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Kushiko                                      Mars.                                      

In many universes and worlds, it was known as a desolate world, yet possibly a good canidate for terraforming, colonization, etc. The presence of water at some point made it so. Or in some cases, places for demonic hellportals, invasions, and science gone haywire. For the most part, that is not the case here.

For the most part.

The group will arrive here, by transport ship that is Tenno and Lotus-guided so as to alleviate most concerns, having picked up most either by warp gate or other means. The briefing is straight forward: there's a decent number of Grineer recently stationed here in transit to other places, other colonies that they can either terrify, exterminate, or grind under their boot.

That's where you and the Tenno come in.

While this location is undoubtedly arid, it's by no means the kind of atmosphere that's inhospitable, and with the work the Grineer have put in, it's merely gotten uglier instead. The group finds themselves at the top of a natural rock formation, a small plateau upon a mountain of sandy stone. Olive green industrial machinery that can be seen as mining equipment overlooks a hole leading further down into where this Grineer platoon is stationed.

It's quiet, except for the wind kicking up a bit of sand. There's some nearby containers that would be openable with a fair amount of smashing; perhaps credits or other resources, but the way forward is plain: down the hole, and hunting down the Grineer soldiers that lie here. There is also the potential that they may find some of those Fragments that have already been discovered in other locations--strange coalescences of data and thought that were discarded by the Cephalon who tends to Kushiko's own vessel.

<"We would rather not raise an alarm, but if we do, it's no matter."> A faint tone of mirth in her voice, that curiously resonant thing that emanates from the space around her than any actual vocal chords. <"We will not risk being discovered if they're taken out swiftly enough. Watch for any of them trying to fall back, that's usually when they're trying to raise base alarms here.">

The rest of the briefing is fairly simple and straightforward: the description of standard Grineer tactics which rely on attrition and numbers coupled with ambush tactics; units one can expect here range from the standard Lancers, to melee-focused Butchers and Shield Lancers (who are happy to use their shields to close in and make life better for other Grineer approaching: think SWAT-types.) One can expect shotgun-styled weaponss to rifles to close combat blades.

One final note is given to Hellions; not many are expected in caverns and tunnels beneath the surface, but some more open areas are likely to have these: ones that can fly and unleash a rocket barrage while airborne. But they can be relieved violently of their jet packs before they take flight, or while in flight.

One thing's for certain: the Grineer live and die by their armor, their cybernetic augments, though most of those are simply to keep their decayed and degenerated bodies functional thanks to an imperfect cloning process to begin with. It's said the Grineer are better at fixing that which is broken when it comes to that part of themselves. As to Kushiko herself, she's chosen her Mag Warframe to accompany the rest of you. Barring any other questions, she's going to be heading down the nearby access hole; there appears to be cable enough there for people to grab onto and shimmy down, though if people really need it she'll give a little hand for proceeding down into the section of Grineer territory they're at now.
Alexis Maaka     Thankfully, no demonic invasions through inter-dimensional experimentation gone wrong.

    That said, Grigs tend to be their own kind of problem. They lack subtlety or any kind of restraint when it comes to combat, using as big of firepower as possible as they swarm their enemy in bodies and bullets. Whichever side's bodies in this case is of no concern to them.

    Maaka clutches her EM GASH coilgun, in battle-rifle configuration. Its armor piercing capabilities are good enough to puncture the alloy armor of the Grineer and rip the soft bits inside apart.

    She's suited up, loaded for war and ready for battle. She hops off of the dropship gracefully enough, landing in a crouching impact as she clutches her rifle.

    Once she hits the ground, Maaka goes to work. She smashes open the odd container, mostly to pilfer whatever credits and resources she can, before she moves along, covering angles and making sure there's no surprises ahead.

    <"Keep in contact, the Grigs will bury us in their numbers if we get separated. They're not stupid, just simple-minded. That doesn't discount tactical awareness. They won't stop until we kill them, so be thorough."> She advises. <"Go for gaps in their armor, unless you can puncture well enough."> The cyborg clearly speaks from experience, thanks to that operation to the Grineer galleon ages ago, and the fight in the arena.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace steps off the shuttle and looks around. Today, for her heavy-weapon, Leyanne is carrying Mamma Deuce, her M-2 browning heavy machine gun. The usually-vehicle-monted gun is currently strapped to the big ammunition hopper-cum-backpack-and-radio on her back. After a moment looking around, she flips up her helmet's faceplate and takes a handfull of the dirt in her left hand, letting it run through the plastic fingers. After a moment, she takes a pinch and actually tastes it.

Looking up at the inevitable questions or quizzical glances, Leyanne shrugs. "Mars is home." she explains. "I was born under dirt that smells, feels and tastes like this. It's weird being here, on Mars... but not being home. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

She chuckles, then listens to the briefing. At the end, she's only got two questions. "How deep's the hole, and does it go straight down to where we need to go?"
Josuke Higashikata Mars totally counts as 'desert', so Josuke's wearing the same outfit he wears when he visits Brimsteel -- that would be a light chocolate-brown V-neck sweater over a lime green turtleneck, darker brown pants, and light brown shoes. He's wearing two belts, for whatever reason; both are brown leather. And he's wearing gloves, also brown.

Josuke listens to the briefing with a serious look. He really doesn't like the idea of having to kill anybody, really... but it IS a relatively straightforward operation. At least it seems so. There's always the chance this will go pear-shaped on the way through. Though he hopes not.

Well, he's also here for patching up allies who need it, so there's that. And there's always the tried-and-true role of 'meat shield', if all else fails. Though he'd rather not do that since he's not wearing armor himself.

He doesn't really have any need for the credits or resources in the crates -- he doesn't have any cybernetic bits to enhance, and he certainly doesn't have a Warframe to get parts to trick out. Or however that works; Josuke really doesn't know. So he leaves that for whoever else wants them.

Once the others start down, he does too. He looks down from the edge of the hole, hands in his pockets and a thoughtful pout on his face, to see if he can get an accurate measure of how deep it is. Then he merely steps off the edge and drops down. Though before he hits the bottom, Crazy Diamond appears, fingers digging into the sides of the walls to slow Josuke just enough so he can land without injury.
Tomoe Mars, the red planet in some world it was desolate, other it had glowing green space rocks that warped reality, others had motorcycle loving mouse like natives. This one was different. Terraformed albeit desert like? It was fairly livable here all things considered. Tomoe still felt a bit of wonder to be setting foot on mars even if it was an alternate one. Still with the rampaging clone army of the Grineer. Tomoe would still hesitate against many foes but Grineer loyal to the queens? She'd not hold back she knows what would happen if she does not. She seemed to be ready as she could be for this as she has her gear ready.

She'd fall in with Josuke lookjing over his outfit and grinning.

"I should have changed to Eisen for this, a body suit would keep the sand out better but too late now."
Kushiko It's an appreciated thing for Alexis, who has been around here--well, maybe not here? Specifically? No, that's right, the Galleon that time. Her memory's a little funny. But she has fought Grineer, or 'grigs' as Maaka likes to call them. It's oddly endearing to the young girl. She speaks, with an almost disembodied voice as she is wont to do, given the Warframe itself bears no actual mouth to speak.

Not that she advertises this, no.

<"No, it's a pretty easy drop. Fifteen meters, but it'll get us where we need. There's further stairs down from there that lead into the rest of this part of the old settlements that the Grineer appropriated."> Her odd, monocular-dominated head turns to Leyanne, observing that odd little ritual (odd in her mind!); it's entirely possible that she might taste faintly of the grease of Grineer machinery were it elsewhere.

She gives a faint, brief nod towards Josuke; even if it's unspoken, the at times spooky space ninja understands well the preference not to kill, and she can appreciate him being here regardless to help out. Before she herself simply leaps down to follow Alexis, before 'looking' back up to ensure the others are progressing down by one mean or another. A faint, pneumatic hiss could be heard as a door retracted its way open further in.

That sound was enough to make the Tenno spring towards the bottom of the stairs that would lead into the compound proper; enough of a wall was present in the natural 'chimney' the group had managed their way down into for her to cling to one wall at about the same level the group was at.

She gestured, electromagnetic energy seizing the Grineer soldier that had wandered in, a yelp of surprise before smashing into the opposite wall from whence he arrived.

Efficient. <"That's where we're headed. Just a patrol, and we're detecting more Grineer signatures ahead. The soldier looks like he doesn't have much armor on, but armor he does had, his body twisted into a heap by the sudden acceleration of his body--and his own armor used against him in that regard. He's an ugly one though: his face looking sunken, blotchy and corpulent.

And to think, that's how some look /normally/.
Kushiko And as far as that Grineer soldier goes, gripped in his hand is a cleaver-styled blade, the blocky-looking thing with a super heated coil for it's 'edge', which slips from his grip. The acceleration into a sudden stop means his neck wouldn't let him survive the impact, that's for certain.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace ponders; fifteen metres isn't enough for a base jump or any of the more fun ways down. With a soft sigh, she settles for rapelling down instead. Clearing the rope she draws her huge gun, spending a few minutes locking the armoured ammo feed in place and readying the 50-cal. "If I have to fire," she warns. "It'll be loud, and-" She falls silent at the hiss of a door, pulling herself into cover. Of course, there's only so well an 8ft, bright-red-armoured mouse can hide, so she's grateful when the Grineer soldier is smashed into the wall.

Even if the backwash from the electromagnetic surge does make her antennae want to writhe like snakes in love.

After a brief shiver, Tiny has the big cannon aimed at the door. "As I was saying, it'll be loud and echo for a long way underground."
Alexis Maaka     Maaka follows forth, aiming her weapon down the path she heard that hiss from. She sees a Grineer soldier get picked up by Mag's powers, and then flung into a wall. Were she less grizzled, she'd wince. A muttered, wry 'ouch' is her only observation as the Grineer is killed on impact. Maaka carries on, rifle in her hands, and she motions for Leyanne to bring up the rear silently. That big gun is gonna call for all the clearance the Biker Mouse can get.

    Continuing, the cyborg tries to ignore the buzzing from that electromagnetic surge. It's harmless for her and Leyanne, but it might be best to keep clear of Mag next time such a time calls for magnetic shenanigans.

    She'll take point if nobody else does, and Maaka proceeds down the path the Grineer emerged from.
Josuke Higashikata The sound of a door opening has Josuke scrambling for cover. His ranged options are limited after all, so he needs to wait 'till he can make it count. Thankfully Kushiko takes care of it with one of her abilities. It sends a little ghostly 'watched' sensation through Josuke, but he's... if not 'accustomed to' it, expects it.

Once the Grineer is disposed of, Josuke will come out of cover, and make for the fallen Grineer. He does pout at the sight of the ugly thing -- though the expression's half in pity. This must be a lot of genetic screwups with their cloning process, and that's kind of sad to think about really.

But he's not here to mourn a fallen Grineer. He's looking for something else. Seeing the cleaver gets a shake of his head. "Nope," he decides, and remains at the back of the group to advance further into the facility. He'll need to keep his eyes open. Not for the first time, he wishes his Stand had Star Platinum's precision and ability to see down-range. Crazy Diamond's sight range is about 200 feet; Star Platinum can see for miles!
Tomoe Tomoe listen at th idea of a fifteen meter drops half a decade ago she'd paled at that a bit, here she doesn't pale at all she's eager to get going. She moves to head out she says nothing as the Lancer has a vcey bad day. She does not look at what happened to him, she really can't at this point. She does not want to and she moves out with the rest of the group. She leaves the weapon as well she's far better with melee than she is at range.

She is also kepeing with Josuke and she pauses looking around listening for any signs of more Lancers or other enemy troopers who might end up jumping them if they do not pay attention.
Kushiko <"Be as loud as you need, but be as swift as you can. Some will try and trigger an alarm; I can disable those, but it tends to put the rest of this area on alert."> Kushiko advises to Leyanne, dropping down from her recently appropriated perch. She pulls free what looks to be a very /sleek/ looking sniper rifle--called a Lanka--which possesses its own little quirk of being nothing short of a railgun, seeing as it fires it's projectiles via magnetic induction.

Least the weird little pulsing and buzzing doesn't /harm/--which could be just as weirdly unnerving as the fact she's wielding it so casually besides. Something like it should bring harm down on others, but it doesn't.

She herself gives a quick motion to a nearby storage locker; a cylindrical chamber from the look of it, slightly off-balance thanks to the overall uneven terrain here on Mars. Out pops some credits, but perhaps more importantly, what looks to be ammo for a rifle by way of a small, black-grey container. Twenty rounds rest inside, but there's bound to be more, either from fallen Grineer or other containers.

There's a distant sound once the group proceeds into the next area--harsh, almost guttural voices. It sounds a bit... /weird/, to put it gently: "Akre, akre, hu'uus krafe." Which, thanks to the translation effect corresponds to, '"Okay, okay, I'll check."' and some kind of affirmative from another voice.

They've not yet picked up on their fallen comrade who got yanked through the door, though it's clear someone's wanting something checked out. Movement ahead is pretty obviously seen: about a half dozen Grineer soldiers, all in much heavier armor, but from the looks is kitted out to be much more amenable to the arid climates of Mars itself, something which almost resembles Josuke's choice of gear, at least if in a more advanced style.

A pair of them are milling about at an upper level, while one of them is heading further into the compound itself. Another appears to be overlooking a cliff nearby to the immediate left of the group. Curiously, or perhaps less curiously while there is plain to see Grineer handiwork like machinery and the like ever present, it's welded into what has to have been centuries old structures, given to disrepair and the like from lack of maintenance.

Some of these Grineer hold shotgun-looking weapons, some hold rifles, most of which look to be aggressively designed to put it plainly. There's one that looks like he has what has to be a jetpack of some kind, each of the helmeted, faceless Grineer not yet cognizant or aware of the fact there's a storm of murder coming down on them.

And Kushiko? She's got her rifle leveled, a faint charging noise heard as she picks her target and readies for her companions to pick their targets and strike.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace nods as she listens to Kushiko, still shivering at the electromagnetic interference around. She really doesn't like that sensation; her antennae want to writhe and her skeleton is trying to sing at her. It's not fun. She distracts herself by looking at the architecture; the mechanic in her weeps at the state of their machinery. There's centuries of rust here...

Hearing Kushiko's gun charge shakes her out of her revere. She smirks and mutters to herself. "Do, Ray, Egon..."

She looks over the group of Grineer and picks out her target, the guy with the jetpack-looking setup on his back. She relays her plan to the rest of the gang and then braces herself, legs slightl apart... not even bothering to take cover now. When the others open up, or she's noticed (whichever happens first), the big Martian native opens up with Ma Deuce. The big-bore slugs punching through his armour, should they hit, will make as much a mess of him as being slammed into the wall made of the other guy.
Alexis Maaka     Maaka waits for Leyanne to open fire before she herself engages, taking position up high. Her weapon fires with bright blasts of hyper-accelerated slugs aimed towards the Grineer. She shoots with pin-point accuracy, which is more than one can say about the Grineer's average accuracy with weapons. With training and advanced targeting software, she aims for the head or the chest, even trying to disarm (literally) the odd Grineer when she can.

    When she has to reload, she does so while on the move, relocating to new cover to go back to shooting with rapid double-taps. The gun's recoil would be murder on a normal soldier, but for her it's 'Just right.'There's a good reason why it's her favorite gun.
Josuke Higashikata Kushiko opens the locker and Josuke catches sight of he rounds. "Oh. Do you mind if I keep those?" he asks, pointing at the rounds. It may seem odd since he doesn't carry a gun, but he does have use for them. Presuming no one else appropriates them, Josuke will take possession of them, putting them in a pocket. He keeps a couple out, though.

The reason will become clear once they're in range of the next group of Grineer. As the others prepare to open up, Josuke summons his Stand, and tosses a round to Crazy Diamond. He picks a target, aims carefully, and the Stand sends the bullet hurtling towards the Grineer with a solid THUMP of its finger on the firing pin. Somehow this doesn't explode its hand.

He's aiming for what might be considered a pretty vital area, given his aversion to killing -- he's hoping to penetrate the armor and hit the lower spine! The Grineer can't trip an alarm if it can't walk, right? And he can always knock the guy out and fix it.
Tomoe She hears the enemy talking and gets ready, she knows it's time for a fight and she gets not her sword ready today, nope. She's got Moon-cutter her Naginata at the ready to go here. Which is just what she's going to put to use here. She makes ready and as the groups makes to spring into action making to go after the nearest of the Gineer with that she springs forward bounding over any physical obstacles in a way that's very clearly shows the Tenno are not the only Parkour sorts in the party today.

She doesn't say a thing she aims to do this fast, and trying to get their target before he or she can fire off a shot at her. There's really no need to talk really, given how their enemies are...
Kushiko For what it's worth, the sensation from her use of electromagnetic power is one that's quick to pass. The heebie-jeebies, you might well say, for people like Leyanne and Maaka, to say nothing of say, Tomoe or Josuke.

But when they engage, she fires /quick/--one of the soldiers has simply no chance--the Lanka rifle having a little /pulse/ of a noise as it sends the bolt of light shifting from the projectile through a Grineer, shredding armor and instantly dropping him, only a strangled cry that joining the others.

Much as the rifle shots and Crazy Diamond's 'firing' of bullets through the field make things progress rather quickly, though not entirely predictably. When the group starts to engage and open fire, the Hellion, the jetpack-equipped Grineer starts to fire his jetpack to blast himself /out/ of the way of the fact he was being aimed at. He succeeds--partway. Leyanne's shot is indeed true, but when it connects and blasts through, it severs him from his jetpack, making it fly off in crazy, erratic directions, forcing some of the Grineer to try and take cover with even greater expediency.

Thing is, that doesn't help them that much--Tomoe's able to quickly take down her chosen target who had managed to get behind cover. Wild shots whizz past her head before a sickening gurgle of death escapes his throat. On the opposite side of the spectrum, one of those who might've thought about getting to the alarm just /collapses/ thanks to Josuke's tactical use of those bullets, his spine--or whatever was left of it originally--is practically obliterated.

Between that, Alexis making quick work of her own targeted Trooper, the immediate area is quite frankly, policed of active Grineer without much trouble. <"... huh, I see why you wanted that ammo. I like it,"> she remarks approvingly. Reminds her of her own guidance of her bullets afterwards with her own EM control, though that wasn't necessarily done here. At least, not just yet. From the bodies more ammunition could be found; some of it contained in boxes that are color coded--shotgun, rifle, pistol, that kind of thing to be repurposed by whomever actually might pick it up.

Totally not an in-universe way to handle ammunition for multiple types of weapons at any given point, no. Nonetheless, the spine-shattered Grineer is one thing left to deal with, causing the Tenno, once she's actually over where he is, to reach into and pull free a hidden blade he was reaching for before sinking it into him swiftly without any pause. A necessary task.

<"There's more ahead. Let's keep up the pace."> she announces to the others, gesturing to a pathway leading towards the next area here. She lingers here for a little. Something feels off, and she'll head into the next area once the others are through.
Kushiko There's plenty more Grineer to deal with, the subsequent section of the compound a little bit more open than most. Through another circular door, which retracts it's panels like the cut of a pie with a pneumatic hiss. They're not quite underground here, but the hollowed out parts of these elevated areas give the impression of it prety easily.

The group can see more Grineer here, but more important to note is the terrain itself, smoothed and craggy in places, with a deep cleft separating one part of the ground from another. A bridge is made out of a cylindrical construct, welds keeping it from slipping off on either end, with more machinery, lockers and the like dotting the area. There's about a dozen Grineer here, a trio of them closer to the group and at the bridge itself, weapons readied from being on patrol. This time, as the group arrives, there's little chance of them getting the drop. "Get klem!" (Get them!) and other sounds of calling out are quick to come down. More Grineer across the bridge are where Kushiko's focused on, a leap and bound away from the group to land on the cover of the bridge and causing electromagnetic energy to seize on a pair of them--it's pink and luminescent, but as they begin to fire, their own bullets begin coming back around and into them, and within a moment, forcing them to stop at least.

The others however, along the left side of the landmass begin to hustle and look to cover while the trio nearest the group work to spread out, some trying to catch Kushiko's Warframe as she leaps and glides past them before shotguns and rifles spit hot lead towards the others.
Alexis Maaka     Maaka grins behind her visor at Kushiko's Warframe. There may be an emoticon of some kind sent to the Tenno's comm systems to communicate her expression, a ;) before she keeps going.

    She grabs some ammo after the shootout dies down, moving on to the next area. "Grigs up ahead, move!" She takes her own advice, making sure to be a frustrating target for the Grineer as she transitions to her 10mm sidearm, firing rapidly as she slides into a convenient piece of cover carved out into a tunnel. She switches back to her rifle, and opens fire in bursts of rapid-fire, making sure to take out the knees or arms of Grineer before finishing them off with a headshot or blast center mass.

    Again, she's glad the Grineer are terrible shots.
Josuke Higashikata Josuke is prepared to just knock the guy out, but then Kushiko dispatches him. That causes an uncomfortable sound, and he looks away once he's sure that's what she's about to do. But, despite the frown, he doesn't speak up to protest. This isn't his world, and he doesn't know if these guys really ARE beyond help. Besides, they're all just flawed clones, right? So they can't really be actual people, can they?

It's not a concern he wants to mull over right now. He needs to keep his mind on-task. And he really hasn't seen anything that indicates they're much more than indoctrinated zealots. So it wouldn't be much loss, really. Still... it's really not his place to decide someone doesn't get to live anymore. Josuke doesn't want to be like Angelo, even if there's a reason for it.

Besides that, the group is moving forward and he needs to keep up. He still has some ammo left, and picking it up from fallen Grineer with guns should keep him well-stocked. It helps that it doesn't all have to be the same kind of ammunition, since Crazy Diamond can fire anything with a firing pin. He's aiming for disabling shots still, despite knowing that someone else would dispatch the Grineer.

The large open area has Josuke realizing exactly that, almost immediately -- they're not going to have the element of surprise on their side this time. And sure enough, they're called out almost immediately. But this is a more open area, so Crazy Diamond has more room to move. And move it does. Specifically, it picks up Josuke and flings him at the furthest Grineer, with a loud, "DOURRRRA!" Josuke turns in the air, making sure he's aimed feet-first.

This is going to look incredibly strange to anyone who can't see that Stand and isn't aware of what Josuke's capable of -- some kid in brown and green just goes FLYING at the group of Grineer, with a mostly calm expression on his face. Though he's not going to get through the gunfire completely unscathed; he's flying feet-first, and his legs are going to get grazed. That's kind of why he turned, because he didn't want to get hit in the head. He kind of needs that to stay unharmed.

But as soon as he's close enough, he re-summons his Stand -- as close to the Grineer as he can manage -- and unleashes a barrage of lightning-fast punches. That too should look pretty freaky if someone's not aware of his abilities.
Tomoe Tomoe does get a bit of static on the HUD for a moment more or less it's troubling but she has faith that Kuskiko won't do anything that would drop her out of being Tomoe the Iron Lily and back into being Sheena Armstrong. She keeps fighting as Tomoe takes down her target, they had managed to get past cover and she tries to not think about what she's done it's never easy for her, and the day it does become easy? That's the day she'll need to settle down and /stop/ being a force in the multiverse. She does not move to make the target suffer she's trying to quick take down kills but it doesn't take long to clear thing out for the moment with their allies. Josuke's trick is notice and much like Maaka she's impressed by it.

"Didn't expect that Josuke."

with that she'll keep moving without looking back as they move to deal with the further enemy troops. She keeps moving and soon she'll fins that she's now in dealing with the Lancers and the rest attacking she's quick to move using the terrain again bouncing about as she attempts to get closer but rather than go for melee this time? She starts chanting, gold runes dance about her body and her wings flare out as she takes flight for a brief moment then the light rays start to rain down on the Grineer in the area as Tomoe lets lose an AOE attack but she may be exposed if any of the enemy can land some shots on her.
Kushiko Everything is actually going pretty darn well for what it's worth; the group technically, proverbially being put through their paces with this Grineer platoon that thankfully, they're finding in parts and pieces to be made into /more/ parts and pieces. Though with this dozen or so here, it's likely they may find even more put together. And here, they can actually fight reasonably well. They're horribly, terribly outmatched by the Elites present however.

Mind you, /some/ people might well get hit by the shots. Heck, Kushiko herself takes a shot, a luminescent blue flickering as Void-fueled shields ablate the blow. The Grineer themselves that've funneled into the area quickly move to pieces of cover; one of them deploying a temporary cover, the device inflating then hardening in order to fire upon others. Another notable (relatively) Grineer is a shield-wielding Lancer who's trying to keep his shield up and trying to stop incoming fire near him and the two rifle-wielding Grineer behind him.

It would help if something being fired at him was a bullet, and not a person. "Mar'ka Tenno skoom?!" is the only thing he has a chance of blurting out before Josuke's able to bring his feet down, summarily knocking him down /hard/--not killing him, but definitely more impact than he's used to, stunning him. And the Lancers with him, because you know, they were using him as cover. Talk about making an impact all the same. With Crazy Diamond out, the two accompanying Grineer are being savagely pummeled, and soon removed from the fight. Tomoe has herself a /swell/ time, being confused for a Tenno as well given her actions, but any chance of them reporting it is left to guessing as she subjects Grineer to further calamity that the group, as a whole have been doing--some of those light rays falling into the bubble of magnetic energy she made and causing further electromagnetic damage to the Grineer, causing armor to rupture internally and kill them from within.

With Alexis and Leyanne laying down cover fire and taking down their share of Grineer, Tomoe and Josuke are given some relief saved from having to deal with further fire--she saw them and with another gesture, energy roiling through her hand and /pulsing/ once, the offending Grineer are enveloped in a bubble of that same energy. Energy that she charges, and fires a single round through. These Grineer are subjected to that bullet accelerating through it--and then slicing through as the Grineer are tugged into the center, electromagnetic force allowing that railgun shot to keep going and going until the bullet is nothing, and its literal chunks of Grineer being suspended by the remaining force she brought into being.
Kushiko Once the group is dispatched, it seems like it would be time to head onto the next area, as more Grineer signatures--and probably a bit more alert--could be detected. It would be time, except for one tiny, worrisome problem.

            Shadows descend.

It's a whorl of ... /something/ at the edges of sensation. Cybernetics, extra sensory vision, all of it is cast in blood red shadow. The sound that's heard is something that is /felt/ as much as it's actually heard, pulsating through the area around the group, but most focused on the Tenno herself.

                     There is no salvation for your crimes                      

That is a masculine voice, tinged with righteous, otherworldly furor that's quite capable of setting just about anyone on edge, including Kushiko herself, and she hisses, <"Stalker!"> That's all the name she can give for it, before looking to the others, <"Get out of here, quickly. Head through there. He's here for me."> No need to involve others, is her feeling. Tomoe, Leyanne, Alexis and Josuke have a smattering of time to actually get through that door leading out of this area. Mag-Kushiko herself has swapped to a pair of pistol-looking weapons; she's not expecting to use her Lanka for this, that's to be certain as she steadies herself in as much 'open' terrain, away from the bridge as she can. The shadows pulse, they race, they dance as she 'looks', as much as something eyeless can really 'look', and hoping the others adhere to her request.

That's probably not gonna happen, is it?
Alexis Maaka     Maaka is quick to reload and top off mags when the fight dies down again. She is quick to provide suppression fire in between sniper accurate shots. She keeps going, raiding what supplies she can before moving on. It's only when she notices some more distortion that she begins to get on edge. <"That you, Kushiko?"> She asks, before suddenly everything goes DARK.

    Dark in the middle of daylight on Mars.

    Suddenly, Stalker. Maaka tenses up, her rifle aimed just about everywhere, especially as it whispers into what feels like her very soul. It leaves her shivering with that fight-or-flight reflex that still remains in the lizard part of her brain, and she's awfully tempted to book it and continue with the mission.

    <"Don't think he's gonna be so willing to let us out of this."> is her response, but she begins to head for the doorway, first there and last through once the others head in. Or do they?
Josuke Higashikata Josuke spares a moment to send a thumbs-up and a grin at Tomoe. "He didn't either," he remarks, meaning the Grineer who got feet then a full fist flurry face-rearranging. Is it odd that he'd so easily pummel the Grineer senseless, after seeming upset that the one he'd disabled back there had been dispatched? Still, it's nothing he can't fix later. Which is kind of the threshold -- he can't fix dead.

Though he does wince a bit at the chunky stew Kushiko's made of a group of them. But he gives a thumbsup nonetheless. She was helping him too, and he's not going to be a butt about accepting help when it results in death. He really doesn't know what these guys have done to Kushiko and her in-universe allies, so he isn't about to make any judgements about her actions. Josuke is, in fact, probably the only one here who isn't a trained soldier in some way -- even if, perhaps in Tomoe's case, it was the School of Hard Knocks -- so... well, he doesn't have the right to complain and he knows it.

Suddenly everything goes red. "Wha...?!" Josuke looks around, more than a little disturbed. Particularly at those words that he can feel as much as he can hear. Maybe MORE than he can hear them. Stalker, Kushiko calls it. But she's expecting them to just leave her here? If it's enough of a problem that she doesn't want them involved, he reasons, it's also enough of a problem that she'll probably need help. Also Maaka's probably right.

So he'll form up with Kushiko, keeping himself and his Stand so he can visually cover more angles than he could alone. "She's got a point," he notes. "What makes you think it'll let us go? Besides, I'm not leaving you here against something that's got you this worried!" Yes, he is a stupid kid, yes he is hot-blooded shounen. But he also considers Kushiko a friend, and he's not about to leave her to face this alone.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace blinks and looks around as everything goes red. She scowls, looking around for the source of the... sensation. When Kushiko tells them all to leave, she laughs. "Aw hell naw." She replies. "That's not the way I roll. We leave together, or we stay here for good." She nods at Josuke's words. "What he said. We're clearly with you and something that uses... words and feelings like this doesn't tend to like leaving witnesses."

She moves up to stand next to the Tenno, towering over her slightly in her red armour, sweeping the big muzzle of Ma Deuce across the shadows.

"Josuke and Alexis have you pegged as the right sort. They're better at judging that sort of thing than me, so if they say you're cool... anything that wants to 'judge' you for anything, outside of a fair public trial, it's going to have to come through me."
Tomoe Tomoe just keeps going as she's mistaken for a tenno due to her lethal light show is let lose but it's far from over, some of the enemy are far enough away to not be instantly taken out by the combined attack. She has hopefully drawn some fire here. It's good she's got some time to breath thanks to hjer allies as she has taklen some hits in the crazy ass crossfire her body is showing wireframes in varous impact sites and she's not looking to be too happy about it. Still she's got time to get to cover and take breather but it seems the battle would end for the moment. Then something else happens something isn't right here as Kushiko state the name of their hunter. It's time go go and she halts.

"Like hell I'm leaving you Kusiko!"

Someone has forgot about just how the Tenno works in the heat of the battle. She readies her naginiate.

"I don't know who you are Stalker but I lost enough friends as it is in my life I'm not about to let y ou gank another."

With that she's going to attempt to form up ion Kuskiko and give her more support as she covers at least one of the vectors of attack ready, waiting as she tries to figure out where this Stalker is.

"Josuke keep your heals focused on Kusiko if it comes to it. "

Tomoe is more in Josuke's boat than he might know, she's just got experiance the hard way.
Kushiko For what it's worth, Kushiko's not inclined to make Josuke have to suffer too much from the viscerality of it all. She's not going to rub his nose in it; if anything, she'd rather have him come to his own conclusion and deal with what he's seeing here according to his own convictions, than any other. Who knows, maybe a little kindheartedness will do the Origin System as a whole a good thing.

Nonetheless, between Alexis and Josuke, Tomoe and Leyanne contemplating, and discussing this... well. She'd smile a little if she could demonstrate it properly. There's just enough delay, enough talk--and the doors, both leading into here and leading out of here lock down. Hard. The shadows flicker again, crimson intermingling with the black before it stops once again with four simple words:

                              I am your reckoning!                              

And then he was there. This... figure. Kneeling, at first. The smoke that tinged at the senses, the onyx black abyss /bleeds/ off this figure when he manifests. Resonating noise follows in his arrival--and as the shadow clears, he rises.

It's another Warframe.

At least, as much as one can say it is. There's a design similarity, that technorganic 'skin' similar to Kushiko's own Mag, but this is much more different. Adorning his shoulders, his chest, his legs are strangely alien pieces that could be some kind of bone were it not for the light glowering and flickering in a bizarre pattern. Piercing light from his chest as a wicked greatsword coalesces into his hand, following the motif of this bizarre technorganic ascetic.

Immediately, he sets upon Kushiko, swinging that massive blade at her--nowhere near her, but there's reason for that, because great arcs of energy scythe towards her as she has to immediately fall back, one of them catching her and causing an explosion of shielding light. She fired--something, but it scarcely had a chance to strike true.

Retribution and murder roll off him like a cold smoke, the kind of presence that is focused certainly on Mag, on Kushiko, but radiates across the area to everyone present.
Alexis Maaka     Maaka's heart skips a beat as she sees Stalker arrive. It's a ghost of death and vengeance come for retribution alright. That sword is -huge-, and definitely something she doesn't want to get hit by. She dodges to evade that energy slash, narrowly avoiding being cut in half as she tucks and rolls. Maaka takes aim with the coilgun, and she lets off a burst of fire at Stalker. She has no idea if it'll work, but dammit it's worth a try.
Leyanne Leyanne doesn't give him time for a speech, or anything like that; as soon as he's visible, her gun muzzle is swinging around towards him. She opens fire as soon as she has a target - the bullets passing the first energy-wave at about the half-way point. The mouse doesn't move as the energy scythes towards Kushiko, leaning into it slightly only to get blasted back, the pauldron protecting her cybernetic shoulder whirling away into the darkness.

"Aw hell naw." She repeats, picking herself up and spitting blood from where she bit her lip under the impact.

After a brief check of the M2 she resumes opening fire, hoping to provide suppresive fire for the others while also attacking with the full multilingual force of all the insults and cusswords she's learned since arriving on Earth, and a few from elsewhere in the multiverse.
Josuke Higashikata Josuke nods to Tomoe's words. "Right!" he agrees. That seems like a good strategy, if this 'Stalker' thing is focused on Kushiko. Maybe if he can avoid drawing any aggro from it, he can act as a proper medic should Kushiko -- or anyone else -- need it.

He tenses as the doors lock. "Here it comes..." he says quietly. Gritting his teeth, trying to shake off the feeling of being a rat caught in a trap, he waits. And then... there it is. It's...

His eyes go wide. "It... it's a... Warframe?" He doesn't want to use Kushiko's name in front of this thing. But his mind whirls. A Warframe? Like Kushiko? Is this what would happen if the Grineer got their hands on Kushiko? Or is this something else?

He doesn't have much more time to consider, because the thing is beginning its attack. It's focused at Kushiko, but he's reasonably close by. So he too dodges, letting his Stand disappear for now and leaping into a roll.

Once he's safe though, he turns again, re-summoning his Stand and tossing a bullet up into its hands. He's shooting at it now, Crazy Diamond using those bullets. And still he's aiming for disabling shots. In this case, he's aiming for the elbow that sword is in, hoping this 'Stalker' will drop it.
Tomoe She waits it's something like out of a horror movie she has no idea who the Stalker is untiol another warframe shows up. That is not what she was expecting as the Stalker appears before them all. She will look at the waframe for half a second then she's able to act attempting to intercept the attack and get into melee with them. In the back of her mind she's flashing back to a the leader of the Laughing Coffin guild.

There's just something about this but she's now getting up close with someone who can threaten a squad of four tenno. This is not going to be good for her.

Josuke is on board and this is a good thing too they may very well end up needing it as the battle is in full swing but it seems Tomoe is intend to protect Kushiko at the expense of herself.
Kushiko It's... both a good and bad idea. If you can endure it, getting close with the Stalker might not be a bad idea. On the other hand, it's possibly a /really/ bad idea, such as one Tomoe finds out when energy rolls off his body and into crushing /swing/ of that prong-styled greatsword, War. The kind of blow that would send her flying given the blunt side to it as he does not intend to let her get in his way.

Chillingly, in spite of his rasping speech not moments prior, the Stalker is silent in all things. The explosions caused by Leyanne's ordanance seem to be doing /some/ kind of damage, much the same as Alexis' bullet barrage seems to do. His dogged pursuit of Kushiko in this regard is mired by their combined influence as the figure's intention to visit yet more damaging attacks on her is interrupted fully by Josuke's added use of his improvised gunfire.

And then just as they unleash their focused onslaught, he suddenly stops. Energy wreathes around him at his feet like a funnel--defensively, it has the side effect of keeping Josuke from having the effect he'd desire to try and disarm him. He suddenly throws his sword into the ground, somersaulting onto it with his arms folded. <"Nngh, look out, he's adapting--Sentient--!"> That is Kushiko's voice, the Warframe picking herself up off the ground from the smashing of energy into her.

That's about when he back flips off of it--and unleashes a barrage of what look like energy balls, feathering them in all directions towards the group--himself suddenly hurtling forward with another wreathing of energy right at the Tenno! This time, she's a bit more prepared; cartwheeling to one side and unleashing a double dose of bolts from her sidearms, like piercing slugs or darts as she dodges out of the way at least, but not without looking to the others, <"Keep moving, and don't let him get close!"> Considering what just happened, it's an entirely valid thing to be said. At the very least he seems to be taking /some/ kind of damage still, but the piercing and rending aspects of bullets are going to be a bit more reduced here.
Josuke Higashikata Fortunately Josuke's got some distance on the Stalker. Unfortunately, Crazy Diamond is holding ammunition, and Josuke would rather not have that struck by the energy. It might blow up, and then Josuke could lose a hand. That would be unfortunate, since he can't fix himself if he gets hurt. So he needs a moment to get that back in his pocket, and it's too close to dodge. So instand the Stand turns, and draws back its hand.

"DOURRRA!"

He's not trying to punch the energy ball, no. The golden-orange aura around the Stand's body shows he's trying to do something else. He's trying to FIX the energy. ALL of it. Well, return it to a previous state -- as in, 'before the energy ball was fired at him'.

If this fails, he's going to get blasted, and he knows it. But if it works, it SHOULD attract the rest of the energy to it, and then -- hopefully -- back to the Stalker. He has no idea how that will work, or even IF it will. But the only difference between a bright idea and a stupid one is whether it works or not...
Alexis Maaka     Maaka's rounds do very little. No matter how much the team throws at this guy, the Stalker is just muscling through. She's never seen anything this effective at defense, with how the Stalker adapts to the damage it's enduring.

    One last burst, and Maaka runs, holding out her arm as she fires a spike at the rogue Warframe, her gauntlet opening up along with her arm to reveal the launcher briefly. The spike, should it hit Stalker, explodes a few seconds after planting itself into his chest. That might or might not do anything useful.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace really doesn't like this guy. She dives aside from the energy balls sent her way, not wanting to take a second. She rolls behind cover and stands, bracing Ma Deuce against it and resuming her onslaught of fire. He might be taking less damage from the bullets but this is an M2 heavy machine gun. Each piece of copper-jacketed lead weighs over two ounces, and it's moving well over twice the speed of sound at this close range. Sir Isaac is, for once, on Leyanne's side.

"Yeah that all you got?" She taunts. "C'mon, stop trying to hit me and HIT ME!"
Tomoe Tomoe finds out as she gets upp close and personal as he produce shis sword war, she's got the reach from her Naganita but not by much with this. The impact comes she's hit hard so hard the entire side of her body where she's hit warps, wireframes and is force back from the flow his way is open but she's slowed him down for a bit, It's also got her out of the line of fire from her allies heavy weapons fire she's slowly getting back up wobbling a bit.

"..."

She has nothing to say as she moves back in picking up speed and launches into a sword art for her spear.

"LUNAR REQUIEM!"

Shotus the Iron Lily as s she comes in like lighting several lighting quick strikes come then the attacks speed up to the point they blur...
Kushiko Adaptation is the key here. Both using it for and against the Stalker. Sentient technology gifted to him, enhancing him by the Sentient Hunhow. Not that Kushiko has the time to talk this out with any of them right now, though she certainly will have to find the time itself.

Miraculously, what Josuke does manages to impossibly /work/. Or at least, start to work. The Tenno senses it, that Sentient energy being 'reverted' from that weaponized aspect, something that keens deeply within her core. What Josuke does is effectively neutralizing the attack itself in a way that gives even the Stalker pause for a moment.

He does not, however, get the chance to question it, not in full.

Sound, sound that is felt once more resonates across the field. Kushiko's Warframe abruptly drops to the ground, slumped on her knees like a puppet with her strings cut. But when that happens, something... /emerges/, like being pulled through an event horizon, sieved through a singular point, before unfolding--and it's a girl. She had to have been made of energy, to come out of the Warframe like she did then.

The small details--a face, scarred around the eyes. Embedded, smooth pieces of metal marring an otherwise youthful face. Orchid purple color in her her hair, lilac eyes glowering with power. Power that sets everyone on edge. Including the Stalker, his countenance shifting noticably when she appears. But she doesn't just appear--she floats--and the air itself seems to contract before a luminescent beam hurtles from her chest as she unleashes her true power.

The beam is blinding if one looks too close at it. But she fires it in such a way that it coalesces with the orbs that Josuke had managed to revert into that sentient energy state. Combined in such a way, when the beam strikes the Stalker, there's an audible *shattering* noise. It makes the glowering Sentient armor seem to flicker and flash angrily as he staggers--the spike from Alexis' weapon landing true, breaking apart the shoulder armor. Then the shot from Leyanne's ma deuce, approrpiately breaking the other shoulder fragment, making him drop to his knees.

Just in time for Tomoe's sword art to impale him from behind, breaking that chest armor gilding his front. From this there is a /horrible/ screeching noise, blood rushing from the chest of the Stalker as the spear lands true, and he's impaled to the ground. What have you... done?! That's all he can even manage to say. It's hard to say /who/ it's leveled at.

But as he says this, energy and light seep from the surroundings, and the figure disappears, leaving Tomoe looking, unfortunately only at fragments of Sentient armoring, her spear casting an angry red blotch in the sands of Mars. It's over...

...for now.
Leyanne Leyanne Mace saunters over to Maaka and Josuke for a fistbump. "We came, we saw, we kicked his ass!" she declares cheerfully, fistbumping anyone else who's nearby. She pauses, finally getting a look at Kushiko. Her friends will see the confusion and concern on her face; her ears and antennae seem to wilt in such a way that screams, louder than any words ever could. "They put /kids/ in those things?"
Alexis Maaka     Maaka stares in befuddlement, just as Kushiko somehow -forms- into the scene. She sees...just a kid, barely more than fifteen, firing some kind of ethereal space lasers directly on the Stalker. After finishing it off, there's a dead silence, that eerie feeling of 'we won but did we?'

    There's a lot of things that were revealed today. And she isn't sure if it'll -ever- be explained.

    Also she returns Mace's fistbump, but distractedly.
Tomoe Tomoe comes out of being in battle mode as she catches Talker from behind she's not sure if he's talking to her ort someone else and she odds not care but she's managed to stop him with some serious major help. She pauses looking at the strange armoring for a moment as she kneels down holding her spear in one hand while picking up a fragment iwoth another and then looks over ot everyone else.

"What the hell was this Stalker, he had a warframe..."
Josuke Higashikata Josuke does not expect this to work. He expects to take a full-force blast from an exploding energy ball that moved too fast, or with too much force for his restoration abilities to contain and revert. However, when it DOES start to work, Josuke calls out at the Stalker, "''Oi!'' I think you dropped something!"

Though he's... not quite expecting what happens next. Kushiko sort of... collapses. But before he can make to head over to her and assist... something ELSE appears. A young teenager -- maybe his age, maybe a little younger -- appears, as though being pulled through a tiny pinhole in reality. Immediately Josuke is uncomfortable -- whatever power she's using, it's... it's not natural, and he can feel it. Primal fear urges him to flee. But he stands his ground.

...Well out of the way, of course...

The blast she uses interacts with the energy that he'd reverted the Stalker's energy attack into. It's chaos for a few seconds then, and Josuke's forced to shield his eyes from the beam. It hurts in a way that he can't fully blame on its brightness. Once it disappears he looks again, to see the Stalker disappearing.

He breathes a sigh of relief. "...I really didn't expect that to work. I'm glad it did, though..." He turns away from the blotch, to see Leyanne. And he gives a small smile -- what he's just seen, and felt, from Kushiko is still worrying. "''Yatta''," he agrees, returning the fistbump. Translating to 'we did it' or 'it's done'.

He is, however, worried about Kushiko, and heads over in her direction. Hesitantly, because he doesn't know if she's still Doing That Weird Thing. "...Kushiko... are you all right...?" he asks quietly.
Kushiko <"... yes."> That's the first words spoken after she seems to warp /back/ into the Warframe, the Mag rising back to life as if nothing happened, though plenty has. <"... I don't know about him. But I didn't even know who I was until he tried to kill me."> Which says plenty about the Stalker. Was he aware he was someone like Kushiko? Was it that which he hated? There's plenty of questions that can be leveled here.

<"It's complicated and a story that we can go over later once we're out of here. My Warframe saved me before. This time, I suppose it's me helping to save her and everyone else I can."> She heaves a sigh, before moving over to Josuke, reaching for his arm, halfway to shake his hand as it were. <"Yeah... I'll be alright."> It's a weird thing, the way she switches sometimes between that 'royal we' and speaking as a person.

Mag's gilded dome flickers a little bit more. <"Should ask if you're okay yourself... what I am doesn't seem to feel that good to you, does it?"> There's an audible smile in her voice, back to it's disembodied state that it oft is. She reaches, checking for Tomoe and then Alexis and Leyanne. They may be looking at her differently, but not the way she knows she's once been looked at before. <"Let's get out of here. There's questions better answered elsewhere.">
Leyanne Leyanne Mace is still pointing her smoking M2 at what's left of Stalker. She blinks at Kushiko's comment "Hm? Yeah, let's." She agrees, slinging the gun up onto her backpack again. She seems subdued, less brash and raucious than normal.
Josuke Higashikata If there's a handshake happening with Kushiko, Josuke's good for it, and will actually return it. It's a way to show her that he has no hard feelings for that whole 'void' thing, and that it's not HER he's afraid of, but the power. Though at the mention of that strange power not feeling good to them, he does something odd for a Japanese kid. He admits, "It... felt really unnatural, yeah. I don't remember ever feeling that kind of fear before." It's true. He wasn't even as afraid of Angelo. All Angelo could have done was kill him. This... somehow felt like the consequences could somehow be worse...

"But I'm OK, though!" he's quick to assure, brightly. And Kushiko has a point. This isn't the place for long explanations, though he'd heard some of it over the radio -- child soldiers. That's always a bad thing. He knows he's been lucky so far, even with his own world. Even discovering his grandfather dead... most of the damage was internal. He can't imagine what Kushiko's been through, the things she's seen, in her world, because of the Orokin.

Still. Escape first, explanations later. "Good idea," he notes. And on the way back, in the craft, Josuke will offer to help heal anybody who did get hurt. Leyanne might even get her pauldron back if he tries to fix her armor. With luck it'll smack a Grineer on the way out...
Tomoe Tomoe nods to the tenno and says "Yes, I'd like to get somewhere safe so I can ... transform." She notes she needs to get injuries tended to after all. "Hey josuke I'll need you help once we do get somewhere safe."