Act 1, A Bright Beginning

[Burdenking]

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.

[Erynn]

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.))

[Throndir]

Aria Blanchette

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.

[Meta]

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.

[Mysticsage]

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!"

[kai927]

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...

[Burdenking]

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."