2412/Genosha Burns: 0 Days Since the Last Helicarrier Incident

Genosha Burns: 0 Days Since the Last Helicarrier Incident
Date of Scene:	11 July 2020
Location:	SHIELD Helicarrier, in the air near Brainiac's Ship
Synopsis:	SHIELD to the rescue! Mostly! Kind of! Magic tech macguffins, shooting lots of drones, and we didn't crash the helicarrier this time.
Cast of Characters:	Maria Hill, Jane Foster, Shuri, Daisy Johnson, Jack Nolan, Dane Whitman, Mikhail Uriokovitch, Cecily Winters, Jemma Simmons

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Maria Hill has posed:
Two hours ago, Avengers satellites have picked up movement from Brainiac's skull ship orbiting Jupiter's moon Titan. The promised final battle was about to begin.

30 minutes ago, above New York City, Brainiac's skull ship arrived, tentacles from beneath the ship inch out and extend, beginning to start an attack on the city's as a whole.

10 minutes ago, the drones had been sent out from the ship to begin their attack. Many had been augmented just as Brainiac had aimed to do. Each drone has a power, they are varied, of course. Much like their mutant counterparts, the drones are more resilient than had been seen before.

Over what was once Mutant Town, a battalion, one of many that had been sent around the city, began their assault.

Chaos has come to the city once more, but the brave heroes of the world have prepared for this. It was showtime.

* * * * * * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
2014 Hours, EDT.
Location: Above New York City.

Ops.

Deputy Director Maria Hill paces at the head of Ops, overlooking the rows of computers and terminals and the agents at them, all busy at their own tasks. Brainiac's ship is just ahead, and the giant flying naval-carrier's shadow is darkening a few blocks of Manhattan itself. Ops looks more like a NASA flight center than a battleship, but don't be fooled-- from these consoles the SHIELD agents have access to enough firepower to be a problem.

At least that's the hope.

"I want all weapons forward," Hill barks. "Fire at will, take those drones down BEFORE they get to the civilians." Her head snaps as she looks to a handful of field agents that aren't already on terminals. "I want agents topside-- it can't hurt to have folks ready in case Brainiac recognizes we are a threat." Back to the folks on terminals. "I want enough holes put in that ship that we mistake it for swiss cheese, are we clear?!"

Jane Foster has posed:
Generally speaking, Agent Foster does not belong to the contingent responsible for hand-to-hand combat unless things take a groundward tilt at near-vertical angles. She instead sits at one of the terminals with a comms-link in her ear, two tablets in arm's reach strapped down by a healthy amount velcro. Her fingers slide across the tempered glass, working through complex spatial modeling regimens that tap into countless blips in formations. Crunching through actual data to extrapolate firepower and output isn't all that different from calculations on an interstellar level, just the matter of scaling down.

Therein lies the Stargazer's real power, providing intelligence and guidance based on that. Her readings mean to augment those already acquired through the helicarrier's various systems and measurements: temperature, speed, apparent mass, things that people with guns thrive on knowing. So, you know, it's that much MORE fun to shoot down trouble when you might have the upperhand in planning against something as adaptive as the human mind.

Shuri has posed:
Shuri came with her normal armaments plus then some. She already has picked out a console that she liked and it appears that she has two mechanical arms coming off her sides that she is working with. Nothing super fancy, not even as strong as her normal ones but capable of sublte movements and typing. She also has something special for someone who she was told could handle a computer.

"Daisy!" She calls out and tosses a bead bracelet and an ear piece to her, "I will need those back but that will give you access to a Wakandan computer interface. It is intuitive and capable of linking to the SHIELD computers. It is intuitive and much like your Linux...only better in every conceivable way." She nods her head, "It should help you to more quickly get into the system."

Only a moment after that she is linking in with her own interface, one normal hand and one mechanical one on the SHIELD keyboard while the other real and fake are interacting with the pop up, hard light screen that comes up before her. Moments later a mask covers her face and she is moving with blinding speed. Her hands like a blur.

"We may be able to work on sending out interfering signals to his ship which may make things very difficult for him to lock on to, well, anything."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
All dressed up for a rumble Daisy, former keyboard warrior and now metahuman is back to her roots, which means she is overseeing the hacking attempts at the ship, sitting near a group of computer-apt minds that try to unveil the secrets behind Brainiac's tech.

She is leaning close to her screen, tapping furiously on her computer and whistling. "Damn, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. But this guy has some serious hardware." brows furrow and she muttering about the unfairness of alien tech to herself.

A sigh later and she re-focuses, catching the wakandan tech tossed her way and grinning at Shuri. Never say no to new tech! "I can't promise you anythiiinggg... but thanks." about returning the tech. But she winks, just a tease from the former hacktivist, stealer of secrets.

Though soon enough her game face is back on. She nods. "If one of our Agents is able to get this device in, or otherwise sticks it to the ship we may be able to counter some of their defense measures and help our teams out there." she slides a small, round device across the table, looking up at Hill.

Jack Nolan has posed:
Up on deck, Agent Nolan has set himself up. Armored up, and armed with nothing but lethal rounds this time, the big stone agent is ready to fend off any would be boarders. The groups down below in Ops have the guns covered, but even then there's a lot of drones flying towards them.

He slams his fists together, ready to fight them when they get close. Several others are armed well enough to help fend them off, but after Jack's last time fighting them, and seeing how resistant they were even before they got powers, he's ready for the fight of his life.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane Whitman had heard about the Helicarrier. He'd even seen a limited amount of the specs on the Helicarrier. He had pondered a great deal on what an engineering marvel such a machine would be. He figured one day he might even get a chance to be on board. Sadly, this isn't a day trip to see the sights. For the moment, he's huddled in a structure on the surface of the flight deck, already armored and armed. No "lightsaber" this time...the Ebony Blade may well be one of the most effective weapons they have available at this point. The trick is getting close enough to use it.

If you'd told him this evening he'd be waiting in a mini-bunker next to a Werebear with a minigun, a stone golem guy, and a squad of agents clad in the fresh-off-the-assembly line "Mandroid Mk III" armor...he might have actually believed you. He just wish that he felt less like the guys in that armor all secretly had red shirts with the Enterprise logo on them. In theory, there are also squads of MAndroid Mk. II and Mk. I on-hand. The MK. IIIs are untested in the field, but someone in the "levels above Fury" wanted the latest and greatest on hand.

"Helluva day, Mikkers. Stay alive out there, all right?" He glances back to his squad of Mandroids "And that goes double for you guys."

Maria Hill has posed:
"Smith. Ostakov. Watch where you're aiming that laser cannon," Hill snaps as a shot comes a little too close to where Powergirl is wrestling with the tentacle cannons. Hill takes the device from Johnson, palming it. There's a frown as she considers.

"New plan, agents. Dapp and Norris!" she calls to the helmsmen. An antiquated term, as they are both actually women. "Get us as close to that damned skullship as you can." She taps her comms. "Whitman, Nolan: Agents Harvan and Rohlfs will be bringing you an object that Field Agent Johnson wants jabbed into the side of that ship. So we're about to get close. Make it happen. Hill out."

As she's handing the device over to the agents she summoned, she growls, "Don't drop it, don't break it, and don't breathe on it. Get it topside and get your asses back down here on the double." They both salute and hustle off towards the upper levels.

Maria Hill sighs, and picks up her travel mug of black coffee, taking a long sip. This is already a hell of a day.

Mikhail Uriokovitch has posed:
Mik had been fortunate enough to be allowed a slightly scaled-down GAU-8. Nobody said that this was to be a fair fight. Mik was already werebeared up and had on his back a powerpack for his harbinger of doom. He takes a swig from his flask, which smells rather potent to those nearby and extends it, "Anybody want drink?" He will share if accepted, but will put away after.

"Da. Good day to kill, good day to die. I choose former, not latter." The Russian whistles to himself as he resumes checking his new toy out. "So we are getting new friends to play with, da?" The bear is unusually calm, all business, not yet riled.

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Regarding real powers and armaments, Cecily has brought some items out of her private collection and then some. Her trio of white tails flutter behind her in the wind on the top deck, and despite the circumstances, she's clad as professionally as ever. She carefully affixes an earpiece that fits her vulpine ears and relays her location to the team leader--or Deputy Director. "Winters, topside. I'll assist with closer artillery support if things start getting too familiar or too close for comfort..."

    Off-mic she grumbles, ears flattening. "I'm really getting sick of aliens putting holes in my city..." Gloved hands run the final weapons check. She might have a few closer-combat weapons in a nearby hardcase if needed, but right now she's focused on the spin and battery status of the tri-barreled M197 she's got custom handles and a bipod attached to. Additional 'ammunition kegs' aren't too far out of reach, stenciled '20x102mm' in bright yellow.

    The whole thing looks like it might be more at home on the roof of a humvee or the chin of an attack helicopter, not being hauled around with a surprisingly minimal effort by a five-foot-seven fox woman. But that's what bipods and ergonomic grips are for, right? She grins as she catches Mikhail's armament. "A man of refinement, I see," she winks, clearly finding a kindred spirit in not only the animal-ish nature but in taste for artillery.

Shuri has posed:
A look over at Daisy and then the object before she hmms at it a little. She watchess Maria pass it off and part of her really wanted to try out her new wings against that big ship but...that's not really a great idea. She thinks anyway. She looks down at the console she is working at before she types something in quickly and gains control of one of the ship's guns. Almost immediately she begins opening up on what she things would be an ideal spot to try to get the device in place, trying to clear the path.

Of course, the whole while she is also messing with her own console, typing like wild on it, eyes dancing between the two screens.

"I am clearing a path for them now. If they follow the path of the lasers coming out of the third port side gun, it should lead them to a spot where they'll be able to plant the device with minimal resistance." She then looks to Daisy, "In a moment, I'm going top side and I'm going to plant a device on top of the Helicarrier that should boost our signal. With luck, it will give some relief to the people fighting that ship but...fair warning." She looks to maria, "If Brainiac didn't think we were a threat before...he is going to really think we are one. Assuming any of this works. Which it will."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
With the device now being delivered Daisy goes back to her furious work on her keyboard. Honestly, those gloves serve a double purpose, both keeping her powers in check but also helping on not getting her fingers all mauled from so much typing. "It's not exactly fragile.." she says about the device. "Should withstand some jostling around." but well, let the agents bringing the device up to the field agents be in fear of death of Hill's wrath if it falls down!

Her attention then goes to Shuri, a nod of understanding given. "Send me the coords. I will link it up to their visors UI." because SHIELD has nifty tech too!

"I am sending up a pathway to your visor UIs that Shuri is scrambling up. It will help in reaching the ship more safely. But still, be careful." of course that last part goes without saying!

Jack Nolan has posed:
Nolan brings one hand up to the side of his head, just below one of his fins, and listens in on the plan, "Roger." Is his only response, as he hears the orders. Get the thing, get it into the side of the ship. He looks at Whitman, "You heard the lady. I'll handle the heavy lifting, if you guys can cover me."

He knows it's a stupid decision to be the one to go in like that, but he's confident in the abilities of his fellow SHIELD agents to cover him while he gets close enough to jam the device into the hull of Braniac's ship.

Jane Foster has posed:
Skull ships are hideous things up close, things that Jane would really rather not see. As interesting as the commands thrown around her are, she has a job to do. It's not merely monitoring the screens in front of her, alternating between planting data into the network or filtering out inaccurate data points, but finding actual tagets that need to be focused on. This isn't altogether different from another battle in New York, just minus a rogue Asgardian and some rogue technology on the loose.

Nothing gets close to having coffee but running on adrenaline has a lot to do. She hasn't any power to smile right now, though she looks over to Shuri and Daisy, watching the pair of them in action with a brief smile. Wakandan technology is rare to see in action. "Shiny as hell."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"I don't think she's going to get us into /literal/ arm's reach, Agent Nolan. Probably going to need a flyer, or at least somebody with jump assist." Like say, those Mandroids waiting impatiently behind them. In any case, the doors to the bunker slide open, allowing the defenders to move out onto the deck.

It's just in time, too, as the first of the Brainiac Drones begin to touch down, blasting away at various structures and people on-board. Some shoot energy, some blast away with heat or fire, others chilling rays of frosty cold, but none of them seem to be more than a one-trick pony in that regard. Not that it's much of a blessing, almost straight out of the door, one of the Mandroids takes a hit from an energy blast, staggering back with smoke and sparks showering from his armor.

"I'm all right! I'm all ri- *BOOM*" Another blast from a second drone finishes the Mandroid off. To the credit of his squadmates discipline and courage, they do not falter, opening fire on the DRones as they advance with energy blasts of their own, occasionally accompanied by showers of mini-rockets.

Maria Hill has posed:
Drones begin landing on the topside of the helicarrier as it veers closer and closer to the skull ship. Many drones. MANY DRONES. More fly around, some getting taken out by the various weapons-- but there's so damn many of them.

And, in what is entirely unfair, some of them can teleport.

So, they do. Inside the Helicarrier.

As the first one fades into view, the Deputy Director is already grabbing her sidearm, flicking the safety off and aiming directly at it. The tirgger pulled three times in rapid succession, and three bullets slam into the drones center of mass.

Great news!

Except about half a dozen more alost teleport into ops. And, multiple of the terminals are warning that this is the case all over the helicarrier, including in engineering on the 2nd level and way too close for comfort near the access points to the rotors.

"All agents, RED ALERT! INTRUDERS!" Hill has already slammed the alert button on her comms, and flashing red lights and loud sirens scream throughout the helicarrier. "DAPP, YOU KEEP THIS SHIP ON COURSE!" Hill orders over the sirens, smoothly firing another three-set into the next drone, and dodging as it slings back an icy blast.

Shuri has posed:
A grin over at Daisy and she nods, "You got it." And she sends the info on where she thinks they should connect only for her eyes then to dance over ato Jane and she laughs, "You haven't seen anything yet." She then blinks as she looks to what is happening above. Moments later, she whips around. Her mind already taking in all the possibilities and she was right. They had to be able to teleport, right? Obviously they could.

"You will now though." And with that she whips from her sides a pair of blades, one in each hand. Short sword size. Then, what looks like a pair of pouches, turn and tilt in the direction of two of the drones and fire a pair of cables reminiscent of something the Spider-Family might use.

"Brainiac." She calls out, "How exactly smart are you?" She asks even as her body is pulled across the room with both blades out and mid-way in flight she detaches the left cable and then the right in quick succession. She turns into a spinning top with a pair of blades edged with vibranium, capable of slicing through steel like it were made of butter. She knew what made these drones and as she passes she makes an attempt at each one's neck.

Even as she lands, one foot catching her and her body pirouetting a couple of times, those who are paying attention can see those two mechanical hands whipping back over to the hard light screen and going still. She smirks and shakes her head even as she looks at the drones she just attacked before looking to Maria, "I'm going top side and taking every drone in my way with me." She chuckles, "And I'll set up so we can perhaps put a dent in Moroniacs work."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    So much for fair winds and safe travels, but that was never going to be the case, was it? At least Cecily has more than a standard issue sidearm and sudden pyrokinetic powers this alien invasion around. As drones start hitting the deck and energy starts flying, the fox spins up her rotary cannon. Even without the luxury of being a chin gun with a head-tracking rig, the AR display in her glasses gives her some degree of target acquisition. She doesn't have to rely on tracers at any rate.

    "Give me a line and I'll try to make a hole to get that thing deployed," she offers on comms, digging her feet in and unleashing hell in a futile attempt to clear the deck. A target-rich environment and a hail of large-caliber rounds usually make a great combination. Usually. The fox focuses her efforts on drones landing near the engines, at least the ones up on the surface, sending burst after burst of armor-piercing munitions down the flight deck.

    Bursts of flame and energy singe over her ears and shoulder and she hauls herself and her weapon to the side with a squeak, and a grinding -clunk- as her gun jams. "...just as bloody well..." she growls, using the moment to allow the barrels to cool, fingers working fast to re-initialize the belt. There's already a lake of brass clanking around where she was last standing.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Woah.., are you seeing these readings, Shuri..?" But whatever else Daisy was going to ask is interrupted with those blasted drones teleporting inside their helicarrier. The nerve of these things! It makes her immediately jump back from her chair. Because those years of training with SHIELD have honed those instincts. And great that she brought her gloves, she immediately pointing them up to a drone pointing it's guns at her..

The drone is tossed back and against a wall by her concussive blasts before being quaked to oblivion.

She frowns and looks between Shuri and Jane, that protective 'rib' showing. "Are you two alright?" her eyes narrowing at the red alert going out through the carrier. A brow then raises when Shuri announces she is going topside.., though that display with the blades was impressive enough. She nods. "Careful. They are all over the carrier." then she approaches her terminal again, looking at Jane. "We can't let them blow up the engines. Do you see any engine rooms in need of assistance?" because more eyes searching are always better than just one set!

Mikhail Uriokovitch has posed:
Mik nods to Dane, "See, there is problem," he looks to the new hostiles as he exits the bunker and begins laying down a field of brrrrrrt. As he shoots, Mik whistles to himself as he lets up for a moment and gives a nod of salutation to Cecily before resuming his death spew for a little while.

The Russian then grumbles, "Da, we will need way to get up there, since I doubt we can pilot so close." As Mandroids meet their doom, he sighs, "Can we throw it, or do we have anything that can fly?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Drones that teleport skew the battlefield, and it becomes a matter of predicting range on those leaps and blips disappearing and reappearing inside the sweeping outline of the Helicarrier. Jane fundamentally shifts course, her teeth gritted together. "Of course they can do that. Throw fire, why not cross space," she murmurs, rapidly turning in her seat and swiping four windows into oblivion with a flick of the finger. Her head snaps to the side watching Shuri drawn across the space, eyes widened in worry then speculation as the lithe Wakandan princess proves herself every inch the warrior as the scientist.

"Find Bellatrix Protocol seventeen," she murmurs into her comm at the computer. Two windows pop open, diligently studied with the klaxons wailing and chaos all around. Sinking lower behind the terminal could offer a proper degree of protection from distractions, important enough to locate the firing maneuvers in anticipated potshots when something might have a hundred or thousand yard ability to vanish. The information is dumped, flung over to other firing crews. "Agents Scheffler and Daunton, have them try frag rounds at close range based on the teleportation ranges. See if we can't light them up once they appear," she offers, for what good that might actually do.

Her happy game of Asteroids 2020, treating the drones as said micro-asteroids plunging through the atmosphere, popping her head up with Quake right there. "Is this your way of telling me I need more field experience?" she asks, brief, but perfectly delighted. A look shot to the screen. What exactly is an ICER going to do against drones? "Starboard side, the clustering there is thick and they've got heavier fire than the other. Visuals aren't showing me anything they throw. Force beams?" Is that a technical term? It is now. "You can shake things up in the air, right? Throw them off their targets flying in?"

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    Well....an ICER isn't going to do jack to the drones. However, there are other alternatives. A familiar voice breaks out over on the comms, the calm and composed tone of one Jemma Simmons perfectly recognizable. "Might I suggest a controlled electromagnetic pulse emission? Taking out of the electrical components will be the swiftest way to deal with these intruders without causing damage to physical structures and threatening civilians." Of course, that is for the external threat.

    As for the internal, well...that is another matter. But, it seems that the think tank, meaning Fitz and Simmonz, has been thinking on that, too. "Regrettably, we do not have an abundance of EMP rifles, apart from the one devised to bring in Agent Lolita previously. However, we theorize that an appropriate shock from a taser should be efficient to bring down a drone. Countermeasures are also being developed as quickly as possible."

    Then, as an aside, with all the seriousness that her stiff upper lip upbringing can bring to bear, Jemma adds "Please do not attempt to shoot the drones with ICERs. You will only anger them."

    Good thing Jemma is here to tell everyone these things!

Dane Whitman has posed:
More drones continue to alight upon the deck of the Helicarrier, and soon it is truly a pitched battle: Quinjets on strafing runs, other fighters in the sky trying to battle drones over the city. SHIELD Troopers, both those in Mandroid Armor and those without firing away, little pockets of defenders forming their own little redoubts against the oncoming swarm. If Hill wondered if Brainiac would see the ship as a threat? The answer is definitely an unqualified YES.

"Keep up that suppressive fire, Winters!" Dane barks over the comm, "Ursa, turn that crew at 3 O'clock into scrap!" There's urgency in his voice, but not fear. Mandroid pilots that a few minutes ago were making Monty Python jokes about the newbie Agent that had for some reason been put in charge are starting to understand why. "And yes, I have something that can fly." He answers Mikhail, then cues his comms once more:

"Stargazer, Give me a Strider-sized pathway to that ship. Feed it to Me, Winters, Ursa, Macklin, and Bogdanovitch. I need a clear lane off this deck."

Jack Nolan has posed:
Once the doors open, Nolan lowers his shoulder and charges forward into the drones. His partner up here made a good point, he can jump pretty far, but if he misses, well, he'll drop like a rock. He might survive that, he honestly hasn't tried. But he also really wouldn't want to yet.

So instead he'll perhaps just fight drones. He grabs the first one he comes up against, and then slams his fist into it's chest with his hand extended into a knifehand, his claws forward, so he can tear straight through the armor. He hauls the drone up and throws it at another drone, "You're right, I can't make that jump. So I'll draw their fire as best I can!" He yells out at Whitman, "Get that device to the ship!" He trusts his fellow agent to get it done while he tries to plow through as many drones as he can get his claws on.

Mikhail Uriokovitch has posed:
"Can do," Mik says as he pivots and lets his autocannon do the talking as drones get turned into rektangles. "GO TO HELL!" the bear roars with no real concern or care in the world for anyone's safety save the SHIELD agents. The pack had a decent amount of ammo to feed, but he was trying to preserve /some/ of it, so he lets the gun cool for a hot second. "I see you bring new toy to play with, Whitman. Good. Let us give them bad death."

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Taking turns is good. Cecily handles her jam and cooling while Mikhail continues to bring the thunder with his even bigger cannon. The vibrating hum of that BRRRRRRRRRRT brings an odd comfort to her ears, even with the plugs protecting them and making it easier to feed in the earpiece audio. She hauls herself and her weapon back up into firing position, the louder, slower 'krakakakakakakakak' of her own lighter caliber joining the cacophony of sound. She suppresses as ordered, bursts of rounds tearing mechanical limbs and torsos apart, and while only leaving dents in the tide, staggerd holes in ranks leave room for others to finish widening them. And then she's out. Quick reflexes and quick hands yank the party keg from the side of the gatling, cast aside to swim in brass and link fragments.

    "Affirmitive, Agent Whitman, reloading and opening a hole," she replies quickly, yanking a fresh load of rounds marked 'HE' over and slamming everything back together, the barrels still spinning. Her AR display lights up with a firing solution and she thumbs the trigger. She focuses on longer-sustained storms of rounds, keeping to her assigned line, shell impacts exploding into drones instead of piercing straight through them, relying on the splash effect of the alternate ammunition to widen any gap she manages to burn into the attackers.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I can sense the sudden vibrations of their entrances, yes." And just as Daisy is finishing that phrase she immediately turns to blast against another sneaky drone. A grrrr, and then she approaches her station, speaking to the comms. "Get that device on the ship and I can get these drones in here to go haywire!" she calls out. Because they are in HER turf now, ready to be hacked to smitherens!

Then to the other Furiae. "Jemms, are you able to handle the pulse emission for the outside?" because it was her suggestion afterall!

Shuri has posed:
The tapping of feet on the floors of the Helicarrier are everywhere. A particular set are Shuri's and she's rushing for the stairs, already ducking under a drone, slicing at its leg before spinning around to try to skewer it's spine and then moving on. She can't stick around to confirm kills. She just has to hope she does enough damage to disable or slow down as she moves. One actually gets a hold of her as she passes, a wince and nearly a scream come out of her as it squeezes the Vibranium laced armor around her arm and that is gonna leave all the bruising. She whips a blade up with her other hand to slice her arm free and then she proceeds to use her cable to pull her away.

"Daisy, I'll be topside in just a minute. I'm gonna plant the signal enhancer and then defend it. From there I'll work on trying to open up Moroniac's signal. I'll be the tank while you be the assassin. Also...assume Moroniac can hear all we say. Speak in ways that dumb dumb won't understand." She is already heading for some stairs when she gets clotheslined by a drone. She flips in mid air. The wind nearly leaves her and luckily it didn't hit her head. She is able to roll with the fall and she grumbles, "Not making this easy..."

Jane Foster has posed:
Third of the Furies checking in brings a smile to Jane's lips, even if for a moment. "Thanks for the update, Simmons. Keep us posted." The ICER at her side is shifted out of the way to keep from interrupting her work, and she bends over the keyboard to select three packages of data and fork them over to the agents called out by the Black Knight. Almost immediate the open lane for shock bursts and cover fire threads across the network while she holds still, gazing into the certain flare of death when one of those drones pops in a bit too close. Ten meters? Still too close.

A swift question comes softly to Daisy, her comm wrapped by her hand. "Are we heading down to the engine room --" Ragged motion at the corner of her sight turns her rapidly towards the drone flipping Shuri over, not -quite- frozen in place, but still letting out her breath late after it's clear the woman is rising to fight another day. Minute. Moment. Wakandan isiXhosa, then, for her reply: <<I'll handle the engines if it comes to it.>> Not perhaps with a winged knight's talents, but enough.

Barring that, she ducks back to her terminal only to find one of the tablets clinging to the velcro housing and its screen smashed but sort of functional. That happens in a melee.

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Nice work. Ursa, fan left, Winters right. They're going to try to close that gap. And mind your sixes, these things are everywhere." Dane turns on his photonic shield, rolling his neck and shoulders in anticipation of what's to come. He looks back to the remaining Mandroids, who have formed a tight defensive cluster around Dane, Macklin, and Bogdanovitch for the moment. "All right gents, sounds like there's a VIP on her way up with some equipment that she needs to plant. She'd probably appreciate some covering fire even if she doesn't need it. Make sure she stays in one piece." He cues once more, "Nolan, I don't know if you heard that but whatever she's trying to do, it's probably important."

A brief exhalation and he hands the device that Daisy and Shuri have cooked up for Brainiac's ship to Bogdanovitch, "You get the ball for now. Straight up the middle and handoff to me at the end." He lifts the Ebony Blade in salute to those assembled, and adds, "I'll owe you all a round once this is over."

And with that, The Black Knight charges towards that newly-opened lane, flanked by two of the Mandroid troopers, one of which cradles the McGuffin under one arm as they go.

Indeed, there are a few problems still in place with this particular plan. For starters, the firepower of the Helicarrier has thus far been splashing against the shields of Brainiac's ship. Shields that, presumably, one will need to get past to plant any devices. Two, there's a drone that teleports into place right behind Cecily, her only warning being the whine of an energy blast powering up before a scorching plasma ray lances towards her at not-much-more than point-blank range. And three...there are still a LOT of drones up here!

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    The answer for Daisy is quick and cheerful, the standard for a Simmons response. "Of course, Daisy." It isn't painfully apparent in Jemma's simple response....but the terminal screens lighting up with what appears to be a subroutine called Sword of Damocles, which in turn shows a couple of emitters...innocuous in their appearance...turning to position themselves to aim down the very corridor that Jane had indicated needed to be cleared. Nevermind the heavy artillery already working on it presently. There is a small clearing of Jemma's throat as she keys in the directives.

    "I should probably mention this now. We...haven't been able to field test the emitters *quite* yet." On the word 'quite', Jemma holds up a thumb and finger about an inch apart for emphasis. "However.....there is no time like the present."

    Once the emitters are in place, there is just a single word that Jemma utters. "Firing". As she does so, those with an view of the outside are treated to a blast of what looks like a soft blue cone, above and below the helicarrier, as the wave of radiant energy plows through the mass of drones. For those that have seen the EMP rifle in action, it looks remarkably similar. Just....bigger. A lot bigger. Enough drones drop to provide a rather clear vector...at least for the time being.

    "Well...that worked." The relieved tone of Jemma is unmistakable...

Maria Hill has posed:
Inside the ship...

Controlled chaos is the element of SHIELD. Other, outside forces are chaos. SHIELD is controlled. Calm.

The helmsman brings the ship close enough it butts up against Brainiac's shield. "Close as we can get, Deputy Director!" Dapp yells from the helm.

"Whitman, Nolan," Hill barks over comms. "We'll hold this as long as we can." The helicarrier, is, of course, taking a non-insignificant amount of fire from the ship and it's friends. She leans over her terminal, hair slipping out of her ponytail. "Damn."

She scans again. "Double damn. Johnson, Foster-- I need you down to level three-- they've opened the access to the rotors... three of the four. Starboard aft and forward, port aft." She doesn't need to spell it out. No rotors, no more flight.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Never tell me the odds, Jemms." This Daisy replies to the other woman when she mentions it was an untested solution. Untested solutions was where SHIELD excelled afterall. And she can't help but grin when it works. "There, now you have your own personal death star beam."

Though the call to join down on level three is met with Daisy immediately getting up to her feet, a nod to Jane. "Let's go." and then she is running out of the room at a speed, dodging a small fireball tossed by a stray drone and continuing on. Time was of the essence!

She starts going down the stairwell, hoping Jane is close by. To Shuri she speaks through the comms. "Need to handle a rotor problem. Can you handle the hacking once they deliver the package?"

And bam, the doors to the rotors are seen ahead, already breached. "Hey bitches, hands off our hardware." yes, drones can be called bitches.

Mikhail Uriokovitch has posed:
Mikhail is halfway through belting a drinking song as he lays down fire in spurts to keep the enemies on their toes. When Dane rolls up and is ready to fly out, Mikhail laughs, "Go, go fast, for victory!" He roars and begins laying down fire with sadistic glee, popping drones out of the air with a snarl on his face.

Shuri has posed:
One of her blades knocked free, her right hand comes up and slowly, the metallic head of a panther appears over her hand and she aims it at the drone, "I don't have time for you." And she blasts out a beam of energy that leaves the thing disabled. She then scrambles up the stairs. She hears what is happening and then hears Daisy before shaking her head as she makes it to the fligh deck, "Making me do everything?!" She asks of Daisy and shakes her head, "It's only rotors. Flying is overrated." She smirks as she runs and then tries to speak to the people top side, "I'm gonna be setting up soon, need protection!" She calls and with that, wings literaly grow out of her back.

The progressively form out of light and nanbots, building them instantaneously along a predetermined path till she spreads them out and takes off, flying for the part of the ship closest to the ship. As she lands, a poll is extending in her left hand and she slams it into the flight deck as she lands. Her right hand blasting away at drones that get too close. Slowly the poll expands at the top and along both sides into a set of dishes that all angle toward the ship. She whips her wings around herself to try to form a protective shield around the device and herself and she sinks into a squat.

The mechanical hands on her seem to be busted and she has to let the panther headed blaster disappear so she can concentrate on typing.

"I am down to two hands and working as fast as I can, no guarantees but how are we doin' on delivering the package to Moroniac?"

Cecily Winters has posed:
    Problems, for Cecily, for the moment, just involve grinding down drone after drone with sustained fire. To widen the gap for the SHIELD crew and their gambit. To leave exploded pieces of hostile drone as a trail to success for allied forces. Burst after burst of withering fire, taking care to not overheat those barrels or jam her weapon. She's almost laser-focused on her task, glancing over her shoulder time and time again. But there's always those instances. Those heartbeats where senses aren't able to account for.

    The whine of that plasma beam charging up is lost to her, the safety padding in her sensitive ears and the near-constant sound of close rotary-cannon fire is enough to drown it out until the near last second. The heat of it prickles the back of her neck, and a sweep of her tails brushes against something that wasn't there before. Her eyes widen and she jerks away as the beam fires.

    Her world becomes searing pain, her movement only sparing her from having the blast go through her spine and heart. Instead, her reflexes keep her just ahead of the drone's targetting systems. The beam lances through her hip, just shy of severing thigh, the heat thankfully enough to cauterize the massive wound that leaves her tumbling several feet across the deck. "I'm hit...!" she hisses through gritted teeth, scrambling with one working leg to push herself into being propped up at her ammo cans. The drone charges another lance as she fumbles for the leading rounds from a belt, holding it in front of her and turning her head away. A wisp of blue-white foxfire ignites the primer and sets the round off, the recoil jerking her shoulder back and dislocating it, but the bullet itself slams into the drone's chest and it explodes before it can get the killing blow.

    Her good arm shields her from the shrapnel before she leans over, grasping for one of her hardcases. The big gun has fallen silent but she can still operate her MP7 with one hand, flipping back the stock and bracing it against her good shoulder.

Jane Foster has posed:
Cheerful English resilience over the comms meets with American directness. "Here's to opportunities and progress in the field." Jane's voice carries a thin thread of tension only because being in the thick of combat on the main deck and watching puffs of armoured hull vanish away from countless rounds proves concerning when she cannot fly.

When the one who -can- fly is a dear friend, carrying away one of their main combatants. The astrophysicist surely doesn't want to look. Not when work demands attention. "Understood, Deputy Director," she calls over the comms and starts moving purposefull at that speed walk for the stairs. Rails? If there are railings, she uses them, not taking risks of twisting an ankle or plunging headlong to certain unconsciousness if the flying rig bucks. Fast, faster, that's why low-heeled boots and slithering around corners is part of the protocol. She hastens after Daisy, her eyes dully violet as they've been all this time, intensifying when the fireball goes by. Drones around her make for trouble. Taser pulled, she says, "Get them to you. I'll take care of the electronics, or..."

Right. Otherwise a backhand with a golden bangle ain't doing a thing. Nonetheless, put her in front of a panel and she can certainly start guarding that.

Dane Whitman has posed:
The Black Knight doesn't break stride as a few of the Drones move to bar his path. The photonic shield catches an energy blast, and the Ebony Blade neatly bisects another drone from shoulder to hip, slicing cleanly through the alien metal with only moderate effort. On his flanks, the two Mandroids lash out with the large high-frequency blades on their arms, or blasts from either the shoulder-mounted rockets or the plasma blaster on the other wrist. There are a few more swarming from Dane's right due to Cecily being interrupted, but so far, it's manageable.

"Not so great..." Dane replies to Shuri's question, "I think we mi-..." And then...it happens.

Suffice to say, there's a lot of money spent on the CGI FX budget as the shield surrounding Brainiac's ship is brought down by the machinations of one Anthony Stark.

When he drops the hand that instinctively reached to shield his vision from the display, Dane adds, "Nevermind, we're good!" And then he continues the charge towards the edge of the deck. The Ebony Blade lashes out again and again, lopping off drone-limbs or otherwise disabling or destroying all that come within reach. The photon shield begins to flicker as it absorbs fire multiple times in rapid succession, as even partial drones lying on the deck continue to try to fight. Macklin and Bogdanovitch take hits...but they keep moving forward. And right as they reach the edge of that deck, one of the Drones pops up a force-field right in front of them...

And the Ebony Blade cleaves right through that as well, and Dane drives the weapon into the drone's chest, pushing it backwards and pinning it to the deck, and leaving the sword there as he promptly...leaps off the edge of the Carrier.

Only to appear back above deck-level on the back of a magnificent winged stallion, moving swiftly on white wings as it closes the relatively short distance between the Helicarrier and Brainiac's Ship.

"Bogdanovitch, layup!" Dane shouts, and the Mandroid-pilot lobs the device right into Dane's waiting arms, just at the edge of his throwing range as the Black Knight aims to deliver his newly-acquired payload.

Things are hardly rosy on Deck though. Several drones move to follow the Black Knight, and while Macklin and Bogdanovitch try to blast at them, they're starting to run low on ammo and power /and/ starting to be overwhelmed as the Drones close in on them. Cecily is wounded, Shuri calls for aid, and there's still a whole lot of these things really trying to ruin everyone's day.

Jack Nolan has posed:
"I heard the boss!" Nolan yells back at Whitman, grabbing one of the drones and biting its head off. He throws the body away, turning to look at the path they need to clear, "That is a lot of drones." He mutters, frowning a bit. The EMP rifle does a good job of clearing the path a bit. But there's till way too many drones.

No, he can't let himself think like that. He has to fight, until the very end. There's very visible chunks of his stone skin that have been blasted or melted away from plasma rifles and other powered attacks from the drones he's been fending off. But he's still going, nothing has been fatal yet. So he charges into the fold again, roaring like the beast he resembles in an attempt to draw the attention of as many of the drones he can onto him, to give Dane the time he needs.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    As Jane and Daisy join up to head to the rotors, a distinct whirling sound is heard. Although...this sound is definitely not the drones which threaten to make their journey to keep this floating base, well....afloat. No, it is the distinct sound of the DWARFs. Seems someone is just a little worried about her fellow Furiae and is sending along a little assistance. Jemma's voice does break in via a drone of her own...hovering to face the two. <<You two go take care of what you can. The DWARFs are programmed to run interference for you.>> In short....Jemma is going to keep an eye on them.

    And...she is. The terminal that Jemma has co-opted with her twin ion cannons has a pop-up display in the bottom right hand corner of the drones she controls, with the camera view of Daisy and Jane in sight. Elated with the successful test of the pulse, Jemma keys in coordinates to continue the ionic barrage. This time, she alternates the shots. First upper, then lower, to keep a somewhat steady rhythm. It doesn't affect as big of an area with the alternating shots, but it is more frequent, allowing for at least a dampening of the sheer number of unfriendly flying objects. All with the intent on trying to clear the airways for one winged marvel to make it to the target unscathed.

    Still....a pretty tall order, considering.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Turns out those bitches can fight back. Daisy takes a dive to a corner of the room when she walks in. So much for using tough words, because they are now focused on the corridor. But hey, whatever brings their attention off the rotors.

Extending one hand she sends a concussive blast towards one of the drones which sends it spinning out of control and towards the rotor controls. It fizzles and hisses but hey, at least the rotors are still working!

And wooo, DWARFs to the rescue!

"Get in here! It's about to get messy!" because the drones just come out shooting into the corridor, to the DWARFs, to Jane, to Daisy.

More shockwaves come out of her hands, sending a couple flying away though she takes an ice bolt to one arm, making it go numb, and pretty much stopping her from easily shooting those concussive blasts out. "Gonna need that magic soon, Shuri."

Shuri has posed:
A small sound of excitement escapes Shuri as it is announced the shields are down and that the thing is getting delivered. She is already having to whip out her blaster again to fire at a drone getting too close, distracting her from her work. She hears what is happening, hears the sounds of combat around her and then she closes her eyes before opening them wide and grumbling, "Oh this is a bad plan."

Detaching one of hte arms, it breaks off rather too easily thanks to the damage it sustained. She opens it up rather quickly and pulls a wire from it before she runs that wire directly from her beads up to her visor and she immediately begins to interface more naturally with the device. Facial movements and only her left hand are used to quickly try to type even as she stands up again and looking with only one eye she begins to fire with her right hand toward the drones.

"I am working on disabling as much of the moron's network as I can but...I am now chatting with him directly and I doubt he likes having someone on his party line."

She fires at another drone and frowns, "Stand by." And she winces as one of her wings is blasted by a drone on her left and she has to quickly shift herself, trying to do two things at once is harder when things want you dead.

Cecily Winters has posed:
    It's an unsettling realization that Cecily wrinkles her nose at. The realization that the scent of her own blood and charred flesh doesn't sicken her anymore. The more pressing concern is the pain from nearly half a missing pelvis keeps her from functioning properly. Her vision fades in and out, white encroaching in her periph while the flickering of AR elements add a degree of disorientation. It would be a mercy if she could just pass out. It's not like she's goingt to bleed to death, what with the plasma's heat and her own slow-but-effective supernatural healing factor.

    But that's what's keeping her up. The pain. And the awareness of that tingle in her wounds of things stitching cells back together agonizingly slowly. To say nothing of the battle still raging around the upper deck. She's not going back to the gatling gun any time soon, and she's not in a condition to crawl back below. So she keeps herself propped up, hunkered down as best she can, and takes a moment to pop that other shoulder back into place.

    "Well, you did tell them you wanted to get a piece of the action..." she muses aloud, off-comms, then manages to laugh as she blinks back some red in her vision. "Oh I do hope there's tea and cake if I survive this..." she says grimly, checking her safety before unloading several small but explosive rounds into the next drone that teleports in her line of sight. Chest, neck, and head, impacts and explosions but it's a lot more effort than the 20mm she was swinging before. The sight and sound of operations having success around at least keep her grinning somewhat. Shield down? MacGuffin on the way? Job worth doing is worth dying for.

Jane Foster has posed:
Truly it's a good thing that Jane did not watch someone lob themselves off the deck or she will need to discuss matters at length with a SHIELD-sanctioned psychologist after this. Supposing she survives the evening to actually walk or be wheeled into said therapist's office. Furiae matters command focus, as well as dodging a drone trying to take a shot around Daisy. By dodging, darting back and ducking through the cover of SHIELD-sanctioned and approved, terribly heavy metal plating. Better the metal than her shoulder or her face.

DWARFs shining like little heroes would normally be a welcome thing, but she has to skid across the floor by using a rail as a handhold and a kick to propel her like a waterslide. Those drones hit hard; frosty patches on the ground where one relentless ice-drone misses Daisy and makes footing hazardness. Horrible conditions to work in, but she hopefully gets just close enough to shoot the Taser at it from another angle. Fifty thousand volts go vibrating down metal wires it might laugh at, maybe not. Keep those rotors turning, turning, turning...

And no death's head floating there may be counted as a distinct win.

Dane Whitman has posed:
The pathway largely cleared by Jemma's massive EMP blast, The Black Knight's short flight to Brainiac's ship is largely unimpeded, and he's a small enough target that the ship's own sensors don't register him as a serious threat. He gets close enough, with STrider landing on a precarious bit of outstretched metal that has now been ripped open by one of the Helicarrier's blasts. Dane dismounts and quickly affixes the device amidst a bit of exposed wires and cabling. Thankfully he's technically minded so figuring out how to get it set and activated requires little effort. He's about to make his escape when a drone energy blast rips through the torn-out piece of metal, sending both Dane and Strider plumetting!

But while things are looking down rapidly for Dane at the moment, they're starting to look better on-deck! A cordon of Mandroids forms around Shuri, blasting and slashing away at Drones that draw near. A squad of SHIELD troops advances on Cecily's position, a medic in tow to start attending to her wounds. There's even an older-model Mandroid that drops a second power pack and ammuntion off for URsa Major. There are still many drones up here...but the ranks are now visibly thinning, even if there's a lot of partially-functionals crawling around at floor-level that will need to be mopped up later.

Mikhail Uriokovitch has posed:
Mik has been on a murder spree, well not murder since drones, but still. Being trained as a living weapon has its uses and it's on full display here. He gives a rare grin to the mandroid that gave him a present, and begins reloading his gun. That being said, there is now another issue in that there is a mandroid near the edge in danger. Mik runs forward with urgency, his gun being of no use here, instead letting his claws do the talking, throwing one into the abyss below and a another behind it, letting forth a primal roar after.

Jack Nolan has posed:
Jack wasn't going to let the Mandroids fall to their death. He's right behind Mik, grabbing hold of one of the Mandroids with his left hand and hauling him backwards to safety on the deck of the Helicarrier.

Not content to just leave the man there unprotected, he kicks one of the drones still nearby off of the deck of the carrier, hoping it didn't get a flying mutation after he does.

Dane Whitman has posed:
For the falling Black Knight, it's once again his trusty flying steed to the rescue. Though stunned for a few moments...long enough for Dane to contemplate the recent decisions that have led to this predicament with a certain wry resignation...Strider does ably recover, and deftly swoop about to manage to catch Dane before he reaches terminal velocity. He does land hard on the Horse's back. The Horse doesn't mind...Dane just hopes he didn't break any ribs. But regardless, he's upright in the saddle when horse-and-rider land back on the deck, the Ebony Blade disappearing from where it was left and reappearing in his hand just in time to lop off the noggin of one of the remaining drones. Though he's moving stiffly enough now that it's clear he's at a minimum very sore from his brief ordeal. And still trying to catch the wind that was knocked out of him, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

Maria Hill has posed:
Agents all over the helicarrier are fighting drones-- inside and outside of large flying SHIELD carrier. The device-- whatever it was, in egghead technobabble-- installed onto Brainiac's ship and Shuri's booster in place, Hill calls for a strategic retreat.

"PULL US OUT OF HERE." The Deputy Director orders.

Slowly but surely, the massive ship wheels in the air, pulling away from the tight quarters with the skull ship.

Meanwhile, inside the rotor housing, Quake and Dr. Foster (with assist from Simmons's drones) make thorough work of the drones damaging the rotors-- though the drones manage to destroy one, the other three remain intact, and thus... the helicarrier remains flying.

Until the end of the battle, SHIELD is there, providing further fire support for the other teams fighting the skull ship.