2023-12-15: Sleeping Giants P2

• Log: Sleeping Giants P2
• Cast: Alto Saotome, Yurika Misumaru, Ranka Lee, Sheryl Nome, Ruri Hoshino, Riika Sheder, Hikaru Amano, Weekly Seijin, Sagiri Sakurai, Rin Naujakaite
• Where: Orbital Ring
• OOC - IC Date: 15 December 0097
• Summary: After being forced to use the Vajra fold windows to escape Gallia IV's destruction, the expedition fleet finds itself folding out in Earth orbit. There they enact a plan to rescue Ranka from the Vajra mothership and deal with the fleet before it can do too much damage to Earth.

---

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

             I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant
         ~ ~
                     and fill him with a terrible resolve.

        "What was that, Captain?"

        "Nothing. Just a quote from an old movie..."

        It's only been a few minutes since the expedition fleet dived into the
 Vajra fold portals. Captain Wilder stares out the windows of the Macross
 Quarter's bridge as the colourful lights of fold space rush past and through
 the ship. He can see the large form of the Vajra mothership, which they have
 taken to calling a 'Bishop' class, looming ahead of them. Neither Humanity nor
 the Zentradi have ever devised a means of combat within fold space. And
 thankfully it seems the Vajra are no exception to that.

        Behind him, Captain Wilder can hear a buzz of excitement from the
 bridge officers. He turns around and walks up to them, asking, "Monica, what's
 our status?"

        The Quarter's Chief Operator types rapidly at her console, "I cannot
 determine our current location in normal space or our course. According to the
 navigation system... We're travelling at least five hundred times our normal
 fold velocity. The Quarter's core just doesn't have the processing power to
 handle the calculations required to make sense of the sensor readings we're
 getting."

        "Five hundred times!? Even if our fold drives were capable of that, the
 amount of energy it would take is incredible."
        "The Vajra must have some advanced form of folding... I mean, we don't
 even know how they manage to do it with just their bodies!"
        "Can't we just change course? Or slow down?"
        "Not without our own fold drive. And even then, there's no telling what
 trying to use it at this speed would do to it."

        "It doesn't matter anyway. The experimental fold drive is still
 offline." Another of the Quarter's operators, Mina, interjects her own report
 into the discussion, "The engineers are working on the issue, but they said it
 could take hours." She looks to the rest of the bridge officers grimly,
 "They're reporting it was sabotage."

        "Great! As if we didn't have enough problems with the Vajra. Now we
 have saboteurs aboard!?"
        "Who would do this though? Didn't we all agree to come on this
 expedition together to help protect humanity?"
        "We did take on a lot of new crew for the expedition. And many people
 from the other ships could have snuck aboard while the Quarter was landed at
 the camp."
        "We have to find out who did it! They might try to do it again."

        "Enough." Captain Wilder brings silence to the bridge with but a simple
 gruff word, "The security teams will handle any possible saboteurs. Our focus
 should be what we do once we fold out. We will still be in proximity to the
 Vajra at that point. And their weapons too."

        The bridge crew all remain silent, concerned looks on their faces. They
 know that the Quarter and the Nadesico are no match for the entire Vajra fleet
 that they are currently following. Not in a straight fight, anyway.

        The final operator, Ram, asks, "What about Ranka? She's still aboard
 that thing right? We can't just leave her to them..."

        Captain Wilder rubs his bearded chin in thought for a moment, before
 asking, "Monica, were you able to trace Miss Lee's last location?"

        Monica taps a few commands into her console, before a hologram of the
 large Bishop class appears. She narrates, "According to our scans, much like
 with the Knight class capital ships, there are numerous tunnels laced
 throughout the interior of the huge Bishop class. Presumably how the Vajra
 move around within it. There are also several larger chambers, possibly
 gathering places. Ranka's signal was coming from the largest chamber in the
 center."

        "That's got to be several kilometers of winding tunnels... A veritable
 maze."
        "No doubt the tunnels will be filled with the smaller Vajra."
        "There's a chance our scans aren't accurate either. There was a lot of
 interference from the Vajra ECM."
        "So our pilots will have to fly through a maze of tunnels, along an
 uncertain path, while fighting off the Vajra? That's suicide!"

        "We might be able to increase their chances." Captain Wilder muses
 thoughtfully. It seems he has a plan.

        --- A few minutes later ---

        "We're exiting fold space!"
        "Already!? We haven't been folding for long."
        "All crew to battlestations. Prepare for transformation. Monica, where
 are we?"
        "Oh my god..."

        The Quarter's bridge crew stare out the windows at the sight ahead. The
 Bishop class is still there, as menacing as ever. But beyond it is a very
 familiar sight.

        It's the Earth.

        The Vajra fleet, with the expedition following them, has folded out in
 Earth orbit just a short distance away from the orbital ring. The tip of one
 of the orbital elevators can be seen nearby.

        Monica types rapidly on her console. Although she doesn't really need
 to, she says, "Spatial coordinates confirmed... We're back at Earth. The OAC
 is scrambling to launch its defense forces from the La Tour tower."

        Ram asks, "Can the defense fleet stop the Vajra?"

        Katherine shakes her head grimly, "The difference in combat strength is
 too massive. Even before attempting to determine what the Bishop class is
 capable of." But after a moment of thought, she adds, "But, they may prove a
 good distraction for us to enact our plan."

        Captain Wilder nods in agreement, "And if we can deal with the Bishop
 class, it'll be one less thing they have to worry about. Let's begin." Alarms
 begin to sound through the Macross Quarter. A plan starts to go into action.

        ( https://youtu.be/Exg-zf2nouQ )

        The two expedition transports break away from the Vajra fleet at the
 first opportunity. Hopefully the Nadesico will be able to cover them while
 they do, as they are not combat ships. Meanwhile, the Quarter starts moving
 forward towards the Bishop class, intending to make a somewhat desperate
 attempt to recover Ranka from within the Vajra mothership.

        Ranka is important to a number of members in SMS, after all. And
 everyone aboard the Quarter are still feeling the sting of their failures.
 Both the loss of the Shakuyaku and the capture of Ranka. SMS is supposed to be
 responsible for the expedition's security. But they've not been doing a great
 job of it.

        Already the Vajra fleet is starting to open fire. Much of it is
 directed towards the approaching tower defense fleet. A couple of ships go up
 in brilliant explosions as they are struck by multiple shots from the numerous
 turret-mounted bio-cannons that adorn the Knight class Vajra. The defense
 fleet returns fire, missiles, beams and cannon fire blasting across space
 towards the Vajra capital ships. But they prove as tough as ever, withstanding
 the initial barrage with apparently only minor damage.

        The defense fleet might have greater numbers, but they clearly lack in
 the ability to pierce the Vajra's tough defenses.

        And what's more, that number advantage is soon going to vanish. Swarms
 of the smaller Vajra soldiers begin to fly out of the various Vajra ships.
 They begin to head towards the defense fleet, where waves of mobile weapons
 are already flying out to meet them. An even more condensed lightshow flares
 up as the two sides clash.

        As all this occurs, the Macross Quarter charges the Bishop class
 mothership. The latter starts to open fire on the former, bio-cannons spitting
 out large bolts of golden energy towards the SMS ship. But it proves to be
 quite agile in the experienced hands of its flamboyant helmsman, Bobby Margot.
 The rapidly accelerating ship weaves its way around the deadly bolts, even as
 its form begins to change shape, starting to stretch outwards.

        One of the larger turrets on the massive ten kilometer tall Vajra
 fortress turns to aim towards the Macross Quarter. Bio-energy arcs between its
 two prongs, before a massive beam equivalent to that of a full blown Macross
 cannon blasts outwards and rushes across space.

        The Macross Quarter's main engines fold downwards, forming the
 transforming ship's legs. The engines burn brightly at full power, lifting the
 warship up and causing the devestating beam to lance through the space beneath
 it.

        As the energy fades, the Quarter continues its transformation, the
 forward left flight deck and forward right main cannon separating to reveal
 the huge robot's arms holding them, as the center structure of the ship rises
 up as the torso, the bridge on top its head.

        The now 300+ meter tall robot moves to stow its shield-like flight deck
 on its back. It then takes its main cannon in both hands, raising it towards
 the massive Bishop class it is rapidly closing in on. A bright glow begins to
 form just beyond the tip of the cannon. But it's not looking to fire. Instead
 the energy forms into a sharp point. That is the light of the ship's pinpoint
 barriers, focused on the cannon's tip.

        "AhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH!" With a cry, Bobby guides the Quarter right up to
 the Bishop class, driving the barrier-tipped cannon into it. There is briefly
 some resistance, but the huge Vajra's armor cannot withstand the piercing
 power of the barriers. The cannon breaks through, sinking into the floating
 fortress. It doesn't get very far, given the relative size difference of the
 two vessels.

        But it doesn't need to.

        "Main cannon is charged and ready!"
        "Fire!"

        Weapon partially buried within the Bishop class, light suddenly pours
 of the hole as the Macross Quarter's main cannon fires. The energy drills its
 way deeper into the huge Vajra as far as it can go, until finally the light
 fades.

        The Macross Quarter floats backwards, pulling its cannon out and
 leaving a large hole carved much of the distance towards the main chamber at
 the center of the Vajra fortress. It doesn't lead directly there, the aim
 intentionally off to avoid the possibility of getting Ranka caught up in the
 destruction. But it's definitely one hell of a shortcut. One mostly free of
 smaller Vajra.

        As the Quarter continues to back up, Captain Wilder reports over the
 radio, <"Mobile weapons team, this is your chance. Go.">

        Previously launched from the Quarter before its charge, Alto's Messiah
 darts around from behind it, having used the larger ship as cover for his
 approach. Angling his fighter's nose towards the entrance into the carved
 tunnel, Alto replies, <"Roger that. We'll get her back!"> The white fighter
 leads the charge, diving into the hole and rapidly making its way through the
 interior of the Bishop class towards that center chamber.

KTS: Alto Saotome has deployed in VF-25F Messiah <Fighter Mode>.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Weekly Seijin has deployed in Vajra Knight Class.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Vajra Semi-Queen.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Ruri Hoshino has deployed in ND-001 Nadesico Y-Unit.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has deployed in Naujakaite Flying Circus.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has deployed in Tyranado.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has deployed in Aestivalis Zero-G Frame (Hikaru).
KTS: EN Barrier activated!

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Captain Yurika, of course, was not a fan of the Fold to Gallia IV, so
 the emergency Fold following the Vajra's unique system certainly leaves her
 feeling terribly queasy and disoriented. "Gyah, t-this can't be happening so
 suddenly after such a crazy tragedy...I don't wanna feel like I'm leaving my
 own body for another week, nooooo...!" Poor thing's clutching a support
 railing quite intensely, preparing herself for the worst, resigning herself to
 being stuck here in a distraught state for who knows how long...

        Instead, just about the moment Yurika awakens, the Earth is in sight,
 and her eyes go totally blank with shock. "T-th-that's - I'm not imagining
 anything here, am I!? We're already back on Earth?! That fast?! E-eh!?" The
 past three hours of Yurika's life - of EVERYBODY's life - have been a
 rollercoaster of lunacy, and the poor thing topples to her butt, clutching her
 head to make sense of it all.

        Except - there's REALLY not time for that. The 'hive' that is the
 'Bishop' looms large, and already the Vajra are changing their tune, the
 terrifying space bugs spilling out into the cosmos. "Gah, I don't know where
 we'd be WITHOUT you, Captain Wilder!!! I really didn't get to talk with you
 enough - you've got the right idea! We may have suddenly lost Gallia IV, but
 we can still save Ranka! That's right - that's what we must do first, before
 they Fold away to hell knows where! The Nadesico will fend off the hordes
 spilling from the hive - anyone who can get inside that thing, we're giving
 you a window...but you'll have to make it quick! ...I think given how frantic
 the circumstances are..."

        Yurika claps her own cheeks once, then asks, "...I think we'll have to
 see what this Yamato Unit's capable of doing here...!"

        -- -- -- -- --

        Humanity's research on extraterrestrial lifeforms could expand by
 decades, if only they could witness the environment of the inner Vajra hive.
 Steel and ceramic that pulses and flows in so distinctly alive ways - combined
 with vacuum-resistant polymers flexing and churning. A bewildering and pure
 merging of organic and inorganic, twitching and thrashing faintly at the
 response of all forces who enter.

        At the center of it all...a gigantic, towering lifeform, unmistakeably
 the 'queen' of this hive. Its bulbous abdomen glows and exhales gently,
 new-born Vajra drones emerging in steady, periodic flows from its apertures.
 Its lengthy tail swirls and swishes through the cavernous interior of the
 Bishop - that mass alone enough to pulverize any intruders. Atop it all, a
 much tinier thorax - still well outsizing most Mobile Suits in its own right -
 chitters and looms over its prize.

        Within a little bubble beneath that queen's imperious, possessive
 gaze...is none other than the captive Ranka Lee.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Within the Bishop Class Vajra Mobile Fortress, the feeling of fold movement has
 ceased, but Ranka Lee hasn't noticed it, oblivious to the world outside this
 one. Blinded to the feelings of all of her friend's resolve to rescue her.

Eyes unseeing, she floats within that blue oval membrane that's set upon a
 strange flower like stalk.
Content, floating without a care, hands crossed over her chest, she looks up.

The shape of the enormous Vajra Semi-Queen does not perturb her.
She sees only a nostalgic effigy in the dusky sky, kaleidoscopic, maternal.

It's cavernous body takes up the majority of the chamber, it's walls organic,
 shaped like endoskeleton. A field of blue eggs glow all around it, resonating
 with the crystalline formations that jut out of the interlocking plates of its
 armor. Resonating with the gentle green child.

An appendage stretches out from beneath it's massive bulk, latched on to the
 side of the membranous egg containing Ranka, linking the two together in a way
 that would terrify her, if only she could perceive it.
Her hair undulates like the flapping wings of skylarks, she stands on the
 firmament between the sea and the sky. So much bigger than her mind can
 comprehend, so she does not try.

Feelings are truly conveyed to her for the first time. Ranka smiles vaguely,
 contented.
This is where you belong.
"Where I... belong..."

We are your people.
"... my... people..."

We have heard you, child.
"...heard me... they heard me..."

You are safe with us. Everything is going to be alright from now on.
"... will it...?"

Something confused flickers in Ranka's eyes, as if she has difficulty believing
 this, but she's soothed back into a contented look almost immediately.

Skylarks soar like lapping waves over me.
Lulei luleia
You are the gentle child of all greenery.

Devoid of conflict, of concern, oblivious to the coming battle the love song of
 the universe fills her from the singing of the Vajra.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl stands at the bridge of the Nadesico, face pale. She'd thought
 to try to launch after evacuating to the ship to go after Ranka--she's still
 in her custom pink flight suit; there was no time to change out, after
 all--but that just wasn't possible. The reason why... well, they just left it
 behind.
        
        Gallia IV has been shattered. On each side of it, something
 happened on a planetary scale to smash it like the world's shell. The only
 reason they escaped that destruction is because the Vajra folded away and they
 hitched a ride with their worst enemies. There's no telling how many lives
 were lost. Whatever remains of the Global's legacy is fully gone now. Sheryl
 had gone on a private trip back with Ranka and Brera after that first
 expedition, but even so, even for someone as strong-willed as Sheryl, it's
 unnerving to say the least. Grace might not be here to lecture her to be
 careful, but it's still a hell of a reminder that she's no professional
 pilot--that trying to head out into an active a battlefield might get her
 killed, like it almost did back in Dakar. There's no reason the Vajra would
 leave her alone just because she's focusing on finding Ranka instead of
 fighting them. Given how they went straight for her, they'd probably try to
 kill her all the more for it. Sheryl might be reckless, but she's not suicidal.
        
        But that doesn't stop her from worrying about her best friend.
        
        She's thus unusually quiet as the bridge crew of the Macross Quarter
 transmit their calculations to the Nadesico in the Vajra's fold space. 500x
 normal fold velocity... a saboteur... Does this have something to do with
 those Variable Fighters that attacked, like Rin told her about? There's
 nothing Sheryl can do about that, though. Or about Ranka. She's at the very
 heart of the Bishop Vajra. She breathes out a faint sigh, then turns and
 hurries out for the observation deck, leaving the Nadesico's crew behind to
 discuss what to do next.
        
        "Ranka..."
        
        ~~
        
        From the observation deck, it's easy to see the Earth unfold--or
 rather, to see them and the Vajra unfold before it. Sheryl's eyes widen as she
 takes it in. Why would the Vajra come here? How would they know to
 come here? There's been nests found here and there over the past couple years,
 and of course there's been swarms that show up to attack, but still--
        
        "Wait," she utters. "Are they planning a raid?!"
        
        What else would they be here to do, after all? Isn't that all they've
 been doing up 'til now? It makes it that much clearer that Sheryl
 shouldn't try to leave the Nadesico. At best, she'd force their fighters to
 have to focus on protecting her when they need to focus on saving Ranka; at
 worst, she'd get killed the instant she went out there. Sure enough, the Vajra
 are already turning around and opening fire on their assembled fleet.
        
        That doesn't make the realization any less frustrating. Alto...
 Brera... Rin... She and Ranka both have a lot of friends out there. They'll
 all be fighting for their lives, for everyone's lives, and all she can do
 is sit back and watch... Sheryl purses her lips as she bows her head. The drop
 earring on her rght earlobe dangles, light glinting off what she knows
 now--what they all know--to be fold quartz. Even without it, she hears the
 transmissions of orders to those in flight on the comms; hears Alto report
 back that they'll (that he'll, she hears) save Ranka.
        
        Her hand curls in tight at her throat as her lips press hard and thin.
        
        As battle rages on overhead, from blasts from bio-cannons to the
 Macross Quarter's transformation and assault, Sheryl sings quietly a song
 that's not her own:
        "Aimo, aimo, nedel lushe
        "Noina miria endel prodea... photomi..."
        
        The fold quartz in her earring, from the memento left behind by Mao
 Nome, shines as if with an inner light. The sound of Sheryl's voice resonates
 to the two places where a human ear can hear: the other earring, and a girl
 with a certain unique gut flora...

KTS: Weekly_Seijin has deployed as a Boss for 2 opponents.
KTS: Kaiju_Navi has deployed as a Boss for 2 opponents.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Vajra Semi-Queen has been disabled.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Vajra Semi-Queen.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Kaiju_Navi has deployed as a Boss for 3 opponents.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Now transitioning through Fold space," Ruri Hoshino, systems operator,
 reports. She's stoic as ever, even as they flee the destruction of an entire
 planet, consumed by hungry space.

        Erina Kinjo Won is at the helm, beside her -- and somehow, she has
 that same level of composure. (Shove it down. Get it done. She's a boss, and
 she's not about to stop now.) "Don't ask me where we're going," she says, and
 if her voice is a little thin -- don't worry about it.

        "Wouldn't you say we're descending straight into the gates of Hell?"
 Dr. Inez Fressange, the Nadesico's resident scientist, asks with a mysterious
 air. She just... appears, sometimes. It's all right. She has clearance to be
 on the bridge.

        "The Quarter is communicating their intent to go inside the
 Bishop-class Vajra to retrieve Ranka-san," Ruri goes on, in that same mild
 tone.

        "Yes," Inez smiles. "Just like that..."

        And, shortly --

        "We're folding out!" Erina reports, sharply, as she leans over her
 instruments. "Current readings are --"

        "Welcome home," Inez says, at the precise moment Erina says: "-- we're
 at Earth!" And Inez is calm, even as Erina's voice could cut like a knife.

        "The Vajra's Fold technology must be much more advanced than ours,"
 Ruri remarks, hearing the Captain's shock over how little time it took.

        "The Vajra are moving to attack formation," Goat Hoary, their military
 advisor, adds gruffly from behind the Captain's chair. And, given the
 Captain's orders --

        Yurika assures the Quarter that they'll cover them -- and so Erina
 moves the Nadesico in, to engage combat with the swarm.

        And, hands pressed to her IFS console, Ruri says: "Commence attack at
 once." With her strong urging, the Nadesico's missile bays open, and a barrage
 of explosions pour out towards the Vajra fleet as the Nadesico goes first
 approaching them.

        Making themselves a target, for the Knight outside. It's a bold move,
 after what happened to the Shakuyaku, but -- Uribatake has done his level
 best to make sure the Y-Unit is integrated with their systems, and Ruri's
 been doing her own work, trying to negotiate with Sarutahiko. (He's the Yamato
 Unit's computer, and he's having... difficulty adjusting.) And it's a
 necessary move, with how the Quarter dives in afterwards to plunge itself
 into the Bishop's barriers.

        Ranka-san...
        Hold on.

        (And Sheryl will find her quiet song supported, in the Observation
 Deck, by Omoikane's very best special effects.)

KTS: Riika Sheder has deployed in MF-XR01/CL Svalinn Haze Gundam.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Weekly Seijin with Missile Launch!
KTS: Weekly Seijin has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Possible reactions are React, Evade, Parry, Block, Intercept, Charge,
 Retreat, Rush, Guard, Job, Accept

KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to Intercept Ruri Hoshino's Missile Launch, taking
 2560 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.

Riika Sheder found the Fold trip out to Gallia... well, it wasn't what you'd
 call 'relaxing' but it was at least something she could handle. She didn't
 have as much of a problem with the effects of the transit as some people did.

This is different.

Not because it feels different, but because of what it represents; this time,
 they aren't in control of it. They're just chasing the alien insects (or
 whatever they are; Riika is holding her judgement on that, if only because
 'insect' is a very Terran-specific grouping) through foldspace. They don't
 even know where they're going. It makes her nervous.

And then they *do* know where they're going, or where they are, and it makes
 her more unsettled. "Why did they decide to come here?" Riika asks, already
 scrambling - they're going to need all hands on deck for this.

Or off deck, as the case may be; Svalinn Haze, larger than the Aestivalises
 that are the Nadesico's usual flight complement, launches all crouched down to
 minimize its size. The MS, pink and white with red accents, unfolds as soon as
 it's got some distance, hefting the oversized cannon it has. It has extra
 plating mounted across its sides and back, and down its arms, which are flared
 with something like vents near the base.

"Svalinn Haze deployed!" Riika transmits. "Nadesico, I'll provide screening and
 fire support." Not that her gun has anything on the Nadesico's main cannon,
 but she's a lot more maneuverable than the ship is. "Please keep the GUARD
 packs ready to launch!"

Riika raises the cannon, a cloud of... something venting from Svalinn's lower
 arms and surrounding the machine in a cloud. The mist shifts, manipulated by
 the Mirage Colloid systems as it swirls around the barrel of the cannon -

And then she fires, a blue-green beam clearly visible in the cloud of Mirage
 Colloid derivative and faintly visible even beyond that. Or, rather, a cluster
 of beams; something about the Mirage Colloid functions as a whole cloud of
 prisms or splitter mirrors, and it's less a single beam and more a cone of
 splintered, shattered beams, covering the Nadesico's side.

KTS: Riika Sheder targets Weekly Seijin with LS-01a 'Schlieren' Experimental
 Laser Cannon Beam Splitter!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

This is going so fast - even for someone as fast-paced and energetic as Hikaru
 Amano. The death of an entire planet... that much is cause for anguish, and
 just what will they do next now that they got Ranka in their grasp?

Out of an excitement to see a new world, Hikaru opted out of the 'sleepy'
 stuff, but this time... well, if they end up folding into literal Hell, at
 least she'll get to nap through it.

And when she wakes up... an overhead view of the Earth itself. And they're the
 only ones between it, and the most massive fleet of Vajra they've ever seen!
 "Oh my gosh..." She whispers at the sight of it. Ruri's all stoic as usual
 about it, but for all Yurika's panicked... she bids the Y Unit's support.
 "Guess the only thing left to do's fight and survive, huh?" Hikaru scratches
 her cheek, heading to the hangar.

"We're gonna need to swap the Aerial Frame with a Zero-G one... and uh, I think
 I dropped my knife before we folded too!" She reports, as she integrates with
 the IFS. Uribitake shakes his head, but even he knows they have to give it
 their all against this threat.

"Aestivalis, launching!" Hikaru announces, flying in formation with the new and
 improved Nadesico-Yamato. "The Aestivalises don't have enough power supply to
 leave the Gravity Wave Antenna, so we're gonna have to do firing support.
 So... do your best for Ranka, everyone!"

She pulls out the Rapid Rifle, which she didn't lose, and fires away, trying to
 take out as many of those pesky Vajra before she has to reload - to cover the
 Nadesico's other side while Riika fires her mirrored beams.

KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Weekly Seijin with Rabid Rifle!!
KTS: Weekly Seijin's Force Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Weekly Seijin partially guards Riika Sheder's LS-01a 'Schlieren'
 Experimental Laser Cannon Beam Splitter, taking 3800 damage!

KTS: Weekly Seijin has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Hikaru Amano rattles Weekly Seijin, making its next maneuvers more
 difficult.

KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to Evade Hikaru Amano's Rabid Rifle!, taking 3230
 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Weekly Seijin has posed.

        While the Quarter charges in to open the way for the expedition's
 mobile weapons to dive in and save Ranka, the Nadesico chooses to make itself
 the center of attention. This is a good thing for the Quarter, as it has its
 large robot hands full with just avoiding the large amounts of death being
 fired at it by the massive Vajra fortress.

        This is not so good for the Nadesico though, as there are a half dozen
 Knight class Vajra supporting their large mothership. Each one roughly
 equivalent in combat strength to a full blown Macross. Not to mention all the
 countless Mobile and Heavy Soldiers that have launched.

        The Nadesico is not alone though as the La Tour tower's defense fleet
 is keeping some of those Vajra capital ships distracted.

        Not all of them though.

        The Nadesico's missiles sweep out towards the closest of those large
 Vajra organisms. The various turrent mounted bio-machine guns across its hull
 come to life, spitting out the organic bullets in an attempt to shoot the
 missiles down. Some explode prematurely, but not all as the rest sweep in to
 explode against the large ship. Chunks of its armored shell are blown away,
 but the large craft continues to turn, its attention drawn to the Nadesico as
 intended. The larger bio-cannon turrets turn, their long prongs rising to aim
 at the Nergal vessel. Golden energy crackles across their surface before they
 start to release multiple bolts of golden destruction out towards the other
 ship.

        The Knight class is not alone though. The smaller Vajra around it turn,
 beginning to 'swim' their way through space towards the hostile vessel. The
 Svalinn's shot splinters, blasting outwards in a wide arc to try and catch the
 Vajra as they approach. Many of the smaller Mobile Soldiers suffer under the
 assault, torn to shreds by the barrage of tiny lasers. But the larger Heavy
 Soldiers endure through it, partially thanks to the defense to certain energy
 weapons that the Vajra have evolved.

        That's right, those who reviewed the briefing on Vajra will recall they
 have the capacity, over generations, to evolve greater defense against weapons
 they encounter.

        The destruction of their smaller brethren seems to draw the gaze of
 several of those approaching Heavy Soldiers. Their heads turn towards Riika's
 Mobile Suit, beady eyes focusing on it. They alter course, starting to head
 towards her. From their bodies, a barrage of bio-missiles blast outwards. They
 dance through space with trails of orange as they close in on the mobile suit.

        Hikaru's rifle fire joins in on providing the Nadesico a defense
 against the smaller encroaching Vajra. The physical bullets seem to work to
 greater effect than the Svalinn's lasers, suggesting the Vajra haven't yet
 adapted to them. Which just goes to show how warfare within the Earth Sphere
 has been advancing, with physical weapons becoming less common.

        Several of the smaller Mobile Soldiers take hits from the rifle,
 getting torn apart. But others still manage to weave their way around Hikaru's
 aim, drawing in closer. They raise their clawed arms up towards her, armor
 plating snapping open to reveal the bio-machine guns beneath. They begin to
 spit out those organic bullets at the Aestivalis in large numbers.

KTS: Weekly Seijin targets Ruri Hoshino with Vajra Bio-Cannon Turrets Rapid
 Burst!

KTS: Weekly Seijin targets Riika Sheder with Vajra Bio-Missile Launchers
 Chasing Wave!

KTS: Weekly Seijin targets Hikaru Amano with Vajra Anti-Fighter Bio-Machine Gun
 Turrets Barrage!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

<"Ma'am -- we're reemerging from Fold Space!">

<"What, already?? That's way too fast!">

<"Compared to what? You slept through the last one, ma'am.">

<"Intuition!">

<"... There's no way I can engage something that nonsensical.">

<"And yet, she's right. It seems Vajra Folding operates under completely
 different rules than anything we know.">

<"Hell yeah! --Wait, weren't you sleeping through the last Fold too, Meryl?">

<"W-well...">

<"Hehe, no judgments here, Meryl~. Now, game faces, people! Let's get a good
 idea of where we... are...">

This is the conversation between the crew of the Carriax and the Tyranado as
 they emerge from their surprisingly short and unsurprisingly reckless journey
 hijacking a Vajra Fold. The Tyranado takes preemptive evasive maneuvers as it
 arrives, back thrusters shunting it almost intuitively -away- from emerging
 Vajra as the Carriax follows suit shortly behind it.

But it's not the forces of the Vajra that bring Sagiri Sakurai pause. It's the
 context of the location itself.

<"Gathering spatial coordinate data now--"> Amies Ernest begins, but Sagiri
 cuts her off, her voice firm and surprisingly grave.

<"... No need, Amies."> Pastel green eyes narrow on that blue planet, so
 dangerously close.

<"We're home.">

<"Oh no..."> Rami Amasaki murmurs; she raises her hands to her lips at the
 immense sight of that fleet. <"The Vajra... they're here, with a... with a...">

<"Rami,"> Sagiri cuts in. She turns off comms for a moment, turning around in
 her seat to look the younger woman in the eye directly.

"It's gonna be okay. I promised, didn't I? I'm not going to let anything happen
 to you. But I need you to keep it together too, so you can have my back. Okay?"

Rami pauses. She draws in a deep breath. And then she nods once, firmly, her
 gray gaze steeled.

"Yes, ma'am! I won't -- I won't let the Vajra do what they want with Earth!"

Sagiri smiles, and turns around, gripping the Tyranado's controls.

"Atta girl."

With a bright and blinding flash, the Macross Quarter unfolds and fires its
 main cannon. Sagiri and Rami shield their eyes as the immense energy emission
 fails to take down the Bishop-class... but -does- manage to do what it had
 intended:

Open a way forward.

Sagiri eyes that opening. And her foot depresses on the pedal of the Tyranado
 with a look of wild determination.

<"Carriax! Rin! We can leave the bugs out here to the Nadesico! We're going in
 and getting Rin's friend right the hell out of there!">

<"Yes, ma'am!">

<"Yes, ma'am!">

<"Understood, Tyranado.">

<"Yes, ma'am! --Wait what, no! That's a terrible idea! Why?!">

<"Because I promised a certain Cinderella we'd save her, and I'm a woman of my
 word.">

<"Oh, ma'am...">

<"Besides -- if we make it out of the other side alive, imagine all the profits
 we can make from the data we get off this crazy thing!">

<"Wh-- THAT'S A TERRIBLE JUSTIFICATION! WHY WOULD YOU RUIN SUCH A TOUCHING
 MOMEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA">

And this would be Rami, bravely yowling in determined despair as the Tyranado
 and Carriax dive into the belly of the beast at top speeds, following shortly
 after the Messiah.

                ~$~

It's disconcerting, how organic and yet not the interior of what Sagiri had
 assumed to be a Vajra mothership is. She navigates through the tunnels --
 tunnels? -- with aplomb, at least, and the Carriax is able to follow smoothly
 through towards the cavernous interior of the thing. And there, deep within
 this monstrosity of a ship, is...

<"What... what the heck is that thing??">

<"This... this isn't a ship, ma'am,"> Rami repeats her earlier words in a
 murmur. <"... it's a hive. And that's...">

Sagiri's eyes narrow.

<"... The queen bee, eh?"> Briefly, the manager of SS3 grimaces. <"Eugh. I hate
 bugs. Nothing for it, though! Carriax, we're on the approach! Give me some
 covering fire! And watch out -- that thing's carrying our superdimensional
 idol!">

<"Aye aye, ma'am! Missiles firing! I'll keep the clusters tight!">

And so, the Tyranado dives in towards that massive Semi-Queen -- source, it
 seems, of this entire fleet of Vajra. Quark Drive engaging, thrusters flaring
 in blues and greens, it surges forward even as the Carriax keeps its distance
 behind it -- and provides cover fire for the Tyranado's advance in the form of
 a tight, brief volley of missiles, targeting -away- from the queen's would-be
 prize.

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Kaiju Navi with Carriax Payload!

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

End fold.

"Oh, my god," says Samantha inside of the Carriax.

"It's... it's Earth," Louis groans.

It is, isn't it? Rin hasn't left the cockpit of her VF-171 during this sojourn.
 It would have been kind of hard to do so, but she could, at least, take the
 opportunity to drink a bottle of water and oversee an emergency restock of
 missiles and fuel to the Ghosts.

But there it is. Earth. If there is an up side, Rin supposes, it's that their
 deaths will be witnessed by humanity. What humanity there is. Can the Ring
 fleet - the Big Ring - *anything on Earth* stand up against the Vajra?
 GaoGaiGar... did they return? What about that weird shit in Hakone under NERV?

What could do it? Rin thinks.

Maybe nothing.

Her heart beats faster.

"Okay," Samantha groans, "we're - uh - that's Africa, right, so that's the OAC,
 s-so... I guess..." She trails off. In the face of the sheer scale of the
 Vajra threat, at the recent memory of just what happened to that planet, her
 dark aesthetics are useless.

I never wanted to be here, Rin thinks. It was just going to be a quick tour
 out. We'd be back at Ashford, or at our houses, and we'd be -

Safe?

Would they have been?

Crackling over the signal, Louis speaks. "Um-hh-h-- S, Starking?"

"... Yeah?" Rin replies, distantly.

"... Despite, despite everything, I mean - thank you, for - for being our
 friend, I mean."

Rin moistens her lips with her tongue tip.

"You've - got a suit, right? If you want to come inside--"

"I'm not getting out," Rin says as she flicks the controls to power up. Scorn
 and Rancor, somewhat replenished, perk up. She glances at the feedout screens
 for them.

They're prepared, aren't they? Rin thinks.

"You guys... you know Ranka's in there, don't you?" she says, to more than two
 people.

Samantha speaks back up. "If... uh, R-rin. If you don't come back, we, uh -"

"We're not going to -- let them know any of that," Samantha concludes after a
 choking two seconds.

"Heh," Rin forces - a little. "Thanks, Sam." She takes a deep breath.

The Battroid's legs relax. It drifts a bit from the Carriax.

"But you should think about what you'll do," Rin continues, "when I win."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULe5cIVxcCo

Everything falls away, Rin observes. It's like I'm taking off a jacket. I feel
 like laughing, don't I? This is stupid. Even with that hole they made, there's
 like a million Vajra for every one of me. Call it a third of a million since
 -- Since I have them with me, Rin thinks, her shoulders straightening up.

"This isn't a game!" half-shouts Samantha. "There's too many of them! Let the
 rest of these jackoffs kill themselves!!"

"Hey!" Rin objects, with something of her more usual puckishness. "They're
 not jackoffs and I'd be doing this just the same if it was either of you --
 so just cheer me on, alright?"

She pulls down the throttle. "I told you I was hardcore~~!"

Pulling in close, moving with the relentless steadiness of aerial craft in an
 enclosed area, the squadrette opens fire with their Mauler cannons to keep a
 path carved free as they move into the hive.

-=-=-=-

It takes way less time than you might fear, and a lot longer than you'd hope.

Through a swarm of fresh-birthed warriors and into an open space and suddenly,
 it expands -- they've found it -- or at least they've reached it. It might
 have found them first, after all.

For a heart pounding instant Rin stares at the mass of the Queen. "My god," she
 says. "It's like -- a factory -- I see her!!"

Scorn has already helpfully blatted radar waves out through the entire
 chitinous horrorshow, providing something vaguely resembling a map. Rin
 indicates and another wave of those invisible signals wash down over Ranka as
 Rin articulates -- "That's Ranka! We have to save her!" ... to whom is she...
 speaking. They all know. Right?

(Silently, the Ghosts shift forwards, momentarily orienting directly towards
 the tiny form of Ranka. They do not strike, but they do see.)

"Ranka!" Rin cries out, even as her faithful robotic attendants (bet you didn't
 expect to hear that line today, Alto) feed the greater-resolution battlespace
 towards the other approaching mobile units. And perhaps more importantly, the
 outline of the Queen and her *enormity*. The *shape*, distinct from where it
 dwells.

"We're here!! Hold on!!"

KTS: Riika Sheder successfully Intercepts Weekly Seijin's Vajra Bio-Missile
 Launchers Chasing Wave

KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Alto Saotome and Sagiri Sakurai with Insight L1.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite shares insight with Alto Saotome, making his next attacks
 more accurate!

KTS: Rin Naujakaite shares insight with Sagiri Sakurai, making her next attacks
 more accurate!

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
Teletha Testarossa has arrived.
Teletha Testarossa leaves for Luna [CTD].

KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
KTS: Hikaru Amano partially guards Weekly Seijin's Vajra Anti-Fighter
 Bio-Machine Gun Turrets Barrage, taking 3780 damage!

KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Force Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Sagiri Sakurai's Carriax Payload, taking 2375
 damage!

KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino blocks Weekly Seijin's Vajra Bio-Cannon Turrets Rapid Burst,
 taking 1600 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Yamato Unit integration holding, Captain," Ruri reports, to Yurika.
 With her interest in what it can do, she has to give her the updates.
 "Sarutahiko is unhappy, but I'm talking with him." She's talking about the
 Y-Unit's computer, not that she remembers to say that.

        "GUARD packs are ready to launch," Erina confirms, to Riika. "We'll
 wait for your signal."

        But their efforts to get the Vajra's attention are successful -- and
 Ruri watches, as they cope with the missile barrage distressingly well. "The
 enemy is keeping up with our moves," she reports, stoic. "Incoming..."

        Ruri always manages to make that sound like less of a big deal than it
 is. The long prongs of the enemy vessel firing on the Nadesico is a ferocious
 onslaught, and the only reason the ship escapes without much damage is that
 Distortion Field which flares up around it.

        If they didn't have that...

        ... let's just say this is a dangerous battlefield.

        "Distortion Field working adequately," Ruri reports, though, because
 they do have that protection. "Captain, I'll send Hikaru-san and Riika-san
 tactical programming while I negotiate with Sarutahiko. He's being a little
 stubborn."

        Don't ask Uribatake what stubbornness actually means for them.

KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Riika Sheder and Hikaru Amano with Coordinate.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino coordinates maneuvers, raising Riika Sheder's Piloting!
KTS: Ruri Hoshino coordinates maneuvers, raising Hikaru Amano's Piloting!

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        In ways none but Ranka could understand, the Vajra sing.

        To human ears, it would scarcely sound like anything at all.

        To human sensors, it would register only as alien behaviors.

        To human composition, it is without rhythm, in strange patterns defying
 reason.

        The Vajra sing, for their treasured one is safe. Their treasured one is
 protected from the calamity engulfing a planet.

        And yet, their song is cut short, by pain that wracks through their
 collective being.

        |Why aren't they rejoicing? Why aren't they grateful?|

        A deluge of missiles storms against the queen's enormous abdomen, and
 the hive rumbles, as though its very body were holding the chitinous structure
 together. Mandibles splay below its myriad eyes, each flicking in different
 directions towards the intruders. Not just a handful of valiant saviors - but
 two of them, 'swarms' in its own right - or so the Vajra recognizes Rin's
 drones and Sagiri's supporters in the Carriax.

        A deluge of sorrow flows through the hive, through that clear bubble
 zealously cradling Ranka from the intruders. But, this sadness gives way to
 determination, the queen's arms splaying wide to anchor itself tighter into
 the hive's superstructures...then, bio-reactive energy surging through the
 tailtip, that colossal appendage intercepts Alto's approach towards the
 captive idol, all while lifting the gigantic abdomen higher...

        The reason is clear - several fully formed Vajra crawl free from the
 slits lining the Queen's bulbous lower half, coated in a clear fluid that soon
 coagulates into the same material shielding Ranka. The pale tan creatures
 surge out just moments after their birth, listening to their queen's song -
 listening to their queen's sorrow. Three of them apiece lunge after Rin's
 drones, mandibles flaring as though they would chew through their hull...at
 the same time, a swarm of the Vajra clump together, like blood cells,
 intervening between the Tyranado and the Carriax, before hurling that same
 pink energy towards Sagiri...!

KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Alto Saotome with Vajra Semi-Queen Tail Slash!
KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Rin Naujakaite with Vajra Swarm Clasping Grab!
KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Sagiri Sakurai with Vajra Swarm Bio-Cannon Blast!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai successfully evades Kaiju Navi's Vajra Swarm Bio-Cannon
 Blast

KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite successfully evades Kaiju Navi's Vajra Swarm Clasping Grab
KTS: Alto Saotome's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
KTS: Alto Saotome fails to evade Kaiju Navi's Vajra Semi-Queen Tail Slash,
 taking 4600 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.

Svalinn lowers its gun as Riika lets it cool, venting another burst of Mirage
 Colloid. It wraps around the mobile suit, and while it doesn't have a Mirage
 Colloid stealth system, the formulation makes it ripple like...

Well, like it was in a heat haze.

To stay still in a battle like this is death, and so Riika accelerates, keeping
 pace with the Nadesico while covering it from the flank. "Lasers aren't
 penetrating so well!" Riika thinks it's still useful - it's the biggest weapon
 Svalinn Haze carries, and it's not like they're immune - but it's certainly
 not going to be able to hold them off forever.

The problem is that there's so many of them. Even with the assistance from
 Earth they're far outnumbered, and while Riika considers herself a good pilot
 she's not infallible. She only has to make a mistake once to get caught out.

Affixing the beam cannon to a magnetic catch for just that purpose, Riika pulls
 out a smaller weapon as some of them rush her, firing missiles of some sort.
 Her hands dance across the controls, taking advantage of Ruri's tactical
 programming (and, somehow, finding enough time to send a sticker back).

Riika's head vulcans do a lot to thin the missile swarm, but what does more is
 the other weapon in her hand - a railgun, but instead of the high-penetration,
 slow-to-moderate speed style of weapon that's popular in the Earth Sphere,
 this one is built more like a submachine gun, if a submachine gun had four
 barrels in a diamond shape.

Riika unloads the railgun in a hail of bullets. It's only particularly good at
 medium range, but if they insist on trying to get in, that's exactly where
 they're going to be.

(Meanwhile, the sticker is Riika's ace logo bunny face, glasses and all, giving
 a thumbs-up. Riika would never send it to anyone but Omoikane and Ruri,
 because she knows that even if they're busy they will appreciate it and
 Omoikane will hold onto it if nobody can look at it right now. Truly, she may
 understand the Nadesico better than she lets on.)

KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Riika Sheder targets Weekly Seijin with C0 Pavonis Multi-Barrel Railgun
 Freefire!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Rin's signals wash over her, but Ranka doesn't even perceive them, or her.
 Ranka doesn't want to leave this place... she doesn't. She's never felt more
 at peace. A mother's lullaby sings out to her, and as the child she fulfills
 her role in a sense, by letting herself go to sleep.

        Aimo, aimo, nedel lushe
        Noina miria endel prodea... photomi...
              miria endel prodea... photomi...

Ranka's eyes blink open, hazily, the image of the maternal figure in the sky
 tranposing that of the Vajra Semi-Queen. Perhaps the one thing in the
 universe that cannot fail to draw her attention is Sheryl singing.

"Sheryl...?" Ranka murmurs, even as the Semi-Queen keeps singing... but unlike
 before, the presence of Sheryl compels her, in those resonating feelings, that
 synchronization of frustration, of helplessness that draws her out of her
 peace and contentment...

... to sing with her.
        
        Here we are in a warm sea: look up and breathe.
        Here we are in a warm sea: look up and breathe.

In that space, NOW Rin and the VTX Union and Alto see her reacting, as she
 moves to the side of that translucent shelled cage, speaking aloud, trying to
 get them to hear her, her palms press against it, and then she taps it hard,
 then harder as she pounds the side of her hands against it.

        "I'm here! Here! Please! Alto! Sagiri! Rin!"

Yet, her mouth moves, and no sound seems to emerge from beyond the confines of
 her egglike prison. None of them can hear her, even if they might SEE HER!
 The intense violence as the Queen fights back filling over the vision.

Confused at this behavior the Vajra Semi-Queen's spell breaks over her. It
 doesn't understand, was someone else singing? Why is the Gentle Green Child
 not content? What's drawing her out of their song? It must be the violence
 of these intruders. Even as Ranka frustrated at her lack of voice calls out
 beyond even what her other senses can perceive.

        Sheryl! I'm here!
        
And Sheryl hears her as well, feels her, as if she's right beside her, like a
 phantom touch of her feelings, palm to palm. Even Ruri might, as this slight
 tingle of warmth beyond herself. Indeed, Ranka can feel them all again, and
 she's certain that Sheryl is the cause, for reminding her of where she truly
 belongs.

        I don't know what's going on but please keep singing!
        I don't feel lost when I'm with you!

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Here we are in a warm sea: look up and breathe.
        Here we are in a warm sea: look up and breathe.
        
        With a gasp, Sheryl jerks her head up, eyes widening as Ranka's voice
 harmonizes with hers--even though Ranka's nowhere near. But this isn't the
 first time that's happened. When those space pirates attacked, when a kaiju
 interrupted her Tsutsujidai concert... and she and Ranka had talked about it
 too, about how it felt like their hearts were one as they sang in these
 crises. If there was any doubt left, Ranka sweeps it away when she calls:
        
        Sheryl! I'm here!
        
        "Ranka!!" Sheryl calls out, shoulders squaring as she unthinkingly
 takes a step forward. While she can't race across space to wherever Ranka's
 being held, she hears the message that comes next, and her lovely features set
 with determination. She might not be any good in a dogfight, but
 this--this, she can do to perfection. And when she spots the shining light
 effects that had been produced around her as she quietly sang, there's no need
 to guess who's responsible. In which case, she'll just give them even more
 responsibility!
        
        "Ruri! Omoikane!" Sheryl shouts, half-turning to face the 'roof' of the
 observation deck. She has faith that both of them can hear her. "Put on the
 backing track for Lion, right now! I'm going to sing with her, so send it
 out to everyone!!"
        
        Despite not clarifying which 'her' she means, she has no doubt
 whatsoever that they'll take action on that without question. As she undoes
 her hair bun and shakes it out to its full length, her flight suit shimmers.
 That's another thing about this particular flight suit. Sheryl knew from the
 start when she had it made that she wanted to combine singing with flying,
 like Fire Bomber did. So while normally it's pink and gold, decorated with the
 winged heart emblem of the Galactic Fairy--it's made of material that can
 change it into a holo-suit, which in turn means she can use holograms for an
 instant costume change. And where better to use that in this fleet than
 the Nadesico's observation deck, where there's already plenty of hologram work
 done?
        
        And so, light blooms around her as her outfit seemingly magically
 transforms into her skirted corset costume. A trio of gold pearls glitter in
 her hair; a purple choker with a red rose circles her neck; a plum purple
 corset lined in red hugs her chest and torso over a lavender skirt; a large,
 matching bow ties in the back; dark purple gloves adorn her hands, and a
 wedding band hugs her upper left arm; a dark purple stocking drapes up her
 left leg, while on the right it's tugged down to mid-calf; and a pair of
 lavender buckled platform heels support her feet.
        
        Pulling out her iconic golden microphone, because no matter what, it's
 never far from Sheryl's person, she calls out to the assembled defenders:
        
        "LISTEN TO OUR SONG!"
        
https://srtmoo.net/mediawiki/images/9/91/Sheryl_on_stage.png
        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGGTf044UPI (Lion)
        
        The crystalline tones of Lion played as Sheryl's costume
 transformed, then segued into the opening guitar riff as she shouted out her
 message. Now, the fold crystal in her earring glints brilliantly, transmitting
 not just her voice but her fierce desire to return home safely with everyone
 she cares about, as she sweeps one gloved hand to span the universe:
        "Orbit the stars at the heart of the world
        "When you sneeze, butterflies in some forest somewhere will dance
 wildly!"

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka hardly knows how this works, she does it on instinct, however she holds
 onto that 'Ranka!!'

Indeed, as holograms light up Sheryl in her dress, and she shouts for everyone
 to listen to her song, at least for Sheryl herself - there's an effigy of
 Ranka beside her, ephemeral - both less than real and completely real.

Like she was always there, in her iconic outfit from her debut, flufy cream
 blouse accented with orange ribbons and bows that match the ruffled skirt, red
 ribbons encircling each arm, and white stockings over ribboned dancing shoes.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5b/fb/29/5bfb29728b7fb095b2021b75215202ea.jpg

As Sheryl calls out to listen to their song, she finds synching up is
 effortless, as she immediately starts in on her own lines...

        "The key to the door you protect is randomized
        "Here's an embarrassing story
        "Even if they lick each others' wounds, lions are strong!"

...before their voices, hearts, souls join as one. And everyone can hear them
 as well.

KTS: Ranka Lee is now subpiloting for Alto Saotome.
KTS: Ranka Lee targets Rin Naujakaite, Alto Saotome, and Sagiri Sakurai with
 Awe.

KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Sagiri Sakurai
KTS: Sheryl Nome is now subpiloting for Ruri Hoshino.
KTS: Ranka Lee inspires awe, increasing Rin Naujakaite's Morale!
KTS: Ranka Lee inspires awe, increasing Sagiri Sakurai's Morale!
KTS: Ranka Lee inspires awe, increasing Alto Saotome's Morale!
KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Ruri Hoshino, Riika Sheder, and Hikaru Amano with Awe.
KTS: Sheryl Nome inspires awe, increasing Ruri Hoshino's Morale!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

The Rapid Rifle at least seems to do... something against the tinier Vajra,
 even if it really does just feel like a drop in the bucket against this many
 of them. Case in point, the way some of them are fast and quick
 thinking-enough to weave their way around her bullets!

"Hey, Hikaru... I think you better... flea... their sights." Izumi Maki's
 window appears on her screen from elsewhere on the massive battlefield, with a
 teasing grin. She's always had the eye of a sniper, and she remains unfettered
 even in these conditions.

"C'mon, Izumi... back me up for once." Hikaru groans, as the Soldier-class
 Vajra reveal gun turrets of their own. "Well... nothin' to it. Distortion
 Field, activate!" And as she wills it, that shield rises to absorb those
 bullets, while Hikaru tries to reorient the Aestivalis. Her timing isn't
 perfect, but it helps mitigate some of the damage.

Ruri's report is clear, though... the Vajra aren't just adapting to their
 tactics, they're closing in fast. "Those Orbital Tower guys couldn't come any
 sooner.. they really saved our butts today. Earth might not be 'home'... but I
 still don't wanna see it turn into a flaming wreck." Hikaru comments, still
 not without a hint of melancholy.

Hikaru watches Riika intercept those missiles pretty effortlessly, and fire off
 a storm of railgun fire. Riika might not be part of her team... but they've
 still fought together enough that Hikaru can coordinate with her. Especially
 since Ruri shared with them both the same data. "I'll cover you, Riika-san!"
 Hikaru affirms, firing a double-shot of missiles. They reach a little longer
 than the railgun, preventing the Vajra from using the same strategy they did
 for the Rapid Rifle... unless they can intercept them, of course.

Thanks to Ruri and Omoikane's efforts, too, Sheryl's music reaches Hikaru's
 cockpit. And not just Sheryl... but Ranka too! "Both of you... I hear your
 song loud and clear~ and you bet we're all making it out of this together!"
 Hikaru answers, hearing the powerful and courageous Lion, sung by two warm
 souls in tandem.

KTS: Sheryl Nome inspires awe, increasing Hikaru Amano's Morale!
KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Weekly Seijin with Aestivalis Missiles Double Fire!

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Reaching the end of the path carved by the Quarter and into the hive's
 tunnels proper, Alto quickly switches his Messiah over into GERWALK mode.
 Making it more nimble for the tighter, winding corridors of the natural
 tunnels. It also makes it easier for him to shoot up those smaller Vajra that
 do try to block their way, his gunpod joining the weapons of the others in
 clearing away any obstacles.

        Alto weaves his way through the fortress interior, following the path
 mapped out by Rin's drones. Finally Alto comes flying out of a tunnel and into
 the central chamber properly. The sight of the huge Vajra in front of them
 causes his eyes to go wide. They've never seen anything like it before. The
 possibility of some kind of 'leader' Vajra had been theorized. But now they
 have proof...

        This Queen is huge.

        But it's not why Alto's here. He glances around... And spots Ranka,
 trapped within that bubble.

        <"Ranka!"> He echoes the call of several others at the sight of their
 trapped friend.

        Alto pushes his throttle forward, blasting towards Ranka's location
 with the intent of trying to save her. As he does so, he starts to hear
 singing...

        Is that... Sheryl? It's not coming over the radio... Alto can also
 feel... He briefly moves a hand to his chest.

        Though he cannot see it, nor the shine coming off it, Alto can feel the
 earring attached to his necklace pressing against him beneath his flight suit.

        He's still not sure what it means, now that they know it's actually
 fold quartz. But perhaps... Those times that Alto thought he could hear
 Sheryl... Was this the reason? He's heard Ranka too. They believe her voice
 can generate fold waves... But why?

        Alto shakes his head, snapping out of his thoughts and focusing. He's
 here for one reason and he's not going to let anything stop him.

        But the Vajra Semi-Queen has other ideas!

        It's hard not to spot that huge tail rushing towards Alto, bio-energy
 pouring out of it in the form of a blade. He's forced to try and get out of
 the way of it, blocked from approaching Ranka further.

        The legs of Alto's Messiah swing side ways, the craft going into a roll
 as it tries to burst away from the incoming blade. Alto is able to avoid a
 direct hit...

        ... But the energy still slices through the outer part of the Messiah's
 wing, separating it from the rest.

        Alto grimaces a little at the damage.

        Then he hears it.

        More than that, he FEELS it.

        Not just Sheryl's song... But also Ranka's. Their music coursing
 through him. He realizes this is not the first time he's felt this. But now
 it's stronger than ever.

        Alto grips his controls a little tighter as he calls out to the others
 inside the chamber, <"We need to stop this thing if we're going to save
 Ranka... And the Earth!"> They can't let these monsters destroy humanity!

        The Messiah raises its gunpod towards the large Queen's form, pulling
 the trigger and starting to sweep the weapon over the creature. Trying to
 fight it off and keep it from their attempts to rescue Ranka.

Alto Saotome transforms to VF-25F Messiah <GERWALK Mode>

KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Kaiju Navi with Pass!
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Kaiju Navi with Gatling Sweep!
KTS: Weekly Seijin partially guards Riika Sheder's C0 Pavonis Multi-Barrel
 Railgun Freefire, taking 5500 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Riika Sheder's Mobile Weapon Analysis activates, causing
 Designate L1!

KTS: Weekly Seijin partially guards Hikaru Amano's Aestivalis Missiles Double
 Fire, taking 5640 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Hikaru Amano's I'll Introduce Myself! activates, causing Jam
 L1!

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

It's canny tactics for the Queen and her subjects - the two Ghosts represent a
 disproportionate share of the 'Rin squadron's' combat power. Even so -- As the
 Vajra minions lunge, the two drones abruptly criss-cross applesauce past each
 other's flight paths, the drones flying forwards, no doubt to their
 irritation. (There are a couple of missiles shot after them, but only a
 couple. There are far, far, far more enemies here then there are missiles.)

Helpfully, Rin's eyes were on Ranka during this. There's a zoom-in pane on the
 HUD of the VF-171 and she can see Ranka wake up. Move. Look towards them.

She's alive, Rin thinks with immense relief. She's not even *unconscious* --
 She doesn't voice it. You don't want to give your doubts something to
 crystallize on.

She isn't just alive - and conscious - but however dimly it may be coming
 through thirdhand radio transmissions, Rin can hear her song. (So, too, do
 Rancor and Scorn -- though, of course, such things hold no meaning for mere
 drones. Of course.)

Rin lets out a wordless WHOOOOHHH of delight, relief, everything; she banks the
 VF-171 first left, then sharp right, just in time to see for a moment the
 Messiah getting persecuted hardcore by that god damn tail. Levelling out and
 pulling low, Rin aligns the forward cannons, laying down a barrage and keeping
 the centerpoint fairly steady as the -171 rises in a sinuous down and up and
 down motion --

As she does this, Rin talks. "She's in some kind of bubble even if she's awake
 in there-- we're gonna have to cut her loose before we get really crazy in
 here -- Ms Sakurai, what's your call?" Awww, deferring to full time employees.
 But perhaps the stakes are simply too high.

She's never even KIND of rescued an actual person before, after all. At least
 in this situation.

(As for the drones, after their barrel roll and helical passes, they bank
 upwards -- more invisible radar pings wash over Ranka and her strange
 emanation, perhaps to monitor in real-time. Does this count as doing
 something?)

KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Kaiju Navi with Rin - M1 4 Ever!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

<"We have a clean hit, Sakurai -- for all the good it did. It seems like all we
 managed was to make it mad.">

<"No problem, chief. That's exactly how I want them!">

Through the billow of smoke and heat, the Tyranado continues its lightning-fast
 dash towards the epicenter of the Bishop-class' very living heart. Its hands
 fall towards the Bayonets holstered at its hips, green-blue eyes flashing as
 the Quark Drive's output builds and builds. But as they approach--

<"Ma'am, be careful! I'm registering more heat signals coming from the queen --
 I think you're going to have company!">

And sure enough -- from the rotund incubation chamber that is the Queen's lower
 half pours a series of pale, tan Vajra, wings buzzing and song
 incomprehensible save for how fierce and -alien- it feels. Sagiri's teeth grit
 together as she pulls -back- on her controls.

<"I see them, Amies! Cheeky little queen -- Rami! Evasive maneuvers, now!">

<"O-on it!">

And, Quark energies redistributing and refocusing, the Tyranado starts to
 rapidly retreat as the Semi-Queen's defensive vanguard come together to
 assault it like an immune response. The Tyranado rapidly spirals through the
 immense cavern as the Carriax goes high, every shunt of its thrusters seeing
 it just -barely- clear each burst of bright pink power, trading shots as it
 produces Bayonets with a flourish and fires off rapid bursts of cerulean-green
 energy.

<"Whew! Getting to that thing's going to be a serious pain in the ass, huh? But
 if we can't take it out, it's just going to keep throwing more of these drones
 at us..."> Sagiri eyes Ranka, a silhouette visible in that transparent shell,
 but she can't -hear- her. Her eyes narrow, as Alto calls out.

<"Hold on, and stay safe! We're coming to... eh?">

And that's when--

"LISTEN TO OUR SONG!"

--she hears music.

Within the cockpit of the Tyranado, Sagiri blinks once, pastel green eyes
 fluttering in bemusement. Rami, however, knows exactly what this is. Her eyes
 go wide. And then her hands clap together with such abrupt fervor that Sagiri
 suddenly just -jumps- in alarm in her cockpit.

<"ACK!">

<"Oh my gosh, she's singing for her!">

<"Wh-- what? ... That's Sheryl, isn't it? You mean she's...">

Rami blushes furiously, and looks away as Sagiri squints.

<"N-no! It's nothing, it's just -- inspiring!">

<"Heh heh.">

<"(Shush, Amies!)">

<"Songs on the battlefield... now this takes me back.">

<"She's... trying to reach her through song...? But that's...">

And, even as Sagiri weaves through those pink flares of hostile fire, her eyes
 narrow with fiery resolve. A fire that only grows as Ranka's voice starts to,
 somehow, someway, join in with Sheryl's. As, somehow, they dance together on
 the stage of strife.

<"I'd say it's exactly what the doctor ordered!">

<"They're... singing together...!">

<"Heh heh heh.">

<"I suppose we should just throw science completely out the window, now!">

<"Oh, Meryl. I can hear your blush from here~.">

<"Please just focus, ma'am!">

<"Right!"> And, grin on her lips, Sagiri -punches- the accelerator of the
 Tyranado, leaning dangerously forward in her seat as Sheryl and Ranka's song
 rings out all around them.

<"I'm listening, Ms. Galactic Fairy! And we're going to provide some quality
 rescue service!">

What's her call? Sagiri has the answer immediately as Rin calls out to her.

<"Call number one: Ms. Sakurai is way too formal! Call number two: I'm going to
 try to push past the drones for the queen! Let's try to pincer it; our job is
 to provide an opening, precious part-timer! Mr. Saotome--">

And, as it grows closer, the Tyranado's handguns -ignite-, forming blades along
 the undersides of their barrels as the prototype weapon looks to thread the
 needle between those protective swarms, cleaving through them as it punches
 through--

<"-- we're gonna get you an opening, so you go get your Cinderella!">

--Aiming to collide with the bulbous belly of the Semi-Queen, -dragging-
 Bayonet blades along that tough hide from the right to draw its attention.



<"This is just so inspiring...!">

<"Isn't it??">

<"Even just ten seconds of this recording is going to send the shipping
 communities into a frenzy! And I'm getting the whole thing!">

<"... Amies, -please-...">

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Kaiju Navi with Beam Bayonet Blitz!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Weekly Seijin has posed.

        Riika's rapid fire railgun unloads a bunch of rounds into the Heavy
 Soldiers approaching her. They each take a number of hits to bring down, but
 they do start going down in greater numbers. She's able to clear away those
 that have approached the Nadesico from her side, leaving their corpses
 floating in the dead of space.

        Likewise on Hikaru's side, her missiles fan out towards the smaller
 Vajra that are trying to get close to the Nergal ship. They trying to swerve
 and dance through space to try and shake the missiles off, but they eventually
 catch up, exploding in an array of lights within the darkness. That wave has
 also been dealt with!

        Unfortunately for the two, as well as those on the Nadesico, looking
 towards the Knight class that has finally turned to face the Nadesico may be
 slightly disheartening.

        The forward armored section of the large Vajra ship folds open, almost
 like a giant maw. It reveals the squishier interior of the organism.

        Hikaru and Riika will notice that from within, more Vajra Mobile and
 Heavy Soldiers begin to swarm out and into space. Replacing the numbers that
 were just shot down by the pair. They just keep coming...

        More concerning though is the purplish crystalline object embedded in
 the back of the ship's maw. It starts glowing with golden light as an
 incredible amount of golden energy starts gathering.

        It's not hard to guess what happens next.

        The energy bursts forth from the Vajra ship, rapidly expanding out into
 a huge beam matching the kind that a Macross might fire. The beam blasts its
 way across space, quickly rushing towards the Nadesico and being large enough
 to engulf both the ship and its escorts!

KTS: [Spirit Defense] Riika Sheder's Combat Focus activates, and the spirit
 endures.

KTS: Weekly Seijin has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Riika Sheder
KTS: Weekly Seijin has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Hikaru Amano
KTS: Weekly Seijin targets Riika Sheder, Ruri Hoshino, and Hikaru Amano with
 Vajra Quantum Reaction Cannon Sustained Sweep.

KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
KTS: Hikaru Amano successfully evades Weekly Seijin's Vajra Quantum Reaction
 Cannon Sustained Sweep

KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino blocks Weekly Seijin's Vajra Quantum Reaction Cannon
 Sustained Sweep, taking 2650 damage!

KTS: Riika Sheder's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Riika Sheder blocks Weekly Seijin's Vajra Quantum Reaction Cannon
 Sustained Sweep, taking 5830 damage!

KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alto Saotome's Gatling Sweep, taking 3200
 damage!

KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Rin Naujakaite's Rin - M1 4 Ever, taking 975
 damage!

KTS: Sheryl Nome inspires awe, increasing Riika Sheder's Morale!
KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Sagiri Sakurai's Beam Bayonet Blitz, taking
 2280 damage!

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has engaged Kaiju Navi!
KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Omoikane will guard Riika's sticker with his life, as indicated by
 the bell he sends back, his very own stamp of approval.

        Ruri, on the other hand... is distracted.

        "Skylarks soar," she murmurs, to her console, musically, "like lapping
 waves over me..."

        She blinks, overlong, as she realises just what that moment of dim
 connection means -- just why she'd murmur along. "Ranka-san," she says,
 hushed.

        And yes -- she hears Sheryl, when she cries out. "Omoikane," she says,
 straightening in her chair, "I'm leaving it up to you." She and Sarutahiko
 still have something important to do together -- but Omoikane knows just how
 important this is, just the same.

                                < OK ! >

        Omoikane redirects his attention to Sheryl's voice, with an open
 transmission unfurling to send their song far and wide -- even, with his best
 efforts, into the Bishop itself. Sheryl might not be on a stage for this
 performance, but Omoikane remembers the routine, having watched it over and
 over many times -- which means he'll make sure to get her everything she
 needs.

        Meanwhile, Ruri...

        This is wrong, says Sarutahiko, though the words don't sound like that.
 Incorrect localisation. Where is the Shakuyaku? Where am I?

        The Shakuyaku was destroyed, Ruri explains, and her pain over so much
 recent destruction is far less veiled in psychic expression. But we retrieved
 the Y-Unit, and that means you survived.

        I can't be dead and alive, Sarutahiko expresses, through the IFS
 coupling and into Ruri's heart. No... am I even alive?

        If you're curious about that, Ruri explains, you might be. I know this
 is difficult for you... this isn't your body, and this isn't your crew. But
 please, Sarutahiko, we need to work together. A precious friend to Omoikane
 and I is trapped right now... and if we don't stop the Vajra, the Earth will
 be in trouble, too.

        All right. I'll cooperate with... Omoikane, was it? Sarutahiko comes to
 an agreement, uneasily.

        Hello!, Omoikane chimes in, affably. I'm a little busy, but we really
 need your help! I look forward to working with you!

        ... please take care of me, Omoikane, Sarutahiko replies, and perhaps
 Sagiri would be able to appreciate the wonder of this moment:

        Two AI coming together to greet each other in the way of the Japanese
 office.

        And Ruri blinks, and looks back up. "Y-Unit, ready to charge to maximum
 yield, Captain," she reports, unmoved. But first --

        "Incoming," she says, without missing a beat, as if she hadn't just
 opened her heart to the ship's chimeric internals.

        With Omoikane focusing on the performance, it falls to her to calibrate
 the Distortion Field to meet the energy burst coming from that mighty Knight.
 Luckily for Ruri, she's faced the Vajra before -- in the fractions of moments
 she has, she's able to shape and reinforce their barrier such that the Quantum
 Reaction Cannon doesn't pierce them through like some bug pinned to an
 entomologist's board. It washes over the Nadesico, instead, as the river is
 parted by a boulder.

        And as water forcing itself through, every part of the Nadesico is
 inundated by the might of a Knight-class opponent -- from the ship bodily
 rocking up in space with the force of it all, to the way the Distortion
 Field fractures at parts only to let that devastating beam through. Luckily,
 it doesn't hit anything critical -- but there are a lot of fires to put out,
 even so.

        "The enemy's doing an excellent job," Ruri comments, mildly. "... by
 your orders, Captain."

        And when that order comes down -- the Phase Transition Cannons begin to
 spin up.

        "All hands," Erina transmits to their pilots, her face graven, "we're
 preparing to fire the Phase Transition Cannon. I'm sending you our firing path
 calculations now. Stay well clear of it... please." Of all the people on the
 Nadesico...

        ... someone like Erina, who was secretary to the big boss himself,
 might know best just what they're about to do to the world.

KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Weekly Seijin with ND-001 Nadesico - Now Charging...!

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Humanity sings.

        Not just Sheryl's song from afar, but Ranka's in turn, a duet that
 echoes across the stars - transcending time, transcending space.

        The Vajra Queen chirps quizzically as its children dogfight the
 intruders all around it, explosions and eruptions quiet and soft compared to
 the marvelous hum Ranka emits.

        They recognize it as song.

        They do not recognize it as their song.

        A pang of fear courses through the masses of Vajra, a fold-impulse
 quaking between their receptors. |Is this really our queen?| |Is this another
 queen by mistake?| |To whom does she sing?|

        The queen's thorax arches, six arms crossing over its own body
 protectively, before knitting the two smaller pairs together, hunkering down
 closer and closer - countless beady eyes staring inquisitively at the tiny
 little queen.


|Why has this one taken so long to grow?| |Why does this one not eat and
 evolve?| |That must be it. Our queen must feed.| |These intruders in our nest
 - they must be food.|

        Their instinct to care, to nurture their future progeny, only pushes
 the queen to pour countless more Vajra from its quaking, thumping abdomen,
 thinking only of one thing - to kill their invading parasites, to turn them
 into Ranka's meal. They would offer her iron and glass to nourish her body -
 quartz and sapphire to burgeon her mind. These foreign birds may not be the
 ideal nutrition, but as they shift and groan, rubbery flesh spreading to expel
 bio-propelled missiles from their flanks - it will have to do. Clouds of the
 high-explosive payloads fill the interior of the hive like fireworks - yes,
 fireworks for the queen! Arcing in cascades towards Alto and Rin's fighters...

        Sagiri's sudden and dashing strike, however, sends the Queen reeling
 backwards with a high-pitched squeal, recoiling violently enough for veins of
 metal to crash and fall from the hive's ceiling - the potent beam strike right
 at its face distracting its overprotective urges. To Sagiri in particular, the
 Queen only knows - this one is our gravest threat...and with radiation surging
 across its arms, one of those massive, vicious claws sweeps in to tear the
 Tyranado asunder...!

        -- -- -- -- --

        By now, Yurika knows well that when the twin songstresses sing,
 everyone else ought to keep quiet - the world seems to keep revolving around
 the way they color the cosmos in their voices. Quietly, Yurika murmurs to
 herself, "...If anyone is going to fill Lynn Minmay's shoes, it's these two,
 I'm sure of it. I can't prove it. I can't put numbers to it. But I
 just...feel it..."

        The addition of a new voice to the Nadesico's systems catches Yurika's
 eye - leaning over Ruri's console to gasp, "So this...'Sarutahiko' was in the
 Y-Unit...does that mean - ah, I can only imagine this is confusing for you,
 to feel like you're sharing yourself with a stranger. ...Uhm. Hi! I'm Captain
 Yurika! Your crew's safe and sound, so they can say hi to you too - Captain
 Aihara's in Guest Room 33C if you wanna chat with him!" Yurika's kind
 of...waving placidly at a random screen, probably not even in the direction of
 a camera. "You can trust Ruri-chan and Omoikane lots! If it beeps, Ruri can
 probably befriend it!~"

        Right. Back to the business at hand. Steepling her fingers, Yurika
 professes, "...I did read up a little on what exactly the Phase Transition
 Cannon promises. ...I have to admit. It's...a little over my head. I really
 don't know what's about to happen when we pull this off. I'm trusting in
 Uribatake, in everyone on the mechanics crew, to have put this baby together
 in a way that WON'T turn us into a gravitational pretzel. I'm assuming it's
 kind of like a bigger, badder Gravity Blast, and will treat it with similar
 caution, but I'm gonna admit..."

        A finger taps on the captain's lips. "...No, you know what, let's not
 jinx it. Sarutahiko, we're counting on you!~"

KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Sagiri Sakurai with Vajra Semi-Queen Claws Quantum
 Swipe!

KTS: Kaiju_Navi Changes attack to Alto Saotome and Rin Naujakaite with Vajra
 Swarm Bio-Missile Barrage.

KTS: Weekly Seijin's Force Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to react to Ruri Hoshino's ND-001 Nadesico - Now
 Charging..., taking 440 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ruri Hoshino's Scan activates, causing Designate L1!
KTS: Ruri Hoshino begins a Formation attack!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai parries Kaiju Navi's Vajra Semi-Queen Claws Quantum Swipe,
 taking 1530 damage!

KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Sagiri Sakurai!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite charges into the attack!
KTS: Kaiju Navi rattles Rin Naujakaite, making her next maneuvers more
 difficult.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite fails to react to Kaiju Navi's Vajra Swarm Bio-Missile
 Barrage, taking 3220 damage!

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome successfully evades Kaiju Navi's Vajra Swarm Bio-Missile
 Barrage

<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.

The Pavonis has proven its worth in a single engagement. Honestly, Riika wasn't
 sure it would be as useful as she'd planned it to be, but the combination of
 fast firing and fast reloading really paid off when she couldn't use the big
 gun.

But there's so many of them...

She darts toward the swarm of Soldier-type Vajra, even as Sheryl's song begins
 to sound. Another spray from the Pavonis, but even with its reloads she's
 running low; it's meant as a backup weapon and not a primary weapon, but she's
 been using it to hold space in a way that really demands a full machine gun or
 a gatling or something.

Watch out! she wants to yell, but the Nadesico has seen it. "Hikaru, forward!"
 she calls instead, just as the Vajra ship's crystal (?) begins to glow. A
 moment later, and it fires, but Riika is prepared for it.

Well, as prepared as you can be for a blast like that. She's got Svalinn's
 laminated shield forward, but there's no way she can put up a handheld shield
 against a blast like that head-on, and so she's also trying to stay out of the
 main firing line.

The edge of the blast catches the shield and, amazingly, the shield holds...
 for a moment, layer after layer breaking away both from the shield and from
 the exterior plates on Svalinn, leaving a trail of glowing metal fragments in
 its wake.

But Svalinn itself remains, if not intact, at least functional. Covered in
 damaged, melted armour, with the stub of a shield, Riika types a series of
 commands and then twists a control - and part of Svalinn's exterior simply
 detaches, the outer layer purged and revealing the sleek MS within.

"Nadesico! Please launch the AF GUARD pack!"

And, a moment later, something does deploy. It looks like a bulky pack mounted
 onto a subflight system, because that's exactly what it is; some distance out
 it detaches from the subflight system and flies the rest of the way toward
 Svalinn on its own power, plates unfolding and spreading as it impacts the
 back of the MS.

Riika has never done this in the field before, so she's just as glad as anyone
 could be when she feels the connections take, one after another - click click
 click, a series of clamps locking on as what started as a backpack wraps
 around Svalinn almost like a shell. By the time it finishes, it's been bulked
 up with exterior plates and armour buttresses and other superstructure that
 make it look a little top-heavy; too broad-shouldered for the height of the
 unit, with bulky limbs and an almost shell-like construction along its flanks
 and back with additional thrusters. An inactive anti-ship sword drops into its
 hands.

"AF GUARD pack connection's good! Svalinn Bulwark on-field!"

Riika fires the thrusters. All of them; Svalinn's, plus the additional ones
 provided by Bulwark, big ones to move the heavier weight of the combined
 MS-GUARD system. Riika raises the anti-ship sword as she goes, a line blazing
 into light as the beam weapon activates - and then it turns into a rippling
 line as it overcharges, shining bright.

Riika makes a very clear effort to stay out of the Nadesico's indicated firing
 line. But beyond that, she just kind of throws herself into the crowd and aims
 herself at the biggest targets, making sweeping strikes with the enormous
 blade, almost as long as the suit itself is. Every once in a while, she fires
 the extensional grips - clamp-like hands, which she uses to grab onto a unit
 and spin herself around or straighten herself out.
Riika Sheder transforms to MF-XR01/AF Svalinn Bulwark Gundam

KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Though Sheryl can't respond to her audience acknowledge her song,
 either Hikaru's cheer or Alto's resolve or Sagiri's promise of ~service~, she
 can always feel their energy. As she performs with all the power and vitality
 that she always brings to her stages, she can't help but wonder--was this how
 Lynn Minmay felt when she sang to put an end to the Zentraedi War?
        
        She might never know. But she does have a strong sense of Ranka's
 feelings as she rises up and sings with her, their voices tangoing and
 entwining as the high energy of Lion continues. Omoikane spreads her
 voice, their voices further, through the battlefield and even into the
 Bishop. Sheryl keeps her dancing conservative, pouring her soul instead into
 her voice, but her shimmy, sway, and twirl is simply reflexive.
        
        The Vajra might be sent in chaos by Ranka's part of the song rather
 than Sheryl's, but between her fold quartz, Alto's fold quartz, and Omoikane's
 transmissions, her song reaches further and further as she reaches up a gloved
 hand:
        "I want to survive,
        "I want to survive,
        "I find I still want to live!
        "Guided by the constellations, we now gaze at each other..."

KTS: Riika Sheder has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Riika Sheder targets Weekly Seijin with Kladenets 16.3m Anti-Ship Sword
 Flare Blade!

KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Weekly Seijin with Shock!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

It is dazzling in a way, watching Alto's piloting attempt to defend her,
 blocking Vajra from reaching her - while also defending his Fighter. More and
 more she pounds her fists against the shell, but her lips are constantly
 moving, forming the sounds of the song, her eyes half-lidded as if were also
 elsewhere.

She is after all both here, and there with Sheryl. Near and far,
 simultaneously, their music resonating somewhere beyond the physical realm.
 There is a strong sense of synchronization between herself and Sheryl, that
 seems to beyond the normal stage collaboration, an energy swelling in the
 passion of the song. A passion that exists even now, when she is still a
 captive.

        "I want to survive,
        "I'm at a loss,
        "I glitter as I wither away
        "Until I show off how I look when I'm serious,
        "I won't sleep!"

And with their combined voices comes something else for the Vajra.

Confusion and Disarray.

KTS: Ranka Lee targets Kaiju Navi with Jam!
KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Alto Saotome

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

The interplay of the voices explaining the song - the song they can somehow
 hear - makes Rin smile faintly. There's no tension there, at least. None of
 the crystalline-brittle twanging of the Ashford Academy scene.

"Heh heh," Rin answers Sagiri, rather tightly. "Got it got it~"

A sudden sharp bank. "Hey! Saotome!"

"You're the only one who can do this!" Rin continues, voice raising.
 "Because..."

"I think Ranka..."

"Needs someone..."

"Who..."

(Samantha, on the Carriax, says, "oh my god spit it out")

"-- Can cradle her close!"

(Louis quietly slides a 5-gilla note into Samantha's pocket.)

"Rancor! Cover Messiah!" One of the Ghosts breaks off then, shadowing Alto --
 even as the bombardment comes inwards. A Pinpoint barrier - hopefully
 reinforced successfully by Meryl (please say yes, Meryl, please say yes) -
 shines. How long will it last?

With Rancor sent on a mission it's good old Rin and her bird buddy against the
 missiles. The density has thickened; despite tacking to the side, pulling into
 a sharp curve, several direct hits smash into the VF-171's belly. Reinforced
 though it may be, Rin hears things scream and wail; Scorn staggers.

"All or nothing," Rin says terse and fast. "Death or glory. Scorn! 77 by 19
 inward! Four second, full offload!"

Time stretches -- the VF-171 wobbles. It staggers. Rin stares dead ahead at the
 queen. It's focused on the Tyranado (she almost casually swerves out of the
 way of a falling piece of metal, attracted by whatever synthesis of gravity
 the Vajra make, and perhaps, by Earth far below) and-- hm, Rin thinks, before
 pressing a button to activate the flare countermeasures.

Her finger hovers over the trigger. Three...

Two...

And...

"HYAH!" Rin says as she presses two control triggers at the same time. Missiles
 erupt from the front of the -171 along with a shrieking discharge of the
 fully-charged Mauler beams. And from north-by-northwest-by-spinwards comes a
 sudden eruption -- answering those barrages of explosive bio-energy with
 remorseless machinery, a streaking cloud of 40 or so missiles aimed towards
 the guts of the massive Vajra.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Kaiju Navi with Multi-Vector Assault!

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto is only peripherally aware of the chatter going on between the
 some of the other pilots here. Not that he really has the focus right now to
 delve deeper into some of the meaning. There's far too much going on with the
 huge Queen and its entourage threatening to destroy them. So he just lets
 himself get swept up in the feeling of Sheryl's and Ranka's singing.

        Sagiri offers up a plan. They'll try to break through the Queen's
 assault and Alto will go to Ranka to rescue her. Alto has no problem with this
 plan, even choosing not to object to being called one of Sagiri's workers,
 part time or not, <"Roger. Don't get yourselves killed.">

        Sagiri and Rin move to engage the Queen. The former in particular
 charging in towards the large creature to go at it with the energy blades on
 its weapons. It seems to knock the Queen through a bit of a loop, granting
 Alto the opportunity he needs!

        'I want to survive,'
        'I find I still want to live!'

        As Ranka and Sheryl continue to sing, Alto blasts forward again,
 angling himself towards Ranka's prison. A barrage of missile blast outwards
 throughout the cavern, forcing Alto to start swerving and weaving his way
 through their explosions.

        The Messiah skirts around an explosion that gets close, just barely
 scrapping along its edge as the craft's pinpoint barrier lightly glows from
 the blast.

        Not willing to simply leave the others to the Queen, Alto spares a
 brief amount of attention to roll his half fighter over, bringing the twin
 beam vulcan turrets behind the cockpit to bear. They start to spit out rapid
 bolts of blue energy at the Queen. Not a huge contribution, but it's
 something! Especially given Alto's focus...

        The Messiah rockets towards Ranka's location, reaching out with its
 hand as Alto calls out, <"Ranka!"> He's almost there!

        Something flashes through the space in front of Alto, causing him to
 suddenly apply reverse thrust out of fear of hitting it.

        As he recovers from the sudden stop, Alto focuses his eyes to look,
 <"What!?">

KTS: Alto Saotome targets Kaiju Navi with Beam Vulcans!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

All of their effort to save her, Ranka's eyes light up, she can feel them, what
 they're doing. Her hands no longer pound on the shell, she takes a step back,
 folding her hands, having full faith and confidence in them, keeping focus on
 her singing...

... but as Alto moves to act upon those efforts...

Twisting and winding through the corridors of the Bishop Class, the pilot of
 the Red Variable Fighter flicks a brief eye momentarily at a Messiah in an
 Armor Pack enmeshed in a dog fight against a heavy soldier. He simply rolls
 his Fighter to slip by a brief gap, rushing past.

His focus was elsewhere, both on his objective, and on a memory.

Does anything about this planet seem... familiar to you?
How did you know?

The pilot said nothing as he dove into the Queen's chamber, cutting off Alto's
 Messiah and completely ignoring his 'What!?', his fighter transforming into
 Battroid, as he makes a hard brake, and with a quick slash of an assault
 knife, severs the shell that holds Ranka Lee without harming a single hair on
 her head.

With another quick transformation, it changes to Gerwalk, the cockpit opening,
 as he leaps out in his suit to grab Ranka, holding her as she gasps, then
 leaps back into his cockpit with her in tow.

Aimo, aimo-- He played his harmonica while a girl sang cheerfully next to him.
 Nedel lushe--

        Vajra folding into the sky

                 pushing a girl into an evacuation pod

The way she smiles at him, she's safe. He did his job this time, and protected
 that smile.

It's only once the Lucifer's Cockpit is sealed again, and has taken off towards
 a nearby corridor that he intones a single statement over the comms, that's
 even heard all the way to the Nadesico. Typically there is a lack of affect
 when Brera speaks, but this time? Disdain, anger.

"<All of you are unworthy of her.>"

Is he gonna help fight the Vajra Semi-Queen? Nah!

There's nothing more important to him than getting her out of here.

KTS: Sheryl Nome shocks Weekly Seijin, reducing its Morale significantly.
KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to rush.
KTS: Weekly Seijin partially guards Riika Sheder's Kladenets 16.3m Anti-Ship
 Sword Flare Blade, taking 8640 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Riika Sheder's Mobile Weapon Analysis activates, causing
 Designate L1!

KTS: Riika Sheder has engaged Weekly Seijin!
KTS: Riika Sheder completes the Formation attack!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

As if empowered by the Galactic Fairy and the Super-Dimensional Cinderella
 themselves -- not to mention Ruri's own targeting data, Riika and Hikaru seem
 to clear the fleets of Vajra with relative ease... only for more to take their
 place. Like always. This has happened so many times Izumi doesn't even have an
 original pun to make about it anymore!

Worse yet, is how that Knight-class seems to glow. She registers the
 information through her IFS, of course, but it all happens fast enough that
 she can only react to Riika's call to go "forward!". And her timing is
 perfect as she cranks her thrusters to the maximum, aiming to steer clear of
 that devastating beam more than anything. After all, her Distortion Field
 wouldn't be able to hold like the Nadesico's could.

"Whew... thanks for the save, Riika-san." She worries - because it didn't look
 like the Svalinn moved to dodge... but that shield must be pretty impressive
 if it was able to hold.

Unbeknownst to Hikaru at the moment, the Nadesico has a new friend, one that
 lost everything to ZAFT's attack. But thanks to Sarutahiko, the Nadesico can
 activate their ultimate Trump Card... the Phase Transition Cannon.

When even Erina Kinjo Won is taking the care to warn them... Hikaru knows
 better than not to heed it. "Roger that, Nadesico!" She affirms, using the
 Zero-G's superior mobility to weave around the Knight-class, keeping the Phase
 Transition Cannon coordinates in mind. "Oookay~ right here should be good!"
 She thumbs up, and the bridge can see it.

Sheryl and Ranka continue to sing... and for the Vajra, it sends them into
 total disarray. Like it sparked something in them. For Hikaru, it lets the
 will to survive and passion for life continue to burn in her. And what does
 that passion mean?

And while Riika in the newly transformed Svalinn Bulwark Gundam grabs her
 targets to strike with that massive blade, Hikaru engulfs her entire
 Aestivalis in the Distortion Field. Not for defense...

"If we could even save one girl... then I won't let that be for nothing."
 Hikaru says, staring down the Vajra fleet. "Let's go passion~ GEKIGAN FLARE!"
 She shouts, flying through the Vajra, and while it might look as if her aim
 is to destroy them... she has something worse planned, as the force of her
 fist aims to push them right into the targeting coordinates of the Phase
 Transition Cannon... whatever it is. Surely it's just a big pretty beam right?

KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Ranka Lee's Jam, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Weekly Seijin with Is this the Gekigan Flare?!!
KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Rin Naujakaite's Multi-Vector Assault, taking
 5355 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Rin Naujakaite's Punishment activates, causing Insight L1!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Rin Naujakaite's Yomi activates, causing Designate L1!
KTS: [Lucky] Kaiju Navi's luck activates, and luck goes its way!
KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully avoids Alto Saotome's Beam Vulcans
KTS: Weekly Seijin's Force Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to react to Hikaru Amano's Is this the Gekigan
 Flare?!, taking 6960 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Hikaru Amano's I'll Introduce Myself! activates, causing Jam
 L1!

KTS: Weekly Seijin has been defeated!
KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield.
KTS: Hikaru Amano has engaged Weekly Seijin!

<Pose Tracker> Weekly Seijin has posed.

        Riika and Hikaru both charge the approaching Vajra that attempt to
 swarm the Nadesico after the loss of the ones that went before. Under normal
 circumstances this might be considered Risky at best.

        But as Ranka and Sheryl sing, the Vajra appear to get distracted,
 pausing in their charge to glance around in confusion. This gives Riika and
 Hikaru all the opportunity they need.

        The Svalin's comically oversized blade cuts through numerous of the
 smaller Vajra with ease.

Yet more are struck by the distortion barrier punches from Hikaru. While they
 are a little more resilient to the blows from the field, they still end up
 either destroyed by the blows or knocked towards a part of space that is about
 to become very hazardous.

        The Nadesico's focus on charging its new weapon however means that the
 Knight class is left alone to its own devices. And it seems to be taking the
 opportunity to charge its Quantum Reaction Cannon again. That golden light is
 gathering at the crystal within its maw, preparing once more to fire on the
 Nadesico.

        The Nadesico isn't the only ship suffering from this incredible
 firepower though, as the formation of the tower's defense fleet is being torn
 asunder by similar blasts from the other Knight class Vajra amongst the alien
 fleet. One such blast catches several OAC ships in its arc, cutting through
 them like butter and causing them to explode in giant fireballs.

        Another Knight class unleashes its main cannon towards a group of
 mobile weapons, completing obliterating them. The beam then continues onwards
 through space, just barely missing the La Tour tower itself. While the tower
 is not currently the focus of the Vajra, if the defense fleet falls...

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Ruri wants to devote her attention to Sheryl's song -- but she can't,
 in a battle like this. The fight has to come first. It's Omoikane who makes
 sure to support her, instead.

        "The Knight-class units are decimating the defence line," Erina says,
 bristling as she grasps her controls. "We have to go, now! Captain!"

        And so -- with the Captain's orders -- they do.

        "Ready the Phase Transition Cannon!" Goat Hoary relays, in his
 authority.

        "Expanding Y-Unit," Ruri confirms, as the great clasps at the end of
 the Nadesico's twin jaws push outwards and spread, as if to embrace the Vajra
 fleet.

        "Y-Unit phase transition engines, raise power output to maximum load,"
 Goat goes on, as his eyes, weary from a thousand battles, scan over all the
 data coming through his console.

        "Maximum power!" Erina confirms, from her own station, as Sarutahiko
 displays a series of windows showing the Y-Unit's condition. His
 communications/ are much /denser,/ with less care for the humans reading them,
 and much less... flavourful.

                                < LOCK ON >

        "Locked on to enemy fleet coordinates," Ruri says, supporting his
 statement.

        And so, when the Captain gives the order to fire --

        -- did you ever watch 'Get To Know The Nadesico?'

        If you did -- and the recordings are available, now, through Nergal's
 intranet alongside various external uploads -- you'll understand how Phase
 Transition works. When the Big Bang began the universe, the Inflation Theory
 posits that all vacuum underwent a phase transition, releasing massive amounts
 of energy as the universe expanded. The Phase Transition Engines transition
 the vacuum surrounding the ship into a state where it holds much less energy
 -- think of it as the state of the universe before it began -- in order to
 obtain massive amounts of energy as that vacuum expands into the universe we
 live in.

        With the very energy of the beginning of the universe at their
 fingertips, the Nadesico is able to fire its Gravity Blast Cannon as much as
 it likes in the vacuum space -- as well as regulating its internal gravity and
 ensuring all the advanced systems on the ship are constantly powered.

        But what happens when you weaponise Phase Transition?

        The grasping edges of the Y-Unit thrum with power. It gleams white, at
 first, before it fires -- and looking into it is impossible. The beam which
 fires from the Nadesico's hungry jaws is nothing less than the birth of the
 universe, in a kaleidoscope of colour, firing into the centre of the Vajra's
 forces. The explosion plumes out, mottles to white...

        A Knight is reduced to chiaroscuro silhouette, before that silhouette
 wisps away.

        No. Not just 'a' Knight.

        Every Hound, every Soldier and Heavy Soldier, every Destroyer, every
 Knight -- everything which disappears into that halo of white --

        "Unbelievable firepower," Goat adds, unable to look away.

        "It's certainly the last word," Ruri says, mildly.

        If she's troubled, she keeps it from her voice.

        The one mercy, perhaps, is that the Bishop wasn't directly in their
 firing line. The side of the Bishop lies open, partially deleted where it
 met the edge of the explosion... but the carrier itself is still standing.
 That empty space where the Bishop was facing the explosion might serve as a
 handy way to escape the labyrinthine bowels of that organic structure, but...

        ... it also means there are still some Vajra able to drip from the
 wound like blood to attack the people outside.

KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Attune Spirit Command.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Weekly Seijin with Y-Unit Engaged - WARNING - WARNING
 - WARNING - Phase Transition Cannon Now Firing !

KTS: Weekly Seijin fails to evade Ruri Hoshino's Y-Unit Engaged - WARNING -
 WARNING - WARNING - Phase Transition Cannon Now Firing , taking 9672 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ruri Hoshino's Scan activates, causing Designate L1!
KTS: Weekly Seijin has been defeated!
KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield.

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Roger. Don't get yourselves killed.

<"With the sweet, sweet bonus that's waiting for me after all this? There's no
 chance in hell!">

Powered by the phantasmal, green energies of the Quark Drive, the Tyranado's
 Bayonets cleave viciously across the hide of the Vajra Queen. A soft "hah!" of
 triumph huffs past Sagiri's lips, neatly masking the stress of the situation.

<"Its attention is on us now... ... M-ma'am, its attention is on us now!!">

<"Great! That's just how we want it!">

<"NO THAT'S NOT HOW I WANT IT AT ALL!!">

Rami's poker face is a little less reliable.

Still, with the fury of the Queen upon her - just like she hoped - Sagiri
 doesn't let the opportunity slip through her fingers. The Tyranado banks wide
 as the Carriax detaches, pivoting closer towards Rin's Variable Fighter.
 (Rancor's Ghost is well-reinforced; Meryl is a -professional-) Sagiri urges
 the Semi-Queen's attention -away- from Ranka and towards the opposite
 direction as Rami - despite her MYRIAD MISGIVINGS - starts intensifying the
 Quark Drive's output in short, stuttering bursts, operating on the hope that
 the Vajra Queen can sense the output of the Drive and register it as an
 immediate, -dangerous- threat.

And it works! That's the good news.

And it works VERY WELL! That's the bad news.

A tremendous claw, easily as large as the Tyranado if not moreso, sweeps for
 the VTX machine. Rami lets out a startled yelp, but to her credit, reacts
 quickly; Sagiri's eyes widen, but -she- acts on what seems almost like pure,
 instinctual talent. Before the claw even begins to swing, the Tyranado is
 retreating -backward-. The churning, radiation-infused claw COLLIDES with the
 edges of the Bayonets' crackling blades, and rather than try to struggle
 -against- the sheer weight and momentum behind that massive limb, the Tyranado
 moves -with- it, Rami's expert coordination of the Quark Drive allowing Sagiri
 to focus on the increased output in the machine's limbs to -ride- that attack
 out towards its full sweep. And as the blades of the Bayonets begin to surge
 and stutter --

<"Now, Rami!!">

<"R-right!">

--The Tyranado uses that built up momentum from riding the strike to launch
 -up- and away, abandoning its Bayonets just as the Queen tears through them.
 The explosion from all that pent up energy within the Bayonets rocks the
 Tyranado, the force of the blow and the shockwave sending it flipping through
 the cavernous insides of the hive before it -forces- itself into a hovering
 stop. Sagiri and Rami rock forward, recovering just in time to see the fruits
 of their labor:

Some jerk coming in and rescue-stealing Ranka like this was some sort of
 side-scroller and he was about to whisk her to another castle.

For a long time, Rami and Sagiri both just stare, bewildered.

And then, that transmission comes in.

Sagiri frowns. Rami frowns.

THE ENTIRE VTX CREW FROWNS.

<"H-hey! Rude! Try a thank you for the help on for size, you -- jerk!">

<"Guys with bad attitude like yours are just the worst. The second I find you,
 I'm sending you the bill for services rendered, dick!">

<"How infuriating!!">

<"Ugh. The mysterious brooder. What a cliche.">

<"Hm. Well, I was raised not to say anything at all if I couldn't find
 something nice to say...">

<"Chief, what should we do? Pursue?">

<"I don't think our new... friend... is hostile, despite his unfortunate tone.
 Besides... we have a more pressing problem. If these Vajra make it to
 Earth...">

<"Guh. I know, I know. First bugs, now an arrogant mystery man... I'm done with
 this!"> And with this frustrated declaration, the Tyranado turns towards the
 Semi-Queen before it can continue to press an angry offensive. Thrusters hum.
 Sagiri leans in.

<"Chief -- requesting approval for Tactical Pattern: Terrible Nightmare
 Delivery!">

<"Approval granted.">

<"Tactical Pattern: TND loaded! We're ready!">

<"Meryl! Bayonets!">

<"TND, start!">

And with that, the Tyranado -launches- forward at high speeds; as it advances,
 the Quark Drive's output ramps sharply. Behind it, the Carriax unloads a full
 volley of missiles now that Ranka isn't at risk of getting caught in the blast
 radius -- as those rockets explode one after the other, it fires off a pair of
 Bayonets, caught by the Tyranado.

Sagiri doesn't even hesitate to unload the rapid-fire beam shots of those
 handguns on the Semi-Queen as the Tyranado approaches, only stopping when both
 run dry and tossing -both- to the wind.

<"Striker is launched, ma'am!">

And a -much- larger weapon, a cannon easily as large as the Tyranado itself,
 -launches- from the Carriax; the Tyranado -catches- it swiftly, the momentum
 carrying it lurching forward at even higher velocities as Sagiri narrows her
 eyes.

<"Got it! Setting Strikers to Lance mode! Next time you try to come to Earth --
 be more polite about it, will you?!">

And as Sagiri shouts, the Strike ignites, a massive beam blade bursting from
 the tip as the Tyranada -slams- into the Queen... attempting to run it through
 with the powerful, impaling thrust of that energy lance at full power.

<"I've had it up to -here- with the rudeness today!">

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Kaiju Navi with Combination TND!
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to retreat.
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Sagiri Sakurai's Combination TND, taking 7400
 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        A bellow howls through the stars the moment that Ranka - their little
 queen - is abducted.

        A distorted roar fills the hive as the Vajra queen scrapes and slashes
 wildly, blindly, at Rin's Variable Fighter, trying to claw at the Ghost drones
 to mitigate the pain flooding its body - but its eyes are blinded by the
 hailfire of Alto's turrets, forcing its smaller arms to clutch its face in
 protection. At least, for as long as it HAS those arms - the colossal blade
 erupting from the Tyranado's front tears those limbs clean off and grievously
 wounds the Queen's core...!

        The moment Ranka is so suddenly stolen from them, however?

        |They refuse to understand.|

        |They continue to harm our queen.|

        |They hide her on this blue planet.|

        |We must not let them escape.|

        In sheer anger - in sheer grief - the Semi-Queen suddenly plugs its
 'tail' into a part of the hive's interior - absorbing a catastrophically high
 volume of energy that begins to react with receptors in that bulging abdomen -
 and, in turn, fills the arms with a whirlpool of vivid pink light.

        The cosmos itself begins to throb.

        One pulse. A second pulse. Up converges with down. A spacial anomaly
 grips the hive's center like a curled fist - and when it finally relaxes...the
 signature is unmistakable. A colossal Fold resonance wave building and
 building up, a spherical eruption of distorted violet subspace rippling - a
 4-dimensional palm slapped onto the tapestry of reality, sending a
 3-dimensional ripple blooming and blooming. It won't just settle for
 protecting the hive - that wave soon extends beyond the Bishop - soon,
 threatening the Orbital Ring itself...!

        ...Only...

        A vaster power rips the hive in twain. No - it's safer to say it
 prevents half of that hive from having existed in the first place?

        An ash of un-doing billows from the now bowl-shaped hive. The blue
 marble of the Earth shines into that cavern of muscular metal, bleeding trails
 of alien ichor into the vastness of space...

        -- -- -- -- --

        ...Something races in Yurika's heart, in the moments just before they
 try it. She is, after all, only human. Is it really such a vast power as
 promised? Is it not just that the songstresses destined to save the world are
 on her ship - but a weapon that can put the final call above all others?

        Her gloved hand tightens. A painfully ordinary impulse floods through
 Yurika. If this is it - if what she has, at her beck and call, at her command
 to parade around the world with her own judgment alone, is something this
 decisive? Then...what do you do with it?

        ...what do you do with it?

        That question, alone, falls from her thoughts as that iridescent crack
 in the world parts wide - a gaping yawn in all that will be, all that ever has
 been. It's almost dizzying to look at. No...even when Yurika looks away, the
 mere thought of the Phase Transition Cannon's light compresses her thoughts.
 It does not emit a 'sound', but it emits a scream.

        The scream of a universe in agony for what has been torn into it. A
 scar it hurriedly knits closed, desperately, from the inside out.

        It could just be Yurika's eyes deceiving her, but for a moment - it
 almost appeared like the stars themselves had vanished in the cannon's wake.
 She blinks, and they return, but the idea does not stop haunting her.

        That hand moves to her heart, and Yurika utters, "...What...was Nergal
 even hoping to achieve with something...so terrible?"

        Collpsing into her chair, staring upwards at the bridge's ceiling,
 Yurika's voice is almost small, automatically projected below her dizzying,
 floating soul. "After this is over, inform the engineers that we're
 programming eight authorization layers before that thing can ever fire again.
 The mere presence of an atmosphere should automatically shut down a good
 eleven failsafe systems that stop it activating. ...We tell as few people as
 possible about this."

KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Alto Saotome, Rin Naujakaite, and Sagiri Sakurai with
 Fold Distortion Wave.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite retreats from the attack!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite fails to evade Kaiju Navi's Fold Distortion Wave, taking
 7068 damage!

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai retreats from the attack!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai successfully evades Kaiju Navi's Fold Distortion Wave
KTS: Alto Saotome fails to react to Kaiju Navi's Fold Distortion Wave, taking
 7068 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Weekly Seijin has posed.

        A large amount of space is caught up in the shockwave of the Nadesico's
 Phase Transition Cannon.

        The Knight class that had been charging its main cannon doesn't get the
 opportunity to fire it as it is engulfed in light, essentially yeeted out of
 reality.

        Several of the other Knight class Vajra suffer much the same fate, as
 do countless Vajra Mobile and Heavy soldiers. They are simply eradicated,
 creating a massive hole in the Vajra fleet in which nothing is left behind.
 Not even the smallest speck of dust.

        Suffice it to say, this is a HUGE relief to the tower's defense fleet.
 They begin to reform, allowing them to more easily withstand and even start to
 overwhelm those remaining parts of the Vajra fleet that survived. While they
 still suffer losses, it's no where near as bad as it was.

<Pose Tracker> Riika Sheder has posed.

Riika did at least partially dodge the giant beam. Her shield isn't THAT good.
 She definitely would not have trusted it against a full-power blast from the
 giant Vajra; even the glancing blow was enough to do enough damage she had to
 swap packs.

What Riika did *was* risky, no question; she would absolutely never have done
 it in better circumstances, but she didn't have better circumstances to wait
 for. She needed to clear a gap, hold the line for the Nadesico so it could
 charge its cannon and...

...

Riika's heart catches in her throat. She wouldn't be surprised to find out it
 *literally* stopped. The sphere of light and colour -

It's not the same. But it reminds her of nothing else so much as MIDAS, at the
 battle of JOSH-A. The sharp-edged explosion where nothing lived, nothing
 survived, nothing *existed* after the light.

That moment where everything changed, and not just for her - and simultaneously
 one of her greatest successes and biggest failures.

Svalinn Bulwark fires its thrusters in reverse to slow itself. It doesn't quite
 stop - this is still a battlefield, despite half the combatants on one side
 being no longer present. But Riika needs to stop. She can't - or won't -
 approach after that. She can't breathe, and it's not because her atmospheric
 system is malfunctioning.

She knows it's not the same. It doesn't look the same, it isn't used the same
 way; this was not a weapon of terror and confusion meant to intensify a war
 between two sides, but was fired to protect the Earth from a fleet of
 attacking alien ... insects? Life forms? Life forms. But that doesn't stop the
 panic, or the emotions that come afterwards.

"Sheder - ..."

Riika called, but she trailed off. It takes her a few moments to try again.
 She'll blame interference, later, and she can manage to make her voice sound
 controlled even if it isn't. "Sheder returning to the Nadesico," she says, on
 the second attempt. "Will remain in closer proximity, in case." In case they
 attack THAT. "On defense. Svalinn Bulwark is functional."

She toggles the radio to mute herself afterwards, hand shaking only a little as
 she regains her focus. But there is no way Riika is going to immediately press
 the attack after that.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto is surprised and speechless. This was not what he expected was
 going to happen! They were giving their all to save Ranka... And then HE just
 swoops in at the last moment. Not even helping them with the fight!

        And Alto is getting sick of being called unworthy.

        <"What the hell is wrong with you!?">

        It's no good though as the Lucifer is already on its way out.

        Alto grips his controls tighter out of anger... But then forces himself
 to relax. It's fine, as long as Ranka is safe. And for all his many, MANY
 faults, Alto must reluctantly admit that Brera can do that.

        Just don't expect him to like it.

        The mission isn't over though. While rescuing Ranka had been the
 primary goal, they still have the Semi-Queen to deal with. As well as the rest
 of the fleet.

        Is it just him, or does the Semi-Queen seem upset?

        Space within the chamber begins to distort. Alto can feel his Messiah
 around him beginning to shake under what is looking to be a rather
 disturbingly familiar sight. Though not quite exactly the same as whatever
 happened to Gallia IV... Were the Vajra responsible for that too!?

        Alto pours his power into his armor and pinpoint barrier, trying to
 withstand the barrage. But if it increases in strength much more...

        ... Which is when a section of the chamber wall is obliterated, opening
 up a large hole into space and revealing the Earth beyond. Alto stares in
 shock, <"W-What was that!?">

        Whatever it was though, it seems to have disturbed the Queen's assault.
 Alto calls out to Sagiri and Rin, <"This is it! Let's kill this thing and go
 home!">

        Alto turns his focus back to the Queen, his slightly battered but still
 functioning Messiah turns to face the huge Vajra. Alto's eyes dart across the
 Semi-Queen's surface, the sensors in his cockpit picking up the movements and
 assigning missile locks. Alto then pulls the trigger.

        The various components that make up the Messiah's FAST pack snap
 coverings open, revealing the micro-missile launchers beneath. They fire.

        All of them.

        Over two hundred of the small missiles blast outwards from the Messiah,
 blossoming out like a flower as they spread out and dance through space to
 rush in and explode all across the Queen's surface.

KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained
 proficiency bonus.

KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Alto Saotome targets Kaiju Navi with CIMM-3A Micro-missile Launchers Swarm
 Barrage!

KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Alto Saotome's CIMM-3A Micro-missile
 Launchers Swarm Barrage, taking 6760 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alto Saotome's The Twinkle Of A Tearful Planet activates,
 causing Insight L1!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

Hikaru could not have been more wrong. That was not a "pretty big beam"... that
 comes from the understanding that it was a cannon powered by the Phase
 Transition engines, like the Gravity Blast. That was a cannon of the Phase
 Transition itself, tearing apart the universe itself.

What the IFS once registered as myriad targets ahead of her... now the screen
 is nearly empty. "W-What in the world..." Hikaru gasps, as the Vajra do not
 explode, but fade into nothingness. Just as Izumi could not come up with a
 suitable pun, Hikaru could not face this with her usual cheer.

"H-Hey Nadesico... looks like my job's been all done for me. You guys are
 probably fresh out of energy after... whatever that was, so I'm returning,
 okay?" She reports, with a shaky tone. In an anime, that might've just been
 framed as a triumphant victory. It's hard for Hikaru to feel triumphant about
 it, but Sheryl and Ranka's song did come true. They survived the day... but
 the means they had available.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin glances to the side as --

-- yeah, wow, he's booking it.

"I mean, that was kind of the goal," Rin comments as the VTX squadron does.
 "But... he does kinda have a habit of running away when gorgeous ladies are in
 the line of fire."

                                REVENGE

The queen roars and flails. If Rin was asked - she wasn't - she'd think this
 giant ugly bastard is on the ropes. What are they going to DO with it? Is it
 the nerve center? Could they be so lucky? (Rancor peels off once Alto is
 getting clear and rejoins the group.)

"Yeah!!" Rin cries as the Tyranado strikes true...

... and the Queen stabs its tail into the wall...

And the world begins to shake. Rin can feel it throughout her entire body even
 as things begin to yell at her in the VF's cockpit. "S... Sagiri," she says,
 "it's --"

                                It's already happening.

discontinuity--

'How did he die?' said Rin Mei Starking, not so terribly far away, given where
 they are.

'He flew a plane,' said Mother.

'Did he crash?'

'His... The other planes were shot down, my darling. One of the other pilots
 saw it happen. He fired everything that he did, and his reflexes were fast,
 because he was a Coordinator; but all he could do was fly. The Zakus began to
 move, and rather than let it all be in vain, he --'

'What? I don't understand.'

'He had one weapon left: his own plane.'

-- back in the now.

Rin opens her eyes and tastes blood. The blood is on her breath and in her
 right eye. Ugh, she thinks. It's like having been macerated. She creaks out,
 "Guys--?"

Scrambled text from Scorn. In the distance, Rin's eyes, though only one can
 really focus completely this moment, can see Scorn tumbling. She looks towards
 the other readout. The statement is chilling in its implications.

> intruder detected

The old core logic. Her head lifts upwards, and Rancor is more or less above
 her, some degree forwards. The Ghost is missing a wing, which is much less
 fatal in space than it would be in the air, but the engine is flickering too.

> intruder detected intruder detected ilu intruder detected intrud

"STOP IT," Rin husks out. Spitting into her flight suit's helmet and instantly
 regretting the red splat on the lower quarter of her helmet's viewscreen, Rin
 repeats herself: "stop it."

Alto crackles over the frequency. He survived. That means Ranka did too. Rin
 straightens upwards. "Ghh-- it's just the two of us, pal," Rin mutters.
 "--logic eject, func?"

> func

"K," Rin breathes out. "Prep. And..."

She breathes in.

"Open fire."

The Mauler beam cannons erupt -- showers of energy surging outwards, converging
 on a point that strives to have both the Ghost and the Nightmare firing on a
 singular (or at least nigh-singular) point on the Queen.

"... Hey, Carriax," Rin says. "What, uh -"

"What happened to the...?"

The other half of the hive.

KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Kaiju Navi with Mauler Beam Cannons Charged Shot!
KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Rin Naujakaite's Mauler Beam Cannons Charged
 Shot, taking 2565 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        This may even be remembered as a victory.

        If not for the Nadesico's overwhelming firepower, the defence
 installation at La Tour could very well have been completely destroyed.
 Against the Vajra -- unfeeling, inhuman enemies with no families to return to
 -- such a staggering response may well seem like the only way the OAC's
 soldiers could live to return to their families.

        If only... it felt that way, on the field.

        "We're not only facing the Jovian menace," someone is here to respond
 to Yurika, when she asks why, of Nergal.

        It's Erina Kinjo Won. She's nice enough to say it to the pilots, too,
 as they come back in stunned silence.

        "Nergal anticipated that we'd face unfathomable threats, in deep
 space," she explains, in a rare moment of clarity. "That's why the Shakuyaku
 was assigned to this mission alongside us. In the event that Earth was
 threatened by something which it could not surmount... the Shakuyaku was
 cleared to fire."

        The Captain didn't tell Yurika about any of this.

        Of course, they weren't cleared to.

        It's private company information.

        "But now the Y-Unit is under your command," Erina says. Does she sound
 a little reluctant? "... I'll inform Uribatake of your decision. Ms. Hoshino,
 please ensure you secure all of our operational logs as top secret. As the
 Captain ordered," she adds, as Ruri looks at her sidelong with a withering
 expression.

        "All right," she says, as she returns her attention to her console.

        And if Erina smiles, just briefly, when no one is looking --

        -- she'd deny it.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        It's a good thing that Sheryl and Ranka had finished the first portion
 of Lion; it's easy for Omoikane to shift it over to an instrumental while
 Ranka's getting jetted out and away from the Vajra Semi-Queen.
        
        "Brera!" Sheryl utters, hearing his voice over the comms. She smiles
 wryly, setting one hand on her hip, still holding her microphone to her lips.
 "Are you really going to claim I'm not worthy either? After all we've been
 through together~?" For all her teasing, though, her smile brightens radiantly
 with the knowledge that Ranka's safe.
        
        (...and if Brera made some new enemies, well, that's just classic
 Brera. Sheryl finds she can't be upset about him stealing Alto's big spotlight
 moment when that moment would've meant Ranka falling into his arms.)
        
        "<Obviously I did not mean you,>" is Brera's neutral response to
 Sheryl's tease, though why he believes this exclusion should be taken for
 granted is a mystery.
        
        Unable to decipher that mystery, Sheryl can only toss her hair with one
 hand. "Make sure you bring her straight back here!" she instead orders, like
 she really needs to.
        
        "<Acknowledged,>" Brera replies, though sure enough, he already was on
 his way back.
        
        "Ranka, our next number is Infinity. Get ready!" Sheryl adds.
        
        And she would launch into the song immediately, except that's just when
 the Nadesico fires its Phase Transition Cannon. As much as Sheryl hates the
 Vajra--as much as she started flying to take revenge on them for what they did
 to her home--there's something about the overwhelming power, of how it just
 deletes what was once a terrible threat, that is horrible to watch. Sheryl
 doesn't know the science behind it, but so much of the fleet is just... gone.
        
        But considering that strange wave of fold energy that the hive had just
 been about to unleash on the Orbital Ring, which would have caused at least as
 many if not even more deaths, and that only the Phase Transition Cannon kept
 it from happening, it's hard to feel bad for them for very long.
        
        The Vajra have made it clear from the start, haven't they? It's them or
 us. In that case, Sheryl will always choose 'us.'
        
        As for Ranka, it would be easy for her to deny Sheryl her
 request/demand. After all, she was just rescued from a Vajra ship, she's
 still disoriented, and processing it all but-!
        
        Like Sheryl, she is now a professional. And even besides that, her
 heart is beating so fast, she has to work out these feelings.
        
        "<I'll just enjoy this little breather then! Don't worry, I won't be
 even a second late!>"
        
        The Lucifer cuts a stark crimson across the landscape of Earth, a blur
 as it quite simply, inputs the proper IFF codes and asks for permission to
 dock with the Nadesico. It is a quick, brief flight, past it's distortion
 field, backlit by the destruction of it's Phase Transition Cannon.
        
        That ends in Ranka pecking a kiss against Brera's cheek, "Thank you-!
 I've gotta go!" As she makes a quick hop down from the Variable Fighter into
 the waiting arms of the Nadesico technicians, and breaks into a run.
        
        From within the Nadesico, Sheryl calls to rally the troops, "Just a
 little more! Chase them off and make them regret ever messing with us!"
 Omoikane opens up a communication window showing her the Lucifer's arrival and
 Ranka sprinting from it to the observation deck. Sheryl smiles proudly; she
 knew Ranka wouldn't let her down. Then she snaps a pair of fingers over her
 head. Her costume shimmers, this time changing into a billowing red dress as
 her blonde hair tints violet. "Here we go!"
        
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JquUm6ji1cQ (Infinity #7)
        
        Violins chorus out a dramatic melody as red rose petals blow by,
 courtesy of Omoikane's effects. In the background, the shape of the Earth
 backlights Sheryl as she holds one hand over her eyes.
        "On that day when we decided to take flight from despair--"
        
        Ranka's not even out of breath as she runs in beside Sheryl, the
 psychic representation is long gone, it's just her. Light shimmers around her
 as she too is transformed into a red dress of her own style, and she joins in
 instantly on the song, still just in synch when she's in the flesh.
        "All that stood before us was--
        
        Sheryl turns and smiles broadly at Ranka, extending her hand. Ranka
 grabs it, and the two pull close, gazing into each other's eyes and then
 facing the universe as they sing together:
        "The blowing of the wind...!"

KTS: Ranka Lee targets Alto Saotome, Sagiri Sakurai, and Rin Naujakaite with
 All-Out.

KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Rin Naujakaite
KTS: Ranka Lee orders an all-out attack, raising Rin Naujakaite's Skill!
KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Sagiri Sakurai
KTS: Ranka Lee orders an all-out attack, raising Alto Saotome's Skill!
KTS: Ranka Lee orders an all-out attack, raising Sagiri Sakurai's Skill!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

<"Energy levels are spiking! The queen is producing an enormous Fold resonance!
 I think we've overachieved on making it mad, ma'am!">

<"I'm getting that!">

Pink light suffuses. A cosmic throb rolls through the Bishop-class Vajra.
 Sagiri isn't sure what's happening; all of this, everything these aliens can
 do? They're way above her paygrade. Skilled as she is, she has no idea how to
 defend against something like this.

<"This is like what took out Gallia IV-- huh??">

... So she's as surprised as anyone else as the Tyranado starts to glow with
 pulsing veins of blue-green energy and -shift- through every single pulse of
 four dimensional space encroaching upon the third. The Quark Drive's output
 seems to spike with every single distorted ripple, allowing it to, improbably,
 perhaps -impossibly-, skirt around every twist and knot in space.

At the back of the Tyranado, Rami Amasaki's expression is one of stressed,
 sweat-dappled determination as she plays that Quark Drive like a finely-tuned
 instrument, beyond what anything in its official specs suggested it capable
 of. Her lips thin as Sagiri looks back at her with wide, questioning eyes.
 It's a look that demands an answer.

But all Rami can say in the moment is:

<"Ma'am -- we won't be able to... to keep this up forever. The field of effect
 is expanding, we have to--">

And that is when all of that Folding space suddenly unfurls as a portion of the
 Bishop simply ceases to exist within a single instant.

It's unnerving, how little fanfare there is to it. A kaleidoscope of color just
 appears, impossible to fathom. Everything becomes a haze of white.

And half of the Hive simply ceased to exist, as if someone flipped a switch to
 rewind them to a point where the universe never contemplated the fact that
 this space could hold anything like them.

For a moment, the Tyranado just floats, largely unharmed. The Carriax is
 ultimately not as lucky; white armor plating is crumpled here and there,
 sparking. The Striker Bay has crunched inward, preventing any further
 deployments of additional cannons. Hirosuke, Meryl and Amies are all still
 recovering, thrown about the bridge of their support vehicle (along with,
 probably, Rin's poor friends) as they stare up at what has just come and gone.

Amies and Hirosuke have no words; even Hirosuke, a war veteran who has seen and
 fought against the Zentradi, has no idea what he has just witnessed.

Meryl, however, has some harrowing glimmer of a notion of what just occurred,
 and it pales her just to contemplate the possibility.

But Rami, white as a sheet, fingers trembling, gray eyes wide and horrified...

<"Nergal... weaponized phase transition...?">

... she knows exactly what she's looking at.

For a long time, she just stares, throat dry. Trembling fingers curl into their
 palms against her thighs.

For a long time, all she can think is: they weaponized something horrendous
 like that, on that kind of scale. ... Will VTX do the same to the Quark
 Drive...?

"-mi! Rami!"

"H-...huh?"

Rami looks up, dry eyes blinking once as she stares at Sagiri; concern is writ
 large on the VTX manager's expression as she looks at her co-pilot, chestnut
 eyebrows knitting inward.

Rami feels, momentarily, guilty at that stare, knowing she can't possibly
 answer what comes next honestly.

"Is everything okay, Rami?"

"Y-yes. I'm sorry, I just... that was all so strange and frightening, you know?"

"..."

Sagiri stares at her for a moment longer. And then she turns, putting her focus
 back on the controls, as easy as that.

"It was. But we can't think about that right now. We need to finish this.
 Time's a luxury; you've got to spend it wisely, Rami. So, once we're done
 here... you can tell me whatever's on your mind, if you want."

"Ah. ... ... Thank you, ma'am. You're right. Let's do this, and get back to our
 well-earned free time!"

"Damn right!"

The Tyranado's eyes flash. And Sagiri's voice cuts in on the comms as Alto
 speaks.

<"I'm right there with you, Mr. Saotome! I'm not about to fail to live up to my
 clients' expectations of me! Rin -- let's get this done! Meryl, are our weapon
 bays still functioning?">

<"--Ah, apologies. ... The Striker bay is nonfunctional. But the Launcher
 should be work.">

<"If that's the only option on the menu, then I'm not gonna be a picky eater!
 Meryl, send it my way! Let's bring this home!">

From the Carriax's bays, a long-barreled rifle fires off towards the Tyranado.
 The Tyranado catches it -- and just as Rin and Alto attack, Sagiri lines up
 her shot and--

<"Bang~.">

-Fires-. A sizeable beam of cerulean and green ripples across the half-opened
 space of the hive -- aimed for the dead center of the Semi-Queen and its core,
 as Rin's question floats through the comms.

                "What happened to the...?"

The other half of the hive.

<"...">

<"...">
<"... It stopped existing, Rin.">

KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Kaiju Navi with Magna Beam Launcher - Cannonade
 Shot!

KTS: Kaiju Navi's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Sagiri Sakurai's Magna Beam Launcher -
 Cannonade Shot, taking 4560 damage!

KTS: Sheryl Nome targets Riika Sheder, Ruri Hoshino, and Hikaru Amano with
 All-Out.

KTS: Sheryl Nome orders an all-out attack, raising Hikaru Amano's Skill!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

The song rises to a crescendo at the close of Sheryl and Ranka's opening stanza
 while a vast galaxy glows and spins behind and around them. The melody then
 drops to something slower, calmer, but still determined and
 resilient--something with the strength to move forward even in the face of
 adversity. Stepping forward, one foot in front of the other, Sheryl sweeps her
 free arm around slowly. Ranka moves simultaneously in sync and opposite her, a
 counterpoint to her dance.
        "The more of my feelings I want to convey,
        "The more my words end up cracking..."
       
         Ranka steps out in front of her as Sheryl cedes the front of the stage
 as Ranka steps forward, turning in profile, her hand tracing a slow line as if
 beckoning, then halting in the sheer uncertainty of expressing her feelings.
 Sheryl moves simultaneously away from her, as if the two were revolving around
 each other, each trying to know the sheer gravity of the other's feelings.
        "Unable to tell you a thing,
        "The truth is I'm always so uneasy..."

        Sheryl and Ranka face each other on the beat, then back up several
 swift steps away. Both of them raise a hand to beseech the dark skies above,
 then turn to hold it out palm-first to the other. Each of them turn to face
 the audience, and Sheryl twirls a finger that she then raises to the heavens.
 They spin back-to-back and pose side-by-side while a ghostly image of Sheryl's
 fold quartz earring--of two of them--sway back and forth before and behind
 them in opposite directions.
        "If people could somehow see tomorrow,"
        "Then we'd probably, have to live without realizing our dreams!"

The tempo of Infinity revs up, breaking once more into the unstoppable
 passion of the blowing wind. Sweeping their arms out and up, Sheryl and Ranka
 spin, first next to each other, then around each other, both of them so
 intimately familiar with this dance that changing it from a solo to a duet
 takes no effort at all. Is it the power of the fold quartz? Is it their
 feelings for each other? Either way, Sheryl and Ranka face each other, Sheryl
 reaching out to her friend as she sings a few words on her own; then both spin
 and reach out to the battlefield, their voices joining.
        "Embrace your farewells!
        "Embrace what you hold dear!
        "I want to blanket the world with my feelings for you!"

        Their arms undulate to either side of them in a wave before both girls
 spin anew. Each of them makes a circle with her thumb and forefinger and taps
 her own cheek. Bowing and backing up a few steps, Ranka and Sheryl lower their
 hands in sync and raise them to tap their cheek again. As they turn, they
 reach out to each other, then step past, beseeching the universe at the
 other's back.
        "I flew, light and nimble!
        "I cried great big tears!
        "I want to see you again at the promised land!!"

    With strength, with power, with love, they reach up and kneel down in turn,
 one high while the other is low. As the intense melody reverberates, they turn
 back-to-back and pose, daring and dramatic.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Misshapen ripples in reality are befalling the Vajra queen.

        The calamitous fold distortion waves collide off the space in reality
 left behind by the Phase Transition Cannon - this, combined with a duet of
 relentless full powered beams and a full salvo of high explosives, has left
 the colossal insect...grievously wounded, to say the least, crunched and
 contorted and twisted in its own knots.

        ...All the while, it cannot stop reaching.

        All the while, with every call from Ranka's voice, it wants nothing but
 to join hands.

        |Protect| |queen| |all| |costs|

        ...but it has no more to give.

        In a process that can only be horrendously painful, the queen Vajra's
 body is pulled through its own distorted, fading Fold window, torn and
 twisted, exoskeleton shearing away, a screech of agony drowned out by Ranka
 and Sheryl's melody...

        When it's finally sucked through, however...isn't it blessedly
 tranquil? To be welcomed back to Earth with such a duet?

        -- -- -- -- --

        The thoroughly exhausted Yurika sure is overcome with emotions.
 Hollowed out from the devastation of a planet - a senseless sacrifice - a
 horrific weapon - she's a sobbing wreck at the Nadesico's bridge once all
 that's left is to enjoy Sheryl and Ranka's concert.

        "...Huaaaah...I'm....we made it, everyone. Somehow...somehow...we
 survived all this yet again. ...Excuse me while I-" With a powerful *yoink*,
 Yurika's retrieved some sort of rolled up cushy mat that'd be used as an
 emergency inflatable bridge, and muffles a loud, long, frustrated SCREAM into
 it, before setting it aside with a deep breath out. "Okay. I needed that! We
 all need that. Haaaaaahhhh...W-what did we learn, everyone?" Yurika's asking
 that just as much for her own sake after the chaos of that expedition...

KTS: Kaiju Navi's Vajra Semi-Queen has been disabled.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin can feel herself queasy. Even as she hears a voice - Sheryl. Sheryl's
 singing, right? She was singing easier, but, Rin thinks with a certain gritted
 soul-deep irritation, it's so easy for me to tune out songs, isn't it? But
 it's not just Sheryl: it's Ranka, too. They're together. But...

Rin coughs. "So what," Rin answers Rami. "It... turned it to..."

There is slow silence.

(Rin's cronies, meanwhile, have clung together, mostly in a corner. Samantha
 understands the implications first, and clings to Louis all the tighter.)

"Huh," Rin says. Some part of her grasps her metaphorical scruff and turns her
 face away from the horror. Is it a decade of fantasia about her heroic
 forebear? Genetic predilection, engineered or otherwise? Or is it just the
 pain? A little of all of these.

Her eyes turn towards the Queen -- but it's...

"... Is that the weapon? Or -"

She falls silent as she sees a silent cracking of something that looks vital. A
 screech through the signals. And then with a last tearing that reminds Rin,
 somehow, of a boiled crab being cracked asunder...

The Queen is dead.

Long live the Earth.

"... think we're kind of... at the end of what this frame can do, huh," Rin
 speaks quietly, to Rancor.

> affirmative

Rin laughs, a little. Just a little. It kind of hurts. She slumps backwards.
 Gradually, Scorn seems to reboot himself enough to be able to avoid slowly,
 so-slowly drifting into Earth's gravity field. The VFs are limping, but who is
 to interfere?

"Not to do it again," Rin answers Yurika's question.

"... I guess we made it back, huh," Rin concludes, looking upwards. The
 remainder is parking; recovery; and, no doubt, long hot showers all around.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

And in that exact same moment, of horrendous, overwhelming pain from the Vajra
 Semi-Queen being torn through reality of it's own Fold Window-

Ranka's image blurs briefly to those with the psychic senses to detect it, as
 that massive fold wave of it's death throes strikes her. She's mid-dance
 step, when she stumbles...

... and falls over, insensate, eyes still partially open. A subtle green glow
 over her abdomen.

Captain Yurika doesn't even need to order it, the medics are already moving.

Inez Fressange sips her coffee in the medbay, having already returned. She has
 detected no need for exposition, so the emergency hardly registers.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        The Semi-Queen appears to be dead. Ripped apart by the disruption of
 its own attack. It appears to be dead...

        ... And yet the remaining Vajra do not stop moving. Two Knight class
 ships are still flying, the remaining small Vajra moving to support them as
 they fight back against the OAC's forces. Even that many can be devastating...

        Suddenly, a firing path alert reaches all the friendly systems in the
 area, warning them to get clear of a friendly attack. And it looks to be a big
 one!

        Sure enough, a huge beam matching in destruction of those that the
 Vajra have been firing cleaves its way from outside the battlefield. It
 impacts the side of one of the Knight class Vajra, tearing through it and
 causing a huge explosion. The large Vajra is rendered into smaller chunks that
 float off.

        Tracing the shot back to its source, people will see a large ship
 approaching. Thankfully it's not Vajra. It's the Battle Frontier! The large
 Macross ship that leads the Frontier Colonization Fleet. And it's flanked by
 several wings of VF-171 Nightmares.

        A radio signal comes in from the large flagship, <"This is President
 Howard Glass, elected leader of the Frontier Fleet and representative of the
 Federation Council. Given the threat representated by the Vajra, I am
 authorizing the use of Reaction Weapons. All friendly craft are directed to
 leave the target zones immediately, or risk being caught in their
 destruction.">

        Sure enough, more friendly fire alerts begin to appear in people's
 systems, encompassing the remains of the Vajra fleet. That includes the
 partially destroyed Bishop class Vajra that the rescue team are still in.

        With the Queen defeated, Alto's Messiah spins around, transforming back
 into fighter mode. To the others there he says, <"Let's get out of here... I
 don't particularly want to get caught up in our own side's fire."> Thankfully
 there is a giant hole in the side of the chamber leading out into space.
 Convenient!

        Alto's Messiah blasts out of the Bishop, beginning to head back towards
 the Nadesico and the Quarter, even as the space behind starts blooming with
 giant explosions of light as the last remaining Vajra are engulfed in the
 destructive fire of the Reaction Missiles fired by the reinforcements.

        Alto actually takes a moment let out a relieved sigh as he finally
 relaxes. Thankfully it's all over... Though there are still a lot of
 Questions. But they will have to wait as he is suddenly feeling very tired.
 Not surprising given what has happened over the past few hours... It's going
 to take time to process.

        He is of course unaware of what's happening to Ranka.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Though Ranka and Sheryl's feelings flow through each other through
 their songs, when the Vajra Semi-Queen is rent asunder, that connection seems
 to snap. Sheryl turns in time to see Ranka stumble--a misstep while on the
 stage, except then she collapses outright.
        
        "Ranka?!" she utters, rushing to her side--but then something wells up
 from deep in her lungs.
        
        It isn't a song. It's a vicious, wracking cough--the kind Sheryl had
 definitely not intermittently had up until now, but far worse. She too
 stumbles, falling to her knees as she covers her mouth with one hand. Her
 vision blurs, and she pulls her hand back to see a splotch of red on it just
 before she collapses next to Ranka.
        
        The medics will of course come for her too. Neither of them will get a
 chance to see their friends for a while, which is at least equal and fair. But
 in the end, everything that's happened on this expedition...
        
        ...was it hope, or was it despair?

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Rin's sentence trails.

The slow silence receives no additional words from Meryl, or Rami, to fill it.

And Sagiri Sakurai just frowns. 'Stopped existing.' Even if she isn't a genius
 of mechanics, she can guess exactly what that might mean. That Nergal would
 make a weapon like that ultimately doesn't surprise her.

Would VTX have done any different, really, given the opportunity?

So instead, the chestnut-haired test pilot of VTX turns her attention on the
 Vajra, her Magna Beam Launcher falling by the wayside in preparation for the
 possibility of needing another. But... it's not necessary.

After all that, -all that-...

The queen finally falls.

And yet the remaining Vajra don't retreat. Even Sagiri can see it, from the
 holes churned through the through the dead Vajra's husk.

After all that, there are still so many more Vajra...

Sagiri prepares for what might be a last ditch assault, what might be her final
 job. And then...

A bright, burning beam razes countless hordes of Vajra, and Sagiri is left
 blinking, wide-eyed, as the Frontier bombastically announces its arrival.

<"Huh! Well, I'm not gonna say no to gratis clean up.">

Even if this space is going to become rapidly dangerous and unfriendly, which,
 of course, is all the inspiration Sagiri needs to direct the Tyranado towards
 Rin's Variable Frame. It floats closer, before it places one hand on the
 damaged machine's chassis, to transmit directly to Sagiri's new recruit:

"We only make it back when we actually get out of the impending disaster area
 in one piece. Come on; we need to get out of here." A second passes. And then:

"You were impressive out there, my precious part-timer. I'm glad you're on my
 team."

One can practically hear the smile on her lips as she speaks again,
 transmitting more broadly this time.

<"Everyone evacuate the area, back to the ships! If you can't move, we'll
 arrange escorts for you! Let's go check in on Cinderella, huh?">

She, like Alto, has no idea of Ranka or Sheryl's state; despite everything
 else, she can't keep the grinning triumph from her voice as she announces:

<"And after that, we're gonna get some food at the fanciest Earth restaurant we
 can find! On me!">

The Tyranado starts its retreat, away from the target zones. The Carriax falls
 in close behind.

And as they approach it, Rami just warily eyes the Nadesico, awash with
 troubling thoughts.