Eisenhorn

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

The good news was it seemed the surroundings were confirming they were heading firmly into fae territory, whether it was influenced or just their realm completely was beyond what Rolan could determine. The bad news was he was walking, quite contrarily, headlong against any and all advice and warnings he had received throughout his life in regards to dealing with the Fae, that being simply don't. Well, one person had instructed him on their usefulness if you could keep your end of a bargain, but that was not a man he ever intended to take life lessons from so that was safely ignored. He had to question the decisions he took in life that led to this moment, but all the questions in the world would not change what was to come next, so he kept his mind on the task at hand, as best he could at any rate.

Everything was natural, of course, but it was the wrong kind of natural. Everything was incredibly uniform and closely controlled, despite having none of the signs of man made tools or keeping of the area, it lacked the crudeness of even the most skilled of gardener's reliance on tools. It also all felt wrong, and the worse part was it wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but it was very much wrong, something he latched onto to keep him focused. Keeping himself focused on the task at hand was good, as the shadowy guards stepped out, cloaked and armed with darkness. Fortunately not the hungry kind of darkness, but it was a small comfort given they were at the complete mercy of the hunter's Lady. One of them might be able to slip the hunt should the rest fall in exchange, but that would be a dire prospect should it come to that, and if fortune held it would not be necessary.

The throne was something Rolan suspected more than a few he had met would covet greatly, a single grown piece rather than assembled or insulted with being forced into shape. This had been simply grown as such, in a way that let nature itself, such as it bent the knee here as well, adorn it with a natural form of beauty. Though most would not be looking at the throne, given the Fae ruler that seated herself upon it. True to the stories, stunning beauty that threatened to sear itself into his memory forever should he allow it. He appreciated those who were attractive, he had done so prior, but he knew better than to even entertain the beginnings of such musings here. The sooner they were done, the sooner they could be back among the normal woods, even if they were just a bit more unremarkable now that he was party to what they could have done to them with a deft will.

Rolan was third to kneel, though he was last in the procession of knights, still carefully holding the two Aessyr as to not rock the one who was still recovering, deferring to Ser Gerard as he began to speak far more properly given the circumstances. What he knew of diplomacy and the like was learned discussing contracts for those who had bounties on their heads, even with local authorities in a village or town it was very transactional. Even as old lessons crept up at the back of his mind, they were purely for the purpose of gaining every advantage one could and giving as little as possible. Not ideal for this situatio neither, but he would back Ser Gerard in his diplomatic efforts, though unlike him his gaze was level, staring at nothing when he spoke. He lacked the finer polish that Ser Gerard showed in his own words, and was far more direct, but he would not let a fellow stand alone, be it in combat or diplomacy.

"I suspect the Duke has transgressed, knowingly or not I cannot say with certainty, rather recently before the sudden onset of his complete loss of wits. The sooner our order can determine the transgression, the sooner we can do what is in our means to make it right to restore his mind."

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

"Vulture, Rhino, solid copy. Syncing CIWS system to provide cover while your in range, swapping to the main gun."

In the midst of the engagement, Johann flipped a switch under the CIWS display, syncing it to the smart targeting system that had synced with his own systems. Anyone in the same system net would be able to benefit from the Katar micromissiles now, meaning he could intercept longer ranged strikes than his own targeting systems would allow. One of the Fenrir units disengaged from Vulture and kept engaging him, 35mm shells failing to find any purchase in the dense layers of armor before firing another pair of sledgehammer missiles his way. Another twin thumps from the CIWS, and two more Katar micromissiles launched, the smaller, more agile munitions intercepting the incoming ordinance before they could even begin to threaten the Secutor, but with a sudden burst the thrusters launched the Secutor straight into the Fenrir's path, Plasma Gauntlet flaring to life as the Secutor punched through the cockpit of the hapless Coalition MAS, but rather than immediately discard the cored frame, swung it into the path of the incoming 85mm shells. The uparmored Fenrir couldn't take the hits normally, but since he was just using it to augment his own (and the survival of the MAS wasn't a concern to him) which would buy him time against the 85mm. The encroaching Scattercannon, however...

<<7th Squadron. Notice from the Ronaoke.>>

<<INS Roanoke preparing to fire, clear firing lanes.>>

The majority of Rhino's HUD flared brightly as he was squarely in one of the firing lines, and he began burning thruster's at full speed, tossing the disintegrating carcass of the Fenrir as he baited the Skollr into the center of the firing line as he swung the 170mm out from its mounting, multiple display alterations occurring simultaneously as he began shunting all unnecessary power to the gun itself. That included life support as several alarms began flashing on his HUD, though the life support in his suit took over without a moment's delay. Breathing much staler air, Rhino was at ease as the volley from the Roanoke tore through the void, turning the unfortunate aggressive Skollr into not even atomized scrap, and cutting off the line of fire from the other for a few moments time. Plenty enough to ready the MAC-011. One perk of firing in space is he wasn't locked down nearly as much when preparing and firing the superheavy weapon, and compared to the various plasma and hybrid systems, the MAC-011 was practically stone age. But a sufficiently fast moving rock could take out anything.

APFSDS Loaded....
Target Locked....
Charging Sequence Check....
Charge Complete....
Trigger Safety Disengaged....

Rhino took careful aim, verifying the target lock as the Skollr worked to reaquire his target, seeing the Secutor had launched itself above where the Roanoke's shot came through. Grinning to himself, he fired the MAC-011, the entire frame shuddering as the APFSDS round was sent hurtling down towards the stationary Skollr, the 170mm sabot dart combining ballistic and magnetic acceleration to punch violently through the shield and armored core of the Skollr, overpenetrating clean through to the other side, sending a spray of electronics and vital internals scattering across the breadth of space. A sobering reminder that all the armor in the world didn't matter in the face of a sufficiently large gun. Opening comms, Rhino was professional in tone, though that pleasant casualness was still there in spite of being the focus of several MAS units at the same time. The only realistic threat among the Fenrir and Skollr would have been the missiles or scattercannons, and neither could have been effectively deployed against him, it was proving to be a fairly standard operation so far, despite the fleet damage in place currently.

"Skollr units down, moving to provide fire support..."

The destruction of the one destroyer caught Johann's attention, glancing at the HUD as the info scrawl proceeded. Heavy unit, overcharged flight systems, superheavy platform capable of keeping up with lighter frames and putting that class of weapons to work. He'd heard talk among other pilots about some cutting edge super MAS being encountered in some fights, but that's neither here nor there. Right now he had a valid target, and as the loading system spooled up to select the next shell type, he began moving into effective range to engage the Fafnir. Granted, effective range for him was a long ways off but with the bulk of the MAS forces suppressed or destroyed, but with how agile the unit was he would have to watch for an ideal moment to strike, or get in dangerously close. Either suited him fine, but for now he would work at standoff range.

"Vulture, Rhino: You got things here? They are going to need help putting that thing down if the specs are to be believed."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan allowed Ser Gerard to say his piece as he listened and observed the fae hunter, noting that they were focusing back on their original goal for being here to begin with. His fellow knight had a better grasp on how to speak with and negotiate with the fae, his dealings with business prior to finding a place among the Knights was often hunting those who either broke the law or otherwise took advantage of those who could not protect themselves. Negotiating the restoration of a man's mind after unknown trespasses against some 'Moonlit Queen', even after earning an audience with 'his lady' as the fae hunter mentioned, was a bit further beyond his capabilities. Still, he had an obligation to see this through and he couldn't let his fellows left hanging in the breeze, as it were, and he stood, still carefully holding the two Aessyr. "Aithne, Enfys, we are about to depart. Would you prefer to rest longer, and come along, or do you have other preferences?"

Rolan did not intend to simply dump the two Aessyr on a flower or something and leave them to their devices, and given how slowly Enfys seemed to be recovering, perhaps a meeting with this Moonlit Queen would benefit them as well. Besides, having witnesses to the rescue efforts, doubly so when they had made no request for reward in return, might provide them some manner of consideration that would not otherwise exist. Assuming that very consideration wasn't being used to even gain a meeting with the Moonlit Queen, or however the hunter's Lady preferred to be addressed, but that was a bridge to be burned later. For now they had a destination, a way to progress the order's efforts in the area, though they would not be able to split any of their number off to go inform the bulk of their number. Assuming they were still, somehow, sitting idly in place entertaining a madman. Something he greatly doubted.

"Then we can depart immediately, if nothing else reporting this hunt concluded should not be postponed and I would not wish to keep your Lady waiting." Rolan hoped that Ser Gerard had some hidden savvy at negotiation, or perhaps Dame Yael or Ser Caulder might prove deft experts at such things. Otherwise he would have to rely on his experiences, and those were a massively far cry from dealing with the Fae. If he could, he would have surrendered his position here to allow Ser Fionn to take the forefront of the impending negotiations. Then again, if hope solved all the world's problems none of them would be needed for their martial prowess. He would have to carry this out to the best of his abilities, and handle the backlash of any missteps from there. By their combined efforts they might come up with a tenable agreement to free the Duke's mind from the grips of madness.

@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Mentally noting Ser Caulder as fine enough, Rolan was focusing his attention on the unconscious Aessyr in his grasp right now, gentle as he was being. It didn't take long to be joined by the one who had asked for their help, who was quick to try and rouse her friend rather than allowing him to continue getting the worst of the grime and ichor off the unconscious one, and a sinking feeling in his gut began to mount. Rousting someone unconscious was the realm of smelling salts and the like, but anything in his kit was meant for a fully grown adult. Even treating a child was easier since one could reasonably estimate how much to reduce a treatment by, but an Aessyr that literally fit into the palm of his hand? A few drops at most, which even then seemed excessive, and he was about to answer Ser Gerard's request for her condition negatively when she started waking up, almost missed due to how slight it was. "Seems she is coming to, fortunately."

Given he was preoccupied with the two Aessyr, Rolan had to let the others handle watching for trouble or something else coming into the clearing to investigate the sound of combat and noise. The tearful reunion going on in his hands made him feel a touch awkward, he never was one for wearing one's heart on their sleeve, and it kind of left him unable to respond quickly should something come up. He didn't have the lack of heart to interrupt the two Aessyr, however, not at this juncture when there was no overt threat, or even anything he could sense hiding in the underbrush. Of course he was wrong, but at the appearance of the clearly fae hunter, his instinct was to move one of his hands to his blades, or satchel, but given the circumstances he made no such move. The hunter could have struck any one of them down should he have wanted to, and casually wielding a great bow as he did meant that armor might not have put up as much of a fight as one might hope.

Tall, well built, incredibly underdressed but that could be overlooked given the whole 'being a fae' fact. His tone commanded presence in the woods they were currently in, addressing them as children of men and speaking that he was hunting the abomination they slew. Convenient that he didn't reveal himself until after his prey was dead, but he wasn't going to attempt to puzzle out the thought process of a fae. Possibly waiting to see how they collectively responded to the Aessyr fished from the remains of the Gannek in case they proved hostile to the fae overall as well, that made sense from a certain perspective. A shared enemy did not make for allies, and landing a killing shot when the fight was up close and pitched as it was took a steady hand. Doubly so when trying to not injure swallowed fae, so he did not question or even bring up the wait to reveal himself until after the hunt was done. "We did as we were asked, free the Aessyr from the thing's guts. Hunting the creature down in the process makes the woods better for all parties with a vested interest in it's health."

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

"You know how it goes Vulture, we've made the mistake of being competent, so we get tossed headlong into it. No one's immune to it."

Johann had an easy going, friendly tone even as they were waiting to launch, though he did wince at the sheer volume of the FNG sounding off at full volume. FNG with bleeding edge tech, hope it kept him alive and well was all the consideration that he could afford for the kid. Lot of light to middle weights overall, something that suited him fine as far as possible tactics were concerned. Too much of any one thing left glaring weaknesses in such groups, even if none of them could appreciate standard issue. Wouldn't have gotten this far if any of them were, even the new blood's toy, and he kept relaxed as he waited patiently for his time to launch. Misfit sounded off last, another medium MAS pilot for the team but one that seemed like the perfect foil to the rather loud energy of the FNG, but they finally, at long last, got the green light to launch. Finally, even if it wasn't his preference of combat zones.

Rabbit and Hex went first, and it seemed the launch teams decided they wanted to get the Heavy MAS off the deck and out of the way. Decoupling fully from the Roanoke power grid, the far heavier tread of the Secutor locking into place made him mentally brace as he waited for the launch. He hated fighting in space, no proper orientation, no bracing against the ground, and the Secutor has been, at its most charitable, been described as 'a quite aerodynamic brick'. Even in space, maneuvering to evade was not the most practical strategy for him to employ. Fortunately, he didn't have to, and he was already preparing to fire off the thrusters the moment they sent the Secutor hurtling into the void, correcting his facing as soon as he was clear of the hanger, evaluating the situation as he got out of the way of the rest of his fellow pilots, moving as per protocol for the moment as to not entangle the remaining pilots in possible emergency maneuvers.

Ibara had been gutted by incoming fire and strike formations, MAS and more conventional craft alike, as a plasma shot rolled in to put the final blow into her, marking another casualty in the war, not much he could do for them. Pair of destroyers were working to try and make a run on the carrier, but their own compliments of MAS and fighters were in a losing battle as well, and too far away for Rhino to effectively cross the distance and engage. That left the 'front', quite a number of Fenrir II and, more concerningly, Sköllr Heavies, which could not be allowed to approach. The flanking Garmr squad was moving fast through the debris field to pincer them, while both Rabbit and Hex were already deploying to fight. Rabbit forming into a fighter configuration while Hex opened up and evaded missiles. Speaking of, system alarms alerted him of incoming ordinance, thrusters flaring to full life to evade the dumb fire, while several micro missiles from the Katar CIWS launched from his back shoulder, the smaller missiles darting out and causing the space between him and the debris field to light up with intercepted munitions detonating well and truly prematurely. Engaging the Sköllr units anywhere close was dangerous, but the debris field was too much cover to risk his limited 170mm ammunition.

"Vulture, Rhino, moving to intercept and tie down the main Coalition MAS force. Can't let those Sköllr get close." Having informed their leader of his plan, Rhino pushed the thruster to carry him increasingly towards the encroaching Coalition MAS units. Incoming fire from the 35mm autocannons was ignored, munitions that hit doing little more than scratching the paint of the dense, uparmored frame moving steadily towards the enemy. With his MAC-011 secured, he instead deployed the M81 out of the Secutor's right gauntlet instead. Tracking incoming targets, Rhino let loose a short burst of 30mm rounds, forcing the lead elements of the Coalition MAS units to either take cover or run the gauntlet of incoming fire. One Fenrir II was feeling bold, mistaking the Secutor's automatic fire for a Sentry's more modern assault autocannon perhaps. Breaking free of the debris field, more 35mm rounds deflected off the sloped armor that the Secutor boasted, and now that he had coaxed the Fenrir out of hiding, Rhino held nothing back.

The steady, shuddering barrage of 35mm ammunition steadily tore apart the Fenrir as it attempted to engage in evasive maneuvers, though it exposed its flight boosters which got torn apart by the Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds, taking out the bulk of its maneuverability and allowing the walking fire to tear apart the rest, sending it spiraling out of control back into the debris field. Dead or disabled, it didn't matter to Rhino as he began maneuvering the Secutor, screening his lesser armored allies from the encroaching bulk of the MAS forces. He would have to leave the flanking lights to another, but short of them trying to get into metaphorical knife fighting range and go for the joints, he was confident they had nothing that could do any lasting damage. His strategy was simple, block the Coalition forces, force them to engage him, and bring them out into strike range of his allied pilots.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Ser Gerard was practically deafening in his battlecry, moving deceptively fast to bring that blade around to finally rend the wretched thing's head clean from its shoulders, and Rolan would step back, narrowly avoiding the onrush of shadowed bile and ichor. The length of the cut seemed to have been more of a point of no return for the thing rather than the whole wound, watching the thing hemorrhage its insides out onto the ground. The utter lack of organs was unsettling, even as the gnawing hunger and pressing darkness vanished almost immediately. He kept his eyes on the dying, fading corpse of the Gannek as it withered away into nothing, half expecting one last desperate grasp at survival or, barring that, not going alone, but no it seemed well and truly dead, much to their collective good fortune. Glancing at the torch in his hand, it had sputtered out while the thing died, and once ensuring it wouldn't start a blaze, discarded the spent torch onto the ground. They had plenty of natural light to work with now, no need to start another improvised torch yet. He instead fetched a rag from his bag, cleaning the blade of his sword before sheathing it once more.

Scanning the guts and ichor, there was a lot of grim tidings. Bone fragments, chunks of...meat he would assume, but a first glance revealed nothing of the Aessyr. Rolan was about to comment on the matter when something caught his eye, a small figure in a pile of bile. Shoving his own distaste back, he stepped into the ichor and bile, squatting down to carefully fish the Aessyr out of the bile. Faded clothing, drooped wings, but the slight motions showed she was still breathing. Using the rag from before, he carefully began cleaning the black bile off the tiny figure. Dexterous and careful were two things Rolan could consider himself good at when it came to handling delicate things, he remembered more than his share of burns and injuries learning alchemy from being even a touch too heavy handed. Being careful now was practically second nature.

"Still breathing, fortunately for us. Hopefully once this bile is cleaned off she can begin recovering. How's your head Ser Caulder?" It was indeed a hope more than anything else that once the bile was gone she would recover naturally, or as naturally as a fae might. He was no expert on treating any of their kind, and while if needed he could likely come up with something to ease Ser Caulder's no doubt ringing head, waking the Aessyr would be another matter completely. If a simple clean and rest didn't sort matters out, they would have to ask her friend about restoring her health beyond simply being freed of the Gannek. As if calling that hunt simple did it any credit, but he would be putting the memory of the wretched thing and its hungry dark firmly in the past and out of mind if he could help it.

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Seeing the wretched thing looking his way, at least for a fleeting moment, was a good thing as far as Rolan was concerned. It created openings, however brief, and true enough Ser Gerard took full advantage by turning the leverage into an impromptu stake, driven upwards with a seemingly unending well of strength to call upon in the face of the Gannek, no doubt an added bonus of their time spent preparing and training. All the more reason for him to continue honing himself, and that meant putting an end to this as soon as possible. The shadow was being driven back, ever so slightly, and it was enough for him. Something he had learned was that anyone could hide in the shadows, but it took a special kind of approach to hide in the light, something he was all too keen to take advantage of. Fortunately the staking motion would create such an opening, doubly so since it seemed no other member of their band was in a position to take advantage of it and finish opening the thing up.

Dame Yael was in no position to do so despite her best efforts, several legs of the Gannek quite stubbornly getting in the way of her deft hand finishing opening the thing up. He couldn't spare a glance, but given the continued lack of Ser Caulder, the blow had likely done a far greater number to his wits than his wellbeing. Rolan couldn't expect Ser Gerard to do all the work, which meant it was his turn to draw the things blood properly. Ducking in the right, he kept the torch between the thing's eyes and his own movements, a two fold approach. One to keep the darkness out of his way, and two, to keep its eyes and senses distracted from his precise movements, and it was finally time to put this sword to good use. A heavy, upwards slash aimed to strike right where Ser Caulder left off, and finish splitting the Gannek's guts out from throat to groin, and more importantly he was looking for any sign of the Aessyr that they were supposed to be freeing from the damned thing.

"Be ready to finish this on my word!" Rolan barked a brief warning to the others, eyes already scanning and straining to spot Aessyr in the mess of black ichor and spilling shadow. As much as part of his mind loathed the idea, the part that had been quite stubbornly ignored, he was ready to drop the sword and reach inside the thing to wrench the Aessyr out if it meant putting an end to this even just a bit quicker. He might have to replace his gloves after that if it came to pass, but that was a problem for the future. Right now, he focused solely on finishing gutting the thing in one last strike, free the Aessyr, and finally putting this damned Gannek to the torch.

@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR

Falling Skies

Johann glanced at his hand, looking at the cards before eyeing up the others around the table they had set up out of the way. None of them were on duty right now, and with any taskings assigned to them between watches and sleep taken care of, they found a way to entertain themselves. A tale as old as time, playing cards and gambling, in this case poker. Johann preferred blackjack, it was easier to track numbers that way, but the rest of the group knew better than to play blackjack for anything other than fun around him. They had this little ring of gamblers set up for quite awhile, and he tossed a candy bar into the pot, drawing wary glances from the others. For their stakes, it was a large raise, but most of them matched it with varying items of value. Nothing monetary, it was a house rule among them, but valuable all the same. Grinning, he laid his cards out for all to see.

"Looks like this one is a full house, anyone got better?"

The general bickering and half hearted complaints around the makeshift table, a repurposed cargo crate, told Johann all he needed to know. His 'winnings', which included an untouched pack of smokes among a few different candy rations from various packs, were his to safely pack away for a rainy day. Mind you, said rainy day was to perk up one of the poor sods after a mission gone south, but they didn't need to know that. Taking another sip from the coffee cup, the deck was starting to be shuffled again while new talk of bets and the like resumed. It was a common pastime of his when not on duty, cleaning up at cards was far from a tricky thing, in fact it was something he was quite good at. The faces around the 'table' either didn't realize that, or did and hedged their bets to see the new blood get cleaned up. As the next hand was dealt, he glanced at his cards. Two of Spades, Six of Hearts, and he gave the assembled few a warm smile. The more seasoned among the group probably took that as a sign of a very sore beating they were about to get, metaphorically speaking, and Johann's voice practically dripped with anticipation. Of course it was all a massive bluff but given how previous hands had gone, they wouldn't believe that even if he told them.

"So, what's the call for this round, friendly or we starting another...."

"General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands to battle stations. I repeat: General Quarters. General Quarters..."

Johann tossed his hand in, the group scrambling in experienced movement, slamming back the rest of his coffee as he caught his helmet being tossed to him by one of the other card players. The duo, Johann and the technician who tossed him his helmet, took off at a brisk run, both heading for the hanger bay. Johann knew the drilled time to be ready to depart the moment General Quarters was called away, so they always set up their little gambling den within running distance of their stations. Dodging the other crew and pilots making their way to their own stations, regardless of where they were, was something that came with experience, and Johann was confident in his movements. He kept the way clear for the technician as well, both of them making good time to the hanger bay. From there, Johann was mounting up on his MAS, handily the largest machine in the hanger by no small margin, clambering into the cockpit and settling in as the technician down on the ground did final prelaunch checks before green lighting his end of things. Johann, for his part, strapped in and had his helmet sealed and in place, going through the motions with practiced speed. No needless rushing, of course, it wasn't like he was racing anyone else to the ready position, so he focused on making sure everything checked out as the information crawled across his various displays, the sound of munition storage whirring and systems priming a sound that would never get old.

> Confirming Pilot Assignment: LT CMDR JOHANN VON BRANDT_
> ...Pilot Confirmed
> Initializing systems...

"Oh they finally got my name spelled correctly, that's a drink I owe to admin, only took middle shelf to make that happen..."

> Reactor: Online_
> Life Support: Online_
> Shield Generator: Online_
> Weapon Systems: Online_

"Reflex Shield looks good, she was drawing more power than usual last drill, looks like the lines were patched to fix that."

> All Calibrations Complete
> All Systems Nominal
> Standby for Launch

Johann glanced at his watch, just at the 90 second mark as two of the other pilots started shouting and bickering. Lt. Laurent and Lt. Vess, seemed they had been racing each other to ready conditions. The back and forth would be amusing to let keep going longer, but he waited patiently for the two to make their reports before chiming in as well, pleasantly professional and, by comparison to Lt. Laurent, practically sedate but far too energetic to match the defeated Lt. Vess. "This is Rhino, pre launch checks are green, ready to deploy. Don't worry Hex, there is always next time to get yourself in ahead of Rabbit."

Comparing himself to the other MAS units prepared ahead of him, Johann wondered if it was worth doing the math to see if they got close to his tonnage after combining them into one. Probably not worth the effort, given it was patently obvious the roles each of them served would be vastly different no matter the details of the operation they were about to embark on. Glancing at his own readouts, he began double checking each of the reported statuses of his equipment and systems, especially since the amount of armor he had on his MAS, even compared to other like models, would strain lesser reactors. He kept an ear on the comm chatter while he fine tuned and tweaked even the minute, otherwise inconsequential load balancing and power distribution throughout his MAS systems. It was an old habit from being a test pilot, fine tuning even the smallest detail during down time to make sure the Secutor could handle the various systems loaded onto it for testing purposes. In this case, it wasn't for testing purposes but for combat, but that was fine either way. It gave him something to focus on while waiting for the brief and deployment.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Of course things would not be as easy as Rolan would have hoped, even with the combined efforts of the present knights.

Ser Caulder had struck true, supported by both Ser Gerard and Dame Yael's efforts to create an opening past the legs, though the beast had squirmed from a true gutting to a gaping wound. The fact it wasn't immediately stitching back together was proof enough that this would work, they just had to get the source of its meal free of its guts. However, Rolan narrowly ducked out of the way of the hurtling Ser Caulder, battered back violently by the retaliatory strike of the abomination, and he slung his crossbow as he grabbed a sturdy branch that was laying about. Nowhere near the practical trunk that Ser Gerard wielded, but he didn't need a bludgeon, not that he had the strength to put it to use. The pouring darkness and aching hunger would have, just a few weeks prior, driven him to flee. Hell, he wanted to still, but he could not afford to leave his betters struggling alone. Strength and agility were all fine and well, but that alone wouldn't cast back darkness. The hunger reminded him of just how much he loathed this thing's existence. It reminded him of the failed hunt, the poor harvest, famine's gaping maw seating itself as an unwelcome guest for another winter. He wouldn't allow that darkness, that hunger to set in, not again. Never again, and he was making something just for that darkness encroaching on them all. The previous fear was giving away to anger, a tight knot in his stomach that he stoked, something to occupy his mind from that gnawing hunger.

A swift slash of his dagger tore a long stretch of his cloak cleanly asunder, binding it around the branch before dousing it in half the ingredient's of his alchemist's fire, the component that burned so greedily, some of the records he read about the substance considered it almost unnatural. Nonsense, as both student and mentor agreed, but it would do in a pinch. Grabbing a small vial of prepared fire, the kind he would affix to a crossbow bolt before loosing into a formation, he closed his eyes tight as he dumped the erupting flames out of the vial onto the makeshift torch, fortune preserve him through this. The alchemical fire burned bright and loud, a roar consuming air and shadow alike as he opened his right eye, preferring to keep his dominant aiming eye shut in case he needed to shoot in a sudden darkness. He held the torch high, aiming to banish the billowing darkness coming from the ever mounting center of this unnatural, damned hunger. He drew his sword, not able to fire and reload a crossbow while holding a torch, and advanced on the Gannek to cover for Ser Caulder while he recovered.

"Come on you ugly bastard, all that hunger and darkness and for what?! Have a look at what all of that is worth!" Rolan moved to the flank of the Gannek, shouting a challenge at the thing to get its attention, to buy Dame Yael and Ser Gerard an opening. He would just have to hope they recognized the movement as just that, an attempt to provide them an opening. If it ignored him, he would go for the wound, hell he was going for it anyways, but if it was guarding against him, it couldn't guard against Dame Yael or Ser Gerard as readily. If he was lucky Ser Caulder would recover quickly and strike while the three of them fought to open the wound fully. The torch would, fortune willing, keep the darkness at bay long enough for them to bring the damn thing down once and for all.

@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Falling Skies

Pilot Dossier: von Brandt, Johann

JOHANN 'RHINO' VON BRANDT

D O S S I E R : I D #199157381

---

Name: von Brandt, Johann
Callsign: Rhino
Rank: O-4 Lieutenant Commander
Kills: 32

Gender: Male
Age: 30
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170lbs

S E R V I C E R E C O R D

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Psychological Analysis:
Johann is a casually friendly individual, though in a more buddy sense than anything else, adapting to the group he happens to be with to fit in better. He was a natural chameleon socially, fitting into a group with little effort. Many of his peers are generally positive about him, although the qualities they praise vary wildly enough that a big picture view shows he is always subtly tweaking how he behaves to fit in. As a pilot he is calculating, observing and acting with just more force than is apparently necessary. His approach to piloting and combat is that of observation, analysis, and once a course of action is decided, striking with overwhelming force to suppress a problem as fast as possible. He prefers to end conflict decisively and to not allow any threat to ever return.

Johann, in private, is much more solemn and pragmatic in demeanor. He entertains his disillusion with the overall war effort and constant arms race between the UEE and Coalition, having spent several years as a test pilot before returning to front line duties. He is concerned that, broadly speaking, both sides will remain stalemated forever, just continuing to drive up the body count and cost of life for what amounts to glorified political posturing. He won't share these thoughts outside of those he is incredibly close and trusting of, concerned that someone might simply report him as mentally unsound, even though he still believes that decisive enough action could end this once and for all.

Personal Record:
The von Brandt family are a long running, arguably prestigious military family. Generations of soldiers, pilots, mechanics, and more, practically every member of the family serving in the military to some capacity. Johann being the youngest son of the current generation of the family just meant he got to hear the constant stories and expectations of following in the family legacy. Growing up, Johann was practically trained ahead of time, getting informal briefs and drills from visiting family and relations returning on leave, when not busy receiving reports that certain members of the family had died in combat. It was not uncommon to hear, unfortunately, and a young Johann learned to not let it show that he grieved the losses. Rather, he would focus on preparing for a life in the military, likely in much the same peril and danger as the rest, and had very little of a normal childhood.

Sure enough, Johann would join the UEE military, though he would initially enter as a conventional pilot. He would quickly be tapped by family to act as a test pilot for a MAS program, putting his skills at piloting to good use. It was here that Johann earned the callsign of Bulwark, given his assigned MAS, the GMT-018 Secutor, was piloted and treated like a glorified wall, bunkering down and providing ample protection for his allies. Spending time behind the controls of a Secutor was an experience unlike anything that he could have ever imagined, and when his time as a test pilot ended, he volunteered to take the GMT-018 into actual combat situations and scenarios. There was some debate about the matter, but with some pointed words from family who had more sway than Johann, he was allowed to join frontline units as a MAS pilot, taking his Secutor into frontline combat.

Johann would become quite the career pilot, as far as UEE MAS Pilots are concerned, though unlike many of his more experienced peers he was not as concerned with confirming MAS kills. Rather, he focused on mission objectives and seeing to making sure that his less well protected allies had an anchor point to fight around. His method of piloting developed throughout this time period, strapping more armor and defensive systems to the heavy Secutor to become more and more of a target, by design. He got used to the hammering and pounding of incoming ordinance against his defenses, even coming to appreciate the sound of it as it meant his allies were not getting targeted. He would gain a reputation of putting himself in between allied forces and enemy forces trying to engage, one notable event including taking a Coalition plasma fire while screening for convoy forces during a patrol.

Johann, across his tours of duty, grew into more of a leadership role during combat operations. While he was never a formal squad leader, he had a knack for taking over during crisis scenarios and mid operation, providing what amounted to a seasoned NCO in a team. It was this experience and natural ability to backup a proper commanding officer that got him assigned to the 7th MAS Squadron to provide an anchor for the rest of the squad to rally around. Johann would take this with the same professionalism he approached the rest of his career with, ready to give the mechanics headaches given how many hostile strikes he takes during any given operation. He was happy to weather it though, for a good reason at least.

Johann was assigned to the 101st SOG as part of his second tour of duty, something that would bleed over into his third, where he would find himself being given a new callsign. Rhino, to reflect his ability to both take hits and dish them out during an assault. Johann took this new callsign as a mark of pride, wearing it proudly while serving alongside the 101st. It was only within the past year that he was assigned to the 7th MAS in specific, having been shuffled around various elements within the 101st as required, never settling long enough to establish close bonds with allied forces. His assignment to the 7th was treated as just another reorganization, being put where his talents and Secutor could serve best, but only time would prove how wrong that would be.

Personal Skills:
Besides the expected proficiencies, Johann is incredibly skilled at adapting and deploying experimental and obscure technologies. Having spent years adapting to and testing new weapon platforms, defensive and utility systems, and more, he is rather good at patching problems on the fly. While not as skilled at conventional mechanics, being able to make unusual combinations or systems work he is second only to the dedicated designers of the aforementioned systems and weapons. Beyond this, he is strategically and tactically minded, able to read a battlefield situation and offer, or issue, courses of action to maximize the survival and success of friendly forces. He prefers survival first and foremost, which shows in tactics favoring more defensive and cautious approaches, but he has a natural eye for identifying what allies are good at and deploying them appropriately.

GTM-018 Secutor

M O B I L E A R M O R S U I T

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S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

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Designation: GTM-018 Secutor MkI* L (Limited)
Role: Multirole, Fire Support
Weight Class: Heavy
Description:
The UEE Secutor is one of the last of an older line of Heavy class MAS units, originally designed to act as a "Universal" Heavy class MAS. Initial design issues stemmed from powering the amount of armor in place, the original MKI design being especially susceptible to burning its power plant out when under extended combat loads. The MKI* design uses the reactor plant of the MKII model of the Secutor, while retaining the lack of standardized loadout that was abandoned by the more standardized MKII that saw a short lived service life compared to the MKI and MKI*. The MKI* was quickly updated to a Limited production model and repurposed to a weapons testing platform first and foremost, while still seeing use in combat operations by test pilots who brought the design with them from the testing fields. As such, they have a reputation of being a bit of a shock model of MAS given the unusual nature of its deployment compared to more modern UEE designs.

The Secutor's design pushes the standards of the Heavy class MAS, especially when taking into account pilot tendencies to double down on this armored durability by adding even more onto it, though the power plant was more than capable of keeping the MAS moving at speeds capable of being classified as a Heavy MAS, with excess power for weapon platforms and additional systems to be bolted on for testing purposes. Johann has personally seen to a variety of modifications being put in place, including the aforementioned uparmoring process that was incredibly popular among Secutor pilots. This particular model includes a veritable suite of redundant systems, spare parts, and repair modules that allows him to repair damage that manages to get past the numerous layers of defenses. Adding to those defenses, a Class 3 Reflex Energy Shield allows the Secutor to weather truly torrential volumes of incoming hostile fire before critical, point of no return failures begin occurring. Even then, the Secutor was built with Fail Forward philosophies, records of the models in combat scenarios showing that, even during catastrophic failures, weapon systems continuing to cycle until total failure of the power plant.

A R M A M E N T

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• MAC-011 Ballistic Assisted Railcannon System, 170mm (Superheavy): A modified version of a conventional specialist artillery platform for siegecraft, the MAC-011 BAR System is a MAS portable platform repurposed for fire support and countering Coalition extreme threats as mobile suit technology continues to develop and evolve. A conventional ballistic weapon platform, the MAC-011 is a, for a former siege weapon, surprisingly flexible platform. Capable of utilizing a variety of shell types, Johann tends to tailor his shell loadout for a given mission, though he always has several HESH shells available as a personal reserve. The initial acceleration comes from conventional methods, accelerating the shells into the coils that magnetically launch the already high momentum of the shells to effective combat velocities for non static targets. While not as energy intensive as Hybrid or Plasma weapons, it still draws much more power than conventional ballistics, though recoil is less than what one might expect. The ammo stowage of the HAS-011 is its main limiting factor, though dedicated space on the Secutor normally needed for energy system routing for a superheavy weapon has been repurposed as shell stowage for the HAS-011. Shells stored in the torso of the body, in a carousel loading system, allow for about 20 shells total before needing replenishment. Mounting for the MAC-011 is just offset of the spine, though rather than over the shoulder, the entire system swings up under the armpit of the right side of the frame, requiring both hands of the frame to control and assist in reloading the system when the weapon platform is deemed necessary. However, one hand is sufficient for holding the weapon deployed when close defense is needed.
• M81 Rotary Autocannon (RAC), 30mm (Primary): - Mounted to the right arm of the Secutor, the M81 RAC is one of several predecessor designs to the more contemporary M90 deployed on more modern MAS units. Sharing the same ammunition as the M90, that being Armor Piercing Incindiery, the M81 boasts a higher rate of fire at the cost of overheating. It was the overheating problem that led to the more conventional M90 design, however on the Secutor entire ammo feed system is stored in the arm and right leg of the unit, the shielded ammo belt visible when deployed, the gauntlet folding back to expose the five rotary barrels. Ammo stowage on the M81 RAC sits around 1440 rounds, though the overheating does prevent it from taking advantage of the higher rate of fire. In a pinch, ammo from the M81 can be given up to allies with the M90 or other compatible weapon systems and vice versa.
• PG-01 Plasma Gauntlet (Primary): - The designers of the PG-01 looked at the prevalence of beam swords and other conventional CQC weapons, scoffed loudly, and designed this as a rather loud rebuttal towards more conventional close quarters weapons. Mounted to the left arm of the Secutor, the PG-01 is a massively reinforced combat gauntlet, deploying over the normal manipulators and charging between strikes. Without the plasma conduits, the PG-01 is still capable of heavy amounts of kinetic damage, but when the Plasma channels are activated, it briefly becomes capable of rending smaller MAS units apart in sundering backhands. While incapable of bringing down other Heavy class MAS units in single blows, and the required recharge time between strikes limiting the destructive capabilities of the weapon in protracted melees, it is a capable self defense weapon for the platform it is mounted to.
• Vanguard Close Defense System, 20mm. (Secondary): - The latest in a long running weapon design that has seen a battery of tweaks and modifications, the Vanguard CDS is a universal close range defense system that deploys from, and retracts into, the right shoulder of the Secutor. Entirely self contained, the 20mm autocannon is loaded with SAPHEI (Semi Armor Piercing, High Explosive Incendiary) rounds, designed to engage vehicles, infantry, and other non MAS targets. In a pinch the targeting can intercept slower moving missile payloads, however the Vanguard CDS is not a true point defense system and is dedicated primarily towards providing a weapon platform for handling smaller threats. On board ammunition before requiring reload is 600 rounds.
• Katar Micro-Missile CIWS. (Secondary): - A series of small, proximity fuse missiles that are explicitly designed for intercepting and detonating other missile systems prior to reaching dangerous proximity to the MAS mounting the system. Compared to conventional ballistic or even laser based systems, the limited supply of missiles is the biggest drawback. However, the rotary vertical launch system, deploying from launch tubes that open from the MAS' back, and intercepting incoming hostile missiles with proximity fuse warheads. The range of intercept is much broader, and when paired with allied elements with higher powered detection systems, can intercept targets beyond the Secutor's own targeting range. The actual ability to target the Katar Micro-Missiles beyond intercept duties is limited, the proximity fuse system designed to detonate incoming munitions rather than do actual lethal damage. Standard missile load is 40 micro missiles, capable of being stored in rather compact form before being launched in rapid succession as required.
• Uparmored (Utility slot): - One of the most common modifications done to Secutor Heavy MAS units, the already dense, well shaped armor has additional plating mounted to exposed or under protected points, taking advantage of the generously potent power plant to support the sheer weight needed to appreciably uparmor a Heavy class MAS. Notably some of the most critical, and already well armored, locations have been even further reinforced, the design philosophy of Fail Forward continuing to show even in less than official modifications being made.
• C-3 Reflex Shield Generator (Utility slot): - Not present on the MkI model of the Secutor, the MkI* and beyond included mounting and power couplings for Reflex Shielding systems, originally for testing purposes but now a not uncommon modification. What is unusual is the use of a Class 3 rather than the Class 2 that the MkII would prefer to mount, Johann opting for the more potent ability to disperse incoming strikes before ever reaching the already uparmored Heavy MAS underneath the shielding. Given the slower moving speed of the Secutor, a common tactic is shunting all non motive power to the shielding system, trying to make up for the slow recharge time of the Class 3. Johann is known to do this when on the approach, either not having time or the willingness to stop and take aim with the MAC-011 and most of the other weapon platforms being much more short ranged in comparison.
• Revenant Class Field Repair Suite (Utility slot): - A Field Repair Suite upgrade built for the Secutor in particular, Revenant FRS systems are designed to bring back the MAS mounting them from the brink of total system failure quickly, and working more effectively on restoring the armor and structure of the MAS. While still capable of other conventional FRS operations including weapon and munition replenishment, the overall programming and design prioritizes restoring defensive capabilities and structural stability over all other priorities.