2022-12-11: Banagher's Protectors
- Log: Banagher's Protectors
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Banagher Links, Mineva Lao Zabi, Yuliana Kafim, Teletha Testarossa, Judau Ashta
- Where: Vladivostok, Khanka
- Date: 2022-12-11 (OOCly 2022-12-08)
- Summary: In the wake of so many strange disappearances, including Tsutsujidai itself, Yuliana Kafim takes advantage of what she knows Banagher's relationships to be. Her goal: to claim the Unicorn, so that she can destroy Lilith completely. Nothing stands in her way... until Leina and Mineva decide to fight for his sake, that is. The novices struggle against Yuliana's experience, but luckily, they're not alone -- and Testarossa and Judau come to save the day.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Two days ago, a great number of people disappeared, and the PLANT that Tsutsujidai had become with it. One of those people was Sayla Mass. At first scrambling to figure out what happened, it soon became clear, there was no contacting anyone who vanished...
... and there was no sensing them either. Mineva and Banagher were party to the whole first day, of that slow build of anxiety and tension in her as she tried to find anything, even the smallest scrap of intelligence from her. Near the end of the first day, Leina got a text message from Roger, Sayla's interim executive assistant, about who her various projects on that busy Yumi Foundation schedule have been reassigned to.
All save one.
>send me the details ill do it
She tried to go by herself. Tried. However when she told the two of them the project she was taking over - they didn't allow her to get away with that, and she didn't put up much of a fight on that. The fact that she gave in so easily, clues them both in that it was the right call to make.
She's a mess, and they both know it.
Vladivostok, Khanka is a hotbed of criminal activity and thinly veiled terrorist cells on its best days, dangerous even to walk certain parts of the city even in broad daylight. The military presence is spotty at best, and the bases are poorly administrated which means that various terrorist groups have carved out territory all over the country, ruling as petty dictators by force of arms. Where such dangerous conditions exist however, so too does greater need of what the Yumi Foundation has to offer.
There's a portside warehouse that's nothing to write home about, save that security seems a little better than the rest. The cameras actually work, even though they appear like they don't. The security guards are actually more competent than the average private company grunt. The fencing looks old and worn, but actually try to climb it and one might find a nasty (but non-lethal) surprise waiting for them. Graffiti is present, but it feels more like camouflage than anything.
Throughout the day, CalorieMark trucks have been leaving in mostly regular intervals, steadily moving through the city, and passing through the checkpoints out of the city without a hitch. After all? Why would someone think Yumi Foundation aid packages are hidden inside? Scrutiny like that won't pay the bills.
From the outside of the warehouse, it looks all very orderly, running quite smoothly.
Inside...
"I need confirmation that it's cleared! I'm not sending this truck out otherwise!" Leina is frantically pacing the floor of the warehouse dock, a phone to her ear, as she puts a hand over the receiver, "I'm not risking someone's life over a bank transfer screen saying 'delayed' to-"
Leina glances at the intelligence report on her datapad, "-the Emotional Liberation Front? ... Wait that's their ideology-? God Sayla, how do you deal with bribing- No no that's not important. I need that confirmation! ... I'm sorry I know you're doing the best you can." Leina covers the receiver, "Gwiyomi can you try telling the driver that we're delayed a little longer?"
A little Red Haro that's served mostly as translator rolls away to do just that, flapping up and down, "Leina! jiyeon! jiyeon! gidalyeojuseyo! jiyeon! Leina!”
Despite the chaos of the logistics being taken over by someone else at the last minute, somehow, all the trucks left before the day was done, somehow all the bribe money cleared, somehow the regular reports were all still coming in from the trucks to a central dispatch.
It doesn't take Newtype powers to tell that Leina is still frazzled, and is coming down for the day by the time the warehouse docks finally close in the evening. Entering a first floor staff break room, she sinks down into a chair, and places her arms on a nearby table, her forehead following soon after.
"Nnnnn-" She moans into her arms, like some creature of living death, and looks like she won't want to move for a while.
OOC Note: Like the scene pose implies, this scene takes place two days after Collapse on 12/09! To anyone who isn't present on the Walled Garden Route, the disappearance of Tsutsujidai and the individuals within is a true mystery for the time being. If you'd like to keep your character's perspective vague on those events until after the fact, you're welcome to.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Feeling so many people vanish at once had sent Banagher running for Leina and Audrey. He had to be certain they were still here, even if he could feel them. He had to see them with his own eyes.
While his frantic texts to Dr. Bidan go unanswered, he knows he's lost far less than Leina. Banagher becomes a constant presence at his girlfriend's side. Along with Audrey, he brings her meals, tries to coax her to rest, and does anything he feels like he can manage to make things easier for Leina. Cats are regularly deposited in her lap, though Banagher still looks nervous whenever he picks them up.
"You're not going alone." Banagher says, crossing his arms. It's rare for him to put his foot down when it comes to his girlfriends, but this time, he's not budging. "We can help. I know we're not exactly Yumi Foundation employees -- but we can help. I'm sure of it!"
And then, once she accepts... "Thank you, love." It's spoken with such affection and gratitude. Leina really must be hurting to not insist she can handle this on her own... Banagher can count on one hand the number of times that's happened.
Growing up in a rough part of Industrial 7 gave Banagher confidence in his ability to adapt to sketchy areas, but Vladivostok is. Rough. Fluffy brown hair is almost constantly kept covered by his hoodie's hood, a tiny layer of protection against the malicious thoughts echoing from many of the areas they pass through.
Leina comes first. Leina is in need. He can do this -- even if he keeps Audrey's hand tightly in his own. He can do this -- they can do this. None of them are alone.
There isn't much Banagher can do, as Leina paces and talks on the phone. He waits with Audrey, his worry echoing just a bit more loudly with every new lap Leina takes. At least their little translator is adorable... Banagher had excitedly chatted with during some down time, earlier.
Somehow, they make it through. Wishing he could've helped more, Banagher comes in after Leina, shrugging out of his hoodie. "You're amazing." He praises, wrapping the warm green garment around Leina. "Do you want me to find us some food? Does anything sound good?"
Banagher certainly doesn't know how to speak Korean, but he's sure he can manage with Gwiyomi's help. Leina deserves something nice after all she endured today. He can't help but feel even more in-awe of Sayla... How does she manage all this every single day?
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
The unusual events surrounding Tsutsujidai had mostly been distant from Mineva, a worrying curiosity more than anything else. Its disappearance may have been just another footnote for her, if not for the disappearance of Sayla Mass along with it.
After the disastrous wedding of Yuliana and Elisa Kafim, Mineva and partners fled into Sayla's protection, and Mineva took the chance to speak with her in private. She'd returned to the other two teary-eyed but smiling, saying only that Sayla had "said some things she really needed to hear." The two had clearly forged a bond.
But now, she's gone. Mineva has been trying very hard not to show it--to be strong, especially for Leina's sake. Leina needs support more than she does, she reasons. She'll worry about herself later. Newfound bonds aside, she barely knows the woman; Leina's lost a mother–
No, a guardian, she corrects herself.
Both she and Banagher have been glued to Leina's side since the disappearance, doing their best to keep her steady.
Their current venue distresses her less than it does Banagher--a dubious privilege of growing up on Sweetwater, further dulled by the aid being shipped before her eyes.
Leina's frustration and tension is what's at the forefront of her mind, right now. Like Banagher, she's been at her side all day– but there's little she can do except act as a pair of hands. It's frustrating. For all the things she is, she's not a member of the Yumi Foundation, nor is she part of the Shuffle Alliance. All she is right now is Leina's partner, only able to provide the support of her presence and words.
That should be enough. It IS enough. And yet, it feels so inadequate...
That exasperated groan has Mineva sitting at the table with Leina, taking the girl's hand with a small smile. She's warm, like a cozy fireplace on a cold day. "Hey... you did an amazing job," she encourages, stroking the back of the girl's downcast head.
Her smile shifts to Banagher, and she nods, "I think food would be a great idea. I'll stay here with Leina, make sure she doesn't turn into a zombie in the meantime." Releasing Leina's hand, she steps over to the coffee machine to pour a cup, which she places beside her.
Hang in there.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LChtBpTjvTY The Protomen - The Hounds
While she's noted its disappearance with clinical interest, there's nothing in Tsutsujidai Yuliana Kafim would personally miss. She made a gentlewoman's agreement to leave that hellish existence at the beginning of the year -- true to her word, she's not been back since.
(Her word, at times, is true. It would be terrible to be too predictable, one way or another.)
Now, as for whether anyone's disappeared with the district-come-PLANT... well, Elisa hasn't, and in the end, isn't that what's important? Any further inconveniences or misfortunes can be dealt with at leisure.
Yuliana, personally, has an axe to grind, and she sees plenty of opportunity in sharpening it now.
The Unicorn, and its 'NT-D'... a mode for destroying Newtypes. This is the next key, and Elisa's Key knows so much of them. Yuliana has claimed her woman, but as for destroying Lilith herself --
-- Alma will need the very best machine.
(That Lilith has been 'stripped of her rank' and 'imprisoned for life' is a fiction Yuliana will believe as soon as the war machine stops being hungry to forgive One Year War veterans at the drop of a crisis. Perhaps it's that Zoltan, who would force their hand -- or the Full Frontal he was so concerned with -- or some other Zeon devil. So long as Lilith lives, her freedom is inevitable. ... so long as Lilith lives.)
Some would criticise using her position in the Federation for personal grievances. Anyway, Yuliana sends out some queries on and around the Yumi Foundation -- and finds that Sayla Mass seems amongst the missing. Leina Ashta is her link to Banagher Links. Her dear partners won't have left her alone after her don't-call-her-a-mother's disappeared. Perfect. (The Zabi wench is without consequence, she dismisses her, easily.)
She won't feel bad for putting some wretched Newtype to use. Shouldn't Leina thank her for being able to serve some purpose, instead of simply being someone Yuliana loathes so much? Surely, Yuliana assures herself, she should. Well, the films were all very pleasant, but... this is how those youth can help her.
Yuliana's thoughts are rarely gentle or kind on this topic. Her capacity to endure sensitivity was eroded a long time ago. The hollow shell remains, and hate echoes in the emptiness.
Echoing, echoing... drowning.
There!, she crows, as her hands fall over the keys of her console to pull up some new information. Khanka. She has her.
"We're moving out," she informs her squad, abrupt, as she rises from her desk. "We can capture the Unicorn and its pilot -- today."
With a brief aside look, she adds: "Atase, stay here. I want someone monitoring all the missing persons reports rolling in. Figure out if there's something there for us." It's very convenient, of course, that she's asking her Londo Bell attache -- one Alma Stirner -- to stay out of a fight involving someone as clever as Leina Ashta.
That's the point. Call it a surprise for later.
...---...
There's a portside warehouse that's nothing to write home about, until the wanzers come.
Well. Two wanzers -- a teal-and-emerald Tiandong 3 armed to the teeth with melee weapons, and a blue Laiying 1 equipped with high explosive ordinance -- and one strikingly pink RK-96 Savage II Arm Slave, carrying with it a custom sniper rifle.
The Nega Force.
"Kadet, knock for me, won't you? On my signal..." Yuliana transmits, all too casually, over their personal line -- and the Laiying 1 aims its rockets right at the closed roller doors.
And on open radio, the Tiandong 3 transmits, with Yuliana's awful mezzo tones: "Step away from the doors! This is a Federation operation! Submit, and you won't be harmed!" Counting idly on her fingers, five, four, three, two, one... "Do it," she switches her radio over, to demand that of the Laiying 1.
Officer Cadet Cascade Wattana, inside the wanzer, absolutely hates this job -- but they blow open the doors, anyway.
"Lettu, Letda, keep an eye on the perimeter," Yuliana instructs the pilot of the Arm Slave -- both of them, actually, but there's only one actually driving. Wen Yuan directs her machine to the outskirts, while Parminder Chaudhri, ensconced in a braced position behind her, monitors the data from the sensor feeds. "Kadet, guard the entryway and take care of the welcoming committee. Capture the target and his allies alive if you can, but you can step on the girls if it comes to it -- just not the boy. We need him alive. He will lead us to the Unicorn." She pauses for a chorus of 'yes, Captain', some voices more enthusiastic than others, before she finishes: "I'm going in."
The outer walls of the compound become a dangerous place -- guarded by special operatives before one can even get inside.
Or out, as the point may be.
The Tiandong 3 crashes through the interior, without much regard for property damage -- though it's not going out of its way to hurt any of the people running around, at least. On its loudspeakers, Yuliana declares: "Banagher Links! You're under arrest! Come quietly, and you will not be harmed!"
A fine enough thing to say, when she already blew the front door open.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has deployed in Tiandong Annihilation Custom Mk. II.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Every so often throughout the day, Banagher and Audrey were both grabbed by other volunteers to serve as extra hands. It may be even comforting in a way to Audrey.
For a time noone recognizes her, she's treated as just any other volunteer. Whereas Gwiyomi bonds with Banagher. By the end of the day she's saying, "Banagher! meosjin! Banagher!"
The moan shifts in tone after Banagher praises her into an "Mmm." It's not necessarily agreement, it's more acknowledgement, as Audrey's fingers stroke through her short, curly brown hair.
As she does, Leina turns her eyes just subtly to the side, to allow a thin smile for them both.
A cup of coffee is planted in front of her, and she slowly grabs half-seats herself up, and takes a good sized gulp of it, before she gives a more relaxed sigh.
"... Audrey you're a lifesaver..." Before she gives Banagher a smile, "Yeah sounds great. Get it delivery. Best we're not seen wandering the street this time of night."
Thank you. Both of you.
Feeling so many of her connections, so many important ones vanishing in a single day, having both of them here supporting her was - grounding.
She's truly lucky, to have both of them in her life.
The security force is alert enough that the Wanzer and Arm Slaves are noticed a half second before Yuliana's announcement is shouted out - and they 'knock'. The explosion ripping through the warehouse doors, blowing the doors even as shouts rip out.
It's not long after that a few RK-92 Savage II's pour out from around the periphery, seemingly from nowhere, trying to engage the Federation force before their breach gets in further.
Inside as the announcement is heard, Leina abruptly shoots out of her chair, knocking it over and spilling her coffee. Her exhaustion suddenly dashed away by the adrenaline rush of necessity.
"Yuliana!? Oh God it's - this way!" Leina runs over to side of an employee refrigerator, right before the explosion causes her to drop to the floor in alarm. Standing up, ears still ringing despite them being out of the blast radius she, she reaches behind it, groping for a moment, before tapping something.
The wall suddenly slides open, as the blinds of the window of the room drop and the door automatically locks. "IN! IN!" She cries out, rushing in herself, waiting for both of them before - the wall slams back across.
From the angle of breach, once the dust settles, Yuliana certainly got a good view of three youths in the employee break room disappearing into the wall before the lowering blinds would cut off her view...
Inside is a second layer, a reinforced wall slams down afterwards. The chamber is dark - and much more spacious than one would think by how they entered, with only faint lighting at even intervals down what looks like a long sloping corridor. They're standing on a long metallic lift encased by rails, and she hurriedly moves to the opposite side to hit some keys on a console.
The platform lurches to life, at first moving slow, before it then begins rushing down the diagonal sloping track into the dark, the lights strobing every so often.
"Damnit... DAMNIT! She has to be after the Unicorn. How could I be so careless!?" Leina says as she hangs onto the railing, her other hand drawing a handgun and shakily checking it, an ultimately futile gesture, what's a sidearm going to do against a Wanzer? "I underestimated her... them."
She'd been playing with Vist's token surveillance teams so long that a true intelligence veteran caught her off guard.
"I shouldn't have- shouldn't have-" Brought the two of them? Is that what she's trying to say.
-=-=-
Yuliana will find her way impeded, the actual outer wall crumbles with ease, but it'll take multiple axe blows or use of explosives to get through it.
Once inside- she'll easily see the platform lurching down in and away. The corridor is too big for a mobile suit standing up, but for her Wanzer? It's just the right size, spacious even.
... Making a chase, all too easy.
As she does chase, the Corridor lighting starts to turn red, like she's tripped an alarm, and blast doors start to slide down like guillotines...
... but that's no real problem for an REA Ace now is it?
-=-=-
The ride is not too long, and where the lift ends is a wide open hangar, which appears much too large to have been built unnoticed underground.
Mobile suits dot it in regular intervals, each bay containing lifts and cranes, with elaborate catwalks overhead. Each one appears to be in different stages of being refurbished, or upgraded.
A half dozen Arm Slaves are present, Gernsbacks, seemingly standing at attention to be utilized as a security force. And near the back of the hangar is a standing pool, obviously some kind of large dock. "Go! GO!"
Leina motions with a gun towards a door at a diagonal from them, where is near one end of the pool of water - and starts to run in that direction. "Once we're out - don't go straight for the Unicorn! We have to be sure they haven't already located it and cut us off!"
It is a good distance to reach that point of escape, but given how narrow it looks, and the shape of the walls around it - if they can make it, then no suit, no matter how small will be able to follow.
Some internal security force is pouring inside as alarms strobe the hangar bay in red, trying to make a run for some of the Gernsbacks to mount a defense.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Picking up Gwiyomi, Banagher nods, a warm smile on his face. "Of course. Authentic Korean food is going to be great." Taking a seat at the table next to Leina, the young man pulls out his phone, scrolling through delivery apps. "Hmm, maybe--"
A flash of aggressive, hostile intent.
Banagher leaps to his feet, upsetting the chair, sending poor Gwiyomi flying. It's probably for the best -- if he's the target, the little Haro can escape far better on his own. He only has time to glance back to Leina and Audrey before explosions shake the warehouse, making him flinch and cry out.
The Unicorn -- she's too far. They hid her beneath the water. There's no way Banagher can outrun a squadron like this to get to her in time. Fear echoes from the young man in urgent bursts. "I was hoping she'd leave us alone after we helped fight for her wedding. Guess not." His mind is racing. Leina's coffee spills, and Banagher finds himself terribly concerned Leina or Audrey will get burned, even as the building shakes.
Leina runs to a refrigerator, before diving to the ground from another explosion. Banagher nearly loses his footing, rushing to her side. "Leina--!" Why is she making such a fuss over the fridge?! Reaching out, Banagher pulls Audrey close to him, wrapping an arm around her slender form, trying to keep her steady.
Before he can protest, the fridge -- the wall -- slides open. Pulling Audrey with him, Banagher runs inside. Yuliana and her men are right behind them. Perhaps he even locks gazes with the woman herself, in the heartbeat before the wall comes slamming down.
Again, Banagher nearly falls as the platform lurches to life. The darkness, the strobing lights -- it's surreal. It's terrifying. For a moment, he buries his face in Audrey's hair, then straightens up. "If things look bad, I'll go with them, okay? I trust you two to rescue me. But we can't do anything if they get all three of us, or hurt one of you. I know I'll be safe. They have to keep me alive to pilot the Unicorn."
Voice shaking, Banagher moves forward to Leina, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's not your fault. We're in this together, just like before." A shaky smile. Leina handles that gun like such a professional... He should've been more prepared. He's the target, here, and he doesn't even know how to protect himself.
---
A mobile suit hangar, all the way down here? Banagher can't help but look around in awe. The planning that must've gone into this... Just how powerful is the Yumi Foundation? But there's no time to wonder -- Leina is rushing them onward, and Banagher heeds her, clinging to Audrey's hand. They have to stay together.
"Right!" He shouts, thankful all over again for the second passenger seat within the Gundam. "Will -- the people down here, will they be alright?"
Yuliana is a fierce opponent. Even though he hadn't seen much of her battle with Loni at Torrington, he'd seen her at the ill-fated wedding. A normal security force.. Would they even be able to buy them time? Banagher looks back at the people running for the Gernsbacks. Are these people going to die for his sake?
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva senses it at the same time Banagher does, her head whipping over toward the door. She doesn't leave her chair until the explosion hits, diving under the table on instinct.
An extra pang of horror shoots through her at the realization of who's attacking. Oh God.
She scrambles out from under the table, holding onto Banagher tight and stumbling into the secret passage. She struggles to catch her breath, clinging to both as the lift starts to move. Shaking her head, she frowns at Leina. "No. No, this isn't your fault." She glances away. "If anything, it's mine and Banagher's. We insisted on coming, and we brought the Unicorn. Maybe if we'd kept it closer, left it somewhere easier for us to get to... or maybe not brought it. But we weren't going to let you do this alone, it's not reasonable for us to stay cooped up when you're out here taking so much on yourself..."
"And Banagher-- no. We're not giving you up!" She looks sternly at him. "We made a promise to each other, and we're not breaking it... and we swore not to let the Unicorn fall into anyone's hands." She lifts her eyebrows for emphasis. "This is bigger than just us."
The lift descends into the hangar, and she looks between them with surprise. "A Shuffle cache...?" she wonders aloud, holding onto both Leina and Banagher as they all begin to run. She thanks her luck that she's not having to run for her life in high heels, this time.
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva senses it at the same time Banagher does, her head whipping over toward the door. She doesn't leave her chair until the explosion hits, diving under the table on instinct.
An extra pang of horror shoots through her at the realization of who's attacking. Oh God.
She scrambles out from under the table, holding onto Banagher tight and stumbling into the secret passage. She struggles to catch her breath, clinging to both as the lift starts to move. Shaking her head, she frowns at Leina. "No. No, this isn't your fault." She glances away. "If anything, it's mine and Banagher's. We insisted on coming, and we brought the Unicorn. Maybe if we'd kept it closer, left it somewhere easier for us to get to... or maybe not brought it. But we weren't going to let you do this alone, it's not reasonable for us to stay cooped up when you're out here taking so much on yourself..."
"And Banagher-- no. We're not giving you up!" She looks sternly at him. "We made a promise to each other, and we're not breaking it... and we swore not to let the Unicorn fall into anyone's hands." She lifts her eyebrows for emphasis. "This is bigger than just us."
The lift descends into the hangar, and she looks between them with surprise. "A Shuffle cache...?" she wonders aloud, holding onto both Leina and Banagher as they all begin to run. She thanks her luck that she's not having to run for her life in high heels, this time.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Unfortunately for the RK-92 Savage II models coming out to address the problem, the one holding that sniper rifle is a custom Cyborg fit. It's better. But given they're attacking a charity, well --
Wen goes for a leg shot, to make it impossible for an Arm Slaves to obey the movements of its master. "You're way too soft," Parminder comments, from his computer nest behind her.
"And you're distracted," Wen reminds him. "Keep on the scanner, Lieutenant!"
"Aye, aye..." Parminder sighs, typing on one of the many keyboards back there.
Meanwhile, the Laiying 1's feelings about all this leak out into the world so LOUDLY; the Cyber-Newtype inside feels completely miserable about this assignment. Radio off, Cascade mutters something to themself about the lengths their Captain will go to. The description isn't kind.
The Tiandong 3 bodies its way through the opposition, though, leaving them to the Laiying 1 to distract -- because Yuliana's target is deeper in the facility. It takes her too long to get through to be able to stop the teenagers, but... seeing where they disappeared to on her sensors is certainly good enough.
Calmly, and without hesitation, she grasps her wanzer's axe. The chain attached to it rattles, as she slams it into the wall, and makes her very own door. Carve it through -- and peel it away.
(Wouldn't want to squash the little humans with too many explosives, after all. It's a little slower, but Yuliana can be careful, sometimes. Maybe. A little.)
And there's no intent at all, coming from that horrific pounding, before the metal screams open.
Nothing at all.
When she enters the corridor, she starts sliding down it, without missing a beat. Those blast doors stop her, momentarily -- but the reception is so much the same. Pounding through the metal with that axe -- peeling the defences away -- stabbing that thick, thick metal into the wall so it doesn't tumble down the chute and crush her targets.
She might have to heat them up, first, but that's what the flamethrower is for.
It's certainly not going to stop her.
Out she crashes, into the hangar. Through her loudspeakers, she projects: "Stop running, damn you! You're going to get yourselves hurt!" It's not that Yuliana doesn't wish to kill them, certainly; it's a threat, certainly.
"Stand down!" She issues, more broadly. "This is a Federation operation!" The wanzer's axe lashes out, above everyone's heads, to crash into the Gernsbacks' hatches, pulled back on its massive chain to return to her hand each time. Yuliana has used a great many units, over the course of her career -- and she knows just what to damage to make it extremely difficult to get into a machine in the first place.
She doesn't do anything to the units staff aren't running for, though.
Efficiency.
Speaking of efficiency:
That axe crashes out above Leina, Mineva and Banagher's heads -- to lodge into the wall above that exit they were running for. A twist, and a pull, and debris rains down as she yanks the hulking weapon (by human comparison, anyway) back to her wanzer's grasp. It might not be impossible to clear, but...
... it will take time.
Time, Yuliana makes clear as she pushes her clutch in and forward to stomp her wanzer towards them, that they do not have.
From her wanzer there is nothing; if they didn't know better, if they couldn't hear her voice, it would be as if the Tiandong had no pilot at all. "Banagher," she issues him, firmly, "step away."
The wanzer's hand which extends down to try and push him away from his partners isn't armed -- but it's still a wanzer's hand. "Come quietly," she instructs him, again, and she does sound as if she's trying to reason with him. "I don't wish to harm you or yours... but this is my job. I can extend you no protection in daily life." No one did try to arrest Noted Wanted Criminal Banagher Links during the wedding, in fact. Yuliana was quite clear about that.
And this wouldn't be the first time she's taken in people she really doesn't... oh, never mind that. She needs the Unicorn. All else is secondary.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
The pounding echoes in her ears, and Leina just has her eyes fixed on the way back during the ride.
Leina is still so freaked out that she can't even respond at first, to Banagher trying to reassure her, but as Audrey tries to back him up that this isn't their fault - that he shouldn't give himself up.
Leina adds, thinking she has a moment as a blast door blocks Yuliana's way (Far too briefly), "Listen to her Banagher! There's no way either of us are giving you up to the REA!"
She knows what horrors can await Newtypes there. Such that, Yuliana's statement demand that they stop running, that they're just going to get hurt feels like no incentive at all.
Calmer, some part of her can accept them saying it's not her fault, that it's just... a matter of equality in their relationship. They want to be there for her, and she doesn't want them to just hole up somewhere forever, but... if she'd held it together better then...
"In a sense-! It's complicated!" Is her reply to Audrey on this place being Shuffle as they run, a touch breathless. The word Mithril might not clarify anything for her.
"I don't like it either Banagher! But the best thing we can do for them is get you out of here! She wants you - the last thing she wants is to get caught in a slog!"
Yuliana efficiently tears through the Gernsbacks, denying many Mithril pilots access, such that they can't mount a defense. The speed at which she entered their base has truly caught them flat footed. Some shout to grab ordnance but-
It's clear that the chaos has set in. Their line of defense shattered before they can even get there.
"Almost-!" She cries out hopefully, but the axe crashes overhead, the rain of debris cutting off their escape - dashing away all hope expertly.
Leina skids to a stop and looks wild eyed towards the pool of water like some cornered animal, but that's a crazy thought.
Even if her Wanzer couldn't pursue, there's no way they could hold their breath that long - and there's sure to be defenses down there she doesn't know about. They're trapped.
Taking deep breaths, she looks helpless at the two of them. There's no way out. She's failed him. She's failed both of them-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgbURB7-Ymc
-and at that very moment she has a sudden flash of intuition. One that draws her eyes right to a mobile suit bay that's within spitting distance of her current location. At a glance, it doesn't look like anything special.
Blocky orange and white armor - accented by blue and white, dotted all over by various vernier thrusters.
Rotatable hardpoints on each shoulder with missile pods and beam cannons. It's head looks like the usual design of a Mass Produced Gundam.
The overall construction however, the indentation in the middle of its forehead marking a cannon however, says otherwise.
The Double Zeta is a suit that's supposed to be one of a kind, in her brother's hands. And yet, here one is, like some younger sibling.
Her eyes turn briefly to Mineva, locking eyes with her as if to silently convey her intentions - and perhaps to catch sight of her own.
She can't protect him by huddling. She backs away, one step at a time, trying to get just out of her field of view, trying to present herself as a non-factor to Yuliana's monofocus on Banagher.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Audrey's right. What would Yuliana do with Laplace's Box, if she got her hands on it? Whatever power hides within, she'd try to use it to kill Newtypes. Banagher swallows the horror rising in his throat at the thought of Leina or Audrey getting hurt to protect the Box. A future like that -- it's too horrible. Not trusting his voice, he simply squeezes Audrey's hand in acknowledgement.
In sharp contrast to Yuliana herself, one of her soldiers clearly feels unhappy about this. Maybe they could be an ally, if they could be reached? Banagher glances to Leina -- she's the best at transmitting a clear message. "Leina, do you feel that? One of these pilots doesn't want to be here. Can you reach them? Maybe they'll help us."
It's a desperate idea. It's all he's got.
Yuliana, unstoppable as the tide, destroys every obstacle before her. Banagher can't feel her intent, but he doesn't need to. She couldn't be more clear. Each time her axe strikes metal, Banagher's heart pounds in his chest a little faster. All these preparations amount to nothing.
When the Tiandong 3 forces its way into the hangar, Banagher turns his head to look back, eyes wide. After destroying the Gernsbacks with such ease, her axe returns to her, and flies toward them. For a moment, he's back in Sweetwater, seeing Full Frontal's axe crash down toward them, shattering an old haunted mansion--
"No--!" He shouts, as their way out crumbles before them. Leina turns back to look at them, and Banagher smiles at her, despite the clear terror in his eyes. They know what happens to Newtypes in the REA. Being the Key won't protect him for long. He swallows, one hand coming up to search for a hoodie pocket that isn't there.
"It's okay--" He blinks, interrupted. Something passes between the girls, but--
The wanzer is upon them. It reaches out for him, and Banagher lets go of Audrey, hurrying forward away from them as fast as he can. He doesn't want that thing anywhere near them. Metal fingers curl around him, and his breath comes fast.
What good is possibility if it takes the people you love away from you? Something clicks into place in his heart. This is how his father must've felt, when his mother took him away from Cardeas. Did his father regret it? Would he make a different choice, if he could do everything over?
It doesn't matter, in this moment. It's not like he has a choice.
His hands tremble, so he clenches them into fists. "I want your word that you won't hurt Leina or Aud--" Banagher stops. He has to be precise, with a woman like this. "...Mineva. I don't want anything to happen to them."
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva sprints across the hangar, doing her best to stay low and avoid shrapnel. She yelps as the tomahawk smashes into the exit, her heart sinking along with Leina's. Her mind races, working through options, trying to figure out what they can do--
And Leina has an idea. She understands, immediately-- and she's worried, but it's their best bet.
... it's their best bet.
Her eyes dart around the hangar, looking for something undamaged, anything that stands out... and much like Leina, she spots one.
The Hyaku Shiki. She'd know that frame anywhere. It's been modified, and its armor shines silver in the harsh hangar lighting, but...
Her father's-- no, Char's machine. When he was fighting for AEUG... to her, more than any other, it stands as a symbol of rebellion, of justice in the face of oppression.
Yuliana's deathly-silent wanzer reaches out, presenting a wall between the girls Banagher. She turns, crying out to him, "NO! Banagher, don't! I--"
Trust us. she urges him, as she dashes toward the silver machine, scrambling up into its cockpit. She straps herself in, trying to remember her training from the sim pods... it takes a moment, but then it all rushes back at once. Switches flip, buttons click, and the silver titan hums to life beneath her, cockpit sealing with a hiss. She puts her hands on the controls.
Her consciousness expands. Everything is sharper. Magnified. The void around that wanzer is more palpable, more unsettling, than ever... but she's not within it. She anchors herself-- to the psyscape around her, to Leina, to Banagher.
A message appears on the panoramic screen: Psyco-Frame System Activated
Her brain registers it. Files it away for later. Someone she loves is in danger.
She feels the weight of the machine's body as it stands, knees lifting as though they're her own. The heft of its right arm as she swings the beam gun's barrel up toward Yuliana.
The horrible keening of a heavy beam cannon fills the hangar, casting a pall of pink light over everything as a stream of megaparticles lances from the barrel toward the Tiandong. "Get away from him!"
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has deployed in MSN-00100J Hyaku Shiki J 'Jaeger'. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Yuliana Kafim with Jaeger Beam Smartgun Shot! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim partially guards Mineva Lao Zabi's Jaeger Beam Smartgun Shot, taking 1665 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Banagher feels that member of the Nega-Force, and she feels them too. Its difficult though, without having truly met them, establishing a connection to just - send something their way.
She tries her best though, just a general sense of imploring them to stop.
All of a sudden, she starts to run. Back in Middle School she ran track. A morning run is part of her routine. Even a month and a half off of her feet can't truly cause these muscles to forget.
Maybe you would have chosen this anyway... but now it's no longer a choice.
It's both a choice, and it's no choice at all.
That responsibility, that power is something I'd never want.
I believe you believe that
Who would you trust with it? Who would you keep it away from?
Alighting a ladder, she hurriedly climbs up on a scaffold, and leaps towards the hatch, scrambling to strike a button at the side of the hatch. Mercifully it opens. And she takes a seat... she realizes she has no earthly clue how to start it up.
Now Leina has been in countless mobile suits. One's trying to rescue her, trying to take her hostage, trying to evacuate her away from danger.
Her focus however had always been on the people within, rather than the technical aspects.
"Just like in a car. Just like in a car."
She tells herself, as she experiments, trying to reach out with her senses to find the right button for the start up sequence, but it takes her some time just - doing it cold.
Banagher bargaining for their lives causes her to panic as everything remains dark, "Come on! Come on! WORK! WORK!" As her hands slam on the console, "He's going to... he's going to."
A feeling ranges from Audrey, and it's that that her calms her down. 'Trust us.' He's counting on them. She's counting on her to back her up. Her mind sharpens past the panic, and suddenly the button to hit is quite clear.
As she strikes it, as the machine's reactor - and it's consoles whirr to life, there's an echo of a past sentiment, with that determination, that resolve.
This time, it's our turn to protect you.
... it is something she said once, before taking a bullet to her side, and facing down death. It is only fitting that it be her sentiment now.
BGM - Active! Double Zeta! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_FYq3GoRQ
Pulling back on the levers, it starts to rise within the bay to a standing position, as she murmurs, "I wasn't going to heaven anyway."
There is no hesitation as she shifts the levers forward, causing it to start to move out of the bay, pivoting, then engaging the thrusters. "BANAGHER! RUN TOWARDS ME!"
She's still getting a feel, a sense of what buttons even control the weapons, but there's no time for that. None. She knows how to move it.
And that's enough for her purposes right now.
She doesn't charge straight at Yuliana, she uses the opening from the keening of Mineva's shot to charge to her flanks at an angle, just enough for Banagher to run, and meet behind up where she disengages the thrusters and the Double Zeta awkwardly lands down, and skids an extra pace, as she turns it to face the Wanzer.
She wants to scoop Banagher up, to retrieve him, to get him to safety right now, but she recognizes the position she's in. The moment she did that, Yuliana would have a clear shot at them both.
For the moment instead, she faces down the wanzer, and perhaps to the shock of everyone involved...
... the hatch of the mobile suit is still up, giving a clear view of Leina on the inside. Facing down someone whom she once told she'd never do this. Protecting someone she once told, she never wanted to do this.
What she wanted before doesn't matter anymore. There's something right now she wants more. Leina takes one deep breath, after another, as she faces down what might be her death, standing in front of someone else...
... again.
KTS: Leina Ashta has deployed in MSZ-013 MP Type ZZ Gundam. KTS: Leina Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with Pass! KTS: Leina Ashta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to react to Leina Ashta's Pass, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Being a Key won't protect them forever?
A question she cannot ask, with no capacity to probe Banagher's intent.
Perhaps it's for the best.
Inside her wanzer, beneath her helmet, Yuliana's gaze lids with some complex emotion as Banagher makes his request. "I won't kill your women," she assures him, carefully, and her quiet voice is made loud through the speakers. "They're inconsequential to this operation. I won't even bring them in with you today, if you like." She never intended to take Leina, at least.
But she can't tell him she won't hurt them at all. She's taking their boyfriend back home. It's an inherently hurtful action, and Yuliana will recognise that much.
(And as much as she'd like to get her hands on the youngest Zabi -- one thing at a time. One grudge at a time. This will be easier if he is compliant.)
"But really, it's all up to you, Banagher," she places their safety on his shoulders, so easily, in pursuit of that submission. She's done this so many times before. The violence inherent in her words -- and her actions -- is routine. "Be a good boy for their sakes, won't you?" And her voice softens, to assure him: "There, now... I know you'll be reasonable about this."
And Yuliana, who cannot sense the intent of her foes, doesn't realise that someone's climbed into a machine until she notices the beep of TARGET LOCK on her sensors. "Tch--!" She clicks her tongue against one too many teeth, but she doesn't try to evade the cannon fire. She wouldn't say it's for Banagher's benefit, the way she has her wanzer's shielding absorb the blow.
She turns, to that horrific shadow of Zeon.
"You would rather I approach you?" She issues -- and moves away from Banagher, as she says it, shunting her stick into gear to send her stocky little machine stomping towards Mineva. "You're brave, little daughter of Zeon..." As that wanzer takes up its chain axe again, to bring it down, firmly, on the hand of the Hyaku Shiki holding that cannon, "... or stupid."
Worse, perhaps, is the way the world drops off, when Yuliana closes into her space.
She's within Yuliana's grasp, now -- and her grasp is much wider, in a wanzer. Yuliana's silence is hers, no more to feel the conflict of the battle, the pilot above who hates this assignment. (There's nothing Cascade can do about it.)
But the Annihilation breaks from the Jaeger, a moment later, to instead approach --
"Foolish girl," Yuliana chastises Leina, as she tosses her axe into the mass-produced Gundam's shoulder -- and hoists herself up, to grasp onto it. The golem which looms over Leina's cockpit is sturdy and stoneish, and the cameras can be heard to whirr, as they all zero in on her. "Do you know how to operate a Gundam at all..? I regret to inform you you've already died, entering the battle this way."
The emptiness, now, presses into her, and it is hungry.
"Get out, and go home," she tells her, chilly, as she pushes back from the machine -- pulling out her axe in the process, to land heavily on the ground in front of it. "Or if you insist on being such a wilful child -- do at least put your hood up." Carelessly, she informs her: "The grip handle to your left, dear. Twist and depress. Twist and pull to open it back up." That she can recall such a thing just by looking into Leina's cockpit is -- well, Yuliana's been doing this for some time. Even she's used a Gundam, before.
It's not really the right tonal speed for her, though.
To herself, but still caught by the loudspeakers, Yuliana mutters: "... can't believe these kids..."
KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Mineva Lao Zabi with MULS-P Grappler Axe Lunge! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Mineva Lao Zabi KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Leina Ashta with Prevent! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim prevents Leina Ashta's maneuvers, reducing her Skill drastically. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi fails to evade Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Grappler Axe Lunge, taking 5460 damage! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Mineva Lao Zabi!
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Yuliana's words grate against Banagher, making him grit his teeth in useless anger. Even without being able to feel her intentions, he knows they're poisonous. "...only to protect them. Just -- leave them alone, and stop hurting people here and I'll --"
Audrey's thoughts touch Banagher's heart, and he gives a subtle nod. Some of that gut-wrenching panic dissipates. Trust them -- as easy as breathing, even in this position. Banagher stops all attempts at bargaining, and subtly widens his stance, ready to act.
It's impossibly difficult, keeping his eyes on Yuliana's machine while the girls run. What's going on? What are they planning? He doesn't have to wonder for long -- the sound of a beam cannon echoes in the enclosed space. Banagher gasps, bringing an arm up to shield his face. Yuliana takes the hit -- is she protecting him? -- and Leina's voice reaches him, bringing a smile to his face. These emotions are a mess, and all of this is going to have complicated consequences, but for now? All he can feel is desperately grateful.
Leina shouts for him, and he's ready. He takes off, sprinting toward the orange machine. In this moment, Banagher wishes he would've taken track too -- all those evenings of study sure aren't helping him any now! Every moment he's near the battle he's in terrible danger. He's got to focus on running, but he allows himself one glance up at the girls protecting him.
Audrey, in a Hyaku Shiki -- it was her shot that hit Yuliana. Pride nearly overtakes the fear in his heart -- all that training in Sweetwater is paying off! Her choice of mobile suit feels like destiny. Maybe, the true spirit of the Red Comet is watching over her, even now.
As for Leina... Banagher feels a pang of horror when he realizes her hatch is up. She faces down Yuliana, despite not knowing how to pilot, and never wanting to pilot. Despite everything... for him, she's facing some of her greatest fears. Tears sting at the young man's eyes.
Yuliana says Leina is already dead, and Banagher comes to a halt, desperation in his eyes. Then she -- tells Leina how to close the hatch? What is this? On the ground, he's so helpless. Yuliana may not be fighting back for now, but she won't hold back for long. Paralyzed, Banagher stands behind the Double Zeta. Does he go for the Unicorn? He's terrified one of the girls will get hurt -- or worse -- the moment he turns away, and he won't be there.
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
The axe comes down on the Shiki's arm, and Mineva can't dodge away in time. Her head is swimming, the intuitive link to her mobile suit's body dulled. By the time she realizes it's gone wrong, she can only wrench the sticks to the side, twisting to redirect the blow toward the heavier-armored torso. It earns a scar, armor crumpling visibly as the girl cries out in fear.
She reorients herself, grounding herself physically instead of mentally. Her senses are dulled-- but she's far from blind. She reorients herself on the physical, digging the webs of her thumbs into a thin groove along the stick's contours. Something to bite into, something to concentrate on.
One hand wanders over the control panel, a little clumsy, the girl light-headed as she flips one of the mobile suit's beam sabers out from its skirt. She doesn't look back to the others. She asked Banagher to trust them-- now it's time for Mineva to trust them. Her mind's eye is focused inward, on herself and the still-sluggish mental movement, now more an aid than a control in itself.
The Shiki's other hand, unencumbered, grabs the saber and makes a slash upward, likewise striking for the Tiandong's weapon arm, as Mineva tries to find the rest of her weapons. She's trying very hard not to panic.
It takes a few moments for her to realize she's been holding her breath since she tried to dodge, and she gasps for air now.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Yuliana Kafim with Single Blade Strike! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim rushes into the attack! KTS: Yuliana Kafim partially guards Mineva Lao Zabi's Single Blade Strike, taking 1710 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Yuliana taunts Audrey, and it's only now that she dares to look, dares to see what Mineva has climbed into, and she actually double takes at the Hyaku Shiki.
Some part of her thinks... it's fitting. Perhaps something like fate truly does exist, as much as she wish it didn't.
The axe comes down, "AUDREY!" And Leina gropes to figure out the controls when... Yuliana addresses her, on the approach. And for a moment she freezes, like Yuliana has truly gotten to her, under her skin.
And then there's a narrowing of her eyes, "You'd be surprised." Ordinarily it'd be with a sense of amusement, but right now things are too serious for her for jokes.
She's not Judau, she doubts she's lucky enough to get away with like he did.
Yuliana however, actually offers her advice on the-!? She wonders if it's a trick, but her senses confirm? It's very disconcerting to be told that by someone you're facing down! She finds herself flustered by it.
"<I'd tell you thank you to be polite - but you said this was your job.>"
Her senses however also confirm one more thing.
Rather than reaching for the lever, as Yuliana grouses she hits another button, and a missile pod at the ZZ's hip suddenly launches a trio of Micromissiles at the Annihilation Custom streaking towards it with wild abandon.
She then reaches up and grabs the lever, gripping it as per instructions, and mercifully the hatch closes.
"<Were you implying it was nothing personal?>"
There's a certain coldness in her tone, "<How would you respond to someone saying the same thing about Elisa? ... Not well, I imagine. That's my girlfriend right there you're attacking! And I'll protect her too!>"
There's a sudden burst of movement, as she engages the Double Zeta's thrusters, trying to rush into better position to flank behind her as she tries to help calm her simply by knowing she's not in this alone, "<Audrey together!>"
She has not forgotten about Banagher though, as a feeling spreads to him, an insistence, that while the two have her distracted...
Hide!
KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Mineva Lao Zabi KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Leina Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with MP ZZ Missile Pod Micro-Missile Fire! KTS: Leina Ashta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to intercept Leina Ashta's MP ZZ Missile Pod Micro-Missile Fire, taking 3300 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Hers is a poison to fell Newtypes, after all. Congratulations, Banagher. After so long...
But with no way to know her intent, how can anyone guess what she'll do, when she's just advised Leina how to protect herself?
'I think... that she could be of use to us. If she wishes to aid you, then why not let her? Her reasons do not much matter. Yes... Give her to me, but I will not destroy her yet. You do not have to do 'something' about her. Allow me.'
Why Yuliana would advise Leina how to avoid being splattered so easily... that's for her to know, in the isolating bell-jar of her heart.
The Tiandong sees the Shiki's upwards slash -- and charges into the strike, allowing it to scream past its heavily-armored hull in order to close into Mineva's space again. She urges the Annihilation's hands upwards, to grasp the other mobile suit's wrist, as soon as she's able to reach it. "You're a hundred years too early to follow Char Aznable's footsteps," she chastises her, pressing too close to easily assault. The Hyaku Shiki J is larger than the Tiandong 3 -- but Yuliana is very used to using the smaller size of her unit to her advantage. "You do realise that unit excelled at range, don't you..? Yet here you are, in my grasp. Oh, Mineva! You did this to yourself." The wanzer's grasp tightens --
-- and then Leina protests, tells her she's her girlfriend, she'll protect her. "Hmm?" Yuliana remarks, petulant. "But when two people enter their weapons of war, they've made an agreement to fight, don't you think? I wouldn't have attacked you... if you'd only complied." It's a particular type of logic; perhaps Leina might recognise the way she places the fault with the victim, and not the perpetrator. (Right now, she's perpetrating.) "Still!" She adds, releasing the Shiki's wrist, and her wanzer's arms lower back down. "As you wish -- I'll do you the honour of striking you, first."
Her lips thin, underneath her helmet.
"I can offer you that much, since you assisted my Elisa, back then."
Don't expect her to thank her.
The micro-missiles weave forward, and the chaff launcher at the Annihilation's shoulders opens up, firing Minovsky interference into the room. It might have even worked, if not for just how enclosed this space is, relatively speaking -- even if their course wavers, they still end up exploding all around the wanzer, shaking it back and forth. "Tch," she clicks her tongue to her grit teeth. Through those explosions, the Annihilation surges forward, surprisingly fast for all its armored plating -- and axe in hand, Yuliana brings it down, sharply, on the Gundam's hip.
"You're unsuited to war, whelp--!"
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Mineva Lao Zabi with Demoralize! KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Leina Ashta with MULS-P Grappler Axe Lunge! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Leina Ashta fails to rush. KTS: Leina Ashta partially guards Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Grappler Axe Lunge, taking 3826 damage! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Leina Ashta! KTS: Teletha Testarossa has deployed in TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan.
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
The past few days had been sleepless for the Tuatha de Dannan. Checking places. Double-checking personnel lists. Confirmation of who was gone, who was here, and trying to deal with the sudden power vacancies at the top.
...None of that mattered. Not now. She couldn't focus on that now.
"Maintain this bearing. Keep the angle, and only slow down once we've confirmed that everyone has been evacuated."
"Yes ma'am! Keep steady, and go forward!"
The alarm of a Shuffle Dock being breached was pinged out as soon as the first walls fell. Satellite confirmation came in only moments later; The unmistakable sight of wanzers barging in for someone, something. Visual confirmation from above.
The security cameras around the base. Visual confirmation from within, no sound. One Hyaku Shiki. One ZZ Gundam. And one intruding Wanzer. No time. No time at all; By the time that the submarine could properly surface, to rally personnel out there, it would be too late.
...No choice.
"Maintain course. Raise the nose 10 degrees and slow down by 5 knots."
"Yes, ma'am! Nose! Ten degrees! Slow down by five knots!"
Here goes nothing.
"Arm tube 2 with a Mark 46 Torpedo. Disable explosives."
"...Yes ma'am! Arm tube 2 with a Mark 46! Dummy! ...Are you sure about this, Captain?
"We can't stay down any longer. Not when everyone's gone."
The submarine careened forth as the grainy images of battle were fed to the TDD-1, DANA switching between camera and camera and camera, merely visual. Even when the air prickled at the back of her head...
Deep breaths. It should be armed now. One second, two, three, proper bearing...
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
And a missile launched out, a titan of steel jettisoning towards the entrance of the pool. Its arrival loud, metal screeching against the dock, bouncing off of it as the cylinder of warfare pinged the rim of the dock, careening towards the Wanzer.
And inside, Tessa prayer that only one suit was caught in the crossfire.
KTS: Teletha Testarossa targets Yuliana Kafim with Single Missile! KTS: Teletha Testarossa has completed their actions for the round. KTS: [Mirage] Yuliana Kafim's Avoid20 activates, and she slips into a mirage. KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to intercept Teletha Testarossa's Single Missile, taking 0 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 39825
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Audrey's hit by Yuliana's axe, and Banagher yells as though it had hit him, instead. "Audrey!" He can feel her panic. Audrey's doing her best, and she's got a beam saber now. All he can do is believe in her. Banagher grits his teeth and tries to radiate confidence and love -- dubiously successful.
This must be how Audrey's felt, every time she's ridden in the Unicorn alongside him. It's terrible -- Banagher doesn't know how she's managed. One hand comes up to clutch at his chest. "You can do this," he murmurs, putting every bit of his heart in this expression of faith.
Leina comes to Audrey's rescue, firing missiles at the enemy mobile suit. Both girls prepare to attack together. Despite the horror of it all, he can't tear his eyes away -- until Leina reaches out. "Alright--!"
With one last burst of supportive emotion, Banagher turns, looking around frantically for any source of cover. Before he can get too far, Yuliana strikes Leina. Yuliana is practically just playing with the two young women, and anger bursts hot and fierce in Banagher's heart. He keeps running, but now he's looking for a vantage point, climbing some of the rubble near the battle.
Audrey and Leina are fighting with all they have. He's got to do something, even if it's useless! Reaching down, Banagher lifts a rock the size of his fist. He tosses it in the air, getting a feel for its weight. He was never good at this sort of thing in school... But with the increased spatial awareness of his Newtype abilities more realized, and desperation guiding him...
Winding up, Banagher hurls the rock at one of the cameras of Yuliana's Wanzer. It's certainly not going to do any proper damage to the mobile suit, but maybe it'll crack a camera, or draw her attention -- even the smallest thing could give Leina or Audrey the advantage.
"Don't talk to them that way!" Banagher shouts, as Yuliana begins to speak more rudely to Leina and Audrey. "You're a coward who attacked when you thought we'd be helpless!"
Before Banagher can pick up another rock, a missile comes racing toward Yuliana, almost as though he'd summoned it with the rock he threw. He can't help but grin, even as he wobbles atop the little mountain of debris. Grateful feelings are sent toward whoever's in that submarine before he turns back to his task. Another rock is lifted, tested, and hurled at the Wanzer's cameras.
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva could be worried about why Yuliana is so... casually advising Leina, and perhaps should. But she's swimming in her head; trying to track the battlefield, trying to keep things under control, is enough of an ask already.
"<Nng. I know!>" replies Mineva through gritted teeth, bringing up a knee as Yuliana releases her hand. Another quick search of the controls... The Jaeger's verniers fire backward, pushing her back as she squeezes a trigger and sweeps the Tiandong with a covering burst of vulcan fire...
Just in time to get clear of the missile. She's left stunned, trying to gather her thoughts and bearings, when she sees a rock arc across toward the Tiandong and traces back... to Banagher. No. Goddammit!
"<HIDE!>" she yells at maximum volume, spilling a mix of fear, frustration, and determination.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Yuliana Kafim with Jaeger Head Vulcans Retreating Volley! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim demoralizes Mineva Lao Zabi, reducing her Morale drastically.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"<She's not trying to!>" Leina insists, on the idea of Mineva following in HIS footsteps.
Yuliana though, does her the favor of... letting her go!? She's not certain what to make of this, so in the end, she decides it must be a matter of confidence.
They're novices, she's the ace of the REA. It's not that she's sparing them, she's toying with them. And as upset as that makes her, she can hardly blame her.
Banagher yelling at her, did he just throw a rock!? Leina panics, at the idea that he's not hidden, that he's calling out in indignation and accepts Yuliana's challenge to try and distract away from his far more exposed boy - scared she could turn on him any second.
"<COME ON THEN!>"
Leina shouts, before Yuliana comes at her.
Abruptly there's a flash of intuition, and Leina shifts the thrusters as if to retreat, a torpedo streaking by in that moment- "Reinforcements!?" -then abruptly, she reverses and rockets forward in an attempt fly right past the Wanzer and avoid that deadly axe on the Annihilation's off-hand side.
This brings her right into Yuliana's disorienting sphere of influence. Gritting her teeth, she inhales and exhales through them - she's had exposure to this, a lot of it, but it's still terrible every time.
She barely knows what she's doing as is, and being this close to her cuts off a good portion of her intuition for figuring it out on the fly.
The axe comes down, and there's a streak of sparks that glance off the back of the armor, spinning the unit around such that it's facing her again head on.
"<You may be right... but...!>"
There's a set of small levers by the side of her seat, like the gear shift of a car, just out of the way enough that they won't be hit by accident.
Some part of her gets the sense its a weapon system... she's not certain which one becayse Yuliana turned the lights off in her head. They're fighting for their life though, and there's no time to figure this out.
"<... that won't stop me from protecting people important to me!>"
Leina pulls it. And the head of the MP ZZ starts to glow ominously, particles gathering right inside of it as if to flow outward.
At first what looks like a cerulean comet spirals out of it, and Yuliana will immediately know what it is. That isn't a weapon normally mounted on a mobile suit...
...it's a battleship cannon.
BGM: Life and Death - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5UgiiI9u84
"<No-NO!>"
Cerulean turns bright red, as what streams out is an enormous beam one that would rival the power - if not the breadth of the Shamblo's main gun that fires across the hangar bay, perhaps at most catching Yuliana with a glancing blow, before Leina desperately jerks at the levers, turning the Double Zeta's younger sibling such that the head will move at sharp diagonal and upwards.
The beam follows, carving molten gouges into the hangar walls, until it hits the ceiling above the pool.
There is no threatening cave in collapse of metal, or rock, or debris - no - it simply disintegrates a wide cylindrical portion of the ceiling at a diagonal, the beam blasting out over the night sky like some hellish searchlight.
Abruptly, it ends.
The MP Double Zeta falls - silent. As Leina works the controls, she gets no response to it. There's minimal power, as the reactor cycles. The radio works, and her cameras are still flickering but...
"<I wasn't... wasn't trying to...>" There's a sense of panic, how many people could have died? "<I almost...!>"
Moonlight, and city light over the bay now pours in through the wound in the ceiling of the concealed base, and in this moment she's vulnerable, in... many more ways than just the one where her mobile suit is currently unmoving.
In the dark, shaking, she adjusts her radio to a Shuffle frequency, uncertain about the early torpedo that streaked by, and tries to send a transmission out despite the Minovsky interference.
"<This is-this is Spade-7. If anyone is out there...>" Shaking, breath heaving, Leina pleads, "<Please help...>"
KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with MP ZZ Simplified High Mega Cannon! KTS: Leina Ashta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim partially guards Mineva Lao Zabi's Jaeger Head Vulcans Retreating Volley, taking 900 damage! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi repulses Yuliana Kafim, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to evade Leina Ashta's MP ZZ Simplified High Mega Cannon, taking 5250 damage! KTS: Leina Ashta roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Oh, yes. They say it's not nice to play with your food... but no one ever taught Yuliana Kafim manners.
She doesn't consider Mineva or Leina a threat, even in their respective war machines. And speaking of things which aren't a threat -- a rock pings off of one of her cameras. They're too sturdy to be cracked by something like that, but the Annihilation does pause.
"A coward?" Yuliana's loudspeaker transmits her voice to Banagher, despite his lack of radio. "No, my dear -- I'm an opportunist. And you," she remarks, all too lightly, turning towards Banagher, "have just revealed your position to me..."
But before she can advance on him again, beep-beep-BEEP, her display calls up an angry TARGET LOCKED to indicate the missile swanning up from the depths. "What the--?!" Yuliana exclaims, legitimately unsettled -- she releases more of that Minovsky inteference to confuse its path, but Leina just demonstrated why that isn't going to work.
Unfortunately, Leina also just demonstrated it -- which means that the occasionally-unreliable automatic threat detection system she's built into her leg parts triggers, and the Avoid20 sends her wanzer leaping away even before her conscious Natural mind can comprehend her failure. Her wits are sharp enough, at least, to meet Mineva's vulcans with her armor when she stops.
"Rrrgh..." Yuliana growls, as she tries to lock that new target, only to be frustrated by her wanzer's melee-focused sensors. The Annihilation is built for close combat; it isn't designed to anticipate a submerged foe. Her frustration loosens her tongue, and she barks: "A machine built to destroy Newtypes -- I must have the Unicorn!" She is too honest by half, though she mediates her statement afterwards: "The Federation has a great interest in that Gundam...!"
Perhaps Mineva is right. He really should hide.
Perhaps it's not just him.
Because the Annihilation turns to the MP ZZ Gundam, close enough to grasp, and she grins behind her helmet. "I commend your courage," she starts, entirely self-assured.
The sentence ends.
"You-- WHAT DID YOU PULL, whelp?!" Yuliana demands, instead, and her shift from arrogance to alarm is sharp enough to taste. Her eyes widen, as she sees that cerulean charge.
"Shit--!" Yuliana bites out, all too horrified by what Leina has stumbled onto, and her angry, desperate warning is for everyone in the room: "SWERVE!" There's not enough time to tell her what will happen, if she fires a ship-felling cannon in a space like this. Her fingers fly across some toggles and levers to attune her wanzer's armour, as if it would help. There's not enough --
The Annihilation swerves, too, and her survival is a team effort between Leina's panicked redirection and Yuliana's willingness to get out of the way. Above, on the surface of the facility, the Cyber-Newtype Cascade Wattana calls out a desperate warning to Wen and Parminder, and thanks to the danger they sensed, the rest of the Nega Force avoids decimation as well. The Laiying 1 with its explosive ordinance and the sniper-specialised Savage II are still out there, holding the line. But whether they can stop someone from diving in an open hole --
They already have a lot on their plates. They thought they were attacking a mere charity, after all.
Yuliana strikes the Hyaku Shiki J, and perhaps it's more redirected aggression than anything -- a simple lashing-out of her axe. "Bear witness!" She issues to Mineva, and she is angry. "This is what happens! You idiot children..! You know not what you do!"
She pulls her axe back, and grasps it, eyes narrowing. "But I know. I see... that's not just some Mass-Production Gundam. Stay still, Leina." Her axe spins, in her hand -- she grasps it, tightly. "I'll put a stop to this before you can get us all killed."
She was just playing around, yes. But now --
The Annihilation crashes forward, and leaps, to bring its axe down on the MP ZZ from overhead. She is not targeting the cockpit -- but she does intend to cleave right through several vital systems, on her way down.
The environment remains thick with Minovsky particles. Is there any hope at all...?
KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Mineva Lao Zabi with MULS-P Grappler Axe Swing! KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Leina Ashta with MULS-P Grappler Axe Vengeance! KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Teletha Testarossa with Point Blank Minovsky Particle Chaff Release! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Leina Ashta partially guards Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Grappler Axe Vengeance, taking 6915 damage! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Leina Ashta! KTS: Yuliana Kafim roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi fails to evade Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Grappler Axe Swing, taking 3630 damage! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Mineva Lao Zabi!
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Audrey manages to push away from Yuliana, buying herself much-needed breathing room. Banagher sighs in relief. She shouts for him to hide, Yuliana turns to him, and a moment later --
A flash of insight. Leina's mobile suit, it's about to do something -- something too much for any of them to handle, right now. Banagher runs down the back of the pile of rubble he's standing on, crouching down at the opposite side and covering his head. Leina screams, and the whole base shakes. When he looks again, a hole has been just... evaporated, in the wall.
But... Leina's not moving. He can still sense her, she's okay, but something's wrong with her machine. Yuliana is screaming, too, back to her horrible rants about killing Newtypes. Banagher grits his teeth. He wants to shout back at her -- that's not what the Unicorn is for! She's a beacon of hope!
But it does really proves Audrey's point. He's really got to find a place to hide.
Yuliana strikes the Hyaku Shiki, and turns to Leina -- who can't move, who is calling out for help, and Banagher freezes. Half-hidden behind the pile of rubble, there's nothing he can do. His pulse pounds in his ears. "Leina -- Leina!"
He needs the Unicorn. If she were here, he could protect everyone. Banagher shakes his head, clenching his fists. In the dim light of the ruined warehouse, a soft glow forms within his pocket. A little stone, a gift from Nanai, shines with green radiance. Banagher's heart shines with one single desire. It feels like, maybe, if he calls--
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Prospect Spirit Command targeting Leina Ashta KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
The seconds ticked by as the submarine watched on, still pushing towards that same dock. Khanka. Khanka! It always seemed to be the worst locations with the worst opportunities. There was only the instinctual tensing of the body, watching that Wanzer weave back with unnatural velocity before careening forth.
"Load Mark 46s in tubes 3, 4, and 5."
"Yes ma'am! Tubes 3, 4, and 5, loading dummy Mark 46s!"
What they needed was time. Time to get there. Time to pull them out. Even bashing missiles senselessly like this was giving precious seconds, and every second counte-
A jolt. The MP ZZ glowing as such, accumulating...And the trajectory- It won't hit them, but...But...! The sheer brightness of the laser beam overwhelemed the camera, filling the screen with blinding white. Bright, bright, too bright. DANA pulls up another camera. And another. And another.
The beam is in the sky.
"...Start preparations to scuttle the base once we extract whomever's inside." In one of the most inhospitable places in the world, broadcasting something like that was a death sentence. She can explain to Sayla afterwards.
...She's not dead. Just gone. We'll find her.
...Spade-7. Spade-7.
Leina.
Keep calm.
KEEP CALM.
<"Spade-7! Do you read me!? Don't...Don't think about it, just say who's in danger and who's there! We can talk later!"> Duty, duty, duty. Someone is in danger. A friend is in danger. Two people to evacuate, minimum. "Prepare a shock and awe retrieval team. One Wanzer, bring additional supplies. Disable if necessary, first priority is evac."
Calm. Calm. Calm. "Yes, ma'am! Two minutes!"
Deep breaths. Steady. You trained for this.
"Fire!" A beat. "Fire!" Another beat. "Fire!"
Three missiles in slow succession towards the dock, pinging against the dock each and every time, three beams of overwhelmingly expensive metal crashing up and out towards the Wanzer. Even witht the Minovsky particles, there was little it could do against the power of a sharp mind and an abnormally powerful sense of direction. She could only hope she was right.
KTS: Teletha Testarossa targets Yuliana Kafim with Itano Circus Missile Dance! KTS: Teletha Testarossa has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim successfully evades Teletha Testarossa's Itano Circus Missile Dance
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
The J's displays refocus, colors adjusting to compensate for the fog as it starts to interfere with visible light. Yuliana announces her goal, her intent--it wasn't difficult to guess, but that doesn't do much to assuage the anger rising up in her.
"<Why?>" she asks, quiet at first. Louder again, "<Why?! Why do you hate us so much? What did they do to you that made you despise us so much for the mere act of EXISTING?!>"
She has more to say. More rage, more confusion to yell at her, but --
Her attention snaps to Leina, in time to watch the Hi-Mega Cannon power up. She shields her eyes as the beam lances through the base, cleaving through the base itself... by the time she can see enough to tell that Leina's not moving, she can't feel her. She can't feel anything, she's thrust into that dark sea once more. It's only her. Only her, and the J... she can't evade in time, taking the full brunt of the axe in the torso. She feels the impact numbly in her chest.
In grasping for her bearings, she feels something. Another weapon.
Yuliana admonishes them, calls them fools... and she feels something rising from her chest.
"<What did you expect?>" she asks. She reaches out to grab the Tiandong. Once again, she starts quiet, her voice rising in volume as she continues, "<What did you EXPECT us to do? Did you expect us to roll over and give up? Hand over something this important to you? To YOU?>" The twin prominences atop the Jager's backpack swing down over its shoulders, trained on the Wanzer. Each has a barrel.
A magenta glow gathers deep inside, and the cannon on its arm aims at her besides.
A cold calm enters her voice. <"Bigots like you can't be allowed that kind of power.">
All three beam cannons open up at melee range.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Yuliana Kafim with Jaeger Twin Beam Cannons All-Out Assault! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim rushes into the attack! KTS: Yuliana Kafim partially guards Mineva Lao Zabi's Jaeger Twin Beam Cannons All-Out Assault, taking 4550 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
... and as if in response to her plea, she receives an answer, and continues transmitting on the Shuffle frequency, "<Anzus? Oh thank God-!>" She trusts Tessa. She trusts her judgment, far more than she trusts herself in this moment, "<B-Banagher Links on foot. Mineva Lao Zabi in the Hyaku Shiki... the Gundam Unicorn is what they're after - it's hidden in Vladivostok's bay.>"
Leina clears her throat, "<REA Ace, Yuliana Kafim... in the Wanzer is leading the assault on the base. Tell your people to be careful.>"
There are so many things she could say to Yuliana at this moment. So many questions she could answer. She says none of that, she focuses on Tessa's voice, unable to feel anyone's presence, unable to anchor herself.
What just happened with her pulling that lever, it would be simplicity itself to put the blame on Yuliana, to make it her responsibility.
She believes differently. The moment she climbed into a mobile suit, whatever that suit does next - is her responsibility.
For a while, it sounds like she's just going to allow this, to take it. Though given how inert the MP ZZ is, she may indeed not have a choice.
'Leina -- Leina!'
'Why?! Why do you hate us so much? What did they do to you that made you despise us so much for the mere act of EXISTING?!'
"<No.>" The MP Double Zeta's cockpit suddenly fully lights up again, the radio broadcasting wide again, and Leina suddenly engages the thrusters, turning at the very last split second with the blow diving.
The Axe digs hard into the armor, but the motion turns a certain defeat into simply shearing off a good chunk of the armor's outer plating, as it sparks wildly, sending the Wanzer hurtling past her as she she retreats, thrusters burning bright, then correcting itself just before she slams into a wall.
Panting, hoping to get enough distance for that horrible disorientation to go away, the MP ZZ raises an arm. Unlike it's older sibling, it's grasping a single barrel rifle.
And after what Mineva said to her, suddenly she knows exactly what to say.
"<Aren't you... ashamed of yourself!? This raid isn't some Federation action! It's just for your own personal ambitions! For what just happened - I'll take responsibility...!>"
The Gundam starts pulling the trigger repeatedly, trying to barrage her with a rain of beams at a downward angle that try to avoid any further collateral damage and pin her down, "<WILL YOU? None of the Newtypes you want to kill with the Unicorn are FAKE Yuliana!>"
They just have to hold out for a little longer! But can they? Desperation permeates her right now. She's in over her head right now, she knows it.
KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with MP ZZ Single-Barrel Beam Rifle Focused Barrage! KTS: Leina Ashta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim charges into the attack! KTS: Yuliana Kafim successfully avoids Leina Ashta's MP ZZ Single-Barrel Beam Rifle Focused Barrage
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
There's only so much logic and evidence can provide to paint a picture, to provide a warning.
Sometimes, you have to rely on instinct. Sometimes, all you have is intuition. Sometimes, all you have is a heartfelt hunch that -something- is -wrong-.
... Of course, for Judau Ashta, 'sometimes' is more like '90% of the time.' Listen: investigation work is hard. And -boring-.
The -point- is, sometimes you just -know- something is wrong. And this is especially true when it comes to Judau and his sister. They have a bond that has maintained across vast distances -- a bond that assured Judau that she was still alive when it seemed like all hope was lost.
The point is...
"<HEY!>"
... when it comes to Judau, he's overridingly learned to trust his gut.
"<I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT I'M NOT AFRAID TO KICK A STRANGER'S ASS IF I GOTTA!>"
... and that goes doubly so when Leina is involved.
This warning comes as the bright and blazing and blue, white and red form of the G-Fortress rapidly closes in on the airspace of that Vladivostok warehouse just as that huge spike of power finishes dissipating through the illuminated sky. Because Judau is a mature responsible young man, he warns first and foremost.
And -then- he attacks, Double Zeta rapidly transforming into its mobile suit mode, that distinctive cannon on its own forehead glinting -- seconds before it swings that double-barreled, arm-mounted rifle upward, locks onto the Annihilation in the distance -- and fires.
Two large beams of crackling red lance across the light sky for Yuliana's Wanzer as the original ZZ falls towards the earth, judicious application of thrusters leading it to a crunching, shuddering landfall onto the docks beneath it.
And it's only when Judau lands that he--
"<Okay what the hell's goin' on here anyway??">
--actually takes a second to take stock of the situation.
Look. He followed up on his gut feeling. His gut feeling led him to catch a stray radio transmission that was -definitely- from Leina. And he has never - not ever - seen anyone running around with a Wanzer menacing mobile suits with an axe that -wasn't- definitely totally evil.
He's also never seen such a thing before but that's--
Look. The point is. He's taking stock now. And what he sees is -- a Hyaku Shiki? And...
... the Double Zeta?
The head's different. Mass production. The paint scheme, different. Some minor design drift, but...
... it's a Double Zeta? It's--
"<... Leina? ... A-are you in that thing--??>"
Menacing mecha axe murderers are momentarily put on pause because "<Seriously what the hell!!>"
KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Judau Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with Double Beam Rifle - Focused Beaming! KTS: Judau Ashta has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim fails to evade Judau Ashta's Double Beam Rifle - Focused Beaming, taking 4600 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana would have laid into Leina's Gundam until there was nothing left. This much is clear in the way she lifts her axe to strike again, following the MP Double Zeta's retreat.
Attack -- attack -- and keep attacking! Attack the weaknesses until they fall! That's the REA way...!!
But she's interrupted from her assault by Mineva's anger, and the Annihilation does orient on her, this time. "What did 'they' do to me? What did 'THEY' do to me?!" She demands, acidic. "The question, MY DEAR --"
And the Tiandong 3 jets into her, all anger, all rage. "-- IS WHAT YOU WRETCHED CREATURES DID TO ME!"
The Twin Beam Cannons wash over her; distantly, she is aware of the alarms sounding brief alarm, as she grasps a stick and thrusts it forward. On the outside, her wanzer grasps the flamethrower attached to a tank on its back, and without mercy, thrusts its bayonet -- she equipped her flamethrower with a bayonet -- forward to try and piece the Shiki's hull. It's going to get very, very hot in there. (She still hasn't targeted Mineva's cockpit, though, not today; her piercing is lower down.) "Every day you MOCK me with the empty space about you! Can you FATHOM what lies in those cracked edges?! What you make me SEE, ALL THE TIME--?!" The emptiness isn't empty, she's told Elisa, so many times. What she tells Mineva, raw to screaming:
"YOU DISGUST ME!"
Does Yuliana even care about Laplace's Box?
Or are her designs for Banagher something entirely different..?
She doesn't think of him, at least, in this moment, as he tries to reach them. She's forced to leave Mineva alone, though, by Teletha's missiles -- seeing their keen path, she has no choice but to dodge, to get out of the way. She seats her flamethrower again, and pulls out her axe, as she turns back to Leina. (It is -- through some faint margin -- her less-lethal option.) "Shame? You want me to feel shame? The only thing I'll feel when I crush Lilith to dust --"
She charges Leina, now, and she sees the way the Gundam is trying to avoid collateral -- she takes advantage, weaving through it in a way which makes it difficult for Leina to avoid hitting the various supplies of the room. "-- IS JOY! Her, more than any other, I shall not forgive--! Not now! NOT EVER!" And perhaps it's not even an incomprehensible feeling.
Even if Yuliana's own protection has grown so... warped.
Once again, her axe comes down, merciless, on the copy of Double Zeta; she didn't lie, when she said it would be over soon. She's targeting Leina's other side, this time, but still not right down the middle. "RELEASE THE UNICORN TO ME--!!" She screams, well past consolation.
And once again, she is stopped from annihilating the Gundam utterly --
By a familiar voice.
(She's never spoken much with him personally, but the man who addressed Haman Karn cannot be forgotten.)
"That's--?!" Yuliana halts her assault, the cameras of her stocky wanzer zeroing in on the original Double Zeta. "Ohh, shit," Yuliana mutters, to herself -- another of those little aside comments the speakers were never meant to pick up.
Yuliana tries to get away from the beam rifle -- give her some credit. She cannot. "Shit!" Yuliana barks out, louder, as her machine is rocked by the larger Gundam's assault. She's still angry, as she addresses him: "Judau Ashta, is it?! Your kid sister's going to get everyone killed in that thing! Scrape her up and get her out of here!" If only it were that easy.
"This is a Federation operation, she insists, hotly, "and I'm Captain Yuliana Kafim, here to arrest Banagher Links. Don't interfere!"
But the total black hole of silence around her --
It's as if there's no person in there at all.
Only the void, in all its ceaseless consumption.
KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Mineva Lao Zabi with MULS-P Bayonet Flamer Inner Fire! KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Leina Ashta with MULS-P Grappler Axe Vengeance! KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Teletha Testarossa with Point Blank Minovsky Particle Chaff Release! KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim targets Judau Ashta with Demoralize! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Leina Ashta fails to Parry Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Grappler Axe Vengeance, taking 7230 damage! KTS: Leina Ashta has been defeated! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Leina Ashta! KTS: Yuliana Kafim roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Kafim rattles Teletha Testarossa, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Teletha Testarossa fails to Evade Yuliana Kafim's Point Blank Minovsky Particle Chaff Release, taking 1860 damage! KTS: Yuliana Kafim repulses Teletha Testarossa, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Yuliana Kafim demoralizes Judau Ashta, reducing his Morale drastically. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Judau Ashta's Bottomless Optimism activates, and his spirit endures. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi fails to retreat. KTS: Yuliana Kafim rattles Mineva Lao Zabi, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi fails to react to Yuliana Kafim's MULS-P Bayonet Flamer Inner Fire, taking 6660 damage! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has been defeated! KTS: Yuliana Kafim has engaged Mineva Lao Zabi!
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
There's a chill at the back of her spine. The unfamiliar chill of seeing someone who was either absudly lucky, or absurdly skilled. The subconscious tightening of her grip on the command seat, playing with her braid as she mulled. As she thought.
Bit more. Bit more. All she had to do was get in, keep the Wanzer distracted, get out, and scuttle the entire place. Simple.
...How she wished that it could be that easy. "Enemy identified as Yuliana Kafim. Orders unchanged. Send out the squad as soon as we're surfaced."
"Yes ma'am!"
A beat. Now.
"Begin braking now! Upwards, 15 degrees, maintain bearing! We're going in hot, primary objective is the securement of Leina Ashta, Banagher Links, and Mineva Lao Zabi."
"Yes ma'am! 15 degree ascent! Maintain bearing! Begin slowing! Shock and Awe, deploy when ready!"
"Copy, understood. Going dark."
The surprise of the ZZ Gundam did bring a supressed gasp from one of the oldtimers onboard the vessel. "I didn't think he'd come back..."
ZZ Gundam. What a strange world.
Three M9 Gernsbacks prepped themselves: Rifles and flashbangs, a quick op for a quick entrance and withdrawal. Three. Two. One.
The top of the deck began to open, the thin layer of water leaking down. Nothing a bit of draining couldn't fix. Slowing down, angling appropriately for the entrenched, hidden dock...
And breaching out onto the surface, the deck midway through opening, those Grensbacks propped up and already aiming at the Wanzer proper.
<"Weapons free, everyone! Spade-7! Friends! Get in here! Anzus has got your back!">
And they fired, each Grensback shifting to leap off of the ship, to keep that Damned Wanzer (Unofficial Designation) off of them.
KTS: Teletha Testarossa has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Teletha Testarossa targets Yuliana Kafim with Full Team! KTS: Teletha Testarossa has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Yuliana Kafim successfully evades Teletha Testarossa's Full Team
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Missiles fly, sending Banagher back behind the shelter of the rubble pile. Audrey's anger is palpable, echoing into Banagher's heart, stoking his own fury. Every piece of him longs for the Unicorn's beam magnum, something to tear into Yuliana's machine and force her away from the women he loves.
It almost feels like Banagher can feel her, the Unicorn -- he can feel the water around her armor, almost, almost...
Leina and Audrey strike Yuliana with all they have. Banagher puts his all into focusing on the Unicorn. Eyes closed, fingers twitching, reaching out to her. He needs her power. More than anything, he needs her power. Please --
---
The Unicorn's fingers twitch.
---
Almost...
With a gasp, Banagher's eyes snap open. Judau's presence is loud, as he comes flying to their rescue. Where Leina is like sunlight, Judau is like a burst of burning plasma, almost scorching Banagher's senses. His tenuous connection to the Unicorn is broken, but that doesn't matter -- Judau is here.
With how deeply they've bonded, Leina's belief in Judau has permeated Banagher's own heart. Feeling him arrive is a relief to the point Banagher grins. They're going to be fine.
...ooh, but Judau seeing Leina pilot a mobile suit for Banagher's sake...
Maybe he can worry about that later. Yuliana is raging, screaming abuse at Audrey. She can't take much more of this -- he forces himself to watch as Yuliana tears into the Hyaku Shiki J, terror overcoming his relief at Judau's appearance. Yuliana's words -- they don't make sense, but they're terrifying all the same. Her conviction is absolute. Her hatred of Captain Aiden...
They've got to get away. Yuliana's worked herself into a frenzy, and there's no way she'll spare the girls like this. At least Judau seems to have shaken her -- drawing Yuliana from her assult on Leina, as though she knows that'll awaken Judau's rage.
As Yuliana again shouts for Banagher's arrest, a submarine surfaces, calling them to safety. Leina, Audrey -- their machines are in terrible shape, can they make it? There's nothing he can do. Judau can get them to safety. Banagher has a herculean task of his own ahead of him: making it across the battlefield to the submarine.
Three Grensbacks engage Yuliana, and Banagher takes this as a signal to start running. He tries to keep to the edge of the damage, but weaponsfire from the Gernsbacks explodes around him. Don't stop -- don't stop. Leina and Audrey, they're counting on him. The Unicorn is waiting. Banagher grits his teeth and runs faster.
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva's entirely unable to get out of the way in time--the bayonet finds purchase in the Shiki's pelvis, and the fire lances through the gaping wound, incinerating SEVERAL vital systems, all at once. The cockpit starts to heat up, and a warning display flicks on in her view, informing her that the legs are rapidly approaching inoperability.
The missile assault from afar offers her reprieve, the silver Mobile Suit dropping to its knees.
She can't move. She can't retaliate, either, not with this kind of heat. Is this it...?
I'm so sorry.
She's forced to watch as she lays into Leina's suit--
But the cavalry arrives. First, in the form of the original ZZ. Judau Ashta... a smile comes to her face, finally. She doesn't worry about what she might say to him later, about all of this. All she cares about is that there's a chance.
The Tuatha de Danaan comes next, ready to cover their retreat. She starts thinking over how to get herself moving again... the thruster pack is about all she's got. It's a long shot... but it'll have to do.
She sends a signal of intention to Banagher. Get on. She opens the Shiki's hand, palm-up, for him. As as soon as he's inside, the fingers close gently around him, and the Jaeger's upper half... starts to slump over. One might be forgiven for thinking something's gone wrong, if not for the way its wing binders tilt, its verniers angling just so...
They fire. The Jager suddenly launches across the hangar, legs limp as they bounce and score gouges the pavement. It's not pretty, but with the psycoframe, she can guide it well enough to keep well clear of their MITHRIL allies as it skids across the flight deck, one hand over the other to keep Banagher safe as she manages to complete a VERY risky stunt.
As the silver suit lays there, half-limp on the Danaan's flight deck, she can't help thinking about Yuliana.
'What you wretched creatures did to me.' 'The empty space about you.' 'What lies in those cracked edges. What you make me see, all the time.'
It all falls into place in that moment.
Her mind goes back to what Leina told her, her theories about what they did, what Yuliana sees. That terrible presence they felt when Elisa opened her portal at the wedding.
The pit of her stomach roils in horror as she realizes--
That's what Yuliana feels all the time. Where she should sense people... there's nothing but that presence. She understands, now.
She weeps.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
For a brief moment leaving Yuliana's sphere of influence, she can feel again. And suddenly she can feel... "<Judau!?>"
For a moment her chest heaves, and she feels like crying from sheer relief. She forces herself not to as he instantly attacks Yuliana's Wanzer.
The Double Zeta faces her, and there's just so much relief exuded off of her. Judau Ashta, hero of the First War then asks the important questions. Despite her relief, she can't help some sibling irritation at the phrasing, "<It's a long- Look it was just- here!>"
Ah! That should explain everything without any confusion. If there's anything Judau Ashta likely understands it's the law of finders keepers. Sometimes you just find a Zeta Gundam laying around on a battleship that wasn't using it! Sometimes it's a Double Zeta in a Mithril Base.
These things happen!
"<What else was I gonna do!? Let her take Banagher back to some lab?! Judau-! Don't let her get near you!>"
(Leina may disagree with this law, heavily. Judau for the love of God do not actually assume she thinks the Law of Finder's Keepers is actually acceptable behavior now. You will pay a price.)
The TDD begins to surface in all of its glory, "<Oh my God Anzus I could hug you! You're just in time!>"
Yuliana is becoming more and more unsettling as the fight rages on, "<This isn't just about Lilith! And you KNOW IT!>" Yuliana's charging at her, and Leina tries her best under the circumstances. One of the cannons from the hardpoint is extracted, and it becomes one - very long Beam Saber, "<You'll START with her - but where will it->"
'-end!?'
The next word is drowned out by Yuliana's drive, as she demands they release the Unicorn to her in a way that freaks Leina out from the mere delivery.
Once again disoriented by her presence, the Axe blows right past the Beam Saber's attempted guard and strikes the Double Zeta's younger sibling, and the sheer force of it causes even the much larger unit to be knocked into the nearby pool where - there's a large splash, and a huge quantity of bubbles rising up after.
It may be panic inducing to several people here, but after a few short seconds the silence is broken, "<I'm - I'm okay! Don't worry about me!>"
It may in fact, be extraordinarily frustrating to Yuliana the sheer durability of the Double Zeta, and it's storied heritage at this moment.
As that's definitely all that kept Leina going in this fight, given her inexperience.
Leina is going to have to do a lot of explaining but perhaps its time. With so many people in the Alliance now vanished...
... they need hands. And even if she has some criticisms of the Alliance, maybe it has some of what Judau needs right now.
The Double Zeta's little sibling breaches the surface, as some of its battered thrusters let it leap onto the flight deck, where it lands awkwardly near the Hyaku Shiki, its weight barely bobbing the massive vessel.
Something registers to her, as she lands, the adrenaline rush of the moment barely wearing off, as her cameras look upon the Hyaku Shiki, and Banagher.
She can feel all of that awfulness coming off of Mineva and right now she's unable to comfort her in regards to what she's feeling, save in one way.
We're alive. We made it.
There's a sort of disbelief and awe to that feeling, like she didn't expect it, like she was certain she was going to die here...
... or that one of them was...
"<Judau! We have to get out of here! Can you cover us!? We'll link up later!>"
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
'It's a long- Look it was just- here!'
"<What! An' you just took it?!>" Judau Ashta sounds AGHAST.
"<This is the worst smash-n-grab I've ever seen, Leina! Get your shit together!!>"
For VERY UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS.
(he absolutely believes she thinks the Law of Finger's Keepers is actually acceptable behavior now)
Really, at LEAST half of his flabbergast is born out of worry: judging by how things are rapidly unraveling -- considering what happened the -last- time Leina was in the thick of things--
It seems that Judau got here right in the nick of time.
The dock grounds crack and splinter beneath the Double Zeta's impact, crouched briefly before it rises into a full stand.
Leina is piloting that ZZ. Leina is -piloting-. Who's the other? That presence feels familiar, but it's not Banagher -- there's no mistaking where Banagher is.
Why is Leina piloting--
"Dammit," Judau curses beneath his breath, off the comms. Frustration fluctuates around the searing flare of his presence.
Frustration that blossoms and spikes into a brief supernova of anger when he takes in the sheer amount of abuse Leina's Younger ZZ takes from Yuliana's Wanzer. Judau's eyes widen. A sudden, strangled
"<LEINA--!>"
escapes him as that Newtype pressure e s c a l a t e s.
But--
'I'm - I'm okay!'
Judau looks behind him, just in time to see the other Double Zeta landing, compromised but intact, with the Hyaku Shiki, on a... submarine?
For a moment, he squints, and he wonders what kind of funding Leina had for this rob job (because it's absolutely what it is in his mind), which also brings to mind--
Why is Leina stealing things, anyway! She's got money!
Questions for another time. As it is, Leina makes her request. And the Double Zeta's head turns to regard that Wanzer, optics flaring in time with the narrowing of Judau's seagreen gaze.
"<... Yeah. You all get outta here. I'll hook up with you in a bit.>"
The rest is implicit:
'And then we're going to Talk.'
He hates having to be the one to Talk. It's a headache. Leina's put him in this position, and he will never forgive her for it.
Still. His attention focuses on Yuliana's Annihilation; her name is familiar to him, if in a distant way. It evokes flickering memories of the Argama's brief foray into the Mycenae with Koji and Photon Labs. But...
'Don't let her get near you'?
"What the hell did she--"
And then he sees it.
"--me...an..."
A Hole in things.
there's nothing there. Just silence. Just that cold pit in your stomach you feel when you touch upon a concept of inevitable annihilation that eclipses the things your brain was designed to handle.
A void
"<are you okay--?>"
where there should be a heart.
'... sister's going to get everyone killed...'
And yet...
'... a Federation operation,...'
'... arrest Banagher...'
... and yet...
'Don't interfere!'
And YET--
"<To hell with that!!>"
Judau Ashta is nothing if not belligerently hardheaded when told not to do something, even in the face of an existential void.
The Double Zeta spins to face the Annihilation. It braces. This may be telling.
<"Banagher might be a dumbass, but he's our dumbass, an' anyone trying to kidnap a dumbass teenager on behalf of the Feds is a PROBABLY a hyper mega asshole, so I'm not lettin' you touch his dumb ass with your... weird... Danger Zone fingers! So, Captain Yuliana Kafim--">
The cannon in its forehead begins to glow. And glow. Brighter, and brighter. Intensifying with a telltale whine of building power.
<"-- I'm Jupiter Junker Judau Ashta, here to interfere!">
He's banking on the sight he saw before arriving being Leina's High Mega Cannon firing. He's banking on Yuliana's recognition of him meaning she recognizes what this thing in the Double Zeta's forehead is. He's banking on her responding to the imminent threat that furious pitching whine represents.
He's banking on a lot of things--
--but mostly, he's banking on her NOT anticipating him suddenly, forcefully -shorting- out that power buildup exactly a second before the High Mega Cannon actually fires, causing a searing, blinding flash of plasmic particles flaring into existence before completely losing their charge --
FLASH
--to provide the Tuatha and its charges exactly enough time to start beating a full scale retreat before the blinding light starts to fade.
He could attack.
... but Yuliana could have killed Leina. She could have. But she didn't. Regardless of anything else, regardless of why--
--it means that this is the most Judau does before the Double Zeta will start beating a hasty retreat, itself.
Which doesn't stop Judau abusing his piloting skills to make the ZZ flip Yuliana not one, but TWO WHOLE MIDDLE FINGERS before it transforms into G-Fortress mode again, but, well.
He's only so mature.
KTS: Judau Ashta targets Yuliana Kafim with Pass! KTS: Judau Ashta has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana Kafim is not a lucky woman, by and large.
Splash -- the Mass-Produced Double Zeta falls to the water. "Hhh-- Leina --" Yuliana starts, with a ragged breath, and the strangest thing is -- she sounds almost alarmed, seeing the younger woman plunge into the water. Almost alarmed-- but for the way she chokes the sound down, before it can end an exclamation.
Surely it's another of her tricks.
Judau's pressure escalates, and hollow, Yuliana looks to him. She feels nothing, from him. She feels so MUCH nothing, from him. In that horrific emptiness which surrounds his machine, the hollow space where information ought to go...
... to her eyes, the world cracks. The world cracks, and splinters, and where those psychic demands are put on her, she sees only a dozen baleful eyes, feels the horror of the void's regard.
She's always felt such things, when exposed to too many of her victims, too much empathic connection.
That's why she grows so strange, sometimes.
Her hand loosens, on her clutch, for a moment. Tightens, again, when she hears Leina's voice coming through, when the Gundam breaches the surface. "There is nothing at the end," she tells her, momentarily too calm, too assured, too resigned.
"Nothing at all."
Her gaze is already locked on the wet dock, as something -- LARGE -- finishes surfacing. Something large, and host to many. The flashbombs launch out, and the Annihilation closes its cameras to avoid that scouring light. Momentarily blinded, she relies on her radar sensor data to cope with the rest of the assault; it's a striking comment on her skill that she's able to force her wanzer back to avoid the rifle fire, even under those conditions.
Yuliana's been fighting for eight years now; and oh, she was a neophyte when the ace pilot Judau was last sighted, breaking herself on the rocks of the Mycenae Empire and proving herself a unique asset in intra-Federation strife. That was a long time ago, now.
She has grown older -- and colder -- and crueler, all closed off, all opportunistic.
No. She's not okay. Not for a long time, now.
Even so, it has to be a total withdrawal, if only for those few, precious moments. Further away from the submarine; further away from her prey. Her wanzer's heel tears into the fallen neck of a crane, as she jets backwards, and if those joints weren't such SOLID metal she might even have tripped. As it is, it stops her, forces her to plant her machine's feet down firmly enough to crush that steel. She opens her cameras again, just in time to see --
"NO!" Yuliana howls, mad once again as a beast set to the hunt, as she spies the wounded Hyaku Shiki J scooping Banagher up with such care and concern. "You horrible abominations! GET BACK HERE--!!" She's always struggled to regulate herself at speed; perhaps the real wonder is how she managed to toy with Mineva and Leina so lightly, for so long, without losing her cool.
She wheels on Judau, when he makes his declarations, and she is angry. "I told you to take her and LEAVE, you insufferable --" Yuliana starts, only to stop, when she sees the light building at his helm.
"No," her voice is smaller, "you wouldn't..."
She can't charge down the Tuatha, because she has to get away, all a sudden. She's alone, down here, just like she was in Torrington, and --
-- the light shorts out.
"You-- didn't?" Yuliana only sounds more baffled, when that light flashes, and she's not consumed.
She grits her teeth, and plunges her clutch forward, to force her wanzer to chase them down. "DON'T YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME--!!" She howls, all anger and no sense.
But down from the hole into the sky, there's another machine, leaping down. Wen Yuan's RK-96 Savage II lands with a palm to the ground, her massive sniper's rifle seated on her back. It leaves her palms free to run forward, with forces which would strain the muscles of a human without her upgrades, to grasp at the shoulders of the Tiandong 3. "Captain!" She transmits, and she doesn't bother hiding her alarm, her radio on an open channel. "Stop! That's the Double Zeta -- Judau Ashta! Are you mad?!"
"YES!" Yuliana rages, as she struggles in the Arm Slave's grasp. A thread of desperation, awful and violent and unkind, ties itself about her anger. "The Unicorn -- it's so close! I must have it! Let me go..!!" But Wen doesn't, and Yuliana, for all her horrific cruelty, is unwilling to throw her trusted lieutenants aside.
"Give it up, Captain," comes a more lackadaisical voice, inside the sniper's suit. Parminder Chaudhri's shrug is audible. "They're getting away." And they are, G-Fortress and submarine both.
Annihilation sags, against the Savage II.
"No way..."
He was in her grasp. He was in her grasp, and they stole him away from her--!!!
Yuliana breathes, for a moment, raw through her throat. "... we'll retreat for now," she gives her orders, subdued. "This mission was a failure."
And how bitter it tastes.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
It didn't matter if the Wanzer was hit or not. It didn't matter at all. Even with that in mind, seeing the woman in action was...a sight to behold for the teenager Captain. Watching someone with experience, with the power to carry out their knowledge, with the will to push for their own ends so execute their stubbornness in the face of adversity...
Quite frankly, she could understand when some of the oldtimers in her crew talked about "that feeling you're being played with". It ticked her off, even if she didn't allow it to show. To be implicitly told you're not allowed to even try and fight properly due to the difference in experience, in strength...
Focus.
<"We're launching on confirmation of recovery. Shock Team, draw back on confirmation.">
<"Copy! She's a slippery one! S' no wonder REA's a bastard group, with people like this!">
One suit. Two confirmations. Bracing herself, using the warmth of Leina's message to carry herself, to steel herself. There's little she can do here but to pray and prepare for any eventuality. There's little she can do. But being here is enough, so she concludes.
The steel gazes of the Command Center watch. The ZZ Gundam toppling. Falling. No. Not here. Not now. Not when everything's so close...
...The sense of relief, even after so, so many seconds of deja vu could warm a city. Metaphorically.
<"Confirmed retrival of all three designated targets. Retreat- Make room for the fourth! ZZ Gundam, designation...Judau Ashta!">
A sudden turn for the new unit on board. She'll save them. She'll save them all. She has to, or she won't sleep for a day.
<"You heard the lady! Make like Christmas and give 'em a light show!">
Prepare. Don't be a sitting duck. Always be active. Listen to those Whispers, lean on them, question them, ask them (though they do not answer), and most importantly.
Trust in your crew. Can you?
"Retreat! Undock and pull out, confirm bearing, and dive on my command!"
"Yes ma'am! Undock, confirm bearing, and prepare for submersion!"
They could rely on Judau's trick to escape. The best course of action was to follow up.
The three Grensbecks aimed at the air, firing, pumping a final smoke bomb as the submarine began to shove back, the deck visibly sinking into the ship as its cargo was safely stowed in, leaving just enough open for the G-Fortress to swoop in. Three people pulled out of harm, the Shock Team following closely behind, diving in and moving towards the sub.
A ping towards the ZZ Gundam. Coordinates, a bit out at sea for pickup.
One final trick up its sleeve. A burst of chaff jetting into the air, flares popping off here and there as separate flashbangs, a vertiable set of alarms and shock tactics to wake a city up before the port's inevitable demise.
Haa... "Prepare four separate bunks for our companions. I'll go down and get the situation from them. Commander Mardukas, you're in command. Keep it safe."
"I will. Tell Judau that we appreciate what he's done." A rare request while on duty. But common enough for someone who's disappeared and came back only now.
After Tessa leaves... "Prepare a few cups of coffee for them, too." She doesn't know how exhausted one can be after a fight.