Since teaming up with Lapis, Tasha finds that she's done more walking than she ever had to before when she was drover for the Rake. But there's no way a wheeled vehicle could make through the morass of debris and churned ground. Aaron is particularly wary of disturbed ground – it could be where someone was prospecting for seeds, but could also be the door of some burrowing horror's lair. So far, the Lapi has altered their course four times and put his ear to the ground on well over a dozen occasions. It's not clear how he's actually navigating to wherever it is he's taking the Vartan hybrid.

As they've walked, Tasha explained the weaponry she's carrying and their use – and more importantly – what they cannot and should not be used for. That and her explaination of the details and reactions of getting them has lent a certain political air to the red-furred woman, far at odds with who she was only weeks prior. But she's not all politics; she's urged Aaron to keep a sharp ear while she watches the land with her equally sharp eyes. Together, she hopes they can spot a threat before it spots them.

"How much further, do you think?" Tasha asks as she scans the landscape.

To Tasha, the whole experience carries a surreal quality. Only years ago, Elamoore's flood plain would have been lush and futile. Now, it's a ruin, and not just that, a ruin at the bottom of a pit of red cliffs, astride a canal filled with unimaginably deadly monstrosities. Tasha finds herself likewise changed, if for the better. Together, with Aaron leading her to who-knows-where, and she armed with the strangest of weapons, it makes for a bizarre adventure.

As they've walked, Tasha explained the weaponry she's carrying and their use and, more importantly, what they cannot and should not be used for. That, and her explanation of the details and reactions of getting them, has lent a certain political air to the red-furred woman, far at odds with who she was only weeks prior. But, she's not all politics; she's urged Aaron to keep a sharp ear while she watches the land with her equally sharp eyes. Together, she hopes they can spot a threat before it spots them.

"How much further, do you think?" Tasha asks as she scans the landscape.

"I think just… another mile or so," Aaron notes. He too looks around, but focuses his gaze at the foothills. "I can't see the landmarks, but maybe you can; a pair of ironwood trees… probably dead… at the base of a rocky hill."

"I'll see what I can do. I'm keeping a running clock on our outing, by the way. My suit's charge is finite, and I can't risk abandoning it out here," Tasha says. She's warned him of her suit's power supply several times now, giving voice to the anxiety that gnaws at her. With her first flight being such a disaster, she finds herself distinctly uncomfortable risking her mission more than absolutely necessary. Still, she owes Aaron a lot, and that tipped the scales in his favor. As she thinks on this, she scans the horizon, hoping this mysterious location of Aaron's proves more than the fanciful invention of a conspiracy laden mind.

At first, she looks right past the target – but then finds it. It didn't stand out immediately because the ironwood trees were no more than stumps now, but they're above the floodline and in front of a rocky outcrop at the base of the foothills.

"There." Tasha points across the waste. "It's as you said; just a decrepit ruin now, if you can see it at all. A dead ironwood tree alone, here on this world … It's almost poetic."

"That's where I need to go," Aaron says, sounding a bit… morose. "The silt is getting shallower, so there shouldn't be any underground surprises." And with that, he's off at a jog in the direction Tasha pointed.

Tasha breaks in to a jog as well. She momentarily tucks her infinitely peculiarity bio-rifle under her left arm to free her right so she can set her helmet's view to an infrared overlay in the hopes the heat detection will give her a moment more to react to any hidden threat. "Don't get too far ahead," she calls out, "I can't keep up with a running Lapi on the ground!"

The buck keeps to a pace that isn't hard on Tasha, and 15 minutes later they're at the tree stumps. There's a considerable pile of bones and chitin filling a trench not far from them, including the complete skeleton of what looks like a miniature Shriken. If there were miniature Nohbakim about, they could make a trireme out of it. "Yeah, this is the place," Aaron says when they get there. "Monster bones."

"Ironic," Tasha says of the bones, giving them a look over after she drops her view back to normal. Her head shakes, and then she glances back to Aaron and admits, "I'm not sure what we'll find here, and even if we do find something, I'm uncertain what can be done with the answer. If it isn't the monsters that decimated the Lapi population, then it may well have been the local governments during their take over of the pit. Karnor and Vartans were known – excuse me, Jupani – but, Lapi, well … " Her head just shakes. "I'm sorry; lets keep looking."

A Lapi skull peeks up at Tasha from the pile. Aaron is climbing the rocks now. "We'll know for sure once we get inside," he calls back. Apparently the pile of rocks is not a natural feature at all…

Tasha, about to follow, pauses. She gives her friend a glance, her expressionless helmet masking the frown that creases her muzzle, then quietly bends down to pick the skull up.

There are holes in the skull that line up with 'pincer' tusks on one of the monster skulls.

"Here it is!" Aaron calls from somewhere on the rocks. "I found the door."

Inwardly relieved, Tasha gently puts the skull back down where she got it. She doubts her relief will last, but at least her fears haven't been proven, and maybe, just maybe, she'll find them to be unfounded after all. Turning, she calls out, "Do you need me to come inside with you?"

"Well, it's a good place for a monster to hide," Aaron notes. "It might be a bit closed-in for you though, since it's a Lapi bunker."

"I'm coming, but you'll need to hold my gun," Tasha calls back. Rather than climb up, she simply takes wing and lands nearby, holding the peculiar weapon out for Aaron to take. "Remember, hold it where I showed you, and it will be fine. Feel free to pet it; it likes being stroked along the spines."

"It's almost as long as I am tall," the buck notes, but cradles the weapon as if it were a sleeping Fuff'nar – that is, in such a way to avoid waking it up. Then he uses his foot to push against a large flat boulder… which swings aside as if perfectly balanced. A dark pit is revealed. "Can you see anything with your helmet?" he asks.

"No need," Tasha says. She does something to the console on her left arm, and a floodlight illuminates the darkness. "I'll maintain infrared as well, just in case. Keep your ears sharp." She peers inside a moment, then reaches over her back and pulls the enormous chain-sword free, moving it to a two-fisted grip with the blade angled in front of her and down in to the hole. "Ready?"

"Ready," Aaron says with a dry mouth. The floodlight shows a large chamber, with ironwood beams supporting the walls and ceiling. It's simply furnished, and even has a fireplace. And then there are the bodies. Five mummified Lapi, all stripped naked. Three are stacked like firewood in one corner, while the other two have been hung from the ceiling by their feet, hanging down over big pots.

"I … I'm not sure what I'm seeing, but it's ominous. Was your relative involved in the preparation of the dead? Mummification?" Tasha keeps her weapon in front of her, with her finger hovering over the switch.

"Great-aunt Patience was a witch," Aaron notes, as he looks in. "This isn't how the dead were prepared though. I think I know what we'll find in the kitchen."

"Let's see if anyone's here." Now that homicide seems apparent, Tasha flips the switch on her weapon to active, causing the weapon to roar to life. "Stay behind me," she instructs as she advances in to the hole.

It's hard to get around the hanging corpses, but at least all of the other rooms seem to open onto the central one. It isn't necessary to go into the kitchen – there wouldn't be much room. But Tasha's light picks a dried corpses of a Vartan, Jupani and Khatta seated at a Lapi table, which makes them all seem oversized. There are plates and bones before them, but they likely never finished their meal before dying right there in their seats.

"My uncle always seemed to be joking about Patience and her clever curse," Aaron notes from behind Tasha. "I guess it wasn't a joke. She made poisons, you see. All sorts. The joke was that she would feed them to her family in small doses, to make them both immune over time and very, very toxic."

Tasha, who had been searching the bodies, recoils when she realizes just what had been happening here. "Cannibalism?" She flicks off her weapon, shifting it aside to resume examining the dead at the table. "I'd always heard jokes, even rumors, but … this? We need to know if this was a Sinaian practice or not."

"It wasn't a ritual thing, I'm sure," Aaron notes, sitting in one of the dust-covered chairs. "I suspected. I mean, think about it: all of the food was outside the city walls. The farms, the stockyards… all convenient to the port. The flood washed it all away, and whatever was left was gobbled up by monsters. Almost all the Rhians, Cervani and Lapi worked in the fields. But there were a lot of Lapi and Skreeks and Skeeks in the city. We're very urban, by nature. So what happened when all of the Jupani, Khatta and Vartans had no fresh meat? Anything they recovered from the flood would have been contaminated, after all."

Tasha nods, stirring that expressionless helmet. "It's not exactly what I expected, but in some ways it's worse. I'm sorry you had to see this, Aaron. I'll make sure the Abaddonian authorities are aware so the dead can be buried respectfully and, if possible, their surviving relatives informed." She breathes a sigh, then lays her oversized weapon against the stoney wall before removing her helmet. "I can't imagine being so desperate as to resort to … this," she admits, gesturing at the table and its grisly contents.

"The important thing is that there were monster bones outside," Aaron notes. "That means Aunt Patience's poison cocktail works on the local monsters. I'll find her journal, it should have the recipe. No sense in stirring up more horrors from the past though. You can't blame the survivors for… surviving."

"No, I guess I can't." Tasha stares at the long-deceased Vartan, thinking back to the Fenris. She wonders what she might have done, if it had been herself at the table …

Turning away, Tasha picks up her weapon lays it on her shoulder. "Finding more bodies like this will be inevitable if we're to restore the land to usability. I'll leave the poison in your capable hands; that deal should hopefully make you some money."

"I'll take care of things in here, you can go back outside if you want," Aaron offers. "This place is well hidden, and kept out other animals for six years. It'll make a good tomb."

After putting her helmet back on, Tasha retrieves her other weapon from Aaron's hands. "I'll stand by until you've lit some candles and wait by the entrance. Please yell if you even think you may be in danger." Hands full, she has to shifts her gear some to pat the man on the shoulder. "Let's talk, afterwards," she whispers, and then she walks to the exit and waits.

The outcrop has a commanding view of the floodplain. Tasha can see to the river, and to the barricade of demolished buildings that form most of the wall around Elamoore. And movement, near the river… a group of dark shapes moving quickly away from the city.

Glad to be free of that stiffing place and its awful scent, Tasha settles in to the relative peace of watch duty when she notices the shapes departing the town proper. "Hmm?" Leaning forward, she sheathes her chainsword on her back and squints to try and get a good look.

The glare off the water makes it hard to focus, but when the group begins to spread out, there's enough of a silhouette to realize horses are involved – not Rhians, but horses, ridden by people. There are also sudden thunderous booms from the east, near the Winged Citadel dam. Cannon reports!

"What on Earth?" Tasha stands up, having no time to dwell on the oddities that crop up from Nora Argentine's embedded memories. "Aaron! We may have a problem," she calls back in to the hole before moving to get a better view of both the dam and the riders.

"I can hear it," the buck answers, popping up out of the hole. "Something must have gotten through from the canal," he suggests.

Tasha nods. "That's my thought, too. I'm going to have to join this fight, I think. I'm armed for it, and both personally and professionally, I can't sit back and watch." The young woman checks her bio-rifle, shifting her gaze between it and dam-wards as she continues distractedly, "Will you be alright here?"

There are other shapes out on the plain now, but they're hard to spot unless they're moving, due to a camouflage pattern of spots and stripes – creatures on two legs, with a low-slung tube of a body ending in a shiny black three-part beak. They run remarkably well for such squat, ungainly looking things.

"Leave me the Spitter, and you can fly," Aaron says.

"I will, but I can't leave you the ammunition. I'm sorry." Tasha offers the rifle to the Lapi, her gaze fixed on the distant targets. "Hide yourself in the tunnel and close the entrance. I'll be back when I can be. If not, set a fire outside and the signal should bring help."

"Be careful, Tasha," Aaron says, as he heads back into the hole and pulls the boulder closed behind him.

There's nothing at all careful about this, Tasha thinks as she removes the chainsword from her back and sets its blade spinning. After hoping from the rocky perch to land on the ground, she uses the flat ground as a runaway to build up momentum before she takes to the air in the direction of the encroaching monsters.

The suit has enough power to keep Tasha from straining herself, and she gets to a reasonable height of about thirty feet. She can see one of the horsemen heading across her path, towards a group of three of the encroaching monsters.

Angling off, Tasha moves to join the horseman as she debates her choices. With little actual combat experience against anything more dangerous than a back alley pickpocket she finds herself uncertain as to how to proceed. Despite this, she knows she must fight – letting the monsters get past the city's defenders is not an option. So, she decides to watch the horseman and use him to dictate her attack; she'll see how the monsters react and proceed from there. If she's lucky, they'll focus on him and allow her to ambush them before the man's in danger.

Up closer, the man riding the horse is definitely human, although clad head to toe in leathery armor – even the horse is barded. He's got a long shield with the symbol of the Knights Templar on it, with a long square notch cut in into it. In the notch rests a large-caliber double-barreled rifle. Once he gets close enough, the horse begins to do a little dance, which gets the attention of a monster and lets the rider pull it away from the pack.

He should have a plan for that one; I'd best not interfere and ruin his shot. Instead … , scanning, Tasha spots the two remaining invaders and angles off towards them, intent on overflying them. As she nears, she begins to call out whatever she can think of: angry slurs, dockside insults, anything to try and get their attention and get them to follow her away from the town, where she can hopefully deal with them.

The creatures don't seem to react to sound… or at least to insults. The mounted fighter keeps waving his shield about, making the emblem shine – and then the monster is close enough to open its jaws and fire out a tongue twice as long as it's body! The barbed tip embeds itself in the shield, and then the rider fires both barrels into the open maw. The monster drops dead, it's momentum causing it to dig a furrow in the ground.

With her plan ineffective, Tasha finds herself circling back and now behind the monsters, with the town ahead of her. It's cost her some time, but at least it gave her a chance to observe the rider's methods. Stooping, she attempts to get ahead of the creatures and land. She has a new plan; now to see if it works.

Getting ahead of them is easy. Landing and facing them is another matter. The creatures are as tall as Tasha, after all, and must outweigh her several times over! But she does have their attention. She sees some fleshy 'petals' sprout from their heads – sense organs? – before they turn and charge at her.

Not safe at all. Tasha turns herself to take up a proper two handed weapon stance and to minimize the profile of her core relative to the monstrosities. Using what she learned from the rider, she then mantles her wings across herself, shifting them back and forth in an effort to reflect the light and lure out an attack. While she isn't sure the barbs won't penetrate her armor, using her wing is a risk mainly to her feathers, limiting the damage – or so she hopes.

The first tongue strike bounces off the metal-clad feathers, but it feels like being hit with a five-pound hammer. The second also hits and is deflected. As fast the tongues fire out, they don't seem to retract quickly – or else the monsters just aren't bothering to as the close in. One leaps into the air, in a pounce, while the other runs headlong with it's horrible jaws gaping wide.

Tasha angles her weapon towards the ground as she begins to move, aiming to severe the dangerous tips. As she rushes to try to evade the leaping creature she moves to place its landing between her and the second. In this way she can delay the time when she'll have to deal with both and maybe able to finish off the first before the second can round it. That is, if she can get out of the way!

The dodge works – partly! The pouncing monster clips one of Tasha's wings with its foot, sending her spinning. But it does cause a collision between the two beasts, giving the woman a moment to recover while they sort themselves out… and stop trying to bite one another.

Tasha's heaving breath echoes inside her helmet from the force of the blow and the sudden halt as she regains her balance and stops her turn. She doesn't waste any time,  still shaking her head clear as she rushes to charge the leaper while it's still distracted. With a cry, she leaps in to the air, wings out, intent on bringing the full weight of her weapon down upon the distracted beast.

The chain-sword strikes just behind the armored skull of the monster, cutting several inches deep and severing its spine! It isn't a great position to have to draw the weapon out from however, and the other beast is moving away now. It's drawn its tongue back in, and may be getting ready for another strike.

With her weapon jammed in and her plan to thwart further ranged attacks by severing both tongues hampered by her skill with weapons, Tasha finds herself trying to pull her weapon free as she watches the second creature prepare to fire. Rather than rely on her wings again, she shifts to place the corpse of the first in front of the second, while still mantling a wing – just in case. She hopes the cover will give her enough time to get her weapon free and consider a counterattack.

The tongue fires, and hits the dead creature. Even as the barbed head is pulled back, the struck area begins to blacken and rot.

Tasha's attempt to free her weapon pauses briefly as she catches sight of the decaying flesh – she knows now what she's fighting! Rotbiters! This is well beyond not safe, she decides as she finally yanks her sword free. Not safe at all! With the threat of the tongue increased tenfold, the young woman tries to hack it off before the creature can recover it.

It's a bit easier this time, but does require leaping over the corpse to reach it! The severed tongue spurts green ooze as the Rotbiter screams and turns to run… but it's impaled on a lance, wielded by a horse-back riding Naga in Templar armor. "Tassssha," the knight hisses. "You must return to the airfield."

Even with her armor, Tasha can feel herself heaving and her heart beat rapid after the blow lands and the creature lies impaled on the ground. She stares at it, not quite able to grasp she just fought two rotbiters of all things. It takes her a moment to even register someone spoke to her, but after a moment she looks up and asks, "Malachite?" He can see her blink behind the golden visor of her helmet. "I'll go, but can you tell me what's happened? I … I," she takes a deep breath, then, hoists her weapon up and turns it off, using it to rest on," … I also have a friend who has taken cover and will need help."

"Something big tore the grating off the spillway filter," Malachite says, pulling his lance free and pointing east, towards the canal dam. "Ssstill there, trying to climb over the dam."

"I guess my fight has just begun. I'm going. But first … " Tasha turns, pointing her weapon towards the rocky mound with the dead ironwood tree. "My friend is hiding inside. He has my Spitter Rifle, but no ammunition. Would you please get him and it back safely? Actually, I know you will!" The woman smiles, albeit anxiously, then pats the man's shoulder before she hefts her sword up and turns towards the airfield. "No time to waste. I'm going!" And then, she's off!

During the flight, she can look back and see most of the Rotbiters dead or routed, and some of the horses still giving chase. She also has a better view of the dam… the figures she sees moving around must be Lawbringer Titans from their size. Several of the machines are out on the airfield too, armed with hand-held cannons that look like large rifles.

The young woman finds her heart still beating; this is by far the most largest scale, most dangerous situation she's ever faced. Before this day, she'd never fought anything bigger than another Vartan, and certainly never killed anything as dangerous as a robiter. Even those strange, silicon-based life forms – large as they were – seemed indifferent and largely an indirect threat; these creatures wanted her life! And now, she's flying to the hangar to likely fight more of them! It's not the peaceful first mission she expected, and a part of her wonders when, exactly, she started to throw her life on the line to protect people she barely knows. She doesn't have much time to think about it as she approaches the airfield, but she knows that the answer doesn't matter. What matters, is that she succeeds.

The hanger is wide open, and people are running around… in silence, since they're all cheetahs. Cranes carry giant swords and guns for the Lawbringers, and Commanding-Hand is pacing back and forth in front of the Melchior's weapon-locker – which nobody but Tasha knows how to open!

Tasha hurries past the workers, dodging and weaving as she takes her way and tries to keep her rotter-soaked weapon clear. By the time she's reached the locker, and she looks as disheveled as she sounds. "I'm here, I'm here," Tasha breathes, lowering the chain-sword to the ground for the workers to deal with. "What's the situation?"

Commanding-Hand looks Tasha up and down, and probably raises some eyebrows behind his mask. "Giant shell-back at dam, go kill it please," he signs.

Tasha blinks at the man, but in the rush of the moment can only think to answer one way: "Aye aye!" She pulls her helmet off and pushes it in to the man's hands as she walks past him and towards the massive weapon locker. After examining her right hand to make sure it's clean enough for proper contact, she reaches over and lays a hand on the locker. "I'll be launching ASAP; make sure I have room."

Things become even more active as the other Lawbringers take their weapons and clear the hangar. The big locker doors open up at Tasha's touch, revealing the shaard and her crates of extra parts and supplies.

Gazing up at the massive, alien weapon, Tasha thinks that she never expected to have to use it so soon. "Now is the time," she says, although it's not sure to whom. "This is why I have this power. Take a good look, Abaddon!"

With that declaration, Tasha turns and takes to the air. In short order she's in the cockpit of her own Titan, the Melchior, as the connection arm extends for her head.

Moments later, Melchior is airborne. Carrying the shaard requires some aerodynamic balancing, so Tasha lets the machine handle that on its own while she catches a few moments of rest. "Your heart rate and other indicators suggest strenuous activity, Tasha," the AI notes conversationally.

"As perceptive as always – you're right. I just left a fight with two of the hostile life forms on this planet and I'm still wired, which is good. The fight isn't over; we've been called to action." As the ancient Vartanoid machine soars towards the dam and the invader that threatens to break in to the Pit, she thinks back on her words, and what they mean. Why she's, of all places, here. The answer comes to her, in this moment of peace before she returns to the storm. She could have let the Knights deal with the rotbiters, after all. When she said she was obligated, it was really just a half truth. She here because she wants to be, because Lyle Cromwell reminds her of Gabriel; here, because she doesn't want people to suffer – if she can stop a tragedy from repeating, she will!

Melchior passes over the dam, and Tasha suffers a discontinuity of scale. Trying to climb the far side of the dam, and half-submerged in the reservoir, is a skedat. It's tail thrashes the water, and it's unseen limbs no doubt are gouging troughs into the concrete. It's only then she sees the smashed Lawbringer on the shore does she realize the creature must be over a hundred feet long. Unlike the Sinai version of the creature, this one has a visible mouth, made up of dozens of feeding-fangs that are in constant motion.

Artillery on the canyon rim is aimed down at the monster, but remains silent. Firing so close might cause damage to the dam, after all.

Tasha grits her teeth as her target comes in to view. She had only the vaguest idea of what she was facing, just as before, but this eclipses even the rotbiters. "That's our target. I'd like a scan of it to locate weak points, and I need to know how well we handle water. Full depth."

The scans come back a bit fuzzy, but enough data is there to guess that the armor is iron-infused and nearly six feet thick. There are blast craters in it that didn't penetrate all the way through. "Tasha, I do not have preprogrammed parameters for fighting such a thing. However, the only limb of consequence appears to be the tail, in terms of attack and defense."

"We have to do something. If the dam is breached, the damage to the Pit … the loss of lives-!" As she switches to full depth, Tasha feels the that strange sensation of being pulled through time and space, until she is her machine. "The cannons are holding back. If we can distract it long enough, get it to move away, we should be able to leverage our combined strength to destroy it safely. After we land, engage combat mode immediately. We will be attacking the tail."

The 'shore' of the lake behind the dam is narrow but rocky – no slippery surfaces. The Gryphon lands and Tasha senses that the talons and shaard cutting surfaces are now active. The tail of the monster is in the water, thrashing about as if trying to propel the beast forward (maybe it's too dumb to know its body isn't in the water, or the tail is acting on its own). Not far away, a broken Lawbringer is half-merged into the rock wall, it's chest caved in.

The great black metal giant regards the ruined Lawbringer as its pilot says a silent prayer, only to halt as she realizes she doesn't know who to pray to, anymore. Turning, she decides the best prayer she can do is to succeed, and advances on the tail. As Melchior moves, the two halves of its weapon are merged once again, forming a monolithic bladed shield which is turned lengthwise, the machine shifting its grip to brace the weapon for the anticipated impact. "We will move close and follow the creature's tail patterns before inserting ourself within range during an outward swing, anticipate and predict its approach, and then severe the limb using a combination of its force and active cutting." The explanation from pilot to AI takes place in less than a millisecond, dictated, as it is, by the woman's mind accelerated by the processes of her machine.

Moving forward, the Melchior remains on the edge of the tails range, watching, scanning. After several swings, it accelerates forward and takes up position as the tail whips away. In her computer-world, the speed of the tail may as well be a snail's pace; displays erupt in her mind charting its return course, predicted impact point, mass, velocity, and countless other factors as the massive length soars towards the Titan. Once satisfied, the machine blade is raised, aligned, and braced – all in seconds.

The impact is still felt by Tasha – the tail is massive. But organic-steel is still no match for hardened composite ceramics with an ultrasonic cutting vibration. The tail parts, the rear half thrashing violently through the water while the body of the monster finally seems to notice something amiss.

More displays pop up in Tasha's mind as she's fed the results of their tactic. Damage, both target and self, are displayed, as is the trajectory of the severed tail, among other things. Like the clockwork her thinking now resembles, Tasha turns her machine to face the behemoth and observe as it reacts with precision.

The creature is sliding off of the dam, revealing the damage it's already caused. The water surges as the bulk of the monster returns to it, then turns face Melchior. It manages to spin around twice, trying to whip it's non-existent tail at the nuisance, and then… it just charges through the water at the Gryphon.

More readouts, more trajectories. The black machine races to the face of one of the far cliff walls, then turns. "Stator." The creature looms before it, dwarfing even the considerable size of the ancient Titan. Even as the creature's bulk casts the machine in shadow, a pink light blooms behind the Titan. Time slows down for Tasha, trickling in to a world of projections, numbers, and data. Just before it looks like the behemoth will crash in to the hapless machine …

"Flight mode. Rapid ascent." A roar, and the Melchior launches in to the sky!

There is a rumble as the creature slams into the side wall of the canyon, causing a minor landslide. But it's clear of the dam, and the rim cannons begin pounding on it again.

Like a bird of prey observing the fate of its quarry, the Melchior circles overhead, the shells raining down below it. "Damage?"

"None worth noting to the shaard," Melchior reports. "Status of the creature is unknown. It could be dead. They have begun incendiary bombardment." The thermal imaging displays shut down as they go white. The Templars have begun using thermite-tipped shells now that the target is safely away from the dam. The blazing liquid melts right through the monster, raisin an acrid cloud.

"Target destruction anticipated. We will withdraw and remain on standby until confirmed." The great black Titan angles away from its fallen victim, landing upon the dam and turning to watch as a great fire engulfs the monstrosity, rising in to the sky.

"Performance was at 90% efficiency," Melchior reports. "Minimal expenditure of energy."

"Understood. I will review the encounter data later and attempt to improve. Target appears destroyed; begin scanning disabled Lawbringer for signs of life." Too fast for emotions, Tasha feels nothing save the endless stream of data. In the total merger that is full depth, separation between woman and machine does not exist. As she waits for the results, she opens up more windows, scanning the area for anything else of note, as well as other potential dangers.

There is no sign of life in the Lawbringer – or sign of a dead pilot either. He managed to eject and was safely recovered. Melchior remains on station well after the monster is confirmed dead in order to cover the repair crews that install a new grating in the base of the dam. By the time Tasha returns to the hangar, it's nearly sundown already.

Tasha had long since left full depth, returning to the ordinary pace of the mortal world. A world with emotions, allowing her to reflect on the day's events as she sailed home on autopilot. The mystery of the Lapi was answered and, grim as the answer may be, it wasn't as dire as she had feared. She can only hope the Lancer managed to bring Aaron back to safety. There was also the rotbiters; she isn't at all sure she'd have been so fast to employ that wing tactic if she had been aware of what they were beforehand! It makes her chuckle, albeit nervously. Another day, another near-death experience. At least this time, she isn't a wreck. This time, she came out ahead. Still, the mistakes are worth knowing. More to learn, she thinks, smiling.

As her thoughts move on, Tasha turns her mind to her last encounter: the dam. That she was proud of. While not having expected she'd be called to fight, especially given the nature and pride of Silent-Ones, being able to help out and prevent a disaster brought her a measure of self-confidence and pride she hadn't felt in a while. She doesn't think she's felt this proud since she graduated as a full drover! Like that event so long ago, it was something she did alone. Greater than that time, she did it for more than just herself. She's glad to have helped. It doesn't hurt that is also helped the JEF reputation, either!

Settling back in her command chair, Tasha watches the world flow by. What a strange, exciting day.