Crimson Canines (Complete!)

[CkSmalling]

"Yes ma'am. Would you like a side of fries with that order?" He managed to say as he climbed on his mech. He switched on the controls and the massive beast revved to life. Before he closed the cockpit, he looked at the resting soldiers. He cleared his throat and began to speak.


"I know i am not the best of commanders. Being a sniper means working most of the time alone and it was clearly evident how o managed to lose a whole squadron of soldiers. I know i am asking you for much but will you follow me one last time? Lets finish this battle and head on home. That is all i am asking."


"Clearly your speeches suck. How am i supposed to get motivated with that?" one soldier said.


"But he does have a point. A very small one at that." the whole squad laughed in unison.


"You don't have to beg us for likes. This is not Instagram you know."


'Enough!!! Board your mechs. WE ARE GOING FOR WAR!!!"


"Jesus. You don't have to shout. This is not 300 you know." The whole squad laughed as they climbed on their mechs.


When they got airborne, he received the coordinates and relayed them to the others. A big shot like this has to have at least a squadron of bodyguards. Well even he had back up. He wore an earpiece that would enable him to talk with his pet. Sadly he was quite a distance so he need to get up close. He lead the squadron to where he was resting. He had totally forgot to call on to him when he went for the trainer. A mistake he did not intend on making again. He landed and spoke to the earpiece.


"Alright boy. Time for you to play."


He opened one eye and stood up and let out a loud roar. He looked at Robert and maybe, just for a second thought he had smiled like he had said 'finally'.


"okay squad move out. As soon as you see the enemy, open fire. Do not think twice, shoot and find cover immediately." He had no plans of loosing again.


They flew in direction of the coordinates and when they were within striking distance, he ordered his men to fire missiles at the enemy. He also fired his. He flew to the kaiju's head and looked deep into his eyes. "Kill."


Raiju roared and charged towards the enemy platoon smashing mechs as he stormed through. "The boss is mine."


@Zer0 

 

[Zer0]

- General Artemis Romanov -
" Coup de Grace "
​

"I hear you, Shina!" said Artemis. She sounded like she was doing something strenuous.

The Arcturos groaned and creaked as explosions wracked the battlecruiser's frame. Debris rained on the enemy below as she twisted in the air. About four hundred soldiers flew to the dipping side where the control stabilizer wasn't online. Goliaths forming a shield wall protected the Dynasty Scarabs that were manually pushing it with all their strength, this great humongous piece of metal that was stuck and making the battle cruiser to veer to the left.

"PUSH!" roared the soldiers. "JUST FOURTEEN SECONDS!"

At the control deck, Panzer's damaged and smoking Vulcan shot straight through the shattered glass and Artemis was forced to let go of the bolted chair or get squished.

"No, no, no!" She slid down the tilting deck, grabbing and clawing at the metal floor to stop her fall, but, " Ooof!" she fell on the partially glass roof that was now beneath her feet. Pain shot up her leg.

The Arcturos was now falling from the sky upside down. Outside, her soldiers were attempting to manually fly this falling hunk of metal even then. But the battlecruiser was off course. They saw the monster Thanatos turn to meet them, his mere movement shaking the earth and sending great clouds of sand rising beneath his feet.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!

With a great swipe at the air from his massive claw, a hurricane of wind buffeted the Arcturos and sent Artemis rolling away from the roof and crashing into something she could not see. Sand, dust, and howling wind flooded the control deck.

BOOM

There was an explosion above her. What was going on? There was still fighting on the upside down control deck that she could not see, and a bout of fire from a flamethrower gushed from above. Panzer was still fighting. Leg broken, Artemis activated her medic suit's to inject morphine to her leg. There was no time for surgery, she had to climb up there.

Ten seconds till collision.

Above, Panzer Dragon was defending the drone he had brought with him to repair the controls. He was down to his fists and was brawling and mauling with one last soldier. Artemis hoisted herself up. There was an enemy corpse beside her, and in her haste she did not notice that it was still breathing.

"Repairs complete." said the repair drone.

"Artemis, steer this thing!" gasped Panzer, tackling his foe so that he could not interfere. Artemis rushed to the controls. They were upside down, and so she had to wriggle her way through the open panel the drone was repairing through to get there, when something suddenly grabbed her leg and yanked her out.

The flash of a knife went down her heart and she kicked off the foe she had thought was dead. But he was on top of her again, desperation fueling his attack. She had never been so scared her entire life. Not death, no, she's stared into its eyes many times. She was scared that she failed.

"FIGHT! STAY AWAKE AND FIGHT! TILL YOUR LAST BREATH, FLY THIS BATTLE CRUISER FOR OUR FRIENDS WHO DIED!"

Artemis feigned death. Her opponent was too strong. She let him stab her again, and it took all her will not to move or cry out. Her foe left her and attacked Panzer.

"She's still alive!" gasped the foe Panzer was wrestling.

"Shut up!" Panzer threw him off and launched himself on the one with the knife.

Artemis crawled . . . she crawled. . . it was so painful to breathe . . . through the panel . . . out to the controls that was upside down. She cursed. She had to steer by eye and carefully she steered the battle cruiser right for Thanatos' chest. The monster was ready, arms open to swipe the battle cruiser out of the sky before it could hit it.

She had to time this right. "On my command . . . soldiers, get ready to pull the control stabilizers up. Give me a hoorah . . ."

"HOORAH!"

Thanatos drew back a massive claw and swiped.

"NOW!"

Rending metal and the sound of a thunder smite. To those watching far away, the claw of the great beast slashed the battlecruiser's middle as the Arcturos suddenly dipped down and crashed into the beast's chest. Mechs flew away in all directions as a great explosion engulfed the monster's front and Thanatos was knocked backwards, roaring in pain.


@tammynorthland

 

[LordPicklesworth]

Upon impact from the missile, a red warning light shot off and fluids spilled everywhere. The mech's AI announced, "Secondary weapons at 55% functionality. Reactor heat is steadily increasing. Hull integrity is at 80% Beginning repairs now." and two little drones shot out of the mech and began repairing the Quad Shot Launcher and coolant filled the reactor chamber. Vicktor then fired a shot from his rail gun at the Captain. " Sam I need a little help over here!"


Sam aimed her main gun at the Captain and fired a shot, trying not to hit Vicktor in the process. Her shot flew through the air with a sharp whistle. It soon slammed into the ground near Vicktor and the Captain with a thud. It sat there for a few seconds until it finally detonated. Smoke and fire filled the area and killed anyone in the vicinity not in a mecha. She fired another shot towards another battalion advancing upon them. She spoke with a worried tone, "Vicktor... are you okay?"


Silence fell for a few minutes before a final, "Yeah i'm okay. But Murder Inc isn't." The weapons on the mech were completely destroyed and the movement system was shot, there was only one option.


Total Meltdown.


Vicktor flipped a series of switches and a little keyhole was introduced into the cockpit. He took a key that was hanging from the necklace of his dogtags and inserted it into the keyhole, he turned the key slowly and all of the repair drones popped out. They all went to the reactor and each fired a small beam of energy at the reactor. The mecha then announced. "WARNING: REACTOR STABILITY AT 70% AND DECREASING. REACTOR OVERLOAD IMMINENT." He pulled a handle and the emergency exit door popped out. he climbed out and began walking towards Sam. "I could use a little help over here." 


Sam started flying over and replied, "Rodger Dodger be there soon."


Vicktor walked a few feet and sat down in the hot sand staring at the charred mech. Through the melted steel and charred paint he could barely make out, MURDER INC. written on the side.


Sam soon landed and he boarded her mech. He quickly said, "We need to go now." and they flew away from the area.


MURDER INC. didn't go down without a fight, when the enemy swarmed in to salvage any tech left behind, they were greeted with a friendly message; "WARNING: REACTOR OVERLOAD." And half of the enemies battalion went up in a blaze of glory.


@Zer0


(Revised to be cooler )

 

[Abdel featherfall]

Alerius had at some point picked up Liz who due to the damaged state of her mech was unable to bring it. She sat on the command bridge of the mobile fortress and began her gamble. While the others were 'acquiring ' a ship to plow into Thanatos she with the help of the fortress crew set to work on a plan of their own, just in case. Some called it crazy but nobody could deny that it might work. Liz laid out the plans.


" Okay everybody Here's the plan. Alerius is running interference for us so we don't get attacked while we do this.. I need the engineers for the primary energy gun to completely remove the safety limiters. This will allow us to build up the required energy.. Though it'll utterly burn the gun out and most of our power when we fire.. So we have only one shot at this.. We are going to fire the most powerful energy blast we can possibly muster from this thing and hit Thanatos square in the head.. I would like control of the main gun." 


With the plan laid out despite some concerns about the fact they were going to burn every last ounce of power they had into a single shot.. The crew set to work on making this happen. If they worked fast enough the crews that were piloting the ships wouldn't need to put themselves in any more danger than needed. Unfortunately this would never be the case. The power diverted and the limiters off they began to power up the main cannon. Watching in horror as Artemis's ship was headed on a Collision course for Thanatos.... 

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Alerius on the other hand had stopped only for a repair and re supply. His father and sister were sitting outside of their wrecked mechs and had been manually using the defensive guns on the mobile fortress. Alerius however after running a successful defense for those attempting to complete delicate tasks set to work doing the only thing he was good at, killing.
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The enemy were simply piling up before him, trails of spiraling smoke followed in his wake with every destroyed enemy. He held as much constant communication with Artemis as he could while she was busy, he couldn't do much to aide her while she was inside the ship and steering but he could damn well let her know he was supporting her fully, and that he did.  The mobile fortress no longer an enemy priority he was set to defending Artemis's ship from any form of counter attack, but he was just one man. 
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Then it happened. There was an explosion that he barely registered even though he was staring right at the twisted fireball of a wreck sundering Thanatos's chest. He knew Artemis hadn't made it off of that ship. His eyesight flooded red and he set his comms to an open channel. The man was shaking with absolute rage and sadness. His voice carried across every comm that could hear him. His voice was utterly chilling, not in a creepy way. But in a way that made one fear for their lives.
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​

"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! YOU WILL ALL DIE BY MY HAND!" He roared into the comms. Blood chilling fury echoed even through the cold artificial sounds of the comm systems, the enemy would know his rage. " Nora.. Override all safety protocols.. Voice activation code...Caffine." The man was practically labeled a demon before thanks to his close quarters combat prowess however despite the damage to his mech and shield. He was still terrifying to face simply due to his natural speed. Which has now just doubled.
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​

The first couple of mechs had no idea what hit them until they were falling from the sky in a shower of twisted metal. Alerius for the moment was taking on a much much larger enemy force and was winning thanks to fear and fatigue. One after another they were swatted down from the sky like insects, the screech of rending metal was near constant. However soon he was overwhelmed and driven downward. It wasn't long before his downward retreat turned into a straight up plummet as his mech lost all power due to the excessive damage and landed heavily among the piles of metal and wrecked machines dripping with blood and oil. His hatch didn't open but command knew.. He was still alive and the enemy force he had shocked into near helplessness fell apart at the seems. With more than half of them dead they scattered and began to retreat terrified of making another attack. Alerius's rage induced kamikaze run had utterly broken their morale.
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While Alerius was fighting like a madman Liz had fully charged the cannon but it was too late, she too saw the great fireball that erupted from Thanatos's chest. She was too late, loves were lost because she wasn't fast enough. But now wasn't the time for such thoughts, she climbed the ladder leading to the main gun and sat in the control panel.
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" This is Liz... Prepare to fire and brace yourselves this thing will have one hell of a kick.. I'll be firing on the Three." She said as she readied herself. Thanatos's head reared back as the fireball in his chest slammed deeper, giving her a perfect shot of that lovely soft underside of his neck. " Three." She said before firing. The blast from the shot indeed sucked every last ounce of power from the mobile fortress as well as cracking the ground under it from the sheer force of the blast.
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​

Thanatos didn't stand a chance, the beam caught him under the chin and like a knife through butter it exploded out of the top of his head, a beam of that magnitude could be seen nearly reaching the atmosphere for many, many miles. The blast was blue energy that left a hole larger than a football stadium clear through the gigantic beasts skull. There was no getting back up from that. As was proven when Thanatos rag dolled and slammed into the ground causing what could be considered and actual geological event as he settled to the ground, dust flying everywhere.
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liz just sat there, stunned that her plan had actually worked. She moved to radio anybody in her squad that was still living. " This is Liz, Thanatos is dead. I repeat Thanatos is dead.. How many hurricanes are left?" She wanted a sound off and Alerius gave a weak " Hooah." It still wasn't the time for celebrations. But damn did being the mind behind that move feel good. If only it hadn't come at such a high price.
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@tammynorthland @Zer0 @Beowulf @CkSmalling @LordPicklesworth @Killorkiller
​

 

[Killorkiller]

~Christian Alister~
​

"Coup de Grace"
​

After the command tower had been taken Chris spent at least a minute just getting over the fact that he was in the presence of a legendary mech pilot.  Soon he got over it and quickly got to work fixing his mech, several fluid lines had been cut and the joint in the upper right arm had been bent till it was no longer functional.  the fluid lines where an easy fix, just a little tap and good as new, well almost, but the arm was something that Chris was unable to fix.  after he was done with the small fixes he turned to Shina, "Hey i'm gonna go cover your asses from the outside. Just make sure they dont take the bride." With that he jumped into Wasp and was out the breach.  The sight that greeted him was utter chaos, explosions where everywhere, mechs fighting like demons, death was all around.  


Hitting the boosters, Chris flew into action using his superior agility to slice the enemy right out of the air.  Blasting through the battle field shooting down enemy mechs with his rockets till he had none left, his path of destruction was so vast that it soon attracted the attention of a mech that stood out from the others.  This one had two large blades with minimal armor, a mech that could match Wasp in speed and agility.  Dropping in from above the enemy grappled onto Wasp taking them both down.  Falling through the air Chris managed to tear his mech away from the enemy, but in the process the other mech swung its blade verticaly shearing off both of Wasps left arms.  This pilot was far more skilled than Chris, making one last attempt to take out the enemy Chris charged in with his one good arm.  As he did he, Wasp turned horizontally exerting more G's than the mech could safely handle.  The result was that he got past his enemies guard, the bad thing was the force of the the turn caused Wasp to rip in half.  Still operational Chris threw his last good arm straight into the the cockpit impailing the pilot and killing him.


An a icy feeling came over him as for but a moment he stayed there in suspension.  Then the air started to whistle by as the remains of the two mechs plummeted to the the ground.  Slamming his bloodied fist on the emergency system AI Chris screamed at the AI, "ACTIVATE PROGRAM FOXFIRE!"  After what seemed like an eternity the computer responded, "program not able to be deployed."  Glancing out at the approaching ground Chris switfhed his to his coms broadcasting to the whole of the Crimson Canines, "FUCK THIS!  I AINT GONNA DIE HERE. I WONT BE COME ANOTHER ONE...." he was cut off as the two mechs bound together till death made connection with the earth, followed by silence. 


...Numb was all he felt.  The numbness that comes from not feeling anything.  Some how, he had survived, but how he had no idea.  Not being able to move he simply sat there, waiting for death as he watched the people he called family die before him.


@Zer0 @tammynorthland @Abdel featherfall @LordPicklesworth @CkSmalling


(I know, not that great. But it was meant to be like that.  Plus I am very tiered.)n 

 

[Zer0]

- Campaign Complete -
​

The great behemoth fell with a crash that split the desert in two as far as the eye could see, and engulfed all in a massive sand cloud.


Thanatos did not get up again.


Thanatos did not get up again!


With a great roar the alliance rallied, and in the wake of their cry their foes surrendered, or scattered, terrified and demoralized. The alliance pursued them in their rout as far as the edge of the desert, leaving thousands dead upon the sand. In the fortresses and remaining cities, crowds erupted in cheer and thousands of families cried in relief. Back in the Crimson Canines motherbase, the news spread like wildfire.

"WE ARE VICTORIOUS!"
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Spoiler

Thanks for roleplaying guys! @CkSmalling, @tammynorthland, @Beowulf, @Abdel featherfall, @LordPicklesworth, and @Killorkiller! It has been entertaining and I am glad we reached the end. Whoo~

Be my guest to write up your epilogues, and those who wish to catch up with their coup de graces, feel free. Thanks so much for being part of this campaign. Oh, and one last promotion!

- Connor McKinley -
" Promoted to Lieutenant General "
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- Robert King -
" Promoted to Major General "​

- Shina -
" Promoted to Colonel "

- Alerius Auxillius -
" Promoted to Major "
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- Vicktor Blutouski -
" Promoted to Major "​

- "Chris" Alister -
"Promoted to Corporal "
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[tammynorthland]

                                                                    -Thanatos' Heart-


                                                                     - Time: late Afternoon-


 Shina felt the knocking as Acturos blasted into Thanatos heart. Followed only a split second later was Shinas ship her and the crew were commanding smashed into the chest of thanatos. The 2 massive ships, Acturos and Opterius Collided with the monster even the battlecruisers collided at the ends of each others ships. The battlecruisers made direct contact. The ships exploded. Shina was greeted by a series of explosions, followed by more and more. Alarms beacon all around them, sirens and SOS signals going off left and right. This wasn't good at all. Archmann was tossed like a rag doll into the glass shattering it as his mech 6x6 collapsed on the ground. He must have taken a good hit. Shina was fighting to stay alert but she couldn't everything was going so wrong so fast. They couldn't even see with how much smoke and explosions were going off. Shina felt her senses from Shiryoku being grabbed by the hand only a few moments later. It was 6x6.


" Shina, We need to jump now!!!" Archmann said bringing her to somewhat of her senses. Another explosion fired off. "Cmon NOW!"


Shina was disoriented. Inside her suit her senses were being torn apart by the noises she barely made out what Archmann was saying to her in the com system. She wasnt going to be able to fly like this. Then again neither was he.


Another massive explosion went off.


------------------


Archmann picked up Shina dragging her to the window as an explosion forced him over the edge. At this point The Crawler dismounted before the launch saving the men inside and the ones who were operating it. There was no way they would be able to get their help since the Crawler couldnt fly. Falling from the sky 6x6 and Shiryoku were motionless. The pilots both passed out.


----------------


It was Shinas first mission with Artemis. At the time there were so many of them still alive. She remembered the first time she was just fresh into the crimson canines. The mission was to investigate the abandon mines and figure out what happened. It felt so long ago. She couldn't remember why they didnt just turn around before shit got worse. But no first they had to deal with giant worms. Then they had to fight beast called the antlions. Shina wasn't even a full time sniper yet. Let alone a commander. let alone she barely knew her take on hand to hand combat. She improved so much since then. They fought the antlions. they won. They returned home. They helped Artemis and her family in the battle of peace summit. They went on a night mission through the jungle killing a full town of the enemy. The soldiers had no idea what hit them. They visited a village where Shina first met the only known life forms on earth to be relatively civilized called the Androids. They even had to guide them through vicious terrain trying to kill the androids and the humans guiding them. Yet somehow they made it. They snuck into The Fence. They had fake names, identities, even fake backgrounds they all had to memorize in case they were questioned. They snuck up the side of the buildings to infiltrate to get thanatos and the mind control device. Shina was stabbed, shot, almost blown apart, not once but several times along with Artemis. all their comrads, Hikaru... Chris...Panzar...Redmann...Alerius...Viktor...  EVERYONE. They were family. More than that... They were Crimson Canines. And even through death. They would still be apart of each others lives forever. Shina heard a voice.


It was Artemis.


"I can hear you!!" Shina yelled.


The language was not audible but Shina knew it was Artemis' voice.


"What is it!" She yelled.


The figure came into her vision. all around it was black. Shina couldnt see anything but her own body and there Artemis appeared. right on the ground in which Shina could not see.


The girl opened her lips, "Wake up."


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Shina woke up hearing the wind whistling through her suit. She was falling fast she gazed her sight at 6x6 which contained Redmann. He was free falling as well. Shina activated her thrusters. The system alerted her with low fuel. She wasnt going to be able to carry 6x6 and Archamnn inside. She thought quickly. She probably had one minute of flight time inside her mech before the systems would kill her thrusters and she would fall. She looked up to see a massive blue laser erupting through the skull of thanatos along with massive explosions, and falling debris from the 2 battlecruisers being destroyed. She had to act fast.


 Shina reached and grabbed the mech that contained her warrior friend before ripping apart the cockpit tearing open the hatch to grab Archmann who was out cold with a bloody head as well. She had to time to waste examining him and pull him out removing the straps with her mechs large fingers as best she could. She gripped onto him and took charge on her thrusters. THey went online. Slowing her down. THe debris was getting worse. She boosted immediately away dodging a series of large scrap metal that would easier kill her and Archmann. The mech piloted dodging everything the best she could. Her mech was wounded as well. The leg was clearly broken during the explosion considering she couldnt move it to help with her piloting leans and flos for better agility. She finally was greeted with a badly time piece of the Acturos falling right in her path. Shina reached for her waistbelt and tossed a bunker buster and quickly activated the charge causing a massive explosion which left a hole for her to fly through. She was inside what used to be a control tower. 


Shina made it through onto the otherside with another buster charge. and flew outside the ring of danger.


Soon after her alert went off to land immediately she lowered her altitude and was now only hovering on the ground before the jets shut off forcing her to use her last bit of fuel to stop and land with a slide across the sand damaging her broken leg on her Shiryoku even more.


@Zer0 @Killorkiller @LordPicklesworth @Abdel featherfall

 

[Zer0]

- ?? -
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​

Ping


A distress signal appeared in the mini-maps of some soldiers.


Ping


It was urgent, red, desperately needed medical attention . . . location: Thanatos' Heart . . . Ping.


@tammynorthland

 

[tammynorthland]

Shina dropped cargo of her friend Archmann. He appeared to be well injured. Unconscious. out of commission for the time being. Her bio scanners went off detecting his heart beat. He would live if she was able to get him to proper medical attention. There was no saying in what his injuries were. She couldnt be sure. Along with Archmann she set down the rest of her cargo. It was her stowaways. Artemis and Panzar Dragon....


-just moments before Shinas landing-


Shina blasted the hole into the giant control tower that was falling from the sky. It was blown apart by the bunker buster and she flew inside with what piloting skill she could maintain. She hovered around as the hunk of metal was falling from the sky. It appeared to be excatly what she was thinking when she flew into it. There were control panels, touch screens, and blasted apart control modules used to pilot the battlecruiser that was launched into Thanatos' heart. It was definitely the control tower of Acturos. Shina flew through the falling control tower that was no longer operatable for obvious reasons. Inside she was using her thermal scanners. No signs of life inside. 'Had they all escaped?' Shina saw a few corpses of enemies and allies. They weren't the ones who made it.


As she was searching while looking for a place to launch her second bunker buster Shina used her thermal scanners once again and worked with her raptor vision. She only had seconds to look at the treachery that had taken place and not only that. She wasnt just hanging around. A ping kept going off in her Shiryokus system control. An S.O.S. ping. This was only from the mortally wounded of the canines that would be deployed as a last ditch effort before the man or woman lost their life. Shina continued her scan. She gasped and flew down to the base of the awkwardly tilted control tower. In the corner by a bunch of office chairs lied Artemis and Panzar Dragon holding onto each other. Both unconscious from her scans. She gripped them into her mechs arms along with Archmann and flew quickly detecting her altitude was getting far to close to the ground for comfort. She tossed her second bunker buster. It blasted a hole through the other side of the tower allowing her narrow escape....


Shina deactivated her suit as the cockpit opened up and let her out she was injured but nothing as serious as her fallen comrads, Shina ran to her 3 warriors she fought side by side with to the very end. Artemis was gravely injured. Her heart appeared to have major damage along with insane gashes in her chest. An enemy must have made contact. Along with Panzar who wasnt in as good of shape himself. She narrowly escaped with her life. Only because she SAW Artemis. Was that a dream? Was that real? Was Artemis' very soul talking to her for one last time?  Shinas eyes welled up. She started sobbing. "Artemis, Panzar. Please be alive!" Shina felt the tears roll down the cheeks in her suits helmet. She couldnt raise the visor as the dust from the fallen monster would blast all around her making her blind from sand. 


There was no response. Shina quickly felt the heartbeat on Artemis....Nothing.... She tried giving CPR to the wound but quickly realized the idea would not help due to blood loss. Shina drew her combat knife and tore through the suit to release the fresh bloody wounded skin. She attempted to cauterize the wound at least to stop the bleeding. This still would only buy time. She even tried to inject her with an adrenaline shot in a last ditch effort to act as a defibrillator. The girl did not reply. She took a look at Panzar. He was in a coma. She begun shrieking with sobs and tears. " I cant fucking LOSE YOU TWO!!!!" Shina screamed as she deployed her location beacon so someone could maybe find her. She had nothing left. She was alone. No one was around. She had 3 dying lives at her hands. "Artemis..." Shina sobbed. "Im so.....sorry.....It wasn't your fault everyone was killed. You fought valiantly. I cant let my friends die. I love you guys!!!!" Shina never got to apologize for acting like a bitch to her friend. She was dead now and never got to give her her apology. Her life was going to end not knowing she was guilty of what she did to her. "PLEASE DONT DIE!!!"


Her distress signal made another "ping"


@Zer0 

 

[Abdel featherfall]

Alerius kicked his hatch open with brute force and gods above did he look like a mess.  Not surprising considering he was covered in impact foam and blood. His left arm was once again dislocated and possibly broken, par for the course at this point he figured. when the distress beacon pinged on his map. Fuck the pain, that was coming from where his comrades were situated. Where Artemis would have landed. He didn't hesitate as he activated is boosters and sprinted over there as fast as he could burning half of his booster charges to get there, skidding to a stop next to Shina. He saw the damage to Artemis and all of the blood. He'd arrived after the attempted adrenalin shot. Shins' yelling is what caused him to find them as quick as he did.


His is revolver was quickly drawn and he loaded it with gauss rounds and pointed it  at some of the fleshy bits of thanos and fired a round before slipping next to Shina and pressing the cherry red barrel of the revolver into the deepest of the wounds intent to cauterize as much as possible. The barrel cooled and he fired another round Into Thanos before repeating the process. It wouldn't be pretty but he was going to be damned if he let her die. " Shina! Does Artemis have any of her medical equipment? I'm Type O negative I can give her blood. I'm a universal donor." He said as he worked. It was crude so far but effective. If needed he'd burn his last gauss round just to cauterize any deep wounds he'd missed before.


@tammynorthland @Zer0

 

[CkSmalling]

His beloved pet was doing all the heavy lifting. Literally speaking. He was causing the most chaos in the Battlefield. He swung his tail killing 6 simultaneously and what it looked like punching. Maybe it was a punch. Who knew. Enemy mechs were firing at the massive beast but the bullets made little dents in its tough hide. He might as well just brush them off for all he cared. A small battalion of like 20 mechs were lining their shots but Raiju was well aware of their presence. His tail lit up of luminous green like Greek fire. He opened his mouth and a torrent of strong acid spewed from his mouth, melting all the mechs in the area. 


Among the fire, stood a shadowy figure. He walked through the green smoke and into view. He hovered towards him, his black mech gleaming in the sunlight. He was Robert's opponent and he knew it. Using guns in close combat was pointless so he drew his schimitar and his shield. He banged his shield with the sword and hoped that he would follow the rules of combat. 


"Alice, put 70% of power to the thrusters and the rest on defense. "


" Already did sir"


"That's my girl"


His enemy assessed the situation and drew his sword. Thankfully he was a gentleman, or gentle woman. This was it. The final battle for him. He closed his eyes for a minute and thought if his lovely Assassin. He opened his eyes and they both charged. 


Their swords met and made a loud clang and they drew back. They charged again and again, their swords meeting with tremendous force. Shield against shield. Clash of the Mechs. That would make an awesome movie. The bashing and colliding continued for a while, neither wanting to give up. They bashed one more time and their returned to their corners. Robert was breathing hard. This battle was taking a major toll on him and he had no idea how long he would keep up. Unfortunately, his enemy had a clue as to his condition and he charged with all his power. The collision was do hard, his ceramic shield broke. He was thrown a far distance and he hit a large outcrop, making a large crater in the middle. 


"Strucrural integrity at 20%." 


"All squads, fire shells at my position!!!! Don't overthink, just do it." 


Missiles flew to his direction and blew next to his mech. He had a crazy idea and he was not sure if it  would work. The  enemy had no faintest idea what was happening but he seemed to go with the flow. He also started firing his own Missiles. The idea was to create a dust cloud big enough to hide him so that he could get close to him. The dust cloud was big enough and the firing stopped. Robert laid in wait as the black mech hovered into the cloud. He made his way around him and when he was behind him, he thrust his sword deep.  He ripped the cockpit glass open and grabbed the pilot. He examined him and he too opened his glass. He walked towards him and removed his revolver from his hostler. 


"Nicely played. "


" Thank you. " Robert aimed his weapon at his head and pulled the trigger. 


The dust settled and he was victorious. His mech had taken a lot of damage and it would take a long while to fix it. But the battle was over. 


" Alice, scan the enemy mech and make note of any potential upgrades in the future."


"Yes sir. "


" Artemis, i put a bullet through his brain just as you wanted. Sorry i took so damn long." he took out his trusted notebook and sketched the Battlefield. It would have been easier just to take a photo but he loved drawing. 


Raiju walked towards Robert and rested on his side. He had taken a beating but not that much. 


"You okay big guy? " the beast snorted loud, telling him it was worth it. 


Up on the distance, he managed to get a glimpse of the battle cruiser falling on the titanic beast. The war was finally over. 


@Zer0  @tammynorthland  @LordPicklesworth @Beowulf @Abdel featherfall 

 

[Zer0]

- General Artemis Romanov -
​

"Gear . . ." whispered Panzer's hoarse voice from where he lay, weakly clutching Shina's hand to get her attention. "Activate . . . her medic gear, Shina . . . Alerius . . ."


Upon activation, the bulky parts of her suit would detach as the familiar hovering little medic tools. The nano weave medical technology that allowed combat medics to heal in battle began to take effect as a cocoon spread out from underneath Artemis suit and encased her to create a sanitized space to begin surgery. The blood transfusion device that she had used on Shina once to transfer blood to Umi, during the New York Ruins mission snaked out for Alerius to use; Panzer coughed on the side. The distress signal had come from his suit, and soon medics from the Endurance landed to help.


. . . Bump . . . Badump . . . Badump --- gasp!


Suddenly Artemis' back arched as she inhaled a deep shuddering breath, hands wildly grabbing Shina and Alerius in post battle shock. She had come back. "Shina . . . I had a dream, you fell from the sky . . . Am I still dreaming?" she gripped Alerius hand hard with her prosthetic arm. "You feel so real."


Somewhere in the battlefield, Assassin's Goliath mech landed behind Robert's. The cockpit hatch opened and she leaped down, throwing her helmet away. Without further ado, she ran towards Robert, fire in her eyes, tackled him to the ground, and kissed him like she had never kissed him before. Words weren't needed. She was just so happy, he was alright.


@tammynorthland, @Abdel featherfall, @CkSmalling

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert was taken by surprise. He was sure the war was won and there were no enemies in sight so he was confused. When he looked up briefly, it was Assassin and when her lips met his, everything fell into place. He closed his eyes and embraced her as they kissed. Everything they had done together since the day they met on Pequod's ship during their first mission came to his mind like a flood. Every laugh, every tear every waking moment flashed in his mind like a movie. He somehow managed to sit upright and Assassin made herself comfortable on his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist.


Tears managed to fall from his eyes and they took a short break before continuing. He just smiled, sneaking some pecks from her lips.The feeling was beautiful and tender. Thank God he had it full time.


"I have a crazy idea." Robert suddenly said as Assassin wiped the tears off his face.


"Yea go ahead."


"Have you ever made out on a colossal beast?"


Assassin managed to let out a soft laugh and she wrapped her hands around his neck. "I am willing to give it a go if you are"


"Alright." He wore his communication antennae " Wake up. I know you are fake sleeping. Give us a ride to the rest of the crew"


Raiju moaned to show he detested the idea. He turned his big colossal head and Assassin and Robert climbed on it and made themselves comfortable.


"Alice,continue with the repairs and scanning. Once your done, join us."


"Yes sir."


"Oh and Raiju, take your sweet time."


Robert and Assassin interlocked again and kissed like there was no tomorrow. The ride was not that comfortable, i mean riding a 100 ton monster is not as easy as riding a Buick. The chair are made of tough hide, filled with holes. Not the comfortable of seats. The A/C was still dusty and the sunroof was missing. The heat blazed on them but luckily the sun was setting and that was a good thing. The driver was a disgruntled one. Complaining all the damn time about the war and what not. But that did not seem to care for the two love birds. They had each other and that's all that matters.


After a while, they reached the rest of the group. Every one was worn out due to the war,but everyone was smiling. Raiju lowered his head and they both stepped down and joined the others and hugged it out. He made a makeshift camp fire and sat near it, Assassin joined in and waited for the rest to join in.


"Come on guys. Lets huddle up near the warm flames and enjoy the sunset."


@Zer0  @tammynorthland @Abdel featherfall @LordPicklesworth  @Killorkiller

 

[tammynorthland]

Shina let out a tear of happiness. Artemis was alive. "No Artemis. I heard it too. You are the reason we all are alive." Artemis was greeted despite her injuries with a big hug. She was definitely in pain but not only from the surgery on site she received but all the damage shina and her friend tried giving her from crude first aid. The girl would live though. And everyone else would too. Shortly after Robert and Assassin made their appearance. The beacon still going on as they saw the crawler make its way in the distance. Raiju hopping around the group from its victory. The group was together once again. Separated by the war they were now back together once more. Shina laughed as Assassin made her joke about cuddling next to the sunset. Speaking of which Shina didn't hesitate. She was done with the war. She was over it. Tired of the fighting.


Shina wanted to go home.


In the next few minutes the crawler landed and deployed several medics and other team members including ones that fought with Shina and Archmann. He had a bad concussion and internal bleeding but he would make it. as well as some broken bones in the arm. Shina sustained a concussion as well from the explosion they were both hit with as well as cuts and bruises. Somehow through all of it she was alive. Her circuitry in her bioptics were having issues and begun to cause temporary blindness. But God gave her just enough vision time from them to save her friends. Shina and the others were on board the Crawler as it made its way through the desert. navigating across blasted apart mechs, body parts, tanks, ships, warriors friends, foes. So much death and destruction. This war not only changed the earth forever but would change Shina and all her friends. She would never be how she used to be again. Shina was so different already. How could she view life the same ever again.


The Crawler made its way back too the main ship. Where over the next few hours they continued to deploy soldiers of varying injury status to different medical depots. As well as the living back home to the motherbase.


Shina and her group were sent home at approximately 20:30 The night was brisk. They all were bandaged up at this time. They were alive. Everything in the war was finally over. Shina was going to be ok. Just like Artemis and Panzer Dragon. The war was finally over....

@Zer0 @Abdel featherfall @LordPicklesworth @CkSmalling @Killorkiller

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert wrapped his arms around Assassin as they reminisced on the outcomes of the battle. Everyone had casualtues, most of which were very personal and stories were said with a heavy voice. Better out than in. He remembered how he lost 40 people in his squad at once as he tried to take control of a Kaiju. He made a vow to visit each and every family personally to deliver the news and attend all weddings. As long as the burial ceremonies do not collide in the same weekend. 


After two hours the crawler came for the crew but he declined the lift. He wanted to ride his pet one last time. He stood up and helped Assasssin to her feet and they climbed the big beast and rode it to the mothership. They disembarked and reported to the medical bay for check ups. Raiju was transported separately and since his injuries will heal in 2 weeks, he was transported to the Wildlife Dome. After being cleared, he waited for Assassin and they headed towards the temporary quarters until they are sent home. All he wanted was to sleep at his penthouse suite. He had missed his bed terribly. 


After an hour, they were called and they reported to the hanger bay. They boarded a ship and they were taken to the mothership. They  took a tram towards his penthouse and when he opened the door, he threw the bag and removed his shirt. 


"I am headed to the shower, you coming?" Robert said as he headed to the shower cubicle. 


"That is just a very dumb question you just asked." Assassin said as she rushed to the shower first. 


After half an hour, they retired, exhausted and they just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. 


@Zer0  @tammynorthland  @Beowulf  @Abdel featherfall  @LordPicklesworth  

 

[Abdel featherfall]

Alerius seemed to slump in relief as he heard Artemis speak and reached over and squeezed her hand that was on him as the other arm had just had a needle in it from the transfusion. His eyes closed for the moment and he slumped forward, still awake but his forehead was touching her shoulder. " When I saw the ship slam into Thanatos I thought... That you... And Panzer..." This might genuinely be the first time anybody has seen this type of emotion and sadness emanating from Alerius. His usual calm demeanor. Rare jokes and usual anger were nowhere to be seen.


He too was in bad shape though and it was starting to catch up with him. But he didn't budge. He accepted medical aid but he vehemently refused to leave Artemis's side until they were ready to take her back to base to recover. He was so tired. However the fight hadn't left him yet, Valhalla was where he planned to end up. Just much much further down the line. 


Liz had made her way back to the dragon turtle and was helping to flip the great beast over. She had made a friend in the turtle after all and couldn't leave her sitting there on her back without at least some company. She spent most of her time in that effort simply talking to the great turtle and keeping her calm while the effort to flip her continued. Telling her all about how Thanatos is now finished and maybe doing a little prideful boasting at her idea with the cannon.


All in all Alerius managed to avoid losing any more family. His father and sister both made it back and were greeted by warm hugs. In the days that followed he hardly left Artemis's side, if she allowed him to hang around that much at any rate. It seemed he had more time to loiter now that he wasn't spending every day and night prepping for battle with the R&D teams. Even brought food for Panzer, good hearty steak is the best cure his Dad always says. It was damn good steak too. Liz still kinda kept to herself but she was no longer met with stares and comments of suspicion, she'd gotten her revenge in the most glorious fashion and once and for all proved without a shadow of a doubt she was a Canine.


@Zer0 @tammynorthland

 

[Killorkiller]

Chris was unable to move, luckily he was mostly out of the blast zone.  Warmth created by his blood flowing out of him and on to the rocks and grass staining them red.  Smoke and ash filled his nostrils burning his sinuses and his throat threatening to slowly choke him to death.  All this death, and for nothing.  The only reason they went to war was to fight for a place to live, and now they had won, but at what price?  Through the ash clouds and smoke of the past battle a single piece of clear blue sky peeked through the desolation promising hope for a better day.  That was the last thing Chris remembered before shadows took his form and he fell into darkness.


Chris was drifting in his own mind, floating in perpetual darkness only occasionally interrupted by muffled voices and flashes of light.  O2 stats dropping........need blood transfusion....take care of those burns!  He felt gravity shift, and hands grasp his body lifting him up and then nothing.  The next thing he knew, Chris woke up in the ER section of the Medical wing back at home base.  His right hand was covered in bandages, he had several tubes leading to and from his body, but he was alive.


 After a few hours Chris was moved to a room and had the tubes taken out, once the medical staff left Chris painfully got out of bed and got dressed.  Stopping for just a second he pulled off his crimson canines insignia, and placed it on the pillow along with his ranks.  Successfully making his escape from the medical wing, Chris painfully made his way to the hanger bay, took a jeep out of supply, and went for a drive.  He was done with war, done with death, he had done his part and now he wanted to simply live, to chase the little piece of blue sky that meant so much to him.

 

[tammynorthland]

                                                                       ----Lysaur Valley----


                                                                        ---7 Days Later----


                                                                     --Awards Ceremony--


The biodome supporting the colony that settled in the Lysaur valley was proving to become quite a settlement for incoming canines, military personnel, as well as even families now. There was so much that already had taken place since the great war had ended. Since Thanatos fell. The u.s. and friendly factions all begun to rebuild. Create new life for all those to begin living a new life on earth. The motherbase begun deploying more and more civilians on the ship as well as helping and providing places to live and jobs back on earth. Hope full there would be even more places in the future with all the new work forces that would be coming to earth to help rebuild. Not only was more exploration under way to grow the towns and cities. There were also new forms of food on the earth. New medicines to be used and harvested. New technologies in the making already. Life was beginning to change for the Canines In times of peace they had less missions to attend to besides the general scouting missions that lower ranked soldiers would be sent on. On top of it, there would be more  discharging going on to allow the canines who fought in the war the oppurtunity to leave their military lives and begin a new life on earth as they would lead fit for themselves. 


The awards were being handed out to hundreds of soliders, must have been thousands. A personal thank you from all of man kind for fighting in the war for earth. There was so many people gathered around. And even more watching live from the mothership and their homes. People in the audience roared and cheered constantly. People cried, people screamed with happiness. The wounded and killed were given their thanks and condolences as some men and women lost limbs, eyes, ears, even half their faces. The ones who were still to injured were still given personal thanks. This included Artemis and Panzer Dragon. Shina was at the award ceremony. She was promoted to Colonel and given the purple heart award for saving not one, not 2, but three of her allies. One of them being the general. Artemis herself. Shina forgave Artemis. She wasn't sour about the losses they had anymore. The group had yet to attend the funerals for the loved ones they fought side by side with and not only that. Let their family know what ahd happened. This would prove to be the hardest battle Shina would ever have to do in her life. 


The awards continued to be given out and somehow everyone continued to hold their roaring energy for the hours it took. Upon the ceremony ending, The whole city had a huge celebration including a parade for their victory. A huge dinner and feast for the ones in the lysaur valley Biodome. And the ones at home on the mother ship had a party of their own as well. Shina had her fun. Drinking, partying, enjoying the time she had of peace. The whole city did. The whole world would change as every human knew it. Man kind took its first step into a new turn of peace and a time they could use to rebuild. 

                                       ----1 month later----


                                            -----Shina-----


Shina had been retired from the canines for almost 3 weeks. After the war ended she didn't want to be in the faction anymore. She was given the opportunity along with many other soldiers to leave the Crimson Canines and begin helping out with life on Earth. Her motives were unknown and her reasons were set. However Shina was able to get more time to focus on her artwork. She already had begun several new paintings along with many inspired drawings from the creatures she came into contact with along with the Kaiju, the Antlions in a unique picture of them working in a tunnel, and even a monster inspired from the forest she traveled in over the time in the Crimson Canines. Shina preferred not to talk to many people as much as her parents as well. No one reported yet to them if she was dead or not. But things like that wasn't what bothered her. It was that she hadnt had friends like the one she met in the Canines in her whole life. She changed so much. More than she ever thought was possible. Shina already bought her own house. It was small but it was a nice little cottage on the edge of the Lysaur Valley biodome. She already made herself at home and the construction of the land was already under way. So much progress was already happening. So many new jobs, so much building going on. The area was still heavily filled with Canines. including her good friends who would still stop by and say hi. She never denied them. They were her family, Her new family. She already gotten her mark. Mark of a Warrior. Ex master class sniper Shina got a marking on her forearm of her Shiryokus symbol on her forearm. It was her lasting reminder of her mech she fought so valiantly in. Her Bioptics were adjusted back in the medic center as they had to be reprogrammed to cope with her healed concussion she received back from the war. Shina laid on the cot in her back porch. She had an open backyard that faced a small grassy knoll. Somewhere yet to build on. The military paying for most her mortgage she was able to now focus on the simpler things in life. No more focusing on how not to die and how to take a checkpoint and kill this or that person. Her life became simple. Something she always wanted. Peace.


@CkSmalling @Abdel featherfall @Orpheus @Beowulf @Killorkiller @Zer0


(feel free to close your post however you would like. Take your time or not. just let me know in occ and tag me when you wrote your closing post.)

 

[Soviet Panda]

"The Battle at Scarred Mesa"


Connor was still in his Bastion, a miracle considering he had been pushed back to the armory, the place he had reserved to be the Alamo. He had just finished pushing off the most recent wave of enemies when he saw the moral of the troops around him. 'Guess I got to give a speech now,' he thought to himself as he organized his thoughts. "Thank you, all of you, for standing here with me. Fighting with me. We've lost so much, and instead of giving up we all continued to fight. Thank you." Well, so much for a speech. That alone was more of a simple statement then a grand speech you'd give to the troops on your last stand. But that was the best he got. And apparently it seemed to work. Soldiers stood a bit taller, their shoulders squared, a look of determination in their eyes. They put in a fresh magazine into their guns and they got back on previously compromised positions. They didn't say a word, they didn't need to. They had decided to make their stand here, and it was something that was going to go into the history books.


Connor to had decided to make his stand here. And when the next enemy wave crashed upon them, they were met with fire, steel, and a hell of a lot of shouting. In the middle of it all, stood Connor, in his Bastion model mech, demo-men and hmmg, chainsword and thermo-knuckles. Rounds ricocheted off his armor. Rounds pierced his armor. Rounds did just about everything they could to his mech, but still it stood. Some shots hit the cockpit and shattered the bulletproof glass and ripped the metal frame off. But still Connor fired, the Bastion standing through sheer force of will alone. Finally, his gun clicked as it's last belt ran out, and no more demo-men fired. But it lurched into motion, dropping the gun and reaching for the chainsword instead. He cut down so many, and used up all of his thermo-knuckle charges in the process. But finally the enemy got a lucky hit in, ripping off first his right arm, and after he threw some punches with the left that to was ripped off. And with a kick the Bastion, they heavy mech, the great defender, fell.


But Connor would be damned if he stopped fighting. He still had his mmg, and his grenade launcher. It was stored right behind him in the cockpit. And he downed two more enemy mechs with the grenade launcher before he was pinned down by enemy fire. And so, huddled behind the husk of his mech, he waited for the end. But the end he got wasn't the one he expected. He stared in awe as two ships pierced through Thanatos, and exploded. There was a deafening silence as the great beast fell. A silence that was only muddied by the great roar the dying thing let out as it collapsed to the ground. With a roar of victory, the alliance caught the Brotherhood's forces by surprise, killing many of the enemies in the first volley. That coupled with the death of their trump card shattered them. And so they ran, as fast as they could, away from the broken remains of Scarred Mesa Skydocks, with the unbroken garrison hot on their heels.


Connor did not participate in this, he was far to busy trying to stay alive as the shock of being shot several times finally hit home. Meanwhile, Minos was doing much of the same thing and was lying out in the desert close to the base, clinging to life in a white knuckled grip. But as he saw the enemy routing, Minos let out a roar to rival the roar of one of the great Titans. If not in volume, then at least in spirit. And it was this roar that saved Minos, and it was someone tripping over Connor that saved his.


*******************


"Award Ceremony"


Connor limped up to the podium, his cane helping him tremendously. The doctors said he'd be able to walk without that cane when he fully recovered, but this was only seven days later and it was all he could do to convince them to at least attend the ceremony, let alone get a medal and give a speech. He was just happy that he wasn't stuck in a wheelchair for it.


Bowing his head as the president put the medal on him, he gives her a smile and whispers "I hope I don't get any more medals from you. I only get them when I'm full of holes." When the Madame President stepped aside so he could speak, he got behind the podium and just looked out towards the crowd.


"I'm not good with coming up with speeches. The Tungsten Wolves can and probably will agree with me on that." A small ripple of laughter pointed out the group of Tungsten Wolves that knew first hand his capabilities of giving speeches. "But I thought it was important for me to give one here. The base I was given to command and oversee, the Scarred Mesa Skydocks, has been practically destroyed. And hundreds of thousands of people have died in that battle alone. But they chose to be there, to fight and die. And do you want to know why? They did it to keep all of you safe. They did not know you, and you didn't know them. But they did it anyways. And that's because they love humanity. We aren't meant to live in space. And right here, Earth, will always be our home. It might change, and we might get some unsavory neighbors and roommates, but we will love our home anyways. And we, myself and all the other soldiers, were willing to fight and die for our right to live here, on our home, on Earth. My days on the front lines will come to an end. As will every soldier's. And when we are done on the front line, we will continue fighting in different ways, and it will be up to the younger, newer generation to fight on the front line. This time to keep us safe. Thank you." And with that, he limped back to his seat accompanied by silence. He felt like he had rambled, and was starting to feel extremely embarrassed until finally someone clapped. And that one clap, like a drop in a pool of water, created a ripple until everyone gathered was also applauding him. "Guess my speech wasn't that bad after all." he said out loud, no one hearing him over the thunderous applause.


*******************


"The desk job"


Connor sat in his office, now a decorated Lieutenant General and in command of three separate army divisions. Luckily for him he had underlings to make his job easier. So instead of going out to each of the various bases, big or small, and examining them then compiling a list for each base, he got those lists instantly from hundreds of miles away. He still had to trim the fat off them, information that wasn't necessarily needed or wanted, and compile the list to give to yet another higher up, but it was certainly easier then the alternative.


Currently, he wasn't working on any paperwork. In fact, he was working on finishing up a chess match he was currently losing. And when the inevitable checkmate came around, he was left with nothing to do. So looking around his desk for something to entertain himself, he found himself attracted to a collection of pictures. One was him and Minos posing after having recovered from their injuries. He and Minos were unofficially retired at this point. They did nothing and Minos was visited on a weekly basis by classes ranging from elementary school to college level students. Minos was happy, if bored like Connor.


The next picture he saw was one of his full squad, taken days after the award ceremony where he had given his speech. He was all dressed up like it was some formal picture. But they had just walked in and demanded he be involved in the picture. And he, proud of his recent advancement in rank, was the one that wanted to dress up. Sadly the medical personnel wouldn't let him stand for the picture, even with the help of a cane, so he was stuck in a wheel chair.


He wondered how the rest of his former squad were doing. From all he could gather they were retired. Shina had bought a space near the edge of the Lyasaur Valley biodome. Chris had disappeared. Assassin and Robert were practically on their honeymoon. Alerius he knew was still serving in the military. And he hadn't heard anything about Liz, so he assumed that she to had retired. Well, guess it wasn't a surprise. They were tired of fighting. Of seeing people die. Of seeing friends die. Him and Alerius were the only exceptions. 'Masochists' he thought, blowing hot air out his nose and smiling as he thought it. This was what he had chosen to do with his life. And that is what they had decided to do. He couldn't judge or blame them for their choice, and they couldn't judge or blame him for his.


But that still didn't solve the problem at hand. The problem being that a desk job was just so god damn boring.

 

[Zer0]

- Dr. Artemis Romanov -
" Six Months Later "​

Leaning against the cool wooden porch of a beach house by the white sandy shores of the Balooga Sea, was a lady watching friends and family dancing and eating jovially in the beach party that was in full swing before her.

Elvis Presley was playing, " Hound Dog", from an old phonograph on the side where guests were putting scoops of buttered mashed potatoes, slices of crunchy-skinned roasted pricklehog, balooga sushi, and slabs of fried kururu meat on their plates.

In the center was Panzer Dragon cutting a rug with a pretty doctor he'd gotten cozy with during his long stay in the medical bay after the war. She had fixed him up good, and she laughed as he smiled dashingly at her as they jived around the dance floor, a pair of matching gold rings glistening on their fingers.

At the side, sitting on a large table, was L drinking champagne with the U.S., Japanese, and African presidents along with other military figures. They spoke good-naturedly to each other and mingled with the guests who kept wondering where their bodyguards were. Unbeknownst the civilian party goers, there were probably snipers guarding the area and squads of submerged mechs standing by under the sea wishing they could have some of the cake and drinks being served.

The lady leaning on the porch breathed a sigh of content, swirling a glass of cool blueberry lavender vodka spritzer that she held in a sleek biomechanical hand, all dented and scratched all the way up to her arm with a few new shiny parts mixed into the sleek gears. Peeking out from the collar of her dress was the rim of a smooth flexible chest plate that covered her beating cybernetic heart that pumped out not only her blood, but the blood of the friend who helped save her life and who had become dear to her for the past six months.

"Wow, I couldn't recognize you in a dress, Artemis." said a familiar voice.

The lady turned around. There stood a Japanese lady in a colorful kimono that she had not seen for a long time.

"Sai, you came!" yelled Artemis, throwing her drink happily into the air and giving the woman a big hug. Sai hugged her back. "Thank you for coming." she mumbled into her shoulder.

The Japanese lady hugged her tighter. "You're welcome. Sora and the others send their regards."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

" . . . "

"In case you're not sure about what that means, it means we forgive you." chuckled Sai. "We heard what happened up there in the battlecruisers and, well, I just want to be friends again."

Artemis hugged her. "Thank you." she said humbly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." and suddenly the two women started crying. It was silly and funny, but they ended up smiling later on. The two ladies talked about their friends, where Artemis learned that Sora was still out there in the wilds hunting down the remnants of The Brotherhood with Izaya. Pequod had been promoted and now trained transport pilots back at motherbase, where he was famous for encouraging his new recruits to give their hovercrafts lady names.

Sai laughed at that. Artemis told him about the lives of Shina, Connor, Robert, Panzer and the others until Sai asked her about hers.

"I'm Dr. Artemis now, opened up that clinic at the front of the house and my own little museum." Artemis house was full of old earth junk on display, scavenged treasures from her missions and excursions in the ancient ruins. There was the jeep she and Grizzly had found, that she and Robert had finished restoring, her vast collection of old stereo tapes and vinyl records were there, as well as vintage cans and antiques.

"The army let me keep my old Dynasty Scarab and suit, sometimes I go exploring with Alerius in a land we've never been in before."

"Oh, you haven't told me about him, how is he?"

Artemis turned red a little. "We're going out." she smiled.

"WHAT? How long? When did he ask you?" Sai demanded with girlish excitement.

"Actually I asked him." chuckled Artemis. "He's actually quite shy. I didn't know he liked me until after I learned he never left my side while I was still in the hospital. He transfused his blood into me after Shina saved me and Panzer from the crash wreck. Those two saved my life." she said fondly. "Did you know, Robert and Assassin got married?"

"I think I saw that coming." laughed Sai. "How is he?"

"Same as ever, though quite happier." said Artemis. They talked long into the afternoon, joining friends and dancing as night came.

Artemis leaned on the porch enjoying the cool ocean breeze that peacefully rustled the tops of the trees, delighting in the company of friends and family, and hearty food. She looked forward to the future, and wished her friends out there good luck and a great life.

"Good luck, Shina."

tammynorthland , Abdel featherfall