World Tree MUSH

    "If we work together we can still break through." states Stelle, as the alarm continues to blare in its three-pulse rotation. March blinks. "What's got you fired up all of a sudden?" earning a shrug and sheepish grin from the Trailblazer.

    Serval huffs, "We've made it this far. I could lose an arm and a leg for all I care. I have to lay eyes on the Stellaron. Back to the supply hub. Anyone who gets in the way, we'll teach them a thing or two."

    The Engirockineer strides off, plucking a halberd from one of the felled guard to use as a weapon. She leads the way back, as groups of Silvermane Guard rush around, taking up defensive positions and barring the way back to the central plaza area and the Energy Supply Matrix Hub.

    "We'll need to make a plan fast." Talia chimes to Stelle. She follows Serval with her lightsaber hilt in hand. It would appear the team's presence has become deeply unwelcome here, with the alarms blaring. There's no time for sidequesting now, they need to settle things here and now.

    "C'dakhi," Talia says gently to the catman, "We'd rather avoid bloodshed if we can help it. Try and keep your blades unstained for now." She advises. Talia then narrows her eyes as she observes the plaza. They may need to find a way around this.

    Clara is busy tending to one of the injured out Silvermane Guards with a first aid kit, when the alarms start.
    "Oh..." She murmurs almost sadly when it looks like there's no more sneaking around and now going to be a lot more fighting.
    "Yes- please try to keep from hurting them too badly, they're just doing their jobs and have it worse off dealing with the Fragmentum monsters as it is." She says quietly while Svarog vanishes from sight when his cloaking systems kick into gear once again.
    "... What are we gonna do?" She does ask as she follows after Serval while the guards rush around to likely try and cut the party off.

    Bi De wiggles himself out of the backpack once the alarm is going. "They are deceived, and we should avoid unneeded casualties," he agrees, shaking himself off as he stretches. "I can send a decoy out to draw some off, that should help. Perhaps create an opening to push through. Will that help?"
    He just used this technique, but he isn't weakened by weeks underground now, so has plenty of Qi to do the shimmering split into a silvery and a black pair of roosters, one of which, the bright white one, dashes off in a different direction.

>> SUMMARY[Bi De] >> Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Distract!

    Unfortunately, Jessica is bad at the whole 'nonlethal' thing. Best she can do is work on covering fire! Or blowing away cover. "I'm going to try, okay?" Which, well, she can actually do pretty well. The people here do understand guns, so...

    Snapping shots over their heads should be enough to keep said heads down. It's easy to say 'we have the advantage' but it's a lot harder to be the first one out when bullets are flying, right?

    C'dakhi looks up at a wall, listening to the alarm blare. "...Beats a Garlean alarum honkin'," he decides. Pause, a look around. "...Though this place coulld bloody pass f'r a Garlean base..."

    As he heads after Stelle and Serval, Talia gets his attention. Her words... actually seem to confuse him, but he nods nonetheless. "Whatever ye say, ma'am," he confirms, sheathing his dual daggers. Definitely for the best, because he's essentially carrying the equivalent of two full-sized bowie knives, using one in each hand.

    Clara's clarification gets a nod as well. "Which I s'pose 're jus' as bad as th' nasty critters what end up bein' attracted t' corrupted crystals."

    The mention of 'unneeded casualties' from Bi De gets a smirk. "Less they 'old over 'eads, eh?" For once, C'dakhi's planning on staying towards the front. They're unlikely to have to go back, given what Serval has said, so that's not a direction they'll need to worry much about.

    The miqo'te Seeker is quite fast and nimble, and given the multiple elements of attack, both for single targets and groups, his point-defense should be useful.

    That said, he DID promise to be careful and not kill anybody, so all he's doing is wind, water, and earth -- mainly just using the elements to move people out of their way.

    Though he actually has an idea for Jessica! "Oi," he calls to her quietly. He suggests, "Ye think ye could bullseye their weapons? Maybe shields? Could cripple 'em if they got magitek weapons. Shields can make some 'a these nonlethal attacks get t' their targets better."

    As the group move, the suppressing fire from Jessica and March keep the melee fighters heads down. The riflemen fire back, making the Nameless and allies have to move from junk-pile to low-wall to overturned cart.

    Seele grumbles. "If I'd know about the Encryption key to start with, I coulda snuck in and taken it without raising the alarm." she says.

    Serval's quick to shoot back though. "Should'a, would'a, could'a Seele, just activating the bridge would've exposed us."

    The runs back to the Hub isn't long, and with the key, Serval gets in and starts tinkering with the device. It's takes a couple of minutes, with everyone having to keep the local garrison's response force at bay, but Serval, after several grouses about how unintuitive the operating system is, "Rock 'n' Roll Dance Floor Atmosphere Mode, WHO THE HECK ADDED THAT?! And they used one of my songs!", finally gives a whoop of success, "Got it! We can operate the bridge now, lets go!"

    The human soldiers are keeping their distance now, but as the group move toward the Bridge and the associated terminal, a big Grizzly-class robot stands guard. It looks a bit worn and worse-for-wear than the others that were nearby earlier.. perhaps it was left behind due to waiting for maintenance or such.

    <<TACTICAL ALERT. HOSTILE UNITS AP-P-P-PROACHING. ENGAGING WEA-EA-EAPO-O-ON SYS--SYS...>> it tries to say, one of its arms trying to rotate a buzz-saw blade into place, but getting stuck.

    Annnnnd the literal warzone becomes... Well... A warzone.
    Clara does her best to keep her herself down and low, hands covering her head as she scrambles after everyone. There's a harrowing moment where gunfire plinks at her and Clara squeaks, falling onto her rump.
    But the shots never hit her as the air ripples and Svarog's armored bulk crouches over Clara, gunfire spanging off his metal body.
    "Are you alright, Clara?"
    "I-I'm fine!" She bleats as she picks herself up and gets back to going.
    It's when the soldiers hang back that something obviously no good comes.
    That's when the Grizzly approaches.
    And while the others may see it as a threat... Clara frowns.
    Gentle, sweet, caring Clara feels her heart break just a little bit from the condition the machine is in as it activates to stop the group, threatening them with an arm that barely even works.
    "You poor thing..." She says as she approaches it, heedless of the danger, Svarog uncloaking immediately in that same moment.
    "Stand down." Svarog says. "In your current state the likelihood of your destruction in combat is 97.9 percent." he points out to the machine while Clara... Pops open a panel and starts just futzing with its wiring.

    So much for the High Ground. Talia decides against climbing up high for now. Instead, they make their way to the Hub and Talia gets to Crowd Control. "You have one chance to lay down your arms and leave peacefully." She says, activating her lightsaber and brandishing it defensively to block enemy fire.

    She bats away projectiles, deftly avoiding their molten remains as they fly through her lightsaber. She uses her lightsaber as a boomerang, hurling it at the chains holding a cannon's barrel before she grabs it and hurls that at the feet of some of the soldiers, just in time for her lightsaber to return to her hand.

    Now it's time for melee, as Talia cuts rifles in half and delivers snap kicks to knock goons out.

    Once the distraction is done, the clone rooster vanishes into motes of Qi, and Bi De's coloration returns to normal. "That should give us some time." Fortunately he isn't the only combatant here, so he didn't have to fight while the others did that work.

    Now, though, it's getting messy. At least they have a breather from the soldiers, but Bi De hops over to a nearby elevated area, ready to get involved if Clara's tinkering doesn't work. "I hope that you are right, I dislike fighting these mechanical creatures."

    Jessica keeps her pistol trained on the wary guards, but if they aren't attacking she isn't going to shoot. Especially when the guardian starts to rouse! She flattens her ears in worry. "Ohhh... these tend to be rough," she mumbles, more as a warning to C'dakhi than anyone else, since the others have seen them. "At least this one looks old. Maybe Clara can help."

    C'dakhi figures that the 'no kill' probably doesn't apply to magitek monstrosities, and as far as he knows that's what this weird robot is. So as the thing confronts them, he draws his daggers again. Then again it DOES look kinda pitiful, doesn't it? Hopefully Clara can deal with it before they have to fully turn it into scrap.

    Meanwhile, if they're still being shot at, C'dakhi has kunai, and the guards have hands. If they're all armored, the kunai shouldn't do anything but cause impact.

    Jessica's warning gets a nod. "Aye, looks it," he agrees. "...'Leastways... under normal circumstances. I got lightnin' if'n we need t' put it down fast."

    <UNIT GZL-331, DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS USER AND SUBUNIT. IDENTIF-F-F-FY.> states the Grizzly, but doesn't try to stop Clara from doing her thing. It's internals are a mess. Patched and repatched circuits, some parts are even incompatible with the Grizzly model, looking to have come from a Direwolf and a Beetle. No wonder it's having so much trouble. It's likely in a lot of 'pain' too, judging by the way its servos are vibrating, causing the entire frame to shudder erratically.

    The soldiers can't get close, with Talia hurling chunks of their own defensive installations at them, then barging in to disable rifles and cause chaos. The others provide enough deterance to allow Clara time enough to get the Grizzly working again, at least in part.

    <MAINTENANCE WORKERS USED WRONG PARTS... HURT ME... RED FRIEND, GO. I WILL STOP THEM FROM FOLLOWING.>

    Given the opening, Serval activates the bridge, aligning it to allow the group to progress through and to the actual frontlines.

    "Serval... your brother may be up ahead. If we can't convince him, we may need to fight him." comes Dan Heng's level tone as the group move across the bridge.
    Serval nods. "My word is my bond. If we can't talk him down... I'll stand with you to the end. A Landau's word is their bond."

    And... as the group pass through a large gate and come to the main staging area, a familiar blonde man stands with a guitar-case, and a squad of halberdiers behind him. "Serval... it really is you."

    Ah, as expected. The siblings are now confronting one another. And Bi De is there, strutting up next to Serval. Showing his support. Readying for battle. Bi De is kind of culturally ignorant, as others have probably seen. His exposure seems to come mostly from the rites and traditions of ancient martial artists, and some farm life, with a twist on this avian background.

    Thus he really can't be blamed for saying what comes next.

    The rooster settles, fluffing his feathers and then stroking his wattles with a wing. In that deep, serious, rich-timbred voice, he intones...

    "So. It has come to this."

    It's hasty work, but Clara knows what she's doing. Removing some parts here, adjusting others, re-patching wires a bit more properly. It's not her best work but she does what she can under the circumstances and with what she has in her bags and gear to at least alleviate the machine's obvious pain, before she gently closes the panel. "Just try not to hurt them, they were doing the best for you with what they had." She points out when the Grizzly says it's going to stop the soldiers.
    So when the bridge aligns properly and Clara follows after the others she slows down at the familiar sight of Gepard.
    "Ah..."
    This likely isn't going to go well.

    Oh dear. This looks to be an emotionally charged encounter in this frozen land. A metaphorical frost nova. Jessica really doesn't want to see that, so she does what she can, lifting her pistol to level at the halbardiers.

    "I um... really think you should step back and let these two sort things out..." she says to the guards, motioning with the pistol.

    Oh blast.

    Talia has been handling these goons with kid gloves for the most part since they got here. Trying to clear your name when killing the guys who are chasing you is a bad idea, it just makes them more inclined to simply walk you to the gallows.

    She turns her saber off and simply observes for now. She remembers how it felt to be suddenly on opposing sides of someone she saw as a sister, so Talia gives Serval a sympathetic look.

    "Gepard, wait a sec, listen to m---" begins Serval, trying to intercept the coming accusations...

    But it's to no avail. Gepard begins. "When the sentry reported to me, I thought there must have been a misunderstanding. The enemy alarm had to be unrelated to your entry into the restricted zone -- Perhaps the intruders had taken you hostage." he looks across the assembled group. "And yet..." his face softens just a touch. "Step away from the intruders, Serval. Walk over slowly and stand behind me. You're different from them."

    Serval shakes her head, her face hardening even as her voice trembles. "I'm sorry... we have an understanding. I stand with them." when Gepard doesn't immediately retort, Serval makes another attempt. "Give me a few minutes, just a few. I'll explain every---"

    "Enough, Serval!" it's not meant to be. Gepard's face has hardened into a block of glacial ice. "Have you forgotten where we are?" he asks. "We landaus ought to know this place better than anywhere. The outer reaches of the front line against the Fragmentum, Belobog's most strategic protective fortress."

    His ire and righteous anger are so potent Serval even takes a half-step back from the vitriol her brother emits.

    "Every Silvermane Guard... Every person here, is ready to sacrifice themselves, ready to spill their blood for Belobog at a moment's notice." He grits his teeth, barely restraining his voice from yelling. "Yet here you are leading furgitives into the restricted zone, attacking my Silvermane comrades-in-arms, hijacking the energy hub! Are you really worthy of the Landau name?!"

    Serval rallys. "Why do you think I came? We've found a way to dispell the Eternal Freeze, to seal the Fragmentum! It might be the only lifeline this world has left!"

    "If that were true, why would you sneak in here, instead of bringing it to Madam Cocolia's attention?" shoots Gepard in return.
    "Because she's the ony preventing us from even getting close to the truth! She shut down my research, she instantly turned on these outsiders for even mentioning the Stellaron. She's made every other hint of it vanish from the face of the planet! How can you be so blind, brother?!"

    "I know about the Stellaron, Serval. Madam Cocolia has revealed the truth of it to me. These people want to steal this treasure from the Architects for their own nefarious interests." He shakes his head. "I believe you think you're acting in the best interests of Belobog... but we have no time to deal with you. Guards! Formation! We could be innundated with Fragmentum monsters at any moment. Arrest these intruders!"

    The guard handle their weapons, and Gepard slams his 'weapon' against the flagstones, a shimmering field of rainbow energy flickering into existence around his troops, before turning invisible again.

    There's a tense silence as Talia watches. She sighs in disappointment as Gepard seems to stand defiant. Yet again, bonds of family aren't enough to end conflict. There's nothing yet to do here but fight. "You will not stop us." She says tacitly as she activates her lightsaber with a flourish of the green blade.

    She glances to Serval for a moment, and the look on her face communicates regret. But also a promise; 'He won't be harmed.'

    Talia has no need to shed blood today. Metaphorically anyways, the lightsaber cauterizes injuries.

    Rushing into the fray, Talia leaps and reaches out with her hand to yank rifles and other weapons out of the hands of guards with the Force, cutting guns and pole arms apart with her saber then she delivers a force push to knocks off their feet.

    Jessica's ears wilt at this. She can see from the way the discussion is going that it's not going to end well, but she breathes in a sigh and readies her pistol. "Let's try not to hurt them too much..."

    Which isn't to say she's confident of victory. Indeed, keeping it relatively non-lethal is going to make victory harder! She pulls her originium pistol out as well, but as soon as things break down, she fires off several shots with the normal one over the heads, and then aims one at a leg, to test how that apparent barrier works. Good to know how tough these guys are before they engage in closer!

    Bi De settles to watch the two siblings talk it out. Or... not. While he is a calm sort, the bird this time fluffs up feathers and, as the guards are empowered, flexes talons and steps forward. There's a quiver in the air, a shimmering like a heat mirage, as he draws in Qi like a deep breath.

    "I have remained quiet through many such accusations," he says in that deep voice. "Yet they continue despite all evidence and statements to the contrary. You and your allies have accused myself and my allies - some of whom have demonstrated their unfaltering resolve to help others at great cost to themselves - of deception and malice with no evidence but the word of the one who stands the most to gain from lying."

    He clucks loudly, "I have had enough. If we must subdue you to advance, so be it." He doesn't wait for the first strike this time, launching forward with a spinning kick and talon outstretched, attempting to slice a halberd in half as an opening strike.

    Oh. Oh dear. Gepard isn't listening. It doesn't sound like he's going to listen at all.
    Clara flinches when the guard captain yells at his own sister.
    It's bad enough that a small hand sets on Serval's shoulder as she starts backing down in the face of that ire.
    "You have to let us through... We have to stop the Stellaron, please." Clara pleads. "Cocolia-- she won't listen, it's--"
    It's something Cocolia has apparently told Gepard about.
    "..."
    Clara bites her lip.
    Because as Gepard raises that shield and the guards raise their weapons, Svarog can be heard.
    "He will not listen to reason. Please stand back, Clara."
    This is when Svarog's nearly ten foot tall mechanical form appears, uncloaking as light refracts and bends and ripples around him until he's visible again.
    In Gepard's face.
    A might SWING batters against the barrier. And then another punch hits it. He takes a good moment battering into the shield, laying into it with his immense bulk and superb strength... Before he reaches forward... And digs his fingers into the barrier's rippling light-- which he slowwwwwwwly starts to tear apart with a visible ripple of light.

>> SUMMARY[Clara] >> AN A.T. FIELD?!!? It's no use! As long as that A.T. Field is up... He can't touch Gepard! ... Svarog tore through that A.T. Field like it was nothing...!

    "The forbidden is only forbidden to conceal the truth within. Cocolia's afraid we'll seize on this knowledge, that the truth with spread far and wide. To save the world, we must risk it all." she shakes her head, gripping her stolen halberd a bit tighter. "I've said my piece, whether you believe it or not is up to you. Regardless, you should know by now your sister's never been one to back down. If there's something or someone you can't abide, you stand up and resist... if there's something you uphold, you do it to the very end." She nods to Talia, a determination in her eyes, but a bit of gratitude as well.

    Even as Talia yanks weapons and disarms the troops, her Push, seems to meet a brick wall and stops against the barrier, making the field shimmer, and not disrupting the troops behind it. They back off to get replacement weapons, but fresh troops step up to replace them, firing shots at the Jedi, until she disarms them in turn.

    "Save your explanations for the judge. You are charged with sabotage of the Restricted Zone. In my capacity as Captain I hereby order these fugitives be arrested." he glowers at Talia for a moment, then back to Serval. "This isn't like our childhood games, Serval. You won't get any leniency from me."

    Serval charges up, and slams her weapon against the shield, causing it to spiderweb with cracks for a brief moment, it then 'refreshes' but can now be seen faintly. "The Barrier hasn't been fixed yet. Don't be a hero Gepard!"

    Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th and Seele ready their own weapons, and charge in at the barrier wall. The defensive shield, which held out against the full fury of March's Six Phased Ice Arrow Bombardment, is already starting to show signs of depletion... and the modified guitar case emits a spark, and a puff of smoke..

    Jessica's normal bullets sprang off the barrier, leaving little cracks in the field which repair after a moment. The barrier is a wall that reaches well over the guards heads, and all the way to the floor. It's meant to provide a bulwark for the soldiers to hunker behind while picking off enemies in just a situation as this.

    Bi De's fury connects with the shield, the Qi-empowered strike failing to hit its target, but causing the shield to buckle and spiderweb drastically with many cracks in the energy field.

    Svarog then steps into the fray. As the Barrier deflects Bi De away, the giant metal man starts whaling on the weakened barrier, causing more cracks, and some failure points... that allow him to tear the entire wall of energy apart with his big strong hands.

    This, however, brings the melee fighters into the mix, they were standing back to hunker behind the barrier, but now with it defeated they rush in with their weapons swinging at the group, the gunners firing supporting shots, while the cannoneers provide back-up fire, kneeling to unleash a shot as their assigned melee fighters land theirs, and juke aside, a wave of bodies, bullets and tactical repositioning landing on the group.

    Gepard grunts as his 'weapon' fizzles, crackles, then detonates in a cloud of black smoke, and a blue flame. He discards it, and wades into battle using his fists, squaring up to Svarog and initiating a Punch Duel, his armoured fists slamming against metal armour.

    Talia's promise to keep bloodshed to a minimum might not be appreciated by the guards right now, but they'll probably be glad later as she goes from trying to use Force blasts to just engaging in melee. The troops will find their armor cut up and their weapons destroyed, only to find her blows are being resisted.

    "Damn it..." She mutters under her breath. It was hard to do much with ray shields, but at least she can take enemy soldiers out of the fight by cutting guns and pole arms in half for now. And then Svarog comes in clutch, taking the shields out of the equation!

    As guards go into melee, Talia focuses on the ones with polearms, trying to destroy their weapons while lashing out with a sweeping kick!

    Even without the barrier, the troupe is armored. Jessica squeals and dives for cover, because she is not going to want shot! With her more powerful pistol, Jessica takes a few shots aiming at the larger weapons, the cannons and such. Those are quick, precise shots, and she's mainly looking at the guards here, so as not to risk hitting Svarog or Serval.

    The other pistol is shooting at the guards directly. It's weaker, but she's relying on their armor to keep them from suffering fatal wounds, and not trying for lethal shots. It's a lot harder than it sounds!

    Bi De is angry, but even angered the chicken isn't going berserk. He knows he has a team to work with, and immediately sees that Talia has the same idea. Also, he knows how the rest of the team works. So, he presses the attack!

    But he concentrates on the melee fighters, a flurry of wings and feathers and the occasional squawk as he fails to fully avoid a strike! Qi-powered muscles keep blows from being fatal despite how an ordinary rooster would fare, but the point is he's engaging with the melee fighters to keep them from advancing on the more support-oriented members.

    As Bi De said...
    So it has come to this...
    For the record, Clara has taken to the back row of the fight, hiding herself away behind a chunk of bridge and wall so as to not be in the way of any stray attacks that may come. But then.
    Gepard approaches Svarog.
    The one-eyed autamaton eyes the Landau with a skeptical gaze as though to wordlessly ask 'are you absolutely sure you want to engage me?'
    Gepard Landau chooses to engage.
    Blows rain down, armored fists slam into Svarog's armored bulk with resounding force and impact.
    Svarog reels his arm back slowly.
    Once.
    He swings.
    Once.
    It is a hell of a haymaker.

>> SUMMARY[Clara] >> ARE YOU APPROACHING ME, GEPARD?

    Talia continues to disarm the troopers. A few choose to engage with fists after being disarmed, but they're far less dangerous, especially after taking a bullet or two from Jessica's pistol to the plate and getting a nasty dent digging in, and maybe some cracked or bruised ribs.

    The heavier Originium rounds strike the cannons, and cause one to misfire, exploding in the cannoneers hands and sending him sprawling in a smoking heap, dazed, but not dead.

    Bi De has much the same idea as Talia, which leads to many getting a bitesized taste of whata it's like to be attacked by a Cucco, many end up with buckled armour, and most end up out of the fight.

    Gepard, meanwhile, continues to Stand There, until he Realizes, that they werre just like him, trying to make history.

    Then Svarog drops a haymaker on him, and he grunts as he grabs that fist. His armoured boots dig into the flagstones, cracking the rock, before he manages to bleed off all that power, and pushes the rest aside.

    "In the name of Landau! Years of cold hardens the will! WE SHALL NEVER FALL!" he steps back a half pace, grasps a glowing mote in his fist, then slams it into the ground, causing a wall of ice to erupt, making a barrier for his allies... and disrupting the formation of the group, knocking Stelle, March and Dan aside, intercepting one of Seele's burst charges, and knocking her senseless from the impact.

    As the guards pick up the fight, Talia does the same. She takes a moment to set her lightsaber's power level to 'training mode', which in this case turns it from burning through flesh to leaving painful welts.

    Who's to judge the right from wrong? Talia muses to herself, about how when this is over everyone will agree about how violence breeds violence.

    Sadly, in the end, it must be this way.

    She strikes guards over and over with thwaps that remind her of when her old friend Runs-With-the-Wind helped tutor younglings in the temple, oftentimes making sport of evading their clumsy and untrained swipes with ease and punishing them with a strike upon the buttock or shoulder. With a training stick of course, Wind was not a psychopath.

    Talia lets out a bittersweet smile. Wind always made it look so easy, leaping and diving over people's heads and between their legs before taking them out with a well timed kick or punch.

    She's dead now, having been cut in twain by Angither's savage shaman, Bojun.

    Hm.

    Huh.
    Svarog did not expect his blow to be negated in such a manner.
    It is a testament to the Landau fortitude that Gepard bleeds off the mechanical man's force and then turns his blow aside.
    But when the wall of ice impedes everything.
    Svarog considers his options.
    Svarog takes a leap back to keep from being caught in the eruptive force of the ice, and then holds out a hand; the energy emitter on his palm glows... And he starts unleashing a superheated laser right at the ice to start melting it down.

    Jessica has to pause as the whole mess gets much more complicated, with ice walls and laser beams and... actually it's kind of like a full-on operation! She's getting used to the over-the-top antics that the group can do. Sigh. Ears splay as she changes her magazine, and then she sees an opening as the superheated laser blasts into the ice barrier.

    "There," she huffs, swinging her pistol around and taking a more careful aim. The powerful originiuum propellant sends the slugs hurtling toward the damaged portion of the ice, trying to crack it open and give the others an opportunity to take down Gerard. "Is everyone all right?"

    The guard platoon that was stationed at this end of the bridge has been truly thinned out. There's only a couple still standing, and they're more focussed on dragging wounded comrades out of the line of fire than fighting back. Talia's and Bi De's beatings, Jessica's expertly aimed shots, and Svarogs sheer rmight have broken this force.

    Not so the Captain.

    As Svarog burns through the shield wall of ice, and Jessica aims for the weak spots that laser creates to break it down, the blonde captain stands defiant, his face a stoic mask, but his eyes burning with anger.

    Stelle steps up, and alongside the other Nameless, perform some kind of combo attack on the Captain, which he deflects and intercepts.

    Seele rouses herself, wincing as she shakes off the mild concussion long enough to perform her own special move. "Disappear amongst the sea of butterflies!" She shimmers out, and comes back in... just in time to meet Gepard's fist with her face, sending her sprawling before her blade can land. But he's starting to slow down, his armour is dented, his uniform scuffed and torn. Just one more big push should bring low the Captain of the Silvermane Guard.

    The guard are broken, with Gepard the sole remaining fighter left. And he's not making this at all easy for the team. He manages to solo Seele, Serval, Stelle, March and Dan, effortlessly. Furrowing her brow, Talia reaches out to grab at Gepard.

    "Please, captain, this is idiotic! Will you not see reason and realize you're being played? Cocolia is lying to you, let us help you!" Those words leave Talia's lips, despite the Jedi knowing they'll fall on deaf ears. Or perhaps, she merely expects them to. With the Force, Talia brings it down upon Gepard, intent on freezing him in place while the others try to finish him off.

    "Don't make us destroy you..." She pleads.

    "Well, we still don't want to kill him..." Jessica hesitates, as shooting Gepard isn't going to be a good idea. She'll instead 'cover him' as she shuffles out from cover, and makes sure none of the guards are going to circle around behind by, if necessary, urging them to disarm at gunpoint. Jessica herself doesn't have much to contribute to attacking Gepard right this moment, other than making it very obvious to him that she's sparing the soldiers.

    Hopefully he'll notice that.

    Svarog continues to unleash that laser on the ice... And as the others lay into it to try and defeat Gepard...

    "STOP!!!"

    Clara has emerged from hiding.
    "That's enough! This is senseless... It's going nowhere... Please you have to listen. We don't want to take the Stellaron, we want to fix all the problems it's causing. Just listen to us!"
    Who could turn down that face when Clara looks ready to cry?

    An opening! Bi De rushes in as the ice crackles, and the others stagger Gepard. He adds his own little push... two of them, in fact! Twisting on a dime, the rooster glows with the silvery moonlight of his Qi, informing that he's empowering an attack. Not a slashing one, at least, but... a blur of silver streaks forward, doing a summersault down toward Gepard in the equivalent of an axe kick, trying to slam the durable captain hard enough to stagger him, hopefully!

    And that impact causes the rooster to rebound! A flap of his wings and Bi De launches higher, to perch on the crumbling ice wall, atop it and looking downward with that defiant stare and silvery halo about the colourful plumage.

    "Stand down, Gepard! We have the high ground!"

    Gepard is pinned by Talia's force power. This leaves him open to Bi De's assault, forcing him to a knee. With the others recovering, and the few remaining combat effective guards focussed on their comrades... ... He starts forcing himself back to his feet.

    Seele pants, pushing herself back to on her scythe handle. "This guy's relentless... I've never come up against anyone so stubborn."

    March nocks another arrow, winded as well. "He just won't go down!"

    Serval, tossing aside her broken halberd, shakes her head. "He's as stubborn as I am. Be it an argument or a fight, he'll do both to the death. That's why he ticks me off so much! ENOUGH Gepard!! Look around, you're the last man standing!"

    Shaky, battered... Gepard stands again. "Even if I am... I won't yield."

    Stelle digs herself out of a pile of debris. "Brainwaves? Anyone?" she asks, pushing lumps of stone aside.

    Dan Heng gets back up using his spear as a staff. "We don't want to force you to yield through force of arms. That is not a victory for us." he says. March adds in. "Yeah! Our goals are the same as yours, Servals and Bronya's. We wanna help preserve this world! We shouldn't be fighting each other!"

    Serval steps forward, offering a hand to her brother. "Gepard... brother. Surely you can see the need for pragmatism now... Even if you don't believe me, or these outsiders... Believe Bronya." She takes out the letter from Bronya, showing it to Gepard and explaining everything.. what could have happened so much earlier if Gepard hadn't been so stubborn and inflexible.

    "... That's everything... Now you need to make a decision." says Serval, after finishing explaining.

    "As a Captain of the Silvermane Guards, I am duty-bound to carry out the orders of the Supreme Guardian." he begins, sounding like he's trying to piece together a difficult puzzle. Stelle readies her bat, "I've still got some fight in me if you wanna go another round!"

    Gepard looks over, and carefully continues without answering the challenge. "But... Lady Bronya is the commanding officer on the front lines. According to protocol, if the Commanding officer at the front and the Architects behind the lines give clashing directives, a soldier must hold their position and await further directives."

    Stelle blinks. "Is this a brainwave? This feels like a brainwave." she says, looking around... to the distress of all involved... including Gepard who looks a bit flummoxed.

    "F-for the Silvermane Guards, the guardian's orders are paramount and absolute... but there is something of equal importance in the oath we take..."

    Serval completes the thought. "The people of Belobog."

    Gepard nods. "If we lose the people, we lose our purpose... our reason for existence. Fighting the Fragmentum is for the sake of Preservation, but this fight with you... it seems pointless. If you are truly able to prevent out endless misfortunes, then the people of Belobog are indebted to you." his face turns harsh again for a moment. "But if you are using lies to mask your true intentions, using my sister and Bronya for your own ends. I swear by Qlipoth's mighty hammer, that I will carry out your punishment without a single ounce of mercy."

    Seele pips up, having taken a back seat to tend to the multiple headwounds she suffered. "They're not lying, you can trust me on that." she says, drinking a bottle of something.

    "You're... Seele, right? You're very skilled, your fighting style is like nothing in the Guards."
    Seele folds her arms. "Regardless of what you believe, these guys have been a great help in the Underworld. Many people down there would vouch for them."
    "... I'm sure." replies Gepard with a sigh. "If you want to advance further northward, you must traverse an area entirely corroded by the Fragmentum. It's the only path to the Snow Plains on the other side." He gestures to the gates leading that way, then turns back "The Guard can buy you some time before the next wave of monsters arrives."

    Talia releases the hold she had on Gepard as she shakes her head. "There's nothing to gain in being a martyr here Gepard, trust me, I know. Cocolia will make a speech celebrating your heroism, then a week later it'll be a miracle if she remembers your name."

    She sighs heavily and before she goes to nurse Seele's wounds, dabbing at her bloodied head with bandages while whatever Seele drinks from assumingly does its work. "That's a neat little potion." She muses. "Beats a spending days in a neustim tank."

    Talia gives Gepard a look. "We'll manage, whatever danger comes out way we'll face it together. No matter what."