Safiya noted that they were quite the cast of characters. She did not wish to jump to conclusions, but she wasn’t sure how they were going to all work together as a team, when they couldn’t even introduce themselves cordially. Stranger still was the administrative assistant he came blundering into the room, leaving a trail of papers in her wake – she hoped they weren’t important papers.

No sooner had she arrived, the man in charge, the commander finally entered the room and introduced himself to the group. Safiya was likewise confused by the twins, though it was interesting how diametrically opposed their countenances were from each other. The commander briefed them on their first mission – a Kaiju that persistently attacked a city’s walls. Quite unusual in her experience, but it wasn’t like it was something that she had studied extensively herself. After his spiel, the commander left the room. Great. They would have some tie

His exit was shortly almost simultaneously by the rest of the team. She hung back, not entirely interested in conversations, and immediately made her way to the hangar. She truly preferred the company of massive robots than people.

Once in the hangar, Safiya casually walked around each of the mecha, taking mental notes of their tech. Most of it she was familiar with, the weapons on the Rhet cost a pretty penny, she noted. She was particularly intrigued by the Selvan design and found herself staring up at it for moments while the other engineers continued their work in the background. She relished the relative peace, but it would be short-lived.

Lexi quickened her pace. It had taken a bit longer than she would've liked, but she'd managed to locate one of the aids currently shuttling the pilots' belongings to their assigned quarters. After finding one of the standard issue pilot uniforms the Selvagran military had provided her and ducking into a restroom to slip it on, she had dumped the clothes she'd previously been wearing on the poor fellow before simply taking off. Now she was hastily making her way through the corridor connecting the base's main building to the hangar, trying to coax her arm into the other sleeve of the cropped uniform jacket she was now half-wearing. The file she had taken from the briefing room, which she had yet to read, was clenched firmly between her chattering teeth like some sort of crisped, buttery breakfast food. She had gone from 'freezing cold' to 'I can't feel my kidneys functioning cold', but she wouldn't have to put up with the chill for much longer.

As the woman entered the hangar, she finally managed to pull the jacket's sleeve onto her arm. Her eyes were set firmly on the floor in front of her, mindful of each step, as she ran through the sequence of events in her head one more time. She would check in with the maintenance worker. She would retrieve the ignition key. Then she would-

"Ah!" Lexi suddenly tried to exlaim, but it was really more of a muffled yelp, followed by an 'ow' and the sound of papers falling to the floor. For there, standing before her very eyes, was the female Sarajul pilot from earlier. Apparently admiring the Selvan's own mech, no less. She didn't have time to be staring blankly at strangers, though, and promptly moved to scoop up the paperwork she'd just dropped while mumbling an apology to nobody in particular.

Passing by his own room on the way down the pilots’ hall, a thought crept into Everard’s mind. A thought he immediately regretted having, but persistent and persuasive in nature. He stopped. Took a few steps back towards his door.

...Should he? It would burn a bridge he perhaps couldn’t afford to burn, and they would definitely find out. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew they would. And yet... this wasn’t about them anymore. He was free now. They couldn’t threaten to take anything away; they’d already pulled the trigger on that particular round of ammunition. He would do as he pleased.

And as he pleased Everard did. Hands trembling, rummaging through the luggage that had been delivered to his room, he happily constated that the box of office supplies he used to sketch out ideas for new additions to his mecha was there. Pencils, rulers… ah, there it was, craft knife.
Excellent.

If they wanted to cut him off, two could play at that game.

It was with a lighter head and more than a few uneven, straggling strands at the back of his head that Everard finally made his way to the hangar. The braided umbilical cord of his Obernian pride and heritage lay severed, its platinum blonde sheen topping a rubbage bin somewhere in the pilot’s quarters.

Without a word to the others who were now congregated in the mecha area, the biologist took the lift up to his own machine’s c***, climbed in, and began familiarizing himself with the handful of recently installed communications systems. He was thankful for the one-way visor that separated him from his now-coworkers: for the second time today, tears were rolling down his face.

Eventually the team made their separate ways into their mechs. Engineers quickly moved equipment out of the way. The comms began to become live with Co Abigail’s voice.
“Alright, Team looks like your readings are coming in clear. All mech systems are cleared and prepared to move to hangar doors.”
With that the hangar began to fill with the roar of machinery as the mechs surged to life. The pilots made their ways to the large bay doors as they screeched open revealing a landscape peppered in white snow. The sun gleamed of landscape, making it surprisingly beautiful in it’s own way.

“All mechs are cleared to scramble.” Abigail’s voice broke through again. With that the pilots began the march to their destination. The thudding of robotic footsteps and hum of the hydraulics moving them along was the only sound, only interrupted occasionally by directions from Mission Control and small banter between pilots. Each pilot was contemplating how the task at hand would go. Questioning their own and their teammates abilities.

After an awkward march the sight of the city’s walls was relieving. The large red walls stood out among the white hills and grey buildings. The wall seemed armored and had large turrets along it. Small outlines of people could be seen moving along the wall. As they reached the walls they formed a light defensive formation. The people along the walls appeared to be a mixture of military and various reporters of different nations. If it wasn't clear before it was now. The world was watching, waiting to see how the team would work.

“Alright team, it should come into view at any moment. Brace yourselves and prepare ranged weaponry. I can’t say how long you’ll have before it reaches you all. Due to its readings it appears to be moving fast. Remember if you need it the turrets on the city are ready to take over. Good luck guys. I’ll keep radio chatter to a minimum till the mission is over.” After Abigail spoke, the hum of various weapons could be heard charging up. Even the city turrets roared to life. That was when they heard it.

Thump, Thump, Thump.

A hush fell over the group, shortly after a the kaiju crested a hill in the distance. It was lizard-like in appearance. It appeared to have dark brown armored plating along the top of its body. Its tan skin could be seen peeking out of various crevices in the armor. A top it’s snout was a large horn leading back to a pair of bright blue eyes. The eyes darted around as it surveyed its environment. That fight was about to start, the was no going back now. The beast reared back before releasing a loud roar showing its maw full of jagged teeth. Then the beast lowered its head and charged forward. It’s running was erratic as it zipped side to side, opposed to running straight. The creature's tail lashed around behind it leaving ditches in the ground and sending puffs of snow and dirt up into the air. It would be upon the pilots in mere seconds.

((For prelaunch so people know what Mikan was doing, proper post coming later))

Mikan wasn't particularly happy with the meeting turned out. She felt as though her initiative to jump to the aid of others and confront aggressors may have stoked any tension and been misplaced. Anyone there could have just as easily been just as on guard as she was, besides not everyone had the same values as her, not even people from her nation, and it would be wrong to just dismiss them based on that. She'd have to apologize to the Sarajul man when next she had the chance.

Finally changed into her pilot gear she headed towards the hanger, to her Rankaku, a familiar piece of her home she hadn't been able to ride since arriving in this land of ice and snow. Surprisingly she felt he fit in rather well with his looks, though the warmth she felt looking at him was certainly contrast to the cold air. She saw Safiya and Lexi apparently chatting, offering no more than a wave, if they even noticed, then went on to do her own pre flight ritual.

She took the recorder out from her pocket and sat it on a cart nearby, pressing play before tilting her own head down and mouthing the words the other voices spoke. "On this day we pray for only one thing. Please allow us to protect those we serve and our fellow pilots. Should harm need to be done allow we who are prepared to accept it in the steed of others. We offer nothing more than our thanks and hope that it will be enough."
"Also make sure to double protect Mikan for us, she's already been through enough!" She quickly shot up to stop the recording as the one man added a line, cutting off another mid sentence. "Junbai, come on man this is supposed to be a gift fo-"

She blushed a little, but at least she knew better for next time. She climbed into her mech and hung her hat up on one of the higher levers, kissing a pair of fingers before placing them on the rim. Then the mech closed and stood ready for deployment.

((PRE-LAUNCH))

The beautiful white of Aleta’s ink-formed wings seemed to have taken on hint of red as the bug flew down the halls, pinned to the chest of a furious monk. He was maintaining his composure, restricting himself to a brisk walk rather than the sprint he would have preferred, but Raza had not felt such righteous indignation, such furor, in a long time. For The Arbiter to be shown such disrespect as to be laboured upon without proper sanctification wasn’t simply displeasing. It was unacceptable. Unacceptable.

But Raza was no fool. The ways of ‘iiradat Alsahra did not extend far beyond the reaches of the desert, and he knew that not every man and woman of the world bore the same reverence as he and his kin for the beasts that shaped the earth, nor for the guardians that formed mankind’s shield against the corrupted. Those that had performed the sacrilegious modification were blameless; engineers following orders. And the monk was not so naive as to think his chastising of the lieutenant would bear any immediate fruit. Military bureaucracy would see to that. No. With only a few hours until departure, Raza would have to take matters into his own hands. So he would.

---

The decorated Sarajul pilot sat, cross-legged, on a raised platform at eye level with The Arbiter. The din of ongoing preparation for the upcoming sortie filled the air below, while the sweet smell of burning incense rose in purple wisps to permeate the space above. Before him was the aberration, a camera module installed in a newly-drilled opening on The Arbiter’s forehead. It hadn’t taken long to find it, though Raza had spent the better part of an hour afterward scouring the rest of the mecha’s surface and interior for any other invasions. Thankfully, he found none. That left the camera. Eyes and hands locked in silent prayer, he began the consecration.

Ten minutes of meditation followed. Noise faded. The scent of incense grew omnipresent.

And Raza moved. Brushes in hand he rose as one possessed, arm describing large, fluid arcs through the air, striking the enormous lens again, again and again, covering it in layers upon layers of thick sky blue paint. Plunging one brush into a bucket of white, and the other into black, his large arcs became increasingly calculated as he replicated the symbol that adorned the storm clouds at the base of his neck: the Eye of Aleta.

A final stroke. Raza stilled, and opened his eyes. This would do. For the time being, this would do. He dropped the brushes and placed his right hand in the center of the design. It would leave a white print.

“Through blindness may you see,” he spoke with solemnity.

They were ready.

((pre-launch))

The talk with Safiya had been pretty intense. After gathering up the papers Lexi had dropped, it had consisted largely of slightly-too-long pauses as the two parties went back and forth. She had learned a lot, though. Safiya was an engineer, and... quiet. Not much else, actually. The ecologist had panicked when the subject of her own mech came up, and there were a few minutes where she just desperately tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about and not say anything damning. And frankly, she thought she had nailed it. Nevertheless, the hangar had started becoming a bit crowded after that, so she was glad for this reprieve.

"Pull!"

In the distance, a large object shot into the air. Under normal circumstances, this would likely be cause for alarm. But Alexandria was ready. She yanked on the controls of her mech with a forceful but precise movement. The weapon mounted on the outside of the machine rotated in accordance with its owner's instruction. Then, with an ear-splitting shunting sound, a composite slug burst from the end of its barrel and rocketed through the air. Both objects, projectile and target, hunter and prey, moved on a collision course. Like a cobra, the shell twisted toward its unsuspecting quarry. By the time the poor creature had detected its stalker's presence, it was already too late.

Which was just as well, because it went wide by several meters. The slug followed its arc to its inevitable conclusion before nestling comfortably in the hills in the distance.

Lexi released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. With a sigh, she allowed her arms to slacken and wiped some sweat from her forehead. Actively operating a mech was surprisingly physical work, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Her glasses were starting to fog up, though. She had taken them off and begun wiping them on the edge of her jacket when voice chirped over her communicator.

"Ooh, that was great, ma'am! Even closer than the last fifty-one!"

"T-thanks! I guess. I need it to be closer, though. Can you prepare to launch another one?" Alexandria requested, trying to remain cordial. She honestly wasn't sure how many more attempts she'd be able to coax out of the operator.

After a few seconds of silence, she heard a 'pop' and an obnoxious chewing noise. "Huuuh, I dunno, Miss Lexi. You've been at it for almost an hour now, you've used up several dozen practice shells, and we're almost out of pigeons. You just need to relax. You'll be fine, trust me! I've seen recruits that couldn't hit the broad side of those hills over there."

Alexandria had difficulty arguing. Not because she didn't disagree, but because she was afraid of getting on a training field operator's bad side on her very first day at the base. They would likely be seeing a lot of each other, after all. And anyway, he was being so supportive. She didn't want to push her luck. Suddenly, she heard a different voice over the communicator, one that sounded like the officer that had been accompanying the Commander before. Abigail, was it?

"Pilot Godotta, please promptly return with your mech to the hangar. The first field assignment will be commencing soon."

"Affirmative. On my way." Lexi grinned to herself a little as she said 'affirmative', then switched communication channels again. "Hey. Looks like I have to go now, anyway. Thanks for operating the equipment for me on such short notice."

"No problem, ma'am. You take it easy out there. In the meantime, I'll send Chuck to play fifty-two pickup." the voice on the other end replied. Then, the line went dead.

Alexandria adjusted her gloves and nervously chewed on her lower lip. That would have to do for a warm-up. It was time to go to work.

This cooperative post brought to you by the joint efforts of Shrapnel, Deciton_Reven, Semicolon, Kiki, Savvy, eh? and the wondrous Wizzquizz. Enjoy!

((Mid-travel banter))

Having mostly recovered his composure by the time the quintet marched out of the hangar doors, Everard finally had an opportunity to ask his fellow scientist for details about her weapons. “Oi, Alexandria. Are those tranquilizers of yours chemically based? Do they have to reach skin?” he asked, mentally slowing Rhetoric’s large strides in order to stay synced with the rest of the group.

There were a few moments of silence before Lexi responded. "Yes. Aerosol based soporifics have proven too unreliable for general use against kaiju. But if blood runs through its veins, a fluid injection can knock it out. The dosage has to be specifically adjusted for each target, though. You might accidentally kill an especially small kaiju with an overdose, and with larger ones, inappropriate doses can have all kinds of unintended side-effects." She flipped through the relevant pages in the briefing file as her own mech trotted along on autopilot. "Hornitor... The tranquilizer rounds won't be able to penetrate the plating on its back. I'd need to get at its underside. That or get really lucky." The ecologist relaxed a bit as she spoke. Thinking about the kaiju in a theoretical framework helped to distract her from the fact that she'd soon be fighting it.

“What if you had a hole? Puncture wound?” came the reply, as the young biologist grasped the harpoon strung across his mecha’s back and began attaching its end to the magnetic chain in his machine’s left arm. “Slander here is designed to pierce through armor, I may be able to get you an opening.”

"You named your weapons too? How fun! Maybe I'll do that as well." Lexi responded with a laugh. Then she realized that she should probably get to the point and cleared her throat before continuing. "Right, um, if the armor could be penetrated, that should work. I'm worried about Hornitor's behavior, though, for a couple of reasons. Judging from this description, our target will likely be very fast and not particularly large. It would need to be completely immobilized for me to be able to hit something the size of a puncture wound. And if it ignores us and goes straight for the wall, I'm not sure how we'll stop it." she postulated.

“Regardless of how it is brought to its knees, I would ask that you all refrain from dispatching the beast until The Arbiter is in position to provide an appropriate escort to the life beyond,” interrupted a third voice.

“And if we are to discuss strategy, I would have your names. I am Raza Al-Amin. I dislike asking twice.”

"Raza huh?" Mikan's proxy voice came on the line, a far more digitized version of the one from the room. "All right then. EMT Mikan Houtoro reporting. I specialize in close range combat, but my mech is equipped with long distance flak cannons too. If anyone sustains any personal injuries make sure to report them to me asap. I'm going to be responsible for patching you up in the event of an emergency."

"Also I know I probably came off as a little rude but I am really glad to have you on the team Raza. I've only got about 6 years of piloting experience, and very little of it is actually fighting Kaiju, so I'm going to rely on you if that's okay." Without the NVOX to modulate it the feed sounded especially hollow, but the face cam showed her with a dorky smile and a thumbs up.

Alexandria shrunk in her seat as Mikan spoke. If six years of active duty was supposed to be a modest amount of experience, what would they think if they found out she didn't even have six months' worth of training? She'd never even encountered a kaiju while in a mech before, much less fought one. She had been counting on her knowledge to carry her through this, but after today, she wasn't so sure that would be enough.

“Six years? That is respectable, Mikan.” Raza’s expectations for his team had been on a steady decline since the briefing room, so the revelation that – despite her attire – the one in the miniskirt was bringing some real experience to the table. “Trust that it is my duty to be relied upon. Your confidence is well-placed.”

Interesting, interesting, Ev thought, subconsciously lifting Rhet’s left arm to rub a non-existent chin. Perhaps it was the nervousness brought on by the oncoming fight, or maybe everyone felt more comfortable now that they were in their own secluded spaces, but the group was far more chattersome than before. He was relieved to hear Mikan apologize to the man he now knew as Raza; maybe she wasn’t so hard to talk to.
“I believe I can immobilize it, or at least slow it down if I have some help.” he said, continuing his conversation with Alexandria. “Are any of your machines built for the front lines? Vibrant can hold its ground in a pinch, but ideally I’d like to be up on the wall until I can get a clean harpoon shot in.”

“The Arbiter brings judgement from near and far,” Raza replied. “If your mecha are built to fight from a distance, I will engage the front.”

“On that subject,” he added after a brief pause, scanning the faces on the video feeds. “The Arbiter has seen many battles. As its pilot, I have slain seven. How many others have experienced combat?”

“Three,” spoke Safiya, her presence nearly forgotten as the rest of the team communicated with each other. In truth, she had only been party to one killing of a Kaiju, while the other two were merely incapacitated temporarily. In her books, that was ideal, but she was not sure whether this Kaiju would go down as easily as the others. Had she felt it beneficial to their cause, she would have explained this distinction, but for the time being she kept it to herself.

“I can distract it with an explosive shot,” she followed up, promptly.

“I’ve had several fights against other mecha in the past year, nearly one every week, but I’m afraid I’ve never fought a Kaiju.” Everard chimed in, happy that everyone seemed to be getting along despite the day’s rocky start and the fact that he had called their mechs rustbuckets earlier on. The group knew how to put their differences behind them when it came time for action, he supposed.
“If Raza and Safiya are distracting it, I’ll provide suppressive fire and start slowing it down until it gets close enough to be harpooned. I can immobilize it from there.”
With that, the graduate threw Slander at the top of the guard wall, crouched down as the weapon’s claws latched into the structure, then leapt while the Premise winch did the rest. Perched as a gargoyle on his concrete cathedral, he surveyed their battlefield-to-be, Strawman’s shafts keeping him snugly in place.
“Subject not yet in visual range, standing by.”

“Got it,” the Kaiyokese pilot confirmed. “I’ll stay back and provide range support until it gets too close for my cannons then switch to melee. Be advised my total squad kills amount to two, individual kills zero. We generally divert Kaiju. I suppose if we’re able to I’d like to keep those numbers.”

With that she began to move to flank. It would allow her clean shots and the chance to intercept without catching allies in crossfire or needing to worry about being caught in it herself.

Good, good. Raza’s team was coming together. They were green, but workable. The Obernian upstart had at least a basic sense for strategy. The Kaiyokese and Sarajul women had enough experience to provide relevant support. The Selvan- had yet to speak. Suspicious, Raza scanned the video communications screens. His eyes narrowed.

“Why is the Selvan biologist piloting the green mecha?”

"I-" Alexandria had been waiting quietly, hoping that nobody would notice if she didn’t say anything else. Now, she struggled to find the words, any words, that would sufficiently answer the man's question without revealing herself to lack any field experience whatsoever. If such words existed, they eluded her. She tried not to let her anxiety show, now painfully aware of the video feeds thanks to Mikan.
"I... I-it's here!" The woman finally shouted over the communicator, and sounding entirely too happy about it. As the kaiju Hornitor's silhouette crested the horizon, she began moving into position toward one side of the wall. She brought her arms to bear, thankful that she had been spared having to deal with Raza's inquiry for the second time that day. If she did well enough here, maybe he wouldn't ask again.

And there it was, somehow they had devised a plan together as a team. It wasn’t incredibly creative, but everyone had a practical role to play. Now all they had to do was pray that it all fell into place.

Moving into position, Safiya engaged her Sol Slinger and activated the flash mode. There was a loud “thunk” as the ammo chambers were swapped, and the explosive rounds were loaded. As a series of targeting rings and environmental indicators flashed on her screen around the approaching image of the Kaiju, Safiya took aim.

“Get ready” stated Safiya, in her usual unreadable demeanour. The mecha fired the explosive round from the Sol Slinger, a whistling sound whizzing in the air as it flew towards its target. All according to plan, the round would explode brilliantly in a shower of pyrotechnic sparks with a sonorous boom, right within the immediate vicinity of the Hornitor.

“Mikan, it was? Are you to tell me you’re some sort of Kaiju sympathizer?”

Though the voice that came in over the radios was practiced, controlled, Everard couldn’t hide his disgust from the video feed.

“That thing means to kill people. It will kill people, if we don’t stop it. You think these little walls and guns are what deters it? No. You may have more field experience with the beasts than I, but don’t fool yourself. Every attempt it has made was a scouting mission. A test. What good will relocation do when it can simply crawl its way back, ever more information of our abilities stored in its cursed mind, knowing what it needs to topple these walls once and for all?”

A horde of Thesis missiles flew from Rhetoric’s shoulder - about half of the mecha's reserves - their pilot mentally guiding them to their target: the underside of Hornitor’s left flank.

“We end this today.”

Lexi grimaced as the Obernian rebuffed Mikan, and over such an innocuous statement. This guy wasn't just ambivalent toward kaiju, he actually seemed to harbor an intense malice toward them, to think that they were somehow evil. The ecologist had never known anybody to have that kind of attitude, not even back in Selvagran, where the beasts were especially dangerous. Surely, the young man must have been aware that his position on kaiju wasn't particularly popular, or even common, so why did he address Mikan with such assurance? Were the things he was saying supposed to be self-evident?

The Selvan shook her head. There wasn't time to debate natural philosophy right now. It wouldn't even matter if they weren't able to subdue the creature quickly. Her mech skidded to a stop, leaving sizable divots in the snow-topped soil as she finished moving into position, then she examined the battlefield. Safiya's Solar Plexus and Rhet, as the yet unnamed Obernian called his own mech, had already commenced their assault on Hornitor. Mikan and her Rankaku were currently approaching it from the flank, and- well, the Arbiter hadn't done anything in particular yet, but the creature was probably intimidated by it. Lexi certainly was.

With as much crap flying around as there was, something was bound to hit their target. Might as well add her own two cents. Lexi eased her mech's legs apart, lowering its stance, and placed one long arm on the ground for stability. The rail gun on its side raised toward the horizon with a mechanical whir. The woman noted the cluster of seemingly guided projectiles that Vibrant Rhetoric had launched and were now approaching Hornitor from its left.

Well that's, eh... Creative? She noted, trying not to think too hard about it. Even so, this gave her an opening. Taking careful aim, she directed her weapon's barrel to the kaiju's right. With the addition of Vibrant Rhetoric's missiles on the opposite side, and whatever Safiya's projectile was directly ahead, it would have nowhere to go. Cautious not to aim too close to Mikan's position, she fired a standard shell toward the approaching creature, hoping desperately that something would hit it. She likely wouldn't have time for another shot before it was upon them.

The dots connected. He wasn't a young ace at all. The Obernian was actually a spoiled kid with deep pockets. It wasn't even going to be worth it to try to rebutt him. Not only were his views not from a place of reason or logic, he was also wrong about her beliefs. He was arguing air, and it's name was Mikan. All she could do was shake her head and aim her Pepper Cannons at the head of Hornitor and aim a good shot. Hopefully taking out an eye would end it's mad charge, or at least ruin it's depth perception and make it unviable, if not force it to redirect to the problem and come for her.

That whistle was her cue, Safiya's distraction must have just been launched. Careful, aim and... she noticed something on her scans, someone had launched a missile salvo, she could guess who. She quickly stopped her plan.

"Hey." The voice came on the line. "Where was that salvo call out, I almost took out a chunk of those with my flak cannons." But soon she saw the missiles weren't aimed at the creature's head, but lower, towards a leg perhaps? She would have still been able to get a clear shot had she taken it. No point in it now, the creature was either going to be stopped where it was or continue to get closer to friendlies.

"Sorry couldn't take a clean shot, switching to melee and approaching. Please guys I need your call outs to know my lanes, I don't want to get friendly fired on and I'm not going to be able to talk well with busy hands." She was still a bit out from her target so she wouldn't interfere with any immediate plans, so she'd hope, and there should be time for her to stop if needed.

As expected. The engagement began with the furious string of ranged attacks characteristic of a team – and Raza used the word loosely – a team that had only the faintest outline of a strategy, and little resembling a plan. But the conversation on the way to the site had fulfilled its purpose; there was at least an attempt at coordination. He would make due.

The Arbiter crouched, a titanic sprinter in the snow readying itself to run. The Tuhma engines on its legs whirred to life, eager heat melting the snow on the frozen hill the desert guardian had been called to protect. In the moments remaining before the battle commenced in earnest, Raza recited the prayer he had spoken a thousand times before.

“‘iiradat Alsahra, guide the hands of thy servant. Condone this violence free from malice, violence in the name of peace. By thy blades will I deliver justice, with thy hammer, judgment. It will be so.”

A robotic voice came over the airwaves, calling for close-range engagement. This one knew her way around a battlefield.

“Confirming,” responded Raza. “Preparing to engage in melee.”

His eyes were locked on Hornitor, awaiting its response to the barrage of projectiles. When a defensive maneuver or well-placed explosion caused any part of it to lift, he would rush forward, arms down and thrusters active to collide with the beast and force it to its back.

The Kaiju’s charge sharply turned as the brilliant display from Sol Slinger dazed the creature. Hornitor changed its course now running toward Serpentine Dreams, which would soon prove to be a mistake on its part.

A barrage of Thesis missiles connected with the beast. The Thesis missiles connecting with the armor atop it’s head, while not appearing to hurt the beast much, the continued thrust from the missiles pushed Hornitor’s head downward. To finally free itself the beast threw its head skyward. Then the blast connected, A standard shot from Lexi’s rail gun. The beast lowered its head and let out a whimper and a cough as it shook its head. Then its eyes snapped up locking forward to the direction of Serpentine Dreams. The Kaiju reared back letting out a roar and preparing to charge.

This was the moment The Arbiter had been waiting for. An echoing pulse could be heard as the Tuhma engines pushed the mech into the beast. Hornitor distracted and raised on its hind legs didn’t see the attack coming until it was too late. The large shield chakrams connected with the beast. Knocking it onto its side.

Hornitor flailed about quickly getting to its feet before lunging in the direction of Raza. Its Jaws snapping the air as the blinded beast desperately try to hit its assailant.

Lexi pumped her fist in silent celebration as not only her own, but every one else's attacks found their mark as well. Then she covered her mouth as Hornitor whimpered, hoping they hadn't hurt it too badly. Then she scanned the other pilots' video feeds to make sure nobody had seen her do either of those two things. Fortunately, they all looked quite preoccupied. As Raza's mech rushed into grappling range of the creature, the Selvan worked the controls to make her mech stand back up to its full height. Perhaps the kaiju was weak enough now that they'd be able to restrain it, but it certainly wasn't so weak that it wasn't able to retaliate against the Sarajul man's advance. With the two combatants grappling each other, taking a shot with her rail gun would be too risky, but this was a perfect opportunity for something else. The woman's mech rushed forward at her bidding, flanking Hornitor as it battled the Arbiter. Once she was far enough to the side that the mech wasn't between her and the creature, she raised one of her own machine's spindly arms. Remembering what Mikan had said, she spoke into her communicator.

"I'm going to try tethering it. Don't worry about avoiding the cable, just focus on Hornitor!" She instructed briefly. Then she took aim at the kaiju's plating and let fly the tether. Her hand hovered over the console, prepared to hit the release switch in case it hit anything other than its target.