Nondescript News

[Raleigh]

*Raleigh doesn't react as the weapon is brought down on him other than to smirk and offer a simple statement.* Remember a cornered lizard has a tendency to sacrifice its tail to escape.
***CTC Base***
*The medallion finally reacts and in a flare of light Raleigh appears standing in its place.* Really now, that old schtick? I wonder if John Doe thought seeing the Big Bang again would have been awe inspiring? *He hops up and begins to look around to see where he can help.* Good old insurance policies are always handy.

((Edit: Forgot it was a medallion instead of an emblem so I wrote in the correct term.))

[Teddy]

There's a crunching sound as Corvus impacts with the barrier, his own limbs twisting and turning as he spins through the air. He's also caught up in a few of the rampaging projectiles, detonating and quickly falling straight towards the ground. Shadow watches all of this, giggling madly. "I've got a chance~ But not here! YOU COULD HAVE SCREAMED THAT BEFORE THE IDIOT RUSHED IN, ANGEL. NOW HE'S OUT. AGAIN."

Shadow's runes flicker around him, before he himself flickers, appearing near the leg of the colossus. He raises an arm, pointing at it's front left leg. "Hmm~ I think now would be an excellent time for..." There's a detonation as he flicks his hand at it, like all of the projectiles that he had 'stolen' had all hit a single point at the same time! "That! Now, I'll be the he-"

Before Shadow can finish, there's a horrific roar as out of the crater comes Corvus, barreling straight for Shadow. His limbs are still broken, but somehow, he's still moving. It's probably all of that rage. "I heard you plotting as I was hurt! Die die die, brooooother!" Corvus leaps onto his brother with a howl of fury! Blue bursts of flame come from him, and streak all over the mid-air where the two siblings are now engaged in a fight to the death! Luckily, Shadow seems to be directing most of these bursts of power over at the shield.

"Wake up, idiot! We're not in a place where we should be fighting~ Neither of us should die here!"

[Jello Shot Mischa]

In the Crater

As the CTC vehicles and troops begin their tactical retreat, firing into the mass of murderous felines, the building with Raleigh and John Doe shudders. The felines, unconcerned with this regardless continue their attack despite many being blown away by the lasers and ferromagnetic slugs that rip through the mass, eventually blasting hundreds of the little beasts in every direction. With the arrival of the armored pair on the battle bike, even more cats are blown away, sending some of the little monsters scurrying for cover, mewling pathetically.

Despite their losses, more of the monster cats pour out from little openings throughout the city, charging at the retreating force and the approaching bike, with even some of the cats managing to jump one of the EDUs- somehow phasing right through its shielding and with unnatural strength, begin to tear it to pieces like a tin can. Catching one of the EDUs seem to distract the cats for a moment, buying the CTC time get the heck out of dodge.

The cats suddenly turn tail from the CTC and their new reinforcements, beginning to flee the opposite direction since their master seems to have accomplished his mission.

The CTC troops work to pile into their armored transports as the vehicles continue to lay down withering sprays of laser fire. The EDU robots and the SIBLINGs do their best to fend off the waves of cat creatures, although one of the robots notes that the cats are apparently able to phase through its force field. "Engaging nanorestorative systems," it states, the nanomaterial in its body glowing as it works to feverishly repair the damage the cat creatures start to inflict upon it, tearing into the composite armor. "Switching to CQC mode. Trace on." Glowing conduits appear on its arms, as the gatling lasers vanish, reshaping into a glowing blade. "Synthesizing melee weapon: Excalibur."

Abruptly, however, John Doe makes his appearance, pulling some kind of energy from Raleigh. With his apparent success, the cat creatures suddenly break off their attack, falling back. "Well, that can't be good," Darius mutters as he gets into his seat in the IFV. He notes Raleigh's abrupt disappearance. "And that's that, I suppose. Lay down suppression fire on the surrounding buildings, and bring them down! We'll use the EDUs and SIBLINGs to bring up the rear."

The CTC vehicles start to wheel about, as the last of their forces take advantage of the retreat of the cat creatures to climb aboard their vehicles. The tanks and IFVs launch a salvo of anti-tank missiles into the buildings around John Doe and the cat creatures, explosions ripping through their gutted remnants, hopefully causing enough damage to at least bring down the ruined structures, before the vehicles start heading back towards their base as quickly as they can.

The CTC Base and the Battlefield

"Don't let me stop you then" *She turns away from the woman, walking towards the center of the base*

As the armored figure turns away and starts walking, she'll find another woman standing in her way, one with long silvery hair, wearing a CTC uniform -- Major Durant's aide from the meeting in the command centre, the one known as Elly. She smiles tightly. "Oh, she's succeeded in delaying you quite admirably, I'd say," she says. "Now... perhaps you'd care to identify yourself and the entities you're working for?"

With projectiles and missiles firing every direction around the Colossus, it's a wonder that Corvus manages to grab just ONE missile and ride it back to the mechanized monstrosity without getting hit at least three dozen times. Regardless, as he approaches, the air before Corvus turns red and hazy before a barrier manifests visibly and slams into Corvus with equal force to his own attack. Ow.

Around this time, the CTC's surface to orbit laser fires its warning shot- but that doesn't seem to impress the Colossus continues it's slow yet steady march towards the CTC base. What DOES slow it down is when the blazing comet from the Steel Talon's MARV crashes into the barrier. This time, the barriers noticeably strain against the attack, burning white hot before the comet eventually is turned on itself in a huge conflagration of fire and light.

On the mech's legs, huge puffs of steam are released from bulbous mountings located at the middle section as it continues its forward progress gauss rounds and missiles continuing to be fired at the array of forces collected around it. However, some stray shots from essence cannons inexplicably pass through the barrier and strike the mech's physical body. It doesn't seems to sustain much damage, but Kriega seems to take stock on things a moment before projecting her voice.

"CONCENTRATE ALL FIREPOWER ON THAT THING'S FRONT LEFT LEG, THE BARRIER HAS WEAKENED THERE"

After issuing her command, the angel then raises her hands over her head and gathers essence between them. In a flash, a large golden sword forms from strands of light. More light strands form around the blade of the sword before solidifying into a larger blade, over twice the size of the initial blade. Her blazing corona of essence diminishes slightly as Kriega continues to pour essence into her sword, calling forth more light to form an even larger blade over what she's already formed... Looks like she's pulling out all the stops against the mech.

Said mech seems to have grown tired of how its broad array of weapons have been ineffective against the land dreadnaughts as its head swivels slightly, leveling two large cannons on the side of its head at the dreadnaughts. Flares of plasma gather in the cannons before releasing twin flares of energy at one of the dreadnaughts, sweeping from either side of it, to across the front of it like twin blades of fire.

For now, the Colossus doesn't seem to react to the three tetrahedrons, but given the way red sensory lasers from it's massive, eye like optics module are sweeping all over from the present battle, all the way out to the MARC and the tetrahedrons it's likely its at least spotted the four advancing toward it.

While the Colossus doesn't seem impressed by the firing of the surface-to-orbit laser, it does accomplish the task for which it was intended, as the powerful blast of energy burns away the miasma and cloud cover overhead above the battlefield. Major Durant, as she rendezvouses with the fleet still waiting offshore, notices this.

"The window is now open, major."
"Excellent. Relay this information to Admiral Chitose and the high command. I'm sure they'll be eager to take advantage of this opportunity. Make sure that they update the telemetry information for the orbital bombardment packages."

In low orbit, satellites begin focusing their sensors upon the revealed battle below, monitoring every moment of the engagement with intense resolution, recording every detail of the exchange. Information is power, after all, and the more that is observed and known about the various forces involved in the battle, the better.

Meanwhile, the major also notes the actions of the MARV. "So the Steel Talons have finally deployed their ultra-heavy platform," she muses. "It should prove to be an enlightening exchange."

The three floating blue tetrahedrons hold back for the moment, taking up defensive positions around the evacuating CTC base, although not so close as to be caught up in whatever spell the armored figure appears to be preparing. As for the base itself, the second GEV finally launches, heading seawards, and leaving only 10% of the base's human occupants to complete the evacuation.

[Raleigh]

*Raleigh's minions, finally finishing up evacuating anyone willing step back through the gateway to the mentioned staging realm. It would seem they are taking no chances of transporting something back to the mainland that shouldn't be. Raleigh himself steps out and looks around for a moment before taking a step in the direction of the ruined city and appearing at the edge of the dead zone.* Who would have thought a chaser would be in a place like this? Ah well, lets see if I can't heal up any injured and the like first and foremost. *He waits for the CTC contingent to step out of the dead zone before meeting up with them again.*

I wonder if anyone noticed the obvious back there? That array is a perfect tool for destroying the war machine. Eh, whatever I suppose.

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

As the armored figure turns away and starts walking, she'll find another woman standing in her way, one with long silvery hair, wearing a CTC uniform -- Major Durant's aide from the meeting in the command centre, the one known as Elly. She smiles tightly. "Oh, she's succeeded in delaying you quite admirably, I'd say," she says. "Now... perhaps you'd care to identify yourself and the entities you're working for?"

"Shiori will suffice for the moment" *the helmeted lady regards the new lady, Elly, in front of her, quirking her head to the side*

"And thats as far as this will go in the friendly context. If you'll excuse me, I have other places to be"

***
Ruins
***

*The one in white detailed armor dismounts from the bike, not bothering to wait for it to stop, bringing her heavy weapon up to lay down withering amounts of fire towards the fleeing cat minions, meter long gouts of flame from the weapons barrel, which glows red hot. Her backpack keeps whipping out new magazines, a mechanical arm reloading for her, to provide an almost non stop barrage. The one in white guns the engine, taking the bike even faster towards the fleeing cats, reaching out with her left arm, several long blades extending from her gauntlet as she jousts and slashes through the ranks, even as fire support from the one in white and the CTC's troops arc over her head and around her, seemingly heedless to the danger*

*Cornelia keeps tapping the hilt of her sword, watching with lidded eyes as John Doe stands, a sigh escaping her lips. Her stance abruptly changes, putting her left side forward, her armored gauntlet expanding into a full sized guard running past the length of her elbow and extending past her hand. Her right hand draws the basket hilt sword on her right hip, sword held horizontal to the ground, perpendicular to her body, facing away from John Doe, her shield in front*

"I suppose this could not be avoided, though I will be thoroughly chastened later for this failure of mine. So be it"

[Jello Shot Mischa]

"Shiori will suffice for the moment" *the helmeted lady regards the new lady, Elly, in front of her, quirking her head to the side*

"And thats as far as this will go in the friendly context. If you'll excuse me, I have other places to be"

"Ahh... and after we offered our hospitality, too. I assume you're going to activate your magical array, presumably to deal with the approaching forces?" Elly asks. Noticing that Shiori seems keen to walk towards the center of the near-evacuated base, Elly settles for walking alongside her. "You don't appear to be working for our opposition... but you don't seem to be particularly keen to admit to who your master might be."

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

"Your hospitality was most appreciated, but as they say, business is business. And the approaching forces are outside my purview at the moment."

*Does not seem to mind Elly walking beside her, though her hands are at her sides, obscured by the cloak, so one can only imagine what she might be doing with them. She seems to be keeping a wary eye on the horizon as they walk*

"And while I do not follow the banner of the Dark One, I see no reason to disclose information pertaining to who I work for. As I said, if this is a friendly conversation, this is as far as things will go. If not, well" *She performs a most elegant shrug, one that could give off any number of meanings*

"I mean you no harm at the present, but my orders are absolute. Someone else has made the decision on collateral damage."

[Funny Hat + Funny Accent]

With projectiles and missiles firing every direction around the Colossus, it's a wonder that Corvus manages to grab just ONE missile and ride it back to the mechanized monstrosity without getting hit at least three dozen times. Regardless, as he approaches, the air before Corvus turns red and hazy before a barrier manifests visibly and slams into Corvus with equal force to his own attack. Ow.

Around this time, the CTC's surface to orbit laser fires its warning shot- but that doesn't seem to impress the Colossus continues it's slow yet steady march towards the CTC base. What DOES slow it down is when the blazing comet from the Steel Talon's MARV crashes into the barrier. This time, the barriers noticeably strain against the attack, burning white hot before the comet eventually is turned on itself in a huge conflagration of fire and light.

On the mech's legs, huge puffs of steam are released from bulbous mountings located at the middle section as it continues its forward progress gauss rounds and missiles continuing to be fired at the array of forces collected around it. However, some stray shots from essence cannons inexplicably pass through the barrier and strike the mech's physical body. It doesn't seems to sustain much damage, but Kriega seems to take stock on things a moment before projecting her voice.

"CONCENTRATE ALL FIREPOWER ON THAT THING'S FRONT LEFT LEG, THE BARRIER HAS WEAKENED THERE"

After issuing her command, the angel then raises her hands over her head and gathers essence between them. In a flash, a large golden sword forms from strands of light. More light strands form around the blade of the sword before solidifying into a larger blade, over twice the size of the initial blade. Her blazing corona of essence diminishes slightly as Kriega continues to pour essence into her sword, calling forth more light to form an even larger blade over what she's already formed... Looks like she's pulling out all the stops against the mech.

Said mech seems to have grown tired of how its broad array of weapons have been ineffective against the land dreadnaughts as its head swivels slightly, leveling two large cannons on the side of its head at the dreadnaughts. Flares of plasma gather in the cannons before releasing twin flares of energy at one of the dreadnaughts, sweeping from either side of it, to across the front of it like twin blades of fire.

*Layers of armor and external equipment flow in a river of molten metal as the plasma raked the Land Dreadnaught, and the liquids in some cases boiled out the pool that had once been the tread assemblies and armor plating. The crew was carbonized inside the doomed vehicle as the thermal superconductor systems failed catastrophically. Their last act was worthy of extraordinary dedication. They reloaded and fire both Heavy Storm Rails right back into the plasma stream that soon took their lives. In the end, only the by a miracle did the structural core and the two primary weapons of the Land Dreadnaught survive the Colossus's fury.*

<The Clausewitz is down. I repeat, The Clausewitz is down. No survivors.>

<Acknowledged, Bismark. Let's pay this Abomination back. If that lady wants us to focus fire on that leg, then....STRIKERS COMPANY, TEAR THE BASTARD'S LEG FROM ITS COOLING CORPSE! BRING IT DOWN!>

*While before there had been a considerable amount of fire, this amount increased DRAMATICALLY as the gunships pulled into a hover over the company beneath them to lend the full weight of their own batteries to the massing of fire. In addition, Storm Rails were taken from the fallen and dual-wielded to increase weight of fire more. Capacitors were switched rapidly along with coolant packs and the air between the company of Steel Talons and the Colossus wept with the residual plasma trails and Essence loss due to cannon blasts covering a distance in such a hostile environment. Then, the hammer dropped upon the Colossus.

Cresting the shoreline comes the familiar and awesome sight rarely seen by the those too young to remember The War of The North in the Steel Talons' ranks: a Massively Armored Reclamation Vehicle (Assault Command Unit) emerging from the ocean with its full arsenal deployed. The second barrel of its main cannon thunders in anger at the loss of its lesser cousin. This shot would be enough to fell most enemies, but this is not considered as the entirety of that arsenal, excluding the tertiary and quaternary weapons which were out of range, is unleashed upon the designated target of the Colossus's frontal left leg. On top of the main turret, stands a single man unaffected by the backlash of forces and the hostile environment. I. AM. ANGRY. COMRADES. It is beyond obvious to notice his ire.

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

*The Ruined City*

"Hooo? So it seems localized spacial disruptions still didn't prevent him from escaping? How very interesting."

John Doe withdraws his weapon from where Raleigh once was, leaving a ragged blue tear in the air there. He then turns his head to regard Cornelia coolly as buildings all around them explode and collapse with little assistance from the CTC and the other armored ladies' weapons. The cats continue their retreat, with several throwing smoke bombs and more traditional incendiary devices at the armored figures.

"However..."

John Doe at last turns to face Cornelia completely but doesn't seem to take notice of the cat minions being taken out. His expression does seem less smug given his triumph of removing the red thing from Raleigh and more displeased at Cornelia.

"You are so eager to charge headlong at me due to this trifling? The game has yet to begin and you already point your weapon at me?"

Holding the black box in his left hand and his saw-guillotine in his right, John Doe looks relaxed until from the depths of his dark eyes, two red piercing lights shine with menace.

"However, if you act against me and my mission, I will not hesitate to retaliate. You have been warned wind, so make your choice. I am on a tight schedule."

Despite his otherworldly appearance, he does give off the professional demeanor of a businessman, rather than a mere soldier which may be unusual given the circumstances, and John Doe's counterpart in Cornelia.

*The Battle*

Kriega gives a mental sigh as Shadow and Corvus bicker, but redoubles her efforts- the massive golden sword having increased a total of five times is already is enormous by any scale. And yet, she's still gathering energy, strands of light condensing into one final layer of shiny destruction dealing SWORD.

Down below, the combined fire of the remaining two dreadnaughts begins to wear down the apparently weakened barrier of the colossus until like a plane of glass, it shatters and the timely arrival of the massive shot from the MARV strikes the leg. An explosion rips through the leg, a chain reaction blasting the bulbous mounting off like a rocket before it explodes in the air.

For a moment, the Colossus goes silent. Rounds fired strike all across the Colossus, burning holes into it, and taking out various weapons. But none seem to do any structural damage.

But, the machine is only down for a single moment. Immediately after, red lines glow across the massive walker's frame, and it begins to reactivate, with its impressive shielding reforming and distorting the air around it before it redoubles its efforts to advance upon the CTC base despite the forces arrayed against it and its damaged leg.

As it continues to plod along, weapons come back online and open fire sans those plasma cannons mounted on the head. Which is probably a good thing since most of the weapons seem to be ineffective against the Steel Talons as before, and aren't getting any more effective.

What, did you think this was a final boss battle? Well, you're kinda right.

Unexplainable dark masses begin to manifest from the damage all over the Colossus, giving the huge technological wonder a ghastly visage, appearing more as an enormous ethereal monster than a war mech of huge proportions.

"Squeak squeak..."

(I thiiiiiiink I got everything relevant. Keep it coming and let me know if I forgot something)

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

"Squeak squeak..."

*The Ruined City*

"Hooo? So it seems localized spacial disruptions still didn't prevent him from escaping? How very interesting."

John Doe withdraws his weapon from where Raleigh once was, leaving a ragged blue tear in the air there. He then turns his head to regard Cornelia coolly as buildings all around them explode and collapse with little assistance from the CTC and the other armored ladies' weapons. The cats continue their retreat, with several throwing smoke bombs and more traditional incendiary devices at the armored figures.

The bike bound Armored figure just weaves in and out of the incendiary devices as they are thrown, her accurate driving suggesting that her helmet provides some kind of optics. She seems to take personal delight in going after the cats one at a time...

The second figure just stays out of range of the thrown weaponry, or in some cases, sniping them down for wonderful fireworks. They seem to be doing less actual pursuing as they are clearing the immediate area.

"However..."

John Doe at last turns to face Cornelia completely but doesn't seem to take notice of the cat minions being taken out. His expression does seem less smug given his triumph of removing the red thing from Raleigh and more displeased at Cornelia.

"You are so eager to charge headlong at me due to this trifling? The game has yet to begin and you already point your weapon at me?"

Holding the black box in his left hand and his saw-guillotine in his right, John Doe looks relaxed until from the depths of his dark eyes, two red piercing lights shine with menace.

"However, if you act against me and my mission, I will not hesitate to retaliate. You have been warned wind, so make your choice. I am on a tight schedule."

Despite his otherworldly appearance, he does give off the professional demeanor of a businessman, rather than a mere soldier which may be unusual given the circumstances, and John Doe's counterpart in Cornelia.

"Your warnings mean little to me, spawn of ignorance. I cast my gage down in front of you."

*Whatever her misgivings might be, she hides them well, as her ringing denunciation is heard clearly, picked up by the wind, across all the local CTC forces headsets. As for the gauntlet she cast down, well, traditionally this involves a glove, or a gauntlet, thrown at someone's feet. In this case, what is cast at John Doe seems to be a ringing blow of pure physical force, like getting hit with a car, right on his nose. Maybe she missed. As this happens, she brings her sword around to a salute in front of her face, taking her first stride forward*

"Cursed be the ground for our sake. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us. For out of the ground we were taken, for the dust we are... and to the dust we shall return"

[Raleigh]

*Listening to the events inside through the carrying of information on the air itself he chuckles.* Apparently John doesn't deal with people who can project their souls away very often. Spacial disruptions hardly impact spiritual travel.

[Funny Hat + Funny Accent]

Down below, the combined fire of the remaining two dreadnaughts begins to wear down the apparently weakened barrier of the colossus until like a plane of glass, it shatters and the timely arrival of the massive shot from the MARV strikes the leg. An explosion rips through the leg, a chain reaction blasting the bulbous mounting off like a rocket before it explodes in the air.

For a moment, the Colossus goes silent. Rounds fired strike all across the Colossus, burning holes into it, and taking out various weapons. But none seem to do any structural damage.

But, the machine is only down for a single moment. Immediately after, red lines glow across the massive walker's frame, and it begins to reactivate, with its impressive shielding reforming and distorting the air around it before it redoubles its efforts to advance upon the CTC base despite the forces arrayed against it and its damaged leg.

As it continues to plod along, weapons come back online and open fire sans those plasma cannons mounted on the head. Which is probably a good thing since most of the weapons seem to be ineffective against the Steel Talons as before, and aren't getting any more effective.

What, did you think this was a final boss battle? Well, you're kinda right.

Unexplainable dark masses begin to manifest from the damage all over the Colossus, giving the huge technological wonder a ghastly visage, appearing more as an enormous ethereal monster than a war mech of huge proportions.

Comrades, The Counter Attack Begins!

*The original masterpiece of the Directional Titan Revival Project rumbles closer to its dark counterpart. The third barrel of its massive cannon shakes the earth with its thunder as the shell lances through the air at the Colossus. Golden light burns about its master as furious frozen winds swirl about the massive vehicle, shielding it from the corrosive effects of the dark continent's atmosphere. The tertiary batteries come into range and unleash a massive hailstorm of Essence-fire and high-explosive rockets as well as artilley-grade shells.

The Strikers have not been idle. Using the distractions provided by the armored vehicles and allied forces, they have sprinted extremely close to the Colossus's protective fields. Whatever their plans are, they are not known, since they have only communicated via an array of hand signals and body language.*

"WE WILL BURY THEM"

[Teddy]

As the massive colossus reactivates, Corvus seems to shake a bit of his rage out of his system. "Oh. Right."

Shadow siiiighs as the fighting between the two stop. It waves a hand as sickly green runes appear around the two brothers, beginning to open fire on the colossus's legs with bolts of lightning and shrieking iridescent fire that sticks to the barrier, trying to burn straight through it's dimensional warping shielding. Meanwhile, Corvus is fiddling with a few of the runes, which begin to flare a dark blue at his touch.

"Sorry about that. I just... Lost my head for a little bit."

"Don't worry~ You're just retarded."

With a grunt of agreement, Corvus rears back both of his fists and begins hitting the runes around him at an alarming speed. With every strike, a shot of pure force launches itself off at the weakened shielding on it's leg. While they don't seem to have the sheer volume of weaponry that the Steel Talons have, the two of them are making up for it with comparatively powerful arcane attacks.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

(( I suppose I should post... ))

"Your hospitality was most appreciated, but as they say, business is business. And the approaching forces are outside my purview at the moment."

*Does not seem to mind Elly walking beside her, though her hands are at her sides, obscured by the cloak, so one can only imagine what she might be doing with them. She seems to be keeping a wary eye on the horizon as they walk*

"And while I do not follow the banner of the Dark One, I see no reason to disclose information pertaining to who I work for. As I said, if this is a friendly conversation, this is as far as things will go. If not, well" *She performs a most elegant shrug, one that could give off any number of meanings*

"I mean you no harm at the present, but my orders are absolute. Someone else has made the decision on collateral damage."

Elly nods. "I see. I don't suppose you'd be willing to at least provide data on the expected radius of effect for your array, here?" she asks.

*The Ruined City*

"Hooo? So it seems localized spacial disruptions still didn't prevent him from escaping? How very interesting."

John Doe withdraws his weapon from where Raleigh once was, leaving a ragged blue tear in the air there. He then turns his head to regard Cornelia coolly as buildings all around them explode and collapse with little assistance from the CTC and the other armored ladies' weapons. The cats continue their retreat, with several throwing smoke bombs and more traditional incendiary devices at the armored figures.

"However..."

John Doe at last turns to face Cornelia completely but doesn't seem to take notice of the cat minions being taken out. His expression does seem less smug given his triumph of removing the red thing from Raleigh and more displeased at Cornelia.

"You are so eager to charge headlong at me due to this trifling? The game has yet to begin and you already point your weapon at me?"

Holding the black box in his left hand and his saw-guillotine in his right, John Doe looks relaxed until from the depths of his dark eyes, two red piercing lights shine with menace.

"However, if you act against me and my mission, I will not hesitate to retaliate. You have been warned wind, so make your choice. I am on a tight schedule."

Despite his otherworldly appearance, he does give off the professional demeanor of a businessman, rather than a mere soldier which may be unusual given the circumstances, and John Doe's counterpart in Cornelia.

The CTC forces pull back, retreating back in the direction they came. The vehicles continue to lay down cover fire, suppressing the cat-creatures as they make their way back out through the barrier to the outside!

*The Battle*

Kriega gives a mental sigh as Shadow and Corvus bicker, but redoubles her efforts- the massive golden sword having increased a total of five times is already is enormous by any scale. And yet, she's still gathering energy, strands of light condensing into one final layer of shiny destruction dealing SWORD.

Down below, the combined fire of the remaining two dreadnaughts begins to wear down the apparently weakened barrier of the colossus until like a plane of glass, it shatters and the timely arrival of the massive shot from the MARV strikes the leg. An explosion rips through the leg, a chain reaction blasting the bulbous mounting off like a rocket before it explodes in the air.

For a moment, the Colossus goes silent. Rounds fired strike all across the Colossus, burning holes into it, and taking out various weapons. But none seem to do any structural damage.

But, the machine is only down for a single moment. Immediately after, red lines glow across the massive walker's frame, and it begins to reactivate, with its impressive shielding reforming and distorting the air around it before it redoubles its efforts to advance upon the CTC base despite the forces arrayed against it and its damaged leg.

As it continues to plod along, weapons come back online and open fire sans those plasma cannons mounted on the head. Which is probably a good thing since most of the weapons seem to be ineffective against the Steel Talons as before, and aren't getting any more effective.

What, did you think this was a final boss battle? Well, you're kinda right.

Unexplainable dark masses begin to manifest from the damage all over the Colossus, giving the huge technological wonder a ghastly visage, appearing more as an enormous ethereal monster than a war mech of huge proportions.

Meanwhile, Major Durant walks into the command centre buried deep within the Vigilant, immediately accessing its dataspace. A representation of the battlefield unfolds in her mind, filled with a continuing analysis of the combatants, and providing her with an immediate appraisal of the situation, even as the staff there salute her. She returns the salute, before turning her attention to the issues at hand.

"What's the status on the evacuation?"

"90% complete, major. We are trying to formulate a plan to recover the expeditionary force we sent."

"We'll have to rely on Raleigh for that, I suspect. He should still have his portal active near our base, I believe. If we can regain contact, direct the expeditionary force to rally there."

"Yes sir."

"As for the battle itself..." She studies the displays. "What is the status of the Steel Talons?"

"They've apparently taken casualties thus far, judging from the apparent loss of some of their heavier armored units and numerous infantry." As the major grimaces with distaste, the aide continues. "Without an active C3 network we've been unable to coordinate operations with them, and have withheld fire due to friendly fire concerns. Our AIs have been doing what they can to establish a predictive tactical model, but the time lag and degredation from remote observations mean we can only refine the model to a limited degree."

The major nods. "Understood. However..." She examines the holographic display, and tags the representation of the MARV. "It looks like Borealis himself may be entering the fray, and they're likely unhappy that they're taking casualties without support at this point."

"We have accumulated a fair amount of data on the capabilities of the opposition, including the apparent limit on the defensive field, as it was temporarily disabled."

"Temporarily?" Major Durant frowns, examining the changes in the display. "... There appear to be several entities of upper H-class and above, some with plot relevance. I suspect the change in the target's aspect is plot-driven." Simulations begin unfolding in her mind, depicting overlapping fields of fire, as she works out possible tactics, much like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. "Begin with this operation," she orders, uploading the completed scenario to the dataspace.

"Sir?"

"We'll use precision fire DEW for the time being, to try and buy the Steel Talons some time. Give me extrapolations on the area of effect for 10 megaton yield equivalent and above, although it's unlikely they'll affect anyone with plot-relevance, or D-class and above. And begin pulling back the fleet -- we'll use GABRIEL to cover our withdrawal."

"Ahh, yes sir."

As the CTC ships begin turning away from the continent, trying to put more distance between themselves and the battlefield, the Snapfire and the Drumfire launch another salvo, 240 cruise missiles screaming at hypersonic speeds towards the continent. As they enter the range of the mecha's point-defense weapons, however, the automated forces still stationed at the CTC base begin their assault, automated multiped tanks and attack drones opening fire on the mecha, forcing it to deal with a sudden large number of targets for its point-defenses.

Two of the floating RAMIEL units abruptly change form, the crystalline material flowing like liquid as the tetrahedron appears to seperate into a shape more like this, energy building up at the four ends of each unit, until both suddenly unleash a white-hot beam of energy at the approaching mecha, while the third appears to unfold into an almost flower-like shape, energy building up in its core. Simultaneously, however, the three surface-to-orbit batteries of the CTC base also open fire, their anti-orbit weapons firing into the mecha at effectively point-blank range to add to the energy pouring into the mecha's re-established shielding.

What's more, two additional columns of blue-white plasma lance out of the sky, slamming into the mecha at the same instant as the other beams of energy do, as two of the orbital ANGEL platforms coordinate their fire with the ground forces.

[Raleigh]

*Raleigh jumps up onto the first transport out of the field.* Yo. Anyone need healing? Also, we need to evacuate. I got a gate out of here ready if we can make it in time.