[EV-F26] Defying Destiny

[Celeste 1]

Hopping up to a set of chains and sliding down the length, her heels clicking as they meet a mirrored and hard metallic floor. The siren cutting out and being replaced by that same doosh baggy voice on the intercom. "Yeah yeah, keep up the BS motherfucker. If you can hear me. I am coming for you, sure hope you brought your brown pants!" That tempered fury triggers some skill, and as a result her eyes become hot like coals. Doors begin to slide open, and instinct cuts in. Rushing down the first guard she could see, Celeste grabs his whole face with a hand. A muffled scream as she pivots on her heel and casts the dude like a shot put into a group like a missile. One can almost hear the sounds of a 'strike' as they are blown out in piles.

The groaning pile of people, lays in mumbled outcries. Celeste moves right to a set of doors that slam shut. A wide toothy grin, as she catches the seam with both hands. What soon follows is grinding and the harrowing of metal, as the thing starts to bend and twist, both inward and out. "Not gonna happen, you son of a bitch!" Edges of the frame start to smoke, as she rips it open as if opening a book. Pieces of gears and springs fling out as the panels of metal come crashing down in a very audible crash.

Looking back at her, a load of horrified looking engineers and guards in a shocked sense of disbelief. "What, you wanna piece!?" Ripping her arms up to her right side, a column of flames manifests, a ruthless looking guillotine too large for a regular person to be swinging around. A couple of gulps, and with hesitation the Ladonian 'elite' were making their choice. That same cocky tone to her posture, a single step forward as she drops that blade on her right shoulder, her hand on her left hip. "Boo!"

Half, get the fuck out of here.

@Sam @Freyd @NIGHT @Koga @Lium

Edited March 2, 2022 by Celeste

[Vigilon 0]

Krysta would lead the charge towards the control room, and once there was a break in the enemy lines the players went for it. Now all there was to do was take the control room and defend it. Vigilon charged towards the soldiers guarding the pilots, striking them down with a powerful attack. Once that was taken care of, most of the enemy pilots had seemed to finish some sort of communication before turning to flee...except for one that was staring at Vigilon, while standing next to the control console.

"For King and Country!" The enemy NPC called out as his arm moved down as to try slamming down the button. Vigilon rushed in, grabbed the arm with his free hand, pulling the NPC away, and proceeded to decapitate the enemy pilot for good measure.

There would be no suicidal takedowns against his allies, not on his watch, and not when they were so close. Vigilon looked around him to see that the two allied pilots were now handling the controls, which meant it was time to guard the door and take down anything that tried to get in.

 

It was a fair amount of time before the players' destination was reached, and thankfully there seemed to be enough of a break in enemy forces for energy to replenish. The airship was taken, and now it was time to board the enemy Flagship.

Vigilon looked to the ginger and the pilot in terms of players. "I can trust you both can guard the ship?" He asked. He then looked at the Ginger player directly. "I say this to both of you because the NPCs may need more than one player to guide and protect them. One to keep the ship in the air, the other to take down any surprise attacks." He explained, not knowing that all forces were headed for the flagship.

@Jomei @Oji

 

As expected, the wide-open area that was the docking bay would be crawling with enemy troops. Vigilon readied his sword art, and struck down four. "Out of our way." He warned, despite just how unlikely they would listen.

@Krysta

[Krysta 0]

Krysta did not feel as though leaving behind the players she had brought over was the best option, but it was true that someone needed to look after the ship and the allied NPCs on board. She would look towards both players after Vigilon ran off to pursue his goal. "While it is true that someone must look after the Airship and its impromptu allied crew, I shan't judge either of you, should you choose to join us in assaulting the Ifrit instead." She told them.

@Jomei @Oji

 

Following Vigilon, she would jump off to board the Ifrit within its docking bay. Vigilon had just rushed straight into the fray, which made sense, as anyone else who sought to assault the Ifrit would need to push past the garrison the enemy had set up to guard the bay. Striking down more enemies with Celestial Sweep, Krysta joined in on the skirmish against the enemy forces. They would have to defeat this garrison if they were to reach the enemy's main control room.

@Vigilon

[Nian 0]

A list of ways Nian probably found the exit:

1. Spider-crawling. Through stabbing holes into the side of the airship with her claws, the fiend was likely to cause leaks into the cargo hold. However, given Cardinal's fortune, the vessel was going to maintain capability. By scaling the exterior of the room, as large was it was, unabated by foreign sources, the stalker was likely capable of punting herself beyond reach of danger before the chaos started.

2. By magnitude of the room. Almost like a warehouse, the bundle of crates that separated her presence from the rest of the rabble cloaked her from view. Hence her undisrupted wandering through the labyrinth into the main hall towards the ship's interior.

3. Sheer willpower. She got through the hallway, too, through use of sheer willpower by force. Let's hone in on this answer, and it should sound like--

The crunch of bone between a tightened grip. With one fling, the body of a soldier was tossed aside, innards crackling, figure thrown about like a ragdoll. An impossible feat had the system obeyed reality as they once knew it, but this was an alternate realm with its own set of rules and power structures.

Their king ruled heavily by might.

A shoulder tackle nearly knocked three opponents to the floor. Not to wade through the sea of enemies heading towards the hold -- no, most of them had made it past her position, by this point, but neither was Nian liken to stick around a fruitless position. No doubt her target was to be higher up.

So she had to make haste. Each disposed member of a troupe was only a warning to the rest, garbled code and mangled corpse in her hand just to toss it back to the gawking onlookers. A light pummeling as her threat, her promise. The saunter off was her wandering in earnest.

The door to each room was just like opening a rusty treasure chest. Their interiors, nothing of interest. That gate only fell onto the floor with a clatter, either hanging from their hinges still or slammed into a wall on the opposite corner of the room's entrance.

A beast wouldn't care. Heaven would guide her on her way, after all.

In a trail of destruction, a mix of threats barely wounded and completely unmoving, Nian made her way towards the king's rest.

[NIGHT 0]

Had the man kept pace with her, perhaps she would've been better positioned to help. Rather, caught in a duel between some random with a hammer, the disaster caused a number of crates to come crashing down and across the pathway towards their finish line. Even worse. Not that Koga had the insight she did from her position, but neither did she want to get caught up with a couple of strangers that seemed to appear, either.

--At all. She swore the rowdiest of the bunch was the most eye-catching and hence a distraction if NIGHT were to be in her presence. No way. Neither did she ever like the noise in the first place.

to: @Koga
NIGHT: i'm just up ahead

Eyes cast to the exit, she only needed to take her leave through the tunnel that flooded the hold with light. The window to a different world. And yet, what events had occurred within its interior was a question the woman had to ask about -- because what entities remained either laid strewn groaning on the floor, or shambled around injured like zombies in a popular drama.

The player winced stepping out of the dark. Tried to find a path through the corridor without getting spotted -- but too many variables to handle.

Never hurt to start step by step. Slowly and surely, she made her way through the gaps.

[Jomei 0]

Guard the ship?

Deep valleys formed from the wrinkles of his brows as the words left the younger man’s lips. He turned a gaze to Oji for a moment, before looking back to the two. They didn’t exactly catch him in the best of moods.

“With all due respect” he began as he stepped off of the deck of the smaller airship and onto the Ifrit. “I may have been dragged into a war I wanted to no part of, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay behind and play the role of a babysitter.” He turned to look at Oji once again, “I understand if you’d want to stay with the ship since you aren’t as suited for combat, but as blondie said, the choice is yours. But I didn’t join the frontlines to be left behind while others fight.”

The green of the duelist’s cloak billowed as the higher atmosphere winds whipped past them. Turning his eyes upward, he could almost distinguish the bottom of the Twenty Seventh floor from the false sky through the thick clouds of smoke that rose from the burning city. 

The docking bay was a madhouse, a battle for the Ifrit raged on within between players and Razwell’s soldiers. The skin of Jomei’s knuckles turned white, the grip around the handle of his rapier tightening as he approached a platoon of soldiers who pushed out from a nearby door. One by one, Jomei would cut them down as he cleared the walkway.

Fast movements and swift strikes, Jomei easily made his way around the defenses of each soldier. The point of his rapier plunged into the digital body of each humanoid, no bloodshed, but cries of pain that the players did not feel. Instead of white hot pain, a numbing sensation ran down Jomei’s back as a lucky strike from a nearby soldier caught him off guard. With a snarl, the ginger spun around and grabbed the side of their helmet, pulling them downwards and driving their face into a railing. 

Tall kite shields, grouped in three. Set up a barricade thay blocked Jomei’s path. Their swords held back at the ready for when the ginger dared try to break through. Jomei paced a moment, twirling the rapier in his hand before quickly using his Charge skill to push forward. Thrusting his rapier forth, the sound of shattering metal echoed throughout the open space as the shields of the soldiers bent and broke. Jomei quickly followed up with three slashing cuts, finishing off his foes.

A quick breath as he had but a moment of peace. His higher energy counts could keep him going for awhile. As long as he could clear out the hanger, he could easily slip away with any other players he saw moving deeper into the ship. His eyes began to quickly scan his surroundings for such an opening.

[Freyd 0]

Glancing through the shadows just over Koga's shoulders, the Whisper reassured his companion.  

"She's not far, and perfectly capable.  I'm sure she'd find her way, given enough time.  You and I can improve the odds for others to do the same if we take the nearby cannon emplacements and shoot Ladonians out of the sky using their own ship."

Turning to his left, Freyd then gave instructions over his own shoulder.  There was no one else present.

"I'll need you to do the same, on the port side. We'll regroup on the bridge afterwards.  Save as many as you can."

A slight, lilting titter and slightest hint of a cold breeze confirmed unseen understanding and departure.  He almost pitied the guards who might be foolish enough to stand in their path.

"Come on," he said, refocusing on his only visible companion, then leading him through a series of nearby bulkheads towards the outer hull.  Thuds and pounding thunder got louder as they approached their goal.  A sealed hatch blocked their path to the gunnery deck, swiftly bypassed by hands made of nothing and a swift strike made to disintegrate the latching mechanisms on either side.  One solid kick, reinforced by the power of a sword art, and the door became a projectile that flattened a half dozen unseen mobs unfortunate enough to be standing behind it.  Freyd stepped through, only to reappear on the far side of the long room, to Koga's sight, grabbing and launching a stunned guard off the open deck.  Reaching into his own shadow, as if donning some sort of puppet, he lifted it from the ground and jabbed forward harshly while snaring the air before him with his free hand.  A dozen Ladonian marines around the room, still struggle to fire their guns at incoming vessels, were startled as their own shades rose up, snared them around their necks and stabbed them mercilessly through the back.  In an instant, the deck was cleared of everything except dissipating fractal shards.

Battle raged overhead and in every direction around them.  @Celeste and others could be seen boarding through the cargo bay and others quickly made for the same opening.  Freyd pointed Koga to one of the guns as he moved to operate another.

"Move!  They don't have a lot of time, and we need to get to Razwell before the fun starts.  Just shoot at anything that doesn't look friendly.  We need to scare them off from bringing reinforcements while allowing actual players to land!"

@Koga

[Nobody 1]

Leaping over the side, Nobody missed the chain and would have fallen all the way to the city below, had some random bit of debris not slammed into him and sent him flying laterally at just the right angle.  Inept as he was, the man's luck was simply unparalleled.  Fortune even smiled enough to have him land on a pile of discarded uniforms left out on the open deck for the next trash run to pick-up.  Ifrit must have been in dock when all this chaos began, and no one had bothered to clear them out yet.  Another lucky break.

Rising from the pile, someone's frilly underpants clinging to each horn of his bicorn, Nobody charged the nearest, most stunned and disoriented guards still left on the deck.  Both of them were bruised and battered, most likely from an unfortunate run-in with the captain or one of the other titan-level heroes running around the place.  Knowing he was just some Nobody didn't matter.  He had Something Pointy and an urgent hankering to avenge his Binky, and that would be enough.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Nobody

[Vigilon 0]

The ginger player followed anyway. He wouldn't openly judge the player's decision, after all, the players came to fight against the mastermind behind the attempted nuking of both players and innocents. If the ship got raided...well, it is what it is, and war was a brutal thing.

Vigilon looked to the ginger player. "In all honesty, I had a feeling Krysta and I needed some backup, I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to the innocents aboard the ship. Since we're all here, of course, we might as well finish it together." He noted.

With that, it was back to the battle. The garrison wasn't backing down, so the three players would have to fight their way through. The enemy managed to set up a barricade of shielded soldiers for each player present. Vigilon's foes held shields in one hand, and polearms in the other. The enemy had the tactical advantage, but not for long. Vigilon wouldn't be able to get past the barricade if he charged for their shields, so maybe the best course of action would be...

He leaped into the air as he readied his attack, and the enemy pointed their weapons upward. This is exactly what he expected. He spun around as he plummeted towards them, his blade snapping two of the polearms' wooden shafts into splinters. He'd hoped to destroy them all, but at least he was able to then reach the enemy, finishing with Draco Rend. Once the soldier barricades were defeated, Vigilon would spot a forming leak amongst the enemy forces. He would then rush in to strike the enemies there down as to create an opening for his allies.

@Jomei @Krysta

[Koga 0]

A small ding from his HUD alerted Koga to a message. From NIGHT. Well, she was still around at least, somewhere. Though the man wasn't sure about the idea of splitting up, the fact she had chosen to message him instead of making an appearance told him that she had already made the decision for them. He'd adapt.

Besides, for now he had his twin-in-appearance to assist. "Sign me up," Koga said, the idea of shooting a giant cannon and blow up some ships making him perhaps a bit more eager than it actually should. "I've missed shooting."

The other man then appeared to look over his shoulder and started giving out some instructions, earning himself a quizzical look from Koga. Though he said nothing, the man began to wonder if Freyd was starting to lose his mind, speaking to empty air. It wasn't until a quiet giggle and breathe of frozen air that the man realized the truth. '...stealth players...'

A single frost-covered petal floated down between the two players, and a sensation of familiarity ran through Koga as he watched the flower descend. Reaching out, he caught the snow-flower in the palm of his hand, looking at it curiously before it faded into soft blue fragments.

"Come on," Freyd's voice called to him, jarring Koga from his momentary departure.

"Right behind you."

To say that Freyd left only carnage in his wake would both be a gross understatement, and massive exaggeration, given that pretty much everything in sight died or was destroyed, before disintegrating entirely, as if they never existed. Frankly Koga felt little need to even be present, but he did work of his own, quickly dispatching whatever stragglers were left behind, leaving his own little wake of destruction behind.

By the time the pair had made it to the guns, Koga wondered how many soldier and sailors were aboard the ship to begin with. Enough that peering over the railing to look into the cargo bay, he could see a bloom of flames come from a red haired woman before countless soldiers began to turn and run for their virtual lives.

Well, whatever got the job done.

At Freyd's order, Koga hopped onto the nearest emplacement, quick to figure out how it worked. A simple pedal system, left and right on one foot, up/down on the other. And a big ass barrel with a tiny sight to aim. Easy. Just look down the sights and pull the trigger...just like a rifle...

Except this thing hit a lot harder than small arms fire. As Koga took control of the weapon and swiveled it about to aim at the nearest frigate and pull the trigger, a loud thunderous boom echoed through the enclosed space, rocking the entire weapon as a massive slug propelled itself towards the enemy (friendly?) vessel. A small bloom of dust and sparks indicated Koga had his mark, and small smile formed on his lips as all fire seemed to cease coming from his target for a moment. Presumably confusion. "That's what I'm talkin' about."

[Baldur 0]

Through some sheer force of will, the occupants of his transport helped defend them from the handful of cannon balls that found their mark, both by calling out their positions, and apparently by punching or chopping them. Baldur was mostly glad that his reckless and breakneck speeds trying to get them through the most dangerous arc of their flight hadn't dislodged anyone. He didn't know Plini, but he hoped everyone had their teleport crystals. It was far enough down that anyone who dropped could teleport away before hitting the ground.

"HANG ON WE'RE GOING IN FOR A LANDING!!"

Abruptly Baldur sent everyone standing to the floor as they pulled a maneuver which would have been several Gs of force as he leveled out the taxi and slammed on the air breaks. If the air could have squealed against tires, it would have. But it was obvious Baldur had some small experience piloting aircraft, at least in a game setting, as their ship actually came to a stop inside the hanger bay, and not by crashing into anything.

"Alright, this is where everyone gets off. Please remember to give me 5 stars in the app, it really help me get more riders." Baldur chuckled as he jumped over the side of their open topped magitek airship.

"Alright, game faces everyone. The reckless abandon part is over. We're back in combat, and the event boss is probably up ahead. Let's catch up with the others. Hirru, you got the shield, you wanna take point? We'll watch your flank at intersections and we got your six, so keep that shield high."

[Krysta 0]

As each player began dealing with the garrison and the barricading soldiers among them, it would seem that the enemy forces behind the shielded soldiers were attempting to regroup as to fend off the players. Krysta had to look for a way to clear a path for her allies. Vigilon seemed focused on one portion of the garrison forces, but unlike solid objects, groups of soldiers could more easily cover weaknesses and attempt to bolster themselves where needed.

Then came the arrival of an airship in the bay. Krysta turned to see a few players disembarking. Perhaps unexpected reinforcements had arrived. Krysta would wave over to the other party. "We could use your assistance in breaking through!" She called out. "Our parties may be stronger together than they are apart!"

@Baldur @Hirru

 

With that, she then ran off to continue assisting her party against the Garrison. The barricade sent to stop her had only just taken position when Krysta struck with Celestial Sweep. Holy energy arced across her blade as two of them were struck down. The last one was knocked aside several meters from the impact, and Krysta then continued towards the remaining forces as to assist Vigilon and the ginger player. Perhaps with the other party's assistance, this should take little to no time at all.

@Jomei @Vigilon

[Hirru 0]

Holding onto the sides of the craft when they finally had finally landed, the hunter shakily got out.  Although the barrier held through, his sanity did not.  If he could feel nauseated, it was definitely coming on now.  There was so much going on in that whole trip that Hirru could barely handle it all.  His eyes were wide as reality was slowly coming back to him.  They were in the belly of the beast, both literally and figuratively.  In the bowels of the giant flying ship, they were far from their intended goal, but that was all they could really do.  Baldur seemed to joke a bit, but Hirru wasn't having any of that.

"This isn't a time for jokes!"

Hirru snapped before getting his bearings back.  His breathing was still shaky, but there was something that needed to be done.  Baldur suggested that Hirru should hold front, to which the Jade Healer just looked over at @Shield, with a confused look.  It was then that he remembered that none of the shots hit them, due more to Baldur's evasion, Cro's insane swordsmanship, and @Calrex's even more insane parrying abilities.  The shield armament was still with him, as were the weapons that were also circling the others.  Hirru didn't know this @Plini, but if @Crozeph knew them, then they should be useful.  He took a deep breath in before going in.

"Alright.. I think I'm good."

He straightened up before hearing a feminine voice call out to them.  A blonde haired player had called out to them.  He remembered seeing her with Vigilon and that old guy.  He tried to look around for Jomei, but it seemed that he was off doing his own thing.  It seemed that they were being held there with swarms of soldiers holding a tough shield wall.  Hirru's fear dwindled as his tactician side started to kick in.  Analysis running wild; Search activated expanding the range of his sight.  He could see the holes in their wall.  These were elite guards, but not without their flaws.

"Calrex!  Shield!  Smash through their defenses on the far right side, and I'll set up shop with my shield with yours!  Baldur!  Cro!  Follow behind, and pierce through the openings made by Calrex and Shield!  Force your way into the mass, and become a wedge into their line!"

He would hold his shield up high and an iridescent aura would envelop the whole the lot of them, giving them all more damage than they could possibly need.  This would negatively hurt him, but there wasn't much he could do with a bonk stick against well armored soldiers.

"Press the attack!"

He would look back to the others.  Vig, Plini, the old man, and the blonde haired one.

"Follow through as well, and take out the shield users from behind as we push!  We do not want to be surrounded by those shields!"

@Vigilon @Oji @Jomei

Edited March 6, 2022 by Hirru

[Freya 0]

Quickly shifting her weapon to the other side as she watches Gaius for a moment with a smile. He came all this way to be with her, father too. How did she get so lucky... Griswold saw her in a gaze and puts a hefty hand on her shoulder. Freyja glances down, then up with a smile, "Right, sorry. That group, let do this." Eye lock to this group, for a moment she forgot that she was given an order, but it was for obvious reasons. Freyja body pivots, pulling her scythe to her side with intense focus now. A deep breath before you could see a charging skill. Waiting until that very last second before she practically disappears from view for a second. Crashing into this enemy bunch, some go flying off the ledge. "Oops," saying as some of them started to get back up before another spark of light hits the remaining figures. "I got you girl, keep going," saying as he smashes his hammer into one of the heads laying next to their feet. Freyja smiles as she began to fight side by side with her father.

[Lium 1]

Hopping of as rushing himself toward Celeste. "DAMN," watching as she practically rips the metal off its hinges. Lium knew that she was strong from the day by day tasks that they found themselves doing but this was just pure amazing. There was no other way to explain it... Suddenly Lium was pushed against the wall, but not my a man, but multiple as they started running and jumping off that ledge. Wonder where they were going... One of them got spicy though, and attempts to pull a weapon on him. Lium just smirks, shifting his feet as the weapon creates sparks against the wall. "Bad move dude," saying with another shift as his open palm strike the man in the back, slamming him into the wall. Being knocked the fuck out, Lium just chuckle. "Why does no one listen when I warn them." Shaking his head as he looks back to Sam, he waves a hand forward as he rushed behind Celeste with Sam at his toes.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Lium

[Sam 0]

"You'll heal soon just keep still and low." The guy simply nods as Sams eyes dart around. There was so much going on all at once and she was exhausted. Just everything was hitting her like a top of bricks. Her movements were off but she was going to keep going. Firm Anima needed her, but all she wanted to do was get back to her love back home. The sooner that she got this done, the quicker she could do that. Getting to her feet and wiping sweat from her forehead, at the corner of her eye she seems Lium. That icon of his was bucking that crap out of her. Sam would have to ask about it later because right here, right now was not the time. Quickly Sam hops off the ship onto flat ground, and rushing toward Lium who was being quick to react to the dudes heading their way. Sam's chest felt tight and her limbs felt like they would lock at any second, but she moved on, she had too. If not for herself, for Katoka who was waiting for her.

[Freyd 0]

Wondrous, deliberately crafted chaos erupted as the Ifrit's guns turned and started firing upon their own.  Razwell's order suddenly shone as betrayal to those who would come to their emperor's aid.  Some would surely fall back on faith and point out that only the starboard batteries had turned against them, until the same happened to port.  Blazing arcs of energy-infused metal filled the air all around the flagship, ripping through the frigates and destroyer escorts all around.  Some took evasive action out of self-preservation.  Others took the hits out of confusion.  Freyd just watched all the glorious mayhem unfold, praising Koga for his aim.

"You're a pretty damned good shot," he said, tossing overboard an unsuspecting guard who's raced in blindly to investigate.  "Too bad this game doesn't have more ranged weapons.  Think you could fit that thing in your pocket?  Might earn you serious points with the ladies."

A wry grin and nod of the head towards the prow of the ship.  

"I think we've done what we came to do.  Plenty of others will have cleared a path forward by now.  Let's use it and catch up.  You might want to let @NIGHT know.  I'll do the same, then we make a break for it."

To: @Setsuna, @Kasumi From: Freyd Well done.  That should buy us the time we need to regroup at the rally point.  We'll press forward to the bridge from there.

To: @Simmone@Raidou@Eruda@Freya@Shiina@Gaius@Griswold From: Freyd Objectives achieved.  Fleet should now be in disarray and we can make a break for Razwell.  Focus on @Kogaif you need a travel destination.  I'll be near.  Most other players should be on board by now.  Try not to let anything heavy land on you.  Pretty sure that you can't parry squishing damage.

Without another word, Freyd bolted for the exit leading back to the cargo bay.  Hopefully, their plan had made a difference.  Now they had to gather their forces and confront the douchebag who's started all of this.

[Oji 0]

Everything happened pretty fast for Oji, and he was a bit blown back from the amount of action he could hear behind him as he steered the airship to the behemoth of a boat. "Now that's a ship!" He said to himself, and he brought the ship above one of the ledges. Soon he steered it so it would continue straight onto the horizon. There was plenty of crew here, they could bring the ship back to the city once all of this blew over. After locking the wheel in place and giving it plenty of gas, he sprinted out of the room with the others, and they told him that he could stay behind if he wished.

"No way I would miss something like this. Useful or not this has been the most fun I've had in years." He said with a laugh. Suddenly, another player appeared and cleared a way. He had green hair and a pretty sick looking sword. He told his group to watch for the shield-men and to make sure we weren't trapped in from them. Oji nodded, and turned to look at the Orange-haired young man, but he had disappeared into the crowd. "Well he's a strange one.." He muttered, then turned to the young man and young lady. "Lead the way!"

@Vigilon @Krysta @Hirru

[Calrex 0]

As his team's carrier flew into the hangar, Calrex was well prepared for a particular rough landing, at the least due to how the previous parts of the trip went. However, surprisingly, like his previous comparison to a roller coaster, the landing was surprisingly deprived of ricketiness. He weakly gripped onto the outside of the transport before pulling himself upright, "Guys...next time...let's not let Baldur drive..."

Hopping out onto the floor of the massive aircraft, the Ultramarine Knight only had a brief moment to get his bearings before Baldur and Hirru were already going to work calling out tactical orders. Following Hirru's command, he locked onto the elite guards that served as points on the end of the formation. Quickly resheathing the Grand Blade IV, the fully armored frontliner gave a nod "On It!"

Letting the power of <<Charge>> surge through his body he rocketed forward, eyes locked onto his target like a hawk. Within three strides he had swiftly come into striking range, planting his front foot before grounding his stance. His sword drew from his hip sheath in a reverse grip, blazing alight with bright blue energy. Heaving the entirety of his upper body in the opposite direction, Calrex brought his sword wide.

The three soldiers in front of him responded as expected, bringing their blades forward to intercept his strike. This move was the ideal response he had wanted. His objective was to start applying pressure to this end of their formation. The momentum-empowered opening slash impacted hard against their weapons, the force blowing their forms back.

Quickly flipping his sword around, he took advantage of the brief opening, bringing his sword back across in another horizontal slash from the opposite side. With their torso's exposed from the first attack, there wasn't enough time for them to recompose their stance as the deep blue blade cleaved through the three.

@Crozeph @Shield @Plini @Baldur @Hirru

[Jomei 0]

The voices of familiar players peaked over the sounds of battle as they strategized below, finding a way to push through the defenses of the Imperial soldiers. Most of their attention had been shifted to focus on the mass gathering of his comrades below, making the load of guards Jomei was stuck up against a bit lighter. One looked over the edge at the forming shield wall, barking out his own strategies to the other soldiers readying their weapons to combat the green-clad warrior. Their voices fell upon deaf ears as Jomei continued to push forward. 

Nihilim's Wrath scraped against the handrail of the catwalk, letting off a sound reminiscent of a resonating growl. The already blackened steel of the rapier seemed to grow darker, the shadow-like darkness that lurked within the sword creating almost a pitch black look, leaving a fallen-shadow trail with each swing. Jomei did not come here for war, he did not come to battle. But right now, he only saw cutting down these soldiers that meant him harm as an outlet to his frustration.. and the sword fed off of that rage as he plunged the length of his rapier deep into one guard, and then piercing the gut of a second behind them. Grabbing the rapier in both hands and flicking it off towards the handrail, he sent the two soldiers tumbling over the side and plummeting to the hard ground below.

One by one, the soldiers fell to the ginger's rapier as he slowly made his way down the thin, hanging catwalk. Sparks from his blade clashing against the armor of the Imperials contrasted with the shadow-like train that trailed behind his sword with each cut. There were no thoughts about how many he had taken out, or how far down the walkway he had made it, just take them out and survive. With one final cut that would normally split a man in half from head to groin, the path before Jomei was clear. Continuing on the catwalk was no longer his plan, however. 

Below, he saw the others beginning their push against the massive shield wall that the soldiers built to keep them all back. Taking a couple of steps back away from the railing, and adding a deep breath for good measure, the ginger rushed forward. Each step rang against the thin layer of metal before planting his foot into the railing and pushing off of it, sending him soaring through the air. Tucking his shoulder, he hit the ground hard, but rolled out of it and popped up to his feet. Behind him, the backs of the soldiers forming the shield wall. 

Swinging his rapier, he began to make work at the soldiers from their flank, any way to help the others push through as quickly as possible. 

@Hirru @Calrex @Shield @Crozeph @Baldur