|
Post by Maxine on Aug 5, 2020 1:54:29 GMT -8
”Yes… I heard about such problems. It’s not a matter for the Shinobu Clan, but… it will be particularly troublesome for us if it’s not handled. Our transit operations working underneath that market flow will have a spotlight on them if something’s not done. And, well, it’s not good for morale, either… So, you have something in mind, chairman? An investigation… as you wish. A crackdown by the Duchies would be too much, so it might be the right move. I shall recruit your picks from last time… oh, and a new one, too? Well, I shall do my best to keep them in line. I think it shall be a good look for the clan, in any case. Though, where to start… it’s that clear, is it? Very well. I shall get them to work tomorrow morning. Make room on the next run for the four of us. I shall ensure everything goes according to your expectations, chairman.”
-------------------------------
”A towel, some water, and a pinch of detergent; a twist, some care, and a pinch of disinfectant… don’t you ever ask – is how the cake is made…~”
Humming to herself in the guests’ carriage, Maxine carefully finished cleaning her dress shirt – ah, good as new, as always. Well, aside from the ironing, but she could get to that later. She loved routine like this, it felt so good to just let all the gears turn and get the job done. All those movies made such a big fuss over the ‘coolness’ of interrogation and violence, but for someone doing the actual work, the cleaning up was more than half the fun. The hands-on part was the art of it, but the technical part was the professionalism of it. Anyone could break an arm, but only someone could make it look like it never happened.
”Now then… next on the list. Assemble the troops. Hopefully they all got themselves on board in one piece… I don’t want another secondary objective. If this crew shapes up, though, maybe we can think about a speed run…” mumbled the machine, uncharacteristically chipper while left to her own devices. She could just about see it lined up in her mind – silence the witnesses, assemble your party, defeat the wannabes, broker the deal, and destroy the enemy’s command center. Ah, well, nevermind that last one! She’d been playing games far too long last night. Mm, hopefully the chairman never got wind of that hobby, or she’d never let Maxine work again. ”I don’t think I’d stream my splits for this job, but I do make it look easy.”
Putting her jacket back on and tossing the warm towel over her shoulder, she began to waltz down the rest of the train, to the guest room cars. The Duchies had never gotten much public transport infrastructure down thanks to all the internal bickering, so trains had become the best-defined transport choice – more defensible than traffic, and capable of being routed without interrupting the village lives around them. Nowadays, they were mostly used for cargo, as most of those rich enough to traffic could indulge in the more high-tech options that Capsule Corp and Pilaf had brought with them; but the trains still drew some tourists or old-school passengers. Someday, surely, the railroads would flicker out and disappear… but until them, Maxine quite enjoyed their company.
But on this occasion, she was not visiting for the sightseeing. After some – negotiations – with the minimal night guard of the system of transport, they ought to be coming in towards Oolong City… and, as this train was carrying quite a variety of lifestock products from the villages of the New Duchy Lands, they ought to be running into some trouble quite soon. Perhaps, on a different day, she’d be here as a representative of the White Cat Clan and be playing defender for Top Movement Industries – but instead, she was here to make a deal. These bandit tariffs were an issue… not because they were obstructive, but because they were unsustainable! A smaller cut with a larger operation would be far more efficient. So, the Shinobu Clan wished to negotiate…
Ah, only in the Duchies. Would Koma have a sword to her throat if he knew? Or would she have a gun to his head if she knew? It was just business… and, there was no other business she would rather be in. Tomorrow, it could be you.
Shutting the sliding door behind her, Maxine slipped into the guests’ car and glanced along the row of doors – now, onto business. She briefly double-checked the number; yes, this was A3, so it ought to be where they were. A platter of coffees and some biscuits in one hand, she began to knock on each door in turn. The signal for them to rise and shine, a few hours before sunrise, and just a little time before the chaos to come woke up any other poor passengers along the way. Now she just had to hope they hadn’t stayed up too late, and had gotten on the right train in the first place. ”Good morning, everyone; please get ready for your early breakfast and our meeting. The night guard have been so polite as to vacate the dining cart for us, so please do not waste their goodwill and spend any more time than we need…”
Truth be told, knowing Zukkah, Bryce, and Jade… err, she was hoping for maybe two out of three.
[917/917/6000]
|
|
|
Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Aug 5, 2020 9:39:40 GMT -8
Sleep had never been a thing for Bryce anymore, not since he had become an android. But luck had it that this made a previous technique he knew; he did not know why, extremely useful. Over the weeks he had been able to stay awake by just meditating, allowing him to look beyond just his own self, or whatever that meant. But this time it gave him time to think about what was going to be happening. Truth be told though, he hadn't really been paying attention when he was basically forced to do this job, but he did get as far as being told who else did the job. Two out of the three others he knew, and that was the exact reason why he willingly took this job. Because where they were, the money was.
The thinking thing didn't really pan out in the end either, as when he was trying to focus on hiss thoughts he could hear nothing but the train moving, which got louder and louder until he heard a familiar, though muffled voice. Concentrating on that though kept the sounds of the train to a minimum and made the voice that much clearer, almost like he was listening through a phone. It almost felt like eaves dropping, but in the end it was simply this new gadget of his doing its job of enhancing the thing he was listening to and drowning out the rest.
This crew. Yeah. There was a mention about a speed run if it shaped up. Bryce knew they were very capable of that given the last mission they had done together, but the truth was that he didn't know what he was in for exactly. Maybe he needed to ask that before accepting it. In his defense though, money looked so damn attractive.
But then, almost as if the entire night had lasted just five minutes he was pulled from his trance as he heard that same voice calling for them to wake up and get ready. However, this one - a girl android if he remembered correctly - also mentioned a meeting. There went the promise of violence, Bryce supposed. But at least there would be easy money to be had. Besides, maybe he could show the Duchies people he was worth more than he let on initially.
He opened the door to greet Maxine and smiled, hard as it was to do due to a lack of practice.
''I can skip breakfast.'' He told her, ready to go meet the others, who he assumed were in the other rooms.
|
|
|
Post by Jade on Aug 9, 2020 14:09:24 GMT -8
This wasn't exactly a problem for Jade. It was a job. A task. Plus, it involved money. If it involved money, she wouldn't refuse. Not that she.. loved money. But.. she had something planned. She agreed to work with Maxine. It was actually a bit surprising. Ever since Jade has been at the Zen Teahouse, this was the only time Maxine actually.. spoke to her about something. Not that Jade had a problem with that. No. Definitely not. She boarded the train safely and slept soundly.
She would be in the middle of a really interesting dream, when she suddenly heard some knocking. Yes, it was Maxine, but Jade through that she was at home for a few moments. "Mmm, who's there?" She murmured. Her eyes were still shut, at least until she rolled off the bed she was currently sleeping on. She quickly got up and rubbed her eyes, before realizing that she was still on the train. "I uh, I'll be there in a few minutes." She said hesitantly, hoping that the android didn't hear what she said before. Not long after, she would open the door, to greet the lavender haired female but someone else caught her attention.
"It's you!" She said as she realized that Bryce, the one she has been seeing around the Western Lands multiple times. The same man that refused to just tell her his name! A sigh escaped her lips as she then began to calm down and get a whole of herself. "You might be confused, Maxine-san, but I know this man. It's just a bit sudden and surprising that I'd manage to find him here." The feline clarified with a slight bow, assuming that Maxine would be confused why Jade reacted like that. Well, she decided that it was time to forget about trying to know his name. If it comes to it, she'd most likely call him anything that comes to mind.
Jade was definitely looking forward to breakfast. She was hungry, as always. So, while Bryce refused to have breakfast, Jade decided to have breakfast before the meeting.
Word Count: 350 Total Mission Word Count: 1697 Starting PL: I'll.. edit this in a bit.
|
|
|
Post by Maxine on Aug 21, 2020 13:36:57 GMT -8
Well, two out of three turned out to be right on the money. Though she had a hunch that he could be a bit of a loose cannon, she had been confident that Bryce would be on the scene so long as there was a paycheck and a likelihood of a fight involved. While perhaps he was a little less… professional, than she liked, Maxine could certainly appreciate the sheer power than he carried. It wasn’t a bad match, all things considered. She was a competent in all the etiquette and management, but her skill in combat was waning as she grew more and more outdated as a model of android; while Bryce had all the combat potential in the world but… err, well, might need some more time before he was able to wheel and deal with the best of them.
It might have been slightly forced, but his attempt at a smile was appreciated – though Maxine did not return it, as she was as stern as ever. Instead, it was met with a bow; but this one was gentler, more thoughtful, compared to the android’s usual. ”Understood. Business before pleasure.” remarked the lady, with a fleeting little smirk.
Jade’s appearance was more of a surprise – well, not the fact that the cat was still half-asleep, but the fact that she showed up at all! From what Maxine understood, the feline tended to be more of a… slave to her whims, than most, so getting her on a job was a strike of luck. Maybe Koma had hassled her into it… ah, but regardless, it was good to see her. Though they might be on opposite ends of the spectrum of professionalism, she was a composed young lady and certainly a strong one. Maybe this was how she ought to handle her business in the future… having someone else bring the brawn wasn’t so bad.
Though she raised an eyebrow as Jade appraised her unlikely ally, the android didn’t comment on the situation – best not to get involved in personal business too much. ”Well, that at least saves us an introduction;” remarked Maxine wryly, assuming the pair knew each other better than they really did; ”So, breakfast and a briefing, then. Please follow me… and, you may want to bring a brush, Jade. Bed hair of that length may be… inconvenient.”
Leading the pair to the suspiciously empty dining cart, Maxine quietly set down the tray of coffee and snacks, diligently pouring Jade a mug – ”We don’t have a lot of extra time, unfortunately, so I’m afraid this will have to do as far as breakfast goes for now. Putting the ‘fast’ into the term, you see.” she mused, her sense of humour as arguably non-existent as ever; ”So, I shall hurry onto my briefing. We are here to handle a small criminal operation that has been holding Oolong City’s lifestock transport ransom and forcing them to pay the group tariffs in order to move through; raising prices and drying up stock within the city. That’s been quite unpopular, so we are officially tasked with removing the gang entirely, but… that’s not quite the way of the Duchies.”
Pausing, Maxine’s eyes fell upon a pair of pliers lying by the sink she’d been using earlier – she’d quietly pick them up and tuck them into her jacket. Ah, she could be so careless while she was in a rush. ”Rather than shut them down entirely, I would like to deal with their muscle and then negotiate with their leader. Said leader is currently on board this train, a rather ingenious plant… so, when they begin their little assault and their cover is blown, I would like you two to give me some cover while I smoke them out and… talk business with them.”
Closing her eyes, Maxine made a point of checking the time internally – ”We have about seven minutes. I believe they use a form of aircraft, so I think it should be somewhat exciting. But, please, do try to avoid fatalities or serious injuries; instead focus on making it a show of force. I prefer to negotiate with hostages, rather than craters.”
[701/2398/6000]
|
|
|
Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Aug 21, 2020 14:06:52 GMT -8
Jade was there, what a surprise. The girl who had been building up an image of being an invasive little annoyance. Always wanting to know something.. and maybe it was on Bryce to answer those things but there was a certain something about this cat looking thing that made him physically disgusted by it. And so he let Maxine know exactly that by sighing loudly as Jade mentioned him. He tried ignoring her, but the more he tried to do so the more focused his hearing became until Maxine spoke again, allowing the mandoid to be free of his little forced attendance.
Breakfast.. briefing.. Bryce liked the idea of being briefed by someone who had proven to know their stuff, like with that gang a little while ago. The breakfast thing was turned into sort of a joke by the other android mentioning something about the 'fast' part of it, and in turn that made the mandroid smile a bit. Not because he enjoying the joke, but because he realized that if she wanted to take the fast part out of it, only 'break' would remain. And that was something Bryce was good at. Been a while since he let himself go.
But then the briefing thing happened and the mandroid was not about to turn that into his own little joke hour, and instead listened if only for 50% of his capacity. Not because he was tired, but because even the tiniest movement of Jade from the corner of his eye annoyed him. That changed when Maxine went on to mention she just wanted to talk though, and there was a reason for them not to make casualties. Show of power, sure. But doing that while making sure not to kill people, that wasn't as easy as Maxine just made it seem.
Bryce's eyes were on her from then on when she continued to mention the preferred approach, and while just talking to someone seemed like an easy way to make money, Bryce was not happy about not getting to kill anyone. On the other hand, a show of force could be him just throwing Jade in there. Maybe he'd miss and chuck her through the wall of the train..
''So doing this your way is going to make the Duchies happy?'' Bryce asked, mentioning that only because that was pretty much the only thing on his mind right then. ''So if I refrain from killing anyone, will you tell them about me?''
And then, in a slight whisper as he moved forward to Maxine and leaned in closer to her, he whipered to her in a low enough volume so Jade couldn't hear. ''And don't tell her my name, please. She annoys me.''
=================== TWC: 2,853
|
|
|
Post by Jade on Aug 25, 2020 2:29:35 GMT -8
The pinkette was still a bit sleepy. She got used to the whole 'sleeping for more than 10 hours' thing, which was a really bad habit. She knew that, but didn't really see the need to wake up earlier. But, she'll probably work on that soon enough. She brought the hair brush, just like Maxine asked, but wondered why she thought that her long hair was.. inconvenient. It was true, yes, but the feline didn't see a problem with it. Well, no matter. She just needed to get this job done, right? She proceeded to the nearest bathroom and closed the door behind her, before looking at herself in the mirror. "Was my hair this messy?" She asked, in a low tone of voice. She could only imagine what Maxine thought of it. She seemed like a very neat person.
She began to comb her hair, quickly making it more presentable, before tying it into a ponytail. That was.. ok, right? She would then hurry over to the table where Bryce and Maxine were currently sitting. Taking a seat, she would look at the tray of coffee and snacks that were in front of her. Jade was.. a bit disappointed in the amount of food given to her, but.. it was still food, right? The coffee would do wonders for her now, anyways. She was still a bit sleepy. Only a little. She would pick up the cup of coffee and take a sip, as Maxine began to speak, telling the two what was expected of them and what was happening.
"Seems simple." She stated, after which, taking a bite of one of the snacks there was served. It's not like Jade was the one to kill. Even if she was, this wasn't the time or place for it. It wasn't needed. Seven minutes was ample time for her to finish up breakfast. Nodding to the android's last words, she finished up the last few snacks that were left. Not long after, she would clean the crumbs from her mouth and quietly waited for the lavender haired android's instructions.
Word Count: 349 Total Mission Word Count: 3202 Starting PL:
|
|
|
Post by Maxine on Aug 30, 2020 2:01:49 GMT -8
To her credit, Maxine had enough experience with troublesome cronies to know a disaster was brewing already; courtesy of Bryce’s grumbling and huffing. She’d finish her briefing before pouncing upon the matter, though, and the android was polite enough to give her an easy option to make the stakes of the situation quite clear to him. Thankfully, Jade was far more compliant… at least, so far. She got the feeling that things would never be quite so simple, but she only had a few minutes to settle things. Before then, though, Bryce would have a word with her – and, she would reply with a polite nod. Though she expected her staff to be on their best behaviour, she was not inflexible.
”The Duchies will be well-informed of your work on this occasion. The clan in question already requested you both in particular, so I imagine you both have a reputation to uphold. With that in mind, consider me your supervisor… I will be passing on precisely how this operation goes down.” explained the machine succinctly, though there was a hint of malice to her sharp gaze – ”Whether that information is favourable for you or not, will come down to your performance. It’s just like any other job, you see.”
As Jade finished up the simple breakfast, Maxine double-checked the local time internally – their company was overdue. How unprofessional. The android anxiety would be just barely visible, as her eyes bounced around the room. It was tempting to look out the windows, but that would assuredly compromise their cover. So, the best option was just to wait…
Ah, and there it was. A faint rumble in the distance soon became clearer – the sounds of rotors. No doubt a form of dual-rotor aircraft; archaic, but well-suited for this sort of job. And soon followed by another roar – machine gun fire, ricocheting off the ground outside. A warning shot… and, it did its job just fine, as the train began to screech to a halt. Murmurs of activity began to ring out back in the passenger cars, but were soon suppressed by a guard trying to enforce the emergency protocol – stay in your seats, and stay quiet. Just as she’d 'persuaded' them to…
Glancing at her comrades, Maxine gave a sharp nod. ”Expect an eclectic group, but poorly equipped. I imagine they will stay on-board their vehicle, so you may wish to rat them out – or, disable it. I would at least bet on a technician given that piece of hardware, though, so do not count on facing mere Saiyans.” advised the lady, before checking her tie and heading towards the door; back to the passenger cabins; ”Jade, and – Shin,” she continued, improvising a nickname for Bryce with a glance at his chest – not the most elegant answer, but it’d do; ”In my brief absence, please cause some – nonfatal – chaos. Shock and awe.”
With a slight bow, she would open the door, and hop to the next car; drawing her autorevolver – she had a rat to catch. Hopefully… her comrades would avoid killing her in the crossfire, at least until then.
[524/3726/6000]
|
|
|
Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Aug 30, 2020 4:19:25 GMT -8
''Good.. this is favourable to me.'' Bryce replied when Maxine mentioned that the Duchies had specifically asked for him. This meant that they knew what he was about, in a way, and made it easier for him to just.. let go. Except.. he had to not kill anyone so he had to try and keep that part of himself under wraps. Besides, wasn't part of being a monk not doing that exact thing? Seemed like this would be an exercise in being his old self, instead of this amalgamation of flesh and steel.
Closing his eyes briefly and exhaling quietly. ''They know what I'm about''; obviously, he was referring to the Duchies. ''And so do you, so if things do not go according to plan.. consider that my defense.'' He wouldn't need much of one since he was fairly certain it would all go according to plan, but in case it didn't - on account of Jade being there, for example, he would have already said his peace.
When the sounds of a rotor or two sounded, and then the sounds of a machine gun going off sounded causing the train to stop, Bryce realized this was the start of their part in this little play. A play with a whole lot of improvising. ''Eclectic, on board their vehicle, not saiyans, not fatal.'' He repeated before Maxine let herself out of the cabin, which left Bryce alone with Jade if only for a moment. This would definitely be a good moment to speak to her, or to offer some good will, but instead she would be met with an android that quickly made his way to the top of the train.
They'd be in their vehicle.. could be a good idea to disable that vehicle since it spooked the people inside. Sure, there was the chance Maxine would do the same, but the mandroid figured his efforts would not go unchecked.
On top of the train he stood eye to eye with the pilot of the aircraft carrying the item behind the warning shots. It had to be taken off. Except.. there were no other soldiers in it aside from the one firing the gun out of the side of the thing who kept it trained on one spot. Maybe the rest was already inside, and Jade would have to do something about it. And while she did have a good amount of energy in her, if he went by previous experiences even power wouldn't be enough to beat guns. Not unless you were part robot, in any case.
Bryce grunted loudly, aiming to get the attention of the one steering the aircraft and maybe even the attention of the one holding the machine gun. Which he did.
The mandroid smirked then and released a single energy blast to the gun, exploding it and forcing the man behind it to back off a bit, not to mention that the entire aircraft began swaying by the force- though it quickly stabilized.
Then, the man who had been behind the gun jumped to the top of the train opposite Bryce and smirked. ''We weren't expecting resistance.'' The man produced another small caliber gun from his pocket and continued to threaten the mandroid with it, not knowing that that was a futile thing to do.
''Shock and awe.'' Bryce said with an ever widening smirk as he flashed forward and yanked the gun from the hands of this man. He broke the piece of steel in half like a candy bar and, while focusing energy in his hands, chucked the superheated pieces of steel into the rotors of the aircraft beside them causing them to halt their motion and crashing the entire thing to the ground. ''Shock and awe.''
''Ready to shock people?!'' He yelled out, wide eyed as he grabbed the man by the head and slammed him down through the train, landing on the floor of the cabin with an android hovering over him who got up slowly and smiled as he noted down all the people with guns.
''Time for awe.'' ======================= TWC: 4,406
|
|
|
Post by Jade on Sept 12, 2020 13:37:25 GMT -8
Saiyans? That sounded somewhat familiar. Jade knew that something was definitely up with Bryce, seeing how he kept whispering to Maxine and making it extremely difficult for the feline to hear. But, at least she got his name.. although she was a bit convinced that 'Shin' was not his actual name. Now wasn't the time for that though. They had a problem to take care of. While Bryce found himself on top of the train, Jade simply exited the train through the.. well, exit. After which, slowly propelling herself off the ground. Using her ki, she slowly hovered above the ground, releasing the energy she was suppressing.
Jade green energy coated the feline's body, as she then created a barrier, making sure that if she gets hit or grazed by one of those bullets, it won't hurt.. as much. She darted towards the side of the aircraft, where an armed man began to fire at Jade with a machine gun. She dodged the bullets, but not with ease. Bryce quickly took care of his weapon though, throwing a ki blast at it. While Bryce was busy dealing with the man on top of the train, Jade looked around, only to see multiple armed men around the area. She was about to take care of them, but once something else caught her attention.
The aircraft. It was going down and by the looks of it, it might actually explode after hitting the ground. The pilot still seemed to be in the aircraft, but he was panicking. He didn't have a parachute. He was pretty much dead. Well, that's if Jade didn't quickly rescue him. Maxine did say that there shouldn't be any dead bodies after this.. mission, right? She grabbed him, before giving him a hard neck chop to knock him out, before quickly flying with him, carrying him to safety.
She would then turn her attention to the others. Within seconds, she was right in front of one of the men, kicking him in the chest, which sent him flying in the opposite direction. This simply caught the other men's attention and now.. Jade was one sticky situation.
Word Count: 358 Total Mission Word Count: 4764
|
|
|
Post by Maxine on Sept 18, 2020 5:31:07 GMT -8
As her agents took their exit, Maxine could only hope for the best. Not that she wasn’t used to putting her faith in subordinates – she’d gotten the role of supervisor amongst the Shinobu Clan many times – but, usually they were disciplined serving staff rather than mercenaries. As a mere tool, it made her feel a little unsettled… but, a mission was a mission. And, though they may be contractors, the rules of the Western Lands still reigned, didn’t they? There was no such thing as forgiveness without a price in this world. Which suited Maxine just fine… she preferred not to have any unknown quantities.
Though she hopped to the next car as planned, she then hesitated, checking the time internally – and, just letting the second tick away, even as such trouble started above her. It seemed her intel was poor: the aircraft only had a few members on board, while most of their crew was actually on the train. That was a problem for the android… as her target was still on board, too. As silently as she could, Maxine crept back to the last car with her revolver drawn, and gently kicked her shoes off. Then, she simply hauled the door open again, backtracking to where she started. Now, if her bet was right, then…
Alas, while the android’s planning was so practical and mundane, it didn’t quite compare to the results you could get by just blowing a hole in the roof and throwing someone through – Bryce’s approach proved better than hers, even though he probably had no idea what she was betting on. He certainly gave a shock – particularly to the demon girl currently hiding under a table, who’d put so much effort into suppressing her presence. With a squeal, she totally blew her cover… and made Maxine feel rather embarrassed. Oh well, results were results.
”Well, this presents a good opportunity. Consider our introductions out of the way.” remarked the machine gently, as she idly walked over the unfortunate soul that Bryce had greeted; ”I’m not here on behalf of the Duchies, so to speak, so consider yourself lucky. This may be a good business opportunity for you.” Punctuated by the explosion of that fine aircraft crashing, and the metal thuds of the side of the carriage being peppered by shards of steel and glass, Maxine simply stepped aside and shut the blinds on the car’s window – ”Or, it may mean a trip to a pig farm.”
Hopefully, the others would be polite enough to leave her to her – ‘negotiation’.
Unfortunately, they would have a good distraction until then – that engineer Maxine was concerned about was on hand, but wasn’t actually on board their fancy vehicle… instead, he was one of the ground team. Emerging out the top of one of the carriage’s top hatches, a pair of well-armed androids appeared… and, a loud crack rang out. Down below, a Namekian wielding a sort of beam-blow torch looked proud of his work… as the guests’ carriage was detached behind them, and a pair of gravity bombs set off on either side of it. Right about now, that aircraft was looking like a very appealing option compared to flying at this speed with gravity being turned up…
[544/5308/6000]
|
|
|
Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Sept 18, 2020 9:35:33 GMT -8
Bryce let go of whatever or whoever he was holding at that time when he heard the hissing of a torch behind him, turning to see that the carriage they had come from was detached and slowly decreasing in speed. With Maxine still on it. The mandroid knew it wasn't much to concern himself with since the carriage couldn't ram into anything, but he was still stuck wondering what exactly it did do.
But before he could really think on it he heard a few thuds behind him, turning to find some people armed to the teeth emerging. There was a no-killing thing on their end, but Bryce figured that with the weapons opposite him the idea was not mutual. They pulled the triggers on a few of them without really saying anything in an attempt to fill Bryce with bullet holes, though luckily he had been improving his speed quite a bit and was able to dodge the bullets with ease- despite it meaning he seemed to faze from one side of the carriage to the other, halting himself only by smashing his shoulder into the wall.
So aside from some scratches on and near his shoulder he hadn't been hit at all. Next up would be taking care of those guns though, but before he could really move the other guns that hadn't fired now fired instead, and as soon as those were done the previous half fired again, leading to a non stop hail of bullets. But none of them were trained on Bryce. And he narrowed his eyes when he found out why.
The bullets hit the 'exit' of the carriage, through the open door and latched onto the other cart's exterior. Only then were the bullets revealed to be more than just that; they were miniature thrusters. And as soon as they hit they began to halt the carriage Maxine was in slowly but surely. So anything Bryce or Jade could do, was now limited to the cart they found themselves in currently.
============================= TWC: 5,646
|
|
|
Post by Jade on Oct 3, 2020 19:07:44 GMT -8
This 'sticky' situation wasn't much. Jade could definitely handle them. She just didn't want to hurt anyone. At least, to a certain extent. The feline would find herself in the middle of a small group of men, that aimed their firearms at her. She.. was slightly afraid of this, for obvious reasons. She was no android. She was human. Well, somewhat. Her origin is.. complicated, but that didn't matter. She was still human. She wasn't exactly keeping up with her training or anything of that sort, so dodging these bullets would be a pain.
Getting grazed by bullets was.. more of a habit at this point and that was something she really didn't want to happen. "Heh.. uh, we don't have to do this y'kno-," she didn't even finish her sentence. Bullets began to fly across the area, which Jade quickly began to dodge. At this point, she decided to not suppress her energy, as she would need all the speed she could possibly get to pull this mission off.. without anyone getting hurt. But, they weren't cooperating at all. As soon as they stopped firing, which pretty much showed that they emptied the firearms of the bullets, she quickly darted towards the men, grabbing their guns and snapping them with ease.
Seeing that they were obviously outmatched in every way, they backed away from the feline in shock.. and fear. Although, Jade wasn't planning to hurt them at all. "Phew, that went well," she said. Now, she just needed to check up on Bryce and that's exactly what she did. He should still be in the carriage, right? She quickly ran inside, after hearing multiple shots that came from the carriage itself, but realized that she ran into a trap.. somewhat. The cart they were in has been affected somehow by the bullets that they fired. "Are you ok, uh, Shin?" She asked, calling him by his 'name'.
Word Count: 319 Total Mission Word Count: 5965
|
|
|
Post by Maxine on Oct 5, 2020 5:35:06 GMT -8
Maxine really had been hoping for a clean run, but as the carriages separated she realised this wasn’t going to end so well – Jade and Bryce could clean up with ease, certainly, but if they wanted to stop the group from splintering then they too would have to split up. And, that was assuming they didn’t have more surprised in store for them once they were separated… would they throw their boss under the bus? Err, or, under the train? The android did not wish to find out.
With her comrades on the faltering carriage and Jade not jumping to any good ideas, Maxine assumed it was time for her to go a bit beyond her role of supervisor and solve the issue as well. Results were more important than her expectations. ”Jade, Shin – assure this carriage is still in one piece by the time I return.” she ordered simply, before daring towards the door once more – hopefully they were both sane enough to know not to turn their backs on their suspect. She’d probably put faith in Bryce to put the screws on the girl, but… the Shinobu Clan would no doubt rather that Maxine did it herself, for the sake of plugging the leaks. Throwing the guest carriage door open, she faced the growing gap between her crew and their foes… leaving them to get away would just encourage them to reorganise. Well, it looked like her afternoon was going to be booked out –
In spite of the gravity grenades’ fields on either side, the android leapt. Unlike her more experienced and more conventional allies, she had no flight of her own… but, she had at least a substitute. With a thump like a shotgun, she shot forward; while her shoes crackled with flame – jump jets, one of her design’s finer points. They had more thrust than the traditional Sky Dancing technique could offer, at least for an inexperienced practitioner, but… they also lacked such control. And, all the same, as soon as she got within the grenades’ gently expanding fields, she was brought down within a split second.
But – another thump, another jet upward. A meagre rebellion against gravity – but, another, and another, and she was making progress. One more step in the air – and then, one last one – looking like a pantomime artist struggling against an invisible wall, Maxine’s shoes flared as she made one last effort… before sinking like a rock. With an immense crunch, she barely caught her footing on the carriage’s roof; denting it with the impact and shattering her legs in the process… a dreadful injury, but one an android could handle at least for a while. A quiet pinging and tinkling of metal rang out, too, as her feet ejected a series of casings, like those of bullets… another fault of her jump jets – she wasn’t an infinite core model, so she had to refuel – or, reload, in her case.
She had company – but, she could handle this much, or she could not claim to be worthy of the Duchies. She couldn’t claim to have fought as well as Bryce, in taking down that plane; nor as competently as Jade, who had defeated so many without spilling blood. But… no matter how fine her subordinates had proven to be, the job still needed a little more work before she could consider it completed to her own standards. Ah, well… whether she came back alive or in a replacement body, it had to be done.
Her revolver slipped into her hand, as if it was only natural.
”I may be a moment… please give the Chairman my regards, if I do not see her with these eyes…”
[617/6582/6000]
|
|