A week later, R&D section
Mathieu worked to quash another bug in the Para-RAID system alongside Annette, while Sam had undergone the first stage of training for the role of Handler. Even if they got the Para-RAID device from Annette, when and if she agreed to help them, a backup wouldn't hurt, not to mention having a tactically sound and caring mind working as a Handler within the ranks of the Republic's forces would provide them with extra intelligence that would otherwise be unattainable.
Even so, Sam seemed a bit too chipper about the fact her training was going well. It was likely that the good major's attitude toward helping the Eighty-Six was getting to her. Indeed, Mathieu himself had been enamored by the idea of getting these people somewhere safe, especially after the rescue of Theoto Rikka's camp last week. The children were still being treated aboard the Serene.
He eyed the bug in the system and grinned as he began punching in the remedial coding lines on his laptop. Once he completed the rewritten data to better fit the code, he sent it directly to Annette's station, before closing the laptop and arranging his Republic uniform. It felt wrong at times to wear a different uniform to that of the UNSC. Even ONI Section One's uniform felt normal in comparison, compared to that of a regime like this.
He leaned forward, rubbing his eyes, then said "Think that's the last bug from this iteration...?"
"Sure hope so," Annette replied as she ran the code, the monitor flashing varying windows into the girl's retinas. Her glasses amplified the flashes of blue light, causing her to wince and look away while the code ran. She turned toward him, curious, then looked him over. There was always something odd about him, so she felt whenever she saw him so jauntily walk in to help the eggheads solve their problems. Someone smart like that wouldn't join the army willingly, or at least would be recruited immediately into the higher echelons.
His sister, meanwhile, seemed careless, just training for the sake of having something to do, akin to one of the Alba who'd join the army out of a desire not to seem like a lazy bum, or maybe to meet some guy. Still, she operated on a seemingly similar compass to her brother. The two must've joined because of their families, though, since they did seem far more military than the ones around them. What she couldn't tell was who or what he was. There was no reason to be here with a proficiency in IT. Much less was there a reason to be this nice to a military researcher like her.
He looked to her, then asked, "Something the matter, Annette?"
"... What are you...?" She asked, leaning toward him, her words dripping skepticism, her face an emotionless mask.
"... I'm a soldier of San Magnolia. A researcher. Like you," He replied sternly after a single moment of hesitation, leaning back into his chair and staring her right in her silver eyes. The two held each-other's gaze for several minutes, neither being willing to back down, because for one it was a matter of figuring out her new co-worker and for the other, it was a matter of understanding whom he was dealing with without having to reveal the situation at hand.
"Maybe... But a lot of the eggheads of San Magnolia usually find better jobs in other fields within weeks of completing their courses, instead of staying in the arms of the military. Pay's trash, your only comfort is that you're creating some new communication tech or other and nobody as smart as you would join the military, especially with the skills you have in the IT Department... You'd more likely be part of the higher governmental functions like the propaganda ministry or something... I'm stuck here because I chose to be, out of courtesy for my late father... So," She gazed at him, "What exactly are you?"
The room suddenly felt several degrees colder as Lena stepped inside after finding out that today was another day that lacked activity. With several of the radars still offline and no movement from the Legion on the others, she figured she'd come hang out with Annette and Mathieu again, to make sure the two were getting along. Still, she was now staring at the first confrontation they've had since the arrival of the Agents a week ago.
"Oh, major," Mathieu didn't even turn to greet the girl, "Annette was just inquiring about my origins... She seems to have figured out something's wrong with me and my sister."
Her friend looked over to her, raising a brow and Lena sighed, then shook her head, "I guess any time's good. Considering I've been pleading with you folks for a bit to tell Annette about everything... Annette, this may be a little hard to believe, but please bear with me and Mathieu here..." before she began explaining, taking everything from the moment she met the first UNSC asset, DAGGER Team.
What Annette listened to seemed to be in the realm of science-fiction. The two could see the disbelief growing in her eyes as she listened to them ramble about an extra-terrestrial human fleet floating high above the planet and troops being sent by them to assist the Eighty-Six in their battle for survival. She had been utterly skeptical of the whole story until Mathieu, the UNSC/ONI officer that she'd been talking to for the better part of a week without knowing it, showed her the images from the Fleet and the holographic device that was used to convince Lena.
Annette blinked, staring at the image of a dozen UNSC ships, boxy things, angular, plated in coal-black armor and hovering in geosynchronous orbit, filmed from aboard a Pelican that was going down below, her mouth agape and eyes brimming with the disbelief she had so far shown through her facial expressions. A slew of emotions crossed her face, ranging from joy, to fear, to surprise, to a slight anger(this one when giving Lena a quick look, probably for hiding this from her) and finally, to pragmatic calm.
She spoke to the man, "... I want to call absolute bull on those ships in orbit, but... The footage..."
"It's all real," Lena assured, fiddling with her thumbs.
"I figured, Lena..." Annette pinched her brow. She removed her glasses and started rubbing her eyes while Mathieu looked at her. Leaning back into her office chair, far more pale than before, Annette spoke as calmly as she could, "... And what are you doing in orbit over our planet? We're at war... There's nothing nice to see down here beyond abandoned cities and destroyed hopes and dreams..."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," He smirked, then stated with the most amount of snark a Frenchman could afford himself, "There's also racist semi-totalitarian Republics, genocides and horrendous propaganda painting a war between a slave army and some machines as just machine versus machine," and he saw that hit a nerve. He then leaned forward, staring her in the eye, despite her annoyed demeanor, and said "Aside from the fact we can't depart this place? When the UNSC found out about what was happening to the Eighty-Six, we decided to help... Because our job is to secure the survival of humanity, no matter where they are or who they are. And the Eighty-Six? Well... You can figure what comes next."
"... Hmm..." She sighed, pinching her brow, "And let me guess... You told Lena to keep quiet about this?"
"Nope. Not I, nor my sister... That was on DAGGER Team, one of our elite special operations forces we sent as forward scouts into San Magnolia's inner borders," He replied, then added, "Now, I know I don't need to, but I gotta give you the cliché warning of:You're not allowed to tell anyone unless you wanna wind up dead in a gutter somewhere... Y'know..."
"I know, I know," Annette replied in a deadpan, "No need to go on with the rest. I know the spiel from old spy movies... I won't talk to anyone else."
"Good,' He nodded.
"So, why are you here, then? There must be a reason beyond faking being a friend and helping me remove bugs from an OS," She inquired, causing the ONI agent and Lena to wince. It was a pretty nasty stab at the man's belief that he was doing a good thing, but being the ONI spook that he was, he took it in stride from the outsiders' perspective, snorting annoyedly, then looking back to the girl.
"As much as I know you ain't gonna believe me, I wasn't faking anything. I'll leave it at that for now," He replied, incensed, then added, "We're here to see how we can further help the Eighty-Six. Namely, we're here because we're looking for intelligence and a way to allow us to communicate and coordinate with groundside troops. The Para-RAID device, to be specific."
"... And you were hoping I could spare you one, right?" She looked to Lena, "Because the good major just... Can't be a simply average officer. She has to have a moral compass, care for her equipment and other crazy things like that," She paused, then looked back to Mathieu as the boy listened, surprised, and then continued, "Which means that if her Para-RAID went missing, there'd be questions, no answers, maybe an investigation that could reveal your operations?"
Lena and Mathieu looked to one-another, then to Annette and said together, "That about sums it up."
Annette cracked a genuine smile and snorted, then said, "I told you your diligence was gonna get you in trouble, Lena..."
"Yeah, haha..." The girl chuckled, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.
"Anyways... While I view the major's misguided attempts to assist the Eighty-Six as nothing but an endeavor doomed to fail, both for her and for those she's trying to help..." Annette grew serious again, looking to Mathieu with disappointment in her eyes and to Lena with nothing more than pity. She turned back to her station, typing in a few more lines of code as she added, "I'm not at liberty to give you a Para-RAID device."
"It's a military asset that cannot leave the laboratory if it's in here..." she turned to see them stare, surprised, then continued rather shrewdly, "However, if it were somehow to get lost, as so many of them seem to do, thanks to the morons we have as part of the handler corps..." She paused for effect, then gave a nod to Lena, still friendly with her as she added, "The good major notwithstanding..." And in Lena's mind flashed the memory of the four drunks while Annette finished up, "I don't think anyone would even miss it, beyond the person who lost it getting a reprimand..."
Mathieu smiled at the girl, then said "I can already see the gears turning in the major's head..." as he, too, realized the girl had made herself as untouchable as possible to the long arm of the law. Plausible deniability, even with the suggestion of the Para-RAID device 'going missing' due to being stolen. He looked to Lena and said, "Tell my sister whatever you figured out. She can help..." before standing up and saying to Annette, his words chosen carefully, "We owe you one..."
"You owe me more than one, Mathieu... If that's even your real name," She replied sourly, then sighed deeply and stated nonchalantly, "If you ever do come back here after getting the device... You can still refer to me as Annette. You saved my ass back there with the coding and I won't forget that. Just..." she turned back to her work, "If you ever want to hide something from me, just know I've lived with Lena and my own science team here long enough to be able to tell many people's ticks... Goodbye."
"Annette," Mathieu started.
"... Please," She replied, "I need to focus."
Sighing, the man nodded and said, "Okay... Well, see you."
"Mhm..." She replied, focusing on her work. The man took his cue to leave, looking to Lena as they stepped away.
"Don't take it personally. Annette's... Like that," Lena spoke as they walked down the halls. The man nodded, his expression unchanged as they walked back out into the lobby of the palace, to the sight of the great statue of San Magnolia herself, as well as of the groups of officers and San Magnolia soldiers lounging around, laughing and talking as they listened to military broadcasts. Lena hummed, scanning the lobby, then said "I have an idea of whom to take the stuff from... I just have to... Ah," She smirked, then pointed toward the laughing drunkards, "Those fools are also Handlers... They just don't give enough of a damn about it to do anything beyond be drunk on the job."
"Huh..." Mathieu stared at them, watching them laugh, joke and scramble over each-other for their next bottle of alcohol, their cheeks rosy. He smirked, then stated, "Well, they should be easy enough to deal with... How do you want to do this, major? Have them fall asleep, or should we get a distraction ready for them?" to which Lena looked right at the men sat on that couch.
"... How would you get them to fall asleep?" She raised a brow.
"Drug the next bottle that would be delivered to them. ONI kits have both lethal and non-lethal options for operations like that," The man replied, grinning. Lena narrowed her lips, eyes wide both out of fear and out of surprise as she looked at the man. He chuckled, then saw her raise her index finger. He nodded, then said, "Alright. Option one it is... Let me just go get my kit from my locker."
Lena waited in the lobby, leaning against one of the many marble columns holding the tall ceiling of Palace Blancneige's lobby, watching as the people went about their lives calmly, with the other staff just doing their thing, moving around, talking, laughing, enjoying their time as if the Military was some kind of kids' camp for twenty and thirty-somethings that were still out looking for jobs.
Tapping her foot impatiently, she'd been there for long enough to see the next delivery of drinks coming in. Opaque bottles, brown-colored and probably filled to the brim with beer, were being carried by one of their youngest soldiers in the HQ, a Celena girl with glasses and chin-length silver hair, akin to Annette, if a bit more shy. She quickly left the bottles, then turned to leave before the men could address her.
Annoyed somewhat by the fact they couldn't interact with what must've been a fairly cute girl to them, the men turned to drinking, downing the contents of their new bottles gleefully and laughing together after they'd finished them. She scoffed. They were all pretty much freaking pigs, but they were still fellow citizens of her. If the UNSC could help with anything, it'd be whipping the damn military into shape once whatever they were planning came into fruition. It was, however, annoying that she had to wait for Mathieu to finish his search.
She paused, however, when she saw the men falling asleep one after the other. While this would've seemed suspicious if it was anyone else, only Lena found it weird as she saw them dropping like flies, dead asleep, their bottles clanking onto the floor. One of them, the fattest one, slouched forward, burying his face in his belly and staining the proud San Magnolian uniform with alcohol-laden spit.
She then saw Mathieu appear from one of the other columns and hand the girl some cash, strolling forward to the four drunk, sleeping morons and removing something from the fat one's pocket. He slid his hands into his own jacket's pockets, then approached the girl with a smirk on his face. Lena stared with awe at the man, admittedly impressed by his skill as he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and revealed the Para-RAID Device itself.
"... Wow..." She murmured.
"ONI knows what to do, major," He smirked, pocketing the device again. He tapped his earlobe and said, "I'll call for some friends to retrieve it at the end of the day and get it back to the fleet for R&D to get cracking... You got anything you need to do right now, major?"
"Right now? Probably go see if the Radars are finally online..." She stated slightly more loudly than normal as a group of other Handlers passed by. She then leaned forward and whispered to the man, "Just so we know to warn your fleet about sending any more reinforcements. I'll go, now," She offered, then stepped away from him and walked toward the Handler rooms. Mathieu shrugged, then sighed and started climbing the stairs back up, too, to go back to R&D.
He wasn't going to let things with Annette stay as they were, honestly, mostly for her own benefit, or at least more-so than his own. He did actually like the girl. She was cute, witty, smart and he honestly had a thing for chicks with glasses, though he'd never admit that kind of thing in front of a girl so easily. Not to mention something really fit well about silver hair and eyes on a pretty girl like that.
He also genuinely felt bad for the first time in his life. Annette seemed like a nice girl, but she was definitely hiding a lot behind that façade of a tough, but friendly girl. Barely one week spent with her and he could easily tell something was bothering the girl on the psychological front. He'd figure out what it was even if it killed him... Which, frankly, with some of the other experiments he knew she was doing on the side, it probably would. He sighed deeply, then steeled himself.
Entering the room, he seemed to have caught Annette by surprise. She turned to him, eyes wide, then asked, "What're you doing back here...?"
"Well, I couldn't just leave my testing buddy alone, could I?" He quipped. She rolled her eyes, then turned back to work, only to hear him say, "I can understand why you're pissed, seeing as you figured out something was iffy about me after barely a week. I'd ask how, but I don't think I wanna know the answer to something that may get me fired from my job."
She scoffed, then snorted, "Smartass..."
"Which is why I'm saying this," He added, "I can tell something is bothering you, too. So," and he sat himself down in his chair, "But I'm not gonna inquire until you're ready to tell me. For the most part, I'm here to do the job I was assigned to do."
"I'd've figured you'd go back up to your ship with the Para-RAID... If you even got it..." She shot back, tapping more lines into a code window. The man whistled, taking her attention to him as he lifted the Para-RAID Device from his pocket, a grin on his face. She hummed, then said "Must've been easy..." before turning back to work once more, seemingly unimpressed.
"It was," He added as he settled in with his Laptop, seemingly more calm than boasting about his skills. He then spoke, "If you feel like giving us away... Well, good luck... But if you feel like talking? Well, I'm open to listen when you want to."
A moment of silence ensued between the two, the air only filled by the sound of tapping on the keyboards of their respective computers. Annette hummed something as she wrote in code, but did not want to ask the ONI Spook for any help, considering. She had a certain pride about her in regards to not asking foreigners to do things. It was almost stupid, seeing as she was following in every Alba's footsteps.
That thought made her scornful. She had done the unforgivable so long ago, by giving away her childhood friend and his family to the rest of the Republic. She narrowed her lips, grit her teeth and closed her eyes. Breathing out, she spoke, "I'm not gonna tell on you, your sister, or Lena... Lena's been one my best friends since I joined the military and if she trusts you two, I may as well show a little faith in her. Let me repeat... I'm doing this for her... But I'm going to need proof that you aren't all just full of shit... That you're helping her and them."
"If and when time allows it, I'll show you what we're doing for them," He replied, still feeling that she had no trust in him. He hummed, continuing to type away at the console. He hummed, then pulled out the holo-transmit device, activated it and handed it to her after setting it to replay the helmet cam footage of the Marines. He didn't even bother to look, well aware of what she was seeing. He stated, "Theoto Rikka's camp has been evacuated to our fleet. They are all being tended to... And, currently? Similar operations have already begun across the other camps."
"... That's..." She paused
"Mhm," He nodded, "And we're still doing more. We will do more once we secure the tech... We will help them fight and win your damn war, so that they can at least get home."
"... That's a nice sentiment, coming from a spook," Annette quipped, leaning back into her chair. She looked back to him, then asked, "What the hell drove the UNSC to be like this, anyway? Your people, you're a space faring species, a variation of humanity that got up there without somehow killing each-other... Why drop by what must be a primitive world to you to back us up?"
"Two reasons," The man answered, "One is the fact that our ship FTL drives are currently unusable due to outside factors," and he turned to her, too, "The other is because the UNSC is a military force made by humanity for humanity, to protect and serve our own... No matter if they're asshats like your government or people in trouble like the Eighty-Six..."
"I'm gonna hazard a guess and say you prefer helping the latter while... Dealing... With the former," She noted.
"Not wrong..." He nodded, "Not wrong at all." Noticing his sister at the door, he took the Para-RAID Device out of his pocket and threw it to her. She caught it mid-flight, slid it into her own pocket, then waved goodbye before stepping away. Meanwhile, the man hummed, then leaned back into his chair and asked, "That a problem? That we wanna deal with a corrupt government that would sooner see innocents die in a war that's more a genocide-by-proxy than welcoming them back in?"
"No," She replied after a slight hesitation. She then added, "Just make sure you don't burn the place to the ground and give us an actual government to take care of things..."
"That was already in the cards, Annette," He replied, giving her a half-smile.
She sighed, "Okay... Good to know..." before returning to work, though she hid a smile.
Mathieu had realized when he started that this would take a long time to get through. To the intel and to the girl. He'd do it, still. For his own sake, the sake of the people, both Eighty-Six and Alba, and that of Annette. Speaking of, the girl said to him, "It's gonna take a lot more for me to talk to you than some sweet words... If you tell me your real name? When you tell me your real name... I may just open up."
"... Heh. Noted."
She liked him, too. He could tell.
Later, aboard the UNSC Serene Mind.
The R&D team basically scrambled over each-other to learn about the new device that had just arrived. To the good Admiral, it was quite incredible to look at. Doctor Rochefort's team had already begun tearing apart the device to see every single piece of technology, test it, figure out its purpose and develop it for use for the UNSC Forces. The Admiral had allowed the usage of coms for orbital discussions between the UNSC and their ground troops, but not for deployment, due to the foreknowledge of the Eintagsfliege swarms and their jamming capabilities.
Honestly, she felt more relieved than anything at the knowledge they finally received the device that would turn the tide, allowing them to properly communicate with their forces and those of the Eighty-Six for future deployment. She was eager to know what her boys were going to do against the enemy that had so gleefully shot some of their best dead.
She watched as the doctors continued their work, unhindered, excited, their constraints only based on the morals of utilizing current test subjects. Her tablet pinged to her right, taking her out of her stupor for a moment, only for her to see it was a message from doctor Rochefort. She read it to herself, 'Estimate about half a month to a month to get our own Para-RAID Network up and running in parallel to the San Magnolian one... Perhaps a direct link for ground troops and the Eighty-Six to talk through will push it to the one-month marker. Will let you know of progress through weekly reports, but we'll be rushing this in case the Legion decides to engage...'
The Admiral snorted, then set the tablet back in her pocket and embarked on a trip to the bridge. Taking one of the many trams that linked the ships together, the UNSC's highest-ranking officer in the operational area that contained the planet, which has been kindly named 'Terra Nova' by the crews of the Fleet after a majority vote won over other crazy names, watched as day turned to night over their part of the world.
She wondered how the skies must've looked from the Eighty-Sixth Sector now, what with the minimal light pollution and everything. The flickering lights of the cities down below were faint, weird to look at. The continents were too familiar to her, almost causing a sensation of Déjà Vu. She blinked, rubbing her eyes just as she passed by the bay in which Gray Team was weeding out Gamma's S-IIIs for proper training. A few kids had already washed out, but those that remained looked like they were fighting tooth and nail. They vanished out of sight as the woman approached the bow of the ship and her stop.
She wondered to herself what it would take to win the war below. What kind of Tech would they need to properly combat the Legion's amassing forces?
It'd be a lot, she assumed. A lot more than they had on hand if they didn't play it smart. They'd have to work with the Eighty-Six, induct them into the ranks properly ,teach them UNSC co-operation and Combined Arms Warfare. If they could even use proper air assets with the jamming those damn flies caused, that was. The woman disembarked from the cart and entered the bridge moments later, finding it abuzz with activity as usual. The Captain was running diagnostics side by side with Charon, while the rest of the crew quietly spoke of new technological advancements on the horizon.
"So..." The Captain turned to face her, smirking. "Good news?"
"Very," She nodded, not surprised by the fact that the man would know what the word was aboard his own ship. She said, "One month, according to the doctors... Which, quite honestly, now that I think about it, seems quite insane for a technological advancement this powerful. I wonder how lucky we're going to get and how many of them will work on a first try..."
"You know Rochefort," The man replied with a chuckle, "Anyone can figure that thing out in a month or less? It's her. If there's ever been a smarter ONI Doctor, they're probably named Halsey and their current whereabouts are unknown."
The woman snorted, "Fair enough. We're settling in for the long-haul... Keep our ears open in case our soldiers do send pings from down below about enemy movement. Otherwise? It's a month's worth of waiting now."
The Admiral found pretty soon that the calculations the doctor made were accurate...
The madwoman that was Rochefort had a prototype set ready within the week for usage by humans. So that was two weeks since ONI's agents had fully deployed and more than a few weeks since the UNSC's main ground forces were sent planetside. Currently, the only unit able to receive the new devices was battalion-sized, specifically, Brísingamen's own escort units from the Armored Divisions. Just in time, too, seeing as Brísingamen had just gotten word from their EWS that enemy forces were poking their heads out, finally, for a probing attack. Some light vehicles and even a dozen tanks, on last checkup with the Captain down below.
She watched as the items were loaded onto the Pelicans, a smile on her face. She knew there were a lot of risks with the devices, but she was assured that the most that could happen would be minor communications blackouts between the Processors of the Eighty-Six squad and the UNSC's own troops. A Battalion's worth of devices built just like that...
The UNSC's devices more closely resembled earpieces that would fit under the helmets, such as microphones and the likes, though the woman had been told that the software that had been developed for the device would link to the Marine helmets' Heads-Up Displays with specialized updates, too. That Rochefort had had the time to do this kind of crazy shit impressed her to no end. Not to mention she had a beta version of the software that would run on the ships up and ready for trials as well.
Right now, though? She prayed they'd work...
Brísingamen HQ
News quickly hit planetside about the new equipment. The moment the Pelican landed, it was swarmed by the Marines running to retrieve their newest pieces of kit. Their own Para-RAID Devices were being mounted below their helmets, to their left ears, before each man left for the Motor Pool. The Marines that were going with the squadron on the Search and Destroy op, around a hundred men and women, began to mount up onto their Warthogs as preparations for deployment continued.
Shiden was grinning as she moved to board her own Juggernaut, ready herself for battle. She watched the Captain of the UNSC forces mount up on his own 'Hog, one with a gauss cannon on the back, as they prepared. She waved to the man from the side of her Juggernaut and he replied in kind, holding close his Battle Rifle while other Marines hauled AT launchers and extra ammunition.
Shiden boarded her Juggernaut, letting the aluminum coffin close around her, then cued her Para-RAID and linked herself to the main network, stating, "Cyclops, systems online..." as the multitude of cameras and targeting systems of the vehicle came online.
"Up early today, aren't we, Cyclops?" Inquired their Handler, a smug demeanor about him, "You piglets gonna be able to do your jobs?"
"Ain't gonna be a problem on our end, Handler," She replied, powering on the Juggernaut. The engines of their poorly-armored war machines rattled and roared to life as they now stood on all four mechanical legs. "We'll be in contact, but we'll be operating as usual... Keep us updated if you feel like it," She then stated, watching as Shana's own mech stood to its feet on her right.
The Handler didn't get a chance to reply before Shiden heard a ping and felt a second system trying to connect. She tapped her own Para-RAID Device, switching the frequency on the fly, then listened in as the UNSC Captain spoke, "... Direct link established with allies. Testing com system now. Captain Iida, can you hear me?" and saw him ready up his equipment as the Warthogs all lined up beside them. Five Gauss 'Hogs, a dozen MG 'Hogs and two Troop 'Hogs, their engines revving, the three-barrels of their gatling guns spinning up.
Shiden smiled, "Loud and clear, Cap. Glad to have you with us... Just keep off the main freq so you don't spook our Handler."
"Roger. Good to know the tech's working so far, though. We'll be right behind you," The man replied, his voice reverberating across both Squadrons' communications links. Shiden smirked, standing the machine up via the commands, then looking around as her Heads-Up Display updated to track the friendly targets that were UNSC Marines and their vehicles.
"Alright, Brísingamen! Looks like this is it! It took the Legion two weeks to wake up from their little nap time and in those two weeks, our new allies decided it'd be high-time for them to get their own Para-RAID up and running! I don't know how in the hell they did in two weeks what took a team of scientists some years to perfect behind that pretty fuckin' wall of theirs! Let's pray to the Heavens that their science corps knows their stuff!" She ordered, turning for the exit as the UNSC Troops who stood behind and their engineer corps opened the door. She stated, "UNSC Strike Package, I'll be taking the lead. Looks like the enemy's in a familiar spot. We'll be battling in and around a creek that I know like the back of my damn hand."
"Roger, Brísingamen Actual. We'll be right behind you. Our callsign is RAPIER on the com, lead the way..." He paused for a moment, linking with someone else. He then spoke calmly, as if giving a report, "Command, Para-RAID systems operating normally, communication between allied squadrons possible. Parallel confirmed. Transmitting data to shipboard systems for confirmation gathering. Combat operation about to begin. Out."
"Heh..." She smirked, "Alright, Eighty-Sixes! Let's show our new pals what our war is like! SQUADRON, ADVANCE! Chevron formation."
The first mech skittered out of the base's makeshift hangar at record speed, bouncing onto the soil as it roared down the road. Behind it, a dozen other Juggernauts and UNSC Warthogs advanced, the Marines cheering as they locked and loaded for bear. The few of them that weren't excited were the Corpsmen, the UNSC's medical staff according to them. They'd be on the front, trying to haul wounded out.
Shiden respected any man or woman willing to throw themselves into hell to save their comrades. She just wondered if the same kind of courtesy was to be extended to her own forces. She wasn't so sure that was the case, especially considering the likelihood of survival if one's Juggernaut was struck by anything above an Ameise's hull-mounted GPMGs. Tank-types like the Löwe would be far more dangerous.
As the group advanced, they came upon a descent off to the right. A thirty-five degree slope that dipped into a tiny valley of sorts. On the right of it, there was another similar incline and, in-between them, a stream of fresh water ran. Shiden clambered down the slope, fingers on the triggers as she looked over a small TAC-MAP on her HUD. She spoke, "Find ambush positions. From what our dear Handler tells us," She mockingly called him so, of course, "Legion's coming upstream. Guns hot and be ready to fire. Captain?"
"AT units are dismounting and preparing launchers. Gauss hogs are also settling in behind the shrubs and keeping their engines on. You just keep us updated, Actual," The man replied as the woman watched the Marines clambering up the slopes and moving into the shrubbery above and around the widening creek. Cyclops's own troops mobilized, mounting up beside the troopers and keeping their cannons pointed down the path the Legion was gonna be advancing.
Shiden smirked, then moved up to the top as well, hiding behind a bush where a Warthog also sat, its gauss cannon pointed directly toward the point where the first Legion unit was going to be advancing. She kept an eye on her HUD while watching the UNSC finish up their positioning, with some of the Marines bringing up the rearguard. They had the lighter weapons of the crew. Assault and battle rifles, pistols, the works. Two of them were Corpsmen.
"So..." Shiden started, now focused on talking to the UNSC Captain, "Hope you read the briefings, man..."
"We have," He replied calmly, though the noise of a racking assault rifle echoed in her ears. She hummed as he spoke, "We're going to be fine, Cyclops. And you'll be fine, too."
"Cyclops, capt'n. Forward Scout platoon, Odin here," Miko started, her voice stern, steely, serious, compared to when the UNSC troopers first met her. She reported, "First Legion unit's crossed ingress point... Confirming twenty Ameise in the first wave, plus two tanks behind. Several more squads of similar composition bringing up the rear... Grauwolfs in sight as well. Keep your heads down."
"Eintagsfliege coming up... Coms will go dark if anyone's running radio..." Another of Miko's scouts stated as the sky grew dark. Looking up, the woman saw the swarm of mayfly-like creatures flickering in the dimming sunlight, a weaving, dancing cloud that would cover the sky over the operational area. She licked her dry lips, hands wrapped tightly around her controls, fingers twitching just off the trigger of her 57mm cannon.
"... All scout units, enter ambush position with second platoon..." She ordered, her voice growing low, "UNSC assets... Y'all be ready now..."
Looking to her right, she saw a Gauss 'Hog's gunner staring up at the sky for a moment, watching as the machine bugs darkened the sky and the air grew colder around them. A faint, thin mist rose from the bottom of the creek, blanketing some of the Marines at the bottom and hiding them, hopefully managing to hinder the Legion's advance. The forwardmost squadron under Shana was going to make first contact. Beside them were two Gauss 'Hogs.
"... Did you piglets multiply while I was away? I'm seeing a dozen contacts around you, pinged 'Unknown'." Her Handler's voice echoed in her ear.
"Don't know what you're on about, Handler... Presume it's another one of the malfunctions to the Radars you spoke of..." She replied snidely.
"... Son of a bitch, not again... Going offline to check with command. You... Do whatever."
"Already on it, Handler," She smirked. Not like the fucker was much use in a combat situation anyway. He'd rather have been drinking wine with his pals in the safety of the HQ than be caught talking with the Eighty-six. Humming, the woman watched as the first machines crested a hill up ahead. The leading Ameise's frame was grimy, mucky, covered by dirt and grime from its belly down to its legs. It crawled first, into the ditch and into the fog.
Its single, lilac eye-stalk and sensor suite scanned the area. Shiden tensed up, watching the machine's beady eye looking over to the Marines in the bush while its brethren followed. Her fingers twitched on the triggers of her weapons as she eyed the next thing over. Eight-legged, colored the same strange silvery-grey-purple as their smaller anti-infantry brethren and with thicker, more well-armored hulls, as well as turrets mounting 120mm Smoothbore cannons, the backs flaring out in sharp, quill-like protrusions, the Löwe Main Battle Tanks of the Legion came next.
Their armored legs dug into the top-soil of the river as they marched in. Their narrow sensor slits were a problem because they couldn't see a damn thing. It was why the Ameise were moving ahead. They were the Legion's scouts. They made up for that through the heavy armor plating on the front, legs and face of the turret, however. Their 57mm APFSDS shells couldn't punch through anywhere but their rears.
Which was why she slowly turned her Juggernaut as the mist seemed to grow, enveloping the Ameise and reaching halfway up the hulls of the two Löwe in the squad. The Marines, meanwhile, maintained their positions. The troopers on the sides readied their ATGMs, while Gauss guns tracked the enemy's heavier units and MGs locked onto the Ameise. The woman narrowed her lips, her eyes locked onto the top turret of one of the Löwe...
She spoke, "Three..." causing the entire squadron to tense up.
"Two..." She wrapped her fingers gently around the triggers, her crosshair locked onto the rear of the first Löwe's turret. Sweat ran down her cheek. She licked a bead off the side of her mouth as it dripped, tickling her, before scoping in the machine properly, somehow surprised the Ameise hadn't spotted them or the Marines yet in the thick fog. Something was wrong.
"... One! ALL UNITS, FIRE AND MANEUVER! WASTE THE BASTARDS!" She cried, squeezing the twin triggers of her weapons. Fifty caliber ammunition left the two forward-mounted MGs and the main cannon roared as the first APFSDS shell left the barrel. Slamming into the Löwe's back, the shell spalled and splintered inside the automated turret of the machine, causing severe damage to the turret ring and staggering it.
The rattle of machine gun fire filled her ears. She heard Miko cry out, "SECOND FORMATION! SECOND FORMATION OF LEGION HAS JUST HIT OUR FLANKS! TWO MORE LÖWE AND A DOZEN MORE AMEISE AT THE FRONT!" her voice filled with panic.
"Fuck! They countered our ambush!" Shiden cried, "All units, engage in maneuver warfare, now! Keep moving or you fucking die!" and she saw two ATGMs streak down onto the enemy Löwe that still lived. Shaped charges pierced the side armor plating of the turret and hit ammunition, causing a cook-off that detonated the MBT and flung its turret several dozen meters into the sky.
Shiden powered the drive motors of her vehicle's legs and swiveled about, to see the second formation of Ameise and Löwe advancing through the treeline, the latter of the tanks tearing the trees out of their trunks. A 120mm APFSDS shell flew past her just as she skittered to the right, dodging out of the way. It impacted the ground in front of a pair of rolling Gauss Warthogs.
One of the two fast-moving LAVs' gunners fired. A white-hot projectile lanced out, striking one of the Ameise, down in the ditch as it and its brother were clambering out, before punching through and killing said brother in a splintering blast. The two machines exploded, followed by a third taking a Gauss round clean through the eye socket as it aimed for the trucks.
UNSC Marines appeared from the shrubs with assault rifles and opened up from behind Shiden as she moved forward, rallying her fellow Eighty-Sixes and crying out, "Behind me! All squadron forces, reform and engage! We're counter-thrusting into the bastards! Captain Stauffer, if you don't mind joining!?" and she gasped as she saw the Captains Warthog taking her right side, its weapon letting loose shot after shot into the lines of machines.
"Grauwolf missiles incoming, high, high!" She heard Shana cry. Plumes of smoke followed in the trail of burning engines. Multiple tracking missiles swiveled about at almost 90 degrees and aimed for the advancing counter-thrust. Several Marines hefted the spinning gatlings on the backs of their Warthogs to use them as improvised CRAMs. Bullets pinged off the stubby warhead mounts of a few of the missiles, some penetrating and causing the explosives inside to detonate.
One missile was deviated into the mouth of the creek by the explosion of its fellows, detonating and sending splashes of water, stone and dirt high. Two Warthogs vigorously worked to dodge the enemy missiles, their machine guns roaring, letting loose a continuous stream of rounds into the enemy line. Ameise returned fire, with rounds sparking off the armor plate of the 'Hogs as they surged forth.
Two Ameise ran off to the right of the spearhead of vehicles. Shiden noticed them, swiveling about and braking on all four legs of her machine. Warnings blared about hydraulics issues, but she didn't care, pushing the quadrupedal machine forward at high speed. Leading one of the two Ameise, she opened up on it with the machine guns on the forward mounts, raking the vehicle with lead and punching through the otherwise thin plating. The machine tumbled, sparking and igniting as a tracer round found its way into its own ammunition reserve.
She jumped out of the way of a streak of Machine Gun fire from the other machine that was attempting a flank, before she squeezed the trigger to the cannon. The APFSDS shell punched from one side of the Ameise to the other, a geyser of dirt flung into the sky after the round penetrated all the way and embedded itself into the ground. Stauffer called out, "Watch it, Cyclops, missiles high!"
She gasped, looking up and powering her Juggernaut's engines. Five missiles struck, creating a wall of fire and glassed earth that followed inches behind Shiden's vehicle. The explosions had been close enough for her to feel the shake of the thin hull of her vehicle. She turned to the left, ordering, "All units, maintain distance and continue being evasive! Odin, you and the Scouts are to link up with me while Melusine takes First Platoon down the middle! Melusine, you're fucking killing those Grauwolfs"
"RAPIER Actual to all UNSC units, assist as best as you can. AT infantry, position yourselves and pin down the enemy tanks for our Gauss Cannons to take care of them. Riflemen and Auto-Riflemen, engage with fifty-caliber ammunition. Herd the Ameise. I want two Gauss 'Hogs to locate the enemy's rocket artillery and help Melusine and her platoon eliminate them," She then heard Stauffer order.
She gasped as she watched one of their Juggernauts and a Transport Warthog that were advancing together get strafed. Two Ameise had locked onto them, their 7,62 MGs letting loose rounds that punctured the slanted armored glass of the 'Hog and almost cut through the paper-thin Juggernaut. She heard a grunt of pain, but the Processor aboard reported, "Minor injury sustained! I'm deviating, but the bastard just scratched me, Cyclops!"
One of the Marines on the back of the Troop 'Hog was not so lucky. He caught one right in the breastplate, which seemed to have knocked the air out of his lungs at the very least. One of his comrades caught him, took the AT Launcher he was carrying and gently set him down so he could catch his breath and fired one tube of the rotary launcher's two at the Ameise. The rocket banked, locked and struck the enemy machine, causing a blowout of components and ammunition as the tandem warhead detonated, effectively destroying the machine.
A Gauss 'Hog took a direct hit on their left from a 120mm APFSDS shell. The vehicle almost folded in on itself, all three of the crew aboard pasteurized by the high kinetic energy. The burning husk flipped over and tumbled into the creek, followed by one of her own units, a Juggernaut that also took a direct hit from one of the other tanks in the line. The second, surviving tank of the first unit they'd engaged.
She scowled at it, powering her engines to the maximum as it began to track her. It got knocked off-balance upon firing as UNSC missiles from one of the other Troop Hogs struck it and punched through sections of the forward armor. As its shell struck a tree, splintering it and careening off into the ground, Shiden charged toward it, in payback for one of theirs and for the UNSC boys that got killed.
She then jumped to the right, watching as a gauss shot cored an Ameise that was about to shoot at her. She spoke a quick, "Thanks!" to the lads that had fired before focusing again onto the enemy tank. She moved to flank, skittering across the battlefield and agilely dodging as much fire as she could. Finally, as the tank turned its turret to meet another pair of UNSC Vehicles, a Gauss and a Troop 'Hog, respectively, she got her window.
With a roaring battle cry, the woman pulled hard on the trigger, her vehicle shaking as the shell she just spent left the barrel at hypersonic speeds. Hitting the rear plating of the turret at a ninety-degree angle and shattering some of the quill-like protrusions, which she assumed to be a radiator, the woman had managed to hit the ammunition stowed near the autoloader. The tank went up like a fucking roman candle, a geyser of fire spewing out of the turret's maintenance hatches and out of the main gun as the machine itself collapsed.
The two Warthogs went around it as they and their allies kept up the push, with the Captain's 'Hog bringing up Shiden's rear, the main gun chewing up an Ameise and drilling multiple holes. Another of the Legion's tanks sparked and detonated as two Gauss 'Hogs focused on it, their magnetically-accelerated projectiles shattering armor plate and striking the processing core of the Mech with impunity.
A missile from a Grauwolf caught one of their own on the backfoot, though. The Warthog was rocked by the explosion that occurred just behind it and the gunner was skewered by shrapnel, dropping off the back of the vehicle and collapsing into a bloody mess. The Marine riding shotgun swore, then climbed onto the back of the moving vehicle and re-manned the seemingly unprotected position of the gunner. Spinning the gatling gun of the 'Hog about, she fired, crying out over the Para-RAID, "THIS ONE'S FOR SIMS, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"
Shiden smirked as she pulled up beside the Warthog, watching the woman manning the gun pump enough rounds out of the vehicle's ammo hold into an Ameise to turn it to Swiss Cheese. She joined up by putting another 57mm APFSDS shell into a second Ameise, before voicing over com, "We're nearing the edge of the tree line!" as she noticed the direction of their advance.
Multiple of their own were still fighting in the middle of the forest itself, their main cannons and machine guns roaring as they pelted Ameise and even two other Löwe. She cued her mic and said, "Redirect Scouting First and Second to engage those two Löwe behind the main UNSC force. Odin, bring hell down upon'em and their spotters and escorts. RAPIER Actual, can you redirect two 'Hogs to assist?"
"Affirm. RAPIER Two-Two and Two-Three are mobile to assist Odin and her Scout Unit. Be advised:One is a troop 'Hog." The man replied as his own Warthog let loose once more. He, too, carried a rocket launcher now, firing at anything that offended him or anything that fired at him, really. Two Ameise fell from his own rockets before he had to reload, while the gunner wasted little time in killing more of the bastards.
"Grauwolfs are out of action," Reported Shana, "Redirecting to assist Odin and her platoons with the UNSC Reinforcements."
"Hah! Roger that, Melusine! We'll thin out the last of the Ameise as we go, then swing by to help you in case the bastards prove too big a target!" Shiden laughed as she watched Shana's platoon pushing through the treeline once again, their engines roaring as they barelled to reinforce the fast-moving assault units under Miko. Shells snapped above their heads as the Löwe engaged, but their slow movement, coupled with their weaker tracking, led to the closing Juggernauts and Hogs being able to engage them better. Their Ameise escort, however, remained a problem.
Turning a hard right and now moving perpendicular, but opposite to the creek, Cyclops moved in and opened up with her twin fifties on a pair of Ameise that tried to fire on an allied Warthog. The wheeled vehicles couldn't move as well as the Juggernauts, considering the latter were still combat mechs with agility in mind, but they could still take a beating and keep some of the crew safe.
The 7,62mm rounds bounced off the armored plating of the 'Hog as it rammed an Ameise at full speed, the two tow-hooks that resembled the tusks of the animal it was named after digging into the armor plating of the machine. The Marine riding shotgun, the gunner and the driver all began to unload into the machine, the lattermost with his Fifty-Cal pistol.
The machine buckled, puffed smoke through the multitude of holes in its armor plating, then died. The UNSC vehicle reversed and turned to engage the next Ameise over. Before they could, however, one of Shana's boys put an APFSDS shell into its side. Shana appeared next, her twin MGs raking another Ameise just as it turned to fire on them. The Löwe, meanwhile, had begun utilizing their coaxial 12,7mm machine guns on both the Juggernauts and 'Hogs.
Shiden watched as a shell struck below the Troop 'Hog, which was carrying two Corpsmen alongside the rocketeers. The vehicle rolled over onto its side, the crew and passengers still alive. The men disembarked, with one of the docs dragging the driver out of it as their comrades put up a fighting defense behind the overturned LAV. Bullets sparked off the bottom of the hull as Ameise focused on them, with the Marines and even the docs returning fire in kind.
Stauffer ordered, "Redirecting RAPIER One-Two and One-Five to secure Two-Two. They're out of action and their own Para-RAID seems to have been knocked out by the hit they sustained."
"I've got eyes on them! Moving in to check!" Shiden replied as she fired her twin fifties at the enemy. She scuttled closer to the overturned troop 'Hog all the while, watching with the corner of her eye as the soldiers fought and the docs tended to their wounded comrade. As she saw Shana's platoon taking on the Ameise and distracting them, she popped open her canopy. It was fucking dangerous, but dammit, if they couldn't holler at them any other way, she may as well. She turned to them, barking, "Are you lads alright?!"
"Driver took the worst of the fucking hit! His legs are FUBAR!" One of the two white-clad Corpsmen replied as he tightened up a tourniquet around the mangled mess that was the left leg. He used a syringe full of some kind of medicine, poking it into the man's neck, then yelled to his fellow Corpsman, "He's stable! Try to wave a Troop Hog over so we can get his ass out of here! Trombley, you got that fucking fifty!?"
"I do!" The gunner sat at the corner of the Warthog replied, firing his GPMG toward the Ameise that were advancing on them. Shells piled at the man's side as he fired an entire box of ammunition. With practiced movements, he reloaded under the woman's gaze as more mid-caliber bullets from the Legion's scout mech MGs struck the vehicle, sparks flying and chipping metal.
"I'm calling in a hog for you! Stay put!" The woman replied, then cued her Para-RAID and called out, "Stauffer, we're gonna need a troop hog redirected as well, for one of your boys! His legs are mangled, but the docs got him stable! Any time you can-"
"SHIT!" She heard Miko cry, freezing. Cocking her head to the right, eyes wide, the woman saw Miko's Juggernaut as a Löwe's tank shell took apart its right side armor and its legs before punching through three trees. The girl's pained screams signaled she was still alive, her vehicle's canopy popping open as blood seeped through the wound in the side of the mech.
"... Fuck..." Shiden murmured. She shook her head, then called out, "Odin is down! Odin is down! Miko just got fucking hit by a 120! Someone, aim at her mech! I'm seeing Ameise pushing toward her as we speak! Don't let her get taken, you hear me!?"
The Corpsman appeared beside her as she dipped back into the transport. He directed the GPMG Gunner to fire toward the first mech advancing toward the girl. Closing her canopy, Shiden took aim toward Miko's Juggernaut. She wasn't gonna let the fuckers get her. She wasn't going to let them take another one of their own like that! Not again, not while she was still alive!
She gasped, trying to settle her crosshair on her target as the Ameise lifted its forward-most right leg, ready to sever the young woman's head as pistol shots struck the resistant plating. Shiden grit her teeth, her heart sinking as she locked onto Miko's Juggernaut, finally, but before she could squeeze the trigger, an ATGM blew apart the Ameise's right side and tore it in two. The twisted carcass toppled to the left, its metallic appendage striking dirt instead of Miko as it collapsed.
What came next, however, shocked her...
As Ameise and Juggernauts clashed and as Gauss Hogs finally arrived to deal with the two Löwe, three people, two clad in the dirt-stained white of the Navy Medical Corps's uniforms and one clad in the mean gunmetal green of the Marines, surged forward. The Corpsman, one Corporal Howard, charged with his comrades toward the damaged Juggernaut of Odin, bullets and shrapnel striking around them as they ran, footfall by heavy footfall, toward the danger.
She watched the GPMG gunner, Trombley, let loose sprays of automatic fire from his machine gun while the two Corpsmen jumped onto the destroyed Juggernaut, clambering onto it and dragging Miko's mangled body out of the vehicle as the girl screamed, inaudible to her. Shiden felt like she'd gone deaf. The noises of combat, the screams of her comrades for orders, nothing got through to her anymore. She just watched with muted awe as the two Corpsmen gently laid the girl down onto a stretcher, with doc Howard pulling out another tourniquet. The girl had lost her right leg and damn near lost her right arm. She was a mess of blood and shrapnel that had torn her clothes and stabbed into her flesh.
She could've easily become Legion food right then and there, seeing as how Shiden had hesitated for even the slightest second. And now, Shiden watched the UNSC's doctors and Marine tend to the young woman that she'd nearly let down. One of them jabbed the girl with a similar syringe, then they both hefted her onto what looked like a stretcher, before hefting her up.
She blinked, her confusion now replaced by sheer determination and a more powerful sentiment. Hope... The UNSC were here to help... If three mad men rushing into the hailfire were anything to go by... She grit her teeth once more, then a proud grin formed on her face as she bellowed into the Para-RAID, "ALL UNITS, THIS IS CYCLOPS! CONVERGE ON ME AND PROVIDE COVERING FIRE FOR THE MARINES AS THEY EXTRACT MIKO AND THEIR OWN! BLAST THESE LEGION SONS-OF-BITCHES APART!"
Some other Processors that had witnessed the death-defying feat of the two medics and their gunner comrade scrambled to assist. Their cannons roared, machine guns snapped and popped and their mechs' engines roared. Battle cries echoed from her comrades in the squadron as they began to pelt the remaining Legion bots with the equivalent of several years of hatred for both the San Magnolians and them, but in the form of high-caliber ammunition.
One of the Löwe buckled under the sheer firepower displayed by Shana and her squadron. Her executive officer let loose a primal roar as she fired into the machines, toppling the two heavy tanks with the Gauss Hogs' assistance. Hell-Fire met the very machines that had taken so many of their families, their loved ones, even their comrades from them, and it burned them...
Some hours later, as the sun began to set over the battlefield and the swarm of Eintagsfliege dissipated, Shiden and Shana took stock of the losses and of the expended ammunition. They'd lost two of their own to direct hits, while the UNSC had lost another three vehicles and about a dozen men under the heavy cannonade of the Legion's counter-ambush. Part of her wondered what gave the Legion the smarts to avoid the engagement in the first place.
From beside her Juggernaut, she watched as the UNSC Warthog carrying Miko passed by them. The girl had been stabilized and the bleeding stopped, but her leg was still all kinds of fucked-up. It looked like red silly-string interspersed with soaked confetti thanks to the torn clothes and blood, but the girl had been tended to. She was missing her jacket and her body had also been wrapped up in a dozen bandages, considering the shrapnel, but the docs, who were riding shotgun beside her and the other wounded Marine, assured her with nods that the girl would survive.
She waved to Miko, who was half-asleep. The girl gave a wave back nonetheless, wearing a smile as the morphine worked its magic. They'd had to sedate her with two adult-sized doses to dull the pain completely and, frankly, Shiden could tell the girl was still a bit loopy with the way she moved. The vehicle passed, the second in a convoy of dozens of UNSC transports and their own mechs.
The captain crossed her arms as she saw Stauffer approaching, his helmet off his head. He stopped beside her, then said "Doc told me he rushed his ass in there to save that girl..."
"Yeah..." She nodded, still watching the troopers and their vehicles moving past. She saw another Troop Hog, this one with body bags on it and a pair of Marines holding them in place. Her heart sank a bit at the sight, but the body bags were holding both UNSC and Eighty-Six. Both were one and the same in death, carried in the same black bags to their final resting place.
"I understand from some of your soldiers that you do not bury your dead?" He raised a brow.
"Nah... Apparently, it's part of some law that the Pigs decided to put up there that the Eighty-Six cannot bury their dead..." She sighed, "Why?"
"Damned be their laws," He nodded calmly, "We'll bury the dead with full military honors... And if anyone is to comment on it on their next supply run, they'll have to deal with several hundred pissed-off Marines," he then stated. Humming, he turned for his 'Hog, then said, "We'll talk back home. Board your mech, Captain," before climbing into his own machine and joining the convoy.
She smiled as she watched them move on, then shook her head, mounting her Juggernaut and closing the cockpit behind her, before forming up with the ranks. The scent of blood and dew was left behind, for the scent of motor oil and tin armor. As they moved toward HQ, the woman could only wonder what the hell happened to their Handler. The man must've been stuck running diagnostics.
The march home had been somehow short, but bittersweet. Shiden had doubted these men and women less than a week ago, when they'd arrived. They seemed way too high-and-mighty about their own belief that they could help them, the downtrodden Eighty-Six of San Magnolia's glorious fuckin' Republic. She was highly-skeptical of what the fuck they promised, but... Seeing today? Seeing them risk themselves like that?
She saw Shana's mech on her right and popped open her canopy. Shana followed suit as they moved forward, raising a brow at her CO. The woman smiled, then nodded approvingly and tilted her head toward the others. It felt fitting for both to accept their new arrivals. Shana seemed to agree, offering her a nod and one of her rare smiles to Shiden, before closing her cockpit.
Shiden followed, a smile on her face.