here we go again...

[bulletbiter]

Who: Everyone
Where: Aimintas
When: Day 56
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Feel free to use this entry as a mingle for whatever your characters will be up to during the bigger Uvi attack! You can find details about it in this weekly update post.

(This post is forward dated by a few hours as I temporarily forgot how timezones work... please forgive me.) ]

Comments

[deem]

[9S knows in part because he feels it easy to deduce, but also because something else tried for his leg earlier. Part of his endoskeleton is exposed just above his knee, synthetic skin torn to reveal the metal structure beneath, but there's little more than a shallow dent to be found in that material]

Nothing I can't repair, so long as I keep corrosives out.

[The seawater is something of a concern, but not enough to stop him from dispensing with the nearest shark as soon as it begins to move]

What about you? [To him, the more important question] Are you okay?

[oneandmikleonly]

I've had worse. Some bandaging and healing once I'm back in my usual shape will be enough; I just don't dare switch back until we're sure the city's clear.

[he sets about finishing off what's left as well; heavy blows of his front legs are enough. he doesn't want to go so far as to actually bite them; it feels like he's going too far into actual malevolent dragon behavior if he does that.

when he finished and gets a better look at 9S, he actually does note the rip and shake his head a little]

...I can't heal machinery, but if any water got in there, I can get it out again.

[deem]

It wouldn't be a big deal if this was fresh water but... [He casts a speculative glance down at his leg] I may have to take you up on that.

[His unit type is far more aware of systems than others, and for that reason he knows he'll be able to determine whether any of this seawater got into his leg. For the time being it isn't a particular threat, but he'd rather not leave it unattended once the battle's concluded]

Having a form like that's got to be pretty handy though. I don't have the same mobility without a flight unit.

[oneandmikleonly]

Mm. The problem is mostly in the timing -- if I change back, I can't take this shape again for another day. So it's all dragon or no dragon, and all dragon starts being a problem after a few hours.

[cranes his neck up from 9S's leg, surveying the wreckage]

It shouldn't take that long to finish up the rest of this, though...I hope.

[deem]

A limitation like that would take careful planning, huh?

[9S follows his line of sight, scanning their surroundings. There's information he can pick up on the environment simply by merit of what he is as well, and he extends his focus to that end]

I'm picking up on less hostiles... So I'd say we're making inroads at least.

[oneandmikleonly]

Yes. And -- good.

[a thread of tiredness creeps into his voice; he never thought the vague mission Qri gave them originally would wind up landing them in the middle of an alien war.]

Which way? Let's get this done.

[deem]

[For that, 9S brings up a holographic screen with a simple gesture, displaying a map of their surroundings]

Let's see here... [He frowns, reviewing dark marks that indicate enemy presence] Some have gathered by the commercial district, probably trying to get past the shields there.

[It reminds him of how machines would congregate around transports in an effort to disable them]

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo peers at the display, eyes narrowed in thought]

If we can get close enough without their spotting us, I can cloak us until we're right in the middle of them, take them by surprise. Here.

[gestures with his nose to a likely-looking spot, in the thick of the Uvi but with sufficient building cover on the way]

[deem]

[9S can't help but grin. This is the sort of thing Scanners are intended to do. Well, the sneaking around part. After all, they aren't made with a functional near-field combat system.

The difference is he's modified himself, but avoiding battles until the right moment is the best way to make use of hacking. So he sees the sense in it easily enough, nodding]

I can do that.

[He traces a path between buildings to the place Mikleo selected]

How about an approach like this?

[oneandmikleonly]

That looks solid. I'll just, uh, do my best to keep my wings pulled in.

[the problem with the Palai being smaller than your average human is that their dwellings and thoroughfares are also correspondingly tinier. whoops! the sneak attack's doable, though.]

[deem]

[We'll just imagine he was so eager to team stealth with Mikleo that he forgot telepathy was a thing for a hot second.

9S considers the close quarters for a moment with a thoughtful hum]

Would it be easier for you to approach from above? I should be able to sneak around just fine if your power doesn't have a lot of range. It's what I do.

[Or rather what he's supposed to do, but when his hobby's collecting and analyzing combat data...]

[oneandmikleonly]

Oh, you can cloak too--? Yeah, go for it. That gives us more flexibility.

[is there anything you can't do, 9S, he genuinely wonders for a moment. that's an enviable amount of flexibility]

[deem]

Not cloaking, but that'd be pretty useful. It's more that we're good at reading the environment, Scanners like me. The others don't have a functional NFCS so we weren't intended for combat.

[Skulking about is a legitimate skill]

But I was also designed to adapt, so I guess that part's sorta true.

[oneandmikleonly]

I don't get all the specifics, but it really sounds like you've been fighting for a long time.

[there's some sympathy there, but they're close enough to the Uvi now that they can't afford to get into it further; Mikleo furls his wings, preparing to take to the air again.]

[deem]

I've been a soldier from the day I was first activated. Even my first thought was concerned with that.

"I will fight for humanity with all my strength"

Kind of ironic, since I wasn't meant to fight at all.

[9S can spare the focus on mental chatter, even if he shouldn't. It's in his nature, though as he transmits that, he's following the path he'd laid out. Despite his weight, he's good enough at sneaking up on enemies with minimal noise involved.

And when he draws near enough, his weapon flickers out of sight before reappearing in the air and shooting toward the Uvi gathered there, whipping around them in a vicious circle]