Falke focused. Sharp, deadly, fast, her weapons danced through the wading crowds of monsters that were marching through the snowy landscape. The gangly wolf-like creatures, the porcupine-like giant bears and the waddling, two-legged lizards all bearing the same color and marks. She swore to herself, if this was some sick new Imperial Superweapon, she would not be too fond of any oncoming troops... Provided they survived...
She shifted her stance to the left, her hair flowing upward as Psychic energy built up in her hands. A burst of lightning filtered through her synthetic brain as she focused on one of the monsters that was charging their line of advancing Starlings. She flicked her wrist as one of her spears returned to her. The burst of Bioresonance made contact with the beast and split it, atom from atom. It collapsed, dead before it even hit the floor, then vanished into a thin, darkening mist.
She sent another of her spears lancing forward and skewered four beasts, before drawing the weapon back using her telekinesis. The second impact finished the creatures off, causing them to disappear as well. She hummed and called out, "Hunter! Shift your shooters, angle two-nine! Tank, you and your girls keep pressing! Sieben, redirect and engage! Adler!"
As the troops repositioned with Falke's orders, her trusty Adjutant stood atop a mound of snow, the .600 Nitro Express Anti-Tank rifle in his hand roaring. The thundering round ripped through a dozen hostiles with one hit, only stopping in the dirt. He quickly popped the weapon open and reloaded it, then looked to Falke and marched up to her, "At your orders, commander..." to which she nodded and smiled at him.
Adler had been her rock in this mess and she was not afraid to admit it. Their revival and reunion with the others of her Protektor force had been a messy one. Two units, Kolibris armed with only 10mm Pistols, had been damaged by these rampaging beasts and were currently staying with the civilians. Sieben herself had nearly had her internals torn wide open by the claw of one of the bears. Falke could still make out the claw mark on her breast plate and on the polyethylene shell on her stomach from here. Thankfully, they had plenty of Repair Sprays and even a medical kit.
Not a lot of supplies to last them anywhere near an extended amount of time. And considering they'd been in contact since they came here... She sighed and said, "Prepare to gather the civilians... We have very little else to do right now beside push forward and hope we find shelter from the storm that can accommodate all of us. Tell the Kolibris to maintain the little soothing field they have... Keep the civilians calm."
"Understood..." Adler replied, then hummed and said, "Ma'am, if I may, our Radios?"
"Our Receivers are working, but any attempts I've made at utilizing the transmitters have failed. We only have one functioning Long Range Radio and it was brought over with Feldwebel Yeong..." Falke explained, a hint hesitant. Ariane's mother herself was alive and here, ported from Rotfront, which put out the question of how many people had actually been brought in with the rest of them.
The woman noted a Kolibri running toward them, SMG held tightly in her little hands. The petite figure of the Bioresonance-capable cadre member closed in fast. She staggered to a halt and brought her hand up in salute, stating, "Comrade Commander, Feldwebel Yeong has achieved connection with a friendly unit. Frequency is 309,55..." And she hesitated, "I listened to it, ma'am. It... Isn't Eusan."
Falke sighed, then replied, "I suppose it's only natural we're not on Rotfront, considering these creatures were not local fauna to the place..." in a murmur, which surprised the Kolibri a little. She nodded in thanks and said, "Well done, Zucker. Go keep company to Feldwebel Yeong..." before she threw another Spear. It pinned a wolf-like creature to the tree, killing it in one blow.
The Kolibri stifled a deep sigh, then swiveled about and ran off toward the way she came after saluting Falke. The Commander Replika concealed a short smile and a giggle as she watched the foe wade through snow again, then prepared her weapons again. There was an even greater horde charging them now, so she figured it was as good a time as any to start with the Area-of-Effect barrages she'd been trialing back during the "First Loop". The loops after meant Elster kind of got used to dodging her attacks and openly kicked her behind after the tenth.
Well, this enemy didn't know of them. She launched up her spears and aimed at her targets. All six spears landed in a half-moon form in front of a slew of the monsters, before she snapped her fingers. The six, scarlet-shining spears exploded outward with Bioresonant energies, slaying a good chunk of the front of the Horde. She sighed deeply, then readied to strike again...
Before the roar of rotary autocannons and the drone of flying craft filled the sky. Gazing up, wide-eyed, the woman watched as a squadron of aircraft descended down on the area, VTOL systems shifting the engines forward to allow them to brake. Their guns let loose a slew of bullets against the enemy, tearing through the beasts with ease as transport ships deployed infantry and mechanoids.
The infantry marched forward with a squadron of hundreds of mechs, just as, from a more ornate dropship, a younger, physically fit, but gentle-looking man with a more regal-looking uniform approached, revolver in his hand. He stepped up to the Commander and saluted her. She saluted back and greeted him with a nod, "You must be the soldiers Feldwebel Yeong got into contact with."
"Indeed," The man replied, "I'm Colonel James Ironwood and this is the Atlesian Army. You and your people are under our protection...?"
"Commander Falke," She shot back. A spear lanced out from behind her and skewered another lanky wolf without her even looking, then it returned back to her.
"How'd you...?" He paused, the facade of the ever-serious soldier dropping for a moment amusingly enough. He then shook his head and cleared his throat, before the stern face that eerily resembled a younger Adler's returned. He spoke questioningly, "Suppose we're also dealing with a militarily-trained unit, too, are we?" before drawing his revolver. It looked like a really bulked-up Einhorn and barked just like them. But the round was explosive, considering she witnessed it blow the head clean off one of the beasts.
Falke hummed and said, "Yes. We're the Protektor Cadre of a former installation belonging to our people... Though I'd suggest we keep the pleasantries and interrogations for later. My people need evacuation," and she shifted, then gasped as the battle cry of another beast filled the air. This one was not a foe, but rather one of their own. Sieben had run out of ammo for her shotgun or hadn't found the time to reload. The weapon was now slung onto her back, held firmly in place by a magnetic lock on the back of her armor plate.
She was, terrifyingly enough, lifting one of the bear-like beasts on one hand, utilizing her stun prod. Arching currents pulsed through the beast's black flesh. With a grin on her face fairly fitting for the sadistic Storch-class Replikas, Sieben slammed the creature down into the floor hard, then kicked its head clean off with a direct impact from her foot plates.
Panting, the girl quickly switched weapons, drawing her Shotgun and immediately loading it with fresh shells. Both Ironwood and Falke were seemingly impressed by the display of strength given by the latter's subordinate. Ironwood hummed, cleared his throat and said, "Very well. We'll take the Civilians you have first. My troops will help with the rearguard."
He turned to said troops and gave a single wave of his hand. The hundred soldiers and the rather terrifying machines supporting them marched in formation, rifles chattering as they put bursts of automatic fire into the beasts' flanks. Laser beams lanced from the sky, causing both Falke and Ironwood to look up, with the man stating, "And there's the Airship I called as Air Support... It took them a minute..."
Falke stared up at the vessel as it descended on the target area. Missiles left bays hidden within the hull of the strange craft, slamming into the floor. Explosions uprooted trees and the shockwaves slammed the beasts against each-other, killing them due to the force the kinetic portion of the explosions had imparted into them. Ironwood looked to the confused Replika, then stated, "You may want to call your people over now." as the first of the allied drop-ships dived in to pick them up.
She nodded. Her eyes glimmered red for a moment, then faded back to the cold blue of optical sensors. Ironwood looked at her, confused, then asked, "Uh... Do you need a radio or..." before she showed him to wait. She looked over toward the hill, watching as a slew of Kolibris waded through the snow, SMGs pattering out bullets. One of the lead Kolis took a knee and fired the SMG in bursts toward the monsters that were still coming.
Behind the diminutive figures, waded the tallest of the Replikas, each carrying a mining laser and acting as protection for what looked to be a dozen or more civilians that were wading through the snow toward the evacuation site. Ironwood blanked and looked to Falke, asking, "How did you just do that? Genuinely, that... Did you just send them a ping via some hidden computer system, or-"
"Bioresonance, my dear Colonel," She quipped, "A long tale to be told to your highest ranks."
She then gave a wave to Adler and clenched her fist, before pulling her elbow down twice. The man nodded and called out to the Protektors, "All Detachments! Fighting retreat! Cover each-other as you move!" before watching as their troops began the short road to the retreat. SMGs and pistols barked. Before long, they and the soldiers of the Atlesian military had formed a perimeter, allowing civilians and Civilian Replikas to board the transports out as well.
Adler, Falke and the heavy fighters were the last ones to board the vehicles and they boarded Ironwood's little aircraft. Adler aimed his rifle at another Grimm as they took off, but sighed and lowered it, before he fell into his seat. He murmured to himself, "That was..." then turned to Falke as the woman was crouched, a hint of annoyance on her face. The Kolibris all turned to face her, too, as did Hunter and Sieben, before one of the Kolis covered her mouth to conceal the desire to giggle.
Falke rolled her eyes and murmured, "Laugh it up... The weird fetishists who designed my height really need their heads checked," as she chuckled. Adler wanted to make a comment, clearly, but he had concealed the thought so fast that Falke had barely had the time to even notice it was there. She snorted, shook her head, then looked to Ironwood and said, "Apologies, Colonel, I'm... Not particularly good with small places."
"Ma'am, you're taller than a brick shithouse," One of the Atlesian grunts beside Ironwood replied. The Colonel gave him a light tap with his elbow, all while Falke found a comfortable position to sit herself down in. One hopefully not involving her knees going into her goddamn mouth. She sighed and shifted uneasily, then shrugged at the Private and at the Colonel... All the while Adler glared at the soldier for even speaking like that to Falke. Feeling the little uneasiness aboard, the Commander showed her subordinate to settle down.
She looked to Adler and said, "The Military is never the most polite, adjutant. Remember that when you make judgements."
Adler hummed, then sighed and nodded, "Apologies, ma'am."
She nodded and gently laid a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to surprise Adler. She smiled at him, before looking to the Kolibris aboard. She called out, "Zucker, Honig."
The two Kolibris stepped up and saluted the woman, smiles on their faces. Their Bioresonance modules warmed to a dull reddish glow, as did their eyes. Ironwood looked at them, confused, as the two girls gave nods of approval to their commander, one of them fidgeting and arranging her armor's breastplate as it seemed too loose. She tightened up the strap around her waist, her lower lip folding slightly over her teeth as she felt a twinge of visible embarrassment. She nodded to Falke again, then looked to the incredibly-alike sister of hers and chuckled.
"Sir, I don't think we're paid enough for this..." A female sergeant whispered to Ironwood, who nodded in agreement. It almost seemed like their guess were psychic, considering the way they were talking with each-other. As their modules cooled back to zero-light and their eyes glowed blue again, the two Kolibris turned to face the Colonel and his soldiers and snapped crisp salutes. The man awkwardly saluted them back.
They turned, marched to their seats and sat themselves down next to their sisters as the aircraft flew to its destination. The Kolibris seemed to be talking psychically yet again, while Falke had closed her eyes and leaned against her seat, trying to clear her mind. Adler, beside her, had genuinely fallen fast asleep, hugging his rifle as he did so. James processed the sight of these strange machines. They were human-like, as close to humans as it got anyway.
Sans their strange frames and the lack of feet, they could've easily passed for humans. Add to that their powers, like the telekinesis he'd seen from Commander Falke and James was wondering if these girls couldn't be assets to Atlas. Of course, ever the military man, James remembered that it'd be best to leave negotiations to the Council. General Staff would want a report from him anyhow.
Some time later, the aircraft had seemingly reached the airspace near their destination. Falke's eyes slowly opened as she felt the vehicle's deceleration. She looked over to her Kolibri Cadre, then sighed and smiled as she saw them all cuddled up to each-other, fast asleep and covered by a Blanket. She looked over to one of the Atlas soldiers nearby. The female trooper gave a smirk and a thumbs up, her motherly features soothingly visible as the helmet she wore sat to her side. The ginger-haired girl with red eyes chuckled.
Falke nodded in thanks, smiling back, then looked to the Colonel. The man was manually checking his revolvers for any damage, scanning every minute detail. He noticed, however, that Falke's gaze was locked on him. He hummed and tilted his head to the left, toward the transport aircraft's window. Behind her, Falke heard the Pilot speak, "Alpha Base, this is Nomad Two-Actual, Nomad Squadron, on approach to Landing Zone. Be advised:we're carrying VIPs aboard, including Colonel Ironwood."
Her gaze shifted toward the window. She saw Adler staring, wide-eyed, too, then saw what he was looking at...
A floating city. Hanging high above the clouds, a technological, almost science-fiction-like city-island hovered above the clouds, tethered to the ground below by what seemed to be a series of large metallic tubes. Down below it was an industrial-looking site, massive in its own right. Both were clearly able of housing millions, if not tens of millions of people. Their target area lay below, a Military Base protected by tall walls and anti-air defenses.
Around it were several docks belonging to Airships similar to that which had saved their behinds when the Colonel and his men had come to save them. Ironwood told them, "We'll be touching down soon. All your people will be housed within the base's open barracks for the duration of our talks. Word is you're the highest-ranking officer in the cadre of troops here, Commander."
She nodded, "It would seem so."
That wasn't a problem. She could read minds if she needed to find ways to lie to anyone of a 'higher standing'. Still, to act the part of the diplomat as one of the few survivors of the Nation of Eusan and the overall leader of a group of survivors on an alien planet filled with strange monstrosities. The vehicle began its descent as Falke prepared her mind. She turned to Adler and elbowed him gently in the shoulder. That was all it took for her Adjutant to look at her, raising a brow. She spoke to him, "I feel like we may be going into a negotiation run. You wouldn't happen to be a good public speaker, would you?"
Adler hummed and scratched his chin, then sighed and said, "It shouldn't be a problem, commander."
"You seem unsure, Adjutant," She teased, putting on a small smirk, "What may be the problem?"
The man blinked, "I'm a paperwork and administration Replika, Commander... Perhaps, with your help, I can communicate properly, but-"
"I never said I wouldn't help you with the Negotiations." Falke clarified to the dumbfound Adler of Sierpinski. She leaned back into her seat, arms crossed to her chest and still wearing that teasing grin, "I was, in fact, asking you to help me." Words which seemed to have hit a nerve. A faint smile crossed the usually-stoic Adler's lips, before his face returned to its usual stone-mask-like features. He gave her a prompt salute, to which she replied in kind, stating, "As usual, I know I can rely on you."
"Only doing what I've been tasked to do since I was created, ma'am..." He replied with half a mouth. If Falke didn't know better, she swore she saw a red tinge on her Adjutant's cheeks. She looked over to the giggling Kolibris as her smile grew, then shook her head. Zucker and Honig both covered their mouths and looked to their sisters, all of whom were slowly waking.
Ironwood himself snorted as the aircraft began its approach. Upon touching down, the vehicles disgorged Civilian and Replika alike and while the Gestalts were a mob of people, gathered up and trying to keep warm in this Northern place, the Replikas were already neatly aligning into formations by cadre and type of Replika, with the Protektors already at the forefront, weapons stowed and hands behind their backs as they stood at attention for inspection.
Falke marched up to the group, looking proudly over all her girls being alive and well, over all their workers still being with them. A faint smile crossed the Replika's lips as she saw Elster joining the formation as well, farthest in the rear. She gave her soldiers and workers a crisp salute, one which the Replikas all returned, from Eules to Mynahs and to the Protektor Cadre.
She nodded to them all and said, "At ease, ladies and gentlemen... It's very good to see you all here..." and she spared each unit a look right into their eyes, continuing, "It seems we've been given a second chance at life. I'm sure some of you still remember the ordeal on Sierpinski S23 and the following events across the Nation's few owned planets and moons. Let me spare you the long, boring hours of a productivity speech..." She paused to let the group laugh. The workers and Civilian Replikas did. The Protektors held their tongues, allowing Falke to state, "And let me tell you two things:We have a new lease of life. Do not waste it... And please, behave while I and Adjutant Adler go talk with the Council of Atlas. I trust you can all understand why I ask this."
"Jawohl, Kamerad Kommandant!" The group replied in unison. Falke smiled and nodded to them. She knew she could trust her girls to behave. Sierpinski's Replikas had been the model of well-behaved units prior to the infection. She needed to make sure her girls had everything they needed in order to remain stable. And she would negotiate fiercely for it, of course. Her gaze shifted to Adler, who gave a nod of approval, before turning to the Colonel and his men and women. Adler, meanwhile, eyed Elster and the young woman behind her confusedly. Almost as if he somehow remembered them.
Isa, meanwhile, eyed every single Replika around with suspicion, though she didn't show it...
To be fair, several civilians acted just like her...