"Getting some oil."
Argyl begins fixing his turrets jam.
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"Getting some oil."
Argyl begins fixing his turrets jam.
Roger.
Anex says as he preps a new missile to fire on the engine, however, doing that, he didn't pay a lot of attention on piloting the Falcon!
Spoiler
Attack:
[roll0]
Damage:
[roll1]
The jam on Argyle's turret comes free easily enough - it looked like the feeding mechanism simply kinked the casing of the bullet enough to cause the firing pin to miss the priming cap. Pulling the belt back a bit, he was able to release the damaged brass and discard it, before cycling the belt through the now empty space and load the next cartridge.
Just about the time that he managed to get that reset, Anex fired another of his missiles - this one aimed at the train itself. The engine car reeled as it impacted the right side of the hull and tilted away from the tracks. Within seconds, it had passed its center of gravity and the plasma lifts that had been holding it upright and afloat failed, flaring up once again as the car fell onto its left side and bounced a few times in the low grav environment before it came skidding to a halt, the tangled mess of flatbeds behind it crashing to a stop as well. Several of the olive drab colored UNSC crates came loose from their couplings, tumbling about with no small amount of racket.
The Elite that had been in the Shade turret is lost from sight and must be somewhere amid the jumbled chaos that was the train. But the turret itself was now a crumpled ruin, having gone critical in the crash and blown itself apart when the plasma went unstable.
Valen pulled his Hog into a sideways slide, stopping just before hitting some twisted bit of purple metal.
"Well done, Eclipse. Now let's sift through this garbage and see what we can find."
Vidarr kept his gun revved and waiting to fire upon any covenant bastards that emerged. I'll cover you. Go on. Vidarr said to his driver.
Argyle remains silently watching for any sign of the elite, or other covenant, gun cycling but not quite firing.
Volsung raps on the side window of the Falcon, yelling over the comms. "Hey! Set us down!"
Calm down, calm down, I was just checking for any tango's in the debris.
Anex replies as he calmly lands the Falcon next to the hog of Valen.
Both Warthog gunners stay put, ready for anything that might come out of the wreckage of the Covenant train. Valen and Gunnar hop out and begin making their way closer, weapons drawn and leveled.
Anex sets down nearby, where he has enough clearance for the wings and the props, causing some of the gravel on the ground to float up and slowly drift back down. However, for everyone's diligence, it appears that there is no need. The body of the Shade turret Elite is found in two pieces, folded away beneath a large metal shard. A quick examination of the rest of the crash site reveals only three more Covenant on board - all Jackals; all dead.
"Alright, let's get these crates open."
Vidarr stops revving his turret, but doesn't leave his position; rather than that, he looks around trying to be sure nobody comes by to cut their salvage job short.
[roll0] Spot
Volsung leaps down from the turret as soon as the props fold back into the body, drawing his bruteshot from his back during his jump. Walking over to the first crate that he sees, he first ensures that no life signs are coming from it, and that it is not moving, and then he lifts the gun skyward and slams the point home in a seam.
Volsung uses his Brute Shot to pry open one of the heavy steel containers like a tin can, the servos on his powered suit allowing him to apply many times over the amount of force that he would be able to by himself... even with his augmented strength. Soon, R36 is able to peer at the contents within - and he finds two HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense Systems - more commonly referred to as Mantises. These armored fighting vehicles were a boon on any battlefield, having their own personal shields systems and some serious armament to boot. Plus, they could maneuver through almost any terrain with little effort because of their tall legs. The first Mantis seems to be equipped with a Gauss cannon as one arm and a hydraulic claw-like pincer as the other. The second Mantis was equipped with a heavy machine gun and what looked to be a... flamethrower.
Hmm, interesting
Anex, who had followed Volsung says.
He now eagerly goes to another crate and tries to open it himself.
Anex approaches a second container, having to break the lock off of it in order to gain access to the inside. Once he had done so, he likewise looked in to see what it held. This one also had two Mantises inside - one with a missile launcher on one side and a heavy machine gun on the other; and the other vehicle equipped with a large chainsaw like appendage for one arm and a Spartan Laser as the other.
This was some pretty serious hardware.
Argyle laughs.
"If only we were more augmented, then it'd be mechs inside mechs. Any other boxes?"
"Heh. Ore wa dare da to omotte yagaru."
With a smile slowly spreading across his face, Volsung continues on to the next crate, running through the same process again to open it.
The next crate opened reveals a collection of UNSC weapon lockers, which in turn reveal all manner of guns, ammo, and grenades.
The last two crates contain the parts for a Scorpion Battle Tank. It would take some time, but your team is fairly certain that you could piece it together, if that's what you decided to do. However, it is likely that the time it would take you might be too precious to spend. The Scorpion, although incredibly powerful and tough, is also very, very slow on the move.
Vidarr had already let his gun stop revving, so now he jumped down. Ah, ammo. Good. Vidarr replenished his rifles' stockpiles. After appraising the situation, Vidarr decided what he thought the best course of action was. Of course, he wasn't in charge because his ideas weren't always the best, so he only advised, and never gave orders. Sir, perhaps it would be best if we took the bird and the manti out for stroll, and had our lady in the sky come down and pick up out pigs and the big guy? Of course, these weapons too, I suppose. Better than leaving them here to be found by the covenant. And out exit strat might enough up being hot and heavy. Might not have time for gathering up our stuff later.
Vidarr thought for a minute, then grinned. We could have the big guy dropped down on top of their base. Prebuilt for war. Maybe. The low grav would probably not let him get too roughed up from the drop.
"Priority is to secure Ironsides. I don't think we have time to call in Val to pick up the tank, or to assemble it. I'll take the mantis with the flamethrower."
Jogging back to the first crate, Volsung hauls himself into the cockpit of the robot and initiates the startup procedure.
Vidarr shook his head, helmet included. I didn't mean to suggest we wait for pick up, I only meant for it to happen while we were enroute. I assume Val can fly and assemble the tank faster than we can walk the manti on over. Or at least pick these up our toys for us while we go look for new friends to play with.
Vidarr easily found enough ammo for his sniper rifle to bring him back up to a full compliment. After he proposed his thoughts on the situation, Valen agreed to part of it.
"Yes, the Falcon and the Mantises it is. We leave the Hogs and the Scorpion behind. We can worry about picking it up later."
"The Dawn Evader has no external machinations with which to manipulate these parts or anything else, for that matter. I have no capability to load them on board on my own. Perhaps you could leave one or two of you behind..."
"No! No... I've lost enough men already. We stick together and we get this mission accomplished in short order. If that means that we leave behind equipment that was already lost, then so be it. Mark the d@mn coordinates and let's move out. Eclipse Four, I want you back in the air - you already had the seat warm. This time, I want E507 and G527 on your guns. Three, you already nabbed the Mantis with the BBQer... that's fine. O23, VD47... pick your poison from the remaining three mechs. I'll pick up the slack with the fourth. Let's go!"
Argyle moves to get into the Mantis with the Rocket Launcher and Machine Gun, quickly settling into the Mantis' cockpit and spending a while deciding whether he should take his helmet off to best use it's control's, or to link it's screens to his HUD...
He does this all in silence though, Had Valen not already chewed Valkyrie out he'd be busy putting his armored boot up her... something where it'd be painful.
Suddenly, the screens flash on his HUD.
"I know it's what you where thinking about, I know it's your preference. Now go on, walk out, check to see if it all works."
After a moment Argyle shakes his head and then begins going through diagnostics and the process of linking sensors.
Vidarr nods visibly and moves to board a mantis. After it comes online, he checks the assorted statuses and peripherals. Noting the offensive hardware to be one magnetic gun and one water powered claw, Vidarr briefly wondered if the claw would see any use. Getting close enough to use melee weaponry was not something he believed in.
On your mark, commander.
Anex moves back to the falcon and puts himself in the cockpit.
Come on guys, let's get moving.
Volsung flips the last few switches on his Mantis's startup and lays Rho's chip on the control panel. "Check the system for any faults if you can, Rho, and then divert any discretionary power to servos and the engines."
Hauling the grips from where they hang above his head, Volsung takes a few tentative steps forward. "Ready to go, commander.
Jason and Gunnar climb aboard the Falcon as Anex brings up the propellers, soon lifting the vehicle off of the gravel-strewn ground.
Volsung, Argyle, Vidarr, and Valen each climb into a Mantis and, after moving from the containers that had held them, they ran diagnostics and systems checks - all of which came back in the green. Nav Point Charlie came up on your HUDs, with a reading of 372 meters.
"Alright, 544... I want you on Point, keep her low though and don't get too far ahead of us. These things are pretty spry, but they don't run. I wanna be there when you find tangos, so let's keep it tight, copy? VD47, take Right Flank 1... with R36 at position 2. I'll take Left Flank 1... with O23 on position 2 my side."
The Stronghold of Ma’hitrama was close. And with groundshaking steps, your armored convoy rolled out to meet whatever these Covenant b@st@rds had in store for you. You know that the ones on board that train managed to get a message out announcing your presence on the asteroid, as well as your attack on the train itself. Chances were, the party was already in full swing and you were going to be the guests of honor.
Argyle was running his mech as fast as it's heavy legs could carry, spending his time optimizing the mechs targeting systems.
Vidarr maneuvered himself into position and kept pace. Roger, Wilco.
Spoiler: OOChttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0xQ7pt8ocw...i-am-doing.gif
What does this Mantis do? I looked up an image of one, and was greatly disappointed. But I have a Gauss Rifle? What does that do?
Roger.
Anex steers the vehicle forward, flying low over the ground, setting up all scanners, sonars, radars and whatever equipment may pick up enemy activity.
Each of the pilots of the Mantises made minor adjustments here and there to better suit their particular desires. Meanwhile, Anex continued to scan all of the sensors of his Falcon as well as the horizon ahead. Gunnar and Jason hung out of either side in the rigs that allowed their seats to move independently from the vehicle and, thus, granting their turrets a 180° firing arc.
When you were about 170 meter mark from your destination, the voice of Valkyrie broke the concentrative radio silence. "Fireteam Eclipse, please be advised that I am in position in orbit over the Objective. Standing by."
"Copy that, Valkyrie. Wishing we had brought a target locator right about now. Might've come in handy to drop a MAC round or two down on their heads."
"I would not have advised it; unless of course I could be certain that the Admiral's beacon was well outside of the radius of the effect."
As you came within the 100 meter mark, Anex's sensors light up - telling him that the fortress has not only brought up their shields, but that they have also brought four turrets online. It appeared that the shields were being generated by three separate generators, exposed outside of the barrier but located near the fortress itself. In order to get inside... those were going to have to be taken out first.
Ok guys, they have prepared for us, time to say hello!
Anex says as he broadcasts the information he got from the sensors to the rest of the team.