FourtyTwo

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

@Silverwind Blade

No worries mate, all ready when you are! :)

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

First post is a bit odd from me- an in-medias res intro to Max's home life and his team!

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Maxwell Bastion stood outside the briefing room, on his own for a change as he stood with his Pebble in his paw, looking up to the holographic image, the sight of family one that didn't come often, but was one he had to deal with before things stepped up a notch.

In the middle of it all, family life had come back to him for a moment, the tall lion occupied with a video call.

"Look, Talisa, I know....yeah, I know I said I'd be back for Dad's 70th. You know how it is right now though." Max simply commented into his Pebble, the female lioness on the other end of the video call visibly and audibly sighing, as she shrugged. Talisa Bastion was Max's closest sister, her big sis who was probably too much of an influence with him. They played together a lot, and while she got herself together quite quickly, he really didn't.

"And they definitely can't let you go? I mean, c'mon Max, I thought you were seriously going to quit and take some time, do some contractor work, like you said right? Heck, even come work with me? A man of your talents, in a legal environment? You'd clean the place up!" Talisa replied as he sighed, shrugging his own shoulders.

"I signed up again. Can't tell you any details at all. It's a long one."
"Oh, Maxwell Bastion, man of international mystery! So elusive!" The sarcasm was clear from Talisa, as she didn't hide it at all what she felt.
"Oddly enough, sometimes I am one. Sorry, Tal. I can't. Just....pass on my regards, okay? I'll call him if I'm free...it is what it is."

"Bloody hell. Well, you go off to your briefing. For the love of everything don't go getting killed. Mum is worried sick about you as is. Always going away, and with last time, she was really angry."
"And she knows I'll never change. I literally said the same thing to Helen too. This is what I do best...it's how I help the world."
"Right, by coming back with more cuts every time you return home. Yeah well....we all love you anyway, Maxy. I mean that."
"You too, sis. I've got to go....see ya, bye!" With a reciprocation, Max cut the call, turning his gaze to see that he wasn't entirely alone right at the end of that.

The other members of the team were standing not too far away when they came over, the sight of Logan, Maxine and Anna a sight for sore eyes for Max.
"You're still getting shit from your siblings, "Maxy"?" Anna bluntly retorted, to laughter from the others, as Max shrugged once more.

"Yeah, well....it turns out being a special forces soldier when you were meant to use a History degree to go and do something "productive" in society wasn't in the plan?" Max chuckled, making the sarcastic fingers remark as the others chuckled in response.

"Yeah, I suppose. We have a briefing with your new honcho now, yes? This Captain Silverwind Blade, I heard he's a mean bastard." Anna commented, the blunt jaguar probably one of the only people Max demanded to be in his fireteam from day one. Nobody else could work with her, given her overtly blunt and sassy demeanour at times, but Max just loved it. It was almost a foil to him, as he was a foil to her.

"You might get on well with him. I fought with him a few months back. Handy as hell in a GEAR, even without most his limbs. Your type of person, Anna." Max retored, Logan nodding.
"Yeah, I heard of him. Crazy guy. But good at what he does. Looking forward to it." Logan said, Maxine quietly nodding.
"I'm sure we'll all get on. Look at us, back together again. I really hope you haven't signed us up to anything crazy...but thanks for bringing us back into it, Max!" Maxine added, the fact that there were technically two "Max"es on the team meaning Hopper was used much more commonly in response by the rest of the team.

"Pleasure. Let's just keep our heads screwed on, and keep an open mind for what comes next. Not too much, as this shit is serious. What we might be going into is gonna be crazier than that deep recon operation in Galandria." Max added, speaking to all, before Anna stepped up.
"Mr fucking namedrop, are we? "Oh yeah, back when I glided into a mountain base and killed like 20 guys and personally disrupted the Galantrian Guards servers all with a silened pistol, I'm Maxwell fookin' Bastion!" " Anna retorted sarcastically, with an indicated and obvious tease of Max's accent, knowing she enjoyed pissing off Max greatly.

"Shut your mouth....come on everyone, let's go." Max replied with a wry giggle, quickly shutting down the jaguar as he blew her a kiss to her, the jaguar sighing. It was a sarcastic relationship, but man, it worked and kept them both out of trouble.

They headed through the doors of the briefing room, the lion in the lead followed by the black jaguar, red squirrel and the Flemish giant bun, all in their fatigues and looking sharp. Their fatigues were the golden-grey-brown that the 505th Recon had, a special breed designed for grassland and light arid conditions, something that the team liked as their little signature compared to others. Max had gone back to having his farie locks, while Anna had an undercut of sorts, her noir black skin and hair gently pruned back, with her golden spots very tricky to spot in the darkness, whilst glaring a little in the light. Logan had a typically pruned cut, whilst Maxine's big ears poked over a cap she wore, the team medic carrying a sachel with her at nearly all times, almost in the same way Max carried a M8 on him almost by force of habit. Viper Team did not look like your ordinary bunch of special forces soldiers, more like a bunch of scraped together misfits from afar, but Maxwell and his team proved their results on paper every time.

The lion looked over at the desk at the front, giving a nod to Silverwind.
"Greetings, boss. Viper, this is Captain Silverwind Blade. Ghost Hunters unit commander. Captain, this is a band of lunatics I can't believe you managed to get me to bring on board." Max stated, a simple enough introduction and one that he hoped would get the ball rolling, Max comfortable enough to greet his commander with a little more casual tone, whilst the rest of the team held back.

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

@Silverwind Blade

Love it- quite the variety! Yeah we can add that later down the line.

Sounsd good to me- once the IC's up I'll work a response up with the fireteam.

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Awesome stuff. Appreciate all the links/admin put up here. I've put Max and his fireteam in and can extend this out with another more general-purpose team too if needs be.

I'm ready to go when you are!

GEARS: Silent Line Redux (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Maxwell Fitzroy Bastion

Name: Maxwell Fitzroy Bastion (Max)

Age: 28

Species:

African Lion

Appearance:


Max has the long, wild mane that comes with being a lion- yet his almost gives him the look of a surfer or a biker rather than a special forces reconnaissance operator. Even for a lion, he's clearly let it go as his own taste. His golden-brown mane wraps thickly around his head and chin to past his neck, Max occasionally braiding his hair into Faerie Lock-styles when he feels like really pissing off his CO. His face is stoic, with staring golden-green eyes that are almost cold to the work he does, a strong chin and a deep scar running along the left side of his face by the side of his mane that extends to his ear. He has no spots of note, but his scar and particular mane make him stick out from afar. If you ask him about his messy look, he's unlikely to give you a response that is constructive.

Max also stands slightly taller than many other lions of his size, and than any in his family. Whilst skinnier, he is well built, with multiple cuts and bruises across his body from fighting. With a golden-pale furry skin from paw to paw, he also has a short tail with a golden-black brush, the one thing he despises as a marksman for his aim. His training in the special forces, and his wanderlust have made him into an excellent athlete, with particular specialism in brute explosive force, in sprinting or lifting. When Max goes from a standing position into movement, there are few that can even keep up- but his cardio isn't as phenominal as other long-distance athletes. While his skill may be in distant shooting, his close-quarters capability is potent and fierce, being more than willing to get himself in the way of a fight. It explains a lot of the recent bruises/cuts he's received- he doesn't exactly shy away when the time comes.

His voice is oddly silky and deep given his posh upbringing, yet can become gruff when on the frontline- capable only second to Fionn in timbre and volume, perhaps coming quire close when he roars. It holds a predominantly as as something between an Africaans and a southern English accent- a very weird blend even for Solernia. Unlike Fionn, his wroth is used far more often and has a bark to it- a lion's roar is not easily ignored.

Height: 6"8

---

Personality:
Positive Personality Traits: Honest. Erudite. Brave/Confident. Patient. Pragmatic.
Negative Personality Traits: Aloof. Selfish. Wrothful. Spiteful/Envious. Judgemental.

Likes: Wisdom. Bravery. Freedom/Individuality. Humour/Laughter.
Dislikes: Laziness. Arrogance. Jumped up Officers. Rules. Order.
Fears Helplessness

Max appears to fall into many a trait of a lion- an almost recklessly brave, intelligent individual, who seems to not understand his flaws are from his strengths. Max's Special Forces history has clearly made him able to do anything, anywhere, anyhow and just be himself- a freeflowing agent of chaos who is quite literally lionhearted, almost to a fault. As a typical lion, he has a very strong personality yet has a want to be social and get on with people- though only if this doesn't come at the cost of his personal aims and ambitions, unlike much of Arvaran culture.

This makes him aloof at times and prone to avoid people, sometimes a little confused of the typical order of things and combined with his wisdom and intelligence, makes him either distrusting or very loyal to those around him he calls friends. He will get things done no matter what, and while patient in his work as an operator, he won't hesitate to go above and beyond to get the job done by any means required- a trait further enhanced by his risk-taking attitude. War has clearly changed him- his stare is cold, and he seems very direct, moreso than he used to be when he was younger as a result of being involved in conflict- one could almost suggest it was like some form of PTSD. His constantly driven, direct, brave and no-bullshit approach has made him perhaps more self-interested than he ought to be, albeit with an overall motive and ability to do what is right for the people close to him. While he can laugh, it is sometimes hard for some people to get close to Max- his wroth certainly doesn't help when his patience snaps.

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History:

Born to an aristocratic father and a Doctor for a mother in the sunny south of Solernia, Max had it well to do when he was growing up- as the third son of five children he given a stable and happy upbringing. He had an otherwise quiet childhood,and left with school above average grades. Yet of his siblings, he wasn't the most intelligent- his brothers and sisters in the Bastion family (Helen (35), Talisa (33), Felix (27) and Sam (23)) became architects, lawyers, accountants and a Doctoral researcher respectively in the end. Max was a black sheep, so to speak- even despite his good upbringing, he just wasn't going to live up to his siblings success.

In youth, he found himself far adventurous than others- wanting to rebel against his parents and society in general. The sandy beaches of southern Solernia and the beating sun gave him summers spent surfing, joining moped gangs and anything that would give him more adventure. He wanted purpose, meaning, reason- a third child had to find one, and he found it in places most didn't seek to look. As capable as he was, he had no discipline, and just nothing but shenanigans on his mind. This in itself distanced him from his siblings, who he felt he had little in common with- they were all garnered to become successful members of Solernian society, and back then, it was a society he wanted no part in.

He got into trouble with the police every so often but unknowingly to him, was bailed out by his parents more times than he really should have been and was straightened into line- put into the Royal Solernian Defence Force as a reservist to give him something to do that wasn't causing mischief. He studied Solernian History at university (something he resents doing, given he was half forced by his parents to go in), graduating with good grades- yet was targeted from the outset by the Forces, who took him on as a reservist. He had no life plans, so when a career in the Defense Forces beckoned and appealed to his inner adventurer, he couldn't wait to take it on- becoming a full-time infantryman in the RSDF. And from there, he found purpose.

With experience in more and more peacekeeping deployments, Max was eventually trained in the RSDF Special Operations Forces two years in, relishing the opportunity to learn and develop with something that took his playful and resourceful manner to hand. He learned how to pilot a GEAR, learning in particular how to use it in a versatile way rather than any specialist manner that would pay off for him in him in his role as a recon operative- always outgunned and needing to be ready for anything.

It seemed that the young, free spirited university graduate had given way to something far colder and darker. A lion doesn't often make a good infiltrator, or recon operator- yet Max, in his own way, made it his own. He was seen as an excellent reconnaissance specialist, able to cope alone and in putting himself in harm's way when needed with an aggressive strategy rather than a passive and quiet method. Most would have crumbled- but Max appeared to be very, very good at his job and taking lives in cold blood from afar or up close and completing objectives that allowed SDF forces the upper hand in engagements.

Max was daring- and he held high standards of his men, receiving the same respect back, eventually leading 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon in the RSDF 501st SF Reconnaissance Company. Reconnaissance in a large mechanized vehicle is still difficult for the best operator, moreso when you're miles behind enemy lines- but the actions of Max's unit ripped up the playbook, hitting silently, hard, or both against often overwhelming numbers and gaining valuable information without ever being even seen. The "Bastion", as he was otherwise known as wasn't afraid to get his paws dirty, being fully aware of not becoming dependent on his GEAR in combat despite using it to great effect in hit-and-run raids. The enemy couldn't report where he was if he had taken one of their eyes out, after all. As a result, command looked past his quirky traits- he did things his way, and he got results. In or out of a GEAR, Max was good at what he did, and most would have said that he seemed to have his life together. Almost too good.

A punch up due to a disagreement with Major saw him thrown into a brig for three months, and released back to a new normal- that of being on thin ice and under scrutiny. It felt like no matter who he led into battle, what he accomplished, there was a chip on his shoulder and he wasn't appreciated for doing what was needed. While some counter-terrorist and anti-piracy operations followed, he couldn't help but feel that he was being pushed away- into quitting, and that in itself even for someone as brave as Max just didn't sound like something he wanted to experience. While he'd love to spend more time surfing, travelling and living as fiercely independent as he does, he can't deny that the SOF gives him purpose and reason to be better than he was- and most of all, someone who can actually keep up with his siblings.

So the callup into the 33rd couldn't have come sooner. It was another SOF gig, and most of all, a fresh chance to carry on doing what he'd found gave him purpose, duty and drive in life.

Hobbies & Interests:
-Reading Natural/Aravan History
-Adventurous Pursuits
-Surfing
-Rock/Punk Music
-Motorcycles
-Gaming
-The Great Outdoors

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Personal Gear & Equipment:

K8 SOF Combat Knife
M8A Select-Fire PDS with Silencer/LAM

RI M23 ISS
-Thermal Imaging/Digital Sniper Optic, Bipod, Angled Foregrip, Side-Mounted Holographic Optic, Silencer, Laser/Light Module, Golden-Grey Camo

-Alternatives used as appropriate, with an Anti-Material loadout such as:

-SGA M820 PDW with Holographic Optic, 50 Round Magazine, Silencer, Laser/Light Module
-MI ATMG Anti-Material Rifle

Personalised GEAR Suit and Helmet, golden-brown-grey camouflage (helmet replacement during marksman work for a pair of smart goggles and a backward baseball cap)
Pebble
Ommni-Tool
Personal First Aid Kit
Personal Survival Kit
Climbing Rope and Harness
PID (Laser Designator/Thermal Imaging Device)
Grenades/Smoke Grenades
Quadrotor UAV Reconaissance System (Link to Helmet Visor/Goggles)

Max's SF Reconaissance Fireteam: "Viper"

Viper Fireteam is a specialist, Special-Forces grade reconaissance fireteam, specialising in information-gathering, and precision strikes on targets deep behind enemy lines. Unlike most Special Forces teams they often aren't used in domestic counter-terrorism, and are often kept out of the way from normal troop movements- giving them a "siege" mentality as an independent reconaissance team.

While Viper's specialism isn't in heavy arnements, they benefit from a heavy focus on long range fire support and excellent mobility, hitting hard and fast with specialisation possible in a number of the fireteam members. When Maxwell is using a GEAR the rest of the team will uttilise a sandrail buggy-type vehicle in pursuit which is commonly mounted with a 40mm MGL and a mounted LMG for extra firepower- or supplementary equipment for the team. The team is all trained in naval and aerial insertion, using all manner of exotic and novel techniques.

Viper Team:

Warrant Officer Maxwell Fitzroy "Actual" Bastion- Team Lead. You know the rest

Corporal Anna-Marina "Spectre" Caldeira (Portuguese accent). Fireteam 2IC/Grenadier (or Specialist Weapons). 6"2 noir-jaguar 2IC with a M23 long-length assault rifle and a 40mm UGL (which can be swapped out for an LMG, and/or an AT launcher)- but always carrying a silenced pair of M8s and K8 knives. Also happens to be an infiltrator extraordinare, with a cold, calculated and very blunt demeanour.

Private First Class Logan "Kestrel" Vickers (Scottish accented). Fireteam JTAC/Explosives Expert, 5"8 red squirrel with a dual-sighted M23 battle rifle and a laser designator, as well as questionable amounts of C4, and/or AT. Extremely exitable and the team's rookie, as well as being very technically-able.

Specialist Maxine "Hopper" Pavard (Belgian Wallonian accent), Fireteam Medic. 5"11 rabbit (Flemish Giant) loaded up with an M23 Carbine setup and significant medical supplies. She's the team mum, caring and wholesome, yet pragmatic and fiercely protective.

Burning Rubber (Bee and kingkonrad)

Ross smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, looking back across at the two, giving a gleeful smile back at Kimberly. As if to say yeah, I'm on board.
"Me too, there's nowhere I'd rather be." He said, Ross gently kissing Kimberly on the cheek. It was heaven being with her, he had to admit. They were the rock that they needed, the stability and the chaos all in one. And staring up at a foggy morning in the middle of the Atlantic felt like the place to be, on a mountain pass completely silenced by the lack of traffic here. It was good, the baldening Scot had to say, before releasing their embrace, slowly walking over towards the 911 and gently whistling at the car.

"Sorry to be distracted, my love. She does look like in need of a good thrashing. I reckon I owe Magnus some new tyres about now...race ya back to his?" Ross nodding the car halfway was a fun touch, one he knew would wind up Kimberly just as much she winded him up. In his Berghaus pullover fleece and baseball cap covering his head the Scot certainly looked like a tourist out here, but on these tourist roads he wasn't gonna go easy. Awaiting Kimberly's inevitable response, he opened the door to the 911 and threw himself inside, chuckling as he did so. Man, he did not get this opportunity often.

And he wasn't gonna waste it, turning the key on the Porsche to open up the roar of the flat six 3.8L engine. It was a high roar, the naturally-aspirated rear-engined, rear wheel drive vintage a machine that would still keep going with the modern times given the restomodding Magnus had done to it. Almost in a Singer style, but with a certain...Scandinavian craftsmanship. The inside was lightened out, but the two seats were padded and comfy even in spite of being buckets, and there was carpet, not scaffold tube rollcages in here. It felt civilised, but a tap of the throttle in neutral responded with a harsh, crackly spit with plenty of aftertaste from the throttle release in the exhaust system.

This was just a nice place to be, as he took the wheel, gently putting the H-pattern into first and grinning from ear to ear. Flipping the car wheelman-style 180 was always a pleasure, even more so with the naturally oversteering rear-wheel drive in this machine that wasn't absolute Japanese-tailored modified precision, but a touch of sommething crafted, ornate and European. Just like how it had all begun for the two of them, as Ross rumbled the 911 off the gravel and onto the gently drying tarmac, putting foot to floor and feeling the rear spin gently. No holds barred, Ross thought to himself, as he was already approaching the first bend fast, rushing through and picking up speed much more than legal, taking the lead and heading towards a junction overviewing an incredible view on their right. The distant mountains of the other islands, a village a few hundred meters below and a winding road down to it and onto a flat-out road hugging the coastline was just enthralling, as Ross just pinched himself. Foot down, back to basics. Turning hard on the junction the 911 drifted through, Ross fighting the car back out of the oversteer expertly and putting foot back on throttle, going for the next hairpin junction. Time for Kimberly to repsond, he thought to himself, smirking as he turned up the 911's awesome flat six soundtrack.

GEARs: Silent Line [Anthro, Sci-Fi Mecha Roleplay]

@Esailia

Max chuckled, picking up the sight of the Aqua Goddess following behind.
"Bemused reprimands are the best. Beats reprimands they know that you knew exactly what the fuck you were doing." Max chuckled, as he scanned the horizon below, seeing the fire pick up again.
"Shit, more of them there too. Where'd they come from?" Max asked, the lion just annoyed rather than suprised, just frustrated he'd not be putting guns away just yet. But sometimes, that was life. More people needed to be turned into mush, and well, he was too caffinated right now to go that way.

"Keep back and stay in cyberspace, Rishun, I'll handle the reality. If you can pull a number on those ATGMs down there, our grey-haired Captain down there is gonna appreciate it. Maybe even forget any of it. I mean, holy shit, he's going straight in...my sort of fucking character. I'll crack on and follow him, but not before I clip a few more." The lion chuckled, as he headed down into the main facility, the Lion Rampant thudding through the forested undergrowth and out into the airfield environs.

On the edge of the forest, Max could break away from Rishun and give her the ability to hold back, the lion aware he'd have to snipe a bit more. Silver and the rest of the team were in the thick of it, and he had the chance to lay in some sniper rounds from here. The lion had to admit, Silverwind was biting a lot more than he could chew, but Maxwell had no leg to stand on. He'd run underneath a GEAR merely minutes ago and nearly blown himself apart along wtih it. Stupid decisions back then made sense. When you felt the slight tingling of sharp shrapnel scraping against skin, Max was reminded if you're gonna be dumb, better be tough.

@Silverwind Blade
The lion, knowing he was playing the support here switched his comms back on in his helmet back to the team frequency, and patched back into the comms with the Captain. Whilst he did that, he slung an AP magazine back in, aware this was going to be his chance to neutrilise the heavier vehicle targets in Silverwind's ways.

"Copy, Silver. I've got eyes on you and hostiles. AP-I's loaded up, I'll tackle mostly vehicles from here." Max raised his 30mm with a confident pose, and aware the base was all guns blazing on Silverwind and the assault team, engaged his thermals. In the dust and smoke, he could see clear, picking out a couple of technicals. The 30mm roared, the backblast buffetting conifers around him as the lion roared, watching one erupt into flames through the dust. The one next to it followed, and then, the much bigger sight of an improvised GEAR next to it was coming.
"Suck shit, dickhead!" Max yelled, firing another round clean into the GEAR's top, then knee-joint, the 30mm graceful in his hands unlike the 20mils mostly used by the team. The armour-piercing rounds with the accuracy he had to hand made it easy, with another to the core to quickly immobilise and kill the militia mech. Even a militia improvised GEAR could take a lot of punishment, but the 30mm armour-piercing could make short work of all but the thickest armour plates, especially when used right by a marksman like Max.

With the magazine finished, he needed to relocate and so he did, taking a couple of strafe rounds from small arms and an LMG on the far side, telling him clearly to get out of that spot. It pinged, and the warnings flashed, the noise of the rounds heavy on metal, but something Max knew his GEAR could withstand. After all, he was giving it back to them.

Setting up a normal magazine round, the 30mm found it's way in the MG nest firing on both Silver and Max, quickly puncturing the sandbags and blasting apart anyone inside with ease, followed up by the nest of infantry picking off Silverwind. Even if not massive in area of effect, the 30mm round was much more noticable, significant when it hit even, and not leaving anything behind, either alive or dead. The lion continued to pepper, finishing off the magazine and clearing up half a dozen infantry easily with the rounds, though his view of the other side of the facility was obstructed by the last building standing. Silverwind was closing in on it, and with little immediate support, Max knew he could rally up and get closer in.

The rounds out, the lion looked over to the fox's GEAR in the near distance, his own Hargun taking an awful lot of fire from Silver's frontline role. Max had to admit, he'd done it before, and it was never fun. Stressful, as a matter of pure fact. But a necessity, given a GEAR wasn't just an advanced reconaissance platform. It was a warhorse, a titan standing taller than any breathing Arvaran could and with weaponry like the kind an IFV would have. On a platform much more agile, tactile and intuitive. And one Max threw himself into, on his wheels and charging down the concrete, feeling the literal heat that came from the burning wrecks of vehicles and fuel tanks on this part of the airfield, Max aware he'd have to use his 30mm as a close-range bolt action from here on out if he was using his primary. But Max had enough sniping, he thought. It was time to finish this job, maximum aggression. Max did not have a close quarters weapon proper, but he did have a very large axe that would cleave its way through most things, and a rocket grapple that did more or less the same thing.

"Your six is clear, one GEAR neutrilized, two heavy techinicals down, but got no more sightlines from where I've been. I'm moving on you to finish this. I don't want to miss any of the fun." The lion called out to Silverwind, the Lion Rampant back on its feet in the immediate vicnity of the building, Max aware he wasn't going to be of any use as a sniper if he couldn't get a bead on this location. Going around would have been too hard, but the lion knew here he could do some more damage. He let go of a chaff round as he headed through, breaking the lock via line of sight and chaff to reach Silver's position by the building, aware they had to clean it out and get around the building flank to hit the last remaining resistance. With an oddly cool head after his last outburst, the lion was holding control of his GEAR, and focussing on just getting the job done. Like any good Special Forces soldier, Max was not an easy Arvaran to kill, nor did he want to be.

Moving to Silverwind's side, he pushed his 30mm onto his back and drew his 40mm grenade launcher back open on the Lion Rampant's left arm, drawing the axe in his right. A weird akimbo, yes, but one that worked. One hand boom, one hand bang, as he pelted a technical and an infantry squad ahead, quickly eliminating them with a succinct succession of rounds.
"Got eyes on an position onto that building's side...bear with. I'm gonna hit the retract on my rocket grapple amd sort em', we've got a ton of infantry in there, mind lending me some cover and I'll sort it?" Max said rather directly, moving ahead of Silver, even straight into the fire as he punted a few 40mm GL rounds to his side to keep a squad of infantry down.

Turning his shoulder, he tapped away and turned the joystick of the grapple's interface towards the building, the lion quick on his feet to quickly realise how devastating it would be. Better than a point-attack of his sniper or his MGL, the lion thought to himself, as he fired it away, smashing a glass window with it before allowing to retract. With a singular GL that had weakened the entire side of brickwork the floor and walls began to give way, revealing a whole group of infantry rearming, restocking and setting up anti-tank grenades, all opened up for Max to turn his 40mm left arm on them and frame-mounted MGs and let loose. Quickly and effectively, Max didn't leave much of the position, even in spite of the heavy fire on his right flank, where Max knew the Captain and rest of the team were headed, lobbing a couple of smoke grenades forward to give himself room to breathe, and at least cancel out any potential remaining ATGM positions that could lock. They wouldn't have FLIR systems attached, so this would at least hurt their tracking of the Lion Rampant as it rampaged on the frontline.

Pulling back from the building, he cleared a few of the error messages, the GEAR taking heat as he moved back around to the side. In the heat of it, Max did think maybe staying back would have been better for his own health, but same time, that wouldn't have been helpful to the Captain right here. He needed a hand, so here he was, and after all, he was more effective. However, a GEAR all of a sudden was moving on their own flank, and closing in rapidly, going around the corner to try and get the drop on Silver and Max's forward position. Max was too close to switch to his 30mm, so did the only thing he could feasibly think of. Axe now switched to left hand, and the fact that the militia GEAR was only a rudimental weapons platform made this a fight that was clear to Max.

In a normal fight, you ran away when someone had a knife. You ran TOWARD if they had a gun. In these GEARS, same rules applied. So with a certain breed of ferocity, the lion didn't stop and the Lion Rampant, even in spite of the increasing number of bullets and heat it was taking from the militia GEAR's 6mm rounds, was not going to say no for an answer. The GEAR was too close-quarters to properly lay into Max, as he hurled the axe straight into the militia GEAR's top, the arms flailing and attempting to push Max over. The lion had already pelted the axe out, even in spite of taking a direct 20mm round to the Lion Rampant's torso, and slid it straight into the GEAR's shoulder-mount, and then rushed forwards. And this, was the reason he had a Combat Claw.

The claw pierced into the chest of the GEAR, as Max pushed the arm and crushed, the noise like metal being mangled and turned out, as the GEAR in front of him went very quickly lifeless and out of action, the operator inside turned to mulch. It was a right bastard pulling his claw out, the Lion Rampant now certainly feeling the impact of being in the frontline like Silverwind's own Hargun had. But it was why he brought his toys to the play like he did, as he pushed the lifeless GEAR onto the floor, scratched axe still going back on it's scabbard as Max now re-equipped his 30mm.
"One GEAR down on our flank. We've got ourselves quite a firefight here!" Max called out, fully aware of the fact they were definitely pushing hard, harder than they should have, but while they had the momentum Max could understand why Silver was so far forward. They weren't shying away, and shock and awe would be enough to subjegate any militia members ballsy enough to stand their ground.

The lion had to admit, that was an awful lot more intense than even he had bargained for. Quite badass, too. But when the going got tough, he could use his GEAR's uncommon arsenal to deliver a versatile punch, and support the hammer blow that Silverwind had gone and created. He could feel he wasn't going to be able to take a ton more damage, but was still combat capable and able to continue laying down medium-range AT against the remaining vehicles, aiming to pick them out. The lion's attitude seemed to line up nicely with the silver fox's when it came to aggression, yet Max knew that the main reason the Captain had gone for it was knowing they could press their advantage. The lion seemed somewhat detatched from his character, but in the heat of battle, there wasn't any place for ego or mind. Well, not when you were in a GEAR and having to be in control, rather than embrace chaos. It was his place, it was home, far, far from his own. And in the muddy soil outside that large barrack-building, the golden-grey GEAR with a lion at the helm was in a place to do what was needed, even in spite of the minor wounds the Arvaran inside or the metallic mech on the outside had. And that was to clear what was left and secure this point.

"I'm on your six, Silver, let's gut these fucks! Plenty more vehicles and infantry left, but they ain't got anywhere left to go!"

GEARs: Silent Line [Anthro, Sci-Fi Mecha Roleplay]

@Silverwind Blade

bing badda boom, 30mil's coming from the friggin' mooooon

I'll have something up in a while, just something to give Max a little more frontline anti-vehicle and close-quarters infantry battering. A bit indulgent I feel, but I wanted to liven it up as Max hasn't gotten close-in as of yet. Something to back up Silverwind's aggro- but yeah I'd like to see it move forward from this scene too and have left it to a point where the combat can wind down somewhat :P

I feel like I took some liberties in that post, but it showcases his gadgets a bit more, plus the fact combat axes/claws are super useful in anti-GEAR stuff :)

GEARs: Silent Line [Anthro, Sci-Fi Mecha Roleplay]

@Silverwind Blade

The Lion Rampant led the way down the smaller track, the noise of distant autocannon, small arms and aircraft noise reverberating and echoing across the tree-lined pines of the island, the GEAR thudding into the dark forest floor with a hurry. On terrain like this, Max didn't want to freewheel it downhill- it was too unstable and unsteady, and taking the path could lead them into more trouble. This way, the lion thought they could at least keep some stability and out of the path of least resistance up the hill. It looked like there was very little left to face off against, or at least, any that were awake on this island.

Max stopped as they reached a small clearing, taking a knee and looking over the view down to the airfield, at least a kilometer and a half away from the position that they had reached. A fair distance, with the flames and smoke of the aircraft wreck, hangars and destroyed vehicles in the sight.
"Hold here, Rishun. Let me do a little work before we move down- you may as well stick with me before we carry on. You've got access to my drone and other optics, so feel free to use those while I do some anti-social shooting."

Setting up at the crest, the lion raised the 30mm rifle and shouldered it, like a bowman would his weapon of choice. Except this one was an enormous caliber, large-scale bolt-action rifle that gave Max the ability to gain a view into the far distance. The lion saw the last remaining vehicles left around the command post, and a few other infantry units. Well, this was just too good not to savour.

Max flicked an AP mag inside, flicking the last remaining 30mm round out and into his GEAR's palm, holding it loose as he flicked the bolt. Pushing the bolt forward, the lion even calmed his own breathing, as if he was physically shouldering the rifle himself. His GEAR's hydraulics were rocksolid, a quirk he adored about the Hargun compared to his GEAR prior. It just felt precision-milled, even the hydraulics systems didn't feel like they were haphazard like earlier GEARS but actually made to work in tandem with the interface and weapon in hand. Not perfect, not like it was a rifle against his physical shoulder in terms of how he could point it and click, but as good as he could probably get it. That perhaps Sobero could alter, but alas, that wasn't on his mind right now. Killing technicals from afar was.

He picked up the first technical on the thermal optic, and with a gentle depression of breath, pulled the trigger of his joystick. There were two people aboard, one loading a higher-caliber machinegun of some kind, the sort that Max had seen too many times on a crappy technical like that. Not that it was gonna get to fire.

The round flew out, a couple of seconds passing as he watched it drop, the round following the ballistic computer's calculations and Max's own and slapping through the driver's cockpit and into the engine. Another followed, this time lower, and made the technical erupt, hitting the fuel tank with a double-check of a shot- the crew pretty much left to very little as a result of the first round's overpenetration. The black and white heavily mangnified thermal optic was bright with light, but Max was used to this, able to pick out what was moving and what wasn't.

The second technical next to it reacted quickly to the sniper shot, the gunner turning the gun quickly towards the hills, aware he could put some rounds back. Max didn't need to react urgently, given he already had it in his sights, and unlike the technical, knew exactly where the round was going. One tap, and the round had breached the engine block and the rear operator, leaving the driver miraculously unharmed as the distant thermal figure emerged from the driver's seat and ran out of the vehicle, aware he was about to probably get turned into mist if that round hit. Max put one more into the rear, decimating whatever ammunition was spare, and putting technical number two out of action. The noise of the 30mm had clearly given up Max's hope of being undetected, but nonetheless, it had solved the rest of the Ghost Hunters's vehicle problems, or at least hopefully most of them.

Still, Max couldn't see the inside of the control building, nor the far side of the building which could have hidden a technical there in itself. He couldn't win them all, the lion thought to himself, as he pulled the magazine out and scooped the regular 30mm cartridge into the chamber, before following it up with a magazine. He pulled back from his over-mangnified thermal optic, and looked back to Rishun, knowing he'd probably bored the otter senseless. She was gonna to want to bounce about, not sit here watching a lion snipe pickup trucks with an oversized cartrige for the job. After all, Max had just used an anti-tank round on basically tincans. Overkill, yes. But sometimes, you just needed to guarantee the job was done proper, and Max's AP rounds put lighly armoured metal out of comission like there was no tomorrow.

"Hunter Actual, this is Recon. Hope you enjoyed that, two technicals down on your mark. We're still a hike out from you, so we'll join you for marshmellows on those burning wrecks after. Me and Sprinstream probably won't make it for your building clearnace, but we'll be there in five, out.." Max said over the comms, hoping that Silver had appreciated their long-range assist, even if they weren't right there and then to help clear anything else out in the area.

With a gentle nudge, the Lion Rampant was back on its feet, looking back to the Aqua Goddess and the passed out Elias in Rishun's hand.

"All things considered, marshmellows and more painkillers are gonna offset the bollocking Silver and Vonys are gonna give me. Let's get down there and show them our esteemed guest of honour." Max joked, as he moved from his sniping position and back down the hillside, finding a better track to take down and now using his GEAR's wheels to gently get the Lion Rampant down towards the airfield. Eyes on a swivel as always, he knew their next step was to just rendeveous with Silverwind and get a lowdown on what next.

His point on painkillers felt like it was definitely relevant, especially now. The wounds weren't treated too well, or at least, it had been a very botch-job of a recovery he was on here. He could feel the shrapnel bite and while it wasn't going to be a long term injury, the worse scrapes were gonna leave light scars and bruises, that much he could feel. His threshold to pain when coupled to painkillers was high, but he could just sense that he got very much what he deserved for being a reckless idiot. This whole situation felt like it could have the capacity to escalate very quickly with what they had found, and the reconaissance lion just hoped Silverwind had a good hold on this situation and what this could lead to.