Tranquility Broken

Set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world where the earth has been invaded by aliens, a group of refugees finds themselves in possession of advanced giant mecha with the power to save the world- If they're up to the challenge.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Tranquility Broken

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

This sudden turn of events, while shocking, was not altogether surprising, if you understand. Oriza was also a reliable character in an emergency, and knew just what to do- or thought she did. "Miss Melissa!" she cried, catching the woman's arm. "No, stay here. You clearly have people who rely on you. I'll go get her." There was no time to argue; young miss DuPont released Miss Melissa and took after Coriander, knowing full well a good deal of trouble lay ahead. She couldn't live with herself, though, if she didn't act on what was right.
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Straken
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Re: Tranquility Broken

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Nolan maintained his slightly awkward position off to the side, content with merely observing. When Coriander suddenly ran off however he was once again at an impasse; he could turn the other way and go find a quiet corner or go after the young girl. He almost went with the choice to be a loner, when he was stunned by a terrifying image from his past; one of a young girl lying dead, half buried under a pile of debris.

“God damn it,” he mumbled to himself as he covered his face with his hands. Once he composed himself he turned to Melissa.
“The girl…well, the older girl is right. You wait here where it is safe, I’ll go after them and make sure they are alright,” the man said in a slightly irked tone as he jogged off after Coriander and Oriza.
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Kai
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Re: Tranquility Broken

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Coriander proved to be quite quick, but, burdened as she was, Oriza was able to catch up- almost as soon as the group reached the mouth of the cave the young blonde was caught, her progress halted, and pulled back into the cave a bit. However, she continued to struggle, and Oriza and Nolan would see why- there was a person running up the trail several hundred yards off, and from what they could see he matched Coriander's description of 'John'.

THUD!

A cloud of dust and debris was blown up as something large landed on the ground near the mouth of the cave, knocking them all over from the force of its crash landing, and shaking up those within the cave. Coriander got up, extricating herself from Oriza and her backpack, but soon stopped- a series of lighter thuds announced the arrival of one of the large machines- This one was obviously Citabrian from its smooth armored Carapace that looked at once metal and organic in its construction. the thing was chasing after whatever had fallen, which proved to be an ECF mecha- the ECF Mecha had by now gotten itself up, and though missing several limbs, quickly imposed itself between the Citabrian mecha and John's figure, which was scrambling to get up and run.

The ECF and Citabrian Mecha soon grappled, each with only one arm, but it was a losing battle for the ECF frame which also lacked a leg. before long, the CItabrian mech fired a blast from point blank into the Ecf mecha, sending it flying backwards. It disappeared from sight long enough for the three at the entrance to the cave gape in horror as the Citabrian mech mercilessly poured fire into the ground, swallowing John in a horrible light of death and destruction. as if to be the shutter on a horrible camera, the ECF mecha slammed into the ground, skidding to jam its chest into the cave entrance, completely closing the cavern off from the outside.

The ECF Mecha moved slightly, and with a pneumatic hiss and a lot of whirring, followed but the explosive ejection of a bent plate of metal, its pilot was exposed, their pilot-suited, helmeted from dangling limply from the seat, held up by a half-destroyed harness. However, an observer could see that they were still breathing.
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Straken
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Re: Tranquility Broken

Post by Straken »

The onset of the mechs was a surprise, and as soon as Nolan was able to extricate himself from the ground he immediately brought out his working camera and began snapping photos of the battle; all things considered he was getting great shots. When the battle took a turn for the worse however he had enough sense to put his camera away and back away a bit.

The cave entrance was blocked and the area outside was likely now a very inhospitable place. The ECF mech was lying limply in the mouth of the cave, and its pilot looked to be in a similar state. “You two should move back into the cave where it is safe,” Nolan said to Coriander and Oriza. “I am going to go check on the pilot.”

With that said the aging photographer made his way over to the large machine. “Hey! Are you alright? Or at least conscious?” Nolan called up to the pilot, hesitant to actually touch or get up on the mech itself.
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Re: Tranquility Broken

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Talk about a whirlwind of activity! Oriza managed to catch up only to have her efforts thrown in her face quite literally. The only relief was in knowing that she may have very well saved Coriander's life. It was a miracle, really, that not one of the three was hurt in the slightest and so she was grateful.

Oriza was about to suggest a course of action when Nolan, playing right into the male stereotype suggested she, "...move back into the caver where it [was] safe." And then he said he would check on the pilot- which amounted to shouting at them! She snorted derisively and nimbly scaled her way up to the pilot. They were breathing by the looks of it, and there was a steady pulse when Oriza pressed two fingers to their neck. "Hey," she asked softly, "Are you awake? If not, I'm going to get you down from here. You can't very well hang around here all day." The pun she delivered intentionally, hoping to find at the least a weak laugh or snide rebuke. Either would mean the victim was cognizant thus improving the situation greatly.
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Kai
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Re: Tranquility Broken

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From this distance, Oriza could tell that the pilot was female- her padded yet form-fitting pilot's suit had "SGT. TAKARA" printed on the left breast, but Oriza could also see that the suit was smudged with soot, dirt, and a bit of blood. One of the pilot's shoulders had been cut- probably by the harness when she slammed into the ground hard enough to rip it from its anchors- and was bleeding, not profusely, but enough to worry anyone who knew much about first aid. The pilot groaned, but didn't do much more than shift a little- She was apparently drifting in and out of consciousness, and, while First Aid dictated you not move a patient, the precarious situation made it apparent that leaving the pilot hanging from her harness was probably a bad idea.

It looked to Oriza that if she were to press a button in the center of the harness, it would disengage and allow her to move the unconscious pilot. However, since the Pilot looked to be about the same size as Oriza, and judging by her shaky footing, it was a worrying prospect to try on her own.

****************

Coriander did nothing for several moments. She just stared, blinking, at the mass of metal that blocked them from the outside world. Next, slowly, came a hiccup, which soon devolved into tears and disjointed sobbing as the severity of what just happened sank in. Coriander had never seen anyone die, nor had she been particularly aware of mortality, but at this moment she knew that John was gone, taken from the world in a horrible way, and she would never see him again. And it was the Citabrians' fault.

Nobody else would know, but a deep anger formed inside the young blonde- a hatred of her own people, for what they could do so casually to another people who wanted only to live their lives in peace. Through the tears, a fire ignited in Coriander's eyes- She wanted to stop the Citabrians at any cost.

*****************

The plugged off entrance to the cave suddenly became much louder. About 20 yards deeper than where Coriander sat, splay-legged and crying, the people of Coulee had gathered. There was a lot of chatter, but for the most part, nobody came forward to help those at the entrance, who were truly not much more than strangers to the townsfolk- Only Miss Melissa came forward, nearly as distraught as Coriander as she took in the severity of the situation. all she could do was try to console the young girl, and she knew, that the consoling was also for herself- John had been her younger brother.
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Re: Tranquility Broken

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Oriza was knowledgeable in first aid. Silence from Sergeant Takara elicited a sigh from the young woman. Turning her gaze to Nolan and then the crowd, she called, "Someone get over here! I need help getting her down." Getting down with Takara by herself was out of the question, unfortunately. Instead, she was forced to wait for someone else to muster the courage to help. Why people were never willing to get involved was beyond her; Oriza had always engaged any problem she had the knowledge and ability to solve. it was ridiculous that this woman's health should be dependent on the cowardice of others- after all, Takara was a soldier and had likely meant well when she enlisted to defend her planet. Now the people who couldn't even commit to their own desire for peace were the ones deciding how quickly their defender would receive proper treatment.

She was glaring at every single person in turn, Miss Melissa and Coriander excluded. "NOW!"
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Re: Tranquility Broken

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Donovan had quickly awoken, eyes wide, at the first sound of chaos.

Truth be told, he was wired tight, and this was the first restful sleep he'd gotten in the last few days as the tensions rapidly rose. But that didn't matter. Not one bit. He'd came to his feet quickly enough and dashed for the entrance just in time to see the ECF mech stand before the wayward person like a protective golem. And then the two foes met. Donovan simply stood there a few meters back from the group as the fight went on, and as the Earth made mech fell towards them, he strode forward and towards it unflinchingly.

As the dust settled, he still stood there, behind the group but closer than he was before. Donovan actually looked a little disappointed. As the crying started, he was already turning to go back to his little spot, pack slung across a shoulder and hands in his pockets. However, one of them started making demands. Donovan turned around again. His eyes locked right onto hers as he strode forward before coming to a dead stop in front of her.

"..."
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Kai
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Re: Tranquility Broken

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Nolan Looked up at Oriza as she started making demands for help. With a sigh, he muttered something under his breath that sounded like "headstrong". Then without saying anything else he stepped closer to the mech and began working his way up to the pilot seat.

"Alright, quit shouting, I am here," Nolan said to Oriza as he situated himself to make lifting the pilot out as safe as possible for the wounded girl. As he reached in to grab hold of the pilot he looked over to Oriza and said, "Ready whenever you are, lass."

Oriza frowned at him for just a second when he spoke as though she had been throwing a fit. It wasn't important- Sergeant Takara was in need. "I have a better idea," she suggested calmly. "Climbing down with her doesn't seem like the safest idea. Better for me to lower her to you."

The Sergeant continued to not move much beyond the occasional unconscious flinch, accompanied every so often by a light groan. The frequency of these was increasing, and it was pretty obvious that she was coming closer to consciousness- it would definitely be necessary to bring her down soon before she found herself awake in a precarious situation- it certainly wouldn't help.

The townsfolk, finally, after being yelled at, seemed to do some moving forward- a group of young men came forward to stand with Nolan and Donovan, to help catch the pilot, while another young woman climbed up the pile to help Oriza with extricating the sergeant and passing her down to the ground. People also began rummaging through bags looking for supplies to help treat the pilot's wounds.

Melissa and Coriander, for the moment, were left to themselves, still sniffling and otherwise mourning the loss of John. Some of John's friends, as well, formed a group around the two, and while they had not witnessed what had happened, they all knew that John was missing, and that those two crying meant something bad had happened. They all hoped the worst hadn't happened- but their hopes would ultimately prove to be in vain.

Donovan wordlessly helped the two strangers get the unconscious pilot down from the broken cockpit of the mech. It wasn't hard work or anything either. He just didn't see why this was a two or even three person job. Soon enough though, the Pilot was laid down on the ground, and he took a glance at the other villagers. They were already rummaging for things to help so he decided to leave it there before standing off again to watch them all.

With the pilot safely on the ground, Nolan made his way down to get a few more photos of the event. With camera in hand the photographer made his way over to where the pilot was being treated and snapped several pictures from different angles as he did his best to stay out of the way. Once he had satisfied that need he then took many pictures of the damaged mech.

"That should be enough," Nolan mumbled to himself as he looked down at the camera in his hands. As he tucked it away he then moved closer to the injured pilot again, only this time to take a seat. From his sitting position he glanced over to the blocked entrance and wondered what the alien mech was doing at the moment.

With Takara unloaded, Oriza dropped to the cave floor and knelt by the soldier's side. Still breathing, and even groaning every so often. No complaints about moving, it seemed, so it wasn't likely that anything serious had happened- and if it had, the Sergeant couldn't feel it.

First things first. "Sergeant Takara," she began softly, "I'm taking off your helmet." Repositioning herself by the woman's head, she grabbed hold of the helmet and had another support Takara's neck. Slowly but surely it came off without a hitch, for which Oriza was grateful. With Takara's head on her lap, Oriza checked the soldier's face and neck for injury, hands gently probing.

The soldier's face seemed to be in good condition, though there was a short trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth. Further probing would show that it was from the pilot biting her tongue and cheek, and not from internal injuries. Slowly, the pilot- now revealed to be around Oriza's age, with her helmet off- began to awaken, her eyes opening and closing, slowly at first, then more rapidly as she gained consciousness. The pilot let out a short indistinguishable cry and tried to sit up.

Donovan continued to stand back and watch, breathing, blinking and otherwise being quiet. Because really, what was he to do? They were all practically swarming over her now like locust, and he didn't feel like adding to the horde like he used to anymore.

As he sat on the cold floor, Nolan gave a sigh and leaned back on one of his arms as he mulled over what he should do next. With not much coming to mind he pushed himself back up and stood. From there he moved a bit further from the ad hoc first aid station and pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket. Upon lighting it he took a long drag to settle his mind which, despite his blank features, was still a little distraught. Every now and then he would get another flashback from a particularly dark moment in his life. He then looked around for Coriander to see where she had gone, hoping that she wasn't in too much pain from losing her friend.

Oriza didn't let Takara rise, planting a hand on either shoulder. "No moving until we know you're okay," she declared. Speaking of which, "Are you in pain at all?" Of course it was obvious her shoulder was wounded, but the patient's perception of pain was also important.

"You do know we're in a confined space, with no guarantee of fresh air, right?" Donovan spoke up at last to the smoker. He didn't say anything else immediately though, and decided to sit down now that things seemed to be calming down.

The Sergeant frowned up at the young lady holding her down "Pain doesn't matter when I'm on Duty, Let me go, civilian!" she tried once more to get up, though this time she actually felt her shoulder. "Ah! Dammit... How'd I dislocate my..." she paused as her head turned to look at the wreckage of her mech. "Wha- Velo! No! Damnit!" this time she shot up, and short of getting violent, there was no way Oriza was going to keep her down. The sergeant, despite a few shouted warnings of the danger from random strangers, made her way to the busted mech, climbing one- handed up to the cockpit, where she banged open a panel beneath the seat, revealing a small backpack, which was tossed down, a clanking thud showing it was deceptively heavy, and then she pulled out from beneath it a small packet that contained several cylindrical objects.

"Dammit, Can't believe I lost..." she mumbled, clearly still not quite 100%, something in her brain had been jumbled and she began ranting about things like Tunguska, those damn furry bastards, and a few choice swear words in Japanese, Irish, and Hungarian.

Coriander seemed to have calmed down by now, though her face and eyes were somewhat red from the crying. Melissa was still holding her, and Coriander didn't seem too intent on letting go either, and so they stayed mostly still, though now Coriander was watching the Mecha pilot as she went about doing.. whatever the hell it was she was doing.

Nolan looked over to Donovan as his cigarette sat casually at the edge of his mouth. After the man had made his case, Nolan let out a dejected sigh. "Yeah, I am aware. I was just trying to get in one at least," the aging man said as he plucked the cigarette from his mouth and cast it on the ground. "You make a fair point though." He then stomped on the cigarette a little to smother it.

Oriza sighed, but let go when confronted with the soldier's zeal. She also rose and strode toward the downed war machine. "Sergeant Takara, your wounds haven't been dressed. You're not ready to do whatever it is you're planning. If you'd just give me a minute of your time." Oriza already knew what the answer would be, of course: Hell no! I've got things to do and duty to follow and et cetera, et cetera... Still, it was always worth a try.

Donovan sat quietly and watched as the sergeant made a fuss. The only expression that he made was to raise an eyebrow as she spoke incredulously about being defeated. That very same eyebrow that only rose a little bit practically shot up even more a moment afterwards though. Soon enough though, he only furrowed the two brows together before speaking slowly. "...Furries? Did I hear her right?" Donovan asked, himself incredulous.

The Sergeant nearly slid down the wreckage of the mech, and landed on the ground somewhat ungracefully, holding up a single finger at Oriza to pause her for a moment. She then tore into the package she had grabbed and pulled out one of the cylindrical objects, which she removed some plastic casing from, shook, and then jammed into her neck. it gave off a hiss and the sergeant shuddered as if with chills, letting out a long breath, and closing her eyes. After a moment she opened her eyes back up and stood up straight, looking over the gathered townspeople, then back at the entrance blocked by her mech.

"Hey, is there a way out of here?" she asked.

"There's another exit to the caves, but it's a couple miles away, and we're not sure if it's still open," one of the townspeople ventured.

The Sergeant sighed, then looked around. "Anybody wanna come with me to find it?"

Surprisingly, a voice spoke up from past the crowd- it was Coriander's. "I'll go, I'll help!" she ventured.

With tired eyes Nolan watched as the young folk scurried around the cave in a sudden burst of energy. It did make him in some small way happy to see Coriander back up and moving. After she had volunteered to go with the soldier, Nolan thought about going as well. On one hand he could get out of the cave and somewhere he could smoke, and there was always the chance for more photos to be taken.

"I'll tag along as well, if ya kids don't mind," Nolan announced as he stepped closer to the soldier.

Oriza let out a silent sigh, guessing that little shot was the Sergeant's way of saying, "I've got it, so drop the subject." She did. In fact, she was rather elated by the idea of actually doing something- anything was better than sitting around and waiting. "I will." She snatched the helmet from the floor and offered it to Takara, something of a peace offering.

Donovan sighed out of weariness and got back up on his feet. Yes, he was going to follow them. Why? Because he literally didn't have anything better to do. As he checked over his backpack to make sure everything was in place for the hundredth time, he spoke to the pilot. "Shouldn't you have your arm popped back in or something first?" Donovan asked. It was just hanging there limply, though, he did admit it looked better than if the elbow was dislocated instead.

"Ah, Good point." The Sergeant answered Donovan, grabbing her dislocated arm near the shoulder and giving it a sharp push. It made a sickly popping noise and the pilot's face contorted for a bit, but she recovered quickly. whatever she had taken, it seemed to dull pain, or something, because a movement like that would've made a normal person come to tears. She next grabbed her backpack and flung it on, grabbing the helmet from Oriza, with a curt "Thanks", stuffing the opened pack of cylinders into it for safekeeping. "Name's Saki, by the way, you can call me that." She smiled at those around her, and, since nobody else ventured to follow her, she began heading toward the back of the cave. Coriander soon followed, grabbing her own backpack and silently tagging along, leaving Melissa to wonder just what had changed the somewhat timid girl so quickly.

Swinging his rucksack over his shoulder, Nolan followed after the pilot. After adjusting his black shoes the photographer fell into place on his way out of the cave.

The boy merely eyeballed Saki for a moment as she popped her arm into place before following behind her like a duckling. He didn't have anything better to do, so why not? The cave was getting stuffy anyways, especially after a certain someone lit a smoke earlier.
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Re: Tranquility Broken

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Oriza cringed slightly at Takara's wanton display of bravado, but said nothing. Who was she to make demands of this soldier? After all, the Sergeant at least was making an effort to find peace, even if the graduate disagreed with her methods. Some respect was due.
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