5tar
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ON: 3 LY from Halna System - Asteroid Field: "Rogue"
The bridge continued to grow louder with voices rising with the alert status raised on the Senbu. The combat readiness of the Anri repair ship turned battle carrier was rapidly improving with each ticking moment. They had two scout craft, three full power armor wings, and one special squad all prepared for the fight only minutes away. Then on top of it all, the ship was prepared for anything with over 1400 engineers and some of the best medical facilities in the fleet. Whatever was ahead, the Taisa was sure that they could take care of it, after all this was the ship that took on not one but two flagships.
"Pride Wing is ready to go!" Ageha reported at last as she watched as Kuriko and the others boarded the Tategami. She glanced over to the Gold Wing's ComOps officer sitting beside her and gave the friendliest smile she could muster. "Hi. I'm Nanjo Ageha," she introduced herself, hoping that the other girl would be amenable. She felt that she should at least make an effort to know the people she should be working beside and hopefully now was an appropriate enough time.
The Yamataian girl Ageha turned to met her greeting with a finger gesturing to wait one moment. "Yes, Jack-heisho, the Gold Wing will be dealing with any deployed short range fighters. If you do not encounter any small craft resistance, you are to change to the next stage in the operations and lead your teams in the boarding of the scout ships." Then with that she paused and recoiled a little in her seat and placed a hand to her forehead, blushing slightly. "Um, I don't think that's being quite professional Jack; please keep your mind on the mission ahead, happy hunting." Then once it seemed like everything was finished, the light haired, red eyed girl turned back to the new communications officer. "Very sorry about that," she said with an apologetic smile as she pleasantly tilted her head to one side, "I'm Ittô Heisho Yamasaki Aya, it's a pleasure to meet you." She then nodded her head in a small little bow to the new officer.
Ageha returned the Ittô Heisho's nod with one of her own. It was the closest the two could come to bowing respectfully while remaining at their duty positions. "Nice to meet you, Yamasaki-heisho." The younger of the two Yamataian girls was relieved that the coworker closest to her turned out to be such a nice person. It sounds like she and this "Jack" guy from the Gold Wing must be close, Ageha mused as she awaited any sort of significant status update from the Pride Wing. I wonder if Sakiyurai-hei knows who he is. She seems like the type who would know. Or Hiroko perhaps could tell her if Jack was one of the guys that were at the Gold Wing's party that night in Kyoto that they both had attended.
She smiled pleasantly at the newer officer. "So, Nanjo-hei, I hope you’re prepared for the mission ahead. You have quite a high profile unit there, so it might get quite stressful. If there's anything you need help with though, I will be happy to offer you assistance." The older woman out of the two wasn't that much older; she had a rather youthful face that was radiant with a well treated complexion. The rest of her was a little larger though, she was taller and had more curves than the younger officer.
The younger ComOp nodded, glad that the older officer was offering her advice and assistance. "Thank you, Heisho," she responded politely, bringing up the data on Halna to the forefront once again. Apparently it was a huge festering hole of piracy and there was a group of super hackers called the Free State that were gathering to destroy Yamatai's infrastructure. So the Star Army mobilized and assaulted the system. Now there was only a small fraction of pirates left in the area. The fact that something else had moved in and was able to disable the Watcher was a scary thought indeed. Hopefully, Ageha thought, we have enough firepower here. She brought up the specifications and deck plan of the Watcher up on her console to check out what exactly they would be dealing with.
The Senbu crossed into the reaches of a weak interdiction field, just two and a half AU from their target. It brought them out of FTL a lot sooner than the Taisa had hoped for, a small tensed tilt of her head showed her annoyance. Countless small objects appeared to litter the area of operations; they were simplistic devices which seemed to be cleverly deployable in the wake of raiders, the cause of the field. They may have been a weak source of interdiction, but it worked well enough to slow down the Anri and alert the smaller craft to their arrival. "Unknown units identified, the three scout sized vessels are confirmed to be Vampire patrol crafts, approximately one and a half AU distance to target and they are already targeting us," one of the officers called out on the sprawling bridge of the massive carrier repair ship, letting her voice be the first battle cry leading into the skirmish ahead.
"Well, I guess you can never really hide when you come in with the roar of a lion," Shizuka said quietly with a grin pulling up at the corner of her mouth. "Helm, approach the targets full speed," her next order came readily and then one after that. "both the YSS Tategami and Makka are ordered to launch and begin operations now. Saiga-shosa, you have field command; scramble our Gold Wing to escort our smaller craft. From there, it’s up to you." The lioness then sank back into her chair, letting the data stream connected to the back of her neck flood her senses with the Senbu’s constant flow of data.
“By your command, Endo-taisa,” Nicholas replied coolly from his standing position at the edge of the command platform. “Something really should be done about these Vampire though. Star Army Logistics ought to have all records of individuals and organizations who have purchased the class being that one of the fleet depots is the only place you can find the damned things these days,” he said as an aside, his voice tinged with a small amount of genuine annoyance. The patrol craft had been made when Geshrinari Shipyards was still based on Nepleslia, and since then, the only way to get them had been through the former Zero Fleet or the logistical organizations that followed. “Yamasaki-heisho,” the Shosa called, addressing Gold Wing’s combat controller as he brought up a volumetric display showing the unit’s status, “all Gold armors are ordered to launch. Have teams One through Four fly patrol around the Tategami and Makka as they advance towards the hostile vessels and team Five stay with the formation and commence harrying fire.”
"Understood Shosa," the young strawberry-blonde Yamataian responded as she quickly began calling up her teams on her display. "All Gold teams are go for launch, teams One through Four are to fly escort for the Tategami and Makka, then once you are in combat range of the targets you are to engage and begin your operations. Team Five is to stay with the ships and continue the defense of the two ships." Then from there the Heisho opened a new channel to the squad leader, "Good luck out there Jack, and if your score more than thirty kills I'll take you up on that dinner."
At the same time, in the rapid launch bay of the YSS Tategami the small unit, Pride Wing squadron, was locked up and on standby as the ship itself floated free from the protective hatch of the Anri's main repair bay. The small craft was soon followed by its sister Nozomi vessel, the YSS Makka. "This is Taii Takeda Naoki, welcome aboard the Tategami. It's a pleasure to have such a prestigious first mission such as this, being able to deliver the Taisa's personal unit to the field. I'll take good care of you guys, you'll just have to sit tight though and I promise we'll get you there in one piece." The voice came from the internal intercom system to the armor bay; the ship's commander himself seemed to be a nice guy, now it was just up to him to make sure that they did get there.
Kuriko looked around at the wing as they waited inside the Tategami for what could be an intense fight. "You ready for this?" Kuriko asked Chikako telepathically as she glanced over at Chikako's new armor.
Masako shifted around as she waited as well. Shouldering her rifle, she sighed, trying to keep herself calm.
Chikako nodded silently, verifying every subsystem to ensure that she had a functional unit. She had equipped an unusually large number of NSB and NSD units, which would be useful in the context of tight, uncertain quarters, but she wasn't exactly very familiar with the units. "Hai. Does every member of the wing have a designated call sign, or will we proceed with numbers?" She asked telepathically, making a small frown when she realized that her unit was one of the few in the wing that were unnamed.
Hiroko stood waiting, almost deathly still. This was… almost a sacrament—a rite familiar to her and best honored by fitting silence. Only the rifle hanging downward in her hands stood testament to her activities.
"I'm the only one who doesn't have one Chi-chan," Masako replied in a teasing tone.
Kuriko inhaled audibly into the mic in her unit. "Numbers are kinda… cold. Not everyone has a call sign though, so sometimes we use names." Kuriko replied, ignoring Masako's interjection. Kuriko's hand slid up and down the barrel of the plasma rifle. "Do you think a power armor can go rogue with someone inside of it?" the Heisho asked aloud while she sent a message to Sigmund. "Please don't do that to me Sigmund."
Sakaki stood in silence with the blade gun in her hands. She was meditative and silent, waiting for the signal to depart. “The universe is silent, only noise is that of the adventurer, the spirit, and the gods,” she whispered to herself a line from some novel she read.
"You've confused our operational names and those given to our units, Boin-chan. And it's Chi-heisho" Chikako messaged Masako dimly without any real animosity or care on the matter. She was more or less just making sure that the Hei realized that she still was one her commanders. "I see, Shifuda-heisho. I'll have to bring up this issue at a later date." She found it strange that most of the units were named, and yet she was the only one with an actual codename.
"Nyaaa you're no fun, Chi-heisho…" Masako replied in a falsetto pouting tone.
Kuriko flicked her eyes back at Chikako when she mentioned bringing this 'issue' up. Silently the Neko’s teeth ground a little. There isn't an issue, Kuriko thought angrily. Sigmund, sensing the Neko’s muscles tighten, but having detected no combat, automatically worked to massage the muscles that had just tightened up. For a few seconds Kuriko tried to resist the massage, attempting to squirm inside the armor to dodge the masseuse, but it was a futile attempt. Instead the armor just tightened its grip, knowing it would need to be almost a complete seal between the innards of the armor and its pilot for her own safety.
It'll be our turn soon, Chikako thought to herself quietly as she read reports coming live from the Senbu. She turned back to face most of the Pride Wing and, resting her rifle against her shoulder, opened up her loudspeaker. "Remember Pride Wing, that until it the status of the enemy changes and command makes any decisions, you treat it like any other. Don't go easy on them, but don't do anything unnecessary." The Neko spoke in a firm, but rather casual tone.
Hiroko lowered her weapon slightly, eyeing the new second of the Wing. "Let's not intend to."
"We'll whup their asses and take names for later," Masako said confidently. "After all, we're the best here."
Sakaki just nodded, not wanting to lose her focus. It will not only be the test of the Pride, but of the new commander as well. May we all do our best, she thought to herself.
"Mou, the attitude is fine… but don't take anyone lightly, okay?" Chikako admonished the eager-sounding Masako, casually taking a glance at Kuriko's unit. She imagined that having some ragged veteran insisting on things would be an annoyance, but the armor pilot liked having things in a certain kind of order. Besides, if what I'm doing does put her off, she doesn't deserve to lead a wing, or even a squad. Commanding troops requires competence, and the ability to justify one's self without going off in a huff.
"I know, mom," Masako said with a grin and gave her a two finger symbol for victory and fell quiet. She felt stupid for being so bright and optimistic about things to cheer them up from her dour pessimism earlier. "I don't like her attitude much, Kuri-heisho, she said privately to her friend. Masako shifted and relaxed where she was inside, calming herself down into a near zen-state.
Hiroko was still just standing there, leaning almost impatiently, but coolly. They're still somewhat agitated, especially the new second-in-command. Hopefully this won't impact things when we actually get to the fighting… I should start readying myself. She began breathing deeper now, trying to focus, center herself—so much that it was actually visible.
Kuriko let Masako's comment pass. You probably should warn her or something, Kuriko thought to herself. Even if you agree with her. Besides, Ueda-hei does have more combat experience, as well as command experience, than you do. She would know what she's talking about. Kuriko grimaced in her armor. Mou, now I'm talking to myself, Kuriko moaned as she thought that. "Jya, let's just do our best. Remember not to teleport near unarmored personn—" Kuriko stopped speaking in mid sentence. "Shimatta!" The Heisho stammered. "Once we're on board, you'll need to disable your CFS. It's lethal to unarmored personnel," Kuriko said. Which means… Kuriko looked up toward Chikako's armor again as her load out appeared on screen, that Ueda-hei is the only one properly equipped for this mission.
On the bridge, the commotion heightened with the flow of the battle. "Vampire patrol craft Bravo and Charlie are moving to engage, Bravo is moving into tactical field B-E and Charlie into tactical field C-D. They are moving into flanking positions of the Tategami and Makka, order's sir!?" the chief combat operator of the deployed ships requested with urgency, the ships were moving into range of each other quickly and firing range was going to be crossed in mere moments. "The Tategami is taking fire!" the Shoi sitting at the station below the chief announced, as the NR-X1-10b took a sudden blast of torpedoes. The Nozomi-class vessel took a hit and shook violently as the munitions contacted hard with the shields and one even breached the barrier and hit hard against the bow of the ship.
“Tell Gold Wing to keep up their damned anti-ordnance fire! No torpedoes should be getting past their range of fire!” Nicholas demanded as he watched the events unfolding on the main tactical display. “Deploy Obsidian Wing immediately,” he ordered, manually putting the command through on his volumetric display. “They are to take down patrol craft Bravo with expedience. It will be a good atonement for their past disgraces.” The Geshrin analyzed the information of all deployed units for a moment, making his decision with as much thought as time would allow. “All of Gold Wing save for team One should form up on the Makka and target the enemy designated Charlie. The Tategami, along with Gold Wing team One are to close with patrol craft Alpha and destroy it. Nanjo-hei, order Pride Wing to deploy when their transport is within combat range of Alpha.”
On the Tategami, Sakaki’s closed eyes were disturbed by a map that blanketed her mind as she took sensor feed directly from Tsukihime via the SPINE interface. She saw the attack coming, and as she knew she could do little about it, changed her stance so she wouldn't fall on her butt, but instead sway a little. "The enemy makes their intent clear," stated the warrior Neko, waiting for the go order.
Hiroko wasn't exactly happy with the ship getting hit, as it disrupted her breathing exercises—but she was centered enough. "That much, is certain. How long until we're in position?"
"Good, but our intention is to save the crew of the Watcher," Kuriko replied to Sakaki. "We don't know if they are alive or dead, they are our first priority. Gold Wing will cover us to there, I'm sure," the Heisho responded as she pulled up the map in front of her as well. Come on; hurry, Kuriko thought to herself as she stared at the image of the Watcher, as if it would make their own ship go any faster.
"If they're beyond salvation, we kill them quickly and painlessly," Masako said calmly like it didn't bother her. "And I'm sure they will—it's their asses on the line too," Masako said, referring the Gold Wing's support. "We're all here to do our jobs, they won't slouch on theirs."
Unlike his fellow wing… women… Hara could never calm himself before a mission, especially this close to the action. He had concluded it was a combination of adrenaline and anxiety during his first sortie, and had hoped that it would have gone away by now, but it still persisted. The blow dealt to the NR-X1-10b was completely unexpected, and in a combination of surprise and clumsiness was sent forward from his seat before slamming into a nearby wall. "Ouch!" he instinctively cried out, despite not feeling anything. He looked back at his wing to see how many people had seen what had just happened before sitting back down.
"We will do nothing of the sort," Kuriko snapped at Masako, her irritation showing. You can't just kill them like that! wanted to scream at Masako.
"So you'd let them die an ignoble, suffering, painful death?" Masako said coolly. "I know you don't want to do that but sometimes it's more merciful to end their suffering than try to make them suffer more by moving them," she replied telepathically with a touch of sadness.
"You shouldn't assume things," Chikako sighed inwardly and scratched the side of her helmet with her LASR. "Avoid killing when you can. Shoot back, but don't senselessly mow them down. I've been preaching not to treat the enemy any different, but that should only apply when you can safely define something as being an enemy, Sakiyurai-hei."
"...You're right. We're not Nepleslians," Masako sighed.
Hiroko shook her head, beginning to tire of this. "At any rate, leave ending suffering to when their end is nigh. We don't exactly have pre-industrial medicine."
Sakaki stayed silent on the matter of being fair to the enemy, in her mind, An enemy should be treated as fairly as they treat their enemy, though that may not be always the case. "Are you all right Saruwatari-hei?" asked the Neko to their only male companion.
"I'm fine. Thanks," Hara replied steadily. Not much longer till we deploy, I hope… This arguing is getting annoying..
"Nepleslians have nothing to do with it," Chikako chided, finding the off-color comment to be rather out of place in context. "Just keep a level head. You're all over the place, Boin-chan."
"Yes sir," Ageha responded promptly to Saiga-shosa from her station on the Senbu’s bridge. "Shifuda-heisho," she spoke to the Pride Wing's leader over the comm.., "you are to deploy as soon as your Nozomi is within combat range of target Alpha." She couldn't help being extremely tense now that the squad was in the thick of everything and it was evident in the way she spoke. Stay safe out there, the young ComOps wanted to add, but felt it might be too unprofessional at the moment.
Masako replied to Ageha over the comm. on a private line. "Hey Ageha, I know you have to be nervous. But you'll do just fine alright sweetie? Have faith in yourself," she said in an odd, matronly tone.
"Copy that Nanjo-hei," Kuriko responded to Ageha. "You heard her folks, time to get ready," Kuriko said to the small group. "We won't be executing any of them without my say-so, Masako," Kuriko said with a small degree of finality as she lifted her weapon to check it one last time.
The Shosa's commands were passed down the chain and quickly executed. The two ships continued into the flanking Vampires, then pushed through. The Makka, along with the Gold Wing teams One through Four, turned around back towards the two patrol crafts and began a full out engagement. The fifth team along with the Tategami continued forward towards the Watcher and Vampire designated as Alpha. Taking some more fire from the static Alpha craft, the anti-spaceship team now made their move and burst speed to close the distance and began a full force attack. Inside the YSS Tategami, the hatch slowly opened up to the vastness of space. "Good luck out there, Pride. If you need re-supply or have wounded give us a shout, we'll be sticking close to the Watcher. Good hunting," the Taii said to the group over the internal intercom.
"Obsidian, you are hereby given your launch orders," said the black haired Neko operator, an Ittô Heisho with long black hair tied tightly into a simple bun. She was the replacement for the failing operator before her and as part of the large reorganization that happened to the Obsidian Wing after the last mission. She was seated on the end, on the other side of the Gold Wing leader. "Jôtô Heisho Sakurada Hisuiko, your unit is ordered to destroy target Bravo. May it be the display of your superior commanding over the previous leader; glorious victory to the Obsidian."
Down in the bay of the Senbu, the new leader of the wing that had fallen from grace stepped forward before her troops. "We have our orders, today you restore the pride of your crest—today you return this squad to glory. Let us show the command that we’re not the old Obsidian that had failed them but that we are a force greater than even the Pride Wing themselves, forward to glorious victory!" Then the group raised their rifles high and repeated after her; ‘for glorious victory!’ She turned around in her spot and took a running start and leapt out into space, followed by the rest of the squad and they began their advance.
With the order to launch and the bay open, Kuriko flew out of the Tategami at max speed. "Nanjo-hei, where are we to enter the Watcher at, or will we need to make a hole?" Kuriko asked Ageha as she jetted out of the bay. "Let's move," Kuriko said to the rest of the group.
Hiroko simply nodded curtly and pushed out of the bay herself. She kept to Kuriko's lead for now, until an obvious target was identified.
"Agreed. I'll leave formation to your discretion," Chikako said to Kuriko, tensing her body a little as launched immediately after her wing commander. The dark-haired Neko allowed herself a private grin. Nothing like a launch to get the blood flowing.
Masako launched wordlessly and readied her rifle to make use of it as she did.
Hara followed suit, falling into formation alongside the others. "…Roger."
Sakaki stepped out without a word, though right after doing so all her nerves were in a blaze of energy as readouts of the battle displayed as tactical readouts. She planned to stick close to Masako or Hiroko for now as she had done so in the previous engagements.
Ageha grimaced at Sakiyurai-hei's message to her. She wondered if the NH-29 had so little faith that she couldn't do her job. After all, the young Yamataian reasoned, This isn't the first time I've been in a combat situation. A small chill ran down her spine as she briefly recalled the events that eventually led to her joining the Army. She shook her head to clear out those thoughts and focus back on supporting the Pride Wing through their mission. As the Taii gave his words of support to Pride, Santô Hei Nanjo Ageha nodded along, focusing on watching the pilots starting to make their move on her console's screen. "Ara? The Watcher?" she responded to Kuriko's comm. request, "Shifuda-heisho, your orders are to attack the Vampire craft designated target Alpha." Bringing the scan data of the two ships to the forefront on the screen before her, she added, "I can give you the closest entrance to the Watcher if you still want it though." Nervously, her hand went to her hair again to rub her lucky barrette, but when she did, she discovered that it had shifted down when she had shaken her head. Not wanting to deal with the errant hairpiece she slid it down and off of her bangs. Fixing it would have to come later, right now she had a job to do.
In that case, Kuriko thought to herself. "Masako, Sakaki you're with me. Ueda-heisho, Hiroko, Hara you're all in a group. Ueda-hei, your group will assault engineering, my group will assault the bridge. Everyone will teleport into the enemy ship. Ueda-hei, you'll need to find a buddy to carry you," Kuriko said, feeling suddenly decisive.
Masako nodded to Kuriko and chuckled. "Good old teleport assault?"
"You guessed it," Kuriko responded to Masako as she flew closer to her 'team.'
Hiroko nodded, and… moved to join Ueda-heisho... but paused for a second. This sounds familiar somehow. But she continued onwards.
"Oh, I love doing that, can we just poof in with the CFS' active?" Masako asked jubilantly.
"Hiroko-hei, Hara-hei. On my flanks, V formation," Chikako ordered the two put under her command. "I have to stick to just your names, for now. Any complaints?"
Hiroko rather dutifully slid to the right flank of Chikako, drawing her rifle in standby as she continued to breathe in and out rhythmically. "No reason to complain."
"No, sir!" Hara replied quickly, moving into position. He was wary of teleporting, but as it stood now, his chances of screwing up were minimal. Let's see how the 3A performs… he thought.
"As you will, Shifuda-heisho," Sakaki stated as she flew herself into formation. She began to run programs and calculations on the teleport she would take, and then sent the feed to her teammates so that they all wouldn't teleport on the same exact spot.
Masako would take Sakaki's notes in and add them to her tactical readouts on possibilities, using her AIES to anticipate more probabilities if she could. "It'll be fun."
"Drop the CFS as soon as we're in. We can determine friend from foe later, if we space ourselves right we won't have to worry about any of the bridge crew opening fire on us," Kuriko said to her team before speaking to the group. "Teleport… now." After Kuriko finished speaking, she initiated her teleport into the enemy Vampire.
To be continued...
The bridge continued to grow louder with voices rising with the alert status raised on the Senbu. The combat readiness of the Anri repair ship turned battle carrier was rapidly improving with each ticking moment. They had two scout craft, three full power armor wings, and one special squad all prepared for the fight only minutes away. Then on top of it all, the ship was prepared for anything with over 1400 engineers and some of the best medical facilities in the fleet. Whatever was ahead, the Taisa was sure that they could take care of it, after all this was the ship that took on not one but two flagships.
"Pride Wing is ready to go!" Ageha reported at last as she watched as Kuriko and the others boarded the Tategami. She glanced over to the Gold Wing's ComOps officer sitting beside her and gave the friendliest smile she could muster. "Hi. I'm Nanjo Ageha," she introduced herself, hoping that the other girl would be amenable. She felt that she should at least make an effort to know the people she should be working beside and hopefully now was an appropriate enough time.
The Yamataian girl Ageha turned to met her greeting with a finger gesturing to wait one moment. "Yes, Jack-heisho, the Gold Wing will be dealing with any deployed short range fighters. If you do not encounter any small craft resistance, you are to change to the next stage in the operations and lead your teams in the boarding of the scout ships." Then with that she paused and recoiled a little in her seat and placed a hand to her forehead, blushing slightly. "Um, I don't think that's being quite professional Jack; please keep your mind on the mission ahead, happy hunting." Then once it seemed like everything was finished, the light haired, red eyed girl turned back to the new communications officer. "Very sorry about that," she said with an apologetic smile as she pleasantly tilted her head to one side, "I'm Ittô Heisho Yamasaki Aya, it's a pleasure to meet you." She then nodded her head in a small little bow to the new officer.
Ageha returned the Ittô Heisho's nod with one of her own. It was the closest the two could come to bowing respectfully while remaining at their duty positions. "Nice to meet you, Yamasaki-heisho." The younger of the two Yamataian girls was relieved that the coworker closest to her turned out to be such a nice person. It sounds like she and this "Jack" guy from the Gold Wing must be close, Ageha mused as she awaited any sort of significant status update from the Pride Wing. I wonder if Sakiyurai-hei knows who he is. She seems like the type who would know. Or Hiroko perhaps could tell her if Jack was one of the guys that were at the Gold Wing's party that night in Kyoto that they both had attended.
She smiled pleasantly at the newer officer. "So, Nanjo-hei, I hope you’re prepared for the mission ahead. You have quite a high profile unit there, so it might get quite stressful. If there's anything you need help with though, I will be happy to offer you assistance." The older woman out of the two wasn't that much older; she had a rather youthful face that was radiant with a well treated complexion. The rest of her was a little larger though, she was taller and had more curves than the younger officer.
The younger ComOp nodded, glad that the older officer was offering her advice and assistance. "Thank you, Heisho," she responded politely, bringing up the data on Halna to the forefront once again. Apparently it was a huge festering hole of piracy and there was a group of super hackers called the Free State that were gathering to destroy Yamatai's infrastructure. So the Star Army mobilized and assaulted the system. Now there was only a small fraction of pirates left in the area. The fact that something else had moved in and was able to disable the Watcher was a scary thought indeed. Hopefully, Ageha thought, we have enough firepower here. She brought up the specifications and deck plan of the Watcher up on her console to check out what exactly they would be dealing with.
The Senbu crossed into the reaches of a weak interdiction field, just two and a half AU from their target. It brought them out of FTL a lot sooner than the Taisa had hoped for, a small tensed tilt of her head showed her annoyance. Countless small objects appeared to litter the area of operations; they were simplistic devices which seemed to be cleverly deployable in the wake of raiders, the cause of the field. They may have been a weak source of interdiction, but it worked well enough to slow down the Anri and alert the smaller craft to their arrival. "Unknown units identified, the three scout sized vessels are confirmed to be Vampire patrol crafts, approximately one and a half AU distance to target and they are already targeting us," one of the officers called out on the sprawling bridge of the massive carrier repair ship, letting her voice be the first battle cry leading into the skirmish ahead.
"Well, I guess you can never really hide when you come in with the roar of a lion," Shizuka said quietly with a grin pulling up at the corner of her mouth. "Helm, approach the targets full speed," her next order came readily and then one after that. "both the YSS Tategami and Makka are ordered to launch and begin operations now. Saiga-shosa, you have field command; scramble our Gold Wing to escort our smaller craft. From there, it’s up to you." The lioness then sank back into her chair, letting the data stream connected to the back of her neck flood her senses with the Senbu’s constant flow of data.
“By your command, Endo-taisa,” Nicholas replied coolly from his standing position at the edge of the command platform. “Something really should be done about these Vampire though. Star Army Logistics ought to have all records of individuals and organizations who have purchased the class being that one of the fleet depots is the only place you can find the damned things these days,” he said as an aside, his voice tinged with a small amount of genuine annoyance. The patrol craft had been made when Geshrinari Shipyards was still based on Nepleslia, and since then, the only way to get them had been through the former Zero Fleet or the logistical organizations that followed. “Yamasaki-heisho,” the Shosa called, addressing Gold Wing’s combat controller as he brought up a volumetric display showing the unit’s status, “all Gold armors are ordered to launch. Have teams One through Four fly patrol around the Tategami and Makka as they advance towards the hostile vessels and team Five stay with the formation and commence harrying fire.”
"Understood Shosa," the young strawberry-blonde Yamataian responded as she quickly began calling up her teams on her display. "All Gold teams are go for launch, teams One through Four are to fly escort for the Tategami and Makka, then once you are in combat range of the targets you are to engage and begin your operations. Team Five is to stay with the ships and continue the defense of the two ships." Then from there the Heisho opened a new channel to the squad leader, "Good luck out there Jack, and if your score more than thirty kills I'll take you up on that dinner."
At the same time, in the rapid launch bay of the YSS Tategami the small unit, Pride Wing squadron, was locked up and on standby as the ship itself floated free from the protective hatch of the Anri's main repair bay. The small craft was soon followed by its sister Nozomi vessel, the YSS Makka. "This is Taii Takeda Naoki, welcome aboard the Tategami. It's a pleasure to have such a prestigious first mission such as this, being able to deliver the Taisa's personal unit to the field. I'll take good care of you guys, you'll just have to sit tight though and I promise we'll get you there in one piece." The voice came from the internal intercom system to the armor bay; the ship's commander himself seemed to be a nice guy, now it was just up to him to make sure that they did get there.
Kuriko looked around at the wing as they waited inside the Tategami for what could be an intense fight. "You ready for this?" Kuriko asked Chikako telepathically as she glanced over at Chikako's new armor.
Masako shifted around as she waited as well. Shouldering her rifle, she sighed, trying to keep herself calm.
Chikako nodded silently, verifying every subsystem to ensure that she had a functional unit. She had equipped an unusually large number of NSB and NSD units, which would be useful in the context of tight, uncertain quarters, but she wasn't exactly very familiar with the units. "Hai. Does every member of the wing have a designated call sign, or will we proceed with numbers?" She asked telepathically, making a small frown when she realized that her unit was one of the few in the wing that were unnamed.
Hiroko stood waiting, almost deathly still. This was… almost a sacrament—a rite familiar to her and best honored by fitting silence. Only the rifle hanging downward in her hands stood testament to her activities.
"I'm the only one who doesn't have one Chi-chan," Masako replied in a teasing tone.
Kuriko inhaled audibly into the mic in her unit. "Numbers are kinda… cold. Not everyone has a call sign though, so sometimes we use names." Kuriko replied, ignoring Masako's interjection. Kuriko's hand slid up and down the barrel of the plasma rifle. "Do you think a power armor can go rogue with someone inside of it?" the Heisho asked aloud while she sent a message to Sigmund. "Please don't do that to me Sigmund."
Sakaki stood in silence with the blade gun in her hands. She was meditative and silent, waiting for the signal to depart. “The universe is silent, only noise is that of the adventurer, the spirit, and the gods,” she whispered to herself a line from some novel she read.
"You've confused our operational names and those given to our units, Boin-chan. And it's Chi-heisho" Chikako messaged Masako dimly without any real animosity or care on the matter. She was more or less just making sure that the Hei realized that she still was one her commanders. "I see, Shifuda-heisho. I'll have to bring up this issue at a later date." She found it strange that most of the units were named, and yet she was the only one with an actual codename.
"Nyaaa you're no fun, Chi-heisho…" Masako replied in a falsetto pouting tone.
Kuriko flicked her eyes back at Chikako when she mentioned bringing this 'issue' up. Silently the Neko’s teeth ground a little. There isn't an issue, Kuriko thought angrily. Sigmund, sensing the Neko’s muscles tighten, but having detected no combat, automatically worked to massage the muscles that had just tightened up. For a few seconds Kuriko tried to resist the massage, attempting to squirm inside the armor to dodge the masseuse, but it was a futile attempt. Instead the armor just tightened its grip, knowing it would need to be almost a complete seal between the innards of the armor and its pilot for her own safety.
It'll be our turn soon, Chikako thought to herself quietly as she read reports coming live from the Senbu. She turned back to face most of the Pride Wing and, resting her rifle against her shoulder, opened up her loudspeaker. "Remember Pride Wing, that until it the status of the enemy changes and command makes any decisions, you treat it like any other. Don't go easy on them, but don't do anything unnecessary." The Neko spoke in a firm, but rather casual tone.
Hiroko lowered her weapon slightly, eyeing the new second of the Wing. "Let's not intend to."
"We'll whup their asses and take names for later," Masako said confidently. "After all, we're the best here."
Sakaki just nodded, not wanting to lose her focus. It will not only be the test of the Pride, but of the new commander as well. May we all do our best, she thought to herself.
"Mou, the attitude is fine… but don't take anyone lightly, okay?" Chikako admonished the eager-sounding Masako, casually taking a glance at Kuriko's unit. She imagined that having some ragged veteran insisting on things would be an annoyance, but the armor pilot liked having things in a certain kind of order. Besides, if what I'm doing does put her off, she doesn't deserve to lead a wing, or even a squad. Commanding troops requires competence, and the ability to justify one's self without going off in a huff.
"I know, mom," Masako said with a grin and gave her a two finger symbol for victory and fell quiet. She felt stupid for being so bright and optimistic about things to cheer them up from her dour pessimism earlier. "I don't like her attitude much, Kuri-heisho, she said privately to her friend. Masako shifted and relaxed where she was inside, calming herself down into a near zen-state.
Hiroko was still just standing there, leaning almost impatiently, but coolly. They're still somewhat agitated, especially the new second-in-command. Hopefully this won't impact things when we actually get to the fighting… I should start readying myself. She began breathing deeper now, trying to focus, center herself—so much that it was actually visible.
Kuriko let Masako's comment pass. You probably should warn her or something, Kuriko thought to herself. Even if you agree with her. Besides, Ueda-hei does have more combat experience, as well as command experience, than you do. She would know what she's talking about. Kuriko grimaced in her armor. Mou, now I'm talking to myself, Kuriko moaned as she thought that. "Jya, let's just do our best. Remember not to teleport near unarmored personn—" Kuriko stopped speaking in mid sentence. "Shimatta!" The Heisho stammered. "Once we're on board, you'll need to disable your CFS. It's lethal to unarmored personnel," Kuriko said. Which means… Kuriko looked up toward Chikako's armor again as her load out appeared on screen, that Ueda-hei is the only one properly equipped for this mission.
On the bridge, the commotion heightened with the flow of the battle. "Vampire patrol craft Bravo and Charlie are moving to engage, Bravo is moving into tactical field B-E and Charlie into tactical field C-D. They are moving into flanking positions of the Tategami and Makka, order's sir!?" the chief combat operator of the deployed ships requested with urgency, the ships were moving into range of each other quickly and firing range was going to be crossed in mere moments. "The Tategami is taking fire!" the Shoi sitting at the station below the chief announced, as the NR-X1-10b took a sudden blast of torpedoes. The Nozomi-class vessel took a hit and shook violently as the munitions contacted hard with the shields and one even breached the barrier and hit hard against the bow of the ship.
“Tell Gold Wing to keep up their damned anti-ordnance fire! No torpedoes should be getting past their range of fire!” Nicholas demanded as he watched the events unfolding on the main tactical display. “Deploy Obsidian Wing immediately,” he ordered, manually putting the command through on his volumetric display. “They are to take down patrol craft Bravo with expedience. It will be a good atonement for their past disgraces.” The Geshrin analyzed the information of all deployed units for a moment, making his decision with as much thought as time would allow. “All of Gold Wing save for team One should form up on the Makka and target the enemy designated Charlie. The Tategami, along with Gold Wing team One are to close with patrol craft Alpha and destroy it. Nanjo-hei, order Pride Wing to deploy when their transport is within combat range of Alpha.”
On the Tategami, Sakaki’s closed eyes were disturbed by a map that blanketed her mind as she took sensor feed directly from Tsukihime via the SPINE interface. She saw the attack coming, and as she knew she could do little about it, changed her stance so she wouldn't fall on her butt, but instead sway a little. "The enemy makes their intent clear," stated the warrior Neko, waiting for the go order.
Hiroko wasn't exactly happy with the ship getting hit, as it disrupted her breathing exercises—but she was centered enough. "That much, is certain. How long until we're in position?"
"Good, but our intention is to save the crew of the Watcher," Kuriko replied to Sakaki. "We don't know if they are alive or dead, they are our first priority. Gold Wing will cover us to there, I'm sure," the Heisho responded as she pulled up the map in front of her as well. Come on; hurry, Kuriko thought to herself as she stared at the image of the Watcher, as if it would make their own ship go any faster.
"If they're beyond salvation, we kill them quickly and painlessly," Masako said calmly like it didn't bother her. "And I'm sure they will—it's their asses on the line too," Masako said, referring the Gold Wing's support. "We're all here to do our jobs, they won't slouch on theirs."
Unlike his fellow wing… women… Hara could never calm himself before a mission, especially this close to the action. He had concluded it was a combination of adrenaline and anxiety during his first sortie, and had hoped that it would have gone away by now, but it still persisted. The blow dealt to the NR-X1-10b was completely unexpected, and in a combination of surprise and clumsiness was sent forward from his seat before slamming into a nearby wall. "Ouch!" he instinctively cried out, despite not feeling anything. He looked back at his wing to see how many people had seen what had just happened before sitting back down.
"We will do nothing of the sort," Kuriko snapped at Masako, her irritation showing. You can't just kill them like that! wanted to scream at Masako.
"So you'd let them die an ignoble, suffering, painful death?" Masako said coolly. "I know you don't want to do that but sometimes it's more merciful to end their suffering than try to make them suffer more by moving them," she replied telepathically with a touch of sadness.
"You shouldn't assume things," Chikako sighed inwardly and scratched the side of her helmet with her LASR. "Avoid killing when you can. Shoot back, but don't senselessly mow them down. I've been preaching not to treat the enemy any different, but that should only apply when you can safely define something as being an enemy, Sakiyurai-hei."
"...You're right. We're not Nepleslians," Masako sighed.
Hiroko shook her head, beginning to tire of this. "At any rate, leave ending suffering to when their end is nigh. We don't exactly have pre-industrial medicine."
Sakaki stayed silent on the matter of being fair to the enemy, in her mind, An enemy should be treated as fairly as they treat their enemy, though that may not be always the case. "Are you all right Saruwatari-hei?" asked the Neko to their only male companion.
"I'm fine. Thanks," Hara replied steadily. Not much longer till we deploy, I hope… This arguing is getting annoying..
"Nepleslians have nothing to do with it," Chikako chided, finding the off-color comment to be rather out of place in context. "Just keep a level head. You're all over the place, Boin-chan."
"Yes sir," Ageha responded promptly to Saiga-shosa from her station on the Senbu’s bridge. "Shifuda-heisho," she spoke to the Pride Wing's leader over the comm.., "you are to deploy as soon as your Nozomi is within combat range of target Alpha." She couldn't help being extremely tense now that the squad was in the thick of everything and it was evident in the way she spoke. Stay safe out there, the young ComOps wanted to add, but felt it might be too unprofessional at the moment.
Masako replied to Ageha over the comm. on a private line. "Hey Ageha, I know you have to be nervous. But you'll do just fine alright sweetie? Have faith in yourself," she said in an odd, matronly tone.
"Copy that Nanjo-hei," Kuriko responded to Ageha. "You heard her folks, time to get ready," Kuriko said to the small group. "We won't be executing any of them without my say-so, Masako," Kuriko said with a small degree of finality as she lifted her weapon to check it one last time.
The Shosa's commands were passed down the chain and quickly executed. The two ships continued into the flanking Vampires, then pushed through. The Makka, along with the Gold Wing teams One through Four, turned around back towards the two patrol crafts and began a full out engagement. The fifth team along with the Tategami continued forward towards the Watcher and Vampire designated as Alpha. Taking some more fire from the static Alpha craft, the anti-spaceship team now made their move and burst speed to close the distance and began a full force attack. Inside the YSS Tategami, the hatch slowly opened up to the vastness of space. "Good luck out there, Pride. If you need re-supply or have wounded give us a shout, we'll be sticking close to the Watcher. Good hunting," the Taii said to the group over the internal intercom.
"Obsidian, you are hereby given your launch orders," said the black haired Neko operator, an Ittô Heisho with long black hair tied tightly into a simple bun. She was the replacement for the failing operator before her and as part of the large reorganization that happened to the Obsidian Wing after the last mission. She was seated on the end, on the other side of the Gold Wing leader. "Jôtô Heisho Sakurada Hisuiko, your unit is ordered to destroy target Bravo. May it be the display of your superior commanding over the previous leader; glorious victory to the Obsidian."
Down in the bay of the Senbu, the new leader of the wing that had fallen from grace stepped forward before her troops. "We have our orders, today you restore the pride of your crest—today you return this squad to glory. Let us show the command that we’re not the old Obsidian that had failed them but that we are a force greater than even the Pride Wing themselves, forward to glorious victory!" Then the group raised their rifles high and repeated after her; ‘for glorious victory!’ She turned around in her spot and took a running start and leapt out into space, followed by the rest of the squad and they began their advance.
With the order to launch and the bay open, Kuriko flew out of the Tategami at max speed. "Nanjo-hei, where are we to enter the Watcher at, or will we need to make a hole?" Kuriko asked Ageha as she jetted out of the bay. "Let's move," Kuriko said to the rest of the group.
Hiroko simply nodded curtly and pushed out of the bay herself. She kept to Kuriko's lead for now, until an obvious target was identified.
"Agreed. I'll leave formation to your discretion," Chikako said to Kuriko, tensing her body a little as launched immediately after her wing commander. The dark-haired Neko allowed herself a private grin. Nothing like a launch to get the blood flowing.
Masako launched wordlessly and readied her rifle to make use of it as she did.
Hara followed suit, falling into formation alongside the others. "…Roger."
Sakaki stepped out without a word, though right after doing so all her nerves were in a blaze of energy as readouts of the battle displayed as tactical readouts. She planned to stick close to Masako or Hiroko for now as she had done so in the previous engagements.
Ageha grimaced at Sakiyurai-hei's message to her. She wondered if the NH-29 had so little faith that she couldn't do her job. After all, the young Yamataian reasoned, This isn't the first time I've been in a combat situation. A small chill ran down her spine as she briefly recalled the events that eventually led to her joining the Army. She shook her head to clear out those thoughts and focus back on supporting the Pride Wing through their mission. As the Taii gave his words of support to Pride, Santô Hei Nanjo Ageha nodded along, focusing on watching the pilots starting to make their move on her console's screen. "Ara? The Watcher?" she responded to Kuriko's comm. request, "Shifuda-heisho, your orders are to attack the Vampire craft designated target Alpha." Bringing the scan data of the two ships to the forefront on the screen before her, she added, "I can give you the closest entrance to the Watcher if you still want it though." Nervously, her hand went to her hair again to rub her lucky barrette, but when she did, she discovered that it had shifted down when she had shaken her head. Not wanting to deal with the errant hairpiece she slid it down and off of her bangs. Fixing it would have to come later, right now she had a job to do.
In that case, Kuriko thought to herself. "Masako, Sakaki you're with me. Ueda-heisho, Hiroko, Hara you're all in a group. Ueda-hei, your group will assault engineering, my group will assault the bridge. Everyone will teleport into the enemy ship. Ueda-hei, you'll need to find a buddy to carry you," Kuriko said, feeling suddenly decisive.
Masako nodded to Kuriko and chuckled. "Good old teleport assault?"
"You guessed it," Kuriko responded to Masako as she flew closer to her 'team.'
Hiroko nodded, and… moved to join Ueda-heisho... but paused for a second. This sounds familiar somehow. But she continued onwards.
"Oh, I love doing that, can we just poof in with the CFS' active?" Masako asked jubilantly.
"Hiroko-hei, Hara-hei. On my flanks, V formation," Chikako ordered the two put under her command. "I have to stick to just your names, for now. Any complaints?"
Hiroko rather dutifully slid to the right flank of Chikako, drawing her rifle in standby as she continued to breathe in and out rhythmically. "No reason to complain."
"No, sir!" Hara replied quickly, moving into position. He was wary of teleporting, but as it stood now, his chances of screwing up were minimal. Let's see how the 3A performs… he thought.
"As you will, Shifuda-heisho," Sakaki stated as she flew herself into formation. She began to run programs and calculations on the teleport she would take, and then sent the feed to her teammates so that they all wouldn't teleport on the same exact spot.
Masako would take Sakaki's notes in and add them to her tactical readouts on possibilities, using her AIES to anticipate more probabilities if she could. "It'll be fun."
"Drop the CFS as soon as we're in. We can determine friend from foe later, if we space ourselves right we won't have to worry about any of the bridge crew opening fire on us," Kuriko said to her team before speaking to the group. "Teleport… now." After Kuriko finished speaking, she initiated her teleport into the enemy Vampire.
To be continued...
