2025-03-01: Sword of the Azure Skies
Log: 2025-03-01
- Cast: Flay Allster, Eight Orlodhari, Shinn Asuka, Rena Lancaster, Murrue Ramius, Astarte Spalding-Monteiro, Tavelle Adzvin, Anita Rosetta, Chise Asukagawa, Stella Loussier, Aurora Dusk, Lilium Valerie, Lacus Clyne
- Where: Orb Union Territorial Waters
- OOC - IC Date: March 1, 0100 (2025)
- Summary: Terminal's spy network has received word that the Logos-affiliated Seiran family are planning to take over the leadership of the Orb Union while making an under-the-table deal with the Gaia Sabers to commit Orb towards the fight against ZAFT. Terminal arrives to investigate and possibly intervene, and are ambushed by Gaia Sabers forces from just outside Orb's airspace. To further complicate matters, Chairman Durandal declares Orb an ally of Logos, and hopes to remove some key pieces from the board early in the game. '
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"I've never seen a man so desperate to dig his own grave." Chuckles Nagare Akatsuki within Orb's Parliament building, as he flips his shiny brown hair. "Chairman Durandal reveals to the world your ties to an organization as unsavory as Logos, and instead of denouncing it, you double down on and make a military alliance with the Gaia Sabers? It's impressive, really."
Yuna Rona Seiran, nominally the Commander in Chief of Orb's military forces, clutches his fist. With Orb's Supreme Council in deadlock, and Cagalli still missing in action, he was the only to make that alliance - even if it was under everyone else's noses. "Shut up!" He yells. "What do you know, anyways?"
Akatsuki shakes his head and smirks. "As the CEO of the biggest company in your tiny nation, I know quite a lot, I must say. Like how the Nadesico or their allies are on their way as we speak to investigate that little alliance of yours." He tsks. "It's quite a pain for me too, you know. The SMS had contracts with the SAL for fighting off the other menace of outer space."
Yuna's jaw may as well have dropped to the floor. "They're WHAAAAT?" He shouts, while looking to his father. "Well, what are we supposed to do? Shouldn't we mobilize the Orb SDF immediately? Yeah, I know! We'll get 'em on border disputes!" He raises a single finger coolly, but doesn't get much applause. The stern elder Seiran, Unato rebukes him. "As far as we know, they have the genuine princess with them. Besides that, whether we like it or not, many of them are the Three Ships Alliance 'heroes' who saved our country. We don't have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to a border dispute."
"Man, it sure would be nice if Lady Cagalli was finally ready to be my wife," Yuna sighs. "Well, you know them best, Mr. Akatsuki, what do you think?" The CEO of Nergal's smile doesn't fade a bit. "You're the one who made the military deal. I'd have figured you planned to do something with it."
More footsteps continue into the Representatives' hall - a man that seems to carry the very aura of competence and action. "Might I make a proposition? Ah, I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. On behalf of the Gaia Sabers, it's a pleasure to do business with the United Orb Emirates." Alteur Steinbeck smiles harshly.
"The pleasure's ours, sir! Um, what can we do for you?" Yuna scrambles to maintain his posture. The Gaia Sabers who flank Steinbeck salute the Orb officials, while Akatsuki crosses his arms. "Speak of the devil," He remarks. "I remember your name from the G-Hound days. Seems like the Logos scandal's put you in quite the lucky position, hmm?"
"Someone needs to steer the Gaia Sabers in the right direction." Alteur seems to brush off their words. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way... I suggest you allow the Gaia Sabers to handle the mess you've found yourself in, Mr. Seiran." His tone implies it's not just a suggestion. "Unlike your SDF, my Gaia Sabers are free to act as they please with their autonomous action licenses." He crosses his arms. "You may throw out the word 'heroes' to refer to the Three Ships Alliance, but don't forget - they are still 'traitors' in the eyes of many." Heroes... he must prove to the world that there is no such thing in this world anymore, except...
Akatsuki sees Steinbeck's gaze upon him and chuckles. "Heheh. I have to say, I don't agree with you one bit, Mr. Steinbeck. Our philosophies couldn't be any more different. I still stand by Nergal's decision to back them... and perhaps that makes me your enemy. But I must say, I worry they might be too soft to face the Jovians at this point. Though I wonder if your Gaia Sabers would fare any better?" His eyes don't meet his smile.
Steinbeck scoffs. "Do you have such little faith in your own allies, Mr. Akatsuki? Nergal doesn't need to lift a finger. Watch carefully - in this new era, battles are not won by numbers, but by those who are willing to do what must be done." He turns to his subordinates. "We're returning to the Air Christmas. I'll leave this one in Roanoke's hands, he may use his best judgement in sinking Magallanica's units."
Yuna gulps as the leader of the Gaia Sabers leaves the building. "Maaaan... we didn't get a single word in. A-are they really going to SINK them? I was hoping they'd just... you know, scare them off. What about Lady Cagalli?!" Unato sighs, in response to Yuna's worries. "One cannot argue with the Gaia Sabers' decision after the Archangel and Nadesico attacked the wedding in brazen terrorism. We can only hope they are reasonable about this." Nagare just puts his hands up at the indirect accusation of terrorism. "What did I say about grave digging?"
Meanwhile, on the Gibraltar Base, Chairman Durandal, in the middle of a surprise morale boosting appearance, folds his hands in his seat. "Movement in Orb, hmm? It's to be expected, seeing as they are the second largest Logos stronghold after Britannia." He replies, reading a report given to him by Rey Za Burrel. "Should we act, Gil?" The blonde young man asks.
Durandal's gaze intensifies. "Of course, I would like to push the Gaia Sabers out of Orb, and we are in position to do just that. But I believe the former Three Ships Alliance may be quite the thorn in our side if left unchecked." He feels he should play his cards carefully, but if he could remove someone like Lacus Clyne or Eight Orlodhari from the board early... "Perhaps it would be prudent to send the Minerva or the One Fine Day to monitor the situation... if things get too out of hand, I'll leave it all in Captain Spalding's hands." Rey nods. "Yes, sir. I will ensure Shinn or Lunamaria are ready to sortie if it comes down to it."
It is 20:00 sharp, the waters of Orb peacefully rustle even as Terminal makes its move to ensure Orb doesn't fall into the hands of bad actors. Anyone would hope this could be resolved peacefully and diplomatically... but there are just as many who would ensure all the pieces are in place for an explosive battle just outside the airspace of the Orb Union.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has deployed in Nazca-class Refit. KTS: Lilium Valerie has deployed as a Boss for 2 opponents. KTS: Aurora Dusk has deployed as a Boss for 2 opponents. KTS: Stella Loussier has deployed as a Boss for 3 opponents.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
The Ra Mari II sails through the air, having returned from orbit easily, a great red hulk in the sky that is familiar to many in Orb by now. After all, her heroic crews helped to keep Orb free! ...But what have they done for Orb lately? It may be a fair question.
On the bridge, people work along, having finished preparations for descet into Orb airspace. Gidon Kall--the first officer, chimes in, "It's nice to be going home... But I wish it were under better circumstances." A pause. "I mean, really. The Seirans."
Eight shrugs at that, in the Captain's chair today. "We can't choose who Orb decides to listen to. Much as it would be convenient." She's in command, despite being some twenty-eight weeks pregnant--it's a diplomatic mission, so her leave can wait a few days for this. Besides, Captain Maina is on leave attending a family matter.
The Ra Mari II does not have most of her mobile suits deployed just yet, still coming down from the heat of atmospheric re-entry.
"...I have a bad feeling," Tempo Astelian admits. "It doesn't feel like the last time we came at all."
"We'll just have to see how it goes, Mr. Astelian. Stay cool. The last thing we need is high tempers making the situation worse." Eight leans back in her seat, a little uncomfortable in the Captain's chair after all this time.
'...Right, Admiral," Tempo says. "I'll do my best."
"You always do."
<Pose Tracker> Shinn Asuka has posed.
Shinn Asuka sighed, keeping his attention split between the handheld game and the movement of the players in this grand drama. The Impulse Gundam was currently floating underwater, maintaining stealth for the moment. The black haired Coordinator sighed as his player died just as the world started to get busy. "I guess they are starting to move....Great. Hopefully I can get out of this hell hole ASAP."
Under the waves, a Bearshaped head's eyes glowed briefly as it scanned the area to take in vital intel.
"Shinn, you doing ok?" A voice came over the intercom.
"Ugh...As well as I can...I don't like being in Orb...AGAIN."
"Just keep watch for the moment."
"Whatever. Shinn Asuka, out."
Shinn cracked his neck and went back to his game, really wondering if these people could go 5 minutes without shooting at each other.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"It's their choice," Rena agrees over her communications line to the bridge, as she sits inside of the cockpit of the Gaia Gear Alpha. She had been on the Ra Mari II, rather than at home; the waverider-mode Mobile Suit is on the launch catapult, as she leans forward. Her eyebrows knit.
"...But still," she says over the radio. "I have a bad feeling, oo, Mr. Astelian. I want all pilots ready to launch."
She frowns. "Just in case they decide to not give us much of a choice," she says. "Or decide to make a play on our base."
She stresses the 'our' in that sentence.
Then, she glances at her console. "Annie, keep your eyes on this, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
"Ready when you are ma'am."
Arnold's head poked around the corner of his chair back at Murrue, sitting in her Captain's chair. She had just placed her handset down, having given the order for the crew to secure stations for re-entry.
"Very good Mister Neumann...bring us in." Murrue replied, clicking her seatbelt into place.
High in Earth's orbit, the Archangel began to tilt upwards, as her hull began to glow with the super-heated plasma of re-entry. Below her, the ablative gel dispensers opened, and rapidly coated the underside of the ship with the protective coolant that would protect the white ship from breaking up in re-entry. Murrue could remember the first time they carried re-entry out, having to do a rapid mid-course correction to rescue a plummeting Strike Gundam as it shot like a star towards North Africa. Now, they were aimed once more for the Orb Archipelago, just like after the battle at GENESIS. With the revelation of the Seiran plot to unify Orb with the Gaia Sabers and NUNE, rapid relocation to Earth had to happen. In her legs, the Freedom and Strike Rouge were already locked into the catapults, ready to launch with an escort of Murasume's to heed off the likely response of the Orb SDF. Murrue had a bad feeling about this. Terminal, and Cagalli certainly couldn't stand by and simply let this happen...but...was it too soon? Only time could tell as the Archangel, with a deafening sonic boom, completed re-entry, splashing down in the ocean near the Ra Mari II, before her mighty thrusters brought her back into the air, to cruise alongside her.
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"Algernon, are we on course?" Captain Astarte Spalding taps her fingers along the armrest of her seat on the One Fine Day's bridge. It had been barely two weeks after the attack on the Frontier fleet and here they were, already sortieing out again. It seemed, she thought, that she had suddenly found herself in Chairman Durandal's good graces after her performance at the Frontier. On the bright side, this probably meant she wouldn't have to wait as long for repairs to the ship, as the quick repairs from the fight against the Vajra had demonstrated. But, of course, that extra time was expected to be filled with extra responsibility.
Such responsibility was what found the One Fine Day approaching the Orb Union. Officially, they had been tasked to monitor a potential situation in the region, but of course their weapons had been brought up to top shape beforehand. In anticipation of potential difficulties, you see.
"Aye, Captain! We're approaching Orb space!" Noah Algernon, the helmsman of the One Fine Day, calls out as the landmass comes into view.
<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.
Tavelle is, in some ways, a guest on the Ra Mari II; in others, a crewmember.
She came from Magallanica after she somewhat impulsively offered to be hired by Terminal as alien expert (or 'expert'), mechanical aide, and contact with the Yaman Rebellion. She hadn't entirely expected to be taken up on it.
But it had agreed with her. She'd gotten to learn a lot about Sol mechanics, while she was available to answer questions about alien equipment if necessary. She'd taken some units apart, put them back together - and put a few other things together too, things that hadn't been assembled in the first place.
But Tavelle wasn't, usually, on pilot rotation. She isn't really today either, but yet she's in the cockpit of a machine - a mobile suit specifically, with a fin that's more of a trident than a V. It's clearly funnel-armed, small funnels scattered around its waist, and it has its other weapons docked on hardpoints rather than in its hand: an extra-long rifle, a beam saber.
It flies escort for the Ra Mari II, though it's not really 'escort' precisely; Tavelle deployed when they'd gotten past the worst of atmospheric descent, and the slightly strange-looking Mobile Suit flies without additional aid, firing its large thrusters in bursts. "The miniaturized Minovsky Craft's doing fine," Tavelle reports. "Told you it'd fly!" She's grinning in her helmet, though that doesn't come through on the radio so well.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
An uneasiness fills the air. Even Anita can sense it. She feels it herself, even. The Seirans... Orb is her home, now, but she's a member of Terminal. Being made to choose between the two... she knows who she'd go with in a heartbeat, if it came down to that, but she'd hoped it'd be a while before those worries crossed her mind again.
...Anita exhales. ...It's fine. That's why they're here to look into it, after all.
Still, the sensation of flying through the air helps her keep a cool head. The Svipul is currently acting as an escort for the Ra Mari II, flying alongside it in Fighter Mode. This is a diplomatic mission, so bright lights on her wings announce her presence.
"...Yeah. Let's just see how it goes." Anita agrees with Eight... and then, offers a thumbs-up to the screen. "You got it - I always do."
Her expression brightening just a bit, Anita grins at the sight of the Zorin Sol.
"Looking good out there!" Anita replies to Tavelle. She can't help but be impressed with how much she's done with it.
And with that she turns her focus back to the horizon, scanning it for signs of possible trouble.
<Pose Tracker> Chise Asukagawa has posed.
Somewhere far away, a small girl sits at a desk in her Nouvelle Tokyo house, graphite sinking deeper and deeper into an art pad. The paper tears. She barely notices, digging deep into the pages as she draws out a pattern she senses but can't see. The news buzzes in the background, slowly filling the room with the faint miasma of a world on the precipice of something she doesn't understand. Not before, and not now.
Here, the sky is calm, for the moment. No kaiju screams break the tension.
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
As the Terminal ships make their way down from orbit, cruising through the skies near the Orb islands, the scopes seem clear. Below them the seas stretch out, waves not too turbulent as the usual pacific winds sweep towards the island nation. There's a cloud of low hanging fog slowly wafting in towards the coast, but it's not like fog ever hurt anyone.
Of course it's what's in the fog that people should be a little more worried about. The Gaia Saber's fleet chugs along, bows breaking through the ocean as several support ships pump out the seemingly harmless smoke sprinkled with sensor-obscuring particles that currently hide the fleet from view.
At the centre of the fleet is a large mobile weapon carrier. And within the control tower sits Neo Roanoke. He listens as reports from underwater scouts relay the location of the approaching de-orbiting ships. It seems their intel was correct, certain annoying pests are on their way to try and lay claim to the Gaia Sabers's newest 'ally'.
Naturally the Gaia Sabers are going to provide a warm welcome.
Neo starts commanding, "Signal all units, prepare to initiate combat. We'll start the barrage as soon as they enter range. Tell the support ships to disengage the fog generators."
The warships and those units that have already launched start to get more active as the support vessels stop pumping out that smoke. It'll only be minutes before the fog clears, revealing the fleet to the sensors of those above.
But before that happens, Neo orders first, "Fire."
The thinning fog is quickly filled with holes as a combined barrage of beams, cannon rounds and missiles rush out of it and rapidly rise into the air to meet the descending vessels. The attack is swift and unrelenting, sparing no expense on ammo as the airspace is filled with munitions of many types, threatening not just the ships and its escorts but also those who may try to launch amidst the assault.
Aerial mobile weapons of various designs associated with the Gaia Sabers soon rush out from within the fog, spreading out as they also start to take long range potshots at the encroaching TerminalSAL forces. In particular, a shadow rises from the depths of the ocean. It breaches the surface, the distinct form of the Gaia Gundam, in Mobile Armor mode, now quite visible. Though its wings have been augmented with water jet attachments. And on its back, a large combined torpedomissile launcher turret. Said turret turns and raises, firing off a wave of larger missiles into the air to join the barrage.
It's only after the assault has begun, when the fog is cleared enough to reveal the Gaia Sabers fleet, that a transmission finally comes from it aimed towards the opposing force, "Attention hostile forces. This is Captain Neo Roanoke of the Gaia Sabers 81st Independent Mobile Group. You have encroached upon Orb airspace with military forces without authorisation. In accordance with the treaty between the Orb United Emirates and the Gaia Sabers, we will defend the sovereignty of Orb's borders with deadly force."
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Anita Rosetta with Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Stella Loussier targets Eight Orlodhari with Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Stella Loussier targets Rena Lancaster with Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Anita Rosetta engages intercept against Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Anita Rosetta moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo, taking 3520 damage! KTS: Rena Lancaster engages intercept against Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Best Defense! Rena Lancaster successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo, taking 0 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari engages intercept against Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Eight Orlodhari successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Salvo, taking 0 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Flay Allster with Twin Linear Guns Fire! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Fragarach Dual Cleave!
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
On the bridge of the Gaia Sabers carrier, a man in a Captain's uniform furrows the brow of his slightly weathered looking face, but says nothing as the masked man of mystery gives out commands. "It's not strictly an honorable tactic, but..."
"But they're terrorists, Johannes. Honor is for the arena." A woman in a dark naval-looking uniform sweeps into the room, blue hair in a ponytail. In contrast to the sea (?) captain, the mood that follows her is cheery, if a little bit... put out at the sudden summons. She pulls out a cigarette and gestures towards the person who followed her in, a lavender haired dark skinned man in a white uniform, who moves to light it.
"This isn't technically my bridge, but I'm operating the ship. No smoking here either, Ashcroft."
"Tch."
Neo orders the attack, and the sea dog with the pipe in his mouth off to the side of Johannes raises his hand. "You heard the man! Launch all combat teams!" This isn't his usual ship either, but he's been moved here to assist with coordination for the moment.
In the hangar of the carrier... The Second Advanced Response Team is leaderless. Flay isn't here.
But the Strike E is here, even as it sorties to fight alongside Terminal. Flay left behind the repair parts that were stocked for her use, and a new Strike has been constructed out of what she left behind. The last piece, a new striker pack, is added, readying the machine for launch as the VPSA dyes the grey machine a malicious black. And in the cockpit-
Aurora Dusk, Strike Noir. Launching.
The Second Advanced Response Team follows the Noir out, skimming along the surface of the ocean, leaving a rippling wake behind them. As soon as they spot the Archangel, they open fire. The fleet does, too, filling the air with explosive cannon shells. Aurora herself pulls the anti-ship swords free from the Noir Striker, trying to drag them through the Archangel as she flies up towards the bridge. Once she reaches it, she pulls her swords back to gain momentum, and swings them down, trying to drive them through the bridge!
KTS: Murrue Ramius has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Murrue Ramius fails to engage Evade against Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Dual Cleave! KTS: Murrue Ramius moderately reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Dual Cleave, taking 5300 damage! KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage charge against Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Fire! KTS: Flay Allster's Physical Wall L2 activates, negating 2000 base damage. KTS: Flay Allster successfully reacts to Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Fire, taking 1920 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Loaded up to the catapult of one of the carriers, Lilium stares up at the sky through the visor of her latest helmet. The bombardment is ongoing already by the time the Seraph's front wheel is connected properly, and it'll be a short while longer before she can launch. Speaking of the Seraph--
It's still painted in its concert colours (with the rendition of Lilium on its back), of course, since she was technically meant to be on her way to Orb for some PR work... but deploying it like this was always part of the plan.
"Lilium Valerie, Seraph... launching to engage!"
The Valkyrie is launched forwards, and Lilium pulls up--straight up, in fact. 90 degrees up, directly into the sky, towards the One Fine Day and Zorin Sol. She ascends rapidly, and a panel on the back of the Variable Fighter opens to deploy a small set of odd-looking funnels--just in time to scream directly through the space between the ship and the mobile suit, before starting a wide turn to make another pass.
The funnels left behind, however, are still active. Each one seems to be a tiny speaker--a speaker that's being put to good use.
"Fighting here is pointless" Lilium yells, flicking a set of switches on her control panel. "You could just set down the weapons and come in legally! So please--"
She takes in a deep breath.
LET ME SING FOR YOU!
An energetic song starts to blast from the remote... well, not weapons as such, and, along with Lilium's vocals, at least attempts to strike itself deep into its targets' hearts. It would be better to avoid fighting, right..?
"Soaring through the skies over my head--I couldnt keep up even if I tried"
"A million miles a moment, my hearts on fire..."
KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Tavelle Adzvin with Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo!
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Right," Astelian answers Rena, and Eight calmly sits there; her presence is a rock for Rena at the moment. But she adds, "...I agree."
The Archangel is more than enough ship to bring along for a diplomatic mission; Eight wanted their best here, after all. ...Besides; the Archangel is highly relevant to Orb. "Glad it's going," Eight answers Tavelle. "I'm not surprised, though." She does know her stuff.
But Annie always does her best. "Right," she answers.
But... Suddenly--
Eight does not detect it coming, but the Ra Mari II's anti-missile defenses do. A barrage comes at the ship and her escort. Janid Harpe--Weapons Officer--suddenly says, "Admiral! We're under attack!"
"Shields up, red alert! Evasive maneuvers!" Eight orders, "Get our weapons systems online!"
Beam cannons all over the huge ship hum to life, charging up in preparation. More still start firing on every missile in place, reducing incoming fire to so much dust that bounces off of the ship's Pinpoint Barrier. And the fleet--
"Open a line," Eight instructs Astelian, and when he does, she responds to Captain Neo Roanoke.
"This is Admiral Eight Orlodhari of the Magallanica Defense Force. Orb's allies in Magallanica were not informed of a change in how welcome we are. We consider this attack an unprovoked aggression on the part of rogue elements,a and will deal with it as such until and unless Orb's elected leaders together issue a statement."
Then she throws a hand to the side, "Mrs. Harpe. Load Kestrel and Falcon missile volley on the port side. Mobile suit wings, launch of Captain Lancaster's order. Beam cannons, charge up."
Harpe enters the commands into her console, "Loading Kestrel and Falcon missiles, Admiral! Beam cannons at 70% power!"
"Fire Kestrel missiles on the approaching fleet! Target at will!"
"Aye, Admiral!"
Missiles pour out of launchers on the side of the Ra Mari II towards the fleet, emphasizing other ships most of all--weapons systems primarily. The ship begins to turn, its colossal bulk a big target in the sky--
A target that has come to life.
"Mr. Astelian," Eight says then. "I know there's interference, but try to get me a line to Orb's government office. We need to know what they know."
And then there is... song. Speakers.
"...?" Eight starts.
KTS: Eight Orlodhari has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Eight Orlodhari targets Stella Loussier with Kestrel Missile Volley! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's Teamwork activates Focus! KTS: Tavelle Adzvin fails to engage Evade against Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo! KTS: Best Defense! Tavelle Adzvin successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo, taking 3300 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie begins a Formation attack! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro fails to engage react against Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Solo, taking 4400 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie begins a Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I know I can count on you, Annie," Rena says, smiling back at her fiancee over the screen.
Speaking of the screen, though, she's glancing at another image on it.
"The Zorin Soul," Rena says. "Looks like we finally got it online. That's something else..." She looks at her monitor, distracted for a moment by the data coming in regarding the companion unit for the Gaia Gear Alpha.
Though, her distraction is short-lived. The attack comes, and their Mobile Suits launch; the Gaia Gear comes flying out of the Ra Mari II's hangar.
The Gaia Gear's panoramic cockpit display lights up with several lock-on warnings, as missiles come flying in for the units launching from the Ra Mari II. Rena grits her teeth, then calls out:
"Funnels! Go!"
A dozen of them burst from the back of the Gaia Gear, as it hurtles out. Funnels shoot out every which way and fire, thin mega particle beams slicing through the ones closing in on the white Mobile Suit. They explode before it.
Her eyes lock onto the Gaia Gundam, and she grits her teeth -- and then releases a trio of missiles. They fall from the hardpoints on the wings -- then rocket upward towards the Mobile Armor.
Halfway through, the tips superheat for armor-piercing; turning a bright, ugly red.
"You might also try not asking with live fire," Rena transmits up at them. "It's a suggestion."
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster's Newtype activates! KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Stella Loussier with Needle Missiles! KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage intercept against Eight Orlodhari's Kestrel Missile Volley! KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Eight Orlodhari's Kestrel Missile Volley, taking 336 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari begins a Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Shinn Asuka has posed.
"Shinn, reports are coming in of a battle above you. Orders are coming in for you to deploy."
Shinn clicks his tongue in frustration. He takes a deep breath as he puts up his gaming device and begins to flick switches on the mobile suit, taking Impulse out of standby. The reactor begins to whirr to life as the machine starts to ascend from the Ocean depths.
"Shinn Asuka, deploying." Shinn says as the Gundam suddenly erupts from the water, revealing the BearGGuy inspired load out. The Gundam has it's arms crossed as it hovers, judging the festivities with glowing eyes.
"You guys just had to throw down in this hell hole of a country again, huh!?"
The BearGGundam removes a recorder from it's pack as if to play a gentle song. Instead, it ignites the blade and points it toward the violence.
KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Rena Lancaster's Needle Missiles! KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Rena Lancaster's Needle Missiles, taking 2280 damage! KTS: Rena Lancaster completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"...Make sure you come back, okay?" Flay's voice echoes through the CIC terminal as the Freedom Gundam prepares to soar into the skies along with the Strike Rouge. "Yeah... I know it's supposed to be a diplomatic mission. I hope it won't be like last time, either. Okay, the Freedom's clear to launch... good luck, Kira." Static begins to fill the transmission as the Minovsky particle density thickens with each mobile suit deployment, until Flay is staring at a blurred CIC screen.
Even though they weren't expecting any actual combat tonight, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about this. Maybe that's why she tagged along, even though she isn't even an official crew member. She keeps the Freedom's position tracked on the monitor, but there's something strange about this. "Still no response from Orb control... they're dead silent." Flay reports, with a frown. It's not long after she says this that the bridge begins to shake from the water tremors following the Gaia Sabers' initial assault on the Ra Mari II - and Flay feels herself jolted forward in her seat.
Miriallia is quick on the uptake. "Unidentified mobile suits incoming! They must've used mirage colloid. They're going for... the Ra Mari and their mobile suit teams, with more on the way! Kira and Cagalli are both way too far to intercept!" Flay's eyes widen. "It's the Gaia Sabers... I know the Ra Mari'll probably be okay, but the Archangel's wide open." She stands up and moves for the hangar. "I can't just leave it all to Kira... I'm launching!"
As it happens, the Strike Rouge isn't the only Strike variant sitting in the Archangel's hangar - they loaded on the Strike E in case of the worst case scenario. And right now, they are in the worst case scenario. It's still loaded with the IWSP, and it's really not the time to try and adjust and optimize packs, so it'll have to do. Reacclimatizing herself to the cockpit and controls, Flay turns on the Phase Shift as the Archangel's linear catapult raises. "IWSP, set. Strike E, clear to launch!" Miriallia announces. "It feels really weird to say it, but be careful out there Flay."
"Doesn't it? I have a promise I want to keep, so... Flay Allster, Strike, let's go!" As the Gundam exits the linear catapult, it's immediately under assault by cannonfire, and Flay counts herself lucky that she decided to turn on the Phase Shift before launching. It does a good enough job at absorbing the blows, but enough of the shots dent the Striker pack itself that it slows her approach. She zooms in on her attacker, only to see... "Strike E? Another one?!" The silhouette is unmistakable, but no, that's... "The Strike Noir." Not just the Strike Noir either... the psychic sensation of those speaker funnels is familiar even without the Seraph in view. "No way, did they...?"
But as her eyes track away from the funnels, she sees the Strike Noir's gambit. "Anti-Ship Swords? They're going to..." She pushes the Strike E's thrusters to their limit, so that when the Strike Noir drives those anti-ship swords right towards the bridge... they're met with her own swords, enough that it's the Archangel's shields that take the blow instead. "Not a chance, copycat!" She transmits as the Strikes lock eyes, as she driving her beam boomerang towards the Strike Noir's arm as if it were a beam saber.
KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Murrue Ramius KTS: Flay Allster targets Aurora Dusk with Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Shot! KTS: Aurora Dusk engages evade against Flay Allster's Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Shot! KTS: Best Defense! Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Flay Allster's Midas Messer Beam Boomerang Shot, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
"Looks like the Orb 4th Fleet is approaching due West ma'am, looks like the only ones coming out to meet us." Dalida announced, looking out over his scanner.
"Captain Yoshiro..." Murrue sighed. While he wasn't a Seiran loyalist specifically, he was loyal to who ever held the reins of Orb. "Why couldn't it have been Tokada, he would have just let us through."
"I'm going out to talk to them! I can convince them to turn back!" Cagalli's face, helmeted in the cockpit of the Strike Rouge appeared on the video screen above the forward windows."I'll go with her...just in case." The screen split, and Kira cut in.
Murrue nodded. "Understood. Launch the Strike Rouge and the Freedom!"
The two legs of the Archangel opened, and with two bursts of light, first launched the Strike Rogue, phase shift shifting from grey to Pink and Red, Aile pack keeping it in the air, joined very shortly by the Freedom, and a quartet of escorting Murasume Mobile Suits. They shot off and flew due West, as the Archangel's catapults closed once more.
Minutes later, the alarms begin to blare, as fire shoots out from the fog.
"Multiple Mobile Suits inbound! It looks like a new model is leading them!" Dalida announces.
"Captain! Flay is asking to launch!" Miriallia cuts in.
"Send her out!" Murrue replies, "Figure out the attack vector of those mobile suits!" Fire lances out at the approaching mobile suits from the Archangel's CIWS, but soon, the Archangel's forward windows are filled with the sinister appearance of the Strike Noir. Murrue grips her armrests and grits her teeth as its anti-ship swords are lifted high...
KTS: Murrue Ramius targets Flay Allster with Insight L1! KTS: Flay Allster accepts Murrue Ramius's Insight L1! KTS: Murrue Ramius shares insight with Flay Allster, making her next attacks more accurate! KTS: Best Defense! Flay Allster successfully reacts to Murrue Ramius's Insight L1, taking 0 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Shinn Asuka with Twin Linear Guns Fire! KTS: Shinn Asuka fails to engage Guard against Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Fire! KTS: Shinn Asuka's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Shinn Asuka successfully reacts to Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Fire, taking 3060 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk begins a Formation attack! KTS: Shinn Asuka targets Aurora Dusk with Beam Saber Reccorder!
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
The One Fine Day is rocked by the sonic attack, Astarte holding on tight to her seat to avoid falling out. "Direct hit!"
"What the hell is it with all these singers?! Everybody fancies themselves a Minmay these days!" The Valkyrie pops up on the ship's tactical display, the captain clicking her teeth. Yeah, the situation was going south in a hurry, as they seemed to be more and more lately. "So much for monitoring things, hm? It's just a single variable fighter, we'll blow it out of the sky and be on our way! Send the Trittens out to back up!"
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
"Roger!"
The bridge cried out as the entire ship began to mobilize. At least there was one thing she could always count on. "Anti-air procedures!"
"Firing CIWS!" The turret on the ship begins to spin to life as a burst of fire closes in on the Valkyrie.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Lilium Valerie with 58mm CIWS Anti-Air Burst!
<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.
"Thanks!" Tavelle makes the Zorin Sol give a little wave when she replies to Anita. It really is flying just fine...
...right up until the point it gets shot at.
"Ah!" Tavelle is a lot of things, but she's not actually much of a combat pilot. She's done it before; she'll do it again, but she wasn't exactly mentally prepared to do it today. Her reactions are pretty good - in truth, there's a little flash of insight before she should have been able to move at all...
Not so good that the Zorin Sol doesn't take a near-miss. An uncomfortably near-miss; the sonic assault pounds in her ears. "<Captain, what do I do?>" she calls in to the Ra Mari. "<Am I allowed to fight back, or what??>" She's never fought for Terminal precisely before, either. Oh, she's defended Magallanica (she stole a unit to do it, though she gave it back) and she's fought alongside some of them at Junius Seven, but... it's not the same.
Especially because she *still* doesn't understand the politics, apparently. Weren't they invited here? So surely it can't be true that they're being shot down for approaching... At least, not under an ordinary situation. Or an honest one.
When the Ra Mari II fires, though, Tavelle takes it as okay for her to fight back. The Zorin Sol dips, dropping some of its height as it heads down toward the water; it's not there yet but it's lower than it was before. It also draws its rifle - that's a pretty big rifle. Extra-long, with apparently two barrels, one above the other, and two ammunition cylinders...
The one she fires is pretty normal, though, a bright beam that lances through the sky! "<I'd rather not,>" Tavelle responds to Lilium, trying to sound tough (she mostly fails). "<Stop attacking us - and with singing, I didn't think your singing was THAT bad. If you fly away I won't stop you! This was just a test flight, I'm not even supposed to be in combat! I'm not on the deployment roster for today! I'm a mechanic!!>"
...this isn't going to help, is it.
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin targets Lilium Valerie with Light Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 58mm CIWS Anti-Air Burst! KTS: Lilium Valerie moderately reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 58mm CIWS Anti-Air Burst, taking 300 damage! <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"You know it." Anita replies to Rena, a grin crossing her face at her confidence in her. If the Svipul was in Battroid or GERWALK mode, Anita would reply to Tavelle's thanks with a thumbs-up - so instead, she does a mid-air roll in response.
Even for Anita's sharp eyes and the Svipul's advanced systems, it's not easy to see through the fog - and so she spots the missiles almost as they're right upon her.
"We've got incoming!" Anita calls out. Beam vulcans flare to life, tearing through some of the missiles - but several still make it through, exploding against the Pinpoint Barrier.
"Is everyone alright?" Anita asks, as the smoke clears... and so does the fog, revealing an entire fleet. Their Captain makes his announcement, and Anita grits her teeth.
"...Yeah, I'm real sure Orb's sovereignty is what you're worried about." Anita mutters. "You think you can just pull a sneak attack like that and then play the 'I'm innocent, you're the problem' card and it'll be all good?"
The Svipul unfolds into GERWALK mode. It darts to the side through the air, unleashing another barrage of beam vulcan fire - this time toward the mobile armor, the Gaia Gundam.
KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Stella Loussier with Vulcan Barrage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Tavelle Adzvin's Light Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Lilium Valerie successfully reacts to Tavelle Adzvin's Light Beam Rifle Shot, taking 3040 damage! <Pose Tracker> Chise Asukagawa has posed.
The battle begins in earnest. Blasts firing into the water and scowering the islands, beams splitting the sky and missiles popping like fireworks above, dimming the sun.
Far away, a girl with shaggy red hair hanging near her shoulders digs a pencil lead into her desk, and the resistance snaps her to her senses just a little. She crinkles her nose at her damaged pad and rifles through it until she finds a sheet she hasn't ruined, and begins again, line after line. "Why..." she murmurs. The news reports on some battle, somewhere, far away. "Why is it still like this?"
A golden light arcs across the horizon, whirling on its incoming trajectory. Its speed is shocking for atmosphere; it's simply suddenly there: A dragon. A bird? A bird dragon. It's huge, a kaiju-like size, but its body is more like a machine than flesh and carapace. His back has shining lights like blue and red jewels, but the belly is simply gold and black. Its eyes shine red, igniting as it witnesses the field. It howls to the sky, a roar like a thunderclap. It doesn't strike first, but with its sheer presence, it gleams with a promise to fight.
Far away, a girl leans in deeper to her table, lines growing rougher. "Who is watching out for the people who fight...?"
KTS: Chise Asukagawa targets Tavelle Adzvin and Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with Awe! KTS: Chise Asukagawa's Listen To My Heart activates Strike! KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Anita Rosetta's Vulcan Barrage! KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Anita Rosetta's Vulcan Barrage, taking 2925 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta begins a Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
Neo ignores the chatter on the bridge, even as some are essentially calling him 'dishonorable'. It doesn't matter. Honor is a concept that is pointless in real war. All that matters is survival.
Reports continue to echo across the bridge. So far they have the upper hand. Though being keenly aware of who exactly it is they're up against, Neo does not expect that to last long.
One operator reports, "Sir, the Archangel has launched the Freedom and the Strike copy in the direction of the Orb forces."
Neo waves his hand, "That's fine. We anticipated that someone might try to head that way. The Chaos and Abyss will be waiting for them. They'll keep them occupied." Even with the Freedom and Strike being older generation machines, they're still likely to put up a good fight against the Chaos and Abyss Gundams. So Neo is not expecting much from Sting and Auel in that regard. But as long as they are delayed, that will be enough.
One barrage crosses another as the Ra Mari II counters with missiles of its own. The CIWS turrets on the Gaia Sabers warships come to life, spitting out streams of bullets to try and intercept those warheads. Many explode short of the fleet, though some still manage to get through. Ships along the fleet's edges take hits, missiles exploding against them, blowing up parts of the vessels. One particularly unlucky ship takes a few such strikes, enough to cause its hull to crack in half, the two pieces starting to sink.
In the more heavily defender centre of the fleet, Neo remains calm as he orders, "Have the warships concentrate fire on the Ra Mari II. Leave the Archangel and the Nazca to the mobile weapons teams." The Ra Mari II being such the large vessel it is, it makes a better target for the heavier firepower of the warships.
The Gaia Sabers warships turn their focus on the Ra Mari II, another barrage of mixed weapons launching their way. As Eight gets on the comms, Neo replies back, "Well if you had sent word ahead of your arrival, instead of arriving unannounced like an invasion force, perhaps someone would have informed you." Of course, even if they had, there's a good chance their message would have gone ignored. Interference, of course. Or perhaps a message slipped through the cracks of bureaucracy. "You are naturally welcome to retreat back to space. The Gaia Sabers will be sure to take good care of Orb."
Separate of the conversation with Eight, Neo presses a button on the armrest of his chair as he opens up a channel to the Gaia Gundam, "Stella. Focus on the RMII's escorts."
In the cockpit of the Gaia Gundam, Stella perks up as Neo's voice echoes through the speakers, "Right!" She narrows her eyes at the screens that show the Gaia Gear and the Svipul in the air above. The former launchers a wave of missiles at her, while the latter sends rapid fire beams raining down. Stella reacts quickly, pushing the Gaia Gundam down again so it dives under the water to try and avoid the attacks. Unfortunately, several of Rena's missiles still explode in the water around the machine, Stella grunting as the shockwaves shake the Gundam. The Variable PSA does a good job of reducing the damage, but not completely. Unfortunately it can't do anything against the beam fire, and she's not quite deep enough for the water to dissipate them completely. Several shots manage to reach the Gaia Gundam, drilling scorched holes into its armor.
The Gaia Gundam doesn't stay submerged for long though, quickly rising to the surface again and raising the two beam cannons on its forward shoulders into the air. They starts to spit out multiple bursts of green light at the two fliers.
KTS: Stella Loussier has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Stella Loussier targets Eight Orlodhari with ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons To A Weak Point! KTS: Stella Loussier targets Rena Lancaster with ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots! KTS: Stella Loussier targets Anita Rosetta with ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots! KTS: Aurora Dusk fails to engage Evade against Shinn Asuka's Beam Saber Reccorder! KTS: Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Shinn Asuka's Beam Saber Reccorder, taking 4380 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta engages evade against Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots! KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Anita Rosetta poorly reacts to Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots, taking 3600 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Stella Loussier's Trapped activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Stella Loussier's Obssessive activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Rena Lancaster engages evade against Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots! KTS: Best Defense! Rena Lancaster moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons Raining Shots, taking 0 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari fails to engage evade against Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons To A Weak Point! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Eight Orlodhari's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Eight Orlodhari moderately reacts to Stella Loussier's ZGMF-X88S Beam Rifle & Cannons To A Weak Point, taking 3950 damage! KTS: Tavelle Adzvin accepts Chise Asukagawa's Awe! KTS: Chise Asukagawa inspires awe, increasing Tavelle Adzvin's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Tavelle Adzvin successfully reacts to Chise Asukagawa's Awe, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
"Good luck, Lilium." It's the girl's first sortie as a Cyber-Newtype. Aurora does wish she could help her more closely, but they're both fighting the same ship's escorts anyway, right?
"And you too, Stella."
Aurora drives her swords towards the Archangel bridge, expecting to feel the crunch of a mission killed ship, and the psychic resonance of a dozen or so dead crew... and instead hears the warning 'alarm' of an incoming attack and the clang of clashing swords. The impact is strong, maybe enough to drag Flay off-balance... but the bridge of the Archangel holds, and the heroes of Bloody Valentine live to see another day. Aurora turns her head to look at the interloper.
The radio is still toggled on, and she can't hold her shocked outburst back. << "Lieutenant?!" >> In her surprise, she asks the question that the sinking feeling in her gut tells her she already knows the answer to. << "What are you doing here, Flay?" >>
The other members of 2ART, on her radio channel, can't fail to hear (same for anyone else listening, probably.) << "What did you say, Dusk? Who?" >> << "No way. Is that..." >>
On the bridge, Emily storms towards a console. "Magnify on that suit that just appeared near the Archangel!" The scope focuses in, directly on... a bear-shaped ZAFT machine.
"What the hell...?" The operator at the console stares, dumbfounded. "It's wading through our fire!" << "All Sabers forces, incoming bear! Beware!" >>
Emily slams the console again. "Not THAT one!" The operator hastily moves the scope over, focusing on the newly arrived Strike E. "That's... Allster's machine." She curls her hand under her chin. So, Flay really HAS turned against them... She didn't want to believe it, but, well, here she is. "Never took her for a traitor..."
<< "Command, this is Wolfhound. Is that right? A bear?" >> Aurora asks with a mildly surprised tone. She WOULD continue talking to Flay at this point... but right around now is when Shinn attacks her from behind, and she's forced to awkwardly sidestep to avoid getting skewered completely. As it stands, the Impulse has given the Noir its first wound. << "What the- where did that come from? A... bear?" >>
She twists around to face both Flay and Shinn, bringing her swords up into a fighting stance. Below the Archangel, the GN-X teams begin weaving through the barrage, trying to find good spots to sneak attacks through.
Aurora, too, launches her attack, rocketing forwards to unleash a series of sword swipes backed up by linear cannon fire at both Flay and Shinn.
Meanwhile, Emily has words for the incoming fleet. << "Sneak attack? You literally brought the ship that attacked a state wedding along with your visit. Sorry, but we're not letting you kidnap any MORE heads of state." >>
KTS: Aurora Dusk's I've Accepted the Machine that I Am activates! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Flay Allster with Shorty Beam Rifle Double Shot! <Pose Tracker> Lacus Clyne has posed.
With both Strikes and the Freedom out, the EFREET -- it's not that it would be overkill, but the situation is not so desperate that Lacus -- not a fighter -- needs to sortie. The situation isn't even so desperate that Lacus needs to be at the Archangel's CIC, with Miriallia present. This is a battle where Lacus Clyne's presence would be a destabilizing element.
She looks out a viewport, watching water evaporate as it meets mega-particle beams with a reserved melancholy on her face. The battle has even seemingly drawn the attention of a kaiju -- though Lacus, with her minimal familiarity, wonders first if it's a new mobile weapon.
Her expression darkens. Things came to a head so quickly -- tensions she'd expected to take agonizing ages to even parse out now turn to battle. Something doesn't feel right, but... it's not that it feels wrong, either.
"... I suppose I've become naive," Lacus murmurs, as her eyes move from the Freedom, to the Strikes, to the Svipul... the Zorin Sol... then finally resting on that new machine with its remotes.
She feels a faint guilt overtake her. Would the era be more peaceful if she'd chosen another path through the Bloody Valentine? Certainly the philosophy of 'decide, then act' seems to be reaching its limits.
It is here -- with little to do to affect her own fate or that of the world -- that Lacus allows herself to shut her eyes for a few moments. ... All she can do is trust in the people she cares about and hope that this path leads to peace, for the sake of the people of Orb.
KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Shinn Asuka with Fragarach Dynamic Combo! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Shorty Beam Rifle CQC Shooting! KTS: Shinn Asuka engages parry against Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Dynamic Combo! KTS: Critical Hit! Shinn Asuka poorly reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Dynamic Combo, taking 4800 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Aurora Dusk's Hands Stained the Colour of Wrongdoing activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Shinn Asuka's Resurgence L3 activates! KTS: Shinn Asuka has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage block against Aurora Dusk's Shorty Beam Rifle Double Shot! KTS: Flay Allster successfully reacts to Aurora Dusk's Shorty Beam Rifle Double Shot, taking 3960 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk continues a Formation attack! KTS: Aurora Dusk has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Aurora Dusk has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Lilium's body reacts before her mind does--a sensation she was growing increasingly used to. She slams the control column to one side, fully opening the throttle, and the Seraph corkscrews its way through the CIWS barrage with only minimal scrapes on its paintwork (unfortunately, several of those scrapes were to the various artworks painted across its body.) Lilium flicks yet more switches on the panel... asking them to let you sing didn't really work all that well, at least not yet... how did that Basara man Dr. Frankford had told her about do this so easily..?
Still, it's not like she's unarmed.
"Racing alongside yours in that place I was never meant to--GAAHH!!"
Th Seraph can weave its way through the barrage just fine, but not without catching a direct hit from the Zorin Sol. Lilium recovers her composure fairly quickly, swinging around to acquire a missile lock--if Tavelle was a noncombatant, she would be leaving instead of shooting at her. She'd say that, but obviously her ability to speak is otherwise occupied right now.
"Which of us is the real 'human'?" (Who is it?)
No sooner has she launched a moderately-sized volley in Tavelle's general direction when Goldburn appears directly in her flight path. She pulls up sharply, her voice straining as she continues to sing--
"I still... remember it, on that... day..!" (that d.. day!)
The speaker funnels orient themselves around the golden Kaiju--Lilium is straining to read his heart, but even someone augmented to be as receptive to quantum brainwaves as possible has limits... so her main option is to restrain his movements through sheer force of sound. That'll work, right?
"The day your sky fell to Earth"
Arriving directly above the One Fine Day, Lilium twists the Valkyrie's throttle to the vertical position--and the Seraph shifts to Battroid Mode. She spins in mid-air, pulling out her gunpod...
"CRYSTAL TEARS flowing from our SHATTERED HEARTS"
She takes in a breath between verses to aim--an old reflex, one that hadn't been conditioned out of her yet, disruptive to the flow of the song--and rapidly places three precision shots around the Nazca-class' dorsal surfaces--aiming for the starboard engine nacelle, the port gun turret, and a spot directly between the two forwards batteries.
"What did you see in the SHINING MIRROR of my soul?"
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin's In The Zone activates! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Tavelle Adzvin with Skystreak Missiles Direct Fire! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Chise Asukagawa with Speaker Funnels Performance: Unisono! KTS: Tavelle Adzvin engages intercept against Lilium Valerie's Skystreak Missiles Direct Fire! KTS: Critical Hit! Tavelle Adzvin poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's Skystreak Missiles Direct Fire, taking 4750 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lilium Valerie's All Eyes on the Angel activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro accepts Chise Asukagawa's Awe! KTS: Chise Asukagawa inspires awe, increasing Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Astarte Spalding-Monteiro successfully reacts to Chise Asukagawa's Awe, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Archangel," Eight says over the radio to Murrue, "Status report." She saw that on the displays--her blood is partially ice, considering what could happen to some very good people with those anti-ship swords. But she cannot allow herself just to keep worrying. She must continue the battle, such as it is.
But Rena can count on Annie, and Eight can count on both of them. Rena's 'suggestion' is... one Eight would've appreciated. "Mobile weaponry, move to intercept missiles," Eight directs. "Stay close and guard the ship. There's too many to deal with conventionally."
"Admiral," Harpe says. "There's too many. We should prepare the Spinal--"
"In atmosphere?" Eight questions firmly. "Near Orb? No. We'll retreat before it comes to that. Even if it's against the Gaia Sabers."
At least Rena and Anita both are looking out and being careful. Except--a bird... dragon. A kaiju. "Identify that kaiju!" Eight directs, and Gidon Kall moves to do just that with his console. "Gathering data, Admiral!"
Neo replies, and... of course. "I'm sure you would," Eight answers Neo Roanoke. "But Orb is a friend to Magallanica, and we won't leave them to your mercies."
The warships concentrate fire--and there are many of them. "Make us a smaller target!" Eight directs--but it's not in time. The Ra Mari II takes heavy fire, despite its field of beam-absorbing particles and energy shields. She narrows her eyes. "The missiles aren't going to do us much good. We need another tack. Mrs. Harpe, find me a solution."
"...Right." She still thinks the Spinal cannon is the best way--but since that's been declined, "Beam cannon fire directed at their flagship might be enough to dissuade them. 120% fire."
"...Do it," Eight answers with a sigh, looking down at herself. This is... not what she expected.
But the Ra Mari II's beam cannons align--and pink fire erupts towards the flagship of the Gaia Sabers fleet, an entire base's worth of fire all at once. ...Insofar as they can all focus on that much.
KTS: Eight Orlodhari has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Eight Orlodhari targets Stella Loussier with Beam Cannon Overwhelming Blast! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's Teamwork activates Valor!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I'm all right, Annie!" Rena calls back to her. She sucks a deep breath in; the Gaia Gundam is below, in the water, and rising fast. The beam cannons fire, and Rena feels a flash of insight like lightning across her mind.
The Gaia Gear Alpha shoots, hard, to one side. The shots fire up past the waverider-mode machine, as it banks to one side and does a turn, beams firing just along its undercarriage.
Then, arms and legs unfold; the wings fold in; the head pops out. Rena swings down her own beam rifle, taking aim at the Gaia Gundam as it's flying upward.
The crosshairs flicker, dancing across her screen, before they lock onto it.
Then Rena pulls the trigger -- and the Gaia Gear's beam rifle fires, her own lance of dark blue energy exploding down for the Gaia Gundam.
"Ra Mari II, we're taking on one of their Gundams," she says, breath caught in her throat. "All mobile forces, be ready to intercept whatever they send at you!"
KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Stella Loussier with Beam Rifle Burst!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Ah--ah, right," Xiumei says aloud to Eleanor's telepathic communication. Which, considering that only Xiumei heard that, it might sound like she is just talking aloud. She pushes herself up to her feet, and shakes herself off. The light of Eleanor's spell helps.
"Th-this feels less lovely!" Xiumei tells Chartreuse, before she looks sideways at Chase. Her mouth opens -- then closes again, before she throws a Pokeball out.
"Evoi!"
Guan Yu charges forth, rushing to help Chase... by opening his mouth wide and starting to eat huge mouthfuls of candy. The Eevee is, realistically, not really helping.
Xiumei sighs, putting a hand to her forehead. "A-At least spit out the wrappers!"
KTS: Chise Asukagawa engages evade against Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Unisono! KTS: Critical Hit! Chise Asukagawa poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's Speaker Funnels Performance: Unisono, taking 6480 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lilium Valerie's All Eyes on the Angel activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with GAU-16S Precision Shooting! KTS: Stella Loussier engages guard against Eight Orlodhari's Beam Cannon Overwhelming Blast! KTS: Stella Loussier poorly guards Eight Orlodhari's Beam Cannon Overwhelming Blast, taking 4680 damage! KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Evade against Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Burst! KTS: Stella Loussier poorly reacts to Rena Lancaster's Beam Rifle Burst, taking 4400 damage! KTS: Rena Lancaster continues a Formation attack! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro engages evade against Lilium Valerie's GAU-16S Precision Shooting! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's GAU-16S Precision Shooting, taking 6900 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie completes the Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"Archangel, are you all right?" Flay turns to the Archangel, which barely escaped having its bridge smashed apart in a blink of a second. "I'm going to try to push them back and give you some room to move... but they're not making it easy." Whoever they put in the cockpit of this one, they're really good... and their tactics are almost familiar somehow. It only makes sense that her former allies in the Gaia Sabers would fight like this, doesn't it?
And then the pilot addresses her directly, and Flay feels her heart sink just a little, even beyond just the cockpit shaking from the attack. "Aurora?" She asks, in the same way, knowing what the answer is going to be. That girl had trusted her, and now they're facing each other down as enemies. She remembers Eight's words about fighting former allies. "I couldn't just sit back and let this happen. I know you won't hesitate to shoot me down... but this kind of response is exactly why I left." Of course she wishes it wasn't like this.
She feels her hands shake over the controls, even as explosions of Minovsky fire and missiles erupt around her. At least the Ra Mari team seems to be holding up okay... but if she hesitates against Aurora, she knows what will happen to the Archangel. It's a very strange battlefield on the whole... that kaiju seems kind of familiar and the Bearrguy silhouette even more so, as it rises to fight the Strike Noir. "...Shinn?" She squints. "What on earth did you do to your Gundam?" She asks, while making double sure the Strike E isn't still transmitting the Gaia Saber IFF. "...It's a long story, but I guess we're on the same side for this one, huh?"
After all, neither of them are safe from the Strike Noir's barrage of weaponry, Aurora already showing mastery over her new machine. Flay tries to raise the IWSP shield to absorb the beam rifle shots, but that only leaves her open when Aurora goes for an aggressive melee strike with her sword. The blade scores a hit on the left shield-holding arm, searing the white metal a scorched black. Flay responds by maneuvering back, and reaching for her beam rifle. "We don't have to do this you know... they'll never let you stop fighting!" She aims carefully, and sends a shot flying towards the Strike Noir's arm in turn.
KTS: Flay Allster targets Aurora Dusk with 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Aimed Fire!
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"Captain, there's another reading... a kaiju? No..."
"Noted. Make a wish on it while you're at it. Maybe it'll help us against--" The ship rocks again at the force of another musical barrage. This time, the captain DOES stumble out of her chair, with XO Xiao catching her.
"Another direct hit! Starboard engines in critical condition!"
"Port turrets offline!"
Astarte grumbles as she pulls herself back up into her chair. Now she was REALLY getting annoyed. Couldn't this songstress at least kick her ass seriously? "Delamain, open comms!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Alright, little lady, you looking for a review? You got one! Your lyrics are lacking to say the least, you're simply throwing imagery together without any thought towards an overall theme! You've got poor control over your voice and you're just belting it out to compensate! And when you can't do that, you're probably just slathering your vocals in post-processing! Music these days! Get us back and fire the vertical launch along the way!"
"R-Roger, Captain!" The One Fine Day begins to pull back, missiles firing directly up at the Variable Fighter above it.
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Lilium Valerie's Cognitive Dissonance activates, and the spirit endures. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Lilium Valerie KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Lilium Valerie with Vertical Launching System Bombing Run!
<Pose Tracker> Shinn Asuka has posed.
Even with the drop on the Strike Noir Gundam, Shinn is unable to finish it off in one blow. He clicks his tongue in frustration as he readies his machine for whats next. The BearGGundam holds its saber in a combat stance, looking between the Noir and the Strike E. It was probably fate that he ended up with Flay yet again. It was also very odd to be fighting a machine that looked very much like his. "Hey Flay." Shinn says keeping his eyes on the Strike Noir as it comes in for a flurry of strike.
While he is able to parry some of the strikes, some of the Beam Saber's strikes cut into the Impulse Gundam's armor.
"Yeah I guess we're dealing with this together." Shinn says raising his beam saber.
The BearGGundam waits for Flay to finish shooting before launching right in for a series of aggressive melee manuvers.
KTS: Shinn Asuka targets Aurora Dusk with Prevent!
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue's eyes open after the flash of saber clashing fades. "I guess Kira's been giving her a few pointers." Eight's request comes over the radio. Murrue picks up her handset and "We're fine, continuing to support Lieutenant Allster as best we can!"
Murrue shouts out another order. "Fill the sky with missiles!"
Across the Archangel's hull, the hatches covering her various Surface to Air missile systems open, and out shoot numerous projectiles, blasting high in the air in arcing smoke plumes, swirling around The Strikes and the Bearguy, each one homing in on one of the mobile suits attacking alongside Aurora.
KTS: Shinn Asuka targets Aurora Dusk with My Proud My Play! KTS: Shinn Asuka has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Aurora Dusk engages evade against Shinn Asuka's My Proud My Play! KTS: Best Defense! Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Shinn Asuka's My Proud My Play, taking 300 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk engages charge against Flay Allster's 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Aimed Fire! KTS: Best Defense! Aurora Dusk successfully reacts to Flay Allster's 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Aimed Fire, taking 3525 damage! KTS: Murrue Ramius fails to engage Evade against Aurora Dusk's Shorty Beam Rifle CQC Shooting! KTS: Murrue Ramius's Beam Wall L2 activates, negating 2000 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Murrue Ramius poorly reacts to Aurora Dusk's Shorty Beam Rifle CQC Shooting, taking 4320 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Aurora Dusk's Hands Stained the Colour of Wrongdoing activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Murrue Ramius targets Aurora Dusk with Anti-Mobile Suit/Small Fighter Pattern!
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena tells her she's alright, and that's a relief. Both Rena and Eight have confidence in her, and that's all Anita needs.
The Gaia Gundam attacks again. It's beam cannons raise and open fire. Anita attempts to swerve between them, but she gets caught - and then the rest connect, sending the Svipul reeling back through the air with enough force to shock the Pinpoint Barrier.
"They've really brought out the big guns... How ready for this were they...?" Anita mutters. Eight's given her word.
Rena attacks - and Anita moves to follow up. The Svipul folds back up into Fighter Mode, racing beside the Gaia Gundam and opening fire with its gunpod. It turns and makes another pass - flying through the air in distracting motions to draw the pilot's attention onto her and provide Rena further openings to strike.
KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Stella Loussier with Wingmate's Gambit! KTS: Stella Loussier engages guard against Anita Rosetta's Wingmate's Gambit! KTS: Stella Loussier's Physical Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully guards Anita Rosetta's Wingmate's Gambit, taking 1050 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
"I-Is that a dragon!?"
"No, it looks more like a bear..."
"No, not that one. That one!"
"Oh shit, it is a dragon! Kind of?"
Neo is a bit too busy to pay much attention to the absurdity of the kinds of foes that are coming out to face them. The mobile weapons teams will have to deal with them. Right now he's got bigger problems as the Ra Mari II seems to be focusing its aim on the very ship he's on. He asks, "Is the Gells-Ghe ready?"
An operator replies, "Yes, sir! It's on standby."
"Good, launch it."
One of the launch elevators on the large mobile carrier starts to rise up from within the vessel. Standing atop it is some kind of monstrosity of mobile weapon design as if someone had taken the top half a mobile suit and stuck in on top of an insect-shaped robot. The thrusters in the unit's six legs ignite, lifting it up into the air above the carrier just as the Ra Mari II fires. The projectors in the 'head' of the insect part of the machine activate, projecting a barrier of light just beyond it.
The RMII's beams converge on the barrier, which deflects them, sending streaks of energy splashing off in all directions. Several nearby warships find themselves catching some of the overflow, their armor melting under the intense energy and a few having ammunition caches exploding. But the flagship is spared the heavy assault. The battered fleet continues its rain of fire against the Ra Mari II, a new wave of missiles blasting towards it.
'And you too, Stella.'
"Mmmmh." An acknowledging murmur is all that Stella replies with. She's so very sociable.
Rena opens up with beam rifle fire. The Gaia Gundam swerves in the water, the beam still managing to scorch down the side of the body of the animal shaped machine. Meanwhile the VF is making low passes and raining bullets down on her position, which rattling against the Gundam's armor. The annoying buzzing does actually start to annoy Stella. Until finally she's had enough!
As the Svipul makes another low pass, the Gai Gundam bursts out of the water. It lands atop one of the Gaia Sabers warships, partially crushing some of its structure and blocking its weapons.
Stella ignores the complains from the ship's captain as she waits for the Svipul to get closer. She then has her unit leap again, thrusters in the wings firing as it rockets straight at the VF. It then attempts to land its feet hard on the fight before kicking off and using it as a platform to reach higher into the air to bodyslam the Gaia Gear.
KTS: Stella Loussier targets Eight Orlodhari with Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Shot! KTS: Stella Loussier targets Anita Rosetta and Rena Lancaster with Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!! KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta engages evade against Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!! KTS: Anita Rosetta successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!, taking 4050 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari engages intercept against Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Shot! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Eight Orlodhari poorly reacts to Stella Loussier's Back-Mounted Torpedo Launcher Shot, taking 3690 damage! KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster engages evade against Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!! KTS: Best Defense! Rena Lancaster successfully reacts to Stella Loussier's Gaia Springboard Smash Combo!, taking 0 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Eight Orlodhari has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.
In Tavelle's defense, she got shot at first.
It's not much of a defense.
Tavelle is not a great pilot. Well, okay. She's good at the actual piloting part; she's not much for live combat, her aim isn't great and her combat experience is minimal. She feels like a novice...
...but there's something else, too.
Tavelle's eyes widen before Lilium shoots, and Tavelle shoots too - a panicky blast of the vulcans to try to ward off missiles, with no real success. She swerves, dropping lower again as if she was abandoning the fight. She's getting pretty close to water, and -
"...a dragon...?"
Tavelle has seen kaiju before, obviously. But Goldburn - what is it doing here? WHY is it here? Who is it going to attack? Tavelle isn't sure if she's a target or not, but she decides to leave it be for the moment, focusing on the now-somewhat distant Valkyrie and its pilot.
Which, she now notices, has an idol painted on it. "<I'm being shot down by an idol fangirl?>" she asks, before realizing exactly what the singing means. "<I'm being shot down by an IDOL? Since when does E - the Gaia Sabers weaponize idols??" Tavelle is momentarily filled with... something. A hint of envy, a hint of something else...
Raising the gun again, Tavelle takes aim, more carefully. "Time to test this out," she mutters. Is it going to work? She's fired this only once, in testing - she couldn't exactly test it on-board, it was one of the things she was going to do when they landed. The targeting works, at least...
Tavelle fires.
The gun doesn't emit the loud crack of gunfire nor a sizzling mega particle beam. There is a crack, bu tit's almost electrical, a dangerous buzzing hum, and a large round lances out directly for the Valkyrie. Tavelle lowers the gun as ports on its top and bottom open, venting heat, and -
If the round connects, it triggers, a shaped charge to drill a hole directly through the frame like an old-style HEAT round. Which, of course, it is - just sized for a MS.
KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Tavelle Adzvin targets Lilium Valerie with Pak43A Electrochemical Gun MS-HEAT Shell!
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Glad to hear it," Eight answers Murrue's communication. She reflects how helpful Flay's been in what feels like a short time already; she's glad that girl came to them. But the Gaia Sabers were apparently quite ready, as Anita asks. And REna, "Acknowledged," Eight says to Rena. "Be careful out there."
Gundams...
The barrier of light takes most of the energy--and while the energy isn't wasted against the other warships, it certainly doesn't do what was desired. Quite the opposite, a terrible monstrosity of a mobile weapon appears and--
"Intercept!" Eight directs. The CIWS beams of the Ra Mari II launch ahead, preventing most damage to the ship, but they can't prevent all of it anymore; that rain of fire actually gets through this time, and a couple of pilots who were defending the ship take the damage in the process.
Eight narrows her eyes. "We can't keep this up forever," she says. "...But maybe neither can they."
"Mrs. Harpe," the Admiral directs. "Are the large beam cannons online?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Firing pattern six on these coordiantes," Eight directs, tapping away at her hand console. "If we can't get through their barrier... we'll go beneath it."
"Into the water?" Kall asks, lifting an eyebrow.
"There's more ship beneath. We might as well. If we don't sink it, we can at least make it that much more costly to remain. Now--fire!"
"Aye, Admiral!"
Huge beam cannons on the side of the Ra Mari II spring to life, whirling around--and firing low, well below the barrier on that monstrosity of a mobile weapon, to the hull of the flagship. If it's possible...
Astelain chimes in, "Still can't reach Orb Central Command."
"Prepare a message for when Minovsky interference lifts," Eight says. "...To Orb, and back home."
KTS: Eight Orlodhari targets Stella Loussier with Beam Cannon Destruction Pattern! KTS: Eight Orlodhari's Teamwork activates Trick!
<Pose Tracker> Chise Asukagawa has posed.
A kaiju's heart is unlike a person's, but empathy can reach across such barriers just the same, sometimes. It's all alien thoughts and unprocessed feelings, a swirling mass of anger and heartache, jealousy and loneliness, outrage and frustration, bitcrushed like a copy of a copy. Lilium deftly counters such feelings via the medium of firing sonic waves at him until he has to eff off, barking and yelping like the great bird-beast he is. But rather than flee forever, the golden beast circles swiftly back around and opens its mouth wide, then barks forth a massive blue beam of light! It rakes it across the sea below!
As it hits the sea spray, each individual water droplet expands to hundreds of times its original size, causing what would be little more than idle mist to turn into a deluge fit to drop Lilium's machine back to the waves. At the same time, as the beam intersects with the missiles firing on Lilium, those also get bigger, and commensurately, more deadly.
That is how missiles work. Now you know.
Goldburn squawks again, barking in something like challenge.
KTS: Chise Asukagawa has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Astarte Spalding-Monteiro KTS: Chise Asukagawa targets Lilium Valerie with Territory Creation! KTS: Chise Asukagawa's Listen To My Heart activates Strike! <Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"We will," Rena says. "And you do the same, Octo! I don't want anything happening to you."
She frowns a little.
"More ready than I'd like them to have been," Rena admits to Anita. "But... let's escort them away from our home, yeah?"
She frowns a little -- she sees the hit Svipul takes, and as always, there's a brief icy feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach. It doesn't last for long.
The Svipul is flying, still, after all. The Gaia Gear turns, tracking the Gaia Gundam -- seeing it fly up to smash into her. Rena's eyes widen; the Gaia Gear Alpha's verniers fire at her urging, and it shoots just to the side.
The Gaia Gundam swings past. The white and teal Mobile Suit turns, as she's flying past, and then takes aim with the beam rifle. The barrel extends outward -- motes of light draw into the barrel.
"Funnels!" Rena calls out. "Spread out!"
They shoot out, every which way, and fire several blasts at once. Rena looks up -- and motes of dark blue light waft up around her brown eyes. They shoot out from the Gaia Gear, as the Psychoframe comes fully online.
Rena takes aim with the hyper-mode beam rifle, and fires a lance of blue-white light that explodes from the barrel, straight between the dozen criss-crossing funnel shots.
And, with a nudge from her mind, the beam curves slightly before it comes in for the Gaia Gundam.
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Stella Loussier with Shooting Star! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie engages block against Chise Asukagawa's Territory Creation! KTS: Best Defense! Lilium Valerie successfully blocks Chise Asukagawa's Territory Creation, taking 2000 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's Vertical Launching System Bombing Run! KTS: Best Defense! Lilium Valerie successfully reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's Vertical Launching System Bombing Run, taking 300 damage! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie fails to engage Block against Tavelle Adzvin's Pak43A Electrochemical Gun MS-HEAT Shell! KTS: Lilium Valerie's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Lilium Valerie moderately reacts to Tavelle Adzvin's Pak43A Electrochemical Gun MS-HEAT Shell, taking 4680 damage! KTS: Tavelle Adzvin bypasses Lilium Valerie, preventing her from Guarding the next attack! <Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Aurora stares down Flay, who she once went into battle alongside... and unleashes her attack. The battlefield is probably strange, but Aurora is no stranger to strange. After a DEMON GODDESS OF THE VOID a metallic dragon thing is quaint, even. (She doesn't appreciate Goldburn's true implications. She probably should question a dragon showing up out of nowhere a little more, but she's a little busy. << "What is ZAFT's Gundam doing here?! Go away. This isn't your problem.">>
<< "On the same side as ZAFT's Gundam? Flay... When you disappeared, we worried about you. They said you were a traitor, but I didn't want to make that assumption." >> The Strike Noir bares the twin swords against Flay and Shinn. Phase Shift armour. That's just fine. It's what she has the beam edges for. Said beam edges ignite, and Aurora's fingers dance across the buttons on her control sticks as she commands the Noir to continue dancing around Flay and Shinn, opening them up with shots from her linear cannons and then exploiting the openings with the twin swords.
<< "That's right. We don't have to do this. Turn around and leave. We don't have to fight each other." >>
She slides backwards and forwards, side to side dodging Shinn and Flay's attacks. One sword bats a beam recorder aside, and then unites with the other to try to carve Flay after slipping to the side to turn a disabling beam shot into a less crippling graze on the thigh. << "Come back, and... The Colonel will play it off as a misunderstanding, somehow. She can pull that kind of string. We'll get what was said about you retracted." >>
She turns to Shinn. Her words for him are significantly less warm. << "ZAFT's Gundam. You can leave too. Nobody asked you to interfere." >> It's probably entirely expected that some of the stray hits strike the Archangel, but for now, Flay and Shinn make for good interference.
KTS: Aurora Dusk engages evade against Murrue Ramius's Anti-Mobile Suit/Small Fighter Pattern! KTS: Aurora Dusk poorly reacts to Murrue Ramius's Anti-Mobile Suit/Small Fighter Pattern, taking 3706 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Flay Allster with Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Shinn Asuka with Fragarach Sweeping Combat! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Pass! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Pass! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Pass! KTS: Shinn Asuka fails to engage Evade against Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Sweeping Combat! KTS: Shinn Asuka successfully reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Sweeping Combat, taking 4590 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk continues a Formation attack! KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster's SEED Factor activates! KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage evade against Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo! KTS: Critical Hit! Flay Allster poorly reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo, taking 9840 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Aurora Dusk's Hands Stained the Colour of Wrongdoing activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: Aurora Dusk completes the Formation attack! KTS: Shinn Asuka has activated the SPirit Spirit Command. KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Twin Linear Guns Point Blank Grapple! KTS: Murrue Ramius has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Murrue Ramius fails to engage Evade against Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Point Blank Grapple! KTS: Murrue Ramius successfully reacts to Aurora Dusk's Twin Linear Guns Point Blank Grapple, taking 5040 damage! KTS: Aurora Dusk anchors Murrue Ramius, preventing her from Evading the next attack! KTS: Aurora Dusk rattles Murrue Ramius, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Absolutely. Orb doesn't need people like this weighing them down." Anita agrees with a nod at Rena's words. Easier said than done, though, especially after taking a hit like that. The Gaia Gundam's pilot is a dangerous one.
...And, the Gundam leaps at her. With the Pinpoint Barrier still out of commission, Anita has no choice but to try to avoid it. She dodges to the side right as the Gaia Gundam is nearly upon her, readying her shield and trying to redirect it at the last moment rather than take the hit solidly.
It's still enough to cause the Variable Fighter's armor to creek ominously and get pushed back from the weight... but she's still flying.
Anita retreats back, and the Gungnir SC beam cannon emerges over its shoulder. She takes aim, activating the Variable Link System for a better shot, energy beginning to build in its barrel.
"Right behind you, Rena." Anita says. As Rena's attack subsides, Anita follows it up by unleashing a fully charged beam right toward the Gaia Gundam!
KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Anita Rosetta uses Hyper Reloader KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Stella Loussier with Cannon Mode - Fully-Charged! KTS: Stella Loussier fails to engage Guard against Eight Orlodhari's Beam Cannon Destruction Pattern! KTS: Stella Loussier successfully reacts to Eight Orlodhari's Beam Cannon Destruction Pattern, taking 6840 damage! KTS: Eight Orlodhari completes the Formation attack! KTS: Stella Loussier engages guard against Rena Lancaster's Shooting Star! KTS: Critical Hit! Stella Loussier poorly guards Rena Lancaster's Shooting Star, taking 6460 damage! KTS: Stella Loussier engages guard against Anita Rosetta's Cannon Mode - Fully-Charged! KTS: Best Defense! Stella Loussier successfully guards Anita Rosetta's Cannon Mode - Fully-Charged, taking 4800 damage! KTS: Stella Loussier has been defeated! <Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"Right. Don't worry~ I'll keep you safe." Flay replies to Shinn with some extremely feigned confidence. The Strike Noir really seems to have them dead to rights, if they don't figure something out quick... and Aurora's transmissions certainly don't help matters. Flay almost thinks she's trying to guilt trip her even though that'd be terribly out of character.
"Thanks for believing in me but... I've made my decision." Even as she speaks, she can't take her eyes off Aurora's blades - she's way too fast. "There's no turning back now." Her words sound genuine, but it's hard to believe it's really going to be that simple. "But if neither of us are willing to leave, what other choice is there?"
The Strike Noir lunges forward, and the Strike E's simply not fast enough to avoid half of its body being carved clean through. True to Aurora's intentions, it doesn't strike the cockpit - but all the same, the warning sirens blare through the cockpit as the Phase Shift Armour finds itself breached, as the Gundam starts sinking into the ocean.
From the near distance, within the Freedom, Kira's eyes widen as he sees the missing signal, even as he fends off beam cannon shots from the Abyss Gundam. "Flay...!"
The controls begin to fail, and panic washes over Flay's thoughts if she wonders if taking Aurora's offer of surrender is really the only option. Would the Colonel be kind as she seems? ...She doesn't even have the time to contemplate it, as that seed cracks within her mind, and it's like her body moves all on its own, like her mind is moving faster than she can keep up with - the Strike E ascending from the water with every single weapon in its disposal trained upon the Strike Noir.
All at once, railgun fire, gatling bullets, and beam rifle shots rain upon the Strike Noir in what looks far more like desperation than strategy. And cold as ice, it seems Flay has no words to offer her opponent.
---
Meanwhile in Orb's building, Akatsuki continues discussing matters with the Gaia Sabers high officials, Yuna himself seeming to take a backseat in negotiations. "...What I'm saying is both sides are starting to take heavy losses. It would be in our best interests to cease this fighting, no?" And he shines a card towards a Gaia Sabers Admiral. "As it happens, I know a way to sweeten the deal for you."
KTS: Flay Allster targets Aurora Dusk with IWSP Full Burst Strike!
<Pose Tracker> Stella Loussier has posed.
The Ra Mari II fires another large barrage of beams. And this time...
"The Gells-Ghe can't reach it in time!"
"All hands brace for impact!"
The large beams cut into the water just ahead of the flagship, kicking up a huge burst of steam as well as searing through the forward decks of the ship. The entire flagship lurches forward as it falls into the sudden hole in the ocean, before the water quickly rushes back in to fill the space and bring the vessel back up again.
On the bridge, many people are still picking themselves up after the sudden lurch. While others are shouting out damage reports.
"Hull breaches on all decks!"
"Emergency bulkheads have slid into place!"
"Estimating flooding at twenty four percent of interior."
"Forward buoyancy is compromised, but it'll hold. Assuming we don't take on too much water."
The Gaia Sabers flagship remains afloat, if now listing forwards somewhat. However, the heavy hit has certainly shifted the tone of the battle, with the fleet acting far more cautiously now, resulting in an easing of weapons fire.
The Gaia Gundam isn't faring much better either, as it misses its leap towards the Gaia Gear. It tries to twist around to take a parting shot at Rena as it passes, but Rena is faster. She unleashes her funnels, the multitude of shots striking the Gaia Gundam from multiple directions. Its back-mounted launcher and wind-mounted jets suffer moreso under the barrage, being of inferior quality to the main unit.
It's Anita's shot that really seals the deal though, lancing into the Gaia Gundam's belly. The only saving grace is that that's where the unit stores its anti-beam shield in this mode. Still, there's a hole where the powerful shot had drilled through enough to damage internals.
The Gaia Gundam plummets out of the air. It hits the ocean surface hard, Stella's head getting thrown against the side of her cockpit. The Gaia Gundam doesn't show signs of recovering as its form sinks beneath waves.
<Pose Tracker> Shinn Asuka has posed.
<<"I didn't ask you!">> Shinn responds to the cold woman behind the Strike Noir. It was true that Shinn wasn't sure why he was here but he wasn't about to let some Saber tell him where to be. The coordinator took in a sharp breath as he tries to follow the enemy machine as it keeps striking the BearGGundam before it can respond.
Shinn hears Flays confidence and smirks, nodding in approval. "Right. Let's get them!"
The BearGGundam docks it's beam Saber and removes it's launcher, firing missiles toward the Strike Noir Gundam to overwhelm the Aurora's movements.
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
Lilium is taken off guard entirely by the directed criticism. She'd have to take that into account, obviously, and it's useful to know for if they let her write more songs in the future, and she should really learn to keep her composure better when her unit takes hits if she's going to--
She's lying, you know...
That sounded pretty genuine, though..? Like, surely she wouldn't just say that, it's genuine criticism, we should probably take that to the Doctor for--
You can worry about that... when you're not being shot at. So shut up and let me drive, okay?
A round red light behind Lilium's right shoulder switches on, and the Seraph's movements visibly shift
[B-SONG SYST%$@Songstress Accompaniment System: ONLINE]
In spite of... whatever all that's about, the missiles continue to soar towards Lilium--and then Goldburn makes them bigger.
The Seraph, in response, shifts itself fifty meters to the right horizontally--something much harder to do without a GN Drive, but evidently not impossible--and then dives through the missiles, twirling in midair as they... mostly fly off wildly about her. Bigger missiles also means they're more likely to hit each other... and if you're flying through the middle of the formation, that means they're going off right next to you. This is not ideal for a mobile weapon, but the 777 holds together.
"Aaaah I want to fall in love" is it..?"
As Lilium's song resumes, far more composed now, while Goldburn drops water droplets so large they rival the ocean below right on top of her.
"Could the two of us ever really be together?"
The YF-777SA strikes the droplet headon with its shield, which... once again, is not great for the unit--the Seraph's wings are still bent back visibly by the force of the water, even if it isn't knocked out of the sky just yet. The light over her shoulder powers down after this, and Lilium exhales slightly between verses--only for her to get a flash of something.
Hostile intent? Another new sensation. Something she should get used to fast, before something like this happens
That's not hostility... Envy, maybe..? No, what is that--
Lilium's train of thought is cut off, and her own eyes widen significantly as what the Wanzer operator still enduring somewhere in her brain dimly recognises as a HEAT shell soars towards her.
She brings the Seraph's shield up to catch the shell, finally remembering to activate her Pinpoint Barrier--but not fast enough, as it sails neatly past the shield (and thus, all her barriers) to connect with the left shoulder instead. This, too, is not ideal for a mobile weapon--the Seraph's arm sails clean off. That's going to be expensive.
What does she do? She's down an arm--that means she has to return to base, she has to evacuate--which in this unit means recalling all your funnels, but--Oh.
This isn't a Wanzer.
And it's certainly not a mobile suit. Lilium takes in a deep breath, and, singing with a renewed confidence;
"I dont know, cause--"
The Seraph transforms back into Fighter Mode, and enters a sharp dive towards Goldburn.
"I am nothing but a TERRESTRIAL GIRL" (Ooh!)
The mini-PBCs--absolutely nothing compared to the likes of the Lohengrin, and in fact actively worse than particle beam cannons in their weight class in terms of energy input to practical output--tear into the Golden Dragon.
"Caught up in the FLOW of your CELESTIAL WORLD" (Yeah!)
Lilium makes another aggressive motion, and her Valkyrie turns... less effectively than usual, considering the warped wings, but towards the One Fine Day nonetheless. A quick burst from its gunpod is directed at the port engine nacelle, before the Seraph swoops up and zeroes in on Tavelle;
All three missile bays open. Acrobatic smoke pops from... one wingtip, clearly the emitter on the other is broken.
The Seraph pursues the Zorin Sol as closely as it can... and then lets fly all of its missiles. At once. They hone in on Tavelle in a Grand Perfomance, each trailing its own colour of smoke as the speaker funnels, not locked onto any particular target, continue to broadcast--
"BABY, Ill do whatever you need of me"
"Just please dont leave me behind"
KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Chise Asukagawa with Heavy Positron Blast! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with GAU-16S Burst Fire! KTS: Lilium Valerie targets Tavelle Adzvin with Skystreak Missiles Grand Performance! KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilium Valerie has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Tavelle Adzvin has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tavelle Adzvin fails to engage Guard against Lilium Valerie's Skystreak Missiles Grand Performance! KTS: Critical Hit! Tavelle Adzvin poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's Skystreak Missiles Grand Performance, taking 7075 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lilium Valerie's All Eyes on the Angel activates, causing Designate L1! KTS: Lilium Valerie completes the Formation attack! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro fails to engage evade against Lilium Valerie's GAU-16S Burst Fire! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro successfully reacts to Lilium Valerie's GAU-16S Burst Fire, taking 4600 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
As Gaia Saber GN-X's and Windams begin to swarm the Archangel, their numbers clearly too much for the CIWS, Flay and Shinn, a shadow passes in front of the sun just slightly, before railgun and beam shots begin to hail down on the Mobile suits, smashing head sensors, weapons, arms and legs.
The Freedom Gundam screams down, slashing through their numbers, without a single hit targeting a cockpit. The numbers of KO'd mobile suits climb exponentially.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight will do her best to be careful. She smiles, even as the connection quiets, when Rena asks her to do the same. "I will," she says. Though her doctor is definitely going to yell at her about undergoing this much stress right now...
Well, one problem at a time.
The flagship is damaged, and Eight watches on the main viewscreen as her ship's cameras and sensors show her what just happened. "Admiral," Gidon Kall says, the bearded man from Orb calm. "Flagship damaged heavily. Enemy fire is easing up."
"...Get our shields up to full power," Eight instructs. "And prepare to--"
"Admiral!" Tempo Astelian suddenly calls, a voice in his ear. "We're getting a communique from Orb Central Command! They say to cease hostilities on both sides!"
Eight looks sharply to Tempo. "Put them through to me," she instructs.
In the next few moments she listens... and listens...
While the Ra Mari II, much the worse for wear after a battle with a Gaia Sabers fleet of warships, continues to hang in the air, her beam cannons silent. ...The shields stay up.
But soon, "...MDF forces," Eight instructs, "This is Admiral Orlodhari." Pause, to wait for them to hear. "Withdraw to your ships. The diplomats are going to take it from here."
She sighs, leaning back into her chair. "...We'll cover you, Archangel," she says over the radio. Though it seems Mr. Yamato is already doing that much...
Still. "Keep an eye on that mobile suit," Eight directs, pointing out Aurora's on her hand console.
"..But assuming they break away, bring everyone home."
KTS: Aurora Dusk fails to engage evade against Flay Allster's IWSP Full Burst Strike! KTS: [Spirit Defense] Aurora Dusk's Will of the Cyber-NT Corps activates, and her spirit endures. KTS: Flay Allster enervates Aurora Dusk, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Critical Hit! Aurora Dusk poorly reacts to Flay Allster's IWSP Full Burst Strike, taking 6464 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Flay Allster's Fight Until You Die activates, causing Deject! KTS: Chise Asukagawa fails to engage evade against Lilium Valerie's Heavy Positron Blast! KTS: Critical Hit! Chise Asukagawa poorly reacts to Lilium Valerie's Heavy Positron Blast, taking 5060 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lilium Valerie's All Eyes on the Angel activates, causing Designate L1! <Pose Tracker> Tavelle Adzvin has posed.
"Well, *that* works!" It's not quite the kind of firing test Tavelle would prefer, but the Pak43 is definitely operating, though she can already see that it's slightly miscalibrated. She'll need to get some more work in on it.
There's a bit of envy - Tavelle, often ignored, easy to overlook, hiding her nature - versus Lilium, who just gets to let it all hang out (Tavelle is not very aware of the Songstress program). But there's also aggression, and - yes, panic, because Tavelle is *really* not used to getting shot at and she doesn't know what to do in this situation.
The Zorin Sol skims low, getting down near the water, using it as part of her defense - she can dive with the prototype Minovsky Craft set up the way it currently is, and she's not sure the Valkyrie can chase her. She's not quite low enough to kick up spray but she's definitely getting pretty close to the waves.
Tavelle is still toying between shooting back and getting the hell out when missiles hail down around her. Some of them splash into the water, but more don't, catching her in the multicoloured smoke -
"Stop singing at me! I can hear it!"
Those are Tavelle's last words before the missiles detonate. When it clears, the Zorin Sol isn't there.
...It's fine, more or less. Tavelle did drop, using the smoke as cover and yelling in the silence of her cockpit, no radio; it's the first really good act of piloting she's done, but Tavelle is great at all aspects of piloting *except* the actual shooting other people with actual bullets part. She's dived into the water, the Minovsky field working just as well to push her through it as it does through the air. She's getting water warnings in one of the limbs, but the limb is still attached even if it's apparently punctured, so she'll count that as successful.
And then Eight's messages get through.
It takes Tavelle a few moments for her heart to stop being in her throat enough to respond. "<I hear you,>" she says, followed by a moment later, "<Copy,>" when she remembers what she's supposed to say.
But she decides to stay under the water for the moment, anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
The Gaia Gear hovers there, keeping an eye on the Gaia Gundam. Rena looks up, and at the Svipul. Damaged, but...
"You okay, Annie?" she asks.
But she quiets dow as Eight speaks -- giving orders, and nodding. "We're withdrawing to the Ra Mari II she says," before she exhales. Then she leans back in her cockpit, as the Gaia Gear takes off for the ship.
Maybe they kept their home, Rena thinks.
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"Systems critical! We can't take too much more!"
"Some people just can't take criticism." Astarte sighs. They had done about as much as they could do here. Best to just make a tactical retreat. The main difference between an old soldier and a dead soldier is knowing when to get the hell out of Dodge.
"Fall back! Take whatever shots you can at her, but focus on getting out!"
"""Roger!"""
The One Fine Day begins to pull back, but not without charging its main cannons to make a last ditch shot towards the Valkyrie that had given them such trouble. As they fall back, Astarte pulls herself out of her chair and makes for the back of the bridge. "Xiao, you've got bridge. I've got to get an aspirin. All that noise gave me a headache."
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Lilium Valerie with 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault! KTS: Lilium Valerie engages evade against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault! KTS: Lilium Valerie's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Lilium Valerie successfully reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault, taking 300 damage! <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
The Gaia Gundam is downed. Anita watches where it fell carefully... and then nods, as Rena asks if she's okay.
"Yeah. The Svipul got pretty beat up, but I'm still in one piece." Anita replies. Eight gives her orders - it's time to withdraw.
"...Right. Let's go back." Anita says. She spares one last look at the waters below before turning to return to the Ra Mari II. They can await the final decision on what will happen with Orb together.
<Pose Tracker> Chise Asukagawa has posed.
It would almost be a question, if the flying dragon-bird was a kaiju or a machine...but no mobile armor screams like an injured bear. One hopes.
If it senses whatever's going on in Lilium's cockpit, it pays it no heed. Not that it has much chance, as the fighter's miniaturized postiron blasters rake across Goldburn's belly and wings. Light shines through them, but it doesn't break. It does earn Lilium a wounded, frustrated HOWL, a bark, bark, bark...but rather than open its mouth to breathe light again, it swiftly whips around itself, and jaggedly starts flying away, apparently satisfied with its part in this outcome. Whatever part, or outcome, that may be.
Far away, a girl sleeps with her head on her sketchbook, an emblem like a howling beast fresh on her forearm.
"Gotta be...somethin'," she mutters.
<Pose Tracker> Lilium Valerie has posed.
The Seraph, trailing smoke in ways that it both is and isn't supposed to, turns back towards the carrier it launched from.
Lilium glances down at her status readouts. Systems.. some abnormality earlier, but probably nothing important... wheels are still attached... tail hook is--
Ah. The tail hook was mounted on the left arm. Which will need to be recovered, of course, but right now...
Lilium sighs, leaning back in the cockpit and turning, once again, this time for the Orb mainland.
A passing shot from the one fine day--which she rolls to avoid--still shaves off the tip of one wing. Nothing debilitating, but that kind of damage adds up... she should really land soon.
She casts her gaze to the retreating archangel... did she feel something earlier..?
No, nobody special... most likely, anyway...
Speaking of feelings... what was it she was picking up from that mobile suit? Envy, but... envy of...
It's hard to visualise, for some reason...
KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Flay Allster with Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo! KTS: Aurora Dusk targets Murrue Ramius with Fragarach Dual Cleave! KTS: Flay Allster fails to engage evade against Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo! KTS: Flay Allster moderately reacts to Aurora Dusk's Fragarach Vicious Grapple Combo, taking 6120 damage! KTS: Flay Allster has been defeated! KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield.
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Supporting fire from the Terminal escorts rakes across Aurora's back, and in response, she draws her pistols and fires after them. One down. Another tries to take her with a machine gun. She literally doesn't even need to dodge - the phase shift armour takes care of it. In response, she levels her linear guns and blasts straight through the reactor. Two flaming wrecks plummet into the sea. A third approaches her, launching missiles to cover its advance before drawing a beam saber. All in vain - the attacks are intercepted, missiles by CIWS, and the mobile suit finds itself slumped against the Strike Noir with a sword embedded in the cockpit. Aurora shoves the wrecked machine away, and it slides down a curved surface of the Archangel.
Flay makes her decision. If neither of them are willing to back down... << "Mm." >> Aurora simply nods in response, over the visual channel. This is how it has to be.
The Strike Noir lunges, and Flay is carved in half. << "Surrender, Lieutenant!" >> One of the GN-Xs still wants to take Flay alive. Aurora waits for her response.
Flay's response is to plummet into the ocean. << "...Goodbye, Flay." >> The Noir turns to Shinn...
And then Aurora's head turns back. A seed cracks within the ocean, and the Strike comes surging out, firing all of its weapons.
Aurora may not have the same kind of "seed" as Flay, but she has the pride and will of the Newtype Corps on her back, and the honed instincts of a living weapon. Somehow, this is... fun. She's enjoying the workout.
Bullets rake across phase shift armour, and the Noir briefly flashes grey in the areas they cover. A railgun shot takes off an arm. A beam almost melts off Aurora's face, but she dodges and manages to keep the left CIWS. Unfortunately, the Strike is half-destroyed and the Noir is still going strong. the Noir draws it's beam pistols and blasts off the Strike's weapons in a flurry of green light. Then, it stretches a hand out and suddenly an anchor is embedding itself in Flay's machine, before retracting and pulling it towards her. A few swipes of her sword later, the Strike is completely defenseless. << "..." >>
Meanwhile, the flagship lurches. The sea dog loses his pipe, and Vert briefly sees his life flash before his eyes - his schooling, his family, his training, his accomplishments. His dead family, waiting for him in the great beyond...
Emily sees only black.
Gloved hands pressed on the floor, Emily slowly picks herself back up. "What the fuck was that?" She turns her head to the monitor. "...well, that's the end of Allster. Wait, no." << "Aurora, take her alive." >>
The Strike Noir hoists the Strike E up by its' one remaining hand, as if it were choking it. For a moment, Aurora considers Flay. She says nothing.
Whatever she was going to do, it doesn't matter. Freedom takes that choice away from her, and she's forced to drop Flay in order to evade. She manages to get out fine enough, but her escorts aren't so lucky. 2ART is in complete disarray. Aurora's prior display with the enemy escorts was impressive, but Kira is a monster by comparison.
As the Strike Noir rises to meet the new threat, Aurora rakes her eyes up and down Kira's machine appraisingly. To be perfectly honest... she feels invincible. Not enough to take her eyes off of Kira and finish the Archangel, but enough to take on Target Freedom.
%However, she's lost an arm already... and a retreat alarm is sounding?
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
For all the full burst assault might have done to the Strike Noir, the Strike E does not in fact, have a near-infinite amount of energy to throw around like other mobile suits. Eventually it runs out of juice, the Phase Shift armour fading out, giving Aurora the perfect opportunity to come in with her grapple. Flay is still barely responsive, her sole focus on pushing and pulling on the controls to try and break free. It's not enough, and Aurora could easily finish the job without breaking a sweat...
The Freedom Gundam flies in with a single slice of a beam saber, not making any more resistance beyond that - Eight's already called in a retreat, after all. The Freedom takes the Strike E's hand, even as it has to take parting shots from the Strike Noir, and guides the two mobile suits back to the retreating Archangel and Ra Mari, and the Gaia Sabers begin to return to their respective ships.
It's only now that the world begins to regain its usual pace for Flay. "Kira...?" She asks, but her eyes linger on the Strike Noir. She really had to fight Aurora... and she still feels a little sick thinking about it. She was no match for her, so part of Flay wonders if the only reason she's still alive is because she was showing some kind of mercy or pity. She would only resent her more for that.
"The Admiral's called a retreat... all we can do now is rely on Cagalli's negotiations." Kira explains. Personally, he doesn't feel it'll be enough, but he doesn't like that he has such little faith in his own sister. "Do you really think we can just go back to peace after a battle as brutal as that? I doubt they're just going to let this one go." Flay points out. Kira frowns. "But it's the reason we fight in the first place."
<Pose Tracker> Aurora Dusk has posed.
Was it pity? Did she want her alive? Was it just that she didn't get the chance to finish her?
The hovering black and flickering grey form of the Strike Noir, missing one arm and two hands, offers no response.