RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 25] Stolen Pride (YE 38)

[The Real Bames Jond]

UX-1 Surface - Basin Area

Mao felt her hairs standing on end as she watched the ship's crew take to the survival packs. She was out of her depth and had only the most basic training in survival tactics and abilities. She wasn't the best at foraging for food or finding water or even simple hunting without something like a proper bow and arrow or rifle. So the young Samurai kept close at Hanako's side and listened to the plans being discussed. Everything seemed fine enough and it looked like the crew's familiarity was paying off in coordinating with one another, while she was in the same position as their inter-dimensional traveler to some measure. But as things went on she couldn't help but feel some sort of nagging sensation at the back of her mind as she followed the SAoY Admiral at her slower pace. She started to think about what had happened: the ship swooping down on them, their own being plucked away, and how they hadn't been just bombarded from orbit.

Why would whoever was responsible only take the ship and leave the crew? If it was simply for the prize of the SAoY's most famous ship in a collection or put up for sale, then with the nearby lighthouse they'd have to know any crew on the ground would find a way to give chase, and it'd just be more loose ends to unravel their operation if there were survivors. To capture the ship in an attempt to use it for some sort of infiltration would be just as useless if they left the crew alive for the same reason: the plan could potentially be spoiled before they'd even gotten out of the system with her. Whatever reason Mao could come up with, it was disarmed by the simple fact that the crew were all still alive even if a small few were left aboard when the ship had been captured. Their new enemy was either a total fool or Mao was skipping some steps in the plan and it was foolish to plan on your enemy being incompetent.

Mao frowned. Something she was doing a lot lately.

"I would suggest we get moving quickly, Hime-sama. If we are alone right now, I don't expect we will be for much longer." She scanned around them and suddenly realized how foolish she had been to think that they had been totally safe and alone in this place, "If we make it to the lighthouse then you can shelter in place and rally a defense against whoever comes our way. If they weren't going to send troops or assassins then they would have already vaporized us from orbit, I think."

Even if the wilderness was not a strongsuit, survival in combat was. Mao was finding her strengths could be played to even here.

 

[Reynolds]

UX-1 I Surface

Mitsuko let out a little sigh of relief as most of her suggestions were taken. This might just go relatively smoothly after all. She nodded to Suites as he approached Jackson for assistance with something technical. The Logistics Neko double checked the supplies she had packed, but she seemed confident they were enough to keep the group of four stocked for their short trip. A little bit of everything, although she'd left the majority behind for the larger group. And even though she'd been happy to ignore the Nepleslian supplies at first, one item had caught Tsuguka's attention, and that drew hers as well.

"Although we are all equipped with our personal sidearms, I believe it would be prudent to designate that Nepleslian shotgun for Tsuguka's security assignment. Our group would likely encounter any possible resistance before the rest of the crew, and it may be useful for gaining entrance to the Bisen Lighthouse, if all else fails." She looked between the small kit that had been assembled and Tsuguka, nodding. If there were any objections, it would likely be up to Umeshu to make the final decision. Mitsuko made sure her backpack was secure, preparing herself for the long flight they were about to begin.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

UX-1 I Surface

"Arigato, Mitsuko-Heisho. I agree with that idea, even if it is not me that takes it." Tsuguka bowed fully upon the suggestion, as if receiving some ancient sword of legend. Really, she was just glad that the logistics officer had made the same logical leap. It was a close combat weapon, basically a pop gun given what they were up against. It wouldn't do the rest of the group much good, out here in the open, anyways. A glance made it clear what she was thinking; Mao was the one weapon that she trusted to keep the rest of them in one piece, for now.

"It would be insulting to ask you to care of the Shosho for me, but..." It was her first mission, perhaps, but Tsuguka had steeled her nerves with the idea that all that keen demeanor wasn't just for show. The sentence was left unfinished, and simply concluded with another bow towards the samurai.

Time to get to work. The red neko used her communicator to bring up an old fashioned analog clock display, and held up the hour hand in the direction of the two sun's apparent center of gravity. Bisecting to the 12th numeral to find south would have been a hell of a lot easier with only one star, but she still had the system's navigation data profile on hand at least. Same way she knew about the star port...

"Taii Yamashiro, I just remembered..." A concerned glance, through she was still focused on getting orientated before their long trip. "Sorry for interrupting, ma'am, but the frontier starport definitely should have come equipped with medaevac shuttles, and probably also a bunch of land cargo vehicles. It might be worth trying to contact those too, if we aren't out of range... I'm not sure about the details, but... Well, it's common sense that those would have taken a substantial effort to either remove or destroy completely. They are supposed to be rather large complexes..."

...Unless the enemy has looted those too. Or is using it as their base of operations... She added, internally. Mao's sentiment had taken her back to the very moment of the attack, and her abject surprise on how they weren't simply exterminated with one quick bombing run. It just would have been easier.

"It's hard to know the exact distance without a proper map, but it should be in that direction, ma'am... Three or four days at worst... I don't have the crew logs to reference your exact personal flight speed records, either." Another glance to Mitsuko, and then towards the lilac-skinned pilot, who she had rarely even spoken to before today. "Excuse the lack of candor, but we should be brisk, Taii Umeshu."

 

[Rhysis]

Surface

It made sense, really, that Wazu would be the one to even consider Marcus as being anything other than a liability at this point. Not many others would have any real idea what it was like back where he was from. To this group of Yamataian military personnel, the ship being stolen was a shocking turn of events that would probably be talked about for years to come, though from behind closed doors. To someone from Marcus' world, this was par for the course. There were reasons Marcus didn't leave the most valuable portion of the gear he'd brought from home. Their current situation proved the wisdom of that decision.

Moving back over to Wazu, Marcus offered the assistance that had been asked. He scanned through the various kits and picked up the second kit and third kits. "I can offer my services as an ephemeral medic. I'm no doctor, but I'm in charge of training my company's security personnel in all areas, including first aid and emergency care."

With the supplies he would carry chosen, Marcus set to granting Wazu's other request, as well. Natural material wasn't difficult to find, and the tarps were soon camouflaged. He brought them back and laid them out for a quick inspection as he moved closer to Wazu, speaking a bit more quietly than he had before. "You've been to Ayenee before, Heram. I've thought of a couple different backup plans..." He quieted even further, and his tone became deeply serious. "I just pray I don't have to offer them up."

 

[Zack]

Surface

Wazu would give the situation a bit more consideration, dropping two glow-sticks into each pack before moving the one with the shotgun closer to Tugs,

“Go ahead and take it,”

Wazu moved the pack with the shotgun closer to Tugs. He would then start moving the rest of the unused Nepleslian equipment over to the hole that Aikiko was preparing.

“We could easily drop this in, and cover it with the tarp...

And it may be a bit non-standard. But perhaps Marcus should take the pistol? I think everyone else has one on their uniform already?”

Wazu had only taken a quick glance at who was already carrying what, but the math was pretty simple. Despite going through the training programs of several militates, he was still only human, and likely the worst shot in the group. The weapons would be better off in someone else's hands.

 

[Gunsight1]

Surface

Natsumi glanced up from the radio set as Tsuguka spoke to her. She nodded, "If I can contact the base, I should be able to access one of the support craft through the base communications system and remote pilot a shuttle down to pick us all up, if there are any there still and if they still work" she shrugged as she continued to work at the subspace radio.

"Also, I would like your team to take the other subspace radio set from the survival kit" she said, "It has the range to keep us in contact and will give the advanced team the ability to attempt to contact off planet in case things go wrong"

 

[Samanthia]

:: Surface ::

Aikiko looked up at Wazu, waist deep in the hole she was making and adding the final touches to. "Unless it can fool sensors, I'll be more than happy use it."

She took the crate from him and set it in the ground within the hole. She made sure the crate was re-sealed to protect what left shoving it to a corner.

"I could use another dunking in the river." Looking at herself, dirt smudged and poncho streaked with soil. She gave a quick shy smile that made her seem more feminine and childlike than the tough stoic Ex-Peacekeeper and SAoY soldier.

 

[BloodyScarlet]

Surface

Taharial checked over the kits hoping for some help with her medical supplies and growled when she saw that there was only a nepleslian med kit "This isn't good, we have nepleslian medical supplies and at the moment, so both good and bad, but still no way to deal with very serious injury to crew member" she was mumbling to herself trying to think what she could do.

There was alcohol so she can clean and sterilize wounds and equipment easily, she looked at the others "May I have some of that whiskey, I can use it in medical emergencies." She looks around trying to think what else she could use apart from the medical kit and grumbled more but then then looked at Hanako "Um Ma'am, I could use my wings for a bit and see if I can see anything else apart from the lighthouse around."

 

[Wes]

Two hours later, Umeshu's team finally reached the lighthouse.

- - -

Meanwhile, the main group with Hanako was making their way there when they saw shuttles and small, unfamiliar starfighters rocketing through the sky. They were vaguely manta-ray shaped and looked kind of...junky.

"Find cover! Get to the rocky area over there!" Hanako shouted, rushing towards a nearby canyon.

Huge plumes of dirt shot up into the air as the fighters strafed the area. One of the hit sent Blackberry flying like a ragdoll, spinning several times and landing mostly in a creek bed while one of her arms landed some distance away.

"Umeshu, this is Hanako, we are being attacked!" the Shosho sent.

Off in the distance, the transport shuttle began landing and hundreds of Rixxikor began pouring out and rushing towards the Eucharis crew.

 

[paladinrpg]

Surface

"Hai, If a shuttle is there, we will be back as swiftly as the wind. Please stay safe, Hanako-sama." Umeshu gave a quick salute to the Shosho after her little motivational speech, as she was designated the leader of the expedition to make contact with the Lighthouse.

The officer gathered up her team without further ado as time was of the essence, trying to put on a brave smile as she did so. She was already fairly familiar with the installation since she had originally made contact just for weather monitoring information moments before, totally unaware it would soon turn into needing it for such a desperate situation. But with Mitsuko's preparedness, Suite's technical know-how, and Tsuguka's combat abilities there was little to be frightened of -- and she certainly had no compunctions giving the red terror liberty to wield the shotgun. With her past samurai training, Umeshu certainly had the endurance to maintain her anti-gravity flight for a bit more than the average Nekovalkyrja, too.

Making sure her communicator was picking up the tracking information, the purple-skinned Hashimoto-Taii began to hover a few inches off the ground. "Minna, ikimasyou!" she urged them onward in Yamataigo, pointed into the distance to their destination before zipping off at nearly 70 mph with her fellow scouts in a trail of fine volcanic dust.

Bisen Lighthouse

Umeshu felt the aches in her synthetic body and the drops of cooling sweat through her plum hair as she pushed herself with a last burst of inertia force all the way to the top of the rocky hilltop where the Bisen was located, the white hexagonal structure anchored to the rocky surface by four struts. It was a momentary struggle to manually open the nearby airlock mechanism, and once the doorway was clear, she extended her violet hands to grab the others of her party inside before the door to the chamber shut behind them with a rush of cool air.

She laid slumped up against the wall for a second to catch her breath, looking down to see parts of her best dress uniform's sleeves were now ripped and torn from the exertion, ash and grit from her forced flight caked up elsewhere. The newly minted Taii sighed once to herself at the sorry sight she had become, before reaching for her communicator to contact the AIES system and disable the inner airlock door with a 'fwoosh' of clean air that started replacing the primal one from outside. It was just then the urgent distress call came in from Hanako's team and she bolted upright.

"Oh no, Hanako-sama... she's... she's under attack!" Umeshu exclaimed, skin turning a bit paler shade of purple. "I think the sixth floor where the shuttle bay is located. There might be equipment lockers here that have something else we could use. Hayakushite... we have to get them to safety."

 

[Blizzard]

Valley

Jax ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the chaos. The world around him was strangely silent and serene. He watched Blackberry get blown to bits, and under other circumstances would've become sick to his stomach. Right now, though, his basic instincts were kicking in. Survive. Hide. Kill the attackers.

Hanako's orders came to him in a muffled state, as if being spoken in another room. He didn't really need to hear them, anyways; he already knew what to do.

He could feel himself panting out words between breaths. He couldn't quite decipher them, but he was pretty sure it was a long, complicated string of swear words.

JUMP! a little voice in his subconscious urged him. JUMP! NOW!

Jackson had made it to the canyon, and without thinking, listened to the voice. He wrapped his tail tightly around his waist, flattened his ears against his head, and dove forward as hard as he could. Behind him, a searing heat could be felt burning into the back of his uniform. Several flecks of dirt bounced off of him. Then, the shock wave from the impact propelled him towards a giant boulder. He began to tumble. He was definitely airborne, that much was for certain. He had no choice but to let gravity and momentum do their thing.

He landed ass-first and began rolling and bouncing along the ground, finally coming to a jarring halt against the rock. The back of his head smacked into it, and he felt the wind get knocked out of him. The blinding pain helped him come out of his haze, but now he was seeing double. He choked and wheezed as he tried to suck precious air back into his lungs. He was aware of shapes in the distance, charging after them. They weren't friendly.

Jax scrambled behind the boulder on his hands and knees, feeling his heart furiously pumping adrenaline through his veins. He sat against the backside of the boulder, and could feel something warm and wet trickling down the back of his head. He drew his pistol. Soon after, his vision and hearing returned.

"Shoulda stayed in bed today..." he groaned aloud after peering around the corner and scoping out the advancing Rixxikor.

 

[Zack]

Surface

Wazu was fortunate enough to be lagging behind the group as the fighters strafed them, managing to escape the worst of the enemy fire. At first there was a slight shock that they had just been strafed... then anger, then the slow, deliberate pushing of that feeling down so that he could focus on the problem at hand. There were fighters in the air and they didn't have anything to shoot them down with. Hanako's best option was to lead everyone into a canyon where the rixxikor ground soldiers could easily pin them down... but it was better than dealing with aircraft.

"AIKIKO! THE TARP MIGHT HIDE US FROM THE PLANES." Wazu shouted, Thermal imaging, ground clutter, and lots of other sciencey words didn't quite make it out of his mouth as he ran towards the creek bed. Covering them with the tarp may work for a little while against aircraft, but it probably would just mean they would end up the last ones killed.

He put his full body into the run, quickly reaching where Blackberry had landed. He was already fatigued, his body already hurting even before he slammed himself down into the ground beside Blackberry's body one hand already sliding off his backpack to check inside while the other reached out, hovering right by Blackberry's mouth.

The fighters would be making another pass soon, and she had a few moments to breathe on his hand to show she was still alive.

 

[Samanthia]

:: Surface ::

Aikiko had lagged back with Wazu when the first passing of the fighters. She hit the dirt as the first impacts hit the ground and then followed by explosions sending deadly debris like a fragmentation grenade. And the concussion. From her earlier work in burying the remaining supplies, she was already streaked with dirt, letting her blend in a bit better than the others.

She darted ahead to recover Blackberry's arm and gave it a toss to land next to Blackberry. As she hovered horizontally as she snaked her way to Wazu and Blackberry were at. Landing on the other side of Blackberry. Using a length of t5-50 parachute cord, put on a tourniquet to stop the loss of blood to increase Blackberry's chances at survival. She let Wazu cover the three of them up. With the exception that she could see out after applying the tourniquet. "She's all yours."

She gave him a smile. Her white teeth shown in the semi-darkness under the tarp. "I hope so!" she muttered to Wazu, referring to the tarp that covered the three of them.

 

[Gunsight1]

Surface

Natsumi had been walking beside Hanako. Considering the situation, thing had not been all that bad. A couple hours walk in the great outdoors, fresh air and all. That said, Natsumi was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Which it did, of course. She watched in horror as fighters straifed them, Blackberry took a hit and ragdolled scross the landscape, missing an arm. Narsumi felt her stomach turn as the fellow operator and someone she liked and respected was quite possibly killed before her eyes.

She was going to bolt over to aid Blackberry, but the landing shuttle disgorging troops and the quick sight of Wazu and Akiko already helping her persuaded her to stick with her Shosho.

Natsumi kept pace with Hanako, her NSP drawn as she imposed herself between Hanako and the offloading troops as they ran for cover.

There was little time. The fighters would be back very soon and the enemy troops upon them soon after that. They needed to reach some sort of cover.

"Those are Rixxicore troops offloading from that shuttle!" she said to Hanako as she hazarded a glance over her shoulder. "Guess we know whos at least partly involved with stealing the ship!"

 

[Wes]

Canyon

The Shosho rolled behind a jagged rocky outcrop for cover. "Yui used to say, 'we are not surrounded, we are just in a target-rich environment,'" Hanako shouted over the sound of bullet impacts. "The Rixxikor have graciously brought us exactly what we need. We just have to kill them to get it. Step one, take down Rixxikor with rocket launchers and take them. Step two, shoot down the..." Hanako paused to count. "....three fighters so the airspace is clear. Step 3, take their shuttles and use them to leave this planet. They might even be used to sneak into the place where the Eucharis is being held. All these things have to be done as quickly as possible. Fire at will! If you run out of ammo, use one of their weapons!"

Wazu found Blackberry was alive but severely injured.

Bisen Lighthouse

The lighthouse seemed to be in overall good condition. They could see most of the repair kits and other kits were still there on the shelves, which was a good sign.

 

[Rhysis]

Canyon

Marcus followed in step just as if he'd been taking orders in the midst of combat situations for decades. He listened to the instructions given to the group, then nodded an affirmative in response. He realized the Shosho probably didn't see it. She had to focus on the Rixxikor. It didn't matter to him.

~Feels just like home.~ He thought to himself as he surveyed the situation. ~Wouldn't want to get bored, after all.~

There were several areas, particularly in an unknown universe, where Marcus was useless. This wasn't one of them. He was raised, trained and genetically modified for combat. True, the physical capabilities of his current companions exceeded his. However, he had them in one area...mental.

Marcus' father spent a fair amount of time modifying his children's physical characteristics. The main reason for it, however, was to allow their bodies to handle the strain that the mental modifications would cause. Because of the biological augmentations to his brain, Marcus' ability to process information while conscious matched the speed at which he could process it while unconscious, when a dream that takes up only a few seconds seems to span thirty or more minutes. Doing this came at a great cost, but he currently had little option.

They were pinned down, outnumbered, outmaneuvered and outgunned. He took the gun and ammo he'd gotten from the Nepleslian Marcus suddenly heard a faint ringing in one ear as he made his move. Thankfully, Natsumi had picked a rocky area. As the fighters moved away after their strafing run, Marcus darted from behind the outcropping and off to the side, to another small group of rocks. Then he did it, again, this time moving more forward. He needed to get away from the main group, and hopefully draw some of the Rixxicor to him.

As he rushed behind yet another group of rocks, now close to the edge of the canyon, he stopped and waited, picked up a few of the smaller rocks around and tested them for weight. Picking a spot some distance away, he hurled one. It missed just slightly. He adjusted his aim accordingly and threw another one. Dead on target. As quickly as he was able, he removed something from his pouch and stuck it to one of the bullets of the handgun he'd gotten. He sighed and shook his head, but reassured himself. "Not gonna need it, anyway, if you die here, Marcus."

With a smirk, he poked his head out from behind his chosen rock and pulled a David and Goliath, hurling rocks at the foes. The first throw was just a large handful of rocks before he ducked back down. He needed to get their attention. A few shots ricocheted off his chosen cover, then a small squadron broke off to handle him. He poked his head out, again, and began picking off the approaching group, launching rocks directly at their heads. A couple he knocked down, a couple he knocked out. At least two he actually managed to kill. There were hundreds of them, and he had very limited ammo.

A couple more shots were fired, then more troops took off after him as the rest of the horde continued toward the crew. ~Yep, just like home.~ He thought as he waited behind the rock, scanning the surrounding area. Yes, this area would do nicely. Hopefully, the rest of the crew could use the rocky and sandy terrain to their advantage.

Spoiler: The ensuing fight.

The six original troops had been taken out quickly, and the Rixxicor had tripled the number that went after him this time. Marcus played whack-a-mole, only this time as the mole, as he popped out from random locations around the rocks where he was hiding and launched more of the smaller stones. He managed to take out three more troops, then ducked behind and repositioned himself to a squat.

As the Rixxicor troops neared, Marcus found two particularly sharp rocks and grabbed one in each hand. The enemy fighters poured around the small group of rocks with speed and ferocity. To Marcus, though, they looked like they were moving, at best, at half speed. As the first one leaped over the rock and landed on the ground in front of Marcus, he sprang forward and shoved the sharp rocks into the back of the neck of the strange creature, not even leaving it time to turn around.

Wasting no time, Marcus grabbed the gun the thing was carrying as it fell and spun to fire a shot at the next two closest lanky bugs before he had to leap backward, over the body of his first target, as he saw several other salvaged weapons pointed at him, and knew digits would be tightening on the triggers. Sure enough, at least half a dozen shots brought up a rain of sand and rocks as they impacted on the ground. Marcus aimed and fired a shot at the rock face behind his targets. The Rixxicor were fast, and he had to roll to the side to avoid a swipe of claws from another enemy. He quickly grabbed the arm of the would-be attacker and kicked at its back. With only an exoskeleton and no bones to hold it in place, the attempted dislocation resulted in a disconnection. The creature screamed and Marcus fired a shot at its back.

He spun and swung the disconnected arm at another one, slicing into its thin neck. The thing's flailing claws caught Marcus in the left arm, thankfully without acid, and he kicked it away and propelled himself backward at the same time, firing another shot at the rock face, and two more into Rixxicor chests.

Three more guns were pointed at him, and he was able to accurately judge the angle of the projectiles, or rather, of two of them. As he twisted out of the way of two shots, the third grazed the middle of his back. He winced in pain as he finished his turn. Still, he managed to remain focused and shot into the heads of each of the three.

He was down to four opponents. He darted forward to the rock he'd been hiding behind at first, snatching up the gun of one of the other fallen bugs as he went. He didn't know how much ammo they held, and he wasn't going to chance it. As he pressed himself against the rock, he took aim and fired at another of the mantis-like heads, then he threw the first gun he'd had at two of the last three fighters. It distracted them long enough for him to dart forward and fire into each of their abdomens three times, and follow up with several more shots at the rock face.

There was a sudden burning sensation on his right calf. The last remaining combatant had shot acid at him as he'd run forward. It had been aiming at his back, but it had failed to compensate for the speed at which he traveled. Though only a small amount actually made contact with his body, it was enough to do what it was intended, as it started to sear his flesh. Still, he didn't have a choice. There were hundreds of these things running down the canyon. He had to finish what he'd started if the crew was going to stand a chance. A final shot into the chest of the last Rixxicor fighter eliminated the immediate threat to him, but there was still something he had to do. He picked up one of the second rifles and readied himself.

Marcus took aim and fired at the rock face in three strategic locations. Then, trying his hardest not to favor his newly acquired wounds, he looked out from behind the rocks where he'd hidden, and unloaded the remaining ammunition loads of the two Rixxicor rifles he held into the trail end of the group that had been pouring down the canyon. He took out several until the ammunition was depleted, randomly leaping from side to side to avoid behind hit further.

It did precisely what he'd wanted it to do. The attention of the group had been obtained, nearly 150 of the bug creatures, at the tail end of the group, peeled off and started after the lone human. Marcus took place, once again, behind the rocks he'd used for cover, grabbed another of the fallen Rixxicor's rifles and pulled out the handgun, taking aim with the smaller gun at the rock face.

"One..." He breathed.

"Two..." He focused.

"Three..." He fired.

The bullet that he'd loaded with the explosive material he'd been saving to begin construction of his business' building rocketed out of the gun and exploded on the now weakened rock face. Material compression technology had been put to a rather unconventional use. Non-living material didn't have to be converted into energy. Nearly two tons of nitrate explosive mixtures, half of what he'd brought, had been affixed to the tip of that bullet. The bullet struck the rock, and the spark he needed ignited the mixture. The result was a small avalanche of rocks tumbling down the side of the stone enclosure. Marcus ran with a limp the opposite direction, seeking out further cover from other rocks. The large group of Rixxicor was completely buried, removing a huge chunk of the threat from the crew, and creating a large wall that any further bug troops would have to scale in order to get to him.

Marcus hid himself away in a narrow alcove, pointed the rifle at the entrance, and unfocused his mind. The world resumed normal speed, and he nearly screamed in pain at the resulting physical and mental ramifications hit him. He couldn't maintain it, though. To do so would doom himself. For now, he waited, and watched as much as he was able for enemy troops. At least, where he was, if they showed up, they wouldn't be able to come at him more than one at a time.

 

[Blizzard]

Canyon

"Yes, ma'am!" Jackson called back, firing his pistol around the rock with one hand while trying to apply pressure to the wound on his head with the other. He grinned in satisfaction when he watched a few of the bugs drop from his shots. At this point, he considered them less than people, so he didn't really feel guilty about killing them.

Jax, high on adrenaline, ducked back in to avoid several bullets with his name on them. He popped out once more, using both hands to steady the weapon, and spotted a bug with one of said rocket launchers coming in too close. The Rix stopped and raised his weapon, and he and the engineer locked eyes.

"Say goodbye, asshole!" both shouted in their respective tongues. Jackson was quicker, fortunately, and shot the bug down before he could get a bead on him. As the Rixxikor fell backwards, he inadvertently squeezed the trigger and send a rocket flying up towards the canyon wall. The resulting blast sent several large chunks of rock hurling down, which decimated a small group of three advancing on the right. To say the least, Jax was pleased with himself at pulling off something so action movie-esque.

"He dropped a launcher! I'm gonna go for it!" Jax alerted his crew members. Part of his engineer training included a short lesson on anti-tank strategy. He wasn't sure how it'd work on fighters, but he figured killing people wasn't rocket science.

Jax peered out from behind cover to check to see if the coast was clear. It was. He changed clips for his pistol, counted to three, and ran as fast as he could for the fallen Rixxikor. He stopped and bent over the corpse, still burning from the laser wounds, and scooped up the launcher and a rocket. Without wasting another second, Jax ran back for his boulder. He knelt and aimed the launcher high, squinting against the sun to find the fighters. There they were! He aimed for the one at the front of the pack and activated the laser-lock. The launcher beeped slowly for several seconds as he kept the sights on the plane, then screeched out one long, continuous tone.

"I got a lock! Firing!" He called out. He squeezed the trigger, and a rocket hurled into the blue, screaming towards the fighter. Sadly, he didn't get to see if it hit, because he heard movement behind him.

"Here, kitty!" one of the disgusting voices hissed evilly. Jackson felt his heart stop. He slowly turned around and found himself starring down the barrel of a rifle. A Rixxikor was holding it, wearing a t-shirt that read "Fuck the Police!". For a moment, they stared at each other.

"You shoulda beeen watching yor back, mayne!" the roach cackled. Jax stared, unable to find words, with absolute horror and shock. "Now yu gunna die, fucker!"

Spoiler

...Time stopped, and suddenly Jax came to realize how screwed he was- how close he was to death. As corny as it sounds, he began to reflect on his life. Growing up on Nepleslia, moving to Yamatai, joining the military, the countless arguments with his parents...

...Umeshu.

This is it. Sleep now. Just give up. Came the voice from before, urging him to stand still and accept his fate. For a moment, Jackson agreed. Better this way. Quick and painless. Don't draw out the inevitable. But something else urged him to fight on:

...An image of an ornate hairpin.

"Fuck that!" Jax roared at the bug man. Acting on pure instinct, he chucked the rocket launcher at him. The bug easily held up his arms and deflected it, but he wasn't prepared for the thing that came next: One hundred and ninety pounds of pissed-off Minkan diving at him head-first, fingers outstretched like the claws of a wild beast, and making a noise that could only be described as a mix between an enraged bellow and the sound a tiger makes when you poke it with a hot branding iron.

Later, Jax would come to realize that aside from purring and mewling, he could roar.

"You think you can kill me?!" Jax shouted in the bug's face as he pinned it to the ground and began wildly pounding, clawing, and grabbing. The Rixxikor screamed in terror and pain, but the engineer didn't let up in his onslaught. It was his first true taste of combat, and he was acting on autopilot. Without thinking, Jackson picked up a rock and began bashing the ugly creature's face in.

"I'm. Not. DYING!" he roared with finality, bringing the stone down with each syllable. He kept going for what seemed like an eternity. The bug had long since perished by the time Jax climbed off of him, panting, suddenly worn out from the massive surge of adrenaline. He plopped down against the rock again, seemingly oblivious to the fighting, trying to refocus his scrambled mind.

With a deep breath, Jackson stood again, and picked up the bug's rifle. Just then, two more Rix came around the corner, and he casually mowed them down with a spray of machine gun fire.

"Taii! Shosho! Merry Christmas!" he shouted to his commanding officers, picking up the rifles and tossing them their way.

 

[Zack]

Canyon

Wazu took off his pack, using it to lift up Blackberry's legs to put her in a recovery position. Aikiko had scene to slowing the loss of blood, and was currently keeping watch. Unfortunately, Wazu was not a medic, and he had reached the limit of what he was reasonably able to do for the Neko.

"I assume we will need to move soon?"

Keeping her still as long as possible would be their best option, letting her body's own healing abilities do what they could for as long as they could... but one way or another they would not be able to stay where they were much longer. He would take the towel from his pack and put it over his shoulders, then start looking through the small vials he had brought from the Nepleslian pharmacy kit. One came in pill form, the other was a liquid... and he would end up using one to help swallow the other, gagging slightly at the intense metallic taste of the synthetic substances.

He would then take Blackberry's service pistol, and tuck it into his pocket.

"If we have to retreat, our best option may be to hide her somewhere and come back."

Wazu would look up from Blackberry for a moment.

"Keep an eye out and let me know when we need to move."

 

[Reynolds]

Bisen Lighthouse

Mitsuko began to regret her decision to carry the backpack full of supplies after the first hour. Misato or Tsuguka were likely prepared to march on rocky terrain with twice the load for days at a time, but she definitely wasn't cut out for Infantry work. It had been a long time since basic training. At least for a Neko. Although they'd been flying instead of walking, she'd still been forced to use this ability at her maximum output continuously, when she normally only used it in small bursts to get around. As Umeshu worked to gain access to the outpost, she leaned against the side of the building. Attaching herself to it was far easier than zipping around.

While waiting her turn, she looked back the way they had come. "There's something..." She mumbled, half to herself, squinting behind her glasses as her vision zoomed as far as it could. "Ships." That was all she could determine at this distance, before she had to return to look at what was right in front of her, making her way inside after the others. She frowned as Umeshu reported in on the communication she'd received. "I assume those were the ships I spotted, although they were too far away to make out any details." Even at this distance, metal shapes in the sky were fairly easy to classify. "...they located our leader and the two civilians, but paid no attention to the only structure on the entire planet?" She shared another look with Suites, before shaking her head.

"Yes, if there is a shuttle available, it should be parked on the top floor." She took stock of the storage area that made up the ground floor they had entered. One look was all Mitsuko needed to know that everything was in its proper place. "The supplies have not been disturbed, so hopefully everything is free and functional. I suggest Tsuguka-Hei lead the way to the top, Taii. While you investigate the shuttle, Suites-Heisho and myself will move to the third floor to access the computers. We maybe be able to find information in the logs, or utilize the Lighthouse's scanners or communications." She pointed towards the main elevator, although there was also a ladder with a hatch above it, if they were up for even more exertion today.

 

[Samanthia]

Canyon

Aikiko, suddenly shifted back onto her knees as she twisted, scooping up Blackberry, one arm under her knees and the other about her upper back, just below the armpits. "Fall back! follow!"

Taking the advantage of the distraction as the others drew the Rixxikor attention from them.

"Bring the tarp!" She spoke with authority to Wazu as she rose to her feet, lifting her up with the proper techinque and stayed low, going carefully yet with purpose deeper into the rocky canyon, picking a route that provided both cover (protection) and concealment from the advancing Rixxikors. She carried Blackberry with her, going as smoothly, not to aggravate her anymore than necessary.

"If you need more ammo, use my service pistol." Aikiko was looking for a bottle neck to limit the numbers of the Rixxikors, she knew would soon follow once spotted or Wazu was forced to shoot drawing the roaches attention their way.