Mech RP [Ch. 1] The Hand of the Empire

2349, the year Earth had finally colonized Mars. In the years after, through communications with the United Nations of Earth, a way to govern the people had been created. These would be the best days of Martian life. However, that would all change in the year 2400 when a fascist group of extremists would overthrow the established government in an attempt to create what they had originally envisioned Mars to become. This fascist regime would adopt the predictable name of "The Empire" and would be led by one Austen Ares, who believed the major focus of Mars would be militarization and conquering through the fear of their enemies. This militarization would include using mechanized walkers known by the name of Frames. These Frames and their pilots lead the charge in the eradication of any and all people who may oppose Ares' beliefs. Earth forces would try to be the saviors of their Martian counterparts, however, their involvement only marked them as a target for the regime. All contact with Earth would cease in 2410 as the United Nations of Earth would try their hardest to escape the imminent threat of the first Planetary War.

In the coming years, a rebel group would be formed without a leader and be stationed in the Ares occupied city of Sojourner in secret. Raids would slowly begin on Ares occupied camps and a rallying cry could be heard from the oppressed. Sojourner would become Rebel occupied completely in the year 2420. This set the fire in many Martians ablaze and people would begin to slowly flock to Sojourner to join the fight. Even in other cities throughout Mars, rebels would try to rear their heads out of the Empire's grasp. However, many of them would fail. Public executions would become even more frequent as the Empire would begin taking figures they believed were leading the Rebel charge. However, this would not damper the hope of freedom for the Rebels. In the year 2430, a major raid on the Ares occupied city of Opportunity would take place. Many Frames would be taken from the camp and become re-purposed for Rebel use. This action would be a victory for the Rebel forces. However, this victory would not last long as the Empire would close in on Opportunity and slaughter the Rebel forces in 2432. Many would manage to escape thanks to some of the Empire's own betraying their brothers in arms and joining the Rebels.

This is where the story begins. On the run and retreating back to the Rebel stronghold of Sojourner. There are large stretches of desert with many small settlements between Opportunity and Sojourner. The people of these settlements either are for the Empire, or are for the Rebels. However, the relationship between these settlements and the Empire are frayed through the Empire's lack of caring. These may be mining colonies left to rot after their resources were depleted.

Since the falling out between the two planets, Earth has stayed relatively quiet, however, there are some rumors that Earth has been supplying the people of Viking with the measures to rebel against the Empire.

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Rebel occupied cities:
Sojourner, their stronghold

Empire occupied cities:
Olympus, their stronghold
Opportunity (Recently retaken) - Furthest from Olympus, closest to Sojourner
Spirit (Strong ties to the Empire) - Closest to Olympus, furthest to Sojourner
Curiosity (Frayed relationship with the Empire) - Furthest from Olympus and Sojourner
Viking (Rebellion imminent) - Closest to Curiosity
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Rebel Leader:
Unknown, perhaps one exists but reports inconclusive.

Empire Leader:
Austen Ares, aged 78 and expected to pass very soon through illness.
Augustus Ares, aged 40 and has been acting as leader since his father became ill. Holds his father's goals as his own.
Austen/Augustus' personal guardsmen.

To an outsider, it would look like a civil war. To anybody who knew what was happening however, it was clear this was no civil war. Highly advanced Frames, much more sleek and futuristic with curves of thick armor and well placed guns, stomped and stalked through the Martian desert, firing with relentless precision into their prey. A disorganized mess, scattered through fear and force ran, another group of Frames that were older, more rugged and falling apart. Not a single one of the fleeing Frames was undamaged, each one practically falling apart, and many on fire, though if it were fuel lines or accelerant it was hard to tell on them. As the scene unfolds many of the fleeing Frames fall, torn apart by withering gunfire and cannon shots, and some taken out by the advanced mobile Hunter class Frames. Some turn to fight, inflicting damage upon their pursuers, but every single one falls before it can do too much damage. Some of the Imperial Hunters weave in between the fleeing group, damaging and hamstringing many robotics. The group continues to dwindle, doing their best to stay coordinated and together, but it's clear they've been routed.

In the midst of this, Irving Sulson tries to reorganize his men.

"Hey! Listen up! We need to stick together! Scouts! You need to group up and work as a unit!" He shouts into the comms, a crackling image showing each Pilots face on the screen in front of him. Every couple of seconds another one vanishes off the screen. The responses he gets are ragged, incoherent, often conflicting or overlapping. "Everyone be quiet! Listen to me!" A Hunter rushes in front of him, a showoff by the looks of it, and he greets this newcomer with a hail of machine gunfire and a scattercannon shot. The machine guns do little, but the scattercannon knocks it off balance toppling the hulking machine and giving it pause. He'd stop to finish it normally, but now he had to escape. "Hunter! Form up behind this dune and provide covering fire! Now! We need to apply pressure so we can back off!" Someone shouts before getting annihilated and their icon disappears. He swears and diverts energy into his movement systems, trying to gain some extra distance, hoping someone heard and was listening to him amongst the shouts and conflicting sounds.

The giant ax cleaves its way through Frame after Frame that ends up coming into his field of vision. The gritty sounds of metal on metal fill the cockpit along with the screams and cries of his brothers and sisters. He has seen many things in his thirty some odd years on this planet, and this just adds more fuel to use against The Emperor. He hears a command from Major Irving and responds.

"This is Killer Queen, advancing to your designated position"

The dune is not far from the Killer Queen's position and so the Frame begins to move. Imperial Infantry try their hardest to take down the hulking Frame, concentrating their fire in key places. Enough fire on these locations could bring Queen down, in response, Queen raises the ax and slams it into the desert, sending many of the Imperial Infantry flying. After this, Killer Queen finds the dune and begins to cover the fleeing Rebels with the chaingun attached to her left arm.

"Lieutenant Juno Sterling, service number 6421-6492-2406JS." Juno said in the dark cockpit of her frame, which rang out with her VI's voice,
"Welcome back, Lieutenant Sterling. Loading relavent mission data now. You have a transmission from command. Would you like to hear it?"
"Yes, thank you Vanessa." Even if the VI wasn't a true intelligence, it was nice to have a friendly voice around. The transmission started, the gruff voice of Commander Veris. He was one of her father's colleagues, and Juno thought he secretly harboured resentment towards her, as his own daughter had washed out of officer training, and since he had taken command of the 45th, Juno's promotions had stopped.
"Lieutenant," The commander said, "Our main combat force has destroyed the resistance at Opportunity, though my superiors fear that we won't crush them without the 45th's involvement. As such, you and your unit are to hunt, demoralise and destroy any fleeing rebels. No survivors." And the transmission cut out. He hadn't said any names, this was just a transmission to every lieutenant of the 45th. She suspected that the higher ranking officer would have had a personal transmission, with more detailed orders. But for her, that was enough.
"Vanessa, prepare all systems for combat, connect me to Reaper squad, and hand full control to me." Juno ordered, as she brought her Frame to full stand.

Irving was grateful that at least someone heard him, seeing Killer Bee hunker down and start shooting up ahead. He poured as much energy as he could into his legs, pushing the reactor into overheat. As soon as he did however, a line somewhere blew on his arm and the one scattercannon he had left became inoperable. Still attached, just unusable. He swore again and kept moving, feeling the shuddering of gunfire and the thundering footsteps shaking him all about in his cockpit. he drew closer, a couple other Frames coming into line alongside Killer Bee. He himself started up the incline, his Brawler slowing slightly as it wasn't made for mobility, but pure combat. Not to mention it was an older model, without any kind good stabilizers or gyroscopes. He stopped about halfway up and turned, charging up his guns again. "Focus fire on their Hunters! We take them down and we slow their assault!" He shouted into the mess of the comms, flinching and he heard someone die to a mounted assault from Infantry. Many of the Frames that ran past him ignoring the slowly forming line, making a beeline for Sojourner, but every now and then one of them would turn to help. "Brawlers! Make them bleed!" He punched in a few commands, and fired his main cannons, AP shells screaming out to slam into the foremost mech, staggering it but doing little else. Someone fired off their missiles, sending a ripple of explosions through the combat line. He started up his machineguns, a carpet of fire flying into armor and sand and flesh. Intel was limited on the newer generation of Frames, and he hoped they still had manual viewports for pilots, and that he might get a lucky shot.

With more Frames gathering beside them, King feels a sense of unity form. He feels at ease with his family fighting with him. However, death is not something he would readily accept, not until he sees Austen Ares' head on a pike. The ammunition count begins to quickly dissipate and he calls out to his brothers.

"I'm putting Queen into stationary mode. Keep me covered."

King's fingers begin to quickly flick many switches and Queen's chaingun arm and ax arm drop to her sides. This may look like, to the enemy, that Killer Queen has been incapacitated. However, the truth of this matter is that she is readying an open salvo into the Imperial forces. All power begins to divert towards the hidden compartment in her chest this process requires time and is a one use event, the time after must be used to reload each individual missile.

Juno arrived at Reaper squad's rally point. As she stopped her Frame, Captain Richards arrived.
"Vanessa," Juno said, "Connect me to Reaper squad's communications channel."
"Of course, lieutenant." Vanessa replied, and soon Juno could hear the voices of the Captain, and her other squadmate, Corporal Lewis Reddin.
"So, the thinkers up in Imperial Intelligence have figured out which one of these bugs is the queen, and we're gonna take him out. Cut off the head, and the body's fucked, right?"
"Understood, Captain," Juno replied, "Are any other squads taking part in this mission?"
"None, we have this all to ourselves. We've only got a rough guess at where he is, so we'll be splitting up. Let us know when you've found him and we'll zero in. Try to push him away from enemy frames, but do not lose him."
"I'll cut the bastard up," Reddin half-shouted over the comms, "I've been waiting to try out the new ripper, I've heard the teeth on this thing are un-fucking-breakable!" Juno had her Frame stop transmitting her voice as she had a loud, annoyed sigh.
"Corporal Reddin is rather enthusiastic." Vanessa commented.
"Too enthusiastic. He'll get himself killed." Juno replied as Reddin continued to voice his excitement over the communications line, until the Captain cut him off, reminding the Corporal that he was already late to the rally point. Shutting up, he arrived at the rally point in silence.Almost like a sulking kid, Juno commented.

Her mission objective updated, Juno sped off to her designated search zone.

A half second after he fired the first shot, a second one went out, then a third, and a fourth. He could barely hear King giving a status on Killer Bee, be it didn't matter. He needed to hold the line, and he did his best. A couple Imperial Frames went down, their legs blown off and toppling down, almost none of them by his hand. The Blunderbuss was a stocky mech, meant to take damage and keep going, not really dish it out. It hit hard when it hit, but getting the hit was the hard part. He kept up the stream of incendiary fire, raking it across infantry squads rushing towards them through the dirt and the wrecks. The group was continuing to dwindle, fewer and fewer Frames being able to retreat. Someone's reactor went critical, exploding in a massive shockwave of fire that took out another two Frames in blinding light. He couldn't tell who went down and who was taken out from the blast, but his viewport was cracked hard from the shockwave, and a couple Scouts on both sides tipped, nearly falling or falling outright.

A large scale reactor blast rocked Queen and King himself could feel the slight tip. King takes a deep breath as his eyes widen. Queen is a very large Frame and tipping it isn't easy when she is stationary, but if it were to happen, nothing could be done to get Queen back up and running. His breath is released when everything is fine and Killer Queen feels as though she has returned to solid ground. He watches one meter deplete as another increases and once the second meter is at full capacity, he slams his palm on a button and Queen's chest opens, missiles begin to fly from the Launchers and Imperial Hunters begin to get hit.

Bite the Dust.

Just as this thought runs through his head, the two Frames who had been at his side begin to fall. Their screams mix with the sounds of the missiles launching and two Imperial Frames take the places of the Rebels. His heart begins pounding death knocks at his door. He can do nothing with Killer Queen in this state. He awaits the final judgement if it should come.

Juno weaved in between the Imperial Frames, staying mobile to avoid becoming an easy target as Vanessa tried to identify her target in the crowds of rebel frames. A rebel frame came into her path, it's left flank exposed to her. The pilot saw her, and began to turn his Frame towards her. She activated her thrust pack and slammed her Assassin into the other Frame. Off-balance and off guard, it had no time to react before Juno's chainsword slammed into it, ripping through a major fuel line. She darted around, and turned, firing a single High Explosive round and sending the rebel up in flames.

Continuing, she was about to announce that she hadn't located the target, but was stopped by Vanessa.
"Target located, highlighting him for you now." A red circle appeared around a Frame that I would've missed, TARGET attached to it in the same colour. My plan had gone perfectly up to now, though Reddin and Richards were still a liability, but she had the chance she wanted. She approached the Frame at combat speed, though not enough that it would be obvious she was an immediate threat.
"Target sighted at my location." Juno announced over squad comms, before she locked herself out again.

"Vanessa, open comms with the enemy commander."

Irving hit a button on his console, not even bothering to look who the message was from. "If you're an Imperial you can kiss my ass! I'm not dying here!" He shouted, barely even looking at the screen, continuing his barrage of AP shells as his machine guns jammed up and tried to cycle clear. Eventually all he was left with was his cannons for the time being, and he was too busy trying to suppress to pay attention to who was calling him.

Next to Killer Queen, a friendly Rebel Frame, a Scout by the looks of it, opened fire with it's many machineguns, aiming at weakpoints and circling one of the would be killers, a hopeful bid for King's survival.

A lone frame was trudging along the Martian surface, bulky legs pumping into the dirt and rock beneath. It's chassis was pock-marked with scorch marks and dents, remnants of battles both old.....and still going on. Inside the cockpit, illuminated solely by the soft blue glow of the screens, Nathan Carver, a simple mechanic, sat panting heavily and with eyes wide in fear. Oh god, oh god, oh god, he thought, still with images of the dead and dying in his mind. He had run from the siege of Opportunity, jumping into the one thing he figured would protect him best.

It wasn't even his frame, the pilot killed or too far away to get to it, he wasn't even sure. All he knew for sure was that he was no pilot, knowing just enough to get it moving but not enough to fight. So he fled the city and entered the desert, heading for the Rebellion's territory. The radio was either damaged....or there was no one left to say a word. Either way, the white noise was unnerving, and he eventually turned it off.

"You only have a few seconds before a unit of the 45th SPECWAR arrive to kill you, I suggest you spend them following my instructions. I am going to attack you until they arrive, at which point you need to move out of range of their chainswords. If you damage my Frame, we'll both be killed. Do you understand?"

The Scout did well in helping in distracting one the Frames. Death would be put on hold ever so slightly as yet another Scout would appear and distract the enemy Frame.

I'm sorry, Queen. I hit the button too early. Forgive me.

The salvo would end and Queen's chest would close once more as power slowly begins to return to the rest of the Frame. However, the time taken would be too long as another Imperial Frame would approach Queen's front. Suddenly, a Ripper would be shoved into Queen's abdomen. Siren's begin blaring in the cockpit as it began to be colored red in lights.

"NO!" He screams. His hands begin moving once more, quickly diverting power to Queen's ax. The arm lifts and heads straight for the Imperial Frame's "head". And as quickly as King commanded Queen's arm, one of the Imperial Frames that had been dealing with his brother's Scout brings down its own Ripper onto the ax arm, severing it. Anything under the fallen wreckage would be killed instantly.

"Fuck you Imperial! Why should I trust you!" He shouted back, his Frame rocking from a sudden hit from an AP shell. It didn't penetrate, luckily, but it did rock him sideways and threaten to topple him over. A quick ejection of his arm on that side allowed him to quickly reorient, but the whole movement knocked his aim off, and his next few shots went wide.

"Because if you don't, you'll be killed." Juno said, cutting off comms. She threw her frame towards the rebel commander, slamming her armoured shoulder into it. If this didn't go perfectly, she'd have to abandon her plan and try again at the next chance.

His Queen had been injured and he was the cause. Anger exudes from his being as another scream rings out in the cockpit. His hands become another flurry as power is redirected once more, this time to the chaingun arm. He aims not to fire the weapon, but to use it as a melee weapon itself. Considering Queen had not reloaded. The arm swings at the Imperial, a large collision follows. The arm coming in so fast, it plants itself in the enemy Frame's chest. Using the remaining nub of the severed arm, Queen begins bashing in the Imperial Frame's head. Queen swings around again, and uses the incapacitated enemy as a shield to deflect any missiles fired in her direction. All the while, reloading her chaingun. The damage to her abdomen slowly becoming more and more of a nuisance as precious power constantly fluctuates.

Nathan didn't stop until the frame's long range sensors alerted him. Weapons fire, at his right flank and close. Nothing had hit him though, so it must have been someone else in a fight. If it was rebels......his fellow rebels, then helping them should have been the thing to do. But how was he supposed to help? He was a mechanic with zero pilot training, the most he managed was getting the hunk of metal to move. And there were weapons controls, buttons and switches for things he had grown familiar with in the garage sure, but had never used. If he got into a fight....he'd be a liability, and the Rebellion would lose a good mech, not to mention a mechanic that actually knew how to fix one. Dammit dammit dammit, he thought to himself, still frozen on the spot.

If he just ran.....then what was the point of being in the rebellion?

As Irving's Frame was assault, he was caught off guard. He hadn't even seen where the attack came from, he had been tunnel visioning so hard. The older man swore again, as he toppled, falling back to the ground with a heavy thud. Just as his machineguns were unjammed as well, sending a wave of firey bolts up into the sky like a stream of fireflies. He himself was dazed, starts exploding in his eyes from the sudden impact with the ground.

"This fucker's mine, Juno!" Reddin shouted over the comms as he sped towards them. Tactically, it would've been better if the Captain had arrived first, but personally, Juno preferred it this way. She might be able to avoid combat with the Captain if she dispatched Reddin quickly.
"Vanessa, track Reddin." A marker appeared, highlighting Reddin's position. Knowing him, he'd go for a pilot-kill, aiming directly for the cockpit. As he darted past her, Juno swung her chainsword, the teeth biting into the side of Reddin's Frame. Any further, and she would've cut a fuel line, but Reddin darted away.
"What the fuck, FRIENDLY FIRE!" He shouted, and Juno allowed herself a small sigh of relief. She'd forgotten that Reddin was an idiot, and turned her attention back to the rebel Frame.
"Sorry," She answered, "You weren't registering on my HUD properly."
"Alright, let's get this guy." Reddin announced and, in unison, they sped back towards the rebel.

With the chaingun reloaded, King moves his seat in the cockpit to view what was going on from behind, as he does so, he can see two Imperial Frames attacking Major Irving. He turns around in his chair once again, seeing the area around him mostly clear of enemy Frames and opens comms with the remaining Scout who had succeeded in killing his enemy.

"Go protect Irving, on the double." He commands

The Scout speeds off towards the location of the three feuding Frames. Queen tosses the shield aside and it lands on the Red Planet in a mass of metal. She turns around and makes her way to Irving as well, bringing her chaingun up and firing.

Irving himself slowly regains his sense of what's going on. Two Frames seemed to be fighting above him, machinegun fire heading their way as his own guns ran dry. he hits a couple buttons and scrambles to right himself, the change in perspective and gravity doing a bunch of bullshit to his sense of up and down. As he moves, or rather tries to move, his Frame to an upright position, a message appears, a warning letting Irving know that one of the legs had been taken offline. He punched the screen, cracking it and shutting it off. At this point it didn't matter, if a Frame was missing it's legs it was useless. He quickly started going for the ejection hatch and the infantry gear. With any luck, he could get out before being killed and escape.

Coming to a decision.....Nathan continued his march back to Sojourner. As the fighting went on around him he prayed he would not get drawn into the conflict.

I held back a little as Reddin moved in to kill the commander, before I slammed into him, swinging my chainsword as I did. This time, my aim was perfect, and the weapon bit into his cockpit. Over the comms, he screamed. Through the small gap in the metal, I could see him struggling to eject before the chainsword reached him, the sound of his body being minced echoing over the comm channel.
"Reddin?!" The Captain shouted, "Sterling, what's happening?!"
"Reddin's dead, sir. Preparing to complete the objective n-" She was cut off by several rounds hitting her Frame, and although she got out of the line of fire before she took debilitating damage, it was still bad.
"Bitch," The Captain said over comms, "You're a traitor, and you'll die like a traitor." I darted away from the downed rebel frame, firing a volley of shots at my former captain.

The scene that lay before him is a very strange one. An Imperial Frame firing at another Imperial Frame after having just killed their own comrade. The Scout continues on towards the wreckage that lay with the Major, hopefully trying to save him from being crushed. His confusion is still ongoing, but he begins firing at the Imperial Frame that had not killed its own brother.

What is going on with that one? Are there traitors rearing their heads to aid us? Impossible.

Just as he thinks this, he looks around and actually sees a few Imperial Frames turning on their friends. However small the amount, this could make for a turning point in the Rebel's escape.

Irving just barely scrambled out with the infantry gear half-on before his Frame was smashed to pieces with the wreckage of an Imperial one. He stumbled forward, turning with rifle raise, intent on firing in defiance, before seeing that what was seemingly his aggressor was now his savior. He lowered his gun in awe, confusion setting in before running towards a nearby scout, and grappling up to it once close enough. "Continue to fallback!" He shouted into his comms, his only two clamps holding on tight. "Keep the pressure alive!" He sent a message at the one that had seemingly saved him. "I don't know who you are, but you're on our side now. You're going to listen to me until told otherwise. If you have any friends you're bringing them with you. Now." He didn't even wait for a response before cutting comms and the Scout started bounding away. He could see Killer Queen in rough shape. "King! how are you holding up?"

Juno didn't respond to the rebel hailing me, focusing on the Captain as she blocked his chainsword with her own. She brought her Autocannon around and fired, point-blank, into the Captain's Frame. Combined with the scout's attack, it was enough to force the Captain to retreat. As he used his thrust pack to dart away, Juno followed him, clearing the distance and ramming her shoulder into him. It was a tried and tested move, and almost always left her with a tactical advantage. As the Captain tried to regain balance, Juno's sword smashed into the 'waist' of his Frame; the teeth tearing through the metal.

King watches the two Imperials and as the traitor rams its Frame's chainsword in the other's waist. He commands Queen to stop firing. Instead of just standing around, dumbfounded, he makes for the only logical route and continues to retreat. Many other traitorous Imperials follow suit. He quickly responds to Irving.

"I let her down, Major. She is going to be very cross with me after this." He says that, nearly choking on his own words as the hint of tears begin to rise to his eyes. "What is your personal situation and what do you make of this sudden turn?"

"On foot for the time being." Irving responded, hoisting his gun up into the air as he looked at the advancing forces. "Otherwise unharmed. Keep an eye on our new recruits. As much as it seems like a blessing, this could be a ruse. Keep whatever weapons you can on them until we are clear of the fighting. We lost a lot of good people and parts today, I want to keep as much of what we got as we can. FALL BACK! FALL BACK! FALL BACK! ORGANIZED RETREAT! STICK TOGETHER!" He shouted out, the last bit on full broadcast before going back to a personal comm with King. "That includes you. Keep her upright and steady, or else wreck her now and don't risk a meltdown near Sojourner."

"I would never get rid of my Queen. She will be fine. Backup power units are engaged and damaged units have ceased functions. We will make it. Unless these new faces decide to turn heel once more and return to Austen's regime. I hope to whatever god there may be that does not happen. I promised my wife I'd see her again. I will keep my eyes open."

The hulking mass is a slow mover a couple of stray Scouts and Brawlers here and there begin to form around Killer Queen as a kind of support in case anything may happen.

"Alright, but I'm serious. If she starts to go down you abandon ship. I will drag you off that high throne of yours if I have to, King. Irving out." He cut the comms, keeping the call as brief as possible.

[Olympus]

As the fighting continued in Opportunity, reports of traitors filled the ears of the incoming Emperor. His hand slams down on the arm of his throne. The sound echoes through the chambers and the guardsmen present flinch in fear. His voice booms out in obvious anger.

"MY NAME IS AUGUSTUS ARES. I AM THE ACTING EMPEROR, HOW DARE THEY DEFY ME."

He slams his fist down once more before taking a deep breath as he chews on the current happenings. His finger shoots up in a brilliant moment of thinking.

"This may be good. Maintaining them has become quite troublesome. We leave them be. We have retaken Opportunity and while it would be nice to drive them out completely now, I know they are too wounded to continue on. Their resources must be dwindling. Unless they're gaining supplies from smaller colonies." He shakes his head. "Those colonies would not dare defy me. Send this order out to all of my troops occupying Opportunity. Disengage and do not continue pursuit."

The one who had delivered this message nods and hurries off to deliver this new message. Many would question the Emperor's decision, however, years under both Ares reign has taught them they are sick with power, however, they would never end this war. They both enjoy it too much. War makes Mars go around in their eyes.

The Captain ejected as Juno's sword cut through his Frame, slicing it in half. She let him go, not wanting to head any closer to the Imperial line. Juno joined the rebel's retreat, using her thrust pack when she could, sometimes stopping to fire a short burst at any Loyalist Imperial Frames, before zig-zagging further away.

Irving would have normally relaxed as the Imperial frames started running away, but with these new Imperial traitors apparently joining them he was still tense. He couldn't stop staring at the Hunter that had 'saved' him, bouncing along on top of the Scout that he was riding. It wasn't going to be long to get back to Sojourner, now that they were no longer being engaged as a target.

Any Imperial Frame that comes up from behind immediately begin returning to Opportunity. King hates to admit defeat, but it is for the best for his brothers and sisters. The ride is as smooth as Killer Queen would allow. With the retreat ongoing, King begins assessing the damage to its fullest extent. The Imperials had managed to do a number on Queen's legs through simply firing at her with their weapons. Concentrating their fire, most likely. The large slit that was created with the chainsaw strike managed to take out a few auxiliary power generators, but did not hit the major backup unit which is currently acting as the major power supply. The chaingun had been damaged from the strike against the one Frame, and when it was firing earlier, a lot of the ammunition wasn't going through, mostly jammed inside. Not to mention the remaining nub that was once Queen's ax wielding arm.

He hails the one who had saved Irving, "Appreciation must be shown after such display, but I must ask you why would you betray your own? If this is a ruse, act now so I may give my brothers and sisters who fell their retribution." This is obviously a bluff considering the state of his Frame.

"I swore my oath of allegiance to an Empire that doesn't exist, and probably never did. As an Imperial loyal to that Empire, I cannot sit by and allow the mockery that stands in its place continue." Juno answered, a hint of anger or resentment lurking at the edge of her voice. "Would you allow your ideals to be corrupted to suit a war-loving tyrant?"

"Of course I would not. You are of the 45th, or were, I should say. Loyalty to the Emperor is what that regime is known for. That unit is responsible for massacres on my people. I have read up on everything about the Empire. You put aside your ideals and replace them for what the Emperor wants. You are simply a member of his holy hand."

He pauses for a second

"But maybe not all of you are mindless hounds sent to slaughter those who oppose Austen Ares. Those who wish to return Mars to a state it once was in."

Or maybe you are playing us.

"Can you, a man who has taken up arms for the cause he believes in, judge a man who has done the same?" Juno asked him, "Every army has its psychopaths, and every army has at least some true soldiers."

While the trek would be tortuous for many pilots, their Frames dragging as they moved or even collapsing from the simple yet ever present stress of movement, it would be fairly short, as they were mostly to a settlement by the the time of that major fight. It was an abandoned town, with very little save for a couple rusted buildings and half-buried vehicles. Mars was notorious for claiming the things left by humanity, anybody who was left behind or any Frame that had fallen apart was usually lost in short order. As they came upon it, Irving sent out a broadcast to all Frames remaining. Many of those who were still panicking were on their way to Sojouner, uncaring of the message, though that was now, thankfully, the minority of the group.

"All Pilots who can here this, settle in at the location Quatra Sienna. We're stopping here for the time being. Anybody with a Frame still standing, get to repairs upon dismounting. Anything you can fix up, do it. Anybody without a Frame is on guard duty until we start moving again. And to our new arrivals, I want a word personally with you." He hid some of his anger and disgust, enough to stay at least somewhat professional, but it was still there, still present in the undertones of the message.

"I hear you" King replies quickly.

King says this as Irving's message is broadcasted. His group of Brawlers and Scouts still at Queen's feet and as they hear this announcement, they break away after getting into the abandoned settlement proper. As for King, he puts Queen into a shutdown state and stands up at his seat after nearing Quatro Sienna as well. He stretches a bit after being seated for many hours. He walks to the gun rack and retrieves the clamps, the grappling gun, his pistol and some ammunition. After equipping them all, he hits a switch on the side and an elevator pod rumbles through the floor. He steps in and is brought down to the red planet.

Juno arrived at the settlement, stopping her Frame at the edge of a squad of defectors. None from her unit, not that she had expected any of the 45th to join her.
"Vanessa, please prepare the frame for a manual inspection." Juno ordered.
"Of course, lieutenant." Vanessa replied as several areas on the outside of her frame opened out, exposing the delicate parts within. Juno's seat rotated, and the exit hatch slid open, a ladder extending to the ground.

Irving directed his ride via comms over to the squad of defectors, climbing down in front of them with his weapon in hand but lowered, for the time being. Nothing about him looked pretty, as he had been involved in most fights the Rebels had been in, and he didn't even bother trying to look like he wasn't annoyed. He waited for most of them to dismount, while the Scout Frame, a design perfect for distraction and certainly more than enough to handle a few soldiers, stayed nearby with it's Pilot beginning repairs on the canopy and gun systems. While he didn't directly call anybody to help him, the simple location of where this was happening was drawing attention, from Pilots and Infantry alike, only some attempting to look disinterested.

A small section of Queen's left foot opens and King steps out. He takes a deep breath in and makes his way towards the group that had formed next to Irving. A comparison between the two would be more than enough to solidify the fact that Irving had more experience with battle. King had been going since the major takeover of Sojourner, but not as long as the old codger. He stops at Irving's left side. He keeps quiet, allowing an air of tension to form.

Juno watched as the defectors eyed the new arrivals with suspicion, mainly concerning the gun and the frame. A couple of them made sure that their own sidearms were within reach, and one edged slightly closer to his frame. Pausing to observe rather than start her manual inspection, Juno could only hope that these defectors were well disciplined, or there'd be another bloodbath.

Irving stepped forward. "All of you who just joined our cause joined up in the middle of a battle, defecting mid-fight from the Empire!" He shouted into the group. "You have most likely been branded traitors by your own command and you will equally distrusted among those you wish to call allies. I know for a fact that one of you is part of the 45th!" That sentence alone turned heads and garnered more interest, along with some hushed whispers with some not so nice undertones. "You will be treated poorly, and you will be met with hostility from all of those behind me. Nothing I say will change that. If you wish to make a gesture of goodwill now is that time. Whoever will represent you step forward now." The whispering and conversing behind Irving never stopped, but he did his best to ignore it, watching the assembled crowd carefully for signs of danger.

Juno strode forward confidently, knowing it was her duty as an officer.
"I will represent these men," She announced, "Former lieutenant Juno Sterling. 45th SPECWAR."

Having just conversed with the Lieutenant, King stays quiet for the most part and refrains from giving a salute. The only words to come from his mouth are a quick introduction.

"Frame Pilot Colonel Dudley King. Pilot of the beautiful Killer Queen, we just finished conversing."

Opening fire now would put my brothers and sisters at risk, but the temptations are great.

He keeps a professional tone and a cold face. His arms are placed at his back away slightly from his gun in the holster.

Irving nods, not yet saluting. "Major Irving Sulson. I'd say it's a pleasure but under these circumstances I'm not entirely sure yet. Anything you have as a sign of goodwill?" He watched her carefully, almost envious of the gear she had on her. It was certainly better kept than the stuff any of the Rebels had, and their Frames looked much better as well. With any luck, they'd be able to take them and reengineer some of their parts.

At his question, Juno reached for a datapad at her waist, flicked through a few menus, and offered it to Major Irving.

Datapad:

Irving took the datapad, looked at the screen and turned to hand it to King. "Hold onto this, verify what you can. When we get back we'll do more." He said to the man, before turning back to Lieutenant Juno. "A very nice start. I advise not holding anything back." Behind them, a couple people were getting agitated, aggressive that Imperial soldiers were here and apparently welcome. Irving ignored it for now, trusting everybody to stay calm. "The fuck are they doing here!" Someone shouted from off in the distance.