2023-09-13: Continuing Day By Day: His Problem
- Cast: Belfangan Clouseau, Sousuke Sagara, Seolla Schweizer, Leina Ashta, Roux Louka, Teletha Testarossa
- Where: Merida Island Jungle
- Date: U.C. 0097 09 13
- Summary: Sousuke Sagara has been way off his game ever since being recalled to Merida Island from Nouvelle Tokyo. Meanwhile, the new Uruz 1 needs to size up the unit's ace. Neither is pleased by the results.
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
Transfer orders are rough.
Boat trip to a long plane ride to transfer to another plane ride to transfer to another shorter plane ride to get on a shorter boat trip to get to the secret island base at Merida Island; from Mediterranean Command to Pacific Command. It's a lot of travel. It does give him a lot of time to review, though. Think about everything he needs to know. There's a lot of that. Technical briefs on the force comp of the PRT and SRT - numbers of Arm Slave and Mobile Suit, combat readiness. That's all useful to know; sure, a lot of the technical specifications on some of these units are classified, but that's fine. It doesn't actually matter. He can see it with his own two eyes, and that's just more useful than anything he's going to read on a brief. Well, he's not an engineer, he's a soldier, so he has to approach the world that way.
The seal breaks on another set of documents. These ones are personal documents; the evaluations and dossier on the rest of the Special Response Team. All 'unique cases', but a few of them are flagged. School rescuee, EFSF deserter, child soldier. Black lines on these. It's fine. It doesn't matter. Whatever is under those black lines - they are not important, because he will see them himself.
He's seen enough already, actually.
---
Sixteen hours after Uruz-1 lands, Uruz-7 - Sagara - receives his orders for this 'duel'. When he arrives - no one is there.
Uruz-1 has been standing atop a rock outcropping under cloak for the better part of three hours, waiting for him to arrive, and as soon as his Arbalest stops moving, he immediately shoots him with an AS scale paintball gun five times in the chest.
"You're dead. Why did you let me kill you?"
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Sousuke is punctual, of course. The Arbalest rises out of the elevator from the hangars. He's armed with his Boxer shotcannon, armed with paint rounds; and a monomolecular cutter peace-bonded for training via a blunting plastic tape. Sousuke takes a deep breath, fingers wrapping around the Arbalest's control sticks. He'd had to order him, in the end. Even with this man sneering mockery of Captain McAllen at him, he couldn't...make himself.
So he's marching through a clearing, scanning quietly for signs. He stops, perplexed.
And dies. Five paintballs to the chest; no ambiguity there. The game with Tessa and Mao had been to single touches.
Why did I let him kill me...?
<<That was unsporting,>> AL notes, privately within the cockpit.
"Don't speak," Sousuke says with a rough edge to his voice, and only then opens comms back. He's coming up with his reasons, but...
He takes several long seconds before he can only say, "I didn't know we'd started."
Ruri Hoshino has connected.
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has deployed in M9D Falke. 225: ARX-7 Arbalest 224: ARX-7 Arbalest - Lambda Driver Online 575: CR 365 456: Deculture Festival MR-1 74: eEXM-17 Alto 35: F-28 Messer 550: Garencieres-class Unarmed Freighter 48: Grapple M1 370: HC-01A Shepherd 219: Inexplicable Manual Jegan 500: Lion 500 25: M9 Gernsback 223: M9 Gernsback <Sousuke Sagara Custom> 632: M9D Falke 108: MBR-04X Destroid Tomahawk II 363: Mobile Stage 7: MS-14A Gelgoog 596: MSA-004 Nemo High Maneuver 98: MSK-008 Dijeh 32: NF-MS81R Godard Revise 218: No Terrain Jegan 33: P-143S Pescatore 59: Prov PAW2 313: RK-92 Savage 63: RPT-005 Wildschwein M 404: SE.DJ-1R Dijeh SE-R 321: Tausendfuessler-class 39: Tendus 362: Unarmed Transport 90: WMS-03 Maganac 319: YF6-X7K/E Ganymede 38: Zaigaut 304 250: Zenith 250
KTS: Sousuke Sagara has deployed in ARX-7 Arbalest. FPT: Lightly Loaded Bonus=18
KTS: Weapon: AM 11 12.7mm Chain Gun KTS: Weapon: Anti-Tank Dagger KTS: Weapon: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon KTS: Weapon: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter KTS: Weapon: XM18 Wire Gun KTS: AM 11 12.7mm Chain Gun Burst: 2600 Ranged,Physical,Microtarget,Intercept KTS: Anti-Tank Dagger Single Dagger: 3400 Ranged,Physical,Barrier Breaker KTS: Anti-Tank Dagger Fan: 4200 Ranged,Physical,Barrier Breaker KTS: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug: 4100 Ranged,Physical KTS: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Magdump: 5200 Ranged,Physical,Penetrating KTS: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Magdump: 5800 Ranged,Physical,Spread,Finisher KTS: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Buttstroke: 3600 Melee,Physical KTS: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell: 4100 Ranged,Physical,Spread KTS: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Slash: 3600 Melee,Physical,Penetrating KTS: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust: 4400 Melee,Physical,Penetrating KTS: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press: 4700 Melee,Physical,Penetrating,Finisher KTS: Wire Grapple: 3500 Physical,Ranged,Microtarget KTS: Wire Entangle: 2600 Physical,Ranged,Anchor KTS: Taser Wire: 2300 Force,Ranged,Leader,Rattle,Microtarget KTS: Wire Swing: 2800 Physical,Melee,Repulse KTS: Pass: 0 Ranged,Passive,All-Range <Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
The rumors of a duel definitely excite Seolla! At the same time there's been this weird tension at Merida Island these days, it's also been a little bit dry? And Seolla was largely taking lower-strain duties owing to the Suffering and Agonizing she endured in pursuit of Dr. Murasame - for probably a little too long. (She's always been the type to crash rather hard for a worrying duration of time, then bounce back in restless anxiety like very little happened!)
Naturally she's rushed over to the command center just - to watch, basically! She hasn't gotten around to meeting Uruz-1 yet, so she wants to see what the guy's made out of! Tension building in the air as the elevator rises...
splat splat. Blink blink. "...Oh. I mean I guess that's fair. ...Is everyone counting that as part of the duel...? If so...that's...lame, even if it makes sense. ...The Falke's way too cool for it to just end there, though, I really wanted to see it show its stuff...!"
Maybe if Seolla weren't the Merida Island Morale Mascot her sort of on-duty casual chatter would be a little annoying in the midst of observation!
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
The stranger doesn't close his comms circuit before laughing at him. It's a short, cruel chortle. "Oh, yeah?" It's the same tone Sousuke heard him take the other night in the bar. "You didn't know we started? Maybe you need to read the orders better, Sergeant." Of course, this radio traffic is as public as you can get in this context.
"The duel is 'outside of the base'. I could've shot you anywhere on the way to this clearing. I was being polite. You were fighting the second you got in your Arm Slave. That's the way it works." Don't get in an Arm Slave unless you're ready to kill and be killed. That's just common sense. "This whole jungle is our battlefield. The mountains. The beach. As long as I don't drag you back into the base, the Colonel won't complain at all. Why imagine we have to start here? Do your enemies usually announce themselves to you, or do they try to kill you?"
The M9D sweeps its arm to the side, and tosses the paintball gun aside, and draws its cutter. Of course, it is, similarly, given a dead edge. Its cutter is outsized; the IMI Crimson Edge, a massive shortsword sized weapon, infamous for cleaving straight into and through the cockpit of Savages like nothing. It's hooked and savage, made for hacking; heavy, like a machete. It's a damn fine weapon.
"Well, since you're already dead." The monomolecular cutter activates, instantly shredding the binding tape protecting it into nothing, rending the edge deadly again. It is, now, a killing weapon, bore against him. "Turn yours on."
"Show me how you do this for real. All the reports say you're the best they've got. The Colonel speaks highly of you, in her own way. And they want you to run that 'miracle machine'. So let's see it. It'll be a miracle if you can beat me - so, let's see one, Sagara!"
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau targets Sousuke Sagara with IMI Crimson Edge Monomolecular Cutter Rending Dash! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau's Biorhythm activates Wall and Strike!
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
With a great leap, the M9D kicks from the outcropping, dropping fast and low, left hand grabbing at the rocks to stabilize its descent, keep it moving in a roughtly straight line. The distance is not close, but Belfangan is fast, and hits the bottom and springs forward fast, bouncing forward, pushing the leg joints and shocks exactly as hard as they can take. He's at the top of a cliff; and then he's bounding through the treeline, ripping around the body of a tree to carve straight through the cockpit of the Arbalest, all at once. He's not even bothering to pretend to play less lethal.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
From deep on Side 3, a young woman sat at a chair in Magallanica in front of a console.
"Alright initiating communications test with Merida Island in three - two - one!"
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
"Hey hey Merida Island!" A screen opened with her face on it in the Command center, only which screen? "Sergeant Mao! Live from Magallanica, it's Leina Ashta-!" She then leaned towards the screen, "Wow! Super clear, even from here. Gotta admire this place's ability to connect people."
Melissa Mao cleared her throat and stared in reproval, "Leina. I know we authorized you to open unofficial lines of communication with Magallanica, but I think you're off target."
Leina leaned back to quirk an eyebrow at her, "Hm? How do you figure?"
"Because you're not connected to Mithril's private bands, you're connected to my ENCRYPTED CELL PHONE!"
A beat.
"Oh. That explains... some things." Leina said after a moment before she scrutinizes the screen, "Like... wow that's what... a full eighteen percent of your check for beer?"
"STOP LOOKING THROUGH MY BANK STATEMENTS!"
"Anyhow! Can you point me at Seolla! I want to wave Hi!" "Get off my phone Leina!" "Come on! I'm stuck over here on Side 3 for a while longer. Do a girl a solid." "I said get off my phone!" "Wow your search history is-"
Melissa abruptly caves and turns the phone towards Seolla as she waves enthusiastically, "Hey Seolla!" Even as she says, "Satisfied? Now hang up, we're watching Sousuke fight."
Leaning forward again Leina enthused, "Whatttt!? He's fighting?" "Yeah. It's a duel-! Wait why am I telling you!?" Leina pleads, "Let me see, come on, turn the phone around!"
"Leina for the love of- my battery is only at like thirty percent!"
Leina fell quiet for a moment, then eyeing the screen, "Your Ex is pretty clingy isn't he? ... Also how many of these texts are about your legs-"
The phone is turned around so quickly it almost gives Leina whiplash on Side 3.
"Go Sousuke! You can do it!" She cheers, as Mao's eye twitches.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
"Leina, are you on the computer?" comes a voice in the background of Leina's transmission.
Roux Louka wearing something sort of like a one-piece swimsuit with a kind of... neon-cyan fishnet shawl walks into frame. "I'm trying to find the refrigerator, all I've been able to find is the little bar-back thing and I'm pretty sure the wine in there cost more than -"
Roux looks over and blinks. "Oh, you're on the phone, whoops." She waggles fingers at Mao, and then walks across the entire back of the room Leina is in rather than turning back the way she came. If something explodes in the next six seconds, she may have a reaction.
KTS: Sousuke Sagara has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Sousuke Sagara fails to parry Belfangan Clouseau's IMI Crimson Edge Monomolecular Cutter Rending Dash, taking 4860 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 10040 KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has engaged Sousuke Sagara! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau begins a Formation attack! KTS: Your EN is now 53.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
The Command Center glowed with displays about, camera after camera focused on the battle raging on the island. A private display flickered and glowed near her, raging with numbers, bars, and graphs that were recording the Arbalest's every move. Second Lieutenant Lemming would be looking at them later; The engineer had a good head on her shoulders. Handpicking her out of Britannian land was the right thing she could've done.
Regardless, the blue glow of the displays did little to hide the black bags under her eyes. Work was work, even as the chatter around her grew. Only appropriate to properly sequester the actual reason to miniature displays lined with privacy screeners. Mardukas stood nearby; He wasn't going to interrupt the lively festivities of an outside connection and the Now-Enshrined Mascot of Merida Island, but his gaze said a thousand words.
"I can't say I approve of this." Mardukas whispered. "It sets a terrible precedent; People need to obey the rules."
"We don't have a choice in the matter." Tessa's own response.
"Captain, I don't understand. Why host this farce?"
It was approved by Tessa, after all. Clouseau's bar brawl. The current fight. The fact that the activation of the Crimson Edge did not immediately trigger any alarms was also her doing.
"If he fails, that means the machine is worthless." The repetition of Clouseau's own words. The words are said silent, hushed to Mardukas. "Either we see a breakthrough here, or we..."
"...It's too far, too far from a safety perspective. We shouldn't be behaving a like a street gang, Captain. It should be gentlemanly, on the battlefield, not this sort of barbaric duel-"
"War is not the type of thing that discriminates with flowery adjectives." The rebuke from the Colonel is instinctual, a minute flareup that died down as quick as it came. "Was that impudent of me?"
"No. You're entirely correct, Captain."
"Mhm."
The duo resumed watching the faracical fight, Tessa completely missing the few seconds of Mardukas's pitying stare. Her eyes do brighten at Leina's connection, even as her face refuses to change.
"Don't make too much of a fuss. You're broadcasting to the whole of Command, you know." There's a small prick of a smile, as much as she tries to hide it.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Uruz-1...Belfangan Clouseau. His new commander. Sousuke doesn't even think of snapping back. Something in him lurches a little at the harsh reprimands, but...he's not wrong. Sousuke could see himself doing this to someone. And 'sportsmanlike' or not...it's simply true. Hasn't his whole problem been that he's been on edge all the time in Jindai? Why would he assume he doesn't need that edge here, at Merida?
Why would he allow himself to think he's safe anywhere?
THe Lieutenant's monomolecular cutter activates and tears that binder to shreds. Why ould he allow himself to think he's safe anywhere? "Wha," Sousuke croaks out. "Sir!?"
<<The opponent has disabled all power limitations. The opponent has activated his onboard weaponry. Sergeant, you must take action.>>
But he's so shocked by the turn that his weapon isn't ready before Clouseau leaps at him, and Sousuke grabs his tape and rips it free, just in time to lash out hard and clash with the incoming cutter!
it lasts barely a second before the misplaced parry sees Sousuke's cutter sliding off, leaving Clouseau to cleave down a length of Arbalest's chest. Sousuke's quick; he skips back. Arbalest doesn't have live ammunition loaded anywhere, so Sousuke discards the shotcannon. Useless for this.
"AL, disable all the training limitations! Fine! We'll play his game!"
<<I do not believe he is playing, Sergeant.>>
Sousuke grips his control stick; it makes Arbalest drum its fingers on its GRAW-2 monocutter's handle. The GRAW is shaped more like a Bowie knife, ideal for carving through many situations - but much less ruthlessly efficient at dispatching enemy armor. He's on the back foot, here. How is he so FAST? The Arbalest should be higher spec than any model of M9! Unless....
"Miracle machine," Sousuke says, teeth grinding. This is a knife fight, now, but Sousuke isn't without his own tricks. He charges in with Monocutter back, but rather than lead with it, he lashes out with his other arm's tow cable, aiming to wrap up the Falke's leg and pull it out from under the Lieutenant and then surge forward to drive his weapon in.
/-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\
| 1: AM 11 12.7mm Chain Gun Burst Pwr: 2600 8 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Microtarget, Intercept) |
| 2: Anti-Tank Dagger Single Dagger Pwr: 3400 19 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 3: Anti-Tank Dagger Fan Pwr: 4200 27 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 4: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Pwr: 4100 21 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical) |
| 5: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Magdump Pwr: 5200 40 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 6: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Magdump Pwr: 5800 55 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread, Finisher) |
| 7: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Buttstroke Pwr: 3600 16 EN |
| (Melee, Physical) |
| 8: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Pwr: 4100 24 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread) |
| 9: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Slash Pwr: 3600 21 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 10: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust Pwr: 4400 30 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 11: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press Pwr: 4700 43 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating, Finisher) |
| 12: Wire Grapple Pwr: 3500 16 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Microtarget) |
| 13: Wire Entangle Pwr: 2600 11 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Anchor) |
| 14: Taser Wire Pwr: 2300 16 EN |
| (Force, Ranged, Leader, Rattle, Microtarget) |
| 15: Wire Swing Pwr: 2800 18 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Repulse) |
| 16: Pass - 0 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) |
\----< HP: 1004014900 EN: 53 (+39round|0 comm) SP: 35 Morale: 103150 >----
KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Belfangan Clouseau with Wire Grapple! KTS: Sousuke Sagara has completed their actions for the round. KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 76. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 50. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau successfully evades Sousuke Sagara's Wire Grapple <Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"Is that Tessa? Hey! And I mean - it's technically broadcasting to a personal cell phone right?
Melissa Mao will definitely remember this, and have her vengeance.
"But - alright, I'll show more proper decorum."
As Roux comes up though, she absolutely proves she hasn't shifted into that mode.
"Its plugged in next the store room. We haven't set up the break room properly yet."
Leina calls sideways towards Roux. Before she notes, "Well it was... now it's live streaming Sousuke in an Arm Slave fight."
Though all the cheer leaves her voice. Part of why she had so much energy was she was going stir crazy up here. Not because she particularly minds being in space.
But just because so much of her life was closed off right now.
She watches, a finger tapping her chin, "He's..."
However... she notices at that moment the switch from training limiters on the weapons to live fire as the cutter decimates that binder. It takes her a moment to process it.
"... is this whole exercise really meant to be training?"
She asks, soft, disturbed, as her whole vibe just shifts all of a sudden from cheering him on, to starting to realize just what she stumbled into unknowingly.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Roux gives the camera a wink and a blown kiss as they are informed they're going to Command as a whole. After this, she says "Yeah, got it," and keeps going... though she's slowing down and looking at the screens and may be lingering out of frame.
Another witness.
<Pose Tracker> Seolla Schweizer has posed.
"E-eh? A call just for me?" Seolla fidgets, before the familiar voice - "Ah! Leina! Hi!" A warm little smile crosses her face - a little wave, pushing in closer to Mao's phone, dangerously intrusive to seeing ~personal communications she shouldn't. "...It's been a while, I know things got really insane up there! Are you alright? I've been real real worried about you. Magallanica, you say you're at...is it nice up there or is it kind of just somewhere you're at to deal with tough business?"
The fight begins in earnest, and Seolla's attention is instantly drawn to ~high octane Arm Slave combat~ - with a sparkle in her eyes at the fierce acrobatics and lightning fast flashing of blades. Then she realizes quite fast that the gloves are fully off - they're not playing with training rounds anymore, and a bit of a sweat crosses her brow.
One glance to Tessa, overhearing her approval of the process - seeing that little smile quirk up for just a second, and Seolla can't help but swallow. A-ah. That strange tension again...
Even though Seolla can't help but admit they have a point, that real training only comes alongside real risk...there's a sweatiness in her palms. Yet more phrasing, yet more conflicts of personality and 'difficult truths' that remind her of-
...Seolla doesn't want to say it. All she can really mutter out is a half-hearted, "...I imagine you trust Uruz-1 quite a lot. How'd you all meet him anyway, Captain...?"
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
When it's time to actually fight though, the joking stops, dead in its tracks. Clouseau is silent, when he's engaged in a fight this close, when he's moving and watching his enemy move. Everything Sagara does is captured in his eye. Clunky. Obvious. This hiss of the tow line is met with the snap of the foot of the Falke, slamming its foot into the ground to pin it into the line, catching it, and twisting down and around the knife, to get up into the Arbalest's arm. The cutter is positioned right at its 'heart'. It's all locked up; basically even position, except that one of them has a knife in a better spot. He can chat, now. "Decent idea. But..."
"That execution isn't slick enough." The Falke just leans forward, to graze the Crimson Edge into the Arbalest, then shoves it back, and hops back. "Technically competent, if only just. It's all substance. It's technical aptitude, but it isn't art."
"Are you following me, here? You get it?"
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau targets Sousuke Sagara with IMI Crimson Edge Monomolecular Cutter Sudden Slash! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau's Biorhythm activates Focus and Valor! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Sousuke Sagara KTS: Sousuke Sagara retreats from the attack! KTS: Sousuke Sagara fails to react to Belfangan Clouseau's IMI Crimson Edge Monomolecular Cutter Sudden Slash, taking 3660 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 6380 KTS: Belfangan Clouseau repulses Sousuke Sagara, forcing him to disengage. KTS: Your EN is now 71. BBSYS: Post 1219, 'Character Opening 13-09-2023' has been published to Character Announcements by Beam Coat.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
That shift in the Lieutenant's demeanor doesn't slip past him. But the other man uses his own move against him, slamming the line down and able to use it to force the Arbalest into a murderous position. Sousuke's own dagger is in a dangerous position of its own, but...in any other circumstance, he'd be dead before he could finish the move.
%Uruz-1 lets him have it. Kkkh...
The execution isn't...slick enough? Sousuke pops the disengage on his cutter, sacrificing the rope as an option entirely, but the maneuverability it buys him is too little. Another slash through the front armor. AL notes, <<Damage is compounding.>>
Sousuke makes a frustrated noise, back at center. "Slick? Art?" he mumbles. "It's a weapon! Technical proficiency is all it requires!"
<<...>>
He says, but he's the one getting danced around, here. He lunges again, sweeping a few strikes into the Falke's guard. He does know how to fight with a knife, and indeed, that technical proficiency is here. But the lambda driver...
*
"No response from the TAROS," Nora Lemming calls up from where she's monitoring the situation.
*
Sousuke flicks the knife into an underhanded grip and drives it down. The stab is awkward. he can't even fathom actually killing the Lieutenant and it shows in the maneuver, a shallow downward stab that might sever an arm but definitely would avoid the cockpit.
/-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\
| 1: AM 11 12.7mm Chain Gun Burst Pwr: 2600 8 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Microtarget, Intercept) |
| 2: Anti-Tank Dagger Single Dagger Pwr: 3400 19 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 3: Anti-Tank Dagger Fan Pwr: 4200 27 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 4: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Pwr: 4100 21 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical) |
| 5: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Magdump Pwr: 5200 40 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 6: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Magdump Pwr: 5800 55 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread, Finisher) |
| 7: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Buttstroke Pwr: 3600 16 EN |
| (Melee, Physical) |
| 8: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Pwr: 4100 24 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread) |
| 9: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Slash Pwr: 3600 21 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 10: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust Pwr: 4400 30 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 11: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press Pwr: 4700 43 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating, Finisher) |
| 12: Wire Grapple Pwr: 3500 16 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Microtarget) |
| 13: Wire Entangle Pwr: 2600 11 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Anchor) |
| 14: Taser Wire Pwr: 2300 16 EN |
| (Force, Ranged, Leader, Rattle, Microtarget) |
| 15: Wire Swing Pwr: 2800 18 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Repulse) |
| 16: Pass - 0 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) |
\----< HP: 638014900 EN: 71 (+39round|0 comm) SP: 50 Morale: 102150 >-----
KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Belfangan Clouseau with GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust! KTS: Sousuke Sagara has completed their actions for the round. KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 80. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 65.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
What little smile she had quickly disappeared while watching the battle. Her eyes flicked over every so often; Reams of data, watching the emotional center of the Arbalest flicker and waver. More data. More. More needs to be teased out of the machine, out of the pilot. It's the only way to make sure.
There's a small wave of acknowledgement at Leina's screen, noting Roux's own precense. Unfortuntately, Mao may have a few extra hours of Proper OpSec Practice. It's only proper. "...I'm not at liberty to divulge that information, Leina." Even as she shakes her head the slightest bit. "Just a small dispute between a soldier and a commander."
"Captain..."
"It's the truth."
Deep breaths.
One thread of her mind is focused on Seolla's own reactions. The price of being a commander: Having to obey the wants of above, for better or for worse. "First Lieutenant Belfangan Clouseau. Freshly transferred from Mithril's Mediterranean battle group." Low enough for the microphones to not pick up, but enough for Seolla's own hearing. So she hoped, anyways. "He'll be your direct officer during combat operations."
"Copy." There's no need to say more to Lemming. No response was no response.
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau parries Sousuke Sagara's GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust, taking 1320 damage! KTS: Sousuke Sagara has engaged Belfangan Clouseau! <Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"I'm alright. Been up here longer than I wanted of course but-"
A small smile towards Seolla, "-things happen. It's... well - right now Magallanica isn't the most comfortable living space so we're a little holed up, as a lot of things are on pause."
She does add after a moment, "Hopefully be home soon we're uh- finalizing negotiations on the the Fed standing down from looking at me and the Norn as existential threats to humanity."
Just what kind of negotiations? Well... she hasn't really said.
"Also my brother Judau and Roux - that was Roux not long ago - got engaged-! Pass it on."
Priorities.
"A small dispute?" She echoes, knowing that if Tessa used that qualifier of being not at liberty, that it's definitely not just that.
The fight takes her attention back soon enough. As the point Belfangan tries to make to Sousuke causes her to furrow her brow.
"... Is he really trying to make that point in an Arm Slave battle?" A pause, "I guess it's... a subject that it could possibly translate for him on."
She sounds, dubious, however, and Sousuke proves it soon after. The buzz around the command center, the not being at liberty to divulge - for all the ways this seems just, wrong, in how the pieces don't quite fit. How Sousuke's heart, doesn't seem in it.
"What are you actually trying to accomplish here?"
Leina asks, quietly, and it's all but certain she's not directing it seriously at Tessa as if expecting an answer, after what she said.
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
Disappointing.
"Not like that." The motion to stop that is focused, but pretty easy, because it's slow. It's noncommital, which is the issue. If Sagara is only going to take an arm, then it shouldn't matter how hard he hits him. He can swing as hard as he wants, because it'll be perfect -- but. He isn't that good. He doesn't know where he's going to hit, right? He's not sure. It might clip the cockpit, he might mess up, and accidentally kill someone. Is that it? He's not sure, so his hands shake? That makes it easy to block; the Crimson Edge just cuts down into it, and it eats up some of the arm. Barely a consideration. ... If that's what it is, he can't blame him. Actually, he hopes that's it. He can work with that.
"Then why aren't you fighting better? It's awkward. Clumsy. I get that you don't want to fight me, that's fine, but are you so afraid of killing me that you can't even think straight?" That's a little funny to him - after all, he can't imagine a kid like this killing him, even if he was trying.
The legs of the Falke twist to deliver a fast, hefty kick to the abdomen of the Arbalest, to send it back at the cliff it was hiding on in the first place. It's a great kick - ideal, brutal, and sudden. It's just martial arts, because its pilot is a martial artist.
"Then draw the rest of it out, if that's all it takes. If that's your theory, then beat me down, here and now. Go on. It's the 'miracle machine'. Do it. If all it requires it technical aptitude, then it should be easy, right? Come at me."
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau targets Sousuke Sagara with M9 Martial Arts Strike! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau's Biorhythm activates Strike and Alert! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Sousuke Sagara KTS: Sousuke Sagara fails to react to Belfangan Clouseau's M9 Martial Arts Strike, taking 5890 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 490 KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has engaged Sousuke Sagara! KTS: Your EN is now 80.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
AL's data compilation can see it, perhaps. Can see the fault that's been plaguing Sousuke for months, since long before AL started talking more. The difference between Belfangan Clouseau and Sousuke Sagara. Sousuke's technical skill is a master's, but...
In the end, he is a man wielding a weapon.
"Clumsy!?" Sousuke hisses out, almost more confused than offended. He's barely ever met someone who was a better pilot than him! He's the arm slave specialist! He's downed entire arm slave units in seconds! But the proof is in front of him: That there is a level of mastery Sousuke couldn't even perceive.
The next hit sends Arbalest FLYING backward, cratering the mountain. Sousuke makes an ungainly "HAWG" noise as the shock absorbers fail to quite disperse the damage, letting much of it reverberate through him. Which should be impossible, of course, in a machine defended properly by a lambda driver.
Draw the rest of it out... "He wants the lambda driver," Sousuke whispers. He gets Arbalest upright, if unsteady, and then settles into a fighting posture. Unarmed. He does know how. "But I can't....it doesn't just....!"
<<....>>>
"Fine...!" Sousuke growls, working himself up. Picture the energy field. Picture the attack connecting. Picture knocking this stupid machine limb from limb. But that's...not the image that forms, is it?
"haaaaaAAAAAAAAAH!" Sousuke roars, ripping Arbalest forward and surging at the Falke with a fist pulled back to strike.
Though dust may rise from the collision...no magnificent light will.
/-----------------------------< SRTMOO +attacks >------------------------------\
| 1: AM 11 12.7mm Chain Gun Burst Pwr: 2600 8 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Microtarget, Intercept) |
| 2: Anti-Tank Dagger Single Dagger Pwr: 3400 19 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 3: Anti-Tank Dagger Fan Pwr: 4200 27 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Barrier Breaker) |
| 4: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Pwr: 4100 21 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical) |
| 5: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Slug Magdump Pwr: 5200 40 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 6: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Magdump Pwr: 5800 55 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread, Finisher) |
| 7: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Buttstroke Pwr: 3600 16 EN |
| (Melee, Physical) |
| 8: Boxer 57mm Shotcannon Shotshell Pwr: 4100 24 EN |
| (Ranged, Physical, Spread) |
| 9: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Slash Pwr: 3600 21 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 10: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Thrust Pwr: 4400 30 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating) |
| 11: GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press Pwr: 4700 43 EN |
| (Melee, Physical, Penetrating, Finisher) |
| 12: Wire Grapple Pwr: 3500 16 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Microtarget) |
| 13: Wire Entangle Pwr: 2600 11 EN |
| (Physical, Ranged, Anchor) |
| 14: Taser Wire Pwr: 2300 16 EN |
| (Force, Ranged, Leader, Rattle, Microtarget) |
| 15: Wire Swing Pwr: 2800 18 EN |
| (Physical, Melee, Repulse) |
| 16: Pass - 0 EN |
| (Ranged, Passive, All-Range) |
\-----< HP: 49014900 EN: 80 (+39round|0 comm) SP: 65 Morale: 101150 >-----
KTS: Sousuke Sagara has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sousuke Sagara has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sousuke Sagara has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sousuke Sagara has activated the Valor Spirit Command. You do not have enough SP. (5 vs 15)
KTS: Sousuke Sagara targets Belfangan Clouseau with GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press! KTS: Sousuke Sagara has completed their actions for the round. KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 76. KTS: SP Regen activates. Your new SP value is 20. KTS: Sousuke Sagara enervates Belfangan Clouseau, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau parries Sousuke Sagara's GRAW-2 Monomolecular Cutter Press, taking 1410 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Where'd He Go!? activates, causing Deject! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sousuke Sagara's Battlefield Mastery activates, causing Control Bonus! KTS: Sousuke Sagara has engaged Belfangan Clouseau!
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
"Judau did?" An eyebrow raise. ...Huh. THere's so much she still didn't know about the world. Wait, was it even proper for her to send a wedding gift? "So long as you keep being around for him, I think you should be fine, Leina." She's trying her best to be composed. Work...was work. Yeah.
She's deliberately skipping over the massive chain of events in space. That wasn't Mithril's territory, but... "It's good to see you haven't lost your touch for trouble, Leina." Worrying about a friend is alright.
"Yes." A simple answer for a simple question. There was a point to this; Not that she was allowed to learn it. "This..."
"Captain."
"...I know. Need-To-Know basis, Leina."
It hurts to look at. It hurts to see this farce play out, and to know what the fruits of this has been all along. For naught. To see not a blip of a reaction as the emotions run high, and to see that the hoped for results fail to manifest. Mardukas shared the same thoughts on the Arbalest as Sousuke: Useless. Defective. That's the problem, Tessa thinks. That's the problem right there. Sousuke agrees with your assessment, and that's why it isn't activating.
She stays silent, ruefully moving to scan over those results once more. Her and Lemming could find something, anything to see that this wasn't just a waste. ...If nothing else, it introduced Uruz-1 well enough.
In her mind, she was already calculating the best route to the infirmary.
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
Clouseau is content to wait - that's because he was posing, before. In a real fight, he would've pulled up his rifle, and shot him to death, then and there. Really, he would've waited for a long time, if it meant he got the Lambda Driver to fire against him. The Crimson Edge hits the ground, and the Falke takes a fighting stance; low and coiled, palm out, ready, waiting, lethal. Come on, then, kid. Show me. Make it worth it. This is what he's here for, right? So all it takes is pushing someone to their limit, and then you can make it fire on all cylinders - if that's all it takes, then it's a good enough weapon. Then it works.
He's been beating this guy's ass. Really, if that doesn't get you fired up, nothing will. Being a brat means you sometimes need some sense knocked into you, and if that's enough to park you back off - then that's all it takes. This worked for him, after all. Come on, kid. Spark.
The Arbalest rises again, and something catches in Ben's chest. Quietly, he mutters. "Come on, then." He can't tell if it's activated. There's no way for him to know about that kind of thing - he's not a Newtype or any kind of magical. All he is is a soldier, and the way Sousuke is moving right now looks a little good, so he'll commit to it, throwing himself forward into it, tearing straight into it. "Come on!" He's read a little, though. Fist raised high, but the method of interference with the Lambda Driver makes means that it should be basically impossible for him to even touch. If he can use it right, then he can just carve the arms and legs off his Arm Slave and leave him disabled, with no risk to his life at all. He can do it. So, then why---
So then why did he get there, and slam his arm into a block. A puff of air leaves Clouseau's chest, and he frowns. That's it?
The Falke, simply, pounds an open hand into the chest of the Arbalest, to smash it all the way back to where it started. It's a merciless strike; direct, brutal, and directly atop the cockpit. He's done, now.
That was everything? He did all that, and all he could muster was that much? He did all of that - and he just can't call up the will to actually fight? How much does he hate this weapon that won't just shoot when he pulls the trigger? As if that's how any of them work. He won't tolerate a mentality that weak.
"So, you're just a pet dog after all?"
KTS: Belfangan Clouseau targets Sousuke Sagara with M9 Martial Arts Focus Strike! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau's Biorhythm activates Trick and Wall! KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Sousuke Sagara KTS: Sousuke Sagara fails to react to Belfangan Clouseau's M9 Martial Arts Focus Strike, taking 7580 damage! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at -7090 KTS: Sousuke Sagara has been defeated! KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield. KTS: Belfangan Clouseau has engaged Sousuke Sagara! KTS: Your EN is now 76.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Work... was work. But wedding engagements were? "Yep. One day I'll tell you the story of how it happened. You'll laugh." She says with a quick glance to see if Roux was still off screen.
There's an amused chuckle, but, "Ah... if only you knew how much I was trying to avoid it this time but..."
Pause.
"... some things are just predestined." She says, somberly, and perhaps a touch sullenly.
As if in defeat.
Her question almost has an answer, but then 'Need-To-Know.' and Leina at this moment can't see Tessa, but Tessa at this moment might feel Leina.
Like she was already almost there, like her feelings just indicated she'd put together 1+1=2 from what she already knew in this Need to Know world.
She doesn't protest though, against the roar of fury from Sousuke, the resounding lack of a light show.
And when the response comes.
"Was it worth it?"
Is Leina's, final, soft question - certainly distressed, and not expecting an answer. But part of her hopes it was to someone - doing this to him.
<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.
Sousuke barely has time to process that the driver failed to fire before the palm strike comes, and Arbalest goes flying backward again. Sousuke makes a much different noise this time, a wheezing, dazed, "hhhgUUUHK" like the breath and soul were both knocked out of him. Arbalest itself has relatively little damage, but...
Shortly after, it topples to the ground, boneless. AL reports to all: <<Sergeant Sagara has been rendered unconscious. Arbalest is no longer capable of combat.>>
*
In the command center, Nora reports, "The lambda driver failed to activate, Ma'am. I'll prepare the TAROS data for assessment immediately. There's some interesting data in here...I don't think we can call this a complete wash, Ma'am."
*
It will be hours before Sousuke Sagara awakes.
SCENESYS: Guy Shishioh has posted scene #422, 'Overlord: The Invisible Burst', at 19:00 ET on 09/14.
<Pose Tracker> Belfangan Clouseau has posed.
Clouseau doesn't take much pleasure in victory. It was, after all, an average fight. After that, it's just work. Recover Sousuke. Order repairs for their dumbass duel that cost Mithril... well, not that much. The Arbalest is a pretty good piece of machinery, and his own Falke wasn't that badly beat. It's fine. Didn't even hurt the bottom line that bad.
After all that's done, he can drop by in time to see his soldier wake up. "Oi."
He's staring at him. Not too badly hurt. Heh, still got it. That's good, that's good. "You wanna know why you lost?" He's going to explain anyway, of course. His voice is flat, but not hard to listen to. It carries well, with a decent, rolling bass. "It's because you hate your machine. You can't see what's good about it. Me, I love my Falke. It's an extension of myself - and I know everything about it. Every last nook and cranny, every little weird trick. Fighting with it is the same as just fighting. If you can't get into that - if you can't love it - then tell them to put you in something else. Your technicals aren't bad, but your mentality is terrible."
He puts a finger up. "Two things. First thing's first." He takes out a technical manual, and throws it at him. It's the for the M9D - his AS. "That's what beat you. On raw 'power', even without the Driver, you had a gap, and couldn't convert that. That's fine, we should try to have a technical edge whenever possible, but keep that in mind - you lost with advantage. You were fighting without your full strength, but even that should've been enough, if you fight like I do."
Second finger. "Second thing. You need to use that full strength, because that's what your machine is made to do. It's what it wants to do. It's the heart of the thing. You aren't really using the Arbalest until you can do that. If you don't want that - get over it. It's the best weapon we have. I don't know you, so I don't know what your deal with it is, but we need to work on it, or there's no point to it." That's his piece.
He turns, stops, and continues. "Third thing. I'm sending you back for retraining. CQC needs work, you need to commit to hits and know for sure where you're hitting. Doctor says you get a day of medical leave."
Was it worth it? Maybe. He doesn't know yet. Time will tell.