Sigma/Star

Chapter 136: Into The Breach

A barrage of bombs struck the ground around Porter, sending up plumes of dirt and Jahari body parts into the mix. Blood splattered across the front of the White Storm as additional shots were fired into the crowds. It seemed Marian was making space for himself before his grand arrival, as all of the attacks had encircled Porter to clear space.

"Porter, we're engaging with Jahari forces now." Ardwen's voice entered into the cockpit, Sigma controlling all communications still automatically to maintain security. "We're receiving calls from a Major Carion to report in, what's our course of action?"

Porter shook his head and sighed, taking pause for a moment as there was a gap around him after the bombing run. "Carion is a...supporter. Stay in contact with him, and move with his squad. Be aware of those who may recognize you, particularly former or current Academy students."

"Got it."

"Make sure to use Sigma if necessary. He could always hack into some of the weapons on these ships if you need a little assistance." Porter glanced up into the skies above him, watching a worm approaching the enormous Enian ship where Marian was housed. An eruption of fire burst from the side of the vessel, unloading into the approaching creature's face in an effort to take it out before it could grapple them. The worms all seemed largely equipped to wrestle with ships, pulling in close and crushing them slowly. No warship was designed to take on something that coiled around it, and its exterior weapons would be destroyed as soon as the worm's mass pressed against them.

Porter was certain the rest of his friends would be fine in combat. All of them were trained now beyond the capabilities of a standard soldier, and if they were paired with Carion and his unit, they weren't going to get assaulted from allied forces, or at least that's what Porter hoped. He was already so deep into the Bahari though that he didn't know what was going on at the main battle line. He if looked over his shoulder, it was nothing but the backs of Bahari, all of them constantly clambering over each other to get into the fray. He couldn't see any other Goliaths now, not even between the bodies of those nearby.

He could hear the approach of Marian though, and his gaze returned to the sky as the shadow of the massive Goliath nearly eclipsed the sun above. Its wings were spread wide, shimmering and creating a halo around the warmachine as it descended. Its enormous form and glittering body forced some of the nearby Bahari to stop, their heads craning upwards to examine the approaching threat. They had fought this monster before, up in the north, and hadn't seen him since, and their collective memory was bound to have scars from the last time time he had arrived. If the Jahari truly did have some sort of singular mind behind them, it would want to do everything it could to kill Marian.

And that was the moment Porter realized the attention that was about to come his way. He had briefly been laughing, internally, at Marian and the assault that was about to befall him before he remembered Marian was going to be standing right next to Porter. What had previously been pushing through a crashing wave was about to become a battle in the epicenter of a storm.

"You just enjoy making both our lives miserable, don't you?" Porter remarked, letting the snark travel over the comm network.

"You started it," Marian retorted as his battlesuit touched down onto the Earth, still landing as though it were a mere feather and not a titanic mass of metal and machinery. "Besides, I imagine you have the same goal I do here."

"We're heading for the heart?"

Marian nodded on the screen before he took in a deep breath, entering into some sort of meditative state. Porter watched him on the screen with curiosity, noting the growing swarm of Bahari around them that were still keeping their distance, awaiting the command to attack. "I'm going to assume Shotuku has spoken to you about protecting yourself from the chi of others?"