View source for 2023-04-24: You Can't Slip Away from the Mobius Ring

{{Log
|cast=C.C., Cornelia li Britannia, Banagher Links, Eight York, Anita Rosetta, Marida Cruz, Alma Stirner, Ruri Hoshino, Puru Two, Arriety Hearn, Schneizel el Britannia, Natarle Badgiruel, Hikaru Amano, Christina MacKenzie, BC-001 Minae, Kallen Kozuki, Rin Starking, Naoto Kozuki, Orpheus Zevon, Char Aznable
|location=Seattle
|summary=The Black Knights stage an Operation in Seattle to assassinate a Convoy of Federation Councilors. 

Banagher Links arrives with his allies to unlock the next Coordinate from the La+ program.

Oath over Omega will not suffer the Gundam Unicorn to exist, but neither too will the Vist Foundation allow it to be destroyed. 

Will the mistakes of the past continue to repeat themselves?
}}
{{PhaseAndTurn
|phase=1
|turn=3
}}
 KTS: C.C. has deployed in IFX-V3D1 Gawain.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has deployed in BBAF-1001 Avalon.
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Banagher Links has deployed in RX-0 Unicorn Gundam <Destroy Mode> Awakened.
 KTS: Char Aznable has deployed in MS-06S-000 Ruin Zaku-II.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has deployed in XVF-25I Svipul <GERWALK Mode>.
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Eight York has deployed in Zentradi Monitor 'Ra Mari II'.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta arrives loaded onto Eight York's combat deck!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has deployed in MPMZ-17 Ichinana.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has deployed in ND-001 Nadesico.
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has deployed in Aestivalis Aerial Frame (Hikaru).
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has deployed in RPT-005 Wildschwein M.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has deployed in LCAM-01XB Dominion.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has deployed in Type-02 Guren Mk. II.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has deployed in MSZ-006-3A Zeta Gundam 3A Type.
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: BC-001 Minae has deployed as a Sub Pilot for Arriety Hearn!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano arrives loaded onto Ruri Hoshino's combat deck!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has deployed in MS-18NF Titania.
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has deployed as a Sub Pilot for Kallen Kozuki!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has deployed in NZ-666 Kshatriya.
 KTS: Puru-1 has deployed in RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee <Unicorn Mode>.

 <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
<poem>
        "It's paradoxical, isn't it?"

        "In the art of war, the most prized targets are those who have little to do with actually waging it, nor talent in administering it. It's funny, like boring civil servants too full of themselves for their own good have become the treasured idols to be fought over."

        Kicking her legs in the Seattle safehouse, C.C. muses over the impending battle plans whilst draped on her front over a bed, wrapped in the fluffiest of bathrobes, aimlessly poking at one of her limitless burner phones.

        "They're hardly unrelated. After all, the officials we're targeting arent 'just' civil servants with stuffy government positions. They're kingpins of industry and finance. Most of those titles are just decorative, but I can't be fooled. Dress a king up as a bishop and I'll notice when theyre only moving a single space."

        Lelouch Lamperouge, the man known as Zero, is more fruitfully going over monitors and tactical plans, headset at the ready, periodically dialing in operatives of the Black Knights, confirming their status, making fine adjustments to their plans.

        "Don't underestimate the cunning of a bishop, you know. I've met a few too many in their day who move just the way you'd expect. Slipping past the walls of the world with a carefree smile of peace, only to bury their daggers in throats. Convincing someone you're unarmed is a powerful weapon in its own right," C.C. lazily considers, before rolling onto her back, gazing skywards.

        "Besides...I cannot help but feel a different game is about to be played entirely."

------------------------------------------------------------

        Dawn breaks over the mountains. Seattle, a city once glowing from the expansion across the continent, left to wither from the struggles of the One Year War. And yet its position makes it a natural launchpad for Britannian efforts - a place that in recent years constantly invokes the idea that 'we will make things better and move forward'. With the destruction of JOSH-A several months ago, this part of the world has become of interest as a potential bulwark of military development efforts, as the nearest Pacific port in Britannias territories.

        But the simple nature of Seattle, a cracked and neglected city, makes it just as much a target for criminal enterprises. It wasn't all that hard for the Black Knights to gain an outpost and smuggle mobile weapons within - KMFs hiding in various garages and warehouses, while the 'king lurks in waiting beneath the harbor waves.

        "Our three targets are going to be traveling in a subtle convoy past this area. Industry and Energy Councilor Joseph Copeland by rail - Settlement Councilor Ronan Marcenas by motorcade - and Environmental Councilor Shunya Chidori by air," C.C. announces to waiting operatives. "Each of them are individually guarded, but they are provably coordinating with each other in case one is attacked. In addition, forces from nearby McChord Field are prepared to scramble."

        "Our first priority target is Marcenas, as our KMFs have the advantage of surprise there," Zero decides, sweeping away the Gawains tactical overview with a final flourish of his fingers. "The motorcade is the most initially vulnerable, but the most resilient once the operation begins. Chidori and Copeland are on less flexible routes - by rail, in particular, there arent many options for diverting courses, so were most likely to target them last. H5 and H7, youre on standby with anti-air salvos. H4 and H11, stay in position by the northern railyard until further advisory. All other forces, begin converging on the bridges in and out of Mercer Island - on our mark, we trap Marcenas there."

        The covert motorcade carrying Ronan Marcenas - with two unmarked large blacked-out vehicles and a semi-trailer following the councilor's limo. Just as they cross one of two bridges leading onto the suburban retreat of Mercer Island...

        That's when the Knights strike - sweeping in from either side of the bay and rapidly pinning the motorcade on the isle, two Burais quickly in hot pursuit as Marcenas attempts to escape off the main highway. Chaos soon envelops this normally idyllic little spot in Lake Frederick (named, of course, after the prevailing King George Frederick III of the late 1700s) - its wealthier civilians quickly seek shelter, and air raid sirens echo across the bay...

        All as the 'king' lays in wait to make its position known for when the right time strikes...
</poem>

 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has deployed in Type-01/C Byakuen.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn arrives loaded onto Eight York's combat deck!

 <Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.
<poem>
Councilor Ronan Marcenas carries the blood of the Universal Century in his veins.

It was his grandfather, Ricardo Marcenas, that helped pioneer the ending of the Common Era, ushering in the dawn of the Universal Century as its first Prime Minister. It was a short-lived reign; a terrorist attack on the colony of Laplace saw to that, beginning the new era with a stroke of violence and cementing Marcenas as a martyr of the Federation -- of the entirety of the Universal Century. It hadn't mattered what he had done before, or what he might have done after: that day, a political dynasty was born that would rule through the Federation into the present day. For almost one hundred years.

There is no greater sign of the enduring power of bloodlines and legacy in the Earth Federation than the Marcenasa family.

Ronan, like his father before him, and his father before -him-, was groomed for politics. As Settlement Councilor, and as a Marcenas, he has wielded incomprehensible political power... especially when it comes to the fates of all those living in space. He's lived almost his entire life knowing the dirty and unpleasant sides of politics -- and he's lived most of his life prepared to do anything to protect the Federation. His family's legacy. But most of all...

He's spent most of his life untouchable.

Right now, though... Ronan Marcenas mostly just looks troubled as he looks out the window of his limo, brows cinched inward into a wrinkling furrow as the aging man's jaw sets.

"... And what's the status on Palau?"

"... As well as it can be, sir. The return's been completed. We did a sweep of the asteroid but we couldn't find any traces of Zeon left -- Char or the Sleeves. The residents aren't talking either, but that's to be expected... we're still waiting to see if anything can be salvaged from the manor."

Ronan turns his stern stare towards his assistant. It lingers for several terse seconds, before a sigh escapes his lips.

"... Fine. Make sure anything that's found it reported directly to me. ... And when this meeting is over, inform Martha Vist that we are going to talk."

"Yes. Of course, sir."

Dull blue eyes turn back to the window.

"... That woman, what on earth is she wasting so much time--"

Just in time to see the swift approach of a Burai from that portal to the outside world.

"--for--!"

The Black Knights strike begins. To their credit, Marcenas' security detail are able to scramble competently in response to a blitz that had been -completely- unexpected. Marcenas' limo peels off towards the nearest of several pre-planned escape routes in the event of an emergency, security vehicles following as a warning immediately goes out to those guarding the Councilors today:

                <"Mobile units spotted attacking Councilor Marcenas' motorcade! Enemy KMFs identified as Black Knight Burais! Scramble available units to support! I repeat--">

Ronan Marcenas has spent most of his life untouchable. But the very legacy his family name was founded, if nothing else, proved one thing:

No one - and nothing - is truly untouchable.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru Two has deployed in NZ-000 Queen Mansa.

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
Another coordinate.

Haunted by the disaster at Torrington, Banagher prepares as differently as he can. Reaching out to those he trusts the most, and sharing everything he possibly can. Gathering his allies has been done with extreme care and secrecy. After all, he has no idea if this will be the final coordinate, or if more remain.

He can't know if the Vist Foundation will make another move, though he's certain the Banshee will appear. Banagher dreams of it nearly ever night, pursued by its grasping hands and constant knowledge of his location. Will the corrupted Red Comet make an appearance? 000 seems to hate the RX-0 models and their Miracles.

Notably, the young pilot is not joined by either of his girlfriends on this mission. After Torrington... Leina was nearly killed because of his mistakes. He can't risk something like that happening again, not with the threat of the Banshee /and/ Char. One last set of messages is sent to Leina and Audrey.

>I'm heading out now.
>I love you both.
>It's going to be just fine, I'll talk to you soon.

As the ruined landscape of the once-prosperous city comes into view, the Unicorn waits in the Ra Mari II's launch bay. Banagher knows the history of Seattle. Is Amuro's battle here all the Box wants him to see?

"I already know about this..." He mutters, watching the La+ Program's icon blink in the corner of the Unicorn's display. "Let's get it over with. No one else can get hurt for my sake."

The Unicorn hums around him. There's no point in waiting any longer. Switching on his radio, Banagher sends a message to his allies.

<"Everyone, thank you for your support. I don't know how this is going to go, but -- expect the Banshee, or Char. Maybe both of them. I'm going to make my way to the city center and wait for the La+ Program to activate. Please, stay safe.">

A breath. Pressing a hand to the Unicorn's armrest, Banagher inclines his head, squeezing his eyes shut. /Please, don't let anyone else pay the price for my decisions./ It's almost a prayer, if he understood what prayer was.

In response to her pilot's sincere wish, the Unicorn begins to transform, filling the hangar with radiant green light. Motes of luminescent, verdant glory hover around the Gundam. Banagher opens his eyes, feeling the Unicorn's soul brush against his own. The NT-D, once so terrifying, is now a warm presence. "Thank you."

<"Banagher Links, Unicorn Gundam. Launching!">
</poem>

 KTS: Puru Two arrives loaded onto Eight York's combat deck!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has deployed in Aestivalis Ground Frame (Hikaru).
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano arrives loaded onto Ruri Hoshino's combat deck!

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
The ''Ra Mari II'' hovers high over the Seattle area, making its way into the airspace past some clouds that had otherwise been able to conceal the gigantic ship.  She did as she was asked; the Three Ships Alliance knows of this plan, but only the Captains, and the details only as late as was reasonable.  But here she is, now--

"I'll expect the worst," Eight says over the radio to Banagher, depressing the communication button on her own console as she looks around her bridge to those assembled there.  She sits in her chair, regarding Chovan, carefully piloting them in, and Astelian handling the comms., and others.

"All right, everyone.  Be on alert.  But we're ready to go.  We prepared for exactly this.  Pilots, stand by to deploy on my command."

She then says, "Open a channel to the Nadesico."

Pause.  Once it's opened, "All right, we're here.  Everything ready on your end?  I expect trouble."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
<poem>
Laplace's Box has popped up more than a few times over Anita's career. She doesn't really know what to think about it, but then again, who /really/ does? What she does know is that Banagher wants to track it down, and he seems like a good kid. So if he wants to do that, then she'll lend whatever strength she has to offer to him.

The Svipul sits in the Ra Mari II's hangar as well, ready and waiting to deploy the very instant there's any sign of trouble. Anita sits in the cockpit, sitting back with her helmet in her lap.

Banagher sends a message, and Anita smiles.

"...Yeah, I figured this wouldn't be easy. But hey, no problem. You be careful too, alright?" She replies. And at Eight's response, she nods, lifting her helmet up and slipping it on. "Roger, Captain. Svipul, ready to deploy on your orders."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
         Marida sits in the cockpit of the Kshatriya and breathes. She breathes deeply. A ritual to erase all unease and doubt that may exist from her mind lest her aim waver. She reaches out and grabs at her controls, the suit's displays and controls coming to life almost at the urging of her thought.

         "Your safety is the most important, Banagher. Keep your mind free of worry. I'll make sure you come back in one piece. Marida Cruz, Kshatriya, launch!"

         The Kshatriya, wings folded in as far as possible to accomodate the Ra Mari's hangars, shoots out, spreading to its full wingspan as soon as it has the space.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
<poem>
It is to Alma's /tremendous/ surprise that she finds out she hasn't been scrubbed from the rosters at Londo Bell despite everything that happened with the Nega Force and her extended absence. Given the circumstances, she's been treated as a /captive/, rather than as a deserter, even though her captors -- such as they were -- were within the Federation at the time.

With Londo Bell so short-staffed, any concerns about her secondary activities have, in the face of her reappearance, been shoved to the side for now, and she's been requested to resume duties.

Alma has no idea how to feel about this, frankly!

So here she is on VIP escort, in the last suit allocated to her that remains unambiguously in Londo Bell's custody: the Titania. She feels... almost normal -- if anything, she's confused about feeling so normal. Things are supposed to -- /change/, over this, supposed to... if Yuliana's unacceptable, why is she, herself, treated like everything's fine?

Things take a turn for the worst, and Alma is one of the first on the scene. Her now seventeen year old mobile weapon skids through the streets of Seattle, and...

... it's so oppressively familiar. (She was on the other side of this kind of operation when she was last in Seattle, but even so...)
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
<poem>
        "Don't take any risks out there," is what the Nadesico's Executive Officer, Jun Aoi, has to say to Banagher. "We've got you." Yurika briefed them moments ago, relatively speaking -- but she's run off on her own inspiration, and the bridge crew holds the ship still.

        Megumi Reinard, the Nadesico's Communications Officer, looks up to him. "We're getting a channel from the Ra Mari II," she reports.

        "Open it," Jun confirms, because /he,/ at least, can stand on protocol. And once Eight's question comes through their deck, he nods. (The Nadesico opens visual communications by default; they have lovely little communication screens which pop up out of nowhere. They're totally holographical!) "We're ready. We have our pilots on standby..."

        Ruri Hoshino, the Nadeiso's Systems Operator, doesn't even bother looking up from /her/ console. "Confirmed, Aestivalis ready to launch," she says, in that mild tone of hers.

        "We stand ready to offer support," Jun says, in that formal, trying-a-little-too-hard way of his.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<poem>
Somewhere deep in the belly of the Ra Mari II, Puru Two glowers upwards at the silent behemoth towering above her in a lonesome hangar bay. It is silent, dark, slumbering again. "Don't pull this on me -now-." she hisses, helmet tumbling to the floor as she frees her hands to once more dance over the controls of the maintenance panel. But no matter how many times the reactor is primed for criticality, no matter how often she overrides the flow of power to force-initiate startup, the byzantium shadow of the Psyco Gundam Mk. II does not budge.

"Feh." Puru Two kicks her helmet, toe-first. It disappears into the darkness with a sharp clatter. Plan B it is.

By the time the report echoes through the chamber, the giant is alone once more, darkened eyes boring into the closing hangar door.

                                                ***

An emerald giant stalks through a less secretive hangar of the Ra Mari II as it emerges from the clouds. The Queen Mansa's 40-metre frame would be a tight squeeze in a Federation-standard cruiser, but luckily, this is no Federation-standard cruiser. Callisto sits at the controls with one leg folded over the other, elbow propped aloft in one hand. "I'm ready." she reports, distantly, at the sound of voices. She hasn't paid much attention to the words, her mind somewhere else in this moment.

She watches the jade form of the Kshatriya whisk away without a word, her breath held. Does its pilot know? Better that she doesn't.

"Tragedy follows in the Unicorn's wake... be ready for anything."

Too many familiar presences tug at the edge of her mind. Distracting...
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
<poem>
        Arriety shouldn't really be piloting right now.

        Significantly wounded in the wake of Palau, she's been lain low and has been spending time recuperating in the ward... but as has become somewhat commonplace by now-- the bed on the ward is suddenly empty, the IV tether dangling off the side with the little medical tape still attached onto it from where it's been ripped off by force just a moment ago.

        She senses Callie departing to battle.

        Eight gets a little commotion from the hangars over the comms.

        "Whoa, hold on!  You're not clear to--"
        "Hold on, stop!  Don't do it!"
        "Captain!  The Zeta Gundam's-- Arriety's moving to deploy!"

        Arriety cuts in briefly after that.  She didn't have the time to put a Normal suit on; she's still dressed in her hospital gown, with the Ra Mari II jacket thrown over the top of it.  She looks to Eight over the video camera.  "I have to deploy, Eight.  This is... really important.  For me, for Callie-sis as well."

        Banagher sends them a message, telling them to expect the Banshee.  "... that's why I have to go.  I can sense her... I'm not going to be a burden.  Banagher, I have your back."

        The white Zeta Gundam marches onto the catapult dock, reaching for its beam rifle and shield on the weapon rack as it goes.  It seems like the hangar crew have come to a decision as well -- they're familiar with Arriety, and it'd be more dangerous to try to block her here.

        "Thank you, everyone!" Arriety calls, as the Zeta's feet mount onto the catapult locking mechanism.  "Arriety, Zeta Gundam... launching!"

        The white streak of the Zeta's verniers is seen firing into Seattle airspace, where it transforms mid-propel into the Waverider mode and chases after the Svipul.  "I want to see what the new Valkyrie can do, Annie..."

        The Waverider pulls up to the Queen Mansa's side.  "... I'm with you, sis."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.
<poem>
        The motorcade continues its harried retreat down one of its emergency escape routes, trying to outpace the Knightmares chasing it. The mobile weapons are more nimble though and could very well catch up in time. Which is why it may come as no surprise as one of the escort vehicles towards the rear of the formation breaks off, screeching to a halt to rapidly let the mobile weapons catch up.

        Surely they don't intend to fight? Even if the vehicle is more heavily armored than one a random citizen is to have, it surely won't survive military grade weaponry. Perhaps they are just trying to buy time for the motorcade? An honorable goal, though a single vehicle and its passengers are unlikely to delay the speeding Burais for long. It would buy seconds at most.

        And then the door of the vehicle opens.

        A man steps out.

        His fancy attire is immediately eye-catching. Immaculately styled golden locks draw attention up to his face, revealing his identity-

        -It's not possible!

        What is he doing here!?

        The Second Prince of Britannia, Schneizel el Britannia himself, stands in the middle of the street. A smile on his face as he watches the Black Knight's Burais rushing in his direction.

        Schneizel is amused that his little diversion to Seattle today has led to an encounter with the Black Knights themselves. Something which he has been eager for. He chuckles to himself and muses out loud, "Now then. Let's see what they will choose. Continue the pursuit of their target... Or make an attempt for the greater prize in front of them."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
If you always expect the worst, you'll hardly ever be disappointed.

Technically speaking, the Dominion and its attached Strike teams are an autonomous force.  Practically speaking - the fate of Muruta Azrael has left Natarle Badgiruel in a troublesome position.  So, Bright had 'suggested' the Dominion make itself seen alongside this motorcade.  A soft showing of Londo Bell's contributions to the Federation, especially given the nebulous status of the so-called 'Three Ships Alliance'.

There'd been some grumbling, but Natarle did understand the importance of public relations.  And better this than some of the half-baked schemes she's seen other captains attempt.  No swimsuits or singing.  So the Dominion hangs in Seattle's airspace, the massive black ship keeping a comfortable distance from the civilian motorcade...  but Thad and Judson are spending the escort sitting in launch position.

And of course, she's already feeling rather validated...  there's no mistaking the massive silhouette of a descending Zentraedi Monitor, or the sudden violence of KMFs emerging after the Motorcade.  Two of the Dominion's Strike Dagger teams descend, blasting into the Seattle streets to support the Federation forces on the scene.  The third is already loading up - the Dominion holding them back to intercept attacks.

There's a slight nod to Montoya, and Bowers is already checking in with all stations.  The Dominion WILL be ready if - honestly, when - something goes wrong.  KMFs mean Zero, and Zero means there's always a second play.  For the moment, though...  It's not as if she can't be civil.

"Captain York.  Under the circumstances, I don't think I can make you my first priority...  and personally, I'm hoping this is another opportunity for cooperation.  But I probably should note that you're not exactly the Federation's favorite right now, and advise that you do any sightseeing elsewhere."

But of course...  the mobile suits descending alongside make the issue obvious.  Laplace's Box?  As if life wasn't complicated enough...
</poem>

 KTS: Rin Starking has deployed in Type-1NCC Burai Team.

 <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
<poem>
Hikaru doesn't know all that much about Laplace's Box. Except that the idea of a mysterious box that has the entire world vying for it at the whims of a secret organization, of which a single boy is the key sounds RIGHT out of a animanga plot.

For the Three Ships Alliance, this isn't anime! They're here on standby at the request of that very boy. And well, if he needs the support of three battleships, clearly they're not getting out of this unscathed. That's what the Aestie squadron is for!

"I'm ready to go-go-go!" Hikaru confirms, thumbs upping in the assault pit of her ground frame Aestivalis.

"Hey," she interjects, hearing Jun's ever-lukewarm voice. "Isn't it supposed to be the Captain cheering us on? Where'd she go?" In the pink Aestivalis to her side, Akito Tenkawa just face-times her a face that just SCREAMS "please don't summon her."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
        Chris's phone blinked. The machine shop in the corner of the Villa's hangar was dim between the flashes of acetylene. She kept her face shield down--that way she couldn't look at her phone. There was no way for her to go with him, with Banagher, not the way she's been.
                ("I shot--I /executed/ two men.") Never mind that they were immortalized in dawnlight, she was just as responsible for their fate. ("I almost lost The Oberge and all those refugees, and I tore apart my oldest friend.") The Tristan--his collective parts, anyway--was gently arrayed in the hangar's larger space, but it's not where she was. Not where she could be. ("And my comrades and colleagues, fighting each other...was VEDA really so ready to discard those miners? It's Ribo all over again.") The burn of the acetylene died. She lifted the shield. ("What right do I have to fight when I'm not even sure where I stand?")

        The warm glow that emanated from the Unicorn's shield, as it protected her--protected her ship and those sick and wounded she traded Tristan to protect. That light, burning so fiercely, yet accepting her need. She finally looked at her phone, and her heart crushed itself within her chest. She stood up, unable to turn away, and began typing furiously.
                "What right do I have to let him go without me?"
                <VERTEX> thelastHaro: "I understand."

- - - - - - - -

        Tapping her foot anxiously as the private shuttle neared Fuji, Japan. She glanced at her phone.

                <VERTEX> mazin.dr_Z: You prefer manual-style, right? I can have a stock Ichinana rolled up for you. Here's the cockpit layout: [MPMZ-17_Cockpit.jpg]
                <VERTEX> mazin.dr_Z: They're pretty durable. Do what you need to do, but don't get yourself killed, alright?

- - - - - - - -

        Flexing her hands against the two control sticks, eyes running over every single switch yet again. Over her red and white normal suit, thick and tight straps crisscrossed her body, heeding the warning as the Ichinana was loaded into the catapult pod. The Photon Power engineer's voice was clear over the comm.
                <"Miss MacKenzie, final checks complete. Launch control passed to you. Be safe out there.">
                <"Thank you, everyone. Gund--er, Ichinana, launching!">  ...Then, just before the shock of throwing 25 kilotons 7800 kilometers away hit her, to herself, "Banagher... I'm coming!"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
<poem>
        "Ma'am, I've been doing a bit of a review--" comes a voice over the comms immediately after Arriety's first message to Eight, and Minae only uses the title 'ma'am' when she knows she's doing something that's going to get her into trouble. "--and just as a note, you really ought to rotate the hangar bay security keys a bit more often. You never know who might use them without authorization."

        There's a pause, during which she's surely falling back to her nervous habit of scratching at her cheek. "... please don't establish court martial procedures specifically because of us," she adds, before she lapses into a solemn silence as Arriety pleads for Callisto's sake.

        Maybe that's why the robot has allowed Arriety out here to pilot despite her health - she might be a nurse and a counsellor, but there are some concerns that are overriding. "... I'll take responsibility for bringing her back safe--" she's about to say 'and unharmed', but she's briefly caught between hopefulness and a clear awareness of how much piloting can take out of you. She elects to leave it at that.

        It's rare for Minae's thoughts to be so scattered during a launch. There's a significant amount of processing that needs to be done at the start of an engagement to properly establish her mental map of the battle, especially when the existence of the ground is new and unusual and adds a whole new layer to the things she has to track. Still, she doesn't try to rein those thoughts in; if there's one thing she's learned along the way, it's a sense of the determination and strength that can be drawn from them.

        "Callie, Annie, I've got you on link," she adds as she starts to add them into her logistical feedback loop, her voice still quiet after promising Arriety's safety. "Whatever it is you want to do, we're here to back you up. Whatever you feel is right."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
Political assassinations. On one hand, an effective tool for pulling out some of the roots of corruption. On the other, a possible galvanizing act. Something that could turn a sleazy politician into a martyr and amplify support for dangerous causes. Still, the red-haired pilot contemplating those possibilities isn't against using it as a tactic. Even if she normally sees killing as a last resort... Sometimes it's the only one you've got. And some people will never see reason. Marcenas is probably that kind of target. Boiled in the filth and corruption of the world since birth. Saturated with it.

There's a name in their secondary targets that concerns her. Of course it does, given who her friends are. One of the rare times when she's questioned an operation, in order to ask what that particular figure has done. And also of course, see if he happens to be related to a certain friend she has. ...If that information happens to BE accessible, it's going to make things even more awkward. Of course, nobody HAS TO tell her the truth. It wouldn't be the first time.

She's also been... UNUSUALLY peppy, since the return of a certain person. Worryingly so, were the cause not staring literally everybody in the face. And of course, that means she's got some incredible support in her corner, no matter the circumstance! Somebody she's been keeping pretty close to, more often than not.

In the end, she's reliable and one of their best assets, so of course the Red Queen of the Black Knights was deployed. The Guren is a distinctive machine under any circumstances, impossible to mistake for anything except its predecessor. And its reputation by now is a dangerous one. "Q-1 in position when ready." Being so distinctive after all, means you either leave it in hiding for an ambush, or you send it to the front, to head off your targets from the beginning. In this case it's the former. She's part of springing the trap, once the regular forces have brought the target fleeing right where it needs to be.

It also keeps her away from the train lines, where she might have, potentially, had conflicting feelings. Just in case.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
<poem>
Something about Rin is terrified at the briefing.

Something about Rin is thrilled at the briefing.

Are they the same thing? How many Rins are there?

Nevertheless, here they are. Rin, in her "Burai Team" of one KMF, one wanzer, and one up-armored civilian drone, was tasked with support - the reserve guard, the one who can sweep in and clean up. That means she's been hanging back a little. And when the strike began, Rin's first act was to send her drone (semi-autonomous, named SCORN) up to sling-fly several smoke bombs to add confusion and despair to the enemy!

"Heh heh heh... It'll be like the western forest fires they taught us about," says Rin, to herself, listening, and watching. Forces are reacting, but--

Vehicles full of score points and valuable targets suddenly coalesce as Schneizel el Britannia emerges from a door.

Rin's eyes goggle as she stares at her screen. Scorn - who had been sweeping the area on the outer fringes of comm linkage - stops buzzing around and pivots a camera towards Schneizel. Zoom in. Magnify.

Rin feels her mouth go dry. He's right THERE. The Prime Minister!

She slews the gun turret around, and --

Her veins seem to water.

-- and if I shoot him and they capture me then
-- and if I bomb him with napalm they'll know I
-- if I do this I have to see
-- I would have to do it
HERE

RIGHT NOW, Rin thinks, and her hand shakes, and before the gun turret can finish slewing she relaxes on the control. "damn it damn it," Rin mumbles to herself, before going with, "it's not the order, Zero's gonna see through the feed--"

Rin doesn't boast about it, though. Rancor's built in gun fires 14.5mm light anti-armor shells. Rin doesn't know what they do to a human, but she DOES know what they do to a watermelon.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Naoto Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
Naoto Kozuki was not in a machine, but he needed to be up close in case of Minovsky interference. That meant he was working out of the back of a van, using encrypted comms and support computers on the outskirts of the battlefield, right in range of the person he cared about most.

Having been given three votes of confidence that he was who he said he was and the all-clear to work with the Black Knights under the supervision of Kallen, he's currently monitoring her performance. "Q-1, stay in position. You've got this." He taps on his computer's interface. "The enemy's likely to spot us soon. Use the element of surprise to your advantage, if you can... I'm here for you, alright?"
</poem>

 KTS: Char_Aznable has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
 KTS: Char Aznable has placed a bucket with capacity 5!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has placed a bucket with capacity 2!
 KTS: Schneizel_el_Britannia has deployed as a Boss for 2 opponents.
 KTS: C.C. has joined Schneizel el Britannia's bucket!
 KTS: Eight York has joined Char Aznable's bucket!
 KTS: Puru-1 has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has joined Char Aznable's bucket!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has joined Schneizel el Britannia's bucket!
 KTS: Puru-1 has placed a bucket with capacity 5!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has deployed in RPI-00/SC Gloucester Cornelia.
 KTS: Cornelia_li_Britannia has deployed as a Boss for 3 opponents.
 KTS: Banagher Links has joined Puru-1's bucket!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has joined Puru-1's bucket!

 <Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.
<poem>	
"So far things are going smoothly. Marcenas still going on one of the expected routes..." It likely wasn't the first time that the plan or their priority targets were detailed to the Black Knights. It was simply important to reiterate where they needed to be. To make sure that all that were upon the battlefield were aware of the goal at hand. To make sure that all units were stationed as their leader had inquired of them. Unlike Chess, the pieces on the board were much more inclined to move on their own if not properly managed. Yet the Burai's stationed throughout followed their orders without question. It truly did go to show that more than just terrorists in a way they had become true soldiers.

And as real soldiers, they had followed their orders to the tee. A forced retreat of the motorcade leads to a chase in the Knight's favor. Marcerna's security detail was managing as well as they could under the circumstances but things seemed to continue as they planned. < "Oz, spotting the target's continued approach. Preparing to isolate from the rest of--The hell...? Oi, it looks like we've got a bigger fish in this net." >

Like Kallen, the Byakuen had been stationed some distance away to act in an ambushing capacity. Thus far it had kept its distance intending to pick off any straggling security detail that had caused trouble so as to make sure they could apprehend or eliminate Marcenas without issue. After all, sometimes one finds it necessary to keep a target alive over dead. Though as one of the vehicles pulls to a halt, opening up to reveal such a figure...Even Orpheus finds himself biting down on his lip to contain himself.

Any person living within the territories of Britannia, or just was aware of the political climate of it knew that face all too well. His influence surely as well known if not more so than even Marcenas perhaps. At his appearance it wouldn't be understandable if confusion came upon the comms as Black Knights operatives questioned if it even was that person. It was only a matter of time till...

< "Burai Team, keep with the mission! I know what you're thinking but there's no time! For all we know it could be a body double!"  > And even if it wasn't...To so brazenly step out onto a battlefield like that, it didn't sit right. It's for that reason Oz finds himself calling out to the pilot of the Burai Team Unit. Even if he can't see their expression now, the way their unit was moving, how it prepared...It didn't take a Newtype to realize what must have been going through that person's head. < "That goes for everyone! No one move from their positions."  >

It's something even Orpheus is reluctant to give up on. A chance to capture Schneizel...The kind of chip in play if he were obtained. If that was the case even he could...

"Mission first..."
</poem>

 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has placed a bucket with capacity 4!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has joined Char Aznable's bucket!
 KTS: Puru Two has joined Puru-1's bucket!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has joined Cornelia li Britannia's bucket!

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
It has been a long time since he's been in this city, forsaken by its own rulers in their drive to chase the 'Zeon Devils' away - and left derelict and decrepit in the wake of their 'victory'. Irony, perhaps, that the impetus of the Oath has driven him to lie in wait here - for what, he's not sure.

The rail tunnels underneath Seattle are a fine hideout. The Zeong's head has been abandoned in the bay, but he has... another option. A better option.

A Britannian private collection is very embarrassed and avoiding reporting that a glowing blond man literally walked into the building like he owned it and made off with a certain OYW-era mobile suit. The fact that its security contingent was summarily dispatched by a man who 'wouldn't die' is also being covered up.

The rumble of movement overhead. The convoy. Explosions - the attack he suspected would occur, in this desolate wreck of a city so far from a base to provide reinforcements... and a ''feeling'' from within - the touch of an abhorrent power, drawing closer.

Char Aznable looks up at the crimson machine he liberated from its oligarch captor. "It's time, old friend."

=====================================

The street ''bursts open'' as the fight begins in earnest, the dust cloud lit from within by a terrible amber aura. Leaping above it...

A bulky, perhaps 'chubby' silhouette, with flared thighs and one spiked shoulder, a shield mounted on its right pauldron.

A round head with piping running from its 'muzzle' to its backpack, a baleful orange monoeye glowing within.

A crimson paintjob, and hardpoints festooned with armaments.

It's a Zaku-II... no, ''the'' Zaku-II; ''HIS'' Zaku-II, a symbol to match the original RX-78-2 Gundam in its own right.

"Banagher Links," Char Aznable announces. "The power your mobile suit wields cannot be allowed to exist. Stand down and perish." Shouldn't that be an 'or'?

Not to the twisted mercy of Triple Zero.

An MS-scale bazooka folds out and swivels over the Zaku's shoulder as the mobile suit grabs it and aims down at the Unicorn. Shell after shell fires out, descending upon the white RX-0.

In the cockpit, Char considers the other combatants. The Three Ships Alliance were instrumental in forestalling him at Palau, and doubtless they are here to protect the Unicorn. Thumbing the fire-selector, he sprays more warheads towards Banagher's escort units before stowing the bazooka. The Zentradi vessel requires ''special'' attention; the attention of an ASR-78 Anti-Ship Rifle. He sights smoothly, instinctively, and pulls the trigger, a searing amber beam scorching upwards towards the monitor.

Ah. He ''missed'' how the Zaku feels. It's ''good'' to be back.
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable targets Banagher Links with Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage!
 KTS: Char Aznable has deployed in MS-06S-000 Ruin Zaku-II.
 KTS: Char_Aznable has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Banagher Links with Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has joined Cornelia li Britannia's bucket!
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links charges into the attack!
 KTS: Banagher Links partially guards Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage, taking 4340 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        BGM Start: Banshee Suite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQg1RlfyFtI

        The attack is so very loud, from the Black Knights meeting the convoy, to Banagher Links' allies arriving to unlock the Coordinate, to Char Aznable, aglow with the Aura of the Dawn joining in.  It starts as a quiet titter to those with the senses to hear it with that tinny unhinged quality.  A flash of black peeking out from behind the ruined skeleton of a building.

        It's gone.

        you brought them 

        Or is it?  A soft whisper across Banagher's mind, like ephemeral fingers touching his ear lobe.  It sounds excited.  Like it's exulting in this moment.  The laughter grows, and more people sense something almost imperceptible out of the corner of their vision.

        Take a look, and it's gone.  Char Aznable gets a strange sensation, images of Haman Karn, surrounded by that infernal Newtype pressure, those flames of hatred.  Feelings tip toe across his senses as if trying to avoid the dawnlight, for indeed this thing dwells in shadow.

        anger fear hatred anger loathing
        casval             casval
                casval   casval
             father of monsters
                 sretsnom fo rotaerc
     flesruoy fo duorp   flesruoy fo duorp
        lavsac        lavsac        lavsac
                lavsac        lavsac
             have you made daddy proud

        It feels like something is playing a game, with small glimpses before it vanishes, as it goes through the motions of hide and seek, or tag, or one of so many children's games.  This horrible thought of vying against this inhuman thing, something that once was, so very human.

        im here                here here 
                over there here
                   look look look here
         over here        here

        A hill of rubble, mangled steel reclaimed by dirt, a fitting burial mound is where eyes might be drawn right as it declares.  

        right here

        And that's the same moment that the mound melts, as a blast of red, crackling energy erupts out of it with a blue corona, as the beam magnum shot is aimed directly to core that Ruin empowered Zaku II, aimed straight at its cockpit. 

        In black and gold the Banshee erupts out of the melting pile of rubble, raining debris, jump jets firing blue as it rises above the irregular skyline of the fallen city.  It hovers there, firing three more blasts of the Beam Magnum at the Queen Mansa, the Zeta and the Kashatriya in wild abandon, crimson crackling beams framed by a blue corona.  

        Watch out.  You wouldn't want to get burned.

        There is a horrific sense of familiarity here for Marida and Callisto.  Callisto most of all.  These feelings are hers stripped with any sense of childishness, that innocent recklessness leaving only malice and negativity and behind.


        m i n e m i n e m i n e a l l m i n e m i n e m i n e m i n e
        resentment fury possessiveness            desire jealousy
         want want want                    combat unit
           everything you have              called a pilot
          everything                          twelve twelve twelve
                killed me                 combat unit
        killed me                           called a pilot
                do I disturb you?            twelve twelve twelve
         only natural only natural       from you from you from you
                killed me                     take him take him take him
                        killed me                 mine mine mine mine mine
           want want want                   everything you are
            everything                       everything you have
        take take take take                  take take take take take
        m i n e m i n e m i n e a l l m i n e m i n e m i n e m i n e

        And to Alma it comes in such a simpler way, there are feelings of desperation, loneliness, but in it there is a demand for acceptance.  A feeling of connection of a child longing for their mother, wanting them, wanting them so badly they could burst.


                              desperation loneliness desire
                                found you found you found you
                                  mother I'm here
                                 mine mine mine mine
                                desolation emptiness sorrow
                        w h y s o l o n g w h y o n l y n o w
                                        w h y        

        It demands attention, it demands notice. Alma will understand why immediately. It marks her as an ally. This thing, this presence is fully on the side of the Federation. The IFF signal confirms it. The whispers are growing louder, as the Gundam lands upon a crumbling building, bracing itself on tortured struts and begins to transform, growing as obsidian plates shift, revealing gleaming Psycoframe, the faceplate turning, and the jagged horn splitting into the iconic V fin.

      Two violet slits open, bleeding power, wispy energy flowing off of it in the shape of some spectral predatory bird, as the entity lets out a keening shriek over the psychic plane.  This 'defender' of the Federation is here, though some might ask what monster they created in their defense.  It may stand to reason that something that create the greatest of miracles would also be capable of the worst kinds of curses.
</poem>

 KTS: Marida Cruz has joined Puru-1's bucket!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Char Aznable with Magnum Shot!
 KTS: Puru-1 Changes attack to Puru Two, Arriety Hearn, and Marida Cruz with Magnum Wildfire.
 KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
 Puru-1 transforms to RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee <Destroy Mode>
 KTS: Arriety Hearn successfully evades Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Spread Shot
 KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru Two blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Spread Shot, taking 2950 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Anita Rosetta with Type A2 MS Bazooka Pellet Spray.
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Eight York with ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Sniping Shot!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Alma Stirner with Pass!
 KTS: Marida Cruz's Beam Wall L2 activates, negating 2000 base damage.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Marida Cruz, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Marida Cruz blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Spread Shot, taking 4290 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Pellet Spray, taking 3375 damage!
 Puru-1 has cancelled their attack on Char_Aznable
 KTS: Marida Cruz's NZ-666 Kshatriya has been disabled.
 KTS: Marida Cruz has deployed in NZ-666 Kshatriya.
 KTS: Eight York has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two has deployed in NZ-000 Queen Mansa.
 KTS: Puru-1 has deployed in RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee <Unicorn Mode>.
 KTS: Puru-1 has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
 KTS: Eight York fails to react to Char Aznable's ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Sniping Shot, taking 4770 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Char Aznable with Magnum Shot!
 Char_Aznable has changed Boss level to 4
 KTS: Puru-1 Changes attack to Puru Two, Arriety Hearn, and Marida Cruz with Magnum Wildfire.
 KTS: Alma Stirner fails to charge.
 KTS: Alma Stirner partially guards Char Aznable's Pass, taking 0 damage!
 Puru-1 has cancelled their attack on Arriety_Hearn
 KTS: Char Aznable has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has deployed in MSZ-006-3A Zeta Gundam 3A Type.
 KTS: EN Barrier activated!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn fails to evade Puru-1's Magnum Wildfire, taking 3230 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable fails to Evade Puru-1's Magnum Shot, taking 4500 damage!
 KTS: Puru Two blocks Puru-1's Magnum Wildfire, taking 2340 damage!
 KTS: [Lucky] Marida Cruz's Newtype Flash activates, and luck goes her way!
 KTS: Marida Cruz successfully blocks Puru-1's Magnum Wildfire

 <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
<poem>
        "It really has come, just as I'd assumed," C.C. muses to herself at the Gawain's fore-cockpit. "The Beast of Possibility - and yet, as it slowly moves closer to the end of its journey, arent those possibilities diminishing. What do you say, Lelouch. Do we guide the Unicorn into our hands?"

        No response, for a moment.

        "...Lelouch?"

        The sight of a single man has thrown off all of Zero's plans. Schneizel el Britannia - prime minister of Britannia, and second in line to the throne. The only man to have truly bested him in games of strategy.

        He's here - now of all times? Stepping out into the open like that - he's here to challenge us on his own terms. But what does he have to gain from risking his life in this way? Is he so willing to protect underlings that any reasonable man in his position would have replacements for? No. Impossible! Unless they're more important than anticipated. And yet. ...hah. Hahahah. Schneizel. You couldn't possibly know who I am. That I've seen this move of yours a thousand times. I've lost to it each and every one of those times - 'the king can't move that far out of position, this opportunity is a clear trap' - you're the kind of man who'll use others' hesitance to get ahead. That ends today. I'm calling your bluff!

        The Gawain rises almost immediately in front of Schneizel's position, looming over the Prime Minister. From its central cockpit - the one and only Zero rises, just as out and vulnerable as Schneizel is, arms crosseded dramatically, one hand over his helmet. "So, you've come here after all. But of course you have. Right from the beginning, I knew that a simple strategem to corner three pitiful councillors raised suspicion in Britannia's courts. But as you can plainly see, this is no ordinary ambush. You're not here simply for the sake of three replaceable men - no, it's the Unicorn itself you're after, so much so that you've brought its twin to bear. But even a whale as immense as the Gundam..."

        The Gawain rises and rises, with the briefest of off-balance on Zero's part mitigated by C.C. clutching onto his leg from below. They picked this point, of course - because it puts them right in the shadow of the Nadesico - as though planned to be protected by its aegis, even though it's the other way around - the Gawain using it as a shield.

        "Is but bait to ensure you would leave bare your neck! Now, Prime Minister - the Black Knights and the Beast of Possibility will be taking your head!"

        The cockpit snaps shut - and in that time, the harkens launch right towards Schneizel's position, fingertips trying to trap him in a cage of wires...

        "...well, be grateful we weren't blindsided by the Unicorn, but a Ruin Apostle slightly throws the balance out of whack, doesn't it? The Red Comet appeared after all...what will your order be?"

        A slightly shaky Lelouch settles back into his seat, fingers splayed over his eye. "...if only I could get just a bit closer...at this range, it wouldn't have worked. ...We're ensuring he's out of the picture, as the only other man who could turn this whole predicament against us if left unchecked. Everything else is immaterial. The Unicorn, the Ruin Apostles, the councillors...all of that is a distraction now. You understand, don't you, C.C.?"

        --all the witch can think is, "this could be tiring to play along with..."
</poem>

 KTS: C.C. targets Schneizel el Britannia with Slash Harken Shot!
 KTS: C.C. has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        Not even twenty seconds after Zero gives his speech, every single Federation and Britannian frame receives intelligence that the Kshatriya, positively identified as a Sleeves mobile suit, the rogue Ichinana, the Gundam Unicorn and all of the Three Ships Alliance are all allied with the terrorist group known as the Black Knights to assassinate Federation dignitaries.

        Report after report comes in, on how Banagher Links allied with the Sleeves to devastate Torrington Base.  Picture after picture of the boy with members of the Three Ships Alliance, with the Sleeves.

        Abruptly all of the IFF signals are marked as just as hostile as the rest.  The order is verified by Federation High Command to not simply defend the Federation Councilors from the Black Knights, even if that remains an objective.

        But to attack.  Take the Gundam Unicorn Prisoner.

        Eliminate the rest.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
<poem>
        "Don't lock me out of my own robot," Arriety grouses to Minae.  "That'll just get me more desperate, like finding some other clunker no one's paid attention to.  That's even worse for my safety, right?"

        She lets out a temperate sigh as she struggles with the sheer pressure of G-forces for a moment.  The shock buffers are on, but gravity isn't about to be completely denied.  It's been a while since she last fought in the atmosphere.  "... honestly, it's mostly about protecting Callisto.  I don't want a repeat of Palau," she advises to Minae.

        The Banshee is here, as Banagher deduced.  The Beam Magnum fires first, that unpleasant low 'THOOOM' accompanying the dark-laced beam that threatens to graze against the Waverider; Arriety's instincts are good enough that she manoeuvres out of the way, though it clips her wing and forces a transformation back to mobile suit, the graze point smoking and mildly burning before automatic suppressant systems take care of it.

        That malice and negativity washes over her; she grimaces to whisper, "I want to know.  What did they do to you.  You were so much more, Puru One... I've seen you, before this!"

        Her teeth grits slightly.  "I'm going to do it.  Not just for Callie-sis, for Judau and Roux too, who aren't here right now... for me as well."

        Unaware of any changes in intelligence and information happening elsewhere, Arriety has to focus on the fight.  The Zeta Gundam lands on the top of a mid-height building, its weight causing concrete to buckle gently.  She grimaces, and immediately peels off.  "Don't want to get too close to any possible casualties... Minae, keep an eye out for me, okay?"

        Verniers fire as she starts her juking run against the Banshee; she snaps left twice, then a right as the tell-tale 'PEWWWWW' slidewhistle of the Zeta's beam rifle erupts over Seattle airspace.  A roll, and then she snaps two more off, PEWWWWW PEWWWWW, ending with a fourth sneaky one as she aims to lead the Banshee from an odd low angle.
</poem>

 KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Puru-1 with Beam Rifle Trick Shot!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Arriety Hearn's Beam Rifle Trick Shot, taking 3000 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrh0_4mAJzE

         The breath that Marida had used to calm herself was suddenly sucked from her throat. She...The Banshee...

         Twelve.

         It was not a number she had thought about in some time. The Banshee pilot...she was...A cold sweat began to accumulate on her brow as her hands tighten against her controls and her mind begins to cloud. A flash of magnum fire approaches her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlRxAIYy-WU

         Twelve...no, Marida's mind snaps back to the battlefield. She jerks at her steering and ducks the Kshatriya out of the way of the shot. Marida and the Banshee pilot were definitely on a similar mental wavelength. But experience wins out every time.

         As the heavy mobile suit drifts to a stop, its quad wings spread out, unleashing its battalion of funnels.

         "My name is Marida Cruz!"

         That declaration comes with a shot from some of the fin funnels directly to the Banshee.
</poem>

 KTS: Marida Cruz targets Puru Two with Funnel Binder Blast!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has completed their actions for the round.
 Marida Cruz has cancelled her attack.
 KTS: Marida Cruz targets Puru-1 with Funnel Binder Blast!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Marida Cruz's Funnel Binder Blast, taking 3010 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
<poem>
Something about the Banshee's presence pierces through everything for Alma -- loud enough and forceful enough to cut through even the oppressive presence of one of the architects of the modern era. (For the moment, Puru /Two/ goes unnoticed -- though that might be Alma's own guilt and frustration fouling up her psychic senses.)

What it leaves her with, above all else, is /confusion/ -- who? Why? It's not Puru Two, and it's not that Zeon pilot she met, either, yet it still feels so much like them -- but with a sheer desperation that neither of them have.

Her grip on the sticks falters, and while she tries to charge in to do her job and defend the VIP motorcade... she finds herself locking up. "Wh -- why...?" she starts, and it really does feel so, so much like all those years ago. Alma, in a Zeon mobile suit, quaking under the weight of so much psychic pressure...

Ah, right. She /has/ learned at least one new approach lately:

Lashing out!

Drawing both of the Titania's beam sabers, Alma takes it into a high-speed boost toward the Zaku II. "That's you in there, isn't it -- Char...!" She wishes she could call him 'Captain Quattro' again, but... that's passed, too.

Closing as fast as she can even with her hands still trembling, she lashes out with a quick two-handed slash designed to trip up a mobile suit.
</poem>

 KTS: Alma Stirner targets Char Aznable with Titania Beam Sabers Catching Slash!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<poem>	
The towering form of the Queen Mansa tilts slightly, putting Arriety's waverider into its direct field of view. "... I know you're with me." Callisto confirms after a morose few moments of thought. "But don't stay out here if you get hurt. Okay?" it isn't chiding Arriety, exactly, but setting a clear boundary. "Minae, if she's too injured to stay in the fight... please take over if you can."

Heavy boosters carry the mobile armor from the Ra Mari II's deck. It's a hard job for a dedicated space-superiorty platform, now dealing with gravity. "Looks like something's breaking out down there. Should we get involved, or just keep watch over Banagher?" the pallid redhead wonders aloud, apparently taking a very dim view of the proceedings at street level. Her eye is drawn, then, for a moment as a flare of brilliant orange sunlight from below. It comes with a familiar tugging feeling, a cloud of anxious ferocity nibbling at the edges of her mind. "Never mind. Something's rotten. I'll..."

The sentiment remains unfinished. Even as the Mansa's extensive sensor suite remains honed on the terrible aura of the dawn, Puru Two's senses instead hone in on a much darker streak of colour. Thoughts grow scattered as a filtered whisper floats through her mind. "Wait, what--" she blinks, only to find nothing remains where once she glanced. But the cold, sour sensation remains. A mental whiff of rot, foul and laced with the spice of a lifetime's resentment. Enough to make one gag at the controls.

                               but the dead know nothing; 


A cry of alarm escapes Callisto's lips, and she grabs at one eye as a chorus of vile whispers scythe through her psyche. Or she tries to, but her gloved hand splays across the visor of her helmet. "You--coming at me with this misery, who are you...?"

                               they have no further reward, 

Where the pilot's flesh is weak, the armor they wear is there to take up the burden. The Queen Mansa's binders creak and break open: great shells atop its shoulders aglow with pallid sunshine. Some kind of I-Field generator, or similar. "Please--don't drown me in these feelings or I'll lose control...!"

                              and even their name is forgotten

The Queen Mansa doesn't dodge nearly as quickly as the Zeta does, lumbering sideways on great plumes of thruster fire as a blinding beam of disintegrating power bears down on it. However: it is manifestly more suited to deal with a near miss than the Zeta does. The magnum fire briefly paints the entire unit white as it flashes past, and the crackle of high-energy fields briefly drowns out the roar of explosions as the mobile armor's protective field ensures that it doesn't melt just for being in the same zip code as the Banshee.

"Arriety, Minae--that can't be ... her. It can't be." Puru Two doesn't sound very sure of herself. (Already?)

The Queen Mansa too, responds in turn. It turns towards the flitting form of the Banshee, a wraith clad in darkness, and returns the favour extended to it. The Magnum may be several generations of technology ahead of the Mega-Particle Cannons aboard the Mansa, but there is a certain quality to the sheer volume of throughput they can provide that future-proofs them somewhat. "It's a fake, don't listen to anything she says!"

The cannons, embedded in the mobile armor's chest, return fire. Hopefully, no buildings or innocents are in the path of those battleship-sized blasts.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two targets Puru-1 with Mega-Particle Cannon Combination Fire!
 KTS: Puru Two has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 charges into the attack!
 KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Puru Two's Mega-Particle Cannon Combination Fire, taking 6000 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru Two's Pierce the Veil activates, causing Insight L1!

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
Supportive calls from his allies come in, bolstering Banagher's resolve. It reminds him of that moment above the earth, when everyone's hearts united into one, and a Miracle came to pass... Could something like that happen again?

The Unicorn soars toward the city, a controlled sort of fall. Unlike the Phenex, she cannot fly in gravity. Trailing green starlight, she aims for the city center only for a flash of awareness to cut across Banagher's awareness. He gasps, locking his eyes on a portion of the street seconds before it explodes outwards.

"No... way..." Banagher breathes, his eyes wide.

Char Aznable is one of the most dangerous pilots to have ever lived, and he's even more dangerous now. But he's in /THE/ Zaku-II, the Red Comet's Zaku-II, the one that fought Amuro so many times..! The young pilot can't help but feel a thrill of excitement at the machine. Banagher fervently hopes Takuya can see this from his place up on the Ra Mari II.

The Unicorn begins to move while Banagher is still gleefully staring at the crimson vintage machine. It's enough to snap him back to reality. This isn't a museum trip. This is a battlefield, and his opponent--

If Banagher can take Char down here, enough that they'll have time to purify him, he won't be able to hurt Audrey or Leina ever again. With a grim expression setting into his face, the young pilot urges the Unicorn to her top speed, charging the Zaku-II.

<"You have a lot of nerve talking about what can and can't exist!"> He shouts at Char, refusing to slow even as the Red Comet fires at him. The Unicorn raises her shield and charges forward, taking the attack head-on. With a wild cry, Banagher crashes his Gundam into the Zaku-II.

With a glow of magenta, the Unicorn pulls out her beam saber, spinning it in her hand as she goes to plunge it into the single-eye of the Zaku-II, but--

No, not here!

In the end, the Unicorn's saber only lightly scores the crimson armor of Char's Zaku-II. She leaps back, raising her shield, Banagher frantically adjusting his cameras. He saw it. He /knows/ he saw it.

A whisper crosses Banagher's mind, and he startles in the cockpit, shouting in alarm. Heart beating fast, sweat forms across his brow, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. It's here.

<"It's here!"> Banagher all-but shouts into the radio, his voice ragged with fear.

Moments later, the Black Unicorn shrieks and attacks, and Banagher wraps his arms around himself. He's led everyone right into the path of the Banshee and Char Aznable. Panic rises in his throat, overwhelming, making him feel sick. Hands tremble. Golden eyes squeeze shut.

"Come on. I have to do this. I have to--"

Some... caped, helmed man, makes a speech, claiming the Unicorn's loyalty. Banagher's eyes open wide, icy fear in his veins. What?

<"W--what! Who are you? I'm not with you!"> Banagher yells, hoping Zero can hear the broadcast. <"Don't try and get me involved in -- whatever you're doing!">

Even as her pilot is incapacitated, the Unicorn stays alert, shimmering with green radiance. The Banshee attacks and, somehow, for a moment... The Unicorn Gundam is at the eye of the storm. Chaos surrounds her, but the only sound Banagher can hear is the crackling of her beam saber.

Now's his moment. He's got to get to the center of the city. With one angry look back toward Char, the Unicorn takes off, racing away from both the Banshee and the Zaku-II.

The closer he comes to Seattle's heart, the more Banagher can hear... something. A fuzzy voice, like a radio slightly out of tune. This has got to be it. With one last burst of thrusters, the Unicorn stands just before the ruins of what was once a sports stadium. Maybe. The thing is so destroyed, it's difficult to tell.

Panting, glancing around anxiously, Banagher almost misses it when the La+ icon begins to glow. Encompassing the screen, a video begins to play. And not just for the young pilot of the Unicorn -- with a wave of psychic power, the broadcast is extended, shared with each and every mobile suit present, regardless of their affiliation.

---

A bustling coast city, just like so many others.  Homes, businesses, people carrying about their daily lives.  At a domed complex, some kind of sport goes on.

Then it starts with a low hum.  Strange purple behemoths with red vulture like faces.  Aircraft pour out of them, as Dopps flood the city of Seattle.  Zakus make the drop, striking the streets and quickly depriving the city of any defenders, as tanks roll out of troop carriers.

Seattle falls within hours, the civilians had no time for evacuation.  It becomes a forward base for the 2nd Terrestrial Mobile Division.  A handsome man with purple hair makes a speech to the citizenry.  They do not applaud.

Nevertheless food is supplied, shelter.  They are not placed into forced labor.  It feels utterly humane for an occupation, despite some uncoordinated resistance.  Until another buzz comes in the air.  Variable Fighters.

The Federation response.  The Britannian response.  The city is bombed, and bombed, and bombed.  A relentless campaign for days.  The Zeon fight back, there is no time for evacuation.  And indeed, it cannot be their priority.  Buildings are leveled, homes are flattened.

People die, and die, and die.  The 2nd Terrestrial Mobile Division moves on victorious, with far too few refugees following them.

In the end, there is crackling footage of the now silent city.  The city looks much like it does now.  No effort to rebuild it has been made.

None, for a city that once encompassed the lives of millions.

There is a first person perspective, like the camera of a mobile suit.  A Red Zaku II plays hide and seek within the buildings.  A White Devil responds, with shots of a Bazooka.  Suits explode.

People die, and die, and die.

A White Battleship hides within a cracked dome that once held so many sporting competitions.  This is not footage that should be had.  No news outlet has it.  Noone should have it.  And yet, perhaps the mystery of why noone did, is solved by its existence here.

It opens fire.  One of those purple behemoths, a Gaw is struck repeatedly.  Somehow it shifts to the perspective inside, that young Captain, once the victorious conqueror, now harried by explosion after explosion on the bridge.

"Change course one hundred and eighty degrees!  We're not finished yet!  I'll ram the Gaw right into them if I have to!"

"Hey Garma, do you read me?  Blame this on the misfortune of your birth."

An image of Zeon Zum Deikun abed, pointing at Degwin Zabi, before he falls still.

"You were indeed a very good friend to me.  Don't take it personally.  You can thank your father for this!"

Laughter.  Laughter.

"Char...  you...  you double crossed me!?  Char!"

More explosions, he takes the controls.  The Gaw spews flame as it hums the telltale sign of a wounded beast only moments away from death.

"I am the son of the Zabi family!  You haven't defeated me!  I will go down in Glory!"

The White Battleship tries to ascend, the Gaw breaks apart as it dives right at it.

"GLORY TO THE PRINCIPALITY OF ZEON!"

It all detonates before it can ever impact, into so much flaming wreckage.

Silence.  Dead silence.  The city is again still.

---

The broadcast ends.

Banagher stares at his blank screens. They reflect his scared, shocked expression. That was... Garma Zabi. Audrey's uncle, and Emilia's...

He never knew this part.

With a shudder, Banagher pulls his helmet off, feeling unable to breathe. It wasn't Zeon's fault. The Federation, Britannia -- they fired on their own people. It wasn't... It wasn't a glorious duel between Amuro and Char. The only thing that happened here was betrayal and death.

Incapacitated by the horror of the past, Banagher leans forward in his pilot's seat, hugging his chest tightly. His own Psychoframe amplifies his emotions, looping them again and again into his heart. It's too much to bear. The young pilot goes silent, lost in his own head, trying to keep his head above the tide of despair.

The Unicorn, feeling her pilot's suffering, turns back toward the battle. With a glimmer of green brilliance, her shield raises into the air. It soars back across the ruined city, arcing around the rubble until it comes upon its targets: the Banshee, and the Zaku-II.

With a whirr, a machine gun presses forward between the expanded Psychoframe panels of the white-armored shield. Zooming through the air, it opens fire on both enemy machines, leaving a trail of green light. The bullets are seemingly endless -- the shield circling again and again, preying on the two hated enemies.
</poem>

 KTS: Banagher Links: Will Barrier Activates.
 KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 and Char Aznable with Shield Gatling Spray.
 KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia partially guards C.C.'s Slash Harken Shot, taking 765 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
"..That's true," Eight says to Minae, her expression flattening as the hangar warns her about Arriety.  "That's definitely true."  Her mouth is sharp, at the moment.  But Arriety speaks, and...

"I understand," Eight says to Arriety over the video camera.  "But we'll talk about this later."  A pause.  Minae says she'll bring her back, "See that you do, or I /will/ invent court martial procedures for a civilian operator somehow."

She's naturally worried about Callie herself, but...

She can only project that care in her direction, for now.

To Jun she says, "Good.  Then let's do this.  My crew is detecting signs of trouble down below..."

Ah.  There's Natarle.

"Captain Badgiruel," Eight replies.  "I'm not sure if we'll be able to cooperate or not.  It depends on what's going on here.  But we're not here on a sightseeing mission."

That's about all she can promise.

There, the psychic scream of the Banshee, and--"Evasive maneuvers!"  Char is there.  Char, as it turns out, cannot 'allow this power to exist'.  That makes Eight glad for one thing, at least:

It must be a threat to Triple Zero.  Which means they /can/ threaten the Oath Over Omega...

But for now, Chovan shifts the bulk of the ship, but can't do so in time; Char's shot slams across the bow, imprinting black lines along the armor where it's scorched.

"Char," Eight announces over the radio, "We won't be letting you have Mr. Links or the Unicorn.  The same applies to the Federation, as it happens."

"Fire missiles on that Zaku!" Eight directs her crew, and Kazama does as ordered, reaching to work the console and then direct a set of six missiles right for Char's Zaku II, sailing out from the edges of the ship towards him as a towering set of cylinders that will explode when they get close!

The ship meanwhile comes about, bringing its weapons systems fully online.

Then, to Puru Two, "You're exactly where you need to be.  Stay alive out there."

But the video starts... and Eight watches it.  "Keep it on secondary screen as it goes.  ...I won't ignore this."
</poem>

 KTS: Eight York targets Char Aznable with High-Power Missile Armament System - Basic Shot!
 KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
An Ichinana rockets into this strange battlefield, Montoya cutting off the sharp screech of an alarm as she monitors the Dagger teams on the ground.

If she wasn't on edge already...  The broadcast hits the systems of the Dominion, and she doesn't have time to restrict it to her personal terminal.  Which means no deniability, if she's questioned after the fact.  This is as clear an order as can be - and that used to make things easier.

Lately, it's been a little stressful.  The 3SA, and even the Unicorn...  No doubt they had a habit of making trouble, but their actions at GENESIS had helped preserve the Earth.  Thinking of them as enemies was unpleasant.  No hesitation, though.  Anything she let slip through the cracks would only fall on the heads of those beneath her.

"Faulkner.  You're launching.  The one-seven is confirmed hostile.  ...Try and disable it, but don't hold back.  Even these ones can melt clean through a mobile suit with sustained fire."

This would be the harder road.  If she failed, no doubt the higher-ups would find excuses to complain about a soft touch.  But her crew was up to it...  and she'd rather confirm a few things for herself, given the chance.

Maybe it was just...  Hard to imagine the Ra Mari crew that Bright talked about falling all the way into Zero's clutches.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
<poem>
Anita listens as Arriety gets into the cockpit without orders. She could say something, and a part of her feels like she should, but... if Arriety's doing something like this, it must be important to her. So, she doesn't. After all - Minae's with her, and she trusts Minae to keep her safe. Instead, she just smiles as Arriety expresses her interest in seeing what her Valkyrie can do - and keeps an eye on her as she takes off alongside her.

"Well, if you say that, then I guess I'm just gonna have to give you a good show." Anita replies with a smile, and then considers for a second. "Look after her, alright, Callie?"

It's about that time that a helpful ping announces Minae's support as she's linked into her logistical feedback loop.

"You're a lifesaver, Minae. I'll be counting on you." Anita replies, offering a brief thumbs-up to the camera.

Of course, it isn't long before Trouble arrives, in the form of the Red Comet himself, as a signature red Zaku-II /bursts/ open. It's not that his arrival wasn't anticipated... but Anita knows this is probably going to suck. The Svipul flips backward in mid-air as it shifts into GERWALK mode, shield raised to block the barrage sent her way.

"Sorry, he's not your problem today."  Anita retorts to Char. She knows she's talking big - she doubts her ability to back it up, but she doesn't have to do it for long. Banagher has his own troubles to deal with, it looks like... if they can get Char's attention off of him for at least a little while, that'd be best. The Svipul strafes, unleashing a spray of vulcan fire in Char's direction. That in and of itself isn't much - but it may open him up to further attacks from her allies. But as she does...

"...Alma??" Anita doesn't show surprise very often - but she hadn't expected to see her here, and not like this.

And just as surprising... a broadcast takes over one of Anita's screens.

"...Huh? Minae, this isn't one of yours, is it?" Anita asks. She reaches out to tap the screen. A small frown crosses her face. "...This is... What /is/ this?"

It's... hard to watch.
</poem>

 KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Char Aznable with Vulcan Barrage!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Banagher Links's Shield Gatling Spray, taking 3150 damage!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel targets Christina MacKenzie with MS Squadron Capture Tactics!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has deployed in SVM-01 Union Flag Sophia Custom.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has changed loadout.

 <Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.
<poem>
        The Burais of the Black Knights don't immediately move to go after him. Perhaps his presence has given them pause. Or perhaps they have some accomplished leaders after all who are making what would appear to be the most tactically sound decision to prioritize the mission.

        Or perhaps Zero himself would appear before Schneizel.

        Schneizel smiles at the prototype Knightmare, Gawain, floating in front of him. He shows no apparent fear or concern for his life. Is he insane? Or does he know something that others do not? Peripherally aware of the other fights breaking out in the area, Schneizel keeps his focus on the man in front of him, trusting the others here to handle their parts.

        Schneizel takes a few steps forward, opening his arms wide, "Zero. The man himself. I will admit to some anticipation of this chance to meet. Your past actions have certainly drawn the gaze of many of us in the court. Particularly after the death of dear Clovis. It is unfortunate that this is not an environment more conducive to discussion, as I suspect a proper conversation with you would prove quite enlightening. But as you surmise, you are not our purpose here. Merely, an unexpected bonus."

        "Still, you seem to be under a false impression..."

        The Gawain fires its harkens straight at Schneizel.

        An object impacts the ground just ahead of the Prime Minister, kicking up a brief cloud of dust and debris. A soft glow emanates from within as the harkens fly into it, only to strike something short of their target and bounce out again.

        The dust clears to reveal a Lancelot Club, its Blaze Luminous shield projected from its arm still glowing. Having protected Schneizel from the attack. The Lancelot Club kneels, its other hand move down towards the ground.

        Schneizel steps forward and up into the machine's palm, before it raises him up again. Still protected by the glowing barrier, he finishes, "Namely that I would come here unprepared to tame such a creature."

        A superheavy projectile rockets down out of the sky above, heading straight towards the Nadesico looming above the Gawain. The various ships in the area would have detected the source of the shot before hand, but for everyone else, it's the resulting sonic boom that draws attention upwards. And through the hole in the clouds that the shot had created, the Britannian Union's newest flagship, the BBAF-1001 Avalon, floats downwards from on high, the superheavy railgun hanging from its bow still pointed towards the Nadesico.

        Sutherlands standing atop the carrier begin to leap off, slash harken lines lowering them down to the ground before they roll over to reinforce the Lancelot Club.

        Still standing within the Club's palm, Schneizel moves his hands to clasp behind his back, saying, "I would off you the chance to surrender, Zero. But that would be a dis-service to the type of man I suspect you to be. So let us instead settle this as men of our position should. With the forces at our respective command."

        The Lancelot Club begins to fall back, while the Sutherlands start to rush forward towards the Gawain.
</poem>

 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets Ruri Hoshino with Superheavy Railgun Normal Shot!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets C.C. with Shock!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Char Aznable successfully evades Alma Stirner's Titania Beam Sabers Catching Slash

 <Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
<poem>
        Minae's map of the battlefield continues to build on the screens of the Three Ships pilots; it's a slower process than usual, and the topography means that she's stuck leaving some areas of the map blank until her sensors and a satellite uplink can fill in the gaps for her. It's a strain on her processing, but it's helped along by knowing what she can and can't leave to Arriety - once upon a time she would have taken some of the burden of piloting as well, but now she's fairly confident that Arriety would be faster to respond to active threats than she could be.

        Particularly where this opponent is concerned. Minae stares at the Banshee's readout on her monitor, noting the way in which some aspects of the telemetry seem to shift in unusual - but not unexpected - ways. The robot is well aware that there's a battle happening on another plane of perception, one that she's still too inexperienced to be able to access. Just because she was able to reach Rita, to feel a little spark of something within herself, doesn't magically make her able to understand everything all at once. That's okay.

        "I don't mean you!" Minae puffs back to Arriety, though her eyes sparkle with mischief. "Did you think just staring grumpily at the hangar doors was going to open them? I was helping out as well," she hums with perhaps misplaced pride, and then softens as Arriety lets slip her reason to be here. "... I know," she adds with a gentle smile. "What I said was for you, too. Whatever you feel it's right to do, you do it. I trust you," she repeats once more with conviction.

        "I'm doing my best to track the evacuations, but it's a bit hard to follow them all," she adds openly over communications as she frowns slightly. Even the uplink is having trouble, and the robot is quick to change tack, tilting her head as she reaches out for Omoikane's presence over the network she's established. She trusts the Nadesico to lend her the ship's sensors to gather more information. "Three Ships pilots, please stand by for data transfer--"

        ... something feels wrong all of a sudden, and Minae hesitates to pensively stare at the movement of the contacts she's marked on the radar. It's tiny, a little shift in the way they're maneuvering, but something about it picks at her brain. It's almost like--

        The thought isn't lost when Callisto starts to edge towards panic, but it is set aside. There's almost an edge of relief as she glances to Arriety in the cockpit; she'll take the other pilot working through her emotions aloud rather than rocketing off on her own any day. The robot might not be anywhere close to a full and complete picture of what the other pilots are experiencing, but this is more solid ground.

        The hardest part is keeping her voice slow and soothing, with everything else going on and a transmission threatening to disrupt people's mental states further. "Callie... I need you to remember that she didn't choose this. If the misery she's feeling is too much for her, and she feels like a different person because of it - that makes it all the more important to try to reach her and not deny her. You've been sure it's her all this time, so trust that feeling. It's scary, but we're here to help you."

        She kind of wishes she hadn't said 'stand by for transfer'. Mortification is a rare feeling, as Anita speaks. "Believe me, I'd have picked a much better time for it!" the robot complains, as she splits another part of her attention towards trying to crack the increased radio chatter she can sense flying back and forth.
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable successfully evades Banagher Links's Shield Gatling Spray
 KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Puru Two
 KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Arriety Hearn, Puru Two, and Anita Rosetta with Awe.
 KTS: BC-001 Minae has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Char Aznable successfully evades Eight York's High-Power Missile Armament System - Basic Shot
 KTS: Char Aznable blocks Anita Rosetta's Vulcan Barrage, taking 2450 damage!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta begins a Formation attack!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino partially guards Schneizel el Britannia's Superheavy Railgun Normal Shot, taking 2320 damage!
 KTS: [Lucky] Anita Rosetta's Serious Mode activates, and luck goes her way!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta successfully accepts BC-001 Minae's Awe
 KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Puru Two's Morale!
 KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Arriety Hearn's Morale!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia shocks C.C., reducing her Morale significantly.

 <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
<poem>
        "The Captain has -- something to take care of," Jun tells Hikaru, with just a /little/ hitch in his voice which suggests that he'd love to ask /WHERE DID SHE GO/ just the same. He doesn't, though. He's a faithful second in command, and he'll do whatever it takes--!!!

        Maybe then Yurika will notice him, too...

        "Fools," Ruri comments, dryly. Her too-gold eyes narrow, though, as she monitors the Ra Mari II's own deployments. "..." /Arriety-san,/ she thinks, and does not say.

        There are a lot of signals on the field, though -- a lot of potential targets to follow. Omoikane is particularly sensitive to the Federation's signatures, and it's because of that her attention orients on the Titania. The stoicism on her face, this time, is rippled by a /widening/ of her eyes; there's someone here she hasn't seen for some time.

        (And there are people she doesn't know she should see, who she'd care if she /did;/ Rin enjoys the security of obscurity.)

        The Nadesico opens a communication window to the Titania, with a polite knock-knock, and it's /Ruri's/ face which pops up. "Ms. Stirner," she introduces herself, a little older but still too young to be sitting here. "You're back? Are you all right?" She doesn't know that it might be something of a hot-button question, right now.

        Particularly given --

        She cuts out her window abruptly, a subtle lance across her eyes, because something /else/ is alerting at her station. "Char Aznable's Zaku-II sighted," she reports, and her voice, at least, is unswayed. "XO, he's attacking the Unicorn." As she reports it, Omoikane is working, too; Minae will get all the sensor data she needs, for her evacuations.

        "Then, we'll --"

        What Jun says fades out of Ruri's consciousness, momentarily, as all that pressure turns grey and grasping. Her gaze doesn't fix on /any/ of the data in front of her, for one lost moment. "Where?" She asks, though it doesn't follow the conversation of the bridge at all.

        "Ruri-Ruri?" Minato Haruka, the Nadesico's helmswoman, presses with concern as she looks to her with a frown. She's the one who notices, first. Perhaps she's always keeping a bit of an eye on her?

        Ruri blinks, once, twice, once again, and she looks back down to the data again. "Arriety-san and Callisto-san have been engaged by the Banshee," she hears herself report, in her voice.

        "The Banshee, too?!" Megumi exclaims, alarmed. "No way --"

        "Someone has emerged from the Gawain," Ruri cuts her off, steadier, as she continues her report. "He's saying Britannia's here for the Unicorn..."

        "That's Zero," Mr. Prospector explains, sitting near the back of the bridge. He nods, pushing his glasses up his thin nose; they shine, in the light. "The leader of the Black Knights, and a considerable thorn in Britannia's side. I hear quite a few supplies have made their way to his cause..."

        "You heard that, did you?" Minato asks, looking back up to him, dry.

        "Accountants talk, you know," he says, airily. "But that's the man who's claimed victory with nothing but his words, let alone the rebellion he's built -- I wouldn't discount his wit."

        "But, talking like that..." Jun's hands tighten, and he opens wide-band communications with the Federation. "Just hold on a minute! This wasn't some plot to subvert the Federation! We're not associated with this 'Zero' at all--!!" He's not the highest-ranking officer of 3SA, here, but ranks are something of a fond memory to their own rebellion anyway. He has the passion to speak, and he does.

        If only passion alone could save anything.

        The Nadesico's Distortion Field absorbs the brunt of that sonic BLOW, as the railgun's fire impacts it, broadside. "We're taking fire from the Avalon," Ruri reports. "... no abnormalities detected on the ship."

        "Hold your fire!" Jun yells, to the Avalon. "You've misunderstood this situation entirely--!!"

        "Transmission incoming," Ruri interrupts him, as a screen opens wide across the bridge. On it is transmitted all the Federation's crimes -- Garma's death -- and just what that army interrupted.

        "That's..." Minato gasps, painted nails across her lips.

        Ruri's attention is pulled back down to her console, as a boxed readout insists:

                                < TARGET LOCKED >

        "Omoikane--!" She exclaims, as the Nadesico releases missiles to pour over the Avalon, regardless of any of Jun's insistences that this is all a /misunderstanding./

        "What are you doing?!" Jun demands, hands grasping the railing, as he looks down.

        "... the situation is overwhelming," Ruri says.

        Zero's not the only one who can lie with the circumstances.
</poem>

 KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Schneizel el Britannia with Missile Barrage!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
Right now, despite being in the mobile sauna that is the Guren... despite the mission in front of her... Kallen feels comfortable. Having a dedicated support to help her it... absolutely huge. Especially under these circumstances. "Absolutely N-1! I'll be counting on your support, we won't mess this up!" But she knows she won't go on another rampage like before, or have any unusual problems. It won't be an issue.

It can't be, really. The circumstances are different.

Then a prince reveals his face. THIS is a target that... really, she can't even begin to argue with. She'd happily take his head herself, one way or another. Not because he's a prince, but because of everything he's been responsible for. Operations around the world. Apparently, Zero agrees.

Kallen has never been anything close to being something one might call awakened. But apparently some revelations don't require it. The broadcast... sent seemingly to everyone. Showing the horror of what happened in this very city. Death and destruction. Betrayal. "Oh no... nonono..." If she's seeing this, then... It IS perfect of course. The ideal footage to trample both Char and the Federation's reputations into so much ash. But it's also video that's going to hurt somebody so badly. Someone close to her heart. Her best friend in fact.

But no, Kallen can't deviate right now. She WILL protect the people who mean the world to her. But she can't focus on what she's witnessed right now. She's in position, and moves in on Zero's order to strike swiftly and decisively. She'll make sure he's able to focus on dealing with the prince without interruption. No matter what echelon of enemy might appear in her path.
</poem>

 KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Cornelia li Britannia with Pass!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to react to Kallen Kozuki's Pass, taking 0 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
A singsong whisper in his mind

        casval casval casval
        have you made daddy proud

"What - "

The Zaku-II is caught in the direct blast of the Beam Magnum. Even the shockwave of a barely-missed blast could rip apart a Geara Zulu; surely such an old suit is ''gone'' in a single volley?

No. The flame that rips backwards from the impact point is not that multi-hued smoky plasma sparked from friction and heat, but pure dawnfire dispersing the intensity of a e-cap being fully discharged, preserving its Apostle against annihilation through the empowered chassis of the machine.

Still, empowered by the energies of Orange Site or not, Char is still shaken by the arrival of the Banshee, and its hostility to ''him''.

"... Another one." He grimaces. "Fine. One miracle Gundam, or two, or three, it makes no difference."

Father of monsters... Perhaps that is so.

"Then I'll put this monster down first."

Alma cuts him off, calling out to him as the Titania launches upwards at him, sabers slashing out for his legs - a move which would send him into an uncontrolled spin at this height, an excellent trick for midair battles.

A trick he made pains to teach the AEUG's pilots, back in the day. Thrusters fire unexpectedly, pushing the Zaku up a little further into a flip ''over'' the ascending Titania, as he draws the mobile suit's heat hawk and charges the blade. "Good try, Lieutenant."

As he carves down towards the Titania's back, it's impossible to tell if he's mocking her or not - until he brings the Zaku's leg around in a heavy kick to send Alma back to Earth's embrace much faster.

Definitely mockery.

Char has no regard for the political chicanery designating the Unicorn and the 3SA the Federation's enemies, but he cannot ignore the broadcast coming from the green-glowing RX-0. His countenance darkens behind his visor, but even faced with his own betrayals, his twisted sensitivity can pick up Banagher's grief and vengeful fury.

The Zaku-II slips between the barrage of beam gatling fire and the Ra Mari II's missiles like the ghost of the past it is, bringing up its shield to block Anita's vulcan barrage. "Perhaps you should strive to be more than an irritant, then," he quips to her, tossing the Heat Hawk up in the air to free up the Zaku's hands and drawing its machine gun and anti-ship rifle again, the heavy rifle sending another dawn-limned bolt flying towards the Zentradi monitor while he meets the Svipul with a volley of bullets of his own.

Finally: The Banshee. A miracle machine made a monster. Something about it... twists his gut. Stowing the anti-ship rifle again, Char catches the Heat Hawk as it starts to drop, descending towards the Black Unicorn and aiming searing strikes at its arms and legs!
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable targets Alma Stirner with Zaku-II Heat Hawk Carve and Smash!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Anita Rosetta with Zaku-II Machine Gun Burst!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Eight York with ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Shot!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Puru-1 with Zaku-II Heat Hawk Dismemberment Strike!
 KTS: Char Aznable has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Eight York partially guards Char Aznable's ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Shot, taking 4085 damage!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Char Aznable enervates Alma Stirner, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Alma Stirner parries Char Aznable's Zaku-II Heat Hawk Carve and Smash, taking 1350 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Too Many Masks activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Unbreakable Oath activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Red Comet activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Char Aznable repulses Alma Stirner, forcing her to disengage.
 KTS: Char Aznable rattles Puru-1, making their next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Puru-1 parries Char Aznable's Zaku-II Heat Hawk Dismemberment Strike, taking 1260 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Puru-1!

 <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
<poem>
Bedlam on all sides. And amid it all: Yet further, additional bedlam.

The G-Hound ship Hyperion appears on near-range sensors, guns already swiveling into position to open fire. But its thundering captain does not immediately come on comms to declare fire and woe upon the heathens, this time!

No, she's come out to do it in person. Sophia's custom, deep blue Flag soars down from the Hyperion, accompanied by a small wing of other Flags. The Unicorn, the Black Knights, the /Princess/ - it seems like so many of the complications in her life are here.

To say nothing of that history lesson. ...she should speak with Caedra.

But what she notices, flickering distant, is a thin web of connection in her Geass. And at the end of that thread...a peculiarly behaving Cvilian wanzer, with, she can tell, no Pilot within. She remembers it.

"The drone expert," she murmurs. "Don't open fire unless you have to," she advises the Hyperion. "I'd rather not reduce the city to craters with my own guns. I'll take the wing to handle this one."

She does - she waits, precious seconds, while the drone drives itself back toward its master.

When her Geass tells her that person is near, that's when Sophia rapidly switches her Flag to flight configuration for a short sprint to surge from behind its sensors to in front of them, barraging the Burai's position with machine gun fire from the onboard cannons the whole time she's switching back to standing mode.
</poem>

 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Rin Starking with 20mm Machine Gun Dash-and-Fire!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: [Lucky] Anita Rosetta's Serious Mode activates, and luck goes her way!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta successfully blocks Char Aznable's Zaku-II Machine Gun Burst

 <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
<poem>
"Suuuuspcious..." Hikaru mouths, as Jun explains that Yurika has business to take care of. Is this not business enough?! "We'll just have to do our best without her then~!" She responds cheerfully enough.

But as Hikaru's waiting ever so patiently in the launch deck, a LOT happens. "Ehhh? What's /HE/ doing here?" She questions, obviously about the Ruin Zaku-II piloted by none other than constant side-pain Char Aznable. "And hey! Why are the Federation firing on /US/? We saved their butts over and over!" She pouts, as railgun fire rocks the Nadesico, off-set by the trusty Distortion Field.

"O-okay! If there's a good time as any to deploy, it's now! Hikaru Amano, moving out!" Hikaru announces, as the Ground-type Aestivalis speeds from the launch pad.

Not long afterwards, it's realized how much of a mistake this was. Simultaneously with the broadcast of that video revealing the truth about the Federation and Char, total control is lost over the Aestie's targeting system, which is of course, managed by the same Super AI, Omoikane that manages that of the Nadesico.

"Hey! Hey, calm down, Aestie!!" Hikaru hates fighting other humans -- but it doesn't matter, as the little machine's Rapid Rifle relentlessly fires upon a squadron of Knightmare Frames without a shred of mercy or control. This no doubt captures the attention of the Princess in charge of the squadron.
</poem>

 KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Cornelia li Britannia with Pass!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Rin Starking rushes into the attack!
 KTS: [Mirage] Rin Starking's Surprise! I moved that part! activates, and she slips into a mirage.
 KTS: Rin Starking partially guards Sophia Mayhew Castellan's 20mm Machine Gun Dash-and-Fire, taking 0 damage!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has engaged Rin Starking!

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        The Banshee has just finished its transformation, when the Zeta fires upon it.  Its jump jets fire even as it grasps its shield, an I-Field forming to absorb the first two blasts, but the third sneaks by, scoring its Psycoframe.

        There is a feeling akin to sadistic glee from Puru-1, as she tells her quite simply, take you as well because it wants to hurt her.  Because it wants to have everything she has.  There is this awful feeling of objectification, as if she were Callisto's favorite toy that she wants to steal away.    The jump jets suddenly roll forward the moment the Zeta glides on by, as the Banshee pitches itself end over end, directing itself into a controlled fall.  The Beam smartgun prongs rotate forward and fill the air with violet fire that sweeps after it in a chaotic pattern.

        Even as the Funnel Binder fires, and tests its I-Field all over again, beams devoured within it, before another lances across its obsdiain, causing a burn.  The Banshee suddenly emits a familiar violet pulse.  Far too familiar.  Every single one of Marida's funnels no longer respond to her.  They hover and then swivel around to point at her.

        MYOU              PLAY        
       I ARE                 PLAY
     EN  YOU                  PLAY
         ARE                 PLAY
         YOU              PLAY     
         ARE              TWELVE 

        Laughter erupts, and from each of her funnels, Marida will see a mass of hands, twisting and roiling over each other, extending to reach out for her, others form internally within her Psycoframe, moving to latch ahold and infecting her with a horrid torrent of negative emotions.

                EMPTINESS DESPAIR WORTHLESSNESS
                        M I N E   M I N E
                DESOLATION FATIGUE WEARINESS

        They tighten around her soul, latching in.  Asking the question doesn't she just want to give up?  Doesn't she just want to give in?  Wouldn't it just be easier if she went back to that same place as before.  The Banshee's left hand becomes a claw, as it leaps at the Kshatriya, sinking those vibrating nails right into its frame, and shredding at it.

        The Queen Mansa fires, and the Mega Particle Cannon pierces its I-Field, as Puru Two hears a childish SHRIEK that sounds far too much like that day as to not be unnerving.  There is a melted line across its torso, as it lands right on the Queen Mansa's enormous frame, using its jets to swing around to its back like a child at play, piggybacking upon it.  

       And then fury fury F U R Y.

        F U R Y F U R Y
                PUPPET DOLL
            MIRROR IMAGE DOPPELGANGER
          D A N C E F O R M E
        Y O U K N O W W H O T H E
          R E A L F A K E I S

        As the Banshee touches the Queen Mansa, it's Psycommu suddenly feels infected more and more, untila  violet hand sprouts forth, and reaches for her throat.  And SQUEEZES her spiritual form.  Just as the Banshee's Beam Tonfa suddenly erupts, trying to skewer its frame outright, and drag along it to carve her out of it.
        
        It is Banagher's gatling fire that forces it off, as it rakes the Banshee at an angle its I-Field can't catch it.  It suddenly dislodges from the Queen Mansa, falling just enough before turning around and suddenly rushing the Unicorn with a flurry of blows from that Beam Tonfa and Saber.

        P L A Y T I M E I S O V E R F O R Y O U

        For someone who loves play so much, that perhaps is a statement, has she abandoned one of her favorite playthings?  Or has Banagher's resistance backed her into a corner. Alma meanwhile receives a sorrow, desperation and loneliness over and over in the form of a single word.
        
        WHY                        WHY
                                WHY
                WHY WHY
                                        WHY

        A child begging for answers, answers on why Alma ignores her, does not acknowledge her.  The frustration grows and grows into anger, like a child readying themselves for a tantrum.

        One might mistake the Banshee as wholly missing the transmission from the La+ program, but that would be a misapprehension, as Char feels it again, curling around like a shadow trying to avoid the Aura of the Dawn.  Right as his strike falls, as the opposite hand that was engaging Banagher Links suddenly rises up to meet him, Beam Tonfa intercepting it.  His Heat Hawk, empowered by the Light of the Dawn causes the arm to tremble under the strain, but then there is the uncomfortable feeling of being pushed back upon.

        WAS IT GOOD FOR YOU
        TREACHERY MURDER
        YOU BETRAY E V E R Y O N E
           C A S V A L
        
        The Banshee suddenly shoves the Unicorn away, before turning, and raising its claw, which splits open into its vibrating segments, and drives right down into the Ruin Zaku with all of its might.
</poem>

 Puru-1 transforms to RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee <Destroy Mode>

 KTS: Puru-1 targets Arriety Hearn with Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Marida Cruz with Armed Armor VN Claw Swipe!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Puru Two with Beam Saber Rush!
 KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
<poem>
OZ gives input. Rin swallows and doesn't answer. "G-got it," she says finally. Then the Minovsky particle density starts to tick upwards. Scorn, semi-autonomously, starts to zip in the statistical direction of the motherbase (that would be Rin's KMF), but the connection weakens enough that Rin loses contact.

She is not, in the abstract sense, concerned. That's why there's a recall mode. Scorn will get back here in a minute or two and if Scorn doesn't there are bigger problems. What kind of bigger problems?

"Why is the density spiking like this?" Rin mutters. Was there a MS in their force package? KMFs run on energy fillers, OR SO RIN WAS TOLD, but...

The mobile suits arrive. They appear, by and large - if you can abbreviate anything, given the scale of a MS encounter, given the already fraught tensions of the air - to be occupied WITH one another, which is, for Rin, cold comfort indeed. She reaches for her little bottle of tablets, plucks one out, and chews on it. It helps with the twitches.

Chaos. Horror. "Is that--?" Rin breathes as Scorn, most of the way back home, begins sending her higher-altitude viewfields of the battlefield. She bites her lip for a moment. "That's a Zaku II, and the color... Come on, could it really... no, that's not POSSIBLY..." And it's going for the strangely monochrome Gundam??

And then there is a signal. A film from a time when Rin was, likely, still within her mother. Rin blinks several times at it. The view is hard to follow, but it's like a dream, or a surreally edited war montage. A vision of the past... And to Rin's eye, it's baffling. Char... he did that? (For Rin, you see, only knows the Char Aznable you heard about in the Britannian school networks... and, of course, the one who threatened the Earth with the mass of Axis.)

And then, in the face of all this chaos, Rin Starking lowers her head and says, "All of this..."

She reaches for another tablet. "Is not my problem." Into her mouth it goes. Crunch and swallow. "I'm not here to worry about the sins of the past... Spacenoids' suffering is real and strong and needs help but that's not why I'm here. The best thing I can do for everyone in space is WHAT I CAME HERE TO DO!"

Rin keeps talking to her console. "I have a mission to carry out, that's what soldiers do, and this is PERFECT - it's like a storm to cover our escape! I don't have to - to save Seattle or anything. Complete the op, get out! Shoot a rocket at Char if I feel like it!"

"And that's" ping
"what" ping

Rin stops with her pep talk because there's incoming gunfire and the ricochets off of RANCOR'S ENORMOUS, BUSH-COVERED SHIELD are landing near enough for her to hear, like angry hail. "..."

Rin glances upright and takes in what's before her. She sees the transforming Flag and she immediately speaks a command: "Rancor--"

"Charge 'em!" And that's when that bush suddenly erupts out of the ground with a roar of motors and smashes towards the Flag, aiming to overbear and crush as the revealed KMF begins to pull forwards, Rin's eyes flicking around. "Damn it -- I'm already screwing it up -- gahh-- these are terminally bad vibes --"

She flicks on the external signal, with its intrinsic voice distorter. A deeper raspier voice speaks towards the pilot of the Flag before her. "<<That's Char out there. Shouldn't that be your priority?!>>" (Meanwhile, Scorn the drone dutifully banks to the side, probably feeling really bad about the situation, if anyone asked him.) (No one does)
</poem>

 KTS: Rin Starking targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Rancor - Charge Them!!
 KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Beam Saber Rush!
 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Char Aznable with Armed Armor VN Catch and Kill!
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Puru Two, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Puru Two parries Puru-1's Beam Saber Rush, taking 1380 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Puru Two!

 <Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.
<poem>
"That...That vision...Was this something he had planned to use with the Unicorn...?" Up to this point, Zero had made no mention of a true affiliation with the Unicorn or the 3SA. Though a reveal like that, it truly felt like something that would have been prepared beforehand with the Man of Miracles. It felt like it truly would have fell into the narrative of wanting to rally those who supported the 3SA and those against Britannia into one. And even if it wasn't the case...The illusion of it all would surely be there for later.

"One has to wonder if he really ended up using the Beast of Possibility to make a possibility of his own. Still...Their methods haven't changed even from that time."

It's a thought that comes to mind all too easily as he sees the bombardments that transpire, and the visions of his own past overlap. Though the past was the past, and the presence was now.

< "Q1, this is our best chance. Let's move!" > Kallen might have been the Ace of the Black Knights, but when it came to field experience, he was sure that he's been on more battlefields than even she has. For that reason alone he knows that while the attention of those is caught in the glimpses of the past, that they can attain the future by taking Schneizel now. And thus, the ambush begins as the Byakuen spearheads the charge attempting to shoot down the target vehicle. Though just as he attempts to take his shot...

The ground shakes as the sky opens up from above to reveal the Avalon. It's assault on the Nadesico a complete surprise for all as Oz finds himself letting out a strained grin, "So someone got the jump on the Man of Miracles. Yeah, this is definitely no body double." < "All units, watch for aerial support!"  >This was without a doubt a true Demon as much as Zero was. To attempt to take his head would surely be a challenge even if the Black knights truly did have the support of the 3SA and the Unicorn and yet...The strain of his grin turns a bit more earnest. "If we get to bare our fangs into this one...It'll be worth it."

The Byakuen follows in with the Guren, all the while a communication over the comms directed at Zero entails, < "Oi, if I bring this one in alive, it won't be a problem if I borrow him for a while, no?" >

Even if it would have been easier to kill him here, even Zero should know that this man was simply too valuable a piece to simply be put into the dirt. So it only made sense that if one of them could retrieve him alive...They'd have the rights to use him as they saw fit, even if only temporarily.
</poem>

 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot, taking 2325 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 repulses Arriety Hearn, forcing her to disengage.
 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon targets Cornelia li Britannia with Pass!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Marida Cruz blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor VN Claw Swipe, taking 3570 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Marida Cruz!
 KTS: Puru-1 begins a Formation attack!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to react to Hikaru Amano's Pass, taking 0 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to react to Orpheus Zevon's Pass, taking 0 damage!
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Puru-1
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly.
 KTS: Banagher Links parries Puru-1's Beam Saber Rush, taking 615 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Banagher Links!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie fails to charge.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel rattles Christina MacKenzie, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie partially guards Natarle Badgiruel's MS Squadron Capture Tactics, taking 4185 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.
<poem>
The squeal of tires heralds the sharp turn of Ronan Marcedas' limo onto its emergency escape route through the dismal streets of Seattle. Eyes wide, Ronan turns towards his assistant, jabbing a hand behind him towards the Burais in fast pursuit.

"How did they know about this?! The meeting was secret!"

"I-- I don't know, sir--"

"Dammit...! Get me the status on Chidori and Copeland-- ... eh?"

Things go even more awry. One of Marcenas' escort vehicles squeals to a halt, leaving him looking bewildered behind him as a very distinctive man steps out.

"Schneizel el Britannia," mutters Ronan. "As reckless as ever..."

But he is far from the last of the unexpected arrivals. Soon enough, the Unicorn and its Three Ships-and-Sleeves entourage appear as well; somehow, this is more grounding for Ronan, the sight of the Vist scandal in Mobile Suit form providing an anchor point through which the Councilor can steady himself. His lips flatten into a neutral line as he listens to Zero's grandstanding pronouncement -- but his eyes are on the horned machine, even as Char himself ERUPTS from beneath the streets of Seattle.

Past the din of his bodyguards, assistant and driver all arguing over the route to take, Ronan simply watches as the Banshee, the Unicorn and the Zaku all emerge, his expression snuffing out into a pensive crease. He can't hear their panicked strategizing. All he hears, and sees, is a scenario of the past, played out before him. A scenario of how far the Federation would go to stake claim to what's theirs. How much they would destroy.

"... is this one of the coordinates? Of all the places, of all the times..." Dull blue eyes shut. Despite himself, Ronan Marcenas manages a dry, rueful smile as bulletfire ricochets off the heavily armored exterior of his limo.

"... Here of all places. Maybe it's fitting that the weight of our sins should catch up to us like this..."

                        ---+---

<"Guilford. Darlton. What's your status?">

<"Chidori is still safe and accounted for, your highness.">

<"Copeland as well. It looks like the prince was right. The priority target is Marcenas.">

<"Hah. Never bet against my brother, Darlton. Your only earnings will be the bitter taste of disappointment.">

<"What are your orders? Things seem to be getting out of hand...">

<"Hold your positions. We can't risk overcommitting, not when we don't know if their whole hand has been played yet. I shall take point.">

<"Yes, your highness!"> <"Yes, your highness!">

<"Preparing to deploy... hm?">

From her perch within the hangars of the Avalon, Second Princess Cornelia li Britannia watches as events unfold with a brow of increasingly furrowed consternation. The plan had been a simple one. The wonders of a Knightmare Frame's size is how easily they can be stored and hidden away in unexpected locations: the two Gloucesters tucked away in specially selected train cars aboard Councilor Chidori and Councilor Copeland's rail escorts is proof of that. If either were targeted, Gilbert G.P. Guilford and Andreas Darlton of the Second Princess' Glaston Knights would be there to intercept. If it was Marcenas... well. The results of that are playing out now.

But the emergence of the Three Ships Alliance -- that was unexpected. Even moreso, Zero's bold claim, pronounced off the back of his pilfered Knightmare Frame. Violet lips twist, as Cornelia watches -- as she watches a scene from the past play out before her. A scenario that came to past when she was scarcely cresting into adulthood. A scene from the first in a long line of bloody conflicts.

"... What is this...?" she murmurs to herself, within the cockpit of her machine. She isn't certain how to parse it -- and because of that, part of her simply rejects the significance of it, like Axis Shock before it. There's only one thing she takes away, as her machine begins to ignite with sakuradite-streaming life. As her indigo gaze narrows in prideful contempt, watching a Nergal Aestivalis opening fire on her soldiers. Her people.

                "No mercy for traitors."

                        ---+---

<"PREPARE YOURSELF, WORMS!">

BGM: Kiryu G@ KiLL - https://youtu.be/wSAp991JIVs

Amid the stream of Sutherlands sortieing from the Avalon is a silhouette more distinct. A Gloucester's design. Horned. Caped.

Bearing a tremendous lance.

Rather than taking the harken lines down, it -leaps- from the decks of the Avalon. The sun glints of violet-painted armor as the horned Gloucester goes into free fall through the desolate Seattle skies as Sutherlands explode and cockpit blocs eject all around it. Brandishing its assault rifle, it fires off a blitz of rapid-fire rounds upon Hikaru's Aestivalis and the Byakuen in a pinpoint sweep meant to call their attentions AWAY from those deploying Sutherlands towards a more ostentatious sight as it twists in mid-air --

And fires off chest-mounted Slash Harkens into the ground on either side of the Guren.

<"To spineless traitors and terrorists alike -- I offer you nothing more than the contempt of my lance!">

And an uncontrollable free fall becomes a -very- controlled, very -rapid- descent as the horned Gloucester of Britannia's Second Princess all but flies for the horned Guren of the Black Knight's ace.

Electromagnetic-discharging lance first.

The two, horned Knightmare Frames, Zero... and a host of traitors.

It is a good day, even if Cornelia's blood is boiling.
</poem>

 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has NOT engaged with Kallen Kozuki
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia targets Hikaru Amano and Orpheus Zevon with Assault Rifle Sweep.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia targets Kallen Kozuki with EM Jousting Lance - Implacable Assault!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Kallen Kozuki
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie targets Natarle Badgiruel with Ichinana MG Grenade!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon successfully evades Cornelia li Britannia's Assault Rifle Sweep
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Focus Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
<poem>
"... /Anita/?" Alma startles at the presence of her friend on the battlefield. "And -- that mobile armor... she's here too..." Guilt, anger, frustration -- all of them well up in Alma. Nothing's ever gone right for her. All of these people -- none of them could -- none of them could ever --

Ruri cuts through it. Alma pauses, trying to find her sense of self; she doesn't quite manage it, but... she's got a soft spot for kids. "Ruri...ahah, it's a long story. I hope you're doing okay... the Amabilis and I got separated..." Guiltily, she says, "I'm sure it's even lonelier now."

Alma brings her blade up and around as Char closes with her, locking up with the heat hawk; empowered by the Aura of Dawn, though, it's just a little too much for her to fully parry, and the way it bites into the Titania's aging armor leaves her /frustrated/.

That frustration spikes as she's begged for a reason why -- why she's refusing this familiar sensation. Alma loses her grip on the situation, and cries out at the Banshee, "You can't be her! How! Why?! After all this...!" That feeling of psychic pressure on her, between slice after slice after slice of her past, mounts --

One of her earrings cracks.

"Why is everyone trying to pull me like this...?!" she begs of Ruri, Anita, Char, the Banshee, the city itself. She can't quite /refuse/ the pull anymore, though -- too many different slices of her past, too many people, too many...

She retreats physically, letting the shoulder-stabilized bazookas of the Titania flip down. "Char -- you... Garma... I heard rumors, but seeing it like this --" Alma's not naive to the horrible things the Zabis did, but... Garma was the best of them. The one who could have changed so much. To kill him first...

She fires blast after blast from the bazookas, trying once again to destabilize Char's footing -- this time with more force.
</poem>

 KTS: Hikaru Amano successfully evades Cornelia li Britannia's Assault Rifle Sweep
 KTS: Alma Stirner targets Char Aznable with Giant Bazooka II Curtailing Shot!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Naoto Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
"Q-1!" Naoto's watching the video, but he's not reacting - he's more focused on Kallen's anger right now, and the fact she's being charged with that jousting lance, EMP first. "Be careful! Sending you some possible tactical data, use whichever one you can seize first!"

The Britannians will do anything to stop them during this absolute clusterfuck, huh? Even though Char Aznable is RIGHT THERE, they still have to put down the Japanese, is the way Naoto sees it. His blood boils, as does something else, but he doesn't speak it.
</poem>

 KTS: Naoto Kozuki targets Kallen Kozuki with Awe!
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Marida Cruz targets Puru-1 with Funnel Binder Targeted Blast!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
<poem>
        The Nadesico swiftly gets a transmission - not from the bold, booming voice of Zero, but instead, a colder and more taciturn girl - any video feed rendered into static. "I can't exactly be sure why you've fired on them, but now that you have - it's pretty clear Britannia isn't about to let you off the hook. We'll keep you piped in on what the Prime Minister's up to. Good luck, try not to die here of all places."

        And it's cut off as abruptly as it began, the Gawain slowly rising skywards, to just in front of the Nadesico's prongs. Zero's voice rings out over the airwaves: "Hmph. If Clovis was anywhere near capable enough to endure the current era, he would not have made the same mistakes. A man like you even out in the open is better defended than expected - but is your own power formidable enough to keep going in the maelstrom of the upended board?"

        The Harkens rise again, all five of them on the right arm surging out as though to entangle the Lancelot Club - but instead, the Sutherlands get between Lelouch and his target. He's sweating in his seat slightly, grimacing at overanalyzing every last move of Schneizel's - while also overassessing his own actions, not just on their own strategic benefit, but whether they out his identity - whether the smartest rival Lelouch has ever met could determine the man behind the mask purely through parallel between this bout and the games they've pitted each other against.

        "...Leave this aspect to me, and snap it back to reality a little bit, won't you?" C.C. breathes, reeling in the Harkens at just the right angle to rake those claws across Britannia's KMFs - before the Hadron Cannons briefly open to incinerate a sweep of them in a quick burst of fire.

        "...Of course. Team R-9 and R-7, you're closest in position. Begin intercepting fire between Schneizel and his ship - he's liable to retreat to the Avalon as soon as possible, since it holds current aerial supremacy. R-12, direct heavier ordinance right his way."

        From all sorts of openings beneath the northern highway on Mercer Island, three Burais whirl into position, laying down a hailstorm of explosives at Schneizel whilst C.C. and Lelouch clear out the direct armed guard...
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
        Christina MacKenzie, Esteemed Federation Soldier of the One Year War, burst onto the scene with rapid delivery, gunning the winged thrusters and--alighting? crashing?--stumbling to a landing atop one of the countless ruined buildings. She has only a moment to survey the tense landscape, with a stunning four--and even fifth capital ship blotting out the skies, before violence erupts in the contrails of dawnlight rockets, and in the ravenous fangs of a beam magnum, one fired far too eagerly to be in the Unicorn's hand.
                ("It's here...! They're both--?!")

Relief that she made it in time immediately dies away as the movements of the Knightmare frames grow odd, as one rises towards the Nadesico and broadca--
                "Wait, what?!" She almost smashes it into the open comms, but fails to find the button, and becomes glad she did as the misunderstanding of her allegiance is set in quikrete. That man, the Black Knight's commander, was it? Banagher's reaction is her own, so it is surely a ploy, but...

        But the launch of mobile suits from the Federation's ship... "Hah... Haha, oh, I've really stepped in it now... Alright, Ichinana... Let's get to know each other real fast, okay?"

        The Strike Daggers closing in... well, those least were a suit she knew the capabilities of.

        Even so, that doesn't help her if she can't get her footing... The Ichinana lurches into motion, attempting to step forward and jump backwards, but her timing is just all off in the new machine, and the approaching Daggers close in, catching her with a scorching beam shot that rocks the loaner mobile weapon.
        "Ghh, I need to get past you to help Banagher! Stand aside!" She's still careful to not use her comms, though--if her voice is recognized as a criminal, there's a lot of big problems that could erupt. Still, she lines up the mazin's assault rifle, squeezing on the alternate triggers to launch a heavy grenade towards the bulk of the Daggers!

        Though the Daggers lacked the antikinetic armor, the grenade shouldn't be enough to cause excessive damage. Still, Chris hoped it would be enough concussive force to scatter their formation until she could get her feet under her again.

        While she's buying time, the video display of the Main Readout is overridden with old--but uncomfortably sharp--recordings. She tries to tear her eyes away. Some of this she knew. Some of it she'd learned in the years after. Some of it, she never... "Char...What have you done?" she murmurs despite the din of battle all around her. But there's no time to dwell on it.
</poem>

 KTS: C.C. targets Schneizel el Britannia with Black Knights - Centralize Opposition!
 KTS: C.C. has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
         The Kshatriya holds up its wings to deflect the attack, but it's enough for the Banshee to grab on to, her breath shuddering as the pilot's emotions pour into her mind.

         I am Twelve.

         No! I'm not!

         ''It would be easier to go back.''

         Back before those people burdened it with difficult emotions.

         Those people...the Garencieres...the Ra Mari II...Mineva...Banagher...Zinnerman.

         The Banshee is right. They're just humoring it. Using it to kill for them. Pretending it's human.

         No! I know them better than that! They're my FRIENDS they're my FAMILY

         Suberoa Zinnerman loves m

         Marida blinks through moist vision. Tears stung at her cheeks. She had managed to catch enough of her focus to get a thought together. And with that thought, several funnels hovered around behind the attacking Banshee and pointed a deliberate shot towards its joints.
</poem>

 KTS: C.C. has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Ruri Hoshino
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Marida Cruz's Funnel Binder Targeted Blast, taking 2475 damage!
 KTS: Marida Cruz begins a Formation attack!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel successfully intercepts Christina MacKenzie's Ichinana MG Grenade

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
<poem>
Anita receives a transfer of data. She looks it over for a moment and then offers a nod.

"Thanks, Minae. This is a big help." She replies with a smile. Minae denies that the transmission is hers, and Anita nods. "...Yeah, this isn't your style. But then who...?"

In response to Alma's own surprise, Anita can only offer a mirthless chuckle that fades off a little awkwardly.

"...Fancy seeing you here, right? I don't have time to explain, but I promise this is all one big coincidence." Anita replies...

...Especially because Char's turned his gun on her. Well, if he insists...

"Sure, can do." Anita replies to the quip. She's kept the Pinpoint Barrier System off up to this point, but she can see where he's aiming. So, for just a split second, she directs it and turns it on. Thanks to her cybernetic connection to her Valkyrie, she doesn't even need to touch the controls. The machine gun fire meets flickering light, crashing against it harmlessly with minimal additional power draw.

In response, Anita draws out her gatling gun pod, spinning it up. The Svipul darts around through the air as a distraction before peppering him with further shots - though these are bit more to deal with than her beam vulcans.

To Alma's begging, though Anita can only reply, after some hesitation...

"...Sorry." She murmurs.
</poem>

 KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Char Aznable with Gatling Sweep!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan blocks Rin Starking's Rancor - Charge Them!, taking 2400 damage!
 KTS: Rin Starking has engaged Sophia Mayhew Castellan!

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
Bullets finally exhausted, the Unicorn's shield retracts its gun and soars back to the Gundam. She meets it with a raised arm, taking up the shield as a defensive tool once more. They're still isolated near the stadium. If Banagher wished, he might be able to simply return to the Ra Mari II now. The coordinate is unsealed. As the broadcast fades, the next location they must travel to displays on his screen.

...

Golden eyes widen, then close with a weary expression. Will this never end? Dismissing the new coordinate, Banagher straightens in his seat, breathing in and out. Even if he left the battlefield, this fight wouldn't end. There's too much at play, now. And he can't abandon his allies to face the Banshee and Char -- not to mention whatever's going on with those Black Knights.

"We can do this." Banagher murmurs to the Unicorn. "We have to."

Closing his eyes, the young pilot connects with his Gundam once more. The Unicorn responds, letting out a psychic shriek of rage and determination. With a thought from Banagher, she charges, racing back toward where the Banshee and Char fight, surrounded by so many of Banagher's allies.

<"Banshee pilot! C--Char Aznable!"> Banagher calls, as the Unicorn raises her beam saber and shield. <"I'm here to stop you both!"> A beat. He grits his teeth. <"I'm here to SAVE YOU!">

Audrey's feelings echo so clearly in his heart. She told him to not hold back against her father, but that's not what she really wants! Audrey wants him back, even if just to have one honest conversation. Banagher's heart shines with fevered devotion. If that's what she needs..! No matter what Char's done in the past! He won't stop until he's brought Char home!

The Unicorn echoes her pilot's feelings with a trumpeted call of psychic resonance. Her thrusters glow brighter, approaching the apex of the battle, raising her saber--!

And meeting the attack of her sister. The Banshee's saber is fierce, but the Unicorn holds it back, managing to slash at her hated enemy before they disengage. Banagher raises her shield just as Char brings his Heat Hawk down, ready to weather another attack.

But -- the Banshee shoves him away. The Unicorn goes skidding back, her young pilot radiating shock. Why did it do that? Why did it save him? Isn't the pilot's mission to take him in..?

He can't think about that now. Chris' arrival gains his attention, and Banagher sends a message her way quickly.

<"I'm safe for now! Keep yourself safe, I'll try and get to you when I can!">

Once again shoved from the melee, the Unicorn... hesitates. Can he really attack the Banshee while she's holding back the Red Comet, after it saved him? Extinguishing the beam saber, Banagher draws forth his beam magnum. The powerful gun charges up, but -- who is he going to fire at?
</poem>

 KTS: Naoto Kozuki inspires awe, increasing Kallen Kozuki's Morale!
 KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Beam Saber Slash!
 KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki rushes into the attack!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki partially guards Cornelia li Britannia's EM Jousting Lance - Implacable Assault, taking 4371 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has engaged Kallen Kozuki!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia fails to intercept Ruri Hoshino's Missile Barrage, taking 1800 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 parries Banagher Links's Beam Saber Slash, taking 1200 damage!
 KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Puru-1!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.
 KTS: C.C. anchors Schneizel el Britannia, forcing him into close range.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia fails to react to C.C.'s Black Knights - Centralize Opposition, taking 2960 damage!
 KTS: C.C. has engaged Schneizel el Britannia!

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
The first thrust goes well.  Common procedure would dictate bringing in the Dominion to provide cover, but of course, Natarle's being pulled in two directions.

And on top of all the other distractions...  Seattle was before her time, before her service, but it's not an uncommon story.  So much of Britannia bears proof of the way its leaders only see territory, figures and flags.  No sense of life...  Just a relentless pursuit of order, even at the cost of any hope of recovery.

And the chaos only increases as the Britannian royals make their entrances.  "As flashy as ever...  I guess that's the luxury of royalty.  Bang, Odom, maintain the parameter and make space for the royal advance.  We can let them handle the counteroffensive, for now."

For now, hopefully, the additional KMFs will be sufficient support for the Daggers escorting the councilors...  she can afford to focus on wrapping up things on this end.  Ichinanas certainly aren't rare, but being loaned out to insurgents?  That seems out of character for Dr. Kabuto.  She needs answers.

"Close in on that one-seven.  Igstellungs at full barrage.  Cover the MS squadron and let's aim to bring them in."

''If I can detain them, maybe I can get the truth, for once.''
</poem>

 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel targets Christina MacKenzie with Igelstellung Sweeping Fire!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
<poem>
Sophia's Flag touches down on its stick legs. But up close, the Flag only has that dinky sonic knife, doesn't it? Even less; her loadout doesn't seem to even have it. So when she braces and holds up the Defense Rod, a computer-guided spinning staff designed to knock bullets aside, it might seem foolish.

Until, that is, another Flag comes down, and fully just tackles the charging bull of a wanzer enough to slow it down, letting Sophia smash it into the thing's face to deflect the worst of the blow.

"Three-man team," Sophia muses. "What a coincidence. All units, the Knightmare Frame is the only one with a pilot. Don't let her distract you too much."

So saying, the two remaining Knightmares draw their knives and DO, in fact, attempt to carve Rancor apart like a game hen.
</poem>

 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Rin Starking with Hyperion Battle Group Spear Formation!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
<poem>
The opening of fire on Britannian troops is a /clear/ statement, one that's got even Zero's side bewildered. And with a statement comes a response, as Cornelia li Britannia declares that there's absolutely no mercy for traitors.

The assault rifle fire sweeps forth, and although Hikaru's able to just escape its wrath in time, she quickly realizes that she /will/ die if she doesn't follow along with Omoikane. "Heheheh... looks like this one's /royally/ pissed..." Izumi, ever the dark comedian even in a situation like this, transmits, met with a collective groan by her fellow pilots.

"Okie dokie, Black Knights! Looks like we have a common enemy." Hikaru cheerfully transmits to Kallen and Oz's machines. "Let's at least /try/ to work together, okay? I'm more used to team combat!" Solo combat, is in fact, not her thing.

It works a lot more as it should work, if you're not actively trying to fight Omoikane's targeting algorithm. And that targeting algorithm is more than happy to target a Britannian field commander. "A real princess, huh! I kinda didn't know you guys were still a thing." Hikaru's voice certainly does not seem like one who belongs to the person who just tried to gun down Cornelia's soldiers without hesitation - granted it probably won't make her less hated. "If we're going to have to fight, at least it'll be one to remember! Aestie Rocket Punch!!" She does the little motion for it in her cockpit, and the fists of the Aestivalis spring forward guided by wires to make for a slightly more cost-efficient Rocket Punch!
</poem>

 KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Cornelia li Britannia with Aestivalis Rocket Punch!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<poem>
It's not that Zero is unimportant (far from it), but there is a very well-graphed scale of things that Puru Two must immediately react to, and his political machinations are on a different time-scale to the reality that she lives in right now. It isn't that she does not care, it's that she cannot afford to care... at the moment.

"Eight," the dour redhead keys open a line to her CO while she has a moment's space. "If you see the Feds sizing us up, you let me know. I'll send them packing." her offer of assistance given, she returns to the fight. To Minae's very vital clue, as well.

"I -get- it," she admits through clenched teeth. "But I don't know how to pull her out of that swamp she's in... what if it pulls us in, too?"

The battlefield is truly alight with emotion, thicker than usual. Such is the hazard of the age: feelings have become weaponized more than ever. Streamlined and processed through machines, becoming yet another layer on which war is waged. The teeth clench harder as the Unicorn broadcasts the truth of all those years ago, of the Federation's failings.

As far as Puru Two is concerned: these are the deafest ears they could land on. "So much noise...!" she hisses, unable to tell where the audio-visual experience ends and hallucinations begin. For a time, the Queen Mansa slows as its pilots primary control mechanism (her mind) is awash with the noise of the outside, defenses pummeled and unable to keep the creeping, crawling coldness of the Banshee at bay. The psychic shriek peels away her calm exterior, taking her back to all those years ago.

That moment when one of them died.

The guilt.
        The darkness.
                The source.

In the cockpit, Callisto hangs limp in her seat as her consciousness reels. Phantasmal hands grope and grasp at her throat and collarbone, byzantium wisps of aberrant force trickling upwards from the glowing circuitry lining the interior. Wouldn't it be easier to give in here, and finally make amends for the sin of all those years ago...?

It's Banagher who saves her in this moment, when the silent Queen Mansa would otherwise be carved open and plundered. The buzz of distant vulcan fire sends the Banshee fleeing from the big mobile armor, and the ricocheting drum of missed shots splatting against the armor jolts her back to the present. As the Banshee's distance increases, the phantasmal hands seem to fade. Puru Two takes a sharp intake of breath as her senses catch back up, still full of static.

"Are you--jealous...?" Puru Two asks, eyes moist. "I know you were jealous, kind of a crybaby... possessive... but you weren't a monster, right? Even in the hands of monsters. Who pulled this darkness out of you?"

The Queen Mansa brandishes an enormous beam saber of brilliant emerald, taking up position in front of the Zeta and its precious, irreplaceable pilot. "Do you think I moved on and stopped caring, just because I have family of my own finding? I know you're not that stupid! You're me, after all!" she shouts down the *thing* in possession of the Banshee.

"Arriety, help me--we'll cut this thing down and free... her from inside. Even if it scares me, even if I don't want to look, we have to."

But alas, remember: the Queen Mansa is slow and cumbersome in comparison to the sprightly Banshee. Such a full-bodied lunge can be seen coming a mile off, surely?
</poem>

 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: Rin Starking blocks Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Hyperion Battle Group Spear Formation, taking 4320 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Sophia Mayhew Castellan's I See You activates, causing Designate L1!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has engaged Rin Starking!
 KTS: Puru Two targets Puru-1 with Heavy Beam Saber Strike!
 KTS: Puru Two has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Puru Two's Heavy Beam Saber Strike, taking 750 damage!
 KTS: Puru Two has engaged Puru-1!

 <Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.
<poem>
        The battle is quickly devolving into a mess. Weapons and transmissions flying left and right in equal devastation. As the Lancelot Club pulls back from the immediate front lines, Schneizel has already made his way inside it cockpit. Even with adaptions to make it a two seater, it's a tight fit.

        But better than being outside at a time like this.

        Schneizel begins with, "Thank you, Kanon. Your time was, as ever, perfect."

        Kanon Maldini, Schneizel's personal knight currently piloting this knightmare, replies, "Thank you, my Lord. However, that was reckless."

        "A calculated move. One that I dare say has proved fruitful. Still..." Schneizel watches with concern as a tranmission plays across one of his screens. There is a solemn look on Schneizel's face as he watches, "A dark event in Britannia's history. The blood of many is on the royal family's hands, the price of leading a nation in this harsh world. Even I must be bare such blame for what has happened in this war..."

        "... But I will not allow the mistakes of the past to weigh me down. I... The Britannian Union will guide this world into a greater future." Schneizel's eyes watch a screen showing the Unicorn fighting off the Banshee, "And I suspect that machine has the potential to be the light which will lead us there."

        Schneizel catches a brief glimpse of a familiar Gloucster fighting on the battlefield. He opens a channel to it, <"Cornelia. I am fortunate to once again be able to see with my own eyes the beautiful light of the Goddess of Victory shining on the battlefield. I pray for your success and safety, dear sister.">

        At Kanon's hands, the Lancelot Club continues pulling back. As Zero had anticipated, it's attempting to gain enough ground from its pursuers to retreat to the flying Avalon. Which is currently holding position nearby, small caliber cannons firing to try and shoot down the Nadesico's missiles aimed at it. Some break through, though they explode prematurely as a Blaze Luminous barrier, similar to the one used by the Lancelot but far larger, appears in their path.

        Unfortunately, the Gawain is able to overcome the barrier of the Sutherlands between it and its prey, Hadron Cannons sweeping over several of the BU Knightmares, causing them to explode. This gives the Gawain its opening, Slash Harkens rocketing out towards the Lancelot Club. The machine attempts to weave around them on its landspinners, gracefully moving its way through several of them.

        But it only takes one.

        A Slash Harken wraps around the Lancelot Club's arm, the cable going tight and bringing the machines retreat to a sudden halt. Struggling against the line, Kanon says apologetically, "Sorry, my Lord. This one is proving to be a formidable pilot."

        Schenizel seems unconcerned by their current predicament, replying, "Not to worry, Kanon. Myer's team should be in position now."

        Soon enough, there is the whistling sound in the air. Heavy artillery then begins to rain down on the Gawain and the Nadesico's position, threatening to catch them in their explosions. Some distance away, a team of Sutherlands armed with heavy cannons on send the explosive shells arcing through the air towards their targets.
</poem>

 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets Cornelia li Britannia with All-Out!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia orders an all-out attack, raising Cornelia li Britannia's Skill!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to evade Hikaru Amano's Aestivalis Rocket Punch, taking 5610 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Hikaru Amano's I'll Introduce Myself! activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets C.C. and Ruri Hoshino with 18-tube Missile Launchers.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: C.C. has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
 KTS: C.C. fails to retreat.
 KTS: C.C. fails to evade Schneizel el Britannia's 18-tube Missile Launchers, taking 3760 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
<poem>
        The Zeta's own I-Field fires, the moment the Banshee surprisingly pitches itself into a controlled fall -- it almost feels like a manoeuvre that would only work if there was no pilot, or perhaps a really experienced one who can withstand such forces... the smartgun prongs rotate and lash at her space, and Arriety's forced to hunker down underneath the shield and defend -- not like Palau.  She's not gonna make the same mistake again.

        "I'm going to look after myself..." Arriety responds softly to Callisto.  "I'm going to look after you too.  Minae's on escort duty if I can't control the mobile suit anymore."  Clear, defined lines; she's not thrusting herself out here without a plan.  Minae reassures her that whatever she feels is right to do... do it.  "... thank you, Minae."

        Minae advises Callisto on another level, too.  That she didn't choose this.  Puru Two tells her that that can't be Puru One.  It... can't be.  "... I know it can't really be her, but at the same time..." Arriety frowns tighter.  "I don't know what's going on, but... I've sensed her when she was around you.  This is like someone took what she was and warped her to their own ends... I don't like it one bit."

        The Unicorn's power overflows, and for a moment, Arriety is awash with the image of... is this the past?  She doesn't quite understand, but she understands the role of 'Char' in that flashback...

        Callisto -- Puru Two -- begins to entreat Puru One, so she resolves to back her up.  She wants to cut the Banshe edown and free her from the inside...

        "Okay.  Okay, sis... let's do it--"

        And at that moment, a crimson Seed alights upon a shallow pool of infinitely reflective water, her mind's eye bursting wide open as, certainly as Minae can see, her pupils dilate until they're little more than dots.

        Arriety's psychic profile changes; there's a sheer focus to it now, sharpened to a point that almost seems inhuman as the Zeta dives inwards after her.  She opens with the vulcans and grenades, but these are smokescreens, distractions set to go wide and detonate ahead of time that masks her approach; by the time she's reeled in the distance between them, she's on the other side of the Queen Mansa, snapping off several beam rifle shots to try to force a defend--

        "Together!"

        --and then the crimson beam saber is out from underneath the shield as she strikes in unison.
</poem>

 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Puru-1 with SEED Coordinated Assault!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie blocks Natarle Badgiruel's Igelstellung Sweeping Fire, taking 1020 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Arriety Hearn's SEED Coordinated Assault, taking 6480 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Insight L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn completes the Formation attack!

 <Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.
<poem>
The path to  apprehending the Prime Minister is not one that was easily paved. To say he was well guarded was an understatement as the sky literally rains enemies down upon them. Each move that is made has to be taken with account of the very sky itself as they push forward. The sound of gun fire and explosives raining down through the sky and shooting upwards into it. In all aspects it is what one could consider a true battlefield.

Even if it was the case that the sky was going alight with the fireworks of enemies being destroyed as they descended upon them, there's an aggravation to it as well.

Up to the point that they were on the hunt for Marcenas their formation felt truly structured, though with the appearance of Schneizel alone...It had become something different altogether. Their attention redirected to the prime minister had forced them to re-allocate their assets, and while it was true that he too found himself caught up in the chase of bigger prey, the choice of doing so was showing through... It felt like they were going to be fighting on a backheel now.

That feeling only continued to be exacerbated as a certain KMF joined the fray. Her gunfire rains down, and while she wasn't the only one that had been taking aim, what was most annoying about her... Tch. She's got sharp eyes...

He's forced to divert attention from shooting down the pilots coming down and focus on defense as she finally lands dealing with Kallen first. It's only at this time where Hikaru reaches out to her that Oz retorts over the comms...

< "Sure...Just keep doing what you're doing." > Rather than working together, in truth the white KMF of the Black Knights feels more like he's using Hikaru's team. As a rocket punch is thrown, The arm of the Byakuen shifts into its canon form. It's target already locked on Cornelia's KMF, though clearly he's trying to fire at her from her blind spot. From having her focused on Kallen, to dealing with Hikaru's team, it's simply taking advantage of a chance to exploit to fire off a destructive round through her machine before she can realize it. < "No need to offer up your lance, I'd rather just take your head." >
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
<poem>
Rancor is in the lead. The heavy duty Wanzer with its reinforced shield is immediately set upon. The Wanzer, as Sophia notices, will have no pilot in it; it might be hard to tell given that it draws back, intercepting one sonic knife with its heavy riot shield and a screech of shredding foliage, but there are more. Metal cuts and the Wanzer thrashes, trying to pull nearer.

Sophia's eye reveals the truth...

... and it can see a web of links emerging from the self-titled Super Soldier in the enemy's command unit. They shoot off crazily in all directions but they go, not least, towards the Wanzer. ... is that a second thread? No, it's probably just an afterimage, since it's going back the same -

Without the comms, Rin gets to see the grisly truth. "RANCOR" she shouts as she brings up the target reticule. The command unit raises its anti-mechanized rifle and does not seem to aim, popping off several shots almost immediately while throwing out a Harken to anchor into a patch of concrete infrastructure nearby and wrench it to the side, enabling a *strafing run* which may be bad for Sophia's copilots, one way or another.

Overhead the damn drone flits, quad-rotored and laden with menace. Rancor attempts to pull away; perhaps in the chaos the heavy unit can make it loose, but it is already trailing smoke. Not usually auspicious.
</poem>

 KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has failed to disengage.
 KTS: Rin Starking targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Liberator Combined Arms Platform Barrage!
 KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Attune Spirit Command.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino successfully intercepts Schneizel el Britannia's 18-tube Missile Launchers
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan retreats from the attack!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan fails to evade Rin Starking's Liberator Combined Arms Platform Barrage, taking 3150 damage!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon targets Cornelia li Britannia with Precision Shot: 70mm Liquid Sakuradite Explosive Cartridge!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
<poem>
        Minae watches the Nadesico and the Aestvalis support suddenly lose targeting and control. She does the opposite of chewing at her lip and goes stock-still, which is telling in its own way. When a lot of her tics and 'acting' as a human is done performatively to help fit in and make people feel more comfortable, abruptly dropping those same tics highlights how much processing power she's having to devote to the situation. "Something's wrong. Omoikane?" she asks aloud, pinging the Nadesico over the link she's trying to establish.

        It exposes a hole in her thinking when it comes to evaluating people she's trying to counsel. She's talked a lot with other Super AI, and she knows how to talk with them - but each and every one is processing their emotions differently, and using different language and expressions to do it. She watches the arc of the missiles that erupt from the Nadesico, and glances to the transmission going on, and puts two and two together slower than she'd like.

        There's enough happening around her that she simply decides to leave piloting up to Arriety, trusting her ability to read and weave through people's intents and feelings, and instead focuses on-- still doing too much at once, if she's honest. Between logging the transmission for later, maintaining the situation map, tracking a sudden spread of unfamiliar orders and rumours, and trying to ascertain what exactly has happened to the Nadesico, she's still stretched further than she'd like.

        Not for the first time, she wishes she were more suited for this work. But that's okay, too. She knows you have to have those kinds of thoughts if you want to grow.

        "There's a concerted effort," she decides to trust her instincts as she replies to Anita. "I don't know from where, or from how, but this is all part of the same attempt to discredit--" she's forced to stop there, because there's multiple answers. The Unicorn? The Federation? The Three Ships Alliance. The only answer she can come to is 'all of the above'. "--everyone here. Just be ready to retreat," she adds as advice. "It might be best for us to get out of here really quickly once we're done."

        "Then we'll hold onto each other one by one, and reach down as far as we can. And you've got me there to be the anchor post," Minae says-- with more confidence and gentleness than she truly feels right now, but as much as she needs to display for the two pilots. "And if we can't do it today... we make sure we can try again tomorrow. We don't have to accomplish everything. Something like this can take time."

        "One of these days I'm going to get a complex about people asking me to do things for them if they get injured," the robot goes to lecture Arriety - but there's no bite to it, and fondness in the tone of voice. And in a way, Arriety's conviction reminds her that she's got her own boundaries and her own limits to properly bear in mind if she wants to repay her pilot's trust. She gives up on trying to track whatever information war is happening beneath the surface, and focuses in on the Zeta, ready to take over the controls if need be.
</poem>

 KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn
 KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Arriety Hearn with Sparkle!
 KTS: BC-001 Minae has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
Of course Britannia would focus on them first. There was never any doubt in her mind. The sight of a pair of Harkens slamming into the ground at her sides is only further proof. Still, if she were able to have her pick of anybody on the field to dance with today. This would be her first choice. The Princess and she have some unfinished business after all. <"What's the difference? Is there anyone other than your own Royal Family you DON'T hold contempt for!?">

As Cornelia comes flying down at her, a feed of data shoots in, giving her a few options. "Thank you, I'll handle this quickly!" Everything going on has her anger tempered down. Forged into something so much greater. Focused and blazing, not as a bloody scream of hate, but as a black-trimmed banner, singing to those who seek hope.

The pilot from the Nadesico sends a hail, and to her a friendly voice comes in return. "Happy to work with you today!" Even with her voice distorted, it's hard to miss that the pilot is a young woman. And that she's surprisingly more accommodating than one might expect! "I prefer working with a squad myself, so welcome aboard." She is not in fact joining their terrorist group. But at least for this battle, allies.

Still... Kallen yet has a problem. Cornelia is racing toward her. And the woman's lancework is infamous. Given the chance, she'll core out the Guren without a second thought. So there's only one good way to deal with it. Landspinners roar to life as the Guren races up the same path the Gloucester is taking, opting to meet Cornelia midway in, intercepting by launching off the terrain while she's still in the air! The lance provides her with superior range, so Kallen has to get inside its reach. That WILL mean taking a hit, but as the one meeting her attack, she can adjust toward it. To take a more glancing blow, gouging and shearing off a  substantial strip of the Guren's shell just beneath the arm. And in return, the great silver claw twists, to dig in much like a lance itself, and take its own pound of flesh so to speak, from the Royal Knightmare!
</poem>

 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Cornelia li Britannia with Iron Nail 'Drill' Slash!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: BC-001 Minae sparkles, reducing Arriety Hearn's incoming damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
The Zentradi Monitor takes another hard hit from an anti-ship rifle, scoring ore rents in its armor, ablating to protect the vulnerable spaces within.

"Irritant, is it?" Eight answers, "And yet you still didn't get your way at Palau.  I'm not a glory hound like you, Aznable.  As long as the job gets done, it's just fine."

There's too much going on to track, and yet track it they must.  "Rezza," Eight directs.  "Get me everything you hve on the Black Knights when the battle's over.  And get ready to leave quickly.  Kazama..."

"Keep an eye on their formations.  We might have to care about them very quickly."

Then there's the matter of the Zaku II itself, and Eight directs the next attack quickly.  "Let's use the beam cannons this time.  Direct towards him--fire on my coordinates--mark!"

The giant beams /hammer/ down towards Char's machine this time, a pinpoint shot that might do better this time.
</poem>

 KTS: Eight York targets Char Aznable with Guided Beam Cannons - Charge Shot!
 KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon rattles Cornelia li Britannia, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to evade Orpheus Zevon's Precision Shot: 70mm Liquid Sakuradite Explosive Cartridge, taking 4500 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to parry Kallen Kozuki's Iron Nail 'Drill' Slash, taking 6900 damage!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Cornelia li Britannia!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Hikaru Amano
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Orpheus Zevon
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Char Aznable's Everything Makes Sense Again activates, and his spirit is adjusted.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Char Aznable, reducing his Morale significantly.
 KTS: Puru-1 anchors Char Aznable, forcing him into close range.
 KTS: Char Aznable fails to parry Puru-1's Armed Armor VN Catch and Kill, taking 6417 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Char Aznable!
 KTS: [Lucky] Alma Stirner's Queen Cutter activates, and luck goes her way!
 KTS: Alma Stirner rattles Char Aznable, making his next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Char Aznable fails to evade Alma Stirner's Giant Bazooka II Curtailing Shot, taking 4410 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable blocks Anita Rosetta's Gatling Sweep, taking 2400 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable successfully evades Eight York's Guided Beam Cannons - Charge Shot
 KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged.

 <Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
        Chris is getting the hang of this, adapting to the controls even under fire. And what fire! A capital ship's point defense gatlings... Docking her rifle, Chris draws her Mazinger Blade, deflecting most of the storm of bullets before they impact anything more sensitive than armor.
                 "An entire battleship, just for me...? But... I can't afford to get arrest as one of these Black Knights."

        In typical fashion, she's not worried about her own neck. Leina already has enough trouble with earthist PMCs, Sayla just got back amidst damage control. Not to mention the damage that could be done to her relief work with accusations of terrorism! --Well, then again, she /is/ a member of Celestial Being. It isn't strictly /wrong/. That would be another problem of its own...

        She's getting lost in her own thoughts, when a direct comm cuts across into her cockpit. '<"I'm safe for now! Keep yourself safe, I'll try and get to you when I can!">', he says. Hah, that boy.
                <"Focus on the enemy in front of you. I'll hold out!"> she replies, once she's sure the P2P channel is secure.

        The Ichinana ducks into a ruined building to take shelter from the cover fire, still attempting to shake the Daggers. Its broad wings crash through gutted concrete until it gets a little more room to move freely... The sword swings, and concrete collapses between Chris and her pursuers. There's silence for long moments...before two crescent blades burst from the building, burning hard directly for the Dominion. Chris takes aim, that battered left arm tightening on the hilt of the Mazinger Blade, arcing in a two-handed sweep across the point-defense gatlings that assailed her!
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
The Zaku-II's head turns and that baleful amber monoeye fixes on the Unicorn.

"You can't save me, boy," Char says - dull and distant, as the monoeye takes in the Titania and the Svipul too. "Nobody on this battlefield can." No 3G. No Shuffle Crest Bearers. Nobody with the power to drive the Oath from his body - and certainly Britannia and the Federation wouldn't bother trying.

        YOU BETRAY E V E R Y O N E the Banshee howls as its Nail latches on, squeezing and charged with electricity. Char lets out a cry of his own, lifting up his Heat Hawk. The edge of it changes hue, from amber to white-hot, and he brings it down again and again on the Armed Nail to smash and seat it apart so he can break loose.

Jetting free, the Zaku looks from the Unicorn back to the Banshee. "Focus on saving ''them''." What is it about this machine that draws so much of his focus? The deep sense of wrongness about it is one thing, but...

        ''How does she know me?'' The way the pilot's psychic influence is taunting him... it's so... uncomfortably familiar.

Either way - it's a psycoframe machine just like the Unicorn. The Oath cares little which of them falls first, and that's fine by him. "We'll have to postpone our date with destiny," he remarks dryly to the Unicorn.

Alma reaches out to him, and he has only silence for her - but a silence that speaks volumes. After all -what point would there be in justifying himself, so many years on, after living through what that deed cost the world? It is a common refrain, among those who wonder what might have been, that 'Garma was the best of the Zabis'. Doubtless that man would have condemned Glemy Toto's work; he was, after all, the soft-hearted one.

He cannot, however, evade Alma's missiles the way he evades answering her, his Zaku sent flying across the city. Regaining control, he turns the Zaku-II's left shoulder towards Anita, again letting the shield intercept her barrage, and using his momentum to steer clear of the ''Ra Mari II'' and her massive beam cannons.

Knocked clear of the brawl with the Banshee, he has a moment to reassess the fight, and pulls up the bazooka again. The Svipul and Titania each receive a salvo, while the ''Ra Mari II'' receives a much more potent set of armour-piercing shells.
</poem>

 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has NOT engaged with Natarle Badgiruel

 <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
<poem>
        Ruri worries, for the Amabilis. (Alma, too.) But so much happens, so /quickly,/ and she can't reach her in time. If only she could pull her more fiercely. But would she let go, if Alma cried out..?

        "I'm sorry," Ruri's face appears, in Hikaru's cockpit. "I'll take responsibility, so..."

        Omoikane's message scrolls over his communication window, to Minae and Arriety.

                        < FEDERATION = ENEMY >
                        < NOT OKAY ! >
                        < I WON'T LET THEM >
                        < STOP >
                        < STOP >
                        < STOP >
                        < STOP >

        "Omoikane," Ruri whispers, tone ragged, as she presses her hands to her console. "Calm down, please..." She can't say they're not a threat, not seeing someting like that, but --

        It's her distress which has him relaxing his control over the Nadesico and its wing -- Hikaru should be able to target who she wants, now. (Now the damage is done.)

        But Megumi transmits C.C.'s message, and Jun's face draws to a point of tension. "Without even a response... I guess we can't reason with them."

        "Not after something like /that,/" Megumi scowls.

        "Incoming," Ruri reports, cutting in.

        Omoikane is still bristling enough to fire down those missiles, though -- with missiles of his own. They explode before they reach the Nadesico... and if it protects the Gawain in turn, well, that's certainly /convenient,/ isn't it?

        "Fire missiles," Jun orders, stomach falling to somewhere close to his knees.

        "Beginning the attack," Ruri confirms, and at least she's the one to input the command, this time. She's thinking through enough to target the weapons systems of the Avalon with a well-aimed missile... and she's trying to hit the /weapons,/ rather than anything else.

        Opening a communication channel to C.C., she asks: "Who are you, anyway? Are they /really/ trying to capture the Unicorn?" She's credulous enough, but she looks the part; she's almost fourteen, but that makes her /still thirteen,/ on the other end of that video link. (Whether C.C. transmits visual data in turn, well -- that's a mystery to be solved on a later page.)

        She doesn't open a conveniential channel, though, for her next question -- to the machine called the Banshee. It's something deeper which asks: Why are you fighting the Unicorn? Aren't you family?
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable targets Puru-1 with Zaku-II Heat Hawk Overcharge Carve!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Schneizel el Britannia with Seeker Missile!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Anita Rosetta with Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Alma Stirner with Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Eight York with Type A2 MS Bazooka Anti-Ship Volley!
 KTS: Char Aznable has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Char Aznable enervates Puru-1, reducing their Morale significantly.
 KTS: Puru-1 parries Char Aznable's Zaku-II Heat Hawk Overcharge Carve, taking 2010 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Too Many Masks activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Unbreakable Oath activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Red Comet activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Puru-1!
 KTS: Eight York successfully avoids Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Anti-Ship Volley
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Anita Rosetta's Easygoing activates, and her spirit endures.
 KTS: Char Aznable enervates Anita Rosetta, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta fails to intercept Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage, taking 7920 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Too Many Masks activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Unbreakable Oath activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Red Comet activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie targets Natarle Badgiruel with Mazinger Blade Topple Strike!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Alma Stirner charges into the attack!
 KTS: Alma Stirner partially guards Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Barrage, taking 4620 damage!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia fails to react to Ruri Hoshino's Seeker Missile, taking 4500 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
<poem>
It's a drone, but, Sophia remembers too late, it's a REALLY QUITE GOOD one, and the Wanzer manages to hold off one of the knives. The other scores real damage. In all: Pretty even.

Sophia's used to navigating the webs of connection. Humanity is an enormous web, if you take a long enough view, and learning how to focus herself has been critical in using her Geass well. Still...what's that--

She catches a sense of violent intent, and whirls. The Flag is a nimble machine and Sophia a skilled pilot; she's able to juke herself up and away to minimal damage. Her /squadmates/ take a nasty few hits before they can clear out, though. Having bought some range, Sophia swings up her linear cannon, peppering the ground around Rin with rail-accelerated shots. The chaos around her - even the presence of Char Aznable and the Unicorn, a machine she's seen herself achieve miracles - fades to just focus on this. She'll have time to debate how to deal with all the /rest/ of this, later.
</poem>

 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Attune Spirit Command.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Rin Starking with Linear Cannon Burst!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
<poem>
        Increasingly, pursuing Schneizel takes more and more resources on the Black Knights' part - not only does he have ample reinforcements, but he's fully in his high-spec KMF and rapidly within his airship's line of defense and retreating deeper into it.

        Lelouch, gently rubbing along one temple, asks, "C.C., it's starting to become a slightly foregone conclusion that Schneizel is liable to get away from where we had him. ...Confirmation on Marcenas' position?"

        Video feeds from the Black Knights on the island track the recent whereabouts of Ronan's escort - while his motorcade is persistent, with several surprisingly heavy guns from within its armed escorts, it's stuck on this little landmass with both exits more or less occupied. "...We shouldn't delay, lest they slip out of our net, and it looks like the ones hunting him down haven't quite gotten there, but...we should have time, if you still want to try your luck."

        While the Gawain can weave and dodge through the artillery some, one wing does get clipped, which severely limits its ability to keep ascending, and pursue Schniezel through the clouds. Lelouch huffs out, "...Your reactions are slower than normal. At this rate, it's you I'm worrying more about."

        ...It takes C.C. that moment of worry for her to realize that the intensity of everything beyond this conflict - the twin lights of the Unicorn and the Banshee, the whirling cascade of intense voices and hearts caught in that tangled web of nettles - it's all been taking its own toll on her. She's sweating rather profusely, as it turns out, piloting the Gawain more by rote instinct than by any real strategy, firing off the Hadron Cannons with relative inconsistency in Schneizel's direction. "...you're right. ...gh...the black Gundam. The opposite, yet mirror of the Unicorn. I..."

        "Give me forty five more seconds, and we'll take some time to reassess the situation. ...suffering reduces the capacity to think clearly, so don't let it happen just because you're used to it."

        That expression is enough to pull C.C. out of it in turn - right about when Ruri pipes in a little communication window. ...the baleful eyes of this girl taking responsibility for a ship like this at such a tender age, her careful and meticulous voice. It reminds C.C....

        ...oooof someone she really does not want to be reminded of. There's /another/ obstacle to push free from. No visual data given, and really - what /can/ she reveal, as 'an added person in Zero's mobile weapon'? "...Who isn't trying to capture the Unicorn? It's the key to Laplace's Box, so they say. What happens if it's opened? It doesn't matter quite so much - only that it is notably closed, and those who'd like everything to stay how it is would like it to stay that way too. Within that box, perhaps, lies change itself. The ultimate power of possibility, including the countless possibilities for everything to fall apart. ...who I am isn't important. I really should be a bit more concerned with who /you/ are, but something about your voice tells me I'd get a cross answer if I asked why a kid was operating a ship like that."
</poem>

 KTS: C.C. targets Schneizel el Britannia with Hadron Cannon - Knight Fork!
 KTS: C.C. has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Foresee Spirit Command.
 KTS: Rin Starking fails to evade Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Linear Cannon Burst, taking 6420 damage!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia fails to retreat.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia fails to evade C.C.'s Hadron Cannon - Knight Fork, taking 4200 damage!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie rattles Natarle Badgiruel, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel fails to evade Christina MacKenzie's Mazinger Blade Topple Strike, taking 3525 damage!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has engaged Natarle Badgiruel!

 <Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.
<poem>
''Cornelia.''

The Second Princess blinks as that channel unexpectedly opens -- and the warmest praise is offered in the very heat of battle.

And despite the chaos of the moment--

Cornelia briefly glances aside as her indigo gaze hoods, clearing her throat as if - of all things - flustered in the face of such compliments.

<"... Really, brother, that's... just too much.">

It's a rare moment that -no one else- can be privy to and live -- but that praise from someone dear to her fuels the fire in Cornelia's heart all the same. Embarrassment swiftly shifts towards sharpness as the Second Princess turns her attention on her opponents and the battle begins.

Blows are exchanged. The Guren's armor sheers in the electromagnetic discharge, just as that great silver claw IMPALES through a chunk of the Gloucester in a perfectly in synch joust. The damage is considerable. But--

Is there anyone besides the Royal Family Cornelia -doesn't- hold contempt for?

<"You'll be acquainted with your grave long before you're acquainted with the slightest chance of me humoring your rhetoric, Black Knight.">

It's a fire Cornelia will need, too -- in the midst of this melee, and all this chaos, the Princess has made herself an obvious mark... and now she pays the price for it. The Aestivalis' fists -slam- against Cornelia's Gloucester even as she is -yanking- her lance backward from the Guren, denting violet armor inward -- and more importantly, setting her off-balance for the follow-up. The Gloucester spins, just in time to see the Byakuen aiming the barrel of its cannon at it; that lance THRUSTS forward suddenly to intercept, and the subsequent, explosive impact SHREDS past the KMF, doing expensive damage to its frame but - fortunately - not literally shredding it to pieces.

"Tch--" grimaces Cornelia; she eyes the damage readout of her Gloucester. It's already turning foul. But...

<"There will always be kings and queens, Nergal hound. No matter what they call themselves. That is--"> She thinks of Euphemia, of Marianne. ... Lelouch and Nunnally. <"--the natural way.">

The Gloucester spins to face its foes.

<"There will always be rulers--">

Because Cornelia will never, -never- back down.

"<"--and ruled!">

Landspinners squeal; Landspinners launch again, this time towards the Byakuen and the Aestivalis as the horned Gloucester -charges- at them without hesitation or relent. If the Harkens connect, Cornelia will -snap- them inwards -- to -yank- both the Aestivalis and Byakuen towards each other on a hellacious collision course...

... just in time for Cornelia to greet them, the electrically-charged point of her lance sweeping up to SLAM into one, then the other, at high speeds.

<"So try to take my head--">

And the Gloucester keeps -going-, -past- them, building and building and building speed --

--until it suddenly LEAPS, sparking frame twisting nimbly through the air and tattered cape whipping behind it as it seeks to DRIVE its lance down upon the Guren in a downwards plunge.

<"--if you dare to have the gall to believe yourself capable!">
</poem>

 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia targets Hikaru Amano with EM Jousting Lance - Piercing Thrust!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia targets Orpheus Zevon with EM Jousting Lance - Piercing Thrust!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia targets Kallen Kozuki with EM Jousting Lance - Goddess of Victory!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        Why? Why is everyone trying to pull Alma like that?  It can't really be her!  There's so many feelings that could happen in that moment.  Alma can feel the frustration growing until it detonates like a white hot spike in her skull.

                  I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I AM
                        YOU KNOW WHY
                YOU KNOW WHY YOU KNOW WHY YOU KNOW
                        W H Y 
                
        Marida tries to reassert herself, her identity against the psychic assault, only for the pilot, this Puru-1, this thing that should never have existed, to push back.  It's funnel fire moves towards a targeted assault, and several of its beams are caught once again in the devouring cloud of the I-Field, while another is swept up on the edge of a Beam Tonfa.

        HOLLOW HOLLOW HOLLOW HOLLOW
                COMBAT UNIT
        NEVER A D A U G H T E R
        
        Its prongs on the right arm rotate forward, and there is an awful violet blast that tries to melt several of the Quadwings of the Kshatriya right off, fire coursing over it like napalm, trying to melt through it outright with its ever shifting, dancing beamfire, a field of suppressing fire to get away from it.

        Banagher declares he is there to save Puru-1, the pilot of this thing as well as Char Aznable, this gives the pilot of the Banshee momentary pause, as its head suddenly turns, the twin red oculi falling upon it.  And that is the moment that those awful hands, those terrible emotions spill out of the Psycoframe, dripping upon the pilot of the Unicorn.

  FUTILITY POINTLESSNESS EMPTINESS IMPOSSIBILITY
        W H O I S G O I N G T O S A V E Y O U

        The Saber strike is met by a combination of Tonfa and Beam Saber, locking them between the pair of them.  And the right arm of the Banshee, targeting prongs still rotated forward spew fire right upon one of the arms of the Unicorn pitilessly and leap away.

        The Banshee turns on Callisto before she's even finished asking the question.

                JEALOUSY POSSESSIVENESS RESENTMENT
                          S U F F E R I N G
                        BITTERNESS DESIRE ENVY
        
        It is the downside of this kind of communication.  This understanding between Newtypes, the childish defense of denial is unavailable to her.  In this moment she feels the envy of a life cut short, who wants everything she has.  Everything.  All of it.  

        The life, the time, the fullness of experience that continuing to live would have brought her.

                        DESPAIR SORROW EMPTINESS
        
        And in that, is perhaps a strange sort of validation.  That for however much Callisto feels down about her experiences, her own suffering.  She has a life.  And this girl wants it so badly it hurts.  The grip on those psychic hands subtly loosens, in this moment.

        The Beam Saber falls, enormous, emerald.  The hand motion of the opposite to the Beam Smart Gun forms a cross between Saber and Tonfa, catching the blade between it.  The Queen Mansa's sheer size and weight still casts the full Psycoframe RX-0 aside, slamming into a building.  And in the rubble and dust, there is a red glow.

                        M I N E

        The grip suddenly redoubles, as the empty visage of a child fills Two's vision.  The Mobile suit raises its arm, and suddenly charges forward to drive its claw right inside the Queen Mansa's form and try to shred its knee clean away, as if it has decided to resolve these feelings by TAKING what she wants.  It has ignored Arriety in this moment in favor of PUNISHING Puru Two.  This is a mistake.

        Beam Rifle Shots come down on the Banshee, severing part of its V Fin, melting it off, while others scour it, empowered by reactions that no person should have, and yet she has.  A seed of human potential and possibility, as it melts more and more of its Psycoframe.  A shriek enters into her mind, this desperate sense of loneliness hitting her like a Child's tantrum.

                        Unfair Unfair UNFAIR

        It carries with it a childlike logic.  Why does Callisto have so many people supporting HER?  Why does Marida?  Why can't SHE have some of them?  Why can't they be hers!?  It's Vulcans fire all of a sudden at Arriety on an interception volley, trying to catch her within it and peforate the Zeta Gundam.  

        The Heat Hawk of the Zaku, empowered by the Aura of the Dawn suddenly falls, and just like before it's caught between the Tonfa and Saber of the opposite hand of the Banshee, but unlike before, the Psycoframe Unit's knee buckles under the weight, pavement crunching and shattering as the Zaku drives it suddenly to its knees.  

        There is a notable crunch, like components inside are twisting under the sheer forcefulness of its assault.  For once the psychic whispers are silent like Char Aznable has overwhelmed them.

        And then a laser link is formed with the Zaku's cockpit.  Breathing is heard in the comms, ragged.  And then a single word, from a voice that seems maddeningly familiar, but that he might have difficulty placing.

                "Disappear."

        A single word is stated so coldly, before it's Tonfa tries to spear the cockpit, shoving away from the blade lock, to drive the other two inside of the Zaku II's frame.  And trying to carve it to pieces like a turkey, and the pilot within if she gets her way.

        Meanwhile a conventional channel is opened to the Banshee and what Ruri gets back on that deeper level.

                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
                               M         I        N        E
                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
                01001101 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001110 00100000 01000101
        
        And that is the moment when it feels like that binary code twists around into ever shifting hands, moving forward to clutch the child on that deeper level, as something melts out of the codework, a faceless visage that stares into her soul and says the same word over and over.

        She already knows what that word is.
</poem>
        
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Marida Cruz with Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Arriety Hearn with Banshee Head Vulcans Burst!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn blocks Puru-1's Banshee Head Vulcans Burst, taking 1800 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Puru Two with Armed Armor VN Crush!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Char Aznable with DESTROY-->SELF-SACRIFICE!
 KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Puru Two, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Puru-1 rattles Puru Two, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Puru Two blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor VN Crush, taking 6160 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Puru Two!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon fails to parry Cornelia li Britannia's EM Jousting Lance - Piercing Thrust, taking 6360 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has engaged Orpheus Zevon!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Hikaru Amano fails to parry Cornelia li Britannia's EM Jousting Lance - Piercing Thrust, taking 5760 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has engaged Hikaru Amano!

 <Pose Tracker> Naoto Kozuki has posed.
<poem>
"Q-1!" As the next lance comes in, Naoto grits his teeth, sending in more data.

"If you get a chance, take her out permanently - but prioritize your survival. It'd be a twisted fate if..." He doesn't finish the sentence.

Instead, he sends Kallen some more possibilities - including a plan that uses her radiation claw, if she decides that it's time.
</poem>

 KTS: Naoto Kozuki targets Kallen Kozuki with Prospect!
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Kallen Kozuki
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Kallen Kozuki
 KTS: Banagher Links's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Banagher Links's Determination activates, and his spirit endures.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly.
 KTS: Banagher Links blocks Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot, taking 3410 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 repulses Banagher Links, forcing him to disengage.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Wall Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
<"Tch.  Clean break.  She's headed your way, boss.">

"I see that, Faulkner.  Fall back to screening position as soon as you can.  Too close for the linear guns...  Do we have Gottfrieds, Artie?"

"I-, I'm sorry ma'am, they cut in too close..."

"Don't worry about it.  Keep it simple.  Helldarts out.  We'll push back and hit them when they withdraw.  The Strikes are on their way back."

"Roger that!"

Missiles burst up, hanging over the Dominion's head for a brief instant...  before streaking back down towards the Ichinana.  This close, it should be easy to reach out with comms, maybe get an explanation...

But after Azrael's little stunt, it's difficult to trust that any of the ship's systems are really totally hers.  The Federation wouldn't want to take chances with ''another'' flagship, after the embarassment of the 3SA.

An intermediary, then?  Her right hand snaps out, coordinating the offense - and her left taps away at her personal console, slipping Faulkner a message.
</poem>

 KTS: Marida Cruz fails to rush.
 KTS: [Lucky] Marida Cruz's Newtype Flash activates, and luck goes her way!
 KTS: Marida Cruz successfully avoids Puru-1's Armed Armor BS Retreating Shot
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel targets Christina MacKenzie with Helldart Air-to-Air Missiles!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
<poem>
        Minae speaks of how there's a concerted effort to discredit them, but part of the bad thing about her Eyes phenomenon is that a lot of things like that end up being filed under 'distraction' to what she's trying to do now.  "We're already on the run from the Federation, how does that change anything?  They've probably churned out so much propaganda against us already."

        Omoikane's message flashes on the screen, and she bites her lip.

        "Ruri..." she whispers, grimacing.  "I get how Omoikane feels.  I feel the same way.  I'd do anything to protect everyone, but..."  It seems like she's able to reach him, though.  "Minae, reach out to Omoikane as well, okay?  I'm sure he'd appreciate your support."

        But on the topic of Minae getting a complex, there's a faint, shallow breath as she says, "I'm not going to go until I pass out and leave it to you.  That's against the spirit of working together," she pouts back towards Minae.

        Jealousy.  Possessiveness.  Resentment... there's nothing but negative emotions left in there.  That's just... no way to be.  Arriety's eyes narrow further with her squint, and the Banshee catches her in recovery, the vulcans threatening to perforate through -- she winces as she kicks the retro-verniers and avoids the worst, but a stray six, seven or eight shots go straight through the Zeta's leg, causing a small explosion within.  Minae sees that the damage is moderate, but the leg thrusters aren't shot.

        "... it is unfair.  It's so unfair we have to meet like this," Arriety grimaces.  "I want to know you as well.  All of you.  Leina's told me a bit about you... I never had the chance.  But I know it can be so much more than -- than this!"

        Retreating on its course backwards, the Zeta snaps off a single shot from its beam rifle, aimed towards the more breached components of the Banshee, in the hopes of seeing the I-Field protect it less.
</poem>

 KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Puru-1 with Beam Rifle!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the SPirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
<poem>
The Flag is a nimble machine indeed, and it is not a solitary machine. The command core of this drone operator is reasonably robust but it just has a rifle, probably because of that antenna (armored, sadly, though it is). As Sophia begins to dump high velocity rounds forwards, the damaged heavy unit lunges -

The shield comes up to intercept several rounds that might, might, have struck the cockpit, and then the arm blows off the heavy unit, sending it spinning and struggling to stay up.

That bond of connection between the drone pilot and the drone seems to surge upwards. Then antipathy pouring outwards. Not unexpected, but perhaps a weakness -- amateurs? Is it fear?

(In the cockpit, Rin says, slipping into Chinese, "hang on buddy come on I'll shoo her off come on" back to English "SCORN! GET THEIR ASSES!")

There's more fire but Sophia can easily discern the difference between firing for effect, and that rifle can't have a lot more in the tank. After that, the drone pilot will have somewhere between two to five grenades. Then, well, mechanized kungfu has its place, but it's a pretty desperate place.

But hey, Sophia. Remember the drone? The drone that defaced your ship?

The first thing it drops is two large tanks of something. It's mysterious. When they hit the ground, or are broken near it, they spray out a thick ropy jelly, vaguely reddish with a bunch of tiny beads in it. The blast zone seems to be aimed to intersect the Flags with only a little brushing on the heavy unit.

The heavy unit staggers further. Two seconds later two more objects drop.

These are actual bombs. Big ones? Not really; maybe the equivalent of 20 pounds of high explosives each. (This is one of the big drones, the kind they use instead of last-kilometer delivery vans in some of the EVEN MORE THAN USUAL built up parts of Britannia.) The thing is that the aforementioned goo was a highly flammable compound.
</poem>

 KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Rin Starking targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Scorn - Express My Feelings!
 KTS: Rin Starking has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Naoto Kozuki assesses Kallen Kozuki's prospects, increasing her SP!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Foresee Spirit Command.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Foresee Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan successfully evades Rin Starking's Scorn - Express My Feelings
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Arriety Hearn's Beam Rifle, taking 2520 damage!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki fails to rush.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki partially guards Cornelia li Britannia's EM Jousting Lance - Goddess of Victory, taking 7980 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has engaged Kallen Kozuki!

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
Banagher shudders as the Zaku-II's gaze fixates on his Gundam. Char's voice sounds so drenched in despair. Banagher can't help but want to reach out to the man, glimmering green light extending from the Unicorn just a hand's width further toward Char.

<"Maybe I can't, but -- I can keep you here until someone arrives who can! Someone's waiting for you!"> Banagher says, desperately. His gaze turns to the Banshee when Char tells him to save them, and a small hope ignites in his heart. <"Char, help me stop them. Whoever's inside, they're -- suffering. If we can just disable the Banshee, we can save the pilot!">

Thinking quickly, Banagher tries to come up with something that would appeal to the 000 corruption, he gasps out, <"You can take the Banshee. One less machine to create miracles, right? Just leave the pilot with us. Please, Char!">

His voice is so frantically earnest. All genuine honesty and care, and so very /young/.

It's almost enough to forget he pilots the Beast of Possibility, even now holding a weapon powerful enough to turn even the most fortified mobile armor to slag.

The Banshee pauses. Is this the end? Will the pilot let them save them?

No. Banagher /screams/ in terror at the psychic attack, writhing in his seat as he tries to pull the spiritual hands away from him. They grasp at his arms, his face -- endlessly possessive.

As ever, the young pilot has no defense against this psychic attack. His head starts to fall forward, and only by the grace of the Unicorn's shield is he saved from the parting shot from her sister Gundam.

<"I won't let this keep happening. Again and again. We're hurting each other for no reason!"> Banagher grits out, shaking himself back to awareness even as more hands grasp for him. It makes his skin crawl, but he keeps his eyes up on the battlefield. <"Pilot of the Banshee! I won't give up on you! Even if it's impossible..!">

All Banagher can do is hope that Char accepts his offer. The beam magnum is aimed at the black Unicorn, and it fires with a terrible sound. He's aimed away from the cockpit, toward the Banshee's shoulder, but the sheer heat and power of the gun is terribly deadly. Rubble melts away in its path, solid stone and twisted metal burning down into liquid fire.

Sensing the hearts of his allies aligning, Banagher urges the Unicorn forward. He's got to take this chance! It leaves him totally exposed to Char, but that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is--!

--The Unicorn reaches out, grasping with psychic might to grapple with her sister, seeking to take control of the Banshee's terrible claw.--

Saving that pilot! Banagher yells in determination, stoking the Unicorn's starlit radiance all the more. Green light pours from her like a beacon, fierce and untamable.
</poem>

 KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Beam Magnum Shot!
 KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Marida Cruz targets Puru-1 with Beam Saber Multiswing!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 fails to evade Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Shot, taking 4350 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 parries Marida Cruz's Beam Saber Multiswing, taking 1200 damage!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has engaged Puru-1!

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
<poem>
The psychic pressure recedes a little bit, as Ruri pulls away from her and Anita apologizes, but... it's still so much. Alma's a little unstuck in where and when she is, reeling --

-- and her judgment, it turns out, is getting worse. She rushes straight forward through everything Char can throw at her, trying desperately to shut out the pounding of 'I am, I am, you know why' that's smashing into her skull. All she can do is focus on the present moment, as it threatens to tear her apart bit by bit.

She has the best shot she'll probably have for the foreseeable future, and she can't throw it away; even if the Zaku II, charged with Triple Zero, has her aging mobile weapon outmatched... she needs to try. If she's going to be accepted back into the Federation's good graces after so long 'held captive,' she needs to prove she's worthy...

She brings her machine into a dash that makes every alarm scream, pushing every part to limits that would've been death sentences during the One Year War. Both blades come back out, and she comes in with --

-- a side slash--

-- a forward slash --

-- and finally a spinning series of cuts aimed at knocking the Zaku down.

... Alma, in a moment of clarity, wonders when she became this desperate, scrambling sort of person, trying so hard to prove herself through personal combat ability. It's a thought that draws her thoughts, guiltily, toward the Banshee and away from Char -- potentially dangerous, in a moment like this.
</poem>

 KTS: Alma Stirner targets Char Aznable with Fairy Step!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
There is nothing more for Eight to say to Char Aznable.  The Captain remains on her bridge, and eyes the data coming into her console--including the data about the Nadesico engaging Federation forces.  She isn't /thrilled/ with this situation... but in the wake of that video, it's hard to muster up too much sympathy for the Federation at the moment.

But there's more pressing matters.  Such as:  Ordinarily, there would be no way for the Ra Mari II to dodge something like Char's attack.  He is too skilled, the shels too fast, the ship too big.  But Licia Chovan is an uncommon pilot.  Sensing Char's intentions, she starts to move the ship even as he moves to attack, and the gigantic Monitor tilts to the side.  The anti-ship shells pass within mere feet of the ship, and deflect against the maneuvering thrusters.  The ship is whole, still, despite the damage it's already taken.  Being so bulky has some advantages.

"...Nice work, Chovan."

"I know his tricks well enough," she reports grimly, rather than her usual cheerful demeanor.  She used to work under him, after all.

"Kazama--Pattern 3 on Char's Zaku II.  120% standard output.  We need to bust through."

"On it, ma'am!"

The crew works as one--and fires one more time on Char in a flash of beam power--!
</poem>

 KTS: Eight York has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
 KTS: Eight York targets Char Aznable with Guided Beam Cannons - Pattern 3!
 KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
<poem>
Minae points out the concerted effort to discredit everyone, and suggests that she be ready to retreat. Anita nods.

"...Yeah, I get you. Things are probably gonna get real unfriendly real fast." She replies. They already /are/, in fact, even if she personally hasn't taken the brunt of it yet.

The Zaku-II, however, continues to be another problem. The bazooka is leveled at her and a salvo is unleashed. Gritting her teeth, Anita opens fire. Unfortunately, she's not /quite/ quick enough to intercept them. They explode all around her and send her flying. The Svipul is in bad shape...

...But it can still function.

"...Not done yet." Anita mutters. As it careens through the air it shifts again, moving into Fighter Mode. It accelerates up and, as the missile hardpoints emerge, it unleashes a counter salvo of missiles directly at Char!

They're dangerous - but they're also only half of what's incoming. The Svipul reorients itself in mid-air. Over its left shoulder, a beam cannon emerges - the Gungnir SC. But what fires is the beam cannon /itself/, launched straight from its mount. The Svipul accelerates after it, unfolding into GERWALK mode and catching it in mid-air with both hands, gripping it like a spear. She's upon Char now, and from the end of the Gungnir SC a beam blade crackles to life and is sent sweeping through the air to bite into the Zaku-II.
</poem>

 KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Char Aznable with Explosive Advance!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie fails to intercept Natarle Badgiruel's Helldart Air-to-Air Missiles, taking 2720 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
         Daughter? Why had...

         It couldn't really think that

                  Master already had a daughter

                           How arrogant this little object is

         Marida's arms trembled at her controls as the Kshatriya's own reached for its beam saber.

         He'll never love you the way he loved her

         "You talk too much!" She rushes forward, directly at the first, boosting to the side to dodge yet another attack, and pushes herself into the Banshee's face, bringing down several forceful blows, less slashing at it and more attempting to bash it open.
</poem>

 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Char Aznable's Everything Makes Sense Again activates, and his spirit is adjusted.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Char Aznable, reducing his Morale significantly.
 KTS: Char Aznable fails to parry Puru-1's DESTROY-->SELF-SACRIFICE, taking 9360 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Char Aznable!
 KTS: Puru-1 roots their unit, coming to a standstill and leaving them vulnerable.
 KTS: Puru-1 completes the Formation attack!
 KTS: Char Aznable parries Alma Stirner's Fairy Step, taking 1860 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alma Stirner's Guard Shift activates, causing Sparkle!
 KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Char Aznable!
 KTS: Char Aznable successfully evades Eight York's Guided Beam Cannons - Pattern 3
 KTS: Char Aznable parries Anita Rosetta's Explosive Advance, taking 1350 damage!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has engaged Char Aznable!

 <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
<poem>
Sophia's blasting serves to do some serious damage to the heavy machine. The drone skids off to do - something? Sophia can't immediately tell what. She can see bonds, but intention isn't a bond. Usually.

Normally she'd have a harder time detecting the tie between a user and a machine, too, but so goes the nature of one's personal work: Connection, inescapable.

She's mostly focused on the wild fire coming out of the pilot, when--

Her eyes cut to the side, slitting. "No," she breathes, remembering.

The Flag folds in half abruptly, and she calls, "Clear!" prompting the other two battered Flags to do much the same, veering skyward just in time to clear the goo blast. The last Flag just barely escapes the roar of the inferno, licking at verniers.

Smoke and flame roars, but Sophia's not gone. She sees her. A normal person - her other pilots, the people on the Hyperion - they surely have lost the target. Sophia sees her, down there, amid the fires.

She flags the spot.

"Open fire!" she barks, and all three Flags drive their linear cannons to full charge, bombarding Rin and her drones with waves of gunfire from above!
</poem>

 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Rin Starking with Hyperion Battle Group Heavy Guns!
 KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
<poem>
"I'm okay, Ruri-chan! It's not your fault!" Hikaru asserts, even as Ruri sincerely apologizes. But as Ruri promised, she takes responsibility and soon, Omoikane's control relaxes.

It changes little, really... she still has one very angry Princess on her tail.

At least she's not alone as Oz and Kallen accept her offer to temporarily act as allies, the latter more enthusiastically. Hikaru is, of course, not thrilled by Zero's gambit to use the Three Ships considering how it paid out, but at least these two are nice about it. "Then it's a deal!" She exclaims. "Best of luck for us all~"

"N-Nergal hound? That's rude! /My/ loyalty is with the Captain." The natural right of kings and queens to rule, though? "Sheesh.. you guys really do sound like the Evil Empire." She asides, dismissively. It'd be nice if evil empires like that only existed in anime, but alas...

Hikaru retains focus as Cornelia turns her harkens, attempting to cut them through with the Immediate Knife. Which gives way to the main course, that brutal electromagnetic lance much like the Field Lancer (that she didn't bring), skewering the two machines together. "Ack... that's not usually how that goes..." She sounds genuinely caught off guard in the moment - even if the Jovian Lizards had mechanically and systematically destroyed her life, she's still not used to the cruelty /human/ pilots are capable of.

Using the Disortion Field to push herself back from the EM Lance, the Immediate Knife gleams, aiming to carve through the Gloucester in retaliation! "Tooooriyah~!"
</poem>

 KTS: Hikaru Amano has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Hikaru Amano targets Cornelia li Britannia with Immediate Shish Kebab!!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.
<poem>
        From his position in the Lancelot Club's second seat, Schneizel's eyes keenly glance over the overall layout of the battlefield. The forces arrayed. Their status. Their movements. His expression is calm, but his thoughts a cyclone of plans, maneuvers, counters. The Nadesico and the Avalon's respective positions. The composition of the Britannian teams. The known capabilities of the Gawain, which he was of course aware of given his involvement in its creation. Which makes him wonder about its performance now... Perhaps!

        "Kanon, hold off Zero for another fourty five seconds."

        Kanon's reply is strained, given the difficulties of fighting the more superior machine. But he nonetheless gives an affirmative, "Yes, my Lord."

        The Nadesico's missiles streak in towards the Avalon again. Now knowing what to expect, some of them are able to make it past its defensive barrier and impact the hull proper. Several explosions rock the ship, though none so powerful as to inflict catastrophic damage.

        On the ship's bridge, the Captain glances at one of the screens as written orders come in from Schneizel. The Captain moves a hand to adjust his cap, before standing and walking forward, "Open comms to the Nergal vessel."

        <"Nadesico, this is the Britannian Union flagship, Avalon. Your presence here is clear evidence of your participation in the plot to assassinate key Britannian officials. However. If, as you claim, this is a misunderstanding, then stand down immediately and prepare for boarding. We will ascertain the truth of your claims ourselves.">

        The Lancelot Club struggles against the hold the Gawain has over it, trying to break free and retreat. It can't break free though and the Gawain is bringing its Hadron Cannons to bear against it. The devastating weapon fires, though it's aim is a little off apparently. Still, the Lancelot Club is finds its right arm engulfed and blast off, leaving a sparking stub.

        Sweating within the cockpit, Kanon starts, "My Lord..."

        Schneizel is still calm though as he keeps sending orders to the Britannian teams under his command, "Five more seconds..."

        Four. Three. Two. One.

        "All forces, advance!"

        The remaining Sutherlands make a coordinated push on the Gawain and the Nadesico. They rush hard, concentrated fire from assault rifles, missile launchers and heavy cannons trying to force the two and their forces back and into a defensive footing.
</poem>

 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Resupply Spirit Command.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Enable Spirit Command.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Resupply Spirit Command.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets C.C. and Ruri Hoshino with KMF Squadron Blitzkrieg.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino partially guards Schneizel el Britannia's KMF Squadron Blitzkrieg, taking 4130 damage!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has engaged Ruri Hoshino!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<poem>
The lumbering nature of the Queen Mansa finally comes in useful: when two combatants are at one another's throat, sometimes the one with greater mass is at an advantage. The collision with the RX-0 Banshee is jarring, to be sure, but it must surely be several times worse for the smaller of the two mobile weapons.

"There's more to you than this darkness!" Puru Two bites back at the Banshee's pilot, summoning the fire needed to ward off the encroaching shadows, even as tendrils of foul emotion writhe at the edge of her vision. "Fight it! Do you think I... we..." that's right--she isn't the only member of the family here, after all. "... are that happy where we are? That we don't hurt too?"

The clash of emotions soon becomes once again a clash of arms, too. The Banshee's claw clutches tightly around the Queen Mansa's upper leg, too swift to follow. But that which the Banshee's pilot is most jealous about--protective bonds--soon put to rest that attempt as well. There's a shuddering as the big green mobile armor's leg simply vanishes below the knee, but there's a counter-burst of thruster fire soon afterwards that keeps it from falling over.

"Arriety--don't push too hard! This ... girl," Puru Two does not speak the Banshee's pilot's name. "She'll get in your head if your guard falls. She keeps trying to press into my heart somehow..."

Puru Two sucks in a deep breath and holds it. Pressure builds somewhere behind her nose and eyes as she hardens herself against the trauma of raising a weapon against her sister once more, and against the need to watch over her -other- sister nearby. The ancient psycommu system in the heart of the Queen Mansa burns with this echoed desire, roiling, wispy arcs of emotional fire rising from Puru Two's eyes and fingertips.

"I'll save you--even if you come kicking and screaming the whole way," Puru Two intones, the gravely-wounded Queen Mansa leveling its beam saber at the distant Banshee. "I'll burn away the darkness they drowned you in, sis, even if you can't stand me--can never forgive me!"

The beam saber ripples strangely, the white-hearted blade of energy soon growing larger. Larger and less coherent. It is like a raging bonfire of ghost-green billowing from a cylindrical hilt, ablaze with the clone's will. Not one more inch. "The rest of my family," she whispers as the Queen Mansa charges, ghostly weapon raised high. "Really want to meet you, you know? So I have to...!"
</poem>

 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two targets Puru-1 with Heavy Beam Saber Psyco Amplification!
 KTS: Puru Two has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Cornelia li Britannia
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Cornelia li Britannia
 KTS: C.C. fails to retreat.
 KTS: C.C. fails to react to Schneizel el Britannia's KMF Squadron Blitzkrieg, taking 8280 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Schneizel el Britannia's Checkmate activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has engaged C.C.!
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Puru Two's Heavy Beam Saber Psyco Amplification, taking 3450 damage!
 KTS: Puru Two has engaged Puru-1!

 <Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
        Chris turned the dashing Ichinana's head towards the oncoming missiles--before remembering that this machine isn't from the Head Vulcan Lineage of design scheme. Scrambling, she reaches for the triggers for the Mazin response to projectiles, issuing a burst of corrosive chaff, instead--detonating several of the ATA missiles before they reached her. The Mazin's console insistently blared warnings, but not in time to alter her course--her flight path along the Dominion's canopy brought her directly into the other flight of missiles, rocking her severely. The thruster on one of the bladed wings guttered out, and Chris held her ground, stranded as she was atop the Dominion.

        Swiveling with sword and rifle both held ready, she twisted around, trying to reconfirm the vectors of the Dagger squad looping back toward her. "Come on, come on, reroute... adjust thrust... fuel ratio... Give me some space here!"
        Though not trying to score any direct hits on the Daggers, this is still a cornered mobile suit firing a kikaiju-piercing assault rifle! If they're still trying to get in close or spread out to flank, the hazard is blatant.
</poem>

 KTS: Christina MacKenzie targets Natarle Badgiruel with Ichinana MG Full Barrage!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Rin Starking has activated the Strike Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
"You don't have time or the opportunity. You've been made the world's enemy, Banagher Links."

What is he doing? He came here to destroy the boy and his machine, and now he's ''advising'' him? "That machine. Destroying it is the only way - " He gets a laser transmission from the very machine he's talking about, and his blood runs cold.

This kind of ''hate''... Not even Amuro, at the end...

"Who... no..." He breathes in horror, comms muted.

It couldn't be.
        Could it?
                Hands capable of such warmth, and yet such hate...

The Banshee's beam tonfa tears into the Zaku-II again and again. Vicious strikes almost faster than he can keep up with, trying to...

... Overwhelm the dawnfire regenerating the machine's armour.

Clarity flashes in Char's mind, and he sweeps the heat hawk across the Banshee's upper torso, buying space for him to plant another kick on the black RX-0's chest and send it careening backwards. Again he uses the momentum of the separation to elude even the best efforts of Eight's gunners - but Alma and Anita are closing in, and up comes the Heat Hawk again, deflecting their attacks with a long-practiced ease. Again he retreats from them, jetting up and pulling out the bazooka once more.

Another volley of explosive shells falls upon the mobile suits as he draws the anti-ship rifle again to squeeze off another round at the monitor.
</poem>

 KTS: Rin Starking fails to charge.
 KTS: Rin Starking partially guards Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Hyperion Battle Group Heavy Guns, taking 5056 damage!
 KTS: Rin Starking has been defeated!
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Puru-1 with Zaku-II Heat Hawk Carve and Smash!
 KTS: Char Aznable has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged.
 KTS: Char_Aznable Changes attack to Anita Rosetta and Alma Stirner with Type A2 MS Bazooka Pellet Spray.
 KTS: Char Aznable targets Eight York with ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Perfect Shot!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Anita Rosetta's Easygoing activates, and her spirit endures.
 KTS: Char Aznable enervates Anita Rosetta, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Pellet Spray, taking 4680 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Too Many Masks activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Unbreakable Oath activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Red Comet activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Anita Rosetta has been defeated!
 KTS: [Spirit Defense] Eight York's This Path Was Our Choice activates, and her spirit endures.
 KTS: Char Aznable enervates Eight York, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Eight York fails to react to Char Aznable's ASR-78 MS Anti-Ship Rifle Perfect Shot, taking 8160 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Too Many Masks activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Unbreakable Oath activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Char Aznable's Red Comet activates, causing Control Bonus!
 KTS: Char Aznable roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia parries Hikaru Amano's Immediate Shish Kebab!, taking 765 damage!
 KTS: Hikaru Amano has engaged Cornelia li Britannia!
 KTS: Puru-1 blocks Char Aznable's Zaku-II Heat Hawk Carve and Smash, taking 1470 damage!
 KTS: Char Aznable repulses Puru-1, forcing them to disengage.

 <Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.
<poem>
The three find their marks landed in quick succession. No trouble whatsoever in being able to manage their attacks, finding a rather interesting unity and collaboration. Yet even with that being the case, as Kallen's claws and Hikaru's fists seek purchase, as Orpheus' sakuradite bullet rips and tears away at the Knightmare Frame.

< "She's not down yet!" >

It's the only warning he can give as Cornelia prepares her own assault back at them. Cornelia's charge focuses him down, and for a moment he's caught attempting to switch his loadout, preparing for the lance, though it's only in the last moment does he realize that it's her harkens that launch first. An attempt to parry it away is tried though with little avail as it ends up catching his arm while in its canon form still. Incapable of cutting away at it in the current state. Ultimately colliding with the Aestivalis. The collision is surely brutal as the two units are pulled towards one another, and the ensuing crash would surely make the two recoil and jumble within their machines. Though it's Cornelia's follow up that really brings the damage is the electrical discharge and brute force of her lance that sends the white KMF flying

"Guaaaaagggghhhhh!!!" He can feel as his body gets rag-dolled in his cockpit, the inability to maintain balance inside before the rolling of his machine comes to a stop. Alarms blare in his KMF as he slowly catches his breath and tries to regain feeling from the shock, thankful of the insulation provided by his machine. As he raises his head though, there's a look of passionate rage starting to fill those emerald globes, and a pounding in his chest. < "Shut the hell up..." >

As the Byakuen slowly rises off the ground, it goes into a sprinter's stance. Landspinners revving in a similar fashion to what Cornelia's had done moments ago as he speaks, < "You nobles are all the same. Speaking of always needing rulers and ruled. Though not of the blood you spill to stand atop the others." > The Byakuen launches to charge at the two-horned KMF as she focuses herself at the Guren once more, as the sound of a drill bit begins to rev. It's at this point, Oz calls out to Kallen of all people, < "Pincer her! We're ending her here!!!" > As far as taking down Schneizel it seemed that ship had sailed, but this one before them, who knew so little of the bodies that lay at her feet, not just the ones that died for her loyally, not just those that she had to trample on willingly, but for the bodies of those that had to perish in the darkness of nobility.

It's for that reason alone that he's willing to be caught up in Kallen's radiant wave cannon if it meant they could end up securing this one's defeat.
</poem>

 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged.
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon targets Cornelia li Britannia with I'll Dig My Fangs In You!': Drill Component!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to parry Orpheus Zevon's I'll Dig My Fangs In You!': Drill Component, taking 7300 damage!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon has engaged Cornelia li Britannia!
 KTS: Orpheus Zevon roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.

 <Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
<poem>
        Minae stares at the words scrolling up her screen. She doesn't have a heart - 'yet' she appends privately - but if she had one it'd be up in her throat right now. "... I know. It's completely understandable to be angry," she whispers gently, letting the words flow over her link to the Nadesico at the same time, trying to keep her voice soft. "But I don't think this is the way to do it. Think of everyone on board, and how much trust they've placed in you. I don't think you should pull them into your decision without talking to them first."

        It may be too late for that, she knows. Decisions are made in a snap on the battlefield. But this isn't about handling the situation, it's about helping a Super AI come to terms with anger and what can come from it. "I know it's frustrating, and I know it'd be so easy to just-- do something about it. But we've got our friends and family to look out for as well."

        "You're not wrong," Minae notes to Arriety with a light noise. "But when it happens in the middle of a fight like this, it's that much harder to push back against. ... I hope Omoikane's alright," she bites at her lip, nodding as Arriety asks her to keep trying to reach the Nadesico's AI. A smile chases it as Arriety lightly rebukes her, and she reaches forwards to squeeze the other pilot's shoulder in support, even as her monitor screen continues to scroll with an endless stream of commands.

        She can't sense the conversation between Arriety and the spirit that resides within the Banshee - but she can hear half of it like a game of telephone, and she listens intently to the two of them trying to reach forward for whoever it is in there, extrapolating from there. "Remind her this isn't the end," she notes over comms, her voice held gentle. "Whatever happens, after this, I'm sure we can still be friends. I'm sure she can come hang around the Ra Mari II. And-- um--"

        She pauses. If you want to establish a line of communication, you have to reach out. Even if you don't know how. "Miss Puru! I'm a friend of Callie's, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends too. I might not be able to properly sense you right now, but I'm working on that. I hope we can meet too someday, you know?" she finishes with a smile. Maybe it's not quite following the pace of events around them, but she finds it within herself to smirk as well. "I have embarrassing stories about her to share!"
</poem>

 KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn
 KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Puru-1 with Nullify!
 KTS: BC-001 Minae has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: BC-001 Minae nullifies Puru-1's defensive abilities.

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
This time there's no evading Char's shells; these hit hard, rocking explosions across the port side of the ship that will be a big problem for pinpoint maneuvering.  The bridge shakes with the power of the assault, and Eight puts her hands on the armrests of her chair to steady herself.  The rest of her crew is obligated to do the same; there may be injuries around the ship.

But they endure.  And Eight sets her jaw.  "..Astelian," she says.  "Open the intercom."

She takes a breath.  "Remember," Eight says, "Even when it seems we may not be able to do much... Even when it looks dark--"

"We chose this.  Every one of us decided to be a part of this organization, do our best to combat the corruption in the Federation and beyond.  We all made that decision.  And I aim to see it through."

"Now, you all have your own reasons for being here.  So remember them!  And together, we'll overcome this challenge, too!"

The intercom closes out, and Eight switches to another radio as she sees the damage the Svipul is taking.  She opens a channel to Anita's machine, and says, "Annie, withdraw.  You did well out there, but come on home."

Then she considers... their ally, here.  Alma Stirner...

"...Keep an eye on Stirner," she directs her bridge crew.  "She's Federation, but she's helping us on this one.  I want status updates."

Then, she eyes Char.  "I know it's hard to hit something that small," she says to Kazama.  "I know you're the best.  ...So I want you to clear your mind, and try it one more time.  One more time.  We need to buy Banagher enough time to get what he came for--so either way... It's enough."

Kazama grits her teeth--and then nods.  "...Yes, ma'am."

"Fire at will, Kazama."

She does; beam after beam rockets down towards to Char, crashing particle after crashing particle.  They're hard to predict, but Char may still be able.  After all... he is what he is.

But if even a fraction of them hit...
</poem>

 KTS: Eight York has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus.
 KTS: Eight York targets Char Aznable with Guided Beam Cannons - Pattern 4!
 KTS: Eight York has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel partially guards Christina MacKenzie's Ichinana MG Full Barrage, taking 3220 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
<poem>
The Flags are too disciplined. Rin realizes this. It is, perhaps, the sort of thing you realize in the last few seconds of your life.

Fortunately for good old Rin Mei Starking, she has one edge that Sophia cannot take from her. For every second of objective time, Rin experiences somewhat more than two seconds of subjective time. It has taught her many things. It also means that, in a sense, she has time to get over the shock and to reach for controls as she sees the huge mass of the ship and --

Well, it's not all that's up there, is it? It's chaos, and chaos is a summary that is too brief. A second coming of that great battle when she was but a tiniest babe; a Titanomachy as the Red Comet fills the skies again; as ships of the shining future contend against the ghosts of the past.

Which Rin said wasn't her affair, just a minute ago. Just a minute ago!

How is the battle? Are they winning? Is everyone else dead? Rin doesn't know. All she heard was some confused cross-talk. They're shouting about ending 'her' here. That's OZ, Rin thinks. She has a guess who 'she' is. There are a few candidates. None of them are good.

Rin moves upslope, after Rancor. The now-barely-armed Scorn swoops inwards JUST as the flags begin their bombardment. Four high-velocity slugs rip through the armoring and immediately sever one of the rotor bodies; two more go through the superstructure, causing no real additional damage; #7 hits the drone's energy filler, and, well:

We know what happens then.

It is a swift detonation, and a loud one, and a pink one; by the time it dissipates (not long, but long enough) Rin and Rancor have linked together, the KMF's Harkens hurling it with a rip of one poor old sacrificed tree into the treeline.

Rin keeps going; she looked, of course, but the detonation was unambiguous. What would there even be to salvage? "I'm sorry, Scorn," Rin says as she reaches over to touch the strapped-down server shard that are crammed into the KMF's cockpit with her. (There's nowhere else to go.)
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        Arriety tries to reach out to the Banshee, and in this moment of awful feeling.  Torn between trying to kill the infamous Red Comet with all that she has, and giving Ruri the scare of her life.  She's vulnerable.  Indeed, it is only the I-Field of the shield that's mounted that laps up that Minovsky beam shot. Something within it shudders as she willingly tells Puru-1 it's unfair, that she wants to get to know her.  That she never had the chance.  That it can be so much more than this.

        Then the retaliation of Char's heat hawk falls against its hastily raised shield.  It is not a beam weapon, the force behind it simply knocks the Banshee away from him, carving part of the shield straight off in a way that might vaguely remind him of every time he severed the White Devil's shield.  For a time Char hears its ragged breathing yet again, one after another in rhythm.  The NT-D takes its toll in the sheer physical exertion required upon the pilot.  He feels that hate.  The sheer force of it.  And yet despite that.

         Somehow it turns away.  It's eyes flash as it whirls towards the Zeta, jump jets rocketing towards it.  It's Tonfas both slash down brutally upon it in a quick rush mid flight, its path an arc back towards the ground.

                JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY
        BE MINE BE MINE BE MINE BE MINE BE MINE BE MINE

        There is just this yearning, this desperate yearning, this horrid loneliness, it wants Arriety now more than ever.  More than ever, but perhaps, in the only way it can have her.  Minae feels something brush against her.  It's strange, this weird feeling of emotions that's having trouble reaching her.  Like it wants to, but there's a communication barrier.  There's still the eerie feeling of dread of what might happens if it does reach her.

        Banagher makes his offer, and the Banshee turns on him and there is a sudden HATRED  and DESPERATION and PANIC permeating it at his offer in equal measure.  The offer, what did he do.  The Beam Magnum fires, and the Banshee's jets take it out of the way, but not quickly enough.  A jet and a portion of its arm MELTING under the indirect heat.

        It crashes heavily, but the moment is more a reminder, out of the cloud of dust comes a Beam Magnum shot, just above the Unicorn's head, as if its intention was to melt it, to blind it outright.  This was always her mission.  The Magnum's E-Pac is ejected on its final shot, and stowed away.  Something else is grabbed

        Whatever grudge the pilot has against Aznable is secondary.  It cannot allow Banagher to do what he is offering.  Marida comes at that moment, with a flurry of blows, and this time it's met by two Sabers mounted as Tonfas and two held Sabers.  Each time her Saber strikes, its met as if the pilot knows exactly how she's going to strike within this oppressive psychic pressure.

        With each strike, it feels like the blows are growing heavier and heavier, even though it is not her arms swinging it, through the Psycoframe it feels as such.

                 DESOLATION DESOLATION DESOLATION

        And then it simply unleashes a burst of Vulcan fire straight in the Kshatriya's up close, shells littering and raining its form, puncturing and perforating, forcing it to flee an exchange which is feeling increasingly POINTLESS.  It's laughter grows at the idea it talks too much, as if finding that hilarious, as if finding the pilot hilarious.

        At the same time however, each of them finds there is a sense of weariness growing within it too, like it can't keep up those assaults forever.  The grip of those hands loosen, as mental fatigue takes it, that presence that surrounds it is more intangible by the second.  The NT-D has a timer.  That aperture into another world has a timer.

        And that timer is nearly up.

        Callisto makes its declaration, and she gets the sense the pilot is indeed preparing for her already, wearily, as it comes for her, knowing if she falters she will make good on that threat.  Kicking and screaming. And yet this time, it is like the feelings are dulled save this anger.

                        HYPOCRITE
                YOU STILL WALLOW IN IT
                W H O C A N Y O U S A V E
                N O T E V E N Y O U R S E L F

        It's like it wants to keep going, wants to keep pushing harder, to enforce more feelings upon it, but in the end, it only has SPITE  left to work on, like a parting shot.  It's amplified sabers come down, meeting its shield, the I-Field trying to devour the energy, but it's too much.

        In the end, the I-Field is overwhelmed by the sheer Newtype power that Callisto puts out, melting through it, and the Mobile Suit is forced to quickly swipe at it almost feebly, before disengaging.  As it makes a run, straight towards the Unicorn. Like it fully intends to just snatch it up and flee if it can get away with it.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Beam Magnum Shot!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Arriety Hearn with Beam Saber Rush!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Marida Cruz with Banshee Head Vulcans Dash-and-Fire!

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
<poem>
Anita grits her teeth as the bazooka is leveled at her again. There's not much she can do, at this point. She raises her shield, raises the Pinpoint Barrier around the Svipul. Explosive shells detonate all around her. The Valkyrie is rocked and, finally, sent crashing to the ground, skidding to a stop. With a grunt, she forces it back to its feet.

It's in bad shape. She can still fight, but...

Ultimately, her dilemma is solved by orders from Eight.

"...Right. On my way." She says.

...She doesn't /quite/ yet, though, instead turning her attention to Alma.

"Hey, hang in there, okay? ...You're better than he is in the ways that matter, so give him a good one for me. I still wanna talk again after this, so... let's not make this the last time." Anita says. With that, the Svipul leaps. It rotates in mid-air into Fighter Mode - one of the wings getting stuck and taking a second longer to get into position - before rocketing back to the Ra Mari II.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru-1 targets Puru Two with Beam Saber Rush!
 KTS: Puru-1 targets Char Aznable with Pass!
 KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Marida Cruz blocks Puru-1's Banshee Head Vulcans Dash-and-Fire, taking 2520 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Marida Cruz!
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Banagher Links successfully Evades Puru-1's Beam Magnum Shot
 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Trick Spirit Command.

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
The Ichinana swivels and fires, trying to drive off the Dagger squadron.  But they've practiced for this - Faulkner's wingmates sweep forward, bringing up shields, buying seconds.  They split off, one by one, as the barrage cuts into them, angling themselves towards the Dominion's catapults to give themselves a fallback position if the damage gets too intense.

It's Faulkner, though, who makes a breakthrough, saber raised --

But the angle's wrong.  The slash is a feint - the MS plants its feet on the deck and skids, high-speed, straight towards the Ichinana's mass.

(Natarle and Bowers, in sync, wince at the scraping sound of MS feet peeling the paint from that sharp black hull,)

The unit weight favors the Ichinana, but this isn't exactly the most stable surface - and unlike the Ichinana, this Strike still has all its thrusters.  If they bowl over the edge, only one of them can still fly.

For a moment, her thoughts flick to the other two units, as Schneizel orders a Britannian advance.  Strictly speaking, Londo Bell is autonomous - her men aren't obligated to follow the Prince, and they could justify it as needing to hold with the motorcade -

But guys like that have a tendency of getting their way.  Here, or afterwards.  She just has to trust that she made the right picks, and hope they all make it home.

''And all because of that damn report.  Nobody's getting their way here but Zero and the Prince, as usual...''
</poem>

 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has activated the Attune Spirit Command.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has activated the Alert Spirit Command.
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel targets Christina MacKenzie with MS Squadron Screening Tactics!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru Two parries Puru-1's Beam Saber Rush, taking 1380 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Puru Two!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.
 KTS: Puru-1 enervates Arriety Hearn, reducing her Morale significantly.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn fails to react to Puru-1's Beam Saber Rush, taking 4510 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru-1's Hands Meant For Holding activates, causing Deject!
 KTS: Puru-1 has engaged Arriety Hearn!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
 KTS: Alma Stirner fails to evade Char Aznable's Type A2 MS Bazooka Pellet Spray, taking 4410 damage!
 
 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
         The Kshatriya pushes back and pulls up a wing just in time to take the brunt of the attack. The suit is in serviceable condition, but its pilot...was not. Her body drenched with sweat, her mind at its limit, that FUCKING laughter eating at her very soul. Her limbs feel full of concrete, barely able to move.

         And then the Banshee runs towards Banagher. The one thing she can't allow to happen. The one person who can't fall here. If the Vist Foundation gets the Unicorn, everything is over...

         She grits her teeth and musters up the last of her energy, the psychoframe in her cockpit shaking at her mental strain. This would be the last stand.

         "BANAGHEEEEEEEER!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAqqAwhfet8

         With a burst of power, every single one of the Kshatriya's fin funnels deploy, surrounding the Banshee and battering it with a nonstop assault of shots, straining the reactor of the main Kshatriya to its limit.
</poem>

 KTS: Marida Cruz has activated the Detonate Spirit Command, reducing the NZ-666 Kshatriya to 1 HP!
 KTS: Marida Cruz targets Puru-1 with Funnel Binder Full Volley!
 KTS: Marida Cruz has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
 KTS: Marida Cruz rattles Puru-1, making their next maneuvers more difficult.
 KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Marida Cruz's Funnel Binder Full Volley, taking 5985 damage!

 <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
<poem>
        "Even if you feel that way -- attacking like this is too complicated..." It's Ruri who answers Arriety, and even in her usual stoicness, it's clear she's /upset./ A little wobble in her voice, a little unsteadiness in her trailing mora.

        Minae's reasoning, at least, helps Omoikane relax... a little. He hasn't stopped identifying the Federation as their enemies, in their internal systems. He promises, when she talks about taking care of their friends:

                        < LEAVE IT TO ME >

        When Ruri answers C.C., at least, she's more dispassionate. "I'm a teenager." So she's right, then. "Sorry, I was rude. Ruri Hoshino, Nadesico Systems Operator. Britannia has begun attacking us and our friends. I'm only really interested in the Box because it's troubling Mr. Links so much... but the current situation is that we're being attacked because your co-pilot said we were working together. So, why do you want to attack Britannia?" She's introduced herself and the situation, given her background, assessed what's going on, and requested C.C's insight -- it's a very good sitrep, for a thirteen-year-old, really.

        Which might just make the whole thing worse.

        Cornelia talks about the natural way, and Minato narrows her eyes, pursing her lips. They're watching the Aestivalis's condition, too. "Britannian philosophy sure is cutthroat... ah?!" She's interrupted from her scowling by the way Ruri's breath shallows, beside her.

        Hands fixed to the console, she listens to that word, over and over.

        "I'm not," she says, shallow, except it comes out 01001110 01001111, once and once and once again, 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 01001110 01001111 --

        "No!" With her words and not her heart, this time, jerking back from her console. Is it that breaking of connection, which has the Banshee leaving her alone?

        It would be nice to think so.

        "Ruri?" Jun frowns, looking to her with clear concern. "Are you all right?"

        "Y...yes," she says, and it's difficult to tell when Ruri is pale, skin fey white as it is.

        She has nothing to offer, when Schneizel makes his. Jun is left to face up to the suggestion, with straight back and set jaw. "You're saying we have to submit to you to prove our innocence?" He asks, tense.

        There's no way he can put the Nadesico through something like that -- but the oppressive force of the Avalon is still quaking at him, no less because Hikaru is up against their most terrifying Princess. For a moment, it feels like an impossible decision; for a moment, until Eight's voice comes over the comms.

        "... I hear you, Captain York," he responds, with a sigh, eyes shutting briefly. He turns back to Schneizel's window, with a deep scowl all framed by his neatly-parted blue hair. "The Nadesico rejects your offer, Avalon! We will not submit to your judgement, even if this misunderstanding has to stand!"

        The Knightmare Force lays into them -- and the Distortion Field can only do so much. The Nadesico is rocked by the force of the squadron's weaponry; any one of them would be insignificant to a ship this large, but all /together,/ it's a different story. "... the enemy's doing an excellent job," is Ruri's damage report, stoic again.

        "What are we going to do?" Megumi asks, a hand gripping the side of her headset.

        "We'll... fire the Gravity Blast on the Britannian forces!" Jun decides, spreading a hand. "Our allies are fighting Char Aznable out there -- if we don't send Britannia packing, they'll dive in to pick our bones when he's done!"

        "Fire," Ruri confirms, hands to her console. It's such a dispassionate word for the cycling of the power reactors to draw energy in atmosphere, the way those great prongs part in front of the Nadesico, the overwhelming build of power --

        The way it washes over the Federation.

        The missiles may well have been their best attempt at mercy.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
''You've been made the world's enemy, Banagher Links.''

To be told this by the Red Comet strikes Banagher like a physical blow. Squeezing his eyes shut, he shakes his head. <"No -- no, I'm only doing this because I want to make things better! It can't... it can't be like this!">

<"I won't give up on the Banshee's pilot. I'm not destroying it! Not without a way to get them out safely."> Something affects Char, in this moment, resonating strongly enough that Banagher feels the echo of the chill that freezes the Red Comet. <"...What just happened?">

Anita goes down. Banagher growls under his breath, suddenly noticing the state of his allies. Nearly everyone is in a bad way. They need to get out of here before the Federation or Britannia sends reinforcements.

<"Captain York!"> A desperate call. <"I unlocked the coordinate. I've got what I needed! We can retreat whenever you're ready, but -- the Banshee. I think I can stop it!">

The Banshee's feelings echo against Banagher's soul, making him wheeze in pain and barely-contained panic. Hatred, desperation, panic -- they feel as though they were his own emotions.

"N--ngh..." Clutching at his heart, Banagher tries to breathe, watching in fear as his beam magnum melts away at the Banshee's frame. Thankfully, the returned fire is just a hair /too/ high, missing the Unicorn's head entirely. The oppressive heat of the impossibly strong gun is dispersed by the Unicorn's I-frames.

Why is the Banshee's pilot so desperate not to be saved? What has Vist done to them to make them terrified of salvation?

He doesn't have long to wonder. The Black Unicorn attacks his allies, then turns back to him. He feels the Banshee's intention, and the Unicorn bristles, drawing all four of her beam sabers. She's ready, prepared to tear into her sister with savage wrath.

All Banagher can think of is the fear in the heart of the other Unicorn's pilot.

"Stop, please." He asks his Gundam, and the sabers withdraw. Instead, the Unicorn digs her feet into the ground, raising her arms in preparation for the Banshee's charge.

The Banshee charges her sister, and is met with open arms. The Unicorn grapples with the other unit, trying to grasp for her wrists, to hold her back, to hold her in place.

Please don't go! Please, let me help you! Whatever you need -- just come with me. I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again!

Though the Unicorn clings to the Banshee with all her strength, there is no violent intent in the heart of her pilot. Banagher desires one thing with all his soul -- to save the pilot before him. To end their suffering.

Marida calls his name, firing shot after shot at the Black Unicorn, and all he can do is glance her way, trying to project his intentions. To save. Break the Lion apart and retrieve the maiden within.

One last message is sent to Char, as Banagher fights to hold the Banshee in place.

<"Please.">
</poem>

 KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Pass!
 KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Banagher Links's Pass, taking 0 damage!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has activated the Resupply Spirit Command.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino targets Schneizel el Britannia and Cornelia li Britannia with Gravity Blast - Atmospheric Wide Spread.
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie rushes into the attack!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie partially guards Natarle Badgiruel's MS Squadron Screening Tactics, taking 3360 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Natarle Badgiruel's Sharp Eyes activates, causing Designate L1!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel repulses Christina MacKenzie, forcing her to disengage.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.
 KTS: Schneizel el Britannia partially guards Ruri Hoshino's Gravity Blast - Atmospheric Wide Spread, taking 4550 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Ruri Hoshino's Scan activates, causing Designate L1!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.

 <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
<poem>
        "I..." Arriety blinks a few times, as Callisto urges her to not push too hard.  Does Callisto know who this person is?  Is there a person?  Arriety was working off the assumption that there was very little in the way of physicality and more... what happens to one after death, not unlike what's happened to Rita.  Maybe it's the part of her that understands how AI behave, as it were, more than humans sometimes.

        "I won't let her.  But I also am not going to abandon her, just like you," she murmurs.  Minae makes her own appeal, which prompts a smile from her.

        The Banshee leaps upon her, the Tonfas crashing down mid-flight and threatening to drive down upon her; the Zeta, a little bit smaller and a much lighter suit than the Banshee especially in this mode, just can't repel that kind of physical pressure all that well -- Arriety's struggling with the controls, yelping in pain as injury flares up and keeps her from keeping things upright.  More than that, really -- it's the pressure Puru-1 is emanating that just seems to engulf her completely, and yet... it's not all bad.  It's something she actually understands, has felt so deeply...

        But she trusts Minae to keep the suit together where she's faltered; that's what teamwork's all about, after all.

        She grits her teeth, feeling that sensation deep in her heart, but... but... she says, through a grin:

        "You know what...?  I'm a jealous kinda girl too.  I have moments where I want things to just be /mine/ too."

        Within the Seed phenomenon, Arriety's conscience is paradoxically both narrowed to a sharp point, but... greater than it usually is.  Arriety may hate the social connotation of Newtype, but this is ultimately what she is -- and the first Newtype miracles were borne from suits that didn't have Biosensors, psychoframes.

        Grabbing hold of her beam saber, Arriety concentrates and joins in on the Queen Mansa's own saber emanation; her will is made manifest as the beam saber's emanation extends past what is possible, becoming a massive, whip-like blade.  Myrme is gone.  She doesn't have the Biosensor.  It shouldn't be possible.  It wasn't possible, last time at Torrington.

        But the flicker of psychic flame, as Minae has witnessed before, remains, because Arriety has advanced, as a pilot, as a psychic... but more importantly: as a person.

        "But it's as Callie-sis says.  We do.  We want to meet you.  You can have it all too.  All these friends, all these siblings, all this affection..."

        Today, sensing Anita and Eight fighting for their lives, listening to Ruri's answer, laced with her stoicness and a bit of that wobble that she doesn't miss... sensing Banagher, Minae and Puru Two's own desires to not give up on the Banshee's pilot...

        Arriety is here to help /make/ that dream possible.

        "Everyone's allowed to be a little greedy, a little selfish, a little needy sometimes.  Friends and family understand that.  It's not about blood, or names, or titles.  So let's...!"

        The reborn Hyper Beam Saber surges across the battlefield as Arriety throws its metaphorical and psychic weight down in one fell swoop, flame erupting in a mental and physical conflagration to carve away to the core of the Banshee, so that they can -reach-.

        "Let's cut this all out!!!"
</poem>

 KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Puru-1 with SEED Full Burst!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
<poem>
Alma and Anita get their attacks swept aside in one fell swoop -- and Alma... finds she doesn't have the anger in it that she usually has. More than anything, she's starting to feel nauseated with herself. How long has she been this -- /upset/? When did bonds to other people start feeling like gripping talons?

Anita offers her parting words, and the Ra Mari II seems to orient on her in a way that it didn't before. "... Right. I'll do my best to walk away from this one alive," she shoots back to Anita, chewing at her lip a bit. "Good luck...!"

Unfortunately, the Titania just doesn't have it in itself to /do anything/ in this situation; she's already used up what she has left in the tank. So 'doing her best' means --

"Alma Stirner... retreating!" In the end, she's not committed enough to the Federation to die for the sake of this motorcade. She /has/ to retreat -- and she does, losing herself amid ruined buildings.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru-1 partially guards Arriety Hearn's SEED Full Burst, taking 7800 damage!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Insight L1!
 KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Jam L1!
 KTS: Arriety Hearn roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.

 <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
<poem>
        "So...hah. Ahahahahah!" The Gawain's positioning, ostensibly in the Nadesico's aegis of support, has left it utterly surrounded and bombarded with artillery and Sutherlands alike. "...Yet once more, Schneizel. You always leave the next choice up to me, and yet once more, you seem to know what move I'll make before I make it. Another match lost, one you might not even know..." Lelouch is re-running every move made, figuring out where his tell might have been - how, exactly, his elder brother perpetually outplays him, all whilst inputting commands to keep whirling around and deflecting fire as much as possible, before-

        "I...think I'm going to be sick," C.C. gripes, doubled over in her seat in the wake of the Banshee's overwhelming spite in the air, an enigmatic glow upon her forehead. She can hear every ragged whisper, the overwhelming hate in the cursed Mobile Suit - flooding into her like a sponge. "...say your piece to him. We're withdrawing and fulfilling our original mission. Now."

        It takes a long, weary sigh for Lelouch to let go of his grudge for good - when given such a golden opportunity. But, as the show must go on, he relinquishes that, puts on the erstwhile mask of metaphor that is "Zero", and booms out, "Our little dance has been fun, Prime Minister Schneizel, but I'm afraid there's little time to waste on a man like you. By now, it's overwhelmingly clear you're a bulwark in your own right - but you've overextended your hand on our solitary position, underestimating just how little time you had. Farewell!"

        With a 'snap' of the Gawain's fingers, a sudden geyser of water erupts from below, vast enough to seemingly suck up the KMF in the blink of an eye away from the encircling Sutherlands. A planted displacement mine, largely good for exactly this trick more than any actual tactical utility.

        -Beneath the water, finally, C.C. gets some peace and quiet, the haze in her eyes falling, taking a deep breath to get it all together. "...needed that. Are you starting to feel it yourself? The...turbulence in the air?"

        Chin resting on one hand, Lelouch considers the singlemindedness he held, in just how much he yearned to one-up an utterly unexpected target, furrowing his brows, eyes lazily closed. "...The sense of malice permeating everything...I had thought it might be the simple tension that comes from any conflict zone, but...there's a difference to it today. I know you warned me this might be the case, but..." Shaking his head, he once more puts on the voice of Zero, and advises at last, the continuation of the ultimate goal of the Knights here - now that they've largely been drawn towards Schneizel...

        The motorcade carrying Ronan Marcenas finally sees their break to leave the confines of this island - where they're severely limited on options and space. Rejoining the highway, they're finally westbound, secure enough in the quietness of the battlefront in this vector to chance their luck heading across the bridge. The heavy pressure of the sky is immaterial to the needs to just get /out/ of there, as fast as possible.

        ...but below the waterline, their doom's lied in wait. A single watertight Burai with a water to air mortar system is all it takes to rip a hole in that bridge, right where Ronan Marcenas is traveling. A trap all along - a last ditch one, since it gives the rest of the Black Knights fewer ways out of the firing line - but as Ronan's limo is sent hurtling at deadly speeds into the bay...

        As she balefully listens to the Nadesico's operator so cordially explain herself to an erstwhile anonymous figure as 'a girl who is in the same robot the famous Zero is in', C.C. watches the thrashing and flailing of life within the car sinking to the bottom of the lake, the panic and dread of a doomed soul. Somehow, this much is easier than just being anywhere near the Banshee or the Ruin Apostle. "Asking one of Zero's helpers why one attacks Britannia...you, in such a big, defiant symbol of war, couldn't deduce an answer like that yourself? Ruri, Ruri, Ruri...some people are just fated to fight the world for as long as they live. Don't think of me, personally, as anything more than someone who's always had an argument with the powers that be. As for Zero..."

        While he wanted to stay out of this, C.C. cheekily passing the rhetorical microphone to Lelouch forces his hand, and he booms out, "The Nadesico questions the mission of the Black Knights? It's simple. Our banner is one that rises and gives form to tyranny wherever it emerges. The struggle against oppression cannot simply be detested by individual grievances, nor practical matters - no. To topple a king, one needs the soul of chivalry. With fortune - you'll understand this notion for yourself. It's something you're wanting if you've asked me, isn't it? Perhaps we're on a closer page than I had assumed."

        -And from there, the transmission at last cuts off.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

A near-even clash would be something most pilots might celebrate if they came up against Cornelia. ...They'd also likely die moments later from getting overconfident or boasting. Those kinds of thoughts aren't in Kallen's mind. They never have been. That isn't a source of her pride after all. She never really expected an answer to her question either. Even if she would have appreciated it. Still, it makes things easier.

Focusing on surviving... Of course she will. She knows how many people it would crush if she didn't. "Understood. No gigantic risks." She looks over the plan... yes, that's perfect. The fight may still be early in its course. But it's important to know when's right for something big. And right now, that's what she's feeling. "I'll make use of your strategy, N-1. Preparing Wave Surger." A switch is flipped, and the claw begins heating up. She knows what the thought was, left unfinished.

Her two allies here seem to be ready to fight for survival AND a solid victory here. So she'll do the same, making minor adjustments on the fly to the plan. <"Copy. Q-1 coming in."> She doesn't necessarily want to go for the KILL... but a pincer? Taking out her command unit and forcing her and her knights to leave? It's going to be touch and go. And she's only getting one shot on this!

Worse. Cornelia's making her own serious move. There's no doubt about her skill with that lance. Coming in on both the Guren's fielded allies... Continuing... 'So then she'll... there. I can't dodge it and hope to finish this, but if I...' The Guren, as has oft been noted, does not appear to have an ejection module. Whether it does or not, isn't important here. What it means primarily, is the design lacks certain hallmarks of a typical KMF. Makes it harder to know EXACTLY where to hit. The smart target would of course be to disable or sever the wave arm. Remove most of the Guren's best offense, then finish the rest safely. Cornelia is instead, as is her usual, planning to spear the core and cockpit. Well... she'll get close.

The Guren's dance is, even in these conditions, a beautiful thing to behold. Rakshata's genius can't be praised enough for how responsive her masterpiece is. The crimson bird flips past torn gaps in the roadway. Holes that one could plummet through to their doom with a single misstep. Cornelia makes her leap, and at THAT MOMENT, a Harken bursts from the Guren's chest. Reaching out to grab the Royal Knightmare in the same instant an explosion goes off behind the Guren! It's a move she's come to love, detonating a grenade and riding the shockwave to give her a boost. To grant Guren the wings it naturally lacks! She can hear the Byakuen's weapon. She just has to match time with it, to impact Cornelia just the right moment! The silver arm is distorted by a heat haze. Reaching out to snare the Knightmare in its grip as the Guren takes on the blow, losing most of one side and the arm with the grenade launcher almost completely. Still... the cockpit block is only grazed. Its slightly unusual setup and her maneuvering kept this from being a fatal blow. There's certainly an opening to look in on... but nobody is going to be in any position to take advantage of it.

An instant after the grab, the Wave Surger begins to cook. Successful or not, it's attempting to fry Cornelia's machine and force an ejection. Or else. She hadn't tasted its full dangerous capacity last time they fought. Perhaps she wouldn't have, even if that Lancelot HADN'T interfered... There's no way to be sure now. <"Having POWER! Means CARING for the people under your rule! You're supposed to PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS! Not SUBJUGATE! Not HERD THEM AWAY TO DIE IN SQUALOR! ALL WHILE YOUR NOBILITY CONTINUE TO ROB THEM BLIND!">
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable fails to react to Puru-1's Pass, taking 0 damage!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Cornelia li Britannia with Wave Surger Eruption!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to evade Ruri Hoshino's Gravity Blast - Atmospheric Wide Spread, taking 4750 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has been defeated!
 KTS: Ruri Hoshino roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia fails to parry Kallen Kozuki's Wave Surger Eruption, taking 6903 damage!
 KTS: Cornelia li Britannia has been defeated!
 KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Cornelia li Britannia!
 KTS: Char Aznable successfully Evades Eight York's Guided Beam Cannons - Pattern 4

 <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
<poem>
Sophia is foiled a second time by Rin's stunning reflexes. There's tons to look at; utter chaos, indeed, in the skies. But Sophia's gaze is set on her prey. Slug after slug, but -

The drone gets in the way. "Hold fire!" Sophia barks, because firing wildly into an obscured pink cloud won't help anyone.

The blast is brief, but indeed, just enough. "Escaping," she says. "We'll--!"

She pulses her Geass, half-consciously, and then flares it back to maximum in horror at what she sees, as the one intention that swiftly forms bonds appears before her:

The intention to kill, spiderwebbing across the sky like tendrils of ionization ahead of the lightning.

"HYPERION, DROP ALTITUDE! RIGHT NOW!" she screams. "FLAGS ON THE GROUND!"

The sudden manevuers are rough. Cutting the Minovsky Craft to simply DROP the ship several thousand feet is two different entirely unpleasant impacts; just watching it she suspects the crew will be too dazed to actually return fire.

"...Start charging," she orders her team, staring at the Nadesico with fire in her gut. She's afraid to activate her Geass. Unwilling to see the oceans of death above.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<poem>
The Banshee clashes for a time with the Queen Mansa, two wills squared off against each other. There is an understanding that is reached on Puru Two's part: even if she does not solve the issue, she has come to realize the kinds of feelings which help here, rather than hurt. There is only so much she can do, wielding the impetus to hunt and kill as she normally does. In this place, it is softer feelings that give her greater strength.

'Be mine', intones the ghost of the Banshee. Again and again. What if, instead, she agreed? Gave as much of herself as they wanted?

The spiritual flame surging through the beam saber does eventually die, as the Banshee's pilot knows their clock runs low and retreats. Arriety's feelings and her own shine brightly in unison, the emotional resonance of two determined souls enmeshed in psycoreactive circuitry making strange things possible.

"You can't go forever on spite and hatred--even I know that. Who is it that poisoned the well...?" she asks, forlorn. The Queen Mansa cannot hope to catch up the Banshee as it bears down on the Unicorn, either. It reaches out, trying to grab the Banshee as it shrieks past in an obsidian blur, but it's to no avail.

Which is when the funnels, absent for so much of this dire little dance, finally dart from the Mansa's tail binder and soar after the two RX-0 units. There is nothing so dramatic and so violent as beam-fire from them, oh no. They just aim to smash into the Banshee like a hurled rock, in the event that it tries to kill the boy in the Unicorn.

Together, Callisto and Arriety reach out. What is it they'd like to see, together...? Does an adoptive family have room for one more? Perhaps.
</poem>

 KTS: Puru Two targets Puru-1 with Queen Mansa Funnel Array - Veles Formation!
 KTS: Puru Two has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 fails to Evade Puru Two's Queen Mansa Funnel Array - Veles Formation, taking 2720 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 has been defeated!

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
The Titania and Svipul have been driven off, leaving just the Zentradi ship to reckon with since the Banshee's ignoring him. Char watches carefully, giving the vessel his full attention as it fires. This new pattern is, to the gunners' credit, much more complex - he's forced very out of position as he weaves between the beam cannon fire.

The Nadesico's Gravity Cannon, though - ''that'' makes the sky a much more dangerous place to be - and Banagher appeals to Char.

Perhaps his grim realization about the Banshee's pilot guides his hand, but the Zaku-II dives down on the black mobile suit, shield first, to slam it into the ground and ''hold it there'' until the NT-D exhausts itself.
</poem>

 KTS: Char Aznable targets Puru-1 with Zaku-II Shoulder Shield Bash!
 KTS: Char Aznable has completed their actions for the round.
 KTS: Puru-1 parries Char Aznable's Zaku-II Shoulder Shield Bash, taking 1170 damage!
 KTS: Puru-1 has been defeated!
 KTS: Char Aznable has engaged Puru-1!
 
 <Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
        That brilliant blade catches the light as it comes up to parry the beam saber, but that pivot... Not unexpected, given the caution this squad insisted upon, but too fast for Chris to avoid.
                "I see." Christina laughs in her cockpit, slamming her Ichinana's back foot down, wrapping her arms around Faulkner's Dagger's waist, embracing him as she's thrown off the Dominion into the wild blue yonder. The blade and rifle arc to the earth, predicting the paired suits' trajectory.

                She opens a laser-link to the Dagger, as the single suit's thrust is overtaken by their entwined mass. <"You, soldier. Don't you fear for your life?"> Buildings rise up to greet them, but...

        But Chris had bought enough time to bring the broken wing back online. It wouldn't last long, but...

        The battered Ichinana releases Faulkner's Strike Dagger, finally, after long, long seconds of freefall, letting it rise back up under its own thrust as the Ichinana burns away its wings, headed straight towards the Banshee, towards the Sunrise Zaku, towards the Unicorn.

                <"Banagher! I'm with you!">

         It's all she can do to grasp at the Banshee, to maybe hope against hope that she can pry off even a single tonfa, or hold it down just one more second. She throws the comms open.
        <"If you're so desperate to grab...then TAKE HIS HAND!">
</poem>

 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Banagher Links
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie targets Natarle Badgiruel with Pass!
 KTS: Christina MacKenzie has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Natarle Badgiruel has posed.
<poem>
"Tch, that's..."

No one would mistake the Nadesico's signature weapon, after all.  Natarle blasts out a warning, advising the Strikes to huddle behind the Avalon itself.  If anything here can survive a blast from that thing...  Well, maybe the Prince can help ''her'' out for a change.

All the same, her attention focuses on the Ichinana, and the message Faulkner has conveniently passed along with her little stunt.  "Montoya.  Lock down their systems.  This is our chance to take this one-seven in."

A chuckle crackles back at Chris,

<"This is what it takes to be the best.  And I know my captain will bring me home.  She's a soft touch under all that shouting.">

Something flickers over the laser, just before a bigger blast of static from the Dominion itself.

''To Dr. Kabuto,''

''I hear the tonkotsu's good.  Bring your friend, and it's my treat.''

In light of the ECM data burst, it'll look like nothing.  Just more noise dredged out of the Dominion's computers.  But if she's willing to play this hunch...

Faulkner's Dagger burns hard and lands with an unsettling metal crunch, and there's a brief "oof", followed by the slow warming of a beam rifle.

<"Aw, shucks, Captain.">  They're not a particularly good actor, but the drawl adds a little something to be sure.  <"Blew out a knee joint.  If they bolt now, I don't think I can catch 'em.">

"Looks like they're after a new target, anyway.  We need to refocus on the councill-"

An explosion - not notable itself, in the midst of all this violence, but far afield of the main fighting.  On the escape route?

"''Damnit''.  Zero does it again.  You'd think he knows it all in advance...  Faulkner, Z-one-three, load up.  We're probably too late, but if we can drive off the Black Knights, maybe they'll have time to mount a rescue."
</poem>

 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel targets Christina MacKenzie with Pass!
 KTS: Natarle Badgiruel has completed their actions for the round.

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>        
        Will it leave you alone Ruri?  Will it?

        Will it really?

        Just wait until you close your eyes tonight.

        The Funnels twist and wind firing and firing in a non stop assault.  And without its shield, the Banshee reaches out with a pulse and wrests control of several of them away.  The rate of fire slows.  What might have been a kill shot is instead melted obsidian and gold.

        Mid-charge, Callisto intreats it that it can't go forever on spite and hatred.  It's funnels soar out towards the Banshee and try to batter it off course.  The mobile suit is knocked down mid-charge.  With grim determination it gets back up despite all of its dents and divots.


        The Unicorn meets its charge by clinging to the Banshee.  Within its grip the suit writhes.  Like it was intending to utilize this opportunity to score a more telling blow, but it's caught its arms in position where it has no leverage.  Still it writhes and flails.  Images flood his mind of suffering, images that can only be from a lab.  Images of silhouetted men with gleaming glasses and labcoats.  Images of restraints and needles and worse.  It is strange and unfocused to Banagher...

        A P R O M I S E 
        Y O U C A N T K E E P
        T H I S I S R E A L I T Y

        Callisto and Marida in this moment might catch a glimpse of a balding hunched over troll of a man with unkempt white hair hanging unevenly to his shoulders speaking into a microphone.  Glemy's top scientist.  What is going on here?  What is happening?

        Arriety declares that she's a jealous sort of girl herself.  Offering friends, siblings, affection.  Validating her, but at the same time entreating this to stop.  Callisto reaches out by declaring that it can't go forever on all this spite and hatred.  She asks who poisoned this well.

        The Banshee reacts with alarm to the Phoenix Fire swathed around that Beam Saber, the mental and physical conflagration, shoving the Unicorn away.  As it comes down, Arriety will hear such a shriek of pain that feels more psychic, and on the physical plane, the Banshee's hand is grasping the hilt, keeping it from digging any further into its shoulder.  That gouge, that melted canyon that she gave it.  It's hand, slowly, gradually, forces it out before it can do more damage.

        And Callisto and Arriety feel something stir within it.

        Y O U D O N T U N D E R S T A N D

        T H I S C A N T S T O P
        
        This strange mingling of emotions, this incredible despair that feels dark and bottomless.  This sense of inevitability.  Go deeper.  Go deeper.  It feels like if both of them went just a little deeper...

        They might understand.

        The Banshee has perhaps seconds left on its NT-D.  Char comes at it, and indeed if he managed the pin with his Zaku II.  It might stop.  Char alone might see it from the angle he has that the others don't, something swinging by that reminds him of Gryps so vividly.
        
        A Base Jabber.

        The Banshee's jump jets fire.  Right as his shield makes contact...

        ... with the back of the Armed Armor VN.  The outer edge of the gauntlet, now spread out into that wicked claw.  It's knocked off course by the sheer strength of its charge.  But it still lands upon it haphazardly, stumbling.  Even as it transforms back into Unicorn mode, its frame melted and tortured.  That psychic pressure recedes almost instantly.

        The Base Jabber cuts a course which takes it low, weaving in and out of buildings, making it difficult for shots to be lined up even if some pot shots might be landed.

        Soon enough it's gone.  To where, is anyone's guess.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
<poem>
Banagher has what he needs.  That's the cue.  But the Banshee...  "If you can do it, make it quick!" Eight warns him, looking at the way this battle is going overall and not particularly liking the look of it.  But at least they and the other ship of the Three Ships Alliance are still moving; Jun hears her, and Eight suppresses a sigh of her own.  But it's done, for now.  It is what it is.

"...In the wake of the Nadesico's gravity cannon," Rezza reports, "Aznable seems to be focusing down on the Banshee.  We will not get a better opportunity to withdraw."

Kall adds, "The armor's compromised; we're fine to leave for repairs right now, but if we take much more damage, we risk the internals."

"And we won't endanger the people within," Eight agrees.  "Chovan!  Get ready to take us up on my mark.  Kazama, cease fire.  We'll have to rely on the mobile suits for him."  "Acknowledged, ma'am."  Frustration radiates from the young career-focused officer, but she forces it down, looks professional, and does her job.  Eight will remember that.

Eight holds out nevertheless--she tries to push the line.  "All power to shielding," she orders, "We're going to hold out for--"

The Banshee is gone.  Even with all their forces focusing on it, even able to pin it down...

"Damn," Eight says.  Then she says, "Astelian.  Open me a channel."

"RMII pilots," Eight says over a wide-band frequency, "This is Captain York.  Withdraw.  It's time to get out of here."  She then says, over a band just to the Nadesico, "Thanks for the cover.  We'll be counting on you."  And with that, Eight gives the directive, and Chovan starts to pilot the 'Ra Mari II'' out.

"...I wish we'd been able to stop him," she admits as she makes the ship climb towards the clouds.  "I know," Eight answers her.  "...One day.  We will.  But today, we got what Banagher needed.  That has to be enough."

"...Yes, ma'am."

Once the pilots are safely aboard... the ship will climb for the clouds, and be gone soon, headed towards the exit of atmosphere.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Marida Cruz has posed.
<poem>
         Marida squints as the image from their past fills her mind. It was foolish of her to doubt the identity of the Banshee any longer. But how...?

         As the Kshatriya limps to a stop, she throws her helmet off and lets it fall into her seat, her bangs matted with sweat and stuck to the skin of her forehead. Her head was pounding, the world darkening around her. As she forces herself to stay conscious long enough for recovery to arrive, the words of the Banshee keep floating in her mind.

         She buries her face in her hands to hide the tears streaking down her cheeks.

         Master would definitely need to speak with her about this.

         And she had an important question for him.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.
<poem>
        "Quite the showman, isn't he?" Schneizel's mostly rhetorical question about Zero's escape is not likely to get an answer as there are more pressing concerns. Namely the energy build up coming from the Nadesico.

        Kanon is quite concerned as he warns, "My lord!"

        However, Schneizel remains calm, saying, "Take cover. The rest of our forces know what to do."

        Sure enough, as the Nadesico prepares to fire its superweapon the Britannian forces begin to scatter, trying to move out of the way of the blast or find shelter where they can. The Lancelot Club does simply, moving behind a building and then activating its Blaze Luminous shield.

        The Nadesico's gravity blast fires out through the city. Not all of the Britannian Knightmares were able to get clear, the energy tearing them apart and quickly causing them to explode. Some manage to eject their cockpit blocks, though even then many are simply destroyed before getting clear of the blast. The Avalon and the Lancelot Club fare quit a bit better than the rest thanks to their energy barriers. The Avalon in particular also proving to help protect the Dominion's forces from the blast. Though the Avalon still suffered some damage as a result.

        Finally the devastating attack passes. The Lancelot Club's barrier is flickering after that blast, then vanishes as the generator in its arm shorts out. Inside, Kanon breathes a sigh of relief. Schneizel remains as collected as ever as he praises, "Good work. Unfortunately, by this point the Councilor's life has been ended. His contributions to this operation will be recognized."

        Schneizel then activates comms to the Federation forces here, <"All forces, regroup at the Avalon."> Unfortunately it seems that the Banshee has been been forced into a withdrawl. And while they could continue trying to go after the Unicorn without it, Schneizel expects their chances of success are low. All that's left now is to regroup and ensure any further losses are minimized.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Char Aznable has posed.
<poem>
The Banshee's turn means the impact isn't clean and the Zaku-II is sent tumbling. Even through that, Char has the presence of mind to lock an external camera on the Base Jabber as it retrieves the Banshee and makes good on its escape.

"... That was too well-timed," he says as he brings the Zaku-II back up to its feet.

He takes a quick check of his machine's systems, even knowing the Oath will repair the damage eventually.

The ''Ra Mari II'' gives the withdraw order; Char takes stock of the machines still arrayed against him - all badly damaged and not under the dubious blessings of this power. "... You should leave before Britannia comes for clean-up. It seems as though they were all-too-eager to play into Zero's little act of braggadocio there."

There are too many conspiracies at play for this battle to be the sole handiwork of just one rebel, to Aznable's mind.

"Banagher." He looks to the horizon where the Banshee vanished. He could destroy the Unicorn now, but... "We will settle matters another time - once the Banshee is stopped."

With that, the Zaku jets backwards and turns, speeding away towards the bay.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.
<poem>
Cornelia is in a fraught situation. And yet, all the same --

Indigo eyes look askance for a brief moment, as she looks at the sight of the Banshee attacking the other Unicorn and its compatriots in the distance.

The Banshee. The second Unicorn. It was not part of this mission... which means it was deployed entirely because of the Unicorn. Because of that strange broadcast to the One Year War?

Just what is piloting that machine, and why...?

Indigo eyes narrow. Violet lips downturn in a frown of thought.

"..."

If there's anything Cornelia truly despises, it's a masquerade.

For now, the thoughts are shelved, lasting scarcely a second before her attention turns back towards her opponents. The Gloucester has served her well throughout many years, but it's showing its age against so many opponents -- the reality of it becomes truly stark in the face of standing off with not one, but two seventh generation Knightmare Frames. It may not last much longer...

<"I have no interest in banter with those who consort with terrorists!">

... but Cornelia will push it until the very last moment it is capable.

Cornelia's fierce rebuff comes on the heels of Hikaru's knife thrust. Sparking and damaged though it is, the Gloucester moves swiftly, -catching- the gleaming Immediate Knife within the sudden expansion of the blade-snaring prongs at the base of her lance. It retracts, to catch that knife, and -diverts- its flow... just BARELY turning a brutal skewering into a far more survivable sideglance: the blade screams across dark metal of Cornelia's cockpit bloc, sparks flying as it carves a shallow cut across the armored exterior. The horned Knightmare Frame wheels backwards --

Just in time for the Byakuen's HAMMER into its side.

The drill of the stag beetle-like Knightmare Frame -lodges- into the Gloucester's left shoulder joint. There is a moment of screaming, shrieking tension before it CHEWS through the armor and into the infrastructure beneath. Cornelia reacts on instinct, ejecting the limb seconds before it simply EXPLODES in a radiating burst of flame and heat and force that sends the Gloucester spinning backwards.

Cornelia rocks backwards -violently- in her seat. Her head knocks against the back of it with a -crack- of impact, a strangled sound of choked pain starting and ceasing across Britannian comms.

As the Gloucester comes to a stop, down an arm, sparking and kneeling, Cornelia hears the dim sound of voices crackling on her comms.

        <"Princess!"> shouts the familiar voice of Andreas Darlton.

        <"Your highness! Are you alright?! What is your status??"> G.P. Guilford's isn't far behind. Despite herself, Cornelia can't help a rueful smile that touches on violet lips... even as a touch of wet crimson dribbles down them from her scalp.

        <"... My knights.">

Cornelia considers for a moment, before shaking her head and dragging herself upright in her seat.

        <"Hold a moment, your highness! We will be on your position to--">

        <"No! ... No. I have given you your orders. Do not dare break your formation. ... I will handle this.">

        <"Princess--">

Cornelia's shuts off her comms as she stares down her enemies.

"..."

<"... You speak as if I know nothing of the wages of blood of my family. I know. My instructor made sure I knew the weight of every life lost. To appreciate what had been sacrificed just so we could drag ourselves up a little bit higher. She was someone worth following. Someone worth listening to. Someone worth aspiring to..."> Cornelia cuts off her coms, briefly, to hide the wet cough that wracks her bruised ribs. <"... unlike -you-. You spit on rulers, while dancing to the tune of a man in a mask. For every ounce of blood and sweat my knights give me, I pay them twofold. Those who stand with me -stand- with me. With respect, they have earned. Can you say the same for your little messiah, boldly prancing around his pathetic masquerade?">

The Sakuradite reactor sputters. The Guren is coming, with a new, deadly dance. Landspinners slap into the ground.

<"I think not.">

And the Gloucester's wheels SQUEAL in protest as Cornelia forcibly LAUNCHES herself towards the Guren in one, last act of defiance.

<"FOR BRITANNIA!">

That lance -shoves- forward. It catches on the Wave Surger as before to try to deflected it --

--Just a second too late.

Waves upon waves of boiling microwaves RIPPLE through the Gloucester. Fluids beneath the surface bubble up violently, distending and bloating violet armor as it begins to -pop- apart like a hideous burst of popcorn. Even despite the noise of it, Cornelia can still hear Kallen's furious shouts, bloodied lips twisting in frustration and something else, harder to identify.

"Gh--!"

And the horned Gloucester of Cornelia li Britannia performs its last dance with the Ace of the Black Knights, bursting into a blistering explosion as its emergency ejection systems -shunt- its cockpit block out of the erupting wreckage.

Within that soaring cockpit, Cornelia's head droops. Her gloved hand fumbles for her sword, ready and willing to fight against capture to her dying breath...

... save that she looks up, and sees the crushing roll of a gravitational wave crashing towards her all-too-vulnerable cockpit.

Indigo eyes widen...

... and then shut, in quiet resignation.

"... Euphy. I'm sorry--"

        <"YOUR HIGHNESS!">

Something crashes into the cockpit block, rattling it. Cornelia's eyes snap wide as she hears that familiar voice.

Outside, a caped Gloucester of the Glaston Knights - having come screaming across the battlefield - catches Cornelia's cockpit --

--and turns its back towards the encroaching gravity storm, using itself as a shield in those fleeting moments.

        <"Guilford?! No! I told you--">

Cornelia has no time to reprimand, before crushing waves of gravitational force rush through the both, treating Guilford's Gloucester like a ragdoll in a tempest of fundamental force as it sweeps them both back and away within its armor-crushing wrath.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
<poem>
Chris arrives in a blaze of fire, adding her strength to the Unicorn's. Banagher smiles, sending her a quick. <"Chris! Thank you!">

The fact that her Ichinana is burning will have to wait, though he /is/ concerned about it.

Even more shockingly, /Char Aznable/ steps forward and slams dives onto the Banshee, forcing it into the ground. Banagher's heart flutters in his chest, unable to believe his eyes, even as events play out just before him.

For one moment, everything feels like it's going to be okay. The Banshee will be stopped. The pilot will be saved.

Then that moment ends.

Images of horror and suffering scorch against Banagher's very soul, cutting him to his core. Shrieking in horror, the young pilot takes his hands from the Unicorn's controls for a fraction of a second. But the pilot of the Banshee is extremely skilled, and that's all it takes.

Char's attack is deflected, Chris is shaken off, and the attacks of Banagher's allies do little to prevent it. Even as the Banshee's NT-D expires, even as it transforms, it leaps onto a Base Jabber and escapes into the maze of the ruined city.

Devastation echoes from the pilot of the Unicorn. They were /so close/. He watches the place where the Banshee disappeared, as if willing it to return.

It does not.

Eight calls for a retreat, and the Unicorn, too, transforms down into its lesser state. There's nothing more to be done. But even so...

Char is still here. Banagher knows how dangerous he is, but he can't bring himself to just leave the other man. Not when he knows how important he is to Audrey.

<"I didn't... think you'd actually do it."> Banagher says, his voice wrecked from screaming. <"I..."> He swallows. The Unicorn steps forward, placing a hand on the Zaku II. It's terribly risky. <"Thank you. I promise, I'm not giving up on you, either. She's waited so long for you, and -- I'm going to bring you to her. The next time we meet, things will be different.">

But 000 still wants the destruction of the Unicorn. Banagher has to escape. Clambering aboard one of the Ra Mari II's Base Jabbers, the Unicorn soars away toward his home ship.

The final words of the Banshee stay wtih him.

''A promise you can't keep. This is reality.''

Tears streak down his face, and he buries his head in his hands.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.
<poem>
So many people here.

For his head. Or the Laplace coordinates. Or both.

Seattle once more becomes a hellish battlefield consecrated in the carnage of a Zaku and its rival Gundams.

As the battlefield becomes a much and more distant thing to his fleeing motorcade, Ronan watches the chaos engulfing this desolate landscape with a growing frown. So much madness, and violence, and...

... for what, exactly?

"... ..."

Ronan shifts uncomfortably in his seat. This close to the violence of the battlefield is a difficult thing to shake.

... Seeing the ruinous aura of Triple Zero's apostle, and the strange, spiteful violence of the Banshee is even harder.

"... Get Martha on the line, when we get out of here."

Ronan's assistant pauses in the midst of his harried celebration of managing to break free of the obvious threat. He looks back to Ronan, confused.

"--S-sir? I mean -- yes, sir. You... uh, you said that, already. We need to--"

"No. Immediately. I want to speak to her -immediately-."

Ronan looks back towards his tinted window.

"This madness has gone on far too lon--"

Water and heat and concrete.

That is Ronan Marcenas' world for a few fleeting seconds of incoherent violence as the bridge EXPLODES beneath his transport, engulfing him in his limo.

The last sight of Councilor Ronan Marcenas is the flaming mass of his limousine, crashing with violent finality towards the bay.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
<poem>
Cornelia is an /excellent/ pilot, somehow managing to turn a brutal skewering into impact resembling a butter knife. Sensors trained on that vicious EM lance clashed against the knife, Hikaru braces for what comes next when...
%Her OS receives a familiar warning: incoming Gravity Blast! A whirlwind of destruction that any enemy would be terrified to face - for Hikaru, it is instead a sign that the Nadesico's come through. The Ground Aestivalis takes cover within fallen rubble, Hikaru watching the pilot she met earlier, who seemed so friendly, seemingly try to cook the princess inside her own Knightmare Frame.

But it's not over: the Gravity Blast sweeps across the battlefield with devastating fury, allowing Hikaru a unique rarely seen view of the /very/ moment the impact crushes the armour of its targets.

The Nadesico's involvement in this battle, Hikaru assumes, had its own hefty toll. Hikaru doesn't like it... but she did her best, nonetheless.

"The Britannian forces /should/ be retreating if they're smart!" Hikaru reports. It's kind of hard to tell in the wake of such destruction. "Returning to the Nadesico ASAP!" The little orange machine, with one big stab wound, does just that, distortion field roaring in its wake.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
<poem>
        Ruri doesn't typically remember her nightmares. ... not typically, anyway.

        Ruri doesn't really care about people's status, either, so talking to an anonymous girl is fine. She frowns, though, listening to C.C. "The whole world?" She asks, with light scepticism. "You'll run out of bullets, miss."

        But...

        "I don't really understand chivalry," she answers Zero, politely. "But you put us in a bad position to fight your battle, and I think that's very rude." From the mouths of babes, huh?

        She's too rattled to ask Jun to take over the conversation with someone as important as Zero, but perhaps it's just as well she hangs up.

        "Firing successful," Ruri says, without passion. "The enemy's taken a lot of damage..." That's how she describes those explosions, the wake of their violence.

        Hand on the trigger, she clarifies: "Princess Cornelia has been forced to disengage. We've disrupted Char Aznable, too. The Avalon has taken damage, but it's still standing. The Hyperion is approaching too."

        "We've got the withdraw order!" Jun replies, tense. "All units, return to the Nadesico -- we're leaving!"

        "The Aestivalis wing is retrieved," Ruri tells him, immediately. "They took the initiative already."

        "That's why they're the best," Minato smiles, a shade uneasy. "It's not all about attack, attack, attack! Nadesico, retreating!" She engages the helm, to bring them away from the battle, covering the massive Ra Mari II with the weapon they've demonstrated is so terrible.

        (It's for the best they don't need to demonstrate it twice, in atmosphere.)
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.
<poem>
        The back of a hand meets Puru-1's cheek, as the Empress of the Moon pronounced her judgment. "Your grudge against Aznable cost us much." The girl the cheek belonged to massaged it with a hand, then stated in robotic deference, "I apologize and take full responsibility for my failure."

        The other figure, Martha Vist Carbine rubs the bridge of her nose as if she were rethinking this, "No.  I suppose you cannot be blamed.  Without your intervention he would have cut the Key down without mercy.  And it is unreasonable of anyone to expect you to fend off the Red Comet and capture the Unicorn simultaneously."

        There is a sigh, as she muttered the true source of her anger, "Decades of partnership, set back by one dramatic child in a mask with delusions of conquest and his motley band of terrorists."

        "I am, sorry for your loss." Puru-1 stated clumsily, as Martha flicked a look towards her, "Don't patronize me by introducing sentiment into this, the marriage between our two families had always been one of mutual interest.  My grief is towards the effort it will take to rebuild that in his son.  Still.  Ronan was growing soft with age.  Perhaps a changing of the guard was in order after all to someone who won't wring his hands over the OCU applying a little pressure."

        Moving back behind her desk, and hit a comm, "Alberto.  Get me the updates on the Norn project immediately." And then as if remembering the conversation, "Also have one of your assistants contact Londo Bell's main office.  I need Riddhe Marcenas recalled immediately.  Extended bereavement leave.  Make sure his discharge papers are drawn up and completely in order."

        There was more awkward silence afterwards, as Martha mused, "I believe I'll approve Dr. Murasame's personnel requests after all."

        Puru-1's chin, which had been tipped down, suddenly looked up, a glimmer of, something imperceptible within her eyes, "Alexis' arguments were...  persuasive."

        In that moment, she gives Puru-1 a wolfish smile, "We are asking far too much of you.  It's time we found you some competent back up."
</poem>