Eyeing my lance I immediately spread them out as best I could to give everyone the best firing arcs. But the issue here isn't just one of numbers, it is one of quality of units. Judging from reports relayed by the Galactica from the battle on the other side of the continent five of the incoming mechs were something of a mix between a brawler mark2 and sniper mark 3 variants of Siafu mechs. While simultaneously surpassing both of those older designed UAF mechs.

Normally that wouldn't be a problem because judging from scans even on their best day these mechs couldn't match a gungnir in combat. And if my lance was made up of only gungnir mechs this would be a sweep but with only five mechs counting me it is entirely more complicated.

[600m No visual]

Three of my mechs out there are older model atlas units. Wracking my brain I quickly go through what I know about my lance. First up as Camouflage, his Atlas-b2 was not originally designed to be used against other mechs but would probe sufficient if only just against adult dragons. So it would be best to keep him out of close range combat with mechs.

“Camouflage, move to this position and provide fire support for the squishes and take out those dragons. Do not engage the enemy mechs in cqb unless absolutely necessary.” I order flashing up a waypoint on his HUD.

[500m no visual]

Next up were the mech pilots of MOTH team-1, the and Habu. Their Atlas-2s were better built for combat with other mechs while not being purpose built for the task. Grayson is almost as good as fally and he and Bender were an excellent team so could mesh their loadouts. Yes they would be functional on their own so I with a wave I sent them their orders before focusing on Miiora.

I had to be careful here because I know she won't stray far from Fallys side in any other situation Miiora could be relied on to follow orders. It was just part of who she was being much more submissive as result of being raised as a slave. It made her much more receptive of orders but I have no doubt that if I order to leave Fallon to fight alone she would completely ignore me.

[400m sporadic visual. Engagement not recommended]

… Judging by the trajectory of the first mech it looked to be focusing on her. Merde, Miiora has improved since I took her under my wing and began teaching her. But she’s like Trombley still somewhat green despite their engagement with the lankys, inexperienced, and leagues behind her boyfriend on her best day.

If the worst came too she might in fact become a liability to Fally. Who at the moment was next runner up to being the best ATLAS pilot in the cog behind the traitor Williams and Crux. If she was in danger he might have to divert attention to keep her alive. But the joint modifications our team made to Mii'ora’s mech added to her machines much more slender frame and odd tymerian ability to pilot might help her out.

[300M]

https://youtu.be/l0fRwFZDAWA

With that thought I pre spun my wrist gatlings and readied a spread of missiles. My mech is more than a match than two of these serpents as uec calls them, so that only leaves Fally. "Armor" unlike the other NAC mechs present was an ATLAS-3 a machine that was purpose built from the ground to be a state of the art battle mech.

As such the NAC machine is in several ways superior to my generation-3 gungnir. Chief among them was the womb that encased the pilot in a amniotic fluid and fully immersed the pilot with its neural link allowed for a level of control that was unparalleled even by the Nordic Empires machines.

That combined with the absolutely ludicrous amount of firepower and other general rubbish the NAC feels the need to pack into its eighteen foot frame makes the ATLAS-3 the king of the ground, the same way the gungnir is universally accepted as the queen of the air. And if intelligence reports are true the NAC has already begun designing a fourth generation atlas.

That being said it is painfully obvious that Fally is determined to throw down with Williams. His body language is angry his machine matching how he would move naturally. His hands open and close into fists as he slowly paces back and forth in his position like a caged animal.

[260m]

Behind him the twin L-blades attached to his icarus mounts twitch and flex subconsciously as he walks. The black straight tapering blades and slight curve of their scabbards give his machine the appearance of large headless angel in the dark. Avery is arguably the best mech pilot here but there is something wrong.

His breathing is ragged in the tac-link, a stark contrast to the muted conversation of the other mech pilots and ground troops. His sharp inhilations made even more ominous by the slight sucking sound from the omniosis filling his lungs. Beside him Habu’s sensor dome sporadically glances from the tree line to Avery's mech "Armor" clear worry apparent in her body language. Beside her Big Dog appears to be just as agitated as Fally but more in control in a cool rage.

Then the range finder flashes once more and without being able to see my HUD Fally’s left fist shoots up before he sweeps his arm across the forest. A line of flechettes and grenades go flying deep into trees and a scream of pain echoes from somewhere out of sight.

[200m]

“Engage.” The first uec ground troops begin to stream in as my lance and the unmechanized portions of the rescue team opens up on them. Then the mechs and dragons began returning fire forcing us into cover.

Massive bolts of golden energy streamed passed or struck our cover sending particles in every direction when they explode. A shockwave rocked our position as a very familiar black dragon slammed down. It's scared face, barrel chest and slightly torn wings marked it for certain this was the drake Fallon had battled and bested on Bagmare.

“Hrrraaaagh!” A guttural primal scream tore its way through the tac-link and through the forest as the white and red chassis of Armor slammed into the drake.

The dragon scrambled to its feet but was met with a vicious rake across its face from Armor’s clawed fingers. Armors other hand came then clenched in a fist he batted the beast to the ground where its bulk snapped a wing like a twig. The left most L-blade swung around as the dragon struggled to a knee drawing a deep line across its stomach.

The beast wailed in pain as its innards began to spill from the gash but it's chest heaved as it readied to belch fire directly into Fallys cockpit dome. Several guns turned on the beast blowing several large chunks from its flesh but many held their fire do to the risk of hitting Armor in the back. The black dragon’s neck began to glow with an inner flame before the second black blade sank into its chest.

Dull embers erupted from the wound as a the fire died in its throat. The drake croaked out a scream as Fally leaned his mech down and used his mechs speakers to scream directly in its face before drawing his blades together bisecting the beast.

The energy bolts gave way to regular bullets and sporadic rockets as we retired fire. But in a small window I watched Fally throw up a hand absentmindedly a magnetic shield stopping the incoming rounds as he thrust a hand into the spilled guts of the dead dragon. When he pulled his hand back he held the beasts savaged liver high above his head.

“Icequeen, Eisenhorn; Moth Fallon is about to break formation. Something… many things have a grip on him. I have seen it and whatever it is has a hold on his rage and he is grasping it back like a life line, I can no longer hold him back.”

Part of his cockpit opens and I force myself to fight back the bile in growing in my throat as he crushes the organ in his powerful clawed fist. Dirty unfiltered blood the color of rust gushes steaming down into and around the partly opened cockpit hatch. Inside of the cockpit I can see the sealed pod of his womb being covered in the liquid as the liver pulps and begins to squeeze between the mechs fingers.

“Huhaha!” The two blades flare out behind him before his sensor dome flicked to Habu and seemed to linger on her mech before he lets out a scream so loud and full of sorrow it is like a physical attack. His L-blades pulsed an evil red sending out red particles like fireflies. Before the veins that had been present since landing on the planet settled and lost their glow replaced with a deep arterial red.

“Ghost, I will peel your flesh for the One.” twin pillars of fire roared into existence as Armors jump jets fired. The jets lifted him as he fired his cannons into the tree line before crashing back down behind a bolder farther away from the lance and the rescue team as several mechs burst through the trees with an atlas-2B at the lead.

Crux ran another of the enemy mechs through with his sword before arcing his blade out and through the neck of a drake. With the flick of a wrist he through up a magnetic shield blocking several incoming tank shells meant for his machine.

Movement caught his attention and he swept low turning and repelling the shells directly into the twin cockpit of a siafu warrior. The mech exploded showering his machine with burning oil and broken metal but through the flames he could see several of his brother Templars had fallen.

These serpents as the enemy called them were proving quite the worthy foe. Through their pilots were no true match, two of the machines had managed to fell his second a noble woman by the callsign of Mercy. This battle has proven costly fully a third of the assets committed to the attack have been lost. But slowly the UEC has been pushed back. But now with the furrball in the sky dwindling more and more UEC fighters have been freed up to strafe his forces.

A flash of light blew him back and through a building. Damaged by the blast his left icarus mount was crushed and severed from his back as he crashed down in the street on the opposite side of the street. Struggling to get to his feet his cockpit was bashed by a powerful hand making him slam down onto his back.

Before him were two drakes and two serpents the ones that had killed Mercy no doubt seeking revenge for killing their leader. They leveled their weapons as he rose shakily to a knee using his sword for support. “I walk into the valley of death and will know no fear.” He mutters as he watched his death near.

Then a piercing whale cut the air as three mechs fell on them. He recognized them as the ones that had fled the battle earlier, two of them were atlas mechs who wore helldiver colors under their blood soaked armor, and the third was a white sniper model Siafu.

The sniper marked Hope swerved juking under the massive shotgun blast of one of the drakes before it's arm rose autocannon barking a continuous stream of shells. As the dragon staggers the siafu brought its pincer to bare severing the shooting arm from the beasts body.

It howled in pain before its head was severed by one of the atlas mechs. This mech was marked Blur and the upper portion of its cockpit appeared to have been torn away revealing the horror inside. Blood and awful sloshed around the cockpit showing the pilot. Blur punched into the cockpit of one of the serpents it whaled before being shot by the second UEC machine.

The two surviving UEC soldiers fell back one of them managing to sever the head from the white siafu. Inside a siren turned its eyeless head toward Crux as it used its L-blade as an improvised shield protecting the beast.

It's beaked mouth parted slightly as it let out an echoing chirp to the templar commander before it chirped to the atlas at its side. “Acknowledged, my target is marked follow.” The surviving atlas spoke before the two sped off in pursuit of the mech and dragon.

Crux crossed himself as he stood truly the Lord must work in strange ways. Glancing up to the skies he watched the black armored “Ruler” pirouette her fighter around two magenta bolts of energy.

The offending UEC fighter a heavenly modified NAC shrike shoots past the onyx guards craft and into a wide bank, before leveling off and firing two missiles into a passing shrike blowing it out of the sky. And in response Ruler’s fighter transformed into its valkyrie mode slowing violently as the wind buffeted its hull. The sudden drop indeed allowing her to track the enemy shrike with her right wrist gatlings.

Several of the grenades missed their target and several more glanced harmlessly off of the freshly recharged shields of the equestrian’s bastardized fighter. But one grenade managed to bypass the shields and struck the armor of the plane sending it into a spiral that it quickly recovers from.

It reached out and at last it found its answer. It found its answer in the form of the children born from its war with the patterns calling themselves Humans. Truly its need to incorporate its need to be all and nothing, to know all but little has found several patterns among humanity. These sparks of light made from its influence have become their own. An experiment yet not, it reached out to these children wielding blades made from the whole.

Several of these children could not withstand its influence and gave in. Their body's morphed and changed by the whole’s need to make more of itself to spread just as it has done since it first was birthed from the bone covered wastes of its home. These prove to be lesser than their brothers and sisters but nonetheless they fight will all the ferocity of their bone kin, with all of the Iron of the whole.

It reaches out through these new eyes and sees the enemy. These forms these patterns make the whole recoil for the whole can not take in anything of this new enemy. Their flesh is sour and their bones break with a stench that is unnatural.

The humans who are its enemy fight the threat while fighting the whole. Yet it is odd that the first race in a million years has not progressed farther. This enemy they fight threatens not only the humans but the entire whole. In time should the small patterns fail to defeat the threat it will spread.

Across the small part of the arm the humans and threat occupy those who have wielded the black blades for sufficient time have begun to see its avatar. The formless shapes that make up the whole and the one have appeared to many of the small patterns and It feels something it has never felt.

It has been alone for so long and something female something ancient and forgotten rejoices that its children have appeared and is killed. Yet another old calls out in rage as its mate cries in sorrow as its children die and it is killed.

It has already given the humans something in the hopes of aiding them in their battle against the threat. The things that it had gotten these items from were old almost as old as the whole yet still no match for its might or the rage of the one.

https://youtu.be/XCnrO2TtjEQ

It reaches out, it reaches out, it reaches out. Thirteen million times it reaches out and it feels its children's call. On the planets they and the enemy call Tearus five and one of its children have awoken. One and five on the planet Baal, five on a world shrouded in perpetual shadow known as Pak, ten on their Steel World, twenty on the planet the threat, the humans and the whole each want the humans call Blood World, and six on the fourth planet in their home system Mars.

Yet only three among those on tearus truly hear the call and this is good for its call is to strong for such lesser creatures. One the first among the small race to head the call died and just now another fell felled by the guns of the hated tasteless threat.

Now only four remain in the dark system and only two somehow mechanically shielded from the full might of its call. One of them the oldest and most susceptible has been changed by the holes need to feed. It's sirens call echoes as its fear is evident yet the child by its side quells and directs its fear, rage, and need to feed.

And two on the opposite side of the world have seen its avatar. Found comfort in their dark time at the hands of the threat. “Their iron is pure.” something says before being killed.

Yet only one of the two wields the blades made from the bone and hulls tendrils ships. It feels the rage of The One its need to wrend flesh from bone and kill, but it ignores yet sees the the full call somehow shielded as if through a capsule of glass. It's rage is pure and its hate is unyielding and all of it is focussed on one being a pattern calling itself Williams.

This child of iron is shielded by an outside force, a mixture of emotion shared by twelve of its brothers and sisters across the stars that allows them to focus and retain sense of self. It reaches out in hopes of finding the name to call this emotion and things taken in long ago call them blood lust, and sorrow. But chief among them are love a concept strange to the whole as it knows only the need to spread, explore, and test those new. And rage a sentiment part of the whole know well.

It reaches out and feels one of its children die too consumed by its lust for slaughter and changes its call. Now no longer blazing now dull and droning silently, a keening always the keening.

“Damn it Fallon your getting far from the formation.” a voice calls out through the keening.

Using my emergency vents I spin around sweeping my leg out low and raising my right fist firing a string of rockets into the chest of the nearest mech. The missiles impacted blowing large chunks from its armor as it turned to face me bringing its cannon to bare.

“Armor overclock thrusters two second ventral burn rotate point six.” energy coalesced in the mechs weapon before a massive blast burst from the barrel.

Diving towards the bolt I fired my emergency vents sending me sailing under the roiling mass. Now clear my thrusters fire sending me into a half barrel role while I deploy my close combat spike as I land with a roll.

Coming to a skidding halt inside of the serpents guard I lashed out with my L-blades. The two black melee weapons stab out into the torso of the mech once, twice, three times each stab piercing through its armor. Before I deliver an uppercut directly under the chest of the mech.

The diamond tipped spite punched out from under mechs head covered in blood as it passed through the cockpit. The serpent's feet leave the ground as I stand holding the mech above me impaled on the spike I drove through its sternum.

A flashing light drew my attention back to the rescue team. Habu was falling back as one of the serpents pressed its advantage. Firing my jets I leap over to her position shoulder bashing the UEC mech aside as I land in front of her.

“Thank you.” Making the belter hand sign for you're welcome I ducked under a punch from the mech before being bashed to the side. Flying through the air I crash through a tree before bouncing off of a bolder and coming to rest on my back.

“Warning: minor damage detected to left hip actuator, combat effectiveness lowers by point six percent.” Grunting I rotated my upper body to face the ground and using my arms I pushed myself back to my feet. Before rotating back to face forward and stare down the white and gold atlas mech.

Red tendrils swim into the borders of my vision as I hyperventilate feeling the amniosis fill and exit my lungs inside the womb. Hearing the keening loud in my ears as a thirst pulsed from the back of my mind. Rounds pinged off of my armor as the two of us stared one another down, and a wet sloshing could be heard just outside of my womb inside the cockpit.

The entire battle seemed to slow down as I felt two footsteps behind me. But my attention was focused on Ghost as he looked to his rifle, I had damaged it early on and now minutes later, it looked useless. He must have had the same idea because sparring it one final look he throws the weapon to the side to crush two UEC soldiers.

Beside him the white and green serpent aims it's rifle in my direction and I respond by deploying both my ballistic shield and close combat spike. Opening a second window compiled of Tac-link video I can see several golden bolts fly from the serpents rifle to splatter and sizzle against my shield.

Soon however a second after the tenth bolt struck my shield a burst of tracers lanced out from over my shoulder. Glancing back using an external camera dome I saw the red and white chassis of Miioras mech directly behind me in a medium couch firing over my shield. “Push.”

With that I take a small step forward retracting my spike, and with my fist back in place I poke it around the edge of my shield adding my own stream of tracers to Miiora’s. The combined fire of my flechette and grenade autocannons and Miiora’s pulse rifle force the serpent back making it use its bulbous arms as shields.

An explosion catches my attention as I see the life signs for the chief flatline. His mech falls to a knee as its cockpit burns before toppling onto its side going limp. Beside him trombley's mech is hit by a shell and its left arm flies off blasted off at the joint. The limb pinwheels before crushing one of Moth team 2s power armored troopers.

Trombley staggers back his mech taking several more hits before Bender dragged him behind his ballistic shield. The surviving members of the apex predators come together forming a turtle shell shield wall with their overlapping ballistic and magnetic shields. And from their backs their icarus mounts weapons spring up firing over the wall and through gaps.

“Iceman, Habu take out those two mechs ahead of you. Gah!” Charlotte sent before the lower portion of Amps cockpit exploded as a lucky shell passed through the shield wall showering her mech in debris and sparks. His mech staggers before regaining its footing. “I’m fine go!”

The keening grows louder and louder, the scratching at the back of my mind building and building before. All at once time seems to stop as Charlotte is blasted from the sky mid jump.

Her mech’s left leg disintegrates as a lucky hit strikes it. The change in weight causes her machine to overcompensate sending it tumbling end over end before slamming down head first in a heap.

Something snapped then and the keening quieted. I could see a swarm of red fireflies drifting into my line of sight. Opening a link to Miiora I stood locking onto Ghost who had an anti lanky auto cannon on his icarus mount.
“StAy, BeHiNd Me.”

https://youtu.be/mgQelQJlI7c

The L-blades on my loves back spread wide like an enraged drake as he roared. The red veins on the blades burst to life glowing brilliantly with an evil crimson glow, bathing the left and right sides of his mech in red light. Burning embers of light the color of human blood drifted down from the joints connecting the blades to their sheaths as he let out such a pain laced screech it makes her heart stop.

The jump jets fire behind him sending him arcing high into the air as he retracts his tower shield. Enemy fire lifts from the battered rescue team to follow his assent before at the peak of his arc he thrusts his hand down stopping the incoming shells, bullets and rockets with a magnetic shield.

Taking this chance she locked onto the mech with Min’Baku’s scent and fired a burst from my rifle into it. The machine bucks and sparks fly as armor piercing flechettes punch through its hide. Bin’Baku goes low attempting to make a smaller target as her tail flung out for ballance.

Twin pillars of fire lance down behind Min’Baku as my love fires his decent jets kicking up mud and water. Landing with a splash I watched one of the serpents pass by the white and gold atlas before a literal wall of ordnance repulsed from Avery Fallon’s the magnetic shield reducing the serpent to sparking shrapnel and fire.

Behind the serpent the left side of ghost’s machine is pelted with ordnance and shrapnel severing the icarus mounts from its shoulder. Taking a step back it narrowly avoids my suitors form as he dives for him.

Landing with a roll he passes by the penultimate serpent who moves to punch him. But he ducks under the blow and barrels into it clawed fingers clamping around its narrow midsection. The two of them roll before coming to rest with Avery Fallon atop the machine.

A powerful hand bats at his cockpit once but is pinned and served by the twin blades on my mates back. With a blood chilling scream filling the open channel the pilot howeld in fear as Avery Fallon tears him from the machines cockpit.

The pilot screamed and batted at the clawed hand holding him before my love brought his other hand around. Clapping his hands together a fountain of blood, pulled meat and bone sprayed in every direction. “What.. The.. fuck?” someone commented through the company channel.

Sensing movement I ducked low shifting my mechs joints and pushed myself to the side. Not a second later a massive green fist slammed down into the mud where I had been. Knowing her sisters next move Mii'ora braced herself as Min’bakus tail came around.

The appendage slammed into her side but having dug her feet into the ground with the stabilising claws she unmoved. No instead I clamped my own clawed hands around the serpents tail and swung to the side in a move used by Durge. Min’Baku was lifted off of the ground and slammed into a bolder sending shredded armor bits of rock in every direction.

It crashed back to the ground with its cockpit dented. With a hiss echoing through her speakers Min’Baku thrust her arm to the side allowing the rifle to swing into place before firing several shots towards me. Retrieving my pulse rifle from my back I deployed my auto cannon icarus mounts and spun around the first three shots.

Managing to score several hits with my rifle before it was struck by a golden energy bolt. I quickly threw the weapon aside and shifted my machines joints dropping to all fours. All the while the auto cannon on my back continued to spit fire towards Min’Baku.

My sister's machine dashed behind rocks and weaved through trees returning fire all the while. Before four streames if tracers were sent into her side sending Min’Baku sprawling but not before a bolt from her rifle pierced my cockpit narrowly avoiding me. As it passed the condensed magical energy siered my armors plating before exiting the rear of the mech.

The damage causes me to stagger back and fall to a knee. Before a series of stomping footsteps bring my attention away from my smoking pauldron and to the hulking form of my love. His machine now stood with its scared back facing mine while he fired both sets of wrist cannons on the other atlas.

With a great force of will I tear my eyes away from his blood soaked machine as he turned to stand over my kneeling form. His right arm slams to the side causing rain and blood to slide off in sheets as he shifts to track both my sister and the traitor. Around his machine I can sense a swirling energy the feel of it akin to that of the predators that hunt in the fire tides.

“Stand up!” Avery Fallon shouts before tearing his fire away from my sister to block a punch from the white and gold atlas. Like lightning I sensed a pulse, a ping, and shot to my feet in time to block a blow of my own. This one thrown by the serpent piloted my by sister, causing my back to slam that of my mates.

Her serpents fist met air as Min’baku’s sister blocked the blow striking my machines elbow in the manor Bra’tac had taught. With a flurry I swept low bringing my tail up to strike the side of her cockpit. But instead Mii’ora ducked to the side spiraling around her mate and my tail was instead caught by the powerful claws of the blood soaked machine.

With a jerk and a haunted primal raur the white and red machine lifted her tail high and swept a leg low arc. His machines much more powerful legs slammed into mine kicking them out from under her. The NAC machine fighting with the drive of the flesh tearer scorpions of my homeworld pulled on her tail before punching the cockpit of my serpent.

“No, no no!” She cried out fighting with her controls in attempt to regain some semblance of control. Her mate was looking out for her however because as the fist struck the smaller mech of Casper Williams tackles this creature lessening the impact. The impact lifted the monster from atop my mech and sent the two machines bouncing across the muddy ground before coming apart.

The Fallon creature fired jets slowing its skids while firing its wrist guns toward her mate. Before it slammed back first into Zabiel the second drake in our company who had previously been engaged with the surviving huddled humans and traitors.

However my thoughts that the drake would be able to end the damaged machine were cut short as the twin blades flashed out. The two pitch black and glowing red blades sank deep into her scales. And almost as if it enjoyed it the Fallon creature slammed a fist into one of Zabiels wounds before ripping a large strip of flesh from bone before severing her head with a final stroke.

It was then as fresh blood sank into the blades did they change. The vial mixture of blood coating them changed from a liquid flowing a disgusting brown to a shimmering red before crystallizing into ruby rivulets on the blades and on his mechs hands and other flat surfaces.

This change in the pilot was subtle, insignificant and the Fallon charged Casper once again squeezing the blood from the chunk of flesh into a crack in its cockpit. She struggled to right her machine while bringing her rifle to bare on the monster before a stomp drew her attention.

Turning her head she was greeted with the sight of a small tree slamming into what passed for her mechs face. The foliage splintered and she staggers back, only to feel her left leg wheel stalling before exploding. More alarms blared and switching camera feeds she saw the culprit was the machine her mate had shot down that had done it.

It's lower half was in shambles and the machine looked ready to explode from all of the sparks coming from its frame and foam coating it. But nonetheless its left hand was extended its rotary cannon smoking. “Shesha!”

Another stomp drew her attention and she threw her mechs powerful fist forward in an attempt to gain distance. Instead Mii’ora’s own damaged mech ducked under the blow, pulling a knife from her mechs webbing that could only have belonged to a dead drake before slamming it into her left arm shoulder joint.

A hiss of effort scratched out from her sisters damaged and smoking machine before a testable ripping sound filled the cockpit. Alarms blasted and claxons sounded as her heads up display showed her mechs silhouette. The normally blue silhouette of the machine’s form was flashing red where its left foot had been and a glaring solid red where its left arm had once been.

Through her view screen she saw her sister take a step with the arm in her free hand before tearing back and slamming it into my machine. The force of the blow knocked my serpents leg pistons out of alignment making me kneel as another series of shots from behind served them from the frame. And much to my disshonor I screamed as the front of my cockpit crumbled and was ripped away, and a massive hand reached in and wrapped itself around me before it tore me from my cockpit.

“Min’Baku!” I heard my mate call out and once I was pulled out and clear of my cockpit I saw the form of Casper Williams in its entirety, his machine was a walking ruin.

https://youtu.be/YT7-fwfHMsE

Massive pockmarks marred its armor, and great slash and stab wounds crossed everywhere with smoke and sparks sparing form the fissures. He turned and threw a punch as the tearor sent a spray of flares out blinding him. On instinct he deployed his already damaged ballistic shield and I watched as the beast transformed its right hand into a massive spike before driving it into the slab.

The spike slid from the tower shield and Williams snapped hand out snagging one of the blades on the beast's back. As if offended by the audacity of the inferior machine the Fallon creature bucked back throwing both of its hands out catching my mate by the shoulders.

Before he could counter the beast’s jets flared and it delivers what can only be described as a head but to Williams machine. Crystals shatter and spark fly as the two heavy war machine collide. But the white and red machine presses the attack shifting his grip and clamping hands on his opponents forearms before folding its blades into their sheaths and leaping into the air.

The larger machine fires its jets to hang upside down above its opponent before its hips rotate turning its legs one hundred and eighty degrees. With its legs now facing the opposite direction the mech disables its thrusters and slams its legs back down into the mud kicking up a spray of water. With a great effort the machine uses the leverage it created to pick up the other atlas and hurl it over its head and into a bolder shattering frame, armor, and stone alike.

Fallon turns from his opponent to snatch up a human UEC soldier before crushing her and stuffing what was left into the cockpit of his machine. The sick fuck then snaps his sensor dome to the side and jumped onto a firing UEC soldier crushing it under his feet.

“Shit, Iceman the traitors getting up.”

“Confirmed, target acquired.” My fellow escapee replis before turning and sprinting back towards Williams who was rising to a shaky knee. He must have felt Iceman coming because as the last second he rose to his feet and their hands locked.

For a few seconds they struggled pushing against each other before Williams brings a knee crashing into Fallons mid section. Metal dented, and shards of that crystal shattered as he presses his attack. First he pulled his fist back and punched Fallons cockpit staggering him before the sound of multiple blades extending fills the air.

Williams then brought his arm back across Fallons cockpit hatch, scraping it with the small saw like blades extended from his mechs forearm. Fallon staggers back holding three raged gashes across his chest. Inside of the cockpit blood that had been pooling and blending together began bleeding through the slash armors chassis.

Black blood oozed from the wound as Ghost brought both of his feet up and drop kicked Fallon sending him skidding back. Instead of simply falling back to the ground he lands in his feet and sprints towards Fallon. Then he fires his jets as he delivers a flying knee to Fallons cockpit. Before dropping low and sweeping his legs out from under him and sending Iceman’s larger frame crashing down.

But just as Ghost is about to flame the kill Fallon fired his thrusters boosting away. Before he slammed a hand into the mud to stop himself before raising his fist and firing several flechettes and grenades toward Ghost who was advancing. Acting quickly Fallon fired his jets and slid hovering just over a foot above the ground, sliding backwards creating some distance before stealing back down and facing Williams.

When he stopped the the two L-blades snapped out from their sheaths behind him before flaring out as he thrust his arm to the side and deployed his melee spike. The four foot spike slid from his forearm replacing his clawed hand with a metallic sound of sliding metal as he blasted his machines war horn long and loud.

https://youtu.be/kndLJM-h_t4

In response Ghost blasted his own war horn and thrust his arms to his sides. Two compartments that aren't on standard Atlas-2s snapped open on its arms. Two monofilament blades telicoped out with a snap before their edges blazed with cobalt light.

“Oh shit.” Someone mutters into the net. “kres’ak this is it.” I heard the male tymerian next to X mutter.

The two blasted their war horns once again and charged. Fallon ducked low as Ghost swung his left arm high. The traitor swung his right around intent on slashing Fallons cockpit open. Iceman’s right L-blade pivoted and caught the glowing edge of the traitors wrist blade.

The equestrian blade spewed blue sparks as it clashed with the L-blade. Fallon then dropped and braced his elbow swung his legs low. The act kicked Ghost’s legs out from under him and he went down. But at the last second he thrust his arm out retracting his wrist blade and pushing off of the ground. Before using his emergency vents to spin himself laterally to deliver some kind of falling sideways kick.

The blow kit Fallon in the “head” staggering him allowing Ghost to push himself up and into a flying back kick. At the last second Fallon composes himself and he fires his own emergency thrusters bursting to the side into me for the kick to miss. “Come on Fally, you can do this.”

Ghost quickly righted himself taking a step back thrusting his arm up as Fallons right L-blade came slicing towards him blocking the blade. Then with a flash of blue and silver the icarus mount holding Armors right L-blade was sliced away.

Sparks, slag, smoke and fire burst from the joint where the small gimbal arm had been. But Fallon tweaked to the side bringing his second L-blade around to block another slash, delivered a jab with his left hand, before ducking under a swing and snatching up the L-blade from where it rested on the ground.

Fallon spun into another swing from Ghost letting the blade slide off of his shoulder armor as he drove the severed L-blade into Caspers left leg. The now dull black blade slammed through the armor and out of the rear of the limb before a backhand sends Fallon back.

He leaned back to avoid a left hand swing from Ghost then ducked low to dodge a right hand punch. Before he swings his right hand up bashing the melee spike under the shoulder joint of Ghosts mech and slashing across his cockpit with his remaining L-blade.

The cut is apparently just shallow enough to have not killed Williams, but deep enough to allow a small amount of light from inside of the machines cockpit to be seen. In response Ghost brings his arm up and plunges it into the right side of Armor’s own cockpit.

Lyra and her resistance soldiers trudged along behind the Fire Drakes who walked calmly beside their trigger happy compatriots. Carpeting every UEC soldier they found in burning napalm. It took almost an hour of searching to find the resurrection server room.

And much to the group's chagrin they were forced to deal with increasingly competent ambushes from the ship's complement of marines. But for some reason she had thought the earthers would have shown some tact when they found the server room. Instead they simply tossed one of their thermobaric grenades through the door and walked off.

It is odd because usually there is some kind of procedure whenever a server is deactivated. But the human who tossed the grenade simply didn't seem to understand or didn't care that he had just committed a small genocide, as well as condemn all of this ship's crew that died from then on to permanent death.

Soon afterward the attacks lessened as more and more of the marines who attacked our group were permed. And eventually we came to the bridge and found a large contingent of the ships marines standing guard, no doubt they planned to make a last stand in hopes of giving the ship's captain time to communicate his situation or detonate the ships reactor. With a nod my partner and I threw were joined by two other pairs of unicorns and changelings and threw up a shield.

“Lets rock!” two of the space born infantry marines shouted. The guns they fired were linked to the tac-link targeting reticle in their HUDs and attached to an mechanical arm that attached the side their armor. Just as we had planned our group of six magic users slowly expanded the shield, as the human Moths and space born infantry troopers advanced firing from behind it.

The rounds from the UEC marines bounced off of or were absorbed by the shield while the humans and formers as they called them fired through the shield. Eventually the shield passed over the outermost troops and the Moths fell on them with their melee weapons or flame throwers. And in once instance the human with the chainsaw attachment drew his wicked weapon across the chest of a unicorn.

Blood and bits of bone fountined from the ragged wound before the human screamed in anger and drew the weapon out before he kicked the pony sending it to die slumped against the wall.

Another instance saw a power armored MOTH jump onto the back of a buffalo throwing off its balance and sending it crashing to the deck. The human then quickly stood and before jumping on the head oversized cow, crushing it under his or her weight.

And as the carnage drew to a close she watched the leader of the Fire Drakes slice a fellow human in two with his longsword with a one handed swing. Before he caught another victim a rather familiar batpony around the throat in his free hand. In one mighty motion he lifted the mare up and broke her back against his armored knee.

Lyra began to move up the passageway as as she watched two of the power armored humans beginning to tear chunks from the blast door with their suits strength. And eventually one of them managed to punch through the door before quickly pulling their arm back.

“What now? Do we demand their surrender or something?” She asked the leader of the Fire drakes. In response he bellowed out a laugh. “Haha… Surender!?” he laughed out

Before gesturing to another human calling her over. “Nicole, burn them out.” he said coldly before the the human mare walked up to the hole in the blast door, pressed the base of her rifles flamethrower attachment to the whole and pulled the secondary trigger.

Screams filled the air as the bridge crew burned and she couldn't help but be extremely grateful once again that the earth's were on The Anti Conclave Movements side. “Bridge is clear no life signs.” The monotone voice of one of the humans combat robots spoke.

“Confirmed, nothing of millimeter wave.” another human spoke before the power armored humans pulled the doors open.

Instantly the smell of cooked meat filled the air and water down the passageway causing Lyra to crinkle her nose. “Bridge secure, can your team work with this?” the lead human asked gesturing to the thusly cooked command center.

“Yes colonel, this is a dragon kingdom ship. If the consoles couldn't handle some fire it wouldn't be very good at its job would it.”

Claxons rang out over the battlefield as scores and scores of uec soldiers fell to the cogs power. Drakes died by the dozens under the concentrated fire of over thirty mechs and tanks. In the end several squads of UEC soldiers turned to rushing forward to detonate grenades among the COG troopers. But in the air it was a different story the ravaged squadrons of shrikes were forced to retreat as the shields of the super destroyer hanging over the refueling station came back online.

They put up one hell of a fight, but ultimately the UEC squadrons outnumbered them two to one. But their retreated didn't come without a small victory as the downed Blackknight one had been secured by a squad of space born infantry and space born rescue specialists. And the shrike piloted by Rainbow dash that had shot Eagle down had been soundly dealt with in turn by the onyx guard gungnir.

Meanwhile at the back of the line a lone templar strikes his sword against the spear of his opponent. Her wings flair out like an angel and she takes flight before coming back down with a thrust that takes the tired man by surprise.

Already suffering from several wounds his armor buckles and he falls to a knee with the rune spear lodged in his right leg. Elegantly and with a fluid grace the princess of the moon drew the spear from his leg and slashed across his chest earning a gash that sent him sprawling on his back.

Around him the men and women that had stood with him against the prime guards of Luna lie dead. And as he lies facing the sky defeated the royal alicorn comes into view her flowing mane framing her face and giving her an ethereal quality. “You fought well, for a savage. But you really had no chance of beating me.” She said staring down at him as one of the prime guards came to her side.

With a gesture from the princess the most elite of the UEC guards spoke. “Mistress, some of these savages still live. What are your orders, do we take prisoners?” She seemed to ponder this for a moment before the templar at her feet spoke.

“We apologise, did you have something to say savage? If you beg I might be willing to let thee live and serve us.” her voice took on a regal almost mocking tone even as the battle dwindled in the distance.

The Templars mouth was gummy and he coughed up blood onto his visor as he spoke. His voice was but a rasp but it came through his power armors speakers well enough. “... I don't.”

The lunar princesses eyes grew wide in understanding before the knight activated his self destruct. With that a cover on his hand peeled back and he pressed a button with his thumb causing the micro fission battery in his power armor to explode.

Nuclear fire erupted from what used to be his body engulfing the princess and her guards. For a fraction of a second they knew and felt what happened to them. Before they were reduced to their component atoms by the microton yield nuclear device.

https://youtu.be/PIF7fLh0VH8

Judging from the angel of the stab my love just barely missing the Daemon himself. A gasp of worry goes up through the crowd before a war horn blast fills the air.

The beast’s right arm comes up punching through the force blade, snapping it off at the base. And in response Casper brings down his second wrist blade only for the flesh terror to punch once into the stomach of my masters machine with its spike.

The blow forced the force blade to go wide and strike against the blade of the beast which was poised to block the blow. Master knees the other mech in the cockpit causing sparks and another torrent of mixed blood to pore from the beast. It staggers back onto a knee as its arm spike retracts back into its arm to be replaced by its usual clawed hand. With a force of effort the white and red machine brings its hands up to catch another blow from William's last force blade.

The two stand there struggling with Williams using all of his machines strength to push the energy coated blade into his opponents cockpit. Slowly the blade begins to bite into the armor of the white and red machine. Sparks, blood and molten metal fall and sizzle before as the beast resists its killing blow.

“Any last words Solawoda?” My love askes the beast. Oh how wonderful it will be to see my sister's lover killed before her eyes. Yes, just to see her face oh how it will make up for everything I have been forced to endure.

Suddenly and unexpectedly sparkling smoke, flares, and chaff fired from the machine. Before finally several bursts of shrapnel fired from from the machine filled the air and struck Williams machine. The unorthodox maneuver allowed the beast to stand up once more and rear its upper body back before slamming its sensor dome into Casper Williams cockpit.

The “Head”but staggered him back and he swings a sloppy punch that the beast ducked under. Denting in the white and gold mechs sensor dome with a jab as it went low, the daemon machine then pulled the L-blade from William's leg with a yank.

My master attempted another strike with his right force blade but the beast ducked back before surging forward. It's hand arched down over hand driving the blade at an angle through the top of the machine piercing and severing several of its battery units. Then the forest drew quite as The Fallon creature yanks down on the blade and drew its fist back. Then he drove that fist straight through the cockpit of my masters machine.

Williams screamed as the blood soaked atlas tore him free holding him in one fist, letting the crippled machine fall onto its back before stomping on the machines cockpit. With his machine destroyed I watched my love, my master kick and fire his pistol into the mechs sensor dome before its other hand came around grabbing his upper half.

Then as I watched as the flesh terror held Casper Williams over its head and tore him in half. It blasted its war horn then crushed the two twitching halfs in his hands letting the crimson liquid coat the core of his machine.

“They are real.” She mutters to herself in fear as she watches the badly damaged machine now free of a target, go on a rampage stomping or bating aside UEC soldiers. All of whom had witnessed the battle and tried to surrender at its feet or tried to flee, and all of them died.

“What is real sister?” the voice comes from her sisters machine, its golden sensor eye turning from her mate to her. It was then that a pulse went out from the machine sending out a cloud of partials from its only remaining blade.

Before anything more could be said both the rampaging flesh terror and kneeling machine marked “Big Dog” stopped dead before they both fell to their knees and fell over.

“What the hell?” Someone called out before my sister began walking her mech in the direction of the blood soaked machine. “Hey Habu where are you taking the prisoner?” another voice called.

My sister's primarily red machine stopped, the white ascents highlighted in the flashing lighting. Her sensor dome turned to me before she spoke. The usual disgusting kindness, and nurturing almost timid demeanor she gave off gone from her voice. “What prisoner?”

Her world jerked, and pain exploded throughout her body. As her sister her own sister Mii’ora, the runt, the maiden, flicked her machines wrist the pain exploded a thousand fold. She felt organs burst and turn to liquid, bones snapping grinding together, before the word went black forever

Righteous anger burned through the white unicorn’s veins as she looked over the destruction. Hundreds of ponies were simply gone, and while most of them were mere soldiers… Her Coco was among them. There was a simple answer. She could use the magic she had been studying, and force her back to life. Coco would be the first, no, the second to be gifted the wondrous gift of immortality. Granted, there was the cloning facility, and while she could regrow Coco’s petite, and beautiful, body…. There was simply no way she could make that body Coco. It would be an empty shell. She looked at the body of her beloved Coco.

Slowly she closed her eyes, feeling the coldness of the magic fill the air. It began to pool around her hooves, moving out, and she felt it touch Coco. Then she felt something else, something colder, open before the two of them. It didn’t matter that there was a battle happening above them, and it didn’t matter that perhaps hundreds of her guards and soldiers would perish never to be brought back. All that truly mattered to her was saving the one pony that mattered to her on a level she couldn’t explain.

There was a wet raspy breath, and she slowly began to let the magic she was using close. Looking out before her she saw Coco’s arms heal from the self inflicted wounds, there was a sobbing breath, and Coco’s eyes opened.

“You’re alive!”

Coco’s eyes turned toward her. It wasn’t the love she’d seen there, or even the subjective obedience she had become accustomed to. Instead there was anger, malice, and she hoped that she was wrong, but it looked like hate resided there as well.

“NO! I WAS FREE!”

Rarity stepped back. Coco stood to her hooves, Memories of what happened after she died filled her mind. She was away from Rarity, she had been brought before the judges of the dead, her soul filleted open, her very core used in the most perverse manner, and then she was sentenced for her many sins. But she was still free of Rarity, free from being little more than a living sex toy, and now Rarity had dared to bring her back into this world.

“Coco, love, I… I couldn’t live without you.”

Coco’s actions were quick. She struck out, her left hand grabbing Rarity’s horn, making her scream, as she broke it. She knew that Rarity would be regrown, most likely birthed back on Equestria, but she didn’t care. She wanted her vengeance. She shoved the now mostly magicless unicorn backward. For her part Rarity tried to run, only to find that Coco was faster than herself. She found herself beaten, her arms tied behind her back, her uniform ripped open in the front, her pants and panties torn from her body.

Had this been the Coco she knew and loved this would be rather exciting, but instead she felt nothing but fear. She felt something at her back, and she whimpered as she realized that Coco was going to torture her.

“Move”

Rarity whimpered as she walked. She wasn’t going to bleed to death. Coco didn’t break her horn that close, but the break was certainly close enough that she couldn’t focus her magic. She could summon little more than make bright sparks of color. She wasn’t sure where they were heading until she heard the fighting. The battle that was raging. She tried to stop, to tense up, but Coco pushed her to the door. This was the single hallway that separated them from safety to the battle outside. She opened the door and standing there was somepony that Rarity wished had been sent to reeducation way before this point. The Germaneigh native smiled as she stretched out her formerly bound wings.

Kyrie grabbed Rarity, wrenching her from Coco, “Don’t worry, mine fuhrer, I will fly you to those that will go through great pains to make sure you live, for a while.”

“No! She needs to die!” Coco yelled.

“Ja, but not yet, come, the Humans freed me, several others too, we aid them, ja?”

Coco looked at her, and then at Rarity. A smile crossed her lips. With that she followed Kyrie toward where the humans were. She didn’t care that she was nude, all she cared about was making sure that Rarity suffered for all she had done.

The trot was filled with danger, but it didn’t seem to matter to Coco. She simply followed Kyrie as the Pegasus flew the squirming and wailing Rarity toward the forces she had no desire to head toward. The ground troops were currently helping to mop up the remaining UEC forces, but it was one specifically that saw the incoming three ponies. Slowly a small group of the soldiers moved toward where Kyrie landed. Guns were trained on Rarity as she stood there. She began to tell them to shoot her, to end her life, but from behind them a familiar mare stepped out.

The mare standing with the humans was one she hadn’t expected to see. The Unicorn was one that Rarity had come to know as being odd, sometimes borderline obsessive, but she never would have believed that she would be a traitor. Instead the green unicorn with golden eyes grinned. Slowly it connected for her. Of the soldiers over the years Lyra had voiced her opinion of the treatment of the humans the most. In truth her recent voicing had lead her to be locked into a cell that rivaled the cell Gusty had been locked up in.

“I think that we’ve got a place all picked out for you.”

Author's Notes:

Well here we are, 60 chapters in and with the longest chapter in the story thus far.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me with the story thus far. You have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you enough. You know who you are.

For those of you still forgiving enough to continue to grace my story with your presence I have to ask.

What do you think of the story so far? What existing characters or concepts would you like me to expand upon?

And who is your favorite character if you have one at all?

Personally its a 4 way tie between, Fallon (sometimes, because writing for him is a pain in the ass), Charlotte (Who originally was ment to be a one off character who has evolved into a part of the main cast), veteran Harris (Who again has somehow evolved into a main character.), and Mii'ora/Miiora (but writing for her IS a gigantic pain in the ass, partly because I can't write female characters, and partly because I suck).

But I want to ask, It's a question I want to ask because I don't know if I am doing a good job flashing out these characters in the story.

Your support and continued interest is what drives me to continue this story. Thank you again for everything.