"That's it. I'm never leaving the ship without Rare Earth again." Esone groaned, swaying unsteadily. Sleeveless' fist sent him flying again a moment later, punching through shields and leaving the Lieutenant sprawled at the far side of the courtyard. As Sleeveless advanced the merc adopted a mantle of yellow and white light, glittering like a gemstone and accompanied by the sound of an earthquake. An Earth Aspect. Fantastic.<br/><br/>Pivoting to his feet, Esone closed the distance between him and Sleeveless with a few quick bounds. The Earth Aspect covered the area with a barrage from his rifle, but found striking Esone as difficult as striking the wind. That's not to say that a few bullets didn't find their mark. As Esone spun the merc by the scruff of his neck and chucked him into the path of the Pyro, he felt his chest tighten and his breathing hindered.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">Collapsed lung, I think. Your regeneration should have kicked in, unless... Damn. They hit when your shields were still recovering; it's aggravated instead of lethal. Looks like normal healing for you, omae.</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Think we can finish the fight?</span><br/><span style="color: #000000">Let's just make it so Del Pilar isn't doing all of the work.</span><br/><br/>The Pyro lit up his weapon just as Sleeveless was hurled, accidentally engulfing the Earth Aspect in a swath of flames. The smell of cooked meat didn't dissuade the Pyro, who just kept advancing towards Del Pilar. Sleeveless rolled futilely out of the path, his efforts doing little to extinguish the blaze. After a few moments, he simply stopped moving.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">That was... Harsh.</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Think he's dead?</span><br/><span style="color: #000000">What do <span style="font-style: italic">you</span> think, dumbass? How about we set you on fire and see how long you last?</span><br/><br/>Esone stumbled, but manage to stay upright. One hand clutched at the hole in his right side, silver sap leaking between his fingers. The other hand whipped forward and grabbed a nearby green trooper. Pulling the unfortunate merc close and baring his fangs, Esone snarled.<br/><br/>"Who. Sent. You."<br/><br/>The Merc gibbered, finally babbling out an reply "We- We got pinged for a job over the extranet! It was just supposed to be a hit on a couple of fresh Exalts gone rogue! The alert said the job was near by, so the captain roped us into it!"<br/><br/>"We're Spectres. If you value your lives, gather up your buddies and run like hell."<br/><br/>The merc practically tripped over himself in his rush to obey, corralling the majority of the Green troopers out the nearest exit. The red-trimmed soldiers remained behind, abandoned by their followers.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">Someone put out a hit on us? What do you think, Ta'akozoka?</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Probably. Nothing else would get an alert out that quickly and conveniently. Speaking of which, how's that fight going?</span><br/><br/>Esone glanced up in time to see the last of his reflections shatter. A conglomeration of wired, cables and screens extricated itself from the window, the hourglass eyes still staring intently at the exalts. It crashed to the courtyard floor, keening hungrily.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">Technosquid. Interesting.</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Today needs to end. Everything is just getting more random by the minute.</span>