Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25389303-20190127200805/@comment-25389303-20190327220420

Helldrix made a tsch sound as he stepped up to the controls. Thinking for a moment, he reached forward and picked up the copilot's radio and raised it to his mouth.

"Central, this is engineer Adams. We have reports of an impending snowstorm, and need to keep the engines fired up to stop them freezing over. We have no intention of taking off in this weather."

A cackle of static came through the receiver as their weak signal momentarily lost connection. After a few seconds, the voice returned.

"Funny. Your friend said you were about to go on patrol. Explain yourselves."

Giving Alex a dark look, Helldrix tapped his foot on the aircraft floor as he thought up another excuse.

"A simple scheduling mistake. Our apologies for the miscommunication," he eventually replied, moving the device away from his mouth as he awaited the reply.

Seconds seemed to drag on for minutes as nothing but static crackled in respondence. Finally, after much apparent deliberation, a single word came through.

"Understood."

---

"Well, that went horribly," Helldrix said as he dropped the radio back onto the controls. "They probably know something's up, and will send someone up to investigate. Shit..."

The doctor appeared to have had his confidence shaken slightly by the news, and he paced back and forth thoughtfully as he contemplated the solutions available to them.

"We can't risk flying with their AA battery online," he muttered irritably. "I can disable it with my Semblance easily enough, but with only a remote connection to their network it will take time. You'll have to stall any intruders while I work, and it wouldn't hurt to check if this ship is flight-ready."

Tapping a few buttons on his prosthetic's gauntlet, a hard-light screen appeared displaying lines and lines of running code. Had he a direct interface to access he'd be able to shut down any of the facility's systems with little more than a flick of the wrist, but with the weather and the distance he'd have to search for the commands manually.

Taking a seat on a small bench near the middle of the aircraft, Helldrix got to work. There was no way of knowing exactly how long it would take for him to disable the asylum's anti-aircraft defences, but if were to guess he'd say he needed the better part of ten minutes.

---

Arthur, meanwhile, was having a miserable time standing guard outside, shaking as the snowstorm froze the summer-acclimated adventurer's very core. Stomping his armoured boots in an effort to keep the flowing, he suddenly snapped to attention as clanking, whiring sound filled the air ahead of him. After listening to it for several seconds, he realised it was the spinning of motors connected to a cargo elevator across from his position. Stepping away from the airship, he waited with a mix of eagerness and uncertainty for whatever was coming up to greet them.

A minute passed before the motor sounds stopped, and the scraping of metal doors could be heard sliding open in the snow-obscurred distance. Soon, all Arthur could hear was the wind's unending howl in his ears, though in his vision he could see dark shapes growing closer and closer.

The first to reveal himself was a familiar face. Ulric - the Decimari agent Helldrix had warned him about. He strode through the snowstorm as if it were an old friend, having donned a warm-looking fur-lined coat since their last meeting. In his hand he carried a gigantic lance-like weapon that looked like it weighed more than its wielder, and appeared capable of crushing anything with a single swing.

He wasn't alone, though. Four more dark figures flanked the sergeant, each carrying large diamond-shaped shields adorned with a central purple crystal of unknown origin in one hand and an arming sword in the other, cackling viciously with a powerful electric current that made the dark metal glow with a bluish aura.

"I should have known you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on you," Ulric told Arthur in a stern voice, turning his head to address one of his followers. "Call command. Tell them I have this under control."

As the agent relayed the message, Ulric regarded Arthur with a steely gaze.

"You made a mistake coming here, stranger. But the general will show you mercy if you return Doctor Helldrix to us and surrender."

Arthur hefted his axe and returned the look with one of his own.

"That's not going to happen. My orders are to return the doctor to Mistral. I cannot surrender."

Ulric regarded the mercenary in silent contemplation, before eventually nodding.

"I have given you your chance. The time for talk isover. Prepare yourself!"

With a wave of his hand, his four companions gave Arthur a wide berth as they moved to secure the airship. Ulric, meanwhile, rotated the club-like lance in his hand for several seconds, before suddenly charging forwards. Unwilling to back down from a direct challenge, Arthur stepped forward to meet his attack head-on - swinging his battleaxe in a wide arc and knocking the point of the lance away from his torso as it careened towards him.

The force of the collision sent painful jolts through both fighters, and yet Ulric seemed to counterattack faster than Arthur could have thought humanly possible with such a burdensome weapon. Ducking hurriedly, he barely managed to avoid taking the lance full in the side of the head as he disengaged. Recovering quickly from the riposte, Arthur hefted his axe over his head and met the sergeant's next strikes blow-for-blow - each impact sending shockwaves rippling through the winter air.