Fantasy World Creations

Rebellion ship, "O.C.S. Bulwark"
0900 hours, 1 week after the battle of Theron 4, the location of the first Rebellion victory over the Empire in the outer colonies.

(http://forums.newtek.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117382&d=1380542735)

High above the atmosphere of Theron four, a small world known for its massive land scape of farms and agricultural industry, the O.C.S. Bulwark stands guard with a dozen other similarly sized ships. While the bulwark used to be a simple freighter ship for the great asteroid mines of Vernon, it had been a key player in the assault and capture of the planet from Empire forces. If one were to place a class on the ship itself, it could easily be counted as one of the few Heavy carrier class ship in the rebellions army. Even with that moniker though, its mining lasers were what won the day, allowing the ship to cut through Empire light cruisers and win any knife fights it had engaged in.

However, the fight had killed many of the old crew, and as the rebellion does not wish their heroic ship to be undermanned, a massive influx of new recruits from other rebel planets have come in to fill the space in it, and the many other ships who had followed its lead into battle.

You are one such recruit, come here to fight the Empire for what ever reason you have. The air is filled with excitement and victory, as the moral of the soldiers you travel with and meet seems to grow all the more, thoughts of future victories and possible winning of the war growing strong.

You stand within the main hanger, multiple Combat cores standing at the ready for use, each one unique and customized for battle. Standing on a podium before the gathering masses was a single man, who proportions seemed off. He appeared human, but his size seemed to be inconsistent with normal human physiology.

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Hyacinth strode out of the hallway onto the hangar deck. Why she had been chosen to board this vessel, she had no idea. Her machine was hardly suited for space, but the modification had been made anyway. From the looks of things, she was about to learn the rebellion leadership's reasoning. She only hoped that it didn't involve the phrase, 'Glorified Turret'. Whatever the case may be, Hyacinth guessed that it would likely have something to do with her unique communicative ability.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44597627/Campaigns/combat%20cores/Aria/t13.png)

Small bursts of muffled chuckles came from a particular young lady. She couldn't help it. Look at that man. Large arms, the stomach... Aria didn't know what to think of, much less what to keep her attention focused on. What did the rebellion want to impart or their latest batch of recruits anyways? The upcoming speech about the tyranny of the empire, or... the mustache? At this thought, she had almost started laughing again. She quickly covered her mouth, hoping it wouldn't draw any unwanted attention, but just as she couldn't contain the mirth any longer. She noticed one of those blooming collectives walk onto the hangar deck; a tall and wiry one. Aria herself was just near the entrance so she was able to get a good look at her. She hasn't seen many of them before, at least not on her colony anyways. "I really hope all this time in space doesn't change us into him." She said with a grin on her face. She wondered if the alien would respond - she could count on one hand the number of times she talked to one, so at the very least it would help build her impression of them.

"He may be thinking the same thing about you.", Hyacinth replied with a smirk, "He's probably a member of the original crew, if the large scar across his abdomen is any indication."

Hyacinth found herself somewhat amused by the human girl's behavior. Apparently, how someone looked could be a source of comedy for humans.

"Does your assignment here make at least a little more sense than mine?", She asks, half sarcastically, "I've got a tank, and they put me on this ship."

Zephyr sighed as the doors to the main hall opened already running his hands through his bright green hair hair in frustration, "I damn well hope they don't break any of the cargo I brought with me." He had spent the better part of three hours down in the loading docks his six two frame crouching over making sure they did not accidentally damage any of the equipment he had brought with him. He had spent every last cent he owned and gone in debt to the rebellion to get his hands on what he needed and he was not about to let it be ruined by someone else and their idiocy. But, the rebellion had gone after him personally recruiting him with promising him facilities and privacy to run his own projects. As well as his choice of Mecha's and systems to use. Speaking of which once he got his quarters he would have to remember to grab his reflex suit.

It seemed the Rebellion high command were rather desperate for those with Electronics and computing expertise to be so willing to agree to his conditions. Not that he was complaining. The Rebellion provided the perfect means to do as he wanted without oppressive oversight. They had enough trouble keeping tabs on the front lines of the war and keeping the empire at bay, so he could just slide into the background and go about his business without anyone having the time to bother him. That thought alone was enough to put a small back on his face as he joined the rest of the other recruits.

It was not long until he saw the strange looking man at the podium from his position. "So, is this the time you speak to the troops inspiring courage and valor into the new recruits?" He mumbled to himself.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44597627/Campaigns/combat%20cores/Aria/t13.png)

"I'm good with mechas, been working with them for years. Though... well nevermind." Aria replied. She hesitated thinking of her actual reasons on joining the rebellion. Too much information was too much information after all. She momentarily sobbered up as her thoughts wandered, but she continued a moment later, grinning as she did so. "Though, it can't be as bad as mine. My machine's made for construction back on my colony. I'm sure that strangely shaped man will tell us why we're needed aside from their general recruitment."

"I'm glad yours is construction based, at least.", Hyacinth discloses, "As for our purpose, I would guess an invasion. We seem to be geared toward that end anyway."

It was a conclusion that Hyacinth needed no assistance to reach.With so little area held by the rebels, invasions would be necessary in multiples.She only hoped that they wouldn't turn into a multitude of bloodbaths.

"Why don't we compare notes a little later on and each see what the other's machine is like?", Hyacinth offers, "If we end up working together, the experience will help us coordinate in combat."

The mechanic couldn't help but smile widely as she considered the tall and wiry individual in front of her. She wondered what kind of combat core the blooming collective had. Aria considered her own, and though it has had some upgrades for war, like all the other machinery from the rebellion, it was a farcry from calling it something akin to what the empire use. Far from the so-called combat core as it should be.

"Sure! If there's some time after this speech, you can see just how great the Bloody Massacre is. I'd love to see yours though." There was a slight devilish grin, but she stuck her hand out in attempt to shake hands.

"My name is Aria Blanchette. What's yours?"

"Hyacinth.", comes the response, followed by a cordial clasping of the offered hand. Aria would find the texture of her new acquaintance' skin to be similar to that of a flower petal.

"You may find the Battle Dragon disorienting though.", Hyacinth muses aloud for Aria's benefit, "The controls are rather outdated, and the cockpit is cramped, and as hot as an Ifrit's temper."

Hyacinth wondered what it would be like to get in the cockpit of a bipedal construction core. She had heard a great deal about it from her boyfriend before he had been killed, but now she might get a chance to sit in the cockpit of such a machine herself. The prospect brought memories both good and bad to the forefront of her thoughts, but it was those same memories that would drive her to take the controls of a war machine.

"Taking a cheap shot at my race.  Typical."  Spoke a voice coming behind the ladies. 

The ifrit walked through the ship's hall, arms crossed and a confident grin on her glowing green visage.   She stopped near Hyacinth and Aria, but her eyes were set on the man far away, as she waited the briefing. "The name's Nadiya, by the way.  Whether we'll be friends or not, we'll see.  But I couldn't give a crap until I see your mechs sending sparks flying."   She spoke calmly, the grin still dead set there on her face.  The girl was standing upright and proud, her armor shifting ever so subtly rather like tectonic plates moving over magma.

"But, if I may add...I'm glad to be here.  I'm not picking a fight.  Just measuring up the people I'll be dealing with in the front.  Would be a shame to get dents on my dear old P1L3DR1V3R because someone covering my flank couldn't shoot down an errant."

"What was that old human saying again......?", Hyacinth mused while considering the Ifrit's words, "Ah, that's it!"

Hyacinth smirks right back at the confident grin.

"The dog that yaps loudest has the weakest bite."

Hyacinth was amused by the Ifrit's claim that she wasn't trying to pick a fight, She may be saying one thing, but her choice of words was saying another thing entirely. Hyacinth would have sought to take the measure of her counterpart, but the Ifrit, Nadiya, was doing all the work for her.

Typical.

Still, the temper was no doubt going to flare now. Thankfully, in the middle of the gathering group Hyacinth could be reasonably assured that prodding Nadiya in return wouldn't elicit too violent a response.

Ion laughs as he notes the conversation between the women, however there wasn't a single drop of mirth contained within it. "Now 'ladies', you are supposed to fight the imps, not each other." He says after walking up to them, a malicious grin spread across his face, "But if you are going to insist on fighting each other anyways, would you wait until I got my camera? I am sure there is a pervert somewhere out there that'd pay dearly for video of three alien chicks beating the shit out of each other." His grin did not fade at all as he eyed the three up and down, though there wasn't a sexual tone to his gaze, rather it was more akin to a butcher trying to determine which hog he'd slaughter next.

Ion did not bother to introduce himself, those that followed the MFL (Mech Fighting League) would recognize him as Ion Holland, better known in the MFL as the 'Demon of Ruel', one of the few wildcard villains in the League. However, even those that don't normally follow MFL might recognize him, as he was in the news just a few weeks before, on allegations of knowingly and intentionally killing his opponent in his last match and was suspended from the League due to it.

As the team began to speak to one another, the large man cleared his throat loudly into a mic to get the attention of the pool of new recruits. "Alright Everyone, fall in. Let's get this over with." Said the man gruffly, his voice quite deep but with a hint of synthesizing behind the sound. Behind him, stood multiple other officers, each with modified miner uniforms for the rebellion military service they had performed up until that point. The races were varied, though there seemed to be a couple more Ifrits then other races.

The group of recruits began to file in, taking position of rows to show organization and respect to the man. However, the background noise from the many workers in the hanger didn't lessen, so there would be no break from the noise of fabrication and repairs for the recruits.

A larger smile spread out across Zephyr face as he joined the line of recruits. His observation about this supposed commander had been right on the money, "An Awakened with a synthesized flesh upgrade you don't see that everyday, let alone one who used to work on a mining rig skin. Someone wants to feel more the part of a leader though I suppose I can understand why." he took his position in the line of recruits like everyone else between a smaller girl with pink haired girl and a lengthy blooming collective. His ramblings were audible to those directly next to him though he didn't really notice he was used to working through his ideas his own way.

In fact the only reason he had lined up and was playing the good rookie solider was so that he could get to the things that he was interested in that much quicker. Though he did relish the chance of finding some new interesting things and people to study. "All kinds of people flock to what they assume to be the light in the middle of the darkness i suppose." he mused to himself while studying over the man's construction with a slightly bemused look on his face. At least he would hopefully have plenty to think about. He might even get a new character or two out of it, or at the very least practice his majhong technique on some poor mook. he needed all the money he could get at the moment.

When the recruits were ordered to line up, Aria couldn't help but keep smiling. She'd met Hyacinth, a blooming collective, and Nadiya, an ifrit, to boot. All around them were many of their kin, though a noticeable amount of ifrit as compared to the rest. Back on her own colony, it was strictly all humans helping each other build and maintain their systems and equipment. They would occasionally have visits from other races, though they were rare and far in between.

"All kinds of people flock to what they assume to be the light in the middle of the darkness I suppose."

Aria heard the man standing next to her say. She couldn't help but overhear, nor did she think that he was speaking to her or anyone else around him; she figured that the guy just liked speaking out-loud. That didn't stop Aria from responding however.

"If there's even a slight chance to get back at the empire, we'll take it." She replied, her eyes still straight ahead watching the speaker.

Zephyr was slightly surprised by the comment from the girl next to him. Not only had he not realized he had been talking aloud, but he was also taken slightly aback by the steel resolve apparent in her voice. A sentiment he did not share. He had learned enough about people through research for his novels to look at things with a more practiced eye. And to be honest in his opinion their were certain advantages in life to sticking with the devil you knew versus the unknown force. To rise against an empire of this size and power so braizenly and openly as the rebellion had even within the last few days required courage that was nothing short of insanity. How many corpses would have to pave their path to what they wanted? And what would the command structure do when the people willing to do as the rebellion had held the power? These were question he was not sure he wanted answers to if those answers were anything like his stories.

"Be careful not to become blind to reality of the world because of how desperately you want to cling to this 'chance' of yours. If you're not careful you'll find yourself consumed by those feelings like a moth to the flame or worse." Zephyr managed to glance at the girl who spoke out of the corner of his eye for a moment. She was abvously a handful of years younger then him. For a girl this age to be here she must be talented and have one hell of a story to tell.

As the stranger spoke, thoughts and memories of her past flooded the young girl.

"Blind to the reality of the world?" Aria echoed hollowly, her tone of voice slightly annoyed. "Where parents are killed right before your eyes? Where colonies lose half their population, starving, from blockades just to teach us a 'lesson'? Where people are killed one by one simply because they think we're harboring a rebel? If that's the reality you talk about I'd rather be that moth to burn in a blaze of glory to try change those horrible things!"

When she finished speaking, Aria was almost shouting. Her eyes had started to water, but she blinked them away as she held her steely gaze straight at the individual she was speaking to.

Nadiya chuckled at Hyacinth. "Yep.  But I'm not the one desperately clutching to human sayings to try to insult someone else.  When will your people learn to have any level of individual strength..." She shook her head.   

Then, she diverted her attention to Ion.   She gave him a little grin.  "Yeah, well...I'm afraid I'll disappoint you.   Not going to fight the little shrub.  Besides, I--"   The ifrit cut her sentence short at the sight of Zephyr.   Her hair started glowing with a stronger green blaze, and there were a few hotter spots on her cheeks as well.   She stood there quietly looking at the green haired man for a while...

But then she snapped out of it when she heard the echoing voice of the big human guy addressing the rookies.   She shook her head and looked around, seeing Hyacinth and Ion near her but then frowning and walking over to the line.   By then, she was closer to Aria and Zephyr and started listening to their conversation as she crossed her arms and seemed rather grumpy.  Probably that stupid plant thing, yeah.   Nothing to do with anyone else...even if she was throwing glances at that certain anyone else.

Zephyr was unsure how to respond to the outburst of emotions. He could not decide if it was worthwhile going into the fact that fighting the empire meant fighting their solders, and killing them without question. They were men and women just like them protecting their loved ones, their friends, their family from the criminal rebellion looking to destroy the peace. Would a girl like this be so willing to spill their blood? To cause mothers to weep for their lost children. Would she go so far as to separate parents from children never to be seen again and changing their lives forever? What the rebellion was doing was an extremely selfish act one that was labeled as treasonous for a reason. Zephyr had his own plans that required he side with the rebels at least for the time being, but would this kid be able to shoulder the wait of her actions he was not so sure.

But then again as he continued to look at the girl he knew that he would not be getting through that wall of emotion any time soon. So maybe a little empathy would be what was needed in this situation. Without a second thought he rapped a strong arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side ways hug making sure no one could see her dampening eyes. "Careful now, the rebellion attracts all types who hate the empire including those with less then savory pasts. We wouldn't want the wrong type seeing those tears of yours and thinking they can take advantage of a pretty girl like you. Take a second to recollect yourself before pulling away," he whispered just over her head so that only she could hear.

He could not help but smirk at the girl who was now leaning against his cotton shirt she barely came up past his stomach. Was this what having a little sister felt like? He had never really used siblings in one of his stories. He had always been an only child. Then a realization struck him, " My name is Zephyr by the way. Thought it was worth telling you the name of the person you're yelling at." He only held her close so long as he knew she had calmed down then let her move away without much fuss. He was curious to see how she would respond to his move.

As the Ifrit walked away, and Hyacinth took her place in line, she couldn't help but notice the predatory look in the eyes of the MFL pilot.

"You really have a knack for convincing people to distrust you, don't you?", she asks rhetorically, then continues more sincerely, "It makes me wonder how you managed to convince your opponent to even enter the arena."

Hyacinth had indeed heard about the unexpected fatality, and recognized the man's face from the news broadcast. The footage had made it fairly plain to her that the final blow was fully intentional.

"How can I trust you to keep your knife out of everyone's back?"

Ion keeps his predatory grin as the collective girl spoke to him, questioning his trustworthiness. "How can you trust me to not stab you and the other rebels in the back? Perhaps the fact I don't own a knife?"

"How I got my opponents in the ring? Well, if they wanted their money, they'd get in the ring and fight whoever they were told to fight." He laughs, "Aren't humans disgusting?" He shows no indication of caring about what the oddly proportioned man has to say, since it was undoubtedly a morale speech. He didn't need a morale boost, he was going to kill impies, what better morale boost was there than that?

"You killed a man deliberately, with no remorse, and I don't see any logical reason behind it.", Hyacinth counters, "Whether taken literally or figuratively, stabbing someone in the back isn't something I would put past you."

Hyacinth continued to stare back at Ion. The man seemed to have no regard for human life. In the eyes of the young collective, he was little different than the imperials she sought to overthrow. If she didn't find a reason to trust him, this assignment was going to be a long one.

"Anyone possessed of any experience with a core would be able to plainly see what you were intending to do. Your opponent must have been able to tell, yet did not withdraw from the match."

Ion laughs again, clearly more amused than anything by Hyacinth's statements. "Going literally, well, it is only smart to stab people in the back. Less likely for them to strike back. Even better to cut their throats from behind, if a bit messy. As for figuratively, well," he shrugs, his face settling back to the predatory grin.

"And whether you choose to believe me or not, there wasn't anything deliberate about Jack's death." He laughs again, "Hate to break it to ya, but the MFL is all scripted. I was supposed to lose that match. Was going to be the first step down the path of the Demon's purification."

She wanted to say more. She wanted to continue telling him of all the atrocities Aria has seen in her short lifespan, of all the pain and hurt her friends, her family, and she had to put up with through the years. She wanted to yell and scream at this man who took lightly what it meant to fight for what was right. Who did nothing but belittle what everyone she knew had to go through. But...

All of a sudden the stranger's arms were around her shoulder. Before the young girl could react, she was pulled into a hug. It was unexpected, uncalled for, but Aria stood there motionless as the moisture in her eyes did not stop building. A few more moments and Aria got a hold of herself, using her sleeve she quickly patted her eyes dry. There was a slight blush as Aria hastily pushed the man away. She looked angry, but it was easy to note the stark contrast of a blush on her features.

Aria began to speak, but she ended up stuttering, and eventually just saying her name instead.

"A-Aria. Aria Blanchette."

"So I can either disbelieve your story, and be stuck with a homicidal sociopath to worry about, or I can believe you and be stuck with a lethally incompetent ally.", Hyacinth retorts, a smug look creeping across her features, "Which premise would you prefer I adhere to when conversing with you in the future?"

Hyacinth had given Ion a choice. With any luck, his next words would be a revealing tell that would clue her in to what the truth of the matter was. The choice between seeming like a dangerous figure, or a totally incompetent figure was one she could reasonably predict the outcome of. of course, there was the third option. Choosing that option would be a tell of sorts in and of itself, though speaking more to the man's character than the truth of the matter, depending upon the nature of the response.

Hyacinth found herself mildly amused by the dynamic at work, even if the predatory grin did annoy her.

When everyone had begun to enter their lines, the large man stood silently. He would have started to speak, had it not been for a group of recruits had had begun to speak to one another. At first, one would expect the man to angrily belittle them, but the man just stood there and listened, and nodding as others stared at the group. The other recruits chuckled a bit, thinking the group would receive the angered yells of the commander, however a quick glare at them from said commander shut them up with confusion and slight fear. He stayed silent as they spoke, and processed all that they said and did.

When the young girl was embrace din a hug by the Soul smith who had been transferred here, that when he decided to speak, knowing what to say now. "As you can see here, we all have differing views of the rebellion, of the empire, and of the reasons others have for why they are here. Some come for revenge, some out of duty, some for freedom, and even others for their own personal gain...." He said, his voice going over the recruits. "However, none of this matters. What you want and why you want it can be shoved out the airlock and forgotten. On this ship, you are no longer the people you were. You are machines, just like i was. May not sound glorious, may not sound like what you signed up for, but i couldn't give a less of a damn," He said, causing some of the recruits to begin to speak out, but a quick gun shot from a lieutenant shut them up.

"Shut the fuck up! This is war, meaning the men and women on the other side feel the same, but you wanna know something? All you are to them is something to shoot at, something to end. Until you all see that, you will just die!"  The man said gravely, looking at the recruits "I'm no human, Ifrit, or Collective. I'm just a humble miner some stupid general decided to wake up. So i won't sugar coat it. This ship has seen more blood then any of you kids will bleed by the end of this war."

He seemed to quite down, deep in thought "All i have to say, is that none of you are heroes. You are mortal men and women, and i will not see anymore death as much as i can help it." He seemed serious, and then nodded "We will be immediately jumping to an empire controlled system, to invade and capture it. This ship will be at the front, meaning all of you need to know the risk of being on this ship. Remember the reasons you came here, but keep them to yourself. They do not matter from this point on. Now, report to your stations, you will be placed in squads under the command of my lieutenants and most likely be the first ones to hit planet side. Dismissed." He then began to walk off, handling order and paper work as the lieutenants began calling their squaddies. The team everyone had been place don was under the command of another awakened.

His grin unchanging, Ion replies, "Think what you want of me. Sociopath or incompetent. I care about your opinion as much as an imperial noble cares about the serfs on his farm."

After the commander gives his speech, Ion sighs, "Blah, blah, blah, don't die, the end. What a speech."

"DROP THE WEAPON!"

The shout came from none other than Hyacinth, having quickly stepped out of formation the moment the shot went off, and reacted aggressively to the violent means of silencing the assembled recruits. Her own weapon was drawn, and pointed directly at the Lieutenant that had fired the shot.

"I'm not going to say it again! Toss the gun on the floor and kick it away!", Hyacinth continued to demand that the lieutenant disarm.

She turns her attention to the ship's captain when the opportunity presents itself.

"Are you out of your mind?!", she exclaims, "Did you seriously tell this man to silence fucking rebellion with gunfire?! Have you completely forgotten what drew us here to begin with?!"

Hyacinth, as cool and collected as she normally was, was absolutely livid at the moment. This 'captain' had just committed the cardinal sin of leadership. He had threatened the lives of those under his command, both through the possibility of a ricochet when the lieutenant had fired his shot, and through the potential for somebody to become violent at being threatened with a weapon. Further still was the possibility that entire assembled crew, having dealt with similar behavior on the part of the empire, might just riot. It was clear the awakened in front of her was as poor a leader as she had ever seen.

The lieutenant raised an eye brow at the collective recruit, him being himself a collective being. He was quick to drop the gun, seeming to not care much. He had really no level of interest in the loud collective, merely looking at her boredly. The captain turned to her from his descent down the stairs, then smirked. "So, you do not approve of my methods I take it little one? Good. Means you'll live longer. Not cause you have your own way, but you know I can be wrong." He began walking over to Hyacinth, seeming to limp as obvious straining noises from his leg could be heard.

He looked the collective girl in the eye, then slowly picked up the gun from the ground. He didn't stand with it, not wanting to be hostile in any intention as he pulled the magazine out. He then handed it to the collective girl " They're blanks of course, but tell me something. Have you ever seen the optimism and youthful pride leave someone's eyes? Seen them turn the eyes of someone who has lost everything is less time it takes to blink?" he seemed to ask, his face stone cold " If you have, you'll know why I have to make sure you kids don't go into battle expecting a victory on this hunk of junk. If you have, you'll know the deference between firing blanks in the air to silence some groaning, and firing live rounds into a little girls head when she refuses to fire the missile that could take down the enemy ship tearing up your fleet...." he said, a frown on his face.

Ion had followed the collective girl to the podium, though his reasons for doing so are anyone's guess. He stood there and watched the exchange, his arms folded across his chest. He listens passively to the awakened's spiel, though he smirks a little at the end of it. Obviously the difference is that one is messier than the other.

"Seems I am not the only wild one here," he comments with an amused laugh.

Nadiya had her eyes on Aria and Zephyr.   She was burning up at the sight...what was that jerk doing?  They were here for a war...not hugs and that kind of jerkish things.  Yeah.   How dare he.  The ifrit cleared her throat and was about to give the two a piece of her mind, when she heard the shot being fired.   Oh well...briefing time...she could wait.   She crossed her arms and muttered under her breath while she listened.

Captain sure sounded like a pit fight manager.  She liked that.  That kind of tough guy talk had its place here.  Not...jerks hugging girls randomly and making an ifrit like her feel strange and inadequate and burning up with an odd kind of anger.  That made her look at Zephyr again.   Who the hell did he think he was...

The mecha pilot was about to say something again when suddenly Hyacinth pulled her little stunt.  She growled.  These guys sucked.   She couldn't get one word in without someone else doing something big and attention grabbing.  And now she was just getting pissed off.

She looked at Hyacinth.  "Oh, just cram it, will ya?  Just because you're part of a stupid hive mind that doesn't make you speak for all of us.  Not everyone is scared of a tiny gun, like that stupid thing you're waving around, shrub."

Hyacinth meets the captain's gaze with a look halfway between that he had seen previous, and an implacable will that would see her carve straight to the heart of the empire, or pave the way in blood for those that would come after.

"I find it hard to believe that there is anyone left here that has not come to grips with the reality of their situation.", Hyacinth responds, holstering her weapon, "The empire has made sure of that quite well without your help. Taking a page out of their playbook and firing into the air to silence dissent is more likely to get your own people shot than to be successful here. I may not speak for everyone, but blanks or not a great many of us here are done tolerating that shit. You can ask us to behave like machines and to throw our past out the airlock all you want, but it's not going to happen. Without our identities and our motivations for being here, we have no will to fight. Rather than try to render us less like the people we are, as the empire would, the common ground among us ought to be used to cement us together into one whole, with one purpose. The empire gets its strength from its sheer size and quantity. The only way we're going to win is by turning our differences into a greater quality."

While Hyacinth's assertion of the value of individuality was in stark contrast to the traditional Collective standpoint, the idea of bringing all involved together upon common ground and turning the parts into something more than their sum was a wholly familiar concept. To a careful observer, it could be noticed that Hyacinth was not your average Blooming Collective. It was as if she had begun to assimilate concepts and ideas according to her own whim, in addition to bouncing them off the collective as a whole through the mind link that they all shared.

The captain looked at Hyacinth for a short while, his false face seeming to never change or move with his thoughts. A couple of the lieutenants were beginning to get antsy, even reaching for the own guns. All of them, being career void miners, were very accustomed to rigid command structures, and also knew exactly why the captain was doing what he did, so there seemed to be not a single one of the present command structure willing to side with Hyacinth on the matter.

That is, except for the Collective that currently stared down the barrel of said recruits pistol, the smallest hint of a smile on his face as he looked right at Hyacinth. He seemed around her age, maybe older, and his coloring was much duller then Hyacinth's, to the point where he seemed gray all over, with small dull blues to break up the monotony. To other races, his silence was just that, silence. But to a collective, their mind could feel the subtle changes in the air, the invisible and mysterious language of the collective hive mind. coming out beneath the waves of blunt communication and ambiguous intentions.

The captain, his stare not even changing, smirked at the Collective girl in front of him "...Then do what you think is right." The man said, turning around and beginning to walk away, the collective male doing so as well "From this point forward, Recruit Hyacinth is the official representative on this ship for the recruits. If you have grievances, complaints, or suggestions, give them the Hyacinth and she'll give them to me in what ever manner she see fit." He said, not even looking back as he spoke over his shoulder.

The other Lieutenants appeared surprised, but didn't do much except begin calling out for their Squademates. Hyacinth, Nadiya, Ion, Aria, and Zephyr were placed under a youthful looking Awakened's squad.
(http://www.anime-planet.com/images/characters/a_drei_49348.jpg)

A couple of the recruit hoped the tense situation was over with, giving the Collective girl a wide berth. Anyone who really seemed to want to look at her directly in the crowd was the other collective, who glanced back at her as he wandered off.

Zephyr did not break his gaze from the female collective who had stormed the stage. A look of quite intrigue crossed his face with a deepening frown of distaste. While he agreed completely with her sentiment and words her methods left a far to bitter taste in his mouth. To fly off the handle like that was not the way that situation should have been handled. And if she had some how gathered support and commandeered the ship she would not only have gotten her self killed but most likely everyone else on board as well. That kind of blindness to the situation as a whole was something he thought wholly impossible for a member of a hive mind, but he was just shown how mistaken he could be. He would make a note of that for the future.

Thankfully everything ended as well as could have been expected he had not wanted to intervene, Even though he could still feel the tension in his body telling him he was ready to break her arm if he had to. He had taken a step forward slightly blocking Aria in the process in case he had to sprint at the girl before she ended up pulling the trigger. To make matters worse he now was in a team with her. "Why does the universe hate me sometimes?" He said to himself as he began walking to where they had ordered him. Though the whole situation could work to his advantage. There was now one additional bottleneck up the chain of command where he could further fade into the background whenever he chose. He was looking forward to when we would finally get a look at his station. Hopefully they had already moved everything up from the cargo hold already. He was also curious who they thought it was a good idea to have oversee this interesting group from who he noticed gathering. It looked like an awakened but he could not make much detail yet.

Moving fowad quickly he let his gate carry him closer to the android. "How's it going Captain? Zeyphr reporting I suppose." He was waiting for a response while looking him over trying to figure out his make and original purpose. He was always curious about the Awakened.

There was nothing but trepidation as Aria watched the events unfold all around her. After the speaker concluded his speech, Hyacinth had placed her gun, straight at the lieutenant who had fired the blank. There were no shots fired, though she could feel the tensity in the air as a few sharp words were tossed between them and the others who she had just briefly met. In the end Hyacinth had been promoted, becoming a bridge between the regular recruits to the officers above them.

There would be fighting, but not between comrades. At least, this was running through Aria's head as they were assigned into their new groups. They were already being cornered and suppressed by the empire, having infighting amongst themselves wouldn't be productive. But choosing who to fight with against the empire wasn't a choice at all. There was only one rebellion; only one way to make the empire pay. This rebellion was the only thing they have against all the atrocities.

The young mechanic thought about it no longer however, if this was how the rebellion was going to be, then she had better adapt.

Ion smirked as he watched all that transpired. After Hyacinth  comes down, and they start meandering to their group, he comments, "Hah, you're more fun than I thought." He hadn't been particularly bothered by the gunshot, though Hyacinth's actions amused him to no end.

He turned to their emo looking commander, "So, 'Boss', what do we get to do?"

The awakened stared at the group that he had been dumped with, a passionless glare forming his face as he seemed to cruelly analyze the team, his glare especially placed onto the Collective girl who had the roots to threaten his friends and his captain. He looked to the man named Zephyr, who spoke to him and was obviously wondering what he did before awakening. "Before you hurt your head trying to figure it out, I'll just say to stop wondering, you'll never know, and i'll never let you know." He said, his voice surprisingly strict.

He then looked to Kai as he spoke, but then decided to address the whole team for the answer "What you get to do is prepare your cores. We'll be dropping planetside as soon as we drop from warp. Our little crew has the glamorous job of taking on the planetary cannons." The Awakened said, pulling out a small device and pressing a button, causing a flash of light to form and create a planet "We'll be enjoying the lovely scenery of Praxis Kor, the largest empire military foundry planet this far out into the outer rim, while we do so." He said, allowing everyone to look at the planet.

(http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs6/i/2005/018/a/9/___Planet_of_City_Lights____by_CaptRicoSakara.jpg)

Praxis Kor was one of the more renown planets of the outer rim, being instrumental in wiping out an alien scourge that had plagued many system ahead of it around fifty years ago. Since the extermination however, its mostly laid dormant as a rest and refueling station for military ships on patrol in the outer colonies. It would take no serious master of deduction to figure out that taking the planet would not only effectively cripple Empire naval operations in the sector, but also allow the Rebellion to more effectively arm their ships, and maybe even steal technology to further their own capabilities.

"Now, hurry it up. I don't want to inconvenience the captain anymore just because we're stuck with the Miss recruit rep here." He said, barely gesturing to Hyacinth before turning and walking away to prepare his Core. "You all have two hours, don't waste time!" he yelled back as he left, obviously expecting them to be fully prepared for the assault.

Nadiya had mostly been on her own, quietly observing things as she couldn't decide whether it was Zephyr, Hyacinth or her Lieutenant.  Well,  he did put it best tho.  They were stuck with the 'rebel'.  That was troubling at best.   The ifrit got closer to the awakened.  "Well, sir...I'll get right to preparations and all, 2 hours is plenty for that.   But...just a little question of logistics here..."   She looked over at Hyacinth.   "If we're going to be a unit, taking out artillery, no less...how can we trust that she won't 'rebel' on us because she decided the empire was cuddlier?"

Then, she tilted her head.  "No offense, shrub.  If I was in your spot, I'd have expected you to think the same."

"My name is Hyacinth.", stated simply, the headstrong collective imparts a select bit of knowledge that would no doubt make clear her actions earlier, "Despite what you may believe, I have no sympathies for a leadership who've taken all those I hold dear. I will see the Empire fall, and to that end I will do whatever becomes necessary, whether that be confronting a superior officer over flawed reasoning and motivations, or carrying out their orders to the letter."

Hyacinth makes and maintains eye contact with Nadiya throughout her brief monologue, her intent conveyed in her gaze.

"Does that satisfy you, Nadiya?"

Hyacinth had been sorely tempted to respond in kind to the constant references to a shrubbery, but had thought better of it. Having already prodded her soon to be squad mate once today, she decided to take the least offensive path and simply assert that she too had a name. Perhaps the Ifrit would recognize that the need for further conflict did not exist. Whatever the case, Hyacinth knew that doing something that could seem like a challenge would likely lead to problems given the pride displayed by her counterpart.

Zephyr quickly followed the lieutenant his tall frame carrying him quickly to his side and out of ear shot, "Sir, I'm one of the ship's computer specialists as I'm sure you're aware, and my Mech does not require much prep time do to it's reflex systems but my computers do. If you could point me in the direction to my lab area due to the fact i don't yet know my way around the ship and I'd like to be ready as soon as possible."

He tried his best to remain as formal as possible as well as being as kind as possible. Hopefully the lieutenant would cave quickly and lead him to where he need to be. He would have asked for the other man's name but based off their encounter and the short time frame he figured he'd save the formalities for later and keep an eye out for him on the battle field. He was not looking to see any more death for the time being he had his fill as it was.

Ion grins, "This sounds like it'll be fun." He sizes up the others that are to be on his squad. He wondered how many of them had actually fought in their mechs before. How many of them had taken a life. His grin falters for a moment, perhaps he shouldn't judge them too harshly. He had only killed one man so far. His grin soon returns, as he knew that number was going to change soon. He looks over his squadmates again, perhaps they'll be useful, or perhaps they'll do nothing but get in his way. Whatever the case, this was bound to be interesting.

The Lieutenant looked back to Zephyr, and sighed "Damn, just what i need, a data miner. Your stuff was tossed somewhere in engineering wing D, i think in a pretty empty space so you're out of everyone's way." He said coldly, approaching a rather large looking core, though from the looks of its amount of thrusters it was built for quick maneuvers.

(http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/289/2/a/mecha___jsx_shinden_by_meganerid-d30uv4l.jpg)

"Now, before you go off to waste your time, get you core ready." He said, before hoping onto the sid eof his Core and climbing up to begin his own work.

Nadiya crossed her arms and walked next to Hyacinth, looking over at her.  A grin crept up on her face.  "Well..."  She placed a hand briefly over the Collective's shoulder. "...it's a start.  But a good one, shrub..."   She walked away.   "Or should I say, Hyacinth.", the ifrit added, stopping for a moment before walking further into the hangar, and vaulting over to land on top of a combat core's arm, then jumping up to its shoulders and opening up a hatch. 

She looked back at the collective.  "But don't expect me to 'warm up' to you just like that." And with that, she slid in, the hatch falling shut behind her.

(http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/228/1/9/p1l3dr1v3r_low_res_by_metaknightfan-d7vgh70.png)

The mecha's engine roared up like an old car starting up, a black puff of smoke coming off its back as it started up.   But as fast as it lit up, it started sparking and there was a bursting noise, followed by the combat core shutting down.

"Oh, this is just great...of all the things to blow up, it had to be the gear shift...." Nadiya muttered from inside her combat core as more smoke left the war machine.

Hyacinth briefly breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to rectify the situation with her Ifrit squadmate, before cringing at the sound of metal on metal, followed by a loud bang. The thought went through her mind that Nadiya had been putting up a front when she expressed concern about getting dents in her core. From the looks of things, she actually didn't seem to mind a bit of damage here and there from lack of maintenance.

Hyacinth on the other hand had a newly minted tank of the homemade variety. Climbing up the side, she lowered herself into the turret through its one hatch, turning the machine on and checking the turret's function by working it left and right. The guns elevated and depressed correctly, and the small sensors and CIWS cupola was operational too. Hyacinth then put the machine through a 360 degree hull rotation in both directions to confirm that everything was in order, then shut the machine off again to begin fueling it for the coming mission.

The Battle Dragon sat lower in the hangar than the rest of the assembled machines, but perhaps looked all the more menacing for it.(http://media.moddb.com/images/downloads/1/41/40352/Mammoth_Tank.jpg)

Ion followed the others to the CC Bay, eager to get this operation started. As he entered, he looked over his squadmates Cores, appraising the Cores much like he had appraised their pilots. The Ifrit's Core looked like it hadn't seen the business end of a mechanic since it was cobbled together from a random assortment of junk, scrap metal and who knows what else. The Collective's Core on the other hand couldn't really even be called a Combat Core. It was a fucking tank for crying out loud. The Commander's Core was a proper one. Hell, it looked like an Imperial model, which spoke a bit on the Commander's origins. He finally got to his own core, easily climbing into the chest embedded cockpit.

(http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs37/f/2008/267/9/a/Another_mecha_by_AndreeWallin.jpg)

He flipped switched and pressed buttons, warming up the engine of his Core, The Pugilist. He had done this a million times before, and he'll likely do it a million times more. He relaxes into the seat as he goes through the startup procedure, everything going smoothly. Closing his eyes, Ion listens to the whirs, beeps and clangs as The Pugilist came to life, the Core itself feeling like a second skin to the man.

Two hours later, 5 minutes from warp exit to Praxis Kor

Warp space was an odd thing. No one could really explain how it looked, as a lot of the time people saw it as something slightly different from one another. The common consensus though was that it look like the ship wasn't moving. No stars seemed to change position, no lights streaking by. Just stillness, as if the ship had never entered warp space at all. However, one could always tell they were in it, just a feeling deep in the consciousness of all living things of something being off. Something not right with the world.

And so, the ship continued rocketing across the void at FTL speed, never moving from its location to the eyes of the passengers. What would have been uncomfortable silence as they progressed was interrupted by a ship wide intercom call "All pilots, report to your cores. 5 minutes until warp exit achieved, 5 minutes and 30 seconds until operation begins." Said a voice over the intercom, sounding male.

With this announcement, the ship filled with noise as battle station alarms and crew shouting filled the halls, everyone preparing for the big battle ahead of them. They may not know the specifics, but it was obvious that this operation held much in the balance, especially if the rebellion planned to have a legitimate fighting chance against the main portion of the empire's military force.

Upon hearing the klaxons and call to battle stations, Hyacinth once more lowers herself into the Battle Dragon, the hatch clanging shut behind her and locking. With fingers flying across buttons switches and levers within the cockpit, The engine roars to life once more, filling the hangar with noise, and all of the systems aboard come online.

"Battle Dragon, standing by.", comes the call over the short range comms.

Outwardly, Hyacinth was the very picture of cool, calm, and collected, but beneath the facade was a swell of anxiety and dread. Any collective nearby would likely be confronted with the full brunt of the emotions Hyacinth was giving off.

--Hurry up and wait. Could there be anything worse at a time like this?--

((-- will denote anything that is said or thought via the mind link.))

When the alarms rang, Aria had finished all her prepation work. She had outfitted her combat core with a few tweaks before settling the mech on their make-shift cruiser, and Aria had to make sure everything was in working order. She powered on her Combat Core, the steady whirring of her machine intensified, as lights blared into existence, gears turning as the various dashboard lights noted that all her servos and systems were online. The Bloody Massacre, once a core made for heavy construction, was alive.


The mechanic couldn't help but feel almost giddy as she quickly scanned through the core's logs outputted on to a small screen at the center of her dashboard; a habit she had acquired after all the time she spent with them. Her squad companion's Combat Cores were something else entirely too, and hopefully after this mission was over she could get a chance to take a look at each of them.

"Bloody Massacre's good to go!" Aria responded back in her short-range communications.

As soon as the warnings went off, Nadiya turned the key on her cockpit and her mech roared into activity once more.   This time, there was no faulty gear shift or malfunctions as its head lit up its eerie visage.   The combat core moved up its gun arm until the cannon was fully raised upwards.  It made a loud clicking noise followed by a high speed whirring as it discarded old shells and loaded up the new ammunition via an external belt feed.   It made another loud click and lowered its arm into standard position.  Piledriver then began its slow march towards its battle station, the upper plating in its armor creaking and bearing down on the mecha as it pressed itself downwards only to rise back up with the impact of each step.

The machine finally reached its destination, standing by other combat-ready cores.  "Piledriver, locked and loaded."  Nadiya stated proudly.

She looked around and saw what her squadmates had for mechs.  Well, they sure were a wild bunch...but hardly a scar on any of them.  She wondered what it was like to have a combat core that didn't make humans have to get a tetanus shot.   "Okay, people...let's give them some hell!"   The ifrit raised her core's saw arm and held it proudly like a sword.  A loud, whirring sword.

Zephyr made the final preparations with a hurried sigh, he just managed to go through his final checks and fuel Typhoon as the alarms  went off.  Luckily the hardest part was just syncing his suit to the main frame after that it was mostly just light stretches, and pretending he didn't notice anyone's stares. The black glossy suit acted like a second skin so that the electrode mesh inside could more easily map his movements, but it left very little to the imagination highlighting his rather well built body. Years of training in martial arts had left him with toned look instead of massive massive muscles that were normally hide under his clothes. But here everything from his six pack to his calves were in high definition. Though he had to admit the occasional female blushing in his general direction was not the worst thing to happen in the world.

With his prep done he climbed into Typhoon's upper chest and started running his holo screen start up routines. All the while checking what mech's his other teammates jumped into and beginning setting up his closed system communications. After Synching the suit with his mech's cockpit he could not hep but smirk as the energy lines and lights came to life. There was a reason he had wanted a majority of the armor stripped from the racing bot they had shown him in that one junker planet. It had taken him months to nurse the poor guy back to life and now it was all going to pay off.  This boy could run laps over any of the military grade machines.

"Typhoon is all revved up and ready to fly!"

Ion grinned as the alarms went off. Flicking switches and pressing buttons, the Combat Core coming to life soon after. "Wow, you all sound like a movie!" he comments, after everyone gives their own unique ready call. He laughs, and while it isn't exactly mirthful, it isn't derisive either. "Why not, Pugilist, ready to kill some Imps." The mechs arms raise up, the fists interlocking together, in a motion reminiscent of one cracking their knuckles.

His excitement grows. Today was going to be a good day. All that entertainment in the morning with the crazy collective girl, then killing Imperials in the afternoon, and for the evening, well, he did manage to sneak a photo of Zephyr bent over in that skin tight outfit of his...

With the whole squad calling off, it was apparent the team was ready for the mission. They had no intel, junk for cores, and basically no military training. The only thing they had, however, was each other and the a real reason to fight. It wasn't much, but it was all they had to fight the day. With a roaring of engines, every single Core in the hanger began to activate and report to their transports, the doors closing behind them as they filled them up. Entering behind them and walking around them, was the awakened lieutenants core, armed with what appeared to be a multi barrel cannon.

He walked to the front of the team and then appeared on everyone's heads up displays, looking just as stern as before "Alright everyone, This is the last time I'm going over this, so try to wrap your damn minds around it quick. " He said harshly, a large flat plane of holographic light appearing between him and their cores. "we'll be dropping down 2 miles away from the Planetary guns due to the enemies defenses. We don't know what we'll be up against, that's why each strike force will consist of 3 different teams heading to their targets from different angles."

The hologram showed 3 sets of 6 triangles heading to a single target, the target having question marks around it. "We're in the dark here, but central command thinks we can handle it, and the way i see it, at least 1 out of the 18 of us heading there will make it. So keep an eye out and try to be that one." He said, closing the hologram just as the ship they stood in shook as it lifted off the ground and began to shank. Suddenly, the unnatural feeling of warp ended, then the massive punch of sudden thrust hit them all.

They left the ship with a rush, and no one could see what was happening, but a massive fleet wide fire fight had begun, the rebels having gotten hold of the first firing wave, which decimated what one could only assume the first defensive line of the Empire, which opened up the defenses for the hundreds of core transports to fly through.

"When we hit ground side, we need to head north. There will likely be a lot of enemies, so lock and load people!" The lieutenant yelled out over the comm as the ships hit atmosphere, the ship shaking violently as the cruiser failed to slow its speed as it flew towards the ground.

After 5 minutes in the ship, flying at speeds dangerous to go at to make planet side, the ship began to slow and it was easy to figure the ship was getting ready to land. "When we're out, the ships leaving, so if you want to cower back in space, stay on the ship. Otherwise we're going in hot."