Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"Well, I do happen to be in your debt after you forced Marionette to retreat, so I can certainly give a favor a go" Monika commented, opening her eyes again and looking at Trick, ignoring the rather trash appearance Trick put up. It wasn't as if she had much room to judge, plenty of people bashed her own fashion sense back home despite how good Monika thought she looked. Skirts just never seemed to do the trick.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
"Goddesses fucking damn it..." Eilyth didn't let her expression change as she took in the news. Even after everything that had happened, she was still just bait. No, worse than that, actually. This time she wouldn't even be allowed to fight with the girls once her work was done. Have her act like a commander, was it? What, had her efforts so far not been good enough? Had all the time and energy spent trying to adapt to this great game just been a waste? It was absolutely fucking infuriating to stand there listening to such insinuations-
    She felt a flex of warm metal around her neck. Quick, yet firm, and then gone. A subtle reminder of their station, of what was expected. Reluctantly, she heeded that reminder and let her outrage subside. This was simply an opportunity, a test, and it would be more productive to treat it as such. It didn't matter how many of them doubted her. She would shatter all their expectations in time.
     "...Crystal, Ma'am." Eilyth finally answered. "What did the scouts uncover, exactly? Was there anything regarding the enemy meisters?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

"Fair is fair." She was in a similar boat to Monika, if somewhat less by choice; comments on her appearance were not unusual. "But you still haven't named what you want."

[Takosher]

Monika and Kirari

"I've been fighting my own little campaign against Naridus for a few years now, and I have some leads on major goings-ons that I can mess with. Problem is, I can't be in two places at once, and I need to go save a girl from a kidnapping." Trick explained, "That's where you come in. I figure since you're Katrian soldiers, you won't mind gathering intel on a Neridan superweapon?"

Eilyth

"The scouts, no. They just got a general size estimate and tried to count tanks. No sure number, but it's around ten." Cara explained, "However, I do have an intelligence report I was planning to share." she handed Eilyth a file, "Hytay Mercurial and Gene of Kalasutra, both low profile Ladies, so not a lot of info. Hytay does have a confirmed kill on her record, but most of the dangerous Tyranians have a lot more than one kill."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
Eilyth opened the report and began reading through what scant intel there was inside. She was honestly thankful it wasn't that long, made things easier on her. Once she finished and scanned through again to make sure she hadn't made any egregious mistakes, she began to recall the several meisters within her Battalion. These Ladies may not have been particularly dangerous, but that didn't mean she was just going to throw whoever at them and call it a battle.
    No, no... considering the shadow illusionist, her mind immediately went to Captain Regula Alto, the Time Grenade from the Frie Company. That gravitational pull of hers could prove invaluable for dealing with whatever evasive fuckery Gene of Kalasutra pulled. Plus Alto was more than experienced enough to not be so easily befuddled by optical illusions. While it was true that Mercurial may have been the bigger threat in direct combat, Kalasutra would nonetheless serve as a complication who'd best be dealt with quickly.
    And of course she wasn't going to send the woman out alone. But she'd need someone with abilities that could be used from afar, lest they risk being pulled in by Alto's gravity. Leah would be a good fit for the task, but she was naturally off limits given the role she played in Eilyth's command structure. There was 1st Lieutenant Hora Zenelliort, also from Frie. Given neither of the ladies had particularly compelling offensive presences though, Eilyth didn't think her primary power would be particularly needed here. There was Caddal, from her medical unit, but again... no compelling offense, it would be somewhat of a waste. Actually, using Caddal here would be outright overkill. And there was no way in hell she was going to send out a healer without damn good cause. Then there was 2nd Lieutenant Yora Findel, but.... no. Just no. For one, she could still barely comprehend how the second half of Findel's power actually worked. Two, From what she'd seen, that girl would be probably end up a sitting duck to Kalasutra's tricks and get popped between the eyes.
   
Which meant... that like it or not, the one option she had left who either wasn't off limits, wasn't going overboard for this, or wasn't an actual idiot savant... was the greenhorn, 2nd Lieutenant Aroma Gentry. She lacked experience, but her mirrors could provide a valuable distraction, and her range meant she could contribute to the fight without potentially getting snared by Alto's gravity. That and well... this wasn't going to get any easier the deeper into Tyran they pushed. It made no sense to shelter as big a liability as a greenhorn on this campaign. It would be wiser to try and break her in now, against weaker warriors, than later on when the Dames started coming out to play.
    As for her general battleplan, well naturally she herself would be spearheading the attack. Given the few enemy tanks, she could easily charge in and open the battle by destroying a few. That in turn should cause enough chaos for the Oh-Three to move in, begin opening fire with relative impunity and take out the rest. From there, she'd transition her focus to clearing out as much of the enemy infantry as she could. Her own men and the Oh-Three would follow behind to mop up any survivors. That of course assumed that the Ladies wouldn't intervene before that point. Once they inevitably did, She would deploy Captain Alto and 2nd Lieutenant Gentry as her meisters, and let them take it from there... as much as she hated it.

"I see." Eilyth said, finally closing the file. "I'll inform my chosen meisters and begin readying my battalion then. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss, ma'am?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

"A reasonable assumption." Had this scenario been presented before the odd chain of events that led her here, Kira would have immediately consented. Kirari, however, had more to consider than when she was only a broken Katrian girl. Acting against Neridus had more dimensions than before; she'd considered going back to Doc and seeing if her earlier offer was still possible - and her thoughts still wandered back to that shattering dream, questioning if she should have listened to the woman then, too.

She glanced at her fellow officer. Kirari had already made one decision, and that one was something she could keep to. "Monika?" A nigh-imperceptible hint of doubt came through in Kirari's voice. She had to hope she'd done enough to communicate her thoughts and feelings to her superior - Is she really my superior? I suppose I've already decided that - despite the stunted nature of their interactions since her dream had ended.

[Glass]

Jessie

"That... that..."
*sigh*
"That's... reasonable.

...eye contact. My power only activates when people lose eye contact. And - as you saw - if someone else reminds you, you get all the memories back. So if I find the girl again, and then she's moving away from me, you're going to need to remind me what I'm doing."

[Takosher]

Eilyth

"The attack begins in three hours, I'll be packing up camp in time to synchronize with your assault, so don't be tardy." Cara gave Eilyth a friendly smile, "Good luck out there."

Astarte

"They're coming!"

Astarte and the two ladies had finished preparing the troops an hour earlier, and everyone had been waiting anxiously for that fateful moment when the Katrians would begin their advance. Now that time had come.

The Tyranians had a defensive advantage in the marshy terrain. Combined with their certain disadvantage in meister numbers, that meant that Hytay and Gene would be holding back until a Katrian meister showed, at which point one of them would engage. Proper fortifications were difficult to set up quickly, so Astarte's troops had only the tall grass and an occasional tree for cover. Of course, the Katrians had the same. This area of the border was simply awful for warfare, even meisters struggled to have decisive battles here. Which was exactly why Astarte had been assigned this position. While it might have been miserable for the militia, such terrible terrain gave a vast advantage to Tyranian meisters, even relatiovely inexperienced ones like Hytay and Gene. All Astarte had to do was keep her people alive long enough to draw out whatever half-trained dimwit Katria threw at them.

Eilyth

Eilyth stood at the edge of the command tent, waiting for the fight to officially break out before heading for her position on the front lines. The various key commanders were all gathered around a wooden table with a map of the area, discussing the upcoming battle and only occasionally requiring Eilyth's input at this stage. the Oh-Three had a similar setup a little ways to the west, where the ground was a big more solid and they didn't need to build a boardwalk every ten inches just to move the tanks.

"Shots fired." Kelly Frie announced, having just received word over the radio, "Looks like they're using their tanks as artillery. Colonel Vulgara won't be able to advance on them, but we expected that."

Leah gently touched Eilyth's shoulder, drawing her attention. "Are you ready for this? I'm the last person who will doubt you, but nobody would blame you if you said you weren't up to this."

Jessie

"I'll pass you regular reminders using a code word. We'll call her... Fairy." Lali offered a simple solution, "As for my end of the bargain... We call it Starfollower, my weapon that is. It's a collection of little crystals, around two hundred of them, that float in the sky. I think higher than any human has ever reached. If I get close to someone I can tag them with it and it will follow them until I call it off, letting me track them as far as I want. It also lets me read emotions pretty well, so I can see through lies." she paused, "I'll tell you the rest later. She's right ahead of you, just turned right."

To the right was, of all things, a candy store. It seemed too simple to be true, but maybe the girl simply hadn't expected Jessie to follow her.

Silvia

The office Ishma had taken for herself was a lot larger than expected. The rebellion had never been much for grandeur, but apparently their leader still had a sense of scale. The room had previously belonged to a corrupt official, one who clearly had no issue flaunting his corruption, given the amount of gold in the room's color scheme. Ishma's relatively small wooden desk might have seemed out of place, if it could be seen under a mountain of paperwork. It should have been intimidating, but it was actually the first room Silvia had entered where she didn't feel a sense of paranoia.

Ishma herself was standing by the window, watching over the reconstruction effort from on high. She didn't turn when the Katrian's entered, leaving them to stare at her maroon hair. "Welcome." she said, soft-spoken but firm, "I don't have extra seats yet, so we should make this quick." She turned around, revealing the ugly scar that curved its way down the left side of her olive-skinned face and across her lips. A moment was taken to adjust her glasses, drawing attention to her golden eyes, but that only served to highlight how dull they seemed. Despite being the victor, Ishma looked very defeated.

Mirala bowed politely. "We would not want to waste your time, a quick visit is welcome. As your allies in rebellion, we hoped you might extend us the courtesy of a brief tour, although with your numbers stretched so thin, it need not be guided."

"You want to make sure we're not up to anything." Ishma said bluntly, "Cut the crap. I thought you said you didn't want to waste time."

Mirala smirked, "My apologies, I'm used to dealing with testier bureaucracies. There is a reason my job so often takes me out of Katria."

Ishma actually smiled in response to that, "I suppose I can't fault you for that." She glanced at Silvia, "What about you, how do you feel about your homeland?"

Yava

Yava had made the rest choice, as the soft-soled doorman materialized next to Ambrosia with a bejeweled knife in her hand. She helped Ambrosia to her feet and then both turned towards Yava and Sola. Ambrosia started towards the pair, but the previously disguised meister stopped her. Ambrosia scowled while her mysterious accomplice shot Yava a meaningful look. And then the world seemed to kaleidoscope around them as they both vanished.

While Ambrosia and the mystery meister escaped, Yava was able to usher sola out the door. Somewhere in the commotion, Sola had managed to get out her phone and dial for help. Several very nice cars pulled up, and an older man in a very nice suit stepped out. He was carrying Sola's chainsaw, and rushed it to his mistress's side. Without wasting time, Sola transmuted herself to electricity and back, extinguishing the fire in the process.

"Thank you, Horacio." she choked out. Her neck was still badly burnt, but it seemed the flames had not managed to cook anything vital. "And you too, Yava."

Horacio helped Sola to her feet. "You're welcome, child." He said with mtoherly affection, "Let's get you to a hospital."

Sola nodded, "Assign someone to help Yava clean up. And be careful, our target may not have gone far."

Yava might have wanted to provide input, but there was something on her mind. The look she had been given, it seemed to mean, "You're welcome." but not for stopping Ambrosia, that had definitely been a tactical choice. Something far more chilling. There was only one thing such a look could have meant.

"I could have killed you, you're welcome."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Although not as complicated of an ordeal as the girl sitting next to her, Monika still had to give the question a bit of thought. On one hand, she simply wanted to return back to Katrian lines and take a well deserved break, considering everything that had happened in the last few weeks. But on the other, she was still a Major of Katria, and as such was still enemies with Neridus by nature. It did leave a bad taste in her mouth to immediately do something that would likely hurt Neridus in the long run, especially considering the relative mercy the showed her during captivity, but she would also get hell if she didn't return with something of value.

So ultimately, Monika offered up a shrug, "It wouldn't be out of the question. What kind of weapon are we talking about?"


Astarte

For Astarte's part, the woman positioned herself just behind the front lines, radio out as she crouched behind a small tree. It would've been safer to be further behind and in a command tent, but Astarte didn't have that luxury at this moment. Due to the nature of the battle, she'd need to be able to note any shift as soon as it happened, and to do that she had to be able to observe the front lines. Still, as when she was drawing up the plan of defense, it felt natural to be in the battle, listening to the crack of rifles and the booming of artillery fire.

It was far most exciting than simple paperwork.

"Troops, hold position, keep them pinned down as much as you can. Spotters, keep up your work and notify any tanks and meisters you see, ensure that they bleed for every inch of land they take" Astarte quickly reminded through her radio. She felt certain that her troops would be capable of memorizing and following orders, but she always had to make sure to remind them.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
"A few months back, I might've told you no." Eilyth said, turning to look Leah in the eye. "Before you guys arrived that day, I had all but given up. She started charging up this one attack I'd been certain was gonna end me and well... I just got tired of it all. Tired of always struggling, always fighting, always getting nowhere. I was just treading water, and she was the wave that finally pulled me under. And as she did, I think part of me realized something. I'd spent so long just trying to survive that I had never really lived."
    For the first time since she started down this road, Eilyth let the delicate mask she had crafted crack. Her pupils narrowed to slits surrounded by seas of undying fire as she turned away from Leah and gazed out upon the marshy field. "You know... it's ironic. When I was little, I used to always wish that some heroine would swoop down and save me... show me a better life. No such heroine ever showed up, obviously, and soon enough I could only cringe at how naïve I'd been. Of course no one was gonna come save me, I'd just have to struggle against the tide. I go for years and years thinking that, living like that. Then one day some metal monster shows up and makes me see that maybe I could've been my own damn heroine all along, had I just stopped struggling so much within the status quo and focused on carving my own path instead.

So yeah. I'm ready for this. More than ready. I've already started on my path, and I'll keep carving it out even if I have to rip and tear through the rest of the Tyranians to do it."


Yava
Yava watched on in silence, and shivered at the thought of the unknown meister's smile. All that time, the 'doorman' could've gutted her, and she'd never even realized it till they had tipped her off. The woman had doubtlessly been one of the renegades spawned by Ambrosia. And she was obviously some type of illusionist, or worse yet, a fellow reality bender like Yava herself, to have pulled off that sudden appearance and getaway. Just what had they truly uncovered here? How deep did this operation go? How large of a hornets nest had they just unwittingly (and quite literally) kicked in there? She had no idea. Part of her didn't want to know.

But the rest of her knew that what had unfolded here would not be forgotten.

There were always severe repercussions when you messed with a well-established organization. You'd be damn lucky if you lived to regret it.

[Takosher]

Monika and Kirari

"No idea. That's what you need to find out." Trick said nonchalantly. She started up the car and began driving. "I've got a one-way ticket inside the facility they're building it in. Someone inside who can get you through the door. Finding the weapon and getting out will be up to you guys to figure out for yourselves."

Astarte

The battle seemed to be going well. Being the defender was proving a huge boon, as the Katrian tanks simply couldn't advance over this terrain, not without heavy losses from Astarte's artillery. That left Astarte's forces tons of room for aggression, and it seemed to be working in their favor, slowly pushing that Katrians back. It wouldn't be long.

"It's the Dragon!" a frantic cry echoed over the radio.

Suddenly, every single weapon on the Tyranian side was pointed at one thing: The large earthen beast that had begun advancing across the sweltering marsh. The Dragon of Katria. Astarte had heard the rumors that Katria's latest hero would be leading the charge, but this was the first that her presence had been confirmed. She was living up to her name as bullets and tank shells seemed to ricochet harmless off of her draconic scales. If there was any damage being done, it wasn't meaningful enough to actually slow the Dragon's advance.

Eilyth

Leah nodded. "Alright, good Luck out there." She smiled, bittersweet. There was clearly so much more to be said, but yet again Leah kept quite. Despite being closer than ever through Brigitte, Leah and Eilyth seemed to only be drifting further apart.

It was an uneasy feeling to leave on as she headed out to fight the Tyranian army.

Lunete

Lunete's watchful eye stayed trained on the Katrian interlopers as the door to Ishma's sanctuary closed behind them. She had been directly ordered to stay far away from the visitors, but her suspicions had refused to allow that. Instead, she had followed the pair from the moment they got out of their car. They hadn't done anything suspicious yet, just a lot of talking. But they would do something eventually. And when they did, Lunete would be there to stop them.

"Whatcha doin', Lunete?" A certain gremlin joined Lunete in cowering behind the trash bin.

Shinko was a bit to young for Lunete to call her a friend, but the girl had certainly proved herself a trustworthy companion. Flighty to an absurd degree, Shinko was apparently so innately nervous that Lunete's weapon had no effect on her. Something that might have been an annoyance, were Shinko not so useful. Shinko was infatuated with Lunete. Not romantically, rather in the way a fan might adore an actor. And such infatuation combined with her immunity made her an excellent sidekick, as she would do just about anything Lunete wanted without needing even the smallest of intimidations.

Yava

"Hello. Miss Yava, was it?"

The speaker was Lady Erina Valedictor. She had come to Vyne from the neighboring Myre to investigate the incident that had put one of Tyran's most powerful meisters out of commission right before war broke out. That war was probably the only reason Yava wasn't dealing with Erina's much more terrifying mother. Although from what Sola had said, Erina could be just as frightening in the wrong circumstance. Given the look on the purple-red-haired woman was sporting screamed "fake," it would certainly be the smart move to play it safe, at least until what was underneath became clearer.

[Chevaleresse]

Lunete

"Good question." She turned her body toward Shinko as she spoke, deliberately relaxing her body language. She was just a former revolutionary, an irregular with nothing to do but gossip. "If I were a stranger from a strange land, and I reassured you that I absolutely had no intention of harm whatsoever, simply wanting to weave the words of peace and goodwill, in a place like this, at a time like this, what would you think I was up to?" She paused with eyebrow raised to allow the girl to reply, if she so chose, though Lunete was just meandering to her point as she often did. "I'm just keeping them honest. Because I'm an honest person."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Yava
"Hm?" Yava turned to the voice, and recognized the owner well enough from Sola's description. She pushed aside her rising unease for now, knowing it would be less than helpful for the conversation to come. But try as she might it only retreated so far, refusing to fully disappear into the back of her mind. "Oh... Yis, I am Yava. You are Lady Valedictor, correct?"

Eilyth
"Just how much is she keeping from me? Was she even referring to the battle?" She tried to push the feeling out of mind as she continued charging. Now was neither the time nor the place.

She had a plan to initiate, and her current status as Cath Helel be damned, she was going to do it.

 She paid no heed to the storm of bullets that descended upon her as she neared her targets. Even less attention to the enemy enlisted firing them, their destruction would come later. For now she kept focused on the few tanks which were keeping her own troops from advancing. Using them as artillery... it was almost clever, Eilyth had to admit. But given that their shots were thus far ricocheting off her hide like they were mere bullets, it was clear none of them had yet thought to switch from High Explosive Anti-Personnel shells to the more appropriate Anti-tank variety. Even so, she knew from ample experience that they lacked the numbers to outpace her armor's regeneration once they did. That's assuming she even let them hit the main body to begin with; she could not fly, but her wings were still far from decorative.
    In fact, if she had it her way, they wouldn't get much chance to realize their current blunder. She set her eyes on the nearest Tyranian tank and picked up speed, calculating the remaining distance. With a blood chilling roar that echoed out across the battlefield, her wings unfurled and violently beat the air as her legs simultaneously pushed off the sodden earth with her full might. For a brief moment, as her shadow quickly overtook the tank, one could be forgiven for thinking she could indeed fly. It was precisely what Eilyth wanted in fact, just to leave them wondering of her true capabilities, of the accuracy of whatever intel they may currently have. Even if what appeared as a sudden take off was in truth nothing more than a calculated pounce that now put the Dragon of Katria on a direct course to slam down atop the unlucky tank's canopy with the full weight of her body behind her.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"I see. Well, I'm all for doing some snooping around, how 'bout you Kirari?" with that, Monika shifted her gaze to look at the girl sitting next to her.

Astarte

In her position on the front lines, Astarte could see the flow of the battle firsthand, and at first, she was fairly hopeful. So far, the Katrians weren't able to make any real headway through their territory, and the pressure from the artillery teams allowed the infantry to push forward and give them even less room to spread. Of course, that was before the Dragon suddenly made its appearance, bursting from the Katrian lines and leaping towards their own.

“Shit! All forces fall back to secondary positions, those closest give covering fire so Katria can’t take advantage of our retreat, don’t bother wasting your ammo on the Dragon, just give the Ladies enough time to engage” Astarte ordered through the radio, pushing herself from the tree she had hid behind and began to move back with the rest of the troops. She shouldn’t have the need to say it, but this was where the Tyrian Ladies would come into play. From what intel she got, her troops didn't have the firepower to cause any form of lasting harm against that Meister specifically, and Katria likely knew that. It would make sense for them to send out a shield and a distraction in order to deal with a No Man's Land situation.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

"I'll follow your lead, Major." Kirari gave a small nod. There was little else to say. The world wasn't liable to stop presenting her with difficult decisions, and at the very least, stopping a superweapon would go along with her recent decision to be a good person - even if part of it still left a bad taste in her mouth.