'My friends, it has often been said that I like war.'
WHO: This list.
WHERE: What was once Los Angeles.
WHEN: High noon. Considering that the sun, moon and stars are constantly visible here, the meaning of 'high noon' is a little different in the HIVE than elsewhere.
WARNINGS: SO MUCH VIOLENCE.
SUMMARY: The battle of the HIVE.
FORMAT: Paragraph or quicklog, whichever works best for you.
The teleport to Nevada, along with the interception and seizure of the pirate airship Revenge, now flying under the name of Deus Ex Machina II, had proceeded without the slightest difficulty. All the strike force’s members, weapons and equipment had been transported smoothly, and the secrecy of the ‘terror team’ had not been threatened. Now, the Major's new flagship cut through the sky with its propellers whirring as it penetrated into the centre of HIVE territory, its former crew left behind in Nevada for the American authorities.
The Major himself was sitting in the plush command chair of the Machina's bridge, the large semicircular window of which offered a fantastic view of the dark panorama below them. Simply put, the HIVE was not a pretty place. A grim city under a bizarre sky, it beckoned to the Major with its towers and alleys, with the airships flying above while their Jolly Roger flags leered at the world, with its atmosphere of corruption and sin. This, he thought, shall truly be a great battlefield. Arrayed in front of Major’s chair, off to the sides so not to obstruct the view through the window, were about a half a dozen monitors on each side stacked atop one another. When the fighting began, very shortly, these screens would display live combat footage being gathered by his force.
His force. Not his beloved Battalion, not his old and loyal comrades of the Waffen-SS, but still, after fifty long years, the Major once again had a force of men and women ready to fight and die at his command. The thrill this thought sent through him made him almost leap out of his seat from joy. Finally, finally, finally his beautiful, rapturous symphony could begin.
Outside, one of the smaller HIVE ships, a drab grey thing which looked decades old, had broken away from the others and was now coming alongside the former Revenge. It seemed that at least someone was growing suspicious... too late though. The City’s emissaries were now where the plan called for them to be, and all the teams had reported themselves ready to deploy. Which made it far, far too late.
“Prepare aerial broadside!” The Major ordered. “Fire on the enemy vehicle on my mark! And warm up the transporter! Ein!" The enemy ship drew closer. “Zwei!” Closer. For the Major, decades upon decades came down to this moment, and the exhilaration of anticipation and imminent fulfillment was beyond joyful to him, filling his entire being with ecstasy. “Drei!”
The other airship was now close enough for Major to glimpse dim figures through its windows. He threw them a jaunty salute.
“All weapons- fire!” The Deus Ex Machina II shuddered as its formidable armament discharged itself all at once into its hapless smaller target, which exploded so splendidly that the Major imagined he could feel the heat on the bridge. “Nice attack,” he hissed through his teeth.
As the flaming wreckage plummeted towards the buildings of the HIVE, the Major swiveled in his chair, turning to his bridge crew behind him. “All teams, begin deployment! Full commitment! Commence aerial and ground battles!”
Throughout the airship, hatches and doors slid open to allow the City’s fliers and mechs to deploy. He then turned back to the view through the bridge windows, to the blazing wreck of his raid’s first victim, to the other HIVE airships as they began to maneuver frantically into a battle formation, to the enemy city itself as air raid sirens began to sound below.
The Major smiled, showing his teeth. It was the long-awaited beginning of his magnificent symphony. And now nothing could stop it from being played through to its glorious conclusion.
WHERE: What was once Los Angeles.
WHEN: High noon. Considering that the sun, moon and stars are constantly visible here, the meaning of 'high noon' is a little different in the HIVE than elsewhere.
WARNINGS: SO MUCH VIOLENCE.
SUMMARY: The battle of the HIVE.
FORMAT: Paragraph or quicklog, whichever works best for you.
The teleport to Nevada, along with the interception and seizure of the pirate airship Revenge, now flying under the name of Deus Ex Machina II, had proceeded without the slightest difficulty. All the strike force’s members, weapons and equipment had been transported smoothly, and the secrecy of the ‘terror team’ had not been threatened. Now, the Major's new flagship cut through the sky with its propellers whirring as it penetrated into the centre of HIVE territory, its former crew left behind in Nevada for the American authorities.
The Major himself was sitting in the plush command chair of the Machina's bridge, the large semicircular window of which offered a fantastic view of the dark panorama below them. Simply put, the HIVE was not a pretty place. A grim city under a bizarre sky, it beckoned to the Major with its towers and alleys, with the airships flying above while their Jolly Roger flags leered at the world, with its atmosphere of corruption and sin. This, he thought, shall truly be a great battlefield. Arrayed in front of Major’s chair, off to the sides so not to obstruct the view through the window, were about a half a dozen monitors on each side stacked atop one another. When the fighting began, very shortly, these screens would display live combat footage being gathered by his force.
His force. Not his beloved Battalion, not his old and loyal comrades of the Waffen-SS, but still, after fifty long years, the Major once again had a force of men and women ready to fight and die at his command. The thrill this thought sent through him made him almost leap out of his seat from joy. Finally, finally, finally his beautiful, rapturous symphony could begin.
Outside, one of the smaller HIVE ships, a drab grey thing which looked decades old, had broken away from the others and was now coming alongside the former Revenge. It seemed that at least someone was growing suspicious... too late though. The City’s emissaries were now where the plan called for them to be, and all the teams had reported themselves ready to deploy. Which made it far, far too late.
“Prepare aerial broadside!” The Major ordered. “Fire on the enemy vehicle on my mark! And warm up the transporter! Ein!" The enemy ship drew closer. “Zwei!” Closer. For the Major, decades upon decades came down to this moment, and the exhilaration of anticipation and imminent fulfillment was beyond joyful to him, filling his entire being with ecstasy. “Drei!”
The other airship was now close enough for Major to glimpse dim figures through its windows. He threw them a jaunty salute.
“All weapons- fire!” The Deus Ex Machina II shuddered as its formidable armament discharged itself all at once into its hapless smaller target, which exploded so splendidly that the Major imagined he could feel the heat on the bridge. “Nice attack,” he hissed through his teeth.
As the flaming wreckage plummeted towards the buildings of the HIVE, the Major swiveled in his chair, turning to his bridge crew behind him. “All teams, begin deployment! Full commitment! Commence aerial and ground battles!”
Throughout the airship, hatches and doors slid open to allow the City’s fliers and mechs to deploy. He then turned back to the view through the bridge windows, to the blazing wreck of his raid’s first victim, to the other HIVE airships as they began to maneuver frantically into a battle formation, to the enemy city itself as air raid sirens began to sound below.
The Major smiled, showing his teeth. It was the long-awaited beginning of his magnificent symphony. And now nothing could stop it from being played through to its glorious conclusion.