[hr][hr][center][color=0076a3][h2]STEIN KALFOX[/h2][/color]
[sub][i][b]“Greed is so destructive. It destroys everything.”[/b][/i]
E A R T H A  K I T T[/sub][/center]
[hr][hr]
[center][b]EXTERIOR APPROACH   -  ENEMY BASE[/b][/center]

[quote][color=8882be]“The Little Dragon will focus on the MP-NC’s and the weapon itself, while the Goldenspur will keep the NC’s proper and the standard defenders busy.”[/color][/quote]

For the encounter, Stein’s reactions were as to be expected— calm, collected, and quiet. She had no use of taunts from enemies; especially when said taunting was so pointless to the point of idle chatter. The fact Jan decided it’d be best to “play along” irritated her a bit but she decided not to dwell on the thought. After all, when she was in the mech she was there for work. Had you looked on through a monitoring camera one would catch one instance of Stein smiling; earnestly, and [i]organically[/i]. She was [i]home[/i] and after only a slight vacation, too. It felt good to be back in the cold steel of the Little Dragon’s cockpit as Stein piloted the NC. 

The objective never left Stein’s head, even with the adrenaline of being back on the field in her NC. Defeat the MP-NC’s and focus on the weapon they were after.

{[color=0076a3]“Keep their attention, Goldenspur. Also try not to die, I’d hate for you to lose your little competition so soon.”[/color]} Stein stated through private communications between her NC and Jan Van Gent’s own.  

{“You think these jokers scare me? I’ve swatted flies more menacing than them! They’re basically free points!”}

{[color=0076a3]“Copy that, Goldenspur. Watch your radar, sending out a flare.”[/color]} Stein responded with a low chuckle  before tuning out for the moment to focus on the mission. 

Stein flipped the switch of her top weapon— a loadout of EMP flares. This would be useful against mass AI-operated NC’s or NC’s operated by inexperienced and unskilled pilots given its utility to jam radar systems with a slight EMP wave emitted by flare-equipped missiles. Had Stein not relocated power to her electronic shielding she would’ve been affected by it as well. A simple effort on her part; she had done it many times before. 

Following the attack she would prepare her anti-armor machine gun system for some work output; firing when she found the right moment with the targeting system the Little Dragon had installed. 

The flares seemed successful at surprising her enemies, though it seemed these were not unmanned NC’s but the other option. Still, it clouded their radar and additional targeting systems so it would give Stein some relief in dealing with the number of them that she had to deal with. Her barrage of shells annihilated one, blowing up its’ ammo or fuel storage and making its left arm vault through the air. Another MP-NC closeby was damaged by the shrapnel, but not taken out in any sense. The three remaining MP’s formed a line and began to counter-attack, firing NC-grade ‘Submachine gun’ rounds and large-caliber NC- sized handguns.

The ‘conventional’ weapons surrounding the slowly activating WMD began turning on themselves, smoothbore anti-tank cannons activating first, but not having the time to fire quickly enough. The giant weapon seemed.. off, both Stein’s and Jan’s instincts told them to not move in too close too often. There was just something fishy about the lost piece of pre-war technology that said ‘too vulnerable’. Was it rigged to go off?

Stein remained calm despite the fact  that her attack didn’t come out as clean as she expected. On reflex she activated her missile deployment system— aiming for the ground in front of her before kicking up her thrusters as debris and smoke created a screen that would aid with visual confirmation of the Little Dragon from its ‘lesser’ enemies. As she did so she aimed the NC-sized rifle that she had assigned to the Little Dragon as a central loadout before mission launch; intending to use it as a supplement to her built in anti-armor machine gun system that she had just utilized only moments prior. 

Another MP-NC bit the dust due to the heavier shells, it’s head being annihilated in a few well-placed shots, hydraulic fluid and electricity seeping out through the ‘wound’. The two remaining MP’s bum-rushed the Little Dragon, heat-blades deploying from their forearms and ready to tear into the proper NC. The first one used its relatively primitive boosters to jump at her, aiming a claw right for the ‘neck’, but due to its ungainliness not even comparable to the heaviest of NC’s, this would’ve likely missed anyway.

[color=0076a3]“I see.”[/color] Stein muttered under her breath as she diverted power temporarily to her thrusters to give her dexterity and agility in combat a bit of an edge. 

As the Little Dragon darted left fast and hard she let out some shots with her loadout weapon and her infernal machine gun system. The dumb, brutish mech that lounged at her missed utterly, smacking hard into the sand before slowly getting up. His buddy, shot at by a proper NC’s rifle and machine-guns, actually managed to survive the barrage.

It threw away the sole visible weapon, an SMG, at the Little Dragon, and the pilot seemed to take a moment to barely audibly yell a battlecry before the Little Dragon simply dodged the toss. Just afterwards, he regained composure enough to grab at his MP-NC’s back, revealing a three-tube missile launcher!

{[color=0076a3]“Surrender and you will be given relief. Do not and you will be destroyed. This is your only warning.”[/color]} Stein communicated over public channels.

The pilot of the mass-produced walker actually responded, and it was quite obvious he was sad, but even more pissed.

{“You [i]fuckers[/i]! Those men were good men! Honourable! One of them was a loving father! And you expect me to lay down and surrender, die to you? I’m— ”}

Stein cut him off, {[color=0076a3]“Yes. It is illogical for you to continue. Fubuki is about to be destroyed.”[/color]}

{“You Pluggers with your neural nets, and your ‘superiority’ make me sick! You use your powers to break the weak and sow misery in your ‘lessers’... I’m going to etch my image into your memory permanently!”}

{[color=0076a3]”I see.”[/color]} Stein left the channel open as her own missile load out shot out in mid-conversation, striking for the inferior NC’s missile loadout. Stein focused on her targeting system to ensure that even if the enemy unit dodged the missile would not miss and strike the ground.

The MP-NC, miraculously dodged a direct collision with the missiles, and actually used the momentum of the explosion to enhance its own speed. 

[color=0076a3][i]“If I still had my light sword loadout this would be a simple end. He’s lucky.”[/i][/color] Stein thought, disappointed that she wasn’t still with Volkov and that a lot of her equipment had gotten fried during the battle with her former comrade when she was relieved of service.

It boosted forwards with its thruster-jets and fired one of its armor-piercing missiles in a very short range. That was effectively self friendly-fire, he was that suicidally angry, it seemed.

[color=0076a3][i]“Enough time playing..”[/i][/color] Stein thought as she put full force on her thrusters to shift her backwards at max velocity, firing her machine gun system as she reloaded her NC’s rifle. 

The simple Mech sacrificed its left arm to survive the barrage, before setting its own thrusters to afterburner one more time to try and catch up. As the pilot realized he couldn’t, he fired his two remaining missiles and then went to wield his missile launcher as a club, right after stowing it for a second to rip off some of its own armor plating.

Two quick and accurate shots at the missiles as she continued pressure on her thrusters to keep her distance.

Even with ripping off now-dead weight, the mass-produced mech simply couldn’t catch up, the pilot, realizing this, then stood there for a moment, the mech’s sole sensor eye staring at the Little Dragon. For the man inside, it was likely an eternity before he did the only thing he could think of, a simple, single ‘Bring it on’ motion with his NC’s hand. Like that’d really do anything.

The Little Dragon steadied the rifle more as it stopped pressure on its thrusters since the distance was preferable. Lining up shots aimed at the cockpit before firing in quick precise bursts.

Just as expected, the mecha’s cockpit went up in flames, disabling the MP-NC. Now her responsibility was the weapon itself.

{[color=0076a3]“All enemies eliminated. About to proceed.”[/color]}