Mcmolly

Shattering of Tranquility

The fire came as expected, and she waited to see how the Mirror would hold up. Whether it was fully patched and running smoothly or not, the tech was experimental, and she had to be ready for it to fail or malfunction. When the rounds approached they were pulled towards the edges of the Mirror, sling-shotting around the mech's back. Ideally they would have returned back towards Hayden, but she was not surprised when they instead broke free of the magnetic field and hit the turf around her.

<Steady, thrusters!> The thought and the action occurred as one, as soon as the Mirror failed she was dodging, but not backwards. Instead she moved to the side, her mech's hand jamming into the earth to act as a pivot for her to angle herself back towards Hayden. As soon as she was lined up, she brought the axe back around into both hands. <All power to charge!>

<Recommended to allow for minimal defensive capabilities-->

"Override!" The sound of her own voice startled her, had she shouted that command? It didn't matter, all energy had been rerouted to her boosters and she was rocketing towards Hayden. This time however she would not make it so easy for him to escape. She leapt into the air as she neared, thrusters carrying her a good height, and then aimed to slash down at him with a heavy blow. The links in her mech's palms connecting her to the axe carried over some energy, and the jets lining the back of the blade ignited, propelling the axe at an even faster rate than normal.

What she did not account for however, was how vulnerable she was in that moment. Shielding, mobility, and above all the Mirror system were all but nullified in those few moments of attack, and only in the back of her mind did she fear he might utilize such an opportunity. But alas it was too far back to be brought up quickly enough, and so she was forced to commit.

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

Heya heya! o/

Shattering of Tranquility

Ciell didn't actually expect the boy to dodge. Plenty of times pilots froze up at such an immediate and full-on assault, but Hayden had reacted like a calm, collected pilot. Perhaps there truly was some experience to his talent, but nonetheless she was not deterred. As his knight rose high up into the air above her she kept her boosters going, sailing past where he once stood to avoid the counter-fire.

When she banked back around she saw that he had gone into a hover over the water. Smart, mere altitude wouldn't save him from the jumping capabilities of her mech, but full submersion would. However she was also fairly certain he couldn't afford to stay up forever, not if he expected to actually match her when he landed, and if he wanted to play tortoise-and-the-hare, then she was all for it.

<Mirror> she thought, the mental command as one with the interface of the mech. The projection field harbored deep within the hull came to life, and from one shoulder to the other a tapering field flickered into view. At first it was barely visible, as the standby function hardly utilized the system's energy, but she was ready to change it at a moment's notice. <Switch system to manual>.

<Mirror System's link to neural reaction time is sub-optimal, auto-reaction recommended>

Ciell cringed when Eckerd's voice rang inside her head, and a curse slipped from her lips. She was sure she'd asked for the voice to be muted during live use, every time it put thoughts in her mind all it did was make her feel uneasy.

<Override, switch to manual reaction control> she said again, and this time there was no protest or response. Instead she felt as though something had been added to her, an extra section of her very being coming into existence. Her control was absolute, like one might move their arms or their legs she could alter the power of the Mirror System, and though it was only one of the countless micro-processes involved in the mental link, her training had made it all feel second nature. "Can't run from me forever," she muttered to herself, preparing both the Mirror and her boosters in case she needed a backup.

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky (Full for the time being)

@White Feather I like him! The Phoenix Augment is pretty nifty.

RWBY AU;Heroes of a Different Story (Mission terminated. Wishing you all well.)

Currently out, will be home shortly.

Shattering of Tranquility

Dammit the timing, I've gotta go to class DX will be back in a few hours!

Shattering of Tranquility

Ciel ignored each of the technicians' attempts to talk as she entered her mech. The settling in took no time at all, her hands fit around every control, her feet reached each peddle perfectly, and after years upon years of experience, the mental synchronization took but a few moments to complete. That being said, the first words Eckerd spoke each time always caused here to tense up, waiting to hear if there was any emotion to them.

Thankfully, when he came online his first comment was just as toneless as always. "Ciell, this Paladin is not in an optimal status for combat. The Mirror defense system has yet to finish its update, and preemptive use could result in--"

Without a word she silenced him, it didn't matter to her. The Mirror was experimental, it malfunctioned just as often as it worked anyway, and she wasn't about to step down from a fight because of tech issues. Hayden hailed her on the comms, but just as quickly as he started speaking she cut that line as well. There would be no room for words, she had no interest in what he had to say, he could convey it just as well through his actions, otherwise it would not be worth listening to.

As soon as they were both set atop the arena, she --as for all intents and purposes, Ciell was the mech now-- brought the energy-bladed axe up into both hands, the boosters lining her mech humming to life in a deafening orchestra. The moment, the very instant the fight began, Ciell rocketed forward towards Hayden at a speed far unfitting of such a behemoth. She brought the axe back and aimed a horizontal swing for his mech's side.

Shattering of Tranquility

@ApollosarcherAwesome, thanks!

Shattering of Tranquility

Hey so sounds like a good a time as any to ask, but what do the cockpits look like for these mechs? Does the Paladin have a different layout because of its synch-function? Or are they all analog seats with handles/triggers/peddles/etc?

Shattering of Tranquility

Ciell watched the boy with a blank face and listened to what he said, his offer to her. She'd be lying if she'd tried to say his words didn't inflame her at least a little bit, but she knew better than to let emotions control her actions. This kid was either arrogant or he knew something she didn't, and there was a striking possibility that both were true. Still, the morning's disappointing mech battle had left her unsated, and it wasn't as if she had any actual doubts about her ability to defeat Hayden.

"Your bet doesn't matter," she said, her voice cold. "We're likely some of the only candidates, if we spar the loser will be ousted from the running anyway."

The door opened, and she stepped out only to stop and turn back to him. "But let me be clear with you, your disabilities do not matter here. Having one arm and one leg does not excuse your failures and bolster your successes. If you win it is because you were quicker than the other mech, if you lose, it is entirely upon your own lack of skill. But we won't be sparring forever, and out in a real fight those disabilities will matter. You're a liability in an actual battlefield, and putting you in charge of others' lives when you evidently couldn't take care of your own would be a mistake.

Her attention turned back to the mechs, and she spotted her Paladin not too far down the line. Something flickered in her eyes, and her stony expression cracked if only for a moment. "But if you're asking if I think I can take you, then suit up and get ready to find out." With that, the girl started down the line for her own mech, doing her best to mask the way her rushing blood made her hands shake ever so slightly.