Off Shore to Cat's Island

Flowers....a field...shade...a tree... a figure in the distance is there...their mouth is moving...calling for-

"-66!"

The armored woman turns abruptly to her right, her CO, 33, stood by the railing of the deck and looked her into the eyes, even through the thick red lenses of her helmet, the identical female soldiers stood idle and motionless, simply staring back at each other.

66, or the number she was identified with. "What I am identified with..." 66 thought briefly, instantly responding back to her CO: "Yes, Mam?!" Her voice, no, all of the Haven Troopers on board's voices were muffled. It was one of the only traits that set them apart from one another with their helmets still on. 66 herself, though; rarely removed her own helmet. For a good reason at that.

Her commanding officer held her P90 casually and then pointed to the island. "We might be heading in soon, I need you to round up the unit and have them in battle ready condition, understand?" She commanded. 66 nodded, standing straight and half saluted. "Right!" She replied, then turned around and headed about the ship. "Over here, report to the loading bay, on the double! Move it Move it Move it!" She commanded members of her unit once she seen them. She wasn't sure if they were going to see action, but if they were, they were going to be thrown head first into it and they were not going to stop fighting. If their CO commanded it, there was going to be plenty of bloodshed this evening.

A small stealth camouflaged cypher camera watches the scenarios unfold from the deck of the Damocles, and upon the shoreline of the uncharted island that seemed to be owned by the infamous DRAKE and his leader, Catherine Miller. Though, she, as in Maria Di Scudo; already knew the truth. At one time the legendary daughter of Master McDonnell Benedict Miller was once the notorious soldier of fortune DRAKE. She knew of this because of her impeccable intelligence gathering her spies conducted. And now, she watches the tension build from nearly an ocean away. She was silently on board on her many private ships; a non-militarized yacht that was somewhere in the South China Sea. She observed from the Cypher's camera, and was petting one of her many obscure and grungy torn stuffed bears while sitting in the relative darkness of a command room. She was alone, and she preferred to be alone, especially when it came to entertainment. "I wonder how this will all turn out." a small voice dictates, her painted red lips smiling a sadists grin.  

((ooCC: since she IS technically in an undisclosed area, I hope you guys will not suddenly start trying to RP with me right here, right now...consider me an NPC yet ))

a dozen or so nautical miles off the seaward side of the Battle ship, a new craft materialises in the sky, larger than the Damocles, and impressively armed.

The flying warship veers to the starboard side and lines up with the battleship before gliding forward without the roaring of jets, but the calm sound of a whistle of it's anti-gravity propulsion drives.

Meanwhile, Edgar was trying to make sense of what he saw and felt.

Yuki Togawa. Alive? In another place... Another world?

And yet, the place seemed almost familiar, at least in scent...

Then another thought struck him.

"I know that smell...  Henry! Asuka! They both reeked of that world! Steve, I remember... He told me he pulled them from another dimension! I had forgotten! But... how did she get here? She was dead! I saw her decapitated corpse!..... Hmm, I have a theory, but at least Damien would like to know that she is alive, somewhere in existence..." Edgar thought as he concentrated hard, both on what was before him, and his psychic manifestations activities.

And then, the pain wracked his body.

A powerful guttural, pained roar escaped Edgar, before he rushed from the bridge to the deck.

In a little less than fifteen or so minutes, 66 had the amphibious vehicles ready to be deployed for battle. She herself was about to jump in when she felt a 'zap' inside her head. Looking up, she could make out the outlines of the grand airship that was soaring over her head. She was otherwise unmoved by it's existence due to her emotion suppressed state. She decides to fully plunge herself inside the vehicle which becomes invisible once it splashes down in the deep ocean waves. The vehicle containing 8 or so other Haven Troopers plus herself was more than enough to take on any threat on the beach head; but there was plenty more than where they'd come from.

A roar again escaped Edgar's throat as the pain intensified, and he leaped from the deck of the airborne ship, and became enshrouded in unstable energies.

Edgar's body felt like someone was pouring white hot magma into his nervous system. his pain receptors flared and fired uncontrollably, He was able to get one last message to his flying ship. "Get to Catherine.... Make sure they are alright.... get them to Edward City, it is hers now..."

Then, Edgar's powers fired of their own volition, and he began teleporting around, wildly. randomly. Appearing for a few seconds in one place, before being shifted elsewhere.

Edgar reappeared and sat down, his demeanor cold and unyielding, after what he had seen heard and felt, he was about to leave nothing to chance.

"Ark, go to full battle stations. Uplink to Catherine's island defences and surveillance. I need to know what is happening."

Even as the Ark's weapon bays opened, along the hull and decks of the giant flying vessel, visual feeds cued into Edgar's main consoles, and as he spotted the Templar and his immediate forces move into withdrawal back to the Damocles, he knew it was not over.

"Prepare to launch a full volley of the P3B Tomahawks at the hostile enemy ship, on my mark...."

EDIT: once he saw the Damocles primary weapons begin to rotate their turrets towards the island, and the wakewash of several troop transports in the water, hidden beneath stealth camouflage, Edgar's eyes narrowed.

"Therm-optical cammo." he sent an immediate warning to Catherine's wristcomputer, Then he waited. He would not be the one to instigate a battle, but he would finish it if need be. His blazing red eye turned to Sasa.

"If your men do not stand down now Count, I will destroy them... I'm sorry."

Darkstorm Zero wrote:

Edgar reappeared and sat down, his demeanor cold and unyielding, after what he had seen heard and felt, he was about to leave nothing to chance.

"Ark, go to full battle stations. Uplink to Catherine's island defences and surveillance. I need to know what is happening."

Even as the Ark's weapon bays opened, along the hull and decks of the giant flying vessel, visual feeds cued into Edgar's main consoles, and as he spotted the Templar and his immediate forces move into withdrawal back to the Damocles, he knew it was not over.

"Prepare to launch a full volley of the P3B Tomahawks at the hostile enemy ship, on my mark...."

EDIT: once he saw the Damocles primary weapons begin to rotate their turrets towards the island, and the wakewash of several troop transports in the water, hidden beneath stealth camouflage, Edgar's eyes narrowed.

"Therm-optical cammo." he sent an immediate warning to Catherine's wristcomputer, Then he waited. He would not be the one to instigate a battle, but he would finish it if need be. His blazing red eye turned to Sasa.

"If your men do not stand down now Count, I will destroy them... I'm sorry."

Sasa simply adjusted his sunglasses. "You are very bold to directly threaten my men in front of me Edgar. But I want you to realize, my top men...men like Ivan Belmont, have their own agendas that don't by any means align with my own. I'm not directly responsible...for most of their actions." He doesn't turn to Edgar when he says this, he did not even look at him via his peripherals. He simply stares at the data unfolding before his eyes.

Saša Petrovic wrote:

Sasa simply adjusted his sunglasses. "You are very bold to directly threaten my men in front of me Edgar. But I want you to realize, my top men...men like Ivan Belmont, have their own agendas that don't by any means align with my own. I'm not directly responsible...for most of their actions." He doesn't turn to Edgar when he says this, he did not even look at him via his peripherals. He simply stares at the data unfolding before his eyes.

Edgar didn't reply immediately, but he breathed in slightly and responded.

"It's not a matter of boldness, or even malicious intent. If I could avoid killing humans, even those with specific agendas, I would, and you know why. in this case, Catherine and her men are very important to me, personally as well as professionally."

A thought then occurred to Edgar.

"Tell me, do you know what sort of job it was that she turned down to get this kind of response from your 'comerades'?" edgar asked, knowing Catherine would not likely tell him openly.

Darkstorm Zero wrote:

Edgar didn't reply immediately, but he breathed in slightly and responded.

"It's not a matter of boldness, or even malicious intent. If I could avoid killing humans, even those with specific agendas, I would, and you know why. in this case, Catherine and her men are very important to me, personally as well as professionally."

A thought then occurred to Edgar.

"Tell me, do you know what sort of job it was that she turned down to get this kind of response from your 'comerades'?" edgar asked, knowing Catherine would not likely tell him openly.

"As are my men to me. If it comes to the worst, and if Belmont is captured alive... I ask of you to spare him. I know I have no right to ask of this...but I ask regardless." he coughed into his fist. "To be honest, I have no idea. That is a matter that only Belmont knows. All the more reason to keep him alive if the worst comes." he says then adds. "What is this woman to you? A... lover perhaps? Or is she something else all together?" he asked in turn. "What is this one woman and her men worth to you? Are they worth loosing your freedom over?" he asked this calmly and without threatening intent, more on the tone of genuine curiosity.

Saša Petrovic wrote:

"As are my men to me. If it comes to the worst, and if Belmont is captured alive... I ask of you to spare him. I know I have no right to ask of this...but I ask regardless." he coughed into his fist. "To be honest, I have no idea. That is a matter that only Belmont knows. All the more reason to keep him alive if the worst comes." he says then adds. "What is this woman to you? A... lover perhaps? Or is she something else all together?" he asked in turn. "What is this one woman and her men worth to you? Are they worth loosing your freedom over?" he asked this calmly and without threatening intent, more on the tone of genuine curiosity.  

Edgar narrowed his gaze slightly. "They are worth losing my life and soul over." Edgar stated simply.

"As for Belmont, I can offer no garuntees. The only garunteed way they walk away, is if they leave, now." Edgar stated evenly. "I don't want to actively kill if it can be helped, but I will not allow my people to come to arm, and if that means opening fire upon them, then that is what I must do."

EDIT: Any further discussion abruptly ended, when the screens showed what was now occurring. the Haven troopers began their attack.

"And now, the premise of choice has been taken from my hands... Ark, open fire! Ripple fire the main long range missile batteries, and drive the Damocles beneath the waves! Activate defense shields and prepare supply drops to Catherine's troops, they will need all the help they can get. Activate Linear Cannons and the Colliders. Full speed until we are within primary weapons range!"

From the Island, dozens of what appears to be flares suddenly spark from the south western horizon.

For some reason, Sasa smiled warmly.

As soon as Ed gave the orders... the ship seemed unable to comply. A bunch of warnings echoed in the vessel.

"Warning, worm detected in Antarctic Base Defenses. Defenses and Offensive Weapons are shutting down. B.O.W's located in area, all systems fail!"

Sasa's smile faded into that of a frown. "How is that possible?" he asked the taller man, his body highlighted by the blinking red lights.

Outside, the weapons fired by Edgar's ship seemed to drop out of the sky like flies, falling into the ocean without so much as a cap gun's pop.

Sasa looked uneasy. "No... it couldn't be... him." He frowned, gripping his fingers tightly.

Edgar's breath suddenly deepened, with the dispersement of most of his psychic projections elsewhere in the world, much of Edgar's strength returned in full force. his eyes alight in a crimson glowing haze, and his rage was boiling along with his power.

His teeth became sharklike in a horrible looking grimace, and his aura flared to life about him, like a red fire.

"..... Once more, I have to tempt fate.... and take the ultimate risk. Saša, I will ask you only once to trust in me. Believe in me. If you can, call them off, or help me fight them. Stay here, be safe, do not betray me, and I will give you your wish... I will grant you part of my power. If Catherine dies, I will lose what little of my humanity remains to me... She is the only one who can stop me now..." Edgar's inhuman voice angrily growled out. That terrifying voice, though it's malice and rage was not directed at Saša, it would shake a mortal man to the core.

Edgar pressed a communication relay to Catherine Miller on shore. "Cat, somehow the enemy has disrupted my counterattack. Enemy telepathic interference detected... I am about to transform... I know I agreed not to use it, but the situation is extreme, if you are going to tell me to stop, do it now..."

Edgar then disappeared, he had teleported outside the ship, and appeared on the monitors displaying the sight outside. and Edgar floated to a comfortable height, his aura was growing considerably.

"I prayed to any gods that could hear me that I would never again have to use this form. It was not meant for a mortal world... but you... You all made this an evil that is needed. Now, you will all reap the destruction you have sown this day.

Witht at, Edgar's body began to expand...

Sasa frowned, clasping his gloved hands tighter. "..." he was silent for a moment before reaching up and patted Edgar's shoulder. "...The most I can do is tell them to seize fire. At that, there should at least be some confusion in the chain of command. I had left another in my employ while I have been away...so hearing my voice the Damocles might actually stop long enough for Miller to gain an advantage." he said, walking up to the consoles. He frowned, looking back at Edgar. "Edgar... I have a high intelligence somewhat thanks to my...adoptive father..." he frowns deeper, his sunglasses falling slightly down the bridge of his nose. "But... some of these controls..." he sighs. "Help me turn the radio on. Which button is which?!" He says a little flustered, embarrassed to ask after over looking the complicated equipment that was definitely not current gen.

Catherine Miller wrote:

The relay bounced from the Inter Complex to Cat's headset. Catherine frowned, rolling onto her back into the sand sliding down the dune partway with her hand upon her radio. "Ed, don't. Please it's not worth it. You need to stick to the shadows remember! If you reveal yourself, you're going to have every 1st world country on your ass! I can't let that happen to you!" she says as she shoulders the stock of her assault rifle against her right shoulder and fires at some of the approaching Troops, the fully-automatic weapon cutting down at least three in bright blue flames. She rolled back onto her back to refrain from being shot at.

"...Look, I'll personally retreat to the Inter Complex. Don't worry about me. I'm not that old... I can still fight." she says in a soft manner. "I... We will be able to win this. I mean, it may look bad now, but when you press wolves into a corner, they tend to fight back even harder. Just... I don't want you to waste what time you have. Trust me, if things get too hairy I won't get crazy. Unlike some of my ancestors, the concept of Kamikaze doesn't really apply to me." she says with a little bit of humour as a bullet whizzed over her head.

"Right, I'll fall back for now. I'll keep in contact with you once I'm inside the complex." she says at last. She begins to run towards the armoured vehicles, using them as cover. "Anata no saigo no iki made kono ichi o mamoru!" She called to the Japanese troops on the beach head, running into one of the armoured cars. She began driving the APC back to the base.

At this, Edgar's body suddenly stopped expanding, as though Catherine hit him with a stun batton. His body returned to normal, although the rage was still very clear.

"Alright Cat... You win..."

Saša Petrovic wrote:

Sasa frowned, clasping his gloved hands tighter. "..." he was silent for a moment before reaching up and patted Edgar's shoulder. "...The most I can do is tell them to seize fire. At that, there should at least be some confusion in the chain of command. I had left another in my employ while I have been away...so hearing my voice the Damocles might actually stop long enough for Miller to gain an advantage." he said, walking up to the consoles. He frowned, looking back at Edgar. "Edgar... I have a high intelligence somewhat thanks to my...adoptive father..." he frowns deeper, his sunglasses falling slightly down the bridge of his nose. "But... some of these controls..." he sighs. "Help me turn the radio on. Which button is which?!" He says a little flustered, embarrassed to ask after over looking the complicated equipment that was definitely not current gen.

Edgar's response was fast, he sent instructions telepathically to Sasa.

"There, that should be all the console operations you need." Edgar's voice sounded inside Sasa's mind.

What followed was Edgar moving toward the island himself, as a man, not a monster. He headed right for the Damocles.

"Two can play the sabotage and espionage game."