzer Soldat's calmly approached, observing the ship from ever closer.

"Besides that are you capable of defending your own location and person Mr. Llan?" The two Drakkhen looked over the horizon the locals hadn't yet arrived. Maybe they wouldn't arrive at all but it always had to be taken into consideration and while they made the assumption based on the size and bulk of the now stranded air vehicle was that a few machines were inside which aught to allow the man a degree of self defense it would not be nice to have to deal with disruptions of that magnitude.

"Because looking at the thing, moving it over the mountain range will be impossible without proper equipment so it may be best to wait until this territory is secured to do proper repairs."

 

[Kujo]

'Oh joy,' the Jokerian thought to himself. "Well it wouldn't be the first time I got stuck in a warzone... Though maybe I should be worried that I'm used to it..'

Aos looked to Io, half forgetting the unlikely circumstance of her giving any sort of insight, and then back to the main monitor of the dorrey. "Yes well, it's a rather complicated thing, really; a photon reactor I suppose would be the term. I'd certainly tell you about it but the current circumstances wouldn't facilitate such a thing as you can imagine."

"This is my Dorrey, it has light weaponry but with the system malfunctions occurring most will be inoperable. My personal craft should be capable of protecting this position at least; I'm unsure if aid in repairs will be possible, at the very least I'm unable to welcome you aboard for the moment as most of the bulkheads are sealed while damage control is under way and heat effects dissipate."

 

[xekuzwei]

The crew of the Dai-Gunkai were going to be furious by the time they caught up to her.

Not that the young woman at the helm of the Lazengann was much bothered by the fact...every soul who volunteered for a post on that ship knew precisely what they were signing up to deal with. Not without reason was she one of the Beastman Nation's most infamous VIPs.

The lush, reborn scenery of Spain flashed past in a blur of browns and greens. From a distance the silhouette might have been mistaken for a human sprinter - arms pumping in time with long strides, steps conforming to the curves of the terrain with natural ease - but upon drawing closer the true nature of the jet-black gunman would become obvious. Nestled comfortably in the head, Adenine couldn't help a toothy grin as her machine bounded over a series of small tributaries without missing a beat.

Sometimes you wanted to get out and just...run, you know? Without any snooty retainers or paranoid guards to hold you back and ruin your fun.

Yet the dark figure would doon come to a skidding halt as it crested a rise, a spray of stone and sod erupting as it dug in its heels. Slipping into a crouch, it raised a hand to its brow to shield the pilot's vision from the mid-afternoon sun.

"Oh? What's this?"

It seemed as though Adenine had stumbled upon a most interesting scene - a grounded aircraft of some sort being encroached upon by a gaggle of Erebonian knight-machines. She'd paid a little attention in the various fact-cards the crew of the Dai-Gunkai had attempted to flash in her face as they approached Erebonia, and the craft didn't even come close to resembling anything she could recall seeing. Was it foreign? Was there gonna be a fight?! Her face lit up at the thought of getting in on a good tussle. These last few weeks had been sorely lacking in recreational confrontations.

As greatly as she desired to leap in and investigate further, the wolf-woman held her enthusiasm. The gunman made no effort to conceal itself on the ridge, simply observing from a distance for the moment.

 

[MKR]

Back at the base the General listened along as Aos spoke. Dorrey? A photon reactor? This thing was getting stranger by the second. The man as well given how he spoke about the engine he certainly seemed aware how outlandish it was.
The radio operator suddenly spoke up.
"Sir you're going to want to see this."

Half of the screen changed to a different camera, one of the Spiegel that had remained behind and from its vantage point had a clear sight on the new arrival.
"A gunman?" Vollan spoke, wondering just what they were doing that far from home. It was unheard of for gunmen to be outside of Africa, let alone be in Norther Spain they were too defensive. Still a lone gunman was no invasion or contest of their conquest.

"Let Matthis know about that custom Grapearl." He commanded.

---

"Well if not aid in repair what's the alternative, dock it somewhere until the parts can be brought in from wherever it is you're travelling from?" Matthis replied when he received the word from base, the Hector in turn turning its gaze upwards. "Well would you look at that." He muttered to himself.
The only time he got to see a visage like that one was in books before, and that was an artistic recreation as it wasn't exactly a high priority at the time he was in the academy. Still it looked, close-ish to that depiction from his memory.

If they wanted to listen along then they could, with them here it wasn't much of a secret why Erebonian scouts were here but of course for beastmen to be here was a special thing. Getting confirmation the man had a personal machine was pleasant in a way it meant it wouldn't be too much of a worry it did give an idea however.
"For moving your Dorrey it may take a while as currently military resources are occupied with well the imminent war, and private contractors will have to wait until the territory is secured to move in. Affiliated Mercenaries or Jaegers however we would be able to provide immediate assistance to."

The call would be his. The question in turn being what the spectator would do and if one of the warlords had somehow brought in the Beastmen. He had tp remain wary of it because of that. But the reports had said nothing of the sort so it was unlikely. Still, what if that was the case.

 

[Kujo]

Aos had since sat down in one of the dorrey bridge's seats and put his hand to his chin. Should he just be out with it all at this point? Well, if they were offering repairs then it'd really only be a matter of time before these natives get a look at an ezlaser; it's not as if they'll be pumping them out any time soon, where's the harm in asking for help?

"Once the heat has dissipated, I should be able to ease the craft into a more secure location without burning anything else up. I only really need the one part to get going again, and if a sellsword is what will afford that then who am I to refuse."

Io now had begun to tug on Aos' cloak, pointing off to a viewport. The Liner followed the small Fatima over and took a look at whatever it was she had seen. Off in the distance, a towering black figure looked on at their position. Aos wondered how it hadn't set anything off, but quickly realized that the dorrey's sensors have likely gone out; at the very least the scouts were looking over at its position and didn't seem to be panicking. Perhaps it was just another local?

 

[MKR]

"Glad to hear it, once it has cooled we'll escort you to the forward base then." This wasn't what he had expected but at least the rogue element wasn't that anymore they now knew where it fell and if the 'Taveller' proved to be worth his weight on a battlefield who knows what kind of arrangements the general would make. At the very least seeing something new would justify this decision.

Well, there was more new here after all. The Beastman machine kept watching. Honestly it was kind of unnerving in a way to see something so far from where it was supposed to be and its just there. Doing nothing. Like walking to a bakery and seeing a apple between the cakes while no one from the shop acknowledges its presence. His gaze shifted over to the other side, the plains gave them plenty of visibility which included a new dust cloud.
"Well, you may have to pick up that blade shortly."

Those machines he did recognize easily, especially the markings on them.

---

"Don't look like they suddenly caught on fire after all. You owe me a fiver."

"Shit." Their peer responded "Looks like I'll just have to hope the Erebonians kill ya to get out of that one."

A laugh shared between both.

"Well boss, six soldiers some transport that's currently burning and some whacko on the horizon there."

A grizzled voice spoke up.
"I've got eyes myself no need to point out the obvious." So much for cleaning up a damaged force, they had hoped for an easy paycheck if the army had had a less fortunate encounter with some other warlord's force to just come in clean up the damaged machines and leave. Instead it was just a scouting party and a weird transport.

"Well this ain't what we came here for. So we simply scrap that ship and sell it to make a profit from this one bag some Erebonians on the way as well because why not."

"You got it boss."

---

A question that had to be asked, were they affiliated with the Beastman, or was the Beastman affiliated with them. It was very possible.
"Keep an eye on the spectator, I don't quite trust them to stay out of this." Matthis said over military channels. "Alright, you two with me. Machine guns stay back and provide covering fire. Baum try to eliminate a few on the way over."

"Yes sir."

The Drakkhens with swords joined the Hector in moving forward to intercept the mercenaries. The wheels on their heels clicking down to the ground, a mechanism reminiscent of Knightmare frames though both sides would claim that the other copied their eye for that one. Still with their wheels deployed the trio moved out to engage while those with guns, as ordered, stuck close to the transport. The Spiegel brought its sniper rifle to bear, steading the aim at the approaching group and sizing up their numbers readying for the opening shot.

Jaeger corps: Quixote
1x Rafale
2x F-16 Fighting Falcon
2x Drakkhen
2x Zaku II

 

[Kujo]

Aos saw as the scout forces turned and readied their weapons, swiveling his own view to spot the ragtag band of rogues. More native "knights", and all in varying shapes and sizes. "What a strange place," the Headdliner said to himself. "Regardless, I suppose I should pick on those brutish ones my own size. Io, Get launch prep ready and check the dorrey's lifters, sortie time isn't when we want to find out Bangdoll can't fit through the hatch."

Winding through the open paths of the dorrey, some still with smoke drifting around the perimeters, Aos and Io rapidly made their way to the MH bay. The pair quickly ascended the blocky, folded form of Bangdoll, its armored binder propping the cockpits open for quick access.

"Just arm the beams and load the Mortar Cannon; AP and FSDS. We don't need any extra weight with our Ezlaser efficiency down," ordered Aos. Io's eyes darted around and her fingers flew across her controls as machine arms pulled ammo belts into the MH and plugs topped off liquids before launching off into the hangar walls. "That being said," the Headdliner trailed as he looked over to one side. "Equip the Buster Launcher, we don't need to worry about property damage out here and it'll make a good first impression," Aos chuckled as he watched the long lance of a cannon begin to extend from its mount.

Suddenly a jarring shudder went through the arm extending the weapon out for the Mortar Headd, and the hiss of hydraulics ceased as the arm seemed to go limp, the weapon's locks not even disengaged. "Feh, the power's out there, go figure. Fine, equip the Energy Sword; it may not burn as bright as it used to but it'll be more than enough."

Outside, the dorrey slowly shifted, its landing gear lifting and tilting to raise and level its rear. Then, all at once, lines of locks burst open as the large compartment under the air dorrey creaked open before falling with a crash against the earth. Out marched the strange figure of the Bangdoll, ornate sword in a relaxed, reverse grip.

​

"Hm, as expected of a quick startup. Io, get as much energy as you can from the Binder before we cast it off; don't be afraid to increase draw from the veil either."

​

"For now, let's just see what they do against a Headd." Aos pushed on his controls, fingers flexing away as the Bangdoll began dashing rapidly towards the enemy.

 

[xekuzwei]

They were just...talking.

The excitement that had blossomed in Adenine's expressing gradually gave way to a disgruntled frown. Yes, yes, diplomacy was important, and it wasn't like she desired for either side's people to actually get hurt - but she'd been cooped up for far too long to be satisfied with the turn of events. Ah, well...maybe it would be prudent to make her way down and initiate contact anyway. Trained soldiers would be too acute to have missed her presence on the ridge.

But an abrupt change in their 'body language' caused her to pause, multiple machines visibly readying their weapons. The billowing dust that approached was readily apparent upon tracing their turning gaze. More friends? No...they were clearly ready to respond with aggression. And based on the comparatively ragtag composition of the group, they were likely bandits, or close enough to as makes no difference.

Perfect.

The Lazengann's stance shifted forward, the gunman staying down and close to the ground as it rocketed forward, ground rippling up in the wake of its launch. It darted straight toward the opposition heedless of whatever firepower they might bring to bear on it. Such things could be dealt with in the moment. A quick glance over to where the dorrey and military goons had stood did serve to give Adenine a bit of a surprise: the sight of the Mortar Headd, formerly concealed and quite handily keeping a similar pace toward the same group of targets.

Those Erebonians, as effective as their machines were in a military context, they surely couldn't hold a candle to her Lazengann. But that thing...had already caught her interest. Perhaps there was fun to be had here even after cleaning up these freebooting flunkies.

 

[MKR]

"What the hell is that?"

"Looks kinda funny doesn't it? Like someone tried to squish a knightmare into a small package."

"Even while its that huge?"

"That's what makes it funny."

"Shut up you two, looks like we got ourselves a military prototype. So we've hit the jackpot. Its pieces should bring up a fortune if we sell them back to the Erebonians or just the highest bidder."

A firing line began to form, everything from the Drakkhen to the Zakus readying their rifles to rain death down. One which would be needed immediately as the Lazengann closed the distance much to the surprise of those around on both sides. The array of machine guns turned to the rapidly approaching foe in an instinctual response. Part of which turned immediately towards the Bangdoll as it too made its approach swiftly. A varied array of bullets both armor piercing and not coming down upon both the combatants.

---

On the other side of the field the rapid approach of the Lazengann was first met with the readying of machine guns, only to see it go beyond their post with a sigh of relief from the Dorrey's new protectors, both now turning their attention to the thing that came out of it.
"Is that a Divine Knight?"

"No way, its way too big. Doesn't look a thing like the statue outside Heimdallr either."

"Well all of them are supposed to be unique aren't they?"

A contemplative hmm came from the guards.

Above them the sniper had secured its bead, firing upon one of the F-16s first and striking true but not lethally so, still shredding a good chunk off its armor however as the machine remained operational for long enough for the Hector's mace to impact where the armor had been torn off.
"So they decided to join in." the Lieutenant noted as part of the gunfire was now turned upon him as well forcing him to dodge to the side, dragging the mace and the machine it impacted along with him.

"I'll save my questions for what a Gunman is doing this far from home for later, for now your cooperation is appreciated." He spoke over public comms, there was obviously a lack of true trust but such was simply the way of things. If anything this was at least evident that there wouldn't be shots fired without cause. As he retreated the two Drakkhen moved in front, their shields raised as they saw to exploit the new mech sized hole in the line.

 

[Kujo]

Bangdoll raised its veil, the slow slugs of the zakus slapping against the Headd's alien plates heavily but to little effect. Meanwhile the smaller machines searched for gaps but would find few around the folded and encased armor beneath the MH's binder.

"Quite the shake up, but integrity loss is negligible for now. Io, draw everything you can from the binder and purge it, we're unfolding."

Between strides, the heavy equipment about the Bangdoll vented gas and rapidly ejected, fell, or shot off around the Mortar Headd. The front plating clattered off as the chest flipped up and out, the shoulder coverings flew out to the sides as scale like plates spread, and long, jagged, whip like attachments unfurled as the ezlaser roared and motors whirred.

Rapidly nearing the Zaku, Bangdoll's horn mast rose up and finally its visor lifted.

​

Flipping around from the Bangdoll's reverse grip, the energy sword ignited its edge, the the sheer white energy crackling with extreme intensity about its solid body. The Mortar Headd deftly maneuvered the blade to its left to swing for a beheading strike, followed immediately by a wide bash from its veil at the Zaku's torso.

 

[xekuzwei]

In the mind of most pilots having a bevy of firearms spontaneously turned in your direction was less than ideal - but Adenine was not most pilots. The beast-woman felt her heartrate spike not from trepidation but excitement as barrels of wildly varying calibers were zeroed on her Lazengann. The machine's heels once again dug into the terrain as it lurched into a sliding crouch, and leapt, rocketing into the sky as the bandit troops unleashed hellfire. Not all of the rounds were avoided and no doubt they would track it upwards to the best of their ability, but those that landed didn't seem to distress its armor unduly all the same.

The Lieutenant's voice rang in her ears, and it took a moment and the mention of gunmen for Adenine to realize he was speaking in particular to her. A savage grin befitting her heritage stole across her features, responding to the man just as she reached the apex of her leap. "My pleasure." There was something about the woman's tone that conveyed more than just simple excitement, as though she derived some deeper ecstasy from the rush of battle.

The gunman's left arm extended as its momentum slowed and a long spear-like spiral lanced forth from its palm: a drill. Extending with a seeming total disregard for conservation of mass, it crossed the distance between herself and the second Zaku of the group in a flash. The weapon did not however aim to strike the mobile suit, churning up a spray of earth as it drove deep into the ground at its side instead.

But the truth of the matter - that the misdirected attack was intentional rather than accidental - would become apparent as the Lazengann descended to the surface far more quickly than it had departed a moment ago, the extended drill being 'reeled' back into the gunman and hauling it toward the unfortunate target like a zipline. The machine's right fist rose, aimed to pulverize its foe with a single momentous strike.

Less elegant than an energy sword perhaps, but effective nonetheless.

 

[MKR]

Bangdoll's approach was met with decreasingly accurate shots. Panic overtaking accuracy as the thing in front of it simply wouldn't stop approaching.
"What the hell is this thing?!" one of the Jaegers yelled to his peers "It won't slow down and it won't take damage!" At that moment the sword came down over the machine's neck, cutting the spiked monoeye head clean from the chest.
"GAH! Wait- I'm still alive?" The suddenly increasing size and silhouette of the Bangdoll acting much like a jumpscare would.

"If you can praise survival you can spend that time fighting for it!" his boss yelled at him.

The blinded Zaku grabbed its waist with its free hand, pulling the Heat Hawk free as it was pushed backwards. The decapitated head which had previously rested roughly in its prior location now rolling off and bouncing off the Veil as the axe was flailed forwards. The machine standing but blind.

The same however, could not be said for its peer. As first dirt sprayed to coat its form, the monoeye too slow on the uptake as it fired at the former location of the Lazengann, taking steps backwards in anticipation of a charging strike and counting itself lucky to have survived the first strike. Which left the strike from above as a complete surprise contrary to the beheaded, standing, peer this Zaku soon found dirt once more. This time from behind rather than in front and even more so found the fist of the Lazengann embedded into its chest. The machine going still.

The Drakkhen's shields absorbed the volley, dents forming in their forms but they mostly held as the two machines now steadily closed in on the firing line only shreds of armor piercing shots coming through the protection even if they only shielded so much of the machine's forms. Their limbs beginning to suffer from the volley and heads showing grey metal. The Hector behind them was ready for another charge, this time going in the newly made gap in the firing line and slinking under the Lazengann and Bangdoll's shadows straight down the middle. Presumably one or both wanted the head of the commander so a big mace would make a fine distraction.

The Hector swung the mace downwards where the Rafale used to be, now in front of the Tactical Surface Fighter, catching a glimpse of the Falcate Sword being readied as a wall of dirt erupted before the hooked blade lunged forwards as the mace rose up, the hook going around the pole of the weapon.
"No swinging that thing anymore Erebonian." The assault cannon being raised to level with the Hector.

 

[Kujo]

'Still moving? No wonder it could barely hit, it must only have the one cockpit; but more importantly I've come up short... Come on, Bangdoll, we have to get used to the ezlaser sooner or later!'

As the Zaku's heat hawk emerged from behind its back, Aos looked at it strangely. "Is that supposed to be an axe?" Despite its headless state, the Mobile Suit's heavy chop was well enough on target. Bangdoll raised its veil up to catch the heat hawk, only for Aos to see its red glow too late as its burning edge slowly sank into the veil's armor. "Some sort of trick weapon? Tch."

Aos pulled back with the veil, aiming to yank the hatchet from the Zaku and pull the unit back in as Bangdoll swung its energy sword once more. The blistering white blade was aimed straight across the mobile suit's legs, obviously intent to further disable the unit.

 

[xekuzwei]

Fist met armor with a satisfying crunch as the Lazengann descended upon its target, the mobile suit's chest plating collapsing under the impact as it toppled back into the dirt. The gunman's fist opened, sharpened fingers digging into the stricken machine's internals, and it hauled it back up to stare eye-to-eye with its attacker. Perhaps, even as the sputtering reactor failed and light faded from the mono-eye, the pilot would find it in themselves to understand just how desperately outmatched they had been.

That's what the competitive spirit in Adenine wanted to believe, at least. These goons didn't pose enough danger to make this a fight in her mind - this was just a game.

Beyond the Zaku's helmeted profile in her peripheral, the sight of the Rafale hooking Mathis' weapon caught the beastwoman's eye. That was the one who had thanked her for the help a moment ago, wasn't it? He'd been so polite about it, it wouldn't do to let the bandit hose him with lead. Reeling back with its right arm, the Lazengann flung the limp mobile suit bodily toward the TSF in question before leaping forward to charge forth in the wake of the impromptu projectile.

 

[MKR]

The Heat Hawk came out as swiftly as it went in, the edge still glowing a red hot as the blinded machine made a second swing this time flailing blindly at where the Bangdoll had previously been a step forward making the second swing all the easier as the torso fell backwards into the dirt, its arms temporarily flailing about as the legs of the machine fell forwards. Cut into three clean pieces the Zaku lay there helpless.

The second Zaku, who knew what was going through the man's mind as the man was flung to the other side. The Rafale looking up in time to see the Zaku coming for it, rotating to lessen the impact and remain standing if barely. Still it lost the grip on its blade courtesy of the weight of a MS crashing down upon its arm. The Assault Cannon readying for fire as the Hector brought the weapon back up the head of the mace functioning as a shield against the bullets. The blocky soldat sliding backwards to make room for the Lazengann.

The three remaining machines from the Jaegers, the Drakkhens and one lone F-16 seemed to realize just how outmatched they truly were and opted that retreat was for the better. A fate that would not happen for one of the Drakkhens as the sniper struck its chest, causing it to fall forwards and remain still this utterly broken formation allowed the Erebonian forces to surround the Rafale before it too got to retreat.
"Shit." The pilot said to himself.

 

[Kujo]

​

The Bangdoll stood over the dismembered Zaku, its cold, uncanny glare dully regarding it as Aos surveyed the rapidly closing engagement. That odd black unit had joined the fray and made quick work of things while he himself was doing more delicate work, meanwhile the Erebonian forces were routing the stragglers.

​

If this was all this system had to offer, Aos' new employment would appear to be shaping up to be rather uneventful; however, that black machine had some odd features that the knight had noticed while his attention was preoccupied.

Just then, a quick shudder flowed down the Mortar Headd as hot gas expelled from several ports, the ezlaser's roar fading. "Ah, sorry for waking you like that, Bangdoll." Aos had learned some time ago that Io conversed with the MH in rather casual fashion; apparently the old machine was rather particular even for a Headd. A quick startup like this was going to need some straightening out afterwards, but first...

Bangdoll's torso turned in the direction of the retreating forces. "Can you get a lock, Io?". The ezlaser ramped up for a moment as light began to gather under its chest before a twin set of beams launched out. The bright projectiles were off the mark just at the escaping enemies feet and the rocky terrain below them, though Aos took this as a net positive; he may have just signed up for mercenary work but ending these people rightly didn't quite sit with him. A Headdliner shouldn't be going around trashing what he presumed to be average humans, regardless if they had their own odd Electric Knights on their own backwater planet.

 

[xekuzwei]

While Adenine's unconventional attack had struck true it looked as though allied forces would beat her to the punch after all, boxing in the Rafale before it could threaten further harm. A shame that she wouldn't get to finish trashing the thing herself, but something else had caught the beastwoman's eye in the same moment: the pair of still-functional machines that were attempting to flee. The knightly white mech fired its own weapons, but oddly enough the beams fell short. Purposefully, or...?

Either way, it opened up an opportunity for a little more amusement.

"Not so fast, cowards!" A verdant glow emanated from the Lazengann, seeming to pulse from the joints and gaps that separated its armored plates. A multitude of what could only be described as drills - but long and thin as spears, in the same fashion as the one it had used to anchor itself before - burst from its form in every direction. Yet they would travel only a short distance before turning queerly at abrupt right angles, diving into the beaten earth at the gunman's feet. The ground was thrust up as they shot forth beneath the surface in pursuit of the retreating foes. It would take only moments to catch up, and then -

Rather than attempting to pierce the Drakkhen and F-16 with lethal results the tendrils instead spiderwebbed outward, a cage of jagged posts erupting all around to encircle and fence them in. The tips would again alter their paths as the trap was sprung, closing in overhead to prevent escape upward.