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Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 3: Crisis Point


Nanami Touko
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What in God's name did I just listen to. Carlos was immediately taken aback by the alien's message, hopeless in his attempt to try to understand the comment made. "Alright, sounds good." Bullshit, but he said it anyways, just in case the alien understood his own language better than it could speak. "Fatima, I think... the aliens are gonna do something. Just keep watching them. They might help."

There was another problem in their future, however. That problem machine, the Artemis, seemed to have unlocked its ARES system successfully. Damn it... That pilot knew enough to bark threats at them, as well. While Carlos was a man that preferred the option of living another day, it wouldn't do to leave just because of Louise's colossal mistake, not yet. "Congratulations, but this fight isn't over yet."  As dreadful as it was, they still needed to make some kind of dent. Now, can I blow the Artemis like I did to that other flying machine?

Edited by Xinnidy
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Abigail clucked her tongue a little, as the return round from the Cressida clipped her. She could do better than that. Everyone else was doing better. Everyone else had just finished piling on and taking down one of the biggest threats. One of. There were many upper echelon enemy models here today. And with the Luna absent, they all sat equal on Abby's totem pole. No point crowding in for a small piece of pie when there was the opportunity for a much larger slice much closer at hand. Just, gotta make sure not to overextend either. Find a nice, middle ground. Grinding her teeth slightly as she focused, she landed her Heracles amidst several of the base's buildings to use for cover, after having made a light jump toward the newest challenger, one her targeting systems identified as Ganymede. For now, just poking at its honor guard and seeing how they react should be enough. She'd re-evaluate once she saw a little more how they planned to play things out.

Abby casts Focus, moves to 25,19 and peppers Saturn 8 with a few rounds from her trusty MT12

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Abigail fires some pinpoint shots!
(100% 27%)
(87% 27%)
15 damage, despite the crit...
Saturn 8 shows no hesitation in firing back!
Gatlings on!
(46% 23%)
(50% 64%)
Close, but not today!
Abby gains +35 EXP, +2 will!

Enemy Phase / Turn 03

There's... There's no way. Hey. Hey, start moving! Hey! Duane was beside himself. That damned Riese and its infernal crew had... They hadn't, there was no way. "No, no no no, there's... This is some bad dream! Hey! LOUISE!" No response came back over the radio. She had been... Insufferable, horrifying, and over all? One huge bitch. But despite how cruel she was, she was one of their best, their strongest pilots, in one of their most advanced machines. "This is some kind of joke, it has to be. There's no way!" A fist met his dashboard, as tempers flared.

"That's how it's going to be, then! Bring it the fuck on, Riese crew! She's not the only monster you have to worry about!"

Duane casts Incite! He charges towards Abby!
"And you're first!"
(47%37%)
(83c% 41%)
Swing and a missed!
Abby goes for a punch, right in his pretty boy face!
(82% 28%)
(78% 10%)
Hard hook!
92 damage to his faaaaaace!
Abby gains +40 EXP, +2 will!

"All hands, prepare for combat! That ship isn't leaving her in one piece!" Raul cursed their situation. It was expected, Louise's grudge for Alphonse had been her driving force for living for so long. It was just unfortunate that it went as far as to get her killed...

The Chaldenes move towards their allies! Raul positions for command aura!

"Entering combat..." The Metis hit the ground and started running, using the buildings for cover. "Targeting... Fire."
The Metis targets the Artemis!
(0% 20%)
(91% 80%)
Miss~
Kim returns fire with the Artemis' Mode M!
(95% 25%)
(50% 71%)
A hit! 103 damage!
"Carlos... Your shot, is open now."
Kim gains +20 EXP, +4 will!

"Gracias, signorita."
The Rhea aims down sights for Kim!
(22% 23%)
(64% 59%)
A miss!
Kim returns fire with Mode M, once again!
Double Image!
(50%)
(7%)
Kim misses!
Kim gains +2 will!

The lead Alien Craft casts Accel! It dashes, and launches itself into the Riese!
The Riese takes 100 damage!

Fatima turns towards the Oberon!
"Y-You did this! I'll ki, kill you!"
Glaive out!
(38% 29%)
(86% 95%)
"Wh-Wha!?"
Elaine counters back with her blood-stained bunker!
Double Image!
(50%)
(93%)
It fails!
(44% 21%)
(46% 95%)
so does Elaine!
Elaine loses 2 will!

The Saturns all turn on the Riese!
It defends!
#1
(100% 9%)
(47% 4%)
Hit, crit!
114 damage through defend!
#2
(100% 9%)
(21% 43%)
71 damage through defend!
#3
(100% 9%)
(81% 57%)
71 more damage!
#4
(100% 9%)
(10% 66%)
And 71 more!

The remaining velites go after Astin!
#3 fires its rifle!
(60% 0%)
(24% 6%)
A hit! 8 damage, thanks shield!
Astin counters back!
(64% 26%)
(67% 28%)
A miss!
#5 tries its rippers!
(42% 9%)
(99% 26%)
Whiff!
And the Astin counter?
(64% 26%)
(44% 22%)
A hit and a crit! 212 damage! Absolutely ruined!
Emblem get!
Astin gains +150 EXP, +8 will!

The Hyperions target the remaining turrets and legionaries!
#4 goes after turret 4!
(43,4)
Oh that's dead
#1 goes after turret 1!
Overcannon go~
(18,87)
That's a hit, goodbye other turret!

#2 swings in hard at legionary 4!
(20,6)
That's another pilot not making it home...

#6 Overcannons Legionary 2!
(85,34)
He just hits!
And for 107 damage!
It clings to life, firing back!
(16,8)
That's one hell of a cling!
38 damage back!

#3 proceeds to clean up on Legionary 2!
(18,85)
Goodbye sweet NPC~

#5 moves up to rifle Legionary 3!
(43,81)
It's a clean hit! 41 damage!
It gets fired back on!
(39,81)
Also a clean hit! 16 damage!

The rest from xin~
 

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Mission Objective

Alriana steeled herself as she made the final preparation for her gambit. Either she’d succeed here and successfully board the Riese, however rough of an entry it would be, or she’d die on impact. As she began to accelerate she gave one final order to her squadmates, “Ymg' ehyee ahna ng yog hafh.” She directed them towards the seemingly outdated machine to their right. With a final deep breath she pushed her thrusters beyond their recommended limits, accelerating far faster than what was sustainable; but, that was fine, she only needed to make one sprint.

She was closing in on the Riese now, too fast for any of her enemies to stop her, and she needed to make a split-second decision: where should she aim? It would be pointless to aim low with her intended entry, she’d still have to go through the entire ship. That was it then, she’d aim as high as she could, the bridge was preferred but wherever she ended up would be her starting point. “Bogneth!” She braced herself one final time as her machine leapt into the air at her command, becoming little more than an unrefined missile targeted at the Riese.

Jess shuddered as the Riese shook, something had collided with the upper deck? “All hands, prepare for boarding!” Why did I have to be right? A quick scan was all it took, one of those unknowns had just rammed itself into the Riese. Was it going to be able to pierce the hull? “Everyone, firearms are located underneath your cabinets. Safeties off… Upper bridge, aim for the access shaft.” Jess remained focused, trying to pay attention to the ongoing battle, as several crew around her picked up pistols and stationed themselves to fire if necessary.

Alriana shook her head as she slowly rose to her feet. Thankfully her armor, and the fact that her race naturally resisted blunt impacts, to a degree, seemed to have left her mostly undamaged if a little dazed. A quick look at her monitors told her that, as expected, her machine had sustained quite a bit of damage, a fair amount of it structural; however, the Almydis’ arms were, for the moment, still operational. Perfect. Replugging in the cord that linked her movement’s with the machines she began to claw out what remained of the Riese’s hull between her and the interior of the ship.

Progress was slow and steady, but not exactly easy on the already damaged machine’s arms. Their responsiveness was already almost entirely off-sync with her own movements, lagging a few seconds behind. It wasn’t long until they stopped working entirely, leaving Alriana with little choice but to finish this herself. “Mgahnnn,” she ordered her machine, the cockpit attempting to open in response. It opened slightly before jamming, but that itself was the small miracle Alriana needed; it had opened just enough for her to slip out.

The remaining wall between her and the rest of her mission wasn’t too thick, or that was what she hoped at least, because there was only one way forward. She began to bite and tear her way through the last bastion of the Riese’s exterior defence, her sharp teeth and jaw strength enough to get the job done. The hole she made was bigger than it needed to be, just in case she needed a hole to hop in to avoid a rain of bullets, but otherwise simple. She cautiously peeked her head out, spotting two turrets seemingly waiting for her arrival before she ducked back in. The lack of an android was appreciated as she sprang out of her hole and leapt at the closest turret, eliminating it with a powerful mid-air kick. By the time she landed the other one was firing on her; most of its shots were rendered useless by her armor, but a few managed to graze her left arm. Hesitant to use one already, but not wanting to risk unnecessary damage, Alriana activated one of her EMP grenades and tossed it at the turret, disabling it. With another mid-air kick she made sure it wouldn’t bother her anymore.

Turrets were going offline. Tiffany was still stationed in front of the elevator, but it seemed that whoever had boarded hadn’t encountered them yet. “Just… Gimme, a visual…” There-- “What… M-Megumi, uh… Megumi!” That… That, wasn’t human! Was it a machine? That, massive tail, just… Just what… A new fear ran itself through Jess, what were they supposed to do against an unknown like this?

Megumi realized today was definitely the day when she would be forced back into that combat medic role she so loathed. If the automated turrets couldn't stop the intruder ... intruders? Eesh. Either way, they were looking at some serious casualties if the enemy reached the bridge before the new androids could take action. Only one of them was currently in a position to do anything ... and the other two were on their respective decks.

"Urgh, this is really bad," Megumi grumbled quietly at her console.

When Jessica addressed her, terrified about something, the doctor had to look up to figure out what was happening on the feed. She didn't know what that creature was, but it reminded her of a monitor lizard, a big hungry monitor lizard. Was that a Sacarian? From what she'd gathered they were feline in appearance. Maybe this was some kind of bio-engineering experiment being turned loose on them. That or some once conquered species from elsewhere in the galaxy being used as infiltrators. Either way Megumi was almost certain their guns wouldn't do much if the creature was blazing through the automated turrets. The doctor did have her own firearm, which was a good deal stronger than a standard ANF pistol--normally she would have her stun gun but the mole threat had never been more relevant than it was today. Even that heavy pistol probably wouldn't cut it, though. Just the same, she reached for it in preparation for the geared up xenomorph heading toward them.

"Captain, you should get behind something," Megumi warned, already taking up position in front of her own console, "and probably tell the pilots we've been boarded." It wouldn't save them if even the androids couldn't, but they could at least make sure the intruder return to their machine. Hopefully this wasn't a suicide run by design …

Roxanna was frozen, eyes homed in on the feed. She had yet to take her firearm, blood running cold at the situation. “God no… I can’t believe it. It’s an alien.” An alien breaching like that was something the XO honestly hoped stayed in fiction forever. Unfortunately, with the rest of the bridge getting ready for the worst, it was very real, even if part of her wanted to think it as a very ill-timed dream.

“R-right, Captain. Be careful.” Roxanna echoed Megumi’s sentiments, finally grabbing her gun. Could she even aim in that state? Perhaps it’d be wiser to stay behind with Jessica. After all, she was the XO… she could be a target too, right?

Alriana ignored the slight wounds she’d received from the turret. She’d had worse and she was absolutely on a time limit with this mission. Another cautionary peek, around the corner this time, revealed her next obstacle: an android. Even at this distance she could tell that it was a machine, it’s mechanical features weren’t hidden, nor would it make sense to have a single human guarding the bridge. Alriana unsheathed her dagger; she had learned the hard way she could not bite through titanium. The lunar titanium that her dagger was made out of could cut through it with enough force, however.

She pulled herself around the corner, dagger at the ready in her right, and charged at the android, bounding down the hall with incredible speed. There wasn’t much ground to cover and she doubted a ship such as this housed only one; getting delayed here by being overly cautious would only make things more difficult for her. She brought her left hand up the her face, planning to use her gauntlet to absorb any bullets that were aimed at her head.

“[Captain, initiating combat with the intruder.]” Tiffany wasted no time in laying into the alien, rifle on full auto. The bullets seemed to have little effect on their armor, either bouncing off or compacting on impact, too much of her covered for a lethal shot. “[Engaging in close combat.]” Tossing the rifle aside, Tiffany lunged at her, attempting to get a hold of the arm holding the knife. There were no protocols for an opponent like this, it would be a learning experience, or a loss.

Jess nodded, fumbling for her handgun, trying to send a message to all other pilots. “W-We’ve been boarded! Please keep engaging the enemy forces, we’re taking care of the issue here!” Gun locked and loaded, she squirreled herself behind her command desk, aiming it at the elevator. “Please, just, stop it… Whatever it is…”

Tristan hadn’t armed up yet, he didn’t want to leave the fight alone, but they were running out of seconds before this course of action would still be feasible. I’m more surprised that they hadn’t tried boarding before this… But, whatever that is, this is not good.

The bullets only served to annoy Alriana as the sheer volume of them inevitably nicked her unarmored arms. The sting of pain wasn’t anything new, injury was never avoidable against these machines. She had expected the lunge, they always tried to remove the immediate and obvious threat, and knew better than to challenge it directly. Instead she used her tail to shift her course directly into the android, the collision toppling her target and driving the dagger into its left shoulder joint. She’d been aiming for the neck but hadn’t been able to adjust her aim fast enough.

She was quick to leap off of the android, taking care that her tail was the first thing out of reach of the android. Once again, she’d learned the hard way what happened when something that strong got ahold of her. She felt a brush of steel as the machine nearly grabbed her arm; had she been any slower she would have had to use her second EMP grenade to neutralize the android. But luck favored her and she was able to get the distance she wanted. She leapt up into the air, eyes and dagger trained on the android’s neck this time. She was vulnerable in the air, she couldn’t do anything except commit, and her opponent had realized this, aiming a punch straight at her face. She crashed into the android a second time, her dagger finding its mark and the fist colliding directly with her face. Her helmet absorbed the force of the blow and got knocked off, leaving her face exposed. As the android ceased functioning she looked into the camera, her eyes less ‘human’ than the android she’d just disabled.

“M-Megumi what are we, I, wh-what…” Jess was at a complete loss, the Riese’s defense systems were designed for human boarding situations, not… Not this! Human like as its face seemed to be, it had just single handedly taken out one of their androids. With seemingly little issue… “Are we going to be okay?” It wasn’t as though the doctor would know, but Jess was desperately looking for a solution to this.

Not a question Megumi wanted to answer honestly, or at all for that matter. Unless their unwanted guest wanted something specific, or they got some much needed backup, they were probably all going to die. If only she'd known about this ahead of time. The infirmary's lockers had at least one weapon that could smack down the lizard like intruder, Megumi's old keepsake, but the intruder was between the bridge and the infirmary now. It seemed like the only real chance now was a lucky or well placed headshot, and that was assuming their guns would do the trick now that the enemy's helmet was gone.

"Unless EVERYONE wants to pile on that thing to try and find a weak spot, we're just going to have to keep our distance and shoot." And get picked off one by one until help arrived or there was no one left.

Roxanna couldn’t agree more. If it could topple an android, they weren’t going to win in close combat. Well, maybe they could out of sheer numbers, but it would be messy --and that was being optimistic--. “Everyone, get ready, it’s coming in at any moment now.” Thankfully most of the bridge was readily aiming at the elevator door, already. That’d be the only sensible route after already infiltrating the room. While still a bit shaky, the XO felt a bit more sure on her aim, standing close to Jess.

Alriana stood in the elevator, enjoying the shelter it offered for a short moment. She wouldn’t be taking it up, it’d be open season on her when it opened and she’d just lost her helmet. She forced the elevator hatch open and began to climb up the shaft, pulling herself up the steel bars jutting out from the wall and quickly moving onto the next. The shaft was only twenty feet tall so it was a fast climb and the crew hadn’t dared open the door and to take shots at her while she climbed. All that stood between her and her target now were the elevator doors and whatever resistance the crew offered. It would all be meaningless when she killed Jesicka anyway, their morale would crumble and if they wanted to live they’d know when to quit. If they didn’t, well, she’d certainly deal with them then.

As she forced open the doors she made sure to keep her head behind the metal doors as much as possible when the bullets began to fly. Her armor continued to be a stellar piece of engineering as the bullets bounced harmlessly off of it, until the door opened more and more, leaving her unarmored arms and thighs vulnerable to the crews bullets. A few hit her directly, eliciting a growl of pain as she still struggled with the door, but she did not stop. When there seemed to be a lull, as much as one she could get anyway, she threw the door the rest of the way open and charged directly at her target, the captain of the Riese, Jesicka Gephalschit, with her teeth bared.

An unfortunate moment, some of the bridge crew needed to reload. That was enough time for this monster, who wasted not a single second lunging straight for Jess. Sheer terror brightened up her eyes, as her life flashed before her eyes-- and a voice started to talk, in her… head? ‘Activating defensive protocols’. She was moving before she could realize it, arm in front of the oncoming teeth, and the collision with the creature sent them sprawling onto the bottom floor of the bridge. Blood splattered onto the floor, but Jess… Was fine?

The alien’s jaws had gotten stuck on her arm… How? She’d, but… This doesn’t make any sense, what’s happening? As it attempted to keep biting through, to no avail, Jess’ body kept moving on its own, grabbing Alriana by the head and wrenching her arm free, sliding behind her with little effort, one foot slammed down on the tail, her undamaged arm pressing down on her head to keep her there. “Uh… H-Help!?” This still didn’t make any sense to her, nor to most of the bridge that were watching. Megumi was already moving, Tristan right behind her, grabbing hold of an arm, and soon most of the bridge was assisting, making sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Jess stumbled back and slumped against the wall, looking at her arm--

“AHHH!” She was… Sparking! Electrical wires hung from the new gash in her arm, where muscle, bone, anything else should’ve been! She almost tried to throw her arm away like it was some object, but the swing did nothing, it was her arm. The voice rang out again ‘Activating auto repairs, please standby, refrain from foreign objects entering the area.’ Wh… Wh, what, what’s… Ahhh…!

“What’s going on!?”

“Aaah!” Roxanna yelped as Jess got jumped on, stepping back and shooting a couple of rounds before holding back. Somehow, Jessica had wrested the Alien’s head away, almost miraculously so. “O-oh god, your arm…” It wasn’t looking pretty… but it was also sparking? Was it a prosthetic? Was that why it hurt so much? Memories of when Jess slapped her came to mind. It was utterly confusing, but Roxanna was quickly shaken out of her thoughts at the alien’s resistance. Holding her gun trained at the life-form. “G-get it!” I’m not touching that if my life depends on it…

It all happened so fast Alriana could barely keep up with it. She’d made contact with her target, managed to dig her fangs in and started trying to tear Jesicka to pieces. But that hadn’t happened. Instead she’d merely scraped up her target’s arm and bled on her a bit. Despite herself, she had flinched when Jesicka had grabbed her head and then cried out in pain when her tail had been stomped. As the crew swarmed her she continued to struggle in vain against their combined might and snap at their arms, which they made sure to keep out of her reach. The red lines that had been steadily flowing across her skin were now racing across it, difficult to keep track of.  

She had been this close to completing her mission and getting her greatest wish granted. She had failed, this time marking her second even if the first was a technical success. If she made it back, a big if, there would be hell to pay for her failure of such a crucial mission. “Na'ah'ehye ya mg gotha gof'n!” she barked at the crew, not processing that they wouldn’t understand her.

What sort of language ...? Well, alien, Megumi reasoned, making sure not to lose her grip or get too close to any claws or teeth. It was starting to sink in just how sideways this whole situation had become for everyone involved. Jessica didn't just have a prosthetic arm, did she? Curious, but for the moment gratitude for that--they should all be dead by now--outweighed nearly everything else swirling around in the doctor's head. The biggest concern right now was finishing this, somehow. Until they incapacitated this creature, they were in serious danger.

"We have to put an end to this while we still can," Megumi said, her eyes searching for anything they could use. Not much to work with ... "C-choke it out or something!"

While Jess had her meltdown against the wall, Tristan tried to make sense of the situation. “We… For better or worse, have our hands on a live alien. We’re managing to hold it down, if we can get a group of us to hold its tail, our cuffs should be enough to hold its arms. It doesn’t seem stronger than us outside of that appendage so… S-So, we should keep this opportunity! If Apotheosis is working with beings we know nothing about, we can’t just… We can’t just kill it, and ruin this!” Most of the bridge looked at him like he was crazy, but some of them started nodding, the larger members swapping places and getting a better hold on its tail. One ran for a pair of emergency handcuffs, a titanium rectangle with space for wrists in two holes. Hurriedly running over, they nearly tripped, but managed to hold themselves up, as other crew forced her arms into it.

“Now, just… Megumi, do you have, any sedatives, or anything in the infirmary? Anything at all. I don’t want to try moving this without some kind of insurance. And… Once you get back, try to talk to… Jess. I don’t… I’m not, the right person for this.”

A sedative? Would they really be alright up here for that long? Granted, Megumi alone wasn't contributing all that much to keeping the creature in place, certainly not more than those titanium shackles. "I have no idea what this thing's anatomy is like compared to ours." At least it seemed to bleed ... though not in the familiar crimson color. The intruder's wounds oozed a darkish blue substance. Was its blood copper based? Either way sedating it without more information was a gamble. "It could wind up in a coma or worse if my dosage is off ... but I'll try."

With her less than optimistic assessment out of the way, Megumi broke away from the group and ran over to call up the elevator. She wasn't just going to be doing everything herself, though. "Bennet, Tambre," she radioed her two assistants as the lift approached, "get some sedatives ready. Strong ones. I'll figure out the dosage ... and one of you get a cell prepped for an injured prisoner. I'm on my way to the infirmary, now--oh and be careful in the hallway ... there's a casualty. Don't worry about the android for now."

Alriana, for better or worse, still hadn’t given up. She continued to thrash her tail about, trying to shake off those who had grabbed it and still hadn’t given up on trying to bite someone’s arm off. In her anger she barely heard the sound of them talking and couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort to understand what they were saying. When she saw the handcuffs she struggled even harder, actually managing to accidentally punch one of her captors in the face when she ever so briefly freed her arm. She never stopped resisting, even after being handcuffed, but she seemed to either be tiring herself out or simply losing her drive.

“Good.” All Tristan wanted was for Megumi to be on board with this. Whether or not it worked, the immediate threat was currently contained. With the doctor running off, Tristan gave one more glance at Jessica breaking, as she continued to stare at her arm like nothing made sense. It doesn’t make sense… Dammit, why now?

“Roxanna! You’re in charge again! I’ll be ready to assist you as soon as Megumi gets back!”

“I-- Right, I, I can do that.” Roxanna tried to tense down, breathing rapidly, but feeling the rush was at its end. As long as that thing didn’t wrestle itself out of the crew’s grip… “G-get… whoever isn’t on the alien, to steer the ship. We’re still under fire.” It was such an ill-timed infiltration… well, for them, Apotheosis was probably lamenting the fact it didn’t work as well as they hoped. Roxanna looked back at Jessica, honestly wondering what was going through her head. Captain…? It seemed she was as surprised about her arm as everybody else… or was it shock? “J-Jessica, you need to get yourself checked too.”

---

“Hooooly shit…” Carlos whistled, feed from the alien machine bulleting into the Riese live on his camera. “That crazy monster… what are they planning?” It really felt like the Sacarians were working on their own agenda, which would add to the frustration if Carlos wasn’t already at a life-or-death situation. “Whatever, it’s more damage onto the Riese. Let’s sink it.”

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Louise being removed from the battlefield had done litle to calm the battle, there were still a number of threats that they needed to deal with. The base's forces were dropping one by one, and the Heion Riese was having its own trouble. The medbay was an unlikely target, the security support that they had would hopefully be able to deal with the issue. As much as Tarquin disapproved of conversing with the enemy, now was a good time for him to say a few words of his. Broadcasting solely to Carlos, Tarquin was determined to let his enemy know of his plans. First he'd shoot down his machine, what came after depended on how good a mood Tarquin was in when it happened. 

"You likely know far more about me than I do about you, but that doesn't matter. For my own reasons, I intend on shooting you down." Tarquin warned coldly, already inputting into his console to select his target. Both of their units excelled at long range, the difference would be from the choices they made and the support they received. Louise's mistake had been to exact her revenge blindly and disregarding everything for her own agenda - a series of errors that he didn't intended to make for himself. "I don't care whether your cause is right or wrong, you're simply my target." 

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Cressida #5, lonely up top, decides to bring a turret down with them.

Cressida #5 attacks!
Target: Turret #6
Weapon: Heat Carving Knife
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 36
Roll: 4, 50
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 51

Turret #6 counters!
Weapon: Gatling Guns
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 34
Roll: 32, 33
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 20

Saturn #5 follows up!

Saturn #5 attacks!
Target: Turret #6
Weapon: Wrist Beam Gatlings
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 22
Roll: 69, 32
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 44

Turret #6 is done for!

Saturn #6 starts firing off on the Velites!

Saturn #6 attacks!
Target: Velite #5
Weapon: Rear-Mounted Cannon
Final Hit: 51
Final Crit: 17
Roll: 40, 21
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 139

Velite #5 is done for as well!

Saturn #7 also readies fire!

Saturn #7 attacks!
Target: Turret #7
Weapon: Rear-Mounted Cannon
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 12
Roll: 94, 100
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 124

Turret #7 is wiped out!

Saturn #8's time!

Saturn #8 attacks!
Target: Velite #1
Weapon: Rear-Mounter Cannon
Final Hit: 51
Final Crit: 17
Roll: 46, 39
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 146

Velite #1 is melted!

What a deadly volley!

The lower group continues to finish off Alphonse's group!

Cressida #12 wants heavy #3 down!

Cressida #12 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #3
Weapon: Heat Carving Knife
Final Hit: 75
Final Crit: 41
Roll: 57, 71
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 39

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #3 counters!
Weapon: Impact Gunlance
Final Hit: 74
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 7, 49
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 66

Cressida #13 joins in!

Cressida #13 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #3
Weapon: Beam Rifle
Final Hit: 59
Final Crit: 6
Roll: 74, 81
Miss!

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #3 counters!
Weapon: Particle Cannon
Final Hit: 38
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 90, 73
Miss!

Cressida #14 has other targets to focus on!

Cressida #14 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #2
Weapon: Hyperparticle Bazooka
Final Hit: 72
Final Crit: 1
Roll: 62, 25
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 79

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #2 counters!
Weapon: Impact Gunlance
Final Hit: 51
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 97, 55
Miss!

Deimos #1's time!

Deimos #1 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1
Weapon: Pulse Kunai
Final Hit: 52
Final Crit: 5
Roll: 17,92
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 65
20 EN sapped from Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1

Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1 counters!
Weapon: AA Missiles
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 15
Roll: 53, 92
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 42

Deimos #2 goes for the same target!

Deimos #2 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1
Weapon: Pulse Kunai
Final Hit: 46
Final Crit: 5
Roll: 5,17
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 65
20 EN sapped from Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1

Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1 counters!
Weapon: AA Missiles
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 15
Roll: 38, 8
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 67

Phobos #1 piles on the heat!

Phobos #1 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1
Weapon: Laser Sniper Rifle
Final Hit: 49
Final Crit: 33
Roll: 50, 8
Miss! Close call!

Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1 counters!
Weapon: Laser Sniper Rifle
Final Hit: 81
Final Crit: 32
Roll: 92, 79
Miss!

Phobos #2 tries to get that there Velite down!

Phobos #2 attacks!
Target: Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1
Weapon: Laser Sniper Rifle
Final Hit: 53
Final Crit: 33
Roll: 33, 1
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 126!

Velite Mk.II-M (Sniper) #1 takes a critical shot to the cockpit!

The alien crafts are closing in on Alphonse's group!

Alien craft #2 targets the man himself!

Alien Craft #2 attacks!
Target: Velike Mk.I (Alphonse)
Weapon: Tri-Burst Assault Rifle
Final Hit: 34
Final Crit: 0
Roll: 96, 81
Fat Miss!

"Unknowns, you're not all you think you are!"
Alphonse counters!
Weapon: Super Napalm
Final Hit: 67
Final Crit: 39
Roll: 47, 39
Hit!
Crit!
Final Damage: 379 damage! Yikes!

Alien Craft #2 is probably not a problem anymore...

Alien Craft #3 is also attacking him!!

Alien Craft #3 attacks!
Target: Velike Mk.I (Alphonse)
Weapon: Rapid Fire Pistols
Final Hit: 59
Final Crit: 6
Roll: 97, 73
Miss!

"Fool!"

Alphonse counters!
Weapon: Impact Gunlance
Final Hit: 84
Final Crit: 29
Roll: 29, 85
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 127

That's all for enemies!

NPC Phase / Turn 03

The ANF's numbers are thinning, but they keep fighting!

Velite #2 is out for blood, goes to 27,20!

Velite #2 attacks!
Target: Cressida #5
Weapon: Beam Sword
Final Hit: 76
Final Crit: 19
Roll: 2, 50
Hit!
Crit.
Damage: 39

Cressida #5 counters!
Weapon: Heat Carving Knife
Final Hit: 65
Final Crit: 41
Roll: 99, 21
Nice Miss!

Velite #3 moves to 30, 20!

Velite #3 attacks!
Target: Cressida #5
Weapon: Beam Saber
Final Hit: 81
Final Crit: 19
Roll: 77, 8
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 61

Cressida #5 counters!
Weapon: Heat Carving Knife
Final Hit: 65
Final Crit: 41
Roll: 12, 31
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 117!

Uh oh! Velite #3 is taken down!

Velite #4 moves to 29,21!

Velite #3 attacks!
Target: Cressida #5
Weapon: Beam Saber
Final Hit: 76
Final Crit: 19
Roll: 61, 16
Hit!
Crit!
Damage: 58

Cressida #5 is a victim of revenge!

Turret #2, the loneniest, readies another volley.

Turret #2 attacks!
Target: Hyperion #3
Weapon: Anti-MS Cannon
Final Hit: 94
Final Crit: 10
Roll: 72, 36
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 54

Hyperion #3 counters!
Weapon: Over-Cannon
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 10
Roll: 7, 59
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 118

Turret #2 is blasted and melted!

"Wait that's not good I'm outta here!"
Legionary #3 runs to 17,15!

Alphonse's group is still standing!
Heavy #1 moves to 25. 4. and readies the lance!

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #1 attacks!
Target: Cressida #12
Weapon: Impact Gunlance
Final Hit: 51
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 24, 74
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 59

Cressida #12 counters!
Weapon: Hyperparticle Bazooka
Final Hit: 52
Final Crit: 6
Roll: 8, 40
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 75

Oof!

Heavy #2 is next! Onto 26,5!

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #1 attacks!
Target: Cressida #12
Weapon: Impact Gunlance
Final Hit: 51
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 38, 96
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 59

Cressida #12 is impaled!

Heavy #3 is readying the big guns!

Velite Mk.II-M (Heavy) #2 attacks!
Target: Phobos #2
Weapon: Particle Cannon
Final Hit: 59
Final Crit: 6
Roll: 15, 59
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 65

Phobos #2 counters!
Weapon: Plasma Cannon
Final Hit: 47
Final Crit: 14
Roll: 48, 94
Miss! A close call again!

"Providing support, pals!"
Lucas moves to 25,5 and repairs heavy 2!
Heavy 2 is repaired for 42 HP!

Alphonse aims at the last alien!

Alphonse attacks!
Target: Alien Craft #3
Weapon: Beam Rifle
Final Hit: 84
Final Crit: 24
Roll: 61, 45
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 103

A beam of energy punches through Alien Craft #3!

"The unknowns are taken care of, continue your defense of this area."

Player Phase / Turn 04

scenario_8_turn_4.png

Battle Mastery: Reduce Louise's HP to below 1000, and defeat Carlos in 5 turns!

Victory Condition: Defeat All Enemies!

Defeat Condition: The Riese is destroyed!

Doc!

Edited by Xinnidy
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Sedatives Ready

"Sedatives? Wh-- why? What's going on out there, anyway?" Olivia had locked the door to the infirmary when the ship was rocked by something, and gunfire erupted in the hallway. And the android? "What sort of mess just happened, Megumi? I thought this thing was supposed to be the best in the army? Near indestructible? Ugh..." Olivia didn't know what sedatives were the strongest, giving a weary look over at Valerie. "You mind fetching that, then? I'm... I'm gonna open the door, I can at least get the cell ready." And so she did, not quite expecting the decapitated android in the hallway-- Oh god the eyes were still moving!

"[Please pay me no mind, and go along with whatever you were doing. I will require repairs, but no memory systems were damaged.]"

"Uh... R-Right. Holy shit what happened... Uhh, c-cell! Megumi, Val's gonna get you the sedatives, gonna go setup a cell, oh my god..." This was quickly becoming too much to deal with.

Taking Command

Tristan let someone take over for him in holding the alien, they still had a battle to deal with, and it seemed to be getting weaker in its struggling. "Don't let up," he reminded them, "because it could just be trying to fake us out." There was no time for any risks. As for Jess... He turned over towards her, kneeling in front of her, trying to get her attention, at least somewhat.

"Captain. Captain... There's still a fight going on. We need you. Please..." He didn't know how to deal with this, Jess only glanced up at him blankly.

"There's a voice i-in, my head, my arm, it's not, I'm... I'm, J-Jessica, I can't... I'm not, a r-robot, ahhh..." Too many things were going on with her right now, and Tristan wasn't equipped to deal with them. It hurt him to do so, but he left her there, heading back up to the main level of the bridge, and taking his seat to the side of the captain's chair.

"To all units, this is Ensign Calvin. The Riese has been boarded... No casualties, and the captain is uninjured... Physically. XO Martinson will be taking command for the remainder of the engagement. All units, I repeat, no casualties. Please, keep fighting!" I'm not a robot... Tristan wasn't sure if he should try and bring Jess to the medbay... Or the hangar, with a wound like that.

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Saying they were boarded was certainly one way to put it. Astin wouldn't have expected a boarding attempt to involve crashing a mech straight into the ship but apparently it had been effective from the calls. Anxiously waiting the all clear sign, Astin missed the counter to the first attack they faced. Growling, they managed a devastating punch in return to the second bot that tried to take advantage of their momentary lapse.

As they were reaching for the com, the all clear came through. Good. No one hurt. Physically. Whatever that meant. The captain had been shaken up badly somehow if the XO was taking over. But they couldn't afford to worry too much. Responding, they called out, "Fencer here. Good to hear everyone is alive. Looks like the Admiral took out the other two of those ships so we're hopefully safe from anymore boarding attempts. Time to focus on those leaders, we've got to end this now." Before anyone else got hurt or worse...

~~~~~~~

"S-sedtives? What-why... I uhm... Ok. I can..." She headed for the cabinet, hearing the discussion between Olivia and the robot. Great. What could destroy one of those androids? "Hhhhh... No that one is too weak... Ugh what even are we sedating? Hhhhh I'll just... Get all the strong ones. I guess. The doctor can figure everything else out. That's her job anyways... More info would have been nice though..." She managed to make a pile of sedatives in a spare plastic bin, ready for the doctor to come grab.

Edited by scorri
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Right, those models were built like brick walls, Abby remembered. It had been shortsighted to hope her bullets would have much impact. Still, there wasn't too much time to regret the decision, as her attack had had some effect. Provoked into action, the leader model darted forward, its sword at the ready. The movements were telegraphed fairly obviously, but its operator was clearly skilled, as it still wasn't the easiest of attacks to dodge. Yet with some fleet footwork of her own, Abigail managed a nimble sidestep in the Heracles, and pivoted on that movement to twist back around and deliver a solid, if not decisive, blow with her custom plasma buckler.

Hell yeah. She was still an asset. Feeling good about herself, she briefly contemplated radioing in and asking Jess, 'Did you see that?' It was an idea quickly tabled, however. After she finished putting it out of commission, sure, maybe then. But for now it was still too early to gloat. Moving her hand, which has been on the way to the transceiver, back to the stick, a crackle from the radio told Abby her decision was the correct one, in the worst possible way.

'W-We’ve been boarded! Please keep engaging the enemy forces, we’re taking care of the issue here!'

Oh fucking hell. If she'd distracted them with her nonsense while they had some shit like that on their plate, that would have been terrible. Actually, what on earth? Tapping at the console, while keeping a watchful eye on the opponent she was still squaring off with, Abby pulled up a status report on the Riese. Jesus. A mech-sized fucking hole in the hull where some idiot just, beelined into the side of it, kamikaze-style. Absolutely nuts.

Keeping up the dance with the Ganymede, weaving back and forth while looking for the next opening to dart in and hit it with another fierce hook, the back of her mind nervously waited for Jess's next message, the one that would say 'all clear, situation under control'.

That message never came; certainly quite like she was hoping at least. What did come was worse. 'No casualties, and the captain is uninjured... Physically.' Yeah, no. No more waiting. Punching in a direct line to the bridge--the other pilots didn't need to know she was worried, fuck that--Abby demanded an explanation, "Physically? ...Tell me some psycho psychic didn't try to fry her brain or anything. She's all right, just spooked, yeah?"

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Physically

There was one of Megumi's attendants, hopefully here to help the situation. And... Tristan sighed, unsure of what to say. There was Abby, coming in. He'd expected her or Brant, or both, maybe Abrams was still caught up with an enemy unit. "She's..." How was he supposed to say this? There was only one explanation, for how Jessica, a nineteen year old girl, had physically overpowered that alien in the span of a second. Combine that with what had happened to her arm...

"Abigail I'm telling you this because of how close you are to her, do not tell the rest of the squad," Tristan began, bringing his voice to a hush. "The captain is an android... And I don't know what that means for us going forward. It doesn't look like she knew, either. The unknown bit into her arm, and in the ensuing scuffle, she managed to hold it down, but... The chunk missing in her arm wasn't hiding bone, it was hiding wires. Now she's... Up against the wall, panicking, and I don't know what to do about it. She should still have her communicator on her, say something to her. Anything, I'm... Cut out for piloting, and bridge work. Not that sort of shock."

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Well, she had managed to draw some attention at the very least. The next clone in line, as well as Carlos. The former hadn't been much of an issue to start with, her attack easily evaded, and a riposte with the railgun had put a dent in the Metis. One step towards capture... Carlos, on the other hand. Well, his attack had been evaded just as easily, but when she returned fire... suddenly the Rhea had developed an illusion? Even as it had been visible, Seung-Min could still tell which had been real, if only due to only one version still having a pilot that projected emotions, but it had thrown off the targeting system just enough to cause her shot to barely miss the Rhea. How frustrating.

"Neat trick. Did the Sacarians teach you how to do that?" Kim asked, as it seems Elaine had suffered the same fate against the other Rhea model. Was it unique to these machines? She had never seen such a thing on the other models... snapping out of her thoughts as she finally felt the surge of emotions from the Heion Riese, just in time to catch that they had been boarded. Turning the cameras over... damn, that was quite the hole, Ensign Calvin had said they were fine, but they certainly didn't feel fine, and the Captain was out of commission?

"Ensign, what's the situation? From the emotional readings I'm getting... it feels like a Sacarian just stormed the bridge or something. Do you require... additional formation support?"

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Carlos had received a surprise broadcast in the middle of combat, but, just like the young boy that contacted him assumed, he knew a fair bit about his threatener, as well as the cause of his vendetta. "Is this about the machine I shot down? The Umbra's pilot, yes?" He answered, fairly neutral in tone. He had a multitude of tasks to work on, so the impact of the words were laid a bit softer. "It was all business, but I doubt that matters to you." It was hard to tell, this one wasn't as much of a biological robot as Apotheosis had once expected, case in point, this was a deal more personal to the kid than one bio engineered soldier would care. "Thanks for the heads up. All I can say is I'm trying to leave this alive." Another day of hoping it's not my last...

The Riese pilots really seemed to be up for banter this time. It was clear to Carlos that he wasn't winning any popularity contests over there. "Nope, that one's ours. Laine's stuff" The Sacarians hadn't actually provided them with that much on the design field, only what was deemed pivotal --energy sources and alloys--. Thankfully, that was more than enough for a big organization with bright --if slightly crazy-- human minds. "If you sit still, I'll tell you how it works." It was bad that they took an interest in him, but there wasn't much he could do about it at that point. I'm staying behind this line.

Edited by Xinnidy
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Carlos was far calmer than Tarquin had perhaps anticipated, although it was greatly preferable to the villainous theatrics both Louise and Vera had pulled before. It was almost relieving to see that Apotheosis didn't fill its command posts with psychopaths, but it didn't change Tarquin's goals. Carlos clearly didn't understand or was simply uncaring of the damage he'd done. Expecting compassion from the enemy was a foolish thought process, he certainly didn't care much for the Apotheosis troops but it was a different matter when it came to his own friend. "Correct and also correct." Tarquin replied, somewhat unsure why he was continuing the conversation. "I wish you the best of luck. My accuracy across the last eight missions has been 100%, I'm sure you can recall our previous encounter... I intend to continue along the same theme."

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Megumi took the lift down to the hallway, and she jogged, over to the infirmary, watching her step in case of loose shell casings the whole way. Eyeing Tiffany along the way she said, "The mechanics will get to you in a little while. Sorry, but I'm in a hurry ..."

The doctor had been running some rough estimates for which sedative to use and in what doses. The size of the patient was crucial, but it was a tough call with this alien, because of that massive tail. Megumi couldn't even see how its circulatory system would work if it had any less than two distinct hearts. One for the main body, and the other somewhere in the abdomen or base of the tail, moving blood throughout that region, which was practically another body in and of itself. The most relevant part of figuring out the dosage remained the creature's size ... though there were some other risks Megumi would just have to deal with if they came up. It was a gamble, after all.

"Tambre," she greeted her assistant in a hurry as she arrived, "You've got the sedatives? Let's get a stretcher and head back up. As soon as that creature's out, we're moving it into the brig." Megumi preferred patients to be in the infirmary whenever possible, even if they were former enemy combatants, but it just was not worth the risk, here. They would save keep the creature alive if possible, but not while unnecessarily risking the lives of the crew.

"This wasn't what I had in mind for a first contact scenario," she threw in almost jokingly while securing their equipment. "Brace yourself," she warned.


So it finally happened, they were trying to take the Riese, directly. No teleportation gimmicks, no android strike team, just one machine against the ship's considerable hull. Firmia's thoughts were racing as Jessica informed them of the danger but quickly tried to get their focus back on the battle. The assurance was questionable coming from her, but the Alkaev captain still had her doubts Apotheosis would bring down the Riese without actually shooting it down. Yes, they were incredibly dangerous. Yes, they had technology significantly more advanced than the rest of humanity. Yes, they probably spent more than five minutes drawing up the plans for this attack. Just the same, whenever they came into contact with the Riese, something invariably went horribly wrong for them.

Of course, this was also the part that went horribly wrong for them too, the one Firmia had been worried about. The outcome here was uncertain. Even if the Riese took out the boarding party, there could be some serious casualties on their side. It was hard to stay focused as she wondered what was happening over there. Involuntarily, her mind kept trying to run through various outcomes, like senior officers and the like being killed in the attack. Roxanna was the only one that struck a chord, the two of them being on good terms, and perhaps equally frustrated with Jessica's captaining style. When the Alkaev imagined Gefalscht herself going down in the fight, she started to feel unusually self conscious ...

Firmia gazed up at the Riese in front of them, and the gaping new hole in its upper hull. She felt strange, now that she recognized the swirl of positive and negative emotions within her. As much as Firmia hated to admit to herself, a part of her genuinely hoped that this was it for Jessica, that she would be right about the leisure focused captain's command style, and that anything that happened yesterday in preparation had been too little too late. That same part of her wanted revenge, too. Revenge for reasons she was just barely coming to terms with. If Firmia hadn't read up on herself yesterday, and what her grandparents had in mind for her later in life, a lot of this wouldn't make sense to her, but because she had. She was intended to think this way. Firmia was highly introverted, very distrusting, unforgiving, ruthless toward anyone or anything that threatened her or her 'things.' They were all natural inclinations of hers, but they were also nurtured by her grandparents. With feelings like these at her core, the only remorse Firmia could possibly feel for Jessica's death was the negative impact it would have on her own people aboard the Avalon, and to a far lesser extent, the war effort. She wondered if that might change after the fact, like it had with Louise. Once the woman was dead and gone, the contempt Firmia felt died with her.

Firmia's deeper desire was an embarrassing thing to fully recognize in that long suspenseful wait for an update. Jessica had made the young Alkaev feel insecure, unsafe, powerless; she'd almost taken Brant away from her, but then nearly destroyed him, and in doing so, she'd sent Firmia's inner circle into a painful tailspin. She was in no way equipped to help Brant through his pain, and trying to help Hannah by taking Brant's place felt like kicking a grenade a few feet up the road. All of this so Jessica could have the rest of her crew be comfortable, and she could have an easy fix for her self esteem issues and her lonely nights. The bitterness welled up the more Firmia thought about it. It was petty, but she could no longer comprehend Jessica as anything other than an enemy, the only enemy she couldn't kill, herself. For the sake of her independence, and for the sake of the war effort, Firmia could not plot anything against Jessica or even encourage others to do so. All she had was that guilt ridden hope that the captain of leisure would wind up paying for her mistakes by some other means. A broken heart to match Brant's, the death of a crew member that was entirely on her shoulders, something to shake her to the core and finally change her. Short of that, Firmia just wanted her dead. She could fully admit that to herself or anyone close to her, now ...

When Tristan got on the comms, the news was mostly good. It was mostly good in a ... tactical sense, though Gefalscht not being in command at the moment wasn't good for the Riese's combat effectiveness. Firmia only felt more guilt and frustration that Jessica had survived. Seemingly nothing had come of that big attack, and yet she'd still had to face that darker part of herself head on, acknowledge her absolute hatred of the woman without anything else coming of it.  Jessica wasn't even injured, though from the sound of things, she was scared out of her wits. That sort of made sense, though unless the enemy made it all the way to the bridge ... wouldn't Hannah's sisters have dealt with the issue? The first deck had been hit, so it was a straight shot to the lift leading up to the bridge. Only automated defenses and an android or two would stand in the way if Jessica had thought ahead. How was she injured nonphysically, then? Mental trauma? From a mere boarding attempt? That neither sounded nor felt right to her.

It wasn't surprising that the Regalia had flown up to the bridge, again. Firmia hoped this wasn't going to become a thing. She knew Brant couldn't speak directly to Jessica, but this was painful to watch ...


It could get him hurt? If Kim was on about them not being able to do this each time a clone showed up, sure. Brant had already taken that into account. If she meant him getting hurt physically ... he didn't really care. It wasn't a big deal, nor the first time he'd gotten seriously hurt while piloting a mobile suit. What was a big deal was the attack on the Heion Riese. Jessica had ordered them all to just keep fighting. They couldn't just drop everything and wait to see what happened, so that directive was spot on. Brant kept the Regalia fairly close to the Riese, ready to assist if needed. He wondered what they were going to do with that machine that crashed into them nearly as much as what was going on inside. With three androids, they ought to be able to handle anything that showed up, even Vera, if they were careful. That didn't seem to be reassuring Firmia, though. Brant could feel her unease more strongly than anyone else's as the Regalia and the Avalon stayed in loose formation with the Riese.

When tensions on the bridge got downright tangible, Brant couldn't take it, any longer. They didn't have any targets to engage (in their kill zone, at least), so he moved the Regalia back over to the Riese. "If they didn't make it to the bridge then it should be fine," he told Chris as they drew closer to the ship. The Metis plan was still on, but ... Brant had to be sure what he was feeling was just the fear that came with a first time bad experience and not the fear that accompanied a quick and painful death. "Cover us with the funnels if anyone comes up after us."

Tristan quickly got onto the comms and let the two teams know that there hadn't been any casualties on the bridge, though there had definitely been an attack on the bridge. That was a sobering thought. Brant was certain none of them had been expecting to have to fight for their lives like that ...

When the Regalia came up in front of the Riese's bridge, it transformed back into MS mode, reaching a stable hover very close to the bridge this time. Close enough to grab on and save itself some fuel, but ... the Riese crew had probably had enough of machines latching onto the hull for one day. Brant lined up the Regalia's head with the view port to try and get a good look at what was happening inside. There was a bit of distortion, but the high res images coming back to the cockpit were clear enough. A bunch of bridge hands were holding down ... some kind of armored gray skinned creature ... with a tail that would make an anaconda blush. Doctor Amparo had just disappeared into the lift, and Jessica was just barely visible behind the struggle with the creature, slumped against the wall.

"What's going on ...?" Brant winced at the scene. That could not be a Sacarian ... and what happened to Jessica?

Edited by Phoenix
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Val blinked. She had to be joking. But the doctor never joked. "I... A-are you serious? There's... there's an alien up there? You can't be serious... I mean... Sure they were talking about it but... Hhhhhhh." She couldn't handle this. That's what the sedatives were for? This wasn't... "I... I don't know if I'm the best choice for this." Why? Why wasn't she the best choice? Besides being a coward of course. "I don't... Is it very big? I'm not very strong... Probably not the best choice to carry the stretcher?" Yeah, that made sense, right? Better to get someone, anyone, else to help. Yeah. It had nothing to do with her not wanting to meet an alien. Clearly. She still picked up the sedatives, resigning herself to the fact that the doctor would likely ignore her weak protests and tell her to help anyways. This was not turning out to be a good day...

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Monster on The Bridge

"Oy, oy oy oy. What the fuck is that?" Chris was watching the same image Brant was, whatever the crew was fighting with... "That... Is not a Sacarian. What the fuck is it? Ah, geez. Incoming call from the miss panicking in the corner... Remember that was have a battle to fight, Brant. Whatever happened to her... It has to wait until we're done." Chris bit her lip, that was the unfortunate situation they were in.

If Jess==Android: Return False; Else: Return True;

That was, the Regalia... Brant... Why was he... Could he see? See the truth through the Regalia's camera? But it's not true! I'm not... I'm still thinking and breathing, and-- A thought hit Jess, a horrifying thought, one that she followed through with immediately... She stopped breathing... And... So it's true... I'm not in pain, my brain... It's, not yelling at me to keep going... Oh my God... Whatever systems were in place before the alien tore into her arm had apparently been turned off for the sake of self preservation. The familiar pain one would get as their body begged for air was nowhere to be seen. Jess was just fine, with no air coming in or out.

"I'm, a fucking robot...!" She started to panic further, hyperventilating-- for what good that would do, as her hands clutched her head. Another panicked thought ran into her mind, as her arms moved on their own, horrified curiosity pushing her to confirm what she already knew. Her good arm's hand grasped onto the skin hanging around the wound, and gave it a harsh tug. It didn't hurt. Despite the 'blood', coming out, underneath was just, metal, clean, running all the way along the gash. "Oh, my G-God..."

She fumbled with her communicator, she couldn't tell Abigail, with how she'd been treating Hannah... "B-Brant..." her voiced choked out, trying to call the Regalia. "I'm an android. I'm, a f-fucking, android... I'm... Help..." What could he do? She'd already pushed him away, it wasn't fair to ask for any help from him. But would anyone else get it? Would anyone else, care? "Why should they care," she mumbled, "I'm not even real, I'm not, even J-Jessica, I'm... Ahhhnn...!"

"Wait, what?" Chris gawked at the message, as Jess started to cry on the other end. "An android? Hold up, what?" That meant... "Oh, no no no..."

In the mean time, Hannah be Analyzin' Carlos, and Chris be dauntin' Duane! (flavor to come)

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Tambre was getting cold feet. And that was without having seen the creature firsthand. Megumi winced at the thought of her actually seeing it held in place by half a dozen people on the bridge. Addressing her actual points was easy enough, though the doctor remained undecided on whether or not to force the issue. "Someone from the bridge can help with the stretcher on our way to the brig. If you're scared just don't look, but I still need you to carry some of this."


Did she say an android? That was impossible ... it should be impossible. Even now Brant could sense her from here. More clearly than usual with the Regalia's T-Link. So how could she be anything but human? The only thing Brant could come up with off the top of his head were cybernetic augmentations ... ones far, far more extensive than those Vera had signed up for. If Jessica had been fiddling around, trying to figure out the extent of her mechanical body ... she may well just be a brain in an artificial skull. Brant felt awkward just thinking about it. It didn't really bother him on principle; if not for Jessica and some very bad timing, Hannah would have gotten her wish without a doubt. Instead he'd bet everything on her and lost within hours of doing so.

"It's alright, Jess. Just stay on the line," Brant said, and by some miracle his tone was soothing, not betraying his own grief and confusion. "I'll be here, even if we have to get back into the thick of it, I'll be on the line, so don't disconnect, alright? Let me help you ..." For once ... Brant could already feel the pain creeping up on him. Regardless, Jessica had called out to him and he wasn't about to leave her to face something this devastating on her own. The battle couldn't wait ... but ... "Chris, I'm going to keep her on the comms. If things are getting too dangerous, go ahead and take the controls. I'll try not to much things up that badly, but ..." But he could not leave this alone. If Jessica was somehow an android, fine. Whatever. But just because he was fine with it didn't mean she was. Far from it. "... can't do this without you. Same as usual," he grinned weakly at his copilot.

"Hey, Jess," Brant quickly got back on that direct line to the captain's communicator, "I'm not completely convinced you're an android. I can sense your emotional state, right now. That doesn't work for any of the others. Whatever's going on might not be as widespread as you think ... and ... even if it is, remember what you told me about Hannah, before. If you really believe she's more than a machine, then that goes for you, too." ... Brant was almost glad Jessica couldn't sense his emotions the way Chris could. His voice was convincing enough, but this was hard. If she could see the look on his face, the struggle to press down every bad memory working against him, Jessica might be even worse off. That ideal, that agape he was trying to bring into his life and lift up above everything else, that was being put to the test, now. Brant fought to push down those intrusive, bitter thoughts, and focus on the matter at hand. That and not getting blown out of the sky.

Edited by Phoenix
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Stay on The Line

"Alright, Brant, but just... Take care of yourself. She's asking you for help, but she's not your mess to coddle anymore. Don't put her well being behind staying alive. I'll do my best, either way... So despite what I just said, you do yours. I can already feel how hard this is going to be for you..." Chris setup the system's flight commands on her consoles, ready to take action if it was needed. What a time for this to happen.

"But..." He could still feel her? What... What if... Jess was dreading the thought... 'Turn off... Emotional, projector?'

'Warning,' the automated voice responded, scaring her stiff, 'emotional projection system is in place to help you blend into society when interacting with TKs.' Jess was starting to feel sick. 'Are you sure you wish to deactivate?'

'... Yes...'

'Deactivating.'

She didn't feel any different, but she had to ask. "And now?" If this, system in her was accurate, then he wouldn't be able to. That meant... "Hannah is... Hannah is different. How much of m-me is real? How much, of my past? My life? How much... How much of it is fake? Am I even Jessica? Or is that, just name given to me... Oh my God what if I'm one of the moles..." Another panicked thought, she felt like she was going to faint, now...

'Fainting prohibited in a life or death situation.'

"God dammit!" Some of the bridge crew stopped to look at her, including Tristan, but none of them said anything. They didn't know how to deal with this sort of attack. They could only hope Megumi would get back soon.

"Brant I'm... I'm losing my mind... I can't... This isn't real... This..."

And Kazue...

"I see another foe has stepped into the arena! The hero of justice shall not be daunted by your appearance... We match blades, villain!"

Kazue casts Sense, and rushes to 25,17, slashing Duane good!
(100%! 24%)
(53% 23%)
"Evil never wins! Die!"
Boosting off the ground to get the height she needed, Kazue swung hard and drove her sword across the arm of Duane's machine, spinning to avoid the counter, and landing with perfect form!
"Who are you people!?"
" 俺たち は 。。。正義の味方!"
104 damage to Duane, as he misses!
Kazue gains +35 EXP, +4 will!

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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This was getting stranger and stranger. No response was coming from the bridge, and suddenly out of nowhere, the mass of panic that had been so distinctly Jessica was suddenly... gone? Everything else seemed the same, from the ship at least. Brant had gotten closer, and seemed to be struggling rather heavily himself as well.

"Ensign, I've completely lost any emotional readings from Captain Gefalscht, what in the hell is going on in there?" Kim asked, composure cracking as she opened another channel to the Regalia directly, muting herself for the Riese.

"Brant, Chris, can you tell me what's going on in there? The Captain went dark and you don't feel so good yourselves."

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Alriana had mostly stopped resisting at this point, knowing when she was beaten and not wanting to further waste her energy. "lloignah." Compared to her earlier ferocity her voice might as well have been a whisper. She had been incredibly stupid to resort to her jaws. Had she just stuck with her dagger she might have at least accomplished her goal before being captured like this. What were they waiting for anyway? Whatever the humans planned to do she hoped they'd hurry up. Her adrenaline was still pumping so the full extent of her injuries hadn't set in yet, but it was only a matter of time until that wasn't the case; as confusing as she found humans to be, she wouldn't dare hope for a repeat performance. 

Speaking of confusing, her target certainly was just that. She'd been against the wall, staring at her wound ever since she had turned Alriana over to the crew. It looked like she was having a breakdown even though she had won their fight. What's more, she was talking to herself and her use of the language seemed to be as basic Alriana's own, to the point where the alien could follow alongside, save a few unfamiliar words. I... lost to this?  The thought infuriated her, but she could only blame herself for her failure. 

Edited by Ursali
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Firmia had just taken her eyes off the Riese and the Regalia when a portion of the collective aura in that area vanished. She visibly flinched from the realization. That was ... that had to have been Jessica. It had to be. What the hell happened? Did she succumb to some injury after the fight? But Tristan specifically said she hadn't been injured. No reason to lie about that unless ... no! No no no no no! The moles were a danger, but this wasn't the time to reach conclusions like those, not when there weren't any workable solutions, yet. Maybe she just fainted? That was far more likely and more reasonable of a conclusion to reach, but she still didn't know for certain.

In the end it was too much. She had to know what was going on, right now. "Brant, what's going on in there?! What happened to Jessica?! You can see her from there, right?!"


"And now?"

... and there it was. Or rather, there it went. Absolutely nothing. If Brant had pulled away from the Riese's bridge before it happened, he would have thought Jessica lost consciousness or worse. He could still see her through the Regalia's main cameras. So then, Jessica was an android. Fine. Whatever ... but actually telling her that, knowing how much it upset her, and rightfully so.

Brant didn't realize it at the time, but Chris would likely have more than just piloting duty. Lieutenant Kim was trying to get a hold of them now that Jessica's aura had vanished. There wasn't anything Brant could say in response, since he was still trying to think of something to say to Jessica ...

"Brant, what's going on in there?!" Firmia too, now. "What happened to Jessica?! You can see her from there, right?!"

"... you're right," Brant answered Jessica's question, slowly lowering his gaze all the way down to the edge of his seat, "I've ... got nothing left but your voice." That didn't come out the way he thought it would ... he'd let his guard down slightly when his sense of her vanished, and the soothing facade suffered for it. "Listen Jess, I won't pretend to know what you're going through, or what your past was actually like ... but I need you to keep it together. I'm here for you. We all are."

Wait. Was that true? Brant realized it would depend a great deal on whether Abigail had been serious when she told him that she would be with Jess 'forever.' Just thinking about that and how likely it was now made him sick. The closest person to Jessica was Abigail, and she took issue with androids like Hannah. The irony was almost maddening: choosing the one person who hates androids over the one person who didn't care whether she was human or machine. Was that why Jessica had radioed him first, because he wouldn't lose it like she was about to? Well, if nothing else, it was a small comfort knowing his former captain would at least lean on him for that much ... "Don't drown yourself in questions. Just take it slow, one issue at a time ..."

Edited by Phoenix
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Drowned Already

"Ah, geez-- Look, Kim, not right now!" Chris replied, trying to juggling the new incoming lines and Brant's flying corrections. She closed Kim's, she'd apologize later, and there was Firmia... "Firmia, Jess is an android, she's-- And she's back..."


Turn it back on...

'Activating emotional projection systems.'

And just like that, there was Jess' blip, still terrified and losing it, albeit calming down. Calling Brant had been the right choice... For now. "I'm sorry," she managed, shivering, holding herself despite the gash... It really was auto repairing, some of the wires were already reconnected and the rest was working itself to a suitable close. "I really hurt you, didn't I?" This is not the right time for this. "That's why you've been avoiding me..." Just stop, please... "I should've done so much of this better and now I'm not, even real...!" Jess shuddered, sobbing quietly in her little corner. "And the worst... Part... Is I c-called you first... Because I'm so... So s-scared, of what Abby... Ahh..." She couldn't finish that, Brant didn't need to hear any of it.

"I'm going to be left, with nothing... And it's all my fault...!"

Too Much Going on

Tristan grimaced, Kim was pressing him for an answer, but... "Lieutenant, the Captain is fine. Please, focus on the battle." Come on, Abigail, reply... There was nothing easy about this situation, it made perfect sense that the TKs were asking questions, but...

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Nothing from Brant, and then the line was abruptly cut by Chris. Moments later, Jessica's emotional signature was back... what in the hell was going on in there? Ensign Calvin was attempting to assure her that things were fine, but it was obvious they were anything but. Whatever was going on in there, it seemed that it wasn't something they considered her particularly worthy of being aware of.

"Very well. I'll try to make some space for you." Kim noted, as the Artemis rushed out from it's cover on the base, closing in on Carlos at breakneck pace, all of it's weapon systems revving to life and beginning to train down fire on the Rhea.

"Tempting offer, but I'll have to decline." The Lieutenant finally returned to the defacto Apotheosis commander as she rushed in even closer, plasma gauntlets sparking to life.

Kim casts Sense and activates ARES, then moves to 15,23 and Hunts Carlos!

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Indeed, Jessica was back on Firmia's 'TK radar' ... though that did absolutely nothing to alleviate what Chris had just told her about the woman. Suddenly Louise's little secret regarding Gefalscht came rushing back to the forefront of Firmia's mind. It wasn't about the mole situation, it was about the fact that Jessica was a machine. An android ... all this time ... "An android. She's an android."

"Who is?" Tonya glanced over her shoulder toward the captain's chair. Firmia had the most distant look on her face imaginable, and Tonya had a feeling the Alkaev's debut battle had just gone sideways.

"Jessica," Firmia answered, staring past Tonya, past the view port, and past the Riese, all the way back into the depths of her own memories, as piece after piece began to lock into place. Of course she was unusually skilled as a gunner. Of course she was awkward even at the best of times. Of course she didn't know what the hell she was doing as a captain half of the time. And of course that artificial body of hers was the perfect place for nefarious software, software meant to keep Apotheosis well informed at all times.

Of course.

Even if Jessica wasn't a mole, she could still be unwittingly helping Apotheosis, simply by harboring bugs they could use. Her high level clearance ensured that little to nothing got past them. There was no way she could have figured this all out in advance, though. The fact that she could sense Jessica's emotions, or what seemed to be her emotions, was too much to ignore. In hindsight though ... if Apotheosis could teleport, they ought to be able to use some kind of signal to spoof a TK's senses ...

"Huh ..." Tonya was taken aback by the info, however vague, "Is it me or is Brant stuck in the dating simulator from Hell? Either way, your Betaware nickname was spot on."

"I was ... I was joking," Firmia said, her face still shocked, her tone almost pleading. "I ... was ... joking ..."


Brant was beside himself. He didn't think there was any way Jessica would even consider going there of all places. This was her crisis, not his. He was so reluctant to even address what he'd been going through that the muscles in his arm and fingers twitched, just begging for the go'head to hit the mute. That wasn't happening, though. He felt the urge to tell her to not think about that terrible few days--terrible for him, at least--but that wasn't happening, either. Brant's surprise and his urge to change the subject quickly left him once he realized where Jessica was going with this. She didn't think she was 'real' to begin with. Brant had no idea what real was even supposed to mean anymore, but she was real enough for him.

Jessica was feeling remorseful, again; hindsight was the most likely culprit. She was scared that Abigail was going to leave her once she learned the truth. The irony must not have been lost on Jessica, either. She knew Brant didn't have any issue with this, but the woman she'd chosen over him, well she certainly did, and didn't even try to hide the fact. Brant seeing someone else in danger of being completely screwed over by the tiniest of details wasn't any more pleasant than having it happen to himself, as it so often did.

This ... didn't mean Abigail would necessarily leave her, though. She was stubborn, competitive, and petty. Brant was torn on that one; on the one hand, he couldn't stand to be around Jessica when her attention was on Abigail, but on the other, he couldn't be with her in that capacity now, either. It went against what he was trying to do, and it would only cause even more pain and worry to the people around him. That still didn't mean she would be left with nothing, just a painful lesson in patience and consideration ...

"I ... really ... really wish you'd waited," Brant began, having to fight his hardest to keep his tone even and calm as righteous fury and agony muscled their way toward the surface. "I wish you'd talked to me, first ... back when I could have been something more than a disembodied voice in your ear. But everyone wants that special relationship, and they want it right now. I've never been able to change that, but I'm not just going to sit back and watch you suffer, no matter what happens." Again, Brant felt sick thinking about Jessica's replacement for him. The two of them happily building their relationship, with his fresh corpse as a hidden foundation. There was nothing that could be done about it, now. Brant would never feel anything but contempt for that particular pairing, because of what it'd done to him, and the attitudes both women had taken toward him all the while. Likewise, Jessica, Jessica as an individual, was still someone Brant cared deeply for. Loved, even. And so ...

"You are not going to end up with nothing. I can promise you that, okay?"


"I WAS JOKIIIIING!!!"

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Making Sense

"... I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I'm just as confused on most of this as you are." That was most of the truth of it, but as far as Tristan was concerned, Jess was alive. That's what mattered, and that's what he'd be telling people.

Kim rains plasma on Carlos!
(100!% 37%)
(92% 19%)
"Mierda!"
277 damage!
Kim dodges with her Sense!
Kim gains +25 EXP, +4 will!

What's Left

"I know... I'm sorry..." There was nothing else she could really say. Everything she'd put Brant through, all because of a decision she'd made for someone else she cared about. Any, hint from him, any indication that what she'd been doing mattered and she'd have fallen right into his arms... But Abby was there first, promising everything she'd wanted, in ample supply, and not simply for the sake of it. "Life is a mess," she sputtered, managing a laugh, but it was bitter. "Life... If, this is even life, anymore..." She was calming down faster than anticipated, maybe it was something in her systems that was trying to stabilize her 'emotions'. Whatever it was, it was helping her think just a bit more rationally about the situation. As much as it had taken her time to warm up to Hannah, she considered her-- well, there it was. Her. Hannah wasn't an it, wasn't a robot, Hannah... Was Hannah, in Jess' mind. So there was no reason she couldn't still be Jessica... Right? Right?

"I'll talk to her. I have to. I just... I can't, turn to you, after everything I put you through. Not for that... Thank you, Brant. For this, this much... I'm so sorry. But I'm... I'm glad, you're still willing to talk. At least..." She sighed, letting go of her grip on herself, just a bit more. Even her skin was trying to fix itself, was she installed with nanomachines, or something? She pressed the flap she'd torn up back down, letting whatever was there work its robotic magic. "I'm gonna close the channel now. I... I have to call her. I'm sorry. Please be okay out there."

And there he went... Jess shuddered, pulling up... "Here goes, everything." Ring ring ring... "Abby. Please, come in..."

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