Nondescript News

[Teddy]

There's a sigh among the three that're left. Shade motions for his men to leave. "We'll be comin' back, make no mistake. I just can't bring these guys along, Corv. You know that. Hell, it'd be hard for ME to fly and keep up with ya folks." Shade looks a little sheepish, scratching at the back of his head.

"No, I got it." He looks at the assembled men and women. "Go back home to your family, your friends. The next excursion West, you'll be the first I call." Corvus bows at them, before his feet dig into the ground, and he LAUNCHES himself up after Kriega. As he comes down, strands of his skin and clothes unwind into a large pair of black, reptilian looking wings.

Shadow, meanwhile, has taken off after the two, growing no new apparatus to fly, he just... Does. The horrors he brought also start to follow, what little there are left. "Now there's only two left~ Still think you can take Nokel, Corvy?"

[Funny Hat + Funny Accent]

*The trooper pauses momentarily, drawing the group to a halt.*

"Sir-?"

"Even my gear picked up on that signal. Move it to the CTC base. Use your jets!"

*Instead of their customary loping strides, the platoon begins to sprint towards the new anomaly before the powerful turbofan-jumpjets engage and hurl the units scores of meters forward in a single burst. After needing to cool for not even half of a minute, the jump system ignite a second time and launch the power-armor infantry once more into the sky. In such a manner, they rapidly cross the intervening distance.*

---
*The rest of the Fourth Mechanized Battalion had not been idle in the meantime as a series of detonations rip through a portion of the volcanic rock surrounding the crashed Thor. From the gap opened by the explosions, three fully-loaded Predator-class Assault Airships take to the skies and quickly make their way to the new disturbance detected.*

---
*At the bottom of the ocean, the control room of ancient war machine awakened and assessed the situation. After determining the forces currently deployed by various factions, it returned to its slumber.*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

(( Wow, I've gotten REALLY behind on my posting... ))

The building rumbles slightly as it sounds like something on a higher floor just collapsed, with specs of dust and concrete falling from the ceiling over Raleigh. Having exhausted the psychic impression, Raleigh may make out a sign for a shelter down below via some stairs. Though it seems stairwell, at least at that level, has collapsed. Such a bother. However, as the CTC soldiers use their radar sensors, they can pick up a great deal of underground openings- but they're largely irregular and probably full of debris. The openings end right at the peak of the rim around the crater- whatever glassed the core of the city also compressed whatever was underground, given how expansive the underground network is.

Meanwhile the drone up above can easily determine that there is some manner of distortion in the local area resulting in the alien sky above... but it can't determine what it is, or why the clouds abruptly start (or end?) at the edges of the barrier. However, it seems there is some unusual activity in the barrier itself with the activity gradually increasing.

Meanwhile in the center of the crater, the man quietly regards the drone speaking to him while taking a drag from his cigarette. He looks up at the sky and exhales before looking back at the drone and finally replying in a deep, authoritative voice.

"Very well, ask your questions, unit."

The soldiers continue to investigate the ruins. Some of the techs start collecting samples and taking readings from the glassed portions of the crater, to determine just what kind of weapon or energies might have caused such severe damage. After all, nuclear weapons leave fallout (even relatively clean nukes like the CTC use), while antimatter and gravimetric devices leave their own telltale traces. Something more exotic would also likely leave some kind of signature to be detected. The soldiers searching for underground areas try to find one that might be accessible, although given the amount of debris that might be difficult in the time available.

Meanwhile, the drone investigating the sky above decides to return to the vehicles, as it seems the information it carries is worth more than the value of further investigation and the risk of destruction.

The other two continue to observe the figure. "Please identify yourself. What sort of entity are you, and do you have any connection to this place or its destruction?" the drone asks politely.

*CTC Research Facility*

Testing the kinetic forces the device is able to emit, the scientists eventually try to compare the force exerted on another barrier projector in storage- the find that the device seems to be able to invert the barrier on itself and negate it almost immediately with a noticeable spike in energy usage. The neural network then immediately suggests using a weapon against the device, to see if it can act as a barrier against weapons. The network even takes it a step further with suggesting a list of weapons to try, varying from energy, explosive and solid projectile weapons.

As for the plasma cannon, the fabrication of a gravimetric array to be fitted to the cannon begins, using their own current arsenal. But, it's with the materials analysis that the scientists find the most interesting discovery yet following the quarantine of the Soulsteel and the scientists working with them.

In particular, it seems some of the metals that were picked up have some interesting properties that affect the space around them, but more strangely, seem to distort time itself when a current is induced. The metal 'shards', because of how small they are, haven't been seen before by the CTC anywhere, and molecular analysis yields something more similar to a amorphous structure instead of typical, rigid metal formations. As such, it's hard to determine why the metal is able to conduct metal so well despite the bizarre molecular arrangement, in addition to the abundance of unknown matter alloyed into the shards. The shards themselves also seem to have intricate designs carved into them, and seem to glow when current is passed through the shards, which may also play into the effect of the shards. But from what the scientists can determine, there's no apparent scientific background to the seemingly magical effect that these shards can create.

Continued experimentation with the kinetic projector starts to turn up some very interesting results for the CTC scientists. Studying its effects in both manipulating the defensive fields produced by various force field generators, and the energies produced by a variety of weapons, the conclusion seems to be that it produces some kind of space-time distortions. This sets off a few flags within the CTC's computer network, as apparently there exists classified information on this sort of phenomenon. While the scientists do their best to observe how the kinetic projector manipulated space-time and energy, a few discrete requests are made for more information from higher-up in the CTC command.

The scientists with the plasma cannon continue their research, using a smaller version of the gravimetric lens used in the GABRIEL arrays. Those units are quite large, however, but any advances made here hold promise of potentially leading to a new generation of kinetic weapons and higher-energy plasma weapons...

The third group of scientists continue to try and make progress with the materials analysis, using extremely powerful (and large) tools to try and study the material on an atomic or even smaller levels. The CTC's hyperspatial theories are enough to speculate on a variety of foundations for the universe, whether superstrings, twistors, or other exotic concepts. They don't have the tools powerful enough to reach this level, but with access to limited femtotech, they can at least search for telltale signs of how this unknown matter might be related to concepts they already understand. The designs are assumed to be some kind of conduits, a technique the CTC has records of being used in other worlds for magical manipulation, where passing energy through specially engraved patterns can induce magical effects, much like a reusable magical scroll. Of course, a reproducible phenomenon can eventually be understood, and magic, after all, is simply science that has been insufficiently understood!

[Jello Shot Mischa]

*A quick analysis of the four points will yield less tactical interest than they might hope, in fact, almost no tactical interest at first glance. The locations seem as ordinary as they are random. Guard shack, vehicle bay...rest room. However, as more points found through the observation of non random events caused by the cloaked figure, something of geometric interest might begin.*

*As she moves about on her mission, she quirks her head, taking in notice of the uniformed shadow she has developed. The follower's best bet to continue as such would be to not try to specifically follower her, but just go in the last direction known, as the longer she focuses on the cloaked lady, the harder it is to recognize her as such.*

Noticing the potential geometric pattern being formed by the figure's movements, the base's computers start analyzing it, while trying to project its possible consequences.

Meanwhile, the figure may notice one oddity about her shadow -- at times, it seems to be lingering around her destinations before she gets there, and at other times, it arrives after she does, but still soon after... almost as if she knows where the figure is going. There's definitely something odd about her.

*CTC Base*

Alarm Klaxons begin to blare all over the base abruptly as the seismic sensors detect a massive disturbance east of the base. Due to their proximity, buildings nearby visibly shake before the soldier's eyes, while techs likely scramble to figure out what the cause was. Activating more active detection systems determine that there was a breech in space-time via an Einstein-Rosen Bridge of rather significant scale. Long ranged imaging confirms all previous readings, as spacial distortions are visible stretching from the heavy storms above down to the ground in roughly the shape of a funnel cloud. However, the clouds are quickly regressing, leaving a massive object which is likely the culprit of the seismic disturbance in its wake.

Given the objects size, the fact that subsequent vibrations begin to reach the sensor fields shouldn't be surprising as the huge object begins moving: South.

In immediate response to the alarms, the CTC troops being scrambling, hurrying to man their posts or vehicles. Numerous engines fire up as vehicles begin deploying in readiness, while weapon systems and sensors go to full power, scanning the immediate area.

Major Durant frowns at her displays, studying the information that comes streaming in regarding the massive distortions occurring to the east. "An Einstein-Rosen bridge?" she muses.

"Something of a misnomer," Elly mentions. "The original Einstein-Rosen bridge was a construct that existed between two similar but isolated universes in the maximal Schwarzschild black hole metric, existing in the brief instant between the collapse of the primordial white hole and the formation of the eternal black hole on the rebound. But it has become something of the catch-all name for all wormhole-like constructs, particularly between separate universes."

Durant nods. "I see... similar to our own methods, I suppose."

"A large object has apparently been deployed, based on preliminary sensor observations. It's quite massive. There's no sign of a military accompaniment -- in fact, tentative indications are that the enemy's forces are pulling away from it."

The major frowns at that. "Hrm... so it's either not one of theirs, or its a prototype that they want to test, and halfway expect to blow up in their own faces." She sighs, and stretches a bit in her seat. "Well, we've been sitting around here long enough."

She glances at some of her other displays. "The Steel Talons appear to be on the move to engage. Assuming they know something we don't, we can probably assume the new arrival is neutral at best, and potentially hostile. Deploy drones to reconnaissance the landing site, and have any nearby hovertank and WIGE patrols skirt the horizon. I don't want them to catch anything more than a glimpse of it -- we'll rely on the intervening landmass for cover while we can. Send a signal to that patrol in the city, and have them prepare to fall back in case we need to evacuate. I know they're out of contact in that distortion, but they've still got operating drones in the area -- one might be able to reach them."

She toggles her displays. "Order the Vanguard Solar Exharmony to deploy its rings, and commence Operation Pythagoras. The Vigilant will prepare all its aircraft for aerial support missions, using the GV9s as we discussed earlier. The Snapfire and Drumfire will prepare all launch silos for shore bombardment, with payloads as previously arranged."

Durant's assistant nods. "Do you think it'll be enough?"

The major sighs. "Most likely not... but it's about time for a bit of learning."

[Raleigh]

*Receiving no answer, Raleigh shrugs and turns into the mist to work his way into the underground region.* Not like I can't get back up here quickly anyway assuming there are shadows. *After filtering through the rubble he reforms in the first open spot he can find and stand up in.*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

*Receiving no answer, Raleigh shrugs and turns into the mist to work his way into the underground region.* Not like I can't get back up here quickly anyway assuming there are shadows. *After filtering through the rubble he reforms in the first open spot he can find and stand up in.*

(( Whoops, sorry! I've gotten so far behind I lost track of things... @__@ But the soldiers should be fine if you go on ahead, for now at least :3 ))

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

*Ruined City*

Contacting the CTC telepathically is manageable, though there is a measure of interference as Raleigh does send his message. Regardless, he eventually reforms in a basement level about 20 feet below ground level, with plenty of stairs to go. But like most stairwells, there's ample exits onto other basement levels which likely stretch out beneath the crumbling building. Most anything he can see seems to be made of reinforced concrete, but a lot of it seems to have decayed, as though it had been abandoned for several hundred years...

Above ground, as the soldiers investigate the ruins and the techs collect samples, preliminary readings indicate that the miasma was never in the core of the city- whatever blew out the core of the city and created the barrier separating it from the rest of the world did so before the miasma swept through the rest of the continent. As other techs sample the black glassing of the crater, the texture is almost metallic despite initial appearances, and as they scrape material away ear piercing screams are released likely startling the techs from continuing their efforts. As they look at the black material now though, the techs can swear that they can see the warped faces of people, wailing and screaming for release from their prison.

Up above, the drone returns to the CTC vehicles without an problems.

Down at the center of the crater, the man regards the drones stoically with his dark eyes.

"You may call me 'John Doe' and I am but a man. Nothing more, nothing less. As for my connection to what happened here, I am not directly responsible for what happened here. But, that should be the least of the concerns of the children directing your movements, unit."

He looks at his wrist watch calmly.

"Likewise, I don't the time to entertain all your questions. I have a job to do."

John Doe then tosses his smoke aside, and begins walking toward the rim with purpose in his dark eyes.

*The Far East (but less far!)*

Kriega flies swiftly, streamers of golden essence trailing behind her. She doesn't look over her shoulder to confirm anyone is following her, but seems to expect such. To the north, the brothers likely notice that the lay of the land becomes smoother, almost artificial, with blue lines of light like a circuit stretching off even further to the north. Corvus and Shadow and likely tell that Kriega is skirting to the southern edge of the continent while avoiding the center- given what they can see, probably to avoid the core of Nokel's base of operations at the continent. But, even from this distance, the brothers can likely sense the malignance seeping from the core, from the cause of this entire disaster in the dark continent.

*The Wastelands*

Turning back around, the Steel Talons jump jet making great time- from what the CTC can tell, the Steel Talons are coming back to base, rather than going after the new arrival.

However, from the volcano, a huge slab of rock is blasted off raining debris down on the wastes below. From the new hole punched in the side of the volcano, the airships explode forth, their headings taking them south in the direction of the massive object heading to the south at a steady pace.

*The CTC Base*

Following the movements of the object heading south, the drones close in on the object. Eventually, a video feed comes in on the massive assault mech, even compared to previous units, this one easily dwarfs the others. Though the size is easily the most noticeable difference from prior units, the head also seems to have been massively redesigned, sporting some core cannon structure- but it's hard to tell. As the drones draw in closer, the exorbitant numbers of weapons mounted all over it's frame spring to life and with pin point accuracy, open fire with repeating gauss weapons to shoot the drones down once they get within a few hundred feet of the mech.

For the drones that hang back, they may notice what looks like dune buggies beginning to stream out of the wasteland- in the hundreds- up ahead, with rockets and other weapons being fired from them at the huge mech. As the weapons streak forward, they impact a massive barrier which seems to suck in the explosions and force them to implode upon themselves with a dying whimper. The mech doesn't seem all concerned with the biggies scurrying about it, but slowly lowers itself onto the huge articulated tracks as the head begins to expand outwards with a bright globe of plasma forming in the center.

White, antenna-like arrays fold out from the head as black discs radiate white energy at the globe of plasma. Space seems to distort around the plasma, streamers of plasma blasting out only to be drawn back in. Time shifts and suddenly the globe condenses into an infinitesimal spec of white light. From the extended arrays, four beams of red light streak out past the buggies before the sky burns with white light, blinding any visual feeds immediately- and despite the distance to the CTC base, even the soldiers there are half blinded by the intensity of the light to the east.

As the light and the accompanying blindness fades, the drones can make out a massive ball of fire that continues to expand outwards. Temperature readings from the drones are completely off the scales- even as the ball of fire approaches over ten miles in diameter before there's a pulse and the ball collapses into a black void within itself, drawing rocks and debris inwards- and even the drones to the epicenter. With ball of flames' collapse, the buggies, and whatever subterranean base they emerged from are gone, leaving only a huge crater of titanic proportions. The mech's head collapses back into it's original state, rising up from the articulated tracks near the edge of the crater, and turns to the west- to the CTC base.

And so it begins it approach.

"Squeak squeak..."

[Teddy]

Shadow and Corvus both look over to the center, but Shadow quickly looks away, becoming much more focused on the circuit like lights everywhere. "Angel~ Which side do those lights belong to. Yours or his? I hate to say if they're his, we might be in over our heads~"

"No we're not." Corvus mutters, a sharp edge to his voice. "We're NEVER over our heads, Shadow." He growls as he continues to stare off into the distance, an occasional wing flap the only other noise that comes from him. "We're not dead yet, and we brought only a little to bear, right? With the right... Oh, what do you say... Leverage? We can force these people from the other continent to help. I mean, we're two trustworthy and noble guys."

The brothers share a bone chilling laugh. Corvus sounds more like he's roaring, while Shadow's is a more tame, though outright maniacal one.

"Sorry you're stuck with us monsters Kriega~ But odd times call for even odder bedfellows, right? ...Though, we're not going to be sharing your bed. Or at least, I'M not. Corvy miiiiight, if you look suitably bloodthirsty and hate flirty."

[Raleigh]

Reminds me of when I visit post-nuclear fallout worlds. *He begins to look around for any signs that may indicate what he is going to find as he begins his trek down the stairs.* Bets on some wierdo biochemical weapon being developed here? Anyone? *And he is talking to himself.*

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Above ground, as the soldiers investigate the ruins and the techs collect samples, preliminary readings indicate that the miasma was never in the core of the city- whatever blew out the core of the city and created the barrier separating it from the rest of the world did so before the miasma swept through the rest of the continent. As other techs sample the black glassing of the crater, the texture is almost metallic despite initial appearances, and as they scrape material away ear piercing screams are released likely startling the techs from continuing their efforts. As they look at the black material now though, the techs can swear that they can see the warped faces of people, wailing and screaming for release from their prison.

Up above, the drone returns to the CTC vehicles without an problems.

Down at the center of the crater, the man regards the drones stoically with his dark eyes.

"You may call me 'John Doe' and I am but a man. Nothing more, nothing less. As for my connection to what happened here, I am not directly responsible for what happened here. But, that should be the least of the concerns of the children directing your movements, unit."

He looks at his wrist watch calmly.

"Likewise, I don't the time to entertain all your questions. I have a job to do."

John Doe then tosses his smoke aside, and begins walking toward the rim with purpose in his dark eyes.

The technicians examining the glassy material are startled by the screams, and the apparent figures of souls trapped in the material! Reporting their findings to Darius, he requests that the P-series SIBLING investigate. The hatch to the second vehicle opens up, and a figure in environmentally sealed armor steps out -- although judging from the figure's size and build, it's apparently a young woman. She walks over to where the techs are working, and frowns, before attempting to telepathically contact the minds trapped within the material.

As John Doe makes his way towards the rim, the drones simply follow along, watching him!

Meanwhile, one of the drones loitering outside of the barrier, receiving instructions from the CTC base, attempts to enter and relay its information to Darius and the others.

*The CTC Base*

Following the movements of the object heading south, the drones close in on the object. Eventually, a video feed comes in on the massive assault mech, even compared to previous units, this one easily dwarfs the others. Though the size is easily the most noticeable difference from prior units, the head also seems to have been massively redesigned, sporting some core cannon structure- but it's hard to tell. As the drones draw in closer, the exorbitant numbers of weapons mounted all over it's frame spring to life and with pin point accuracy, open fire with repeating gauss weapons to shoot the drones down once they get within a few hundred feet of the mech.

For the drones that hang back, they may notice what looks like dune buggies beginning to stream out of the wasteland- in the hundreds- up ahead, with rockets and other weapons being fired from them at the huge mech. As the weapons streak forward, they impact a massive barrier which seems to suck in the explosions and force them to implode upon themselves with a dying whimper. The mech doesn't seem all concerned with the biggies scurrying about it, but slowly lowers itself onto the huge articulated tracks as the head begins to expand outwards with a bright globe of plasma forming in the center.

White, antenna-like arrays fold out from the head as black discs radiate white energy at the globe of plasma. Space seems to distort around the plasma, streamers of plasma blasting out only to be drawn back in. Time shifts and suddenly the globe condenses into an infinitesimal spec of white light. From the extended arrays, four beams of red light streak out past the buggies before the sky burns with white light, blinding any visual feeds immediately- and despite the distance to the CTC base, even the soldiers there are half blinded by the intensity of the light to the east.

As the light and the accompanying blindness fades, the drones can make out a massive ball of fire that continues to expand outwards. Temperature readings from the drones are completely off the scales- even as the ball of fire approaches over ten miles in diameter before there's a pulse and the ball collapses into a black void within itself, drawing rocks and debris inwards- and even the drones to the epicenter. With ball of flames' collapse, the buggies, and whatever subterranean base they emerged from are gone, leaving only a huge crater of titanic proportions. The mech's head collapses back into it's original state, rising up from the articulated tracks near the edge of the crater, and turns to the west- to the CTC base.

And so it begins it approach.

Major Durant watches the feed from the drones through her displays, resting her chin upon her hands, Gendou Ikari-style. Neither her nor Elly say anything at the sight of the massive mecha, although the latter does quirk an eyebrow at it. They take note as some of the drones, venturing close, are shot down by the mecha's point-defense guns.

"Well... that may disappoint some people," the major murmurs.

She frowns as the buggies stream into view, firing their weapons. The two women watch as the attack is revealed to be futile, largely due to the mecha's powerful shielding, until it finally unleashes its devastating weapon. As the mecha folds itself back up, and begins moving westward, Major Durant lets out a sigh.

"Well... that's that, I suppose." She taps the console in front of her.

"I suppose that explains why they pulled back from it..." Elly comments.

"Probably. Although whoever's playing with that thing doesn't have a clue how to run a proper field test, or even any tactical awareness. It's pretty much just a giant toy they're playing with."

"So what do we do?"

"Us?" She switches her comm channels. "Commence base evacuation. Prioritize support personnel first, and prepare all defenses for automated firing. Prepare the fuse."

Elly nods, consulting her own displays. "The crew for your aircraft is scrambling -- they anticipate being ready to depart within one minute," she explains.

"Good. Ensure that the techs download as much of the data from the system to portables as they can -- the atmosphere here is still troublesome, and could interfere with transmissions back to the fleet. In the meantime..." She taps additional commands into the console. "We'll mobilize Pythagoras, and keep Pandemonium in reserve."

The major glances at her displays. "We might not even need Pandemonium... it looks like the Steel Talons are on the move to engage, and I can guess what they might have lurking in the ocean. Make certain the fleet is aware of the possibility. In the meantime, they can commence their bombardment -- it might at least distract the thing long enough to give the Steel Talons some cover."

In the base proper, soldiers and technicians suddenly leap into activity, scrambling to ready their defenses and pack up what they can to load back onto the transports. In particular, they download as much data as they can from their computer cores, while also trying to transmit a copy of the data to the research vessel waiting far out to sea.

The fleet's two arsenal ships, the Drumfire and the Snapfire, turn towards the coastline. Hundreds of hatches open up in their hulls, and then, in a flare of energy, fire, and smoke, they begin their bombardment, each ship launching 120 cruise missiles from their tubes, at a rate of 5 per second. The missiles' ramjet engines ignite as soon as their clear, accelerating them to hypersonic speeds, and they streak towards the continent at a kilometer per second. At that speed, they streak over the CTC base within 15 seconds, their hypersonic engines shaking the base with their sonic booms -- which, at the rate of launch, continue for an entire 24 seconds as no less than 240 missiles streak towards the giant mecha, hugging the ground to avoid being spotted until the last few seconds.

[??????? ?? ????]

Noticing the potential geometric pattern being formed by the figure's movements, the base's computers start analyzing it, while trying to project its possible consequences.

Meanwhile, the figure may notice one oddity about her shadow -- at times, it seems to be lingering around her destinations before she gets there, and at other times, it arrives after she does, but still soon after... almost as if she knows where the figure is going. There's definitely something odd about her.

*As the computer analyzes the possibly patterns, it will quickly come to the conclusion that whatever she's doing, it aint going. Actually, the word catastrophe comes to mind. Lurid quotes from the Book of Revelations seem to fill the screen, or the head of whoever is reading the output of the computer. Simply put, the pattern suggests a magick circle of destructive means, the scale of which cannot be accurately calculated, do to a lack of visible signs, sigils, markings, etc. The jargon of emblems is missing from the analysis, only the size and anchor points available for observation, which can give the computer an idea of scale, which is to say, not small, but on the large side of one size bigger than you'd probably not want it to be.*

*As the alarms go off all around the base, we are slightly distracted from the reaction the lady might have had about her shadow, or foreshadow, whichever she decides to be at the moment, instead, miss annoyingly hard to notice has stopped in her tracks, the pose one of 'oh why me'*

"You have got to be kidding me, distractions distractions, distractions...oh well."

*She raisers her head to the sky...*

"Master, preparations are complete, please advise gravimetric anomalies exceeding previous observations and correct accordingly"

[??????? ?? ????]

*Inside the city, in the ruins Raleigh is currently exploring, a figure strides towards the CTC unit above where Raleigh is exploring. Stride is the only way to describe how she moves, though strut or swagger might be good ones as well. The lady cuts an imposing figure as she enters sight, clad in armor from neck to toe, armor that looks clearly reinforced, though with her easy movements, might possibly be powered in some way. Her right hand rests on an exquisitely wrought basket hilt of a long sword of such, belted to her waist. Across her back a well wrought kite shield is strapped, under which a sword on the size of a hand and a half can be seen.

Her face can be best described as a statuesque kind of beauty, but one wrought of cold steel, as her eyes give pause to all her look at them. She clearly means business and carries around her enough air of command to fell the Incredible Hulk, KO, 1 Round. In a single long braid, a wealth of red hair spills down over the shield, her eyes the color of agates.

She makes no threatening movements, aside from her whole demeanor being one unspoken threat, as she moves to the closest soldier. This is not a sneaking, subtle act.*

"Bring me to your commander at once, I have words for him and the one you are with. This is a matter of grave urgency"

[Jello Shot Mischa]

*Inside the city, in the ruins Raleigh is currently exploring, a figure strides towards the CTC unit above where Raleigh is exploring. Stride is the only way to describe how she moves, though strut or swagger might be good ones as well. The lady cuts an imposing figure as she enters sight, clad in armor from neck to toe, armor that looks clearly reinforced, though with her easy movements, might possibly be powered in some way. Her right hand rests on an exquisitely wrought basket hilt of a long sword of such, belted to her waist. Across her back a well wrought kite shield is strapped, under which a sword on the size of a hand and a half can be seen.

Her face can be best described as a statuesque kind of beauty, but one wrought of cold steel, as her eyes give pause to all her look at them. She clearly means business and carries around her enough air of command to fell the Incredible Hulk, KO, 1 Round. In a single long braid, a wealth of red hair spills down over the shield, her eyes the color of agates.

She makes no threatening movements, aside from her whole demeanor being one unspoken threat, as she moves to the closest soldier. This is not a sneaking, subtle act.*

"Bring me to your commander at once, I have words for him and the one you are with. This is a matter of grave urgency"

The soldier glances at the woman, looking her over for a moment, but nods. seemingly unfazed by the request. He toggles his comm. "Sir, there's an individual here requesting to speak with you."

"All right, I'll be there shortly," comes the reply.

Soon enough Darius arrives, although in his environmentally-sealed armor he looks almost indistinguishable from the soldier who contacted him. "I'm Lieutenant Darius, ma'am... how can I help you?"

*As the computer analyzes the possibly patterns, it will quickly come to the conclusion that whatever she's doing, it aint going. Actually, the word catastrophe comes to mind. Lurid quotes from the Book of Revelations seem to fill the screen, or the head of whoever is reading the output of the computer. Simply put, the pattern suggests a magick circle of destructive means, the scale of which cannot be accurately calculated, do to a lack of visible signs, sigils, markings, etc. The jargon of emblems is missing from the analysis, only the size and anchor points available for observation, which can give the computer an idea of scale, which is to say, not small, but on the large side of one size bigger than you'd probably not want it to be.*

*As the alarms go off all around the base, we are slightly distracted from the reaction the lady might have had about her shadow, or foreshadow, whichever she decides to be at the moment, instead, miss annoyingly hard to notice has stopped in her tracks, the pose one of 'oh why me'*

"You have got to be kidding me, distractions distractions, distractions...oh well."

*She raisers her head to the sky...*

"Master, preparations are complete, please advise gravimetric anomalies exceeding previous observations and correct accordingly"

In the base's command center, Major Durant looks with some annoyance at her displays. "Everyone seems to have their own schedule, don't they?" she murmurs, before getting to her feet. "I suppose it's time we got moving as well."

She turns and looks at Elly, her expression softening for a moment. "I'm sorry about this."

The silver-haired woman simply gives her a smile. "I knew what the odds were when I agreed to the mission, ma'am," she says.

"Still..."

Elly holds up a hand to forestall any further protests. "If you really feel that way... then make sure your troops get out of here safely."

The major nods. "Thank you, Elly."

The other woman shrugs nonchalantly. "You're welcome, ma'am. Now... let's get you to your aircraft, before I have to deal with any other problems."

Meanwhile... the mysterious woman's shadow finally chooses this time to approach her openly. "Who are you?" the young, dark-haired woman asks, looking the armored figure over.

[Funny Hat + Funny Accent]

*The remnants of the Zone Trooper platoon would have stood gawking at the crater left behind the massive war machine-if they had not been Zone Troopers. Raised to defy all odds and taught that victory goes to the one who dares, they made their final jump into the range of the war mech. This upbringing also lent itself to making snarkers out of them*

"Well, at least there's no worries about it being hostile...."

"Knock it off! Striker Two-Five, take Squads One and Five to the right! Striker Two-Two, take Squads Two and Four to the left! Commence fire when you reach your positions! Squad Three, you're with me!"

"Acknowledged."
"Moving out."
"We're your shadows, sir."

*Like any well-disciplined units, the platoon broke its formation flawlessly as the platoon attempted to surround the hostile machine and bring it down with their Storm Rails. All the while, they kept up semi-random movement patterns to throw off any potential anti-infantry weapons.*
----
*In the skies above the emerging battlefield, the three Predators dove for the deck.*

<All hands, prepare for battle! Friendly Infantry spotted! Striker Six, Bismark, stand by for combat drops!>

<Striker Six is ready.>

<Bismark, prepared to unleash death.>

*At an altitude of only one hundred meters above the ground, three platoons of Zone Troopers leaped out of the rear-facing drop bays of the airships which were spewing dozens of glaring red rocket trails at the the war machine. As the gunships dropped to fifty meters, a rumbling giant plummeted out of the drop bays of each gunship, leaving massive craters where they impacted the ground. Five heartbeats later, twenty Drebin IFVs joined the infantry and Land Dreadnaughts already on the ground. After finishing the drops, the gunships pulled up to streak over the mech, spewing more rockets and adding now Essence Cannon-fire and a few built-in Storm Rails to the mix.*

"Spread out! All platoons, weapons are free! Bring that monstrosity down!"

*Now a blizzard of Storm Rail fire joined the light drizzle of the remnant platoon against the machine. All the while, the three house-sized tank-like behemoths rumbled forward into the battle as their twin HEAVY Storm Rails charging patiently.*

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

*The Skies to the East*

Making good progress, the flying trio an now vaguely see some activity up ahead as they draw closer- in addition to being briefly blinded by an immense flare of light. The angel tsks, and looks over her shoulder with an annoyed growl.

"The lights are the core of the Bloodshade's Spellform. Ligel has been busy assessing its purpose along with Nebilael, but the only function they've been able to determine so far is that it seems to attune the land to his dark essence."

As they continue their progress, they can eventually make out the massive war mech, the Colossus just as it's about to engage the Steel Talons Zone Troopers. Suddenly though, hundreds of missiles streak from the West at the Colossus...

*The Wastelands*

As the Zone Troopers approach the Colossus, the arsenal ships' missiles streak overhead, hundreds of explosions ripping at the glowing, crystalline barrier of the mech. As the impacts continue to amass, increasing layers of barriers seem to form as the outer layer seem to glow red with stress, but eventually, just as it's about to break, anti missile systems come online as chaff is launched and anti missile lasers strobe before the mech, slicing the warheads and missiles into pieces before they have the chance to complete the barrage. As the explosions eventually implode on themselves in the barrier, the Mech seems to disregard the approach soldiers and flying trio as it lowers itself to fire it's powerful main weapon. The head begins to expand as the arrays extend from the head, and the targeting the arsenal ships out at see. As it begins to amass energy and focus it into a spec of pure incredible power, something golden streaks from the sky above, rending a chunk of the head off and causing the spec to de-stabilize. Before the arsenal ships meet an untimely doom, one of the four primary targeting lasers seem to fail and the spacial distortion becomes uneven. The spec warps and suddenly warms the upper left portion of the head, ripping a large portion of the head off as the sky burns red.

As the Steel Talons arrive, the head is smoking and burning. But while the Colossus seems to have sustained terrible, terrible damage, the huge optical array mounted at the front of the head swivels to the sky, up at the trio of new arrivals. Kriega glows with holy fury, essence streaming from her armor like a fountain.

With menace in her voice, she shouts to the brothers. "Get down there and help those soldiers out- it won't use it's main weapon with damage like that, but it's still more than a match for any of us alone! Wear down the shielding and look for an opening to damage the shielding units built into the legs!"

Almost on cue, the Colossus rises from its prone position, secondary weapons systems coming online, as missiles streak from their launch tubes at the airborne trio while gauss cannons and lasers open fire at the Steel Talons' newly arrived platoons and airships.

As the Steel Talons' attacks streak out, numerous small barriers warp into space, deflecting many of the projectiles either back at their own forces or at Kriega and the brothers.

*The Ruined City*

As John Doe ascends the crater, the CTC soldiers become more keenly aware of something watching them. Some even think they see red, slitted eyes watching them from the shadows but as a squad goes into a building to investigate, they suddenly disappear! John Doe at last appears over the ledge but he seems to show no outward reaction to the armored woman or the other CTC soldiers. However, the drones crackle and suddenly fails before he enters a nearby building and descending without concern.

As the man disappears into the building, the P-series SIBLING arrives and touches the souls within the black material- to say they're warped would be an understatement. It's like someone took the souls and put them in a meat grinder before being pounded into the substance of the black material. Despite the current of raging emotions and fractured psyches, the SIBLING can likely piece together a little about the souls inside the material. They were once the inhabitants of the ruined city and they were forged into the material in a single, dark moment. It's difficult for the SIBLING to maintain the connection for long, as the emotional impact is jarring enough, but the huge number of psyches and how they hunger for life drains her even more.

Down below the city's surface, Raleigh continues to explore the broken and empty underground of the city. It almost seems there was as much of the city below ground as above ground at one point, but he's encountered several dead ends and a lot of wreckage- and a lack of any of inhabitants or anything else of interest. Though the atmosphere does have a feeling of a fallout shelter, the lack of refuse means that there weren't any survivors from the attack. More and more, he gets the feeling that something supernatural, rather than scientifically derived, occurred which sealed the fate of the city. but, his thoughts are soon interrupted when he gets an odd, indescribable feeling from a few floors above him. This feeling is accompanied by a shuddering from above accompanied by an ear splitting wail. Something's coming- and there's a lot of it judging by the patter of feet clamoring toward him.

*CTC Base*

Alarms continue to blare loudly around the base as the Colossus burns the sky red with its misfire and the battle unfolds between it and the combination of forces arrayed against the mech. Though the near miss of the burning beam of light that briefly turned the sky red is jarring, the Steel Talons, the angel, and the brothers have bought the CTC some critical time- especially given the unusual spell form being constructed by the armored mystery at the base. Of course, the fact that the CTC fleet is unharmed is also a great boon, especially should they seek to lay supporting fire from the coast while they strike camp.

"Squeak squeak..."