The noises of the fight in Smith's Rest awoke Joe, they were so unusual, too many to just be an escalated dispute between some armed drunks. The almost instantly released adrenaline eradicated whatever tiredness was left in him, and his brain analyzed the sounds and flashes of gunshots. West, they were attacking the west side and proceeding to the east, getting closer to the base.

Whatever the conflict was, at this point it couldn't be resolved without force, so Joe got up and sprinted towards the hangar, if he found a fuse-box on the way, he would remove all fuses to use the darkness to hide, as a side effect most electronically locked doors would unlock automatically.

As he arrived at the hangar he was lucky, the hangar's fusebox was right next to the doorway he was in right now. Joe removed the fuses for the hangar's illumination, and it got dark within the hangar in the snip of a finger. He knew exactly where his NC was, so he could get to it from his current location while blind, and so he ran. Even if the enemy had flashlights pointed inside the hangar, it was unlikely he was caught by one randomly and recognized as a target.

After his NC had booted, Joe pointed the aiming-laser of his missiles at a random enemy he could see through the hangar door, and fired the missiles. Their exhaust should be foggy enough to allow him to exit unnoticed, which he did.

The three NC's outside continued their barrage of attacks, another wave of bullets and energy beams impacting the hangar and making new holes in the bloody walls. Elizabeth and Percy could get a good look at them though, it appears they're all very streamlined units and built with the same basic design, aside from the legs. Two are simple bipeds, and the 'leader' in the middle is a quad instead. Although what they're doing is honorless, he seems to at least chat, as is simply customary. He opens a comms, [color=ed1c24]"Don't fret. We're not going to kill [i]everyone[/i], we just need more data. Don't fret.[/color]"

Percy was already on high alert, but this just made it even worse. He pushed the button that allowed him to speak, [color=d3d3d3]"What are you talking about, more data? For what?" [/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Perhaps I already said too much. Surrender and you might see another day."[/color]

[color=d3d3d3]"Not a chance,"[/color] Percy held his ground. [color=d3d3d3]"You'll tell me what you're referring to or you'll be-"[/color][color=ed1c24] "You really think you're in the position to make demands? That's cute. Men, fire at him, in particular."[/color] The leader of the enemy laughed, [color=ed1c24]"Maybe you'll learn humility in the next life."[/color]

Each NC revealed their particular weapons. The leader had some sort of 'gatling-laser' on its' left arm, a machine-cannon on its' right, and missiles on the back. The one to his right had two rifles and a back-mounted laser, and the third one to his left had what appears to be a 'sheathed' sword on its back, a pistol, and a scatter-laser.

Percy regretted thinking that he might be able to scare them into submission. It worked before, he thought maybe it'd work again. Percy cleared his throat, cutting comms with the enemy, and he manages to choke out to the captain, [color=d3d3d3]"Do you have any information on these guys?"[/color] 

[color=8882be]"Yes. They're charging weapons! DODGE, DAMN IT!"[/color]

Percy cursed out loud, dodging out of the way when he realized that they were about ready to fire and blow him into a red mist.

Eli was all but bolting down the halls when the attacks began. She wasn't heading for the hangar, but the Hospital Ward, and upon finding Vera absent, went to the next-best place, and found the girl hiding beneath one of the long tables.

[color=00aeef]"Come on!"[/color] Eli grabbed Vera's arm, and though the girl mumbled something under her breath, she followed, latched onto the elder girl's side. 

The choice was tough to make, if she left Vera in her room, there was a chance ground units would push in and find her. But then, what other option was there? She wasn't taking the girl with her in Blur, and they were too far away from Smith's Rest to try and get there under the assault. 

Eli pulled a small case from under her bed, flinging it open and rifling through the few spare clothes and odds-n-ends within until she found what she was looking for: an old handgun, belonging to her mother. She checked it over, made sure it was loaded, then went back to Vera. The girl looked on the verge of tears, but damned was she holding it together.

[color=00aeef]"Vi--hey, Vi, listen to me. You're gonna stay here, [b]right[/b] here, you got it? If anyone comes through that door that isn't me, you take this--"[/color] she put the gun in Vera's hands. [color=00aeef]"You point it at them, okay? I know mom's shown you how to use these, just a bit. Just do what she told you. You got it?"[/color]

Vera nodded, rapid but sure, and clutched the shoddy old gun in her hands. Eli cupped the girl's face and gave her a light peck on the forehead, though it couldn't assuage all of the worry. 

[color=00aeef]"You're gonna be fine, you're my assistant. I'll be back, hold down the fort."[/color]

And with that, Eli locked and sealed the door behind her, then bolted once again, this time to the hangar. The barrage made it tough to get to Blur, and she found she had to climb that last few feet on the elevator, but at length she was settled into the cockpit, and the snowy NC was firing up. 

Blur rocketed out of the hangar, blade drawn and ignited. She didn't want to risk drawing her shotgun so close to the base, the risk of the large, spread-shells hitting something they weren't supposed to was too great. Her attention turned to Percy, the only other teammate she could see out in the field at the moment, and a moment later she was rushing in to aid him. 

A huge barrage of shells, energy beams, and missiles rocketed out, aiming for Percy's NC, with munitions coming from the left, right, and dead ahead. He managed to dodge the worst of it by boosting up into the air and going above the NC's heads; primarily the laser weaponry, but he definitely didn't come out narry a scratch. The three enemy NC's divided and began operating (and firing) independent of eachother. They didn't notice Blur coming in, ready to rip at least one to shreds more then likely.

Percy quickly picked out one to focus fire on - the one with the pistol. That one ought to be easiest to deal with.. surely. He glanced to the radar to figure out which dot that one was, then quickly marked it with an X so he doesn't lose track of it.

Blur came from aside, scanning over the three NC's as they honed in on Percy. He had his focus set on the side-arm-weilding enemy, so she looked to the one with the heaviest looking equipment. Backmounted laser and two rifles? The guy was going to cause damage if he stayed in the fight for too long. 

Either she'd missed the opening communications, or there had been none. Regardless, she wasn't about to wait to chat with the fuckers bombarding her home. Locked on to the laser-wielding NC, she closed the distance and prepared a wide swing for their middle. The black-knight of an NC side-stepped the attack, but it still cut off its left arm, getting at least one of its rifles out of the fight. However, he took an equal toll; his back-mounted laser fired a massive particle beam, the blue light igniting the air around it into plasma, and impacting at the speed of light at the Blur's right shoulder, blowing it and the arm off.

However, it didn't hurt. She could still feel... hope. But why? Percy could too. Maybe they weren't alone?

Percy went in to stab the NC with his blade - he was doing circles with the pistol-wielding NC, dodging the bullets he attempted to fire at him. The pilot he was attacking cackled. [color=aba000]"So, you wanna fight? Blade against blade? Very well."[/color], and grabbed his NC's own greatsword from his NC's back, holstering its' kinetic and laser pistol to two-hand the monstrosity. He twirled it around his right hand and boosted towards PM, ready to slice him in half.

Percy quickly glanced down at his own blade - it was not nearly big enough to do much - if anything - to this guy. Before he could really let that sink in, he was forced to dash to the right to dodge the NC, then he takes the blade with his NC's bare metallic hands and shoves him to the side so Percy can go in to stab him in the back of the head. Thank God he's not being forced to do this in an actual swordfight.. or grabbing a real sword with his real bare hands. He'd be dead by now.

[color=aba000]"Hahahahahah!"[/color] the sword-wielding pilot laughed, [color=aba000]"Good one!"
[/color]

[color=d3d3d3]"Damn straight,"[/color] Percy quickly retorted, a shit-eating grin on his face.

He then did a backflip so instead HE was now behind Percy, assisted by his NC's thruster jets.

[color=aba000]"BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"[/color]

Percy's grin is wiped off his face when he realizes he was just a little too slow.  He soon felt as if he was being stabbed straight through the gut... as that's what just happened to his NC. It felt way too real. He actually coughed a little bit and was surprised he didn't cough up blood. [color=d3d3d3]"Aaauugh, what the fuck.."[/color] Percy muttered shakily.

[color=598527]W͝A͏͜R̸̨͘Ņ͏Í̀N̡̡͢͏̀G͢͏
̷̢̢̨͠
̶̵̴͡G̸͝È͢Ǹ̕͢͜͞E̢̨͟Ŗ͘͘A̛͢͟͜͡T̸͜͜Ớ͏̷R̸͝:̧̛̛H͏͝E͏͢͠A̶̷͟͡V҉̵̷Y̧ ͢͟D̀͜͟͠A͜͢͞M̶҉̴́́A̵̴̢͡G̵̶̵͟͡E̴̶̛͜҉
̸̸̛
҉̶̡S̷̷̢̢̕W̸Ì̴͞T̸̛C̕̕͏͏͞H̶̕I̴̸̧̕͞Ǹ̶̸̡̢G̶̵̀ ͘͜͢T̴̸̨͟Ò̧̧͟͜ ̴҉̷͡͞B̴̀͜͟͝Ą̕͞͡T̸̵͘͟͝T̶͘E͘͟͟͡R͘͝҉̷̧Ỳ̧̛[/color]

[color=d3d3d3]"Damn it."[/color]

The enemy NC then kicked him while pulling his sword out. [color=aba000]"Normals.. Heh."[/color]

Percy checked to make sure he wasn't actually fucking stabbed in the stomach briefly before he made an attempt to get up and keep fighting.. but the fact the pain lingered made it worse. 

The captain of the enemy scoffed over the comm's and told them the reaity of the situation; [color=ed1c24]"You people don't have a snowballs' chance in hell to drive us back, just accept your fate."[/color]

Percy didn't even attempt to come up with a comeback. He just went right back to fighting, no more mercy.. or rules. He brought up his rifle and blasted the sword-wielding NC with as many bullets as he could get to hit. It took all the shots, a few making noticeable holes but most simply bouncing off, his armor was well-made, and well-angled... Maybe they're correct. But just because they're 'correct' doesn't mean they're right morally, does it?

Perhaps it was the fact that she watched her NC's arm hit the ground that made the lack of sensation so unsettling. It felt like her entire being rippled, but at the same time the numbness that accompanied the neural link left her unsure of exactly what she felt. 

So in the absence of any known feeling, she decided to substitute anger. The blade on her wrist ignited, and she whirled around, not to slash, but to stab, and not even with the aim of destroying the NC. Instead, she aimed for the enemy's remaining shoulder, hoping to drive the blade far enough to lock its arm from moving. If that succeeded, she'd follow through and plant her own shoulder into the NC's middle, and then, firing all engines, attempt to take off into the air with it, hopefully angled in such a way as to avoid the cannon on its back. 

Sadly, she couldn't do much. The blade impacted into the NC's last shoulder, but he simply boosted up first! She couldn't hold on too long, as he started evasive maneuvers almost immediately, kicking her off too. The leader of the enemy fired his gatling laser as Blur fell down, blowing off one of her thruster 'wings'. "And so the angel fell."

In the meantime, Joe had already taken off, and was amidst the clouds looking down at what was going on on the ground, flying in circles. He attempted to use what he did in his last battle accidentally, surround one enemy singlehandedly. He fired off a volley of missiles while rotating around his own axis. The missiles were in dumb-launch mode again, so he could surprise the enemy again, hopefully. He aimed for the enemy NC with the lasers, and right before he switched the missiles back to aimed mode, he sent that specific enemy a voice message: "Give up, you're surrounded!". But it was no use, he laughed in return, [color=ed1c24]"Surrounded by one? perhaps you should be paying attention."[/color], and the leader began shooting down each missile one by one before they could impact, managing to do so very efficiently. Fuck.. Who were these people? "You have a great snapshot." Joe complimented the enemy.

Blur hit the ground hard, another wave of numbness, another wave of anger to fill the void. She pulled back to her feet, engines flared, and began her own maneuvers in turn. She took to the skies, having to pay far closer attention to what she was doing now that there were fewer thrusters to support her. 

She scanned around, trying to find the one-armed NC now that Swarm had the quad-NC preoccupied.

Percy could see behind his opponent that Blur hit the ground. He winced sympathetically, giving his opponent an opprotuinity to smack him around.. But he didn't let them. He dodged out of the way, semi-circling around to shoot a single volley of missles into his back - ba-ba-bam. Miraculously, the sword-NC did something that honestly should be impossible: he simply started to cut the missiles in half. In-the-air, before they even impacted. 

[color=d3d3d3]"How in the fuck are you doing that?!"[/color] Percy shouted. [color=d3d3d3]"YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO DO THAT!"[/color] Just goes to show how uneducated Percy is about NCs.

[color=aba000]"Captain, I believe we've had enough fun."[/color][color=1b1464] "Agreed, I've had my jollies too."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"Very well, initiating plan B."[/color]

And before they knew it, the fight was over. Percy's, Joe's, and Elizabeth's NC's all locked up. The Swarm, The Blur, and the Papa-Mike fell to earth, or simply stopped functioning. It was over.

Blur's engines died, and Eli felt the breath rush from her lungs. [color=00aeef]"No--no! [b]No![/b]"[/color] The denial did nothing, she stopped ascending, stopped moving of her own accord, and all of the sudden her anger was replaced by something even worse: terror. 

She looked down, saw har far up she was, and then fell. There was nothing over comms, even in the pilot's seat Eli didn't scream, she couldn't. Blur hit the ground in a veritable explosion of dirt and dust. 

Inside, from a window in Eli's room, Vera watched and did the screaming for her. 

Percy gasped as well - not because it felt breathless, but because, again, he didn't even know this shit was possible. He tried to get his communications on, but they wouldn't work, or were static. His thoughts went back to Ana. She's going to be fatherless. The stress of this whole situation finally hit him like a hovertrain. He felt his chest tighten up and he started crying.

[color=ed1c24]"Well, that was cute."[/color] the leader of the enemy forces mocked.

Joe wasn't done yet, and killed the comms by ripping out the wires connecting the computer with the comm-transmitter, and forcing the computer to reboot by killing its power. But, it was too late anyway. He could smell a burning smell, and he could see his systems were literally fried. "Huh, darn these military-developers. That's why I prefer lowtech!" he shouted in rage.

The captain laughed at them a final time, using instead his NC's 'speakers'. [color=ed1c24]"It was nice fighting you people. I'm feeling charitable, so I'll allow some final-"[/color]

He stopped.

[color=ed1c24]"...What, there's six of you?"[/color]