We stand united 1x1 Maple Bat

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"No problem." He replied to Celestia

"Hmmm... I wouldn't call his action stupid or heroic, but more in the area of atonement because we all have somethimes moment where we want to repent for the wrongdoings or mistakes we have made in the past, some of them not that bad, but others very bad. I think going alone might feel as a way to atone for past sins to him, or doing something very dangerous. It is how some of us tend to act with this." Edgar explained to Luna, though he personally did not know if this was the case for Karthspire either, he was still confident about it.

"Anyway, I am going to have a talk with my friend, I will see you 2 later," Edgar said with a wave as he left.

 

'Don't worry, you really are going to like it, I have been planning to give gifts to everyone.'  Jack thought to Evelyn.

 

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

The second group had set up a camp after travelling far and been tracking the trails of the war machine, as they felt they were getting close.

It was busy with conversations, some sat around campfires while others were just staring at the view. it was all variated.

One group was recounting stories to each other, but what stood out from this was that there was one raukan, 2 Terrans and a 2 legged Vernomian among them, although this one didn't seem to have wings.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

'Well... Thanks then! I owe you one!' Evelyn thought with a hearty amount of joy.

----------------------------------------------------
Ember had managed to make Festus fell better and now Ember was showing Festus a neat trick on lighting fires... AS the two were in charge of the campfires thanks to the fire breath. It saved material since tinder was no longer required.

Maple sat out, near the camp but not close to anyone. She liked being alone sometimes and this was obviously one of those time... "Ugh... This stupid body is starting to go on the fritz again." She stated nothing a small spark she saw in her peripheral vision "Stupid... useless... wing"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"I don't get it, why are we chasing that we couldn't even damage with our weapons? I feel all of our time is wasted in that regard, we need bigger weaponry! Why didn't Karthspire bring any tanks? I have seen him utilizing them in the past! But now? We might as well just stand in the open and scream 'Here we are!' with how we are handling things." The Raukan said as he appeared to be a pretty young soldier.

"Being in command is a hard task since you cannot predict everything that might happen ahead, but if you are so sure of your words, why don't you take command of this task? Let's see how you will handle our situation, try to coordinate our movements and plan out an attack againts a big Warmachine, a detachment chuck full of foot soldiers armed with firearms and snipers. A couple of drones, and a small detachment of cloaked infected. Lets how you will manage that without getting us all killed and failing the one task that you had been assigned to." One of the Terrans said as this one appeared to be a bit of the more older type.

"Well... You didn't have to put it in such an insulting way..." The Raukan said with a frown.

"But that is the reality of commanding Elavor, you need to be devoid of simplification in terms of what you perceive if you are going to make this level of claims. You may not like it, but it is foolish to start claiming things that you don't know anything about it. But this is often expected to come from the younger recruits, they need to witness things with their our own eyes before they can drop their assumptions at a whim. And you apparently haven't reached that phase yet." The Terran said.

"You are 21 years old, while the age might not always matter, your service record does matter. Have you run through enemy fire while your comrades are being shredded apart by the bullets that they fire? Have you been in a situation where your commanding officer is dead, and only 3 other soldiers are there with you, knowing that the end of their lives are in the hands of somebody that they cannot rely on? You haven't Elavor, you can voice your oppinion, but you shouldn't claim things that you don't know anything about unless you want to be seen as the epidemic of incompetence by others."

"That is enough Enoch, let him be on his oppinion, we all see things in a different way." The Vernomian retorted.

"Just being truthful to him Nermos, he won't learn to fend for himself in the real world if he keeps being sugarcoated by his superiors, because there will come a time that this society of ours breaks, and then we will just become refugees again like we always do, I had to learn that the hard way, and I do not prefer to have any of you experience it that same way." The Terran said with a sigh.

"You are a morbid one, Enoch." The Raukan said with a chuckle.

"A lifetime of service and warfare does that to you, but a 4-time transfer to different armies will make you see things in a way where you start to despise false hope, especially if the transfer is to the other side of the galaxy." The Terran admitted.

"The other side? Are you referring to your original homeplace? You haven't told me from which army you came from. Was it the Cadre's Fith? Thundershock Legion?" The Raukan asked with intrigue.

"Thundershock Legion, the army that I used to embrace with a sense of pride, but now it has become a mere shadow in the past." The Teran admitted.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Festus chuckled hearing the 2 carry on a conversation "I've been 'Serving' For only about a year... I know one thing about those machines, They have a weak spot... Don't know what it is but all things do even we as a collective 'personality' have weak spots. You don't... And probably aren't going to conisder that a possibility since... well I'm just a kid who doesn't know anything." Festus Growled at his own comment "Look... I'd just keep in mind that weakness can't be fixed. Even the most elite fighters have some osrt of flaw so why can't machines right?"

Ember was more concerned about this... Thundershock legion she confronted the Teran "Hey... Uhh... You. That Thundershock army's not gone... nor is it a shadow. After all," She gave him a nudge to the shoulder "You're part of it and you're still here. So bring it a good name huh?"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"You are correct and wrong kid, they have a weak spot, everybody knows that. But it is like you said, where is the weak spot? And then comes the question, how can we penetrate it in the first place? That is what had Elavor started talking about it in the first place. We have strong explosives and some rocket launchers, but that is it really.   If we had known that we could encounter one of those things, we would have stockpiled on explosives and even provided some mobile artillery, but now?  We can only improvise and hope it will be enough." The Vernomian staid to Festus with a smile.

"Didn't that one robot girl attempt to strike againts the war machine, with some sort of the propulsion?" The Raukan asked with curiosity.

"Yes, but it didn't have much effect in the end, or atleast, it didn't have the desired effect. While it did buy enough time for the others to escape, it would just be a death sentence to attempt it with the intention of damaging the war machine, the differences in size and mass is way to big. That would be like a bird trying to knock over a bulldozer, even if it would go at sonic speeds, it wouldn't do anything but crush itself.    You gotta know when there is a thing that you cannot battle, hence the reason why we are being told to avoid such war machines at all cost and rather let bigger weaponry engage it, that way it saves alot of lives. All we can do now is do our best and hope that it will work out, guarantee is a luxury we do not have here." The Vernomian admitted.

"But you have to admit, there was alot of heroism in what she did, I sure know I wouldn't dare to attempt." The Raukan mentioned.

"Indeed, but you risk the lives of others in such an action as well. It is a similar thing to where you take the initiative to do something dangerous, but then you get wounded, others will risk their lives to save yours, but by that extension, those very people might also get hurt or die. I don't know what her case was, but there is a boundary between initiative and being reckless. Listening to your superiors or fellow brothers in arms is the best of course of action, even if it may go againts your better judgement."

"Still... Why do you guys keep being so serious about all of this? We know what is going to happen, but why not lighten up and cast aside all this bleak talk?" The Raukan said.

The Vernomian cracked a smile. "You mean the same *bleak talk* that has managed to save you from numerous dangers?" The Vernomian retorted.

"This is getting a little embarrassing.." The Raukan said as he looked down with an embarrassed look on his face.

 

 

 

"Not exactly, I have left them decades ago, as many call them victims of damnation, and with good reason." The Terran said as he blinked his eyes.

"Torvan served the Thundershocks as a volunteer, and has originally been born in this region, but not you Enoch." The Raukan asked.

"No, I have served the Thundershock Army at the age of 11, been born and raised as a native of Moloch, the capital world of the Terrans, and the place where our biggest wars have been fought," Enoch admitted.

"The darkest days..." Torvan muttered.

"I have served under Captain Martian, but that changed when I was selected to join the Terran Prince along with many others, it was a campaign in where the remains of Valtrek empire were being hunted down by us. Everything went very good at first, that was until we stumbled upon the planet of Vernos IV " Enoch said.

"You are going to mention that accursed place? You might as well tell further while you are at it." Torvan said

"The planet itself was an ice world, at first nothing ordinary or concerning was present there, or so we thought at first, but then, we got ambushed, and had to fight off againts unimaginable odds, it was only through the efforts of the Prince's coordination and tactics that we managed to hold our ground and not get slaughtered to the last man," Enoch explained.

"But suddenly things took a turn for the worst, a Serpentine creature suddenly emerged from out of nowhere, and some sort of black fog was emerging from its very presence, we shot many bullets at the thing, but all our efforts where ineffective againts the creature, that was until the prince himself jammed a grenade in its mouth, the explosion causing the creature to blow up from the inside out.  But no celebration could be made, and no celebration would ever happen again among us after what we witnessed."

"The creature's fog suddenly started to envelop the prince and started to inside every part of his body. What happened next was something that we could never forget. The prince started to bezerk, he had the golden eyes of an infected, yet he didn't seem to show the signs of any form of infection. He then roared like a madman and tore us apart one by one, acting like a feral infected, but there was something more sinister, the same black fog kept emerging from his body, and just like with the serpentine creature, nothing seemed to harm in that area."

"After a long while, we managed to kill him, or so we believed, and as you can imagine, it weighed on all of us, down to our very cores. Not only was our entire expedition fleet wiped during the ambush, but the very prince that we served had turned into something monstrous."

"But that wasn't the end of him because he is still around this very day." the Vernomian mentioned.

"Indeed, it was 10 years later that the Prince suddenly reemerged, but it seemed almost like a miracle had fallen upon us. All signs of his berzerker state, the golden eyes and black fog, all of it was gone... And he seemed to remember nothing after he had changed.   And to this very day, he has started to lead us again, but there is a dark truth behind all of this..  Apparently, the prince had never fully reverted to his normal self."

"For some reason, he had been able to trap the creature inside himself, using his very own body as a prison to keep the creature trapped. Wich should be downright impossible, even for someone like him, given that he has no magic or any form of energy manipulation.   Although lately, he has started to show signs of those dark powers emerging, but not in a downright bad way, just a concerning way.  Not only has he become a killing machine againts our enemies, but his emotions and very judgment seem to have slowly gotten affected by the creature itself, as where he once still had a sense of happiness, positive sides, and other things, he now has become devoid of those things.  Those around him cannot deny that he has truly changed, as he views every event with a grim view, a cold and disturbing view on his eyes.    These signs are not that bad, but those close to him know that his sanity is starting to decline with every day."

"And yet it is his leadership that keeps not only us but perhaps the entire galaxy still standing, just for the sheer fact that he has been sending the Thundershock army into the very teeth of battle, because he is aware Valtrek wants him dead for being a descendant of Aliah, so the prince uses this factor as a method to keep Valtrek's forces directed towards attacking us."

"If you have wondered why Valtrek has yet to send his attack fleets towards this sector, then here is your answer, This entire war that is happening in that other sector, is both a struggle and distraction at the same time.  As the Thundershock army is struggling on Moloch, where Valtrek is sending his forces towards nonstop.  With Moloch having the entirety of the Thundershock army garrisoned at, it is even to this day still able to hold its ground againts Valtrek's entire army, but don't let that fool you, because the defense is still going from both impressive tacticians and the recruitment from the local population, else the planet would have fallen long ago."

"But... what has that last part to do with why Valtrek isn't sending his armies all the way towards here?" Elavor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That *distraction* that I talked about, is the war of Moloch because while Valtrek's forces are giving everything they have into assault Moloch, they are to busy to attack any of the other sectors, so you should be grateful that the Prince is participating in this war the way he is, because as long as Moloch is constantly being besieged, countless of other planets have been spared from Valtrek's invasion fleet, only minor attack fleets have invaded planets in this sector so far," Enoch mentioned.

"M-minor........?" Elavor stammered as he looked a bit pale.

"Let that information sink in for a bit, because it goes to show that nothing of this can be so casually thought of, so for all of your sakes, be glad that you don't have to participate in the scale that is going on over there, because I have in the past, and all you see is a sea of corpses and blood as you walk the very earth that you fight on," Enoch said with a frown. "The Terran race is in stagnation, so don't be surprised if that species will cease to exist within the coming months or years."

"Hope that explains it."

"I have heard enough Enoch." Torvan said with a scowl.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Both of the dragons were silent hearing that shock was clearly seen, Festus even stepped back after another second he started to tear up. "I-If that's true then... what hope do we have..." Festus collapsed unto his knees losing what hope he had left inside him.

Ember picked him up again "Like you said. All things have a weakness There's a weakness to that whole army and I know it!" She said almost roaring it "So We're going to find it and save the whole universe! We just gotta keep doing what we need to and then everything else will fall into place. I mean look at this army we've got. I wouldn't say we don't stand at least a chance." Ember smiled brightly at him and the fire of determination was burning deep within her "Though I imagine we need something... Like a big factor that would push us beyond our limits. Where that'll come from? I've got no Idea." She glanced at the 2 wondering if they knew something she didn't.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"Who knows, anything could happen at this point, we got some major factions on our side, and a full combination between all of those armies combined might make a good stand, but we cannot deny the fact that many are going to die regardless. Mainly the survivors who are scattered throughout planets. They do not have the luxury of life as much as we do, and are in a sore disadvantage when it comes to weaponry and even things like food and water, a bed, anything, let alone the fact manpower." The Vernomian mentioned.

"Yeah, no kidding, it must feel bad, knowing that you have to are on your own, knowing that you are going to die very likely, but not know how.  It is the sad truth that most of us have to venture on our own due to this damnable war, or well... I could hardly call it war in their state, more like an apocalypse." The Raukan said with sadness.

Suddenly everyone becomes quiet, and the ears of Enoch started to twitch a bit.

"Do you guys hear that?" The Raukan said nervously.

"What is it? Enoch, are you hearing something specific?" The Vernomian asked, only the Terrand and Raukan present where able to hear this sound due to their catlike ears.

"Some sort thumping, it is very faint, but i can hear it coming from far away, but you know as well as I do know what it is. That war machine, it is heading towards this direction." Enoch said as he stood up and looked into the distance.

"Here? Did it find us?" The Rauken exclaimed

"No, I doubt it, I presume it is walking to this direction for other reasons, the most likely one is that its destination much is towards this direction, and we happen to be in its path," Enoch mentioned.

"This is unexpected, but nothing that we aren't prepared for, so what you think we might encounter there? There is no way that they won't have a form of a vanguard that protects the war machine from ambushes." The Vernomian.

"Most likely Foot soldiers, all of them ranged, with some carrying anti-vehicle weaponry, accompanied by a detachment of drones, most of them being smaller ones, while there might be 2 bigger ones with heavy weaponry. That is my guess.  But they are still far away." Enoch mentioned.

"So I can assume that Melee combat will only be effective at the foot soldiers, and the smaller drones perhaps, but againts the bigger drones and the war machine it will be out of the question. This is going to be interesting, we might have to prepare some sort of ambush, that way the explosives might serve a better purpose then we originally intended them to do." The vernomian mentioned as he started to gather his weapons.

But it was not just that group who was aware of the enemies approaching, the whole camp has become aware of it.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember set Festus down. "Well, then it's a simple fight. It won't be hard. We get to grow in strength from the battle and shouldn't suffer to big of losses but the enemy will take extremely heavy ones." She said with the same feeling as before, she was ready to fight again, perhaps it was just her draconic nature that made her that way, Or perhaps she genuinely believed that they would win over Valtrek.

Festus smiled and brandished his shield checking it quickly the putting in back on his side in its sheath form "Yea... I think we can do this. I like that spirit of yours Princess Ember, I think we could all learn from you. If we're going to fight you count on us!"

 

Maple had heard the marching too and got agitated. "Well... I can still fight even without these useless pieces of metal... They can block for me at least... Hehe, natural armor I suppose." She got up and went to head to the others she knew well, Ember and Festus.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"Alright, Everyone, gather around!" Someone said, who assumingly was the one who was going to lead the attack.

The others started to gather, and so a form of planning started to plan. But there was a problem going on...

"Could you gather the explosives?" He asked to one of the soldiers, but then came a comment from the person who Maple had kicked before. "Um... I... had forgotten to bring them..." The person stated with a guilty but nervous look, and he receives almost furious looks back.

There was a real screw up apparent.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember put her weapon of choice, The axe she had taken once she got her stuff from the center. "Well, that certainly changes plans. Perhaps it even ruins the whole plan... We still have to take care of that war machine. Explosives or not. Our allies are counting on us plus like Festus said it has a weakness perhaps if we blocked the guns inside the barrels the machine's cannons wouldn't sense the and then blow up? Or I could try to remove them with my axe."

"The axe won't work Ember" Maple said "As for blocking the barrels from the inside... Well it might, but I saw one get froze adn it noticed breaking the ice off the barrel... Inside it might have less options... But I wouldn't count on it"

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"She is right, you could try to use an axe as big as a mountain and it still wouldn't do anything, as these things have been crafted from a material far stronger than steel since they have utilized this same material on their other vehicles as well," Enoch mentioned.

"And while it may have a weakness, it is a weakness that none of us could even reach in the first place, you would need a type of firepower that would be very strong, something that nobody could just carry around with bare hands. We are talking about weaponry that would require being mounted on a vehicle or a big person like a full-grown Vernomian at the very least. Weaponry that we don't even have in the first place." He said as he shook his head.

"We are brainstorming to much about something that we cannot change, regardless of what we would pull off. Not saying that it is totally impossible, but trying to think of a 1000 scenarios on how we could attempt to destroy the war machine without explosives really won't do much except waste the precious time that we have left.  We should be using this time to prepare an ambush, take care of the vanguard leading the Warmachine and along the way we might see an opening that we could use to atleast slow down the machine, make use of the terrain, anything really. But rather on the basis that we are doing this safe, no heroic sacrifices among us for a battle that won't decide much, in the end, remember that Karthspire mentioned multiple ones being told off.    Just because that those other war machines are far, far away from here or the city, doesn't mean that we not might encounter them in the future."

"Enoch is correct, we should use the time that we have left to prepare an ambush, does anybody have a preferred role? Any ideas would be helpful because we don't have much time left. And we didn't exactly have time to come up with something before because a certain someone forgot the explosives." The leader mentioned.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Ember crossed her arms "I... Guess so..." She seemed pretty devastated to say the least it was like all the determination was gone. "So... Well that doesn't matter. I can do whatever you need me to."

Festus and Maple shared her sentimate. Maple spoke first "Yea anything we can do to help out I'm ready to do!"

"I think I'd prefer to be a bit farther behind a lot of the fighting." Festus stated nervously, He was really tired and he felt powerless against this whole army... And whatever else was sitting in space waiting to be called in

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

"That is acceptable, just make sure you stay close to the others, alot of moving might be necessary." The leader replied to Festus his statement.

He then looked at the others.

"Alright, I will be splitting this group into 3 smaller groups, first one will be called Haymaker, the second one will be called Martyrdom, and the third one will be called Razor Edge. These names are just for the sake of making it easier to designate a specific group.     

"Now... Equip these to your ears, these are tiny radio communicators, where you can talk to each other via distance. But some of you who have served in the early days of this war are no strangers to this method." He said as he handed them out to everyone.

"Haymaker will be on the front lines, attacking the enemy and drawing their attention at the same time."

"Meanwhile Martyrdom will be laying behind cover and ambush the enemy once all of their attention is focused on Haymaker. While Razor Edge will provide fire support from afar."

"Now I will list who will join what group. In Haymaker are,  Toshkin, Maple, Arkan, Martin, and Elavor."

"In Martyrdom will be, Torvan, Ember, Merra, Iliana and... It seems someone is absent... before we had left the others there was one more person listed to be in our group, oh well... Can't do anything about it now."

"And in Razor Edge will be, Amriel, Enoch, and lastly Festus, who had requested to be farther removed from the fight, so that will make a good spot." The leader said.

"Now... Take positions, and when ready, we will do a fast roll call through the Radio's, to make sure everyone is present and ready!"

Everyone started to take positions, as there wasn't much cover in the desert except for occasional big rocks and sand dunes.

It would prove to be a difficult battle.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

"I'm fine with moving a lot. I'm durable... I just. Don't want to get shot anymore... I think I'm really scared of those guns... Like phobia scared" Festus visibly shuttered thinking about when he got shot before.

Ember set her claw on his shoulder "It's quite alright. I'm pretty scared too but I know that we can do this... it'll be a lot of work..." That was a really significant understatement. "I believe that we can save the universe! I just need you to help me too. Ok?"

"I... Think I can manage that... I should go join up with my group. See you Princess Ember." He quickly tried ran off gliding over to the others.

"Yea good luck with that... Winning... You saw what he did to my brother... I don't think we stand a chance..." Maple said replied thinking of her brother and the vicious scar on his face that he hid with his mane. It made her angry that it was there... even more so that she couldn't kill the one who made it. She stomped off just as angry leaving Ember particularly confused

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

Everyone has taken positions and they were now waiting for the enemy to come closer.

+Alright, we are in position, now sound off.+ The leader said trough the radio.

+Haymaker ready.+ Was heard on the radio.

+Martyrdom ready.+

+Razor Edge ready and with full focus."

+Right, now we wait for them to arrive, I will give the orders trough.+ The leader said.

 

After 5 minutes of waiting for only a small outline of the war machine could be seen in the distance, and even from far away it looked massive, but the enemy vanguards seemed to move further ahead then the machine itself.

+Toshkin, how close are they now?+ The leader asked.

+They are getting close sir, only-+ He wasn't able to finish his sentence and let out some sort of dead gasp before going silent completely.

+Toshkin? Toshkin come in! What happenend to him?+  The leader asked with anger.

+He is gone sir, they seem to have sent out cloaked units, Aka Chameleons and trough my scope I only notice some vague outlines before the creature managed to get away.+ Enoch said.

+Right, Haymaker, be on guard and check your surroundings. Martyrdom, take cover and wait for my mark, but be on guard as well.+ The leader ordered.

But something was going on... And it became apparent real fast, Haymaker squad had to get into fast action, as infected scorpion creatures where swarming towards that group with a good amount of them.

But Haymaker wasn't the only one who was under attack, Martyrdom had been targetted as well, but not by those scorpion things, but rather those cloaked enemies wich where referred to as *Chameleons*, which seemed to have been a smart move by the enemy, as some of those creatures had managed to track down the hiding squad without being seen due to their invisibility.

3 Chameleons suddenly charged straight into the squad, only vague outlines of their body where visible when they where really close,  but one thing was for certain, the weapons they had where very deadly, as they seemed extremely similar to Maple's Lighting Claws, it could have even been where Maple's claws had come from when Caerson had built her that body.

But Razor Edge wasn't that lucky either,  because one of the other chameleons had managed to sneak up to the place where Razor Edge was at, and at a sudden move, the Chameleon tackled Festus from the behind, making the 2 of them tumble down a sandhill, only for the chameleon to jump on Festus and Roar in his face, even though the outlines where only visible, the sight of that alone gave it a very menacing appearance, and it didn't help that the breath of the creature was very foul.

It was about to strike Festus in the face when suddenly it got blown off him, and a very loud shot rang across the area.

Enoch had seen it happen and had shot through the creature's skull with his sniper, saving Festus his life at the very last moment.

"You alright there kid?" He asked Festus as he called out from where he was as he got back in looking through his scope, aiming at the enemies from afar.

One thing could be gathered from this, these creatures had noticed Festus his fear, and acted out on its instinct, attacking those with fear seemed to be an easier prey then attacking someone who had no fear at all.

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple chuckled as her claws revealed themselves "I'd be careful. Those claws look charged... Don't stand close to each other." Maple would need to avoid getting hit herself. Not only that but with all the exposed parts due to the wings she was in real danger if they hit there, it scared her... but she wasn't going to back down. She decided the fight but she was going to be defensive as compared to normal.

When the cloaked enemies got close Ember heard something... She waited and heard it move. She picked up sand from the ground tossing it in the direction she heard the sound. The dust would cover the cloaked being making it so she could see it. As soon as she did there was a flash of her axes she swung at the closest one. "I think they saw us." She commented off-handedly

After the thing got shot Festus rolled and scrambled to get up quickly drawing his shield and taking the sword from it. "I'm... Good now. Thanks." He kept his shield against his chest, in case that was to happen again, then he could handle the creature himself, he was still pretty scared and the attack didn't help but he was slightly more determined than before. "I... I can do it..."

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

 

The group of Haymaker was opening fire upon the scorpion creatures, while at the same type slowly advancing a bit back in order to keep distance.

 

But these scorpion creatures where with alot, around 60, which would apparently be fatal to meet in close combat as the moment you would try to attack the others one could swarm you at that very same time, hence why Haymaker was trying to keep their distance.

+Haymaker, back up! Keep your distance from those things.+  The leader said trough the radio.

+Martyrdom, status, what of the Chameleons?+  He asked.

+They are still around sir, But Ember managed to kill one, and Enoch had managed to kill another, but there are still 2 or more around.+  Merra said trough the radio.

But things suddenly turned for a worse, Haymaker suddenly got under fire by enemy forces who had managed to approach without much problems since the scorpion creatures already have Haymaker busy.

+Under fire!+ Arkan shouted through the radio channel.

+Haymaker, keep advancing back, but keep on slaying those scorpion things! Martyrdom, forget about the Chameleon's for now, engage those enemy soldiers at once, or else Haymaker will be wiped out! Razor Edge, provide fire support for Haymaker and Martyrdom!+  The leader ordered through the radio.

Some of the Scorpion creatures tried to attack Maple, 3 from behind where trying to climb on her back to reach her wiring. While 8 scorpion creatures in front of her were heading towards her.

What made this an impressive feat was for the fact that while these creatures were acting very much like animals, they did have some remarkable instincts, as these scorpion creatures where specifically seeking out Maple's wiring. Tough this instinct was probably meant to instead to be used againts vehicles instead.

4 drones, armed with Gatling guns appeared above the battlefield, not that high in the air but still high enough to get a decent view of seeing who to attack. And attacking they did, as they started splitting up, where 2 drones started to attack Martyrdom, attacking members of that group including Ember, but even though they where drones, they where not nearly as durable as vehicles such as Mech's or the more advanced drones, these ones could be destroyed by bullets or melee weapons just fine, but would still require some good effort.

Enoch was looking scope, as he then started firing at the drones that were heading towards him.

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Festus sheathed his blade in the shield as he did usually. "Ok, I can help." He drew his revolver and fired shots trying his best to aim at anything hostile. His accuracy wasn't as good as normal due to his shaking but he could at least land a shot. Once shot deflected off Maple's back causing her to notice the scorpions on her

Maple rolled on the ground crushing those that had got on her back and spotted the drones heading after Ember and her company she had to help them out... if she did then they could help her squad. She hurried over to them seeing Ember sitting there blocking bullets with her axes blade. "Ember!" Maple shouted, "Get ready to throw me!"

Ember saw the robotic pony racing to her and smiled "Never change Maple..." She whispered to herself as she moved to put the ax away and hide from most of the fire. Once Maple got close enough she lifted her spinning in circles rapidly to gain momentum, She was holding her forehoofs and she threw Maple as hards as she could at the closest drone. Maple's claws swung at it she hit and they stuck leaving Maple on top of the one drone as she then tried to force it apart

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

As they were shooting at the drones, it seemed Enoch has managed to destroy one with his sniper, and the other one was already damaged by Festus his shots, so it didn't take much for his sniper to destroy the damaged drone.

"I noticed your way of firing from afar, but I will give you some good advice when in such a position, aim with 2 hands, look down the iron sight and fire in short burst, that will have more effect if you do that from longer ranges, your current method works better at close quarters," Amriel told Festus with a smile, as he then turned back to firing short burst at the enemy from afar with his rifle.

All the while Maple was attacking the drone that was getting destroyed by her claws.

 

+Martyrdom and Haymaker, try to wrap up things there fast, multiple individuals are inbound soon and you don't be caught in the open like that when they arrive.+ The leader said trough the radio,

+Sir, you might want to pull them back, NOW.+  Enoch said to the radio with urgency.

+Why? What is going, Enoch?+ The leader said replied back.

+Those inbound individuals that you mentioned aren't just a few, but a good amount of them, Haymaker and Martyrdom shouldn't attack that one with the formation that they currently have.+ Enoch said back.

+So do you have a better idea, Enoch? You better spill it out now.+ The leader demanded.

+Pull them back, and get everyone together, give us a proper formation in which we can attack all at once from range with a mixture of melee in front. The way that we are attacking now is too uncoordinated, some of us are shooting, some of us are fighting melee and are at different spots altogether, that isn't going to mix well in this situation.   Not to mention that the newcomers aren't us their radio's, which could risk them to fall apart from our strategy.+ Enoch warned.

+Right, Haymaker and Martyrdom, kill what you can and then pull back asap, we are merging squads into one big group again, this isn't going to work out, while some of you are working together, it isn't going to work out well if this teamwork is only shared among some individuals, instead of an entire team like it should be.+ The leader said with a sigh.

+Regroup back at the hill, we are going to work as a big group again from that point on forward.+ He said.

+The calvary has arrived!+ Suddenly sounded through the radio channels.

+Who said that?+ The leader asked with confusion.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

Maple chuckled +Well I can safely Say that It's help.+ "Hey! Took you long enough!" Maple shouted.

+Maple She's on the Radio No need to shout+ Ember said with a hint of embarrassment +Focus on the fight ahead of you.+

Festus Didn't Pay much mind, he just kept doing what he could with his gun. "Hey... What should I be doing." He asked the person who was shooting with him, the same one that had saved him moments ago. He didn't really have time to properly thank him so he noted to do that later.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

+You will be thanking me big time after I am done with what I am about to do.+ The voice said to Maple through the radio.

As around 20 soldiers were getting closer towards Haymaker, suddenly something happenend... A rocket impacted straight into the middle of the enemy group, 5 getting killed from the rocket explosion, the 15 other ones tried to locate the source, but they didn't have enough time to find it yet, as most of the soldiers got riddled with a hailstorm of bullets.

Upon on one of the far sandhills stood a Mech, it was an enemy mech, but it wasn't piloted by an enemy, but somebody else.

The remaining enemy soldiers tried to shoot at the mech, but their bullets didn't have any effect againts its armour.

And they grew more desperate as the mech kept approaching them while tanking all those bullets, but not even using its gun to fire back, which obviously was used as a humiliation tactic.

The nearest soldier tried to run away, but it got crushed under the Mech's mechanical leg that stepped on the enemy and then finished off the last remaining for with its Gatling gun.

It then started to attack the scorpion creatures with a combination of using its Gatling gun and using its mechanical feet to crush them under it. But the drones had no good way of damaging the Mech either due to its armour, where the drones were only equipped with anti-infantry weaponry.

+D-did that Mech just help us?+ Amriel said trough the radio with disbelief.

+It seems like it, but I can't seem to really figure out who is inside of it...+ The Vernomian said trough the radio.

 

"Just keep firing at the drones, but if you feel that you are losing focus, stop firing, there is no use in firing when your focus would end up sloppy and would miss most of your rounds, wasting the precious ammo that is already hard to find nowadays," Enoch advised to Festus.

"But also make sure to stay in cover."

 

 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

+Oh trust me, I know that already+ Maple calmly replied after she landed on the ground bits of the drone she destroyed +It's always good to see help+ Maple dashed back over to her squad to assist then... she had to be wary of the scorpions since they were trained to fight machines 

+Don't question the assistance. I do need to ask, should we continue our advance or stick with the plan of retreating? I'm all for kicking more flank with the help of our new friend here!+ Ember hadn't moved much after throwing Maple she was trying to protect those behind her, It had success but for her to not get shot too it was a challenge

 

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

+We need to stick together and create a strong defe-+ The leader was however interrupted.

+A bunch of baloney if you ask me.+ The voice from the mech said through the radio.

+You got a better plan, Sherlock?+ The leader said with a hint of anger.

+Instead of treating your group like a bunch of glorified shepherds, you should ask them yourself, whether they want to attack or retreat is up to them, but it is not my job to stop them from wanting a life or death treatment, and neither is yours.+ The voice said back.

+Then why don't you go and attack first if you think you are so smart? I am sure they like a loudmouth such as you.+  The leader taunted

+I am not part of your army, I am not part of your race, you hold no authority over me, I could punch you in the face or even outright shoot at you and I would receive no repercussions because there are no laws in place, and never will be.  But that is the fun of living in this apocalypse, isn't it? No one can tell you what to do, and fight this war your own way in how you see fit, and that is exactly what I am going to do.  Now keep quiet, savvy?+ the voice countered back.

+Loud and clear numbskull.+  The leader muttered through the radio.

+You all heard the man over there, do as you please!" The voice said in a smug tone before turning off his radio completely.

The Scorpion creatures where mostly dealt with by now, around 15 remained from the combined attacks and were now scattered and running around.

Tough the mech itself started to head towards the further enemies, close to where the war machine was located, but it was obvious who was piloting the mech at this point.

The others of the group were a bit uncertain what to do now after that conversation, and the leader wasn't responding, probably out of Embarrassment.

+I guess we should just move out?+ Merra asked through the radio.

+Yeah, we have a much better chance if we just attack head on now, but continue to focus on the enemy troops, ignore the war machine for now. That is my advice, but like the conversation confirmed, do as you please.+  The vernomian said trough the radio, even he couldn't help but enjoy the outcome of what happenend there.

Any other person doing that their superior would be unacceptable, but in this case, there was no superior.

Edited March 7, 2018 by Mickey Adaptus

[Maple Bat 3,568]

+Can't do much to the machine ourselves I'd say that we go to cover the mech on our side, It can do some serious damage to the Warmachine. I'm going to do it anyone else is welcome to join me in that effort.+ Maple said through her com as she ran to kill a soldier that was aimed at the allied Mech. Her claws sunk and shocked her prey and she lept away from the kill and kept running. +YOu know... this is what happens when you don't have a plan+ She said remembering that there wasn't much of a plan of attack before even with the explosives

+Suppose I'll Join you+ Ember quickly stated +Festus Stay back please, You can keep shooting though+ Ember spun her axe as she moved out of the squads hiding place. "I got this." She opened her wings and took off to make sure all the drones where gone she looked carefully while airborne.

[MickeyAdaptus 2,209]

+It isn't exactly easy to make a plan if you have little to no information of what you will be up againts except for some vague details...+ Merra muttered.

+No kidding, too many topics that we had no way of covering regarding this situation in such a short amount of time? Be glad that we are able to somewhat coordinate even without this *plan*.  But enough talk about this, we have got a job to do, And I for one, am going to do mine.+ Enoch said.

+Right, I will be covering Ember from down here, what about you Illiana?+ Merra asked

+I am going, to be honest, here, you guys are all going to screw up soon with how is being reacted to this situation, we are in a desperate battle that could mean our deaths and you guys are debating while you could get killed any given moment?+ IlIana said with a sigh.

+She is not wrong you know, from where I came from, you would get a big scolding if you pulled this stunt during battle, but then again, I can still talk without any worries, given where I am at right now.+ Enoch said in a rather humoristic manner, which was funny coming from a guy who has been very serious and negative this entire time.

+Bunch of amateurs. The rest of you should follow the example of Maple, atleast she is taking initiative to advance while the lot of you are blabbering about nonsense that should be discussed AFTER the battle!+ Martin declared as he wasn't going to waste the precious time that they still had.

The mech itself started to march straight towards the War machine, even when the enemies got closed, the mech seemed to not even bother to stand still and fire at the enemy soldiers, which was probably the case that the pilot of the mech was expecting the others to clear the soldiers so that he could focus on the Warmachine without interference.

+Maple, this is Kiran by the way, keep those wankers off me, would you? Because I will have to take my time with that massive can of wires.+ Kiran said trough com as he was walking through a big group of enemy soldiers who were shooting at his mech, but it the armour tanked the bullets with ease. It got to such a point where the enemy soldiers had to dive out of the way before they would get crushed under the feet of the mech.

There where however 3 drones flying above the area, they were shooting from above at the top of the Mech, even if all these bullets didn't do much damage, it couldn't be denied that it could prove dangerous.