Synchro Frame: Conception [IC]

Maeriberii Haan · March 15, 2015

"Hey, to tell you the truth, I'm new here too!

We're kinda in the same position, so don't sweat it too much~!"

Saying that with the best cheerful expression he could muster, Saria then proceeded to leave Lauren behind immediately as he ran back towards his quarters. Her answer didn't satisfy him a bit, and he still had a hard time in trusting this woman right now. He didn't care much about what the woman think of him right now, but he was definitely seriously considering the option of shooting her down himself if she proved to be too volatile to be trusted. Not that people should be trusted at all in this war, but people like this Lauren were completely not trustworthy, especially without any proof that she wouldn't just defect back or something similar.

That said, he still had little idea of why he was assigned in this fortress, and also why her and that shark-guy were assigned here too. He haven't really paid that much attention for the exact reasoning all these time, but well, he didn't really have any other choices but to follow what his superiors ordered him to do.

"This is seriously getting boring. I'll go muck around in the simulator for now."

Dad · March 15, 2015

Zalwara

After leaving Takeo's room, he was still at a loss for words. "There's still something he's not telling me," Zalwara thought to himself. He was already in uniform, so he avoided the common halls and went straight towards the hangar.

When we walked through the entrance, the technicians darted in his direction. "Sir!" they all chimed at once.

"Well?" he said right away.

"Shizu has been fully inspected sir. All dents, scuffs, scratches, blemishes, and marks have been removed. Your blades have been sharpened to one hundred percent, and all ammunition has been replaced and refilled."

"And uh, I added in an air freshner to the cockpit. Winter mint, sir."

Two of the technicians glared at the third. "What!?"

Zalwara smirked. That was an odd gesture, but it was appreciated. "Thank you all," he said looking up at Shizu. "Your efforts are appreciated. Take to the other units here."

"Sir!" they said in unison again, before scrambling to other frames. There were good men and women aboard the Dark Tide. But why did they vow their services to Terra Firma? Zalwara knew he was only here because he had no where else to go. Even being aboard this vessel after all of this time was still strange, awkward even. But the few things he could always enjoy were cooking and of course, his frame. These things took away from those odd moments where Zalwara felt his position aboard the Dark Tide was more of a favor, despite his hard work. He had a lot of pride in these two things, and these two things alone. Everything else to Zalwara, was trivial. Being satisfied with the upkeep on Shizu, Zalwara left the hangar, and headed towards the Main Bridge. And to his pleasant surprise, passing his room, was the sneaky Nisaria, who happened to be leaving the room of the woman Takeo had been badgering.

A sly smile crossed Zalwara's face, as he stopped Nisaria yet again. It seemed they were constantly running into each other. How scary. "Well," he said approaching. "What have we here, Nisaria?" he asked jokingly. "Sneaking away from a lady's room? And you've got quite a look on your face. Have you gotten yourself into a shameful act recently? I'd hate to think what Admiral Takeo might say." Actually, knowing Takeo, he would probably applaud the current situation that Zalwara had found Nisaria in. Zalwara, however, decided to see how open Nisaria would actually be, having avoided him all of this time. "So, what were you up to, Nisaria?"

Maeriberii Haan · March 16, 2015

"What am I up to? Heh, why do you ask, Mr. Zalwara?"

A cat-like half-smile was etched on Saria's face when the vice-admiral asked him the question. It wasn't really an interrogative question from what it seemed, and his expression made it seem that he didn't seem to mind what he did much. Not that Saria actually care about that. While he had heard about the reputation of both the Admiral and the Vice Admiral, and quite admired their deeds, he didn't really dig them as a person. Though...with him here, something came to Saria's mind.

"So, Mr. Zalwara, do you think you want to get an exhibition combat in a simulator while you're here? I don't know, I'm just bored right now.

So, what do'cha think, mister?"

[divider1]

"...What...?"

"Do they really have to do this? I mean, I know about the scorched earth policy, but they're bombarding civilian area too for god's sake! This is just...it's just...

...Shit, this is getting really stupid! Just why? What kind of secret do they want to keep buried here?"

"Calm yourself, Ira."

"But, Captain-"

"Calm yourself. Do you copy?"

"...Yes, Captain."

"The enemy is currently retreating now. Order all of our frames to return to the ship. and start calculate the damage. I'll send a survey team down there immediately after the fire had subsided, but before that, just have everyone return here first.

Everyone, monitor the enemy's movement, and alert our frames if they started to do anything suspicious.

And Heinel, connect me to our base now."

Dad · March 16, 2015

Zalwara

"How sneaky," he thought to himself.

"So, Mr. Zalwara, do you think you want to get an exhibition combat in a simulator while you're here? I don't know, I'm just bored right now.

So, what do'cha think, mister?"

"Is he trying to get a closer look at my capabilities?" A smile crossed his face. It was honest, but it was filled with malicious intent. "No, Nisaria. But if you're really itching to do combat, there is a room where you and I may duel," he said referring to the dojo Takeo had put in place. "In fact, I insist. Won't you join me for a sparring match?" Zalwara said as he began to walk away. Whether Nisaria followed him or not wasn't important. What was important was that Zalwara didn't allow anyone else aboard this ship to understand, deduce, or figure out anything else about him.

Stepping into the dojo, there was already another man inside. Another crew member, Hodges, was practicing his strikes on a dummy with a bokken. He had heard Zalwara walk in, and prepared to stand aside. "Oh, Vice Admiral. Would you like the room?" Hodges asked raising his mask and wiping sweat from his forehead. "You may stay for the moment, Hodges. I may or may not have someone else joining me. Either I'll need a referee, or an opponent. You could do well for both," he said plainly.

Hodges nodded, as both he and Zalwara waited at the doorway to see if Nisaria would show up.

[hr]

Takeo

The water had stopped running in the bathroom. He leaned back in his leather recliner, cigar still in his mouth. The bathroom door cracked open, and steam plumed out of the doorway, easing onto the floor below like an eerie fog. Kassandra stepped out with nothing but a towel wrapped around her, fiddling with her hair. Closing the bathroom door, she took a seat on the bed, and flicked a little black switch next to the bedside. A wall beside the bathroom folded inwards, before sliding to the right and revealing a very tiny room, just big enough for one person to step inside. It was lit by an odd orange light, and decorated with rose petals over a lush red carpet. And in the center . . .

"Did you tell him?" Kassandra asked.

Takeo took another puff from his cigar, and lay it in the ash tray beside him. "No," he said softly. Kassandra continued looking into the little red room, while getting dressed. She slipped on some lace, and a fine evening gown. She flipped the switch next to the bedside again, and the room sealed itself away. Then, walking over to Takeo, she straddled him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Kassandra lay her head on Takeo's shoulder, and whispered. "Do you plan to?"

Takeo remained silent for a moment, wondering why Kassandra was so anxious. "I'll tell you what I told Lauren, paraphrased. 'Not until I'm on my death bed.' What he doesn't know can't hurt him," he said with his arms still at his side. Kassandra paused. "Lauren? Is she new?" Takeo nodded. "She's a good girl, it seems. But I don't trust her. She's a defector. So I'm keeping my eye on her." Takeo's mind went back to the game that was now at a loss. To say Lauren hadn't played much, she wasn't half bad. "Damn. I wanted to finish that game," he mumbled. "And why are you so anxious?" he asked finally holding Kassandra. She giggled, her head still on his shoulder. "I want to see the look on his face," she said laughing. Takeo pulled Kassandra up, and glared at her eye to eye.

"You're as sinister as anyone else," he said jokingly. "Up. I need to prepare myself."

Kassandra sighed, standing to her feet. "No time?" she asked.

Takeo laughed, going over to his wardrobe. "No. Not enough." He drew a blade from beside the wardrobe, and placed his hat on his head. He straightened his collar, and sheathed the sword to his right side. "I'll see you tonight," he said going over to the bedroom door.

"Have fun," Kassandra called.

Closing the door behind him, Takeo headed to the main deck. "I always do," he thought to himself.

Maeriberii Haan · March 17, 2015

"Sparring, huh? I'll be delighted to comply, sir."

Saying that, Nisaria decided to stand still when Zalwara walked away from him, Not due to anything important, really. He was just deciding to analyze the information he had on Zalwara right until that point. From his appearance, he was not really that old, probably around late twenties or early thirties. His clothes might've obscured it, but Nisaria could deduce from the little stuff he had seen so far that the vice-admiral was relatively well-sculpted. He still had little information regarding his style in fighting and piloting, though what came next might gave him some insight on it. Then again, crushing opponents bigger than him was something that he's been trained with, so he shouldn't have that much disadvantages on the upcoming encounter.

After being satisfied by his internal thoughts, Nisaria followed Zalwara to the training room, where he noticed that the vice admiral and someone else had been waiting for him there. He put up his best smile to the two, before he opened his mouth to address them.

"Alright, sorry to keep you waiting, sir.

Now, shall we?"

Dad · March 20, 2015

Zalwara

Nisaria showed up. Once again, he had surprised Zalwara and stood fast. Zalwara was admittedly pleased, even though he didn't show it. He nodded, as Nisaria approached.

"Alright, sorry to keep you waiting, sir.

Now, shall we?"

Zalwara stepped into the dojo, and grabbed two bokken from the far right wall. He tossed one to Nisaria, not looking to see if he caught it. Grabbing a mask and aikido uniform a nearby locker, he neatly took off his uniform to switch with. "Find your size in the locker," Zalwara instructed. Taking a place in the far back of the training mat, Zalwara waited for Nisaria to dress himself.

"Have you done this before?" he asked as he waited on Nisa. "This is a martial art I practiced privately for some time, long since I learned Tae Kwon Doe. It's actually quite fun, once you get the hang of it." Zalwara took a combat stance, and ushered his opponent towards him. "Take your time. We shouldn't get too worked up," he said as Hodges stepped towards the center of the training mat.

"Whenever you're ready," Hodges said looking at Nisaria.

"Help him get himself together, if he can't figure out the gear," Zalwara commented. He wasn't sure what Nisaria knew about Aikido, so help was available, and questions could be answered at any time.

[hr]

Takeo

He was passing the hangar. The mechanical stirring, whirs, clanks, bangs, and crashes were very soothing. The frames were being cleaned and serviced, and technicians were moving at incredible speeds. He simply nodded, and continued on his way.

Just ahead was the kitchen. It was empty, but cleaned. The entry way itself was still hot, so food had been cooked within the last hour, yet the kitchen was spotless. This was proof of the efforts of his crew. They were diligent, powerful, and true to their word. He could count on them. He trusted his crew, and they trusted him. For the most part. Save for the new faces, and Drayden of course, Takeo knew everyone aboard this ship like the back of his hand. But having these exceptions bothered him. Usually, he could control what went on, but everyone knows it only takes one virus to infect the entire host. But he wouldn't show his concerns. Instead, he continued his way to the Main Deck, finally passing by the dojo. There was some movement, and he could hear conversation.

"Help him get himself together, if he can't figure out the gear," Takeo heard Zalwara say.

"They must be preparing to spar," he thought. Standing just out of the doorway, Takeo watched in silence. How would Zalwara behave?

BANZAI!!!! · March 20, 2015

Leo had stayed mostly silent through Gavin’s briefing. He was feeling better now, but he was still nervous. Surprisingly, he had paid very close attention to the entire briefing, and was feeling a bit more confident knowing that Gavin was leading his squad. After it concluded, he made his way out of the room with the rest of the team, sans Gavin and Aeollia, who stayed behind a moment to talk to each other. After donning his flight suit in the locker room, Leo made his way back to the Canis’s section of hangar, which was now inhabited by a few technicians who were running one final check on the machine. One of them spoke to Leo as he boarded the hydraulic platform that would take him up to the cockpit hatch.

“Good luck out there, kid.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.” Leo managed to grin and give a thumbs-up, though internally he was still very worried. No one’s first sortie was easy, after all.

---

“You guys have all my ammo loaded right? I don’t want Skunk to sortie on an empty stomach.”

“She’s all loaded up for you, sir. The Albatross is entering the combat zone a little fast, so we’ll have to overcharge the catapult to keep Hailstorm ahead of the rest of your team when you launch.”

Gavin gave the tech a nod before getting on the platform. “Just don’t shock me, alright?” His joke produced a slight laugh, which Gavin could just barely hear over the hydraulic whirring of the platform as it raised him up to the Hailstorm’s open cockpit hatch. Gavin entered, closing it and locking himself inside the machine once he had sat down, initial pitch-blackness inside Hailstorm slowly giving way to light as its screens turned on one after another, displaying readouts, ammo counts, and of course the Synchro Frame’s field of vision. Once his machine was fully lit up, Gavin turned on his radio, addressing the other six pilots who were now surely in their own machines.

“Alright gang, this is it. Stick to the mission plan and keep each other covered out there. Our guys in the fortresses are counting on us, so lets put on a good show for ‘em. Keep your wits about you and go give Terra Firma some hell, TRAP style.”

---

“Main system: Activating Combat Mode. SFS-09X Canis. System active. Good Morning.”

Canis’s computer, gentle-voiced as it always was, greeted Leo as he started up his machine. Had Gavin been been able to see inside the cockpit, he’d be proud to see Leo perform all of his pre-flight checks perfectly and to the letter. Its systems all green, Leo walked the Canis out of its stall and over to a wall nearby, grabbing its strike shield and fang rifles and attaching them to each other before equipping the combination to the left arm. Fully equipped and ready, Leo moved out onto the flight deck, the superstructure of the Albatross’s wings casting a shadow over its runway. Within his field of vision were the Hailstorm, Drachenrand, Messiah, Skyblaze, and Savior, all ahead of him in line for one of the two catapults farther up the runway, which were gleaming with the angular orange sunlight of the late afternoon. Moving himself into position behind the twins’ machine, Leo heard Gavin’s voice come over the radio. His heart raced as he felt both excitement and fear return to him. This was the real thing, no more training, no more drills. Just Leo, Canis, and Terra Firma, and whether or not he came back would be determined by his skill and his skill alone.

---

BGM: Operation

“Decker here. Hailstorm’s ready to go.”

“Roger that. Hailstorm you are cleared for launch. Good hunting Commander.”

“Thanks Control. This is Gavin Decker, Hailstorm, taking off!” With that, the overcharged catapult sent the Hailstorm rocketing forward, visible arcs of electricity shooting from the rails and scorching the tarmac next to them. At the end of the track, Gavin ignited his frame’s thrusters, continuing its acceleration as it left the protection of the Albatross and flew forward toward the battle zone, dipping down a bit due to the influence of gravity. Though the catapult was overcharged, Hailstorm’s heavy weight prevented it from accelerating to its top speed immediately, and it took a full 100 meters or so for a white cone of air to form around its front as the frame at last hit its top speed and broke the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom that was audible even throught the armor of the other TRAP frames some distance behind it.

In turn, each of the other four frames on the deck launched, leaving Leo as the last member of TRAP to lock his frame’s feet onto the catapult. He gulped audibly, then flipped on his radio, trying his best to sound composed. “Canis here. Ready for launch.”

“Roger that. Canis you are cleared for takeoff.” Leo took a deep breath, bracing himself for a moment.

“Leo Vega, Canis. Lets do it!”

Leo felt himself forcibly pushed back into his seat as his frame rocketed down the runway, its thrusters engaging a it neared the end of the track. Unlike the heavier Hailstorm, Canis had no trouble accelerating as it hit the air, quickly and gracefully righting itself after it left the deck of the Albatross and accelerating enough to catch up with the Hailstorm. Like he’d been taught, Leo formed up with the slower frame, covering its right flank while Melissa and her savior had gone ahead to cover a few allied combat frames.

BGM: Sitting Duck

To the uninitiated, the battlefield was truly an awesome sight to behold. SAF fortresses and aircraft circled and strafed the field endlessly as black bursts of flak clouded the otherwise clear sky and combat frames and fighter jets danced in the gaps between explosions. Below the air battle, ships fired and maneuvered, and the normally blue ocean had turned the color of mud, mixed with the oil from dieing vessels. Fires burned both on and above the waves, releasing plumes of smoke upward into the already chaotic skies as men and women who had been ejected overboard clung to debris for their very lives.

Over this conflagration flew TRAP, not wanting to make their presence known to TF until they were where they needed to be. Below them, the battle seemed to play out in slow motion, each pilot catching glimpses of their allies’ struggle as they passed overhead. Though Battlegroup A was doing well enough to continue its mission without TRAP’s intervention, the battle below was still fierce enough the either side could gain momentum at any second. The men and women of the Atlantic Forward Fleet were some of Terra Firma’s best: professional soldiers. Against opponents like these, SAF’s men were being pushed to their limits, and from their vantage point above the Seven members of TRAP could see what lay in store for them.

Soon TRAP arrived at the sector of the battlezone under the jurisdiction of Battlegroup B. Proceeding with their plan, its members split up into their designated teams to conduct their operation. Gavin’s team, having TRAP’s most experienced pilot as well as the unit’s sole support frame in its ranks, headed further north than their allies, entering the heaviest part of Battlegroup B’s engagement zone. Here, the skies were nearly dominated by Terra Firma’s frames, which prevented any of the nearby fortresses from moving in close enough to strafe their targets below, which in turn was allowing TF to put more pressure on the rest of SAF’s forces. The situation needed to be rectified quickly, or the momentum of the battle could shift even farther in Terra FIrma’s favor.

“Mel, Leo, I want you two to stay on each other. Cover the Solstices while they try and make another attack run and keep those Catapults off of them. I’ll worry about clearing a path for you guys on your way in, alright?”

An uneasy “Roger that.” was Leo’s response. His nerves were starting to get to him, and it showed in his voice. Still, he maneuvered his frame toward the approaching formation of CFs and Solstice-class fortresses, who were trying yet again to gain a foothold in the air over the engagement zone.

“Miss Melissa, I’ll try and run interference for you while you form up with those guys. It’ll be a lot harder for them to catch me than it will for them to fire at you, and it’d probably be best if you were able to form up with our combat frames without taking any hits.” Leo intentionally spoke without a trace of authority in his voice. This was a request, not an order, and Melissa, who outranked him, could change their tactic if she so chose. Still, he knew that Savior was more vital to the success of the impending assault than the Canis was, and this was the best way he could come up with to ensure that she got to where she needed to be.

---

Meanwhile, Gavin directed the Hailstorm in the other direction, charging at TF’s airspace with as much velocity as he could force out of his frame’s thrusters. In front of him were several formations of CFs, as well as aircraft. For any regular pilot, charging at such superior numbers head on was suicide, but then Gavin wasn’t your average soldier, and Hailstorm wasn’t the average combat frame.

Inside the cockpit, Hailstorm’s computer buzzed with hundreds of “Target Locked” indications, and Gaivn’s screens were now covered in red targeting reticles surrounding enemy units. He smiled. This was the exact situation Hailstorm was designed for, and what made up for all of its heavy equipment and slow speed. In a way, Gavin lived for moments like these.

“Lets start the party, shall we?”

With one pull of the linked trigger, every one of Hailstorm’s missile pods opened fire, followed quickly by shots from its chest cannon and rifles, and punctuated by the namesake noise of its “Thud” canon launching one of its slugs. Within a few seconds, the sky in front of him lit up with the bright light from the explosions of missiles and combat frames, with the impact of Thud’s shell creating a second burst of light as it collided with a Myrmidon and exploded, taking some 10 other frames with it. Not wasting any more time than he needed to savoring the moment, Gavin dove toward the ocean as what remained of the formations he annihilated began to give chase. As he went, AA rounds could be heard bouncing off the Hailstorm’s heavy armor plating, their “dink-dink” noise growing slightly louder as the successive impacts ate away at the protective layers of the assault armor. Gavin wasn’t too worried though, drawing this much fire was all part of the plan, and as he bobbed and weaved in between TF naval vessels, he even managed to fire off a few rounds from his rifles, causing heavy damage to a few ships when the plasma and gauss shells made contact with their hulls.

After roughly 45 seconds of this, Gavin broke off from his assault, making his way toward a more SAF-controlled area of the engagement zone. In front of him, he could make out the facade of an older SAF aircraft carrier, burning and heavily damaged, but still afloat. Nearby it, he could make out the sight of a few frames and aircraft engaging.. something. A quick look at his radar showed it was about the size of a combat frame, but instead of the blu that indicated a friendly or the red that defined an enemy, his readout displayed a yellow diamond, inside which was a large “?”. The indicator meant that whatever it was, it wasn't broadcasting an IFF code. Whatever the reason, Gavin decided to take his chances, betting what he was seeing wasn't any sort of deception and was in fact a rather unlucky ally. Slowing down the Hailstorm, Gavin opened up his shoulder mounted missile pods for a second volley, targeting the confirmed enemies in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he opened fire.

Maeriberii Haan · March 21, 2015

This...did look like fencing, to an extent. Saria was unfamiliar with the exact thing, but he was confident enough that he would be able to follow it, though, probably Zalwara's superior experience in this sport would do him in. Or maybe not. This would be like in combat anyway, only with actual rules instead of a free-for-all. Zalwara's friend helped Saria to wear the body armor for the sparring match, and after both of them were satisfied, Saria then moved to pick his own wooden sword from the rack. He could've picked the longer sword so he could match Zalwara's monstrous reach, but at the last moment, he decided to pick a shorter sword instead, thinking that it would be easier for him to swing the sword in a versatile way. To see if the wooden blade was comfortable with him, he swung it around for a bit, and once he's satisfied, he walked towards Zalwara and prepared himself into a stance, still smiling at the vice-admiral.

"Now then, before we start, may I ask about the rules? I'm only familiar with fencing, so pardon me if I ask about this."

[divider1]

Her group had arrived to their designated location from the briefing, or at least, Aeolia had. She hadn't paid much attention to the current status of the twins and Mira, but she really damn hoped the two listened to her when she ordered them to immediately go to their engagement point. Aeolia was still as anxious as before, but she now tried to recite the relevant information for the mission just to distract herself from her anxiety. She found the idea that Terra Firma still fielded (probably slightly updated) F-35s hilarious. After all, it's close to two centuries(!) old by this point. To see these technological fossils still flying, even if TF had upgraded the design slightly to make them actually usable, it's like a sick joke.

Aeolia didn't ever consider TF's design choices for their combat frame to be anything pleasing to look at. Clunky machines like them looked like a travesty. But..ugh, this is getting too distracting from her mission.

"Alright, you three, listen up! Focus your attention on the upcoming Catapults as has been said! Do whatever you want, but don't do stupid things! Do you copy? Once again, do you three cop-"

Before she could get a confirmation regarding whether the three troublemakers actually listened to her orders, several objects that were coming at her general direction caught her attention. While at first it was unclear what they actually were, a closer inspection reveals that they were simply aircrafts, a new model definitely, but shouldn't be too much of a problem. Still, they're moving really damn fast and they seem to be heading towards the Solstices' direction, which could be concerning. But really, they won't pose a threat to the group, hopefully. The chance of them carrying bombs or some other nasty things to take down the Solstices would be a problem though, and with that in her mind, Aeolia contacted her three underlings again.

"Hey you three, I don't know what they're trying to do with those odd-looking fighters, but they're seemingly aiming to our fortresses, so go handle them before they get too close if you can."

[divider1]

"Goddamnit Renner! Why didn't you tell me earlier about this?" Adelheid was visibly angry. She had just learned about the fact that TRAP has sortied to a mission without telling her first. Standing on her CO's office, Adelheid stared sharply at the man.

"I could've actually arrived there just in time if you tell me about this sooner! Ugh...

Screw this, I'm going. Synchro Frames or not, four and a half would definitely not be enough, dammit. I'll go ahead and tell Atelier regarding this, but I'll definitely go there now. Avalon would be able to reach the place before too long, hopefully.

If the higher ups protests over this, I believe you can handle that well enough.

Goodbye."

Dad · March 21, 2015

Zalwara

Zalwara nodded, acknowledging Nisaria's request. "First and foremost, Aikido is a martial art. Unlike most others, it cannot be mastered. However, it can be in great practice. The purpose of this training, this practice, is to heighten your senses along with your partner's. To be aware of your surroundings, and be able to combat multiple opponents. Today, your partner is me," Zalwara said raising his bokken. "Typically, I would cover the etiquette of Aikido--your bows, movement, respects, and general dos and don'ts--but we are pressed for time. But next time, we will never enter the dojo and stand among the tatami--training mat--without proper bows and etiquette. It is disrespectful, and I do not tolerate disrespect." Zalwara held his bokken to eye level, and did a standing bow towards Hodges. "For practice purposes, do as I do. Today, O-Sensei will be Hodges. Typically, you would bow to the shrine if practicing alone," Zalwara said standing up straight, and pointing out the shrine behind Hodges.

"And do note, this is nothing like fencing," he said right away. "There are no points in Aikido. In battle, the opponent will not be attempting to touch you, but rather to kill you. For this reason, in Aikido, battle is decided by a single blow. We may have as many matches as you like, but each is decided with one strike." Zalwara lowered his bokken and took a few steps forward. "Remember, this is not a test of strength. We are not competing against each other. We are mirrors to one another, but we are here to raise one another's capability. The more you grow, the more I grow." Now, Zalwara did a standing bow to Nisaria. "Always bow to your partner before and after a match. And never over exert yourself in this place," he said standing up straight again. "This is merely for practice. You will be able to apply everything you learn here by one hundred fold on the battlefield. There, you may exert your force until you are content."

Zalwara took a few steps back, and stood in a ready stance, as Hodges backed away from the tatami. "When you are ready, you may begin," Zalwara said with two hands on his sword.

[hr]

Melissa

Gavin had finally caught up, with Leo right on his tail. Leo was going to provide cover for Melissa, while Gavin went to prepare a path for the rest of their forces. This was odd considering Melissa was a support Unit, but not overly strange because this was Leo's first real mission.

“Mel, Leo, I want you two to stay on each other. Cover the Solstices while they try and make another attack run and keep those Catapults off of them. I’ll worry about clearing a path for you guys on your way in, alright?”

"Copy," Melissa said as Gavin dashed away.

“Miss Melissa, I’ll try and run interference for you while you form up with those guys. It’ll be a lot harder for them to catch me than it will for them to fire at you, and it’d probably be best if you were able to form up with our combat frames without taking any hits.”

Melissa thought about this carefully. While it was her job to take fire for other frames, alleviate pressure, and distract, this was an ideal situation. If she let Leo lead now, it would give him ease in later deployments, and perhaps make him more comfortable. She could sense the uneasiness in his voice. He was naturally nervous, and Melissa wasn't surprised. But, because his frame was fast, he had a good point, and would easily be able to zip in and out of combat. "Okay, Leo," she said softly. Saviour had stopped mid flight, as Melissa picked her targets. Catapults were the biggest threat, and there were two in the immediate area. However, they were protected by a squad of Myrmidons. Unfortunately, there wasn't a more suitable fight, so she went in. By taking down Catapults preemptively, Gavin's efforts would be more fruitful, and perhaps lend a bigger lead to SAF. "Two catapults, six Myrmidons, 10 o'clock," she called to Leo. Melissa shot her thrusters forward, and prepared to take on the Myrmidons first.

Maeriberii Haan · March 25, 2015

[hr]

“Alright, Atelier, you’re around?”

Adelheid opened the quarters of the girl in question, which was apparently not locked. Not the first time she acted sloppy like this, but with this not being in the TRAP’s headquarters, the potential of awkward situations happening would increase tremendously here. But eh, that didn’t really matter much. Adel found Atelier inside, which was a relief for her since she didn’t have to run around the military complex to find her, or worse, deal with her one hell of a terrible father.

“The other members of TRAP are currently going on a mission on the Atlantic Ocean, and I’m going to go there now. It’s alright if you don’t want to go, but if you do, go prepare yourself and meet me in the hangar in about fifteen minutes. Don’t worry about your father, hopefully Renner has talked about this to him.

I’ll go have the crews to prepare your frame too, just so we can arrive as fast as possible.” Adelheid stopped for a bit, catching up her breath before continuing, “Well then, with that said, if in twenty minutes I couldn’t find you, I’ll depart on my own.

See you later.”

[divider1]

“One strike, huh? Alright then.” Following Zalwara’s instruction, Saria bowed at his direction, before he firmly gripped the handle of his sword and faced Zalwara’s direction. Saria honestly found the entire etiquette regarding a simple martial art like this to be quite amusing, but to not irk Zalwara, he refrained in giving any comments regarding this.

“I’m still quite new to this, so, hopefully you’ll point out my mistakes here, Vice-Admiral~!”

[divider1]

“Dammit!”

The calm demeanor from Annerheim had disappeared, replaced with a very visible sign of frustration. Her attempt of calling the other nearest Terra Firma base didn’t result to anything, as they were as confused and shocked as she were regarding the earlier incident. After realizing that she’s taking this too hard, Annerheim stopped for a bit to get her mind together for a bit, to think of what step she should take next.

“So captain, nothing huh? Guessed as much.”

“When we get back, I think I know who might have any ideas regarding this. I’ll go ask him.”

“Your father, right?”

“…Anyway, have all of our frames returned to the ship?”

“Yes, captain. No casualties from our ship, thankfully, but around ten of our Myrmidons had been heavily damaged, and around twenty of our other frames and aircrafts have also been damaged quite significantly. The wounded have been brought to the medbay immediately after they arrived.”

“Alright then. Ira, prepare to land, and Heinel, inform everyone that we’re going to send a survey team to assess the damage done to the base and the area surrounding it. And find Bernard, I need him to take command since I'm going to join on the survey.”

[divider1]

"Dammit...! Mira, Johan, Heinrich, where the hell are you two?"

It had been quite a while, and neither of the three had contacted Aeolia back after she ordered them to, which really irked the redhead. The aircrafts from earlier had been handled by the Combat Frames and the Solstices while she was not taking attention, at least, so that's one less thing to worry about.

But...

"Don't stand around there like an idiot! Shit, you're calling yourself an elite pilot? This is an actual battle, not a simulator!"

"Wh-"

Being called out by one of the pilots she supposed to protect like that felt a bit shameful and annoying for Aeolia, but well, he had a point. She could've gotten herself shot down by getting distracted like that. Aeolia then turned her cameras around to face the source of the transmission, a slightly battered Nimbus that was now standing besides her frame.

"You're supposed to cover us, right? Then go ahead and do it! Or this is your first time going on a frame, lady?"

"...Shut up. Dammit, shut up! I will protect you and everyone else here, but please shut up, alright?"

"Tch, what a child. Why do they even send a rookie like this to the middle of an important battle like this?" The pilot of the Nimbus said as he left Aeolia alone to fend off more incoming oppositions.

Aeolia took a deep breath after the man left, realizing that her anxiety was crawling back towards her. So far, she hadn't really fired any shots towards an enemy. She still had some difficulties in bringing herself to do that, and so far, she just left the job to others while she commanded them around. The man was definitely right. This was an actual battlefield. She's facing real opponents, she's protecting real people, and the outcome of this battle would be real. She could get killed here, and even if she didn't want to, she's bound to kill the opponents if she wanted for this to succeed.

"Dammit, why do you keep on spacing off like that, newbie? I said-"

The line from the comm was cut down abruptly, and Aeolia realized what happened. The Nimbus that carried the pilot that called her out for spacing out in the middle of the battlefield was shot down when he tried to warn her to get moving. It's all her fault, of course. She completely froze on her frame as she realized that she was directly causing someone to die. It was her first direct encounter with death, and the experience felt completely horrible for the woman, who could only stare blankly towards the monitor in front of her as a group of Myrmidons escorting seven Catapults closed in on her.

At the last moments, Aeolia closed her eyes, raised Messiah's plasma gatling towards the group, and started firing with everything she had.

[hr]

Asriel Dreemurr · March 25, 2015

The initial kill had been easy for the twins, and with the battlefield in the state that it was they had a perfect setup to do what they did best. The great plumes of smoke coming from the various downed craft provided a great deal of visual cover for the Drachenrand, and with the SDS preventing the enemy from acquiring them as targets with their sensors they were able to effectively fly through the battle like a ghost. For the time being, they stuck to the lower altitudes where they could hit the rear of the enemy's attack formations. Cutting or shooting down every frame they saw to cut off the flow of reinforcements to the front lines while the rest of their forces took on what was already there. They'd already racked up a fair sized kill count, and were just getting in the zone when something broke their concentration.

"Dammit..! Mira, Johan, Heinreich, where the hell are you two?" That familiar, somewhat shrill, voice pierced their hearing as the woman in command of their formation decided to make herself known again. Of course before they responded, the twins realized something was wrong. That wasn't the normal bítchy tone of voice they got from Aeolia...she was panicking. That gave them reason to worry, as panicking in a combat situation was an often lethal mistake.

"We're here, Aeo." They called in their response, hoping to calm the woman to some degree while they kept working at the enemy's reinforcements from the rear. That was when they saw it, a good sized group of Myrmidons flying in formation around a group of Catapults to provide them with defense against the SAF forces. That made a perfect target for them, and just as they were about to call in that they were engaging they realized something else. "Verdammt noch mal! Aeolia, move!" They shouted into the comm as the Drach boosted towards the formation. Normally they would have come in from the side or behind, but they needed to do something different. Instead of what might have been considered the "sensible" move, they slammed the Drach into the side of the Messiah to forcibly move it out of the way before shooting straight forward to engage the enemy. Sure, the frame took plenty of fire in the process but it was better than letting their temporary commander bite it. The twins opened up with missiles, blowing apart some of the myrmidons while they charged in to cut down the lead and continue into the midst of the formation. The other pilots, seeking not to be slain, scattered just as that black frame came crashing in.

"Oh no you don't!" They shouted, a quick check showing them that as they scattered the myrmidons clumped around the Catapults to try and protect them. The twins pursued one of the smaller resulting groups, leaving the biggest one for a certain fire supporting friend of theirs.

宇佐見蓮子@C94 · March 25, 2015

Immediately after the first sortie several days ago, Atel was greeted by his father upon returning to base. To the surprise of nobody, Arthur took the girl up to the Shells to do her usual monthly report, which later became a short vacation on the request of her dad. Atel spent her days up in the cities of the sky absent-mindedly walking around Shell, forgetting for a brief moment that she is a soldier in a brutal war. However, she did wonder why her dad kept her there for so long, instead of being let out in the front lines as usual.

[divider1]

Atel was watching some old action movies borrowed off her father's collection when Adel suddenly barged through the door. Luckily she's not in any kind of embarrassing situation, but she was startled nevertheless.

“The other members of TRAP are currently going on a mission on the Atlantic Ocean, and I’m going to go there now. It’s alright if you don’t want to go, but if you do, go prepare yourself and meet me in the hangar in about fifteen minutes. Don’t worry about your father, hopefully Renner has talked about this to him."

Is what Adel told her. "A mission? Did Father really agree to this...?" The white-haired girl thought to herself, pretending to ponder over her choices. Even though she's easily in a position to refuse the mission, especially considering the fact that her father hasn't actually given the go yet, she's never one to refuse orders, ever. Once her superior left the room, she immediately changed into flight gear and departed for the hangar, but not before turning off the TV as to not waste electricity.

Navigating the SAF Base up in Shell was more difficult than navigating TRAP's base which she was more familiar with, but she made it there nevertheless, with Adel already waiting and technicians swarming over Gungnir. "Atelier Holyfield, reporting in. I was here within 12 minutes and 38 seconds of my requested arrival, so I believe that means I accept the mission." Without even waiting for a response, Atel immediately walked over to Gungnir and made preparations to board it and take off. But before that...

"Attention, Adelheid Schwarzschild of TRAP." A loud, deep voice resonated through the hangar's PA system. A voice familiar to both the inhabitants of the SAF base and Adel herself; it's Arthur. "It has been brought to my attention that you are taking the girl out for a sortie without first requesting my permission. While she has no agenda as for today, I feel compelled to remind you that while here, she is under my jurisdiction and you are to report directly to me for orders concerning her. Is that clear? As addendum, if something happens to her, something happens to you."

Meanwhile, Atel seemed to pay her father's public rant little to no mind, instead only staring at Adel in her usual deadpan look, completely unamused.

Astolfo · March 25, 2015

Calmly scanning over the battlefield and absorbing in the layout, Mira analyzed the mental map inside her head while charging her cannon up for more shots. At that moment, Aeolia's annoying voice rang in demanding in a shrill voice her wherabouts. Sighing, she briefly replied, "In sniper position right now, try'na focus if ya' dun mind." Shutting off her com, she resumed her search. Noticing an opening in the enemy, she snapped her gaze around to notice the Drachenrand splitting up a group of Myrmidons protecting Catapults. They successfully chased after the smaller one, leaving the other group wide open to fire. Not wasting even a second, she locked her sight onto the enemy Catapult. It was still surrounded by Myrmidons, but that was irrelevant. Her blast could punch through every single one of those damned trash heaps.

From the earth, mortals rise, and to the earth, they fall. But where will the trash go? Blindingly bright energies were charging inside the Skyblaze's cannon, producing a pleasant resonating hum. "Of course..." Mira's finger grasped the trigger with a gentleness that belied the force of what the incoming blast would be. "It would be..."

[divider1]

Two Myrmidons farthest to the left of the Catapult they were guarding noticed a flash of light out of their peripheral vision. One of the more apt-minded ones poured power into his triggers to push himself and the Catapult out of the way, knowing that light was a sign of sure death. Unfortunately for him and the Catapult, as well as every other Myrmidon, his friend had decided to bolt for the other direction, yanking his friend with him. In that half-second of struggle back and forth fixating them to their original spot, all their worries would vanish - as well as their bodies.

Screaming through the air, a wicked lance of blue-white plasma tore through the air. Slamming into the mecha entourage that had been foolishly indecisive about which one direction to head, the spear tore clean through without a second of delay, leaving not even ash behind. The acrid smell of ozone hung in the air as the laser-like blast dissipated, having annihilated its enemies.

[divider1]

"To Hell."

Maeriberii Haan · March 27, 2015

"It has been brought to my attention that you are taking the girl out for a sortie without first requesting my permission. While she has no agenda as for today, I feel compelled to remind you that while here, she is under my jurisdiction and you are to report directly to me for orders concerning her. Is that clear? As addendum, if something happens to her, something happens to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Rather than worrying about this, can you worry more about your health, old geezer?" Of course, despite the snide tone from her reply, Adelheid had to lower her tone a bit on the last words. Angering him at a time like this wouldn't do her any good, after all. At least, Atel was already there, ready to launch. Adel approached her before she boarded her frame, intent on giving her a short briefing.

"Alright then, Atelier. I've sent what Captain Renner have regarding the information of the mission to Gungnir, and I'll try to connect to the head of our fleet there for a more up-to-date information. I believe with your booster, you will be able to reach the destination faster that I could, so refer immediately to Decker's instructions once you get there, understand?

With that said, time for us to launch."

Not really waiting for Atelier's answer, Adel immediately went towards her frame.and entered the cockpit. No need to wait for Atel's confirmation, after all. Unless it directly against her father's order, she would almost guaranteed to comply, which actually somewhat unnerved Adel. While it couldn't really be said that she's close to anyone on TRAP aside from the late Lauren, she's really feeling uncomfortable around Atel the most. Like...she's a nice girl, but Adel could barely see her as a person. She was...simply too mechanical for her liking. While there's never really any reasoning for Adel to berate her often like she did to most other members of TRAP, everything regarding her felt completely wrong.

Though, it really shouldn't be a problem. She should take this entirely on a professional level, after all. With her putting those thoughts regarding the sniper aside, Adelheid then checked Avalon's status, and when she was sure that everything was alright with it, she asked for the crews for the permission to launch as she moved the combat frame to the nearest catapult. After getting the feet of her frame attached to the lane, she activated the frame's folding function, and turned most of her frame to its jet fighter configuration, other than the legs. It looked quite a bit silly, yes, but it's probably the best way to start this with, since as far as she could remember, the catapult there did not support the deployment of aircrafts, which was a shame, really. Despite frames being more and more popular, Adel still preferred aircrafts more, which probably was the reason why she used the jet fighter configuration of her frame the most. But eh, sentiments shouldn't really be in her mind right now. The preparation had been completed, and the runway had been set. It's time for her to launch.

"Adelheid Schwarzchild, Avalon, ready for action."

The sound of engines being started up. And just like that, on the next second Adelheid was already out from the base, alone in the blue sky. Gungnir would follow her soon, and after savoring the moment for a bit, Adel folded the legs of her frame, and fired off all of its boosters, aiming to reach the airspace of the battle before it ended.

"Let's not waste any time, Atelier."

Makο · March 28, 2015

The gentle warmth of the blood trickling down Owen’s arm gave him no comfort as he gazed through the new manhole-sized breach in his cockpit, where several monitors and gauges used to be. He gazed out into the raging battle, sighing with more than just discontent.

“Of all the damned…” he cut off his own muttering, performing a system diagnostic through one of the monitors he had left in front of him. Most things checked out green, including his primary propulsion systems, to his relief and surprise. The hit he had taken was monstrous, and he knew from how his relic creaked and groaned that it was more than just shaken up. He scrolled through dozens of scenarios and calculations in his head, theorizing on how the shot hadn’t completely disabled him on the spot. He quickly shook them out in an attempt to stay focused, and observed the few red lights he did have.

“Right-Arm Pilebunker, long-range communication array, short-range communication array… it just had to hit my IFF transponder as well, didn’t it? Not that we have all that many forces left to begin with.”

He seriously considered redesigning his frame so that all the vital communication systems would not be in the same exact spot.

Nākahi began to lift itself out of the rubble it had found itself in, launched from the side after taking the hit. Owen hadn’t caught what hit him, but he didn’t have time to see if it was still there. The moment he looked to check, a swarm of missiles flew from out of his vision radius, colliding with the several Combat Frames that had gotten the jump on him whilst locked-down and firing on the carrier. It was surely one of those, but he’d never know.

Back on his feet, he took slow, careful steps forward with Nākahi, making sure that there was anything loose that his damage recognition software hadn’t found. Leg joints still functioning at maximum capacity, though the paint had been almost completely scrapped off. The majority of his right arm had been completely disabled from the shot, but his left somehow still functioned despite being slammed into solid metal from the blast. His Reverb-Cannons also showed full functionality.

…Partial functionality. Being on pivots, the impact had de-calibrated the left cannon, with it now leaning perpetually right.

“…Perfect.”

He didn’t particularly enjoy making repairs, but at least this was a new opportunity to revamp some systems that real-life Frame Combat had practically rendered irrelevant.

It appeared that some other systems had been knocked a bit loose, since the long-range motion tracker had just restored functionality. And, of course, it was blaring a loud tone, indicating that a bogey was very nearby, and approaching fast. He swung his frame around, quickly dashing back and into the air as he watched a blade-wielding TF Frame slice down onto the spot he once stood.

There’s nothing more disorienting than taking a hit, is there? Can’t think straight.

He flipped a small lever to his left labeled “ALM,” sending a swarm of 13 Micro-Missiles fluttering out from various ports all over Nākahi. They were too fast for the poor Frame to avoid, colliding with several vital pivots of the machine and rendering it to pieces. While useful in situations where one has not enough time to properly lock onto a target, it is not advised to use the Auto-Lock Missile system in a mixed engagement.

Owen quickly surveyed the battle in an attempt to determine where the first set of missiles had come from. It sure didn’t come from any of the forces he was with, as most of them had already been decimated. From what he could see, a reinforcement group of several Frames had entered the battle, and were dealing heavy damage to the once advantaged TF forces.

“…I didn’t think reinforcements would make it out this far. A lucky break, for sure.”

He reached over to his comms unit to get in contact with these new allies. Of course, all he ended up doing was sticking his arm into thin air, where it had once been. It had dawned upon him that this also meant his IFF transponder was off, and that first set of missiles could have been aimed for him. After all, there’s no assuming that ALL the new Frames in the battle were allies.

“I’ll have to assume that he’s on my side, I guess.”

…

Using his remaining functioning arm, we gave a quick wave to the distant supposed ally, before lowering himself back down onto the deck of the old SF carrier. He leaned down to a crouching position, shooting said remaining arm from its Pilebunker into the deck of the carrier. He located the closest enemy battle group he could see, and took aim with his Reverb-Cannons, making sure to adjust for the left cannon’s damage.

“…I guess I never learn, do I?”

The deafening roar of the cannons rang out, unleashing a storm of HE/F Proximity rounds towards his enemies.

Dad · March 28, 2015

Zalwara & Nisaria

“I’m still quite new to this, so, hopefully you’ll point out my mistakes here, Vice-Admiral~!”

"I'd be glad to, Nisaria," Zalwara said as he tightened his grip on his bokken. Just before the duel began, he saw a shadow behind Nisaria disappear towards the main deck. "Takeo?" He quickly turned his attention back to Nisaria, who had begun his assault. He charged Zalwara, carefully, tactfully. Three swift stabs with his bokken, in an attempt to end the duel quickly. However, Zalwara parried them all. "Perhaps I should change my approach," he said jokingly. Zalwara nodded, and Nisaria continued. Another flurry of strikes. Right strike, left strike, stab, stab, left strike. It was a more elegant form of boxing. And these two were duking it out. Right strike. Parry. Right strike. Parry. Quick stab. Parry. Slash. Parry. It wasn't enough. Zalwara grew anxious now, and went on the offensive. Another slice came at Zalwara's left, but he parried it again, this time knocking the opposing Bokken upwards and out of Nisaria's hand. Then, Zalwara stopped, bopping Nisaria on the head, as Hodges swung his arm downward, declaring the first duel over. "How are you treating this, Nisaria?"

The young man rubbed his head. "Vice Admiral, that hurt," he said picking up his bokken.

"Yes. And on the battlefield, it will kill you." Zalwara took a few steps back, and sat down on the tatami, folding his legs. "I don't believe you're taking this seriously," he said sternly. Nisaria sighed in reply.

"Well, I did say I was new to this. What would you have me do, Vice Admiral~?" he said with an earnest smile. He too sat down on the tatami across from Zalwara. "I guess I could feign interest. At least long enough to learn something about this guy."

"It is difficult to say 'what you are doing wrong', because that is not the nature of this martial art. Rather, I must reshape your train of thought, your focus, to better grasp this training, and hopefully apply it outside of these walls." It was pretty obvious that Zalwara was serious, but this was still a bit much for Nisaria. "Instead of sparring, we should talk first."

"Oh boy," Nisaria thought. He prepared to stay for the lecture by leaning back on the palms of his hands and relaxing a bit. "What did you have in mind, Vice Admiral?"

"I will touch briefly on three things: Your swiftness, your force, and your strength. And from what I grasp, you are mixing two of the three. Your strikes are empty, without purpose. You seek to defeat me, but you do not seek to kill me. From now on, you will see me as you would an enemy on the battlefield. I am here to kill you, and you are here to kill me."

Nisaria was taken slightly aback, but he understood. "Okay then. Let's get to it." They both stood to their feet, and Zalwara approached Nisaria, loosely holding his bokken. "Imitate my stance," Zalwara said as he spread his legs out, and raised his bokken to his chest. Placing both hands on the guard, he watched Nisaria mimic him exactly.

"Good. Now keep your eyes forward. And without watching me, I want you to move as I move. But first," he said taking a deep breath. "Find your center. Breathe. You are your surroundings. You must be tranquil, and aware." Nisaria cooperated, and took a long, deep breath. "Exhale slowly, careful not to exert your lungs." They exhaled slowly, and Zalwara nodded. "Good. Now. Do as I do. You are fast, Nisaria, but you are not swift."

Zalwara quickly dropped his left hand, and swung wide left with his right hand, crossing over his own arm, and striking behind himself, over his chest, and across his heart in one motion. No other part of him moved, as he returned the arc motion back to his two handed guard posture. Nisaria only caught a glimpse of the motion, and copied it as best he could. While Nisaria copied the motion accurately, Zalwara continued. "Now. To be swift you must visualize your body through the eyes of the enemy. What you just did is a simple one armed motion used to defend and attack the enemy before you, behind you, beside you, and beneath you. This will be a basic maneuver you find me referring to often. Remember. As your blood flows throughout your body, let your body flow with it. Your strikes should not be tense, but swift. Let your movements be fluid, like a river." Starting the one armed motion again, Zalwara dropped his left hand. This time, striking out as he returned from the initial arc, and returning to his two handed guard stance. "Try it."

And Nisaria did, successfully. He was a fast learner. "Good. We may get through this sooner than I believed. One more motion. This time, more complicated." Nisaria nodded, his eyes still forward. Zalwara dropped his left hand again, and began the arc motion. As he entered the half arc, he entered and exited the two handed guard with extremely precise and quick motion, completed his arc, and struck outwards. Then, returning to the two handed guard stance, he kept moving, seamlessly. With both hands still on his bokken, he created a reverse of the initial arc motion, on the opposite side of his body, exited and entered the two handed guard again, struck outwards, and returned to standing position. When he had finished, he took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Try it," Zalwara said standing back.

Not to his surprise, Nisaria nearly grasped it the first time around. However, after nearly striking Zalwara in the face, Zalwara made Nisaria return to starting position. "Try it again. Don't listen to me. Listen to your body. You can move flawlessly. And you will. Now. Again." Nisaria moved, but cramped his left arm entering and exiting the two handed guard. "Again." He failed. "Again." He failed. "Again." He . . . succeeded. "Good. Now. Put those movements together in succession. Three times." Zalwara stepped back again, and watched. And Nisaria moved flawlessly. "What you are doing is a method referred to as the 'Solid Guard'. While you will not always use every motion, you will find that you will be able to better interact with enemies who surround."

"I almost feel like I'm just flailing about," Nisaria said finishing his movements. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"Then perhaps you'd like to try it," Zalwara said ushering over Hodges. Zalwara stood in front of Nisaria, and Hodges stood behind the young man, with a bokken in hand. "Do not move from that position, Nisaria." Nisaria raised an eyebrow, but readied himself, entering the two handed guard. Zalwara nodded to Hodges, who nodded in kind. They circled Nisaria, and Zalwara went first. An over head slash. Parry. From behind, a swift stab. Parried. At the same time. And this was the arc motion, half arc. Zalwara said nothing, trying not to smile. they continued circling Nisaria, and Zalwara came from his back this time. Hodges lunged with a series of swift stabs. Parry. Parry. Counter? Raising back into the two handed guard, Nisaria unintentionally disarmed Hodges. Zalwara stopped, almost in shock. Hodges laughed it off, retrieving his bokken, and returning it to its place. "Let's move on to force," Zalwara said.

"What's the difference between force and strength?" Nisaria asked right away.

"Force does not determine the power of your strikes. It determines their validity. How solid are your strikes? What purpose do they serve? Do you intend to disarm? Wound? Maim? Kill? That is force," Zalwara said as he now stood before Nisaria. "Now. Come at me."

Nisaria obliged. Overhead strike. Parry. Underhand strike. Parry. Quick right slash. Parry. "Stop. What is your aim?" Nisaria stopped. "I'm not sure actually. What did you wan--"

"It's not about what I want. What do you want? Do you intend to kill me? Force, Nisaria, is much like a powerful storm. You cannot determine its value. But you can sweep your enemy away, knock them off balance, surprise them, and out think them. Blow your enemy away, like a typhoon." Zalwara said referencing himself from earlier.

Nisaria understood, and the duel resumed. This time, they went blow for blow. Their bokken clashed, clashed, and clashed again. Nisaria and Zalwara were thinking alike. Then Nisaria decided on something else. Zalwara purposely kept his attack pattern the same, to provide an opening. And Nisaria saw it, and took it. He had successfully disarmed Zalwara. "Excellent. Force and strength are the two simplest of techniques. And when you're ready, we'll move on to strength."

Nisaria nodded, stepping back, and exhaling. "So, if force is essentially just, I guess, my analysis of combat, and applying a strategy to the scenario, then what is strength?"

Zalwara chuckled. "It is just what you think it is. It is the strength of your blows. Your blows should leave your enemy breathless, lifeless, stinging. You should burn away their hope, like a raging fire."

Nisaria laughed. "I feel like I've heard this somewhere before," he said rubbing his head.

Zalwara nodded. "You may have. It was in one of Admiral Takeo's addresses to several developing units, some years ago, just as I was coming aboard the Dark Tide. But now," he said retrieving his bokken. "Let's end this properly, shall we?" he said entering the two handed guard.

Meanwhile, Hodges sat back and watched in amazement, as Nisaria picked up something that took him several months, in a matter of an hour. "That's pretty damn impressive," he mumbled to himself. In the end, Nisaria and Zalwara settled their duels at five to three, with Zalwara being up by two.

"That was interesting, to say the least," Nisaria said taking a seat. "Why all the trouble to teach me, Vice Admiral?"

Zalwara remained silent for a moment, sitting opposite of Nisaria. "You struck my curiosity, Nisaria. And I have keen senses. I know when someone with potential shows their face, that I should seek to help them grow."

"Potential? I don't--"

"I do not believe myself immortal, Nisaria. I will likely never have a family. And so I must leave my mark somewhere. I'm starting it with you."

Nisaria stared blankly, as Hodges took that as his note to leave. "Well, why me?" he asked finally. "Because--" Zalwara caught himself. "I am unable to say at this time. Whether you choose to follow me, is entirely your decision. However, I am grateful for the time you've spent training with me today. Thank you," he said standing to his feet. "But, I should prepare for the upcoming battle. As should you," Zalwara said grabbing his uniform. "I'll see you again soon, Nisaria."

Nisaria remained seated for a while, trying to further analyze Zalwara's train of thought. "He's a weird one, alright."

Maeriberii Haan · March 30, 2015

"Ugh..."

Red light flashed all around Aeolia. Still reeling from the impact of the Drachenrand pushing her frame away from the upcoming Myrmidons, it took her a while to get out of her daze and return her focus to the battlefield. Her head was still hurting due to the rough bump, she then decided to first of all, monitor the damage that her frame suffered from the encounter. It seemed that Drachenrand had absorbed most of the damage that she would've suffered, which meant her frame was still fully functional, probably.

...Dammit, Aeolia, this is not the time to be sentimental! You don't even know him! You could've actually died, you know?

Dead. She could've actually died at that point. That thought was still completely hard to process by Aeolia's mind. It still...it somehow felt that it wasn't even real. All of this felt like it was just a dream. Her? Dead? She couldn't really put herself into that position. But, no matter how much she tried to look at it, this was not a dream. She did just have a close encounter with death. And all of that was due to her being stupid and sentimental.

And afraid.

"...Ha...is that some kind of joke? Afraid?"

Checking her ammunition for a bit, Aeolia then grabbed the control panel of her frame back, just as a Myrmidon started to open fire at her with its machine gun. Aeolia fired off Messiah's boosters immediately and dodged the brunt of the fire, before speeding up straight to the upcoming frame. Before her opponent could counter her properly, she bashed the combat frame using her own frame's shield, before opening fire using her back-mounted cannons, blasting her opponent to pieces. Her radar then noticed that the Terra Firma's fleet below her had started to fire their anti-air weaponry towards the SAF frames near her, and she could pick up that two groups of Terra Firma aircrafts and frames were trying to flank their position from two different sides, intent on surrounding and eliminating their Solstices.

No time for sentiments in a battle, Aeolia. This is not the place to sympathize with others like that. Not the time to be squeamish.

Kill or be killed. It's simple.

"Drachenrand, Skyblaze, check your radars, we got more incoming. Prioritize on taking out their Catapults, and after that, our Solstices and remaining frames should be able to handle the rest. The ships below might also be a problem, but for now, I doubt they would be able to take down our fortresses.

And...next time, please don't be late again."

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Aeolia was still afraid. Afraid of getting killed, afraid of getting her allies killed, afraid of killing her enemies. But, even so, just like always, she should be able to just steel her heart. Even if the venue were different, she could try to look and act tough here too, no?

There's no way she would show her weaknesses in a time and place like this.

BANZAI!!!! · April 1, 2015

Gavin paid little mind to the three or four frames he’d destroyed with his latest barrage of missiles as he did a fly-by of the smoldering SAF carrier. She was in bad shape, with most of her deck having been devoured by flames or debris. Her bridge was gone, and whatever combat capability the vessel had had been rendered irrelevant by the extensive battle damage. Despite this however, she still managed to remain afloat, though it was doubtful if there were many crewmembers left aboard, as any sensible crew would have evacuated and redirected their surviving frames and aircraft to other vessels for resupply. After passing the vessel, Gavin turned the Hailstorm around just in time to see the impact of two rather large flak rounds on a second group of TF combat frames. A quick read of his instruments told him that the mystery target had been picked up again, and as Gavin passed over the carrier again he spotted its source.

It was a frame, definitely unlike anything he’d seen Terra Firma field, and rather different from most SAF designs as well. It was black, with a pair of rather large cannons mounted to its back, and from the looks of it the frame had taken some rather severe damage. Gavin hoped the hole he observed in the torso wasn’t where he thought it was as he landed the Hailstorm on the deck a few yards away from the other frame.

“Run a visual database check on that target.”

The Hailstorm’s computer ran the mystery Frame’s image in its camera through an onboard database, a few seconds later coming back with a 98% match to a Synchro Frame currently assigned to another unit, codenamed Nakahi. A set of pings on Hailstorm’s radome alerted Gavin to another approaching formation of Terra Firma craft as he extended his frame’s left arm toward the Nakahi, a small cable firing out from the gap between the hand’s middle two fingers and attaching itself to the body of the other frame via a grappling claw. This was a contact link, a device commonly used by frame pilots for short range communication that transmitted sound directly from one cockpit to another through vibrations. Though the audio from these devices often sounded metallic and slightly garbled, and communication was only one-way (with each machine needing to contribute its own separate cable in order to have a two-way conversation), they were immensely useful for quick communication when a radio transmission was either impossible or infeasible.

“This is Lieutenant Commander Gavin Decker of the Tactical Response Advanced Platoon. Looks like you guys took a pretty big pounding in that last assault, and I don’t think this boat’s going to stay afloat for much longer. If you can still move then I suggest you form up with my team and follow me out of here. I’m sure your frame can still keep up with ours and we could use all the help we can get up top.” Gavin’s AMS caused the Hailstorm’s right arm to gesture upward as he spoke, pointing its rifle at the reflective silhouettes of the approaching Solstice flight, where Leo and Melissa were currently flying. “I’ll keep you covered until you're airborne, but we’ve got to hurry. There’s another flight of enemies on its way.”

With that, Gavin detached his contact link cable and took off, hovering in the airspace near the carrier. The enemies that Hailstorm’s radar had picked up earlier were now in visual range, with Gavin’s scopes clearly being able to pick out a large group of frames consisting of 5 Argonauts, one of which (likely the commander) was armed with what appeared to be a plasma rifle. To their flanks were a further 10 Myrmidons, half of which were sporting Argonaut-use heavy bazookas in place of their standard assault rifles. Though obscured by the 15 frames in front of them, Gavin also picked out 5 catapults, 1 of which was clearly sporting Arc cannons, while the rest were armed with the more conventional assault cannons. This formation was what was commonly known among pilots as a strike squad: a unit designed for swift assaults against more lightly armored targets, and the perfect formation for taking on naval vessels and small groups of frames. They were clearly sent in to mop up what was left of SAF’s forces in this part of the battle zone, which at this point consisted of Gavin, the Nakahi, whatever small number of SAF frames were left in the vicinity (Gavin’s radome showed a flight of 6 Nimbus on their way to intercept, probably all the assault force that he’d sent Leo and Mel to could spare) and the few functional vessels in the vicinity of the carrier, which were likely targeting with their Surface-to-Air Missiles.

BGM: 5 point Five

“Alright then. Lets break ‘em up and give ‘em a little scare.” Gavin chambered another slug in his “Thud” cannon and opened fire, blowing the Hailstorm back from the recoil as the massive 200mm round made its namesake noise, rocketing forward toward the oncoming formation. Though the railcannon’s rather short barrel meant the enemy frames were too far out to be accurately hit, the shockwaves from the shell passing near them (as well as the fear it must have put in the enemy pilots to see such a large round nearly decimate their formation) caused the squad to break rank and separate as they continued to fly toward the carrier.

---

"Two catapults, six Myrmidons, 10 o'clock."

Leo turned the Canis’s head toward his 10 o’clock, and spied the enemy formation closing in from below. Both Catapults had swapped their left railcanon out for a large plasma blade emitter, and the Myrmidons all seemed to be carrying larger, newer gauss assault rifles as opposed to the smaller assault rifles Leo had seen them carry on his first day.

“Better equipped than usual. Well Gavin did say these Forward Feet guys were pros...”

Leo gulped, trying his best to balance fighting back his own fear and flying his machine. After a moment of hesitation, The Canis shot forward with a sudden acceleration, breaking the sound barrier and moving far ahead of the Solstices and their escorts, as Leo detached the fang rifles from their locks, holding one in each hand while the strike shield rotated 180 degrees on its hardpoint so that it wouldn’t restrict the left hand’s movement.

BGM: Unexpected

Unfortunately, his head-on approach was detected almost immediately, and Leo was met with a barrage of gauss fire. Though Leo’s AMS assisted him in reacting, his reflexes and the Canis’s high speed meant that he couldn’t react quite fast enough, and as he attempted to decelerate and maneuver to the side, Canis was peppered with gauss rounds, Leo’s cockpit shaking violently with the shock of dozens of hits, the impacts on his frame’s armor sounding reminiscent of large hailstones impacting a tin roof from the inside of the cockpit. Luckily, a combination of Canis’s rapid sideways movement and its Synchro Frame-grade armor managed to prevent any severe damage, though the barrage had managed to dislodge a rather large piece of armor plating from the left shoulder, exposing both arm servos and the fuel line for the frontal thruster above the damage to the open air.

“Left arm. Moderate Damage sustained. No loss of functionality detected.”

A red “!” on Leo’s screen accompanied the Canis computer’s calm announcement and was then quickly replaced on the HUD by a large, translucent wireframe of the Canis, the damaged area of the left shoulder being highlighted in red and blinking a few times before the image disappeared from view, so as not to impair the pilot’s vision for an unnecessary length of time. The hits and the resultant shaking had left Leo numb, yet despite this he could feel his heart pounding violently in his chest. The six enemy frames, having broken formation, were now spread out more laterally, with the four Myrmidons closing in on the Canis while the two catapults made a push toward the Solstices, where Melissa and the fortress escorts could intercept them.

Leo took aim with his rifles as he reversed direction, putting more distance between himself and the four enemy frames by utilizing Canis’s superior speed. Leo could feel his hands shaking as he gripped his controls, the Canis’s Allegorical Manipulation System reading his brain impulses as he willed the machine’s arms steady with a conscious thought. More gauss rounds came flying in as he did so, though this time the longer distance prevented them from being nearly as accurate, with only the occasional muffled “thunk” of a singular bullet bouncing off of the armor plating indicating a hit. Still the noise was enough to send a set of fear-induced chills through Leo’s body as a targeting reticle appeared on Leo’s screen.

“My turn!!”

Yelling aloud in the cockpit to help will himself to pull the twin triggers, Leo opened fire, bolts of plasma erupting from both barrels toward the nearest of the four enemy frames. Unlike the skirmish over Ireland weeks before, Leo had taken time to aim his weapons properly, and though the pilot of the Myrmidon reacted quickly, there wasn’t enough time for him to move his frame entirely out of the bolts’ trajectory. One of the shots connected with the Myrmidon’s right shoulder, vaporizing it and a portion of its torso as the plasma bloomed outward, the lower part of the arm and the rifle it carried falling toward the ocean below as the Myrmidon righted itself and spun out of its pursuit, still managing to fly despite its severe damage. More bolts followed as Leo held down his triggers, moving the Canis’s arms to fire at the other three enemy frames as they fanned out to the sides and launched barrages from their shoulder missile pods.

”Missile. Evade. Missile. Evade. Missile. Evade-”

Canis’s computer continued repeating the warning as 15 warheads closed in on it, all locked onto the heat signature from Canis’s numerous thrusters. Leo didn’t hesitate this time, though, and ascended as rapidly as possible, causing a few of the missiles to lose their lock as Canis changed direction. The rest turned and followed him upward, still closing in. Soon it would be impossible to avoid them.

“Let’s see if this works...”

Using a combination of the AMS and Canis’s naturally swift joint movements, Leo reattached the fang rifles to the strike shield in less than half a second, then, he disengaged all of the Synchro Frame’s thrusters, causing it to pitch downward and begin falling headfirst toward the ocean. As it did this, Leo reignited as many thrusters as he could angle upward, sending the Canis shooting down at incredible speed past most of the oncoming missiles, which lost their targeting as the Canis blew by. Two, however, were almost directly in its path, and at this point were unavoidable, Leo using the combined strike shield and fang rifles to protect himself from any damage.

Still screaming at the ocean below, Leo shifted direction once again, getting flung back in his seat as the AMS righted Canis and the frame decelerated. Before he could continue engaging the enemy however, Leo was rocked and rattled once again by three successive missile impacts from its rear, the Canis computer’s missile warning being replaced by “Torso. Light Damage sustained. Central rear thruster down to 95% efficiency.”

Leo turned his machine around just in time to see the Myrmidon he’d damaged earlier charging him, combat knife drawn in an attempt to stab the Canis’s cockpit. Leo reacted quickly. Using the AMS to will the Canis’s movements, he drew the plasma saber from the strike shield, activating it as the Myrmidon closed to melee range.

With one swift movement, he cleaved the Myrmidon in two.

The plasma saber melted its way through the enemy’s cockpit, the two halves of the frame falling away in separate directions, and the upper half exploding shortly after as the ST drive’s plasma breached containment. The Canis hovered in the air, arm and saber still outstretched from the slash, Leo shuddering in his seat.

“The pilot. I just- they’re dead...” Leo could barely breathe as the initial shock gave way to a rapidly intensifying sensation of regret and guilt, accompanied by the instantaneous onset of nausea so intense that he barely managed to fight his gag reflex. The sensation of it was horrible, a terrible burning anguish that constricted the lungs and stung in his chest. How the hell could they expect him to do this to another person? It was so wrong, so utterly revolting to comprehend, and he’d never be able to take it back. There was no undoing it. Leo had killed another human being.

Then Leo thought of his sister, and what it must have been like for her to be in this cockpit a month ago, staring down that enemy Synchro Frame and confronting her own mortality, just like the enemy he’d shot down must surely have. It was part of the risk one had to take in being a soldier. Leo himself might have to face it one day, as might one of his teammates in TRAP.

His teammates.

The thought brought Leo back to reality, the cockpit surrounding him coming back into his perception. Mira, Gavin, Melissa… Everyone was counting on him, relying on him to do his job as a pilot so that none of them would end up like Lauren or the pilot in the Myrmidon, and right now that was more important. Steeling himself, Leo scanned the area for the remaining Myrmidons. He quickly located them above where the Canis was hovering, heading toward the Catapults and the Solstices they were supposed to be escorting. In addition, Leo spied an additional larger frame squad approaching low from another direction.

“5 Argonauts, 6 Myrmidons, 3 catapults. coming in low from your 4 o’clock. Standard armaments.” Leo called over the radio, obviously shaken but doing his utmost to sound composed and focused on the mission.

Maeriberii Haan · April 15, 2015

[hr]

Two Argonauts, three Myrmidons, and two Catapults were coming from Aeolia's left side, according to her frame's cameras. Most of them sported standard equipments, which was a relief. Seeing that the group of enemy reinforcement had become smaller and smaller, Aeolia concluded that they're trying to flank the group's position in their attempt to shoot down the SAF's flying fortresses, so it's safe to say that other groups of enemy frames would close in immediately. Aeolia blamed the commander of the SAF force there for letting the enemy get the chance to surround the group, but right now, it kind of didn't matter.

Firing off the Messiah's thrusters, Aeolia moved into a better position where she could confront the opposing frames directly. The anti-air support from the four of Terra Firma's sea vessels below made handling the previous reinforcements a pain to handle, but with her not really equipping her frame with suitable weapon to sink ships. it's probably be better if she gave Drachenrand or Skyblaze the order to handle those. Then again, right now, she had her own thing to take care of.

From her position, Aeolia aimed Messiah's plasma rifle to the group of enemy, and started firing. The initial wave of attack managed to blow up one of the Myrmidons, and the opposing group immediately split apart from their initial formation and started firing back at her. According to simulators, her frame should be able to withstand a few direct hits from the opposing gatlings without losing most of its function, so Aeolia, despite her initial fear, decided to recklessly charge straight at her opponents, with her back-mounted anti-air cannons firing off its load at anything Aeolia could target at. Her frame's superior speed allowed her to close the gap between her and her opponent before the opposing Argonaut was able to prepare itself for close-range combat. Without giving it any time to retaliate, Aeolia used her frame's wrist mounted plasma saber to strike directly at the Argonaut's cockpit, melting anything on its path including the pilot, before kicking the immobile frame right at another Myrmidon, distracting it for a second which allowed Aeolia to use her rapid-fire rifle to blow the opposing frame to small bits. By then, when she went on to assault the other frames, a direct shot blasted Messiah's left leg to pieces, narrowly avoiding the vital parts of the frame. At the same time, Aeolia's radar picked up the signal that three other groups of enemy frames were approaching her group. With that info, Aeolia immediately contacted Drach and Skyblaze, along with any other allied frames left on the area, while trying her best to dodge her opponent's onslaught at her frame.

"Three enemy groups approaching. I detected 10 frame signatures on each of them, but I'm not in the position to be able to confirm directly on what were on those groups. But, assuming it's roughly the same as the previous ones, these groups would consist of mainly Argonauts and Myrmidons, with 2-3 Catapults being escorted on each. Go handle them, you all." She cut off the transmission immediately after that, and focused herself back on her current battle. She immediately noticed a Catapult was on her line of sight, and its presence made her snap.

"This war...this everything is all your god damn fault, you goddamn warmongers! If not for you Terra Firmans, there would not be any need for this war!

NOW DIE!"

With her shield's plasma blade generator active, Aeolia rushed at the Catapult, and immediately as she entered a close enough range, she cleaved the frame into two using her shield. Still seething with frustration of having to fight this battle, Aeolia turned around to face the remaining opposing frames there.

"A savior can't save everyone, after all. I guess it would be better if I let all of you sink to the depth of hell."

[hr]

Dad · April 16, 2015

Melissa

She watched Leo divert missiles, evade the enemy, and turn around a one sided fight all alone. He was a natural, just like his sister. She sighed, as Leo's reckless antics nearly got him killed. Still, Melissa could not hide the fact that she was impressed.

“5 Argonauts, 6 Myrmidons, 3 catapults. coming in low from your 4 o’clock. Standard armaments.”

"Roger that," she said over comms. Melissa began to mark the units on her radar, turning Saviour around. Though risky, Melissa also quickly made a rash decision. The Catapults. If she were to isolate them, either she or Leo could drop them in one fell sweep. And that's exactly what she intended to do. "Leo, cover me. I'm going to draw the Myrmidons and Argonatus away from the Catapults. Either follow up and take them down, or finish the Catapults. I'll do the rest!" she called as Saviour barreled towards its targets. And they noticed her immediately. Melissa fired small rounds with poor accuracy towards the Catapults to get the attention of the Myrmidons and Argonauts. The pilots all raised their heads and began to fire on her. The Saviour's armor was able to shake the smaller rounds easily, so Melissa pressed on. She flew circles around the Catapults, narrowly avoiding heavy fire, until 3 Myrmidons and two Argonauts decided to chase her at last. Melissa turned on her heels, and using her shoulder thrusters, thrusted backwards, with her shield blocking her front. Now, changing the game up a bit, she began to land her shots on the chasing mechs.

With three quick bursts, she managed to pop the head off of a Myrmidon, and rolled over to increase her speed. The Myrmidon exploded behind her, as the others continued to chase. She began to lead them on a wild goose chase, dropping fire behind her as she charged away. Melissa weaved gracefully, dodging missiles and deflecting small fire with her shield. It was as if she was dancing, and it felt wonderful. In the sky, inside of Saviour, Melissa was a free bird. There were no hindrances. Well, of course, except for death.

Asriel Dreemurr · April 18, 2015

"And...next time, please don't be late again." The words struck home with the twins. They had almost been too slow to act, and almost lost another team mate because of it. It didn't matter right now that it was little miss bítch that had almost died, she was a member of the team. They didn't want to go through that again. The sound of gunfire smacking against the Drachenrand's armor shook them from their brief reverie, and brought them back into the moment. The Myrmidons they had been pursuing had taken advantage of their momentary distraction to change course, and were now once more between them and the duo of Catapults they had sought to destroy. That was no good.

"Shoot to thrill." One said as they lifted their frame's arms and brought the dual GGCs to bear upon their targets. The distinctive howling of the "banshees" rang out across the battlefield, and the rounds tore into those in front of them. A few more seconds of sustained fire, and they had broken a large enough hole in the enemy's formation to fit through. Firing up their thrusters, the twins propelled themselves directly after the Catapults just as they were getting ready to put their weaponry to use. A few bursts of fire knocked out their thrusters, and sent them falling to the waters below.

"Show off," the Other accused, and they readied their blade. It was the only way to be sure. The remaining myrmidons in their group tried to intercept them, and though many a gouge was torn into the Drachenrand's armor by bullets or blades they could not be stopped. The Myrmidons tasted the steel and plasma of the ECB, and shortly thereafter the falling Catapults did the same. This, unfortunately, brought the Drachenrand down lower to the water where anti-air fire from the warships could more easily target them by visual. The twins were forced into dancing their way around the fire from the four enemy warships that were engaging them most directly. The group was mostly composed of older traditional Destroyers, with a Light Cruiser at their center.

"Drachenrand here, we are moving to engage the enemy's vessels." Sure it wasn't the smartest move to make, but they were already low enough in altitude that making a run on them was not completely out of the picture. Turning into a dive, they sent themselves dropping low down towards the water. The intent was to pull out of the dive, and run just a short ways off the surface of the ocean to make an attack run on the nearest of the destroyers with their ECB. With any luck, Terra Firma would be short one ship very shortly.

Makο · April 19, 2015

Owen watched as the newly detatched cable retracted from the position it had connected, snaking its way back up to this Gavin fellow. He was able to take some liberties in assuming this... TRAP, something or the other, was here to reinforce his detatchment, though "too little too late" would be considered the understatement of the century. Though, almost anything was better than a loss, so he figured there was no time to complain right now. He had more important matters at hand.

"...I didn't know they still made communication cables like that."

...

In any case, Owen's AMS reacted to his first thought, gravity jolting him back as took off after his new comrade. Of course, in hovering next to him he was greeted by the loving presence of a strike force of 20 out to finish them–or rather, him–off. And that's a feeling that's no good to have.

"I suppose I shou-" his external monolouge ended ubruptly as Gavin fired a cannon off towards the oncoming enemies that nearly left him deaf. But more importantly, he knew it was 200mm-something based off the incredible thud is made. He checked the ammo levels on his own two 150mm cannons, with a tinge of inferiority nagging at his mind.

"I still say I coulda put 200mm on these pivots..."

He clearly couldn't.

Of the forces that approached, he made out 5 Catapults pulling up the rear, the only in the force in question that actually gave him a serious sense of chills. He wouldn't have been shocked if it had been a Catapult that gave him and Nākahi a good shaking earlier, and thus made them his primary target. In such an open battlefield, with such long-range weapons, any cover was better than none. Thusly, he made a beline back towards the carrier that he had been set up on earlier. However, he stayed at an altitude similar to Gavin, rather taking a position from within a smoke cloud as concealment, even if only temporary. He momentarily regretted his decision as he inhaled a full mouthfull of smoke from the open part of his cockpit, though consceding that it was better than being out in the open. He reactivated the auto-loader on his Reverb cannons, as he had a useful habit of turning them off whenever the cannons are not being activally fired.

"At least the black will help me stay concealed."

As the fighting commenced, the angle he was at would let him get a clear shot at the Catapults, who were still slightly bunched together. It would only be a matter of time before they split off, removing a perfect opportunity for some thrifty shooting. His sights were aligned, and cannons adjusted to the right angles. He slowly pulled the trigger, trying not to jerk and mess up his aim, only to be met with an error tone from his console. He checked the code number, and was floored by his own innepititude. While it was true that he had checked his ammo earlier, he hadn't actually paid all that much attention to the big zero next to the HE/F counter. He had run out of his primary ammunition.

His window for a multi-kill was closing fast. Though he had mostly full ammo for every other type, each was inappropriate for the current situation. Plasma Burst rounds would easily miss due to the arc they have and their speed. Superheated rounds might get one or two in a sneak attack, but then his presence and weapon prowess would become all too apparent. Either of these options would leave most of the Catapults unscathed, which was something he could not allow. He thought about just rushing forward with his blades drawn, but was hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, as if to counteract his previous, extremely foolish idea. He pulled up his command console, and adjusted the auto-loader so that the right cannon loaded Plasma Burst, and the left cannon loaded Superheated. He set a delayed timer on the left cannon of about 3 seconds, and adjusted the aim of both to account for movement and leading. It was a gamble, but it just might work. And it was the only practical option for what he wished to achieve.

"I need to bring more HE/F next time..."

Both cannons rang out a shot in the direction of his foes, though with one firing noticably later than the other. The first, the Plasma Burst round, while heading towards the group, was clearly going to miss them, even if only by a few feet. However, the second shot was not aimed at the Catapults either. With immaculate timing, just as the Plasma Burst round was about to pass the group, the Superheated round collided with the back end of the Plasma Burst, detonating it and erupting a wave of plasma in the surrounding area. Three Catapults were completely enveloped by bluish light, as the intense heat and energy fused their joints and cooked their insides. A fourth had barely avoided the wave, losing some paint and nothing else, while the last had avoided the blast entirely. Unfortunately, this was the one that was clearly carrying a weapon that distinguished it from the rest, assumingly an Arc Cannon. Meanwhile, Owen stared into his viewing screen, dumbstruck.

"I...

can't believe that actually worked."

He set both cannons to load Superheated rounds, and flew low out of the smoke as his position was compromised. With any luck, he'd be able to pick off some frames with said Superheated rounds.

Maeriberii Haan · April 21, 2015

[hr]

"Drachenrand here, we are moving to engage the enemy's vessels."

Aeolia's cameras not long after then noticed Drachenrand going straight toward one of the enemy's destroyers, seemingly attempting to just slash through it using its ECB. Not something that Aeolia would allow normally, but seeing the condition of the battlefield, and with Mira seemingly being busy as of now, she decided to just let the action pass. And thankfully, that reckless action did manage to sink the ship, with the Drachenrand's ECB scoring a clean cut to the destroyer. It could probably be attributed to the surprise factor of the Terra Firmans not expecting a frame to go there and cleave them straight into two, and now, Aeolia could clearly notice that some of the other ships present in the vicinity of the Drach had noticed its presence as it has entered their visual range, and started to open fire at it. Well, the twins should probably be able to handle it on their own, so Aeolia turned around from her position to continue her own battle.

But, that slight moment of Aeolia not focusing on her surrounding bit her back hard as what seemed to be a Catapult landed an almost-direct hit to Messiah's backpack, coming a few feet close of actually endangering her life. From her position, she turned around to aim her plasma gatling to the opposing frame, but before she could fire at it, it had been blasted to pieces by one of the Solstice's guns, as it was unlucky enough to be in the fortress's line of fire. Running through her frame's radar once more, she noticed that by the time she was busy on her own, the SAF's own CFs had managed to start pushing back against the Terra Firma aggressors, enough at least to allow the 4 nearby Solstices to safely start pushing forward again to unleash hell at the Terra Firma's fleet. Though, with only around 8 Nimbus, 6 Peacemaker, and 1 Victory left, they're really not exactly in an actual favorable position now.

The enemy was still less than exhausted though, and it seemed that they had sent another group of Combat Frames to halt the advancement of SAF's fortresses. According to Aeolia's radar, it's slightly larger than their previous small batches. Roughly, Aeolia could detect somewhere around 15 frames on that formation, and after contacting a Nimbus pilot near enough the group to get a direct visual, it apparently consisted of 6 Myrmidons, 4 Argonauts, and 5 Catapults, with the Argonauts all carrying a plasma rifle instead of their usual Gauss Assault Rifles, and two of the Catapults were equipped with Twin Arc Cannons, with the other three having the more expected Heavy Plasma Blades since they're clearly intended to bring down the fortresses, while also carrying an Assault rifle on their other arm. Without any command units nearby, Aeolia fired on her radio and started to speak to direct the frames and fortresses currently on position.

"Alright, this is Aeolia Audevie assuming command of our remaining frames here. As usual, take out the Catapults as fast as you could before they could get anywhere close to our remaining fortresses. The sniper Synchro Frame over there should be able to break the formation from her position while shooting some of them down, but even if it helps, just don't rely on it since I doubt even it can keep handling everything forever. Just focus on allowing the fortresses to advance safely so they can start sinking the Terra Firma's fleet without too much intervention, understand?

Now go."

After directing the remaining combat frames, Aeolia connected her comms to Drach and Skyblaze while she went on to find a good position to start opening fire at the upcoming group.

"So, Heinrich, Johan, and Mira, listen up. Mira, as I've said earlier, go break up and shoot down as many frames from that formation as possible. And twins, you two can still hold on down there, right? The Solstices should be able to enter the position to bombard the ships soon, but to save time, sink them all before that if you can.

Don't disappoint me."

[hr]

BANZAI!!!! · April 22, 2015

BGM: Unexpected

"Leo, cover me. I'm going to draw the Myrmidons and Argonatus away from the Catapults. Either follow up and take them down, or finish the Catapults. I'll do the rest!"

Mechanically, Leo followed Melissa’s commands, closing in on the new group of enemies from the opposite direction as he accelerated, this time keeping himself out of a direct line of fire. As he did so, Leo observed Melissa’s maneuvers, watching her blast the head off of a Myrmidon with Savior’s twin arc cannons as she expertly avoided their fire, something Leo hadn't been able to do despite his Canis’s vastly superior maneuverability.

Unaware of Leo’s advance, the Terra Firma frames continued to hound the Savior, with the five remaining Myrmidons doing their best to keep up with the faster and more maneuverable SF while the Argonauts pulled back from the chase, opening fire on the airspace to either side of the retreating Savior with short bursts of gauss fire. Though not aimed directly at the enemy, flanking Melissa with weapons fire meant that she would be force to either continue retreating backward, ascend, or descend, lest she would undoubtedly be peppered with the magnetically accelerated slugs of the Argonauts’ GARs, which packed a heavier punch than the conventional bullets that Savior was at that moment shrugging off from the Myrmidons’ own assault rifles.

The three Catapults, for their part, slowed their speed and hovered roughly in place, two of them aiming their railcannons above or below Savior’s flight path, ready to fire should she deviate from it in any vertical direction. The third took aim at Savior directly, preparing to open fire on it and force the frame either into the sights of the other two, or the Argonauts’ gauss fire at its flanks.

“They’re coordinating their maneuvers to force a direct hit… Is this all a part of her plan?” Leo thought as he closed in on the catapults, which thanks to becoming more stationary were the closest of the enemy frames to his flight path. The Canis’s AMS responded to his thoughts, detaching one of the fang rifles from the strike shield and grabbing it with the machine’s left hand as Leo moved within firing distance of one of the catapults, its pilot just now noticing the other, faster blip in his radar and turning the catapult around to see the Canis charging at him.

Leo winced as he pulled the trigger, a bolt launching out of the rifle as he did so, impacting on the Catapult’s left shoulder. The bloom vaporized a large portion of the machine’s head and shoulder, taking away enough of the machinery that the arm broke away from the Catapult under its own weight. The Catapult returned fire with its remaining arm, missing the Canis completely with the artillery weapon as it closed to melee range.

“If I cut off your arms then you’ll have to retreat!”

Using the still-active plasma saber in the Canis’s right hand, Leo severed the Catapult’s other arm as he flew by, curving his flight path around afterward so that he ended up on the left flank of the whole engagement while he observed the damaged machine running away.

At that same time, however, two of the Argonauts suppressing the Savior broke off, changing their flight path to go cover the remaining two catapults, which opened fire at the same time. One railcannon shot below, one above, and two aimed squarely at the Savior.

“s***!”

Leo fired wildly with the rifle in the Canis’s hand, trying in vain to make the Argonauts and Catapults break formation so as to give Melissa an opening. Unfortunately he was too far away to be accurate enough, with the three plasma bolts he was able to fire off before having to dodge incoming fire passing between the enemy frames. His AMS turning Canis’s head as he moved, Leo caught sight of the two Argonauts that had broken off, now firing upon the Canis as Leo weaved in and out of the bursts.

All the while, the six Solstices nearby continued to advance, training their massive cannons and missile pods on the Terra Firma ships below, ready to fire when they got in range.

---

BGM: Unexpected

“That was pretty damn impressive.” Gavin said aloud, a pleasantly surprised look on his face as he watched three Catapults get cooked just as their escorts broke formation and created an opening. The Nakahi’s pilot was a natural, it seemed, as he’d been able to read the situation and respond with a precisely timed shot just as Gavin’s cannon had given him an opening. Unintentional as their coordination may have been on Gavin’s part, the maneuver served to work to the pair’s benefit as the remaining seventeen frames were now scattered and had advanced to mid range: the exact situation in which the Hailstorm excelled most.

“Alright then, lets see if he can keep this up.”

As the Nakahi emerged from its smoke cover, Gavin charged forward, firing off rounds from both of his rifles at clusters of enemy frames to try and get their attention. Two of the Argonauts (one of which was the plasma rifle-wielding commander) and four of the Myrmidons fell for the ploy, forming up and opening fire on the Hailstorm. At that same moment, three of the remaining SAF vessels nearby opened fire with surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns, launching a total of 3 warheads toward the vicinity of the carrier while filling the airspace in front of the two synchro frames with as much flak as the damages warships could put in the sky.

Gavin reacted to the incoming fire quickly, using his AMS to assist himself in moving the Hailstorm’s shields in front of itself, the heavy armor of the assault shield shrugging off the high explosive rounds from the Myrmidon’s bazookas and the GAR of one of the Argonauts. However, the commander’s plasma rifle also connected, the bloom creating a noticeable, burnt crater in the shield’s armor; not enough to penetrate it, but the shield’s structural integrity could now be compromised from more successive hits.

“You guys finished?!”

The Hailstrom’s cockpit was abuzz with the noise of successive lockons from all of the machine’s missile pods, though this time Gavin decided against using up more of his ammo. Instead, he shifted his machine’s arms and opened fire with both of his rifles, as well as the cannon on the Hailstorm’s chest, targeting three separate machines as he moved forward. He aimed the burst rifle at a Myrmidon, the accelerated rounds stripping the armor off of its torso before the rifle’s grenade launcher impacted the cockpit, sending what was left of the machine down into the ocean after it exploded. The 80mm cannon produced a similar result with another Myrmidon that was unfortunate enough to have been directly in Gavin’s line of fire, with three shots punching a hole clean through its cockpit. The command Argonaut was met with the full brunt of the hybrid rifle, the gauss gatling eating through its armor before the accompanying plasma bolt connected with the exposed ST drive, the resultant explosion reducing the machine to little more than its limbs. The remaining three machines pulled back, only to be met each with an unexpected SAM impact, with one of the Myrmidons losing an arm and its bazooka while the other two managed to escape with more insignificant structural damage.

“Too bad for you, I've got another gun.” Gavin said as he chambered another round into his 200mm, firing the massive shell at the now tightly packed group of three frames. This time it hit, utterly vaporizing the Argonaut and knocking the two Myrmidons away and off balance with the resulting shock wave. The two remaining machines were unable to stabilize themselves in time and were quickly dispatched with three missiles apiece from Gavin’s largest two missile pods. Gavin turned his attention toward the surviving frames as hailstorm rocketed back from the recoil of its over-sized cannon, Gavin using the momentum to turn his SF around and head back toward his allies.

High and to his left, he observed the six Nimbus from the escort formation flying in to support them, while he also spotted the enemy frames. Four of the Myrmidons and one of the remaining Catapults had broken off to continue their ship hunting, and were at present firing on an AEGIS ship that had launched one of the SAMs. The remaining 3 Argonauts, arc cannon Catapult, and two Myrmidons closed in on the Nakahi and the carrier, with the myrmidons opening up on the ship to sink it while the Argonauts shot at the enemy SF with their GARs in order to give the catapult time to close in and disable it with its arc cannons.

Gavin reloaded the clips on his rifles and accelerated, hoping to get in range fast enough to take some of the heat off of the Nakahi and buy enough time for the Nimbus squad to get to their position. Once the numbers were shifted in their favor, they would be able to fend of the Terra Firma squad and make it back up to the Solstices and the rest of Gavin’s team.

Astolfo · April 22, 2015

Mira was surveying the situation and sighing as things seemed to take a turn for the worse, with several members having gotten off riskily. Tapping in as Aeolia contacted the twins and her for further instructions, the blue-haired sniper girl replied with her usual vigor, "Right to it, ma'am~" Looking over the approaching enemy squad, Mira made a quick count off. "Six Myrmidons, four Argonauts, and five Catapults, and lucky us, and three of those Catapults have those nasty Heavy Plasma Blades. Ptooey." Despite the threat that the other twelve mechas represented to TRAP's side, the biggest threat that Mira perceived was rather the three Catapults since each of those Plasma Blades, while fairly useless against other frames could do critical damage to the fortresses.

Flying backwards to get a slightly wider field of perspective after realizing that she was a bit too close for her frame's comfort zone, Mira was about to charge up to start shooting down the Catapults when she realized that the other twelve frames were still a big threat. With their own side taking losses, it would force her to change plans. Quickly ringing up the comm-system for the entirety of TRAP, Mira barked out her thoughts quickly.

"I'm going to work on taking down the three Catapults since they're the biggest threats to the Fortresses. Those other twelve frames are a threat to our Frames though. Feels a bit annoying to say this, but I'm going to need some backup while I'm focusing on the Catapults! But until they come, I'm going to try to scatter them first!"

The air hissed and crackled as it got sucked into the massive cannon to be ionized into plasma. Although Mira had called for backups, she didn't expect any to get there fast enough and so she had to go with her second plan for now. An unpleasant whining sound became audible as the plasma ball began to grow in size. Keeping her boosters steady to maintain for a good shot, Mira aimed the sight straight down the center, before pulling the trigger to discharge the blow.

Blasting out from the muzzle of the cannon instantly, the searing-hot plasma blast streaked through the air, slamming into the front-line Argonaut and consuming the frame instantly before punching through another Myrmidon and Argonaut behind it. Although Mira didn't destroy any of the Catapults yet, the intended effect worked and the soldiers, fearing for their lives, scattered about all in completely opposite directions, leaving only the three Catapults lagging behind and still aiming towards TRAP's Fortresses. With their forces divided, TRAP and its allies should be able to pick off those individual flocks of soldiers while she could aim again, and this time, for the real threat.

"Forces scattered! Everyone should be able to pick them off easier now! As assigned, I will start fire on the Catapults!"

The Skyblaze couldn't immediately fire shots one after another however, and as the weapon cooled down before starting to gather energy with its familiar scent of burning ozone accompanying it, Mira started to get a bit antsy. "Come on, come on, come on, faster, faster, faster!" As the enemy fleet loomed ever closer, the female's breath began to grow shorter and more ragged. Forcing herself to try and calm down, she took a few perilous moments to close her eyes and take some deep breaths. Feeling slightly better afterwards, Mira once more lowered her cannon and adjusted to aim towards the Catapults. A brilliant ball of blue-white formed at the tip of the Skyblaze's cannon, growing in size as air was fed into the machine's growing hunger. This was the crucial moment. While Mira aimed to prepare her shot, she couldn't risk any disturbance until it was finished.

Setting the cannon directly in aim with the Catapult that was getting dangerously close to the Fortresses, Mira was about to pull the trigger when she noticed something in her peripheral vision. Two of the remaining four Argonauts that she thought had been completely scattered with the rest were homing in her from both sides in a pincer-style attack. She immediately started to stress slightly due to the perilous situation with risking her own safety in a critical way versus making the shot on one of the three Catapults that would assuredly make a strike on the Fortresses otherwise. The plasma swirled about as it continued to gather at the edge of her massive cannon beginning to smoke and make angry noises. Mira was locked between the decision of either protecting herself and escaping and letting the Fortress fall or protecting the rest of the team and taking what would inevitably be a severe hit.

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Synchro Frame: Conception [IC]

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