2025-06-12: Sect 26.2 - E-1 Field Test 01
- Log: 2025-06-12- Sect 26 dot 2 - E-1 Field Test 01
- Cast: Mobile Weapons Team, Rikka Takarada, Knight, Lina Lombardi, Alouette Pommier, Anya Alstreim, Aurora Dusk, Lilium Valerie
- Where: Area 11/OCU Japan Border
- OOC - IC Date: 0100-06-12
- Summary: Remnants of a former Vist Foundation science team test their new product on one of the hottest borders the NUNE apparatus still has. Things go pear-shaped and never really stop going pear-shaped.
<Pose Tracker> Mobile Weapons Team has posed.
"E-1! It's your first assignment. We'd like you to attack the military installation at Area 11's border, then move to the corresponding installation on the OCU Japanese side of the border and fire three shots before the Britannian military arrives. Ideally you'll then retreat, but if anyone secures visual on you, terminate them as soon as possible."
"That's... why would I attack the OCU?"
"They won't take direct military action against Britannia otherwise."
"You want me to... start a war? Alone? That's -- I'm not doing that. That's not -- you said..."
"DJ9N."
"Nn. You wouldn't lie to me."
"That's right. Yes, E-1, this will in the short term start a war. But afterward, there will be a peace."
"... I understand."
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Emergency services and intelligence -- light, fast, minimal need for operational oversight -- are first on the scene. Mobile weapons take a while to get there.
By the time mobile weapon response arrives, the operation has gone a little bit pear-shaped. Strictly speaking, it hasn't sparked as much fighting as one might have hoped between Britannia and the OCU... but that's primarily because both sides have seen the Gundam-type, and as such, it's committed to destroying them.
It's really good at that, as it happens.
The border forces are primarily Gustav Karls, sixth-generation KMFs, and Ichinanas -- all suits which are now aging. By comparison, the suit engaged with both of them is quite new! At first it looks like the mass-production Nu Gundam, but the funnel rack is smaller, more refined -- and every vent, instead of the usual yellow, is an angry, heated red.
Akane's been waiting for news on this particular lead for a while now, and it seems they have it. Only a very small number of organizations have the technical knowledge to produce HADES derivatives -- and that vicious red on the Nu Gundam-type MS is unmistakable.
At first she'd been here to provide field support, but when she actually saw the mobile weapon, she immediately got out of her transport and went on foot. Sure, signal quality sucks, but she has a good idea which of these nearby buildings is ground zero -- because it's owned by the same shell company as Saistone.
Unfortunately, she's not there alone. The Gaia Sabers are also following up on this same lead, for... decidedly different reasons -- and Akane, unfortunately, is just one young woman. The scuffle is... protracted -- while she's not much of a shot, she is good at getting ahead of troops.
It's over by the time there's any non-border force mobile weapon response. And when the Gaia Sabers and 3G arrive in force...
Lying over half the building is a Gustav Karl, saber resting in a hole that was clearly a stab into the Earth while falling.
Nearby are the signs of a scuffle that... likely happened within that crater. All that remains are:
scraps of a special ops suit known to be used by the Gaia Sabers, seemingly torn in a fight;
charred, unidentifiable knucklebones;
and a shockingly pristine gold-and-platinum wedding ring with an orange-brown central diamond and deep blue side stones.
Its owner is nowhere to be found, and the ring is in the same pile as some of those knucklebones...
KTS: Aurora Dusk has deployed in RX-94 Mass Production Nu Gundam <HADES Test Type>. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has deployed in RX-94E1 Mass Production Nu Gundam <E-1 Use>. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has deployed as a Boss for 6 opponents. KTS: Rikka Takarada has deployed in RX-90 Mu Gundam <Red Umbrella>. KTS: Alouette Pommier has deployed in Gatherway Guardienne Aviaire. KTS: EN Barrier activated! KTS: Anya Alstreim has deployed in RZA-6DG Mordred. KTS: EN Barrier activated! KTS: Lina Lombardi has deployed in GBR-VF01 Lombardi Custom (Fighter Mode). KTS: EN Barrier activated!
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
A military skirmish like this wouldn't usually be her jurisdiction... but the presence of the mass-produced Nu Gundam, wrecking havoc on both sides, demands an intervention of more than the what OCU's military force usually fields. That leaves it to 3G's Mobile Corps - and today, the Chief of 3G Red deploys along with them. Intelligence had gone on ahead and Rikka, piloting the Mu Gundam, flies now to link up with them.
"We're here. What's the status of the situation? I-" Rikka starts to broadcast - and then the building comes in visual range. The building that has been blasted to pieces, the remains of a mobile suit crashed into its side. The building where Akane was supposed to be.
In the cockpit, Rikka's eyes open wide.
"Akane? AKANE!? Where are you? Respond... Please respond!!" Rikka calls out frantically. In mid-air, the Mu Gundam thrashes this way and that, as if hoping to spot some trace of her. But there's no answer. There's nothing. Rikka's breathing accelerates. Panic sets in, as the scenarios play out in her mind on repeat. She looks up -
And the Mu Gundam comes to a sudden, almost unnatural stop in the air. It fixates, briefly, on the remains of the Gaia Sabers suit, and then, on the chaos wrought below. Its gaze lingers... and then goes up, scanning the sky for the Nu Gundam-type and its blazing red vents.
When(if) it spots it, Rikka's voice rings out.
"Pilot of the Nu Gundam - turn off that system! It'll kill you!" Rikka calls out, trying to get in contact. That sounds... remarkably normal, for the panic that had set in only just moments ago. That might be worrying in its own right.
KTS: Lilium Valerie has deployed in YF-777SA Seraph <Fighter Mode>.
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
"Knight, you should go," Anosilius the Second says, talking to her partner as they sit in their boat on one of Nouvelle Tokyo's small waterways.
"I don't..." Knight starts. "We don't get involved in human affairs. This isn't our business."
"I've been listening to GGG communications. They sent Miss Akane." Second tells him. Knight makes a guttural noise.
"Please. Just... as a personal request. I think I know what organization is doing this. They're dangerous. To us, as well."
"Fine. We'll go," Knight says.
"We'd better not regret this."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Knight stands in the crater. Knight stands over the wedding ring. They say nothing. They only turn their head skywards, to the sounds of battle overhead, and howl like a beast. The howl twists and merges and fades into a warped sound as in a red flash of light, Gridknight descends.
The giant's feet touch down, cracking the pavement. Gridknight slowly stands up, but not at his full height. There's a hunch, a shifting of his weight forwards. His head turns up, and his eyes glow red, but not the usual electronic hue. Crimson overflows from those eyes, spilling out like flames - or tears. Gridknight turns to the Nu Gundam, and says one thing.
"DIIIIEEEEE!!!"
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina's head hurt. It hurt just looking at the image of the MP Nu Gundam during briefing. It had been years since the skirmish at Torrington, but the sight of even a mass-produced version of the model brought up bad memories. Though, she wondered, that incident did indirectly lead to her opening up her mind and getting a girlfriend, so could she really say it was all that bad? Those wandering thoughts kept Lina busy in her cockpit as the Area 11 border approached, doing an occasional fancy maneuver in the Custom just to keep herself stimulated.
Those thoughts are immediately chased away once they reach their destination, the direct sight of the Nu Gundam causing a twitch to come to her eye. She takes a deep breath and steadies herself, keeping her fighter in a perimeter around the area, eyes locked on the Nu.
"...Akane... Lord in Heaven..." She reflexively makes a sign of the cross over her head and shoulders, praying she made it out okay. At the sudden appearance of Knight and his threat towards the Nu, Lina grits her teeth and grips at the controls, preparing for a fight. So much for Rikka trying to talk it out... "Lombardi, engaged."
KTS: Knight has deployed in Gridknight.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
It had only just been a day, since Akane shared with Alouette some important intel regarding a mysterious group who'd been experimenting on Repli-Compoids. Unfortunately, not even the greatest minds in GGG's Intelligence division could predict his level of escalation this soon. A Nu Gundam, baring the unmistakable hallmarks of a Vist Foundation suit... shooting at the Nagoya border. "We have no choice... we're going to need to deploy all the Mobile Corps we have available." Answers Captain Alouette Pommier as soon as she gets the reports.
"I need the Ryu sisters to handle evacuating the border! I'll deploy in Guardienne Aviaire myself if I must." She announces over the comms, before switching to Rikka's line. "...Have you heard from Agent Shinjo yet, Chief Takarada? ...Usually she's way faster to report than this." Alouette asks - she can't help but worry, but she's sure Rikka must be even more worried. For the time being, though, they just have to hope the Gaia Sabers will be amenable to catching their target without staring a war in the process.
The elegant figure of Guardienne Aviaire arrives, shining in golden and blue hues, for the first time since the King of Ruin incident. "This is Mobile Captain Alouette Pommier of GGG Blue. Do we have your cooperation, Gaia Sabers?" She asks over the public line, zooming her camera in on their target. "...There's no mistake about it. This has to be his work." She mutters, before her attention is snapped away by an explosion - and she hears Rikka's panic. And in the corner of her vision... a ring. Alouette's eyes widen. "...N-no," She murmurs. "...It can't be. It just can't." She tries to tell herself, but even she's not certain she believes it.
"Knight! Akane... she's..." Alouette tries to tell Gridknight as he charges in with fury in his blood. They don't know for sure what happened yet, Alouette reminds herself. And they won't find their answer unless they put a stop to this Nu Gundam. Guardienne Aviaire raises its rapier and charges for the mobile suit with a sharp, thrusting motion - and then a downwards slash, in hopes of taking this mysterious pilot off guard. "...Try not to kill the pilot." She instructs, formally... even if she's feeling so much more than that. "If it's anything like the Mu Gundam, we need to rescue them."
KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Mobile Weapons Team with Prise de Fer! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Alouette Pommier's Prise de Fer! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Alouette Pommier's Prise de Fer, taking 2775 damage! KTS: Alouette Pommier begins a Formation attack! KTS: Alouette Pommier bypasses Mobile Weapons Team, preventing her from Guarding the next attack! KTS: Knight targets Mobile Weapons Team with Gridknight Rush Attack! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages parry against Knight's Gridknight Rush Attack! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Knight's Gridknight Rush Attack, taking 2700 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Anya Alstreim has posed.
Area 11 was a new sight to Anya, and she took in the scenery as the Mordred's float system carried her over the Area. Apparently, the Britannian and Japanese outposts on the Area 11-Japan border had opened fire on eachother, which was either a flagrant disregard of Britannian protocol from an uppity noble trying to claim some kind of glory, or else it was Japanese belligerence.
As the outpost approached underneath, she took the maroon knightmare lower, watching with interest as the scene underneath unfolded. A number of other units - apparently GGG - had already deployed on the scene, several of which looked rather similar. The Japanese were taking care of their own, then. Evidently, they weren't as unified as they appeared - someone had acted on their own.
As a voice rang out on open channels, Anya perked up. She had not yet met up with the Gaia Saber reinforcements she had been told would be on the scene, but if GGG was willing to cooperate to put this interloper down, she would take the aid where she could get it.
"Acknowledged, Captain Pommier. I won't speak for the rest of the Gaia Sabers, but as Britannia's Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim, I accept your terms for cooperation." She flipped open a red device, recording a brief memo of the situation, time, and location, and snapped a picture of the display on her Knightmare's screen. Then, she pushed forward on the throttle, and the Mordred swept down onto the battlefield. Her orders were to destroy or incapacitate the enemy unit, and while technically she would have preferred to capture the pilot, that negotiation could wait until the fighting was over.
KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Alouette Pommier, Knight, and Lina Lombardi with Caution! KTS: Alouette Pommier accepts Rikka Takarada's Caution! KTS: Rikka Takarada suggests caution, raising Alouette Pommier's Intuition! KTS: Best Defense! Alouette Pommier successfully reacts to Rikka Takarada's Caution, taking 0 damage! KTS: Lina Lombardi accepts Rikka Takarada's Caution! KTS: Rikka Takarada suggests caution, raising Lina Lombardi's Intuition! KTS: Best Defense! Lina Lombardi successfully reacts to Rikka Takarada's Caution, taking 0 damage! KTS: Anya Alstreim targets Mobile Weapons Team with Micro-Missile Suppressive Fire! KTS: Anya Alstreim's Ace's Muscle Memory activates Focus and Alert! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Anya Alstreim's Micro-Missile Suppressive Fire! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Anya Alstreim's Micro-Missile Suppressive Fire, taking 3400 damage! KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Mobile Weapons Team with Designate L1! KTS: Lina Lombardi's Nuovotipo activates Valor!
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
In the cockpit of her new machine, Aurora's fingers pluck at her arm rakers as she flies towards the border disturbance. One of the many hats she wears is "test pilot", and this is as good an opportunity as any to try out the mobile suit she's been assigned to test.
A sleek black mobile suit arrives on the scene, joining the Area 11 side of the border's proper response team. It looks uncannily like the intruding Nu-type, but that was inevitable, considering they both use the mass production Nu model as a base. Aurora's type, however, carries a more conventional fin funnel array on its back and the traditional beam carbine with underslung grenade launcer associated with the Nu in its right hand, as opposed to the Jesta equipment the newcomer's brought.
It also lacks the inflamed red vents and eyes that signify an active HADES system... at least, for now.
She wastes no time in levelling her beam rifle at the enemy from above as she descends. Squeezing the trigger on her controls, her suit responds by pulling its own trigger, sending three angry violet particle beams through the night at the enemy Nu.
Aurora opens a channel to the nearby Gaia Sabers associated forces to report her arrival. << Aurora Dusk, Mass Production Nu Gundam. >> Following Anya's lead, she initiates an IFF handshake with the local OCU forces, too. The IFF box over her machine, if anyone cares to read it, gives her TAC name as "Wolfhound".
KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Mobile Weapons Team with Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team accepts Lina Lombardi's Designate L1! KTS: Lina Lombardi designates Mobile Weapons Team, making her easier to target and opening her to indirect fire. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Lina Lombardi's Designate L1, taking 0 damage! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage block against Aurora Dusk's Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Aurora Dusk's Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot, taking 3600 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Area 11, or at least the half not under probably-illegal (Lilium's been told it's illegal, anyways, and she has no reason to doubt it) OCU occupation, was unfortunately a place regularly shaken by Baseless Civil Unrest. Even a Britannian princess had been assassinated by terrorists here a few years ago... so it's no wonder that NUNE would send their (allegedly) Angel of Peace to perform for the people there. Under armed guard, of course.
The concert would have to wait, though--if it went ahead at all. A crisis like this on the border was a serious matter... It'd have to be rescheduled at the very least... But for now, Lilium and her entourage represent an effective, if unconventional, rapid response force. The Seraph sweeps over the scenes of widespread destruction--mass production units collapsed into burning buildings. Units still active constantly switching their targeting between each other... and the Gundam. Behind her follow five black-grey Variable Fighters flying in a tipless V-formation, with three on the left and two on the right.
As her escorts set down as GERWALKs and enter the fray amongst the other mass-production units, Lilium herself transforms to Battroid mode, her speaker funnels already deployed, and points a finger towards the Bad Nu Gundam. (Not the Good Nu Gundam, of course). Instead of a song, though, what sounds through the battlefield (and every open communication line) is simply her voice.
<<Everyone! Please, stop fighting each other! NUNE will sort this all out and bring peace back to Area 11 in just a moment, we just need to stand together!>>
The Seraph's special effects equipment at this point kicks in, projecting a giant image of Lilium standing and giving a confident point in her... rather embarrassing pilot suit. She doesn't seem to care, though. The effect on the troops on the NUNE side of the line is immediate: The communication lines, after a moment of stunned silence, immediately erupt into cheers--she's a popular figure, after all. On the OCU side, however... well, it seems less pronounced. Odd, that.
Lilium Valerie transforms to YF-777SA Seraph <Battroid Mode>
KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Aurora Dusk and Anya Alstreim with Awe! KTS: Aurora Dusk accepts Lilium Valerie's Awe! KTS: Lilium Valerie inspires awe, increasing Aurora Dusk's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's Awe, taking 0 damage! KTS: Anya Alstreim accepts Lilium Valerie's Awe! KTS: Lilium Valerie inspires awe, increasing Anya Alstreim's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Anya Alstreim successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's Awe, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Mobile Weapons Team has posed.
Someone's trying to raise E-1 on comms. She wants to ignore it, but she can't -- it's noise, and she frankly lacks the impulse control not to respond to it. "This is the only way I can do anything!" she insists, snapping her beam rifle to point at Rikka. The idea that this could kill her gnaws at her -- but she needs to do something and that, with HADES blazing, overrides her self-preservation
"I thought the fighting would stop if we just -- got used to the way the world was, but it won't! Getting these people to fight is the only way we can get our peaceful lives back!" Heedless of the contradictions in what she's saying, she fires three quick shots down toward the Mu Gundam, shouting, "Now that you've seen me, I need you to disappear!"
And speaking of which --
Her eyes do widen slightly as she sees Gridknight. "... You're -- the giant. The purple one... from back home." She swallows hard as she brings up her shield and beam saber, trying to bat him away. None of her preparation, none of her conditioning prepared her for this -- and she remembers him. When she was a first-year in high school... he saved her. Saved all of them. Her memory's been so spotty lately... but that one's hard to forget. "Don't get any closer. This isn't your fight... there's no kaiju here." He gets a quick burst of head vulcan fire -- just enough to try to get him to leave.
Lina's VF... that's not a familiar model for her, but it's of a type she's more inclined to shoot at than Gridknight. "... Pathetic," she hisses, as she feels Lina's sentiment touch at the edge of her perception. "This is a battlefield! That kind of sentiment has no place here!" It's at this point that she sends her funnels out again -- just one with a basic shot, just trying to gauge her strength as a pilot. This is her first real sortie, after all -- she has no context for how effective anyone is.
Alouette comes in hot with two quick strikes -- a thrust and a slash -- and makes solid connection with the refitted Mass Production Nu Gundam. "Nngh -- that unit, too...!" It's different than it was back then, but Guardienne Aviaire is unmistakable in the way Gridknight is unmistakable. "Why are you fighting back!? Don't you see this world needs to change?! We're trying to prevent more destruction!" By... starting a war on the Earth's tensest border...?
It doesn't even seem like it's working -- the Gaia Sabers are apparently cooperating with 3G, in this moment. She was too slow... but now she is fast, rounding on the Knight of Rounds as missiles rain down. She's able to intercept a couple, but most of them pound into the suit. The armor holds, but... "... Damn Britannians!!!" she shrieks, as HADES gives her a mind's-eye view of the battlefield. It's so much -- it's overwhelming -- but with a snarl, she bears down on the Mordred with beam rifle fire. She knows better than to treat it lightly, but the HADES and the size advantage are making her feel like, well, a god of the underworld. She loops back around to Guardienne Aviaire a moment later, too, raising her shield and firing a quick missile barrage from it; whatever stayed her hand no longer is.
Her resolve doesn't falter as she sees another Nu Gundam type -- and indeed, this is the type of foe she knows best, because most of her training has been against (... simulations of...) other psycommu and psychoframe units. One particle beam misses; another hits shield; the third leaves a nasty mark on her armor. "You think that's even remotely enough to stand against me?!" she demands, starting to feel a surge of near-megalomania as she unloads yet more shield missiles at her fellow Nu-type. Lilium... actually manages to stay her hand for a little while. She wants to be drawn into that feeling, that impulse to stop fighting -- but everyone else's feelings crowd it out, thanks to HADES. The ambient aggression feeds on itself, and she fires another funnel shot. ... She's still getting used to those -- it's the hardest thing to wrap her head around.
'''''''''''''''''''''''
Still no word from Akane...
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Rikka Takarada's Steadfast Resolve activates, and the spirit endures. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Rikka Takarada KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rikka Takarada with Jesta Beam Rifle Spray! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Knight with Head Vulcans Burst! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Lina Lombardi with Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Anya Alstreim with Jesta Beam Rifle Rifle Shot! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Alouette Pommier with Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Aurora Dusk with Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Lilium Valerie with Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation! KTS: Alouette Pommier engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles! KTS: Alouette Pommier's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Alouette Pommier poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles, taking 4560 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation! KTS: Lilium Valerie poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation, taking 3800 damage! KTS: Rikka Takarada engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Spray! KTS: Critical Hit! Rikka Takarada poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Spray, taking 4479 damage! KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation! KTS: Lina Lombardi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Lina Lombardi poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Basic Formation, taking 2800 damage! KTS: Anya Alstreim engages block against Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Rifle Shot! KTS: Anya Alstreim's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Anya Alstreim successfully blocks Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Rifle Shot, taking 1860 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles! KTS: Critical Hit! Aurora Dusk poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Adapted Jesta Shield Missiles, taking 5160 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Anya Alstreim has posed.
Anya watches as a giant holographic image of a girl appears on the battlefield, and she's overcome with a brief moment of awe at the girl's rather dramatic entrance. She has heard of Lilium, even listened to a few songs, but she finds herself drawn in by this spectacle more than she would have expected despite not being a committed fan. At least, she wasn't before. Another sight she'd like to walk away from the battlefield with.
Then, she rips her eyes away from the display just in time to see that angry looking Nu Gundam zip across the battlefield, taking attacks at nearly every one of its foes. She activates the Blaze Luminous, putting up a wall of energy just in time for a beam attack that she manages to take on the armored plating of the Hadron Cannons. The cockpit rocks, but she's taken worse hits. It's dangerous, though, of that there's no doubt, and if it starts to pick off other units, her situation will only get worse.
One of the Mordred's shoulder-mounted cannons swings forward while the other remains in a defensive posture, and she takes another shot at the berserk mech, a beam of electric black and red energy piercing through the air.
KTS: Anya Alstreim targets Mobile Weapons Team with Twin Hadron Cannon Split Fire! KTS: Anya Alstreim's Ace's Muscle Memory activates Trick and Strike! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Anya Alstreim's Twin Hadron Cannon Split Fire! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Anya Alstreim's Twin Hadron Cannon Split Fire, taking 3375 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"Not yet." Rikka answers, with a shake of her head. "She might still be getting set up..."
As for his work, Rikka nods in her cockpit.
"...I think you're right. I don't want to, but..." She starts, trailing off. The same person who had caused so much suffering in her life before... Why was that shadow falling over her life once more?
And here before her - new suffering, in the shattered building and lost right matching her own.
Gridknight appears, crimson overflowing from his eyes. She can hear his fury, and it tears her heart in two.
"Kn-knight." Rikka starts - and it's the only thing that shakes her odd lucidity. She breathes in a shaky breath. "I think... this person may be as much of a victim as I was. We need to help them. And then we can... go look for her."
As if she's trying to convince herself just as much that there's someone - something - to find.
She feels the same way as Alouette does and one of the Gaia Sabers contingent, at least, seems to be willing to cooperate.
NUNE bringing peace to Area 11, though... in her cockpit Rikka frowns, but doesn't linger on that for long. The pilot of the other Nu Gundam speaks.
It's the only way she can do anything... That's a familiar sentiment.
"...I've been where you are now. I know how it feels. But it isn't worth it. It'll eat away at you until there's nothing left." Rikka replies, shaking her head. She insists that the fighting would stop if they go tused to the way of the world, but it won't...
"...What'll that solve? More fighting... How is that going to bring peace? More people are going to die. You have to stop this - please." Rikka insists.
Disappear. Disappear.
...Disappear...
Rikka freezes for a moment, breath caught in her throat. Before she knows it, three shots head her way. She tries to dodge, but she's too slow to regain awareness - the three shots hammer into the Mu Gundam one after the other, causing it to reel back.
It lurches forward, fixating on the Nu Gundam again.
"...I-I'm sorry. I can't disappear. Someone's counting on me. Someone's in trouble. I have to find her." Rikka insists. "Just stop this!"
She draws the Fastening Launcher, aiming it for the Nu Gundam as her own Gundam flies to the side. She fires off one shot - a heavy shackle much like a staple, aiming for one of the legs in an attempt to weigh the Nu Gundam down.
KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Mobile Weapons Team with Leg Shackle!
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina yelps as the funnels come toward her, attempting to bank to the side to no avail, as their shots clip at her wing. "Tch! I don't know, it's served me well so far. The battlefield is the one place to not forget such things!" She brings her fighter back to stable level, bringing it out of the perimeter and towards the Nu Gundam. Thankfully, the Gaia Sabers were on their side for now... the last thing they needed right now was a border dispute.
"Roger that, captain! No aiming for the cockpit! Though with Knight the way he is..." She shakes her head as the Custom deploys its own two mobile turrets, the G-Options weaving around the Nu's funnels and taking shots at the Nu while the fighter crosses overhead.
As Lillium's voice comes over her comms, Lina sighs loudly. "I don't think they're going to listen to you, lady. Sorry, but I gotta defend myself. Nice try, though."
KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Mobile Weapons Team with Alternating Fire! KTS: Lina Lombardi's Nuovotipo activates Focus! KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Alouette Pommier KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Knight KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Lina Lombardi KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage charge against Rikka Takarada's Leg Shackle! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rikka Takarada's Leg Shackle, taking 3225 damage! KTS: Rikka Takarada continues a Formation attack! KTS: Rikka Takarada anchors Mobile Weapons Team, preventing her from Evading the next attack! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Lina Lombardi's Alternating Fire! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Lina Lombardi's Alternating Fire, taking 3375 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Aurora briefly turns her head to visually confirm that the Angel's Orchard squadron is arriving. Her eyes briefly linger on the Seraph as it touches down... and then they scan across the giant hologram. It's... not the kind of pilot suit Aurora would choose. Not that she chooses her suits all that much.
She didn't choose to wear the suit she's currently wearing, for example, although it's much less potentially embarassing than the gaudy thing Lilium is wearing. (Aurora's face flushes slightly from just looking at it.) It's a fancy type based on the UC Project design specs - g-force reinforcement, light padded armor... autoinjector... all done in a sleek black with pink trim. An advanced flight suit a proud soldier of the Newtype Corps (as the badge on her arm indicates) can be proud of.
Lilium's words briefly... they don't distract her, but they draw her focus out, tingling on the edge of her awareness. (It really is awe-inspiring...) She doesn't loudly cheer, but those who can sense such things can tell her morale's received a boost. Beyond the boost the autoinjector in her suit gives her, anyway. Filled with energy, she tries to twist out of the way of the incoming missiles... and fails. The rain of light missiles impacts her armor, causing her to rattle about in her seat. Nothing someone with her enhancements can't handle, and her armour and shield ward off any serious damage.
Aurora promptly decides that now is the time. Her own vents turn the same angry red as the opposing Nu - the telltale signs of a HADES activation - and she leans forwards in her seat as she tips her control sticks and charges forwards, Boosted Songstress's cheers, flight suit's drugs, and now HADES's buzzing mixing in her brain. << Unknown unit. Surrender now or die. >> The beam rifle goes onto her back, and the beam tonfas come out of her machine's forearms as she zigs and zags towards the enemy, lunging forwards to gore her. She clearly doesn't expect a surrender.
KTS: Aurora Dusk's I've Accepted the Machine that I Am activates! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Mobile Weapons Team with Beam Tonfas/Sabers Deep Pierce! KTS: Aurora Dusk has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Aurora Dusk has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
Knight lunges at the Nu Gundam like a berserker, only to be driven back.
"My fight is against YOU!" he growls. Knocked off balance, he signals to Alouette.
"Alouette. . . Rikka. . ." Knight says. His voice is strained.
"I-"
Knight doesn't continue. He doesn't know what to think. Rage is boiling through him like magma. A victim? Like Rikka- like him? But they- they hurt- maybe killed Akane. In the rage, it's easy to slip back into old behaviors. It's easy to just give in.
"GAHHH!"
Lashing out, he tosses a Circular wildly at the Nu Gundam, its form jagged and rough.
KTS: Knight accepts Rikka Takarada's Caution! KTS: Rikka Takarada suggests caution, raising Knight's Intuition! KTS: Best Defense! Knight successfully reacts to Rikka Takarada's Caution, taking 0 damage! KTS: Knight engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Head Vulcans Burst! KTS: Knight poorly guards Mobile Weapons Team's Head Vulcans Burst, taking 2610 damage! KTS: Knight targets Mobile Weapons Team with Knight Circular Straight! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage parry against Aurora Dusk's Beam Tonfas/Sabers Deep Pierce! KTS: Critical Hit! Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Aurora Dusk's Beam Tonfas/Sabers Deep Pierce, taking 8400 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Aurora Dusk's Hands Stained the Colour of Wrongdoing activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Aurora Dusk completes the Formation attack! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Knight's Knight Circular Straight! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Knight's Knight Circular Straight, taking 4500 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
The Gaia Sabers' response is not unexpected, but at least they're also engaging the Nu Gundam and not the OCU and GGG forces. "I'm glad to hear it, Knight of Six," Alouette replies, cordially, to their at least temporary 'allies'. She feels some unease when she sees the other Nu Gundam - but the MP Nu frame being as widely available as it is, it's hardly actionable right now, especially when it's also on their side for now. They even brought their 'idol' with them... and Alouette finds herself at a loss for words. It must be an act, right?
"Rikka..." Alouette murmurs, imagining just how much distress she must be in potentially losing the love of her life - even if they face that reality. "You're right. We'll find her... no matter what it takes. All we can do now is trust in her courage. Because wherever she is... she's trusting ours." No matter how difficult it is to find their own in a time like this. Alouette wants to think it's like when Mikoto went missing on a mission all those years ago, because of her...
Lina in her shiny new Lombardi Custom is also a lot of help in keeping the Nu Gundam's pilot occupied. "I can hardly blame him, considering we still haven't heard from Akane yet..." Alouette frowns, when she brings up Knight's anger. "I think the pain in his own heart might be too much right now to hear the cry in theirs." It's the only way she can really put it, considering he way he's described his nature in the past. "Knight! Can you hear me?" She strains, seeing him falls into his rage, before the Nu Gundam forces her attention.
Does that pilot recognize her? "All you're doing is causing more of it! Do you know how many people will die if you keep this up?" Alouette calls back, retracting her rapier. Already, the casualities are catastrophic, and they only would have been worse if they didn't initiate a timely evacuation of the area -- and they might have even included Akane. "Just -- stop this!" Alouette is a Coordinator, and she has the instincts of one - and it quickly becomes clear the pilot won't be listening to her. She sees the missiles come for her, and moves to avoid them, but the detonation still causes some considerable damage to the wingspan - the Protect Wall barrier not emitting fast enough to catch them.
Guardienne Aviaire then redirects the Protect Wall barrier towards the Nu Gundam. "Tch... how's this? Plasma HOLD!" Alouette calls, energy crackling forth from the barrier to lock the Nu Gundam down in place, at least for a few seconds.
KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Rikka Takarada KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Knight KTS: Alouette Pommier has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Lina Lombardi KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Mobile Weapons Team with Plasma Hold! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Alouette Pommier's Plasma Hold! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Alouette Pommier's Plasma Hold, taking 2925 damage! KTS: Alouette Pommier anchors Mobile Weapons Team, preventing her from Evading the next attack!
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Lilium's plea falls on attentive ears--and for a second, she swears she can feel the pilot relax. Just a second. And then...
A sudden spike in aggression. A single funnel shot. Lilium twists the left control stick down into its throttle position, but it's too late--the beam singes off the tips of two of her head-mounted anti-aircraft lasers. The projected image of her flickers between its confident standing pose and her actual one (seated, currently crying out "Kyaah!") before disappearing entirely.
The 777 shifts to Fighter mode, pointed directly upwards, and streaks high into the sky on a wide arc.
I don't get it... She was, like, about to stop! Why's she fighting still..?
That was too abrupt to be natural. Something adjusted her. Trust me, I'd know.
Lilium pauses for a moment. Unnatural adjustment... that sounds horrible. How could anyone do that to another person? Manipulating their feelings like--
A spike of pain in her head for a moment, and her thoughts, with restored Clarity, return to her purpose and role. Make People Stop Fighting.
Okay! So we'll need to break through to her the hard way... and everyone else, too!
She flicks a series of switches on her dashboard, and the bright red light over her right shoulder switches on.
[B-SONG SYSTEM: ONLINE]
[AUTOPLAY: SUNSET BEACH]
Lilium's mouth opens by itself, and she launches into a perhaps-unfitting song--but it's the first thing she has loaded.
"Indifferently, you walk ahead"
"I pout as I follow along behind you"
"'Cross those long, dazzling white sands..."
She reaches the peak of her long turn... but her Speaker Funnels are still close to the ground, dashing along around Aurora. Keeping pace with her every move, in fact! Technology is incredible. Just like the technology that lets her focus their sound--and all its effects--on the Bad Nu in particular!
While all this is going on, of course, Lilium's escorts in the diamond-winged Variable Fighters aren't exactly idle... but they're not helping with the primary situation, either. Quite a few units from the OCU regular forces have ended up on the wrong side of the lines in the confusion; and while the local garrison might tolerate that under the circumstances the Seventy-Seventh Strategic Research Squadron's Cherub Flight most certainly does not.
It only takes a moment, but as Lilium's song continues to resound--
The VF with the red trim around its body and a minimalist rabbit face on its tale shoots along the ground in GERWALK form, emptying its scattergunpod into every Ichinana it comes across.
<<Gyahahahahahahaha! Get WRECKED, you dumb earthzeeks!>>
The one with the dark green trim, its insignia a stylised tactical blade, leaps into the air and transforms to a battroid, drawing two combat knives from what ought to be missile bays, each of which is swiftly sheathed in pinpoint barrier and driven down into the glass domes on top of an airborne Ichinana.
<<Oorah! You fuck off back to your side of the line, you fuckin'-->>
The pilot of the dark yellow trimmed unit (Identification mark a suit collar and tie) wisely cuts the Green's comms before she can finish her sentence; before swooping down in fighter mode to strafe a line of lost Wanzers with both her fixed autocannons and twin miniature gunpods.
<<Shut up, Three. They'll put us on probation again. I don't want to be stuck playing Clue with you and Five for the next month...>>
Another identical unit, this one with a cyan trim and spider marking, lets fly three shots from its long barrel gunpod. Half a mile down the street, three green glass faceshields shatter around a single bullethole each.
<<...>>
The final unit is, surprisingly, unlike the others--its paint scheme matches, with a deep violet trim and rose insignia, but its wings are shaped far more like the Seraph--and it moves like the Seraph too, thinking about it... but there are more important things to worry about. For example, the six micro-missiles it's just fired. The six micro-missiles that move in strange, unnatural arcs (almost like... funnels..?) that lead them directly into the glass cockpit domes of six Ichinanas. Its pilot opens a line to the rest of the OCU craft:
<<That was a warning. The rest of you, back over the line, now. I don't want this to be an issue when that thing's dealt with, and you don't want us to be an issue when it's dealt with, understood?>>
A half second later, the destroyed mobile weapons collapse to the ground.
And back around the Nu, now surrounded by the speaker funnels, Lilium finishes her verse.
"You say I'm crazy for him... But I like you better..!"
"We're always together, at SUNSET BEACH!"
KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Mobile Weapons Team with Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage intercept against Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo, taking 4320 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Mobile Weapons Team has posed.
Even already, E-1's emotional regulation is starting to collapse. Gridknight's anger is practically palpable, and that comes through loud and clear. With the presence of the psychoframe, E-1's own rage -- or whatever it is she's got boiling under there -- begins to practically emanate off of her; the suit's red glow brightens, and for some of the more psychically sensitive pilots, it might get overwhelming.
The funnels flare out in all directions amid that anger, as E-1 shouts, "Just -- die already! Your deaths will shape the new world order!" Despite all the anger, though, her delivery is weirdly halting -- as if she's reading off a script, giving the same programmed insistences she's heard a million times before.
The twin Hadron cannons ring out, black and red energy piercing the sky -- and the Mu Gundam prioritizes it as a target, three funnels circling around in a pincer formation on the smaller mobile weapon. It finally abandons its subflight system, at this point -- the Mu's pilot knows she's not going to be any better off trying to escape through the air.
... Given the Fastening Launcher would have turned that into a much less controlled crash, it's the right call -- though it does get weighed down into the ground, just the same. Yanking at the Nu's foot with some force, she hisses, "Dammit!" before managing to find words for Rikka. "Wait, you... that's -- you're the one from the simulations! Even the unit -- under all that new bulk, it's the same damn suit!!" She starts laughing at this point, even as she whips her suit's beam saber around to defend against Aurora's attack. It's too late, though -- Aurora gets all of that attack, ripping one of the Mass Production Nu's arms off. The newfound urgency of pulling back leads her to divert everything to her jump thrusters, finally pulling free.
"They wanted me to fight like you," E-1 hisses under her breath, to Rikka. "And you," she adds, a moment later, as Gridknight rages at her; he clips leg armor with that whirling saw of energy, but it's a dangerous clip -- any more than a graze and she'd be down a leg. The G-Options keep pace with her funnels and eventually find their way through, blasts hitting E-1's shield and scoring armor. "Every day, the same fucking thing! All about how I'd need to be a match for Treasure Chest, or take down Gridknight where she couldn't, or deal with 3G because they wouldn't understand what we were trying to do -- about how much easier this would be if they were still working under that man who got arrested because your girlfriend and her bestie made him get so sloppy -- it's YOUR fault! All of you!!" Another shriek, another agonizing emanation of sheer anger, equal parts her own frustrated helplessness and a reflection of the anger and confusion of the battlefield. She takes aim at Gridknight, Jesta rifle charging for a few moments before disgorging a beam beyond the Jesta's known capacity -- did her handlers modify it...?
"If -- if I can defeat all of you, then, then maybe this'll stop! Maybe I can go back!" she says, though it's clear she's grasping at straws, trying to stabilize her mental fortitude with any thought that flits through her brain.
While she uses her rifle, her funnels form up on Guardienne Aviaire. They maintain a steady pace, firing shot after shot at Alouette. The Plasma Hold keeps her from pursuing directly, but the funnels are of course free to pursue. "Do you know how many people will die if I don't?" E-1 hisses back. "I'm E-1! And if you're going to stand in the way of the peace that comes after this war -- I need you to die, screaming!!" The funnels lay down a curtain of fire from behind.
The speaker funnels plant themselves, and the overwhelming sentiment behind them is more dangerous because it clashes so much with the ambient mood of the battle. E-1 whimpers, "Shut up -- shut up -- shut up shut up shut up shut up! You! Both -- no, all of you --" (is she jumbling up how many wills there are within Cherub Flight? The HADES is so overwhelming for her, even medicated as heavily as she is) "-- stop trying to stand against the, stop -- aaaaaAAAAAAAGGGGH!" She frantically sprays beam rifle fire anywhere she can get it, now, starting to decohere.
///////////
The OCU forces begin to back off, ceding momentary control of the border space to the Gaia Sabers. Some of it is the intimidation factor -- some of it is their hearts, perhaps, starting to long for peace. It's hard to say. But the Gaia Sabers much more firmly control how this battle goes and where it ends, now.
'''''''''''''''''''
Akane has still not reported in.
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Alouette Pommier's Wings of the Heart activates, and the spirit is adjusted. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Alouette Pommier KTS: [Spirit Defense] Lilium Valerie's Cognitive Dissonance activates, and the spirit endures. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Lilium Valerie KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rikka Takarada, Lina Lombardi, and Aurora Dusk with Shock! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Anya Alstreim with Simplified Funnel Rack Pincer Formation! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Knight with Jesta Beam Rifle Full Charge! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Alouette Pommier with Simplified Funnel Rack Pursuit Formation! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Lilium Valerie with Jesta Beam Rifle Spray! KTS: Rikka Takarada accepts Mobile Weapons Team's Shock! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team shocks Rikka Takarada, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Best Defense! Rikka Takarada successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Shock, taking 0 damage! KTS: [Spirit Defense] Rikka Takarada's Steadfast Resolve activates, and her spirit endures. KTS: Alouette Pommier engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Pursuit Formation! KTS: Alouette Pommier's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Alouette Pommier poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Pursuit Formation, taking 4800 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk accepts Mobile Weapons Team's Shock! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team shocks Aurora Dusk, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Best Defense! Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Shock, taking 0 damage! KTS: [Spirit Defense] Aurora Dusk's Will of the Cyber-NT Corps activates, and her spirit endures. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Spray! KTS: Critical Hit! Lilium Valerie poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Spray, taking 4680 damage! KTS: Lina Lombardi accepts Mobile Weapons Team's Shock! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team shocks Lina Lombardi, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Best Defense! Lina Lombardi successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Shock, taking 0 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Aurora Dusk KTS: Anya Alstreim engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Pincer Formation! KTS: Anya Alstreim's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Anya Alstreim poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Simplified Funnel Rack Pincer Formation, taking 2900 damage! KTS: Knight fails to engage Charge against Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Full Charge! KTS: Critical Hit! Knight poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Jesta Beam Rifle Full Charge, taking 6960 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Anya Alstreim has posed.
As another of the Nu Gundams joins the first in displaying that angry red glow, Anya frowns. This might be a problem eventually, since three of the units on the field now seem to be in some kind of wild frenzy, but at least the 3G Nu and the massive... Gridknight, was it?... are focused on the interloper for now.
As its pilot ditches its flight system and sends funnels Anya's way, she grimaces, trying to dodge out of the way as they circle her, to little avail. The Blaze Luminous weakens the attack, but a light flickers as the Mordred is rocked once again. The loss of a flight system is simultaneously encouraging and not. It means less opportunities for it to escape, but a cornered animal is dangerous, and her hope for a better firing line is now lost. Nevertheless, she won't pass up an opportunity, and enough damage has been caused that there's no reason to worry about the relatively directed damage her weaponry will do.
The Mordred comes to a halt in the air above the berserk Nu Gundam, its jets stabilizing it as a sniper reticle flips down in Anya's vision. "The greater good is a poor excuse for terrorism," Anya mutters. "Lash out all you want, but I can't forgive the damage you've done today."
Outside, the pair of giant maroon pauldrons on the Mordred's shoulders come together, one above and one below, creating a massive armament the Mordred grips onto. Four balls of red-black hadron energy crackle inside the mouth of the Stark Hadron Cannon, merging into one massive orb of light. For a moment, the air around her seems to darken, before a massive beam several times the size of the last blasts towards the enemy mech.
KTS: Anya Alstreim has activated the Accel Spirit Command and and has gained Terrain bonus! KTS: Anya Alstreim has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Anya Alstreim has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Anya Alstreim targets Mobile Weapons Team with Stark Hadron Cannon Anti-Unit Fire! KTS: Anya Alstreim's Ace's Muscle Memory activates Strike and Focus! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Anya Alstreim's Stark Hadron Cannon Anti-Unit Fire! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Anya Alstreim's Stark Hadron Cannon Anti-Unit Fire, taking 5775 damage! KTS: Anya Alstreim roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Anya Alstreim completes the Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Knight sounds strained. Rikka's heart hurts. It hurts to hear him like that - he's usually always so sure.
"...I know." Rikka murmurs. Alouette responds to her.
"You're... You're right. We just have to... trust in her courage." Rikka replies. She latches onto that quickly. She has to.
But then, something worrying happens. The pilot recognizes her.
"Wait, you-" Rikka starts, with surprise - but then that hissed response hits her like a knife to the stomach. She can hear the accusation in her voice - and then screamed aloud. It hits her like a wave.
This is her fault. They wanted her. It's her fault that E-1's here. And it's her fault that Akane's -
She shuts her eyes tight, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't - I never wanted anyone else to have to go through this." Rikka replies. "I never wanted to see anyone else used like I was."
She tries to focus herself - but it's hard. That accusation may have been more damaging to her than any of the Nu Gundam's weapons.
"...If you go back to them... it won't stop. They'll just keep using you and using you." Rikka replies, shaking her head. "But we can help you. Please, come with us. ...Look at me. I got out - you can, too. Please, just - shut off the system and power down your mobile suit."
But E-1's convinced that this is the only way - convinced that she has to fight them. Rikka grits her teeth, exhaling sharply.
She begins to strafe around the Nu Gundam. She keeps up the movement, trying to make herself difficult to track - and then takes aim once more. The Fastening Launcher fires - this time going for each of the limbs to further limit the Nu Gundam's ability to move.
KTS: Rikka Takarada targets Mobile Weapons Team with Gravity Shackle!
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina brings the Custom down lower to the ground, transforming the fighter into Battroid mode, its feet sliding along the dirt as it approaches E-1. "E-1! Listen! We can help you! That's the system talking, not you!" She stumbles a bit at the impromptu concert, kind of undermining what she was trying to do here.
"...She's no Sheryl..."
As the Battroid comes into range, the edges of what were the fighter's wings pop off and into the Custom's hands as two blades. "Knight, please, I know you're upset, but we don't have the full story of what happened here!" She comes in and brings both blades down onto the red Nu, partially to try to get some space between it and Knight.
Lina Lombardi transforms to GBR-VF01 Lombardi Custom (Battroid Mode)
KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Mobile Weapons Team with Delta Double Slash! KTS: Lina Lombardi's Nuovotipo activates Valor! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages charge against Rikka Takarada's Gravity Shackle! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Rikka Takarada's Gravity Shackle, taking 4050 damage! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages evade against Lina Lombardi's Delta Double Slash! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Lina Lombardi's Delta Double Slash, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Aurora pulls her arm rakers this way and that way, making her suit dance smoothly through the fight. The psychoframe around her cockpit resonates with her will, and the HADES system pulses in the back of her brain, driving her onwards... but the intended effect, mediating the HADES through the psychoframe, doesn't seem to be working as intended. They don't quite... line up correctly. The psychoframe is almost blunting the HADES. Now, on one hand this means she isn't under as much strain as E1... but on the other, it also means she isn't getting what she's supposed to get out of the whole setup.
That's a problem for the engineering team, though. From Aurora's perspective, it's still a psychoframe suit with a HADES system, and a high performance suit besides.
E1's setup seems to be melding the systems together better... to her detriment. Either that or she's just naturally this unstable. Aurora's not a doctor. It's almost as if the glow of her fury is invading Aurora's own cockpit... She breathes in sharply and grounds herself before she gets too swept away.
Having Lilium's funnels fly besides her feels... refreshing. Alongside Lilium's singing, the beam tonfas find their mark, sending an arm flying away in an arc.
Aurora can keenly feel E1's panic as she dances around her, making sure to keep on her armless side as best she can as she dodges stray beam fire. Sensing weakness, she sends her fin funnels out with a burst of intent that E1 might be able to keenly feel through the psychoframe. << Time to wrap this up.>> They whirl franticcally around E1 like a pack of wolves, trying to pick her suit to pieces as they go.
Maybe Aurora feels bad for her. But it's the nature of wolves to attack when they sense weakness like this. It's E1's fault for appearing before her in this state, as an enemy.
KTS: Rikka Takarada has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Knight KTS: Aurora Dusk has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Mobile Weapons Team with Fin Funnels Devourer Formation! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage charge against Aurora Dusk's Fin Funnels Devourer Formation! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fin Funnels Devourer Formation, taking 5490 damage! KTS: Knight has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
"My- My fault?" Knight stumbles back, their anger fading just a bit. Fight like him? Like 'Treasure Chest?'
"No, you. . . you shouldn't!" Knight growls as E-1 fires an overcharged beam. He doesn't have enough time to dodge!
"Ghk!" With one hand, Knight catches the beam, holding it in his palm and striding forwards as it washes over him.
"YOU!" As the beam dissipates, Knight charges through, eyes burning red.
"YOU-" Right before they make contact, Knight stops. The burning light dissipates from their eyes. Their timer flashes, a gentle but unceasing signal.
"You can't. . . let them control you. You have to-" Knight groans. The timer flashes.
"You have to choose for yourself," he says to E-1, right in front of her.
"Rikka. Alouette. I'm going to save them, " Knight says, voice shaky but determined.
"So just SIT STILL!" Knight strikes, slicing forwards to cut the legs off the machine.
"KNIGHT CIRCULAR END!"
KTS: Knight targets Mobile Weapons Team with Knight Circular End! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages charge against Knight's Knight Circular End! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Knight's Knight Circular End, taking 5940 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
The song is working! The OCU forces illegally intruding into the half of Area 11 that they definitely aren't supposed to be in are retreating (her IFF tells her that the squadron's other flight was involved, but she has no idea of the specifics); and E-1 is...
Was it making her worse? Wasn't she supposed to be making people want to stop fighting? This is all wrong-- this shouldn't be--
She's reacting. It means you're reaching her.
Keep going.
Ooooh... okay!
Seraph Flight's one single unit with its one single pilot (in spite of what E-1 might perceive... right..?) screams down from the blue, the beautifully-rendered image of Lilium (Currently a depiction of her swimsuit front cover from this month's Galaxy Sports, incidentally) shining in the light; before a stray Beam Rifle shot scrapes off a substantial portion of it. It's around this point that the Pressure emanating from the cursed light of possibility, and the heart generating it, really hits Lilium's stretched-wide-open mind with both barrels. "Ghhhiiyahh...!!"
She winces slightly at a passing insult from Lina (she couldn't hear it, but abnormal psychic sensitivity has a lot of uses...), before continuing with her song, Speaker Funnels positioning themselves all around E-1, truly focusing their power upon her.
"The salty breeze blows... BIG WAVE!"
She watches Aurora's own funnels swirl about the target in sync with hers... And is hit with an emotion she doesn't quite comprehend.
You should be blushing right now, by the way. Don't worry about the reason, it'd just be weird not to.
Silently cheering Wolfhound on (a feeling Aurora could surely pick up on, considering how clearly she's broadcasting it), her song continues;
"that guy who forced his way into my heart,"
"is jumping around in joy"
The speaker funnels amp up their volume, and Lilium transforms back to Battroid mode before touching down with her back to E-1's.
"Surfboards, Sun, that Pendant..."
"It's the early afternoon; on SUNSET BEACH!"
KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Mobile Weapons Team with Speaker Funnels Performance: Finale! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Finale! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Finale, taking 5580 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Resupply Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
E-1's words to Rikka stop Guardienne Aviaire in its tracks, if only for a moment. Treasure Chest? That man who get arrested? Everything she says seems to indicate that she and Akane were onto something in their conversation last night - far more than they ever could have imagined. "She's..." Alouette's eyes widen. "We have to save her. We can't let the Vist Foundation's spectre hurt anyone else!" They hurt her - but they hurt Rikka even more. And now this girl...
"...Think about it! Bringing peace by starting a war? It doesn't make any sense...!" Alouette strains back as she tries to maintain her Plasma Hold for just a little longer. "You don't really believe that, do you? Where does that belief come from?" She's not sure how much trying to talk it out will work when she's this hostile... but she owes it to Rikka to try her best. "...Who made you think that way?" At the same time, she knows her Plasma Hold only blocks one means of attack - the Funnels are still more than free to fly around... but just a little longer, Alouette doesn't budge.
"...I know how impossible it feels. I know. But... but no one else has to die. Not me, and not you, either." She tries to assure her, until the funnels fly in from behind, knocking Guardienne Aviaire off-balance and ensuring it won't be able to fly anymore. "So please..."
The super robot doubles back - out of melee range with the Nu Gundam, now that it's funnels have sufficiently pushed it back. But Rikka goes in with the fastening launcher to pin down the Nu Gundam again. At the same time, Knight makes his decision... he's going to save them, too. "I-I hear you, Knight! Let's do this together... we'll use Rikka's opening!" She calls, winding back Guardienne Aviaire's sleek, clawed fist.
"Phantom Ring! PLUS!" The ring generator spins to life before the Nu Gundam at the same time as Knight charges up his Circular. "Broken PHANTOM!" She roars, as the fist detaches and flies for the Nu Gundam - with the same precision as one of the Gundam's own Fin Funnels, trying to lodge itself for the head of the machine in synch with Knight's attack.
KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Mobile Weapons Team with Broken Phantom! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Alouette Pommier's Broken Phantom! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Alouette Pommier's Broken Phantom, taking 4050 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Mobile Weapons Team has posed.
There is a lot of psychoframe and a lot of HADES happening at this point. E-1 isn't ready for this -- it's nothing like the simulations, not even the ones where she was forced to activate it solely to see how she'd use it. There are so many wills -- she can see everyone, feel everyone... it's overwhelming, but there's also a sick sort of beauty to it.
Anya tells her she can't forgive her, and E-1 groans, "You act like you're so much better. Britannia nearly got us killed when everything was falling apart! Don't you lecture me on terrorism --!!" ... Despite that, the Hadron Cannon finds its mark, engulfing the Nu's right arm and leaving it without a beam rifle -- or, well, an arm. In her cockpit, E-1 starts hearing alarms going off. "Dammit -- you bitch, how dare you!!"
Rikka and Lina insist that she can get out, that the system is talking and she isn't, that they're sorry. ... The apology hurts, because it feels like she can't acknowledge it -- not the way she is now. Still, with her mind so forcefully open -- it's hard not to feel that guilt sinking into her, too. "I -- I know. But I have to. I have to. I have to," she says, as the remaining limbs get Gravity Shackled. Gridknight's there with a quick follow-up with that giant buzzsaw, taking off one of the legs swiftly and easily. "I can't! I have to do this!" she insists to Gridknight, though she doesn't know why she has to do it. She's totally immobilized, with Lina coming in on the attack. As a last-ditch maneuver, she crashes two of her funnels into Lina's blades; it's enough to send them off course as her own mobility options get cut down to nothing.
Aurora continues to pressure her -- psychically and physically. The more awkward HADES-Psychoframe connection attenuates it, but only just. The funnels encircle her all-but-immobilized MS, picking her apart. The actuators in one knee give way, and she screams in the cockpit. More alarms. More anger, more fear, more resignation.
Lilium's voice cuts through it. E-1's attention snaps straight to those speaker funnels, and she wilts under it. She can't bring herself to fight. She shouldn't be fighting. Everyone here is telling her to stop. The anger -- the frustration -- these are her fault. She needs to stop. She can't stop fighting. She needs to stop fighting. She can't stop fighting unless she --
Alouette cuts in on comms. "It -- it has to make sense, they said it would, they wouldn't -- they wouldn't lie to me," E-1 murmurs, desperately. Alouette assures her she doesn't have to die, and indeed she doesn't want to; the Broken Phantom comes in at full force, and knocks her machine down, leaving it lying in its own debris and sparking.
... Despite Alouette's reassurances, she feels like the walls are closing in. She has one funnel and can't move. "I -- I'm going to die," she whimpers, forgetting to turn off her broadcast. "I'm... this can't be all... This, I, I was supposed to be..."
'''''''''''''''
A transmission comes to E-1, barely audible through the Minovsky interference; through her suit, it in turn propagates out to the assembled units. "This is the handling team for the Nu Gundam-type," comes a tinny male voice. "I was with Augusta Base during the Gryps Conflict. I have two associates in the vehicle -- the gentleman driving was a Zeon flight instructor, and the woman in the back of the vehicle was with Murasame Labs." A beat passes. "We're surrendering ourselves -- and E-1 -- to you. Our operations vehicle is one mile directly south of the wreckage of that Gustav-type just on the other side of the border. 3G, we're on the Area 11 side of the border now -- you know what it'll mean if you pursue us. I'm sure there are many people here who'd like to take their frustrations regarding Councilor Grusman's death in your territory out on you."
They figure they have a way, way better shot with the Britannians and their associates than the OCU. They're probably even right.
"E-1. Power down the HADES. Do not resist any Gaia Sabers that come to collect Access Code: Hina Kuroiwa."
E-1 shudders as things start to click back into place. E-1 slides away, and Hina Kuroiwa -- scared, alone, a world away from home and utterly out of her depth -- is present. "I -- I don't, I... okay... I'll just. I'll sit still. I'll be good." She turns off her comms and waits patiently to be collected.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
With the Gustav Karl's wreckage secured and no more chance of getting fired on, a 3G/OCU ground team makes contact using /its/ radio. "... Chief Takarada. Pommier. Lombardi," comes a shaky male voice. "This is Sergeant Miki." OCU Intelligence attached to the 3G ground team. "We -- found a few burned scraps of clothing. ... Some bones, consistent with Minovsky particle beam scoring. There's an engagement ring in the middle of all of it. Composition is..." A pause. "... 90-10 3G personnel tool alloy. Three stones."
Another man's voice cuts in, "... last week she was talking my ear off about that damn thing," half-audible in the background.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's RX-94E1 Mass Production Nu Gundam <E-1 Use> has been disabled.
<Pose Tracker> Mobile Weapons Team has posed.
Partial security footage from the building the Gustav Karl crashed into arrives home with the 3G ground team. It's essentially useless; the camera lens cracks partway through, leaving things blurry, and the lighting is bad on top of that. Trying to make out anything visually is a no-go. For practical purposes, it's an audio record -- primarily of the battle outside -- with a digital camera timestamp over irregularly-sparking light.
There's a lot of ambient noise, too. At one point, though -- correlating roughly with when E-1 was shrieking at the 3G team and Gridknight -- it picks up something that anyone fighting wouldn't have. There's a faint grunt, two footfalls, and then three gunshots. There's one, then two more, then what sounds like it could be a fourth or could be something collapsing in the background judging by the way the blurs move in the 'video' footage, such as it is; by this point the audio is a little distorted as well.
There's a few more footfalls a bit later, and then a large number of footfalls as the 3G ground team makes it there.
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Unfortunately (?), Aurora doesn't really have much to say during the fight. Starting a war to bring about peace makes perfect sense in her worldview, so the only thing she could really offer is 'no u', and that's not really the response she wants to make right now.
Aurora absolutely does feel Lilium's cheering. Her eyes flick to the side briefly, then lock back on E1, cold glare intensifying as her assault tears at the enemy Nu...
And just like that, it's over. There's no need to continue firing now that the enemy has been completely disabled. A funnel briefly draws a bead on E1's cockpit, but then the transmission comes in. Augusta. A surrender. There's no need to finish her.
Just in case...
<< WOLFHOUND to... >> Aurora grips her head and groans. It happens, as it happens. She DID take her medication today, right?
<< WOLFHOUND reporting. Confirm surrender? >>
A woman's voice comes in through the other end of the radio. << We'll take it. Retrieve the contact. Suit and all. The ground team will handle their operators. >>
Aurora wastes no time in marching over to the disabled Nu and firmly grabbing it 'by the scruff'. << ...Surrender accepted. >> She relays the message to E1's minders, from her own.
She looks at E1's suit, remembering the way she reacted to what was clearly some kind of trigger phrase. She has thoughts about that, but she's a little exhausted to process them right now.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
"You don't. I know it's hard to see it, but you don't." Rikka insists. "Please, just let us..."
They try their best. And there's just one last knife in her heart as E-1 despairs that she's going to die, as she laments her future.
"Listen, I -" Rikka starts. And then there's a transmission - propagating out from the Nu Gundam. The Nu Gundam-type's handling team... They're handing themselves over to the Gaia Sabers.
She isn't sure that's any better.
"...You won't be forgiven for this." Rikka mutters. ...But there's nothing she can do. She knows they're right - any attempts to try to rescue the Nu Gundam now would just stir up the same conflict they were apparently hoping to start.
And then, the 3G ground team gets into contact. Rikka listens to the report. She doesn't say a word - and the Mu Gundam drops barely-controlled, landing on the group and staying up right largely through the internal auto-balancing more than any direct control on Rikka's part.
The Mu Gundam doesn't move from that prompt until prompted by another - and even then, it leaves without a word.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
As Lina's attack whiffs, she's just about to go for it again when the transmission from E-1's handlers comes in. Seeing that the fight is over, the Custom reattaches the Delta Wing Blades to its back and stands down. Looks like this is going to be the Sabers' problem now...
At the frankly kind of condescending warning from the handler about the border situation, Lina bites her tongue from what she really wants to say. "Yes, of course. Wouldn't want to cause an international incident now. E-1, you take care now." The Custom transforms into Gerwalk mode and takes to the air, hovering at a distance as the Sabers take their new prisoners.
When Sergeant Miki comes in, Lina's stomach drops. BONES? "Caro Dio, non puo essere..." The shock of the news causes her to slip back into her mother tongue for a second. "Rikka... I'm so sorry."
<Pose Tracker> Anya Alstreim has posed.
Anya makes a face as the surrender comes across the comms. If the handlers of this berserk pilot are surrendering - even if it's a trap - someone needs to get on that sooner rather than later. It's not the kind of work she enjoys, but the handlers are no doubt just as important to this operation if not more, and letting them get away would mean this could happen again.
She sends a message to her fellow Gaia Sabers. "The handlers might be setting a trap. I'll go after them, but..." she trails off. "I won't say no to reinforcement." Without another word, the Mordred takes off, heading for the location the handlers indicated over comms.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
It all happens so fast. E-1 insisting that she's going to die. Her handlers surrendering themselves to the Gaia Sabers, taking their victim with them. The final footage of the Gustav Karl collapsing from Sergeant Miki. It's all so fast, even a brain like Alouette Pommier's struggles to process it all. Being unable to save someone like E-1 was its own blow. But there's just a dull shock to it when she watches that footage, over and over.
These things can happen at any time. Logically, that's just the truth, that you need to be prepared to face death in this line of work. So why does it feel so shocking? Why does it feel so impossible? It's something that Alouette can't really comprehend. She just watches as the Mu Gundam exits the field without a word. "...Rikka." Alouette stares down into her controls. "All 3G personnel... you heard them. Don't pursue them into the Britannian side of the border."
"...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you this time, Akane."
<Pose Tracker> Knight has posed.
Gridknight disappears wordlessly in a flash of light as the surrender call goes out.
As Miki gives his report to the GGG personnel, Knight stands in the background with his head bowed. Second walks up silently. Her eyes are hidden behind her glasses.
"Knight, I. . ." she starts, hesitantly.
"Don't," Knight cuts her off. His voice doesn't carry anger anymore. It just sounds hollow. He looks up at the Mu Gundam and Guardienne, making eye contact with their head cameras, before the two kaiju silently walk away.
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Lilium's speaker funnels withdraw into her unit's back, and the hatch closes upon them. The transmission has come through clearly--The Bad Nu is standing down. The Idol breathes out heavily, the B-Song system releasing its grip on her nervous system.
For a moment she considers opening her hatch to attempt to retrieve the pilot--but Aurora grabs Hina--her name is Hina, evidently--'s suit by the metaphorical scruff of its more literal neck, and drags it along behind her; so she settles for folding the Seraph's hands behind its back and walking along after. Or... strutting, more like. She's putting a significant amount of effort into making it walk fashionably... or it's programmed to do that already. One of the two. She doesn't think about trigger phrase at all. Didn't even register it, in fact.
Cherub Flight, on the other hand, split off in several directions. The Purple and the Cyan go to escort Seraph flight and WOLFHOUND, of course, but the other three join the Mordred in heading to recover the surrendering vehicle.
The one with the two pistol-like mini-gunpods, and the one with the extra assault knives take up defensive stances, faces towards the OCU border; while the red-trim with the scattergun sets down as a GERWALK just next to the vehicle.
The canopy opens, and Cherub-Five--the young one, for the record--rides her Cockpit Exit rappel down to the ground, a half-length shotgun in one hand. Why she's being trusted to accept this surrender is anyone's guess... but she'll do it properly. Mostly.