Incursion: Spirit of the Blitz (IC)

[Thevshi]

GM

With the teams set and a telepathic network established, the gathered heroes left the UNISON command center, heading towards their designated area of responsibility.

Outside, Myrmidon was directed to a waiting AV-8B Harrier II that had been designated for him, while Young Britannia Stella d'Argento took to the air. Soon Myrmidon was airborne as well, followed closely by two squadron of UNISON piloted Harriers.

Coiled Lightning and Foreshadow took up a position alongside UNISON troopers at the north end of the building housing the UNI STORM fighters, while Ulysses and Professor Chiron took the south end.

We have multiple small objects coming down from low orbit. Synapse relayed over the telepathic link, having received information from the command center. Appears to be the small fighters the Communion uses.

[Thevshi]

GM

Surrounding herself with a glowing forcefield, Stella d
Argento shot into the air at supersonic speeds. In moments she was within sight of the approaching swarm of Communion needle fighters. They are here! The Italian heroine stated over the mental network as she looked out at the mass of fighters.

Raising up her hands in front of her, Stella d'Argento sent a blast of light at one of the lead fighters. But the craft nimbly rolled to one side, avoiding the blast, as it continued downward toward the ground below. Frowning at her failure to manage to land her first attack, the Italian woman braced herself for any counterattack as she tried to study the flight paths of the fighters in order to try once again.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Charlie sighed as he "heard" Synapse report the incoming fighters, then started babbling at Foreshadow. "This is it, I guess. Sitting and waiting for the enemy is always the hardest part. It's not so bad once the action starts and you don't have time to think any more."

 

"Have to admit, though, thinking about the aircraft up there, while I was stuck on the ground always made me nervous. Even when I knew the aircraft were on our side. We've all gotta look like ants to them, how can they tell we're ants in the right color uniforms?" He looked down at his blue giant costume, "Not that we're even in uniforms this time."

[Tiffany Korta]

It would have been a beautiful sight of all the heroes in flight of not for the serious nature of why they were all here. Beside it reminded Agnus of other airfight one’s that she’d not personally taken part in, at least in this lifetime.

 

“Well let’s not bugger this one up. Pick your target and stay close to you wingman.â€

 

To emphasise her point she sent a burst of light toward the closest craft to her little group.

[Thevshi]

GM

Even as one of the thin needle like ships exploded after being hit by Young Britannia's energy blast, the dozens of other ones began to spread out, arcing gracefully as they banked and turned. A handful continued toward Stella and Young Britannia, green energy rippling along the front of the ships' hulls before coalescing at the sharp metal points jutting from the tip of the fighters.

Blasts of green energy streaked through the air towards the two heroines. Stella managed to duck under a blast aimed in her direction, but Young Britannia was just a bit too slow in trying to twist out of the path of a blast aimed at her. The British heroine felt a sting of pain as the blast clipped her, but was able to grit her teeth and focus past the pain.

Around them the UNISON conventional aircraft and the Communion fighters exchanged fire, with a couple more of the needle fighters exploding after being hit by missiles. But a pair of the UNISON Harriers was hit by the green energy from the Communion fighters, one losing a wing and the pilot managing to eject out, the other exploding in a fireball.

Suddenly a trio of needle fighters exploded at one edge of the battle, as a flight of Dassault Rafale from the French Air Force appeared, streaking towards the increasingly chaotic dogfight that was developing in the skies above Geneva. As they closed, the French delta wing fighters split off into pairs to try and chase down Communion fighters.

Down on the ground

Professor Chiron stood beside Ulysses, looking up toward the sky where they could just make out the flashes of light from missiles, energy beams and explosions as the dogfight began. But it was otherwise hard to make out any of the individual combatants in the dark sky.

"Even if I could see any targets, they are still too far out of range." Professor Chiron stated with a small nod to the two weapon pods mounted on either flank of the cybernetic horse body he had in place of his legs. "But I am afraid that is not likely to last."

[Exaccus]

"I agree with you there Professor; This whole thing is tragic...but at the same time id feel bad knowing them kids up there are fighting my battle for me whilst I'm down here picking flowers."  speaking even as he widens and lowers his stance arms out at his sides, readying himself to receive the charge "Lets make the most of the calm by buckling down for the storm." filling his lungs with the cool air around him and bringing the roiling power of steam to a furious boil in his sinews, faint wisps of vapour beginning to trail from the corners of his mouth and the cuffs of his jacket.

[Thevshi]

GM

As the sky became filled with planes and Communion spacecraft, Stella d'Argento turned back towards Young Britannia after the other heroine was clipped by one of the energy blasts from a Communion fighter. The Italian heroine raised one hand and sent another blast of light toward a Communion craft that was turning back around to try to make another pass at the two figures moving through the air under their own power.

This time the blast struck the needle fighter, blasting it into a small silver cloud of dust and bits of the strange metal from which it was made.

"Are you alright?" Stella called out over the noise of the jets and explosions, forgetting for the moment about the mental network that was connecting them all.

[Brown Dynamite]

"Don't worry.  The skies are covered by best fliers for miles.  If they make the mistake of touching down on the ground."  Foreshadow spun his escrima sticks around while standing in place.  "Then they'll learn the ground is not any a safer."  He was past the point of concern.

 

Erick was calm and collected.  It was game time.  And while he lacked the comfort that came with cracking jokes at his foes expense (as it was moot against machines).  He had been in enough hairy situations to know when to just go with the flow.  "If we really need to get up there.  I'll borrow us a plane.  Should be smoother flying than the Maestroplane emergency crash landing I had a few months ago."

 

Though anything would beat that landing.  "It's a good day to be an ant."  Foreshadow smiled at Coiled Lightning.  

 

<I'm thinking dinner, dancing, caracs after this.  Let's not take too long on this world saving business folks.  Have plans to live up to>

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Charlie chuckled, "Well, I guess they say any landing you can walk away from is a good one, but I think I'll stay on the ground." He looked up at the Headquarters building. "Don't have many buildings to work with for my usual aerial maneuvers."

 

He went back to listening to the mental chatter of the airborne heros, wincing as he heard Young Britannia take a hit. "People up there getting hurt, and there's nothing we can do about it" he shook his head in frustration.

[Tiffany Korta]

Agnus gave her best winning smile despite the pain from the Communions attack.

“Yeah I’m fine, I’ve faced worst after closing time on a Saturday night.†she managed to carry it off fairly convincingly.

 

As she spoke she weaved through the air to make herself less of a target throwing off bolts of light towards the enemy.

[Thevshi]

GM

<Yes, cockiness is sure to get us through the night.> Synapse responded over the mental network to Foreshadow's comments.

Up in the sky, Young Britannia blasted another of the Communion fighters out of the sky, even as she tried to make herself a harder target. However, she did not do as well as she hoped, as one of the needle like spacecraft banked down after her, and the bright green blast of energy struck the patriotically dressed heroine.

Stella managed to dodge another blast, as a pair of the defending fighter planes were damaged by energy blasts from the needle ships.

But several of the needle fighters turned away from the chaotic dogfight, diving down toward the ground and heading towards the UNISON headquarters building. As the dozen or so needle fighters neared, antiaircraft guns that had been set up opened up, tracers arching up into the night sky. A pair of needle fighters were hit, disappearing in bright explosions. The others began returning fire with green energy blasts, which blasted pockmarks into the sides of the building or around the grounds outside.

Professor Chiron waited until one of the needle ships was closer, and then opened fire with the weapon pods on his flanks. The blasts struck the darting spacecraft, causing it to erupt into a bright explosion as well.

But for all the ones the ground defenders had managed to shoot down, twice that number managed to make it through the antiaircraft fire, and slammed down into the area around the UNISON building. As the needle like ships came to a halt after impacting with the ground, their sides peeled away, each releasing four humanoid forms covered in similar silver metal as the spaceships were.

[Brown Dynamite]

<It's not cockiness if you can back it up.>  Foreshadow responded on the mental relay.  His eyes narrowing when the opportunity to prove this statement came to fruition.

 

"We're on."  Foreshadow called out to Coiled Lightning.  He took off into a wild sprint towards the nearest group of humanoids that exited from the fighters.  He didn't use his usual standard panache.  There was no flipping or rolling around  There was simply a man. Slamming a set of staves directly into the "face" of the nearest humanoid creature.  

 

It recoiled back, and Foreshadow was already on the move.  Smashing his other Escrima stick into yet another foe.  By the time the first Communion fighter had fallen a second was halfway on its way to joining it.  It was violent, inefficient, and brutal.  The complete opposite of Foreshadow's usual flashy style. But darned if the man wasn't dead set on getting results.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"Try to keep up." Coiled Lightning replied to Foreshadow. As he sprinted toward a fighter, he activated his whip. A long cord of blue electrical energy extended behind him. Four figures disembarked in front of him. Four agaisnt one. This is either mildly reckless or profoundly foolish, he'd find out in a few moments.

 

The whip crackled around, snapping once twice three times. Two silver-clad humanoid figures spasmed violently on contact with the whip, but the third shrugged the whip off. "Don't face off against the Lightning if you're going to wear all that metal!" he smirked.

 

His enthusiasm slipped away as he realized two of the enemy still stood around him.

[Tiffany Korta]

Agnus allowed herself a moment to look around and make sure everyone was alright, some had made it to the ground but they’d expected that. Ahead of them was a sky full of the Communion ships and that wasn’t filling her with confidence. Still she’d faced worst or at least remembered facing worst.

Another few burst of light towards another of the crafts, at least they were making a dent however small.

[Exaccus]

Ulysses sets himself upon the screaming monstrosities with a guttural roar of his own, thundering across the distance to the nearest cluster of foes without so much as a thought he pulls back his fist and racing with it parallel to the ground follows through with an uppercut that crumples the cyberforms jaw even as it lifts the shambling mass of metal and flesh off the ground as his other hand swings out and grasps its ankles with force enough to crumple the sleek metal of the servos and shatter whatever remains of the bone beneath; Making the most of his momentum he puts himself into a spin, lashing out at two nearby drones, catching them squarely with disabled antibodies limp appendages and sending them tumbling away in a slight tailspin.

 

<From first strike of thunder, a storm soon is born.> Ulysses muses through the mental link as the voice of coiled lightning filters through his blood filled ears,

Edited March 4, 2015 by Exaccus

[Thevshi]

GM

As the gathered heroes tore into the Communion ground forces that disembarked from the grounded needle fighters the UNISON security forces also joined in the battle, opening fire with energy weapons at the aliens invaders. However, their weapons proved to be only partially effective, as a few of the antibodies went down, while others seemed to shrug off the energy blasts with little effect.

"I will leave those on the ground to you for the moment my friend." Professor Chiron stated to Ulysses as he turned slightly to take aim at another diving needle fighter. However, this time the cybernetic hero's aim was off, as he failed to adequately lead the fast moving fighter, and the blasts from his weapon pods passed harmlessly behind the spacecraft.

[Exaccus]

Ulysses gives a nod of acknowledgement to the professor in his brief respite before returning to the fury of the battle, thundering along the ground at his top speed , fissuring the concrete beneath his tread as he takes mighty strides and once more brings his balled fist to bear with the pent up power building in his steely sinews, this time in a short sharp jab that craters the armoured chest of the antibody before him like whatever strange metal they were comprised of was paper thin aluminium, a short calculated hop carrying him swiftly out of the path of an apendage swung in retribution and crashing shoulder first into another antibody with his inexorable momentum, sending it skittering away like a shunted coal truck.

 

<Anyone need assistance with the ground forces? I seem to be ploughing through them so far.> he intones over the mental network as he ducks and weaves backwards to make ready his next charge against the horde before him.

[Thevshi]

GM

Even as the gathered heroes began taking down some of the Communion ground forces, more of the antibodies arrived in other needleships, and started toward the battle and the UNISON building. A pair of antibodies came after Foreshadow, moving quicker than he would have thought for the drone like beings. One appeared to have once been some sort of feline humanoid, the other insect like in appearance. Both lashed how with wicked looking claws. One the costumed vigilante easily dodged, while the other he avoided by mere inches.

Another pair closed with Coiled Lightning, how dodged away from one, only to find the other waiting as its silver claws slashed forward, managing to rake across the hero's left thigh. Coiled felt a sharp sting of pain, but reflectively pulled his leg away, avoiding far deeper injury.

Ulysses was also rushed by a pair of the antibodies, both of which managed to land hits with their dangerous looking claws. However, the claws did not even break the steam powered hero’s skin, as he felt only the slightest impact from the two attacks.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Stella and Young Britannia each fired another beam of light at some of the needle fighters in the sky. Each of the two flying heroines managed to hit their targets, which exploded in bright flashes. But even with another pair down, there were still dozens of the fighters darting about, with more dropping down from low orbit every moment.

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow used the drones in front of him as a launching pad.  Flipping in the air aimed towards the foes contending with Coiled Lightning.  Letting go of his right escrima stick he launched it towards the drone's face.  Or so it seemed.  Upon landing on the ground Foreshadow rolled backwards jerking back on the escrima stick, that had been revealed to be attached to the other one by airplane cable.

 

On the ground he smashed an escrima stick into the knee of the feline like drone.  The escrima stick attached to the chain smacking the insect like drone in the back of the head.  Standing as they buckled forward he held both of his batons in and brought them downwards at a 90 degree angle.  Smashing directly into both creature's spines.

 

<I think we've got it covered big guy.  I know who to call if debris from one of the fighters comes crashing down this way though>  Foreshadow replied to Ulysses inquiry.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Coiled Lightning reeled backward from the claws of the anitbodies. He hissed at the sharp pain, but kept his focus. "That was close, but nothing that important. A little higher, though..." he thought as he brandished his whip at the remaining humanoids.

 

Charlie saw one of the humanoids glance momentarily toward Foreshadow, and he stepped in to take advantage, slapping it in the back of the head with an electrical jolt and then spinning around to snap the whip in the second creatures chest. 

 

While the first toppled to the ground beind him, Charlie faced off against the other, apparently uninjured by the lightning-whip. "3 down here. How many more million do you think are up there?"

[Thevshi]

GM

Up in the sky, the Communion fighters continued to streak about, firing at the two flying heroines as well as the gathered fighter aircraft. Blasts of green energy streaked through the sky, with several of the French aircraft just managing to avoid being hit by attacks targeted at them. Young Britannia also managed to dodge under a shot aimed her direction just in time. However Stella d'Argento did not prove quite as fortunate, as a blast of the green energy struck her glowing form. However, the forcefield she had up around herself proved able to withstand the attack, and she was barely nudged by the blast.

Even as the chaotic dog fight continued, more of the needle like fighters dove down from low orbit, several streaking past and toward the ground below.

<There are too many of them!> Stella transmitted over the mental network.

Down below, several of the needle fighters flew strafing runs over the areas where the defenders of the UNISON headquarters were gathered. One of the antiaircraft guns that had been firing up at the fighters exploded when struck by a green blast of energy. Elsewhere, Professor Chiron managed to avoid blasts aimed at him, while Ulysses proved less fortunate, the last of energy striking the steam powered hero squarely, causing him to stagger backward on his heels a moment before he gritted his teeth and focused past the pain.

Professor Chiron turned and fired his weapons at the fighter that had shot Ulysses as it streaked past, scoring a hit. However, the energy blast deflected harmlessly off the metallic hull of the fighter.

Other antiaircraft guns continued firing up at the needle fighters, a pair exploding as they were struck by high explosive shells.

<Just hold on a few more moments.> Synapse stated over the mental network she was keeping in place. <Additional aircraft are almost here.>

[Exaccus]

Having been knocked out of his momentum by the eye watering blast of energy ulysses takes a moment to asses the situation around him and re-evaluate, making for a group of beleaguered  UNISON troops at a more conserved but none the less urgent pace he once more lashes out, with a lariat to the mechanical monstrosities, easily catching one by the collarbone and caving its ribs the other, by dint of his less all out speed or the loss of momentum from the first impact manages to withstand him and simply stumbles backwards.

 

"Sorry to interrupt ladies and gents." he calls back to the troops behind him as he squares off with the surviving antibody "figure id try holding the line whilst you think theirs." he half explains as puts the footwork, learned and earned in bar-rooms across the continents to work, trying to ignore the enraged spirit of industry in his head demanding the utter destruction of the "Anathemic Stagnation." of the communion.

 

<Old Indie is starting to get a bit riled up.> he broadcasts across the mental link, hoping those who knew what it meant would be able to prepare should he lapse into its control.

[Thevshi]

GM

<Bloody wonderful.> Synapse replied to Ulysses' comment. <But as long as it keeps focused on the Communion, should not be too much of a problem.>

Out on the grounds of the UNISON headquarters, more of the Communion antibodies rushed toward the defenders of the building housing the Uni-Storm space fighters. A pair moved toward Foreshadow, the first lunging at the dark clad hero, causing him to step to one side, right into the path of the second antibody. The creature's long claws slashed at Foreshadow's stomach, who was just able to twist to one side, avoiding potentially serious damage and instead ending up with only some minor gashed on one side.

The antibody that withstood Coiled Lightning's whip rushed toward the hero, but missed as he dodged aside.

Over on the other side of the building, the antibody that had taken the hit from Ulysses reached out toward the steam powered hero as its hands crackled with green energy. Grasping Ulysses' forearm, the green energy arched up the man's arm, causing his muscles to stiffen and pinpricks of pain to shoot through his body. Ulysses staggered back a half step, but managed to remain on his feet as another anitbody began to close around him along with the first.

 

Up in the sky, Stella blasts another of the needle fighters to dust.

[Brown Dynamite]

"Not nearly enough"  Foreshadow responded to Coiled lightning while internally wincing.  He was a few inches away from being eviscerated.  The pain was easy to push through.  The fact that the creature showed such callous disregard for how close it came to seriously maiming him was another matter.  Even an assassin would take the time to revel in the moment.  

 

The Antibody simply didn't care.  How could it?  It was simply a machine.  Foreshadow swiped his escrima stick against the side of the creature's face.  Pieces of technology flying all over the place as it fell to the ground.  Stepping back immediately after attacking.  Keeping mobile as he fought.  Knowing he couldn't afford to let another Antibody get so close.

 

The second antibody stepped forward.  In response Foreshadow thrust his escrima stick towards its "diaphragm".  It was reflex more than anything.  But, as he was facing a machine the attack was ineffective.  The Antibody was barely inconvenienced. Rolling backwards Foreshadow positioned himself so as to prevent a smaller target.

 

<Not to make matters worse, we're losing anti aircraft guns.  They're not getting any closer to Uni-Storm if we can help it.  But, might be a good moment to fall back and hold ground closer to the ships as we're losing outer ground.>

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dodging past the antibody that attacked him, Charlie called over to Foreshadow. "I got these!" he said confidently, swinging his whip in a circle over his head before bringing it down in an arc, snapping back the head of first one, then a second Communion soldier. Both antibodies collapsed in a heap.

 

Charlie grinned, impressed with himself. But when he looked around, he saw the results of the strafing runs and the dogfights up in the skies. <The Colonel said twelve minutes to start getting some Uni-storm in the air? Amazing how much longer that sounds now.>