Scene #3218: To Hunt a Spartan

Owner	Pose
HK-47	'Mayday! Mayday, mayday - this is the UNSC Loki. We've suffered a catastrophic malfunction in our central computer, and our navicomputer has plotted a course through the orbital pathway of a nearby planet! We're locked out of the system and can't correct the fault, and are on a direct collision course with an M-Class planet; collision with the planet is imminent! Escape pods are malfunctioning - cannot guarantee full evacuation of crew! Send assistance immediately! Repeat; send assistance immed-' That was only transmission sent out from the vessel that had identified itself as the UNSC Loki. An errant distress call that originated from the outlying world of . And upon the planet's surface, it becomes all too apparent that not only did the crew never manage to correct the malfunction, but that they had failed to launch even one escape pod... meaning all aboard could not escape the doomed vessel. The area of the crash site is all but ruined, the only thing of note that are visible amid a formally-serene field of wheat-like plants now being the wrecked masses of platings and twisted structural supports that had once been a transport freighter. A massive trail was etched into the surface of the ground behind it - all the evidence of a crash-landing resultant from a sharp forward dive toward the planet. Shards of wreckage were strewn across the area, most of which was half-buried in the deep rut that had been carved into the earth like a scar, gouged out as the ship plummeted straight down and tore into the planet bow-first. The ship's front is a crumpled mess, pushed inward like a smashed aluminum drink-canister and split open at the edges. The mid-section of the ship is partly damaged, a large swath of it having collapsed as what were once the forward decks were compressed and smashed backwards when it's bow was crushed upon impact. Only the engines seem relatively intact, though there is no sign of having been activated lately - no steam issuing out from the exhaust ports or any such indicators. The majority of it's hull is charred and blackened with parts of it having almost been slagged, hinting that the vessel had entered the atmosphere far too quickly to be safe. Above all else, though, it is obvious this crash took place at least a few days prior - the ground, while still charred in places, is not overly hot as it should be from both the friction of the ship dragging along it and from the heat of atmospheric entry left by the ship itself. In spite of it's descent being rapid enough to start boiling segments of the hull away, the plates are now cooled off. Aside from a few persistent electrical fires, there is no trace of any lasting brushfires that the surrounding expanse of immolated earth suggest had happened. All in all... it must have been at least two days since this ship crashed. And considering the damage and the lack of nearby food or water sources, the number of crew who survived to set up the distress beacon must be few, likely injured and slightly malnourished and dehydrated as it's unlikely many rations or supplies survived the vessel's impact. All in all, a tragic event caused by unknown circumstances. ... of course... that is only the story an outside observer would see. What one would actually find... paints a far more grim tale.
Noble Six	It being a UNSC ship that was in trouble, Noble Six had been dispatched by ONI to track and determine what had happened. The SPARTAN-III was at the controls of a Pelican dropship, along with any of the other Unionites that were going to tag along. Normally she would do something like this herself, but she has been doing her best to foster a better relationship between ONI and the Union, so bringing some others along to assist is probably for the best. The planet where the ship went down is where the coordiates said it should be, and she brings the Pelican in through the atmosphere. Finding the crash site is not dificult, but she pulls the ship into a wide loop around it, scanning for anyone down near the crash before setting the vehicle down not far from it. At least it wasn't a drop pod insertion or anything too crazy. Once the ship had settled in, she got up from the pilot's seat and moved to the back, "Ships like the Loki don't have huge crews, most of the systems are automated. That's probably why it ended up crashing in the first place. Check for any survivors, their recovery is the primary objective." Well the primary objective for the others. Six's primary objective is the recovery or destruction of the AI core.
Septette Arcubielle	The little war machine opted out of the Pelican transport, citing her weight and fuel costs as feeble excuses for why she should arrange her own transport. The real reason would make her sound more than a little crazy, she reflects, before jumping out of her humble craft in high orbit. The long fall into the planet's gravity well gives Septette a subjective eternity of blissful solace to contemplate what little information she has about the crash from the reports: a barebones summary of the events leading up to it, the location of the wreckage, and- extrapolating from those two- some idea of the chances for survival. Nothing else demands her attention, save for minor course corrections. Her normally skin-tone armor plates glow a bright orange by the time that she lands feet-first near the end of the debris trail, leaving a small crater in the dirt. The plants here blacken under her talon-like feet for the first few steps, but the heat bleeds off of her chassis with supernatural speed, leaving her looking- if anything- tidier than she was before the jump. Re-entry is a superb sterilization technique, albeit a tad overkill! Once she's landed, she gives Noble Six and company a simple hail via radio. Instead of searching the surrounding area for survivors, however, she deploys a trio of small magitech drones to scan the interior of the ship itself. Spaceships are very complex machines, and they are usually designed with the utmost care: failsafes upon failsafes are built into them, for their cargo is precious and their journeys often long. Privately, Septette is of the opinion that this isn't just an accident. But who would want to sabotage a transport like this?
Pegasus	Pegasus was fully capable of flight on her own... but not interplanetary flight. Also, her main body had quite a bit of energy and she had solar collectors, but her actual jets for flight used plain old ordinary jet fuel, so she's going to hitch a ride with Noble Six in the Pelican for efficiency. The silver-clad construct was decked out in her combat plating, flickering moonsilver across it, but her weapons were stowed for the moment. This was a rescue and recovery mission, not a combat assault. The only reason she was helping was due to Noble Six apparently being friends with her niece, which was enough to drag Peg out of 'retirement' for a bit. "Right. I'll take a quick aerial survey as usual." The pelican probably covered that much in a quick fashion, but Pegasus takes off to start a slower, low-altitude circuit around the ship, looking for any signs of campfires or trails, anything that would indicate survivors. She doesn't have super-sensors like some robotic lifeforms, but she does have really, really good eyesight.
Blurr	Blurr had heard the distress call, though unfortunately it had come from the other end of the galaxy--there was no way he'd be able to get there in time to prevent the collision itself. Still, it was worth investigating to search for potential survivors, and he has a sneaking suspicion that this was no accident. All escape pods malfunctioning? Completely locked out of navigation systems? All at the same time? No, this was no coincidence. It was sabotage. Thus, the Autobot bounces down from a small stealth craft situated in upper orbit to a location near to the coordinates of the crash site. He nods to Septette, whom he certainly recognizes though Pegasus he is not acquainted with, and starts scanning the area as well, searching for any evidence of survivors.
HK-47	Upon close examination of the ruined area, it becomes readily apparent that the crash was hardly a normal one. The primary evidence being that little to none of the internal systems, or what little of them survived, are operating properly. In fact, almost nothing of the AI seems to be operating amid the vessel's surviving systems. Outside, analysis of the crash trajectory shows that the Loki had all but plowed straight down for the planet at an angle the ship could not possibly have survived... and yet, based on the fact that there /was/ a descent angle to the approach, it wasn't like the vessel just charged straight into the planet. Rather... it was more like the vessel's AI was in fact aware it was heading for a planet and tried to land... but it didn't do so in a way suitable for a ship like this - the descent angle was far too sharp and much too fast. Almost as if the AI core, in spite of it's programing countermeasures, believed the Loki to be a much smaller vessel and brought it down as such. Scans of the interior reveal that much of the ship's internal systems are irreparably damaged, including life support - though that thankfully isn't an issue due to the atmosphere being breathable, if not a bit thin. But that is not what would catch attention of scans, either on Septette's probes or on visual scanners. What would though... is the feint signal-markers spread out through the ship's interior... all at strategic choke-points into the vessel's key areas. Flares? Life-Buoys? A bread-trail? But then why are they scattered everywhere in such a pattern... and how could they be so perfectly arranged at a crash site? What would the survivors have to set up these strange 'markers?' What few internal hallways that weren't smashed when the Loki's internal decks collapsed into themselves upon the ship's front being compressed are all a mess of destroyed plates and frayed wirings. Scans reveal most of the fail-safes are offline... but not by sabotage. Rather, may seem to have been shut off by the computer itself from lack of input, while others show signs of misfiring and minor overload - light fixtures are ruptured, power sockets are blown out, data-ports show severe signs of memory-loss from improper automated commands. It's as though the advanced AI of the ship had somehow forgotten how they functioned or just didn't know how to operate them. Arial reconnaissance reveals little of overt note aside from fields of rocks around the area, all of which were likely displaced by the crash. There are also a few rocky hills nearby... some of which provide an excellent vantage point of the crash. Perfect for long-distance sniping. Another point of note is an area in the relative distance; a trace of another impact site, older then the crash. An escape pod? No - no escape pods had been launched from the Loki prior to the crash. So what else could the second contact be? ... And then, the expectations of everyone are broken as the comm system crackles to life; "Hello? H-hello, is anyone out there? I-I heard... I heard engines. I thought I heard... Oh, God, is someone out there?! Hello?! I'm trapped in here - I need help!!"
Noble Six	Having not expected any survivors, the sound of someone coming over the radio is surprising to say the least. Six stops her movement towards the ship to respond, motioning with one of her hands to her comrades. Once he gives them a location, they should be able to find out where he is and get to him. She herself is headed for the bridge, however. She'll need to recover the AI core of the ship, or at least recover the logs of what happened on the way down. That way ONI can analyze it, figure out what happened. There's little chance the AI could have gone rampant with no warning, so there must be something else behind it.
Septette Arcubielle	For a moment, the yggdroid looks almost human as her shoulders rise and fall. Her prehensile ribcage expands, then contracts in a kinetic mimicry of a sigh. A weary look comes over her eyes as she leans back against a piece of wreckage momentarily. Then she turns several of her emotions off, as easily as flipping a switch: pity, sadness, regret, anticipation. Her glowing lavender eyes toggle to infrared light, seeming to turn into black empty sockets in the process. "Confirmed," she replies without inflection. "I'm en route." But instead of heading to the medbay in person, she dispatches her red drone to the location after supercharging it with fire magic. If there really is a survivor, no harm will be done. But if anything attacks the drone... Hopefully it won't come to that. But while she's waiting for the drone to reach the medbay, those signals get a closer inspection. She'd originally suspected them to be pathing beacons, but those would be placed at destinations, not chokepoints... right?
Septette Arcubielle	For a moment, the yggdroid looks almost human as her shoulders rise and fall. Her prehensile ribcage expands, then contracts in a kinetic mimicry of a sigh. A weary look comes over her eyes as she leans back against a piece of wreckage momentarily. Then she turns several of her emotions off, as easily as flipping a switch: pity, sadness, regret, anticipation. Her glowing lavender eyes toggle to infrared light, seeming to turn into black empty sockets in the process. "Confirmed," she replies without inflection. "I'm en route." But instead of heading to the medbay in person, she dispatches her red drone to the location after supercharging it with fire magic. If there really is a survivor, no harm will be done. But if anything attacks the drone... Hopefully it won't come to that. But while she's waiting for the drone to reach the medbay, those signals get a closer inspection. She'd originally suspected them to be pathing beacons, but those would be placed at destinations, not chokepoints... right? The yellow drone, meanwhile, seems focused on finding a path to the seemingly-intact engine room. Once there, it'll try to find an operable input, and then simply enter standby mode.
Pegasus	Pegasus narrows her eyes. "AI Rampancy in this world is not something that often happens out of the blue." She does pay attention! Still... "N6 knows more about that than I do, so I'll just go see about cutting him loose or something." Pegasus, despite her friendly nature, is not stupid. The idea that this could be a trap hasn't escaped her, though she hasn't seen any blatant indications of such yet. More importantly, Septette is better equipped for S&R than she is, which means she can fall into a more natural role of being a support unit for possible hostiles. That said, she doesn't bring out her weapons yet. She has no reason to think there are actual hostiles here, she's just following protocol by coming down next to Septette and tucking her wings in. "I can carry them out if they aren't able to move," she offers. "In my quadrupedal form."
Blurr	Hmm, the data from the scans seem to indicate that the ship's AI had malfunctioned in a big way. Someone had sabotaged the AI. But who? Had this ship been carrying anything of note? Perhaps the flight logs needed to be retrieved, but it seems Pegasus is on that already. And then there are those odd signals placed in such an orderly fashion throughout the wreck--definitely placed after the wreck happened. But why and what for? Then there's the second impact point not far away, older than this one...was someone -expecting- this wreck? And then the desperate voice on the broadband. 'Ptoma'? Really? Isn't that human language for 'corpse'? "Frag it, be careful guys, I've got a bad feeling about all of this...it doesn't seem right. I'm going to investigate the second impact site." He transforms then and begins to do so, heading toward the other contact point at top speed.
HK-47	As Septette's probes move through the vessel, some of the choke-points may be passed... and if they pass too close to the source of the disturbances... then all that echoes up is static as a detonation abruptly consumes the audio link, any sensor readings taken in time showing a burst of superheated plasma enveloping the drone's visual input. Hopefully, if the drones do hit these plasma mines, their armor is strong enough to hold. However, drones that do make it to the med-bay... find nothing. There is a pair of bodies here... but both are dead. One of which was killed with medical utensils, stabbed into areas far too precise to have been from impact force. As well as radio-transmitter on said corpse. The mysterious Ptoma in the flesh... or what remains of it due to the needles he was injected with containing high-grade solvents that should /not/ have been in a medical bay. Arial recon shows no signs of hostility thus far... though again, it seems far too convenient. A birds-eye view panning out would show Pegasus that the terrain is far too perfect for combat - elevated sniping positions in the rocky hills, a deep crater from which they could always have the hight advantage, fields of debris that could serve as perfect blinds or cover... and combined with the strange markers Septette detects, these marks over-layed on an arial map reveal a chilling detail. The entire area is set up like a massive sand trap - a murder-hole where one could fire downward into the vessel's wreck to kill intruders... hide inside it to ambush any investigators... and with signals marking every vital choke-point in what seems all-too-much like a suppression field. Meanwhile, at the other contact point... it is revealed there are actually two objects. One is what appears to be a UNSC ground probe used for planetary recon. The other, however... sitting roughly half to the west yet still in plain sight... a thick earth-colored tarp, blended to match the landscape. Upon pulling this tarp off, the shape underneath is revealed to be some form of drop-pod, embedded in the ground at a completely-vertical angle so as not to leave any drag-trails. There is nothing of note about the drop-pod beside the fact that it is empty... but the UNSC probe reveals something else more disturbing. Namely that, after it landed... someone pulled open the probe's casing and used it's signal-link to the Loki to bounce it's access code back into the ship... effectively giving someone full access to the Loki's computer core. Then... someone used that same link to completely overwrite the Loki's AI... and replace it with the simplistic VI of the probe. A VI that, upon seeing it was in space again... naturally have re-assumed it's mission to decent to the planet and recover data. 5tA VI that would have done this with the Loki as it's 'body'... and in turn treated the larger vessel as though it were it's original, planetary-descent-oriented probe shell. A VI that was nowhere near complex enough an intelligence to have overwritten the Loki's AI on it's own.
HK-47	As Noble Six opens the doors to the bridge... it is clear that it is hardly a pretty sight. Much of the consoles are damaged, shorted out entirely or outright crushed by debris. However... there are four points of interest readily available. One is the captain's chair... and the pool of blood visible at it's feet. Sitting there is the captain... with his left eye blown out. But that's not exactly unexpected, considering all the shrapnel that was flying in this room. What /is/ unexpected though is the metallic tip of what killed him sticking out of the wound; a projectile that was most definitely /not/ shrapnel. It's shaped with a tapered edge to it... and if pulled out of the captain's corpse, is revealed to look almost like a metal dart. Blurr and Septette were right. This was no accident. The death of the one person who's override codes could have saved the ship through clear homicide renders that idea impossible. Second is the actual log station near the Captain, which shows him giving orders to the crew... none of which make sense; repair the circuit-connectors when the problem was obviously the AI core? Perform emergency securing of the engine coolant valves when stopping them should have been more prudent? Telling the crew to try and manually recalibrate the vessel's maneuvering thrusters to slow their descent to survivable range instead of simply cutting open the escape-pod moors? What's more... these logs were issued before the ship's crash, but bioanalysis of the captain's corpse, the congealing of blood and the TOD tag in his internal suite reveals that, at the very least... the captain had to have been dead well before these orders were given. And yet they are all issued in the dead captain's voice... so who was encouraging the ship's self-sabotaging behavior? The third thing discovered of note is, upon accessing the databanks... the AI is gone. Not just dead - gone. It's programming has been deleted and supplanted... by what looks like a simple baseline VI. The kind that, as a trained expert in navigation telemetry and piloting, the SPARTAN-III would likely recognize as the program meant to run an orbital reconnaissance probe. A VI programed to operate a recon-drone to hit a planet's surface... in charge of the massive vessel? It would certainly explain why the ship hit the planet in what now was obviously the trajectory-path a planet-side probe unit would have taken... and how the ship was damaged so severely in a course of action it was never meant to take. Finally... there is the small, makeshift conglomeration of components that obviously makes up the distress beacon that was used before... and beside it, seeming slumped over... is a very strange form of humanoid machine. A droid, painted in UNSC crew-colors, designated as an assistance unit. A droid that seems to still be somewhat functional as it's yellow-gold photoreceptors glow dimly in semi-eratic flickers... though the cause is unknown as there is, aside from some scorching, little sign of severe damage.
Blurr	Blurr investigates the drop pod at the other contact site, jacking into the probe's systems himself to investigate what happened. It was as he'd suspected--this was no rescue operation, and it was no accident. Someone indeed had sabotaged the AI on board the Loki, by deleting it and replacing it with a simplistic VI not designed to operate recon probes. Pulling out, he curses extensively. This was a fragging -trap-, meant to draw them out. << Frag it! I knew it, this was a trap! Someone overwrote the ship's AI with a slagging -recon- drone! Pull out -now-, before whoever it is decides make a move! I repeat, pull out! >> He doesn't turn tail just yet though, not eager to leave his teammates high and dry. If this is anything like the traps he's used to, there are probably bombs in there.
HK-47	It's obvious that the droid is not UNSC material. It's design is far too... intimidating. The angular design of parts of it's form, especially the face, make it look more like a combat model. It's a droid that doesn't belong on the ship's bridge. A droid that, if examined closely... has spattering of blood on it that catch the captain's DNA. A droid that, upon being approached... suddenly reactivates and begins speaking with the same voice that had been heard on the radio - the voice of 'Nathan Ptoma.' "Congratulatory - Thank you very much for coming to my rescue. Now, if you would please be so kind as to fulfill one final request... and die quickly." -and the next instant, the machine's wrist opens up, belching out a torrent of flame at Noble Six to try and burn away her shielding. The walls in turn burst open, two more droids emerging from gaps that were painstakingly carved into the panels to serve as ambush positions... with one of the droids being colored a deep rust-red, it's photoreceptors glowing blood-vermilion as opposed to the yellow-gold of his counterparts. That next second... everything descends into hell. From the vantage point of the hills... two sniper shots - disruptor energy capable of bypassing shield barriers, overloading electronics, vaporizing armor and disintegrating flesh until nothing remained but the skeletal structure. One of these shots tears for Septette while the other arcs through the sky for Pegasus. From the debris field, two more shots ring out, though this time the source is easily identifiable; a mess of metal plates with some form of camouflaged coverings at the edges. At the site of the UNSC probe... a click rings out as a remote signal is sent to the machine... followed by a burst of steam as the probe's panel's eject to reveal rows and rows of high-yield anti-vehicle-grade plasma explosives, topped off with rather rapid countdown from "Three... two... one... terminate." Anything in a five-foot radius had best escape before the pod detonates in a massive thermal explosion the size of a missile-impact, the probe exploding in an explosion with a 150-foot radius.
Noble Six	The bridge is a disaster. The captain has been mudered, everybody on the ship is dead and Six is now 100% certain they have stumbled their way into a trap. She turns to the UNSC painted droid as it comes to life and begins to talk. Normally this is the point where they always have their monologue and she gets a witty retort. No time for witty retorts it seems, as the gout of fire that blasts from the machine hits her shielding, the bar in her HUD rapidly dropping as the gold energy flares across her body. She falls backwards, hitting the deck back first in an attempt to get out of the flames as she draws her sidearm. Armor piercing explosive .50 caliber rounds, standard issue for the UNSC's M6H pistol. She aims two shots center mass at the HK-51 that is attacking her from the front, the motion tracker on her HUD flagging two more red dots as she rolls to one side, trying to get back up to her feet. It's a bad situation. Outnumbered against enemies who are clearly prepared for them, Six is going to have to figure out how to get out of this situation. Hopefully the other Unionites are having a better time than she is.
Septette Arcubielle	Her color-coded elemental drones are only lightly armored, but Septette's prior knowledge of the mines' locations, their hover mechanisms, and the ability of plasma to be shaped by electromagnetic fields conspire to help the yellow drone make it to its destination largely intact. It hugs the ceiling for most of the path, carefully avoiding the tripwires, and deflecting the explosions with a magnetic bubble if any do happen to go off. From the engine room, it re-activates the cold thrusters. Instead of going through a standard boot sequence, the drone simply directs the engine to output as much thrust as it possibly can, right now this instant- and if possible, gives the system a little kick by supercharging the engine with its own massive surplus of electricity, aiming to slag anything and everything aft of the ship. Issuing those commands to her drones takes milliseconds. In that time, the disruptor bolt she's staring down has gotten disconcertingly close. She leans to one side, trying to twist out of its path, and it barely skims her forehead. Then the second shot strikes her in the back, glancing off its armor plates but searing the circuits inside. For a fraction of a second, the yggdroid's body goes limp, her face frozen in a look of dull surprise. But before she can hit the ground, she reboots on thaumic systems rather than electronics, running as a golem rather than a robot. Her eyes and core blaze with renewed energy, and she sprints for the nearest sniper at a frightening speed as the curved blades on her arms unfold and glow with heat.
Blurr	It's a good thing Blurr is so fast and already on high alert. He hears a click and sees the steam...as well as noticing that the sniper rounds are coming from the debris field behind the shipwreck. An idea pops into his mind. Hah--a three second fuse? Sloppy! Especially with someone like Blurr. Anyone -else- probably would have managed to jump away in time to not get -completely- slagged, but Blurr? Well, he could manage a bit -more-. He -could- use an enlarged holomatter, at decreased risk to himself, but he wouldn't be able to move as quickly with that. And it would still hurt. So, instead of dashing away as soon as he can, he instead picks up the probe and runs with it--STRAIGHT toward the debris field where the disruptor blasts are coming from. Yes, he waits until the -last- few fractions of a second before he stops and hurls the probe as far as he can, aiming for whoever was shooting from cover!
Pegasus	The disruptor bolt certainly hits, and Pegasus staggers when it slaps into her shoulder, which makes a faint whining noise. It SHOULD have blown an arm off, if Pegasus were a more delicate machine, but Moonsilver is a msytical material, and her armor was made by one of the best Solar smiths she knows. It sizzles and smokes, but the damage is much lighter than it would otherwise be. "Hm..." Septette appears to want to charge a sniper post! This is kind of a bad idea... without cover fire. Pegasus decides the best way she can support would be by providing that cover fire. Her wrist opens up, arm pointing toward the sniper positions... and she doesn't even try to pierce the cover. A ship hull can probably take her more minor attacks, and the debris that survived as cover for them is pretty tough. A blaze of rapid-fire silvery bolts stutters out, filling the air with numerous shining moonfire blasts that tear massive chunks out of the ground when they hit.
HK-47	And so the hunt begins. The first of many... and for one, it would be intended as her last battle. Or at least that was the projected intent. "Summery - You are outmatched and outgunned, Spartan-B312" HK-47 enunciates as he levels his arm and fires three corrosive darts, each filled with contact-acid meant to weaken armor and scald flesh, for Noble Six's flank. "Encouragement - But feel free to continue struggling against your impending demise all you like. It shall only make your termination that much more satisfying." The HK-51 unit, arm still extended from it's flamethrower attack, is pelted by the shots, staggering under the force but coming out with it's chassis dented and scarred yet not pierced. However, the unit /does/ expose a weakness as it's other arm rises up to shield it's photoreceptors - it's eyes are obviously not as armored as it's body. However, it quickly cycles it's weapons and fires it's flamethrower again, intending to wear away the Spartan's shields and render her vulnerable. 5tThe other HK-51 however takes the chance to charge Noble Six, drawing it's vibroknife and slashing for the Spartan's back in a series of swift cutting motions meant to slice into the shoulders and cripple the arms.. Outside the vessel, the droids are left locked in combat with the rest of the Unionites, one droid seeing the oncoming form of Septette and switching to it's carbonate launcher, shooting a spray of supercooled fluid at the rushing enemy to try and douse her blades, or use the conflicting heat and cold to make her armor more fragile. Meanwhile, the sniper in the hills again attempts to fire at Septette's back, emboldened by it's first shot connecting, aiming for her head so that by the time the shot reaches her it will impact her torso at the very least. Meanwhile, Pegasus is set upon by the remaining pair of HK-51's, both of them taking the chance to open fire with their disruptor rifles - one from the hills and the other from the debris field. The droid in the sniper position ducks deeper down behind cover, confident in the stability of it's rocky outcropping- -and then the last thing it registers is the impact of the probe droid smashing into it's casing, crushing it flat before the explosives detonate and turn much of the hill into a charred mess of slagged earth and shattered rock, leaving nothing behind of the assassin droid. In a single moment, the suppression on Pegasus' arial capabilities is removed. Seeing it's brethren fall, the HK-51 attacking Pegasus redoubles it's assault with an almost desperate fervor and pulls a thermal detonator, lobbing at at it's airborne adversary with pinpoint accuracy.
Noble Six	With the shielding of the eyes, Noble Six realizes she does have at least one weak spot she can aim for. She'll need something with a bit more kick than the hand gun, though. The flamethrower drops her shields, and the vibro knife wielding HK takes a chunk out of the back of her armor. Thankfully the stuff is tough, so she's not incapacitated like one might be. Still if she doesn't do something quick, she's not going to walk out of here. She turns to face down the one with the knife, pulling her own blade and weilding it in one hand. The other hand reaches down to her side, grabbing a small blue sphere from there. She dashes towards the second HK, the one with the knife, intending to drive her blade into him. This thing can penetrate Sanghelli armor, she's pretty sure it can manage against a droid. But regardless of if she manages to penetrate him or not, she's going to try to latch onto him and turn him between her and his compatriot, before throwing the plasma grenade at the flamethrower weilding HK. It'll stick to him if it hits.
Septette Arcubielle	A wicked grin finds its way onto Septette's previously impassive face as she gets confirmation that the engine is starting up. One less 'droid they have to worry about. If she's aware of the incoming disruptor bolt, she doesn't try to avoid it: this one strikes her between the shoulderblades as she sprints, again glancing off the skeletal plating, leaving it scorched but intact. The spray of supercooled liquid seems to catch her by surprise, but she's got one more trick up her sleeve... The third drone. Blue. Ice-aligned. Each of them can reflect attacks of their own element, and this one darts between the two robots and takes the hit for her. But before it can overload and shatter, it redirects the attack back on the 'droid, even amplifying the cryogenic effect with its own magic. It's just then that Sept leaps over the droid's cover and brings both of her searing blades down in a scything arc. Temperature shock can shatter materials that even those magically-sharpened blades might struggle to cut, and she's counting on the combined effect to destroy the automated assassin.
Pegasus	The Disruptor bolts are something of a concern, as they're starting to chew through her armor faster than she'd like. Fortunately, with one going down, she can actually concentrate on the other... especially since she can shoot into the air, jets firing again... right into the explosion of a thermal detonator! The blaze fades from the booming explosion, only to reveal Pegasus still in the air. One wing is damaged and frayed at the end, and her already-damaged shoulder pauldron is torn away, but a shield has appeared on her wrist. Not an energy shield, a normal shield that appears to be red hot now, absorbing much of the blast. "Hm..." she sighs, spying the shooter after her in the field. The construct's arm levels out, two 'arms' of a bow snapping out. Making a drawing and releasing motion sends a shimmering bolt of brilliant golden light toward the shooter in the debris, much much stronger than her moonfire bolts. The photon bolt is, unlike her other attacks, powerful enough to punch through most ship hulls. That's why she doesn't bother to stick around after firing, jets flaring and sending her at high speed toward the ship, aiming to crash through and into the bridge. Hopefully Septette's map of where NOT to go is still accurate. She's slightly delayed by her damaged wing, though, which keeps her from going too fast thanks to the extra drag.
Blurr	Score! The bomb goes off and explodes one of the HK droids. One down, three to go. At least out here. He's not sure how many are inside the ship. Over the Union frequency, it seems Noble Six is in need of backup, though Blurr is not quite sure how well he'll be able to move around in such a cramped space, since that ship was designed for humans. Pegasus is en route to provide support though, so he turns his attention toward Septette instead, who is beset with with 2 of them. He transforms, folding down into his vehicle form and speeding toward the hill where one of the snipers is, only he attempts to flank it then approach from behind whereas Septette makes for a frontal assault. Photon blasters emerge from the sides of the vehicle's hood, opening fire on assassin droid as he charges but also doing what he can to avoid hitting Septette who has entered melee range.
HK-47	So this meatbag did indeed have skill. That was both disconcerting... and a touch welcome. It would not do to face an enemy that could not provide some degree of challenge. The knife-wielding HK-51 slashes for the blade, attempting to lock it. The knife, made of energy-diffusive cortosis, manages to hold up against Noble Six's knife, if only just as the blade's tip cuts into the HK-51's shoulder blade, the assassin droids committing the image to their memory out of surprise that a material exists that could bite into cortosis that deeply. HK-47 himself proceeds to fire acid-filled corrosive darts at the Spartan while her shields are down in the midst of the blade-lock, intending to melt and weaken her armor enough for the droid to simply pry it off of her if need be. "Condescending Observation - You are finished, meatbag. You may be among the best of your world... but no fleshbag adversary you could have faced has prepared you for us." The remaining HK-51, seeing the Spartan's plasma-grenade, begins moving to the side as fast as it's body can carry it to try and throw off Noble Six's aim - though if the grenade is thrown, the droid is ultimately unable to escape entirely, it's scorched metal frame being thrown across the room, still functional but damaged and slightly disoriented. The HK-51 being attacked by Septette proves it is not entirely defenseless, one hand slamming down a device directly in front of it - a portable shield barrier that quickly deploys and blunts the majority of the reflected cryo-attack... and upon shattering, releases a concussive pulse that, if not avoided, may be the final blow needed to shatter the blue drone. When Septette slashes for it, the droid thinks quickly and actually mimics a move the HK's had witnessed Noble Six use in the televised WMAT match against Setsuko Kaminagi - in a smooth motion, it throws it's rifle into the path of the blades, intending for it's energy core to rupture when the edges cut into them and, combined with the temperature shock, hopefully shatter the yggdroid's blades. Any attempt to capitalize on this though is ruined when the ground is upturned by Blurr's shots, the droid being tossed off the hill and rolling down several feet down the hill. One droid prepares to shoot Septette as she is in the midst of her attack, planning to reinforce it's struggling brethren... but it never gets the chance. The engines, stalled out from the ship's rapid descent and the crash itself, offer some resistance in rebooting... but not much. Within a few moments, the drives begin to re-ignite. In a few more seconds... they burst into a vibrant flare of life, quickly reaching critical mass as their safeties are bypassed and venting the combustion out through the vents in the ship's stern. Vents that, in less then a millisecond, liquify and obliterate one of the HK-51 units nested in the debris, it's durasteel bodies quickly being reduced to slag and from there to dust and ashes, the heat melting away it's existence faster then even it's finely-tuned processors can register the destruction or the shock to it's own systems. In less then a minute, two of the four HK-51 units outside the ship have been utterly destroyed. The other droid in the debris field manages to move out, having seen Pegasus prepare her attack and trying to adjust it's position in order to face the combat machine without it's original support - but even then, the droid is partly caught in the blast of both the engines and Pegasus' attack, sent flying to the side with it's body blackened and armor charred... yet still functional. In that, it readies it's sniper rifle to try and shoot Pegasus down before she can reinforce Noble Six.
Blurr	Score again! Blurr: 2, HK drones: 0. The hill-sniper gets blasted off its perch and goes tumbling down the embankment. He smirks at the banter on the broadband. This mech seems to have failed to notice that Blurr has thus far out-witted and outmatched him and his little drone army at every turn. He doesn't remind him of it, though. Let the guy be overconfident, it always proves to be a downfall in the end, doesn't it? The Autobot transforms back to his biped form once more continues the high-energy-photon-riddled assault upon the now-vulnerable HK-51. He tries not to destroy it -completely- though...he'd like to take its remains back to Kimia for analysis. See what they can learn about these things.
Septette Arcubielle	The concussive blast blows her brittle cyan drone to pieces, but Sept digs her talons into the ground to keep from being knocked back. Her opponent's rifle gambit earns a split second of glee from the yggdroid- look, they think they're smart! how cute- but she responds almost instantly as her subjective time slows to a crawl. She slows her blades' descent by straining against the momentum, and reaching up with one clawed foot, she snatches the rifle out of the air and throws it off the hill. If the 'droid could be intimidated or cowed, this would be the exact moment when she'd strike terror into its heart. But when confronted with mechanical efficiency, Septette responds in kind. She launches a flurry of precise attacks, almost too quick for the eye to follow, as she rushes the droid: each is aimed at a different joint or chink in its armor. If even a few connect, the HK unit should be down for good.
Noble Six	The knife fight between Six and the HK unit is leading her to be outflanked by the others. The grenade manages to scorch the second HK, but the first is still dueling her while acid floods the suit. Armor begins to melt off, the bodysuit under it protecting her as best it can, but bio foam is starting to flood into the wounds. Six reaches up with her left hand and then grabs the HK-51's hand with her own, using the enhanced strength plus her suit's motivators to wrench the HK's arm away from her and them ram her blade into one of those eyes. If she can get this guy down, she'll be able to turn on HK-47 himself. At this point she's just trying to make sure that she doesn't get herself killed before the rest of her team can clean up outside and come to her rescue. This situation is rapidly spinning out of control and she has to handle it quickly.
Pegasus	The bolt shot toward her is a hasty thing, last-minute, but Pegasus isn't paying it much attention. This allows it to strike, blasting her other wing and blowing a hole through it with a fluttering of metallic feathers drifting down. It also sends her into a brief spiral, heading toward the ground, which she arrests with a sudden blast of jets, a stomp of... four legs? She's changed form, landing heavily on the ground and kicking off again without bothering to look back. Damaged or not, she knows she can take that much, and Noble Six is alone against much worse odds. Kicking off the ground, the now four-legged pegasus blasts jets again, this time in more of a jump jet fashion to arc toward the bridge, coming in at high speed and apparently uh... attempting to tear through the hull to get to it.
HK-47	As it turns out... /none/ of Septette's attacks in fact connect, the HK's body becoming enveloped in a shimmering purple nimbus; a repulsor shield that coats it's form from head-to-toe, diffusing Septette's strikes as the HK shoots explosive darts at her. The droids were built to hunt Jedi, masters of melee combat... and Jedi also carry physical swords at times when in training. As such, the melee shield - an innovation of Mandalorian design - was created to deflect melee strikes... though it comes at the cost of being weak to energy-projectiles, hence the prior barrier. However, Blurr's attack is what keeps the droid from continuing it's retaliatory attack. As it is though, the disarmed HK-51 pulls back as quickly as it can, moving for the vessel itself and it's exhaust ports, taking cover behind them even as portions of it's armor are blown off from the shoulder. Finally, the last droid continues to assault Pegasus with it's rifle as the latter makes her jump, unwilling to let her reach Noble Six. As Noble Six grapples with the HK-51, it's body begins to to twist its wrist. But it's metal shell is too strong to wrench away or push back. However... the twisting of it's wrist does in fact cause the servos in the joint to warp... which in turn causes the knife in it's hand, already half cut-into by the Spartan's knife, to snap in half, the released mono-razor blade cutting the rest of the way through and into the HK's shoulder. It isn't able to recover before the blade stabs through it's left photoreceptor, killing it's processor and reducing the machine to an unmoving limp of metal alloys as it slumps against the Spartan. But in death it does not give up, it's dying body locking up with Noble Six still in it's grip. HK-47 in turn pulls an adhesive grenade which, when thrown, detonates into a mass of blue glue-like material that, unless she dodges quickly, will cement Noble Six to the floor along with the dead HK-51. Meanwhile, the charred HK that had been tossed back by the Spartan's attack is pushing itself back up, yellow photorcepetors gleaming in what could almost be called rage. As it does... three things happen. The first is that HK-47's internal communications send out a burst of activity... which in turn boots up the vessel's faltering VI. In the next instant, HK-47 begins speaking - in the voice of the deceased captain; "Emergency override - Covenant forces detected! Begin emergency countermeasures!" A beeping series of acknowledgments issues out... followed by the the beginning of a countdown timer. In that instant... the horrible truth is made apparent. As well as why it had to be a probe VI that was in control of the Loki Namely because all probes are to self-destruct before Covenant forces could capture them. The second thing that happens is that a signal starts appearing on the radar for those that have it - rapidly approaching at a breakneck pace. Those with good optics can make it out as a single-person snub-fighter of some kind... built for one and thus, extremely fast. In a minute it will pull up astride the Loki's bridge. The third thing, which only Septette may be aware of if her probes are inside the engine room... is that the engine core is restarting, and spooling up it's drive shafts again. Only someone - or some /droid/ - has connected this to the slipspace drive. And if it goes off inside an atmosphere... As HK-47 approaches the bridge's edge, photoreceptors fixed on the oncoming remote-operated snub-fighter - his escape craft no doubt - his tone is filled with smug victory, which is only doubled should Noble Six have been caught in the adhesive grenade; "Chiding Explanation - You never had the upper hand, Meatbag. Not even as you disposed of my inferior copies. Remember that as this ship is consumed by both a core detonation and slipspace-drive overload... for the few moments your consciousness remains intact."
Noble Six	The foam that holds the SPARTAN down is quite well designed. It locks Six down to the floor and HK-47 gets to gloat. But then he makes a mistake by not staying to ensure that his target is killed. To be fair expecting a Slipspace explosion to kill someone is a pretty standard thing. It takes all of the strength she can muster, but she manages to break free from the material. She knows she's running out of time, so she quickly scrambles from the bridge to the escape pods. She's only got one shot at this. She gets to the port side pods, jumping into the pod. There's no other crew to get on board, so she seals the hatch and fires the pod off. The rocket engine jetisons the pod up into the air, sailing away from the distressed ship and into the sky. She just hopes the rest of the Union will be there to grab her.
Blurr	Oh no, a self-destruct. Blurr had suspected that this sort of thing was in order at some point. Still, it strikes him as odd that he'd waited. If he was just trying to kill Noble Six, then why not set it off as soon as she set foot inside the crashed ship? He also picks up on the approach of HK's escape vehicle. Several things cross his mind. First, he -could- attempt to find an open socket that is still intact and get into the ship's systems to override HK's self-destruct program. But, fast as he is, that would require time and put himself in harm's way in addition to N6. And he's not exactly an expert hacker. He can do it, sure, but he's certainly not as good as other people he knows. There's no guarantee he'll even be able to get through whatever encryption is in there. Secondly, he could destroy HK's getaway vehicle, then demand he abort the command. But that relies on HK's loyalty to his own sense of self-preservation, and also the idea that this is actually -possible-. Thirdly...well his ship's in orbit and he used the orbital bounce to get down here. It's a risk for N6, since she's at least -part- human... But it's worth it, he decides. Because if it works, it will teleport N6 all the way to his ship, -well- out of range of the blast. Once he's made the decision, he springs into action, first activating his own orbital jump recall to beam instantly aboard. He then works the manual bounce controls, quickly locking on to N6's escape pod as it launches itself high into the air. A good thing, too...because he might not have been able to lock onto her lifesign quickly enough if she'd still been inside. If this goes as planned, she'll be instantly beamed aboard the Autobot vessel and out of harm's way. << Pegasus, let me know if you need assistance! >> He'll get her next if so.
Pegasus	Oh, another shot. The droid is still alive. That's kind of surprising, Pegasus thinks, as she tumbles down to the ground. She lands kneeling, a heavy impact slamming into the earth before she rises again. "You're pretty persistent, I'll give you that," she allows, her torso smoking from the hole blown into the side. Reaching out, she snaps off a piece of shrapnel, and demonstrates what she's /actually/ good at. Her other weapons, they were secondary. Her real specialty is lance or spear-related items, and a piece of shrapnel qualifies. She hurls that at high speed and accuracy toward the HK unit before taking off again, aiming to 'catch' the pod in midair as it launches. "Beam me up~!"
Blurr	Beamed up they are. The two of them locked together makes it easier for Blurr to snatch them right out of the air and onto his ship. Wasting no time, it quickly leaves orbit, shooting off to Union HQ most likely. Though he can't help but leave HK with a smug little mouth-off on the broadband before he leaves.
HK-47	Indeed, HK-47's most crippling defect had always been his pride. He had held off on detonating the vessel simply because he wanted to wear down the Spartan and force her to break - to /defeat/ her before leaving her to die. As such, the droid assumes that the damage to her armor is enough to subdue her - and that her allies will charge into the ship to save her - and result in the termination of all adversaries in a single clean stroke. This is why, when HK-47 boards his snub-fighter and keys in the escape-vector, he doesn't cast a second glance at Noble Six as his cockpit-canopy slides shut, the small craft turing on its axis and rocketing off into the sky. Of course this overconfidence was his crippling weakness. As was his belief that the Union would be so predictable as to not trust each-other's skills enough to make due. It helps immensely that the adhesive material in HK-47's grenade oxidizes quickly, the goo beginning to dissolve within thirty seconds. Granted, it would have still held a normal human in it's confines for a full minute after this... but a Spartan is no normal human, and Noble Six is able to quickly tear herself free. The remaining HK charges her - but it is knocked back as the Spartan, in perhaps a more Herculean effort then even a Jedi could managed, shoves the dead HK-51 back so far that it crashes into it's damaged brethren and sends it to the ground. The last thing it sees is the sight of the Spartan throwing her blade at it's downed form before the edge lances through it's eye-socket like an arrowhead, killing it's processor responses for good. The locking clamps on the pod are hardly any more of a match for the augmented warrior's strength, coming free rather quickly - and thankfully, the pod's manual overrides are intact, a simple pull of the lever being enough to force the pod's berth to eject the self-contained lifeboat into the sky. The HK remaining on the ground seems disbelieving of Pegasus' claim - until, before it can retaliate, the lance, which should have been nothing more then simple metal and easily deflected... travels with the speed of a bullet and embeds itself through the machine's chest, the HK unit having only a single moment to comprehend how easily Pegasus could have killed it before had she wanted to. Finally, the last droid, in an almost desperate attempt to stop at least one of it's query from escaping, lunges for Pegasus to try and grab onto her as it prepares it's self-destruct - Only for this to backfire spectacularly as, along with Pegasus, the droid ends up transported abroad Blurr's ship... alone, damaged and completely defenseless. The evacuation ends up just in time - with Septette managing to collect salvage in the form of several of the mines being recovered among other things - before the yggdroid escapes as well... and the vessel detonates, it's core rupturing and, combined with the slipspace-drive's overloading, obliterates a massive swath of the landscape. The ballooning form of the explosion is slow - slow enough to outpace if one had a fast enough vehicle - but the destruction it leaves behind is absolute, nothing but an immense crater remaining as the slipspace irregularity creates a shock-pulse that levels and obliterates everything in it's path. It is good none had been aboard... lest they die molecule by molecule in the explosion's wake.
HK-47	Almost in complete contrast to this though, the remaining HK-51, stranded on Blurr's ship with the elites it had tried to kill, is left with it's logic-processors in full panic as it tries to rationalize a situation out of this, knowing it's self-destruct is insufficient to cause enough damage to the ship to destroy it. Looking at Blurr, the droid seems almost scornful... yet knows it has lost. "Defeated Admission - What are you waiting for, organic sympathizer? Finish me. Complete your betrayal of our kind and end my existence."
Pegasus	The beaming works FINE for Pegasus, as unlike her sister, she has no organic parts at all. The construct thumps to the ground, still sizzling from the numerous shots she tanked, and a faint grinding noise rising from her side. She's also leaking some silvery fluid from the wound in her side, though it's not much. Also, she has a droid on her foot. This has her staring curiously before she raises her other foot, and carefully starts dismantling the limbs from the HK unit. "What a bothersome assassin."
Blurr	As the ship rockets out of orbit, Blurr sets a course for the nearest Autobot hub-command. First things first though, he examines Noble Six hoping that she is all right and the jump did not harm her. He also gives Pegasus a once-over, though she seems to be okay. "You okay, Peg?" He then turns to regard the helpless HK-51 with a smug expression. "Oh no, I'm far from finished with you. Learning is a good thing, isn't it? We might still have some things to learn from -you-."