There was a muffled<i>thump</i>, then the slow whine of servos as the hovertank coasted to a stop, swaying ever-so-gently on a cushion of boiling air; The gritty, powdered dust of the abandoned streets swirled about them, in a choking, twisting cyclone, bay doors<i>clanking</i>open with a screech of metal-on-metal...<br/><br/>In the personnel bay, as they came in for the final approach, Amanda Sinclaire chuckled, a low, lilting sound, her meshsuit pressuring with a<i>hiss</i>, throbbing ever-so-slightly as it came to life; She raked gloved fingers through her bubblegum-pink hair, a small smile on her lips as jade-green eyes narrowed, ever-so-slightly...<br/><br/>'Standard walk-and-scout' aka- An armed patrol, to ensure that the constantly shifting streets of the city were *right* where they should be...Show the demons that XCITE meant business. Glossy black nanofiber glistened in the light, the 'caps' on wrist and throat glowing a soothing, comforting neon- She didn't *know* how it worked, but when the gritty armorgel that filled these suits, in an impact-resilient liquid coating, began to *leak* free...<br/><br/>-Well, *that* was when you *knew* you were in trouble. The fierce winds of the slipstream tugged at her hair as she gripped the railing, peering out at the landing zone below; It was quiet, almost eerily so, as if *that* meant anything- The<i>last</i>time she'd been out, the landing had turned into an equally hasty extraction, when a horde of grey-skinned imps had swarmed out of absolutely *nowhere*, and vanished just as quickly, dragging Ayumi with them-<br/><br/>...No loss. She'd never *liked* the girl, anyway, and there were *plenty* more where that came from...<br/><br/>Amanda glanced back over her shoulder, hearing the low whine of the integrated CPU as it hummed to life; They'd be online with MARA in less than a minute, hopefully as soon as they got boots on the ground! She thumbed the arming light of her KE pistol, vaguely wishing that they'd one of those armored Paladin units, which were only *just* making production-line...But *that* wouldn't be remotely as *fun*...<br/><br/>"Ready?" she mouthed, over the wail of the turbines, eying her partner- The one she'd *just* met, this morning- with a smile; The landing zone was coming up *fast*, and they'd soon be in the thick of it...<br/><br/>-Just the way Amanda liked it.<br/><br/><i>"Say, why don't we make this fun and blindfold everybody?"</i>MARA chirped, and Amanda rolled her eyes, glancing over at the digital sprite, hovering lightly above the floor; "<i>That</i>wouldn't be very sporting~" she murmured, slim shoulders lifting in a shrug. It *was* an odd feeling, to see the AI's favored projection, scandalously short skirt unruffled by the winds, taking in the cyclopean buildings around them~ She'd...<i>Ir'd</i>...been acting a *little* odd, on occasion...But that wasn't *too* different from the various gadgets she'd seen in her brief tour, exactly *none* of which had worked as advertised.<br/><br/>-Besides, Amanda quite liked MARA, instead of one of those gravelly-voiced monotone systems...<br/><br/>"Don't worry-" Amanda soothed, triggering the arming light of her weapon. "I have a feeling we'll find something *big* soon enough- And<i>then</i>it'd get *really* interesting..." It wouldn't be long before the demons, drawn by the sound, would close in...Usually the small, scampering predators...But the *big* ones<i>occasionally</i>took exception to the invaders. Considering the near-constant thrusts made into the slum areas of the Zone, it wouldn't surprise her at all...