Federal Fronts: lines of the east.

[DollMakerBaddu]

Authors note:

I really wanted to do something mecha related since that stuff is my real bread and butter.
this was for one of my failed Dnd settings.... I won't go into why it failed, I don't even want to talk about DnD so for now i just hope you enjoy the story. I rarely get to do anything with mechs anyways so this will be nice for me.
to do something i really want to do.

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In the Federal Remnant you don't win a battle... you simply buy time.
that's what the veterans always told us before we're shipped out. I always thought that some of them were exaggerating things, Until my first drop.
We were being deployed against the M.R.A. Damn magic wielding freaks.
I was shipped out with Goldfish squad of the 6th Eastern legion.
Sector 7 of the Remnants eastern boarders was under attack by M.R.A forces. our job was to join the defending forces and route them out. seemed like a very easy job for us as the M.R.A used the same machines as us.
For weeks i sat in a cramped bunk room with the members of Goldfish. i like to think that every squad was a kind of family or at least a tight group of friends.
in my group of the squad there was Jink's (snow elf), Tom (human), Bruno (Half orc), Tink(dwarf), Bagin(Kobold ) and Max (Human)
Jink's sat in her bunk, tired from the sims on the ship. Tink sat in his bunk snacking away at his home made treats. this dwarf could make anything good to eat, even dirt.

"We'll finally be at the drop zone tomorrow. part of me is nervous" Bruno spoke as he put his sim helmet in his locker.

"Yeah, we'll finally get some action!" Bagin smirked as she tinkered with her com unit."I've always wanted to see Monarchist machines up close!"

Tom rolled over in his bunk, trying to get some much needed sleep.
"Don't be too excited. it might all just go to hell tomorrow." Jink's grumbled through her helmet.

"Must you elves always be so negative?" Tink spoke in an oddly amused tone "Bagin and I will do our best to make sure you all don't get blown to hell so relax."

Jinx turned her head towards him
.
"I still can't believe command let you two even build that thing. will it even work?"

"Aye, it will. Bagin's and I have worked out all of the issues that caused the first one to explode."

"Careful now or else the Monarchist are gonna steal it from ya" Bruno flops on to his bed and relaxes a little. "heard over the network that they've stolen one of the armies official prototypes recently"

Tink proudly smiled through his beard

"I ain't worried, Bagin's and I worked on a lock system. no magic user's gonna steal that baby from us!"

"Yeah!, this time we'll show them what the Federation is made of!"

"That's enough troopers." a stone cold voice echoed through the halls. "It's lights out for tomorrow at 0 600. We drop the hammer down on those magic flinging pansies! And I want all of you in peak shape for when we do it!"

"SIR!YES SIR!"

The troopers spoke as one before the lights went out one by one. all of the soldiers heading to sleep.
their airships silently flying through the sky towards their destination. unaware that they were being watched.
finally morning came with the sounds of alarms blaring. the troopers jump awake and rushing to gear up.
Tink and Bagin were the first one's already in the hanger bay. Jink's, Bruno and tom following behind them. Max was the last one out of the bunk.
the troopers were pointed to their assigned Zim's. one of the oldest machines still in service to the Federal Remnant one that's called a relic.
a machine that should have been replaced years ago but due to the incompetent's of the Federal Government. it was forced to remain in service for over 400 years.
its load out was a shield, a spray gun and a fuckin stick that was the length of a baby's arm.
(This is the Zim)

That's what they were going in with.
The troopers were locked into their cockpits, many of them readied themselves for the drop. they could hear the muffled sounds of gunfire and cannons outside the hull of their airship.

"All teams check in" One of the Airship nav units spoke over the com units.

"team 1 ready"

"Team 2 all set"

"Team 3 all green"

"Team 4 ready for drop"

"Team 5 good to go"

the bottom doors of the airship opened, revealing the battlefield below. one by one the teams were dropped with Max's team being dropped last due to tinks and bagin's fancy machine.
Max looked up at the airship he was dropped from. it's guns firing in all directions at enemy fighters.
he marveled at the battle in the sky before a voice snapped him back to reality.

"Max's WAKE UP AND TURN ON YOUR JUMPERS!" Jink's voice cut though his coms and he quickly turned on his jumpers.

his mech began to slow its fall till they touched down. the battle around them was slowly turning into hell as the forces they were sent to aid were being overwhelmed by M.R.A forces.
for the first time Goldfish squad saw the horrors of magic as a Zim was melted through by scorching rays.
Max and his team quickly opened fire at the incoming Monarch Zims. their blast being mostly shrugged off by the enemies armor. they returned fire, their guns were ballistic but a heavy kind of caliber that tore the arm right off of tom's machine.
(Monarchist Zim)

most of the squad was scattered across the battlefield and were attempting to regroup so Max's and his team were on their own unless they linked up with friendlies. Quickly they took cover after seeing the damage tom received.
Bruno and jink's peeked over the cover with their shields raised, laying down concentrated fire on one of the Monarch machines. the hail of gun fire wasn't letting up however.

"Tink!, Bagin! where the hell are you? we're under enemy fire! we got three Monarch's baring down on us with two more on the way!"

"Tink here, we got knocked off course by enemy fire. We're on route to you now just hold on!"

one of the Monarch zims fired a beam of scorching ray at Bruno's machine. his shield taking the hit but not very well"

"Well you better hurry! my shields turning into butter over here!" they could hear the worry in his voice. Max and Tom focused fire on the one casting, hitting the Channeler on its hand and blowing it arm off in the process.

"Jink what ordinance are you packing?"

"three crackers, one pyre and four frags."

Max thought about what would be useful in this current situation as they waited for Tink and Bagin's to show up. the enemies heavy fire was something up. this is not what they were expecting from the enemy. hell their machines didn't even look like Zims.

"Toss a frag into their lines, that should do the trick"

Jink's loaded the frag round into the underslung launcher of her spray gun and fired. the round slammed into one of the Monarch Zims and exploded, the blast hitting the units next to it.

"Boom Baby!" Jinx shouted proudly before an enemy round took off half of her zim's head and knocking her to the ground.

the enemy emerged from the smoke cloud. charging the hunkered down feddies.

"HERE THEY COME!" Bruno shouted

"Melee combat, the worst thing we have to do!" Tom shouted as he stashed his spray gun and pulled out the damn stick. Max and Bruno maintained fire at the charging enemies though their shots only softened the Monarchist armor.
Jink's machine stood up, its head damaged and forcing her to switch to her secondary camera. the first thing she saw was a Monarch zim jumping over their cover and swinging down at Max's machine. his shield blocking the impact.
the shield itself looked to already being to break.

"WHO THE HELL MAKES THIS CHEAP SHIT!?" Max shouted as he kicked back the Monarch machine. Tom going in for a melee attack as it tried to recover, only for him to be tackled by another one of them. both machines slid across the ground.
tom quickly worked to recover with his one armed machine. grabbing hold of the stick he thrusted it into the softened armor of the enemy only for it to get a few inches in and stop.
the Monarch machine merely looked down at his arm and ripped it off. now both of his arms were and his machine was slowly beaten to near death by his enemy.
meanwhile the rest of the team was engaged in melee.

Max struggled to defend himself against the barrage of enemy blows. his shield shattering half way through. meanwhile he was just barely able to get a hit on his opponent. stabbing it right in its secondary camera but that wasn't enough to stop it. with one slash from its blade it cut his machines arm clean off leaving him with the damage shield arm.

"Tink! where are you!?" max spoke in a panicked voice as he punched his opponents machine.

"We're getting overrun here!" tom shouted as his machines head was torn off.

Jink's machine was slammed through a few trees while Bruno shoved his gun into the joint of one machine and forced it to self destruct.

"We're on our way just hold on! enemy activity is increasing around us." the muffled sounds of auto cannons can be heard through tinks side of the comms."

Just as tom's machine is about to finished off until a volley of autocannon rounds rips the Monarchist machine to shreds. it's smoking husk falls over as the enemies turn their attention to where the shots came from.
through the smoke and tree lines emerged a medium mech. its four eyes glowing bright green. it's paint job was yellow with white streaks across its body. on it's shoulder sat two autocannons with its right arm being a light auto cannon. its left arm was a regular manipulator carrying a shield that was made up from three regular shields. its armor scorched from earlier engagement, its cannons all steaming and standing imposing.

"Sorry we're late, As we said before traffic was killer!"

The Monarchist focused their attention on the new enemy, opening fire while others charge it. Their shots pounding the machines shield and ripping into its armor. Tink and bagin's Warmachine returned fire, its shoulder mounted autocannons tore into two of the four remaining monarchist machines.
the other Monarch machines blasted him with their scorching ray spells. the shield of the medium mech slowly melted under the heat.

meanwhile Jinks had recovered from being thrown. she looked at her position and position of the enemy.

"Bruno, Max get clear!" she shouted over the coms as she loaded a frag round into her underslung launcher."

"Roger!" the two of them quickly repositioned themselves as the round was fired. It slammed into one of the Monarch zims , causing it to explode and take it as well as it's comrade with it to hell.

The team regrouped and began to access the damage done to them.

"My Machine can only walk from here on out unless we can replace the limbs." tom grumbled as his Zim kneels down.

"Plenty of Garrison Zim's laying around. maybe we can salvage an arm or two" Bruno looked over the battlefield with signs of battle still ragging in the distance. his face grimaced as he looked at the smoking husk of Zim's. "it looks like they just blew through this line of Garrison units as well as the boy's who touched down before us."

"Aye, it was the same on the way here. we might just be dealing with the mop up units in this area." Tink ran a few check ups on his machine while Bagin started the cooling process for the autocannons.
the team dragged destroyed zims over to their cover and started salvaging parts from them. repairs were pretty easy given the simple assemble of Federal machines. sadly there were no survivors among any of the wrecks.

Max's attempted to raise any friendly units on the Comms. all he got was static, orders being barked and crazed ramblings from officers pinned down by enemy fire

"Nothing but chaos on the line guys. Bagin's any friendly's signals nearby?" Max's leaned back in his seat annoyed and worried that this was simply a suicide run. that they were all just going to die here. it would be best for him and his team to move to a more defendable position and wait for friendlies to link up there.
he could hear Bagin's tapping away at buttons. finally she spoke.

"Team 4 landed not too far from our location. systems show that their IFF's are still functioning"

"How long will it take us to reach them?"

"About five hours, four if we move out now."

Max looked around at his team Tom's machine two working arms again but no spray gun. Bruno had also finished his replacement process.

"Alright people, salvage what you can from the enemy units. Gods know their gear is better then ours."

Max's Zim picked up the auto rifle from the destroyed Monarch machine, Bruno, tom and jink's followed after. the team heading west towards Team 4.the battle still raged in other areas but the fighting seems to have greatly slowed and the air slowly becoming tense around them. coming cross many fallen friendlies and very few fallen foes.

"I guess we know why they're winning out there." Bruno said softy as he inspected one of the fallen zims. "shit.."

"What?" Jink turned her machine to face bruno"

"We got a mostly intact Mark II over here"

"your kidding? No way Monarchist would just leave an intact II!"

Jink's walked over to get a look at the machine, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"No fuckin way"

"Yes way, Only issue with it from what i can tell is that it wasn't fully charged."

"Dibs" Jink's knelt her machine down next to the mark II.

Tom's and Max's stopped walked back over to the two of them.

"Care to explain what you two are doing?" tom's tone was that of annoyance at the two of them.

"Recharging a Mark II?" Jink's reached to the back of her Zim where the reactor was and flipped open the hatch. emerging from the hatch was the head of a plug along with a long black cable.

"And neither of you checked it for traps?" they could hear tom rolling his eyes over the coms.

"Duh, only thing wrong with it is an empty battery." Bruno stood his machine up and started to serve as look out for Jink's while she recharged it"

"Well we could use the extra fire power. normally these things are handed out to Ace's or captains but given its pilot is no where to be found. I'd say salvage rights go to us"

"Aye, this could greatly improve our fire power and take off the weight for Me and Bagin."

"Then it's settled. we're taking it" Max turned his machine around and began to keep watch for hostiles like Bruno.

"fine. Just hurry jink's."

the team kept their eyes open for any movement in this battlefield. Jink's worked to transfer her machine remaining energy to the slumbering Mark II that laid on the ground. the sound of the cable humming and the lights from her machine dimming. for the team it felt like hours were passing. dead machines lay all around them with the chance that any one of these could an enemy playing dead.

Suddenly the hear movement from the north tree line. Tink and Bruno's machines turned towards the line, shields raised and ready for any attack. the team then heard movement from the south, Max turned towards the North ready as ever.

"Jink's status?" Max's said as he leaned into his comm unit.

"Almost done, how many hostiles?"

Bagin's flipped switches and checked her and tinks equipment before speaking.her eyes reading the sensors and radar.

"We got three on each side and they're closing in."

Emerging from the north tree line was a team of Zim's. each with heavy battle damage. their weapons raised and ready for combat.
same as the south side. a voice crackles over the comm.

"Identify yourselves! Federal or Monarchist!"

"We're Federal you knuckle head! can't you tell?" Bruno shouted over the comms before max signaled for him to shut up.

"We're team three from Goldfish Squad of the federal forces and you are?" Max eyed the approaching Zim's carefully.

"We're what's left of Garrison Squad B. We got hit hard by the M.R.A this morning, blew right through us and the reinforcements we linked up with."

The damaged Zim's eyed Tink and Bagin's machine.

"What kind of machine is that?" the lead unit who's been talking walked closer to the Medium mech.

the medium mech turned downwards to face the lead Zim. Autocannons at the ready.

"This be the work of Dwarf and Kobold engineering with Federal tech!. the Auto cannons are prototypes that run on standard tank munitions. the light auto cannon on the arm is plasma however. it wasn't easy getting a plasma projector unit but we managed to put one together."
Tink started to go off, explaining in detail how he and Bagin's got the weapon system up and running with parts they found around the base, even an old broken toaster was some how integrated into the machine.

"How the hell did you make the rest of it? did you commission a new frame or something" the soldiers looked on in amazement at just the weapons alone."

Bagins interjected before Tink could explain more.
"No,no This Machine is made of Zim parts. took three Zims to make this"

the group was quiet for a moment before the lead Zim spoke again.

"This thing is made of Zim Mark I's? how did you pull that off?"

Bagins continued.
"Welding and wiring, We combined the frame parts together to make it Big-BIG! And strong! not going into too much detail. you know enough about gun already. rest of this machine is need to know secret!"

"Just know it saved our asses earlier. its got the fire power we need."

the lead zim looked to the rest of the team.

"There's something else i wanted to ask."

"yeah?" Max answered looking at the Zim with Caution."that being?"

"Why are you carrying Monarch weapons?"

Tom sighed. "Battle field salvage. they died so we took their weapons. its that simple?"
Tom couldn't believe he need to tell him that. he thought to himself "no wonder we're losing this front"

a ping was heard as Jink's machine was finally out of power.

"All done guys. hopping in now."

Max smiled as he turned towards Jink's machine.

"Got it Jinx. take it for a spin and tell me if it's worth the hype."

"Will do Max."

the Elf leaped from her cockpit onto the ground. she looked around before running over to the Mark II. she opened the cockpit and found the interior to be slightly different then the standard Zim but not all that special. hoping it she found the seat to actually be more luxurious (by army standards) then her old Zim. she leaned back to enjoy the feeling before activating the machine. its eyes glowing as it came to life and the humming of its engines becoming a roar before going quiet again.
the Mark II slowly stood up and towered over the light mechs around it. its only equal in height being Tink and Bagin's machine.

(Sadly no artwork of either machines yet)

"So, how is it?" Bruno asked.

"She's something, she's even got fuckin cup holders. aside from that no system issues from the start up."

"Good, now grab your loadout. we've spent enough time here already."

Both teams began to make their way through the forest. coming across more destroyed machines, ruined base camps and dead infantry. the sounds of battle were dying down more and more with even less signs of the enemy. Suddenly Bagin heard a ping from the Mediums comm system.

"Max, i think we're in hailing rang of team 4. Should I try contacting them now?"

"We're about two hours away from their location but give it a shot Bagin."

"Yes sir"

Bagin fiddled with the comm unit and attempted to contact team 4 as they kept moving.

"Team 4, this is Team 3 do you copy?"

First came static and then jumbled audio.

"Team 4, this is Team 3 do you copy?"

"this is team 4, We are reading you loud and clear Team 3"

Bagin let out a sigh of relief and then continued.

"We are moving towards your current position, what is your status team 4?"

"We;ve been caught up in some heavy fighting, linked up with three garrison teams and one of the other drop teams. We're held up at outpost Zeta 1. The Monarchist are planning another attack on our position."

"Where the hell did our air support go?" Bruno grumbled as he looked to the sky to see hardly an airship up there.

"From the way the sky is lookin, I'd say to get the hell out of the coming storm clouds. Because last time I check sky fighting in a storm is a bad idea. Hell mech fighting in a storm is a bad idea." Jinx walked passed Bruno with her eyes on the forest around them.

"Team 4, this is Max of Team 3. We've picked up survivors and are closing in on your position. how long until you think the Monarchist make their next move?"

"About an hour from now. keep your eyes peeled out there 3. Monarchist have pulling some major bullshit with their magic. i've also heard rumor's of a new machine out there."

"Understood 4, 3 out."

Max looked to his team and the Garrison troops they picked up. He figured their combat effectiveness wasn't much but at least they had a chance with two medium mechs and some of the looted weapons.
he tried to formulate a plan as they continued their march towards the outpost. all the while the sky darkened with storm clouds.
Finally they arrive at the base and see the defenders lining the walls and trenches of the outpost.
The defenders were made up of 10 Zims, 9 Tanks (two of which are mortar types), 3 buggy units and 800 infantry. the lead Zim coming to greet Max and the others was a Banner Bearer. though the banner he was carrying was worn it still stood tall on the back of his Zim.

"Welcome to outpost Zeta Team three. I'm commander Marlo of this Garrison unit." Marlo's Zim eyed Tink and Baggins machine. letting out a whistle as he gazed upon its firepower.
"Where the heck did you guys get this?"

"We built it" Bagin popped onto the comms. "Thats all you need to know. everything else about this machine is top secret"

there was a bit of silence between the group for a few moments before Marlo spoke again.

"Very well then. Hurry behind the walls we need to set up our plan of def-"

sudden the sounds of Mortar rounds screaming through the air interrupted him, waves of Mortar shells filled the air.

"INCOMING! GET TO COVER!" Marlo shouted as he raised his Zim's shield and retreated behind the wall.
Max and his team did the same, fleeing behind the walls with the defenders. the infantry took cover wherever they could as the shells rained down upon the outpost. it was a hellish bombardment as the mortars were enhanced by blast ruins. increasing their damage and blast radius. For the next few minutes the outpost was shelled by Mortar rounds and even Artillery.
what ever long range defenses the outpost had attempted to fire back on the Mortars positions to sadly very little effect. For its targets were protected by magical shielding.

"Commander, its a No go! our rounds won't pen-"

the radio was cut off as the Artillery gun was hit by a counter attack from enemy shells.
what was worse was now the storm had rolled in, brining heavy rain and fog along with it.

"D-damn it H-how long are they gonna do this!?" jink's shouted over the coms.

"Don't know kid, just sit tight..." Bruno looked out from his cover at the base, the shells still raining down on the outpost. ruined zims, tanks and splattered remains of those who didn't make it to cover in time. he twitched with fear.

finally the shelling came to an end and it was now just the sound of rain and thunder.

"Is it over?" Tom said with his breathing heavy.
inside the cockpit the man was shaking, he heard the Monarchist were brutal enemies but he never thought they'd do something like this... the way this shelling was carried out.. the sounds of screams he heard over the coms as men were burned alive by the shells that hit them. watching their zim's fall to their knees as their pilots burned alive.... those that died in the blast were lucky...

"No. its not over... they're coming" "Max's stepped out of cover as the remaining defenders scrambled to reform the defensive line.
in the darkness of the storm they could see the glowing eyes of Monarchist machines and infantry. the sounds of War drums and horns drowning out the storm.

"HERE THEY COME!" A soldier shouted.

the outpost had lost most of its long range defenses in the shelling. being left with only three mortars and two artillery guns. its walls had suffered greatly with a numbering of openings having been made by the blast.
the trenches that lined the inside and outside of the outpost laid in ruin with many of them having been cleared out completely and just left as craters.

the number of Zims that were defending the base now had gone from 20 to 9. they had 5 tanks (one Mortar type remains) and their infantry was reduced to 500.

Marlo's Zim was damaged, having lost an arm but he still stood and rallied the soldiers for the defense.

"WE MUST HOLD THE OUTPOST! WE MUST HOLD OUT FOR THOSE LOST ON THIS BATTLEFIELD! BE THE BECON OF THIS FRONT IF THERE IS TRULY NO OTHER! FORM UP MEN AND SEND THE QUEENS DOGS HOME IN BOXES!"

The battered defenders roared and cheered as they formed up.
The outpost Artillery began to shell the approaching enemy horde to little effect. once in range the defenders opened fire on the Monarchist forces, who returned fire as they approached.

Auto rifle shells and laser rounds cut through the air. bullets and mortar shells sang their songs of war as they found their targets.
the Monarchist machines and soldier shrugged off most of the attacks, carrying little for their fallen as they pressed on.

'THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER SIR!" A soldier shouted out as he reloaded.
another soldier next to him tossed a frag into the enemy lines.

"ALRIGHT MEN! FIX BAYONETS AND READY AXES! WE'RE GONNA SHOW THOSE KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOR HOW WE DO THINGS!"

The soldiers fix their bayonets, ranging from the standard pointed blades to axe heads and as the enemy infantry approached the trenches. they were met by the defenders in a brutal trench battle. armored knights and soldiers clashed, Axes, swords and maces cut and crushed their targets. the cries of bloody murder filling their ears as they fought to hold the first line

Two hundred men held the first trench line. Two hundred against a sea of armored magic users.
the Monarchist machines soon entered the battle, the Federal tanks using the ruined walls for cover as they fired upon enemy tanks and machines. the Buggy units surging forth and acting as Cavalry, charging into enemy lines and running enemy infantry over. rocket troopers taking shots and the enemy's armor.

the Monarchist machines blast back. destroying many of the buggy's

"This is Buggy 1, heading back to base to resupply! all remaining buggy;s regroup on me! stay clear of the Mechs, your rockets will only dent them. focus on infantry and tanks!"

the Zims continued to lay down fire with Tink and Bagin's machine shredding enemy armor with their autocannons. however the guns were reaching their heat limit.

"Max's they just keep coming!" Tom screamed over the coms as his zim was hit by auto rifle fire.

"Shut your crying Tom and keep firing!" Jink's said as she reloaded her grenade launcher and fired again.

"They'll be on us soon and we'll have to engage in melee with them. be ready everyone."
Max's looked at their current situation and thought that there's no way of winning this battle, the best his team and defenders could do is just hold the line and give the enemy a black eye before they were steam rolled.

the battle continued to rage on with the storm. the first trench finally began to crumble with the last five soldiers holding the Trench way.

"FOR THE FEDERATION!" One of the last cried out. his armor torn, battered and scorched. he leaped into the horde of Monarchist soldiers, swinging his axe down onto the head of one of the knights. madness and bloodlust taking hold as and the last four of the first line fought like mad dogs before being put down by three fireballs. the blast being seen by the second Trench line.

the second Artillery gun was hit by enemy counter strikes but continued to fire in defiance. most of its crew laying dead and scattered across the emplacement. out of the ten men that manned it only three remained.

elswhere the Mortar tank preformed shoot and scoot actions. changing its location after three shots to avoid being hit.
the tanks that lined the walls held their positions. providing cover fire for the trenches and buggys. but the battle was tanking its toll on the defenders. every time a tank needed to resupply that was one less gun slowing the enemy's approach and soon the enemy mechs would fall upon the defenders.
the battle turning into a brawl in the trenches and around the walls of the outpost.

"Do not falter! SEND AS MANY OF THESE BASTARDS TO HELL AS YOU CAN!"

Marlo managed to cut down one Monarchist Zim and use its sword against the others. the other defending Zims that could slay an enemy did the same. but it still would not be enough.

"Damn, at this point we're gonna be overrun.!" "Tom's kept his distance from enemy units. blasting auto rifle rounds into any that got close to him.

"Damnit Tom will just stop Crying and just fight!?" Bruno shouted as he kneed an enemy mech into a wall and stabbed it.

"Out of Ammo for the autocannon. we'll have to rely on the plasma's from her on out." Bagin said as she flipped switches to try and keep the guns cooled.

"Got it, the detaching autocannon, You know time it is Bagin?" the dwarf grinned as the light autocannon hissed as the latches that held it in place opened. the gun falling and hitting the ground to reveal a hand.

"Tink, No"

"ITS HAMMER TIME!"

The Medium mech reached back and pulled out a giant warhammer and began to swing into the incoming enemies.
Max focused on the battle in front of him, looking around as the enemies descended upon his team and the other defenders. One Zim after another falling in battle with very few of the enemies machines being destroyed. Max thought of trying to get his team out of here, to save them... but they would probably be branded as deserters but if they stay here.. .then they would very much die.

Jink's fired off another grenade into the enemy lines. a light flashes in her cockpit. "Out of Grenades Max. you got a plan beyond this?"

"Working on in Jink's for now just try and hold out as long as you ca-"

Max was cut off by Tom.

"I say we get the hell out of here!, The outpost is on the verge of collapse and we're not even ankle deep in enemy units!"

Max was already overburden by the heat of battle. He became fed up with Tom and finally just snapped at him.

"God damnit Tomas WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR FIVE FUC-"

Max's voice was cut off as a blast hit his Zim. warping and distorting his machines chest before just leaving a hole in it. the Zim fell to its knees as the light faded from its eye.

the team froze and looked in shock.

"M-max?" Jink's looked in utter shock and disbelief. "m-max?" she walked up to the now dead machine.

Tom began to scream and his scream lead to panic and he turn and ran. throwing his weapons to the side and running for his life.

"No way... what.. what kind of weapon was that?" Bruno looked in horror before snapping out of it. "TOM GET BACK HERE! TINK! BAGIN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"On the other side of the Base with Marlo, whats going on?" Bagin forced the Plasma autocannons to cool faster so they don't overheat"

"Heard Tom's crying. did he stub his toe or something?" Bagin crushes another Monarchist machine.

"Max...Max's is down. unknown enemy fire just tore his machine to shreds"

Marlo blocks the swing of an enemy strike.

"Damn, this isn't good. the Trenches are being overrun and our numbers are dwindling.." Marlo kicked back the machine he was fighting and looked around the outpost.

the second Trench line was already on the verge of being overran and the buggy units were being wiped out by enemy fire. the tanks were still holding the walls by they couldn't cover every side of the outpost. he looked to the Artillery placements as saw one of them go up in flames. its ammo exploding and taking part of the outpost with it.

"FALL BACK BEHIND THE WALLS! ABANDON THE TRENCHES AND MAN THE WALLS!"

The soldiers began to trickle back behind the walls through the trenches, sealing the doors behind them. safe from most of the enemy fire but unable to rest as they moved to the wall emplacements to continue the fight.
Marlo and three other Zims along with Tink and Bagin retreated behind the walls as well. sealing the gate and moving to cover the breaches along the walls.

back to Bruno and Jink's.
it was now them against the enemy coming in on their side of the outpost. Bruno cut down another enemy, the arm of his machine began to break down as he had suffered heavy damage.

"This... this isn't good..JINKS! JINKS! SNAP OUT OF IT! I NEED HELP HERE!"

Jinks sat still and motionless as she stared at the husk of Max's machine. she was in disbelief that he was truly dead..
suddenly her machine was rocked by something hitting it and she snapped back to reality as she heard Bruno's voice.

"JINKS!,JINKS! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

She stood up and looked to Bruno. his Zim missing one of its arms and half of its head. its armor was torn up.

"BRUNO!"

"Welcome back ji-"

the sound of a heavy weapon cuts off his voice as the same thing that happend to max... happened to Bruno. his machine slumping over and Jink's sees it. Bruno and Max's killer.
A new Monarchist machine with heavy armor and shoulder mounted cannons. a mace in its hand along with a shield and autocannon in the other. it was a medium mech and unlike the other monarchist machines. it had two eyes.
Following behind it were three other new machines. each one with a shoulder mounted gun and a single horn on their heads. their eyes looked around the outpost, firing on everything they say

the tanks and infantry along their side of the wall her team was guarding was being overrun by the enemy.

"No...no... no...i'll kill you... i'll kill you.. I'LL KILL YOU!" She grabbed Bruno's sword and charged the new enemy. she swung both blades at it, only for it to catch both of her arms.

"The Zim Mark 2... the only good machine made by the Remnant. Now a relic just like the Zim itself."

the new enemy ripped off one of the arms of her machine and discarding it. Jink's kicked and struggled. firing the head Vulcans into the chest of her enemy only for the shots to do nothing.

"DIE DAMN YOU! DIE!"

"Pathetic."

he punched her machine in the chest over and over again before throwing her into a building. the stone walls of the building crumbling and giving way, most of it crashing down on top of her.

in the cockpit Jink's looked up at the new enemy as it walked off to attack the rest of the base. leaving her to die there.
Meanwhile Marlo receives word that the west side of the outpost has fallen.

"This isn't good our defenses are crumbling.. Tink! Bagin! go check on the West side! see if there is anyone left over there!

"Aye sir"

their machine rushes to the west side of the base but they didn't need to travel far to see what happened. for they came face to face with their teams killer.

its eyes locked with there's as the two Medium mechs sized each other up.

"Its almost uncanny." Bagin said with concern in her voice.

"Aye, you they new about our machine all along?"

"No.. something tells me they just had the same idea.."

Tink raised their shield and hammer and the Monarchist Beast did the same.

"Lets find out who's better and said the loser screaming to hell!" Tink roared as he charged the Monarch Beast.

"Very well Federal Dog."

the two machines clashed, Tinks hammer smashed against the Beast shield, causing the ground beneath it to buckle.
the Monarch pilot laughed as he swung his mace, planting it firmly into the side of Tink and Bagin's machine, causing structural damage to it

"GAH!, what kind of horse power is that!?"

"I'm see no signs of damage on the enemy machine!"

"Impossible!"

their machine is struck again and knocked back by another blow from their enemy.

"It is possible. As impressive as your machine is, it still has the flaw of using 400 year old technology."

it readies to fire its shoulder cannons but Tink was quicker, peppering it with the autocannons and boosting up to uppercut the Monarchist machine.
as the two machines battled the outpost continued to crumble around them, the last artillery emplacement being destroyed by Monarchist infantry that had broken through the defense.

the mace of the machine swung down, crushing the shield and arm of tink and Bagin's machine.
The Warmachines autocannons peppered and tore into the armor of the Beast. the two mechs slamming their heads together. their horsepower tearing the ground apart as they fought throughout the outpost.
The Warmachine's warhammer slamming down on one of the Beast's shoulder cannons while the mace of the Beast dented and shattered the chest armor of the Warmachine.All while the Monarchist soldiers watched and cheered their champion on.

the Beast grabbed hold of the Warmachine and threw it into the Outpost command center. parts of the building giving way to the weight of the medium mech.
the Warmachine struggled to stand but stand it did. Meanwhile the cockpit was filled with the sounds of alarms and red warning lights.


"W've lost the use of one of the Autocannons. heat sinks 1 through 5 are down. left leg has suffered major damage!"
Bagins panicked as she worked to try and solve what problems she could deal with from the cockpit.

"This battle is over Federal dogs, surrender and you may keep your lives and machine. However you will become my Trophy. Or you can die like the rest of your comrades."

he gestures to the burning outpost, the remaining Zim defenders laying in ruins and the remaining infantry fighting and dying as the outpost burns. Marlo's Zim surrounded by the enemy and being torn apart and held up on the pointed ends on Halberds.

Tink and Bagin looked at their situation.. the battle was truly lost and with the lost of their teammates. what little fire that burned within them faded away. Tink looked to Bagins with tears in his eyes because for all he knew, He and Her were all that remained of the team, of their friends .... he couldn't risk it...

"Forgive me Bagin... but... Ancestors forgive me.."

his hands were shaking, as were the hands of their war machine.
Bagin reached out and held his hands in hers.

"It's okay Tink... I will go with whatever choice you make."

The two sat in silence for a few moments as the Monarchist forces surrounded them. the Warhammer fell from the machines hand as it fell to its knees. the rain still pouring down upon this battlefield.. down the ruined armor of the Warmachine..

"We... Surrender.."

the beast stepped forward and picked up the Warhammer. it looked down at the Federal machine.

"You made a wise choice this day Federal dog. Call in the dropships and prepare to March. Our Queen will love our gifts."

the battle of outpost Zeta 1 came to an end with the Warmachine and its pilots being taken away as the Monarchist mop up forces progressed inwards towards their main force.
the battlefield around the outpost was silent say for the sound of the rain hitting against the ruined metal and the hissing against the flames.
there was not a soul left behind in these ruins... say for one. Emerging from the rubble was Jink's Mark two. its armor heavily damaged. it stood there, its head observing the aftermath.

she soaked in the details... her attention setting upon the remains of Max's Zim. she walked towards it, reaching out to it before her machine fell to its knees and she began to cry and scream to the heavens.

all those around her had been slaughtered, all those around her had been burned. all died in vain for a battle that could never have been won.

All they had done....

Was buy time.....

Chapter 1 end.
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Chapter 2
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hours pass but the storm still raged. Jink's sat alone in her cockpit, clutching herself tightly as her body shivered from the cold.

her screen flashed as it detected something, the signs of life.

"What? a survivor? where?"

she looks around for the source of the sign only for it to point to the remains of Max's Zim.

"Impossible..."

she zooms in close and sees the body of Max hanging from the remains of his zim's cockpit. his life signs barely there.

"H-he's alive...."

she reached out with the remaining arm of her machine and gently plucked him from the remains of his machine. his body was scorched and shredded from the blast but somehow he was alive.
she brought her machine into the ruins of the outpost hanger. the traces of fighting could be seen in here with the remains of destroyed zims being hung up by cables. the bodies of armed engineers scattered all around along side soldiers.

Jink's held Max's body close as she carried him through the outpost. he was barely alive.. his breathing was shallow and he shuddered from the cold and pain he was in.

finally she found the med bay or at least what was left of the place. she laid Max down on one of the beds and did her best to treat his wounds with what was left. he laid there unmoving but alive and now stable.
Jinks stayed by his side the whole night, her hand holding his as she cried herself to sleep.

Morning came and the storm had somewhat passed leaving only light rainfall behind. When Jink's awoke she found Max still resting, his shuddering slowed thanks to some of the pain meds she had found him. However his condition was still poor and she would need to find proper medical staff to treat him, But first she needs to get them to friendly territory.

She searched the outpost, her pistol drawn and ready in case any Monarchist stayed behind or some animal snuck into the place seeking shelter.
However she found only death throughout the main building for the bodies of soldiers from both sides filled the halls of the main building. blood and blast markings painted many of the halls she walked. spent casings scattered across the floors. One by one she checked each body she found, hoping to find any survivors among the piles of dead soldiers. sadly to no avail for the Monarchist were familiar with the standard armor of the Federal forces, almost each shot was directed towards the small gap between the gorget and the helmet. for the breastplate and plat carrier of the armor are too thick for standard rifle and side arm rounds to fully penetrate.Finally she found the mess hall and storage room and searched for food. tables throughout the mess hall had been flipped over and reinforced to be used as cover in order to halt the enemies advance through the outpost. many of the makeshift barricades and cover had been blown open by explosives or a well aimed fireball.
as she walked through the mess hall her eyes scanned the room. seeing how each soldier had died. either by being shot or havening been brutally clubbed to death by the enemies melee weapons. the Monarchist preferred Maces and Clubs with only their commanders wielding swords for decoration on their armor. the sight of the dead soldiers made her skin to her stomach and even shudder. despite her fears she pushed on, the only sounds echoing through the room were her footsteps and the sound of rain dripping in. finally she reached the other side of the mess hall, finding some food still left out and some more in the fridge. along side the MRE'S were burgers, pasta, snacks and drinks.
Making her way further back to the storage room she found a good chunk of it inventory still intact, it seemed the Monarchist were well supplied enough to the point they didn't need to raid federal supplies.

"I'm surprised those bastards didn't take everything with them. Well don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

she took some of the basic MRE's and made her way back to medical to check on Max and tend to him. he was still there, unmoving but thankfully still alive. Jink's adjusted Max's bed in order to sit him up. she then carefully prepared the MRE so that he wouldn't choked on them and began to feed him.
taking the time to even clean his face once the MRE was all gone.

"I'll get us out of here Max. Just hold on... please.."

She held his hand and surprisingly his hand gripped hers. however he sadly did not wake up.
Jink's pulled away from slowly and covered him in a blanket that was laying on one of the nearby beds. she then left medical again and searched around the outpost again for anything that could be salvaged.
As she wondered deeper into the outpost, she could hear the sound of static and voices. she followed the sounds to their source and found the Com room. its staff were dead like the rest of the soldiers guarding the outpost, however she found the communications were still barely working.
she looked around the ruined com room as the sound of static was the only thing filling her ears. she found the Nav table still intact just covered in blood and a corpse of a communication's office. finally from one of the few radios Jink's heard something other then static.

"**static** To any Federal units within the re-**hiss**- Regroup at Reef p-**hiss* Bravo! we are planning a massive counter attack before M-**static** Forces attack Fort Novos. I repeat to any **static** forces in the area regroup at Reef point Bravo. this message will repeat"

"Reef point Bravo? maybe we can get to Fort Novos and recover before the counter attack."

She moved to the Nav table and moved the corpse off of it, her eyes scanned the map for the location until she finally found it. the map showed the flickering IFF's of Federal forces moving towards the rally point.

"Reef point Bravo is three to four days from here and Novos is four more days from that..." *she looked over the distance* "but that's if i cut straight through the forest which i can't. Not with Max's condition.. I'll need to travel by road but while easier to travel by.. might also make us a target.."

she continued to pounder as she looked at the map for any form of shortcut however, she found none. there was also the matter of transportation she'd need to deal with. her Zim Mk2 could carry two people but it was damaged and she couldn't risk combat with him in the cockpit with her. maybe a smaller vehicle could work probably a mobile command unit?

she pocketed the map and went to search the rest of the outpost for transportation. the outside of the outpost was still a bloody mess. its walls were broken and banners torn, the fires that once raged through the storm had now become embers in the wind. The air was cold thanks to the rain and a light fog had rolled in or at least she thought it was fog.
she began her search and found many vehicles in utter ruin with many hit by direct attacks or by stray rounds and blast. Finally she came across a working transport, a slightly damaged mobile transport unit. it was a rather large vehicle with two floors. the first floor was the kitchen and bathroom while the second floor was the living area and cockpit. the Cargo area had taken some damage but other then that it was still good for transporting materials and mechs.
From the look of it, the transport was not of Federal property and must have simply been abandoned when the fighting started.
(Using the truck from Zone of the Enders as a ref)

She surveyed the area as she approached the transport, slowly she made her way of the stairs and peered through the window on the door. the room was empty with no signs of life or movement. she found the door unlocked and with caution, slowly opening it. She creeped into the room and kept her pistol at the ready, refusing to let her guard down as she searched the second floor. she checked the cockpit and found the keys still in the ignition as well as a full tank of gas. whoever owned this was really in a hurry or expected to come back to this. too bad for them Jink's planned on taking this for herself.
After completing her sweep of the second floor she made her way down to the first floor and found an almost similar scene as before. it was abandon with even its kitchen being almost empty.

"This will get us out of here. just gotta check the cargo hold and then load it up.

Jink's made her way to the back of the transport and climbed up the ladder. cracking open the back door she looked inside the cargo hold to see very little worth noting inside of it. searching the cargo hold she found crates of ammo and weapons along with commercial goods. she was suspicious of why this transport had both weapons and commercial goods but decided she'll have to deal with it later.
As she went to exit the hold, she could hear something in the distance. quickly she moved to the door and leaned against the wall before peeking out. the sounds got louder and clearer... they were the sounds of a mech moving through the forest. she saw birds flying and the disturbance of trees and finally the silhouette of a mech. jink's could tell it was a light mech from its size and from the shape and its lighting that it was a Monarchist Zim. it emerged from the tree line and allowed her to get a better look at it. it was of standard Monarchist make but it was somewhat different from the others.
there were two holes in its head and mounted on its arms were vulcan guns, much of its armor was thicker and covered in odd plating. it became clear to her what type of machine this was but she had only heard talk of these models from crazed infantry. it was an M.S (Monarchist Sweeper) this machine was made for cleaning up infantry and gurrila forces. she even noticed it was two feet shorter then the average Zim.
It stomped into the base and began to search the area, destroying any intact or barely intact Federal Zims or vehicles it found. This would kill any chance of federal stragglers being able to preform field repairs on their machines. she watched as it continued its search before it turned its head towards the transport.

"Shit,shit, shit"

it began to walk towards the transport, crushing a buggy under its feet. as it drew closer it suddenly stopped as both she and the Monarchist heard something approaching. the sound engines could be heard, followed by machinegun fire as two Federal gunships strafed the Monarchist machine. Jink's was honestly surprised to see some air support finally, heck she wondered how they even survived this long.
the sweeper returned fire at the Gunships and began to peruse them, the sounds of gunfire and metal footsteps slowly growing distant. those gunships may not have known this but they had just bought her and Max some time to escape. Quickly she worked to load up as many supplies as she could, her eyes and ears open for the sound of the sweeper or other Monarchist machines. Finally she went to get Max from the med bay, she approached his body and took a deep breath as she slowly began to unhooked him from the machines. he let out a painfilled groan as she slowly and gently picked him up from the bed

"Its okay Max, its okay"

she tried to sooth his pain as she carried him to the transport. a part of her could not bare to see him in this state
he was neither living or dead, his body had healed but not enough to where it would be truly safe for him to move around but neither of them had much of a choice. if he was gonna survive, she needed to get him out of here. She had lost everything in a single day...
Her entire unit was destroyed, her friends and comrades all slaughtered or scattered.. all she had left was Max..
She laid him onto a bed in the transport and hooked some IV bags to him.

"Just one more thing and we'll be good to go.."

She pressed her head against his. mummering something in elvish to him.
Words that only she could understand

"Na se aenor o gern, please tirith thar gwen be gwe embark bo pin Journey na pin barn hub"

Translation: <<To the gods of old, please watch over us as we embark on our journey to our safe haven.>>

she then leaves the transport and made her way to the hanger to get her mech loaded up. However as she entered the hanger she heard the sound of heavy metal footsteps approaching the outpost.

"Please be friendly, please be friendly!"

she rushes to see whats approaching and she sees it's the sweeper returning from its fight with the gunships. one of them crushed and clutched in its hand being dragged across the ground. its armor dented and spent from its fight. its eye surveying the outpost and once more it's sights fall upon the transport. Seeing that it was once again the sweeper Jink rushed to her machine, damaged it may be but it was her only choice and chance to keep that thing away from her and Max's only ticket to safety. it had one arm and one arm was good enough to hold a weapon. Meanwhile outside, the sweeper crew closer to the transport and began to inspect it, its eye twitching and scanning. its pilot looked rather bored of his current task for it seems that the only action its actually been in today was its fight with the gunships and a few infantry men

As its about to finish it's scans it suddenly detects an energy signature in the outpost hanger. the machine turned its head towards the Hanger, Surprised that another federal soldier and machine were still kicking .

the Sweeper lumbered over towards the hanger doors, its guns and saws at the ready as it grabbed hold of the doors and began to pull them open, only for a fist to punch straight through and send him sliding back and almost tumbling over if not for her booster back acting as a counter weight.
Jink's machine boosted out of the hanger and towards him at full speed.
before the Monarchist pilot could react his machine was punched again, rocking the cockpit and rattling his head. Jink's attacks were relentless as she needed to keep the advantage in this fight.

"DIE MONARCHIST DOG!"

As she was about to land another punch the Sweeper reacted and grabbed hold of her machines fist.

"!?"

Its arm tenses up as it lifts her into the and slams her into the ground, over and over again before letting go and boosting towards her machine and kicking her into the Hanger. parts of her machines armor breaking off and scattering all over the area. Jink's was left stunned for a few moments but the sweeper wasn't going to give her the time to recover and it thrusted its saw blade towards her, tearing into the exposed insides of the mark II. it reels its arm back and swings down on her, quickly she grabbed hold of the arm, the saw blade spinning like mad as the sweeper continued pushing down at full force, the blade started to dig into the shoulder of her machine.

"I-it ain't gonna be that EASY!"

With the Mark II's remaining strength Jinx's pulls the sweeper forward and knees it in the chest, denting and buckling some of its armor and knocking it on the ground. its arm being torn off in the process and landing on the ground. the inside of Jink's cockpit was full of red lights and blaring alarms. the Mark ii was in poor shape and couldn't take much more abuse. she needed to finish that sweeper off and get out of here before Monarchist showed up. she looked towards said sweeper and saw that he hadn't gotten back up yet, meaning its pilot was stunned or that it was suffering some kind of issue. Either way she wasn't going to take the chance of it recovering.
She picked up the broken arm of the sweeper and walked towards the downed machine and just as it was about to right itself up, She slammed her foot down on it's mid section crushing its armor under her heel. she raised the saw blade up and thrusted it down towards the sweepers chest. quickly it's remaining arm grabbed hold of the blade and tried to stop it from going in any further.

"FALL DAMN YOU!"

She shouted as the head Vulcans fired into the main camera of the sweeper and then into its arm

"FALL!"

Its armor was weakened and shredded by the Vulcan rounds and finally the blade entered the chest of the sweeper, killing the pilot and coating the blade in a mix of machine fluid and blood. its body twitched and sputtered as the light left its mono eye and its body finally became limp. Meanwhile the Mark ii's hand was shaking, shaking just like the hands of its pilot. Jink's breathing was heavy, her body trembled as she tried to calm herself..
How could the Monarchist create such weapons and machines?
how could they? they were all a bunch of unorganized terrorist, upstart farmers and wand wavers..

The Mark ii limped towards the transport and opened the side cargo door. there Jink's laid the mark ii down and docked it. all the while she thought about all she had been told about their enemy.
They told her and her fellow soldiers, people of the Federal Remnant that the Monarchist weren't a threat, that they were upstart nobles, farmers and wand wavers. An unorganized army of terrorist with some whore they had propped up as their Queen. An army that had the same weapons and equipment as us and yet here they are with better weapons, better gear and stronger magic then we had seen in the news feeds and in training.. she had never seen Zim's melt like that in the face of the enemy..

she exited the cockpit of her machine and sealed the side hatch as she returned to the vehicle. Once inside she took off her armor, leaving her under suit on and stowing it away in some closet. taking a seat in the main driver seat she took a few moments to relax before starting up the transport and getting the hell out of there. leaving the ruined outpost behind her.
Rain began to pour down again as she drove down the war torn roads, seeing destroyed machines and vehicles here and there along with the bodies of soldiers who either died from gun fire or killed each other in melee. She was alone with her thoughts on this road, thoughts that filled her with pain. the lost of Bruno, Tink and Baggin.. Tom.. tom was still out there somewhere.
she couldn't blame him for running during that battle. the monsters they faced was something none of them were expecting to see in their lifetime. Maybe she and Max might find him out there in the wilds. he was always the fastest out of the group. that thought gave her comfort in from the cold air and the pain she felt. there was nothing on the wind say for the storm and rain. no artillery, no fighters or airships filling the skies.
it was all silent now as is the forest around her.
However back at the outpost two Monarchist machines arrive to see the destroyed sweeper. the two machines split up to investigate the outpost and the sweeper. both pilots were dressed in a full set of purple and white armor with blue lighted visors. the first one enters the inside of the outpost and wonders its halls, dead soldiers everywhere as to be expected. it goes about collecting the crystal dog tags of the fallen as well as the metal dog tags of the federal soldiers. however as it was collecting the bodies it noticed something.. some of the bodies had already been moved, they could tell because of where the blood was and where the body was. taking a closer look the figure held out their hand in which a crystal glowed and a flash of light filled the hallways. there they saw it. fresh glove marks and footprints.
Meanwhile outside the second pilot inspected the sweepers remains, having their machine pry the bladed arm out of its chest and tearing open the cockpit. seeing the bloodied remains of the pilot, their body almost unrecognizable but that wasn't what the armored figure was here for. hoping into the cockpit they pry open one of the sides and pull out a black crystal cube lined with silver and other metals.
The Figure bore witness to the sweepers final moments

the other figure exited the building to confirm their findings. both now know that someone was hiding in this outpost and is still out there. both spoke to each other in an unknown language

the two nod as the first figure tosses the cube into their cockpit as they climb back into their machine.
the second one does the same, storing the dog tags it had collected.

finally the machines shown as the storm brings lighting that illuminates them both. the first machine is built like that of a beastmen, its head in the visage of a wolf with tail and claws to match. the second is built like that of an executioner with tow massive weapons on its back. a beheading Greatsword and a massive Axe.
it cuts back to jinx who can hear howling in the distance as she drives through the remains of a battlefield that took place along the road. it was another large scale engagement, the burned out remains of airships and fortifications litter this particular battlefield and unlike the outpost it seems that the Monarchist are garrisoning the ruins. Salvagers also seem to be roaming around the battlefield, collecting the ruined federal machines. she can see the Salvager light mech nicknamed the "Working Joe" a machine built from certain Zim components but is in a whole is an original machine and she could see both its civilian type and combat type are there. patrolling and Harvesting as they set up camp under Monarchist watch.
The Salvagers are a very nomadic people belonging to no one nation and often act as merchants when encountering others. Jink's had only encountered them a handful of time and they're a nice group of people.
(Working Joe Civilian type) (Working Joe Security type)

"I guess that's why the Monarchist are okay with them."

she continues driving passed until she sees two Monarchist Zim appear on the road and raise their shields. forcing the transport to come to a halt.
the Zim's and a few vehicles pull up to her and troops begin to disembark and surround her.

Jink;'s was sweating bullets but she needed to be calm and play it cool as to not give herself away. she got up and quickly changed out of her under suit and threw on whatever clothes she could find and stowed it away. she heard the soldiers coming up the stairs and knocking on her door.

"M.M.P Open up or we will be forced to make our way in."

One of the soldiers spoke in a gruff voice

"J-just a moment!"

She rushed to the door and unlocked it, she braced herself as she opened the door. there stood a team of five fully armored and armed Monarchist soldiers.

"Pardon us Ma'am but this is just a routine inspection. we will have to search your vehicle and ask you a few questions before we let you pass through the area."

he and his soldiers step into the vehicle and begin their search

"I-i understand"

she really didn't have much of a choice in the matter right now. it would be suicide to try and break through their blockade or even resist them. she was just one person against an entire base.
the soldiers enter the transport and begin their search while she was pulled to the side by the captain.
He pulled out a clipboard and pen as they took a seat. the captain took of his helmet, showing that he was an old half orc. a full bushy beard and mustache to go with it. the man had seen his fair share of combat

"First off on the list, Name, age and occupation"

she took a few moments to respond as she was still sweating and internally panicking. she was never a good liar. her voice had a slight trembling to it as she spoke.

"I'm Veleerin, i'm 21 and i'm a freelance salvager. I recently acquired some salvage from the battlefield and i was trying to find some place to sell it."

the captain raised an eyebrow as he wrote down her name

"Oh? we don't get many Freelancers around here, most prefer working in groups but may we see said Salvage?"

as she was about the answer him one of his soldiers called out to him.

"Sir! found something you might wanna look at!"

the captain looked at her then to his soldier who was coming up from the lower level of the transport.

"Wait here."

he stood up and followed his soldier blow, there they saw Max laid out and still unconscious. hooked up to Iv bags and simple medical equipment.

"We've got a wounded Human male sir. his body appears to be covered burns, from a quick glance these are magical induced burns."

the captain looked over max's body.

"I'm surprised this man is still alive. he's in need of proper medical attention, sadly we don't have what he needs nor do we have any means of getting him to said treatment."

Jinks remained seated, worried about what they'll do with Max if they found out he's a soldier. she sees another one of the soldiers going through the lockers and finding clothes and suits. getting closer to the locker with her pilot suit armor in it. the captain emerges from below deck and gets her attention.

"We found your friend downstairs, poor bastards lucky to be alive"

Jink's tilted her head down towards the table, some relief filled her knowing they didn't hurt him.

"Yes... yes he is.."

"Well before we wrap up inspection I'll need to ask you one more question as well as take a look at your salvage. it's all for the records."

"Sir!"

the soldier checking the lockers walked over to them with her pilot armor and placed it on the table.

"Found this in one of the lockers"

the captain takes a good look at the armor and inspects it

"Federal pilot armor eh? this one of the pieces of Salvage you were talking about?"

Jink did her best to keep calm

"Y-yes, i found it just abandoned in some ruins and well, i thought it would make a decent buck"

"You're correct in that as anything from a Federal pilot is hard to come by! I think we'll take it if you don't mind. Don't worry I'll compensate you for it."

he looked at her with a causal smirk on his face as he stood up.

"S-sure, i didn't know they were valuable to people... i just thought they were bought for the metal"

"Well the reason they're so valuable is because our pilots keep blowing up any hostile Zim they see. turning the whole thing into slag and lowering the value of the parts and making trophies hard to come by."

"I-i see...then you can have it sir"

he smiles as he pats her shoulder

"Thank you miss, Now do you have any other piece of salvage we need to look at?"

"Yes.. in the cargo hold.

Jink's leads them to the Cargo hold and flips on the lights showing the heavily damaged Mark II. the Captain and his men looked in awe of the machine as they moved to inspect it.

"You are one lucky Salvager girl. you might be on your way to the big leagues if you keep finding stuff like this."

his men continued their inspection of the cargo hold, checking every crate and finding the weapons, ammo, food and supplies before reporting back to him.

"Well we'll have to confiscate the weapons and ammo. the food and Medical supplies will remain with you. Now for my final question."

he turns to face jinks with a stern look in his eyes.

"Where exactly are you heading?"

she froze up a little from his stare, its like he was looking into her soul and then she felt it. he casted something on her.

"I'm.. taking my friend to seek medical treatment.. i was heading in the direction of the nearest Federal fortress because they would have the equipment needed to treat him."

she felt her heart pounding in her chest as the Orc continued to stare at her intensely before he sighed.

"Heed my advice girl, you're gonna wanna steer clear of that fortress. go right passed it and head straight for the city where it will be safer for you and your friend."

she was taken a back by his words

"W-why?"

"because it will just be safer. you would also do best to wait with the Salvagers till the storm passes."

he hands her a bag of gold coins for her pilot armor as he and his men wrap up their inspection and leave the transport. once they were gone Jink slumped against the wall and let out a stress filled sigh of relief as she had somehow did all of that.. without being caught..
she could hear the sound of the vehicles pulling away and the Zim's clearing the road. she took a few moments before deciding to heed the captains advice and driving to one of the salvager camps.
the storm began to pour down more and more as Jink cooked dinner for her and max. she looked out into the coming darkness and felt like something was out there... beyond the Salvagers and beyond the monarchist.. she couldn't put her finger on it but decided to ignore it for now as she fed Max and then sat down to eat.
Once more left to her thoughts and memories and as she ate, her mind began to wonder away from her and she begins to think back on better days before suddenly hearing a knock at the door. snapping her back to reality.

"More soldiers?"

she got up and slowly approached the door. she could hear voices and chattering and she realized who was at her door.
looking through the window she saw three Salvagers at her door.

"Hello? may we come in friend? yes?" **click,click**

she smiled and sighed a little as she opened the door for them.

"Hello there, what brings you over on such a rainy night?"

she invites them in so they can get out of the rain. the Salvagers are a race of large bug men, mostly horned beetles that range from black and white to gold in coloring. their little feelers sense the air in the cabin. smelling the food she had made. it was a very basic soup of meat and veggies.

"We saw you where new in camp, freelancer yes?"

"Heard soldiers take most of goods, yes?"

"is sad day when goods are taken, you still have some yes?"

"Would like to trade, make freelance feel comfortable in trade."

she took a few moments to ponder her current odds.
she wouldn't make it far with what she had on hand and her odds for making it too the rally point were very slime to none existent right now. with her lack of weapons and the condition of the the Mark ii.

"Well, I do have something but its not in the best of conditions for trading."

she leads them to the cargo hold and showed them the damaged mark ii. the three of them looked in awe of the machine as if they had only seen a somewhat intact version of it before. the three Salvagers muttered among themselves as they examined the machine. finally one of them turned and approached her with a gleam in his eyes.

"We can trade you one of our spare Working Joes for this. even in its condition it is of great value to us."

Jink's wasn't all that surprised that they wanted to trade for it but she was surprised that they would trade another mech for it and not spare parts.

"Sure, that sounds fair, how about we do the trade tomorrow when the storm passes."

the three of the nodded in agreement before doing their customary goodbyes and leaving back to their camp. leaving her alone with Max again.
after she finished her dinner she cleaned up and went below deck to the bed room, checking up on Max one last time before heading off to bed herself. the storm still ragging outside even after hours had passed it was still there, along with its dreaded howling.
Jink tossed and turned in her sleep as she dreamed.


------------------------pausing here for now------------------------------------------------------------------------