Ikuma watched stone-faced as Talin disappeared off the edge of the loading ramp, her exclamation fading gradually toward the inaudible. He moved forward, peering down to see her form growing smaller as she descended toward the facility. "
She jumped," he stated plainly, disbelief flat in his voice. Before he could move back, he caught Shinzou in the corner of his eye descending the ramp and quickly following the blonde off the edge. "
Wh-?" he spluttered, watching silently as his cousin shrank toward the point of nigh-invisibility.
One of the soldiers in the support squad inquired from behind, "
Sir?"
Ikuma shook his head and backed away from the loading ramp. "
I'm not doing that."
"
Problem with heights, sir?"
"
Remissness," Ikuma corrected.
Something nudged at his senses as they got closer to the arms factory. A collection of force presences, all of them particularly dark. Ikuma shot a glance toward Tilon, a look that would ask, '
Do you sense that too?' if the other Knight met his regard.
"
It would seem this place isn't as unprotected as we might have thought," he addressed the support squads. "
Prepare yourselves."
Moments later, the freighter's descent brought them within a few hundred feet of their landing zone. Somehow, despite their two bailouts, security forces hadn't yet pinned their ship as the source of the interloping. It gave them some breathing room, enough to land without incident. "
Templar one-five, you're with me," Ikuma ordered just as the freighter landed. "
The rest of you take your orders from Knight Quill now." A hiss reverberated through the cargo hold as the loading ramp began to slowly reopen.
Retrieving the commlink from his robe, he spoke into the receiver, "
We're on the ground, commencing Sundown, Mo-, uh, Master Ashina."
"
Templar One-Five commencing Sundown!"
Emerald screeched from the hilt clutched in Ikuma's hand, shimmering as a flourish readied his two-handed defense. Almost immediately, security forces pivoted their attention and opened fire. Ikuma advanced, batting away the salvo that came their way, every so often finding the right angle to send the blaster bolts back. Soldiers from Templar One-Five followed behind, returning fire intermittently. His pace sped up, charging forward to close the distance, broad and quick strikes dispatching what was left of the first group.
Bay doors nearby flung open, three more guards appearing from behind them. Ikuma reacted quickly, throwing up an open hand and seizing them with force before they could open fire. His wrist flicked, pointing a half-extended index finger upward. All three guards went horizontal and shot up toward the ceiling, their impacts harmonizing with accompanying grunts. They fell in unison, sounding off once again in trio as they met the floor.
"
Go, grab everything you can!" Ikuma shouted in the brief moment they had free of incoming fire. "
I'll cover you!"