Manikin: Dustland (IC)

[\/£in]

"Looks like a unit heading this way."

Ray spun the machine around facing west towards the coordinates that appeared on board the Manikin's HUD. It showed six targets moving in fast, five of them average Manikin mechs and one of them a large unidentified mech.

"Something isn't right," stated Ray studying the stats on his visor. "A unit of six is..."

"Abnormal? The Akari usually send an army."

"Yea," Ray couldn't help but feel uneasy and at the same time worried that the Akari were up to something.

"Hey Xiphon," Henry called. "Is it me or the larger Manikin lagging behind the other five?"

"I see it too," just as the words left his lips a blue and hazy beam of light blasted right past him blowing Henry's Manikin into bits leaving a smoldering heap of scrap metal strewed across the dirt. Ray couldn't help but look on in helpless surprise as the attack had totally thrown him off.

"Listen up Manikins," came the voice of Sean Veil, the commander of the Redemption Manikin units. "That laser was fired from the large unidentified Manikin that lagged behind the unit. Mark it as your primary objective, take it out before it demolishes the walls of Redemption. The average Class S Manikins accompanying it are secondary, elimination of them are recommended but not required."

"Not required, my ass," replied Xiphon as he raised his left arm and took aim at the approaching units with his sub-machine gun. "If we don't take them out, they'll kill us."

The HUD began to bleep as it picked up on a cloaking field being disbanded behind him. They had an army after all, cloaked and moving in from the rear. A tactical move.

"Shit," yelled Ray. "We need to split up and divide priorities."

"Shut the hell up Ray," came a voice over the system. "We're not listening to you. You're not in command and we're not going to risk our lives for a failure's orders."

Ray felt the urge to fight back, but now really was a bad time for petty arguments. Instead he just hushed and watched the various commands appearing on the HUD screen. They showed Akari appearing from everywhere in the rear and again he could only feel like something bigger was behind this.

[Enigma]

Igor swore as one of the mechs in front of her got hit by a brilliant beam of light and exploded. She stabbed at her defense panel, an ancient retrofit her family had installed to make the wrecker mech combat-capable.

"Heads up!" she sang into the mic as two canisters shot out of her left shoulder. "Sandcaster! Won't do much against that beam but maybe make it harder to target!"

"Assuming they bother," Igor muttered after flipping off the mic. The massive gun mounted on her right shoulder and back swiveled into position just as the canisters burst open overhead with pair of deep thumps. One of the smaller enemy mechs wandered across her gun sight. She pulled the trigger and smiled.

"Maybe I got one, but there's lots more out there."

[The Bartender]

"You little pieces of s...!" May shouted as the beam of light smashed the manikin not far before her.
She then located the army andcursed even more but after few moments, she regained her cool and pulled down her micro;
"Now the fun begins! Keep the boys as far as you can so I can play with them as much as possible!" She shouted in the micro and fired the first shell toward the enemy army. The big projectile flied in a bow toward the first waves of enemies and exploded about 10 meters over the surface, tearing the manikins under the explosion in junk.
"Bullseye!!!!" She laughed as she reloaded and aimed to the next target, this time it was the big manikin with the laser gun.
"Hopefully it has no shields or AM (anti-missile) weapons." She sighed as she shoot.
The rocket flew straight toward the manikin, but it exploded in the air, causing a large cloud of dust to be whipped up.
"Damn... Those smaller manikins have shield-generators... to be seeing that used by Akari..." She murmured.
"Hey, People! Destroy those smaller manikin! They protect the big one!" She shouted as she fired the next cannon shell toward the enemys army.

[Ladaron]

"I'll take out the small ones when I give the word let loose on the big one." Thomas voice come over the radio as he zoomed passed the other Manikins. Thomas drawn his sword as he closed in the distance between him and the enemies. "May please don't shoot me again last time it took me a week to get my Manikin walking again." Thomas flipped off his radio as he got closer popping up half his brakes he slowed down his mech taking out his axe throwing it into the head of one Akari, Thomas planted his forward foot sending his self into a spin he beheaded another coming out of the spin into a hail of smg fire Thomas popped down the brake flaps and took full speed from the group.

Turning on his mic "May shoot again I took out two you might can crack the shield." Thomas looked back to see if he was getting chased all he saw was the outline of the bigger mech.

[The Bartender]

"Okey you little punk! AND NOW GET YOUR ASS AWAY FROM THERE!!!" May shouted as she fired the big cannon on the shoulder of her manikin.
A loud "Bumm and Zishhh" could be heard as the projectile flew out of the barrel and as the shock absorbers clinched together from the force of the shot.

[Ladaron]

Thomas could hear the whistle of the incoming projectile as he heard May's voice over the radio" Roger that bail out and heading towards the rear gate." Thomas flicked his radio over to a private channel. "Hey May a woman with a big gun and knows how to use it is just my type how about we get something out to eat after this?" Thomas HUD popped up incoming, he began to toggle switchs as chair reclined a little more bracing him as two screens more screens popped up on each side of his cockpit giving him a 360 view of things around him. "Full burn Jager (name of his Manikin) lets go!" Thomas Mech took off clearing the area of the blast and bolting pass the group of Ray and the others as he made his way towards the rear gate.

[Enigma]

"Right!" Igor called back, listening to the generators whine as the manikin's plasma pulse cannon charged the pulse capacitor bank. The gauge needle wandered from the yellow zone to the red.

"Say hello to my little friend!" she yelled, pushing the trigger. It took the merest fractions of a second for the capacitors to discharge, shooting a powerful laser beam at the target that removed the air as it painted the distant figure as right behind it came the plasma. "Hah! Take that!"

Igor instinctively dove to the left, watching the fuzziness on the screen worriedly, wondering how the big manikin was going to react.

[\/£in]

Ray's thrusters kicked in with a hum and then a wind slicing whistle as sandstorms erupted from behind the trail of energy left from the kick off. He weaved in through spirals of oncoming bullets and watched as his distance to the spread of their fire was delayed enough so that if he needed to evade, their ability correct aim would give a sign of the bullets honing in on his position again.

"System lock!"

Ray's eyes darted to the side where just a few yards to the left stood an Akari Manikin bursting up from the sand. Obviously, this one had environment cloaking, but still it should have been caught earlier. The troubled pilot could only beat himself up in embarrassment, maybe this was why he couldn't pass into the elite core.

"Missile Incoming."

Ray again kicked the thrusters up a notch as he rounded the enemy Manikin in an arch causing the missile to come around his mech and then following up from behind, a heatseeker, and heading right back towards the enemy. The enemy pilot's proximity caused a radio interference that relayed through Ray's hud:

"Is he crazy? Coming back towards---OH GOD!! GURRAAHHHH"

Then abrupt static. The missiles slammed into the enemy mech sending scraps of metal shards flailing through the air. As he kicked his brakes and spun the mech around to face the carnage, he noticed a rocket whizzing by and looked on as two mechs laid in waste, obviously shield bearers. The rocket slammed into the large enemy mech and sent it to it's grave as it too stabbed shards through sand.

"That is a hit May," came the commander over the radio. "We've also confirmed the target was eliminated."

"Does this mean they'll fall back," Ray's voice almost enthusiastic.

"Negative, one of the outposts about ten clicks from North of the city seems to have lost contact."

Ray spun the mech around to see the faint sight of three more of the larger beam based mechs moving in. From behind them a trail of smoke kissing the sky.

"Commander, we have confirmed sight on that outpost, smoke and fire are spotted. We also have three more unidentified large scale mechs moving in."

"What!? The radars didn't see those!? They must be using radar jammers," the commander's voice becoming more severe. "The new primary is to eliminate the new mechs in range, secondary search and rescue at the outpost."

Ray shrugged and shook his head.

"In the face of mankind's elimination, we still fight."

[The Bartender]

"Heh.. It makes... 86 points for me. Ray, are you losing the grip, I'm now leading the game!" May laughed into her micro as she turned Hoplita, her Manikin northward, aiming at the big mechs.
"I bet they have shields too..." She said but still fired the big 100mm cannon of the manikin. Again a loud noice as the shell flew out of the barrel, flying toward the enemy Manikin.
"And here is also something for you too!" May shouted as she pulled the trigger and fired a rocket toward the enemy's main army, causing a explosion in the rear of it.
"Now it is 89 points for me! Those Akari's scrap metal cans have no chance against something like Hoplita." May giggled and then turned her HUB to a private channel between her and Thomas;
"Well... I could think about it if you manage to get more points than me, but only if that really is going to happen." May smirked and then closed the channel before the man could say anything.

[Ladaron]

Thomas brake flaps all popped up slowing him down enough that he can maneuver and attack with out danger to his self, still going at high speed Thomas was clearing a path into the bulk of the army hacking and slicing as he dodge and twirled around small arm fire and various swings doing as little as lopping off limbs and as much as beheaded Jager was like a crimson flash in the sea of confusion not staying in a in the same spot for more then 30 seconds.

Thomas heard the chatter over his comm he picked up his radio " Yo I need cover fire over here I'll jet towards the outpost and try to weaken the shields like before but if these asshole follow me might be trouble." Thomas spoke as sweet dreams by Marilyn Mansion played in the background of his cockpit. Thomas spun his Manikin around popped down the flaps and took off jamming towards the outpost. "By the way May 92 hope you like a home cooked meal tonight." Thomas said over the radio you could hear the sureness in his voice.

Thomas caught up with the group running low on fuel in his first tank he jettisoned the tank cutting off his thruster still moving off straight momentum he rammed his sword into the nearest mech as the force on them clashing stopped Thomas abruptly. Thomas sword was stuck in the mech no speed till his second fuel tank finished its hook up sequence, Thomas stood there face to face with a mech grinding his sword in it to keep it as a shield taking the small arms fire coming his way. "FUCK! hurry up and finished the hook up Jager." Thomas yelled as he kicked the console in front of him out of angry, his hud let up with warning as he just stood there taking fire.

Thrusters on line about time." He yelled as he dropped his sword kicking the mech with it into the crowd as Thruster strafed to the right picking up speed he arched to the left seeing his HUD flash missile lock Thomas stepped on the throttle heading towards the bigger mech "SOMEBODY SHOOT ME...I got a rocket I can't shake."