open [Still accepting new characters!]Strifes of Pandora

[genessee 535]

@@BloodDrops @@Hazard Time

 

Lance was gawked as the zombie decapitated a thug who had attempted to sneak up on them. Well, I mean... I'm already scarred for life, why not rub it in? Before Lance could say anything, the zombie went on to catch a mine the enemy had tossed over the barrier and threw it back, exploding and killing a couple when it landed. Then she brought out a grenade and tossed it over, just for good measure. Wow, she is RUTHLESS... I don't feel much sympathy for the bandits and Dead Hoof, though. "Thanks, I'd be screwed if it weren't for yo-- whup!" Before Lance could finish, the undead mare tossed him onto her back and casually trotted towards Bronze, who had gotten into the plane. Lance didn't see, but the zombie was inspecting his bleeding leg.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@genessee @@BloodDrops

 

"Come on, work wif me!"  Bronze had already pried open the dashboard and tied several wires together but nothing was happening.  She checked and double checked.  Those had to be them!  A bullet ricocheted off the side of the VTOL, and the mare cursed under her breath.  She didn't have time for this!

 

"WORK!" she screamed, slamming her hooves down on the dashboard.  One hoof connected with a button, and suddenly, the buzzard roared to life.  Flames sputtered from the thrusters and Bronze did a small jig before another bullet zipped past her head.  No time!

 

"Alright, 'old on back there!" she yelled, taking hold of the throttle.  "This is a terribw time to say this, but I 'ave no idea 'ow to fly this fing!"  Now, how to go up?

 

It was at that moment that the door of the large shack flew open and Dead Hoof himself waded out into the open, Torgue shotgun in his mouth.  Looking towards the buzzard, he leveled it at the heroes.

 

"Aw crap!"  Instinctively, Bronze yanked back on the throttle.  The thrusters angled back and the VTOL began to slide backwards just as the bandit chieftain's explosive scattergun let out another report.  All of the microexplosives missed their mark, but the pegasus was unable to regain control before she backed into a group of shacks.  Seeing as the buzzard was still working, she accepted it as a negligible accident.

 

"Alright, good news is, I figured out 'ow to go backwards!" she yelled out in the vain hope that that would calm her shocked passengers.  The mare moved the throttle forward, and sure enough, they moved forward.  Now how to go up?  Bronze turned her head to the left and saw Dead Hoof cocking his shotgun again.  No time!  Hit something, anything!

 

Bronze stamped down with her hind hoof and onto a pedal.  Suddenly, the thrusters glowed and they shot up into the sky, a second Torgue volley missing the buzzard's skis by inches.  Bronze allowed herself a small sigh of relief before checking to make sure everypony had held on.

 

"Aces!  We're outta 'ere!"  The mare shoved the throttle forward and they began to fly off into the sunset.

 

 

...

 

 

"Oh, wait."

 

Bronze suddenly swung the craft around and back towards the bandit camp.  Flying over it, she reached into her uniform and pulled out a grenade.  After priming it, she casually dropped it into the camp.  Instead of exploding, however, it bounced, each new bounce bringing it closer to Dead Hoof, until it finally landed on top of him.  The grenade exploded in a shower of flammable liquid that immediately ignited on contact with the air.  Screams of pain carried on the wind, and any bandit caught without a shield was not having the best of times.

 

Dead Hoof did not have a shield.

 

Bronze Bulwark made a mental note to buy a shield first thing when she got back to New Haven.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Weapon in paw he carried on walking down the dirt path toward the bounty board. 

 

"Looking for local works to get you started?" His low orbit stalker asked him.

 

The Echo menu appeared before him he scrolled about into local contract bounties first. Plenty of work he noted as the dozens of list contract appeared. But most of it looked like small work. 

"Go kill this asshole."

"Asshole killed my husband."

"Asshole killed my husband and boyyfriend." - Oh what dark times.

 

"This one looked promising." He noted.

 

"Kill the King." Local Bandit group hiding in the northeast junk caverns are terrorizing caravan traders from the Arid Badlands Path Regions- King Peewee is their high leader.

"hehe.. I'm sorry.. King Peewee?" The canine thought to himself at the ridiculousness of it.

 

Contract worth: $32,000 plus Shotgun reward. Rarity: Green.

 

Looked like a good starter contract.

 

Pressing the green accept tab the screen lit green and disappeared. A contract timer appeared on his left hand side of his HUD followed by a directional indicator.

 

"You'll be going underground? I can't give you much of a help with you in those ruins." 301 called out.

"Good. Keeps your mouth shut." Fallskir replied.

"You have strange sense of humor." The orbiter replied.

 

Strangely in the distance he heard the distance rumble.. possibly explosions? Then again it could be no surprise. Its a waste world. He shrugged and switched out to his Umbrage and took off in good speed heading northward forward from the main exit with the twisted metal and dirt crunching at his feet. 

Edited December 2, 2016 by IllusivePony

[genessee 535]

@@Hazard Time @@BloodDrops

 

Lance had just been thrown into the passenger seat by the zombie when Bronze had begun to look flustered. She didn't look like she knew what she was doing, when suddenly Dead Hoof caught Lance's eye. BANG! His shotgun bullets peppered the plane. Bronze's hooves worked faster, and then-- the plane zipped into the air. "That was--" Lance began before Bronze turned the plane back towards the camp. What is she doing? Why are we going back? Lance then saw the reason why: Bronze had taken the pin out of a grenade and tossed it out of the aircraft, and smiled when it exploded. "What? What'd it hit?" Lance asked. "Also, do you know where we're going next, or are we just going to fly until you see something interesting?"

Edited December 2, 2016 by genessee

[FancyHorse 1,209]

"Heads up. Enemy's spotted." 301 commented. 

 

Halting in his sprint, he stopped just below the inclined hill noting at the jutted fragement of some begone metal structure. The warm heat radiating from it, perhaps from being stuck baked in this dreadful sun. And of course by welding scavengers. Low in a crouch he approached up the hill and along the pony wide slap of metal. Taking hold of it rail shaped sides he balanced himself as he climbed the angled ramp. 

 

He was now above the targets. Looking down to see the squabbling scum. Two ponies just near their hut. Just some small chit chat. They have a third companion it seemed, he sprawled about onto the ground with his buzz-saw axe lay next to him as his white coat was ruined by the dusty surface with bits of small metal jutted from his flesh. Pain was the least of his concern.

 

"Any more?" He asked to his eye in the sky.

 

"More are spotted inside the huts just across into the acove a little bits ahead." Came back the report. 

 

No more then. Taking his initiative he leap forward and aiming straight onto the closest stallion. And he hit just like a rock- if that rock weighed 190 lbs with shield charge abilities and a former bounty employment from a giant weapons manufacturer.

Both hind paws straight onto his head burying him into the metallic-soil mix. The other was knocked off his hooves in a panic clamor before reaching over for his excuse-of-a-weapon. With his baton drawn, igniting with electric pop, he swipes with his weapon disarming him before following up with another strike right into his jaw.

 

"FIVE POUND OF FLESH! MORE MORE!!" Their maddening companion took notice from his dirt nap.

 

The belligerent unicorn swore and muttered loudly as he approached in full gallop with axe in tow. 

 

Simply reaching to his hip with his Umbrage he took quick aim and placed an aimed shot onto the incoming bandit. His figure erupted into massive flame and now sprawling on the ground in a screaming mass. Shoulda had a shield on. 

 

"Well that went well." He said. 

 

With rustling coming from the hut across from the brief struggle a rumbling voice spoke up with a hissing undertone.

"What iss noise?.." Came a snearing tone. Stepping out in a hulking mass a large barely furred canine stepped out from his fabric and metal meshed hut. With his large assault rifle in tow- and barely clothed- the two canines stare at another. 

 

It was an obvious cavern type dog. Big, Hulking and mean as ... mean. 

"Time to dieeee little one." He gave a sinister mutter.

 

"What's that? You gotta speak up." Fall replied with a snarky grin. With his ECAT at charge it blazed an orange glow. And with a swat of his arm the device let off an immense contrast and a fury of fire spewed before him a wall of orange heat. Shielding his face with his arm the hulking dog howled in sudden fear as he was encased in fire trying to pat himself down. 

 

Just as he looked up to be greeted by a mid air Fallskir with his baton raised. In a horizontal strike he swiped straight for the Bruisers head.

 

CRITICAL!

 

In a loud and burning thud the bruiser fell his assault rifle landing a yard away. 

 

Compossing himself, he let out a soft sigh. That felt good. Perhaps expecting a bit more but hey, it happened. 

 

It was a refreshing feel of euphoria. Not time to reminisce he had a contract to fulfill. 

[BloodDrops 762]

@@genessee, @@Hazard Time,

 

Blood Drops put the stick thrower into the passenger seat, she then sat down and waited for the mare to take off. She gave the stallions leg a sniff before beginning to lick it. Several seconds later the wound had healed. She waited for the mare to get the hang of the controls and had a quick power nap falling asleep to the sound of bullets. she then snorted and woke herself up, she glanced at the stick thrower and then got up, glaring at him, he was still too close.

 

"GRRRRR" she growled at him, she then promptly gave him a nudge telling him to move over since he was still too close, him moving would result in him falling out of the plane though, which Blood hadn't picked up on. She stamped her hoof on the ground and growled at him again, she felt slightly threatened by his non moving stance and pointed her riffle at him.

 

"GRRRRRRRRRR" she warned finally. She was the alpha female after all.

Edited December 6, 2016 by BloodDrops

[FancyHorse 1,209]

One short jog up a hill and a ravenous group of midgets later.

 

Fallskir peered into the gaping entrance of the Tetanus Warren. No pony at he door? No welcome group? He stepped forward into the foul coated atmosphere with the stench of rot and burning metal noted in the air. Amazing how ponies can live in these conditions? Or if he was unlucky this King Peewee woulda suffocated on this crap. 

 

In a brisk walk he turned about the next filthy corridor and under a caved in transport container. He stopped as it lead into a slight opening. Too open and no bits of cover around. 

 

Taking careful steps he approached noting to the next entrance ahead. And in sudden expectation a multitude of spiderlings burst from their hiding holes- nearly scaring Fallskir off his paws. Retaliating he swung with his baton as the closest Spiderling flung itself with tendrils out in swing, the motion bringing it down in a splattering paste.

 

The others noting retreated slightly as Fallskir picked each off with careful shots.

"Yah! Runaway." He noted to himself. The earth (or the Pandora) rumbled slightly and noting the ground in the center of the room forming up until a mass hulking Spiderant appeared blazed in a corrosive glaze with the acid literally blazing off its tendrils.

 

BADASS CORROSIVE SPIDERANT: MOTHER TETANUS! (A Boss Fight!? Already!?)

 

With his first energy capsule ejecting from his Umbrage he loaded a new one in. 

 

"Bring it on hot momma." He muttered and gave a sinister grin. 

Edited December 3, 2016 by IllusivePony

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"...By any chance, do you know where they keep records? Of, say, who's working for them, their pony experiments, all of that? That's why I'm here."

Interestingly enough, I'd been wondering about that myself - seems that it might've been better after all to bring along somepony smart instead of the other two morons; I'd been planning on the two troublemakers to keep things busy while I got my revenge... but it was looking more and more like these two might actually survive this.

 

"Chances are, down in the records section - which, o'course, should be at the most secure location IN the damned place. Knowing my luck? Right next to Skinner's office, I'd wager... or at least close to it. As for why you're here, that gives me a bit o' pause - ponies looking for information either have somepony breathing down their neck... or they have ulterior motives."

 

I looked at the mare for effect, but I figured my goggles would've kept me from making eye contact. "And frankly, you don't LOOK like the kinda mare who takes orders well."

 

I let that sit in the open for a moment as I listened to the griffon.

"Practically everyone knows about Eridium on Pandora, has a market for it back in New Haven as I'm sure you know. It works wonders as an energy source as Hyperion proved, and weapons using it are powerful and even more powerful. How this group of yours got away with enough Eridium to fuel their experiments without Hyperion sending orbital bombardments on their asses is beyond me. But whatever they got going down there ain't CEO approved and I plan to get some bonus pay from some yellow striped chumps. If these guys got new ways to tinker with Hyperion's favorite mineral I'll see to it that they learn to share."

A Hype-Jock. Great. Last time I dealt with someone who was all gung-ho about their corp, I ended up in a lab with four other ponies with a piece of Eridium that ate them and now inhabited my flesh. Didn't leave me with a lot of confidence... but it DID leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Heh, quite a feat for someone whose taste buds were scorched away.

 

"First off, you call it a group of MINE? Strike against you, there - I was brought in with my team as hire-ons; we were an independent study cell... we were paid extra to come in, look at the thing, then make analyses. ATLUS brought us in from outside."

 

"Second, you're free to do what you want with what you find; I want what I'm seeking, and nothing more. Especially when it comes to THAT chamber of horrors. Get all the kudos you want - if you're still alive by then, you'll have EARNED it."

 

"And third - here we are."

 

It looked like a simple rock-and-scrap formation - like you'd see in any of a trillion places on Pandora. Except this one was special.

 

I moved around the pile, pulling this part and pushing that one until I heard the distinct >click< of the final lock tripping open. I stepped back and gestured at... nothing.

 

It usually didn't take this long. I gave the front of the rock a kick, and that did the trick.

 

The rocks folded back, and the scrap metal blossomed like a big steel flower. In the middle were six various weapons, two force field generators, and a ragged grey knapsack.

 

I took the grey bag and one of the shield generators, and grabbed the sniper rifle from the middle of the stack. The rest, I gestured to with a sweep of my wrapped hoof.

 

"Help yourselves; I got what I need."

 

I instantly reached into my coat and disconnected the old piece of crap Tediore shield I'd been carrying - this one that I'd been saving was hidden because I was SURE to have been the target of thieves if they'd have seen how heavy duty the Pangolin Medic Plate 5000A really was.

 

And the rifle? Eridian. Couldn't read the cyphers on the side of it, but the damned thing was lethal. The best part? I saved a TON on ammunition; it made that for itself.

 

I already had Order and Chaos, my twin Maliwan pistols, and a full contingent of grenades. My favorite shield was in place again, and I was bringing the one thing that I'd brought out of there back into it. Full circle.

 

Y'know... come to think of it... how long HAD it been? It'd been bugging me since I'd been asked about it; I wasn't coming up with answers that I liked, either. Meh, no matter - nothing to worry about. I'd be getting answers soon enough...

 

Couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they first saw it, especially the bird's. I gave a slight grin as I watched to see if they even had any interest in the stuff.

 

==================================================================

[The Loot Crate holds the following:]

HVY1600 Vladof Panic Fanged Machine Gun

DMG: 136

ACC: 69.0

FRate: 8.5

Mag: 32

+31% Fire Rate

+25% Melee DMG

---------------------------------------------------------

SG77 Tediore Intolerable Shotgun SE

DMG: 66(x8)

ACC: 42.2

FRate: 0.5

Mag: 8

+175% Melee DMG

2.2x Zoom

---------------------------------------------------------

RPG125 Torgue Steel Gravedigger Rocket Launcher

DMG: 1055

ACC: 97.1

FRate: 1.5

Mag: 7

+57% DMG

+54% ACC

3.5x Zoom

---------------------------------------------------------

Jakobs Atomic Masher Revolver

DMG: 123 (x7)

ACC: 85.0

FRate: 1.0

Mag: 6

2.0x Zoom

+25% Melee DMG

+6 projectiles/shot

---------------------------------------------------------

Hyperion BLR Thunderstruck Villain Machine Pistol

DMG: 131

ACC: 92.1

FRate: 3.9

Mag: 14

(Electric Element x5)

+54% DMG

1.5x Zoom

---------------------------------------------------------

Anshin Exquisite Rose Shield

CAP: 655

RechargeR: 195

Inscription: "Beauty tamed the beast."

VERY FAST Recharge Rate

-------------------------------------------------------------

[Ranger22 179]

"Then I guess I have to apologize for assuming and not asking you," Whitetip earnestly said as he paced behind the stallion. Most would of not have cared about the specifics or details about an individuals position in the workforce. Whitetip was different, being a mercenary he understood not wanting to affiliated with whomever he worked with at the time, stay independent, and be considered as such. It was simply common sense to pick sides and leave as soon as the job was done, unfortunately that didn't stop others from bearing grudges and trying to take revenge on behalf of someone killed by the merc. Also, the freedom given to an individual as an independent contractor was pretty favorable compared to being just another number. Then again, everybody working with or for a business is practically a number inside a log. With this information in mind the griffon simply apologized and kept following the stallion to their location. After a bit more walking the stallion came to a stop.

 

In front of the team was a large pile of rocks and metallic scrap, as if the two fused together in an unholy combination of mother nature and some greased covered mechanic who had a crush on his sister. The stallion walked up to it with a sense of familiarity, letting one know that this was a place he had been before, ignoring the fact that he said the group had reached their destination. He poked at the formation seemingly at random, revealing the inside of a hidden compartment inside the junk heap. The stallion had swapped some of his equipment and offered what was left for grabs. Compared to the standard merc arsenal and store bought issued guns: what was inside was impressive. 

 

All were custom made and it was very obvious that each piece was created with care. They were in a minor state of disrepair as a consequence of leaving them stuffed inside a hole for a while but they were serviceable. Whitetip would have been persuaded in taking one under his wing if he was a younger griffon-simply to have more weapons to his name-but as of late the griffon had grown accustomed to his current arsenal. Pulling out his dahl rifle he compared it to the vladof tucked cozily in the crate, with a simple snort as a response the griffon walked away from the crate, choosing to keep his trusty scoped rifle and other armaments. "So, where do we go from here?" The dahl rifle would be enough, it had always been enough for the griffon to get by. The stopping power it had was impressive, throw some slag and whatever the merc faced was usually dead within seconds. Plus, it helped that the gun was given to him as a gift by someone very important to Whitetip. Loyalty had always been a griffon thing, and Whitetip has yet to give up his trusty scoped rifle.

Edited December 6, 2016 by Ranger22

[Light of Night 332]

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis,

 

Dusk Rose just looked bewildered. Did Mr. Mummy do that dramatic stare just to intimidate her? Being honest with herself, she actually found it amusing. She dare think cute (she could hear her father's sarcastic "Ah-DOR-able!" just thinking that). She made plans to draw that image later, as another of a million reasons to get out alive.

 

But she got what he was trying to look serious about. She knew that choosing to keep her relative silence was going to encourage speculation about what's going through her head and therefore do no good in inspiring trust (much less in these two hardened folks). She was hesitant to even try and assure him that as far as she knew, there wasn't anypony breathing down her neck nor was she there for nefarious reasons.

 

On the bright side though, assuming he's telling the truth, it meant that she could happily discard her initial kleptomania plan and keep a sharp eye out for the records room. It'd certainly make it easier on the other two and her overall combat strategy of being a dangerous ghost. She thought of calling herself a murderous one, but considering what she had done since she arrived and what she was about to do, it tasted sour in her mouth.

 

When they came to where the stash was hidden, she had to admit that it was quite impressive. She often had to refer to a guide to tell similar firearms apart from one another, but she could tell that it was all high quality equipment. Looking over the guns and the leftover shield, she wondered if Mr. Mummy specifically had her and Whitetip in mind when getting the equipment. Or, at the very least, somepony addicted to firepower and somepony who preferred to keep their weaponry mostly hidden. Regardless, she took the two smaller guns and the shield, dropping the old pistol she had on herself. The knife wasn't about to go anywhere as long as she lived.

 

Part of her considered it sad that the other weapons were going to go unused. It seemed like such a waste. She wondered if Whitetip's guns were kept just for sentimental value or if they were more reliable, but she wasn't about to go back on her choice. And it seemed like she now had two folks to thank later.

 

Not wanting to lose her hat, she took it off and put it in the same bag as her codex, giving her bangs a brief hoof-brush out of habit. Whitetip already having asked where to go and herself not wanting to take anymore risks regarding the reveal of her motives, she just sat down upright with her hooves crossed with her submachine gun slightly off her shoulder, silently inspecting the two and their gear and their surrounding environment.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Light of Night

[Randimaxis 8,652]

 

 

"So, where do we go from here?"

 

 

I smiled.  "We're already there, like I said."

 

I strolled over to the crate and pressed some of the other buttons towards the back.  Shoving down the false bottom, it slid to the side to reveal what they'd see as a hoof-dug tunnel leading down into the ground.

 

"This leads to one of the side tunnels that'll bring us to the underground network.  From there, it's a labyrinth - but I already know the way, so there'll be no need to worry about gettin' lost... unless they manage to gun me down, of course."

 

I stepped into the crate, and ducked my head as I made my way into the tunnel.  It was big enough to walk single-file in, but you had to creep through the crate first - some stallions were a bit too meaty to fit inside.  Oh, and on top of that?  I hoped neither of these two had claustrophobia; it was about to get tighter than a locked Vault Door for us, and I'd have to show any whiners to the turbine vents.  The vents were safer, yeah... but it'd be another hour's travel to get to 'em.

 

Besides... this way, we showed up MUCH closer to the action.

 

I glanced back at them before I stepped completely into the crate.  "Now, it's gonna be CLOSE in here - at least, for a minute.  There's another way, but it means more travel... this gets us almost at the front door.  Of course, it also puts us out between four security checkpoints, but you two can handle a little creep-and-sleep, right?  Sneak past the guards, or sneak up on 'em and bash their heads in from behind - either way, the longer we maintain quiet, the less resistance we'll meet."

 

"At least until we get to the lab itself; from there, I give you no guarantees."

 

I ducked in, and began slowly walking the tube-like tunnel, making sure the others weren't far behind.

[Ranger22 179]

Whitetip should have expected a common sense answer like that, but if he was going to be honest to himself his career as a gun for hire had been absolutely nothing but. The stallion had pushed a button on his crate which further revealed another hidden entrance to what seemed like an endless black hole. What's next, after a mile underground was there gonna be a treasure chest which lead to the other side of Pandora? The griffon had simply nodded at the stallion's advice and peered down into the hole as he went inside after saying his piece. "I've handled VIP work before, at least this time my VIP can use a gun," the griffon yelled down the hole before the stallion gave off more information to the two still outside of the tunnel. What the griffon heard was a bit troublesome. Quiet? That was something the griffon wasn't too confident he was capable of doing too well with his current equipment, and hell if he was going to ditch it at the entrance. 

 

One checkpoint was tough, but four without getting caught was going to be a stretch for the armored mercenary. Even if they met less resistance on the way, they would eventually have to fight every living and nonliving thing inside the facility after they had reached the lab, which according to the stallion might have some huge monsters that could eat trucks. (AKA being forced to go loud) Making the whole endeavor seemingly useless in the griffon's eyes. Even with his equipment the griffon knew he could pull through with some effort, it was more or less the idea of being outpaced by someone that made him uncomfortable. Whitetip had guessed that it was a pride thing, being a marine in DAHL's private military had left him with a competitive side despite it cooling over in the past few years. The griffon had towed away his guns and pulled out his tucked away kabar. The knife was simple and efficient, it even served him longer than his rifle did. It would be enough, it worked on drugged up insurgents it would work on some wacky techno cultist. (He never did like the sword handed out to sergeants)

 

Whitetip had once again took a peak at the tunnel the stallion went into, who was impossible to see in the darkness. Taking a look at his smaller companion the griffon had felt that she would do well with the plan the stallion had created. She had replaced her shield with the one  in the crate, even grabbed the pistols as well. Made sense, gal was smart enough to take generosity at face value and adapt to her situations. "I think you should go in before me. I'm gonna be moving at a snails pace inside that tunnel, wouldn't want to slow you guys down too much." Whitetip had said to Rose as he mentally prepared himself for the slog that was moving inside the tight tunnel with his armor.

[genessee 535]

@@Hazard Time @@BloodDrops

 

Lance sat uncomfortably in the side passenger seat of the Buzzard. I have no idea why I thought this was a plane. Also, this seat is very unfortunate to those who have a fear of heights... He attempted to position himself into a more comfortable pose, but he had been thrown into his seat by the zombie rather sloppily, and whenever he moved, something poked him. Plus, his fear of heights prevented him from moving too much. Lance peeped his head from the side of the Buzzard and looked towards Bronze, and then craned his neck further and looked over at the undead mare. "Uh..." Lance began to speak, "Thanks for saving me back there. I would've been dead ten times over if it weren't for you." Lance paused. "Oh, I never got your name... I mean, if you want to tell me..." Lance blushed. He wasn't a very social pony, so he usually didn't speak to others. When he did he tried to keep it brief so he wouldn't make a fool of himself. Something poked Lance again.

 

Edit: Fixed problems with movement. I thought the seats were up higher. Upon closer inspection, I figured out that they weren't.

Edited December 8, 2016 by genessee

[Light of Night 332]

@@Randimaxis, 

 

Dusk Rose watched with curiosity and some surprise as he opened the passage and hopped in.  Seeing right away that it was hoof-dug, she became more convinced of his intentions.  It must be quite an intense hatred, digging this, gathering those weapons, and the like.  How long had he planned this?  It must've taken up a year or more, more likely the latter.  Or, more logically, it was one of those lesser-known passages that wasn't common knowledge.  Then again, why take them this way if there was a big possibility that whoever was in charge of security had thought to line the walls with guns or detectors or something?

 

The mention of being at the front-door didn't really bode well for her.  Sure, they were going to go past some checkpoints without having to attack some folks, but still, it really WAS going to be a "storm the castle" situation after all.  But she saw no choice but to go along with the plan if she didn't want to risk getting lost and shot for her troubles.

 

@@Ranger22,

 

Kneeling down with her stomach almost touching the ground, she felt almost sucked in by the darkness their guide in a mummy costume disappeared into.  Remembering that the largest of them was carrying an armory on his back, she turned to Whitetip and asked him, after nodding in response to his suggestion,"You want me to carry at least one of those big guns?  You might be able to go faster that way."  Quickly factoring in their lack of familiarity, she added,"I'll give it back when there's more room.  Or we get attacked, whichever happens first."

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Charge ready. 

 

With his ECAT humming a soft blue hue he pulsed into the air just as the Spiderant hurched forward slamming into the junk cavern wall. Taking quick pop shots at her upper abdomen. A couple critical hits helped- back on ground he pushed himself ahead only hearing the clambering of the spiky tendril legs approaching. With a quick hop with a 180 spin he planted his pawed feet firmly firing off his Umbrage. 

 

Only to be faced with the large spiderant and swift smack to the right. 

 

He gasped for air curling up instinctively as he was airborne slamming hard into the junk walls. Quickly but in daze he scampered to his feet just in time to notice the oncoming spray of acid. Barely managing an escape he urched in a strafe firing with controlled shots.

 

 

Shield recharged. But his body also took a hit but he refused to let pain hold him- It kinda helped with the burn.

 

The spiderant charged again and with emerging danger he pushed himself into a roll just as it came crashing again into the junk walls properly burying itself into the semi-molten metal. Quickly scrambling he charged forward leaping upward onto its abdomen. With its rounds dispensed he wielded his shock baton and began swiping away at her weak spot as the she shook and flailed in immense fury. 

 

With a final buck he was thrown off and face first into the dirt but shaking it quickly. 

 

Oh she was mad- her corroded green body flushed and pulsed heavily now. With unending rage, but on the side of caution, began barraging the ground with its acid spray. The shriveling of the acid erosion echoing about in the foreboding caverns . Easy dodges.

But she continued on, spraying and littering the green with the deadly concoction. Had to get in close... or from here he supposed.

 

Carefully managing his safe distance. Finding himself leftwards of the little entrance pocket he equipped his Vladof rifle, materializing into his paws and taking quick aim just to be greeted by another oncoming spray of green gooey go... ew.

 

Taking a quick side step he fired a couple unaimed rounds. Just on the righthand side, the little ramsacked concrete hut was noted (shoulda saw it earlier). But he dismissed it, keeping a comfy pace away from the weakened foe. She raised her abdomen once more and took note of her spraying habit. Raising for aim he took sight and firing off his successful hits. 

 

With a loud and satisfying pop!- the abdomen exploded into its nasty gibs. Critical Hit!

 

And down went Moby Dick- If Moby Dick was a giant spider ant corrosive monster that sprayed citric acids from its buttholes. 

 

Fallskir let out an immense sigh. That was a bit rough, or maybe he was slacking a little. 

"301?" He asked.

"Yes?" Came the immediate reply.

"Sorry had a bit of a confrontation." He said.

"I noted that. Took a bit of a hit. Health levels at 73 percent." The machine noted.

 

With that in mind, from his side utility pocket he retrieved his single travel healing kit, jamming the syrinette into his side. The rush of the artificial painkillers and cell product-inducing health vial filled his body quick with a burning rush. And then subsided. 

 

"Back to 100 percent." He corrected.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@BloodDrops @@genessee

 

After a small while of flying and occasional small arms fire, the buzzard arrived near the outskirts of New Haven.

 

"A'ention, passengers," Bronze shouted.  "I'm gonna put us down a sma'w walk from the town.  I don't want to get shot up by friendlies."  The pegasus turned back to the controls and continued flying.  Barely a few seconds later, she turned back around.

 

"Also, forgot to mention, I 'ave no bleedin' clue 'ow to land this fing, so 'old on to somefing and prepare to bai'w if you 'ave to!"  With that, she pointed the nose down and the buzzard began to dive.  As anyone with a basic understanding of physics would be able to predict, their speed only increased to a relatively fast 30 mile per hour and Bronze leveled out barely a meter above the ground.  Gently nudging the nose down, the skis began to brush against the ground.  Just as it seemed that they were going to clutch the land, one of the skis hit a rock.  This sent the buzzard spinning out of control towards a towering pile of junk.  The pilot barely had time to scream out a last "He'w's be'w's!" before the VTOL crashed into it, the thrusters sputtering intermittently before they died.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

@Light of Night - @Ranger22

 

 

Moving along the tunnel wasn't too hard - there was room to walk, if you kinda squatted.  The passage continued on for a bit, and thankfully expanded outward to bring enough room to stroll through... though still only single-file.  It was cold here, and inky dark, too.

 

Already, the ace up my sleeve was beginning to feel it's way around, tendrils of what looked like almost liquid darkness sprouting from the little holes and openings in the outfit I wore.  It probably looked horrific to others - it'd be interesting to see if the other two behind me said anything, played dumb, or just tried to play it cool... still, it didn't matter; as long as they didn't shoot me in the back, I didn't care WHAT they thought.

 

Well... okay, not much, anyway.  Really.

 

There was a light layer of frosty mist at the end of the long walk, along with a section of wall that was discolored from the rest - well, THIS side of it was, anyway.  If everything was still kosher, there'd be absolutely NO way to tell there was even a door there.

 

By now, the black tendrils coming from me were drifting along at my side as I walked in an ocean of black fog at my hooves.  They were like living snakes, and they curled around anything within five paces of me - feeling it, gauging it and sending information to my brain stem.  I still got chills down my spine when it did this, but I had no say in what it did anyway.

 

Reaching the off-colored chunk, the shadow tentacles began to wrap around sections of the door.  I stopped in front of it, and turned back to face them both.

 

"First checkpoint's seven paces to the right from this hidden entrance; it's in a locker room - an unused one - so we should be good to go from there.  How do you two wanna take this?"

 

Might as well figure out who was the smart one - though my bets were on the mare.

[genessee 535]

@@Hazard Time @@BloodDrops

 

Lance sat on his passenger seat on the Buzzard when he saw New Haven come into view. Hey, it's New Haven. Maybe I can leave this thing and forget all about it. Probably n-- Lance's thought was cut off by Bronze's shouting. Then, the Buzzard went out of control, and Lance clung to his seat, but to no avail. He was flung out of the aircraft and soared through the air. This must be what it feels like to be a pegasus... Lance admired the wonderful view until he hit the ground. Lance stifled a grunt as his body collapsed onto the dirt. Lance didn't feel any pain. He didn't feel anything, in fact. A solid four seconds later, the pain caught up with him, though. It felt like a plasma beam was being shot through every limb of his body. Lance lay on the dirt, mute. His nose was bleeding and blood was oozing into his mouth and onto the ground next to him. Finally, he forced one word out of himself. "Ouch..." Then Lance passed out.

[Ranger22 179]

Whitetip looked at the mare's offer and simply couldn't help but let out a quick chuckle. The reasoning for it wasn't particularly malicious it was just that Whitetip had gotten so use to digitizing technology he had forgotten that there was a decent amount of people who didn't know about it or have it in their possession. "Thanks for the offer but you don't got to worry about that one bit," Whitetip had said as his guns seemingly disappeared out of thin air into his backpack. "My main concern was this suit of mine, plates are thick so it might be a tight fit in those tunnels," Whitetip added, giving a light tap to his chest plate. He still didn't know much about the mare but so far she was being fairly civilized and the mercenary couldn't complain about that. "You know what? I'm just gonna go in ahead of ya." The griffon placed his armored talons on the mare's shoulder for a brief moment before stepping in front of her and ducking down into the passageway provided by the stallion. 

 

Whitetip grunted as he tried forcing himself into the tunnel, it took a few tries but eventually he managed to squeeze his entire body inside. It was dark, and horrifyingly tight, even more so for the armored bird. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, allowing the griffon to see a few feet ahead of him. With a grunt he began pulling himself forward, the noise from his breathing and contact with the passageways walls ever more prevalent due to the constricting space surrounding his large form. The griffon was making more progress than he'd anticipated earlier, though the height of the passageway forced Whitetip to duck his head and bend his back a bit, keeping his pace at a general slog. Nothing he wasn't used to but it was still a pain to make the effort anyway, luckily for Whitetip the passage started to raise in height allowing the bird to regain his more comfortable posture.

 

There was a noticeable difference at the end of the hallway, and the height of the passageway wasn't the one Whitetip was thinking about. The temperature had gotten drastically lower, a layer of frost proving this to be true. Looking around Whitetip had noticed the black stallion at the end of the passage, black eel like tendrils sprouting from underneath the stallion's coat and a black mist irradiating off his body. So this is what he used when his shields were down, the griffon thought to himself. It was freaky to say the least, but truth be told it honestly just made the stallion more of a scientific curiosity. Whitetip could understand why some people would find him intimidating, but to him the stallion just looked like a walking jellyfish. The griffon's train of thought was interrupted however as the stallion brought up their mission strategy.

 

"Well I don't know what the mare wants exactly, but I'm pretty sure she would want us to stay subtle and out of sight. Avoiding any guards we can and silently killing whoever we can't. I don't know what type of security set ups they have besides the checkpoints, if you can give us any extra information like camera set ups or patrol routes it would help greatly." The griffon had said his piece and began setting himself up for whatever incursions they'd run into. Whitetip had pulled out his pistol and began attaching a silencer to its muzzle on top of the typical observation of its current quality, the silencer wouldn't help dampen the noise in the facilities hallways but it would at least keep the entire facility from hearing him if he absolutely needed to use it. What the griffon had planned to mainly use however was his kabar knife and his own talons. Whitetip considered using his rifle, but he wasn't too sure how wide/large the facilities corridors and halls were and decided to settle with his pistol for a quicker draw and better maneuverability. This was it, one more mission on Pandora and another pay check on its way. It was an unorthodox job but hopefully compensation would be just as unorthodox(more money) Hopefully Rose would be ready too, he didn't exactly like seeing partners die on him.  

Edited December 11, 2016 by Ranger22

[Light of Night 332]

@@Ranger22,@@Randimaxis, 

 

Envy.  That's what she felt when Whitetip's arsenal disappeared.  He had some sort of hyperspace?  He's not even a unicorn!  Or maybe it was some sort of technology she hadn't seen yet.  Either way, she had to get her hooves on that spell or device or whatever it is he had.  Just another of a million reasons to get out of this alive.

 

She started for the passage way, but she didn't even go one step before she felt his talons on her shoulder and briefly tensed up.  Before she could say that she was going ahead and that he probably wouldn't want to risk getting her horn into his backside by mistake (or intentionally if he was taking long enough), he was already ahead.  Stepping into the darkness, she let her eyes adjust to it.  She took the time to sit down and lean against the wall until she felt there was a fair amount of distance between herself and Whitetip.  Then, she began the hike herself.

 

For the first part of it, she just walked, slowly and flat-hooved with her head lowered.  It was no issue for her due to her stature.  But her neck started to hurt from keeping it low for a relatively long while.  As she neared towards where the other two were, she felt herself starting to shiver and she could just barely see her breath form in front of her.  Part of her, began to wonder if her shivering and increased breathing was exhaustion (doubtful), the cold (maybe), or nervousness (very likely).

 

When she got there, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of black mist and tendrils coming out of the walking mummy on the door.  She was glad that it was dark, so that they couldn't easily see the subtle-but-definitely-there anxiety and she daresay fear on her face.  But having got there just as he was giving them his strategy, she took a small but deep breath and felt sane again.

 

She really had to ask him at some point about how he reads others.  He almost spoke her mind there.  "Adding to that, I'm not sure how long it's been since you've been here, but things could've changed since then.  I've got the spell for it, so I can scout ahead."  Then she remembered her current position.  "Or maybe after we all get out of this tunnel.  But still, we best tie up and hide anypony we... ah, take out."

[BloodDrops 762]

@@Hazard Time, @@genessee,

 

 

Blood Drops blinked at him "Me Blood Drops" she growled at him, "Your Still Too Close" she added with another growl. She then gave him a large lick on his face, she blinked at him and snorted "I LIKE YOU" she added at him. She decided to promote his ranking, she hadn't tried to eat him yet so she did like him considerably already. though most males offender her rather quickly and somehow got eaten after said offence. She blinked at him "where we going?" she finished.

 

Blood Drops nodded, she liked a good landing. She blinked as she landed ontop of Lance, he was defiantly now too close. She gave him a bite to tell him he was way too close, then realized he was unconscious. She snorted and brought out a medical potion and force fed him it. She then gave him another bite to tell him he was still too close. "MOVE" she growled.

 

With that Blood Drops jumped out of the crashed plane and snorted at bronze, she was very angry at her. 

[genessee 535]

@@Hazard Time @

 

I was floating in a dark abyss. There was nopony in sight and all I could see was black. Silence engulfed everywhere around me. Suddenly, a small light opened somewhere. I saw it. It seemed to beckon for me to come closer. Closer. The light was blinding, and I went through. 

 

Lance's eyes popped open. He spluttered and blood spurt from his mouth. His leg was hurting more than ever. Looking down, there was not only a bullet shot was there but two bite marks. "Wha.." He looked up and saw Blood near Bronze and the wreckage of the Buzzard. He vaguely remembered that the undead mare had told him her name. Lance's dull thoughts sharpened and more memories flooded back to him. She said she liked me? Uh, is that good? I think it is. Right? Lance's leg continued to bleed, and when Lance looked down to examine it further, he noticed that the flesh around the bite marks was a greenish-gray color. Lance's fur was normally a light gray, and he didn't recall any bite marks that could... Oh, no. Dear lord, please no. Did the zombie bite me? Please say she didn't. Lance looked over and saw blood on Blood's teeth as she snarled at Bronze. She bit me. One thing I know about zombies is that when they bite you, you become a zombie. And she bit me. Lance attempted to stand up, and after a minute of struggling, got to his hooves. He lifted his injured leg and trudged towards the others. Bronze seemed to have not moved far. I must have only been out for a minute or so. Lance's throat hurt, but he still groaned and said, "Blood, you bit me. I'm going to become a zombie. Unless you know of any antidote for whatever virus you have, then I'm screwed." He turned towards Bronze and asked weakly, "Uh, do you happen to have a zombie virus antidote lying around?" Lance paused. "Or a bonesaw, I guess?" 

[FancyHorse 1,209]

301 silently noted at the explosive activity just outside the town limits.

 

"Activity noted." He said aloud.

"What's that?" The canine asked, loading a new charge clip into his umbrage.

"Looked like a Buzzard craft. I'll be watching with thermal viewing... looks like.. two I should say? But I'm seeing more- I'll update." 301 replied.

 

Catching his breath he released a deep exhale and took off into his quickening sprint but he didn't go too far until movement was detected. Sliding to a halt he approached to the next chamber. Strung about by its wiring and dripping with fresh oil the poor CL4PTP droid lay strung about hanging by the makeshift rusted stalagmites. Bullets and obvious blade tears. Bandits near by.

 

To the left he noted the echoing chatter with the crackling of a large fire. Crouched down and approaching quick to the closest jutting metal sheet he peeked over at the little congregation of bandit pones. Quite similar to the last group. They seem to be giving boasts on the loot they grabbed. Possibly from those caravans they raided.

 

Popping up he took a brief aim before the fire bolt shot forward at the one sitting closest to him. Now in a blazing pyre.

"Oh shit! Gun it down!" The unicorn next to him shouted at he scrambled to his hooves with gun in tow.

 

In the instant as he retreated into a crouch behind the thick metal bullets hammered about at his solid wall as though from an unpredictable forecast- of showering death and hot lead. Pandora has some strange weather patterns bro.

 

3, 2, - he took off into the short distance just diagonally right sliding into cover. Its your average first person shooter all over again. Except there is a real badass here. He gave a cocky grin as he peaked out aiming at the second bandit taking a couple rounds letting his shield do the work before taking back.

 

Kicking open its cabin door just ahead the whole group halts as the large horse, cladded in long body robes his entire face hidden away by his hooded mask.

"I want. Your damn loot." He mutters as he raised his hoof.

 

"Get him boys!" He gave an order, the leader type.

 

In sudden unison the three remaining ponies gave out a unified cry as they rushed his position. Shit.

Edited December 11, 2016 by IllusivePony

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@BloodDrops @@genessee

 

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

For the longest time, it seemed, Bronze had nothing to go on, nothing save the ringing in her ears.  The world was hazy, and shady forms shifted before her eyes.  Suddenly, a large blob took up most of her vision and she commanded her eyes to focus.  Instead, they rebelled and focused on nothing in particular.  The pegasus did not appreciate this.  It was her body, and her rules, and if they didn't wanted to obey her rules, then she'd find a cybernetic surgeon who would gladly take the offending body parts and replace them with artificial ones who didn't take for granted all the nutrients that she supplied them with.  This realization knocked some sense into her ungrateful eyes, and they converged on the blob.

 

Ah, the mare she saved.  Why was she glaring at her?  They all survived in one piece, right?  Well, mostly.  Bronze looked down and noticed that a rather sharp piece of scrap metal had carved a nice cut into her flak vest.  The metal plates stopped it from going any further, but a small amount of scarlet stained the threads of the vest.

 

Bronze placed her hoof on the offending shard and shoved it away, groaning as she ended up slicing more of her flesh.  No rest, never.  Still wincing in pain, the mare grabbed hold of the outside roll cage and stepped out of the cockpit.  To be more correct, however, she fell out, landing on her hooves and knees as she groaned at the pain.  Her ankle throbbed, and she prayed it was just a sprain.  Thankfully, it wasn't too far from New Haven, but it was still a ten minute walk.

 

"Everypony sti'w alive?" she asked, looking from the stallion to the mare.  "Good.  On me.  I could use a damn drink."  With that, she began limping away in the direction she remembered New Haven being.

[Vampira Heart 920]

Vampira walks with Kronos to the car. Her holds her gun with her magic and walks with him to the car. She hops into the passenger seat and opens his door for him.

"Here you go Kronos..."

She sits silently, sighs and waits for him to get in and looks around and keeps ahold of her gun just in case.