(8/2/02)

Bullseye (Gear) flares its engines as it surges forward. "Solarian troops have arrived! Commence firing salvo!" The sniper rifle, already in position, begins to aim precariously at a number of Gears. It fastens itself to a Solarian Gear, and the rifle fires, blasting Bullseye dozens of feet back from where it was originally.

The element of surprise? At least over Dominia, they certainly had that. And this makes a Very. Unhappy. Element. It's one thing to exit out of the Jasper to be met by a hoard of Shevvite Gears. Much less exiting headfirst into a literal deluge of shots. The dark rose-hued Gear known as Bladegash soars out of Jasper, sword tightly at hand, backing up a little in surprise... But backing down not an inch more. Merely, the pilot grits her teeth in supreme irritation, snapping a sharp, "What the hell is going on out here?! Where did all of these things come from?" Over the radio system. Oh, but let's not trust her judgement here. It's hardly a moment's pause before she launches her gear at breakneck speed towards the nearest Gear in her path, sword at hand. No one's bothering this fort while -this- Element is on duty.

It's been at least a year since he's handled a Gear, especially in combat-- being a spy tends to force you to be on foot a lot. Yet leaping into one of the Gears avalable, strapping in... A leap to the top of the Fort, sprinting off and activating the flight systems... yes, it's time to see if the generic machine can pack enough of a punch. Careening down in a wide arc to the side, splitting almost to the opposite of Dominia, the autocannon clutched taut in the machine's grip whirs as it prepares... "What the hell do they think they're doing..." he mutters more to himself than anything. Heads up, incoming Gears-- the Generic Solarian Gear is on it's way. And attempting to give the Bladegash coverfire from above, the autocannon begins to spray gunfire down at the nearest cluster of incoming avalable.

SolChan>Hyuga: ...Dominia? Element Dominia, please report.

SolChan>Dominia only responds for a moment with a distracted, muffled line that sounds strangely like slurred curse words, "Element Dominia here. What the holy hell just -happened-?"

SolChan>Hyuga pauses for a moment, while the sound of keys clicking resumes. "From our instruments, I have gathered that it appears to be an assault of some type." Well, duh, Hyuga. "It appears to be a moderate force. I would assume it to be either Kislevi or Shevvite troops, though these Gears appear to be of finer quality than Kislev routinely produces." Blah blah blah.

SolChan>Dominia greets this with only a more coherant, snapped unpleasant word, "So you mean to say that an entire Shevvite force managed to sneak up on us when we weren't looking? I don't think this just made my day."

A legion of Gears is not the only surprise that the Shevvites have planned today. Not by any stretch. The Freya hangs back a bit, certainly not one of the front line assault, instead chosing to hang back for a moment and give orders when needed until an opening appears. And she looks almost serene, the Gear hovering while the first blows are dealt.
And that's when things become even stranger.
Jasper is equipped with quite pretty defence systems- Automatic and manual both, designed to defend it in a time like this. And in a shudder of a moment, they go out. All at once. Backup firing support, reports from the command center at Jasper at all. Ah, how lovely help from the inside is. And an effective edge, as well. Yui must practically smother a sigh of relief as Ryoji finally gets to work within. And yet she hardly gives herself a moment's more pause before the Freya launches towards an entrance port, along with a few other Gears, quite ready to fend off anything in it's way. Shall we see if we can get inside, then?

SolChan>Hyuga is curiously silent again, the com channel only broadcasting what sounds -suspiciously- like a rather mellow hum and typing before he continues. "Defenses are at your command, Element Dominia. Please do not allow them to cause too much damage to our forces if you are able." Another pause, as the activity on the scanners does not allow him to see quite what he searches for. "Can you isolate the leader--what?!" Though he is not in the central room, he can sense from his port where he works what has just failed, in the lack of shuddering in the Fort. "Dominia, report?"

Bullseye (Gear) shouts over the intercom. "Heavy artillery units! Stop firing at the Fort! All defenses are down!" The crosshairs slide over his eye again as he spits out orders. "Attack the Gear units! Ignore the minor Solarian Gears; instead, attack the str--" Collin's earlier spat of machine gun fire brushes by him. Damn! One leg's damage. He'll have to stay in the air as combat support. "Scatter! Scatter and attack that Gear who shot me!" he practically screams.

SolChan>Dominia: I was just about to ask -you- that." Is her less than pleasant responce. One moment, must pause to put her sword through some poor Gear's head. Anyway, as she was saying..., "What just happened to the fort?!" Hiss, snarl. "I can't find the leader in al this mess. One moment."

SolChan>Hyuga: Track the leader for me." His voice is sharper than it normally is in a sudden flash that is likely disturbing to anyone who has heard him play the part of the bumbling doctor; sharp, Solarian, and full of contractions now that he is focused. "We're having interference in the Fort. There must be an internal agent within. Don't count on the Fort's defenses quite yet, Dominia," he continues, his voice lessening in its intensity and returning to a pleasant, if still stern range, "Your secondary priority is to repel the intruders as best you can but to remain from compromising Solarian forces if the battle is going badly. Please keep me informed.

Stupid! Annoying! Irriating! Little! Twits! No one causes large-scale havoc when the Element of Earth is around to stop it. But as she drags her sword into some poor Shevvite Gear's middle in a shower of sparks, she grits her teeth and backs up a bit, trying to locate the leader in the middle of all this mess. Gears and gears and gears.. Sheesh. With a thin hiss between her teeth, she locates the Gear and it's small group heading towards one of the now gaping-open entrance hatches of the Fort--Why did the Fort have to give out on them -now- of all times?!--Speeding off towards Freya with all the hope to put a sword through it's back before it gets in the Fort, the weapon beginning to catch a soft ether glow as she goes on.

The gunfire comes in sporadic bursts, flecking away at a few Gears that dare stray too far or too close. You want some?! Eh?! "Flank left and cover the line!!" Collin shouts over his radio to a few more Solarian Gears, the units moving as appropriately to help provide adequate gunfire to where it's most nessicary. His head cocks as the Gear he just shot, it ascends-- and his head shakes a bit as a few of the Gears with it begin to fire toward him. "Aw, SHIT-!" he curses, jerking hard on his reverse-thrust. Backing up a suitable distance, he begins to alter the course of his flight, to 'strafe' to his right and continue to fire upon Bullseye. "Stay DOWN!" he shouts in utter aggrivation, the machine shuddering with each spray of gunfire.

Oh dear. Did the Element of Earth want some? It's all for the best that Yui had several Shevvite Gears tagging along with her- One sees the Bladegash coming and moves up to take the brunt of Dominia's blow. Poor fellow. But Yui is warned just in time, only pushing the Freya faster, farther. It's more important to get in the Fort than to deal with Dominia- That's only reasonable, after all- And so the ambassador of Shevat and the current commander of these troops snaps a sharp order out, "Hold off that reckless one in the pink Gear, wont you? All others that can, follow me into the fort."
It's so nice to have lackies when they can take the blows for you and deal it out with equal joy. And better yet, Yui's little squad well outnumbers Dominia.

Bullseye (Gear) turns around and thrusts the accelaration forward, a few hundred feet where he was. "Cover me!" he barks into the intercom. "A few Shevvite soldiers, follow Miss Yui into the Fort! The rest, focus on the three Solaris Gears that are now here!" The crosshairs slide back onto his eye. "Now...for the Gear that damaged me..." Collin's Gear rests in the middle of his crosshairs. "I hope he doesn't have forewarning..." Granle mutters as he pulls the trigger.

Oh, fugging hell. Dominia goes to maul Yui before she can get into the fort, and she ends up realizing that it's sometimes best not to go after someone when they have a large following along with them. Forgive the large, rather obscene word that echoes over the Solarian radio frequency as another Gear takes the blow for Yui, and her entire enterage takes on Dominia. Oh, and for the record... Bladegash is dark rose, not pink. And it's getting ganged up on something awful. With a snap of irritation, Dominia throws Bladegash into full reverse, slashing upwards at the poor unfortunate little nobody who happened to get in her direct way. And with a distinct irritation as she takes a moment to get her bearings away from the fleets, she hisses a sharp, "They're like freaking -flies-! Where did they come from?! Agh!"

"Security to the deck! There's incoming! Try to pin 'em down in the Gear Hangar!" he shouts over the radio, backing himself up and firing again, gunfire to fire off at Freya and her entourage. Jerking to a halt, the agent turns the machine around and turning himself back to the larger battle at-hand, the Gear itself begins to ascend. "Flak gunfire from above! Get up higher and let 'em have it!" he shouts out to a pair of lesser units to his right-- right before 'that shot' is fired. The Gear's leg jerks back sharply as the pilot's eyes widen-- red signals flare about the cockpit as the machine half-barrel rolls out of control. "Shit! SHIT!" he shouts in the space of his craft, the machine issuing a shuddering whine of protest to too much more action-- the leg just above the right knee's actuator bears a clean-cut hole, the sort you could roll a ball through. The machine begins a stiff descent, although the thrusters fire and lessen his 'fall'. Not nessicarily a clean landing, the Gear's knee buckles upon a earth-rumbling landing that tips the machine flat over onto it's right side, laying still and motionless. Collin settles, thankfully restrained in his seat's harness, though... that -hurt-. He'll snap out of it in a minute... if someone doesn't decide to become Mr. Overkill.

As if the battlefield was not crowded enough... Wyvern slowly descends from the sky, allowing a small squadron of about six Solarian Gears to enter the frey only seconds ahead of him. Once he reaches ground level, Ramsus immediately radios BladeGash once it has a free split-second. "What a mess... Element Dominia, status report." No sooner does he finish his sentance does he have to cleave a Shevatian Gear in two, then jet back into the sky at a low altitude to avoid enemy fire from another Gear. His escort of six Gears splits into three groups of two Gears each to assist Solarian forces wherever necessary. It is a pity that more Gears could not be readied, but there was simply no time to prepare them. (though more reinforcements are on the way as needed)

Hydra jets in at a low altitude, but stops in mid-air once close (but not 'in') to the battlefield. This was not going to be easy... The Gear sheathes its sword and readies its mid-power beam rifle, choosing to start off in more of a sniping position rather than a front-line melee combatant. While it is ready to shoot, it waits and does not actually fire a round just yet. Ryukumu radios over to Bart and Sigurd, "Awaiting orders."

A loud clang followed by the sound of dozens of mechanical parts activating at once burst out from Clarion, as the gear rockets upwards. The arms begin to pulse with ether, as the gear aims to ram into BladeGash, and likely encircle it with said arms, burning the frame nicely. The pistol and shield click back into their holders, both arms spread and glowing.

Freyr glides in swiftly after Hydra, its pilot mentally cursing softly as he catches a glimpse of the terribly crowded battlefield. Assuming a defensive position on the fringes of the melee, Sigurd checks his Ether Machine's readiness out of habit. He wasn't about to go diving straight in there, but if something or someone did come rocketing out, he wanted to be prepared for it. More curses follow the short glimpse of Wyvern that Sigurd catches, though it's uncertain whether they're of an affectionate bent or not. /You're here too, Kahr?/ As Ryukumu radios his question, Sigurd replies with a terse "Wait on the Young Master, Ryukumu." Yes, wait a moment. Sigurd wants to see exactly what's going on before anyone starts shooting.

Coming out like a shooting star, it is the gear Andvari. Following the others until they pause, Andvari rushes to Freyr's side. "Oh, man. This is bigger than I thought. Shevat must really be going for broke," Bart comments across the radio. "They might be too much for us...but we can't just abandon Jasper, either." Even if they seemed to ignore the warning. When this is over, Bart's gonna look for the messenger and see if he actually got there or not.

Ah...what's that you all see coming up behind the other gears? Could it be? COULD IT BE??? I know what you're thinking...and no, it isn't Ringo Starr. It's Kyle Brighton in the Nomad! Yaaaaay! He's lagging a little bit behind the other gears, since his wasn't equiped with any flight capabilities. That's right, it's merely a repair and support vehicle...best not try to attack it, or the massive stores of Fuel could blow up! But, anyway...The Nomad comes up behind Andvari, and seems to be carrying a...strange looking package. What could it be? Well, we'll get to that in a moment. Over the radio to Sigurd and Bart, Kyle says, "I'm here, Skipper. I'll set up the device and be ready to repair you all when the battle's over." Yes...the Device...Kyle Brighton's latest masterpiece. Concidering that his last masterpiece was Mecha Chuchu, all should be afraid. Yes, all should be afraid.

Bullseye (Gear) ticks off the Solarians who are out. One down, two to---Shit. A bevy of new Gears have appeared! "Shevvite forces, it seems we have some intruders here. Cover me while I snipe down the next Solarian. It may be that these aren't malicious forces, so let them be unless one of them makes a move against us." Granle slams the acceleration, away from the firefight, and slams the comm unit. "Tognotti, do you know who these units belong to? Tognotti? Tognotti?"

The Bladegash is not piloted by a happy Dominia right about now. Swarming masses of Shevvites are a bit much even for an Element, after all. And with an irritated snarl, she puts a glowing sword through yet another Shevvite before even recognizing that the Commander has arrived much less that he's contacting her over the radio, "A mess, sir, is understating it. There are Shevvite Gears swarming the place, and the automated defenses at the Fort went completely out not too long ago. I have no idea how so many got here without getting our atten--AGH!" The Bladegash is practically slammed then by the Clarion, with it's ether up and flaming, which catches Dominia completely off guard. The Bladegash is pinned in it's grasp for a moment, metal searing beneath the Ether, before it decidedly puts a foot up and tries to -pushe- off Clarion with all it's strength, to get the little bastard in slashing range. All the while snarling an irritated, "Get -OFF-!"

The cockpit is dim for a long moment after the crash. The air seems stale for that brief time, the whole machine seeming to be offlined... before the main monitor fuzzles, crackles, and sparks back to life. The main readout displays show the extent of the machine's damage-- worst in the right leg, a large red light signaling the damage dealt to the Gear's knee. Collin begins to snap out of it shortly after that, his left arm dangling limp across his chest. Moving a bit in his seat, his ears pound and head throbs. Shortly after...? Pain. As the world becomes clearer, sharpening in focus again, the agent notes the wonderful pain in his left arm-- set clear across the forearm, he pulls his jacket and shirt sleeve back to examine it... likely broken, but... it seems clean, no damage visible to the skin. He has to get up... move... at least there's no major damage aside that knee. "... urgh..." he mutters, radio still on. One hand reaches to his forehead, tapping the little trickle of blood that comes from having your head bang against something hard.

The remaining Shevvite soldiers begin to set up a formation, stretching out in a wide semi-circle and moving back, trying to blast the enemy apart from a somewhat safe distance.

Wyvern forces its way through two Shevvite Gears in its path, jetting at full speed towards Bladegash. Ramsus calmly orders two in Bladegash's proximity to assist in forcing the Clarion off of the Gear as another Shevvite Gear slows him down. Annoying pests... ...well, pests with better-than-sub-par machinery. After cutting through this Gear, Wyvern continues jetting towards Bladegash to assist. Though Ramsus spots something peculiar on radar... two, no, three Yggdrasil Gears have entered the battlefield. Hydra [Ryukumu Isora... hmph], Nomad [A fixbot? Useless in combat, but they have their uses], and Freyr [....]. Ramsus chooses to ignore the three for the moment, allowing Sigurd to choose their best course of action.

Ryukumu was going to wait for orders, but considering just how many Shevvite Gears are in the area, he knows he should get busy. Hydra focuses in on the semi-circle formation, fires several rounds at specific Gears in said formation, taking time to aim carefully but still keep an adequate rate of fire. Still, he should get actual 'orders' per say. "Sigurd? What's the word?"

Half of the Shevvite gear forces break to the left, the others to the right. Those to the right hold back for long range attacks, aiming for the Hydra which had opened fire, while those on the left unleash a volley of blasts aimed for the collective gears of Wyvern and BladeGash, the soldiers unaware or not caring about the possibility of the torrent of shots to also tear apart Clarion.

Sigurd shakes his head at the sheer amount of Shevite forces still arriving, and he decides that staying inert in this kind of fire isn't going to accomplish much; other than one getting one's ass blown out of the sky. Glancing back at Bart, he grimaces, thinking that this is perhaps a situation in which he should briefly preempt the Young Master. Waiting any longer was lethal. "Target the Shevites at will," he radios to the other crew members. "Focus on the right flank." Why? Because that's the half that's trying to turn them into Pirate Bits. Freyr hangs back a little; at first, it's not evident why Sigurd is holding back when his weapon is more of a short-range weapon, but the fire Ether that shortly erupts among the Shevite Gears quickly answers that question. Sigurd was one of the Ether machines of the ex-Element group, and it's evident that he hasn't lost his touch.

"Skipper. I'm going to deploy the device right now." Kyle says over the radio. Ah yes. The Device. What device, you ask? Well, it's quite simple, actually...it is the SUPER SHEVATBUSTER Mk. II! Don't ask what happened with version 1...trust me. The Nomad reaches on the top of it's body and grabs the large payload that it's been carrying, laying it carefully on the ground, after which Kyle hops out of the gear and gets ready to unveil it. Gasp! Shock! Horror!

Between BladeGash kicking and struggling to break loose, and the rapidly approaching Wyvern, Tognotti deduces that he should get out of the way. Fast. His arms unclench, moments before a torrent of water ether sprays out of them, directed at the BladeGash and its fuming pilot. The Clarion hits the main thrusters and bursts away. "Hahahaha, gyahahahahaaaa!" Tognotti laughed to himself, escaping likely fast enough so that neither Wyvern nor BladeGash could stop him. Indeed, Tognotti had become like a god, sleek and fast, impervious to the- "Oh, $@&%." The repeated blasts from the line of Shevvite gears struck the Clarion hard, and the armor began to fall to pieces, riddled with holes. One shot struck the gear's camera, causing Tognotti to become disoriented. Now leaking fuel and having little to no engine thrust, the Clarion narrowly avoided a second barrage headed for him and the two Solarian gears, spiraling towards the ground, gear wrecked.

Stupid little Shevvite brat! Ugh. And no sooner does he let go with the fire ether, than he goes and blasts her with water--An unpleasant variation in temperature. Well heated metal goes suddenly cold, steaming off a lot of the Water as the Bladegash is thrown back a bit by the blow. Cracks form in the metal of the Gear, fractured by the temperature difference--Making the outer armor of the Gear considerably less effective, but certainly not down for the count. Oh, don't mind if Dominia curses at this--She's been foul mouthed for this entire annoying escapade. But it does something that is far more useful as well. It makes her -angry-. And as Elru work so neatly, this anger doesn't blur her senses, fog her mind or clutter her every thought... But makes it all the more -focused-. With a vicious snarl, she launches herself at the Shevvites shooting at her with deadly precision, driving her sword into the closest with a power that is not run reckless with fury, but only all the more terrible. "How many of these things -are- there?" Irritated, snarled. For somewhere, the realization that the Solarians might not finish this well off haunts her.. And that is a truly offencive thought.

Yes, the gunfire sprays around like little pissed off comets. Gears here and there are tossed, and now... well, the problems seem to be stacking on both sides. A few of the Shevvite frontline Gears back up as they take their turns reloading, though they do fight fiercely, fight forward. The Gears flanking left break their formation, a group of two in particular attempting to get to one side of Wyvern and Bladegash, a second pair breaking to the right. The last of the group cuts into the air, firing away at the pair-- catch them in a pincer, see if that does any major damage. A stray one close to this formation catches himself in Dominia's sights as her blade comes down and recieves a rather... well, you know. Severely crippling blow. The machine sparks wildly before it shudders and the engine whines, the Gear toppling back and away with a crash.

Wyvern jets in reverse to stop once reaching Bladegash in time with the two escorts. "Try to remain calm, Dominia. Anger can cloud one's judgement." This is said as a bit of advice, not a criticism or an insult. As Ramsus spots the Shevvite Gears jetting in the sky to fire from above, Wyvern follows suit, ascending with an upward slash to cleave through one of the firing Gears. Though, this is not done without taking a few shots--- a couple of rounds score directly on Wyvern's left shoulder and upper back, leaving visible damage but not hindering joint movement or general functions. Ramsus orders the two escort Gears to take on the Gears to the left, expecting Dominia to clue in and take care of the ones to the right.

With the incoming fire from the right wing of attacks, Hydra swerves around in the sky to avoid damage. Fortunately, from this range, the reasonably nimble Gear is able to dodge all enemy fire--- except for one shot which connects with Hydra's right knee. The joint is slightly damaged but still functional (that doesn't make much difference now, but should Hydra have to go into melee-combat, it could hinder its mobility). Once the volley has passed, Hydra resumes picking off whatever Shevvite Gears it can from the right attack wing.

Group B! A group of six attempt to cut across the front of the Yggdrasil members, a second lance attempting to flank their sides. The side-flanking group to the Ygg's left, two aim their gunfire high to fill the sky with bullets. Keep your head up, Hydra, or else you're going to get some big shells shot up your butt. The others begin firing low, the kick of their guns spreading the gunfire up from the ground in a wave toward the crewmembers and their machines. Two of the six crossing in front pick up speed, the next two slow down a little, the next two slowing down further-- spreading out, to spray more heavy flak across the area.

No, in all this time Andvari was NOT just staring there blindly. It sort of retreated to circle around where Ryu was. It finally makes it reappearance charging towards the side-flanking group from IT'S side. Maybe that'll take them by surprise? The two metallic whips flail as Bart swings them towards the side-flank, aiming to hit (and perhaps distract from Ryukumu) as many of the gears as he possibly can in this swipe. At best though, he'll probably only be able to hit and distract two or three.

Huh? 'Try to remain calm'? Snort. That's a good one, Commander. Why not try to stop a tidal wave by suggesting to it that it might be a good idea to stop? It's not like Dominia had judgement to speak of before, and she's unarguably worse when she's pissed off, but... What can be said? Her emotions are her gift and her curse both. The Gear she struck before falls without a notice from her--She's already moved on to the next, drawing her blade in a wide slash across the midpart of it when the Commander's words come across the radio. ...Sigh. It really is a pity that she's so loyal, or she'd ignore it outright. But trying to grapple with her emotions mid-battle is not something Dominia is good at. A rather lame, "Yessir, of course.." is all she gives as a responce, as she tries to calm herself and, failing that, yank herself out of that little zone of single-minded fury. It's really kind of dim to distract onesself like that, though, as she quite unknowingly and inadvertantly leaves herself far too open while she heads towards the next Gear.

In Group A, things seem to be faring... well, not well. Ramsus vaults through the air to take the airborne Gear's rifle clear out of it's hands-- and it's right arm along with it. The machine falls back almost reactively, crashing to the ground with a rather horrifyingly loud ... well, crash. The Gears flanking to the left begin to 'back away', pushing their gunfire to the point that they have to halt it for a moment, the pairlternating between who shoots and who doesn't-- can't have the weapons explode, after all. The pair attempt to play on Dominia's actions, splitting to either side-- try to catch her in a sweep of crossfire. The 'main line' continues to push forward, however, more and more reinforcements pouring out to replace fallen units.

If Ramsus knew what Dominia was thinking, he would later reprimand her. Wyvern has been on the offensive since it entered the frey, and while its damage has been minimal, staying on the offensive will eventually leave it open to attack. So, after downing another airborne Gear, Wyvern readies its sword in a defensive stance--- this isn't really unusual, as the few remaining airborne forces are not in close enough proximity to be attacked. If he were still in an offensive stance, he would only be pelted by gunfire.

Whoa, they're closing in. After a few more sniping shots, Hydra holsters its rifle, readies its sword and shield, and dives down for close-range combat. It parries the incoming surface-to-air gunfire with the durable (though by no means indestructable) shield, hovering only feet above the ground towards two Shevvite Gears, cutting through one but unable to cut through the second one in a single move as the second one jets away, firing at an exposed point on the center of Hydra's back. The round hits, knocking Hydra forward and leaving visible damamge. The rear display screens in the cockpit were temporarily knocked out from the impact--- not good. However, Hydra does not back down. Rather, it just turns around towards its attacker, shield readied.

Eat s'more gunfire, Hydra! One suddenly stops as the whip crashes against it's frame, the leg unsteadying long enough to topple the machine. It's partner, however, alters his aim from Ryukumu to the Advari, as will his partner-- when it gets back up, anyway. The two furthest around the six in front, they alter their gunfire height in a high and low spray, the small-round shells peppering the ground like a deadly rainfall. The four aside from that begin to move in on the Yggdrasil group, to attempt 'pushing them away', in a sense. Those reinforcements? They're coming to assist Group B. Keep your heads up and your aim good!

A smirk comes from Andvari's pilot as at least one gear is toppled down. "Look, i'm wide open! Don't you want to shoot at me?" taunts Bart as the jets hit boost and start to fly to the side and circle the gears. Andvari inevitably does suffer some damage from the bullets, but when he gets moving the damage doesen't take so much. What he -doesen't- like is how more gears are starting to appear on radar. "Ryu! Kyle! Try to fall back a bit now that I got these gears off your side! We might end up having to retreat if things get any worse!" he calls on the radio, before attempting another lash towards the firing flank.

SolChan>Hyuga suddenly opens the comm channels again, a flood of static first through the crackle of so many Gears with so much going wrong. "This is... Ambassador Citan Uzuki," he decides to choose as a title, the official one for his purpose here on the Jasper. His voice sounds tired and almost panting. "In accordance to events, I am authorized to call a full retreat of all Solarian forces at this time. I repeat. Recover as much as you can and -retreat from Fort Jasper-. Regroup in your units in High Atmosphere and then return to your divisions in Solaris." Pause. "-NOW.-"

Kyle can't really fall back at the moment...he's too busy getting the Super Shevatbuster Mk. II ready. Yes, that's right, you heard him. He's getting the weapon of goodness and righteousness ready. "READY SHEVATBUSTER!" The insane Engineer shouts...well, not really insane, just nicely mad. Mad I say, MAD! ::coff:: But, anyway... Kyle flings the tarp off of his device and cackles insanely. Yes, it is finally here, the Shevatbuster. It's probably the silliest thing that anyone's ever seen...it incredibly difficult to describe without a visual aid...so here's one. Picture something Rube Goldberg would design if he were on Pot, LSD, and Angel Dust all at once. Then imagine it 10 times worse. Yep, it's that silly. And it's supposed to be a gun of some sort too! Well, back to Kyle. I think you should push the button, Kyle...With a flourish, Kyle presses the fireing button, and a great whurring sound is heard...it almost drowns out the insane cackle...almost. Then suddenly....BOOM! The machine explodes, knocks Nomad over, and covers Kyle in black soot. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. Coff.

Psh, Commander. Repromand Dominia for being so terribly loyal? He tells her to mind her temper, she does.. And because of this, she gets teamed up on by two Gears which practically maul her. Completely losing track of this attempt to keep herself under control, Dominia lets loose a practically furious scream, the blade of the Bladegash bursting into golden-yellow light as she piles right through one of the Gears teaming up on her. And when she turns around and prepares to deal with the next one... A radio message. Which stops her dead in her tracks. "What?" She only replies. No, wait, did that not come in clearly, "-WHAT-? A retreat?" This is unbelieveable. No. Nonono. You don't understand. Dominia isn't supposed to lose. Dominia isn't supposed to -fail-. But still, unbelieving, she so reluctantly pulls the Bladegash back, sparking at the fractured armor, looking in hardly the best shape... Even while she eyes the other Shevvite who teamed up on her longingly, "I didn't hear that wrong, did I?"

After very harshly counterattacking with a graceful flying-swoop-and-slash technique that destroyes three Shevvite Gears (Mirror Stance), Wyvern stops in its tracks. Ramsus is as surprised at the radio message as Dominia. What was Hyuga thinking... while he was sorely tempted to challenge the order, Ramsus decides to follow through. He says in an almost begrudging tone of voice to all Gebler in the area, "...All forces, retreat immedately. Rendezvous at point 101-D. (High Atmosphere)" He broadcasts to the Andvari, "I am recieving orders to withdraw all Solarian forces in the area. I suggest you do the same. Thank you for your assistance."

The situation IS getting worse... After downing one more Shevvite Gear at melee-range, Hydra takes back to the skies, sheathing sword, drawing the rifle, and affixing the shield to its back (the rear displays in the cockpit are down; if he can't see waht's behind him, he at least ought to protect his back with something). Time for some long-range fire from above, which is exactly what he does, picking off Gears near Andvari (taking careful aim not to hit Bart himself). Ryukumu cannot help but blink in curiousity when both Bladegash and Wyvern stop. "?"

Never being one to 'not get the hint', Collin begins to recenter the Gear's stablizers, to get the machine to at least stand at a ragged height. Indeed, the Generic Gear stands up with a slow mechanical hiss, the agent more than willing to follow the orders given, provided he could get the altitude. And so, the machine backs up in ragged steps, nearly falling over again, as ... yes, Group A and Group B are dwarfed-- all of the Shevvite forces still standing begin to pair off and approach them-- all with very nice autocannons waiting to give them a kiss. Indeed, not a good day to be Solarian... or Yggdrasil member. Their guns aiming high, they fire a batch at a time-- and unless they start moving, it's going to be another 'rain of death' coming down upon them.

If only the Andvari shared one of Kitsune's most useful features. Bart finds himself at a standoff as more and more gears fly into the radar. An explosion is detected from Brighton's area, causing Bart to sweatdrop. "Damn it! My exit's starting to get blocked off!" Bart says to himself. "Kyle, you ok back there?!" comes his radio transmission to Kyle and Ryukumu. "At this rate, we've gotta get out of here, FAST!" Thankfully, the engine's ready to go. "...Listen! I'll keep them distracted- flee back to the Ygg. Get everything ready for departure! We're getting out of here!" someone's gotta do it, might as well be with the Omnigear. "Sorry for the short show, guys...but i'll be sure to leave you a present before I go, na?" the gear begins to glow a bit, and a foul smoke with electric sparks surrounding it start to appear on the enemy flanks (Wild Smile), which should hopefully hamper their vision as the Ygg escapes. Regardless of whether it actually worked or not, Andvari then starts to make a break for it.

Kyle shakes himself out of his stupor and gets into Nomad, quickly righting it and getting ready to move out. For some reason, he doesn't even mention or think about the destruction of the Shevatbuster...extremely odd...he seems so...focused right now. I wonder what could have happened...

"Yes, sir." Is the prompt and simple responce that Dominia gives to Ramsus's orders--She might blink and look dazed at Hyuga's, doubt them and wish she could go against them without any problems at all, but the thought doesn't even occur to her to ignore Ramsus's. Although.. She has one last thing to attend to, it seems. ...Sigh. Collin, what horrible mess have you gone and gotten yourself into? Useless little soldier.. Should have known better than to let a spy fight along with the big boys. But despite all of this mental screaming going on towards his direction.. Let's face it. Even Dominia can't leave him there to die. With a small hiss to herself, and a wonder why she's even bothering at all, the Bladegash swoops down and practically -snatches- Collin's little nothing-Gear by the arm, and then tries to haul it up at a faster pace than it's going, prepared to fend off what it can one-handed. And yet, for all that, she gives a sharp note over to Collin's Gear, "...I don't suppose you could make that thing go as fast as it can and make this somewhat -easier-?" Oh, yes, please make ths makeshift, last second, sad excuse for a rescue easier on Domi so the both of you can flee. She'll do the steering, you get that thing going. And you better damn well thank her later.

Blood. Allllll flowing down his face. "What the hell!" he roars, spewing blood all over his console. Last thing he remembers is messaging Tognotti, and an explosion. Well, one thing leads to another, basically enough so he can piece it together, and he can now plainly see that the Solarian forces are withdrawing. He glances at the screens. 25% power. "Eat high powered rifle bullet, bastards!" he screams as he randomly shoots his rifle at the retreat Gears.

Wyvern (Gear) is a little late to retreat as he chooses to fight off a couple of more Shevvite Gears. These Gears were in prime position to attack the retreating Gears (both Solarian and Yggdrasilian [?]), so by doing this he is aiding their escape. Somewhat. There's still tons more Gears where those came from, but... meh. After disposing of these two Gears, Wyvern starts to ascend to the sky. Ramsus chuckles lightly watching Bladegash help along Collin's Gear (she CAN have some compassion on a battlefield. Who knew?).

Indeed, the Gear is rather easy to go with Bladegash's strengths. Reaching across to the throttle controls, he opens it to full crank and adds a little extra 'kick' to the speed, hopefully accelerating to Dominia's liking and expectations. Leaning back in his seat, however, Collin utters a quiet sigh-- this could've gone so much better. But... it wasn't bad, his first time out in a long time. Get his arm checked out, maybe see about the bump on his head and maybe a cracked rib... The forces on the ground, however, begin to cheer wildly! Some Gears here and there hold their rifles high over their mechanical heads, a few stepping out of the cockpits to wave their arms in victory, a few fire off random gunshots as their own celebration. But yes, there's much to do now-- such as ensuring their hold on the Fort. And so, the facility now changes hands... Be this good, bad, or intentional... we'll have yet to see that, of course. Enjoy your victory, Shevat.