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ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

Although, it feels like I'm doing something wrong.

@Prisk

I think you're doing an amazing job and being patient is not always easy either. I do like the way you've incorporated players dropping in and out with the lore of the story too.

ᵀʰᵉ Last Avatar & ᵀʰᵉ Red Lotus.

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Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · In collaboration with |@Fiber] & |@Mistress Dizzy]Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · In collaboration with @Fiber & @Mistress Dizzy ____________________________________________________________________________. ”Go.” Jin did not respond to their Captain. But they didn’t need to. Approximately 3 seconds later, the backside tire of the vehicle furthest from the tower exploded, sending pressurized air, rubber, and sand everywhere. They started lining up the next shot. Zhen found a single guard slumped over by the wall, bleeding from the cranium, a small dent in the material behind. The air blasts hadn’t been kind to him. There was still a chance he might survive with medical intervention; they would wait and see how to allocate resources after the mission. She nonchalantly slid his weapon out towards Jin, keeping it away from the stairwell, and then left Jin to focus on their task Jin’s gaze flicked away for a split second, long enough to extend a leg and pull the gun close with their foot. It would need examining later. Jin had a tendency to keep things that most people would toss out (growing up poor did that to a person), and would probably scrap it for useful parts. As they lined up for their next shot, a powerful blast of wind crashed into the side of the tower and forced a large amount of air into the room through the open windows. Entering the more confined space, there was was enough force behind the jet stream that it could have knocked over anyone who was standing. However, Zhen felt the air blast and reacted the way her training had taught her, to go with it, to loosen up and course correct in the air. Once she was off her feet she began her rotation, and landed just a few steps from where she was in a technically perfect backflip. She said to Jin “Can you handle whatever that was, or should I stay with you?” After, she heard footsteps climbing the stairwell and knew what she would do. Using her skills she projected an airblast down the stairwell, couldn’t be sure it would hit anything because she was firing blind, but it was enough to give her the opening to charge down it at terrifying, air bending augmented speed. The sound of the tumbling body reached her however as it echoed up the entirety of the staircase, ending in a resounding thud and then silence. If Jin had not been almost level to the ground, they would have been swept off their feet. Even so, the wind blast had them reflexively curling, making themself an even smaller target. It was over quick enough though, and Jin got back on Mifeng’s scope immediately, looking for the source of the wind. “I got this. Fuck ‘em up.” Jin figured it would be better to have the airbending woman watching their back. “Where are you…” Jin’s voice was an eerie, soft sing-song as they searched below. ”G-guys! I’m losing control of my stick!” Came Yi over the radio. Yi’s panic caught Jin’s attention, and they yanked the rifle’s sight upward to look at the Firefly. “That can’t be good." They said, watching as the aircraft began to spin out of control. The gun suspended beneath it began firing in wild arcs, throwing bullets in every direction and some of them hitting the tower near Jin. "Hang in there, Yi! Workin’ on it.” They adjusted, and amid the chaos of bullets, people were ducking and throwing themselves at the ground. All but one. An Airbender. Jin spotted the arms waving first, almost out of sight of the scope. “There y’are. Sneaky fucker.” Lifting the rifle fully, they crept toward the edge of the tower. The toes of their boots were just over the edge. Jin murmured as numbers, angles, wind speeds and direction were calculated out loud. Sure, benders could use nature itself to conquer their opponents. But even nature was run by the rules of math. It was damn near a right angle, a straight down shot. Jin had the gun braced against their slim, muscled shoulder and one of the weathered tower walls. The stance would become uncomfortable quickly. Luckily, this wouldn’t take long. “Bye-bye, bender.” They fired.

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

@Aeolian Left it a little open so Peter can take them into the research station.

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

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_{DAY 1 《》 STEELWATER [Landing Zone - A] 《》 Late Morning 《》 @Exit}

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"Considering you're out of ammo..." Christina began, her voice a hint of surprise as she peered into the mouth of the empty magazine. "...There's not much of a choice." She tossed the empty clip to the side. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She wasn't supposed to be making contact with anyone and she definitely wasn't supposed to be stopping to provide help, especially not for someone as capable as Emilia Lange. Members of the UDF Guardian corps were well known, some more than others, but Emilia was one of the few easy enough to recognize. Of course when in the heat of the moment and when standing in the shade of a tree, it hadn't immediately registered. But now, thanks to Peter, Christina could see her clearly. Emilia Lange. She had practically flown here. She was an Aeon, same as herself. Same as Peter. ...Same as their friend... Her eyes narrowed. The mission remained the same, but given the fact that whatever her team had run into had wiped them out, it was clear to her that the pieces on the board had changed and the information she needed to finish the job she simply didn't have. An agent of the Guardian Corps of the UDF could provide her that information, but while Emilie was becoming a thread Christina needed to pull on, the reality of their situation had to come first. Before her mission or her dead friends or the two who were addressing her now, there was the 'why' she was fighting in the first place. That was not something she could so easily ignore. There would be time to find the answers she needed later and she knew who to talk to to find them. Right now, the child needed her. With a defeated huff, mostly from the shame of having been fooled by a gun with no ammo, Christina got to her feet and nodded, turning to Peter. "Lead the way." She shouldered her rifle. Focused as she now was on her new task, the flashes and muted explosions in the distance were brief distractions from the path Peter would take. She kept her eyes on him, Emilia, the girl in her arms and remained vigilant for any movement in the periphery. She'd remain watchful until all four of them reached their destination safely.

Summary

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After being asked to help escort the child, Christina weighs her options but quickly realizes given the circumstances, she only has one. She agrees to Peter's request and moves to follow him to the research station while covering Emilia and the girl from any threats that should find them.

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

Post from me by tomorrow.

ᵗʰᵉ Last Avatar.

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Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · In collaboration with |@KillamriX88] & |@canaryrose]Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · In collaboration with @KillamriX88 & @canaryrose ____________________________________________________________________________. Chu Hua looked up, squinting at the glare of the sun in her eyes. These two seemed… earnest. Well, the woman did- the boy looked chagrined. She sighed nearly imperceptibly as Chae Won started speaking, giving Kanna a resigned glance. A day ago, she would’ve been happy to meet these two- fans were, or had been, her favorite part of her career outside of the game- but today she was just done. She didn’t care. “Uh-huh,” she said, face and tone flat. “Cool.” Kanna returned a glance that said ”They’re your fans…” and would have left her to suffer the attention if it were any other day, but out here, any attention was bad attention. It was something that the both of them hadn’t really considered. Kanna had been so distracted by the events leading to their departure from the city, she’d completely forgotten that back in their normal lives, the both of them were very recognizable. The fact that their escape from the field in the middle of the game yesterday had been broadcast to the entire city only compounded the issue. Besides that, she found herself fighting instincts she hadn’t had for years. There was no need to step up and put herself between Chu and potential danger, not when it was no longer her place and especially not when Chu could handle herself. Yet, she wanted to. ...Chu was right. An should have been here… She thought to herself, recognizing the face of indifference on her ex. She decided the least she could do was try to keep things cordial with the strangers since it’d been made apparent they’d be riding together. She preferred everyone in their group at least remained friendly for however long the duration of the trip across the desert would be. ”It’s uh…always nice to meet fans...” Kanna answered, struggling to change what would have been a practiced greeting to something more fitting to everyone’s situation. ”So… are you both… you know... Are you both Benders?” Chae-Won felt her whole body cringe with shame as Kanna called her a 'fan'. Was it that obvious? Of course it was. “I’m so sorry. I made it weird, I know I did…” Chae-Won groaned. Fortunately, Kanna seemed less begrudging of their presence and gave her a less painfully awkward topic to discuss. “Oh, uh… yeah I guess that’s the kind of thing we can actually talk about now, huh?” Weiyuan, having been on edge the second Kanna had asked, relaxed as Chae-Won. It was true. The pathetically small silver lining to all this was that he was surrounded by people where, for the moment at least, he didn’t have to hide that part of himself. “Yep. Both of us are earth benders. I’d been teaching myself for years, and then I ran into the kid. He insisted on learning, so I figured I might as well make sure he learned right.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Neither of us are experts or anything. Obviously it's pretty hard to get proper instructions on how to do this stuff…” Wait. Holy shit. That meant that at least one of the two women before her were also benders. Weiyuan coud see the lightbulb go off in Chae-Won’s head and rolled his eyes as she suppressed a squeal of delight. She actually had something in common with her heroes. “You trained?” That got Chu Hua’s attention. She stared at Chae-Won, baffled, looking the other woman up and down with a new appreciation. Training. Bending training. She had those tapes, but she had never imagined those skills might still exist. Bending was just a relic that she had been cursed with. Nowadays, it was something that happened to benders, not something that benders did. “How? Why would you do that? That’s… impossible! And insane.” She completely ignored the rest of the conversation, now fixing Chae-Won with an intensely interested and, frankly, confused expression on her face. She didn’t disclose her own status- it felt a little awkward- but she imagined it would be fairly obvious from the look of the fresh burns on her hands. ”Maybe she has ‘naked King Wu’ tapes too.” “Shut the fuck up, please?” Chae-Won’s brain completely short-circuited. Chu Hua was talking to her. Like actually paying attention and talking to her. Talking to her and actually interested! “O-oh, I-I-” Aaaand then another hiccup interrupted her thought process. “Wait, naked who what now?” She blinked, but then decided it must be some sort of hilarious inside joke she wasn’t cool enough to know about. “W-well…” This time she was neither interrupted, nor too star-struck to speak. She began sweating a little, realizing the can of worms Chu Hua’s question might open with regard to her past. “It’s… um… a really long, lame story that I’m sure you wouldn’t be interested in. Let’s just say I got started one day out of necessity and… just kept going. I just needed something to focus on sometimes and bending was what I had. Then, like I said, I found the kid and had to keep myself sharp for his sake.” Well it was definitely a long story at any rate. One they didn’t have time for, so for now she was probably safe. That said, even Weiyuan was eyeing her with a look that cried “bullshit.” “Necessity?” Chu Hua raised a brow, skeptical. “Why would you need this shit? It’s awful. I just… you know, I tried really hard not to… but, well. Here I am now, so I guess that didn’t fucking work.” She snorted, shaking her head. “That doesn’t make sense to me. And you, kid, you… wanted to know all this stuff?” ”I mean… didn’t you also pay a hundred thousand yuan for the tapes? Not that any of this makes sense. How does someone…” Kanna tilted the stick in her hand toward Chae. ”...Manage to never get caught while training and teaching when Chu was over here burying a part of her in her floorboards?” Kanna was wracking her brain listening to the multiple perspectives of the same issue. An issue with which she had very little exposure to until only a few days previous and had since then only dedicated time to finding a way to run from. On one hand, Benders were hunted and killed and those who knew they could bend before the accident had spent their lives hiding or trying to bury their powers for fear of the impact it’d have on their lives. On the other hand, there were those who had somehow managed to train and even teach others who wanted to learn. Something wasn’t adding up or maybe she just never understood the whole picture. The world was afterall a big place and Ba Sing Se by itself was massive. Maybe there were more solutions to the problem than Kanna had originally believed buried within the city. Unfortunately for her, that solution hadn’t come in time to save her mother. Instead, she was watching two people put together a puzzle that was supposed to explain their lives and why they ended up where they were. What decisions they made, why they made them and what if anything they could have done to change the present. It was as if anything related to bending was a shit show, just as they’d been told. ”Not to mention that she’s right. This is shit. Why try so hard to want it?” Kanna asked, almost as if addressing all three present. “Look, I’m not a philosopher or anything, and I don’t want to get preachy. You’ll just have to trust me when I say there was a time when I needed it to work for me, OK?” Chae-Won told them. Meanwhile, she had indeed seen the burns on Chu Hua’s hands. She didn’t speak to her directly, but she did have one other thing to say, “But it’s not like it’s a disease. I’ve seen what sick people, monster’s, look like. Astonishingly, most of ‘em weren’t benders… Bending is just another thing in a long list of bullshit people have chosen to tear each other apart over. It helped me when I needed it, and that’s good enough for me.” Weiyuan fidgeted with his collar as she spoke. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the glass wasn’t even what she was referring to, but it was all he could think about when she talked about bending like that. They hurt me when they found out about my bending… and they hurt me when they didn’t know about it. If there’s no difference, then why shouldn’t I? Weiyuan mouthed the words, forcing a weak whisper out, though he didn’t really care how much they understood, nor was he in the mood to explain further. He just knew their attitude toward their bending was annoying. It reminded him too much of his other self… “I didn’t say I was sick or a monster,” Chu Hua retorted, crossing her arms. She was getting a little heated, despite herself. All that rage inside of her from yesterday was bubbling up, and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn’t that she had never though herself a monster or resented herself for what she was. She had, and in some ways, she did. When she was a kid, she had taken showers as freezing cold as they could go. When she was a teenager, she had burned herself, trying to get herself to associate fire with pain, to get rid of it all. It had never worked. How could these people be so seemingly happy with it? “Listen, I-” She noticed Weiyuan trying to speak and stopped herself in her tracks, trying hard to pay attention to his words. Her face softened after she heard him speak, however soft it was. How could it not? “Kid, I… I just know I wouldn’t be in this spot if I couldn’t bend. I don’t know if you can understand, but I have- I had- a career, a life, a family. If I hadn’t lit a stadium on fire yesterday, I would still be planning my wedding for next week. Now I’m not getting married at all. Fuck, what time is it, 9 AM? I’d be in bed with my fiancee second-guessing my choice of cake frosting, not in the desert preparing to travel to god knows where so I won’t be executed.” She started to get a bit choked up towards the end of her sentence, balling her hands into fists. Kanna remained silent, finding herself yet again in an emotional situation with someone who needed another’s touch. Who needed the very woman they had both left behind. The worst part of it all was that she could no longer relate. Kanna was no Bender, nor was she expecting to wed anyone. She was just on the run from a life that knew none of the struggle any of the other three had to live through. Then there was Weiyuan who had surprised them both when he started to speak. Only thing was, his voice was like that of a broken whisper and nearly impossible to hear in the ambience of the crowd around them and strong winds from the storm in the distance. In her effort to understand him, it was only then that she noticed the lines carved into his neck half hidden by his messy head of hair. Her eyes glanced from him to the scars marking half of Chae-Won’s face and then to the burns on Chu’s hands. ”I’m… sorry.” Kanna said softly, again as if to all three although she was still looking at Chu. Kanna was afterall half the reason Chu was in the middle of the desert away from the one thing she probably needed. Even if the alternative was death, their running wasn’t shaping up to be much better. Not when every other person like Chu was broken in some way and had the scars to prove it. “I get it. Maybe not specifically that, but none of us ended up here for happy reasons,” Chae-Won said. “And I don’t expect to change your mind about bending today, and I’m almost certain youm don’t want me to try.” There was more she wanted to say, but it wasn’t her job to lecture Chu Hua freaking Yuan. Besides, she was a grown woman who now would have plenty of time to think things over. “But, if you do want to talk about any of that stuff, we’ll have time… so… just say the word,” she concluded. “Doesn’t even need to be about bending, really. Gonna be a real boring trip otherwise.” Then again, maybe a little boring wouldn’t be so bad right now. "Yeah, I don't think we're getting... 'boring'." Kanna said, peering into the sky with a hand shielding the light from her eyes. "...What is that?"

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Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · |@Theyra] & |@vietmyke]Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · @Theyra & @vietmyke ____________________________________________________________________________. "Hey there, friend. I think my car is full up on riders. Now, I'm not looking for any trouble here. I hope you're not looking for any neither." The man eyeing the Kyoshi turned to Jin and sized him up. "Actually I recognize this..." He said, tapping the side of the vehicle. "A Kyoshi. You only see this in one place." The man's eyes narrowed. "That pipe you protect? I heard it's all but busted up now since the accident. No synergy being pumped through the damn thing and it's making a lot of people nervous. People need the stuff, you know? So... you wouldn't happen to have any on you by chance, would you?" "ERR! Nope! We've got none! So sorry, sir!" Sumire chimed in from behind Jin, shaking her head although the motions were slightly exaggeration. The bunny ears on the helmet tucked under her arm began to wobble slightly. "You sure about that? Because if you did, I could buy it off of you for a very fair price. Right now, with the shortage, stolen synergy is probably worth more than this entire trip. Very valuable stuff. Very dangerous stuff and I'd be willing take some off your hands. Wouldn't want that trouble you're not looking for to find you instead." The man said, placing a hand on the piece on his hip. "TIKAAANIII!" Both the man and Sumire looked up toward the source of the yell. On top of the tower was a man who was waving at everyone below and pointing at the sky. "COMPANY!" Curious, Sumire took a step forward and tried to see what the man was pointing at, throwing on her helmet again when the sun was making it difficult to see. A dark figure was falling out of the sky at a fairly high rate of speed, drifting away from another object above it that looked to be moving further South.

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Landing in the Tower · In collaboration with the LSFLanding in the Tower · In collaboration with the LSF ____________________________________________________________________________. The HUD on Zhen’s helmet ticked off the distance to the target and provided a line to follow. She didn’t need to, but she was using her own augment to count the time and distance alongside it, validating that both agreed. On the way down all she had heard was the noise of the wind around her wingsuit, the air currents rolling off the white folds of the fully extended airfoils, along with her counting down the time to Jin. When they were close, so close that Zhen could see the windows of the building and the people on the ground with her own eyes, Zhen said “Beginning deceleration for terminal approach. Please keep you limbs by your side during this process. The G-Forces will be substantial but you’ve endured equivalent amounts during your training.“ Landing precisely in the top of the tower took creative thinking to slow down so rapidly. It was tricky to make the bending motions when the wind was whipping around, and how closely Jin was strapped to her added to the difficulty, she could feel the weight of their body with every move. She executed the required motions with all of the grace she could, treating it just like she was in the training room and not plummeting through the air as made the sweeping and spinning gestures of airbending. A burst of air erupted from the roof of the tower, shattering the windows, tossing the furniture, threatening to burst the eardrums of anyone inside the room atop it. Zhen used the time it took for the blast to reposition her arms and legs to, stretching them out wide, and turn herself upright, catching the pressure wave like a sail. She winced at the forces, but to an external observer it all looked like a graceful slowing down, like leaf falling off of a tree. Jin was somewhere between elation and fear as they soared through the air. They were silent, as the oxygen mask around their nose and mouth kept them breathing at high altitude. But their green eyes were lit up like twin emeralds behind their goggles. They were going to remember this for a very long time. Flying, as it turned out, was fucking awesome. As the two of them slowed, Jin took another slow and steady breath to calm down. The burst of air to the tower wasn’t a surprise, as they had gone over that part of the plan. What did shock Jin was the force of it. It was like a bomb had gone off. And this was just air. Benders were truly a terrifying species. The speed was right and the structure was fast approaching. Zhen tilted more, leaning back, aiming to enter with her feet first. The window was narrow, entering it was like threading a needle but now wasn’t the time worry about if it was possible. The calculations had told her it was, any doubts she might have had no say in the matter. As they entered the wings on her suit stowed away and they sailed through the empty pane of the shattered window. Her boots met the ground and dug in, skidding to a stop but not before did the necessary footwork and motions for one more airblast, slowing the pair down to avoid any possibility of flying out the window on the other side. As soon as they had stopped she pulled the quick release on the straps and separated herself from Jin, then began to scan the room, paying special attention to the stairwell Jin dropped and rolled neatly to their feet as soon as they were released from Zhen. Their gun pulled up and they scouted the other side that Zhen wasn’t eyeing. It was relatively quiet in here, aside from sand and insects. Once they noted the room was clear, they pulled free the oxygen kit. Deftly stepping over broken glass, Jin stepped toward the edge and lined up a shot to disable one of the farther vehicles. The modified sniper rifle was about half as tall as they were. The barrel was marked with a single purple dot. It was unwieldy to most, but Jin had all but slept with this gun under their pillow in training. Some people had pets; Jin had Mifeng, or 'Bee'. “Got a clean shot. Ready when you are.” They spoke quietly into their earpiece. ”Go.”

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Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · |@Theyra] & |@vietmyke]Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · @Theyra & @vietmyke ____________________________________________________________________________. A room three quarters of the way up the tower exploded from a seemingly random burst of air sending furniture and other debris flying through blasted windows. Shattered glass shards and heavy objects began raining down on the panicked masses closer to the base of the outpost. "Shit!" Sumire screamed. "Looks like time is up." The man who had been addressing Jin and Sumire pulled the gun out from the holster on his hip. "What?! Hey!" Sumire was again first to move, but just as he was bringing the weapon up to bear and Sumire had stepped in between him and Jin, the tire on a nearby parked vehicle exploded. The resulting bang, release of pressure and bits of rubber showering the three of them caused him to flinch and pull the trigger. The gun in his hand barked once.

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Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · |@KillamriX88] & |@canaryrose]Abandoned Rest Stop · Morning · @killamriX88 & @canaryrose ____________________________________________________________________________. "Chu! Get in the fucking car!" Kanna yelled as soon as the room in the tower had erupted. She turned just as the figure in the air landed inside the recently cleared room and as she rounded the back of the Kyoshi and made for one of the passengers doors, there was a flash from one of the open windows. Kanna flinched momentarily to the sound of the exploding tire and when she turned to look, she saw the driver of her car driver and the girl who had been with him fall over. The man they had been conversing with fell too and all three disappeared on the other side of the frame of the car out of view. It was impossible to tell what had happened, but as they fell away, she was instead treated to the chaotic scene unfolding beyond them. What had previously been a stagnant sea of exhausted people waiting to leave was now a force of fear and panic that threatened to turn into a wave. People were throwing themselves on top of cars that were already well beyond capacity. Those within it were trying to kick them off. One car had already taken off and was moving with such speed and reckless abandon that a few who hadn't quite gotten in yet had fallen off with one slipping under the chassis of the vehicle. With the situation devolving so quickly into violence and mayhem, it was inevitable that bending would soon follow. Kanna witnessed a man pour a gout of fire from his hands over a group of people trying to climb onto the back of his car. All of them were immediately engulfed in flame and their screams were loud enough to drown out the panic from the rest of the those trying to escape. ...What the fuck... Kanna turned to Chu. "We need to leav-!" A second explosion, this one further away but much larger, erupted just North of the remaining cars with enough force to knock Kanna off her feet and throw her into the side of the Kyoshi.

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Landing to the North · In collaboration with the LSFLanding to the North · In collaboration with the LSF ____________________________________________________________________________. "Good effect on target." Reported Yi. "Alright you two. Hang on to something." Yi pushed forward on the stick and put the craft into a steep nosedive, dropping the Firefly out of the sky and swooping down hundreds of feet to close the distance between themselves and the chaos they had started on the ground. In the middle of the drop, and while still hanging on, Nelu moved over to 141 and knocked on the edge of the cage with his first. "Leave some for us, alright?!" He yelled to the towering abomination. He received no response back. "Drop point two." "Go!" Underneath 141's cage, a panel slid open leaving it and its cage suspended over nearly a hundred feet of open air. Nelu gave it another nod just as the locks holding it in place were released and the entire holding pen was dropped. As soon as 141 cleared the floor of the bay, the panel slid shut. A handful of seconds later and Yi reported over the radio. "Drop is good. He's already on the move." Nelu turned to Kata. They would be the last two to exit the Firefly. "Get us on the ground before he kills everyone, Yi!" "Yessir!" Within the minute, Yi had swung the aircraft back around to the crater made by their missile and touched down. Nelu was first off the aircraft, stepping onto hot desert sand that had been scorched a faded black from the recent explosion. Bits and pieces of those unfortunate to have been standing too close to the impact site were strewn in every direction. Not much further from the center of the crater were those who had been standing a little further away. They lay spasming on the ground in the throes of their final moments, struggling to hold on to the life that was slipping between their fingers. Nelu calmly walked up to the closest victim, pulled out his pistol and burned a hole the size of a ping pong ball into the side of their head with a bolt of plasma. A Vanguard AI offloaded behind the Captain, quickly shouldering its rifle and immediately putting rounds into the scrambling crowd ahead of them. Kata followed soon after and as he cleared the aircraft, Yi took the Firefly back into the air and moved into a holding pattern around the tower. A gun swiveled free from under the chassis and it too began dumping arounds into the crowd. Only a few seconds after his commander and friend Nelu, Katakuri exited the Firefly. He watched as his friend approached a victim of the explosion and put them out of their misery. Katakuri laughed at the situation but did not find it amusing that the person was in pain or needed to be put to death. The fact that his commanding officer simply shot a hole through their head amused him, "I suggest shoving the gun down their throat or right at the nap of their neck – if you want to end their suffering more quickly. The frontal lobe can be damaged with some chance of survival, but separating the brain stem is superior." He said before putting himself next to Nelu. The only distinguishing feature was the agent’s body shape, which allowed one to determine that it was a person. With a few red accents, the suit was primarily black and charcoal gray. To be better protected from the mob, Katakuri was wearing plated armor with slight improvements. The entire purpose of the suit was to keep everything light so he could move more easily while protecting his head and vital organs. ”I’ll admit that I’ve never been as efficient with this part of the job.” Nelu said, turning to Kata. ”I’ll keep that in mind.” He then gestured towards the crowd where two people had broken away from the others and looked to be squaring off with them. One of them wildly swung their arm vertically toward the sky, pulling a wedge of earth from the ground and tossing it in Nelu’s direction. However, his stance was poor and the power behind the swing was unsure of itself and weak. Despite its size being large enough to make dodging difficult, the projectile moved far too slow and Nelu side stepped it easily. ”Do what you do best, Kata.” He watched the earth-bender get into a stance before launching a sizable piece of land their way, and shrugged at the other man's comment, "I do not like to leave people in pain, so I might be nitpicking." He stood still because he knew the boulder would miss him, and he observed as his commanding chief moved to the side. The bender lacked self-confidence and used shaky bending techniques. Katakuri was smirking behind his mask as he slowly approached the man who attempted to use earth-bending. "The most difficult style to master is earth-bending, and you gave me complete permission to eradicate you. Why did you attack my commanding officer?" The way Katakuri spoke was dispiriting towards the unknown man. Being on missions caused him to become almost emotionless in tone. Katakuri mocked the exact stance the earth-bender used before pulling his dominant arm back, saying, "We haven't done anything directly to you, so you put yourself in a bad position." He drew his arm back for a moment, then threw it forward in a hurry, landing a punch on the man's jaw.

_Prompt:

In addition to the above, people are beginning to rush the remaining, still operational, vehicles and force their way in. The nearby explosion has temporarily interrupted this near the Kyoshi, giving those who are meant to be inside a chance to get in and defend it. When writing your post, keep in mind the number of people in the area, their state of panic and what they may or may not be willing to do to find safety. Also consider that some of these people are benders and are still empowered. As a summary of the LSF arrival, there are two individuals in the tower, one individual standing between the cars and their path into the desert and the sandstorm ahead, and two more exiting the dust cloud of the crater behind the cars. In the sky is an aircraft that is shooting into the crowd. Reference the battle map below for positions.

ᵀʰᵉ Last Avatar & ᵀʰᵉ Red Lotus.

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Onboard the Firefly · Morning · In collaboration with @EveryoneOnboard the Firefly · Morning · In collaboration with @Everyone ____________________________________________________________________________. Within thirty minutes of the briefing, every member of the team had assembled inside the Firefly, the LSF’s preferred aircraft for short term engagements. A small bird that favored speed and maneuverability over protection. With a five man crew not including the pilot and an AI, limited supplies and standard plating for protection, enough weight was shed that trips over large distances were kept short in duration. However, piloting the craft was often difficult and only one in the LSF had put in the time to learn to do it. After a final gear check and a green light, Yi carefully put his baby in the air and made for the distant outpost. It’d been at least a year since his last mission involving the entire team, and although that mission had ended solemnly, he was hopeful for what was to come. Part of it was because he was just happy to see everyone together again. The other part was because he found himself more relaxed when in his element. He was happier in the air, and the sound of familiar voices drowned to a murmur by the roaring winds outside brought him a comfort that was hard to find. After only an hour and a half of flying, the Firefly suddenly started slowing down and ascending. ”Two minutes to drop, Cap.” Yi said over the radio. Nelu gave Yi a nod and turned to face the rest of the team. He hit a switch on the wall, dousing the entire cabin in a red light. ”Everybody knows what they’re doing?” Behind him, a monitor folded off the roof of the aircraft and blinked on. A live feed was displayed showing a view of the outpost from high above. Not much had changed since their last briefing save for a larger than expected crowd gathering around one of the vehicles. Zhen sat in her seat in a lotus pose, eyes closed and breathing carefully. Meditation was one of the gifts she wished she could share more widely; the current climate didn’t allow her to promote it. The Benders claimed all sorts of benefits, wild gifts that it would bestow, but there was only one thing it was good for in Zhen’s mind: stilling the mind. She stopped all her thoughts and worked on only perceiving the darkness around. No spirits, no chakras, no cosmic awareness or burst of enlightenment, just emptiness. That was all she felt, and all she intended to see. It was the only honest thing to her, the only thing free from delusions. Perfect for achieving calm before a critical moment. When she heard the drop was coming up she looked at the screen, making note of the features of the terrain. She commented on the gathering crowd “Interesting that so many have gathered around that one truck parked away from the rest. Who knows why this one is popular, maybe people are repairing it or some celebrity is over there. I still believe that we should focus on disabling the rest of the cars, those are the most likely escape route. Leave the crowd for last and we might have to spend a few more minutes chasing them down, leave the cars for last and we might never catch them.” Katauri was alerted when Zhen made a comment about how there might be a celebrity over there by the truck. "Are one of our targets not a celebrity?" he remarked sarcastically. Chu Hau technically fled from the law after she vanished from the stickball competition. Katakuri was listening to the news after the immediate event of benders bursting around Ba Sing Se. Since he doubted he wouldn't be called into his off-the-table job, he was curious about what was going on. Obtaining information on everyone who might be significant or who needs to be eliminated immediately in order to prevent the collapse of society. Even though the news may not be the best source, word would spread quickly, particularly after a championship stickball match. Zhen had her equipment locker open and was doing her final checks. As she secured her own gear, she pulled out an oxygen tank and tossed it to Jin. “Here. This will have enough for your needs.” Nelu tapped the screen, highlighting a small area just North of the crowd. ”Jin, make disabling the vehicles a priority. Yi… this area here is your target. After Jin makes the first move and you’ve deployed 141, I want you to clear it and then land.” He tapped the screen again and turned it slightly so their more silent member so they could see exactly where he would be dropped. For the entire duration of the flight, Object-141 had been bolted securely to a steel frame that surrounded him like a crate. Although there was a chip embedded within him to shut him off should he begin to act in opposition to orders, the LSF were not willing to risk him damaging the aircraft in the event he did become erratic. For everyone’s safety, he was secured by various straps and platinum metal bands not unlike the way he had been that morning, and would only be allowed freedom of movement once he was on the ground. He was only too eager to stretch his legs and nodded the sentiment at Nelu. Jin took the oxygen mask that Zhen handed over, slipping it on over their head. After some adjustments, it fit snugly. “Thanks.” They had gone over the plan already. Zhen was an airbender, and they were both going to fly and take point on the tower. Jin was getting that little thrill in their stomach that always came before a mission. The next step was to narrow that energy into a single point of focus, like a laser. It was similar to Zhen’s meditation, but Jin would never use such a word for it. “Tires, or engines, Cap?” The tires would be a harder shot, due to the size. The engines would be a simpler target, but a little harder to detonate. Decisions, decisions. ”Whichever is easiest for you and gets the job done.” ”One minute to drop.” Came Yi again over the radio. “Got it. Let’s crack some skulls.” Jin shut their eyes, exhaling one long, slow breath. When they opened their eyes again, they were ready. With an eerie calm, they checked their gun and bullets just once more, even though they knew that had been done twice over. Nelu moved to the bay doors where he found and hit a switch in the panel. A warning alarm blared as the seal on the door was released and the back began opening up to a view of blue skies and sporadic clouds. Although picturesque, a ring of darker clouds marking the boundary of the nearby storm was slowly encroaching upon the fairer weather. Far below them stretched a near endless expanse of desert sand and a black dot in that sand was their target. Nelu turned to the others, looking at each of them for a moment before giving them a nod. ”Let’s do this!” He yelled over the roar of the wind. ”Zhen! Jin! You’re up!” Zhen had her mirrored mask secured now, hiding her face from the world. With a quick glance she checked the fabric on the airfoils of her gear, and tightened up the straps and the fasteners one final time. It was all secure, and she trusted Jin did the same. “Time to live up to your nickname, Flying Frog.” She said, then prepared to ride the wind. Jin had a set of worn, purple tinted goggles over their eyes. They did one last check, before nodding once to Zhen. "Ready when you are."

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

No, we need all the posts we can get.

@Prisk

I feel this so much lol.

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

I slightly edited the start of the post leaving it open for Peter @Aeolian to say something. I realized they could have responded and maybe it was Christina who didn't get a chance to respond back. Mb mb! Also, did you want me to stick to a posting order, Prisk?

ᵀʰᵉ Spirits Within/Aeon

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_{DAY 1 《》 STEELWATER [Landing Zone - A] 《》 Late Morning 《》 @Exit}

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A third individual appeared over a row of trees assisted by what looked like a jump that was far from normal. They too were in military getup, but as they swung around the back of the tree and stood in its shadow, it was too difficult for Christina to identify any markings that could indicate who they belonged too. However, more than one Aeon in a single combat zone usually meant one thing, and the thing she'd run into earlier was directly connected to them. “You guys got here fast. Do you mind putting that weapon away or is this going to be one of those ugly encounters you hear the grunts complain about all the time?” There was a pause as Christina tossed the ask around in her head. She wanted to question back, but the more pressing matter of the other gun pointed at her pushed her to comply. From her perspective, she was outnumbered by military combatants and she knew upsetting trained individuals alone as she was now was a terrible idea not to mention bad for business. Running could have been an option, but she was under threat of taking a bullet and so instead, she simply lowered her rifle. "You UDF?" She asked, still trying to connect dots. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Summary

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Emilia @Prisk arrives at the scene and asks that Christina put away her weapon. Christina complies and inquires as to who they, or more specifically Emilia, is.