Psyker Landshark

Falling Skies

CMDR SAGAN "VULTURE" KODOS

The good news was that they had backup. The Helldogs weren't special ops, but they were as damn good as one could get for an ordinary unit of soldiers. Even better, they were familiar with how the 7th operated. Wouldn't need as much babysitting as most regular units, although it'd be an idiotic idea to just leave them to their own devices.

Sagan touched the Watchdog down on a nearby building, crouching the MAS down into a sniper position as he provided overwatch for the disembarking marines and Sentries, taking potshots at anything stupid enough to approach.

<< Helldogs, Vulture. Got your back! Soon as you're ready, let's form ranks and- >>

Annnnd there was the kicker. Sagan cut comms, cursing sulfurously under his breath as he watched the Sparrowhawk down, its systems temporarily fried by ECM. Even worse was that radar was showing four Fenrirs and half a dozen IFVs closing in on his location, on top of the full battlegroup advancing towards their main line. Artillery and snipers in the back, and one of the 7th's best methods of dealing with them neutralized for the time being by whatever supermech the Coalies had cooked up, fucking somewhere in the field.

At least Sabine was alive, and if the readout was any indication, the Sparrowhawk was rebooting.

<< 7th, Vulture. New marching orders, coming through: Hex, Rhino, Rook, hold the line, I'm rerouting the Helldogs to assist. Y'all play nice with them kids, y'hear? Rabbit, holler slightly less if you're combat-capable. Yell louder if ya need someone to evac your sorry ass off the field. Commie, we need that artillery and sniper team in the Coalie rear guard deader than that Boeing stooge's soul. Full burn, do what you have to without killing yourself. Get your asses moving, we don't got all day! >> He swapped channels, returning to general Imperial comms next.

<< Helldogs, Vulture. Sending tac data, requesting reinforcements up front. I'll let you have this one as bailing us out, so enjoy it while it lasts. >>

Orders given, Sagan shot the Watchdog's afterburners to maximum and sprinted it straight off the roof, taking off from a jump in a very Commie-esque move. Suicidal hotshot was rubbing off on him. The Watchdog boosted full speed towards the interceptors trying to flank the 7th, already locking on to the quartet of Fenrirs playing escort. It'd knock out a full quarter of his special munitions, but there wasn't time to save ammo right now. Every second he was tied up here was one not spent backing up the others.

<< Got tone, Fox 3, Fox 3! >> The SPAMRAAMs took flight, crashing into the medium MAS squad and coreing them near instantly, their countermeasures and evasive manuvers defeated by the missiles' vertical flight path. With that done, Sagan swapped the Watchdog's HPK out for the beam saber and landed straight into the pack of IFVs, crushing one beneath his mech's feet as he proceeded to rip through them at melee range. Without an escort, disrupting their formation and making sure they couldn't break into evasive manuevers versus gunfire would be far faster, to say nothing of ensuring he was well through minimum arming range of any heavy weapons they were packing.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Izayoi was a blur across the battlefield, her blade scything through Blightbeasts. Razor wind and battojutsu strikes littered the field before she grit her teeth, stopping in place as she was forced to raise her blade to block a massive canid Blightbeast's fangs. An errant bolt of light magic from Cid eliminated the great beast she was straining against, the samurai giving the sage a brief nod of thanks before diving back into the fray.

Soon enough, the efforts of the Kirins cleared the field of Blightbeasts, leaving sage and Eidolon in the middle of the sacred grove. At its center was a single stone, a lightning bolt engraved on the rock.

"My thanks." Cid exhaled, looking less winded from battle and more simply stressed in general. "Full glad am I to see you still live-"

"Isolde deceived us out of the belief you are some sort of heretic." Blightbeast blood was scarcely flicked off of Izayoi's blade as its owner stared Cid down, out of patience. "Explain."

"Ah." Cid winced. "Her observations are true. Her conclusion is not. My life is extended far beyond its natural limit, yes. This, however, does not make me an imposter or a demon. The grace of the Mother sustains me." A rueful smile. "Why else do you believe that I cannot leave holy ground? Honestly, I expected better of that child."

Izayoi simply nodded at this, accepting the explanation. Above everyone, however, Ramuh chose this moment to speak.

"The Dominant speaks truly."

The Eidolon of Thunder's voice rumbled.

"No unholy mischief is involved with extending his life past its limit. Only Etro's blessing."

His gaze swept over the Kirins for several moments before turning back to Cid.

"I should like to test their worth."

"Do try not to overdo it." Cid sighed, walking off to the edge of the clearing where he proceeded to sit. "Warriors, fear not. Ramuh will not kill you. And I will heal your ills once the battle ends. Who knows? Impress him enough, and he may just reward you." A significant glance was sent Esben's way.

"Indeed."

Ramuh remained where he was in the air as lightning crashed into the clearing. When the flash cleared, a different figure could be seen on the ground: a mighty, draconic being clad in steel roared, two stories tall, lightning crackling across its figure.

"You face mine attendant: Adrammelech, the Wroth."

At Adrammelech's cry, Thundagas began to litter the field, bolts of judgment crashing down without rhyme or reason.

"Show us whether you have the strength to save this land, Warriors of Light!"

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Slavers. Iraleth's blood boiled as she stepped out of the carriage, seetheing at the depraved degenerates surrounding them. Just their luck, to be ambushed without access to Ethos or Essence.

Judging by his performance against the class, it wasn't out of the question for Alto to be able to handle this alone, but Iraleth wasn't about to sit back and let someone else fight her battles for her. Even without the Inheritor, she was still an anointed knight, fully armed and armored.

Gunshots rang in her ears even as she rushed forward, sword brandished. She literally crashed into the wave of bandits on the same side Otis fired on, trusting that Alto would see sense and work on the other group. The plate-clad paladin shoulder-checked the man in front before turning to assail his fellow with a series of cleaves and slashes, all the while making sure to keep a foe between herself and the archers as much as possible.

"No quarter for slavers! May the accursed burn!"

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Three days spent on the road back to Brightlam. Progress was slow due to the fact that they'd had to avoid the major roads and towns now that the Kirins were wanted across the country. So they were stuck taking back roads and paths through the forest, hoping to avoid patrols. This led them into conflict with the local monsters, but it was nothing that the group couldn't handle at this point.

Of course, that also meant that there was a risk of becoming hopelessly lost when taking paths not recorded, much less ever actually trod. As they were right this moment. The rainforest was getting ever denser, the climate muggier. They knew that south was still the right direction, but that meant little without knowledge of when they would be able to get their bearings again.

As they trudged and hacked their way through the undergrowth, something drew their attention: warped roars and howls, interspersed with the sound of thunder crashing down close by. Very close by. When the Kirins did manage to cut their way through, they came across a clearing in which a giant of a sage with an equally large beard floated above, sending bolts of lightning down on a horde of snarling, slavering Blightbeasts. And on the ground below him was...

"Back, you mindless wretches!" Cid scowled, blasts of light magic flying from his staff before he saw the Kirins enter the clearing. "Thank the gods, you live! I beseech you, help me protect Ramuh's domain!"

Iris Ascendis

Posting by end of Wednesday. Would've done it tonight but I'm not feeling too hot

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

The moment was here, at last. Renar hefted his poleaxe up as he surveyed the menagerie of fey horrors before the knights, his cloak billowing behind him. The only victory condition was ensuring Rozenalt died. Everything else was secondary. Whatever foe was before him, he didn't have to win. He simply had to not lose. But then again, Renar would be damned if he let himself be defeated by any of these upjumped children's tales. And speaking of...

Besides Rozenalt, there were four figures that stood out from the horde. Elites, if he would hazard a guess. And by the looks of it, each had their own little tricks and gimmicks. But that was fine. So did he.

"I'll deal with the one holding the bear trap." Renar declared, hefting his poleaxe up onto his shoulder with one hand as a brief flash of steel glinted in his left. "Remember, we only need to ensure they can't help Rozenalt. Ensuring their leader falls is our only priority. That means no fool risks to claim a victory that won't last." Gerard. Likely Fleuri too, if he lost his head. Not that Renar would care overmuch if that happened.

The Bastard of Brias stepped forward, giving a brief nod towards the Huntsman with the charred cloak and armor.

"I don't suppose you accept reserved slots, say, fifty, sixty years from now? One could have worse afterlives." He said lightly, as if having a casual conversation. What? Renar was destined for nothing but the long dark when he died, with all he had done and was planning to do. Why not explore his options somewhat?

The steel in his left hand shot forward, a knife hurled straight towards the burnt knight. Only this one was attached to a rope. A flick of Renar's wrist sent the rope dart jerking upward, aiming to wrap around and bind the arm holding the length of rope. Fortunate that he had a method to assail the wretch with its own plan of attack. If that didn't draw its attention, nothing would.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Izayoi squinted at the new arrival, even as Galahad and Esben expressed their suspicion. Wasn't that...?

"Aren't you rather young for this sort of work?" General Izayoi peered suspiciously at the thirteen year-old viera within her tent before sighing. Who was she to judge? Her master had her facing armed men at that age as it was. "No matter. Here is your mission." A scroll was hurled to the ground before Chisato, the Mystrel turning away.

Indeed, it was. She didn't look like she'd aged a day. Even being a viera, that was...strange.

"Hold." Izayoi swept an arm out, glancing briefly at the Edrenian and Skaelan that had voiced their doubts. "This one is known to me. She was in my service during the war." She turned to nod at Chisato before stepping forward and inspecting her more closely. "Gods above, do they feed you at all? I don't think you've grown an inch since last we've met."

Nevertheless, she proceeded to give Chisato a concise overview of their current situation and what led up to it before concluding with a sigh.

"In any case, the dragoon is in command, and you will take orders from him. Is that understood?"

She turned back towards the remainder of the Kirins, back to business.

"In any case, as we were saying," Miina first. "Isolde's just death will have to wait until we can ascertain whether or not either of the other Grovemasters would turn completely against us should we kill her. Remember, we need at least one willing to tell us where the Water Crystal is. Regardless, we ought to have a more concrete plan in place before going forward."

As with the strategy session in Kugane, Izayoi unrolled a map, this time of Brightlam.

"Naturally, we will adjust for any changes we spy as we approach the city. But it would be of use to have a solid plan of attack as a base to work off of." She pointed to the council chambers that they had gathered in a week before. "Presume that this is out of the question. Their center of operations will likely be the most guarded. We will likely have to approach the city as we did with Kugane, but without the benefit of aid this time. Lest any of you made any worthwhile connections while we were in Brightlam previously?"

Falling Skies

CMDR SAGAN "VULTURE" KODOS

The drop started, and the horses were off. Sagan shifted his control mode to one-hand with the stick, using his other to start tapping away on an AR interface with his haptic gloves. With this many targets coming in, he'd have to refine and limit the targeting AI's intake so that he, and the rest of the squad by proxy, wasn't bombarded with a massive flow of data. Despite the MAS cooling system's best efforts, sweat came fast when it did start, dripping down his neck and forehead in beads.

This wasn't his first rodeo, of course. But hot dropping was never something one got used to. This far up, death was something far past your control, with only the lucky few having any opportunity to avert burning up in atmo the moment something went wrong.

Unfortunately for that poor fucking rookie over the tacnet, it seemed something did go catastrophically wrong for her. Plate locked on one foot. Damn. Sagan did his best to divert his attention back towards the oncoming battle as someone thankfully muted the rookie's death spiral. Hopefully the one on his team wouldn't go that way.

In contrast, once they made it to atmo, the real fight started. Gelcastre started becoming more than a twinkle in the distance below, and Sagan quickly switched back to dual-lever controls, preparing to disengage his plate.

<< Vulture, dropping plate. Commie, Rabbit's got the right idea. Cover our ground-pounders and deal with the flyboys coming in, I'll run overwatch. >> He disengaged early, the Watchdog's flight boosters kicking into full burn as it tore through the sky, coming down after the Secutor and Blackout started decimating ground-bound AA.

<< Rhino, Hex, acknowledged. Good work, stack up and start moving to make a push, I've got your backs. Rook, still alive back there? Keep up and don't play hero. You pull that shit you did in space, you're gonna die. >>

The Watchdog reached close enough to the ground that firing on landbound targets was viable, and Sagan quickly opened up with the HPK, sighting up an incoming mixed squadron of fast response vehicles escorted by a few Fenrirs and pulling the trigger.

<< Fuck, enemy fast mover engaging us! They got Zhang! >>
<< I can't get tone, bad angle, bad angle! >>
<< Missile in the air, missile in the air! Defending- ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ >>
<< Shit, shit, shit, our escorts are down! He's closing in! >>

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Two full days after the Kirins had arrived at camp, they gathered once more, this time in the clearing that both Izayoi and Galahad had trained in at some point over the past day. Better to have this discussion away from Miina's tribe, given that it both didn't concern them and they weren't concerned by it.

"To catch everyone up now that we're all in one place, this appears to be where we are:" Izayoi spoke first, sitting down on a log as she sharpened her sword. "The Grovemasters have proved to be an active impediment to our mission here in Drana Asnaeu. Unfortunately, assassination is off the table for the time being. Both because destabilizing the government here would be practically inviting Valheim to invade successfully, and because we require at least one of them to tell us where the Crystal of Water even is."

The samurai seemed unhappy at the mention of not being rid of the Grovemasters, but she continued on.

"To sum up the matter, Grovemaster Zacharias, the old man, will likely be our first choice of targets. If anyone has suggestions or objections, now would be the time. Or if the two of you who came up with this would like to elaborate further?" She finished with a glance towards both Galahad and Esben before Miina's father stepped into the clearing.

"Not to interrupt," Madis interrupted. "But it seems you've a visitor. Someone tracked you down all the way here."

___

One Week Ago...

She'd knelt before Lord Hien within a resistance safehouse in Kugane, awaiting his orders.

"Chisato, was it?" The man in question faced a window, his hands clasped behind his back. "I admit, I don't much see the family resemblance." He chuckled lightly to himself before straightening up, turning to face the shinobi.

"All jokes aside, it's good you've finally returned now. Had you been present before, I would have sent you along with the others, but we can't have it our own way all of the time. In any case, your orders are as follows: infiltrate Drana Asnaeu until you find the group known as the Kirins, with Lady Ciradyl and Ranbu no Izayoi among them. Link up with them and support their efforts in restoring the crystals as best you can."

What followed was a brief explanation of the group's quest, as well as the vital importance of the Four Crystals in preserving the continent that they'd learned from Cid.

"Set out as soon as you can once you've made your preparations. Oh, and here." He fished a sealed scroll out of his robes, passing it to the viera. "A recall request for Lady Ciradyl. There's a situation here that absolutely requires her specific guidance on the matter."
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Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

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