Darrius chuckled softly as stan gawked at shadow and whistled softly. Shadow raised his head and looked right into stans eyes and purred deeply then butted the boy in the chest gently before laying his head down again. Stan stared as if shocked into silence 'Chill kid its just a bot, take him for a ride if you like.' Stan gaped 'Your Kidding' Darrius laughed 'Nah go ahead'. Darrius stood and Shadows back slid open revealing the cockpit, 'Slide in lay on your front control the veiwpoint by moving the globe transmiter on the right, dont worry about the movement il send Shadow to check the sensors around the camp' Stan got in and the compartment closed Darrius whispered softly to Shadow and the bot gracefuly walked off. 'That may not be a good idea' Amira said, 'Oh theres no problem control of Shadow is Dna coded anyone else getting in can only control the viewpoint if i alow them to, the controls arnt even manual they work through a chip in my wrist and preset motions. He couldnt break Shadow if he tried, Shadow will be in a huff with me for a few days though for making him take someone else.' Darrius sat back down again and glared at the metal contraption. 'I dont suppose either of you know how to get a power coupler to output double its intended output without exploding, its the last peice i need for one of my experiments and engineering a custom peice would take way too long' darrius sat next to amira and laid the coupler next to her. 'I dont suppose you would mind me looking at the antennae and communications on your bot i havent managed to get a look at any of the newer versions and im not sure if Shadows plating can deflect the system, it makes me nervous taking any high risk jobs at the moment.'
Risa Nyom "Now would be a good time to use some of that zin power." Risa was thankful that the soldier had saved her, but she was concerned about where the eagle was heading. Someone had shot at it, and since they hadn't brought it down, it was headed for them. Seeing no other Robos, at least not large ones, she concluded that someone was in danger. People were fleeing the town, having been fired upon by the black Robos they were currently fighting. As the two medievals and the blaster that were left closed in on them, Risa realized she had a choice to make. She could go save whoever was in town, assisting them, or she could stay and fight an outmatched battle. She and the soldier were clearly at a disadvantage, even with her Cerberus and the soldier's armor. Knowing that the black Robos knew exactly the moves she would use, predict them perfectly, and execute a counter strategy, Risa only knew of one option: do something so completely irrational, they wouldn't be able to come up with a defense. Taking a deep breath, Risa kicked Cerberus into high gear, and ran straight for the three remaining Robos. Just as she had suspected, the Blaster stopped and knelt down, aiming directly at her. She was sure to keep Cerberus facing it, so the pilot inside knew she could see him. It was exactly what he wanted, and therefore, exactly what she wanted. He fired as the Medievals ran up next to her. Her piloting instincts jerked a bit, but she maintained her course, stopping her hands from reacting to the bullet. Going straight through Cerberus' left front leg, she used the dip to slide into the Medieval on her left, catching him off guard as he had been lining up for a swing on her shoulder, would she have jumped in his direction to avoid the shot. The other Medieval had executed his swing, expecting Risa to be there when she dodged. This caused him to use too much momentum and overswing, spinning slightly around. Kicking off the ground with her good legs, she attacked the off-balance Medieval, ripping his sword out of his hand with one head, and biting down on his head and right shoulder with the other two. She took a large chunk out of both the head and shoulder, and then turned her attention to the Blaster. He was standing up, but to her surprise, he turned away and began running. Risa smiled and turned to see the other three pilots leaving their Robos and running to follow the intact Blaster. Now all she had to do was save the town from that eagle.
Davis Quan (Ghost) Davis watched patiently as the eagle searched the ground below it in an attempt to locate the source of his attacks. He considered cloaking the Ghost, which would easily throw off any of the eagle’s attempts, but decided against it. If he cloaked, there was no telling what target the eagle might go after. “Took you long enough,” muttered Davis, as he noticed that the eagle had started circling around him. It had spotted him, and was no doubt prioritizing him as its next target. Without any further hesitation, the eagle robo stretched out its deadly claws, and started its attack, swooping down on his position. Davis smiled to himself when he saw this. It was a deadly manoeuvre, something that most exo-suit robos would not be able to escape. If he moved to the side, the eagle would adjust its flight trajectory accordingly. It had a perfect targeting mechanism, which in the end, would also serve as its downfall. As soon as the eagle started its dive, Davis activated his suit’s EM field. It would send out a continuous pulse, which the eagle would not be able to dodge, even at its high speeds. Once it entered the field, its targeting mechanism would completely fail to function. If he was lucky, the EM field would also strip the eagle of its thruster capabilities. He quickly saw that the field was successful when the eagle slowed down, and swerved mid-flight, trying to re-establish its flight path. And without even a shot fired, the eagle dove right into the center of the transit lane, a good ten meters away from Davis’ position. “Idiot,” spat Davis, approaching the burning wreckage. It had gone down without so much as a fight.
Jayce "Jaxx" Fento ____________________ In a blinding panic Jaxx sailed down the mound, landing on the slanted rock and pushing off with his boots. He hit the ground awkwardly, forcing himself into a forward roll and ended up face down in the dusty desert. The razor sharp sand cut into his face and as he lay there, he felt the movement of the three Robos. This was accompanied by the echoes of heavy footsteps and quizzical shouts. “Do you see him!?” “No positive I.D yet, Sarge.” Jaxx heaved himself from the sand and darted behind the rest of the village houses. Suddenly, he heard a soft bang from behind him and turned. A sparkling red trail shot up into the sky and illuminated Jaxx’s face with a pale glow. The flare hung in the air, combating the darkness surrounding the village. One more flare fizzled into the sky, followed quickly by another. The darkness resigned itself to the radiance of the flares, filling Jaxx with suffocating warmth. Jaxx moved on swiftly. As he made his way through different gardens his heart pounded in his chest, trying to force its way through his ribcage. Anxiety flowed through his body and his breathing became heavy and erratic. He had no idea where to go. His instincts were shouting in his mind, ordering him just to survive. Squeezing through the last fence, Jaxx plummeted down the hill, kicking up sand and dirt as he went down. The shouts were further away now, but they would soon notice the dusty cloud ascending up the hill. Jaxx had been granted some precious time, stopping at the foot of the hill to allow a couple of long breaths and an idea of what to do next. The war torn desert ran flat in every direction, so running aimlessly would be suicide. He spotted a town to the south west, where he used to sell parts. It was at least three miles away. Jaxx then turned his attention south east, to the scrapyard he had recently visited. It was less than a mile away and if he ran quick enough along the path he might make it without being seen. Glancing at the scrapyard, he smiled. Soon the soldiers realised the origin of the sand cloud and regrouped at the foot of the hill. Looking for clues on Jaxx’s intended location, one of the soldiers spotted faint footsteps in the sand, leading to the dirt path. “Looks like he’s headed towards that nearby scrapyard.” The sergeant said. “Let’s be quick about this, I can’t be arsed to spend hours shifting through rusted metal for this kid.” They moved off towards the scrapyard, unaware that at the top of the hill in the garden of the last house, a fifteen year old boy lay in the grass watching them calmly through the scope on his hunting rifle. For hours he observed them, unmoved from his original position as the soldiers sifted through metal, oil and other muck. Finally they became disgruntled, leaving for HQ empty handed. Jaxx waited there, motionless. He continuously eyed the landscape with his scope. Another hour past. The howling winds brought darker clouds into the night and soon droplets of rain gently patted Jaxx on the helmet. It was time to move. Once again he moved slowly down the hill, as not to gather unwanted attention. He couldn’t go back home, they would be expecting that and it would be too dangerous. He surveyed the horizon as the rain fell from the sky, and his eyes focused as they passed over the nearby town. Pausing for a moment, Jaxx stared intensely. “They” would be waiting, he thought to himself. Even with this thought lodged in his mind, he started marching towards the town. As he trudged ever closer, the rain drove down from the sky hard and flooded his view. The buildings were no longer visible, so Jaxx tried his best to stick to the line he’d been walking. However soon he found himself approaching a forest of desert pines. He let out a tired sigh and smiled, relieved to find a form of shelter that he trusted. The rain softly patted the leaves as Jaxx worked his way into the woodland, looking for a dry spot to roll out his bedding. Moments later Jaxx dropped onto the bedding and rested his head on the pillow. In the gloom of the night, a group of blackbirds twittered to one another and the hum of rain on the leaves continued. It was the most comfortable Jaxx had felt all day. Jaxx abruptly tweaked his head up. A cluster of vibrations surged through the ground. The blackbirds squawked and rose from their perches, braving the heavy rain. Jaxx got to his knees, pulling a knife from the sheath on his chest. The vibrations became stronger. A nearby clump of thick shrubs began rustling. Jaxx turned to faced them, trembling with his knife in hand, ready to attack. A black metallic blur leapt from the bushes and landed heavily, just a few feet away from Jaxx. The shockwave had pushed him on his back, but he quickly got to his feet and held the knife forward. Peering up, his eyes met the hulking metal jaguar. Jaxx froze, crippled with fear.
Melody Hanson The woman introduced herself as Amira Morgan as she shook Melody's hand. She looked to be about 5 or 6 years older than her. Probably in her early 20s. And for some reason she seemed nervous as she ran a hand through her white hair. The hair intrigued Melody. She wondered if she had been born that way or just dyed it. A young boy probably 15 or 16 (definitly a few years younger than Melody) came up with some food and passed it around. It was then Melody relized how long it had been since she'd eaten. She accepted the rations, with a thankyou and dug in. Darrius allowed the boy to ride in his Robo, which she thought was really sweet. As Melody ate her meal she studied Amira's robo. It was larger than her's and had wings attached to its back. She was about to ask if it could fly but Amira beat her too it by explaing how it could glide and the like. Then she concluded, "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. "Sorry." Melody coughed as she nearly choked on her food. Amira had been eavesdropping on her and the soldier. She'd heard her whine about not having enough money and wanting to join the military as a mechanic. She blushed as she thought back on the conversation. She'd probably sounded pathetic and ignorant. Melody swallowed then turned to look Amira in the eye. "It's fine. I'm sure you were just trying to find out if we were the enemy or not. I probably sounded so pathetic." Melody dropped her gaze and stared at her feet.
Amira Morgan "It's fine," Melody said in response to Amira's apology. "I'm sure you were just trying to find out if we were the enemy or not. I probably sounded so pathetic." "No, not at all," Amira said, slowly shaking her head. "That was... pretty brave, actually. Putting your life on the line for your family's business." She gave the girl a gentle pat on the shoulder. Amira heard voices and, when she looked up, saw Stan climbing into Shadow, with Darrius giving him instructions. Her eyes widened. She couldn't look away for a few seconds without him getting into trouble? ”That may not be a good idea,” Amira warned, with worry in her voice. Stan knew his way around machines, but if he wrecked that bot, there was no way she could afford to repay him for the damages. But Darrius casually explained the bot's systems. It sounded as if the bot did the piloting. And it even had feelings for its pilot. Definitely AI, Amira thought, and not for the first time. She stared off into the trees, in the direction Stan and Shadow had gone. What if it changes its mind? What if it just... doesn't come back? She didn't want to think about things like that. Of course it would come back. Darrius sat back down and picked up where he’d let off with the power coupler. “I don’t suppose either of you know how to get a power coupler to output double its intended output without exploding?” he asked soon after. “It’s the last piece I need for one of my experiments and engineering a custom piece would take way too long.” He laid the component down beside her and Amira picked it up. Just as she suspected, it was one of the older models. The trick to getting more output from these was to reroute some of the secondary lines, but that would send too much power through the main lines, worsening the overheating problems. It would more than double the output, but the whole unit would burn itself out shortly after. The only way around that was to rig some kind of cooling system, like the newer models had. Amira wondered how best to break the news to Darrius. ”I don’t suppose you would mind me looking at the antennae and communications on your bot?” the mercenary asked. “I haven’t managed to get a look at any of the newer versions and I’m not sure if Shadow’s plating can deflect the system. It makes me nervous taking any high risk jobs at the moment.” “Sure,” Amira said and quickly passed the power coupler to Melody. She was glad for the momentary change of subject. "Lilith’s not exactly ‘new’ but I keep her upgraded," she said as she led Darrius over to her bot. "I found her about seven years ago, in the wreckage of a downed cargo plane, and-" She stopped. Darrius had a look on his face, as if he sensed something. "What?" she said, slightly confused and just a little frightened by his sudden change in attitude, just as a heavy rain began to fall.
Orders had come from command; Terra had been sent out to investigate a hint of activity on Kylas's far checkpoint. She couldn't help but think why Command couldn't have sent the sentinels that were constantly watching and strongly hinting for the other nations to turn back. If they didn't, the sentinels were cleared to engage the warmongering dogs. Every since the great war had begun, Kylas, the neutral faction, had begun a military build up for the sole reason of defense. "Terra, we are approaching the coordinates," said Omni, the suit's AI. "Drive core link with booster pack optimal. No warnings are present; you can use the pack at your leisure." Terra punched in a few keys as she began to dial down the booster settings to her suit's legs. A subtle impact jarred the cockpit as the suit touched down. She switched to leg control as Sabre, the name for her suit, began to move at significant speed. "Acknowledged Omni. Resume normal procedures. Understand?" "Yes Terra. I shall inform you of any outstanding changes." In the beginning, Terra was quite hesitant on integrating Omni into Sabre's systems; however, over the years, Omni had proven quite useful as it helped steer her out of many sticky situations. With a good distance between her and the target location, Terra brought Sabre to a halt as she activated her observation HUD. In her vision she could see several Robo units. One caught her eye in particular; it had a wing-like contraption mounted on its back. She also spotted the supposed pilots as she saw one was injured. She began to record images of the suits, so Command could have visuals. Throughout her recon, she kept her hands on the controls in case hostilities would ensue. She couldn't help but wonder which faction the suits below belonged to. She banished the thought. That wasn't her mission... for now.
“Sure,” Amira said and quickly passed the power coupler to Melody. She was glad for the momentary change of subject. "Lilith’s not exactly ‘new’ but I keep her upgraded," she said as she led Darrius over to her bot. "I found her about seven years ago, in the wreckage of a downed cargo plane, and-" She stopped. Darrius had a look on his face, as if he sensed something. "What?" she said, slightly confused and just a little frightened by his sudden change in attitude, just as a heavy rain began to fall. Darrius's wrist vibrated violently followed by a confusing series of whines, He swore, 'Amira something has got through the perimeter, Im going to shadow. Ready up your bots in case but take care, its only one breach but i need to check it out. open up your scanners if you can see what you can pick up.' Darrius readied his rifle with quick movements and sprinted off into the woods. Darrius sprinted through the woods swearing quietly under his breath, the trees reached out trying to slow his path he forced his way through them as quietly as he could without slowing his speed. His wrist buzzed again notifying him that shadow had found the breach he made a quick motion telling shadow not to engage unless forced to. Darrius forced his legs on forcing his mind calm to ignore the burning of his thighs. Darrius came up to the path shadow was on and looked out, Shadow was crouched facing out a kid. he couldn't have been more then 14 petrified in terror, Darrius had to admit with the rain falling Shadow would scare the hell out of him too. Darrius leveled his rifle at the kid to make sure and slowly walked out coughing to declare his presence. 'Its okay kid he wont hurt you, im a friend he came up to the side of shadow and patted the side of the bot, Shadow laid down and the cockpit opened revealing a confused Stan. 'Stan get back to camp. he pointed into the distance where the wingtips of Amiras bot could just be seen over the trees, 'you cant get lost just keep her wings in your sight'. Stan nodded mute and headed off. Darrius tapped shadow again and the bot rose and stepped back from the kid, a rough coughing emanating from its mouth. Darrus had to suppress a smile, the emotions simulators gave Shadow a sadistic sense of humor. Darrius crouched a safe distance from the kid and lowered his rifle, the boys eyes were wild but his breathing had slowed to a normal pace. 'Its okay we wont hurt you, are you okay you look like the devil himself is chasing you?'
Terra's HUD zoomed in to the recent appearance of a man and the well blended robo unit. She was surprised. She didn't understand how she could have missed the suit. She was very intrigued now. Punching in a few keys, a series of clicks from Sabre's built in camera snapped more photos of the man and his robo. A child also appeared on her monitor that made her stomach flutter with unease. Why hadn't she noticed the child before? She grimaced as she began to imagine the scenario if the unknowns had proven hostile. There was little to no way she could prevent any harm towards the youth. Her thoughts disappeared as she noticed a man jump out of the cockpit. She snapped photos of him as well before she began to transmit the pictures back to Command. As a precaution, she flicked on her comm-set that linked to the nearest outpost. "This is Captain Eisenholm. Outpost Quata respond, over." The static cut off as fast as it had started when a gruff voice broke the buzzing noise. "Outpost Quata responds. Go ahead Captain." "A number of unknowns have been sighted near the east perimeter of the far checkpoint. Have a cohort of sentinels remain on standby. Be advised, recommending defense B package. The armaments on the unknowns seem heavy." "Understand Captain. Sentinel group Z-1 has begun to move up and approach from the South," said the comm officer. "Understood," Terra said as she signed out. She watched with interest as several pings of friendlies settled a modest distance behind her. Terra looked at their positions briefly before returning her focus to the man talking to the child. She had wished she could read lips, for she would have loved to know what they were saying then being left to guess.
Melody Hanson "Amira, something has got through the perimeter. Im going to Shadow. Ready up your bots in case but take care, its only one breach. I need to check it out. Open up your scanners and if you can see what, you can pick up." Darrius said before sprinting off into the woods. Melody stood quickly and ran over Daggert opening him up. Standing on it's knee she peered inside the cockpit and flipped switches till the scanner came on. She picked up Darrius' bio-signature (which appeared as a red dot) and watched it move and then stop next to another bio-signature. A blue dot also came on screen right next to Darrius. The blue dots meant an energy signature. The size of it's energy output was the same as a robo's. Probably Shadow. Melody suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around and saw Amira at her own robo doing the same. It felt as if someone or something was watching her. Melody turned a dial on the interface and expanded the sensors capabilties to the max. At 200 yards a blue dot appeared on her screen. Another robo...and not that far away. "Amira. Expand your scanners to 200 yards. There's another robo out there...to the east. I think its watching us. It could be the same one that blew up Tyri's robo."
Amira Morgan Amira was already in motion well before Darrius finished giving instructions. She opened Lilith’s hatch, climbed inside, and switched her bot’s systems from standby to active. A series of displays lit up all around her. This was exactly what she’d built Lilith for: surveillance. If there was something out there, she’d find it. Whether it was a fifty foot robo or an infiltration probe the size of a mouse, hardly anything escaped her sensors. If it turned invisible, she could pick it up on the thermal scanners. If it turned cold, she could pick it up on the acoustic scanners. If it went silent, she could hunt for radio transmissions. If it had no radio, she could search for electromagnetic disturbances. And if it had no electronics, she could fall back on seismic readouts as a last resort. And if any bot could somehow find a way to past all of that… well, they deserve to get away. Unfortunately, she couldn’t run all of those systems at once. Trying to process all that data at the same time would overtax Lilith’s computer and cause a crash. There were hardware limitations to be accounted for. The bot stood to its full height and the blades of its scissor-like wings fanned out, forming a star-shaped array of sensory panels on its back. Thermal scan first, Amira thought as she typed in some parameters on a keyboard. In this cold rain, anything with a warm core or a hot engine will show up. Lilith seemed to just stand there for a long time, motionless, but was actually processing more data-per-second than most low-grade supercomputers. Any extra movement would just be a waste of energy and computing power that could be devoted to the processors. The campfire stood out clearly on the thermal imaging. She spotted a humanoid shape hurrying toward them through the trees. Stan, she thought. Two more human-like shapes were standing a little farther out, along with Shadow. The bot was colder than most, but still just warm enough to be noticed. He’s a sneaky one, Amira thought, slightly amused by that. That man went to great lengths to keep his bot stealthy. But far off in the distance, she spotted more trouble... "Amira. Expand your scanners to 200 yards,” Melody said over the radio. “There's another robo out there...to the east. I think its watching us. It could be the same one that blew up Tyri's robo." Expand? Amira thought. She was already scanning five miles out and could go nearly triple that if she had to. “I doubt it," Amira replied, though she didn’t sound entirely sure of that. “Based on the damage, I think Tyri was done in by a mine or a saboteur, not an enemy robo.... umm... but, I see the one you're talking about. He's not alone. I’m counting about… five… maybe more. The leader seems to be a medieval-type; I don’t see any ranged weapons on him.” From this far away, it was all guesswork. With the thermal imaging, she couldn’t make out insignias or colors, just shapes, so there was no way to know if the bots were from Koros, Krine, or maybe even Kylas. And it was too dark for normal imaging to pick up any details She could guess who the leader was due to how the others formed up behind him. These guys must be military, Amira thought, or well-coordinated mercenaries. “Melody, see if you can hail them on your radio,” she said. “They may respond better to a younger voice than if Darrius or I did it.” It was worth a shot.
The metallic beast crouched lower and opened up a hatch to reveal a confused lad. Jaxx’s eyes dare not move from the jaguar. He gripped the blade, with his fingers digging into his own hand. From the black, dampened mist surrounding the Robo, another figure appeared, weapon raised. Dressed in heavy black leather armour with hair to match, the figure stroked the cool metal of the jaguar; all the while keeping focus on Jaxx. ‘It’s okay kid he won’t hurt you, I’m a friend.’ ‘The hell you are. You aren’t taking me.’ Jaxx said, sneering through his teeth. The fear had subsided, but his heart still beat fiercely. The armoured man told the other confused boy to head back to their camp, catching Jaxx off guard. Why would soldiers be camping? And so close to the border? He thought. ‘It’s okay we won’t hurt you, are you okay? You look like the devil himself is chasing you?’ Spoke the armoured man. Jaxx grip loosened, lowering the knife slightly. Jaxx was taken aback; this soldier seemed to have no idea who he was. Wouldn’t they have reported him? His mind scrambled for ideas. What if he is Koro? He questioned this, surely they wouldn’t cross the border so cavalier. However, doubts slowly crept into his mind. ‘So you don’t know who I am then? Are you even a soldier?’ Jaxx sheathed his knife and stepped back to collect his bed roll, not dropping eye contact from the mysterious figure. If they had a camp, perhaps there is some food. A gnawing pain in Jaxx’s stomach clouded his mind. Nothing had touched his lips since this morning, with Seth, Torgus and himself around their small table sharing a vegetable leek soup. He grimaced, shedding a single tear from his eye. The tear ran down his face and merged with the droplets of rain. He blinked and the shadowy figure came back into view. ‘Your camp, does it have supplies?’
‘So you don’t know who I am then? Are you even a soldier?’ Jaxx sheathed his knife and stepped back to collect his bed roll, not dropping eye contact from the mysterious figure. If they had a camp, perhaps there is some food. A gnawing pain in Jaxx’s stomach clouded his mind. Nothing had touched his lips since this morning, with Seth, Torgus and himself around their small table sharing a vegetable leek soup. He grimaced, shedding a single tear from his eye. The tear ran down his face and merged with the droplets of rain. He blinked and the shadowy figure came back into view. ‘Your camp, does it have supplies?’ Darrius smiled 'Yes we have supplies, no i don't know who ya are and a soldier, used to be it didn't suit me right' Darrius jumped into Shadow 'Come on kid il give you a ride back to camp' He laid down and the compartment closed, Shadow knelt next to the kid and he climbed onto the back gingerly. A metallic voice emanated from the panther 'Hold on tight'. Jaxx grasped the black metal not a moment too soon as Shadow pounced off into the trees. They arrived at the camp just as Stan did they walked close to the fire and shadow crouched letting the kid off, The Compartment opened and Darrius lept out. 'Cut a protion off the roast kid' he walked to Amira, “Melody, see if you can hail them on your radio,” she said. “They may respond better to a younger voice than if Darrius or I did it.” Darrius frowned more trouble 'It was just a stray kid ive brought him back whats going on?'
Melody Hanson "It was just a stray kid. I've brought him back... whats going on?" "There's another robo out there watching us. I'm going to hail him and see if they are friendly or not." Melody sounded completly confident as she said this but inside, her heart was pounding like crazy. What was she supposed to say? Hi, I'm Melody and I want to know if you are a friend or foe. She shook her head as she picked up the mic. Talk about sounding pathetic. "Hi." She squeaked into the mic. Melody covered the mic, coughed then began again, "This is Melody Hanson of the town Barrett. The group you are watching isn't a threat. We are just friends camping out for the night. Can you say the same about yourself?" Melody grimaced at the last sentance. Hopefully the robo would just turn around and go away but for some reason she felt like she had just given them an open invitation to come and test them. Hopefully it was a Krinian soldier. She had papers, in Daggert, to prove that she was of Krine nationality. Then again, it could be Korors soldier with a platoon of soldiers behind him; in which case they were in trouble.
Terra saw the activation of the previously idle robo units. On reflex, she booted up her weapon systems just in case. "This is Captain Eisenholm to Z-1. Ready weapon systems but do not fire. Set up a ranged line of fire towards their position and wait for my command. Is the order understood?" "Yes ma'am," came the replies of the sentinels as they moved into position. In the meantime, Terra had to wonder how she was detected. Line of sight was out of the question; they were simply too far away. Perhaps... radar. A pulse of adrenaline coursed through her veins as the thought of combat filled her mind. As she was about to open communications to the unknowns to verify their identities, a voice cut through her radio unit on an open frequency. "Hi. This is Melody Hanson of the town of Barrett. The group you are watching isn't a threat. We are just friends camping out for the night. Can you say the same about yourself?" Terra smiled as the young voice filled her head set. She punched in a few keys to match the public channel. Curiosity filled her mind. She heard of the town. It was Krinian. She would have considered the option, but there was no way a town could possess such machines if independent from the Krinian military. "I am Captain Eisenholm of the Kylas Defense Corps. You are currently near the far checkpoint of Kylas. Any indication of aggression, and we shall consider you hostile," Terra said. "What brings citizens of Krine so far away from her border? And, if you are not military, how did you come into possession of such machines?"
Amira Morgan The uncertainly in Melody’s voice as she addressed the unidentified robo made Amira regret asking the girl to do this. While it was true that a younger voice might disarm the enemy, the thought of using someone this way didn’t sit well with Amira. Based on the way the other pilot responded, Melody’s message didn’t quite have the ‘disarming’ effect Amira had hoped for. "I am Captain Eisenholm of the Kylas Defense Corps. You are currently near the far checkpoint of Kylas,” a woman replied. “Any indication of aggression, and we shall consider you hostile. What brings citizens of Krine so far away from her border? And, if you are not military, how did you come into possession of such machines?" We built them, bought them, or found them, Amira thought, slightly annoyed by the woman’s questions. Robos were her passion. She took offense to anyone who insinuated they didn’t belong in the hands of civilians. Mechs were civilian tools before the war ever began, so who was she to act as if civilians shouldn’t have them? Amira briefly switched her transmitter to a shorter rage, so only those within the camp’s perimeter could hear her. “Melody, you’re doing fine. Don’t let them scare you,” she said. “We’re on Krinian soil. All they can do is talk.” If these had been Krinian mechs, they might be in trouble, especially with Tyri out of commission. They would have a difficult time explaining the situation if some of his peers showed up. But on Krinian soil these Kylian scouts couldn’t touch them. All they could do is talk big and act tough, in an attempt to scare people away from their border. Amira returned her transmitter to normal operating parameters and joined the conversation. “We are not all citizens of Krine. This is Amira Morgan of Kylas and every single part of my machine is legally mine. Every coponent has been bought or scavenged within the bounds of international salvage law. I have the paperwork to prove it,” she said to Eisenholm. “There are civilians in this camp, including children, and we’ve done nothing even remotely hostile.” Despite what she'd said to Melody, Amira was slightly afraid herself. But she remained composed as best she could.
“We are not all citizens of Krine. This is Amira Morgan of Kylas and every single part of my machine is legally mine. Every component has been bought or scavenged within the bounds of international salvage law. I have the paperwork to prove it,” said a new voice. “There are civilians in this camp, including children, and we’ve done nothing even remotely hostile.” Terra twitched with surprise as she ordered Z-1 to stand down. Green confirmation lights blinked on her screen as the orders were received. The turn of events had indeed been a surprise; she had never suspected a Kylas citizen to be in Krine. However, citizen or not, she still had to follow procedure, and the procedure became more complicated now that a citizen was involved. Depending on the nature of her 'visit', Terra would have to gauge the appropriate action to take. Until she had information, all she could do was pry. She moved Sabre forward until she reached the limits of Kylas. Surely they would be able to see her now. "Ma'am, what're you doing? Your position is too exposed, recommend you fall back," said a Z-1 pilot as they made to follow her while training their weapons back onto the unknowns. Terra had no patience for those who failed to follow orders. "Lower your weapons. I remember ordering a stand down. So. Follow it." "But ma'am, your posi--" "One more outburst, and I'll assume insubordination and exercise military law 27." Terra smiled as the pilot quieted immediately and fell back towards the others. She checked her screen and none of the other elements of Z-1 were acting out of line." She switched to the frequency that the civilians broadcasted on. "The question still stands," Terra said a little less hostilely. "What are you, Ms. Morgan, doing in Krine? And why are all of you so close to the border? To the best of my knowledge, there aren't many towns in the vicinity."
"I am Captain Eisenholm of the Kylas Defense Corps. You are currently near the far checkpoint of Kylas,” a woman replied. “Any indication of aggression, and we shall consider you hostile. What brings citizens of Krine so far away from her border? And, if you are not military, how did you come into possession of such machines?" Darrius made a quick motion to shadow and the bot came and laid next to him compartment open. Amira spoke through the mike “We are not all citizens of Krine. This is Amira Morgan of Kylas and every single part of my machine is legally mine. Every coponent has been bought or scavenged within the bounds of international salvage law. I have the paperwork to prove it,” she said to Eisenholm. “There are civilians in this camp, including children, and we’ve done nothing even remotely hostile.”. Darrius motioned to Amira and Melody 'We may have a problem here if any of those soldiers send an image of us back to hq my face is going to set off a lot of blinking flashing lights. If they turn hostile and ask you to turn me in please do not join me youl all end up enemies of Kylas, i can take 5 scouts easy enough, best thing to do is stay in camp till i get back.' Darrius leaned into shadow and flicked a switch readying Shadows stealth in case it came down to a fight.
Melody Hanson "We may have a problem here. If any of those soldiers send an image of us back to HQ, my face is going to set off a lot of blinking, flashing lights. If they turn hostile and ask you to turn me in...please do not join me you'll all end up enemies of Kylas. I can take 5 scouts easy enough...best thing to do is stay in camp till I get back." Darrius said. His word frightened Melody. Why did people want him? Did he do something wrong? Traitorious? He had mention that he was an ex-soldier but she had automaticly assumed that meant he just retired. Was he dangerous? Should they turn him before the soldiers even asked? Melody shook her head. At the moment he didn't seem dangerous. He'd even been willing to help them escape the mob. No... to turn him in to unknown soldiers for an unknown reason would be to betray the trust of a new found friend. She couldn't do that to him. There was still the matter of the soldier as she was still waiting for an answer. There is no better answer then the truth. The voice of her father rang through her head. So thats what Melody told the prying soldier, "My companions and I were fleeing from a mob that had formed in the town we were in. An recruitment soldier came into Barrett and the townspeople overreacted. So we fled to the saftey of the woods until things have calmed down. We didn't relieze we had come so close to the border. I hope you can see that we have no intention of hurting anyone. Just the opposite in fact." Melody smiled to herself. Every word sounded convincing because it was the truth. She was glad her father taught her not to lie. Lies only made things more complicated.
Amira Morgan There was a long pause after Amira spoke to the Kylian pilot. The woman was probably communicating with her subordinates on a private channel. Breaking their encryption and listening in wasn’t totally out of the question, but Amira decided against it. Such actions could be perceived as ‘hostile’ and she didn’t want to risk an incident "The question still stands," Captain Eisenholm replied. "What are you, Ms. Morgan, doing in Krine? And why are all of you so close to the border? To the best of my knowledge, there aren't many towns in the vicinity." “We may have a problem here. If any of those soldiers send an image of us back to HQ my face is going to set off a lot of blinking flashing lights,” Darrius said on a private channel. “If they turn hostile and ask you to turn me in please do not join me you’ll all end up enemies of Kylas, I can take five scouts easy enough. Best thing to do is stay in camp ‘til I get back.” Godammit, Darrius, Amira thought to herself. Could this possibly get any worse? She thought Tyri was the only problem, but now they also had a wanted man in their midst. They were harboring a wounded soldier and a fugitive. The “we’re just civilians minding our own business” story was getting harder to sell with every passing second. Amira took a long, deep breath and tried to think straight. What would she do if Darrius tried to fight his way out? If she did nothing, the troops would assume she and Melody were aiding him. Stan and the other boy would be in danger as well. If Darrius attacked, they’d all be hauled off to a military prison unless she did something to prove they weren’t protecting him… "My companions and I were fleeing from a mob that had formed in the town we were in,” Melody explained. “A recruitment soldier came into Barrett and the townspeople overreacted. So we fled to the safety of the woods until things have calmed down. We didn't realize we had come so close to the border. I hope you can see that we have no intention of hurting anyone. Just the opposite in fact.” “That’s how we ended up here, Captain,” Amira confirmed. “The soldier is still with us, but everyone else is civilian. As for me, I’m not a visitor. I was born in Kylas, to two parents of Kylian nationality, but my profession keeps me constantly on the move. On paper, I am a Kylian citizen, though I haven’t actually lived there since I was a child. I’m a scavenger by trade and there’s nothing to scavenge in Kylas, you see.” She was getting tired of all the questions, but if it made the woman go away, Amira didn’t mind answering them. What next? Is she going to ask what color underwear I'm wearing? Geez.
"My companions and I were fleeing from a mob that had formed in the town we were in. An recruitment soldier came into Barrett and the townspeople overreacted. So we fled to the saftey of the woods until things have calmed down. We didn't relieze we had come so close to the border. I hope you can see that we have no intention of hurting anyone. Just the opposite in fact." “That’s how we ended up here, Captain,” confirmed the woman from before. “The soldier is still with us, but everyone else is civilian. As for me, I’m not a visitor. I was born in Kylas, to two parents of Kylian nationality, but my profession keeps me constantly on the move. On paper, I am a Kylian citizen, though I haven’t actually lived there since I was a child. I’m a scavenger by trade and there’s nothing to scavenge in Kylas, you see.” Terra listened intently. She could hear the hint of annoyance from Amira as she finished her explanation. Terra rubbed her temple. Little did they know how bothersome it was for her to preform border duty when she could be doing something more worth while. She exhaled before she keyed the radio. "I understand. Please excuse the procedures; I assume you all are aware of Kylas's position in this war. This is all just a precaution," she said as she toggled an order for a medicare unit. "I've sent word for a medicare if you require it. If not, we will depart." Terra turned towards the south as she spotted a robo suit headed their way. As punctual as always. Well the sooner the better I suppose. She motioned for Z-1 to pack up until an alert beep popped onto her screen. "Terra, a message from headquarters. Priority Obsidian," reported Omni. "Will you read it?" "Begin the authorization," Terra said as the medicare arrived.
As the medicare stood awaiting an answer, the message that had been decrypting on Terra's terminal pinged ready. She toggled to the message to full screen and began to read the contents. Most of it disturbed her. Captain Eisenholm A high priority target has been identified in your recon. The unit of Z-1 and yourself are to engage this individual immediately. Under no circumstances are you permitted to let the individual leave. Multiple acts of misconduct and abandonment of military detail has made this individual a fugitive to Kylas. As such, the individual, Darrius, is to be apprehended if possible. You hereby have full authorization to use any means necessary. Good Luck Captain. High Command. Terra couldn't believe her find. To have Command authorize a border excursion was absolutely unheard of. Whatever this Darrius figure did, it must have been bad. She activated an encrypted channel to Z-1. "All pilots are now under my direct command. I've sent coordinates to where each of you should be positioned. Start booting up weapon systems. Safeties off gentlemen." Z-1 hurriedly moved into position; however, the pilots themselves were confused. Not more than a few moments ago they were asked to stand down. "Captain, what's the situation?" "Command has identified a high value target; we're going to capture him," Said Terra as she began to transmit his image. Surprisingly, the picture that came up was a man helping the child. Terra suddenly had a few misgivings for attempting this attack. Would a fugitive really help a child? "Sound off once confirmed readiness." "Clear," replied the Z-1 Pilots. Terra started her systems up as well as she switched back to the civilian frequency. "I wish I could you all alone, but it seems that a fugitive is hiding amongst you. Since he's part of your group, I can only but assume that he's listening. The individual Darrius will present himself immediately and accompany us back to the capital," ordered Terra. She added a last note laced with regret, "Deadly force is authorized. I'm sorry." Darrius smiled at the two girls 'Told ya, Im going to give myself in il be back soon' Darrius jumped in shadow and closed the compartment, he opened the communication channel 'Okay no need for any violence im on my way'. Darrius set shadow to a run towards the Kylas guards and checked his diagnostics all came back clean. In a few minutes he came up to the Kylas bots and slowed to a run. looking over the bots there were three simple scouts and a more advanced bot medieval class obviously well cared for and not a standard given army bot, he couldnt bring himself to destroy it. he sighed here we go again. Terra Spoke through her bots coms 'Disarm your weapons and evacuate your bot we will call a tow for it.' Darrius smiled 'That wont be happening love' as she spoke he had managed to get within 3 meters of the bot perfect distance. He directed the emp charge into the shell of Shadow and pounced, between speaking and leaping barely a second had passed but the medieval activated some blasters and almost shifted out of the way, Shadow barely managed to get a claw to it, as the claw touched the blast flung shadow over the bot and Terra to the ground her bot dead for the next few minutes. The scouts opened fire as terra hit the ground fortunately the blast had disorientated them and the shots missed, Shadow managed to hit the ground safely, Darrius hit a switch enabling the stealth systems. Good for him and shadow the conditions were perfect, the stealth systems were mostly an experiment. The near reflective surfacing barely made him shimmer, but with the rain and the darkness he was close to invisible. Darrius zipped off into the trees of the clearing as the scouts looked around in confusion, he stalked around the perimeter waiting for the tell tale mistake, there it was two scouts looked one way and the other had his back to them, Shadow pounced at the bot, his claws ripped into the bots chest cavity and tore the pilots hatch off, one butt of shadows head and the pilot was unconscious. Shadow dashed between the two remaining bots, one released a shot in panic and managed to hit the other bot in the pilots compartment, the bot froze and fell over backwards, the pilot was likely dead unfortunate but not much could be done. Shadow ripped off the gun of the other bot with a vicious bite and backed off circling him slowly, Darrius disabled the stealth and faced the pilot down. 'You have no reliable weaponry and your companions are down none dead by my hands, run back to base kid and get them to contact black ops tell them i don't want to be bothered ive left Kylas be for 5 years i deserve some freedom.' The scout turned and practically fled towards the boarder. Darrius smiled grimly just one more problem left to deal with. He walked shadow over to the downed bot and got shadow to pull open the pilots compartment gently so as not to cause damage. 'All right Terra of the Kylas military same rules apply to you as the other soldiers you have one man unconscious in his bot the other is dead unfortunately one is running home. you can radio to collect them any time i won't stop them. i just want to be left alone.'
Amira Morgan "I understand,” Captain Eisenholm replied. “Please excuse the procedures; I assume you all are aware of Kylas's position in this war. This is all just a precaution. I've sent word for a medicare if you require it. If not, we will depart." “We have sufficient first aid supplies, but thank you,” Amira said, hoping that would be the end of it. She felt a wave of relief when Eisenholm’s unit began to turn, as if preparing to leave. But her relief didn’t last. The Kylian bots soon stopped and turned to face them again, this time with weapons ready. Warnings and alarms were blaring in Amira’s ears, filling the cockpit with noise and flashing colors. Lilith’s ECM suite detected half a dozen different weapons locks, all aimed in her direction. "I wish I could you all alone, but it seems that a fugitive is hiding amongst you,” Eisenholm said. “Since he's part of your group, I can only but assume that he's listening. The individual Darrius will present himself immediately and accompany us back to the capital. Deadly force is authorized. I'm sorry." The woman sounded sad to deliver those words. Darrius, however, seemed thrilled. ”Told ya,” he said with a smile. “I’m going to give myself in. I’ll be back soon.” He quickly jumped into Shadow and began to run toward the Kylian forces. “Okay no need for any violence. I’m on my way.” “Darrius don’t!” Amira warned, but they were empty words. From the moment she met him, sitting casually on the workbench in the Hanson’s shop, she knew he was a troublemaker. A rebel. The type of man who liked to fight. Was it any surprise he turned out to be a wanted fugitive? Amira watched through her viewscreen as Darrius and the Kylian bots began to battle. She was watching the scene play out in infrared. But, based on the way the enemies moved, she was sure they couldn’t see him nearly as well. Their shots were erratic. The leader was down in a matter of seconds. Darrius was tearing them apart. He’s using that stealth system again, Amira thought. At this rate, he’s going to kill them all. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Reaching behind its back, Amira’s robo drew its rifle, a massive railgun nearly as long as her bot was tall. Lilith went down into a crouch. Hydraulic spikes on her heels dug into the earth, locking her into firing position. A metal slug the size of a small child dropped into the gun’s firing chamber, hovering between the magnetic rails. There was a faint hum of electricity as the gun powered up. The bot’s targeting system was already working to find patterns in Darrius’s seemingly erratic movements. Meanwhile, Amira was working on finding a way to listen in on what the Kylian robos were saying. She didn’t want to hack into encrypted military comms, but she needed to know what they were saying. She needed to know why this was happening. How could she possibly accept Darrius back into their group without some form of explanation? When Amira finally decrypted the code, the fight was nearly over. Darrius’s voice came through her headset. “…run back to base kid and get them to contact black ops,” he said. “Tell them I don't want to be bothered. I’ve left Kylas be for 5 years. I deserve some freedom.” Amira watched through the rifle’s digital scope as one of the robos fled and Shadow moved to the leader, who was still down. The cat-like bot tore open the Captain’s hatch and stood over her, menacingly. “All right Terra of the Kylas military same rules apply to you as the other soldiers,” Darrius said. “You have one man unconscious in his bot. The other is dead, unfortunately. One is running home. You can radio to collect them any time I won't stop them. I just want to be left alone.” Now that he was standing still, Lilith’s targeting computer easily got a lock on him. Flashing red crosshairs zeroed in on Shadow’s heat signature. Target lock acquired, the computer said. Amira aimed a few inches above the target zone and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang as the round went hypersonic, leaving a vapor trail across the rainy sky. It whizzed through the treetops and over Shadow’s head, so close the air displacement alone was enough to make the bot stagger. The shot vanished into the forest behind them, ripping through half a dozen trees before it augured into the ground with the noise of a thunderclap. There was no explosion, but the impact was tremendous. “Darrius, stand down!” Amira said over the radio. She couldn’t believe she had actually done it. Her hands were shaking as another round dropped into the chamber and the gun powered up for a second shot. “Y-your actions placed us all in danger and I... I think you owe us an explanation. Give me a reason not to blow Shadow’s legs off and let this woman haul you back where you belong!” She paused, trying to catch her breath and stop her heart from leaping out of her chest. The last words were said with much more determination. Her tone was as cold as ice. “What did you do, Darrius? Why are they after you?” Target Lock acquired, the computer chirped in her ear. “Tell us! That was a warning shot. The next one won’t miss.”
“What did you do, Darrius? Why are they after you?” Target Lock acquired, the computer chirped in her ear. “Tell us! That was a warning shot. The next one won’t miss.” Darrius turned Shadow slowly towards the direction of camp, he could barely controll his anger and Shadow was barely under controll dieing to charge. When he spoke his voice was much deeper then usual, the voice people usualy only hear once "You want to know what i did Amira, you want to know why im hunted, Fine. I got picked up by the kylas military as a kid they saw potential, i joined for one reason because i wanted my own bot something that would understand me and never leave my side. I worked for years training with the soldiers and in reserch and development with the techies. unfortunately i proved to be a handy shot with a rifle a point 5 spread from a 2 mile distance. I was drafted into Kylas's black ops, i wasnt given a choice. Black ops in Kylas are not alowed bots the reasoning that we would be to dangerous with them. this irked me as you can guess but i accepted my role for 3 years i was alone, doing the dirty work of the kylas military. On one of my assasination jobs i came across a bot, a wolf gnarl it was my design, my private designs i had stored while working for them. Kylas had broken into my home stolen my work and replicated it for some prig of a senator who wanted a fancy bot. i decided to take the bot after all it was mine it was perfect. They ordered me to hand over the bot and return. I refused so they chased me 5 fully equipped destroyers top of the line chasing a prototype, they shot me down 2 miles from the border without any attempt to capture me alive. Im guessing they thought i was dead i definately wished i was i managed to crawl out of the wreckage and get over the boarder. I have been free of them for years. I left because i was fed up of being alone, i was fed up of killing people for no other reason then my boss told me they deserved to die. Theres my great crime that i deserve to die for. Tell me do you think i deserve it or are you going to try to destroy Shadow and kill me too?" Darrius pulled Shadow back into line, he could feel the bots anger as if it was his own. Darrius flicked on his jammer system and dissapeared from Amiras radar. "Try to kill me if you think i have deserved it but im not going to make it easy, theres not many bots i cant outrun. Ask yourself have i done anything but be friendly towards you Melody and Tyri. We all have black spots on our past that need to be forgotten and forgiven and strangely enough i like you all. So whats it to be?"
