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| - Nepsa Ice Fields The famous ice fields of Nepsa are full of the finest ice and snow in the galaxy. Picturesque mounds lie across the ground as the light from the sun shimmers across them. Multiple colorful flags and banners are inserted into the ground, and state-approved snowmen are strategically placed in key tourist spots. Everywhere you look, creatures of all races are united in the common pursuit of skiing. Monstereo is wearing a giant ref shirt made from tarp and black duct tape. He has a kazzoo hanging from his neck. He is stomp-stomp-clapping the tune of We Will Rock You. Sit-Com assists Monstereo in the stomp-stomp-clapping. He also wears a shirt, though it's not clear whether he's co-referreeing or not. He is definitely here to watch, though. Monstereo looks for the only two humans in all the galaxy who have any olympic spirit. "Alright, anything goes, you two. But just don't do anything your mommas wouldn't approve of. Lets rock." Exo-Jet Apollo Jet skims over the frozen surface, flying by the site of the jail and then looping around for another pass. "How's it feel to be here from the /outside/, kid?" He drawls over EDC comm channels. Maybe just trying to get into the youngster's head. James and Jayson might be friends and teammates, but in a competition, James always fights to win. Without waiting for an answer, he lines up and sends a stream of minigun fire in Jayson's direction! Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Pistol attack! Sit-Com emits a loud WWE style "LLLLLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRRRUMBLE!" from his sonic pistol, pointed straight up in the air. From Exo-Armor Pegasus , Jayson Redfield frowns. "Don't remind me of that," he chides James. "I think the Nepsans are *still* mad at me." For something he didn't do, of course. And, like James, he is fighting to win, even though he's reluctant to do so, and he's not going to hold back. Also, one may note that his cold has cleared up, thanks to Apocryphacius, though he still has a few Band-Aids here and there, including a couple on his face. Jayson braces his exo against the snowy terrain, wincing as he takes the hit in the shoulder. Not too much damage. "All right...here goes nothin'!" The Pegasus takes to the air and simply hovers as it delivers a stream of weapon fire toward the opposing exo unit. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Medium Machine Gun attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet veers aside in time to avoid Jayson's return fire. "Kid, how many times do I have to tell you..." James trails off, remembering now is not the time to be giving advice. Instead he thumbs a control. The Apollo opens up weapons bays on the underside of the fuselage and spews a barrage of mini-missiles. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Mini-Missile Swarm attack! From Exo-Armor Pegasus , Jayson Redfield yelps as the missiles hit his exo right in the chest. He shakes his head, muttering, "Why do I suck so much..." But determination sets in, and he returns fire in the form a laser that shoots from an arm-mounted gun, aiming at one of the exo-jet's wings. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus strikes Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Laser attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet takes a scorching hit that leaves blackened lines over the weapon bay doors - which thankfully snapped closed in time to prevent a much more serious hit. Tumbling out of the sky, it reconfigures to robot mode and then takes up a handheld gunpod, firing stream of ballistic round first to the other Exo's left, then the right and then finally dead on. Twisting and shifting, the Apollo transforms into an exo-suit. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Exo-Rifle attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus banks around to face its opponent, but it is not quite enough to avoid the weapon fire. In response to the assault, a blade extends from its wrist, and it closes in, slashing at the opposing exo. Jayson clenches his teeth as he attacks. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus strikes Exo-Jet Apollo with its Arm Blade attack! Monstereo says, "Oooh he pulls a prison shiv... that brings back memories." "Two things never happened again," Sit-Com says in Morgan Freeman's voice, "The sisters never laid a finger on Andy again, and Boggs never walked again." Exo-Jet Apollo gets gashed across the 'throat' by tha blade. Luckily his robotic suit doesn't have anything to vital in that area, but were the two EDCers fighting unarmored, it may have been a lethal hit. "Nice one kid," James murmurs over his external speakers. Advice is out, and maybe inflating the other pilot's ego will result in some careless mistakes down the line. "But you remember, I had my ride's melee capabilities upgraded the same time as yours!" Stepping on both boot pedals, James makes his Exo spin and lash out with a kick at the lower back of its 'rival'. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Kick attack! The kick hits the Pegasus in the torso, knocking it backward. "Maybe so," Jayson grunts, "but that doesn't guarantee you're gonna win!" He balls one of the exo's hands into a fist and throws a swift punch at the other. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo with its Punch attack! Exo-Jet Apollo raises its forearm to push aside the blow, simultaneously chambering the fist on the other arm for a punch of it's own. But it pauses for a moment. "There's no guarantees in life, kid." James' voice crackles over the speakers again. Unable to resist a mentor platitude. Then the fist finally jabs forward. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Punch attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus takes the punch! "Jeez!" Jayson complains. "Why the hell am I sucking so much?!" He brings up one of the exo's feet and kicks out at the Apollo. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus strikes Exo-Jet Apollo with its Kick attack! Exo-Jet Apollo is rocked back by the kick, then activates thrusters on its legs and back, accelerating the backwards motion. "Don't blame yourself, kid..." James calls out, voice sounding a bit smug. "I'd say it's more about who you're up against!" Pulling back out of melee range, the Exo raises the gunpod and unleashes another stream of firepower. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Exo-Rifle attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus finally manages to evade, banking around to the Apollo's blind side and in the process letting the shots go right past. "You sound like you're full of yourself," Jayson comments. "Don't get cocky just 'cause you're beating me." Isn't it usually James who says that to Jayson? The teen goes in for another punching attack. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo with its Punch attack! Sit-Com watches the fight, lamenting that he has no popcorn. Not that he could eat if if he had any. Exo-Jet Apollo catches the fist in the palm of one hand, wraps the fingers of its other hand around the wrist behind the fist, and then rolls backwards, hard, to draw the Pegasus along by its own grasp. Once the other Exo-Armor is overhead James stomps on a foot pedal, causing his own vehicle to plant a foot in the other's midsection and half-kick, half-push to add even more momentum. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Kick attack! From Exo-Armor Pegasus , Jayson Redfield is taken by surprise at this manuever. By now bits of armor are starting to come loose, and one even damages his arm just above his wrist by slicing into it, causing him to grunt and wince. Ignoring the injuries he's sustaining, he rights the exo up, recovering from the kick. At close range, he fires a laser. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo with its Laser attack! Exo-Jet Apollo has been twisting its own legs as soon as Jayson's Exo went sailing overhead, and with a final corkscrew its on its feet again, stance wide. Inside, James blinks as a tactical display shows him Jayson's laser systems are being activated, and quickly fires his Exo's jets again to take it out of the line of fire. This kind of information would never be available agains an actual enemy in a 'real' battle - it's only James' command-rank permissions and the special sensor suite built into his own Exo-Armor (installed with Jayson's help ironically enough) that lets him anticipate the attack. Cheating? Maaaybe. But James does like to win. Reconfiguring his Exo into Jet mode again, he blasts away from Jayson's and pops out a tiny turret from the dorsal fuselage, to swivel around and take a few potshots. Twisting and shifting, the Apollo transforms into an exo-jet. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Laser attack! "You can do it!" Sit-Com calls out to the obviously dispirited Jayson, "Two four six eight, who do we appreciate? JAYSON, JAYSON!" Usually it's James who lectures Jayson. But Jayson might just have to lecture James. Sure, everyone likes to win, but even Jayson, as young as he is, would never resort to cheating. The Pegasus ducks under the shots, and readies itself for another retaliation. He fires the machine guns. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Medium Machine Gun attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet does a quick roll and loop, evading the machinegun fire and ending up facing Jayson once again. Inside, James runs his eyes quickly over data superimposed on his main viewscreen. Engine power levels, armor integrity, distance to Jayson's Exo. Finally he slams the throttle forward, other hand manipulating the main flight controls to direct his Exo directly at the Pegasus. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Ram attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus is rammed! Dang it all. It falls to the snowy ground, and manages to pick itself up afterward. Realizing that he is indeed going to lose, Jayson decides to not go down without a fight. Acting against his better judgement, he accelerates into the air, extending the wrist blade and trying to stab the underside of the exo-jet. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus strikes Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Arm Blade attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet trails sparks and thick black smoke from where the arm blade ran along it's underside. Inside, James eyes a new (blinking red) display with concern. That one blow took out several weapons systems and did more damage than Jayson has managed to inflict the rest of the battle. "Remind me never to get you mad, kid." James' voice echoes out of the Apollo's sound system. Flipping over and shifting back into a robot mode again, the Exo comes crashing back towards Jayson's vehicle, trying to slam into it head-on. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Smash attack! From Exo-Armor Pegasus , Jayson Redfield smirks at James' words, but doesn't respond to them. Unable to escape in time, the Pegasus is slammed, which almost knocks it out of the air again, but it manages to keep its aerial balance. Breathing heavily, sweating and bleeding, Jayson activates the machine guns once more. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Medium Machine Gun attack! Exo-Jet Apollo is close enough to reach out with its hands and push aside Jayson's guns. Before retracting the arms, it lashes out for another kick, trying to aim at the knee joints of the opposing Exo-Armor. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Kick attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus is kicked, and, though it's probably due to another reason, it falls to the ground once more, landing hard on its back. Shards of armor fly off from its body, and metal fragments come loose on the inside, scratching Jayson up a good deal. Not bothering to get up, and knowing that he is defeated, Jayson merely raises one of the Pegasus's arms to fire one last laser. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus strikes Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Laser attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet jerks back at the close-range laser blast, possibly mirroring the reaction of the pilot. Then it bears in, raising a leg high in the air before bringing it down in a stomp at the other Exo's head unit! Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Kick attack! Feeling sudden encouragement, Jayson rolls his exo out of the way, where it promptly gets to its feet, while more pieces of armor fall off. He switches the settings on his arm-gun, and then fires. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Disruptor attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet jets high into the air, apparently ready for the attack this time. At the apex of its flight, two laser turrets set on the sides of its head swivel down and unleash ruby beams. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Laser attack! Exo-Armor Pegasus goes airborne again, avoiding the twin shots. With the wrist blade out once more, it goes in to stab at the other exo unit. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Arm Blade attack! Exo-Jet Apollo Jet twists aside, letting that vicious blade stab nothing but empty air. The Exo turns its spinning motion into a kick, one leg lashing out backwards in an Exo-Armor version of a roundhouse. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo Jet misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Kick attack! "Drink Red Bull! It gives you wings!" Sit-Com calls out. Exo-Armor Pegasus gains altitude to avoid the roundhouse kick. Jayson is out of breath by now, and despite knowing that he's defeated, something inside him just won't let him lie down and admit it. He fires another disruptor shot, feeling like he's about to collapse at any moment. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo Jet with its Disruptor attack! Monstereo points at Sit-Com. "We don't take kindly to no performance enhancing drugs in these here parts." Exo-Jet Apollo Jet raises the gunpod once more. A tiny whirring sound emits as rotating barrels inside spool up. "Not bad, kid." James' voice emits again from speakers. "You almost had me there." Twisting and shifting, the Apollo transforms into an exo-suit. Sit-Com shrugs. "Is caffeine illegally performance enhancing on humans?" he wonders. Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo misses Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Exo-Rifle attack! "Heh..." Jayson manages a grin through his panting. "Thanks...boss." The Pegasus swerves to the side, and then comes at the Apollo with another punch to the head. Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus misses Exo-Jet Apollo with its Punch attack! Exo-Jet Apollo pushes the punch aside with the palm of its free hand. Then it tries to club the other Exo with the handheld rifle! Combat: Exo-Jet Apollo strikes Exo-Armor Pegasus with its Rifle-Bash (Kick) attack! Combat: Exo-Armor Pegasus is completely disabled. The attack hits home, and the Pegasus falls, leaving Jayson completely dazed inside the smoking heap of armor. Exo-Jet Apollo drops the shattered remains of the gunpod and lowers down to the ground to set down next to the Pegasus. Now that the adrenaline of battle is over...James can start to feel guilty about giving the kid such a beating. James Bailey leaves the Exo-Jet Apollo . James Bailey has arrived. James Bailey says, "You okay in there kid?!" Monstereo raises one arm, points at James in his exo-jet with the other and declares, "Winnah! Golden Child Bailey." He then points at the downed exo-armor and declares, "Runnerup! Silver Lining Jayson." He moves in to do work on the exos and then prep for healing the fleshbags inside... "Medical Help. The Doctor is In." Sit-Com says. He's only got skills in fixing robots, not humans. But one of these days he'll get Monstereo to teach him the mysterious ways of healing organics. From Exo-Armor Pegasus , Jayson Redfield snaps out of his daze, if only slightly. "Yeah...fine...real fine...ow..." James Bailey nods with relief. Maybe that Jason's okay. Or maybe it's because Six Lasers officials tow away his Exo for repairs - and seem to know what they're doing.
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