Zombies and space station oh my!



Aerospaceport

As the largest facility of its kind south of San Francisco, the aero-spaceport at Ayotzinco is a popular place for travelers to begin their adventures in Central and South America. Intergalactic transports load and unload passengers and cargo beside small pleasurecraft and local shuttles. One large private hangar houses the personal vehicles of Mexican President Chikome-Ollin. A wavering heat haze hovers over the wide landing field, refracting like water under the relentless sun. The modern terminal facilities, however, are cool and clean, with a subtle Aztec theme throughout to welcome the tourists. This is Ayotzinco, gateway to Mexico.

Contents:

Faris al Aziz

Aerospace Fighter 

Presidential Shuttle 

Aerospace Fighter 

Xiuhcoatl

Aircraft 

Militant Dropship 

Militant Shuttle 

Militant Shuttle 

Obvious exits:

South  leads to Marketplace.

East  leads to Central Plaza.

Fly 

You climb into the Aerospace Fighter ...

Aerospace Fighter 

Inside, the craft is fairly roomy, with a cockpit big enough for two, the pilot in the front and a co-pilot behind, with a small area large enough for two passengers behind that. The console is very advanced, and does not look Terran in origin, even though the controls are obviously intended for humans.

Contents:

James Trent

LR Radio

Aerospace Console

> You blast off and launch yourself towards the Earth Orbit.

> Earth Orbit

>

As you enter orbit above the blue-green surface of Earth, you peer through the clouds and see various possible landing sites...

> Contents:

> Jet Helicopter

> Terran Standard Troops #2844

> Interstellar Shuttle 

> Copernicus Station

> Terran Sensor #8438

> Militant Sensor #6855

> Moon

> Obvious exits:

> Escape Orbit  leads to Terrestrial Planets .

> Eastern Hemisphere <EH> leads to Stratosphere above Eastern Hemisphere.

> Western Hemisphere <WH> leads to Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere.

> Ayotizinco Cairo Spaceport  Houston Spaceport  Autobot City  New York City  EDC  Korean Spaceport  Trypticon  NCC

> Jet Helicopter is drifting in space, not quite aimlessly as she's maintaining a steady distance from the Copernicus and its weaponry. Apogee has disappeared... gone inside, perhaps? She doesn't dare follow, since the myriad EDC troopers completely surrounding the station are likely triggerhappy enough to shoot a stray Decepticon, no matter what her intentions are. They have no leader since Marissa surroundered herself, and that's always bad for morale, not to mention lending itself to chaos.

Aramasu Hikage finishes checking his gear before the arrival. "Shame we have to go after humans instead of machines. I would have split the station in section and let them burn on re-entry but hey that's just me. See anything on radar ?"

> Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> Takeoff from Mexico, leading the nova squadron, the aerospace division of the Militants. The Squadron is heading right towards the copernicus station, ignoring the EDC troops around the station. Inside the Raptor, James Trent looks back at Aramasu, "We're arriving soon, EDC spacefighter are all around the station..not doing much." The militant opens a broadcast channel and speaks.

<Earth> James Trent says, "Michael Briar, I'm James Trent, commander of the Nova division from Mexico. You threatened our great nation with your station.  Since the EDC cannot get the job done we will take care of this.  Micheal Briar, I order you to surrender.  Power down your weapon and get ready to be boarded."

> Jet Helicopter was expecting the Militants, actually, so the appearance of a new aerospace craft is no surprise to her. She makes no hostile moves, though. It would be rather unpleasant to be caught in a crossfire between the EDCers and the Militant forces. Let them assault the station. A distraction is certain needed. Though... She listens to the broadcast and sighs. Well, Briar and company should know they have more visitors now.

Aramasu Hikage smacks James upside the helmet. "Way to go champ. Why don't you stick a 200' Flag on your fighter's tail ? Now things HAVE to get nasty. Just get me close enough to use my grapple launcher. After that you can show the world what a great ace you are." .oO(Next time I shotgun with Faris.)Oo.

The air shimmers around Aramasu's body as the Hikage Clan armor materializes around him.

James Trent arrograntly grins, "Relaxe Hikage. I am the best pilot this universe ever saw! I will get us in without a scratch to my fighter."

> Airwolf transmits a message via radio.

> James Trent receives a radio transmission.

James Trent receives a radio transmission.

> James Trent transmits a message via radio.

James Trent transmits a message via radio.

> Airwolf receives a radio transmission.

James Trent looks back at Aramasu once again, "He has hostages... I'll drop you on the station, infiltrate and try to secure them"

<Earth> Michael Briar says, "This is Michael Briar, soon to be ruler of the earth. You Militants have caused nothing but havoc on this planet since you began trespassing on 'our' world.  I ask this of you, what rights do you have here?  I'll tell you, none!  Leave this space before I turn you into so much refuse cluttering up my hangar."

> Jet Helicopter watches and listens. More posturing from Briar... She studies the station, then the Militant craft and finally adds, "Good fortune to you, then. Colonel Fairbourne is also amongst the hostages."

> Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> accelerate at full speed towards the station. But strangely it's the only fighter doing so. James Trent pilots his shuttle through any possible defense system, slow down while above the station and then accelerate again to go back to it's squadron. Meanwhile he replies to Michael Briar...

<Earth> James Trent says, "The militant protected this planet from the machines, people of this planet accepted us and are seeking our help. We will not let you cause millions of death.  You made your choices..."

Aramasu Hikage raises an eyebrow at James "Oh I thought my job was simply to neutralize Gen. Briar. I have to deal with hostages too ? As in no casualty ? Yeah I can do that." The Militant's resident ninja ejects from the craft as it passes near the station and uses a small grappling gun to reach the station. .oO(Got to be careful...)Oo.

You disembark from the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> for the Earth Orbit...

Earth Orbit

As you enter orbit above the blue-green surface of Earth, you peer through the clouds and see various possible landing sites...

Contents:

Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>

Jet Helicopter

Terran Standard Troops #2844

Interstellar Shuttle <Asimov>

Copernicus Station

Terran Sensor #8438

Militant Sensor #6855

Moon

Obvious exits:

Escape Orbit <EO> leads to Terrestrial Planets <Sol>.

Eastern Hemisphere <EH> leads to Stratosphere above Eastern Hemisphere.

Western Hemisphere <WH> leads to Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere.

Ayotizinco Cairo Spaceport  Houston Spaceport  Autobot City  New York City  EDC  Korean Spaceport  Trypticon  NCC

Upon reaching the surface of the station Hikage makes his way towards the nearest hangar bay hoping to use a door that is already open somewhere as to not call attention to himself by opening something that should not be. .oO(Come on Trent give them a good airshow. Something to look at while I work here.)Oo.

<Earth> Layla Bastet says, "Protected?! You sit in your citidel, in your country doing nothing while the Decepticon menace kills innocent civilians, you are nothing! You have done almost nothing in the past five years to help. I cannot sit idly by and-- "

Copernicus Station

You enter the docking hangar of Copernicus Station.

Commercial Hangar - Copernicus

Abuzz with activity, this area holds sleek corporate shuttles, bulky freighters, and public transportation to and from the Sol system. Docking ports ring the central column like airport gates, leading to comfortable waiting rooms for those waiting for either transportation or goods. Along the floor of the hangar are neatly-arranged steel crates and containers holding freight for customers in the Sol system and beyond. Shuttles slip silently in and out of the huge exterior doors, going about their business of transporting passengers and cargo where they are needed.

Contents:

Exo-Suit <Glaive II>

Apogee

Marissa

Exo-Suit 5695 <ARES>

Layla Bastet

Interstellar Shuttle <Intrepid>

Interplanetary Shuttle Hub

Obvious exits:

Up <U> leads to Powerstation/Manufacturing Level - Copernicus.

Earth Orbit <EO> leads to Earth Orbit.

Down <D> leads to Trade Level - Copernicus.

Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> enters the docking hangar of Copernicus Station.

Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> has arrived.

Airwolf enters the docking hangar of Copernicus Station.

Jet Helicopter has arrived.

Aramasu Hikage peaks inside the hangar from the corner and slowly crawls inside the commercial hangar using crates and freighters to hide his profile until he can take a better survey of his surroundings. As a good measure the ninja cuts his comm device.

Aramasu Hikage switches off his radio.

Within the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>, James Trent switches to the nova frenquency, "Gentlemen...it is time for us to show them why we are the best. Give Hikage some time. Concentrate fire on the defense system, do not, I repeat do not compromise the commercial level. That's propably where are the hostages... Nova... ATTACK." The whole Squadron accelerates towards the station. Laser beam and missiles fly towards Copernicus weapons as the nova squadron launches its attack.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar moves over to some crates and takes position. Which he cannot launch outside the atmospheric shields, he's ready for whoever comes through. His rail cannon is out and resting across a container marked 'Cherries'. The high pitched whine from it shows that it is ready to fire with just a press of the trigger. He flinches as he sees missiles streak by and nail the twin turrets protecting the hangar taking them out in a large burst of flame and shrapnel. He screams out, "I will not be denied!" He raises his rail cannon and opens fire a stream of mach speed shrapnel towards the Raptor, whites and blue tracers show the patch of the shells which zip across at near invisible speeds.

Exo-Suit <Glaive II> misses Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> with its heavy rail gun attack.

Marissa grimaces and slams her hand against one of the crates in the storage room out of frustration, knocking it over onto the ground. "Blast it!" Some of the other prisoners jolt up at this sudden motion, but Marissa is not in a very good situation at the moment. Briar just plain ol' ignored him. Sighing, Marissa returns to the bars to look out, and this time something catches her eye. Something yellow?

Jet Helicopter, once again, stays clear of the approach vector of the attacking squadron, but that doesn't mean she's not following their movements. Following them visually, and maybe physically as well. There's nothing to be done out here, so that leaves the interior of the space station. Nova Squadron is a good distraction in its own right, but she's not interested in the distraction, and so she shadows the Raptor. Maybe not a good decision, considering all the ordinance coming its way. Fortunately for her, she's missed as well. Fortunate for all of them, too, that Briar doesn't have a cannon like Ollin.

Layla Bastet makes that comment over the earth radio. The end is actually a twitch, as a hard look comes over her face. And yeah. She's still heading towards Marissa's cage. Single minded, isn't she? Well. Not exactly. But she's letting Briar take care of the intruders as they come to the station. No sense in her getting injured in the fight, just yet. After all, she's the medic of the group... Hmm. Medic... Maybe she shouldn't be thinking like this then? "Are you ready?" She asks the biggest name prisoner.

And, seeing their oppertunity, the EDC strike force that surrounded station yesterday also moves in to assist the Militants. AF-27s firing off a volley of rockets, and the relatively few StarKnight Exo-Suits the EDC has accelerate into position, firing off their ballistic cannons in an attempt to drive off their crazed allies.

Within the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>, James Trent looks at the viewscreen.

Apogee eventually reaches the vault housing the station's navigational computer and related systems. Although there is no way for her to physically penetrate the armor protecting it, she doesn't have to. She has just enough room to re-orient the device she's carrying with her, the Cosmic Ray Accelerator/Polarizer, towards said vault. She attaches a cable between the device and herself to provide power. "Please, please work..." she mutters to herself. She presses two thin pieces of metal together--a crude momentary switch--and the device charges in a matter of seconds. It promptly releases a burst of invisible, concentrated cosmic rays towards the vault, flooding the gyroscope control processor which is somewhere within it. This zeroes-out the processor's instruction pointer register, effectively causing the system to reboot. This in turn forces it to load the gyroscope initialization routines from ROM and execute them. The station shudders momentarily as all four gyroscopes begin spinning again from their previous motionless state. Attitude control is being restored.

Within the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>, James Trent looks at the viewscreen.

Marissa focuses on Layla, unsure of what she has to be 'ready' for. "Yes." she says, hoping that Layla is going to take her out of the cage. The Colonel doesn't care what Layla wants just so long as it doesn't involve shooting her between the eyes. "Layla... please, let me out of here. I'll do whatever you ask." Marissa would be happy if this is the sort of thing she winds up being embarassed about later simply because it means there actually will *be* a later. Whatever that bit of yellow she saw was, it's gone now. When the station shudders, Marissa can only hope it's not because we're starting our trek down towards terra firma.

Aramasu Hikage <Power Armor> activates the noise dampener/distorsion field on his armor and slowly makes his way towards the back of the hangar. Being careful of moving a bit faster when Briar is returning fire so the gun's noise can cover for any fine hearing one of the renegades might have. The ninja feels the station starting to move. .oO(Could we have some outside help ? Who cares this re-alignment even fi temporary should buy me enough time to secure the hostages.)Oo. A quick glance back to make sure he was not spotted. Hikage searches for the prisonners.

Within the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>, James Trent executes a daring maneuvers to avoid the incoming fire from the Glaive 2. It's a good thing for him that he's almost as good as he pretends to be, because he wasn't expecting attacks from inside the hangar. "I hope Aramasu had enough time..." On the nova channel he emits, "Lieutenant Smith. You're leading the attack from now, I'm going in." The militants fires his laser towards Briar while putting his armor on and getting ready to land into the hangar. James is way too busy to notice that he is followed.

Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> misses Exo-Suit <Glaive II> with its laser attack.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar takes off into the air of the hangar. Blaster fire rains down around him but misses by a gnats whisker. Michael laughs and says, "Is that the best you've got? You're going to have to do better than that Militant." He charges the landing fighter and lets one of his arms slide from the rifle. The wrist compartment opens showing a cylinder object which ejects into his hand. A moment later and the end flares into a green beam of plasma energy which crackles with barely contained power. Michael brings the newly formed sword down in a destructive swipe towards the nose of the craft, hoping to sever it in one swipe.

Exo-Suit <Glaive II> strikes Aerospace Fighter <Raptor> with plasma saber slice.

A gun? She's got a knife. The Layla that was on stage with Briar wouldn't use a gun. It's too fast. But... Yes. She's Opening the cage door to let Marissa, and Marissa alone out. "You're mine." She tells her gruffly, "Help me take him down." A faint smile curves her lips, "His plan was useless from the beginning. I... will be much more subtle." She makes a grab for Marissa's wrist, "And I will show you the way."

Apogee relaxes a bit as she realizes her crude assemblage of parts seems to have done the trick. Getting out of the service crawlway, on the other hand, may prove to be a more difficult challenge, as she has no room to turn around and barely enough room to move her arms at all, a fact that she finds unnerving. She was built to operate in the openness of space, not in a utility shaft.

The EDC attackers were, at first, perhaps a bit cautious given that these are their friends and comrades they're fighting against. They know that this is not their doing, and that they likely can't help themselves. But as the firefight begins such thoughts vanish and it turns into a battle for surival. The AF-27s maintain their distance, firing off rockets from afar and acting as artillery support fire for the Militant units. The StarKnights continue their approach, shooting off bursts of weaponsfire at the defenders.

Marissa pulls back at Layla's lunge, but is too late. Her wrist grabbed, the Colonel is pulled outside by the far stronger ex-Militant. "You're turning on Briar?" Marissa says in shock. And here Layla seemed so loyal. Still, this is something that can be used. Trying to resist the punch-in-the-face reflex, Marissa goes with Layla. "What's the plan?" she asks, trying to sound like she's in on this.

Jet Helicopter follows the Raptor into the hangar less than gracefully. She really doesn't get enough practice in space to move with the agility that others have displayed, but enough to get her there. Once inside, she gives the hangar a quick once-over and transforms, trying to take cover behind the Intrepid until she can figure out what's going on, and more importantly, what the frag she's doing here. Briar's certainly doing a fine imitation of... er, never mind. She's just glad he's attacking the Militant craft, not her. A warrior she's not, and there's not much an engineer can do here with unfamiliar technology that's waaaaay too small for her as well. Or is there? Where are the navigational controls? She *might* be able to do something with those, if only to keep everyone away from them.

Jet Helicopter transforms into her robot mode.

Within the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>, [Armored] James Trent maneuvers the Raptor to land it into the hangar without crushing anyone. Unfortunately he does not have enough enough space to avoid Briar's attack, which slice into the Raptor's nose. "You will pay for this Briar.. this is MY fighter." The armored militant jumps out of the jet swinging a long sword towards the Glaive II.

[Armored] James Trent disembarks from the Aerospace Fighter <Raptor>.

[Armored] James Trent has arrived.

[Armored] James Trent strikes Exo-Suit <Glaive II> with Energy Long Sword <Low>.

Aramasu Hikage <Power Armor> makes his way out of the hangar and into the main hallway of the station. Moving silently and listening for any 'hostage noises' such as 'I don't wanna die', 'In here!', 'Feed us!', 'I gotta goooooo.' and so on. The ninja glances over his shoulder every 10 steps or so.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar takes the slice without flinching. The sword bites into the polymolecular armor going not even half an inch. Michael chuckles "Awww, did wittle Jamie get his ittle wittle jet all cut wup? Here...let me make it better!" and brings his metal fist up to slam against the now armored James Trent's face. He clicks on the radio, "Layla, where in the nine hells are you?! Get out here and defend your emperor or I'll kill you where you stand!"

Exo-Suit <Glaive II> strikes [Armored] James Trent with punch.

Why so shocked? These two are acting like friggin' nutjobs to begin with, so hey.

"Simple... We kill him, and his lackey, Maas." Layla explains, "I know how to render them both a whole let less powerful. We take them down, I say that I was under his control, until now... and we become the heroes of this." She smiles, "And with that, we start to build again.... and I will share the power with you. If you desire it." Er. You sexy older woman you. Layla still has that knife out, and a slightly fanatical gleem in her eyes. Heck. She could probably do it on her own. Why is she bothering involving Marissa at this point at all? She bristles at the sudden radio transmission, starting to call her armour in. "He is calling me.... Shall we answer?"

Apogee continues inching her way feet-first back towards the hatch in the service crawlway, though it's slower going this time. She's beginning to panic due to her claustrophobia. She's never felt so confined before. "Primus, if you exist, help me..." She closes her optics and imagines a vast expanse of space before her, to help calm herself down.

Marissa manages to take her eyes off of that deadly knife (you call thah a knoife? Nah-ow THIS is a knoife!) and nod to Layla. "Agreed, we'll take him down and rule this planet together." She gives Layla a friendly smile, as that's pretty much the best she can do on such short notice. Marissa hesitates briefly, being unarmed. Meanwhile, the prisoners back in the cell are indeed calling out for help, but the Colonel can't do much for them at the moment. Then a glint catches her eye, and she spies one of the most beautiful things she's ever laid her 40 year old eyes upon lazily discarded along with other trophies of war. About 30 seconds later, Marissa's StarKnight takes a step forward, fully armed and manned. "Yeah, I think it's high time we gave the General an answer." Marissa says through the speakers as the weapon systems charge up.

Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> has arrived.

Marissa drops Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight>.

Marissa has left.

Marissa suits up and seals Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> around herself.

Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> starts up smoothly, generator softly humming.

Airwolf sees nothing like controls here. Oh well, she couldn't be that lucky. However, it looks like the elevator system is the sole access to the rest of the station, including wherever the aforementioned navigational controls are. If no one can use the elevators, then they can't alter the station's course... Taking advantage of the cover offered by the ships, the scattered cargo, and the noisy fight between Briar and the Militant, she eases her way towards the central shaft. Oh, more melodramatics from Briar. What in Primus' name is *wrong* with the man? Is this where Galvatron's insanity disappeared to?

Stepping into the armour, it closes, sealing Layla inside.

A lone figure is standing in the hallway clad in a charcoal black armor with no markings whatsoever which would make it rather hard to guess the individual's identity if not for the sword strapped across the back of the armor. The absense of markings is as glaring as wearing a nametag at least to Ms. Bastet it should be easy to recognize the Militant's most efficient Black Op. "Thank you for saving me the trouble of hunting you down Ms. Bastet. Your little acid trip is going to stop right here, right now." The ninja looks up straight into the eyes of his comrade..his friend...his target. "As I see it you have two choices. Option A and Option B. Option A: You drop your weapon, free the hostages and surrender yourself. We go home and sort it out. No broken bones, no time in the hospital, no bruises, no pain. Or option B: I MAKE you drop your weapon. Free the hostages and take you in with lots of broken bones, time in the hospital and generally unpleasent for everyone involved. I do not want to hurt you Ms. Bastet...But I will if I have to. It's your call."

[Armored] James Trent is hit right in the face and forced to jump back to not take the full force of the attack. Fortunately for him, his helmet protected him. "You should surrender yourself... Your so called empire is going to die before its birth." The militant raises his left arm firing a volley of proton towards the former general.

[Armored] James Trent strikes Exo-Suit <Glaive II> with Protocannon.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar crosses his arms and crouches slightly. The proton blasts impact against the Glaive II's arms causing them to smoke and melt slightly, but not enough to compromise anything. Michael growls and hasn't noticed Marissa just yet, he's too busy. The Glaive II leaps backward and in the air, the twin engines keep it from crashing back down to the hangar floor. "Oh no, I think that's the other way around...I wasn't given this chance to let it slip out of my hands!" The Glaive II's chest plates slide back revealing rows of mini-missiles, as yet, unused in this fight, till now. The tracking system in the Glaive II paints a laser beam on the militant suit and seconds later a pair of missiles, only a forearm long, streak out. However, if anyone has energon scanning sensors, they suddenly pick up pinpoints of cybertronian technology from Michael's suit. Energon from the warheads, and a lasercore? It's scrambled but the signature is distinctly there while the panels to the mini-missiles are open. T

hey soon close however and the signal is lost with the protective coverings closed.

Exo-Suit <Glaive II> misses [Armored] James Trent with its mini-missile volley (energon warhead) attack.

Power Armor <Layla Bastet> smiles unpleasantly behind the polarized visor of her exo suit. Invincibility. Powerlevels at a thousand percent. Reaction times... up. "Hikage..." She says softly, a purr coming back into her voice, trying to gauge how much of that hasty little conversation with Marissa he heard. "Can you help us take the general down-- he's mad." She takes a step forward heading beyond he sudden opponant. "Come now." Her intonation, if the ninja notices such things, is a little odd.

Apogee finally reaches the hatch after what seems an eternity, and climbs out of it. From the relative safety afforded by stacks of cargo containers, she quickly studies the scene before her to determine what she can do that will be of the most benefit to the situation.

"What the heck???!!!" James Trent jumps high in the air and spins on himself. His speed alone saved him. "That was not a terran weapon... I was right there is someone else behind this! Who Briar? who?" But the militant can't affort slowing down, he launched himself towards the exos suit. In an attempt to knock it down, he launches a punch at Briar's face.

[Armored] James Trent strikes Exo-Suit <Glaive II> with Haymaker.

<Exo-Suit 6861> Marissa steps forward as a figure appears before them. Obviously not EDC, and so it must be a Militant. "My words exactly," she says, agreeing with Hikage. "I'm sorry, Layla, but I'm afraid that you've made a terrible mistake. Marissa warms up her arm mounted laser cannon and fires a shot at Layla, even if the ex-Militant isn't facing her. This is no time to be honorable, I'm afraid. Hit or miss, Marissa quickly snaps at Hikage, "I'll get the hostages, Militant. You handle your former comrade here - but," Marissa snarls, "You're going to do so without permanently harming her or else I'll be marching down to Mexico to personally kick Chikome right where Tempest will least want me to!" And so, the StarKnight begins to trundle towards the makeshift cell.

Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> strikes Power Armor <Layla Bastet> with laser.

Airwolf gets a better view of things as she gets to the turbo-assisted elevator shaft. The doors open automatically for her, then close again after several seconds as she stares out over the hangar. Briar versus the Militant, the other lunatic facing off against the unknown dark figure that is Hikage. Someone in an exo-suit... A prisoner? Ah, that voice. Marissa Fairbourne. She's suddenly distracted by Trent's shout. Non-Terran technology triggers a conclusion, but it's not the right one. Her first thought is of Quintessons. Oh, Primus... Yes, she's paranoid, but she has reason.

Aramasu Hikage <Power Armor> looks down as if disappointed. "The General is in good hands. Trent is more than capable of handling a human using an antique to fight. I am here...for you. Option A or Option B ? Make your choice or I will make it for you." Just as he finishes his sentence Marissa fires at Layla. .oO(And they say men can't talk things over. Pfffft!)Oo. Hikage goes for Layla's wrist and tries to execute an aikido takedown. Hoping it will be enough to draw the renegade's attention back to him.

Power Armor <Layla Bastet> evades your grasp attack.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar gets dropped, he stumbles back and finally thuds to the ground. Michael growls and flips up saying, "That's...my power." He chuckles and charges at the Militant. Leaping in the air, he sticks his foot out to try to connect with the power armor. He lands and chuckles, "It's what I found on cybertron. It's what all three of us found. They opened our eyes!"

Exo-Suit <Glaive II> misses [Armored] James Trent with its kick attack.

Disapponted at the sudden laser fire? Angry? It's hard to tell with that helmet on. Somewhere down deep inside, she's glad that Marissa got away. And even that she shot. Except that something is making her. . . not so relieved. And that something makes her want to... "Nice try, Sparrow." She says, pulling back. "But you're no match for me." The weapon she raises seems to be her same old gun. Y'know. ballistic style. She's not giving up just yet. And she does realize she's a little shorter on time. "I guess I'll just have to kill you both." Probably have to take care of the ninja first, being the bigger threat.

<Attack:> Layla Bastet used ballistic. (&combatspam me=1 to stop this.)

Power Armor <Layla Bastet> strikes you with ballistic for 10 points of damage.

[Armored] James Trent jumps to his left, avoiding the kick. "The three of you? What did you find? where?" James isn't really hoping that Briar will answer but who knows? What ever they found it may be a threat to Mexico or it could be used by the Militants... "Your power is not enough Briar... you should surrender while you can. Anyway you do not even understand what you found, I am sure you could not explain it even if you wanted to! But meanwhile..." The militants raises his arm once again and fires at the exo.

[Armored] James Trent strikes Exo-Suit <Glaive II> with Protocannon <High>.

Aramasu Hikage <Power Armor> is peppered at point blank for his trouble lucky for him the armor stopped it all. There are some signs of damage and despite the fact this is the same old gun it carries quite a kick. Allright this time the ninja puts all that talking crap behind him and goes to work. "You made your choice." Hikage leaps at Layla in a flying jump kick to the face.

You strike Power Armor <Layla Bastet> with Flying Jump Kick.

<Exo-Suit 6861> Marissa hopes that Layla will forgive her for that, but the Colonel has her priorities straight at least: Save lives, stop the crazed EDCers, and then be nice to her friends. In that order. The StarKnight, not under attack at the moment, moves at an impressive clip away from Hikage and Layla, letting them do battle with each other. Once back at the cell, it's a simple matter for the powerful Exo-Suit to rip the bars off. "We're getting out of here," Marissa says through the speakers. The dozen prisoners follow, and together they make their way to the hangar, carefully avoiding any signs of battle.

Now that's a rather big hint as to the problem. Airwolf listens with narrowed crimson optics. There are a lot of nasty things in the underground, and on the surface, for that matter. A lot of dangerous technology. Quintesson technology? Maybe. It could even be an infestation of those nanites that now populate the Earthly continent of Africa. No, he said it was found on Cybertron. She sighs and shakes her head, maintaining her guard of the elevators. It actually looks like the end of this danger is near, thanks to the Militants.

"Choice A sounded boring anyhow." She tells him, "I didn't volunteer to be the guinea pig-- the first to gain the power in order to give up just because a ninjaboy decided to ask me to..." She staggers back under the force of that blow, and hits the ground. Hm. Reflexes aren't quite what they should be. She makes a note to get that fixed... that is, if she survives this. She uses her thrusters to get up, and lunge at Hikage with the axe that she normally keeps in subspace.

<Exo-Suit> Michael Briar crackles with energy as the blast nails him square. Michael screams as his systems are overloaded with proton energy. He shudders and drops to a knee saying, "System....oh...gods! Noooooo!" The back of the exo-suit crackles and blows the back panel off with a small explosion. Now the signal comes stronger than before, only, it's dying off quickly. Michael's suit shuts down, now that it's sustained a fair amount of damage. The suit falls over with a small groan and falls silent.

<Attack:> Layla Bastet used axe. (&combatspam me=1 to stop this.)

You evade Power Armor <Layla Bastet>'s axe attack.

Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> quietly shuts down.

Marissa unseals Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> and climbs out of the suit.

Marissa has arrived.

Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight> has left.

Marissa takes Exo-Suit 6861 <StarKnight>.

This time the ninjaboy knows the relative speed to expect from his comrade. That first shot took him by surprise but this time he is ready. Hikage dives off to the right into a roll which quickly smacks his back against the wall. Yeah them hallways are not the best place to do 'this'. The ninja reaches for his sword but at last second flings a sharp metal disk at Layla. "Catch!"

You strike Power Armor <Layla Bastet> with Explosive Shuriken.

[Armored] James Trent arrogantly walk towards the fallen exo-suit, "I told you. You are not match for me." The Nova commander pushes the exo on the ground and put his foot on its chest. "Michael Briar, you are under arrest. I will give you to your EDC buddy, as a sign of good will from Mexico."

Airwolf recalls that there is one more of them left, and her gaze moves to Layla and her battle with the dark, swift one. Marissa and the hostages are clear now, probably heading for one of the Terran ships. It would probably be a good idea for her to leave as well... It wouldn't be fun to be trapped in a hangar with a crowd of EDCers and Militants, neither of which are likely to appreciate her presence. Not that she was of much help in all this, but... of all her comrades, no others were willing to come. She walks slowly towards the hangar door, keeping to cover as she did in her original arrival.

And the instinct is to catch, now isn't it? Or is it duck? Layla does neither, trying to recover from that swing. She overbalanced a little, expecting an impact. "AH!" Layla stumbles away, into one of the walls. Usefull, that. She can climb it in a moment. Smoke clears to show cracks in the armor. One seems to be leaking a glowing substance. Right around the area where the suit's computer control is.

Layla makes a strangled noise, lunging again to try and do something effectual about her former comerade. Like hitting him. Smart talk? Not right now.

<Attack:> Layla Bastet used punch. (&combatspam me=1 to stop this.)

You evade Power Armor <Layla Bastet>'s punch attack.

[Armored] James Trent is standing over the fallen exo-suit and he is watching the fight between Aramasu and Layla. "Surrender yourself Bastet. Your little friend is down... all his "power" did not save him. You cannot win this fight. Do not force me to take you down too."

Power Armor <Aramasu Hikage> backs away into a defensive position blocking the punch and counter-attacks with a palm strike to the chest. The ninja's eyes focus on the glowy substances. "Commander Trent, can you analyze whatever that thing oozing out of her is ? I don't want to get some on me if that thing turns out to be corrosive. Oh and don't worry I can handle the situation."

You strike Power Armor <Layla Bastet> with punch.

Airwolf is grateful that no one is paying attention to her as she slips among the ships and cargo containers. The situation is under control, and she's not going to remain here just to see the last of the victims fall. Yes, victims. They obviously tampered with something they shouldn't have, be it Quintesson technology or something else. At least that explains the sudden change in behaviour. While Briar isn't exactly an upstanding example of EDC nobility, neither is he a ranting lunatic. On reaching the hangar doors, she transforms in preparation for taking herself off.

Airwolf transforms into her jet helicopter mode.

Tampering with things that shouldn't be tampered with is part of human nature. Victims... well. That will be up to those who must judge the trio now. Because that punch to the chest, while not extremely hefty, sent Layla reeling back into a wall, which had the unfortunate effect of making that crack widen. Just enough. That glowy stuff would be a small amount of energon. Which is now on the floor. On the wall. And generally not where it should be.

Layla gasps, convulses, and slides to the floor. Not moving.

[Armored] James Trent shakes his head, "I'm not scientific Hikage. But I am willing to bet my bottle of Chateaubriand 1696 that it is what make her active so strangely. You would better avoid touching it." The militant is still looking a Layla and Aramasu, he doesn't notice the Decepticon behind him, indeed he would never turn his back on a machine!

Jet Helicopter eases out the huge hangar doors and has some quick explaining to do to those still outside. She expects the EDCers will be more reasonable than the remainder of Nova Squadron, so she prudently keeps them between herself and the Militants. Yes, Briar and his accomplices have been taken down. No, it doesn't look like anyone died. Marissa is tending to the hostages. Can she go now? Yes, finally. With that, she's on her way back to Earth.

Jet Helicopter launches from the space station into Earth Orbit.

Jet Helicopter has left.

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

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

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