Rebirth of the Dark Empire

[Rui Zeal]

The Dark Continent of Nyx. Left abandoned for years, this was once the land where Deoricalcum could be found. It was also the primary base for the Guylos Empire up until the Meteor Crash. That day, almost all of both Heliac and Guylos forces were destroyed, and several zoid types, such as the Salamander, were lost forever.

Only a few days ago, an explosion ripped across the land, scaring what was left, and blowing the thick black clouds that covered the land open. Though the sky had recovered since then, the land had not. And now, several zoids not seen since the Meteor Crash were deep in the epicenter, putting the remnants of whatever caused the detonation in trailers pulled by Gustavs colored in a very unique fashion.

Just like the zoids loading the scrap, the Gustavs were mostly black, with faintly glowing green details. These zoids were all examples of a zoid type thought to be lost to the Meteor Crash. This type of zoid was powered by a material thought to be lost with the impact, Deoricalcum. These zoids were Dark Zoids.

The pilot of the Deadborder, obviously the leader, gave out commands over a secured channel. "Hurry up and load up the Gustavs. We can't afford to be spotted out here."

The other zoids quickly finished loading the Gustavs and the group began to leave. But just as they were over the rim, the commander, Charles, stopped. His radar was pipping. There were zoids incoming. And from the size of the blip, it was a Whaleking.

"Gustavs, you go ahead and return to base," he said over the secure channel, "the rest of you, hide over the ridge. I'll get this started.

Meanwhile, Velvet and RJ, after taking a mission from the Backdraft Organization, find themselves in a Whale King, the very one detected by Charles. They had been sent to retrieve anything out of the ordinary. And out of the ordinary was just what was about to shoot them out of the sky.

Meanwhile, just below them, hidden in a Dragoon Nest under the waters surface, Neil and Dr. Fitzgerald were actually the ones that had been detected. However, the Dead Border wasn't equipped with a 3-D radar, and couldn't tell what altitude the target was at. For some reason, Neil had been having some troubles with his zoid, and would have to deploy a bit latter than his ally, but the other three incoming zoids would deploy on time.

As the Whale King broke through the thick black clouds, Charles took careful aim at his gigantic target, both of them camouflaged against the background. Don't think for a second that you can escape me. He fired his zoid's main weapons, the Gravity Cannons, and a sort of Gravi-slap that knocked the Whale King out of the air.



The Deadborder slowly walked towards it's downed prey, the back-up staying where they couldn't be seen, behind the ridge of the crater. The bulk of the crew dead, and only the two zoid pilots surviving, the only smart choice for anyone left in the Whale King was to get out and fight back. At the same time, the Dragoon Nest surfaced and gave the Doc the greenlight to launch.

[RJ]

RJ had been taking a nap in his zoids cockpit, as he had a habit of doing right before a mission. He was immediately woken up by the crash. "Damn this stuff is intense!" he said as he launched his zoid. His time in his home nations army had taught him to not hesitate in the event of an ambush. He decided to use one of his many army tactics and flew straight up high into the air. His goal was to draw out any other troops sitting in hiding. He flew up high enough and fast enough so hat anyone who shot at him would probably missed. He kept his eyes open for any muzzle flashes. He also sized up the deadborder, hopefully he would be distracted so Velvet would be able to have an advantage and catch him unawares.

[Velvet]

Velvet barely had time to get her Pteras going when RJ just decided to up and go on his own. So reckless! Then again, she was the reckless red-head in the team before he came along.
"No way your having all the fun!" She hastened herself to prep the Pteras. She wasn't going to let RJ upstage her. Final preparations complete, the Pteras stood.
"Let's go, Pteras!" The Pteras' vulcan guns fired and pierced through the shut hangar door, spraying randomly like rain outside. Then a single missile and the door exploded, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of smoke. And through the smoke emerged the blue Pteras, firing at the target in front of her.
"Woohoo!" The blue streak from the vulcan guns sheered the air and headed for it's intended enemy as the blue Pteras pitched up and headed for the clouds.
"Right behind you, Liger!" said Velvet through the COM link between her and RJ.

[Dr. Gerald Fitzgerald]

"Preparing launch sequence" Dr. Fitzgerald rasped over his encryped com link with the Dragoon Nest "Pteras, Doctor Mod, registration number PTX-017-XAM2. Launching off of pad 1"

Magnetic coils screeched harshly as the Pteras was flung out of the seaborn base zoid and into the air. But as soon as the skies opened up to Dr. Fitzgerald, his attention was immidiately drawn twoards a downed Whale King and a scuffle between a few zoids. None of them had any registrations displayed, and that could only mean one thing.... backdraft.

Upon further inspection, Dr. Fitzgerald found that one of the zoids was that shoddily modified shield liger he had encountered earlier, and another was a depressingly standard patter Pteras bomber. While the Doctor within him longed to observe the clash between Backdraft and the other zoid, his inner pilot demanded that the missions primary objective be completed before any secondary directives were carried out.

The red pteras skimmed the waters surface, trying to keep a low profile as it rocketed full speed towards the epicenter of the explosion to conduct its survey of the resulting damage. To him, it seemed like the other pilots were too occupied beating the crap out of each other to notice him.

[Rui Zeal]

"Bah, fliers." Charles didn't like fliers, and now he had three to deal with, two of which he actually knew about. He got on the FM and called to his support. "Rogers, Daniels, get over here and lay down suppression!" Two Darkhorns, armed with grappler arms in addition to their standard fare, came tromping over the ridge of the crater and fire their 80 mm Surface to Air Double Barrelled Beam Cannons at the Pteras Bomber and the flying bulls eye, the modded liger.

"Now," Charles began issuing commands to the other members of his group, "The rest of you, stay hidden until I call on you. now... Charles locked on to the flying annoyances and fired his two 150mm Cannon Guns and his Missile Pod at the two of them. Given the mass and unstable, anti-aerodynamic design of the flying shield liger, it couldn't avoid the shots, neither could the Pteras bomber. Normal Pteras are extremely un-agile, and the bomber units only make things worse.

[RJ]

RJ opened up a com link between him and the Deadborder, "Looks like somebody is underestimating me and my Wing Liger! But trust me, were much better than that so don't insult us. If you would like to surrender peacefully and hand over your zoids and whatever else you may be hiding here to the Backdraft Group, we MAY let you join us! RJ out." He then shut off the com link, not actually wanting them to surrender, he was having to much fun!.

He noticed the two Dark Horns coming out and shooting him immediately, they would be his first victims. He increased the thrust of his Jet Booster and shot into the nearest cloud, thereby avoiding the Dark Horns' and Deadborder's shots. Then he noticed a strangely familiar red pteras flying across the battlefield. "Hey Velvet! Go down there and deal with that Pteras! I'm pretty sure its ZBC, and we wouldn't want them getting to the bottom of this first now would we?"

RJ then focused his attention on the Dark Horns. He folded his wings up and activated his Booster and fell at high speeds right behind the Dark Horns. At the last second he re-activated his wings and ran right between the two Dark Horns. He was aiming to slash them both with his Wing Blades and put them out of commission, then streak back into the safety of the clouds. He reopened the com link with the Deadborder, "Remember that you are about to be defeated by the Blue Jay of Entara!"

[Velvet]

(OOC: Dont overdo it RJ; both you and your Liger are D rank.)

"Pfft! Don't be so overconfident."Velvet muttered to herself with the COM link still open. Her radar warned her of the two new incoming threats. 'Beam Cannons, huh?'The Pteras pitched it's nose down from it's altitude of 30,000 feet. LOCK ON! The targeting system flared and a zoomed-in shot of the two Dark Horns appeared on screen with two diamond shaped blips over them. The long streaks from the beam cannons forced Velvet to barrel-roll out of the way. Fortunately the intense heat from the beams caused most of the incoming missiles to explode, leaving only a couple that impacted with the Pteras' durable armor. It rattled the cockpit but other than that it was fine. Velvet pressed the button under the joystick-control and two long-ranged missiles rocketed toward each Dark Horn. With those things on their backs, they wouldn't be able to escape in time.
"Sorry, RJ. But you have no idea what your talking about."

[Dr. Gerald Fitzgerald]

"Well then" Dr. Fitzgerald muttered as he kept an eye on the battle during his mad dash towards to explosion site "I suppose that extra armor on a Pteras does have its positive points", obviously impressed with the Pteras Bombers actions.

He didn't have time to dwell on the positive points of a tried and true model though, because he was finally nearing the site of the explosion(or not, if you intended me to start from further away, just say that i'm not there yet), when he got within visual range he saw.....

[Rui Zeal]

Damn, the commander thought over his options and realized that it was futile to attempt to fight flyers from the ground, "Base, launch three members of the aerial unit." I want Dickson and the two new kids, it's time for them to earn their wings. Also send the Molga back, arm them with the AA guns."

When the Doctor got over the ridge, he saw only the Dark Horns and the Dead Border attacking the Backdraft units and the backdraft fighting back. As the Wing Liger landed behind the two Dark Horn and turned for it's attack, a white Lord Gale sprung up from it's hidy hole on the other side of the rim and attacked the Wing Liger with it's right hand mounted X scissors. The aim of the attack was to hold the target down and defeat it with the spears.

"Artemis, when did you and Saint Gale get here?" Charles asked using a slightly more public channel over the secured channel he used for his commands, "I thought the boss didn't wanted you to get rid of that Zennibas zoid." The new zoid wasn't in time. As the wings on the liger expanded, the zoids they were intended for turned and attempted to impale the Liger on their horns while firing the Hybrid Vulcans at the incoming missiles. The missiles detonate in the air, but some of the shrapnel cut some of the tubes on the Dark Horns, preventing them from using the Vulcans any more. Artemis, the Saint Gale's pilot, gave his explanation after he stopped short, seeing the Dark Horns beginning to turn. "I've been here for a while, watching and hoping I wouldn't be needed, you need alot of work."

Meanwhile, the Gustavs and their Molga escorts returned to the transport zoid used as their base. The Molgas were converted from their 'Carrier' mode, where they were equipped with mechanical arms and such for non-combat purposes, to their 'AA' mode, where they were equipped with four anti-aircraft cannons. Another action of note is that three members of the aerial unit assigned to this detachment were being prepped for launch.

[RJ]

"Hey I'm just having a bit of fun!" RJ said over his com link with Velvet, "Oh and nice fireworks there, I think they got damaged a bit." Then he noticed the Dark Horns turning to impale him. "Typical Dark Horn fare, all brawn and no brains!" RJ said to himself, accidentally leaving his com on, "But then again I'm not much better eh Liger?" The Wing Liger roared in approval. As the Dark Horns turned towards him they both left there rears wide open, though now he could only get one. RJ veered to the left and tried to slice at the Dark Horns back end with his wing blade.

Seeing that Velvet hadn't gotten that damned Pteras yet, RJ decided to open up a com link with it and try to scare it off. "Contacting ZBC Pteras, you are trespassing on the property of the Backdraft Group, please leave or you will be met with force!" RJ tried to sound official but couldn't help snickering to himself.

[Velvet]

"Will you shut up?!" Velvet's voice roared through the open channel between the Liger and the opposing Pteras. Almost sounding like a nagging sibling. Jager had educated her in the past about diplomacy and how befriending your enemy's enemy could lead to a strategic victory. Now, RJ, on the other hand seemed a bit of a hot-head to Velvet. More prone to reckless tactics and unprovoked confrontations. She'd normally leave him be but on a battle where they were outnumbered, she'd be damned if he was going to get her killed!
"Please excuse my idiot teammate," pleaded Velvet with the Pteras. "I assume your here for the same reason we are." she smiled as a video feed of her face popped up in the enemy Pteras' cockpit. "May I suggest that we work together to repel this enemy force?" The Pteras' Vulcan guns sprayed all over one of the Dark Horns. And seconds after, the Lord Gale as it reached for the Liger. Velvet's Pteras flew back overhead after passing over the enemy.

[Dr. Gerald Fitzgerald]

"You must excuse me for believing that you back draft pilots will turn and blow me out of the sky at a moments convenience, I find it hard to take your offer on good faith alone" Dr. Fitzgerald replied to Velvet "But perhaps I can make a mutually beneficial offer back, let me clear it with my superiors..."

A moment later, Dr. Fitzgeralds face appeared, contacting the Dragoons nest. The image of the CO was on screen, "Sir. I have an interesting idea and I need clearance to attempt it..."

Aside from the drama taking place over the comm, Dr. Fitzgerald remained focused on his primary objective: Survey the blast site. As he rose over the peak of the ridge, he began rapidly climbing into the air. He had gotten close enough to the blast site with his stealth, now it was time to value the safety of the skies over the surprise of low flying. He activated the special sensors installed on his zoid by the ZBC for the mission, and started scanning for the epicenter.

OOC: PM sent about 'team up plan', i dont want to overstep my boundary as the RPer in your mission here.

[Rui Zeal]

(OoC: no no, I encourage the players to take the RP in whatever direction they feel most appropriate to the current situation.)

The commander in charge of the Dragoon Nest quickly approved the Doctor's request. Against an enemy such as these ones, people that seem to be trained as professional soldiers, they would need all the help they could get. "Go ahead Doctor, as a great leader once said, 'A house divided against itself cannot stand'."

The Wing Liger's blade struck the hind of the Darkhorn, but did little more than scratch the paint. Trying to use metal to cut through metal was a pointless endeavor. Especially considering that the Dark Horn has some of the thickest armor mounted on a large sized zoid, and these Dark Horns had been restored to their original military specifications; Deoricalcum and all. And the small caliber bullets that hit about the same time didn't do much either.

"Magnesser Spear!" Artemis yelled out even though his radio wasn't transmitting, as he heard the metal on metal of small caliber bullets hitting his zoids armor. His zoid, the Saint Gale, lunged forward, attempting to plunge the reinforced, magnetically accelerated spears at the Wing Liger, making the needed adjustments to stay on target even if the Liger moved.

As he did so, a message each from Backdraft HQ and the ZBC arrived on their respective pilots screens. It updated the goals of their mission based on data received from the current battle. The offensive objectives had been removed, replaced with two new ones.

• Determine the objectives and goals of the unknown enemy force if possible.
  
• survive

(sorry for the late post)

[Rui Zeal]

(OoC:ok, I'm calling IIC)

The ground gave away below the Wing Liger at the last possible second, causing it to fall to the side to late for Artemis to correct and make a direct hit. Instead, the outer spear cut through the side of the liger, wounding it and even going far enough through to damage some of the outer power circuits and even though the part of the zoid's front right leg that functioned the same as the human Achilles tendon. The Wing Liger was now all but crippled, but was still in operable condition.

Artemis quickly retracted the left arm and, in the same motion, attacked the wing liger with the X-breaker claws on it's right hand. At this range, there was little chance to dodge, especially with the damage already dealt. The two Dark Horn pilots took aim at the two pteras mods flying in the sky over the battle field, and opened fire with all their available weapons. Charles, meanwhile, took up a new position on the far end of the battle field, and fired every weapon it had with the exception the the gravity cannons at the two flying bulls eyes. Even though he wasn't firing them, Charles was still preparing both cannons, just in case.

Meanwhile, the Molga's, now modified into their AA forms, were attached to the bottom of the flying unit. Within a matter of moments, the three dispatched members of the aerial unit, along with their cargo, were launched from the carrier zoid hidden on the far end of the island.

(better hurry up, the aerial unit and their molgas will be there soon)