YE 46.2
Deserts Near Fornox City - Planet Koenic
As Sanda raced away from the old bunker-fort, the NMX Delsaurians hopped on their bikes and began pursuit across the sandy dunes of planet Koenic. The scorching air rushed past Sanda, tossing her hair in the wind and throwing tiny talcum-powder-like grains in her face and eyes from the explosions around her caused by energy rifles hitting the sand around her. Picking up Sanda's position from orbit, MEGAMI sent her coordinates and vector directly to Mineko as it was valuable intelligence. The base was only some 10 kilometers from Fornox City.
Fornox City Space Port
Suddenly the shape of the Resurgence appeared in the sky and flew over the away team, and out of it came two STVs and two LSTVs on pallets, which floated down in huge parachutes. Aboard the ship, Pidole and her tech squad had pushed the ready-to-go vehicles out of the ship. They came to a landing in the nearby dunes, fully armed. Euikoshi rushed over to one of the huge, monster-truck like STVs and packed the parachute in a wad inside a plastic footlocker on the back and then fired it up. "Ready to move!" she told the others. "Lock and load the gun," she ordered.
Kokoro had a bit of a harsh landing nearby, scrambling to join Euikoshi on the now active STV. The Nekovalkrja hopped onto the back of the vehicle as it whirred to life, a grin flashing through her face as she manned the turret on top. She gave the science officer a thumbs up as she prepared the gun for action. "Locked n' loaded!"
Cheilith landed next to one of the STVs and clambered aboard. She sat in the driver's seat and grinned. "We shoot them from the vehicles." She said, checking that she could fire her weapon one handed. With her STV loanded up, she gunned the engine and sand flew from under her tires and she peeled off towards Sanda.
Yayoi charged her willpower ready for battle in her Mindy Power armor, pleased that Yoshiro followed his ordrs, atleast she hoped he had. She used her Mindy to fly her to the point beside Cheilith. Then used Sanda's coordinates to lock in on her position.
Toidorno wished his allies of the "Clan of Female Warriors" well, and prepared to join the group heading to conduct diplomacy with the Delsaurian leader, as they had discussed. He remembered who Poppy was from their mealtime meeting back on the Resurgence, and understood that she was in command of that mission.
Just then, the backup team also arrived and piled into the LSTVs. Poppy and Cassie were among them. Everyone was pulling together to make sure Sanda was okay.
Euikoshi offered the passenger seat to Toidorno. "Let's ride!" she smiled.
The cat climbed in, wrapping his tail around his midsection. With a clawed hand, he grasped one of the nearby 'Oh Shoot' handles, as his people sometimes called them. He was anxious to see how well this Science Officer drove on an unknown desert planet...
The STV took off, blazing a trail across the desert at high speeds. With its giant, all-terrain wheels and suspension, the large scout truck was surprisingly nimble and mobile.
Deserts Near Fornox City - Planet Koenic
With the distance between the base and space port, it would take an average Neko five and a half minutes to get to where the Delsaurians had holed up Sanda. Mineko and Erika had already been en route and with the edge of time on their side, were able to make it to the installation. The smoldering heap of bikes out front was an instant giveaway to the SAINT agents of what had trasnspired.
"Don't let on we got that transmission." Erika said to Mineko as they altered their vector. "If she's infected, the intent is likely to infiltrate. We make her think we have no idea we could more easily subdue her. Aside from that, any ideas? I was thinking we just shoot them from above."
There was a crack in the distance as the Resurgence's guns fired on one of the vehicles after Sanda, sending bright streaks of energy across the sky and resulting in a large explosion.
"Looks like Resurgence has that covered," Mineko said as she scanned the drivers, honing in on Sanda as she pulled out her NSP. "I can focus on exfiltrating Sanda while you provide cover from the flank."
The sand stung Sanda's eyes but she gunned the engins faster to try and loose her persuiers. The explosion from the Resurgence guns almost made Sanda loose control of the bike they were so unexplected. She glanced behind her and saw the exploded bikes and then looked up in the sky and smiled. "Ya-hoo!" She wooped as she saw the Resurgence but her enturseasum quickly dampered when she remembered the situation she was in.
"Thunder, head south south west. We're in position to cover." Erika said over the comm, hoping that if the ranger was able to send the distress signal, she could also recieve. The operative's drone managed to get sight and saw no alteration in Sandas behaviour. "I think her comm unit's inoperable." Erika said to Mineko.
"Sounds like it," Mineko agreed.
Ahead of her, Sanda could see the cavalry arriving in the distance, consisting of some STVs and LSTVs that would reach her in a couple minutes.
Two Delsaurian NMX soldiers managed to get close to Sanda, knowing the ship couldn't take more potshots at them if Sanda was in the kill radius. One of them slapped her across the face with a bullwhip. "Stop or we'll shoot!"
Sanda saw the two riders closing in on her and heard them yell something out of a movie. Before she could react one of them had smacked her in the face with a whip. Sanda lost control of the bike and for a moment and had to cut her speed significanltly. Her bike went sideways and for the second time today, much to her shame, she wrecked her bike. Not as bad as the first time though.
Erika was now catching up to the group and had visual herself. Her inbuilt AIES took the data from the 2 delsaurians along with the balistics of her mass driver rifle and told her where to point to hit. She fired a burst at one of the Delsaurians closest to her, the hypersonic rounds making a reverberating crack as they forced their way through the air.
One of the drivers ragdolled across the dunes as Erika's shots knocked him off of his fast-moving hoverbike.
Cheilith crested a dune and got a decent amount of air before landing. Spoitting Sanda she put her pedal to the metal now that she could see the Sanda and the two soldiers who were threating her. Her gunner fired a warning string of shorts across the enemy's bow.
Yayoi flew as fast as her Mindy could allow to make it to Sanda's position and carefully prepared her Aetheric Pulse Cannons for activation. Then targeted the other Delsaurian that Erika hadnt shot at.
Euikoshi's STV with Toidorno and Kokoro arrived in the fray to find about a dozen enemy soldiers on hoverbikes in a firefight with the teams. She handed her NSP to Toidorno. "You can shoot or give it to Sanda. I'm getting in close. Koko, use the big 35mm chaingun to disable their bikes!"
Toidorno, nodded to the driver, standing half up in his seat, keeping balance with his tail and his own senses. He called out, perhaps surprisingly loudly, to Sanda. "Ittô Heisho Sanda!" He lifted the pistol so that she could see it, and with as much accuracy as he could muster, hurled the weapon into her path so that she would arrive under it to catch it. It wasn't an easy toss... Would she catch it!?
Kokoro didnt even wait for Euikoshi to finish speaking to begin firing the chaingun at the incoming bikers. She did at the very least, aim for the engines of the bikes, laughing rather loudly over the rather loud gunfire. The green Nekovalkrja was hitting somewhat reliably at the very least. "HUEHUE!! EAT BULLETS YOU ASSHOLES!!!" She shouted, a grin still plastered over her face.
"Going down now," Mineko said tersely to Erika. With Sanda in the middle of a billowing spire of sand and one of the drivers eating sand alongside her, Mineko saw her chance to push into the chaos, diving through the dusty mess to where she had watched Sanda flop into the dunes. She heard Toidorno and looked just the pistol being flung into the balloons of sand being kicked up and lunged for it, veering away from Sanda momentarily as her instincts to not give her a weapon with the possibility of infection on everyone's minds.
Erika covered from above, firing the occasional burst down into the dust, using her drone's sensors to help cut through the chaff.
Cheilith drove in close, if not quite crashing range, then where swapping paint with the enemy hoverbikes was a danger. She put her own pistol out the window as they slewed around and started adding her own fire to the chaos.
Off in the distance, something began to emerge from the sand, long and metallic. It looked like a submarine but for sand. As the crew fought the NMX team, this mysterious craft began launching missiles before rapidly diving. The Resurgence began firing on it but it was already buried. "Warning, incoming missiles," MEGAMI sent to the team, then targetted the missiles.
Yayoi detected the emergence of the new ship or Mishhu monstrosity, then she picked up on the warning from the Megami. She turned and flew right for Sanda to try and grab her and get her secured as well as any one else need saving.
Yoshiro took up his GP12 and opened fire on select targets on the ground. "Ok you dirt eating noob scumbags, time for me to make breakfast with my TOASTER!" Yoshiro saidn and used single shots to his enemies, laughing as he did so. "You guys are so stupid, you make A ripper look smarter.
Sanda came up from her wrecked bike looking indignant that she had wrecked again. But that was quickly wiped from her face as several things happened at once. The away team came riding up and began attacking the bikers around her. Toidorno made eye contact with her and went to throw her a weapon but Sanda lost track of it when something popped out of the sand and began firing missles at the Resurgence.
Cheilith swung around alongside Sanda. "Need a ride?" She asked.
As the missiles rained down on them, Euikoshi's STV flipped over with flames coming off the side. Several of the NMX bikes were hit by missiles, blowing them up as well. As the smoke cleared, Euikoshi checked on Toidorno. "You alright, tough guy?" she said, thankful for seat belts.
The vehicle tumbled wildly, and Toidorno felt himself being flung around as though he were in an atmosphered fighter doing maneuvers. He had been flung around, and though his environment suit protected him from the burns, he definitely felt like he'd feel some serious bruises. The Lieutenant had checked in on him, and he nodded to her. "Alright enough! Are you well? And Hei Kokoro in back..." He turned, trying to see what had happened to their gunner!
Unfortunately for Kokoro, the turret mount on the back didnt exactly come with restraints or seatbelts... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH". The Neko was sent flying, flailing around in the sky for a moment like a cat trying to orient herself and land on her feet. She ended up using her antigravity to break the fall, floating over the sandy ground momentarily, before dropping the remaining distance of about one feet with a small 'oof'.
"Hei Kokoro!" Toidorno called out, though the Nekovalkyrja ability to float had apparently saved her from an unpleasant landing in the sand.
"immph pHIINE!" Toidorno got a thumbs up from Kokoro, the neko attempting to get up and stop kissing the ground shortly after. She spat out a mouthful of sand, making a disgusted face. "Ew- ew.. ew... I hate sand..."
Toidorno was impressed. To Euikoshi, he reported "She is well. Eating sand... but well." He grimaced, wondering whether they'd be able to find and recover Euikoshi's NSP. "The ship's sensors may be needed to recover the pistol you suggested I give to Hei Sanda." he commented.
"SANDA!!" Mineko nearly screamed Sanda's name into the rabble, stalking down on the ranger as behind her explosions ripped through the dunes. She got close enough to put her hand out to the crewmen, grabbing for both her attention and hand. "Thunder!!! I'm here for you!"
Poppy rushed over to Sanda as the last of the NMX forces fell to the Resurgence crew members.
Erika had an urge to dip down and asist some one, be it Mineko retrieving Sanda or helping the SVT team out, but relised the best place for her was above the chaos, looking down so she could call out contacts.
"Where did those missiles even come from?" Cassie asked, bewildered. She started going around to see if any of the traitorous Delsaurian agents were still alive, and started shooting them.
"It was some kind of ship that poppped up from the ground, then dipped back in to it." Erika answered Cassie "It was quick, didn't get a great look at it, but it could return."
Sanda got to her feet coughing. "¡Infierno fuego y truenos! ¿Qué fue eso?" She saw Mineko and Poppy approching her. "You got my message then? I... I think I've been infected."
Yayoi landed beside Sanda "yes, we got your message" Yayoi said sternly. She'll apologize later she decided.
"Ven acá!" Mineko yelled for Sanda to come to her, on top of Mineko now and holding her by the shoulders with both hands as she pointedly showed the ship medic, Poppy, the back of Sanda's body.
"Let's get you to the medical lab," Poppy told Sanda, giving Mineko a knowing nod. "I want to check you for injuries," she said, pulling a Yamataian flag out of her bag and putting it in Sanda's hands. "You're safe now, okay, Sanda? I want you to relax and stay calm."
"'s scolding afterwardShould we really let her in the ship?" Mineko asked, thinking back to what had happened to Cheilith and Aoba's scolding afterwards. She knew she would have to listen to her superior officer, but her face looked haunted as Poppy acted so nonchalant about the procedure they were undertaking. She didn't drop Sanda from the hold she had her in.
Sanda agreed with Mineko. "No Mineko's right. Please disarm me. Litterally." Sanda grunted a moment and pulled at her right arm. There was a poping sound and her right arm fell on the ground.
"We need to make sure Sanda's secure first." Yayoi said as she reached for Sanda's weapons, as she knew the protocols. To take it, to make Sanda less of a threat, while compromised. The arm was taken when it fell to the ground.
With the site clear for the moment, the Resurgence came to a halt and Gabriela carefully lowered the ship down to surface level, extending the ship's feet and landing on the sands so the team could drive up the loading ramps back onto the ship through the armor bay or shuttle bay.
Yoshiro contiued covering everybody as they boarded the Resurgence. "Freakin' cheesy ass noob wannabe revolutionaries who couldn't fight their way out of a bowl of soup, you want to go to war with the Star Army of Yamatai? Sooner or later you are going to fuck around and find out and I'll be there to make sure you do!" Yoshiro shouted to his enemies. He boardec the Resurgence and sighed.
Cheilith grinned as she hopped out of the STV. "But it was fun though."
"Fuckers made me eat sAND" Kokoro complained as she approached Yoshiro. Her tongue was stuck out as she desperately tried to get rid of remaining grains of sand still on it.
"You'll be all right Kokoro. Sand is the least of our worries in the Star Army. You are doing great though and I am honored to have you on the Resurgence." Yoshiro said to Kokoro.
Erika gently touched down beside and looked at Kokoro with a shrug. "You know your explorer suit has a force sheild helmet. If you're manning the turret on dunes might be an idea to put it on next time."
As the vehicles made their way toward the ship, as well as they could, Toidorno was hearing his comrades share vulgarities with each other. He got the impression that this was typical after-action behavior; the Niko Yarme swore quite frequently, even after being members of the Clan for several years. "Sand is a fucker." Toidorno pointed out to Kokoro, joining in on the cursing. But damned if it wasn't starting to hurt to speak a little...
Euikoshi helped Toidirno get back to the ship, brushing him off and making sure he wasn't seriously injured. "If only all allies were as good of an ally as you," she complimented him.
Feeling the pain in his chest, Toidorno wasn't too proud to accept the green-haired woman's help. He took her help gratefully. "That... means much. You were... a very capable driver, Shoi Euikoshi."
Poppy pulled out a folding backboard and she and Cassie strapped Sanda to it while Poppy said, "Look at me Sanda, You're going to be okay, just breathe. You're safe and I'm going to get you fixed up," she said in a calm but firm tone.
"Can't we keep her on the hull and extract anything she's got there?" Mineko said, overwhelmed by the measures being taken and the image of Aoba in her mind. She didn't want to disappoint him, but she also didn't want any harm to come to the ship. Her eyes flitted to Sanda as she was strapped in, having loosened her grip on Sanda enough to let them take her.
"The medical lab is a secure setting, she will be fine there," Poppy said. "We can put her in one of the containment rooms."
Sanda did as she was instructed. She was scared. Very scared. But she had faith that Poppy would take care of her and tried to breath normally although adrenaline was still pounding through her.
"Wouldn't a parasite carry MHV? Wouldn't the MHV show up in a blood test?" Erika asked "Shouldn't take too long and we can keep Sanda outside."
"I'm not operating on her in the fucking sand," Poppy said. "Get her to my lab."
"She'll be fine in the medical lab, but will we?" Mineko asked, her voice catching in her throat. It felt hard to just agree with the proceedings.
"MHV is fluid transmitted last I checked. Also she's not in a Mindy with a teleporter. Different threat model." Erika said with a shrug. Still, her kept a hand close to her NSP's holster.
"But still a threat," Mineko said, head swimming. She squinted to look into the desert dunes. "I wish I had set a tracker on one of those bikes."
"It's a lot easier to just shoot someone when they don't have armor themselves or a teleporter." Cheilith said.
"You would know," Mineko said, the frustration of the moment letting her filter slip.
Erika sighed after that with heavy exasperation. Bit of a low blow from Mineko but Cheilith set her self up for it.
Cheilith bared her teeth and Mineko, "Actually, I don't remember a thing. but I've watched the tapes and given it all a very long thought." She said with a little growl in her voice.
"Knock it off." Erika said, stepping between the two. "Not the time. Go at each other in the Dojo later."
"Killing them and respawining is the safest way...if the person can be respawned," Poppy quietly told Mineko, "But it's Sanda we're talking about. She doesn't believe in soul transfer."
"I guess that's why there's so much on the line," Mineko replied. "We have to do what we can. Even if she did believe in respawns, would she believe in herself if she did anything to hurt the crew? The ship?" She shook her head, putting a hand up to her sand-strewn purple hair as she followed the medic and Erika in through the loading ramp.
"If she has the new MHV variant, we probably want her alive to send back to head office." Erika said silently to Mineko via telepathic link, her inflection uncharacteristically cold. "Captain is more likely to authorize it if the request comes from you."
"Yeah," Mineko gave a brusque reply, thinking if it would be more of a request or a death warrant for Sanda. Mineko looked at Sanda before she was carried into the hallways beyond, wondering if it would be the last time she ever saw the ranger. She tried to commit the woman's face, her tattoo, her auburn hair and bright eyes to memory. But the pain on Sanda's face was there as well, etched in the imagery forevermore.
Yayoi put Sanda's weapons in her butt pack, but held her arm as she walked to the ship. Yayoi turned to Yoshiro. "thank you for following my previous...request" She told him, in referring to him sending Yuri to the shuttle and back to the ship.
"Hey! Did anyone find my knife! The one where I first wrecked and was captured?" Sanda said, remembering her missing engagement gift.
"I did" Yayoi said "I got it secured." she told Sanda "I'll give it back after your cleared.i promise"
Sanda signed with relief and closed her eyes.
Yoshiro was angry at himself for letting this happen to a fellow shipmate and soldier. He didn't know what to do with himself but he was faking a smile. He was worried about Sanda and he decided to make sure she was okay .
Mineko wrinkled her nose and sniffed loudly before staring straight ahead at the hallway walls on her way to the showers.
After a few minutes, once everyone was back on the ship, the Resurgence lifted off from the desert and zoomed up into space again.
YSS Resurgence - Shuttle Bay
Beryl and Sakuko's shuttles returned quickly and the team got a chance to recover.
Cassie took off her armor and let out a huge sigh. "I can't believe those NMX assholes were trying to sneak around on a planet right under our noses. I didn't even know there were Delsaurians in the NMX at all."
Toidorno had to give Cassie a double-take in the shuttlebay, given her ears, but other signs told him that she wasn't one of the feline species of the Clan. Surely he'd have known if one of the clan was serving aboard this fine ship.
Cassie gave Toidorno a funny look and then dragged her armor to its stand in the armor bay across the central corridor. "I wonder if that guy was checking me out," she said, suddenly wishing for a mirror to look at herself.
Yuri watched as the shuttles came in, her eyes red, but not because she had red eyes normally. She waited for signs, that Sanda was brought back alive. She hoped she didn't loose one of her favorite aunties.
Yoshiro was securing his weapons and saw Yuri standing off in the distance watching the shuttles through the windows. Hearing Cassie swear surprised him as well but he was concerned about Yuri mostly, as he had promised Yuri that he would bring Sanda back and that made him feel all the more guilty.
"At least they got their asses handed to em'!" Kokoro grinned as she floated over next to Cassie, holding her fist in front of her own face. Her smile fell away after a moment as she scratched at her hair, before violently shaking her had, making some specs of sand visibly fly out of her hair. "Man..." She grumbled in annoyance...
The Ambassador flicked his ears, a little distracted by the sight of one who was like his kind, yet not. He tried to refocus, concerned for their crewmate who had been captured, but recovered. They weren't entirely out of danger yet, were they? But they had had a presence of mind enough to ask after their lost knife... Again, some of the warriors were swearing. They certainly did flavor their language with the spice of vulgarity, didn't they? He wondered whether he should curse about something... Maybe the pain in his bruised ribs?
Yoshiro stepped off the shuttle and walked to the weapons rack and put his weapons on their respective places. He went over to Yuri and he spoke to her. "Yuri, are you ok?" Yoshiro asked trying to hold back sobs of guilt.
Yuri looked on watching as people left, and watched as Sanda was transported off as well, and turns before she noticed Yoshiro approaching her. Yoshiro would see that her eyes were affected by her own tears. "is Sanda...is she dead?" Yuri asked in a quiet voice.
"No she isn't but..." Yoshiro said and stopped for a moment, his guilt getting to him for a moment "She has a parasite inside of her. She is in the med bay getting prepping to get rid of it."
Yuri moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into him. "I saw Poppy-Sempai taking her.." Yuri said, glad that she's atleast alive, and they can deal with the parasite.
As Yuri hugged him, Yoshiro sobbed. All of his feelings laid bare as he cried.
Euikoshi looked to Toidorno. "Ambassador, have you heard about the ship's onsen?" she asked him. "I feel like some relaxing could be in order tonight."
He blinked, thinking for a moment. He nodded. "The... hot water place... Yes, the YSS
Kyōryoku did not have one, sadly, but I am... familiar with them, just the same." He tried to twist his midsection, feeling the extent of the soreness. "I think some relaxation will help everyone, Shoi Euikoshi."
YSS Resurgence - Medical Bay
After a quick shower and scrubbing in, Poppy returned to the containment cell in the medical lab where Sanda was waiting. "Alright, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is you have a Mishhuvurthyar parasite in you trying to take you over right now. The good news is it's not done yet and it's an older type on the smaller side. Do you want me to knock you out for the extraction or do you want to see it?"
"Aye Santo." Sanda gasped. Hearing it second hand from some NMX was one thing but to hear Poppy confirm it was something else. But it was reassuring hearing that the pink haired doctor didn't seemed fazed. "Get the thing out of me as quick as possible!" Sanda said. "I'll discect it with my straight silver as soon as you get it out of me." She went on a short rant in her mother tongue about how she would slice it make a rope out of it to strangle the first Mishhu she saw.
Poppy gave Sanda a hypospray shot of something that made her numb and sleepy. "It'll be in a jar for you in no time," she said. "Try to count backwards from 100..."
"Cien.. noventa y nueve... noventa y ocho" Sanda made it all the way back to 80 before she went under."
= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Ame, Cowboy, Charaa, Sunny D, Yoshiro, Liza, Soban, Zanven
Hollander as guest character Toidorno Sejgui