Eisenhorn

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

Rabbit was as cheerful as ever, in spite of her wings getting clipped by the most recent Coalition toy, which at least meant she had bounced back fine. Good, it would tilt the balance against the two urban Skollr units in their favor even more. One of the dangers of career Heavy pilots was getting overrun, it was too easy to get so used to shrugging off 'small' munitions that overextending became second nature. Given the collapsing resistance against the Helldogs and himself, they were clearly too tunnel visioned to break off or reposition. They could have done some damage to the main frontline if given the chance to freely engage, but they were too busy to even consider that. Their funerals, Rhino thought, as the frontline finally buckled. Fenrir and Garmr units finally broke and ran, or threw down their arms if they couldn't run. He had his 30mm trained on the Fenrir that threw down its arms, pausing as the cockpit swung open and pilot stepped out making the same gesture. Only then did he turn the weapon away, doing a sweep. Dead, fleeing, or surrendered, losses seemed relatively light for those who had actually made it down to the ground, at least for an orbital assault on a fortified planet. The damaged Helldog seemed impressed at least, and he gave the Helldog the offered fist bump after retracting the 30mm into its internal housing.

<<Couldn't do it without you folks providing backup. Good work out there Helldogs, we'll leave the ones smart enough to surrender to you.>>

Commie finally saw fit to chime in, strain at the edges of his voice, at least playing nice for now and reporting the capture of Coalition tech to turn over to R&D. That and the recent influx of combat data should keep them plenty busy for a few days at least, see what toys they could come up with for field testing. Rhino had to admit to some enjoyment of trialing new and experimental kit, old habits died hard he supposed, though there was going to be plenty of time to talk shop over incoming experimental kit later. For now he composed himself out of the habits he had briefly adopted leading the Helldogs, chiming in now that things were, at least for a moment, more secure than they had yet to be.

<<Commie, Rhino, good copy. Trying to single handedly keep R&D busy for while we are planetside? Rook, Rabbit, once you three are done playing with your food, recommend escorting Hex back. Need to get that comm situation sorted out sooner rather than later.>>

Rhino kept an eye out for any further incoming trouble, though he was already getting the Secutor's Revenant Field Repair Suite programmed and spooled up. He had soaked a good amount of incoming fire, and while his armor was far from compromised, he was not keen on letting it just sit idly and twiddle his thumbs waiting. Getting the Field Repair Suite programmed and on standby for when they were ready to return to wherever ended up counting as base camp for the immediate time being would save him time down the line. Plus, if some Coalition diehard made a rush on them, just having the FRS on standby wouldn't impact his ability to fight or respond. Until then he kept eyes and ears open and alert, no time to relax until off the metaphorical line. Helldogs should have prisoners handled, so that put him on sentry and watch standing duty until the everyone regrouped.

Moonlight and Witch's Work: An anime and JRPG-inspired Witch RP

Carina Rodericka

• Name: Carina Rodericka
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Carina is a tall woman, a little under six foot with a generally imposing demeanor to match, at least until she opens her mouth. She is a lean woman underneath her chosen attire, a mix of armor from her older brother's smithy and more traditional witch's garb beneath the armor. Her blonde hair is usually unkempt, clean but otherwise not kept in any particular style, allowed to come to rest however it sees fit at any given time. The only time this changes is when expecting conflict, where she will tie it back to keep it out of the way. Under the armor, her dress runs down to barely above the floor, wearing rather plain boots that are mostly kept out of sight, finding them better suited for the exploration and adventuring required of her as a newly minted member of the Moon Circle Society.
• Personality: Carina is an incredibly stubborn woman, who's refusal to back down once she has dug her metaphorical heels into the ground has both gotten her this far, and gotten her into trouble in equal measures. Perhaps to spite the expectations put on her, she tends towards being crass and loud, though friendly enough towards people who haven't gotten on her bad side yet, having little patience or interest in being coy or subtle. She approaches everything in life with that same loud, stubborn energy she keeps up in her life, keeping it up as a proofed armor against the world. She wants nothing to do with the nobility of her family lineage, and gets defensive whenever it is brought up in any sort of light, good or ill, preferring to stand on her own accomplishments and capabilities over even acknowledging the stronger place she started from thanks to having come from more noble birth.
  
  Carina has an intense drive to improve herself, something that is often overlooked due to her general demeanor, and she often times spends every waking moment driving herself in her chosen fields of study and practice. She can get frustrated with herself rather quickly when she can't figure something out, becoming slowly more obsessed with figuring out what she is struggling with, which can create a feedback loop of obsession given her normal stubborn pride. Still, it is a matter of pride in what she chooses to do, something she will never apologize for, assuming you could convince her to even begin to apologize for anything to begin with.
• Abilities: Carina uses a mixture of White and Black Magic, having almost actively shown a disinterest in all things related to the realm of Evocation.
  
  Her White Magic is almost exclusively in the realm of barriers and protection, knowing a basic single action healing spell or two for emergencies. Mend and Cure being the two that most obviously come to mind, Mend closing wounds and staunching bleeding while Cure can deal with natural toxins and the like, though magical afflictions are beyond the capabilities of either spell. Of more impressive note is her barrier spells, being a mix of Double-Action and Triple-Action spells, though (uniquely to her as far as she is concerned) most of the first actions in her spells involve varying stances with her inherited sword, usually some form of guard or parry, while the second action being to incant the spell in question. She is continuing to practice and improve on the effectiveness of her barriers, currently having to choose between what she was guarding against (Magic, mundane, ranged, melee, ect ect) meaning it takes a lot of fast thinking during a fight.
  
  When it comes to Black Magic, she focuses on debilitating anyone she is targeting with her magic, and has begun dabbling in direct curses. Unlike the stance mixing of her White Magic, her Black Magic is reliant on more conventional casting, using her wand in her off hand to go through the formal motions. As such, she tends to either open an encounter with one of these, or when she has a chance to weave them in between foes. Currently, debilitation is limited to the physical (reduced strength, agility, and the like), though each spell currently only focuses on one aspect of her opponent's abilities.
• Skills: Carina is fairly well trained as far as a novice Witch is concerned, at least for mundane life. She was expected to follow in the line of professional soldiers, and was raised and trained with that idea in mind. She is a competent swordswoman, though once she discovered her magical talents she has not pursued dedicated swordplay nearly as consistently as her family might have preferred. Still, she retains a level of swordplay that few could be ashamed of, though her preference for her particular Witch Arm has forced her to forgo effective thrusting attacks.
  
  Beyond combat, Carina is a fairly competent chef, knowing how to make even fairly bland and unappealing meals at least palatable without the use of magic. She enjoys cooking more than she cares to let on, if stuck traveling for long durations she will often take to preparing enough food for the group she is traveling with. Recognizing what is safe to eat and what isn't comes with the skillset, though she has no particular skill in tracking and hunting, she can safely direct someone who does have such skills to ensure that any group she is with beyond safe walls at least eats better than one might think.
  
  Carina has also learned a variety of gambling games, be it with cards, dice, or other forms of games of chance. She finds it a good way to unwind and pass the time, even if nothing of value is wagered, seeing how someone handles a game of chance is a good way to learn about them as far as she thinks. She has a preference for dice games, though her older brother made sure she knew the various games of chance she might come across. She enjoys teaching other witches the same games, especially when they have no idea how to actually know when to hold, when to fold, and when to bluff.
• Equipment: Most of Carina's person belongings can be carried with her on broomstick at any time, though the most standout items are her armored clothing and her Witch Arm. Her deep black dress was reinforced with armor that her older brother made for her, using a dark steel to give her as much protection as he could without slowing her down or impeding her ability to use magic, and while she was offered a helmet, she chose to go with a more stereotypical witch's wide brimmed hat. She also owns her wand and broomstick, both things with pragmatic, sturdy designs over more elegant or fanciful ones, things that could take a sharp drop or knock without breaking.
  
  Silverlight - A Witch Arm made out of the family heirloom sword, and Carina's pride and joy of a weapon. Originally based on the heavy executioner's sword of her family, Silverlight has had its edge tempered with the namesake silver, while being reforged has imbued the the blade with the ability to retain immense levels of mana. Carina has discovered two uses of the Witch Arm currently, both requiring channeling intense amounts of mana into the blade to manifest. The first allows her to strike foes from a distance, though rather than manifesting as beams of energy, the manifested mana simply 'extends' the effective length of the cut, a phantom afterimage betraying the true reach of each swing. The second use requires time to channel and focus, pouring risky levels of mana into the blade, charging a single stroke of catastrophic levels of destruction, at least in theory. The amount of time it currently takes to charge, plus the current limits on how much mana Carina can actually pour into the weapon, limits its power but she has yet to find the Witch Arm's limit on either effect.
• Brief Backstory: Carina Rodericka, of the minor noble house Rodericka, has had family going back generations in Lumiere, and have been staunch detractors of the Moon Circle Society in their notable history, championing that faith, steel, and steam could accomplish anything a Witch could, without the dangers and risks of another Witch of Calamity rising up. They maintained that having to rely on a Witch to stop one was only asking for trouble, and put their effort into avenues and efforts that would empower those without magic, or at least those who could not challenge a Witch, while resisting having to rely on them whenever possible. Carina was the second of three current children in House Rodericka, her older brother Maximilian several years older, and a journeyman smith that dabbles in the modern steps of technology. Her younger sister, Cynthia, is a few years younger, and seems interested in medicine more so than anything else, in no small part due to her weak health.
  
  Carina, much to the immense fury of her father, had an innate knack for magic and channeling mana. The Moon Circle Society had originally approached her father when she first manifested her magical aptitude in public, purely on accident after a heated argument, but was swiftly rebuked. Count Rodericka was not going to let anyone of his lineage serve in the Moon Circle if he had a say in the matter, and made sure that Carina was drilled and trained to take after her grandfather, a skilled professional soldier who had recently passed away, having spent many years in the military. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she was offered a choice among several military and law enforcement academies, which she refused all of. While her father was unaware, Carina had been in secret talks with sympathetic witches in the Moon Circle, and upon her birthday received a formal invitation that did not require her father's approval, as she was considered an adult now.
  
  While both her siblings were happy for Carina, who had shown repeated interests in magic and had been forced to suppress it while in her father's sight, it was only through the combined efforts of the rest of the family that she was not disowned outright then and there. Maximilian had been forging her armor in his off time, as well as working with the Moon Circle to have the sword she was given as inheritance made into a Witch Arm. Her younger sister had already been documenting any necessary physical conditions and well being to allow the formal invitation to the Moon Circle Society, under the guise of training for her own medical career. Count Rodericka had little recourse in the matter, and while not formally cast out, the two were no longer on speaking terms.
  
  Carina would spend the next several years getting caught up on everything she had missed, the absolute basics that would have been covered when she was younger, while blending what she had been forced to learn into something useful. She was fascinated by the exploration of Notte's Labyrinth, the idea of exploration and adventure capturing her imagination rather intensely. She had rough patches during her training, often times disagreeing with some instructors but proving to be a capable Witch in training. Eventually she would be able to start properly heading out and assisting with the duties and responsibilities expected of a Witch, something she thought was long overdue but glad to finally see happen.

Moonlight and Witch's Work: An anime and JRPG-inspired Witch RP

Most excellent indeed.

Carina Rodericka

• Name: Carina Rodericka
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Carina is a tall woman, a little under six foot with a generally imposing demeanor to match, at least until she opens her mouth. She is a lean woman underneath her chosen attire, a mix of armor from her older brother's smithy and more traditional witch's garb beneath the armor. Her blonde hair is usually unkempt, clean but otherwise not kept in any particular style, allowed to come to rest however it sees fit at any given time. The only time this changes is when expecting conflict, where she will tie it back to keep it out of the way. Under the armor, her dress runs down to barely above the floor, wearing rather plain boots that are mostly kept out of sight, finding them better suited for the exploration and adventuring required of her as a newly minted member of the Moon Circle Society.
• Personality: Carina is an incredibly stubborn woman, who's refusal to back down once she has dug her metaphorical heels into the ground has both gotten her this far, and gotten her into trouble in equal measures. Perhaps to spite the expectations put on her, she tends towards being crass and loud, though friendly enough towards people who haven't gotten on her bad side yet, having little patience or interest in being coy or subtle. She approaches everything in life with that same loud, stubborn energy she keeps up in her life, keeping it up as a proofed armor against the world. She wants nothing to do with the nobility of her family lineage, and gets defensive whenever it is brought up in any sort of light, good or ill, preferring to stand on her own accomplishments and capabilities over even acknowledging the stronger place she started from thanks to having come from more noble birth.
  
  Carina has an intense drive to improve herself, something that is often overlooked due to her general demeanor, and she often times spends every waking moment driving herself in her chosen fields of study and practice. She can get frustrated with herself rather quickly when she can't figure something out, becoming slowly more obsessed with figuring out what she is struggling with, which can create a feedback loop of obsession given her normal stubborn pride. Still, it is a matter of pride in what she chooses to do, something she will never apologize for, assuming you could convince her to even begin to apologize for anything to begin with.
• Abilities: Carina uses a mixture of White and Black Magic, having almost actively shown a disinterest in all things related to the realm of Evocation.
  
  Her White Magic is almost exclusively in the realm of barriers and protection, knowing a basic single action healing spell or two for emergencies. Mend and Cure being the two that most obviously come to mind, Mend closing wounds and staunching bleeding while Cure can deal with natural toxins and the like, though magical afflictions are beyond the capabilities of either spell. Of more impressive note is her barrier spells, being a mix of Double-Action and Triple-Action spells, though (uniquely to her as far as she is concerned) most of the first actions in her spells involve varying stances with her inherited sword, usually some form of guard or parry, while the second action being to incant the spell in question. She is continuing to practice and improve on the effectiveness of her barriers, currently having to choose between what she was guarding against (Magic, mundane, ranged, melee, ect ect) meaning it takes a lot of fast thinking during a fight.
  
  When it comes to Black Magic, she focuses on debilitating anyone she is targeting with her magic, and has begun dabbling in direct curses. Unlike the stance mixing of her White Magic, her Black Magic is reliant on more conventional casting, using her wand in her off hand to go through the formal motions. As such, she tends to either open an encounter with one of these, or when she has a chance to weave them in between foes. Currently, debilitation is limited to the physical (reduced strength, agility, and the like), though each spell currently only focuses on one aspect of her opponent's abilities.
• Skills: Carina is fairly well trained as far as a novice Witch is concerned, at least for mundane life. She was expected to follow in the line of professional soldiers, and was raised and trained with that idea in mind. She is a competent swordswoman, though once she discovered her magical talents she has not pursued dedicated swordplay nearly as consistently as her family might have preferred. Still, she retains a level of swordplay that few could be ashamed of, though her preference for her particular Witch Arm has forced her to forgo effective thrusting attacks.
  
  Beyond combat, Carina is a fairly competent chef, knowing how to make even fairly bland and unappealing meals at least palatable without the use of magic. She enjoys cooking more than she cares to let on, if stuck traveling for long durations she will often take to preparing enough food for the group she is traveling with. Recognizing what is safe to eat and what isn't comes with the skillset, though she has no particular skill in tracking and hunting, she can safely direct someone who does have such skills to ensure that any group she is with beyond safe walls at least eats better than one might think.
  
  Carina has also learned a variety of gambling games, be it with cards, dice, or other forms of games of chance. She finds it a good way to unwind and pass the time, even if nothing of value is wagered, seeing how someone handles a game of chance is a good way to learn about them as far as she thinks. She has a preference for dice games, though her older brother made sure she knew the various games of chance she might come across. She enjoys teaching other witches the same games, especially when they have no idea how to actually know when to hold, when to fold, and when to bluff.
• Equipment: Most of Carina's person belongings can be carried with her on broomstick at any time, though the most standout items are her armored clothing and her Witch Arm. Her deep black dress was reinforced with armor that her older brother made for her, using a dark steel to give her as much protection as he could without slowing her down or impeding her ability to use magic, and while she was offered a helmet, she chose to go with a more stereotypical witch's wide brimmed hat. She also owns her wand and broomstick, both things with pragmatic, sturdy designs over more elegant or fanciful ones, things that could take a sharp drop or knock without breaking.
  
  Silverlight - A Witch Arm made out of the family heirloom sword, and Carina's pride and joy of a weapon. Originally based on the heavy executioner's sword of her family, Silverlight has had its edge tempered with the namesake silver, while being reforged has imbued the the blade with the ability to retain immense levels of mana. Carina has discovered two uses of the Witch Arm currently, both requiring channeling intense amounts of mana into the blade to manifest. The first allows her to strike foes from a distance, though rather than manifesting as beams of energy, the manifested mana simply 'extends' the effective length of the cut, a phantom afterimage betraying the true reach of each swing. The second use requires time to channel and focus, pouring risky levels of mana into the blade, charging a single stroke of catastrophic levels of destruction, at least in theory. The amount of time it currently takes to charge, plus the current limits on how much mana Carina can actually pour into the weapon, limits its power but she has yet to find the Witch Arm's limit on either effect.
• Brief Backstory: Carina Rodericka, of the minor noble house Rodericka, has had family going back generations in Lumiere, and have been staunch detractors of the Moon Circle Society in their notable history, championing that faith, steel, and steam could accomplish anything a Witch could, without the dangers and risks of another Witch of Calamity rising up. They maintained that having to rely on a Witch to stop one was only asking for trouble, and put their effort into avenues and efforts that would empower those without magic, or at least those who could not challenge a Witch, while resisting having to rely on them whenever possible. Carina was the second of three current children in House Rodericka, her older brother Maximilian several years older, and a journeyman smith that dabbles in the modern steps of technology. Her younger sister, Cynthia, is a few years younger, and seems interested in medicine more so than anything else, in no small part due to her weak health.
  
  Carina, much to the immense fury of her father, had an innate knack for magic and channeling mana. The Moon Circle Society had originally approached her father when she first manifested her magical aptitude in public, purely on accident after a heated argument, but was swiftly rebuked. Count Rodericka was not going to let anyone of his lineage serve in the Moon Circle if he had a say in the matter, and made sure that Carina was drilled and trained to take after her grandfather, a skilled professional soldier who had recently passed away, having spent many years in the military. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she was offered a choice among several military and law enforcement academies, which she refused all of. While her father was unaware, Carina had been in secret talks with sympathetic witches in the Moon Circle, and upon her birthday received a formal invitation that did not require her father's approval, as she was considered an adult now.
  
  While both her siblings were happy for Carina, who had shown repeated interests in magic and had been forced to suppress it while in her father's sight, it was only through the combined efforts of the rest of the family that she was not disowned outright then and there. Maximilian had been forging her armor in his off time, as well as working with the Moon Circle to have the sword she was given as inheritance made into a Witch Arm. Her younger sister had already been documenting any necessary physical conditions and well being to allow the formal invitation to the Moon Circle Society, under the guise of training for her own medical career. Count Rodericka had little recourse in the matter, and while not formally cast out, the two were no longer on speaking terms.
  
  Carina would spend the next several years getting caught up on everything she had missed, the absolute basics that would have been covered when she was younger, while blending what she had been forced to learn into something useful. She was fascinated by the exploration of Notte's Labyrinth, the idea of exploration and adventure capturing her imagination rather intensely. She had rough patches during her training, often times disagreeing with some instructors but proving to be a capable Witch in training. Eventually she would be able to start properly heading out and assisting with the duties and responsibilities expected of a Witch, something she thought was long overdue but glad to finally see happen.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

The recoiling and retreating tendrils from the Bloody Lord tempted Rolan to give the bastard a very rude gesture, but given the current situation he had plenty enough to keep him busy without taunting Rozenalt from on high. Mainly that the gigantic worm had not been fully dissuaded from continuing its assault on the flying duo, though he took some satisfaction that it was very much not enjoying the experience of a maw filled with alchemist fire. Seemed Gertrude had a plan, though, and he clung to the broom for his life as she shouted some spell, Meteor Light, and spun them around far faster than he could ever imagine any living steed manage to do. Never mind they were flying which narrowed down 'rideable steed' quite significantly, but he kept himself from tumbling off the broomstick, which set him up to see the devastation wrought upon the worm. Right, that was that he supposed.

"A pleasant distraction, but alas, back to work."

Rolan doubted he could have chosen a less fitting word than pleasant, at least at the particular moment, but since they had clear skies, at least for a moment, he could refocus his attention below. Tyaethe and Rozenalt were in such a bloody mess of a duel he wasn't sure another bolt would even register to either of them, he had already created an opening which had invited retaliation. His part in that duel was done, not that he needed to give her more of a reason to tell him off later. Ser Fionn was grappling with his foe, a cloak of daggers forming that made things complicated but anything he loosed would risk Ser Fionn as well, mulling over his options as he analyzed the battlefield while spanning and loading his crossbow. Ser Renar was forcing an actual engagement, such as it was, while Ser Gerard seemed to have actually gotten some response from his foe .The Captain and Ser Fleuri, however, were in danger of being overrun by the sheer number of hounds. Shouldering his crossbow, he fitted a vial of the caustic smoke to the bolt and loosed it towards the edge of the woods, right where the hounds were coming from. From there, Rolan didn't bother with any more alchemical tricks, not now, and focused instead on volume of fire, though he preferred to do this on solid ground he didn't have the luxury now and would have to trust Gertrude and her broom.

"Hold us steady, the Captain is overextending herself..."

The steady thrum of his crossbow reached the fastest rate that Rolan could maintain, picking off beast after wretched beast, focusing on clearing the flanks of the Captain and Ser Fleuri. He could only maintain this kind of volume of fire from a stable position, cradling his crossbow with one arm and using the other to span and load in one smooth motion, before loosing with the hand that was in the ideal position from the cradling of his crossbow, and repeating. The normal musings were clamped down on, the repetitive drilling of span, load, inhale, aim, exhale, loose, repeat being the only thing on his mind while engaging in this particular crossbow drill. He wouldn't match a bow, but he could keep up in a pinch, even if it would be taxing after awhile.

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

<<Vulture, Rhino, good copy, assuming Squad Lead. Allied elements, keep up the good work, walking fire across the right flank, bound up on my mark. Mark!>>

Rhino had shifted from focusing on his own efforts and piloting to organizing the counteroffensive properly. Properly, of course, meant naturally integrating the Helldog's preferred method of shorter, clipped call outs and more focused on just getting the point across. He chimed in naturally, moving forward at a steady pace, making sure to never outpace the Helldogs and friendly infantry support. It was good to see the hostiles buckling proper, infantry scattering or just surrendering outright while return MAS fire was becoming more of an obligation rather than anything heartfelt. Didn't mean damage couldn't be done, however, as one of the Helldogs fell back to use the Secutor as cover, and he retracted the 20mm to provide both a stable firing position for the rifle, and an unobstructed view to work with, syncing his frame's steps in time with the damaged Sentry to minimize any obstruction of outgoing fire. Rabbit ID'd the mystery frame trying to tango two on one against Skollr units, Hex but no outbound comms, probably took a nasty hit. Explained the radio silence at the very least, and he was cool and professional over comms, even as he worked between callouts and coordination with the Helldogs.

<<Rook, Rhino, coordinate with Rabbit to support Hex.>>

Rhino swapped to a direct line to not clutter the squad comms, and to not put the rookie on possible blast in front of everyone. Fighting Heavy MAS was a dangerous gambit, even in another MAS, and he could hear the overconfidence in Rook's voice after performing reasonably well so far after touching down, especially compared to the space engagement. He was still calm, but more direct in tone compared to the squad wide tone he adopted once being tapped for temporary lead.

<<With comms down you can't assume anything, work around what you see. Heavy MAS like those only need to get one good hit in to do critical damage, especially if kitted out for urban warfare. Go for joints, optics, feed mechanisms, the small things that can't be armored easily, and work them over from there.>>

Rook wanted reinforcements, and rightly so, but until the Coalition MAS units stopped fighting, Rhino couldn't simply go chasing after the next biggest target, and he had Rabbit heading that way from the looks of it to help work over the Skollr units. Ideal world he would be deploying to help bring them down, but until the Helldog front was secured, he couldn't leave them in the lurch. Even if one wasn't using him as cover, which they were, it came with the duties of squad lead. Vulture, squad lead actual, had diverted to make room for Rabbit to get clear of her crash site and re-engage, while Commie was busy hunting the Coalition toy that had grounded Rabbit to begin with. Sending another burst of 30mm into a Coalition MAS that tried to poke out to lay down suppressing fire, forcing it back with damage along its side.

<<Center right ducking, bounding up to the wrecked APC!>>

The Secutor advanced, though 'bounding' might be optimistic. Compared to the dueling super frames and the rest of his squadron, Rhino was practically plodding. Even compared to the Helldog Sentry frames, they could readily outpace him if they so wanted to, it came with the territory and it was something he was used to. Sparing another glance at the duel in the sky, and ignoring the rattle of 35mm across his frame as he subconsciously shifted to shield the Helldog behind him from further incoming fire, he spotted the explosion of a weapon's platform, though the duel was still going fierce. Well Rhino assumed so, any attention directed that way set his optics and sensors on the fritz, not even a firm smack of the console seemed to resolve it. Hex, Rabbit, and Rook were dancing with the two Skollr, he was still tied down on the Helldog front, and Commie was alone on high. He opened a channel to Vulture between confirmations and chatter with the Helldogs, given Rabbit had taken good advantage of the danger close run to get free of her crash site.

"Vulture, Rhino. Commie nailed the Jaeger's weapon but optics are acting fuzzy trying to track what's going on beyond that. Recommend making all good speed up there to help, rest of us are pretty firmly grounded or too entangled to disengage and assist."

As novel, and amusing, an idea as it was, a flight capable Secutor would lose almost all the advantages the frame had currently with fairly limited gains at best. Something would have to go, the combined weight of every modification, weapon platform, and support system would kill nearly any conventional flight system capable of gravitational work. Rabbit was down, Hex was comms down, and he wasn't about to suggest Rook make a hard turn and go get into a whole new kind of trouble. Rattling fire across his armor refocused his attention, another burst of 30mm chewing away at the cover of the offending Coalition MAS, encouraging the pilot to either run or keep their head down, covering gaps left by the Helldog angles of fire as they called them out. No sense giving the already broken enemy a chance to get any more serious hits to force the Helldogs to spend more time in repair after the LZ was finally declared secure enough to establish a base of operations.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Either or. Fortune willing sufficiently flammable to not appreciate what it is about to start being forced to catch."

Rolan was tempted to take some pride in landing the shot on Rozenalt, given the distance and relatively small target he was aiming for. Even better, though better was tainted with the fact that whatever was inside the armor was confirmed, beyond a doubt, to be utterly inhuman, the bolt was broken off inside the armor rather than than removed completely. That meant the poisoned bodkin tip was still inside, though given how the bolt was broken off, well, he wasn't exactly going to hold his breath it would work as he hoped. It did seem to create an opening for Dame Tyaethe to continue focusing her unrelenting assault on the Bloody Lord. Unfortunately, that was all thanks to the split attention sending...vein like tendrils hurtling up towards them, and as he had just finished spanning his crossbow, he reached for the bag full of his steadily dwindling alchemical creations.

"Well he didn't take kindly to the interruption, maybe this will dissuade him from interfering in return..."

Uncorking the vial and flicking his arm in a single motion, Rolan sent a spray of clinging, sticky alchemical fire directly in the path of the oncoming tendrils. He had to trust that Gertrude would handle evasive action, given his lack of agency in maneuvering themselves around above the battlefield. He didn't have time to analyze how the others were doing either, given the onset of two things. One, the source of the black arrows made themselves known, and he would have been wrong had he muttered a name as to who was interceding. Nithyr, maybe not on their side exactly but most certainly opposed to Rozenalt. A hand raised to return the greeting from the one shouting, all he could spare given the rumbling revealed itself from the north at last, continuing to mutter to himself as he readied himself for what was coming.

"...We got the numbers, they got the size...."

A massive, winged, worm like creature with a toothless maw that could probably swallow an entire mounted charge in one fell movement. Rolan wouldn't lie, he missed his time spent bounty hunting every time some new, fresh abomination came lurching into his life and, by extension, awareness. Loading a bolt and locking his legs together tighter to brace for having to no doubt evade again, Rolan fetched a bottle, one that had been taking up a significant amount of space in his satchel. Too large to fit to a bolt (unless he were to wield a siege weapon like a personal one, but that was beyond him anyways), and too unwieldy to do more than throw a short distance. He had been keeping it to top off new vials but had another plan now, seeing the large maw bearing down on them. Hurling it with all the strength he could muster, before shouldering the crossbow and pausing for just long enough for the tumbling bottle to be squarely in the toothless void of a maw before loosing his bolt. The bolt would break the bottle and send the flames hurtling into the abomination, that had so kindly set up a relatively easy shot, and fortune willing would not take kindly to having a maw and inside that was now not only on fire, but stubbornly so.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Well done, I'm sure the Captain appreciates the effort even more than I do."

Rolan had, after a glance confirmed nothing would fall on his fellows below, loaded and loosed a bolt tipped with a vial of Alchemist's Fire to sort out the pack that the Astral Lance had not accounted for. The dense, choking cloud had worked like a charm in scattering the impending charge, leaving two clumps vulnerable to the attacks of both mage and knight, though it was never easy enough to simply deal with one wave of abominations. Still, the low pass gave him a moment to observe where his bolts were needed next while Gertrude slung another spell completely, this time not simply incinerating everything that offended her. So she could learn after all, there was hope for them all yet. The Captain looked to be directing other members of the Order, one group peeling off to intercept a flank from the left by Siheyar, and he only hoped that they got all the pain and misery they deserved, wretched things. Two more knights, those he was far less familiar with, struck out to keep the ranks of the Hunt from reorganizing and interfering with the duels going on.

Rolan envied none of his fellow knights, least of all Dame Tyaethe, no matter how much she enjoyed facing down Rozenalt, plenty of blood being shed but no signs of the pitched fight slowing down yet. Ser Gerard seemed to be in quite the, relatively speaking, civilized duel with the pale one, a blow left an interloper dead by the, nominally, Hunt's own hand. He'd have to be certain before interfering, no telling how far her reach truly was. Ser Renar met a trapper's cunning with force, and more than enough of it to splinter wood and lash out with a clever trick with concealed powder being hurled. He'd have to offer his fellow a more varied selection of mixtures to mix up what he could surprise his enemies with, a later consideration. Ser Fionn was show boating, not the best plan but given all they had to do was slay Rozenalt, keeping attention might just work better than a fast kill, fortune willing it worked in their favor. Ser Fleuri was the most beset, and Rolan was making ready to lend his bolts in the beleaguered knight's fight when two things came to his attention.

One, the Captain was making all due haste to assist Ser Fleuri, which was good for the long term. More irritatingly, however, the oncoming swarm was only growing. The screeching vulture crones were coming up in greater numbers, and he was reaching for another bolt of alchemist fire when they suddenly faltered. Sharp eyes spotted the black arrows felling vast numbers of the crones, a sharp glance towards where they were coming from was all he could spare as a previously agreed upon opportunity arose. Rozenalt had forced a gap between Dame Tyaethe and himself, blade raised high as it channeled some sort of mad power, and he plucked the bolt he had prepared specially for the Bloody Lord, the most potent paralytic he could make coating the bodkin tipped bolt. He spoke just loud enough to be heard by Gertrude, already shouldering the crossbow and taking advantage of the moment, however brief, the hail of black arrows bought them. He dared not guess names while in such a pitched fight, but black arrows stuck clearly in his memory for who might have loosed them in the Knight's favor.

"Steady us for a moment..."

Breath in, take aim, breath out, and Rolan loosed the poisoned bolt. He could be chastised later, and the constant shots raining down from above had hopefully let arrogance set in for Rozenalt, that not even the crossbow wielding hedge knight dared draw his ire despite range and height allowing him to. The shot was aimed right for the armpit of Rozenalt, where the armor would be least effective and was most exposed from the raised blade, and where the bolt could bury itself most deeply. Then, fortune willing, the poison would tip the scales in the favor of their vampire even further. Did he have confidence that Tyaethe could prevail? Certainly, but as was agreed upon prior, better to ensure the victory, after all this was no tournament fight, it was a pitched battle for life or death. The rustling from the north was worth noting, loading and readying another bolt for what was about to come from the treeline.

"Fortune willing that works, though we've likely more trouble from the north. Shall we see how many of them we can make die?"

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

Rhino monitored the evolving situation as he continued hammering the counterattack forces that made it into contact with his Secutor, noting that the rest of the team was doing well for themselves so far. Rabbit was back online, having dealt with some infantry trying to board and force her out of the chassis. Not a great idea, smart move would have been to satchel charge and been done with it, but bleeding edge tech was hard to pass up. Especially since he wouldn't be surprised if there were Coalition standing orders regarding them after that little skirmish in orbit, but that was something to confirm at a later date. New marching orders, or lack thereof, from Vulture. He was part of the anchor point, dig in and work with the Helldogs to blunt and turn back the Coalition counter-attack. Easy enough orders, just keep doing what he was already doing, and he gave a verbal confirmation as he sent another burst of 30mm into a hostile MAS.

<<Vulture, Rhino. Good copy, I'll give the Helldogs a good point to rally around.>>

Commie sorted out the rest of the artillery units that hadn't gotten flattened by the proxy shell, good, he could be more liberal in letting the Class 3 loose for other incoming attacks. Armor was looking fine, none of the dedicated AT weapons had been able to be brought to bear, or land a clean shot, while Rook went on a high speed flank. Wheeled around and was coming in from a perpendicular angle, two MAS and light targets, kid was doing solid work now that he was planetside. His console began screaming missile alerts, the first incoming shot from an AT Launcher that had survived long enough to draw a bead on the Secutor and let loose. Triggering the Class 3, the impact detonated and threw up dust and flames as the Class 3 soaked the impact, and began recharging. Cocking an eyebrow, Rhino thumbed the Katar CIWS live and as he spotted the inbound missiles, the CIWS roared to life, although screamed might be more appropriate given the noise it was making.

<<Rook, Rhino. Good copy, mind the gap between the lines, about to get real messy.>>

True to his word, Rhino's Secutor was firing off a blistering counterbattery of Katar micro-missiles, the intervening space between the UEE positions and Coalition attack filled with a sudden mass of detonating ordinance. Incoming Spiker missiles being intercepted by Katar micro-missiles, the smaller detonations of the CIWS munitions being dwarfed by the larger Spiker warheads being set off well before they could reach the Secutor and begin doing significant damage to the armor. Several more thumps from the CIWS, and the LOW indicator coming live, alerted him that the last of the incoming munitions had been detected and intercepted, the two Jackhammer missiles detonating and adding to the sheer density of shattered and scattered scrap across the space between battle lines. The additional Micro-Missiles were necessary to detonate the sturdier Jackhammer missiles. Only had a quarter of the CIWS munitions left, but that was just as many enemy missiles that wouldn't be hammering away at friendly lines, and he would replenish later if need be. The M81 roared again, another burst of 30mm catching one of the offending Fenrir units out in the open after trying to launch its missile payload, leg getting scythed through before defenses could be brought to bear and concentrated fire chewing through the cockpit of the opposing MAS.

<<Allied elements, Rhino. Missile barrage intercepted, advancing. It's time to break the Coalition counterattack now that it has faltered.>>

Secutor, after confirming no allied infantry had hunkered down too close to the armored legs of the heavy MAS laying down fire on the Coalition forces, began advancing slow and steady. Non essential power was being shunted to the Class 3 while he advanced, continuing to put bursts of fire down on any MAS units still in play against the UEE forces. He was more attentive to making sure that no one else got brave enough to try and throw more missiles his way. The 20mm wasn't suited to CIWS duty, and with the Katar being low, he would have to be more selective on what was intercepted going forward. A few Spiker missiles wouldn't have warranted the intercept, but the sheer volume would have shaken a few bolts loose, to put it mildly. Still, as the sweat began running as the life support had been, once again, shut off in favor of charging the Class 3 just that bit faster. He couldn't shunt off the Plasma Gauntlet given a Coalition MAS might get brave enough to rush him given missiles and smaller calibers weren't working. Infantry fire wasn't even worth noting, not at this point since the 20mm was keeping them busy or dead too. Rhino had time to keep an ear out for any calls for aid from either the Helldogs or the 7th, as required.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Don't test gravity, duly noted. If its all the same, I'll save the tears for another time. Don't want to go fouling my vision while it matters."

Rolan couldn't say what he was expecting when the broom took off and began flying proper, but the fact he found it more agreeable than any horse he'd ever had the displeasure of riding spoke volumes. It was a far more stable experience, even if a sudden tumble would do significantly more damage than falling off a horse might. Still, he kept his logs locked firmly in place so that, in the event of suddenly getting knocked sideways either way, he should be able to hold on long enough to sling his crossbow and clamber back into place, though he would much rather avoid having to deal with that if at all possible. He kept up a steady rhythm of fire, intervening on behalf of his fellow's below whenever an enemy tried to intrude or interfere with their chosen foes. It wasn't glamorous work, but it was necessary, and even the Captain and Lord Arken would find cover from above as appropriate to keep them from being overwhelmed. Of course, the Hunt was not content to leave the duo flying above uncontested, Rolan calling out a warning to Gertrude as he loaded a caustic smoke bolt.

"Seems they are tired of us having it easy. I'll blind and disorientate, and let you do what you do best."

Taking careful aim and accounting for the more erratic form of flight, giving him the displeasure to focus on just how unnaturally hideous the creatures were, Rolan feinted firing, delaying for a moment to bait out any attempts to evade before loosing his bolt. Upon impact the vial fixed to the bolt would shatter, engulfing the leading fliers in a thick, choking black smoke that the Order was no doubt increasingly used to seeing from the hedge knight, it made for an excellent method at disrupting even small formations of those who fell on the wrong side of the Order's ire. Loading a bolt of alchemist fire next, he was watching for either a cluster to come out of the smoke, or around it, either way it would ideally give Gertrude time to maneuver them to a better position before he resumed making the life of every last Hunt member he could reach, while keeping an eye on the duel between Dame Tyaethe and Rozenalt as well. Plenty enough to keep them all busy, seeing how each Knight had singled out a noteworthy member of the Hunt to engage.

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

<<Vulture, Rhino. Acknowledged, call out if you need heavy anti air, I still have a few proxy shells to spare.>>

Rhino had taken a forward position as the 111th Helldogs began touching down in the pocket of secured ground space, at least relatively secured against incoming fire. UEE comms were an utter mess, large scale global invasions always were no matter how many times they were carried out, and while the Helldogs were coming in, Rook decided to join him on the ground as well. Suited Rhino fine, he could keep half an eye on the kid since he'd gotten himself in over his head in orbit and hearing one rookie die was plenty enough for him for one day. Left leg servo was still throwing up alarms, but he wasn't exactly going to be competing for Heavy MAS land speed contests anytime soon while in gravity so he could take it steady until there was time to let the Revenant FRS work its metaphorical magic. Still, he was calm and collected as he replied just as Rook touched down and got the salute from the infantry.

<<Rook, Rhino. Good copy, you find yourself caught out use Secutor for hard cover. Otherwise keep your head on a swivel, don't want to...>>

Even buttoned up, the sudden counter assault forced Rhino to focus, 20mm Vanguard CDS deploying from his right shoulder and strafing the infantry attempting to advance using burned out vehicles and wrecks, SAP-HEI rounds torching infantry and any vehicles unfortunate enough to be caught in direct line of sight of the Secutor. Sending 35mm fire towards Fenrir units attempting to engage as well, uparmored exterior weathering incoming munitions with relative ease, the sudden onset of fire from the nearby apartment building was off to his left and forced him to turn his heavier weapons that direction, giving the Garmr dropping in precious moments to line up an AT round on him. Ready to thumb the Class 3 to life, a certain chatty proceeded to core the poor frame and demand free drinks in return. Saved him having to shunt power to recharge the Class 3 at the very least, and he finished his statement as he swung the MAC-011 up and trained it on the first floor of the apartment building proving to be most troublesome.

<<...have to listen to Rabbit demanding free drinks. Wait one, evicting the squatters and their building.>>

Loading HESH, Rhino took aim with the weapon as it finished spooling up, warnings automatically sent to any nearby friendlies so they had a chance to go to ground as the superheavy weapon was trained on where the first floor's load bearing column would be. After a moment, the MAC-011 discharged with a mixture of thunder and the whine of a magnetic rail discharging, 170mm HESH shell sent hurtling into the base of the apartment building, an immense explosion engulfing the first floor and bringing the entire building down in a catastrophic collapse, killing or burying any hostiles who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the building when the Secutor turned its main gun on them. He considered himself fortunate he didn't have a tap into enemy comms, he would rather not hear the response to that as an indicator flashed red briefly, and the familiar sound of the Katar CIWS firing off to intercept another incoming missile as Rhino turned to the incoming assault that Hex called out.

<<7th, Rhino. I don't have eyes on where the shot came from, do any of you speak French or should I just assume she's cursing?>>

Hex called out from her sniper nest on the additional incoming, and engaging with her own long ranged fire support. Precise, effective, and certainly lethal, but only good for one target at a time. Rather, Rhino tapped into the deployed drone screen as it was buzzing the incoming mechanized infantry, spotting the Skollr units setting up off the display of one of the drones as it whirred about. More indirect fire, he couldn't do much about that, but the missile trucks setting up, that he could do something about. Loading another proxy, he elevated the MAC-011 into an angle that more resembled an artillery piece than a direct fire weapon. He deliberately cut power to the recharging coils at about 67%, processing the targeting data from the Blackout's drones and adjusting his aim by millimeters. Incoming fire was still light enough that he just ignored it, barely hearing it in the cockpit now that he was properly buttoned up.

<<Hex, Rhino, thanks for the warning. Spotted some artillery on your drone's data, stand by for splash on the missile units.>>

The warnings across all nearby allied elements lit up again, and the Secutor sent another 170mm shell hurtling into the air. Unlike before, this one had an incredibly long delay before the proximity fuse set in, arcing lazily through the air, lazily as far as magnetic accelerated projectiles are concerned at the very least. Rhino loaded APFSDS next, continuing to work off Hex's targeting data to intercept the closest AT Launcher wielding Fenrir as it went to ground. She couldn't make good on it, but a dart moving at what could conservatively be called 'Mach Fuck' would suffice. Rhino shunted non essential power to the coils as they charged, the incoming fire growing stronger as the first Fenrir's reached the entrenching UEE forces, but before the first launcher unit could arrive, two things happened. First, the 170mm Proxy reached its destination, the airburst decimating the mobile missile units as they were bringing their own launch systems to bear. Second, he finished charging the second shot, warnings issued, and just before the launcher bearing Fenrir could round the corner, the MAC-011 roared at full charge once again.

<<Shots away. All allied elements, I'll hold as much of their attention as I can muster.>>

The Launcher wielding Fenrir was cored through the side of the building it thought was providing it hard cover and concealment, the secondary chain of detonations as the munitions cooked off causing several parts to fly out and arc across the street it was rounding the bend on. While the main goal was to, indeed, eliminate a high threat enemy before it could engage, more importantly he put a very important thought into the enemy's collective heads. Hard cover wasn't good enough, nor safe enough, to prevent their imminent demise should they get the Secutor's attention badly enough. No one wanted to die, after all, and watching a friendly who was better equipped to deal with a Heavy MAS get reduced to a bundle of fireworks and scrap before they could ever engage would hopefully weigh quite heavily on their heads. Rhino focused his efforts on making sure that anyone stupid enough to poke their heads up for long got the same treatment, with a more reasonable expenditure of ammunition of course.

Returning the MAC-011 to its rear mounted carry position, both the 35mm M81 and 20mm Vanguard redeployed from their holding positions. The 20mm immediately began tracking any surviving mechanized infantry, their APCs, and was given approval to target Garmr units given they were light enough 20mm SAP-HEI would be sufficient to keep them from engaging freely. This left the M81 free to focus on the Fenrir units, walking controlled bursts of fire onto their positions. If they stayed out too long, they would get torn apart by a steady torrent of AP-Incendiary, and if not they couldn't make effective attacks against the combined UEE forces. Armor was taking a steady beating, though nothing of concern had been worn down yet, and he kept the Class 3 on a hair trigger in case he had to catch that enemy superheavy from an unknown position. Or one of the Skollr units decided he was being too much of a nuisance and sent a heavy shell his way. He'd rather catch it and shunt power to recharge it than let it direct hit or, worse, splash among allied elements. Infantry wouldn't take too kindly to that. Regardless, Rhino did his level best to keep the worst of the incoming fire going to where it would be the most wasted. Right into the Secutor.