So, Perseus is made from the Buckler and is our designated Tank of the party, while Ichiro and Galbinus are both based off of the Centurion which came from an actual tank.
Also, seeing a few new names popping up in the votes, so - welcome along to this crazy ride I started years ago!
As a heads up, this vote will be fairly short, but I will be also preparing the conclusion to Perseus's adventures. Then we finally move on to the oil platform, and then we return to our turn planning, with a Smith Files #2 somewhere in between.
Imagine the Moonlight Butterfly as a continuous aura that disintegrates anything that dares approach our Super Robot. That is as close an approximation to Genesic as I can feasibly think of.
And also, just so you can listen to the kind of soundtrack I dig back into for inspiration.
1551, 20 June 2023
Beowulf Fenrir
For the briefest of moments, for the longest of years. It was hard to see where Richard Callaghan ended, and where Beowulf began. For a split second, it was as if he could catch in the cockpit, at least those senses that weren't completely focused through the MMI unit built into the K-Suit, a reflection of his face, of Beowulf Fenrir's, neatly split down the middle as they moved with singular purpose.
The Predasaur lurched forward, the electric spasms lessening with each stomp that upended the vegetation around it.
But they weren't backing down.
Richard barely winced as he felt the jagged zirvitium teeth attempt to dig into his own zirvitium armor, thick rending lines gouging and attempting to find purchase with the juicy and delicate electrical components inside.
But they weren't backing down.
In what he almost thought was desperation, Richard grimaced as he felt the gouge of flame rip through, attempting to melt the armor.
His hand caught alight.
- WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR? -
"To stop bullies like the Free Brothers from ruining any more lives." The variation of his answer to the same question the C-Crystal asked him repeatedly came as readily as the first time.
The C-Crystal approved.
Power flowed.
"What the-!?"
Charlie braced Frankie and Iris as an enormous blast of heat broke around them. Where the Predasaur was trying to chomp down on Beowulf's arm, the orange light of the generated fire was abruptly dwarfed by a bright red flame, all but absorbing the Predasaur's attempted attack and sending it staggering backwards.
"BLAZING-!"
Beowulf Fenrir's chest and forehead were glowing the same bright colors as the C-Crystal, incandescently red to the point of appearing pinkish white as a pair of raging bonfires enveloped Beowulf's fists, glowing with the same colors and intensity as the C-Crystal. Both arms raised above his head, as each bonfire seemed to flicker, rage, merge into each other -
"-FISTS!"
The fire shrank, warped around the clasped together hands -
- and the jet engines on Beowulf's back shrieked like damned banshees as Richard Callaghan momentarily became an earthbound comet with one particular target.
The Predasaur's chassis, weakened from combat against the Legion and the beast slayer, was no match. Zirvitium buckled and bent, before it all but melted, parting as Beowulf's hands pierced through in a jagged scream. The concentrated heat had dissipated, all but spent on piercing through -
- but as Richard's hands clasped around the reactor, squeezing and pulling as wires and bracings collapsed from the pressure, it was enough.
With one mighty wrench, Richard yelled as he tore the Predasaur's 'heart' away, not even waiting to see the lights in its optics flicker and die. Raising both hands with the reactor on full display, Richard grinned. He'd done it-!
And his heart lurched momentarily as he jumped from the sudden explosion behind him.
Richard just kept the grin on his face. Maaaaaaybe no one saw that.
"...okay, Richard's just showing off at this point," Cavalier grumbled. Tracker agreed, but he couldn't help but be slightly impressed as he saw the Beowulf's triumphant posture, momentarily bathed in shadow before the flames once again brought his form back into focus.
Not that he'd ever say that, mind.
"Heh. Kids these days."
"At least it's not Lana fixing me-ow!"
"Look, I'm not gonna disagree with you, Charlie, but if you keep fidgeting around while I try to set this actuator, I'm going to use the same restraints she would've, so settle down."
As Richard stepped out of the cockpit, wrenching the MMI helmet off of him to take in a gasp of fresh air, he noted with amusement that Patch, observing Frankie fixing his brother, nodded with approval as he was also in the middle of chiding Nailhead for yet more 'reckless sparkheaded nonsense.' Both Charlie and Nailhead seemed to have glumly accepted their fate as Tracker, sporting an adhesive patch along his forearm, was haranguing the both of them with yet another lecture.
Tapping at the C-Crystal embedded onto his K-Suit's chest, he muttered, "thanks," before turning around to gaze up at Beowulf Fenrir's face.
Once again mounted back into maintenance straps in the 'launch bay' of the Enclave, its optics were now dimmed, the systems having gone into standby mode. Aside from some chips to the paint and more than a few gnaw marks against the forearms, Beowulf Fenrir had passed its first trial by combat. It needed weapons more suited for its new combined form, even if the sum of its parts had more than risen up to the job, but he was sure he could convince Major Devin to look into it.
"Well done." Richard looked up, and saw Galbinus walking up towards him. "Your support team continues to impress, Richard."
"Don't tell them that too much," he jokingly warned, "they might get big heads from the ego boost."
Galbinus momentarily grinned, before staring to the side where the Predasaur's reactor had been placed. It was damaged - burnt in some areas, all but squished in others, but it was mostly intact. "Had you not been there, I would have had to commit Nailhead, Tracker and Breakneck as Axiom," he admitted. "Which given the opposition would have been a chancier plan."
"So does that mean everything worked?" Richard asked, as he wiped off another layer of sweat from his brow.
"We'll soon see," Galbinus replied. "The package should disseminate through the Belligerent's systems the moment they're back onboard. More importantly, however..." Gesturing to the Predasaur's 'heart,' Galbinus noted, "That was not an insignificant effort to reclaim Bandit. Perseus may be facing his own difficulties at the moment, but Tyrannous clearly has plans requiring a scrounger like Bandit."
"Yeah." Richard sighed as he leaned against the railing. "But for what? What's he got planned that requires someone like Bandit?" Who, knowing my luck, is going to come after me for blood again.
"Oracle Matrices wiser than me have spent longer processing that question," Galbinus said in the verbal equivalent of a shrug. "And they have not come up with any other answers for their contexts." His optics frowned. "But whatever it is, it cannot bode well for any involved."
"Well, well." A pair of sinister blue optics stared ominously from the command throne as the sustainment bed was brought before its occupant. "The prodigal mech returns." Tyrannous leaned back, still bathed in shadow save for the light of his optics as fingers clasped against one another. "I'm ready to receive your report on the mission you were so confident in."
"Heh...heheh...heya, boss," Bandit chuckled weakly. "Y'see, what happened was..."
"...okay, Richard's just showing off at this point," Cavalier grumbled. Tracker agreed, but he couldn't help but be slightly impressed as he saw the Beowulf's triumphant posture, momentarily bathed in shadow before the flames once again brought his form back into focus.