As the specially armored black SUV headed north on the highway, Jarl Omar the One-Eyed and Augee the Archer had no idea how they were going to get to Seburo Industries, they just knew to follow the road signs until they got there. They had already left Niihama City's fourth sector and were now heading into Sector 5, in the far east rich side of town where all the major Taiyou corporations and industries were, following the dark long empty highway without any traffic to slow them down. "There's another sign up ahead," Augee said calmly as he steered down the long straight road. Augee had never even seen a motorized vehicle before, much less driven one, so he wasn't aware of the purpose of all the reflecters and painted lines on the street as he drove over the dotted white line between two lanes, taking up the whole highway. As they neared the sign, they saw a large billboard with a giant building on the front of it. "Seburo Headquarters, turn left at Exit 115 in about 30 miles" Omar read out to him from the passenger seat.
"We've set up roadblocks on every major roadway leading out of the sector, the SDF deployment into the city is almost complete." A young Taiyou officer reported as he offered a crisp salute to Defense Minister Kanou. "We've ordered the Police to stand back, and we have them on Satellite tracking, last ping had them on the Yamagashi Causeway heading into Sector Five." The man reported, gesturing to a large screen displaying a map of the region, his hands moving a long pointed stick to the icon of the armored SUV as it traveled down the roadway. All throughout the city, trained soldiers, tanks and other armored vehicles were beginning to flood into the city. Some of them came by helicopter, while others came through Niihama City's extensive public transit system. Omar and Augee would find the highway completely devoid of cars as they drove along, the wide asphalt road offering little obstacles ahead of them.
It seemed they were at the home stretch. Looking out over the night view of the city, Augee and Omar could actually see the Seburo HQ building in the distance, rising above the landscape. "There it is," Omar pointed, though it would still take another ten minutes to get there by road. Augee smiled happily with relief as they headed for the nearest ramp exit on the left, just up ahead of them a few more miles away. But their SUV would never make it that far. Between the nearest exit and them, they would soon run into complications as the NCPD had called in the Taiyou Army, who had setup a roadblock between the Norsemen and their target destination.
As the road twisted ahead of them into the denser part of Niihama City, they would suddenly see two HAW206 Multiped tanks, their tan, armor glinting in the dim light of the city. These large four-legged tanks resembled mechanical scorpions, with two 7.62mm machine-guns mounted in two small manipulator arms at the front, with the 'stinger' armed with a 105mm howitzer on the back. Standing in the middle of these two tanks was a Taiyou Armor-Shrike, a humanoid mecha that stood roughly twenty feet tall, armed with a large auto-cannon, which hurled 30mm Armor piercing shells. Also manning the roadblock with them was about a dozen Taiyou soldiers, armed with their standard issue Seburo C26A assault rifles. "Ugh, now what?" Augee scoffed as he let off the gas, heading around the bend while slowing down.
As the armored SUV approached the checkpoint, the Armor Shrike lifted it's weapon, and fired a single shot at the engine block. As the 30mm armor-piercing cannon shell flew towards them at the frontal grille of their SUV, Omar and Augee seemed to stare directly at it for a moment in awe. "Uhh, Aug... what's that?" Augee hit the gas again and tried to turn just before the armor piercing round hit the right headlight, smashing into the the side of the grille and penetrating into part of the engine. It would then ignite, shooting sparkling flames into the vehicle from the inside out, destroying the alternator, the battery, the engine block and everything in its way, even causing the front wheels to lock up. This started a chain reaction as the vehicle was still in motion when suddenly it felt like someone slammed the breaks. The armored SUV would rear up on its front tires, suddenly doing an oblique sideways somersault which sent the vehicle tumbling over and over again sideways. Omar and Augee had no choice but to roll around inside the SUV as it went barreling up the road, scratching up the street as the lanes became littered with an array of sparks, debri and shredded rubber. The heavy vehicle would roll a few more times before hitting a guardrail and coming to a complete stop, falling rightside up with all four rims on the road again.
... Dark black smoke and flames...
... Silence...
Wheels, hubcaps, nuts and bolts, wires and debri littered the entire highway from one lane to another, dark tire marks etched into the street as the damaged SUV sat parked on the side of the roadway, one of its wheels bent completely sideways as smoke rose out from the grille and the hood of the vehicle near the giant hole where the right headlight used to be. The front end was melted, as billowing smoke and flames poured forth from the engine. The vehicle was completely incapacitated and motionless, and there was no movement it appeared coming from inside the vehicle, just a road full of debri, fire and charred metal. Had the Shrike succeeded? Were the terrorists immobilized? Not quite yet. Although it was nearly impossible to see through the pitch black bulletproof windows of the SUV, the ghost warriors were not dead yet. Augee opened his eyes and looked around quietly. His suit was burned, his shoulders smoking, and his face was bleeding. He appeared to have scratched his face open on something sharp, and there was another cut going down his left arm. He had a black eye and one of his knees was scraped. On top of that, he had a few minor burns on his arms and legs. But other than that, Augee the Archer was still conscious and able to move around.
"Loki's balls, are you alright?" Augee asked. Omar just moaned quietly, trying to move around. "I think my leg's broken," he said while grabbing his shin. Sure enough, a bone was sticking out of the side his leg near the ankle. Omar would no longer be able to run, or even walk very far without some kind of assistance. He also had a scrape on his forehead, and both of his elbows were also scratched up. But apart from that, the bad half of his body was badly burned. His hair had been partially singed, blisters forming on one side of his face where skin melted down his cheek beneath the missing eye. "We have to reset it," Augee said as he removed his jacket and ripped off one of the sleeves, handing Omar a broken metal toolbar from something that had broken off inside the vehicle during the crash. "Here, bite this" he said, before Omar leaned back and closed his eyes. Augee would take Omar's ankle and shin, and then suddenly twist it with a loud snap, resetting the broken bone. Omar nearly screamed with pain as his leg snapped, but the metal toolbar between his teeth muffled his cry to that of a deep painful groan. Afterwards, Augee would use the torn jacket sleeve to dress Omar's serious leg injury, using the toolbar as a splint to help keep his leg straight. Omar would quickly push him aside and finish tying it off himself. "That'll have to do, come on" he said, gathering himself together before grabbing all of his things. The ghost warriors were still alive inside their broken down SUV, but soon they would have to open the doors and face the welcoming parade.
It seemed they were at the home stretch. Looking out over the night view of the city, Augee and Omar could actually see the Seburo HQ building in the distance, rising above the landscape. "There it is," Omar pointed, though it would still take another ten minutes to get there by road. Augee smiled happily with relief as they headed for the nearest ramp exit on the left, just up ahead of them a few more miles away. But their SUV would never make it that far. Between the nearest exit and them, they would soon run into complications as the NCPD had called in the Taiyou Army, who had setup a roadblock between the Norsemen and their target destination.
As the road twisted ahead of them into the denser part of Niihama City, they would suddenly see two HAW206 Multiped tanks, their tan, armor glinting in the dim light of the city. These large four-legged tanks resembled mechanical scorpions, with two 7.62mm machine-guns mounted in two small manipulator arms at the front, with the 'stinger' armed with a 105mm howitzer on the back. Standing in the middle of these two tanks was a Taiyou Armor-Shrike, a humanoid mecha that stood roughly twenty feet tall, armed with a large auto-cannon, which hurled 30mm Armor piercing shells. Also manning the roadblock with them was about a dozen Taiyou soldiers, armed with their standard issue Seburo C26A assault rifles. "Ugh, now what?" Augee scoffed as he let off the gas, heading around the bend while slowing down.
As the armored SUV approached the checkpoint, the Armor Shrike lifted it's weapon, and fired a single shot at the engine block. As the 30mm armor-piercing cannon shell flew towards them at the frontal grille of their SUV, Omar and Augee seemed to stare directly at it for a moment in awe. "Uhh, Aug... what's that?" Augee hit the gas again and tried to turn just before the armor piercing round hit the right headlight, smashing into the the side of the grille and penetrating into part of the engine. It would then ignite, shooting sparkling flames into the vehicle from the inside out, destroying the alternator, the battery, the engine block and everything in its way, even causing the front wheels to lock up. This started a chain reaction as the vehicle was still in motion when suddenly it felt like someone slammed the breaks. The armored SUV would rear up on its front tires, suddenly doing an oblique sideways somersault which sent the vehicle tumbling over and over again sideways. Omar and Augee had no choice but to roll around inside the SUV as it went barreling up the road, scratching up the street as the lanes became littered with an array of sparks, debri and shredded rubber. The heavy vehicle would roll a few more times before hitting a guardrail and coming to a complete stop, falling rightside up with all four rims on the road again.
... Dark black smoke and flames...
... Silence...
Wheels, hubcaps, nuts and bolts, wires and debri littered the entire highway from one lane to another, dark tire marks etched into the street as the damaged SUV sat parked on the side of the roadway, one of its wheels bent completely sideways as smoke rose out from the grille and the hood of the vehicle near the giant hole where the right headlight used to be. The front end was melted, as billowing smoke and flames poured forth from the engine. The vehicle was completely incapacitated and motionless, and there was no movement it appeared coming from inside the vehicle, just a road full of debri, fire and charred metal. Had the Shrike succeeded? Were the terrorists immobilized? Not quite yet. Although it was nearly impossible to see through the pitch black bulletproof windows of the SUV, the ghost warriors were not dead yet. Augee opened his eyes and looked around quietly. His suit was burned, his shoulders smoking, and his face was bleeding. He appeared to have scratched his face open on something sharp, and there was another cut going down his left arm. He had a black eye and one of his knees was scraped. On top of that, he had a few minor burns on his arms and legs. But other than that, Augee the Archer was still conscious and able to move around.
"Loki's balls, are you alright?" Augee asked. Omar just moaned quietly, trying to move around. "I think my leg's broken," he said while grabbing his shin. Sure enough, a bone was sticking out of the side his leg near the ankle. Omar would no longer be able to run, or even walk very far without some kind of assistance. He also had a scrape on his forehead, and both of his elbows were also scratched up. But apart from that, the bad half of his body was badly burned. His hair had been partially singed, blisters forming on one side of his face where skin melted down his cheek beneath the missing eye. "We have to reset it," Augee said as he removed his jacket and ripped off one of the sleeves, handing Omar a broken metal toolbar from something that had broken off inside the vehicle during the crash. "Here, bite this" he said, before Omar leaned back and closed his eyes. Augee would take Omar's ankle and shin, and then suddenly twist it with a loud snap, resetting the broken bone. Omar nearly screamed with pain as his leg snapped, but the metal toolbar between his teeth muffled his cry to that of a deep painful groan. Afterwards, Augee would use the torn jacket sleeve to dress Omar's serious leg injury, using the toolbar as a splint to help keep his leg straight. Omar would quickly push him aside and finish tying it off himself. "That'll have to do, come on" he said, gathering himself together before grabbing all of his things. The ghost warriors were still alive inside their broken down SUV, but soon they would have to open the doors and face the welcoming parade.
So close...
But still so far...