- RP Date
- YE 44.3.2-44.5.2
- RP Location
- Sandraker
Sandraker, NMX Command Center, YE 44.3.2 16:30 Local Time
After the events of Dune Prowling
The three nekos stood motionless, staring at the being sitting upon the throne crafted from the bones of their previous victims-the stench of decay was strong, stronger than anywhere else in base with the bodies lining the roome-some posed artfully or placed upon the walls and pillars-these had been crafted from an equisite marble, of the room as trophys, with others being placed in carfully arranged piles. Foul smelling liquids, colored in repugnants blacks, yellows, reds, and browns oozed from them-collecting in various drain offs carved into the floor, which flowed into two central ones that provdied the gentle, soothing sound a flowing stream, a stark contrast to their surroundings. Dim lighting cast soft, deep shadows-lending a certain, albiet grotesque, sense of peace.
It was a macabre imitation of of a trophy room, or a ruler's retreat. Superior Fighter Elise wondered if the Commander had any idea of the environment that had been created-or if so, took some sort of perverse pleasure in what had been created. The being was partially encapsulated in shadow, sitting at rest with their legs crossed, one arm propped on their head-all that could be seen was a pair of bright yellow eyes. "So tell me, Superior fighter-what exactly what happend?" The voice, inquisitive with a slight hint of annoyance, sent a shiver of fear down her spine-but the neko also knew that if she showed so much as a mere hint it was over-hopefully her subordinates would have the sense to do so as well. "Master Commander," She began, doing her level best to keep her vocie steady, "We had dismounted after we'd suffered some trouble with drive and formed a standard defensive pattern while the engineer was checking over the truck." She could almost hear Takami's mutterings about the excessive wear the environment was causing on their vehicles-Elise missed her already. "I see," The voice was neutral but they'd shifted in the throne-for a moment the Superior Fighter thought their commander was going to pounce, but gave a lazy guesture for her to continue.
At least she hadn't voided her bowels yet.
"The engineer had found the cause, the hull had suffered a small breach at some point, likely due to either the normal wear or possibly debris striking at some point." When she heard the growl at her statement Elise realized she'd made a mistake, but it couldn't be helped now. "Why was it not addressed sooner? I know those trucks have sensors that monitor for that sort of thing." The tone was harsh, but she pressed on. "Master, the sensors had malfunctioned at some point, though Fighter Takami was unable at the time to pinpoint it." Another silent guesture to continue. "Takami was able to seal the breach, but the drive would need a full over haul and our shields were down-that's when we were attacked, they struck with rockets first, our engineer was the first to go down, followed by our driver-that's when the truck went out of control, I managed to hit the power armored soldier and she crashed-that's when they charged." She took a deep breath, trying to not to tremble-the memories still fresh in her mind, "Our commander was killed shortly before that by one of them in close combat, even if she had survived I doubt it would've mattered, we were flanked by one of them, they'd closed the distance while we were focused on the other two-we were forced to retreat after heavy losses." The figure was silent for a long while before finally speaking again. "I see...it would seem that-" The heavy door at the end of the room boomed open as an Advanced-Type mishu appeared. 'Superior Commander,' It transmitted, staring at the throne, 'We have lost contact with the repair depo in the Zigaffar Basin.' The figure glared at it-Elise felt a flicker of relief as to have their commander's attention diverted somewhere else, though she wasn't privy to the conversation. 'This is not unusal, communications on this world are usually limited.' The creature waved its tentacles. 'Not this time, one of the last transmissions we received was that the base had come under attack.'
That was interesting. 'Our kinsmen?' It wasn't the first time, their brethern in the SMX had hit them before-though that particular depot wasn't anywhere near a major front. Her subordinate's response however, was even more so. 'No, our reports are indicative that it may have been the humans from the colony in the west.' That WAS interesting-so far the human's had, save for destroying the listening post near their base, mostly contented themselves to local patrols and had been reguarded as a relative non-threat-something to be toyed with or sharpen their claws against in preparation of greater conflict. For them to be able to strike at one of their facilities...
'Perhaps it is past time to nip this threat in the bud-inform Battlegroup 1 they are to be deployed to the western sector-I want that settlement pacified.' The tone that colored the message left little room as to what the consequences of failure would be. As the Mishu left in a hurry, the eyes shifted to Elise. "Congradulations Superior Fighter, you and your sisters have a chance to redeem yourself of your failure-you will be in the vanguard when the time comes." A death sentince then, but at least it would be quick, quicker than what might've happened had their commander been less than generous."Of course Master Commander," She responded, before giving her a sharp salute, "Glory to the NMX." She lead her squadmates out.
"Well, we're not dead." One of them whispered once they were out of earshot. They may as well be at this point.
As the figure watch them go, a slow smile crept across the lips of the figure-perhaps if they won this battle the conquest would be enough to finally devour the SMX-however, they were not so foolish as to assume victory-no matter who this opponet was.
------
Bifrost, YE 44.5.2, O6:00 local time
The changing of the watch was nothing new-between the Company and Common Guard the trenches were a hum-drum of activity-the usual horn sounded, and the soldiers, many of them tired, hungry, bored, or some combination there of waited for their relief to show, while the fresh troopers drew gear, checked their air and and headed out. Morris himself, and the rest of the squad for that matter had thankfully, after they'd knocked out that firebase been granted a few days leave and was exempt of from this-for the moment that was. Still, despite a soldiers penchant for getting whatever sleep they could found himself up at the arsecrack of dawn. The big man sighed, pulling himself from his wife's embrace-taking care not to wake her, before going over to Helena's cradle-the child was wrapped in swaddling cloth, sleeping peacefully-a faint snore eminating from her. He chuckled-she was already taking after her mother in someways. After he was sure she wasn't going to wake, he padded out to privy to relieve himself, not to mention look for something to quiet the growling in his stomach...
----------
The junior yeoman was currently scanning the horizon attentively, well, about as someone who'd been on night watch for the last four hours after getting off a detail could. Doing his level best to keep awake he checked the Mauler for what seemed like the millionth time tonight-charging handle racked correctly, ammo was relatviely dust free, and sights dialed in-his fellows did like wise-checking rifles and trying to stay awake. The horn for watch change had sounded-and all he had to do was remain at his post until relieved. Then it was food and hopfully a few hours of sleep. He heard footsteps behind him, and thinking it was an enemy began to reach for his pistol as he turned to look-it was a member of the common guard-his long thicktrench coat a vivd powder blue despite being covered in the omin-present dust, which was worn over the thick lead lined cotton and leather envromental suit. Other than this, his mask, and the wide-brimmed helmet he wore he had armor to speak of. He held up his right hand in the universal guesture of peace, shifting the bolt action on his left-one of Melchoir's guys-there were two others with him. "Easy brother," He said, as the yeoman slowly moved his hand, "Thought you were asleep for a moment." The yeoman shook as head as the guardsman came up beside him, nodding to his fellows as they moved to relieve the other mercs. "Anyhing to report?" The yeoman shrugged, before checking over the weapon again. "Not an ancestor's damned thing," The junior's voice was full of irritation, "Aside from maybe the sand, then again there's plenty of that out here." The guardsman chuckled as the yeoman moved aside, indicating the gun...
-----
They were in posistion-before them was the human colony-the fools likely didn't realize their doom was upon them. Sylogoth, if he could, would've smiled, still-once the assault began they would surely fall before the might of his army. "Perpare the assualt-gunships commence strafing actions to be followed up by the ground forces; for the glory of the NMX!" The whine of the engines as the gunships raced forward, his ground forces following shortly after...
----
"Well, at least the gribblies are settling down-" He was cut of by the high-pitched whine of an engine as several long orange forms shrieked overhead-firing energy blasts and peppering their lines with missiles-the sound causing all six of them to instinctively seek cover and ready weapons-alarms sounded as anti-air defense came on line-flak batteries began their deadly song as missiles began to track targets. The Guardsman looked over the gun, seeing the dark forms growing ever closer. Racking slide as his men brough their rifles up, the mercs doing the same-the man he'd been sent to releive muttering a stream of curses in trade and valhallan. "Right at shift change." He didn't want to even think about the carnage those craft had likely had left in their wake. He thought he could see something swimming in the sand, even as the mines, a mixture of HE and incendiary detonated, leaving burning swathes of hyperoxidized fuel mixed with higher than normal levels of white phosphorus in the mix to keep them burning even in this atmosphere. Triggering the cannon, sending a stream of he, canister and AP at the approaching horde of monstrosities...
---
Steiner growled as the general alarm went off. The sudden strafing run had caught them off guard-though even the mishu would eventually be forced to withdraw their craft if just to simply limit the damage the atmosphere would do. Signaling to his honor guard to follow him, he sent up a general broadcast. "All personnel, this is Grandmaster Albert Steiner, we are currently under assault by mishhuvuthyar forces-report to your combat stations immediately-this is not drill, repeat, this is not a drill-all non essential personnel and civillians report to the shelters immediately!" All around him was chaos-vehicle crews scrambling to their vehicles while the ones that were already on standby began immediately rolling out even as infantry drew weapons and armor-common guard were filing out, an electic mix of modern and archaic equipment in hand-much like them now that he thought about it...
He fired his plasma cannon at a tank even as datafeeds began pouring into his onboard computers, revealing a grim situation at hand-this was large, larger than anything they'd ever fought-perfect-perhaps they'd be able to cull a good deal of the enemy's overall strength this day.
----
Morris cursed as the alarms went off, as Helena began to cry. 'No time for food.' The big man thought as he rushed in to their quarters and began donning his armor as disheveled Freya tended to their daughter. Olaf came sprinting out, likely confused as to what was going on. He voiced as much, with Morris responding. "We're under attack-gribblies finally got around to hitting us-and hard enough for a general alarm." He pulled an old rifle out and handed it to his son. "Stay with your mother and sister, protect them both." He nodded as Morris left, shield, machine pistol, and hammer ready to commit to the bloody work he'd set about this day..
After the events of Dune Prowling
The three nekos stood motionless, staring at the being sitting upon the throne crafted from the bones of their previous victims-the stench of decay was strong, stronger than anywhere else in base with the bodies lining the roome-some posed artfully or placed upon the walls and pillars-these had been crafted from an equisite marble, of the room as trophys, with others being placed in carfully arranged piles. Foul smelling liquids, colored in repugnants blacks, yellows, reds, and browns oozed from them-collecting in various drain offs carved into the floor, which flowed into two central ones that provdied the gentle, soothing sound a flowing stream, a stark contrast to their surroundings. Dim lighting cast soft, deep shadows-lending a certain, albiet grotesque, sense of peace.
It was a macabre imitation of of a trophy room, or a ruler's retreat. Superior Fighter Elise wondered if the Commander had any idea of the environment that had been created-or if so, took some sort of perverse pleasure in what had been created. The being was partially encapsulated in shadow, sitting at rest with their legs crossed, one arm propped on their head-all that could be seen was a pair of bright yellow eyes. "So tell me, Superior fighter-what exactly what happend?" The voice, inquisitive with a slight hint of annoyance, sent a shiver of fear down her spine-but the neko also knew that if she showed so much as a mere hint it was over-hopefully her subordinates would have the sense to do so as well. "Master Commander," She began, doing her level best to keep her vocie steady, "We had dismounted after we'd suffered some trouble with drive and formed a standard defensive pattern while the engineer was checking over the truck." She could almost hear Takami's mutterings about the excessive wear the environment was causing on their vehicles-Elise missed her already. "I see," The voice was neutral but they'd shifted in the throne-for a moment the Superior Fighter thought their commander was going to pounce, but gave a lazy guesture for her to continue.
At least she hadn't voided her bowels yet.
"The engineer had found the cause, the hull had suffered a small breach at some point, likely due to either the normal wear or possibly debris striking at some point." When she heard the growl at her statement Elise realized she'd made a mistake, but it couldn't be helped now. "Why was it not addressed sooner? I know those trucks have sensors that monitor for that sort of thing." The tone was harsh, but she pressed on. "Master, the sensors had malfunctioned at some point, though Fighter Takami was unable at the time to pinpoint it." Another silent guesture to continue. "Takami was able to seal the breach, but the drive would need a full over haul and our shields were down-that's when we were attacked, they struck with rockets first, our engineer was the first to go down, followed by our driver-that's when the truck went out of control, I managed to hit the power armored soldier and she crashed-that's when they charged." She took a deep breath, trying to not to tremble-the memories still fresh in her mind, "Our commander was killed shortly before that by one of them in close combat, even if she had survived I doubt it would've mattered, we were flanked by one of them, they'd closed the distance while we were focused on the other two-we were forced to retreat after heavy losses." The figure was silent for a long while before finally speaking again. "I see...it would seem that-" The heavy door at the end of the room boomed open as an Advanced-Type mishu appeared. 'Superior Commander,' It transmitted, staring at the throne, 'We have lost contact with the repair depo in the Zigaffar Basin.' The figure glared at it-Elise felt a flicker of relief as to have their commander's attention diverted somewhere else, though she wasn't privy to the conversation. 'This is not unusal, communications on this world are usually limited.' The creature waved its tentacles. 'Not this time, one of the last transmissions we received was that the base had come under attack.'
That was interesting. 'Our kinsmen?' It wasn't the first time, their brethern in the SMX had hit them before-though that particular depot wasn't anywhere near a major front. Her subordinate's response however, was even more so. 'No, our reports are indicative that it may have been the humans from the colony in the west.' That WAS interesting-so far the human's had, save for destroying the listening post near their base, mostly contented themselves to local patrols and had been reguarded as a relative non-threat-something to be toyed with or sharpen their claws against in preparation of greater conflict. For them to be able to strike at one of their facilities...
'Perhaps it is past time to nip this threat in the bud-inform Battlegroup 1 they are to be deployed to the western sector-I want that settlement pacified.' The tone that colored the message left little room as to what the consequences of failure would be. As the Mishu left in a hurry, the eyes shifted to Elise. "Congradulations Superior Fighter, you and your sisters have a chance to redeem yourself of your failure-you will be in the vanguard when the time comes." A death sentince then, but at least it would be quick, quicker than what might've happened had their commander been less than generous."Of course Master Commander," She responded, before giving her a sharp salute, "Glory to the NMX." She lead her squadmates out.
"Well, we're not dead." One of them whispered once they were out of earshot. They may as well be at this point.
As the figure watch them go, a slow smile crept across the lips of the figure-perhaps if they won this battle the conquest would be enough to finally devour the SMX-however, they were not so foolish as to assume victory-no matter who this opponet was.
------
Bifrost, YE 44.5.2, O6:00 local time
The changing of the watch was nothing new-between the Company and Common Guard the trenches were a hum-drum of activity-the usual horn sounded, and the soldiers, many of them tired, hungry, bored, or some combination there of waited for their relief to show, while the fresh troopers drew gear, checked their air and and headed out. Morris himself, and the rest of the squad for that matter had thankfully, after they'd knocked out that firebase been granted a few days leave and was exempt of from this-for the moment that was. Still, despite a soldiers penchant for getting whatever sleep they could found himself up at the arsecrack of dawn. The big man sighed, pulling himself from his wife's embrace-taking care not to wake her, before going over to Helena's cradle-the child was wrapped in swaddling cloth, sleeping peacefully-a faint snore eminating from her. He chuckled-she was already taking after her mother in someways. After he was sure she wasn't going to wake, he padded out to privy to relieve himself, not to mention look for something to quiet the growling in his stomach...
----------
The junior yeoman was currently scanning the horizon attentively, well, about as someone who'd been on night watch for the last four hours after getting off a detail could. Doing his level best to keep awake he checked the Mauler for what seemed like the millionth time tonight-charging handle racked correctly, ammo was relatviely dust free, and sights dialed in-his fellows did like wise-checking rifles and trying to stay awake. The horn for watch change had sounded-and all he had to do was remain at his post until relieved. Then it was food and hopfully a few hours of sleep. He heard footsteps behind him, and thinking it was an enemy began to reach for his pistol as he turned to look-it was a member of the common guard-his long thicktrench coat a vivd powder blue despite being covered in the omin-present dust, which was worn over the thick lead lined cotton and leather envromental suit. Other than this, his mask, and the wide-brimmed helmet he wore he had armor to speak of. He held up his right hand in the universal guesture of peace, shifting the bolt action on his left-one of Melchoir's guys-there were two others with him. "Easy brother," He said, as the yeoman slowly moved his hand, "Thought you were asleep for a moment." The yeoman shook as head as the guardsman came up beside him, nodding to his fellows as they moved to relieve the other mercs. "Anyhing to report?" The yeoman shrugged, before checking over the weapon again. "Not an ancestor's damned thing," The junior's voice was full of irritation, "Aside from maybe the sand, then again there's plenty of that out here." The guardsman chuckled as the yeoman moved aside, indicating the gun...
-----
They were in posistion-before them was the human colony-the fools likely didn't realize their doom was upon them. Sylogoth, if he could, would've smiled, still-once the assault began they would surely fall before the might of his army. "Perpare the assualt-gunships commence strafing actions to be followed up by the ground forces; for the glory of the NMX!" The whine of the engines as the gunships raced forward, his ground forces following shortly after...
----
"Well, at least the gribblies are settling down-" He was cut of by the high-pitched whine of an engine as several long orange forms shrieked overhead-firing energy blasts and peppering their lines with missiles-the sound causing all six of them to instinctively seek cover and ready weapons-alarms sounded as anti-air defense came on line-flak batteries began their deadly song as missiles began to track targets. The Guardsman looked over the gun, seeing the dark forms growing ever closer. Racking slide as his men brough their rifles up, the mercs doing the same-the man he'd been sent to releive muttering a stream of curses in trade and valhallan. "Right at shift change." He didn't want to even think about the carnage those craft had likely had left in their wake. He thought he could see something swimming in the sand, even as the mines, a mixture of HE and incendiary detonated, leaving burning swathes of hyperoxidized fuel mixed with higher than normal levels of white phosphorus in the mix to keep them burning even in this atmosphere. Triggering the cannon, sending a stream of he, canister and AP at the approaching horde of monstrosities...
---
Steiner growled as the general alarm went off. The sudden strafing run had caught them off guard-though even the mishu would eventually be forced to withdraw their craft if just to simply limit the damage the atmosphere would do. Signaling to his honor guard to follow him, he sent up a general broadcast. "All personnel, this is Grandmaster Albert Steiner, we are currently under assault by mishhuvuthyar forces-report to your combat stations immediately-this is not drill, repeat, this is not a drill-all non essential personnel and civillians report to the shelters immediately!" All around him was chaos-vehicle crews scrambling to their vehicles while the ones that were already on standby began immediately rolling out even as infantry drew weapons and armor-common guard were filing out, an electic mix of modern and archaic equipment in hand-much like them now that he thought about it...
He fired his plasma cannon at a tank even as datafeeds began pouring into his onboard computers, revealing a grim situation at hand-this was large, larger than anything they'd ever fought-perfect-perhaps they'd be able to cull a good deal of the enemy's overall strength this day.
----
Morris cursed as the alarms went off, as Helena began to cry. 'No time for food.' The big man thought as he rushed in to their quarters and began donning his armor as disheveled Freya tended to their daughter. Olaf came sprinting out, likely confused as to what was going on. He voiced as much, with Morris responding. "We're under attack-gribblies finally got around to hitting us-and hard enough for a general alarm." He pulled an old rifle out and handed it to his son. "Stay with your mother and sister, protect them both." He nodded as Morris left, shield, machine pistol, and hammer ready to commit to the bloody work he'd set about this day..
- OOC Notes
- Edit: had the dates written wrong as 44.3.5 when it was supposed to be 44.5.2
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