RP: YSS Aeon [Mission 2.1] Squids Come Calling

[Cowboy]

Trowa bit back a curse as the Aeon took another hit. So far he had done a fair job of avoiding most of the enemy heavy fire, but those pods were starting to really get on his nerves. They were slowly chopping away at the shields. "Aye, Ma'am." Trowa said to the Taii's orders. He sent a quick message to Integrity. "Integrity, Aeon, we're going to hit that forth destroyer first, it hasn't been hit very hard yet. Then we'll finish off those first two ships we hit earlier. You copy?"

Trowa didn't get a chance to hear the answer. He suddenly through the ship into a sharp climb then spun the ship side-over-side, barely missing a blast of enemy fire and then was just able to avoid colliding with several battle pods. "That destroyer is really starting to piss me off." Trowa muttered under his breath. "Integrity, Follow the Aeon and stay right behind us. With any luck, that destroyer won't know test you. We'll fly in shoot and then break off. Their guns should follow us and allow you a free sucker punch." Trowa marked the target and sent the target lock to Integrity. "All right here we go."

 

[Nashoba]

"Aeon this is Integrity we have your six." came the reply and the other gunship smoothly fell into position. As they approached the enemy ship they could see the ships lighting flicker as they crew aboard it attempted to reroute power and restore their ship to combat mode. As the Aeon approached several of the guns sluggishly turned to open fire on the ship. They struck the shields with a ringing sound but did not penetrate.

 

[Cowboy]

Trowa steered the Aeon towards the NMX destroyer. In the corner of his view screen a range indicator was steadily falling as they drew closer and closer to the ship. The range finder beeped, indicating that they were within firing range. Trowa glanced at his target sensors to make sure they still had the target locked, then fired.

A half second after the Aeon fired Trowa pulled the ship up hard and flew over the NMX Destroyer. As they passed over, Trowa fired their Type 31 Secondary Anti-Starship Turrets down on top of them, adding to the damage and the confusion.

 

[Nashoba]

The Integrity flying in formation with the Aeon fired its main cannons and their four Heavy Dual Anti-Starship Gun Turrets, they were about to fire their Positron Cannons. When the NMX warship exploded into an expanding ball of debris and plasma.

Meanwhile aboard the Aeon Eternity's voice came from the bridge speakers, "Warning, multiple Hyperspace events have been detected, range 1 AU. Four NMX Destroyers have entered our proximity."

Katae looked at the sensor read out. This is starting to not look so good. A group of ships near the second inner planet, and now a new group. Best deal with the group just arriving, the others will take a while to arrive if they detect us. she thought.

She picked up the handset and opened the squadron channel "All ships, this is Ise-Taii. We have four confirmed NMX warships additional entering this region of space. Assume diamond formation. Aeon has point."

She then switched to the Away team frequency. "Away Team Aeon, four additional warships have entered our area. We are engaging, we'll rendezvous with you back here. Ise-Taii out."

"Yamamoo-Hei, lay in an intercept course for the new targets, close at .5C." she said.

 

[rpgramen]

With the Aeon under fire and the encroaching Mishhuvurthyar out of hyperspace, there wasn't much time for Ko to secure his chunk of debris-based cargo on-board the ship. With a lump in his throat and a potentially volatile knot in his stomach after the last pelting against the Aeon's shields, the young Santô Hei makd his move. Bolting from his seat with a swift swivel, the tri-corn adorned red-head began his dash off of the bridge and towards the cargo hold; having only one chance to get the precious cargo for analysis in-case a worst case scenario presented itself.

Hustling as fast as he was capable, the Yamataian soldier sprang his way from the bridge to the cargo-bay, finally reaching his intended destination with a wheeze and a huff, pausing only momentarily on the way to grab hold of one of the rails as the target of the Aeon and Integrity's bombardment erupted into a violent explosion. Heart racing, mind abuzz, and hands as jittery as someone on a roller-coaster, Ko maneuvered his way to the console governing the device he'd been so hasty to reach: the Graviton Beam Projector.

Tapping the console with attentive care, Ko watched as the Graviton Beam Projector's aiming reticule secured itself on one of the hunks of floating remnants torn from the destroyed NMX warship in lieu of the sanitary original target, its whereabouts lost to him given all the newfound clutter. While a delicate touch would certainly be a major advantage for this operation, there was just no having it. Nervous and afraid, Ko could do little more than drag the heap of debris on-board the Aeon with all the grace and bravado of a drunken horse. It wasn't perfect, but aside from the scraping of the interior of the cargo-bay as it hit the deck and some plasma scoring from the NMX ship's untimely explosion, the chunk of alien alloy now sat cozily within the bulk of the Star Army ship.

The excitement wasn't over, however. Before heading back to the bridge, there was still the matter of a new scan to be performed on the acquired Mishhuvurthyar technology. Chiefly, in that regard, was the concern of radiation brought on by the explosion, an unforeseeable occurrence that could either prove troublesome during examination or capable of contaminating the entire cargo-bay -- and Ko -- if not handled properly. Fiddling about with his belt for a moment, the frantic and newest member of the crew whipped out his Type 31 Science Scanner, carefully attaching the Emission module as a light sweat began to formulate across his brow.

With great care and concern, Ko began his diagnosis of the explosion-ridden chunk of alien craftsmanship, watching the readings for high-yield plasma radiation or the dissipation thereof plaintively. He could only suspect that the Taii wouldn't be too pleased to hear it if he'd inexplicably brought radioactive material on-board the Aeon... but it might have been the only chance the secure a sample.

 

[Cowboy]

Trowa looked up at main view screen at the four new NMX destroyers that had just joined the party. The Nepleslian swore softly and ran a diagnostics on the ship. A damage report scrolled on his screen and Trowa's cyber eye glowed red in frustration.

"Aye, aye Ma'am." said Trowa as he brought the Aeon around to face the new threat. The other ships began to form up on the Aeon. As soon as he got a green light from the other ships, Trowa pushed power to the engines and got the ship moving. He laid in a course that would intercept the NMX destroyers and glanced at the Taii nervously. I hope you've got a good trick up your sleeve, Ma'am. Thought Trowa as they drew closer.

 

[Nashoba]

The salvaged piece of NMX hull Ko had brought onboard had neither biological contamination nor any dangerouse radiation levels.

As the Aeon and the other ships of the 7th squadron came to their new heading Katae took stock of the situation. They had a few moments before the enemy ships would be in effective range. "All ships reinitialize sheilds." she sent out across the squadron channel.

"Yamamoo-Hei, prepare to engage evasive manuever delta-3. I am programming our EWS system to interfere with thier targeting systems as best as possible. Hold fire until all primary weapons are within range. We want maximum impace when we fire." Katae said.

 

[rpgramen]

With radiation levels within acceptable limits and no biological anomalies detected on his trusty scanner, Ko was pleased that his gamble had proven successful, dangerous as it might have been. A minor victory, but the battle hadn't ended yet.

His current assignment completed, Monomonoi Ko prepared for a repeat performance of how he'd arrived in the cargo-bay only moments prior, re-attaching his faithful scanner onto his belt with a strange sense of satisfaction. With a burst of speed and the heavy footfalls of leather boots against metal, the Science Advisor started his second sprint back to the lift of the YSS Aeon.

After reaching Deck Two via the Aeon's lift and dashing with all due allegro back onto the bridge, the crimson bowl-cut young Yamataian came to a dead halt beside the Sensor Station, winded, hair a mess, and face streaked with a light sweat but nevertheless ready and physically able to report.

"Mishhuvurthyar ship debris is securely aboard and stored in the Cargo Bay, Ise-Taii. There is no biological contamination, and cyclotron radiation emissions are well within safe norms." the Science Advisor explained, barely avoiding wheezing loudly as he slid into his seat to resume his duties without waiting for the commanding officer to respond.

Ko took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure as best as he could, surveying his station and the read-outs carefully as he re-adjusted himself to perform his designated duties. That familiar clutch in his gullet of uncertainty, fear, and adrenaline was still present; and likely would be until this ordeal ended one way or another.

"Secondary weapons and sensor relays are operational and ready on your mark, ma'am."

 

[Cowboy]

"Aye, Ma'am." Trowa did as he was ordered and reinitialize the shields. He went over in his mind all that a delta-3 evasive maneuver entailed. It wasn't an easy maneuver, but one he had practiced back in basic training. In a sim.

Trowa had the ship ready to do some fancy flying and fire all weapons as soon as the Taii gave the orders. "Awaiting your call, Ma'am. I'm ready to execute delta-3 evasive maneuver and to fire all weapons." He unconsciously dried his palms on his pants then took hold of the controls. I sure hope this works. he thought to himself.

 

[Nashoba]

As the squadron made their way toward the enemy, the Integrity rolled and moved so that it was flying in a mirror image of the Aeon. It then closed until the distance between the two ships was less than two meters.

"Taii Tso Ruiko to Aeon ready to initiate data synch of flight controls." came a male voice out of the speakers.

"Tso-Taii commence data synch, we have control." Katae said. "Yamamoo-Hei be sure to take into account that the Integrity is flying under our belly when you make your attack run. Get too close and you will smash them into the Mishhu vessels." she said looking at the young operator.

 

[rpgramen]

With the gap closing between the YSS Aeon, its well-armed entourage, and that of the NMX warships recently exited out of hyperspace, Ko's nervousness only multiplied. While simulations might have prepared him for what to do in the appropriate situation, they still couldn't differ the hard-earned experience necessary to remain completely calm under such dangerous conditions.

As it stood, however, this seemed the most opportune moment for the Science Advisor to procure technical data from the encroaching Mishhuvurthyar forces, as per his standing orders. With a silent series of taps upon his stations' console, Ko locked the MEGAMI's TQP-RDD on to the group of amassed Mishhuvurthyar-based starships in the distance, taking the chance and initiative to perform an active scan for a more in-depth tactical assessment and analysis at a later date; assuming the Aeon and its respective crew weren't annihilated in the cross-fire.

Now all Ko could do was silently pray that the enemy vessels weren't shielded by any sort of distortion-based or Anti-FTL Fields, and that the Taii's tactical assault on the Aeon's new quarry was successful.

 

[Nashoba]

Katae turned to the crew members in front of her. "I am jamming the Mishhu communications channels to keep them from calling for help. I am programing the EWS to also go to a rotating pattern to interfere with their targeting system, no telling how much time it will buy us. Once we are in effective range, all ships will fire upon the lead ship. They have their shields so we can not go for a quick kill. But 4 on 1 it won't last long. Set the anti-mech cannons to automatic, ignore the battle pods for the moment."

Meanwhile the crew members down in engineering worked on completing the reinitialization as well as bolstering the forward screens for the first pass. They dumped the shield system, and then recharged it bringing the shields back to full strength.

Meanwhile as if on cue the NMX warships began launching their battle pods.

 

[rpgramen]

"Aye aye, Ise-Taii." replied the skittish recruit reflexively, months of Star Army training having ingrained a fragment of what had become secondary militaristic nature overriding what would have normally been Ko's stalwart silence induced through stress, fear, or intense focus. His eyes affixed to the sensory relays sprawled across the console's screen and stomach aflutter, the Yamataian soldier looked on as the battlepods of the NMX warships spewed forth like angry hornets eager to penetrate the shielding and hull of the YSS Aeon.

The leagues between the amassed forces dwindled in what seemed like mere seconds, the digital representation between the Aeon and the lead NMX vessel of war rapidly evaporating from what Monomonoi perceived as safe distance to minimal firing range of the devastating Aether Shock Array attached to the front of the Plumeria-class Light Gunship.

The moment of truth was upon Ko... no, the entirety of the Aeon's crew and its escort group. It would come down to tactical superiority and the mettle of the Star Army and Mishhuvurthyar crews to determine who would be the victor this day; of who would live to fight another day, or end up captured -- if not worse.

"Ma'am," the red-headed Santô Hei chimed up, his voice fluctuating wildly as if something were lodged in his throat but otherwise audible as he turned to speak to his commanding officer proper, "Aether Shock Array is zero-point-three AU from minimal firing range of Beam and Rapid Pulse modes against the lead Mishhuvurthyar warship and closing." The update -- while perhaps not necessary, given the far greater tactical experience of the Taii -- seemed worth mentioning, as was the role of his assigned station.

 

[Cowboy]

Trowa took a deep breath and suddenly found himself very calm. Despite the fact that he was running high on adrenalin, Trowa knew exactly what he had to do. He had a target lock on the NMX ships and sent the data to the other ships in formation. At the other station, Monomonoi-Hei reported the range to the Taii. Trowa glanced at the other man and felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Sounds like I'm not the only one here who is nervous about this. He thought to himself. Out loud, Trowa said, "Awaiting your order to execute, Ma'am." The word execute, struck Trowa as ironic. Someone was indeed about to be executed, but was it the Star Army, or the NMX?

 

[Nashoba]

Katae listened as the bridge crew were reporting their readiness. They are doing well for a pair of green soldiers. I would have preferred to give them some time to get some practice under their belts. But this war has other plans. Baptism of fire it is. In her opinion it was a good thing coming from two new recruits, because not only were they informing her, by reporting as they were they let the other know they were ready. Katae watched as they were entering the optimum firing position.

The NMX fired first spreading their fire on the squadron. The shields of the squadron deflected a portion of the deadly energy.

Katae opened the comm channel to the Squdaron, as the squadron entered effective range she said to the bridge crew and the ships. "All ships fire at the lead NMX vessel now!"

 

[Cowboy]

Trowa's body tugged at his restraints as the Aeon took was hit by the NMX first shot. But there overlapping shields had taken most of the blast, giving them a chance to deal a punch of their own. Trowa heard the Taii's order to fire. "Firing!" Trowa reported. The Aeon and her support ships fired almost as one at the lead NMX destroyer. The space in between the two battle groups became a brilliant and deadly light show as destructive energy flew towards the enemy ships.

Almost as soon as it had begun, the light show ended. But the results quickly followed. Explosions began to blossom along the lead NMX ship as torpedoes struck. The resulting flash almost blinded Trowa, except that his cybernetic eye dimmed to compensate for the extreme brightness allowing him to see where he was piloting. But even then it was just too bright to see whether or not the torpedoes had done any damage. Remembering that the Integrity was still beneath them, Trowa executed delta-3 evasive maneuver. As they flew past the NMX ships, Trowa fired a couple of torpedoes behind them at the destroyers. Maybe one or two of those other destroyers had taken a hit from their first attack and their shields might be down or weak. Either way, the resulting explosion would add to the confusion and allow the Aeon to put some distance between them until they came around for another pass.

 

[rpgramen]

Bracing up against the console as the YSS Aeon's shields absorbed the brunt of the Mishhuvurthyar's targeted assault, Ko was rocked by the forcible impact as the barrage shook the innards of the ship as if it were a highly-sophisticated military rattle.

As the slew of fire erupted from the conglomeration of Yamataian forces, the young Santô Hei observed his station. There on the monitor sat the situational readout, the familiar blinking red light signifying shield damage, silently screaming in all its sanguine glory. While the Aeon's defensive properties were still functioning and hull damage was minimal, it was nevertheless a clear indication that if the enemy vessels weren't dealt with quickly that their ensuing barrages would result in serious damage.

"E-enemy hit confirmed. Shields are holding. Hull d-damage is minimal." reported the Science Officer, a lump in his throat as he read out the Aeon's damage information.

 

[Nashoba]

The lead NMX warship was pelted by the squadron's attack. Its shields crumpled under the onslaught, but it was still operational. As the squadron flew by each of the ships the NMX concentrated their firepower on the Aeon and Integrity. The overlapped shields took the brunt of the force, but the hulls sounded with the energy that bled through.

On the bridge of the Aeon Katae instructed the two bridge personnel, "Continue firing at the lead ship with all weapons that can get a fix on it. Prepare to invert the formation and engage the lead ship with main cannons."

 

[Nashoba]

The lead NMX warship was pummeled by the squadron's first attack. Its shields crumpled under the onslaught, but it was still operational. As the squadron continued to close the ships the NMX concentrated their firepower on the Aeon and Integrity. The overlapped shields took the brunt of the force, but the hulls sounded with the energy that bled through.

On the bridge of the Aeon Katae instructed the two bridge personnel, "Continue firing at the lead ship with all weapons that can be brought to bear. Target their weapon systems if possible. And prepare to invert the formation after we pass them. O'Kutsuu-Hei, see if you can locate their power junction points. Targeting them may help cripple them."

 

[phacon]

Below in Engineering, Kame and Usagi both felt the flagship tremble from the latest barrage followed by the Taii’s command. Thank the Empress, we had just both finished flushing the shields and bracing the forward hull, she thought as she replied, “Acknowledged Taii, I am searching now.” Still in surprise at the Taii's order (OCC: that Ise would ask), she immediately wondered, where the mishhu version of Engineering is, with its still largely mysterious and unknown Gravimetric Drive. From the scanner reading she soon received via MEGAMI, she could tell that their drive was probably somewhere in the large bullet shaped lower-hull that also served as the ship's "bar" or bottom. Unfortunately, the lower hull itself was still an area several meters wide and long; therefore lacking a full understanding of the organic nature of mishhu ships, the young engineer soon looked elsewhere for the prospect of where the power needed to go instead of where it was coming from. As she was thinking this and looking at the screen, Kame noticed how attached to the top of the NMX’s lower hull was a rectangular hull where the main gun was. In turn, two armored plates or sections of various weaponry and the NMX pod bay covered the upper hull. Quick a efficiently Kame marked on the screen the area just above what looked to be the main gun as the weapon would require very much power and would be ideal place to link power to the forward sensors. She also marked the area underneath the second set of Anti-Fighter Turrets. She then thought:


If I was a highly aggressive and prideful space jellyfish, bent on ruin people's livelihood and enslaving everything in site where would I put a power junction points--- aha! Of course, I would make sure that the enemy could never take down my chance to fight back and would want my weapons to work down to the very last moment. I also would refuse the disgrace of surrender. In order to so, I logically need some kind of a major support system of power, coolant pipes, nutrients--- all distributing to weapons and supplies in the most efficient manner. In other words I would a series of channels or area where all the pipes, cables, cords, and maybe even arteries.... I would need places to put power junctions points. Ideally, even as highly aggressive species bent only on attack, a mishhu is intelligent and would still be structurally smart and place there power junctions in the most inner walls or just under the most heavily armored sections.


With a frightening enthusiasm, Kame quickly marked the rear meshing point of the Battle Pod Bay with the lower hull and the area where the second sensor is realizing the both these areas appeared to be very heavily armored and ideal for power junctions. As she sends back the marked telemetry image from the MEGAMI to the bridge, "Taii I have marked where I best they would place the power junctions based on their obvious tactical benefit to the enemy. I have also sent the data to the acting science officer to confirm these locations as I am unsure of the exact nature of these locations and their biological aspect I am receiving." (OCC: It is in the above text but I also included pictures of what she is thinking in the OCC Discussion) After all the Santo Hei realized while studying the images that she had no clue the biological inter-workings in the areas she had marked; however, she was confident that if not a power junction at least something was there.


Realizing that the ship would need additional shield energy on either the top or bottom as they prepared to use their turrets, Kame then added, "Mam shall I activate the WARMs for fire on upward ward hull or lower hull?". As she waited for a reply, she immediately began writing the code to merge WARMS with the CFS. During this, she quickly glanced at Usagi Hei and wondered if she had even formally introduced herself in all the rapid pace commotion of setting her stuff down then hulling ass down to Engineering, then to the meeting, then back to Engineering in her Type 31 Engineering Protective Jumpsuit. Heck she was not sure the majority of the people at the meeting noticed she was there except for the people she already knew and of course Usagi Hei.