War on Kalicas

Discussion in 'Archive' started by naturemage, Mar 20, 2012.

  1. Love to Write

    Love to Write I'm a lover of writing. What else is to be said? Contributor

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    Melody Hanson

    Melody exited Daggert and embraced her dad as soon as they entered the shop. She was about to make introductions but the soldier beat her to it.

    "Hello sir," He said. Tyri shook her dad's hand. "Nice shop you have. I'm Tyri Emmassus, recruiter. I was wondering if perhaps you could do some repairs for me? My Scorpio has been running a little slow lately, and I think the tail could also use a good sharpening."

    Eric hanson nodded his head to Melody and said, "Melody, you know what to do." She smiled and walked over the work bench sorting through various items as she tried to find the necessary tools. Eric watched Melody work for a moment then turned and studied the face of the soldier. He seemed worried. Which was strange. Not many soldiers expressed emotion anymore.

    "She's going to be put on the front lines if she gets recruited, isn't she?" Eric finally asked.

    "I couldn't possibly send her to the front sir," Tyri answered, knowing what the man felt. "She's too young, and quite honestly, I've grown tired of sending young people to their deaths. It's about time I left this good for nothing job and got on with my life. I'd be glad to give you what's left of my pay to give me the necessary repairs, and that should keep your shop up and running for about three years." He handed Eric a small disk. "That's everything I've got, but I don't need it. I can find my way around. Keep your daughter here, and safe."

    Eric Hanson's eyes grew wide at the amount on the disk. I was indeed enough to keep the shop running long enough for them to get back under their feet. "I can't possibly accept this, Tyri." He was about to protest more but just then a young woman ran into the shop.
     
  2. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Amira Morgan

    Her mind was racing as she entered the shop. Ten minutes, the man had said. The time limit kept playing over and over in her head. She could practically hear the seconds ticking away.

    Amira stopped to catch her breath the moment she was in the door. She had heard the two pilots on the radio, but only knew them by their voices. Now, she had faces to go with them. The soldier was in uniform, but not as large as she’d anticipated. For some reason, she had expected to find a musclebound meathead, but he just looked… normal. And the girl seemed like an average girl; slightly shorter than expected, but with the build of a person who works on machines for a living.

    Snap out of it, Amira told herself. ‘Ten minutes,’ remember. Ten minutes.

    She was about to speak when she noticed the third guy, sitting on a workbench apart from the others, with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Another customer? He was dressed like a mercenary and armed. Did the townspeople send him in? So soon? It didn’t matter. That’s not what she was here for.

    After catching her breath, Amira approached the two men. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. She paused to clear her throat before continuing in her usual soft tone. “I’m sorry, but there’s a problem outside,” she pointed to the door. “There’s a lot of people out there who don’t want you here, and they’re going to get violent if someone doesn’t at least try to talk them down.”

    She looked to the shop owner, hoping he might have some sway with the townspeople. "If not, we should probably get out of here before it gets ugly," Amira concluded.
     
  3. SpitFyre

    SpitFyre Member

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    Darrius winked at the scavenger and casually pulled out an apple and bit into it, causing a loud crunch to resound around the room, the occupants spun round to look at him faces shocked, he smiled.

    'By my estimate you've got around 5 minutes to get out safely. I doubt you'll be able to talk your way out of it. They are pretty mad. I wouldn't be surprised if they rip both of your bots down for parts before midnight after they have gotten rid of you. Name is Darrius by the way.'
    He smiled again and bit into his apple.

    Melody frowned, "They wouldn't do that. This town is peaceful. There is no reason to riot."

    Darrius grinned wider "There's a town about 20 miles north of here full of nice people who wouldn't do such a thing. At least you wouldn't think it of them until you notice the three unmarked graves behind the pub and the torn up carcasses of high tech robos being used to shore up the houses. War changes a lot of people, and it's changed this town too."

    The sound of shouting voices outside the shop confirmed his statement. It wasn't going to be long till they broke down the door.

    "Your father and you will probably be safe. You've been here for too long. However, for me, the scavenger and the recruiter... well, we need to get out."
     
  4. naturemage

    naturemage Active Member

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    Tyri Emmassus

    Tyri hadn't even seen the man come in, probably because of the girl that had burst in through the front door, warning them about the rioters outside the shop.

    "Your father and you will probably be safe. You've been here for too long. However, for me, the scavenger, and the recruiter... well, we need to get out."

    Despite Tyri wondering what the hell the man was doing here suddenly, and whose side he was one, he had to agree. The noise outside was getting to be too much, and they couldn't risk staying.

    "Take the money," Tyri told Melody's father. "I'll get by. With it, maybe you can convince the villagers here that not every soldier in this war is so bad. But the guy's right, we need to go."

    He turned to Melody. "Melody, stay here and be safe. You and your father will be okay for a while. And, perhaps, I'll come back someday to be sure of it. But it's going to be dangerous, especially if the war turns from two countries into military versus civilian. I don't want you to get hurt."

    Then he turned back to the mystery man that had just showed up. "You seem quite stealthy. Care to make a distraction while I jump in my Robo?"
     
  5. SpitFyre

    SpitFyre Member

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    Darrius grimaced 'i am not very good at distractions in afraid', Darrius reached into a pocket and pulled out a metal contraption that seemed to be a shiny bunch of grapes, he threw it to Tyri 'Here use this, its a short duration cluster flash grenade throw it outside close the door and turn away from the door, it will blind anyone in a 500 meter radius'

    'However i disagree with you about Melody look at her eyes there's strengh there and its always useful having a mech along, il be camping in a safe spot 6 miles to the north in a clearing in the woods recruiter your welcome to join me. Melody i suggest if you want to come you wait until nightfall so we don't get pursued. Here' Darrius reached into another pocket and pulled out a pad and threw it to her. 'that will lead you to me, it will work for around 2 days if you decide not to come then destroy it'

    Darrius tipped an imaginary hat to the two women and slipped out the back door to his bot. He jumped into the jaguars spine, the plates closed and the bot rose and jumped into a slick run into the woods.
     
  6. Love to Write

    Love to Write I'm a lover of writing. What else is to be said? Contributor

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    Melody Hanson

    "No!" Eric Hanson said strongly as Darrius and Tyri began walking towards their robos. Before Eric could say more though Darrius had already left the shop. So Eric turned to Tyri who held the flash grenade in his hand.
    "Tyri. I have a better solution. There is back door to my shop. It leads right out into the desert. The path to the forest can be tricky but Melody can show you the way." He nodded to the tracking tablet Darrius had tossed to her.
    "No, Dad! I can't leave you here." Melody put down the tools she had been using to repair the scorpion robo and grabbed her father's arm.
    "Melody." Eric crooned, moving her hair out of her face. "I am not the one they want. I will go out and talk to them. You will be safer with the soldier."

    Several fists pounded against the door and a loud voice said, "Mr. Hanson! Let us in! We'll take care of that soldier for you!"
    Eric looked back at Melody. "I can buy you some time. Now, go!"

    Melody hugged her dad tightly then turned grabbed the girl who had risked her life coming in. "I designed my Robo to support an extra person in case of an emergency. I'd say this is one." She ran over to her Robo and pulled a lever. Daggert's back extended and an extra seat, though small, appeared. Melody helped the girl get inside and then she did the same. When she looked down she saw Tyri and her father talking quietly.

    "Tyri." Eric grabbed Tyri's arm, put the chip back in his hand and closed his fist. "Take this. Protect Melody with it until things have cooled down here. It might not be safe for her to return for a time considering that we are harboring a recruiter."

    Tyri began to protest but Eric shook his head and pushed Tyri towards his robo. "You are an honorable man, soldier. There are few of you left. Stay alive and keep the others alive."
     
  7. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Amira Morgan

    “By my estimate you've got around 5 minutes to get out safely,” the mercenary explained. “I doubt you'll be able to talk your way out of it. They are pretty mad. I wouldn't be surprised if they rip both of your bots down for parts before midnight after they have gotten rid of you. Name is Darrius by the way.”

    He smiled, but Amira just frowned at him. They were people, not savages. The people wanted them gone; they wouldn’t do anything to hinder that. Maybe her faith in humanity was too strong, but she figured if they left within the allotted time frame, everything would be fine.

    The girl, Melody, seemed to agree. "They wouldn't do that,” she said. “This town is peaceful. There is no reason to riot."

    "There's a town about 20 miles north of here full of nice people who wouldn't do such a thing,” Darrius replied. “At least you wouldn't think it of them until you notice the three unmarked graves behind the pub and the torn up carcasses of high tech robos being used to shore up the houses. War changes a lot of people, and it's changed this town too."

    “I’ve seen that town,” Amira remarked. “This isn’t that town.”

    But it didn’t seem to faze the man, or the angry voices outside the shop.

    "Your father and you will probably be safe. You've been here for too long,” Darrius said. “However, for me, the scavenger and the recruiter... well, we need to get out."

    This is crazy, Amira thought. Is it really that bad? She had been to towns that didn’t receive her well. They usually just told the convoy to go away and everything turned out fine. She’d never seen townsfolk riot over a few robos…

    "Take the money," Tyri told Melody's father. "I'll get by. With it, maybe you can convince the villagers here that not every soldier in this war is so bad. But the guy's right, we need to go. Melody, stay here and be safe. You and your father will be okay for a while. And, perhaps, I'll come back someday to be sure of it. But it's going to be dangerous, especially if the war turns from two countries into military versus civilian. I don't want you to get hurt."

    Amira sighed. Is this really what the world is coming to? She flinched as someone pounded on the door behind her. Every bang felt like a stab in the heart.

    Tyri tried to convince the mercenary to make a distraction for them, but the man only offered a flashbang grenade and a rendezvous point before he slipped out the back door. Amira paced nervously while Tyri, Melody, and Mr. Hanson spoke for a few moments longer. The new plan seemed to involve slipping out the backdoor as well.

    "You are an honorable man, soldier,” Eric Hanson said at last. “There are few of you left. Stay alive and keep the others alive."

    Finally, something she could agree with. Tryi certainly sounded honorable earlier, when she heard him over the radio. “There’s got to be a better way,” Amira said, refusing to climb into the bot with the girl. “We shouldn’t have to sneak out the back door like… like… animals. And we shouldn’t have to use a flash grenade on civilians. This is… this is… ridiculous.”

    She was getting worked up and she didn’t like to get worked up. “Can’t we just go out there and talk to them?” she said, gesturing toward the door. All this sneaking around and deception... she didn't want any part of it. “I’m going to try to talk them down. We have to at least try. The war is bad, but there's still hope, isn't there? Hell, if this is what the world’s coming to, kill me now.”

    She tried to search for something 'big' to say. A fancy speech. A few bold words. But she wasn't that sort of person. She was just a shy girl from Kylas. I shouldn't even be here, she thought to herself as she walked toward the door and paused there, with one hand on the knob. She pulled out her communicator and whispered what she hoped wouldn't be her last words: "Stan, bring the truck around, ASAP."

    Then she put it away, took a deep breath, and stepped outside. People were sane, rational creatures... most of the time. They could be reasoned with... most of the time. They weren't bloodthirsty savages... most of the time.

    The crowd parted slightly. She wasn't sure if they were letting her through or just waiting to surround her when she stepped forward.

    "Where is he!" someone yelled and the chant was immediately taken up by a dozen others, some waving rifles and sticks. "Where is he! Bring him here! Where is he!"

    "He's leaving, just like you asked. Melody's fine. Please don't do this," Amira pleaded and shielded her face, expecting the attack to begin. But it didn't. "I'm just a scavenger... a civilian, like you... don't let the war change you... you're better than this... I'm sorry," she said as she inched forward, wading through the angry mob and apologizing every step of the way. They seemed to be letting her through, but the looks on their faces made it clear that the situation could explode at any moment.

    Beyond them, she saw the transporter arrive across the street. It was just on the other side of the road, but it felt as if it was miles away. Just keep moving forward, she told herself.
     
  8. SpitFyre

    SpitFyre Member

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    Darrius reached the campsite just as twilight was setting in. He set it up quickly as only a trained soldier can do, he concealed the small fire and set to roasting a beef joint the smell quickly filled the clearing. Darrius sighed contently and set his back to shadow, he set his pad down next to him as it fed information from the sensors placed around the perimeter.
    Darrius pulled out a tool set and a metal contraption and began to tinker with it as he waited for the others to join him.
     
  9. Love to Write

    Love to Write I'm a lover of writing. What else is to be said? Contributor

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    Eric Hanson

    Eric listened the brave speech of the brave girl. She was like his daughter...strong, kindhearted...they would probably make good friends if they got to know eachother. The girl then walked outside despite his protests. Didn't she relize how dangerous it was out there at the moment. But that didn't seem she faze her she walked into the crowd and said, "He's leaving, just like you asked. Melody's fine. Please don't do this. I'm just a scavenger... a civilian, like you... don't let the war change you... you're better than this... I'm sorry,"

    A few of the people seemed moved by her speech and lowered their weapons, but most remained angry and Eric observed a few of them whispering amongst eachother and nodding their heads at her. And not in a good way. Eric sprinted out to where she was trying to get through the crowd, apparently to a truck on the other end of the street, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped but he leaned down and said quietly, as they walked, "Don't worry brave one. I'll make sure you make it to your transport safely."
     
  10. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Amira Morgan

    She felt like she was swimming with the sharks. This was such a bad idea. Why did she try to see the good in people? Sometimes, people weren’t good at all, they were just plain insane. Amira kept inching forward, careful not to make any sudden threatening moves but she was in constant fear that this could blow up in her face at any moment. She felt a hand on her shoulder and nearly broke into a run.

    "Don't worry brave one,” a familiar voice said. The man from the shop?

    Amira didn’t look back, too afraid that it might not be him. Brave one? she thought. He must have me confused with someone else. More like ‘stupid one.’

    “I'll make sure you make it to your transport safely," he said.

    Great, now I’m going to get this girl’s dad killed because of me, she thought. The transporter was just a few feet away. The crowd parted slightly. The ones farther from the shop entrance seemed to be a little less menacing than those who’d been banging down the door, but she didn’t feel any safer. Someone spat at her. There was fist pumping and chanting. Somewhere in the back of the crowd, she saw a shotgun waving in the air.

    She reached the safety of the transporter. The big rusty truck felt like paradise and when Stan snatched open the door and yanked her inside it was like being pulled through the gates of heaven. She turned to Mr. Hanson, but he opted to stay behind. There was o time to argue; Amira simply mouthed ‘thank you’ as the door shut.

    “Holy shit, Miri, that was nuts!” Stan said, wide-eyed.

    Amira immediately collapsed by one of the workbenches. She was drenched in sweat and her heart was racing. “I’ve never been so scared in my life…” she murmured, her voice shaky. The lump in her throat grew into something much worse and she narrowly managed to reach the trash bin before throwing up.

    “Gross…” Stan said with a mischievous grin. “Well, I should get us the hell outta here, before they start tearing the tires off.” He quickly ran through the garage and disappeared through a door leading to the driver’s cabin at the front of the truck. A half second later, Amira felt the truck begin to move.

    When her stomach settled, she slumped back down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling lights for a long moment, as if she might fall asleep or pass out. It took a few seconds before she found the strength to drag herself to a small metal sink, where she splashed some water on her face and gargled for a moment, before heading up to the driver’s cabin to see how Stan was going.

    The truck slowly drove away, trying not to run over the pressing crowd.

    “Did you see if Melody and the soldier made it out?” Amira asked Stan. It was hard to tell with all the people moving about. She could still see Mr. Hanson out there, and he seemed to be okay, for now. That was a relief.

    “Head north. We might catch up with them if they got out," she told Stan as she settled into the passenger seat and tried to catch her breath and think clearly for a moment.

    “And what if they didn’t get out?” the boy asked as he guided the truck out of town.

    Amira didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.
     
  11. CheddarCheese

    CheddarCheese New Member

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    Davis Quan (Ghost)

    “So. Damien Weaver,” spat Davis, as he led the man through the streets.

    He had put away his gun as to not alert the local population. But if Weaver decided to try anything, Davis would down him before he took so much as a step. It was one of the benefits of having an exo-suit rather than a large robo.

    “The bastard’s got a son,” he continued. “A clueless son at that.”

    The man was surprisingly unhesitant to heed Davis’ demands. He almost seemed determined to figure out what was going on.

    “Where are you taking me?” asked the man, stopping for a moment.

    Davis shoved him forwards, forcing him to continue. “Where do you think? If your daddy ain’t here, he’s back in his damned bunker. You really think he’s dead, don’t you? Ever wonder if he was just feeding you crap?”

    “I don't see any reason why he would have. If we have to check the bunker to prove he's dead then let's just get on with it,” said Damien.

    “Don’t see any reason? You wanna know the kinds of things your father did? I’ve seen him murder innocent people for no reason right in front of me. He takes as many slaves as he can get, then he weeds out the weak ones. Leaves ‘em to rot,” continued Davis. “And you’re telling me he wouldn’t lie? Ha!”

    The man looked like he was about to respond, when he was cut off by the loud wail of a siren. Davis immediately recognised the siren’s tone. It was high-pitched and constant. It meant the town was under fire.

    Davis cursed to himself. “Come on; let’s get the hell out of here!”

    An explosion echoed from the other side of the street. It was quickly followed by more.

    “What’s going on?” said Damien, looking around frantically.

    “Place's getting targeted by artillery. Probably from blaster robos. Come on, let’s move!” replied Davis, dragging the man along.


    He didn’t have time to meddle in the damned war.
     
  12. Question

    Question Active Member

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    Shamus McCoy

    "Would you like to tag along? It would mean abandoning your post, but I did that years ago. I'm just trying to end this war, and I doubt there's many like me out there. I could use some help."

    For a moment he was shocked by her honesty. She wanted him to abandon his post, become a traitor to his country, and to go traipsing across the world fighting bad guys. It was madness. Besides If she deserted, then that the bot she was in was probably stolen. Shamus took out the bottle of shine and poured some on his cut. It stung like hell; he raised the bottle to his lips but paused. What was the alternative? Sitting on the border patrol all day, staring off into space. Shamus had seen more action today then he had ever dreamed of. He looked at the bottle suddenly disgusted and threw it out a port. He had joined the army to fight krine and if that meant joining this zin bot then that’s what he would have to do.

    “If I’m going to be traveling with you, then you have to be honest with me…” before shamus could finish he noticed some activity on his scanners. He turned his bot to get a better look. Four black bots were racing towards them.

    “Crap, it looks like that bot you let go called in some help.” Though these bots didn’t look like krine. They had no identifying marks and looked like they had cost a pretty penny to build. It was two blasters and two medieval armed with katanas. Suddenly a fifth shape loomed overhead. It was a gnarl eagle, It probably re-laid information back to the other bots. That’s how they had found them so quick.

    Suddenly the bots stopped together at once in a complete triangle formation. That wasn’t good. In complete unison the two blasters pulled up their giant rifles, taking careful aim.

    “Boom! Boom!” Two explosions rocketed the earth where shamus had been standing moments ago. He had rolled his bot into a ball and was speeding towards the formation from the left. As he closed in on the two medieval bots, both turned to face him. Stakes in the back of both of the medieval's legs plowed into the ground, and they drew their swords as one. Just as he was about to hit them a blast from one of the huge rifles hit him knocking him off course. As he glided far over to the right of one of the medievals, it delivered a serious gash to the side of his armor. He got out of the roll a few hundred yards away and he turned on his radio. He could see a black shape hovering from above. The damage wasn’t too bad the blast hadn’t done anything but leave a scorch mark, and the sword hit hadn’t quit penetrated his armor, it was more of a scratch.

    “These guys are tough, they move together as one. Their being relayed information from that eagle bot. If we take that out, we may have a shot…” Shamus rolled to his left barely dodging another blast. He tried his radio but now it was just gargling static.
     
  13. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

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    Jayce 'Jaxx' Fento
    _____________________

    Encased in darkness, Jaxx reached down with his right hand. Twisted metal clawed at his arm as he sent it lower. He almost had it. Inches separated him from a glorious find. Jaxx edged ever closer and the metal danced around his limb, hungering for blood. On the final push, his palm laid flat on the core and he dug his dirty fingers into any groove he could find. With one swift tug he raised the core high above his head and emerged from the towering scrap heap.

    The gliding wind met Jaxx’s face, pelting him with sand. Gazing up, he noted a mix of searching clouds laced in royal blue. Jaxx revelled in his triumph, pushing out his chest and inhaling. The thick smell of leaking fuel and rusted metal intoxicated his senses. To him there was no better smell, except maybe the scent of freshly caught elk roasting on a spit. Jaxx lowered his arm and then scoured the metallic graveyard, spotting his brother standing patiently below him with cigarette in hand.

    “Seth!” Jaxx echoed. “Seth! Check out this absolute beauty!”

    “Quiet down you idiot!” Seth hissed, turning his head left then right. “You can never be too sure who’s about.” Jaxx didn’t care, his smile beamed from ear to ear. He threw the core down the scrap pile, shifting rusted metal as it bounced. The core reached the base of the silver mountain and slid in front of Seth.

    “A real Zin core! Can you believe it!?” Jaxx gasped. Seth peered down, unconvinced. Lodging the cigarette in his mouth, he paced towards a nearby scrap heap and with his fingerless gloves he grabbed an antium pole. In one sharp movement he lifted the pole above his head and rained down upon the core. Just as the core imploded into shards, so did Jaxx’s heart. His shoulders sunk and the beaming smile transferred to the elder sibling.

    “I highly doubt it’s Zin.” Seth chuckled. “If that was Zin, this pole would have bounced back quicker than you could blink, and I would be unconscious. And possibly bleeding.” Resounding mockery and pride followed in the form of laughter.

    “Idiot.”

    Seth threw the antium pole down and resumed his scouting. Taking a victory drag of his cigarette, he anchored his head towards the sky. The clouds had changed to a midnight blue and were shifting faster towards the south.

    “Come on we need to head back, there’s a storm on it's way and it’s getting dark.” Seth advised. Jaxx sensed it too and began reequipping himself. He flung on his faded black trench coat and donned his oversized pilot’s helmet, clipping together the straps. Finally, he freed his hunting rifle from the clutches of the scrap metal and bounded down the heap.
     
  14. naturemage

    naturemage Active Member

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    Tyri Emmassus

    Tyri took Eric's advice and went out the back door while everyone else left in their own direction. Quickly jumping into Scorpio, he started it up and headed for the forest. He hoped to meet up with Darrius in his campsite, and they would figure things out from there.

    Tyri sighed as he took Scorpio towards the forest. This war was getting out of hand, he could agree with those villagers on that. Most people fighting the war couldn't even remember why it started. Nonetheless, it was pointless now. Civilians were getting killed, too many families had been split or wiped out, and both sides were getting more aggressive by the battle.

    Suddenly, with a revelation, Tyri knew what they should all do. There was an easy option, one that would take them to the north, and be a journey several weeks long, but it might be worth it. They would head to Kylas, the neutral territory. They hadn't done anything at all, but they did have a significant army. Perhaps, with how weak Koros and Krine had become, and how thin their armies had been spread, Kylas could step in and finally do something to end this war.

    Yes, there was no other option. Tyri could feel more accomplished in even thinking of the idea. He, along with the others, could get this world back to peace, and maybe they could all be heroes. He smiled. What a wonderful thought: peace on Kalicas. Maybe then, he and Melody could settle down. He blushed, embarassed in front of no one. Where had that thought come from?

    "You there!"

    Tyri stopped, returning from his thoughts. In front of him was a man, standing in the path he was going. He should be meeting Melody right about here.

    "Excuse me, have you seen another Robo," Tyri asked.

    "No, but I'll be sure to let them know you missed them." The man put both hands behind his back, fiddled with something, and threw it at Scorpio. There was a loud clink as something magnetic attached itself to Scorpio's stomach. Then a beeping started as the man ran away.

    "No! No no no!" Tyri began undoing his straps, opening the cockpit quickly. The beeping got faster, and just as Tyri jumped down from the cockpit, the magnetic grenade exploded, sending Tyri flying through the air, and landing with a thud on the hard ground. A few pieces of metal had grazed him and cut him, but as he weakly looked up, he saw that Scorpio was in even worse shape...

    The grenade, wherever that man had gotten it from, had been very powerful. Scorpio could hardly be recognized in its current condition. In fact, Tyri didn't even see the scorpion shape to it anymore. What was worse was Tyri knew exactly what that grenade had been designed to do. He'd heard of them a few times on the road. Experimental, but well worth the price if you could afford them. Belly-busters they called them. Designed to magnetically attach to a Robo near its stomach, it was more attracted to the metal that made up the Robo's core. So, it got as close to the core as it could and exploded. And with that, it took out its target.

    Tyri wanted to cry, seeing Scorpio's core, laying there in shattered pieces. He'd had that Robo for so long, and now it was gone. Nothing could put that back together, especially without a core. Tyri hit the ground several times, angry that he'd been so foolish to fall for that. The man had been civilian, so he hadn't thought of it... The village. He must have been one of the villagers from Melody's town, and found out where they were meeting.

    "Damn it!" Tyri hit the ground again, and jerked his hand back as something stabbed him. It was a small cut, and he looked down for the annoying rock that had done it. His eyes widened, and he pocketed the stone before passing out from his injuries.


    Risa Nyom

    Risa tapped the radio as she dodged a shot. "Soldier! Can you hear me? Hello?" No response came through the static. "Damn, they've jammed the communications."

    Risa dodged another shot as she saw the soldier roll away from a hit. This wasn't good, two on five were bad odds. What was worse, neither of them had a gun of any sort. Sure, Cerberus was infused with zin, but it hadn't given Risa much else to work with but speed and two extra heads.

    Showing these new Robos she wasn't afraid, she charged in towards the medievals armed with swords. Dodging two shots fired in quick succession, she remembered to keep her feet on the ground, lest she get caught in midair when one of them fired a shot. She saw both Blasters aim at her, and smiled. She had experienced a lot of combat, facing multiple opponents at a time, and knew some of their tricks by now. This was one of them. Granted, it was a good tactic, but one she'd seen too often. Continuing on a straight path, she saw the two Blasters fire at the same time.

    A rookie pilot would have fallen for it, but Risa had years of experience under military training. She smiled as both shots flew past her, one to the left, and one to the right. The idea behind the tactic was to make the pilot evade, sending them into one bullet or the other. Staying straight, Risa was able to avoid both. She gave them credit, it was a good trick, but again, one she'd seen before. Of course, now that she was sent rolling on the ground, she realized she hadn't been watching for the medievals, since one of them had come in from her side and knocked her over.

    "Jerk, that was clever." Continuing through the roll, she waited until Cerberus' feet were on the ground, then she sprung up and let loose a roar at the medieval. When she landed, the other one was at her side. How'd he get over here? Ducking, Risa avoided the slash of his sword, but fell right into his roundhouse kick, and was sent rolling again. She had to admit, these guys were better than most pilots she faced. They were truly a team, and they knew how to work things out. They switched up opponents as needed, clearly demonstrated by how the Blasters had distracted her for a second, and then turned their attention right back to the soldier she'd been talking to.

    Risa stayed on the ground this time, instead of springing up, and was hit in the right front leg by a shot. One of the medievals had left her, replaced by a blaster, who had caught her exactly where he'd expected her. She was falling into every trap she'd ever learned to avoid...
     
  15. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Amira Morgan

    Amira didn’t truly relax until they were out of the town and she was sure no one was following. She repeatedly checked the truck’s rear camera, but found only a dusty trail in their wake. When the town finally faded from view, she settled into the passenger’s seat with a pair of binoculars and began focusing on the path in front of them.

    “We don’t even know where we’re supposed to meet this guy,” Stan said as he guided the truck north in the fading light. “And it’s gettin’ dark.”

    “We’ll find him,” Amira said as her silvery eyes scanned the horizon. The binoculars had a thermal imaging mode, so she could make out hotspots. “The girl knows the way; if I can find her, we can follow her to the rendezvous point.”

    Stan just shrugged. He was beginning to think leaving the convoy wasn’t such a good idea…

    A hotspot in the distance caught Amira’s attention. “I see something,” she said and pointed for Stan to adjust their heading towards it. As she zoomed in, she realized it was wreckage. The heat signature indicated it was fairly new. “Stop the truck!”

    The transporter screeched to a halt. The wreckage was still far away, about half a mile by her estimate, but she didn’t want to get too close until she figured out what had caused it. As she zoomed in, she realized what it was and quickly sprang from her seat. “Stay here! Don’t move!” she said to Stan as she tossed the binoculars to him and ran to the garage at the back.

    The downed robo was Tyri’s. She wasn’t sure if he’d stepped on a mine, or gotten hit by a sniper bot, or maybe even a grenade, but the damage indicated he’d been brought down in a single blast. She didn’t want to endanger Stan or the transport by bringing them any closer. Who or whatever had done it might still be out there.

    She snatched the tarp off of Lilith and unlocked the chains shackling it to the floor before climbing into the cockpit and booting up its systems.

    “Miri,” Stan said over the radio as the back door opened remotely, “I see the bot. It’s the scorpion one, right? You gonna salvage it?”

    “Is that all you can think about? Let’s see if he’s alive first,” Amira said, as she walked Lilith out the back of the truck.

    “Well, yeah, of course. I didn’t mean it like that!” Stan said, slightly embarrassed. “It’s just such a nice bot. Maybe we could fix it.”

    “Priorities, Stan,” she replied as she headed toward the wreckage. “No more radio chatter. This is serious.”

    “Got it,” he said. “Transport 6, out.” The line went silent.

    Amira moved slowly and carefully toward the wreckage, keeping an eye out for danger. Lilith’s sensor array excelled at detecting movement. She spotted a man fleeing on foot, toward the town, but paid him no mind. He was already too far away, and whatever he’d come to do was done.

    The winged robo soon arrived at the wreckage, a twisted heap of scrap. The scorpion’s legs were splayed out, like a metal cockroach that had been squashed by a massive foot. Its tail hung limply. There was still smoke rising from the cockpit and she gasped, sure the pilot had been killed in the blast. Lilith stepped carefully through the scattered pieces, afraid that what she was looking at might be the final resting place of an honorable soldier. With rifle in hand, she searched through the debris, for any signs of life.
     
  16. Love to Write

    Love to Write I'm a lover of writing. What else is to be said? Contributor

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    Location:
    Beautiful Oregon "It's the Climate"
    Melody Hanson

    Melody glanced up at the tablet she had been given by Darrius. Only another half a mile or so till the forest. She looked at her gps on the robo. The cooridnates said she was about 3 minutes from Tyri's location. They were going to rendevous before going to the meeting place. Neither knew what Darrius really wanted and if he was dangerous or not. Better that they stuck together. She topped the ridge expecting to see Tyri's cool scorpio waiting for her but instead she saw the remanents of a his robo and a robo with a large gun standing over the reckage.

    Oh no! Tyri! Please don't be dead! How dare that Robo! Didn't it know he was attacking an honorable soldier. She didn't recognize the make, but if it attacked Tyri it was an enemy. Melody put Daggert in run mode and drew her daggers. She was about to attack when when the copit opened and the girl from the shop calmbored out holding up her hands in surrender. Melody opened the cockpit of Daggert and said, "What happened!?"
    "I don't know. I was trying to find the rendevous point when I saw this."

    Melody replaced the daggers in their sheaths, undid her harness, climbed out of the robo and began to help the scavenger look through the reckage. She lifted up a piece of metal and saw a bleeding leg. Oh! Please let the leg be attached to the rest of Tyri. Melody thought worridly. "Here! I found him." The girl raced over and together they pulled the rest of the robo remains off of him. Tyri was unconsious and there was a bad cut on his forhead, as well as several other minor cuts and bruises over the rest of his body. But the important thing, was that he was breathing. "Here. Put his head on your lap. I'm going to get a medical kit." Melody said to the scavenger before rushing off to her robo. She opened a panel in the back that held a variety of supplies. She shuffled through them and found her medical bag. She wasn't an experienced medic but she had spent some time working in the hospital when she wasn't busy with the robos. It had given her a little spending money. She kneeled down at Tyri's side and began wiping the blood away and patching up the cuts that seemed significant. I hope he wakes up. He's the most honorable soldier I've met since this da... Melody stopped herself. Her father always taught her that cussing never helped anything. Stupid war. Suddenly, Darrius appeared.
     
  17. SpitFyre

    SpitFyre Member

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    Location:
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    Darrius heard the explosion from the campsite, it was close enough the ground shuddered. He threw the component into the cockpit of shadow and slapped shadow into follow mode and ran towards the blast rifle ready. Within minutes he came to the site of the blast. He saw Melody and the scavenger crouched around a barely conscious Tyri. Darrius swore and ran over. He checked Tyri's pulse it was strong, "We need to move him whatever got him could still be about, the campsite is not too far away. If we can get him into shadow he can be moved without harm to his spine its a laid down cockpit and shadow will follow me back."

    Darrius glanced at the broken scorpion bot and chocked for a second a tear barely escaping from his eye. He knew the love between a pilot and their bot, he quickly wiped it away before the others noticed. "come on we need to go quickly we can come back tomorrow morning and see what we can get from the wreckage with a lot of parts we may be able to rebuild her."
     
  18. Cyberdark

    Cyberdark New Member

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    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    Damien Weaver
    [HR][/HR]
    “So. Damien Weaver,” spat the boy.

    He spoke with distaste, as if the words themselves left a bad taste in his mouth. Damien followed, keeping pace with the boy in the exo-suit.

    "Now we're out with the local population. Can't do anything here either. With the gear he's got this wouldn't be much of a fight, I'd be overwhelmed in an instant... The potential for collateral damage is large too, this guys got a nasty temper. Nothing that I can really do about that... But he really thinks dad's alive. I guess he just want's closure."

    “The bastard’s got a son,” he continued. “A clueless son at that.”

    "Trying to provoke me? Dad always said that you've got to throw your opponent off. Elicit an emotional reaction and force them to not think clearly, whether in combat or negotiating it's a standard tactic... Why am I thinking of these things now? I didn't care for that. I never thought of any of those things before... Let's just get this done."


    Damien walked along, following the boy through the street.

    "Where are you taking me?" asked Damien, stopping for a moment.

    The man shoved him forward, making him continue marching.

    “Where do you think? If your daddy ain’t here, he’s back in his damned bunker. You really think he’s dead, don’t you? Ever wonder if he was just feeding you crap?”

    "His bunker? I guess it would make sense to check that out. It's located pretty close to here, but I don't see why he wants me to come along. Does he still think I'm lying? Or does he want to prove that my dad was lying? I don't want to believe it... but if it's true... if dad's still alive then what? What am I supposed to do?"

    “I don't see any reason why he would have. If we have to check the bunker to prove he's dead then let's just get on with it,” said Damien.

    "I really am a civilian. As reckless as this guy might be... he's still influencing me emotionally. I've got to keep a clear head."

    “Don’t see any reason? You wanna know the kinds of things your father did? I’ve seen him murder innocent people for no reason right in front of me. He takes as many slaves as he can get, then he weeds out the weak ones. Leaves ‘em to rot,” continued the boy. “And you’re telling me he wouldn’t lie? Ha!”

    Damien remembered standing in front of his father. Damien was eight years old, his father adjusting his stance. They were alone in a windowless room, the walls bare. His father was wearing a black jacket. He dashed forward and slammed his fist into Damien's jaw, knocking him back. He immediately followed with a sweep kick, sending Damien to the floor. Blood covered his face and he felt tears streaming down his face. Bragga stood tall in front of him.

    "Stand up."

    "But..." mumbled Damien,

    "Stand up. You're enemies won't wait."

    Damien slowly got to his feet and raised his small fists, trying to take a battle stance. He ran forward at Bragga, who sidestepped him and punched the back of his head, sending him into the wall. Damien collapsed against the cold wall, sweat and blood smearing across it's surface.

    "You have to become strong Damien. Strong, so that you can protect the things you care about."

    Damien crawled onto his knees, he looked up to the fading vision of his father, before he passed out.

    Damien turned to face the boy, he was about to speak when sirens filled the air.

    “Come on; let’s get the hell out of here!” shouted the boy,

    An explosion echoed from the other side of the street. It was quickly followed by more.

    "Please don't let this be..."

    “What’s going on?” said Damien, looking around frantically.

    “Place's getting targeted by artillery. Probably from blaster robos. Come on, let’s move!” replied the boy, dragging Damien along.

    Damien stopped him, grabbing his forearm.

    "We can't just leave! There are innocent people here who are going to get hurt! You said you saw my father murder innocent people in front of you, does that mean that you're going to just watch people die here too?" shouted Damien. "Come on. I don't know what exactly I'm good for, but I'm not going to let innocent people get hurt!"

    Damien ran into the smoke. He covered his mouth with his red bandanna and stumbled through the rubble.
     
  19. CheddarCheese

    CheddarCheese New Member

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    Location:
    Canada
    Davis Quan (Ghost)

    "Come on. I don't know what exactly I'm good for, but I'm not going to let innocent people get hurt!" said Damien, rushing off towards a house that had been destroyed by a strike.

    “Damn it!” Davis cursed to himself. But the man was right; something was amiss. Davis didn’t involve himself very much in the war, but if he knew one thing, it was that armies didn’t recklessly bombard defenseless civilian towns. Even with the small force he had seen guarding the place earlier, they should have engaged the robos directly, not targeted homes.

    Davis quickly followed Damien through the smoke, and into the collapsed building. It was a mess; the enemy robos had fired incendiary rounds. When he caught up to Damien, he found him trying to lift a slab of rubble off of a man’s leg. A woman stood nearby, trying to put out flames with a fire extinguisher.

    So the bastard’s kid has a heart. Davis shook his head. How the hell does that work?

    He reached over and grabbed the rubble from one side, sliding it off of the man’s leg with the exo-suit’s enhanced leverage.
    “Weaver! Get these two to safety!” said Davis, dragging the now-unconscious man away from the fire.

    Damien looked up, wiping his brow. “Where do I take them?”

    “You of all people know that every border-town home has a bomb shelter under their floors. Find the closest one, and get ‘em in there!” replied Davis. “I’m going to go see what I can do about the invaders.”

    He made his way across the house, and leaped out through an open window.
    “And don’t even think about playing hide and seek after this is over! I’ve got your bio-signature tracked in my system!” he called back before running down the street.

    The town was in chaos; people in the transit lane had abandoned their vehicles, and were running for cover. The shells had stopped landing, which meant that the attackers were engaged in combat somewhere. Probably with that Zin robo he had seen earlier.

    Once he reached the end of the street, Davis ducked behind a low wall, and scanned the area ahead of him. Ghost’s visual interface picked up the signatures of six robos. Judging by the signatures, four of them were the attackers, while the other two were defending. Suddenly, his system picked up another signature. Davis quickly shifted his glance into the air, and noticed a large eagle-like robo, hovering above the town. He had nearly missed it. When he scanned the eagle, he realised that it was a hub for a large network of integrated communications.

    “Takes a large level of stupid to put comm-systems in such an obvious target,” muttered Davis, viewing the eagle through his sniper scope.

    Of course, it wasn’t actually that bad of an idea against regular rounds. Normally, something like that would scramble targeting systems, and would take a lot of hits before going down. But Davis wasn’t the average day trooper.

    He primed his wrist-mounted disruptor missiles and aimed his arm at the eagle. The missile wouldn’t take the thing down, but it would completely fry its systems.


    Once the missiles were ready, Davis launched them at the eagle. The enemy would have to fight without any coordination now.
     
  20. Fan7asticMrFox

    Fan7asticMrFox Contributor Contributor

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    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Jayce "Jaxx" Fento
    _____________________

    Landing with sure feet at the bottom of the scrap pile, Jaxx sprinted to catch up with his brother. Seth had already started up the winding dirt path, pulling a worn red trolley full of Robo parts. Once Jaxx had caught up he shoved his hands into his coat pockets and began dragging his feet along the ground. This signalled Seth to slap Jaxx playfully on the helmet, which was met with a fierce waving of hands and a glare that could have turned medusa to stone. Jaxx’s right hand flashed between the pair, crashing into Seth’s upper arm.

    “Oi, you little bastard!” said Seth, turning to face his shorter opponent. Jaxx wasn’t backing down. The moment of heated brotherly tension soon swept past as Seth offered a peace offering. “Fine little man, how about when we get back I’ll show you how to install a pin coil into an arch suspension? It’s pretty tricky stuff.” Jaxx’s lip tweaked upwards slightly before forcing back a frown and slowly nodding.

    The wind howled between them both, sending a chill down Jaxx’s spine. The evening had shrouded them in unnerving darkness and the lights from the hillside village felt somehow unfamiliar. As they followed the path round the bend, the boys felt quick movements from each of the windows. Curtains flickered like candles as the faces of their neighbours became portraits of curiosity, and fear. Jaxx’s skin crawled.

    They both stopped short of the bend. A large mound of dirt and stone blocked the view of their home, with muffled voices and flashing lights sneaking round the corner. Seth bent down a little, meeting Jaxx’s eyes with a stern expression. “I don’t like this. Not one bit.”

    Jaxx only had one thought. “Torgus is in trouble, we need to help him.” In one fluid motion he swung his hunting rifle from his shoulder into his hands and pulled back the bolt action. Seth put his hand on Jaxx’s shoulder and quietly shook his head.

    “No, that may be tempting but it will endanger us both, not to mention Torgus.” Seth said. “I want you to listen now, ok? Get behind that mound and stay in ear shot, I’m going around. Don’t go up to the top, don’t get spotted and whatever you do, don’t shoot. Understood?” Seth slid his hand up to Jaxx’s neck and brought their heads together. Jaxx murmured a shaky “ok”.

    Jaxx then lurked over to the mound, resting his back on a slanted rock. Sitting there, he watched his brother fall out of view around the bend and instantly skulked up the mound. He tentatively raised his head over the edge and what he saw made his heart sink.

    Three unmanned Krine Robos were parked outside the shack he called home, and a large cage lay in the road a few feet away. Jaxx noted five soldiers in the area. And in the middle two of them were guarding a giant of a man, who was on his knees slouching over. Handcuffed and blood stained, Torgus stayed there with his head down, his tears falling to the ground.

    “You… you can’t take them. Their… their my boys.” He blubbered. The nearest guard stood over him.

    “Not by blood Mr Blint. Protocol Red Delta gives the Krine government the power to draft any child to the army aged 14 and above – who are considered property of the state. You adopted them without the any legal regulations or paperwork. Thus they do not belong to you, they belong to us.”

    The rattle of Seth’s trolley slowly echoed from the darkness and one by one the soldiers turned to face the unknown threat. The torches blinded Seth who raised his arms to make sense of it all . No sooner had he come into view than the nearest soldier scrambled towards him. The sergeant grabbed Seth by the scruff of the neck and threw him over to the middle.

    He then signalled to the two soldiers guarding Torgus. “Get these two in the cage and back to HQ. The rest of you, let’s have a quick perimeter search for the other one.”

    Seth’s eyes widened. With one final knee jerk reaction, he turned his head towards the sky and shouted. “Run Jaxx! Run!”
     
  21. naturemage

    naturemage Active Member

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    Location:
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    Tyri Emmassus

    Tyri awoke, sore and in a lot of pain. He felt someone lifting him, but was too tired to stay awake to find out who. He drifted in and out of consciousness, but managed to open his eyes for long enough to see he was being put into a Robo, a cat-type Gnarl. He didn't know what it was, or who it belonged to, but he didn't have the strength to fight. He didn't even have the strength to stay awake...

    "Tyri, please, stop doing this. You're old enough to leave now."

    "Mom, I know that. I... I just enjoy it. You know Scorpio and I are good soldiers. I mean, I'm about to get a new position. Think, maybe I won't be on the front lines anymore."

    "Son," his father said. "It's not just your safety we're concerned about. I mean, not only are you old enough to leave the military. You... you should have a family. I mean, is there a girl that maybe you're interested in?"

    "Dad..." Tyri didn't know what to say. "I... I'm not ready for that yet. Yes, I want to have a family someday, but right now, I'm sticking to my duties. I just don't want to be bothered... well, I mean, I don't want to have to worry about that yet. I'm sorry." He got up from the table without finishing his dinner...

    "Tyri, you know mom and dad are only looking out for you." His little sister, Tess, who was 16, was standing beside him on the roof of their parents' house. "Besides, I think they're right. There's some girl out there who would be just perfect for you. And you aren't going to find her if you keep fighting. Let the younger pilots take over." She shrugged. "That's what they're there for. With how quickly you moved up, you deserve to at least take a break, if not leave for good."

    "I know Tess. But I'm not ready. Besides, I need to be able to support and protect my family, when I have one. A few more upgrades on Scorpio, and he'll be ready for anything. And then I can make some real money, so I'll be able to support a family. Do you understand?"

    "Of course I do big brother," she said, hugging him. Then she let go and leaned on the wall of the roof, staring at Scorpio with Tyri. "He is becoming something else, what with all the changes you made. Someday, I bet he'll be the best Robo in existence."

    Tyri smiled. "Everyone likes to think they'll have the best Robo." He shrugged. "We can all dream."

    "Tyri, you will have the best Robo. I just know it."

    Tyri nodded. Maybe he would...
     
  22. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Amira Morgan

    Lilith’s scanners detected movement and Amira turned the robo just in time to see a smaller mech approaching, with two daggers drawn. It was the girl fro the shop. For a moment, Amira thought the girl was running to check on Tyri, but she quickly realized Melody was on the attack.

    Amira punched the button to open her cockpit. On such short notice, it was the only way she could think of to prove she wasn’t an enemy. With the cockpit open, she fratically waved her hands, signaling Melody to stop.

    The dagger-wielding bot slowed to a halt and its hatch opened shortly after. "What happened!?" Melody said.

    "I don't know. I was trying to find the rendevous point when I saw this," Amira replied as she brought Lilith down on one knee and climbed out. She kept the robo powered on, just in case.

    Together, they began searching through the mangled debris. "Here! I found him," Melody said a few moments later. Amira came over as fast as she could and they hauled a large piece of metal off Tyri’s battered body. Thankfully, he was still breathing. "Here. Put his head on your lap. I'm going to get a medical kit."

    Amira did as asked. She cradled the unconscious man’s head on her lap. His blood stained her white flight suit. He was still warm and she silently prayed he would stay that way for as long as possible. People aren't like robos. You can't just put them back together again, she thought.

    “Stan, bring the truck,” Amira whispered into her communicator. "It’s all clear.” Based on the condition of the wreckage, she was beginning to think this wasn't caused by a shot. The blast had come from beneath, courtesy of a grenade or mine. She'd seen enough dead bots to know the difference between one that had been killed with explosives and one that had been hit with a shell.

    Melody came racing back and immediately set to work wiping away the blood and cleaning up Tyri’s cuts. Something big was coming. Amira could vaguely make out the shape of something approaching them. It was too dark and stealthy to be the transporter. And too quiet. Her hand instinctively touched the sidearm holstered at her thigh.

    But a man emerged from the underbrush, followed by a large, cat-like bot. It was Darrius, the merc from before. So, his bot has some kind of remote control, Amira thought. Or perhaps it’s just programmed to autonomously follow a preset route. Interesting.

    "We need to move him. Whatever got him could still be about,” Darrius said after briefly checking the man’s pulse. “The campsite is not too far away. If we can get him into Shadow he can be moved without harm to his spine. It’s a laid down cockpit and Shadow will follow me back."

    Why would getting him into shadows help? Amira was too busy worrying about the wounded soldier to think clearly. It took her a few extra seconds to realize “Shadow” was the name of his bot.

    "Come on we need to go quickly,” the merc said. “We can come back tomorrow morning and see what we can get from the wreckage. With a lot of parts we may be able to rebuild her."

    She looked up at the cat-like gnarl. It hardly seemed the best way to transport an injured man. Even the most graceful robos were still lumbering machines; the ride was hardly smooth.

    Right on queue, the big transporter pulled up behind the man, bathing the wreckage in bright headlights.

    “Lets get him in the truck,” Amia said. “It’ll be more comfortable for him. There’s a sleeper hold if he needs to lie down, or we can just set him up on one of the workbenches with some blankets. We can drive to your campsite once he's settled,” she said to the mercenary before turning to Melody. "Do you think you can carry him inside?" she asked, nodding to the girl's robo.

    Carrying him themselves could be cumbersome, but Darrius's bot had no hands and Amira's bot was too big -- she might crush the man if she wasn't careful. Melody's robo was the perfect size for the job.
     
  23. Question

    Question Active Member

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    Shamus McCoy

    The Blaster stood over Cerberus; its barrel pointed at its head ready fry the individual inside. Shamus had to act now if he wanted to keep the zin alive. The other blaster and the two medievals had turned their attention back on him, their weapons ready.

    Suddenly a huge shock wave rang out through the air, like a firework, little tendrils of energy snaked out from an impact. Way up high he could see a dark shape fall from the sky, until halfway down it began to wobble and eventually he could see it starting to fly back up. His radio kicked back on. Clearly someone had shot the eagle with a missile, knocking out the black robos communication. Though he didn’t have time to guess who that someone was.

    The black robos seemed to be distracted by the explosion and Shamus saw his opening. He rolled straight towards them; one of the medievals turned to face him but the other medieval and blaster reacted way too late. The blaster tried to get off a shot but Zathara was already on them. Before impact he came out of the roll and the momentum sent Zathara straight over the bots heads; straight towards the Blaster who was standing over the zin. He clamped down on the bots torso with his jaws and took a big chunk out of him before flinging him to the ground.

    He looked over at the zin who was now standing. The other three bots having regained their compossure started to close in on them.

    He radioed the zin, “Now would be a good time to use some of that zin power.”

    The eagle scoured the ground looking for the source of the missile that had knocked out its communication. Its vision zoomed in on two heat signatures close to the town. It scanned them for mechs, one was just a boy, but the other had an exoskeleton blaster designed for stealth. This was clearly the culprit of the attack and was now an enemy that had to be dealt with. The eagle flew down from the sky straight towards its prey.
     
  24. SpitFyre

    SpitFyre Member

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    Darrius nodded 'That would be better, shadow can be a bit strange sometimes'. He hefted Tyri into his arms as Melody got into her bot, he passed Tyri over gently to daggart. Melody walked over to the transporter and dissappeared inside. Darrius turned to shadow and tapped the bot between the eyes 'Four mile perimeter Shadow, Ten minutes'. The bot crouched and pounced off into the woods, Darrius noticed the scavanger watching and smiled 'Not AI its a self coding operating system Shadow learns as he lives' Darrius looked after his bot and whispered so quietly Amia almost didnt hear 'At least i dont think its AI i built and programmed it and even i dont understand half of the code in there now.'

    Melody emerged from the transporter Darrius smiled 'Come on lets get to the camp its not far away' the group set off into the woods at a slow pace. within a few minutes they reached the campsite. Shadow had reached it before them and was laid down a couple of meters from the fire as Darrius came close it raised its head and emited a wavering humming sound. Darrius tapped it on the side and it laid down its head again 'Nothing but wildlife is around the site we should be safe for tonight at least.'

    Melody brought Tyri out of the transporter and laid him down next to the fire Darrius walked over to Tyri and checked him over
    "You did a good job patching him up." Darrius said to Melody who responded with a sheepesh smile.
    "I wish I knew more. I only spent two years in the hospital as an assistant nurse. I barely got 2 days a week at that." She sighed and sat cross legged down on her own roll that she pulled out of a compartment of Daggert. The scavenger sat next to her; her own robo parked beside Melody's.

    Darrius picked up the contraption he was working on and sat down next to Tyri his back to shadow and began to tinker.

    "You know, I don't think we've been properly introduced." Melody said handing out a hand to girl next to her.
     
  25. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Location:
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    Amira Morgan

    "That would be better, shadow can be a bit strange sometimes,” the mercenary said with a nod. He lifted Tyri and passed the unconscious soldier to Melody once she was inside her bot. The girl and her bot carried Tyri into the transporter and the truck started up.

    Meanwhile, the man tapped his panther-bot between the eyes and issued a command: “Four mile perimeter, Shadow. Ten minutes.” The machine obediently pounced off into the woods, without a pilot.

    So, the plates are touch-sensitive, Amira thought as she watched it go. Must be expensive. And what about repairs if it gets damaged? She began to wonder who he worked for. He must be highly-paid to maintain such a machine. Or maybe he never gets shot at…

    The man noticed her eying his machine and smiled. “Not AI. It’s a self-coding operating system. Shadow learns as he lives,” Darrius explained.

    Amira slowly nodded. She had done plenty of programming of her own; enough to know that Shadow wasn’t far off from AI. She would love to get a look at that code sometime. But she hardly knew the man. Asking to peek at his bot’s digital soul might be too forward of her.

    “Come on lets get to the camp. It’s not far away,” Darrius said after Melody emerged from the transporter.

    Amira climbed into her own robo, but left the cockpit open, so she could still see Melody and Darrius. “Follow us to the campsite,” she explained to Stan through her communicator and the transporter began to drive behind them, with Tyri inside.

    When they arrived, they found Shadow waiting for them, lying a few meters from a campfire. The transporter came around the other side and Amira parked her robo next to it, forming a perimeter around the small campsite.

    “Nothing but wildlife is around the site,” Darrius explained. “We should be safe for tonight at least.”

    Amira climbed out and stood by the fire as Melody retrieved Tyri from the transporter and laid him down. The girl climbed out of her robo as well and the four of them were finally together.

    "You did a good job patching him up," Darrius said to Melody.

    "I wish I knew more,” the girl said with a sheepish smile. “I only spent two years in the hospital as an assistant nurse. I barely got 2 days a week at that."

    Melody sighed and took a seat by the fire, while Darrius began fiddling with a metal component. Amira watched quietly. She was a little too shy to get a conversation going and was focusing on the part the man held instead. It looked like a KT-674 power coupler… or maybe it was the older KT-600 model. She couldn’t quite tell. It had three plug-ins, like the newer version, but she couldn’t know for sure unless she saw what was inside. The newer models had a tungsten-coated wiring matrix with titanium heat sinks, while the older ones used less-expensive copper matrices and suffered from overheating problems because-

    "You know, I don't think we've been properly introduced," Melody said.

    Amira was suddenly jolted out of what she was thinking of. When she looked at the girl, she found an outstretched hand and a friendly smile there. It certainly helped break the ice and lessen the embarassment of being caught daydreaming about machinery.

    “Amira Morgan,” she said and removed her gloves before accepting the handshake with a slightly nervous smile. “I’m a scavenger. I was, um, headed to your dad’s shop for parts when… well, you know.” She shrugged and nervously ran a hand through her ghost-white hair.

    She heard footsteps behind them and saw Stan approaching rom the truck, carrying a backpack over his shoulder. He was a young boy, about a year younger than Melody. “Figured you guys could use somethin’ to eat,” he said as he opened the backpack and tossed a bottle of water to each of them and some dried food rations, before wandering over to the panther-bot and gawking at it.

    Amira blushed slightly. Why did he always have to embarrass her like that? “This is my assistant, Stan. He’s also my driver,” she said. “Stan, this is Melody and Darrius.” Unfortunately, the boy was too preoccupied with the large cat to pay attention to the introductions. “Anyway, don’t mind him, he just likes robos. A lot. This is mine, Lilith,” Amira said, gesturing to the two-story tall winged robo crouching behind them, like a giant statue.

    “It can’t fly,” she added. That was usually the first thing people asked when she introduced Lilith. “But it’s safe for air drops up to 40,000 feet…. at least that’s what my calculations suggest. I’ve never done it, of course,” she said sheepishly. "And it has electronic countermeasures and an advaced communications suite routed through high-output antennae in the wings. That's how I... uhhhmm..." she twiddled her thumbs nervously, "that's how I eavesdropped on you and Tyri," she confessed to Melody. "Sorry."

    She would've felt guilty if she didn't tell her.
     

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