Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 2: Of Dire Tides

[Nanami Touko]

Standby

"Me? I'm... I'm okay. Just feel kinda heavy. That's all." She managed to sit herself forward, feeling the same Kim had, though not as intensely. What was that all about? She'd missed something, clearly... Wait, that feeling... "D-Did they bring that girl onto the ship? Why would... Elaine wanted that robot, didn't she?" Christina sighed, sinking back into her seat, grabbing at her coat that had someone managed to stay hanging despite all the jostling and knocking around the Artemis had gone through. She pulled it over herself and started fitting her arms into it, looking down at Kim as... Huh, what was her monitor saying?

"Kim, what does that indicator mean?" There was a small line of text at the bottom of the main monitor. It read, 'ARES system, standby mode'. "Ares? Like the God? Geez, machines are weird... Are you okay to move? We should head down, shouldn't we? If... If they really did bring that girl on board, then I wanna find out what's going on..." There was no way someone so similar to her could exist. It was just, impossible! Same voice, same feel, it... It couldn't be. She'd never undergone anything weird when she was a soldier for Apoth, it wasn't feasible, so...

She sighed. "Unless you want to get back out there... I don't think anyone, or the Captain, would blame you if you didn't. That was, uhm... That sure was some blindside, huh?"

[Ether]

"I don't... know what it is. It activated when you... passed out. I'll have to ask Avery." Kim replied, nodding at Christina as she mentioned her curiosity about the strange girl. It probably was a good idea to square that away, but...

"If you're sure... you want to know. Some things are... better left alone, but it's... your choice. Regardless of... what we do, you fell unconscious, so you should... see Doctor Amparo." Kim replied, disconnecting the T-link...

Her vision immediately went blurry and she felt dizzy, the Lieutenant lurching forward for a moment before recovering. The aggression that had been seemingly running through her veins had already dispersed as the system switched to standby, but the irregularity of the whole ordeal still threw her body for a loop as the T-link's support was removed. Shaking her head after a moment, she sighed.

"I'm... okay. I don't know... what effect disconnecting will... have on you, since you... passed out. Just be... careful."

Edited January 14, 2018 by Ether

[Xinnidy]

No Waiting

"Well you look like-- wait!" Ooooh, there she went, well, she wasn't going to make any trouble on their end, not if Ignatius could stop it. Well, there were no guns in the near vicinity -usually they were stored near the hangar's entrance--, but they did keep more tazers around for self-defense, and the old man decided it was enough with the limited time alloted until this Chris left the hangar for good. Running as fast as his lanky legs allowed, the old mechanic in a lab coat catched up to his two goons and the unruly doppelganger in a few moments. "Don't go running around when you don't even know where the infirmary is! Come on, follow me." The two mechanics kept walking both on either side of Chris as Ignatius led them outside and towards the elevator. "Well I don't know what's up with you but people are going to point out your similarity with her a lot. Clear as day that you have some issue with that, so brace yourself." Figure he could as well tell her how it was. This one seemed like she had the fight on her at times, but it was pointless inside the ship... even with a hidden weapon, the best she could do was put Ignatius to an early grave before the two other mechanics pinned her down. "As for your ties with Apotheosis, that's not me who's going to ask. You're gonna be waiting until the Captain and docs are around."

[Nanami Touko]

Target Lost, Target Acquired

Jess had been more than ready to fire at the unknowns, but as soon as Kim made it back to the Riese, they disappeared. More warping tech, it seemed... How many of their suits could do that? All of them? "Ugh..." At least the Lieutenant wasn't in any more trouble, despite the hefty hit the Artemis seemed to have taken. "Once more, too all units. We've picked up the Artemis, so you're free to deal with the remaining enemy forces. Those two unknowns have disappeared, but keep your wits up! They could come back at any moment. Do not forget that time is of the essence, we still have a distress signal to get to." Jess closed comms and scanned the battlefield, giving a look over to the ensign.

"Can we get a better read on the lifepod from here, Ensign?"

"One moment, Captain... Yyyyes, it appears so. The pod appears to have come from a Velite Mk.II, belonging to one Jezebel Barnes... Does the name sound familiar, Captain?"

"No, not at all... No idea if we can check if they're still alive, still?"

"Negative, ma'am. We'll have to open it up for that. This is all we can get from this range."

"Well... I just hope they're alright, then. Focus on taking out the remaining enemy suits, and our repairs."

Unsettling

"I do want to know, so... So, let's get us out of here. We can get this settled, okay?" Christina slipped her coat on proper, unplugged herself... Nothing ill like Kim's effects had been. Was this ARES centralized to the main pilot? Maybe it had been because she was out. Would the load have been better with the both of them awake? She couldn't help the sigh that escaped thinking about that. Even if Kim said she'd helped her survive by shouting her emotions out at whoever those things were, she'd failed her again by passing out... A seemingly common occurrence with the girl, these days. I have to get better.

Stepping towards the pilot seat, Christina opened the cockpit and helped Kim up, sliding one of the Lieutenant's arms around her shoulder. It would make the trip faster for them both to take the lift down together, so letting Kim get her foot settled first, Christina stepped on and led her down to the floor... Perhaps some things should've remained unknown.

Chris had gotten hit with Kim's surge of anger as Ignatius droned on about taking the lead and having to brace for similarities. It was such an intense feeling, she'd tripped over, bracing herself against the wall... But it left as soon as it had come. What had that been about...? Trying to pick herself off the wall, she looked back over towards the hangar to--

Their eyes met. Christina to Chris. They could both tell those eyes, that hair. It would become more apparent if they'd been closer, not that either needed it. Feeling each other out was filling in that gap, Christina cluing back into the emotions floating about the hangar, but so focused on this other her, they were nothing but whispers.

Chris smiled, shaking her head. It wasn't a happy smile. "Lead away, old man." Not wanting to linger any longer and solve this for Christina, she picked herself up and started walking again towards the elevators. Don't follow me, original. Just don't. The last thing I want is to get withing striking distance of you.

Christina was stuck staring as the small group walked off, letting Kim off of her shoulder and turning that gaze towards the floor. It was terrifying, confusing, and it wasn't supposed to be possible. "I don't... I just, don't... I don't understand." A shaky wheeze came out of her, slowly gripping her arms. Calm down. There's got to be some proper explanation for what's going on. I, just... Is she a clone? Some twin I didn't know I had? I have to figure this out. "Calm down, Chrissy... Calm down." No more shakes, plenty of worries, but she wasn't going to collapse over it. "Infirmary now... Right, Kim?"

Edited January 14, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

Sheesh, this had been one nasty engagment, and they still hadn't found that ANF pilot, yet. It seemed like Megumi would have to check on the mission's progress from the infirmary, going forward. At least she had the option ...

"POWs have turned out alright so far," Megumi replied to the mechanic as she shut down her console and made for the bridge's elevator, "Bring them to the infirmary, please. I'm on my way there, now." The Artemis Team was probably on their way too, given what they had just gone through. 

---

Things were looking up, though Brant had to look over his shoulder to be sure. According to the radio chatter, the Artemis had escaped and was on its way back to the Riese. No casualties, reported. Those advanced mobile suits also disappeared right off the radar. They were about as committed as Apotheosis was in general, it seemed. That was to say, not even remotely.

On the other side of things, Astin had noted that the heavier of the remaining suits were likely covering the sniper. Unless they could warp away like the Hyperions, they would probably be the final casualties, here. The Sniper might escape because of their efforts, though. Brant and Firmia were both wondering if the two machines that had just left were leading this entire group, or if they were just strong reinforcements. If it was the latter, they hadn't accomplished much of anything in the end. It seemed more likely that this group's commander was either that pesky sniper, one of the heavies moving up the field, or already dead ...

With only six enemies left, a few of which were a little too out of the way, Brant set his sights on the retreating Cressidas. Blasting them along the way wouldn't be a bad idea, so long as they took only minimal damage in return. They would have to make the most of it, though, before those two slipped into the cover of the nearby forest and escaped.

((Actual dialogue for combat post.))

[Ether]

Taking the lift down with some assistance from Christina, whom despite having been the one to pass out, seemed to be taking things better than Kim herself, likely in thanks to this odd ARES system, things took a turn for the worse as soon as they touched down in the hangar. An immediate feeling on enmity once again, and looking at it directly this time, there was no more denying what she had felt and heard, not anymore. There was Christina, or an exact copy of her, being escorted down the hallway by a few members of the mechanic crew. Her stare was directed at Christina herself, but Kim could still feel the hatred emanating from her being. They walked off after a moment, but Christina was clearly shaken by the event.

"That's... complicated. They might be taking her there, Chrissy. That machine... got pretty shook up, after all. What do you want... to do?" Kim asked, looking over the hangar, seeing Buck walking off to fix something else, seeming a bit shaken himself by the whole event. Poor kid... though seeing him did remind Kim of one other important thing that needed doing, continuing to look the area over until she spotted the head mechanic.

"Give me... one moment, Chrissy." Kim began, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"AVERY! Come over here, please!"

[TheRoon]

Oooh that was a nasty blow she took. Carlos didn't screw around. Good thing she left the bag of chips onboard otherwise they would be everywhere. "Ahh!" She shouted out as the machine jerked her about the cockpit. Things seemed a bit dire, she couldn't stay for much longer without risking an explosion. So... "This is Aliza. Heading to the ship to recoup. Sorry guys..." She sighed over the comms, a little disappointed she couldn't do more. But her teachers always told her that if retreat is an option she should take it. Just living is the most important thing a soldier can do.

Aliza moves 15, 10 to board the Riese and repair.

[Xinnidy]

Waste No Time

Well, it seemed this other Christina was getting complacent enough, or just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Ignatius could take a gander as to why. "Alright, the elevator should be here soon, nobody's really walking up and down during a mission." Surprisingly, the elevator was at the upper level when Ignatius called for it, instead of at the middle level since the time the pilots came to the hangar. Huh. Somebody must have come down to check something, then went back to the bridge. Thankfully it didn't take much long for the elevator to show up, fairly unimpeded, and Ignatius stepped in, quickly followed by the mechanics, still keeping themselves at the side of Chris. Perhaps a bit more reluctant, now that they were in such an enclosed space. "Not everyday this happens, honestly... Well, if it helps at all, we've had a good run with captured soldiers so far. Don't think a single one is still at the brig... three total, well, four with you." She probably didn't care, or she did, internally. Ignatius was never good at reading these neo-centennials.

With the elevator unimpeded, they reached the top level rather quickly, probably for the best. However, a quick check on the infirmary proved that the doctor still wasn't there, hmm.... "Right, the Doctor must've been in the bridge when I called. Which means..." Ah, there it was, the bridge elevator seemed to have come down, if a noise in the distance was any indicator. "Well, they're here, so let's get inside." That'd do for now, surely one of the nurses was there as well?

Not So Powerful

The Phalanx really couldn't do anything about that machine... it was a bit depressing, really, but Makoto had to stick to the riverbed as that strange mech hanged around... was that a flash of green energy? They had vanished just like the machines at Tarquin's place, which meant they probably warped away... the Phalanx slowly made its way to the surface, Makoto sighing as he took a moment to figure out himself. What a mess he'd done, and it didn't accomplish much in the end. "Sorry, everybody. I didn't do much. It was a bad idea." The boy's voice was devoid of that cheer he always held, not entirely depressed but certainly more contemplative than his usual self. It seemed there was a limit to the Phalanx compared to these machines. It was bothersome, to the boy.

The Riese was right there, and it seemed the battle had moved away from the shoreline, which meant for a change of frames again. All in a day's work, or however Thorvald would put it... at least getting from water to the ship was a bit feasible, he still needed to shoot a hook and climb the Phalanx up, but it was fun to jet the unit out of the water for a short height. Probably a bit of fuel waste, though.

Makoto gets aboard at (15,9)! Switching to the Ground Frame for now!

Getting in the hangar, it was quick work to reach the Phalanx's stop, popping out for a quick selection of frames and let the mechanical arms do their quick work, giving the boy a moment to check the busy surroundings. Ah, right, the Artemis had managed to escape, while Makoto stood there helplessly. At least that meant that Christina and Kim were safe, that was good, they had both descended from the Artemis and seemed to be unharmed. At least physically! "Uh, hey..." He walked towards them, though Kim seemed to have some business calling out Avery, so it ended up being mostly a callout for Christina. "They looked really dangerous, I couldn't do anything... but you made it out just fine, thank goodness. Are you okay?"

[Shin]

With clearance given, Tarquin docked the Aria into the Heion Riese. He hadn't actually taken damage, but diagnostics on his rifle were needed if he wanted to keep contributing - especially against the enemy sniper. Tarquin sat for a moment, letting the mechanics hook up whatever they needed to the Aria. Thinking about it, the Aria was a fairly complex machine. Hsd it been designed with him in mind, or was it for one of his predecessors? If T-2 had been in the Umbra, it may have meant that T-3, whoever they were, was the intended pilot of the Aria. During a mission really wasn't the best time to think about things like that, but the repair work had given him a welcome few moments of silence.

His display chimed merrily, a big "OK" appearing on one of his screens. Whatever faults were present had been corrected, hopefully with some aid from the mechanics they would be able to prevent any further problems. It was an experimental unit, one of Avery or Buck could probably refine things at a later date. There was some sort of confusion with the unit that Elaine had obssessed over and its pilot, but he didn't have the time or the motivation to care much about it.

"Puppet returning to the field, all systems are operation and fully functional." Tarquin announced, preparing himself for launch. "I should be able to engage the enemy sniper from a distance, but it may require someone to catch his attention in the mean time."

Tarquin escapes the Riese and moves to 13,13!

-

 

Bill's crusade against the space gremlin hadn't progressed much, he was still in the same standoff against that he was before. Other than ruining carpets and cablings, his intel against the creature was limited. He had no knowledge of its feeding habits, behavioural patterns or even how poisonous it was. It would be a shame to kill the creature, but perhaps it was the only option? It was a painful thought, Bill had even tried to spare a redback or two in his time... perhaps there was a way to appease it or at least let it out of the ship? If only he had a way to communicate with it, it wasn't like gorillas, they were reasonably easy to deal with.

The little bugger had started flashing a light... in a strangely rhythmic pattern. It wasn't just random, there was some sense behind the madness. It was definitely trying to do something, but what Bill wasn't entirely sure.

[Nanami Touko]

With members coming in and out of the ship, Jess continues forwards!

Boat moves to 10/11-13/12

Running Low

"Hannah," Galatea suddenly spoke up, the android perking up, "you do know how much energy that maneuver of yours is expending, right?"

"Oh... I... No. I hadn't noticed. Uhm... V-Vivian?" Embarrassed and a bit shocked she hadn't noticed, Hannah radioed over to Firmia. "I seem to have spent more of the Mantle's energy reserves performing as I did. I can still provide cover fire, but it may require some time before I can aid in any hard assaults, again. I will attempt to continue melee combat until then."

"That's not gonna make her happy~"

"I know, Galatea, but it is all I have at the moment."

Hannah moves to 14-14

---

Makes no Sense

Avery had missed this Chris' arrival entirely because she was too distracted with almost pulling her hair out. The hangar had gotten the notification of incoming bots and the retrieval and repair of the Artemis, which had spurred her to tap into the incoming battle reports and see what they meant by retrieval... And it had been one frustrating ride! "UGH!" was the last thing to come from her before Kim called her, snapping her out of her near trance. "Whhhh-- K-Kim!? Shit, yer alright, holy fuck!" Tripping past the station's cables and making a swift recovery, Avery ran over, looking between both girls and the Artemis itself.

"The fuck grabbed you!?" was her first question, skipping the checks for if they were alright. "I been runnin' th'numbers fer th'last few minutes, ain't none of 'em make sense! Ain't no tech that goes that fast an' can skip past sensors an' it just... I'm real fuckin' frustrated right now-- y'all okay?" A hand slid across her face to try and rub some of the frustration away, sighing. "I'll get Buck t'help me run s'more of 'em later, but, Jesus. Ain't nothin' like that in th'ANF, ain't nothin' we seen from Apoth either. That there Luna ain't goin' that fast, that's fer sure... Hell of a thing we got ourselves wrapped into, huh?"

Christina tried to look alright as the mechanic went on, about to answer Kim, but Makoto had hopped in as well. "Uh... Y-Yeah. I'm, fine. I'll be fine, I guess... But, right now, I'm..." She sighed, rubbing at her eyes, then tugging at her coat to close it just a bit more. "There's another me. She was inside the machine over there, and... I don't know what's going on. So I'm kind of shocked, right now. But, we're fine. I think... At least I don't think I got shaken up by the altercation that much. Lucky break, huh?" Christina looked back over at Kim for a moment, wondering if her encounter with their machine's new system was really affecting her badly or not.

"But, you should hop back in and get to helping, if you're still able. We're, uh... I'm gonna go to the infirmary, alright, Kim? You can come, or talk with Avery about that ARES thing." Avery turned to the blonde at that, confused by two things.

"Wait, another you? The hell? An'... ARES thing? What're y'all doin' t'my robot now?"

Edited January 15, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[scorri]

"Copy Puppet. I've got your distraction coming." Man Avery was going to kill them for this.... "Brace yourself Juria, we're going in." Defensive position, boosters on, let's kick it. Pushing the Ceres to its limit, Astin sped past the Riese, right into the tangle of heavily armored bots that had been taking pot shots at them only seconds ago.

"Let's see how you all fight in my territory. Try using your big guns now, HA!" And their it went, the mechanical fist flying out right past the head of the armored bot in front of them towards the sniper hidden in the forest. "Can't catch me by surprise now." See how they like cheap shots.

 

Astin shields, accels, moves to 9-15, punches Carlos in the face or at least tries to distract him with the fist!

[Nanami Touko]

Astin rushes into Carlos' blindspot, but their aim is a little bit off!

Quote

Weapon: EXTENDO FIST
Final Hit: 47
Final Crit: 23
Roll: 96,98
Miss!
Avoid Decay+1!

Astin loses 2 will!

 

[Ether]

As soon as Avery realized they were there, she snapped out of whatever she was doing fairly quickly, which appeared to be running numbers on the alien machine... gods, Aliens? Kim was still trying to process it all herself, the dizziness fading as her mental acuity returned to normal, though not quite as sharp as it had been when that ARES system was active. With Makoto coming over as well and questions everywhere, things were getting quite hectic.

"So... I know this is going to sound crazy, and I'm... not sure I believe it myself." Kim began, swaying a bit as she stood before grabbing a nearby chair and rubbing her temples as she sat, the hammering pressure from earlier still echoing in her head every so often.

"First off... I'm not sure if I'm okay. The pilots of those... machines were the... strongest telekinetics I've ever met. Stronger than... should be possible. Just being near them... felt like I was laying my head... down on a set of tracks and getting... hit by a goddamn train. And even worse... they were communicating, with us... mentally. Actual... fucking telepathy." Kim paused, thinking how stupid she must sound right now. She half expected Christina to refute what she was saying, point out that she was going insane, but there was still more...

"They called us... insects. They called the... human race, insects. I don't know if... they were bluffing, or if I'm jumping... jumping the shark? But I think... they were aliens, Avery. Telekinetics... far beyond what humans... should be capable of. Insane technology... the likes of which we've... never seen. And outright saying... they aren't human. That they're above... humans." Kim continued, another pang in her head causing her to clutch it tightly, gritting her teeth. 

"And on top of all of that... inside that colony machine was... another Christina. Looks the same, sounds the same... has the same mental signature... I don't know if she's... an android or a clone or what else... but... the other mechanics just... took her down the hall." Kim concluded, shivering a bit where she sat as the ridiculousness of it all hit her again and again as she recounted her experience. When Christina brought up the ARES system and Avery asked what the hell she was talking about, Kim realized in the craziness of it all she had forgotten what she had wanted to ask Avery about to begin with... and the head mechanic clearly had no clue before she even could.

"Right... the ARES System. ARES Telekinetic Enhancement System." Seung-Min clarified, looking up at Avery, the image of the console still etched into her mind.

"When Christina passed out... it activated. I don't know what it is. All I know is that... as soon as it did, everything got sharper. I could see, hear, feel... faster, more clearly. I felt... my telekinetic abilities spike. I felt the urge to fight... the urge to kill. Anger, rage... madness... and clarity at the same time. I unloaded everything... the Artemis had into that machine and managed to break it's grip... but aside from some minor damage to it's armour and optics, it didn't seem to... leave an impact." KIm recounted, describing the encounter as best she could muster at the moment.

"Everything except..." Kim continued instinctually, hand coming up to clutch her chest where the pain had been, glancing up at the Artemis, vents and heat sinks still exposed and glowing red, single eye still projecting light like a floodlight, despite the ARES system having moved to standby. And the slightest gap in the chest, exposed as the heat within was being vented, but not enough to see anything within. Why did her chest start to ache when she connected more deeply to the Artemis?

"We didn't... turn the machine off. The consoles... should still say ARES system on standby."

[Phoenix]

A1 repeated its 'Hello' message three times, but it seemed the Janitor wasn't familiar with the code. Try as it did to calculate a way to 'write' a message on some surface in the room, A1 couldn't come up with a way to do that with the equipment it had on hand ... not without causing serious damage, at least. Trying a new tactic, A1 aimed the mock rifle at the door and began to draw its message, completing one letter every couple of seconds or so. With the laser still on its lower settings, it wasn't leaving any marks. Even though that was a blessing, it seemed to put the message's odds of being understood at roughly 50/50. That was better than zero.

---

Tonya poked at her water bottle in the cafeteria, still at a loss for why the Reign was locked down. No remote signals were working, and the docking station couldn't do anything with the suit, either. As much as she wanted to contact Firmia to see what the deal was, there was a battle going on, right now. She was likely busy proving herself to Brant in action, and he probably had his hands full, too. Now would be a very bad time to bring up something like that, especially given her reasons. Tonya smiled bitterly at the thought of pestering Firmia about the Reign, just so she could get inside and see if the suit's system could run that silly game. It wasn't irrelevant; the sense Tonya was getting of Firmia's plans would have the Reign flying all over the place, and its pilot needed ways to pass the time. With the Reign's upgrades finished, it could fight without making the mechanics nervous, and that meant she would be starting these long missions, sooner rather than later.

Also she was bored as hell, right now. Standing up from the table and grabbing her water, Tonya started back for Brant's room. Maybe Ellen was online and she could do a job for the SSMO veteran in the meantime. It felt like the immediate danger had passed, so she was just torturing herself by waiting around in the cafeteria.

---

On the elevator ride down, Megumi wondered what kind of person they'd caught this time around. Was it a rebel being used as a meat shield or a distraction, like Abigail? Maybe it was someone more like Nikolai, severely damaged and nearly unhinged. Or maybe it was someone like Christina, with no business whatsoever being in a military organization, much less a battlefield. She stepped out of the elevator as soon as it arrived and made straight down the hall toward the infirmary. She spotted Ignatius and his help along the way, along with some unusually long blonde locks. She squinted to try and commit the new face to memory, quickly finding that it was already there ...

... well, despite everything, it definitely wasn't Troy; this woman had clearly made it to the infirmary on foot. More importantly, that wasn't the SKINsuit she should have been wearing. It didn't look like ANF standard, not even a custom version like Lieutenant Kim's. The doctor was quickly becoming suspicious of Troy's original story, and was curious to hear what Number Two over there had to say about her origins. "Is this the guest?" She knew it was, but there weren't any other greeting questions coming to mind ... at least none she could be sure wouldn't cause said guest to clam up.

---

Brant heard a sharp pang behind him after Hannah reported on the Mantle's reserves and how she planned to manage the problem. His guess? Firmia's helmet striking either her mounted monitor, or the tablet screen. One of the two. "Acknowledged, Terminator. That propellant tank's really helping us out," Brant noted, "maybe we can get the Mantle one for the next mission. Who knows."

Firmia casts Alert (10 SP), and Brant moves to 15,15!

[Balcerzak]

The Riese was actually carrying a full load, considering the battle was still afoot, but with circumstances such as they were there was no avoiding it. At least they hadn't all needed to pile in for repairs, although a few minor touchups were appreciated here and there.

Thorvald was a bit anxious, worrying about how the others were holding up without his overprotective eye to keep watch on them, while Abigail was frustrated at the delay keeping her from extracting righteous vengeance on Apotheosis. Two different takes on a similar base emotion.

The only thing keeping Abby from hanging from the lip of ramp that loaded into the hangar, ready to drop down onto land the second they crossed the river, was the fact that it wasn't designed that way in the first place. Well, that and the fact that her machine really did need a bit of repair, and that she didn't need another earful from Jess if the captain somehow caught wind of a stunt like that. At any rate, what it really came down to in the end, was that Abigail was barely paying any attention to any of the happenings surrounding Elaine's antics with the captured Oberon, its hostile pilot, or even that much to the lieutenant and Christina. She did care enough about the latter two to check in that they were alright, but seeing that both exited their craft on their own power was enough to reassure her that they'd escaped just fine from their tussle with the latest pair of unknowns thrown their way. Then it was popping out and helping the mechanics who'd come for the maintenance so as to help speed things along.

Thorvald, on the other hand, was stunned into silent contemplation by the second Christina. Having been the reason they'd ended up saving the first Miss Troy, he felt distinctly responsible for her and now, to add onto that the fates of potentially others, exactly like her? Just what was going on, and how many had they failed to save? Too many questions, and the middle of a battle was no time for answers. Nothing to do but chew on his lip and stew. Well, at least until Makoto reported in his disappointment and began climbing aboard.

"Nonsense, son, you did just fine out there. Plenty of good work, even if those unknowns didn't seem to dent. It looked like Idol also struggled to do anything meaningful, and we'll have to go over the full data after. In the meantime, don't let it get you down, just gear up for what we have left to work on. See you down there when you're ready," Thorvald finished a minor pep talk and then, his machine not quite fully repaired (but as good as it was going to get for now), considering they were across the river and the repositioning almost complete, he got the okay to launch back out into the fray.

Thorvald moves to 13-14

Abigail followed his lead soon after, being a little delayed in comparison given she'd actually gotten out of her craft to help out touching up the Crescent Moon a little. When she hit the ground, she saw that Doyle had charged in pretty far, nearly unsupported. Like hell she was letting that go unanswered and unsupported. Cursing silently a bit at her lack of a proper call-sign, and resolving to do some research this afternoon to fix that, she radioed out a general message without referring to herself as anything in particular. 

"Going on ahead to meet up with Doyle," Abby ended up skipping use of the other pilot's call-sign as well, as per her usual. "Whether the rest of you wanna get in close too, or stay back and line up shots, just... make everything count. Let's keep these bastards on the ropes."

Abigail moves to 11-15 and uses Titanium Sword on Saturn #2

[Dandragon]

The boat had moved to a far more advantageous spot, and with that, Thorvald and Abigail headed back out into the field, with Elaine to soon follow. Elaine used her thrusters to once more jump high into the air, and as she saw Abigails assault on one if the remaining robots, gravity took effect, and the Heracles rocketed towards the ground, firing her machine gun as a follow-up attack.

Elaine to (11,14), Machine Gun on Saturn #2.

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai said a fuck word. He shouldn't have, but he did it anyway.

With the Reise in a less prone-to-exploding-via-pew-pew-shooty spot, things were looking more optimistic. Not that Nikolai was ever prone to optimism ever.

He was special like that.

Niko assails, focuses, moves to (12-13), bunkers #2

 

[Xinnidy]

Firmia casts Alert! [-10sp]
And Brant goes on...

Abigail readies the sword and sees the toughness of the Saturns for herself!

Quote

Abigail attacks!
Target: Saturn #2
Weapon: Titanium Sword
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 20
Roll: 24, 26
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 32

Saturn #2 counters!
Weapon: Wrist Beam Gatlings
Final Hit: 73
Final Crit: 15
Roll: 85, 35
Miss! (Avoid decay +1)

Abigail gains +60 EXP, +2 Will!

Well, that worked out okay!

Elaine follows up that maneuver!

Quote

Elaine attacks!
Target: Saturn #2
Weapon: MT12 Machine Gun
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 31
Roll: 39, 54
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 31

Saturn #2 counters!
Weapon: Wrist Beam Gatlings
Final Hit: 92
Final Crit: 14
Roll: 93, 79 (no japes)
Miss! So Lucky! (Avoid decay +1)

Elaine gains +50 EXP, +3 Will!

That went surprisingly well too!

Nikolai casts Assault![-15sp]
Nikolai casts Focus![-10sp]
Nikolai decides a heavy enemy warranted a heavy attack!

Quote

Nikolai attacks!
Target: Saturn #2
Weapon: I-Field Bunker
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 17
Roll: 99, 81
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 85

Saturn counters!
Weapon: Rear-mounted Cannons
Final Hit: 10
Final Crit: 13
Roll: 15, 41
Miss! Thanks predict! (Avoid decay +1)

 Nikolai gains +50 EXP, +4 Will!

Whew, that was close!

[Nanami Touko]

Enemy Phase/ Turn 5

Carlos fires off at Nikolai, who tries to avoid the incoming fire!

Quote

Weapon: Quadruple Beam Cannons!
Final Hit: 38
Nikolai Evades!
Final Hit: 19
Final Crit: 11
Roll: 18,7
Oh fuck
Hit
Crit!
Final Damage: 259
The Umbra explodes!
"One down..."

The Saturns turn and fire at Tarquin! He dodges the first one cuz he's COOL! Then he COUNTERS!

Quote

Weapon: High Precision Rifle
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 26
Roll: 74,79
Hit, no crit
Final Damage: 93

Tarquin gains +4 Will and +50 EXP!

The second one tries to strike him down, but Thorvald gets in the way!

Quote

Final Hit: 85
Final Crit: 0
Roll: 21,6
Hit, no crit
Final Damage: 45
Thorvald gains +2 Will!

Tarquin returns fire!
Final Hit: 100!
Final Crit: 26
Roll: 38,46
Hit, no crit
Final Damage: 93

Tarquin gains +4 Will, +50 EXP!

The final one fires at Hannah, who attempts to dodge, low on energy!

Quote

Final Hit: 62
Hannah Evades!
Final Hit: 31
Final Crit: 7
Roll: 32,31
CLOSE!

Player Phase/ Turn 6!

Objectives remain the same!

Stats!

Edited January 16, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Nanami Touko]

Freeze

An explosion sounded to the right of the ship, Jess' heart sinking as one of the monitors for heart rates stopped. Nikolai's had flatlined, his machine no longer showing a signal. There had been a bright flash from what seemed to be the command model, and, it... Had...

"N-No..." Jess felt herself staring blankly at the battlefield now. This day was always going to come, she had to be prepared, but... "No, n-no please... Nikolai, please... Come in... No signal-- khh..." As the tears welled up, Jess quietly transferred direct control of the bridge to Tristan. The ensign was also quiet, though not as visibly distraught as the captain.

"Aye aye, ma'am." The battle was nearly finished and he was almost as good a pilot as she was. As long as he had her algorithms from previous shots still registered, the Riese could function all the same until this was over.

Guest

"I'm your guest. Are you the doctor? Good. Get me checked up so they can stuff me into the brig." Chris made no attempt to be polite or wait for an offer. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do it fast. Even if it was going to get her tazed, she brushed past the group of mechanics, and headed for the infirmary door.

Aliens?

Avery gaped at Kim. She wanted to call her crazy, but Christina's face was making this seem real. Now, she had no idea how to face the idea of aliens. She'd enjoyed believing about some other intelligent life in space, but hearing that they were apparently as domination focused as movies had made them out to be was disappointing and frightening. Still, that wasn't something she knew anything about. What she did know about were robots, and Kim's was apparently doing something else, again.

"Right, I jus'... Y'all, hold onto that information fer th'captain. I'll get yer Artemis a look over, alright? Go... Go on up t' th'infirmary. Get yerself checked over, an' make sure blondie's all good too. Yeah... Aliens..." The whole bit about another Christina was more lost on her than intelligent life from the stars. Clones just didn't happen.

Avery headed past Kim and took the lift up into the Artemis, starting to fiddle with the main display, and audible groan coming out after she began.

Christina looked over at Makoto, then back to Kim, who seemed really upset over all of this... Who wouldn't be? She placed a hand on the ex-idol's shoulder and tried to reassure her with a gentle pat, looking back at Makoto again. "Uhm, if you're not heading back out there Makoto, do you want to come with us to the infirmary? I... Today's been a lot. I'm just glad it's almost over... Nothing else is going to go as wrong as this, right?"

Edited January 16, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

Trouble

The feeling of safety over the alien's appearance quickly turned into a chill running through Carlos' blood as the Sacarians decided to make way without helping his unit. "So this is how it's going to be..." They were getting outmatched by the Riese unit, which was ridiculous when comparing their numbers and technology, even with the prototypes. Still, Carlos couldn't leave his own men behind in good conscience after sounding the retreat. "Move! We can't stay any longer!" The Riese crew was too close... much too close. He had to avoid a firing fist from close range. That was... a surprisingly easy attack to predict, but it made no good words about his current situation. He was going to be surrounded. If I can take at least one down... In the blink of an eye, he saw the opportunity. The mistep. That suit...

The Rhea readied its beam cannons, the bulky in-built monstrosities meant to challenge even a battleship's firepower --that had been the design philosophy behind that suit, after all--.Standing upright, the cannons aligned themselves in sync with their target's next movement. That angelic suit which wreaked havoc with beam emissions, if Carlos' gamble on its next move was right. You are going to dodge... there! The cannons roared to live as four light beams flew towards its target. It connected. Carlos did it, he had nailed the shot, and the suit was brought down. "Hah.... One down..." The Riese wasn't an invincible group, after all. Carlos had proven it. "Now, escape..."

[Sandalphon]

The first thing Nikolai saw was the light.

Bright, blinding light. Beautiful light. Holy light.

The second thing Nikolai saw was the gentle unfurling of flame, starting from the chest of the mechanical angel, blooming red against the pale frame. A flower placed in his tomb.

His mind had yet to process what was happening. It was all slow and still and quiet despite the screaming of the alarms, the choir of mechanical alerts around him, singing a single shrill note amidst the rising percussion of the explosion. Merging with the memory of a scratchy LP on a turntable in blindingly bright, pristine hospital where a scrawny young boy sat, rapt at the first song he’d ever heard.

Ave Maria gratia plena
Mariagratia plena
Mariagratia plena
Ave ave dominus,
dominus tecum

And yet, it was all still and silent as Nikolai gently floated in his mind, green eyes wide and full of wonder. For the first time in a long time, there was no squeezing throbbing pain in his head, no pounding heart in his ears, just… stillness. Stillness and the plume of smoke rising around him, billowing, filling the cockpit and his mind.

Gravity was slow. Time was slow. His hand flew forward, smacking the emergency release in a last-ditch effort, the final mayday of his sinking ship. The light around him was so beautiful and warm as his palm hit the mechanism.

He wasn’t certain if he’d hit it in time, but it didn’t matter as he watched the metal around him warp into an abstraction of form. A shape in space, compact but expansive at once. The irony of him wondering about just what it would be like to watch the metal fold and contract around a dying person was not lost on him. He felt a twinge of bitterness in his heart, that was probably what he got for bothering to try to think about these things. Above his station, they were.

Also incredibly pointless as his body lurched forward, limp and helpless. A Ragdoll torn asunder by forces beyond anyone’s control. He felt the searing heat of the fire on his skin, the pain of metal scraping along skin, along muscle, along bone as the emergency eject system desperately tried to expel him from the colossal mechanical death trap around him.

He hardly registered anything anymore as the blinding bright light made it’s way to a dark shroud of silence and darkness. Real silence. Real stillness.

No Alarms. No Surprises. No flames from below coming to engulf him and drag him to the place all lost souls go to die. Just a peaceful darkness and the operetta in his mind gently rocking his tired soul, his tired body, to rest at last.

It hurts so much. It doesn’t hurt at all. I’m afraid. I’m tired. I wanted to try something new. I wanted to find somewhere nice. I wanted to find the Monet. I wanted to find the water lilies.

In the darkness, a gentle streak of bright red, bright red and pale blue.

I’m afraid. Was this what it’s like to die? Were you afraid to? Is this just a bad dream? Will I ever wake up? I wish I’d found happiness. It’s not fair. It’s not fair. I want a mother. I want a father. I want a friend. I want a life too. I wish I'd had a life instead of...this.

The feeling of a smile. The concept of a poem. The dark lines on white paper that were words. The saltiness of regret. The softness of finger tips. The gaudy lights of the normal people’s shopping centre.

“You don’t want to die, do you Nikolai? Then don’t. Go back. It will be difficult, more difficult than ever Nikolai, but go back now.”

Gently, a scarred, broken thing hit the ground with a dull thud. Lifeless and burned, the thing was almost recognisable as a human. The thing’s chest gently rose and fell with laboured breaths.

Despite everything, the thing was still alive. for now.

[Shin]

It seemed almost distant, the Umbra going up in smoke and blowing to pieces felt unreal. The fragments of the machine scattered like molten confetti, with no real remains of the machine to be seen. Tarquin waited for Nikolai to curse the hit or at least make some claim about throwing his own excrement at the enemy. A few seconds passed and Tarquin didn't get his response at all. There was an unnerving silence, Nikolai hadn't even uttered a word, and the Umbra was no longer showing up on his display. Tarquin frantically hammered away at the console, trying to find another explanation for it. He'd broken something when his rifle shorted, Avery had put a monitor in upside-down, his mind was rapidly running out of excuse, there were no mental gymnastics that could let him avoid the unsettling reality. His heart started racing, a cold sweat trickled down his forehead, even the thought of Nikolai being dead made him want to vomit.

"Nikolai, bitte antworte mir. Bitte antworte, sag einfach etwas ... irgendetwas ... Du kannst nicht ..." Tarquin pleaded, setting his sights on Carlos' machine. Why did it have to be now? If he hadn't suggested that Nikolai used the Umbra... he couldn't help but at least partially blame himself. Could he have survived? He slammed his fists down on one of the consoles. It wasn't fair, Nikolai was his first real friend, the first person who could even begin to understand him. A twisting sensation enveloped his heart, Apotheosis couldn't take Nikolai away from him, and if they had, they would pay.

He'd shorted out his rifle by setting it to 100% earlier, although the result had been impressive. He didn't care if it totalled his own machine, he was going to make Carlos pay.

"Disabling primary and secondary output limiters, engaging enemy with theoretical maximum capacity." Tarquin growled, flicking off the switches quickly. "Setting sights on enemy sniper... Ich werde den verdammten kleinen Scheiß töten."

Tarquin senses and attacks Carlos with the Full Output Railgun!

[Ether]

As expected, Avery looked at her incredulously before going off to look at the Artemis. Whether she believed somewhat or not at all Kim couldn't tell, she tried to focus on Avery's feelings out of confusion but no matter how hard she tried to zero in on the mechanic, she just couldn't parse anything. Her head hurt, her chest hurt... looking up at Christina as the girl placed a hand on her shoulder, Kim vaguely registered the suggestion that Makoto go with them to the infirmary. She didn't have anything else to explain, so that seemed the logical next step. Standing up out of her chair, perhaps that was a mistake. As soon as she stood, another wave of dizziness hit her, Kim nearly falling over, had she not managed to grab ahold of Christina's arm and fall onto her shoulder, taking a few moments to let her legs try to regain their strength.

"Ugh... the hell... is wrong with me?" Kim mouthed softly, having broken into cold sweats, which Christina would surely feel with this contact... on top of everything else, something felt... terribly wrong. Like a disturbance in what feelings should have been normal, but in her dazed state she couldn't figure out what was off, what was missing...

[Xinnidy]

Tarquin casts Sense![-20sp]
Also, Tarquin is very mad!! [Valor effect active]

Tarquin removes the limiters! It's a full power attack!

Quote

Tarquin attacks!
Target: Rhea CMD (Carlos)
Weapon: Full Output Railgun
Final Hit: 100!
Final Crit: 0! Thanks Valor.
Roll: 30, 82
Hit!
Big Damage!
Damage: 296!
"What?! A bullet, from this range..."

Carlos readies his own sniper rifle!
Weapon: Plasma sniper rifle
Final Hit: 0!
Final Crit: 22
Roll: 96, 54
Miss!

Tarquin gains +80 EXP, +4 Will!

The heavy blow left the powerful Apotheosis suit staggering! Yikes!

Battle Mastery acquired!

Stranger in Blue

The railgun shot held so much force that the Rhea was pushed backwards in a sonic whirr, alerts flaring on the command screen while Carlos braced the impact and pressed against his seat. "That was more... than a battleship." From that distance, he wouldn't expect such force. From the numbers, it didn't make sense, but his machine was boasting a hole through its torso, its structure fairly compromised. At this rate, Carlos wouldn't be able to put much of a fight anymore. In one shot... impressive. Certainly, there was more to these pilots than met the eye. I need to get the hell out of here, as well...

Edited January 17, 2018 by Xinnidy