Testing Run

Left to its own devices, while the creator planned her movements, CTA was free to ponder how best to assist its master without any further instructions. Astraea was moving to make a line on its old target, so instead the little turret turned its sights on the swordy in the grass at the back. The virus took another swipe at the grass, causing a small collection of odd-looking seeds and nuts to tumble out, just before CTA's first bolt of fire smacked into the side of its helmet. The grass ignited, sending a vaguely impressive rush of bright fire over the virus and chewing up the remainder of the long grass as it did.

With the rest of the grass gone, the final square revealed what they had all been hoping for: a brightly glowing GMD. A small chime of music played from seemingly nowhere; the sound of discovery. The swordy was shaking itself off from the unexpectedly painful fire burst, and saw the crystal, raising its sword in glee - just in time to be smacked in the side of the helm by the second incendiary round from the cinder turret. This second insult drew its attention and it waved its sword, turning to face the construct in what could almost be called a tantrum state. Forget the crystal, it was going to show that pesky machine what for, now.

While this had been going on, Astraea made her own tactical movements, empowering and lining up her shot carefully. As she moved, the more damaged of the two cactus viruses bounced its head towards her again. Again, it missed. The head bounced merrily away to the side as Astraea's amped up shotgun blast ripped through the base of the cactus body, thought he surprisingly resilient, woody flesh robbed the shot of much of its stopping power. In a piece of better luck, however, the second cactus was making its attack as she shot, and being more on target to hit her, this meant that its bounding head wound up right in the past of the spreading buck-shot and was utterly destroyed by it. Without its head, the body of the far cactus began to degenerate.

If she was observant, the scientific thoughts of the little artificer might compare the differences between how resilient the cactus bodies had been to her regular attacks, with how vulnerable they seemed to be in the head, or to her turrets seemingly insignificant fire rounds in general.

The small tank, having now wandered into range, assessed the targets as it came forward, determined that the fiery little construct was closer, and launched a fragmenting explosive in its direction. Despite the poor accuracy of the round, the cinder turret was still caught in the damaging blast, but thanks to the handy bit of extra love Astraea had given it earlier, it survived to shoot another day. It was probably a good thing that it wasn't equipped to move any more on its own, though; a lace-work of cracks damaged the ground all around it from the blast, making any attempts at movement rather precarious.


-=Up for A Fight=-

CactyA: 15Hp [Mid-Centre][Glass]
CactyB: DELETED
CactyC: 70Hp [Near Right][Sand]
Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: 45Hp [Back Left][Soil][Furious at CTA]
Beetank: 80Hp [Mid-Back][Sand]

-=Back In The Light=-

Astraea.exe: 70Hp [Sand]

-=Objects=-

CTA: 16Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Cracked]

Green Mystery Data: 30Hp [Soil]

-=Terrain=-

15% Normal [Path that leads forward through the area]
25% Grass [Mostly the area near Astraea, and the Left hand side]
10% Soil [Where the long grass was]
35% Sand [Mostly the area further away, and the Right hand side]
5% Glass [Under CactyA]
10% Cracked [Around CTA]

"Nice save by the turret! I admit I'm so use to you dropping turrets and them immediately dying I forgot that one was still alive." Alex confessed, flipping his viewpoint to focus on the turret and its timely distraction of the Swordy.That was definitely a Mystery Data back there, a possibility for a new chip or two. "That virus looks pretty mad, you might want to back it up."

"Understood, do you have any more tactical recommendations to make?" Alex blinked at Astraea's overly dry tone. Was that back talk or just her being her?

"Uh, I guess drop another turret? Your workshop should be ready with another one right?" Astraea nodded and began tapping at her wrist pad. Light flashed from high in the digital 'sky' and left scorch marks on the grass near Astraea but, surprisingly, did no damage to the terrain. Another turret stood there and Astraea gave it much the same maintenance as she had been forced to give all her turrets so far. A quick tightening of the bolts and a weld here and there and it promptly looked much sturdier.

Then she turned it towards the Cacti since her shotgun had only been partially successful. Hopefully the turret would buy her time while she moved to help it's fellow construct, and perhaps actually eliminate something in the process. She keyed in a quick command on her wrist pad and turned her attention on to the next task. The turret's barrel clicked noisily as it tracked up and down until it set its sights on the head of the most damaged Cacty and fired. Astraea, it seemed, had noticed that the head was more vulnerable and had instructed the turret to respond appropriately.

"Requesting Rageclaw1 for immediate use please." Astraea moved into melee range with the Swordy as she swapped out her raygun for her wrench.

"You certainly are moving fast huh! Rageclaw chip in!" There was a frantic beeping from CTA as the wrench began to glow and the little turret fired a couple quick shots at the Swordy-N who was currently faaar too close to to his creator for the little turret's comfort. The bombs from the tank had hurt, but there were more important things at stake right now!

The wrench had shifted as before: the pointy end elongating and becoming much sharper than before. Astraea brought up the wrench in a swing, aiming to knock the virus' sword out of the way so she could strike.

Summary
-------------
1) Summon Cinder Turret 'B' - Summons 10hp Object that does 5x2 Fire Shot (passive), Acc A, 1TCD
-Masterwork Add 20+1 Hp to CTB
>CTB -5x2 Fire Shot, Acc A @ CactyA
2) Movement to melee range with Swordy-N B
>CTA - 5x2 Fire Shot, Acc A @ Swordy-N B
3) Rageclaw1 - 40 + Slash, Acc B @ Swordy-N B
Within moments, this numbers of the battle seemed to turn: Astraea brought in her second turret, and with prompt, mechanical efficiency it swiftly neutralised the wounded Cacty with a pair of well-aimed burning shots. The other remaining Cacty took offence at this and lobbed its head towards the new-comer. It bounded along the ground and struck the reinforced turret with a shuddering impact, but then rolled away and returned to its body; CTB was fine, for now. No longer outnumbered, the little alien made moves to engage the infuriated Swordy in melee, though the virus in question was more interested in attacking the turret that had pelted with with fire shot, and now fired off another.

It would have connected, had the Swordy not teleported at that exact moment, closing the gap to get right up in the construct's... uhh... muzzle. Astraea had arrived at about the same time, getting into range of the sword virus despite having to watch her step in the crazed and cracked terrain underfoot; one of the panels had fallen in behind her as she crossed it, and the one she was on would probably go as well, as soon as she stepped off it. Ready to make her stroke, however, she raked the virus with her weapon even as her turret beeped urgently and the virus made a broad, sweeping stroke with its blade. The attack missed the alien girl, but CTA wasn't really much for dodging and the stroke cut into it deeply, tearing several mechanics and almost tipping it over.

It was badly damaged, but in the end, what mattered as hitpoints, and the valiant little turret still had one left. Just the one, mind you, but one was all it needed. Barley a moment had passed since it took its first shot, so it still had one of something else left, as well: the construct fired its second incendiary directly into the over-sized helmet of the sword virus, point blank, and was rewarded with as close to a surprised expression as the swordy could manage, before it collapsed and began to disintegrate. elsewhere, the Beetank trundled closer and raised its own muzzle to fire off another explosive round, but this time it missed by miles, cracking up a portion of the sandy area instead.


-=Up for A Fight=-

CactyA: DELETED
CactyB: DELETED
CactyC: 70Hp [Near Right][Sand]
Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: DELETED
Beetank: 80Hp [Mid Field][Sand]

-=Back In The Light=-

Astraea.exe: 70Hp [Cracked]

-=Objects=-

CTA: 1Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Cracked][Still Alive!]
CTB: 21Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Normal]

Green Mystery Data: 30Hp [Soil]

-=Terrain=-

15% Normal [Path that leads forward through the area]
25% Grass [Mostly the area near Astraea, and the Left hand side]
10% Soil [Where the long grass was]
25% Sand [Mostly the area further away, and the Right hand side]
5% Glass [Under CactyA]
15% Cracked [Around CTA, and a patch over in the sand]
5% Broken [Just behind where Astraea crossed the cracked to reach the Swordy]
The swordy fell and a tightness in Astraea's chest relaxed. Her turret was almost in pieces but it and she still stood. In a rare sign of affection she reached out to pat the battered machinery on the still warm muzzle.

"You and your peer will immediately commence hostile actions against the plant. Aim for the head, it appears to be more vulnerable than the body itself." The turret beeped an enthusiastic affirmative and Astraea felt a warmth of pride bloom in her chest. The turret adjusted its aiming and Astraea prepared to go. "This design is a success. Would you not agree, Operator? It is highly responsive and has proven to have a level of endurance not previously projected."

"Hmm, I suppose so. They have been very useful both drawing fire and laying down their own." A grin crept onto Alex's face as he watched Astraea quickly navigate her way across the cracked panels that surrounded her. Behind her the turret she had touched was firing rapidly at the plant and was it him or did it look a bit redder? He would have to do some testing of his own!

Still, he was pleased Astraea had offered up her own opinion without being prompted. It was progress! Progress towards what he wasn't sure (he knew she'd never be an outgoing social butterfly and that was fine) but it was there! Speaking of...

"Are you really going to engage that tank in melee?"

Astraea marked the surprise and something else (worry?) in Alex's voice and nodded. "Affirmative, I wish to fully explore the close range ability of the currently active chip." She reached solid ground and broke into as quick of a run as she could manage. The alien looked pretty silly with her combination waddle-run, but there was only one person around to see. "It has made completion of this encounter more troublesome by altering the terrain and causing it to become unstable. It is a threat I wish to remove immediately."

The cracked terrain surrounding CTA came to mind, and so did the currently unblemished terrain surrounding her other turret. She needed to put a stop to the thing's continued bombardment!

"I guess that's alright...I think it'd be more efficient to use Pulsar but that is your call." He shrugged, forgetting she couldn't see it, and leaned back on the couch to watch.

Astraea had closed to melee range with the tank and so she brought up her wrench to give the virus a good swipe across the front. Standing directly in front of a turret was never a good idea (even if you made it) so she twisted to the side and stepped around, trying to angle herself her next swipe would be at the tank's back.

Meanwhile a very happy turret guided its companion as the second turret lined up, then took a shot at the cactus's head. CTA had aimed at the head, and it wasn't that hard to do really! Surely even the stoic CTB could do the same.

--Summary--
1) Movement to melee range with Beetank
>CTA - 5x2 Fire Shot, ACC A @ CactyC
2) Rageclaw 1 - 40 + Slash, ACC B @ Beetank
3) Feint to back of Beetank
>CTB - 5x2 Fire Shot, ACC A @ Cacty C
Positive bonding between creator and construct aside, Astraea was quick to make her way across the cracked terrain towards her next target, while the turrets stood quite carefully still; The panels fell in behind the alien girl, and it was only thanks to a good balance of caution and haste that she didn't fall in herself while making the transit, but it seems as long as the precariously positioned construct didn't budge, it was stable enough, for now.

The Cacty lobbed its head towards the second turret while the two fired on it; the line and aim was mostly good and the first three rounds popped and burned as they struck. The bounding cactus head veered away, missing its goal, but the second shot from CTB also ended up missing its mark as a result of the derailment. Oh well.

While this exchange was taking place, Astraea closed in on her own quarry while the Beetank took a bead on her in turn. As the mechanist sidled right on up to it and ducked around the side, the virus did its best to track her with its turret, but its eventual shot was premature and it blasted away into the far sands, missing her completely. Astraea, on the other hand, had a point-blank swipe lined up for her less than nimble target, and scored a deep gash across the front body of the little tank as she struck it. The virus lurched slightly, shuddering, and tried to trundle away somewhat to make line for a better shot; it didn't seem to want her right under its nose, so to speak.

-=Up for A Fight=-

CactyA: DELETED
CactyB: DELETED
CactyC: 40Hp [Near Right][Sand]
Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: DELETED
Beetank: 40Hp [Mid Field][Sand]

-=Back In The Light=-

Astraea.exe: 70Hp [Sand][Near Beetank]

-=Objects=-

CTA: 1Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Cracked][Still Alive!]
CTB: 21Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Normal]

Green Mystery Data: 30Hp [Soil]

-=Terrain=-

15% Normal [Path that leads forward through the area]
25% Grass [Mostly the area near Astraea, and the Left hand side]
10% Soil [Where the long grass was]
15% Sand [Mostly the area further away, and the Right hand side]
5% Glass [Under CactyA]
20% Cracked [Around CTA, and a patch over in the sand]
10% Broken [Just behind where Astraea crossed the cracked to reach the Swordy, and then the other line, as she left the area]
An insistent beeping began issuing from the PET and ALex's view of the fight was overridden with a series of warning messages.

"Aaah, dammit. I lost track of tiiiime. I'm going to get ready, can you finish this on your own?"

"Affirmative." Astraea stepped away from the Beetank after her slashing and turns to the cactus with the turrets still firing away at it. When she didn't hear the sound of him immediately getting up from his spot she paused and looked to where she instinctively knew his camera was. "This situation is well within my abilities to complete to satisfactory results." Her Operator's chuckle was an irritant but he listened and was getting up.

"Alright, alright. Deal with it then!" With a quick nod Astraea was off, striding with her usual 'slap, slap, slap' of her feet as she closed in on the Cacty. Her proximity seemed to spur the turrets into greater action: with a series of beeps CTA signalled the other and both little turrets opened fire.

When the flaming bullets had stopped flying all-about, Astraea stretched herself up on toe-tip (the best she could manage) and sliced sideways. She was barely tall enough to reach it's head!

--Summary--
1) Rageclaw1 40 + Slash, Acc B @ Beetank
2) Movement to CactyC
>CTA - 5x2 Fire Shot @ CactyC
>CTB - 5x2 Fire Shot @ CactyC
3) Rageclaw1 40 + Slash, Acc B @ Cacty C

((You've got a double copy of your post there, Sketi, so you can feel free to take out the duplicate when you see this, even though I'm posting the mod now.))

In between some side remarks with her operator, Astraea managed to finish off the terrain-damaging tank before it could take another shot ant anyone, her wrench ripping the side of its shell open and leaving it to spill remnant data out onto the uncaring sand. Her two turrets showed an equal lack of mercy and efficiency, peppering the cacty with more of their burning rounds. They didn't all connec,t but it seemed to be enough to prevent the cactus virus from retaliating with any accuracy. It tried again, but its head bounded off wildly and it was difficult to tell which target it had even been going for. At the last, Astraea closed the distance and put an end to its suffering with a final thwack of her wrench.

The places where the terrain had fallen in were beginning to restore themselves, though the cracked panels still seemed to be persisting. Either way, however, there were spoils to be had! No interesting chips this time around, it would seem, as most of the viruses had collapsed into convertible zenny instead, although, there was that mystery data that glittered temptingly just nearby.


-=Up for A Fight=-

CactyA: DELETED
CactyB: DELETED
CactyC: DELETED
Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: DELETED
Beetank: 40Hp DELETED

-=Back In The Light=-

Astraea.exe: 70Hp [Sand][Near Beetank]

-=Objects=-

CTA: 1Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Cracked][Still Alive!]
CTB: 21Hp [Allied][Reinforced][Normal]

Green Mystery Data: 30Hp [Soil]

-=Battle 6, Victory!=-

Spoils: 700z

Open GMD?
Astraea re-holstered her deClawed wrench with a flashy spin unusual to her. She wasn't feeling a hundred percent satisfied with the results she had accumulated so far but sorting the data, cataloging variables, cross-referencing environments and such should keep her busy until she and her Operator had time to hit the net again.

With a couple quick taps on her belt-pad she recalled the turrets back to her workshop and managed to drag most of the zenny loot off with them. All that was left was the green mystery data Alex had been so interested in. She opened it and prepared to log the results.

Open GMD: Yes
After a brief examination, accessing the Mystery Data caused it to spin quickly, and then divulge its contents in a glorious cascade all over Astraea. Fortuately for the little alien, its contents this time was a useful infusion of raw zenny. The prism played a cute chime, like something from an ancient video game, as it did so, then faded from sight.

GMD: 1300z!
Astraea collected the spoils of her trek through ACDC Net and sent it zipping back along to her PET. It had been quite the productive day even if she wished to stay and run more tests. For now she had data to attend to, and that would have to content her for now.

She left the net, glad she could port directly back to her pet.

[Jack Out]