View source for 2415/WoS: Cold Front - The Guns of Shiva

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/06/08
|Location=Galianda
|Synopsis=The Shivan Confederacy needs to breach the walls of the Domepolis of Myridia, Many fight alongside them to augment their power for their own purposes. 
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=627, 652, 672, 714, 772, 794
|Tinyplot=Warlords of Shiva
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; SHIVA <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's cold. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's always cold on the continent of Shiva. The Plate is ice, all the way through. The howling winds carry with them driving snowfalls that build up into drifts, which arch across the landscape like the dunes of a pale-white desert, or the twisting path of an angry serpent. The plants stretch upwards for any scrap of warmth they can find, reaching their roots into the sky and away from the frigid ground. The beasts huddle together, moving in packs so that their fur is shared between them. The people of Shiva are a hard lot, used to the freezing temperature of their homeland, and they have bundled well today. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But that isn't the cold that's important. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No, the cold that's important this night is a spiritual chill, a chill that is seeped into the bones of all Humes. It is a chill that has settled over Shiva as the old-model tanks of the Shivan Confederation have rolled along the snowdrifts, with their chain-wrapped treads and their iron sighs, and their spotters forced into the chillng winds wrapped tight in furs and plastics. It is a chill that has wound its way from the upper part of the plate, where the once-wild warlords have come together under the vision of a madman, down towards the cities of the Domes, where the once-wild brutes have come together under foreign rule to find some peace from the struggle for survival. It is a chill that has crept up in the night and swept over the landscape, a chill that even the beasts and the plants know deep within themselves, and fear. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The chill of death rolls through Shiva as the tanks, as the metal walkers, as the tamed Yeti and the master-Gunners, as the columns upon columns of soldiers march side-by-side under a flag with a scarred wolf's head, overlaid with a great axe. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They have been marching all night for Myridia. It is the newest of the Ramuhan Domepoli, constructed closest to the wild ice mountains, and, in the rhetoric of Harald Wolf-Lord, a symbol of the encroaching Ramuhan conquest. It is the ambition of Tarl the Axe, Harald Wolf-Lord's right-hand man, to conquer it. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Ramuhan forces have not taken this march lying down. A large detachment of advanced magitech walkers, of well-armed and armored soldiers with all manner of weaponry, and of top-of-the-line jets and tanks streak overhead. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The silence is palpable as the two armies face off. Each side knows where the other stands. No one wants to be the one to take the first shot. No one wants to be the one to make the first move. As they look across the snow-covered gap, the wind howling around them, the same thought runs through all of their souls. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's cold. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And then, as the clouds part, ever so briefly, and the light of great Phoenix shines down upon them, Tarl the Axe raises his signature weapon, and a cry rips across the battlefield. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "FOR SHIVAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And the battle is joined. The irregular forces of Shiva charge, blazing bolts of sizzling light whipping back and forth as spells and Magitech Cannons open fire. The initial charge is the one that the legends are told about... And where most of the dying begins. <br /><br />Those who have chosen to help Shiva have been told that they must breach the defenses of the Domepolis to allow foot troops to enter the city proper. The fortified walls, designed to repel giant ice monsters as well as the frigid weather, are prepared for such... But not for dedicated firepower. <br /><br />And Tarl has provided that firepower. Core to his design are a group of massive magitech cannons, the almost-artillery size to defintately artillery size weapons being manned by Shivan Cannoneers from across the Confederacy. Screaming blasts of magic or hurled projectiles sail through the air, some slamming into the frontline of the Ramuhans, or into the wall of the Domepolis itself. There is a certain lack of coordination here. <br /><br />The Ramuhan response is immediate. They cannot allow such a group to remain on the field. As those assisting Shiva, you can choose to defend the Cannoneer contingent, or to use your own firepower to augment theirs using whatever weapons or techniques avail you.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:772|Hiei (772)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It only took Hiei a few minutes of watching all of this conflict and listening to what the Shivan side is offering and doing for him to decide to help. <br /><br />He might not care, but who knows -where- this will go and how much more he could have to gain by doing this. <br /><br />So Hiei's standing on top of someone's tank, his Jagan, the third eye, open wide. "Fist of the Mortal Flame!" he shouts, aiming his hands at the ground, melting the footing under enemy vehicles to catch them in ditches or entirely ruin people's footing by icing things over. He tries to get them to break their necks or crash into each other, whatever he can do to cause the most chaos. Sometimes he just outright lobs a ball of fire at someone.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:652|Audrey Stormfist (652)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In a show of good faith to both the Wolf-Lord and the Axe, the Zaibatsu has fielded a larger Magitech drone, personally overseen by Audrey: meet the BLACK WIDOW. Painted in sleek tactical black with Zaibatsu logos here and there, the spider-like robot is a four-legged walker with numerous guns and cannons, and a set of pincers up front. Its legs appear to be extremely heavy dusty and piston-powered, which must no doubt allow the thing to stop for very little, and probably even leap across great distances.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is not an unmanned drone, containing two MAGITECH ENGINEERS whose sole duty is to power the machine. Though not equipped with an AI, its programming is advanced enough you wouldn't notice.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AUDREY STORMFIST herself remains by Tarl's side, even as he battles. Her gunblade is drawn, and her attention seems to be on keeping Tarl alive-- great a champion he may be, Ramuh will be fielding just as worthy forces.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The BLACK WIDOW is currently making a beeline straight for the Dome. As it comes under fire, its true specialties will come into play.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gunaxe, check. Charge blade and shield, check. Bell, check. Armor, cold weather clothes, check. Bandages, potions, and ointments, check. Sanary's ready. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Following the other front-liners into the fray from beside one of the tamed yetis, the healer's a little further away from the crashing of bodies and projectiles. As much as she'd like to get right into the fray herself, there's a time and place for everything. For now, she's content to bide her time, even giving the yeti a light pat on the leg. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Come on. This is what you trained for. Stick with me, and we'll both get outta this alive." Will it even understand her? Probably not. But talking to something is better than nothing, and it's definitely helping to keep her wits in check.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:794|Darth Vader (794)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The TIE Corvette is a vehicle of Darth Vader's own design, heavily derived from the designs of one of the ancient sith empires, long failed and vanished from his galaxy. It is a long, moderately broad ship with dark grey plating and the distinctive solar panel array-wings-slash-body of the TIE series of starfighters. A rotating turret is mounted along the fore and rear of the ship, as well as forward-mounted twin-linked turbolasers accompanied by torpedo tubes. This ship is not, however, on the front lines of the battle. It arrived signalling the delivery of mercenary reinforcements.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Aboard the Corvette is DARTH VADER, his respirator hissing in the silence of the ship. An astromech droid with partially exposed innards is interfaced with the ship's computer at his rear. As for his direct contributions however, the Sith Lord had simply lowered the ramp of his vessel and released his cargo. A series of droids exited the ship, wearing heavily modified Clone Trooper armor, and arranged in small squads with various specializations.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bringing up the rear of the group is a loader droid bearing crates of armaments along forklifts mounted across its broad back. All of the equipment has been carefully re-branded to be "friendly" to the notion of being made on-world, though perhaps the particularly savvy may be able to pick out that it is all wildly foreign if they dig in depth.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Assuming, to begin with, that they care.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Back in his "airship" at the rear lines, Lord Vader reaches out with his mind and will.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is, perhaps, best described as an alarming thing to experience. To a wielder of the Force, the luminous being at the heart of that mass of machine and flesh cannot easily be compared to others. He is like a grand and decisive cosmic phenomenon. Not content to merely be a "vortex", the typical description of an individual with a significant fate in their future, Vader is more akin to the concept of the Big Bang, or the Big Crunch. Presently, perhaps in a period of calm that lies between the two.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nevertheless, the weight of Vader is immense, and oppressive. It is no less so when he acts to assist in battle coordination as he does now, a whisper of a dark and terrible mind, attempting to push-- perhaps even FORCE-- the Shivan troops into more optimal patterns.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Starbound Flotilla is not just a research force, their Core Fleet is also a mercenary force, similar to the KIRINs. They stand at eight feet tall each, plated like one would plate a medieval suit of armor, colored shimmering silver and deep, gleaming black. One is styled after the armor of a high-ranked samurai, one after the armor of a knight, one after the armor of an ironside ship, one takes its shape cues from the form of a massive oak tree, one modeled after dystopian cyberpunk guard armor, and one after the design of an EVA suit.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Every so often, gushes of purple steam scream out of ports in their back and their armor covers with lit-up holo-panels, apparently some kind of redundant psionic shielding. The suits of armor are clearly powered armor, similar in nature to the GOLEMs of the Zaibatsu, but obviously having linked some of the principles of the magic battery technologies the Flotilla developed with their own psionic technologies to create an incredibly agile suit. Massively oversized melee weapons are strapped and sheathed to these suits. They have COLD-RESISTANCE NANOSKINS on, keeping them warm in everything but spirit. Their psionic reactive armor, for all its size and girth... Rather abruptly displays its outrageous agility and speed, suddenly.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As soon as the shout is made, all six Starbounders dash forward, assisted by brilliant, shining jets of energy, leaping over any obstacles on the battlefield with outrageous grace. They are here purely for capitalist reasons. First, they will take the Tarl's money. Then, they will create more demand for Zaibatsu military hardware. Then, they will get more money from selling it. This is the motive that has put the Starbounders here today.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Starbounders -- Particularly Seft and Moonfin -- can feel Darth Vader's coordinating mental influence on the rest of the troops. Being resistant, in their own ways, to such things, they hold no obligation to follow, and yet, they will. They know that influence, and the fact is, they understand he's going to do what needs done to make this a victory, and despite all their feuds, they begin to coordinate.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Biteblade, wielding a pair of heavy three-foot-long blades that hum brutally, immediately moves to assist Sanary Rondel; as the berserker-type fighter, Biteblade is eager to help the healer out with getting where she wants to go, and will engage any forces necessary to give her an opening using tremendous FROST-ALIGNED POWER DAGGERS.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Using a heavy FIRE-ALIGNED POWER HAMMER, Albert slams like a truck to the front lines and uses the lingering environmental damage to direct enemy troops and try to tank for Sanary.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moonfin moves to go alongside Audrey Stormfist's Black Widow, his titanic shimmering durasteel Spellsword-tech katana still sheathed at his waist, ready to dash forward and strike against heavy weapons turned against the machine.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pavo leaps into the air, getting no less than forty feet of height before she lands near Hiei in a gush of steam; she can see what he's doing and tell it will draw aggro fast, and she's intent on fighting it off and disrupting it with heavy wide-area WIND-ALIGNED POWER-CUTLASS SWEEPS!<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft and George, using a massive power battleaxe and giant stun gauntlets respectively, are going to charge in for a rousing round of independent crushing and boxing of heavy vehicles and troops respectively, primarily intending to back up and create openings for Darth Vader's droids.<br /><br /><span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h"><span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u">SUMMARY</span>: Starbounders are here in their Tier 5 Melee/Elemental gear, giant power armor suits. They are here for Zaibatsu interests and greed interests! They are VERY FAST. They allow Vader's coordination to affect their mind.<br />BITEBLADE assists Sanary to create openings<br />ALBERT will tank for Sanary<br />MOONFIN tries to be anti-infantry for Audrey, focused on heavy weapons<br />PAVO goes to be wide-area anti-infantry for Hiei<br />GEORGE and SEFT move to make openings for Vader's droids in vehicle and infantry opposition.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The ground of Shiva is a mix of permafrost and sheer ice. Hiei's flames begin melting it, immediately causing problems. The Shivans are used to this kind of thing, this being their native field type. The Ramuhans, not so much. The mechanized units begin to get bound up and slowed, one Magitech walker tripping and falling over, where it gets immediately swarmed by Vikings and Berserkers. The fool inside, perhaps, gets a mercy when Hiei cooks him instantly. A moment later, several sniper shots rip through the air, hissing high-speed propelled needles seeking out Hiei's flesh with high-veloity railgun-style striking power.<br /><br />Beastmasters send in hulking ice beasts to smash into the ground forces, charging alongside the Black Widow to join the man in the vanguard, Tarl the Axe, who, in a fit of sheer luck, tenacity, or brilliance, managed to not be vaporized despite leading the charge. Nevertheless, he is wounded, though you wouldn't know it to look at him. TARL laughs and waves his axe as his irregulars crash against the forces of Ramuh. "WE ARE SHIVA!" He cries, "WE DO NOT SURRENDER TO THE LAND, AND WE DO NOT SURRENDER TO MAN! WE ARE SHIVA! SHIVA IS STRONG!" <br /><br />The cry is picked up, bolstering the Shivan forces. A dim glow fills the air as Bards in each group take up the War Chant, and drums begin to ring out through the field. The War Chant seems to fill the men with ferocity, causing their axes, guns, and arrows to bite more deeply into their foes. However, this gets the attention of the Ramuhans, as a salvo of Magitech Cannon fire focuses directly on Tarl. He seems to take this as a personal challenge, as he charges straight into the fusillade. The impact is deafening, shattering the ground in a crater and splitting the ice between Audrey and Tarl. He doesn't even look back, continuing to crash into the enemy with a whoop as he cleaves into the side of one of the Walkers, shearing one of the legs in half and sending it toppling to one side.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The Yeti doesn't understand Sanary, only really recognizing the bell of its Beastmaster handler. However, the Beastmaster laughs and claps Sanary on the shoulder. "Thank you for fighting along side us! I knew some of you weren't cowards! Come, let us fight and die with glory!" He brandishes a silver and crystal bell, the pure tone ringing out and causing the Yeti to charge forward, probably dragging Sanary along. At least she'll be right in the thick of things to heal! <br /><br />Meanwhile, Harald's troops have no intention of digging deeply into the nature of the weapons that Darth Vader has provided, the crimson blaster bolts joining the others as they fire with glee. The idea of a gun that doesn't take their personal magic to fire? Fascinating, for the efficiency-minded and early adopter Shivans. The droids in Clone Trooper armor are not questioned, nor are Seft and George's backup as they try to flank Ramuhan positions and dive in to try to lock down a transport that was about to disgorge enemy forces. For all the Shivans know, it's just another mercenary squad. The lies are tissue thin: The more perceptive know the truth, but they don't care. They are happy to win their victory on the platform of hypocrisy if they need to, much like Harald himself does. The Battle Meditation spreads out, dwarfing the effect of the War Cry as the Shivans form up into ranks, gaining a measure of cunning, savage efficiency that they did not possess before. They react more quickly, sometimes even before the Ramuhans act, surprising many of the incoming soldiers.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>But the Ramuhans are not done. A force of MAGITECH JETS come flying in on one side, trying to punch through air cover to engage in a bombing run. Bomb Cores begin to glow with a cherry red as they are primed and prepared to be dropped upon the Cannoneers, working to take out the obvious main threat even as the BLACK WIDOW approaches the side of the dome. Moonfin gets a chance to cover the BLACK WIDOW as a an emplaced Ramuhan Cannoneer prepares to fire on it, the blade carving deep into the gun and forcing the man backwards. Moonfin, however, is then faced by a spinning rain of,,, Gil coins? They strike like bullets, however, as the Ramuhan Samurai moves forward to engage Moonfin. Sword guys always seem to find sword guys.<br /><br />At the same time, a regiment of Fighters interspersed with Paladins form up, shields at the ready as they charge forward, roaring defiance as they use a shield wall tactic to slam into the Shivan lines and engage in a grand melee while Monks spin through the air, kicking into the enemy formations. Biteblade and Albert crash into the frontlines alongside Sanary's Yeti, carcing and crushing holes into it as blades shear into thick armor and hammers crush into raised shields, the latter sending a man flying backwards with a broken arm. Better han what Pavo is doing to the Machinists trying to draw a bead on Hiei, at least. as Pavo sends them flying with windburn and vaccum slashes. Air elemental damage is a thing! <br /><br /><span class=" bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw">SUMMARY: Hiei begins countering the larger forces by creating Difficult Terrain and Fireballs, Audrey is separated from Tarl by a Magitech Cannon salvo, and Tarl is too berserk to do the smart thing and link back up with Audrey, the Black Widow reaches the Dome Wall. Sanary is congratulated by the Shivans for helping them and she gets carried by a Yeti into battle. DARTH VADER's support is accepted and no one digs into it because they like winning more than they like hating people who give them stuff. Battle Meditation begins augmenting the entire Shivan force even in the face of a Ramuhan aerial bombing run attack on the Cannoneers and a heavy infantry charge. The STARBOUNDERS are basically everywhere mixing it up and augmenting people's efforts as well as providing backup.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:772|Hiei (772)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hiei starts to actually -dodge- those sniper rounds as they come after him, moving as just the right moments. But he misses one, because dodging rounds coming from -that- far away is difficult even for him. It pierces right through the side of his abdomen, and out his back, which causes him to stumble forward. <br /><br />He looks down at the blood seeping into the fabric of his robe, then he suddenly pulls it off, the flames on his fists dying down, and draws his sword. <br /><br />Now he has a bloody hole in his torso, and is shirtless in extreme weather. "Now this is a challenge." he decides, and starts to blur across the battlefield. <br /><br />He moves faster than the average human eye can keep up with, seeming more like teleportation than actual movement usually. He keep sleaping from position to position, aiming for decapitations whenever someone tries to stop him. He's using his Jagan to try and remote view the snipers, because they're his primary target. <br /><br />Each time he appears, he's closer and closer to the snipers, intending to try to slaughter them in melee, with a sword, because some people are crazy enough to go after snipers with a sword.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:652|Audrey Stormfist (652)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tarl just charges straight into Magitech cannon fire.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Audrey stares. Unhappily. Very, very unhappily.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What a reckless man. A powerful, dangerous, INSANE, reckless man. The Heritor stays behind, her frown kind of accented by the pressure of Battle Meditation. It is, however, insanely useful despite the drawback.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The gunblade is sheathed; Audrey lifts her left hand, a bright green holo-screen projecting from the lens atop her glove. She taps a few buttons on it, and a few camera displays pop up in the air. "This is Adamant-1, I'm taking direct control of the Widow. Keep it powered." The engineers onboard nod, and focus thier whole efforts on powering the drone.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The BLACK WIDOW, now under direct control of someone reaping the benefits of battlefield awareness via Battle Meditation, reaches the Dome's wall-- the pistons in its legs snap loudly, and it leaps straight at the wall, planting its feet into the surface through large hooks and spikes. Now firmly in place, the spider drone does two things.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One, the artillery cannons on its back start raining Magitech blasts towards Ramuhan forces. The shells are basically SLEEP and STOP grenades, because crowd control is what these massive drones are normally for.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two, the drone's eyes and various Magitech cores all start glowing at once. From its head fires a powerful, continuous RAY-BOMB laser. It's basically a mining laser, if a bit more explosive. It's obviously trying to melt a very large hole straight into the Dome's outer layer.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">SUMMARY:</span> Audrey falls back and takes direct control of the Black Widow using the battlefield awareness of Battle Meditation. The drone latches onto the Dome's outer wall with its leg-spikes and starts raining SLEEP and STOP artillery bombs onto Ramuhan forces, while its RAY-BOMB laser starts drilling into the wall.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:794|Darth Vader (794)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is with some surprise that Vader observes, distantly, some of the mercenaries who had assisted Captain Eclipse falling in line and allowing him to direct them with his mind and will. It is strange for someone who has opposed him so powerfully before to do so, but he does not linger on it for long. As enemy fighters appear to perform strafing runs, a subtle query reverberates through his commands in their direction. Your ships, can they be used against these gnats? It is a suggestion only because Vader is uncertain about their ability to bring the ships to bear just now.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Elsewhere, the droids fan out to fill in the gaps. Several of them are equipped with missile launchers, and those that manage NOT to get caught in the strafing run by the magitech jets return fire with those missile launchers. The infantry-focused droids are focusing their efforts on frontloading against the heavier defensive emplacements. Each of them have thermal detonators on hand, grenades with extremely disproportionate explosive power to their size. They whistle through the air, beeping ominously as they soar in the direction of magitech cannons.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"R6, begin suppressive fire of the aerial units." Vader thunders within his ship. The little astromech droid whistles and beeps in a vague affirmative, and the turrets of the TIE Corvette whirl about and start spewing a steady stream of fire towards Ramuahan magitech jets. The R6 unit isn't complete and isn't the best gunner, so in terms of raw ability to actually shoot anything down it isn't going to accomplish too much.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the other hand, filling the air with turbolaser fire still makes things difficult, and that's all Vader wants of it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the meanwhile, the effects of the Battle Meditation grow more aggressive and thunderous. Target coordinators, it urges, and hug enemy lines and emplacements so those strafing runs are too dangerous to attempt.<br /><br /><span class=" bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">&gt;&gt;&gt; SUMMARY:</span> Some droids get toasted by aerial support. Remaining droids split their attention between hurling thermal detonators at emplacements and firing anti-air weapons towards fighters above. Vader's ship begins attempting to suppress the magitech fighter jets, while he directs ground forces to aggressively push and hug enemy lines and emplacements to make aerial support a severe double-edged sword.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sanary offers Biteblade and Albert a thankful smile as she starts channeling energy into her hands, keeping it ready to throw some their way should any attacks start coming their way. Grunting lightly at the clap, she glances over at that Beastmaster with a raised eyebrow and smirk. "Hey, I'm not planning on dying at all. My job's to keep everyone else from doing that!" <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Still, she's not going to complain about getting a higher vantage point from atop the Yeti. It's definitely a lot easier trying to spot healing targets from up there compared to being on the ground and several inches shorter than most of them, anyway. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Between that and Vader's magic formation... Thing going on, she's even working at peak efficiency! Throwing out waves of green healing energy here, focusing it on someone else over there to keep them on their feet... If it wasn't so unpleasant-feeling having that outside influence in her head. <br /><br /><span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">SUMMARY: Sanary approves of Biteblade and Albert support! Time to ride a yeti and maximize HPS with Vader taking the wheel oh god this is uncomfortable.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pavo's massive heavy armor ought to make for good cover on Hiei's advance. She's not much of a tank, but in this tech, anyone's a tank, really. The sniper rounds are more likely than not to tear brutal holes through the holographic psi-shielding, forcing the layer of protection off in shattering waves, slamming into the plating underneath and bruising Pavo herself, but better than nothing! Unfortunately, she can't do dramatic bullet blocking. She doesn't focus on the snipers; for now, she'll focus on the vehicles and infantry currently surrounding, still focusing with her wind blade on wide area sweeping strikes. Her power systems redirected from shattered shields are escalating to the point of tank-flipping force in her offensive melee.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sanary's defense is being handled quite handily. Biteblade is fine with fighting alongside beasts, she's done it plenty. Leaping between herds trying to get around those sturdy shields. She needs to flank, and the perfect excuse to flank is the MOBILE COVER provided by the animals! She can't, honestly, deal with them one on one... At least, not until she can manage to get at least one or two of them killed. At which point, despite being surrounded by allies on the battlefield, she'll rip off her own helmet and start eating parts of the enemies to acquire her cannibalism-based REGENERATION and ENERGY boosts. We won't describe the details of what she attempts because that's gross. Hopefully she can use this to shore up Sanary's heals and become a major threat here.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Albert continues to focus on fire and hammer-strikes, emitting shockwaves of the stuff. He's taking cues from Hiei, rather blatantly, and is going to interpose himself between Sanary and any infantry that make a push to indulge the healer aggro, not particularly prioritizing his own health over hers. He assumes, obviously, that she can handle that.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;George and Seft as the power duo will shore up the lack of air support; Seft swaps to wind-alignment for her battleaxe, which gives her a wide-area sort of strike, meant to function as a somewhat crappier substitute air strike. She knows, at least, that Vader has other matters in need of attending to. Air conflict things, which the Starbounders can't contribute to as they are right now. She is just here to disorient the heavy defensive emplacements and prevent them from getting the upper hand against Vader's droid group before he can basically alpha-strike them. George, however, has a response for Vader, in a sense...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;George lets Seft break off, and falls back to cover behind the droids. It's a wordless assent to a wordless order. He begins to activate his recovery teleport; as long as Vader can keep George safe, he'll shortly be teleporting to ALBERT'S craft, the SFS Vehemence, which is designed for anti-fighter support. If he can extract safely, the Vehemence will shortly be heading onto the field to back Vader up.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moonfin's shields are shattered by a spray of... Money? Okay, he can accept that, albeit with flustered aggression. It is inelegant to get your defenses broken by /money/! He draws his sword cleanly and with a fluid defensive motion, saying, "Second Sea Hylotl Style: Waves Crashing Against Shores." And halfway through the assault, begins to interpose his own blade between himself and the spray of ranged coins. It'll force the samurai to engage close, at which point Moonfin will spring into action with agile, mobile thrusting techniques interspersed with rare slashes.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span><span class="underline bold_fg_n bg_n ++ hu">SUMMARY</span><span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">:<br />Pavo tries to tank a bit for Hiei, focus on anti-vehicular stuff.<br />BITEBLADE: Try to abuse Sanary's heals to double-up on regen using cannibalism.<br />ALBERT: Continue tanking and AoE melee<br />SEFT: Function as ad-hoc ground-based air support.<br />GEORGE: Attempt to extract to the VEHEMENCE if Vader can defend on his own.<br />MOONFIN: Suffer severe MONEY DAMAGE(???), engage Samurai one-on-one.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>HIEI takes some damage, which probably heightens the morale of the Ramuhans. Until they notice he's blurring forward, attempting to charge them. The surprise on their faces is evident. The surprise... And the fear, which may be the best part for Hiei. While several of them continue trying to shoot at the madman youkai and piratical Pavo, a woman in a white robe rises behind them, leveling her hands. A Protect spell triggers, magical hexagonal forcefields erecting themselves between Hiei and his targets. Pavo strikes, sweeping their blade out and slamming the air-based attack down on some tanks... But then the next target glows green as a Reflect barrier comes online. Any portion of the elemental attack that hits the expanding bubble of protection from the Reflect Tank is getting, as described on the tin, reflected back at Pavo and anyone around her!<br /><br />Meanwhile, Audrey punches through the lines by ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL of the Black Widow drone. The heavily armored drone manages to clamp down on the side of the dome and charges its RAY-BOMB. The impact is cacaphonic, beginning to steadily explode chunks out of the side of the heavy dome walls. This draws the attention of the Ramuhan forces, resulting in a pair of Magitech Knights turning to orient their Magitech Walkers towards the Black Widow and charge their Cannons. One of them is locked down by a STOP Bomb however, as time halts around it for a short period of time, leaving it wide open for a Yeti to slam into it and knock it over. The other fires, even as another Ramuhan in a pointy hat and wearing a black mask and deep blue robes points out at Audrey, a blast of Fire-2 launching towards her! Meanwhile, MOONFIN engages the Samurai, trying to keep him from interrupting Audrey's sieging. The Gil Toss doesn't last long, and the Samurai meets Moonfin with a sparking clash of blades. While he doesn't announce his style, his flower-stamped katana lashes out, the pair exchanging rapid blows. Moonfin punches through his armor once, twice, and then slashes into the samurai, spilling blood as he is forced backwards... And then he holds the blade up. There is a roar as a massive inferno suddenly erupts throug hthe area around the samurai, consuming everyhing about him in a Crimson Inferno.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The Imperial support marches on, the droids falling in where Shivans fall and helping to maintain cohesion. The droids do not complain, they do not falter. They are soulless machines as compared to the hot rage and destructive force of the Shivans. This, perhaps, is truly a battlefield to the liking of the Dark Side. The Magitech Jets of the Ramuhans find the retaliatory rockets painful, and the turbolaser fire moreso. Several of them take heavy damage, one of them exploding and crashing into the tundra on top of a group of Shivans. The firepower causes them to disperse, trying to get more backup on hand. Backup comes in the form of a heavy fighter, the craft roaring forwards and returning fire upon Vader's craft with bolts of sizzling blue-white electricity from lightning cannons. At least it's not ion damage? George, however, begins to even the score with the arrival on site of the SFS Vehemence. The heavy fighter is forced to switch targets, trying to focus on the Vehemence as bombers line up another run on the droids. <br /><br />Sanary and Biteblade become a terrifying team, as Sanary uses the Yeti as a vantage point and Biteblade uses it as cover! The Yeti takes colossal damasge itself, being a huge target, but Sanary heals up the Yeti as fast as it's getting damage. Healtank for the win. Meanwhile, Biteblade is not wanting for corpses, the question is just how much time she's going to have to get a snack on. A Paladin hurls a blast of holy power at the Floran. Not that it will make a bit of difference, last time we checked Florans weren't weak to holy damage. They /aren't/ unholy beasts, right? That totally is just a story people tell to scare their kids into line. Albert helps give Biteblade even more of an opening to punch through the frontline, as that hammer goes to town crushing into people. It might not be quite as deadly, but the repositioning effect is handy in allowing for deadly BACK ATTACKS.<br /><br />Meanwhile, several of the Cannoneers have fallen, while others, focused by the Battle Meditation, begin efficiently lining up deadly collective strikes to help clear out pockets of defense or shelling the dome wall. Massive cracks begin spreading from where the Black Widow and Cannoneers are building up damage. They may breach soon... If everything goes to plan.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sanary's keeping up fairly well with spreading that healing light around among the ground forces. Her focus is mostly on the Elites closest to her (Biteblade and Albert in particular, as creepy as the people-eating goes) and the Yeti she's riding, able to heal it more directly thorough physical contact rather than having to aim that energy herself. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The foot soldiers aren't getting ignored, meanwhile, as the light jumps around those warriors to try and mitigate some of their more grievous wounds in order to keep as many of them moving as possible. Even if they can't necessarily fight, getting them on their feet means one less person having to carry them out of there! <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hiei's too far for her to reach reasonably, but she makes a mental note to throw some healing his way should the yeti get close enough to the three-eyed... Not-a-human? Whatever he is. She's still prioritizing the Yeti, Biteblade, and Albert for the time being, though. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even after the light leaves each person, meanwhile, some of that residual magic still aids in boosting their bodies' natural healing and stamina recovery! It's not without strain on the healer's own energy reserves, of course, but she's got plenty left in her reserves. The fight's barely begun, after all, and there's still much more blood to be spilled and to keep inside people's bodies! <br /><br /> <span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">SUMMARY: Good Yeti. Biteblade and Albert get priority healing along with the Yeti, then the other nameless ground troops so they can keep fighting or fall back. Mental note to help Hiei once he's in reasonable range!</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:772|Hiei (772)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hiei takes note of Pavo, but doesn't interfere. Trusting one's allies to do what they need often makes a battle go much smoother. But when this barrier stops him, he stops as well, standing in front of it, -staring-... <br /><br />Then he starts trying to break into people's minds. He has no idea if he can or not, or how powerful the minds are of the people hiding behind it. But his intent? He's going to try and make the soldiers behind that barrier absolutely flip out and attempt to kill each other. Some would be left uncontrolled, because one needs an audience. "I've had enough of this."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:772|Hiei (772)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Also Hiei is totally enjoying Sanary making him not bleed horrifically anymore!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:794|Darth Vader (794)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A surge of anger races through Darth Vader as someone dares to take to the skies against him directly. Momentarily his support -- his DOMINATION -- of the battlefield is withdrawn in favor of other action. Perhaps the Shivans who were answering his direction remain cohesive and... then again, perhaps they do not. Regardless of their exact action, their cohesive and coordinated behavior can for a short time not be relied on. But, it is only for a short time, as the Sith Lord turns his attention towards taking a more deliberate and direct hand in the battle.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Issue a command to the droids. They are to deploy bacta patches to the wounded and a combination of painkillers and stimulant cocktails to the wounded." He asides to R6, as he reaches out onto the battlefield and seizes something. The fighter -- merely scrap and debris at this point, to be sure -- is scooped up from the tundra where it fell among Shivan soldiers and HURLED over the battle towards Ramuahan rear lines with such precision and force that it could only have been a deliberate action.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As if it could have been anything BUT.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is only after this momentary distraction that Vader's coordinating influence re-asserts itself over the battle, crashing back down over it akin to the next wave of the ocean crashing against a rocky shore.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the front lines, some of the Imperial "Clone" Troopers begin making a significant effort to administer bacta patches to the "acceptably" wounded to help them keep moving at full capacity... while those who are -heavily- wounded or dead men walking are administered cocktails that will keep them going. Long enough to make a difference. Long enough, at least, by the standards of the Galactic Empire.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Really, it's just government-sanctioned bath salts.<br /><br /><span class=" bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">&gt;&gt;&gt; SUMMARY:</span> Vader gets angry that some hotshot pilot decided to shoot at him. The offending pilot is immediately engaged with a Flotilla member though, so he just picks up the Magitech Fighter Jet that crashed into Shivan lines and hurls it towards Ramuahan rear lines out of spite. His Battle Meditation suffers a brief interruption while he does this, causing some amount of disarray/strategy shift that may prove less effective for the duration, but resumes soon after. Droids are administering bacta patches to the moderately wounded, and bath salts to the heavily wounded/borderline dead to make them useful before they're just dead.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Biteblade, helmetless now, takes the impact of the holy power square on her face. It tears off a large portion of it, burning it away in a dramatic moment. But having SANARY healing her here, and having just consumed FRESH MEAT, has overcharged her FLORAN REGENERATION. In mere seconds, the floran flesh is back, as she grins at the Paladin who fired on her in an INCREDIBLY intimidating way. Now Biteblade can afford to be much, much riskier. She immediately pounces towards the offending Paladin, intending to brutally bite THROUGH armor and devour throat and neck flesh. It's savage, but in a tactical way. She's making a show of it, trying to demoralize the enemy by displaying, in no uncertainty, that they will die painfully and brutally. She intends to pounce on anyone who attempts similar meal interruptions, to daisy chain examples through the area around the beast combat, still using Yetis as cover.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:652|Audrey Stormfist (652)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The brief interrupt in the Battle Meditation causes Audrey's judgment to falter just a moment, due to the distraction-- she's blasted by the Fire-2 spell, which scorches her overcoat pretty badly (thankfully, it's mithril, but still) and knocks her to the ground. Though none of that does she feel especially angry so much as annoyed.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meanwhile, the BLACK WIDOW is shot at all.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is heavily damaged by the blasts, and... seemingly shuts down? The damage does look like it just tore straight through the systems. The Ray-Bomb laser certainly did stop firing.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Audrey rises, she taps a button on the projected holo-s<span class=" bold_fg_w bg_b ++ reen.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;chBw">[AUTO-REPAIR]</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The BLACK WIDOW is patching itself up. The metal plates are sealing up, the wiring is reconnecting itself, the scorch and bullet marks on its armor are disappearing. It takes a few moments, and then it WHIRRS back to life, loudly. All four of its artillery cannons aim for the Magitech Knight that downed it, and they unleash a barrage of lightning bolts rather than actual shells this time. Meanwhile, its head unit gathers energy again, and resumes Ray-Bombing the hell out of that Dome wall.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;AUDREY herself clenches her right hand, the one that's not projecting the control screen, and punches in the general direction of that asshole mage. The result is a ripple of pure magic, basically a rocket fist made out of ki. Can't ever go wrong with Aura Fist, straight to the mage's face. At least, that's the intent.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">Summary: Audrey is knocked down and her clothes are heavily burnt. The Black Widow is gunned down. The Black Widow activates its auto-repair, shoots lightning bolts towards the Magitech Knight, and resumes drilling operations. Audrey tries to Aura Fist a sucker in the face.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Albert is working in tandem with Biteblade, grimly knocking people up and down to let the Floran -- and the tremendous beasts of war -- get in on the flanks. He's also doing his best to make sure they get lit aflame; he's the one who gave Biteblade the orders to use particularly demoralizing methods, and he intends to do the same. Albert wholly desires to crush enemy spirit above all else.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft continues her own efforts. She can ONE HUNDRED PERCENT approve of the droids now engaging in medical assistance. She's around the droids, so that means she has to deal with those bombs. Since she's trying to provide cover and tank for their medical work, she immediately begins engaging the wide sweeps necessary to air-detonate the bombs before they impact! Unfortunately, they will still be exploding, and her shields will still be shattering, blistering her systems hot with their payload inside her armor. She intends to cover all the medical assistance... Even the unethical kind.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;George, aboard Albert's SFS Vehemence, surges forward. The large craft is going to be the equivalent to a SHMUP boss for the heavy fighter, which puts them at around equal odds. Air-to-air weapons will tear through shields and rip off armor plating, even detonating a missile turret, but the relatively small laser turrets are tough to hit! This is where George fires back with MUCH gusto. He fills the air with homing missiles and lasers and energy bolts, just firing everything he can to maximize air superiority all at once. Vader's coordination is something he's just gonna kinda let flow through him!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pavo suffers her own brutal impact of air. Thankfully, as an Avian, she has a natural resistance to its stunning, burning effects, but her armor seems to not block it in the slightest! Damn it. One unfortunate side effect of the Spellsword tech is that all melee weapons MUST have an elemental alignment. You can't turn it off! Pavo ignores this completely. Turning her blade onto its fire setting, she leaps, several dozen feet into the air to get above tank counterattacks. She has to disengage there!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wait a minute... That woman in white was behind them, not behind the shield! Pavo course-corrects in mid air, blasting rockets in her suit to the side. The healer aggro is real. The massive bird attempts to slam down, blade first, square into the torso of the support mage. Or, well, maybe that was misjudged and she has her own barrier. Hopefully it'll be weaker on the top, if that's the case.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lastly, Moonfin. The CRIMSON INFERNO technique is noted. Moonfin, as arrogant as ever, attempts to deflect in his usual impossible way. Unfortunately, reality decided to be realistic for a moment; while he can deflect some of the damage by somehow parrying fire(???), the rest washes over his armor, slagging ablative layers off of it brutally and burning the fishman inside. Regardless, he can't let the Samurai reach the massive siege engine, and so he bears the brutal damage and rushes in. That blade is up. If he wants to keep sustaining the technique, it needs to be up. Therefore, ideally, he will either abort it when Moonfin goes for a dramatic dash-stepping slashed bisection of his body at the chest, in order to block it, or he'll... Well, be cut in half and die.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span><span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h"><span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u">SUMMARY</span>:<br />BITEBLADE is making a horror show by abusing redundant heals.<br />ALBERT is similarly trying to BREAK SPIRIT.<br />SEFT is attempting to tank for the droids because they are being medics<br />GEORGE has the Flotilla's heavy-hitting gunboat and is being a SHMUP BOSS.<br />PAVO indulges the HEALER AGGRO.<br />MOONFIN protects the siege vehicle, suffers major wounding.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sanary unleashes magical healing in an attempt to keep those around her alive. The Yeti, Biteblade, and Arthur benefit from her direct attention but there are limits on how far she can split. That... And there is a drawback to being on top of a yeti and being an obvious healer. With a thunderous crack, a screaming meteor drops from the sky, a Time Mage in the distance pointing to Sanary as the magic takes effect. The fight may be barely begun, but there is a tension in the air, a feeling of rapidly approaching conclusion. Oh wait, that might just be the Comet spell. However, Arthur and Biteblade begin making gruesome examples, and with the rate of casualties, that just puts them over the edge. The Ramuhan front line breaks, beginning to fall back towards the Dome... But is that even safe? <br /><br />Meanwhile, Hiei unleashes his own mental power. While some of those on the field seem to resist the force, particularly the mage-types, many Fighters and others begin clutching their heads, running blades through each other and attacking their allies with mad, cackling laughter. The forces behind the Reflect Shield immediately begin to devolve into chaos. Pavo turns and drops onto the healer who attempted to block Hiei, unleashing the full enormity of her Avian pirate fury. The impact skewers the mage from behind, causing the white mage to fall forward. There is a scream from a nearby spiky-haired fighter, but that is the nature of war.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The hilariously durable nature of the BLACK WIDOW is lost on the Ramuhans, as the Magitech Knight who downed the machine fistpumps and begins reporting a success... Only to find the machine rebuild itself. When he realizes what's happening, he charges the cannon again... but it's too late. The lightning blasts roast the man where he sits, causing him to sit there smouldering. The Black Mage, on the other hand, is the recipient of Audrey's direct wrath, the Aura Fist smashing the Black Mage and sending him flying. He gets promptly lost in the chaos. At least Audrey seems to be safe for the moment. Moonfin, meanwhile, decides to eat damage in order to try to disable the Samurai. The Draw Out technique of the Samurai is powerful, but as Moonfin noticed, that man has to hold it up in order to use the power. He can't block. As Moonfin charges, there is an accepting gleam in his eye. Moonfin slashes through in one smooth cleaving motion, and for several seconds, the man is still... And then his katana shatters, the man emitting a spray of blood and falling over. It is only then that the assault ends. <br /><br />Darth Vader, in the meantime, supplies technological healing to go with the magical healing present. The medical efforts of the Droids begin closing wounds and invigorating the near-fallen. The drug cocktails send many of the near-dead into a frothing berserk rage, forcing the Ramuhan line to defend against madmen who have no self-preservation and take stunning amounts of damage to force their bodies to recognize they've been killed. The Shivans will appreciate it, to be sure. Several activated Bomb Cores begin to fall, but Seft manages to air-detonate them with quick thinking and the application of a little Glitch calculation ability. They have had a lot of experience dealing with the things in the lab, after all. George fires back at the Ramuhan heavy fighter, and despite it's return fire it just doesn't have the air support it needs to engage in a sustained combat. There is an eruption of flame from one wing as it turns away, and then another missile sends it spiraling down in another crash landing near the Dome, the men on board ejecting.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>With a colossal CRASH, the Black Widow's Ray-Bomb punches through the wall of the Dome, leaving a large hole. The remaining Cannoneers manage to widen it, blasting out the edges to reveal a large throroughfare beyond, crackling with electricity and steam and smoke from severed wires and tubes. A dismayed shout goes up from the Ramuhan defenders, as they move to try to block the breach... But then Vader's fit of pique comes home to roost, smashing into the middle of the formation and crushing a dozen or more in one swift strike. In the horrible aftermath of that, there is a sudden call. "FALL BACK! THE DOME IS BREACHED! FALL BACK!" The remains of the Ramuhan defending force turn and engage in a fighting withdrawal, more of their number falling as they pull back into defensive positions around the Dome itself and withdraw in through airlock-style doors. A great cheer rises from the Shivans, and those who can surge forward, crowding around the Black Widow in an attempt to climb through. The Berserkers and those treated with the bath salts don't even wait, some of them getting crushed against the debris as they scramble ahead and in, trying to pillage, crush, and kill while the more sane Shivans behind try to simply secure the area.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:794|Darth Vader (794)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By this point in the battle, Darth Vader has not needed to do much in order to influence the battle. He has been able to sit here in his personal hobby ship and direct the battle from the comfort of what is essentially his home away from home. This comes to end for a variety of factors. Firstly, he had not taken the Ramuahan armaments seriously enough. What he had considered minor damage at a glance had in fact messed up his shield generator. He had been too focused on retaliation and resuming coordination to see to it, so his shields have remained down this entire time.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Force brooks no surprises, however. With a gesture of his hand Vader forces his R6 unit into an adjacent compartment as the beam of light lances through the top of the ship and tears through the bottom in a brilliant burst of energy. The Sith Lord is not near the point of impact, and neither is his droid. However, he recognizes immediately that this position is vulnerable... and that he will need to fix his ship before he leaves. It is time to draw attention away from his vessel, and enter the field of battle himself.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stepping his way through the debris and sparks, the black-armored man strides through his partially ruined ship towards the side-mounted escape pod. Inside he goes, engaging the rear hatch and telekinetically triggering a launch. Strictly speaking, an escape pod is not meant for extended flight -- or even true flight, and even Vader's own are not equipped with hyperdrives. That is something he's intended to correct, but he has been quite busy. There is not always much time to indulge personal tinkering projects when one is busy ruling the Galaxy, and Vader has no desire for his personal projects to be fabricated by the hands of another.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vader is not merely an exceptional pilot. He is a miraculous pilot, with many feats to his name that can only be described as impossible... even if the name to which those feats are attributed is no longer attached to him. As his heart rate climbs, the wheeze of his respirator increases its speed. It is uncomfortable, even aggravating, but when he is at the controls of a ship -- yes, even a ship as crude as an escape pod on a trajectory with the base of the Ramuahan dome -- all of that disappears like so much static on the radio.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dome is breached by the efforts of another's terrifying attack, and the Ramuahan defending force begins to retreat... but Darth Vader, madman that he is, is there. He angles is flight path down at the last moment, knowing that his escape pod can survive a significant orbital impact -- much less one like this based on its own engines -- doing his best to plow it directly through retreating Ramuahan lines on its descent to one of the sides of the dome.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regardless of what (or who) it hits, the escape pod is a smoking wreck in a great gash carved across the surface of the ice here, its still-heated engines almost assuredly melting further ice in the surroundings. That impact could kill many people by itself, including the one inside the escape pod.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No such luck, though.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The escape pod's hatch opens, and Vader looms out from within it, leaping from its interior onto the surrounding ice. He draws into his hand what could at first appear to be little more than a very decorative torch... and what soon after hisses to life, presenting the crimson blade of a sword like fire.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is tempting, very tempting, to lumber out amidst Ramuahan forces and to slay them viscerally with his lightsaber.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, Darth Vader telekinetically seizes the escape pod he just jumped out of and rakes it along the ground back the other way, trying for a second round of bowling-with-enemy-personnel.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:794|Darth Vader (794)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span><span class=" bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">&gt;&gt;&gt; SUMMARY:</span> Darth Vader's ship gets a hole punched in it through Bahamut. The good news is the Battle Meditation stopped. The bad news is that Vader just used one of his escape pods to turn himself into a battering ram that aims -- quite competently -- to plow through Ramuahan lines and arrive at the edge of the Dome they're defending. Upon executing this impossibly insane maneuver, Vader jumps out of his own escape pod, ignites his lightsaber, and then uses the escape pod to bowl for Ramuahans.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moonfin dramatically flicks blood from his sizzling blade, sheathing it in a dramatic, stylish two-part motion. As ever, a bit too flashy, but there was a reasonable modicum of respect. He at /least/ gives some respect to that level of resolve. He'll be back to get this guy's remains some respect. For now... The Ray Bomb has breached the Dome. With a dramatic flash-step, Moonfin insists on doing so too, leaping onto the machine and onward through... While insisting on using his Matter Manipulator to widen the breach himself, with industrial-strength digging. If it's possible, he'd very much like to see what happens when the Black Widow gets to crash through the wall itself, and into the Dome interior. He is doing his god damndest not to show how burned he is.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:652|Audrey Stormfist (652)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With the BLACK WIDOW having punched the hole through the Dome and dispatched its opponent, AUDREY returns control of it to the two Magitech Engineers onboard. The spider drone plunges its pincers to both sides of the wall (in and out), snap shut, and then it attempts to stride up, across the surface of the Dome. The Ray-Bomb laser is still firing, but now that it's only trying to scorch open the wall by firing vertically through the exposed innars of the reinforced wall, it should be a bit easier.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TL;DR: Black Widow is now trying to CAN OPENER the Dome wall. Or at least a bigger chunk of it. Past a point they'll stop because there is no point destroying the entire Dome just yet. And most likely, not enough power left in the Black Widow to in the first place. Sadly, Moonfin will not get to see it OH YEAH through the wall.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Audrey, meanwhile, is going to be over there, rubbing her temples and trying to clear this headache. Thankfully she's as disgustingly meditative and in-trance as a Jedi on the battlefield, so she can at least keep it in check better than the rank and file must be.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With the additional healing support from the medical droids, Sanary's able to spread her efforts just a little more rather than just focusing on her earlier targets. Hiei, Audrey, and Moonfin get the bulk of it this time, and even the soldiers running literally on fumes get some, too. She's spreading herself rather thin trying to get even a little amount of healing to so many people at once, but maybe it'll help the ones taking the worst damage and getting salted up survive after the battle instead of just trudging onward until they drop dead. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Two downsides to trying to throw out so much healing energy at so many people at once: First, it's a huge drain on her reserves to the point of making it hard to even stand on the yeti. Healing one person at a steady rate is one thing, but the rapid-fire healing isn't doing her any favors. Secondly, she's drawn quite a bit of attention to herself. A very... COMET-y sort of attention. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Noticing the giant falling death rock coming her way, the healer's eye widens as she nudges the yeti's head with her free hand. She focuses what little magical energy she has left into her eye to try and blast it out of the sky with a heat laser, but... <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Her tank's empty. No laser comes out, her eye flickers, and then her sight is gone. Definitely went a little overboard with that last one. "I-incoming!" She shouts while raising the charge blade's kite shield from her kneeling position atop the creature, and braces for impact! Sh<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The armor and shield are quite sturdy. Incredibly, even! Her body underneath all that? Probably not as much. <br /><br /> <span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">Grabbing all the healer aggro.! Hiei + Audrey + Moonfin + salty soldiers get heals this time! Used up all of her MP so BLINDNESS DEBUFF. Time to just try and guard against HI COMET oh this is going to hurt</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pavo is a completely selfish person. She just impaled some spiky-haired protagonist-looking fighter's healer. She doesn't even wait for a vengeful retort. Someone calls out that the Dome has been breached and Pavo just... Comes running. She immediately drops Hiei like he's an ugly baby, and leaps away with a high-powered jump before the grieving fighter could perform an enraged attack. She means to go loot as much as possible along with the Shivans currently trying to spill into the dome.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Albert is going to be the one to help Sanary tank this. He's less agile than Pavo, but with his heavy armoring, he will be able to assist. He leaps up and braces himself between Sanary and the COMET, intending to let the heavy impact of the comet slam into him and disintegrate around his body so that Sanary need only deal with fragments. He's also directed all power from movement and offense now, and will be needing to pull out of the fight; the defensive shield systems shatter and spark, overloading as they neutralize the bulk of the heavy spacerock's momentum and mass, and one of his arms, in a defensive position, can be heard snapping and breaking brutally. He'll need to extract shortly, with a hopefully un-interrupted teleport.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Biteblade continues chasing people, insisting on running them down with enhanced, inhuman speed, tackling them with all eight feet of their height, and then chewing through their bodies as soon as possible. Without Sanary, she can't take as many risks, but with the Ramuh soldiers' morale broken, this has a lot less risk, and she can likely heal up most wounds she sustains.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;George manages to down the heavy fighter, but lord it did a number on Albert's ship. The shield systems are completely melted and a lot of the missile systems and armor are gone. He fills the air with anti-fighter lasers, though, intent on denying an air rally, and focuses missile strikes on bombarding the ground in a way that... Actually herds as many troops as possible into Vader's bowling. He'll just keep at this for tonight, if he can.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seft is wounded by the Bomb Cores, rather heavily. Despite her heavy armor, she's limping and propping herself up with her massive power battleaxe. As such, after working with the droids so much, she's going to stick with them. She wants nothing to do with the looting and, she imagines, burning of the Dome, and she's still quite uncomfortable with the Shivans.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span><span class=" bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h"><span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u">SUMMARY</span>:<br />MOONFIN will come back and get this guy's remains some respect. Joins in with the breach of the Dome.<br />PAVO is a greedy fucker. Disregards tragedy, runs to loot, burn Dome.<br />ALBERT tanks for Sanary again. Suffers MAJOR damage trying to facetank a comet on top of a yeti.<br />BITEBLADE continues being horrifying.<br />GEORGE continues air support<br />SEFT hates this shit, falls back to robots.</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It is not enough to simply rout the enemy. They must be obliterated. The balance has been shattered. This is not what was expected to occur. The Ramuhans had every advantage here... Or so they thought. And now the unthinkable has happened: A Domepolis has been breached, laid open for the use of the Shivans to plunder and worse. <br /><br />But that is not enough. No, the fleeing Ramuhans pay at the hands of Darth Vader, his ship blasted with a mighty bolt. Even in his crash landing, he slays his opposition, his mastery of piloting serving him well as he turns even an escape pod into a deadly weapon... And then the Force adding on top of that as he bowls over and crushes retreating soldiers and crushing a tank beyond, a dull throb of detonation greeting his arrival in flame and death. Biteblade and George add to the death toll, the former creating images that will remain in the minds of the Ramuhans who view them and survive that will be remembered for the rest of their lives. George is doing nothing so personal, simply establishing an even more dominant aerial power as he escalates the death toll from Darth Vader. The efforts of Moonfin and the Black Widow widen the gap, allowing for a more defnitive influx of Shivans into the Domepolis. While it was being evacuated, such a thing is not a simple, nor quick task. Many of the residents will find themselves at the mercy of their new masters, the Domepolis made to serve as a new, defensible forward base. Pavo joins in, rushing inside with the others to get their loot on. Kluex knows, she earned it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Meanwhile, the Comet slams into Albert, dealing the majority of its damage to the self-sacrificing Starbound Flotilla member. Even Sanary can't prevent all of that damage. The remainder of the Comet crashes down into Sanary and the Yeti. She survives. The Yeti does not, as it and the Beastmaster it served are crushed in the crater-forming blast. Albert vanishes in a wash of light as they teleport out. There is no one left to interfere. In the distance, the Time Mage falling over, spent, moments before his body vanishes in missile fire. Seft leaves the carnage behind, finding peace with their robotic brethren. For now. Until they are ordered to kill once more. <br /><br />In all the chaos of the investiture of the Domepolis, Shivans begin to realize something important: The man who held them together, Tarl the Axe, is no longer with them. He cannot be found. Questions become shouts. Shouts become anger. And soon old grudges resurface in the midst of the piles of pillaged goods as surviving warlord eyes surviving warlord, wondering if one less of them might assist them in ascending to take the man's place. <br /><br />It will take some time to reform the Shivans into a force fit to continue. Perhaps they will do so in time to prevent the Ramuhans from regrouping at the other Domepoli. Perhaps not. <br /><br />But it is a beginning.<br> <br>


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