[b]Dolly[/b] "Ai, Ai! You insult me! You offer me mercy?!" Angela's voice comes over the comms as the hum of the gatling guns mounted on her suit's shoulders fills the night. Air flying off from their rapid spinning makes the torches dance in mad gyrations. "I won't let you make that mistake twice!" A hail of bullets fills the air. Angela understands that Jade could in fact dodge, and her pattern is not to fire both guns directly at her target. Instead one gun is aimed straight for the chest and the other is leading her target matching Jade's leading shoulder. Without a doubt, Jade's offer of mercy has made your opponent angry and she's letting loose with everything she has using her advantageous range. Jade (and Dolly!) you're going to have to do more than duck to get past this hail of bullets! After Angela's closeup and a sweeping shot of her guns warming up, the cameras have all turned to you and how you'll handle the situation! Show off some dancing! *** [b]Solarel[/b] "Aaaaaaah!" screamed Nierka as your hand suddenly grabbed her by the throat within her cockpit! "AAAAAAAAAA" screamed the Sea Spike's internal AI, expressing its opinion on the sudden hull breach using a series of klaxons. "aaiaiaiaiaiaiai" screamed one of Nierka's smaller spirits animating some aspect of her coat on her person and trying to wrap itself around your arm to no avail. The camera drones, structured to capture the full sweep of mecha combat, are all rushing to get a closeup of this personal combat happening in the middle of the duel. Lasers are still flying thick through the air, some from the Sea Spike, some from the Bezorel. This trick was so unexpected that you might have had the whole match right here. Nierka is flailing and screaming, but you've got her. Except for the poor, unfortunate challenge of Culture. The Bezorel really does have a limited tracking system and it's still following you. And now you're in the cockpit. An errant laser strike, still active, blows past your current angle and hits directly onto Nierka. Her flailing becomes more animated and spreads through the Sea Spike itself, which begins gyrating, the screams of its AIs and its pilot spreading louder. The sudden and intense centrifugal force finally breaks your grip and sends you flying out of the now backwards tilting mecha. You land on an upraised knee and you find yourself clinging on for all you're worth as the Sea Spike topples and pulls the attached Bezorel with it. Don't suppose you've got a backup plan? *** [b]Mirror[/b] There! At the head of the river, where it begins to slope upward towards a small hill, you can see the Lonely Star! It's well-positioned: it's been painted a deep purple-gray that blends with the stone and the water. If you weren't above it, seeing it stand out in contrast to the glare of the sun upon the river's surface, it might have been extremely difficult to find before getting shot. But you see it! With your sudden burst of speed out of the canopy, you've turned this into a game of reflexes. The Lonely Star's long-barreled laser rifle (longer than the mech is tall) was pointed down the river line, but she saw your flare as you burst from the canopy and she's already brought it around and is lining up her shot. You hang poised like a diamond of fire, the sun's rays the only protection left to you as she finishes her calculations and your own tail gun pivots. The fight may not end on a single shot, but whoever makes the quicker draw here will have complete control of the tempo and an overwhelming advantage. *** [b]Isabelle[/b] Look at all these collapsing quantum realities. Jacinta 6 snarls an angry snarl over the comms and rushes you. But just that has dropped the myriad of options down to only two: fake Jacinta or holding back Jacinta. There's no gatling rush, no insane pinwheel top of lasers and fury coming at you. This Jacinta is all in on the more classical close combat. Claws pulsing with an arcing electromagnetic field extend from both hands of the mecha and her engines roar to life as she tries to hit you hard in a straight line without any thought to her own safety. Also, you may be wondering how you know all this. It's because those claws and that engine are chewing up the trees and vines beneath you, which you realized the second you heard the thrusters roar to life. You're going to want to readjust your position ASAP!