Porrim's Team, Let's Go Rescue our Dancer
Porrim pulled some goggles from around her neck and put them on, raised a balaclava over the lower half of her face, and put her. "Knight's probably right. We'll stay in single file with Knight and I taking the lead." She said as she took her steps out into the snowstorm. "If you don't feel confident, keep an arm on your fellow soldier, and don't lose each other in these conditions. I don't want another of us to get lost."
With that in mind, she and Knight lead the way together, and they moved eastwards through the park from Knight's cottage and through the blistering snowstorm. Everyone had some point of contact to another, whether it was a hand on the shoulder or grabbing onto the belt. They crossed through white and green fields with healthy trees, then through a series of rusty cars back to back on a main road, and in a small alcove between town housing.
"The signal's came from that building, just before the snowstorm hit." Porrim pointed out a small commercial office, about three storeys tall, glass double-doors out the front now patched in with wood and metal scrap. Porrim, meanwhile, was not a soldier, and when she and the gang found a place to think outside of the snowstorm, she consulted the team. "I'm not the best at soldiering," Porrim said, raising her HHG and making a brass check. All eight still loaded. "How do you reckon we go about this..."
Go in loud and proud, or try sneaking in. With the amount of scrap around the building, it was possible to climb or leap into the second storey quietly. Perhaps even a two-pronged assault would have been possible. It was all a matter of coordination, and glances into the interior through cracks showed that most of the plaster walls were knocked out, leading to a fairly open plan through most of the floors, while structural support pillars remained in place. It would've been very easy to smash through a remaining plaster wall with a shoulder tackle.
Desks and computers remained standing, though some were toppled over with the drawers pulled open and the contents strewn about. Notably, in the second floor there were a series of walls still up which cordoned off a section of floor plan, and judging by the graffiti on the walls, they were meant to stay there.
Meanwhile, Ny'za was beginning to notice the wind picking up and keeping her Whirlwind down. Staying on the ground and keeping her frame's feet on the snow was making the buildings shake with the little footsteps her massive mecha took. There was cause for concernwith how they shook, but perhaps if she tiptoed gently or spread her weight out, she could minimise potential damage to the buildings. With Elm all but confirming that there were people still living here, it may have been disastrous if further damage were to happen.
Elm's Little Adventure
Meanwhile, on Elm's little adventure, she could hear footsteps in the hallway of the apartment's corridor. She knew there were others here in the apartment, but she didn't know who, or where exactly.
Maybe this was the 'Momoko' they were talking about. A blue-haired woman of Yamataian looks and a lithe and agile body stepped into the apartment. They spoke fluent Yamataian, in a singer's voice. "I saw a little white thing in the snow coming from that group towards here."
"A little white thing?" Norio asked, Elm privy to the conversation. "Like a ghost?"
"Mm. It didn't look like a Lorath, like the others," she continued, looking around the room before continuing, "could've been one of their little servant races, I think they're called something like, ah," a bit of cutesy cluelessness, perhaps cultivated with her profession crept into her voice, "Helashlo or Hellosho."
"Oh, them." Norio said. "I heard the Yamataians got real angry about the Lorath keeping them."
"But we keep Nekovalkyrja and they're kind of in the same role..." Akira pointed out.
"It's not the same. We get to retire and live our life as we see fit after service. Helashio ... I dunno," Momoko scratched her head, "according to the Lorath, its a revenge thing, and their right, and they also look after the servant Helashio for life, just like us."
"Whatever... I'm not prepared to say hi to a scout just yet, not while this blizzard's going on and we can't confirm Knight's status."
"Hai. Guess we'll stay here ... unless the Scout has come in from the cold." She looked around the room, eyebrow raised. "I'd be surprised if they could stay out there for long."
"Well, go look for her I guess." Akira shrugged.
Momoko turned on her heel, looked out into the hallway, and at the open window Elm used to get in, noticing handmarks in the white. "I think she's already here, actually."
Er'red's Team, Car Park Mayhem
Ash'linn landed butt first and on the roof of the car park. After colliding with the ground, she could hear chatter from the level below her, from the two women she'd been spying on earlier. With Mirage's approximations filling in the blanks, she knew they were down a ramp just behind her.
"What was all that noise?" Ash'linn could barely make out the voice of one of the Nekovalkyrja over the noise of the snowstorm.
"The Nepleslian?" Another voice.
"No, much heavier thump if Nepleslian." Came the reply. "He wasn't alone."
"This IS sting, then!" Ashlinn couldn't hear the footsteps coming up the ramp, and she found herself face to face with the two Neko who were on the roof, Akihiko and Maya. "A Yamataian! Hands up!" Maya barked.
The man they were talking about meanwhile had hopped off the building he was standing on, and started walking towards the ground floor of the car park. As he got closer to the gated entrance, he noticed what appeared to be very rudimentary agriculture of sorts - there were small, hardy shrubs growing in rows, and producing an odd looking fruit Menelik didn't recognise.
The entrance to the carpark, meanwhile, had scrap all over the windows and portholes, the roller doors untouched, but currently rolled down. The ticket boxes were still out the front though, and a light was blinking on one of them. Er'red, Ix'ion and JiJi weren't seeing anything out of the ordinary so far through their various means, and with Mirage behind them, they could move...
A rumbling came beneath Mirage's feet, and the ground begun to crack beneath her mecha. The road and the infrastructure beneath it wasn't meant to be taking this sort of load. Perhaps she was standing over a large sewerage pipe - the ground gave way and she found herself falling down and to her side, smashing the road to pieces. The crash was audible over the snowstorm.
The two Neko on the carpark heard the noise and looked around, ignoring Ash'linn for the minute. "What was that?" Akihiko asked. "Was that big frame?"
Maya blinked for a moment and looked downstairs. "Sokino says the Nepleslian's at the front door downstairs. What do we do?" She asked.
Akihiko grinned. "Hostage!" She said, falling to the ground and pinning Ash'linn. "Tell him come up nice or cat gets it. Sokino and Inoue make introduction."
"Yes!" Maya replied, skipping away.
Akihiko looked into Ash'linn's eyes, and she seemed remarkably calm for someone who'd been stranded here for about four years. "Why you have Lorath and Nepleslian with you?" She got to the point. "You mercenary? You hunters? You pirate? You... ISC Phoenix?" She looked more worried about the last option. "I think Vee always want Captain Phoenix's autograph."
The Nepleslian saw the roller doors in front of him come up, and two Nekovalkyrja, who upon closer inspection were wearing tattered remains of an NMX uniform were standing there, with deactivated and decidedly scroungey looking Impaler rifles hanging from makeshift straps of sewn-up fabric by their sides. "Akihiko was right. He look hot." One of the Nekovalkyrja said in accented Trade. By her side, was what appeared to be a suitcase full of medical equipment with a crude red cross painted over it
"Come in, come up, we want - to talk." The other said, nodding upwards at the carpark ramp. She turned around and begun leading the way. "My name is Potta Inoue, she is Emirella Sokino. We stranded, but you take us home, yes?"
The Marine and the Dancer, A Dingy Hole in an office block
Above, the two could hear someone stomping on the floor. "Shut up! I'm trying to get the TV to work and I can't hear what's going on with this fucking snowstorm!" The voice sounded nasal, Yamataian. Ran had always figured from their voices that they were previously not the sort to be disposed to violence until it was thrust upon them. They'd made a dog's breakfast of the scavenger look too; too much jangly stuff, too much extraneous cruft and pomp.
Plus, keeping someone in a bathroom was a poor idea - it was full of hard surfaces where heads could collide. Perfect if someone wanted to let them know how they felt about incarceration. With all the stuff hanging off their clothing, they would've been an easy grab. The only problem was luring them back here, and they seemed determined to watch TV. Why Ran didn't run earlier was probably due to being outnumbered six to one - making a break might give these posers the verve they need to kill.
Unbeknownst to them, help was on the way.
