Nerrone's Rangers IC

Rhak caught the motion and went to help Xol, disappearing in the shadows as well. His four eyes tried to find the attacker, but he was interrupted by the voice on his intercom.
"What do you chose, Rhak?"
"F**k you. I'm not leaving them." Rhak responded to Faw and shut down the intercom.
He jumped up and started to climb one of the pillars, his boots giving of small scratching noises as he positionated himself to a higher level to see what was going on.
___________________
The zeenor boiled with anger at the former sabotuer and talked to his bodyguard.
"Turn around. We're leaving Sapphire Point."
"What!? But we just got here!"
"I don't care. Leave Sapphire Point."
The bodyguard acheen complied and the shuttle started to move from the military facility.

(Bianca) "Okay this is not good. What are we supposed to do?!" Chalen had to shake her back and forth before she went mental (which isn't like Chalen cause he's always the first to be mental).

"Get a hold of self we can do this but I need you to calm down. Okay?" He stopped shaking his friend and let go. Bianca then nodded.

"I make sure Rhak is fine. You stay near Dagon." With that, Chalen began to fly and flew after Rhak leaving an Elvar with Dagon.

Xol barely pulled his head back away from the computer screen quick enough to dodge the stiletto. It was a shot to rival any action-flick; a creature with one eye staring down a needle-thin blade. If anyone had a camera with them at that moment, they would have been obligated to take a photo. But it didn't last.

As the arm reached over the screen and grabbed his chest, Xol again acted quickly and grabbed one of his pistols from his belt. Unfortunately, it flew from his grip and clattered across the floor, sure to alert at least the more acute of hearing.

With this failure, the Selthem went for option B and grabbed his dagger in one hand, second pistol in the other. While the creature dragged him back, he desperately sliced away at where he judged the arm would be, and fired off shots in his attacker's general direction.

The grip on Xol's chest was released as his momentum carried him completely over the computer bank and into the deep shadows behind — it was uncertain if any of his wild knife-swipes had made contact, but one way or another his attacker vocalised no audible response. The momentary flashes of light from the muzzle of his gun illuminated nothing coherent in the tangled chaos of their struggle, except perhaps the same black, slender limbs. Xol's assailant recovered his balance immediately in a crouch, one hand swiftly reaching out in an attempt to wrench Xol's pistol away.

In the pitch darkness there was very definitely not a *shink* of the assailant unsheathing another weapon, and following it came an almost palpable absence of any dramatic flash of reflected light as the second stiletto blade struck out like lightning at Xol's abdomen — not a killing stroke, but certainly one capable of causing serious internal damage: this creature wanted to keep Xol down on the floor. With his vision still struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness, Xol might not even be able to see the dagger. But he would feel it soon enough.


Meanwhile, enough moments had passed for the Rangers to register these events. Kwa was already rushing towards the terminal, which was still impaled and scattering sparks in all directions, and Dagon was on the verge of following, though the destroyed computer and sound of gunfire alone didn't completely dissolve his confusion as to what had just transpired.


From his new vantage point, Rhak had only a slightly better angle on what was happening to Xol: the blaster discharges fleetingly illuminated two figures struggling in the shadows, but it was impossible to tell them apart — the ceiling was not high enough to afford him a perfect view from atop his pillar.

Bor wasn't paying a ton of attention to Xol's plight; his immediate concern was stopping the orbital weapon before it - presumably - fired on Sapphire Point and blasted them into clouds of vapor. Unfortunately, it seemed the Rangers were doing an excellent job of proving the accuracy of Murphy's Law: "Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong."

Bor glanced over at the screen, which now read 00.00.20. There must be something we've overlooked! Out of desperation, he ran over toward one of the locked-down computers and entered "0-000-000" as the code. Can't hurt to try.

Flank quickly deduced that something of serious note other than an orbital weapon timer was going on, and rushed to the computer bank to see if there was anything he could do. There wasn't. He had no clue whatsoever as to what happened, but a very dark object caught his chest lens. Protruding from a screen on the bank, reflecting none of the bright sparks that flew about it, was the stiletto dagger. Cautiously, he raised a finger to touch it, but before he could make contact a jolt of electricity jumped out from the handle at this finger.

The ensuing reflex motion sent him staggering back, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He checked his armour battery, and saw that in addition to slowly recharging since the encounter with the automaton outside the building, it had regained some of its charge from his shock. It could provide some sustained flight, but it wasn't enough. Removing it from his arm, Flank held it out in front of him with the underside facing the dagger, and slowly moved forward again.

There was a loud snap as a more powerful arc of electrons flared out at Flank's battery, but he felt no pain. It had jumped straight into the earth pin of the battery, which led straight into the capacitors. The charge increased by around seven percent. He held it closer. SNAP! Still more charge. He moved closer to the dagger, each tiny step bringing him more charge, until the computer screen ceased to send sparks flying in all directions in favour of concentrating all efforts on a single stream of electrons that flowed straight into Flank's greedy battery.

By the time the battery's earth pin made physical contact with the dagger, it was almost full. Without the resistance provided by the air between the two pieces of metal, the electricity flowed straight into the battery. By this point the electrical safety measures had detected a massive leak of electricity and shut down all power to the terminal, leaving Flank with a massive source of electricity for his jet boots and close range attacks, and with a stiletto dagger that was no longer live with electricity. He yanked the knife out of the screen and looked around him. Bor looked like needed help. With Grey still on his mind, he hurried over and asked Bor if there was anything he could do.

On the right-hand side of the room, Bor's guess at the pass code made no impression on the lockdown, which remained resolutely in place.

The dagger Flank now held was of simple but elegant design: the blackened blade was just over a foot long, straight and narrow with a point that could doubtless pierce most things short of hardened body armour. It was a lightweight weapon, designed to be easily concealed and used for stealth attacks; less suited to slashing.

(My last post for now as I'm away for a few days. I don't mind if anyone doesn't want to look after my rp characters till then.)

Though Bianca knew little of hacking, she wanted to see if she could guess the pass code. She hurried over to Bor but it looks like Flank got there first and is asking does Bor need any help.

Either way, I don't care what I do as long we all come alive from this.
---
Chalen had difficulty reaching to Rhak. He could hear the sounds of gunfire and..sparks. He knew he had to hurry.

Rhak couldn't see the Xol and the attacker clearly in the thick darkness. He had however tried to memorize the attacks. The attacker seemed to be found with stilletos.
Rhak thought through the scenarios and statistics. Both he and the assailant favored close combat. The foe had an advantage by hiding in the shadows and with his dark colored stilletos, while Rhak had a long dagger, which would give him away easily.
However, the acheen had highly trained reflexes, anyone who had seen him take down the brute on Las Thaddas would agree, and could see movement with ease in the darkness. But only within a small distance.
He jumped down, his cybernetic implants taking the toll of the fall. He drew his dagger, its polished surface glimmered in the dark, but it didn't even whisper when he dragged it out.
"Xol, get back! I'll take care of it!" Rhak screamed to the sethlem.

At Flank and Bianca's offer to help, Bor could only shrug helplessly. "Pick a number between one and seven million?"

Then, something occurred to him. He yelled across the room. "Rhak, you worked for the Kingdom. Do you have any idea what kind of code they'd use?"

Fifteen seconds and counting.

Xol was saved from any serious damage by the second stiletto because of a fortunate jerk sideways, meant to dislodge his attacker. He was not entirely spared the pain, as the blade sliced through his armor and nicked his skin around his thigh.

In response, the Selthem scrambled back and attempted to reach the closest source of light, firing a few more shots into the darkness. He heard Rhak's cry for him to stay back, and in the back of his mind thought, "Yes, I need help, but I'm not four-month old Zylthan slug needing to be protected by its hive-mother."


Grecsh wheeled around at the commotion taking place on the other side of the room, and rushed forward when he heard Xol's name bouncing around. Seeing everyone's attention on the darkness, he lit a non-explosive, long-lasting (upwards of 5 minutes) flare and tossed it in the direction of the fray, illuminating the struggle that was taking place.

((Mitch, your character is acting awfully nonchalant considering the fight going on, as well as the countdown...))

Behind the left computer bank, the darkness was suddenly replaced with searing brilliance as Grecsh's flare landed amidst the struggle, and for a precious fraction of a second Xol and Rhak were blinded. When the glare receded, Xol saw the dagger whipping out at him again, this time from his left, aiming for the lower chest.

The figure grasping the blade was now fully visible to Xol and Rhak: a mallium, slim, black-skinned and equipped with the light armour and full visor of the Silent Temple. The deep blue lenses of his mask flashed in the reflected glow of Grecsh's flare.

The operative known as Azure, the last of the Silent on Ariid, did not like loose ends.

As his eyes got used by the bright light, did Rhak see a black-skinned mallium. At the same time did he hear Bor's screaming.
"I only know old protocols!" Rhak screamed back to Bor. He lowered his body, making it ready for a fight, flexing it like a spring.
"But I guess you know it. Don't you?" He said calmly to the mallium.
He had his dagger in a tight grip. Rhak's eyes focused on the mallium. Without moving, Rhak started talking to Xol in the same calm slow voice as he had used when talking to the mallium.
"Back off. I don't question your skills, but you will be in my way."

Good X'vak, he just doesn't get it.

Xol ducked and rolled across the floor as the Mallium swung out at him again with the blade. He came to a stop and looked at his attacker.

Quick, lithe, moves fast but somehow has the strength to make up for his size.

He offered a side-glance at Grecsh, who was standing at the ready nearby. A plan formed in both their heads.

The Selthem ducked and rolled forward, making an attempt to grab the Mallium's feet or legs. Grecsh on the other hand rushed forward and took a few swings at the assassin's midsection, also trying to grab on to some part of its body.

Azure had his eyes on Xol — dodging the selthem's low grab was elementary; evading Grecsh's attack at the same time, less so. Azure resorted to a body-swerve, taking a glancing hit to his torso from Grecsh and stumbling backwards, off-balance for a fleeting moment. A small silver cylinder fell from his person and clattered noisily against the ground in front of him.

Xol darted forward yet again, swinging his foot out at the Mallium's legs while simultaniously grabbing and sliding the cylinder across the floor to where Rhak was standing.

Oh X'vak, I really hope that wasn't deadly.

...

You dimwit, an assassin dropped it!

Grecsh too ran forward and assaulted the Mallium again, attempting to draw it into a headlock.

This time Xol's attack found its mark, the assassin falling sideways as his boot connected. Azure did not stay on the ground for long, however, and the fall swiftly became a sideways roll, evading Grecsh's rush entirely and using the momentum to fling himself back to his feet. In the same motion the dagger came up again, and Azure plunged it towards the demolitionist's midriff.

It was then that the flash-bang grenade at Rhak's feet detonated spectacularly.

Grecsh side-stepped the assassin's stab and used its momentum to his advantage. In one move, he turned is body sideways, lifted his left leg and kicked at the Mallium's knee, simultaneously curling his right arm around where he judged it's head would be.

Xol ran past Grecsh and they exchanged glances once again. The O'onthos used his left hand to pick a grenade off his belt and toss it to the Selthem, who caught it. It was a sticky grenade, designed to be hard hitting in a localized area, armed by a large button in the center and detonated on a timer of 5 seconds.

((Took some inspiration from Toribash with Grecsh's move, Delta. Notice any similarities to your own fighting style? ))

((My 'Funky Chicken' aikido opener. D: That move has gotten me to green belt and counting.))

To a man, the Silent were highly-trained close-range combatants, drilled and tutored in combat tactica for any number of scenarios, unarmed combat and knife-play in particular. Azure was no different. And as both Xol and Grecsh were swiftly being reminded, he was fast.

The assassin ducked low and twisted around, crouching under Grecsh's arm and whipping his own out to meet Grecsh's leg coming the other way, aiming to land a viper-like punch on his opponent's kneecap. The combined momentum would be enough to cause a fracture.

((O'onthos are double-jointed. WUT NOW?))

The blow to Grecsh's leg hit high on his ankle, and would leave a nasty bruise later on. The combined movement of his arm and his leg brought him to a very awkward position, but he quickly moved out of it, bringing him to a face-off with the Mallium. In an effort to keep the assassin's attention, he raised his arms and fired several shots at him.

Xol, seeing how Grecsh was keeping the distracted Mallium away from him, activated his stealth and moved into position behind the attacker. He walked on his heels, so as to make as little noise as possible. In a normal situation, he wouldn't have fooled the assassin, but he had a higher likelyhood of success with the flare flickering and the plasma shots tearing past his target.

Once in position, he grabbed the Mallium's shoulder and attempted to thrust the sticky grenade onto his back, keeping clear of the button in the middle.

((That just means they have twice as many knees. ))

Azure twisted his body again, his left arm reaching out to pull Grecsh's right wrist forwards as the assassin's torso turned — the demolishionist's blaster would instead be pointing at Xol as it let loose its deadly plasma at close range. No artificial form of stealth would fool a Silent One — Azure was already prepared for such a tactic. He had fought Xol before.

At the same time, with his other hand, he stabbed at Grecsh for a second time.

The sticky grenade attached to the light armour plate on the mallium's shoulder.

Xol's finger twitched and pressed the button, triggering the five second countdown, as well as adhering the bomb to the Mallium's shoulder with a type of glue used to cement panels to the side of large spaceships. As Grecsh would say later,

"Now, there's a story about how I found that stuff..."

0:04

The blade that had been swung at the O'onthos' middle grazed his side, embedding itself in his armor at an odd angle. The shock of this made him release his grip on the blasters' triggers, however one final blast nicked Xol's face.

0:03

Shifting his weight, Grecsh grabbed the Mallium's wrists and swung his arms up over his head, letting go at the perfect moment, in a move that would likely launch the assassin well into the air.

0:02

((For clarification, the times are the timer that Xol placed on the Mallium's shoulder, not the orbital cannon timer. ))

((Missed the fight. Curse you Australian time zone! Curse you to hell!))

Flank began typing numbers into the keypad as fast as he could, hoping that he'd be able to get some sort of response. He tried the names of certain important items in numbers, the same way one would type a word with number pads. He thought of trying zirthinnite, but that had eleven letters. Sapphire had eight, that wouldn't work either. He tried Ferraro: 3377276. He tried Thaddas: 8423327. He tried Kingdom, in case it was changed: 5464366. He just kept trying seven letter words in numeric form.

((Grabbing his wrists is something of an insta-hit, but since it doesn't do direct damage I shall make an exception this once. ))

Azure maintained his grip on the stiletto, the blade coming free as Grecsh lifted him. As the o'onthos released his hold, however, Azure was not so quick to release him. He followed through on Grecsh's maneuver, flipping over his opponent's head whilst keeping Grecsh's right wrist in a tight grip — when the assassin's feet touched the ground, Grecsh would either be on his back or have a fractured shoulder.

Around the same time, there was a sound of tearing leather as Azure used his knife to cut through the straps keeping his right shoulder-guard in place: the piece of armour, grenade attached, fell to the floor at their feet, followed by several drops of the mallium's blood — even for him, detaching an armour plate using a tool held in the arm attached to it was no easy task mid-battle.


Flank's efforts, meanwhile, were met with consistent failure, and the count-down was on the verge of entering single-digit numbers. Whatever the code was, it was not something that could be cracked like an IQ test — the only person in the room who knew the code was currently engaged in combat with at least two, maybe three of his comrades.

Grecsh landed on his back, and while it hurt, it would most definitely not produce lasting injuries. Feeling the grip on his wrist, he slammed his right arm to the ground and felt the grip relinquished. Working quickly, the O'onthos grabbed a large, cylindrical canister and tore the pin off it, holding his breath as he did. He threw it to the ground where it started to roll into the darkness, then swiped at the assassin's torso, expecting it to lurch backwards at this attack. He then scrambled out of the way as fast as he could, not wanting to be around when the flammable fumes combined with the inevitable explosion of the sticky grenade.

Xol saw Grecsh's actions and darted back himself, but not quick enough. The fireball erupted across that portion of the room, singeing the Selthem's left arm.