[center][h3][color=#E4D00A]Jedly [img]http://i.imgur.com/dtaXZbV.png[/img] Location: Just arriving at FIC section(Mission #1)[/color][/h3][/center] [hr] [b]”Keep shooting! Don’t let up!”[/b] The squad leader’s voice had essentially devolved into a cry at this point. Hope was fading. Fast. He felt his heart lurch as another one of the Peacekeepers under his command was mercilessly crushed under a robot’s appendage, forcing a chilling [i]crack[/i] to be echoed throughout the street. A rocket whirled over his head and struck the KBot on its side. It staggered uncontrollably for a few moments before collapsing onto an abandoned car, the light of its “eyes” dimming until only an inanimate corpse was left. Some men under his command gagged at the exposed sight of their former comrade. How did things go to hell so quickly? Or the better question was, why did they let things go to hell at such an alarming rate? Golden Ages were always followed by an awakening truth: that bliss only bred ignorance. And had they been naive. Whenever one bot fell, more took its place. It was crucial that they held this point, but how long would it take before they would run short on ammunition, men, and morale? All of the above were declining quicker than anticipated, and it soon became evident that the only thing choking at this choke-point was the GFS. With every robotic step forward, valor took one step back. The maelstrom of bullets deflected off of the bots’ chassis, completely unaffected by the Peacekeepers’ efforts. The futile pings ceased their incessant plight as a flash of pink raced its way into the battlefield. Under intense scrutinization, one would realize that it was a collection of hair, carried along by a girl wearing a godly dress outfitted with plates and metal lining. Her eyes refused to waver from the imposing threat, absolutely locked onto her target. She faced a duo of normal variants making their gradual assault on the GFS forces. Before they could react, the maiden had already scaled on of their frames and sunk her blade into its head. This wasn’t enough to kill the bot, but it caused some confusion between her two adversaries. With an iron grip around the rosy hilt, she held out a hand to the other KBot. Teal irises met mindless circles of illuminated light before a translucent heart case, already opened, manifested itself to tower over its target. The KBot's head swiveled around just fast enough to watch the case clamp down, cutting it in half. Internal circuitry sizzled as the remaining half toppled onto its still living ally, causing the other bot to lose its balance. The pink haired girl dug her blade deeper, her teeth gritted as she did so. Even though this only irritated her opponent even more, she was only to preoccupy it until she was given the signal. [color=#E4D00A]”Juno!”[/color] The GFS squad leader wheeled himself around in the direction of the voice. Jedly and Rachel both had taken a knee and rested their fingers on their triggers. Juno lifted her head to the two, taking a brief moment to confirm that they were definitely prepared. She yanked her sword out from the head and proceeded to lead it through the bot’s metallic hide, all the while splitting wiring that seemed to dictate its left side. She sped her way back towards GFS Peacekeepers, who had been facilely captivated by Juno’s charms. Two grenades exploded upon impact and finally put the bot’s suffering to an end. Jedly and Rachel reloaded new rounds as they made their way over to their allies. The former and the squad leader stared at each other in silence, until the man broke the silence with a dexterous salute. [b]”You saved our lives out there. I’m really hoping you’re not passing on through.”[/b] There were little bumps in his voice, a result of watching a handful of his men fall in the line of duty. A quick glance past the Peacekeeper and Jedly could count a handful of corpses, some of which were left in an incomplete state. The man held his hand out towards the boy amiably. [color=#E4D00A]”Cipher.”[/color] He curtly replied, completely forgoing any social etiquette, before passing the soldier to inspect the street, quickly followed by Juno. Rachel managed an awkward smile to help soothe the mood. [color=pink]”S-sorry about that. Cipher’s not that much of a conversationalist.”[/color] Her tuned in on the conversation her two comrades were in the midst of. [color=#FA8072]”...if we get Peacekeepers set up in the balconies over there and there, they should be able to provide sufficient covering fire from multiple angles. We should distribute explosive specialists evenly, and if possible…”[/color] Juno was quite the strategist, but that must have been a given for the arbiter of love. She also had the charms as displayed by the abrupt boost in morale after her debut. [color=pink]”Anywaaaaaaaaaaays… I think they’re coming up with an idea or two. Good job holding the line until we could arrive! And don’t worry, it’s not like we’re all going to die or anything!”[/color] Rachel tried to dip some comical relief into the dreary situation while patting the squad leader on the shoulder, but it seemed that her efforts were in vain. [color=pink]”Eheh… sorry, bad joke. But in all honesty, don’t let it get to you. He may not look like it, but Cipher actually cares about people… I think.”[/color] She ended up trailing off at the end there, and received a light chop to the head as a result. Through her whining Jedly delved into laying out a plan. [color=#E4D00A]”We will have some more support momentarily. Until then, we're on our own. Have some of your troops get into vantage points and make shots that will actually count.”[/color] He tone grew a bit deeper with the next line, [color=#E4D00A]”I don’t want any friendly fire either, got it?”[/color] They were in another wordless standoff until they all noticed a band of robotic footsteps fast approaching. Jedly looked back at the squad leader one more time before motioning for Rachel and Juno to follow him as the vanguard. As soon as the first bots rounded the street corner, Juno bolted towards them while the other two opened up on whatever they could. A bird's eye view would depict that N variants were funneling their way into the street in great numbers than expected. [hr] [center][url=http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/age-of-ishtaria/images/4/4a/Juno.png/revision/latest?cb=20150213011141]Juno[/url][/center]