RP [Operation La Prossima]Mission 1: Ipnotizzatore della Discarica

[Rizzo]

Odori Settlement
The barrel of the Odori's deck gun plowed though the sand towards the last truck in the convoy. Without even the attempt to swerve a blinding white light streaked out and enveloped the last truck in a deafening blast that splashed over the middle truck and left nothing more than a crater where the other truck used to be. The two remaining trucks continued towards the entrance of the walls in a staggered formation with their heavy machine guns tapping out a steady rhythm of death.
Shots glanced off of the hood of their trucks from the snipers with one hitting the driver of the lead truck who hardly flinched as it struck his heavy chest armor, but his hand rose to stuff a cloth into the newly formed hole. The machine guns kept their pace of firing as the trucks rapidly approached. The marksmen rose from their perch and turned to take cover behind the wall, the taller of the two pulling the other to safety only for his chest to erupt into a spray of gore as a 35mm slug struck him from behind scattering bits of flesh over the men hiding below.

"Noo!" Griff cried as he raised his right arm and fired a volley of bluish white streaks from his plasma gun. A shot glanced off of the shields of the second trucks mounted gunner, transferring heat into his arm which the gunner shook his arm wildly as it burned his flesh and responded with more gunfire, to which Griff dove out of the way. Plumes of sand puffed from the sand where he'd been standing as the huge rounds made impact.


Odori Bridge
Scrambling out of the access panel, Thorn slammed her transponder cable into the tactical display to look for anything this old Odori still had to defend itself. Shields, comm, anything. She knew she had a developer copy of IIS's OSMSP, that she could load and if this beast had a working comm array of the right type, then she had a weapon. But alas, no luck. This ship had everything of value taken or disabled before being dumped here. And now, she did the only thing she could. She started running for the shuttle to retrieve the requested sword, and perhaps offer better fire support from a more heavily armed vessel.
Getting outside took her all of a few seconds, and another thirty seconds to cross the gap between the ship and she shuttle. She arrived at the weapons locker` windecanf the spooling turbine in her chest barely keeping up with her demand for oxygen. But she still hurled it open, pulling...

"He didn't say the damn sword was bigger than me! Fine...". So she leaned into the weight, half carrying, half dragging the sword out to the loading ramp and unceremoniously dropping it there as she saw Miko soar overhead in his armor. "Sword's outside on--" the sheathed sword instantly shot off like a missile towards Zerza.

"That fucking thing can fly?!" The takeoff took her by surprise, but she didn't have time to stick around. The locals needed support. She turned to run to the Shoebox's bridge and go through the shuttle's weapons as she brought the comms and targeting arrays online. "Good morning, friendlies, I'll be your intrusive thoughts today, I'm painting targets and will provide fire support where possible. Sorry about the mess."


Zerza Spaceport

Expressions of horror spread as the crowd split, pushing away from the scene only to be landlocked by their fellow market goers. The bearded man struggled as he dangled by the neck choking out his indignation, "unhand me- fiend! He-help!" Barone walked casually to a recently abandoned food cart taking a kebab of unknown meat off of the grill that looked close enough to ready and leaned against the cart and watched. Glancing to Dokusei he mouthed the words, "do science stuff" as he pointed to Brandt.

Victor Brandt threw the man down and demanded in the coolest of ways, "you will come with me and give me all of your possessions, then you will be my personal pilot." The aged man spat at him, "I don't work with thugs like you," with exertion he rose to his feet defiantly, "I've heard of you. These people might fear you but you'll never scare me!" With the speed of a long time gunslinger the bearded man drew his SiZi Model 30 plasma revolver and fired, the plasma bolt scattering over Victor's body harmlessly. He fired again to no avail as Victor held his arms outstretched mockingly. The bearded man pressed the barrel against Victors forehead as who willingly bowed to his level to accommodate their difference in height. The man roared a shout and fired again, this time his barrel bursting from the pressure buildup.

"Are you done yet? Because I am!" The Hypnotist yelled as he held his gold trimmed staff over the man. The gem glowed a bright green beam of light over the man's face who visibly entered a trance as he stared up intensely into the light, dropping the ruined pistol. "You WILL come with me and give me all of your possesions," he demanded loudly as the beam intensified, "then you WILL be my personal pilot!" The staff flashed a final time as the man screamed in pain, dropping to his knees, shaking.

The bearded man looked back up to Victor, "I- I believe I need to give you some things, yes? I will fly you when you are ready, sir," he stated submissively standing up, slowly, and standing next to him. "You see? Isn't it better when everyone just does what they're told?" Victor looked over the crowd who now found themselves being pushed toward the middle be power armored figures with various rifles and projections of Victor's face over their helmets, "I can do this to any one, any time, but I only wish to take on so many dependants so I'll do the humane thing and simply shoot anyone else that wants to resist. And now... Please hand over all of your valuables to the men with bags. Come along pilot!"

Men with large bags began to move through the crowd as Victor departed, their faces similarly covered by holographic projections of Victor. They worked fast looting the civilians until they worked their way to Barone who simply held up his arms as the men stole his belongings. His communicator, HHG, and NSP all went into the bag along with the half eaten kabab he voluntarily dropped in, earning him a slap in the face.. just long enough to send a final message to Thorn, 'track my communicator.'

Barone nodded reassuringly to Dokusei as the thugs approached her, gesturing an OK and making a sweeping motion with his wrist.

 

[Miko]

Miko cussed under his breath at the sight of non armor in the area. His weapon of choice was an Aether Beam Saber-Rifle which would be bad for those unarmored health. He'd have to rely on his armors stealth and distraction of his wing pack to get him close. Miko did his best to put distance between himself and his weapon he was about to use. Everything went still for a moment as Miko looked down the scope of his weapon. The aether round made no sound as it left the barrel. The super heated air however cracked as it traveled down range towards the front truck. Miko's round punch the driver square in the head. He did not know if it was a killing shot but for sure that driving was having a real bad day.

Before the round even had hit, Miko was on the move. His squad of four drones were busy keeping the other truck busy. Three of the drones had landed solid hits, with one being a direct hit on the gunner. For the moment all of them had done well to dodge the return fire. As only one took a grazing shot from the exchange.

 

[Rizzo]

Odori Settlement
The second truck evaporated as Miko's four drones opened up with purple streaks of aetheric gunfire, addling the truck into a tumbling ball of scrap metal, slag streaming in every direction as it rolled. All hands were lost except for the gunner who's chest was now blackened from the aether shot, his jump resembling a superhero as he'd ripped off the mounted gun and leapt, firing at Miko's number 3 drone. Sparks flew as the 35mm slugs gutted the drone, turning it inside-out in a shower of debris. Landing on his feet the gunner fired another volley at Miko himself, the slugs grazing his shield as he rolled hard to evade.

Looking back to see his allied truck destroyed the lead gunner immediately addressed the new threat. Shouting to the driver he realized the volleyball sized hole in the man's chest and bailed, machinegun coming with him as he leapt from the back and slid through the dust, sending a stream of armor piercing shells downrange as the barrel began to glow red while the abandoned truck rolled through the entrance and crashed into a junk pile.

Miko rolled back the other direction only to be greeted by a slug into his helmet, his shields bursting into a shower of sparks as they rejected the mighty projectile. Falling onto the flat of his back Miko had blacked out for a mere moment, waking on the ground with contusions from the back of his head to his heels. A world of hurt, but still alive to tell the tale of what it's like to be a human skeet.

Two of the defending militia who'd had needed to take cover from the heat of the aether rushed to his side as he laid spread out.

Shoebox Bridge
"Miko, sorry about your cooking, you want me to stir the pot? Well how about this one. I'm reading shields on those power armors, your rifle should spall off the shield and splash the guys around it, I'm trying to get weapons online."

She found herself blocked again and again with 'access denied' messages of uploading her programs and accessing weapons. "Goddamn it, I was authorized five minutes ago! You got five seconds before I shove a Geist in your port ass, you little piece of shit!"

She did find one system that she had access to, the engines, and as she fired that system up, she found other systems clearing their errors. "Alright, looks like I got you folks some air support, who wants what to go away? Griff, you read me?"

"I read ya' kid," he yelled as he fired another volley of plasma bolts, "kill the gunners! Kill the gunners!"

"I got... Fuck it, I'm using the point defense!" Thorn's Geist transponder plugged into the gun controls as she slaved the fire control across the Geist, and into the orbital support as her ships pushed the flow of sensor data to the the open channel. Engines and alarms screamed and flared as she lifted off with the door open, popup guns deploying to lock targets. "Fuck these guys in particular, locking targets! And I'm nearly thirty! Like next goddamn week!"

As the shuttle flew recklessly overhead, the four turrets with a view below opened fire, plasma scorching the sand into glassy plumes as Thorn strafed the desert. The gunners leapt to the ground to avoid the fire, with the second gunner just a little too slow. The rapid firing cannon perforated his back, the man falling to his knees, arms outstretched as his cries of agony echoed over the vocalizer of his helmet. Taking up his machinegun again the armored man rose heavily to his feet, holding a hand to the side of his helmet.

Zerza Spaceport

Dokusei had been on the verge of taking action when Barone's unspoken orders were received. A singular eyebrow cocked upwards as if she thought he might have lost his mind. Nonetheless, she figured there was some purpose or reasoning behind the directions he supplied. As such, she began doing the alleged sciency stuff, awaiting the results with baited breath. When the mission lead suggested surrender of her equipment she staunchly refused, not letting one bit go to the thug who now had a hand firmly grasping her science scanner.

"You got guts.. don't be a hero," the man threatened as a another in power armor stepped behind her with audible thudding. Dokusei glared at the man in front of her with a deathstare that could cut steel. "Not on your life," she growled, shoving the man suddenly and spinning behind to face the PA ganger behind herself, NSP in hand. A three-round burst sparkled across the armor's shields, the operator flinching reflexively though unharmed. Dokusei seized his moment of hesitation to throw a roundhouse kick at the unarmored thug behind her, only instead of the satisfying sensation of her heel striking the flesh of his nose she felt only wind as the empty space the man should have been came into view.

'No,' she thought a moment before her vision went black, ears ringing, pain searing trough her very brain. Her vision would fade in and out of the man rifling through her belongings taking everything, bag included. 'Get up, get up, GET UP!' her mind begged, willing her body to action but to no avail as her hand reached towards the thug. The faint sound of a shout was undiscernable as his mettalic, cybernetic arm descended across her face once more leaving her unconscious.

As the thugs cleared out of the square the people in the square became agitated. A mottled mix of shouting, crying, and a token effort to follow the armed men began but to no avail as they began disappearing into the very air.

"Hey, wake up," Dokusei heard faintly, the second time hearing clearer as her vision faded back in, blurred but revealing the silhouette of a man over her and her fist instinctively punched for his face. Her vision cleared to see Barone grasping her fist, his cavalier response, "you're pretty spunky for a nerd. Get up, we got work to do." Standing from his kneeled position he pulled Dokusei to her feet by her fist. She cradled the right side of her swollen face where the thug her landed his punch right in the temple of her head. Her brain pounded with every heartbeat and the 'room' was still spinning like a top.

"It's strange, they took that guys broken revolver. Why would they steal that, it was completely melted," Barone stated as he stepped towards the spot where the trader had been abducted. "Strange?!" Dokusei shouted as she approached Barone furiously. Her fists balled as she cast her gaze toward Barone. "They stole Star Army weapons and equipment, and you're thinking about a broken pistol!" she scolded him, then yelled, "and you just gave it to them- everything! What is wrong with you? How could you just stand there and let them do this?!"

Barone smiled coyly, turning back to face his angered colleague and replied, "simple answer, I'm actually a fairly lazy person. While you beat your head against impossible odds just now trying to protect shit that don't matter I chose to let them do my job for me. You should see yourself right now, all worked up about our target falling on his own sword.. not every battle must be won in order to win the war." Barone began walking past her. She caught up to him and grabbed his arm, "you just gave hardened criminals your NSP. What do you think they'll do with it?!"

His gaze caught hers, a certain seriousness in his voice, "nothing they aren't doing already." His shift in tone caught her off guard and she released his arm as the heisho continued, "do you think I can't track my own communicator? Mark my words, Shoi. This is the last mistake these criminals will ever make. Now I asked for science stuff earlier. Did you get anything?"

"Yes." she said in a quiet professional tone, "there were minimal energy emissions generated during the entire scenario. One bit that stood out was that the gunfire did not generate the heat that one would anticipate from a plasma weapon. No electromagnetic field was detected around Brandt, this could indicate that he did not have a shield around his being. Although, his staff did produce readings reminiscent of a graviton projector."

"A graviton projector?" he asked incredulously, then quickly asked, "you know what that means?"
Dokusei blinked slowly, "No. Do you?"
"Nope," he answered, "I was hoping you knew. I guess we'll just have to find out later. I could've sworn there'd be more energy readings from something that flashy." A certain sound came in the distance causing him to cast his gaze skyward. Taking a step back he reached out and caught the projectile, an audible slap sounding as the 1.4 meter sword connected with the skin of his hand. His face winced in pain for a moment as he tried too hard to look cool. "This is our ride back," he said taking the side with the handle, "I figure a Neko could handle this," he said offering the saya side to Dokusei, "Hang on, it does something like 500 an hour."

The small wince of pain was not lost on her, though also not much of note at the moment given the grand scheme of things. However, once their return vehicle was identified as the flying sword she tilted her head slightly in apprehension as she accepted the saya side with caution, gripping onto it for dear life. "Are you going to be able to make it back this way?" she asked out of authentic concern.

The odd man shrugged, "I hope so!" The sword rose into the air carrying them in a shaky lift their innate gravity manipulation could keep up with before accelerating to eye-watering speeds as they sped towards the Odori settlement.


Odori Settlement
"Weapons are in the shuttle," he stated, then watched the ship fly off, "Oh.. Okay, we do this without armor. Hold up a minute. "His sword detatched from the sheath which slowly descended as Barone carried forward, grasping the hit two-handed. Below him Valla engaged the last standing PA wit a borrowed GP-1, its age not slowing the old assault rifle a bit as it sent bullet after bullet until the break locked open, it's magazine empty. The power armored ganger raised his machinegun her way and took aim, only noticing as it was too late that death truly could come from above.

The spark and crackling of failing shield flashed as a dark blade sheathed in neon blue speared the man's chest and pinned him to the ground, impaled to the pommel by a man wearing a red shirt adorned with white flowers. Barone stepped back as he pried the mighty blade from the man's chest, it's inactive blade now a soul eating black. Griff came to his side, his heavy breathing audible on the tinny old helmet speaker. "Wait, there's another!"

Barone placed a hand on his arm mounted plasma cannon, his skin hissing as it touched a weapon with a horrid cooling system. Maintaining his composure, and removing his hand from the super heated metal, he replied, "No need to worry, there's more blood on his suit than in his body. I might have need of him later." In the near distance the 35mm machinegun fired again wildly only for the man to drop it for good this time as he began crawling in despair. "Who's that guy, anyway?"

Griff shook his head angrily, "you people are government types, you should already know thi-" Taking a step back he gestured in a manner suggesting he needed to cool down and removed his helmet. "I'm sorry. This was all very sudden. Your people just saved us from the same crooks that chased us from our homestead. They're Vicktor's men and I have no idea what they were here for," the big man reported, still worked up on adrenaline, "I need to see to my men.. we lost a man." Barone nodded as Griff left and waved over Katerina.

"This clearly wasn't a coincidence, sir," Valla stated, "Emma Brant shows up here and they're suddenly under attack. And by the looks of it they weren't looking for much of a fight.. They're going to find out what happened here."

"Fortunately they stole my communicator." Barone winked.
A devious smile curled across Valla's lips, "oldest trick in the book. I'll go secure our hostage." Her casual gait in the wounded man's direction clashed against the assembly of Griff's men rushing out to assault the soon-to-be prisoner. The memory of watching their friend become red mist had clearly instigated a frenzy that was hardly Katerina's problem. Nor Barone's. Seeing the Shuttle in the distance Initzio waved then pointed at the ground. Thorn would know what to do.

 

[Reynolds]

Odori Settlement

The eccentric woman rolled the shuttle as she passed over her CO inverted at a low speed of nearly 200KPH in defiance. Her second pass, she pitched the shuttle hard port into a half-roll with engines at full burn, leveling out at the last moment for her previously 12 degree decline in attitude to result in slamming the ship hard onto it's landing gear. 'Attitude' the thought echoed in Barone's mind, 'gonna show that chick real attitude if she blew my new hydraulics out.'

Seeing the feisty woman smiling wildly as she stepped down the ramp while small streams of hydraulic fluid puddled around the landing gear made Barone's blood simmer with frustration. "The pistons are brand new, bushpilot," he yelled as he maliciously threw his 18kg Hikō Ōdachi for her to 'catch'.


The small woman reacted instantly remembering how heavy it was yet not gauging it well as he'd thrown it so effortlessly. Catching it was easy yet the weight quickly caught her off guard and landed her squarely on her bum, though she'd managed to not drop the big sword. It was truly a win given the sword weighed two thirds her own weight, a victory she celebrated as she held the sword triumphantly, if not briefly.



Odori Settlement Perimeter

30 minutes after Shoebox landed Barone stood within the assembly of the La Prossima crew with all but Thorn kitted in new Mindy armor suits. "Okay crew we've seen what we needed to in Zerza but have more questions than answers as a result. It's time to pool out observations," he stated, his voice measured and professional for the first time since arriving, "We'll go around, starting with what we know. Valla, you have intel on this guy's origins. Who is this guy?"


Katerina rested upright atop her armored coils. Adjusting her shoulders she gave her report, "Viktor was a scavanger that lived very openly. He found something extremely valuable and wasn't quiet about it. It's hard to believe he'd become a hardened criminal overnight and rob the same people he lived nearby. Especially with a wife and expected child who is here. Apparently this group found her wandering in the scrap heaps nearby."


Barone nodded, "an unlikely villain, but it looks like that is after what he did in Zerza. Though something was off there.. I'll show you." his suit's hardlight projectors flickered to like showing the scene from Inizio's eyes, "Dokusei, tell them about the readings you took."


"Short story, it was all lights and no emissions. A plasma pistol fired point-blank into Viktor's face didn't even scratch him and yet there was no heat discharge detected, no EM signature from a shield, and his staff was emitting gravitons without even a trace of radio waves or other signals used for psionic transmissions. Absolutely no scientific reason for anything we clearly saw."


"All of that show, yet nothing on scans," Barone mused, rubbing his chin, "additionally, they disappeared into thin air on their way out, but we had no scanner by that point. Something isn't adding up here. I want his wife interviewed. Why was she found in the desert? What did he find? Why can't we scan any emissions?"

"She wanted to help with that," the boisterous Neko from the settlement chimed in as she drew near, Emma Brandt cradled in the retired NH-33A's muscular arms, "Whatever Katerina did bagged us a live one." Her obvious exageration was evident in the weary mother's fragile, but conscious state. Barone's telepathic connection to the ship ran her identity. "Jôtô Hei Jin. Nice to see retirement treated you well. Seems like you know how to please us spookies. Emma, please have a seat," Barone welcomed. A quick glance to the ramp control panel and an array of cusioned chairs appeared, compliments of the volumetric projectors.

Jin laid Emma gently into the chair who shifted awkwardly in the imposing presence of a power armored squad. Barone kneeled by her with a relaxed, yet stoic expression, his tone moderate and serious, "Emma. Viktor is in serious trouble but he doesn't have to die. Tell me what's going on and I'll do everything in my power to resolve this without harming him. What am I missing here?"

Emma fought back tears, struggling with the words, "th-those men.. they took me in the night.. they wore these masks that had Viktor's face.. they put me in a hull somewhere way out in the old fields where the best salvage is.. they barely fed me and I barely escaped with this." Reaching into a cargo pocket she produced a shiv made from what appeared to be plastic, dried blood still covering the tip. "I don't know who they are but Viktor wouldn't do that to me!"

"What did he find in that got so much attention? He'd been talking about a big score," Barone pressed, "what was it?"

"It was a golden ship, he though it was Kuvexian. The hull was sealed tight and seemed to be untouched. We couldn't easily cut in so we tarped it and he filed a claim on the lot. He bought it and rented heavy ship breaking tools. The last I saw him he was heading back with a rover and tools expected to return by the end of the week. Four days later they abducted me. Now I'm hearing the my husband is some kind of criminal kingpin!?"

Barone nodded. "Alright, guys. There's something weird happening here. I want Viktor alive, problem is that Silas is already on it and I didn't specify what condition Viktor would be in," Emma gasped though Barone continued without skipping a beat, "truth is I'm not sure what his role even is anymore but I know salvagers aren't known for operating criminal syndicates. What ever the case, we have some reinforcements coming. Should be here soon..."



Shuttle: Upper Atmosphere

In the skies far above those assembled, a Ke-T10 “Fukuro” Multi-role Shuttle drifted gently through the sky. The rear bay door slid open to reveal the upper atmosphere of Yicuqibu I, so empty and open, with the horizon of the planet below, so dusty and arid. The pilot's voice cut in, the voice of an aged woman speaking to the passengers, "Alright ladies, we've reached your stop. Should have a six minute window to jump and land on target but I wanna see my kids so.. hop to."


Oodori waved to the pilot from her seat, both acknowledging the request while dismissing it. For the moment, at least. "What're the odds that this'd be our first operation together, eh, Ori-chan?" The tall Neko was currently using her Mindy's volumetrics to make her helmet appear invisible, revealing her wide, friendly grin as she finally got a moment to check in with her friend. "Sorry, guess it should be Paddenmour-Hei while we're on the clock..." Her voice over the radio was more teasing than apologetic.

After smirking at the human in a Mindy even taller than her own, Oodori spared a glance for the other Neko along for the ride. "You good over there, Ryuko-Hei?" Another wave was sent in her direction. "I think this is our stop!" Still all smiles, she gestured towards the open bay door.

Wanting to set a good example as the highest ranking person here, Oodori finally stood, helmet shimmering back into view. "Guess we shouldn't disappoint our new boss and be late on the first day, eh?" Double-checking that her array of swords were all firmly attached, especially the one on her hip, Tsumenaga began to head for the door, glancing back to ensure the two soldiers were following after before peering down at the planet far below.


Ryuko stared ahead at the seat infront of her her eyes focused on.. the dust she saw, or perceived. She grabbed her trusty rag, and started furiously wiping at her perceived dust, then smiled. "Hah, Ryuko 1, dust zero" She said with a satisfied smirk. That's when she heard Oodori in her head, causing her to squeak in fear. Before she remembered where she was. But she didnt respond, whether out of paranoia, and fear of something unknown or some other reasons not sure.


Looking down at the ... planet, for lack of a better term, below Orianna did a quick readout on her suit making sure everything was okay, she trusted the suit manufacturer but she still had done a complete check on the suit once she got it and equipped her own loadout to it, She knew the work that SAINT did was going to be difficult that wasn't what worried her, what worried her was...

It was at that moment that Oodori spoke up and Orianna looked back at her a moment "To be fair I didn't expect to see you for a while before I was officially Deployed till later Odi" she said back with a smile using her old nickname for her friend, though the correction by her made her smile even more as she gave a limp wristed salute "Of course mam.. sorry mam won't forget it next time mam" she said with a clearly overemphasized professional tone of voice... All before she started to laugh.

Though as Odi spoke to the other Neko with them Orianna looked over to them as well "Don't worry about the suit.. I gave them a once over the moment we were issued them, they are fully maintained and well looked after, so gear is good" she flashed the Neko a thumbs up as she set her helmet back to normal so it was blocking her face as well and she gestured the okay to Oodori.

"Truth be told Odi I didn't think you had a whole Settlement named after you... couldn't you have picked a better location for it though?" she asked in a joking tone as she walked to the door to join her and get ready for the jump.


Ryuko listened as Oodori and Orianna spoke to each other, her hands on her knees, as she scanned the space around her, before she pounced, to attack another dust spot, before she hopped towards the two others.


"Odori, not Oodori! Completely different!" Tsumenaga wasn't really taking the teasing seriously, but she did lift both hands, displaying the Yamataigo characters for Oodori above one and Odori above the other. They looked completely different, despite the similar pronunciation. The beautiful Yamataian language was once again the victim of Trade's brutal simplicity.

Dropping the volumetric projections, she glanced back at Ryuko hopping about. At least the other Neko was steadily approaching them. "Uh...not to be rude, Santo Hei, but we got a schedule to keep here." If the strange newbie didn't straighten up, fast, Oodori might just have to toss her out of the shuttle. She wasn't going to be late on her first day because of an eccentricity.


"Well close enough for government work right?" she laughed as she looked down at the planet making sure to get the coordinates nodding to herself before she looked over to the other Neko in the group who seemed to be somewhat distracted... maybe it was nerves? then she seen her jump again and likely she was just bored.

"Hey Ryuko! We are jumping soon, come on, once we land and get orders to move in we will have a lot to do" she called to the other Neko as she displayed the coordinates "Oh right double checking the coordinates it seems they want us to land by their ship, report in and stand by, seems we are on reinforcement duty rather then doing a hot drop" she was sure Oodori was well aware of the mission but always good to go over it again.

It was just like going over your equipment before a mission or over your homework before handing it in, always good to make sure things were set and that you didn't miss anything, except in the case of a mission a mistake or something forgotten could get you killed.


Ryuko suddenly appeared behind Oodori and wrapped her arms around her. "She is here, ready to jump to dirty place." she said to the other Neko, her tail swaying behind her.


"This is why you struggled in Yamataian Literature class." Oodori shook her head...before tensing up as she was latched onto from behind. "...uh, you alright back there?" She could tell something was up with the third member of their party as soon as she spotted Ryuko, but she hadn't quite been expecting this.

"This ain't a buddy jump." She gently tried to unwedge the other Neko from her body and get her moving towards the ramp. Even though Tsumenaga was doing her best to ignore the pilot's voice in her helmet, she sounded annoyed. Their jump window was rapidly closing.


Watching the other Neko move in behind Odi Orianna simply smirked a bit, though her manner of speaking was a bit odd and she seemed a bit off she made it through SELECT like the rest of them so she had no reason to doubt her skill, just quirky she assumed "Yeah we need to get off this boat I think the Landlord is looking to Evict us" she relied hearing the pilot complain once more.

"and for the record Odi I may have had trouble with that class but I still got higher marks then yours..." she waited at the door a moment as she looked down "All systems green ready for jump" she announced to her superior officer, since after all as team lead she was either going first or at least meant to give the order for them to head out.


Ryuko just giggled, and released the other Neko, but glanced at Oodori's armor a second but she trusted that the Armorer handled the dust but she wasn't so sure about it. Ryuko giggled crazily as she jumped out of the shuttle with a squeal of glee.


"I can't believe you'd pick on a three year old like this, wow." Oodori feigned shock and disbelief at Orianna's response, before finally managing to pry herself free from Ryuko's grip. Or perhaps the other Neko had simply gotten bored of her attempt to cling to the NCO, as she flung herself out of the shuttle a moment later, temporarily escaping Tsumenaga's reach.

She can be the Joto Heisho's problem once we hit the ground. Oodori thought to herself, nodding to Orianna as she moved past her, jumping out after the fleeing Neko. "Camo up, and let's cut all the chatter until we land and get the all clear. Be advised that local gravity is 1.5 times Yamatai normal. Freefall only until 200 meters up, then initiate inertial deceleration. I don't wanna see a spec of dust disturbed, much less any footprints!"

Oodori's transmission cut off as the Neko's tall Mindy rippled and disappeared from view, plummeting towards the ground thousands of meters below. Besides the ping the Mindy registered to each of their HUDs, and the occasional cloud disturbed by her descent, there was no longer any sign of Oodori. Everyone had the coordinates, so they knew where to land. She trusted Orianna, of course, but she'd be watching Ryuko like a hawk.


Watching Ryuko, Orianna smirked a bit as the girl flung herself into the job, literally it would seem, and she laughed at Odi's comment about her age "A three year old that out ranks me despite her bad marks" she laughed a bit more before waving to Odi as her friend jumped out next, with a quick nod to the order she sent one last transmission to the pilot.

"Thanks for the lift, and get back home safe eh?" before she jumped out and activated her Camo. The plummet down was silent of course, and it gave her time to think "So we are on a hold and reinforce order, looks like they have a ship at the coordinates for our drop, but they want us in quiet, makes sense three Mindy's dropping in would cause quite a ruckus, the fact that they wanted power armor Equipped reinforcements on standby probably means they are expecting things to heat up.. least the brass here is thinking ahead"

The thoughts filtered through her mind as she fell the altimeter ticking down towards the desired height that was ordered, and as it did so Orianna was already going through another systems check, not a full diagnostic just a quick check on things as she kept looking back to her altitude for confirmation. "Weapons look good, armor interlock good, Seal Good, power system good, equipment secure.. 280... 270... 250... 230... 205... Decelerate." As she hit the desired height she started her deceleration and soon touching down with not even a sound on her landing let alone dust or a disturbance. "Just like in training, this time anyway, low tech and no shots coming in on the drop" she thought to herself as she stayed silent and waited for Oodori to report on their arrival.


As Ryuko plummeted from the shuttle, her senses heightened by the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of the freefall. Her Mindy armored form cut through the air, the wind roaring in her ears as she descended towards the unknown planet below. Despite the gravity being higher than what she was accustomed to, she couldn't help but feel exhilarated by the challenge.

In the midst of the descent, Ryuko's auditory sensors picked up the voice of her teammate, their words cutting through the roar of the wind. The command was clear It was a standard procedure, one that Ryuko had rehearsed countless times in her obsession, yet each time brought with it a renewed sense of focus and determination.

The information about the planet's gravity being 1.5 times that of their capital world of Yamatai sent a jolt of anticipation through Ryuko's circuits. She adjusted her trajectory slightly, preparing herself for the increased pull of the planet's gravity well.

As the ground rushed up to meet her, Ryuko couldn't help but notice her teammate's offhand comment about avoiding disturbing even a speck of dust. It was a remark that irked her slightly, the cleanliness-obsessed nature of her Nekovalkyrja upbringing conflicting with the chaotic nature of their mission. However, she pushed aside her concerns, focusing instead on the task at hand.

With practiced precision, Ryuko waited until she was just 200 meters above the surface before initiating the inertial deceleration sequence. The systems built into her Mindy armor activated, slowing her descent to a controlled landing. As she touched down on the planet's surface, Ryuko couldn't suppress a feeling of satisfaction. Another mission, another successful deployment.


Oodori nodded to herself as the blip that represented Ryuko showed signs of deceleration. A few moments later, she used her own inertial control to do the same, glancing at Orianna's status to confirm she followed procedure as well. Not that she was too worried about the human, but it didn't hurt to check. She was supposed to be in charge of these two, after all.

At least until she checked in with the Joto Heisho running things down here. She'd better get on that already. The shuttle they'd been aiming for looked even worse now that they were at ground level. The one they'd dropped from seemed fine, why was this hunk of junk the one that'd actually landed? Oodori wasn't very confident it would be able to take back off again, much less escape this increased gravity. Or get them back home.

Well, that was a problem for the future. For now, they needed to check in. The group of Mindy-clad soldiers was easy enough to spot near the shuttle, along with a few unarmored folk that must be locals. The one leading the conversation should be the man in charge. Aiming her laser communications antennae his direction, she sent a private message to Barone.

"Nito Heisho Oodori reporting in. The two Hei are right behind me. Didn't know if you wanted us to come right out and join this conversation. Looks like you've got a few guests." She broke off contact after that, sure he'd either open communications properly or know how to find her. He should be better at this job than her, after all.

Hopefully the other two could follow her lead, even when all they had to go by was a rough idea of her position. Any Operative should be able to handle this kind of situation without someone babysitting them.



Odori Settlement Perimeter

"... should be here soon... scratch that, they're already here. You can uncloak now, I'm sending the briefing we had digitally. Recording for Orianna," he finished psionically sending the relevant data to the four of them.


Oodori's Mindy NXT flickered back into visibility, bristling with bladed weaponry. She motioned towards the others to do the same, if they hadn't already, after receiving that order. Along with Barone's view of the recent briefing.

"So, what're your plans for the extra firepower, Barone-Heisho?" Despite all the smoke and mirrors, it sounded like they were after one guy and a few grunts. Did they really need backup?


Hearing the Order to drop cloak Orianna did so, her larger framed Mindy seemingly phasing into existence absolutely covered in heavy weapons, she then also took a moment to go over the briefing that was a sent her and she nodded as got a bit more caught up on things, Her Team lead Oodori already asking the important question on their role and the over all situation so she herself had nothing much to ask, other then looking over all three of her partners Power armors.

It was more out of habit and nothing much to do at the moment more then anything but again if they were expecting combat always good to know if the gear was fully ready to go, and taking a quick once over it was clear that their Power armors were as good to go as they ever will be, with that finally settled in her mind she took up a watchful position, best to keep a eye open while everyone talked, didn't need your eyes to hear a conversation after all.


"Extra firepower, heh. My plan is to remind the people here that Yicubique still flies a Yamataian flag. The people here suffered while their Rikugun failed to apprehend the perpetrators. Now is our chance to right the wrong and overkill is not a concern. Only do not kill Viktor Brandt and watch for any hostages," Barone answered directly.


Ryuko immediately uncloaked allowing her visibleness to appear. Ryuko looked around at the settlement around her and immediately, the first words out of her mouth were. "dirty!" Her tone of voice conveyed her disgust, and she patted her sides as if she could find something she could use to clean the place around her.


Barone for his part cocked an eyebrow, then nodded as he put together the situation. "Ah, you're Ryuko. We'll talk about how dirt's dirty later. Dokusei, Valla, grab the CBRN kit and decontaminate the radiation here. I want the people here on iodine and the aether radiation clear. Rikugun will be here to relieve you in a few hours."


"Hey, Spooky. I just lost contact with your communicator," Thorn informed Barone, "it made a circular path before it went offline and one of my EYEs caught sight of what might be a cloaked ship. It's gotta be where they landed, it's hidden really well."


"La Prossima, load up," Barone ordered, donning his helmet as he stepped up the open ramp, "time to figure out what's really going on here."