4069/Jupiter: Infested Outbreak (P2)

Jupiter: Infested Outbreak (P2)
Date of Scene:	02 May 2016
Location:	Origin System <WF>
Synopsis:	While a source vector has been identified for the Infestation on Jupiter, getting more information to track down it's location is a problem that only wiping out more Infested can help deal with.
Cast of Characters:	Karian Icefang, 571, 686, Yang Xiao Long, Kushiko
Tinyplot:	Infested Outbreak (Jupiter)

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Kushiko has posed:
THE STORY SO FAR:

Stories and reports had come and gone regarding the Infestation, a name applicable to disease and victim, a metamorphic plague without cure. Jupiter, the gas giant which is controlled by the Corpus have sought the aid of Tenno and Elites alike in mobilizing against the Infested, who care little for things like politics in their pursuit of biomass and greater strength.

What is known now is that the Infestation does not care about organic or technological, infesting and corrupting technology as well as organic tissue, and much of their combative abilities beyond claws and heavy, close-in attacks tend to involve toxins, electricity and of course, fire. Ironically these are things that can be used against them but in more specific ways.

While some Infested have fossilized tissue and carapace from long age, the bulk of the Infested remain very vulnerable to fire and other sources of high heat weaponry, and the notion of cutting them apart, slashing them open is a very valid option. Armor piercing rounds that puncture rather than slash aren't particularly useful here.

Curiously, corrosive measures as well as toxic gasses that break down flesh are uniquely effective in their own ways against the Infested, as while they may wield their own toxic measures, Infested are still living beings at the end of the day, and are as vulnerable as such.

Kushiko has posed:
THE HERE AND NOW:

Io is the name given to a station that may well be a city of interlinked gas harvesting and refinement stations that uses the namesake of one of Jupiter's moons. Because of this, it has a much stronger, natural atmosphere, and quite frankly is absolutely massive.

Varying points exist where other groups may be fighting the Infested, and security protocols have effectively cordoned off parts of the subsections. It is a place of hard work that borders on soulless at times, industrial steel and hard angles dominate the structures.

The aesthetic is modular, and it shows.

For those who are going to be arriving, there are two methods: one might be of course by any means one can self-provide, and another is via Union transports that would arrive with Corpus shuttles after ensuring protocols to prevent contamination and spread are made aware of to the Elites arriving.

As to the Tenno... who knows?

Karian Icefang has posed:
    With the runnings of the tyranid-like Infected, it was only a matter of time before the Space Marines of the Imperium of Man got involved. So, with that in mind, the Space Wolves deployed. All armed with their bolters and chainswords, save for Karian. He wielded his claymore, The Wolf's Fang, and his pistol tightly. "Remember brothers...Hellfire rounds, and your blades. If these are like tyranids, expect hordes...lots of hordes." He advices, as the thunderhawk lands around where the Corpus and Union transports had set up an LZ.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Briefed about the situation, Maaka's brought the biggest gun she can practically use for this one. A mini gun acquired from William's world is her main weapon today, rigged up with several modifications that have given it a makeshift chainsaw styled grip for handheld usage. It'd be absolutely comical to look at if she wasn't strong enough to actually make it practical, not to mention power it with a makeshift power-pack on her armor's back.

    It's been loaded up with 'shredder rounds', high caliber 7.5x20mm rounds, that are given high velocity ammunition with hollow point tips. The rounds also have a micro-detonator that provides an acidic compound to each round upon impact. You use this on people, you'll turn them into paint.

    God bless Izuanagi munitions, they certainly know how to take what the Sino-Coalition's built in defiance of human rights, and improve to be practical.

    She's arrived thanks to her own ship, and is currently waiting for others to join her before she actually crosses the threshold into battle against these assimilating nightmares of flesh and steel.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo had been hoping that, with his technological nature, that he would be relatively safe from the Infestation. But no, it was not to be. He'd still volunteered, though, and he wasn't about to back down. Not after giving his word. It would have been a stain on his honor if he had.

As is, his arsenal is rather limited to slashing and sound. But slashing had already been told as an effective means, and sound was a vibration-- even if it didn't actually hurt these things, it would probably keep them away. And he's pretty fast. He should be all right. He hopes. But then again, even if he does fall, better him than a innocent person.

Gakupo arrives via Union transport, as he doesn't have a ship of his own. His sword isn't drawn as he disembarks, but he does have his left hand on the sheath. Meaning he is ready to draw the blade at a moment's notice.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Did someone say 'fire'? Yang can do fire! She's there in the Union transport too, and leaps out once it's landed, deploying her gauntlets and scanning the area before grouping up with the others. "Hey, yo." she offers, waving happily as her boots clank along the deck plating. "So, space zombies huh?"

Kushiko has posed:
A ship appears: spadelike and melting into the visual spectrum is a somewhat familiar ship to Alexis Maaka at least: the Liset. Thrusters fire, stabilizing the ship as it brings itself around, a cylinder underneath spinning around, revealing a slight, feminine figure who simply jumps down to land on the roof, curling into a ball and rolling around until she lands on her feet in a short squat, standing upright afterward.

First blush would paint the Nova Prime Warframe as some sort of suited or armored individual from head to toe. No sense of a face as it comes to anything that looks like eyes. Lilac pink energy lights up at various points on the sleek looking frame, with twinned coils of that same colored energy radiate upon her back below the shoulder, as well as her head. Control surfaces and casings seem to flex slightly for the antimatter energy she controls, ensuring that others will not suffer the ill effect.

The manpower being provided by Karian meant that the Corpus only needed to provide their proxies, MOAs and Osprey units that allowed them to divert their people to other places, and also not risk further Infestation.

Because of this, and perhaps beccause of the fact the LZ had been sanitized there is little issue arriving safely. Some of the systems are not powered due to the Infested presence, and the area itself is a tower for ventilation and atmospheric stability nearby.

Jumping down from the roof provides a very wide and large ventillation system that is still funneling air upwards, cushioning those who might drop down that way, or otherwise rappel down. The alternative is series of ramps down on the inside around the massive ventillation chamber.

With the Tenno joined, the Lotus speaks up on local band: for those who have the visual interfacing equipment they may even see an insert for her as she addresses Yang. "Not necessarily. The Infested are very much alive and while individuals are feral, as a whole they can work together to take down their prey with cunning and intellect. Multiple bio-signatures are confirmed. Proceed when ready; leave none standing."

With the Lotus giving her orders, she glances aside at those who have disembarked or about to be; Alexis' ship she recognized, and she also offers Gakupo a nod of acknowledgement, seemingly towards the synthetic's choice of weapon and sheath as she produced what /had/ to be some kind of flamethrower.

One might only realize the Grineer-inspired piece of repurposed tech was a flamethrower owing to the ignited wick of flame at it's tip.

Karian Icefang has posed:
    Karian looks over, and smiles softly. He recognized Kamui, even if he wasn't familiar with the Wolf Lord. As he hears the Lotus speak, Karian grimmaces under his wolf skull helm. "Just like Tyranids..." He says. He motions for some of his men to secure the area and set up heavy bolters. He also changes for the hellfire rounds, potent 75 caliber rounds that set their target aflame. "Time to push forward."

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    "Target rich environment, copy that." Maaka nods as the Lotus explains the situation, grinning to Nova Prime and other Elites as they shuffle in. "Let's do this. Karian, mind if I borrow some of your guys on this one?" She asks the WOlflord with that grin lingering, whistling sharply to his battle brothers and waving them over.

    She'll begin to take point, covering her corners with the Minigun as she begins the hunt for Infested, keeping her eyes on her suit's motion tracker and thermal imaging for incoming hostiles. "Check the vents, people. These fuckers can come outta anywhere for all we know..."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo offers a nod to Karian as well. He's aware there was another iteration of himself, and that other iteration was familiar with Karian. And the Vocaloid is not unaware of how awkward it must be for the Wolf Lord. He also snickers slightly at Yang's observation of 'space zombies'. "Actually I've been wondering that, too," he adds. "It sounds like a lot of those stories about a virus, or a fungus setting up in a dead body and animating it." But he quiets to listen to the... well, Nova Prime does look like a suited person. But somehow... not. She moves too naturally for it to be armor, not like someone's shifting around inside it, but like the frame itself is alive.

He does have a visual component to his radio, if one is transmitted. The information he receives on that part makes him blink, but he doesn't question it. Instead he listens to Lotus's instructions, and gives a nod. "So if it attacks us, kill it?" he inquires. "I can do that."

When it's time to move out, he draws his sword and makes directly for the jump. He's trying to stay out in front; since he has a defensive style, he can hopefully provide a mobile bulwark for allies.

Kushiko has posed:
The Lotus offers further explanation by way of the local band radio, even if it seems all enigmatic with regards to her masked visage. "Your initial instincts are not far off. Organic matter is consumed and repurposed by the Infested, but the explicit classification of 'zombie' or undead shades are not accurate either. There are parallels that can be drawn between the two notions, however."

She pauses slightly, before continuing. "It would be more akin to a hivemind, a communal intelligence driven by the need to assimilate, replicate, and consume. Infested that are killed stay that way, but their methods of replication and regaining organic matter means they can reconstitute from a larval stage if not fully eradicated."

Talk about a troubling concept. "Worse still, their ability to adapt, evolve, and mutate means that what we know may not be complete at any time, but this adapatation process takes time."

As the group talks amongst one another and begins to proceed downward: growths like an angry rash, pods of living biomatter too hideous to give proper words to would be seen on walls and columns and parts of the ramp. The Nova Prime ignites her flamethrower, scorching away some of it casually, but the distant sound of howls and screams of Infested are more concerning.

Down the chute and down the ramps they go: egress from the landing zone brings the group into the complex properly. Milling about down one corridor is about a half dozen Infested. Quadrupedal chargers, twisted amalgamations of victims next to what look like vaguely humanoid victims standing upright. Swarms of insects flitting about wildly around them.

One might catch sight of some of the Corpus suits and should they actually /see/ some of the Runners up close, they'd recognize some of their empty suits being ones that some Infested wore. At least, what wasn't already being reshaped.

Looks like the group has a temporary advantage to rush this group, but after this, there won't be any more freebies.

Karian Icefang has posed:
    "Aye, Lotus. Tyranids of my world are the exact same thing. We share common enemies." Karian says. He see's the suits and then the runners. He looks to the others, before doing what he does best...diving right into combat.
    Meanwhile, Ull, Rolf, and Bryn all stick close to Maaka, one going as far as to offer up his bolter and chainsword to the girl. "Even so, Tyranids are nasty creatures..But we can take them. Still, be wary for ambushes from all angles." Ull said, making it clear he was close to becoming a Grey Hunter.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka grins and pats her mini gun, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm good for now." She does accept the Chainsword, slinging that oversized eyesore of a sword-plus-lumbertool of a weapon on her back with a magnetic device affixing it in place. It might come in handy later.

    "Bryn, with me. Ull, Rolf, cover the sides, one shot one kill. Won't do you much good if you run outta ammo while they're swarming us."

    She approaches the chute, leaping down fearlessly as she sees a fuckload of Infested ahead of them. "Targets spotted, open fire!" She points the Infested out to her allies, before she raises her minigun and lets loose with a short burst of shredder ammo, the rotary barrel weapon giving a loud BRRRRT with its frightfully high rate of fire.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang has gravitated to the middle of the group. Seems she's learned a bit from previous engagements that just rushing on in without a plan is a Bad Idea. Especially with how nasty this Infestation sounds. "Worst than the Grimm in a lot of ways... Grimm just want to kill you." she muses softly to herself.

    She checks her ammo rack, and cycles in the new shells she made. Double Fire, not so much explosions as bursts of pure flame with each punch. Kinetic force won't help much, and attacking from range isn't her strong suit.

    As Maaka takes it on herself to open engagement, the teen steps up beside her and brings her fists up defensively. "Take your time aiming, I'll roast anything that gets too close." she says, glancing to the red-head with a cocky smirk.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
"I see," Gakupo responds, regarding the Infested. That makes sense. He doesn't know anything about the Tyranids from Karian's world, but they did seem to share similar traits, yes. Maaka's call of warning draws his gaze up. He pauses only long enough to not get hit by Maaka's burst of fire. Realizing those insects may be part of the infestation method, and not wanting to give any of them the chance to alight on him, he turns his attention to them first.

He begins trying to kill or disperse the insects with sonic attacks. The orange parts of his headset glow brightly; the sound leaves his mouth as a round, bright white burst of vibration. He's not exactly trying NOT to hit the Infested with them, just his priority is in killing the bugs. Should a blast go wide and nail an Infested in the head or something? So be it!

The sound blasts will hit with physical trauma, much like a punch, but with an added high frequency vibration component.

Kushiko has posed:
Systematic extermination: something that the Space Wolves know well enough to handle, and their discipline alongside the occasional blasts of plasma energy from Railgun MOAs ensures that going forward, nothing Infested alive is going to make their way to ambush the group. Hopefully.

Now, the troubling thing that gets discovered first off, is that the Infested are Not Stupid. Yang's inclination to stay towards the middle of the group and prepare for trouble is rewarded as more Runners come out, and instead of getting taken out by minigun fire, they /roll/, strafing out of the line of firepower directed their way.

Too bad it's in perfect position to be hammered by Yang's fists.

A squelching shriek erupts from one of the Chargers as Karian takes it apart with the Wolf Fang with damn near practiced ease. They might not yet be Tyranids, but the simple fact is they die just as wonderfully as they would when met with the appropriate kind of physical prowess. That blade is going to feast on Infested today.

The synthetic Vocaloid's efforts are well-timed. The swarms can mass around unsuspecting Elites, biting and stining and probably doing a number on people if allowed to persist, but the waves of sonic force are well timed and well placed. One of the Infested that was trying to self-detonate is actually staggered backwards, exploding harmlessly away from Karian at the same time amidst their dispersal.

For those who progress down the corridor, the group would come upon what was, for lack of a better term, a locker and storage room. More equipment and the like, this was definitely where Corpus came to change into and out of gear appropriate for working the gas harvesting platforms.

What is the Warframe doing all this time, one might be wondering? It becomes rather clear. Because of the expertise the group is showing themselves in the disposition of, the fleetfooted Nova Prime simply /runs/ down the corridor. Not into the field of fire, no.

No, she's taken to hurling herself, limbs held close to her body as she spirals, a burst of speed launching her gracefully through the air, and basically wall-running further down to meet the next waves of Infested. And as she did, she unleashed a wave of energy from her body: Void-controlled antimatter that radiated with a white-hot lilac band of light outwards. The Infested that were charging suddenly slowed down terribly, bathed in the antimatter wave of particles.

Yang and Alexis would recognize this for what it was: that odd Molecular Prime ability of hers. If Karian and Gakupo had any measure of detection abilities, they would recognize immediately that yes, it was antimatter but it was wielded in such a way that it would not harm the others even if they crossed over into it. Even with the series of concussive explosions leaving lilac and black clouds of smoke in the wake of the disintegration from the introduction of the flamethrower to the Infested, reducing the horrors to nothing in it's wake.

More Infested were on approach, but the action by Nova Prime set up what could be described as a kill box: the Infested that began to pour into the room were also slowed, suggesting that the wave of energy that expanded through the area did not care about things like solid surfaces.

About a dozen are coming from the west, and anyone close enough and arriving in the locker room would see the adjacent area is a vast storage and utility zone, elevated rails for transportation of material throughout the facilities.

Karian Icefang has posed:
    Karian turns as he see's the flames, as well as one of the Infested detonate. He commits that particular form to memory, opting to shoot those if he see's them. But for the moment, the Wolf's Fang flashes, Adamantium blade gleaming in the light. "Come on, bugs! Show me your fury!" He roars, stealing a line from another marine.
    Ull and his friends lock and load, taking careful shots at the Infested. Although Rolf seemed a bit more....reckless. "Rolf! Control your urges! This is not the time to let the beast loose."

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    And that's what she was expecting. That Runner rolls out of the firing line and is about to get into the ranged fighters faces. Unfortunately, Yang is right there, ducking down and racking the slide of her right gauntlet. "I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY!" she crows, before uncoiling like a tightened spring, her fist meeting whatever passes for a chin on this monstrosity, and simultaneously erupting with a cone of plasma flame from the concealed barrel of the 'shotgun' part of her ShotGauntlets. She throws herself upwards, doing a half twirl, before bringing her left fist down onto the Runner's back, hopefully both scorching it with the second gout of flame, /and/ slamming it into the ground. "Woo hoo! Get dunked on!"

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka's already got the kill count going so far, totaling in twenty-nine out of two-hundred and twelve kills thus far. She grins as she lets off another burst of acid-tinged fire towards a nearby Runner, before she sees Yang taking it out. "Nice catch!" She says, narrowly avoiding a friendly fire incident as she lets her finger off the trigger just in time.

    More Chargers arrive, and Maaka directs the Space Wolves to follow her as they take the fight to them, herself laying down suppressing fire so they can engage them up close, take them apart with their chainswords and brute strength as she shreds anything still living, minding the SPace Wolves while they do their work. "Jesus H Christ, and I thought the Tyranids were a pain in the neck to cut down!"

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Being loudmouthed has its virtues! In this case, bugs get dispersed and a kamikaze Infested explodes away from an ally. Not bad! But there are more coming in, so the Vocaloid can't afford to take a rest yet. He does have a moment, though, and he pauses to watch Nova Prime do her thing. He blinks. "Whoa..." That is really pretty. And dangerous, too, from the looks of it.

Mind you, he doesn't have really involved sensors. But it's enough to be able to see that whatever it is the Warframe is doing, it's not going to hurt THEM, only the Infested. Which is good. He can take a moment to admire the effect of the attack, both what it does to the enemies and the visual aesthetic of it. Quite artsy!

But there's only time enough to admire the effect for a moment or two. Because there are more Infested, and Gakupo doesn't want to waste the slowing effect. So as he advances, he'll try to attack any Infested that he can find. He tries to keep moving; he doesn't want to get grabbed.

The blade he's using even has a sonic component-- as it swings, irregular ridges etched into the metal's surface catches the wind, setting the blade to quite literally ringing. Though oddly, it sounds like... a flute?

He has something else to admire soon enough-- Yang's acrobatic move gets a smile. "Nice!" he calls out, with a nod and a bright smile in her direction. He'd have offered a thumbsup, but he's got his hands full at the moment.

Kushiko has posed:
One could argue this may well be the time to let the beast out, given the Infested.

Especially as Yang practically /pulps/ the damned Infested that was momentarily crafty enough to pivot, roll, and dodge only to find it's chosen targets being backed up by the blonde bombshell pulling one hell of a number on it. It's a special kind of strangled noise, discordant as the smell of burnt flesh quickly rises, before what remains of it's body collapses inward, a crunchy sound preceding it's own disintegration.

As the group progresses, they arrive in a section of the facility that, frankly, is overrun. While the Infested closest are reacting, turning and howling and screeching, claws scraping the ground as they bound and lumber towards the group, others are somewhat listless.

The comparison to a living, communal organism may be more accurate than most, as they react in a way that suggests they are quite the hivemind, reacting like an entire living organism, a wave of activity surging in response.

At first, the group is having little to no issue with actually dealing with the Infested: the combined Elite force is pretty strong, but further augmented by the Tenno's knowledge and use of her volatile antimatter reduces the slowed wave of Infested to nothing. The Space Wolves, the cyborg, the Vocaloid, the Warframe, the bombshell, all of them working in tandem to reduce the numbers.

Kamui's sword singing through the air gives the Warframe a momentary pause, as if curious about the thing before she's moving back to letting her flames gut the Infested. Simply put: they're /exploding/ as contact with minigun fire, sword and heavy weapons by the group set off a wonderful little chain reaction of death.

But there's more Infested on the way.

Breaking up the Infested Chargers and Runners are the occasional Crawler, almost hiding amidst the swarm of Infested in order take advantage of the throngs of other Infested and /spit/ explosive toxic tissue at the group. They do pick their targets at random: Alexis and Yang both get spat at by two of these Crawlers, which can be dodged or deflected if they've got quick enough reactions.

More troubling still are ones that stand taller and misshapen. A greenish pulse of energy escapes them: the Ancient Healers by anyone's guess, and there's a half dozen distributed among the wave of Infested that's surging up ramps and across walkways to meet the group head on. Yellowed mandible tentacles for a 'face', and such an utter mass of muscle, flesh and sinew that shambles from time to time, and others? Well, the closest one CHARGES Karian outright, the towering figure intent on bringing one of its tentaclearms down hard on the Marine.

There can exist a choke point, but it may be more trouble than it's worth as Mutalist Ospreys are on approach--too distant to be dealt with but they're bringing electrified Crawlers into the mix.

The phrase, 'Target rich environment' is putting it lightly as the Nova simply throws herself into the slaughter, arcing up into the air and actually... /floating/, gliding for a few precious moments to spew flames from her Ignis flamethrower down and away from the group in order to take on one of the Ancient-bolstered groups.

Karian Icefang has posed:
    A quick look lets Karian know he was going to take a hit, and what a hit it was. He was sent skidding back, but the old warrior refuses to fall. He turns and runs at the Ancient Healer, firing his bolt pistol into the infested near the healer, hellfire rounds boring and igniting. But the healer would find that blade aimed for it.
    Meanwhile, the trio with Maaka hold their ground, cutting down all infested that dare get close. Ull works to maintain the group, and keep the young Rolf in his mental facilities, lest he become wulf-bitten.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    "-Fuck!"

    Maaka takes cover from the Crawlers, the beasts somehow using projectile attacks to keep her and Yang pinned. The toxic spit is enough to give her pause, but she takes cover behind a nearby obstacle while she slings her minigun.

    The cyborg draws her 6mm PDW in one hand, the other taking out her borrowed Chainsword as the weapon roars to life, the engine purring when she isn't giving the weapon a loud buzz for drawing attention. Firing armor-piercing rounds, she wades into combat, nibbling leaping into a nearby throng to chop up with practiced swings of her chainsword, and fires upon the Crawler with her machine pistol while using its buddies for cover.

    Despite the chainsword's size, Maaka is strong and well trained enough to use it admirably, the weapon roaring as it slashes at Infested tissue with a vicious hunger for blood. She might actually be coming around to the idea of these things, getting to use it in this situation.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
The numbers seem to be being whittled down fairly well. Gakupo's confident his power supply will last. Mind, if he notices the Warframe's scrutiny of the singing sword, he doesn't comment. There isn't time, there are more enemies on the way.

He is noticing the ranged attackers; in fact, he narrowly misses being hit by some of that poisonous tissue, and only missed because he bats it out of the way with his sword a split second before it would have impacted with the side of his face. He's about to start on those Crawlers, to reduce the threat to the rest of his allies... but then there's the things picking them up and spraying nasty-looking clouds around themselves. Of course Gakupo then switches tactics.

First he starts aiming for the 'arms' of the Opsreys (if that is indeed what they are, the things are so misshapen it's hard to tell what body parts are what). With those disabled, hopefully they won't be able to carry those spitty things. Then he aims those sonic blasts into any clouds produced, using the impact and vibration to try and disperse the poisonous nimbus. Finally, with all vectors of attack (hopefully) disabled, he'll try to close in and slice at the infested Ospreys to cut them apart before they can start producing those poisons again. Melee fighters versus things that can toxify the air around them again!

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    This many enemies has Yang's blood starting to get up. This has the effect of slowing the world down for her, just a little bit. So those spitting monsters get her attention quicker than might be expected. Red eyes land on the one to spit at her, and with a shift of weight, she cartwheels aside, gets her feet onto a guard rail, and leaps forward, over the Runners and Chargers.

    She seems to hang in the air for a long moment, right fist cocked back as she eyes the ground beneath her, and the mass of flesh and metal. The moment passes, and the bombshell lives up to her name, by dropping straight down atop the Crawler that spat at her. Her fist strikes first, and a wave of plasma flame radiates out in a circle around her, much akin to the 'Quake' attack she used against Grineer targets before.. but without the kinetic aspect.

Kushiko has posed:
Something that Yang nor Karian would not miss, nor would any one else using fire: on occasion where those high caliber bolter shells ignited and set the Infested on fire, the effect was pronounced. They howled in agony and pain, their ability to respond effectively /extremely/ diminished. Had the Tenno a particular tool for the job, she would have brought it.

At least, we think she's a she. Given the androgynous voicemasking, it could be some alien for which gender was a fluid, amusing concept.

The first Ancient Healer falls, a guttural sound of pain as it topples over backwards. Not because it's knocked back, but because the damned thing was bisected from about midway down, limbs flopping uselessly as Karian buys himself some breathing room. Nearby Infested are staggered enough to be dealt with in short order.

A combination of cover and return fire keeps Alexis from suffering the worst of the lot; toxic and acid mist explodes, corroding into a packing container and mercifully not actually detonating anything or doing truly bothersome harm. A screech of pain from the Crawler as it twitches and spasms from the impacts of the machine pistol before it dies in short order.

If there's one benefit about the crawlers, the half-bodied nature of being a torso only makes them incredibly fragile and slow. Something that Yang capitalizes in grand fashion as she catapults herself into one of the throngs of Infested. That one Crawler that she focused all her ire on?

Yeah... that one isn't so much pulped as /eradicated/, discombulated and frankly /misted/ before Yang's attention to the other Infested saw them torn apart with gouts of blood and viscera that quickly became cauterized by the blazing Huntress.

Kamui's instincts serve him /incredibly/ well for multiple reasons: he's right in one that the Mutalist Ospreys have little arms that could be targeted, and were in fact a weak point in the overall design of Ospreys that carried over to the infested version. The arms are so weak to the blasts of sound that the Vocaloid subjects them to that they nearly break apart right then and there.

Their attempt to deploy their toxin clouds over the fighters while they're engaged is further stymied by the stylish android, the cloud of toxic mist spreading harmlessly against other Infested. Shame they can't actually do harm to themselves like that.

Kushiko has posed:
"Nice one!" comes that same voice--not the Lotus, but someone else. The Warframe's occupant? "Keep it up, all of you!" the same voice encourages. "If any of you have time, pour it onto the orbs you're about to see!"

The Infested seem inordinately /pissed/ at the Warframe. Sure, everyone is using some measure of firepower and the like, causing pain. But any sharp eyes in the group might notice that while they /all/ want to consume and infested, the mere presence of the Warframe seems to offend them in some primal way. It's enough that, as Nova Prime drops down, she has to move quickly.

Another quick release of that radial band of energy, blossoming out. Many of the Ancients and Infested have been felled, but there's a massive /surge/ of adversaries oncoming. Boilers: huge, corpulent Infested riddled with pulsating boils, which launches a few /pods/ that have to be some kind of spawning more Infested.

That explains why the number of Infested to kill have been going up. Rising as a tide from the opposite end of the enormous cargo and storage junction that the group is in, the rest of the Infested are apparently /arrived/. There has to be a hundred of them. Toxic spores and spines being launched, clouds of swarming spores and insects that are even occluding the exact count of how many there are.

From this, Nova has landed by the group. She summons four golden globes of volatile antimatter and guides them now with her hands. She guides them in such a way that as the group returns fire, they can soak indirect damage as much as direct harm--Yang would know precisely what those orbs are for, at least.

Karian Icefang has posed:
    Karian smirks as he takes out the Ancient healer. "That it?! That your best?!!?!" He calls out. He was either trying to draw attention, or trying to enrage his infested foe. Seeing the orb, the wolf lord unloaded all the rounds in his pistol. He would then aim a nasty cleave for some more infested, and if he could get the angle right, smash into the orb.
    Ull, Rolf, and Byrn let loose their own battle-cry, a deep, primal sounding howl to counter the screams of the infested. They too unloaded into the closest orb with their guns, while fending off any of the wannabe tyranids with chainswords. Of course, each got their fare share of injuries and scars, but they were more concerned for Maaka's safety. One thing amongst the wolves was certain. They would make sure that if the infested did have a hivemind, it would know sheer terror comes from the sound of a wolf's Howl.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka isn't telepathic, but she does recognize the Space Wolves' intent. "i'm fine, keep fighting and cut these things down!" SHe orders, her Chainsword slashing at a nearby Charger to split off more than a few limbs, maybe bifurcate it with a followup slash.

    When she sees the band of energy, she takes priority on eliminating boilers, firing upon one with a long burst of PDW fire before she reloads the weapon, going back to melee as she slashes and hacks with her chainsword.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Suddenly the source of all their problems seems to be revealed. That huge... massive... disgusting... SOMETHING spitting out those spawning pods. Gakupo first tries to target the pods, either with sound or melee attacks, but all he can hope to do until their source is eliminated is slightly decrease the numbers of those pods. There's just so many of them. And you know what totally DOESN'T help his ability to concentrate? Being fired on.

Toxic spores, spines, bugs-- these things are making it very difficult for him to concentrate on those pods. He uses his sound blasts to disperse the bugs and spores where he can. But this generally leaves him open to attack by the spines. In fact, just after dispersing one cloud of bugs, a handful of spines find their way into his back. He stumbles, the force of the spines' impact bearing him forward. "D-dammit..." he hisses. Switching to melee, Gakupo begins dashing at the things throwing spines. But he can only fill one role at a time, and while he does one, the need for the other increases.

And then suddenly there are orbs. The Warframe has summoned them. Gakupo takes advantage of their presence, using them as cover to duck behind when necessary. But he doesn't actually attack the orbs, because he doesn't really know what they're for, aside from soaking up damage. But when he sees others attacking them? He follows suit. Though he ducks behind one orb and follows it, targeting it with a sustained sonic blast!

Kushiko has posed:
The answer to 'THAT'S IT?!' was seen just as soon as Karian bellowed it. Fear? Fear cannot be allowed to grip the Infested. Not when they hunger for the flesh and bodies beyond. There are targets and they must be dealt with. They know it. They know the fury that they face. They want it. They want it for their /own/.

But as much as they want it for their own, they cannot quite overcome the Howl staggering them. Some of the Infested stop dead in their tracks. Paralyzed for a few fleeting moments, because a few fleeting moments is all that is necessary.

The firepower provided by Yang and Alexis Maaka as they entrench themselves with the others, with sometimes Yang going into the fray like nothing other capitalizes on this. Another Ancient goes down, buckling forwards and it's body caving in on itself as the mutagenic mass begins to tear itself apart under the trauma delivered.

Gakupo's focus shift doesn't go unnoticed, nor does it lack for effort. Melee proves to be the most expeditious way of eliminating several of the nearby Infested Crawlers--indeed, those orbs are not just absorbing friendly fire, but the fire given by the Infested as well! He buys more time and room to breathe from the onslaught collectively with the others.

With the Vocaloid taking up one role, he finds that the Warframe moves to fill his role: she switches from that flamethrower with not the best overall range to a set of compact guns that she uses to scatter apart the Mutalist Ospreys from a distance to keep their ability to harass the Vocaloid and the others are a minimum.

The Warframe ejects the clips from the AkSomati before reloading and switching back to the Ignis once she's satisfied and to focus on what she's doing.

The four orbs of golden, solid energy are woven in and out of combat. The PDW from Alexis, the bolters and firepower hewn out of the Space Wolves, and even her own complimentary fire Nova Prime takes up the firing line with the others. The Ignis flamethrower bathes offending Infested that the others do not directly handle while supercharging the orbs of Antimatter being guided towards the oncoming horde.

Suddenly, each of them go black and purple instead, as they encapsulate the combined force of power, of energy being focused on them both directly and indirectly by the combined Elite presence. The Infested whom are overcome by the wave of antimatter energy.

That's when she brings the orbs down into the horde.

It's a beautiful, cosmic explosion, shards and sparks of energy erupting as everything /feels/ like it's shaking, if only for an instant as even though the supercharged orbs of antimatter doesn't necessarily /hurt/ the Elites, they can feel everything they put into them. The waves of sonic force. The heat of the flame. The militaristic power of the minigun.

The horde of Infested /buckle/ with the violet, violent power of the Elites thrown against them. The ones that don't simply /explode/ are flung backwards, breaking apart midflight as the pods and Infested /disintegrate/--which is very good, because can you imagine the cleanup?

Yeah, don't think on that too much.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Old habits die hard. That's true for anyone. Including Gakupo, it seems! It tends to be reflexive that, when an explosion happens, one turns away from it. And so the beginning of the explosion sees Gakupo raising his free arm and turning his head, to shield his eyes from the blast, even if it's not visibly hurting him.

Oh, he feels that energy. Not just his own but everyone else's too. Is there enough force to make his hair and clothes flutter, if it isn't hurting them? That's liable to look pretty dynamic, even if he's covering his face. He doesn't want to short out his visual, after all!

Once the explosion fades, he peeks over his arm. "...Is that all of them?" he asks, still marking movement in his visual scanning that didn't belong to his allies.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka lets another mag dump from her PDW as she holsters it, prying her chainsword loose. She gives the weapon a few swings before switching off the motor, and she offers it back to the Space Wolf who lent it to her. "Good weapon. Take care of her, and she'll take care of you." She says, before she goes back to her mini gun.

    Not much to say other than /fuck/ was that explosion something to behold. She lets off a short, split-second burst at a few of the Infested, before she's satisfied to know they're not going to get back up. After dismissing the weapon to her inventory, she produces some thermite charges, dragging over pieces of Infested to pile together as she tosses a few of the charges to Kamui, the Wolves, and Yang. "Set these up on a pile, we should do something to dispose of these bodies before they knit together or something." She points out, nodding to Nova Prime upon noting the Warframe's flamer.

Kushiko has posed:
Indeed, for a few short, fleeting moments, there's enough explosive /force/ that despite it not actually bringing about harm to the gathered group, that it is felt. Black clouds of smoke flashing for an instant of a moment as many of the bodies are simply /gone/ once the explosions clear.

"They won't. Dead is dead with the Infested. Destroy the bodies and let's get out of here." comes that voice from before. The Operator of that Nova Prime Warframe, it has to be. The lithe figure gestures with a hand. Some of the bodies from before seem to accelerate in terms of their decomposure. The Tenno's power? Who knows.

One way or another, there's little reason to linger here very long. Without nearby Infested to sustain them the spores aren't lasting very long, air filtration systems beginning to purge the local area.

The Nova Prime Warframe gives a faint nod to Gakupo as she unleashes a torrent of flame upon some of the bodies that /hadn't/ begun to disintegrate, ensuring the process accelerated all the more faster for it.

The last of the spore and swarm clouds--probably what triggered some of Kamui's visual scanning a little--appear to be dispersing on their own thanks to the utter ruin brought down upon them.

The Lotus would speak now. "I'm detecting no more Infested signatures in your area. Head to extraction, the Corpus can finish cleanup from here."