RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 1] Promises Better Left Unsaid

YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering

Kamatari rubbed the back of his neck "That was it, I am sorry I forgot it, I remembered weather but that was it" he turns away from Ochiko and tries to think of what to say to Sunny but he had no idea what to say. He looked down then shrugs "So Sunny, if I may call you that, is there anything needed to be done around the ship?"

Surface

Darren continued to check over his Rebecca, the rifle getting a very thorough check over. He cycled the bolt and began loading HE rounds into the Longshot. That made 7 shots before he'd be slowed down with this weapon, or he'd have to switch to Sandra. The buckshot kicked and would probably do a number on any tentacles, but it didn't stand a chance of penetrating the tough shell. Still, he made sure everything on him was ready for the fight, pistol included, before he began to closely track their prey through the thick jungle, once again wishing he had a machete or something..

"Ain't no reason to try to get up close with somethin like that, the crabsquid'll just grab you in its tentacles or something." He kept stalking, focused seemingly entirely on the trail. "'m not gonna make a wager like that with a superior officer, Sir. Just infract me for it when we get back to the ship- I shoot better with some chew anyway."

YSS Heartbreaker

The Captain received the mini's message, triggering a high alert on the ship. Warning lights began flashing to alert the crew still aboard, causing Sunny to look up and around. "That ain't good." Ochiko frowned before simply disappearing. "Sunny's fine, kid. Let's get this thing ready to move, real fast and real fancy. Sounds like we might be hightailin' it real soon." The delicate bit of machinery she'd been working on was stowed as she rose to check the status of the engines and other systems.

Meanwhile, Miho received a simple response from Tsukisaki: if the team was lost or otherwise unable to be contacted, take off immediately. The Heartbreaker was scanning for any other vehicles attempting to leave the surface, and on alert for any other vessels approaching their position in orbit, wary of a trap.


Surface

The group made their plans, before cautiously following the bloody trail into the jungle. Now that they knew what to look for, it was easier to see the signs of the creature's movement. Trees leaning to one side, ground bulged upwards in one area, sunken down in another. Boots sinking easily into the reddish dirt after it had been disturbed, vines that should have crossed the tiny path were instead hanging, snapped. And, of course, there was the trail of blood. The Neko hemosynth had started as a river but turned to a trickle, then splatters, as they passed Yumi's other discarded weapons. A pair of swords, another firearm...then chunks of the familiar Star Army uniform, bits of vegetation still hissing from sprinkles and splashes of whatever acid had caused the clothing to fall off in chunks.

Then, there she was....her eyes blank and dazed, but not quite lifeless. Bloody stump of one arm still oozing. Yumi's body was laid out in the dirt, covered in tentacles, writhing and almost hungrily attached to her bare form, uniform and equipment either dissolved or discarded entirely by now. One massive claw was visible near her, almost cuddling her protectively. The arm and the tendrils seemed to disappear into the ground itself, although the reddish brown dirt was shaking and shifting as the ground rumbled, hints of a sickly colored shell glimpsed through the natural camouflage.

Surface

Darren couldn't remember the last time he'd been so angry, the last time a fire had been sparked within him like the sight before the group had. He looked back through his memory and the only thing that hadd come close is when some no good rich kid had tried to get sweet with one of his younger sisters, but the anger from then paled in comparison to the intensity he felt now. An intensity that he still squashed so that he could focus and study the situation. It was underground and had Yumi up above ground, covered in tentacles doing...

doing... THINGS to her that made his rage bubble. He couldn't act yet, not till he had a good shot at the monster with Rebecca: those HE rounds he had brought were rated to be able to do damage to light vehicles and power armor, so they stood a good chance of putting a crab down. When he ran out of those he'd have to go in and put himself at risk. Not as much of a risk now, what with having picked up a discarded sword just in case, but he'd still rather not do it. Using telepathy he outlined the plan to the rest of the team.

Surface

Rin hmmph'd slightly at Darren's choice to forgo her little challenge, and made a mental note to make sure she survived intact to file said paperwork. Of course, this was all for the sake of protocol and satisfying the Taii -- right now, she didn't care what he did if it made the soldier more eager to fight their enemy.

As she followed the disturbed path passing the discarded weaponry and ichor, the officer sheathed her Aether Saber Rifle machete and reached into the pouch of her working uniform to produce a single cylindrical magazine of 100 AP rounds. The fullerene darts within had more punch than the standard tungsten and steel, and they were quickly loaded into her Mk. I LASR and chambered. Every shot needed to count in this engagement, though there were more desperate tactics she could employ in the case ammo ran out...

With that thought in mind, Rin paused a second to hit the release near the trigger of Matonaka-heisho's abandoned Origin-made Standard Infantry Sniper Rifle as she passed it, ejecting the battery pack into her off hand. Her body's electrical senses told her it was at full capacity and unaffected by the acid, and entirely incompatible with her own weapon. Of course, that wasn't why she went to the trouble of saving it, as the tech sentry had much more explosive plans for the Interchangable High-Volume Capacitor pack -- namely turning it into a grenade if set to overload and discharge itself in one single electrical burst. Hopefully an unexpected surprise for the Crab.

Hoshitomo-shoi was mentally prepared for the sight that greeted her when they finally found the remains of the Heisho, very likely paralyzed at this point and helpless to avoid being slowly eaten alive by the digestive acid of the tentacles and its twisted master hiding beneath the ruddy earth. The way the massive claw clutched the Nekovalkyrja protectively and instinctively, there was the very real chance the creature had already begun the process of overwriting the DNA of Yumi's reproductive system...

As terrible as the thought of this torture seemed, it was actually the stump of the severed arm sent a chill up the XO's spine the most. Though she was in a Minkan body now, her memories of her many battles in a weaker Yamataian form persisted... and one that she never could forget was the loss of her arm in her first true sortie aboard the YSS Senbu. Though it earned her medals and infamy, the sight of someone else being dismembered in such a way drove up her anger past the cool exterior, and Darren could suddenly find a kindred spirit, if for different reasons. This was not the officer who chided him before, when the response came it was terse and brief:

I am in agreement with this plan. Execute at once, before Matonaka-heisho is completely lost to us.

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Surface of 'Owan to Tama'

Skade’s stomach dropped like a lead weight when she saw Yumi’s mangled corpse. So, the SMX aren’t just nightmares they tell 99ers to work them to death…they really are monsters, things that just take what they want and have no regard for any other kind of life…except for consumption. The Neko felt her hands start to shake and gripped her gun tightly to try and hide her fear. Come on, girl. Don’t let your crewmates down!

Once Darren and Rin sent their messages, the Technician swallowed her fear, turned her Saber-Rifle to full power, then sent,

I’m ready as well, ma’am. I’ll do my best.

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Orders acknowledged.

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Miho didn't necessarily approve of the order to leave them behind, but she saw the reasoning. She sent to Rin,

Maintain check-in signals. Keep consistent vitals reporting.

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Surface

As Rin gripped her rifle tighter and focused her inertial manipulation powers to burst upward on command, she gave the acknowledging nod to Skade, and then to Darren to begin the countdown. She also shot a look towards Inukai-hei, who had been silent up until now.

Inukai-Hei, when we get airborne, use that altitude to find a firing spot to hit it from the rear and support Masashiga-hei's assault. It cannot defend in all directions at once.

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When the communication came in from the mini-Neko, the XO looked to her science scanner clipped to her belt and set it to constant re-scanning mode on the hemosynthetic life signs of all nearby targets (namely themselves). Its broadcast could easily be picked up through her own body's wireless signal, and thereby to the shuttle and Miho.

Nakamura-hei, I am patching you through to my scanner's data feed for the vitals updates.

And...

Don't worry. We're all going to leave this rock the way we came in.. even if its in pieces.

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UX-HB-1 I, 'Owan to Tama' - Surface

Sayoko - despite herself, despite the training that had practically engraved into the surface of her brain - winced as, upon further examining the unmistakably out-of-place glint of an aritificial object, she caught sight of what was attached to it.


A hand.



Probability of Hand (severed) belonging to Matonaka-Heisho? Extremely high.



Glancing around, the SAINT operative caught sight of yet another metallic object in the jungle; before she could make any further movements, however, her crewmate - Leverton-Hei - mentioned two possible causes of the ghastly carnage that lay in front of the duo. The first was indeed possible, as the Mishhuvurthyar Crab-Type would easily be able to conceal its presence among the planet's numerous flora and fauna; the second suggestion merely elicited a sigh from the Neko.

That baka. A Power Armor would have easily been detected earlier in the mission, even if it was employing some type of camoflauge; furthermore, it's highly probable an enemy with such an advantage in combat strength would have attacked by now.

Upon hearing the wisdom-filled words of the XO, Sayoko nodded - then raised an eyebrow at Darren's mention of having hunted Crab-Types in the past. Highly improbable; service records indicate an age of 19 standard years. Probability of surviving an encounter with a Crab-Type while lacking experience and training? Extremely Lo-


The Neko's thoughts abruptly came to a halt as the AMES-suited (Strange, considering our current area of operations...) soldier promptly revealed that he'd acquired some highly illegal contraband. Eyes narrowed, the SAINT operative made sure to capture several images of Leverton-Hei's gross violation of regulations. Note (Self): Submit report to Star Army Personnel regarding [Possession of Contraband, Santô Hei Leverton Darren] following conclusion of missi-


Once again, Sayoko's thoughts were interrupted - though the cause this time was due to Hoshitomo-Shoi making a wager with the Santô Hei regarding the illegal items; fortunately for Inukai-san, Darren proceeded to reject the offer. A poor choice, Leverton-Hei.


As the group began to advance further into the forest, the SAINT Neko tensed up - Probability of ambush by supporting elements? High. - and, although said ambush failed to materialize, Sayoko still remained quite apprehensive, for the deeper she and her companions went into the twisted, overgrown labyrinth of the forest, the stronger her sense of fear became - as she, courtesy of her SAINT training, spotted everything that had occurred.


Observation: Dislocation of trees, loss of soil cohesion, alteration of natural elevation.
Analysis: Evidence of terrain displacement. Probability of target traveling via sub-surface movement: Extremely high.

Observation: Consistent disruption of naturally-occurring features, presence of discarded Star Army combat equipment, decrease in volume of hemosynthetic blood trail.

Analysis: Evidence of resistance by Matonaka-Heisho and counter-resistance enacted by Crab-Type. Probability of wounds inflicted on Matonaka Yumi: Extremely High. Probability of wounds inflicted on Crab-Type: Unknown; insufficient data.


Observation: Presence of...of......


Up until that moment, the Santô Hei had (for the most part) been successful in maintaining control over the growing amounts of horror she'd been feeling.


The tattered bits and pieces of the Star Army uniform on the ground in front of her pushed that control to its absolute limits - for, you see, those in charge of running the grueling Star Army Intelligence training program weren't exactly known for their...restraint in educating potential agents about the numerous enemies that sought the destruction of the glorious Yamatai Star Empire.


Because of this policy, one Inukai Sayoko had - via an incredibly realistic simulation - witnessed (not experienced, as a few of her fellow trainees had) the Mishhuvurthyar's reproductive process.


Glancing up with ever-increasing amounts of horror, Sayoko froze momentarily as she caught sight of the battered form of Yumi, though her fear-induced paralysis didn't exactly last long - for after receiving Darren's suggestions and Rin's orders moments later, the SAINT Neko sprung into action. In the name of the Empress, DIE!

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

Acknowledged.

Inukai-Hei

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♫♫ S.S.H - Razorback/No.666-Mix ♫♫

Combat initated.

With those words, Sayoko pushed everything else that had occurred to the side - the briefing, Leverton-Hei's posession of contraband, everything - and inhaled.


Then exhaled and promptly ignored gravity completely as she, courtesy of her body's finely-tuned inertial-manipulation abilities, leapt straight up, landing on a branch 7.2 meters overhead with only a slight creak as the Neko drew on her abilities once more in an attempt to nullify the force exerted on the branch by her impact - though said attempt was, of course, only partially successful; Sayoko, after all, was still a rookie. An extremely well-trained rookie, yes, but a rookie nonetheless.


After a pausing for a half-second to regain her balance, the Neko turned and began running down an impossibly-thin branch; while doing this, a distant portion of her mind dryly noted a couple of things - that her instructors would have failed her for such a sloppily-executed jump, and that a Mindy or two would've been very useful right about now. Allowing herself an incredibly rare smile, the SAINT operative leaped across the 2.5 meter gap that lay between her current (well, soon-to-be-vacated) branch; after a flawless (perhaps in a subconscious attempt to appease her inner sensei) landing, the Santô Hei continued onwards.



Suffice to say, roughly 3.2 seconds (and an impressive number of Matrix-worthy physics violations later), Sayoko was in position behind the Crab-Type.

Target acquired.

Taking another deep breathe, she took aim with her Type 33 (A) Rifle, doing her best to ignore the underlying senses of fear and nervousness she felt - then, as she looked at the Mishhuvurthyar through the rifle's scope, inhaled.

Firing.

Sayoko depressed the weapon's trigger - and was rewarded a microsecond later with an ear-splitting CRACK! as a single 12.7x50mm I-APE round was sent shrieking through the air.

Relocating.

Without even so much as a glance to see what her first-ever non-simulation shot had managed to accomplish, the SAINT Neko exhaled and was on the move, sprinting across branches towards another firing location - for she knew that should the Crab-Type ever ensnare her with its tentacles, it would be all over...

Surface

This was his fault. Yumi's fate, and whatever happened to the rest of the away team, it was his fault. He had stopped paying attention for maybe a minute, and it had been enough for her to get captured. That guilt and shame would stay with the Tatianan for a while.

But Darren didn't wallow and mope when he took failed; he took action. And right now he was pressing the attack, hovering just above the ground as he kept a bead on the crab. He truly, honestly, hated them. Not only were they simply unsatisfying to hunt, they were dangerous and they hurt people: not like the mountain lions and bears of his home, the creatures that had a place in the environment. He'd seen it before: a feral crab absolutely ruining a town and forcing the people to leave: either to try to live in another small settlement or to make their way to the peaceful and managed primary continent where they risked arrest for squatting.

Crabs, and Mishhu as a whole, brought only despair and sadness to others. In response, Darren was unloading fire and metal on the Crab that had taken Yumi; earsplitting booms shaking foliage as he fired his rifle and cycled the bolt. Gleaming hot cartridges ejected to his left, pushed away by the action as another round was chambered and he fired. The truth was that Darren was a good shot, but he wasn't a sniper. He wasn't patient enough, and didn't have the eye for the bigger picture needed; his aim was excellent, and he could just do the ballistic calculations in his head as easy as pie, but sniping wasn't for him.

Firing on this Crab, though. That was right up his area of expertise. At heart he was a rifleman, able to consistently put rounds on target while keeping up a good rate of fire.: A good example of which was how he continued to pour fire on, tightly grouping his shots to the best of his ability to make sure that maybe one of the high explosive rounds did damage.

Surface

As she heard the loud crack of Inukai's rifle from above only a few seconds after her command had been issued, and Darren's own muzzle suddenly flashing beside her, the now hovering Hoshitomo-shoi quickly shifted into action. The loose trappings of officer-dom were cast aside now, as her own LASR AP-rounds fired on semi-auto at the emerging Crab Mishhu joined the chorus of battle, singing a song of the military brat's true base nature as a relentless soldier of the Empire, now fighting one of its sworn enemies. There was no room for fear... or failure.

YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering

Kamatari got down to business and checked the systems with Sunny, he grumbled while doing so because if there was something wrong with them after he spent ages fixing the engines last time they jumped as there were some electrical faults. He looks over the systems "everything is in the green over this side Ma'am" he smiles slightly "Lets just hope it says like this."

Surface

Fluids oozed across the captured Neko's body, slick and slimy, her form still obscured by those greedy, writhing tendrils. The thing seemed too occupied with the prey it had captured to pay the proper attention to the rest of the group it had snatched her from. The eerie silence of their approach was suddenly broken by Sayako's shot, the shot and explosion followed by a scream of pain. The shriek filled the air and their minds, rattling in their skulls from inside and outside. The trees were suddenly emptying strange winged beasts into the sky, more creatures scurrying away from them through the brush, on many legs or slithering bellies.

Fire, fluid and shards of carapace erupted from the back of the beast, where the sniper shot had stuck the opening those many tendrils poured out from. Some were severed, flopping wildly about as their grip on Yumi's body loosened. Others retracted in response, leaving her form behind. Bare, covered in filth, limbs still...although something writhed inside,visible through red flesh now faded pale pink.

Rin and Darren lifted off just as the beast burst from the surface as well, reddish dirt scattered everywhere as its full form was revealed. Still howling an unintelligible message of pure hatred, it tried to spin to present the thickest armor towards the attackers. Chunks of shell went flying, small explosions scouring the surface of the monstrosity as it attempted to counterattack. Once it was exposed, the scars of earlier battles were easy to spot. It only had the one massive claw in front, both of the manipulator limbs missing as well, along with another of the rear walking legs. Other scrapes and gouges on the surface were rather similar to the new ones the armor piercing rounds were creating, more vile fluids gushing onto the coppery dirt of the alien planet.

New tendrils exploded into view as the more sensitive ones retracted, slicing blades and grasping pincers swiping and clawing towards Darren and Rin. That massive claw menacing Skade as she found herself unable to take a clear shot with all of the movement going on, Yumi's body still resting near the creature. The powerful limb snapping at her, threatening to wrench that weapon from her grasp as it moved with surprising speed, likely using the same gravity defying abilities they possessed to compensate for its missing limbs. Acid from several free tentacles sprayed wildly in Sayako's general area, trees tilting and leaning towards the ground, limbs snapping, vines falling into her path as she did her best to dodge the deadly splatters and find a new firing position.


YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering
"All green, uh huh." Sunny nodded in response, a bit distracted, chewing her lip as she stared at one of the consoles, the projected information lighting up her face as her eyes flickered back and forth, fingers moving across the buttons with experienced precision. Kamatari noticed one of Ochiko's message scrolls unfolding onto his screen, shifting into a remote stream of the data Tsukisaki was receiving.


YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The Captain watched the main screen as the team's life signs were projected onto it, along with blips indicating the weapons charging and firing, picked up by their scans.

Her frown deepened and she gripped the hilt of her nearby sword as a new blip suddenly appeared, rapidly approaching the group.

Surface

The teal-haired XO of the Heartbreaker laid into the monstrosity with her LASR rounds in the initial strike, giving pause only to grit her teeth and do her best to endure the psychic scream emanating from the Mishhuvurthyar at being wounded. Without the benefit of a PSC unit in power armor, losing one's focus was a real risk in such close range... but Rin had been subjected to this mental abuse before and was not about to back down in the face of it. On the contrary, the more it howled and rattled her brain, the more she knew she was effective at hurting it, and that knowledge drove her forward instinctually to continue doing so.

Hoshitomo-shoi was however driven to the ground momentarily, and as her icy-eyed vision cleared from the kicked up dirt, it showed injuries to the Crab that could not have been done by her allies attacks alone. This creature was going into battle with them already at reduced fighting strength, crippled by old wounds. They had a chance to defeat it if they could properly capitalize on this fact.

This Mishhu is still injured from a previous battle, missing limbs and unbalanced! Leverton-hei, try to focus your fire on the legs and unarmored joints, and we can slow it down further. Inukai-hei, keep moving and get a shot off at the claw, and Skade, slice at the joint connecting it to the body as soon as she hits. If we can severe that off, it's frontal area is wide open to a killing blow!

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As she mentally barked out the orders to her squad, Rin braced her gun against her upper arm and drew the Molecure tape-wrapped Zesuaium saber-rifle blade with her off hand just in time to sever a tentacle off that was aiming for her, a spatter of sanguine fluid landing across her cheek as she re-positioned herself to dodge and shoot down the tentacles that were coming for her and Darren. Seeing the writhing mass deep within Yumi, she above all didn't want anyone else to meet such a fate.

UX-HB-1 I, 'Owan to Tama' - Surface

Sayoko felt a surge of pride at the sound of the obscene creature's screams, smiling as she imagined the praise she would've received for landing such a decisive low - then felt a surge of pure, unfiltered, primal terror a half-second later as the obscene creature's psionic screams crashed into the SAINT Neko with all of the subtlety of an aether blast.



The good news was that the firewall of the Santô Hei's Type 36 Communicator sprung to life a tenth of a second after the invisible maelstrom registered on its sensors, abruptly "muting" the non-corporeal roar with a faint fweep.


The bad news was that the momentary disorientation caused by the roar was enough to distract Sayoko - due to the fact that she, unlike Rin, had never been forced to endure such a violent psychic assault (as, granted, SAINT training had included exposure to such attacks - but the ones that trainees had to contend with were, to put it very mildly, far less potent then those actually in usage by the Mishhuvurthyar).



Stumbling slightly as she (yet again) defied physics by sprinting across the surface of a spindly tree branch, the Neko groaned at the splitting headache that had suddenly manifested within her mind and, for the briefest of moments, reflexively closed her eyes as she attempted to assuage the pain - only to snap them wide open as her silver-furred ears picked up the faint hissssss of several Mishu Spray Tentacles unleashing their vile contents.



Then things escalated from challenging to insane as the effects of said Spray Tentacles became highly apparent: Trees began to wilt, swaying as if they were made of nothing more then paper. Branches began snapping under their own weight, breaking at the slightest movement. Acid-covered vines began raining downwards, each one causing even more destruction in its wake.



Empress help me... Sayoko paled as she frantically jumped, leaped, and dove throughout the nightmarish scene's - for even with the impressive abilities granted to a Nekovalkyrja such as herself, there were limits to how much she could handle at once. Then the XO's message came in, and (unintentionally, of course) provided the final push needed to disrupt the SAINT Agent's desperate attempts at survival, for when the Santô Hei responded -

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

Acknowl-

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- the already-occupied Neko let her attention wander for just a heartbeat too long, thus not noticing one of the Crab-Type's Spray Tentacles discharge a spray of highly-acidic digestive fluid in front of her until it was almost too late.



With a nauseating sizzle, the aforementioned digestive fluid grazed the Hei's right side (just below the rib cage), eating away a fist-sized chunk of uniform, flesh, and bone in the process.



With a shriek of agony, one Inukai Sayoko tumbled downwards, only barely managing to slow her fall down into something survivable before impacting the ground adjacent to one of the trees with a thud.



One heartbeat passed.

Then another.

A third.

A forth.

A fifth.



Head swimming, the SAINT Agent let out a pain-laced groan as the last of the fall's cobwebs cleared from both her mind and her vision (Urf.......) - then, upon catching sight of the Mishu's ominously-looming form, bolted upright, only to slump back down against the tree trunk as a wave of vertigo overwhelmed her. The...mission. Must...complete...the...mission!

With something that could best be described as a growl, Inukai Sayoko reached for her rifle (which, miraculously enough, had landed practically next to the Neko during her uncontrolled trip through the air), raised it and, as she bit deeply into her lip at the resulting pain said actions had caused, fired at the abomination's massive claw - doing her best to ignore the rising amounts of pain each shot inflicted on her.

I... <CRACK!>

am a... <CRACK!>

soldier of...the... <CRACK!>

Star Army! <CRACK!>

I will... <CRACK!>

...NOT FAIL! <CRACK!>

Hoshitomo......Shoi, Skade-Hei,

Firing.

Inu...kai-Hei

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Surface

Darren had run out of ammo for his rifle fairly quickly, the first few shots having landed closely grouped together before his aim shifted downwards to try to score hits on unarmored sections of limbs and joints. But it was harder than it had seemed, Darren's conscious mind fighting tooth and nail against the psychic shout that had nearly knocked him out cold; as it was he had fallen back on instinct and muscle memory in his reactions, letting the cunning lizard part of his brain handle the active fighting while the sapient human part did the planning.

Rebecca had long since run dry, the entire load of HE rounds he had brought with him emptied into the crabsquid to some effect. She was still be used though to save his life and that of others, her owner gripping her by the barrel and swinging it one handed like an ungainly club, smashing it into any tentacles he could as they tried to approach Hoshimoto or him.

When he heard the shriek from Sayoko, he added another person to the list of people he was protecting! He wasn't even sure why he was doing it, why he made a mad dash over to the SAINT Neko and started trying to bat the tentacles away from her like some kind of man possessed. Rebecca was in a bad shape by now, bent and warping from the unintended usage, and he had to drop her. Not that she was doing much good in this fight anyway. But he had another thing he could do.

Sharp cracks of fire and the whizzing of heavy steel pellets filled the air as he immediately fired a load of buckshot from the 12 gauge shotgun into the cloud of tentacles, and then another as he pumped the action and fired again.

Miho interrupted her game of solitaire to send a message back up to the ship.

Sayoko heavily injured and very very hard to kill, it seems. The team is going through ammunition quickly. Should I give them another 60 seconds before calling the mission a loss?

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Surface

Rin kept dodging and firing as long as she was able, moving with that mechanical sort of tenacity as sweat was pouring down her brow. It mixed with the hemosynthetic fluid that dripped down one side of her now matted teal hair and face from the severed tentacles she managed to stay just barely one step ahead of... so focused on survival, she also did not notice the incoming blip on the scanner.

The sound of cracking ribs and bludgeoning rifles made her aware of the rest of her teammates also fighting with all they had left to free the infected Heisho. Her own LASR too discharged its final shell before the counter went to zero and flashed an ominous red. Throwing the now useless hunk of metal to the coppery earth in frustration, the Shoi looked to the technician at the forefront as Sayoko's precise shots landed with a thwack, breaking the stalemate with the armored claw and giving the opening Skade needed to dismember the beast's massive limb while it was reeling.

"Now, Hei! Full beam saber power!!"

As a rookie Neko, Rin hoped that instincts and training that were fresh in the 99-er's mind would take over from here. But, regardless the XO withdrew the grey Interchangeable High Volume Capacitor Pack she had swiped before from the utility belt pocket it was hastily deposited in and used her non-electrically conductive Zesuaium machete to chop off the protective cover on its superconducting contacts. Theoretically, the next thing they would touch would receive a massive electrical discharge equivalent to firing Yumi's sniper rifle on its highest setting all at once... hopefully delivering the coup de grace on the Crab Mishhuvurthayar they desperately needed.

Surface

Sayako tumbled through the air, bouncing between nearby trees, gaining several bruises to go along with the hissing wound in her side. Several other stray splatters had hit the poor Neko, eating through her uniform and leaving sizzling pockmarks, but nothing as deep as the first. Her body was doing its best to keep her conscious and fighting, hemosynth pouring down her side even as individual blood vessels attempted to contract closed to halt the flow, the ragged edges of the injury ever so slightly smoothing over as her body tried to keep as much precious fluid inside as possible.

Rin and Darren swung their weapons, battering or slicing away the grasping, serrated tentacles that battered at them. A few still slipped through, leaving them with nicks and bruises, threatening to push the pair back towards the ground from their slightly elevated firing position. Darren's shots had cracked and ruined several chunks of the creature's armor, one of those remaining rear legs just barely attached, dangling uselessly at the moment as the thing continued to spin in the air.

Eventually Sayako found her rifle, and the strength to prop it up. Her first shot went wild, but the next hit that claw, knocking it away from Skade as it had nearly clamped down on her weapon. Shifting more attention to Sayako, thankfully Darren was there to ward off the tendrils now focusing on her, garnering more shrieks of pain as the twitching limbs rapidly lost chunks to the cloud of buckshot. The claw continued to be thwarted, pushed back and upwards by the continued firing of the injured Neko, leaving its front exposed to Skade and Rin.


Communications

Negative, Nakamaru-Hei. The situation has changed. Advise the Away Team that they have incoming. A heavy weapons charge has been detected at these coordinates.

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A set of numbers corresponding to the suddenly motionless blip was sent to Miho, putting the new arrival at a higher elevation than the team. It had also noticeably come from the rough direction of the beacon, now situated between them and it.


Meanwhile...

"Shift to firing mode."
"All energy lines connected. Anchors locked. Power levels rising normally."
"Target has started revolving."
"Compensating. Ready to fire."
"Charge full!"

Surface of 'Owan to Tama'

Blood circle, blood circle, don’t swing your Saber if Nekos are in the blood circle… Skade kept repeating the little rhyme her instructors had given her when she had picked up the Saber-Rifle for the first time in training as the chaos that was the battle kicked off. Once everyone has moved, I can fire… what the?

Instead of firing at the crab with her weapon, the Technician had a hard time just holding onto it as the crab’s claw snapped at her, apparently realizing the threat that the weapon was. NO! the Nekovalkyrja thought as the crab maneuvered the Saber in such a way that she couldn’t use the blade to cut her way out of the problem.

Thankfully, the rest of the away team was able to do enough damage to the crab that it was forced to focus on them and let go of her weapon, leaving her the perfect opportunity to close and attack. So perfect in fact, that she was ordered to take it.

Ack! Move already, Skade!

The Neko activated the sword mode of the Saber-Rifle, lifted herself off of the ground, and zig-zagged her way at high speed towards the crab’s claw that was their biggest problem. Using her forward momentum, she swung with at the joint that supported the claw as she approached, turned in the air as she flew past, and fired at the joint with the highest power beam. Blood and other fluids flew as this happened, coating the Technician in a disgusting layer of Mishhuvurthyar bodily fluids. Eww…

Skade slowed down, but kept moving away from the crab, firing another burst at the enemy after she turned off the sword projection of her weapon. Let’s hope I’m out of the blast radius of Rin-Shoi’s grenade…