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RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 3] Sunny Day on Prilisa Four

As soon as Fitz said that Lorcan spoke up. "Yeah... I'm starting to agree with him on that..." And then to Fitz's question... "No... But Deacon seems to know what he's doing cause the two Neoks out here sniffed around the shuttle, one of them freaked and is hiding on the roof while the other's just standing there..." Then with slight amusement "I'm sure if I felt the need I could snipe both of them because they seemed not to have noticed... How are things in there? Where's blonde?" He special little name for Montreal.

Of course as Deacon tried to ask then Neko if it wanted a look inside Lorcan sighed "Great... someone find someway to wither kill, disable or talk to these Neko things... I think Deacon's trying to ask the ones out here something about the shuttle... Traitorous little..." Of course he had no idea Deacon was trying to make some sort of Peace with the Neko instead of let it fly off with the shuttle... but with strange species you could never tell. But he never let his gun shift from pointing at the Neko, just waiting for the thing to make a wrong move.
 
Serra cursed when her rifle fell apart in her hands, Cassifin can't even make a good weapon. She then froze near solid when she felt two sets of hands begin to bat about her wings. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed two Nekos playing with said appendages.

"..." Serra stared at them for a second, then unfurled her wings, thus raising them up into the air, keeping them out of the reach of the neko's hands.
 
Dream would not be able to tell if her message had made it through to the Cirrus. Only time could tell that.

Dream's subconscious hacking attempt turned up some mildly mixed results. Because of the relatively young age of the spaceport, much of the base was more or less archaic in technology, with only the base essentials installed until more resources and building materials could be brought to the surface. As such, there was no 'main computer' or anything of the like, but a handful of small systems were linked electronically throughout the facility.

A number of security cameras in the more public areas, which all relayed to a small security room full of viewscreens. From these cameras, Dream could only see a few notable things. Most of the port was in the same state of disarray that the lobby and surroundings were in, and devoid of life. The camera in the generator room where the team first discovered the nekos, however, was out of commission and images of the room itself were impossible to gain. Squad 35's new acquaintances, George and Lenny, had escaped into a closet storage room...the massive ID-SOL was holding the door (effortlessly) shut while his smaller companion frantically assembled a few boxes to reach a small air duct on the ceiling. With no other exits to the room, it would appear they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon without some manner of assistance.

Another point of interest was a seperate landing bay on the opposite side of the facility. Although no shuttles or ships occupied the space, there were a pair of Wolverine maintenance frames inactive and stationed on the landing pad, as well as a large cargo-crate near the far end of the area.

---

Deacon's attempts at communication with the neko amazon were met with wildly imaginative results. Upon finishing his game of charades, the neko tilted her head to the side slightly, showing obvious confusion. This look didn't last long, however, as the neko suddenly displayed a ferociously mischievous grin and reached behind her back, under the knot on the ragged t-shirt across her chest. Her movements were incredibly quick; in but a second or so, the neko quickly grasped hold of whatever it was she was hiding and thrust it straight at Deacon.

It was a soda can, no doubt confiscated from a vending machine inside the facility. And it bopped the Kohanian directly on the nose.

The neko then squealed in terror, a complete 180 degrees away from her original demeanor, and immediately bounded up to her smaller companion on the roof. Near the ledge, she stumbled in her rush, and the small neko grabbed for her loincloth to pull her up...and in another second or so, they were gone.

---

Meanwhile, inside of the spaceport lobby, it appeared that Squad 35 had discovered the supposed intent of these mysterious trespassers. However, it was little more than a guess; this tribe of cat-eared women apparently had some sort of rhyme behind their reason.

Fitz, having wavered in his focus from the neko in front of him, suddenly learned not to underestimate even the most curious of cat-girls. With a swift cry and even swifter movement, the small neko thrust her open palm up under Fitzs' weapon and directly onto under his chin with enough force to lift the poor guard an inch or so off the ground, the only thing saving him from a broken neck being the suits resilience. He was quickly subdued by another pointy-eared female.

Serra was quickly dealt with as well; it wasn't a matter of how strong or how fast one was, the result was largely the same for everyone who did not run at the immediate sense of danger. There were just far too many of these amazons to contend with.

As soon as they were given the chance, each security team member was abruptly disarmed and subdued by a cat-girl, whether it be by bear-hug, leg-lock or a combination of both. Living binds, the nekos grinned madly as they acted as chains while other nekos effortlessly lifted them up. A few of the other nekos were still trying fruitlessly to barge their way into the Employee's Only room that George and Lenny had escaped into, and a few still quickly started down the hallway to the Reception area, no doubt chasing after the Head Administrator.

These were the least of Squad 35's worries, however. Each of them, confined as they were by their breathing, grinning chains, were hoisted up and carried back down the Maintenance hallway. No doubt towards the generator room, with the rest of the prisoners...but for what purpose?
 
As the nekos moved in to subdue Tweak, she knew it was only a matter of time before they had her as locked down as the rest of the team. Dream had gone unresponsive, everyone else was incapacitated, and that left Tweak severely outnumbered.

Retreat...

Not for the first time, Tweak was amazed at her tactical system's ability to state what she had already realized. As the nekos regrouped for another pounce attempt, Tweak leaped through the nearest doorway, dodging the nekos who moved in to intercept. This was no easy task, as these were beings of equal skill to herself, but it was becoming easier to read the movements the longer she defended against them. And with her helmet off, her peripheral vision was less hindered, increasing her chances of spotting attempted blindsiding.

Once she was out of the building, Tweak headed straight for the shuttle. Finding Deacon minus his helmet and half his uniform surprised her, but she paid no more attention than was needed to note his state of dress. Running into the shuttle, Tweak pushed him toward the inside, not enough to shove him in, but enough to give him a bit of warning (so he could either get out or stay in) before immediately set about closing the hatch, leaving Lorcan to his own devises since she hadn't noticed him near the spaceport. Making her way to the pilot area, the Freespacer glanced out the viewport to see if any of the ferals were pursuing her, and checked the controls to see if she knew how to pilot this sort of craft.

Meanwhile, she called back to Deacon: "Everyone's caught. If we can't wait until the nekos leave, I'm going to take us away until we lose them. Then we can figure out a plan for getting everyone back."
 
Code: 
That sounds like a good idea.

A small message appeared on one of the shuttle's monitors.

Code: 
Don't worry about the controls for now, I can pilot this thing remotely. Until they kill me, I think. If they will. I can't really understand what's going on.

Dream showed a map of the station with green dots and names for every squad 35 member, and red dots for every neko she could spot through the security cameras.

Code: 
If it were just me, I'd suggest nuking the place with half a dozen Pseudonova EMPs. But we have the whole team here. I already sent a message to the Cirrus, but I can't tell if it went through or not. Freaking Polysentience restrictions.

Short pause.

Code: 
They seem to be intensely curious, and lack the caution and wisdom that the only other Neko I have experience with usually displays. (That'd be you, BTW.)
Think we could lure them, one by one or in small groups, by exploiting this? Like, with shiny things or something.
And then blow them up one by one with heavy artillery or something. I'm usually a pacifist, but right now after all that's happened I hope you'll understand why I'm not in a forgiving mood.
 
Well so much for escaping. Now she was probably going to end up like the rest of the staff; Stripped down to her undergarments (Which would be to the amusement of the others, she was sure.) and attached to a wall. Claire didn't see anyone get away, but then again she couldn't see much of anything with the neko's so happily carrying her off.

She had no idea why they were doing any of this instead of just killing them. The fact of what they did with those they had already caught made it make even less sense. And why the hell are they still clinging to her like they're having a threesome with her?? For the love of Nepleslia, they were carrying her with them still attached to her... If the situation wasn't so bizzare or serious, she was sure someone would get a kick out of seeing her like this.
 
Blood lingered on the back of her throat. She tried to spit it out, but she couldn't gather up the saliva to do it. She coughed harshly, opened her eyes, and tried to steady her vision. The ceiling was marching past, slowly, and she felt way, way too heavy. The fighting had stopped, at least, so maybe they had won and she was--

Being carried off by the nekos in a kind of victory parade.

Great.

She tried to move, but something tightened around her, and when she turned her head to look, she saw it was a neko, clinging to her tightly and staring at her. Wide-eyed and curious. Keziah cursed quietly.

"So--" Her voice was hoarse, rough, and she coughed into the comm. "Sound off, squad."
 
Upon seeing the Soda can the Neko thrust at Deacon, a smile cracked Lorcan's face. Once the Nekos had scampered off, Lorcan snickered straightening up. Giving a once around with his eyes and gun he lowered the barrel and then went to fetch Deacon's discarded helmet and then brought it back over to the Hyena and offered it to him with one hand, putting his visor up so Deacon could hear his subdued, but highly amused laughter. "Nice one Deacon, Now go put your armor back on I think we may have to go dig the rest of our team out of trouble shortly and you'll need more than your skills to keep you from getting your ass handed to you..."

He left Deacon with that and went to check over the shuttle to make sure the Nekos truly hadn't screwed over their only ride back to the ship. Once he was certain they were well and truly safe from sabotage and more Nekos he came around the front of the shuttle again and Took a seat on the floor of the shuttle, letting his legs hang out. One Keziah asked after a sound off Lorcan piped up with a happy "Lorcan and Deacon still alive and Neko-Free!"
 
Tweak paused when she noticed Dream's text messages. The nekos seemed to have all retreated back into the building and were leaving the shuttle alone.

Code: 
Sounds good.The luring thing, I mean,
she sent.
Code: 
 I don't have any heavy artillery, but we'll think of something. I'm with Deacon, didn't see anyone else outside.
She prayed no one looked at the logs for messages on this thing...Dream's reference could be taken as a joke, but it was still a risk.

Tweak checked the tracker map again, watching the movement of the dots on the screen. Then she noticed one outside the spaceport. "L. Lycan?" she whispered to herself. What was he doing out there? And he wasn't caught yet...

She glanced back at Deacon. The hyena still bothered her, but she had to trust that he was hired for a reason (though, so far, it didn't seem like ANYONE had been hired for the reason they had thought they were...). And, even though she would so very much prefer to do this on her own, without being able to use her abilities, her options were being highly limited.

One of her hands absently reached behind her and ejected the magazine from her rifle. Then she thumbed out a couple of bullets and cracked the ceramic shell before popping the aluminum core into her mouth and starting to chew them like bubble gum.

I guess it can't be helped...

Code: 
Be right back.
After typing the away message to Dream and returning the magazine to her rifle, the 'Spacer neko got up from the pilot's chair and went over to Deacon. She looked at him, waiting for him to acknowledge her.
 
Yelping softly as the pop can was thrust into his muzzle, the Kohanian stumbled back, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. His nose was sensitive, damn it, and it hurt a heck of a lot when a metal object, or anything really, smacked him right on in it.

He held onto the can though, and as he stumbled backwards into the shuttle, sitting in the seat next to his stuff, he would rub his muzzle and try to get the feeling back in it. That was when Tweak had come by, shutting the door and locking it behind her. Deacon didn't like her any less than before, but he sure as hell was hot didn't like her any more.

"You had better fill me in on why you're the only one getting out of there, Dark One. And judging by the fact you left in a hurry, I would guess there is little time to be relaying the tale." He said softly, eyes narrowing with interest in whatever it was Tweak needed to say as she turned away from the controls and came his way.

But first. I think you and I need to get some truths first. Like why is it that you keep avoiding me, and have no scent. You obviously are alive, and that means you should have SOME scent..." He observed as he began to reattach the metal armor to the gooey undersuit, and put his gunbelts back on, checking and then reholstering his HHGs. The pullover was the last thing to be put back on, and then the deep golden gaze and mind was focused on one single thing.


Tweak.
 
Cyril quickly resigned himself to being hauled off by the horde of nekos. He wasn't anywhere near a physical match to them, and any difference in wits he couldn't exactly bring to bare grappled like this. So he contented himself with trying to twist his tail free from the neko holding it, and ignoring that the impish thing seemed to find it a bloody fun game.

Looking around, he could see around two dozen of the damned things hauling half of Squad 35 off to who knows where. Well, the fact that at least some of them had gotten away was encouraging. He wasn't quite sure what they were going to do of course, given how throughly trounced they had been by the amazons. But hell, Tweak was a resourceful lass, and Fuzzy looked like he could take a neko in a fight. And Lorcan... well, Lorcan could do something, with a little luck the right thing.

His ears perked up when someone, Keziah, came onto the radio. It was good to hear someone taking charge, Dream having apparently elected to swap agoraphobia induced jitters for fist induced unconsciousness. Cyril would step up to the bat if it came down to it, but he was more comfortable with his ability to lead work gangs then squads of soldiers.

"Sevyn, alive and grappled. Hell of a fight you put up there, Kaz." He said around the neko still playing bongos on his helmet.
 
Fitz was thinking along the lines of, Actually, it kinda is cute... until it banged his gun into his jaw. Then tackled to the ground in which over the radio was an audible and resounding "Oaf" came from him as he fell unconscious by impacting the ground. The last thing he was aware of was being dragged away, and something about sounding off on the radio.
 
In her small virtual space, Dream sighed. Things weren't looking good.

She ran a check of her physical body, trying to wake up, flexing muscles, opening back herself to the sensations of touch and pressure and pain while her neural interface monitored the chemicals in her blood, the reactions of her nerve system, all that stuff.

"Mh. I have something like 70 hours left before I start dying." She thought. "Much less if I don't get to drink or eat anything. And a lot less if one of those nekos just pulls my head out, I suppose."

She didn't like that situation. She didn't like bad intelligence, she didn't like people being sent to do jobs they weren't trained for, she didn't like inefficiency and she didn't like not being in space.

After completing her check-up, she concluded that she would just leave her body unconscious and inert. It was pretty much useless anyway.

What did she have? What could she work with?
Her internal comm suite, her neural implants and enhanced intelligence, and... that was it.
Stupid Cirrus security protocol didn't leave her any real Polysentience contact beyond the bare minimum required to prevent Freespacers from going mad from solitude over time, so she couldn't even ask for a Polysentience vote for assistance.

She idly wondered what the Free State would vote in such a case. It would be a good chance to strengthen the friendship with Nepleslia, so maybe the alliance enthusiasts would vote in favor of a rescue mission. The anti-Nepleslian front would vote against, as always, but they were few of them left.
Dream concluded that the vote would probably pass.

She sighed again, waiting for Tweak to return.

"Oh, yeah, Kaz..." Dream didn't wear the helmet, but had tuned her internal comm suite on that frequency, so she received the message anyway.

She interfaced with the squad's helmet speakers and broadcasted a message in an artificial voice that sounded a bit like her own:

Dream here. Hey, Kaz. I've had to put my body on standby, but otherwise, I'm fine. I've sent a message to Cirrus and am in contact with Tweak, Lorcan an' Deacon. They're near the shuttle. Lost track of Headmaster Real, however.
Click to expand...

A short pause as she connected to the spaceport's computer and downloaded the specifics of those Nepleslian vehicles she had found parked on the landing bay on the other side of the place.


That huge crate nearby the Wolverines also piqued her curiosity. She'll have to check that later.
 
"That's the best idea of the century, Dream."

Keziah shifted in her living bonds, slowly working her body around in the undersuit so the broken armor plates didn't jab into her ribs so painfully. But the thing was too damn formfitting, and all she really accomplished was pointless fidgeting.

The single dip into Dream's mind that she had done prepared her well enough to guess that the druidess' consciousness had expanded outside of her body. It wasn't surprising at all, considering her flesh was out of commission completely. Still, the thought was disconcerting.
 
"Begging your pardon, but I gotta disagree there Kaz. They don't exactly look like the most intuitive things e'er, and like you said ma'am," Cyril said, now switching his focus from Keziah to Dream. "You're not sure how to drive one, right? These things might have gone feral, but they're still fucking nekos. I'm not going to think that they're stupid enough to leave those things alone while you march them over to the landing pad or something."

Cyril didn't know what the nekos might try. The shielding on the Wolverine was pretty impressive, ditto for the armor. But, like he had said, the controls didn't exactly look like what you'd find on a yard skiff. Dream was bright, but she was only... humanoid..., right? There was only so much multitasking a person could do. Plus, the radio uplink on the lifter looked a little bit fragile, single whip aerial and all.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm all for masering these fuckers into the next century. I just think that it might be a good idea to get a gunner inside before we try anything, and WOULD YOU STOP YANKING ON ME FUCKING TAIL?" He finished, yelling at the offending neko. The damned thing didn't really seem to give a fuck, if it could understand him at all. But it was cathartic, and at least he had the forethought to cut the mic before he started shouting.

edit: for spelling
 
Claire sighed. She couldn't hear what Dream or anyone else speaking through the helmets were saying cause she didn't have one. She did hear Cyril start shouting at the neko who seemed to want to play tarzan with his tail. She shook her head.

Speaking of which, she looked down at the neko wrapped around her arms, it's head resting between her breasts and staring up at her. 'What the hell..?' She frowned. She stopped struggling a while ago, having seen how futile it was from the other staff during the first attack. After rolling her eyes, she met the big wide eyes of the neko still staring at her.

"So, you come here often?" She had no clue why she was talking to it, but there didn't seem to be anything else to do. She couldn't join in on the conversation with the squad thanks to the lack of one of their helmets and of course, she couldn't even move. What was a little bit of insane small talk with something that apparently could only say 'nya'?
 
"I avoid you because you make me nervous. You've stared at me ever since you arrived, and I don't like it." Tweak glanced down, then looked back at Deacon with a hard expression. "And what if I do have a scent? Have you been everywhere in this universe? How do you know there aren't species out there that lack smells your nose can recognize?" she added. It was a bluff, sort of. Tweak was telling the truth in a way since there was always the possibility...

She put her hands on her hips. "I have questions about what you are too, but we don't have time to be doing this. Our teammates are captured in there. I got out because those...nekos...underestimated me." She paused before using the word. Some of her team had used it in a way that only confirmed what she had read in her journal and what Kess had told her: Nekos weren't liked, not in the slightest. "It's only the two of us and the shuttle. Dream can pilot the shuttle remotely, but her body is unconscious."
 
Dream's artificial voice answered through the radio:


Her shamanic way of considering everything alive was as weird as always, but she was right: reading a vehicle's tech specifications wasn't really useful, and those Wolverines were their best bet to save the day: damaging or destroying one for a failed maneuver wasn't an option.
 
"If only we could figure out how to get my brain hooked up to yours." Keziah breathed out heavily, and rested the back of her head against her pack. "I could help you understand them. I haven't flown a Wolverine ever, but I know how powered armor works."
 
You have implants, but no neural interface with a communication suite?
Click to expand...

This was strange for Dream.
But, after all, from where she came, everyone either had one, or was a synthetic intelligence and therefore didn't even need it. This was Nepleslia, things were different.

...I can link up cameras and sensors to your helmet's HUD, so you'd perceive what I perceive... in a way.
Click to expand...

Sure, it wasn't at all like the total virtual immersion Freespacers favor while roaming the virtual realms (and which Kez experienced during the Shambler incident), which skips the body's five senses and links up directly with the brain. But it was still something.

You'll have to direct me verbally, step by step, so I don't screw up. That works with you, Kaz?
Click to expand...
 
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