The Steel Frontier(Sci-Fi)(Mech)(Open/IC)

[Xichung]

The grand new Frontier, space, mankind has developed warp drives making travel easier. Now with the sight of new planets for conquest, there is now a new prospect for the war industry to flourish. Clashing ideals and men in it for the money or the enjoyment of death. They all are coming together to decide who will hold the galaxy’s fate.

The tale so far: Earth has long ago died, same with the star that parented it. from its ashes, two great factions clash, each one at each other’s throat, the war is starting to become a stalemate. It’s soon starting to not matter who develops the better weapon or not, both of them started hiring mercenaries to do the fighting, simply cause they can fight without restrictions or rules. As blood spills and machines start taking their place. Robotic infantry capable of taking a hit and keep on ticking with only one true weakness a port on the back of the head from where they can be hacked. This flaw showed that they needed something more than machines or humans. They needed pilots and mechs and soon with this new mechanical unit the stalemate began to vanish one faction began pushing the other and vise versa, it became a war of attrition. This is where you step in, your a pilot of a mech of your own design, pilot are almost one-man armies capable of running along walls and jumping up to higher surfaces. The biggest strength of a pilot is the mech they control, a titan above man, these machines are capable to turn the tide of battle at any second.

Major Factions

Major factions are ones with the greates influence and the resources to keep a major hold in the galaxy.

Current Factions
RCMC(Royal Cononial Marine Corps)
Leader:Supreme comander, Alexander Lionhardt
Motavation:Supreme rule
Emblem:
Goal:To crush all opposition and rule with an iron fist
AIP(Allience of Independent Planets)
Leader:Angel whitestone
Motavation:freedom
Emblem:
Goal:to free all planets from the iron grip of the RCMC

Minor Faction

most minor factions are the mercinary groups, but if you play your card correctly they can become major.

Current Factions
Apex
Leader:Terrin Black
Motavation:Get the job done and earn big
Emblem:
Alignment/Employers:RCMC
The 505Th
Leader:The 6th
Motavation:bring about peace in their own way, even if it means playing dirty
Emblem:
Alignment/Employers:AIP

OOC
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=459016

Rules
1.my word is the law
2.co-op word is the law
3.follow site rules
4.no godmodding, you will be given three strikes
5.no metagaming

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Maintenance Bay
SLS Duty's Fist

The half-gravity of the maintenance bay tugged weakly at Julia as she leaned against the rail, watching the repair crew swarm over the line of half-skeletal forms which dominated the room. It was humbling to think that the Duty's Fist held twelve mechs and was still considered to be an escort vessel. Enough force was contained on this ship to bring down a small planet in open rebellion, and there were hundreds just like it spread across the galaxy. How the Alliance could even hope to stand against the Corps was something which still puzzled her, if she was being entirely honest. They fought like rabid dogs, but they were so vastly outmatched-

"What is it you want, Lieutenant?"

Julia turned towards the broad-shouldered woman who had appeared next to her and straightened, inclining her head.

"Staff Sergeant Dubois." She replied, "Sorry, I was lost in thought. Dimitri sent me - he wants to know when the suits will be ready to go."

Dubois clucked her tongue disapprovingly for several seconds before shrugging and half-turning to leave.

"They'll be ready long before we revert to realspace, Lieutenant. I won't promise you anything more."

"But if you had to guess?" Julia pressed, "Ballpark estimate?"

Dubois glowered at her for a moment before her expression shifted to thoughtful and she finally cocked her head and heaved a sigh.

"It should be about an hour and a half for them all." She decided, "Barring unforeseen circumstances, of course. His Fafnir should be done perhaps half an hour earlier than that, but if he tries to run her through her paces I will have him thrown out and damn the consequences."

"I will be sure to inform him of that." Julia nodded, "Thank you, Staff Sergeant."

Dubois blinked at her for a moment.

"Of course, Lieutenant. Now get out. We've got work to do, and I don't want you distracting Julia."

"On it." Julia nodded, turning to the exit hatch and passing through and feeling her body press harder into the ground as regular gravity took over - still a little less than what she was used to from Uriel, but apparently the average gravity of all inhabited worlds the Corps protected. She'd heard that Alliance ships had less than half this gravity throughout their ship, though she wasn't sure who had told her that. It didn't matter. She wasn't one of those poor, brainwashed fools on the other side of the battlespace.

Her hand flitted down to her bracelet and she ran two fingers across it. It was cool and smooth to the touch, and it reassured her. She didn't even need to look down to see it vividly - every scratch and nick she knew in perfect detail, every slight imperfection. It was the only link she had left to her home - her sisters notwithstanding. Her fingers reached the bottom of her wrist and then slowly retreated back along the familiar landscape before falling back to her side.

"You're back?"

She glanced up, snapping out of her reverie as Nia smiled down at her.

"Oh, yes. It'll be two hours, Staff Dubois said."

Nia smirked softly, nodding down the corridor towards the simulator room.

"You'll have to lie better when you tell him that."

Julia sighed to herself, took a moment to glance over at the taller woman.

"Do you think he'll believe if I say one hour fifty?"

Nia's smirk widened as she turned and ambled down towards the mess hall. Julia sighed and headed towards the simulator room. She had news to deliver.

[AHSCA]

Nutella Charon had a strict routine of physical discipline firmly drilled into her since a child wake up first thing exercise and practice. Even before becoming a pilot even before learning to work her mech which she helped design. Pushups, sit ups punches, kicks, coping with extreme elements of heat and cold, she had to be ready for anything, growing up on the dark and cold world of Pluto and it's moons. And it all paid off allowing her to sail her way through basic training with ease and adapt quickly to mech combat and piloting. Even though her heavy class was more intended for large damage it didn't mean she didn't have her scrapes with enemies or that she might at some point be put into a position where she might need to change mechs. After finishing her morning exercise it was time for her mech practice.

Washing and suiting up she gave her vocal command "Door open." The cabin door of her room opened up "Lights off." The lights turned off. Exiting her cabin walking down the corridor she silently acknowledge if any of her comrades in arms acknowledged her. Nutella wasn't known as a social of friendly person, except a mysterious person she sometimes was overheard conversing with. Just an old friend of hers from Pluto it wasn't anyone special but it was the rare time someone might catch glance of a smile. Otherwise she was mostly business. Glory to the RCMC and all that jazz. Arriving at the simulation bay to her surprise arriving at the same time was Lt. Lionhardt. A competent woman in Nutella's eyes, about a year younger presumably. Nutella, giving her usual silent stern and cold acknowledgement, she entered her ID into the computer.

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

As she entered the room Julia quickly scanned the rows of monitors before another person ghosted through the doorway behind her, offering her the briefest nod of acknowledgement. Memory attempted to flicker into being for a moment before Julia pushed it to one side and focused for a moment. She could get back to the other woman soon enough. She was here to find Dimitri first. The first few ranks of monitors were taken up by enlisted - running damage repair sims or gunnery tests or the like - but once she past them the crowds thinned out rapidly and before long she spotted the shock of electric-blonde hair which characterised her squadron leader. It took her a handful of moments to reach his side as he half-turned to glance up at her, shooting off a dazzling smile.

"You're back?"

"Yes, Sir." She saluted briskly, "They'll be done in an hour and a half. Staff Sergeant Dubois says that if you try and warm Fafnir up before then she'll have you...err...ejected, Sir."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed for a moment before his grin widened even further.

"Oh, he'll be ready before then. How much earlier?"

"J-just half an hour, Sir. But Staff Sergeant-"

"Don't you still have the Siege of Dagon sim to complete, Lieutenant?"

Julia frowned.

"Well, yes Sir, it's difficu-"

"Don't worry about Staff Sergeant Dubois, Lieutenant." Dimitri assured her, "Go get through that sim. Now. That's an order."

"Y-yes Sir." She nodded, before saluting and turning away. It took her a moment to search out a vacant monitor as Dimitri began to boot up another sim, and when she found one she beelined directly for it. Dropping in to her seat and quickly entering in her ID she glanced across from her and saw the woman from earlier staring intently into the monitor. For a moment she considered saying something, then she decided against it. The other woman seemed...intense right now. Perhaps best if she didn't intrude.

Instead she turned her mind back to the sim she was about to run. It wasn't complex - it was a simple "survive until extraction" sim - but being surrounded by both conventional ground forces and other mechs and under continuous pressure was what made the situation interesting for her. The Nightswan was intended to strike and fade, but surrounded as it was all Julia could do was bounce between different enemy units and try to avoid building up too much damage. It hadn't been enough any time she'd tried it before, and holding her ground in any one place just lost her the rest of the battlespace.

Her eyes flickered across to the other woman. Charon, she could remember that much. Withdrawn - possibly cold? The two had never really spoken yet. But she had the look of experience to her. And she was definitely older than Julia was, which gave her another year of experience at least - what did she have to lose from this? After all, if she got the sim over with she could run through some of the more interesting ones. Where she was free to play around with her Nightswan's capabilities.

She licked her lips nervously.

"Err...Charon?" She asked after a moment, half-turning, "Do you have any tips for the Dagon sim?"

[AHSCA]

Her eyes flickered across to the other woman. Charon, she could remember that much. Withdrawn - possibly cold? The two had never really spoken yet. But she had the look of experience to her. And she was definitely older than Julia was, which gave her another year of experience at least - what did she have to lose from this? After all, if she got the sim over with she could run through some of the more interesting ones. Where she was free to play around with her Nightswan's capabilities.

She licked her lips nervously.

"Err...Charon?" She asked after a moment, half-turning, "Do you have any tips for the Dagon sim?"

Booting up the simulated systems of Keroberoes her mind was focused on going over immediate strats but rather unexpectedly, Julia broached a question. "Tips huh?" She softly responded. "Anything giving you trouble, Lieutenant? Or are you looking for general advice? I can say the AI is particularly fond of flanking maneuvers but don't rule out being baited into a choke point and ambushed. You pilot Nightswan, am I correct? "

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

Julia nodded slowly as Charon ran through her list of tips. She'd been hit by the ambush tactic a few times during her attempts to deal with the sim before - she was almost certainly too used to being the one doing the ambushing and not the other way around, if she was perfectly honest with herself. The AI's tendency to flank was something she had thought was just a result of the smaller engagement zone, but if it was an active process that could be something she could potentially use to draw out other mechs...

Her head snapped up as she realised Charon had asked her a question.

"Oh, yes." She nodded slightly, "That's why I'm having such trouble. No room to manoeuvre properly. You're...Cerberus, right?"

[AHSCA]

Her head snapped up as she realised Charon had asked her a question.

"Oh, yes." She nodded slightly, "That's why I'm having such trouble. No room to manoeuvre properly. You're...Cerberus, right?"

"Kero-bear-ohs...." She phonetically replied but it was common for people to use the more typical Cerberus "Keroberos is what I call my mech to be exact but Cerberus isn't entirely wrong either so I won't hold it against you. That is my mech so I'm used to more destructive and brute force methods. You I believe rely more on agility and speed based on your mech's weight and load. No shame in running when you find yourself overwhelmed. Otherwise use speed to strike quick and fast."

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

"Keroberos." Julia muttered, "Kero-bear-ohs. Got it."

As the older pilot continued, Julia nodded slowly. On her monitor, the sim slowly began to load. Striking fast, getting out fast - and then getting the turnaround low enough that she could keep all of the main thrusts of attack reeling back. But the idea that Cerberus - Keroberos, rather - could pull off brute force attacks was something she could perhaps use. The loading bar crept up a little more, and the idea began to crystallise a little more. She'd tried using her hardpoints before, but the loss of mobility hadn't been worth it. But she'd still been trying to work within her traditional framework - working like a Nightswan and not acting like a Keroberos.

"Thanks, Charon." She smiled, "I think that helps."

[Xichung]

Alexander day there at his desk looking over report of recent alliance attacks and new group who has amassed a following under his nose. He took a puff off his pipe as he smirked. He looked at women who was holding a stack of papers “Nora, what ships are available” she pulled out a page listing of ships and details on them and soon placed them on his desk, he then took a puff on his pipe as he looked over the current ships available. His eyes looked past all of them and landed on SLS Duty’s Fist and a ship called destiny’s bride “tell me about these ships” he pointed at them

“Yes sir”Nora nodded and walked over looking at the ships then pulling out a few pieces of paper which holds pictures of the ships and their info “the Fist is a transport vessel carrying multiple mechs, including a Julia that is idolized in the orphanages.”

Alexander nodded and took a quick puff “I see” as he looked over a picture of the Julia “I can see her being a fine pilot, now Destiny’s bride”

She nodded “it is a heavy assault cruiser, the captain is Anderson black, he was there at the horrible battle of blood grand” she pulled at file of the captain “he killed a hundreds of men, indeed he may have been the reason why it was nicknamed the most bloodiest in our history and yet he was there till the very end, his mech is actually what yours is based off of” she pulled out a info sheet on it also “his mech is called Everest, he always went with a lower weapon load, he would normally take weapons from the enemy”

He nodded “I believe I was there to give the man a comidation” he put the pages to his side “now back to the ship”

She nodded “well the ship hold two mechs and carries many anti mech systems, it holds only one rail gun tank, I have no reason why it’s there, but by choice of the captain” she pulled out one picture of the tank “maybe a support, but the ship can hold it out in combat exceptionally”

He nodded “now what of the Julia, might as well since you told me about the captain “

She nodded and gave her few more pictures “luckily I’m always prepared” she pulled the file out on her mech “Her parents are unknown she just showed up at the doors of the orphanage, she is younger than most pilots that are as skilled as her and she shows excellent aptitude with mechs, she has completed almost all the simulations”

He nodded and smiled, he then placed his pipe in his mouth and got up and walked over to her “their next next mission is to oranda prime, a strong hold of the alliance, this will be a test of skill” he smiled “if they survive and manage a capture” he took a puff “I’ll meet the two personally” he cracked his knuckles “now get the simulator ready, I’m going to train, upload Siege of Dagon”

She nodded and pulled up a pad as Alexander removed his shirt and placed his pipe on his desk. A simulator rose up from the floor and he got into it. It uploading the tempest’s data

[AHSCA]

"Keroberos." Julia muttered, "Kero-bear-ohs. Got it."

As the older pilot continued, Julia nodded slowly. On her monitor, the sim slowly began to load. Striking fast, getting out fast - and then getting the turnaround low enough that she could keep all of the main thrusts of attack reeling back. But the idea that Cerberus - Keroberos, rather - could pull off brute force attacks was something she could perhaps use. The loading bar crept up a little more, and the idea began to crystallise a little more. She'd tried using her hardpoints before, but the loss of mobility hadn't been worth it. But she'd still been trying to work within her traditional framework - working like a Nightswan and not acting like a Keroberos.

"Thanks, Charon." She smiled, "I think that helps."

"Tell you what, why don't we go in on a co-op. We'll go for a simple 'capture the flag' sim. Use Keroberos as your cover and I will clear out a path and when the timing is right, break formation grab the flag." This sim could mean her mech would take the punishment but that's what sims are for, she'd been hoping to get a chance to really try this maneuver as well as really test the breaking point of her mech to really understand how much punishment her mech can really take. "Worse comes to worse, we fail the sim and have to try another plan."

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Valerius Solomon
Simulation of Oceanic War

"Picking up three more contacts, north east approaching at max speed." My sister's voice comes in but with a pause that my ears hear over the simulated explosions. "Nyet, two contacts thanks be to God. I will need to restock on ammo soon."

"Nice shot." I reply, extracting my blade from the mech I just took down and unload a quarter of a magazine into another to disable it and it sinks into the water, I have to resist the urge to click my tongue, an actual pilot wouldn't have gone down at that. Despite space being the main theater for navies there are still naval wars on oceanic worlds so practicing these kind of mass battles is important. "Classification on the other two?" I ask casually as I take out a few small ships with my gatling gun.

"Heavy Destroyer and Interceptor by the looks of it. Unloading armor piercing round into the Heavy." A pause from her. "Heavy Destroyer still in motion. Redeploy?"

"Negative. Estimate on time until contact?"

"One minute for Interceptor, three... five for Heavy Destroyer, some of our battleships opened fire on it."

"I'll deal with them. You focus on sinking the rest of the enemy. The job is to sink the navy anyway."

"Understood, switching to high explosive rounds. Targeting super heavy oceanic battleship." I nod and switch on my boosters and rush to engage the leading mech, making minor note of the exploding ship nearby. As I get close it pulls out a sword.

"So you have a sword, try to make this fun." I remark to the unthinking program and deflect and parry while using my boosters to try to flank around it. It manages to block my blade and tries to counter. This goes on for a couple minutes before the Heavy Destroyer gets close and I move myself back a little to gain distance. Before I can decide on my next move several missiles hit my side staggering me.

"Resolution are you alright?" My sister asks, concern actually in her tone this time.

"I'm fine Memory. Where did that come from?" I ask while dodging the two mechs and missiles.

"Airborne forces deployed on the battlefield and art targeting you."

This time I am the one who is pausing as I process this change while emptily dodging the incoming fire. "Brother?"

"I thought we eliminated the carriers?" I finally ask as I shoot a couple incoming missiles out of the air and slash at the Interceptor.

A notable pause from her, undoubtedly for her to examine the map. "Indeed. These are being deployed off map. Suggestions?"

"Cover me and check the status of our aeronautical forces." I flip on my boosters, accelerating backwards away from the mechs I was facing while firing both submachine guns. Those shots combined with my sister's sniper rounds prevent the two mechs from pursuing.

"Our aeronautical forces have been pushed back." My sister calmly reports, well she is always calm but seeing as this is a simulation we are more or less limiting our exchanges, unlike what happens an actual battle.

"Keep them suppressed, I'll deal with the air forces."

"Understood." She understands immediately what I am asking for.

With that confirmation from her I use my boosters to take to the sky and unload into the planes, mostly letting the targeting programs on Martyr take care of the aiming. Our goal is to eliminate the enemy navy but those planes are getting in the way of this.

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

Julia glanced over at Charon, eyes widening for a moment before she slowly nodded and slowly returned her attention to the monitor. She'd only seen Keroberos once or twice before, but judging by its size and build it could take a fair bit of judgement. They'd see if it was enough here but whether or not, knowing what the other pilot and her mech could do would be valuable in real combat. And Charon learning what Nightwing was capable of would be equally useful when they finally deployed into live-fire together.

"I can work with that plan." She agreed, "I'll try and provide what fire support I can, but we're not built for that."

Punching the preferences into the simulator, Julia grabbed ahold of the control sticks and eased her feet into the controllers below. It was almost comforting, like slipping into old clothes. She felt a little tension flowing away through the controls as the monitor flickered into a collection of low-lying buildings - not quite bunkers but not far off certainly. In the back of her mind she half-wondered where this map was based from, but she pushed that thought to one side and pivoted to glance at Keroberos. A quick nudge and Nightwing was jogging towards the larger mech, standing in its shadow as the objective marker appeared in her HUD.

"Are we ready?"

[AHSCA]

Julia glanced over at Charon, eyes widening for a moment before she slowly nodded and slowly returned her attention to the monitor. She'd only seen Keroberos once or twice before, but judging by its size and build it could take a fair bit of judgement. They'd see if it was enough here but whether or not, knowing what the other pilot and her mech could do would be valuable in real combat. And Charon learning what Nightwing was capable of would be equally useful when they finally deployed into live-fire together.

"I can work with that plan." She agreed, "I'll try and provide what fire support I can, but we're not built for that."

Punching the preferences into the simulator, Julia grabbed ahold of the control sticks and eased her feet into the controllers below. It was almost comforting, like slipping into old clothes. She felt a little tension flowing away through the controls as the monitor flickered into a collection of low-lying buildings - not quite bunkers but not far off certainly. In the back of her mind she half-wondered where this map was based from, but she pushed that thought to one side and pivoted to glance at Keroberos. A quick nudge and Nightwing was jogging towards the larger mech, standing in its shadow as the objective marker appeared in her HUD.

"Are we ready?"

(ooc: with Spindel's permission I will be doing most of the narrative for the sim )


Nutella nodded "Very good. Provide what you can but just keep low and in my shadow." She finished punching in final commands "I'll do most of the work you just keep yourself alive. All right, starting sim."

The timer counted down to zero, the simulated battle could begin. Right at the moment it was quiet but signals on their scopes showed enemy combatants around. "I think we're okay for the moment, they haven't spotted us. I'll run a jamming signal but it won't be long before they spot us and open fire. In the meantime keep a watch, warn me if a sniper or anyone else pops their head up. Kero." she called her computer commands.

KERO here.

"Kero, run a scan, find us the flag."

Commencing.

With Kero doing the scans Nightswan kept a close watch out for any creeping foes. It wasn't long before a sentry mech spotted the duo. Hearing the unfortunate but rather expected words, We've been spotted, Charon!

"Damn! Kero, how what about the flag?"

Dected sector G, 1.41

"Go figure it's right dead ahead." Before long the barrage of gunfire was raining down upon them. "Shields max! All right, Nightswan, we have a full force frontal flank coming in on us, I'm going to plow through, keep low and only fire at what you can hit! Conserve power to keep your shields up. Okay thrusts up 27% let's move through Kero!"

Pushing on through Keroberos and Nightswan began demoloshing their way through the swarm of anti-mech defenses. "Full firepower. Nightswan how are your shields holding?"

"Keroberos, my shields are 75%"

"Copy. Kero, how are your shields holding?"

Shields are 35% and falling.

Taking the brunt of the firepower from all sides Kero was taking the beating here. "Hold tight, Nightswan we're almost there." The building where their target goal was, was closing in fast but the question is could Kero hold out, once the shields gave out it would be up to Kero's armor and Nightswans remaining shield power. "Nightswan, this is Keroberos, the target is just through the wall, I'm going to blast straight through keep on my tail."

Nutella blasted away the wall making an opening the two of them could fit through, once inside they had a little more way to go but the worst of the flack had let off, just as Kero's shields reduced to zero and the armor took some damage.

"Keroberos, This is Nightswan, we have a rear flank of enemy combatants."

"Copy, Nightswan."

Taking a look at the scopes Nutella could see this wasn't good given it was a large swam of heavy combat mechs. Nutella called upon Kero again, "Kero, how is your armor?"

"Armor at 75%"

"Nightswan behind us is a legion of Heavy MG-42X Anti-Mech Tanks. They're the latest put out by the AIP and absolute bastards. You have the coordinates for the flag, I'm cutting you loose grab the flag and I'll hold them off."

Copy, Keroberos Nightswan responded, is there no way to slow the advancement?

"Best I could do is bring down half the building on top of us but even then these things are strong and durable won't take them long to dig through any ruble I create. I'm heavy and designed to take the punishment. Go, you're all set."

Allowing Nightswan to continue on to grab the flag, Keroberos positioned itself ready for a flank. Busting through whatever mess the two mechs left behind it was all out open season.

"Kero, full power to armor. Disable auto scope, auto target, beacon transmission, anything non vital so I can keep firepower and armor power."

Switching to manual, disabling climate control, disabling vitals monitor, a laundry list of systems turning off "Line of sight." Nutella found herself breathing rapidly and hard with growing nerves. "Come on Nightswan grab the flag." It wasn't much longer, seconds even, before a horde of enemy fighters busted through, the heavy firepower staid to take on Keroberos while some of the lighter units went after Nightswan. Nutella began firing as she was fired upon, taking out many in her path but also taking a full force beating. It honestly reminded her of growing up her father or mother or brothers slapping her around. Her armor power was sharply decreasing her firepower was only doing so much but it did keep most of it on her while Nightswan would only have a couple of units to worry about. Kero's alarms buzzed Armor Critical Failure, DANGER

One more shot was fired off, it was likely going to be her end if not for the fact the simulation concluded with large green letters MISSION SUCCESSFUL. FLAG CAPTURED! Nutella looked over at Julia whom looked over at her. Nutella slowly released her tight grip from the controls. Beads of sweat rolled down her face until she wiped it away. Taking in a deep breath and calming her intesne nerves, she looked over at Julia again. "Lieutenant. Well done. "

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

Julia felt her heart racing as the monitor flickered off before her. There was a buzz to combat which she couldn't - wouldn't - deny, and even when she was being shot at from every side she was still flying beyond anything she could have prepared for. There was an...awareness which even simulated combat brought about, a shot of existential terror she took whenever she was forced to face her own mortality head-on. It had an addictive edge to it, one which she wasn't sure she could bring herself off from.

Her fingers brushed against the cold metal on her wrist and she felt her heart rate normalising. She'd almost gotten carried away in that last rush - she'd felt the urge to just bounce into the sky, into the midst of the enemy, into their very heart to twist and slice and cut apart anything that stood in her way. Or die in the attempt. It almost disturbed her how easily she accepted that, but she pushed it to one side as she glanced across at Charon as she sat panting in front of the now-dead simulation. She seemed as exhilarated as Julia was as she spoke her praise. Julia wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." She managed in reply, "I wasn't convinced we were going..."

She paused to exhale and inhale heavily.

"Going to make it." She finished, "But we got there. And now..."

She glanced at the ship's chrono on the wall. Maintenance on the mechs should be almost done, if nothing had additionally gone wrong. They'd find out soon enough, she supposed.

"According to Staff Dubois, repairs should be done by now." She noted, "I'll head down that way and try to be ready for when we arrive. Want to join me?"

[AHSCA]

It seems she might have had the same doubts Nutella had. Considering the rather unexpected surprises the simulator threw them including new enemy types, the latest from The RCMC's espionage gatherings no doubt. Again lucky it was just a simulation but somehow getting lost in a simulation was all to easy when faced with the prospects this could be a real combat situation mostly. Unstrapping herself from the simulator pod, Julia proposed heading down to the hangar to see about their mechs. "That sounds like a good idea. I should check on Keroberos too make sure they did it right." she stepped up offering a hand to Julia. "By the way, I guess we can be less formal with one another now that we've basically experienced combat together. Nutella. That's my first name."

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Simulation Room
SLS Duty's Fist

Julia blinked at the other pilot's outstretched hand for a moment, before gently taking it and stepping down onto the floor. For a moment she considered Charon, tilting her head slightly as the gears turned. Sims weren't the same as combat proper, but they weren't exactly unlike either. It wasn't perfect, but she didn't intend on handing over perfect trust - certainly not just yet, anyway. Her eyes flicked down demurely, then her face broke out into a smile and she nodded lightly to the other woman.

"Nutella." She nodded, "A pleasure. I'm Julia."

With that she beelined towards the door and out into the corridor, half-dragging Nutella before realising and dropping her hand. Pressing onwards towards the maintenance bay she cocked her head again, turning back towards her counterpart.

"So why did you have Keroberoes made like that, by the way?"

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Anastasia Solomon

Out of the corner of my eye I see the destroyed contacts as Salvation acquires a targeting solution on the Heavy Destroyer. "The Lord is my strength and song." Targeting solution acquired. "Hallelujah." I whisper and both sniper cannons on my back open fire. "Left arm disabled on the Heavy Destroyer... no wait I mean severed."

"Understood." My brother responds. "Status on approaching planes?"

I glance to the side. "Still entering the battlefield." I inform him as I open fire again. "Shields destroyed on the Interceptor. Automating the left cannon to continue to track and fire at it. Switching to hard point bullets for the other one." I remark flipping several switches. And sure enough my sniping works as instead of chasing after my brother they come after me and my position. Soon though that has to change. "Heavy Destroyer breaking off to target out fleet, realigning to open fire on Type-72 Cruiser. Switching to high explosive rounds" Targeting solution acquired. "Fir..." My mech shakes with several explosions and I am thrown around a little crying in shock while thanking God I am deployed in four leg mode.

"Memory?!"

I don't respond but instead look at the radar map to figure out what just happened while the flak guns on the carrier I am deployed on shoot down several more rockets flying towards me. "How did it...? Contact, Vanguard unit with radar blockers entered the battlefield and approached on my blind side." I remark regaining my calm and I reach over to the side and give an order to the AI ships to open fire on the Vanguard while having Salvation use his shotgun to drive it off. "Redeploying." I inform my brother, flipping a switch and I switch from the four legged version. "Sorry I will not be able to suppress the other mechs until this is dealt with."

"Its fine. Status?"

"Shield at 75%, armor at 93%, radar jammer offline. You?"

"Shield's at 12%, armor at 67%, all other systems operational. Should be enough though."

"Stay safe brother. Redeployment finished. Engaging the Vanguard." I flip on my boosters and enter the water, floating on top of it as I move to engage with my shotgun.

[AHSCA]

Julia blinked at the other pilot's outstretched hand for a moment, before gently taking it and stepping down onto the floor. For a moment she considered Charon, tilting her head slightly as the gears turned. Sims weren't the same as combat proper, but they weren't exactly unlike either. It wasn't perfect, but she didn't intend on handing over perfect trust - certainly not just yet, anyway. Her eyes flicked down demurely, then her face broke out into a smile and she nodded lightly to the other woman.

"Nutella." She nodded, "A pleasure. I'm Julia."

With that she beelined towards the door and out into the corridor, half-dragging Nutella before realising and dropping her hand. Pressing onwards towards the maintenance bay she cocked her head again, turning back towards her counterpart.

"So why did you have Keroberoes made like that, by the way?"

"Julia." She repeated to commit her name to memory. "I designed Kero with extra strength in mind from my days growing up on Pluto. Lots of miners, my family included, and lots of dangers. Meteor storms, comets, methane explosions, quakes. Many get killed when all they have is a small suit to protect them. Of course my design was picked by the RCMC so it's for the time committed to military use. Which is fine by me. How about yourself, you designed Nightswan?"

[Spindle]

Julia Lionhardt
Maintenance Bay
SLS Duty's Fist

Julia glanced away for a moment as they continued down featureless, gunmetal corridors. She'd started to get a bearing of what was where but they were still something of a confusing labyrinth - deliberately so, she knew, in case an enemy boarding party attempted to take the ship, but even still it could turn the occasional bleary-eyed journey into an hour-long odyssey through the lower decks. The enlisted had it worse, she knew - their quarters could shift in verticality even on the same floor as rooms were fitted between the vast metallic innards of the ship.

Her eyes flicked back to Charon - Nutella - as the other woman finished speaking and her bro furrowed for an instant. Nighthawk...

"I suppose I just have stage fright." She grinned after a moment's hesitation, the doors to the maintenance bay hissing open before her and the lower gravity lifting her onto the balls of her feet, "Let's run them through before we revert to realspace?"

[Xichung]

Nora had already contacted the captain of the Destiny Bride and was now contacting SLS Duty's Fist. the ship was mainly a transport vessel and a young one at that. but it didn't mean it hasn't seen a fleck of battle, it has since been a support for a multitude of battles, it even had the capability of orbital deployment. a good ship and was one of the latest ones to be sent out from the RCMC.

she soon made contact with the captain "This is Nora Boadawig..." she let her German accent out even though Alexander tells her not to, but he seems to show favoritism to her compared to his other subordinates "...I have your orders straight from the commander himself"

the captain nodded "let's hear them then" he was a relaxed man, but very cocky, probably due to his lack of actual combat.

"you will complete your current task, refuel, and meet with Destiny Bride" she sent over coordinates to meet the other ship at "then head to Oranda Prime"

The captain looked at her "that place is an alliance death trap and you know it!" he was scared but angry at the same time "we will barely survive!"

Nora kept calm "captain, remember this is a direct order from the commander himself, so if you question this order i will cal treason on you and anyone who will assist you" she held a cold expression that said not to even try "besides captain, due to recent attacks on the planet, the forces should be weakened and there is only one stronghold there, plus last i remember you had highly skilled pilots"

he stood there in silence and nodded "i shall carry out this order"

Nora smiled "good, i shall send you all the info we have on Prime, Transmission over" the transmission ended and they received the info on the planet as the front window display changed back to look out into the void.

Nora cleared her throat and returned to Alexander's side, he was currently keeping his body in shape.

[Flarbinia]

Diocletian. Titus System
The once clear bluish-purple skies of Diocletian, a planet with an atmosphere so toxic that anyone outside a mech or a properly sealed vehicle would have to wear specialized suits to survive on the surface, were filled with anti-aircraft fire as AIP transports landed deep behind enemy lines, armored divisions having been deployed to the beachheads to provide support to the infantry assigned to capture or destroy the coastal defenses. One of the fortifications that needed to be destroyed for the invasion to succeed was Fort Hadrian, a mighty stronghold built into the cliffs overlooking the strategically important port city of Caligula, impervious to air attacks. To eliminate this threat, a squad of the 52st Cao Cao's Mechs broken off from the spearhead to assault the fortress. "This is Vegas reporting in. Do you copy?" The squad leader said to the rest of the pilots as the mechs headed towards their objective. "Tenochtitlan standing by. Read you loud and clear." The second in command replied, the sharpening of an obsidian dagger being heard for a few seconds. "Pigsy standing by. The sooner we blow up the fort, the sooner we can get Teriyaki Burgers." Another pilot replied. "Stark standing by. I am bringing the party to you." Another pilot replied, the rest of the squad not getting the movie reference. "Kong here. Let's go bananas!" Another pilot replied, causing everyone except for the sixth pilot to laugh. "Piranha standing by. Please remember that we are here to destroy a military installation, not make jokes." The sixth said to the rest of the mechs right before Fort Hadrian's big guns opened fire, taking out one of the mechs with a single shot to the chest, the reactor exploding in a massive fireball. "Kong is down! I repeat! Kong is down!" "Pigsy" shouted to the rest of the squad before another of the big guns took out his mech's legs, taking "Pigsy" out of the fight. "Pigsy is out of action." "Piranha" said over the comms as they got in range of Fort Hadrian, too close for the big guns to be effective, "Tenochtitlan" using up her missiles on the short range defenses. "Fire!" "Vegas" shouted to the rest of the squad, the three mechs that still had missiles unleashing a volley on Fort Hadrian, the stronghold going up in a fiery explosion, a massive rockslide freefalling to the ground as the mechs got to minimum safe distance. "Piranha to Oberon. Mission accomplished with only one KIA." "Piranha" said to the communications officers of the Oberon, the flagship of the AIP fleet assigned to the invasion, as flares lit up over Caligula, indicating that the port city has been captured.

[Xichung]

Diocletian. Titus system, The six

Six smiled under his mask and radioed back “This is Oberon, do we need to send a repair crew along with the reinforcements?” He stood tall and held his hands behind his back. If they capture this compound, then they would have taken over one of the four major fuel stations for the RCMC fleets “one mech is out of commission currently” said stark. Six nodded “sending repair crew, keep the area clear of enemy mechs and anti-mech weapons” he then radio to the hanger bay to get engineer mechs ready to support “while your at it prepare Fujin” he placed another soldier in charge of relaying info

[AHSCA]

Julia glanced away for a moment as they continued down featureless, gunmetal corridors. She'd started to get a bearing of what was where but they were still something of a confusing labyrinth - deliberately so, she knew, in case an enemy boarding party attempted to take the ship, but even still it could turn the occasional bleary-eyed journey into an hour-long odyssey through the lower decks. The enlisted had it worse, she knew - their quarters could shift in verticality even on the same floor as rooms were fitted between the vast metallic innards of the ship.

Her eyes flicked back to Charon - Nutella - as the other woman finished speaking and her bro furrowed for an instant. Nighthawk...

"I suppose I just have stage fright." She grinned after a moment's hesitation, the doors to the maintenance bay hissing open before her and the lower gravity lifting her onto the balls of her feet, "Let's run them through before we revert to realspace?"

"I see." She responded simply. Julia seemed to be a hard person to read then again many would say the same about Nutella who didn't make friends easily but something about serving in simulated combat with Julia felt right. If it came to real battle, she'd indeed trust Julia with her life. The two began to levitate in low-gravity. "Sounds like a good plan."

[Flarbinia]

Connor Jax's squad began to patrol the area surrounding Pigsy, anti-aircraft fire gradually being replaced with flares. "This place is as quiet as a graveyard. Why are we not moving further inland now? The Corpsmen will be entrenched by the time the second wave lands." "Tenochtitlan" said to the rest of her squad as they briefly stopped to watch the flares. "Don't get cocky. We lost many souls eliminating the threats to our landing zones. The best option is to secure the territory we have captured and await reinforcements." "Pigsy" said over the comms. "I agree with Pigsy. An operation like this leaves very little room for error. If we succeed, Diocletian will be providing the alliance with fuel and war material." "Piranha" said to "Tenochtitlan" as they saw a transport approaching their location, the mech pilots making way for it to land. A group of engineers left the transport and headed towards the damaged mech as flares continued to illuminate the skies.

[Xichung]

The Captian of the SLS duty's fist

"all mech pilots please report to the brig, we will be entering real space in a matter of seconds," the old man said over the comms, he sighed "we have received a new command"

2nd wave makes ground

the engineers worked as fast as possible on Pigsy using scrap from kongs mech to aid the repair. almost a few seconds later the six and a few other mechs make landfall. there where two artillery mechs, one dreadnaught type, three assault, then the six's mech. it was an interceptor class, only equipped with a steel sword and smokes. the six then spoke "give me the situation report" one of the artillery mechs sent up a UAV Drone