forum Daemon X Machina (CLOSED 5/5, feel free to watch shit go down)

Started November 09, 2019 by @Yamatsu

tune

Here we go!

Every Outer wakes up early in the morning, but Copperhead always beat them to the punch whenever Arsenals were involved. By the time Four, the AI unit tasked with assisting all Reclaimers, alerted him to the responses to his merc group offer, he had already polished, reloaded, and recharged his Arsenal, Queenie. Her bronze plating reflected the hangar's brilliant fluorescent lighting, and her painted decals were crisp and bright. On her chest, the decal for the Iron Dragons:

On her shoulders, the Japanese symbol for "supremacy," and on the rest of her, weapons the likes of which could bring down a whole army of Immortals. Two Grim Reaper Mk III assault rifles in each hand, two Silver Raven Mk III submachine guns in reserve, a Thunderbird missile box on each shoulder, and a Hera's Grudge laser cannon on the back.

Queenie was a work of art, and Copperhead was the artist in question. He spent countless hours fine-tuning his Arsenal for maximum offense and defense, but most of the merc groups weren't accepting new members. So, he took matters into his own hands.

"Four, how many responses do I have?" Copperhead asked, wiping the sweat from his brow with a rag.

"You have 4 responses, each from other solo Reclaimers," the AI unit responded.

"Their credentials check out?"

"Nothing to report, no criminal record, no preexisting medical conditions, nothing within my database to suggest that these recruits aren't hiding any details from the Consortiums."

"Sweet!" Copperhead replied. "Tell them to meet in Hangar 18, and bring their Arsenals with them. I'll meet them in person so we can begin training."

"Good morning, Opal. They have approved you by the Iron Dragons. It is recommended that you meet in Hangar 18 with your arsenal." The notification chimed, awakening a groggy Opal.

As enthusiastic as Opal would be, she yawned. "Five more minutes, m'kay?" Nevertheless, Opal changed into her plugsuit and walked out of her room, stepping into her arsenal soon afterwards.

"Alright, Hangar 18… Should be over there." Opal sighed. Helena, after starting up, ran towards the Hangar.

Alaria was sprinting on the treadmill in the morning. It was a typical routine for her, but most people just gave her that look, the one that says she's absolutely nuts.

Most of the time, she just smiled and waved. It was easy.

*"Good Morning, Alaria. You have been approved by the Iron Dragons. Your presence is requested immediately in Hanger 18, along with your arsenal."

Alaria jumped up, grabbed the handlebars, and swung underneath the controls. She brought her feet up high and twisted down, so that she landed on her hands, where she did a handstand before spinning upright.

"Tell them I'm on my way. Spin up Butterfly and have her follow my lead."

After dressing up completely in her new plugsuit, she left her cabin and made her way to the Hanger.

Ash was meditating in his room, something he did often when he was worried about something. In this case his application to the Iron dragons, His meditation was interrupted by the AI unit inhabiting the building"Good morning ash, Your request has been approved by the iron dragons, you have been instructed to report to hanger 18 along with your arsenal" Ash stood and proceeded to change into his plug suit, Then proceeding to exit the room and walk at a brisk clip towards the Hanger.

Arlo’s watch lit up— more like a screened gauntlet, actually. He rolled out from under his mech, propping himself on the roller bed and letting out a sigh. The smell of grease, oil, and metal filled his lungs, but he was oblivious to the toxic air, having been with it the most of his life.

“Iron Dragons, huh?” he asked aloud, reading the message alighting his wrist. “Glad they liked what they saw.”
He lifted his head toward the suspended mech, silently giving it thanks. He has been working on a thruster, but tossed his tools aside, hoisting himself up and waddling over to a nearby chair. There lied his plug suit, and he slipped it on over his thin underclothes.
He crawled up into the pitch mech, leaving his garage and marching to the hangar.

As the recruits and their Arsenals stomped into Hangar 18, they could see that it looked like every other Hangar in the Oval Link. Weapons on racks, mechanics running around doing diagnostics, and the occasional pet scampering around. Hangar 18 had a few key differences, however. It was one of three places with its own ice cream parlor, a must considering the fact that Reclaimers never got to leave the base unless they were on leave.

Next to the ice cream parlor was the Lab, the only spot where surgical enhancements could take place. Mechanical enhancements were heavily regulated outside, but Reclaimers could replace damn near every part of their body if it meant being able to fight Immortals better. Copperhead despised the idea of willingly sacrificing part of his body. If one of his arms got shot off, sure, he'd get a replacement, but there were people walking around looking like the protagonist of that centuries-old movie Robocop. He couldn't stomach the idea of purposely replacing most of his natural body with mechanical parts.

The final major difference that separated Hangar 18 from the rest was the fact that it was the new home base of the Iron Dragons.

"Hello everyone!" Copperhead called out as the recruits entered. "My name is Copperhead. Welcome to your new home! I'm your new Commanding Officer, and this–" he gestured to the shining Arsenal behind him. "This is Queenie, my pride and joy. Aside from my kids, I mean. If y'all could place your Arsenals on the platforms behind me, we can get to work!"

Queenie was on the center platform, with three other platforms extending on either side of it. The Hangar could fit a squadron of seven, and most mercenary groups were limited by how many Arsenals they could fit. The largest one, Bullet Works, had a squadron of 10, each with their own rank. Despite their militaristic structure, they were all pretty easy-going in Copperhead's experience.

Alaria matched Butterfly onto the platform and slid down her leg to meet Copperhead, “Pardon me, Boss. Since you’re the boss man and all that, what do ya want us to call you? Boss? XO?” She hesitated, then added, “…Sir?”

If I have to call him ‘sir’, I will absolutely fight him for the right to call him anything else, she thought. He doesn’t look so tough.

Shadow directed Sentry to the platform, his much “skinnier” than most of the other mechs. Except for a small one, speedy-looking, with slick panels.
On the other hand, Queenie, Copperhead’s mech, was beautiful. To Shadow, at least. It was massive, shiny, and quite an elegant color.

Carefully, Shadow stationed Sentry on the platform, hoisting himself up out and onto the shoulder of it. He let out a smile, his eyes resting on his new Commanding Officer.
“Nice to meet you, Copper,” Shadow called, giving a nod. “Pleasure to work with you.”

"Nah," Copperhead said. "Don't even worry about it. Copperhead is just fine– Blink, was it? A pleasure to work with you too, Shadow," he said, turning to the other Reclaimer.

(I won’t have my computer back until Monday so I’m doing this on a phone have mercy on me)

Ash stationed his large Mech behind the already present trio. Emerging from it and kicking the hatch shut, “A pleasure to meet you sir!” He shouted from the top of his Mech “pardon the yelling but otherwise you wouldn’t be able to hear me!” Ash descended to ground level and offered his hand to Copperhead “as I said. A pleasure, beautiful Mech by the way”.

(Pardon my short reply!)

Jumping out of Hera, Opal grinned, saluting Copperhead with two fingers. "Opal Dawnger, at your service." She puts her hands on her hips, getting used to the surroundings of Hangar 18. "Great to be a part of the team!"

"Good to see you two as well," Copperhead replied, shaking both of their hands. "Now I'm certain you guys are already used to your Arsenals, which means it won't be long until we get to the fun stuff!"

Kicking a panel on the floor in front of Queenie, Copperhead stepped back as a terminal rose from the floor, the blue light of the holographic interface playing off of the Arsenal's plating. There were four access points on the terminal, and the screens lit up with a login screen.

"All we need is for you guys to login and register yourself with the Iron Dragons. Then, we can start accepting missions! We could probably knock out one or two before dinner if things go well."

"Of course," Opal stretched, then walked up to the terminal, typing in her name to register herself. God, she thought, this is the first time I've ever been a part of something this big, and for a cause? Let's hope I don't die on the first mission.
"Just say the word, Hera and I will be by your side. Thanks for accepting me."

Alaria stepped up, "So long as the pay's good, I'll be here," she started typing into the console, then glanced up sheepishly, "ummm…. I guess you guys seem okay too…"

She confirmed her info and stepped back to lean on Butterfly. "What do you think, girl?" she whispered, "They don't seem half bad. Do they?" Butterfly stood in silence.

Ash wrote his name and stepped back, The team he was working with was looking fairly solid. Two nimble fighters and three heavier mechs, A good balance in his opinion.

Shadow bounced down from Sentry, almost giddy. He entered his information, then glanced back to his mech. He’d finished all repairs and upgrades, with an acception for his whole “I want a milkshake machine in my mech.” That was a project for another day. Or.. never.
He smiled, turning back around and giving Copperhead his full attention. He rested an arm of one of Sentry’s panels, the black and green matching his own plugsuit.

"That seems… very messy," Copperhead, scratching his chin. That did sound pretty cool to him, though.

"Alright, it seems y'all are logged in. Four! Bring up the current mission catalog!" The screens on the terminal flashed to a list of missions. Many of them were from different each of the different Consortiums, but a lot of them were in various places throughout the Oval Link.

"Currently, the Iron Dragons are capable of completing E-Rank missions. While none of you are brand new recruits, it is recommended that you take on easier missions so that you may become acclimated to your new teammates," Four said. The mission list was then parsed down to a few highlighted missions at the bottom. Not including the Outer Aptitude Test, there was only one mission available:

1: Sweep the City (Sky Union) – Immortals have invaded Grace City within Sky Union's territory. Team up with other Reclaimers to eliminate them.

"Well, it seems like we don't have much else at this point," Copperhead grumbled. "Four, what can you tell us about this one?"

"This is an all-hands-on-deck mission that was posted a few minutes ago. The Brigadier General himself has ordered most of Bullet Works to go in and fight, and has called for aid from other Reclaimer Groups."

The screen went through a slideshow of pictures taken automatically from the ocular units of various Arsenals. The city was besieged by Immortals, with a fleet of ground and air units raining hell on the city. There were even a few lightly-armored Immortal Arsenal units, called Strai, harassing members of Bullet Works.

"Well, I guess this is our cue. Suit up, everyone!"

"Alright!" Opal beamed, running up to her arsenal, which opened automatically. Once she was in, she smirked. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Alaria pressed a pad on Butterfly's leg, bringing down a rope with a clip. She held the clip, gave it a tug, and zipped up to her arsenal's cockpit. "This play is for keeps," she whispered as she began activating Butterfly, "It is not my first, it may be my last. If I lose, I'm not coming home," the words slipped from her tongue slower, and subconsciously she scored another mark on the rifle stowed in the cockpit, "But that won't happen while I've got you at my back."

It wasn't the typical ending, but this wasn't her thieves' guild. It might be a family, or maybe just a new start. But it warranted a new ending to her small town 'forgive-me' prayer.

"Butterfly's purring," she said over comms, "I'm all green here. Give the go-ahead."

Ash climbed the small ladder he had installed on the side of Linemans leg into the cockpit. He leaned out, manually pulled the hatch down and locked himself inside, "Lets try and do this better eh?" He said to himself before relaying into his com "Ready when you are, let's kick some ass".

Shadow hoisted himself back up into the dark mech suit, closing the small compartment he had climbed through embedded in the back. He flipped multiple switches, locking himself in and flipping open other compartments. He checked the vitals on various screens, putting on his headset. From the side, a small appendage covered his right eye, folding from the headset like a monocle. He gave a smile, giving Copperhead a thumbs up and affirmation over the coms.
“Rodger that, sir,” he barked into the mic. “All ready on my part.”

"Let's rock and roll!"

Copperhead lept into Queenie's cockpit and pulled down the chest hatch. Her engines roared to life as he turned the key, and one of the mechanics on the ground manned a control terminal to turn the platforms towards the opening hangar doors. He saluted to the Reclaimers, and Copperhead returned the favor.

(Imma godmod for a sec so that the group can get to the city. This'll be a common occurrence for situations like this, but if you guys wanna do that with each other, make sure to agree beforehand.)

The Iron Dragons soared out of Hangar 18 and into the sky to the east where Grace City was under attack. They flew in standard V formation with Copperhead at the head.

"Establishing full party communication," Four said. The comms were open to the entire group and would continue to be for the rest of the mission. "It will take about fifteen minutes to reach Grace City. I have marked the point on your map and suggest turning on autopilot."

Everyone did so, and Copperhead's shoulders finally managed to relax a bit. He began to pour over the pictures from the mission description, taking special note of the Strai units. There were at least five, but those could be destroyed by the time they got there. Whoever those Arsenals originally belonged to, they certainly weren't experts. Low-level assault rifles, box-standard armor and missile launchers, there really wasn't much of note. However, AIs are much better pilots than Outers are, so despite their technological disadvantage, they certainly had enough of a tactical edge to cause some serious trouble.

"In my experience, Strais are fast little buggers," Copperhead said to the group. "I recommend either ganging up on them or using your Mirage ability to fool them and bring in some extra firepower."

(Mirage is the ability to create a copy of yourself. It eats through Femto, so if you have any laser weapons, you'll be eating through the same ammo pool.)

I feel as though I should also mention the other mechanics that are sort of tied in with Mirage. There's Assault Shift, Wing Shift, Shield Shift, and Mirage. They all are tied to Femto, but the first three don't actually use Femto while they're activated. They simply require that you have a certain amount in your gauge, but I'm not gonna make you guys play to the rules when we don't have a very good way of translating the game mechanics to an RP.

All you need to know is that Assault Shift increases attack for a certain number of shots based on your weapon (somewhere between 10-20 for assault rifles, 40-50 for submachine guns, and 2-5 for sniper rifles and bazookas. Don't worry about shot limits for shoulder or auxiliary weapons, I don't really care) at the cost of speed and defense. Wing Shift increases speed and prevents you from losing stamina (we'll just increase the speed for a few seconds instead) at the cost of attack and defense, and Shield Shift gives you a big ol' shield around you. No downsides save for the fact that it draws attention to you because it's big and kinda colorful.

Suddenly, a warning siren went off and signaled to Coperhead's 10 o'clock position.

"Warning. I'm picking up a massive Femto response coming from the north-north-east. Scans show a possibly large group of AIs or a Colossal Immortal," Four said. "Dropping Arsenals into Wing Shift now."

Copperhead lurched backward as Queenie began to rocket forward, but he didn't break formation. "Shit!" he said, pulling up a schematic of the weapons he had. He could take on a large group of AIs, but a Colossal Immortal was an entirely different situation. He had heard stories about Immortals taking over entire factories or merging themselves to build massive battleships or other structures, and it took the entirety of Bullet Works to take down one Colossal Immortal by itself. They were going to need help ASAP.

"A colossal?" Thought Ash, "Well that's a first eh line?" he said half to himself before responding to copperhead "Sir you've pulled ahead a bit, would you like us to speed up to create a tighter formation?"