[h1]Tar 'Mdalak[/h1]
[i]Paxopolis Simulated Training Centre[/i]
[hr]
It was hard to say if their volley of grenades had led to any actual kills. Plasma grenades were reasonably easy to avoid if they were not stuck to a target. However, the chain of explosion would, at the very least, disrupt the Brutes’ defensive positioning. Daha was the first in behind Tar, his plasma pistol already overcharged. The cluster of plasma detonations had at least partially revealed multiple cloaked Brutes, allowing him to quickly acquire a target as he moved in. Just as before, he fired the overcharged shot, then followed up with a burst of plasma rifle fire.

Ryssa entered firing his needler so that he could focus more on movement than aiming. Particularly if they were outnumbered, he at least knew that he would need to get to cover quickly. It was hard for him to judge quickly which cover would hold up under fire, but he moved to try and duck down behind one of the elevated consoles to their left.

Jurna did move when ordered, though not actually [i]entirely[/i] into the room itself. He ended up staying back in the doorway, though there was some advantage to his hesitation. The others were taking more of the attention of the Brutes, and as it turned out, Jurna was actually a rather good shot with his carbine when not under pressure. He landed a headshot on the Brute Daha had shot with his pistol right away, then quickly transferred his aim to the next target.

Tar found the Brutes had been pushed back from their hastily constructed barrier at the chokepoint, so she took cover on the other side of it and peeked over. She counted four Stalkers out in the open close by, one of which had just got his head practically severed by Jurna’s carbine round. They looked stunned by the massive plasma blast; some were only just getting up from the floor where they’d flung themselves.

Seeing a golden opportunity, Tar pushed the advantage. Spotting a weak link in the barricade, she savagely kicked a heavy metal table. It flew off the pile, smashing into the closest Brute and opening a path for Tar to run through. Moving with big strides and an open stance, she took a wide swipe at the reeling Stalker with her sword. The blade caught his left hand and leg as he tried to move away, severing them both.

With her other hand, Tar quickly threw a fire grenade at the next Stalker, who was unloading his Spiker into her shield. The grenade crashed into his midsection, blossoming into a fireball that enveloped his whole body. Tar heard his shield die and then smelled burning flesh. The Brute fell to his knees, trying to pat the fire out. Tar pulled out her Mauler and fired a slug at him and the other Brute on the floor before diving behind the same metal table, heavy plasma fire evaporated her shield. Two spikes thudded into a foot she couldn’t quite hide, making Tar yell out in pain.

It was easy to see that Tar needed assistance, though Ryssa was not in a position to help. His needler had supercombined a Brute as he rushed to cover, but the cover he had chosen was not the most solid. The barricades the stalkers had erected would have been a better choice. Plasma fire from the other side of the console burned through and struck his shields, forcing him to evade. He tried dashing to a barricade, but did not see the invisible Brute that was close enough to intercept him. Suddenly, he was struck in the head by the blunt underside of a plasma rifle. The remainder of his shields did absorb much of the impact, but they were easily broken by the Brute’s raw strength. Though, Ryssa was easily strong enough to do the same in return. The stalker had revealed himself, so Ryssa struck back with the underside of his needler. Though not a match for the Brute physically, Ryssa could still break the shields of the powered armor. Both were quickly rendered vulnerable.

Daha had found better cover initially, and was better able to help Tar. Seeing the effect Jurna could have firing from a distance, Daha could adapt to take advantage of that. While his plasma pistol started to charge, he opened fire with his plasma rifle on the Brute that had shot Tar. Stalkers did not have strong shields, so it took only a short burst of plasma to break through them. By the time the Brute was exposed, Daha’s plasma pistol was once again overcharged. However, instead of focusing only on a single target, he instead shifted his aim to the next closest Brute to strip him of his shields with his pistol.

Jurna was not necessarily [i]intentionally[/i] cooperating with Daha, but he was aiming for the most vulnerable opponents within his line of sight. His first shot found the head of the Brute that had wounded Tar. The second Brute moved more quickly as he tried to get out of the line of fire, but Jurna was able to land three consecutive shots to center mass to neutralize him.

Tar slithered further behind the table as her shields began recharging. Grimacing with pain, she pulled the spikes out of her foot. They sizzled in her hand before she dropped them on the floor. She checked around for her team; they were fighting hard, shooting over her prone form. She began motioning for Jurna to move up to the barricade when she noticed a shimmer moving rapidly up behind him.

"Jurna, behind you!" Tar called out, pointing.