RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission 36: Mizu no Iro

[aitoseigi]

XSS Mordrakka
Exterior and Cargo Bay

Asuka wasted no time in racing back onboard. If she was honest with herself, she'd given herself less than an even chance of coming back at all, so in a way anything else was bonus points. Moreso, since she suspected the list of Rikugun who had taken down a gunship had to be rather short. She'd have to look it up when they got home. Once she'd deposited her presents, she redlined her suit to get back to the safety of the cargo bay, with a last cheeky retrofire burn to kill her momentum once she'd gotten back to the open bay doors.

Okay, that might have been a bit of showboating.

Hurriedly she set about reloading. "Aye, ma'am... we don't have much left either," she added. Maybe they'd keep pulling rabbits out of hats at this rate.

 

[Ametheliana]

Whether it was Asuka's hope willing it or something more concrete and certain, anti-starship turrets started buffeting from somewhere on the water. Having just come up from underwater, a civilian ship had taken stock of the situation and begun firing on the Yggfristall like its life depended on it. HEX Xaser and photon lances fired as they could on it as the surf curled around the Mersina-class' rounded hull while it made its way towards the outskirts of the fight

The firing from the Mordrakka earlier had blocked the Yggfristall's eyes. As she swung almost blind, she hit the Mordrakka with an aether shot, that dug into the starboard side and clipped the already compromised propulsion. Around Aiko and Erika, alerts sounded and exit paths lit, guiding them to the cargo and power armor bay rather than escape pods.

With the Fang and the Mersina firing on the Yggfristall, both of the two NMX gunships were out of the fight. But now the Mordrakka was making its way to that same fate. Now more than ever they needed the manually guided torpedoes to push through the fleet and give them and the Kaiyō a path towards one another.

 

[Sunny D]

The hit threw Erika forward against the console. She caught herself on the lip of the station, arms locked, and felt the deck shudder beneath her as something structural gave way behind the starboard bulkhead.

Her eyes swept the console. Propulsion was in the red across the board. Maneuvering thrusters on the starboard side were unresponsive. Power feeds to the main drive were flickering. The course she had plotted to line up Asuka's torpedo shot was gone. She barely had attitude control and the ship was yawing to port, and put the forward port RCS thruster on full to compensate.

"Maneuvering and propulsion systems are highly compromised. I don't know how long I can hold it," she called out over her shoulder.

 

[Nameless]

"I'll keep them busy," Sif responded to Molli's order with zero hesitation. Her abilities may be compromised, but the parasite didn't douse he resolve to keep everyone safe. Leepa taking the ultimate sacrifice only spurned the undercover Yamatian to not only cover for Molli and Hoshi, but to drive her into a state of focus as she led the enemy on a merry chase away from the rescue attempt.

"Follow me, follow me. Scourge of the stars, you will follow me," Comms weren't transmitting as she whispered to herself. These words were meant only for her as she shot at her pursuers, trying to weave her way around open skies and the occasional whale. "I will be the witness to your futility to catch a hobbled prey. Away and away. We'll drift away. Among alien waves, our chase will end with you or I forever lost."

"Unfortunately, I'm keen on remembering this day." Another battery exhausted, another battery thrown at her pursuers. For someone like her, for someone who was meant to wear armor like a second skin, it made it easy to skirt the limits of a power armor. But this armor was still unproven in its reliability. The readings on the sensors were coherent, but with traces of unfamiliarity, she couldn't be sure if it would actually hold up under the strain she was pushing it through. But that brought her a sort of peace, and an incentive to put her best foot forward. After all, if she were to fall here, she didn't want it to do so knowing she still had something left in the tank.

"Burn bright, and they will remember for you."

 

[raz]

XSS Mordrakka
Bridge

With the stolen NMX scout ship listing in Kokoro's upper atmosphere, its engines finally laid low by the Yggfristall's parting aether shot, Aiko knew it was time to leave. The sudden appearance of a civilian ship had indeed helped the Star Army infiltrators aboard Mordrakka, but ultimately triggered the crippling blow. And there was no telling if the new arrival would next turn its weapons on the commandeered vessel, too, not knowing that it had been fighting against the other Mishhuvurthyar warships.

"Ursula, Nep-slave," Aiko prompted her comrades remaining on the bridge, still refusing yet to dispense with the pretense of their cover. "You are with me to the power armor bay. We will suit up and take the fight to our foes. Our efforts will give the Mordrakka a fighting chance," she lied. "There will be Reaper armors for us there, and the ID-SOL will at least fit within a battlepod — if not a larger mecha if there is one aboard — though I will not mind leaving you."

William's size could present a problem, and despite her instructions the princess had some doubt as to whether they would find any Mishhuvurthyar machine that could allow his escape. He was no longer the boy who'd worn a captured Reaper armor all those years ago aboard the first YSS Kaiyō. Although ID-SOL were resilient, they had no more protection against a vacuum than their standard Nepleslian counterparts, and would not survive a brief stint in open space like a Nekovalkyrja could. If nothing else, she'd seal him in a body bag and order the Task Force to retrieve him if she had to.

"Asuka, keep up your work deploying the exposives," Aiko said via wireless communications to her team, already marching off of the Mordrakka's bridge and following the ship's illuminated emergency pathing indicators toward the power armor bay. "We will join you from the bridge momentarily. Isuke: find yourself a power armor and be ready to depart with us when we arrive."

Propelled by her anti-gravity abilities, Aiko sped through the NMX scout ship's ruddy halls alongside Erika, and William's gargantuan strides would deliver him on their heels so long as he kept a hurried pace. Staying swift, they all arrived in the Mordrakka's hold to mount up soon thereafter.

 

[Ametheliana]

Kokoro

Armor Team



As if destined by name, the Valkyrie Flightthe Nepleslian forces of Task Force 282 had sent out closed in on the Nekovalkyrja armor team to support them. Years ago, Kitsurugi Yui had told Nepleslian Sky Marshal Sanders that they should look out for one another like a big brother and sister. Now as the Yamataians closed in on rescuing their captain and against insurmountable odds, this was one such moment they could do so.

It was undeniable that Sif was decimating her opponents while clearly swaying those she fought alongside. The NMX Nekovalyrja on her armor team were slowly coming to realize their position. Perhaps not only in the battle, but in the cosmic fight that Sif was chillingly engaged in.

Just as the Nepleslians had been able to hone in on the armor team, so could Mishhuvurthyar elements of the battle. Battlepods and Rippers peeled from their attachments, readying strikes against the frontliners of the battle. Despite killing off the last of the original Ripper threat by now, it looked as if the waves of them approaching Sif, Molli, and their new comrades were ten or even a hundredfold what they had encountered in this fight.

Exiting Atmosphere

In and out of reveries, Taiyou Hoshi was desperately grappling with an internal battle that leaked through the corners of her eyes. Tidal tears sprung off of her face as she stood on the whales back, making to jump off the ledge. Simultaneously, the whales were leaving the mesosphere where comets usually burned up with drag and resistance and were slowing. The timing felt perfect for her to make her leap back into her crews hands.

Readying for the outer atmosphere, the whales began transforming beyond simply shielding themselves with energy bubbles. Long spindles extended out from their dorsal fins. They swept long arcs out like black and white streamers as their flippers fanned out with extensions of their own. Luminscent fans billowed forth from them in varying hues that burst forth with colors as if soaking in every part of the spectrum that Kenichi’s Star offered. The thin whale skin began to change too as if oxidizing and any rough grey patches of callosities were replaced with a starship hull-like sheen.

Hoshi looked around her, trying to jump.

“My gravity manipulation is inhibited.” she relayed to Molli. “I’m also—mmhmph.” She gritted her teeth and tried to get the rest out. “Experiencing a moderate electrical current. Molls, I can’t—“

Whatever change the whales were undergoing for space flight was severely impacting the captain.

Mordrakka 

Armor Bay

Suiting up alongside Aiko, William, and Erika seemed to be the rest of the ship. The Mordrakka’s crew of NMX Nekovalkyrja had a quiet diligence to rescue themselves with little thoughts of rescuing Hoshi. Whatever commonality they now shared with the Yamataians they had only just called foes, freewill was chief among them.

“We are the last of our fleet to be mind cursed,” the muddy-skinned Nekovalkryka, Chincha, who was freshly rezzed after her recent death, had spoken. Her words were burning hot with internal embers long fanned by the Mishuvurthyar. “If we are to enact our own will and to live our own lives, it is now! Let us fight alongside you or die slaves to the Overlords.”

“Fight not for the Kitsurugi Princess,” Chincha looked to Aiko and waved a hand while bowing to her. “But alongside her for yourselves!”

The NMX Neko cheers were zealous but tempered and short. Stifled by timing of battle, they worked on their armors or to get the armors on their comrades with a muted fury that had been cast into the flames by Chincha.

“Lead us, Kitsurugi,” Chincha said into comms as dozens of Reapers stood at the armor bay doors and synced with Aiko’s armor, ready for battle.

Cargo Bay

Isuke had gotten the message that Hoshi would likely not be arriving on the crippled, listing Mordrakka. Either joining the armor team that seemed buoyed by numbers or Asuka, who was working alone on an insurmountable task, were her best options for joining the fight, now.

Asuka's previous run had imperiled her, certainly, but now she was tasked with doing the same only against dozens more targets. She could no doubt use help. At least the hole she had to cut through the fleet would be meant for the Reaper armor team suiting up now to punch through and not the larger Mordrakka itself. If that could be counted as help from fate, perhaps it was worth doing so.

 

[Gunhand4171]

William looked up from the systems console and nodded. "Understood. Let me tidy up the system. I'll be right behind you." Diving into the system, William set a timer for a full system wipe and core overload. He thought about it, then set a timer for 15 minutes. That should give them all plenty of time to get out of dodge. He set the automated system to display the count down on all view screens and the ship began to blare the abandon ship alarm. Ripping the data jack from his neck, he stood and followed the remaining bridge crews from the ship.

Outside, the fighters of Valkyrie Flight dove through the cloud cover and began to circle Hoshi's whale. "Hey Lead, am I hallucinating or is that whale flying?" Whiskey asked. "Whiskey, who allowed you to have an idea in that booze soaked brain of yours? Shut your trap and do your job." Came the reply of the second in command, Prowler. There was some general snickering before the husky, feminine voice of the flight lead broke through he noise. "All of you cut the chatter. Find something to kill or I'll volunteer you to spar with the Major when this is done." Valkyrie 1 scolded. The 5 Sabre fighters began to pick off the remaining hostile PAs.

As William entered the PA bay, he frowned. There wasn't anything from what he could see that he would be able to fit inside of. As he looked around, he caught some of Valkyrie flights chatter and it gave him an idea "Valkyrie actual, Berserker Actual. Copy?"

"Berserker Actual, Valkyrie Actual. I read you 5 by 5 send your traffic."

"You're flying Saber's aren't you? One pilot and space for one more in a pinch?" William asked.

Valkyrie lead began to snicker over their shared comms. "Copy that, Berserker Actual. It'll be a tight squeeze, but I have just the pilot in mind." Switching the channel to Valkyrie's private comms she added "Well ladies, speak of the devil and he shall appear. The Major needs a lift and I think it's only fitting for Prowler to go pick him up. You are the smallest after all." The rest of the flight began to cackle as Prowler mumbled grumpily to herself. "Major this is Valkyrie 2. Moving to pull alongside your ship. Jump and I'll try and catch you, sir."

William grimaced. "Not filling me with the warm and fuzzies, Valkyrie 2."

"Oh if you want warm and fuzzies, I'll catch you and take you to a nice dinner when this is all over... ~Major~." Prowler replied.

"Valkyrie 1, Valkyrie 2's hitting on me." William complained.

"Yeah she does that, watch yourself in there. There's a reason we call her Prowler..." Valkyrie 1 teased.

 

[Sunny D]

Erika plotted a course that would allow the Mordrakka to keep its altitude, assuming the rest of the propulsion and manoeuvring systems stayed intact. As she continued to tap on the console the operative got to her feet. She pressed engage, then grabbed her satchel and carbine before bounding out of the bridge.

When she arrived at the hanger deck and overheard Chincha call for them all to follow 'Kitsurugi' she grinned.

'Looks like we're made, Chusa' Erika said telepathically with an amused inflection.

In the same moment the hologram concealing her black SAINT suit shimmered away before she boarded one of the Reapers. Sliding into it was easy, but interfacing was a different story. Type 33As were built to be a part of the suit, directly interface. Through the high-speed SPINE ports along her back a Mindy she became the computer for the armour, and the armour became her skin. The delineation between her and the suit became academic. It was not so with a Reaper, there was no link, no direct interface. Everything had a slight delay as the computers and sensors on board attempted to read her intentions. She tested her grip, and it felt leaden and sluggish.

Beggars can't be choosers, so she sighed and stepped forward.

"Major, I can carry you to your pick up if you like." She said with a profesional cadence before it turned playful "Might not be the most dignified way to travel, though." She said, holding her arms out with her palms upright, ready to princess carry him.

 

[aitoseigi]

Even a Rikugun like Asuka could tell things were not going well for her adopted (commandeered? pirated?) ship. Whether it was safer onboard or off was questionable, but she reflected she didn't have much choice. She had her orders, and Aiko had reinforced them. Carrying all of her deadly cargo was pushing her suit to its limits, and quite possibly a bit beyond, but if she did this right it would hold together just long enough. Perhaps.

Okay. Let's do this.

She sped out from the cargo bay, determined to leave nothing in reserve, aware that the enemy doubtless would be watching for another mech trick. With that in mind, she whipped her suit around in the wildest, most out of control evasive maneuvers she could muster in order to ruin their targeting. The suit's controls screeched warnings at her and she silenced them immediately; what it was designed to do was rather less important than what it could do, and she ignored the strain as she fought to avoid fire. The NMX fleet loomed ever larger in her view, and she ignored the knowledge of what one of those aether beams would do to her, even if merely clipping her by accident.

Once she judged to have enough speed, she whipped herself into as rapid a roll as she could, then flung all the torpedoes out in an ever widening circle. With luck they would create a ring of fire for her comrades to punch through. With even better luck her own momentum would take her through that ring and to safety instead of being taken out by her own torpedoes, but even as she waited for the detonations, she opened up with her suit's built-in armament. Every bit helped, after all.