(April 1, 2004)

Poland

A bustling area of commerce, the area around Warsaw has expanded not only out, but up. Poland now contains three of the ten highest aerial landing pads in the world, spreading out over the city like a trio of giant technofied palm trees. The shadows from the enormous landing pads shadow most of the downtown, making it a frightful labyrinth of shadows and darkness. Sprawling from the fledgling megalopolis is the rolling hills of Poland, heading out towards Russia, Germany and the seas.

Maverick Outpost

South <S> leads to Central Europe.

East <E> leads to European Russia.

West <W> leads to Germany.

North <N> leads to Baltic States.

Out to sea <O> leads to Baltic Sea.

Up <U> leads to Sky Above Eastern Europe.

Bastion arrives from the Central Europe.

Bastion has arrived.

==============================================================================

The eyes...

Once holding the pure joy and freedom of a Reploid made to serve and protect humans against normal every day crimes, are now devoid of any of that decades old innocence. Now, Bastion's time in New York's Finest for over ten years mixed with his recent time in Repliforce, betray a hardened veteran of the Robot Wars. And he's not finished yet.

Optics behind a clear visor coming down from the brim of his hat, they shine dull ache of slate-blue. Mostly humanoid in nature, Bastion was created only days after Reploids became available; to serve and protect the humans of New York City.

Bastion's hat and chin guard are both the dark navy; his chest and lower arms and legs also are filled with that color. His upper arms and legs and feet are all in a deep rich medium blue. Under his right arm sits a holster with his antique Glock-17; with a collapsable baton and handcuffs attached to his waist. This former-cop however is not as un-armed as he appears, the seams along his right and left forearms reveal that something may in fact be hidden.

Note: Bastion at current, has only one optic. His left. The other has been ripped out; his face has a scar down the right cheek with a patch over the actual optic, thanks to the merry time he had with Vile.

============ http://wingsplatinum.tripod.com/drawings/Bastion.jpg ============

Bastion sends a radio transmission to Dr. Cossack.

It is late afternoon in what remains of the city of Warsaw. Fires still burn in some of the rubble, ruptured fuel lines keeping them alive in spite of the Fire Control Squad and the gently falling rain. The resulting thick smoke blankets the city, relief found in only the eddies of breeze off the Baltic sea. It is the very image of Hades, brought to earth by the hands of Man and Reploid.

Dr. Doppler rides in the back of a hoverjeep, accompanied only by Eisensturm and their driver. The rest of Coalition Command would no doubt be having a fit if they knew he was here. Their destination? The crater formed by Epsilon's transformation almost seven days ago. The doctor wants answers, and this may be the only place they may yet be found.

Bastion receives a radio transmission.

Bastion sends a radio transmission to Dr. Cossack.

Bastion receives a radio transmission from Dr. Cossack.

The bullet hits the driver in the head long before any sound from it being fired is heard. The entry wound is quite clean, but a nano-second after it enters the head the bullet explodes, sending quite a mess all over the occupants of the jeep. The bullet's trajectory, if you were observant seemed to come from a building top a few dozen feet ahead of where the jeep was heading. A second later, another bullet flies toward the jeep, missing by mere milimeters the side of Doppler's head and instead hitting the gas tank in the back of the jeep. Better jump.

Bastion sends a radio transmission.

Bastion receives a radio transmission from Dr. Cossack.

Bastion sends a radio transmission.

Bastion receives a radio transmission from Dr. Cossack.

Bastion sends a radio transmission to Dr. Cossack.

Bastion receives a radio transmission from Dr. Cossack.

The driver has no chance to react before he dies, his head thrown back from the impact of the bullet, then body slumping froward as it becomes literally dead weight. The vehicle lists for a moment, then takes a sudden dive. Doppler clutches the sides of his seat at the jeep pitches forward, nearly tossing both him and the canine into the broken pavement. Then, a second bullet whizzes past his ear. Eisensturm is well-programmed, and shoves its master out of the back of the vehicle. Both tumble several feet, coming to a rest beside the curb. The jeep skids as the fuel tank catches fire, flips as it explodes in a fireball, the burning husk lodging itself in what used to be the front of an office building.

Eisensturm is on its feet in an instant, growling as it keeps Doppler down, loking for their assailant.

The teleport that follows shows that the person was easily within line-of-sight and not using a sniper scope. Of course, Bastion is smart enough to not appear just right in front of the good Doctor. Instead the flash of light comes from a mere foot behind Doppler, "Herr Doctor, it's time you die for your crimes against so many. Friend and foe." Hand already up holding his VAPOR, Bastion fires off a round toward the back of Doppler's head.

Bastion strikes you with a glancing hit from his Vapor 29 Cybervox Setting for 8 units of damage.

Eisensturm has all the programming of a loyal guard dog, which is telling in its actions. It leaps forward to protect its master, shielding him with its body. That and perhaps only that protects Doppler from having his all-too-human brain from being splattered against the pavement. Eis yelps as it's shot, then spasms as the bullet severs one of its primary motor-control nodes. It whines once, then twitches again and falls over.

Doppler realizes just how severely compromising his position is, and silently curses his own lack of foresight. There is no visible motion from him, perhaps giving the impression that Bastion has already done him in. The pain and swelling of fluid on the back of his skull tells him that the Hunter already came too close to that.

Then, something very unusual happens - there is a faint shimmering around Doppler, followed by the sudden appearance of armor around him. No doubt Bastion has seen the bold purple and yellow plating before, but perhaps never associated it with him! If this gives the Hunter pause, then it may be enough to allow Doppler to leap up and forward in an attempt to bash him to the ground.

You strike Bastion with a minor hit from your Smash attack.

Well, you know that look of someone who just found out the worst possible news about their health, how they've got a month to live from the cancer eating away at them? That look forms on Bastion's face as he watches the transformation that happens around the Maverick Founder. "F**k. I /knew/ it was you in that slagheap. Well, s**..." he never finishes his sentence as he's gutchecked by the Tachyon Armor's shoulder.

Being thrown back into one of the 'rubbles' that is an excuse for a building, Bastion is smacked in the head by a few pieces of falling debris. "Y'know, none of you ever just opt to die /peacefully/ and quietly. Nooooo... You've got to toss a fit." As he pushes himself back up, Bastion snaps his thumb to change the setting on the Vapor and fire again.

Bastion misses you with his Vapor 29 Dense-core Setting attack.

One of the reasons that Doppler's been able to maintain the illusion for so long is that the armor seems to improve rather than impede motion. He quickly sidesteps before Bastion pulls the trigger, the bullet missing him by inches. The protective lavender casing protecting his arm buster splits and retracts, the barrel glowing as it charges. He leaves the voice scramber off, speaking in his natural voice. "The same could be said for you, Bastion. How many times is it now? Twice? Thrice? You simply refuse to embrace the truth, and you also refuse to die." This statement is accentuated by his leveling the weapon at his would-be assassin and firing.

Bastion deflects Plasma Blaster from Dr. Doppler.

You miss Bastion with your Plasma Blaster attack.

"Four actually." Thankfully Bastion's able to get his collapsed down in size Riot Shield up to block the plasma shot as it comes firing at his head. "Five now, considering that would cut my head clear off." His thumb snaps up to snap the setting panel quickly on the side of the vapor pistol, as he dives toward Doppler, closing the gap between them as he fires off an unneeded amount of bullets at his target.

Bastion strikes you with a minor hit from his Police Overkill for 17 units of damage.

Unnecessary, perhaps, but effective. Several of them catch Doppler in a diagonal line across torso and legs, a few stay bullets tearing holes in his rain-dampened cape. Though they don't quite pierce the reinforced plates, he gives an involuntary gasp as the kinetic force strikes him like a jackhammer. He stumbles back a pace to regain his sense of balance, and one can imagine him sneering behind that tinted faceplate. The globe on his left spaulder twinkles with argent light, the raindrops hissing as they fall upon it. "You do realize the futility of this," he states. "If you fail, I walk away. If you succeed, you make me a martyr. Either way, I win." The globe's casing slide back, ejecting a slightly smaller sphere. He catches it in his articulated hand, then lobs it at Bastion's feet.

Bastion deflects Plasma Ball from Dr. Doppler.

You miss Bastion with your Plasma Ball attack.

Perhaps that line of thought had crossed Bastion's mind, since he already has an answer. "Oh yes, you're a martyr. But see you're being killed by a /reploid/, herr Doctor. Not a human trying to stop the cause. I'm making a conscious choice to stop yer evil. So yeah, martyr, whatever. Martyrs can be erased. Just look at the numerous martyrs the Chinese had during their wars, or the Russians of the USSR days had. Can you remember even one of their names?" Bastion's shield snaps up and sends the plasma ball off to hit a building front. "No. A century from now, no one will think of you as a martyr. They'll put you in the same line as Hitler and Stalin during World War II, or Jang during the Chinese Wars. A butcher, a cold and dead butcher." With that, Bastion tosses off some high explosives.

Bastion misses you with his Blackhole Grenade attack.

Dr. Doppler pitches forward, rolling out of the way of the compact but high-intensity explosive pack. It arcs through the air, landing in a broken building not far from where the jeep is still burning itself out. There is a beep, followed by a much more spectacular rumble and fireball. The ground itself trembles as the blast causes the building's last supports to give way. A horrible shriek pierces the air as reinforced girders bend, then snap. The remaining ten stories of the building topple in a cacophany of breaking glass and shredding plasticrete. Dust and rubble fly everywhere, temporarily obscuring everything within a block's radius. Luck and physics keep the building from landing atop them, the majority of the building landing opposite their battleground.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "I think I'll put one of those left-over viral warheads to use... khee-hee-hee. Time to settle a score."

The rather spectacular collapse of the building from Bastion's blackhole grenade draws a rather sharp look of pain on his face as he wonders if anyone was in it. The expression only lasts a second as he resolves to finish what he started no matter what. Shield still in his left hand, Bastion slides the pistol into a hidden pocket in his coat and pulls out a hilt. From the hilt, an energy/graviton mace is emitted once he activates it. Spinning it around, Bastion charges to literally beat Doppler to death.

Bastion strikes you with a major hit from his Graviton Mace Strike for 22 units of damage.

Dr. Doppler is hit squarely in the head with the mace, the protective faceguard splintering from the sheer force of the blow. One fragment is jarred loose, revealing the left side of Doppler's face. Within, the optic is covered with a monocle of sorts - a mini-HUD not unlike what Ride Armor pilots often use. He glares balefully at the Hunter through the lens, raising his buster arm to force him back. Around them, the rain continues to fall, quickly dampening the choking cloud of dust still swirling around them. There is a snap-hiss of a forcefield being activated, close enough to Bastion as to make an improvised weapon.

You strike Bastion with a minor hit from your Reverse Energy Flow Field attack.

Dr. Doppler drains energy from Bastion with his Reverse Energy Flow Field attack.

The bad thing about energy being reversed on itself is that after the draining happens, the explosion of energy in Bastion from trying to separate from the field sends him flying again. He lands on the ground, stunned and dazed enough that he doesn't get up quite right away, his chest, left arm, and part of his face armor are all semi-melted from the energy overload.

The forcefield snaps off once more as the Hunter is hurled back. Doppler strides toward where his would-be assassin landed, armored boots leaving footprints in the settling dust. There is an ominous thrum from his arm cannon as it begins charging, the light reflecting from his damaged suit, the falling rain creating a halo effect around it. He plants his left foot on Bastion's chest, the visible parts of his face twisted in a sneer. Black fluid - not blood - wells up from a gash in his cheek, a drop of it falling to land on Bastion's half-ruined face. "A pity," he says. "You had so much potential, talent that you wasted an a mewling, cowering race not worth saving. Where are they now, hm? Hiding in their bunkers, jumping at their own shadows. Yes, how noble." Whether he refers to Bastion or the humans is left for his captive audience to decide. "A terrible tragedy. Good-bye Bastion. The game was well played, but now it ends." The light eminating from the cannon's barrel is dazzling, magnified by the thousands of raindrops. There is a brilliant flash as the volley is let free.

You strike Bastion with a solid hit from your Charged Plasma Blast attack.

The plasma rips away at Bastion's armor, completely destroying the armor on the front of his body as he's held down by Doppler in his armor. Bastion somehow survives though, despite the fact that the internal parts of his body, including his brain core and other critical components are on the verge of collapse. He briefly considered saying something worthwhile since he realizes he's not getting out of this, this time. Instead he goes for the biting remark, a witty and arrogant Hunter to the end perhaps... "Says the man who is hiding behind armor right now..." He struggles slightly to break free, but is in no condition to.

Dr. Doppler's brow furrows, jaw tightening...which serves to further aggravate the slash across his cheek. "At least I fight my own battles," he retorts. "My children fight beside me, not in place of me." He removes his boot from Bastion's caving chest, then roughly picks him up by what remains of his neck. There is anger in his eyes, though there is a hint of another emotion as well. Pity? Is that possible? "Four times, and still your eyes remain closed. I fear that they'll remain that way." There is a prickling of heat as the armor begins to shimmer. This is not the shimmer of armor-space, but the rippling of rapidly heating air. The space around them spontaneously combusts as the heat spikes to thousands of degrees in the span of a few seconds.

You strike Bastion with a solid hit from your Fire Dash attack.

Bastion falls to the ground, unconscious, due to massive systems damage.

Bastion sends a radio transmission.

Bastion glares forward remaining indignant to the last moment. "My eyes are open. I die, someone else will rise in my pla..." he doesn't finish the words though as the fire tears into him. There's the echo of a scream that started by never got quite out before Bastion's form hangs limp in Doppler's hands.

Dr. Doppler releases his hold on Bastion, the shell falling to the ground. There is little satisfaction to be found in his expression. His death is justified, he tells himself. But a shame he could never be turned.

He turns his attention to Eisensturm, walking over to check on the loyal canine. Broken, but repairable is his estimation. The rain begins to pick up, the dust from the collapsed building sluicing into the storm drain. With the faintest of smirks, his gaze falls again on the ruined form of Bastion. "Hmph. A shame to let you go completely to waste..."

A short while later, a Maverick patrol finds Doppler. While his radio was broken when Bastion nearly put a bullet through his skull, the sounds of the building's tumble did not get unnoticed. Doctor, loyal drone, and the most viable remains of the Hunter are taken aboard.

(We take a trip in the Swordfish.)

Outside> Donachi Business District - Neo Tokyo

Outside>

This is the economic heart of Neo Tokyo and a great deal of the world. It is within these few square kilometers that corporate empires rise and fall, deals determining the fate of the world's commercial enterprises are made, and where the greatest commercial structure ever created dwarfs everything around it, the Stratoscraper. This immense building is so tall that aerospace technology had to be applied to maintain the building's atmosphere near the top, while the foundation below bores deep into the planet's crust. Around the base of this building are the smaller, though by no means small themselves, skyscrapers that house the headquarters of countless corporations and globe-spanning enterprises. The city has reached so far into the sky here that special public transports race up and down between suspended platforms that connect many of the buildings. Floating food vendor booths drift to and from specialized airlocks on the side of the buildings, and the lights from various holographic ad signs reflect from the mirrored windows.

Outside>

South <S>: Harbor District - Neo Tokyo

West <W>: Fujiwa Art District - Neo Tokyo

<Global News Network> <Newsflash! logo> This just in from GNN Asia! The Japanese SDF has reported sighting a Maverick aircraft entering Neo-Tokyo airspace. *grainy image of the Swordfish, taken by a traffic cam in the Business district*

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "...Okay, who is /that/, and why wasn't I invited?"

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Dr. Doppler transmits, "A personal matter."

Outside> Quick Man arrives from the Fujiwa Art District - Neo Tokyo.

Outside> Liese Schreiner arrives from the Harbor District - Neo Tokyo.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Dr. Doppler transmits, "Do not interfere."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "..." sigh, "If you insist, Doctor."

Outside> Maverick Air Skimmer <Swordfish> swoops over the city of Neo-Tokyo, brazenly disrupting all normal traffic as it takes the most direct course to the crater where Light Labs once stood.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "I'll seek my fun elsewhere... Khehehe.."

Outside> Alpha arrives from the Harbor District - Neo Tokyo.

Outside> Glaive arrives from the Harbor District - Neo Tokyo.

Outside> Aaah! Maveriiiiiiick!

No, it's not a reenactment of Top Gun, with Homosexy Hamster as the lead character. It's what's going through Liese's mind as she leaps and bounds around the lower levels of the massive city of Neo-Tokyo, keeping going at a high rate of speed by the virtue of being able to, with gravitational distortion, run along the /sides/ of buildings.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "Is something going on, of which I am not aware?"

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Dr. Doppler transmits, "Giving an object lesson."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "I see. Any particular target?"

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "Hee hee hee... Just making some use of one of my spare viral warheads, Emperor. Torontreal could use some remodeling, don't you think?"

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "Certainly, if you are into suicide."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "... I don't understand."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "Torontreal is....a bit overdefended, for something of that nature. I would suggest -- another target."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "If you say so, Emperor. I havne't familiarized myself with city defenses yet. Maybe Rio di Janero..."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "Indeed. Or on a military target. Find a training facility or the like, perhaps?"

Outside> Shadow Man arrives from the Fujiwa Art District - Neo Tokyo.

The Swordfish falls into a holding pattern some 500 meters above the crater. There it remains for a good half-minute, simply hovering there above the ruin. Then, there are signs of movement: the side hatch of the craft opens, revealing a glimpse of Dr. Doppler. He does not tarry in such a visible position for long, taking only the time needed to kick a broken, charred form from the opening. From there, gravity takes over, and the object falls.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Dr. Doppler transmits, "A legitimate militarget this time, Blaze. I trust I do not need to repeat myself."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "...Hmm..." Her tone darkens, insideous, evil, and menacing, "I know where a handful of Repliforce's holdings are located... They get a lot of technology from Sanchi Medical Technologies. Maybe I should /eliminate/ that... Besides." She cheers up instantly, "I bet they'd love to see me again and see what I've made of myself."

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "If you wish. I merly suggest a strike on an actual training facility. What better way to deplete numbers, than to have people fear to be recruited?"

Outside> There is a flash of purple light as Alpha appears in midair behind the Swordfish. Attempting to stay out of its sensor range, (even though she has no idea what that is), she follows along behind the Air Skimmer, half gliding, half using her gravitational barrier to keep her glide steady.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "Mrrhrrhrr... Excellent idea as always, Emperor."

Outside> Glaive stayed as hidden as best he could. He would not come into the fight until he could get the stupid hunter out of the way of fire and take him out harms way. Not a minute before, or after. The squid like reploid took cover in a Ally way that had a good view of the former light labs, his optics glowing red as he scanned the area.

Outside> Sasha's not far beyond Liese--though she has farther to go, coming from the teleporters. She's already in the air, coasting along just below the level of the rooftops and keeping her own eyes on the Swordfish. Though below Alpha, she's about as close to the skimmer as the other Hunter is.

Outside> The Swordfish falls into a holding pattern some 500 meters above the crater. There it remains for a good half-minute, simply hovering there above the ruin. Then, there are signs of movement: the side hatch of the craft opens, revealing a glimpse of Dr. Doppler. He does not tarry in such a visible position for long, taking only the time needed to kick a broken, charred form from the opening. From there, gravity takes over, and the object falls.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Emperor Sigma transmits, "I am glad that you approve. The question is, can you make the idea bear fruit?"

Outside> Despite the fact that coming to Neo Tokyo nowadays is as good as a death sentence for Robot Masters, a couple of them just couldn't resist showing up when the news was blaring something about Mavericks heading for the area. At least these particular Masters are most likely to be able to get in and out without any trouble. Quick Man appears at the edge of the building.. peering down towards the Maverick ship hovering over the crater. "Huh. What do you make of that?"

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Blaze Fox transmits, "Seed, Fruit, and orchard, Emperor."

Outside> Shadow Man stays crouched at Quick Man's right side, a bit farther back on the rooftop, so as better to remain out of view from the streets below. From a pocket he retrieves a small but entirely functional pair of digital binoculars, through which he examines the 'object' dropped off, and then passes them to his elder brother.

Outside> Liese Schreiner doesn't really see the corpse of Bastion being dumped out of the aircraft. She DOES, however, see the craft hover - and she's updated on the radio. So, she stops bouncing around like she's Spider-Man and just abandons all pretense of paying attention to gravity. Her coat flaps, and then...

She begins to fall towards the ship! As fast as she can. Her goal is to slam her fists into the tail fin that's radiating oh so elegantly out from the back of the rather frail craft. It is a Maverick craft and it is coming casually to drop off something into a crater, she reasons; she may be /yelled/ at for this, but if the JSDF is unable or unwilling to deal with a single small craft... Either way, she is not going incredibly quickly.

Outside> Alpha is, oddly enough, more concerned with the Swordfish than the Robot Masters. Wonder why! She doesn't let the charred object hit the ground. She vanishes in a brief flash of purple again, reappearing by the body, and catching it carefully. She starts floating downwards, gently, and closing her eyes with a sigh. She doesn't shoot at the ship. She doesn't particularly care about it at the moment. If the others wish to blow it up, she won't stop them though.

Outside> Quick Man takes the binocs from Shadow.. raising them to his eyes (which by the way, are covered with a NEW pair of ultra-cool shades), and peers down at the crater. "Looks like a dead body. Why the heck did they bring it here? This ain't no cemetery." He pauses a moment.. then bursts out laughing as he hands the binocs back. "Oh wait.. YES IT IS! AHAHAHAHAAHAA! It is now, anyway." He shakes his head, frowning as he spots a few Hunters arriving on the scene. "Look at them. Swarming like bees. Deadly, deadly bees. Well, I ain't allergic."

Outside> Shadow Man pockets the binoculars again, and turns to face his brother, raising an index finger extended vertical in front of his lips when the Beta bursts out laughing at the... unusual situation.

Outside> Glaive running in as the body falls he arrives next to the remains of the hunter as well, seeing Alpha managed to get there before he could. As he stoped he looked him over and turned to the ship. "I can take him back, or do want to take him back? You are much faster then I am."

Outside> Dr. Nathan Xiang arrives from the Fujiwa Art District - Neo Tokyo.

Outside> Sasha races to catch up with Liese, Alpha, and Swordfish--spiralling higher into the air as she does and drawing a pistol out of her weaponspace. She flips off the safety, frowning as she watches Liese make her run against the Swordfish. The sound of laughter draws the young Cossackbot's attention briefly--she glances sideways, purple eyes narrowing...before she shrugs, and goes spiralling down toward the Maverick skimmer, opening fire as she does.

Outside> Maverick Air Skimmer <Swordfish> visibly shudders in mid-air as Liese slams her fists into the tail rudder - lucky for her she missed the rotating blades, isn't it? Doppler grabs a rail on the inside of the craft, preventing him from joining the corpse in its freefall descent. The hatch begins sliding closed again, though a lucky shot may hit him before it fully seals.

As for the body...it is Bastion, though hardly recognizable as such.

Outside> Far, far below, at the street level, a figure emerges well below the fight overhead. Doctor Alexander Cheng, in labcoat and such, blinking and glancing up overhead. "What the..."

Outside> Tsutomu Hong arrives from the Lobby - Karasawa Tower.

Outside> Tsutomu Hong enters the Fujiwa Art District - Neo Tokyo.

Outside> Quick Man makes a face at Shadow as the Gamma motions for him to be quiet. "Oh please. Like they could catch me. And you can just all, NINJA VANISH! or whatever. We don't have anything to be afraid of." He scoffs, full of overconfidence as usual, as he turns his attention back to the scene below. "Looks like things are getting interesting."

Outside> Liese Schreiner continues to fly, coat flapping in the wind, towards the target... and she grimaces as she sees that hatch iris open! She puts on more "speed".....

And then it closes. She swerves to the side, to avoid ramming into it and injuring herself, and settles for giving the thing a sharp, swift kick to the side of the hull.

Outside> Alpha looks to Glaive for a moment, "You're also probably more physically capable. So I think you should take care of the observers. They aren't welcome here. Don't bother with warnings.", and with that she fans her wings and starts to fly away with Bastion towards the Teleporters, even ignoring poor Cheng, as sexy as he is.

Outside> Alpha receives a radio transmission from Dr. Cossack.

Outside> Shadow Man shrugs at Quick Man, looking up again as the hatch closes. He seems to have no interest in attacking Dr. Doppler. Glancing back down at the Hunters, and the 'doctor', Shadow Man shrugs and rises, walking back away from the near edge of the roof. Not a very entertaining show.

Outside> Glaive turning to the swordfish his tentacles started to glow a deep green color. "Thank you for dropping off our fallen comrade...here is a present." he said sarcastically and fired a ball of acid to follow it, when or if it strikes it would explode with a acid substance all over the area it strikes.

Outside> Quick Man bahs.. shaking his head as Shadow begins walking away. He turns and catches easily up to his younger brother. "Yeah, I agree with you." He says, shrugging. "I thought maybe it'd be more interesting, but it wasn't. What a waste of time. Still, it's nice to visit Tokyo again! I love what they've done with the place." He snickers.

Outside> Sasha is quick to take the brief shot she has at shooting Doppler, taking aim and firing twice for the Maverick doctor's head. No telling if she'll hit him, though, but she -had- to try. Then she has to reload, switching out the clip of Dosdovei and diving toward the Skimmer and Liese.

Outside> Dr. Nathan Xiang watches the battle overhead for a long moment, before turning to depart. This is not the time to look over the remains of Light Labs. Particularly since that looked something like a body removed from the skimmer far overhead.

Outside> Quick Man adds to Shadow.. spotting a cafe below them. "Hey, want to get a coffee?"

Outside> The skimmer's engines hum more loudly, the rotors picking up speed. It spins in place, possibly knocking Liese as it maneuvers, and speeds out of the area as fast as it can go. Which is very very fast.

Sasha's volley makes it through the hatch just before it closes, but it's impossible to say whether her aim was true.

[Radio: (A) Mav-Chat] Dr. Doppler breathes in sharply.

Outside> Shadow Man shakes his head, and leaps off the far edge of the rooftop - given the height of it, this should result in a long whistle sound followed by a splat and robot roadkill. However, for some reason it does not - Shadow Man simply vanishes. It's the sort of thing he does.

Outside> Shadow Man activates his stealth mode.

Outside> Quick Man shrugs his shoulders as Shadow leaps off the side of the building and vanishes. "Whatever, dude. Jeez. Gammas are such party poopers." He mutters, as he casually strolls to the side of the building and leaps off himself.. landing lightly on the roof of one below, then streaking off with a sudden burst of speed.. gone in seconds.

Outside> Quick Man retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Maverick Air Skimmer <Swordfish>.

Outside> Glaive growled as the ball missed, stupid transporters and their speed. Turning away from the battle he started down the street towards the teleporters again. He is done, and sense the masters decided not to fight or even show their ugly mugs, he had no reason to stay here and look over the ruined labs.

Outside> Dr. Nathan Xiang pauses in his falling back as the battle in the sky overhead seems to be breaking up. Perhaps now /would/ be a good time to investigate the ruins. Unlikely that there will be anything of immediate interest in the rubble, but still... he's been meaning to drop by.

Outside> Liese Schreiner is, unfortunately for her, knocked aside by the backwash of the disgustingly fast Maverick transport! She manages to avoid smacking into a wall or a glass window, however, and snarls something unpleasant. It's always so frustrating when someone just sort of zips in and then zips back out before you can /do anything/ to them. She intends to write an angry letter to the JSDF, too. Oh, but they got Bastion back! Isn't that what /really/ matters?

Outside> Sasha finishes reloading her pistol, watching the Swordfish zip off and wrinkling up her nose slightly. At last, she returns the pistol to weaponspace, bringing her dive up short and hovering not far from Liese's shoulder. "I wish I could have seen if I -hit- him," she mutters to herself.

Outside> Dr. Nathan Xiang continues to chatter subvocally into his radio as he strolls towards the rubble of Light Labs. Hands tucked in his pockets, he nudges the pavement with a foot, estimating the damage done by the bomb, and the rate of cleanup since then.

============================ BB Post in Progress =============================

Group: Maverick

Title: AAR: Bastion

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<Doppler Spinny!>

Dr. Doppler's visage appears on screen, his private lab visible behind him. There is a medpatch on his cheek, and the camera's angle is poised to show nothing beneath his shoulders. "The Maverick Hunter Bastion was foolish enough to attempt to assassinate me while I was in Warsaw this afternoon. He has been a thorn in our side for some time, and he was shown no mercy. I returned his shell to the Hunters as an object lesson.

He leans forward, much to the irritation of the drone. "We should expect retaliation from the Hunters for their comrade's death. Be extra vigilant both within and outside the Empire, and show no more mercy to them than I did to him." The video feed ends.

(Coded to Maverick Command only: Test Message: I have retained Bastion's neural-net for safekeeping. After the Sasha incident, we do not need Cossack to attempt any more of his miracles.)

==============================================================================