RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 12.3] Red Snow

Ramiro was back inside the tank, sitting at the gunner station. Since he hadn't come out in armor he figured he was no use outside of the tank. He scanned around for incoming enemies or leftovers from the fight. "We seem to be clear Taisa, no hostiles nearby."

The Nekovalkyrja Reika had captured was a typical china-white NH-29 NMX light infantry grunt with wide sky blue eyes and pretty navy blue hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a full set of NMX snow gear and underneath an additional armored vest and a khaki field uniform was visible. Two EMP grenades still hung on her belt and she had a satchel over one shoulder with 3 Star Army Type 29 Field Rations (Type DC) inside.

"My name is Karina Maisa," the NMX soldier introduced herself. She looked around the inside of the tank. "Is that Taisa Ketsurui in the front?" she asked.

Takeyu jogged along the outside of the tank, his eyes looking around cautiously, his rifle up and ready to be used. A drone of his came zipping out of the sky, returning to the shoulder pad before another one zipped out to take it's place.

Wonder what he'll get out of that Neko.. He eyed the tank for a moment then looked back forward and kept an even pace with the tank.

On his HUD he saw both drones directly above the tank, hovering nearly a hundred meters in the air with a fifty meter gap between them. One drone was observing a one eighty degree area to the left of the tank while the other was observing a one eighty degree area to the right of the tank.

His other drone was flying ahead of the group and was zipping around trees and boulders, looking for hostiles.

Reika's first response to the captured Neko's query was to raise the barrel of her LASR and point it at Karina's face. Her second action was to speak succinctly and emotionlessly, "Keep your hands raised, your questions can wait... if you do anything I find even remotely threatening or suspicious you'll either end up dead or permanently crippled. I won't warn you a second time..." The operative moved next to the neko, with one hand she kept her firearm trained upon the prisoner, with the other she removed the prisoners EMP grenades one at a time and tossed them lightly to the distant end of the passenger compartment. No sense risking the NMX neko utilizing them to cripple the tank from the inside. Then she removed the satchel and similarly tossed it away.

Reika then backed away whilst keeping the gun aimed towards the neko. She located one of the prisoner handling kits, gathered a few items, then set them in front of the seated woman.

"You can lower your hands. Remove your body armor, put on these clothes as well as the cuffs and bracelet. Considering the cold, you can keep your coat for the time being. Once you've done that and I'm satisfied your cuffs and bracelet are properly secured, then we can have a nice friendly chat... or not so friendly... the choice of which is yours."

When she had the gun pointed at her face, Karina sunk back into the corner with fear. Then, when she was ordered to get into the tiny pink robe, she reluctantly complied.

In the cramped, bumpy, and bloody confines of the tank, she set her thick white coat in the prisoner handling kit box so it wouldn't get dirty, removed her armor vest, and then wriggled out of her white sweater and snow pants. Next, she removed her field uniform. There was nothing underneath; the NMX had not given her undergarments. After putting on the meagerly-cut pink uniform, she wrapped herself in the warmth of the coat, shivering as the cold air passed over her bare legs, and held out her hands for the flexcuffs to be put on.

Reika took hold of the cuffs and clapped them shut around the prisoner Karina's wrists. In addition, she placed one of the tracking bracelets around her left wrist and locked it in place. After a few moments the SAINT operative had satisfied herself that the prisoner's restraints were secure. Reika then stood by the far wall of the passenger compartment, giving the NMX neko a little more breathing room, but keeping the barrel of her gun trained upon her. With a mental command to her armor, her Daisy's helmet unsealed and she set it down beside her feet with her remaining free hand.

When Reika spoke to the prisoner, her voice was soft and almost void of any emotion. The words she issued were icy like the winds outside the tank, and the violet maelstroms that were her eyes were disturbing in their seeming lack of human warmth. However, her present mannerisms were largely an act -- Reika was far more uncertain and uncomfortable with the prospect of having to interrogate the prisoner for information than she outwardly appeared. This would be the first time she would put her SAINT training into practice.

"Well then... Karina Maisa, was it? My name is Tachihara Reika. I know I said I wouldn't repeat myself... but allow me to make a few facts clearer for you. You are now a Star Army prisoner of war, and therefore so long as you obey all instructions you are given, and in no way endanger any Star Army personnel -- either through action or inaction -- you will from this point forward remain unharmed and your basic needs of survival will be supplied. I have no particular desire to hurt or kill you -- however make no mistake -- if I believe I have no other viable choice than to do you harm... I will do whatever is required to protect the lives of myself, my companions and other Star Army soldiers."

Reika paused for a few heart-beats, to allow her previous statement to sink in, before she continued. "My commanding officer -- Taisa Ketsurui Hanako -- has instructed me to acquire all information you can provide in regards to the NMX's Nekovalkyrja production centers upon Ether -- I require details about their locations, as well as any information you have in regards to their security arrangements and the presence of NMX forces in their vicinity."

Sune ghosted along with the vehicles, content with the current lack of hostile action. I still do not see the rational for our coming to this system. But I am sure the Taisa has her reasons. I mean we just barely sign a peace treaty with the Gartagens, and they apparently decide they have something to prove so they decide to attack an NMX held world. Not sure what their logic was in making that decision. he thought to pass the time.

He pulled out his science scanner and periodically took readings of the atmosphere.

"Ahh, you are a neko like me," Karina observed. "If I tell you where I was born, are you going to kill all my sisters there?" she asked, worried about betraying them. "I will tell you if there is a way that we can get away from here unharmed."

"Taisa." Helen spoke through the Kylie's communication system "Would you like me to handle the prisoner, or would you prefer that Reika gets to stretch her legs with some field work?" She asked, the implication was obvious, she was quite sure that the goal of the prisoner was to get information out of her... and who better to do that than one of the SAINT personnel, and it did seem Helen was eager for the job, it sure beat playing the part of regular infantry.

Ramiro continued to scan the landscape for enemies, alothugh he was eavesdropping on the prisoner as he did. It seemed to him that she wasn't particularly willing to fight for the NMX, as she would so willingly give up information and that she didn't see to be at all hostile toward her captors. Either she was glad she had been captured or she was playing them. Either way, Ramiro was keeping an eye on her.

[Mission 12.2] Interception

Hanako replied to Helen using secure telepathy, "You are welcome to come in the tank and assist Reika," she said. "This is taking longer than I wanted and we need directions immediately."

Just then, Hanako's tank got a coded text message from Taisho Yui:

"I do not like being left behind," Hanako frowned. She was also concerned the NMX response fleet would come back and steamroll the Gartagens.

Takeyu instinctively rubbed the back of his neck, or perhaps, the back of his armor neck rather. He was still looking around, trying to cite any NMX that were hiding, his drones constantly zipping across the sky. The one he sent ahead was still moving through rocks, then it zipped down into a snow-cave of sorts, before flying up out of it and zipping back across by almost a quarter of a mile away, still looking.

"And yet, despite these three drones, no sign of that Elysian either," he muttered in a low tone, though he wasn't entirely sure if anyone actually heard him.

Glancing to his left, he eyed the tank for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the front and continuing his jog along the side of the tank. It's apperence, damaged by the attack they had just gotten out of, he had to wonder what was next.

One of Takeyu's drones spotted a parasite following the group. It moved in rapid bursts, traveling up to 40 meters a second. It seemed to be looking for a way into the tank.

"Contact! Parasite!" Takeyu called out when he saw the image on the drone's scanners and spun around and brought his rifle up, his shoulder pad opened and his two remaining drones flew out with orders to attack the parasite. He sent the data from his drone to the squad, along with the location where the parasite was spotted and its current vector.

With damage to the tank, that thing could find a way in... "Ma'am, i'd suggest closing off any hatches or any means for this little bugger to get inside," suggested Takeyu, though he was stating the obvious, it was the first thing that came to mind when he saw the damaged sensor component on the tank that was hit earlier by sniper fire.

He started looking around, before his HUD tagged the creature, he then opened fire in its general direction - though knowing full well that its high-rate of speed would prove a bit of a problem.

With the announcement of the contact, Helen's hand quickly went to the sidearm strapped to the leg of her Kylie. With a flick of her armored thumb, the weapon was set to a stunning scalar wave setting. She snapped around to follow the indication from the drone through her AIES, then fired off a series of rapid shots from the weapon, in hopes of stunning the parasite so it could easily be killed afterward.

The parasite dropped out of sight behind some icy rocks. It had probably been hit but it wasn't possible to be sure without breaking away from the formation.

Meanwhile, Hanako, hearing Takeyu's message, closed the driver area's hatch, blocking Armundo's view. "Sorry," she apologized. "We cannot let anything get in. How are you holding up, Armundo?" she asked.

It was starting to get dark outside, and any meager warmth the sun had offered was quickly fading away, replaced by gusts of wind that felt like being bumped into by a staggering drunken Sumo wrestler. The tank was starting to get a coat of ice on its upper surfaces.

Takeyu stared down his rifle, watching for movement, but with the onset of night he knew this would make things a bit more interesting, and dangerous.

He sent a new order to his drones, which had been harassing the parasite, and ordered one to dive down to search and see what the parasite was while the other drone would stay a short distance behind just in case it was attacked. Both drones zipped across the surface, heading to where the parasite was last seen.

"It dived down," reported Takeyu. "Lost sight, no idea where it is," he glanced about the area cautiously scanning for the parasite.

As night fell, Sune switched off his camouflage and hopped on top of the tank. As he noticed the layer of ice forming he sent a brief message to Hanako.

"Taisa, I do not know how cold this world gets, but the tank is starting to freeze up on the exterior. I suggest we do periodic rotation of the weapons to keep them clear of ice. I do not know if it is prudent to increase the internal temp as that would make the vehicle a thermal target."

Reika frowned softly as she considered her response to Karina. "Capturing or destroying the Nekovalkyrja production facilities is a necessity, as is removing the threat your 'sisters' pose towards Star Army and Gartagen forces upon Ether. Whether that threat is removed by capturing or killing them is dependent on number of circumstances, and upon the decisions made further up the chain of command. Though, I'm sure my superiors would like to have additional living captives for interrogation -- but not at the expense of our own soldiers lives. If you give us the information we require, we can more efficiently plan our attacks and minimize our own risk -- the less risk our troops are exposed to, the more effort we can expend upon capturing your sisters intact rather than resorting to lethal means."

Reika sighed, before continuing. "The NMX ships within this system have withdrawn and now the NMX troops upon Ether are cut off. Without reinforcements -- which might never come -- the defeat of the Mishhuvurthyar upon Ether is probably inevitable now. Whether any significant amount of your sisters survive that defeat could depend upon any knowledge you give us to make a less bloody outcome more likely. Life in a Star Army POW camp may not be pleasant, but I doubt that serving as Mishhuvurthyar cannon fodder or walking food rations upon this icy rock has been better in comparison."

Karina crossed her arms defensively. "I am not going to betray my sisters. And they already know where you are, thanks to my telepathy."

"We have control of the airspace and can challenge anything that comes our way," Hanako pointed out from the front seat. "Think of it this way: NMX Reinforcements have been blocked and the Gartagens are taking over. That leaves you and your sisters with limited options, which consist of surrender or death. You have only just started your life. There is so much out there you can experience! We treat our prisoners well and when this war is over they will be released. Knowing that it will be captured, your sisters need to destroy the cloning center to it doesn't fall into enemy hands, right?"

"I...guess so," Karina said.

"How much explosives do your sisters have handy?" Hanako asked.

Karina grumbled. "We do not have any left over."

"Well, we have enough in this tank," Hanako offered.

"You wouldn't give us anything," the NMX neko retorted.

"True, but if you lead me to the cloning center, I promise my soldiers will not only demolish the cloning center, but we will evacuate your sisters. Any unarmed NMX neko will not be harmed. Let your sisters know and see if we can come to an agreement."

There was a long pause.

Karina then turned back to Reika. "Okay, so there is a back way in that will let us avoid the Mishhuvurthyar overseers. We can travel through an ice cave located at the following coordinates..."

- - -

Twenty minutes later, the tank was stopped outside of a small hole in the rocks.

"Form a team!" Hanako ordered.