Amira Morgan “Thank you,” Amira said as she lowered her weapon. “I just… I just needed to know. I'm sorry. I’m sorry you're a wanted fugitive. A platoon of Kylian mechs pointed weapons at us because of you, Darrius. How did you expect me to react?” She paused a moment and wiped her eyes before adding. “I'm trying to look out for Stan and Melody and this boy. I don’t have any black spots on my past, Darrius, just a few gray ones, at best. I wouldn’t know what that’s like, but I believe you... and I'm sorry.” His radar jamming had disabled her weapons lock, but she could still see him on the viewscreen, thanks to the thermal imaging. At this range, Amira didn’t trust herself enough to make the shot without computer assistance, especially with him moving around. Good. She never wanted to do that anyway. Even if Darrius had turned out to be a monster, wanted by the military for eating babies and burning puppies, Amira wasn't sure if she could actually bring herself to shoot him. She just wasn't that kind of person. Her heart was strong, but her trigger finger was weak. It was so easy to say 'the next one won't miss,' but how many people could actually bring themselves to go through with it? None of that mattered now. If what he said was true, there was no need for further hostility. Shadow’s stance was predatory and angry, but he wasn't coming any closer. He probably hates me now, Amira thought to herself… and she was fine with that. At least now she knew the truth. She knew she could trust him, even if he didn’t trust her anymore. But, whether she trusted him or not, she wasn't sure if it was safe to travel with him. So, what happens now? she thought, still struggling to compose herself. Do we just take him back and pretend everything is okay? Next time Kylas comes looking for him, we'll be treated as accomplices. This is bad for everyone... "Is Captain Eisenholm okay?” Amira asked. Maybe treating the pilot's injuries or repairing her machine could earn them some sort of pardon or leniency. No way. It's never that simple, Amira told herself. But they had to try.
"They ordered me to hand over the bot and return. I refused so they chased me 5 fully equipped destroyers top of the line chasing a prototype, they shot me down 2 miles from the border without any attempt to capture me alive. Im guessing they thought i was dead i definately wished i was i managed to crawl out of the wreckage and get over the boarder. I have been free of them for years. I left because i was fed up of being alone, i was fed up of killing people for no other reason then my boss told me they deserved to die."Theres my great crime that i deserve to die for. Tell me do you think i deserve it or are you going to try to destroy Shadow and kill me too?" "Try to kill me if you think i have deserved it but im not going to make it easy, theres not many bots i cant outrun. Ask yourself have i done anything but be friendly towards you Melody and Tyri. We all have black spots on our past that need to be forgotten and forgiven and strangely enough i like you all. So whats it to be?" Terra had caught that last line as her suit began to power back up. She was furious that she had been affected by the enemies EMP. However, more so then being angry, she felt sorry for the priority target. She didn't know too much about the black ops group, nor did she think that taking back what was his was that big of a deal. Furthermore, she always thought black ops used robos but had some sort of cloaking device that their units were hidden and their presence was secret. "Terra, Sabre is back online. Shall I prepare countermeasures for another EMP attack?" Omni had slowly began the reactivation of Sabre, which Terra hoped would go unnoticed. She silently typed in the activation keys as the screens blinked on. Behind her helmet, she looked at the machine with both sympathy and hate. Though he didn't directly kill an element of Z-1, it still was enough to fuel her anger. The boosters checked green. She activated the thrusters and shot up. She glared at the ranged shooter as she drew her weapon. The speed at which she traveled was deadly. Her body pressed into the cockpit chair as she withdrew to where the destroyed Z-1 bot was. "Darrius. This is off the record," said Terra as she added Amira to the conversation via channel. "What Command did was unwarranted; from how I understand your predicament, they took things too far. However, defying orders and stealing from the military is absolutely out of the question. "To that end, I cannot retreat. With the K.I.A pilot and the damage sustained to myself, I would be punished under military law. However. I can do one thing for you." Terra hailed Command. "Command, this is Eisenholm, over." "Go ahead Captain; was the operation successful?" Terra hesitated momentarily. "Z-1 is non-operational. One pilot deceased, another unconscious, the last fled. Recommend we wave off; the target has fled, over." "Negative Captain," said the communications officer. "We cannot lose him again. Order just came; you are to pursue the target." "My suit is not in operational status Command." "Damage report?" "...Unsubstantial." "Then pursue. Your orders have been issued Captain. Command copies all, out." Terra was shocked. She just wanted to leave Darrius alone, not follow him. She didn't fancy leaving Kylas... If she went back, though, she would be in the same position as Darrius. She sighed as she unmuted the two. "Can I assume you two heard that exchange?"
Darrius sighed in relief as Amira lowered her weapon, He was tired of running. Shadow's anger still vibrated trough the bot he would have to be kept on a short leash around Amira. ~terras post~ "Can I assume you two heard that exchange?", Darrius smiled "Loud and clear as far as i see it youve got a free holiday for a while. Amira im coming back to camp Shadow isnt exactly stable at the moment ive got him on a tight leash but be careful. As far as me and you go i understand why you did what you did, and you deserved an explanation before now bot things happened too fast for things to process" Darrius turned shadow and started walking back to camp "you coming captain" Darrius entered the camp and walked shadow over to the fire and lept out of the cockpit, before Shadow laid down its head turned to Amira and growled deeply. Darrius chuckled softly "ignore him hes had a bad day" Darrus winked at the large guardian bot "I still want to be around you lot, compared to my normal jobs that's practically a welcome. Settle down and lets eat im famished".
Shamu McCoy Cerberus had taken out the remaining bots swiftly and effectively. “Wow your bot continues to amaze me, maybe you’d let me take a look at her innards some time.” Shamus grinned. Shamus looked towards the town, a fire from the blasters artillery was sweeping across the buildings. A huge tower of smoke billowed up to the sky. This was definitely going to draw some attention from the koros army. He would be blamed for this if he stayed; the only real option now was to go with the zin. And they would have to leave soon if they wanted to escape unnoticed. Most of the town stood in a line on the outskirts, watching their life possessions consumed by the flames. It was a sad sight, he wished he could help them, but mostly he was angry, angry at whoever had sent those bots. Those were highly trained military units, not just some low-level krine soldiers and they had completely disregarded these towns’ people’s lives. Also their was the matter of the other bot, it was a small exoskeleton mercenary by the looks of him, standing clearly out from the crowd. He looked towards the burning buildings as if he had lost something. He was the one who had killed the eagle, and shamus had been impressed. Shamus also knew that his bot was built for stealth and since shamus could see him he figured he wanted him too. “Lets go greet our knew friend.” Shamus moved Zathura towards the crowd and walked up to the exo-bot. The crowd saw them coming, some stared angrily but most just looked on somberly. “That was a neat trick you pulled off with the eagle.” He opened his cockpit in greeting.
"Loud and clear as far as i see it you've got a free holiday for a while. Amira im coming back to camp Shadow isnt exactly stable at the moment ive got him on a tight leash but be careful. As far as me and you go i understand why you did what you did, and you deserved an explanation before now bot things happened too fast for things to process," said Darrius, "you coming captain"? Terra watched the two head back as she cradled her head with her right hand. The turn of events was absolutely unexpected. Not only had she lied to Command, which was considered treason, but she would have to play the role of pursuing him. "Dammit, why the hell was I thinking," she said to herself as she hit the side of her suit. She inhaled sharply as she recomposed herself. "Are you alright Terra," inquired Omni. "Do you not agree with the orders?" "Don't worry about it. We'll see how this turns out... should I have lied Omni? Do you think that was the right decision?" "Right or wrong, both are irrelevant. As a mere AI, I have no preference... However, looking from logic, you are in error. Many variables that you cannot control will have consequences. As for moral, I surmise you were in the right. Did that help Terra?" "For the most part. Thanks Omni." "My pleasure. Shall we go meet the group in person then?" Terra turned Sabre towards the two Z-1 suits that were still there. "In a bit; we need to take care of these two first." The first machine she approached was that of the dead pilot. A large hole where the cockpit had been melted the edges of the metal. Surely nothing would be left of the pilot, but she had to make sure. She put Omni on basic control as she kneeled Sabre to the ground and jumped. She landed with a thud as she made her way to the wrecked machine. She looked inside to see what little of the pilot remained. Only an outline was present. The sight made her sick as she scooped up the ID tag that miraculously survived the blast. Private Avery Michaelson Quatra Z-1 "Rest well Private Michaelson. You won't be forgotten as you did your duty." With a salute, Terra moved towards the other suit that was still inactive. Whatever had happened to the pilot, it must have been dramatic to have him still be unconscious. She climbed towards the manual cockpit control and typed in an officer override code. Inside, she saw the pilot slumped against the seat. "On your feet soldier. You're not dead yet." She shook him until he began to stir. Initially, he looked around until he fired into action. Terra stumbled back as the unconscious pilot shoved her out. She landed on her back as a pistol aimed straight at her. "Stay back! Stay back! Don't make me shoot! I'll do it; I'll shoot!" "Put the gun away pilot," ordered Terra as she stared into his frantic eyes. "The threat has passed. You are to return to Quatra immediately." "He's still there! You traitor! You killed Michaelson didn't you! Where's Johnson? What did you do to him, huh? Does Com--" Terra took advantage of his brief lack of focus as she sprang and disarmed him. She forced him to the ground as his shoulder strained from the lock. "Command ordered it! Now stand down, pilot. I will not say it again... Are you calm yet?" The pilot took in deep breaths before he nodded sheepishly. "Please pardon me ma'am. I... I was just scared. The target moved with such speed; I was scared..." Terra patted his back reassuringly. "Head back to Quatra, understand? Take this with you." She handed over Michaelson's ID tag as the pilot moved back to his machine. He threw a salute and was off. As he disappeared, she snapped one more salute to the pilot that would never move again. After finishing, she got back into her Sabre and made her way back to the group's camp. "Time to meet the civilians." "Indeed," responded Omni as they closed in the last of the distance in silence.
Davis Quan (Ghost) “That was a neat trick you pulled off with the eagle,” said the man, as the cockpit slowly opened up. Davis lowered his sniper rifle as a young man with strange red hair revealed himself. It was a reckless move on his part, if Davis had been hostile in any way, the man would be dead by now. He obviously wasn’t a very experienced soldier… either that or very trusting, both of which weren’t great attributes. That being said, his robo wasn’t anything to laugh at. It was a beast of a machine, resembling some sort of armoured creature. Davis deactivated his EM field before approaching. “You’re on defense in this area?” asked Davis, scanning the robo quickly. “Since when did armies start bombing civilian housing? What happened to the damn convention?” He hated getting involved in anything to do with the useless war. But that was before they decided it was all right to attack unarmed civilians. “This wasn’t just some krinian attack. There were five highly trained robos, each one of them top of the line and they must have cost a fortune to build,” explained the man, shifting a little in his seat. “It was lucky we made it out alive. But what’s a mercenary like you doing in a village like this?” Davis turned and looked at the burning wreckage of the eagle robo that sat in the transit lane. A couple of children cautiously approached it, before some adults stepped up and ushered them away. It certainly didn’t have any sort of obvious faction logo. In fact, it was pitch black. Was it some sort of terrorist attack? What kind of terrorist organisation could get their hands on such high-tech robos? “Personal business,” Davis finally replied, remembering Damien. He wouldn’t be surprised if the man had run off somewhere and decided to hide. Not that it would be a problem. “Do you know who’s responsible for this? What did they come here for?” “Look I’m just a border patrol, but it doesn’t take much to figure out that they were after something,” said the man, glancing back at a large three-headed zin robo that was approaching them. Davis grimaced. He never had good relations with people who obtained zin. The only ones he had encountered so far were power hungry and twisted people. “I don’t know who sent those troops but I do know that a battalion from the Koros army will be sent out here to investigate that cloud of smoke,” continued the man, “And since I didn’t call it in, my army careers pretty much finished.” Didn’t have much of a career to start with, Davis thought to himself. “Is that offer still standing for me to go with you?” The man seemed to have turned away, and was addressing the pilot of the zin robo. Davis approached the eagle, scanning it in case there was some sort of self-destruction mechanism, or a pilot. As he had suspected, it did have the first, but Davis’ EM field had deactivated it before it could go off. He pulled out his sub-machine gun, and fired a few cryo rounds into it, just in case. He had only just begun inspecting the inside of the broken cockpit before he saw it. A dark medieval-shield insignia with a four-pointed star in the middle. The Black Knights… “Bragga,” Davis hissed.
Risa Nyom "Obviously they were after me," Risa said, approaching the armored bot and the small, unidentified suit. She hadn't seen many of them; a personal Robo designed to fit around a person's body. She'd heard they were hard to control sometimes, and bulky. But if you could master the controls, they were a deadly machine. Risa stopped in the middle of the burning city, and sat Cerberus down before getting out of the middle head. "Guess I should be honest. I'm not on either side of this war. Like I said, I'm just trying to end it. But it doesn't mean I started out alone. The Koros army trained me for some time, and gave me Cerberus. When I decided I'd had enough of their training, I left. Every now and then I run into a group who is looking for me, but those..." She looked past the two pilots and stared at the eagle. "Those were the best I've seen yet. And I doubt they're the end of our troubles." Walking up to the two pilots, she reached out a hand to the personal suit. "Risa Nyom." Then she suddenly remembered, and turned to the other pilot, who had watched her back in the fight against the black Robos. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself to you, not truthfully anyway. And yes, the offer still stands. I'll admit, your Robo didn't look too grand when I first saw it, but I am impressed with your skills. I'd be glad to have you at my side."
Davis Quan (Ghost) Davis stared in shock as the girl walked out of the zin robo. She was a child! A teenager. She must have been seventeen at the very most. Since when did they let children operate zin robos? Fortunately, his expression was well hidden behind his exo-suit. Besides, he had been about her age when he escaped from Bragga’s facility. She introduced herself as ‘Risa Nyom’, and held out a hand towards him. Davis paused for a moment, swallowing down his distaste of zin pilots before taking the hand. “They call me Ghost,” he said gruffly. “I’m a freelancer. I don’t take any part in the damned war, and I don’t plan on it.” “You’ve made some dangerous enemies Nyom. You know who they are?” he asked, pointing at the wreckage. “The Black Knights. Led by a Koros military operative, Bragga Weaver,” he said when the girl shook her head. “He plans on ending the war by building a giant goddamn army, and taking over every inch of the planet. I guess he wanted you in his army.” Davis knelt down and started extracting bits of precious metals from the eagle’s carapace. They would come in handy later. There was no zin however. Not in this one, anyways. “And this ain’t the last of ‘em. Nor were they the first. Bragga has hundreds of these damned Black Knights under his command,” he continued. Then he paused for a moment, sizing up the girl and the man in the armoured robo before deciding to show his proof. He lifted his left hand, clenched in a fist in front of him, with the back of his hand faced outwards. It had worn off from age, but it was still clearly visible: a shield with a four pointed star was engraved on the dorsum of his hand. It was a permanent indicator for where his robo was birthed. Unlike the one engraved on the eagle however, this insignia had a large crack through the shield. It was an addition that Davis had made himself. A vow. “I stole their only prototype,” said Davis triumphantly. “I doubt they were ever able to create another again. I destroyed all schematics as well.” “I don’t know where you two are headed off to, but I plan on taking Bragga down.”
--Amira Morgan-- Darrius accepted her apology and came back toward camp. While Amira was no expert at judging the emotions of machines, she could certainly tell Shadow was not in a friendly mood. She remained inside Lilith’s cockpit and kept her bot powered on, just in case hostilities exploded again, and did not breathe a sigh of relief until Shadow had lain down. When she was sure it was safe, Amira decided to come out. Lilith went down on one knee and the wings swung back into the fully-swept position. Rather than return the rifle to the mount on its back, the giant robo set it on the ground at its feet. The cockpit swung open and Amira dropped down, sliding off the robo’s leg to slow her descent. She paused a moment and stared into Darrius’s eyes, before nervously glancing at Shadow. Fat droplets of rain began to fall from the dark clouds overhead. “I… umm… I’m not hungry right now,” Amira said sheepishly and then turned away. “I’ll be in the truck if anyone needs me.” --Stan (NPC)-- “Uh oh,” Stan said as he watched Amira go. “She’s in one of those moods again…” He couldn’t understand girls and Amira was worse than a girl -- she was a woman, a species which made absolutely no sense to a teenage boy like Stan. Still, he had some idea how her mind worked. He knew when she was withdrawing into her shell and when she needed space. Amira was more comfortable with machines than people. When things weren’t going well, she retreated to her comfort zone, which usually meant long nights at her workbench, tinkering with things. “She’ll be fine,” Stan said with a chuckle and a light slap on Darrius’s shoulder. “Just give her a minute. Miri doesn’t take screw-ups well. She’s uhhh…” he thought for a moment. “She aint’t the sort of person who cries over spilled milk. She’s the sort who redesigns the cup so it has super-special-dynamic-spillproofing-failsafes and then genetically engineers better cows to produce milk that cleans itself up… you know, mad scientist stuff.” He watched as Amira came back out of the transporter, piloting the Gorilla, a clunky exo-suit mech that they used for heavy lifting. She picked up Lilith’s rail gun, which seemed massive in the hands of the small, human-sized, robo, and toted it back inside the transporter. This is going to be a loooooong night, Stan thought. Looking past the transporter, he spotted a large medieval-type mech approaching. “And here comes our new friend,” Stan said as he pulled his coat over his head to shield himself from the rain. “We should probably get inside before it starts coming down hard. That is, if ‘Doctor Morgan’ doesn’t mind us intruding on her lair. Gimme a hand with this guy,” he said, nodding to Tyri, who was lying under a blanket and slowly getting soaked.
"Gimme a hand with this guy,” Darrius nodded "i understand i know what its like to fight with yourself, il help with Tyri first things first though" Darrius turned to Shadow and patted him on the side "Go on you go appologise" Shadow raised his head and looked at him "you know you have to she did the right thing considering the information we would have done the same, she apologized you should too" Shadow turned his head and then nodded, Shadow stood and slunk into the transporter. Stan raised an eyebrow "just because he is a bot doesent mean he should be exempt from human rules, He thinks like a human mostly so he should act mostly like one. Come on then lets get Tyri inside" ~Shadow~ Shadow slunk into the Transporter and saw Amira sat at a workbench, Shadow walked over Amira didn't notice the almost silent clinks of his paws so absorbed she was in her work, Shadow Nudged her gently on the shoulder, Amira jumped surprise filling her eyes, Shadow licked Amira on the face with a surpisingly soft tounge sending small tingles through her face and buried his head in her lap and purred deeply, Shadow turned and laid down around Amiras stool. ~Darrius~ Darrius and Stan picked up Tyri and moved him gently inside the transporter, as they cleared the door he looked over to Shadow curled around Amiras stool "I hope he was polite, if ya would like to look at any of his mechanisms im sure he would let you, i would avoid the program code though, it would be like looking into a persons soul." Darrius and Stan took Tyri into the sleeping compartment and laid him down. Then went out into the main compartment He walked over to Amira and Shadow, he lifted his rifle out of the compartment and laid it down on the workbench one away from Amira and dismantled it quickly. Parts of the rifle glowed with energy he placed them on a metal plate on the workbench as they started to heat up so they wouldn't burn the bench. He quickly disconnected the charge battery so they cooled and he could clean them effectively.
Amira Morgan Amira was seated at a long workbench. Lilith’s rifle lay in pieces, its enormous components scattered in front of her. A large battery and a laptop computer were hooked up to the gun’s main body. The woman was like a machine as she worked; she had a wrench in one hand, slowly undoing the last few bolts on the rifle’s stock, while her other hand was pecking away at computer keys. She didn’t even glance at the screen. She could do it with her eyes closed. Reverse polarity on third and fourth accelerator nodes to transfer diamagnetic effect to the rounds… induce structural failure at critical points… shrapnel effect generates shotgun spread… highly volatile… dangerous… possible viability against erratically moving targets… beware of unaccounted for variables… ‘high risk, high reward’… critical failure of the entire weapon also possible… Amira typed a few more numbers into her laptop computer before punching the ‘enter’ key. “35.64894% chance of cataclysmic failure,” the computer read. “Structural integrity compromised.” “Not good enough,” Amira said, deleted the entire instance and began recalculating. Stronger materials… greater tensile strength… higher hardness rating leads to brittle rounds, improving fracturing effect without inducing failure under acceleration loads… Something nudged her shoulder. “Not now, Stan. Busy. Trying to solve a paradox,” she mumbled as she pushed away the visitor. “How to turn one big bullet into a lot of little bullets. Must increase CQC capabilities. Need a shotgun…” Her hand touched something cold and hard. Amira’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t dare look. Her hand stroked what felt like ears. No… no, no, no, no… When she finally found the courage to look, she nearly had a heart attack. ‘It’ was here. ‘It’ had entered her workshop. ‘It’ licked her face and the sensation sent a cold shiver down her spine that literally made her snowy white hair stand on end. The synthetic beast laid its head in her lap, in a gesture that might have been cute were Shadow 1/3 its size and not made of metal. As it was, Amira looked --and felt-- as if she had a live grenade in her lap. She slowly reached for the plasma torch, preparing to cut the thing’s head off, but Shadow soon got up again and her hand instantly recoiled away from any semblance of a threat. The big metal cat coiled itself around her seat and laid down. "I hope he was polite,” Darrius said as he took a seat at one of the other workbenches and began cleaning his rifle. “If ya would like to look at any of his mechanisms I’m sure he would let you. I would avoid the program code though, it would be like looking into a person’s soul." She stared at him, still wide-eyed. Her hands were shaking. All she wanted to look at was his off switch. She wanted to reply, but she knew if she opened her mouth she would either scream or yell a stream of expletives. Or faint... that was also a possiblity. Amira took a deep breath, calmed down, and returned to her work, struggling to undo the last few bolts with trembling hands. Really need that shotgun now, she thought. “Machines don’t have souls,” she said after a long silence. “The only reason I might hesitate to destroy him is because he belongs to someone who does.”
“Machines don’t have souls,” she said after a long silence. “The only reason I might hesitate to destroy him is because he belongs to someone who does.” Darrius shrugged "I don't know i don't think about it to be honest, if you build them to mechs can think and feel just like we do. I suppose the only difference is that they can live for as long as someone can make parts for them. however they are completely dependent on us to live." Darrus sighed and motioned Shadow away, Shadow stood and walked over to the opposite side of the workshop and laid down. "He wont hurt you and he knows why you shot at him. Hes a damn site smarter then me sometimes but he doesn't understand human emotions that well but hes learning quickly." Darrus reassembled his rifle quickly and hung it over his back. He walked over to Shadow and pulled a contraption and an emp cell from the storage compartment and walked over to the workbench again, he laid the contraption down on the workbench and unfolded it carefully into it was in the shape of a rough circle around a meter wide, He plugged the emp charge into the contraption and electricity burned around the circumference of the circle, with a small crack the air between the circle warped and turned and turned opaque purple, Darrus leaned close and yelled into the circle "Gearhead blueprints 109923" after a short delay a metallic arm reached out of the portal holding a load of papers. Darrus took the papers and the arm retracted, the portal dissipated with a thunderclap that rattled around the Workshop, Darrus pulled the emp charge out and scowled "completely burnt out as usual" he walked over to Amira and laid the blueprints down "Hopefully this will work as an apology for not telling you sooner, They are my blueprints for an energy sword, it creates a lazer around the blade that burns half as hot as the sun, it requires a lot of energy but it may work for your bot if you can find the parts." Darrius walked back over to the workbench and dismantled the contraption and chucked it back in Shadow. "Please don't tell anyone about that contraption, it works similar to the tech that was in the ship that brought us here. i would rather no one knew i had it. its too easy to exploit in the wrong hands. Mine aren't exactly clean but at least i only use it to move items between my workshop and not to move bombs into enemy bases."
Risa Nyom "I don't know where you two are headed off to, but I plan on taking Bragga down." Risa nodded. "Seems he's planning on bringing me down. I suppose you and I have something in common. We've both majorly pissed off Bragga. I don't think he's the one who trained me, but obviously he's working to get the prototypes back." Risa moved her hair away from her eyes. "Perhaps it would be safer to travel in a group, seeing as this war obviously has a background we weren't aware of. And we'd better move out before the Koros military comes and starts asking questions. With two stolen prototypes.... I doubt they'll just tell us to get going." She looked at the downed eagle. "Which I recommend we do now." Risa jumped into Cerberus, and Shamus hopped into his. "I'm sure that thing performs pretty well," Risa said to Davis. "But it might be better for you to hop on Cerberus. Four legs are faster than two, for long runs anyway." Davis agreed, and hopped onto Cerberus' back, and then the two bots headed off, unsure of where they were headed exactly, but anywhere was better than sitting and waiting for the military to show up.
Melody Hanson Melody thoughts were like a hurricane in her head as she lay down for the night. They had a 2 soldiers, a scavenger, and wanted fugitive. Not to metion herself as a mechanic. What an curious group they made. She figured it would take hours for her to relax but the moment she laid her head down she fell asleep. Melody pushed open the door of her father's shop. Everything was errily quiet and she knew something was wrong. "Dad? I'm back!" She walked around a workbench. No one was there. She heard creaking upstairs. "Dad, this isn't funny. Where are you?" She made her way slowly up the stairs. Her heart began to pound. Her dad never hid from her like this. Something was wrong. Where was he? She quickend her steps and pushed open the last door in the hallway. First she saw his feet, then his legs...then the rest of his body laying on his stomach on the floor. "Dad!" Melody raced over too him and rolled him on his back. She gasped at the sight. His chest was covered in blood and his face was that of a dead man's. "Dad! No! You can't be dead! Wake up!!" She pounded his chest hoping that somehow, someway...he'd wake up. Suddenly the body sat up, his eyes red. The body that was once her dad, grabbed Melody's wrists tightly. "Don't come back! It's not safe!" he said harshly. Melody struggled and screamed as she tried to get the body to let go of her wrists. "Melody!" Melody woke up to find herself staring in the face of a now awake Tyri. His eyebrows were stitched together with pain and concern. She looked down and found him holding on to her wrists. Likely trying to get her to stop pounding his already sore chest. Her face turned bright red and she stood quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean...my dad was...i'm sorry." She looked around the campfire. She'd awaken most everyone else. Good thing it was morning. She stood there awkwardly, with her head down, wanting nothing more than to run away and hide.
Amira Morgan It took a moment for Amira to realize where she was and who these people lying around the campfire were. She awoke in the cockpit of her robo, curled up in the pilot’s seat like a baby, with a laptop computer for a pillow. There were loose wires everywhere and she immediately knew she must have fallen asleep in the middle of another grand project. What did I do this time? she thought as she tried to recover from her science-hangover. She must’ve blacked out somewhere between the fifth shot of quantum mechanics and her third pint of aerospace engineering. The hatch was open and the sunlight shined on her face with an intensity that made going back to sleep impossible. Amira shoved aside the tools and loose wires and climbed down from the cockpit, rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she reached the ground. Melody was standing over Tyri, who was finally awake and seemed to be doing well, all things considered. But the girl looked rather sad. “Morning,” she said to them both before kneeling by Tyri and peering into his eyes. “How do you feel? Can I get you anything? We have water and… food.” She hesitated. Freeze-dried rations barely qualified as ‘food.’ It was like eating cardboard. Nutritional cardboard, but still cardboard. It was better than nothing, but she couldn’t help but feel that she should provide something more substantial for her guests. The transporter was the closest thing they had to shelter, so that made Amira the hostess of the group. Maybe someone should hunt for breakfast, she thought. Surely, this forest has rabbits.
Tyri Emmassus Tyri shifted a little as Amira looked him over. He was feeling much better, despite having lost Scorpio. It was a loss, but one he would accept... in time. Without a Robo, he wasn't a pilot anymore. He'd have to find another Robo at some point. It could be some time before that happened, and there was... He felt his pocket as he sat up. "I'm much better thank you," he said to Amira as he looked around. Things had changed, something was very different. In addition to having camped with the rogue soldier whom Tyri had been looking for, there were two new people, one younger boy, and a woman from Kylas, as noted by the markings on her Robo. "I suppose a lot happened while I was out. We picked up some new friends?" Tyri at least hoped they were friendly. The young boy didn't look like he wanted to be with them, but where he had come from Tyri had no idea. The woman on the other hand... She and the soldier kept glancing at one another, but it was a tense sort of glare really. Maybe he'd better speak to them all, and the woman from Kylas might be the best place to start. She might be able to get them passage to Kylas, because Tyri was convinced that going to the capital to speak with the president was the only way to convince them to end the war.
With one eye open throughout the night, Jaxx had not slept a wink. Vibrant rays of light had begun filtering through the trees, disrupting the darkness of the leafy canopy. He had watched them appear and then slowly move across the camp, exposing the dusty particles around them. Jaxx's eyes faltered, demanding sleep. But he resisted, determined to keep watch on these suspicious Robo troopers. Slowly, a hazy darkness enveloped him and the camp fell out of view. A shrill scream filled the air. Jaxx awoke abruptly with a shudder, his eyes darting round for the source of the wail. The beams of light had moved, one of them now firmly pressed against his face. Squinting and disoriented, Jaxx crawled forward into the shade to see a young woman standing across the camp, shivering. He recognised her from last night, though much of the evening’s proceedings have flown over his head. Then Jaxx saw him. A man sat below the girl, holding her wrist and talking her down. His messy, dark blonde curls blocked most of his face but his uniform was as clear as day. The Krine sigil reigned on his arm, like a target. It taunted Jaxx, his eyes fixated on the symbol. He had walked right into the lion’s den. Jaxx quietly turned to leave, but realised it was futile. Their scanners would no doubt pick up his movement again. Running away from his enemy was out of the question. But charging towards them… well that was a different idea entirely. Like a shadow Jaxx shifted around the camp, avoiding the light, rifle in hand. He stalked his prey, as another woman had knelt down beside the soldier. Jaxx found himself on the edge of the clearing, directly behind his target. It was time. The women’s attention had been fully focused on the wellbeing of the soldier. However the light blonde haired female noticed flickers of movement beyond. Her eyes met Jaxx fast approaching as shock fell upon her face. The soldier detected her gaze and turned around. With a quick flash and a loud crack, Jaxx’s rifle butt met the soldier’s cheek, twisting his head into his chest before recoiling to the ground. Jaxx flipped the rifle in the air, catching in one hand and aiming at the soldier’s head. “Don’t you dare move!” Uncontrollable rage spewed from Jaxx face, his mouth twisted and his gaze unmoved from the soldier. “I don’t know what is going on here, but if I don’t get some answers soon you are gonna be in a world of pain.”
Tyri Emmassus Holding his cheek, Tyri was getting bothered by all this pain. He'd luckily woken up feeling better, just a bit sore. Now he had a new pain in his cheek, and it was getting annoying. The kid obviously had some sort of mental issue, to come up and attack all of a sudden without provocation of any sort. Despite how furious he was at this kid, he knew there was a rifle pointed at him, and decided on something he wasn't particularly good at: diplomacy. Tyri put his hands up and nodded at the rifle. "K kid, take it easy there. I don't even know who you are, but I'm sure you've got a very good reason to come up and attack me out of the blue, especially with all these Robos running around, and trained pilots right next to you." Tyri put up a finger to the girls, and waved them back a bit. If the kid went psycho again, he didn't want them nearby. "Now, I'm just going to ask you to calmly lower that rifle you've got there. In return," Tyri reached to his belt, still holding up his other hand. "I'll get rid of this." Tyri quickly grabbed his gun, knowing it was chancy, and threw it away. The kid could kill him for making such a move, if he felt threatened enough. Tyri could only hope it wasn't too risky.
Amira Morgan She was glad to see Tyri awake and functioning. Amira even smiled slightly, but turned her head when she felt a slight blush coming to her cheeks. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea; she was just glad everyone was okay. Yesterday had been hectic and she was relieved that today was off to a peaceful start. In a camp with mercenaries and soldiers from opposing sides of a war, anything could happen. It didn’t take long before something did. Amira noticed the boy Darrius had picked up the previous evening moving on the outskirts of the camp. He seemed uneasy, as if he might be searching for the right way to approach them and introduce himself. It never occurred to her that he was sneaking around. When he suddenly broke into a run, headed straight for Tyri, she was caught completely off guard. He blindsided Tyri with the rifle butt before quickly turning the gun around and aiming the muzzle at the soldier. Amira quickly moved to block Melody, in case the boy turned on someone else. But it seemed like his anger was directed at Tyri. Amira had a gun on her hip, but she had never used for anything but shooting at empty cans and the occasional feral dog. Shooting anyone was completely out of the question. Tyri tried to smooth things over by talking the boy down and putting aside his own weapon. Amira kept her distance and kept her hands far from her weapon, so as not to alarm him. “It’s okay,” she said softly, “nobody’s going to hurt you. Just put the gun down and let’s talk.” The boy had said he wanted answers. She wasn’t sure what questions he had, but talking it out would be much easier with no one being held at gunpoint.
Jayce 'Jaxx' Fento _____________________ ”Nobody’s going to hurt you. Just put the gun down and let’s talk.” Jaxx shot a look at the woman, his rifle locked onto his hostage. “Talk!? You want to talk? Ok fine, let’s have a nice little chat.” His attention turned back to the soldier, who had disarmed himself. “I’ve got a good icebreaker – let’s discuss the Krine Army drafting orphans… by force. I can be more specific if you would like.” He paused, trembling with rage. “For example, my brother and me.” The words left his mouth with such authority, and he began twisting the rifle muzzle into the soldier’s cheek. Before anyone could answer, Jaxx continued, “And what about the man who adopted me, huh? The man these Krine soldiers mercilessly beat and imprisoned.” His finger danced with the thin metal trigger. All Jaxx could hear was his heavy breathing, the forest silent as the grave. Nothing would dare move, not even the wind. His glare dug relentlessly into the warrior. “You Robo pilots have no honour…” Before he could finish his rant a twig snapped behind him, breaking the impenetrable silence. Jaxx turned only to see a haze of movement, followed by a swift crack to the head. Thoughts scrambled in his mind as he fell to the ground. Karma’s a bitch.
