---

Ayame growled, she was hoping this would work but seeing this machine still kicking was pissing her off but she noticed a burst of air,

"Boss it just cut into a maintenance section, its trying to get into the colony! We need to stop it now!" Ayame said to Victor as she decided to screw it and a little more damage to the colony wouldn't do more harm and opened fire with her Vulcans shooting burst fire and using her blade to cut through some of the larger chunks of debris still chasing after the machine while dodging the fire from the aircraft. She Also figure might as well go all out with another mills bomb but this one with a second timer as she tossed it towards the hole the craft just made, if she was gonna blind herself with if she would at least hope it would get the interceptor as well.

---

Dannie's grin could be heard through the commlink as she replied.
"I always do."
She positioned herself right in front of the door, gripping her spear firmly.

Everything happened in a flash, but Dannie was more than ready. Bullets pinged off Recompense's shield as Dannie charged straight at her group, using their gunfire to navigate through the smoke. A savage warcry remained trapped within the cockpit as she drove her spear through one of the Redcoats, skewering it. She brought the spear in close and used the mobile suit as an additional shield to block fire from the Tommy as it attempted to flank her. The robotic shishkabob attempted to break free but this struggle was short lived as three megawatts of electricity ripped through its chassis. The entire suit went rigid as the metal around the spear began to liquify and ooze from the entry and exit holes. If the pilot inside wasn't dead already, the flurry of rounds from the Tommy slamming into their back might've done the job. Dannie retaliated with a small metal cylinder that folded up onto Recompense's left shoulder and swiveled toward the offending hail of bullets and unleashed a trio of rockets at the Tommy.
TH-TH-THUMP
Every rocket found its mark and exploded in a shower of white-hot slag that engulfed the front of its torso and head unit. The pilot inside reeled as the very paint of their suit ignited with brilliant colors; the pigments inside burning away under the infernal heat. With the Tommy more than distracted, Dannie took the opportunity to disconnect from her spear of charge her remaining opponent. A burst of gunfire ricocheted harmlessly off her shield as she reached for a handle on her mobile suit's lower back. A salvage processing saw roared to life as she swung the fiendish weapon at the Redcoat. Metal shrieked as the alternating teeth ripped through her opponent's arm in a shower of sparks, severing it in moments. The arm, and the gun in its hand, both crashed to the floor. The pilot inside barely had time to register the horror of what just occurred before  Dannie raised her left arm, pressing her suit's palm against the cockpit, and unloaded two armor piercing shells into it from a wrist-mounted scattergun. The pilot inside died instantly.

Two mobile suits lay broken at her feet, their pilots dead, but the Tommy's pilot decided their  faith in Zern wasn't strong enough to save them from Dannie. They were right. As they attempted to flee, she dropped her saw and reached for a metal disk at her waist that split into two thinner disks connected by a metal cable. She spun the contraption a few times before slinging it at the fleeing mobile suit. The cable tangled around its legs, causing the Tommy to skid a ways as it tripped. It tried to stand but not having the use of its legs proved to be too much of a handicap. Dannie wasted no time in rushing at the downed Tommy and unceremoniously stomping on the torso until the cockpit caved in. Then twice more just to be sure. She took a moment to recollect her weapons and hook her spear back up to her suit's reactor before turning her attention to the rest of the battle.

All the way from the red planet, the Stratos-class vessel took its sweet time to arrive to the colony over Venus. Along with a couple of Scroop-class ships, the Nelson and Hardy, it carried its precious cargo fresh from the factories on Phobos. All 36 units were rested in the hangar of the Atet, with the maintenance teams performing final evaluation for any possible microdebris mark or scratch from loading. Work on the ship was indeed mundane, even for the great assistant Alice who was going over the final designs of the workers. They didn't mean much to her and she was sure to share them appropriately as per her duties, but it didn't hurt to review the unit she would be presenting for the entire Zern Empire to watch. Not just the screen with the schematics, her mind was also on the paperwork in front of her which took up the majority of her attention.

Filing out such tedious legalities was easy, just something to bide her time while she waited out the long haul. Approaching the colony at Venus though, Alice could tell the situation wasn't at all handled. They were ordered not to approach and had a pair of Tommys with their rifles at the ready, along with the few other ships waiting to get to the port after the Venue had arrived. Finding a solid answer to the situation wasn't easy, but she could tell from the reports from the Forge of Mars that something had breached the perimeter of the Zern Empire around the colony and had them chasing after it. Past that, no more clues. One report mentioned a drone which was near impossible with the interference from the Wilberforce reactors. "Take down any report, the boss will want it with his usual obsessions." She commanded, and with her position in the company, any order she gave was top priority here on the bridge. Of course she wished to launch herself in one of the new workers, but she'd at least get an earful from the boss after it all, never mind having to deal with the Zern Military.

---

"Sorry for the delay everyone". Denzel's modified Scutson the Rubble Rouser approached from the alley between the two buildings in front of the warehouse. "I had a hard time getting to my suit with all the guards in the way. Anyway I took care of them and now I'm here to stay"

On approach, Denzel took a moment to appraise the situation. Dannie was in the middle of a rampage obliterating a handful of Zern suits, there were more suits in front of the building, but if Denzel charged they could be caught in a pincer attack. The suits on the right side of the building had yet to engage, but presumably, a member of the team was preparing to breach the door and take them down... Ah, there was a sniper on the building next to him. He could take care of that.

"I'm taking out the sniper outside. Once he's down you should be free to go nuts" Denzel approached the corner of the building the enemy sniper was settled on, a slightly sadistic smile spreading across his face as his Scutson adjusted its grip on its hammer to a two-handed grip.

With one swing Denzel completely demolished one of the sidewalls of the building and exposed the main support and interior, now covered in rubble and scrap from the wall. With the second swing, the head of his hammer tore through the main support as the metal shattered under the blow. Without the support the building began to dramatically crumble, metal screeching against metal as the weight became too much. The enemy sniper was dragged down as the roof beneath its feet caved in and smashed into a pile of metallic rubble.

The Rubble Rouser took a step back and half raised it's a shield as Denzel admired his handiwork with a smile.

---

"Silence is the best music before battle. If you have time to joke and play the part of the DJ, then you have time to open the hanger bay doors."

"Ay, sass the tweaker chick with a peashooter pointed at ye back, brilliant move Cap'n," Johanna quipped in comedic Scottish brogue. "Follow ye to the death I shall, 'twill come sooner then expected perhaps!" LAGOS let off a few distinct beeps in response. "Yes I know she didn't make the tweaker comment, but she hired the goon who did, so it still works," Johanna said in a stage whisper as she muted her mic with one hand and went to town with her hacking suite on the other, artificial fingers flying like mad across the screens.

"Access the control tower and depressurize the hanger. I can handle taking control over a ship myself when the time comes, but it won't matter if the doors aren't opened by then," the good Captain ordered. "If you really want to show your worth then keep the interior doors from closing and disable the pressure seals. Unless that's simply too much to handle little rabbit."

"Yeah, call me little again, I'll jump up and headbutt you right in the stomach," Johanna quipped. "Yes as the Captain eloquently pointed out, I am in fact a pipsqueak, mini, teeny, a runt. That's why I have the big-ass sniper pointed at her back, it's the only way I can reach em!"

Before the Captain could respond back in turn, the doors peeked open and canisters bounced in from the outside.

"Just for you Captain, a little ditty about pirates just for you!" Johanna flicked her radio on just as smoke erupted, filling the front entrance with a thick haze. "LAGOS keep the doors open for the lovely lady while I put some holes in these guys." The little rabbit robot chirped obediently as Johanna trained the massive rifle in the Captain's direction. Unsurprisingly, the blood knight Dannie immediately barged at the three Tommies breaching through the front, presenting a nice juicy target for the flankers on either side. Lucky for her, Johanna had been syncing her aim up with the camera feed on the outside, pinpointing exactly where the lead Tommy was standing. A trained eye, an educated guess, a little bit of luck, and Johanna squeezed the trigger.

The gun barked like thunder and the BUN-e gave a violent shudder as the Gyrojet cooked off and blasted across the room, whizzing right past the Captain's mech and into the thick cloud of smoke. Johanna looked out the corner of her eye at the Camera feed and watched the lead Tommy's head explode in a shower of shrapnel. Smiling, she pulled the gun back and started loading another shell. One down, and the Redcoats too busy trying to find out where the hell that came from to open fire on the maniac ripping their buddies apart. And the hanger was a few lines of code away from being breached and left wide open. This was going to be fun.

"We'll be the pirate twins again, Euuurooopaaa..." Johanna sang along as she locked another shot in place.

Scott approached the hangar in silence, and he was thankful for it. If the Zern weren't already attacking, he'd be approaching from behind and be able to ambush their breach into the hangar. He glanced between his screens and the map on his HUD, tracking his position on the Hab's streets as he closed in on the North hangar, but was alarmed as he heard the screech of rending metal and the rumble of weapons fire. They were breaching-

"I'm taking out the sniper outside. Once he's down you should be free to go nuts"

The sound of a building collapsing filled the air and shook the floor as "Crusher" turned an industrial building into a parking lot. Scott chastised himself for failing to think about surveillance from vantage points as he diverted into an alleyway. If He'd just bolted out into the open like a fool, or opened fire without checking first he'd likely have been shot by the sniper no doubt currently being pulverized by a Scutson with a very large hammer. His new route would exit onto a street with an angled view of the hangar and it's surroundings. If they were breaching, they'd have their backs turned.

He keyed his radio as he ignited his thrusters, blasting out of the eastern alleyway and into view. "Three Toms running for the front door. Grenade out." He slid to a near stop as he drew a grenade before being jostled against the building across the street. He primed it and threw it at the feet of the charging Tommies. The grenade went wide and exploded far enough away to simply knock two over, while the third caught the brunt of the explosion and collapsed on a failing leg servo and a newly missing arm. Scott pushed his Faust back into cover and drew its Copperhead. "Rubble, that sniper is dead, right?"

Flying outside of the view from this window, Arthur was left no choice but to leave it and attempt to find a new viewing position. While he rushed to another position he searched on his tablet to find more video feeds of the incident although only a couple cameras had the luck to be positioned on the outside, most were still inside waiting a first speech from the princess. Seeing the craft turn and rush around he could see the debris fly from the colony, maintenance doors. Could Zern's military really be having such a hard time with a single craft after the days of piracy? Maybe they did need a new mobile suit so soon after all. While marching along the halls, he was intercepted by a trio of people, one with a camera and one with a mic who began to attempt to interview him. "Mr. Sharp correct? Yes it is you! Please, can you give us your thoughts on the arrival of the princess and the upcoming expo?" He tried to move to each side, but already with the camera on him he had to go into publicity mode.

"Yes, well I'm relieved those aboard the Venue have arrived without incident, although I'm growing concerned about our military's capabilities if they have come this far only to be met with an assailant right at the colony. For now that is all I can say until this pressing matter is settled and we ensure everyone is safe." He quickly finished it up before marching off, leaving the trio to ensure their short interview was obtained and could be aired with no issues.

---

"Boss it just cut into a maintenance section, its trying to get into the colony! We need to stop it now!"

"That's probably the best we could've asked for." Galahad muttered under his breath. "Alright we know where its going, now we cut it off!" He barked as he flew down towards the colony wall. The craft had found its hole but overshot, requiring it to double back before it could get in. That left enough time for Galahad and Ayame to get their mobile suits into position.

Galahad planted his mobile suit down just above the wall of the colony and unfolded his Tommy's bayonet from its storage section. He began firing his weapon directly across and over the open emergency tunnel while simultaneously opening up with his 30mm vulcans as well- the hostile craft would either have to change course of fly into a wall of gunfire. On the off chance it decided to fly at him, Galahad could at least stick his bayonet into the cockpit as it collided with his Tommy.

@vietmyke@veenknight343@Yukitamas@Crusader Lord@Caduceus@Golden Spiral

---

Sweat poured down Samantha's face as she struggled for breath, continuing to outpace her pursuers as she made a beeline for the opened maintenance tunnel in the side of the colony cylinder. She continued to push the limits of her slap-dash mobile weapon's engines, even as the intense G-forces pushed her back into her seat and began to make her feel light headed. Tracers ripped by her as the pursuing Tommy's pushed their own mobile suit thrusters to the point of overload, firing everything they had in an effort to stop her from reaching her goal.

Yet at the back of Samantha's mind she knew they wouldn't succeed. She had avoided death so far, there was no reason it would take her before she could accomplish her goal. Inside the cockpit of the Swansong she smiled, an almost alien sense of happiness filling her and pushing out the fear the swelled in her stomach. For the first time since her father had been taken from her she was alive. A sense of purpose, a drunken sort of power high filled her head. Samantha could already envision it. Smashing through the other end of the maintenance tunnel, flying through the colony, crashing into the hanger bay where all the fat nobles and the so called 'royal's waited, and blowing up.

Just the mere idea of killing the people responsible for the ugly, corrupt world that had taken away her father delighted Samantha to now end. Deep down the idea of dying may have still scared her but knowing what she could accomplish by dying made her more then ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.

As she neared the maintenance tunnel entrance she saw something fly by out of the corner of her eye. Slamming on the controls Samantha attempted to quickly reverse her thrust and slow down. Mere moments later a bright light flashed in front of her as Ayame's grenade exploded in front of the maintenance tunnel, detonating in the spot where she could have been if she hadn't made an attempt to slow down. Flying through the heat and light, Samantha blindly flew towards the tunnel and laughed out over the communication channel.

"That won't work! None of it will! I'm going to kill your precious princesses and drag them into the afterlife with me. And you can all go straight to-"

As Samantha breached the obscuring smoke of Ayame's grenade she saw the mouth of the tunnel.

And the mobile suit perched directly above it.

Before Samantha could properly acknowledge it she flew straight into Galahad's spray of gunfire. 60mm and 90mm rounds through through the Swansong like steel rain, punching clean through the hull and internals before flying out th other side. Samantha's canopy cockpit shattered, glass and shrapnel piercing her body like a pincushion as her machine continued its forward movement. In an instant Samantha had passed through Galahad's gunfire, but that instant was more then enough to ruin everything.

Flying into the darkness of the tunnel Samantha felt the Swansong shake all around her, blinded and disoriented by the horrific pains piercing her body. Oxygen was rapidly leaving her normal suit with only the shattered helmet visor keeping her conscious. Blood poured down the front of her as she struggled to keep hold of the controls. Though she couldn't see it the Swansong was barely holding together, smoke and sparks erupting from the dozens of holes across its body and where one of its legs and bladed limbs had been.

"N-no. N-not yet! I-I'm so close! I'm so CLOSE!"

Blood urged up from her throat, running out of her mouth as the Swansong wavered in the tunnel, bumping into the tunnel walls and through sparks off as it ground against them. With her vision distorting Samantha dug her finger into the firing trigger of her control stick, spraying the Swansong's remaining bolt gun into the darkness. Small holes appeared in the darkness in front of her, beams of light shining through.

Samantha fought the pain and tried to keep the Swansong headed to the light, crashing through the other side of the maintenance tunnel.

In an instant the darkness was gone and there was light all around her. Below and above her were houses, roads, trees, and small pounds. Colors so bright and alien that Samantha couldn't tell what was going on.

Off in the distance she could see the large, primary hanger entrance to the entire colony where the Princesses and nobles were gathered.

However the hanger wasn't getting any closer.

Samantha found herself being pulled down, faster and faster. She pulled at the controls but nothing happened. Blood rushing out of her she looked to the side and saw the Swansongs wings were gone.

The world became a blur of color and movement as Samantha's Swansong spiraled out of control, smoke and flames erupting from its riddled hull. Inside the remnants of her cockpit Samantha grit her teeth, trying to pull herself out of the violent death spiral as the ground below her raced towards her. Tears filled her eyes as she began to lose consciousness. Eventually she let go of the controls and went completely limp.

"Daddy...I'm sorry."

The Swansong smashed into the ground and exploded.

---

Outside of the colony the Zern troops would be greeted to a bright light as a small circular section of the colony cylinder exploded outwards. Smashed buildings, broken asphalt, and people thrown into the cold vacuum of space as air began to quickly escape the colony. The shooting stopped and several Tommy's froze in place, the pilots staring in horror as they recognized some of the house wreckage that escaped into the cold blackness of space. Though no sound traveled in space the silence audible in that brief moment grasped the insides of the Zern troops that saw it.

"What are you all doing!" A voice suddenly cried over the radio. "Move towards the hole, rescue anyone you can before they die from decompression! Get the emergency sealant systems online, move the emergency response teams to the hole! Everyone move, move, MOVE!"

Tommy's that had been chasing the enemy moments before threw their rifles aside and fired their thrusters full throttled towards the hole. Some pilots cried out names as fear and desperation broke through their training and composure...

---

---

The entire colony shook violently as a distant, rumbling sound reached the hanger. Inside nobles, guests, and soldiers alike struggled to keep their footing as the ground shook beneath them. Lycoris almost found herself thrown to the floor, only to be grabbed and kept standing by Asalia whose face blanched at the noise. The previously orderly and elegant crowd of people around them suddenly became noisy, fear and confusion visible in their eyes and audible in their voices.

"Everything is under control!" One high-ranking member of Princess Asalia's royal guard regiment shouted moments after a soldier had given them the news. "There has been a small incident aboard the colony the wall has been breached, however we have repair crews working on it as we speak. So please remain calm. We will be postponing the parade for a later date and-"

"Don't lie to us!" One noble shouted from the crowd, throwing his fist into the air.

"Yeah we're not stupid! Someone is trying to attack the colony, aren't they?" Another shouted.

"Please!" A hysterical woman cried. "What part of the colony was damaged? My children are waiting to meet me somewhere, I have to know if they're alright!"

The entire crowd began to writhe as panic and anger stirred them. Previously stiff, almost sleepy guards erupted from their straight stances, rifles and batons at the ready to keep the crowd back.

Lycoris clung to Asalia tightly as the Princess stared out at the crowd and listened. Moments before there had been cordial smiles and an air of civil restraint. Yet now she could hear the voices, the real feelings of those that surrounded her. She clutched the paper she had written her speech on, the one announcing the importance of peaceful discussion and compromise with the Venusians, and held it to her chest as the voices around her grew louder.

"Who attacked us?"

"Pirates?"

"No, it had to be those filthy Venusians! They bombed the colony!"

"No, they were trying to kill us. Trying to Kill the Princesses!"

"Those degenerate gas breathers! I'll make them pay, even if I have to do it myself!"

"I thought we were putting too much money into the military, but its clear we simply aren't spending enough. Do I have to give up my own money to ensure those filthy mongrels aren't killing us!?"

"Oh god my home. My family! Why the hell would anyone do something like this?"

Asalia looked down at the sheet of paper in her hands and crushed it.

"Princess Asalia?" Lycoris asked, noticing the seemingly blank look on Asalia's face as she discarded the paper to the floor and crushed it flat beneath one of her heels.

"Hmm?" Asalia looked to Lycoris, a cold expression on her face as she glanced at her 'pupil'.

"Is everything alright?" Lycoris asked, her voice shaking somewhat.

"No. But we're not in any danger if that's what you're concerned about." She replied in a dead, almost monotone voice.

"I-I meant if you were alright, Princess." Lycoris asked and Asalia only stared.

"Oh. I'm fine. I just realized I wasted my time on something. That's all. You should head back aboard the ship and get changed. There won't be any parade, or speech for that matter, today." Asalia began to walk away, her guards sticking close as the crowd around her continued to panic.

"What are you going to do?" Lycoris asked, watching as Asalia glanced back, her eyes dead.

"Nothing. I'm just going to have a talk with my bodyguard..."

---

@ArmorPlated@KaiserElectric@glwgameplayer@Jarl Coolgruuf

---

"I almost took you for a coward, Crusher. Try not to be late again though. I'm not the kind of woman who handles disappointment gracefully." Cathrida half-joked, half-threatened over the comm line as her Turncoat bolted towards the opened western hanger door. Raising her double barreled MAG Shotgun, Cathrida took aim as the Redcoats stepped into the hanger spraying 120mm rounds. A sharp electric whine filled the air before she pulled the trigger, arcs of electricity jumping from the barrel as a high caliber slug was launched with a deafening crack.

The slug smashed clean through the leftmost Redcoat's chest, punching through to its backpack and igniting the fueled stored inside of it. As the Redcoat exploded, throwing the other Redcoat and the lead Tommy backwards, Cathrida fired her Turncoat's thrusters and flew through the explosion. The reeling Redcoat was briefly able to look up to see a black and red figure roaring through the fire and smoke before it was smashed backwards into the wall. Pinning the Redcoat to the wall Cathrida pressed the barrel of her shotgun up against its chest, ready to pull the trigger, when the Tommy rushed at her from the side and swung its saber at her.

Swinging upwards, Cathrida casually blocked the swing of the sword with her Turncoat's cutlass, her red-visored mobile suit glancing sideways as it did so.

"What the hell do you think you're going to accomplish here!?" The Tommy pilot yelled, keeping his blade clashed with Cathrida as the Redcoat's cockpit snapped open and the pilot leaped out.

"I have no desire or patience to explain anything to a worthless little tin soldier." Cathrida spat, suddenly dropping her blade away and jerking her Turncoat's knee forward.

The Tommy lost its balance and was kneed in the chest, knocking it backwards and giving Cathrida some space.

"Wait. That voice. You're-!"

"Die."

Cathrida raised her shotgun, another sharp electric whine filling the air. Hearing the noise the Tommy tried to move backwards and maneuver, but the tunnel outside of the hanger was too narrow. With a press of a trigger Cathrida's MAG Shotgun fired again, this time unleashing a thick spray of pellets. The wall of super sonic shrapnel smashed into the Tommy, tearing holes in it from head to toe and rending the cockpit into a twisted coffin of shrapnel. As the Tommy exploded, throwing out more heat and fire, Cathrida looked back to see the fleeing Redcoat pilot was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it..." She cursed before walking through the flames back into the hanger.

"Counter sniper fire! WE NEED COUNTER SNIPER FIRE!" One of the remaining Tommy's out front of the hanger cried as their team leader crashed to the ground, a hole clean through their cockpit. Looking back however through the haze of smoke and airborn debris thrown up by Scott's grenade, they saw the building their sniper had been perched on was reduced to a pile of rubble with their comrade's machine laying amidst the bricks with their cockpit smashed in. Quickly righting themselves as fast as they could the two Tommy's fired their thrusters, boosting and breaking line of sight from the hanger door.

Leaping from the light debris cloud the two Tommy's spotted Scott's customized COOL-Te. Raising their bullpups the two Zern troopers flicked their their folding Bayonets and began to charge

"You bastards will pay for-!"

Just as one of the Tommy's began to fire on Scott however something bright orange burst from the settling smoke cloud behind them. SMG in one hand and axe in the other, Laika's Scutson skated across the ground on its hover thrusters and charged shoulder shield first into one of the Tommy's backs. The attacking mobile suit was thrown forward, crashing chest first into the ground. Just as the other Tommy spun to face her however Laika fired the Scuton's shoulder thrusters, bolting sideways and making a low one-handed swing with her axe.

Her blade smashed into the Tommy's knee, the cutting edge and the momentum pushing it through the joint and severing the Tommy's right leg completely. Firing wildy the Tommy's rounds tore through several surrounding buildings before dropping its gun and throwing out its hands to catch itself. As it tried to push itself up however, Laika moved in and pressed the barrel of her SMG up against the cockpit before squeezing the trigger. 75mm rounds screamed from the barrel, the first few deflecting off the armor of the Tommy before indenting and punching clean through it into the cockpit.

As soon as the Tommy dropped, smoke bellowing from its cockpit, Laika boosted over to the remaining downed Tommy and delivered a swift kick to its side. The force of the impact flipped the Tommy onto its back, rousing the stunned cockpit inside and prompting him to shout over the radio.

"Wait! I surrender! I SURRENDER!"

Laika however didn't so much as pause as she raised her Scutson's axe overhead and brought it straight down on the Tommy, crushing the cockpit inward with its bladed bit.

Placing her Scuton's foot against the Tommy's chest, Laika pulled back on her axe and ripped it from the cockpit with a visible spray of blood and oil as she did so. As the last Tommy slumped over on the ground the area around them fell silent, the sounds of battle dying with the last of the enemies.

Laika didn't drop her guard, continuing to listen and 'feel' her surroundings. Yet it was clear that there weren't anymore hostiles in the area. Inside her she felt a twinge of disappointment. She felt unfilled, like only getting to eat a bite of a sweet cake instead of a proper piece, or the whole thing. As she began to turned to move her Scutson back to the hanger, Laika caught sight of Scott's COOL-Te and raised her SMG. She was ready to fire before she noticed what weapons the customized mobile suit was carrying.

"Wait, were you the one that threw that grenade?" Laika asked over the comms, lowering her SMG towards the ground. "I was able to attack those two from behind because of that. Does that mean you're on our side?"

---

"Registering hits on target!" Galahad called out as the enemy interceptor whipped past him and into the maintenance tunnel, taking a half dozen 90mm shells and a score or two of 30mm rounds along with it. Debris from the interceptor showered him along with pieces of the colony wall as it tore past him and through the shaft. Moments later, there was a dull explosion, and a slight rocking noise, and camera feed appeared in the corner of one of his Tommy's viewscreens. The pinkish white explosion and flying chunks of some small, ancient aerospace craft.

"Target is down for the count, kill confirmed. We're RTB." Victor reported over the command-net comms, before switching to his own personal comms between himself and Ayame. "A bit messier than I would've liked. We're not losing our edge are we?" he half joked as he watched a half dozen Tommy's as they flew towards the breach, rifles replaced with repair tools.

A small grimace filtered over his face as defensive line pilots broke ranks and flew towards the gap with reckless abandon. Even given the seriousness of attack, it was almost rookie how quickly the troops began panicking. Galahad frowned, if this was a taste of what was to come, the Empire would need sterner stuff than that to see them through to safe waters. Though to be fair, if it had been Gibraltar, Galahad might've had a bit more desperation to his tone as well.

"There's not much else we can do here, and we can't exactly scoop up people without EVA suits of our own. Best we head back before we get in too much more trouble." Victor said to Ayame through their personal comms, before he spun his own Tommy around and began flying back towards the main dock where the Nyx, and the rest of the royal procession sat.

The Faust was already moving again by the time the Tommies had zeroed in on it, their bullets passing through nothing more than the plume of its thruster exhaust. Scott's finger tightened on the trigger before jolting away when a friendly, a bright orange Scutson, barreled out of the smoke-obscured hangar doors; a best case scenario that at least one of his allies was quick-witted enough to make immediate use of an opening. Less expected was the Scutson barreling over the pair of Tommies before perforating one with it's own SMG, and then eviscerating the second with an axe.

In the blink of an eye, the Scutson was pointing it's weapon at the Faust, and the next it was lowered again. A bit jumpy. First timer? Scott's fingers tapped at several controls, the Faust responding by putting it's SMG, still unused, onto it's rack. He checked his readouts as the Faust walked towards the mangled pile of Zern Mobile Suits, and then thumbed the switch for his radio.

"If you are willing to attack the Zern, we are allies. If you dream of a free, green Venus? Then we are friends." He let the message sink in for a moment before the Faust knelt down by one of the wrecks. The tool ring on it's arm rotated it's VSL into position and quickly and deftly cut the Mills Bomb rack from the Tommy's leg, the other hand hefting it's prize. "I was informed of a change in plans and had to make my way here instead of waiting in ambush. Luckily, the Rabble Rouser drew attention away from my own approach. Can't fault the Crusher improvising new plans in a situation like this." The Faust had already moved on to the other Tommy, hefting both pilfered bomb racks in the left hand while snatching up the nearby Heckler in its right before standing, it's sensor-head swiveling to look at Laika's Scutson before reversing to survey the now-silent battlefield.

"Stolen Zern guns are valuable in more ways than one, so we should help ourselves to whatever is left. Crusher, is that longarm rifle still in one piece?" The Faust plodded towards the hangar, pilfered equipment jostling in-hand. Passing through the hangar doors, he put the wall between himself and the interior of the Habitat before setting to inspecting his looted gear. "I would also appreciate a rough outline of what the plan is. We will have stirred up the Zern by taking over this hangar, so what's the next step?" His eyes traced the lines of the Heckler's receiver, looking for anything beyond superficial scuffs or dents.

---

Ayame watched in dismay as the Machine detonated inside the colony and could only watch as the mayhem that they should have stopped happened in front of then

"There's not much else we can do here, and we can't exactly scoop up people without EVA suits of our own. Best we head back before we get in too much more trouble." Victor said to Ayame through their personal comms, before he spun his own Tommy around and began flying back towards the main dock where the Nyx, and the rest of the royal procession sat.

Ayame sighed in defeat as she knew Victor was right there was nothing they could do as she followed behind him. She thought about what he said "A bit messier than I would've liked. We're not losing our edge are we?"

How long ago was it when they last had combat? A few months? A few years? Its been about four,five years since the Siege and the later mop up of pirates, and its not everyday you go up against an ancient aerospace fighter... Something to think about when she has the time.

Her thoughts brought her back inside the colony following behind Victor Parking their mobile suits inside the Hanger of ther Nyx, getting out of the machine she hailed down one of her squad-mates "How bad is it out there?" Ayame asked for an update,

"Pretty bad ma'am, the population is scared and their blaming the usual suspects, Pirates and the....Venusian's Ma'am." Collins responded very cautiously "It's looking like today's events seem to be canceled", as much as Ayame wanted to be ecstatic that she doesn't have to stand in formation for hours on end this was not something to be celebrating as part of the colony just got destroyed.

"Alright, get the squad to ready status for if things get worse, the colony is hurt and we will be required for her defense. Get the others and meet back here Collins, we are gonna have to prepare for a possible second attack" Ayame ordered the pilot who saluted and ran off as she went over to her machine.

'Maybe we should have had out machines in the Parade, maybe we would have taken it out before it even got to the colony wall. The normal Tommy has nothing when it comes to speed against those fighters'

In the vastly emptier halls of the colony, Arthur rushed his pace to reach the inside of the colony as he saw the craft flying directly towards the maintenance tunnel. He reached the surface of the colony, not able to take in the breathtaking view of the colony as compared to the ships he'd been voyaging on as he scanned for the way out of the tunnel. Gunshots gave away the location as he turned to see the sight, the only thing he saw was a fighter slowing down, and then falling spectacularly with no control to the surface. Still a fair ways away, he would swear he could see the pilot for a moment before the craft fell behind a building, and exploded against the colony surface. Still far away, he could feel the pull as the pressurized contents of the colony were pushed out into the vacuum. With his earpiece still in, he braced against the railing and yelled into the mic. "Forge, scramble all mobile workers immediately! Tell the pilots they're getting overtime for this work, and start the element forges on producing repair plates and piping!"

Knowing that deploying suits to help the breach along with the repair equipment, he knew they would need more supplies than just the emergency methods, he contacted the air tower of the colony's port. "Annona tower, this is Arthur Sharp! I'm deploying all available mobile workers I have from the Forge of Mars to assist in the damage to the colony and clean the debris, also connect me to the ship Atet once it has been docked!" He was a bit astonded when the operator replied it was docked now but awaiting orders until the situation was under control. "Then it will deploy too, anyone who intercepts a marked Sharps mobile worker will be facing my wrath after this! Alice, code black emergency! Have every worker be deployed immediately. Have the most experienced workers pilot them for our best results! You should know what's at stake!" Each time he had to shout into the mic, even switching channels frequently to coordinate the deployment of his own mobile workers, all 60 of them. 36 of the new model and 24 of the model-7sc. Even with the loss of life, he couldn't help but think of the publicity this would provide, and the data he could receive from the craft.

---

Dannie's throaty laugh came through the commlink as she approached the newcomer, the spear in Recompense's hand still dripping with molten plasteel. It took conscious effort, but eventually she took her hand off the big red button hooked up to her thruster array as she adjusted to the fact that he wasn't another target.
"Next step?" she replied, the scrap of a lighter's flint audible from her end, "Keep breakin' shit 'till the Captain says to do somethin' else. She mentioned we're gonna nab a ship, though."
She couldn't help the pang of disappointment as she surveyed the battlefield and found the conflict was over just as it began. Battles were so much less fun these days. Always too many mobile suits to fight or too few to offer a challenge. She took solace in the fact that if this little rebellion actually got off the ground a bit more, there was sure to be many, many more fights to come. The burning in her soul could only be staved off for so long with dreams of blood and glory before she needed to be in the midst of carnage. The ex pirate took a moment to mentally catalog the assembled crew. Cathrida, Laika, and that cheeky ass clown who closed the shutter on her. At least there was something of value to be found in this motley crew other than meat shields. If anyone knew what they were doing, it was Cathrida and Dannie knew she'd lead them, if nothing else, to a death worth dying.

@ArmorPlated @KaiserElectric @glwgameplayer @Jarl Coolgruuf

---

Hearing Scott’s words, Laika relaxed, leaning back into her padded cockpit seat and allowing her grip to loosen on the controls. Though the stranger could have been lying, Laika knew that wasn’t the case. There was a rawness, an intensity and passion to the man’s words that made it clear he wasn’t simply repeating what he thought others wanted to hear. Laika wasn’t sure how she knew that, as the tone of the man’s words wasn’t enough to convey that. She just...felt it.

And Laika had learned that was enough most of the time.

Seeing no more enemies and recognizing the man’s point about scavenging, Laika followed suit. A pair of 120mm Lewin machineguns and four extra drums of ammunition were pulled from the broken, sparking husks of the Tommies and Redcoats they had finished off. Slapping the stolen weapons onto the spare hardpoints of her Scutson, Laika stomped her way back into the hanger. There she could see that they had slaughtered the enemy just as thoroughly inside the hanger as they had out.

“They’re all dead Captain, and Crusher brought someone with him!” Laika announced over the radio, just as Cathrida’s Turncoat began to make its way down into the recessed ‘pit’ of the hanger where various ships sat.

The black and red mobile suit turned, glancing over its shoulder at the thoroughly customized COOL-Te that had entered. Hearing the man’s question over the communication channel left Cathrida abuzz with curiosity. Already she could feel her bad mood beginning to leave her, seeing the omens of fortune she was once so used to seeing...

“Oh? You brought a friend, Crusher? Normally I’m not fond of the ‘plus one rule’ when it comes to outings like this, but right now I’m willing to accept just about anyone.”

Cathrida’s mobile suit turned its head back to the ships, its ballistic cap shifting as it walked. The pirate mobile suit stopped beside one of the mining ships, running a manipulator along the battered, orange painted hull.

“Dannie is correct, stranger. As much as I enjoy causing problems for Zern, taking over this hangar was just a means to an end. However I assure you the ship we’re taking from this place is merely a temporary one. If I’m really going to throw in with this little revolution of yours, I’m going to do so with everything I have left.”

The mining ship was long and though faint, lines were visible in intervals along the hull, signifying the existence of several doors built into its sides.

“Normally I don’t like saying anything I don’t need too, but since you’ve all made it this far I don’t see any harm in being up front this time.”

Cathrida walked her mobile suit along the length of the hull as she continued to speak.

“A couple of years ago, back when everyone didn’t think I was dead, I had something hidden on the surface of Venus. Normally you don’t want to put something down there unless you want it to melt away or be eaten by the acidic atmosphere. However back when Zern feared my name, I paid some ‘associates’ to build a base for me on the surface. But like most pirates my financial situation took a turn for the worse and the base was never finished.”

The Turncoat stopped suddenly, hand placed against a seemingly innocuous part of the ship's hull. In a single swift motion, the Turncoat pulled its arm back and plunged it into the hull. The shriek of collapsing metal briefly filled the hanger as the Turncoat pulled out a slew of cables the same way a butcher would pull the guts from a slaughtered animal.

“In other words…”

With a squeeze of one of its fingers, Cathrida’s mobile suit cut one of the wires. One by one the doors of the mining ship fell open, revealing scaffolding where mobile suits and workers were meant to dock.

In that same moment the massive doors to the hanger shuddered and began to slide open. The air in the hanger began to spin and roil as the atmosphere of the habitat began to slowly vent into space. With its cape flapping wildly in the ‘wind’, Cathrida’s Turncoat turned to face the others.

---

Loading everyone onto the mining transport, Cathrida descended from Habitat 34 down into the Venusian atmosphere. Since the creation of the habitats nearly 500 years ago, the massive floating hexagons had lowered the surface temperature of the planet by blocking out sunlight. The syphoning of gasses for industrial refinement and work had also lowered the previous crushing pressure of the planet. As such the surface of the planet was more ‘hospitable’ then it had been centuries prior...but was still one of the most dangerous places in the solar system.

Which made the idea of something, anything, being hidden safely on the surface of the planet either complete madness...or a stroke of genius. On the surface of Venus everything was tinged with some shade of yellow or orange. Visibility was bad, landmarks were few, and there were few if any safe places. Active volcanoes, lava flows, and ‘ravines’ where the gases were particularly thick and potent were just a few of the common dangers to be found on Venus.

Yet as Cathrida rode the ship down through the atmosphere and set in a flight path, she seemed to know exactly where she needed to go. What should have taken days, weeks to find was instead arrived at in a little over an hour. The former pirate captain deployed the landing gear and set the ship down at the entrance to a canyon of sorts, where towers of brittle black and yellow stone towered into the orange hued sky as acidic winds blew around it in a near constant storm.

Taking to her mobile suit Cathrida led Laika, Dannie, Johanna, Scott, and Denzel out of the ship in their own suits. After a few minutes of navigating the narrows she eventually led them to a wide open area surrounded by cliffs, and natural archways of acid eaten rock. There in the middle of the open area was a square building made of plasteel sank deep, deep into the rock.

Built into the top of the bunker-like building was a hanger door, seemingly installed for the vertical launching of ships. A front entrance protruded from the building like a tumor, with a recessed overhang to shield it from the element. Bringing everyone to the door, Cathrida managed to get it opened quickly, and led them onto a massive elevator big enough to support mobile suits. As soon as the doors shut there was a noticeable temperature drop as they descended down into the guts of the building.

As they rode down, the building seemed to wake up around them, lights and machines below them beginning to power on. By the time they reached the bottom the lights built into the ceiling began to come on. Row by row they illuminated the massive hanger, eventually revealing an elegant red ship still resting in repair scaffolding.



“This is the ship I used to terrorize Zern all those years ago.The Isandlwana!” Cathrida announced to the group, throwing the arms of her mobile suit up as the ship was revealed in all its glory.

After the building was properly pressurized and filled with breathable air, Cathrida took the time to look over the ship with Laika seeing what supplies were left in the building.

It wasn't long before Cathrida returned, her expression grave.

“Normally I revel in being right, but this is one of those times where I wish I was wrong.”

Laika was in the midst of a small break, stuffing a protein bar into her mouth as she sat in the hand of her mobile suit. She blinked in confusion at Cathrida, but knew something was wrong.

"Is something wrong with the ship, Captain?"

“Remember when I asked about your ‘uncle’ Laika? Well on top of watching after you, I left him in charge of refitting my ship for my eventual return. He was taking trips down here every now and then to work on it in secret. And in his defense he got just about everything done before he got himself killed...Everything besides finishing the engines. In this state I can’t launch the ship.”

“Well that’s not a problem, we can take all the time in the world finish them, right Captain?”

Cathrida shook her head, her eye narrowing.

“That’s exactly the problem, we don't have all the time in the world. Zern's likely to find this place the same way I did. Chances are...they're already on their way here.

---

@vietmyke@veenknight343@Yukitamas@Crusader Lord@Caduceus@Golden Spiral

Hours had passed since the incident at the Annona Colony, but the shock hadn’t worn off. Though the damage was minimal compared to what it could have been, many of the soldiers present at the attack were still left shaken. The Princesses were unharmed as were all of the nobles and the important military brass attending their arrival. However countless civilians, men, women, and children, were killed in the explosion or sucked out into the cold vacuum of space to die an agonizing death. Many of whom were the friends or loved ones of the Martian soldiers stationed aboard around Venus.

When the initial rescue and repair work was finished, the Zern Military lurched into action. Reinforcements and reserves were deployed from Space Fortress Gaspra around Venus, being sent to the more ‘troublesome’ habitats where the attack was believed to have originated from. News of the incident had already begun to spread, riling the population and making the higher ups desperate for somewhere to place the blame.

Then the report of the destroyed ships finally arrived.

An unknown mobile suit in black and red sank a Zern vessel effortlessly along with its accompanying mobile suits. Despite happening before the attack on the colony, the incident was buried in the resulting confusion. However soon after news came in of a raid on a hanger in Habitat 34 and not longer after that the captain of a cargo vessel was interrogated and found to be responsible for ferrying the culprit of both incidents.

But what finally brought the situation to the higher ups of Zern was the captain’s description of the woman he brought to Venus. Her description matched very closely with the person who, years before, had nearly killed the Emperor.

Then a signal was discovered by Princess Assallia’s bodyguard, The Wyvern.

A ‘quantum beacon’, capable of being detected from tremendous distances even under the interference of Wilberforce particles. It was an advanced piece of technology whose signal was very difficult to detect without knowing the frequency. But The Wyvern knew the signal. It was the same one used by pirates during the Rise of Piracy years prior.

It was the same signal used by ‘her’.

Cathrida Hilda Stoker.

The Butcher of Banzing.

The military leaders of the forces of Zern around Venus acted quickly. A mix of fear, anger, and a desire for retaliation drove them to assemble a strike force to hunt down and kill who they believed with absolute certainty had planned the attack on Annona.

The H.M.S Nyx and other ships stationed at Annona were selected for the mission along with many troops stationed aboard Annona or recently arrived from Mars.

The Strikeforce’s orders were simple: Follow the Quantum Beacon’s signal, locate the ones responsible, and kill them all in the name of the Emperor.

Having left the Annona colony as soon as possible, the H.M.S Nyx and the other ships accompanying it began to enter the Venusian atmosphere, on a descent course for where the Quantum Beacon had been transmitting from...

---

Johanna let out a low whistle as the floodlights bathed the pirate captain's vessel in brightness, the brilliant red surface seeming to filling the entire hanger. So this was the Islandwana then, the one she heard all the stories about. It was an engineering marvel from what she understood, one that exploited the massive power bank of the Portio to create a vessel that could terrorize shipping lanes and hapless pirate hunters alike. LAGOS was chirping away like mad as he initiated primary scans of the ship to see what made it cook while Johanna merely pondered it, pouring over every small detail from the modified repair arms (she WOULD make a ship that could punch other ships, Jo remarked to herself with some amusement) to the catapults along the sides of the vessel.

Say what you will, the cap'n knew a nice ship when she saw one.

"Well on top of watching after you, I left him in charge of refitting my ship for my eventual return," Cathrida said to her pet friend. "He was taking trips down here every now and then to work on it in secret. And in his defense he got just about everything done before he got himself killed...Everything besides finishing the engines."

Johanna could tell why. Ten fusion engines weren't exactly a cakewalk to get functioning in tandem. Oh sure the ship could power it on just fine, it was the bit connecting the engines to the battery that was the million dollar question. She had a similar issue on BUN-e with the LeapFrog apparatus, though this beast had a substantially higher risk. Fusion engines tended to get a little...finicky when you didn't hook them up proper.

“Well that’s not a problem, we can take all the time in the world finish them, right Captain?” the other pilot interjected.

“That’s exactly the problem," Cathrida said. "We don't have all the time in the world."

"No, but you have the next best thing," Johanna piped in, tugging the sleeves of her bomber jacket up. "You have me!"

When Ayame got the news about their new deployment it was nice to get moving again,although she did want to head home but this whole situation was going from bad to worse and needed this to end quickly.....If only it was so easy as their target was the Butcher of Banzig ,the Pirate Cahtrida Hilda Stoker. Ayame knew the tale of the Pirate and knew of her skill, but Ayame felt that her skills in a mobile suit could match her...or at least she thought she was until the incident but she couldn't think about that, it was a setback nothing more.

As she mulled on her recent failure she got started on getting her own Tommy equipped with the it's Albatross Gear adding a Pair of WIG's onto its pauldrons leaving the other engineers to work on the other Tommy's as she liked to work on hers more often then not and she loved to keep her hands busy and get her mind off of many things. Once she finished her MS Preparations she gathered "her" squad the 122nd Direwolves, she kept the name as she was more or less a replacement CO to the squad and they trusted her as much as they trust their commander Victor Galahad. She got them around a holographic display of the Venus sphere to give them an update on their orders from on high,

"I know you all wanted to get some RNR, but thanks to certain events its gonna have to wait, while the unknown fighter damaged the colony there was a Pirate raid of Habitat 34," she pointed to both Annona colony and the Habitat in question both being pinged on the display

"Thanks to survivor testimony and Imperial intelligence we discovered the source of the Hijacking was of that of Cathrida Hilda Stoker, Butcher of Banzig. We discovered the Quantum Beaconon the Surface of Venus located here." pointing to the location on the planet were there was another ping

"Our orders are to discover whereabouts of the pirates by following the beacons co-ordinates, we will be working along side other Mobiles teams some of who may no like us Venusians and I know you all wont like them but keep that to yourself, if all goes well we will have the head of one of the more feared Pirate in less then forty eight hours so work hard and work fast and show them how the 122nd Direwolves get shit done!"

"Yes Ma'am" was the only thing the squad said as they broke to their MS, as they broke off she quickly changed into her flight suit patting her 122 Dire wolves patch on her shoulder a habit she has done since joining the Direwolves after the siege before making her way back to her Tommy Commander type getting ready for her time to shine.

---

Victor found himself where he usually did as of late- along at his observation deck at the top of the ship. Mulling over the past few hours, and the events that had happened. The attack, was a shock for him- for all of them, and before he knew it he along with a few others were assigned to a task force with the sole purpose of hunting down some pirates and giving them a good shooting in response to the black eye the Empire had just received. He was unsure whether the attacks were planned or coordinated, but he did know that it was no pirate they were after, but the Butcher of Banzig herself. One of the biggest legends of the war, Cahtrida was supposed to be dead. So they were either fighting a ghost, or someone pretending to be her- and Victor wasn't sure which option he'd have preferred.

Most of the fleet, unfortunately, was unable to follow Victor onto the surface of Venus, and were stuck waiting and watching while the Nyx, and two accompanying Scroop destroyers- the Mimi and Fifi deployed to the surface. They had the general location of the hijacked ship and signal, and the plan was relatively simple. Find and destroy anything that moved- with extreme prejudice. Unfortunately command had ordered them to do so without glassing the local area so the 5th was going in down and dirty to take care of business.

Ayame, with her 122nd Direwolves would load up with Albatross gear and run recon on the local area. Upon pinpointing the location of the pirate signal they would relay the information to the Nyx and the destroyers flying above. After which they would provide direct fire and support for the Mimi and Fifi's assault teams.

The Mimi's mobile suit team, would be equipped with PINT-1 300mm Recoilless Launchers on top of their standard Heckler rifles and the Fifi's team, would be kitted out with heavy liten shields, not unlike the one mounted on Victor's own Knight Errant. The assault teams would deploy straight from their ships and onto the target location once provided by the Direwolves, and would themselves screen the approach for royal marine dropships tasked with assaulting the ground and ship itself. Meanwhile, the ships themselves would be able to provide limited amounts of support fire via missile launchers and MAG cannons. Accuracy and guidance would be limited once wilberforce particles began getting denser, but they should still be able to soften up entrenched locations or break up what cover the pirates had.

Victor himself, already dressed in his flight suit would be on standby atop the Nyx, his Albatross equipped Knight Errant ready to jump into the fight at a moments notice.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen." Victor said aloud, automatically transmitting to everyone on the squad and tactical frequencies. Operation Retribution is go. Command has no need for prisoners- take surrenders at your own judgement. Don't waste your lives and keep an eye out for your wingman. Lets get these sons of bitches."

"Direwolves." This time, Galahad's voice was transmitted directly to the Nyx's hangar and its pilots' headsets. "Get your fangs out, we're hunting big game today. Izumi, deploy when ready."

Scott sat in silence as they descended into the corrosive atmosphere of Venus, prepping his Mobile Suit for the hazardous environment. Being in a moving ship, even seated in a mobile suit, was a familiar feeling. Thoughts began creeping to the forefront of his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder about the plan unfolding in front of him. He found himself following Cathrida Stoker, the one woman most responsible for the limping state of Zern's leadership, thought dead after her disappearance in the wake of Zern's retribution. His mind spun, thinking of the possibilities made his heart race. Even as a Mekon rebel, his future had been a narrow path: bleed Zern with a thousand cuts, eventually dying in battle. From here onwards, my actions will have consequences greater than ever before. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

The mining ship landed, and the rebel band disembarked. The surface of Venus was more inhospitable than he'd imagined, and he was alarmed at the external temperatures his Mobile Suit was reporting. The Faust kept pace with its new comrades as the massive facility came into view, and Scott could only wonder to himself how anyone could manage to have something like this constructed, let alone maintained through their apparent death. His eyes rested squarely on the back of the re-painted Redcoat. What kind of person prepares something like this?. The lift slowed to a stop and the lights illuminated a ship.

It was gargantuan, painted a vibrant red and sported a thrust-to-mass ratio so absurdly high that every crew member would need to be in a crash-couch to avoid killing someone at maximum thrust. He took the momentary silence to look over the Isandlwana, trying to judge just what this thing had under the hood. Subconsciously he noticed Laika exit her suit, and followed suit. Standing on the unfolded hatch of his Faust, his face shaded within his Vacsuit's helmet, Scott traced the ship's unusual lines, only able to guess at each portion's function from this distance. Captain Cathrida returned sooner than expected, and relayed the bad news. "The Zern are on their way, and we are going to need to buy time to get the ship flight-ready." Scott turned and looked at the assembled team, then back to Cathrida's Turncoat.

Scott reached up to the lower rim of his helmet and switch his extenral speaker on. "Exactly how much of the ship's engines are incomplete? If they're properly mounted, that's the grand majority of the work out of the way, and cable checks can be short-changed so long as we have a safe harbor out there." The wheels in his head were turning, and a few ideas sprang to mind. "If you had help navigating here, can we use that as a trap? An Ambush is preferable to outright warfare." Scott's mind spun, forming a short-term plan to get them all out alive. "We could also make use of the Isandlwana's reactors as a surprise radio jammer. They certainly won't be expecting something of this size, and without communication, we will have the advantage." He was suddenly very glad they'd all scavenged weapons before leaving, because his preference for traveling light would have come back to bite him in a protracted battle like the one looming on the horizon. one last question sat at the back of his mind, nagging at him.

"Who do we have to actually complete the engines? It's going to be a two-person task minimum. Pilot and Engineer, and I don't think I've ever been at the helm of something with this much thrust versus mass."

---

As much as she disliked having to pull the plug, Dannie exited her mobile suit along with the rest of Cathrida's motley crew. She made sure to be the last in so the other mobile suits would be facing away from her when she awkwardly fiddled with her folding wheel chair and plopped down into the seat with all the grace one could expect from a half blind and legless pirate. On her way over to the pirate captain, she couldn't help admiring the ship. All the haphazardly placed thrusters on the back reminded her of her recently ended career of piracy. Or perhaps she was simply under a new employer?

Dannie joined the gathering party by the shipped and listened to the talk about a partially finished ship. What a perfect mess. A smile spread across her ghastly face and she chuckled as she pulled a flask of questionable brew and a pack of cheap cigarettes from her pocket.
"So that's the plan, is it? What kind of mess have you gotten us into?" She chuckled again as she brought the flask to her lips with one hand as the pirate shook a cigarette out of the pack into her lap, "Seems we have our work cut out for us."
Dannie paused to exchange vices and exhaled a cloud of bitter smoke with a grin. She was under no illusion that Zern would send a batch of newbloods to take down the Butcher, but that's what she wanted. She relished to challenge. Maybe, hopefully, they'd send a specialized unit. Something a bit harder for her to chew up and spit out that would make her really work for the privilege of drawing breath. A girl could dream.
"If we get out of this alive, who thinks the captain should buy her new crew the first round of drinks. Show of hands!"