FalloutJack

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

ISAAC BLACK

Britta Hagen

With a plan having been put into motion, the two Gunners got into position and set up. This would be at least better than those times on the ground, trying to pinpoint the muzzle flash of the distant enemy and letting loose. With the hill closer and able to be viewed in all the horrible details of war, they would have clear targets and clearer shots. Staying out of view on either side of the hole they were going to operate out of, the two of them had just a little time to make sure their guns wouldn't jam, and converse, before the new charge began.

"You have any trouble making it up here?"

"A few close calls. Sounded like you drew some fire, yourself."

"Must've been close to the mark, then. Almost had me too."

Guns were checked, ammo was assessed, and bipods were prepped. They wouldn't reveal the presence of their guns, ready to give that hill some righteous hell, until the moment arrived. As much surprise as possible. That was the idea. They waited, watching the other here getting prepared.

"Jean seems to be doing alright."

"Yeah, I was kinda' worried about that, but I think he'll be fine."

"Did he really pull in the Sergeant's-"

"Yes, he did."

Jean was a proper gentleman, pulling in the Sergeant's body. This same Sergeant had been a hardass with them, prior to their charge out here. It looked like a number of their own had made it here. Hell, some that hadn't been there before started coming in! Their Sapper had helped in a blonde girl, right along with another Sapper he hadn't met. Speaking of that Sapper, he was causing something of a situation with the shorter one. Isaac shook his head at the insinuation that he might be a child on the battlefield.

"He's not a kid, Private! They'd never let him on the battlefield if that was the case!"

While Isaac knew that the recruitment standards could slip, and that men and women could be conscripted into battle, they hadn't let anyone in who wasn't in their teens, so unless somebody at the office was blind, they couldn't possibly have missed the guy's short stature. For them to allow him into this mess, he had to have proven to them that he met requirements in age. He certainly didn't sound like a kid when he spoke, so he was just a short man. Another thing that seemed a bother about the taller Sapper was that he was repeating orders that both Jean and himself had already spoken. Not that it was wrong to make sure in such a loud place, but everyone had clearly heard both of them, Jean with his plan spoken and Isaac reinforcing it in a show of support to this frankly decent idea. There was no need to repeat that again.

The short Sapper owned him, however, bringing a smile to Isaac's face as Jean went to straighten things out. All was right with the world, once more. Well...all except this damn war. That was gonna take alot of oversight. They had taken the first step: They were out here. Now, Jean would signal the next one. They all waited as he carefully watched the scene of battle out there, as though trying to determine the perfect time to go. Then, in an instant, the word was given.

Now!

Both Gunners brought their weapons down to rest on rubble and suddenly opened fire on some unsuspecting Imperials. Some of them dropped, having been paying attention to the wrong thing at that moment. Isaac shouted "Bonus!" as that happened, and the rest of those minding that side of defense ducked for cover. From here, Isaac and Britta waited for new heads to pop up or some kind of movement they could take a shot at. Because, you see, after the first couple of ammo clips, if they kept just shooting at a wall, they'd just run out of ammunition, and then where would their troops be? Up a hill without a machine gun, that's what!

Nevertheless, Isaac saw a bunch of them make it to the foxholes, where he could've sworn one of the other knew arrivals was shouting and laughing like crazy. What...? Just...what? Was she cracking up? What was going on out there? Did she say 'Imps'? It was kinda' hard to tell with all the noise and- Ah shit, the enemy was moving on those in the foxholes. One or two had already been on the move and they'd been too close to get a shot on. The Gunners poured it on from their place, keeping alot of people pinned, wounded, or dead. The rest was up to them, at least until there wasn't much of anyone left to suppress.

Come on, guys. The grenades, then the push. We can't get you in any farther than at the gates.

Metroid: Final Protocol

I would be alright with sticking with this and hitting up an interest check later on.

Metroid: Final Protocol

@SimpleWriter @UltimoScorp That is a good question.

Metroid: Final Protocol

Jabs at everyone.

Yo!

Metroid: Final Protocol

Something come up?

Metroid: Final Protocol

@CAS1006The way I see it is like this...

Cass: Okay, now here is what I want you to do.

(He explains things, and then gets to the part about not opening the door.)

Kaze: What if I'd already started tearing it open?

Cass: How could you do this to me, Kaze? T_T

Even still, starting to lift the thing up, say, doesn't matter if you don't finish. It's one of those drop-down gates you see in Fusion.

Metroid: Final Protocol

I demand you keep that in there for funsies.

Metroid: Final Protocol

@Kazemitsu Then, you must help me gather the others! TO THE BATCAVE!

Metroid: Final Protocol

Alright, I know Cas' reasonings. What about the rest of you?

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

This was as rough for Isaac as anybody. On the outside, he may have looked well-gathered and in control. And indeed, he wasn't in a panic, even on the inside. He knew what he had to do. It was just that even the confident, even the brave, even those who can keep their calm - all of them will feel the pulse-pounding terror of war, as bullets attempt to find their way to a new home in your blood-filled body. He'd gotten up from his last burst of cover-fire, trying to give people approaching the enemy territory a few seconds of relief, as Imperial troops duck even the threat of return fire, let alone if it was accurate enough. He wasn't sure, at this distance. He didn't have binoculars. Gunners have enough equipment, as is. They need bullets way more than they need accuracy. That said, at least Isaac's aim could be considered fairly true. He kept some people going, as his gunfire whizzed towards Imperials to make them think twice.

Machine gun nests opened fire from the right and Isaac shouted "Move left! Move left!" and "Wait for the reload!" so they could get further from the effective fire of the well-stocked machine gun nests when they weren't spitting fire. A number of them weren't gonna make it, dropping even as he called out. Isaac gritted his teeth, damning Imperials as he got moving. He ran low and fast, as well as he could under the circumstances. Isaac didn't hold back on movement. There was only stop and GO GO GO! He'd recover his breath when he was on the ground, when he was ducking the incoming fire. He was counting seconds to reload. Not his reloads, but theirs. When it seemed like he was they needed to reload, he'd be getting the hell out and moving up, so he'd be somewhere completely else. He was trying to impress this upon others, and for some it was working, or at least he hoped it did.

But then, shots flew by so close that he felt the force of their passing, maybe even nicked something, and Isaac slipped and fell back, eyes wide as he realized that wasn't a reload phase. He'd just delayed fire. Whoever fired might've spotted what he was doing. He...oh hell.

He has my position. He's sighting me. Fire back!

Putting the barrel of his gun down over his own leg and holding it steady, Isaac fired in the direction the bullets had come from. He'd strayed a little too close to the Imperial Gunners himself. Dammit... He'd been focusing on them far too much. This allowed him to roll aside and get out of his immediate mess, though, and once he'd righted himself to face forwards again, he saw the same ruins that the rest of the squad was heading to. Good. Uhh, hang on... Was that the Sergeant's body getting pulled in? No time to question that. Isaac had to run. He could feel the thirst of a predator on his heel. Like the instinct for being followed, Isaac had to make for that cover and fast, before he was sighted again.

He ran. There were bullets again. He was pretty sure something whizzed by his legs.

However, Isaac only sprinted in circumstances like these. Your muscles might complain, but at least they'd be there tomorrow. This was a place of relative safety. Yeah, you had to keep cover and stay out of sight, but it was a structure - the remains of a church - and that was good enough to catch his breath. He just needed a minute. The wolf will run full-tilt towards an objective and then hunker down to catch its breath, all the while mmaintaining a fierce attitude in the face of potential threats. Isaac's heart was still pounding away, maybe only slightly better, now that bullets were striking bits of wall instead of trying to forge new paths through his body. He noticed Jean there with some binoculars.

"Careful there, Jean. The-"

More bullets struck ground and wall.

"The glint sometimes gets their attention."

Something they told him in basic, in that if he had binoculars, be careful or else a rifleman might shoot you through the eye. And yes, riflemen were being trained to find a glint and shoot at it. Still, at the moment, Jean was looking at something, so Isaac moved over to have a peek. He couldn't see as much, but he could hear it enough to figure it out. The machine guns again... Shit. Alright, it was either up to him or Jean to come up with a plan. No Sergeant, no Lieutenant. Just them. Jean came up with one, though, before he did. Sounded like a good one. Isaac nodded.

"I like it."

He turned to everyone else here.

"Alright, this is gonna be our machine gun nest. Everybody going out, keep low and move fast. Takes a few seconds for us to reload and for them to get up and shoot. You hear silence from back here, that's all you've got to duck."

He then focused on Britta, gesturing her to come on over and set up, as he was getting started himself.

"Let's make it easier for our side, get everyone to that hill alive."