u/FromTheDarkShadows

...Weeks... maybe even more than a month...

... The constant questioning… What she knows about what the JCJenson is doing here… How they work and operate… points of interests, places… About her, who she is, her expertise and what not…Luna would only get more and more questions thrown at her over and over again, sometimes these questions get repeated the other day, like they are expecting a different, better answer…

… And after a while… It would get tiresome for her. She would even really know how much time passed. How long she was down there exactly. Just… How long will they be doing this to her…

Then, the questioning stopped, no one even came to check on her, at least not the way they used to. They only went to her to just, watch her a bit, then leave. They would be doing that for, 3-4 days? 

What are they up to, what exactly do they want from her? They told her that they would want to recruit her all the way back when the attack on the base happened, and she got selected and taken here… What do they want to do with her?

Eventually, after days of silence from her captors, she would notice quite a bit more movement in that dark room they usually watch and check on her from.

Something is going on outside.

Someone was putting up these posters all across the more populated parts of the city and other commonly visited places, mainly outside under the sky. From walls to utility poles, they were scattered all across, though not in a high oppressive quantity/concentration. Just enough to be noticeable.

Suddenly, you spot the person behind it, putting another one up. Or at least, trying to.

Veronica: "... Thank you for your time. Same time next week in person then... Alright. Goodby..."

She would put down the phone, and as she does so, someone enters the room

Roberta: "Hey. How things are going so far?"

Veronica: "I'm honestly surprised. Mason was right, many of us WDs out here do seem to trust our kind more than humans... I'm almost shocked how much easier it was to convince them of the deal..."

Roberta: "That's Mason for you right there. I think it's not a surprise for you now why we trust each and every single of his decisions..."

Veronica: "Yeah no kidding..."

Roberta: "So..."

Veronica: "Oh yeah- about that."

She puts a bunch of papers onto the table, which was already a bit messy.

Veronica: "I... Was able to pin point a few points of interest, along with strucking a deal with some of the locals here, WDs I mean... They are willing to help us out greatly, they just want to be protected from future attacks from things like DDs and humans like the JCJenson."

Roberta: "Perfect, everything is going according to plan… Uhhh… I think you should get some rest… It’s clear that you need it.”

Veronica: “... B-But, ma’am-”

Roberta: “Look, some of us go without rest because we can easily handle needing less of it… I don’t want you to fry your head for us. You already helped us out a lot and took quite a bit of “bureaucratic burden” off us. It’s also almost midnight, go and rest well, you earned it…”

Veronica: “... Thank you boss.”

Roberta: “No need to thank me, now go…” Smile on her face

And with that, Veronica leaves the room, though not before trying to quickly organize the table, not going through which it because of Roberta’s gesturing to stop working already

After Veronica left, Roberta would sit down into the same seat Veronica was, and she just looked at the ceiling for a minute…

Roberta: “... Man… I really do need some time off…”

“...Go ahed…” Came the voice out of nowhere

She would jump in her seat, looking around in the room left and right, before looking left again and seeing a hologram of Mason standing in the corner. “He” seemed to be in his general not combat clothing, Roberta haven’t seen him that way here ever, mostly because he can’t be pried out of that suit in the first place, only being able to show this look through holograms

Roberta: “S-Sir! Mason?!”

Mason: “Heh… Sorry for the scare… Didn’t mean to.”

Roberta: “No problem sir” yawn then quickly puts her hand on his mouth.

Mason: Hands put up in front of him “Alright alright! No need to convince me further” He said jokingly

Roberta: “But sir, I can’t-”

Mason: “Yes you can! Or want me to order you to take a break? You could even take Kenneth and Eddie onto a “mission”, that being finally taking a break…”

Roberta: “But I’m the second most important person here! I am taking care of the STs, the members of the PHI and-”

Mason: “All of that can be covered by me, and of course Wesley. That work maniace… He even rivals me with his sense of duty… But that’s not the point… The point is that I don’t want any of you to break yourself like that.”

Roberta: “...I-”

Mason: “Just like you said. I don’t want you to fry yourself for me…”

Roberta would just, look down a bit thinking: “...He IS right… He always is…”

Mason: “... Alright. I’m gonna let you finish this here. But after that go to sleep, and the following days take far more time off than “usual”. If there are people who earned a break, you are definitely one of them…”

Roberta would just, nod and begin to organize the table… And after she finished, she would get up, get her stuff and… before leaving the room-

Roberta: “...Thank you sir…”

Mason: “Heh… No need to thank me anything…”

*“…I really did screw up now…”* Eddie(WD-HD) thought to himself. He has been exploring a tad further than supposed to, and now he is having a hard time figuring out where is the way back

Venturing through the forested area, he comes across with a sort of settlement, a recently abandoned one of that. The burn marks and the conditions with the building were in told him enough: this place was pillaged

He had a bad feeling about the place, he could feel that there was something off here… But… Something else seemed to be encouraging him to investigate, even against his better judgement..

Looking around, he began finding bodies of drones, all of them shot to death. He then came across with a dead human, a JCJenson soldier.

*“...So this is their doing…”*

Suddenly he takes notice of people speaking not too far away from him, and they seem to get closer. Eddie started to panic, and he quickly jumped behind cover, hooping to not be seen.

Soon two JCJenson soldiers turn the corner, one of them seemingly dragging something, or rather, someone.

The two soldiers would stop next to a pile of dead drones, throwing the still alive drone they dragged across the snow next to the pile.

The two began to casually talk, mainly about how easily they took care of this place, making a joke out of the few soldiers who died, labeling them “incompetent” and “improving profit with their death”.

Eddie's “stomach” would twist just from the way the two were talking about all this, not even talking about the pile of dead drones. Peaking out of cover just a bit, he could see them, and the drone squirming around on the ground.

His mind was racing: *“... What should I do… What would the others do… What is the right approach to this… How would Mason do it… I… I Have to do, something… But how…”*

That's when he remembered that he does have something for when he needs to defend himself… He then would unholster his pistol.

He never actually used it before in action, he never needed to… But now the time has come, but instead of self defense, he has to use it offensively…

But the thing is… He was clearly afraid, both from the two soldiers and from the weapon itself: *“...What if I screw up?...”* Was the question that seemed to be repeating in his head over and over again.

JCJenson Soldier 1: “Did you hear that?”

Eddie's heart would stop for a moment. Did he accidentally say it out loud?

JCJenson Soldier 2: “Eh it's probably just one of them hiding somewhere in fear… We will get to it eventually…”

They seemed to be ready to move onto their next victim, and that means time had run out for the poor drone on the ground

*“... Come on Eddie… You can do this… They would believe in you… They BELIEVE in you…”* - That's when he noticed that the drone on the ground had actually noticed him before the two soldiers ever would. They looked scared, terrified… That's when it clicked, he needs to act for them, and he needs to act now…

Turning off the safety, he would peak out of cover, now a bit more, and would shakily take aim. He would take aim at the soldier who was getting ready to finish the drone off on the ground. Then he pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew through the air and hit that soldier in the shoulder. The soldier would scream up in pain as he grabbed his own shoulder, ducking down as the second bullet wheezed past him, meanwhile the other one quickly turned around, and almost immediately noticed Eddie.

Eddie tried to readjust, but the soldier was too fast as they fired upon Eddie, who's next shot only scratched this one, knocking him down.

That was pretty much more painful than anything he felt in a long while. But he didn't have time to think about the pain, as he could hear the soldier approaching.

JCJenson Soldier 2: “You f###er, come here-”

Then as the soldier got around the cover, without thinking, Eddie would blindly unload the rest of the magazine, most of them actually hitting. Looks like they didn't expect Eddie to actually be able to ignore that pain.

Looking around after the shock settled, the pain began to properly register. But he could stop yet, as the other one was still around. So after reloading, thankfully his arm seemed to function just fine for now, he began to look for the one remaining soldier.

But as he did so, he quickly ducked down as bullets began flying towards him, one hitting him once more.

JCJenson Soldier 1: “You gonna pay for my shoulder! You know how expensive it is to fix something like that?!”

The soldier said as they were firing with one arm, up until the weapon ran out. Eddie tried to use this as an opportunity, but as he stood up he got tackled down by the soldier, who began repeatedly punching him.

But then the soldier made the mistake of not disarming Eddie. Who, using the only opening he got, was able to fire off one bullet, hitting him right in the throat.

.

Looking up in shock, instead of falling over the body stayed up right, blood flooding out of the wound, staining Eddie in blood. The body laid on him for a few moments before being knocked off in pure terror, as Eddie tried to rub off the blood of his face and visor, but the only thing he did was to smear it all across his face and visor even more.

Then his attention moved over to the drone, but… something was off: *“...Why… Why aren't they moving? Why is there oil leaking out of them… But they were still when… no… no no no…”* His breathing began to pick up speed more and more, his visor being filled with a mix of too many emotions to describe.

Then in the next moment, he was already running, before shortly stumbling over face down, crawling up against the wall into a ball, still just as panicked as when he left the scene.

That's the state he would get found by your character.

[The way this is interactable is that you can show what your character's reaction may be upon hearing/watching this broadcast]

It would be like any other day, when suddenly a signal could be detected on multiple channels, and on some the signal was paired with both sound and life footage

Mason “... To the people of Pandora… I… am “General” Mason, currently the leader of a mainly anti-JCJensonist group of individuals. After months of preparation and hard work, I can finally announce the formation of the “Pandorian Horizons Initiative”. Our goals, amongst trying to stop JCJenson from causing even more harm, is to upkeep the stability and safety of the regions and its people who are in our reach.

Suddenly a female drone appears in the feed

Veronica: “This includes the resistance movement against JCJenson, mainly operated by the DDF&T, which we have allied ourselves to fully.”

Then another person, a female human, appears in the feed

Roberta: “We, as members of the Horizons, will work towards keeping up our way of life, helping those in need. We will have to expand and grow to be able to do so, which we not only promise, but is stated as a fact.”

Then a male human appear in the feed

Wesley: “We will continue the mission of the Horizons, and fight for the people of this world, them be humans, drones and even DD. No matter what shape that foe will put on, we will stand our ground, and together stop them, no matter how strong they are.”

Then another appears

Kenneth: “There are certainly groups and individuals who find our presence problematic, and and may even oppose our mission, if not just think of us like an another JCJenson… Which our allies and many other individuals can assure to not be the case…”

Mason: “We hope to be able to work together for our shared goals together. We may have our differences for now, but I hope we will be able to work something out for all of ours sake… For those who may wonder whether we are around them or not, will be made known soon. I ask for cooperation and even for the support of those who are willing to aid our cause… I thank those who will see us the way we hope we are in advance… I was General Mason, and we are the PHI… Signing out…”

The recorded first broadcast would play at least 5 or so times that day(overall 6 times), 3 times and the next two days, then would stop after that.

Eddie: “...This feels… Weird… Does it even look good on me-?”

Kenneth: “Honestly? You look incredibly dapper, and this black suits you quite well”

Eddie: “...Roberta-”

Roberta: “Don’t worry, you look incredible in that suit.”

She says as she ruffling his hair a bit, then would brush his hair a bit

Eddie: “...Why do we even go through all this hustle?... It’s not like I got a date, a partner, or anything…”

Kenneth: snicker “Not yet…”

Eddie would get flustered a bit

Roberta: “Kenneth…”

Kenneth: “What? From what I heard there will be plenty of options…”

Eddie: “...”

Eddie seems to be pretty embarrassed even from the idea

Roberta: Sights “... Don’t worry, you know what Mason said? It’s not a problem if you don’t have a partner for this prom, it’s not that serious… All that matters is for you to have fun and get to know others…”

Kenneth: “You may just meet someone who you can hang out with. You can only hang with me so much, even more so alone…”

Eddie would sit down onto the chair, his hand on his face

Eddie: “... uhhh… I… I don’t know…”

Kenneth: “Look. Buddy…”

He would put a hand on Eddie's shoulder

Kenneth: “I know that the concept of a girlfriend may be a bit lot for you-”

Eddie would go more “red” by that

Eddie: “Kenneth!...”

Roberta: “... Hey… It’s alright… It’s not that big of a deal… You can find someone for yourself eventually… There are a lot of young folks the same age as you I’m sure of it… Just take it slow, got it?”

Eddie: “...”

Kenneth: “I will be around, don’t worry. If you really don’t feel well I go and get you, kay?

Eddie would take a deep breath, and would nod a bit

Kenneth: “That’s the spirit!... Would you?”

Kenneth would gesture to Eddie to stand up, which he quickly does.

Roberta would continue working on Eddie's hair while Kenneth would get his suit in shape.

Roberta: “Well look at that… Even better than before!”

Eddie: “R-Really?”

Kenneth: “Hell yeah dude! If you don’t believe us, just turn around!”

Eddie: “Around? Oh…”

There was a large mirror behind him. Turning around he would be surprised.

“...Is… that really me?” He thought…

Kenneth: “Well… What do you think? Did we do a great job?”

Eddie: “...It… Looks… I…”

Kenneth: “See? Told you!”

Eddie: “... I… T-Thank you guys…”

Roberta: “It’s nothing… We are glad that we could help…”

Kenneth: “Yeah… Now get your stuff and get em tiger!”

Eddie would fluster a bit more. But this time he has a weak smile on his face instead of that flat frown

After he randomly encountered the little maid Cyn, which didn’t go well, he finally began to close in to the area where T’s workshop was supposed to be. He would be standing on top of the tallest building around this emptier part of the city, look down at the nearby buildings

Mason: “...Where could it be…”

Eddie: “...Jesus…”

Kenneth: “Yeah…”

Eddie: “He spent how much time in there???”

Kenneth: “A week by now… He does come out from there when, like, there is something important… But other than that he spends every waking hours of his in there, and probably even those short sleeping ones too… Things are heating up…”

Eddie: “No kidding…”

Roberta: “He has been working on the suit 24/7. It’s no wonder though…”

Kenneth: “I didn’t knew that he has such expertise. I heard that he is surprisingly well educated on loads of fields… But like…”

Roberta: “Well it’s his suit… And he kinda needs to know at least how to maintain it… It’s not surprising that he is able to make such adjustments and “makeshift upgrades” to it…”

The door suddenly opens as Mason steps outside

Mason: “... Is anything alright out here?...”

All three of them, Eddie Roberta and Kenneth would jump a bit, and instantly salute Mason

“No Sir” They say simultaneously

Mason: “At ease… No need to be this tensed up… Just continuing the casual attitude from before, I do sometimes leave the door just a little bit open so I know when someone is coming…”

Mason chuckles a bit as the other three looks at one another as he can read their thought just from that and their expression alone

Roberta: “So sir- uhm… Mason. How is the project coming along? Is there anything I can help with sir- ?...”

Mason: “Nothing right now, thanks for asking Roberta. Also… Relax…”

Roberta just nervously nodded

Kenneth: “Yeah Roberta. Keep it cool. Like this” Clears his throat and turns to Mason “Hey there Mason! How is it going?”

He walks up to Mason, and offers a more casual handshake, which Mason takes without hesitation

Mason: “Hey Hey. Been working all day as usual, made some good progress as well.”

Wow Mason sounds more casual than usual

Kenneth: “See? It is that easy!”

Mason nods, then he leans just a bit closer as he also lowers his tone a bit

Mason: “Just try and keep it just as much together when the time come” Chuckles a slight bit

Kenneth would turn just a slight bit red, not quite enough for, Roberta, to see

Kenneth: “... Yea-Yeah… I will try my best…”

Mason: “I know…”

Kenneth would feel like he just received a kind of warm smile from Mason, even though his face is covered by the mask he has on his head 24/7. Quite the confidence boost if you ask him

Roberta: “Uhm…”

Mason: “Hey Roberta. Can I have a talk with you later? I’m gonna need to go out to find someone and talk about the last piece of the puzzle. Would you mind getting to my office in an hour?

Robert: “Yes, Mason.”

Mason: "Preciated. Alright you three, I need to get back to work. Hey Eddie.”

Eddie: “Y-Yes?”

Mason: “Come over here kid”

Eddie does just that

Mason: “I heard that there will be sort of, Prom. I would like you to participate”

Eddie: “M-Me? But, why sir?”

Mason: “Well to have a good time! I know that you really would like to help me here on the base. But I really do want you to stay at the bunker, because the best way you help me is to be out there and get to know more people.”

Eddie: “I know sir, but I… I don’t have anyone to… go… with… Isn’t that a requirement to have a partner?”

Mason: “Well… It may be traditionally like that, but you don’t need to bring one…”

Kenneth: “You can also get one during the prom too!”

Eddie gets quite flustered

Mason: “That is an option. Though…” He does a small head tilt to Kenneth “... People traditionally already bring their partner with them…”

Kenneth instantly goes silent. The message gone through loud and clear

Mason: “Also you can technically bring anyone as a “partner”, be a friend or even an almost total stranger. So don’t over think it, kid.”

Eddie: Nodding up and down nervously “A-A-Alright sir…”

Mason: “Alright… Later then.”

And with that, he went back inside the room, the door closing behind him automatically

Roberta: “Well... That was…”

Kenneth: “...Something for sure…”

In about an hour Roberta is already talking with Mason

Roberta: “... So you planning on meeting that, T named female drone?”

Mason: “Yeah, Spades said that she could help with the project. It is also a great to get to know the others I may be fighting side by side when the time comes…”

Roberta: “I see… So I will need to oversee things while you are gone.”

Mason: “Yes, and Veronica will be your assistant for the time being. She has been doing quite a good job so far, and knows what she is doing.”

Roberta: “Oh I already read about that. Does she already know?”

Mason: “Yes. Also… How are the schematics coming along for her?”

Roberta: “For her? Well I have been trying to figure a thing or two out… It’s easier with Eddie being around… I’m not, quite, sure if I will be able to do the conversion process myself, a ST is quite a bit different than… this… But I can… Confidently say that the schematics are coming along quite well…”

Mason: “Good. Hopefully we are able to gather the parts for it and actually do it… Alright then… I still have, quite a few things to finish… I’m not gonna hold you up any longer than necessary.”

Roberta: “Understood.”

Mason: “Okey. Later then…”

The invite was just like the one Solarflare got, and Spade would get there almost the same way as Solarflare and Ember did: Coordinates leading to a far away entrance of the tunnel system under Pandora, he would be led down by a ST, but this time there wasn’t a Kenneth around…

ST-##### : “Follow the marked path along the road. It’s unwise to stray off the path. Wait for further instructions after reaching the end of the tunnel system or follow the road ahead outside…”

The voice was extremely machine like, though even then it still was understandable

The newly formed “Task Force 1” and “Task Force 2” had been assigned to conduct a strike on a JCJenson military base further down South.

Mission: Eliminate all hostile combatants and seize all military assets located on the site.

Assigned units: Both Task force 1 and 2 is composed of a mixed amount of 15 ST gen 3.3’s and 3.4’s, and a mixed amount of 5 ST 4.3’s and 4.4’s

The operation is conducted by DOF-Third Lieutenant- Wesley [REDACTED]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the rescue mission for the Elementals was going on, the Horizons had decided to strike a smaller military base(a Combat outpost) to get first hand experience on how the enemy will react and their soldiers “skill level”. The operation also serves to weaken their control down at the southern regions, keeping the Horizons operations there harder to track from the company.

They are already set in position, hiding amongst the threes and under the snow for the signal…

Roberta: “...Well I be… It looks… functional?”

Mason: Doing some circuitry “I sure do hope so… I needed to somehow adapt it to my design… Hardware is the main issue with it… But… If it works…”

Roberta: “That would give quite the mobility boost… Especially for you, boss. I’m surprised that it's even possible”

Mason: “You already know how fast I can learn, and how much I need to know to do what I do…”

Roberta: “Y-Yeah… Of course…”

Mason puts down his tools and looks at Roberta

Mason: “Alright, tell me.”

Roberta: “W…What?”

Mason: “I may not be your Mason, but I can always recognise when someone is bothered by something…”

Roberta would be silent for a bit

Roberta: “... Did… Would things have changed if… I got there in time…”

Mason: “Probably not.”

Roberta: “But-”

Mason: “First, Nikolai would have already left by the time I estimated you to even get there. Second, and before you say it, Ember had already found me by the time either of them would have even gotten to me…”

Roberta: “But sir-”

Mason: “Mason…”

Roberta would be taken aback by it. Is he really asking her to call him that way in a situation like this?

Mason: “Look. No matter what you may think of yourself, I’m sure you did your best… Heck, you surviving all those things you went through already tells me enough… You did what you can, the best you can… That already is enough for me…”

Roberta: *Sob* “Thank ya Boss- I mean… Thank you, Mason…”

Mason: “See? It wasn’t that hard, wasn't it?... Alright, it’s time for you to take a break…”

Roberta: “You sure?”

Mason: “Certeanly… Go and talk with someone a bit, would you? I know how easily you can get lost in the work… I… Heard Kenneth is around here too, you two don’t really talk much… So, as a “team building exercise”, I recommend you two getting to know each other better. You two are the best we got, excluding Wesley for obvious reasons…”

Roberta: “I… uhmm… Alright… You are probably right… I will be back soon”

Mason: “Make that not soon, okey?”

Roberta would just, nods, smiling a bit. Then after she leaves, only Mason and the huge pile of work to do is left in the room…

???: “So this is it, huh?”

​

Wesley: “Yeah… It is… Something.”

​

???: “So… We will… Like go-”

​

Wesley: “Oh we are not going in there, what do you think why we have these three here?”

​

???: “Thank goodness”

​

*Takes a look at the three STs being prepped*

???: “3.3s I see”

​

Wesley: “Yeah. Even though we have far more units to spare for things like this, Mason still doesn’t want to waste the 4th generational ones.”

​

???: “That’s honestly fair”

​

Wesley: “Now go and set that com link already.”

???: “Alright Alright…”

​

*After a bit of tinkering and setting up later*

​

Wesley: “... Alright… You keep an eye on the equipment, I will monitor their progress, got it?”

​

???: “Sir yes sir…”

​

*The three STs on Wesley's mark enter the forest.*

​

*Mission? Map out and explore the rim of the forest. Watch out for and log any unusual structures, wildlife or anomalies. Then return to the temporary camp for further instructions*

Some time after the Solver weapon showed up at bunker 3 Solarflare gets a message, or rather an invite from Mason.

He wants Solarflare to meet with someone who would then lead her to their base of operations both to show their progress and for some important talk after recent events

(Disclaimer: Even though I had the ideas, and even lore, about them for a while, I never really did pin down their exact statistics, so most of these are more like estiments(even one or two hand waved ones), and as such they are prone to changes and "balances" as I solidifie a few of these quite slowly, bit by bit. These also just serve to give a general idea and inform people about their existence)

(I also request feedback on the idea of them, greatly appreciated)

(I wasn't sure on the tag either)

The Horizons over the years had fielded many different STs, automated machines mainly built for military applications. They are humanoid shaped and highly intelligent, but not sentient. They wear and use gear, armor and weapons just like a normal soldier would, though even without armor they are far more durable than any normal WD would be, having a baseline armoring.

Over the years and during the war against Cyn in the AU the Horizon is from, there were quite a few different versions and “generations” of STs, which seeped into the word of Pandora as well, being collected by a Horizonists group here on the planet.

ST-3:

The “3rd Generational” STs are from the era before Cyn kickstarted her “war” against humanity.

The most common 3rd gen STs are the 3.3s. They are essentially on the same standard as “Advanced Economic” countries of the 21st century(irl), but in many ways they perform above humans, like speed, coordination and endurance. They are also on the Horizons standard quality and armor vise for their time, being able to perform exceptionally against most normal firearms.

After the war broke out, the Horizons, along with introducing the 4th generation of STs, also upgraded the 3.3s, which are the 3.4s. These STs, other than upgraded armor, also have a more advanced software system compared to the 3.3s.

ST-4:

The 4th generational STs are quite a leap compared to the 3rd(the first 3rd generation STs were introduced almost 2 centuries ago), and also thanks to the tripled defense budget assigned for their development.

The 4s in general are far more robust and have more base line armoring. They are able to far outperform normal humans in speed, endurance, reaction time and especially in strength.

Here on Pandora, three “versions” of ST-4s will appear: 4.2 ; 4.3 ; 4.4 - Each outperforming the last.

While the 4.2s are fairly impressive, they can be called “weak” compared to the 4.3s and 4.4s, as these two are kinda on a “Terminator” level from a human perspective. With normal human weapons they are incredibly hard to kill, It’s no wonder though as they were built to be able to combat DDs in teams, mostly being able to avoid attacks, put on pressure and tank a few hits from them, the last part is fairly apparent with their endurance, as cutting them in half or shooting off their head will not stop them most of the time, and they handle a lost limb like nothing.

It’s important to note that, even though they are capable of using blade based weapons, they CAN’T stand their ground against a DD, they are incredible against humans and even 3071 Horizons soldiers(especially the 4.4s), but they lack the speed to stand their own ground face to face with one more than a few seconds.

But to actually try and set examples of how durable they are:

The 4.3s and 4.4s armor can shrug off 5.56 with ease(just scratches), and even 7.62(AP) only puts dents in their armor. Handgranades? Same story.

Plasma? They do have resilience against it, as Horizons uses ECT based "Hybrid Balistic-Plasma” weapons, but any part or full plasma based weapons are a magnitude more effective than any ballistic equivalent.

Blunt force is also something that is not really effective, along with environmental hazards like falling.

EMP is an interesting thing. While it is certainly effective in ways, especially against 3.3s and 4.1(will not appear). The 3.4s and 4.2s have resistance against it above normal, but if you throw an EMP grenade at them, that certainly will knock them out, not out cold though, as they will recover from it eventually depending on how strong the EMP is. The 4.3s and 4.4s have an even higher resistance to it, weaker EMPs or from the distance it mainly bothers them or “shuts them off” for a second or two, but even stronger EMPs have less effectiveness on them. Like a DDs EMP up close can knock them out for around 15-20 seconds only, which they quickly recover from after waking up.

ST-5:

Now this is an interesting one, and the “5th Generational” STs (both the 5.1 and 5.2) are technically not too far apart from the 4.4s, only that their main purpose is to fight DDs in melee style combat. With their greatly increased speed and agility, they can somewhat upkeep with even DDs, having a score rating of “0.4”(a personal scale, for instance a DD is 1, while a “Light Treader”, a weaker kind off DD which from I will make a post about in the future, is a 0.8 . The rating itself also doesn’t count in things like the “individuals” skill, just pure statistics and it’s more like an estimant than a fixed number), and not even 2 of them could really win an engagement against a DD(Though they certainly have a change against a “Light Treader”), but that is expected as they are designed to draw a DDs attention from other units while those are firing upon the target, though they do also deliver strikes as well if there is an opening for it.

*The sudden knocking on the front door would alert anyone inside of someone being at the door*

​

???: "Anyone home?"

​

Mason: “...Alright, now that everyone is here, I first need to break the news of Roberta returning to us. As few of us already know, she was attacked by “Light Treaders” at the time of me confronting Nikolai weeks ago. Thankfully she was able to avoid and keep engagement with them on the minimum. Eventually, she was found by the three members of the Flame squad, who took care of the threat and helped stabilize Roberta's conditions. And for that, we all should be thankful to them…”

​

*Roberta just nodded, along with the others in the room*

​

Mason: “Now… Wesley.”

​

Wesley: “Right away sir. This incident had confirmed the foreseen possibility of Light Treaders appearing here on Pandora too. So from now on, day time operations should be done with caution. We also will define safe, cautions, dangerous and no go zones as well. The details of our operations will be detailed to the other, staff, at another time…”

​

Mason: “Thank you Wesley… Vic, you can begin.”

​

Vic: Clears his throat “Alright. Thanks to the tireless work and immense resources put into the refurbishment and repair on this “facility”, along with the help of our new “recruits”, I can report that the base is fully operational now for the time being, sir. “

​

Mason: "Excellent. Any Issues?”

​

Vic: “Well, yes, we still have plenty of issues, a few newly appearing ones of that. Our main problem is gonna be power once more. I tried to look for potential solutions, but they are either too expensive or complicated, unsustainable and not worthwhile, or do not satisfy our increasing demands. As a temporary solution we will install a few more solar arrays, but because of their low grade they will only help just a slight bit…”

​

Mason: “I see… I will try to find solutions for that, probably gonna have to discuss something with the DDFT if they have any ideas that could help…”

​

Vic: “Understood sir…”

​

Mason: “Alright… Wesley, you mentioned you have some exciting news to tell us”

​

Wesley: “Yes sir. After the communicational and radio systems became operational, we picked up a group of signatures down to the south. So by your orders, I took a squad of STs and investigated the signatures… As it turned out, our theory of the behavior seemed to be correct, as the signatures were from a group of STs that were slowly grouping up as per protocol. And the number of STs this group consisted of is… a staggering 68, sir… Triple of what we had at our disposal previously…”

​

Mason: "Wonderful news, all of you proved to do a great job. Roberta?”

​

Roberta: “Sir?”

​

Mason: “I need you to stay on base and go through all of our new units one by one. You also need time to recover so no missions outside base.”

​

Roberta: “Roger that sir…”

​

WD1: “Excuse me sir”

​

*Said the drone as they entered*

​

Wesley: “Keep it qui-”

​

Mason: “Wesley”

​

*Wesley quickly shut his mouth*

​

Wesley: “Sorry sir…”

​

*He would be giving the side eyes to the poor drone right now*

​

WD1: “We finished refurbishing the living quarters in sector 3-1 and had moved in as per order”

​

Mason: “Excellent work, you are free to do what you seem fit until further notice. Also… Next time, knock on the door first”

​

WD1: “Thank you sir. Understood sir, will not happen again”

​

*And with that they left the room*

​

Mason: “Alright, for last. Will break the news of our lack of material based resources and human rations, because even with our hard work, those two are still a key issue to be solved. We-”

​

*Suddenly someone run through the door*

​

Kenneth: “MASON. SIR”

​

Wesley: “Can you be even more louder than that-”

​

Mason: “What happened?”

​

*Mason seemed to be unbothered by Kenneths loudness, and seemed to be fully focused on the reason itself*

​

*Kenneth would just run up to him passed Wesley, and would hand him something*

​

Kenneth: “You need to see and know about this sir, it's critical…”

​

Mason: “As you say so…”

​

*For a few minutes there would be silence in the room as Mason would seemingly go through it*

​

*Then he suddenly would clench his right hand into a fist as he looks down just a slight bit more. He did that with such strength on fact, that the small bit of water vapor on it seemed to steam away a bit*

​

Mason: “...Finish the meeting… Raise the preparedness level… and stand ready for future orders…”

​

Roberta and Wesley: “Sir-”

​

Mason: “... I let you two in in a moment. But first… I got to make a few calls…”

​

Deep inside the deeper parts of the tunnel network that is spreading across Pandora, someone has been hiding in the shadows for far too long.

The suit and the armor on it is already damaged enough as it is. It doesn't help that she had gotten quite a few injuries from those engagements in the past week…

She tried to muffle the sound of pain as much as she could, she can't risk being found by even one of them, again. She can't  take on even one of them at this point from all the accumulated damage, injuries and lost blood. Having barely any supplies left is just the cherry on top…

After a while of just, sitting in one of the hidden corners, she would finally gather the strength and will to get up.

”…They don't seem to be around anymore, let's just hope that there is actually a way out of here…” Thought Roberta 

As she slowly and carefully went through from one hallway to the next, she was able to get closer and closer to the surface. But then a sudden noise alerted her. As she looked back, she could swear she just saw a yellow light poking out at one of the turns… So instead of risking it, she began to run, as fast as she could.

This however was a mistake, as this actually just alerted them to her lookation, and they were closing in quickly.

So she ran, just ran and ran, one or two of her bandages up wounds begging to bleed again as she struggled to take the next step, and the next and the next… Until she came across with a large, sturdy, wooden door.

Roberta: “No no no no no. F##k!”

The door is sealed shut. She can't go back, and there is no way around the door… Only through it…

So she began ramming into it over and over and over again. Then she pulled out one of her blades and started splashing and cutting, then she rammed into the door again. All this  seemed to be just enough as she fell onto the ground through it.

As she looked up, she could see the night sky…

*“Finally, I’m out of that- WOAH”*

Suddenly, a rocket would fly over her head, exploding in the distance.

She quickly got up from the ground, and tossed her last EMPs in, which seemed and sounded to be quite effective, before beginning to run again.

After a minute she began to feel her body slowly failing, her vision becoming blurry and feeling nauisy. She soon will colaps if she keeps going, not even those boosters are helping, and she sure as hell can't fly like this even if it would be functional.

She would begin hearing things, those things slowly catching up to her. 

Hallucinations or not, she can't stop…

She…

Has to…

Keep…

Going...

…

…

…

You would see her running towards you before she collapsed face down into the ground.

Having no idea what happened to her, and not seeing any signs of the things she may have been running from, at least, not yet...

Both Charcoal and Solarflare would get a message from none other than Mason directly, wanting to have a talk about recent... events...

They were allowed to choose a location for it, though it was requested to be in a private and roofed place. As the talk would be part "friend to friend" and to "leaders to leaders"

The night sky was clearer than usual at the moment…

“Perfect time for star glazing isn’t it?”

This string of thought may just have crossed Nikolai’s mind as he was sitting on top of a quite sizable rock and just, taking in the moment.

It may not be quite comparable to the joy he felt during those “Family bonding activities” from yesterday, but it is still nice nonetheless.

At least, until he looked to his side for just a moment, and noticed someone unknowing to him getting quite close, just a dozen or so meters away from him.

The, person, seem to be just, leaning against a tree, facing away from Nikolai. Though, it almost feels like they are trying to get Nikolai's attention with it, intentionally or not.