2023-01-06: Legend of Zero: Island Skirmish
- Log: 2023-01-06 Legend of Zero: Island Skirmish
- Cast: Alto Saotome, Brera Sterne, Eight York, Lucine Azul, Ruri Hoshino, Ranka Lee, Hikaru Amano, Rin Starking, Anita Rosetta, Sheryl Nome, Teletha Testarossa
- Where: A beautiful Pacific island
- OOC - IC Date: January 6, 0097 (2023)
- Summary: The movie Bird Human is about a specific incident during the First Huffman Conflict, so naturally there are going to be dogfight scenes. The film crew gathers several pilots to do the non-lethal stunt flying.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The 'Bird Human' movie currently being filmed on this beautiful pacific island tells the story of a skirmish, between the Britannian Union and Oceania Cooperative Union, over an alien artifact during the First Huffman Conflict. And what's a war story without a little war action in it?
Where many would simply CGI the hell out of the combat scenes, director George Yamamori has chosen to take a more authentic approach. He's gathered a number of pilots through a variety of methods (the man appears to have quite the influence throughout the Earth Sphere) to participate in a mock battle which, recorded by a fleet of remote camera drones, will be the base for the movie's fights.
The director has also managed to acquire a number of VF-171 Nightmares to represent the newly developed VF-0s that were the highlight of the skirmish. Their likeness will be altered during post editing in order to more closely resemble their progenitor models. Of course, there were other unit types present during the battle so pilots have been given permission to use other machines as well. Naturally no one wants to risk their safety piloting a machine they're not confident they can handle.
The format of the mock battle was described by the Stunt Coordinator during the initial briefing: Pilots will pair up and battle each other as they see fit. However, at various points the Stunt Coordinator will direct a pair to perform some specific actions to match significant scenes that are planned for use in the movie. Projectile and explosive ammo has been swapped out for paint variants, while energy weapons have had their power tuned down to practically harmless levels. All in the name of safely!
The pilots have already prepped and launched their machines. On the ground at the main camp where the film crew are set up, the Stunt Coordinator and a couple of his assistants sit at computer terminals. A dozen holographic screens float in the air above them, each flicking between footage that looks like a combination of remote drone cameras and those cameras found on the units themselves. Also as the pilots talk, their voices filter out from speakers connected to the terminals. From here the Stunt Coordinator can control the drones to capture footage of the fight.
It'll also serve as a good spot for those not participating to observe!
The scheduled time for the battle starts, so the Stunt Coordinator clears his throat and radios, <"Alright everyone. Begin your battles. Saotome and Sterne, we'll start with you. I want you to alternate chasing each other with your guns while in fighter mode.">
Up in the skies, Alto is actually in his VF-25F Messiah. Its profile more closely matches the VF-0 than the Nightmares, though being a new model it's not easy or cheap to get them in numbers, which is why the movie's production team had to fall back on the Nightmares for the most part. But with his Messiah, Alto's been selected as the stand-in for the movie's protagonist. It'll be easier on the editors if the protagonist's unit, the one that's going to be seen the most, is one that more closely matches the Phoenix.
Alto himself is a little hyped about the mock battle. Most often when fighting his life is on the line, as are the lives of others, whether they be allied pilots or people simply caught in the chaos. But here... No one's going to die. It'll actually be a chance to enjoy the fight. This anticipation is present in his voice as he turns to look at the Lucifer flying near him, <"Brera, you start off on my tail taking a shot. Then I'll swap with you.">
KTS: Alto Saotome has deployed in VF-25F Messiah <Fighter Mode>. KTS: Rin Starking has deployed in F-28 Messer. KTS: Rin Starking's F-28 Messer has left Rin Starking teleports out.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has deployed in VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Fighter Mode>. Ruri Hoshino teleports out.
KTS: Eight York has deployed in VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Fighter Mode>. KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Fighter Mode>. Ruri Hoshino teleports in.
KTS: Brera Sterne has deployed in VF-27 Gamma Lucifer <Fighter Mode>. KTS: Anita Rosetta has deployed in VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Fighter Mode>. KTS: Anita Rosetta has changed loadout. Gary Biaggi teleports in. Rin Starking teleports in.
KTS: Rin Starking has deployed in F-28 Messer. KTS: Rin Starking has changed loadout. KTS: Ruri Hoshino has deployed in F-28 Messer. KTS: Ruri Hoshino has changed loadout. <Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
Brera's participation was not won without likely frustration. He is here to do a job, and that job has nothing to do with assisting in a film, only protecting specific individuals creating it. Technically, only one individual, but as long as Brera is efficient enough, it does not matter if he adds another. Unless, of course, he gets caught up in these... frivilous things...
Movies. A piece of entertainment. Something Brera has not consumed regularly -- barely at all, except in fragmented passing -- and does not grasp even a basic library of. He's supposed to fight. But not really? But a little bit really.
Don't kill anyone. That seems clear enough. All right...
But at the first orders, Brera is already squinting within his cybernetic cockpit, his voice as monotone as ever through the communications:
<"Alternate? Why would I allow him an opening?">
He glares at the VF-25F Messiah, as if his gaze could penetrate it hard enough for answers to these mysteries. Even Alto is at peace with swapping, volunteering to expose a vulnerability first. What strategy is this...?
<"... Hmph.">
Lucifer lifts altitude and lowers its speed enough to allow Alto's Messiah ahead. Then it bursts into a wild dive after him in a bright streak, guns firing on Alto's position. If it weren't for a cybernetic's ability to calculate controlled precision of each shot to keep things within the realm of the 'rules', such aggressive fire would appear as if Brera were trying to down Alto into fiery wreckage.
It still looks like he is.
KTS: Brera Sterne targets Alto Saotome with Gutshot! KTS: Brera Sterne has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Man," says Licia Chovan, "It's been a while since I've piloted anything this small!" She sounds like she's complaining, but she's also clearly in a good mood. She doesn't like to go back to mobile suits much... but this is diffrent. And it's for a movie! That's nice, right?
Licia is an old hat at piloting--her main job these days is helming the Ra Mari, which is certainly rather larger than a VF. She's a black-haired woman with brown eyes, kind of short-to-average, and she's been in high spirits to hear from her thus far.
The initial briefing was easy enough. Now, she's up in the air, remembering her controls as she sails high up into the engagement zone, within easy sight of the film crew but far enough away not to risk actually hitting anything.
"Ha! It's pretty nice out here..." A beat, "A good day to ruin our paint jobs a little!"
"So, Amano. I'll shoot out and you can come after me?"
Liam 7-020 teleports in.
POT: Liam 7-020 is now set observer.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
".... I'm going to be in a movie..." Lucine says, toweling her face, and then fussed over a pimple.
"Ei hoeing ho he en ah whovie..." Lucine says, brushing her teeth, making faces in the mirror.
"I'm going to be in a movie," Lucine says, using the expensive eyeliner she got as a splurge purchase one time, and never used, because it was more expensive.
None of this will matter because her face will not be seen. She'll be wearing a helmet, in fact.
_She still styles her hair._
And now, in the VF-171 Nightmare Plus, Lucine is flying in more ways than one. "I'm in a movie." She tries to hold back the excited impulse to squeal.
Calm down. She needs to get into character.
What would a cowboy do....?
< ".... I need a dancing partner." > That is a possible thing for a Martian cowboy to say, but Lucine delivers it too gently, like she was standing on the edge of a homecoming dance without a date. < "..... I will take whoever is left. I am not picky." >
Gold eyes track the other planes, and inevitably find the one unpaired plane left: Anita's. < ".... Ms. ... Rosetta, I believe? Let's put on a good show, shall we? ..... Ah, could you shoot first? I'm still getting into character..." >
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"I want to try," Ruri said, looking up at the machines. "Mr. Biaggi showed me what a Messer's cockpit was like, once... it was interesting." Ruri, the youngest Nadesico employee at thirteen, obviously isn't much for managing anything smaller than a warship.
Minato Haruka, the honey-blonde bombshell who is also the Nadesico's foremost helmsmom, wags a finger: "Okay, let's do it! Say," she turns to the stunt coordinator, all sweetness and light, "you don't happen to have a two-seater back there, do you?"
(Minato, as it happens, is an excellent pilot, even scaled down to the size of a plane.)
"Remember to strap in," Minato reminds Ruri, once they've found a Messer to suit them. "Do you remember the controls? The throttle, here, and..."
"I know," Ruri says, with a gentle expression. "The Messer's very helpful, so I just have to ask."
"Huh..?" Minato blinks, looking to her, before she laughs. "Oh, Ruri-Ruri! Okay -- it's time to take off!"
"Launching," Ruri confirms, entirely too proper and cool for her age, as she starts the machine up.
(Minato takes care of some of the sticks. It's a lot for someone so small to handle all at once.)
And so, she transmits: "We're not the only ones in a Messer, either... excuse me, would you like to pretend to fight? I think you had better shoot first, because I'm still learning these controls." A beat: "Um -- Ruri Hoshino, Nadesico systems operator. I usually don't pilot things like this."
"And I'm Minato!" Another voice pipes up, to Rin. "Minato Haruka. I'm at the Nadesico's helm, but I'm pretty handy with things of this size, too!" She smiles over, to Ruri, and adds: "You're doing great, Ruri-Ruri."
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka isn't in costume today, as they're not filming, instead she's in beach shift dress, with a sun hat on.
She's standing near the stunt Coordinator part of the set, within range of the radio.
Holding a hand near the brim of her hat to ward off the breeze, Ai-kun peeks out from under her hat, and she yelps, before bringing the hat down to hide him again under it.
Several people look at her including a distant Miranda Merin who's sunning herself a good distance away, and she looks sheepish. "Eehee- thought I saw a shark."
Reorienting herself to look up, she grins at the non-lethal battle, "Wow Brera's really going all out! It looks so realistic! I bet Alto's going to come back any second now and show him some moves."
When she hears Ruri over the comms though, she actually dares to move forward, and transmits over it, "<You can do it Ruri!!!>"
The withering glare she may get from several people on set though makes her shrink a moment later. "Aha... just thought... she needed some encouragement..."
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to evade Brera Sterne's Gutshot, taking 3375 damage! <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Today's course of action for the Bird Human movie filming is exactly what Hikaru is being paid for! This time, she's geared up for today's island adventure in her bright red pilot suit. "Here I go~" she enthuses when the stunt pilots are called to their planes. "Cheer me on, Nadesicrew!" She turns away after a wide smile and overdramatic salute. "I'll be cheering you on too, Ruri-chan, Minato-san~"
Hikaru climbs into her assigned VF-171 Nightmare Plus, outfitted with paint guns. "Geez.. I'm way too used to the cute lil' nanomachines." Hikaru sighs as she puzzles over the controls - simple plane-like controls, but without all the automation of the Aestivalis's IFS. "Nightie-mare, launching! Let's hope I don't mess up too much!" She playfully warns her opponent, Licia.
Licia herself seems like a friendly lady, clearly excited about piloting. Hikaru too, is thrilled to not be fighting for her life against those ugly Jovian Lizards for once. "Any colour preference?" She jokes back at Licia. "I got a whole rainbow of paint cannons in here..." She deviously smiles eyeing at the trigger.
Licia offers to shoot first and let Hikaru chase her - makes sense, she is filling in for a cold and ruthless character in spite of her personality. "Sounds good~ be warned I'm more relentless than I look!"
Teletha Testarossa teleports in.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
Flying an actual plane.
PFff. How hard could it be?
For some reason Rin immediately threw up her hand and volunteered. Even for Rin, the perky weirdo, it was kind of an unusual level of enthusiasm. But why?
As Rin settles into the cockpit of the classic Messer, she sweeps her hair back. She untucks her glasses, putting them in the flight suit pocket, and reaches over to hang up a slightly battered looking medal on a metal chain on the little space that often holds good luck charms.
Rin rests two fingers on it, and closes her grey eyes for several seconds.
And then she reviews the controls. "Huh," she says. "I guess it WAS accurate. Alright--"
FWEE! The Messer takes off like a big hot shot. In the seat, Rin mutters to herself, "okay this part's a little off. Good lord. Okayyyyyy," climb, climb, climb...
The pull of Earth's gravity, the sensation of acceleration...
And a signal comes through.
"Oh is that right?" says Rin, in reply to Ruri and Minato as she pulls into a left-handed banking turn. Her head turns upwards in a sharp arc, and the turn gets a little sharper and gains some force behind it. "Pleased to meetcha, Minato, Ruri. I'm Rin Mei Starking, and I'm on the technical crew! It's lucky that I could get up here, right? This way we're going to know that the results are pretty much fair, because we're in similar airframes. Which means any difference in results..."
Hey, she got above Ruri! But she's still looping, right?
"Is going to come down..."
Rin turns her head, slowing up the throttle to tighten the turn... Let's see, she thinks, if this was space I could just kill the engine here, but that's kind of not something I can do in atmosphere. They confirmed that works in real life in GM Fight 4.0 but this is flight simulation *for real*.
That's really the ocean and the ground and everything down there, Rin thinks. I should play it a LITTLE conservatively. If I eject I could be killed... or worse, hurt!
But...
pii pii pii! Ruri's Messer can tell that there is a >>TARGET LOCK<< from the nose radar.
"To our skill!" And then Rin fires one of the wing missiles! The standard-issue F-28 missile pod, but it's while she's still in the active turn; so the missile streaks outwards, toppling, fins correcting to track the radar-designated target!
This works great in the games. How realistic is this tactic? NOW WE WILL FIND OUT.
KTS: Rin Starking targets Ruri Hoshino with F-28 Missile Fire! KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Ruri Hoshino successfully evades Rin Starking's F-28 Missile Fire <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita Rosetta has approached the flying in the same way she approaches most things - in the most casual manner possible. Taking it easy, one thing at a time. Flying is something she loves, and this is an opportunity to do that and get paid in a situation that isn't life-and-death.
She is also fully aware that she isn't going to be seen on the big screen, which is part of the reason she agreed to this in the first place. She tries to avoid that kind of recognition.
And so it is that her VF-171 flies through the skirmish with casual ease. She could've brought her VF-25, but... it's a good opportunity to try out a different model of Variable Fighter. It doesn't come equipped with her personal adjustments, but... it's a fine experiment. Might as well have a good time with it, right?
...It's also a plus that she doesn't have to worry about the maintenance costs afterwards, which may have also played into her decisions.
Everyone's pairing off into individual skirmishes, and soon enough, she hears a voice coming in through her communications. That gentle voice...
"It's alright, you can just call me Anita. Let's try to relax and have fun with this." Anita says with a smile. "Can do. Yeah, let's do our best."
Anita's VF's flight path adjusts in mid-air, directing her toward Lucine's.
"I'm coming in for a strafe." She announces, and burst-fires some beams in her direction!!
...It's purely a light show, of course - the actual weapon effects will be added in later.
KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Lucine Azul with Mauler Beam Cannons Shot! KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round. POT: Grace O'Connor is now set observer.
KTS: Lucine Azul fails to evade Anita Rosetta's Mauler Beam Cannons Shot, taking 4290 damage! I don't understand that. I don't understand that. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Given that her two bodyguards are dueling each other in the skies, of course Sheryl Nome has to be here to see this. She doesn't know if this'll help them get along any better, but it can't hurt, right? Surely not!
Like Ranka, she's hanging out near the stunt coordinator terminals, watching the floating terminal screens as they flick between drone footage. For her part, she's wearing a white swimsuit--more a long string of cloth that Xes over her chest before connecting to her bikini bottom--and a windbreaker that hangs off her elbows. Naturally, her skin shimmers with Pure Shield. Sheryl did originally have the line produced so she'd have something up to her standards for her personal use.
Ranka's yelp distracts her, and she blinks over at her until she explains off the commotion. "Ooh, really? Are you sure you didn't?" she says with interest, scanning the blue horizon with interest. When she doesn't spot any iconic fins jutting out of the waters, she sighs and shrugs. "Guess not."
Did she really want to see one that badly...?
Still, there's plenty to observe right here where she is. She grins back at Ranka as Alto and Brera go at it. Brera really is aggressive, and she cheers through the radio, "<Woo~! Go get 'im, Brera! Alto, if you lose, you're buying lunch! <3>"
...Just as a bit of motivation for both of her boys. (And never mind that Alto is scripted to lose.)
They're not the only ones she's looking forward to watching, though. Lucine has been utterly adorable about all this; Ruri and Minato are a promising pair; and she quite liked Rin's fire in the pageant.
And if anyone dares give Sheryl Nome a withering glare, she shrugs it off without a care, instead patting Ranka on the back as she shrinks. "Oh, what's the harm~?" she lilts, smiling.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Internally, she knew it was a movie shoot. There's (supposed) regulations around everything, (supposed) rules about proper management of vehicles and acting out combat scenes and such. Still, it was worth taking a break, staying down on the ground and watching the combat footage all on its own was already foircing the work side of her brain into motion. It was a brawl in the high skies, so it should be this this this that this...Shake it off.
She even managed to scrounge up a cute white bikini (with blue trimmings for the occasion, wrapped in a sheer cardigan to protect from the elements. Mostly.
Regardless, she was watching those Stunt Coordinator monitors with a laser intent. Brains can't shunt themselves off of work that easily, and her eyes darted screen across screen, taking notes of the skirmishes, the way each pilot moved. Familiar faces, even...Including the ones beside her.
"I don't think it's that big a deal." Ranka's outburst was surprising, but still. "If they have their wiring correct, they'll have the sounds from the cockpits, which is the important part." Granted, it was only the slightest bit difficult to wrench her head away from Sheryl to focus back on the "chaos". The power of the Galactic Fairy, indeed.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The mock battle starts. Brera comes out of the gate hard, bringing the mock pain down on Alto. Sitting at his terminal, the Stunt Coordinator nods approvingly, "Not bad. We can work with th-" 'You can do it Ruri!!!' The Stunt Coordinator coughs, but otherwise does his best to ignore her cheering. "Right then, let's see how the others are doing..."
Up in the skies, Alto grunts as he jams his controls to the side, causing his machine to roll to the right, then another quick jamming to the left to go in the other direction. The mostly harmless bolts of light flash close past his cockpit canopy rapidly, "Damn, he's really going in on this hard." Finally a few of the bolts strike one of his wings, his system reporting several hits, "Tch. Alright, let's see how he likes this!"
The VF-25F suddenly pulls up, air breaks opening to help rapidly slow its descent and let the Lucifer pass by. After which it angles down again to give chase. Now having Brera in his own sights, Alto smirks, pulling on the trigger. The Messiah's wing-mounted machine guns start spitting out streams of paint-tipped rounds, Alto deftly manipulating the controls to keep his aim on the other fighter.
The Stunt Coordinator claps his hands at the gun camera of the Messiah firing towards the Luciver, "Excellent, excellent. Alright. Next up on the list is..." He looks at said list, "Ah, yes. For this let's use..." He looks at the screens, then radios, <"Rosetta, Azul. You're up next. Can you both transform into Battroid mode and then get into a fist fight while falling out of the air?">
Meanwhile, Alto's voice filters out the speakers in response to Sheryl's lose condition, <"Oh come on, that's not fair!"> He knows he's scripted to lose.
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Brera Sterne with ES-25A High Speed Machine Guns Chasing Fire! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Brera Sterne successfully evades Alto Saotome's ES-25A High Speed Machine Guns Chasing Fire
<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
The bodyguards are getting along great. Look at them, firing guns at each other and everything while hurling themselves through the sky in hunks of steel. It's like puppies on a playdate, practicing their predatory instincts while everyone ooos and awws.
Sheryl's encouragement comes in.
<"But I have been ordered to destroy you.">
Adorable.
As Brera locks onto the VF-25F, a smirk dances across his face. By a simple cybernetic thought, he can fire, and so decisive would the battle be that he can end this foolish charade. And with Ranka watching... She may recognize that Alto's value to her is not so large.
Another harmless bolt of light fires, even if it is not so harmless in intent. But Alto's VF-25F is gone. Brera's eyes open a fraction wider. The Lucifer twists in the sky, but there is no reorienting to avoid the VF-25F managing its pursuit. Brera glances over his shoulder to look to Alto's fighter with his own eyes as the battle feed filters directly into his mind.
Paint rounds sail toward Lucifer. It's only by the most minute movements that they miss, wings tilted just so and turns twisting at subtle angles. Once the volley is complete, not a smear of color marrs Lucifer's red frame.
<"Too easy."> There's a smug tone in Brera's usually emotionless voice. This has gotten... interesting.
New heat in Brera's veins, the Lucifer spirals through the air, making a recklessly sharp turn that the g-force would have rattled most pilots on in a real fight, let alone worth risking in stunt battle. But Brera hasn't the same set of organs to concern himself with, not thinking twice as he reorients to sweep past the Messiah with a spray of paint bullets.
He wants to see how Alto flies.
KTS: Brera Sterne targets Alto Saotome with Angle Shooting! KTS: Brera Sterne has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Ms. Rosetta is very nice, so you don't have to be nervous," Ruri helpfully transmits to Lucine, all the while blatantly undercutting Anita's first-name attempts.
Her cheeks colour, as she hears Hikaru and Ranka cheering her on, too. "Um..." She starts, before she clears her throat, and regains her stoic exterior. Deadpan: "Ra ra ra. Ra ra ra. Go, Hikaru. Ra ra ra."
Pause,
"Omoikane does that better, I think."
(Omoikane can animate little flags in his messages, though, so isn't he kind of cheating?)
Minato, meanwhile, is doing her LEVEL BEST NOT TO LOSE IT, seeing Ruri pull this in real time. Her fingers to her lips, she giggles, and focuses on the other Messer: "... nice to meet you, Rin!"
(In an aside, she warns Ruri: "She's coming around! Are you ready?")
The Messer helpfully announces TARGET LOCK, and -- while Ruri can't use her IFS system here -- she can certainly query the plane for a much deeper understanding of what that means. (Don't ask how.) "Thank you," she thanks it, as she reaches down to the clutch. She has to kind of reaaach to get there and still see out the front. "Here I go."
And the second Messer pulls ahead of that missile, with a sharp turn left in the air to juke the projectile. The Messer told her about it, since its targeting systems rely on straight shots.
(Minato also helped. But she's not going to bring that up if you don't.)
Ruri blinks, looking, if anything, a little surprised, as the dummy missile goes sailing off. "I did it," she says, a shade blankly.
"That's our Ruri-Ruri!" Minato beams.
"I'm coming around to fire," she announces, because this isn't a real fight, and Ruri's used to announcing her actions anyway. (She works on a bridge! Teamwork is important.) Once she figures out how to drive the stick without having to strain so much, it's not so hard to bank her plane, and try to turn the chase around.
"Now firing," she announces, mildly, as she opens her own Messer's missile bays and launches a dummy missile back to Rin's machine.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Rin Starking with F-28 Missile Fire! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Licia probably arrived with Anita; she's been pleasant, even if she doesn't talk to the pilots all that much. There's a reason for that. It's changed, over time, but Licia's still more likely to hang out with Eight than most people on the ship. ...Well, and a certain Enba Rezza, these days.
But here and now, Licia laughs a little. Nightie-mare! "That's great. Super-cute." She has a feeling Hikaru will do fine--she's seen the Nadesicrew in action, after all. She works the sticks like she's done it all her life, despite her earlier complaining. Zooming on out into the air, Licia turns her Nightmare back towards Hikaru's once they're there.
...It is nice, to fly low-stakes... It makes it easier to be back in the pilot's seat again. It's been a long time.
"I like yellow!" Licia announces cheerfully. "And I wouldn't expect less!"
Then--"Firing!"
Suddenly she fires the blunted lasers as she cruises right towards Hikaru's Valkyrie, and then in the next moment dives down, surging past her to zoom back up and into the sky. Her Valkyrie spins mid-air, rolling clockwise and then straightening up.
"I'll have to work hard if I'm going to make up for you having Ruri's cheering..."
KTS: Eight York targets Hikaru Amano with Mauler Beam Cannons Shot! KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Rin Starking fails to intercept Ruri Hoshino's F-28 Missile Fire, taking 4500 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ruri Hoshino's Scan activates, causing Designate L1! <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
< "Ah, Hikaru, it looks like it's pretty standard, looks like... it's like riding a bike, though-- if you've learned how at some point, it'll come back to you eventually..." > Lucine can't help but root for Alto a little, as well as fellow 'Nadesicrew' mates Hikaru and.... Ruri and Minato? < "Wait, wait, ah..." > Pause. < ".... I-I'll be cheering for you two!" > Did Ruri ever learn how to ride a bike? She didn't have a proper childhood.
Wait, did Lucine have a proper childhood since she didn't learn how to ride a bike? She did learn how to fly a deadly machine of war, though. < "Noted! Anyone who has Ruri's seal of approval is....!" > Pause. < ".... Anita, then. You can call me Lucine. And, ah, roger that." > And this will be when she pulls off an effortless evasion tactic, one that will make someone somewhere in a theatre go 'that's clearly Martian-styled cowboy/bounty hunter tactics' and everyone will stand in appreciation of a culture that is still somehow thriving despite the Jovian lizards' attempts at putting it down, and she g e t s h i t
".... I need to get my head out of the clouds.... and, ah, into the clouds, in the sky..." Lucine frowns. "Damn it, I'm not sounding cool at all!"
'Rosetta, Azul. You're up next. Can you both transform into Battroid mode and then get into a fist fight while falling out of the air?'
Lucine's demeanor brightens immediately. She's never done it in a setup like this, but it definitely seems workable~ < "Alright. Anita, you ready?" > Transform. Right. The Transform function. Where she transforms! "Where's that button... Ah!"
Circling around until she's alongside Anita, Lucine gives the signal. < "3, 2, 1, Go!" > The fighter jet transforms, and Lucine tilts the craft back mid-transformation, angling it just so. < ".... And go!" >
Oh. Right. G-forces are triple here. Lucine keeps forgetting that. ".... Gh.......!"
.... She'll just need to make this count.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano fails to Charge. KTS: Hikaru Amano partially guards Eight York's Mauler Beam Cannons Shot, taking 3705 damage! KTS: Alto Saotome successfully evades Brera Sterne's Angle Shooting KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Anita Rosetta with Pinpoint Barrier Melee Combo! KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Anita Rosetta rushes into the attack!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka's hair leaps when Sheryl mans the radio to give 'encouragement' to Alto, before she starts to laugh after her pat on the back.
She gives Sheryl a toothy grin, "At this rate they're going to go so far off script trying to impress us!"
'But I have been ordered to destroy you.'
"Whoaaaa!" Ranka says, "He's definitely trying to impress you now."
Ranka doesn't sound like she's complaining though? Miranda Merin does glare when Sheryl does the same thing with the radio... but it's at Ranka.
If Ranka senses that glare, she knows better than to look back that way.
Now however, the flood gates are open, they can't be mad at her without being mad at Sheryl Nome, who's standing right there. It'd put their hypocrisy front and center.
Still though, Ranka resists the urge to make waves, again, and again.
Until Ruri evades in her Messer, and she moves forward to take the radio, "<You did it! Good job Ruri!>"
And in the same moment, Brera evades Alto's barrage... and then Ranka says in the radio again, "<Alto! You can come back from this! Show us your best!>"
It's over the open radio though, so will it inspire Alto more... or Brera, to know Ranka is cheering Alto?
KTS: Anita Rosetta fails to react to Lucine Azul's Pinpoint Barrier Melee Combo, taking 3760 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Anita Rosetta!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It is adorable. Look at them go. <3
"<That's the spirit!>" Sheryl chirps at Brera, knowing full well both that he is entirely serious and that he can't actually follow through. (Actually, he sounds like he's enjoying himself, and that genuinely is cause to be happy, in Sheryl's opinion.)
Alto's protests of unfairness, on the other hand, get a delighted giggle out of Sheryl, extremely pleased with herself for having gotten a rise out of him. "<Just kidding~>" she lilts. "<I know how the scene turns out, Alto! Then how about this? If you lose with enough style, I'll buy you lunch. <3>"
Ranka meanwhile thinks this is all for Brera to impress her. Sheryl smirks at her. Not knowing the true nature of Ranka and Brera's relationship, she absolutely thinks he's got a thing for her, and with her right here too... "Hmmm, I wonder~?" Poor (?) Miranda continues to get ignored.
Ruri's deadpan cheering is also adorable, if in a different way. Sheryl giggles at that, too. "You did do it!" she praises her. She's having a good time! It might've been fun to be up there in one of those Valkyries herself, but while she's been working on her flight lessons, she just isn't at the level to put on a good show, and Sheryl Nome refuses to put on a mediocre performance before the camera.
...And then of course there's the other silver-haired fey young woman who keeps staring at her. Sheryl's used to it, so she doesn't pay it any mind, but as the outing goes longer, it keeps niggling at the back of her mind that she knows Teletha from somewhere--until it abruptly hits her.
"Oh! I remember now!" She turns to her all of a sudden, pointing a slender finger at her. "You were Emilia's date at the New Year's Eve gala in Dublin! I knew you looked familiar!" (Teletha was also at one of the previous Bird Human shoots, but sadly, Sheryl failed to take her in back then. RIP. Also, Teletha wasn't actually Emilia's date. Double RIP.)
With a nonetheless pleased smile, Sheryl sets her hand on her hip. "How're the two of you doing? Are you treating her right?" She leans in, smile turning both knowing and cattish. "Is she treating you right~?"
...However Alto and Brera take Ranka's cheering, Ranka just might get distracted right about now.
Escudo Shard teleports out.
Anita Rosetta transforms to VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Battroid Mode>
KTS: Anita Rosetta has changed loadout. <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
The missile goes long. "Oh well," Rin says, as she banks round, letting Ruri have the 'high' ground as she turns, in favor of making a tighter and more defensive turn that goes downwards and then rises - a threat to meet nosecone to nosecone in a lethal airframe kiss! ('Airframe Kiss' was a pretty good band.)
"Hahaha! You're shooting in my primary firing arc, you fool!" Rin crows, as she pulls the trigger to fire the autocannons and --
"Ehh!!?"
DONK
The dummy missile strikes the side of the Messer, leaving a streak of Ruri Blue paint.
"What...!!!"
SO WHAT DID RIN "SANDEVISTAN" STARKING ACTUALLY SEE?
As the streaking tracer rounds rip forwards and the missile is briefly resolved in Rin's sight, the thing suddenly and anomalously ROLLS - pulling it out of the firing arc of the cannon, and at this close unable to compensate, it instead scores a hit.
(Did I take it too lightly...? Is it just because we're at relatively close ranges...? Or... is that a smart missile? Rin thinks, turning her head just in time to--)
FLASH! COCKPIT PASSES COCKPIT! Rin is looking at Ruri for a moment, and there is the aggrieved look of someone who definitely didn't win that exchange!
But as the plane streak past each other, Rin says, "I'm curious, though. Did you notice what's on the undercarriage of this Messer? Because it isn't simply two standard missile pods... it's quite different. And it may be interfering with my flight slightly, but it's going to be worth it. Yes; there are 'four' missile pods on this Messer. Do you know what's in that other one?"
"Before the Mobile Suit dominated the nature of warfare... before the day of the aerospace grace that we're representing began to finally fade... there was another age. For all the wonders of space colonization, some might say it was more peaceful, or more civilized--"
Rin starts going into a surprisingly high loop. This may get her yelled at because if she tightened it up much more she'd probably pass out or bust a blood vessel or some horrible mix of the two.
"-- and so this is a weapon of a more civilized age--"
The loop reaches its peak... and begins to come around...
"The ZX6-AIM anti-carrier smart missile!! Aayahahahahahahahaaaa!" She *accelerates* into the dive, "Before Minovsky interference spoiled the nature of ECM and ECCM in a final decisive pink mist, this weapon and its kin could fly two thousand kilometers - further, in space mode - to find their prey! It knows where it is," and a missile is launched, "because it knows where it isn't!"
And so this missile - which DOES seem significantly larger than the last one - streaks downwards! It wobbles for a moment and then the motor cuts on, at which point the ZX6-AIM swerves abruptly! And it's a rude boi!! Or at least, the guidance chip is based on something Britannia made. The 78th Emperor watched footage of these things while eating truffle-infused potato chips. At times, he laughed hard enough to drop his brandy!
KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Starking targets Ruri Hoshino with Dynamic Romancing Greenscreen Single Missile! KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita's used to that reaction. She's okay with it, though - Licia has her reasons, so as long as she's still pleasant that's okay with her.
In the sky, Anita beams at the flow of good cheer coming in for the other pilots - and, Ruri's seal of approval for her, which Lucine reacts positively too!
"Sounds good, Lucine." Anita replies. They dance around each other - her beams make contact. It's fine, though. And then... they receive orders!
"Got it, boss." Anita replies. "Yup, on you - come at me when you're ready."
Lucine's VF accelerates toward her, and Anita's transforms in response. She's a natural at it it goes into Battroid form smoothly. Anita shifts the body subtly, letting her VF take the hit so it looks good for the camera while minimizing the actual damage taken. It reels back, like it'd taken a massive blow - then lunges in forward to follow up with its own bare-handed combo attack! Each, of course, prioritizing style over substance. Gotta make this look good.
"Don't worry about the fall. If it comes down to it, I'll catch us before we get into any real danger." Anita asides. She's done this before.
KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Lucine Azul with Pinpoint Barrier Melee Combo! KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Ruri Hoshino fails to intercept Rin Starking's Dynamic Romancing Greenscreen Single Missile, taking 4800 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul rushes into the attack! KTS: Lucine Azul partially guards Anita Rosetta's Pinpoint Barrier Melee Combo, taking 3290 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta has engaged Lucine Azul! <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto has to give Brera credit, he's got some excellent moves. The chase between the Messiah and the Lucifer continues, though no matter how closely Alto gets Brera into his crosshairs, the cyborg seems to just edge his machine out of the way of the shots. It's getting Alto even more fired up.
'Alto! You can come back from this! Show us your best!'
'I know how the scene turns out, Alto! Then how about this? If you lose with enough style, I'll buy you lunch. <3'
Alto smirks, a gleam in his eye as he says, <"I'll hold you to that.">
'Too easy.'
<"I'm just getting started.">
Alto jams his stick to the side, a foot pressing down hard one of his pedals. The Messiah quickly turns to the right, going into a slide that causes the Lucifer's gunfire to overshoot just past the Messiah's left wing. Alto then quickly flicks his stick down and then pulls back on it, the motion initiating the VF's transformation.
Parts of the Messiah's frame separate from the rest, electromagnetic forces rearranging the parts as the engines fold down into legs and arms fold out from within the wings.
Alto cries out as he swings the gunpod in the right hand of his transformed machine up and around to aim at the Lucifer, quickly pulling the trigger. The stream of paint rounds rush out towards Brera's machine!
Back on the ground, the Stunt Coordinator nods approvingly at all the footage coming in. He watches Ruri and Rin exchanging missile fire, Licia lighting up Hikaru with beam cannons, and Lucine launching herself at Anita with that punch. So far so good. Next... <"Chovan, Amano. There's a canyon at point C8. I'd like you two to transform into GERWALK mode then fly down through it, battling along the way.">
However, if they're going to get this all done before everyone wears out, they'll have to pick up the pace a bit, <"As for Hoshino and Starking. We've set up a fake village at point A3. I need one of you to fly down low over it, while the other chases and unleashes a missile barrage that causes collateral damage amongst the village."> A more sombre request and a remidner that many Mayan lives were lost during the battle, along with their homes...
Alto Saotome transforms to VF-25F Messiah <GERWALK Mode>
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Brera Sterne with Gatling Full-Auto! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Hikaru can't help but giggle as Ruri cheers her on in the same deadpan tone she always has. "Thank you, Ruri-chan!" It's true that Omoikane is the primary cheerleader for all of the Nadesicrew. But Ruri is trying her very best, which Hikaru appreciates all the same.
Lucine assures her, saying that piloting a unit like this is almost like riding a bike. Hikaru preferring indoors activities herself, can't quite recall riding a bike, but regardless, she doesn't seem all too worried. "I used to pilot these sorts of things before the Aestie... so I think I'll be okay! It's just hard to go back is all." She laughs.
"Glad you think so!" Hikaru beams, as Licia calls her nickname super-cute. "I always like to have names for my machines.. Even if this one is just a temporary partner." Perhaps that comes from her modelling and mangaka side hobbies. This one, in this form, is almost like the Gekigan Jet...
Her comment about it being hard to go back is instantly proven true as she goes for a classic Aestivalis maneuver at the sight of Licia's beam cannons. "Distortion Field GO! Ahaha... right." The Nightmare charges straight ahead, although it doesn't reach quite as far up close as it would with the aid of the Distortion Field. Thankfully the blunted nature of the beams means it takes about as much real damage as a Distortion Field would! That is to say, none.
"Hey, I'm sure you have plenty of fans yourself. I mean, you're pretty good!" Hikaru asides. "Although as my friend Izumi would say, having Ruri's seal of approval might've just sealed your fate, hehe."
"That aside! Give her a taste of your missiles, shall you, Nightie-Mare?" With that, a storm of missiles, coloured in yellow to Licia's preference fly, as the faux-dogfight continues!
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Oh, that's a tough maneuver...The chatter streams over her mind, picking out breaths here, affirmations there, and the ensuing tone of the crowd. So lighthearted for a film shoot about...About something serious, right? ...Well, if the director was fine with it, it didn't matter. (CG would fix it! Apologies to all CG studios entrusted with this picture.)
A fist fight falling through the air did sound like something one would do in such a situation...So she supposed. Really, there were better ways to incapcitate while in close quarters...But it looked good in the footage, and that's what counted! Really!
That being said, she was barely putting pilot names to units. Respect for the Stunt Coordinator (rest his soul) calmed her tongue down. She had no stake in this fight, only to ride on the coattails of Sheryl's own matchmaking. Fighto, Alto! Even if you're destined to lose, fight! Get that lunch, a girl is cheering for you! Don't you know how precious that is in this climate!?
...Okay, she may be getting invested.
Of course, being stopped like any animal in headlights forced a pause, a stutter and then...Confusion. "..." Wait, hold up, Date? Emilia? Ah, the girl she waltzed wit- wait. Wait wait wait. She stands there, eyes as wide as any respectable dinner plate, paused for an extrodinarly long moment. (Actually, just a few seconds, but it felt like that!)
"...Ah, her? She's doing well! AFter the entire thing with Dr. Hell there, we couldn't exactly, uh, do anything more after, but we did fine!" Oh, she's caught off-guard...and referring to the dance. Really. Date. Date!? I mean, if you thought about it, but wait, was it? No, it was a chance meeting, but she couldn't really just straight up disperse that after Sheryl, the Sheryl, was so confident about it...!
KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Eight York with Micro-Missile Array Lock! KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Eight York has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Eight York fails to evade Hikaru Amano's Micro-Missile Array Lock, taking 3075 damage! KTS: Brera Sterne fails to react to Alto Saotome's Gatling Full-Auto, taking 8320 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates, causing Insight L1! Celebro teleports in.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri looks pleased -- insomuch as she looks much of anything -- to hear Ranka and Sheryl's encouragement. "Thank you," she transmits back, politely. And they're not the only ones cheering for her..!
"Ms. Chovan is doing well, too," Ruri notes into her open radio, looking over to their simulated dogfight. "Especially against Ms. Amano... though it's hard to imagine her flying things like these before she came here."
"Adults have all sorts of experience, Ruri-Ruri!" Minato winks. "I bet you'd be surprised at how much of an expert Hikaru is... she's not an ace pilot for nothing!"
"That's true," Ruri agrees, mildly.
Ruri has experience of her own, of course -- including giving her Messer's missiles a little extra targeting advice. She listens to Rin's theatrics, though, and the first thing which comes to mind is:
"Fool..."
You knew it was coming.
"Ara, ara... that's a pretty serious move..." Minato reflects, looking to Rin's dive. She almost sounds concerned, for a moment, though she laughs as Rin keeps monologuing. "... but it seems our young friend is talented, too!"
(She's not a 'young friend' to Ruri, who classes older teenagers in a strange band of experience both mysterious and eminently more reachable than adulthood. Rin is... the cool older teenager. Oh no.)
Ruri wonders if the tale of the smart missile is true, but what she says is: "Firing." A blast of her vulcans gets paint everywhere, but it can't frustrate the (fake) missile coming right for her.
And... splatter! Splash! Paint gets all over the side of her Messer!
"I'll leave the damage report to you," Ruri says, to Minato.
"We're still fine, Ruri!" Minato responds, far more cheerfully.
"Because of this... we had better take evasive action. A3, A3..." Minato helpfully points it out, and Ruri swoops, down, low to the fake dwellings.
"There are some sad parts in this movie," Ruri reflects, philosophically, as her instruments warn her about her altitude.
"People can find a lot of catharsis seeing it in a controlled space," Minato points out, kindly.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Rin Starking with Pass! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
< "Ah, I didn't know that! Yes, it's like that for me too... The, ah, Aesties do make things very easy, don't they?" > Not that Lucine herself would know; she's refused to get that nice shimmery nanomachine tattoo. < "Let's show everyone the Nadesico spirit! .... ..... Witj Ruri and Minato." > She just has a hard time getting her mind around this!
Going into free-fall, Lucine hears Anita assure her that she'll catch them both if it comes down to it.
< ".... Y-yeah, I forgot... the gravity... is stronger here... >"
Somehow, she remains committed to her role, despite groaning right as Hikaru delivers one of Izumi's puns in another conversation.
Yet another strike to continue this epic dive, though who knows how long Lucine will be able to last. How is Anita handling this so well?
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Anita Rosetta with Pinpoint Barrier Melee Strike! KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Anita Rosetta rushes into the attack! KTS: Anita Rosetta partially guards Lucine Azul's Pinpoint Barrier Melee Strike, taking 1665 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Anita Rosetta! <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"She's right!" Licia cheerfully says into the radio at Minato's note about all kinds of experiences. "...But in this case, I used to do this kind of thing all the time. I only started piloting ships a couple years ago." She is on a dangerous line, since she doesn't want to get into /how/ she was piloting, but... Ruri has questions!!
Names for her machines! "Ooh yeah!" Licia's never been the type; she doesn't change that now, focusing on getting a feel for the Valkyrie's handling for the moment. As it turns out Hikaru has a good feel for it too! "A Distortion Field on something this small would be pretty sweet," Licia answers. But she didn't get a good hit that time! Maybe next.
"You'd think!" Licia says lightly of fans. "But I've got a couple, I guess. The Captain likes me, anyway! That's what counts, right?" She twirls again--and there, the pun. "Augh! Critical damage!"
The yellow paint doesn't totally splatter the Valkyrie, but it gets a good hit in on the side, making a lovely splosh of color. "Ho ho," Licia says, whirling back around as she readies. "Good hit!"
That's the point at which Chovan hears about point C8. "On it," she answers. "Hey, Amano! Chase me!"
She zooms past and towards the canyon, transforming deftly into Gerwalk mode, ostensibly for the extra firepower she guesses (What is her character's motivation?). She takes the time once she gets there to unleash a spray of pink-paint missiles! "Perhaps the power of pink will prevail!"
...It's no pun, but it's something! "Ha-ha!"
Eight York transforms to VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Gerwalk Mode>
KTS: Eight York has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Eight York has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Eight York targets Hikaru Amano with Micro-Missile Array Fire! KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round. Hikaru Amano transforms to VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Gerwalk Mode>
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano charges into the attack! KTS: Hikaru Amano partially guards Eight York's Micro-Missile Array Fire, taking 3325 damage! <Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
Ranka's cheers for Alto send a jolt through Brera. His fingers twitch, jaw tighter, and more bullets firing. Agitation coils in the void of Brera's soul as Alto's deft piloting avoids every shot the Lucifer fires. The VF transforms seamlessly, still without a shot on it.
It's a cleverly timed, and Brera's aggressive focus leaves him vulnerable, his Fighter mode unable to come to a stop or turn on a dime before all of Alto's bullets sail into him. If this were a real fight, Brera's Lucifer would be in critical danger.
Another feeling hums in Brera's chest at the thought. Unpleasant. He reaches out to seize hold of it and squeeze, refusing to let it go and leave emptiness behind.
It also isn't a real fight, but the calculations Brera rapidly makes -- mercifully for the film crew -- immediately react as if the calculated damage were real. He dives toward the ground as if to make a controlled crash before mimicking the Messiah's transformation. Lucifer's frame splits open and refolds, forming legs and arms in a mirror of Messiah. This sudden, competitive need to understand parallels is also fortunate for the film crew.
It makes up for how much Brera didn't internalize any of the script.
"<...You would let yourself lose, even as she cheers you on?>"
Mid-transformation, Brera's Lucifer is already firing a heavy barrage of light beams. All of them are harmless, but the low growl in Brera's throat may suggest even he's forgotten he cannot tear the wings from Alto's ship and send him to the ground.
"<Pitiful.>"
Brera, that's called acting.
KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne targets Alto Saotome with Mauler Storm! KTS: Brera Sterne has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to react to Brera Sterne's Mauler Storm, taking 6500 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Brera Sterne's Target Lock activates, causing Designate L1! <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
There's something in her eyes that dims a touch at the idea of Alto perking up so much at the idea of lunch with Sheryl, but then she brightens, "Lunch with you Sheryl, you're going to make everyone jealous!"
(She knows she is.)
Sheryl turns all of a sudden, and Ranka at first isn't paying that much attention, because she's watching the fights, but Sheryl then says 'Emilia's date' and Ranka's hair just leaps, her hat even moves a few centimeters up, briefly revealing the inquisitive carbuncled face of Ai-kun, but it must be a trick of the light, as it immediately goes back into place.
"You're going out with Emilia? Oh my gosh!" Ranka puts a hand up to mouth for a moment, "She didn't even tell me! ... She must have wanted to keep it a secret."
There's something magical about the idea in a way, since Emilia is a Princess and she knows it.
"I'm Ranka Lee-! Emilia's one of my best friends! It's very nice to meet her girlfriend!"
'After the entire thing with Dr. Hell-' Ranka blinks, then wonders what a Doctor Hell is. She's not exactly that up and up on Earthsphere villains.
Maybe it's a foreign thing?
Ranka looks towards Sheryl, and smiles at her, before looking back at Tessa and stepping up to her, "Well even if you couldn't do you have any pictures of the two of you at the gala? I'd really love to see them!"
Ranka catches Brera's words through the radio, before leaning over and notes to Sheryl, "You know I get told often that the method is the way to go." Before she then asks, "Don't you think Brera would make an amazing actor?"
What kind of actor does she think he's trying to be!? An action film antagonist?
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
In freefall, the sight of the world rushing past her just out the cockpit window... Ah. This is the sort of thing she lives for. In any other situation, she'd let herself get lost in the rush of it - but she has a partner counting on her, so she can't herself get distracted.
Still, her comment about gravity...
"Yeah, I learned how to fly in a colony, so it takes a lot of getting used to. It's still pretty nice here though, isn't it?" Anita replies casually, even as they descend - even as Lucine comes in for a strong slug! The hit sends a shudder through her Variable Fighter. The lights flicker on and off, briefly, from the force of the impact...
A bit of added flair from Anita. It's all manual. The left arm of Anita's own VF hauls back, coming in for a (cinematically) powerful left hook!
KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Lucine Azul with Pinpoint Barrier Melee Piercing Strike! KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
Yes! She hit!
Rin looks slightly smug. To herself. Alone. In the cockpit.
"Fool?" Rin says. "Only a fool calls fool. And personally, I pity the--"
They're given instructions. Rin tilts her head for a moment and then purses her lips. Oh, right -- this part. She dimly recalls hearing about it. "Controversial..." she mutters, even as the Messer swirls forth, doing a somewhat less catastrophic moment of aerobatics to get formed up and approximately behind Ruri as she descends downwards.
"That trick with the missile was cool," Rin offers as she looks down, seeing the village below. Her eyes lid slightly. This would be so easy to just not miss, Rin thinks, if they're not a Newtype or something --
But it is easier for me than for other people, Rin thinks.
She looks at the medal. "Did...?" Rin muses to herself, but --
They're entering THE DANGER ZONE.
Quietly, Rin says, "Gonna go in five. Get ready to do something siiiick -- three - two -- one --"
A short barrage - two small and two large - missiles streak out after Ruri -- but though the radar warning flickers, Rin deliberately squelches it during the bombardment, following it up with some chattering cannon fire.
It isn't a very strong effort to target, though.
Is this chivalry?
Or something stranger?
KTS: Rin Starking targets Ruri Hoshino with Pass! KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl shades her eyes as she turns her attention back to the screens showing the various battles. The two fist-fighting while in freefall? That is exciting to watch. She wonders whose idea that was, because, damn, it's a good one.
Then of course there's the wobbling missiles, the Messer swooping dangerously close to the prop village, and Alto and Brera's back-and-forth dogfight. And...
'I'll hold you to that.'
"<It's a date, then,>" Sheryl teases (?). Though if she's serious, it does show quite a bit of confidence in Alto's skills. (And Teletha might just get even more invested.) Ranka's comment gets a laugh out of her. "I know, right~? But knowing him, he'll be more excited about the lunch then who he's spending it with!" Wait, she only said she was going to buy him lunch, she never said anything about eating it with him--
Oh, let's not kid ourselves. It was always going to be a date.
Speaking of Teletha, Sheryl is sporting enough to give Teletha a moment to un-freeze. She did spring that one on her. She stands up straight and folds her arms, still smirking. "Oh, did I leave you tongue-tied?"
Still, she gets there! Sheryl nods at the response, expression turning sympathetic as she sets one hand back on her hip. "Yeah, that was a shock, wasn't it? I can imagine it was a splash of ice water on your date." She winks. "I hope your next date goes better~."
She smiles over at Ranka as she approaches. If Ranka hadn't overheard already, she'd have waved her over. She knows the two of them are friends, but best friends, hm? ...well, that's fine too, Sheryl tells herself as she studies the ocean horizon for a second or two. Emilia's a good girl.
"I didn't catch your name, by the way," she adds, looking back at Teletha. "Well, we didn't exactly get a chance to chat back then. I doubt you need me to introduce myself, but if you insist on it, I'll do it just this once." She winks. "I hardly ever do this kind of service for my fans."
Brera's growling gets her to send the screens and the radio a wry look--and an even wryer one at Ranka's obliviousness. Winking an eye shut, she says knowingly, "Hmmm, maybe if he had the right motivation..."
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: [Lucky] Anita Rosetta's Serious Mode activates, and luck goes her way! KTS: Lucine Azul fails to retreat. KTS: Lucine Azul fails to react to Anita Rosetta's Pinpoint Barrier Melee Piercing Strike, taking 4300 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta has engaged Lucine Azul! <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Ruri and Minato praise her skills over the line, and while Hikaru doesn't embarrass easy enough to blush or anything like that, she's still not used to hearing such things! (In combat it's mainly Ryoko shouting to get her ass in position, while Izumi makes a pun about it). Adults have all sorts of experiences... it's true that Hikaru experienced more of the world than she ever wanted, but it's even more true that it's made her the person she is today.
Lucine chimes in, to show them the Nadesico spirit. "Yeah! The Nadesico spirit of teamwork!" Even if Hikaru can't use her most killer move of all in a 1v1, the Nadesico team can at least cheer each other on.
Licia has quite a few interesting things to say.. that she doesn't have as many "fans" as you'd think, but at least the Captain likes her. "Well, it's always nice to have the Captain's favour." She replies cheerfully. On the Nadesico, everyone is the Captain's friend, even if one person gets her particular attention, much to his ire. "You might even be able to count me as one of your fans.. once we're not mortal enemies, anyways!"
And then her revelation that she actually used to pilot all the time, before transferring to a ship. "Really! Nothing wrong with a career change.. one day I'm gonna be a professional manga artist. Or so I wish!" With Nergal busier and busier, and the wars continuing to rage on, it doesn't feel like Hikaru will ever retire from the Nadesico. But she's a dreamer.
"You... don't have to talk about back then if you don't want to, though. My story's pretty weird itself, honestly, hehe."
The scene coordinator has them transform into Gerwalk mode to fly into a canyon. "Aye aye!" She calls, before figuring out the mode switch mechanism. "CHANGE Gerwalk mode!" Actual variable fighter pilots probably don't actually yell it out like a Gekiganger pilot. But it's fun, anyways.
Hikaru once again flies into the pink paint missiles for dramatic effect, transforming mid "explosion". "Not bad! You won't escape this one... Mauler Beam, Fire!" The energy in the beam cannons is "charged" before sweeping out in a brilliant yellow as the two Gerwalk Valkyries descend to the canyon.
KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Eight York with Mauler Beam Cannons Charged Shot! KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Eight York has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Eight York has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Eight York successfully evades Hikaru Amano's Mauler Beam Cannons Charged Shot <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
'...You would let yourself lose, even as she cheers you on?'
Alto squeezes his controls a little tighter. Part of him does want to win, because both Ranka and Sheryl are cheering him on. And like anyone, he doesn't like to lose.
The Lucifer joins the Messiah in transforming, beginning to unleash those large beams of light at its opponent. Alto could evade the shots. He has a reasonable chance at it, given the situation... But he delays his reaction for just a moment, replying, <"That's the thing about acting...">
The harmless beams strike the Messiah, but Alto jerks his controls to make his machine shake, as if taking firing, <"... Once you're on the stage, you're no longer yourself. You're someone else. In this case, I'm someone who loses..."> Alto smirks, <"But like Sheryl said, I'm going to be someone who loses in style!">
The twin beam vulcans attached to the top of the Messiah's frame just behind the cockpit rotate and aim at the Lucifer, starting to unload rapid beam shots at it.
Back at the main camp, the Stunt Coordinator observes the fight between Alto and Brera, "Hmmm. I think we're ready to bring that one to a close." He taps his radio, <"Sterne, let's finish this off by having you use your knife to make a pin-point barrier stab towards Saotome's center frame. Stop just short of hitting, we can finish the full strike later in editing."> This could be an opportunity for Brera. While the guns and beam weapons have been made safe, it's hard to do the same for a knife. It's a physical blade, after all. He could finish Alto off...
Meanwhile, Rin makes her pass on the fake village chasing Ruri. The missiles are fired, some of them landing amidst the fake structures with explosions of paint. But the movie crew isn't finished there, as some distance away safely protected by blast shields are the movie's pyrotechnic crew. Seeing the past, the team leader says, "That's our cue." He calls out three times, "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" He then presses the button on the detonator in his hand.
Several prepared explosives ignite, sending several fake village huts exploding, while flames lash out to engulf others.
Back at the main camp, one of the screens shows the fake village burning. It's perhaps a little unnerving...
The Stunt Coordinator is all professional though as he continues, <"Alright. Rosetta, Azul. You two can finish your fall and come down to land on the ground. I want one of you to gently crash down onto your back, then the other to stand over them and monologue for a bit. The content doesn't matter, the audio will be overwritten later. Just be as emphatic with your machine's movements as possible.">
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome targets Brera Sterne with Beam Vulcan Tracking Shot! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne fails to evade Alto Saotome's Beam Vulcan Tracking Shot, taking 3960 damage! <Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa isn't exactly one who wants to destroy optimism. It just comes par for the course in her line of work. The realities of her situation clashed against the sudden setup, forcefully set in a spiraling situation where the only option was to...!
Ranka's eyes held innocence in them. From Tessa's view, civilians were to...not have the realities of the world crash down around them. "...It's a bit more complicated than that, but I think she is..." A girl friend. Sorry, Emilia! Plausible deniability! I'll make it up to you later but I can't just see them be so eager about it and just dash their hopes outright! "We met through Audrey." The truth in a pocket of a half-truth. "Ahaha...It's nice to see that she's doing well for herself." Aaaah, Ranka was shining...!
Ahem. Cough. "I hope that wherever we meet is better than what happened there." The sheer amount of logistical movement in the night after had her going to sleep at half past ten. In the morning. "We're lucky it didn't escalate." Spoken like someone who knows something.
...Switching between being a captain and being a student was harder than she thought. Was it because of the displays? Her eyes kept darting back to them; Evaluating, flicking from one to the next to the next, raising an eyebrow at the sheer brazenness of some of those moves. Hopefully, not too absorbed... "Ahem. Teletha Tesstarossa, from Jindai. And an introduction needs one in kind, doesn't it?" Sliding so easily from stern knowledge to the (not) feigned innocence of a teenager clearly in close proximity to an idol...!
The pyrotechnics do indude a light jolt in her. Nothing too bad, mind; The reality of pyrotechnics and the knowledge of holographic displays did temper it, but she did stare at those flames. The burning. The fire. It wasn't a village, but it was...was a sanctuary. A house ...A deep breath. Don't let the world fade away.
...! "Haa..." The tension released from her. "I didn't think pyrotechnics advanced this far..."
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka remembers that day he took him to a convenience store to hear her first commercial jingle and... "That does sound like him." She comments to Sheryl.
Technically it was one of her best friends, but Ranka doesn't know that Sheryl's thinking about that part.
Ranka has a toothy grin at Sheryl's comment that she hardly ever does this kind of service for her fans. It's nostalgic in a way.
Tessa however answers that she is! And Ranka's eyes light up!! "You know her cousin!" Ranka gawks, "Incredible...!" Ranka herself hasn't even been introduced to Audrey aka Mineva Lao Zabi, but if Tessa knows a Princess, and is dating one???
"From Jindai? It's nice to meet you Teletha. You must be a really big deal." Is her earnest conclusion, as she whispers to her. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone!"
It sounds like the date didn't go well though, because something happened, "It's okay! I know you'll be able to pull off a perfect date next time! You'll sweep Emilia right off her feet!"
Ranka however listens to Alto talk about acting, and she says quietly, "... Alto."
It's so interesting hearing him talk so freely about a subject that's so painful to him. Maybe it's because he's able to do it, while doing something he loves, like flying.
Ranka of course doesn't think anything of the request for Brera to finish Alto off like that, of course Brera would never have any true malice towards Alto!
Thus right now if Brera wanted to do something naughty, she's not even watching!
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Thank you," Ruri says, politely. "These missiles like having simple instructions, but there's still something I can do."
Which is a totally cromulent sentence which makes total sense. Don't worry about it.
"Your added missiles were super-cool, too!" Minato encourages Rin, warmly. "And that was some pretty fancy flying..!" She does a 'V' sign inside her cockpit. This is Yurika's fault.
"Fool," Ruri asides, to her helmswoman. Is she, perhaps, the greatest fool..?
Rin isn't making a strong effort to target her, though, and that means Ruri can outspeed the missiles -- which, tragically, means the village gets bombed, instead. The bombs take a moment to go off, thanks to the pyrotechnics.
She looks back, as her machine pulls back up, into the air. Her expression is stoic as ever.
"Today, we're on the front lines with you," she adds, speaking to Lucine and Hikaru but still using her open radio. "I hope that's okay."
"It's just acting, after all!" Minato adds, cheerfully, as she shifts gears a little to help the Messer fly smoothly. "Say, why don't you bring us about for a final volley, Ruri-Ruri?"
"I guess that's how we do it," Ruri responds, and she's professional as always.
She doesn't bring up Mars.
Instead, Ruri pulls her Messer in a wide loop -- she's more cautious about her driving than Rin -- to fly towards her, in an internationally-recognised game of...
chicken.
"Firing final volley," Ruri confirms, and lets loose a veritable circus of dummy missiles towards her fellow Messer.
Her expression, meeting Rin's eyes across the way, is as flat as ever.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Rin Starking with F-28 Missile Itano Circus! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Rin Starking fails to intercept Ruri Hoshino's F-28 Missile Itano Circus, taking 6570 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ruri Hoshino's Scan activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Ruri Hoshino fails to react to Rin Starking's Pass, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
Fabricated pupils shrink in cybernetic eyes. Data feeds through the Lucifer's sensors into Brera. Alto could have avoided that. Alto chose not to avoid that. Another twisted, coiling feeling, hot and cold at once. Losing? With style?
There is no style in losing. Losing is... losing is...
Heat begins to recede. It's cold. Empty. Alone. No. Brera will not have it!
Brera charges in, Lucifer's GERWALK mode sliding back and forth in a graceful, skimming skate. The rapid fire of Alto's weapons still strike the hull, but Brera increases his speed into them. He tires of this game. This entire farce is like dust caught in his eyes. The Lucifer shifts again, rechanging its shape and any silhouette of a plane twisted away as the VF's parts lifting and reform into its humanoid frame, metal horns arcing up at the sides of its hide.
Lucifer descends upon the Messiah, and Brera calculating every movement down to its last decimal. There is no tangible evidence in a beam weapon made into light, or bullets made into paint. But Brera's blades are real, and they can sink into Messiah's frame and severe its wings or be rid of its pilot.
In a flash, a blade extends from Lucifer's arm and thrusts into Messiah's center, dangerously close to where Alto resides.
Brera Sterne transforms to VF-27 Gamma Lucifer <Battroid Mode>
KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Brera Sterne targets Alto Saotome with Pass! KTS: Brera Sterne has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
It's not quite a real thought. There is not that much violence over a game to truly consider such extremes. (Though, there are many things to calculate before getting there.) But even the impulse consideration necessary to avoid it calls up a memory: Ranka screaming, asking him to back down from one of her friends.
The blade does not puncture.
But it might leave a hell of a mark.
Lucifer backs away and slides the blade back into his arm.
"<Acting...>
"<Absurd.>"
KTS: Alto Saotome fails to react to Brera Sterne's Pass, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
The Nadesico spirit of teamwork... Licia sighs a little. It's nice!
"Then I'll have to make sure to put on a good show!" Once they're not mortal enemies. Licia wouldn't say she finds having an 'enemy' nostalgic, exactly. But it does remind her of the past. It's not entirely a good thing... But Hikaru's dream?
"That's great!" Licia replies. "I definitely want to read your work." She knows how much the wars are intensifying, too--but it's a good dream, getting out.
Licia debates, briefly--but then, "...Thanks," she says. "It's mostly not good times. But I could tell you a lot of good things about my new posting!"
GERWALK mode!!
Licia has to appreciate her style, anyway. Midblast transformation! But Licia has some smooth moves of her own to show off, now that she's in something less unwieldy than a Clop. She darts out of the way of the of the beam cannons even as they start charging, narrowly evading the bright beams that blaze past the unit's 'foot'.
"Ha, ha ha!" Licia starts, and it's clear that she's putting on a little, but she does motion dramatically and then charge back at Hikaru's Valkyrie. She fires out pink beams next, getting into close range so that she can really focus in on lighting up the other unit!! ...harmlessly. But prettily!
If she happens to leave an opening to exploit, well...
Maybe that's fine.
KTS: Eight York targets Hikaru Amano with Mauler Beam Cannons Sequential Fire! KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"It's exactly like him," Sheryl says with dry affection to Ranka. She keeps to herself that that's part of why she likes him.
Audrey? That's an unfamiliar name to Sheryl, but Ranka recognizes it right away as her cousin. Sheryl's expression turns thoughtful. Huh, I didn't know she had a cousin, she thinks. Of course, the only think she knows about Emilia's family is that they're kind of awful. This Audrey seems like an exception, though. Good for her.
She nods at Teletha, though. "We really are. I've heard the--" 'horror stories,' she's about to say, but just says, "stories," at the last second. Ranka's right there, after all. "Oh well! All's well that ends well, right? It got settled without any more fuss," she adds bracingly.
She laughs when Teletha does indeed insist on a self-introduction. "Sheryl Nome, from Mihoshi," she replies, winking and holding out a hand to shake. "Charmed, aren't you? <3"
But--a big deal, huh? Sheryl looks thoughtfully at Ranka, then smiles back at Teletha, picking up what she's laying down. "Your secret's safe with me, too." ...sort of.
With Teletha frequently distracted by the screens, it lets Sheryl looks back too. The explosions that level the village is... well, it's just a scene in a movie. But it does bring a brief sadness to Sheryl's features. It's just a scene in a movie, but it's based on something that actually happened to her grandmother and grand-aunt. It's... weird, seeing it like this.
Fortunately, Alto's retort to Brera is plenty to distract her for the moment. Her smile returns, broader than ever. "That's the Alto Saotome I know," she whispers to herself--the Alto Saotome who dazzled the world with his stage.
But Brera seems less impressed. Sheryl tenses up as he swoops in to stab with more force than necessary... but he holds back, as instructed. She breathes out a sigh of relief. Of course. Brera might not like Alto, but surely he wouldn't straight-up murder him. He's not like that!
...She assumes.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano fails to evade Eight York's Mauler Beam Cannons Sequential Fire, taking 7800 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Eight York's Margin Of Error activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Hikaru Amano has been defeated!
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Ruri and Minato explain their involvement so earnestly. Lucine sighs. < ".... I don't know why I feel better that Minato's there, but.... I suppose it's only fair..." >
Now, in that controlled death spin battle with Anita, Lucine has a belated realization: Anita hadn't hesitated at all when the director gave his order.
Perhaps, in this sense, the two of them are two peas in a pod.
< "... Mars and the Asteroid Belt, for me..." > Lucine manages to say, in response to Anita's casual chatter.
The ground nears.
Lucine lets out a sigh. If her partner wasn't so agreeable, this would have felt much more difficult to concede. < "I'll land. Work with me to stop the ascent." > Anita may be in a better position to do a dramatic, cool pose, and Lucine's unsure of how she'll handle her stomach when she lands.
It's a good thing Lucine was too nervous to eat that morning.
"Haumph!" Knuckles bloom white as she clutches the controls, adjusting her angle just so. Correcting too much will give away the game; her unit needs to look defeated.
She lands on her back a little roughly, but it's thankfully not the same result if it had been for real. It's still a load on the Martian's brainmeats, because a controlled, convincing crash is really, really hard to do!
< "...... Shit... Ah'm gonna...." > Lucine doesn't finish her sentence. < ".... Speech, do the speech...." >
Lucine had meant to turn her speakers off before she started retching, but she didn't. Can Anita do a monologue with those sounds coming over the speaker?
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Ah, this is...kinda half-committing, isn't it? Another set of mental apologies towards Emilia; She'll make it up to her, student-side! Really! ...If Audrey or Leina doesn't get to her first. "In some circles, yes, but I wouldn't say it's world-famous or anything, I think." Captain, meet innocent girl. "Thank you, all the same." Anyone about- Oh no, does Ranka actually think that? Oh no, she's committed. "Please don't, it'd be a big deal." AAAAA.
"I don't think I could sweep her off her feet." Could she? She's a trained swimmer. Boot camps toughen someone up and with regular upkeep, she'd still be a more fit person than the regular schoolgirl. Maybe? "Something like flamenco?" A pickup and a twirl?
Regardless, Sheryl's actual evasion was easily noted. "As much fuss as anything of that sort, but that's a dreary thing to rest on, right?" Smooth. "The rest of it was good! And the food." Less smooth.
And a hand offered was a hand shaken, dainty digits giving a firm shake. "Like everyone else is. You live up to that reputation." Aaaaaah, aaaaaaaaahh! "And thank you as well for keeping everything secret." ...She wasn't exactly sure what both of them had independently concluded, but...so long as smiles were preserved, that was worth it. Right?
It takes a bit for her to break from staring at that burning screen. Too many thoughts to process, shaking it off and shifting over to watch the climax of the other fights, noting how each one ascended to their natural cresendo...
...And listening to that retching. So there were pilots not used to this. ...What an odd sense of comfort. People everywhere were out of their depth, even if things appeared on the verge of strange normalcy.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
The bombs and the detonations go off beneath them.
Rin wonders something, even as she pulls out of the aerial twist, and she wonders for a moment too: How close did I come to dying there? I could have sneezed wrong and pushed the yoke downwards. I didn't, of course, but...
How does that feel?
The Messer levels out, pulls upwards - "Oho," Rin says then, as Ruri begins to make her approach. Flying towards her.
What's my role here? Rin thinks.
Am I just filler?
The missiles launch. I wonder if real ones are faster, Rin thinks, because they're already pretty damn fast. Rin is able to turn somewhat but she can see already that there are just too many and while a turn might, might be enough to swing her away, even as she flicks on the cannon and does manage to clip one of Ruri's dummies with the force of a dummy meeting a dummy head on -
I can't get out of this way.
"I want to thank you, Minatotototo," Rin says as she starts to move, "for being so encouraging...!"
Then Rin turns off the engines.
This probably alarms the ground crew a *lot* because it looks like an equipment failure.
The Messer is immediately struck in its tummy and giblets by approximately thirty sparkling missiles, painting the lower part of the machine brutal colors suitable for post-processing. The impact kills most of the Messer's forward momentum, which means that it continues upwards, but this is not a very aerodynamic path. Rin starts to scream. "AAAAAAAAA"
or as she hears herself
"A A A A A A A A A A A A"
As her eyes flick around. Saccading for a moment, her pulse pounding. She works the controls, adjusting ailerons. The last paltry momentum components of the complex vector of the Messer twist around, turning it as if it's trying to do a cartwheel with a little adjustment to the side. And Rin turns her head...
Because her cockpit is still completely clear!! Her head tilts backwards as she clicks her tongue and then glances to the HUD avionics. WAIT FOR PAINT, Rin keys in, and to her delight, the flight simulator was accurate. After this she leans backwards as the gravity seems to lighten BECAUSE SHE IS FALLING...
One hand works the engine restart. Come on, Rin thinks, breathing out. Pleaaaase be in good condition. The turbine engine of the Messer stutters a little, flickering as Rin punches it too hard and has to walk it back.
The other does something a lot simpler, which is just shoot every missile in the pods.
Fall, fall... flick flick - catch - catch - she's not falling, something's catching her - don't look back, Rin thinks, don't ever look back, even as she guides the yoke forwards and the plane sort of tilts and staggers forwards -- this would look a lot cooler if it wasn't more or less:
1. The engine went off
2. it was hit by fake missiles
3. It started toppling and did a mag dump
4. the engine started
5. it is, desperately, struggling to regain something resembling a level flight environment
and recovery is managed, hardly thirty meters above ground level, although that's only the nadir of that particular aperture. Rin, coated in sweat, turns her head again -- and banks hard! Still rising. Still rising as...
Rin feels her vision grey a little. Not a ton, but, Rin thinks, boy, this really DOES suck. A Mobile Suit is way better if you're not trying to do constant reverse somersault.
"Fwahh... the last gasp... of radar directed..."
pii!
All those missiles that had been flying upwards suddenly begin to turn, because now their target has been designated. Turn --
And sweep down in cascading spirals from above!
KTS: Rin Starking targets Ruri Hoshino with Dynamic Romancing Greenscreen Barrage! KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Mars, huh?" Anita replies. She can extrapolate a few things from that, but she doesn't let it linger longer than she needs to, quickly moving on to avoid bringing up old memories. "Winter Wonderland, for me."
And then the Stunt Coordinator gives the last order - finish the fall and land on the ground. One of them crashes, the other stands and and monologues, with emphatic movements...
...This is actually the first order that gives Anita pause, because she usually doesn't do emphatic. But... Lucine decides to land, so she's stuck.
"Right. I'm gonna come in with a grapple. Match your speed." Anita says. She moves in, to grapple Lucine's machine. She mimes hitting it. For the camera, it'll look pretty brutal - but she's actually doing it to slow and coordinate their descent. Once they're close enough to the ground that it'll be safe she pretends to knock her away, letting Lucine continue her descent and crash convincingly.
Her Variable Fighter comes to a landing, looming above her... and then, folds its arms in front of her.
"You alright? ...Oh. Speech. Right. Uh..." Anita starts. It'll be overwritten so it can be about anything... She wracks her brain for a second before eventually settling on... "Hey, you wanna learn how to mod a Haro?"
And she launches into it, a surprisingly detailed explanation of some pretty basic Haro mods. Her Variable Fighter, though - at one point it spreads its arms wide dramatically. It points pointedly!
She does what she can to make it incredibly convincing.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino charges into the attack! KTS: Ruri Hoshino fails to react to Rin Starking's Dynamic Romancing Greenscreen Barrage, taking 6700 damage! <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto watches as the Lucifer transforms, flying up to block out the sun, the light flowing around it creating the illusion of a menacing aura. The blade shines, coming down towards the hovering Messiah.
For a moment, Alto actually thinks Brera might actually do it.
But then the blade stops, tip just barely putting a scratch into the Messiah's armor. Alto squeezes his controls, continuing to stare at the looming Lucifer, trying to figure out what the hell that guy is thinking. He just can't work him out.
But Alto has a job to do. He reaches over, fiddling with the controls for his engines. One goes out, while the other begins to spew smoke. Alto then pushes forward on his controls, pointing the Messiah's nose down and sending the craft into a spiral towards the water below. To the untrained eye it's a pretty believable death spiral. But those who know better can see it's a controlled one that Alto will be able to pull out of at the last moment.
He lost... Well. It could be worse.
Back at the main camp, the Stunt Coordinator nods, "Excellent. Well then, all that's left is..." He activates his radio, <"Hoshino, Starking. I need you two to charge each oth-"> He pauses as he sees on the screen that they're already starting that, <"-Oh, I see you're already handling that. Good."> He watches as Rin takes some hits, and then her proceeds to fake a fall. Impressive.
The Stunt Coordinator turns back to his list, "So that leaves..." On another screen he sees a warning for Hikaru's machine, indicating it's reaching the safe operating time that had been specified as part of the contracts, "Mmmm. Guess we'll have to skip that last one for now. Not a big deal. We can sort it out at another time. It'll be simple enough."
The Stunt Coordinator has to take a moment to facepalm as Anita dives into a detailed lecture on modding Haros... But to be fair, her mech's movements are sufficient enough for what the scene called. And he did say it could be anything. This works.
<"Alright, everyone. That's a wrap for today. Please return to camp.">
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Huh?" Minato asks, as the other Messer's engine... messes up?! "Is she okay..?"
There's a ghost of a frown on Ruri's face, and all a sudden Minato has to handle more of the clutch work. "There's no problem with her engines," she says, having asked them. "I think she's acting."
"Ahhh, but that's so reckless...!" Minato says.
"Don't worry," Ruri assures her, as she sends her empathic suggestions to the onboard computer on Rin's ship. Just a little help to get its thoughts in order, since it was turned off so suddenly. Ruri knows that can be confusing, for computers, but she'd rather Rin not have to wait too long for it to figure itself out.
There's that cascading spiral of missiles, though, which Ruri wasn't paying too much attention to with her mind elsewhere. She blinks, as she looks at them.
"I guess a hot-blooded pilot would be reckless," Ruri says, tone flat.
And she flies into the missile field.
Pap! Baff! Splotch! Her Messer spins and wheels as it flies through the field of missiles, getting peppered thoroughly with paint. "Eek!" Minato yelps, as one splotch lands right on the windscreen. Even if it's all fake paint, it's hard not to yelp!
(Ruri does not yelp.)
Her ship's still flying when she comes out the other side, but she dutifully tilts it l o w e r in the aftermath. The conclusion can be assumed by astute viewers.
And when the Stunt Coordinator calls them back, Ruri affirms. "All right. Thank you for performing with me, Ms. Starking. You were very good."
(Minato gives her a big thumbs-up as they head towards a safe landing. Nice social skills!!)
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"It's okay as long as it's acting!" Hikaru agrees with Minato. "After all! Omoikane needs you by his side, doesn't he?"
Hikaru isn't known for reading people well, some might even consider her shallow. But she can certainly understand Licia's feelings here. "...I kinda get that. It's mostly after I got stationed on the Nadesico that things started looking up for me, really." Hopelessly optimistic as she can be, at least sometimes it's rewarded! "I'm guessing it's the same way for your ship?" Even if it sounds like she's avoiding some of her coworkers, but then again it's not easy to get along with absolutely everyone in a crew.
And then the grand finale of the grand battle of the canyon! Licia deftly dodges Hikaru's beam cannons before going in for a volley of close-ranged adorable pink beams. Seeing absolutely no way to dodge this, Hikaru goes for the obvious theatrical play of emulating a Gerwalk gone horribly out of control as it eats a point-blank beam cannon to the face. "Ahaaaa.. that was good. It's a good thing I'm an ace even when it comes to being totally bodied!"
And just on cue, Hikaru's operation time comes to an end. "My bad!" She smiles, a little awkwardly, as the Gerwalk inelegantly makes its landing, Hikaru ejecting.
"Thank you very much for being my dance partner!" She waves Licia's way. "Here's hoping we meet again, as friends next time." She smiles, more genuinely, eager to have someone interested in what she does. "If you want to see my work, well, my pen name's not really out there yet." She admits, scratching her hair. "But I can definitely show you in person sometime -- I've been working hard!"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
The director tells them -- to return to base. "A-alright," Rin answers, voice shaking in a way that Ruri can probably diagnose as more acting. Is she still in character?
"I'm g-gonna level out, so... um... s-see you..."
And that Messer turns to make a long low banking arc. Maybe she's trying to cheat her way into just a little more flight time.
But -
"Hey, Hoshino," Rin says.
"The question of who is mightier remains," she continues. "You play anything online? Give me your tag when we're on the ground."
After the landing, Rin stays in the cockpit long enough for the ground crew to sweat a little.
This lets her put on her glasses, mess up her face, and be primed to do her best Big Whimper Cry Ugly face as she says, "I w-w-was s-so scaaared--!!"
Faye Valentine teleports out.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Anita doesn't get a respond at first. Maybe it's because Lucine knows what the introduction of 'Mars' entails... or maybe, she's just sick.
Or, most likely, she's focusing on coordinating with Anita's instructions to a T.
On the ground, eventually, Lucine finally carries the conversation. < "Winter.... Wonderland, ah. I hear it snows there all the time." > Mars had its periods of cold too, though those might increase in number now that the terraformation process has stopped.
Does Lucine want to know how to mod a Haro?
< "...... Yeah, that'd be nice." >
She sure does!
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Licia's talented in that arena, though she doesn't always let on. ...But she's usually a little harder to read. This time, though--Hikaru is really on her wavelength. "Yeah!" she replies. "It was pretty grim for a while. But the Ra Mari's been great. Sure, a lot has happened, but I wouldn't trade it."
Then--the grand finale!! And apparently it is the finale, listening to the stunt coordinator. For them, too. "Nice," Licia answers Hikaru, approving of her acting job. She can apreciate a good approach. "And ha! Good thing, that."
But Licia comes down, too. ...She hears the speech about Haros along the way, laughs to herself knowingly. She's gonna bring that up on the trip back, for sure.
But as she gets out of her own unit, she waves back at Hikaru. "Thanks, too! It was a lot of fun." She smiles back. "Yeah." And then, "Ooh cool. Then I'm definitely interested. Maybe we'll end up at the same place again sometime--the Ra Mari seems to end up near the Nadesico a lot."
Licia stays friendly, anyway. In fact she seems a little more relaxed than before.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Things go flawlessly... at least from the outside. Lucine sounds a little worse for wear.
"Yeah, it sure does. Folks like me who live there now how to get away from it, though." Anita confirms with a nod. ...And, when Lucine confirms that yeah, she would like to hear it... she does!
And when the speech is over and the shooting is confirmed to be a wrap Anita removes her helmet and emerges from her VF, jumping over to give Lucine a hand getting out of hers. ...It sounds like she might need it.
And if Licia does end up bringing it up... she might find that Anita has even more Haro Facts ready and waiting.