Science Fiction OPEN For All Mankind

Tish Wagner

They did not move far at all before the first attack came. Tish figured that was to be expected, though this thought occured to her later instead of in the moment. As the Xenos popped up from the ground, she instinctively took a half step back and leaned away slightly. It was quick, but not fast in the truest sense. Good, in a speed battle she would be at disadvantage.

She swung her big mortar up and into the darting jaw, trying to crush it in a devastating uppercut blow. She was not going to waste her ammo on this lowly thing! Dropping her weapon right next to her, she immediately swung out her knife and lunged for the thing immediately after hitting it. It did was not overly fast, so she could deal with it. But it also did not appear very strong, like some Xenos were. That worked to her advantge. Tish tried to plunge in the kinfe and grasp the freaky thing while it was still reeling back and then twist it around to face her superior officer. Her weapon was more suited for small fry like this.

If she was readily disposing of her own Xenos, then she would call out: "Captain! Care to do the honors?" Holding the thing in place while she would hopefully place some well aimed shots. She trusted the Captain for that. If she was grappling still, then Tish would instead just savage it out and gouge and stab the thing with her knife in truly bloody fashion, likely allowing a small growl of hatred escape her lips through the butchery. Thsi was only the first and in her mind, All Xenos Must Die.

Tag: @Shadowsun @Master Vo'Un'Var @greyjedi125 @Darth_Elu @Mitth_Fisto @spacelady @Narancia

 

IC: Venator Rudra
Into Battle!

The warrior was unbothered by all the dead Xenos, because they simply did not pose a threat. His active scans were for ‘living targets’, which at the moment were none existent. No visual threats were present ( at least not yet ), however, a threat did present itself in a different form.

After a few minutes, the squad would feel a low rumble beneath their feet as the earth churned under each of them. The Xenos burst upward, one for each member of the squad. They were fast, but not overly so.

Having been alerted by the initial vibrations, Venator was already in mid-backflip, as he’d launched himself up and back, given the origin of the attack. The warrior’s katana was already in hand, while the WI-08 Ion Rifle’s business end would be pointing at the Xeno’s open mandible, point blank.

The worm like creature wanted to chew on something, and Venator was more than willing to feed it a hate laced power shot!

For a movement, their movements almost seemed choreographed as they moved through space at relative speeds. The entire squad seemed to react at once in similar fashion.

To say the least, Venator’s intention was to ventilate the hated thing from its fleshy insides, but he also had a follow up plan as he landed. Just as hen touched down, his sword would thrust forward, right under the Xeno’s head, fully intent on running it through and impailing it, if not severing that section of its body altogether.

Venator’s eyes flashed a deep red as his attack mode instantly fed him combat telemetry. This would be his first official Xenos kill and he meant for it be as ruthless as it was efficient. These creatures deserved no mercy, at least not from him, and needed to be exterminated- all of them, with impunity and extreme prejudice.

That’s why he was here.

Make no mistake.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @Narancia, @Darth_Elu, @spacelady, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_Ascension, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

Senior Lieutenant Bouvier Farley IC:
~Battle of the Birthing Chamber~

They moved on from their LZ, progressing toward their main objective at a cautious pace. The bombardment had done a number on the Xenos in the area thankfully, but it only covered up the fact that there were more lurking out there somewhere. They were never completely eradicated, these monsters. Overgrown cockroaches in that regard.

Bouvier's eyes scanned around them as they moved, rifle up and ready, when after a few minutes passed the ground began to rumble a little. He froze in place immediately.

"BURROWER!" he shouted.

But the things were a little faster than expected and his shout of warning came out as moot point. Each of them had one attacking them, as they burst upward and attempted to crunch down on them. His instincts and experience reacted immediately.

He was no warrior, he was a shield.

So that's how he acted. Twisting his body just enough to keep himself between his attacker and Tenaka, so the good doctor didn't have two tangos swarming him; he then took his left hand off his weapon and began pivoting in place. That left hand was up in front of the ravenous maw and activating his shield just as the fangs came snapping shut, forcing them to remain open and struggling around the energy. Now strength wasn't his main skill set and he was, in that critical second, opting voluntarily to remove another arm from the occasion.

This gave him only half strength, ceding the brute advantage to the Xenos if not overwhelmingly so. He allowed it to push him swiftly down to a knee with his shield keeping it from actively harming him, while his right arm swung his rifle around to aim at the Xenos now being peppered by Tenaka. So the medic could shoot. Good. Might as well give some assistance to make sure the thing stayed down.

Firing his rifle at the side of Tenaka's Xenos while it was focused on the medic, he hoped to achieve his primary function. Keeping him safe. Not to mention the secondary assistance from their resident sniper, Sword. With hopefully that down, he swung his rifle back around to his own and fired at the creature's belly while shoving it away once more to get it off his shield. Another assist shot from the sniper. He ran with it, switching off his shield if the creature was dead or about to be.

He made sure it was, even putting one more bullet into its head even if it wasn't moving. Kill confirmation. From there he then utilized the kneeling position he was now in, as planned, to quickly scout out the one who might be in trouble.

Sword and Tenaka were hopefully good at this point, Venator was already moving ahead of time and fighting well, Jessica and Tish appeared to be doing their thing, and Veronica was a bit far away to really assist currently but she was in motion too. That left...

His rifle sights were aimed right at Riz's xenos.

"Stay close, doctor," he stated with a raised voice to make sure his charge didn't run off anywhere unnecessarily before beginning to fire to assist Echo Squad's assassin.

Tag: Echo Squad

@Mitth_Fisto @spacelady @Master Vo'Un'Var @Jedi_Ascension @Shadowsun @greyjedi125 @Narancia

 

The Battle Intensifies

​

The actions of the various members of Echo Squad all appeared to happen at the same time. Greene was able to deftly move out of harms way from her worm grunt, her superior speed allowing her to evade the creature without being harmed. She would also be likely pleased in this moment she had chosen the ion pistol, in the time that elapsed she would be able to fire two shots, the first cutting through a limb the second creating a blistering, molten hole where presumably its brain was. The creature would fall to the ground writhing for a moment before becoming still.

Wasille would not be as fortunate the faster creature would dodge and weave the initial shots of the medic, a few coming very close to coming in contact with its limbs. In the next moment, the creature was on him its jaw beginning to crush down onto his leg. As this was happening Farley was busy dealing with his own Xenos the fangs of the creature snapping down tightly on the shield that had been summoned. Farley would adjust to the side as he was forced down to a knee, diverting some of his stance to be able to fire at the Medic's Xenos. The shot ionized shut pulsated through the air hitting the side of the creature the force of the thing shoving it off the medic before it was able to get a proper grip. The shot from Oran then came through slaying the first Xenos. Wasille would note some minor cracking on his armor around the area of the bite, something to note and perhaps a nasty bruise underneath but nothing that needed attention.

With Farley not lending his full attention to Xenos in front of him the five-foot-long creature had curved itself underneath his shield and was now wrapping itself around his arm, tightening down as he tried to fire at the creature. As such firing at its belly would not be possible. It would feel as if his arm was about to break when a second shot sang through the air from Oran leaving the creature lifeless coiled around the shield's arm.

Wagner had opted to use her knife against the creature, she would find a difficult time grasping it however as it dodged and weaved her first initial attempts to catch the Xenos however as it came closer she was able to grasp clutching it firmly in its midsection. The thing continued to with about however making it likely that Tish would opt for the second option of the two that ran through her mind. Despite the creature's attempts to escape Tish was noticeably stronger than the creature her knife coming in cleaning in the soft underbelly as it slid upward, the internal organs flopping down in a gruesome display.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the ever-aware Rudra would feel the rumble of the creatures before they came up, his poised and well-executed maneuver leaving no room for the creature to get in close enough to grapple with the creature. His training had clearly served him well, the end of his rifle heated with ionized energy as it came out in a quick, clean burst, straight into the maw of the creature and out of the other end in one fluid movement. Any doubt of the creature surviving the first blast would be put to rest as the Warrior of the Attack Corps spun around and drove his blade in with a clean sweep through its head.

Ironheart would be contending with her own Xenos as this was happening, she would hear the call from Farley about borrowers and thus would not repeat it, she saw her own approach her and she stood still, she knew she would not be able to catch the thing so she did not. The thing came onto her arm, latching itself onto it as it began to bite down and coil around her arm.

"So stupid"

She muttered as she reached around and grabbed its head, crushing it in a moment as she flung the creature aside. She would notice Carter on her flank and before he made an action she brought round her pistol, firing a single shot that hit his Xenos squarely through the head. Looking around in the next moment and seeing all the Xenos slain she called out to the Squad.

"Alright back into formatio-"

The same larger rumble that Greene had seen before now continued as a new creature birthed itself from under the ground, a stream of technical data coming into their view as well.

Neural Type-12A
Vitality: 6
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 5
Perception: 6
Agility: 3
​

It was a neural there was no mistaking it, a towering eight feet tall no less. A rhythmic noise then came out from the creature, the air pulsating with a noise-induced signal as what appeared to be two dozen more worm grunts burrowed up from the ground and came rushing towards them all.

TAG: @greyjedi125 @Narancia @Darth_Elu @spacelady @Master Vo'Un'Var @Mitth_Fisto @Jedi_Ascension

​

 

IC: Venator Rudra
Do or Die

With his first Xenos slain, Venator felt a pang of disappointment, particularly since the kill hadn’t been more satisfying. If he was being honest, the sensation he was experiencing felt more 'bitter' than 'sweet'. Thankfully, there would be no time to dwell on such things, especially on the field of battle.

The team seemed to have survived the first round of Xenos, which he surmised was the case, as no casualties were reported. It was still way too early to ‘celebrate’, but the fact they were all alive was probably a good sign.

Before new orders could be fully given, the ground trembled again, drawing everyone’s attention. That’s when they all saw it! The largest Xenos any of the noobs had never encountered before. Venator’s telemetry was pinging wildly, and quite likely everyone else’s. This Xenos was easily eight feet tall, possessing much greater physical reach, and was in all likelihood more durable than the ‘worms’ they had just encountered.

From the looks of it, Venator was not confident any of them could take on this latest monstrosity in single combat. At least not yet.

“Captain! Echo squad!” The warrior called out.

“We take this one down as a team!”

It wasn’t a question or a rallying cry. It was simple combat sense and the need to survive their first mission, that drove him to a sane conclusion.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @Narancia, @Darth_Elu, @spacelady, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_Ascension, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC: Tenaka Wasille
Graveyard of Xenos

The first combat situation had shown just how ineffectual Tenaka was as a gear of the machine. He was, as far as he could tell from a quick survey of the company, the only one that had suffered any lasting damage from that encounter. He was a mender and a patcher of broken things of the battle-field but was the only thing to be found that was broken. "Wonderful." he muttered with rude snort as he felt his leg casing.

Luckily no internal damage, and like a cracked bicycle helmet it was a sign that the armor had done its job. Well that, and that if something else went for the same leg he was more likely to loose it instead of being protected by the armor a second time.

Of course battlefields by definition do not harbor peace and minor victories well. It was a short bit of barely checking things over and they were again facing enemies. Taking out his knife Tenaka knelt by a worm as the others did their 'warriors assemble' routine to prepare for battle. A quick cut and a little boring lecture hall know how and he theoretically could extract a scent gland and spray it on himself.

If he was the weakest, he might as well try not to be a weak link to the others as target always needing to be saved. His gun hand was ready and aiming, and he would give up the task if he had to to not be a liability for trying not to be liability. Only there was the problem of a Neural and a dozen more worms! He prayed he worked fast enough, he would shoot or try to those worms that the others were not first actively shooting. Hoping he was done when the shooting started and he would have to add rounds to it all.

TAG: @greyjedi125 , @Shadowsun, @Narancia, @Darth_Elu, @spacelady , @Jedi_Ascension, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC: Venator Rudra
The Loop



None from Echo Squad responded, quite likely because they were engaged and could not. The Neural held its ground for the moment, but the other two dozen worm grunts were on the move, rushing towards the squad- probably under the command of the Neural.

Venator responded to the threat instantly, by reflex, training and instinct.

The warrior moved with quick erratic movements, slashing with lethal intent, always aiming to bisect the worms that got into melee range, while using his rifle to pick-off approaching targets at the next range.

Venator timed his attacks, ideally, but not necessarily, tactically choosing the moment the worms leapt at him, at which point they would be the ‘least’ defensible and far more vulnerable to his slicing attacks.

In the back of his mind, he assumed Xenos shared a HIVE mind, so he reacted accordingly, not giving them a pattern of attack they would recognize, while using his own cybernetic combat telemetry to exploit every advantage.

Venator silently activated his cybernetic armor to administer stimulants to compensate for any drop in stamina, should he start experiencing any, as his combat efficiency needed to stay at maximum.

With a deft ‘figure eight slash’ the warrior cut through two worms, even as he fired his rifle to the side, blowing off the head of a third, then immediately performed a cartwheel to avoid a fourth worm leaping in his direction, which missed his retreating form.

In his mind, Venator saw images of his mother and his sister, felled by Xenos, their forms unmoving within the wreckage of their crashed vehicle. But this time, this time…he could fight and ‘kill’ Xenos. He wasn't wounded, nor helpless or paralyzed by fear and despair. No, this time he was a weapon, a warrior, filled with nothing but hate for Xenos, a hate that acted as a great reservoir of fuel for his vengeance. He would defend his family and kill these creatures, again, again and again.

Kill Xenos. Indeed. He would kill them all, every single one of them, even if he had to take on the whole nest by himself.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @Darth_Elu, @Narancia, @spacelady, @Jedi_Ascension, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC: Veronica Greene

​

Veronica was noticeably pleased as she slew the lone Xenos grunt that now lies dead before her, a new feeling came to her that shouldn't have originated from its death, but it did; pride.

Pride was something Veronica was used to, but now it was different; she felt pride in her capability to take a life, to be deadly; it was gratifying. Veronica kept struggling with the idea that she was a victim, that others would view her as weak. That she would be another dead hero, that humanity was something not worth saving in the end, that a person's sacrifice meant nothing.

War wasn't something to be glorified, and Veronica knew this, but she was now conflicted.

Was it better to be heroic or survive?

Was it better to bottle her anger to keep her edge or let it go to save her sanity?

Veronica picked at the dead burrower and snapped off the antennae, and raised it to the sky.

"To die or to die." Veronica mused.

Was it better to die and never see the see bright future or be too dead on the inside to appreciate it?

However, her musings were interrupted by the sudden eruption of activity back where the squad was located; Veronica got lost in her own head, contemplating her role in all this, but she couldn't do this now.

Now it was time to save them, her squad.

Veronica sprinted and sprinted and sprinted until she saw it, hordes of burrowers; Veronica stopped in her tracks as she quickly became surrounded by the Xenos burrower threat, but she dipped and dodged past them, relying on her superior agility and shooting a pistol with the intent to kill them all.

POP!

POP!

POP!

POP!

Veronica kept firing her gun over and over and over, dipping, dodging, weaving, jumping; it never seemed to be enough; they just kept coming!

Veronica saw her life flash before her eyes; it was a reminder of everything she lost.

"NO!"

"I will not go into the void silently!"

Veronica dual-wielded her weapons, a knife in one hand and a pistol in the other. Veronica was now covered in Xenos blood, absolutely soaked.

However, Veronica saw that Venator was reckless! Venator was trying to take on the entire horde by himself; how foolish!

Veronica knew Venator was capable, but even he couldn't do this alone, not by himself.

Every once of Veronica's mind told her to mind her own business, but her body just moved...

What am I doing?!

And made a beeline for Venator's position, intending to at least provide him some reinforcement.

TAG: @greyjedi125 , @Shadowsun, @Mitth_Fisto , @Darth_Elu, @spacelady , @Jedi_Ascension, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

Senior Lieutenant Bouvier Farley IC:
~Battle of the Birthing Chamber~

He managed to save the medic from the Xenos savaging him, though it was Sword who managed to come through and kill the thing. Bouvier was just fine with this, as his attention was rather painfully shifting back to his own opponent.

Splitting his attention had the thing coil around his arm faster than expected and begin squeezing. Gritting his teeth and letting out a grunt, he was about ready to drop his rifle and switch to his knife when a second shot from the sniper came through and ended the problem.

Tipping his rifle up in an impromptu salute toward the man in acknowledgment if nothing else, he looked about himself while ridding the creature from his arm. It seemed they all made their first skirmish alive. That was better than some, so he would take it.

“Alright back into formatio-“

Another rumble, this one bigger than the last. Bouvier tensed immediately and brought up his rifle when the thing came from the ground. He recognized the thing at the same speed the intel was coming to them.

“Neural.”

It hummed. Immediately, he backed up close to Tenaka while he proceeded to begin cutting up the dead Xenos. Was he trying to cover his scent? As a soldier, that was ill timed. But in his position as the medic and after the skirmish he just had, perhaps not a bad idea.

Thinking no more on it, as there were more glaring demands on his attention, Bouvier began firing away at the hordes of Xenos he knew were coming. More of the ‘worms.’ Weak at least, but best not get complacent.

Venator was yelling for them to take down the neural together. Easier said than done…especially when he just started jumping into the battle with the larger horde. Blaze of glory type then? Murderous psychopath? Vengeance Driven scope-sized sights?

Or just a fool?

No time to wonder long.

He fired into the side of the creatures, now that he had to protect the warrior from being overwhelmed. If any seemed to start going toward where Sword was, he’d switch his sights to fire at them to draw them away from their sniper. He was well hidden and positioned further away, but if they did notice it also made him vulnerable. Best to keep them away for now while he could still directly aid him.

Then Veronica started wading into the fray behind Venator. The recon was going straight in?

“Damn it,” he muttered while getting the medic moving toward the opposite direction of the horde.

His priorities as shield had just changed drastically. But the bruiser of the group, Jessica, would be best suited to get in there. Too many enemies for the Shield to hop in mid-engagement. If he had been placed there from the start, that’d be optimal, but that wasn’t the case.

Plus there was still the neural! Charging it like that was not bad if you had the strength for the speed-in-force tactic, but one warrior and a recon was not going to cut it. They were going to get bogged down by the large gathering of enemies.

“Get behind the artillery girl!” he snapped, not angrily but urgently toward Tenaka before moving toward the direction of Sword in an arcing movement, though still keeping a good distance from him.

He still did not want to draw Xenos toward him, but he needed to join his firepower to the sniper rifle hopefully now trying to aid the others. It was too late to get into that charge, but he could attempt an impromptu pincer movement while the Captain possibly went to aid the overeager squamates. After he got into position, he would slowly push his way in closer, focusing firepower on the worms. At this point, if things went smoothly, he’d point back (without looking) at Sword then point at the neural.

Switch targets. Go for the big guy.

Tish better have the awareness and wits to pick up her big gun again and fire over the horde, straight at the enemy ‘commander.’

While Sword hopefully went after him too now, he’d keep up trying to shield the others with his rifle from afar….

Until there was an opening and thinning of the enemy. At that point, the real shield would be activated in a flash and he would be charging in at full speed, gun firing the whole time until he ran through the wedge and took up point once more in front of the duo or trio (or four if Riz jumped in) either charging or retreating. He would move in the same direction as them.

From beginning to end, Bouvier’s eyes were dead yet focused. The light within only coming from the muzzle flashes of their weapons reflecting off them.

Tag: Echo Squad

@Mitth_Fisto @spacelady @greyjedi125 @Narancia @Shadowsun @Jedi_Ascension @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC as Sword Oran

Two out of two of his targets went down in fatal shots! A faint smirk crossed Sword's lips, but he knew better than to celebrate. It was only just the beginning, they had a very long way to go yet. He scanned the other members of the squad to see how they faired, they all survived their first encounter, though it seemed that both Tenaka and Bouvier both made it not totally unscathed. Their injuries didn't appear life threatening from this distance, but he would need to be quicker in the future. Both the Medic and the Shield were vital to this mission and making it back alive.

There was a brief moment of quiet before a much larger Xenos faced off with the squad. Some of its information filtered in across his ocular implants and before he could line up a few well aimed shots, the neural released a sound, sending a good number of worm grunts out from under the ground and laying assault to the squad down below the Sniper. They were fast moving but he was going to be quicker.

Sword shifted his position ever so slightly to accommodate this change, sending off several shots at various worms, following in a line down before his team mates and hopefully picking them off as moved down the line. His dangerous past lifestyle before he came to be where he was today seemed to have served his dexterity well. Stealing fancy cars and recklessly racing them down crowded streets, while possibly inebriated, took guts and agile hands and fingers. This shouldn't be a problem to knock a good number down, hoping he could at least take the brunt off of Echo Squad. He knew he had to focus on the big guy, but this seemed like the immediately danger. And that's when he caught the Shield's movements in the corner his rifle sights. He took note but continued picking off the little worms, wondering what his plan was until he saw Bouvier make a motion at Sword and then point off in the distance at the neural.

Now was the time! Smoothly and deftly adjusting his aim, he took careful aim and fired several headshots and a few at where the shoulders should be, if they even had such joints. He took into account any possible recoils the large creature might take from being hit several times, planning and adjusting his aim to predict any movements it would make to ensure accuracy and fatality.

Tag: @Shadowsun, @Darth_Elu, @Mitth_Fisto, @greyjedi125, @Narancia, @Jedi_Ascension, and @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

Riz Carter
Birthing Chamber

The Xenos that appeared in front of Carter leapt upon him, Carter himself readied his katana to slay the xenos before it's head burst to pieces in front of him. Ironheart had slain the beast before he had a chance.

I can't let them think I'm useless! He thought to himself as the group rested for a brief moment, until another Xenos appeared before them! However this time, there were many more.

Riz couldn't sit about any longer. He charged into the horde, spinning like a hurricane as his katana dashed the heads off of several Xenos, he continued, employing a rapid strategy which allowed him to swerve in and out of danger, slaughtering Xenos around him. The others would be doing their thing, of course, but Riz always struggled to work in teams. That's why he had chosen the more individualistic assassin, which proved it's efficiency as he dashed Xenos to the ground.

@Shadowsun, @Darth_Elu, @Mitth_Fisto, @greyjedi125, @Narancia, @Jedi_Ascension, @spacelady

 

Echo Down

​

As the new swarm of Xenos came in Jessica would immediately recognize the threat that the neural posed. The movements of grunts were coordinated, in unison as they came together to attack the group. She would leap into the horde of Xenos that divided them from the neural, her own attacks coming in as she squeezed and hammered the life out of the Xenos.

Despite Rudra's early successes with the Xenos being able to kill three initially he would find them swarm towards him as if in tandem, one coming up onto his leg a biting down on his armor as he was distracted by another. One on one he would be able to handle these creatures but there were simply a lot of them. Greene for her part was able to get away from the initial attack of the second swarm, but going at this faster speed them then all was beginning to get to her, particularly with all the dodging and weaving that was involved. From her initial shots she grazed one Xenos, another shot creating a neat melting hole in the head of one.

Heading to Venator position would likely prove to be a wise decision as supporting fire came in from Oran that killed the Worm that had been chewing on Venator's leg, a spray of guts flying across his armor to reveal that it had cracked through the armor and barely pierced his skin, a small trickle of blood flowing down his leg.

Riz entering the fray would also be of a great aid, acting on more his old warrior training that of an assassin he was able to slaughter two more Xenos as two more come onto him chew onto his armor only for them to be slain by Farley's supporting fire. Wasillie own shooting would fit in neatly as he popped off three of his own Xenos that were like leeches on the Captain's armor.

In fact, the Captain had the most Xenos swarming of them all, she had gone into the very thick of the battlefield trying to make her way to the neural only to be washed down by Xenos. It was in this time that Oran would also neatly slay two more grunts that were slithering in attack, unaware of the sniper's existence. Ironheart had slaughtered three of her own Xenos, wheeling round in a slow, mechanical might as five more Xenos sprung up onto her armor biting down onto the armor.

One grunt in the distance had burrowed underground moving like a bullet underneath the dirt until it popped out beside Oran, baring down attaching itself to his back. He would only have a moment to react before it was upon him.

The remaining four Xenos were coiled up within the tentacles of the Neural who pushed off the ground leaping into the air as it landed on Ironheart, a neat cracking sound resonated throughout the air as her armor was pushed into the charred earth. Four tentacles roiled off the Neural, one to Rudra that slammed into him pushing him back a few feet, another coming round to wrap itself around Greene if she did not move fast enough. The last two flung their grunts across the sky, one slamming into Carter, the creature now about to eat his face if he or someone else did nothing, and the other flying towards Farley who would have a brief moment to react.

The five grunts that had been on Ironheart continued to chew on her armor slowly breaking through. There was no response from the captain. It was do or die.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @Narancia @spacelady @Darth_Elu @Jedi_Ascension @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC: Veronica Greene

Quiet.

All was quiet for Veronica; her body moved on its own, naturally taking a sprinter's form; it was all reflex for her, from runner to fighter to runner again.

However, something unlocked in her chest, pounding at her lungs, her throat tightening, the thunder in Veronica's ears dissolved into ringing gunshots and unnatural screeches that sent cold blood coiling within her spine. Veronica's gun remained in her hand; her lips parted in panting breaths which were getting heavier.

Veronica had how many kills? All she could remember was her first one and maybe a second.

And from that, Veronica derived a melancholic satisfaction that was entirely self-serving.

A flailing of the knife, blood spattering, her adversaries were alive but wounded; it was filling her with more and more pride!

A shame she couldn't kill them all, but thus was life; Veronica couldn't have everything she wanted, ironically. Another cruel twist from fate?

Despite Veronica's best effort, she began to notice that she was slowing. Her speed had served her masterfully, but her stamina was failing.

But it was still enough! Enough to wrench herself free from the 2nd wave of Xenos only to part the dead sea and gaze upon the chaos.

All was chaos.

Venator was bitten but ultimately saved by Sword, and everyone was starting to get their senses again.

Veronica thought everything was coming together. With one last push Echo squad could survive this; optimism soared...

Then died as a sickening crunch resounded through the air, having free rent within Veronica's eardrums and likely everybody else's.

Ironheart's armor lay beneath the Neural, who stood on top of her, parading its dominance, its power. The creature likely saw the squad as nothing more than lambs for slaughter.

Was she really ready for all this?

Soaked in blood that wasn't hers, her eyes burning from the sweat, Veronica was scared again. Were they going to fail?

Was she going to die?

NO!

HOLD IT TOGETHER!

HOLD IT TOGETHER!

HOLD IT TOGETHER!

Veronica couldn't let herself devolve to how she was at the beginning of this mission; she couldn't let fear compromise who she was.

Veronica called upon her pride, her determination, gathering it unto herself and wrapping herself within it. She breathed it in and held it within her heart, clenching down upon it and never letting go until she was comfortable within her skin again, focusing on the present.

But her soul remained a storm cloud, flickering with dangerous lightning of doubt and confusion, building the rotation that threatened to bring a whirlwind in the form of an emotional breakdown. Yet Veronica held it together.

The Neural made its move and shot a tentacle in Veronica's direction.

Veronica's sharp eye noticed the creature's intent, but her body barely reacted; it was tired.

A desperate gamble for a desperate woman, but in the end, Veronica's speed overcame another enemy, and she jumped over its attack in an ungrateful fashion, crashing into the ground, a rather unathletic display for her.

The truth was that Veronica was tired, oh so tired; her body was sore, and as Veronica lay on the dirt, she would realize that her body was now heavier, her panting was erratic, and her sweat was a constant downpour.

Veronica was slow to stand, she wasn't sure if she had much left in her, but she would keep going.

Veronica needed to keep going; she needed to, just as someone needed to arrogate command and quickly!

In the meantime, Veronica retreated to Bouvier and Wasillie's position; in this state, she could not contribute much other than being a liability.

TAG: @Shadowsun @Mitth_Fisto @spacelady @Darth_Elu @Jedi_Ascension @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC: Venator Rudra
Eye of the Storm

He knew this would happen, according to the ‘situational math’. Too many grunt worms.

Echo Squad was being assailed by the larger number of enemies, but ‘situational math’ could only account for so much. There was still a very actionable ‘random factor’ interfering with the results, and Venator’s intent was to exploit that.

Despite having killed a number of Xenos himself, not to mention the ones his Squad mates had dispatched, the superior coordination of worms, thanks to the Neural, coupled with their superior numbers, was beginning to show. Peripherally, Venator caught Veronica’s combat support and did his best to maximize her proximity, but that only delayed the inevitable.

A worm managed to get on his leg and inflict damage.

Venator groaned in pain, only noticing the bugger after the fact, and was immediately grateful for Sword’s assistance, as the sniper made a clean kill -shooting off the culprit from his leg.

[Disengage all tactile feedback and pain receptors] Venator sent an immediate command to his cybernetic system, which complied in that same instant; and just in the nick-of- time! The warrior braced himself, even as he was truck by the Neural’s tentacle attack!

Venator rolled with the force of the blow, then came up smoothly on one knee. As expected, he felt no pain. For the moment, he ignored all damage to his person, seeing how he was still fully functional. Any incurred wounds would have to be treated as an ‘after action’. There was still a high priority target at play.

Venator’s ambidextrous proficiency came into play now, as he made a ‘tripod’ of himself, grounding his position. His right arm slashed at any and all incoming enemies from that side. While holding his Rifle with his left, he took aim at the Neural’s head, and charged a lethal shot. The large Xenos had the Captain pinned down, but that also meant it made itself vulnerable, a veritable sitting target, more so than before, even as he himself became vulnerable on his left side.

Tactically, he certainly hoped Riz would provide him with some cover, if possible, having spied the assassin on that side of the fray. Either that, or he was destined for a body bag begging to be graffitied with 'donuts' a lot sooner than he would have liked.

[SWORD: Target the Neural’s head! FIRE!!!]

Upon target acquisition, Venator squeezed the trigger and fired, completely unaware that Sword had some real immediate issues of his own to deal with.

In fact, they all did.

Indeed, taking down the Neural would break the Xenos coordination, however, it would seem the tactic had been used against them first. Still, the ’situational math’ was only that: situational.

They could still pull this off, if only by a small margin.


Tag: @Shadowsun ,@Narancia, @Darth_Elu, @spacelady, @Jedi_Ascension, @Mitth_Fisto, @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

IC as Sword Oran

Echo Squad was overwhelmed and fast. Venator's leg didn't look good, Veronica was going through some emotional trouble and exhaustion from the expression on her face, and the Captain was severely being swarmed. Sword couldn't help but feel a little dismayed as he fired off shots at the enemies wrecking havoc down below on his team, but he didn't have long to feel discouraged.

Laying on his stomach while he lined up shots with his sniper rifle, he swore he felt a faint tremor under ground, and barely a second later, the ground beside him crumbled away and a worm grunt suddenly popped out. He cursed out loud and gave the Xenos corpse on his back a hard shove back toward the new arrival, hoping it would knock it off balance while he quickly rolled away, firing several shots, close range at the creature. Sword needed to deal with this one as quickly as he could so he could resume fire on the neural. He had to help, they were all in trouble and Sword was in the best position to lay on the covering fire. But he was also ready to drop his rifle if needed and pull out his combat knife if the Xenos got in too close for comfort.

Tag: @Shadowsun, @greyjedi125, @Narancia, @Darth_Elu, @Mitth_Fisto, @Master Vo'Un'Var, and @Jedi_Ascension

 

Senior Lieutenant Bouvier Farley IC:
~Battle of the Birthing Chamber~

Pressing into a situation like this was always immensely dangerous, but then that was the definition of battle wasn’t it? Bouvier continued to light up the Xenos as he went, though not quite finding that opening he was waiting for. Still the worms did start dropping.

Just not fast enough for his liking.

The signs of battle amongst everyone was as beautiful as it was futile and that fueled him. Watching Riz come to life, such as it were, was one such sight. Venator as well, both hacking and slashing (with interspersed gunfire as well) through the enemies despite being grossly overwhelmed. Jessica pushing through as only her bruiser frame could allow, yet succumbing despite her best attempts to the onslaught.

The sniper’s cover fire, though it may not be fast enough. All of it.

There was a grim romanticism to it all. Just how long could it last?

Finally coming upon the group and the horde, his shield flashed to life while he swiftly reloaded on the fly. The neural was now acting up this time. His eyes flicked over to see what the enemy commander would do. Tentacles flashed. Yep, the Xenos did like those. One of the few commonalities. Not all, but most in his experience.

The warrior was pushed back though charging in again before long (gloriously persistent *******), the recon was winded and eventually coming around behind him as she slowed, the assassin was smacked by a flying grunt, as was the bruiser captain who fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Tenaka was out of the horde at least. For now.

Bouvier could not see what was happening with Sword, but hoped he was doing alright. It would not surprise him if he was running into difficulties of his own by now however. No one went through a fight with Xenos completely unscathed.

Oh, and a flying grunt of his own incoming.

He barely paid it a glance as he lifted his shield arm and SWUNG! Attempting to smash its head own, using its own neural’s force against it, then fired a couple shots into its head for good measure as it slumped to the ground. Then moved on as if nothing had happened.

In that nonstop motion he would come to the realization that he, for the first time, was the highest ranking member of his squad and technically in charge until Jessica came back around safely.

This is already a pain.

Lets see if he could change that quickly.

Focus firing on the grunts trying to chew through the captain’s armor, he also would swipe any off with his shield to make sure they were off the woman. If she were responsive, he’d help her up and follow her next orders.

***[The Following Is Dependent on Captain's Condition]
If she was unresponsive, which would take only seconds to determine, he would motion for Veronica who was now following him to come up. While shielding her, he would nod toward Jessica.

“Pull her back toward Tenaka. Get him to do his magic.”

His eyes would be taking in the full battlefield at this moment as he spoke, doing as much at once as possible.

“RUDRA! FALL BACK!”

He was charging in too far again. They needed to be unified, if their ultimately useless fight was to possibly have any success this action. If Sword was clear of his issues at that point, he’d allow the sniper to return to individual Fire-At-Will decisions. If Sword was having issues with his Xenos still, he’d yell out again while firing toward the neural and the remaining worms.

“WASILLE! FIRE THEN HEAL!”

He emphasized with a forward motion of his rifle toward each target as he shouted. Fire (toward Sword to free him) then heal (obviously Jessica as she was pulled toward him if she was unresponsive)

The horde kept him busy and he was covering Veronica, so he could not assist Sword. Venator, Riz, and Tish were too busy with their current problems, so they could not assist either. Veronica would be pulling Jessica back and so couldn’t assist either. It would take a few moments till the bulky form of the captain in her armor could reach a safe point for Tenaka to perform whatever he could, in that brief critical moment he was free to fire from his relatively safe position. Every second counted.

One of the first lessons of combat you learned. And among the most important.

As soon as that was done, began pressing forward again.

“Greene, stay here and protect these two,” he’d order as he moved away.

“RUDRA!” he motioned for the warrior to resume the offensive near to his left side, “CARTER!” He motioned for the assassin to do the same near to his right side.

If the artillery was finally free of whatever predicament she had gotten herself into, he’d order: “WAGNER! FIRE AT WILL!”

He’d be pointing straight at their target. Neural. Dead ahead.

And with this forward push, while the two coming with him were close enough, he would be utilizing every bit of his speed and agility by bouncing between them and using his shield to cover their advance, keeping up with them every step of the way. That was his primary job after all. To take the hits.

Anything further from this point would require an instant re-assessment of the battle.

How far could their resistance to death carry them?

Tag: Echo Squad

@Shadowsun @Narancia @Mitth_Fisto @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var @Jedi_Ascension @spacelady

 

IC: The Neural

The Neural remained atop Ironheart's battered armor as the grunts fed on the sides, a single tendril coming up from it to whack away the approaching Farley. He would have a moment to bring up his shield and defended himself. The other tendrils of the neural writhing about in a dazzling display of chaotic monstroirty. One of the tendrils came up a pierced directly into the leg of Ironheart. There was no response from her over comms, and getting close to her was a no-go, alone at least.

So it stood to reason that now as the commanding officer Farley would bark his orders, giving the direction needed for the others to fight. The time was keying for the tide of battle was greatly against them despite their victories, and the question remained would they be able to save the Captain.

TAG: @Darth_Elu

 

Tish Wagner

She had dropped the first Xenos corpse with a grin on her face, even if it had pissed her off for a minute before that. Damn things needed to stay still when you killed them. It was dead now and that was all that mattered to Tish. Forming back up with Captain Ironheart as ordered, she was surprised by the sudden arrival of the big Xenos and its own squad of Xenos! Glaring at them, Tish prepared to open fire and begin open up their attack against them when instead she was pre-empted by a well timed assault by two Xenos from either side that had chosen their enemy well.

The others went on to tangle with the force of Xenos while she was stuck with these two crafty and agile foes. Their placement, speed, and low numbers made it unwise to use her big gun again. But she could improvise. It took a while but she finally managed to clobber them and squish them under her main weapon, using her strength and the weight of the gun to her advantage. Cost her time and Echo Squad was showing signs of wavering without artillery support. Xenos bastards! Tish aimed her big gun at last toward the main threat after the Senior Lieutenant was forced to retreat. The neural, according to the optic reports. While the others regrouped, she took aim at the thing's head as far away from the Captain as possible. Perhaps two birds and one stone. One explosive stone. She hoped she could save the Captain but also she just really wanted to kill that big guy.

Tish pulled the trigger on her AM-12 for the first time in real action.

Tag: @Shadowsun @Master Vo'Un'Var @Mitth_Fisto @Narancia @Darth_Elu @greyjedi125 @spacelady

 

IC: Tenaka Wasille
Graveyard of Xenos, Attack of the Neural!

When the dust cleared, it was only to show more Xenos worms burrowing and lunging at them all. His shots had helped, he was partly sure of that, but in the grand scheme? His little cog in the machine was turning idly in comparison to the others. He got up and moved, abandoning his cutting scheme and focused on picking off Xenos as he could, leaving the giant for the rest of them. After all no one had even dared to suggest a retreat.

Their captain was practically down, the second was barking orders, including telling him how to do his job. So, hurray. The second was a micromanager type when the leader was being murdered. Shaking his head slightly he focused on shooting worms.

His heads up display was already showing a leg injury logged, and now the minor wounds and exhaustion were setting in. Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a stimulant patch and held it to the side. If he could, ah! Here she came, "Miss Greene, apply to clean patch of skin. It should kickstart recovery and put things back in artificial overdrive for a few minutes." Well that was a lie, he hadn't finished her file so it could last a few minutes or two hours, somewhere in there. All depended on how her body reacted to the medication and how well she was at in filtering it back out. He really needed to finish a complete workup on everyone that survived.

Taking his pistol back up he slowly aimed and shot, aim and shoot. Honestly his hair was starting to itch along the old suture lines, adrenaline was a bit over productive at the moment. Just needed to save the captain from those worms on her and that Neural - alternate shots, worm - neural - worm - neural. He was about to busy, he had no doubt about that. Or was about to have a corpse to mark for salvage.

TAG: @Shadowsun @Master Vo'Un'Var @Jedi_Ascension , @Narancia @Darth_Elu @greyjedi125 @spacelady

 

Regeneration


​

The Xenos that had landed on Carter buried itself into his neck, its large mouth crunching in deeply as blood spewed upwards to the sky as it began to feast on his body. His body fell to the ground, his face growing cold as the life force was drained away from him. He had perhaps twenty, thirty seconds left before he died.

Farley's own grunt was quickly dealt with as it came to a screeching death wail by his hand. Sword likewise was able to deal with their own grunt in a cumbersome manner but one that resulted in victory nonetheless, but it would cause them not to be able to respond to all that had transpired at that moment, their focus entirely on killing the worm. Wasille would be able to kill two more of the grunts with his persistent firing, his shots on the Neural itself proving to be rather ineffective.

Wagner's blasts rocked against the Neural who let out a piercing screech throughout the ashen sky. The sheer force of the blasts killing the two other worms that were coiled up within its tentacles. That left three grunts around Ironheart and the one on top of Carter. It would become apparent to Rudra and Wagner that their blasts were causing damage to the Neural but caused it to squeal about in pain, its tentacles digging deep into the ground as it writhed around inadvertently knocking and slaying the grunts around Ironheart. Then the members would hear it, it was almost defeating.

Crack.

Two large metallic sections came up on either side of Neural as it brought them up on either side of it. Its tentacles digging deep within the metal casing that had once protected Ironheart, the organic contents being scooped and consumed in a truly gruesome display. The members of Echo Squad were witnessing a rare event.

They were seeing a Neural feed.

If there had been any doubt of Ironheart surviving it was now gone, the now empty tin can clashed to the ground as another brutal reminder of the world they lived in was gifted to the members of Echo Squad.

What damage had been done to the Neural from the various attacks of Echo Squad had now just been undone by its rapid regeneration. It stood before them, its tenacles rushing about as it moved towards the pinned down Carter, ready to consume him as it just had done to Ironheart.

That is if someone could do something to stop it.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @Narancia @spacelady @Darth_Elu @Jedi_Ascension @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

OOC: I’m writing this on my phone, so please excuse any errors! Also, my screen is cracked…

IC as Sword Oran

The grunt fell over, lifeless. Sword didn’t waste anymore time as he quickly assumed his position again and gained his bearings back. He would worry about covering his scent up again in a bit, but for now, he had to help Echo Squad. Peering through the scope, he took in the battlefield, his heart sinking. Things got worse, and even faster than he could have predicted. In the small amount of time he took to fight off his most recent threat, the team below found themselves in a more dangerous position.

He saw the Captain, motionless on the ground, and just before firing at the Xenos attacking her, he watched the Neural come into focus. It ripped the metal pieces clean apart and the moments after were incredibly gruesome. Perhaps, the most horrifying thing Sword had even seen. He felt his stomach churn, his fingers freezing up for just a moment. Their Captain was… gone. Just like that. And they were nowhere near the birthing chamber… How could this world be so cruel? So damnably dark, ripping out any remnants of light and hope? No one deserved this. Not anyone who perished in these attacks. Not the captain. No. They were going to take the world back. He would never surrender or go down quietly. He seethed and gritted his teeth, allowing the horror of what he just witnessed to shift into madness and fury.

Sword easily adjusted his rifle’s scope, trailing after the Neural as it suddenly changed targets to Riz, who was also laying on the ground. The Sniper turned his anger into steady focus, knowing full well how critical his shots were to their survival. He began laying on the rapid fire, doing his best to not let the speed deter from his accuracy. They didn’t have long. It was now or never!

Tag: @Shadowsun, @Master Vo'Un'Var, @Darth_Elu, @greyjedi125, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_Ascension, and @Narancia

 

IC: Venator Rudra
Red-lining



The Nightmare.

It was REAL.

Things were going badly for Echo Squad. Very Badly.

It was all going to heck.

Venator wasn’t certain when it had happened, but they had all crossed from bleak reality into an unforgiving nightmare, without even realizing it. Every movement was a struggle, every step a cause for anguish; and then the worst thing that could happen happened.

His shot rang out and successfully hit its mark, the same was true for everyone who had targeted the tentacled Xenos in that moment. It screeched in pain, for they had managed to hurt it.

His heart dared to leap for just a second- a glimmer of hope coming to mind, and then….

Venator watched with abject incredulity as the wounded Neural literally ripped into the captain’s armor and consumed her right before their eyes. Not in a thousand years could he have imagined something that horrifying.

But, it happened.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

Every indicator in Venator’s cyber-armor spiked as systems red-lined.

The demon ( for that is what they truly were ) regenerated itself by consuming human flesh and blood. Images of his own family being devoured flashed through his mind in that moment, yet Venator barely managed to hold onto an infinitesimal sherd of sanity.

The captain. She was gone. Just like that. Just like them. His sister and his Mom.

The scene played itself out seemingly in slow motion. Venator gritted his teeth as his emotions flared! He could not cry for his cybernetic eyes did not produce tears, instead they could only focus on the Bruiser Armor’s Power Core.

He gritted his teeth as he seethed with searing red hatred for Xenos. Peripherally, he noticed Riz. He was down, critically wounded and would likely die. There was little he could do, for he was not a field medic. A pang of helpless anguish pierced the warrior, as he stayed the course. They would all die, quite likely. Therefore, if he could not defend his Squad mates, he would at least avenge them.

Venator’s pain receptors were offline, as planned. The warrior felt nothing. Would feel nothing. There was only him. His rifle. His target. And his Hate.

Venator would charge his next shot to maximum capacity. His aim would be unerring. If he could cause the Captain’s armor Power Core to detonate, that could take care of the detestable Neural, or at least weaken it so the others could finish it. His own fate was irrelevant.

Nothing else mattered.

Kill Xenos.

That’s was the one and only reason why he continued to live.

"Captain....my captain...."

Venator held his breath, squeezed the trigger and hoped for the flash of purifying fire.


Tag: @Shadowsun, @Darth_Elu, @Master Vo'Un'Var, @spacelady, @Narancia, @Mitth_Fisto, @Jedi_Ascension

 

IC: Tenaka Wasille
Graveyard of Xenos, Attack of the Neural!

What happened next was a horror story written in their own leader's blood and that of the Xenos. He did what he could, for the sake of the machine and their squad, but in the end. In the end it was fruitless. Whatever damage they did the Neural healed just by consuming one of them. Still he was the medic and the alert came through, Captain beyond healing - Carter was soon to join her.

Rushing forward he shot the Xenos on Carter's neck as he removed the appropriate pressure dressing to afix to his neck and try to save his life. If that worked, well, he had one last idea as he holstered his weapon and drew out knockout patch. If the Neural came at him he had his last hope to protect his patient for the sake of the machine by trying a wild gambit to incapacitate the Neural.

He had no illusions to his chances, but he was a medic and had to try something!

TAG: @Shadowsun , @Darth_Elu , @Master Vo'Un'Var , @spacelady , @Narancia , @greyjedi125 , @Jedi_Ascension

 

Death Throes
​

It was already too late. By the time Tenaka got to Carter he would know the worst had come to past. The assassin from the streets of London had perished, his body now just a husk for the Xenos to consume. His body was lifeless, the blood drained from his face and body from where the Xenos had fed.

Meanwhile, Venator and Sword had stepped into action to attack the Neural in differing ways. The thick, mysterious skin of the Neural resisted some of the initial shots from Venator, their bullets, grazing against the harder parts of its flesh. But several found their mark on the creature's body, piercing deeply into the internal organs of the creature, causing it to give an ungodly screech.

As the Xenos drew near Wasille would have his own counteraction, delivering his blow to what appeared to be the head of the creature, causing it to stagger for several moments, a liquid beginning to pour out of its head that seemed akin to blood but was a deep white color.

Finally, there was a blast from Venator, his skilled attack finding its mark thanks to the subdued beast thanks to the assistance of Wasille and Sword. The power core of the Power Armor exploded, working as a massive grenade as shrapnel blasted everywhere around it, slicing through the Neural until it became two, the top half of it writhing in pain with the final death throes of an alien trying to regenerate itself but to no avail.

And so the remaining members of Echo Squad would arrive at their new destiny. One where their Captain and one of their team was dead.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @Narancia @spacelady @Darth_Elu @Jedi_Ascension @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

​

IC: Veronica Greene

Veronica watched in horror as the Neural killed Captian Ironheart as its tentacles tore the viscera out of the armor, then a stray Xenos bit into Carter's neck and she watched as he spent his last moments gurgling and gasping for air until all the color drained from his face. Wasille rushed and attempted to make it to Carter's body but it was too late; the assassin had passed, he was now dead. Veronica figured that if anyone on the team would die, it would be him but what bothered her the most was that she knew she was fast enough; she could've saved him...

Then Veronica watched as the true heroes, Rudra, Wasille, and Oran, teamed up to kill the Neural and succeeded while Veronica hid behind Farley.

There was nothing I could do. Veronica told herself. I was tired; if I ran out there, I would've died.

But deep down, Veronica knew this was a lie; she knew that there was plenty that she could have done, she knew that even if she went out there, the Neural wouldn't have been able to touch her, and she could've done so much.

So much more.

But instead, she hid; Veronica hid while everyone else risked their lives. This was not the start Veronica had imagined for her first mission, but at least she was alive right? Oran had a more stellar performance, and Rudra was the team's vanguard. Veronica didn't even have a single clue where Wagner went, but at least she was in the thick of it fighting.

But I'm a recon unit; we have the highest mortality rate, our path is the hardest.

Another thing Veronica told herself, but she did believe it. However, this train of thought was close to Veronica's philosophy at the start of the mission before the chaos, and so what really gave Veronica pause was the realization that there was a war being waged in her mind. One side wanted to be a hero, a warrior. While the other wanted to be a survivor, a realist.

But Carter was a realist, and look where that got him.

A counter.

But Ironheart was also a hero, and look where that got her.

Both sides of the argument had merit. And all Veronica would achieve is reaching insanity if she continued to berate and debate herself. But one thing Veronica quickly found out was that she needed to figure out who she was going to be in this war for humanity's survival; she kept flip-flopping between the amazon persona she displays before the public and the high school girl who never got over her personal insecurities.

So Veronica stood up and looked around, wondering what to do next, as the objective would be to blow up the hive, but where would they start?

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto @spacelady @Darth_Elu @Jedi_Ascension @greyjedi125 @Master Vo'Un'Var (rip)