[IC] Howling Sands

[LHG100]

Neuton looked over Jeannes' report. It was bad... very bad.
"An alliance of the Major Ruling Companies? This has Volkov all over it.. We need to launch them
soon." Jeanne nodded, "Of course, what'll be our first target?", she inquired. "As you suggested..", he eyed the paper, "I also believe disrupting a Samay-Niasse refinery would be our best bet. That one.". Another nod, "Very well, we'll make sure their NCM's are operating as planned, they'll launch in two days." Neuton smiled a little behind his mask. "Good, good. You're dismissed for now.", a reply, "I'll get to work then."

He waited for her to leave his office. He locked the door behind her and waited a bit more, before grabbing a bottle of whiskey from a hidden cabinet. He mumbled to himself, "Not drunk enough for this shit..."

somewhat later
THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP, The anti-air tank fired its' multiple flak cannons. Vlad frowned, he was detected. "Dumb bitch.. now I'm authorized to use lethal force!" he thought as he unfolded his NC's energy cannon. He continued dodging for a second using the forests husks of bark and leaves as cover, until he dumb-fired his particle cannon without a lock. Direct Hit. The tanks' ammo stores exploded in one shot, as a small amount of super heated air left the 'barrel' of the particle gun. Vlad looked around, the ancient forest surrounding him was so alien, its' sparse, mostly-dead trees making him feel cramped in between them. A fire began to spread from the burning husk of the tank. Vlad payed no heed as he continued his mission.

Did he say bitch? His mother would've hated to hear him say that... he mentally smacked himself as punishment. He continued, in any case, coming closer and closer to the BUA facility. One of the last ones in Volkovs' territory, that was known of, at least. Eventually, he had a single small radar contact. The base was hidden thoroughly, if anything was it, it must've been this single, small dot. That's what he thought before seeing it turn into more dots. He got a message through the comms system, "VLAD!".

he... he recognized that voice! He screamed, "AARRRRRTHUUUUR!".

Meanwhile
"BLITZKRIEG!", Nietzche's half-robot voice screamed at his allies' comm units, they surrounded the enemy in seconds, firing wildly at it as it was turned into swiss cheese by their massive amounts of firepower. Next enemy, again, again, and again. The adversary was overwhelmed, five 'Royalty' class pilots surrounding them one by one with highly varied weapons was too much for their armor and maneuverability to handle. "Sir, detecting another wave of Serbia Dynamic units, a super-heavy tank squad is closing in as well." "You know the drill, surround and eliminate!", he popped his now-empty magazine for his MG and reloaded quickly, his chain guns were running low on ammo as well, but that was relative..

"Where's our MLRS support?! MLRS, saturate the area! Now!", with that, a massive amount of rockets were fired by the tank and truck battalion as they maneuvered in, hundreds of powerful missiles flew at the BDS squad. They began collectively dodging wildly while firing at the swarm, thinning it out. Before long, the heavy tank squad began rolling in as they were recovering and bombarding them almost directly. Nietzche commanded the others to stand back and let him handle the rest... He weaved through their attacks with grace, having not been hit at all during the commotion from before. It was almost like he dodged shots before they were even fired, but he wasn't. He was just faster. Whatever happened, the Serbian Dynamics squad was as good as dead now.

Back at Howling Sands...
"Yeah, this is already a losing battle, isn't it? heheh... Well, I don't know about you guys but I'll be fine if Howling Sands keels over." Traore chuckled a bit, "I'll try and see if I can 'acquire' anything that could help us, but we're already running out of resources. No promises." Jeanne nodded, "Y'know Traore... sometimes I wonder if we're even in the right place. I mean... the 'personnel' of the ruling companies aren't horrendously treated... Why do we fight?". "Don't be stupid, you know why you're doing this. You think I'm any different in that regard?" "I guess not... You think they'll live out there? They're launching for the first time soon.". Traore re-assured her one last time, "Of course. You trained them well."

"If you say so."
Prologue part 1, FIN

[LHG100]

All Howling Sands PC's (meaning not you yet mega) would be huddled inside of the 'Briefing Room' of the Howling Sands, early in the morning. It's a day or two from the previous post, and everyone is fairly excited for their first 'actual' mission. Jeanne has just come in, and has started explaining the mission details while writing on the chalkboard. She makes a circle and puts "S-N Refinery" on it, and draws many small circles near it labelled 'defenses'. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, your mission is to attack an SN refinery here,-" she points to it, and puts a small birds-eye view picture of the actual refinery, "Do note, it has a large number of defenses. They aren't rated for anti NCM work, but if you get hit it WILL hurt and give the repair team a headache."

"It's mostly howitzers and MG's, but there's a SAM on the roof, seems to be a four-tube model. We aren't sure if it's loaded with four full sized missiles or eight half-sized, but whatever the case you do NOT want to get hit by one of them. You know who I'm talking of..", she takes a quick glance at Eriko. "-But it still applies to everyone." "You'll be launching in forty-five minutes. Suit up and use the time to discuss techniques."

With that, she eyes the door to the hangar bay, and motions for everyone to leave. Before anyone does, "As planned, I'll be assisting from afar with tactical information, and heads-ups. Dissmissed."

[orangebox]

As usual, Nine left the briefing room without uttering a single word. There was no need for mingling, nor was there a need to discuss. She knew what to do, and so does her teammates. Her time in the research facility's training regiment coupled by Jeanne's private training sessions had equipped her and her teammates sufficiently, that a simple sortie would not require prior planning.

Or so she assumed. Little was she aware, the program she was abducted into were designed to mass produce NCM pilots that would mimic the knowledge and abilities Royalty or Ace pilots has within the shortest time span. This meant that they were institutionalized at a very young age to complete objectives as an individual all within their own judgement, rather than in a team. Perhaps this is why, Nine never felt the need to communicate with her teammates - nor the need for any sort of 'tactical discussion' - even with the subtle nudges and hints from Jeanne during their training sessions.

Off she went, straight to the hangar bay. She didn't need to suit up, as it was forced as a habit for her to always be combat ready. There were no expense spared for the luxury of comfort, only what she was trained and ordered to do. Perhaps always the earliest, she would be aboard her NCM, neural plug interface connected, as she ran system checks. A habit formed in her days in the research facility, leaving most of the service crew rather compliant whenever it comes to fulfilling Nine's demands - since she dedicates her own time as well into the service of her machine.

"Main systems: System Startup. Systems Check Initiated," Bahl's AI spoke with a monotonous male voice, as soon as her neural plug successfully linked with the NCM's interface. The darkness within the cockpit of Bahl immediately changed to that of the hangar bay, with the visuals directly fed for processing into her brain. Information on the status of her NCM clustered her HUD; Visual System:Green, Movement:Green, FCS:Green, Energy:Green, Drive System:Green, Boost System:Green, Alert System:Green. Ammunition count, fully loaded.

"Main systems: Idle Mode Activated," with that done, she would now wait - as usual, until the time for the sortie begins.

[LHG100]

Jeanne silently watched as Nine left, shaking her head slightly. "Well, you others know what to do, if she gets hurt out there consider it her fault."

Meanwhile...
"So, Michell. I do hope your knowledge and abilities will come useful. Follow me.", the Head Researcher beckons. As your boss, you're obligated to do what he says, thus you do. "Your first assignment, I want you to help these-", he leads you down a hall, and opens a door, "-Gentlemen.", revealing a few men in a large room working on what looks to be an NCM part, a left arm of one, specifically. It's held up by scaffolding around it, taking up a majority of the room. "With your knowledge, I believe you can help us fine-tune and optimize this prototype for mass production. Esteban here is the project leader, do what he asks of you."

'Esteban' nods and motions for you to join him, as he writes down notes in a notebook

[M127]

Jeremiah nods and walks towards 'Esteban', while observing the NCM-part in detail, attempting to determine what exactly the nonstandard systems are.
He asks "So, what do we have here? As you should know, I specialize in utilising the electromagnetic force."
While waiting for a response he observes the rest of the team, a little disappointed by having to work on a team again.

[LHG100]

"Well Michel,", he rubs his beard, that you've just noticed, "We want your expertise, we believe our little issue there-", he points to the shoulder joint, "Namely, it not being maneuverable enough for our share-holders, we think you'd be a good man for the job, yes? Some sort of electromagnetic 'pully' system should improve it's rapid-twitch speeds. So, please experiment with that, I'll continue reviewing what is absolutely required in the design, and the others are currently working on the hands." With that, Esteban goes back over his notes, and the others return to what they were working on; the hands. "I expect good things from you, please do get to work."

There are three others, for a total of five. The others are completely un-interesting.

[M127]

Being disappointed by having to patch up someone else's work, Jeremiah sighs, and then goes to work.
While examining the shoulder joint, he has a simple but (comparatively) effective idea:

Since fine-tuning servos for reaction-speed is both boring and a hassle, it should be easier to simply add another motor-system, if the power requirements are not too high. However, standard motors for joints like the shoulders are generally either to heavy or weak, but all he was asked to do was increase the initial acceleration, so simply giving the joint a 'kick' whenever a motion starts should suffice.
Since the joint is made out of metal, a ring of coils around it could do the trick, as a current-spike in the coil will induce an opposite current in the joint, which's magnetic field will repell the coil's magnetic field, giving the joint a 'kick'.
Unlike standard motors no additional moving parts or armatures are required, likely reducing the wheight sufficiently enough.

"Got it!", the words slipped out of his mouth, before he realizes a significant potential problem: the required current-change must be comparatively large, definetly larger than what most civilian tech operates on, excluding industrial equipment. He has no idea how much AC voltage the NCM this part is for can produce.
"Do you know which voltages I can expect from the NCM?", Jeremiah asks.

[LHG100]

"Oh? You have a solution already? Lovely! The rest of the NCM design has plenty power available, it shouldn't reduce energy performance at all."
Esteban continues, "Please, discuss your idea?", Esteban looks at you happily, yet inquisitvely. "As long as it doesn't damage the NCM's all-range targeting abilities, I believe I'd approve of your concept.", he goes to explain the needs of the design, "This NCM design calls for arm maneuverability, steadiness, and rapid twitch motor capability."

"The main thing, I admit.. does it work?" he asks one last time.

[M127]

Jeremiah answers, a littlebit proud of his speed.
"My plan is to leave the current motors as they are, so by simply disabling the system I plan to add will restore any capabilities that may be lost, although I don't think any will be lost.
Basically, my plan is to mount a ring of coils, which are all oriented in the same direction, around the joint. The coils will be connected to a controller for high AC voltages and currents. When a current spike is sent through a coil, it'll repell the joint's magnetic feedback, 'kicking' it into motion. As the generated forces and heat are also relatively large, the system should only activate when a new movement begins. As the metal of the joint itself will be the armature, the coils ans their controller will be the only additional weight.
As for the exact measurements, I need the data about what the NCM can give us and how well induction works in which parts of the joint.
Also, in case the ring of coils is damaged, the coils, which are still intact, will do their job fine, unlike most motors, although the directions of the 'kick' will be more limited."
After a short pause to finally breathe in again: "Is this acceptable?"

[LHG100]

"That's a wonderous solution! Please, we should implement this. The craft has plenty of energy to go around, if it's not inductive enough we should simply be able to brute-force it a little.". He comes out of the room for a second to request materials, it looks like. "I believe your solution is the best we have at the time. ...Makes me wonder, how come no one else has put this in their NCM's?".

After a while, relevant materials are allotted, and the others assist Michell with his concept. After testing, it seems to be a complete success!
More testing, solutions to issues, and fine-tuning the design takes up most of your day, until you're put back to your quarters for the night by your 'Boss' and security. Strangely, you're locked inside, for 'security reasons'.

[Nallore]

Eriko quickly heads over towards the briefing room, and takes a seat closest to the back her eyes going over to each other members of the team. She was excited to finally be on her first mission and leaned forward in her seat holding a pen and paper in front of her, she would start to take in notes and looking at the satellite closely her main problem would be the SAM. When Jeanne suddenly targeted her looking slightly embarrassed during training. "It was only just one time during the test when no one told me about it.." Eriko said letting out a sigh.

When they were dismissed Eriko stood up holding her notes and watched as Nine left the room without going on with some sort of strategy. she would then walk over to the rest of the group.

[ClocktowerEchos]

Edoric studied the board for a second, jotting down note in a small pad so he'd remember, not that he wouldn't to begin with. Leaving the room with a "good bye" and a slight bow, he dutifully walked out and to the hangar lockers, sorting out his plans in his head. He would most likely be going in first or flanking around. He used a melee-focused light NCM so flanking would presumably be a better option as going in guns-a-blazing (swords-a-blazing in his case) would probably only get himself killed. Pressing a hand against his earpiece, he talked into as he pushed open the door to the locker room,

Artfully spinning his locker combination into the rusting metal container, he opened it up to bring out his combat suit. Woven from black polymers and plastics, he suited up up and exhaled as it synced up with the implants in his body. Pushing the door into the hangar itself, he made his way to the cockpit of the Phantom Zero, taking a seat as the neural plug connected to him via an implant on the nape of his neck. His brain began to link up with the machine, notifications popping up in front of his eyes. One by one, they shot at the speed of a machine gun as they quickly loaded and turned green, only to disappear soon after. Once all the messages faded out, the hug came online, the blue overlay around the edges showed Edoric things like the power level, shield and hull strength, and how the engine was running, going to high was bad for the phantom zero and lead to many unsavory things.

With every now calibrated and ready, Edoric took the remaining check if his personal weapons where good and loaded (which being the person he was, the guns always were) and to sleep a little, he was staying up late last night going over weapon and part catalogues to request from Traore. A new stealth drive was nice, but he should probably invest in a new power drive that didn't cause his NCM to shut down if he used it too heavily. Jeanne also recommended him getting something ranged that wasn't missiles or Rocket Anchors. As his head filled with bits and pieces from catalogues, he soon lulled himself to sleep, ready to be woken at a second's notice when the time came.

---

CHiyome yawned as Jeanne droned on and on about the mission. She knew what to do already, go in and burn anything that pointed a gun at her. Glad that the woman finally stopped speaking, she put the four legs of her chai back on the ground and shot up with new found energy. Bouncing around, she watched Nine briskly walk out and Edo bow to the instructor before leaving. How antisocial and cold of them! Chiyome spun around on the spot before hopping over to where Eriko was going to meet up with the rest of the group.
"Heeelloo~ Eri-poi! Are you excited to finally go on a mission?" the hyperactive girl latched her arms around white haired girl, half glomping her, half strangling her, "What's the plan fufu?"

[Eklispe]

Shinon grinned, he liked working in a team, it made his job way easier. Find high ground and shoot it up, although since they probably wouldn't be fighting any NC's he would have to carry some of his less pricey bullets. Anti-NC bullets were very effective but they came with a hefty price tag as well. Lost in thought by the time he came to his senses most of his team mates had already left except Eriko and Chiyome. "Hey you can't make a plan without the sniper, does our brilliant plan involve dodging this time?" Shinon said jokingly, he knew Eriko was okay with it, she made fun of him almost as often. Being a sniper tends to leave some ammo laying around for verbal combat, but hey! Not everyone can charge in recklessly like Edo and his Phantom Zero.

[LHG100]

As the NCM pilots in Howling Sands prepared and suited up, far away, another NCM pilot spoke in an SN combat helicopter;

Raymond asked his current handlers, "So... transporting me to your refinery then, SN?", and the Niasse gunship captain said, "We'll be dropping you off as soon as we enter the combat zone. We've recently been attacked by some AA&T forces who are still in the area, probably prowling the outskirts for another opening to attack. Wesson platoon, we believe. You're here for a little 'insurance', as we said.", the Captain of the SN transport gunship replied, quickly.

"Roger then, unhook me when you will." "Actually... now!", with that, the NCM gently fell down, before its' thrusters kicked in at full power, making it gently bob up and down above the sands, kicking up tiny plumes occasionally. "We expect an attack soon, so patrol around the area, as we've said.", a reply, "Sure thing!", and the NCM began slowly circling the refinery, hiding itself from long-ranged sensors and radar with its' jamming equipment. "Hey, maybe killing these blokes'll free up some food for some children somewhere. Eh? Eh?"

[LHG100]

As time passed, the time to launch began. Jeanne's voice entered everyones' ear pieces, "It's been long enough, begin launching. The refinery is at... the following coordinates.", with that, coordinates about one and a half hours of cruising speed away popped up into everyones' view, and a small 'beacon' towards it.

Jeanne continued, "And... Ah fuck.", she audibly facepalms, "We just got a report, possible enemy NCM activity in the area! Be on your guard, looking to be AA&T. So expect heavies and a fuckton of missiles launching from them."
, she adds on, "I'll be allowing retreat this mission, just cover your tracks."

"This doesn't change the objective, however. Go through final pre-flight checks.". "And Nine... don't get yourself killed out there. You aren't a one-girl army, alright? You can't expect to do this alone."

[ClocktowerEchos]

Edoric snapped awake, immediately starting pre-launch checks and talking to the control room. Going through the systems one at a time, checking with what the control room's console said. He managed to find a rare desynconization with the fourth hydro-coil and the fuel injection dilator. He would have to yell at the repair team later but for now he watched as they rushed to his NCM to fix the problem.

As they cleared the area, making gestures that meant he was good to go, Edoric helped himself with launching first to scout a head. Connecting to the control center, he cracked his wrists, "Control, this is Unit 03 Phantom Zero requesting launch."
"Acknowledged Phantom Zero, proceed to rail 4 after release."
"Copy," Edoric began to hit several switches and buttons as he prepared to undock, "All systems green, releasing now."

With that, the restraints on his NCM released, the catwalk in front of him retracted into one of the main walks that connected the hangar with the rest of the base. Cables and pipes unplugged and went limp as they too coiled back into their holes as the final crane set the mech on the ground.

Gripping the control, Edoric felt the Phantom Zero pound the earth with every step it took. Lining itself up with the electromagnetic rails, the feet clamped on to the bars as Edoric positioned the NCM like a runner about to burst forward.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he drew in a breath, "Its a showtime." The rails charged as the clamps dropped, shooting the Phantom Zero on to the surface where with the help of rocket anchors, Edoric dashed into the horizon, first on the ground.

---

"Hmph! Edo-chan is so mean!" Chiyome pouted as her own controls, "I want to go too! Can I launch now? Pleaseeeeee?"

Jeanne smacked her head, Chiyome was probably one of the least trustworthy pilots she had ever seen in terms of realbitly off the battlefield, acting like a child or an annoying sister all the time. With a hand still over her head, she raised Chiyome on the comms, "You can launch when everyone else is launching. If you want you can go after Nine."

Chiyome's face lit up, "Thank you, thank you, thank you Jeanies!"

Jeanne smacked her head on the control panel, "Don't call me that!"

Unfortunately for her, Chiyome already shut off her comms to her specifically and was going through her own pre-launch checks while singing a song to herself.

[Eklispe]

Shinon frowned, "Awww already? Fine who needs plans anyway." he whined light heartedly as he shot off at a sprint for his NC. Shinon quickly checked his systems, everything full and ready to go, half anti-NC and half normal sniper rounds, perfect. The Dire Wolf burst out from the base the four legged eating up ground quickly, and throwing massive sand clouds behind. The only bad part about a dessert base, it made life hard for us who tended to rely on walking. Shinon veered to the right to avoid clouding up anyone in his trail and started jumping using his heel boosters to cover massive distance in a single bound. Oh he loved just piloting his Dire Wolf, blowing stuff up was just extra. It looked like Edo was, unsurprisingly attempting to charge in first, and it Chiyome was close behind.

[Nallore]

Eriko was about to say something about a plan, but then she heard the radio in her ear going off as Jeanne mentioned of another NCM in the area. She quickly made a run towards her locker and started to get herself suited up in her NCM suit, and made her run over towards the hangar where she spotted Tiger Viper already prepared for her as the last few of the techs finished things up and backed up. Eriko climbed into the cockpit and closed her eyes as she hooked her implants into the back of her head and the NCM quickly came to life. "Weapons, green, thrusters green, HUD online." The AI of Tiger Viper said in a rather friendly voice. Eriko watched as the others started to get ready to leave the hangar, Tiger Viper quickly turned into fighter form, it hovered off of the ground before finally shooting out of the hangar quickly to meet up with the others. "So about that plan anyone have one?" Eriko asked a video feed of her patching into everyone elses' NCM HUDs.

[orangebox]

"Bahl...Ready..." Nine spoke through her comms, signaling to the crew in the control center seconds after Phantom Zero was shot into the open.

"Acknowledged Bahl, proceed to rail 2 after release." The crew from the control tower responded with efficiency. The large platform ferrying Bahl then continued on a coursed track towards rail 2.

"And Nine... don't get yourself killed out there. You aren't a one-girl army, alright? You can't expect to do this alone." What seemed to be the voice of Jeanne then nagged at Nine - to which Nine was somehow confused by the request.

"Women must be loyal... Lo...yal...?" Nine replied with a slow but monotonous voice, a rather irrelevant reply - which Jeanne would've found to be confusing. However, considering the time Jeanne have spent interacting with Nine, she would've recognized that it was one of the few ways that Nine was actually acknowledging her remarks.

Nine then continued to flick a few switches, initiating the undocking and launch sequence. The restraints on her NCM released, to which Bahl was aligned onto the electromagnetic rails. As the clamps locked it in place, Nine lowered Bahl's stature to that of a steady position as she prepares for launch. The rails charged as the clamps dropped, shooting the Bahl on to the surface where with the help of rocket anchors - less than a minute away from Phantom Zero that took the vanguard.

As the Tiger Viper joined the formation, a video comm-link was patched - with Eriko's face now appearing in the HUD. Eriko then queried, "So about that plan anyone have one?"

"I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," Nine replied creepily, with her usually slow and monotonous voice.

[LHG100]

After everyone launched, Jeanne tunes in another time. "If the console isn't on the fritz, everyones' launched successfully.". "If anything, or anyone comes up, tell me and your team-mates. If they're hostile, just shoot the shit out of them." She laughs a little at her bluntness, "In any case! Rendezvous at the target point and commence the operation."

MEANWHILE, AT THE REFINERY.
Raymond continues his patrols... and sees something! A small, purple dot, far away. Them. He opens communications on all frequencies. "Wesson Battalion, I thought you were the aggressive ones?" A reply, a gentleman with an obviously American accent. "That's Colt, you moron. What, y'gonna do, one versus three? Fucking independents, y'think you can take us on and win?", Raymond, angrily, "You corporate flunkies! I should show you what 'Swan-Song' is capable of!". "Yeah, you do that. Step into our line of fire, dipshit. You aren't our target, I'd allow you to leave, if you weren't a retarded independent.". Raymond continues, mentally frothing at the mouth a little, "Hnng! You fuckers!", but before he makes a move, the SN gunship captain from before radios in again, "Raymond! It isn't obvious they're riling you up for a trap? Stay calm and continue your patrols.". Raymond returns to his senses, and eyes where Wesson group is just... watching.

MEANWHILE, AS THE HOWLING SANDS SQUADRON BEGINS TO MANEUVER AWAY FROM HOWLING SANDS HQ...
Jeanne gives another status report. "Ah shit, heads-up! I think the Wesson Group is about to make a move near the SN refinery, they just entered our scouting units' visual range. It might be a fluke, though, just a notice. Scouting unit's sensors are on the fritz, probably minor damage." "We really need a new shipment of scout drones... Remind me to ask Traore about that next time he's available."

"Although Wesson Group was never part of the plan, I believe you four can do this. I've trained you all well, and a 4v3 isn't entirely unreasonable in an NCM fight. Just don't let all three of them focus on one target, then they'll probably do their 'Line-and-shoot' technique. I've heard about it in action, it's much more effective then it sounds. But, continue the mission."