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

[Nanami Touko]

Close Encounters of the Thirder Kind

The Chaldene had no time to warp or setup any sort of barrier, as a piercing beam of light vaporized the bridge, causing it to slowly sink to the ground as its V-Drives failed, eventually crashing against the base's asphalt. It didn't explode, it had no way to anymore, though fires were starting all over. A massive salvage for the ANF and Firmia's crew, but more than that, a warning, to play nice with whatever had just launched from it.

"Damn fools..." Raul knew this was going to happen, the alien was only supposed to be sent out as a last resort, not this early, and now... "Saturns, change targets, fire on that damn monster! Take it down before it can do anything like that again!"

Hannah had managed to turn the Mantle's camera just in time to see the blast mangle the Chaldene, the android audibly gasping. "Wh... What..." It was sending a transmission to Astin, apparently. It... It didn't seem like an enemy, for now, at least. "Unknown, please use this channel to forward your intentions to all of our units." Hannah sent the code for the Riese team's frequency, hoping it would respond and make itself clear. If they had to fight this, Hannah wasn't sure whether or not she'd prefer the battleship...

Incoming Call

"Roxanna... I..." This battle had gone from a fantastical worry, to a mess of magnificent proportions. Another alien, this one clearly aiming to be on their side, and one less battleship to deal with. "What in the world is going on?" Everything had decided to culminate in this battle. It was already harrowing enough, the aftermath would be... "Astin s-says they're on our side now... I... What do we do?" This was not his area of knowledge. For now, at least, the machine hadn't aimed its weapons at them.

[Phoenix]

"We'll have to see if things stay that way," Megumi noted, "She's not patched up yet, and I could see her getting quite angry, soon." She feared Alriana might not like it if and when the doctor ordered a sample taken. It didn't help that the restraints had already come off. Abigail would be jealous, and rightly so. Treating Alriana's wounds would go a lot better if they could use SIEG on her, but it was designed specifically for humans. She felt at best it wouldn't be as potent, and at worse there would be some adverse negative effects. Nothing lethal, but ... testing it on an isolated tissue sample would be enough of a quick and dirty test to see if they could move forward. In the spirit of not wasting time or risking some other problem, she would just ask first.

To Tiffany, she said, "Aboard the ship? We're fine for the moment, but last I checked they're still fighting, outside." That reminded the doctor that she ought to fall back on her older setup so she could monitor the other pilots and pester them if they got themselves hurt. So much to do ... For now she set Tiffany's head down at the console she was planning to monitor the pilots from, and booted the thing up. It was still set up for its prior purpose, so Megumi got the pilot feeds up with minimal effort. "Keep an eye on this for me and call me over if anyone's in serious trouble."

"Actually ... Cheryl, can you see if Alriana here knows what SIEG is and what it does? I'd normally run some quick tests on some tissue samples, but since the sedative option is off the table now, actually getting a sample could be risky. If she knows or has already been treated with it, then we can just go ahead and get started." Not that the doctor wouldn't be doing some serious note taking while observing the results. Treating an alien with that stuff was going to be an interesting little experiment~ She could feel excitement pushing fear more and more off to the side, with reasoning about Alriana's robust form, endurance, and sheer body mass excusing any reluctance on her part. Oh great, the Cheryl bug was contagious ...

For now, control the bleeding, gather information, remove any bullets and debris, then ask the question, to SIEG or not to SIEG?

---

"Let's see now ..." Tonya took a moment to ponder something as the Reign was brought up to Catapult A for sortie. It seemed like the bump she felt from the sudden stop jostled everything into place. She gripped the controls and the Reign hunched over as the catapult grabbed hold of its feet.

"Don't waste any time out there, alright? Get Carlos and bring him back here by any means necessary!" Firmia still rushing her out the door ...

"On it. This is Galahad, taking off!" The Reign was shot out of the Avalon in the same second the launch bay had finished opening up, and the AMS unit immediately transformed into its flight mode. "Okay, beam rifle, beam cannon, beam saber, and vulcans. Ugh ... that'll have to do. Hopefully I don't run out of power this time around. Ready or not, little Rhea, here I come~"

---

Alright, Tonya was clear, though these callsigns were getting out of hand. Firmia wanted to focus her attention on the Chaldenes once the Rhea was gone, but when the Mantle met the Metis and they clashed, the Alkaev feared she would have to leave the battleships to someone else for the time being and try to help Hannah out. There was also something off about that suit. She recognized it but she was certain there was a different TK piloting it this time around. Either way, the Mantle had already taken too much damage for her liking, and it could only get worse if the two suits continued trading blows, so it was time to call her off.

"Mantle Team, I need you to pull out. You're taking way too much damage." Not to mention there was a new unit on the field. For some reason it had turned to face its mothership ... and that was when the shooting started. Wait a minute, did they really bring a wildcard like that into this fight and cut them loose? How desperate was Apotheosis, anyway? "AMS units keep your distance. I'll see if the Riese hasn't already contacted them. And Galahad, remember to focus on Carlos. Don't let anyone or anything slow you down."

Circumstances were improving quickly ... and oddly. All that was left was to take full advantage of it and not let up. "Vivian to the Riese-" she wasn't calling that colossus 'Bright Eyes' anytime soon, "whoever's in command right now, have you contacted the unknown, yet? The one that took out the Chaldene." She had half a mind to try, but only if it wouldn't be redundant.

---

Jessica said everyone, but she was having an impossible time proving to Brant that she actually meant it. He wondered what she thought of her crew if she was worried about something like this. Was anyone besides Abigail so thoroughly against androids that they would immediately shun her? When they learned that even Jessica hadn't known what she was, would anyone still be against her personally? What did she stand to lose besides Abigail's love? Those questions, coupled with her fear was getting under Brant's skin. Everyone else? No, he shook his head, just Abigail, at worst. And because of her, it was like Jessica couldn't even see the rest of her crew properly. Clearly. Otherwise she wouldn't be so terrified of them knowing. After all of these battles she should have known that.

Brant could admit to himself that he felt like chopped liver thinking on this. After all, even if literally every last person on the Riese wanted nothing more to do with her, he was still ... ... well, he wasn't a part of that crew anymore, and he didn't matter outside of this one unique exchange. Even Firmia's unchangeable opinion of Jessica was more important to her for some reason. Was he even here, right now ... alive and present in Jessica's mind, and not just a chatty coping mechanism? He supposed that too didn't really matter. "There's nothing to apologize for," Brant said, forcing himself to calm down long enough to reply, "but you're worrying about the wrong things. That's your crew on that ship. Think about it. How is this really going to play out in reality, you think?"

He had little choice but to ignore the incoming transmissions for now, though the bit of information getting through was helpful. That Chaldene hadn't fared well against the new machine, and since they'd launched it in the first place, they had Brant's sympathies ...

Edited September 18, 2018 by Phoenix

[Ursali]

Passing the android she had dismantled just moments ago had no effect on the alien. She didn't regret her actions, regarding this android at least, or something silly like that, if anything it was just proof that she'd have dealt with Jesicka just fine if she had been properly informed. Had her previous captors truly not known that she was an android? They seemed to know nearly everything else; a small part of her, the same part that longed to explore this planet, began to wonder if they had known and didn't tell her. But why would they do that? She couldn't make sense of it. She was roused out of her thoughts by her ride's slight struggle. Why had she insisted on carrying her after she had said she could walk? Moving around while injured was nothing new to the infiltrator. She decided to chalk it up to Cheryl's similarity to the other woman as they entered the infirmary and she was placed on a bed.

She squirmed in place as she tried to get comfortable on the bed. She had never really been able to accomplish that goal without resorting to curling up on her tail and this bed was even smaller than what she was used to. What's more, she was still restrained, making it all that much worse. Well, that was soon to change. As Cheryl started to remove the cuffs Alriana's mind raced. Does she not know what I can do? I could kill her even more easily than I took down the turrets. I could kill everyone here and move onto Jesicka; there wouldn't be any time to warn the others... But, then what? The thought surprised her, like an unexpected slap to the face. If she did kill Jesicka, what then? Would she be able to get off the Riese alive? The Almydis wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Would she be able to get back to her captors? Did she want to go back to them? That same small part of her from before definitely did not. 

Even though her restraints had been removed Alriana still hadn't moved her arms, her hands tightly balled into fists. Everything was so confusing now; she didn't know what to do. Should she continue her mission? Should she stay here and let them treat her wounds? What would they do after they had done that? She knew what the Sacarians would do to her if she went back without killing Jesicka, but she couldn't do that without at least killing Cheryl. I... I don't want to kill her. Nothing was supposed to get in the way of her mission, so why did she dislike the thought of killing Cheryl so much? She couldn't understand herself and it scared her.

[Nanami Touko]

Reality in View

Jess noticed the girl's hand immediately, awkwardly taking it and helping herself up. What would her crew really think? "That's..." Jess sighed. "An unknown. I know I can focus on Hannah... And how they see her. But... But she was always an android. It's different... Okay, not as different as I'm trying to portray it--" This system worked fast. She was already calming down considerably, even being able to consider what Brant was saying logically... "I guess... Roxanna... Firmia, maybe Elaine... Abby..." Those were the people Jess figured could turn to hate, though two were already there, despite relations with Roxanna having gotten better recently. Would she come to resent her now that she knew why she was such a successful captain? And Elaine... Was... Just, so distant, and she didn't seem to hate Hannah, but she despised Tarquin. He was artificial as well, even if he was biological.

"So no... It wouldn't be the whole crew. That doesn't mean I'm still not scared about it. This is hard, okay? I can't just accept reason when there's so much doubt surrounding it. Just..." The elevator dinged, Jess stepped out and clung into the sweatshirt over her shoulders tighter. "There's a program in me that's forcing me to calm down, and think things out rationally. Probably a part of the self preservation systems... So I get your point. I do... But the 'Jess' in me is still worried. I don't think I can stop that worry, until things come to pass." Jess sighed, stepping towards the elevators to go down to the living quarters... "At least... At least you're still here. Despite everything. Thank you." Jess knew that with Brant... It was genuine care. That made it hurt just a bit more, but, it still meant she had someone to talk to. "At least if my wildest fears come to pass and everyone ends up hating me, I'll still have someone that cares. Positive thinking, right...?"

Two to Think on

Cheryl sat down next to Alriana, who had tensed up once the cuffs had come off. "Mrs. Watanabe, try not to worry. She hasn't tried anything since we took her from the bridge, I'm fairly sure she's not about to now. You too, Bennet, get off that wall."

"That's still an alien!"

"Yeah, it's so cool~" That was disarming enough to get Olivia to break from her press against the wall, staring at Cheryl with her mouth wide open.

"You're insane! This whole boat is insane."

"Maybe... Alriana?" Cheryl waved gently at her, trying to get her attention. "I have three questions," she held up three fingers to emphasize her point. "First. Can we take off, your armor?" She pointed at the plating, then held her own coat, and motioned it coming off her shoulders, to try and help illustrate. "Two..." Cheryl reached over and held up a small bottle of the semi-viscous, clear solution of SIEG. "Do you know, what this is? Three. Have you had it, before?"

Comm Lines

"Ah, Vivian, we read you. This is ensign Calvin. Yes, the Ceres has made contact. Hannah appears to have distributed the squad's frequency... We should be hearing from our new friend soon."

Edited September 18, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[sweet podado]

A little giggle could be heard through the communicator in response.  "Oh trust me darling, that won't be the case, and I'll gladly answer any questions you humans have~," she told Astin, before blinking at the sudden new voice.

"Instead of unknown, could you please call me Vvi?  That would be wonderful hun," she drawled before imputing the code that was sent to her.  Once done she cleared her throat and began her introduction to the crew.

"Hello~.  Vvi here, part of the Luqari species and former royal," she purred, clearly enjoying this.  "I know you might have your speculations, but trust me when I say I mean no harm!  I simply wish to put those awful kitties in their place, and I had no plans in helping this organization." She then grinned.  "Once they equipped me with a robot of my own I knew they had made a grave mistake..."

"So, what do you say?  Will you accept me as a comrade, or shall I abscond?" 

[Shin]

(Words LATER)

Elaine Accel, Valor, move to 12,18 and Lunar Phase Shift Saturn 2
Tarquin Sense, Shield Bash Fatima

[Ursali]

Alriana didn't leave her internal-conflict induced stupor until Cheryl called her name, effectively snapping her to attention. She still hadn't decided on what she should do, but it wasn't like she could just sit around and work out a solution for this mess. At the very least she was likely to bleed out before she could come up with a suitable answer. Things were so much simpler when her world had been an eternal black and white, 'kill or be killed', 'follow our orders or be killed'. She doubted that she'd face such ultimatums from Cheryl. That was enough for her to make a decision, for now. She would continue to follow orders as usual, just... from a different master.

She hesitated at Cheryl's first request, however. Her armor was her last familiar thing in this foreign situation, her final defence from whatever the humans might spring on her. But she had asked if she could trust them and had instead been trusted. She could at least return the gesture. "...Yes." She stood up from the bed, careful to land with her better leg first. As she began to slip out of her armor Cheryl continued with her slowed questions, presenting the alien with a bottle of clear liquid. If the context had been different she would have assumed it to be water at a glance, but given what she'd heard on the way here and the not complete fluidity of the substance she knew what it was. She'd been treated with it after she began operating on this planet. As her armor dropped to the floor with a thud, revealing her blue-blood stained white t-shirt and black gym shorts, she answered the final pair of questions. "Yes, is wound h-heal. I... had before."

[Nanami Touko]

Bleeding

Alriana was being incredibly compliant, it was pretty nice to not have to worry about her going on a rampage in the med bay. As the armor came off, Cheryl was initially surprised at what she was wearing, had the Sacarians given her some normal clothing? Her first impressions didn't last very long, as she realized that the white tank top Alriana was wearing was... Sufficiently not white. "Uh... M-Megumi, that's a lot, of blood." She gulped, stay cool, you have to try and explain what Megumi has to do to her. If she comes over here with forceps and a needle, it might scare her into attacking us.

"Okay. Alriana, listen carefully. We, have to take the bullets, out of you. Okay?" There wasn't really a visual for that, Cheryl would just have to hope that she understood. It was good that she understood was SIEG was, at least... Were the Sacarians using it? Thoughts for another time. "And then this, has to go into you," she slowed down, pointing at the bottle, then at Alriana. "Heal wounds, right? But..." Deep breath, Cheryl. "We have to use a needle." She made a motion with her hand like she was squeezing an invisible one. "It might sting. You can hold my hand, if that helps." Cheryl then took a step off of the bed, motioning towards it. "Can you lay down, for us?"

[Phoenix]

Tiffany was too accurate for their own good. Megumi wasn't sure how they were going to get those bullets out without setting off their patient. Obviously the situation called for anesthetic, but those had to be administered in much the same way as the SIEG solution. Friggin' needles. Then again ... there were very strong topical versions she could use. Numb the area, dig out the bullets, close the area, apply the SIEG. That could work. Alriana wouldn't be feeling much more than the strange relief that accompanied total numbness.

"One second," Megumi said to Cheryl as she turned to search for the anesthetic. It was more of a minion fetch quest, but with Cheryl keeping the patient occupied, waiting around wasn't ideal. When she got back, she had pretty much everything she needed, though rather than a suture kit, she had an experimental replacement that somewhat resembled an ordinary bandage. It would be less uncomfortable once the numbing wore off, but keep the wound closed while the SIEG worked its science magic.

Holding up what almost looked like a can of spray paint, Megumi emphasized it for Alriana before she got started. "This will feel ... a little weird, at first," she said slowly, "but it won't hurt." Not much, at least. Assuming this worked on her, the initial sting would fade so fast she'd be unsure if it'd been real or not. Testing it on the nearest wound, Megumi gently sprayed one of Alriana's wounds twice and hoped she'd still have a head on her shoulders afterward. Tiffany was doing alright, but the doctor doubted she would fare quite so well.

---

"Friend is a strong term," Firmia noted to herself, grateful to anyone that enjoyed blowing up Apotheosis as much as she did, but dubious of any alliances. "Thanks for the update, Ensign," she replied cordially before closing the channel. She was also grateful that Hannah had been on the ball, there. Firmia had too much going on to be monitoring radio traffic, right now. Too many distractions and she'd accidentally steer the Avalon too close to the Riese. Flying this low to the ground also made tall structures a potential danger, even if it limited the enemy's ability to locate them and return fire.

Sure enough, the mysterious pilot--a member of another alien race, in fact, came through on an open channel and introduced herself. She wasted no time in laying most of her cards on the table, but her smooth talking and overall demeanor made Firmia less trusting than she otherwise might have been. She quickly decided that even if she had reservations about this, surprise additions like this would virtually always be Jessica's problem first and foremost. As long as the ships were sharing reasonable amounts of data and materials, the Avalon wouldn't be missing out. Keeping a safe distance would also help Firmia get used to the idea of working with aliens, something she admittedly hated the idea of at the moment. There was always something to work on ...

"This is Firmia Alkaev, Captain of the Avalon. Welcome to Earth, Vvi." Was she actually talking to someone that had been born and raised multiple light years from Earth? Holy crap ... "We gladly accept your offer." She wasn't trying to speak on behalf of the ANF, only for herself and her crew ... but she doubted it would come across any other way. At worst someone would probably just ask her not to do it, again. Not really worth worrying about ... "Now then, would you mind helping us clean up this mess? I'm sure it won't be long before the Sacarians show up, again."

She was well spoken and almost regal in her demeanor, but Firmia's heart was racing. She was talking to an alien ... not in person but what did it matter? There was going to be so much to process both physically and mentally once the battle was over, and this was not least among them.

---

Brant listened as Jessica tried again to work her way through the situation. She seemed to be taking his question fairly seriously now, thankfully. She was still scared, as she pointed out, and that was fine. Brant's main concern was not letting her low self esteem turn a bad situation into the end of the world. A while ago she'd been giving him yet another opportunity to turn on her, like she deserved it or something. That wouldn't do, and neither would setting herself up in other ways.

It turned out Jessica was getting help from ... herself, essentially. Certain programs were active now that she was exposed and one of them wasn't letting her have her usual way of freaking out. Brant was more than a little grateful to that particular program, but he couldn't say as much openly. He just grinned slightly at the first mention of it.

What Brant would have rather been grinning about was what Jessica said next, that she was glad he was still here. She thanked him, and something like that should never hurt this much, but it did. It was supposed to be positive thinking, yes. On the other hand, it reminded him that nothing short of the total destruction of her old life could possibly bring them anywhere close to where they had been before. And meanwhile I'm actually stupid enough to put my life and Chris' on the line just to talk with her. There's nothing right about this ... "Yeah ..." Brant eventually replied, "... positive thinking." Easier said than done.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Phoenix

[scorri]

The new alien was certainly a character, giggling and just casually chatting about their turning on Apotheosis. Thankfully others were speaking up, allowing Astin to turn back to the battle in front of them.

use repair kit, move to 13-20, liquid sword Saturn 2

[Ether]

Kim senses moves to 15,18 and hunts Fatima

[Xinnidy]

First... Second Contact

I SAID I DON'T NEED ANY MORE INFORMATION BOMBS TODAY. Whining internally to the powers that be, Roxanna leaned against her chair, taking a deep breath. She'd already yelled her lungs out ordering the bridge to get the Riese turning to graze past that battleship's beam attack, and now she was dealing with another alien first hand. Great. Not a Sacarian, huh? And then that alien was given the group frequency. It was disconcerting, to say the least. Roxanna didn't trust something that stabbed Apotheosis in such a fashion and acted all happy like that. She sighed. I can't escape it, we're going to have to deal with these aliens sooner or later. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, or maybe it was just her being pessimistic. Everything seemed much safer when they couldn't catch any sign of intelligent life in their observable universe...

"This is the... Standing Captain, of the Riese. Roxanna Martinson." She had no idea what a Luqari was supposed to look like, so Vvi's claims and standing were lost on her, at this point she'd take anything that wasn't an amorphous blob, really. "We do have an enemy in common... two, actually. I'd rather talk more after this fight is done, but I think we can work something out." At least they'd get help with the Sacarians. Uncle and Vance are going to have to deal with after this war. I am NOT going to play terran diplomat.

That was enough of the group channel for now, the Riese still needed to keep moving. "Please, for the love of god, get us away from these beams." She was fine with dealing with the Saturns once, but after the damage report... it was best to play safe, yeah?

Roxanna moves to 18-19, 17-18.

[Nanami Touko]

Positive Sinking

"I'm... I'm glad you didn't shut down comms on me. This is really helping, and... I... It would be nice to talk more often. I don't know how, comfortable you are with that, but..." She didn't know how to really finish that, as the elevator down floors opened up. Talking to Brant was calming, even if she wasn't trying to have that sort of relationship with him anymore. But, if it was too much for him... She wouldn't push things.

Chris, meanwhile, was rather worried about all of this. "Brant, if you need to get away from her for a bit, you can turn it off. You have to take care of yourself, too." She could feel, rather clearly, all of his little pains, and it was unpleasant, to say the least.

Elaine is enjoying her newfound power, and putting it to great use!
More Lunar Fist action!
(100% N/A%)
(8% 86%)
This punch hits hard!
256 coming in hard!
The Saturn fires back, but with a roll of:
(95,35)
I think she's good!
Elaine gains +25 EXP, +3 will!

Dorkin Senses that he's in a bit of a tight spot!
Sense popped, shield out, let's party!
(100!% 28%)
(44% 65%)
He hits!
66 comes from it!
Fatima swings back, but can't hit her target!
Tarquin gains +25 EXP, +4 will!

Astin does their best samurai impression!
(100% 45%)
(92% 4%)
Wewf
200 damage! Into the dirt!
Astin gains +200 EXP, +7 will!

"Carlos, I-I can't... We, were supposed to defeat them, what... What went, wrong...?

Kim charges in after Fatima!
(100!% 34%)
(89% 25%)
Major damage!
298!
"C-Carlos, I... I love y--"
The Rhea explodes, Carlos' cockpit getting tossed away in the blast!
Kim gains +400 EXP, +7 will!

Edited September 18, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

Last Man Standing

"F-Fatima! No! NO! GET AWA--" It all happened too fast, his lover wished for his safety foremost, and fought to the end to protect him... despite his wishes. His cockpit went crashing into... something, leaving the interior a rightful mess, after being slung hard by an explosion like that. Carlos was thrown to the ceiling unceremoniously, safety belts having snapped, and most other unattached equipment followed him. The cockpit was... tilted to the side, and moving, he'd probably been caught. Grunting, the man picked himself up, careful with the shattered glass that surrounded him. "God damn it..." It wasn't merely frustration that carried his voice, but a trembling whimper. He'd managed to stand, his left arm had been more than scratched by the glass, straight up bleeding unfortunately. It had been enough of a mess that glass had pierced some of his suit, especially on that side, but aside the gashes on his left arm he was in... decent enough condition. As long as not bleeding himself out counted for something.

He sighed, the pain still not kicking in, for better or worse, thanks to the adrenaline. "About damn time for your aid to show up, Firmia..." He wasn't really planning on dealing with the girl, leaving further comments alone unless she actually got to him physically. Now, however, it looked like an impossibility, he was in no state to return to Apotheosis. His communication had gone off. "Damn it, Louise. Damn it, Helena! Fuck those aliens. Fuck ever trusting them. They didn't do shit!" He kicked some broken apparel behind him, landing a resounding hit on the cockpit wall. All training and mental fortitude he had was giving, tears starting to flow. He reasoned with himself that he'd stop the dam once people inexplicably tried to contact him again. "Could've at least taken me with her..."

Edited September 18, 2018 by Xinnidy

[Ursali]

Alriana had been calm throughout the explanation, she had heard it all before, but Cheryl had made one mistake towards the end. At the mention of a needle Alriana went wide-eyed, unpleasant memories of her 'treatments' from the Sacarians instantly brought to the surface. Her tail began to sway rapidly and her skin lines once again accelerated. Had she made a mistake in trusting Cheryl? Part of her clearly thought so as she subconsciously prepared to lash out. No! She forced herself back to neutral and let go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She just... wants to help me. For some reason. She repeated the thought a few times, trying to force all of herself to believe it, as she wordlessly got back up on the bed. 

It wasn't long before the other woman in a lab coat came over, holding some sort of can in her hand. Despite the fact that it wasn't a needle she still tensed up in the face of the unknown treatment. She winced at the weird feeling as the spray interacted with her open wounds. It quickly turned into numbness, however, taking the pain she felt along with it. That actually wasn't too bad. She relaxed somewhat as she waited for the rest of her wounds to be sprayed.

[Phoenix]

"Whoa!" Tonya barely had time to change course as the Rhea exploded. She thought Carlos was toast, but his cockpit went sailing with him inside it. Acting on instinct, Tonya shifted to MS mode, using the Reign's arms and legs to slow herself down in time. Carefully manipulating the Reign's arms, she caught the cockpit with both hands and then pushed the machine's leg thrusters hard. The maneuver initially brought the Reign to a halt mid-air, uncomfortably close to the Rhea's flying debris, but then the continued thrust sent Tonya and Carlos both flying straight backwards, away from the carnage.

"Damn, we're on fire, today. Well, Apotheosis is ... Galahad to the Avalon. I've got him. I think he's okay in there ..." She'd been shaken up a lot worse in Alkaev exercises, and in cheaper cockpits. "Heading back, now."

"Good job. Get inside and make it quick," Firmia replied, breathing a sigh of ... partial relief. That blue Rhea had gone out of its way to secure Carlos' cockpit, something she'd never seen before. Apotheosis pilots were typically on their own in a battle, and either retreated safely by themselves in the end or died in horrific, unsalvageable explosions. Was Carlos that important to Apotheosis, or just that other Rhea in particular? Either way, the Alkaev had an odd feeling about what had just happened. It made her reluctant to radio Carlos directly and see if he was both alive and conscious.

Fortunately--in a sense, he sent her a message, though it seemed to be just before some kind of systems failure. The transmission failed from his end, and not in the usual way. They could and would check on him once he was safely aboard, so maybe for now it was best not to. Speaking of which ... "Sasha, Tonya's on her way back with a prisoner. I need you to get ready for them over there."

"You've got it."

---

A prisoner incoming ... Well, the brig wasn't in the hangar, so there was still a ways to go to move the captured pilot. Call it a design flaw, but the less an enemy combatant saw of the hangar, the better. "Stephanie, Jessica," he radioed the two androids, "I need you over here for a prisoner escort." No need for guns in this instance, so he didn't ask them to bring any. He considered giving the doctor a call too, but decided to wait until they knew the condition of the prisoner. On second thought ... "Are these open hours right now? We've got a prisoner incoming and I thought you should know. Apotheosis' cockpits might be better designed than ours, but just in case they aren't, I wanted you to know ahead of time."

---

No hissing, growling or other threatening noises came her way, so Megumi gave herself the green light to continue. She focused on the next wound, repeating the process. "So far so good. You're doing well, Alriana. Bennet, if you're feeling up to it, we can speed things up with you working on the extractions. Or, we can switch places." It didn't matter to her as long as they got Alriana patched up without having to fix anyone else along the way.

---

Talk more often ... it sounded nice, something worth looking forward to ... and also not very realistic. Jessica couldn't manage so much as a text message after Abigail got out of the brig. With things getting busier aboard the Riese all the time, and this exposed body of hers to deal with, Brant wasn't sure when she'd find the time, not to mention the motivation. The best case scenario in his mind saw them chatting maybe once or twice in the next couple of days, and then Abigail would get over her aversion to androids out of sheer necessity. After that, Brant wouldn't hear from Jessica again for ... a good while at least, and he sure as hell wasn't going to push things.

Chris still didn't like that he was putting himself through all of this, but for Brant outgoing love toward others wasn't just the occasional good deed. It meant doing what he could even if it hurt like hell, which it did in this case. "If you're here, I can manage," he assured Chris, cutting his voice from the comms briefly so only she would hear him.

"I'm not interested in comfort, Jess. What I do is for your sake, not mine. Besides, there are people looking out for me, so don't worry about that. If you need me, I'm here ..." Those words hadn't been easy to get out in the open, and Brant hoped he wouldn't always be this weak, for Chris' sake.

---

Firmia moves to 16,17 casts Alert (8 SP), has Marcia cast Shield (20 SP), and attacks Hyperion #5 with AV Funnels and support from Brant (HBR)!

Brant moves to 14,17 and initiates Twin Bird with the Mantle on Hyperion #2!

Edited September 19, 2018 by Phoenix

[TheRoon]

Vvi's appearance would have caught Aliza off guard, but she was currently experiencing in adrenaline rush from the last shot the made. She knew it dealt some severe damage, enough to cause the red robot to vanish. This caused the Italian to really lose herself to the rush. She listened in on the comms, but her brain didn't quite process everything at once. An ally alien on the field did stick out to her, but she couldn't quite take it in yet. So in the last few moments in the comm, she let out a surprising: "Holy crap..fantastico!" A word Vvi may not know, though it was easy to see she was excited. But in Aliza's celebration, words flashed across the screen. Words that caught her eye. "?" She peered into them, looking into what they said. There was a lot to say, but three big letters stood out among those words the letters being... "ATA..oh!" She recalled what was on the mech now, and what those letters meant. It meant it was time.

Suddenly the Sagittae's eyes shone off a very ominous glow in it's eyes, as it rose it's arm skyward. Almost pointing toward the very heavens themselves. Once it did something rose from a latch near the arm and quickly shot into the air. It was a very strange looking contraption made of steel and various other materials, it spun toward the magnificent sun above. The moment it stopped it's brief flight it popped open to take shape into a massive bow, one that started to make it's decent toward the red robot's hand, which was still extended to catch it and one smooth motion. When it accepted the bow, it took aim at it's target: A poor unsuspecting Saturn. Aliza took a controller in her hand while the console locked on perfectly. The ranger of a mech took a stance while the sun shined off the steel bow, as if it's next shot was blessed. It pulled back the wire of a string as electrical currents danced off it. The railgun portion of the bow had began it's charge. A blue light came forth from the barrel and became as bright as fire. It kept generating that light until Aliza finally did the deed and shouted. "ATA! Ciao!" With one pull of the trigger, the robot loosed the energy arrow wreathed in an almost azure like flame. It tore across the sky with a screech, jetting right toward it's target with deadly intent!

Aliza uses ATA and fires off a massive arrow on Saturn 5

She will then use Hit and Away to reposition toward 16/18

Edited September 19, 2018 by TheRoon

[Nanami Touko]

Paychecks

"The ANF does not, and will never pay well enough, for me to get near something like that, just to help pull bullets out of it! Not on my life, Doctor!" Olivia wasn't up against the wall, but performing surgery on this... This albino komodo from the ass end of space!

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "I'll do it, Megumi. Just spray this on the wounds, and let you do the rest? Hand over the can." It would be easy enough to take care of, and Alriana had been more than compliant, was the assistant just freaked out because this was an alien? Didn't she get it? The things this proved, the things they could learn from her, the fact that other intelligent, off world species existed! It was too amazing to be panicked over, and if they panicked, she was going to die. Stupid. Cheryl stuck her tongue out at Olivia, before looking back at Alriana with a smile.

"Trust me. We're going to make you better, okay? Then we can talk, and get you a place to rest." The Riese had plenty of spare rooms... Right?

Guest to Escort

"[Affirmative, Sasha. Reporting to the hangar for escorting.]" The succinct reply meant the two were on their way, hopefully quick enough to make it there when Tonya landed.

There When Needed

"... Alright." Chris was keeping an eye on the battle, a bit overwhelmed, really. Another arrival spelled more trouble for when the fighting was over, especially with weapons that powerful. Would she turn on them when Apotheosis was dealt with? "Just know that you don't have to be 'on' twenty-four-seven, Brant. You're a person, not a program. And that isn't a shot... Just... You've got limits like the rest of us. See to taking care of them." He always felt like the sort of person to put everyone else before himself... Even Jess.

"... Then, I'll be needing you a lot more. I thought you didn't want to talk... But... I guess you were just, wrestling with a lot. I'm sorry." Ding, again. Doors open, bottom floor.

"Uhm, Valerie, right?" Jess looked at the poor girl, she must've felt so out of place. "Do you have to get back to the infirmary? My room is just down the hall... So... Sorry for having you listen to all this, but I appreciated the company."

Firmia so very done with today!
(100% 19%)
(87% 11%)
Whoa nelly!
130 for Firms!
The Hyperion fires back, but isn't long for this world after missing...
Because here comes Brant!
You know what he has? 100% hit.
Bye Hyperion 5!
Firmia gains +200 EXP, +4 will!
Brant gains +100 EXP, +7 will!

Brant initiates TBM on Hyperion 2, Chris chuckles at dumb naming schemes!
(100% 37%)
(93% 68%)
148, crashing in!
The Hyperion counters with its very large gun!
(23% 13%)
(52% 99%)
What a miss~
Brant gains +20 EXP, +3 will!

An ear piercing blast! Aliza's high tech slingshot makes intense work out of the Saturn's armor!
(100% 35%)
(47% 18%)
Yeowza!
Hot tamales 161 damage! 
The Saturns tries to return fire!
(76% 10%)
(29% 24%)
Takes one on the chin!
119 damage back! Nothing to laugh about!
Aliza gains +30 EXP, +1 will!
 

Edited September 19, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

There. With a simple maneuver involving his shield, Tarquin had made enough space between himself and Fatima to move in for the finish. Funnels racing towards the Rhea to open, the quad remote turrets strafing around the melee-focused command machine, raining plasma upon it from outside the retaliation range of it's glaive. Using it's cannons against such mobile target would prove fruitless, the distraction giving enough time for the Artemis to close distance on the Rhea. Getting in close to something with a weapon like that, piloted by someone who had clearly shown themselves adept enough to nearly cut Tarquin and his Aria in half? Usually not advisable, but today? Today it just seemed right. With ARES active, everything had been coming up Seung-Min so far, and she'd be damned if the streak fell off here. Opening engagement proper with a few scattergun bursts to pummel the Rhea's armour, as it came to a true melee Kim replaced the MARS rifle, igniting both of the Artemis' Xiphos sabres in it's stead. Slamming them against the Rhea's beam glaive, both energy weapons sparking as their beams crossed, vying for dominance over their counterpart. It seemed first contact would be a draw as the Artemis' thrusters carried it to the side to evade a return swipe, beginning to strafe around Fatima.

At least she had Fatima's undivided attention with that one. One foot colliding against the pave, Kim used the momentum of kicking off the ground to careen back towards the Rhea at a breakneck pace, xiphos crashing into one side of the glaive, a funnel darting to an exposed back to sear it's mark into the Rhea's armour. Her offensive pushed back, the opposite end of the glaive swung offensively towards Kim to make space. Too slow. Catching it on the second xiphos, a familiar lock forming between four blades of energy, bright plasma burning off points of contact and onto the ground, melting pavement and igniting shrubbery. But this played into Seung-Min's favour, every moment the glaive was locked in a duel with her blades was a moment that the MARS funnels could freely fire in on the Rhea, burning away it's AB coating, denting it's inbuilt barriers and armour. Feeling the Rhea's glaive start to overpower her sabers, Kim moved herself back ever so slightly, taking advantage of Fatima's show of force to unbalance the Rhea, the knee of the Artemis filling the gap as it rammed into the chest of Fatima's machine, rattling it and it's pilot, creating just enough of an opening to lash out with the xiphos-

As the sabre ripped into the head of the Rhea, severing a majority of it's optics on it's way, the Artemis delivered a second kick to it's chest, forcing the machine backwards as the xiphos dislodged itself. Unfortunately, a blow to the head wasn't an easy finish in suits, that wasn't where the cockpit was, after all. Closing the gap in seconds, twin xiphos crashing in another shower of sparks against the Rhea's glaive, held defensively over it's head. In the air and lacking the grounding of the Rhea, the long glaive easily reversed the Artemis' strike, deflecting it's sabres and lashing out in turn, the counter barely evaded by the Artemis launching itself into the air, out of striking range once again.

"Tch... the Xiphos don;t have enough output..." Kim muttered to herself, allowing the sabres to dissipate as she pulled out her rifle once again, continuing to ascend. Aiming down sights at the Rhea, the barrel of the MARS rifle began to glow, a whirring ball of hot plasma gathering at it's tip as power fed through the length of the barrel, growing larger, brighter, hotter with each passing moment as the Artemis gained altitude.

"NOW!" Seung-Min affirmed mostly to herself, as Christina had remained generally silent for the duration of ARES activation. Thrusters roaring to maximum, the Artemis began to plummet towards the earth at an absurd pace, the gather ball of plasma ejecting itself from the magnum ahead of the machine, colliding with the Rhea as it struggled to deflect the blast between it's glaive and protective measures. But it didn't matter. Zanbar flaring at the base of the MARS rifle, the heat blade was already reaching it's peak temperature, air shimmering around it as the heat began to swell. Careening downwards with an ear-shattering boom as the sound barrier gave way around it, the Artemis rocketed down from the sky, striking at Fatima's Rhea with it's zanbar, cutting clean through the shaft of it's glaive on impact.

"이것은 당신을위한 끝입니다!" Kim roared, the impact far too strong to be stopped merely at the Rhea's weapon. Cutting cleanly into it's head, heat blade searing and sizzling it's metal frame all the way through with relative ease, stopping itself in the soil after melting through the Rhea from head to groin. Coming clean from the earth with a tug, the Artemis began to hover away, the Rhea's remains detonating soon afterwards.

[scorri]

Their target was quickly disabled and Astin turned back towards the rest of the field in time to see Kim's display of aggression against the remaining enemy leader mech. They winced as the bot violently exploded. Little chance of anyone surviving that. It did appear as if the other pilot had survived, their cockpit being flung away from the explosion, to be collected by Tonya, but the flames spoke to the other melee fighter's fate. So many deaths in just this battle. "How long until this war is over..." How long until my fight is done? They couldn't waste time thinking about it now. They had to focus and stick to their role. It was all they could do.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah... Well... Yes, it's Valerie. Or Val if you prefer. And n-no, I don't think so at least. The doctor hasn't called for me. A-and... I'd rather make sure I've done everything I can to help you. I'm here for this crew. All of it. So I need to do what I can." She exited the elevator glancing around. "R-right, you're one of the first ones down the hall, right? Why don't you go down there. I'm going to make you something warm to drink. Would you prefer peppermint tea or hot chocolate? O-or something else if you'd rather? And then I'll bring it down and make sure you're all settled in. O-ok? That way you can finish up your conversation without my intruding on it anymore..." It was clearly a personal one and she really shouldn't be listening but it had been impossible not to do so up until this point.

Edited September 19, 2018 by scorri

[Ursali]

The amount of care in her, well, care was a new thing to the wounded alien. She'd always hated returning from missions, and not just because it meant it was time to return to her glorified cage. Her after mission care was far from caring, if not downright torture. She'd have to be wrestled into the operating room and then strapped to an operating table so they could treat her without being killed in the process. It didn't matter if a tool felt pain so to use anaesthetic on her would be a waste. Naturally, she struggled to escape the pain and lashed out as best she could, but that only made the whole process worse on herself. 

"You or'azath. Struh-ain-gee," she corrected herself as best she could. She wasn't about to complain anytime soon, however; if these humans were strange then she didn't want them to be normal. She wondered about where Cheryl intended to take her after she had been treated. The only room she had ever known as her own was a cell filled with a variety of knick-knacks that she waited for missions in; could it be that was where they would put her? It wouldn't surprise her if they did after what she'd done. But in the end, no matter where she ended up, it would be all the same. All that had changed was her masters, who just happened to be kinder than the last. In her head, she was still just following orders.

[sweet podado]

"Hah~, such manners~.  Such command presence.  Oh I like you," Vvi couldn't help it as she bit down on her lower lip.  Hopefully she'd get a chance to meet this lovely lady.  "I have no problems in helping you out dear~.  As for the Standing Captain, that seems like a good compromise," she added, already focusing on her next target.  

There was another voice though, much more chipper if her exclamation was anything to go by.  She was confused at first with the words she had said, but then chuckled since it was probably a way to express some form of surprise or delight.  "Nice to meet you too dear.  By the sound of it you seem like one of those perky human girls....I'm sure you're a lot of fun to have around~," she says, the mirth still lacing her words as she readied her lance once more, pointing now at one of the Hyperions that was still standing.

Not for long though.

On to the task at hand, Vvi's smile lessened, turning into a subtle upper twitch of her lips as she focused on her target.  As the lance rose above the robot's head, charging with as much power as it had done so when firing at the bridge, Vvi closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and relaxed.  When they opened once more, they held a burning fire that could not be quelled.

Not until her people were given the justice they deserved.

"May the All Mother guide this beam to strike true.  RHONGOMYNIAD!" she yelled, and all at once the lance was brought down, firing its beam towards the enemy that stood no chance...

Vvi casts Focus, attacks Hype 2 with Rhongomyniad

Edited September 19, 2018 by sweet podado

[Nanami Touko]

Whew lordy have mercy.
(100% 49%)
(91% 39%)
:sweat:
199 damage, h-haha.
The Hyperion explodes before it can even activate its self destruct!
Vvi gains +250 EXP, +5 will!

Strange

"Struh-ain-gee? Oh. Heh. Not really... Alright, maybe a little bit. But, you're hurt. Megumi is a doctor... And even if you attacked the ship, you didn't kill anyone. We can ask questions about whether or not this is the right thing later... For now, we should get you patched up." Helping an enemy might've been strange, but Cheryl couldn't really see Alriana as one. Maybe it was the circumstances surround Jess, but things just felt off. Why would she be so afraid of medical equipment? That reaction to the word needle hadn't gone unnoticed, and now she thought they were strange for trying to treat her? Got plenty of questions for you later...

Hot Cocoa

"Sure. Hot cocoa... Sounds really nice, right now." Does it even matter, if I'm not human? Do I have to eat anymore? I could still taste things... So I guess I'm programmed for food. Which is, really impressive, honestly... Thinking about it, I've never had a stomach ache. Oh, wow... Jess hadn't considered that weird, she just figured she'd taken care of herself... Now, it was definitely weird, no one would exist for nineteen years and never get one. Am I even nineteen? Too many questions. Jess turned to head to her room, she had a meeting with a bed and a blanket.

Edited September 19, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[TheRoon]

The Sagittae rose it's arm up to the blast, taking it head on. A real lickin', but it kept on tickin'. "Agh...I guess it didn't appreciate that...hm?" Then Aliza heard a certain alien (literally) voice over the console. 'Who the...oh wait...' She thought for a minute, recalling a voice during her bloodrush moment. The Saturn's shot brought her back to reality, so she was able to remember what little of the conversation she had caught. Was this new girl the alien they brought up? "Perky? Uuuh thanks?" She spoke aloud. She wasn't sure how to take that, but it went under the complement box for now. The voice really stood out to her, almost as if she was drunk on something fierce. But before she could give a preliminary score based on that alone, the white robot brandished it's magnificent lance and let loose a beam that rivaled her own bow. "Whoa!" She once again called out, in awe of the blast. "Nice shot there lance lady!"

[scorri]

Val watched Jess head off with a small frown, and let out a sigh. She had no idea what the best way to handle this was, but hopefully the hot chocolate would help. Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a small pan, some milk, and some coco powder that she found in the pantry. It was good there was some coco powder there, given she had no other way to make it. She stirred the powder and milk in the pan, waiting for it to heat up. The powder slowly dissolved into the milk, and she carefully turned up the heat. As it warmed, she poked through the cabinets. "Ah, perfect." A few small drops of vanilla into the pan, a few shortbread cookies put onto a plate, and she was ready. As the coco came to a good temperature, she carefully poured it into a mug. "Wouldn't do to burn myself now... That'd be embarrassing to explain to Olivia..." Right, that should be everything. Time to go see if she could help at all...