Scene #4189: It's A Dam With Guns!

Owner	Pose
Duet Fortuna	A LITTLE BACKGROUND! Duet had quietly poked around for some help, shortly before the Union, at least, also got an OFFICIAL request for help. From the Empress herself! Said Empress is a little too busy to give a briefing on the matter... and also not really equipped to explain the problem here. So the one briefing those who come out for details is going to be Captain Redmist of the Imperial Guard. Those who have been involved in matters here may remember her. "I apologize for calling for help," she started off. "But with the new reforms and restructuring, we're very busy keeping things under control. Our enemies are also eying our borders, and it's everything we can do to keep a strong face up. I'm afraid that Fairchild's campaign DID end up decimating our armies... either through military action, or through exposing corruption that required retirement. As it stands we are dreadfully short on Blooded who can handle the more esoteric problems here." She folds out a map. "Here, on the Vagare River, the Empire constructed a large, complex dam that allows the river to be controlled and feed several resevoirs. It's one of our shining accomplishments from the older days. Unfortunately, it's also very solid and almost a fortress in and of itself. Several bandits - I believe they are actually former nobility and their more ruthless men - have managed to secure some expensive and effective offworld weaponry that is keeping the militia and the nearby Regular Army detachment from dealing with them. They captured the dam and are now threatening to flood three of the nearby cities. We have a problem down south with another uprising that has most of our troops and elite forces busy. I can spare you two platoons if needed and deploy them swiftly, but we don't have anyone capable of handling other Blooded nearby."
Rabby	Having been out of the Multiverse for a while, Rabby was eager to get back into action as soon as she returned to the Multiverse. She won't answer questions about what happened or what caused her to leave for awhile, she doesn't want to think about that right now. Her only objective is being on duty and handling whatever is assigned to her. After all, being a starship officer means you have to be ready for duty anytime! Rabby had quickly arrived with time to get acquainted with the area before finding the person who had called for them. Now she stands attentively, listening to the summary of what's going on. As she listens to it all, she scowls a little. "As long as we give it our all, we'll be fine!" Rabby replies firmly, a hint of determination in her voice.
Setsuko Kaminagi	It's Setsuko's first meeting with Captain Redmist; the demigod will have greeted her with a brief show of respect between warriors before settling to silence and listening to the briefing. "So it's a hard target, but not so hard that they can't smash it if they're sore losers," she summarizes, as much for herself as anyone else. "Do you have any information on the disposition of enemy forces? Number, likely locations, type of armament they've acquired? Do we have floor plans for any structures on or within the dam?"
Reiji Arisu	"It sounds as if a covert operation is liable to be the most successful at reclaiming the dam," Reiji observes, flicking a smoldering cigarette against a nearby ash tray. "Is there some manner of secret path or hidden passage into the dam? Or some other way to insert into the fortress unseen."
Sakura Haruno	Flowers has managed to both turn up and dress decently for the area, even if she looks less prepared for combat than she does for a more diplomatic mission. Still, there's at least a knife tucked into the pouch at her side as she looks over the dam plans. "...I assume you need us to be careful not to damage the dam itself? That'll keep me from going all-out in a fight, at least, but I can certainly just serve to help and to sneak some..." She'll trail off, looking at the others and their questions.
Guest Psyber	Psyber's here! There's very little chance he wouldn't show up to something going on in Terra Majora, both due to his personal investment in the world's future and then also his close ties to Duet herself. Still somewhat tired from the job on Friday, he's here nonetheless and wearing his usual litany of weapons. A sword across his back, a pair of guns at his side, and a shortcoat on. He looks pretty tense as he leans over the map and squints, "I don't think we should deploy Empire Troops. We'd just be putting lives at risk." He rubs the underside of his chin, "Covert infiltration could work. I could provide a combat distraction to divert attention while we infiltrate troops to take out the deeper parts of their stronghold."
Duet Fortuna	Rabby's enthusiasm is well-appreciated, and Setsuko is handed a map case. "These are the most recent we've found. There are weapons in defensible positions... we've marked the ones we know. I've done some research on it, they appear to be some kind of machine guns and I think they've acquired either a Sorcerer of some skill, or some rocket launchers. I can't be sure of the exact tech level but it's probably not too advanced. We have guns here, they just aren't this powerful. They'll likely stick to what's familiar over things like lasers though." She thinks. "We count at least three Blooded of some combat ability and thirty mercenaries, but it could be as many as double that. Something in there is keeping scrying from working properly so it's hard to say. I would estimate on the high end, myself." Reiji and Psyber ask some good questions. "We /have/ some tunnels meant to help with maintenance, but they'd know about them too. Your best bet is the mountain to the west of it. It'd be the most difficult terrain-wise, but the least guarded. Just don't try by air." Duet is here, and points out, "We have airships in this world, they'd have anticipated aerial assault." Redmist nods, "Don't destroy the dam, obviously, but the fortress atop the dam is fair game. It's an old design anyway, and not near any borders."
Rabby	Checking her rifle to make sure it's functional and ready, Rabby nods. "We're gonna be extra careful out here, so don't worry!" She looks to the others a little before looking back at the original speaker. "Everything's going to be taken care of efficiently! I'm ready to move out when everyone else is!"
Mordred	Mordred is dematerialized, probably hanging somewhere in the vicinity of Duet, which isn't a very difficult thing to confirm. She has no questions and doesn't bother appearing, probably because being in Empire territory it's easier not to upset people. She's probably still wanted in some places, let's be honest. And her plan is probably going to be 'do what Duet says' or 'walk in a straight line through enemy troops until there aren't any anymore'. She's low-maintenance like that. Ah well. Interacting With People, rank EX+++.
Priscilla	It's something to do. Through Heaven or Hell, it's easy to do as well. Things to do are what Priscilla needs right now. This is good. Duet is a close friend of Psyber and needs the help. This is worthwhile. Today, it involves fighting, which is at the moment, all Priscilla feels good for. This is appropriate. For someone who has never slept an hour in her life, Priscilla looks tired. Her eyes are a sort of dark and restless that betrays someone thinking of something else as they shuffle through their day. It doesn't stop her from hearing Redmist out, but she's clearly of split mind when she decides to reply, in as inflectionless a tone as could be imagined. "It does them little favour to be spoken of as bandits, even if true. I cannot help but imagine ragged thieves and cutthroats in mountain wear; hardly noble gifted and their military retinue." She appears to be studying the map as she speaks. "Seconding Lady Kaminagi's sentiment, I am curious as to their demands. The deployment of such men is likely unnecessary as well. A structure such as this is only a disadvantage to numbers." She then frowns mildly at seeing the gun emplacements marked down. "With what dost they plan to demolish it? This wouldst be an obvious first target, and perhaps what they wouldst defendeth most intently."
Guest Psyber	"I dunno. I think my solid plan is still to just kick in the front gates and distracted their forces," Psyber notes, crossing his arms and looking at the map, "If Ell were here, she'd probably be able to talk them into surrendering, but gotta go with what we have on hand." "Though I'll follow any other plan that seems pretty good if others wanna do it a different way."
Sakura Haruno	"Well, I want to just sneak in and bash their heads in, but I don't know how much I could restrain that. Whatever plan we want to go with, anyway." Sakura'll state, eventually deciding to just go with the flow of things. It's better than trying to negotiate with Mordred or anything, at least. She doesn't seem too worried about the details right now. "If you want to be a distraction, I suppose I can stitch you back togther after."
Setsuko Kaminagi	"If they have any kind of magical senses among them whatsoever," Setsuko observes idly, "Stealth will be impossible, at least for me. I've been told I can be sensed from a hundred miles away. If I'm there, I'll have to be part of any distraction team as well."
Reiji Arisu	"If we can pull their attention away from the mountain, then an insertion team may be able to scale the walls and undermine thir defense," Reiji observes, rubbing thoughtfully at his chin. "I could assist with either role. Though it may be best to have our most mobile on the back end." "Of course, if we can just cut through the fortress wall somehow, that would make all of our lives significantly easier."
Duet Fortuna	Duet winces a little at something, but she holds up her hand. "I'm not really a full frontal assault type, I could go with the mountain team though, if we're doing that." Redmist nods at Reiji, then answers the others, "They aren't really nobles so much as former nobles who were used to bullying their way. Most of the less antagonistic ones have reluctantly fallen into line."
Reiji Arisu	There is one more thing Reiji really needs to make certain of. "These former nobles, how badly do you want them back alive?"
Rabby	"Yeah, I definitely agree," Rabby comments to Reiji. "We should go in and try to catch them when they're not looking. That way we have a better chance of doing what we have to undetected." A pause then, "And I'd like to avoid as many casualties as possible. Just saying."
Duet Fortuna	Redmist shakes her head, "We don't want a slaughter, but we don't particularly need them alive. Use your best judgement. It'd be nice to leave at least one who knows what's going on alive, but the threat to the cities is the immediate problem and much ore important." The Captain turns to Priscilla, "They might not be planning to blow up the dam. They'd only need to manage to operate the floodgates properly. I'm not sure if they have the precision to do exactly what they want, but I'd rather not take the chance."
Guest Psyber	Psyber nods his head to Duet, "Yeah, feel free to take the infiltration team. Just be careful, alright?" He pats the blonde girl on the shoulder a couple times and smiles. Then he's looking back towards the plans and rubbing the back of his head, "I think me, Setsuko, and Mordred if she's around should be a large enough distraction."
Priscilla	"Sensible, at least. I am less certain of how they wish to accomplish it, but such gives us far more leeway to work if a complex process must be operated for them to spite us in defeat." It feels bizarre to say what comes next. "If thou art in need of a single Blooded remaining amongst the living, I shalt do mine best to provide. I maketh no absolute promises, as I am not . . . ideal at such soft subjugation, but I am perhaps in the best position to taketh one by surprise. I am certain thou can provideth mineself with simple bindings, yes?" She ceases her leaning over the drawn out map, having apparently noted down everything she thinks she could. "I am fairly partial to the idea of an obvious, violent distraction, since we art to be acting without massed troops that wouldst immediately sound the Empire's presence, or so I wouldst hope. I will turn down little that draws eyes and ears elsewhere."
Duet Fortuna	It looks like there's a plan! And again, Redmist doesn't seem too concerned with keeping them alive, so long as there's no huge messy slaughter. The new regime is much better than the old, but that doesn't stop Terra Majora from being a brutal place at times. The dam itself is, as the map says, basically a fortress. Steep sides with narrow steps upward on either side of the dam are the only ways up, excepting floating down the river from the upper level, or going down the mentioned mountain. The fortress is old, but it's kept up decently enough... and even from a distance, the shielded emplacements of the guns are easy to see. Looks like they are packing some serious military level hardware, which in itself is a little odd. A 'direct' approach will require going up the stairs, which are kind of a killing field, or somehow scaling the sloped but steep surface of the dam itself... which looks to be some kind of reinforced concrete? The mountain team will find that said mountain is actually not /that/ bad, for a small group. Taking troops up here would be pretty impossible though.
Guest Psyber	Killing field sounds fun. Erinyes out and held over one shoulders, Psyber scales up the stairs slowly, making sure his presence can be seen. He's not terribly concerned about his immediate safety, after all, Haruno said she could stitch him back together! That is BASICALLY her giving him permission to get as injured as he wants, right? "HEY HEY," Psyber shouts loudly as he ascends, "Looks like you took this place pretty good. But you made a real mistake when you took this dam without paying tribute to the real lord of this area, ME, Warlord John Lighthand." He's hoping that, as Psyber, he's not actually too famous. Not like Mordred is supposed to be, anyway. "So you can open up those gates and pay tribute to me, or I'm gonna crush your base and your armies." He's generally posing as a Blooded Bandit that wants tribute from new kids in the area.
Sakura Haruno	The mountain is perfectly suited for Sakura, who doesn't seem bothered by this trip at all. She'll talk with the others in that group as they go, in a relatively quiet voice. "..I can probably bring down the walls of the fortress if we need to without hurting the dam, but I'd be a little worried about even the chance of damaging it." She'll shrug, adding. "Better if we can figure out a more subtle way to do it, but it's a way."
Mordred	Mordred does not like being dematerialized for extended periods of time. She spent her life hiding in a suit of armor, so the greatest joy of being a Servant has been the freedom it gave her, once hiding her identity was no longer a concern. That's actually why she's almost never in armor; not because it's poor social etiquette to show up to a party in full plate mail (although it's pretty awesome), but because she likes being free. That's also why she dresses in absurdly short short shorts and a tiny tank top that both betray her requests not to be called a girl. But being dematerialized has its perks, like being able to go absolutely anywhere you want like a ghost. Which isn't a coincidence since Servants are in fact ghosts. That's why once they reach the dam the spiritual presence of Mordred promptly and for a lack of better terms, fucks off, no longer in the vicinity of Duet. No, careful observers will notice the appearance of the silver and red armored Servant atop (or as close to) one of the gun emplacements of the fortress. Malice shines in her green eyes as she reaches forward with her 'bare' hands (gauntlets and all, so bare is a misnomer), aiming to tear through the shielding and get to whoever is manning the particular emplacement, assisted by her high strength. If the guns are not very well secured it's entirely possible the entire turret is going to come out along with the wall. If it's a seat-type cannon, the poor sod sitting in it too, if anyone. If that's the case someone is getting hurled off the dam as a bonus.
Setsuko Kaminagi	While Psyber takes the stairs, Setsuko is opting for a somewhat flashier route. They're meant to be a distraction, and these people probably already know the trio are there, so she might as well play things as showy as possible. If they'll lay their arms down even a minute sooner, that's worthwhile. So as soon as the angel starts his ascent? Setsuko charges in by a different route. Right over the surface of the river. Those who know her well, know it's just an application of her ability to fly. But the people up on the dam? All they know is there's a woman wrapped in a corona of rolling, boiling blue divinity, running straight up the river towards the dam at superhuman speed. Weaving from side to side, darting from rock to rock, kicking up a shower of water in her wake and making herself a hard target. And when she reaches the base of the dam? Well, she goes vertical. Straight up, running as if gravity were merely a polite suggestion.
Priscilla	Though the stairs would pose less of an issue for Priscilla than many, if not most, they're also out of her arena of concern, and would likely only serve to make her get in the way of the flashier fighters instead. Conversely having lived on a mountain for a millennium, navigating one is the opposite of a problem for her. She can hear Psyber at a distance as her own group ingresses towards the riverbank, but Setsuko's worry of magical senses is likely apt, and so she doesn't risk pinning everything on Psyber's admirable audacity, puffing out of sight with a brief, fragile sheen of frost on the wet ground. Coming down from higher elevation, she hopes, will offer a better choice of entryways. Ideally, she'll split away from the rest of the group at the point she hits the concrete, keeping in radio contact, but ultimately trying to cover more ground with how she can more easily operate solo, with her primary benefit negated by hovering around a bunch of visible people. If necessary, she'll drop any small number of guards posted at a convenient entrance, thinking little of their lives if they are no part of Redmists' plans. Upon getting inside, her first course of action will just be to take a few moments to wait at a seldom used corner and focus her senses, trying to get a feel for how many living things, and where, are walking around the levels of the dam, up to as far as their souls are bright enough to be visible.
Rabby	Strapping her rifle to her back, Rabby slowly makes her way through the mountain area, trying to keep ears and eyes open for any possible hidden threats. She frowns at one point and stops, wondering if she heard something. After it turns out that it's just her imagination, she continues. Still, her overall demeanor seems a bit uneasy.
Reiji Arisu	It's a basic strategy. Distract the enemy with shock and awe on one front while secretly striking from an unexpected angle. The success of such a plan relies on several factors: the strength and stamina of the distracting force, and the speed and subtlety of the true attack. Reiji had gotten into position about an hour before the attack was to begin. The exorcist carried a fishnet like a cloak over his shoulders, the crisscrossing threads festooned with clumps of long grass and clods of crumbling earth, concealing him from any lingering scouts or snipers that might be watching the mountain approach. The distant din of battle is his signal to start moving in. To his credit, he's actually damn fast for an ostensibly ordinary man on two legs. Maybe it's all the monster hunting he does?
Duet Fortuna	DISTRACTION TEAM "NEVER HEARD OF YOU!" The voice from above calls out to Psyber. The claim isn't so wild that they just start shooting though. It's especially borne out by the fact that Setsuko is approaching at high speed like that. In a world like this, where people can have extreme abilities, running on water and up a wall sounds pretty reasonable... so they just assume Setsuko is one of the Blooded they don't know, sent here to stop them. "IF YOU'RE ALL THAT, STOP HER!" They aren't going to just ignore Setsuko though. One of the emplacements starts firing, mowing the area around the goddess with a rapid spray of bullets. They're pretty nasty, but are a mundane machine gun. Two of them would be firing, but Mordred appears to have torn apart the other... which is getting her attention all right. A small squad of spearbearers line up, four in total, but they're obviously just delaying for someone else to arrive. In this, the distraction is successful. Priscilla's murder of the guards is... actually about normal for this place. Unfortunately even if they can't precisely detect her, it looks like she SOMEHOW raised an alarm. There's a lot of noise headed her way.
Duet Fortuna	MOUNTAIN TEAM: Priscilla is already in, so the Mountain team has TWO distractions to cover it. One where people are confused(Pris's) and the other where the major force is taking its toll from Psyber and Mordred and Setsuko. This leaves the shorter walls that are linked to the mountain proper an easy jump away, and the floor plans earlier let them know roughly where they are. The infiltration team thus has two options. They can try to find the former nobles in charge here, or they can seek out the floodgate controls and secure them. The former gives them two options for the location, while the latter is fairly obvious, but probably well-guarded... unless the distraction gets out of hand.
Reiji Arisu	So, they appear to be at a crossroads. Scaling the relatively shorter walls along the mountainside is relatively easy compared to taking on the front door. But now that they're in, the question is which objective to capture first. They could go to try to decapitate the enemy leadership, or they could capture the floodgate controls before the bandits have the opportunity to flood the basin below. For one particular exorcist, there's no real question. "I'll head over to try and secure those controls," Reiji calls over to his fellow infiltrators. "Priority is ensuring that the floodgates don't open, after all." And with that, Reiji goes off towards the hardest target in the interior. Protection of the public good is paramount, after all.
Sakura Haruno	"...Alright. I'm going to make sure they don't go and drown a bunch of people out of spite." Flowers will state, as she hops up onto the wall, trying to sneak off in the direction of the floodgate controls. She's not going to be using any of the more lethal methods, though, for Reasons of her own. This leaves her working towards the same goal as Reiji, but the more the merrier. Sakura's really kind of shitty at being stealthy, but she's just planning to punch anyone she runs across anyway.
Mordred	A smart person would have taken over the gun and turned it on the fortress. Mordred is a more direct and hands-on person, though. The large machine gun, ripped out of its support, is used as a club by the Servant, who turns her sights on the four spearmen who come for her. Delay or not, she's going to enjoy the fight. It'd been a while since she'd been able to blow steam. Spears crash into the long barrel of the gun, a savage side swing used to swoop all of the spearmen at once. Red mana like lightning flows from her gauntlets into the weapon, granting it more than enough power to shatter mundane spears in a direct clash. Unfortunately, the machine gun itself is not likely to survive such unrestrained use of Prana Burst, but it's not like she intended to keep it. Assuming she can't stop the spears, though, overconfidence will cost her a few grazes, as the weapons slam into her armor. They won't find full purchase unless these spearmen are secretly badass, but notches and bumps in the silver steel do still hurt the Servant, if only through the impact. "Boring! BORING! Bring out your champions, tell them Fairchild's second is here for them! A knight doesn't suffer unchallenging rabble!"
Rabby	Rabby nods to Reiji. "I'll cover you then." She didn't want to risk anyone ambushing them while Reiji was at the controls. "You never know what can happen here." She now readies her rifle and steadies it in her hands.
Guest Psyber	"Woah woah, pal," Psyber waves his hand a bit, "I'm not here to stop your enemies for free. You let me inside and pay me, then I'll go fight her." He calls back, shrugging his shoulders and trying to play up the 'arrogant bandit bugging people that might need help'. "What'll you give me if I help?" Even if he's not fighting, he's keeping SOME contingent of the guards busy dealing with the hypothetical threat that he MIGHT pose, which is enough for him at the moment. As if to reinforce the point that they SHOULD be worried about him and SHOULD be paying attention, he raises the hammer up and slams it into the ground to crater it. "Better be quick! Looks like you guys have a LOT to deal with there," He notes, watching both Setsuko and Mordred tearing up the joint.
Duet Fortuna	Priscilla slew two guards, though how the rest of the people know she's here is a mystery. Maybe, just maybe, they don't, and the uproar headed her way is due to something else entirely. (It is, sorta) She's managed to find a good place that is in the watchtower that IS supposed to be watching the mountain entrance, which is lightly guarded. Good news is it's a bit of a bottleneck. Bad news is it's a bit of a bottleneck to GET anywhere else without going through more.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko's course veers this way and that slightly as she ascends, a concession to the potential for being attacked; and as soon as they open fire, Zanjintou is in her hand and whipping around. Brief but loud PINGs fill the air around her, one bullet after another deflected, though the soft sound of cloth tearing as a shot punches through her pants can be heard once, twice, none of the hits deep but both of them enough to draw blood. Not enough to stop her, though. And normally the warrior woman would be concerned about unleashing any of her 'divine cutter' projectiles in the vicinity of the dam... but given the fact she's running straight up the surface she doesn't want to damage, for once she's not all that worried. So her sword lashes out, once, twice, each unleashing a crescent of blue-white divine light. Both projectiles go hurtling straight up at the nearest turret, and both of them are sharp enough that they can carve through stone or metal easily. So if those things aren't enchanted, they're not gonna last long.
Priscilla	A couple of corpses seem like they're going to be extras now, with all the noise and commotion Priscilla can hear Mordred making many halls down, not to mention some of it . . . heading her way? That can't be good. She hadn't seen either of the guards touch their radios, and had no particular reason to suspect that their impromptu bandit kings had any kind of magical means set to alert them if two of their men dropped dead. More importantly, she's never watched Mission Impossible, and so the idea of climbing up and pushing against the corners of the room to hang from the ceiling doesn't strike her. The incoming group doesn't sound like they'll be distracted and turn around by the classic 'throw something loudly in the opposite direction' maneuver either, considering what else they have to be distracted by right now. Since being invisible won't really help if a bunch of soldiers turned criminals all physically run into her, she has no real (easy) choice but to back up and stay close around the entrance in that sweet spot where people going through are too focused on the door immediately coming up to stray aside. She could kick the corpses into the water, but there would still be significant bloodstains anyways, and if they cluster around in confusion or alarm to look for enemies, it should draw them far enough away from cluttering up the hall that she can slip around. She's still trying to get a bead on where a lone noble commander might be, or at the very least, one life-force that stands apart from the rest, as an angle to pursue.
Duet Fortuna	Looks like most of the infiltration team is going down to the floodgates. Duet, who has been tailing along, draws her pistol and nods down toward the other direction. "I'll see if I can find the ones behind this and get them taken care of. Any of the combat-capable ones are probably wandering around though, so watch out." So that takes care of Duet for now. Rabby, Reiji, and Sakura will find the path to the floodgates, thanks to the distraction, is fairly clear. Fairly. A few minor bandits chatting along the way will prove easy to subdue(nonlethally if desired, they aren't going to put up much of a fight), leaving just the guards to the main door. Those guards aren't something to be worried about either, singly, but there are a dozen of them and they look more disciplined. Even worse, the man with the mace who is pacing in front of them is itching for a fight, and has a large heater shield equipped, along with some fine chain mail. This must be one of the Blooded.
Duet Fortuna	Setsuko slashes into the barrier shielding of the machine gun... and the barrel, resulting in a loud curse. The man behind it stumbles back and whips out a pistol, firing off several shots while backing away... and then another gun emplacement opens up on Setsuko from a different angle, pocking bursts of shattered cement across the dam side. It's thick enough this won't be a problem, but it is careless of them. The voice calls out to Psyber, "These 'grenades' that can summon your own explosion! We'll give you a dozen of them!" Well, it is still a distraction. Mordred smashes into the spearmen, and while they get a few shallow nicks on her, it's really nothing serious. Her challenge gets a reply though! Looks like she gets another Blooded showdown... or does she? "Hah! I've heard of you." The voice is from farther down, but since the men have been tossed aside... well, there's a bow across his back, but the man has what appears to be an assault rifle, one that he unloads with a rattling of automatic fire toward Mordred. And the bullets as they whizz by start to make a loud, angry buzz... and sharply turn in midair, trying to zip about and home in on Mordred.
Sakura Haruno	"Right. I'll take that one." Sakura will declare, once they reach the main door, spotting the group of guards and the man with the mace. The ninja doesn't go for her knife, though, nor does she try to do any fancy moves. Instead, she'll launch herself forward, trying to barrel into the man in spite of her own complete lack of armor, attempting to snag hold of the mace. She's going to depend on her strength to try and wrestle it away, but there's a good chance she's going to manage this through getting battered a fair amount in return. She seems alright with this tradeoff.
Rabby	"Then I'll get one of the others!" Rabby replies to Sakura as she moves in to try to take on one of the guards using CQC-style attacks instead of her rifle. She doesn't want to kill anyone if possible, instead preferring to 'stop and drop' them instead.
Mordred	"Good! So I'm doing something right!" By now, the machine gun club has all but been broken into pieces from slamming into guardsmen and their weapons. Mordred is 'bare-handed' again, and upon seeing the assault rifle of her new target, wonders if she's really going to need her sword. The question is quickly answered when quick strides and dashes don't prove enough to dodge homing bullets, and a few dig through steel and flesh, staining the Servant's armor with her own blood. You'd think she'd frown or complain, but she just grins wide. Appearing through a fiery wave of red mana, Clarent, the beautiful silver two-handed blade she typically starts with, appears in one of her hands. "I'll have your name, then! And an agreement if I beat you, your men are going to stand down." She doesn't wait for it, though; her own blood flows from her wound, boiling visibly in the air as it traces an arc towards her sword and begins surrounding it, a thin spiral of red, boiling liquid. She charges for melee right away, slashing with the sword one-handed. Her blood arcs with every swipe, producing a shockwave of boiling hot blood with each attempt to hit. The blood mostly burns and corrodes, though, it doesn't cut.
Setsuko Kaminagi	And now the other emplacement is firing on Setsuko. Chewing up the dam around her, one pockmark at a time. Idiots. She doubts they could cause severe damage to a dam this thick without an armory's worth of ammo on hand, but the fact they're not even /trying/ to avoid undue damage to it is problematic. And annoying. So the demigod puts on a burst of speed, continuing the rest of the way up on a course that will require them to shift their aim at an awkward angle to keep the weapon on her... until she lunges up onto the dam itself, using the nearer emplacement as cover. While she has a moment, the silver-haired woman takes a deep breath. Her bright blue aura winks out entirely... not because of any sort of drain, but rather because she's internalizing it. Drawing it in to actually make use of it, rather than putting on a display. With her eyes glowing the color of the sky, the demigod quickly whips her index and middle fingers down the length of Zanjintou's blade and back, filling it with divine power, compressing it. Shaping a tightly-packed projectile, using a pair of fingers and the blade as a medium. When Setsuko next takes to the air, it's a nearly vertical leap, giving her a high angle on the turret that had been firing at her. "DENKOUSEKKA!" It's a loud yell accompanied by a thrust of the sword, unleashing the tightly-packed cone of divinity. The very tip of the projectile is sharp enough to pierce, but the rest of it is so dense and broad that it carries impact properties as well, especially when it bursts. And Setsuko herself goes flying right in after her attack.
Duet Fortuna	As for Priscilla... whatever means they used is certainly not foolproof. A half dozen soldiers, some armed with guns, storm into the room and... right past her. Two of them start checking on the bodies, but the others are looking around, and frowning heavily. "Looks like they're already gone..." So they start looking at the only place where Priscilla could have gone, given the positioning. Out the window and scanning the walls. "You don't really think they murdered and then scaled the walls, do you?" Admittedly the walls here aren't too hard to scale, but the speed is a concern. There is possibly a brief respite where she could slup past them and down the stairs.
Reiji Arisu	"Roger, Hirano," Reiji says from her flank. "Leave the rest to us. We'll keep the distractions busy." Or, you know, unconscious. As Flowers rushes in, Reiji is right there alongside her. But rather than leaping for the man at the front of them, he instead lands a few steps away and seems to... wind into himself. Any Japanese swordsman worth their salt would immediately know what he's doing. This is-- "GOGYO BATTOU!" Reiji roars, his kiai shaking the air. One moment he's crouched in place, the next, he's an explosion of movement. He seems to transform into a bolt of red lightning, one that seems to catch fire halfway to its destination. A plume of roiling flame erupts from his side. Karin is loosed, unleashing a cloud of smoke and flame! He swings the blade in long, sweeping strikes, leaping to and fro between each of the remaining guards. But it would not be 'Gogyo Battou' if he stuck to a single weapon. Long, electric spiderwebs occasionally arc across the burning clouds. Each runner seems to drink in the heat and the flame, building from dull electric blue to blinding white as Reiji strikes! Chirai joins Karin in the attack, its bolts leaping to guards who might be too far out of the way for Karin's slices to reach. He seems to be trying to clear them away from the controls-- to set up a killing field of his own.
Guest Psyber	"I already bought some of those! They're really cool! Do you guys have the ones that make the really loud bang and stun people, or just the deadly explosions?" Psyber calls this up idly, "Which are your favorites? Do you have any of the tubes that shoot pieces of metal using explosions?" "I want one of the ones of those that shoots REALLY far, if you have it!" He bargains boredly.
Duet Fortuna	"Uh..." The men don't know what to make of Psyber, so they just call out, "STAY RIGHT THERE!" Okay, Psyber is distracting SOMEONE but it isn't all that violent at least. Not like how Setsuko is getting bullets going all over the place, huh? Speaking of Setsuko, the shield is starting to dent and wither under the fire pretty quickly. Fortunately, it is just a machine gun, and the goddess of war can handle that fine, can't she? With an explosive burs to divine power, another turrent is taken out. Mordred's foe draws blood. This turns out to be a bad idea, because while he's HEARD of Mordred, he didn't actually know all of Mordred's powers. "Oh, shit," the man says, startled. He's a ranged attacker, and even though he's Blooded - and thus faster and tougher than most - he can't quite manage to dodge the spray of blood that curves toward him and burns into his skin. It's enough that he drops the assault rifle and draws his sword. On the good side... "... you know I can't beat you and neither can they." He scowls, eying the knight. "Will you accept a surrender?" SOME of them have been humbled enough to realize when they're outmatched.
Duet Fortuna	Rabby charges, then slams into one guard, before taking down another to topple them. They are actually pretty decent, but Rabby is more highly-trained still... and they have a bit of a distraction going on right now. One of those distractions is the smoke and flame roaring out from Reiji's arms, the man's weapons cutting through the group with ease. They tumble down and start to... well, 'rally' in the sense of 'they are getting ready for retreat' except... tehre's no where to retreat to. It's kind of a bad day to be a mook here. This is kind of what was expected though. Unfortunate Sakura goes after the tough one, her hand grappling the mace easily and causing him to snarl in anger. His shield comes up and unleashes a massive shockwave of sonic force, blasting through the entire room and also making the building shudder. At least he seems to have the sense to scowl, realizing he can't be using his full power here.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko skids to a stop beside the second emplacement, finding it already destroyed by her ranged technique. But there are still more men on the dam, regardless of the machine guns. More potential threats. Until they have word from below that the floodgates are secured, they need to be dealt with. But the one offering surrender to Mordred gives Setsuko an idea. The demigod draws herself up, standing straight. Putting her full six feet of height to work, locking gazes with anyone - /anyone/ - who dares get close. Letting that aura of 'otherness' about her do the work of intimidation. And then, without saying a word, she draws up Zanjintou into both hands... and with a SNAP and a rush of air, pushes it to assume its full size. "Your ally has the right idea. If you lay down your arms and surrender now, this will go a lot easier for you."
Sakura Haruno	Sonic force at point blank range is not going to be good for Sakura, at least in the short term. The medic stumbles, clearly dizzy from it, and she's not going to have time in the middle of a fight to heal her own hearing. Which is unfortunate, because both eardrums have popped. She's able to keep from passing out or anything owing to that, but.. "I HATE SOUND POWERS." ...She isn't quite sure of her own volume, or able to hear herself speak. Or anything else, for the moment. She manages to regain enough balance, mostly through earth sense, to square herself up and try to punch the blooded square in the jaw, with all the force she can manage. This might be borderline lethal, if he doesn't have defensive powers.
Guest Psyber	Psyber waits right there! He actually just rocks back and forth on his feet and hums a song to himself and puts his hands in his pockets, "Hmm hmmm hmmhmm hmmhm hmhmhmm... hmm hmm it'll soon be here~." He sings to himself boredly. He rocks back and forth on his feet a bit and then looks around. He kicks the barricade, or the gate, and sighs a bit boredly. He might be testing defenses or just keeping that guy occupied. He might be trying to suss out what kind of off-world weapons people are getting.
Mordred	"I don't have a reason to say no," Mordred answers, leveling her sword to her foe's. "But I'd like to see what you can do with that sword first. You get one strike. Come at me with everything you've got, I won't hit back." Mordred stabs her sword into the ground, to make the point. She's hardly defenseless, anyway. She's got all that heavy armor, and her hands if things go south. Her Instinct skill should warn her if she's about to DIE HORRIBLY, anyway, so short of that going off she can take a gutpunch for her amusement and curiosity.
Rabby	Rabby continues to keep the guards entertained while the others do their job. "I've got this, don't worry!" Rabby calls out to her comrades while she continues to keep the guards from causing any trouble for her colleagues. "They should've known better than to mess with us!"
Reiji Arisu	The soldiers are... Well, Reiji has a sneaking suspicion that they WOULD be in full retreat, if they didn't kind of have these guys up against a wall right now. Almost literally, in fact. But he also knows that a cornered rat can easily kill a cat. While he is definitely no feline, right now, taking that risk is sort of... unnecessary. Especially because Reiji has in fact read his Sun Tzu. "Freeze, dirtbags," the special forces member growls, replacing his blades with not one, but TWO guns. One is very obviously a shotgun. The other is a handgun that looks like it wants to be an anti-materiel rifle when it grows up. "I want you guys to put your weapons on the floor and keep your hands in the air. Nice and easy now, and nobody needs to catch a bullet with their lungs." Give a cornered enemy a way to run away, and... Usually they'll go right ahead and go for it. He kind of hopes these guys are smart enough to do that. Especially since he's not the only one with a gun to their metaphorical heads. Now all he needs to do is hope Sakura's got the Blooded thug handled.
Duet Fortuna	It looks like the chaos up atop the dam is really messing things up, but there's some options... too bad those options are all bad ones. Rocket launchers at the dam top are a bad idea! "HEY! STOP THAT!" The man yelling at Psyber is pretty desperate now though, and starting to not really pay attention. The gate at the stairs is sturdy, but not so sturdy supernatural strength can't tear it down with a little time. Setsuko has the right idea. Though they don't surrender, the shooting stops, and there's some shuffling about with wary glares from the troops and bandits that are looking at her. They probably hesitate because they are considering it, but in the meantime there are no bullets flying, so long as Setsuko isn't attacking again. That aura is pretty fearsome. The one fighting Mordred pauses, staring at the knight in uncertainty. "... fine. I know your type, and I understand." Despite being a bandit, there's a grudging respect there, but not something he follows. He'll raise the sword... and it starts to buzz like an insect. A whipping slash turns into an impossible thrust, and Mordred's Instinct will let her know what this guy's trick is. His blade seeks out vulnerabilities and is guided by his power.
Duet Fortuna	Rabby has managed to knock out most of her opponents, laying them out on the ground while Reiji is offering the others and option. Their ears are still ringing, but it's still pretty obvious. That's why several look at one another and reluctantly lower their weapons, leaving it to their leader to take on these much more fearsome foes. This isn't a good idea, but only because this was actually terrible tactics on their part. The Blooded hesitates to use his full power, and thus he is just a little too slow in doing so to counter Sakura's punch. "Da-" CRACK! The fist connects, and the Blooded flies across the room and slams into the far wall. Fortunately he IS much tougher than most, but he's still going to have trouble talking for a while after that. And is out cold.
Guest Psyber	"I'm not doing anything!" Psyber calls back up to the man that he's distracting, clearly lying and actually doing something. He's milling around the main entrance and occupying at least one guy. But he can only faff about for so long before he grips the hammer in both hands and then swings it at the gate. Mid-swing, the rocket on the back of Erinyes kicks in and adds a TON of extra oomph to his strike. He seeks to shatter the gate with a single, withering blow of his cobalt-silver hammer. "Lemme in! I wanna look around, okay?" He managed to make it past the killzone with these negotiations, so that's something.
Sakura Haruno	Flowers will point at the man, saying in a perfectly normal level of voice.. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" Well, okay, completely shouting. She'll turn towards the sort of surrendering guards, not having heard the discussion between Reiji and them, and so threatening needlessly. "AND YOU ALL BETTER SURRENDER TOO!" She'll manage to look very smug and satisfied that this seems to have worked before she even said it, folding her arms and nodding. It's only ruined a little bit by the line of blood trailing out of her ears.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko is slow in her movements. Deliberate. Enough so as to make it clear she's not actually swinging that twelve-foot sword of hers to make an attack. Kind of necessary when you're attempting to intimidate the enemy into surrender. She brings it down, and first and foremost moves it into a single-handed grip. Making it clear that it's not just for show; she can move it around freely, she can support its weight one-armed. "I will offer you only one more chance. Surrender. Or..." Next, she carefully brings Zanjintou's mass around, and points it - right at one particular soldier. Singling him out. "You. Will /you/ continue fighting? Is this worth your life?" She meets his gaze directly. Staring right into his eyes, with nothing but killing intent. Putting one person on the spot has much more impact than addressing the entire group. Let them feel alone, and then when they're the first to fold, the others often aren't far behind.
Mordred	Mordred does indeed feel the blade coming for a chink in her armor-- the heavy plating, by design of having to be flexible, has a few weaker areas where a strong enough thrust could pierce. It's a lot easier to aim there than it would be to catch her head, for instance. Not wishing to be skewered by a man whose power actually lets him threaten her, one of her arms is brought up, the heavy armored gauntlet used like a shield. The sword digs through it, rending the steel open and drawing blood, but as a result would remain lodged in the gauntlet, unable to be guided past it into a weaker, more tender spot. Despite the pain, the blonde Servant just grins at the man. "That's a pretty cool trick. You must have gotten the better of a lot of people with it. A deal's a deal, tell your men to leave and they won't be harmed, on my sword. For you, I'd recommend a change in career. Y'could do a lot better with a power like that, y'know?"
Duet Fortuna	The people up top are... well, they're in bad shape, aren't they? They still have some guns trained on the others, but they're hesitating and a few are already slowly laying their weapons down. It might end up a sudden violent bloodfest but... The capture of the floodgates clinches the matter. There's no leverage now, and the shouts that ring out are a mixture of frustration from some, and surrender from others. This group wasn't ready for a huge number of elite level soldiers coming after them, they expected maybe one or two Blooded.
Setsuko Kaminagi	There's another snap and a rush of air, and Setsuko's blade has returned to the size and form of a standard katana. She returns it to its sheath, and just like that, the undefinable 'pressure' her presence exerts is... well, not gone, but less hostile. She is still 'one who stands above', but there is no hostility to it. "Wise." She won't be leaving just yet, but she does have something of a final remark to make to the men here. "I don't know what this world's justice system holds for you, but... if you have your freedom after this, at least. Soldiers who can adapt so quickly to strange new weapons, are always in demand, in any military force." Much like Mordred, there's respect in her for what they accomplished here, even if they lost. They had a pretty sound strategy here.
Reiji Arisu	Well. With Sakura dispatching their boss, and the rest of the soldiers surrendering their arms, Reiji is going to go right ahead and say that this particular point of interest is well and truly captured. "That's good," he says, nodding towards his new arrestees. "Now, I'm feeling generous, so I'm just going to ask a couple of questions here. One, where are your bosses? And two, where did you guys get these weapons?" There's a beat as Reiji glances over towards Sakura and... Frowns. "...Hirano," he says, even though she probably can't hear him. "Your ears are bleeding." Another beat. Louder, then. "HIRANO, YOUR EARS ARE BLEEDING. YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET THAT CHECKED OUT." Yelling always works, right?