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Topic: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin (Read 18103 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #25 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Zark’s lips were warm as they pressed against Enyd’s. The pressure of her kiss was strong but not demanding. Nor was it sloppy or unstably frantic. It was like a whispered question of acceptance. A furtive plea for continued affection despite circumstances. A kiss filled with hope.

Enyd did not feel a lightning bolt of lust shiver down her body to overwhelm her senses. No fainting spell was about to come on, and her nose didn’t feel the slightest tickle. But neither did she feel disgust or fear at having her FEMALE friend kiss her. In truth, Enyd felt loved by this action. She felt accepted. And that was something her soul had been craving ever since she’d walked away from Drauc and stood in the waiting room of facing Alistair.

Unlike Zark, Enyd kept her sword in her left hand while she reached up with her right to cup Zark’s face. She did not use the touch to try to push the woman away or deepen the kiss but kept the touch light and reassuring. Instead, Enyd waited the span of more than a few heartbeats until Zark’s mind caught up with her body, and through the touch, it seemed the woman was about to withdraw. As she did so, Enyd took advantage of their close proximity to quickly lean up to kiss Zark’s forehead, her temple, cheek, then topped it off by playfully licking the tip of Zark’s nose.

“While it is always nice to know someone finds you attractive,” Enyd picked up the line of conversation Zark had stumbled her way into prior to the impulsive kiss, “you don’t need to feel any sort of pressure to do anything other than what you’ve been doing, Zark. We’re still friends, I still love you, and,” she hoisted her sword up so it could be seen in both their peripherals, “I still very much want to stab someone right now.”  She didn't remove her hand from Zark's face, nor did she move away from the semi-embrace. Enyd wanted Zark to be the one to get back to business, concerned that any movement on her part to separate may be construed as rejection.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #26 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark's sense of fluster started to quickly recede when she wasn't pushed away, but instead it was just replaced by a happy ease  that permeated the soul.  She got to kiss Enyd!  Her brain cheered as she enjoyed the soft warmth on her lips.  On the other hand, there was no pressing of the lips, no hugging for closer contact, no tongue seeking entrance into hers.  It was a kiss between close friends, and the Zhen really couldn't say she was surprised by this.  There always could have been a chance that the kiss could have woken some sort of latent attraction to the female form in Enyd, but Zark had considered that unlikely at best.  Now, here was the proof as she kissed her goodbye to Enyd ever being that sort of lover.  It sounded worse in her mind since she now had a very good friend and someone whom she could worry very little about offending since they both knew about the level of care for each other.  Thus, the Andorian could only really smile as she felt a soft comforting press against her cheek, forehead, and a wet brush painted itself across her nose.

The Zhen didn't mind admitting at all that it kinda turned her on as Enyd affirmed where the two stood with each other.  There were a range of options she would have used if she thought the other part was interested in an intimate encounter, so the Andorian made a point of not squishing her breasts together in an attempt to make her cleavage look bigger.  Instead, she cleared her throat, and took the hand then kissed it briefly but deeply and guided it back down to Enyd's side as she nodded with Enyd's assessment of where the two stood with each other.  Bending over to pick up her dropped sword, Zark instead just fired off what she was thinking.  "Fine, we'll get back to the important stuff, but you're gonna have to watch how you use that tongue of yours.  You've got the start of some really good oral sex depending on who you end up with, but I'm quite sure I'm biased."

Zark took a moment to guide Enyd to a window and a free hand pointed at a woman with intense auburn hair that had been braided in like laurels on her head.  She also wore a dark blue dress and an obsidian coloured full plate.  Her retinue of a dozen knights did look imposing and stayed just behind her in a field outside the main gate.  "There is your enemy Lady Madsen.  Mary, Queen of Scots, current backer of Clan Mcleod against Clan Grant.  It's not supposed to make sense, it's supposed to be creative.  Our objective is to hold out till the rest of a Highland clan coalition, led by the Gordon's, gets here to relieve the castle."

Since Enyd wanted to stab something, Zark saw no reason to wait. "Computer, resume program."  The computer dutifully beeped and the holographic representations began moving once more. Zark smiled at Enyd and took a deep breath as she stuck her head out the window. "Molon labe! Your red headed whore!"   Feeling much more in character, Zark let out a sirens war cry and vaulted over a table at the nearest enemies, sword swinging, and kilt flying in a graceful wave of blue fury.


Molon labe - The classical Greek translation of what King Leonidas told Xerxes when told to surrender his arms on the eve of the Battle of Thermopylae.  Generally means Come and Take Them!

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #27 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Enyd giggled at Zark’s compliment. If she’d dropped the comment at the beginning of this erratic conversation, it was likely Enyd would’ve felt scalded by the words. But considering Zark had led her into an unexpected fantasy of having Drauc above her as she lay atop Alistair, her body filled by their erections, her soul consumed by their desire…well, a flippant comment about oral sex was nothing.

Enyd allowed Zark to guide her to the window, where she pointed out their main foe. She bit her tongue to keep from spouting historical reality once Zark spoke of the creative nature of the program, not its accuracy. The aim was clear enough, and Enyd nodded, shifting her grip on the blade. Her sword sparring with MicKayla had helped her immensely since coming aboard, as had her regular sparring matches with Frank. Enyd would still not describe herself as a fighter, but perhaps an opportunistic scrapper.

Laughing at Zark’s yelled insult, Enyd paused long enough to admire her friend’s dexterity as Zark vaulted over the table and into the oncoming fray. Three men moved to avoid Zark and her fight against a half dozen on her own, flanking her and heading straight for Enyd. Clyde was the first to stop them, heaving a battle ax against the largest of the three. As those two squared off, Caitlin and Ewan barreled toward the remaining two with sharp cries.

Seeing an opportunity to help Zark, Enyd used a chair to hop onto the table. In quick succession, as she moved along the length of the table closer to the edge of the fight, Enyd picked up various objects and pelted the men attacking Zark. First, it was a goblet. Then a plate. A tray of cookies—one more cookie into Enyd’s mouth first—then the pitcher of ale—another gulp down Enyd’s throat. The diplomat not caring that a good portion missed her mouth and trickled down the front of her clothes. A candle stick, with a candle. And a handful of cutlery—Enyd wincing when one spoon glanced off an upward swing of Zark’s weapon.

“Have I ever told you how stunning you look while you’re obliterating your foes?” Enyd called over to the Andorian, laughter infusing her voice.

By the time Enyd made it to the end of the table, she’d caught the attention of one man who veered away from the blue fury and started towards her. He pounded his stave against his round shield, lips pulled back in a vicious snarl. Enyd positioned herself on the table, resting one foot on the back of the chair that was still pushed in, situated neatly between them. When Zark programmed these goons, she had put little situational awareness inside them, or else the bloke would’ve known to adjust his approach angle. However, being armed but dumb as he was, the stave-wielder waltzed into her trap.

After kicking the chair into his torso as he raised his stave to attack, Enyd shifted her weight enough to land a side-angle kick across his face, her kilt swishing playfully around her legs in the dance of death. Disoriented from both chair and foot, the man staggered back, his guard open as he shook his head. Enyd howled out a murderous yell as she leapt from the table, sword already arching down and across as she tucked into a flip. She landed in a semi-crouched position behind him, her kilt a momentary floating about her head as she faced the door. Tossing her head, Enyd glanced over her shoulder to see him drop both stave and shield as he clutched at his chest.

Enyd didn't wait to see if the slice she’d left there was deep enough to kill. She rushed toward Zark and the rest of the fight, gripping her sword tighter. As Zark bent to avoid an attack, Enyd rolled over the back of her friend and buried her blade into the attacker’s throat. Another bellowed howl of violence filling the air around her. Somehow acutely aware of where Zark was in the fight—maybe the kiss had developed an internal radar—Enyd withdrew her sword on a downward angle only to flick her wrist up and to the left, parrying a potential attack. She took advantage of the man's forward momentum, sliding her sword along his until they stood shoulder to shoulder, swords uselessly pointed into air. He blinked in surprise when she made eye contact, and Enyd grinned. First, she stomped on his foot and bounced up and forward to connect her forehead to his face, his nose crunching painfully.

With him trying to establish which to tend to first, his foot or his face, Enyd was left with the perfect opportunity to dance forward, pivot, and bury her sword through his belly. She didn't have to move forward until her chest was pressed against his back, her sword thrust to the hilt through his gut, but there was something freeing about this moment. The violence. The bloodshed. The absolute lack of diplomatic care. Enyd grinned as the man fell forward, freeing her sword. This made sense. The pointy end went into the other man. There was no grey area in this fight. There was Zark, and there was everyone else who was apparently supposed to die. She glanced up to see if anyone had their guard down enough for a good decapitation; her smile growing as she watched Zark.

"Ready to quit playing around and go get Mary?" She teased the Andorian, easing toward the door that led to the courtyard where Mary awaited them.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #28 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

There was a saying that was generally regarded as a universal truth.  If something looked ridiculously easy, someone had spent a lot  of time working on it.  The jian was no exception.  Somewhere in length between the Roman gladius and the Medieval Longsword, it generally filled a good length niche for someone of Zark's middling height.  What made it initially difficult to master, but exceptional in her trained hands was the lightness of the sword overall.  The sword had really found the right material when it was no longer needed in the 23rd century with the discovery of Duranium.  Duranium was to Titanium as to what Titanium was to steel.  Even lighter, they produced blades of incredible flexibility and durability.  Combined with moves that emphasized economy of movement to get a stab in, it proved a deadly combination.  Zark demonstrated she first cleared the points of steel in front of her as she vaulted over the table and quickly knocked aside the two swords coming up to meet her.  The light sword retained sufficient flexibility to bounce off one sword, then the next, while retaining enough mass to knock them aside.  As sword bounced off the second opponent, Zark felt the vibration shake up her arm as she fought to control the weapon and steer it towards the first target.  The razor sharp non Earth material penetrated the first opponent's neck next to the jugular and sent a spray of holographic blood like cutting a ghoulish water main. 

As blades were want to do at times though, the sword got stuck and carried the Andorian forward.  It was at that point that Enyd came to the rescue as Zark stumbled and worked to wrench free her sword.  She could hear items being pelted against the other opponent, and this seemed to give him pause as he raised his arms to stop the various projectiles from flying at his face.  This gave the Andorian time to plant her boot on dying holograms neck and pull the blade free.  Some people who watched a person wielding a jian in action tended to feel they were watching either a warrior philosopher  and/or a dancer in action, and Zark was no exception as she swept the blade behind her and stood it against her spine, knocking something aside in the process before she felt the resounding clang of a sword parry on her back.  The graceful warrior let the strike force her forward as she ducked while the rest of the strike flew over her head.  Zark actually heard the sword cutting air as she spun in place and twisted the blade to the offence and drove it into her target's gut.  The man stared in shock at the metal sticking and could only grunt as the blade was smoothly extricated.  A second grunt followed as a boot attached to a blue leg swiped the feet from under him and the blade came down once more to finish the job.  Taking a moment to look around, Zark saw Enyd involved in her own fight and though about moving to assist, but it seemed her friend had that fight well in hand when her attention was drawn to one of the doors

Ewan just pulled his sword free of his victim when three more fighters burst into the room.  Two were wielding bucklers and long swords, while one carried a big claymore.  Ewan instinctively backed up in the face of that much opposition as he held up his sword in a ready posture.  Zark rushed passed screaming and somersaulted past the claymore and a longsword that sliced at the place she would have been standing if she'd chosen to engage in a sword fight right there.  The acrobat finished on her feet and backed up as the long sword swiped at her once, then twice, only to be parried aside for the third leaving the man open, but the Andorian also out of position to take a swing at him.  Zark instead dashed forward, then cranked to the side and pretty much ran up the man,  the sound of her kilt ruffling could be heard as it swirled in the air and she got a leg around his neck and pulled the opponent to the ground.

Zark's automatic reaction to finish off the opponent was stopped as she sensed the claymore flashing towards her and rolled under the ferocious swing that tried to behead her.  Planting her hands in the ground to stop her from going further, the Andorian felt a weight cycle over her as Enyd passed over Zark to engage the claymore. A swift stab and it was now 3 on 2.  Smiling as her their shoulders connected, they two warrior women separated and Zark pressed forward before Ewan go the chance to respond.  The swordsman turned to face the oncoming blue and white wraith, and lunged at the Andorian's chest.  Zark inverted her sword, and  metal clanged as she pushed the lunging blade out of the way in a twirl.  She continued the twirled past and her free arm reached out and grabbed the man by his neck and she threw him to the ground. The sword continued turning about, then plunged through the man's back and he squealed in pain as Zark came to an graceful halt.

The hall was clear as the sound of fighting erupted from all over the castle as Clan Mcleod and Royal troops had kicked up a hornet's nest.  Zark smiled at Enyd's change in mood as this whole piece of theatre seemed to put her at ease.  "Any time hon, let's go get her."  Zark growled as she bolted for the door and stopped at the head of the group as maids with dirks, and footmen with weapons of all descriptions poured out of the rooms and stairwells to engage the enemy.  Soon a confusing mass of red and green was fighting yellow and black, and red, yellow and blue.  It was massive confusing mass of colour and cacophony as the sound of single combat reverberated through the halls.  Zark ran back to the window and looked out.  Queen Mary had retreated behind her knights and a company of Royal Infantry who formed a barrier as another company worth of clan Mcleod fought Enyd's liege men and women in the main courtyard.  The problem was they were really high up, 3 stories to be precise, from the courtyard.  That was death by gravity if Zark ever saw one, but there were too many fighting and it was too evenly matched in the hall way to cut through quickly, or before the two of them ran out of steam.  Zark turned towards the great hall one more time and suddenly gave a really big toothy smile as a really foolhardy idea struck her.

"Clyde! Bring that staff and polearm by the window!"  Zark commanded as she ran for the fireplace and yanked the scabbard for the jian off the mantle.  "Enyd!  You're about to find out why Commando Course graduates are regarded as balls up really stupidly brave!"  The combat medic yelled from across the room as took a several slices at a piece of rope.  With a mighty yell, the third cut went through the massive candle chandelier in the middle of the room came crashing down and crushed the main dining table underneath it. The Andorian placed he sword in her scabbard, then tucked it into her belt.  "Clyde! Cut the rope off the top."  The bald Scotsman moved to do as he was told and began taking swings at the rope as Zark grabbed the end she'd cut.  Running to a couple sets of armour, she removed the gauntlets, stopped to grab Enyd's dirk, then returned to the two pole weapons laying by the window. "Enyd?  Have you ever fast roped before down a building before? Doesn't really matter, this'll be quick and easy since the holodeck safeties are on." Clyde yelled done and Zark quickly tossed one end of rope out the window and kept feeding it till she saw she'd pretty much run out of rope about on the ground.  With her impromptu measurement complete, Zark mentally cursed and tied the rest of the rope to the two poles.

"Clyde, Ewan! Back up and hold the staffs till their tight. Try to brake us as we head down, but remember, we're in a hurry." Zark tied the rope around her waist and signalled Enyd to come over.  The human probably thought the Andorian had lost her mind.  "Remember Enyd, you're going to feel gravity pull you down, but you're going to want to slow down.  Don't, just go with the flow and run.  Watch for the windows and ledges below and try not to trip."  Zark placed a hand against Enyd's cheek.  "You'll be fine.  The holodeck isn't going to kill you over something like this, and I'll be at the bottom to catch you." Looking past Enyd at the two big Scottish men, Zark gave a maniacal smile. "Ready?" "Ready!" They chorused back. Zark wagged her eyebrows at her friend and kissed her one more time before vaulting out the window ledge and making a dash for the ground.

Zark's boots clacked against stone as she went down and the simulated gravity tried to pancake her.  Rapidly pumping blue legs jumped over a window and a ledge leaving her feeling weightless for a moment before the tight rope pulled her back to the castle wall and she kept going.  The combat medic oofed as she ran out of rope and felt it bite into her mid section.  Zark yanked on the knot and grunted as she fell to the ground, not even noticing as the rope went back up.  Getting on all fours, the medico noticed a woman wearing Mcleod colours running towards her in an attempt to puncture her with a sword.  Zark rolled out of the sword points way while kicking her shin causing her to fall.   The Andorian scrambled on top of the woman and punched her in the back of the head.  Instead of grabbing the fallen long sword, Zark grabbed the Mcleod dirk and removed it from the scabbard with a shing before plunging it into the back of her opponent's neck with a bloody gurgle.  Leaving the metal in place, the Andorian quickly got to her feet, pulled her own sword out and prepared to hold the drop zone against all comers.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #29 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Enyd’s kilt was swishing back and forth, much like a happy dog’s tail wagging, while she stood near Zark and watched her work. Her smile was broad when Zark informed her they were going to fast rope down the side of the building. She’d grown up doing basically every type of outdoor activity there was, which included rock climbing and rappelling, and getting to do this with Zark, now, just made her stomp from one foot to another in excited glee.

She giggled with girlish laughter as Zark smacked a kiss on her before launching herself through the window. Enyd followed close behind, though not yet attached to the rope, and ready to leap from the parapets. Caitlin seemed to be on the same brain wave as Enyd, and when Enyd felt a nudge by her arm, she turned to see Caitlin standing there with a box filled with an assortment of bladed weapons as a few blunt ones shaped much like hammers.

“No lady should run into the fray without a few gifts to bestow upon her enemies.”

Enyd nodded, working quickly to attach herself to the rope while Caitlin set about tucking the weapons into every available location on Enyd’s body. Before she threw herself out with the same manic expediency as Zark, Enyd grabbed what weapons Caitlin couldn’t tuck away. She winked before returning to the window, handing a few weapons to the seamstress and keeping a few for herself. As one accord, the two women chucked the weapons expertly at the heads and fleshy parts of what enemies were stupid enough to stray close to Zark as she made it to the end of her rope and released herself to the ground.

“We are ready, milady.” Clyde called from across the room.

Her blade in one hand and a medium-sized war hammer in the other, Enyd awkwardly climbed to the window’s ledge and gave a cowboy-like hoot as she did her best to mimic Zark’s badassery. This differed greatly from rappelling, was her first thought, and the second was that of absolute joy at how much fun it was. Enyd was just about at the end of her rope when a soldier nearly flanked Zark. The war hammer came in handy, with Enyd chucking it at the man’s head just seconds before all the air in her body oomph'd out in a painful rush. She’d been so intent on getting the soldier before he could get Zark, she’d forgotten to slow down. Ribs bruised, with her guts feeling like there were squished into her spine, Enyd sliced through the rope and fell into a heap on the ground next to Zark.

Struggling to her feet, Enyd stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Zark and grunted, “Let’s kick some arse, Zark,” before giving a proper Highlander cry and crashing her way into the throng.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #30 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark was in the moment, a sword came at her from one side, and her own blade flipped up to meet it as she leaned back from the strike. With some main force, the Andorian pushed the blade back and the Mcleod man tried again to take a swing at her, except this time she ducked under swing and the sword was driven behind her and she was rewarded with a scream as the blade struck flesh and went through.  Looking up to see another man charging her, the medico somersaulted forward passed another swing that struck the dirt behind her.  A foot kicked out, but it wasn't the best strike as the man fell to one knee, unbalanced, but still holding his sword.  Zark grimaced at the poor execution and sent another kick that smashed his face backward in a spray of blood and teeth. Burly hands let go of the weapons as they grabbed the ruined face in an attempt to staunch the blood flow and stem the holo imitation of pain while he cursed up a storm.  It didn't do much to save the opponent in the end as the blue war maiden leapt to her feet and drove the blade straight down into gut as he unleashed a howl of pain and tried to grab at the sword that was stuck in him.  Zark was too fast though and smoothly pulled the blade out in a fountain of blood.  The Mcleod man stared his hate the blue skinned woman, but it didn't matter to her as he expired.

Zark had to move to defence as another Mcleod clansman came at her, screaming his fury and swinging his sword at her.  Zark batted the strike over her head, then gripped her sword in a two handed grip as she blocked the follow on strike head on.  "Yearrghh." was all that came out as she tried to out muscle the sword that was trying to sink it's blade into her blue flesh.  It was a contest she was bound to eventually lose, so she chose to lose it on her own terms as she pivoted and redirected the swords to the ground with a clang.  Zark quickly pulled one hand off the sword and drove a lightning fast elbow into her attacker's chin, and his head snapped back.  That looked to be about it for the man for a moment before he wobbled and fell to his knees, then collapsed face first in the muck. 

The medico stared at the flat faced man for a moment in surprise before another scream erupted from behind her and she turned to see someone charging her to skewer her.  The Andorian didn't have time to turn, so instead she ran towards another Mcleod man who had his back turned.  With her kilt flaring behind her, the medico could imagine the blade getting closer and closer.  Her margin for error on this was very thin, but it was a crazy do or die, and her instincts had already committed her as she climbed up the back of the enemy and got her legs around his neck and used her momentum to pull him to the ground, no doubt to the surprise of the Clan Grant man who was facing him.  With her legs tightly locked around his neck and choking the life out of him, her pursuer stopped and snarled, though he was dumfounded at what to do with another clansmen in the way.  The bought all the time Zark needed as she grabbed the dirk of the man between her legs and threw it at the confused swordsman.  Zark actually didn't really know how to throw a knife, so the spinning projectile didn't bury it's blade in his face as she'd intended.  Instead, it smacked flat against his chest and this seemed to stun the man more than anything as he stared into the Andorian's face, more surprised to be alive after being hit.  That look of surprised soon change to one of anguish as the Grant man that Zark had helped drove the point of his sword into the hapless Mcleod.  The Andorian with the powerful legs gave her victim a hard yank she more felt that heard the neck snap in the process.

Letting go, Zark smiled as the Grant man offered her an arm to get up and a nod.  Taking the long sword from the dead man, Zark looked up just in time to see Enyd vault herself out of the window way and start making a dash for the ground.  The Andorian spun the sword a couple of times and looked to her friend's eventual landing place and was dismayed to see a Mcleod man hack off a Grant man's arm before stabbing him.  The blue fury screamed as she charge, swinging at an enemy combatants leg and causing her to collapse suddenly with a nasty gash across the back of her calf.   Her target saw her coming and the blue fury couldn't commit to an attack and instead had to deflect a slash at her.  He was powerful and the Andorian felt herself get knocked aside and almost trip as she skidded to a stop.  The target pressed the advantage, and the Andorian ducked and waved as metal swung through the air at her.  Zark rolled passed and brought up her sword, only to blink as what looked like a hammer smashed into the man's head and laid him out cold.  The medico couldn't help but wince as Enyd came to a crashing stop.  Zark wasn't sure why the boys hadn't slowed Enyd down, maybe there was a fault in the programming, but that was for later as Enyd cut herself free and declared more violence to be had.

The next moments were a blur as the Royal Infantry were ordered to attack.  Zark was starting to get tired, but she was still fast and her blue legs pumped like mad as she ran next to Enyd at the blue line ahead.  The volume of the screaming began to increase as more people from Clan Grant joined the charge and thunder could be heard forming behind the two women as the men and women in blue stared grimly at the death coming for them and steeled their nerve.  Still screaming, Zark raised her sword for an over head strike and her target lowered his in preparation to lunge under the blade.  The blue arms came down out of reach and released the sword.  It was too close and surprise too total as the blade flew true enough and impaled itself in the man's chest and he screamed suddenly as he was knocked backwards.  This did nothing to stop the Andorian as she stepped off the dying man, her white hair and kilt floating in ethereal splendor, then a leg lanced out and smashed the man in front of her.  Zark fell back to Earth and grabbed a dropped sword the began swinging left and right.  The melee was becoming more confused as more swords from Enyd's clan piled into the fight and the melee became far too chaotic to track.  As soon as a flash of blue was potted, the sword flew in that direction.  Sometimes it drew holographic blood, other times, it clashed with steel.

Some awareness seeped back in as Zark pulled her bloody weapon from a man's chest.  Her hair was matted against her face, and her clothes were dyed crimson while feeling a heavier than normal.  It was an even fight and Enyd was at the centre of it, cutting a bloody swathe towards the Queen.  Zark began to move towards her friend when her ears perked up at a sound coming from the distance.  It took a moment to sort out the cacophony from the din of battle, but it soon became clear as the bag pipes wailed out Cock O' the North and Zark knew the rest of the clans were going to enter the battlefield soon.  Breathing heavily, the Andorian took a moment to look at the carnage and she spotted a ripple in the destruction, a point of focus.  A knight lowered his face plate and charged through the massed infantry, directly for a brunette in a blood soaked green jacket.  Zark didn't even think about it as she ran towards Enyd.  The horseman continued his charge on the war mount, sending bodies flying out of the way, and lowered his lance at the battle maddened and oblivious Clan Grant Princess.  It was close, but all the bodies in the way managed to slow down the war horse just enough for Zark to drive her shoulder into Enyd's back and tackle her out of the way.  It was not enough for Zark though as the lance slashed across her back. A searing hot electricity exploded in her back and she screamed in pain as holographic blue blood fountained out of her back as she collapsed on top of the friend she'd just saved.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #31 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Enyd hadn’t had so much fun killing holographic foes since she’d met with Victor the week before, and that time it had been zombies. Her face alight with a gleeful smile, all available bare skin now coated with flecks and rivers of blood from her fallen enemies, Enyd laughed her way through murderous swings and jabs. Maybe some counselor somewhere would observe her jubilant jabs as something to be concerned about, but Enyd knew this was all fake, which made all the difference. When she’d been in the fight in the Great Hall, she’d not felt gleeful or smiled. It had been about life or death, not slashing her way to having fun.

The last man between her and Queen Mary fell, a semi-circle of open space between them as they squared off. The queen was armed now with a nautical-looking sabre, and the blood dripping from it was of Enyd’s clan—well, her holographic clan.

“You shall die as your clansmen.” Queen Mary pointed her sabre at Enyd’s heart. “At the end of my sword.”

Enyd shifted her stance and readjusted her sword grip. “Not today, bitch.”

Now, this would have been the perfect time to check her surroundings, to double check on where Zark was and if she needed anything, but Enyd was so intent upon decapitating Mary that she overlooked everything except the bloody queen. The air was knocked from her when something, or rather someone, slammed into her back and threw her to the ground. A pair of terrible screams rent through the air seconds after Enyd fell, the warm mass falling atop her and smothering her face against the ground. Not knowing what was on top of her, Enyd pushed against it until she could rise to her hands and knees, hand already reaching for her sword. She spied Zark writhing in pain and then looked past her to Mary. Enyd’s mouth fell open in shock when she saw a knight’s lance sticking out of the queen as if the holographic woman was a pincushion.

“Hey,” Enyd bent over Zark, scooting next to her friend to pull her head into Enyd's lap, pointing toward the collapsing queen, “that’s teamwork!”

All around them, the cries of Clan Grant and others shifted to singing a battle song to the bagpipe’s melody as they routed the remaining queen’s men, now frightened and leaderless. It was as if a bubble of injured peace grew around the pair of women as Zark lay on the ground, partially cradled in Enyd’s arms. She used a surprisingly clean edge of her tartan to clean off the worst of the blood spatter from Zark’s face, hands caressing the soft blue skin.

“Are you seriously injured, or are we just supposed to act out an epic death scene here?”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #32 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark wanted to curl into a ball.  That was a lot easier than trying to bend backwards as she felt a hot wetness accompany the flaming sensation across her back.  I'm gonna need to talk to Thea about changing the pain settings for this. How does she even do that? There was a brush of fabric across her face and a warm hand caressed her skin.  It was really nice since she was getting the feeling of a good imitation her dying from almost being impaled on a lance.  Enyd's inquiry sounded on the flippant side, and Zark felt the temptation to grab one of the holographic swords and commit regicide, or give a good demonstration of how well this bit had been programmed.  The pain soon began to lessen, at least enough for her to think.

The Andorian coughed a couple of times "Oh Spirits Enyd.  It's getting so cold."  Zark waved weakly as she tried to grab harder on to Enyd for more warmth, but her hands were slipping.  That part wasn't too hard with all the holographic blood everywhere making everything slick. Zark closed her eyes as her head rolled around and she moaned in pain.  Having heard that sound enough times on the battlefield, she picked an appropriate sounding moan that combined a goodly amount of pain with oncoming rush of death.  "Enyd, just hold me." The apparently dying Andorian asked as she coughed a few more times and moaned weakly.

As the pain lessened further, Zark felt the pressure and warmth increase on her.  This is so nice, but I am so bad. Zark though to herself as she gripped Enyd's waist tighter with a desperate strength as she buried her head in the human's mid section.  Then slowly let go as her breathing became lighter, and lighter, before stopping.  The arm collapsed behind the human and the Andorian felt her arm brush a rump.  It was a good thing her face was hidden as Zark smirked while a blue hand grabbed the human's ass and gave it a good squeeze that sent the Zhen cracking up and gripping her ribs as she rolled around laughing.   Oh Lor'vela, she's gonna stab me.  Zark thought as peels of laughter rang across the courtyard.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #33 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Zark’s antics brought a grin to Enyd’s lips. She played her part, cooing, oohing, and ahhing over the writhing Andorian as she curled and twisted around Enyd’s body. Enyd rolled her eyes when she felt Zark shamelessly seize the opportunity and grabbed a handful of Enyd’s tartan-clad rear. While Zark grabbed her ass and made a show of “dying,” Enyd spied Caitlin, Ewan, and Clyde emerging blood-stained but victorious from the keep. While one hand stroked against the “dead woman’s” face, the other waved the loyal servants closer. If Zark wanted to play, Enyd could as well.

“Caitlin, we must ready the funeral gown for Lady Zark.” Caitlin bobbed a quick curtsey and ran off to fetch the closest equivalent to Enyd’s request. Turning an amused smile toward the men, Enyd made sure to shake her body as if in a sob, her hands fisting in the woman’s shirt, “Ewan, Clyde, tell the men to build the funeral pyre, we shall burn her ‘ere the blood of her enemies dries.” The pair ran off to do as she bid, leaving Enyd relatively alone with the incorrigible Andorian. Leaning down, Enyd whispered over her friend, “Unless you want to test Thea’s simulation of a funeral pyre, I suggest you miraculously recover.”

To emphasize her point and further her friend’s recovery, Enyd poked at Zark’s side, tickling her fingers into her armpits and making a nuisance of herself.

Suddenly a shout of alarm rent the air, calling all eyes to the top of the fortress walls where a member of Clan Grant was waving his hands madly. “The British are coming! The British are coming!”

Her eyebrow raised in amused curiosity as Enyd returned her gaze to Zark. “First Queen Mary and now Queen Elizabeth? You must really hate monarchies.”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #34 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

"ENYYYYYYD!!" Zark shrieked as she demonstrated very quickly her miraculous escape from the land of the supposed dead.  Zark's arms clamped onto the human's fingers and tried to crush them.  Since the flesh is soft, all it did was press the tingly fingers tighter and cause the laughing Andorian to laugh even harder as she writhed on the ground.  With the ceasing of the arm pit torture, Zark took a moment to grab her ribs to try to compose herself.  "Owwwww..."  Was all she got out as Enyd pointed out the common political connection between the two.  The Andorian's answer was slow coming as she wheezed to get air back into her lungs and rolled onto her elbows while giving her friend a smile. "What can I say, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and if you think this is bad, wait till we get Vlad the Impaler and Catherine the Great.  I think those two come as a pair."

"Oh Dear God save us!"  A Grant man on the wall wailed as the crash of artillery sounded and bloody screams erupted from the fields outside.  Wails could be heard as the Highland coalition dissolved into chaos as Zark jumped up and grabbed Enyd to run her up the castle wall.  The two reached the top with their trusty retinue just as battle was joined.  Some of the clans were ludicrously brave and charged the gun line, only to be torn to shreds with ball and canister as they closed.  What broke the charge was the line of red coated infantry with gleaming bayonets on the end of their Brown Bess muskets.  A thick upper class British accent rang out over the battle field. "Front rank kneel!  First Rank! Make ready! Aim! Fire!!"  The rippling bark of black powder explosions filled the air and scores of Highlanders were thrown back as lead balls found their mark.  "Second Rank! Make ready! Aim! Fire!!"  A second equally devastating ripple followed and the charge was checked as kilted men and women began to trip over the fallen. "Charge bayonets!"  A unified roar could be heard over the battlefield as the front rank stood and the forest of blades descended.  "CHARGE!"  and with their bonds let loose, the red coats charged the madly retreating Highlanders.

A canon cracked above Zark and Enyd's head in paltry reply, but it was a good shot as a file of red coats disappeared in a bloody geyser.  Zark didn't really notice as she looked at a box next to her feet and opened it, then pulled out two very archaic fire arms.  "Okay Enyd, if you want to keep going, you have hard mode "  and one hand pushed out a Baker Rifle of the same period "Or not so hard mode." The other hand pushed out a Henry Rifle from a later period and one ocean away. "Ammunition will be in the box."

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #35 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Enyd couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the next lineup of monarchs they would face down. Below them, the Highlanders were giving their best in the fight against the redcoats, the cannons firing off support volleys. Enyd’s amusement grew at the mishmash hodgepodge of historical time periods occurring in one time and place but again kept the comments to herself. This wasn’t about accuracy; this was about fun.

Grabbing the Henry, Enyd crouched down near the fortress wall. While everyone else seemed contented to lob cannon fire at the enemy in between pressing against them with pitched battle tactics, Enyd settled herself into a comfortable position next to the wall. Bringing the rifle up into position, she stared down the sights and made her way through a series of micro adjustments in position until she found what her grandmother had always called “the sweet spot of death-dealing.” The range of a Henry in the hands of an expert was up to 200 yards, with lucky shots going out to 210 or 220 yards. Enyd knew this because her grandmother had been an expert and insisted that Enyd be, at minimum, adequate with the archaic weapon of their ancestors.

“For you, grandmother,” Enyd whispered against the rifle as she found a target—an officer barking orders at his line of men advancing on the fortress—and let loose her bullet.

The officer clutched his shoulder as he spun on his heel and dropped to a crouch. Not dead, but definitely not happy or able to bark orders for a while. Enyd continued her hunt, intentionally taking out officers as she found them. A few were kill shots, the bullet lodging in the heart or head, but most were fatal wounds. After she’d taken out what looked to be a general, based on the number of regalia dripping from his uniform, she shifted her sights, her mouth dropping open.

“They have Chinese rockets, Zark.” Enyd recognized the design of the medieval artillery piece from an old book on ancient earth weaponry her father had enjoyed looking through. “Do we have anything stronger to repel?”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #36 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

I think I've given Thea too much leeway in the character generation.  Note to self, must must must tweak. Zark thought to herself as Enyd indicated the brass plated lever action rifle and the Andorian handed it over.  Enyd was in such a hurry to get into action, she forgot her ammunition belt.  Grabbing the belt and a pouch, Zark chased after Enyd, dodging the occasional musket ball that smacked into the walls and kicked up some dust.  The change in weapons dictated an automatic change for the Highlanders in the walls as they grabbed their own Charleville muskets and began firing back.  The area soon became a cacophony of exploding black powder.  The Andorian didn't have far to go to catch up to the rifle wielding human and decided it was best to wait as Enyd took aim and began firing.  The Andorian peered over the wall and couldn't help but whistle as the Montanan began knocking red coats over.  It sort of felt like cheating since muskets of the age were notoriously inaccurate, and Enyd had a far superior marksman's tool that she used to deadly effect.  "Ohhhh Shelaat!" Zark exclaimed as a man wearing an abundance of gold braid all over his uniform fell to the ground.  Zark smiled at Enyd.  "And what other skills are you hiding Miss Madsen?"  She asked, not really expecting an answer.  Caitlin came running to Zark and handed Enyd's dirk to the Andorian  Zark grabbed the dirk and slung it over her shoulder.  The bloodied red head then took aim with her musket and fired.  She quickly cursed as her shot went way wide.  The medic smiled her thanks at the liege woman and reached into the box once more, pulling a rifle, bandoleer, and a pouch with more rounds. Zark was starting to put on the various pouches and belts that Enyd needed to reload the rifle when her friend asked what they were going to do about Chinese rockets.

Zark had a momentary brain fart and thought Enyd was asking about some sort of food dish that she'd never heard about.  Maybe it was like Pepper Shrimp or something.  Maybe she should have eaten more instead of drinking when she was teasing Enyd earlier.  When her brain caught up, Zark took a look over the wall and saw some colourful tubes that appeared to have dragon heads attached to them.  Another batch looked like a takeout cart with pins.  Zark had no idea what do next and someone wearing a Liangmao directed the rockets to be setup.  There wasn't a lot of time before they began firing and the Andorian looked around her and saw crews bringing up powder bags for half a half dozen 12 pounder long guns.  Without thinking, Zark unslung her Ch’shohrirh Standard Five, an Andorian equivalent of an early bolt action rifle from their own time of conflict.  Flipping the sight up, she made an adjustment to the range estimate bar and steadied the rifle on the wall.  Taking a breath, a blue finger gently squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with an explosion as a rifle round travelled the distance to the rocket position.  Zark noted a bit of dust being kicked up and she adjusted the sight for longer reach, steadied and fired again.  This round seemed to fly off to no where, so she worked the bolt once more and pulled the trigger.  The Andorian nodded with a satisfied nod as a crew scrambled out of the way at something, probably the sound of a near miss.  Turning to the battery, Zark ran to the commander and pointed out what she wanted shot at and her range hit.  The Grant man nodded, took the number, and crunched them quickly for a dirty firing calculation before turning to his crews.   "Battery! Target! Rockets in the open!  Range 750 meters."  The gun crews in turn did their own less than totally accurate calculation, then began making gun adjustments.  Zark ran back to where Enyd was doing bloody business.  "Enyd!  Cover your ears and open your mouth!"  Zark shouted and barely had time to cover herself as the battery commander gave the order to fire.

Six heavy explosions slammed out 12 pound iron balls at various trajectories.  The first volley missed, but it seemed to stir the rocket crews into a haste as the heated metal screamed all around them.  The gun batteries feverishly began working to reload their pieces.  Zark didn't have time to watch this as she tapped Enyd on the shoulder and pointed to parties of red coats surging forward with ladders to scale the walls.  The Andorian flipped her long sight down and took aim using the iron sights.  Firing a round, she saw a man at the back of a party fall, clutching his leg as a bloody mess splurted out.  Working the bolt, she took aim again at the front and adjusted, then fired.  A mound of dirt was kicked up in front of the running man and Zark swore as she reached into the box and pulled out a five round stripper clip and dropped it into the magazine well and flicked the clip away, then worked the bolt to close it.  It became a process of aiming, firing, and working the bolt.  Red coats would drop, and sometimes the ladders would as well, it was all too chaotic, and too quick as she pumped out rounds as fast as she could.  After an eternity, the battery commander called to make ready, and the world exploded again as the six guns fired in unison.  Most of the shots went wide again, but one round smashed into a long looking rocket and the searing heat caused the onboard fuel to combust in a massive explosion that knocked over and ignited a nearby launcher.  Soon the position became a flaming swathe of detonations that thundered over the battlefield.

That should have been a victory, except the multiple launcher at the very flank of the rocket position was rocked and it's payload launched instead of exploding.  Zark saw the rocket traces lance out and head towards her.  Eyes widening in shock, the Andorian turned to Enyd and the rest of the wall and screamed "Incoming! Get down!" as she dove for the walls edge and covered her head.  Shouts of consternation and panic followed as people ran to seek cover while the sound of whistling death rapidly approached.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #37 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Lowering her weapon to rest against the wall, Enyd covered her ears, opening her mouth, and briefly closed her eyes as the battery commander opened fire on the rocket positions. Before taking up her rifle to resume her deathly efforts, Enyd smirked to herself, remembering Zark’s praise. It only occurred to her then that, in all their outings, they’d never discussed her abilities to use weapons effectively. Namely rifles. Enyd made a mental note to share some of her favorite hunting stories with the Andorian later when there was far less cannon fire.

Enyd managed to get out a half dozen shots before she heard Zark’s bellowed instructions to take cover. Her ears hummed with the overhead scream of incoming fire, and she was curious how Theo would reset the program if both she and Zark met their “end” on this wall. Reaching out, Enyd latched a hand on Zark’s forearm, using the touch to haul herself marginally closer so they could “die” crouched together against the wall. But just as she counted down the seconds to the end of all things, a new lower-pitched whistling sounded directly overhead. Seconds later, the rocket that had been heading for their location exploded, having been intercepted by another rocket fired from a parallel position.

Their allies began cheering as other rockets were intercepted all along the wall. However, not all were caught in time, with the wall heaving a violent sigh as nearby men and debris were sent flying. Tapping Zark’s shoulder, Enyd used the wall for leverage as she hauled herself to her feet and looked in the direction the rockets had most likely flown in from. Her lips pulled back into a smile when she spied a series of Asiatic junks floating in the harbor, their cannons already echoing a rage-filled thunder as their fired on Elizabeth’s position as rockets fired from the deck raced overhead to take out their counterpart’s rocket positions.

Movement along the sloping cliff had Enyd leaning over the edge of the wall for a better view. At least a hundred pirates of various Eastern Hemisphere origins began crawling over the cliff, armed to the teeth and eagerly throwing themselves against the British forces. Coming up behind them and using a series of flute whistles for signals over the din of battle was a fiercely beautiful Chinese woman flanked by two svelte-looking Madagascan brutes.

“I see you have a thing for pirates.” Enyd nodded toward the woman, no doubt Ching Shih herself. “If we survive this level, do we get to have tea with her? She’s been a long-time history crush of mine.”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #38 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Major note to self.  Examine character summoning subroutine for program. Realising she was still alive, Zark grabbed her rifle and aimed at a yelling red coat that was trying to get his ladder up. Zark pulled the trigger and saw a puff of red as he fell bonelessley.  The remaining four rounds in the clip were rapidly emptied and a pile of bodies lay around the ladder as it was forgotten. The Andorian marksman turned to Enyd as if the conversation was never broken. "I had nothing to with that one.  There's one for the attackers, and one for the defenders in this historical mishmash.  Each side gets randomly assigned a historical leader and maybe one hundred to three hundred troops."  Adrenaline running tended to create odd situations as the medico looked towards where Enyd had spotted the pirate queen and a pair of platinum eyebrows shot up.  Another quiet whistle followed with a smirk.  "Just tea?  I'm thinking about vanilla cream stuffed tuber pastry already.  I don't really see an issue with meeting her, you know assuming we survive this encounter.  At worst, just pull her out of the historical file and restore the castle."  A stripper clips was jammed into the magazine well and the bolt worked to chamber the first round.  A series of loud horns sounded as Ching Shih's large war junk approached the pier and began tying alongside to disgorge her band of vagabonds.  Smaller junks were already pulling back out to sea, having dropped off their own loads.

The British were thrown into chaos as a hundred charging screaming Asian pirates with swords slammed into the flank of one of the attacking red coat company's.  Red turned to face a motley collection of clothes as bayonet clashed with sword.  Zark saw an officer try to rally some order from the ambush.  He was easy to spot as he waved his sword in the air and his bicorne with a large white feather was distinctive from the tricornes of the rest of the troops.  Zark lined up the iron sights of her bolt action, and steadied herself for just a moment.  The trigger released an 8mm metal slug that slammed into the man's back and bowled him forward.  Without any order, most of the ladder parties in that area dropped their loads and rushed to save their comrades.  The counter charge took the pirates by surprise, but they were stubborn and fought on despite losing a quarter of their number suddenly.

Zark emptied her clip in that general direction before being forced back my musket impacts where around her firing position.  Enyd was reloading at the same time.  "You know.  I think I have to take a look at how the subroutines work in this case.  I might have been a bit too loose with who I called queen, king, emperor, and all those nice imperial titles.  For all I know, we could get Vlad and Catherine."  A series of canon balls smashed the parapet of the wall and the two women knocked to the ground as they suddenly found rock and dust falling from the air.  While it had temporarily suppressed the two rifle wielding woman, the shots had been a double edged sword as Zark's ears picked up screaming that was way too close and she quickly turned her head to see several ladders land on the wall top.  "Fix Bayonets!!"  Zark screamed as she went ahead and attached a wicked looking 18-inch bayonet to the end.  The call was repeated up and down the wall.  Caitlin, Clyde, and Ewan fired off what they had in their muskets and pulled out their melee weapons for more close in bloody work. Looking at Enyd's rifle, Zark realized there hadn't been a bayonet made for the thing, so she did what she thought was sensible, and dragged her friend over to put the gift dirk on and smiled.  "Well, at least you get to test it and don't have to clean it afterwards."  The madly smiling Andorian grabbed her rifle and ran to the nearest ladder.  Looking over, she saw a determined face coming up at her that realized what was about to happen as the blood soaked blue beauty shouldered her rifle and rapidly emptied the clips into him and the man behind him.  The dead men piled the rest into a heap under them as they fell.  Zark then took the chance to push the ladder off.  It was a small victory and they would need many more soon as more and more ladders made their appearance on the wall.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #39 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

With the promise of pastries and good company ringing in her ears, Enyd resumed her death dealing with glee. She was just turning to make a sly comment to Zark about the loose subroutines when they were sent flying. Thankfully not up and over the wall and into the courtyard below, but landing in a heap against the rock wall at her back was no more welcoming. Zark was quicker to recover than Enyd, already screaming more directions to the other men. Enyd was still scrambling back to her feet when Zark hauled her close and worked to fix the gifted dirk to her rifle.

The next few moments happened in quick succession. One second, Zark was commenting on not having to clean the dirk after using it, and the next, she was emptying her rifle into the belly of one of the attackers coming up the ladder affixed to the wall. Then she quickly kicked out the ladder and didn’t wait to watch her victims fall before moving on to the next round of attackers. A shouted cry from her side had Enyd turning away from watching her beautiful friend do what she was best at—killing and maiming—just in time to get decked in the face with the butt-end of a rifle. She’d been so intent on watching Zark kickass, Enyd had dropped her guard and let the ladder closest to her unload its violent gift.

Falling back, Enyd tripped over the corpse of one of her allies and fell back against he rock wall again. Her kilt had fallen up near her belly, legs splayed open, revealing that she was now very culturally aware and sporting nay but nature between her legs. Enyd had let go of her rifle to try and catch herself and now lay unarmed as the man advanced closer. While his intent was still murderous, the glint in his eyes also told of another intent: when his bayonet ripped her shirt open, baring her breasts to the violent world around them.

“Are you ready to die, you Highlander cunt?” While normally pleasant to listen to, his accented voice only grated on Enyd’s nerves. Spying blue in her peripherals, Enyd grinned, fully trusting her friend to destroy this man before his next breath. Thrusting her chest up and further drawing his attention away from his surroundings, Enyd chuckled, “Are you, you English twat?”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #40 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark was beginning to breath harder as she ran for the next ladder with the retinue in tow.  Reloading on the move wasn't easy, but she somehow managed to lock the bolt in place just as a red coat topped the ladder and was about to jump off.  His timing was poor though as Clyde swung his war hammer and smashed the infantryman back the way he came and sent him plummeting with a gurgling scream.  Another man's head popped up and Caitlin lunged with her long sword.  The read coat's face showed utter shock as steel went through his neck in bloody spurt and he tried to grab at the sword as if to staunch the life force flowing out of him.  The fiery rad head wouldn't give up her weapon as she humped on the parapet and gave an unlady like kick to knock him off her sword.  With that obstacle clear the two began pushing the ladder over with several men yelling and screaming below.  Zark didn't quite lose track of the battlefield, but certain events would have to catch up later as she took a knee next to Clyde and aimed at the next ladder and knocked another red coat off with her first shot.  She aimed fired as they appeared, letting off 20 rounds in less 30 seconds.  The survivors of the highland retreat joined the troopers from Clan Grant in running up the stairs to fight off the read coats scaling the walls.  Swords at this point were at a distinct advantage as they stabbed away instead of needing to be aimed.  The highlanders didn't have it all their way and Zark stared in stunned shock as Ewan's head exploded when the British Infantry began firing up to provide some sort of cover to the wall scaling men.  Highlanders with musket leaned them over to return the favour and Zark reloaded before remembering to look behind her just to see the situation.

The Andorian's blood lust was up to the point where she was more upset when she saw Enyd's pink topped milky white orbs exposed.  A cold fury descended on the woman's mind and she rushed forward a few paces and got down on one knee.  Bringing up her rifle, blue hands lined it up at the head of the red coat who was dropping his trousers and getting ready to violate her friend.  The bark of the rifle and the working of the bolt were anticlimactic in the face of the blood rushing through her ears and the scum of the Earth's neck burst in a sanguine splash.  Zark charged forward. "Clyde, Caitlin! Get that ladder!" Zark commanded.  The dying man grabbed his neck and turned to face the source of his death, eyes bulging as his life flowed away.  Zark charged with her bayonet and a banshee scream and drove the steel needle point into what was left of the neck with a squelch.  Repeating what Caitlin had done before, Zark grunted as she shoved her boot at the man and kicked him off her blade to the courtyard below. "Ya Filthy Bastard!"  Zark yelled after the body as her accent went full Highland for a moment. The volume of the battlefield dropped as the Grant cannoneers stopped firing to pick up swabs and other implements to fight off more infantry coming over the top.

Zark barely noticed as she ran over to the bright eyed and quite naked Enyd.  The Andorian stripped the jacket off a dead Grant man and tossed it to Enyd with a smile. The blue green eyes were very bright with amusement as she kneeled next to the denuded diplomat. Zark casually fired a shot before turning to Enyd. "I can see why your little trip with Mia and Amanda would be memorable if you had to resort to this to get out of it."  Running an appreciative glance over her friend, Zark shook her head once more.  "Come Enyd, get that coat on, no sense in freezing to death while there's fighting to be had."   The Andorian emptied her rifle in the direction of the fighting and reloaded before scampering back to grab the Henry rifle and ammo bag for her friend.  The Andorian stared at Enyd for a moment as she was getting dressed and decided she was very lucky to know the brunette diplomat. "Follow me when you're done buttoning up."  Planting a quick kiss on her forehead, Zark looked towards the cannoneers and charged in screaming and firing.  She got within bayonet range and jammed it into a man who had finished driving his bayonet into one of the gunners, a quick block of her rifle and another jab, down went another red coat.  Stabbing, smashing, and bludgeoning, Zark joined the fray against the tide of red and pushed her way to the ladders.  Flipping the butt of her rifle against the chin of a oncoming soldier sent him flying back down to Earth, and an opportunity to push the ladder down where she was quickly joined by a gunner with a bloody gash on his forehead.  Looking towards the gate, the medico saw Ching Shih's party clearing out the vestibule.  Much like the Andorian, the pirate queen danced around her spear, the red tassle gracefully flapping as it pierced and smashed aside her opponents.  It was too much for the British Infantry and they began to turn around and run.  Queen Elizabeth would have none of this and her cavalry party took off towards the gate to rally the troops with rapier raised.  Zark could easily shoot her, but she saw the sanguinely covered Pirate Queen signal for everyone to stop, and pointed her spear at the opposing monarch.  The red haired queen accepted the challenge and her white war mount thundered towards her opponent.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #41 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Perhaps in a real-world scenario putting so much faith in Zark’s abilities was foolish, and likely she wouldn’t act so flippantly in the face of death either, but in the here and now, Enyd had had no fear when the red coat had started to tug at his pants. She’d known without fear that Zark would destroy him before he could touch her and Enyd found delight in the knowledge.

Enyd chuckled at Zark’s mixed praise and teasing, working to pull of the ruined bit of her blouse before pulling on the coat. There were a damnable amount of buttons to work through and she was thankful Zark wasn’t just sitting to the side staring as she worked her fingers over them. There was still plenty of killing to be done and her wardrobe malfunction was not reason enough to slack off. Enyd finished a few seconds after Zark landed a kiss on her forehead. Getting to her feet, she found her rifle with the affixed dirk and followed after the Andorian warrioress.

The tide was definitely turning in their favor and no small amount thanks to Zark and Ching Shih alone. Enyd felt more like she was along for the ride, but didn’t mind. She enjoyed the fight as much as she enjoyed watching the fight. Which included watching Queen Elizabeth launch herself across the field at the pirate queen. Enyd had to stab her dirk into the throat of a red coat silly enough to block her view as he hoisted his body up a ladder. But his body fell atop his comrades and Enyd pushed the ladder away from the wall with plenty of time to affix her gaze back on the fray below the walls. Elizabeth, mounted as she was, appeared to have the advantage, cutting down allies left and right on her rampage toward Ching Shih. Ching Shih, on the other hand, seemed to be more level-headed about the ordeal. Instead of aiming her attack at Elizabeth, she calmly came to a stop and pulled what looked to be a simple leather string from her belt. Plucking a rock from the ground at her feet, Ching Shih took aim, released the makeshift ballista, and waited. It found its mark, hitting Elizabeth’s horse right on the nose. Angered by the sudden pain, the horse suddenly veered, throwing Elizabeth from its back and taking off riderless further into the fray.

Another ladder popped onto the wall next to Enyd, but she kept her eyes on the coming face-off between the queens. Her eyes remained on the actions even as she reached over to push a ladder away from the wall, barely noting the screams of the men who fell to their deaths in the process.

“It's battle of the queens out there, Zark!” Enyd called back to her friend.

Enyd pushed back from the wall briefly, glancing down the line to see the blue skin of her friend as Zark continued to bark orders and deal out death. A crack sounded against the wall next to Enyd, and she ducked. Like the terrible blooming of a heavy bout of indigestion, a curious heat grew in her chest. By the time Enyd’s back hit the wall, and she was once again sprawled on the cold stones of the keep’s barrier wall, she cognitively recognized that it was her turn to have a death scene. This would be a potentially fatal chest wound if this were the real world. But even in this holographic scenario, the initial blast of the holographic bullet hurt. And now the stolen red coat was coated with red, the red of her holographically created blood as it poured from the hole one of the attackers made with his lucky shot.

“My friends, applaud, the comedy of my life is finished,” Enyd called out to the surrounding mayhem, throwing a hand up in as dramatic a pose as possible before rolling her head to the side and feigning death. Now it was Zark’s turn to determine how to revive her.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #42 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark would have liked to sit there and watch the Battle of the Queen's unfold, but a red coat popped up in front of her and her rifle butt stroked the man off the ladder, then pushed the ladder off.  "Forget the Queen!"  She shouted.  "Keep the bastards off the walls!" Looking left then right, she signalled Caitlin over. "Caity, Clyde. Go passed the gunners and get as many men coming up from that side to reinforce the gunners. Move!"  The retinue bolted passed the melee of gunners to find more troops to lead up the stairs.  Five more rounds cracked through the air, and she reached for another, and came up with nothing.  Zark began feeling around to see what she did have left, and she found one clip attached to her back, with one more under it.  Well, shelat. Zark cursed as she slammed the bolt home after inserting the clip.

“It's battle of the queens out there, Zark!” Enyd called back to her friend.

Zark barely registered the exclamation as she was too busy trying to manage the battle, suddenly there was a crack behind her and the Andorian dropped.  She rolled onto her back and saw a red coat with a smoking musket pointed where Enyd was and Zark's eyes widened once more at the dark crimson hole in her friend's chest.  She pulled the trigger and the red coat fell forward, a hole where his heart should have been.  Another man topped the ladder and Zark blew his head off.  The body fell and bowled the followers off the ladder.  The medico quickly got up and ran to the ladder, and seeing it clear, pushed it off. She finished just in time to have a couple of shots kick the air around her head.  With that taken care of, the desperate looking medic turned her dying friend who gave an attempt at a theatrical death.  This did serve to break immersion momentarily as Zark tried not to laugh.  Personally, Zark would have given the performance a B-, but since she was just as bad and it was Enyd, it was a total A for effort.  So she had to follow along.  Zark screamed in horror at the death of her friend and dropped her head into her hands.  Zark didn't cry easily, so she didn't bother, she merely turned her head skyward to curse the heavens.  "Curse you fates!  How could you take the best of us so soon!  It's too soon for her!  She can't be dead!"  Zark looked frantically at the 'dead' Enyd and grabbed her shoulders as holographic blood continued to pour out.  "There must be a way to save her. There must be!"  The blue woman looked skyward once more.  "Please tell me!  What do I do??!"  A breeze blew at the Andorian and she only noticed the motion and her mind gave her a dramatically stupid idea. "The spirits have answered my prayer!"  she cried.

Zark looked at Enyd and noticed her eyes were closed.  So Zark gave a big smile and ripped the front of her shirt so that all the buttons popped out.  Effectively ripping her blouse off, she bunched it up and stuffed it into the 'hole' on Enyd's chest in a foolish attempt to staunch the bleeding.  With that bit of comical first aid completed, Zark stared at Enyd for a moment and turned her head heavenward one more time. Wearing something besides the standard ship sports bra did have it's advantages at times. "Sprits!  Do not ignore me!  I will give her the very life from my bosom if I must!" and the theatrically distraught Zark grabbed Enyd's head and smooshed her face between her large breasts.  Zark held on tight as she swung Enyd's head back and forth and buried the human's head further into the valley of her chest while yelling dirty and often very foul imprecations, and wondering how long it would take for Enyd to wake up before she suffocated. 

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #43 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Although the sounds of battle continued in the field below, the real battle for Enyd was the battle against her urge to keel over in a fit of hysterical laughter. Enyd swallowed her giggles as she listened to Zark carrying on at her side. But then her head was hoisted upward, and in the next second, her face was framed with the pulsing heat of Zark’s ample bosom. She could feel the vibration of Zark’s voice through her chest, but with her breasts covering both ears, Enyd couldn’t quite catch what her Andorian friend was saying. Her arms pumped up and down at her sides a few times before she gripped Zark’s shoulders and jerked her head back. The need for air had overcome the need for an award for acting out the perfect death scene.

Shaking her head to clear her head and get the sensation of Zark’s bosom cushioning her face out of her mind, Enyd glared at her friend’s chest, “That should come with a warning label.”

“The Russians,” Clyde came to a halt at their side, pointing back over the wall, “they’re coming.”

Another section of the wall exploded, sending ally and bits of rock splintering into the air. Clyde ducked alongside Zark and Enyd as dismembered limbs and shards of wall showered down on them. Crawling through the dust, Enyd peeked over the wall. Her eyes widened with fear, turning to look at Zark.

“What is that monster?”

Clyde crouched next to her and whistled through his teeth, “That is the Tsar Puchka. 36-inch caliber and 17 feet of death dealing on wheels.” They watched as six more of the monstrous cannons wheeled into position alongside the first that had sent out the wall-rendering shot. Coming up behind the cannons was an ornately dressed man of stoic expression and severe features. “Ivan the Terrible himself.” Clyde spat on the ground and shook his head, “We’re finished.”

“Zark,” Enyd again turned to look at Zark. Out in the field, the din of battle dissipated as Ching Shih’s men scattered back to the edges of the battle, best suited for guerrilla fighting and not only field. Above all this, they could hear the Russian officers calling out orders, getting the other Puchka’s ready to fire. “I hope we have bigger guns too. With Elizabeth gone at the hands of Ching Shih, it seems we’ve entered the next level. Does that mean we get bigger guns like the Russians?”

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #44 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark hadn't made it that easy for Enyd to get out since she liked hugging her friend and well, she was now skin to skin, so it was even better.  Zark had finally relented when the pace of the arm waving had become quite frantic and the hands landed on her shoulder. The practically topless Andorian smiled brightly and stuck out her tongue at the indignant diplomat when she'd deigned to wake up and try to get out of the pits she'd been forced into.  With Enyd's quip, Zark had almost grabbed her breasts from the bottom and pushed them up to tell Enyd that her girls were the warning label when Clyde interrupted the repartee.

An explosion forced Zark to ground as stone dust fell. By Lor'vela, I'm totally gonna need a shower after this for sure! the Andorian thought to herself as she joined Enyd at staring over the lip of the wall.  She hadn't the faintest clue what was shooting at them aside from the fact they were big and their booms were even louder than she thought possible.  The only down side to them seemed to be they took forever to reload.  The medicos mind went into over drive trying to figure out what to do next as Clyde announced the arrival of Ivan the Terrible.  The castle wouldn't provide much protection at this point, the walls had never been designed to repel fire power of that magnitude.  Looking at Enyd as she posed her question, Zark didn't have a clue. Lifting herself up, she peered over as Ching Shih stood holding on to her spear with it still buried in the now deceased Queen Elizabeth's neck.  She was screaming at her troops to try to rally them. Some answered her call and prepared to stand, while many others fled back to the boats.  A mighty crash sounded and half a dozen 3 foot red hot iron balls came screaming in.  The pirate queen and her die hards disappeared in a blood red mist as a canon ball went right through them and the walls shook as the shot didn't even slow down and ploughed it's way through another part of the walls. 

Not all the shooting proved detrimental as several shots crashed into the walls near red coats trying to climb up ladders and knocked them off.  The few shots that missed buffeted the air so much that the men fell off anyway.  A few of the castle defenders were also blown off the walls and fell to the court yard below.  Zark was confused though.  There was usually a counter weapon deployed by the scenario to even the odds,  but nothing had materialized.  Standing up for a moment, she looked out to sea, only to find some ships pulling away from the pier.  Sitting down to avoid getting shot, Zark's mind continued to work as furios fighting continued.  "Defend your guns!" a Grant man cried as he swung his heavy swab.  A blue hand grabbed Clyde's arms.  "What's the range on our guns versus that monster over there." The bald clansman thought for a second. "Ours is four and a half kilometres, their's is a little over one!" Zark smiled at this as she looked over the lip and saw distant figures operating an archaic field crane to try to load the shot into the massive guns.   "And our rate of fire is way higher!" Turning to Enyd, Zark smiled ferociously. "We are so not screwed!  Let's get our guns back in action and we can out shoot them!"  The Andorian warrioress felt herself get rejuvenated by the revelation and slung her rifle with what little ammunition she had left on her back. Looking around, she spotted a dead red coat with three chevrons and a long pole with a wicked set of blades at the end.  Grabbing the pike, she scrambled to another Highlander who was laying motionless face down and relieved him of his dirk, then went to another read coat and pulled the scabbard for his bayonet and secured them to each hip. 

Now armed, Zark stood up like a blue Celtic barbarian warrior princess.  "Come on Your Grace, we've got Ivan by the balls and he doesn't know it yet!"  Turning back to the guns, Zark screeched a war cry as she charged into the fray.  The pike swung around as the very blue fury twirled and danced with the weapons.  Momentum from the swings would knock red coats aside and send them sprawling whence they would be flattened by the long pole or pierced by the pike's razor sharp blade.  If they were not in range of the pole, a merry thrust of the pike's length would pierce the hapless trooper and end his participation in the battle.  More men and women in kilts caught up to the fight and joined their half naked champion as she sprayed holographic blood and gore over the castle walls, joyously released to the song of battle.  As weapons were to do from heavy use, the pike eventually failed as she drove it at an officer who had made it over the walls and parried the weapon away with his sabre.  The abused and stressed wood snapped, and the gentleman though he had an opening at the buxom harlot who dared challenge him.  So he lunged, but any item could be a weapons and Zark parried, using the pole as a staff, then grappled the man's arm and pulled him in.  Her knee flashed out and slammed into her opponent's pelvis, just missing his gonads, but still painful all the same.  The bar was pulled out and the blood maddened Zark spun and drove the broken end of the pole through the officer's back, and let go.   Her hands now free, she pulled the dirk and the bayonet out and continued to deal more carnage, only distantly aware of the call that the Russian Infantry were on the move and angling for the shattered vestibule.


OOC: I couldn't help my self with the Admiral Ackbar reference  (laugh)

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #45 –
[Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Enyd listened and watched as Zark responded to the situation with aplomb. She had no doubt in her mind that if this were all real, her greatest chance of survival would be to follow Zark’s orders and stick close to her friend. Just because it was a holoprogram didn’t mean Enyd intended to deviate from the Andorian’s orders. Still, it did allow her options she wouldn’t feel as confident in following if this were a real-world scenario. While Zark barked orders to the rest of the men, then threw herself against the would-be invaders, Enyd demurely instructed the program to give her a few extra items.

For Zark was not to be the only one garbed in blue and half-naked in this next stage. Pulling the idea from ancient Terran history, Enyd stripped off the remainder of her top, shirking off the red coat, then quickly began dipping her fingers into the canister of woad paste. She had to duck under a few would-be attackers and let her allies take over the fight as she worked. Pulling her fingers in blue streaks across her alabaster skin, Enyd sought to emulate her ancient ancestors in this next stage. Her torso covered to the best of her reach, Enyd drew a series of lines across her face then used the remainder of the clay-like paste to brush over her hair, clumping it up into dreadlocks and keeping it locked away from her face.

Finally “dressed” for what she had in mind, Enyd stood with her sword in one hand and rounded Celtic shield in the other. She’d made some historically inaccurate adjustments to the make of the shield, rendering it bullet-proof and adding in a subtle forcefield that haloed out from it. Considering the size of the cannons Ivan was pulling against them, Enyd didn’t feel like she was cheating. Her blue-outlined eyes tracked over the wall until she spied the blue of her friend. With a snarling cry, Enyd lifted her sword above her head and then plunged into the fight.

Instead of remaining on the wall, like a smart person would do, Enyd decapitated the nearest would-be invader, perched on the top rung of the ladder, then pushed off the wall. It would still hurt like hell when she hit the ground below, but this was a holoprogram for a reason. Yelping and hooting like a bare-chested madwoman all the way down, Enyd tucked and rolled when the ladder crashed onto the ground. She lay still for a few moments, the breath knocked from her body and her head spinning. But then, one of Ivan’s cannons let loose another volley. Enyd felt the overhead pressure from the air resistance to the massive projectile lobbed at the castle's walls. As more debris shattered upwards and the cries of her allies filled her ears, Enyd rolled onto her knees.

Just in time to duck behind her shield as a redcoat ran at her, taking a swing at her neck. The momentum of his swing carried the soldier past her position, leaving his back open for attack. Enyd was merciless in swinging her sword back and up in a quick slice, cutting the soldier across the back of his left knee and right thigh. Incapacitated, the soldier dropped his sword and began writing on the field. A few high-pitched pings bouncing off her shield had Enyd ducking behind it as the firing line did their damnded to shoot her. She had to wait only a few moments more before they had to stop and reload. That was her opening. Letting out another rallying yip, Enyd raised to the balls of her feet and took off at a sprint directly at the line of redcoats flanking the giant cannons. She heard other yells nearby and took a moment to glance over her shoulder, smiling when she noted both clansmen and pirates falling in alongside her.
The redcoats lowered their bayonets at her rapid approach. Enyd lowered her shield in return. Slamming it into the line, then pivoting on her feet, using the shield and the energy of her strike to push the weapons aside and create a wedge in the ranks. Pirates poured through her shield's gap, going quickly to work with their attacks. Enyd ducked her head beneath the shield as a bayonet angled towards her, thrusting her sword out and stabbing her opponent in the gut. Likely Zark would be unimpressed with Enyd’s ostentatious attack, but Enyd was tired of being on the defensive side of things. It was time to slaughter. And slaughter she did. What alabaster skin was left unmarked with woad paste quickly became covered in the blood of her enemies as Enyd worked together with the pirates and clansmen, cutting through the redcoat ranks with a goal of reaching Ivan herself. Ching Shih had gotten Elizabeth, and someone else had gotten Mary, it would be very satisfying to finally get one for herself.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #46 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

The dancing blue blade wielder twirled past a bayonet thrust and stabbed her own into the side of soldier's neck, then pulled out in a sanguine fountain.  Blue skin turned purple as rivulets of blood flowed over the murderous banshee's body as she sliced and stabbed her way through the closely packed troopers who were making a desperate final push to take some sort of  toe hold in the hopes of reinforcement, or maybe it was sheer bloody mindedness. Nonetheless, the final red coat company was spending itself like water. Even before Zark had made it a quarter of the way though her bladed rampage, it was never going to work as the calculus of war had shifted too far against the red flow. The dancing blue blades simply hastened that end. The computer did the arithmetic and deduced that some would break, and maybe 10 to 15 did. Seeing red coats flop on the walls like rag dolls, or fall to their deaths, the few leaderless survivors ran.

When no more came and only the sound of musketry could be heard, only then did the heavily breathing blood covered abomination stop and look around. Her mighty chest heaved and she was pretty much spent. Even on the holodeck, it took work to go through almost another hundred bodies with allies. Still, something was missing and the dirty apparition looked around and saw that Her Grace was missing. Looking around, she saw the gunners getting back on their guns, or helping the wounded.  "Gunners!  Target their cannon."  A gun captain sketched a salute and began shouting at the other gunners.  Zark grabbed the wall as it shook from another hit.  "Has anyone seen Her Grace?" She shouted and Caitlyn joined in looking around then pointed over the wall at the ground.  The Andorian had a sinking feeling as she followed the blood covered pale hand and saw an Andorian look alike with a magical shield and sword hacking her way towards Ivan the Terrible.  A collection of kilts and motley dressed pirates followed her as she wedged her way towards the Tsar.  The Tsar simply sat on his horse and watched imperiously as the wedged horde hacked it's way towards him.  Zark watched in awe as Enyd carved her way forward when she was shocked out by a crash as a 12-pounder opened up and within a few seconds a geyser of dirt appeared near the Russian gun line and knocked over a pile ready canon balls, scattering them in all directions.  Several gunners fell over as a few balls shattered and hurled massive pieces of shrapnel at the opposition gunners.

The Andorian watched the battle from afar, and she could see the microcosm was going to go against Enyd in short order.  At the tip of the spear, she could only see the snow, and had lost sight of the mountain.  The centre was caving, but the Andorian could see the flanks beginning to fold in towards Enyd's flanks.  Zark's mind did some quick calculations, and the the tactical calculus came to the conclusion that Enyd wouldn't make it, assuming she wasn't too exhausted to fight Ivan himself.  If she didn't get some help soon, Zark was going to have to deal with a captured princess scenario, and that was never fun.  She needed something, but what?  As bullets bounced off the shield, a part of the medic just shrugged and figured if you couldn't beat them, she ought to join Enyd in cheating.  The main issue with choosing that option, was Zark's automatic choice when not thinking too hard was to cheat big as Enyd had discovered much to her detriment and amusement the last time the two of them had been on a holodeck together.

We're both such idiots."Computer, generate a 7.62mm M134 Minigun with power source and Twenty Five Thousand Round Battle Box. One in three red tracer."  The dull metal 6 barreled dealer of death appeared in front of Zark with a massive box and flex feeder chute attached.  Blue hands quickly gripped the butterfly handles while a gimlet stared down the rudimentary iron sight just to make sure she wasn't pointing the barrel at Enyd.  The Andorian was certain that fratricide was going to happen despite her best efforts, but mentally shrugged and hoped for the best as she squeezed the trigger.  A loud brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp erupted from the castle walls as the weapon from another period spat out 7.62mm NATO rounds at 4,000 per minute and what looked like a red laser began carving the tightly packed infantry apart.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #47 –
[ Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

Whistling past her and thunking deep into the enemies at the tip of her sword, Enyd felt the concussive force of a high-caliber weapon in use. In groups of fours and fives, the men she would have come against fell apart—literally—as a series of projectiles entered their flesh and exited with bits and pieces of their bodies exiting along with them. It seemed she wasn’t the only one “cheating” now and that fact brought a manic grin to Enyd’s blood-stained face.

“Onward!” Enyd bellowed, walking over the corpses of her foes as Zark made a path for them.

It would do no good, going for the cannons, not when Zark’s men were targeting them. So an indirect path to Ivan was necessary. And now, getting more into the spirit of creative problem-solving rather than trying to remain historically accurate—not that this had been particularly accurate from the state—Enyd hid behind her shield as she gave her next series of instructions to Thea. Instead of giving further advantage to her side, Enyd opted to live up to her reputation of attracting chaos but now wielding it as a spear.

From across the field Enyd heard evidence of the first round of added chaos. A strange melody was weaving its way over the fray, encouraging everyone to pause just long enough to see the approach of the pike-wielding mercenaries. At the edges of the hoard of blue-painted warriors were musicians, one carrying a tin whistle, the other a small fiddle. Together their high-pitched melody sounded more attuned to a dance hall and yet it somehow fit with the approaching group, all looking equally interested in drinking a galleon’s worth of ale or eviscerating their enemy—perhaps both at the same time.

“The Gallowglass don’t like how we’re dancing this set,” Enyd commented to one of her clansmen, noting his eyes widening when he realized they were about to face off with the Irish mercenaries in addition to the Russian-British group, “either one of us.”

“What in the bloody blazes are those?” The clansman pointed to the opposite side of the field that lay on the castle's outskirts.

Enyd twisted to look. The first thing she noticed were the floating feathers of a myriad of colors. The next was the singing-masculine voices carrying over the field in low, guttural German. They weren’t floating but attached to the huge berets of the dancing mercenaries, it made the host of approaching men seem like they were floating. Their puffed-sleeved shirts were of a variety of garish colors and the overly tight pants tucked into brightly colored stockings, with intentional cuts and slashes at a variety of areas along the leg, were of equally odd colors. Even at this great distance, Enyd could take note of the oversized codpiece shamelessly sported by every man—and even a few women.

“It is the Landsknecht regiment. They hate the Russians, while the Gallowglass hate the British, and they both don’t care if we are in the way of the killing.”

Nearby, a Russian soldier let out a sharp cry as he suddenly disappeared from view, his body falling into what looked to be a sinkhole. Enyd’s smile grew. The little engineer tactics from Vauban, cued by Enyd earlier, seemed to be taking fruit. The powered wig of the engineer himself popped into view for a moment, his smile quick as he gestured for Enyd and her forces to join him in the tunnels his men had dug. If everything had programmed according to her instructions, they’d be able to pop up behind the cannon line instead of having to cut their way through it.

The rumbling yells from the Landsknecht collided with the high-pitched cries of the Gallowglass and bounced off the walls of the keep, mixing with the continued sounds of fighting between the British and Scots, the Russians and the Chinese. Enyd gestured for her men to join her, crouching as she ran to drop down into the earth's cool darkness, following Vauban as he retreated into the darkness of the engineered tunnel. Enyd hoped Zark enjoyed the new fronts since the Germans and the Irish would attack anything and everything, which was both a blessing and a curse. Making all of life more interesting.

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #48 –
[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Holodeck 03 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Ellen Fitz

Zark had no idea what she was looking at as she walked rounds all over the Russian horde heading towards Enyd's position.  They were certainly very gailey dressed.  Still, the minigun did it's bloody work a solid stream of bright red exploded a the tightly packed infantry in front of Enyd in a red fountain.  Enyd seemed to have checked her own progress as more new comers entered the field.  What was supposed to have been a historically inaccurate force on force fight for the castle had just become a free for all.  The Andorian released the trigger and the stream of death came to a stop as the 12-pounders banged out their solid shot.  One of the guns had a wheel blown off, and another flipped over as it took a hit right on the barrel.  The mail and axe warriors saw the running red coats and screamed in fury.  The British froze in place and didn't know what to do.  With no options left, they died hard.  Some fired off a last round before using their bayoneted muskets as spears.  The armour on the Gallowglass saved a few, but the pointy blades went through and pierced flesh.  Casualties were even, but the British loss was now total.

A bull horn sounded and a large horse born host entered the field. They rode with singular purpose as their lacquered side and do swung left and right while the riders confidently stayed balanced on their steeds. Flags flutters from the riders backs and they carried a black circle with the triple hollyhock. The clan mon of the Tokugawa clan. These heavily armoured and speedy warriors carried no artillery for they were a shock force, but they all were armed with the heavy bladed Bisento, or in some cases, the monstrous Dadao. As the warriors crested the hill, a signal from their shogun stopped the host. He peered into the melee and contemplated what he was seeing. It was now very confused. He'd initially arrived to reinforce strange men wearing the coloured skirts, but there were interlopers. They took no side and simply sought slaughter. Looking at the Russian gun line, he squinted to get a better look at a mass that was aiming for a heavily armoured and impudent figure on a horse. There was a strange naked blue one at the tip aiming for him.

The shogun sniffed his derision at the incompetent and arrogant fool who would not seek battle. Where was this man's sense of personal honour? As a sign of his prowess, the shogun had opted to not take a polearm, but that did not make him a slouch with the master crafted katana made by the Hatori Hanzo himself. Today, they steel would taste blood. Tokugawa Ieyasu signalled his captains to join him and began gesturing for a new battle plan. The captains with the blue and green tassels began to puff themselves up in an attempt to change their lord's mind, but were cut off with a hand chop. The two subordinates bowed deeply in their submission and the shogun returned a small nod of acceptance. As the men returned to their forces, Tokugawa withdrew raised the gleaming silvery blade above his head and twisted it to make sure it caught the light so his warriors could see the signal. With a sudden chop and a ya! his horse bolted forward and the shogun led his forces into battle once more.

Zark watched the mad thunder as over a thousand hooves beat the ground in the search for blood and glory. At a prearranged point, a blue and green tassle were raised in the air at the end of the bisentos and angled in signal to change direction. The massive host split in three, one aimed at the Russians, one at ridiculous looking Landsknecht, and the final one for the Gallowglass who were semi disorganized after slaughtering the last of the red coats. 

Ivan seemed to finally realize he had a predicament as he heard the thunder behind him. He looked to his front at the blue блядь in front of him, and the gleaming wall of glittering death coming from behind and came to a decision. He charged his war mount into the mass with the aim of trampling her and ending this farce.  At a shout, his royal guard lowered their lances and surged forward.  Bodies were tossed aside with abandon as Ivan sought his goal.  The terrible Tsar personally speared a couple of pirates along the way when he was suddenly thrown from his mount as one of Vauban's holes appeared and the armoured king rolled to a stop.  He knew if he stayed on the ground, he's be an easy target, so he scrambled quickly, just in time to slash a highlander, then run a pirate through with his long sword.  The sea of bodies seemed to part as he suddenly had a clear line to the blue harlot and he yelled in a thick accent "Madsen!  Your head is mine!"  and he pointed his bloodied blade at her.

Zark had too much to process and deal with as the Tokugawa cavalry were nearing their quarry. The Gallowglass didn't seem to have much of a chance as their officers were still pushing them into a line to receive the charge, but the Landsknecht lined up with their pikes with their arquebus at the ready.  The Andorian realized the green tassled charge was going to be slaughtered since horses would stop at a pike wall and throw their riders.  If the arquebus didn't stop the charge, the pile up of fallen cavalry would.  Heaving by main strength, the Andorian swung the mini gun towards the Landsknecht, took quick aim and pulled the trigger.  The solid mass of red tracers carved their way through the mercenary company like a sanguine scythe.  She manged to get the gun on the first row and knocked bloody big holes in the pike and shot line that the cavalry aimed for.  Then Zark's world suddenly exploded in stone and dust.  She stood there for a moment and wondered why she hadn't been punished with a debilitating level of pain then looked down and saw she was standing on a hole in the air.  A white eyebrow quirked as she looked behind her, then down, and the other eyebrow joined the first as she saw a bloody ruin of her body next to Caitlyn's.  A few coughing survivors on the wall looked about. "Has anyone seen the Colonel?"  Someone shouted.  Zark looked down again.  "Well. Shit.  I wonder if Enyd can see me?" she asked the empty air.


блядь = slut, whore, tart

Re: Day 12 [1615 hrs] The Fightin Fashionistas of the Gloamin

Reply #49 –
[ Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | Holodeck 03 | D. 21 | V. 03 | USS Theurgy] ATTN: @RyeTanker

The din of bedlam filling her ears, Enyd felt the thunder of the fight in her bones as she hacked and slashed her way up the ramp of one of Vauban’s tunnels. At this point the, Gallowglass and Landsknecht had fallen into the chaos of fighting against the British, the Russians, and the Japanese. It was a regular party of death on the field. It was difficult to tell friend from foe as what wasn’t covered in the gore of the fallen was caked with mud and soot from the artillery.

“Madsen!” Enyd pivoted at the sound of her name bellowed in accented English. “Your head is mine!” It was Ivan, pointing his sword at her head seconds before he sprinted at her.

While Enyd was able to deflect the initial thrust of his attack, she wasn’t as skilled with a blade as the terrible tsar to prepare for a parry in time. His blade swung around and sliced into her side with the same ease as a spoon through pudding. An explosion from back at the castle caught Enyd’s attention for but a second before the pain of the fake wound stung her nerves, clacking her teeth together to fight against a responding wail.

“Yield to me, and I will ease your suffering.” Pulling his blade from her side and sneering at her as she crumpled at his feet, Ivan readied his sword for another blow.

Being closer to the ground, Enyd noticed the crumbling quality around Ivan’s feet before he did and a smile pulled at her lips.

“I yield to no one.” Enyd spat at the tsar’s feet, grunting when his sword plunged into her belly seconds before the ground beneath his feet gave way completely, and Ivan fell into the clutches of Vauban and her allies.

Her surroundings changed as quickly as the pain subsided and Enyd blinked to find herself floating in a similar fashion as Zark, hovering over a frozen scene of mayhem.

“I take it we died and failed the game?” She grinned at her friend, gesturing to their fallen bodies.
 
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