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runmakitarunThere's a small fire burning in the middle of the camp and there's the quiet murmuring and soft moaning that Makita finds oddly comforting. It sounds like home, despite the horror of it all. She sleeps, truly sleeps, for the first time since her squad broke up. Peaceful, restful, and ready to come awake in violence at a moment's notice. Miho's lying next to her, a few feet away, although she's not sleeping, she's looking up at the unfamiliar sky, smoking a last cigarette. Those had gotten her a few unfriendly looks, before she'd grinned and tossed packs at the hungriest stares.
She blows a lost plume of blue-ish smoke into the sky before flicking the glowing butt into the small fire, rolling over on her side, and dropping almost instantly into peaceful slumber.
Mishka's squad, like most Gorka squads in Bahamut these days, has been fighting too long with too little rest. It makes for mistakes. Dangerous mistakes. Mistakes such as letting a team of Red Kommandos surround the camp without an alarm being sounded. The arrival of the Reds is announced by a pair of Hailers opening up with their 5mm auto-cannons.
The dying is signaled by cries of pain, and Makita's already rolled over a nearby wall as she sees some trooper who's name she never caught take a fifteen round burst in the chest leaving a wheezing body on the ground. One she knows can't be saved.
Miho's almost as fast, kicking off into a gravity-defying jump that takes her nearly clear over a nearby wall, a scramble taking her to the top where she lies, spread-eagled along the crumbled top, black clothes and hair blending into the shadows. She takes a long moment to survey the field of carnage below her, quickly picking out the men with the big guns as the main threat. She can't take both of them out - but from where she is, one looks like an easier target - there are fewer men covering him - he's an awful lot less mobile, with that much metal to carry - and there's more cover between her current position, and her prey.
From where Makita looks out, the other Hailer looks like a much better target. He's not even looking in her direction. She low crawls through the rubble as fast as she dares. She knows that every second it takes her to kill him could cost a life. As she moves she runs over the battle so far, counting her dead. At least five down for the count, three of the wounded from earlier today. Twelve possible effectives, plus herself and Miho. She grins savagely, the Reds sprung their trap poorly. They don't know the area, and two Hailers isn't enough, really.
And suddenly she's on top of her target. Five meters away, and he doesn't see her. A five round burst just below his visor and he stops firing; dead before he hits the ground.
You would expect that Miho would need to get closer to her man than Makita - but that would be without factoring in the fact that she's still carrying the shuriken. She's thirty meters away when the Hailer drops, twenty when the second man drops and by the time the rest of the men have realised where the whirling blades are coming from, she's on top of them, and before the next grouping have turned to see why the big gun's have stopped firing, she's gone again, out of the attacking circle, ready to strike from behind.
Unfortunately for Miho, and for Makita, and for the remaining Gorkas, these Reds have more than one ace up their sleeves. A clear, crisp soprano voice cuts through the night air. "Range: first increment. Radius: one-zero meters. Protokol: Burst..."
There's a brief pause as Makita yells, "Witch!" It's full of hate, but it's not an insult. There's more than a hint of fear, in fact. "Get under cover!"
"... Kasting."
A tall dark-haired woman's eyes glows deep red as the power gathers around her, and there is a sudden explosion in the center of the encampment. Makita stares in horror, she isn't carrying an Protokol Piercing Rounds. And without them there's no way she's going to get through the sorceress' shields. She's simultaneously plotting a retreat route and trying to find Miho. Because Miho has no idea what they're up against.
Actually, that's not entirely true. Miho might not understand exactly what that woman is, but she knows magic when she sees it, after so long in Milliways, and she knows when her skills won't serve her. It's not in her to retreat - but neither is it in her to fight a battle she cannot win - and she can recognise those battles when she comes up against them. She swears quietly to herself, and circles the camp, outside the circle of light, heading for Makita's last position. Her friend isn't going down alone, if they have to go down.
Miho's path takes her through the darkness and past a raggedly breathing body. It's Mishka. Shrapnel from the explosion has punctured at least one lung, and Miho can recognize the sound of a sucking chest wound. This is the sort of thing that requires a trauma surgeon to fix, and those are in short supply in this war. Eyes wide and bright with shock, Mishka gasps, "Miho, is that you?"
Miho glances quickly around. Safe for a moment, at least. She drops to her knees.
"Yeah, it's me."
Mishka nods, painfully and extends a trembling hand. In it is clutched a pistol. Not the small automatics that Makita carries, but a huge unwieldy hand cannon. "Can you use this?" She doesn't wait for an answer, simply opens her hand for Miho to take the weapon. She coughs wetly, "I'm not going to make it. I... don't want them to have the satisfaction of watching me go," she manages, in a throat that bubbles with fluid.
Miho's nod in response is quick, neat. "They won't," she assures.
Of course they don't, because when, a moment later, Miho continues threading her way through the semi-dark, she leaves a body behind her. Deadly little Miho - they say you won't even feel the blade, unless she wants you to. Of course she didn't use the gun - besides the noise, that's not how a warrior deserves to go - and it was painless, her way. She'll keep the gun, though - last gifts should never be spurned.
Makita was circling back the other way, and she comes upon Miho just as she finishes with Mishka. Makita's eyes shine slightly in the moonlight, "Thanks." She looks back toward the sorceress, who is beginning to Kast again. "You ready to go? We can't get through her shields without some P.P.R. and only squad leaders, snipers, and special weapons carry it. We don't have time to search Mishka for her stash."
Miho looks down at the gun still in her hand, thoughtfully.
"Like this one?" She asks, simply. It does look different to the other guns she'd seen so far in this world.
Makita's eyes widen and she reaches out to take it. Very few people carry 12mm pistols. The round is overkill for most tasks and the recoil can break fingers. But it's also the smallest round that comes in a Protokol Piercing variant. Makita nods as she checks the gun. "One shot." It's got to count. She frowns at Miho, "Are you better with one of these than I am?"
Miho echoes the frown, cocking her head for a moment, before shaking her head at Makita. With an unfamiliar weapon, no, she's definitely not better. Makita's probably the better shot in any case, from what she's seen - Miho likes her weapons to have some kind of life to them, she just flat out doesn't like guns.
"You take it. I'll cover you."
Makita nods and takes the gun. "Let's go." And she's sprinting across the ground trying to bring down the range as the sorceress chants again.
"Range: first increment."
Thirty meters away, and the sorceress spots Makita's rushing form and turns to her.
"Radius: one-zero meters."
Miho swears - she remembers that chant from before. She skids to a halt in front of and to the side of Makita, both blades out, and grins at the woman in front of them. Nothing is getting to Makita before she fires that round - it would have to go through her, first, and that? That isn't happening.
The sudden appearance of a small woman with swords startles the sorceress. She blinks, puzzled, trying to figure out what is going on. And that split-second of hesitation is enough. Makita raises the pistol in a sure, two-handed grip and fires.
As the shot cracks out, the sorceress shakes off her confusion and calls out, "Shields." A complex spinning wall of red energy crackles into place in front of her and she smiles, confident that she's in no danger. Her face briefly holds an expression of surprise as the bullet punches through the shields like they weren't even there and strikes the bridge of her nose. After which she has no expression at all.
Makita lowers the pistol to her side panting, and looks around. Tears flow slowly and silently down her face as she realizes that she's going to have to report Mishka's squad lost to the last man, woman, and child. Miho bites her lip, and slowly puts an arm around Makita's shoulders. She won't have to make that report alone.
She blows a lost plume of blue-ish smoke into the sky before flicking the glowing butt into the small fire, rolling over on her side, and dropping almost instantly into peaceful slumber.
Mishka's squad, like most Gorka squads in Bahamut these days, has been fighting too long with too little rest. It makes for mistakes. Dangerous mistakes. Mistakes such as letting a team of Red Kommandos surround the camp without an alarm being sounded. The arrival of the Reds is announced by a pair of Hailers opening up with their 5mm auto-cannons.
The dying is signaled by cries of pain, and Makita's already rolled over a nearby wall as she sees some trooper who's name she never caught take a fifteen round burst in the chest leaving a wheezing body on the ground. One she knows can't be saved.
Miho's almost as fast, kicking off into a gravity-defying jump that takes her nearly clear over a nearby wall, a scramble taking her to the top where she lies, spread-eagled along the crumbled top, black clothes and hair blending into the shadows. She takes a long moment to survey the field of carnage below her, quickly picking out the men with the big guns as the main threat. She can't take both of them out - but from where she is, one looks like an easier target - there are fewer men covering him - he's an awful lot less mobile, with that much metal to carry - and there's more cover between her current position, and her prey.
From where Makita looks out, the other Hailer looks like a much better target. He's not even looking in her direction. She low crawls through the rubble as fast as she dares. She knows that every second it takes her to kill him could cost a life. As she moves she runs over the battle so far, counting her dead. At least five down for the count, three of the wounded from earlier today. Twelve possible effectives, plus herself and Miho. She grins savagely, the Reds sprung their trap poorly. They don't know the area, and two Hailers isn't enough, really.
And suddenly she's on top of her target. Five meters away, and he doesn't see her. A five round burst just below his visor and he stops firing; dead before he hits the ground.
You would expect that Miho would need to get closer to her man than Makita - but that would be without factoring in the fact that she's still carrying the shuriken. She's thirty meters away when the Hailer drops, twenty when the second man drops and by the time the rest of the men have realised where the whirling blades are coming from, she's on top of them, and before the next grouping have turned to see why the big gun's have stopped firing, she's gone again, out of the attacking circle, ready to strike from behind.
Unfortunately for Miho, and for Makita, and for the remaining Gorkas, these Reds have more than one ace up their sleeves. A clear, crisp soprano voice cuts through the night air. "Range: first increment. Radius: one-zero meters. Protokol: Burst..."
There's a brief pause as Makita yells, "Witch!" It's full of hate, but it's not an insult. There's more than a hint of fear, in fact. "Get under cover!"
"... Kasting."
A tall dark-haired woman's eyes glows deep red as the power gathers around her, and there is a sudden explosion in the center of the encampment. Makita stares in horror, she isn't carrying an Protokol Piercing Rounds. And without them there's no way she's going to get through the sorceress' shields. She's simultaneously plotting a retreat route and trying to find Miho. Because Miho has no idea what they're up against.
Actually, that's not entirely true. Miho might not understand exactly what that woman is, but she knows magic when she sees it, after so long in Milliways, and she knows when her skills won't serve her. It's not in her to retreat - but neither is it in her to fight a battle she cannot win - and she can recognise those battles when she comes up against them. She swears quietly to herself, and circles the camp, outside the circle of light, heading for Makita's last position. Her friend isn't going down alone, if they have to go down.
Miho's path takes her through the darkness and past a raggedly breathing body. It's Mishka. Shrapnel from the explosion has punctured at least one lung, and Miho can recognize the sound of a sucking chest wound. This is the sort of thing that requires a trauma surgeon to fix, and those are in short supply in this war. Eyes wide and bright with shock, Mishka gasps, "Miho, is that you?"
Miho glances quickly around. Safe for a moment, at least. She drops to her knees.
"Yeah, it's me."
Mishka nods, painfully and extends a trembling hand. In it is clutched a pistol. Not the small automatics that Makita carries, but a huge unwieldy hand cannon. "Can you use this?" She doesn't wait for an answer, simply opens her hand for Miho to take the weapon. She coughs wetly, "I'm not going to make it. I... don't want them to have the satisfaction of watching me go," she manages, in a throat that bubbles with fluid.
Miho's nod in response is quick, neat. "They won't," she assures.
Of course they don't, because when, a moment later, Miho continues threading her way through the semi-dark, she leaves a body behind her. Deadly little Miho - they say you won't even feel the blade, unless she wants you to. Of course she didn't use the gun - besides the noise, that's not how a warrior deserves to go - and it was painless, her way. She'll keep the gun, though - last gifts should never be spurned.
Makita was circling back the other way, and she comes upon Miho just as she finishes with Mishka. Makita's eyes shine slightly in the moonlight, "Thanks." She looks back toward the sorceress, who is beginning to Kast again. "You ready to go? We can't get through her shields without some P.P.R. and only squad leaders, snipers, and special weapons carry it. We don't have time to search Mishka for her stash."
Miho looks down at the gun still in her hand, thoughtfully.
"Like this one?" She asks, simply. It does look different to the other guns she'd seen so far in this world.
Makita's eyes widen and she reaches out to take it. Very few people carry 12mm pistols. The round is overkill for most tasks and the recoil can break fingers. But it's also the smallest round that comes in a Protokol Piercing variant. Makita nods as she checks the gun. "One shot." It's got to count. She frowns at Miho, "Are you better with one of these than I am?"
Miho echoes the frown, cocking her head for a moment, before shaking her head at Makita. With an unfamiliar weapon, no, she's definitely not better. Makita's probably the better shot in any case, from what she's seen - Miho likes her weapons to have some kind of life to them, she just flat out doesn't like guns.
"You take it. I'll cover you."
Makita nods and takes the gun. "Let's go." And she's sprinting across the ground trying to bring down the range as the sorceress chants again.
"Range: first increment."
Thirty meters away, and the sorceress spots Makita's rushing form and turns to her.
"Radius: one-zero meters."
Miho swears - she remembers that chant from before. She skids to a halt in front of and to the side of Makita, both blades out, and grins at the woman in front of them. Nothing is getting to Makita before she fires that round - it would have to go through her, first, and that? That isn't happening.
The sudden appearance of a small woman with swords startles the sorceress. She blinks, puzzled, trying to figure out what is going on. And that split-second of hesitation is enough. Makita raises the pistol in a sure, two-handed grip and fires.
As the shot cracks out, the sorceress shakes off her confusion and calls out, "Shields." A complex spinning wall of red energy crackles into place in front of her and she smiles, confident that she's in no danger. Her face briefly holds an expression of surprise as the bullet punches through the shields like they weren't even there and strikes the bridge of her nose. After which she has no expression at all.
Makita lowers the pistol to her side panting, and looks around. Tears flow slowly and silently down her face as she realizes that she's going to have to report Mishka's squad lost to the last man, woman, and child. Miho bites her lip, and slowly puts an arm around Makita's shoulders. She won't have to make that report alone.
