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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 6, 2015 6:19:32 GMT
"We have our friends down there. They need our help. And we better act fast. As my Castithan friend said - they don't have EGO powers so for them even a single hitting bullet means getting killed or wounded. So we must go down and do what ever we can. They risked their lives because of our ambitions...Your Ladyship - as your tutor I am worried about your freshly developed killing urge. NEVER let blood-lust take you over in the battle. You are not a berserker type. And I hope that you never will be. It's not you. It doesn't suit you. Giant - violence is your forte...And curse. You better keep your eye on her. I think you should use that super glue idea with her. You are inseparable anyway so getting glued together just confirms the obvious...Tinkerbelle - you are right that we didn't saved much innocents. But we did save couple of trapped aliens. Probably we could save some more if we just found them, but battle situation was against us. Life has taught me - you can't save all, but you can try and you don't have to feel guilty if you fail. Maybe we accomplished more than anybody else in universe could do, but we don't know it. Look things that way - it might have been the best performance anyone could give under circumstances. We are alive and we must stay alive to try do things better in our next gig. Our crewmen are the innocents too and we can rescue them, so let's don't muck it up. We must repel Volge away from our base.
As for our battle tactics - I planned sniping for myself because it would have meant dragging my weakened body less around. But getting inside a mech is even better. Now the mech drags me around and gives me an illusion of being invincible. Haven't tried them for some time now, but it's technically like a bicycle ride - once you learn it, you never forget it. And we all should look at each other's butts this time. We can't afford to losing anyone. It reminds me...Daiden - you once told me that you helped me because survival of one team mate means your survival too. Time to prove that point once again. Survive yourself but help others to stay alive as well and you can count on help from rest of us in case you need it.
Mrs. Widowmaker - you have my complete attention during a battle. I have my selfish reasons to keep you intact. Never know, when I have to use your body again. And I would like to get to know you better. Giant watches over Her Ladyship...and me. I have a tendency to push myself to the limits of human powers, so he will slow me down, because he does not want to lose the pleasure of killing me himself. About the rest I am not concerned too much. They always manage to keep everything cool. And we have watch out for our smaller companions too. We don't want to stump on them while we are inside of mechs."
After giving his motivational speech Volodja leaned against the wall, took out his pad, fingered it and started to read a poem by François Villon - 15th century French poet and criminal. He loved that piece of poetry and returned to it many times when he was alone. It always raised some thoughts. Public sphere was not a place for meditation, but they had another battle ahead, so he read it just in case something happens to him. Lot of things already happened during very short time period and he barely survived them. He really wanted to live and love. To have that double date, he planned earlier and take a time off to rest his nerves. But you never can be sure when your luck runs out. So it was better to read and think. And then go and fight:
The Debate Between Villon And His Heart
Who's that I hear?—It's me—Who?—Your heart Hanging on by the thinnest thread I lose all my strength, substance, and fluid When I see you withdrawn this way all alone Like a whipped cur sulking in the corner Is it due to your mad hedonism?— What's it to you?—I have to suffer for it— Leave me alone—Why?—I'll think about it— When will you do that?—When I've grown up— I've nothing more to tell you—I'll survive without it—
What's your idea?—To be a good man— You're thirty, for a mule that's a lifetime You call that childhood?—No—Madness Must have hold of you—By what, the halter?— You don't know a thing—Yes I do—What?—Flies in milk One's white, one's black, they're opposites— That's all?—How can I say it better? If that doesn't suit you I'll start over— You're lost—Well I'll go down fighting— I've nothing more to tell you—I'll survive without it—
I get the heartache, you the injury and pain If you were just some poor crazy idiot I'd be able to make excuses for you You don't even care, all's one to you, foul or fair Either your head's harder than a rock Or you actually prefer misery to honor Now what do you say to that?— Once I'm dead I'll rise above it— God, what comfort—What wise eloquence— I've nothing more to tell you—I'll survive without it—
Why are you miserable?—Because of my miseries When Saturn packed my satchel I think He put in these troubles—That's mad You're his lord and you talk like his slave Look what Solomon wrote in his book "A wise man" he says "has authority Over the planets and their influence"— I don't believe it, as they made me I'll be— What are you saying?—Yes that's what I think— I've nothing more to tell you—I'll survive without it—
Want to live?—God give me the strength— It's necessary...—What is?—To feel remorse Lots of reading—What kind?—Read for knowledge Leave fools alone—I'll take your advice— Or will you forget?—I've got it fixed in mind— Now act before things go from bad to worse I've nothing more to tell you—I'll survive without it.
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Post by Taffer on Mar 6, 2015 13:35:31 GMT
Vo looked at Belle with concern. He remembered MOM told him Belle had not her rest for a long time and it made him worried that consequences might start affecting her health now. He asked MOM of Belle's health and answered to Taffer, "Taf, you're asking us if we're ready for next fight of not, but there are many other people at the base. They went there to save lives, and they didn't expect they would participate in Volge hunting. We're on the unfriendly terrain, we're short of supplies and we don't have any reinforcements to call and we don't know how strong the enemy is. But what is most important, we're still responsible for all people we've brought here and we must bring them back to Earth safely. I vote for launch to the Earth, but either way, you have me on your side, Taf". "Well, spoken all", Taffer glanced over his team, "I think Belle's right, we must keep all these people safe. So once we land, I'll order the evacuation and we'll cover our people while they are moving to the ship. Atticus, Volodya and Erika, get the mechs ready. Daiden, Lady and I will take runners for mobility. We'll check the terrain around the base for threats, but won't go too far and won't go to the Ark debris. Belle, if you feel tired, stay on the ship and take some rest. I'll call you if we need more guns. Vo, stay on the ship too and guard the airlock. In case we get busy fighting, someone will have to protect people as they are moving. Haele, please help Dr. Orion with relocating his equipment. I need the medical bay working seamlessly once he gets on the ship. In general, stay alert. Volge are not pushovers and if they are up to something, we'd better get the hang of it before it's too late". Having said that, He piloted the ship to land right near the base's exit on the opposite side from where the Ark's crash site was located. Meanwhile, five Volge long-range artillery units crawled out of the Ark, each followed by a squad of troopers. They stayed behind the Ark's hull so that they wouldn't be noticed by radars of the base and space ship.
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Post by Belle Starr on Mar 6, 2015 13:52:38 GMT
Belle smiled sadly at Volodja's poem, getting the message, but feeling that it would be safest for the "mortals" below in the moon base if they just picked them up in the space ship and head home. She hoped Volodja didn't think she meant to leave them, for she never would. She was thankful that Taffer decided to do a strategic retreat, and she would do whatever she could to she could to keep them all alive during it.
Belle folded her arms as she leaned against the wall, waiting for Taffer to reveal the game plan, but said out loud to the assembled group, a bit angrily, "Listen, I have an EGO, and I'm fine! I'll be darned if I'm going to sit in the ship while y'all are out risking your lives! So just forget that Taffer!" Then Belle softened her tone as her pale brow wrinkled in thought, and she remarked, "You know when Atticus and I were fighting the Volge incursion, there was a time at the Zhenna array when I was hopelessly surrounded by Dark Matter! I swear my inner Volge called to nearby Volge and they came to my rescue, killing all the Dark Matter troopers but leaving me unscathed! Maybe I should take out a white flag and try to reason with them, which just might work if they have become more intelligent, and then nobody get's hurt!"
Belle listened for any response to her proposition, then merely nodded.
It was then that Belle noticed the shimmer of a cloak from the corner where Lady was sitting, and not seeing Lady in the room, Belle guessed what had happened. Belle hadn't seen Lady's alabaster jaw fall when she got Atticus' EGO message. Nor did Belle see Lady's pink eyes start to glisten when Voldja mentioned her "killing urge" and as she backed into her chair as if hit by a two-by-four, falling backward in surprise and cloaking by instinct. But Belle could guess that Lady mistook both Atticus and Volodja's statements of concern as admonishments.
So Belle moved over and sat next to Lady, taking her small nearly invisible hand in hers, and said with a smile, "Y'all know we all care about you, right?"
Belle heard a sniffle, but could only imagine Lady using the back of her hand to wipe her small nose before speaking, "Know. Still hurts."
Belle leaned back in her chair, looking at her battered but still standing team mates, ready to go back into battle even though some were barely able to stand straight, and felt pride in them swelling in her breast, before whispering to Lady, "You are a vital part of the this team! We all know that! You should know that! But if they are worried you will take unnecessary chances in battle, they will endanger themselves trying to protect you! So please play it safe, if not for yourself, for them!"
Belle heard another sniffle from the chair next to her, before hearing Lady's voice whisper back, "Want them to be proud of me. Want HIM to be proud of me." Then Lady added after a few heartbeats, "Want to BE him."
Belle shook her head, then looked with narrowed blue eyes at the still cloaked Lady. She knew the "him" Lady was referring to, as would any in the team. Atticus Batman, the Harbinger of Death as he was known in the Bay Area, a violent giant who loved Lady with as great an intensity as she loved him, but who had so much more life experience, both good and bad, and Belle suspected mostly bad, than did the teenage Lady.
Belle reached into one of the many secret pockets in her Liberty Trooper Armor, taking out a white lace trimmed hanky which she handed to Lady as she de-cloaked, before saying in a low tone, "Atticus loves you for yourself! He certainly doesn't love himself, and sometimes I'm not sure he even likes himself - except when he is with you! Y'all bring out the best in him by being yourself, and as Shakespeare once wrote, 'To thine own self be true!' - nuff said!"
Belle smiled as she thought about how Volodja always brought out obscure literary quotes in her mind, when Lady blew her small alabaster nose hard into the delicate handkerchief, then offered it back to Belle, who gently refused it with a wave of her hand, saying, "Y'all keep it! Just keep being yourself, Lady! Y'all are one of a kind, and that's a good thing!"
Lady opened her pink eyes wide, thinking to herself, "But who am I, really? I sure don't know!" then she shifted her gaze to Atticus working at the ship's security console and added to her dark thoughts, "All I know is I'm nothing without him, so why shouldn't I be him?"
Lady blew her nose again as she resumed staring at Atticus adoringly, but still without answers to her questions.
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Post by Erika Widowmaker on Mar 6, 2015 15:02:05 GMT
Erika Widowmaker turned to Atticus, replying calmly, "Thank you for that information Atticus Batman. It is always good to know that someone has a bounty on you, and especially who it is."
There was time when Erika was lost at what to do with her life, just after the Pale Wars ended and her military unit disbanded in Florida, until she wandered into a small Irathiant fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico, meeting a kind and funny fisherman then falling in love with him. Up until that point, she was a wandering bounty hunter, taking sustenance in the fact that she was at least removing those who victimized others. Now she was the subject of a bounty, and she had to wonder how many of those she brought in might have been innocent of any wrongdoing..
"Marvelous! Life is full of irony," Thought Erika to herself, then turned to Taffer and asked, "Please send the information you have collected on Governor Skarr to my son, Senator Kaele, the Prime Minister of the Collective, the Speaker of the Collective Parliament, and the owner of the Collective's largest news network. Here are their names and personal communication addresses."
Erika smiled slightly as Volodja made his soliloquy. The human really did love the sound of his own voice she decided, but also admitted to herself that he had a certain charm, and could see what Sandy, her EGO's psyche, saw in him. It certainly wasn't because of the size of his equipment, but she only had her husband to compare him with, and he was hung like a Monarch. An exaggeration, she would concede, but not by much.
When Volodja said, "Never know, when I have to use your body again" in reference to Erika, Sandy begged Erika, "Please don't kill him!" To Volodja, Sandy merely sent an angry, "Volodja! Be good! Please! I got to live here!"
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 6, 2015 16:07:13 GMT
"Sandy. Somehow I doubt that she will do anything to you. To me....probably. But not necessarily. She hasn't removed anything from me yet, although she could have done it. That gives us hope that we can put those parts to a use in one sweet day. Sorry about that, my love. Tried to cheer you up a bit but probably blew it. And probably I talked too much. My mistake - I like to play with words. It always fascinated me and is definitely better than manipulating with people. And nothing to do with vanity here. For me it's about beauty of a good wordplay. Too many read books in my life made me absorb a lot of words and now they looking for a way out. But you are probably used with short and rough army talk.
If Erika wants me dead, then she better wait until battle is over. Just stay alive and keep her alive, OK? And I try to stay alive myself. I actually like her so if we keep breathing after battle we could learn to get along just fine. I am at her mercy anyway, like I was at mercy of Lady earlier. I would really like to keep you to only myself, to be honest."
Saying that to angry Sandy, he concentrated on the battle ahead and tried to remember everything about his experience with mechs. If he stumbles, if he falls it could be fatal to him and his friends, so better go to battle prepared. And they should discuss about their battle tactics and formation with rest of tin men squad. So he turned to Erika:
"Any suggestions about tactics of our mechanized battle unit? You have better experience than I do, so if you care to share then I am all ears."
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Post by Taffer on Mar 6, 2015 19:44:11 GMT
"Belle", Taffer turned to her, "I've heard about Zhenna array incident and you were the only one found alive. Now we have at least twenty people in this tin can, whose lives we are responsible for. So all negotiations, if we try them, should be held on neutral territory. Okay Belle, I trust you know what you're doing both with your body and your Volge. The mech squad will guard the base. Belle and I will ride further towards the Ark to meet those Volge if they come from there again. Vo, you protect the airlock and people entering it. Daiden…"
"Sorry Taf, but I'm going with Belle. I know you're the chief and all but in no way you can force me to leave her that way and stay somewhere in the backyard".
Taffer shook his head, "Vo, listen. I do understand…"
"No Taf, you don't", Vo cut him off, "It's not just emotions. My presence makes Belle keep her Volge in control better. It happened twice already and she needs to be in full control of her mind if we try to negotiate. Moreover, I can bring her back from hallucinations if they try to induce them on her".
"Vo, next time you make a proposal, please start with your reasoning first and don't try to force me to it. It makes me much better to understand if you have good reasons. Good, you and Belle move forward then and meet the Volge. I and Lady will watch from some distance from behind cover if possible. Just don't try to fight them alone if things go wrong, go back towards the base, we'll cover you and our mech squad will too.
Daiden, I need you to protect the airlock while people will be coming in. I really need someone to inform me if something goes wrong on this side.
Well, It seems all roles are allocated. I'll visit the base's control room and send the info about Skarr, and then I'll start the evacuation".
As his team was taking their positions, Taffer entered the computer room where Chloe was sitting. She smiled at him and greeted him with simple "Hi Capt'n", and he nodded in reply. As he sat next to her, he saw she was staring at the monitor which displayed some console output which he determined was not worthy watching. They waited for a few seconds in silence then she finally asked, "How's Volo? I saw in a medical report he was injured".
"Nothing that his EGO can't fix, he just needs some time. Got him a comfortable seat in a mech", Taffer smiled with corners of his mouth seeing Chloe's surprised face and added, "you know those people. It's very hard to make them just stay in bed when there are enemies to shoot nearby. Now, I need to send all the dirt we got on Skarr sent to these addresses. The spy-assassin, the decompiled virus and its possible sources and authors, the bomb under the shuttle pilot's seat, the flight parameters with no fuel to return. Should be enough for anyone who can add one and one to understand how much Collective's money that weasel wasted and how the Castithan upper caste should be upset of him".
Chloe whistled when she saw the addresses she was sending the info to, "Hey, nice bunch of Votanis higher-up friends you got here!"
"Not friends actually", Taffer replied, "Just some people who should look better on what's happening right under their noses".
"Yeah, not friends at all", muttered Chloe, "but that's why you're the Capt'n, and I'm just tapping the keys for you". She was merely joking, but Taffer's face suddenly became serious.
"You know Chloe, I never wanted to be a head honcho. It's just people I suddenly care for decided they work better when I'm taking the lead. I'm still surprised it works most of the time, and if it works, I tend not to fix it. And speaking of leadership, you may as well start packing your bytes and wiping your drives, as I'm about to order an evacuation of the base and the start of our way home".
He smiled at her again and went out of the base to join his team.
Meanwhile, a group of twenty elite Volge of various kind marched from the crashed Ark towards the base.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Mar 6, 2015 23:10:44 GMT
After the rest of the strike team starts leaving the Bridge, I feel I should go about my other duties as well. However, as I turn to leave my console I see the pain in Lady's eyes that I caused, even though she is still lovingly sitting near me. I start to walk to her to hug her, and perhaps apologize. However my busted leg has other ideas, and I end up stumbling forward and falling to my knees with my head and chest in her lap. I pull myself up into the chair next to her and pull her into a hug and say, "If I must fall, I am glad you and your comfortable lap are always around to catch me." I smile as I stand back up. Then she stands up, and acts as my crutch as we go to the armory, so I can retrieve my Auto-Fragger and pick out some of the best gear and set it out for Uljanov and Widowmaker to easily find when they come to the armory. I picked gear based on what their security files said they like.
Then we go to OUR quarters and pack our room up, as I finally talk to Lady about what happened on the Bridge. "Look I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I never meant to do that, but I love you NOT me. I am still not sure why anybody would love ME. We definitely don't need another me around. However we do need the sweet, loving, and caring Lady Christianna around. You always make us feel better, me especially. So please keep being you, and I also love when you surprise me with gifts or your amazing cooking. By the way, I am proud of everything you did on the Ark. If it weren't for you, Erika would have never left the shuttle. Uljanov, the Fool, may have never left either. I definitely would have given into my rage and surrendered completely to my Grid by now, and especially on the Ark. The team and I are all lucky to have you, and you may not realize it but you are my calming force and I need YOU forever." She hugs me tight and kisses me. Then she grabs my helmet and puts it on me, and says, "Love you too."
As we leave our quarters with Lady as my crutch, she starts turning a corner and I say, "Tianna where are we going?"
She says, "Infirmary."
I reply with, "Snow Angel, I agree I probably belong in bed, but we must get off this retchid moon first."
She looks up at me and flashes her Mona Lisa smile and says, "Need crutch. You heavy!" she then giggles at that. Her beautiful and infectious laughter always making me chuckle as well, as we reach the infirmary.
After she makes sure I get a tall and sturdy crutch to help me walk, she removes my helmet and kisses me again. Then she walks with me to the ship's Cargohold, still holding my helmetin her right hand, and holding my right hand in her left hand. After we get there, she says, "Love you. Go be robot man!"
I smile as I kiss her gently and say, "Love you too my gentle and wonderful little Snowflake." She giggles and puts my helm on me, right after I break the kiss. Then she taps it and says, "No more injuries!"
I nod and say, "I will try my best, but you have to try to be safe and keep being the wonderful woman who owns MY heart."
I then hobble into the cargohold using the crutch Lady insisted I get. Lady watches me for a few minutes before leaving the Cargohold, then leaves to, I assume, get ready for the evacuation mission at hand.
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Post by Erika Widowmaker on Mar 7, 2015 3:18:31 GMT
Erika Widowmaker fit into the Mech like a glove - a close fitting glove considering her seven foot Irathiant frame, but a glove nonetheless. She familiarized herself with the controls, which were not that much different than those Mechs' in the Collective, taking a few steps forward and backward in the cargo hold of the space ship. Sandy, her EGO's human psyche, had downloaded this Mech's instruction manual, and went over the checklist with her. She reviewed the tape of the earlier battle with the Volge, and confirmed to herself that these Volge did operate in a more ordered and more tactical manner than Volge she had battled in the past. Finally, Erika looked at the terrain photos surrounding the moon base the spacecraft had made landing before its construction, noting the moonscape around the base and the ark fall, including its possible entrance.
It had been a while since Erika had operated in the field, but it wasn't that much different than how she did any job in her life, including Director of Internal Security for the Votanis Collective. First you prepare with all the intelligence available; second check one's equipment; then finally prepare oneself both physically and mentally, focusing on nothing but the job. Besides checking her Mech, Erika had checked her armor and shield, making sure both were fully operational. She had also grabbed her VOT Blaster and Heartbreaker Disrupter, the former in her belt holster and the latter stored in back of her in the Mech. After Sandy confirmed that all systems in the Mech were go, Erika gave the Mechs mini-gun's cylinders a whirl, but not firing, just symbolically signifying to herself that she was prepared for the upcoming battle if Belle's peace negotiations did not succeed.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum," Thought Erika, as she remembered the human Latin adage translated as, "If you want peace, prepare for war".
Erika was ready, except for one thing: Proper battle music. Erika had gotten into the habit during the Pale Wars to playing music lowly when in active battle, not so high as to miss orders and not during stealth operations where the slightest sound could give away the enemy's location, but in active firefights. If there was once thing she appreciated of human culture, it was human music, in particular American rock music from the late 1960s through the early 1970s. She knew what she wanted to play for this particular encounter, and Sandy smiled mentally at her choice. Erika let Sandy send a "I can never be angry at you long and I love you and keep safe" message to Volodja, then they headed for the cargo hold's airlock.
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Post by Lady Christianna on Mar 7, 2015 4:22:23 GMT
Belle Starr and Vo Kshaa kissed in the cargo hold, Belle once again leaning into him and kicking one foot backwards in a classically romantic stance, or so Lady Christianna thought. Lady imagined Belle and Vo as the epitome of romance, the prince and the princess fairy book tale. To Lady, Atticus and she had a unique true love thing that was much, much better, but Vo and Belle's relationship was sweet. Lady always worried that her and Atticus' love affair would burn up in its intensity, but always felt that Belle's and Vo's were eternal - not nearly as hot, but one that would survive the ages. Sometimes, Lady was envious of Belle for that, but not often and never when she was with Atticus. Lady watched Belle and Vo fasten on their space helmets and get on their ATVs, racing to the airlock. Lady knew that Taffer and she would soon get on their runners and follow, to provide cover in the rocks as Belle tried to negotiate peace with the Volge. Part of Lady hoped that Belle would succeed and that they all could leave the moon safely, but another part of her craved battle, and that part fingered "Baby", her Crime Fighter shotgun in nervous excitement. Lady strapped the shotgun to her back, and smiled her Mona Lisa smile as she watched with adoring pink eyes Atticus climb with some difficulty into his Mech. Lady ran over and helped Atticus into his Mech, but then Taffer called her telling her it was time to go. She blew Atticus a kiss from her thin chalk white lips, saying "Love you!" from her EGO to his, then ran back to her ATV and mounting it. She fingered her "magic" locket around her neck as she took one last longing look at Atticus, then pointed her ATV towards the airlock door.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 7, 2015 5:02:58 GMT
"If we manage to get things done peacefully, it would be pro bono publico," thought Volodja inside his mech. "But considering how events lately formed, makes me believe that we will have to fight again."
Controlling that huge mechanical beast was as easy as he remembered. After first clumsy tries Volodja gained total hold over his mech and even dared to try some complicated moves, like Michael Jackson's pelvic thrust, with it. Worked like a charm. He felt more confident about his skills now now but not overly confident. Latter might be fatal. Never underestimate your enemies, especially when they happen to be Volge. Never overestimate your competence or you will fail.
He studied their possible theatre of battle, planned his movement and made sure that his new firearms were in perfect condition and he had his sword with him. It was the only weapon he managed to save from the Ark since it had a story of it's own. Oh, those memories...He got Sandy's message and replied: "Thank you dear. Love you." He mad her mad with his talk earlier and didn't want to upset her any more with his blabbering.
After those preparations he felt ready for fight if they had to and as a part of tradition, he chose a musical background for him. Instead of taking path of rock music or metal, he went back in time to merry old Vienna and picked Einzugsmarsch op. 327 from "Der Zigeunerbaron", composed by Johann Strauss II. Listening that he made his mech to give a salute as a final coordination check and marched out through airlock.
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Post by Belle Starr on Mar 7, 2015 6:15:29 GMT
Belle and Vo didn't have to travel far on their runners until they saw double columns of about forty elite Volge total. Belle whistled one lone note as she stopped and dismounted her ATV, stating the obvious into her radio microphone, "Holy crap-on-a-stick, that's a lot of Volge! MOM keep transmitting everything I see and say to the team! Vo, please let me approach them alone, but stay on your ATV in case we have to make a quick getaway!" Belle took from the back of her runner a makeshift peace talk flag, made with a white pillow case and a six foot rebar she had found outside the newly constructed moon base, then moved towards the small army of Volge. She was armed with her holstered Demon Hunter pistol and the charge blade at her belt, but slowly waved the peace flag as she walked, hoping the Volge knew what it signified. Surprisingly, they stopped and didn't fire at her as she expected. Belle stopped twenty-five yards from them, closing her blue eyes and concentrated on channeling her inner Volge. After a few moments, Belle reopened her eyes, but they were no longer blue but glowed bright red. Belle uttered a series of gutteral sounds through her radio that sounded like a language but seemed impossible that it could come from a human throat. An Elite Viscera came forward, and said something in the same language heard by her team mates as well as her, so that it was impossible to tell if it was audible sound heard through radio, telepathy, or a combination of both. Suddenly to the surprise of her team mates, Belle turned around to face them, her eyes still clearly glowing red through her space helmet's visor, and spoke clearly in English to them through their EGOs.
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Post by Daiden Simaro on Mar 7, 2015 7:51:32 GMT
Guard duty could be dull but this was the case when it's better be dull than extremely entertaining. Because forthcoming entertainment could be too... joyful for their EGO-free colleagues. Daiden was ready to do his part and protect whoever he must protect but at the same time he was pretty sure everything will go wrong and they'll fail again. He was ready for this too. He was ready for this from that very moment when they sent a volgewoman to parley with volges. Why do they trust her so much? Bah, this was none of his concern. Daiden shook his head and pushed away any thoughts. Who is he to argue anyway? He silently prepared his gear. He took a Typhoon AR this time, he did not like this weapon too much but in the Moon conditions the choice was poor anyway. He took his sword as well, just in case. He did not think he would use it because a sword is the worst weapon to battle the Volge. And he took a Vot blaster as a backup. Then he took his position near the airlock, ready to cover the evacuation. He felt himself calm and easy and ready to accept any turn of events. Then evacuation had started and it was good. First was dr. Orion, of course. Daiden smiled slightly looking at scared Liberata who quickly moved his short legs. Then other staff started to arrive but Daiden did not look at them because it would be better to watch the surroundings.
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Post by Taffer on Mar 7, 2015 11:35:53 GMT
Suddenly to the surprise of her team mates, Belle turned around to face them, her eyes still clearly glowing red through her space helmet's visor, and spoke clearly in English to them through their EGOs.
"We are taking what we need. It is ours. You are free to live or die", said the growling voice in Taffer's head.
"Dash, time my transmission to the base synchronized with Volge's internal communication, then set the base's transmitter to send it to them with a delay. I don't want them to know our position yet", he said mentally to his EGO and then sent a voice message to the base to be re-transmitted. "What exactly do you need to take?"
"The Core. The building. The territory", was the reply.
"We are leaving the building and the territory. You are free to take it and the Core. Please do not approach until we leave", Taffer sent, enunciating his words and hoping nothing would be lost in translation.
"You are free to live or die", the voice repeated and the Volge squad turned to their right and climbed one of the hills which gave him a clear view of the base and the space ship, despite being still rather far from the site. They stayed there and the voice went silent, implying the communication is over.
"Looks like we can accept it as a yes", Taffer said to the team, "but I still don't like it. If they needed the Core, they could just take it while we were in the space. Let's play along, but be leery. Mech squad, don't aim your weapons on the Volge yet, but be ready to aim and shoot".
"Capt'n, that's interesting", he heard Chloe's voice through his EGO communication unit, "I've received faint seismic signals coming from he arkfall a while ago. I didn't give that a rush until your mech squad walked out and shook the ground too. Then I compared both disturbances and they look too much alike".
"Way to go Chloe", Taffer replied to her, "I knew they have something in their sleeve".
He turned to Lady and whispered to the comm, more out of habit as if someone could hear them on the Moon, "Lady, I need you to do some stealth recon. Get back to the base and meet Daiden there". He added Daiden to the conversation and said to both "Lady and Daiden, take runners and circle around away from the Volge's view towards the Arkfall. Use stealth and do not engage in combat. Let's see what they hide from us behind that Arkfall".
Taffer himself stayed behind the rock watching Belle closely to make sure she safely recovers from her interaction with the Volge.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 7, 2015 12:40:31 GMT
"On your mark...or theirs. Pick our targets. I ll start with the Bomber, nearest to me. Then moving left from the Bomber. Divide et perago. Vae victis (Divide and finish (them) off. Woe to the vanquished) ," announced Volodja via EGO link and thought: "Always take out those annoying bastards first, before they mess your aiming up with those stuttering explosions." He calculated necessary aiming angle and time he needs to raise his Gatling gun and open fire. Then he turned his mech into better stance. He was ready to shoot at first sign of hostility. But before deciding anything they must to make sure what those Volge had to hide, so he kept his eyes on enemy and ears open for Lady's and Daiden's messages. And part of him was worried about his talking too much again, but compared with anything else it was really a minor problem.
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Post by Daiden Simaro on Mar 7, 2015 12:43:48 GMT
Daiden grinned widely. A little trip around the Moon is much better than standing at one place watching who-knows-what. He handed over his duty to some staff member, he could not say for sure who it was - spacesuits make everyone look the same - and went to the hangar. He never considered himself a good driver and in the low gravity this trip looked even more promising. He took a runner, still smiling, rolled it to outer wall, signalized "I am ready" and stopped there trying to find Lady's mark on his radar and waiting for an answer.
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