[M/IC] G.E.A.R: Ground Effecient Assault Recon

[Heson Shadowbane]

"Give me an update."

"Fleet is engaged with enemy ships. We've already lost the Albatross and June Flight from the initial slavo. The rest of the fleet is sustaining significant damage but ground is being held."

The woman frowned, the officer turning back to his station. Her ship had just come out of warp into the battle. Defenses had been torn to shreds with the sudden onslaught right at the heart of the human race. "We're lucky to have Mars acting as a buffer right now. Give me a ground report along with ready status of the ATAC."

She activated the com in her ear as she turned away from the battle map, making her way to the hanger bay. "The ground battle is not looking good. Some of the drop troops never even made atmo and the planetary garrison is barely holding out. ATAC is 95% ready. Necessary crew is aboard and the GEARs are being pre primed for launching at landing and the last of the ammo crates are being loaded. Expected to be fully ready at time of drop." Veris gave a nod, pulling out a datapad showing the latest battle scans of the surface.

She pulled a cigarette from her pocket, placing it in her mouth unlit as she studied the landing zone. "Expect the planed landing to be over taken. Alter the landing to be at point Bravo on this revision and drop a strike on point Alpha and onwards a bit when you drop us. Once we've cleared end the bombardment and join the battle up high." She sent the updated plan to the ship captain as she arrived at the hanger.

The ATAC filled the entire area and there was a massive ship sitting on top of it. It would transport the ATAC through the atmosphere and drop it before the gravity would make escape velocity impossibe. The captain relayed back an affirmative to the change in plans as she began to climb the ladder into the ATAC. The command center of the GEAR was a hustle of activity that briefly stopped as someone shouted that a commander was on deck. "As you were." She sat down in the command chair and finally lit up the cigarette she had. It was just a matter of biding time till the ship was in range.

Minutes that seemed like hours pass and alerts start to sound. Everyone started to strap in. All the equipment was strapped down and the GEARs were locked in place with pilots already in the seats. Finally there was the thunk of the hanger opening and the ATAC fell into space. She could see the guns of the Manticore sending shell after shell down at the planet, clearing the area. More minutes pass and finally the transport pilot came over the coms. "This is your stop. Good luck out there and give them hell!" Another loud thunk echoed as they were released and the ship pulled out of atmo.

The center was a bustle of strapped down energy as they plumeted to the surface. "Deploy chutes now! Activating turbines at full thrust!" The action slowed down the ATAC some, but they still landed hard. Damage reports coming in were minor enough to be ignored for now.

Veris unstrapped herself from the chair, stepping up to the map that was starting to update itself to real time scanning of the area. "Give all pilots the green light. Release all locks and open all doors. We can't wait for us to cool off and someone work on getting our point defense turrets up." She gave a nod to the com officer who patched her into the squads deployed in the area. "This is the Admiral in the ATAC now known at Forward Base Delta at location..." She double checked the coordinates before listing them off. "Our standing GEAR squadron has been deployed and will now be able to restock and repair any planetary forces nearby that need it. A defensive line is being made now and details will be provided if we can start on the offensive. Admiral out."

[dakkagor]

Liam piloted his Viking into the breach and followed his comrades down. The modifications to the Viking for Martian Orbital Drop operations were simple and effective, a series of one-shot long burn rockets strapped to hardpoints across the Gears armoured frame. What the system lacked was the advanced, automated control of an AI or assistant computer system. Liam would be riding it all the way to the surface.

He corrected the Vikings pitch and aligned himself for the right drop window, and fired the rockets, which kicked him in the stomach like a mule. His fall immediately began to slow, and he redirected his attention to the tactical situation below, the firefight they would be dropping in on. He also kept a screen in his heads up display tracking the position of his new squadmates.

Hell of a trial by fire.

[Argon Jaden]

"Detecting allies entering the airspace." A smooth baritone said, causing Alice to blink as she glanced at Lucy. The necklace was pulsing softly with light and she glanced around, exhaling loudly in relief. "Finally! We've bee-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off with a wince as Klaude flew past her with astounding speed, Titania going higher and higher before a loud boom sounded from above. The ball of electricity managed to freeze an entire group at four o'clock, but Titania seemed to have a lot of trouble rebooting. Ten seconds passed before the GEAR stopped sending distress signals, causing a sigh of relief to leave Alice.

Klaude had other ideas though. "About Damn time." He snarled, opening his comm and allowing the other GEARs to hear him. "Pinned down, there's an immobilited troupe at four o'clock, more approaching from the east. Down south, we've another trying to pick of the survivors. Priority to get the survivors and the wounded out of here before killing off the Regents." Klaude's voice was calm, cool and composed as he laid out enemy positions, all the while shooting down enemies as he covered the right. "And Alice? Stop gawking and get back to work. Regent on your tail. Get rid of it." He said, zooming past as he coaxed a few of the bastards to give Chase, giving the others the opportunity to pick them off.

[Rha'az]

Artorias had his mech's rifle ready, as he was going to land, he unleashed a rain of bullets to a Monarch below him before curbstomping it. The impact of the land shook the grounds near to Asura. "Mech temperature stabilized" alerted Asura's AI system.

He paid attention to the details displayed on the mech's HUD, detecting several life signatures to his south. Human soldiers marked with a flashing strobe, allies. But there are more to his west, 4 humans trapped in a building.*And near the same building, a Monarch going out of control, swinging its sword in a circular motion heading towards them. Artorias went to save the humans as fast as he could.

Luckily, he managed to stop the Monarch by kicking it away from the building and grabbed the survivors in its hands. The Monarch is now lying on the ground, attempting to regain control while Asura puts down the survivors and pointed at the nearest evacuation site. They nodded and Asura finishes the Monarch with a few shots.

"This Asura to all Jormungandr GEARs there are still a few survivors, I repeat there are still a few survivors. Watch your heat signatures and locate those without a flashing strobe," Artorias contacted the rest of the Jormungandr Force. "Asura to Siegfried GEAR Force what's your status?"

[TheExiledChampion]

After the others made their jump to the planet surface, Kel turn to where she heard someone yelling up at them about how they were walking in their GEARs. "We'll try to keep that in mind, good luck down there soldier." Kella responded before giving a salute with Archangel's mechanical hand, then let herself to fall backwards toward the opening as gravity took over.

The instant she was far from the ship, Kel spun Archangel around before shooting downward with a burst of red light from it wings. Easily zooming pass the others that weren't design for flight combat, even though Archangel may look small compare to some of them. It was built to fly in space and even atmo reentry, thanks to it heat-resistant plating design for these form of entering a planet's atmosphere.

During the course of her descend, Kel zoomed in as far as she could with Archangel optics. Surveying the battlefield, and soon recognized the formations of the mountains tops and buildings. This was her home, the city she grew up in. The sight of it being scarred by war made Kel blood boil, making her more than willing to destroy some Regents off her home.

But she needed a clear head for this, not a haze of angry. Thankfully, hearing Klaude's voice through the comms as he gave out both the enemy and survivors loctations. Got Kella wake up before spotting one of the Regent flyers tailing a fellow GEAR, which Kel turn her attention on as she dove down on it from above. Triggering the barrels to her guns on Archangel left arm to slide in a bit, then draw out a saber from the open compartment on Archangel's right hip. Before stabbing the tailing Regent upon descend, dragging it with her before flinging it off and finishes it with her HE Vulcan-cannon.

"Let keep the sky clear for the ATAC and landing transports," Kel declared before taking off and start to follow Alice's GEAR. Backing her up as they flew around above Mars surface, finishing off any Regents that get caught in her sights.

[Argon Jaden]

Laude grumbled softly before clearing his throat. "Titania to Asura, we'll still be able to give air support," He paused, flipping in the air and diving downward, shooting a Regent in the face. "Prioritize the survivors. Spread out and make sure they're not herding you all to the center." Throughout the entire battle, sticking together was their downfall. The enemies gathered them in clumps before pouncing, leaving little survivors and a lot of death. Glancing at his radar, he frowned. "Alice, get those on your right. I'll handle this side."

"Roger." Alice said, before heading to her right. The backup was plenty appreciated and a faint smile played on her lips. "Stay a good distance away from the smoke. It's acidic. I lead, you cause an explosion." She said, pulling ahead before letting out a strangled sound. "Uwaaah! I'm starting to sound like bossy Luddy!!" She whined pulling forward and circling a large group, ducking and dodging as she covered them in green smog. Already, you could hear the hiss of metal as she ascended. Behind her, there was a loud explosion and her radar. "Luddy!!!"

Titania had lost power after immobilizibg a group and was spiralling downward. Alice counted in her head, getting more and more worried as the GEAR drew closer and closer to the ground. Fifteen feet up in the air, it righted itself and flew up a steep climb.

[MidKnight]

Jacinto...

"Cooling vents active, our heat core is stabilized." Friday said to Jacinto as he relaxed in his seat. He watched the hud on his screen and listened to radio communication. Then he heard what his commanding officer had said. "Friday, use our thermal vision to locate these survivors, so we can avoid stomping on them."

"Yes sir, scanning environment with thermal scans." There was a light beep, "Sir I managed to locate the survivors, and separated the Regents from similar thermal heat, The Regents are trying to exterminate what's left of the survivors, and our allies are already touching the ground." Another beep sounded off. "Sir I also got several GEAR Fighters in the air, fighting the Regent Air Units, I'll try and maneuver around them to avoid being shot from the sky." Jacinto nodded.

"Friday, we're close to touching the ground. Activate Hard Land Procedure." Several lights lit up inside the GEAR. The Mech body started to lock itself in place for impact. Side panels opened where the heat core released a large amount of steam. Forcing the Mech to decrease it's landing speed. When the Mech reached the ground, dirt exploded on impact, causing the dirt to create a shroud around the impact zone.

"Friday...assessment?"

"Sir, the impact was not as bad as we thought it would be, the suspension stabilizers and the gel-air took most of the damage upon our landing."

"What's our surrounding area look like?"

"There are a few survivors south of our location, 50 feet I'd say. A few Regents in the area as well."

"Good, activate Assault Mode, get Destroyer off of it's feet and have our weapon systems online."

The Mech started to raise up from the ground, the sounds of the machine echoed as the locking device was removed, and the weapons appeared on the forearms. After a few seconds of getting up, the Mech started to move from out of the impact crate. Slowly moving with loud stomps, the heavy fighter Mech stood in place as the pilot checked for final diagnostics.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Jacinto asked. "No sir, but we got enemy contact, 2 Regents inbound."

Jacinto grabbed his controls and started moving the moving and watched his hud and searched for the enemies. He was able to spot the targets. "Friday, I need our automated aiming system online, I need it now or I'll be shooting mostly at buildings!"

"Sir, I'm trying to get that online, but the landing caused some of our systems to glitch, the automated aiming for example, I'm sorry sir, but you have to do your best on this."

"Crap." Jacinto jerked his controls around, pressing his thumbs on the joysticks to move his arms around. His fingers pressed the trigger buttons and fired his primary weapons. The sounds of gun fire echoed around him. Rounds of gunfire hitting buildings and the Regents. Watching the targets on his display screen, the bullets hit both buildings and the enemy. "Sir, I'm picking up a GEAR Air Unit descending rapidly, it looks like the pilot lost power. What should we do?"

Jacinto thought for a moment, "Do we still have any gel-air pact left?" He asked. "Sir we have enough for one more impact landing, why?" Friday asked. "Load what's left into our modified rounds and aim at the GEAR's front face." There was a pause. "Sir?"

"It's be like shooting paintballs at our target, the gel-air should be enough for the pilot make it out alive in that thing, but the GEAR will take the toll of heavy damage." Jacinto explained. "But into our modified rounds?" She asked. "Use only the non-lethal rounds, I'm sure we have at least a dozen."

"Alright, transferring gel-air pact into the modified rounds, you have 12 shots...make them count."

Jacinto looked up towards the air and noticed the GEAR, which was really descending at an incredible pace. "Just need a few shots and that should be good enough." Jacinto takes in a deep breath, exhales slowly as he hears the click sound of his fire controls. The Mech's weapons fired 12 times, Jacinto watched as the rounds fired away.

[Oran]

Eric looked over at Tyr, cool as someone could be while piloting under heavy fire. He heard reports coming in of the low numbers of survivors and grimaced. "All right Orion, listen up! As soon as we touch down, get out of this shuttle. They're gonna need it for air-lifting survivors. Head for that building I've marked on your HUD. After we regroup there, we're going to sweep the surrounding buildings for survivors."

The shuttle deaccelerated slowly and finally landed. Eric unstrapped himself and made his way out of the ship. What he entered was familiar chaos. The sounds of explosion and gunfire, the cries of the wounded, he had experienced this all before. He put on a mask of professionalism. Looking over at his squad mates, the normally jovial Odin was silent and stoic. They were in the battlefield now, their element, their world. No time for mistakes or jokes, only war.

Odin made their way over to the building marked, taking out a few of the Regent's soldiers along the way, Eric helping a few survivors get back on their feet with his skills. They made it inside and stood looking expectantly at Tyr. "Looks like there is a squad due west, into the city. Comms say they're pinned by a few squads of Regents. Let's give them a hand". With that, Odin started to travel towards the pinned squad.

[Oran]

Accidental re-post

[Argon Jaden]

Titania was wobbly as it ascended and Klaude cursed loudly. Of course the new GEARs would try to help. Something crashed into Titania's front and once more, the GEAR spiralled down. Thankfully, the impact jump started the machine, enough to cause the engine to purr loudly. Slowing his fall, Klaude took a deep breath. There were no Regents within range and he was able to land smoothly, the gel-air taking most of the damage. Titania wasn't harmed much, though he probably needed to get it checked. While on the ground he let out a deep breath. Alice was already wailing from her end, and he was positive everyone could hear her cries.

"Damnnit Alice! I said I'm fine!!" He growled, not all pleased that he had to stay grounded for a while. "Titania's low on power so I'm going to have to use the backup energy source. No more booms from me sadly." He waited a bit before clearing his throat. "Jacinto, thanks for the save by the way. Enemy approaching you at nine o'clock." And with that, Titania was back up in the air, scanning the battlefield from the clouds. He was picking more activity northwest, and he was sure everyone else could see it. Ducking back down, he shot at another Regent, stopping it from stomping on a couple of survivors.