RP Mission 2: Heffelumps Beware!

[Dana]

Zanven was able to move across the ship fairly quickly as the drones and well... bug drones, duked it out in some hardcore drone on drone action. Engineer was a barren landscape of corroded metal and sticky, bulbous eggsacks of various sizes and colors. In the center of the large room was what Zanven could only think of as "The Queen". The creature seemed to have started integrating various pieces of technology and components into itself, soft chitters and whirring noises accompanied wet slurps and sucking sounds as it deposited 3 more beachball sized eggs on a console.

 

[Zanven Brax]

Walking into Engineering he was met with probably one of the most unpleasant sights he had ever seen since he had been alive, and that was when the fear hit him. "Goddamn fucking monsters." He said to himself as he saw the queen, and heard her as he knew that once he started this fight...the likelihood of him making it home was so damn slim. "Well...time to go meet god and punch him for fucking with me when my life was getting started." He said as he took aim with the grenade launcher and pulse rifle. He saw that the tech inside of the area was mostly just done, so...why not.

What is the worse that could happen?

He moved towards the right, the stairs that could lead up to an office was what he needed and he saw one, but he was going to have to be quick and calculate his route because this was a dire situation. He kept the rifle trained on the queen as she laid her eggs while he moved up the flight of stairs, with every step calm and sure, he would not put the weight down unless he was sure he could fully step on the metal. The rust in the place was unreal and he was sure if he fell from any height he was screwed.

He made it though, and once at the top, he stepped into an office of what should have been the chief engineer. He looked around a few consoles, the dried-out, decayed body of a man lie, crumpled on the floor. Next to it was a pistol and he retrieved it before checking to see if it had any ammo left as well, if it did he would keep it, but if not then he would at least set it on a table as he was going to try to figure out something inside of there to get a warning out or turn the place into a bomb, a way to find an escape pod...something. Meanwhile, he peered through the window to see if he could still see the queen, he worked in the dark still.

 

[Dana]

The ongoing battle on the ship reached the room fairly quickly, the drones and insect like creatures seemingly almost evenly matched. The queen seemed to have some ability to better coordinate the insects close to her, as she quickly devised a clever defense in an attempt to push the drone interlopers out of her nursery. The battle was short and viscous, but the insects were able to take the room back and push most of the drones back into the passageways and adjoining rooms. One drone fled into the small office that Zanven had been hiding in. It promptly engaged it's hover jets into over drive and plowed into Zanven, pushing him out of the window. He landed on one of the beachball sized eggs, the ruptures remnants leaving him covered in foul smelling, sticky goop. The wind had been knocked out of him, he was very much surprised by the drones energy weapon preparing to fire. Only to see the drone slammed into a wall by one of the Queens scythe like appendages. The Queen stood over Zanvens prone form protectively while it hammered the drones remains into very small pieces, only stopping to look at Zanven and caress his face with an almost motherly touch.

 

[Zanven Brax]

When the drones and bugs exploded into the room, Zanven ducked down as he was unable to find anything that was worth of value to get him out of there, he was going to have to wait until Bacon-63 actually got the word back to the Task Force. "Dammit...back to square..." He said as the queen quickly took over and the drones were pushed back with extreme prejudice. One of the drones flew up the stairs to evade the trouble it was in, and Zanven saw it only at the last minute. He pulled the rifle up to try to fight it, but as it flew into the office it identified Zanven and charged him...causing the scene to change as they were thrown from the office window and down into the large chamber.

Zanven landed on a couple of the eggs, the pulse rifle was flung two feet away from him and he knew he was in deep shit as he tried to regain his breath, but his suit was showing he was reaching a level of pain that should knock him out. His helmet was useless now and knocked away, but his ears were ringing as he opened his eyes and watched as the drone was destroyed brutally in front of him. The queen and her servants all surrounded Zanven and the pilot was about to pull out his sidearm and use what he had left, but the bug queen caressed his face with a touch that seemed as if she was to soothe the man.

The confused pilot blinked and looked around, breathing heavily as he still was wondering exactly what was about to happen next. He trusted his instincts, however...these bugs were not friendly to the drones, so the enemy of his enemy was currently an ally of his in the matter. He did not reach out to touch the queen, but the pain was unbearable and the pilot was close to passing out.

Would this be the end of Zanven...

 

[Dana]

Derelict Ender
Some time later...

Zanven awoke in a stupor. He was pleasantly warm, wrapped in a cocoon of mylar like threads and placed in what was once a bunk for a star army soldier some decades before. Various insect bodies clicked and clacked their way back and forth across the large nursery chamber attending to whatever task had been assigned to them. For the moment they seemed to be completely oblivious to Zanvens existence. The queen of the hive was in a far corner of the room, collecting and examining the remains of the drones.

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi
TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center

The members of Task Force Piglet had been called to the TOC by the new Kodian in charge. Two haggard looking pilots in flight suits stood by a large table with a projection of a large egg shaped debris field floating above it. The call signs Shrimp and Pepper where visible on their helmets.

"...and this is when we lost contact. Bacon 61 elected to stay behind and collect more data. We lost all contact after leaving the egg."

 

[Waffles]

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi
TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center

Itami

The ten days of R&R which had been given to the taskforce after what had ended up being a giant clusterfuck, was surprising quiet and relaxing. The entire incident is what had prompted Itami to request that he and Nara share a bunkroom, there were three reasons for this: First, he felt safer with Nara around, she had after all pushed him out of the way of the molten slag which had injured her. Second, he wanted to make sure she healed. And third, after everything that happened it seemed safest to share rooms as opposed to being separate, especially after the media circus surrounding the last mission.

Much of that ten days was filled with the occasional meals, mixed with the sharing of Itami's morning ritual of working out. Nara even joined him from time to time for his afternoon 10k run. More often than not their shared evenings were filled with chats about books and just general reading.

The morning that the TF was called to the TOC, found Itami going through his morning work out ritual, when his comm unit pinged with the summon. "Nara, looks like the staycation is over." He went about getting dressed in what was his covert ops uniform. Black fatigues, combat boots, and black tactical long sleeve shirt with muted SAoY and SASO patches with Fleet Scout tab. The final bit, was his ranger knife on the right hip and his SD revolver in its holster on his left hip.

The briefing found Itami seated next to Nara as they were informed of what had happened during those ten days.

 

[Zanven Brax]

Derelict Ender
Some time later...

Zanven awoke in a stupor. He was pleasantly warm, wrapped in a cocoon of mylar like threads and placed in what was once a bunk for a star army soldier some decades before. Various insect bodies clicked and clacked their way back and forth across the large nursery chamber attending to whatever task had been assigned to them. For the moment they seemed to be completely oblivious to Zanvens existence. The queen of the hive was in a far corner of the room, collecting and examining the remains of the drones.

Zanven's head was spinning as he tried to move, finding he was cocooned he struggled for a time as he began to feel around, at least he had his sidearm still. Looking out he saw the drone bugs doing whatever tasks were assigned to them while the queen was in the far corner collecting and examining the remains of the drones that they were fighting earlier. Zanven just watched from his point as the bugs seemed to have their own agenda, whatever happened earlier was not his fault for coming into their territory. He was still skeptical about the attack on his squad, but he could not do much in the way of investigating those issues...at least for now anyway. He slowly began to move as he was trying to free himself from the cocoon of mylar-like threads. "At least...I am not dead...yet."

 

[Deleted member 6144]

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi - Private Quarters
NARA
Nara grumbled as she got suited up to make her way to the Tactical Operations Center. She had rolled out of her bed when the notification chimed summoning Task Force Piglet to work once again. The last ten days of rest and relaxation had been much appreciated especially after injury to her ribs. Now almost completely recovered minus the shade of bruises past on her abdomen she was reminded of how grateful she was to have shared quarters with Itami. Not only had things gone sideways, there seemed to be something dancing in the murky shadows behind the events that occurred. It made her feel just that much safer to have someone she trusted in close vicinity.

Though their friendship grew ever closer she could not help to wonder if he would ever pick up on what seemed to be mutual feelings. The last of her daggers slipped into their hidey holes as his message made her ears twitch with mild frustration of a kind. "Oh sure you can pick up that, but not that I like you," she cursed to herself just above a whisper that he might have overheard. It was getting ever harder to keep her view on things open especially after the conversations between her and Aelya during vacation on the subject of non-Norian men. So far things really did not seem to be going well with branching out even though both women were pretty open to the subject. Her footsteps followed shortly after his with a dramatic eyeroll as she left their barracks.

TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center

With a soft thud she slipped into a seat at the briefing, her thoughts drifted while her eyes stayed peeled on her surroundings. Would there be new additions to the team? So far her perception of the organization that played part in her being here did not really leave a good impression on her. In terms of where her future would lead her, things were still very much up in the air. While her skills could be lent well to the Star Army they could just as well be utilized by scuffle that seemed to be brewing a distance away, if not more so. Violet eyes briefly looked up, head tilting in a soft nod of acknowledgement as the ranger sat next to her. At this point she was familiar with the sound of his walk in addition to his scent, not that anything beyond that would happen with how oblivious he seemed to be. Calmly she looked forward towards the direction information would come from as her braid rested over her left shoulder.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi
TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center

She had been cleared.

It had been the push Sassa needed to get out of her hole. She hadn’t wasted any time in working herself back into shape. The last couple workouts had left the cyan and magenta-haired Nekovalkyrja sore all across her body. However, it was a sweet, satisfying soreness which she had made no attempt to mitigate. It was a mark of hard work after all and as such, she embraced it.

With the call to the operations center, Sassa had quickly showered after finishing what had been a long workout, before and making herself present. For the first time in over a week, her hair was fixed in her typical pigtails. She kept silent as she listened to the briefing, taking in the details of the situation surrounding the missing pilot with all of her attention committed to the task.

Zanven.

Sassa took a deep, calming breath. She, along with everyone in the room, had resolved to do everything possible to bring him home. They would find him, no matter what it took.

 

[Cowboy]

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi

What was suppose to be a short reassignment to root out and punish some terrorists had turned into a long nightmare. Sanda had been seriously wounded and had been temporally placed on active leave until things could be figured out. She had finally been cleared of all charges which was a huge relief to the Giretsu certified Ranger. She had had a new arm flashed cloned and replaced the one she had lost. After a few days of recovery and tests it was as good as new. Or almost. It lacked her signature lighting tattoo across it but she planned to rectify that the first chance she got.

However the best news had been what came later. Sanda had finally gotten the promotion she had been longing for. She was now, officially a Heisho! The hardcore Nep actually shed a tear as she attached the the red chevron to her uniform and examined them in the mirror. Well maybe this side trip hadn't been a total loss. That sobered her somewhat. Yes it had. It had been one failure after another and they were still no closer to discovering who was behind these horrid terrorists attacks than when they had begun. She was looking forward to seeing this planet shrinking in her window as she left.

Sanda had had enough of this place. She would head over to the operations center and request a transfer out of here. Get back to the good ol' Resurgence where things might be a little crazy, but at least it wasn't a bloody nightmare. But as Sanda entered the operations center she gathered something was wrong. She saw Sassa standing near a briefing table with a look of concern. Sanda moved over to the bright haired Neko and asked "What's going on Sassa?"

 

[Dana]

Fort Nozomi, Gashmere
TF Piglet TOC

The stoic Kodian general beckoned to Sanda with a large, clawed paw. "Move your ass Nito Heisho, the bad folk wait for no one."

A holographic projection of a large egg shaped asteroid/debris field appeared in the space above the briefing table, rotating slowly. "Approximately 16 hours ago three recon craft encountered this at the co-ordinates recovered from 77's private poon collection. The dense field, along the perimeter, along with the composition of the nebula itself seems to have shielded the facility inside from any long range scans. Data recovered from the only craft to return suggests that ships are being scavenged from across the Kikyo sector, and quite possibly beyond, and being integrated in three large structures. The outer field is heavily patrolled by drones, and the interior is exceedingly well defended by mines, as well as static defenses in the form of derelict warships. In an attempt to better feel out the threat posed, you will compose a strike team aboard the Gashmeres Hammer. You will be jettisoned well away from the egg while the Hammer and her forces launch a diversionary strike on the far side of the egg. Your mission is to three fold."

A hologram of the Gashmeres hammer appeared as the projection moved outwards. A cutaway window showed a video of a Kodian kicking a Mindy out of an airlock. An arrow showed the Gashmeres Hammer moving around the egg, and another arrow showed the strike team approaching the egg.

"Infiltrate the egg and attempt to identify the purpose of the structures being built there."

Another video appeared in the cutaway window of Sassa walking away from an epic explosion.

"Locate the remains of our prototype recon aircraft, then completely scuttle them."

A final video played of Sanda dragging Zanven away by one foot.

"Locate and recover any friendly personnel, living or dead. Questions? Comments? Concerns?" He waited a moment, "Too bad, get your shit and load up, you can ask them on the way there, your shuttles waiting."

 

[Zanven Brax]

Eventually, he was able to free himself as the bugs around him looked at him with what Zanven could only guess was curiosity. He remained calm as he looked like he was covered in the amniotic fluid, though it had dried now as he examined himself...he was still being seen as a guest of sorts or at least that is what he was thinking...they actually probably saw him as someone like them since he had that the fluid all over him. He looked around for anything that he could use in case things went south, remembering the pulse rifle he scanned the room and found nothing to be around. "fuck..." He said under his breath, at the sight of the queen however he approached while holding his ribs instinctively. He still was suffering from the crash landing, but for now, these bugs seemed to be on his side so he was going to find out if he could use them to get out of there or to fight back against what had shot him out of the sky.

As he approached the queen he swallowed hard before finally testing to see if perhaps there was something he could do. "Can you understand me? If you can please reply, or tap the floor once for yes. If you cannot, then I will take your silence as an answer as well...on the off chance you can understand me and speak...can you tell me ANYTHING about this place or what is going on?" He asked as he stood his ground, if things went south he could always just off himself with his pilfered pistol...he hoped to make it out of this though...intact if possible.

 

[Waffles]

Gashmere
Fort Nozomi
TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center

His mind had been on getting to the briefing on time, but had he heard Nara right, did she just say in a loud whisper that she liked him? No, she couldn't have, could she? Did that mean that she had mutual feelings for him? He mentally slapped himself, mission first Itami, then he could talk to Nara about things.

So it seemed that while the rest of them were relaxing or dealing with an inquest. The pilot Zanven had been sent on a "secret" mission, based off the data which 77 had obtained. It also looked like 77 wasn't here which either meant he was missing or had gotten tired of dealing with Yamataian BS. It seemed like the Kodian officer just expected them to get things done, which was fine with Itami. It did mean that he would need to reconfigure his TARSA for space and also help Nara with her setup.

It had been pretty clear that she didn't often use a PA but knew how to operate them.

He turned to look at Nara, to see what she thought of this new shit sandwich they were being served. Obviously something happened which the officers hadn't expected. Which seemed to be the way of each mission so far on Gashmere. "What are your thoughts, Nara?"

 

[Deleted member 6144]

Gashmere
TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center
NARA

Nara's eyes remained focused on the information presented to her in a way that would not betray the thoughts flowing through her mind. Of course flyboy would get himself into trouble, but why were they being sent after him and where was Aliset or whatever she called herself now. There was not enough information at her finger tips to decide definitively one way or the other on the matter. However, she was here to do a job while she waited on a response to the offer of resignation she had sent in to the General. Oddly enough her opinion on the Star Army of Yamatai was quite unsalvageable at this point. This latest Uniform Update had the writing level of a kindergartener with a melty crayon and could be abused to directly target certain groups given its ambiguity. Itami's voice however distracted her from her thoughts of the woman who allegedly ran the show, but had the attention to detail of a raw potato.

With eerie calm she looked over to Itami with a very stone-like matter of fact look on her face. "Well it looks like we have our next mission." she stated. This was neither the time or the place to express her personal opinions on the matter. Whether or not she liked Zan or wanted to punt him out an airlock was irrelevant, while she still remained on the Task Force she would do as ordered. In one smooth motion she rose from her seat as she met her battle buddy's gaze once more, "Shall we gear up?" she asked as she made to head for the exit of the room.

 

[Cowboy]

Fort Nozomi, Gashmere
TF Piglet TOC

Sanda raised a tattooed eyebrow at the Kodian general. She was only here to tell them she was out of here. She had had enough of Gashmere and if she never saw this planet again it would be too soon. She would find Zanven and have him take them both to the Res.

But when Sanda heard that the Task Force next mission was to rescue Zanven because he was MIA, she gritted her teeth to stop herself from screaming. Even though she had her left arm back and had healed physically, she wasn't 100%. Not that she would admit that to anyone but this mission had really shaken her up. Two of the last three nights she had woken up in a cold sweat, shaking and wanting to scream and cry.

But Zanven was her friend. They had served on the Res together and had completed Giretsu training together. And Sanda was nothing but loyal to her friends. She listened to the data they had, then hurried from the briefing room to get her gear together.

 

[Dana]

Eventually, he was able to free himself as the bugs around him looked at him with what Zanven could only guess was curiosity. He remained calm as he looked like he was covered in the amniotic fluid, though it had dried now as he examined himself...he was still being seen as a guest of sorts or at least that is what he was thinking...they actually probably saw him as someone like them since he had that the fluid all over him. He looked around for anything that he could use in case things went south, remembering the pulse rifle he scanned the room and found nothing to be around. "fuck..." He said under his breath, at the sight of the queen however he approached while holding his ribs instinctively. He still was suffering from the crash landing, but for now, these bugs seemed to be on his side so he was going to find out if he could use them to get out of there or to fight back against what had shot him out of the sky.

As he approached the queen he swallowed hard before finally testing to see if perhaps there was something he could do. "Can you understand me? If you can please reply, or tap the floor once for yes. If you cannot, then I will take your silence as an answer as well...on the off chance you can understand me and speak...can you tell me ANYTHING about this place or what is going on?" He asked as he stood his ground, if things went south he could always just off himself with his pilfered pistol...he hoped to make it out of this though...intact if possible.

The queen tilted her multifaceted eyes to one side for a few moments, then reached out a long bladed appendage. A gentle pat on Zanvens head was the only response he received before the large creature turned to move away towards a clutch of eggs that was now starting to shake as the creatures inside fought to escape them and begin their new life.

 

[Zanven Brax]

He saw that the queen tried to understand him or something to that extent, but overall she seemed to not understand him. He did not flinch when she reached out and gave him a gentle pat on his head before turning away and moving towards a clutch of eggs as they moved and shook, trying to escape and begin their life. He sighed before going over to watch for a moment as he was at least wanting to understand why he was still seen as friendly and not hostile. He would watch to see exactly what the queen would do before the eggs broke and revealed their contents, but once it was over he would move to leave the area of the ship that they were in, he was trying to explore the remaining areas of the destroyed husk. He was not going to remain stationary...he could not remain in a place that was both dangerous and alien to him and the Empire...

 

[Dana]

Airfield
Fort Nozomi
Gashmere

The Taka-Class Shuttle (1B) idled on the pad, its engines warm. A dozen Kodian commandos where doing final checks on their gear before loading on to ferry up to the Gashmeres Hammer in orbit. Various weapons cases and ammunition crates were spreead out as battery charges were confirmed, magazines loaded, and diagnostics were performed. The Hammer would leave the system as soon as this shuttle had docked and make directly for The Egg. There would be precious little time to prepare after boarding.

Ender Class Derelict
The Egg
Rosenthal Nebula

Zanven found that he was able to roam freely about the ship with little interference from the insect like inhabitants. He was able to find a secondary battle bridge with a semi-functional console. It looked like one pulsed laser array was still operational, as well as a small secondary armory which may contain some further items that may be of use. A stash of old rations and sealed water packets was tucked away in a sealed compartment, marked *for emergency use only* on the bridge as well.

 

[Waffles]

Airfield
Fort Nozomi
Gashmere
Alright, this next mission sounded like it was going to be very interesting. It sounded like there could be space combat and atmospheric combat. this meant that the load out regarding this mission would be a mixtape. Itami looked over to Nara as they walked to the airfield and where their equipment would be stowed. "I will help you set your loadout properly as it seems best that we utilize PA's again, Nara."
He leaned in closer as they walked. "Also, I like you as well, but we can talk about that later." This break in his professionalism last only a few seconds as he slipped back into his stoic soldier mode. Internally, he hoped that they would get the chance to discuss things after this mission. It sounded like this could be a very dangerous mission. There was very little data to go on with any of this, be it this "egg", the experimental fighter, or even what had happened to Zanven or his condition.

For this upcoming mission, Itami would be utilizing his standard TARSA-
Dorsal Hardpoint: [[stararmy:equipment:ke-m2-g3200_mindy_fusion_generator|KE-M2-W3200]]
Shoulder Hardpoint 1: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m2-w3902_scalar_machine_gun|KE-M2-W3902]]
Shoulder Hardpoint 2: [[stararmy:equipment:ke-m2-p3001_mindy_shoulder_energy_cloak|KE-M2-P3001]]
Forearm Hardpoint 1: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m6-w3406_daisy_multipurpose_plasma_weapon|KE-M6-W3406]]
Forearm Hardpoint 2: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m6-w2901_pulse_energy_weapon|KE-M6-W2901]]
Left Hip: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m2-w4001_heavy_aether_pistol|KE-M2-W4001]]
Right Hip: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m2-w3901_aether_blade_series_variants|KE-M2-W3901 Wakazashi]]
Thigh Hardpoints: [[stararmy:weapons:ke-m3-w2710_mini-missile_launcher_pods|KE-M3-W2710]]

 

[Zanven Brax]

He was able to explore the areas of the ship that were still accessible, albeit he was still on alert of the bugs...they seemed to just allow him to act as he wished as long as he did not screw with them. The bridge allowed him to access a few working processes, of which one was a pulse signal array...an interesting find indeed for him as he thought of the drones in the space around the ship...it could end badly if he was not careful. He wiped his hand across the console, cleaning it a little before pressing on the console's keyboard to access some files; (Going to put what I WISH to access here, whether I can grab the info is completely up to GM) He tried to access a flight log, cargo manifest, crew manifest, and overall what the function of the ship was. The reason for all this was two parts...one was closure because if he was able to get out he could report to the Empire about the losses here so that some families could have closure. Second was that if he could figure out WHY the ship was important to the bugs and WHY it was in this region of space in the first place...it would give him some leeway to potentially protect the species...since they...did not kill him.


After he either was able to get the info he wanted or was unable to get through even with all of his digging he would move to the emergency rations he found while cleaning the area up. He would eat on some well-stale freeze-dried foodstuffs that were packed up as he continued to explore. The drones were not coming close to the ship again and it was weird to look out and see movement along the edges of his perceptive gaze. Seeing as it was not yet the time to do anything more he explored further, finding another armory, he finished one of the sealed water packets before walking into the now dimly lit area. He needed to replace what he had lost...