The floor was soggy. It was a vicious rainstorm the night before and sadly the combined wind and unstable radiation in the air cause the death of most of Izaoyi's crops. The village elder stepped over the remains of a rice paddy on the way to a house. The Elder Kiwami was actually quite young, today was his 41st birthday but you would never know from the look on his face, he had no intention of celebrating or being happy today. He and his personal guard Abe were told that two gunshots were heard early that morning and so they went to investigate. Kiwami and Abe slowly entered the small farmhouse near the outskirts of town. There was some damage to the structure as it look liked some debris had smashed into the wooden walls and broke a few windows.

As Abe pushed the door open with his rifle trained on the center of the doorway, a few flies that were buzzing inside made their escape. The stench of death was unmistakable, and in front of them lay two bodies.
A male and a female, both no older than 25 both had vicious gunshot wounds tho their faces and both corpses seem to be holding hands with a note between their palms. Kiwami's head sank in sorrow and he slowly turned to Abe who shook his, it was almost like they expected to see this. Abe lowered his rifle and pried the not from the dead couple and unraveled it to read:

Dear fellow villager, if you are reading this, we are now dead. After the rainstorm last night destroyed our crops we know there is no way we can pay off our personal debt to the Yakuza. We have heard too many vicious stories of debt collectors to even risk facing them, so we have decided to end our own lives on our own terms. My wife is 3 months pregnant and although that should have been a thing of joy, bringing a child into this wretched existence feels like a moral disservice. We hope that the village of Izayoi, soon understands that death and suffering are the only options for the future and that taking your own lives is the much preferred option. Best of luck to you all, see you in the next world.

-Ryoma & Yukia

Kiwami's eyes were welling up with tears as Abe read the note, after turning to see his almost weeping elder, he tore up the note, and radioed the cadaver service to collect the bodies. Both men cursed under their breath as they left the house back into the soaked farm field.

Abe:
That's the 4th suicide in two months, as if there wasn't enough things killing us!

Kiwami:
This is the price that villages pay for being independent, ridiculous taxes from the Yakuza and constant terror among the population, but what's the alternative? Do you want to us to be an occupied town like Sendagaya? With slave camps manufacturing drugs? And having our girls as young as 12 providing 'comfort' services for the Yakuza Bosses? I had to make a decision Abe......fuck... I tried to think of the village.

Abe:
There wont be a village left at this rate, Kiwami. But, well I got the telegram this morning, I was going to surprise you as birthday present, but I guess now isnt a time for celebration......The Bastion sir, its been completed and tested. It's ready to go.

Kiwami's teary eyes widened, and Abe tried not to smile with too much enthusiasm. Instantly the two men jumped into each other's arms and started hugging, it was an embrace of relief and excitement, but also fear of the unknown.

Kiwami:
Call a meeting at the townhouse, invite the village reps and our 5 heroes. Brief them, and get them on their way as quickly as possible. The village is in their hands now.....

@Whoami@Xandrya@Ferrocerium@Drakey@Cryfest

11:00 am
Izayoi Village
Drake's Quarters, aka the Serpent's Den

Drake roused slowly as he shifted in his bed. Images flashed in his mind, pain arced up his back. Death, burning flesh filled his nostrils. Mud, made from blood, filled his nails. Digging, clawing he dragged himself up out of the pit. Fire burned and razed the ground in front of his terrified eyes.

Gasping, Drake sat up in his bed. Sweat dripped down his his brow, chest, and back. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Drake let his face rest in his cupped palms. Only a pair of grey boxers adorned the man's muscled and scared body. Gasping for breath, Drake's grey eyes stared out into the misty room around him. Dim morning light entered the room from the gaps and holes in the blinds. Grey blankets were draped, haphazardly, across the bed. Several chess sets were laid out on top of dresser in the room. On the side next to the door stood a bookcase that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Next to the bookcase stood a desk, a chair pulled halfway out from it.

Standing up, Drake felt the all too familiar weight of that which made him different. A tail, long and black, covered in scales, fell across the bed. At its base rose a section of scales that rode across Drake's spine. Thin tendrils of scales stretched across his back as well. Stretching his back, Drake's eyes easily adjusted to the dim lighting. He could probably read easily in this light. Running his hand along his tail, memories of the death came rolling back into his mind. Shaking the thoughts away, an image of Foresight entered his thoughts.

Foresight, she was a character. They had been chess partners ever since Drake first joined the now destroyed Cartwright Academy. Though, while they had been friends for a while, Drake had, for some time now, wanted to be a bit more. However, glancing back at his tail, he knew that it would never be. Not with his condition at any rate.

Walking over to the dresser, Drake pulled out a large white shirt, a pair of jeans, and a belt. Adorning the pants and belt, Drake wrapped his tail around his stomach. Thankfully it was thin enough that this was still an option. Then he pulled the white shirt on, its size effectively hiding the existence of his condition. Walking over to his closet, Drake pulled on a pair of socks. Grabbing a red flannel shirt, Drake donned the long-sleeved button-up. Then, turning away from his closet, Drake pulled on his black, cloth trenchcoat.

Running his hands through his hair, in a halfhearted attempt to make it look relatively nice, Drake pulled on his black boots. He let the legs of his pants fall over the top of the boots as he did so. Then, he checked the papers on his desk. If he remembered correctly, the Bastion was supposed to be finished today. He also had to visit that one family today. If he didn't, then that girl would show up again and bother him. A small smile appeared on Drake's face as he thought about her.

Ready to start his day, Drake opened the door. Standing there, in the brightly lit hallway, stood a boy, maybe 16 years old. "Calaumn-sama, Kiwami-sama wishes to meet with you." The boy's young voice berated Drake's ears as he woke up. Pushing past the boy, a small frown began to appear.

"That's nice," replied Drake as he patted the boy's shoulder. What he needed now was a good cup of coffee. Nothing came before coffee. "Tell me about it. We're getting coffee." Drake beckoned the boy to follow him as he walked down the hallway. However, the boy's next comment stopped Drake in his tracks.

"It's about Bastion, Calaumn-sama."

Immediately, Drake's expression changed. "Alright, change of plans. I'm going to Kiwami first." Looking back at the boy, Drake replied, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Do whatever you want now."

11:33
Izayoi Village
The Summons

Drake walked towards the town hall. The sounds of children playing in the streets was a welcome difference from his nightmares. Though, he made sure to look around before coming out. Letting out a sigh of relief, Drake walked through the streets, certain that the girl would not try and jump him. Walking up the steps, Drake realized that the atmosphere, though light and cheery around the children, was cold and heavy around the adults. Something had happened, he was sure of it. However, Drake tended to be a little slow on the rumor mill.

Walking into the building, Drake was immediately taken to where Kiwami, Abe, and Foresight were. The first thing he noticed, was the cup of coffee in Foresight's hand. Walking up next to her, Drake spoke, "Hello Kiwami, Abe. I was told that this had to do about Bastion." Stealthily, Drake managed to steal Foresight's cup of coffee, from which he took a gulp before being caught by Foresight.

11:15am
Central Market of Izayoi Village

Theodore Weber felt the heat of the early sun on his back, sweat sliding down his bare skin. He pulled his hammer back and struck forward, the nail giving a solid ‘thunk’ as it was properly embedded into the wood. He let the hammer slide into his belt, it had been getting steadily heavier as the afternoon approached. He looked down, standing steadily on top of a ladder. Piles of scrap wood were being sorted by one of the local villagers and a few of the younger boy’s in the village were helping to lift wood and shingles up to some of the others helping to rebuild the crumbling building. The village had been working to rebuild it for some time now, since before he had come to refuge at the village.

“Theo! You okay up there? Come down and get a drink!” an older man called to him. Theo nodded and started down the wooden ladder, careful not to slide and get splinters in his fingers. He hit the dusty ground with a ‘thump’ and the jerk caused some sweat to slip onto his eyelashes. He lifted a hand and did his best to wipe it off, but only smeared more sweat onto his face.

Theo turned and approached the man who had called him down, smiling gratefully as the dark-skinned man handed him a green canteen. He swung the opening into his mouth, greedily drinking the cool liquid. “Hey now, leave some for the rest,” the man chuckled. Theo let the canteen fall from his chapped lips and handed it back with a cheeky grin. “Thanks for the water, Hache.”
“It’s not a problem. Water isn’t thank you enough for how much help you have been in the reconstruction.” Hache smiled, the wrinkles deepening in the corners of his eyes.
“It’s a good workout and with the way things are, it's the least I can do to help.” Theo waved a dismissive hand and walked over to a pile of tools that were littered and piled into a makeshift workbench. He grabbed a rag and used it to soak up a bit of the sweat gathering on his brow. Despite the rain that had littered the village the night before, the sun was unbearably hot. Such unstable weather was not uncommon, Theo simply accepted it.

He glanced out at the horizon seeing some scattered clouds and the shadowed droop of rain near the outskirts of the village. He turned his attention away as he heard footsteps approaching behind him. “Weber-Sama!” A young boy stood before him- Theo was about to smile but the urgent look on his face kept friendly gestures at bay. “What is it?”
“You are summoned by Kiwami-Sama to meet in the townhouse,” the boy nervously scrubbed at a patch of dirt sticking to the corner of his mouth.
“Alright, let me finish up here and I’ll be on my way,” Theodore responded as he turned away.
“It’s an urgent matter, please go at once,” the boy insisted. Theodore’s brow furrowed and he gave a terse nod. The boy turned and started walking away, on whatever business he planned to do next. Theodore went back to the work bench, pulling his simple white t-shirt from where it was hanging on a scrap piece of wood and pulled it over his body. He would have liked to shower and clean up before meeting the Elder, but duty was calling.

“Hatche,” Theo called, the dark skinned man turned to him- he had been giving another man some of the canteen water. “I’ve been summoned so I’ll be leaving for today.” He said, Hatche smiled and nodded, “Please take care!”

Theodore turned on his heel and straightened his shoulders. He quickly made his way through the village. Despite the heat people were bustling about on work or business, though an overall tone of dread hung over citizens. He quickened his pace and quickly reached the large townhouse, entering he was immediately ushered to the Elder’s room. Already, Drake and Foresight were there with Kiwami and Abe and he gave a friendly tilt of his head. He wasn’t particularly close to either Drake or Foresight and wouldn’t have called them friends back at the academe, though now they were the closest he had anymore.

"You can't be serious!" Sergei paced back and forth, his calloused hand scratching at his scalp in between strands of blond hair. The man was clearly distressed, and his Russian accent was becoming stronger by the minute. "Those girls are my family! The only family I've got!" Sergei simultaneously pounded his fist down on his superiors' desk, the contents on it shaking as the commander silently eyeballed him.

"You have no choice, Sergei," the man said, his glare an unmistakeable sign that his words were neither a joke nor to be taken lightly. But the blow that his words delivered left Sergei stunned, at that very moment questioning just about everything that his superior, Mako, had planned. "You will put them on that next vessel for Japan and say goodbye for good, no ifs buts or ands. Are we understood—"

"Daddy?"

Hana walked through the door, not fully comprehending what both men were talking about. Maybe it truly was a lack of understanding, or maybe some part of the young girl understood their discussion, yet she refrained from accepting its reality. Sergei rushed to her side, easily picking her up off of the ground as he held her in his arms.

"Everything's okay, sweetie, you have nothing to—"

A loud bang, followed by the excruciatingly long fall to the floor. Hana landed painfully on her back; her father's lifeless body nearly crushing her. She screamed so hard that her throat burned, but she grew silent the moment Mako aimed his gun at her. Hana knew better than to make another sound, but that didn't matter, not when the next shot went off.

^{TIME: 1020
LOCATION: IZAYOI VILLAGE}

The girl woke up with a gasp, beads of sweat clinging to her bare skin as she realized it had all been a dream. A terrible, terrible dream. She looked out the window to witness a grey sky and heavy rainfall, nothing uncommon to see, but nonetheless it was rather depressing. She lay in bed quietly staring at the ceiling, the raindrops on the roof the only source of ambient noise in an otherwise quiet room. Before she did anything else, Hana looked at her watch. It was early, just 10:21 in the morning. Without hesitation, she got up to commence her work-out routine.

---

Hana attempted to do one more final pull-up. Her arms shook, and although she was slow, her chin eventually reached the bar. At that point, Hana breathed a sigh of relief and finally let go, her feet landing on the cold floor as her arms started to throb even more. She was up to three pull-ups, and she was satisfied. Her only goal was to remain toned enough to be able to do her job properly. You're bad at your job and you can easily end up dead...at least out in the battlefield.

Wearing a black sports bra and shorts, Hana made her way to the small kitchenette for a much needed refreshing glass of water. Her work-out routine was roughly 45 minutes, yet this particular morning she felt quite over-heated, probably due to the high humidity in the air. It’d been raining for some time, and it’s was predictably muggy.

After her drink of water, Hana took a bath. She took her time and relaxed, wondering what the day would bring but not dwelling too much on such thoughts. Instead, she let her mind take her to a time before she understood the harsh realities of the world, back when her family was together as a whole. It was better times, happier times, and the mental images always brought a smile to her face.

But her calm state didn't last long when there was a sudden knock on her door. She called out from her location, and the voice of a young boy delivered the news to her. Urgent Town Hall meeting.

Here we go...

Hana was quick to wrap up her bath and get ready. She did not enjoy being late in the least bit, and she'd be damned if she was the one to hold up such an important meeting.

A few moments later, Hana made her way through the main entrance, strands of her short, wet hair framing her face. She was escorted to the Elder's location, and upon her arrival she noticed that she wasn't the first, but certainly not the last.

As soon as the small hut on the edge of Omi came into sight, Ryoichi slowed from a run to a careful walk. He was sure that Takamori-sama didn't actually have a minefield set up around her little workshop, but there was no such thing as being too cautious, especially after what had happened to her last workshop. Thankfully, nobody had been hurt, but the crater was still smoldering.

After he finished the heart-pounding ten meter walk, Ryoichi breathed a sigh of relief that he knew he shouldn't have been holding in the first place. He cleared his throat and knocked on the door, composing himself to meet one of the heroes who would save the village.

"It's open!" a young woman's voice called out from inside. Ryoichi steeled himself, and entered the hut.

Takamori-sama herself was hunched over a workbench on the other side of the hut, surrounded by jars of powder and sacks of materials that Ryoichi couldn't make out. The hut smelled atrocious, a mix of sulfur and ammonia that made Ryoichi want to retch. He covered his nose and mouth with his shirt. "Takamori-sama-" he started, but was cut off when the young woman raised a single finger at him.

"Hold that thought. I need a hand," she said, her voice muffled. Ryoichi gulped, and approached her, the horrible smell getting stronger the closer he got to the workbench. Takamori-sama was wearing a gas mask, probably to avoid the smell. Clever.

She pressed two items into Ryoichi's hands: a heavy metal ball the size of an apple, with a round opening on the top, and a funnel, which she guided Ryoichi into fitting into the metal ball's opening. "Hold that there, and don't move," she warned. "Unless you're feeling suicidal."

The bottom of Ryoichi's stomach dropped out as he realized what he was holding. A grenade.

He whimpered as Takamori-sama picked up a jar of a thickly-packed black powder, and began to pour it into the funnel. "Careful," she said, her voice low. "One wrong move, and we both go up."

When the grenade shell was filled to Takamori-sama's satisfaction, she replaced the jar on the workbench, and selected a mechanism attached to what Ryoichi recognized as the handle of a grenade. She slipped the mechanism - a fuse? - into the shell, and screwed the handle on tightly. She clapped Ryoichi on the shoulder so suddenly that he squeaked. "Good job. You didn't blow either of us up," she said, pulling off her gas mask. Her face was streaked with black stains and grease, and she added one more as she wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She took the grenade from Ryoichi and began to toss it back and forth from hand to hand; Ryoichi couldn't take his eyes off of it. "So, what's up? Ryoichi, right?"

"Ye-yes, ma'am," Ryochi said. "Uh, Ki-Kiwami-sama. Townhouse. Bastion. M-ma'am."

Takamori Saki grinned. "Perfect timing," she said. "Let me grab a few things and we'll head out."

Ryoichi waited as Takamori-sama gathered her things: a large backpack stuffed with several bricks of plastic explosives; a bandolier covered with grenades of all shapes and sizes, which she donned after attaching her new grenade; a submachine gun, which she quickly checked to confirm that the safety was on; and a set of dog tags, which she hung around her neck with more care than she'd given the grenades. "Alright, ready," she said. "Now, just gotta find the map of the mine field-"

"Mine field?" Ryoichi shrieked. For some reason, Takamori-sama started to cackle.

"God no, I'm just messing with you. Lighten up, kid," she said, ruffling Ryoichi's hair as she passed him. Never mind that they were almost the same height, despite the difference between their ages.

Once again, Ryoichi cursed his bad luck for drawing the short straw.

--

Takamori Saki wasn't surprised when the young messenger made himself scarce as soon as they arrived in Omi proper. Teasing him so much had probably been unnecessary, but it had been impossible to resist. The kid had been as tightly-strung as a harp.

Despite herself, she had a spring in her step as she approached the town hall. With the Bastion completed, there would finally be some forward momentum. They would finally be able to do something, even if nobody knew what that something was yet. But regardless, it would be good to have a few inches of ceramic-composite armor between her and the wasteland.

The others were already waiting when she arrived. Sara was snatching a mug of coffee from Drake (the man seriously had a problem), Theo was being Theo, which meant 'quiet', and Hana looked like she had just taken a bath. Saki was reminded that it had been a week since she'd last taken a bath; she surreptitiously checked her own smell.

Eh. Probably fine. Hopefully.

Theodore sat down, golden eyes glancing around the room, noting that the wooden floor and carefully decorated walls indicated that the room used to be a dojo. The last two cadets came into the room and took their places around the table with the other village leaders and cadets. Theodore took in the briefing with all his attention, he didn’t want to miss any details.

Kazu brought in small bags of equipment and Theodore couldn’t help but smile in relief. It had been a bit strange to walk around completely unarmed. He took his bag and removed the weaponry- they had certainly put some thought into what they put their money into. The GSH 18 was a little scuffed but well kept and after pulling back the lock and checking the magazine he was confident it would fire without a hitch. He briefly checked out the knife, goggles and grenades before folding them back into the bag.

He followed closely behind as everyone filed down to where they had been keeping the tank. It was beautiful and Theodore was more than pleased to rest his eyes on its gleaming surface. He set about preparing himself for the tank, he quickly changed into army fatigues and loaded his weapons in their proper pockets and holsters. He wished he had time to shower, but realized that time was of the essence- so he promised himself some time in the bath house when they returned. He returned to the main group as everyone finished their business or were returning to the town house- leaving the cadets the Tank.

Abe approached in a way that suggested he didn’t want any of the other leaders hearing what he had to say- and rightfully so as he explained an alternative option the crew could take. It gave Theodore an unsettled feeling that only grew as he watched Abe’s back return to the town hall.

He chewed on his lip turning the briefing and the knowledge Abe shared through his head. Nobody said anything, most likely thinking as Theodore was, as they filed into the tank. He dropped down into the tank, taking his place on the left side of the turret, toward the back. As everyone else got in and settled, he decided to speak up on the matter. “I think we should stick with recovering the silver,” he stated. “I don’t feel comfortable going behind Kiwmai’s back, we need his trust. We should think about what consequences can follow our actions if we remove a well known threat. We leave the village open for an unknown- possibly larger threat." His eyes flickered over the faces of those in the turret bucket with him. "We also run the risk of losing any surprise advantage if it gets out that Izaoyi has a tank and a well trained crew to run it.”

Drake listened as the leaders of the village expressed their wants and desires. The silver would indeed help the village, but Drake personally hated the idea of paying of the Yakuza. As they departed the dojo, a small form barreled into Drake from behind. Knocking him off balance, Drake managed to keep his footing. A ball of red hair was smashed into his back. From it came a squeel of laughter as the little girl looked up. “Haha! Got you!” Andria laughed as she hugged Drake from behind. It had become something of a game for her to go around the town and run into him. Using the excuse of her left eye, Drake had always found it hard to dissuade her from the activity.

Sighing, all notions of the tank forgotten, Drake reached down to pry her hands off from around his stomach. Thankfully, having been the last one to walk out of the dojo, nobody could see the outlines of his tail from where Andria grasped his shirt. “Andria, you need to let go.” His voice, being more stern than usual, prompted the girl to finally release him. Then, holding her hand in his, Drake began to lead her along behind the rest of the cadets. Catching a glance from Foresight, Drake smiled back up at her.

When they arrived at the tank, its view enveloped his vision. It was huge, and it sure as hell looked powerful. Then he heard Abe speak. Mulling over the idea in his head, Drake spoke his thoughts. “Honestly, it would make the most sense to attack the Yakuza like an outside faction. We can travel around and attack the from the side. This way they might think that it wasn’t Omi village. Also, we can gather a lot of supplies from attacking them.” Thinking for a moment, he continued talking. “Then we can go to the mine, gather the silver, and be ready to pay the Yakuza when they show up. Knowing them, they probably don’t think that Omi village would even be able to get a tank. So we wouldn’t have to worry about retribution from that.”

Having spoken his thoughts, Drake looked down at the girl that stood next to him. Her scars were prominent on her hand and face. “Right now, I have to go and take care of Andria here, I’ll be back within the next few hours.” Saying farewell to his teammates, Drake lead Andria through the village. “Hey Andria, I’m gonna be leaving for a few weeks. Ok?” Sighing just a bit, Drake continued, “I’m going to need you to do some things for me.” In front of the duo stood a small hut. It was located on the outside edge of the village and belonged to the Hayashi’s, an elderly couple that often took care of both Drake and Andria.

Getting down on his knee, Drake looked Andria in the eyes. “I need you to be strong, take care of the Gran and Pa for me, ok.” Andria nodded as she looked into Drake’s eyes. Then, giving him a tight hug, she ran off into the house. Gran stood there, watching. Waving Drake goodbye, she closed the door.

Making his way back to the tank, Drake had made sure to grab his Kevlar vest. His rifle was strapped to his back while his pistol was on his hip. His goggles hung from his neck as the binoculars he received swung from his left hip. The tripwires and smoke grenade were contained in the pouches of the bandolier he wore. Tugging on his gloves, Drake rejoined the crew of the Bastion.

Saki, settling into her position at the front of the tank, snorts at Theo's comment. "I mean, 'well-trained' might be stretching the truth just a tiny bit. Still, I don't think I agree." She reaches down to find the levers to adjust the seat; the tank was built with adult men in mind, and Saki is a malnourished sixteen year-old girl in need of a bath. A fact that is becoming very obvious to her companions in the cramped space. She smells like sweat, gunpowder, and ammonia.

"See, the only thing the Yaks get is strength. They have the guns, the troops, the resources, and there's nobody who can stand up to them, so that means they're in charge. They take what they want, and their victims are expected to be grateful because hey, it could be worse, right?"

Finally, the seat is as far forwards as it can go, and the wheel and pedals are comfortably within reach. Next, she works at making the chair as high as it can go, praying that she won't need to sit on a box to see where she's going. "We could use this to pay their taxes like obedient, sniveling vassals, but that's only going to buy us a few months, tops. Who knows when they'll decide to tax us next time? Who knows what they'll want?" She grunts, sounding for all the world like a man three times her age. "I say fuck that. This is a main battle tank, not a fucking delivery truck. The yaks are thieves, murderers, and rapists, and we should blow them up and make it look like a drone attack."

It was quite the dilemma the kids had on their hands. Hana quietly fiddled with her equipment while she listened, carefully considering everyone's own opinions regarding the decision they had to make. Nonetheless, she thought it was a bit unfair that Abe was asking them to go against Kiwami's wishes to retrieve the silver, not only because he was doing it behind Kiwami's back, but it also put the team, as well as the villagers, in even more danger than they already were. This abrupt plan didn't sit well with Hana. It was reckless and contrary to what she was comfortable with, it lacked proper preparation. But time wasn't on their hands as it was a luxury that they simply could not afford, so she was able to understand the other side of it as well.

"To be honest, I think we should just go get the silver," Hana said as she finalized her inspection of the receiver group belonging to her LMG. She closed the cover shut and put the weapon aside, exchanging glances with some of her teammates. "If this little mission of ours goes south, the aftermath could be catastrophic. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking down those thugs, but not like this...so sudden and on the fly. I believe we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot more than we'd actually be accomplishing anything."

Hana then remained quiet. She wasn't trying to get anyone to side with her, but rather, she hoped that in the end they would reach the decision with the best outcome for them all.

After the decision was made, the team waved goodbye to the town before taking off down the beaten path westwards, now with the plan of making a detour northwest to the outpost instead of to Valk Crater. The bastion with its new powerful engine was steaming along very smoothly, one thing the driver 'Kirin' was surprised to find was just how fast the tank was. It was nowhere near top gear and they were doing 45 MPH an hour easy. It seems like some of the advanced tech stolen from the rogue drones was being put to good use.



The road was even but very depressing, the dystopian wasteland of the Izayoi Region was a harsh reminder that even outside the village, things are not any better. Kiwami mentioned that it was the world's way of reminding you not to run from your problems. And the crew of the Bastion were not ones to run away from anything.

After around 25 minutes of driving they had already made great tracks and were nearly at the intersection to lead them to north-view. But the Tank Commander Drake had heard the faint rumblings of what sounded like an engine. A peek through the binoculars highlighted that there were a number of people riding motorbikes, and armored quads in the distance but they hadn't spotted the tank yet. They were not dressed like Yakuza but they were definitely armed so they were probably Drifters the survivors of the wasteland, although not always hostile, they are known to occasionally hijack vehicles if they feel it will fetch a good price. And the Bastion was certainly of value.

The team had to make a decision, either carry on down their desired path hoping not to be noticed. Or to get the jump on the drifters and attack them before they can scramble and react properly. By not attacking they risk being set upon by much faster vehicles if the drifters do spot them and decide to chase them down. But by attacking, they could be wasting time, ammo and energy on an enemy that might not be worth it, but they would definitely have the tactical advantage from initiating the attack.



- Attack the Drifers

- Ignore the Drifters

Because of the time constraint, the decision goes to the tank commander with no option of a vote.

Drake sighed as he watched the cloud of dust in the distance. Readjusting his binoculars, the man could easily see that they were Drifters. Calling out to Foresight, Drake relayed the info to his crew. "Hey guys, we got a problem. Drifters are on the horizon." Turning his attention back to the Drifters, Drake's mind whirled. He needed to solve this with the least resources used. "Kirin, get us off the road, Now!"

"Ok, here's the plan. We are going to wait of the side of the road in here. It should be difficult for them to see us from this far away. However, if they do come across us, we will have to defend ourselves without using the tank's ammunition. Kirin, get your bombs ready. Rusty, make sure you have that gun of yours loaded. Smokey, you stay here. Support Kirin, make sure she doesn't get hit." Sighing, Drake looked over at Foresight. What were the two of them going to do. Well, really, what was Foresight going to do.

"Alright, I'm going to exit the tank and set up shop on the roof of that building over there." Drake pointed at a crumbling building that sat a ways away from the tank. Turning towards his long time chess rival, Drake gave his final orders. "Foresight, Since I won't be down here when the fight starts, I need you to make sure to do the right thing if the situation goes south, Ok?"

This might be a bit of a problem...

Hana was leaning forward on her chair, her chin resting on the back of her hand as she quietly observed the group of people off in the distance from the safety of the tank. With her free hand, Hana messed with one of the knobs on her dash until the most clear image coming in from the sights alerted her to the fact that although those people may not be dangerous, they were certainly armed.

Lovely, as if we needed to worry about drifters right now...

Before Hana could gather her thoughts, Drake communicated his plan to the team. It was a good thing he was on top of his game, and she had to admit she couldn't have come up with a better plan herself. Once he gave her the order, Hana donned her black, kevlar jacket which was hanging from the back of her stationary chair. The jacket had both front and back plates, as well as shoulder and elbow protection. The remaining exposed areas were made of a protective layer of fabric which shielded her from smaller bullets as well as knife attacks. Luckily for Hana, she had yet to put the strength of the garment to the test, but maybe she would soon find out...

"Smokey, a quick hand please?" Hana moved around behind her chair to where the tank's "hidden treasure" lay. The feeder was loaded and ready to go, but she wanted to get the standby ammunition ready in case they had to engage. Besides, once the first round goes off, no one's really certain just who's going to be near enough to hear it.

Theo had been spending most of the drive with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. The hit of bitter set him at ease. He frowned as Drake relayed the information of what was happening outside. He leaned back in his seat, glancing around as Drake got out to set up for his plan. It was a smart move- staying on the defensive. He hopped there wouldn’t be a fight with the drifters; though it seemed unlikely. Drake was smart not to use any of the tanks ammo unless necessary. It looked like a lot but it wouldn’t last long. He glanced over at the back of the driver's chair and then his attention was brought to Rusty as she moved around to the back of the torrent and called for him.

“Yeah.” He turned around in his chair making a soft ‘squeak’. He quietly bent down to slide the blast door open to reveal the ammunition tucked inside. “Is there anything specific you wanted out front?” He asked, delicately moving the ammunition around to show her. “Mostly it’s 120mm shells, but we have armor piercing rounds and some HEAT rounds,” he glanced up at her as he talked.

At Drake's order, Kirin wheels the tank to the side of the road. Out of sight, but only from far away. Leaving the engine idling, she clambers out of the Bastion, already retrieving a block of C4 from her pack. She plants it on the side of the road, a few meters ahead of the Bastion, and sticks a blasting cap into the malleable explosive. That done, she covers it in fist-sized rocks and fragments of rubble; when she triggers it, the explosion would send the rubble outwards, like a fragmentation grenade on a somewhat larger scale.

She checks her detonator, confirming that the remote blasting cap is linked up with it. C4 was a stable explosive, and it won't detonate until she pulls the trigger. Plus, if it doesn't get used, it's less hair-raising to recover than a land mine. With her impromptu trap set up, Saki returns to the Bastion.

"Well, I think we should save the heavy stuff for later. I mean, I don't think we're about to have a full on war, so we should be fine if we're just quick on our feet."

Hana then started to help Smokey move some of the spare rounds. She hoped she was right, that these drifters wouldn't turn out to be too much of a hassle. In her own opinion, the team had already taken on too many responsibilities, and even though they were holding the moral high ground, she could only hope that their inventory would back them up.

Once the last round was moved, Hana thanked Smokey and motioned to him in Kirin's direction, remembering Drake's order. She then took her seat again, taking a moment to check her equipment before fixing the sights on the drifters. They were slowly moving, and the slightest trace of anxiety started to wash over her.