Stitches

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

The Kolibri's chassis was gradually dented and scraped by the onslaught of debris, stray rounds and angry Riverdrakes that assaulted it. It wasn't an act of shoddy engineering; simply put, the MAS wasn't built to take sustained firepower. It was designed with the skill of the pilot in mind. Abigail was meant to be evading these blows with her sophisticated radars and electronics that she'd overheated half to hell. Unfortunately the circumstances no longer allowed that - she couldn't dodge anything that might end up striking the princess - and the Kolibri made it well known to it's pilot that each impact was taking a toll on the machine.

For Abigail, the rush back to the Roanoke was starting to look more like an endless trek of increasingly painful ordeals. Each time the Kolibri was hit, she was roughly shoved in her cockpit. Even with the seatbelt on her body was thrown this way and that. She didn't have the time to take her hands off the controls and put her helmet back on; not to mention that trapping her hair under the visor would ruin her visibility. Whacking her head against some sturdy metal or plastic piece in the cockpit was becoming more commonplace than it ought to be. Her mood had soured, her muscles were tensed at all times to try and brace for impacts she didn't know were coming and the sweltering heat sent drips of sweat from her brow into her eyes.

No wonder, then, that when the Princess gave her one of those compulsory requests, Abigail was too fed up and tired to argue. She kept her Comms switched off and kept the pace consistent. She didn't even have the drive left in her to crack a smile when Ingram swiftly put Aurelia in her place and took control of the issue.

It was only as the Seventh made their way across the clearing and into the lake to board the Roanoke that Abigail started to take stock of her combined injuries and gradually start to realise that she might be a little more roughed up than she thought. Her breath was coming out in ragged, angry huffs. She couldn't tell if it was all the humidity and sweat or her vision blurring. The pain started to kick in - full body, aching throbs. She let loose one low, strained moan in the final stretch.

It wasn't normal for Abigail to have her Comms switched off for this long.

Abigail was second in the hangar bay of the Roanoke, following closely behind Aurelia and the Helmheimr. The Kolibri's pace finally started to flag as she skidded across the bay, a horrible crunching screech emanating from the broken landing strut as its massive metal arms stabilised itself to slow down it's movement. Various engineers and hangar staff were quickly scurrying out of the way as the MAS clumsily clambered to its feet and trudged back to its dock. The huge cables plugged into its charging ports one by one as Abigail powered down the Kolibri at last; a steaming, dented, dishevelled mess of its former condition. The damage was superficial but it was present all over. It would take time to repair.

The Krakono was one of the last. The behemoth stomped into the hangar, soaking up the blasts from coalition weaponry and acting as a shield against the oncoming firepower as the Sparrowhawk zipped in and the doors began to close. Jakunta was much more patient and methodical, entering his bay without issue and powering down the MAS gradually. He stared at his HUD with a frown, tapping a finger on the static-filled square that ought to be Abigail's portrait. His frown deepened when the Kolibri shut down and he tried to call her on her holopad.

”Medical to the hangar,” Ingram echoed across the hangar bay. Abigail squinted up a little in the pitch darkness of her cockpit as she tried to discern who might have been wounded. In gradual increments, she began to unbuckle herself from her seat - completely unaware of the faint regular buzzing noise coming from one of the glued-on storage pouches in her cockpit...

”Medical team belay that, all hands brace!”

"Fuck oooOOFFF-" Abigail groaned as she slammed one foot up against the console, one arm up on the ceiling, shut her eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn't a massive explosion like she thought it would be, but the familiar dropping, lurching feeling of the warp kicking in. As uncomfortable as it was she knew the feeling was short-lived and that it signified their prompt and hasty retreat from the battle. The relief alone was enough to make Abigail sink back into the chair, utterly exhausted. It was at that point she noticed the buzzing noise and blearily fumbled for the holopad, but it stopped ringing before she had a chance to answer. Instead she messaged Ingram.

A_HARLOW: goin to medical
A_HARLOW: lookin like shit
A_HARLOW: sunray might not want to see that

Meanwhile, Jakunta shouldered the hatch open to the Krakono and slid down the ladder, plodding across the hangar towards the Kolibri. He waved off some of the medics ("Not here, not here. We'll go to Medical.") and climbed up to the Kolibri's cockpit where Abigail was gingerly rubbing her temple and trying to compose herself.

KTHOOM KTHOOM KTHOOM. Jakunta slammed his fist against the cockpit.

“Come. Medical awaits.”

Abigail glowered at the metal shell.

After a few more seconds the Kolibri cockpit hissed open. Abigail was in her full EVA suit still, the tinted glass of her helmet showing a distorted reflection of Jakunta's impassive stare. She shot Jakunta a pair of finger guns and followed him down the ladders, similarly brushing past the medical staff as they both wandered back to the elevators for a proper check-up.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

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Goodnight

The ‘Staff Room’

Saturday, 13th of March, 2021 - 3:54 PM

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Life in Goodnight was starting to become more familiar and with it, the mages were slowly beginning to settle into their living quarters in the abandoned mall complex. Though it was still a far cry from the lives they left behind, the routine and peacefulness of the mall had allowed its residents to feel less like refugees and more like settlers of the ruins that society forgot. Tensions had started to abate in some places but linger in others. Not everyone got along but everyone knew that they’d all had enough of conflict and fear for the foreseeable future. The time of hoarding over one’s belongings and picking fights over banalities had passed with the realisation that there really was no way to avoid someone forever in Goodnight, no matter how vast it seemed to begin with.

What hadn’t yet shifted from its mouldering halls was the impoverished living conditions. An outbreak of head lice caused mass discomfort to staff and survivors alike, with a lot of clothes and bedding being burnt or disposed of. Despite this, a volunteer-led initiative to sterilise clothes, brushes, combs and the like in boiling water and strong alcohol had brought everyone closer together. Mothers and uncles and stepsons alike from all parts of the world rolled up their sleeves and went to dinner with red raw hands. With a common threat to deal with, the Violet Underground had a goal to pursue.

The problems truly arose when there seemed to be no end to these problems. Food was still scarce, bland and unappetising. Goodnight still didn’t have enough pillows or blankets. Everyone stank and there were no rewards for hard work except the continued survival of everyone involved. A listlessness was starting to creep in; one that dangerously teetered on the brink of depression. People were starting to fear that this might be the norm for as long as they live.

Ever observant to the shifting moods and tendencies of the resident mages, the Bootleggers had formulated a plan to alleviate some of the gloom that had settled in Goodnight. Audrey went to the Bunkhouse as you were getting ready for the day that morning and asked if they could meet at 4PM as the staff had another mission that they wanted to send you and the others out to complete.

This decision had not been made on a whim; in tandem with the daily routine of life in Goodnight came scheduled physical and magical training sessions - the former compulsory over the age of 18, the latter compulsory for all mages. The goal was to ensure that all residents were able to defend themselves - at least to the point of escape - should anything happen to their stronghold. Groups were designated by their bunkhouses and you were made aware of any upcoming training sessions during breakfast that day. Audrey had taken the role of training your group since the meeting with Dr Cassar and her sessions were physically demanding. She focused primarily on heightening one's reaction speed and stamina - as the best resolution to a fight is to not fight at all. As Audrey was hardly one to espouse the benefits of running away, the gruelling physical exercise was also excellent for giving the body enough strength and speed to rush for cover and build muscle for some of the basic unarmed combat manoeuvres she was starting to teach (though they had only one session based on unarmed combat prior to the upcoming meeting). The latter half of each training session was for gun safety and correct gun usage. She trained everyone on how to use a basic 9mm pistol safely, including the correct grip and stance, prior to beginning target practice.

Magical training was much more difficult to define. There was no definite technique to casting spells and a lot of the lessons were introspective and based on prior experiences. Where possible, props and volunteers were on hand to practice with. Unlike other sessions, there was a fifteen minute mandated recovery period to ensure the mages were not overexerting their powers and no lingering effects of spell use would end up hurting them in the long run. With the time, resources and space designated to practice, the mages found themselves becoming more attuned to their most frequently cast spells with a better grip on their control than they had during the Violet Dawn.

All this had culminated in the Bootleggers assigning a new task to your group, one that Audrey had organised based on their results in training.

As you entered the grey, damp mouldering room a large floor plan was spread out across a folding table and held down with empty coffee mugs. There were a few Sharpies of different colours and an A4 lined paper pad with various notes written alongside it. Audrey was in good spirits, mid conversation with Brooks:

"No, look, it says so right here. 'I, Brooks Lockwood-'"

“They get it. It’s where smart people shop.” Brooks was smiling, for once.

"-'Declare that I am a middle class, hotblooded American male over thirty years old who shops efficiently.' That's a lot to put on one card," Audrey smirked at him and passed it back. “Good afternoon everyone. The Violet Underground has another supply run for you. This one just happens to be a little more morally ambiguous.”

Audrey tapped her finger on the map.



“Unfortunately, we do not have the funds available to legally purchase everything we need. The first - and most important - item on the list is good, high quality food, followed by as many tinned or nonperishable foods that we can muster, then medical supplies. We would like to see those three prioritised. The good food is…paramount to the continued operation of our base here.” Audrey didn’t waste any time plunging into the specifics. She was busy staring at the map. She had other things on her mind. “If we do not bring something substantial and of higher quality back to Goodnight, morale will continue to plummet - the suicides will start not long after.”

She looked up at the group. “We are going to have to steal all of these to survive. If anyone has any moral quandaries with that, leave now.”

"With all of that out of the way, we can go through the Intel."

Audrey opened the notepad and read through its contents. "First of all. Most Costco buildings have a surveillance system in place. There will be security cameras in the interior and exterior of the building, but the alarm system is activated manually. This is because there are also security guards and janitors that work after hours. As a result, I recommend a visit during business hours this afternoon to determine the location of these cameras both inside and outside of the building, as well as locating the security office so they can be disabled as soon as possible. The fewer people that see you, the better."

"I'm sure it goes without saying that using your magic should be a last resort, but," Audrey briefly glanced at Abigail, "try to avoid revealing that you're a mage under any circumstance to anyone. The response to a call about a burglary is going to be significantly less impressive than a response to mages performing a burglary. Speaking of police," Audrey sighed, "it's been ridiculously difficult to find a Costco wholesale that isn't a stone's throw from a police station. I know that map says Santa Cruz, but we're sending you to Ohama, Nebraska. If the alarm sounds or anyone calls the cops you have fifteen, twenty minutes to get out. Any altercations with law enforcement should be as nonviolent as possible. Like I've been telling you - prioritise your escape over any sort of fight. If the FOE arrive - which is an incredibly slim but not impossible risk - then it's even more important that you escape rather than try to engage."

Audrey slid the notepad around so the information is better seen by the accumulated mages. "We'd like to see you formulate a plan. Part of becoming a Bootlegger is a thorough risk assessment and agreeing, as a team, on the best course of action prior to a mission. So instead of me rattling off orders and intel to you, I'd rather hear from you what you'd like to know and how you'd like to approach this. I'm willing to answer any questions you have to the best of our ability and try to supply you with what you think you'll need - within reason."

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

«What the fuck is she-?»

«Doesn't matter, cover us, I'll have her ass in the MAS in five minutes-»

The moment Aurelia cracked open the cockpit Abigail lurched forward and tried to yank her in, her free hand slamming on the lever to shut the cockpit. Aurelia yelped in surprise as she was tugged into the machine. Once the cockpit closed as the internal lightning came back on, Aurelia blinked, ”Ah… Well I guess that means you’re fine then.” she breathed easy for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, ”Thank you, pilot. For helping me back there…”

"Hey, don't worry about it. The fleet wasn't gonna let you drop planetside without sending someone out to look for you." Abigail's voice was warm, even through the crackle of the speaker on her helmet. "How are you physically - no sudden tiredness, dizziness, double vision or anything like that? No injuries?"

Aurelia sighed and slumped back against the wall of the MAS cockpit. She looked hazily off into nothing as she ran a hand through her hair. Eventually, she shook her head, ”Just sore all over and exhausted…” she said quietly. ”No amount of training at the academy prepares you for the real thing…”

"It never does," Abigail agreed. Her helmet moved a fraction as something started beeping on her dashboard; her Full Echo suite was down after the beating it took but that didn't stop her Smart Targeting from picking up hostiles in their periphery. "We're out of time-Princess, I know you're beyond tired, but I need you to hold out a bit longer okay? Remember that fear that got you through the jungle? You're going to have to tap into that." Abigail sent the data to Jakunta as the Krakono lurched to life, stomping into position. "Reinforcements are en route. I've been acting like a big UEE tracking beacon ever since I found you and my squadron is on the way. However, I don't want you to relax."

Abigail stopped typing on her keyboard for a moment and looked at Aurelia through the tint of her helmet. "Until you board the Roanoke, our carrier, I want you to assume that one slip-up will kill you. No matter how many of us are trying to protect you, you pilot that MAS like your life depends on it because this time, it actually does. We'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Don't open your cockpit for anyone or anything until you get back in the Roanoke. Don't run off from the group for any reason. And don't do anything risky to help anyone here."

There was a hiss as the cockpit of the Kolibri opened up. "We're your elite pilots, Princess. No matter what happens, you're getting back to the Roanoke in one piece but don't assume that you can't get shot just because we're guarding you. Now go on, get back in the MAS. There's hostiles closing in on our position."

Aurelia felt a swell of pride that there were other troops beyond the ISS that were so willing to help her. Aurelia was always worried that those outside of her immediate command were either dispassionate or weren’t about to stick their necks out for some rich girl born into power. Yet this pilot was an example to the contrary. She nodded to the pilot’s instruction to get back into the commandeered MAS. If any ISS were with her, they’d be scolding the pilot for ordering a royal princess around. But Aurelia never cared for that. In this moment, the pilot was the subject matter expert who knew better than she did. She had no reason to contest that.

Aurelia climbed out of the Kolibri and scaled back up the deployable ladder to the Ragnarok’s cockpit. As she closed the cockpit, Aurelia caught sight of familiar beady eyes in the tall grass. Riverdrakes! Now is not the time for them! ”Kolibri! Drakes behind you- look out!”

Abigail snapped the cockpit shut and braced for another impact that never happened. "Grizz?" She asked hopefully as she heard dull explosions, noticed the massive target on her six slowly changing course. From an outsider's perspective, the Kolibri standing stock still as the explosions backlit the Riverdrake must've looked pretty impressive.

“This is Boss, coming around for another pass."

In the cockpit, Abigail was trying to get her Full Echo back online to no avail. The impacts and the temperature of her MAS had shut the systems down before Abigail could brute force it beyond the point of repair. Instead she switched off all creature comforts - air conditioning, cockpit lighting - and didn't allow her cockpit to automatically pressurise again since they were in a stable, breathable atmosphere. She wrenched her helmet off and used the HUD as her eyes and ears. "Boss, lead us back to the Roanoke - these lizards are just going to keep us here 'till reinforcements arrive." She activated her boosters and the Kolibri sputtered into the air. Jakunta, unable to provide short range support due to the devastating nature of his weaponry, reacted to the Kolibri's flight by squatting slightly and adjusting the enormous chassis as the smaller MAS landed on top of it.

Their HUD pinged as Ingram forwarded more precise directional information to the Krakano and the Kolibri. The Sparrowhawk itself landed with a thud on the ground and unloaded its autocannons on the circling riverdrakes. The creatures were hardy, their hides almost as tough as armor plating, and the noise and impact of the cannons didn't scare them. Still, at the very least it hurt them, and gave the pilots a bit more space to work with.

"We're on the move", Ingram called into the squadwide comms, "Follow my heading!"

"Sunray, keep as close to the Krakono as possible - we're moving," Abigail repeated into the unencrypted channel as her MAS clung to the Krakono's cannon.

The Sparrowhawk's armored head turned towards the Krakano with its huge guns, "My radar pinged a Coalition patrol approaching south-southwest, bearing 220, 7 klicks."

An armored hand pointed in the respective direction, sweeping a short 30 degree angle. "Grizz, level it."

The Kolibri ducked under the armaments of the Krakono as the ballistic and laser cannons shuddered into position. The slow throb of the generators building up for the blast filled the air as a dull thunk accompanied the artillery shell clunking into the barrel. Abigail stuck her fingers in her ears after bracing the Kolibri for the recoil. "Ready, Pips?" Asked the Zalavi over comms.

"Ready."

"Firing now."

There was a buzz and a bang.

A white hot shape burnt through existence.

Everything in its path - trees, stones, animals, birds - all reduced into a smouldering, smoking mess as the gargantuan treetops fell into the glimmering ashes. A clear cut border of flame marked the path of the laser cannon and the smashed debris that littered its interior denoted the ballistic missile that thundered after it. A long, black streak of nothing in an otherwise dense jungle; a mass grave of wildlife and a handful of molten MAS scraps seared to fleshy lumps of charcoal were all that remained after the Krakono had finished its brief and terrible onslaught.

And just as soon as the behemoth finished carving its mark on the planet, the pilot slowly turned his machine back en route to the rest of the Seventh Squadron and kept lumbering through the undergrowth with the Kolibri still clinging to its chassis.

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

One moment Abigail was asleep.

The next moment she was on her feet, hauling ass up the ladder out of the Krakono, helmet in hand and wondering why she was doing that.

The moment after that she heard the radio transmission and put her helmet on in one fluid yet complex motion that involved folding her hair back in on itself so the pressure seal would activate. Her EVA suit on its own didn't have air conditioning and she already felt uncomfortable, but at least the ground felt like ground again. Scampering up the chassis of the Kolibri, Abigail felt the ground underfoot vibrate as the Krakono booted up again. Neither had said a word just yet because they were both thinking hard.

Once Abigail started up the Kolibri, both MASes pinged back onto the Seventh's HUDs. Whilst the Krakono had sustained minimal disruption in the landing - his laser cannon was marked as 'faulty' instead of 'damaged' - the Kolibri still wasn't looking great. She was still pinging with a warning sign about being too hot and reported damage to the landing strut. She was also starting to run low on fuel for her boosters.

Not that either of them had the time nor the materials to address these concerns. Abigail took off in a dead sprint first. «You're never going to get a clear shot here. Flank them - I'll try and get the Fenrirs to run in your direction,» Abigail spoke in Savonian through the encrypted comms. She didn't need to but her mind was running a mile a minute as she circled around the trio of Fenrirs from behind, using her boosters to catch up with them. Raising her rifle, she took aim - lowered it slightly, her smart AI calculating to adjust her specific target - waited for the Fenrir to pass the gnarled base of a tree then opened fire on one of the leg joints. The rounds tore through the exposed gap in the armour plating and caused the MAS to lurch sideways and crash into the undergrowth.

Five years of vocal training went into a couple of sentences as Abigail spoke with measured confidence, articulated clearly to accommodate for the short range on the radio and just enough warmth to sound friendly without losing the underlying tone of absolutely having her shit together like a real professional. "Sunray this is Pipsqueak, keep doing what you're doing. Follow my instructions and I'll get you out of this mess." What she didn't sound like was the Child of Savonia, who had a thick accent and a childlike cadence. She never sounded like that over comms.

Of course by announcing herself on the radio and immobilising one of their teammates Abigail also drew attention to herself. Realising they were getting flanked by a Sparrow one of the Fenrirs wheeled around and opened fire. Abigail was forced to take cover behind a tree but didn't waste a second; she started tapping commands into the console…

The HUDs of the Seventh burst into life as a new feed from the Full Echo suite blipped into existence. Though the dense tree coverage provided a significant amount of interference, they got a glimpse of one blip marked as a Fenrir, two more defined shapes also marked as Fenrir and a blip called 'AAT-9 Helmheimr' running away from her. Abigail had just enough time to designate this unknown MAS as 'SUN' before the Full Echo suite cut off, leaving a still image and coordinates of their last known location.

Jakunta only barely caught up and positioned himself in a more suitable location, the thick canopy of the jungle working directly against his MAS- it was slow to move and break through the thick vines that stood in its way. Abigail picked up on the Krakono's bulk in the distance, clenched her jaw and broke from her cover to start firing at the other Fenrirs to force them back - towards Jakunta - in an attempt to hide behind the trees and distract them from the heavy MAS. Ammunition crashed into the Kolibri's chassis and exploded, compressing and deforming the armour as she dived for new cover.

The Full Echo suite clicked on again. The Seventh got a new set of coordinates just a few dozen kilometres from the last, a new read on the situation. The Krakono had joined the fray, the downed Fenrir indistinct and trying to stand. Abigail had pushed forward and forced the remaining two Fenrirs to break from the chase and move towards the tree cover.

Once in position, Jakunta hurriedly lowered his armaments to fire at the next target he’d spot through the trees, anyone of the enemy MAS’s that Abigail lured her way. He waited patiently, and when one of the Fenrirs broke into his line of sight trying to get behind a tree he fired. The damaged laser canon whirred painfully as it blasted a hole through whatever foliage stood in its way to the target. The laser collided and burnt a massive hole through the upper half of the chassis and the cockpit as the second Fenrir crumpled into the undergrowth.

"Sunray it's Pipsqueak. That laser blast came from my squadmate Grizzly, adjust your course to regroup with his MAS - it's a little hard to miss." Abigail started pushing once more, jaw clenched as she fired on the remaining Fenrir relentlessly and closing the gap between them. More bullets crashed into her chassis.

The Full Echo switched off after an impact. The Seventh's HUDs once again displayed the last input feed of Abigail rushing a Fenrir and getting shot at.

Meanwhile Abigail's rough advance had forced the Fenrir back. Jakunta was forced to reposition once more. Through bared teeth he attempted to re-navigate the Krakono to hammer the last Fenrir, basing his own movements off the last known location of the hostile passed onto him by Abigail. He swapped from laser to cannon, intent to lock in and lay a devastating attack on the last Fenrir. The artillery thumped into place as the Krakono stabilised itself and fired. What little the vines and leaves did to slow the trajectory of the cannon had no effect on the outcome - there was a Fenrir there once. Now it was scrap metal and viscera scattered a couple hundred metres northward of its position.

Abigail slowed the Kolibri, restarted the Full Echo suite to show the dead Fenrirs and unknown MAS within range, and finally decided to breathe again. "That was... disappointingly easy. Sunray, you still with us? Circle back to-"

“It’s firing!” Jakunta belted, a futile attempt to warn Abigail in the last minute.

"FUCKING ASS-" The Full Echo lit up with warnings of an oncoming sledgehammer missile from the immobilised Fenrir at the back. Abigail revved up the boosters as she tried to move backwards and out of the way; the projectile collided with the spot where she once stood and exploded in a ball of flame and debris, sending the Kolibri spinning. The Full Echo cut off with the blast as the light MAS collided with the ground and skidded a little then - most concerningly - the portrait of the MAS switched to 'offline' on the HUDs.

For a few agonising seconds the Kolibri didn't move then it flicked back online with Abigail mid-rant in vehement Savonian on the encrypted comms, her voice thick and congested. «-ORCHED FUCKING EARTH DO YOU HEAR ME JAKUNTA. JAKUNTA IF YOU DON'T KILL THAT FUCKER I WILL PERSONALLY TEAR HIS ASS FROM THE COCKPIT AND THROW HIM INTO ORBIT.»

“I’m on it! I’m on it!” he hurriedly lumbered his MAS towards the Fenrir, conserving ammunition and exerting his physical weight onto the enemy. The 'foot' of the behemoth MAS came down on the cockpit several times, smashing the occupant within and halting the ineffective spray of bullets that dented the Krakono's chassis. All the while Abigail continued her ranting until the final pilot was dead, then the sound of heavy breaths came through the Comms. She collected herself. She groaned a little. She took a deep breath and flicked a switch, returning to the unencrypted channel.

"Sunray. This is, unfortunately. Still Pipsqueak. I'm a little banged up now and cannot use my radars to locate you, please return to the…blast site, and we'll regroup."

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

It didn't take long for everyone's HUDs to light up with the input from the Full Echo suite. A diorama of the battlefield pinged into existence, the outline of MAS units, cruisers, warships and debris expertly carved out of light. As Abigail fiddled with the controls a small object was brightened and highlighted; its path of trajectory into Cerol's orbit calculated and adjusted piece by piece for accuracy with each passing moment that the system was locked onto its target. The two MAS units designated KOLIBRI and KRAKONO were adjusting their course to not follow, but cut into the path of orbit at a steeper angle so they could catch up with the escape pod and land as close to it as they could.

With its thrusters disabled the Kolibri clung onto the Krakono with one hand whilst the other kept its autocannon rifle trained on any encroaching targets, but there just weren't any nearby; the combination of whatever turrets that still worked on Horizon Point and the fleet were occupying the bulk of the Coalition forces as a slew of debris was slowly sucked into the weak gravitational pull of Cerol, gaining speed and traction as it fell. With the size of the Krakono the glow of its thrusters was masked; what care would one give to two MASes similarly plummeting towards the planet amongst the wreckage?

"I don't even have both landing struts," Abigail lamented. "Ingram just did the MAS equivalent of ordering an amputee to do a backflip."

“He knows we can do it.” he paused. “No complaints now.”

"You're right. There might be Coalitionists down there. They could end up capturing her, or worse - turn her into a capitalist." Abigail took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“This isn’t right. Space here is no place for her.” The Krakono gradually adjusted its course to the data input from the Full Echo Suite on the Kolibri. The HUDs of the seventh start to show a longer trail of the escape pod's descent - but slowly, pixel by pixel.

"The devious schemes of the ISS are so secret that even they don't know what they're doing," Abigail spoke with mock solemnity, "but rest assured that whatever it was, before it got horrifically fucked up, it was probably - really clever." The way she spoke started to get affected as they continued their re-entry.

“Their minds are running thin. Hell knows what this was for.”

The black of space slowly turned purple, then a dirty pink. Neither pilot saw this from the darkness of their cockpits. The air resistance made the Kolibri start to shiver long before the Krakono would be affected. A little warning light flashed against her symbol on the seventh's HUDs as it reached very high temperatures.

"Starting to get a bit toasty in here. Not that I can tell in the suit but the computers are mad at me," Abigail pointed out. She adjusted the Kolibri's grip; it was a little tin can flush against the gargantuan bulk of the Krakono.

“It’s going to start getting worse.”

"It'll hold. For now."

The Comms were quiet, save for the increasingly laboured, painfully controlled breathing of the pilots.

"I think Ferryman's dead. The way he broadcast that message. I think he's gone." Abigail thought for a moment. "Sunray's lost her Jakunta."

“Yeah. He is dead. It happens.” he briefly replied.

"You know that, and I know that. I don't think she knew that. Not really." A deep breath and an exhale. "Here's hoping it doesn't mess with her too badly."

“It is not our job to play counsellor.”

"That kind of thinking got you far in the TLF, but out here in civilised society it's not as easy. If she puts a bullet through her own helmet, we can't exactly call it friendly fire and wash our hands of the whole thing." Another slight adjustment, a steepening of the curve as the two pilots aligned their landing with the scrap of a bent line that marked the escape pod's route. "I don't know Sunray but I get where she's coming from. And besides... always easier to follow instructions when they're coming from a friendly face in an emergency like this. You play soldier; I'll be the contingency plan for any, emotional disturbance, that prevents us from carrying out our orders."

Abigail wasn't just rambling for the sake of it. The deceleration was putting an immense strain on them both; it felt like their heads were swelling with blood. It thumped in their ears and squeezed their eyeballs, blurring the screens slightly. The pain was tolerable - but tolerable didn't mean it was pleasant. And though Abigail's suit was deliberately made to withstand alternating positive and negative g forces, the Krakono seldom saw such impressive speeds and the flight suit wasn't built for such a thing.

"Not seeing red yet, I hope?" Abigail spoke tersely as she fought her own circulatory system. "See you can just pass out when you touch down, what's the Krakono gonna do. Bounce. No way. Meanwhile I've got to break off, accelerate, decelerate some more and land on a busted strut. Cerol's full of trees."

"Everything clear. We’re falling far, the trees are the last of our worries." His eyes were glued ahead on his readings.

"Let's shoot for the meteor tactic. If any of my sensors aren't fried before touchdown we'll just point you at the nearest guerilla Coalition hideout." Abigail tried to giggle but managed a breathy hiss and a pained groan. "Speaking of…" Just as suddenly as it appeared, the layout was abruptly cut off; instead the last known descent path of Abigail, Jakunta and the escape pod remained. The little warning light against the Kolibri had started reaching severe levels of overheating; next was 'critical', then 'fatal'. It hadn't gotten that bad yet.

"Not even Ingram expects us to have fully operational MASes after tearing ass through an entire atmosphere," Abigail spoke through gritted teeth. Her optimism came out strained. Everything was strained. "You know what we're here for. Tracking beacons with guns. An idea - of where the fuck she landed." Her fingers, now leaden, punched in something letter by letter into a keypad. "Cerol. S'got breathable atmosphere, hodunk...colonies of some sort. Most of it, it's jungle, and water. Very wet. We won't hit any water." Each sentence was broken with a ragged breath.

Aleksanderin's screen pinged with a message.

A_HARLOW: wheeeeeee

A_DANIELSSON: what the fuck

The Krakono was starting to rumble with turbulence now as well. Unable to multitask any further, the two pilots conveyed their continued consciousness through various quiet grunts and noises of pain. An alarm started to blare in Abigail's cockpit. "Detaching from your chassis," she growled. "Prepare for landing."

The deceleration was already ruthless but having to press the thrusters even harder for a few seconds worsened the long, tumultuous descent. Jakunta yelled through a clenched jaw as everything - blood, organs, muscle, bone, everything - seemed to push upward into his skull. The pressure and the pain breached the threshold into intolerable levels. Trees bent like twigs under the Krakono's weight and the HUD blurred and his vision went red then there was a resounding crash and everything sloshed back into place and Jakunta slumped back into then through his seat as he plunged into absolute darkness.

The emergency lighting was on when Jakunta came to, with various alarms pinging and beeping to let him know that the Krakono was overheating. His arms, legs, head, hands and feet felt heavy and difficult to move. The HUD was still online but flickering; it displayed the position of the Kolibri at around a hundred metres from his location. The camera feed into Abigail's cockpit was full of fuzz and static - he couldn't make out her figure in the seat. It was empty.

Jakunta tiredly reached out to confront Abigail through her comms. “You with us? Hey.” before collapsing back into his seat. He waited patiently, trying to recover some sense into his limbs to get himself up properly and exit his MAS.

"Haaaghghraauuughgh." Abigail clearly wasn't attempting anything more complex than an indication that she wasn't dead.

Jakunta nodded to himself, he let himself recover for one more minute before finally gathering the strength to start fiddling with the controls of his mech. There weren't any damages - not that he'd expected any - but the more delicate components such as the HUD and the Comms were patchy and flickering as they kept trying to turn off to cool down and switch back on again because the MAS was still in use. Control input was sluggish at best. He tried to aim his cannon and, whilst it would move, it would only move a fraction of an inch before he had to input the coordinates again.

There was no way around it; until the Krakono had cooled somewhat, it wasn't going anywhere fast.

Jakunta reached back out to Abigail. “Stay where you are, I'll come find you. I’m going to take a look outside.” he stood himself up and shakily made himself to the hatch of his MAS.

"Aaarghuugugugh."

Initially Cerol looked like a hazy rainforest but once Jakunta made it out of the Krakono he saw the MAS steaming as the humidity in the air sizzled off the armour plates. The jungle was dense and thick and had been only slightly blown back by their sudden arrival, to the point that only a brief gap in the canopy had formed. It wasn't that hard to find the Kolibri as Abigail must have aimed for the gap during her own landing...but it wasn't as flawlessly executed as he'd have liked. It was slumped over on its knees, leaning against one of the knotted tree trunks and also emanating clouds of steam high into the jungle. The cockpit was only partially ajar.

Jakunta dove back down the hatch, he equipped some light combat gear and grabbed a sidearm before clambering back up the hatch and safely down his large MAS. He carefully trudged towards the Kolibri- eyes scanning the foliage around them and the dirt beneath him. He arrived at the cockpit, trying to peer inside before voicing out: “I’m outside. It’s me.” as a forewarning. When he didn't hear an answer he pushed his way into the cockpit; in the gloom Abigail was lying face first on the ground in her EVA suit.

“You look like you just fell from orbit.” Jakunta remarked before looking at the interior of her MAS, checking to see if there were even sparks to indicate the machine's functionality. Everything was switched off and a few preliminary clicks didn't turn anything back on again. Abigail slowly rolled onto her side, wrenched her helmet off, sucked in a few lungfuls of air then instinctively lurched onto her hands and knees as she threw up a splash of watery fuschia liquid.

"Waste of a d-damn good FroO-" Abigail retched and threw up again. She groaned. "I've got the Dizzies."

“Same can’t be said about your MAS. It’s fucked. Come on- come back to the Krakono. It’s systems are still working I just can’t move it. We can see about finding the location of the escape pod there and… recover while we do so. Grab your personals. We might have to blow it.”

"Kolibri's not fucked, she's just resting. I didn't even reach critical. But she's delicate and prissy - same sort of temperament you'd get out of Aleks when you use up all his good shampoo." Abigail wiped her mouth and sat up. Her whole body was swaying. "I switched it all off so we can get the Full Echo up and running, your MAS doesn't even have smart targeting. Alright give me room."

Jakunta stepped back, standing by the ajar cockpit to observe with a faint grin on his face. It was an increasingly common sight; Abigail planted her hands on the floor, shut her eyes and steadied her breathing. Then she stood up sharply and began gathering her combat gear. The problem was that her balance, after prolonged aerial manoeuvres in space and a rushed re-entry, was utterly disrupted for the time being. Yet she carried herself with a chaotic grace like a young sailor on a storm-tossed ship, with the practice and haggard ease of someone who’s clearly trained, and trained, and trained to handle herself in these states. She staggered from one end to the other, her movements deliberate, controlled, unstable, erratic all at once. Once she had her combat gear she tugged her helmet loosely over her head, pulled her elbows in and flung herself out of the cockpit. Jakunta watched her bounce off the Kolibri's chassis and land in the dirt then followed her down.

Offering an elbow for the young woman to hold onto, the two pilots made their way back to the Krakono. It took Abigail a moment to get to the hatch. Once inside, Jakunta sealed the entry and Abigail pulled her helmet off, burped then gingerly lowered herself onto the floor so she was lying on her back.

“No signal from the escape pod. Is good and bad.” he murmured. “We need to wait for the others to land, hopefully they aren’t getting minced up there.” he let out a deep breath. “In the meantime, see if we can figure out her trajectory from the debris. At least give us a direction to turn to once the others arrive.”

"Would a pod have any debris?" Abigail asked. "It's risky - all the space crap from that fight is also getting sucked into orbit. I'm willing to bet we'll start seeing burning chunks of MASes, cruisers and Horizon Point soon."

“If she emits some kind of signal we can more accurately find her- so can the enemy though.”

"Krakono's on its emergency lights and I'm letting Kolibri cool off," Abigail retorted. She rolled her head to look at Jakunta and clearly regretted doing so. "Sorry if I sound like a negative Nancy here - but she's also a fully trained pilot and we're in the middle of nowhere. As much as I want to find her, I feel we're not going to be able to do much except make it harder for the Roanoke to find us."

"And besides." Abigail gingerly turned to look back up at the ceiling. "If she's dead and we stay here, our orders were to drop and we followed procedure by providing as much information as we could and remaining where we landed so the Full Echo could be used and the Roanoke could locate us. If she's dead and we chase her...then we weren't fast enough, right?"

“You talk a fuck ton for a someone that should be shutting up and making sure she doesn’t vomit.” Jakunta interrupted.

"If I couldn't do my job whilst under the effects of violent vertigo I wouldn't be here," Abigail forced a grin. "My job is to annoy pilots." She went quiet for a bit. "I do feel like crap though."

“Let me say correctly: You’re talking too much.” he nodded, getting to work on assisting the Krakono with temporary shutdown.

"Does this mean I can sleep off the Dizzies?" She lifted her head and regretted it more. "Military mandated naptime?"

“Yes. I’m going to shut MAS down. So enemies don’t catch any machinery.”

"Since you don't have double vision and can aim a gun I think you should be on the lookout for now." With great delicacy, Abigail lifted herself and grabbed Jakunta's jacket from the back of his chair. She bundled it up into a pillow as she lay back down, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Wake me up when you spot the princess," she murmured.

Jakunta didn’t respond. He climbed up the hatch again, gun in hand to keep a physical lookout. As he stood watch he cycled through the various radio channels but only heard static. He leant back a little and looked down at Abigail. The pilot was fast asleep already - if not, she was lying as still as possible with her mouth open as she tried to recover what little balance she could before anything developed.

He sighed and went back to his ‘post’, gazing out across the gargantuan, heavy branches. The crystalline lake glimmered in the distance and the breeze rolling across its surface tousled his hair.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate - Accepting again!

We'll be keeping this open until this scene ends, then closing the group for the next mission. If you're interested in some imminent Costco related hijinks, consider joining

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

Abigail couldn't afford to pay attention to anything else on the battlefield except her own MAS and the MAS units hot on her trail. As such, she didn't notice that the Yeoman had been engaged nor that the Sparrowhawk was tussling with a Fenrir. Every fibre of her being was singlemindedly devoted to keeping ahead of - and away from - the trio of Garmrs and their bursts of fire. So when they tried to pen her into a straight line, Abigail was on the Comms going "Now-...now? Backup! BackupbackupbackupBACKUP-" with increasing panic.

In the handful of seconds Abigail had to adapt to her new situation she grabbed her M15 combat blade, suddenly engaged her thrusters against her trajectory and tilted downwards, then twisted the Kolibri around and slammed the knife upward. The sudden deceleration was an agonising lurch even in the suit as a pained yell crackled through the Comms. Lt. Amy and Abigail veered off in a wild spin after the heat knife gouged into the Garmr and their combined momentum sent them flying. There still wasn't any time to relent. Since Abigail had launched the counterattack she was just as quick to disengage, wrenching the knife free and using the spinning Garmr as leverage to push herself out of the spin and away from the engagement to try and right herself.

As Abigail went off in a wide arc, the other two pilots opened fire. This time, one of them hit the mark. With most of the Kolibri's strength in avoiding projectiles before they hit, the explosive rounds tore through the lessened armour plating like paper and blasted through one of the foot-like struts at the bottom of the MAS. Though the damage wasn't too severe Abigail's balance was thrown off as she was sent in another spin, crying out in surprise as she wrestled with the controls to right herself and get out of the way. Her priority was less about evading another hit and more to do with getting control of the machine before they moved in once more, so as the undamaged Garmr closed in and levelled its rifle with the Kolibri's whirling chassis...

A thick cylinder of light enveloped the Garmr in a blindingly bright flash, leaving behind a smattering of melted debris and viscera in the vacuum of space.

On the hull of the Roanoke the monstrous behemoth of the Krakono had finished positioning, stabilising and preparing it's laser cannon. The barrel still glowed with residual heat as it recalibrated to sluggishly follow the Kolibri as Abigail was able to adapt to the damage and sweep upwards, far away from the carnage that Jakunta just left behind.

“Pipsqueak this is Grizzly, stabilise yourself and make way back to the Roanoke- you’re hit bad. One Garmr still on your tail.” came Jakunta’s voice through the encrypted combat comms.

"Right you are," Abigail breezily responded as she hacked her way through various evasive manoeuvres and outpaced the final remaining Garmr and his frenzied spurts of ammunition.

Laserfire streaked across the side of the Kolibri’s hull before it abruptly shut off, smoke and dust from a quartet of mirco missiles obscuring it from view. A gray and orange blur swooped in moments later, disappearing into the cloud. The bungled mass of both the Sparrowhawk and the Garmr it was ramming tumbled out of the smoke before Ingram kicked off of the thing, his Sparrowhawk’s wrists extended. Streaks of burning green and orange flew in a wild spray as Ingram unloaded a pair of scattershot canisters into the lightly armored Garmr. The iridium pellets tore into the Garmr’s chest and torso, leaving deep gouges as the unit powered down, unresponsive.

“You’re welcome,” Ingram said unprompted, as the Sparrowhawk paused for a moment, reorienting itself and examining the battlescape for another opening.

Abigail coughed a few times, groaning slightly. It wasn't that she was not accustomed to it; being subjected to such differing forces and pressures at unpredictable intervals was uncomfortable and laborious even at the best of times. It really wasn't uncommon for Abigail to sound hurt or tired during a fight as she usually handled these manoeuvres with some short reprises between them.

"Hey Grizzly wanna see me land on one leg-"

"Roanoke, this is River Styx. I'm going to need an escort as I pass through the battle space. The ISS is too far out to provide support for Sunray. Requesting the 7th's supp-"

The Kolibri skidded somewhat but arrested it's momentum on the chassis of the Krakono, as it had done so many times before. One metal hand curled around a cannon with the other levelling the rifle. "We've gotta move," Abigail spoke lowly into the Comms - all traces of her silliness had evaporated.

“Did you fuckin’ hear th-”

"This is River Styx! Contact! I am being engaged by four times Coalition irregulars! I've lost power to one engine. Sunray is aboard this ship! I say again! Sunray is aboard! I need immediate assistance!"

“Fucking hell,” Ingram cursed across the squad channel, “Squad, new priority- someone go grab Styx and walk his ass to the Roanoke! Now!”

"Detach from the Roanoke Grizzly, we gotta go." Abigail's thrusters lit up as she got ready to rush towards the coordinates, but her soldier's instinct kept her close to the heavy MAS. Jakunta didn’t respond, only acted. The heavy MAS was in the process of slowly but steadily building up speed to manoeuvre itself gradually in the direction of the River Styx. Abigail circled around the Krakono as it started to take off, but the frenzy of the battle was starting to affect the space around them. "Brace, brace! Ten o' clock!" The Kolibri swung behind the Krakono as a hunk of Horizon Point smashed into its hull - nowhere near enough to cause any damages to the plating but the shrapnel and debris cluttered the surroundings and forced Abigail underneath the MAS, clinging to the flame vents.

"Ferryman this is Pipsqueak! Me and Grizzly are coming as fast as you can, could you give us an update?" Abigail shouted down the Comms and detached from the Krakono, ducking and weaving through some of the detritus of the space battle. There was no response; Abigail wasted some ammunition to cut through what was left of a Sentry MAS and pushed aside the wreckage.

After a few agonisingly long moments and without making any real progress towards the carrier, the River Styx sent out one last message:

"Roanoke, this is Ferryman. Sunray is aboard a lifepod and is ejecting toward Cerol. Send a recovery team immediately."

For a brief moment Abigail and Jakunta floated in silence. They watched through the HUD as the River Styx was shorn up into pieces by Coalition irregulars and the explosions grew from its hull like sickly orange tumours. Then Abigail's UI started flashing and Kolibri wheeled away to avoid a few flashes of a laser. "Orders, Grizzly?" She asked Jakunta, her voice clipped and a little affected.

“They’re clear. We gotta’ rally with everyone. Chase up after the escape-pod and make sure they don’t destroy it or capture it.”

"Right." Abigail lifted her MAS from the Krakono. "We'll need the Full Echo. Commanders, the Krakono is en route to whatever the fuck is left of the River Styx."

Ingram’s comms lit up, but he didn’t speak for a slow, agonizing moment. “Pips, Grizzly.” He managed to get out through gritted teeth after a moment of hesitation, “Leave the Styx, Secure the escape pod. Sunray has prio.”

Abigail had already wheeled the Kolibri around. She used its arm to shove aside the detritus of what must've been an old restaurant bar. "Boss, elaborate. 'Secure the escape pod?'" she asked. The Krakono's thrusters didn't turn the beast immediately but having some anti-spacecraft weaponry pointed at whatever took down the Styx as they withdrew from the area wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Mid-flight, or…? What about the Roanoke - the rest of the squadron?"

“Drop, now!” Ingram barked through gritted teeth- it was a tough call, but there was no time for hesitation. Especially with the escape pod already entering the atmosphere, even a minute of indecision would result in the VIP touching down much further away.

“We’ll catch up, but we cannot lose that pod. Secure the pod, find cover- we’ll figure out exfil when we make landfall.”

There was another pause.

"Yessir," came Abigail's voice through the Comms. "Preparing for re-entry. Starting up the Full Echo. Swapping to a private channel to co-ordinate with Grizzly. Have fun out there, guys."

There was a click and Abigail's comms went completely silent, the image of her helmet fizzling out of the HUD. Jakunta's portrait followed shortly after.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

"...Wow." Abigail leaned back a little, her lips curling into a smile. "A bona fide, honest-ta-jesus heretic. Ex-catholic and a witch. You must be tryin' to set a new record fer 'fastest one way trip to hell', huh?" Again, it wasn't an overtly malicious and antagonistic approach. Despite making her beliefs ridiculously clear she hadn't spun off on some religious tirade because, unfortunately, she had more important questions on her mind. "So how'd you do it? Y'know. With the goat?"

“They don’t do goats. Think they let the goats do them.” Brooks didn't look up from his magazine.

"But there's a uh, a logistics issue. The size difference, fer one. Was it a lady goat?" Abigail looked down at Zephyr, then back at Brooks for further information. "If a fella has to fornicate with a goat is it always gonna be a man-goat on another man or a lady?"

“No. A man-goat is what comes out after they do it.”

"That's some real satanic shit." Abigail mulled over this new, awful information. "...Even out of the guys?" She looked at Zephyr, horrified. "Where'd it come out of?"

“Alright, quit teasin’ him.”

Abigail glanced over at Brooks and scowled. "Laugh all you want. The government did a pretty fine job of hidin' the real practices of paganism from the rest of America so folk like you don't think it's as dangerous as it is. Youth pastor Jonathan told me they had to make a pact with the devil by givin' themselves to goats just to get his true power." She looked down at Zephyr, a mix of disgust and resignation on her face. "Guess you got what you bargained for, and since I'm also a Godless reject... I'm grateful yer pointin' them cursespells at the folk who are tryin' to kill me."

Another attempt to reach out. A horribly misguided, poorly understood but genuine attempt to be nice. Abigail scratched her spotty cheek and wouldn't meet Zephyr's gaze.

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

"EVA! EVA, start the fucking engine!"

"EVAAAAHSHIT I don't have any fucking privileges!"

Abigail slammed into the corner of a wall and kept running, shouldering past personnel as she gunned it for the hangar bay. A familiar lumbering figure cut out from the other people-sized crew of the Roanoke. "JAK!" Abigail hollered, followed by something brief and desperate in Savonian.

“On it! EVA, start the Kolibri and the Krakono." Jakunta glanced down at Abigail. "I’m staying with the ship!”

"Good. I'd like somewhere to land when we're done cleaning up this mess," Abigail flashed him a brief smile and sped up to get to the hangar bay.

A path split for the pilots to reach their vehicles and Abigail scrambled into the Kolibri as fast as she could. The moment her rear end planted onto the seat her flight suit clipped into place around her and she pulled the helmet on whilst the cockpit closed and sealed shut - already the HUD had been enabled and the thrusters had warned up somewhat from being activated early. Her breathing calmed. Her fingers curled around the control stick and she felt the dull thumps of the cables detaching from the machine. Then the rails jettisoned her into space right after Ingram's Sparrowhawk had been launched into the fray and for the first time, Abigail got a good look at what they were dealing with.

"Pipsqueak here," she called out over Comms when the check came through. She waited for everyone to respond. "I'm looking at several warships, frigates, destroyers and a whole swarm of Coalition MAS units. They vastly outnumber us, definitely outnumber the fleet, but not to worry - I'm sure if we do this diplomatically and teach them about our superior way of li--"

The Comms cut as Abigail swerved leftward to avoid a spray of bullets that exploded against the hull of the Roanoke. "Nevermind, they tried to turn my MAS into a sieve so I doubt they're interested in a peaceful surrender. That cruiser wants a go at us so I'm going to draw out their Garmrs before they get to Eyes and Grizzly. Who knows," Abigail turned on the throttle and started peeling out towards the oncoming forces, "maybe a couple of those Mk.II Fenrirs will join in."

Abigail fired a few warning shots towards the quartet of Garmrs and ducked under their ranks, releasing a couple of flares nearby that popped in flashes of light as she wheeled around and 'retreated' long enough to catch the attention of the pilots. Only two of the four tried to engage, causing the Kolibri to pitch to the right and roll over to face them long enough to fire a few more shots at the stragglers before shifting direction again and zipping upward. "They're not going for me because they have the advantage," Abigail reported. "Give me a minute - I'll need to keep pressing them." Despite the manoeuvres becoming increasingly erratic, Abigail's tone was calm - clipped slightly because she was multitasking but a far cry from her usual exuberance.

A crackle of static, followed by the familiar, intense, knife's-edge focus of Aleks' voice.

"Pipsqueak, this is Deadeye. I have line of sight, designate your highest priority target, over."

There was a roar of engine, silenced completely by the vacuum of space, and a brief streak of blue light and vapour as he manoeuvred. Rifle up, target group designated, and firing solutions preparing - six parts training, two parts experience, one part computer, and the last part pure huntsman's instinct. Coalition troops were well trained and had good discipline, but when you combined the harassment of the Kolibri with the sudden and unannounced arrival of a sharpened tungsten core in your wing lead's fleshy pilot body, anyone would be prone to panic.

Which was precisely what Abigail needed.

Even if it meant Aleks getting closer than he had planned to, in order to make the shot - but then, the enemy were advancing anyway.

Abigail's responses were as erratic in timing as her movements. She needed to pause to readjust the MAS, which spun and twirled in her hands with ease when unfettered by gravity and an atmosphere. "Whichever one out of the two that aren't following," she spoke out suddenly. "Don't let them-" a downwards dive - "know what we're up to. Or it won't work on the others." Another pause. "Tell me when you're about to fire. I'll piss off the other guy."

"At present distance travel time is point three of a second. Firing in one point seven seconds. Round is two seconds out…" rifle up, sights locked, trigger squeeze- "now!"

That was the beauty of it; it wasn't about the shot itself.

The Kolibri made a screamingly sharp turn back towards the oncoming Garmrs as another burst of ammunition swept under its feet and began opening fire on the two still advancing towards the Roanoke before Aleks' shot had a chance to hit. When one of the speedy MAS units was punctured by a massive projectile and went hurtling backwards, the other had to combined shock of losing a comrade and a UEE 'sparrow' MAS flying blisteringly close to its chassis after a few stray rounds tore through some plating. It wasn't meant to look coordinated. The real threat was the Yeoman in the back but the whizzing and rattling of the Kolibri spraying ammunition and getting far too close for comfort was effectively keeping them from progressing…

And thus, the remaining three Garmrs turned as a unit and started hounding Abigail's MAS with fervour.

Abigail did a cocky little barrel roll to taunt them.

"Okay, they're on me proper-" for a moment Abigail sounded winded as she decelerated quite sharply and drifted her MAS at an angle to avoid the next burst of firepower. Each turn was a complete and utter shift in pacing and direction. "-mind the Fenrirs. Give my three time to forget about you and tell - FNG what we're doing in the meanwhile so she-fuck-doesn't try to help me."

"Roger." He switched radio channels, panels in his cockpit coming to life and changing on their own as he controlled the MAS directly through his cybernetics. "Clara, this is Deadeye - Commander Danielsson." He clarified. "Pipsqueak is doing well, acting as a distraction, does not presently require intervention. What is your status?"

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

Abigail scritched her head. Maybe she just wasn't old enough or simply not worldly enough to get the concept of one man and a lot of women but she flat out missed the connotations. "Don't much see a benefit to being around a bunch'a ladies," she admitted, " 'cept that they don't smell as bad as fellers do when they don't shower. In truth, this is also the largest amount of women I've been trapped in a room with." She nodded solemnly. "We'll get through this together buddy. You 'n I." It was an odd way to show sympathy but at least Abigail was showing sympathy. Somewhere under the sleep deprivation and general wariness around the group, she was trying to extend a feeble attempt at getting along with people instead of just keeping to herself and running laps around the mall like a pissed off hamster in a wheel.

"By th'way did you just say gods?" Abigail honed in on the phrase with a unnerving intensity. "Plural?" She added on. "As in, more than one?" It was hard to tell which way her demeanor was going to shift when she was this tired. She just watched Zephyr, hawklike and unmoving, until he decided to elaborate.