Futuristic Juggernauts: Mechs vs. Bugs

[shadowdude505]

Mikasa's blood boiled at the sight of the girl. It was like looking in the mirror at her younger self; just living in a nicer home.

She took her own couple shots at the scorpion; had to make sure it was dead.

"Jade Hawk, stay put and keep an eye out for hostiles. I'm extracting the girl."

She walked her mech over to the house and gently raised the roof with the hands of her mech. The Jade Dragon's cockpit opened up and a ladder dropped for the girl. "Get in, quickly. You'll be safe with me." She held out a hand for the girl. Maybe a female presence would help reassure her; hopefully the girl was more afraid of the bugs than her punky looks.

"What's your name? Is anyone else with you?"

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gwalihir]

<< "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Shirou yelled as his Jade Hawk fired several missiles directly towards the tail of the mammothine insect, before bringing its right claw up towards the head of the scorpion, aiming to hit the brain of it. >>

Shirou’s missiles missed the wildly thrashing tail of the scorpion, and the tail threw a load of dark goop at him. Fortunately, because of his position, the goop struck and stuck almost exclusively to his wing structure and nowhere on his sensors. The goop had no effect on metals, so he had no worries.

One claw seized one of his legs, and he heard warning buzzers going off. But his head strike carried through and virtually tore the front portion of the bug in half. If the Corstim was mounted anywhere near the brainstem, there was no question it had been obliterated as well.

Now the great body went into its death throes, releasing his leg but slashing about with claws and tail, not hitting anything else.

<< She took her own couple shots at the scorpion; had to make sure it was dead. >>

The body churned and writhed, but finally went still.

<< "Jade Hawk, stay put and keep an eye out for hostiles. I'm extracting the girl." >>

As she removed the roof the girl stood back out of the range of falling debris or breaking boards, then stepped timidly forward. When she saw the ladder she moved more quickly, stepping onto it and mounting it for the short distance to the cockpit. She accepted Mikasa’s hand and climbed into the back of the cockpit.

<< "What's your name? Is anyone else with you?" >>

She shook her head. “I’m Diana. My mother-- my mother was downstairs when they came.” She started crying, as if finally released from the torment of waiting under the roof to see if she was about to die. “My father left us a long time ago. I don’t have anybody else.”

About then they noticed a few more survivors coming from out of the wreckage around them. What looked like a family with two older people, possibly grandparents, a few young men and women, a couple of women begging for help to get their husbands out from under the rubble. Four of the young men hurried over to help, but the pieces they needed to dig under looked massive.

And speaking of massive, now another hole opened just a few hundred feet away, and out crawled another Plasma bug.

Fortunately they finally heard the roaring of the Cerberus hovertank coming their way. The tank would have the space necessary to pick up the refugees, and a little extra firepower to train on the bug. But they would have to act fast: if the bug turned and squirted its plasma, the refugees would be dead for sure.

None of Mikasa’s weapons would do any good against a Plasma bug, but possibly those razor sharp claws on the Jade Hawk might...

shadowdude505 Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Shirou was breathing heavily from the result of his attack on the scorpion. After hearing Mikasa radio him to keep watch for any incoming enemies, Shirou nodded and replied. "Got it. I'll-" The ground ahead opened up and a plasma bug had risen from the pit that was made. Shirou stood frozen. A ranged type of Bug that could fire heated beams of energy towards the Civilians if it noticed them.

Thankfully, the Cerberus Hovertank arrived to lend back up. The tank opened fire on the bug, but the unfortuneate part was that it was directly firing from behind Himself and the Jade Dragon. He had to act fast if they were to save the Civillians. The jets of his mech roared to life again as the Jade Hawk dashed forward in a sprint, Shirou keeping an eye on the enemy in front of him as the claws were ready to tear into the larger foe.

 

[Gwalihir]

<< Thankfully, the Cerberus Hovertank arrived to lend back up. The tank opened fire on the bug, but the unfortuneate part was that it was directly firing from behind Himself and the Jade Dragon. >>

From that distance, none of the Cerberus’ weapons had the range to actually hit, but the howl of the PPC was intended as a warning shot. The Cerberus didn’t dare fire either its AC20, which could deafen any unprotected civilian, or the Gauss rifle, for fear the sonic boom would take their heads off.

<< He had to act fast if they were to save the Civillians. The jets of his mech roared to life again as the Jade Hawk dashed forward in a sprint, Shirou keeping an eye on the enemy in front of him as the claws were ready to tear into the larger foe. >>

The designers of the Jade Hawk had intended the partial wing to hover and extend the Hawk’s jumping ability. They had never figured in what the wings would do in a sprint. In fact, at the speed he was going with the rockets firing, they gave enough lift that perhaps half his tonnage was hitting the ground. That weight reduction allowed him to sprint over 400 meters in ten seconds. By then the bug had turned around, aiming its backside towards the two mechs and the civilians. With a final burst he reached the bug and was able to jump high up on its backside, catching and digging deep with his claws. He could feel it drawing up its power, getting ready to blast. But with a double handed strike he was able to claw deep enough into the back to expose the plasma chamber. Instantly he was blasted by the heat of the plasma and knocked off the bug.

From his prone position on the ground he was able to watch as the stream of plasma shooting up and out grew from a whistle to a roar, and the plasma spurting out turned from a stream into a gusher. Then suddenly the shell cracked and plasma blew everywhere. His sensors screamed at the heat buildup, but his heat sinks and life support system managed to keep the temperature down to 120 degrees, suffocatingly hot but livable. He couldn’t see anything through the haze and dirt that had buried him, and he couldn’t hear anything for the ringing in his ears, but there was no question that most of the blast had gone upwards, saving both him and the civilians...

Gundam Watcher 27

 

[shadowdude505]

"You're not alone, Diana. I know what that's like...," Mikasa said as she patted the crying girl's head. She wanted to explain more; tell her that bugs killed her parents and that she was later adopted, but she had civilians to save.

"Step back," Mikasa spoke to the civilian through her speakers. She reached down with a hand of her mech and, as delicately as she could, grabbed the rubble trapping a civilian.

"Crap!" She watched her language while she had a kid on board. The sudden appearance of the Plasma bug wasn't going to make things easy. She'd have to let the Jade Hawk deal with it. Thankfully he did.

"Get in the tank!" She ordered the civilians.

"Still kicking, Jade Hawk? We have civilians to escort back."

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

He couldnt hear, or see anything. The blast had him swealtering like crazy. All he could do, was to speak in hopes someone heard him. "I need help! I'm *Cough cough* Burning up!" He meant this as in he was feeling really hot at that moment. "I managed to stop the plasma bug from shooting everyone *gag* but at what cost?!"

He sat in the pilot seat, exhausted from the heat as he layed back. "Please, someone come get me." He then fell unconcious. Alive, but asleep from the result of his reckless actions.

 

[Gwalihir]

<< "You're not alone, Diana. I know what that's like...," Mikasa said as she patted the crying girl's head. >>

“How could you know?” the girl wept: “I heard them _eating_ my Mom! And I couldn’t do _anything_ to stop it!”

<< "Step back," Mikasa spoke to the civilian through her speakers. She reached down with a hand of her mech and, as delicately as she could, grabbed the rubble trapping a civilian. >>

As soon as she had moved one large piece of debris the civilians pointed to others, leading her to where her help was needed as one by one they rescued more survivors. Members of the tank crew had also dismounted and were distributing water and helmets with ear protectors and using shovels to scrape out the smaller material that a mech’s hand couldn’t pick up. As the plasma bug appeared from the pit in the ground they redoubled their efforts, but to their credit did not abandon any of the civilians to run back to their tank. By this time there were at least twenty civilians freed, half of whom were already in the tank, half of whom were helping with further rescue efforts.

<< "Crap!" She watched her language while she had a kid on board. The sudden appearance of the Plasma bug wasn't going to make things easy. She'd have to let the Jade Hawk deal with it. Thankfully he did.

"Get in the tank!" She ordered the civilians. >>

As the bug turned around, starting to aim for the group, the crew members finally called a halt to the digging and led the remaining civilians running back to the tank, which they closed up tight seconds before the bug blew. Thankfully the blast went up and wide, blasting a crater in the ground five hundred meters away. The Jade Hawk was nowhere to be seen.

<< "Still kicking, Jade Hawk? We have civilians to escort back." >>

The Cerberus reopened, two crewmembers and some of the civilians getting back out to search for more survivors buried in the rubble. Then the Cerberus closed again and roared to life, moving swiftly towards the crater.

<< "I need help! I'm *Cough cough* Burning up!" >>

The weak voice came over the radio, and Mikasa heard the Cerberus commander acknowledging, but no answering affirmative. Given how close the Hawk had been to the bug, if he was even alive, Shirou was probably deaf.

<< "I managed to stop the plasma bug from shooting everyone *gag* but at what cost?!"

He sat in the pilot seat, exhausted from the heat as he layed back. "Please, someone come get me." >>

The Cerberus was carrying an Active Beagle Probe, and quickly picked up the position of the mech buried in the steaming wall of the crater. As they shoveled away the loose dirt they found their way blocked by a huge chunk of the bug’s carapace. Apparently it had struck and covered the Jade Hawk, protecting it from total annihilation. But now it was an obstacle. One of the crew radio’d to Mikasa: “Can we get your help? He’s stuck under some debris!”

shadowdude505 , Gundam Watcher 27

 

[shadowdude505]

"Roger that," Mikasa replied.

"I wasn't always a mech pilot...," she said softly to Diana, but kept her focus on her piloting. She tightened her grip on her controls and gritted her teeth. She knew what it was like to feel powerless and never wanted to feel that again. "Tsk..." Old memories started to well up, but now wasn't a good time to be distracted. She pushed them down and started moving the rubble pinning down the Jade Hawk.

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gwalihir]

<< "I wasn't always a mech pilot...," she said softly to Diana... >>

“Yeah?” sniffed Diana, “So?”

<< Old memories started to well up, but now wasn't a good time to be distracted. She pushed them down and started moving the rubble pinning down the Jade Hawk. >>

There was one huge chunk of the bug’s carapace that was covering the Hawk, and it took both her hands and good positioning to get it removed. Once it was off she could see the Jade Hawk was still packed in with loose soil, but her hands weren’t designed for that kind of digging. The rescue workers’ shovels were, though, and they made short work of getting to the cockpit. One of them tried a safety access code to open the hatch, then shook his head.

“The electrical system is fried on this thing. We’ll have to open manually. C’mon, guys, give me a hand!”

It took three men to pry the hatch loose, but they succeeded. Shirou was pulled carefully from the cockpit and placed on a stretcher.

“Looks like shock and heat stroke,” said the medic, “and his ears are bleeding. Let me take care of that, so he’s not deaf permanently.”

The medic quickly dropped some eardrops in each ear, then waved the stretcher on. “Get him out of this heat, and he’ll recover. Take good care of him: we need gutsy pilots like that!”

The heat in the blast crater was almost as bad as in the cockpit. The stretcher-bearers got Shirou into the Cerberus and strapped down, just in case they had to do any tight maneuvers. Then the Commander called out over the radio:

“We’ve got a full load! Nothing more we can do here! Some other hovertanks and a flatbed for the mech should show soon, in case you find anyone else. We’re headed back to base!”

By now the bugs had stopped showing up, and the ground was covered with bug parts and slime. Captain Powell and Johnny turned on their radios and made a circuit around the area, but to no avail. Powell signalled for a general withdrawal, and the slow parade of mechs began the trek home...

 

[shadowdude505]

​

Mikasa kept an eye out for bugs, but all she found were dead and splattered. It looked that they had won, if you could call it winning. The civilians would have to rebuild, maybe even move. They could be above a whole colony of bugs for all they knew.

"Jade Dragon, heading back," she said, answering the call to withdrawal. Her mech marched at a solemn pace.

Mikasa let out a sigh. "What I was trying to say back there was that...I lost my parents too. Both were killed by bugs." She stayed silent after that.

Once they got back to the base, Mikasa let Diana climb out of the cockpit first. She kept a sisterly eye on the girl; hoping at least one of the other civilians would take her under their wing.

Jackson123 Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Jackson123]

Brunhilde saw in front of her were further enemy. This time it was a plasma bug, bastard could fire shots of superhot plasma out of their butts, they were some of the most successful mech destroyers. This bug was engaged with another mech in their search and rescue operation. But they got it handled pretty nicely. She scouted ahead and saw that the endless waves of bugs were being repelled and the remaining civilians from the area extracted.

Great, even more refugees. She murmured. Brunhilde had saw what it's like inside and outside those refugee camps, the food situation are not at all ideal and medicines are in short supplies, in some places she had saw parents exchanging their children for cannibalism. She wonders if all these rescue efforts was worth it if some of these people they pulled out from hell would just ends up in another man made purgatory anyway.

 

[Gwalihir]

<< Mikasa let out a sigh. "What I was trying to say back there was that...I lost my parents too. Both were killed by bugs." She stayed silent after that. >>

Diana regained some composure, wiping away her tears. “So, that’s why you fight.” It was a statement, not a question. During the ride Mikasa could sense the girl watching her every move, picking up how the mech was piloted, trying to get a sense of it all.

“Attention all units, attention all units. We’re going to separate squads now, faster mechs to join the Cerberus tank and travel on ahead to get the refugees to the camp sooner. Slower mechs catch up.”

Faster mechs definitely included the Jade Dragon, so they picked up speed to about 50 kph and left the centaurs behind.

<< Once they got back to the base, Mikasa let Diana climb out of the cockpit first. >>

“Will I ever see you again?” Diana asked, as she hung on the top of the ladder before going down. She left reluctantly, constantly looking back at Mikasa. But once she was on the ground one of the techs from the Cerberus came over and rounded her up to join the twenty or so other refugees off the tank. They headed off towards the general barracks, reserved largely for occasions like this.

shadowdude505

• * * * * * * *

In the barracks next to the MASH unit, a young lady had been assigned to Shirou’s case. She carefully removed the Corporal’s helmet and replaced it with a helmet cold pack unit. Then she placed cold packs under each arm and all down between his legs, removing his boots, and finally covered him with a cooling blanket. She taped a thermometer strip in place to fit under his tongue and connected it to a monitor to observe his core temperature. It dropped rapidly from a dangerous 108 down to a feverish but acceptable 101. At that point she removed all the cold packs except for the blanket, repositioned that and sat down with a book to wait. He might wake up now within a few minutes or a few hours, but she would hold watch over him if necessary all night.

Gundam Watcher 27

• * * * * * * *

Once Captain Powell got back to base and secured her Spartacus, she called for Corporal Brunehilde to come to command central.

“Good afternoon, Corporal. I wanted to thank you for your assistance in the firefight today. Your sniping of some of the larger bugs was a huge help.

“I understand you came in through Vintnerville last night. I am sorry you had to see one of the worst sites in the Republic right off the bat. I know it was probably nothing like what you have seen in New Europa, but it was also very unlike most of the Republic.

“We haven’t suffered very many attacks yet, so we’re in pretty good shape. Refugees are getting farmed out to communities that haven’t been hit, and they receive good care. Vintnerville just happened a few weeks ago and we haven’t managed to get it cleared up yet, but we will.

“The main reason this base has been established where it is is because a bug landing strike was reported out in the desert. We have tried to position ourselves between the bug strike zone and civilian populated areas, but apparently they bypassed us in the attack this morning. We will be setting up a string of seismic detectors that should prevent this in the future. We would have had them from the very beginning, but a snafu in procurement got our original consignment delivered to New Klondike.

“Right now we have one detector set up, and it was meant for a substation, not a major monitoring center. I will be checking out the latest data once we’re done with this briefing: you’re welcome to tag along if you wish. Meanwhile, do you have any questions for me?”

After the briefing Captain Powell headed to the communications center, where the detector was set up.

“So, what do we have from the last four hours, Lieutenant?”

The Lieutenant shook his head. “As far as I can tell, just random echoes from the squads returning. First we heard the fast team, then the slow team, then an echo to the SouthWest, then an echo to the NorthEast, then back to the actual squad. I would think we had some buried metal outcroppings reflecting the signal, but I haven’t seen this level of refraction before. It’s bouncing from about six different areas around us, and was coming closer as the squads approached. But when the squads stopped moving, the echoes stopped as well. So: if they had gone on, I would have said we were under attack from six directions. But they stopped, so it’s a dead issue.”

Powell frowned. “Anybody else hear of anything like this before?”

Jackson123

• * * * * * * *

 

[shadowdude505]

"I don't know...I hope so," Mikasa replied. Under non-bug circumstances hopefully.

She climbed down after Diana was clear and watched her walk off with the other refugees. Mikasa ran her hand across the back of her head and rested it on the back of her neck. She was tempted to call her adopted father, but she knew it was unrealistic to expect him to adopt every orphan she'd come across.

She aimlessly walked through the base; finding herself near the MASH unit. It wasn't what she was originally planning to do, but she found where Shirou was being treated and lingered outside.

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Shirou found himself in the seat of the Jade Hawk as he was trying everything he could to take down the giant spider in front of him. Impervious to his missiles and his mech's claws shattering from impact, the spider had wrapped the small enemy in a web before tearing open the cockpit. Shiori could only watch as he could do nothing to prevent himself from getting devoured.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH"
Shirou shot up, screaming for a few seconds, before realizing he was in a bed. He had a nightmare, a pretty bad one to say the least. Breathing short breaths trying to calm down, he realized the blanket he was under was cold.... Ice cold.

He saw a girl nearby who had dropped her book from his screaming, and he assumed she was a medic or a similar profession. "Um... sorry bout that!"

 

[Gwalihir]

<< "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH" Shirou shot up, screaming for a few seconds, before realizing he was in a bed.

"Um... sorry bout that!" >>

The girl relaxed and shook her head. “That’s okay. Happens more often than you might think.”

She retrieved her book and set it on a side table. “I’m Lorena Falcon, and I’m here to watch over you. Now that you’re awake, let’s switch blankets. That’s probably not too comfortable any more.”

She carried a wool military style blanket over to him and switched them about. “If I may…”

She checked his vital signs on various small devices that were temporarily stuck to his skin, nodded her approval and stripped them off.

“You’re to stay on bedrest for 24 hours, then get checked out by a medic before returning to duty. Feel free to go back to your barracks.”

She then stuck a head out the door and spoke to Mikasa. “Your friend is awake now. You’re welcome to visit.”

And Nurse Falcon left the room...

Gundam Watcher 27 , shadowdude505

 

[shadowdude505]

Mikasa was startled by the sudden screaming. She flinched, taking a step back, and muttered a swear to herself in Japanese.

She thought it was a little early to be considered friends, but just nodded at the nurse. She felt it was more accurate to be considered comrades in arms, but they did share a few things in common. Both of their mechs shared the word 'Jade,' and they were both of Japanese heritage.

Mikasa stepped in the room as the nurse was leaving. "Hey," she said to Shirou as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"Nice work out there today."

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Jackson123]

“Jawohl. Frau Hauptmann.” Brunhilde straighten up to stood at attention and answered the Captain with all the regal manner she gained from half a decade of soldiering in the Imperial German army. She’s an Unteroffizier, an experienced non-commission officer that knew better than to question their superiors in wrong place and wrong time. If that is the official statement on the matter, she would defend it even though she knew deep down, as the ancient wisdom had said 4,000 years ago, “All warfare are based on deception”, and in practice, the deception is not only towards the enemy, but to themselves as well.

As a soldier, to her only one thing is for certain, only thing is meaningful, that the Bugs had to be kept from the remaining border for as long as possible.

Gwalihir

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Shirou did not feel like getting out of bed. The cute nurse tended to him and switched blankets, before introducing herself and leaving. After was when another person entered the room, an older female who looked kind of scary.

Hearing her say he did a good job had caused Shirou to turn away in his bed. "I almost died." He answered, before asking, "You're the pilot of the Jade Dragon aren't you?"

shadowdude505

 

[Gwalihir]

An announcement came over the PA. “Attention, all units. The base is hereby on Yellow Alert. All personnel, report to alert stations and remain until relieved.

“Attention all pilots: Ladies, it’s time for Saturday Night Sleepover. Move pup tents and sleeping rolls to your Mech hangers. Be ready in an instant should we go to Red Alert.”

Johnny groaned, shook his head, then picked up his sleeping roll and did as he was told. He met Arthur at the Mech bay and waved. “So, what do you think is going on?” Johnny asked.

Arthur looked grave. “Looks like bugs might have been trying to triangulate our position from the two incoming squads earlier today. They may be coming at us from six different directions, all underground of course. So, we have to be ready in case they mount a midnight strike.”

“That’d be just like them,” Johnny grumbled. “Not enough to slaughter hundreds of innocent civilians, lay waste to suburbia, set traps and try to massacre us: they also gotta disturb our beauty rest to boot.

“I say, who needs sleep? Let’s make it an all-night poker party! See how much dough we can win back from Rachel! Somebody find the noobs, see if they want in. This could be fun!”

shadowdude505 , Jackson123 , Gundam Watcher 27

 

[shadowdude505]

"You could have, but you didn't, and you saved a lot of lives in the process," Mikasa replied.

"That's right. The name's Mikasa," she held out a hand for Shirou. "The Jade Dragon is a good mech, but she's not equipped to deal with plasma bugs."

She turned her head toward a PA speaker, then she looked back at Shirou. "Rest up."

Mikasa left the medical wing and started to follow the instructions from the PA message.

Gwalihir Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Jackson123]

Brunhilde heard the PA system, coincidentally, as she had just been transferred alongside her Panzerläufer, all her personal belongings are still on the mech, that includes pup tent and sleeping roll.

She had been to long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP sortie before, during those time she often stayed in her mech for days and sleep in it. To think about it, the interior of her mech feels more like home to her than her actual home.

She climbed into her mech spider tank and made a sleeping roll with what little space the compartment provided. The AC is pretty cold in order to cool down the electronic equipment in the mech, so she also whips out a sleeping bag for it.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Shirou heard the PA system and groaned.
I got an order to stay put. What am I to do?
On one hand, he could stay in bed and rest up to full strength. On the other hand, if the bugs came he would be an easy target.
Goddamnit.
Against his self recovery, he got out of bed and shuffled to the doorway, before laying against the door frame and huffing.
I gotta keep going. They need all hands on deck.

Shirou stepped out and fell over, landing on the ground face first, the pilot of the Jade Hawk screaming multiple curses before lifting his head and crawling away.
Will my mech even be ready before then?

He reached the hangar, although he was kind of embarassed to have a fellow soldier help him into the hangar. He thanked his new friend before they parted ways, as Shirou shuffled in and looked around. All the different mechs with different roles in combat were spread out, being prepped for battle, as his eyes saw a woman climb into the spider tank with a bed roll. He called to her with some concern. "Isn't that gonna be uncomfortable?"

Jackson123

 

[Jackson123]

"It has air condition and a roof on top, I don't see what's the problem." Brunhilde said jokingly. Sure there's also the ambient mild smell of electrolyte and diesel, probably also hydraulic fluid that might disturb the sleep for someone not familiar with mechanic engineering, but for her it's so routine to the point her brain could ignore those smell.

She stays on top of the open hatch and lights up a cigarette with a swing of her zippo. She draw a deep breathe, feels the nicotine circle around her lung, before letting out the white tobacco smokes.

"You know, it's said that the enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: When you're ready for them, and when you're not ready for them. You looks like you would be dead in seconds if the latter were to happen." She said while holding the cigarette in her index and middle finger.

Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

"I'm always ready to fight bugs," Shirou replied, before looking away. "But my problem is that I was told to stay in bed to rest. It was either die not doing anything or die fighting. I prefer the later."
He then looked to the Tank's pilot and introduced himself. "I'm Shirou Akuma."

Jackson123

 

[Gwalihir]

<< Mikasa left the medical wing and started to follow the instructions from the PA message. >>

As Mikasa entered the general hangar Johnny approached, a big smile on his face and riffling through a deck of cards in his hands.

“Corporal Clayden, Ma’am! Nice to see you again: great job today! Some of us are planning an all-night poker party to keep us up and alert just in case, and to pass the time. Would you have any interest in joining us?”

<< She climbed into her mech spider tank and made a sleeping roll with what little space the compartment provided. The AC is pretty cold in order to cool down the electronic equipment in the mech, so she also whips out a sleeping bag for it. >>

<< [Shirou] called to her with some concern. "Isn't that gonna be uncomfortable?" >>

Johnny approached the two of them and spoke up. “Well, if it isn’t the Man of the Hour! Fantastic work on that Plasma bug today! You saved us all from a good roasting!

He frowned in concern as he realized the shape Shirou was in. “Say! Are you sure they should have let you out? You’re looking kind of peaked. You do know your Jade Hawk got fried, right? It’ll be a week or two before they can even get parts in, let alone start fixing her back up. The only thing we’ve got left to pilot would be that logger mech someone dragged in. I can’t see that doing much damage to a bunch of bugs.

“Anyway, if either of you is up for it, we’re pulling together an all-night poker game to wait it out. Would either of you be interested?”

shadowdude505 , Jackson123 , Gundam Watcher 27