RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission 35: Kishi Kaisei

[Ametheliana]

Captain Hoshi looked up from the zesuaium armored forearm of her Mindy at the away team spread through the armor bay. With her helmet under her crooked arm, her dark blue eyes looked from the battle hardened to the battle weary.

Molli and Sif's loadouts looked as different as could be from one another. The latter was built on being a tank that could defend her team members with shield and spear alike. There was something deeply moving about the way Sif Ignemar had grown to embody the Neko's valkyrie heritage since joining the Kaiyō almost two years ago. Next to her, Molli’s Mindy built for maneuverability and with its detachable arm spoke of the Nepleslian’s need for speed and desire to stay ranged. Opposites that complimented one another and the ship they served on well.

Her attention moved from those crewmen she had taken on two years ago to the newest pair of additions. Command had thought they would be good additions to the hero ship after their rescue by the Kaiyō away team and subsequently fighting side by side with some of Yamatai’s most well-known warriors. With the batch of soldiers that joined when Molli and Sif did, Hoshi had taken a lot of time to search her soul and decide to bring on new crewmen. This time, twenty-four hours hadn’t even passed since these two Rikugun women had fought with the Kaiyō team. There hadn’t been time for promotions, let alone introductions. She was not as sure as command had been and the unease sat on her pink face, plainly furrowed where her eyebrows met.

“Got the mission details?” Hoshi asked as she took a squatting position in front of the two new recruits in their Daisy armors.

There hadn’t been time between securing the temple on Elysia Novus and responding to reports of NMX presence on Rabaal and so in lieu of a briefing, the Kaiyo team had been given a truncated dossier and not much more.

“Mishhuvurthyar spread their forces to not only attack Elysia, but Yamataian allied planets as well. They’re attacking this Poku planet but haven’t established a foothold—not yet. There are supply caches and possible battlements from when it was a NMX stronghold that we don't want them securing. We’re going in on foot to designate priority targets that the Kaiyō can take out from air. The Poku have good maps but didn't chart past fortifications to not mess with the natural order of things, so we're going in mostly blind.”

 

[aitoseigi]

A lot could change in a day.

Twenty-four hours ago Asuka had her comfortable, familiar routine of drilling, honing her demolitions skills, and socializing as best she could with her squadmates, since mingling with the natives of Elysia Novus had proven a non-trivial task. It wasn't perfect, but nothing was. She'd been pretty secure in her place in the universe.

Now? Now her squad and just about everyone else except Miori was gone. She'd found herself assigned to a ship of all things, thanks to the infinite wisdom of people much higher ranking than herself. Not just any ship, but a ship full of people and faces she'd only had a passing familiarity with from news reports, never thinking she might meet them in person. There had been just enough time to see to her injuries, make sure her Daisy was back in fighting trim, and move past how many times she'd cheated death... especially since it sounded as if she was going to have to go right back into the cheating death business.

Well, that's fine. At least I'm not bored.

Mint green eyes blinked slowly as she listened intently to her new CO, one she knew precious little about, but there would hopefully be plenty more time for that later. A scouting mission seemed dangerous enough, but surely it couldn't be worse than her baptism by fire and psychic shriek at the Temple. Spotting and designating targets... that she could do.

"And we've no idea what degree of opposition to expect, ma'am?" she asked, already suspecting the answer. Part of her itched for the challenge, wanted to prove that she was capable of much better than what she'd displayed at the temple. A smaller part remembered the tentacles constricting around her and... well. No point dwelling on that. Focus on the mission.

 

[Caelesetos]

Miori stood comfortably in parade rest holding her helmet in the crook of her elbow, her red skin and white hair clashing with the dull green of her Daisy armor. She actively ignored how itchy her right wrist was from the hemo tank's healing by focusing on her relief at how fast her injuries healed in the hemo tank. She remembered breaking a finger once on Ryu-Tochi during training, and due to the relatively minor injury and the severe rationing of medical treatment during their time marooned on the planet, Miori was forced to let it heal naturally.That was something she definitely didn't want to relive, especially with how extensive her bruising was and the fact that wrist had been nearly dust instead of bone. To say Miori was thankful to have modern medical treatment would be a massive understatement.

Thoughts of her recent injuries led her to recheck, via her SPINE interface, her armor's systems for what was probably the dozenth time since getting back into the repaired suit. Confirming, once again, that everything was operating properly. Her nearly compulsive checking of its systems was not due to any mistrust of the engineer that repaired it; but instead, was amazement. A few short hours ago, due to poor decision making on her part, the Daisy was nearly non-functional due to the damage inflicted on her by that Mishu which she had allowed to barrel into her. The fact that the suit hadn't just been scrapped; instead, it was in nearly perfect working condition, spoke volumes about the skill of the person who had repaired it.

During and after her recheck, Miori listened to her new CO attentively with her heterochromatic gaze not wavering. The bit about the Poku having left nature intact in the area piqued her interest. She respectfully held her tongue while the only other surviving member of her former squad asked her own question, then Miori followed up with her own.

"Any information on the type of terrain we are going to be operating in, Taisa?" She hoped that if it was similar enough to Ryu-Tochi's biome that she'd be able to atone for her recent mistakes at the Temple and prove herself valuable to her new crew. The last thing Miori wanted was to follow her mother's early career mistakes.

 

[Gles]

Returning from a blood-soaked battle in the heart of Elysia's religious mecca, Molli was just happy to be alive and in one piece. For the first time since joining the Star Army, she'd gotten through a mission without suffering some kind of painful injury. A large part of that was due to Sif's herculean efforts in watching her back like a true valkyrie, an act of care that the roughhewn Nepleslian had a difficult time hiding her appreciation for. Ever since they'd landed, Molli hadn't stopped fretting over Sif's well-being; she behaved more like a clingy nurse than the foul-mouthed and aloof woman most knew her as. With her helmet firmly beneath her arm, Molli's concern was writ plain on her face and in her fussy tone of voice.

On their way to stand at attention before their captain, Molli ducked beneath Sif's shield to get a better look at her arm. "Yer shield alrigh'? Ah know y'ent th'type t'whinge 'bout any hurts," she said, mechanical eyes glowing from the scanning software overlay that coated her crimson irises. "How 'bout yer tail? Y'ent supposed t'grab guns wiv that, ya idjit," Molli's voice turned as dour as her frown, which quickly gave way to a bashful grin, "...even if it were bleedin' impressive..." The scan turned up results that came as no surprise -- her comrade was fighting fit, but Molli wasn't about to let that get in the way of keeping Sif company even as they came to a stop in front of their tiny captain.

Shifting her weight to one leg, Molli's gaze turned from Sif to her forest-colored squadmates; the rikugun survivors had become the newest members of the Kaiyo, as far as her IFF sensors were concerned. They'd acquitted themselves well in that temple, that much was undeniable; the Nepleslian spared a polite nod for Asuka, who was in good condition after her harrowing encounter with that Mishhu. At the same time, it was hard for Molli to shake the feeling of being threatened by these new recruits. Even as rookies, neko were still physically and mentally superior to her in every possible way. Could she, a mere mutant, keep up with so much talent? Molli knew that she'd have to work harder than ever before to justify her position.

Natural talent or no, surviving a battle like that was no easy task -- these girls deserved more than the begrudging tolerance she'd displayed on Elysia. "...We'd give ya th'grand tour, but, y'know..." Molli shrugged, one hand ran through her bangs to rub at the obsidian stumps growing out of her forehead. "Soo-keekee 'n...uh..." Molli pointed to Asuka, then snapped her fingers repeatedly as she closed her eyes. "Wotcher name? Didn' catch it." A convenient excuse to cover a possible lapse in memory, one of her coping mechanisms born from the chaos and death of her urban planet.

While she waited for an answer, Molli read over the dossier with the look of someone who'd just swallowed a sour piece of candy. "Cannae believe this...stumblin' in th'dark ent no propah plan," she said, not bothering to hide her irritation in front of the Captain or the impressionable rookies. "Actually, ah ken believe that, command prolly thinks we ken do anythin' on short notice." The document had all the hallmarks of a rush job; super brief summations, not enough information, and nothing resembling a basic battle plan. "Welcome tah th'miracle worker crew, ladies," Molli said to the rikugals, waving the dossier high and rolling her eyes, "Hope yer ready t'get stuck in!"

 

[Ametheliana]

"Good questions," Hoshi's skepticism took a back seat as she responded with a genuine nod oof approval that made her blue to white hair sway. "Where the NMX or Poku didn't clear for infrastructure the planet is mostly woodland with a few regions that support more or less rainfall. I've read reports that some forests have expanded, which might mean old NMX installations have been overtaken by nature. Infrastructure may potentially be located in drier regions where the flora is less dense, too." She shrugged her cheek towards her shoulder, "A bit of almost everything and we can't be sure where we're headed."

"Which is about the opposite answer to your question, Uehara-hei," Hoshi said to the other infantrymen. "SAINT satellites and those living on planet have substantiated one another. After their forces backed out from Elysia, a detachment of around seventy ships entered orbit and touched down this morning."

"We can expect a lot of enemy troops on the ground and aerial support for them and a lot less for ourselves, so stay sharp. Everyone linked up with one another's AIES? I foresee that we won't maintain perfect grouping, so be prepared to peel for others if they need it and keep in contact throughout. If I'm not hearing a play-by-play from you over comms, I'll assume you need support."

 

[Nameless]

24 hours ago, Sif experienced her first open skirmish as a foot soldier since being assigned on the Kaiyo. No espionage, no disguises, just a shield, a gun, and a suit worth more than she could fathom. Reflecting upon her memories of the battle, she felt that she was a little behind in performance. Her gun handling left much to be desired, as were her tactics. At first it looked fine, being able to take the lead to get the jump on the NMX, but once the fighting broke out, her nerves still got the better of her.

Replaying that battle in her mind while retired to her room, there were crucial moments where her stance broke, and her battlefield awareness became nearly non-existent. Her armor thankfully survived the volley of Aether she got hit by, but that nonetheless left a mark on her pride. She couldn't allow herself to be blindsided like that. It wasn't until she reviewed the data from her Mindy that she realized how much of the battlefield was a blank in her mind at the time. It was a lot to process for a single day, but it spurned her on to make adjustments on her focus.

She took it upon herself to bear the shield, but that meant nothing if she couldn't figure out who needs to be behind it.

Regrets aside, the insights she gleaned from the experience were undeniably precious. There were no huge slip-ups, and she preserved the experience by making it back to the ship. That was what mattered for growth in her combat prowess, living until she could back up all her data. After-action reports are well and good, but rolling back to before an epiphany was such a loss.

It was in that way that she partly understood why Molli was so fussy lately. It lifted Sif's spirits up to know that Molli cared that deeply, even when realistically, it should be the other way around. After all, a Nekovalkyrja's essence is fully digital, it has no issue when it comes to swapping bodies. The same can't be said about organic brains, as its akin to converting analog audio waves to digital ones and zeroes. Differences may be minimal, but a spark of life is lost in the transition. That is Sif's belief, at least.

In response to Molli's worries, Sif gave her a sheepish smile. "I already told you, I'm completely fine now. My heart's calmed down significantly since the fight, and my tail's completely fine too thanks to the armor. Although... it did take an extra hour to brush out the knots after being enclosed for so long. But definitely came out better than when I had to stuff it down my leg for a whole day. The armored tail on the Mindy actually has a good amount of strength on it. Wonder if I can put a stinger on it, or some kind of blade. No one's going to expect a Neko with a scorpion tail!"

When Molli's attention shifted over to the new recruits, so did Sif's. Would it be prudent to call them the new rookies? They may be new to the ship, but they could have easily been in service for much longer than Sif was. She was excited to learn more about them, once things have calmed down a bit. "I'm glad I get the chance to see you two in action again. Looking forward to working with you once more."

With one hand holding a helmet, and the other holding the Elysian spear she was allowed to keep, Sif had to look over Molli's shoulder to read the briefing. Another mission of uncertainty, but by now it was to be expected.

Listening to Hoshi's responses and input on the matter, Sif could already picture the environment they'll be going through. "Dense vegetation means we won't be able to see as far... Not to mention the noise we'll be making moving through it. But the enemy will have to deal with it too. And if they're moving in large groups, that is, if they didn't land straight onto their old bases, they'll be easy to follow if we find a trail."

 

[Gunhand4171]

As the crew prepared, William strode into the armor bay. Running a hand through his hair he took in the new comers. "Well look at that. We have some new faces." The massive man said as he moved towards his Cyclops. Opening at his approach, he stepped inside and closed the armor around himself. The suit's red monoeye turned to look back at Miori and Asuka. "Welcome to ship. We may have met very briefly, but I didn't introduce myself. We were a little busy crashing through the ceiling." William added with a chuckle. "Names William. Or if your feeling formal, Captain William Sanders of the NSMC Berserker Company."

In his mind, he looked over his systems. His new pilebunker was still in working order. Grabbing his Odachi off the rack, he attached the scabbard to his hip. All his other systems were green. He turned and gave a thumbs up to Hoshi. "All set. Are we teleporting in or do I get to add to my orbital drop total?" He asked.

 

[aitoseigi]

The green eyed neko nodded at the assessment of what was known--or wasn't known--about the situation. In a way it was straightforward enough, lots of enemy soldiers to eliminate, but the details were important. She'd been given all the information anyone had, and that would have to be enough. OR at least, complaining about it wouldn't make the task at hand any easier. "Thank you."

It was fairly safe to say that Asuka had never envisioned getting attached to such an eclectic bunch. She managed to give Captain William Sanders--I think I'll stick with sir, that's pretty harmless in most cases--a nod as he vanished into his armor. Her own, which she'd thought was fairly decent a few days ago, was starting to feel a bit paltry. After her experiences in actual combat, she couldn't help but wish wistfully for more ammunition and more explosives.

Molli and Sif had a nod as well, and she fought the urge to just wave to everyone in general. Introductions, formal or informal, could come later, she supposed, whenever the captain saw fit, and certainly there were more pressing issues at hand than figuring out where she'd be bunking. Or where the bunks were. At least I'm pretty sure what ship I'm on. She caught herself tapping a foot and made herself stop by main effort.

"Asuka, ma'am," she said to Molli. "Santo-hei Uehara Asuka, Eighth Army Rikugun." Her present status attached to Kaiyo she left unspoken for the moment. "It's fine, we... haven't gotten settled in really. Not exactly a lot of time, you know?" The blonde lifted her head slightly, "But we're both ready to do our best," she added, feeling fairly confident to speak for the two of them on that score. Then she set herself with double checking her own AIES. That, at least, was simple enough, and the rote nature of ensuring she was properly linked with everyone else helped to settle her. There were a lot of names to learn, after all.

 

[Caelesetos]

Miori nodded along to her Taisa's elaboration. Miori's eyes shown with excitement when the description of the surrounding area began to remind her of the crash site she grew up in on Ryu-Tochi. Flashes of the very in depth woodland survival training she received during that time passed through her mind's eye. When her Taisa mentioned AIES, Miori checked her suit's system again. Everything was still in the green, her internal HUD confirming the communication connection in response to her thoughts. "I'm all connected ma'am and I'm familiar with similar conditions, hopefully that will come in handy." she said to Taiyou-Taisa with a small smile before slightly embarrassedly returning to her military bearing. Thankfully it was during this bit of a faux pas that Ignemar-Hei and Byrne-Hei walked up to her and Uehara-Hei.

Miori managed to suppress a grin at the mispronunciation of her family name. This was her first time having a conversation with anyone who had a different accent. Miori adamantly asserted to herself that the memories from her mother did not count. When Uehara mentioned that they both were ready to do their best Miori's military bearing melted away and was replaced by her emphatically nodding in agreement. "Byrne-Hei, I'm excited to work with you again. Also, I still want to get the equipment and training to do that teleportation move you did in the temple. It was just the coolest!" Miori said while beaming at the Nepelesian. Then maintaining the same level of excitement turned to Ignemar-Hei. "Your spear toss really saved me back there as well. If you hadn't taken out those tentacles I would probably have woken up in a new body who knows where. I really appreciate it Ignemar-Hei." She did a bit of a bow highlighting the depth of her feelings.

When she straightened she saw the imposing sight of the ID-SOL, whom had clearly been a part of the drop team that decided the outcome of the earlier fight. Without thinking Miori brushed some of her stark white hair that had fallen onto her face back behind her pointed red ear while glancing about for Master Sergeant Yuri. Ever since his timely arrival she couldn't help but think about him and every time she did her heart raced a bit. She knew it was silly, but even with a digital brain she couldn't escape the clutches of a dumb crush. "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Santo-Hei Tsukiki Miori, its a pleasure to be working with you again so soon." Miori replied and slowly managed to get her military bearing back. Though she wasn't sure if the Captain preferred a more relax atmosphere or not.

In that moment she realized just how much she needed to learn about her new found crewmates. Miori found herself excited for this mission. So far everyone she had met had greatly impressed her, so she knew she would learn a lot from these veterans.

 

[Ametheliana]

"Miracle worker crew?" Molli's words were repeated in Hoshi's mouth like the captain was tasting something for the first time and letting it roll over her whole palate. When Miori recalled aloud the ways in which Sif and Molli had fought at the Temple, it looked as if she had decided she liked the taste.

Hoshi swallowed down her thoughts and beamed with pride at the two crewmen. "Who needs after action reports when Tsukiki-hei has such strong words of praise, huh? William asked how we're getting down there. Since the Kaiyo is providing such direct support, prepare to exit out of the power armor bay."

"Quick exfiltration will rely on the Chusa's heavy lift teleport system. That goes doubly so for you Neps and infantry. That means you two." She pointed to the new recruits then her fingers slid to the Kirie painted in the red and white colors of the Ketsurui Clan that stood taller than its Mindy and Daisy counterparts. "Her mecha can teleport other armors so go to her if the fighting gets tough. Unless you got an ST backup this morning or Wil has more of those brain spiders. Then, well..."

"Those sting even after you get revived," Aratani said, out of armor and idly touching the green mecha. Her hand shifted to rub the nape of her neck and stepped away from William's decorated Nepleslian Cyclops armor to clear the path to the starboard side door and its flickering force field. Outside of it they could see the ship quickly descending. There was one of those lush forests Hoshi had mentioned directly below them to provide cover for their exit.

"Ready to see us off?" Hoshi asked aloud.

The ship spoke through comms, "Affirmative, Captain."

"That's Boss, our MEGAMI," Hoshi informed the new girls before tucking her helmet over her pink, white, and blue visage. Hoshi hung back to watch her team leave the ship.

 

[Gles]

Molli started to spin the helmet in her palms once Miori brought up her little teleportation stunt -- a reckless maneuver that the glory-seeking Nepleslian had no trouble passing off as a tactically-sound gambit. "Ya saw that, eh?" Molli said, her disposition proud and bashful in equal measure as she looked upward with blushing cheeks. "Ah wouldn' try it, s'bit dangerous..." Miori had definitely earned some bonus points on the like-o-meter for using her last name -- it'd been a long time since Molli felt like a peer to a real Yamataian. Slowly but surely, the wall she'd reconstructed around these strangers began to crumble. Refreshed on the names of their new additions, Molli's metal eyes glowed with the AIES registration HUD she dutifully updated.

While the crew busied themselves with a tactical analysis of their environment, supplanted with a reminder of Princess Aiko's teleportation capabilities for the newbies, Molli double-checked her armaments once more. The sleek, azure-coated TAPS had its heatsinks replaced, with new spares lining Molli's waist -- a cursory examination already came up satisfactory, and so she'd set it back on its magnetic harness over the small of the Mindy's back. Next came the bulky pistol that Molli typically favored when all other options failed -- she hadn't fired it once on Elysia, but with the close quarters nature of their upcoming operation, she'd definitely have an opportunity to use it, perhaps with the kalamari arms. Last but certainly not least, the mass-produced but no-less personal katana that retracted once drawn; its zesuaium blade was still stained by the dried blood of the Mishhu, despite Molli's best efforts to wipe it clean like a proper samurai. But a proper samurai she was not -- the weapon still felt foreign in her hands, a reflection of Molli's inexperience and lack of confidence in using it.

After setting the retracted blade back to her waist, Molli's software ran further diagnostics of the external hardware she'd fitted onto her suit for the operation; the capacitors still functioned at full capacity, there wasn't any damage to the kalamari system, and all of the support bits had returned to her legs intact. Though the finer details of environmental analysis and battlefield tactics eluded the dull-witted Nepleslian, Molli believed she could still make herself useful as a competent fighter. Besides vehicles, that's what she was best at -- the rest of the crew could do the thinking for her.

Molli bumped into Sif's shoulder with her own, "Les wrap this up, 'n ah'll look into makin' yer stinger," she said, leaning back to peer down at her comrade's armored tail, one hand subconsciously feeling where her own used to be. A pang of jealousy welled up when she recalled Sif's woes with brushing out knots.

Ah miss brushin' mine...

 

[Nameless]

Miori's enthusiastic remembrance of Sif's spear work caused the latter to chuckle in embarrassment, cheeks getting slightly flushed. "D-don't mention it, I just wanted to distract it a bit." This was, at least a partial lie, as the first thing on her mind when she found the spear was to get payback for getting hit, coupled with the frustration of getting flanked, but she couldn't admit to such weakness just before a mission, especially when she just received such kind words. "The spear blasting out aether did catch me by surprise. I almost fumbled my gun when it whipped back to me."

Lining up by the exit, Sif took a good look at the forest below and wondered what it'd be like camping out in such a forest. The books and shows often painted it as such a relaxing activity, with a lot to see and do to unwind from city life. Yet it was far from easy considering the multitude of bugs they might have to contend with, or the kinds of dangerous fauna that could be lurking under every bush. Not to mention the bigger variety that could wreck a whole campsite because they caught the scent of food.

Although now was not the time to be daydreaming about recreational survival, Sif filed it away in her mind for later, bringing the mission objective back into focus.

As she wistfully admired the vegetation, she felt Molli's shoulder bump and her promise at making the tail stinger. With another chuckle, Sif responded with, "Molli, I didn't know you were into tinkering. In that case, I'm looking forward to what you come up with."

Now knowing that the armored tail was able to carry a good amount of weight and also being somewhat prehensile, Sif used it to hold on to the spear while she popped her helmet on. Having her tail act as an additional appendage, at least while in the armor, opened up a lot of possibilities that she was eager to explore. In addition to the stinger, she wondered if she could also have a shield attached to it. Or maybe a strobe light to flash into her enemies' eyes. A grenade launcher too maybe? She'd have to make a list sometime.

After a last minute check of her gear, she took a deep breath that she'd slowly release. In addition to her spear and shield, she carried with her her rifle locked just above her tail, with a sidearm on her outer thigh. And just like before, she had extra ammunition behind her shield. While she wanted to engage in close combat, having ranged options never went astray. Perhaps it would have been more useful to pick a smaller weapon than the rifle though, but it was the weapon she had the most experience with.

When the time came for the squad to deploy, her fingers tightened around her spear as she took another deep breath and said with all the enthusiasm at her disposal, "Watch the trees on your way down!" before charging out of the ship to freefall until the perfect elevation to engage the thrusters to dodge the treetops while making a soft landing at the base of one of the trees.

 

[aitoseigi]

The mention of the MEGAMI was almost an afterthought for Asuka; there was so much to get adjusted to that the notion of acquainting herself with the ship itself was far down on her list of priorities, somewhere below figuring out where she could enjoy a nice long bath after this was all over.

A last check, making sure she gave the Kirie a priority marker on her HUD. Always have an escape route was part of her training, and after the debacle of being buried alive, she intended never to overlook that particular lesson again. And then? It was a rush job, but strangely she felt more confident in this mission than she had before. Perhaps because everyone around her seemed to know what they were doing, and were very good at it. With a conscious effort she set her shoulders, falling back on the sort of relaxed wariness that was key as the forest grew larger in view. In some ways it looked perfectly normal, trees and leaves, some wildlife looking a bit startled at the arrival of a Star Army warship.

Don't worry, we're the good guys, and we'll make sure all those mean nasty NMX will be taken care of.

Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped from the comforting safety of the ship into an environment and planet held by hostiles. Training took over, arresting her descent at an altitude which might not have been perfect, but at least was close enough that anyone watching wouldn't cluck their tongues at her. Even before her boots hit the ground, she turned her head this way and that. Presumably the landing zone was reasonably safe, but she wanted to make sure of that herself, and she took a few cautious steps, always keeping alert for her comrades as they descended out of the sky after her, rifle at the ready.

 

[Gunhand4171]

William's monoeye turned towards Hoshi. "I think we should get that on a plaque. The 'Miracle Worker Crew' has a good ring to it. Or 'Kikyo Problem Solvers.' That works too." He chuckled, a lopsided grin playing out across his face underneath the helmet. He then turned back to Miori, having noted her reaction as he entered the space. "Nice to meet you as well, Santo-Hei Miori. Unless my entire company is being deployed, or I get a special assignment, I deploy with the Kaiyo." He explained.

At Aratani's comment, he grimaced. "Yeah, I only have the one for me, and I highly recommend not having to use it. I can confirm, it isn't a fun time." He said, an involuntary shudder going down his spine. As he moved to the door, he gave Kaiyo's medic a friendly two-finger salute. "I'll try not to make extra work for you!" the marine called. Although with his track record of injuries, they both knew he was pushing his luck even to mention it. Turning so that his back was to the hatch, he opened his arms wide. Within his mindware, he linked to the Megami. "Hey Boss, check this out!" With that final message, he fell backwards out of the ship and hurtled towards the canopy below, cackling all the while.

 

[Caelesetos]

Miori beamed at the perceived praise from her new Taisa. Then nodded in acknowledgment of the exfil plan. Teleportation made a lot of sense for extract with dense foliage preventing shuttle landings. Before she could consider the tactical situation more, she heard the Captain's reply to her greeting. Miori's suspicion that the Captain preferred a more relaxed atmosphere was somewhat confirmed by his usage of her given name.

"Thank you sir, I'll remember that for the future." Miori said then tucking her hair back into a quick pony tail she donned her helmet and linked with the MEGAMI. "Pleasure to meet you Boss. I look forward to returning to your hull soon." She then signed off the message with a virtual bow of her avatar.

Miori then followed Ignemar-Hei's lead sprinted out of the ship and into the open air. The sight of the forest rapidly approaching her filled her with a sense of homecoming. Miori grinned as she pulled her limbs tight against her frame just using her bodies movement to control the direction of her fall. It was through these movements she hurtled safely towards Ignemar Hei's indicated landing location. She enjoyed this sense of freedom and wished she could do it with her helmet removed to feel the wind on her face. Far too quickly for her enjoyment, her suit notified her that she had to slow down now or risk injury or damage. She sighed and engaged her thrusters as she entered the canopy to come to a somewhat gentle, though not graceful by any definition, landing beside Ignemar-Hei. Dusting herself off Miori stood up and began familiarizing herself with the nearby terrain while bringing her rifle to a ready position. She knew that their entry hadn't been exactly quiet so she was nervous about possible attack.

 

[raz]

Suited up in her mighty scarlet Thought Armor, Aiko had listened along to Hoshi's appropriately brief briefing in silence. Always privy to pre-sortie planning alongside the captain, there was little for the princess to explain, and so she quietly steeled herself for the mission while the others asked questions and donned their helmets.

The details of her combat with the Nightmare Type were still fresh in Aiko's thoughts, too, and she had subsequently dedicated some measure of fortitude to stifling a strange mix of victorious relief and seething desire to eviscerate that which had already been defeated. Having faced their kind several times now it was an easy enough sensation for Aiko to compartmentalize, allowing those feelings to coolly drive her past any cognitive overload into this next battle.

Truly, the coming fight here on Rabaal was a continuation of the battle on Elysia Novus for the Kaiyō's away team. The less than a day of downtime they'd been afforded had been filled mostly with rearmament, resupply, and sustainment during transit, plus the administrative necessities that had been relayed to Hoshi and Aiko from Command in order to set up this new operation. Aiko had, at least, been able to flush off the Mishhuvurthyar blood from her Kirie's armor panels in the time since returning to her ship — though now she could still feel some residue under her jet black fingernails. So, despite the blast scoring and combat wear still present on the mini mecha's elegant form, it stood ready enough in Aiko's estimation to accept a fresh coat of the enemy's filthy ichor.

As the others stepped off after William and deployed, the princess finally motivated her Kirie forward and past Hoshi.

"Those Mishhuvurthyar," Aiko said to her captain over comms. "They stumbled in coming back to the Kikyo Sector. We will not let them recover here. Come, Taisa."

And with that, Aiko departed the Kaiyō herself, soon speeding down to the surface at their designated landing zone. Once on the surface, she brought both of her big power armor's shoulder-mounted guns to bear and levelled the Aether Beam Carbine held in its right hand to the ready. For this new mission, she'd left her signature zesuaium tetsubo behind — the princess only tended to choose it for big field engagements; fleet battles and invasions — instead coming equipped with the oversized ABSR and a Particle Gun at her hip.

"Contacts at 500 and 2,500 meters ahead," she reported based on readouts coming from her suit's powerful sensors. "Byrne-hei, Ignemar-hei: Each of you will take stewardship over one of our new arrivals in the fight today. Uehara, Tsukiki: All I ask is that you continue to keep up with them, just as at the Great Temple. Accomplish that much and I am sure we will claim another victory for Taisho Yui's Star Army."

 

[Nameless]

The untamed wilderness was a wonderous thing. It was a rare sight to see nature untouched by civilization, and while it was not in its purest form, having been once defiled by the invaders they now hunt, it filled her with a strange desire to see more, to wander unguided by paths on the dirt. A silly notion as even the purest forests had dirt paths trod by the wildlife.

But what she was looking forward to the most is finding the old encampments, just to see it being reclaimed by nature. It would be like finding long forgotten ruins, though ones with significantly less value. Then again, encampments did have armories, and if any of them had a competent quartermaster in charge, perhaps there may still be some munitions to recover. Perhaps a souvenir or two.

With everyone landed, Sif and Molli were given the task of taking charge of one of their new team members. A responsibility that had a certain weight to it, but one that Sif was ready to shoulder. There was no time for nerves. "Understood," Sif replied with a confident nod. She turned to Miori and gave her a sideways nod to follow. "Tsukiki-Hei, you mentioned you were familiar with terrain like this. Care to join me in the vanguard as we move up? Acclimated eyes would help us cut through the forest faster, and help with getting the drop on our targets ahead."

 

[Gles]

Though Sif's features were obscured by the Mindy's helmet, Molli could sense her friend's enthusiasm at what she could build for her, and the feeling of someone relying on her made the Nepleslian's heart soar. "Jus' some cars back in th'day," she said while fitting her helmet on, "Ah'll try m'best..." Though she tried to hide her excitement at the prospect, the liveliness at which she marched with the others suggested she was eager to get the assignment over. That enthusiasm was dampened by the sight of the forest planet below, whose vegetation was so lush that it looked unnerving. What could be hiding in between all those trees?

Once she'd departed the ship, Molli soared down to the planet like a comet, her suit's thrusters burning a bright green trail over the alien sky they'd entered. After nearly a handful of missions in her beloved armor, it felt like a second-skin whose functions were natural extensions of her body -- the closest she could get to feeling like a Nekovalkyrja again. Daringly, she dodged each of the seemingly endless trees by razor-thin margins, before killing power to the thrusters to slow a steady descent that ended in an earth-shaking landing near Sif.

The princess's orders were fresh in Molli's mind, but the additional responsibility was something she neither wanted, nor felt she was ready for. But orders were orders, and Molli just had to try and not make a complete ass out of herself. "Ue-Uehara-Hei," Molli said, her accent fighting to pronounce the name correctly, "We're gonna be usin' th' forest t'harass th'scum that're too focused on th'rest." Molli rolled her shoulders, took a deep breath, and pulled her hefty shotgun from its magnetic harness.

She pointed to the tree-line, and her aether-wings began to hum with barely-restrained power. "Ah'm thinkin' we fly fast, confuse 'em wiv all this cover 'n shade, hit 'n run." That was her original, pre-babysitting plan, anyway. Molli peered over her shoulder at Uehara, "Y'think ya ken keep from slammin' into anythin'?"

 

[Caelesetos]

Miori nodded in acknowledgement to Ketsurui-Chusa's orders. Then she moved up beside the Mindy with the spear.

"Yes Ignemar-Hei, this forest reminds me a lot of my birthplace. The noise of our landing will have been noticed easily. I recommend moving quickly and either setting up an ambush or engaging the targets Ketsurui-Chusa detected," Miori said in a professional tone as her eyes swept back and forth with her rifle following her eye movement.

Though she was nervous at the thought of encountering another Advanced-type after her near death in the temple, the familiar enough surroundings helped keep her calm. As they moved forward through the underbrush, Miori followed a path that kept them close to trees to provide some form of cover and help break up possible sight lines the enemy may have. She kept the points indicated by the princess on her HUD and tried to keep the most amount of cover between them and the detected enemy. The training she went through on Ryu-Tochi had drilled into her the need for stealth in forest operations, since sight lines were very limited in these dense conditions, sound was often the give away due to the noise amplification in wooded terrain; because of this, she mentally turned up her Daisy's audio sensor sensitivity. Hopefully this could help catch notice of any enemy movement nearby before they noticed her, though she knew the power armor she and the others were wearing made it difficult to avoid making noise while moving through the underbrush.

 

[Ametheliana]

Their landing underneath the tree line had presently shown no hostile forces, but knowing what Aiko did meant they could stalk towards those positions where the enemy was. The closer of the two remained embedded in the trees and would mean Sif's internal hopes would be realized.

"Follow our lead, Tsukiki-hei," Hoshi told Miori. "We'll go after targets as outlined. Ambushes would waste time and resources. You have your orders. Keep open comms going, though."

Before they saw anything, they heard the sound of vehicles and engines roaring—especially with Miori's audio sensors bumped up as they were. Next came the chatter of grunts working and the sounds of crates sliding against their neighboring boxes or on to forklift prongs accompanied by noxious beeping noises as they backed up and carefully rolled around the cramped site of some old, unforgotten weapons cache. A large three story stone entrance was built into a hill in a blocky, inverted U shape. The forest had begun to overtake the storage facility and it looked like overgrowth and trees had been chopped away in the past day to allow access.

"Marking first target," Hoshi comm'd in to the team as the shadow of the Fuji gunship moved into position ominously overhead. "Keep your distance by setting a perimeter and taking out any hostiles that are outside of the scope of demolition. Take PoW judiciously."

Those last words carried extra weight as she slowed her words to say them. The blast radius would be pretty precise, so anyone not within thirty feet of the storage cache would need to be found by the team before they moved on to the next target.

The easiest outliers to note were noisy, as well. An engine revved somewhere east of the hustle and bustle at the stony weapons cache as someone drove nearby. Infrared also showed two scouts in trees nearer. The closer of which was turning towards the approaching armors, as well, in the beginning stages of recognition at what they were seeing.