2023-08-17: The Dangers of Femininity - Jiro Attacks
- Log: 2023-08-17: The Dangers of Femininity - Jiro Attacks
- Cast: Himeyuri Oono, Yurika Misumaru, Ryoko Subaru, Ruri Hoshino, Alto Saotome, Hikaru Amano, Riika Sheder, Sheryl Nome, Lucine Azul, Trevor Teach, Liam 7-020
- Where: Tenician Island, Pacific Ocean
- OOC - IC Date: 23 July 0097
- Summary: Aqua Crimson has everything she needs to fulfill her romantic dream to be the perfect tragic heroine- a lover in her embrace and a Jovian weapon in position to snuff out their lives. Unfortunately for her, the Nadesico crew are here to save their captain. Unfortunately for them, Aqua has access to their comms. Also there's a horrible robot bug firing missiles at them, but that's the least of anyone's concerns.
KTS: Liam 7-020 has deployed in ZGMF-515 CGUE. <Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Back at the beach, Erina Kinjo Wong, already back in uniform, claps her hands. "All right everyone! Time to begin the search!" Pilot Nagare Akatsuki- having just finished building a sandcastle, stands up with a lazy, 'Yeah, sure.' Having seemingly acquired the crews consent, Erina looks around. "...Where's the captain? Has she drowned?"
On Ruri's laptop, an alert is forwarded from the Nadesico's systems- the Captain's distress beacon, with a ping from much further inland. Now there are *two* problems to search for.
Aqua watches Yurika with a serene expression, as she comes to that realization. "Captain Misumaru, how could you think this was for anything else? I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. You're the knight in shining armour I've been longing to meet. The rose that is our love is in full bloom, at it's most beautiful..."
As Yurika starts to freeze, paralyzed by a maiden's love, a smile plays upon her lips. This one is not serene. It is the smile of a cat who has the mouse in it's claws, and now has ample time to play with her food. "I see the paralysis drug has taken effect. It's time, my prince charming..."
----
In the jungle, the Aestivalis team have found what they've been hunting for, a miniature Chulip, seemingly inactive- and surrounded by a barrier shaped like a pyramid. Next to it sits a generator, with a shield emblem- a C over blue waters and solid red on the lower half. The sigil of the OCU's Crimson Concern. ...Why would the Crimsons have a shield over a Chulip?
----
With surprising ease, Aqua has pulled Yurika to her feet, and out onto the balcony. There they stand- well, Aqua stands. Yurika is more held up. "This is the moment my life has been building for, Captain. Let us go together, with our blossoming love."
Aqua moves one hand the massive red brooch on her chest, and presses it with a beep.
----
The barrier suddenly shuts off- and the chulip opens.
There is no glowing gate from this one, instead a single Jovian Lizard machine stands waiting. It looks like nothing so much as a six legged spider, with a different headshape from the Batta and bulbous rear section. It shifts it's leg forward-
Only for one leg to snap at the 'thigh', and completely break off. It halts it's movement, and it's back opens up, revealing three rows of nine missiles- all of which launch in rapid sequence at those machines gathered before it. Apparently, this new Jovian Machine woke up angry- and is taking it out on the nearest hostile objects.
----
Meanwhile, following the Captain's beacon has led here- a fancy home built on the side of a hill. There's no security here, no one to impede your passage to the balcony where Yurika waits in the arms of a strange woman, who looks out toward the explosions in the jungle with an eager smile.
KTS: Ryoko Subaru has deployed in Aestivalis - Land Combat Frame (Ryoko Ver.). KTS: EN Barrier activated! � Logging to file "C:\Users\mako\OneDrive\Logs\2023-08-17 Jiro Attacks.txt" started � Logging stopped
KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Liam 7-020, Ryoko Subaru, Hikaru Amano, Ruri Hoshino, Riika Sheder, Trevor Teach, Lucine Azul, and Alto Saotome with Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain. KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 455. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 150. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Hikaru Amano fails to intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 4200 damage! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Peril! Devastation! Last week, our fair heroine Yurika fell for the bewitching and mesmerizing tones of the wicked Aqua Crimson's seduction! At a critical moment, delusions gave way to crisis, and the toxic poison of one-sided love sent Yurika into the jaws of death!
Paralyzed and helpless, there was only one recourse for Yurika, the last strength of movement used to nudge at a sneaky little button on the side of her uniform, broadcasting a special SOS signal to the Nadesico...
----------------------------
ABOARD THE NADESICO:
Amidst the clamor and discord caused from the sudden activation of the Jovian weapon, a high pitched distress siren sounds, followed by a single sight overtaking the screen, that of Yurika sitting calmly and cozily in a chair, not a care in the world.
"Hi everyone! I'm recording this message as part of the...uhhhhm, 'High Level Personnel Emergency Near Incapacitation Rescue Protocol'. If you're hearing this message, it means Yurika-chan's in a lot of trouble! Well. Probably not a lot of trouble, ahahaha! Maybe I hit the button on accident or maybe I'm just really panicking about something, but you're still supposed to investigate and make sure I'm not stuck in a well or half-sticking out an air duct! To every future associate at Nergal, please help your friendly Yurika, she'll owe you one at a minimum! Bye bye for now!~"
And to the side of this easy-going recording, a few key vital readings.
--->HEART RATE
---|DANGEROUSLY ABOVE AVERAGE - CRISIS LIKELY
--->NEURAL RESPONSE
---|DANGEROUSLY LOW ACTIVITY - SUBJECT LIKELY UNABLE TO RESPOND
--->REACTIVITY TO FOLLOWUP SIGNALS
---|NO FOLLOWUP SENT - OFFICER UNRESPONSIVE TO STIMULI
--->NEARBY HOSTILES
---|EXTREMELY CLOSE - OFFICER LIKELY HELD CAPTIVE BY ARMED ENEMY
>Nergal's High Level Personnel Emergency Near Incapacitation Rescue Protocol is sponsored by: Tarabaman Generations! Relive the legend! Fight alongside the Tarabamen of ages past! Join today and use promo code "WADATSUMI" to receive 900 free Call Crystals alongside a free R-ranked hero 'Tarabaman Cascade - Blue Atlas'!
"Whatever the Captain's gotten herself in, it's extremely bad," Goat Hoary rumbles, rushing down an emergency response locker and rifling through it for the crisis response kit. "And at a bad time too. I wouldn't recommend anyone go out there completely alone - someone needs to deliver this first aid kit to her as fast as possible. Which of our Aestivalis pilots is even available for the job?" The lunchbox sized bag is inspected for what Goat's instincts tell him is possibly a predicament where Yurika's been hit with a paralytic agent. "I didn't get flagged that this island had any extremely dangerous venomous wildlife, but you never know. So whoever goes out there, you might want to be prepared to deal with an aggressive and hungry snake."
---BACK AT THE CRIMSON MANOR---
Even talking is starting to get difficult for Yurika, who has to put so much of her focus and strength into just breathing at all, gritting her teeth beneath the clingy Aqua's grasp. "L-let go...of...me...! I don't wanna die here! Waaah...y-you're...you're like one of those poisonous jungle snakes...s-someone heeeeeelp guuuuuu...I barely even know you so how can I possibly love you..." A far cry from the princely demeanor she was attempting, Yurika's now a blubbering mess out here on the balcony, the chaos of explosions and escalating combat looming so close a truly terrifying and vulnerable ordeal. Even looking away is outside her capability - when moving her eyes is impacted by the toxin, isn't she in a really bad spot?!
KTS: Riika Sheder successfully Intercepts Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Ryoko Subaru blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 1050 damage!
KTS: Liam 7-020 blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 2000 damage! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Ruri Hoshino successfully intercepts Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain KTS: Lucine Azul blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 4800 damage! KTS: Trevor Teach fails to intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 4000 damage! KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to evade Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 4200 damage! Escudo Shard teleports in. <Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
"<Right, right.>" Ryoko sounds off, less than enthusiastic about their beach fun being interrupted, but she doesn't complain about the mission to find the Chulip. As for Yurika? "<She probably just wandered off daydreaming about being in the jungle with Tenkawa or something.>"
She also sounds the opposite of worried, mostly focusing on the Chulip hunt. "<Hey there we go, found the Chulip-! Though->" Suddenly her screen zooms in one of the barrier emitters, "Crimson? What's some bigwig Earth Corp doing putting a barrier over a Chulip? Hikaru, any thoughts?"
Then the barrier shuts off and she warns everyone, "<Get back!>"
Her Aesti suddenly scoots backwards abruptly, rolling to weave around trees near the chasm, "<Ah what the hell!? It just UNFOLDED into this big ass Jiro! That didn't just 'come through'!>"
As missiles rain down the Aestivalis scoots back rapidly, weaving side to side until she sees she can't avoid them any longer. Braking hard, the Distortion field comes up, missiles raining down on the monochromatic field. "<You think loading a few missiles is going to be enough? I SQUASH bugs like you with my boot ALL THE TIME!>"
And that's when- a distress siren comes up, "What the hell is that!? On screen!" Ryoko stares at the information conveyed by Yurika, "<Gwha!? Captain how the fuck did you record something like that so calmly! Geez - did she REALLY fall in and drown?>"
As her Aesti surges forward, she calls out over the comms, "<Hikaru-! Break off and track her down! I'll handle this thing!>"
Firing a few bursts from the Rapid Rifle, her Aesti scoots in close before it's hand suddenly erupts off on a wire, surging towards the Jiro.
As it grabs ahold of one of the retractable hatches on its backside, she suddenly grapples forward as the wire retracts. "<See? Look! This is me-!>" Shouldering the rifle as the wire goes taut, lifting her off the ground, the other arm retracts back, the momentum bringing her forward to punch it quite directly, "<-HANDLING IT!>"
KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Himeyuri Oono with Aestivalis Grapple Strike! KTS: Ryoko Subaru has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Trevor Teach's JR-777 Isadore has left Trevor Teach leaves for Zaftra [REA] [AMG] . Trevor Teach has arrived.
KTS: Trevor Teach has deployed in JR-777 Isadore.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri keeps being drawn back to her laptop; back to her work. Minato tells her she should relax, but it's hard for Ruri to put it aside entirely, even if there are orcas out there.
(Uribatake gave her a pair of binoculars from his tea house so she could look at them. They weren't part of his regular shop service, but his heart was moved by youth. ... don't ask why he brought a pair of binoculars to the beach...)
It's that -- diligence? -- which means she's at her computer again, when Omoikane pings them. "Excuse me," Ruri says, quite proper. "The Captain is in trouble. We should return to our stations, now."
And as soon as her calm alert actually propagates through the crowd --
Thankfully, Goat is on duty to make sure the Captain gets the help she needs. When Minato takes the Nadesico up (once everyone's aboard! They don't have anyone they need to bury in the sand and abandon! ... they dropped their Admiral in a crate labelled 'to the Federation' months ago, he's never going to be their problem ever ever again), Ruri's job is to respond to the Jiro.
"Please fire as many missiles as you deem appropriate," she asks Omoikane, as that barrage of missiles come in. Omoikane targets them, and fires; they're a tag-team duo, and between them, they manage to stop any of the attacks before they reach the Distortion Field.
Her calm face appears, in the corner of Ryoko's raging Aestivalis. "Ryoko-san, did you say that the Crimson Concern erected a barrier over the Jiro? ... I'll check our records to see if the Crimsons requested assistance with Jovian weapons."
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Ryoko Subaru with Coordinate! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Ruri Hoshino coordinates maneuvers, raising Ryoko Subaru's Piloting! <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto had finally decided to join in on a game of beach volleyball. Of which he is probably about average at. Though with his shirt off, he definitely looks good while doing it! Complete with sparkles in the air around his face as he jumps in slow motion to spike the ball for a point.
The game ends and Alto, still glistening from the physical exertion, walks back across the sand to fetch the stuff he had dropped to lighten the load. This includes his phone, which suddenly starts going mad as he picks it up.
Alto quickly frowns in concern at the alert notice of the distress signal. The Captain, kidnapped!? By who? Certainly it can't be anyone who knows her. They'd realize just how much trouble they'd be getting themselves into.
Rushing over to join Sheryl, Alto tells her, "Something's wrong! Get back to the Nadesico..." As he's speaking, he's also rapidly entering some commands into his phone. In the Nadesico's hangar, Alto's Messiah begins to move, automated systems requesting an equipment loadout and launch clearance. Finishing his prep, Alto focuses on Sheryl and says, "I'll go help out the Aestivalis team."
A short time later, the Messiah launches out of the Nadesico's catapult, autopilot sending it flying around towards the beach. It quickly transforms into GERWALK mode, slowing down to a hover become coming down to land on the beach and leaning down, cockpit canopy opening.
Alto heads off in a run, before leaping up to grab onto the side of the cockpit and pulling himself up into it. Settling down into the Ex-Gear control seat, still just in a shirt and swimming shorts, Alto closes the canopy again and rapidly takes off.
Alto is searching from the skies, both for any signs of the Captain as well as the supposed Chulip, when his system alerts him to incoming missiles. If it's not space bugs, it must be space lizards!
Still in GERWALK mode, the Messiah's legs down, rapidly redirecting its direction of thrust and sending it rushing upwards to try and outrun the missiles. Several go wide, but a few still manage to get close, exploding in proximity and shaking Alto up. Alto grunts as he feels the near hits knock him around, before he recovers and focuses in on the source. The Jovian machine is identified on his HUD, targetting it, Alto radios, <"Skull-4, providing air support.">
As Alto pulls the trigger, the gunpod in the Messiah's hands starts to unleash a stream of bullets towards the Jiro, trying to pin it down for the Aestivalis team on the ground.
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Himeyuri Oono with Leading Fire! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Trevor Teach's JR-777 Isadore has left Trevor Teach teleports out. <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"Huhhh?" Hikaru doubles over as the Nadesico and its crew receive that stress beacon. In other words, Yurika-chan is in trouble!
Along with the entire rest of the Aestivalis wing and whatever other pilots they could scrounge up, they manage to find that Chulip Erina kept going on and on about! "The Crimson Concern? Whuzzat?" Hikaru scratches her head when she sees that insigna, very unhelpfully answering Ryoko's question.
"That's our Captain!" Hikaru exclaims as Yurika's 'High Level Personnel Emergency Near Incapacitation Rescue Protocol' comes on screen. "Always so cool under pressure... but geez, I hope that pressure isn't the deep water!"
"You're better at punching stuff anyways, Ryoko-chan! I'll be the knight in shining armour for today~" Hikaru declares as her cat-eared bright orange Aestivalis soars through the forest following the beacon until she reaches the Crimson Mansion. That name again!
Her plan has a good few holes in it: as Hikaru goes for the landing in front of the balcony, she's chased by missiles that detonate as she attempts to climb out of the Assault Pit. "Hey! Not cool! Not fair! That's cheating! Blehhhh..." She whines, and also adjusts her glasses which were very haphazardly thrown back on after they got the message. She's very much not the perfect picture of a knight in shining armour in the slightest, but she might as well look that way to Yurika, hanging from Aqua's grasp, senses dulled.
Wait! Who even is that? "I got a couple questions for you, miss!" Hikaru points an accusing finger, as she hops out. "Number one, why do you look just like the actress for Miss Aquamarine from cult classic mecha anime, Gekiganger 3?" Which was clearly of import for her to ask first.
"And number two, what are you doing with my- our beloved Captain?" She takes a good, long look at Aqua. "Make no mistake, Yurika-chan, this lady is a bona fide capital V Villain!" She can see it in her eyes, which is just something she can do apparently. "And I won't let her have her way with you, either!"
Taking Yurika's hand from Aqua, Hikaru motions to the Aestivalis. "C'mon, we gotta go! We can't let Ryoko-chan and the others hang for tooooo long! Or she'll make us both run fifty laps after and it'll really, really suck!" She watches as the explosions continue to rock the forest.
"Hey Yurika-chan..." She perks her head up as she restarts the machine, activating it with her IFS. "Do you even have an IFS? Are we gonna have to like, share nanomachines? Kinda weird, don't'cha think..."
Well, weird or not, she's gotta fight! "Rapid Rifle, pew pew~" She does a little finger-gun motion, as the Aestivalis peppers Jiro with supporting fire!
KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Himeyuri Oono with Rabid Rifle!! KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.
Riika Sheder really, really wanted to look at the fallen Chulip. She likes seeing new and mysterious technology, okay? Even if she did have a nice beach trip beforehand. She'd headed away from the beach a little early before she burned (just because you're a Coordinator doesn't mean you don't, and Riika is a colonist to boot who had never caught a real tan in her life before deploying to northern Africa), and because she wanted to shower and change before she went to do actual work.
Which means that while the Aestivalises take the lead, Svalinn Feather is perched on the ground nearby. "Its handling this low really needs to be improved," Riika says to herself, as she makes some adjustments to the wing system control code by hand, the way they taught her in ZAFT and the way nobody outside the PLANTs really does in the field. At least she'll have all the scanners.
Due to not actually being a member of the Nadesico, she actually did not get the Nergal-mandated warning and Yurika recording. It makes perfect sense that the captain isn't in her line of sight. Surely she's just on the Nadesico.
"<The barrier's not part of the system?>" Riika asks. "<I know you said it was offline, but - >"
That's opening. That is NOT offline.
Riika lifts the Svalinn Feather into the air, and like she said the handling characteristics are all wrong this low; it tilts left and right as it hovers, blowing debris away with its thrusters and surrounding itself in a veritable cloud. The Jiro fires missiles, and Riika fires back, opening up with precision bursts from the head-mounted vulcans, thinning the swarm out.
"<At least I *thought* you said it was offline!" Riika brings the bobbing Svalinn Feather foward before thinking better of catching anyone else in that cloud, firing a spray from the vulcans at the Jiro while she unlocks and reactivates all the other weapons that she'd had in standby mode. The Svalinn is a perfectly effective flier in an atmosphere but it really isn't meant to hover like this; she's burning a lot of fuel, and so she starts to lift up.
"<...and what's that about the Captain? She's in trouble?>"
KTS: Riika Sheder targets Himeyuri Oono with 20mm Multibarrel CIWS Burst! KTS: Riika Sheder has completed their actions for the round. Trevor Teach teleports in.
KTS: Trevor Teach has deployed in JR-777 Isadore. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It hadn't been that long ago that Sheryl and Yurika had been chatting--well, technically, that Yurika had been pouring out her anxieties about her captainhood and Sheryl had been doing her best to encourage her. Her mood had been low until suddenly it wasn't, and then she'd scampered off. Content with that, Sheryl had settled back in to her beach chair to thoroughly admire Alto's volleyball form...
Until not too long after, Erina asks where the captain is. "Huh," Sheryl says, lowering her shades and looking around. "She was here just a little bit ago. I think she went towards the jungle?"
Which might be of some help when Ruri's laptop pings with Yurika's pre-rendered distress signal, which, like the rest of her, is awfully upbeat. Sheryl's also content to figure it might just be a mistake, or maybe she got scared by a snake or something--until the extra details come back indicating that actually there is a lot of real danger for her.
"Are you serious?!" she utters at Goat as he brings out that first aid kit. She's about to volunteer to find her when Goat specifically asks for an Aestivalis pilot, and also she remembers that she's still in a bikini and block-heeled sandals. Apparently there's a beacon to lead the way, too, so heading out herself would probably just lead to everyone needing to save two beautiful young women instead of one.
And besides, Grace is just giving her this look like 'please don't' from one side. Sheryl just gives her a look back as Alto tells her to get to the Nadesico.
"All right, fine," she relents. "But you'd better make sure you all find Yurika and bring her back safe!"
For now, she'll hover behind Ruri and keep an eye on how things go from behind her shoulder. The barrier falling from the Chulip, which morphs in turn into a Jiro, indicates 'kind of badly.' "Honestly! Why's that have to happen just when Yurika's in trouble? Ridiculous!" she huffs, which doesn't quite fully mask her worry.
(At least she doesn't follow up her "ridiculous" with an "utterly ridiculous.")
Shiho Hahnenfuss teleports in.
POT: Shiho Hahnenfuss is now set observer.
Escudo Shard teleports out.
KTS: Trevor Teach has changed loadout. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. ]KTS: Please use the name of your attacker to react when you have multiple attacks in your +queue. <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
You'd think a Newtype who was the daughter of an experienced bounty hunter would know a thing or two about tracking down someone who has suddenly gone missing.
However, Mars was not known for its lush humid jungles, and her dad never decided to go into those lush humid jungles wearing nothing but a swimsuit, flip-flops, and a linen cover-up.
This has been the second time Lucine has led Liam back out on the beach they started on. ".... The other pilots went to go to check on the Chulip, looks like..." Lucine says, checking her phone. ".... Let's head back to the base... with any luck, the captain might just be there."
It's not exactly a romantic walk; Lucine's on edge, still thinking about Yurika. If she got lost that easily, would Yurika have a better chance of finding her way out? Plus the Chulip, and--
Lucine stops. The latent noise of the jungle's edge has sharply gone quiet.
"Liam, we need to get to units _now_." She breaks into a sprint towards the deployment bay, apparently too alarmed to even say *why*, or, when they get there, if they even need to bother with changing out of their beach attire, which seems to be 'no'.
-----
< "Coming in with Liam!! Hikaru, go save the captain!!" >
The Dianthus speeds in with a lack of grace, taking many of the missiles straight on with an ineffective block.
The face in her window displays that she's not changed, as well as the grim, pale look in her face. < "Who the HELL is Crimson Concern?! Why the hell do they have one of these things here?! These things murdered over half the Martian population, and they're holding it here like some exotic pet?!?" >
Her very psychic aura is like a choked scream as the Dianthus grips the glaive and dives in, its pilot caught in a twisted net between blind anger and cold fear.
KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Ryoko Subaru anchors Himeyuri Oono, forcing her into close range. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Ryoko Subaru's Aestivalis Grapple Strike, taking 2520 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 104130 KTS: Ryoko Subaru has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 455. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Himeyuri Oono with CL0-V3 Glaive Dive! KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Evade Alto Saotome's Leading Fire, taking 3150 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 100980 KTS: Alto Saotome begins a Formation attack! KTS: Your EN is now 445. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Hikaru Amano rattles Himeyuri Oono, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Hikaru Amano's Rabid Rifle!, taking 1080 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 99900 KTS: Your EN is now 445. <Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
Blub.
Somewhere beneath the pacific ocean, Trevor Teach... is in heaven.
...Blub.
Okay-- so not TECHNICALLY correct. He is in the exact opposite of heaven. No, not hell either. He is in the depths surrounding the tropical island paradise that the rest of the Nadesicrew (and friends) are enjoying their well-deserved vacation on. That is, he is 'opposite to heaven' because he is 'underwater.'
BUT HE IS STILL IN HIS HEAVEN. Because surrounding him on all sides, swimming in shoals illuminated by Isadore's lights and the scintillating glimmers of light from the surface... are fish. Fish of all colors, shapes and sizes. Here, a school of barracuda swirl in a vortex. There, a microcosm of various species swarm the coral reef, darting to and fro as they go about their fishy days. Off in the distance, deep in pelagic waters, a school of tunafish rush by. And all alongside him, growing like the proverbial Garden of Eden, is a countless array of hard and soft corals.
Isadore itself drifts just a stone's throw from the reef, hovering beyond the boundary of where the coral bed drops off along a sudden undersea cliff-face. This is where it's safest-- not for Trevor, of course, but for the reef.
"It's beautiful," he sighs with genuine wonder. A green sea turtle swims gently by, light playing geometric patterns across its shell. "Isn't it, Izzy...? I can't believe we're really seeing this for ourselves. So many fish, so many colors--" He leans back, his machine transmitting a surround-sound experience all throughout his cockpit.
He doesn't have a dive license, so there's no way he could actually go out there with scuba gear (not because it's illegal, but because Trevor is a space boy who doesn't know his ass end around a BCD). So instead, he's... improvised. Isadore is bulkier than it usually is, the machine having replaced its usual chassis for what looks like a hodgepodge of aquatic Zeonic parts. That definitely looks like an Acguy's torso acting like an old fashioned diving suit, with the Isadore's usual head peeking through a glass dome. Everything else is sealed tight, protected from the rigors of the ocean. "I could stay here forever...! Ah, Earthlings really have no idea... what kind of treasure is lurking beneath their waves..."
He sighs again. Today is full of sighs-- but they're happy sighs. "Ah, the sea... really is the best..."
...
A turtle swims by, and does Turtle Business right in front of the Isadore's dome-head. A school of batfish follow shortly thereafter and... clean up.
"...Oh. Ew??" Trevor grimaces, but he's not letting a little thing like that ruin his day. He accepted that the ocean was a toilet for fish when he decided to embrace it with arms wide open!! No, it shall not. But--
Then something rumbles. The fish scurry away into their hidey holes. Trevor blinks once, twice. Again, more rumbles. Hundreds of little ones, sending shockwaves through the sea that race through his body and the Isadore's frame. "What the heck...?" Transmissions come in, emergency alerts from the Nadesico-- Yurika has been... Kidnapped!?
And there's a Jovian machine attacking everything!!??
"Balls!" Trevor hisses, pushing Isadore into an emergency ascent as spare missiles begin to impact the sea surface and drift down towards the reef. Trevor grits his teeth-- he can't just let an ecological catastrophe happen to such a beautiful place while he's right there watching!!
It's time... to get serious...!
...
...
A few moments later, Isadore (Sea Spec) trudges to shore. It's carrying what looks to be a harpoon-- or perhaps a giant ferromagnetic rod-- that has speared through several wayward missiles. "You lost these," he grunts as Isadore limbers up what at first glance is an old timey (giant) spear gun, but which is actually the machine's heavily repurposed mining bolt-thrower. It loads the makeshift, hyper-explosive bolt to the business end, takes aim, and fires right back at the Jiro.
...And even if the missiles have mostly been ruined by salt water, the spike itself is explosive anyway, so that's still going to be a problem.
KTS: Trevor Teach targets Himeyuri Oono with Explosive Bolt! KTS: Trevor Teach has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Evade Riika Sheder's 20mm Multibarrel CIWS Burst, taking 1425 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 98475 KTS: Your EN is now 435. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Yurika getting lost is not wholly out of character. Yurika getting lost and then seemingly vanishing in relatively-pristine jungle is a whole lot more worrying. Liam packed up the beach bag and set out with Lucine, but they're no closer to finding the Captain than when they started. He stops just behind her, glancing about at the beach. "I hope she didn't go swimming," Liam says, his face twisting in a frown. He read up about rip currents, and venomous wildlife, and--
Lucine's warning comes a split-second before Ruri's. Liam sprints after her.
A CGUE in stock colors follows the Dianthus, its shield raised to soak the Jovian machine's assault. Missiles slam into the armor head-on, and detonate, raining bits of charred metal into the jungle. "<This is--a Jovian Lizard drone?>" This is what destroyed Lucine's home. This is what killed so many people.
This is what almost killed her.
Liam's eyes narrow. Like Lucine, he's still in his beachwear, and the anger is plain on his face. "<Engaging.>" The CGUE drops to a more managable height, braces its machine gun against its shoulder, and unloads on the Jovian machine with a short, controlled burst for center mass.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Himeyuri Oono with MMI-M7S 76mm Machine Gun Burst! Escudo Shard teleports in.
KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Dive, taking 2600 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 95875 KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 430. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Intercept Trevor Teach's Explosive Bolt, taking 2070 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 93805 KTS: Your EN is now 430. KTS: Himeyuri Oono successfully Evades Liam 7-020's MMI-M7S 76mm Machine Gun Burst KTS: Your EN is now 420.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
"Come, my love, should we not face our final moments with dignity?" She doesn't seem to be acknowledging anything Yurika's saying, her face flushed and a smile on her face. "Ah, I'm so happy... We're meeting our doom!"
Ryoko's Aestivalis rounds impact the Jiro- before it makes a solid grip on the insectoid Lizard's back, and charges in- only to punch it off it's uneven feet and send it rolling with a weird AI chittering noise. It rolls, and steadies itself unevenly-
But that just leaves it open to the stream of gunfire from Alto's gunpod, which impact on it's heavy armor, followed up by the barrage from Hikaru's Aestivalis, forcing it to stumble back- where a third chain of gunfire comes from Riika, blasting into the Jiro. The armour's tough, but this sort of coordinated assault is tricky for one drone to resist.
Aqua looks up at the intruder. "Well, it wouldn't be a proper tragedy if there weren't someone interrupting." She *glares* at Hikaru, with a venom matching the snake Yurika thought her to be. "This is a moment only for the doomed lovers, don't interrupt!" As Hikaru tries to drag Yurika away, Aqua turns it into a tug of war, her arms wrapped around Yurika's torso. "Now, let go of my Prince Charming! This is a romance story, audience participation isn't required!"
The Jiro raises one of it's legs to try and block Lucine- but it's too slow to stop the sheer amount of anger coming from the Dianthus' pilot, as it drives into the armoured thorax. It's response to her rage is a mechanical chittering sound, as it's four eyes focus on her- and that means it's unable to turn it's head mounted machineguns in time to stop Trevor's explosive bolts-
Liam's machinegun burst, however, serves to fell the trees where the Jiro stood, the armored insect skittering to avoid the damage, just in time.
Under the combined assault, the AI takes time to prioritize it's targets- and then simply decides to attack indiscriminately. It tries to drive one of it's spindly sharp legs into Ryoko's Aestivalis, while another sweeps wide at Lucine to push her away. The weapon is primarily a missile platform- but it seems built to handle close range attacks a little.
Trevor and Liam, for their troubles, get return fire from those headmountained machineguns- the sort that gunned down so many innocent civilians on Mars.
And then, more missiles launch- and unlike the first barrage, these are aimed individually, as some fire for the Nadesico in the distance, while others shoot for Riika's Svalinn and Alto's Messiah- and two go in the direction of Hikaru's Aestivalis-
Only for one to go wide and hit the mansion with an explosion!
Aqua lies in the rubble, a short distance from Yurika and Hikaru, her face red with a romantic blush. "My dream will finally come true..." She clutches her hands to her chest, not even looking at the other women. "Lovers that perish in the flames of battle!"
/-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\
| 1: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash Pwr: 2750 12 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing) |
| 2: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab Pwr: 3850 28 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Penetrating) |
| 3: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep Pwr: 2500 20 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Repulse, MAP) |
| 4: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement Pwr: 5200 42 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Barrier Breaker) |
| 5: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Monstrous Ripping Pwr: 6000 62 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Finisher, Spread) |
| 6: Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst Pwr: 2350 13 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Rattle) |
| 7: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain Pwr: 4000 19 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Microtarget, Intercept, Missile) |
| 8: Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage Pwr: 5000 42 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Ship-Killer, Penetrating, All-Range, Missile) |
| 9: Jovian Drone Missile Array Sequential Impacts Pwr: 5500 40 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Barrier Breaker, Accurate, Missile) |
| 10: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm Pwr: 6000 47 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Crushing, Accurate, Spread, Missile) |
| 11: High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism Pwr: 6500 65 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, MAP, Finisher, Spread, Root) |
| 12: Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire Pwr: 3600 14 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Initiation, Missile) |
| 13: Prospect - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff) |
| 14: Shock - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Debuff, MAP) |
| 15: Awe - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff, MAP) |
| 16: Pass - 0 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) |
\--< HP: 93805106650 EN: 420 (+30round|0 comm) SP: 100 Morale: 150150 >---
KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ryoko Subaru with Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Lucine Azul with Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Liam 7-020 with Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Trevor Teach with Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ruri Hoshino with Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire! KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Alto Saotome with Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Hikaru Amano with Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire! KTS: Ryoko Subaru parries Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash, taking 825 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Ryoko Subaru! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Riika Sheder with Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 576. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 150. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Alto Saotome fails to intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire, taking 2790 damage! KTS: Riika Sheder fails to Intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire, taking 4320 damage! KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Hikaru Amano blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire, taking 3410 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul parries Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep, taking 750 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono repulses Lucine Azul, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Ruri Hoshino fails to intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire, taking 1950 damage! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
The oh so unfortunate Yurika is practically billowing with tears when Hikaru swoops in to rescue her from the clutches of someone FAWNING ABOUT MURDERING HER. Tousling and flopping back and forth, she gets to feel all the pain of being pulled upon by two people hell-bent on keeping her, without any of the capacity to fight back or move to even slightly more comfortable positions! Thankfully, the big explosion finally gives Hikaru the upper edge, Yurika tumbling into her arms and grimacing back at Aqua. "W...whatever...doom...you're selling...you can...keep it to yourself...! I'm...more of...a 'saving the world'...type of heroine...!" Even in her current state, she can manage, just barely, to stick her tongue out at Aqua - maybe it's just the relief of being rescued...
But once she's secured in the Aestivalis- like she's a tough creature but going from Full Blast Doki Emotions to the most genuine looming fear for her life she's ever experienced has Yurika a big weepy mess for a while in Hikaru's cockpit, too helpless to even hold on properly, relying on being wedged in place to keep her limp self intact.
...Thankfully Nergal's emergency resources are pretty high quality! Selling out to Tarabaman works, damn it! The anti-paralytic agent covers 96% of all neurotoxins known to be in production within Earth Sphere industries, and with an intensely sputtering cough, it's thankfully a pretty quick process to get the captain back on her feet again.
First things first! Immediately tipping forward over Hikaru somewhat awkwardly, punching the radio button on the Aesti's dash to breathlessly gasp out: <"ATTENTION ALL FORCES THIS IS YURIKA I'M FINE OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR COMING SO QUICK I ALMOST DIED THAT WAS HORRIBLE I'M SAFE NOW PLEASE DON'T WORRY-"> - a brief interlude just to take in oxygen - <"Huu. Huuu. Haaah. Are all of you okay?! No wait of course you're all okay it's very much me who was in the most danger here!!! What's WRONG with that lunatic!? I mean every once in a while a weepy story that ends in tragedy is kind of cathartic, especially if you've been congested and really could use the crying to get that out but I can't BELIEVE I had to deal with that, and she was calling me her prince charming and laying it on so thick and I was so blindsided and it all sounded so nice and I just I can't I-">
She cuts out again - if Hikaru's the far-from-ideal gallant knight, then Yurika's equally far from ideal as a princess. Sobbing incoherently into Hikaru's shoulder - - - blowing her nose a little bit on instinct before realizing ~wait even if you're a weepy mess that's super gross~ and rummaging through the first aid pack just for a cloth to wipe it all down.
"OKAY. Okay. ...Okay. ...Alright. It's...a big...system shock. But I'm hanging in there." Amidst the rumble and chaos of battle, the one piece-clad Yurika's death-grip on her savior's side is all that really secures her in place, heart racing impossibly fast, breathing like a chimney to recover from her constricted airflow from before. Her left hand does briefly flash a fainter, familiar IFS pattern though - placing it over the primary interface at the center, between Hikaru's arms. "...I...it'll be fine, I think-! Uhm. Actually this might be a bad idea, trying to share interfaces, since I don't know if I'm that much help. I actually got this kind of recently so it's a little bit weak...but let's see, I can probably at least do some...like...enemy analysis...?"
KTS: Himeyuri Oono rattles Trevor Teach, making his next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Trevor Teach blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst, taking 2585 damage! KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Hikaru Amano KTS: Himeyuri Oono rattles Liam 7-020, making his next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Liam 7-020 blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst, taking 1410 damage! Escudo Shard teleports out.
KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Hikaru Amano, Lucine Azul, and Liam 7-020 with Awe. KTS: Yurika Misumaru has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yurika Misumaru inspires awe, increasing Lucine Azul's Morale! KTS: Yurika Misumaru inspires awe, increasing Liam 7-020's Morale!
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
"<Knight in shining what!? Hikaru this one of your anime fantasies again?>" As she then mutters to herself, "... She's probably reading the one with that Dark Hero and his super pretty best friend who betrayed him again."
Look when manga is laying around the bunks, Ryoko just might sometimes you know, browse through it. It's just the moment she sees sexy stuff she gets a little embarrassed!
"<That's exactly what I said Ruri-!>" Ryoko calls out to her, as she says she'll check her records, "<Sure take your time searching for it-!>" Ryoko offers sarcastically, "<If you wanna check your Pinstagram while you're at it - I'll hold it off!>"
As the Jiro flops over from the punch, Ryoko cries out as her Aesti is attached to it, "ARAGAA! DON'T ROLL OVER ME!"
Fortunately it just flings her at an awkward angle. Right as a spindly sharp limb comes down. The Aesti responds to it with a flash of its Immediate Knife, as the limb shrieks across it, trailing sparks as the Aesti twists aside, barely missing the worst of it.
"<Hikaru what's your status on-!>" It's then that her Aesti is slammed within range of the mansion as Yurika updates them all on her status. "<... We weren't really worried-! We figured you were off just - doing your thing!>"
Ryoko backs away from the Jiro as her rapid rifle swings up to fire several three round bursts at it, swinging around her Aesti to spy- Aqua half buried in the rubble.
Her screen abruptly zooms in on her, and then her Aesti bends down, with a shift of its hand brushing the rubble off of her. Then as the hatch swings open, she leaps down.
"What the hell are you doing just LAYING THERE you dumbass?" Ryoko questions, as she picks her up, not like she's a Princess, but hoisting her up on her back piggy back, before taking off for the open hatch of her Aesti, slowed down by her burden, "Man you really piss me off! What's this perishing in the flames of battle shit? Don't you get it!? Once you're dead- that's it! Is this really the only thing you're looking forward to? Playing out some stupid fantasy?"
And once inside the Aesti, she just roughly plops her down behind the seat, sitting back in the pilot seat, "Now you sit your ass DOWN! I'll deal with you AFTER I destroy this thing!"
KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Himeyuri Oono with Semi-Rapid Rifle! KTS: Ryoko Subaru has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Alto Saotome has changed loadout. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Ryoko Subaru's Semi-Rapid Rifle, taking 3780 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ryoko Subaru's In the End All I Do Is... activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 90025 KTS: Your EN is now 576.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
From his position in the air, Alto is only able to catch brief glimpses of whatever the hell is going on down at that villa. Thankfully though it seems like Hikaru has managed to retrieve the Captain... Only for Yurika's voice to start echoing loudly out of the cockpit speakers. Alto winces a little, murmuring, "Maybe we should have left her there..." He's kidding, of course. Right?
... Right?
More systems alarms blare as more missiles come in. This time Alto doesn't try to avoid them, instead fighting fire with fire. Micromissiles launch out of the FAST parts attached to the Messiah, arcing through the air to meet the Jovian missiles in mutual explosive destruction. Unfortunately, a couple make it through the counterbarrage, closing in behind Alto and exploding.
Alto grunts some more as he is shaken around, knocked out of flight rather unceremoniously, he tries to compensate and recover, but the ground is quickly rushing up to meet him. He decides to commit, triggering a quick transformation into Battroid mode and firing thrusters at the last moment.
The humanoid VF crashes into the forest, knocking over several trees along the way before landing on its back. Battered, but still intact. In the cockpit, thankfully shielded from the impact by virtue of being inside the Valkyrie's chest now, Alto moves to hold his head for a moment, before trying to shake off the rough landing and figure out where he is.
Which is how Alto sees the Jiro stomping by, still under heavy fire from the others. He quickly manipulates his controls to move his machine up onto its feet again, confirming things are still working. He radios, <"Still intact... Wait. Are you actually rescuing that crazy lady!?"> To be fair, kidnapping, poisoning and unleashing an alien weapon on a populated island with the intent to die to it is pretty damning.
Regardless though, Alto returns his focus to trying to stop said alien weapon before it has a chance to reach said populated areas, quickly getting multiple missile locks across its surface. The launchers in the Messiah's FAST pack open again, unleashing a barrage of micromissiles to dance up through the air before arcing over to rain down on the Jiro from multiple directions.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome targets Himeyuri Oono with CIMM-3A Micro-missile Launchers Multi-directional Assault! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. /-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\ | 1: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash Pwr: 2750 12 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing) | | 2: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab Pwr: 3850 28 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Penetrating) | | 3: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep Pwr: 2500 20 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Repulse, MAP) | | 4: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement Pwr: 5200 42 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Barrier Breaker) | | 5: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Monstrous Ripping Pwr: 6000 62 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Finisher, Spread) | | 6: Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst Pwr: 2350 13 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Rattle) | | 7: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain Pwr: 4000 19 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Microtarget, Intercept, Missile) | | 8: Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage Pwr: 5000 42 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Ship-Killer, Penetrating, All-Range, Missile) | | 9: Jovian Drone Missile Array Sequential Impacts Pwr: 5500 40 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Barrier Breaker, Accurate, Missile) | | 10: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm Pwr: 6000 47 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Crushing, Accurate, Spread, Missile) | | 11: High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism Pwr: 6500 65 EN | | (Physical, Melee, MAP, Finisher, Spread, Root) | | 12: Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire Pwr: 3600 14 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Initiation, Missile) | | 13: Prospect - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff) | | 14: Shock - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Debuff, MAP) | | 15: Awe - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff, MAP) | | 16: Pass - 0 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) | \--< HP: 90025/106650 EN: 576 (+30/round|0 comm) SP: 150 Morale: 150/150 >---/
KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Intercept Alto Saotome's CIMM-3A Micro-missile Launchers Multi-directional Assault, taking 7800 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 82225 KTS: Alto Saotome completes the Formation attack! KTS: Your EN is now 576. <Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.
Riika's head vulcans strike, but they don't penetrate nearly as well as she'd like. They are very low-caliber and really only meant for interception, but still!
"<I don't think that's going to work. I'm going to try something higher penetration,>" Riika says, followed by: "<I'll mark the firing lines first, don't worry.>"
Svalinn does indeed take off, the thrusters blazing to lift it further into the air. Missiles rain down on it again, and Riika's first instinct is to dodge - but this nearly slams the legs into a tree, and her firing the head vulcans again isn't enough to keep the missiles away.
Riika lowers the shield a moment later, Svalinn's frame pockmarked with damage from the aimed missiles. But now Riika has her beam rifle out, and she tries to get *directly* above the Jiro so she can fire straight down. There's no chance her beam will go wide and hit someone else if the only other thing in the direction is dirt, rock, and sand.
"<Can I get a status report on...>" She pauses, taking in the information she's been given about Yurika. "<Never mind. Ah, I'll try to get you some better intel on this thing shortly. They do build them to last though, don't they...?>" While she's talking, Riika has flipped out the side keyboard (again) and is beginning to probe the Jiro more aggressively. It's a very active probe, the kind that would be considered intensely aggressive if aimed at another MS - if it's got sensors of its own for this kind of thing, it's not hard to notice.
KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Riika Sheder targets Himeyuri Oono with MA-M21R Lepus Beam Rifle Rapid Fire! KTS: Riika Sheder has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
What--
What even is happening right now?
Knight in Shining Armor? A prince?? Yurika??? A Prince!?!? "Come on," Trevor groans, "Anyone can see that she's obviously way more 'princess' material than 'prince...!' This lady's delusional!"
Beat.
Trevor is onslaughted upon by a rain of heavy machinegun fire. The Isadore lifts its reinforced limbs sluggishly to defend against the barrage. "More of a 'save the world fighting princess', that is, I guess?? Ugh, I didn't think I'd actually be fighting in this getup! It feels like we're lugging around an asteroid...!"
At least the heavy, bulbous armor ensconcing the Isadore's frame also makes it just a little hardier against this kind of firepower. Even if... It is absolutely reminiscent of the recordings. He was never there personally, but living in the belt-- you see things.
Even if he was never on the receiving end, he can imagine what it was like. For someone who was there, fighting something like this must be... painful.
But, by mercy of his birth, he can engage it without too much in the way of crippling trauma.
"I'm echoing the flyboy. Wasn't there something about someone poisoning the captain? I mean, I guess that doesn't mean we should leave her to die, but like... Risking yourself to save her...?" Isadore lunges. Its left arm-- fully enveloped in an Acguy Limb as it is-- flares to life as a broad beam saber ignites in its palm. With surprising deftness, it leaps forward to carve a deep cut into the Jiro's flank, seeking to sever one or more of its legs! "Maybe Ryoko really is a prince-type... Huh."
KTS: Trevor Teach targets Himeyuri Oono with Beam Cutlass Slash! KTS: Trevor Teach has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Riika Sheder's MA-M21R Lepus Beam Rifle Rapid Fire, taking 4400 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 77825 KTS: Your EN is now 576. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono parries Trevor Teach's Beam Cutlass Slash, taking 570 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 77255 KTS: Trevor Teach has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 571. <Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
"<MAYBE YOU WANT A BLACK EYE!>"
Is Ryoko's immediate response to Trevor implying she's a Prince-type over the comms.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
...Ryoko is right on the money, but if Hikaru was still there to explain, she might go on about how the coolest twist was that the real traitor of the story was the Dark Hero! Maybe that's a mercy, because perhaps Ryoko's invested enough to want to see the ending herself~
Of course, Hikaru meets resistance from Aqua! "Doomed lovers? Prince charming? What the heck! You're talking like one of those tragic heroine types, but..." She looks around, at the opulent mansion, remembers the Crimson Concern logo. "You know what? I bet you haven't experienced a single tragedy in your life!"
Despite her tiny frame, she tries her hardest in that tug-of-war. "Actually, the real tragedy is that Yurika-chan wants nothing to do with you anymore, so give it up, why don't'cha?" She demands, seeming far from her usual easy-going nature.
"Stories that end in tragedy like that can be fun to read." Hikaru nods to Yurika, as she slowly begins to calm down, even as Yurika sobs into their shoulder. "But I think they should just stay stories. I mean, that's what we're fighting for on the Nadesico, right? A happy ending for everyone! Isn't that the whole reason you went through all that school to be a Captain?" It's a little strange... she's never been this close to someone in forever, and especially not in her cockpit!
"Unfortunately, Aqua wasn't the only one she has to fight off - because by the time they're situated in the Aestivalis, another missile from Jiro comes flying their way, Aqua swooning as the explosion continues to rock the balcony... "Ack! Hang on tight, Yurika-chan... Distortion Field, go!!" She commands, as the barrier...
Well, it doesn't totally deflect the missile, which is a problem (or to the girl in question, a solution) for Aqua, as the rubble threatens to completely bury her, swooning over a romantic death. Until --
"Wow! Nice save, Ryoko-chan!" Hikaru cheers, as Ryoko picks up Aqua and gives her the lecture of her life. "I think we can consider our revenge served..." Hikaru muses with a self-satisfied grin. "Because no one puts someone through their paces better than Ryoko-chan!" There's little doubt that Aqua will come out of that cockpit a completely changed person.
Trevor has his own statement, calling Ryoko a princely type. "Yeah, I can kinda see it!" Hikaru agrees. "And no, I don't wanna black eye..."
So Yurika does have an IFS... "Ehh, you know what?" Hikaru starts, considering the amount of damage her Aestivalis has already taken. "I think I could probably use all the help I can get, ehe..." She smiles shamelessly.
"Allrighty! That's everyone accounted for, so... you wanna see a cool trick?" Hikaru lunges her fist forward, the Aestivalis mirroring her own movements with a wire-guided Rocket Punch! "GEKIGAN PUUUUUUUUNCH!" Unfortunately for Yurika, as much as she might be her prince right now, Hikaru is still a total nerd.
KTS: [Lucky] Hikaru Amano's Toriyah~! activates, and luck goes her way! KTS: Hikaru Amano successfully accepts Yurika Misumaru's Awe KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Himeyuri Oono with Aestivalis Rocket Punch! KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"All right," Ruri agrees with Ryoko, mildly.
Omoikane helpfully displays a ( PLEASE HOLD ! ) status screen between the two of their windows for the next, oh, say, five seconds, as if anticipating Ryoko's reaction.
Ruri isn't checking her Pinterest, though. (She has one. She doesn't post much, because Mr. Prospector keeps telling her the systems she wants to talk about are proprietary.) She's checking all of Nergal's databases. And some other databases. And so, five seconds later, her window pops up in Ryoko's cockpit again (and everyone else's, at that):
"The Crimson Concern hasn't flagged any issues with Jovian technology. They didn't register that they were holding this at all. In fact, I can't find any record that the Crimsons even knew about this in the first place. Well, maybe they just didn't talk about it."
Or maybe...
"Incoming," Ruri stops reporting on this vital fact about the state of the battle they're in to report on the missiles headed their way, instead. This time, the Nadesico's missiles don't catch all of the Jiro's, and the one which slips by explodes against the Distortion Field.
"It's a difficult battlefield," Ruri reflects, taking it in. "For the time being, let's just fire."
Omoikane helpfully runs a targeting subroutine, before launching a single missile to weave through and strike at the Jiro. This isn't a situation where the Gravity Blast Cannon is a good idea, after all.
(He also helpfully offers firing solutions to the Aestivalises, because Omoikane can do more than one thing at once. He has SEVERAL brains.)
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Himeyuri Oono with Seeker Missile! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Hikaru Amano KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Ryoko Subaru KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Hikaru Amano's Aestivalis Rocket Punch, taking 3362 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 73893 KTS: Your EN is now 571. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Intercept Ruri Hoshino's Seeker Missile, taking 3500 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 70393 KTS: Your EN is now 571.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
It's hard to say which model of Jovian Lizard was the one that doomed Nemi; while Nemi's size paled in comparison to many other Martian colonies, it wasn't the colonies themselves the Jovian Lizards wanted, but the people within them.
They all look the same, to Lucine.
One of the spindly legs tries to sweep the Dianthus away, but it meets CL0-V3 Glaive just so, redirecting the majority of the energy of that action away from the Dianthus.
The percussion rapidfire of those machineguns aimed towards Trevor and Liam is enough to make Lucine's mouth go dry at the intrusive memories.
It would have been quiet enough (though Trevor knows better), if that mansion hadn't gotten destroyed in the next couple of moments. < ".... They're already trying to kill the people here!!" > Lucine yells, her throat hoarse.
Hearing Yurika's voice was likely the best thing for Lucine, in that mindspace. < "Captain!! You're safe, thank god..." > Yurika's own well-deserved rant manages to stop Lucine's own tears before they start, serving to overwhelm Lucine right back into the angry, dumbstruck little box she tumbled out of.
.... If her next words are of any indication.
< "... I'm not going to complain that she's alive to see us deal with the mess she started." > Lucine's words come out with a clipped briskness, even if . < "Let her deal with the financial consequences of this stunt, and maybe then some _other_ rich fucker might learn before they decide to play around with them." > Her window moves right along to Trevor's display screen without a beat. < "Yurika's not a prince OR a princess! She's a _capt-" > Ryoko comes in with a serving of anger towards Trevor, and Lucine glances towards Ryoko's window, then quietly exits.
The Jiro more important.
The Dianthus falls back exchanging the glaive for the albarest, a single bolt charging down the center. < ".... You're just.... one insect! No matter how big, you're just ONE." > The bolt comes down on the Jiro like a bolt from the heavens. In the cockpit, sweat drips down Lucine's forehead. < "YOU'RE ONE AWAY FROM NOTHING." >
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Himeyuri Oono with Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot! KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Evade Lucine Azul's Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot, taking 5301 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 65092 KTS: Your EN is now 561. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam grimaces as his rounds rip through the trees, instead of the enemy. "<Fast,>" he says, tension in his voice. This is a problem. There might be civilians still in that manor house--
'ATTENTION ALL FORCES THIS IS YURIKA I'M FINE OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR COMING SO QUICK I ALMOST DIED THAT WAS HORRIBLE I'M SAFE NOW PLEASE DON'T WORRY-'
Liam is dead silent for a moment as the... gravitas of the situation sinks in. <"Poisoned? By a woman? But the drone, why is--"> This is really convoluted for an assassination attempt, he thinks.
Jiro replies with a burst from its machine guns; Liam has not let down his guard, and meets them with the CGUE's shield, but the impact wrenches it to the side. The CGUE drops out of the air, landing on the manor terrace. It tracks the drone as it scuttles about, but Liam can't get a clear shot without putting holes in the manor. (It's not the manor he cares about so much as anyone who might be taking shelter there.)
Thankfully, Yurika's rambling is reassuring, in its own way. The CGUE backpedals down the manor drive, towards the beach. Its shield stays at the ready, even as its pilot tries to find words for Lucine. "<You're here,>" Liam says. "<Not there. Please, Lu, deep breaths--!"> The raw anger pouring out of her startles him. And then--
There!
Liam catches a glimpse of Jiro's bulk through the trees, readies the shield, and rains down fire. Ballistic rounds tear through the air as the inbuilt shield machine gun tracks its target.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Himeyuri Oono with M7070 Shield+28mm Vulcan Barrage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Liam 7-020's M7070 Shield+28mm Vulcan Barrage, taking 4810 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 60282 KTS: Your EN is now 561.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
While Aqua was off in her reverie, something terrible happens.
Her dashing captain is abducted by an in terloper and she herself is rudely picked up by another interloper. Her look of pure bliss translates to confusion... then anger.
"What are you doing? Put me down, put me down this instant!" She struggles against Ryoko, but is ultimately unable to get free of an actual trained soldier- though then how did she lug Yurika out there? "I've been waiting for this my whole life! This very moment! How dare you tear me away from my prince charming? The couple in love are meant to die in beauty! I was supposed to be the perfect tragic heroine!"
She continues to cause trouble in the cockpit, beating her hands ineffectively on Ryoko's back. "Captain! Tell your crew to put us back down immediately! We're supposed to die together, in each others arms my love!"
Meanwhile, in the part of the battle where the serious people are, the Jiro hunkers down to brace against the Semi-Rapid Rifle shot, with limited success as it's armour batters inward under the barrage, and starts to crack. Alto's own missile barrage strikes true, and the Jiro buckles under the assault, losing a leg on the opposite side. The chittering turns more... desperate? Can these things feel pain? Or is it just the AI processing?
The beam assault is only partially deflected by the coating on the Jiro's armour, and Riika is able to exploit the shattered points made by Alto and Ryoko. Trevor, on the other hand, goes in close- only for one of those legs to fly up to parry the strike, the Jiro balancing on three as it stops the worst of the cutlass cutting into it.
"Crazy? Delusional? How *dare* you call me that? Have you no concept of romance!?" Her head pops over Ryoko's shoulder to yell at Alto and Trevor through the comms screen. "Her? A Prince? Hardly! A low ranking soldier like her is nowhere near Prince Charming material! What kind of prince kidnaps a woman from her own home, when her life is about to hit the moment it was destined for!"
Hikaru gets an utterly withering look. "Exactly! As a child, I grew up with all that I wanted within my reach! I've longed for this, to be a tragic heroine! Being too happy was my unhappiness!"
The Jiro eats a Gekigan Punch to the face, wheeling backwards, while the Nadesico's missiles pile into the new Jovian Weapon. It seems plenty durable right now.
"This Chulip was my gift from God, to let me perish together with my lover in the flames of war! We could have ascended together into beauty! But you, you, you ruined it! If I have to be stuck in one of these things, at least put me in the one with the Captain! We could still die together hand in hand! Oh God, if you're listening, please let your divine messenger guide us to our beautiful demise!"
The Bearm Arbalest strikes true, and a significant portion of the Jiro's head is simply obliterated, two of it's four eyes gone with half of it's head. But nonetheless, it still keeps moving, it's other two eyes focus on Lucine- until Liam opens fire with the vulcan shield, and the Jiro is forced onto the back foot again.
Aqua *scoffs* at Lucine. "Money has nothing to do with this! God granted me the means to see my dream come true! This Lizard is here to grant me my dream! You inconsequential people are ruining it for me!"
If the Jiro's heard Aqua's prayer, it seems not to be listening. It's machineguns fire at Hikaru's Aestivalis as it tries to turn- slowed significantly by being down two legs. This doesn't stop it from raising up on two, as it raises one front leg to try and spear through Isadore's chest. The Jovian Lizards clearly have no concept of not aiming for the cockpit.
The missiles open up again, one row of nine all aiming for the the Nadesico, while three more fire for Alto in the Messiah. The remaining fifteen split their fire between Riika and Liam, the Mobile Suits bearing the worst of the Missile fire. And as for Lucine-
The Jiro surges forward again, after only seconds ago pushing the Dianthus away, aiming to drive one of those horrid spindly legs into the machine's leg, to pincer it down.
But, confusingly, it doesn't spare any fire for Ryoko. Which is porbably for the best, she has enough going on with her passenger.
/-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\
| 1: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash Pwr: 2750 12 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing) |
| 2: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab Pwr: 3850 28 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Penetrating) |
| 3: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep Pwr: 2500 20 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Repulse, MAP) |
| 4: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement Pwr: 5200 42 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Barrier Breaker) |
| 5: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Monstrous Ripping Pwr: 6000 62 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Finisher, Spread) |
| 6: Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst Pwr: 2350 13 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Rattle) |
| 7: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain Pwr: 4000 19 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Microtarget, Intercept, Missile) |
| 8: Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage Pwr: 5000 42 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Ship-Killer, Penetrating, All-Range, Missile) |
| 9: Jovian Drone Missile Array Sequential Impacts Pwr: 5500 40 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Barrier Breaker, Accurate, Missile) |
| 10: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm Pwr: 6000 47 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Crushing, Accurate, Spread, Missile) |
| 11: High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism Pwr: 6500 65 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, MAP, Finisher, Spread, Root) |
| 12: Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire Pwr: 3600 14 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Initiation, Missile) |
| 13: Prospect - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff) |
| 14: Shock - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Debuff, MAP) |
| 15: Awe - 10 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff, MAP) |
| 16: Pass - 0 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) |
\--< HP: 60282106650 EN: 561 (+30round|0 comm) SP: 100 Morale: 150150 >---
KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Hikaru Amano with Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Alto Saotome with Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ruri Hoshino with Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ryoko Subaru with Shock! KTS: Himeyuri Oono shocks Ryoko Subaru, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Trevor Teach with Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Lucine Azul with Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab! KTS: Himeyuri_Oono Changes attack to Riika Sheder and Liam 7-020 with Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm. KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 607. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 150. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono rattles Hikaru Amano, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Hikaru Amano fails to evade Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst, taking 1665 damage! KTS: Trevor Teach fails to parry Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement, taking 6240 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Trevor Teach! KTS: Riika Sheder blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm, taking 6600 damage! KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Alto Saotome blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain, taking 1050 damage! KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 blocks Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm, taking 4200 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Yurika's hand slowly drags across her own face. "...O...oh. Ryoko seems to have...collected her. Ah. Oh. Nn...Hikaru I'm...I'm so embarrassed." There's a slight choking sound in her throat as a turbulent storm of feelings is raging in her spirit. As she still has to deal with this. Sigh. A maiden's heart can't be bottled up and et cetera et cetera.
<"You...it's SO ANNOYING THAT I ALMOST SEE WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM-"> Yurika bellows over the radio to Aqua, anger tempering her now-recovered voice. <"If God put anything here on this island, it was you to annoy me on this obnoxiously deep level! I can't stand hearing what you're saying anymore and the worst part is that I can imagine that I'd say it! Like ugh! Hearing you gives me the creeps and it's WORSE because I can't help but think that I sound like that. DO I sound like that? Ruri-chan PLEASE don't tell me that you're hearing the words out of this crazy person's mouth and thinking 'wow that's a whole lot like Yurika huh'-" why is she foisting this on ruri of all people????
The IFS-sharing with Hikaru is, however, a mild effect of an emotional...melting pot. Yurika's not someone to hide her feelings, but the ones that are hidden are behind the kind of barrier that's obviously difficult to pull out. ((It's the worst because it almost sounds nice to be that for her. To be someone's charming prince, to be someone's hero, to be someone's leader, to be the total opposite of everything I thought I had to be, to be everything they can depend on, maybe even to be someone whose destiny is something where I go out blazing for the people I love but))
<"Not like this!!! If...If I'm going to even consider deciding that being the girl of someone's dreams is a single key word off, it'll be on my terms okay?! It's...it's not fair, anyway. If I was going to be that kind of ideal for someone like you, I...I'd want it to last a little longer, okay?! I'd want to be selfish and explore that idea! Have you never even seriously READ any of these stories?! You went and changed everything I was thinking about myself in the blink of an eye, and then you'd want it all to end, just like that! What kind of storyline even is that! If I were reading 'and then Yurika's life turned upside down and then she died tragically in a stranger's arms' I'd call the writer a TOTAL HACK, okay!?">
Thank the heavens for Comic Relief Durability that gives Yurika the kind of vigor to recover so fast from a near-death experience! She's even on her game enough, determined enough, that when the Aestivalis starts rumbling and creaking from the assault of the Jiro's drones, Yurika pushes her way into the IFS far enough to let fly a few little missiles tracking those mini-mes down, just so Hikaru can focus her all on the big guy!
KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Ruri Hoshino KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Himeyuri Oono with Shock! KTS: Yurika Misumaru has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yurika Misumaru shocks Himeyuri Oono, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 60282 KTS: Your EN is now 607.
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
The ( PLEASE HOLD! ) window earns a glower, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP THE WINDOW UP!" However, she does offer some useful information in a moment, "So what it's some dumbass acting on their own then?"
Ryoko may have a moment of epiphany, on the run back, of who said dumbass is. Aka the Lunatic that poisoned her Captain. "I may already be regretting it, Hikaru!"
Though Hikaru isn't wrong, as while she may have saved her and even brought her into her Aestie- it's clear to anyone that knows her that it's not that Ryoko is stuck in the Aestivalis with Aqua, but that Aqua who is stuck in the Aestivalis with her.
Ryoko attempts to pilot around the crazy for some time, as she endures Aqua beating on her back. Listening to the back and forth between her and the Captain, "<Captain! Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to!>" (No. Actually no. Yurika's at about a 7 compared to Aqua's 11 in Ryoko's eyes.)
But eventually her anger boils over as Aqua keeps beating her while she tries to pilot, and she turns around to grapple with her, pushing her off her back, "<Hey hey hey! QUIT IT! SHUT. THE. HELL. UP!>"
And in that moment, Ryoko turns around, and over the comms they can hear the sound of contact against human flesh, because Ryoko just slapped her with the palm of her hand and her pilot suit.
Honestly, she's lucky, because Ryoko is hardly one to shy away from straight up decking someone, "<You are something else lady! What is this really? Is this some spoiled rich girl thing? 'Oh no, my privileged life of leisure on Earth is so BORING! Gotta spice it up with some stupid lovers suicide fantasy!' It's not enough you wanna die but you wanna drag my CAPTAIN into it too?>"
Ryoko then pilots her Aestivalis forward, straight at the Jiro, "<Well I'm gonna tell you something your Daddy should have told you ten years ago the first time you demanded he foot the bill for some crazy idea of yours. Not just no but->"
Her Aestivalis suddenly slams into the Jiro full force, with a punch, trying to pound through its thick armor, "<-HELL->"
And then an upper cut, right at its insectoid head, channeling her anger at Aqua into her, "<-NO! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DRAG OTHER PEOPLE INTO YOUR SELFISH BULLSHIT YOU CRAZY BITCH!>"
... Yeah she may be proving she's not the Princely Type pretty vividly here...
KTS: Ryoko Subaru targets Himeyuri Oono with Go! Aestivalis!! KTS: Ryoko Subaru has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
"Okay, okay, jeez!" Trevor backpedals. "You're absolutely not a prince, yikes," 'because that'd require even a little bit of grace and sophistication,' is also what he says but under his breath and probably in a voice that nobody else can hear (but which Ryoko will all but certainly hear, because this is Nadesico (TV) and things happen for the funnies here).
"But I definitely think Yurika can be both Captain and Princess! Those two roles are not mutually exclusive in the slightest! I-- Nggh-- Lu--cine...!" A wave of hatred, of fear and resentement and trauma washes over him. The Isadore, already slowed by its bulky seaworthy armor, responds too sluggishly by the time Trevor recognizes that the Jiro is upon him--
And quite cleanly impales the mobile weapon's chest.
...
He can't blame her for what had happened. That rage, that anger, they're justified. Seeing something like this again, something straight out of your nightmares, is... those emotions can't be helped. And besides...
Trevor's not dead.
That's the one good thing about all of this armor.
Isadore's visor blazes within its glass dome head. There's enough plating there that, woefully underspec though it is, it absorbed just enough impact to to spare the cockpit underneath. "Damn, that was-- way too close. Ugh," Trevor grunts as Isadore levels that mining weapon again. "Fine. Fine! I guess I'm the princely-est one here, if someone's got to be one! I'm space ghost princess approved! So have at you, knave! Taste my ultra-high velocity hyperspeed rod!!"
He fires. There's a 'boom' as the sound barrier shatters and the aforementioned munition erupts from Isadore's bolt thrower.
"You know what though, I think I'm okay with miss crazy lady over there surviving. 'Cause, like," he gestures vaguely in his cockpit, nobody sees it (except in his Chat Window), "Crazy spoiled rich girls don't deserve nice things that they set up elaborate and insane plans to acquire. Psychocapitalism is not a sustainable ethical foundation!"
KTS: Trevor Teach targets Himeyuri Oono with Hypersonic Bolt! KTS: Trevor Teach has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Ruri Hoshino fails to intercept Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage, taking 3600 damage! <Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.
"<Oh thank goodness!>" Riika has finally got an update on Yurika once her radio gets through. It sounds positive! Probably! She's talking so fast it's almost hard to tell, but at least she's able to talk that fast. "<If you need any covering fire from up here, I'll do what I can.>"
Aqua keeps talking. Riika gets a carefully blank expression. There are many things she can deal with. This is not one of them. Fortunately, it sounds like it's well in hand. Since she's had confirmation that Yurika is okay (more or less, or at least recovered) she's more worried about Lucine.
Being up here gives her a pretty good view of the battlefield. Unfortunately it also makes her a prime target for the Jiro - which it demonstrates by firing another cluster of missiles at her. Riika can't think of how to get out of the way - so she doesn't; she interposes her laminated shield between herself and the incoming attacks.
The net result: when the smoke clears, Riika doesn't have a shield anymore so much as a splintered mass of metal and plastic; the many laminated layers are clearly visible when the shield is blasted into pieces. She discards most of it, the remaining biggest chunk remaining attached to Svalinn's lower arm.
But she also has an idea. She saw its leg come off. It seems to be the weakest point.
"<Going in,>" Riika transmits, before she does something *very* inadvisable in-atmosphere; she points Svalinn Feather down. The long pole of the glaive haft is already out; she activates it as she dives, plummeting with the blade set to its broadest, slashiest setting.
At the last moment, Riika pulls up, so close that she actually braced in case she DID slam into the ground; she turns the downward momentum into speed as she slashes along the flank of the Jiro, trying to slice off as many of the legs on that side as she can manage. "<Got you!>"
KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Riika Sheder targets Himeyuri Oono with JS-F03 Isarnkoll Beam Glaive Decisive Assault! KTS: Riika Sheder has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Fool," Ruri's window pops up to chastise Yurika, without even saying 'thank God you're okay' or anything like that.
Is that -- is she agreeing with Yurika, or is she saying they're both foolish?! Aaahhhh!!!
Omoikane, meanwhile, offers a heart in a window to Ryoko's complaints. And when Ryoko reaches her conclusion, Ruri says: "It seems likely. Look behind you, Ryoko-san."
Oh yeah, she's blaming Aqua. Aqua is being blamed here.
Unfortunately, the Jiro blames the Nadesico for many things. (Or nothing. Ruri's never been able to get a straight answer out of those things. Machines from deep space must just be too different...) The Distortion Field absorbs this blast, too, but there's enough force in the explosion that the fore of the ship visibly rocks down for a moment before Minato corrects their course. "Distortion field... working adequately," is Ruri's assessment.
(Ruri asides to the fourth wall, between her duties: "Though, I don't see why everyone's so hung up with being royalty." This will be funny in half a season. You'll see.)
"For now... launch missiles," Ruri decides, as she presses her hands to her console. And a missile does, indeed, launch towards the Jiro. In this situation, they're really depending on their pilots...!
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Himeyuri Oono with Missile Launch! KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The Jiro fires some more missiles at the Messiah. The Messiah raises its left arm, bringing the attached shield into the path of the missiles. A barrier of light appears beyond it, the two in combination absorbing much of the explosions with only minor damage to the machine itself.
But Alto barely notices this, because all he can hear is the crazy wacko lamenting her lot through Ryoko's radio.
'Exactly! As a child, I grew up with all that I wanted within my reach!'
"..." Alto's hands grip his controls a little tighter.
'This Chulip was my gift from God, to let me perish together with my lover in the flames of war!'
"... ..." Alto's jaw clenches.
'Money has nothing to do with this! God granted me the means to see my dream come true!'
"... ... ... !"
<"You spoilt, entitled bitch!">
Yes, Alto actually said it!
The Messiah draws the combat knife from behind its shield, starting to run towards the Jiro.
Meanwhile, Alto keeps berating, <"You cry about all your money, which you never earned with a single second of effort in your entire life... While others struggle and work hard to obtain what little they can get!">
A light forms around the blade of the Messiah's combat knife as its pinpoint barrier focuses around it.
<"You pine for war, while others are forced into it by no choice of their own only to die in ways that no one ever should!">
The Messiah leaps towards the Jovian weapon, attempting to drive that shining blade into the machine's frame.
<"You dream of death, while so many struggle to live in a cruel world which may toss them aside like they're meaningless at any moment!">
The Messiah drags its blade across the Jiro's frame, trying to open up a hole before letting go and grabbing its gunpod, jamming the weapon's barrel into the opening.
<"It's people like you who represent the worst of humanity!">
The Messiah fires a barrage of gunfire into the hole before igniting its thrusters and leaping away.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome targets Himeyuri Oono with AK/VF-M9 Assault Knife Pinpoint Lunge! KTS: Alto Saotome has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
One of the sins Lucine can be frequently guilty of is quietly no one else would completely understand the pressure and pain of what happened, in an age where many have had to, on different scales of intensity. Jovian Lizard, Vajra, the indifference and prejudice of the Federation, Neo-Zeon, and whatever else there might be.
And when someone is a Newtype like Trevor, and has also been from the neighboring Belts besides, it can be literal.
Liam's advice is solid; anger has no place on a field where one of those sharp legs could easily stab straight through that chassis like a pin through a insect. Lucine cleanly dodges that leg, repelling the Dianthus back and away, giving her the means to try to breathe and regain control.
It's unfortunate that 1. Aqua is here, 2. Aqua is conscious, and 3. Ryoko has to deal with her drawing aggro from all her teammates like a giant middle finger attached to the helm of her Aestivalis, even if they all know it's not her throwing out those insults, and also, Ryoko's getting the physical side of Aqua's displeasure.
< "...... You want to run that past me again, _miss_?" > The Dianthus is still pointed towards the Jiro, but Lucine's attention is all on the Aestivalis.
And Ryoko proves to be the true prince that no one deserves by giving Aqua the rant _she_ deserves, followed by a cloaked stab by Ruri, and then another rant by Alto, Trevor, and the 'prince' herself, Yurika. The heat begins to fall from Lucine's face.
Lucine tries to redirect that remaining energy into another direction instead. < ".... Captain Misumaru, you're not like that. Not at all. You deal with the consequences of your actions, and you get sad when people close to you get hurt... you're the one who sat down and talked with me when Liam was kidnapped, even when you were dealing with the Nadesico being docked for inspections. No, never, ever, are you anything *like* that person in Ryoko's cockpit!!" > ... Though, it's hard for Lucine to have an unbiased opinion, exactly, being Yurika used her Nergal points to get her and Liam a honeymoon suite.
< ".... You invited me and everyone into the Nadesico! There's fighting, and arguing, yes, but there's genuine warmth and closeness too! Having that as an anchor... I was able to regain some of the parts of me I thought I'd lost! And... I gained more, too!" >
The glaive replaces the albarest, and the Dianthus dives at the Jiro like a small falcon on weakened prey.
< ".... I have a place, and it's among all of you! And everyday, I get just that much closer to being on the same level!" >
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Himeyuri Oono with CL0-V3 Glaive Crescent Cross! KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
A voice Liam doesn't recognize starts shouting over the radio--coming through on Ryoko's signal, no less. "<Ryoko, what the--?!>" That's her, he realizes, a moment later--that's the woman Inez mentioned, the one who owns this island. She was going to use the Chulip to...
She needs help, Liam thinks, if she's gone down that road--professional help. That's not okay. At the same time, he feels his blood boiling, his heart tightening into a knot of rage.
"<Did you even think of what it was going to do after it killed you?"> Liam's accent--Dublin Irish, faint but growing--springs out of nowhere, along with his words. <"Were you planning to die thinking 'ah, my fantasy fulfilled!' and then let it MURDER EVERYONE ON THIS ISLAND?!">
The CGUE takes to the air again, jets firing as it clears the canopy. Immediately, Liam sees the weapon bearing down on Trevor, and hears the horrid CRUNCH of a bladed limb punching through Isadore. "<TREVOR!>" Breathe. He's still talking. He's okay. The Mobile Suit swoops around, its hand halfway to its rifle--and then, Jiro's launchers open fire.
The CGUE is hammered by a truly unconscionable amount of firepower. Liam maneuvers the shield like a pro, keeping it between the CGUE's body and the onslaught, but there's only so much punishment it can take. Eventually, it's a shattered mass of alloy; Liam drops it, and it lands with a heavy THUD on what's left of the Crimson Estate's manicured lawn. That turf grass is done for. Good. The CGUE itself is significantly less done for. When the barrage ends, its armor is peppered with spall and smoking wounds, but its mono-eye is still glaring down at Jiro.
The CGUE whips its rifle free. Liam lines the launchers up in the crosshairs, now so incensed his face is a bright red. <"Alien weapon. Alien weapon that murdered MILLIONS, and it's a god damn TOY to you!>" The CGUE pulls the trigger. It lays down a withering barrage of fire, tapping its jets to keep an angle on Jiro through the jungle foliage. <"GET SOME BLOODY HELP, WOMAN!">
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Hikaru kind of just stares blankly at Aqua, as she explains how she is only doing this because she had everything she could've wanted at arm's reach. Hikaru, loud and enthusiastic, silenced by someone who's clearly even weirder than she is. "I can't believe you! You missed the point of those stories so hard even the most tragic of demises wouldn't hit you with it!" She fires back. "If you can't even understand that, then there's no way you deserve to rope Yurika-chan into those fantasies of yours!"
Since her window was already in Ryoko's cockpit to go off on this tragic heroine in the first place, she adds, "...Man, you always called me weird, but there's no way I'm this bad, right?" Clearly, Ryoko can attest she has far more taste than this.
"Oh, and by the way... no way I'm letting you in my cockpit! Two's roomy enough, y'know!" She playfully elbows Yurika - who is in fact, sitting where she usually keeps her big stash of stuff.
But for all she complains about having less room in her very own special space, it is fun to hear Yurika just go OFF on Aqua. "Yeah! You tell her!" She encourages Yurika, who wants nothing more than to seize romance on her terms. "Writers who treat their characters as nothing more than silly little props are the worst! I can't stand when people only care about the ending and not how the characters even get there, it's total amateur stuff! Maybe I should start teaching classes, huh?" She grins despite her harsh words.
"I guess we'll probably feel better if we take this out on a really big target, huh?" She blocks the machine gun fire the best she can with Yurika's support. And then she brandishes the Immediate Knife and dashes into close combat. She's sick of seeing that crumbling down mansion anyways. "If you want a tragedy so bad..." She starts, attempting to stab through Jiro's massive form. "Then I'll start by showing you what it means to lose for once~"
KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Ryoko Subaru's Go! Aestivalis!, taking 4290 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ryoko Subaru's In the End All I Do Is... activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 55992 KTS: Ryoko Subaru has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 602. KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Himeyuri Oono with Immediate Shish Kebab!! KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round. Escudo Shard teleports in.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Himeyuri Oono with MMI-M7S 76mm Machine Gun Barrage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Evade Trevor Teach's Hypersonic Bolt, taking 5040 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 50952 KTS: Your EN is now 592. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Riika Sheder's JS-F03 Isarnkoll Beam Glaive Decisive Assault, taking 6240 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Riika Sheder's Mobile Weapon Analysis activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Riika Sheder's Redline activates, causing Control Bonus! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 44712 KTS: Riika Sheder has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 587. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Intercept Ruri Hoshino's Missile Launch, taking 1980 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 42732 KTS: Your EN is now 587. Escudo Shard teleports out.
KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Alto Saotome's AK/VF-M9 Assault Knife Pinpoint Lunge, taking 5700 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 37032 KTS: Alto Saotome has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Your EN is now 582. Escudo Shard teleports in. Escudo Shard teleports out. Escudo Shard teleports in.
KTS: Possible reactions are React, Evade, Parry, Block, Intercept, Charge, Retreat, Rush, Guard, Job, Accept KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Crescent Cross, taking 2850 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 34182 KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Lucine Azul begins a Formation attack! KTS: Your EN is now 577. KTS: Himeyuri Oono's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Himeyuri Oono partially guards Liam 7-020's MMI-M7S 76mm Machine Gun Barrage, taking 4080 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 30102 KTS: Your EN is now 577. KTS: Himeyuri Oono fails to Parry Hikaru Amano's Immediate Shish Kebab!, taking 6960 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Hikaru Amano's I'll Introduce Myself! activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 23142 KTS: Hikaru Amano has engaged Himeyuri Oono! KTS: Hikaru Amano completes the Formation attack! KTS: Your EN is now 572. <Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Yurika tries to refute Aqua's rambling, and Aqua simply doesn't listen. "What are you talking about! You *leapt* at the chance to be my prince! You understood! Love at first sight doesn't need this hesitance, this caution! Do you really want to whither on the vine like-"r
And then comes the impact, heard across the entire island. For a few seconds, there is blissful silence.
You know, apart from the raging Jovian weapon still firing. It has no respect for dramatics.
r"Y-you slapped me..." She looks stunned, holding her cheek. "Not even my parents ever slapped me..."
The light starts to come back to her eyes. "Not even my parents ever slapped me!" She sounds... excited? "This... this is perfect! The heroine, separated from her true love, denied and refused! The hardened bitter loveless soldier as her obstacle, yet she refuses to yield! But helpless, she dies with the soldier and only then does the heroine's lover realize her mistake, never to find love again, as the heroine dies in her arms!"
It's a really good thing she can't interfere with the controls, because she's looking for some way she can.
The Jiro is a much less annoying foe, eating the full fury of that uppercut, and the spider is fully flipped, before a thruster activates to try and put it upright- but in the process it eats a hypersonic bolt to the underside, finishing the rest of the flip for it and exposing precious machinery. It tries to raise a leg to block Riika's slash- and instead loses it completely, going down to three. It's ability to move is severely impaired, with one leg on the left side and two on the right.
The Jiro- down one machine gun and two eyes- can't fire on the incoming missiles from the Nadesico, which slam into it, pushing it deeper into the ground.
"You'll understand when you're older, little girl! A prince is a girl's romantic dream!" Please shut up, Aqua. Ruri does not need your terrrible ideas in her head. Alto lets loose his anger at her, and Aqua seems to take it on board with grace. "I can't expect a have nothing soldier like you to understand a woman's heart! You're a soldier, you're expected to fight meaninglessly and die meaninglessly! You're a bit part in this story!"
The Jiro at least has the decency to have it's side cut open, exposing vital circuitry. The Beam Glaive is driven into it, and the Jiro slams roughly into the ground.
"I don't see what you're complaining about. Whatever happens after my lover and I died hardly mattered- it's not as though the story would continue!" Liam talks about it being a toy, and Aqua seems to get a little angry. "It's not a toy! It's God's gift! God wanted me to have my moment and then be taken to heaven with my love! But you're all getting in the way!"
The machinegun hammers into the Jiro, another of those leg joints breaking. It can't stand now, and slumps into the ground. But it's still active- even as Hikaru's knife drives into it, tearing open the side of it's bulb- revealing even more missiles. Just a stockpile of warheads.
They beep, as they all arm. The heat signature of the Jiro starts to increase. The yellow eyes turn red, and the beeping increases.
A self destruct mechanism.
"Ah, God heard my prayer!" She gives a frankly rancid look to Hikaru. "Let's see which one of us loses! The tragic heroine, or the bit players!"
And then the Jiro explodes into missiles, the core detonating, all it's remaining missiles firing off in every direction. There's not enough left to wipe out much more than the mansion- and even that could be prevented, if enough of the missiles can be shot down before they hit- but that's still plenty to pose a threat to those engaged in battle here- while one final volley fires for the Nadesico.
And at the end, somehow, a head sits on the radius of the sudden explosion, the Jiro's head sits, sending out that AI chittering.
CHANSYS: No channel with that name or alias found.
You don't have that Spirit Command.
That part is not installed.
KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Detonate Spirit Command, reducing the Jiro to 1 HP! KTS: Himeyuri Oono uses Auxiliary Calculator - Detonate KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono has activated the Attune Spirit Command. /-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\ | 1: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Slash Pwr: 2750 12 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing) | | 2: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Stab Pwr: 3850 28 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Penetrating) | | 3: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Sweep Pwr: 2500 20 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Repulse, MAP) | | 4: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Impalement Pwr: 5200 42 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Barrier Breaker) | | 5: Jovian Drone Assault Limbs Monstrous Ripping Pwr: 6000 62 EN | | (Physical, Melee, Crushing, Finisher, Spread) | | 6: Jovian Drone Machine Guns Burst Pwr: 2350 13 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Rattle) | | 7: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Rain Pwr: 4000 19 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Microtarget, Intercept, Missile) | | 8: Jovian Drone Missile Array Focused Barrage Pwr: 5000 42 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Ship-Killer, Penetrating, All-Range, Missile) | | 9: Jovian Drone Missile Array Sequential Impacts Pwr: 5500 40 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Barrier Breaker, Accurate, Missile) | | 10: Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm Pwr: 6000 47 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, MAP, Crushing, Accurate, Spread, Missile) | | 11: High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism Pwr: 6500 65 EN | | (Physical, Melee, MAP, Finisher, Spread, Root) | | 12: Jovian Drone Missile Array Single Fire Pwr: 3600 14 EN | | (Physical, Ranged, Initiation, Missile) | | 13: Prospect - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff) | | 14: Shock - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Debuff, MAP) | | 15: Awe - 10 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, Special, Buff, MAP) | | 16: Pass - 0 EN | | (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) | \-----< HP: 1/106650 EN: 572 (+30/round|0 comm) SP: 0 Morale: 150/150 >------/
KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ryoko Subaru with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Trevor Teach with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Riika Sheder with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Alto Saotome with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Lucine Azul with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Liam 7-020 with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Hikaru Amano with High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism! KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Trevor Teach has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Trevor Teach blocks Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 3900 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Trevor Teach! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Himeyuri Oono targets Ruri Hoshino with Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm! KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Ryoko Subaru blocks Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 3250 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Ryoko Subaru! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Alto Saotome blocks Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 3849 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Alto Saotome! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Ruri Hoshino partially guards Himeyuri Oono's Jovian Drone Missile Array Missile Storm, taking 6500 damage! KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 parries Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 1950 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Liam 7-020! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Hikaru Amano parries Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 1800 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Hikaru Amano! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Lucine Azul parries Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism, taking 1950 damage! KTS: Himeyuri Oono has engaged Lucine Azul! KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Riika Sheder successfully avoids Himeyuri Oono's High Yield Self Destruct Mechanism KTS: Himeyuri Oono roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. <Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
"Nope, Actual Pirate Prince here," Trevor interjects, because this rich brat is factually getting on his nerves. "You're not a princess, you're just a horrible human being who somehow thinks that she's the only main character in the world. Like, do you think all of existence just stops after you're dead or something? That you're the only 'person' that exists or matters or feels? Come on, lady."
Dealing with people this closed minded is a very rare experience. There were certainly some out in the far flung reaches of the Solar System, but you can't be a HARDCORE LONE WOLF SURVIVALIST TYPE or a spoiled, rich asshole in places where cooperation and community were the only ways to get by.
Alto's wrath is absolutely legitimate. He doesn't even need to be a newtype to jive with his vibes. This lady is heinously twisted and quite possibly clinically insane. The most frustrating thing is that there's a definite non-zero possibility that even after all of this, she's going to get off with a slap on the wrist.
Hopefully that doesn't make her swoon too.
She's ultimately a distraction, though. What matters here is the Jiro. A thing that is so positively packed full of missiles that the entire machine is basically a walking bomb.
(As it turns out, this is true.)
"Uh," Trevor starts, and then the thing's eyes flash red and Trevor recognizes that as the universal sign of Things Going Badly. He is only proven right when the Jiro explodes in a veritable carnival of missiles. "--Fffffffuuuuuuuck--"
He-- can't dodge. Isadore's normally exceptional mobility is rendered absolute trash by the mere fact that it's ensconced in what's basically an Acguy Suit. And so he does the most intelligent thing he can think to do in response to this... This.
And so the Isadore curls up into a vaguely turtle (or perhaps trilobite)-shaped capsule as the missiles rain down.
...
...
As it turns out, this is not a terrible move. That dive suit was made to endure incredible pressures, and what are missile explosions but giant blasts of pressure? When the smoke clears, Isadore is still there to unfurl, stagger upright, and stare daggers at the Jiro's still-lingering head.
"Mmmmmyep, okay then," Isadore (Acguy Cosplay) tottles over to the ruined head...
And picks it up, hoisting it into the air like it were a Valuable Treasure.
"Salvage rights," Trevor announces, proudly. "Booty, acquired. Yo-ho."
<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
A long, slow, steady breath. It's been a long day for Yurika. Her poor little head's been working three times the overtime and all on the extra difficult task of self reflection. And honestly? At this point?
<"Okay, Ryoko-chan, captain's orders! As soon as we're done her PLEASE deposit her in a convenient hole and we'll split as fast as we possibly can. In the meantime OH MY GOD I CAN'T STAND LISTENING TO HER ANYMORE I WILL TALK TO YOU LATER I'M SO SORRY YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS-">
And with that, Yurika cuts off the feed to Ryoko's Aestivalis, and slumps in utter relief against Hikaru, head exhaustedly on the mangaka's shoulder, low grumbling constant and ambient. "...the last, like, three hours of my life have been this revelatory paradise suddenly turned into hell. I'm so...so...it's just all...what am I going to do with all this? It feels like there's this crazy thing in my heart, turning everything over, thumping and thumping like it's right on the verge of explo-"
"...right on the verge of exploding..." Yurika grips the center IFS console again, blinkblinking her way to life, then lunging forward, eyes flickering left and right as the Jiro's readings start doing something worrying, right in the middle of stabbing it fiercely. "...Hikaru, HIKARU IT'S ABOUT TO BLOW UP-" Shoving her way directly in front of Hikaru's seat, her hands fly outwards to nudge the pilot's palms off of the interface a little - really just crowding the panels with both pairs, as all sorts of technical and auxiliary information about the detected grade of explosives flies up, Yurika's memory of these sorts of ordinances blaring into action. "Detonation trigger at 1800c, estimated density 1.8. Local humidity is - RIGHT HERE WE GO. Hikaru-chan I'm maneuvering for a bit, please just focus on the weapons aiming. Mr. Hoary, if you're still up there on the bridge, please load the Hinagiku up with the deployment bay's Munitions Tempering Package B and fire it ASAP aaaaaat - about 300 meters northwest of my position. Don't be exact just be fast!" The captain straight up parks herself right on top of Hikaru, going so fully Emergency Mitigation Mode that she just does not have the time to consider the implications of her actions.
"Alright, my training on the Aestis was uuhhh entirely glancing at some of the online courses but I'm pretty sure the thrusters are right heeEEEERE!?" Firing the orange Aestivalis up at far too high a speed, Yurika's rolling in for a higher speed impact than expected, enough to push the Jiro back just a tiny bit - before reversing course. Goat Hoary, of course, sprints his way at speeds that'd make linebackers wallow in grief at their fragility and permeability, speedrunning the Hinagiku's launch sequence to get that high-grade detonation coolant fired off and sprayed all over the Jiro's immediate vicinity...!
Only once they're well out of the blast radius can the thoroughly wiped Yurika finally slouch down, toppling backwards into Hikaru's front and staring skyward in utter exhaustion. "...aaaagh, I went to this whole tropical beach paradise and all I got was like five existential nightmares in a row!!! I'm beat..."
<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.
Riika finishes Svalinn Feather's great sweep to great success. She's feeling pretty good - until something else happens. Riika runs into the same problem she's had before:
Svalinn Feather handles *really bad* this close to the ground. It's not made for flying around trees, it's made for the open skies (and, of course, space). Just because you CAN drive it at ground level does not mean you should.
So she finishes the sweeping slash and pulls up, but caught in gravity's iron grip she doesn't get very far very quickly. She nearly slams into Isadore before banking sharply, losing too much height, firing the emergency thrusters -
Everything goes to hell *at once* behind her as the Jiro explodes, and Riika suddenly looks intensely cool because she's flying right out of an explosion, leaving it behind her.
Unfortunately she's also slammed herself back in the seat with enough G-forces to even make a Coordinator blank for a moment as she's fired every thruster, including the one that she keeps the controls for under a cover so she won't hit them by mistake and the big one that she uses in space for long-distance travel. She has also kicked up a fantastic amount of sand, dirt, grit, and miscellaneous ground debris in all directions.
On the plus side, she is DEFINITELY not going to hit the ground now. On the minus side, Riika - once she's got the Feather under control - is performing a much slower, more careful descent and also isn't in any position to handle either Aqua or the head.
"<Uh,>" she transmits, while she's doing this. "<Everything all right down there?>"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The sound of Ryoko's palm striking Aqua's face echoes through the CGUE's cockpit. Liam pauses a beat, honestly surprised Ryoko didn't just deck her--but that only makes matters worse. <"Bloody solipsist nattering,"> he growls. "<She's not even into you, you creepy, spoiled, disgusting little-->"
Beep beep beep beep beep.
"<Shite. LU, BRACE!>" The CGUE's shield is ruined on the ground. In its place, it draws its sword, holding the heavy kinetic-kill weapon up as if to part the shockwave. It slams headlong into the Mobile Suit, rocking it back; the force of it presses hard against Liam's bared chest, his open cover-up fluttering a little.
A missile races at the CGUE, perhaps intending to finish the job. There's a bright, steely flash--
And the missile falls to the ground in two pieces, the payload severed from the detonator. Liam lets out a hiss of breath, his fury finally abating.
"<Lu. Lu, are you all right?>" Liam's accent has gone back into its box, for now. "<Is everyone all right?>" It looks like it, but you never know. That, at least, will be a fitting end for Aqua's delusions of starcrossed lover martyrdom.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto might have snapped back at Aqua for the nothing soldier comment she directed at him. But he's too busy facing down a massive last-ditched barrage of missiles.
After his last attack, Alto is too close to shoot them down. So he doubles down on the increased defenses afforded by his unit's Battroid mode, kneeling down, raising the shield on his arm and activating the pinpoint barrier.
By the time the explosive wave of missiles passes, the Messiah's pinpoint barrier flickers out. The machine stands amidst the only still green patch of forest in its immediate vicinity. Everything else around it has been scorched to ash. The Messiah itself is only slightly better off, the edges of its form still having taken much of the heat and as such is scorched and slightly slagged.
Within the cockpit, Alto lets out the breathe he had been holding... Thankfully the weapon has been dealt with.
He has no idea what they're going to do about the lunatic that unleashed it.
To other matters, it seems like there's still actually a piece of the Jovian bug intact and functional. As Trevor picks it up, Alto muses, <"Maybe that thing will give us useful intel. Or even show us something in their technology we can exploit.">
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
"I was actually gonna hand it over to Ruri for that," Trevor chirps helpfully, because good pirates always share their booty with friends. "Seems like a rare opportunity to actually pick through Jovian tech~"
<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.
"<... Well so long as you don't keep trying to top your usual pranks maybe.>" Ryoko replies to Hikaru, but she can tell perhaps that Ryoko is simply ribbing her rather than actually thinking that.
Hikaru's definitely not crazy.
"<YEAH I REALIZED THAT!>" She fires back at Ruri, because yeah, yeah. She's grateful perhaps for Alto's back up here. For Lucine's, for Liam's. She won't shy from decking someone but God, the way this lady presents herself some part of her just makes her feel bad by looks alone.
Even if her personality absolutely deserves it.
"'Course I slapped you! How else do you expect someone to react to this shit!? To just take it! To just let you get what you want-"
However, she then begins to tell a story, a narrative of the hardened bitter- "LOVELESS?" Ryoko snarls out, "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CALLING ME LOVELESS? KEEP ME OUT OF YOUR WEIRD NARRATIVE!"
Even Captain Yurika turns off the comms, and honestly? She can't blame her, Ryoko thinks she's made a profound mistake saving this woman's life given her behavior right now.
The Jiro then begins to beep, and Ryoko sees the self-destruct mechanism. Right now they're at near point blank range. "Ah-way-wait a minute!?" She low key panics at first, and as the missiles rain down, the core detonates, and- Ryoko's Aestivalis vanishes in the detonations.
And for a moment one might wonder if she got her wish.
And then the comms pick up something from her cockpit, "<One problem with that. It's that this isn't some stupid fantasy. It's REAL LIFE-!>"
As the smoke clears, the Aestivalis has hunkered down behind it's distortion fields, as they shine at max power.
"<And I'm too goddamned good to die to some stupid shit like that! NOW COME HERE! YOU HEARD THE CAPTAIN!>"
There's a sound of a brief, and not too violent struggle. To those who have a window in the cockpit, they'll hear a sudden noise as Ryoko pulls out her universal solution to problems...
-=-=-
... a hatch opens back on the beach, and Ryoko leads Aqua out, with her wrists bound in duct tape, and one piece over her mouth as well. "<YOU GONNA BEHAVE? AFTER THE SHIT YOU'RE LUCKY SHE'S JUST ORDERING I PUT YOU IN A HOLE! I OUGHT TO BURY YOU UP TO YOUR NECK IN SAND AND CALL THE CRABS OVER!>"
That thought is interrupted by a bespectacled man clearing his throat, "Yes well, Captain's orders not withstanding, I've been in touch with the Crimson Concern after their involvement in this matter became clear. And it's against the best interests of Nergal HQ to allow you to do that Miss Subaru. We are thus interpreting the hole Captain Misumaru asked you to dump her in in the most charitable way possible."
Ryoko pauses for one prolonged moment, as the duct taped woman looks smugly at her, the words grating out through her teeth, "May I at least keep the duct tape on?"
Prospector's glasses gleam in the lighting, "I believe we can let that one slide. Measures which ensure she brings no harm to herself or others are quite acceptable, after all."
-=-=-
And thus did Aqua reach her final destination.
A hole.
Or rather multiple holes. Because Ryoko stacked up a half a dozen inflated inner tubes inside Uribatake's shitty beachside shack and taped her to her place in the center of them all, mummifying her and suspending her to each of the beach inflatables like a spider's prey, caught in a web.
"There. Crazy-proof. Now stay put until someone from your Daddy's company comes to pick you up."
As Ryoko closes the shack door, one might ask the question on whether Aqua will learn anything from this.
"Doubt it!" Ryoko responds to her own internal question on the matter as she heads back to the ship.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
The barrage falls upon the Distortion Field, and pierces through; the Nadesico smokes, as the missiles find purchase. Uribatake's face appears, briefly, as he yells: "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! We've got damage in the fourth, fifteenth, seventh, ninth sectors --"
His window is soundly waved off.
"The enemy's doing an excellent job," Ruri remarks, dryly. And another Ruri window pops up, with an, "Alert: the Jiro is self-destructing."
When the explosion fades, Ruri's window pops up again. "Congratulations," she says, "no cessation of life signs detected." She could sound even a LITTLE happy about that! No? Still stoic? Well, fine.
Somehow, even the Captain survived...
When it comes to the Jovian's head -- Ruri frowns, lightly. "I've never been able to reach the Jovian machines," she transmits. "They... don't want to talk to me."
Meanwhile, when Ryoko arranges Aqua's final destination, Omoikane pops up a window from her communicator: < CAPTAIN DEFENDED. >
<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.
"<I could spend some time examining it by my methods instead if you'd like,>" Riika says, sounding hopeful.
What? She didn't get to look at the Chulip for very long.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
< ".... The people you just insulted the past few minutes have more integrity, honor, and courage than you'd ever be able to _understand_. You might stand a chance at becoming a better person if you listened to _a single word_ any of them have told you!!" >
Lucine feels that spike of insight, as well as flash of memory. It's a cruel design that makes it stand out from Vajra; at least there, there's a hivemind, and whatever actions they take are for the well-meaning of the whole, self destructive actions included, if Lucine were to guess. It's why the Vajra have been so difficult to defeat, and with Jovian Lizards, it's the exact opposite. Colonies that may have managed to get the upper hand may instead have the colony torn asunder by a well-placed explosion, leaving the survivors vulnerable to the next wave of reinforcements.
It's so dastardly that it may be no surprise when Lucine suddenly warns, < "_Pull back._" > No need for Newtype senses here; all that's needed is to look at the damn thing.
The glaive is held in front as the explosion obscures all else in her display; the heat begins to make her wonder if she'll be cooked alive.
But then.... it's over.
Lucine wants to destroy that head with a compulsive fury that almost blots out the sight and meaning of the Isadore that holds it up.
It's Trevor, and Isadore. Trevor, the pirate from the Belt, and Isadore, the machine with a ghost (?). What's more, Lucine can't argue with Alto's reasoning, especially after yelling at someone to listen him and others here.
Liam calls her name, and Lucine's mind begins to uncoil from that tight knot.
< ".... I need to get the Dianthus back into the bay and get out. This cockpit isn't meant for a pilot in a swimsuit..." > She breathes. < ".... I'll be fine. ... Ryoko... thank you for saving that young woman. She might have valuable information about how she even managed to find that thing. I'm sure Prospector has a few ideas on how to get her to talk if she's not cooperative. Just keep that head away from Omoikane. I don't know what stuff might be inside it." >
Riika ponders examining it. < "..... Please be careful, Riika. I don't... want it to turn on. I'm not sure how we got lucky here, but... I'm scared that it might... turn on." > Lucine's voice grows tinier as she keeps speaking, before she clears her throat. < ".... I'm.... going to head back." > She needs some distance, from these emotions.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"One thing's for sure..." Hikaru starts, as Ryoko ribs her. "I never once had hiding up a super deathweapon and unleashing it on some unsuspecting romantic on my list of future bits!" She exclaims.
As for Aqua, the only thing she has left to say before Ryoko conveniently covers her mouth with duct tape is: "You're the one who's gonna lose! But probably not in the way that you expect~ We're going to thwart that stupid little bug-lizard thing and no one is gonna die!"
"You always talk about how your heart is thumping all over, Yurika-chan!" Hikaru points out, very helpfully. "But this is different, isn't it... I mean if it's going to explode, I guess I gotta help you defuse it!"
It's that wording that has Hikaru initially confused when Yurika informs her it's about to blow up. "N-Now? Oh gosh no... I don't have any training with heart attacks! Hold steady, Yurika-chan-" She's played the role of a knight in shining armour, but can she really do this?
She blinks three times. "Ohhhh you mean the lizard's gonna blow! That's a lot easier!" She grins. "Especially if we're working together~"
Which they do, as Yurika speeds ahead, while Goat Hoary prepares the anti-detonation coolant. "We're charging right in? ThAAAAt's fine!" She thumbs up, even as the machine's sheer speed jolts her forward in her seat, and then she feels Yurika... on... oh gosh. "W-What I was trying to say was that as long as we keep the Field up, the Aestie shouldn't take any... damage!" She manages.
And that impact just so happens to look like Hikaru wielding the Field as if it was a literal sword and trying to cut the explosion in half (which is how it looks thanks to Goat's quick work). "Wow... it really is like they say in Gekiganger. Putting your hearts together is just more powerful! Guess it works that way for the IFS too, huh?"
Once they're safe, though, Hikaru's ready to collapse too, as Ryoko gets to work in burying that pain in their sides. "That was, um... that was a whole lot of I don't know!" Hikaru offers in response. "And my whole everything hurts, too!" And well... she wants to force the issue of what they just experienced, but her whole idea of romance is so poisoned that all she can do is wordlessly take Yurika's IFS-branded hand with her own. "...Thanks for the backup. I'd probably be in real trouble if you didn't help me out. And I'm nothing like a real knight... but I guess you'd be in even more and realer trouble if I didn't chase you down, ehehe..."
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
"Wait, what are you doing get your hands- mmffff! MFF! MFFF FFMF MFFFF MFF!"
----
Aqua is not particularly willingly led out, her barrage of complaints muffled by strategic application of duct tape.
Not that the idea of waiting for the waves to swallow her doesn't have it's appeal... That red blush appears across Aqua's face again, in a manner that seems wholly unsettling-
You really just can't win with this woman, can you?
----
Meanwhile, with the battle over and the airspace safe from missiles, a seaplane loaded with spacenoid tourists takes off, hailing the Nadesico with a thank you message.
In her seat, next to her bodyguard, Captain Oono frowns. "...Looks like it was a dud after all..." She sounds kind of down. Was it because it had been sealed in the Chulip for so long that the legs failed? Or was it something to do with the tropical climate... Even the self destruct mechanism was ineffective...
She felt conflicted about that. Why was she conflicted? She should be upset that the Earthlings weren't defeated, that her machine failed. "Let's go back. The mission yielded data, at least."
----
On top of the inner tubes, mummified in duct tape, Aqua Crimson struggles against her well deserved bonds! "MFF MFFF MF MFF MRRF MFF MRRF! MFF MFFRFF MFRFRFFRF!"
Honestly, you probably have heard the last of her, despite what she's trying to say. Sometimes, a thread just dangles.
Or bobs in a sad little beach shack, until someone comes to collect her and whisk her to somewhere where she can hoopefully not cause any problems anymore.
Either way, it looks like she'll have to wake up from her twisted romantic dream...
KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round.