Somewhere over the Indian Ocean
Something Golden
Freya Kantaario
Athena Kantaario
Sitting in the wide, enormous leather-backed chair in the office adjacent to the cockpit, staring out through the cabin windows, Athena’s crimson red spandex-like tights covering her legs, torso and arms, and blue haired look truly jumped out as something a bit more superhuman than person, given her enormous size, her legs sprawled wide, arms hanging off, and her blonde-blue straightened hairline breezing by with the fan that was on- and that might have been probably correct. All she was missing was a cape really, and she’d pass off as something from Marvel. In this position here, it felt more like a Captain’s chair, like her oversight of it all, with her enormity barely covered by the size of the already ridiculous chair. She had a tablet on her thigh, and a laptop on the desk, as she typed away, catching up on business, socials, and retention.
Managing a Private Military company came with work of course, and even with her gentle application of makeup, her lashes and crimson-red lipstick that matched her superhero costume-like tights, contrasted against the business savvy, profit-margin led mind she still had to have. She was allowed indulgence, luxury, stupidity, but only if that number in accounts went up. And so far, due to the whole shitshow, and the rates that were paid, it had. Raven’s backers paid, a weird mix of UN money and from various shady agencies, and that money went straight to Athena’s company account. She could stop of course, focus on full time running the show behind the scenes. And in here, she had a perfect work-from-home office. Who the fuck could interrupt you? It would take some doing, Athena knew that from literally stealing the thing herself.
She finished up, gently stretching, setting up her phone to grab a picture of her leaning against the window, the derriere that Eloise seemed enamored by occupying most of the shot that would likely be combined with something about “#grindset” and “#CorporateDuchess” and “#AthenaAwesome” once again, once all of this was done, and the little foil-made origami piece that was on her desk still deep in her thought, as the photo snapped.
The capture of a giantess Kaantario, as per her mother and father's, her sister and brother's fame was no doubt to see, making almost anyone crane their neck up to see her, the muscle and sinew not laid bare like some bodybuilder but part of her rather plump, almost soft curve that filled the glove-like tights, shameless as she was to wear it, but unafraid of her own femininity entirely. From her abs to her chest that heaved, to hear flowing, cape-like hair in dark blue, light aquamarine and blonde, she was someone who happily moved mountains and caught attention. From a pair of legs that went on forever to her rear that while nothing like what Freya had seen with Laura, wasn't exactly insignificant. Just the way she wanted it as an armoured beast.
She was back in reality, as she turned, and hearing the door behind rustle, she spotted the redhead who filled the room with her presence.
“Hey, Freya!” Athena beamed, clearing distance quickly as she approached her sister, wrapping up with a hug.Her sister’s imposing height was taller than even her own, by a few inches. Athena hoped she’d grow a little more, but then again, this whole gigantism thing, it was a pain in the ass for most things going on.
“So, you took me up on the offer of swinging by. It’s quite the place. And yes. I picked this out, luxury item, reminded me of you a little.” Athena whipped around in almost a pirouette, resting her leg up on the desk, whipping her hair like she was some sort of supermodel, or a Mustang on her hind legs as she leaned against the desk, putting strain against it with her sheer mass.
“So, what can I do you for? I mean, apart from pre-mission catch ups, yadda yadda, I guess….yeah, we haven’t really talked since our last job.” She added, smiling away, beaming like a kid who’d had far too many sweets..
“Oh and you know, Project Olympus is still going ahead. After this is done….oh boy do we have some fun lined up.” Athena licked her lips, giggling at the thought of it, knowing that Freya was no doubt keen on that little incubator she’d funded a while back.
Freya smiles, and waves to her sister. As she gets closer she stops and folds an arm under her grand rack and sets her chin in her off hand, “My my, look at you Thena, like a proper pirate princess. Or a big bratty bitch.” She chuckles. Truly she’s been glowing ever since Chuck and her had gotten together (finally). She comes over and smiles, “I wanted to check in on you mostly. And apologize for getting Jotunheim to attach one of my god awful and ugly rail cannon prototypes to your ship.”
The thing hung under the ship like a wart with it’s root sticking out, a 200mm cannon barrel that fires rounds faster then currently possible. She smiles, “Felt like the right thing though. Help everything out. I’ll pay for the damages when it’s removed. If you want it removed.”
She steps over and leans on Athena lightly, “Oh is Project Olympus coming anyway? Remind me, lords we all have some interesting things going on. Even Jamie is up on the deck tweaking Dads old OTH rig. That thing is a beast in it’s own right, and here we are with all this stuff tacked onto your ship.” She chuckles, “Isn’t family lovely? We move in and don’t bother paying rent.” Freya turns and finally shows off her outfit of her charcoal grey combat body glove, under one of her black lab coats, her hair tied back in a rough pony tail and a pair of her combat boots, those big gothy things she hide away, but stomps around in when she can.
Athena pfft’d, giggling, thinking about that massive railgun under the blimp.
“You attached a big long shaft underneath my big ol’ floating fortress. I mean, it better blow shit up.” She giggled like a child, herself taking in Freya’s inquisitive nature.
“I would charge rent, but then again, I thought I’d get the bigger helium-filled structure. Your suit seems a little small compared to this? Told you I’d win someday.” Athena giggled, as if to one up her, gently walking across the floor and looking out at the ocean and horizon beyond, looking rather dramatic in silouette.
“Sky Pirate. I like it.” Athena said to herself almost, before turning, smiling.
“Olympus is a rather interesting one. If you want to see what being a little more…..than this flesh and bone is like. Then maybe there’s something.” She giggled, tittering as she poked Freya right above her chest, right towards her beating hard with her finger, giggling as she seemed almost a whirlwind.
Freya sigh and shakes her head, rising her arms to the side, “My goodness Athena, this isn’t a competition.”
And she manages to say it with a straight face, and even keep it straight for all of 60 seconds.
She then giggles, “Oh who am I kidding it often is when it comes to us.” She grabs her sister and hugs her, mashing Athena’s face between her big breasts. Almost purring as she holds her sister close.
She hums, “I think…I’ll stay away from augmentation after all.” She says as she lets Athena go so she can poke her. Freya rubs where she got poked and sighs, “I think I understand why you added to yourself sis. But after my incident, and thinking briefly about getting augmented, I realized you’re right, that it’s not something I really want to do. I want to stay flesh and blood.” She blushes a little, “There’s these two guys, one has four legs and another has two legs and arms that can actually wrap around me, that seem to like the way I am.” She rubs her bicep a little, bashful all of a sudden.
Freya huffs, “It works for everyone differently in the end I guess? I’ll stay with Dad’s style, and build up my suit until it’s unstoppable.”
Athena giggled, squished into her sister’s breasts, hearing Freya’s thoughts, and her melt away. My, Chuck was changing her, and with it, Athena walked around, gently kneading her palms into Freya’s sizable rear end in her body glove, pushing against them like they were pistons, giggling.
“That’s good. He is a good egg. Mum didn’t kill him. Which means he must be. Plus oh my god, Duke is so cute…..” Athena chuckled, hearing her response, the nuance coming across as Athena walked back around.
“That will be exciting when you amp that suit up. But I’ll let you know, as you say, maybe not that way with mods, but there are other methods. There’ll be a space. Anyway. I guess I wanted to just give my blessing and all, considering everything. You’re my big sis anyway and you’d threaten to squish me, but I’d make you rethink it you know? Because the Gods blessed you up top, but they blessed me with…..” The blue/blonde haired youngest sibling added, leaning against her desk again, the gentle sound of what could be paper shredding being heard, as Athena looked straight into Freya’s eyes with a wild look, the sound getting wilder and wilder, Athena knowing she revealed this part of her cardiovascular system around nobody but Freya. And actively, willingly trolling her, because if Freya was going to do that, shove herself around, she had a reply. The silence came back, as Athena giggled, a wicked, awful smile on her face.
Freya smiles, “Thank you, he’s…well letting me feel like a woman finally.” She huffs and blushes as Athena massages at her rump, “Emm, better watch out my new boyfriend might take offense to you doing that.” She chuckles. Then nods, “Oh yes Duke is so cute. He gives such wonderful kisses.”
Freya leans on the desk beside her sister, and curls an eyebrow, grinning broadly, and harmonizes with the ripping sound, humming in tune, higher then the sound but still. When it’s done she smiles, “You’re out of tune sis.” She takes a slow breath…through her mouth. Not risking her nose, thank you. With a smile she hugs Athena again, “I swear sis. Only you.”
She rests her head on Athena’s shoulder, “I still don’t get how you do it, you’re so spontaneous. Sometimes I’m a little jealous of how outgoing you are. It’s a part of you that I admire.”
Athena turned in shock, hugging back, smirking.
“Didn’t know you were a gas giant too! Damn, I thought the new heart caused that side effect….” Athena belly laughed, letting Freya rest her head, as they looked out at the endless clouds and ocean outside, hearing her next question, before turning with a thought through answer, that was in total contrast to Athena being her most lewd, unfiltered self away from cameras.
“Thanks….I guess I always needed to prove myself. Show I was more than just the youngest sister, you know? I mean, you were doing all this amazing stuff, Jamie….Jamie is Jamie, but me, I always thought about Mama’s stories, and thought wow, what if I did more? So I guess it came easy. Plus schooling abroad, and being out of my comfort zone, you know, that helps.” Athena replied, rather insightful in that moment, as she shattered all of that immediately after.
“Also, I realised that when you look like this, you can’t help but attract attention. There’s a crown, covered in glitter and gold, and I’m gonna wear it whether anyone likes it or not, so if you get to look, you better listen too!” Athena smirked, cooing almost as she leaned back out, sighing, taking a moment as she knew Freya was paying attention, and no doubt, that question that came from a deep place, one that Athena felt she was now suddenly finding herself in.
“I guess I’m not you, Freya. You’re….damn you’re so clever. Fuck, Skye’s genes are good but yours, with ten of those you could rule the world, not a hundred Roses. You stood up on your own two feet and became your own boss girl, all of this. And you did so well at it. And I’m proud of you, sis. I never say it much but…..you want to make a better future for humanity with what you’re doing. I’m just business as usual. Well, they like it, but you, you’re special Freya. That’s why I was….well, I wanted you to think about not changing anything drastic. Being you, that’s what I love the most, and you’re so brilliant you should be that. Not just for me, but….for something bigger than us.” Athena seemed to be trawling into the depths of something rather silly, even by her standards.
“Don’t be jealous of it. You deserve to be happy, Freya, and you found someone who loves you, respects you, and will protect you….and you don’t have to be outgoing to have that. If you want to be outgoing, I mean there’s a reason we get looks…..” Athena giggled, gently turning her shoulders in and squishing her boobs a little, turning her head sideways, before breaking out in a fit of laughter.
Freya hums bobbing back and forth abit, “No, you’re not like me Athena. I’m not like you, Jamie isn’t like either of us, and we’re not entirely like our parents. We are us, ourselves.” She smiles and kisses her sister on the cheek, “Don’t try and be me, and I don’t try and be like you, I’m not really jealous jealous so much as envious. I guess I got the mega brain, you got the ultra charisma.” She smiles, and stretches, joints popping and muscles rippling under her body glove. She sighs softly.
After a bit she continues, “I’m…looking forward to all this. Get rid of these assholes once and for all, get rid of this all, put it behind us. There’s a future for everyone all we need to do is bring down one of the worst enemies a Special Forces unit has had to fight since Bin Laden.” She nods, “But with this team we can do this. I’m sure we can. I want you to be careful okay sis? I need you to be…to…be…uh.” She blushes, yes blushes. Then whispers, “I need you to be one of my maids of honor if…well if Chuck and I go the next step okay?”
Athena giggled, blushing herself, hugging tight, a few tears running down her face, from how happy Freya made her, as well as her reassurance. She needed that in this moment, and emotion came easy to Athena, good, bad, sad, love.
“Of course, sis!” Athena giggled, beaming, smiling back at her, nodding. It didn’t even need to be asked, as Athena broke away, hands on shoulders, looking deep into her sister’s green eyes.
“But our Ladies’ Night, before we we lose you, I organise that. We are gonna get so, so, so fucked up.” Athena smirked, wooping, with it opening the door and heading back into the lounge.
“Well. Shall we get ready to go destroy some shit? We’ll fuck up whatever we’re going into. As big as the risk is, hell, I think we got this.” Athena giggled, practically bouncing across the room, leading Freya to do the door, a smile etched into her face, very different to the kind that in a few hours, would suit up and get ready to wreck many, many people’s days. She was still thinking about that thing that had been left on her suit. Eloise seemed to take a liking to her….and she had looked back. The little girl, she seemed so shy, so quiet, so….away from things. Yet something in Athena weirdly felt for her. She could have any man, anything she desired, maybe a big giant like her sister…..yet weirdly, she had this strange affection for something a small and insignificant as that. There was some sort of strange courting. And whatever it was, Athena found it funny, yet somehow, beyond all the plastic of her, somehow charming.
It would be a long afternoon, but that faded quickly, and before long, the morning had arrived.
And suiting up, going from just a pretty influencer to the Warhawk's suede-lined embrace, plates locking in, Valkyrie may have been the prettier face, but still, she could just feel the energy pulsing in her hands with the Tesla Coil's gentle humming and weight reassuring once more.
Île de la Tempête, Reunion
The deployment onto the island had come easy, as the jets cut out on the wingpack and Purna flared up, barely above sea, the pilot chute pulling out the small black parachute as he grabbed the toggles and put himself between a few branches of the mangroves, steering carefully inbetween the gentle sea-mist that had crawled in before sunrise burnt the remaining fog out. Landing in into the swampy water, he cut the parachute away and the wingpack with it, coiling the material in and bagging it in a thin plastic wrap, burying it in a way he hoped environmentalists would not get too angry about, buried beneath a mangrove root. Peeling his MPX off his side, he slid the magazine in and watched as Eloise followed him in, cutting hers away and rolling into position, bow at the ready, like Hawkeye but with the finesse of Black Widow. Yet probably more accurate than both. Eloise had a history. An unspoken one that for this, he trusted. Moving himself through the wet mangrove, Purna led the way, not a word even being exchanged as they had their next bit to get towards.
A patrol of two guards walked along the small path, cutting out of the mangroves towards the edge of the harbour, their patrol an unsual one, but looking for signs of boats, or anyone that was trying to land. They were clearly ready for an assault.
Not the one Purna had planned, as he gestured to the man on the right, and then, seemingly, vanished.
They continued to chit-chat in Mandarin, flashlights catching nothing, instinct less. Purna being behind them, cloaked up, and tearing one of their throats out with the Kukri was comically easy, as he peeled him down into the mangrove water, pushed into the dense shrub and the brown-muddy water turning a slightly more gentle shade of red. Looking to the other soldier, Eloise had done her business to him. A subtle nod, little communication came across, but then again, little was needed.
Moving forwards, Purna led the way, moving into the concrete dockyard, a mix of a container yard, and a harbour for a parked Corvette, and a smaller gunship, both of which were covered in enough missiles and firepower to make a bad day for anyone assaulting. Even if they were ships, the firepower they had would tear through a Heavy if it hit, even with a field generator, you couldn't stop that kind of firepower pointed direct. So, they had to go, Purna decloaking as the two snuck past a group of guards, opting to let them live than take them to the grave.
For now.
Looking up, Purna took a position in cover by a shipping container, looking to her, taking in the scene.
A floodlight-filled shipping yard, with two main ships, a comms mast that was heavily defended on a bit of a steep hill next to the dock, and a small warehouse filled with rocket and satelite parts, all topped off with a large, modular-built security centre.
"Right, so this is a sandbox. Lot of enemies....and plenty more targets. There's a large marine diesel store building over there, and the gunboat. I can hit those, lay some explosives on all of those. Do you want the lay charges on the corvette and to hijack the comms relay, on the harbour building? Once we're done, let's regroup on the Security Building, by the entry road to the port. Then if we have time, find more targets of opportunity. If we can get into the Command Centre, it'll be a safe place to be when things kick off." Purna asked, happy to amend his plans on her call. It was up to her- she had a lot of options, and right now, a lot of enemies.
Going guns blazing and killing too many would raise too much heat- after all, this was not a group of just mercs, but a group of PLA Marines that were drilled, cohesive, and whilst not elite, certainly knew how to fight together. And more than that, they were ready to find infiltrators. Splitting up was risky, but it meant they covered the ground and did the maximum amount of damage they could inflict in the next twenty minutes.
Moving through the container yard, Purna heard more guards coming, sneaking to the side of a container gap, before hobbling up. The men went under him, as he kept his split position, using one USP.45 to clatter one man in the head, the drop down and push into the floor to break his fall, with a snapped neck quickly wiping the other. Even with an exo, he wasn't going to last.
Two more men met a similar fate, chatting on a corner, as Purna sliced them open with the Kukuri and a well balanced throwing knife, dragging them into shadow, and out of sight. It was like the Grim Reaper collecting bodies. All in silence. Purna could see her doing the same on his tacticla overlay, the two broken apart, but still, it was clinical, cold, and ruthlessly efficient. There was a reason Raven ended up with infiltrators of this capacity. Any mistake, any issues, that was game over. This was not an optional stealth kind of mission. It was one that relied on timing, knowing when to balance risk and reward, and not relying on just cloaking, but silent, ghost-like movement. Purna's Nepali frame seemed to almost turn to dust when he needed to, and despite dozens of soldiers awake at this time in the morning, he had passed them by without even a stone turned.
Moving to the diesel store, Purna's skin-tight infiltration gear and cloaking made him a blur as he dodged light sources and patrols, expertly going from point to point. Sometimes needing to kill, sometimes not. It wasn't much, but by the time he had gotten where he had needed to, he'd exposed the store and found the opportunity to sabotage the blowback valve, hack the priming pump, and lay a teeny amount of explosive on the top of it so it would catch the rest of it. It wouldn't make an enormous boom, but it would flare and create a hell of a fire, making a distraction, and most importantly, chaos in the dockyard if anything else went to ham.
It was a subtle move through the rest of the yard towards the gunboat as he wove through the cabin buildings at the far end, but he could feel a little static pick up on his skin. He stopped, pinning himself into shadow, cursing in Nepali under his breath. Those would knock out their cloaking on their infiltrator kit, if they went too far into them, and Purna was not going to risk damaging his any further if he could help it. The advantage they had, two infiltrators against probably a hundred sailors and Marines, would be lost near instantly. He put a silenced round into the device, a small 360-degree camera like device mounted adjacent to a lightpost.
"Archer, they have EM Jammers. Knock them out if you see them, they'll fry your cloak. They finally learned their lesson....and if they know what they are doing with those....I bet they have someone who knows how to look for infiltrators. Be extremely careful." Purna's voice was cold, clinical, as he knew the countdown was on. Daylight was coming, and the rest of the squad would be following. Smooth was Fast, but right now, they had to find a way to be fast that still got the job ready for the crew coming in, and Purna knew they still had more work to do in the harbour.
Eloise would no doubt have her wits tested, given how dense the corvette was- but sabotaging the weapons, missiles, munitions and then hacking the comms tower to let Sam in, would unravel all sorts of chaos. Then they just needed to get out. Easier said than done, though, when Purna knew the next bit involved clambering onto a ship, and rigging the fuel supply there to blow.
Somewhere 30,000 feet over Île de la Tempête, Reunion
Chuck gave Duke extra attention and rubs as he put Duke’s upgraded armor on him. He noticed that Samantha had once more upgraded the canine’s armor. Duke looked almost like a robot once his armor was on. The undersuit only left his head free. She had crafted lightweight plates out of the same material that she used for his. It had been cleverly reticulated to give Duke the same range of motion. There were heavier plates over his chest and sides. He had a helmet with goggles that protected his eyes and hearing from the gunshots and explosions that would happen in battle. Duke’s armor was colored a mottled mixture of dark gray, browns, and black that would help him hide in shadowy places in either an urban or rural environment. It was a big step up over what Duke had before. Duke didn’t like putting the under suit on very much as the suit was snug. He was well trained and was used to donning armor. Chuck could tell from his body language when his ears flattened back and his tail dropped that he disliked the procedure. Once he was in his armor and used the compression feeling of the undersuit he settled and appeared comfortable. Duke started to pick up on the excitement and anxiety of the team as they prepared for the drop. Duke began to pad around the drop bay on the blimp as he moved from team member to team member as if checking on them or wishing them luck.
Chuck turned his attention to Freya. He smiled at her and began to look over her armor to make sure everything was adjusted well and attached properly. It was his way of dealing with his anxiety about her going into battle with him. He knew she wouldn’t be the woman he cared about if she was not the badass battle goddess, however she was still the woman he cared about. He would make sure she went into battle with every advantage he could give her. He was grateful that they would be on the same team this time. They would be able to watch each other’s backs this time. Before Freya donned her helmet, Chuck pulled her to him in a hug. He held her face gently in his hands and kissed her softly.
“Freya, when we are done saving the world again, I would like to take you on a real date. Somewhere nice. Maybe take you dancing.” His eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled.
“I care about you. Be careful out there.” He gave her one last kiss and then gently set her helmet on her head making sure it was sealed. He then donned his helmet and let Freya make sure he was sealed up and ready to go. He then helped Freya climb into the CAV, not that she needed it. He was being a gentleman. He then climbed in and took the seat next to her. He whistled for Duke who hopped agilely into the CAV. Duke settled in between them and Chuck fastened his armor to the harness designed to support him on the drop.
Samantha had gifted Eloise her gear and then trained her and Purna on the infiltration gear. She had managed to grab a quick nap before Chuck had woken her up. He had let her know it was time to get ready. Samantha had suited up quickly in her armor. Samantha’s armor was very similar to her last set of armor except for upgraded materials. Her helmet even looked identical to her last one. One of the big differences was the technological support built into her armor. She had beefed up the communications suite in her armor with a stronger receiver and transmitter that worked on her special communications encryption. That would help her when she was trying to control the PLA equipment for their use. Bob, her onboard AI, was present and active in her HUD. She had minimized and redesigned his computation core to not be as easily damaged. It was more spread out to help dissipate the heat and lower the profile. She had added a special encrypted transmitter for data to a siloed air gapped server back on the base. Bob would be automatically sending any intel over the satellite network to the secure server. The data was in a stand alone server that would quarantine any data retrieved so that Rafeal and Enri could take it apart and look at it without worrying about viruses and kill switches infecting Raven’s systems.
The exoskeleton plates were made out of the new ceramic alloy she had developed for Chuck’s armor. She had her knife bandolier strapped around her midsection. A tactical belt around her waist held numerous pouches of her tools and gear. It also supported the twin holsters on each hip which held semi automatic pistols. She had extra magazines strapped into pockets along the belt within easy reach. Samantha was carrying more tools than extra gear. She needed to get into the mechs and make sure they were usable. That meant making sure they could bypass any security in them. She would have to leave the explosions to Boomer. After all, her computer skills were what she really needed on this op. She did include her mini drones and the quick sticker mini cameras. She didn’t know if she would need them but it never hurt and they didn’t take up much space. After spending some time sparring with Ban, she had been inspired to include two tungsten core fighting sticks. They hung in loops off her belt. They didn’t require ammunition and would give her another close quarters option.
She then went in search of Skye. She had disturbing dreams that had left her feeling unsettled. She felt she needed to at least meet with Skye and check in before this op. There was always a chance one of them might not come back from an op. Last time she almost didn’t make it. She had some things she needed to tell her that wouldn’t wait. She would go into the op with a clearer head if she talked to her. She began looking around the prep area where everyone was gearing up. She spotted Skye getting into her new Exo. She made her way towards her.
Soundtrack: Wolf Alice - The Last Man on EarthSkye’s exo fired into life, the tactical display on her arm lighting up as the coil springs and hydro-pneumatic activated, suddenly lifting the heavy weight she carried into very little, the M31’s energised state going from weighing like a ton of bricks on her shoulders and arms into a sub-machine gun like weight, as she checked the rifle over, adjusting the hybrid thermal / magnified optic and holographic atop it, checking the new capability it had- going from just an accelerated assault rifle into a fully blown railgun when required, with charge. A “Stream” with the trigger held down would be a full-auto, with a semi-selector available, but it fired just regular custom-milled ammo that if needed, could be amped up even higher. Holding the “Charge” button would activate Freya’s new mode- instead of just firing it at an accelerated pace, it became a railgun, actively propelling the rounds into something even harder hitting, able to pierce heavier armour and cover, with a paired up thermal side-optic, making it even more scary. The exo’s design, a beautiful, elegant design by Sam, was working perfectly, the chest plate backed by lighter armour across the arms and legs, covering core mechanical parts and organs, creating redundancy that then paired perfectly to the new damping system, and jump-jet system below her tactical pack (that sat below the M31’s power feed) and on her hip, the system calibrated for her weight, her movement and most of all, able to keep up. It was this that made Skye lethal- she was not just heavy hitting, she was incredibly fast, able to run, leap, slide, and find any angle she wanted before anyone could ever get a hit on her at the same time. Coupled to how hard Skye worked, it meant she was able to tear through lines, relying less on cover and more on sheer aggression and capability. Ebrima was probably a good match, but from their little exercise, Skye’s USP wasn’t deception, it wasn’t even firepower, or stealth, it was just being the ultimate version of what she’d wanted to be for a while. She had a Swiss Army Knife in her rifle to mess up targets, and what that wouldn’t hit, the M32 could blow apart.
And she wasn’t done.
Her helmet followed, an open-face Ops-Core like type in olive camo with her usual almost obsidian-blue like paint going under her eyes, breaking up the texture of her face and taking her from gentle redhead into full-blown Pictish warhound. A new tactical tomahawk, inspired by Freya was by her side, as well as an M32 MGL grenade launcher, with multiple revolver-round grenades hanging there ready for deployment if she needed to make a hole in lots of things, and make her way through. Her FNX.45, in classic tan camo went into her holster, as did her Scout knife, and was capped off by her putting on her classic Mechanix tactical gloves, sitting at the end of the gauntlet of her exoskeleton, it’s brilliant black and olive paint simple, yet capping off the look of the team leader’s relentless gaze, allowing her tactical glass to go see-through rather than tint up. Her feet clattered a little on the metal, the exo’s activation adding a little to it, and making her feel like she had the power back. It had been a while since she’d operated with it. But immediately, it turned her from just a bit of flesh and bone, into a projectile of her very own that magnified everything she was, her 6”2 frame now at about 6”3 standing in her tan tactical boots, holding a look that turned into someone who looked at home in the blood and mud. An almost androgynous look, the woman there present yet now replaced by a mode that almost telegraphed a fighter.
She turned her head, seeing Sam approach, seeing the look on Sam’s face. She had concern. It was obvious she was deep down worried, driven by her compulsive need to work on something, do something. She felt for her, but same time, knew that if she didn’t hold it together, keep a brave face on in all of this, the team would crack. And while she had heard Sam voice her concerns, Skye knew that right now, putting her with Adam and focussing on one thing at a time would help. Infiltrating was something Sam was good at, but Skye needed her in the fight elsewhere. And knew that from the look she had gotten before, Sam had worry about Skye from all that had happened. Concerns about the scale of this. After everything before, Skye knew that look, and knew she was going to struggle to address that, but still kept a positive attitude.
“Looking good, feeling good Sam?” Skye asked, breaking her look, her Scots accent unfiltered, nothing like Rose’s, and warm like a fire, yet as burning like one.
Samantha approached Skye and tilted her head a little to one side as she appraised Skye. They hadn’t really talked much since what happened on the last mission. It wasn’t that Skye had purposely avoided her or her Skye. It was as if by mutual silent agreement they had avoided discussing anything that approached true emotions for the both of them. Samantha sighed and looked down uncertain once again about her instincts but still feeling just as driven to say what she needed to say. She knew from experience that you just never knew when would be the last time you got to see someone. The pain of losing her father and grandfather how she did flared to life in her chest. She pushed it away and looked up, meeting Skye’s eyes. She stopped forward and hugged Skye. She whispered with her mouth as close to Skye’s ear as she could reach. She didn’t necessarily want the whole team to hear what she had to say but it was now or never.
Samantha’s voice deepened with emotion as she told Skye.
“I just want you to know before we go to save the world again. That I care about you Skye. You and Freya are like the sisters I never had. I want you to know that. I am worried you have decided this will be your last fight. I want you to know that you are more than a soldier and a fighter. You have more to offer than that. I will fight by your side. I will be with you till the end. Do you understand me?” Skye’s fierce look broke and melted when Sam hugged away, Skye embracing her back, looking into her eyes, hearing her voice and nodding.
“There’s no guarantee in our line of work, Sam. But I’ll try and make sure we come back.” Skye smiled, careful with her exo given how close she was, and that Sam had already been squished, shocked, and shot at in the space of probably about four weeks.
“I appreciate that. And all of you too, you’ve carried me through a really tough time. But don’t let the emotions get you. Let’s get the job done, yeah?” Skye smiled back, looking into her eyes, that leader-like determination coming through, sighing with a look over to the rest of the team, from Athena’s booming clatter
“It’s do or die on this one. There’s no guarantee of an afterlife. So let’s try and make this one a good run, and honestly, just do what we need to. Stakes are high. But we can do this.” Skye said, almost as if to say to Sam, to trust in herself too, trust and believe in what she could do, given all of this tech, all the equipment, all the prep, physical work, everything, it all came down to this. This moment here and now.
Samantha relaxed a little as she heard Skye’s response.
“I know that there are no guarantees in our line of work. I just needed to say the words at least once in case. I will be fine. I know what you need me to do. I will get it done. You can count on me. I just…. Had to say it.” Samantha shrugged as she couldn’t really explain what was driving her odd instinct either. But she felt better for having said it. She stepped back giving Skye some space. She felt it would get awkward if she didn’t turn to business. She once more checked her load out making sure she had not forgotten anything.
“I know I can. Mechs are a fickle thing to steal. But I guess we finally get to enact some revenge for the amount of times they’ve rained down fire on us, right?” Skye smirked, cracking a smile as she looked over to the rest of the team, before heaping her water bladder nozzle between her rucksack and her exo’s spine, gently cradling it through and pulling the nozzle in over shoulder, watching Sam continue to work.
“You’ve done good, Sam. This exo is awesome…..feeling very alive in this thing. Go kick some ass, Sam. Do what you do best. See you on the other side.” Skye added, keeping the positive vibe going with her husking accent, back at height again as she saw Adam come in, equipping his MSBS and his USAS pairing, his helmet sealing then opening up again, as Skye took the oxygen bottle that was already attached to the front of her chest rig and checked the translucent breathing mask, ready in place when the doors would open later.
Samantha nodded to Skye that she heard her. She looked around at the rest of the team. Samantha knew she had done her best to make sure they all had what they needed for this mission to save the world. Samantha gave Skye a quick pat on the shoulder before heading to the CAV she would be piloting or driving? That thought made her grin wickedly as she hopped into the driver’s seat. Samantha hooked her suit up to the onboard oxygen. She strapped in and was ready. She looked over the rear to see Chuck, Freya, and Duke were already in place. The only one missing from their team was Adam.
Adam headed over to the CAV, clambering in, getting on the passenger side, feeling the weight as Chuck and Freya clambered aboard, the bark of Duke making it very clear he was on board too. As Skye ran through the brief, so did Adam, calling out to the team what was needed. Skye’s CAV went first, hurtling out of the opened up trapdoor, and with that
“Okay, Chaos, give it twenty seconds. Guidance is set for us, just drive out of the door, then hang tight.” Adam added, knowing he’d kept quiet, but given the briefing by Skye, he hadn’t needed to add much. He trusted her, that much could be said, the bulkier exo he carried versus Skye making him more of a bruiser rather than a lightning bolt, but still, no less capable in closer quarters.
Samantha was ready. She was focused on what she needed to do. She was the picture of calm as she had the timer and guidance points pulled up in her HUD. Bob was helping her with the timing. She waited twenty seconds and the alarm went off.
“Hold onto your hats. Here we go!” Samantha’s voice full of glee being the adrenaline junkie she was. She then hit the throttle driving the CAV off the ramp. The CAV hurtled off the ramp at high altitude. The vehicle started to tip downwards due to the weight not being evenly distributed which couldn’t be avoided. They all had an excellent view of the tiny lush volcanic island below that looked like a spec of green and dark brown from this far up. Samantha hit the drogue that would help even out the vehicle and allow her to aim it a little before popping the chutes. She kept a careful watch on the prevailing crosswinds. She intended for them to hit the target hard and fast. The temperature this high up was cold. The winds tugged and pulled at the vehicle but she kept it on course. The vehicle swayed a little as it was buffeted by winds and pushed around a little. Samantha used her skill almost using the vehicle like a surfboard as she rode the wind currents always correcting towards their destination. They picked up some speed.
“Anvil is away, headed onto LZ, out!” Adam yelled into the comms, the chuckling voice of the Scottish team lead on the other end.
“Hammer’s on course too, not a bad view this! Happy hunting Anvil, see you down there.” Adam chuckled in response to Skye’s radio filtered voice exposed to wind, as they hurtled through the dawn sky, the clouds in the distance growing closer and closer, the freefalling CAV and the weight in it controlled expertly by Sam. Hammer’s approach was to land more on the volcanic hillside of the island and hit the vehicle pools and upper sectors from above- whilst Anvil’s approach were coming in hot onto the more rainforest, jungle-like interior, with few clearings and tracks across it to enter. The coral offshore, the brilliant blue and green sea clashed with the intensity of the island itself, and the inhabitants that had fortified, unaware that you could even run an assault like this- but then again, Raven rolled that way. That said, using the CAV and their approach as it stood would get them to the barrack and PLA’s command centre for their troops far faster, not too far at all from the dockland and the big clearing that then led to the launchpads and the gigantic command centre.
The black-coloured drogue buffeted above the olive-coloured CAV, as Adam took a cursory look to check that everyone was still aboard. Sam was definitely there, and so too was Freya, Chuck, and most vitally of all, even Duke, who was no doubt, having the time of his life, behind his cute tactical goggles.
The little green island grew as the vehicle dropped. The sun's rays bathed the vehicle in golden rose colored rays. The bright rays highlighted the vehicle and caught it as it fell through the sky. Sam kept a close eye on the altimeter. She had skillfully aimed the CAV towards the jungle side of the island. As the vehicle got lower the island got closer. It was time and Samantha pulled the lever that would open their parachutes for the vehicle. The vehicle’s momentum towards the ground jerked and slowed as the chutes deployed. The idyllic scene below made it feel as if they were jumping down into paradise instead of enemy territory. One of the only things to spoil that image was the dirt track cut through the jungle that was evidence of man’s habitation. The CAV swayed on the straps attached to the parachutes. Samantha used the handles to trim the parachutes to guide the CAV to where she wanted to land. Her eyes on their landing spot. She was grateful for the camera feed in her HUD that told her that at least they hadn’t been spotted yet. The track was empty as the CAV got closer to landing. The tree canopy felt endless like a green wall they were approaching below them. For Samantha it felt like threading a needle. She had to aim for a track that was carved out in a thin line from their viewpoint in the air. She deftly adjusted the trim on the parachutes as their descent got real as the body of the CAV fell between the branches of trees on either side as it landed with a hard bump on the track in the forest. Right on target. Samantha hit the lever that would release the parachutes and hit the throttle as she headed inland towards the barracks. The tires grabbed the earth and their speed increased as the CAV gained traction.
Soundtrack: Fleetwood Mac- The Chain (GotG Remix)As the vehicle clattered into the road, the Baja-like suspension squeaked and creaked under load with the weight of he heavies aboard, Adam adjusting the M240 in front of him and keeping the MSBS by his side if they needed to do a driveby. The engine roared into life, the modified V8 a courtesy of Javi’s Cartel-inspired engineering, no doubt something that was making Sam very, very happy right now based on her Shelby’s similar engine. This was probably a bit more floaty, with the enormous tyres and suspension not built for comfort, but for just going really, really fast on the trails inland, which were slippery, muddy and boggy. A checkpoint could be seen ahead, as Adam adjusted position.
“Keep rolling Chaos, no stop until we hit our marker point to drop off Boomer and Frigga! Everyone, fire from the vehicle on anything that moves!” Adam yelled into the comms, adjusting the MMG, and with it, lighting up a guardtower, hoping that the two in the back would join in with shenanigans. They were rolling towards what looked like a small outpost, and with the speed, firepower, and everything they had going, Sam was no doubt having a hell of a time keeping it on the road, and drifting towards the barracks, the outline of which could be seen in the distance with a large fortified structure and an outlying hangar where their prize most likely lay to turn the tides.
Freya and Chuck had plenty of targets to eliminate, and through the barracks, they had a mixture of targets - HVTs, fuel and vehicle stores, defensible positions and then some to take out and clean up. They had the ability to call in strikes from the blimp if needed- because what they were about to be up against would be frankly silly, even by their usual metrics.
Samantha kept the CAV on the track but it was bumpy. The uneven track through the forest caused the passengers to rock back and forth with the bumps. The track they were following let out into a clearing ahead. The compound was set in the clearing. There were two watchtowers on either side of the gate to the compound. Samantha sped up wanting to catch the PLA with their pants down.
“Target those watchtowers!” Samantha focused on keeping them moving down the path. She sped up even more as the CAV headed towards the gate.
“We are not stopping!”Samantha chortled in glee as the vehicle burst through the gate with a loud screech of folding metal and chain link fencing. The PLA had started to respond but it was too little too late as the fast moving vehicle swept deeper into the compound. Samantha swung right on the way to the barracks.
“Next stop barracks. We kicked the hornet’s nest. Look lively!”Chuck had used his grenade launcher to target the other watchtower. He watched it explode into a shower of shrapnel with satisfaction.
“At least I did get to blow something up.” He was still not happy to be denied being able to plant explosives on the boats but he still got to make things go boom. He pulled out his long gun and began to take careful potshots at the more active and awake members of the PLA that were firing at their vehicle. Chuck was good at what he did. He might have missed where he was aiming due to the rocking of the vehicle on occasion but that just meant he got a chest shot instead of a head shot. Duke barked in excitement, his whole body shaking and ready to be a part of the hunt.
Samantha planned to stop just long enough to drop off Chuck, Freya, and Duke by the barracks before speeding back towards where the mechs were stored with Adam.
“This is going to be a fast stop. When I stop everyone going to the barracks gets out fast.” The compound was surrounded by chain link fencing. The tall launch platforms were in the distance. There were large geodesic dome structures that dotted the compound that held the PLA’s equipment, aircraft, and vehicles. Off to the right side of the compound was a military encampment. They could see the barracks as they approached and it looked like a sea of tall olive green tents in the spaces around two of the geodesic dome hangers. The tents were large with metal or wood structural poles that were ten by twenty feet or bigger. There were larger tents that were twenty meters wide and almost one hundred meters long. The larger tents were probably the mess tent and/or held the command center for the group. They were on a well packed dirt track that led in that direction.
Rolling back into speed, Adam let Sam stop the CAV in front of the hangar, where most likely, the mechs were located inside of.
“Okay, I’ll draw their fire Chaos, see if you can flank them, we need to get into that hangar!” Adam yelled out, moving out and using his field generator to bolt towards cover, laying down fire with the MSBS, clattering a group of PLA soldiers, but replaced by even more, Adam holding the main position and giving Chaos a chance to flank and run the gauntlet towards the hangar, and clear out even more."Frigga, Boomer, you have the rest of the barracks, use the blimp's fire support to kill anything that might blow you up and moves, and detonate any other positions yourself, cause some destruction!" Adam yelled back, the scene well and truly being a moment of let slip the dogs of war and cry havoc!
Somewhere 30,000 feet over Île de la Tempête, Reunion
Queen
Boraro
Craning his head back between the seats, Ebrima waited for Tahlia to confirm the location of where she wanted to be dropped off, the point appearing on his HUD.
”All good.” He answered, giving the loadmaster a thumbs up and likewise grabbing a hold of the roll cage right before the released drogue chute caught wind, the vehicle getting ejected out of the blimp like a shitty cartridge out of a rifle.
Crewed aerial vehicle deployment. Never before did he feel kindred to a fictional character as he did with Private Hudson in that very moment. ‘How do I get out of this batshit outfit?’
And what a way out it was, as the drogue fluttered above, revealing beyond the slight part in the clouds the actively volcanic, smokey Île de la Tempête, with the lush jungle coating the base by the sandy shores, where the voice in Skye’s ear could be heard, the headset having to work overtime to noise cancel for her.
“Anvil is away, headed onto LZ, out!” Adam yelled into the comms, the chuckling voice of the Scottish team lead on the other end.
“Hammer’s on course too, not a bad view this! Happy hunting Anvil, see you down there.” Skye yelled through her mask, looking to Ebrima, and in the back, Tahlia, who was basically a bush in a hurricane with her ghillie-suited loadout, adjacent to Ban, who was even cracking a smile from the look of it.
And Skye returned her look to it again, seeing the jungle turn to pine and more scattered wood the higher up the volcano, turning to black-ash like substance- at the intersection of which was their target. A large vehicle pool, and more importantly, an opportunity to wipe out a significant portion of the PLA and Artemis’s firepower down here. Adjusting the drogue, Skye could see the other CAV freefalling on the winds in a slightly different tangent, and given they were virtually surfing the upper winds, they were making rather nice progress, sailing towards target into a tropical paradise backed by a beautiful scene of blue and green reef-filled ocean.
“First time, Boraro? You look pale!” Skye asked, a smirk on the Scot’s face as she looked to her left, the blue paint beneath her eyes and her new exoskeleton, coupled to her loadout and her general ferocity cracking ostensibly for a moment, in a way only Skye knew she could get away with.
”You mean to tell me yours isn’t?” The Cameroonian shook his head, a quiet
”Never heard that one before.” masked by the buffeting winds, his eyes wandering to the altitude readout every few seconds.
”Here’s to the suspension managing the landing.” He noted as the island beneath them kept getting bigger and bigger. He almost hoped there would be no survivors on the other side for their benefit, because seriously, how would you live this down? Someone took the least stealthy thing since Athena herself, flew it over your head and dropped two buggies out of it right into your lap. Taking refuge in audacity was, after all, a proven tactic.
“Noted! Javi’s got a screw loose, but I trust him with suspension.” Skye replied back, the sight of the volcanic mountain coming closer and closer, as using the HUD, she managed to virtually suggest the CAV to go a little more left, before the altimeter hit 2,000 feet, and she reached up and yanked the main deployment parachute. With a loud flutter, the drogue yanked it out of the bag above them, as Skye stood up, steering it in according to the HUD, already hearing a massive explosion in the distance as Anvil were clearly hitting the ground running, whistling as the howling noise became more of a buffetting one.
“Okay, sit tight, fire the engine up and let’s get to OP Tango, then go start a party of our own!” Skye added, the black-coloured canopy above them contrasting the olive-coloured, V8-powered, Baja-suspension having tool that the Cameroonian next to Skye had to pilot- the sinewing track on the volcano’s side below coming closer and closer, as she prepared them to cut away, stalling the parachute in….
Soundtrack: Focus- Hocus PocusThe noise of the wind gave away to the guttural rumble of the V8 idling in anticipation. In gear, with a foot firmly on the brake, Ebrima’s left hand hovered over the release, standing by for the kick of hitting the ground. He hit the switch as soon as it came, the clamps holding the CAV onto the palette it had been dropped on releasing as the engine awoke with a roar of 15000 RPM and supercharger whine, the tire thread grasping at the soil as the CAV made its way up the mountainside toward Tahlia’s chosen perch.
”Two minutes at this rate, get your gear ready.”With that, Tahlia checked her rifle over and Skye held on as the buggy clattered on the black volcanic pumice, the explosions in the distance making it clear that Anvil was well, doing their job as an Anvil. They had arrived a hell of a lot later than Skye had anticipated, no idea how, maybe the wind or just the weight of the heavies? Probably that, but they had the more difficult job of hitting the midst of the base, and no doubt, pulling heat. With the buggy going from skating to spewing soil, the spot came into view as Tahlia patted the metal, letting Boraro pull to a stop as she clattered out on her new legs, making a move into the pine-like brush and into position, disappearing as fast as she’d left.
“All good, Boraro! Onto the next, base is 250m down slope, let’s get ready for a fight!” Skye added, loading her M31 and checking the mechanism, the M240 also available if she needed to add just even more bullets to the equation, blasting down the now plantation-like pine-tree filled forest above the jungle layer.
”Mountainside, mind the gap. Next stop, motorpool.” He chuckled, holding the CAV on brakes and launching it back down the slope as soon as the signal was given. Perhaps it was at that time, careening down the forested mountain in a vaguely controlled way, did Skye realize she handed the keys to a motorsports fan with no formal driving training beyond whoever he was deployed with all over the place. The rate of descent would have made a skyscraper elevator blush, and as the base came into view, Ebrima leaned forward in his seat, the three Tricksters separating from his back with mechanical clicks and following the CAV, standing by for instructions.
The scene was not lost on Skye that he was hucking it around like he was on a Scottish rally stage, perhaps in Perth and Kinross, where even Skye as a wee child had gone and seen the Escorts and Focuses be thrown around the mud, and yet detached out of all of that, Boraro was driving like he stole the thing, around hairpin after hairpin, the voice in Skye’s ear confirming their overwatch was in place. The Kiwi slumped down in her hide, digging out a gap in the brush, the angle good for both shots about 1.5km away into the faraway base Anvil was assaulting, as well as the one up close that Hammer was close to.
“Taniwha’s in position. Got an eye on the base…bear with. Got eyes on movement. Ton of vehicles leaving. Looks like a QRF. Basically the entire place is emptying out!” She adjusted the optic on her Ballista, refocussing.
“Looks like there’s a whole cluster of them leaving. Convoy, lot of guys on them….trying to get a bead. A few stayed behind, looks like they're reacting to the other attack.” Tahlia’s Kiwi accent crisply called, as Skye looked to Boraro, shrugging, her mask off and her look clean.
“So much for beating the other team here and hitting them with their pants down. Looks like we’ll just have to stop them getting the other team.” Skye took a moment to contemplate, looking over at the faraway dust trails of vehicles pushing through the hillside, heading down the gravel track.
The sight of PLA soldiers left in the vehicle pool needed cleaning up first however, as the gears turned in Skye’s mind.
“Alright, Shimura, there’s a whole cluster of them here. I’ll let you do what you do best, clear it up and see if you can detonate the fuel tanks over there. Boraro, we go after the vehicles, drop him here, and we keep going. We might be getting creative in how we stop the convoy….” Skye chirped, as calm as ever under pressure as bullets started flying, and Skye replied with them back, performing a drive-by with the mounted M240 on the cluster of enemies that they blazed by- taking a couple out and suppressing the other three so at least Ban could be dropped clean.
The remainder of Camp “Bravo” was still full of enemies, but it seemed significantly lighter, the crack of Tahlia’s sniper whacking a machine gun post inside one of the structures. Once that was done, Skye looked back to Ebrima, a glint in her head of an idea. The convoy being made up of a mix of Land Cruisers, trucks, ZFB-04 armoured MRAPs, even a BMD-3 in its ranks, unusual for a PLA team, but still, probably Artemis’s- well, that couldn't react, and given how heavily armoured and armed they were, that QRF was best not to make it to where it was going.
“Your little drones might about to be very handy.”
Meanwhile, Tahlia set up, watching Shimura get ready.
“Shimura, sniper on standby. Call fire where you want it. I’ll pick off targets where you don’t get there.” The Kiwi called in, adjusting her shots and picking out another guard-tower, sniping the man out of the way and cycling the bolt, feeling a little small up here, but able to make a meaningful difference for Shimura, his hidden hand and rifle available on standby.
”It was bound to happen sooner or later.” he shrugged off the news of a convoy leaving the motorpool. As bullets started flying, he kept the front of the CAV pointed more or less to the biggest cluster of PLA troops to keep them in the M240’s cone of fire. As offense was the best defense, the few still standing by the time they got close found out the CAV was really a 1200 kilogram guided projectile as he turned it 90° in a slide and slammed into them, running two over and crushing one unfortunate bastard between the CAV and a wall. Hammer team, doing a hammer’s work. That brief stop was enough time for Ban to dismount, and a second later they were already on the way out and after the convoy.
”Shoot the driver, stops the car.” He shrugged, an uncreative but effective solution to the soft tops in the convoy.
Skye whistled, noting the squish, and hearing Boraro’s advice, watching the tail end blast back small arms back at them, their speed making their accuracy poor both given the CAV’s relentless pace and ability to just hit bad bumps without issue, but it made the distance easy enough to close.
“Noted, but from this angle, it’s poor. Get closer!” Skye yelled back, switching from the M240 for just sending rounds in a spew towards the convoy and instead back to her personal M32 for a more explosive taste, clearing a corner through the bumpy jungle, the rear-based vehicle a large cargo truck that had plenty of PLA troops in it. Had, when the couple of rounds that Skye sent on target blasted the thing apart, and revealed the MRAP-like ZFB-04s in front, machine gunners scrambling to get rounds on it.
“Closer, Boraro, foot to floor, do not let go and follow behind the vehicles, I’ll clean these two, just don’t slow down, we need to intercept them!” Skye yelled back, looking across to him, as she clambered onto the side of the CAV, M31 in hand, the rifle rather than the grenade launcher, and with it, put her foot against the side rail, feeling Boraro accelerate, the LMG-equipped gunner on top turning around to face Skye, as she lept off the CAV and onto the MRAP, the gunner turning to face Skye and firing a couple rounds into her chest as she kicked back, kicking him inside, in barely a motion pulling a frag and dumping it through the hatch, bouncing it off him into the front of the cabin, in a position it was lodged rather nicely and chaotically.
Impressive so far, but not quite all she had. And with her running across the front of the vehicle and onto the next, the jump-jet’s leap allowing her to clear the distance and almost overshoot, pirouetting head first to catch the air as she saw the explosion detonate the rear MRAP, bullets flying from her M31 into the cockpit of the next one upside down with the accelerated rounds as she used it to cushion her fall on the bonnet, kicking in the window with a harsh boot to double-tap the driver, that was more a bit of showing off yet practically, getting the next truck wiped out. The men in the next cargo truck along turned, but by then, Skye was already off the bonnet and into the rear of the flatbed, crushing one with literally getting thrown at him by her exo and rolling the other female soldier with an exoskeleton-reinforced punch, one soldier throwing one back at the side of the head that Skye half-caught before they were getting literally sent under the wheels of the MRAP behind that slowing down, as another on the truck rushed her with his knife- nearly getting Skye if she hadn’t have just kneed forward and with her own kick, thrown him into the front bulkhead with a hurl that would have been something like Athena’s natural strength. Another pulled a pistol, and Skye dodged the first in her gun-fu like state of flowing, utter rage, the exo-equipped PLA soldier a more meaty match, but well, Skye was already ahead, using the knife from the man she’d stabbed to get a lucky throw at his crotch, before ramming the M31 into his head with her spare hand and pulling away, leaving claret behind, and on that, shoving him over the edge and under the MRAP that was nearly stopped behind. A casual run up onto the cab roof with the M31 and she put rounds through the relatively soft metal, killing the driver and the passenger, as she dropped onto the bonnet, ducking out of more gunfire from ahead as she peppered a couple of rounds into the truck’s occupants, clattering one of them and finishing the mag.
With a whistle to Boaro, the truck was slowing down from the dead occupants inside as she was watching him catch up, running past the mess that was all of this, appraoaching on the BMD and a series of trucks ahead. Skye had made her point. Her exo, and her right now were pushing like hell, everything a blur as she enacted what was probably what Boraro would now understand to be why there was a little legend to her activity. This was what was meant..
“Thanks!” Skye yelled, leaping the cavernous gap across and into the back, grabbing the rail, slapping.
“Few more to go! Jesus, this doesn’t fucking stop!” The Scot yelled back, hanging on and trusting Boraro to get to the rest, as she reloaded her M31 and then the 40mm rounds on the M32, ducking as more fire came by.
”Speed bump!” He cautioned the Scot hanging off the side of the CAV as one of the PLA troops from the truck fell into their path, the crunch unheard and bump barely felt as she lept off. He dodged two out of control MRAPs, caused by an out of control Scot, and floored it to catch up, taking advantage of the automatic transmission freeing up one hand to hold something as he reached behind himself for the M25.
Skye jumped back just in time for the trucks ahead of them to scatter to the sides of the road, clearing the path for the BMD’s gunner. The timing was just about there, two thermobaric grenades blanketing the airborne IFV in fire for a second. Inside, the gunner laughed at the futility of the endeavor and sent a long burst of 30 mm rounds scything through the CAV…
…to absolutely no effect, the light vehicle simply charging down the lane to catch up to the BMD before flickering out of existence, leaving behind nothing but three small drones.
”Looks like you get all the fun.” Ebrima gestured to the IFV they’d pulled up next to while it was distracted by the false projection, leaning partway out of the CAV and emptying the rest of the magazine, turning three trucks into smoldering wrecks.
Skye practically roared like a wildcat in reaction, her blue-faced, MTP-and grey-camo’d trace a blur as she lept back from the CAV onto the BMP, one of the commanders popping his head out of the turret in pure shock given it looked like his optic failed and getting instantly blatted in the face by Skye’s tomahawk as she frankly tore through him and half pulled him apart in the process with her right hand, as she emptied the M31’s mag inside the BMD with her left to wipe the two crewmen out, the vehicle coming to a much faster stop as Skye just didn’t halt in reaction. She didn’t go back to the CAV, that wasn’t a choice either.
She just kept on running, from one vehicle, to the next, the convoy on the muddy roads and even in spite of spacing nothing for Skye’s exo, making stupid gaps from vehicle to vehicle seem easy, frankly drifting across the air and where she couldn’t find a gap, punching off a pine tree to double jump and then make the rest up and clatter into the back, as she wiped out the drivers in the soft tops for her bullets, slowing down the convoy ahead for the CAV that was now just stuck in the traffic of Skye’s mayhem as it descended the mountain. Any man on them got a faceful of lead, or Skye’s tomahawk, or a 40 mil sent to their six-letter postcode. It was almost poetic in flow, the Scot running on pure, utter rage, the blur of her less soldier and more the peak that she seemed to find. Peak Skye- and thanks to her exo, her training and her being back to her best, she was making it look easy, dodging exo-equipped and non-exo equipped soldiers, sliding a new mag into her FNX and putting it through the skull of another PLA soldier, the ferocity neverending from her body language, skidding behind cover for ammunition swaps and breath, before then charging again once she knew where they were, and what degree of the pistol or the rifle she needed to hit them with, dependent on armour. Not wearing a full-face revealed it for all to see, the blue paint contrasting the now muddied red hair and the look of someone who just had one priority at hand- wiping everything that was in front of her. She was made for this. And her exo only willingly pushed her rampage.
Watching from afar with the FNX in hand, Skye seemed like liquid, using the pistol to clatter three more men on the next truck, the M32 MGL drawn in her right and pistol in left as she then blasted another Land Cruiser ahead, blowing it into the air out of the road before ducking behind the bulkhead as a group of Artemis mercs tried to fight back, one with an exo even making a jump but instead, clattering a tree branch and still getting a .45 to the face rom Skye as the truck’s driver slowed down to give them a go, a group more of them coming along as Skye decided she wasn’t so keen on that fight. Legging it off that truck with a backwards leap that curled her directly into the back of the CAV, skidding in as the convoy started on approach towards the command centre, nearly there, Skye reloading her various munitions as she couldn’t reply to this until she was at a better pace. The convoy had been stupid, but then again, the entire QRF here must have thought the base being under assault was all Raven had to bear. So it made sense that there was so fucking many of them, it felt like some sort of never-ending conveyor belt of dust and dirt.
“Last group, Boraro, got any ideas?”
Ebrima had used the momentary distraction of a berserker to throw up one of the Scout drones and reload his launcher, a fresh magazine of Frag shells eager for a piece of the fun now seated in it, the truck Skye had just abandoned the first unlucky winner. Exo was an exo, but a frag grenade going off right in his face was still hard to argue against.
”Ideas? One or two.” He shrugged as a second CAV burst out of the forest ahead of the convoy and turned right into them, a game of chicken now in progress. It was rigged from the start, the drivers and crews of the forward vehicles unaware of what had happened behind the BMD.
The lead driver lost his nerve with a bit of distance between them, managing to keep a hold of his vehicle as the seemingly suicidal CAV charged past. Those behind him did not have the luxury of seeing the threat until the vehicle ahead swerved, and with each vehicle down the road the CAV was closer and closer to them leading to a domino effect if PLA vehicles throwing themselves into the ditch and woods running alongside the road, the deployed Scouter tagging their locations for Skye and Ebrima to mop up as they passed in what could only be described as a gangland drive-by with grenade launchers and belt fed machine guns.
”And to think Jerusalem has the gall to keep this man behind bars.” Ebrima chuckled as the Tricksters returned and reconnected to their slots.
Skye whistled, watching the PLA vehicles turn into a massive clusterfuck that was almost straight out of a comedy, if it wasn’t for the M32, the M240 and the barking of vehicles being blown to bits and hit hard, eliminating the convoy’s lethality and pretty much any attempt they had at getting to Anvil, who were now pummelling the shit out of the site. Vehicles were flying everywhere, from explosions to crashes to general anarchy just taking a hold, and Skye had to hold on tight, the air in her lungs tight from just how unhinged this had gotten, and from Boaro’s perfect little deception that had taken the others out of contention.
“Holy fucking shit, that worked! Nicely done!” Skye cackled, as she heard more bullets fly, the sound of what sounded like helicopter blades from the far bit of brush now actually being audible outside of the insanely loud gunfire and the Michael-Bay level of destruction, trees being blasted apart and vehicles getting detonated giving Skye a perk up that ah yeah, that was of course on the cards. Anvil had AA of their own, as did the mechs, but they’d caused so much shit, so much heat, that Skye realised they were trying to kill the CAV, the one they thought they saw double of, rather than the two heavies and a couple of mechs that were about to rampage, Skye assumed.
Even by her standards, she was impressed seeing the Z-10 attack helicopter blast rockets and 20mm cannon fire into the jungle-like forest they were now in, as Skye looked to Boraro, sighing, knowing as fast as he was going, the pilot just needed one good strafe and they were toast. And the bridge ahead was exposed, a long concrete thing that headed to the launch site itself, as she adjusted her position.
“We may want to bail, that chopper will shred us….let the CAV run, let’s go sort this!” Skye called out, pulling him up from the driver’s seat, rifle in hand ready, and knowing that if this was going to work, they had a fairly limited run at it. Leaping onto a vehicle, that was a good run, but that helicopter was just turning in hard, ready for another run down the relatively straight bit of muddy trail, as Skye smirked to Boraro, leaping with her exo, hoping Boraro had the other side covered. It was a two-person helicopter to knock out, after all. And she did not want to have all the fun herself.
Helicopter. Abandon vehicle. Grapple. It clicked in his mind, standing up while keeping his foot on the gas for as long as he could, giving the jump a boost of the jump pack. Of all the things the Z-10’s gunner expected to see just outside the side of his canopy, a human was definitely very low on the list. One foot braced on the right gear leg, the other on a protrusion housing the landing reflector and left hand holding onto one of the wire strike protection blades, with one motion the exo punched through the side window and grabbed a hold of the gunner’s vest, ripping him out of the seatbelts and out through the shattered canopy before sending him up into the main rotor, checking on his team leader before letting go, using the jump pack and several trees to break his fall into a smooth landing.
Skye hung off the left of the turret, ratcheting in and seeing Boraro go for the move, punching the pilot’s window out for courtesy’s sake and blasting a couple of .45 rounds, before Boraro straight up decided to turn the gunner into a lasagna, and with it, Skye released and pushed back, following Boraro off and watching the helicopter spiral and then spectacularly detonate into the side of a warehouse structure close to the command site, munitions and fuel making one hell of a bang as Skye refocussed on her landing, the jump pack and trees cushioning her own fall as she rolled and exhaled.
“Fucking hell!” Skye yelled out, looking to Boraro, panting heavily, hands on knees, coughing a little bit of blood up, before wiping her lip and looking back across at the now wrecked CAV, the half-blown up warehouse, and behind them, the trail of destruction that had extended from two kilometers up the volcano to here, about three-quarters of the way to “Camp Alpha”, where Anvil were raining down fire. Brushing the mud and crap off her face, the Scot looked to Boraro, giving an approving nod.
“Well. That went well. I think if we go that way, we’re going to get shredded.” Skye pointed, towards where basically, the Tom and Jerry equivalent of a gigantic fight was going on at the main barrack area, exhaling, even by her standards, feeling that.
“That….remainder of the warehouse has the main Command Site for the launches beyond it, and it’s mostly an equipment store for satellites, with a clean room and labs. We’re getting ahead of ourselves, but I reckon we keep on rolling the punks- that’s their last main concentration before the last checkpoint in. You got all your ribs in one place, all your kit together?” Skye asked, almost as if the motherly part of her never left, even if she was capable of extraordinary amounts of violence- Boraro seemed to be on the same level, the gentle feeling of blood and dirt on them both in copious volumes.
“There are a lot of them and only two of us. I think we may need some help clearing it, and the checkpoint because without speed, we’ll be a bit toast. Save the Hellfires and railguns for the barrack, there is a lot more of them there. So as reluctant as I am to ask for her help, I think we need a hyperactive Valkyrie once we go for that. Drag some pressure to us.” Skye added, pushing out of the brush, her M31, M32 and FNXes all reloaded, after various states of complete, total anarchy. Looking to him, she stopped for a second in the brush, knowing they had been given the briefest of moments to catch their breath, Skye knelt in the overlook, and took in the pale Cameroonian, glad as hell he had kept up. That was rough, even by her metric.
“Valkyrie, sending you co-ordinates, I need your services and your disgustingly fat ass to crash a party. And I suppose Scion can join you too. Taniwha, I could use some fire near my location. Shimura, I assume the remainder of the vehicle pool was easy enough…..I might have a bigger challenge if you can salvage a vehicle from Camp Bravo to get to us, but just don’t mind the traffic jam of detonated vehicles we left behind. See if you can catch us, and we’ll hit the warehouse and entry gate to the launch pad..”Skye with that looked to Boraro again, giving a nod.
“Ready for Round Two?”
Checking that he hadn’t lost anything in that last stunt, he pointed at the flaming warehouse that had once been a helicopter.
”You didn’t want that, did you?” He felt like he had to ask, as the ability to fly one wasn’t entirely out of the question with a seasoned Raven operative.
“Well, beggars can’t be choosers. I guess we no longer have to knock. We just made an entry for ourselves. Okay, Boaro. On your lead. Let’s clean out the exterior of the warehouse and entry point, I’ll follow you. Gents first.” Skye suavely, charmingly in the most Scots accent she could muster.
–
@BigPapaBelialWith that callout, Athena sealed up her gold-tinted visor, and the door opened once more, revealing the chaos far, far, far below.
“Valkyrie is ready. Got your location.” Athena chuckled, the door opening again in the blimp, as she looked across to Jamie, her hulking armoured mass occupying about a little bit of the width of what the CAV had previously had, the coil strapped to side, thruster pack readied, and the far oblivion of the island a bit of drift below, but somewhere they could still hit.
“Ready to follow on me, brother?” She looked through the visor camera to him, her grin full.
op2024
Palindrome
LadyAmber
stormphrax
Estylwen
Snowdrops
wintersoldier
Pen Name
Rhona W
Sylvan
