RP: YSS Ryūjō Mission 2 - Ambush at Home

Shuttle Bay #2

The response Fyodor received was plain: "Repairs and retrofit of fighter craft are ongoing in all four shuttle bays, as well as outside the bay you are in. Repairs are ongoing in the power armour bay. If you would like to know more, I would suggest asking someone in command of the operations that take your interest."

Fyodor wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but there seemed to be a vague note of reproach in the computer's speech. It seemed most likely the omission of the disturbance was deliberate.

The technician seemed to be satisfied with having put out the fire and was called back to work, where he shared the tale of the mysterious melting clamps with the crew outside the bay. He seemed more anxious about what harm could come from getting involved in the investigation than he was about literally getting burned, although the curiosity was there.

Errowyn drew her service pistol and fired into the distortion that was moving towards her bay. She yelled out "Intruder heading to Hanger 5 wearing a cloaked suit!" Hoping that the ship's MEGMI would spread alarm, as she gave chase. Aiming and firing as she got the next power cell ready for her service pistol.

"Rest of you follow me!" Errowyn yelled to those still nearby her giving chase after the distortion and firing on it. Knowing what to look for and keeping it in view as best she could.

Deck 6, Corridor

The Geshrin Ittô Heisho worked his mouth and tried to say something to Errowyn, but he didn't manage to get it out before she had run off. Apparently, even though he could receive it, he wasn't so adept at using telepathy. Errowyn's first shot hit the cloaked figure in the shoulder, burning a hole in their suit and causing them to visibly fall from the wall to the floor and start rolling before their cloak reactivated.

From the figure fallen on the floor came return fire. The Geshrin Heisho regained his wits in time to scramble and run for the cover of the corner Errowyn had just left, before drawing his pistol. Errowyn wasn't so lucky, and caught the third of the three blasts from the intruder's own sidearm on her arm as she rushed forward, though she still held her NSP with the other.

Like she had seen before, the weapon seemed to do no physical damage. Still, she could feel nothing from the affected limb but the sensation of pins and needles everywhere, and she couldn't use it. If it had hit a more vulnerable area, she probably wouldn't be able to stand--indeed, it was around this time that the Minkan who'd been shot earlier toppled over, unscathed, but apparently dead or unconscious.

Sandr had spun around and begun to charge back the way she had come, though the enemy, who'd last been seen on the floor, remained invisible. The Neko behind the Tröll fired two more careful shots, but they were aimed too near the wall. Either she hadn't seen the roll, or was being exceptionally careful not to hit one of her own crewmembers.

Deck 6, Corridor

Errowyn adjusted fire following the direction that Intruder took to roll from the wall as it went back under its own cloak. When she was hit, power cell fell from numb hand as she sought protection from enemy fire that was being returned.

"Megami! Seal off these sections!" She rattled off the Section she was in and the section that the Intruder was heading for and also the Hanger Bays that contained the fighters and shuttles that the Ryujo carried.. "Sound the Alarm to get the infantry here!"

Deck 6, Corridor

The Geshrin Heisho fired a couple of cautious shots near the floor, though it wasn't clear whether he hit the target. Over the din, he drawled, "Uh... You know I'm in command, here, right?" Errowyn landed another shot, which seemed to mangle the wrist of the enemy's arm she had already disabled. The cloak was no longer working well at all over that hand.

As Sandr rushed in and leapt, aiming to deliver a mighty stomp with both feet, the intruder reached to something on their belt with their good hand, and shortly thereafter, there was a pulse of light that engulfed the corridor, followed by darkness--all the lights nearby had gone out, along with the artificial gravity just under the floor! Sandr missed her mark and thumped against the ceiling, though her grunt was less pained than the Geshrin's, possibly the result of his mindware or the sparking NSP in his hands malfunctioning.

Errowyn was taken off-guard, but the Neko behind seemed to take it in stride. None of the NSPs the crew nearby were carrying were still working, but the Neko was still able to fly in under her own power, grab the intruder by the leg, and fling them into the bay doors leading out of the corridor. The intruder didn't seem to go willingly, though, and somehow caught on the edge of the opening, their sidearm whipping around attached to some lanyard or power cable.

The MEGAMI replied distantly while the nearby intercoms were rebooting, "I cannot comply with these instructions, though it may please you to know infantry are already on the scene. Please be careful, Ittô Heisho." The last word came in much louder as the lights came back on, though the gravity did not return.

Deck 6, Corridor

Errowyn gave a soft growl, grabbing what looked like a weapon on the chord it was tethered to. She turned it on the Intruder and fired point blank into what she would presume would be the head area of the suited intruder. She blinked adjusting again for the illumination level with the lights returning.

Shuttle Bay #5

While Errowyn readily floated into range, grabbed the device, and pointed it at the intruder, firing it was another matter. The grip was smooth, and no matter where her fingers moved, there seemed to be no trace of a physical trigger to pull. Though there were buttons to press, she had no idea what any of them did, and none of them seemed to activate a discharge of the weapon. She had no indication the device was still working, and no proof that it wasn't.

The infantry Neko landed on her feet inside the bay, and yanked the intruder out of the doorway with easily enough force to tear their hand away from the wall. After scrabbling for purchase in futility, they crashed down in the bay's gravity, with Errowyn, her hands still on the sidearm, pulled through the doors to the bay after them. The infantry Neko plainted her feet on the floor, in preparation to throw the intruder. Errowyn's Kawarime was only a few meters away, now, and the two technicians at work there looked up with interest.

Unlike in Nocnimura's bay across the ship, no canopy was drawn over the open bay doors. Though her Nodachi was docked close outside, the bay doors were open onto space, with only a force screen retaining the ship's atmosphere.

"Stop! We need this intruder to question!" Errowyn realized the intention of the Infantry Neko as she used the tethered weapon and trying to bind the struggling Intruder. "We need any and all intel we can get."

She swung her foot to knock the legs out from under the Intruder to knock to the deck. "Get anyone that is free down here now! And some assistance in subduing this intruder!"" She yelled to one of the techs she spotted out of her peripheral vision.

Shuttle Bay #5

The intruder was already on their knees, but Errowyn easily knocked them flat. The infantry Neko, her maneauver interrupted, looked at Errowyn cross-eyed, briefly, then moved in, put a foot on the intruder's neck, and a moment later held them firm in a chokehold.

One of the technicians drew their NSP and fired a stun shot directly at the intruder's chest, clearly having some effect as they tried to double over in shock, restrained by the hold. They managed to flip their sidearm back into their grip, but even one-handed, Errowyn was still able to knock it away, again--the intruder only had one good hand, too.

The Infantry Neko, ranked Ittô Hei, let out a laugh. "'Enjo'?"

Errowyn just smiled at the Itto Hei as she cut the tethered weapon free from the Intruder. "Lets get some restraints on this intruder."

She made the call up the chain of command, announcing that she and the Infantry had captured an intruder in Hanger 5. Also, send in the SAINT for pick up along with additional security.

Deck 5

The medical staff were not numerous enough to form search teams, especially not with nearly every bed in the medical bay occupied by an anxious patient (or no longer occupied, in the case of those who were less anxious and more impatient.) The gang had split up so they could cover more ground.

And so, the first crisis Santô Hei Hinata Tomiko experienced first-hand in her Star Army career was discovering Lucas Zion, the chief of the ship's medical division and therefore her commanding officer supine by the sink in the ship's head, still clutching his toothbrush over his chest in a death-grip. She seemed to have the room to herself...

Shuttle Bay #5

Going up the chain of command, for Errowyn, would ordinarily mean speaking to her wing leader. But like most of the flight crew, she was technically out of service in the medical bay. Next up the chain was contacting the bridge directly. It seemed worth a shot... The infantry Heisho's yell came before a response from the bridge, though. "Nani o shite imasu, hei?!"

"Uwah?" The neko loosened her grip on the intruder, and inclined her head toward Errowyn. "She told me to catch it, heisho." Errowyn doesn't see any cutting tools within reach, and her NSP still isn't working, but planting a foot on the intruder's wrist and yanking their sidearm as hard as she can was enough to snap the weapon free.

As soon as it did, though, it went the same way as the clamps Sebastian had found--it melted, becoming yellow-hot almost immediately, becoming less a weapon than it was a splash of yellow-hot metal. Worse, it collapsed in Errowyn's grip, and while most of the splash flew away from her with the momentum she'd given it, enough was left on her hand to cause crippling pain if she didn't block it out, and to leave her hand unusable if she did.

The Geshrin Heisho jabbed his finger repeatedly at the opening onto space from the bay, then dodged aside as Sandr ducked and rumbled through the entrance.

Hangar Bay #2

Fyodor received a message from none other than the ship's CO, Chusa Sibyl Gorganis herself, though it was terse. "Report is someone's captured an infiltrator, which is surprising as no one's found a way to stop this enemy from self-destructing so far. Investigate the port aft shuttle bay." The fore starboard shuttle bay was where he was now located, if the SAINT operative recalled correctly.

Shuttle Bay #2

Why does the computer system always freak out at times like these? Fyodor thought, shaking his head as he left the bay, not really sure what else he could do there. Not like I could help take off the clamps if they’re a problem. I’m SAINT, not a technician.

Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted by the call to the bay he had asked about earlier. Good to see someone’s been doing something. He shook his head as he ran to the other side of the ship, wondering what in the world was going on.

Deck 5

Tomiko stood over Lucas, frozen in place. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight of her commanding officer apparently dead in the bathroom. She shook off the surprise, letting her training take over. The first thing she did was look for visible signs of trauma. Then she pulled out her scanner and let it figure out exactly what had happened.

Whatever it was, it was recent. The body was fairly warm and she didn't notice any signs of rigor mortis. She was hopeful that he would be okay. He had to be. This couldn't possibly happen to her so early in her career.

Deck 5

There were no signs of trauma on Lucas Zion, and he didn't seem to have been injured in the fall. His cybernetics were offline, including his left lung and several nearby organs, but his heart was still organic. Maybe it had been the shock that did it? It looked like he had a heart attack after he was laid out, and wasn't able to get back up...

There were certainly no signs of rigor mortis on him; not even pallor mortis for that matter. His skin was still its usual shade of peach. Thinking back, it must have been so, it had been less than fifteen minutes since Tomiko herself had seen Lucas Zion in good shape. He must have gone to freshen up before the medbay became packed full of casualties after the battle.

Solving the mystery of what happened and when wasn't helping Zion, though, and Tomiko didn't know how to use her defibrillation kit on a cyborg with nearly half his torso replaced. Even that didn't matter--Zion's heart rhythm was asystole. He needed an immediate trip to the medical bay where he could be put on life support until they either restarted his heart, or transplanted a new one.

Deck 6, Corridors

Fyodor heard the sounds of combat, including explosions and heavy weapons fire, coming from the ship's training simulators as he entered the corridors. A team of five infantry were running past him toward it. It was apparent to Fyodor, though, that none of what he was hearing he felt, and besides, much of it sounded remarkably Nepleslian and being boarded by them seemed a wee bit implausible right now. He could pass through the simulators, or stick to the corridors while rushing across the ship to the other bay.

Shuttle Bay #5

Errowyn yelped waving her hands to shake off the molten metal before it could cause anymore damage. She grimaced. Seriously debating with herself to just throw offending intruder out into space. But not before intelligence had chance to go over it. Even if the thing did a complete meltdown and damaged the Ryujo. At least SAINT had the chance to study it.

Shuttle Bay #5

The bad thing about pain, generally speaking, was that automatic reflexes tended to override any conscious thought. Sometimes, though, that was a good thing, and the best examples often involved touching something very hot. Errowyn lost a few seconds, but her hand was still working when she was done shaking it off. With her other arm still numb, this left a lot more options open.

When she recovered, she realized that at some point, she'd fallen onto her back. Replaying events, she realized that she hadn't seen it, and had hardly felt it, but she'd been kicked. Perhaps the intruder had done it, though when she looked now, they seemed quite limp. Another quick replay told her that an NSP had fired.

Moving over for a closer inspection revealed that the intruder did seem to be stunned unconscious, they weren't moving even though the other infantry had stopped in a semi-circle around the partially-cloaked form. The Neko looked cagey, the Geshrin wore a grimace, and Sandr seemed to be waiting expectantly for an order to stomp on what was left. The first technician who'd fired a shot was putting a special effort into looking busy with the repairs, while the other was still holding her NSP, sheepishly.

Deck 6, Corridors

Fyodor looked at the group, looked at the simulators entrance, and weighed the possible time savings against the annoyance of dealing with fake explosions and possibly having an invisible intruder in the same room. You know, he thought, as he followed the infantry in, this would be easier if these things were shuttle bays like they were supposed to instead of the simulators.

“MEGAMI,” he said as he entered the room, “Turn off the simulators. We’re in a combat situation and don’t need the distraction.” Probably won’t work, but might as well try.

Simulation Room, Lower Level

"I have tried. A technician is needed to safely disable the simulation room," is Fyodor's response from MEGAMI. The situation inside the room is much as Fyodor predicted: Utter chaos. It's apparent that someone has hijacked the systems expressly to cause confusion.

From the entrance, Fyodor sees everything from dopplegangers posing as members of the Ryujo's infantry team to volumetric fake corpses of crewmembers to friendly fire incidents, at least some of which are likely real. That's without getting into the hostiles, most of which appear to literally be Hostiles.

There are some safe areas, as the simulation room is divided into sections, but this doesn't seem to help much when the intruder has the run of the place. Perhaps one problem is that there were already two infantry teams in here before Fyodor arrived with a third, and at least one them is missing its team leader.

Deck 5

Tomiko's optimism wasn't going to restart her COs heart. She tried not to panic. Her eyes started to fill with tears, but she wiped them away. Do your job, Tomiko. The young medic cleared her mind and removed the toothbrush from Lucas's hands. She rolled him onto his stomach carefully and knelt by his head. Tomiko put her arms under his armpits and around his back."Come on, big guy." She muttered.

She shifted her weight to her right leg and placed it between his legs, then stood him up and draped his left arm over her shoulder. With her head under his right armpit, she wrapped her arm around the back of his right knee. After that, she squatted and balanced him on her shoulders. He was a bit heavy, but she was a Nekovalkyrja. Tomiko started carrying him towards the med bay, moving as quickly as possible.

Deck 5

All that metal would have made carrying Lucas a problem for a human soldier, but Tomiko would have been fine if the cyborg was twice the weight. The trouble was when she reached the Zero-G passageway to return to Deck 4. Apparently, it had been sealed off while she was searching....

The intercom was silent. Was anyone paying attention? It seemed like she needed to contact someone to get through. Something else seemed odd; the hallways were mostly deserted, and she'd only spotted activity out of the corner of her eyes as she proceeded.