File 10.12 - Grim Struggles

Standing defiant against the giants, the small Jiao armed only with a rifle stared down the enemy. While each had damage to different degrees, they all represented a real threat still. “I’m going to make you pay if you want my life!”

“The enemy transport is on the move, sir,” reported Aerona, still working around to regroup with the damage the Skadi sustained.

Ansgar dropped the sword out of the right hand, no longer able to reliably swing it. He switched to the left hand preparing to deal with the present threat. “Air, we’ll handle this. Keep that transport grounded! No one’s escaping today!”

“Yes, sir!”

Schir’s monitor detected the change of the Black Devil. She punched the console, getting all of the remaining emplacements open. Fighting back her tears, she tried to carry out her Captain’s orders. “I won’t let you shoot down the Lieutenant!”

“Multiple energy sources detected,” Air relayed. She still had her primary weapon, but within the city it would cause too much damage. The Skadi had to rely on the one still functioning forearm beam weapon and back up rifle.

“Can you still move?” Ansgar asked Ed, seeing the extensive damage the Od took.

He wanted to have some bravado to show in front of the Ensign, but it was empty. Ed sided with honesty seeing how the battle played out. “Nah, best I got is this. Yer gonna need to hold ‘im down if ya want meh tah get a clean shot. The targetin’ system is offline.”

“Very well…I’ll see what I can do!” Pushing the Njord forward, there came a little sluggish response. Once moving it was enough to stay running. However, the Ormt still had the maneuverability over the Njord. It still had its functionality barely even damaged from this fight. The only part working in his favor was the pilot had to be exhausted, not that his movements showed that. He still charged with a fierceness that none of them could match.

Firing off a couple of wild shots, the Od tried to push the Ormt into a better position for the Njord. Wielding the large sword was slow with only one functioning arm and limited his range. The small machine had too much maneuverability against it. It could easily keep both at bay, but nothing more than that.

Dragging the fight out away from the city, Cal lured the Blue Devil towards traps they placed. By luck though, it avoided triggering any of them. Triggering them with his rifle, explosions ripped up around the machine weakening the footing. With a damaged leg already, it stumbled hard trying to keep balance. “I’ll take at least one of you down!” He fired off several point blank shots from his rifle into the chest and shoulder of the machine.

Despite the damage, the Njord stretched out through the blasts and smoke, grabbing the machine tightly in both arms. “Now! Do it!”

“Gotcha bastard!” Ed lined up the shot with his good eye manually struggling with the sluggish controls. The arm of the Od didn’t move the way he wanted it. But he could get it into his sights. Firing the rifle, the beam blew past the head with the heat melting and damaging the camera. “Dammit, missed!” He readjusted the sights getting his second shot ready when suddenly the machine went silent. “Out of power?!” Ed had been ignoring the warning flashing at him.

“Edgar?” Ansgar looked at the command window seeing the status of the Od and slammed his fist down. “Fine, I’ll just crush it. I should be fine even with a blast this close.”

Noticing the failure, Cal sent the signal to emplacement hitting the Blue Devil in the back. Enough damage loosened the hold and he pushed back to get his Jiao’s arm up ramming the beam rifle into the shoulder joint of the machine. Firing several shots off, the shoulder exploded and melted under the intense heat.

Jumping out of the freed hold, he grabbed the massive sword it wielded, dragging it behind him. The emplacement hammered the Blue one down giving him the open to crawl over to the Green Devil. “I’ll avenge you, Pol!”