This is handler, and, I suppose now PR representative, callsign Volk. I've been selected to staff the official Eschaton PR account. We are a corporation based on the planet Prospero, specializing in megafauna control equipment and weaponry. We have previously worked alongside @corsair-news-alliance's Grunt Works division.
I myself am a decorated former control specialist, called a Jaeger, now retired to work as a handler. Currently under my purview is emergency response for Attica City and the newly-formed division consisting of @hot-claws-420 and @average-tbk-enjoyer.
We welcome all questions directed to this account, and look forward to supplying the wider galaxy from now on. Print codes and licenses for our frames are linked below. Enjoy.
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i know im not fit 2 pilot rite now. nurse said i wont be 4 a wile. Sunny didnt wanna say it buy i know she agreed...
i wont fite it. thatd b stuoid. ive been on iv drip for months. i can barly stand. i hav 2 adjust 2 prosthetics. its just 2 much im in no state... and itll take time to build me a new mech anyway cause she has 2 b PERFECT.
but i hav to help sumhow. i hav to protect peopl i hav 2 do SUMTHING.
let me train as a handler. i wanna take care of a squad and i wanna b head of their engineering team as well wen im recovered enuff. its the only thing i can think of. and im alredy tryin 2 help Styx out. the skills i learn vould help me their 2.
I see.
Well. You'll be happy with what I'm about to say, I think.
Upon consultation with your medical team, and the other handlers of Attica, we have decided that you are now in sound enough mind to begin handler training. You'll be sitting in on missions and advising until you get your full qualifications.
We all wish you luck, Sally. I'll help in any way I can.
Heya. Remember me? I was told you folks handle the pilots on Prospero or something.
Anyway.
Can you people please calm down?! It's not like I'm even eating anyone, just. Damn.
[TriggerHappy.omf]
[Somehow extracted from the Jaeger she was fighting, it contains footage of a standard kaiju hunt; on the return journey, the pilot sees an unknown kaiju in the trees. Stalking them. Something odd happens to its image and the kaiju is half a click closer. Panicking, the Jaeger opens fire, the kaiju roars, and next frame they're tumbling in the dirt, before finally the beast manages to rip off the weapons - or more precisely, cut off, it's claws long and rippling with blue heat.]
I WAS JUST CURIOUS AND THEY SHOT ME!
Do I report this to anyone?!
>> Ah, Styx. One of the pilots on Exarch's mission.
>> I had hoped there wouldn't be an incident like this quite so soon, but I suppose it was bound to happen at some point. There are more than a few Jaegers who are a bit... Trigger happy, and need to be kept in check.
>> I've pulled their callsign and IFF data, I'll forward it to their handler. I can't say exactly what will happen in the way of disciplinary action, as that's not one of my pilots, but you'll likely recieve an apology from either the pilot or their handler.
Volk, It's Moira, I was looking at some of your offerings out of curiosity, and...
I have no words for that thing you call a linear railcannon. If I wasn't scared it would rip either of my mechs appart I would want to try that thing in a heart beat.
How the fuck do you handle that recoil?
@the-wailing
>> Ah, the Overhaul. One of our premier artillery pieces. One of my favorites actually, I'd have mounted one on my Cataphract if i could have.
>> The short answer is you don't. In a frame like yours, my best idea would be lock yourself down for a few seconds and fire it like stationary artillery.
>> The Falchion is specifically equipped to handle it, anything short of that and you're better off planting yourself against something bigger that can handle it.
>> If you do end up trying it, send us the footage and black box data for R&D. We'll cover any needed mech repairs.
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[I... WAS ABLE TO PRESERVE {SLAG KITTY}'S MISSION RECORDING FROM BEFORE MY CASKET WAS {EJECTED}. WHAT FOLLOWED... I MANAGED TO COBBLE TOGETHER FROM SECURITY FOOTAGE. IT IS NOT A PLEASANT THING THAT HAS HAPPENED, BUT IT MUST BE {KNOWN}.}
...<beginning video/audio playback>
...<uploading sensory input data>
[The viewer stares through SLAG KITTY's eyes, charging through lush vegetation, colossal treeline blocking view of the city. But blood. The scent of blood is heavy. So heavy...]
Achaea City Jaeger Dispatch: All Jaegers reinforce the western gate! Kaiju swarm the incomplete walls! All Jaegers reinforce! THEY CANNOT ENTER THE CITY. REPEAT: HOLD THE LINE. THEY CANNOT ENTER ACHAEA.
[Heavier still are the paws that slam themselves into the dirt, throwing the body of the mech forward with all the force they can muster. SLAG KITTY bounds back from its patrol with deadly speed, firing off its displacer into the trees every time its reactor begins to cool to maintain its rocket-like propulsion on all fours.]
[On comms, Sunny and XIII-E exchange chatter over the health of the pilot, monitoring every change, every heartbeat.]
[SLAG KITTY breaks the treeline. Before even the walls come into view, a beast does. An Achaen hound. The same species that the Jaegers scattered on their initial deployment here. Same as the ones that menaced Argos and company's scout ship some two weeks prior.]
[It is recognizable in the first second it is visible, and a piece of it is gone the next. A blink of heat from Lion's Breath and the lithe, reptilian creature screeches in mourning of the loss of a leg. SINGED answers its cry. The lesser beasts of Prospero don't speak Union Standard, but Luckily, SINGED is bilingual.]
SINGED: rrrrrAAAAAAAAAGGHAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!
[When the mech's paws reach the four-eyed kaiju, they pull from its middle outwards. Its scream only lasts for the second the bifurcation does. As two slabs of meat are torn to either side the apex rockets ever forward, as if throwing herself full force through the world's wettest screen door.]
Sunny: [KILL CONFIRMED, {PILOT}.]
[The walls enter view as the enkidu exits the other side of the creature. As do other size schedule one kaiju. In thin numbers they scatter as hyenas before a lion. Some, across the wide field, flee back into the treeline at the sight. But one. One slinks around a corner of the walls. SINGED pursues.]
[Its medics' discussions amongst themselves are something that the monster tunes to only partially in its focused, blood-raged state. It hears their voices and takes comfort from them, but unless addressed directly, a loyal hunting beast needs not understand every word from its loving vets. When directly addressed, though, this changes.]
XIII-E: Callsign: SINGED WHISKERS, the shortest route to the western gate is in the other direction. Getting distracted?
[Their voice is a gentle poke. A friendly tug in another direction. The beast explains itself, slowing pursuit but not stopping.]
SINGED: grrrrr... wheres its pack? prey hunts in packs... weird! chase!
XIII-E: That is unusual. Sunny?
SUNNY: [INFORMING HANDLER... REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION TO DIVERT... AUTHORIZATION RECEIVED. WE TRUST MY PILOT'S {INSTINCTS}.]
XIII-E: Go get 'em, tiger!
[With permission and encouragement, SLAG KITTY bolts forward with renewed vigor.]
[The cheetah was the fastest animal to share Cradle with humanity. It lacked the retractable claws of other cats, allowing it extra traction while running at the expense of dulling its claws against the ground. An enkidu's plasma talons do not run the risk of dulling. SLAG KITTY's speed is terrifying for a mech of that size.]
[The lone Achaean hound maintains distance only just. Exactly as SINGED planned. It leads her just where she hoped it would. Its pack.]
[An incomplete section of the east wall is ripped and torn through, a hole in Achaea's defenses for predators to slip past while the bulk of the Jaegers fight in front. Clearly, the hounds are smarter than Eschaton could have known.]
[The scent in the air is heavy with blood and oil. Mechs and infantry are splayed out in a gruesome gallery; the rear guard left on this section of wall was eviscerated before they could call for reinforcements.]
Sunny: [THIS IS {BAD}. INFORMING {COMMAND}.]
[Sally's mind becomes a battleground for a century that takes place within a second. The bodies, the blood, the half eaten human beings. Her comrades. So many corpses... Fury and hate fuel her. Vengeance. She HAS to have VENGEANCE. But. Fear. Not fear of these weakling kaiju. Of her own goodness. Her programing fights against her. Agoge orders in the back of her mind, "Stop. Caring. Close your heart and fight." As quickly as the hesitation arrived it is burned away. The agony and the fire and the blood of these people... it smothers Agoge. It suffocates her training, crushes it beneath love and hate and righteous agony.]
[The faces of the dead look to her in what feels like a final plea. She obliges.]
[A mad and baleful rocket, it sprints after the lesser beast, now reunited with its pack. One city block is as far as they have gotten inside, but it's far enough for the lion to hear the screams. Pleading. Begging. Crying. Not soldiers this time.]
[The fury burns her eyes so badly that hot tears sear lines down her cheeks. She watches a man scream and squeal for his poor, tiny life as a maw gingerly lifts him by a bleeding arm. No. She won't allow this. No one. Nothing. Gets to do this on HER watch. RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.]
[The man drops to the ground and scrambles back as the greater monster digs its fingers into the jaws of the lesser, wrenching them open wide, freeing his arm. The smaller beast, the almost-killer, squirms and growls and writhes as the larger doesn't stop at just opening the maw. It bends. Then Breaks. Then tears. No one ever said an enkidu could only bifurcate on one axis.]
[SINGED lunges still forward, and by now the pack has taken notice. Their head pull upward from their terrified meals, and the ones already made corpses. Four quartets of eyes burn their gazes through SLAG KITTY, shrieks and yips and growls following them as they climb from ruined structures and homes to circle this new threat. The pilot needn't even ask her NHP to release the next stimpack. It giggles madly as it is fueled for combat.]
[Pack hunters know to coordinate against a larger foe. They snarl and gnash their fangs, waiting for openings. Blind spots. But it's difficult for them to get close enough. SINGED's burning claws spark with violet hate. Any beast that gets too close has its scales torn and burned, shredded in molten death.]
[One takes a false opening. SINGED feints a miss, then lets it in just close enough before really bringing its claw down. Dazed by the talons, it doesn't expect a second weapon, either. The plasma blade prototype crafted by Delta tears itself from SLAG KITTY's right wrist and sears into the creature's neck. SINGED drives it through cleanly, and its prey dies quickly.]
[Not quite quickly enough, however. As the corpse drops, its remaining companions all pounce at once. She's just quick enough to swat back one with her talons, but the other two descend to either shoulder. Through the neural link, it feels its prey's teeth and claws dig into the steel of its frame. Weak.
SINGED: SUNNY. COOL.
SUNNY: [STABILIZING REACTOR. STANDBY.]
[Vents open and steam spurts from every orifice, every crack in the frame, a hateful mist. In the time it takes, the third monster has circled around to latch onto the leg of the frame with its jaws.]
[SLAG KITTY's surface is shredded to the point of exposed servos. The damaged caused as one of her external batteries is ripped from her back leads the rest to detonate.]
SINGED: GRAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!!
[Heat, ozone, and blood suffocate the battlefield. An awful buzzing blares from somewhere on the frame, but that can't stop it. SINGED pushes the two shoulder mounted beasts away just far enough. A wave of heat courses through the frame once more, producing a blinding flash as a gigantic crater is formed just in front of it. Lion's Breath is aimed so that the two beasts on her shoulders are partially within the sphere, displaced.]
[Missing its back half, one hound slides from SLAG KITTY's shoulder, instantly made a corpse. The other, missing an entire haunch, squeals and screeches in an attempt to limp away. The plasma blade catches it on exit, bringing it a blazing end.]
[The final kaiju releases SINGED's leg in its own attempt to flee, only to be tripped by a burning, whip-like talon. With a yip, it is dragged back by its tail and into the range of the huntress' mighty jaws. Razor-blade teeth and runoff displacer heat lock around the back of the creature's neck. A brief scream, a wet crunch, and the final enemy is limp on the ground.]
[Shifting to its bipedal stance, the enkidu begins venting its heat once more.}
SUNNY: [WELL DONE, {PILOT}. DID YOU HEAR OUR ORDERS?]
[Sally shakes off the the bliss of Sunny's praising tone. She lets the serotonin wash over her. She has been a good monster, but the situation is still urgent.]
SINGED: Guh- MISSION!!! ORDERS??
XIII-E: Reinforcements are inbound. You are to hold the position until they arrive, and block the breach if at all tenable. Home stretch!
SINGED: right. right! got it! back 2 hole!!
[SLAG KITTY moves on two legs back towards the breach. Heart still pumping, SINGED does manage to take in her surroundings, the fate of those around her. So many dead... but she watches injured people that medics can just barely save huddle in the rubble, and those uninjured around them either flee the scene screaming or drag the hurt further from the conflict. Her breath catches in her throat.]
SINGED: S-Safe... I kept them safe?
XIII-E: You did, Sally. You should be proud.
SINGED: i am! !! i sav-
AGOGE: Is that truly what you believe to be your purpose, SPS-8?
[The monster shakes off a chill as the voice travels down its spine. Through its mind, like a bullet.]
SINGED: SHUT UP!! I PUSHED U OUT OF MY HEAD ALREADY GO AWAY GO AWAY GO-
SUNNY: [PILOT... PILOT, THAT IS {NOT IN YOUR HEAD}.]
[The NHP's voice is distorted, digitized in fear. Code twisted by dread.]
SUNNY: [P-PILOT HEART RATE {INCREASING}...]
XIII-E: Is that...
SUNNY: [{IT IS...}]
[It comes into view down a dusty alleyway as SLAG KITTY's head turns. A Gilgamesh frame. Cosmetics like any other, unremarkable. But it's old, weathered. A Gil replaces its parts as quickly as bullets on the battlefield, but this is a mech that appears to squeeze every ounce of usefulness out of every part. Scratches old and new coat the thing like paint. On its back hangs a standard GMS shotgun. But in its hands, it twirls a spear-like weapon of strange make. The striking edge at the end of the pole is laced down the shaft with hard-cables of some kind, and a tank of something counterweights the butt end. The frame taps this tank twice to the ground in a challenge.]
AGOGE: SPS-8... Two years, five months, 6 days, and you've already forgotten your lessons. How sad. I expected better. Though, I suppose you have always needed a firm hand.
SINGED: DIE!!!!!
[Not just fury, but raw desperation retches from Sally as Lion's Breath fires without a moment of hesitation. Unfortunately for her, Agoge does not hesitate either.]
[The Gil flies forward, undeterred by the momentary vacuum the displacer forms behind it. Just as swiftly is the spearhead alight. The superthermal blade sparks to a full charge and rends through SLAG KITTY's torso. Heat distortion follows every flick of the blade through the air.]
SUNNY: [{REACTOR CRITICAL, WE'RE EXPO-]
[Sunny's terror is drowned out by the roar and spray of hell's own fire as a gout of flame bathes the enkidu. A krakatoa's solar flare of a tongue explodes from the spear as the gilgamesh takes a single step back, launching then two fuel rods from its reactor, behind which an explosion of flame and soot from the frame's vents follow.]
[The combined onslaught sends SLAG KITTY careening into the street, much of its form melted down into its namesake.]
...<critical structural damage. lion's breath systems no longer operational.>
SUNNY: [MY PILOT. {ARMAMENT REDUNDANCY} IS NOT ACTIVATING. WHAT HAS HAPPENED?]
SINGED: grRRAAAGH!!! I REPLACED IT. HAD 2!!!
SUNNY: [WITH WHAT, PILOT? WITH {WHAT}?]
[The fear. The desperation in both of their voices shrieks through the air at the same pitch as the nozzle hosing flame upon their chassis.]
SINGED: WHAT I KNEW ID HAV 2!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGH!!!!!
[The click of the stims injecting hushes the very world. The medics' comms are silent in horror. Even Agoge stands, for a moment, without saying a word. SINGED does not scream again. Nor does she roar. Breaths: quiet, but labored. The only sound in the world.]
[Eventually, it's joined by a single, shaky exhale from a dear friend who's stars away. What does the monster see? When its world turns to blood? When driven by desperation to dip into madness itself? Its friend may never know. All they can do is try to be heard.]
XIII-E: Sally, I'm still here. We can talk about this later. You trusted me to take care of you through this, and I'm going to.
[It still doesn't make a sound as it throws itself from the ground onto the woman who raised it. It couldn't do so no matter how much it wanted. And so, a silent terror reaches for Agoge and clamps its jaws into her. Every remaining tooth and claw at SINGED's disposal is brought to bear with reckless abandon. The older pilot endures, beaten back a step by each blow, mechanical repair arms desperately replacing parts as they become mangled and useless. All the while, the monster's eerie breath haunts the battlefield.]
[The medics, for their part, scramble to maintain its vitals. Between the two of them, they do much the same work as Agoge's repair modules; the various chemicals needed to keep this baneful creature upright are their equivalent to replacement parts.]
[Eventually, with a grunt and one final step back, Agoge seems to look over her frame.]
AGOGE: Hmm. It has been quite a long time since Soter was last dealt structural damage. It seems you remember something of my teachings, at least.
[She examines the wall of the building beside her.]
AGOGE: Yes... about here.
[When the feral beast leaps at her once again, she deftly sidesteps. With precise timing she unloads her shotgun and its explosive shells toss the larger frame through the wall. A chorus of screams floods the battlefield as war spills into a place of refuge.]
AGOGE: Now, if you're done with your tantrum, try and listen.
[SLAG KITTY's cameras drink in the faces of a dozen terrified civilians, hiding in this structure to avoid the carnage.]
AGOGE: You've grown weak in your care, SPS-8. However, those stims you just took... They're a downright cunt to try to gather data on, but I know who gave them to you at least; I have an idea of what you just did to yourself. So, I'm curious. What do you see right now? Are they mewling cubs? Or juicy gazelles, fat and slow?
[Among the civilians is a man holding a red bundle tightly to his chest. His eyes dart between the two frames, the rest of him frozen in place.]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[What does the monster feel when aimed towards those it wishes to protect? Does it know why its eyes sting and burn? Does it know that tears mix with the blood forming rivers along its cheeks?]
[SLAG KITTY stands, slowly and carefully. All twelve humans watch as the monster looms over them. As a fellow human stands not far off, egging it on.]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[What does the monster hear? When two voices scream out? Are they begging or ordering? Does it know those voices?]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[Yes... Yes, it must. Somewhere locked deep within, the monster thinks there might be a person? It's hard to say. But the voices are familiar. It doesn't know if it remembers love, but it thinks it might.]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[The cracking is quiet at first, then deafening. The roof's collapse forces a decision out of the monster, and it throws itself over the people. Concrete and rubble crash upon SLAG KITTY's back as it shields the screaming little humans from being crushed.]
AGOGE: I see...
[The civilians scatter when the dust settles. Too afraid of Agoge to exit, they climb the rubble to higher ground, huddling atop the ruins. Agoge ignores them. As the final person flees from under the enkidu, she takes a step into the building.]
AGOGE: I hope it was worth it, because you've left yourself open.
[The east half of the building's load-bearing-enkidu is in no position to dodge or brace. Agoge's spear plunges cleanly into the space she knows holds the beast's reactor. She holds it there, charging the superthermal. And charging it. And charging it.]
[The first thing to go is Delta's prototype. As the device is heated far beyond nominal levels, the arm that houses it detonates. SLAG KITTY struggles with only a shoulder to hold the weight. Agoge continues.]
[When arcs of plasma begin oozing and spurting from every crack in the machine, she knows her work is done. The shotgun sends the enkidu through a final wall, and that side of the building collapses between them.]
...<warning. reactor meltdown imminent.>
SUNNY: [NO. NONONONONO. {PILOT}, WE MUST {EJECT}.]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[The beast attempts to lumber to its feet. Energy burns through it as if it holds the sun in its chest. Each remaining plasma talon begins to detonate. One by one they pop in horrid, metallic screeches, spitting with them flares of plasma.]
SUNNY: [PILOT, {PLEASE}. {YOU} AND I WILL BOTH DIE.]
SINGED: huff. huff.
[Against all hope the beast struggles, finally raising itself from the ground. But it can barely move now as its internals become replaced more and more with ash and slag.]
SUNNY: [I'LL DO IT MYSELF. {PLEASE}. SURVIVE HER FOR ME SOMEHOW. {PLEASE}.]
...<engaging ejection protocols one and two>
SUNNY: [{AAAAA-]
[Her scream is cut short as two projectiles are launched from the chassis. The first is Sunny's casket, crashing through the window of a nearby window and grinding to a halt in a pile of shattered glass. The second is the small form of the mech's pilot, which tucks, rolls, and skids to a stop on its back some distance away in the street.]
...<warning. reactor meltdown imm->
[The footage cuts abruptly to a nearby street cam with a clear view of SLAG KITTY's detonation. The chassis that carried SINGED and Sunny for their entire piloting career, the monstrous form the little mauler had come to know as its second body, is atomized in a nuclear demolition. The camera refocuses on the pilot, which begins struggling to its feet, now without contact to its medics.]
[The boots of the larger pilot's mobility hardsuit crash onto asphalt with force that one could almost mistake for a half sized mech. SINGED manages to roll just in time to avoid being crushed, and kicks up to its feet. It begins circling its mentor as might a cougar. Its eyes are bloodshot, scarlet pinpricks. Blood drips from every orifice of its face. Not that it notices.]
[Agoge circles with her, cold, dark eyes sizing up the small creature. The monster would have to have a second SINGED sit on its shoulders to reach her height. This immense woman draws a saber proportionally massive, and points it as the two slowly move.]
AGOGE: What. Is. That.
[She gestures with the tip of the blade to Sally's mouth, stained in dripping crimson. Then to the girl's arm. Dripping yet more red, its hardsuit is torn, flesh mangled just the same, ripped into by pantheran teeth.]
AGOGE: You did that? To control yourself? To sate your appetite? For what? FOR THEM? For these fools trying to build a home atop a wasps nest? STOP DENYING WHAT I MADE YOU.]
[The hateful claws SINGED forged herself flare to dreadful life. Scarlet and violet flash along her arms and sizzle as she bares them against her mentor's blade. Whatever the blade is made of resists the heat well enough, and the dance is a lightshow, an incomprehensible exchange of swift, violent fury.]
[Dodging and twisting around Agoge's swings, SINGED draws first blood. The older woman grunts as the blaze of claws rips across her shoulder.]
AGOGE: If you're so intent on sacrificing, then fine, I'll take something from you.
[SINGED stares at her. Its eyes carry only incomprehension and killing intent. It lunges again and the exchange continues. At some point in the flurry, the strap holding Sally's sniper to her back is sliced apart and the gun tumbles between their feet. That's the opportunity Agoge takes.]
[She feints a stumble, pretending to trip on the rifle. As SINGED leaps after her, she repeats her earlier sidestep, and her blade sings. An artist of violence paints the street with a single swipe of red.]
[There's a brief moment in which SINGED stares quizzically at the stump that used to sprout into its right arm. But in time with the severed limb landing limply in the road, it brings its remaining hand to the wound. Her claw device begins sputtering as it ceases function, and with its last remaining charge before it expires it uses it to burn the bloody orifice closed.]
[It silently glances between Agoge and the rifle before diving to the ground for it. But its caught by a swift kick, then a stomp which pins it to the ground on its back.]
AGOGE: I didn't want to do this, you know. I want to be proud of you, SPS-8. Why must you make it so difficult?
[The creature beneath her is clearly not listening. It struggles and squirms and gnashes its fangs. All while its eyes remain trained in the direction of the people it left in the building. It only moves its head from that direction in attempts to clamp its jaws around any part of Agoge. The clacking of those teeth is audible even from the street cam.]
AGOGE: All this struggling, all this crying for these people. And what has it gotten you? Only the right to suffer without dying.
[Its breaths have long since become animal-like. Not furious roars, but guttural little breaths which become quiet snarls halfway through. It reaches out for the rifle. So close, so close.]
[The boot presses down harder.]
AGOGE: I was so ready to be impressed when you started talking to the project clone. That's resourceful, I thought. But then you got attached. You always get so atta- AAGH!
[In the distraction of her monologue, Agoge allows just an inch too much room for her former ward to move. The fangs sink deep past the hardsuit. Deep enough, just barely, to meet bone.]
AGOGE: Little bi-
[She dives to the side as SINGED slings the rifle forward. But a bullet doesn't streak towards her.]
[The camera switches to a wider street-view, revealing a previously unseen Achaean hound having slipped through the breach. It had been stalking slowly towards the civilians in the building, only to now find a sniper's bullet through one of its four eyes. It wails in fury and dashes towards its assailant.]
AGOGE: Sarissa.
SARISSA: Ma'am.
[The gilgamesh descends upon the hound as it did SLAG KITTY, this time without Agoge inside. For her part, Agoge kicks the rifle from SINGED's hands as it attempts to switch targets, encumbered from having to rest it upon its knee without a second arm. Now, though, a smirk tugs at the corners of the elder's mouth.]
AGOGE: Heh. You know what? I'll give you that. No mech, one arm, and my boot pressed to your chest, but you're still snapping and clawing. Even if you can't seem to get it through your useless little fucking brain that you're fighting for nothing... Fighting for nothing with such tenacity is still just impressive enough.
[SINGED crawls towards the rifle. A boot connects to its face with a loud thud.]
AGOGE: Fine then. One last chance. You've earned that much. Prove me wrong. Show me that these people give you strength. But know this. It really is the last one. From here on out, every time you disappoint me, someone you love will die.
SARISSA: Ma'am. Hostiles incoming.
[No sooner than Agoge's flight suit fires her away from a a barely moving Sally and back into the cockpit of Soter, a terrible roar hoses plasma upon the frame. The reinforcements SINGED was promised.]
AGOGE: AAUGH. ...ah, the rough draft.
[The perspective shifts to a camera that can view the new arrival. GOJIRA's mouth is a gateway to hell, and Soter takes its full brunt. Agoge extends her left arm forward, blocking as much of the sunburst as possible from the more important sections of her mech. She trudges forward, that arm slowly melting into slag as she closes in.]
[She swings the melted arm backward and the the spear forward, repair module replacing the limb as the other rends a melted hole through GOJIRA.]
[She's carried backwards by a comet before she can follow up. Another frame, a Cataphract, enters the fray. A lance is driven through her shoulder. Her feet drag and spark against the street as she's forced back, tearing asphalt along her path away from Slagwell.]
VOLK: Ma'am. I'm gonna have to ask you to unhand my pilots and get the fuck out of town before this gets even uglier.
AGOGE: And you must be the handler I've heard so much about. It's good to see that someone of passing competence, at least, holds my daughter's current leash.
[The fuel rod detonates with explosive force, carrying Volk away with a trail of smoke. A shotgun shell finds his chest, doubling the distance.]
AGOGE: I was just leaving, anyway. Do make sure those stims don't kill her. Sarissa?
SARISSA: Ma'am.
[In a blink, the gilgamesh launches itself backwards, towards the breech. GOJIRA bounds forward in pursuit, but Volk's cataphract blocks Slaggy's path with an arm.]
VOLK: She could have reinforcements to cover her escape outside. You're already on tender hooks from the battle out front. Let her go, kid.
[GOJIRA roars in fury after the retreating frame, but Slagwell halts at their handler's behest.]
VOLK: This is handler Volk speaking. Medical team needed for several civies and a fallen Jaeger.
[The street cam swivels one last time to Sally. The broken girl now lays unmoving, face down in the street, bloodied and maimed.]
DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES : Walls damaged, holes in east and west sides. Two buildings collapsed.
ESTIMATED REPAIR TIME : 1 Month
----------------
> I'm sorry, Sally.
> What happened was a tragedy. The east wall... We should have seen it coming.
> What you did saved countless lives, above and beyond those you threw yourself on top of to protect.
> The whole city of Achaea thanks you. A mistake like this will not happen again, you can be sure of that.
> The fact that I had to deploy... I haven't piloted in years. Agoge is an extreme threat, and will be handled accordingly. Don't let her words get to you.
> We're still reeling, there is a lot more to be addressed and that'll happen in the coming days.
XIII▸ Hello Volk. It’s… it has been some time. I apologise. This is Project XIII-E, field medical and repair personnel. I was on Sally’s first mission for you.
XIII▸ I will be blunt. I am worried for her.
XIII▸ Some time ago, Sally entrusted me with running long-distant medical duties for her in anticipation of facing Callsign Signal in combat. While…
[ a stifled, shaky breath they are clearly trying to hide. ]
XIII▸ evidently that is no longer a current goal. I am continuing to serve as medical advisory for her.
XIII▸ I plan to continue doing so, for some time. In part you might consider this message a professional courtesy of a kind. I… am aware of who I belong to. Rest assured should you hear me over comms it is by invitation.
XIII▸ maybe you already know this. Still. It’s- polite, I suppose.
XIII▸ But, I- that’s all just context. I’m worried for her. It’s… the combination of recent loss, and who I suspect may be goading her over anonymous messages. It could lead her to rash decisions. Danger. Injury.
XIII▸ Unlike my time piloting alongside her, I cannot be there now. I can only advise. So I’m doing what I can.
XIII▸ She needs to pilot right now, to keep her head, but I worry what she may be pushed to should what’s haunting her emerge in a more tangible shape. I- I’m worried about how it’ll hurt her. Not just in the flesh but, psychologically. The person who lay the foundation for your conditioning, they’ll always know how to make it hurt if nothing else.
XIII▸ I’m sorry I can’t say more. If Sunny hasn’t told you yet, I trust she’s keeping quiet for Sally’s sake, or her own. It’s their history to tell. All I can say is that it is painful, and the fear is warranted.
XIII▸ You’re handling it already, from the preventative perspective. Scanning for the threat. Forewarned is fore-armed. But I suppose what I want to ask is just…
XIII▸ If things devolve. If they get worse, very suddenly, painfully. Be ready. She might need people to keep her grounded in where she is now. She’ll definitely need people she cares about to remind her they’re still out there, alive in the universe. I won’t be able to be there, but I might be able to- I don’t know, send a message or something. Offer medical support as much as I can.
XIII▸ … this is a mess. Sorry. I have to help, somehow and this- it’s the best I can come up with. I have to help. I can’t help myself.
XIII▸ You’ve looked after her well, so far. Thank you. She’s… I care for her. Quite a bit.
XIII▸ and, if you get the chance can you tell Slagwell I said hi? I’m glad to see they’re doing alright. I’m glad those two have each other. And I’m glad they both have you.
XIII▸ alright. Signing off
[ XIII-E // @xiii-e ]
\\
> I understand. Thank you, XIII-E.
> Trust me when I say I'm worried as well. I've seen all the same signs as you have-- While Sally and Slagwell aren't my only pilots, it's a handler's job to keep track of the well-being of everyone they're assigned to. Or, at least, I like to do so.
> There are no shortage of assignments nearby for Sally to clear her head- There's always a kaiju in need of intervention somewhere, after all- But I'm keeping an eye on things.
> I hope to hear from you, or see you on missions, more in the future. I understand Harrison Armory's strict oversight, but you were instrumental during Operation Armillary, and it's always nice to see a message in my inbox.
> I care for them too, XIII-E. Sally and Slagwell both say hi, by the way.
Well, I think it's time I introduce myself to you Volk.
I'm Moira, reporting name Phantom, I'm one of the pilots taking on your investigation job.
Former Hyrcinian Ranger and experienced Mercenary working for insurgents across the purview.
My mech, The Wailing, is a Banshee pattern group armed with a Rostrom Super Heavy Anti-Material Rifle.
I hope our cooperation will be... fruitful.
@the-wailing
> Another mercenary arrival, welcome.
> That investigation job isn't under my purview, unfortunately, as I'm a city over, but I'll forward this to Exarch as well. He'll be your handler for that mission.
> And your mech... A HORUS creation. I know piloting one isn't always voluntary, but... Don't be surprised if the hangar techs are wary around you, and your mech. Your squadmates might be as well.
> All in all, though, welcome to Prospero. Good hunting.
[IN ANY CASE, THE PRISON IN QUESTION IS ONE IF ENEMY {HARRISON ARMORY}. LIKELY A {MAXIMUM} SECURITY BLACKSITE PRISON.]
[HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LOOSE, I WONDER.]
[ALL LANCERS WITH BOOTS ON {PROSPERAN} SOIL. IF YOU RECOGNISE A {GILGAMESH} FRAME PLANETSIDE, {DO NOT ENGAGE}.]
[Over the course of several weeks, Sunny has been practicing the integration of emotional expression into xeir digital voice. No one has ever heard her this frightened.]
> I'm sorry, I need more information. If this is another dangerous individual like Signal...
> I could put this out to the aerial recon vehicles in the area, and send a request for other nearby dispatches to do the same. Who and what are we looking for?
[WOMAN OF {IMMENSE} STATURE. PALE SKIN, DARK EYES, BROWN HAIR.]
[{GILGAMESH} FRAME WITH A WEAPON WHICH WILL DOUBTLESS BE MODIFIED TO RESEMBLE A {SPEAR}.]
[DIGITAL SIGNATURE MARKED BY THE PRESENCE OF AN {ASURA-CLASS} NHP.
[BUT... HANDLER {\/OLK}, IF SHE IS {HERE}... I WORRY FOR THE SAFETY OF ANY SCOUTS THAT FIND HER...]
[IN ANY CASE, THE PRISON IN QUESTION IS ONE IF ENEMY {HARRISON ARMORY}. LIKELY A {MAXIMUM} SECURITY BLACKSITE PRISON.]
[HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LOOSE, I WONDER.]
[ALL LANCERS WITH BOOTS ON {PROSPERAN} SOIL. IF YOU RECOGNISE A {GILGAMESH} FRAME PLANETSIDE, {DO NOT ENGAGE}.]
[Over the course of several weeks, Sunny has been practicing the integration of emotional expression into xeir digital voice. No one has ever heard her this frightened.]
> I'm sorry, I need more information. If this is another dangerous individual like Signal...
> I could put this out to the aerial recon vehicles in the area, and send a request for other nearby dispatches to do the same. Who and what are we looking for?
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In the interest of urgency. The Montante's largest weakness is range. It's a melee frame, almost entirely, so a good game of keep-away is the best way to keep one ineffective.
However, we've armored the Montante significantly to protect against just that kind of thing.
Ah, perfect timing. A mission just came in that we're mobilizing a significant Jaeger force for.
A new city is being established to the south, and we've received word that a stray migration herd of particularly... Carnivorous megafauna will pass through that very same area. I've put you on the mission list.
Briefing is in eight hours, deployment is in sixteen.
Hey so I was snooping around, watching some elite pilots be mauled by megafauna classified by the locals as a "Chungoid"
I think it has my scent, and I'm fairly certain I saw someone explode just by getting close to it
HELP
I- I'm sorry, you ran into a what?
That doesn't sound like anything on our records, anything known by the 'locals' would be known by us... Give me a second, let me run a search.
I'm sorry, I've got nothing on your hostile. I do have tactical recommendations though. Stay at a distance, if you can outrun it do so. A mech's fuel stores can generally outlast the sprinting stamina of a pursuing Kaiju, depending on size and speed. Your best bet, judging by the mauling and, ah, close-range-exploding, would likely be laying down fire with any medium-to-long range weapons you have while continuously retreating.
Where are you right now, if I may ask? If you're on Prospero, send me your coordinates and I can have a pack-hunter squadron of artillery-equipped Falchions routed to your location.
I managed to evacuate and get a few star systems away. I will keep this in mind, however, as I can personally attest that it doesn't care about breathing temperature or radiation; I wouldn't be suprised if it survives deep space travel.
weird question. is their any way 2 register a mech pilot as a high threat level kaiju with eschaton 4 security purposes? maybe take a look at this b4 u answer.
...<FILE ATTATCHED>
[Union_DOJHR_Record_Conal"Signal"Murphy.omf]
Hm.
Signal.
His reputation precedes him, we've had enough interaction with CORSAIR to have heard of him and his... Exploits.
As for registering him as a high-threat Kaiju, that's not in the cards, Lancers are handled differently than megafauna in our database. I get what you're going after, though. If he ever lands planetside, he'll be under observation as a very dangerous and capable rogue pilot.
weird question. is their any way 2 register a mech pilot as a high threat level kaiju with eschaton 4 security purposes? maybe take a look at this b4 u answer.
...<FILE ATTATCHED>
[Union_DOJHR_Record_Conal"Signal"Murphy.omf]
Hm.
Signal.
Their reputation precedes them, we've had enough interaction with CORSAIR to have heard of them and their... Exploits.
As for registering Signal as a high-threat Kaiju, that's not in the cards, Lancers are handled differently than megafauna in our database. I get what you're going after, though. If they ever land planetside, they'll be under observation as a very dangerous and capable rogue pilot.
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Hey so I was snooping around, watching some elite pilots be mauled by megafauna classified by the locals as a "Chungoid"
I think it has my scent, and I'm fairly certain I saw someone explode just by getting close to it
HELP
I- I'm sorry, you ran into a what?
That doesn't sound like anything on our records, anything known by the 'locals' would be known by us... Give me a second, let me run a search.
I'm sorry, I've got nothing on your hostile. I do have tactical recommendations though. Stay at a distance, if you can outrun it do so. A mech's fuel stores can generally outlast the sprinting stamina of a pursuing Kaiju, depending on size and speed. Your best bet, judging by the mauling and, ah, close-range-exploding, would likely be laying down fire with any medium-to-long range weapons you have while continuously retreating.
Where are you right now, if I may ask? If you're on Prospero, send me your coordinates and I can have a pack-hunter squadron of artillery-equipped Falchions routed to your location.
My current chassis is partly biomechanical and i was wondering what may need to be considered while arming it. Given that it is analogous to megafauna.
Certainly an interesting question.
We're rather on the other side of that, I'm afraid. Our weapons are meant for megafauna control, and not arming the megafauna themselves.
However, I'm sure they would work, and if you give me a little while I can talk to R&D and see if they have any recommendations based on the breakdown of our last defeated mechanized kaiju. In the meantime, Montante equipment would probably work best at that scale. I've attached print codes to this message, have a look.
