Psyker Landshark

SPIRITUM

Kalina Kovalic

"You're not even in uniform." Kalina shot back to Silje, her retort just as clueless as the mage's question. "Don't think wearing civvies is going to impress royalty."

Everyone piled into the truck, and Kalina gunned the pedal even as Gerard shouted at her to. First shot was fifty meters off against a stationary target. Even accounting for splash from the explosion, that was sloppy of the enemy's gunnery officers. She checked the rear view mirror as she urged the vehicle forward, briefly nothing the princess before focusing on what was important: the dreadnought airdropping more robots even as it fired.

"Hold onto something back there. And keep that prisoner secure." Her tone didn't waver even as she spun the wheel, whirling the truck around into a drift as she sought to throw the airship's aim off. The gambit paid off, as the next shot landed a good distance away, though she'd lost a chunk of speed doing so. Right. So that was about how much reload time they had between shots. Useful to know.

Kalina barely batted an eyebrow as Valerie dragged Silje out of the passenger seat, replacing her with herself and starting to juice the truck with her magic. Worked for her. No need to bother with tricks for the next few moves. She aimed for full speed in a straight shot forward, banking on the sudden change in acceleration taking Vangar's targeting off-balance. As they started to clear the crash site onto open road, Kalina made the executive decision to drift the truck around to head north.

"Making for the forest. We won't accomplish anything by dragging the town into the line of fire. Didn't spot any AA installations back there."

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Salvator Rasch

Finally, this shitfest of a mission was complete. All in a day's work with the Intransigence, really. He didn't relax until his feet hit the ship's deck, though relax was a rather strong term in this instance. More along the lines of he wasn't prepared for imminent death at any second now. Salvator just dutifully followed along as the commander unit escorted them, more than familiar with this outfit's debriefing procedures at this point. Once they were within the meeting room, he held his questions as Kleo decided to speak up first.

...Alright, speak was a bit of an understatement. Should've figured that the kid was a human supremacist, considering how she'd acted on-planet. Not the rarest thing in the galaxy. Every species had this sort, and it didn't make any one species more or less racist than the rest. The kidnapping claim was more interesting.

Salvator gave the odd human in the civvie outfit a curt nod before stepping forward, placing his palms down on the table as he stared the commander unit down.

"Go easy on her, kid's lost a lot of blood. Though I have to ask if her kidnapping claims are true. Are they? Because at the end of the day, we both know that unwilling soldiers aren't efficient." He didn't even bother trying to make a moral argument at this point. It'd just be brushed off anyway.

"And speaking of whys..." Salvator reached up to pull his hood down and remove his helmet, revealing a bald, blue-skinned voidhanger with a rather well-kept beard. He narrowed his eyes. "Last I checked, we were supposed to be on-planet to help the local population. So why were we ordered to do the exact opposite? Explain how this benefits the cause."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

Renar gave a savage grin from beneath his helmet as he brought a Talderian knight low, skewering them on the spike of his poleaxe. That grin quickly turned into an irritated frown when the stubborn fighter kept themselves impaled, which morphed into hurried realization as the Bastard of Brias came to realize exactly what was going on:

Suicide tactics. The knights that fell were giving openings for their compatriots to finish the job. And in fact...

He saw the angle of attack in his mind's eye. Exactly where someone seeking to take advantage of his sudden slowdown would strike. In their position, he'd do the exact same. But that just meant Renar knew what was coming. He released his poleaxe and drew his arming sword just in time to parry a thrust from the Talderian's shield companion, stepping closer into their space before quickly slipping a dagger into his off-hand to drive into said assailant's throat. A quicker death. No chance for last second interference from this one.

All the while, Renar plotted their next course of action. If they kept to their current course, victory was certainly a possibility. But the Talderians changed tactics for a reason. Any casualty inflicted on the Roses was worth magnitudes more than each of the Prince's men they kept killing. In terms of grinding attrition tactics, their suddenly suicidal foe had the edge. The next move would have to be decisive.

"Regroup and form up!" Renar cried out to the rest of their little quartet, shoulder-checking another Talderian away before sheathing his blades and yanking his poleaxe out of the initial knight's fresh corpse. "Pivot around and charge, as one! We only need to pierce through the line to achieve our objective!"

He led the way, bracing his poleaxe spike-first in front of him as he led the four Roses in wheeling around to the far edge of Talderian line before charging straight through. One less flank where the enemy could cover each other, and with less numbers.

@The Otter @HereComesTheSnow @Crimson Paladin

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Given that the prison plan seemed to be more popular and in lieu of any better tactics, it was decided to run with Esben's plan. Ciradyl worked her magic in passing along a message to her resistance forces in whatever method she had - Izayoi would still need to ask her about all of that should they ever have the chance. For now, she went along with the plan.

By evening, all was ready. They used a less secure location for the capture, the first team pretending to be sedated under the influence of drugged tea that Chisaki purported to have slipped them. Transport to the prison was quick, the Valheimr that "captured" them eagerly taking them in for processing, giddy at the thought of a reward for bringing in two of the most wanted subjects on their all-points bulletin.

Fortunately, it seemed that the soldiers on shift in processing tonight were indeed Ciradyl's people, as they flashed a quick hand sign to signify that they were allies as they seized the party's blades from the capture team. As Izayoi, Eve, Esben, and Rudolf were taken deeper into the facility, small blades were slipped into their hands to cut their bindings. They passed through the cells for the "normal" prisoners, all of whom stared bleakly at the new arrivals. A few seemed to recognize Izayoi, and almost managed to say something, but a glare from their minders caused them all to slink back, heads bowed and spirits broken.

However, a squadron awaited them at the precipice of the entrance to the solitary confinement zone. The sergeant approached, pistol drawn as he nodded to the soldiers escorting the Kirins.

"Captain Reisa heard about the capture. Direct orders: Project Grayscale and the barbarian general are to be locked up in the secure zone, but the other two are to be executed immediately. They're useless." He raised his pistol, aiming towards Rudolf first. "Last words, savage?"

Now was the time. Their escorts pressed their weapons back into the Kirins' hands, bursting into motion to begin the assault. Izayoi joined in not long after, cutting through her bonds before engaging in a battojutsu quick-draw, intent on disarming the pistol-wielding sergeant both figuratively and literally.

___

Out on the streets, the other half of the Kirins could see movement on the rooftops as an alarm blared out from within the prison, Valheimr gunners setting up and digging in to draw line of sight on the prison's exits. It seemed they were taking no chances with a possible breakout.

Of course, with all their focus on the prison and their high-profile prisoners, the riflemen weren't exactly keeping as much of a watchful eye as they should have been on their rear, secure in their assumption that the threat was within.

A cautious eye would also notice an airship lifting off from Kugane Castle, flying straight in the prison's direction. It seemed they were on a timetable at this point.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Valid points, all. Izayoi nodded in response to Galahad's divvying of the teams, entirely in agreement.

"I should hope he'd recognize the one who taught him swordplay." She groused. Or the basics of swordplay, at least. Lord Kaien removing the young master from her dedicated tutelage had been one of the few mutual pain points they'd had over the course of ten years.

To her shame, Izayoi legitimately contemplated Eve's suggestion for nearly a minute. The idea was tempting, to be certain. The timing was doable: all they'd had to do was get Hien clear before Eve launched her attack. But...

She looked over the map of the available routes again, going over what she already knew. She was familiar with these roads, having lived within the city for years. If it weren't Ospreans at risk, this would be far less of a debate for herself.

"You'll turn the Valheimr to cinders, yes. But the citizens? Magic in these streets already carries the risk of a stray spell igniting a fire that will decimate several blocks before fire crews can handle the matter, especially with an active skirmish in the streets. We can table that tactic as a last resort, especially should it exhaust you."

Ciradyl's words gave her pause. Reisa already had a reputation as a formidable combatant. But Izayoi had heard nothing of this "Revenant" during the half year she'd been active once more.

"No further details? We'll consider an organized retreat with our package in tow should you identify it, then. Loathe as I am to admit it, the objective of this operation isn't to kill every last Valheimr we come across. This is a rescue mission first and foremost. So long as we save Lord Hien with minimal casualties to our own forces, we can dub the matter a success. Now," A glance towards Eliane, Arton, Esben, Miina, and Robin.

"Any thoughts on which plan to pursue? The matter appears tied at current, and any factor we'd not thought of yet ought to be voiced. Should this strategy session prove inconclusive, we ought to fall in with Galahad's idea, given that he leads this party."

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

Zhao Jinhai

The onna-bushi went down, and the samurai...up and packed it in. Damn. Looked like seeing everyone else go down shocked him back into sanity. Good for everyone, bad for Jinhai's own entertainment. With a sigh, he walked over towards the odachi he'd tossed aside, kicked it up into the air with his foot, and snatched it by the hilt with his hand before resting the blade on his shoulder.

The former monk walked over towards the kneeling samurai, squatting down on his heels next to him.

"Yeah, well, trained monk here. Pretty sure I could get an exorcism going, don't think buddy over here's in any mood to keep on going, even as a local god." He said over in Sakura's direction before turning back to the warrior.

"That said, you wanna go out with honor, I know you're implying harakiri isn't working, but what if you had a second?" He lifted the odachi off his shoulder for a brief moment in emphasis before letting it rest again. "Could be what you're missing to let yourself pass on. Give it a thought, huh?"

SPIRITUM

Kalina Kovalic

"Acknowledged. Moving to comply." Two of these automatons had been enough of a hassle to deal with, even half-scrapped as they were. Another six? They might actually take casualties against those odds. Kalina disengaged in good order, reloading her gunblade's chamber as she ran. Her magic kicked in as she sprinted, pulling ahead of the pack.

"Prepping for immediate exfil. I'll have the truck warmed up by the time you arrive, boss." She stated cooly to Justice over Gerard's squad comms.

Kalina made it to the truck ahead of the others, popping the door open and jamming the key into the ignition, twisting. The engine rumbled to life, and she immediately held the brake while slamming her foot down on the gas. If she couldn't do a donut in a truck, then she didn't deserve her defensive driving certification.

The truck whirled around to point away from the crash site for a quick exit just in time for the rest of Barghest to reach it, Kalina already revving the engine.

"Everyone in. Gonna be a bumpy ride out."

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Iraleth heard the gunshot before she saw the confrontation. The Inheritor glided down towards the source of the shot, increasing her speed as she saw Hildegunde and Otis under attack from some sort of shadow wolf. With Ciara on her back, her angle of approach was limited. Stopping to let her off was out of the question at the moment, so she'd have to make do.

"Dismount if you can! Otherwise, hold on tight!" Iraleth shouted to the witch on her back, tucking her wings and limbs in to further the speed of her plunge. It wasn't going to be a smooth landing. The paladin grit her teeth beneath her conjured helm, her shield braced out in front of her.

The paladin came in from a nearly-horizontal angle, taking the beast from the side as it tunnel-visioned on Hildegunde. Several hundred pounds of warrior, Ethos-conjured plate, and magical shield rammed straight for the creature's flank at high speed, intent on shattering it with sheer force and velocity.

@Sifr @ERode @Estylwen

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

The Mystrel manservant, Renzo, took Rudolf's question as a pertinent time to cut in, pointing out a marked dot on the map, located in the northeast end of the city.

"...Lord Hien is being held within what the Valheimr have creatively dubbed the Eastern Detention Center, here. Before the occupation, it was a local magistrate's office, but the invaders have centralized all administrative measures out of Kugane Castle, our Emperor's residence. All reports say the local garrison has heavily fortified it into a holding cell for particularly dangerous prisoners."

He took ink and brush to the map, drawing two lines between the prison and the castle within the direct center of the city. Both were relatively close to each other, with only a few streets separating the two. But their main commonality was the size of the roads they were taking.

"Should you desire to make an attack on the convoy, these main thoroughfares would be the only passages by which an large escort could pass through freely without their group's size inhibiting them. Of course, that would be without factoring in your attack."

A nod in Eliane's direction as he continued.

"Given the sudden movement of the garrison, we would estimate between half a company to the full hundred could be spared to safeguard the execution without leaving the city watch undermanned. Most likely towards the lower end of that scale."

Renzo drew himself up for a moment before dropping to his knees, bowing his head to both Ciradyl and Izayoi.

"Lady Ciradyl, General Izayoi. Forgive this unworthy one's impertinence, but I must protest this course of action. If we truly had the strength to aid in this venture, our resistance force would not be forced to stay to the shadows. From what the survivors we rescued have said, Lord Hien's soldiers and samurai have already scattered to the winds after he gave himself up to allow them time to flee. Surely we ought to respect his decision and his sacrifice?"

Izayoi turned to her fellow Mystel, scowling.

"I am no longer a general. You will not address me as such. Regardless, any successful uprising within our land requires a face and a leader. My lord Kaien trained his heir well, as I recall. I have full faith in Lord Hien to rally Osprey. Considering that the only known survivor of the imperial family is Valheim's puppet, we have little choice but to rely on one of the daimyo to assume a military regency to lead our people. As I am aware, there are vanishingly few choices left, given that the majority of Osprey's high lords are either dead or have their knees bent in submission."

"Now, does anyone have any other useful suggestions?" She couldn't help but shoot Renzo a brief, irritated glare.

Iris Ascendis

sorry for the delay, been busy securing housing
posting 2nite