RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 25] Stolen Pride (YE 38)

Shuttle

"I think thats everyone" Natsumi quickly glanced about the shuttle, taking inventory of everyone who was aboard now that Mao had returned.

Hanako, Wazu, Marcus, Jax, Akiko, Blackberry, Tahariel and herself. That was everyone.

"Jax, go!" she said to the engineer sitting at the pilot's station. "Lift off!"

Shuttle

"Aye!" Jax grunted and slid the throttle from "Sit Fuckin' Still" to "Fuckin' Fast". He then sealed the doors shut. The shuttle roared and lifted off the ground, screaming into the wide expanse of blue above in a near vertical climb which pressed him against his seat and made it uncomfortable to breath. After about a minute, an orange glow surrounded the craft, signifying the exiting of the planet's atmosphere. Jackson reduced the throttle now that they didn't have to fight the planet's gravity as hard, and waited for further instructions.

The whole way up, anyone who bothered would have noticed the nekojin gripping the controls in a white-knuckle grip, aimlessly staring into the space before him, silently praying to every god he knew- aforementioned omnipotent sci-fi nerds included- that they would soon receive good news from the lighthouse team.

Rixxicor Shuttle

Marcus didn't have any time to waste. The moment they were off the planet's surface, Marcus turned his attention to the Nepleslian medical kit, assuming it would be the best equipped for treating injuries to a human, and Wazu was in dire need of such treatment. Honestly, Marcus was no better off. In fact, it was entirely likely that he'd lost more blood than nearly anyone in the group. But, Wazu wasn't genetically modified for combat, and Marcus didn't know anything about Yamataian biochemistry to even attempt any amount of healing on them.

He looked to Taharial. Not knowing her name, but being aware that she was the ship's medical professional, he motioned to Wazu. "I'll see to Heram as best I can. I trust you can deal with the others."

Trying to maintain as much cleanliness as possible, Marcus opened the medical kit and began cleaning and dressing the wounds on Wazu's face. He attempted to make conversation with...well...anyone, really. Their minds needed to stay focused, but he knew what could happen if anyone started to focus too heavily on the negative aspects of their current situation. In his mind, he had to give them something to focus on that would keep them in the right mindset. While it was true that they probably didn't need much guidance in that direction, Marcus didn't think of it that way. He'd settled into a mindset that had kept him alive on many prior occasions. He didn't, really, know how to avoid it.

He spoke as he worked on Wazu. "So long as I can get the worst of Heram's injuries under control, I should be able to start dealing with my own. I've got several genetic modifications that are keeping me conscious and able to function at the moment. When I use all the mental ones at the same time it greatly increases my focus, attention, reaction times etcetera. The problem is, I can't maintain it forever. Currently I've got about an hour, maybe a little longer, before I'll have to shut them down. When that happens, I'll lose consciousness."

Wazu's jaw was cleaned and bandaged fairly well. Marcus was no medical professional, but he wasn't too shabby when it came to first aid. Marcus' other concern was the leg. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot he'd be able to do for it. So, he saw to cleaning the other wounds, mostly acid burns and cuts, before he removed his shirt, sat down and began to pull stone shrapnel out of his entire left side, starting at the face and working his way down. He didn't know how much he was going to enjoy pulling stone pieces out of a plasma burned arm. Even with his modifications that would hurt like crazy, but he didn't have a lot of options.

Shuttle

Aikiko simply braced herself so she wouldn't get in anyone's way as the shuttle took off. She closed her eyes and went into a meditative state as the last of the adrenaline faded away, leaving behind one big ball of fire of pain. She hurt in places that she thought were impossible to hurt.

She listened to Marcus talk out loud, hoping that Wazu and Blackberry would survive. Then she remembered Jax. He wasn't seen when she came a board with Wazu. She hoped he was aboard.

~~ Jax? You piloting? ~~ Via Telepathy to him, ~~ Thanks ~~ A soft shy caressing tone as if she was afraid to disturb him.

Bisen Lighthouse, Level 2

Umeshu responded to Tsuguka's confusion with a tinge of empathy, understanding the way she felt more than might have been apparent. "Daijobu. I was created to be a weapon also... but how we choose to fight defines who we become, ne?" The sage green eyes of her face glanced down the ladder at what she had wrought, as she once again took up her NSP with the obvious grip of an expert marksman when the soldier suggested her plan of attack with the bandolier of grenades. "Let's do it. Allow me the honor?"

That was, until the Rixxikor started retreating with a sense of sudden urgency with the provisions that she had sent downstairs in their greedy clawed hands. "Eh to....?" escaped her plum lips, as there was another look towards the Joto Hei of mild surprise as her plan worked a little better than intended to remove their threat without any violence. "They couldn't have been here for just the food... could it be because of the Shosho...?" There was the seed of hope planted about the others, as she made sure that Murakami-Heisho was alright and uninjured. Hopefully she would forgive the wastefulness of the supply crate... this was the second time the junior officer had to do something that likely pained the supply Neko to no end.

Bisen Lighthouse, Level 1

Hashimoto-Taii waved her hand to move out and slipped down to the first level, giving chase but not directly engaging the bug men as they hurried out of the place through the busted airlock doors like roaches before the light. She went to one knee and held position just inside the structure using the entry frame as cover, peering out and focusing her enhanced hemosynthetic eyesight to see if Candon had subdued the Rixxikor with the chaingun and took possession of the shuttle, and exactly where their attackers were scurrying off to.

It was then that the communicator at her side pinged with a subspace message from the Shosho herself and she activated it reflexively. "Hanako-sama! Yokatta... you sound winded, are you injured? We've secured the Bisen, but were soon besieged by a platoon of Rixxikor. Suites-hei took control of their shuttle, which looks like the only transport available at this location. They've just retreated suddenly and......."

Umeshu was in such a rush with checking up on the Princess and the shuttle's status that it was only now that she noticed the large, obvious bombs that the Rixxikor had left all over the place on the lighthouse's bottom level. One of them was hastily duct taped onto the main support pillar right next to her.

Bisen Lighthouse, Level 2 -> Level 1

Tsuguka stuck to Umeshu like glue, a grim expression on her face whilst she guarded the pilot in apology for her earlier independent actions. Shotgun was lowered to the floor, but still having wantingly vindictive thoughts against the Rixxikor, and everything they stood for. Having your enemy turn out to be simpletons was not adequate route for closure. Secretly, the red nekovalkyrija would almost have preferred the fight to continue on, so she could have seen the morale of the chittering tide break, and her presence here would feel at least a little justified in the first place...

Daydream broken. There was something on the wall. It looked like a first year science project, but any fool could have figured out what it was at a glance, given the situation. They had been the fools all along.

Neon green eyes wide with shock, expecting death to come swiftly at any second, Tsuguka's panicked features met with that of her leading officer. Would they even have time to fly back up the stairwell and rescue the logistics officer? Would Umeshu be distracted by the very same question?

Zero time. Less than no time at all. It was like reality had slowed down to a crawl, but the soldier's heart was beating so heavily she could feel it inside of her skull.

<"Mitsuko-Hei. Shoot the glass."> A puncturing telepathic statement, so bold and harsh, it was like a silent scream. <"Fly out of it. No time.">

A hand grabbed Umeshu's collar, an action so primal it was almost without thinking. Inertial control organ assisted in projecting a kick so hard it contorted the inner airlock door outwards, a hole which she immediately dragged the pair of them through. Calf muscle completely full of white noise in response. Could be broken. No choice, standard depressurization cycle too slow. Secondary doors agonizingly slow to pry open, and she had to let go of the officer again to do it by hand.

Entire body burning, but the hatch gave way.

Air...

Bisen Lighthouse, Floor 1

Mitsuko seemed pleased as the other three members of their little party agreed to her plan, all heading upwards via the nearby ladder. This left her alone with the room full of supplies. She didn't expect them to be here for long, especially if there actually was a shuttle available. She did know of one piece of equipment that would be rather useful. There was no way she could carry all ten of the Emrys Environ suits stored on this level, but she could handle four of them shoved into one container.

Hefting the loaded box, she stepped into the elevator the others had ignored, silently riding to the fifth floor while Tsuguka and Umeshu were confronting Suites on Floor 3. She was oblivious to the fact that Candon had not done what she'd expected, what she'd suggested to him. As far as she knew, SAINT and/or Star Army was on their way to rescue them already, rushing to recover their famous leader, and then her lost ship. And, hopefully, cover up the entire incident. Preferably without anyone but Suites knowing she had anything to do with their timely rescue.

Of course, she was completely wrong. She had no idea what communications Suites had sent out, or that the others had overheard quite a bit of it. Mitsuko also had yet to realize the Rixxikor had arrived to assault the Lighthouse, just like Candon had warned them might happen.


Floor 5

Mitsuko grunted and grumbled as she lugged the cart from the elevator over to the smaller lift on one side of the room, completely missing Suites hurriedly flying up through the hatch on the far side of the room, the central elevator blocking each Heisho's view of the other.


Floor 6

The Logistics Neko heard gunfire as she started to rise onto the level that should have contained a shuttle. But did not. She looked between the wide open bay door and the empty space the shuttle should have occupied, blinking. She repeated the action, now seeing and hearing more gunfire through the opening. Then, she sighed. "Of course."

Mitsuko hefted the box of supplies and headed for the other large door on the far side of the building from the gunfight.


Outside Bisen Lighthouse

As Tsuguka and Umeshu began to burst free from the lowest level of the Lighthouse, they were greeted by the sight of a rather filthy, junky looking shuttle floating above a horde of angry Rixxikor. It was wobbling and tilting about wildly, keeping the Rixxikor at bay rather by accident as the pilot attempted to keep it airborne. The flying scrapheap had suddenly jerked to life and lifted above Candon's head while he was busy holding back the bugs whose attention he'd caught with that wildly firing machine gun.

The decrepit little ship was pitching about like the pilot had little idea how to properly fly it. Which she did not. Mitsuko was frowning through the clear face shield of the EM-GY Emrys Environ suit she'd stuffed herself into before daring to step foot inside the disgusting excuse for a shuttle, struggling to lift it further off the ground away from the horrible little bugs she'd already had far too many encounters with for one short Neko lifetime. Tsuguka's telepathic shout had drawn her attention back towards the Lighthouse, as she struggled to aim the open rear hatch of the shuttle towards the Star Army soldiers fleeing the Lighthouse, unaware of the explosive threat that had prompted the Infantry Neko's sudden mental outburst.

Bisen lighthouse, outside shuttle


Candon fired in bursts of five as the Rixxicor soldiers ran for the shuttle. Even to them it became a bad idea, they changed their minds and ran for the forest instead. The rounds steadily ripped out of the barrel until- CLACK
Candon looked down at the receiver. Then the shuttle behind him began gaining altitude with the gun's ammo belt flapping in the breeze.
Hmm, maybe I should have picked that up too.

A few Rixxicor sprayed rounds but they were rushing more than aiming. They were in a serious hurry to not be taking the opportunity to gun Candon down.
"Well what have they done?.." He mumbled to himself as he began calmly walking back toward the moving shuttle with the chain gun over his shoulders until he could board the shuttle again.

Lighthouse Area

A flash of orange fire and a rapidly-moving wave of pressure came from the Bisen followed by an earth-shaking bang that could be heard for miles and miles. In an instant, the lighthouse was obliterated in a rolling fireball and quickly surrounded by an enormous gray cloud of dust and smoke. Tsuguka, Umeshu, and anyone else nearby were tossed to the ground by the force of the blast hand found their ears bleeding and ringing.

Captured Shuttle 1

Hanako drifted back into consciousness as the shuttle's acceleration leveled out, letting out a pained sigh. "Status report," she ordered. "What contact from Umeshu's team?"

Captured Shuttle 1

With the adrenaline rush slowly dying as each minute passed, Jax felt himself becoming fatigued. He acknowledged Aikiko's thanks, but just barely.

What little comfort Jax had had at the moment vanished when Umeshu's transmission was cut off abruptly. His heart rate spiked, and he listened frantically for any more messages from below. Perhaps her device had glitched?! Yeah, that had to be it!

...Right...?

...RIGHT?!

Then his world shattered around him.

Far below, on the planet's surface, he watched a small speck of orange flare up and die.

"...Oh god, no!" he whispered shakily after staring at that spot for several moments, mouth agape in shear horror, unable to process what he'd just seen.

"No! No no no no no! God, please, no!" he continued frantically, trying his best to keep his voice down, his panic preventing any tears from falling. Hearing Hanako's order, he capitalized on the excuse to contact the Taii. He fumbled clumsily in his pouch for his communicator. He dropped it in his haste and cursed. Once he had it up, he found his hands to be so shaky from his terror that he had to make a conscious effort to hit the right buttons. He contacted Umeshu.

"Ume-! Taii," he corrected himself quickly, unable to hide the fact that he was on the verge of tears. "Taii, if you're there, please respond!"

He sat in tense silence, feeling icy chills running through his body. His world began to spin around him, horrid images of the lighthouse team, more people he cared for, blown to sticky pieces in the wreckage of the lighthouse after suffering a painful, fiery death.

'...Please...'

Marcus didn't see what Jax saw. He didn't have the telepathic link that the others shared. For that matter, he didn't even know half their names. As he finished picking the stone shrapnel out of his body, and began tending to his other wounds, he considered his options. He moved over to Aikiko and took out his pouch. He opened it and showed her the small control panel on the inside.

"I know the admiral has already said she didn't want to use technology from my universe, but the option is still open. This yellow light will turn on when it's within communication range of the ship."

He looked over at Hanako. "If the choice is made, you can still get an experienced pilot and combat capable person on that ship."

Turning back to Aikiko, he pointed to a small button. "Hit that button and say 'Run program.' and a data clone of myself will be created in mine and Wazu's cabin. It should only take a few minutes. He'll know everything I did right up until we landed on the planet's surface, and be aware that he's a clone. He'll contact back through this panel. Use the same button to speak to him."

Marcus put the pouch in Aikiko's hand. "I don't know if I'll be conscious by that point, but it's an asset we could utilize and would be foolish to not, at least, use to determine how close we are to the ship. Just, whatever you do, don't remove any of the materials from the pouch. One slip up could overload this shuttle in a heartbeat."

Hearing the newcomer speak, she opened her eyes to mere slits to see him speaking to her. Aikiko nodded as she slipped the pouch into where her NSP went, which Wazu still had, and closed the flap. She glanced at Tarahial, wondering what was up with her. She closed her eyes, returning back to the meditative state she began self aid as she shifted her mental focus to the process of letting herself heal at a much faster pace.

Lighthouse Area

Things seemed to slow down as Umeshu sucked in a breath and held it, realizing the error she had just made in that second. She had underestimated her foes, and it was about to end badly... That is, until she felt Tsuguka's arm yanking her violently by the uniform collar out of harm's way with an inhuman speed, followed by the crack of the red-soldier's reinforced bones as her leg went straight through the airlock door. The rush of outside air hit her with what felt like a reprieve.

And then... the explosives detonated, as a thundering roar louder than an exploding star was the last thing her sensitive Neko eardrums heard before they burst into a bloody mess. Wisteria-colored skin felt the wave of hot ash first wash over it with searing fire, before the shockwave hit a split second later, the pressure from the collapse of the Bisen sending her flying into the air. Umeshu tried to instinctively compensate with her own inertial manipulation to slow the acceleration and right herself, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the blast and was slammed unceremoniously into the gritty landscape, rolling down the sloping hillside across the gravel for several meters before finally coming to a rest against a large boulder.

Umeshu was alive, thanks to the infantry woman's quick-thinking. But she could do little else but lie where she was for the moment, her Type 35A formal uniform now in tatters. Bright white tights were now stained black and ashen, with red gashes in several places where her thighs and legs were cut deeply. Hemosynthetic blood trickled down the sides of her head from her torn eardrums as well as a cut in her forehead from colliding with the rock that stopped her. Her hands were also torn up from where they tried and failed to find purchase in the ground.

The operations officer coughed a few times, clearing the dust from her lungs and forcing the planet's air back into them after it being knocked out of her. A painful stabbing as she did so was an indicator a rib may also have been broken or punctured one of them. Hemosynthetic healing was starting to kick in automatically to address things... but for now Umeshu just focused on her breathing's rhythm, labored as it was.

Breath in... breath out. Breath in... breath out.

For that moment the ex-samurai trainee felt a warrior's shame. She had tried so hard, yet in the end was she once again a failure, now to Hanako-sama? How could she face her Shosho after letting this happen? Maybe the Nekovalkyrja defect should finally give up and just disappear... after all, samurai's needed to take responsibility for failure.

But then she thought of the face of Jax-san once again, the warmth of his features pulling her out of the pit of despair and self-pity. She couldn't bear the shame of not keeping her promise to her paramour... the thought of not being able to kiss him again was more than she could bear.

She needed to live... needed to fight. For what she loved... and what she believed in. She couldn't let it all end like this, wallowing in her shame with a face in the dirt.

Umeshu drew in a particularly strong breath, as the battered Neko clutched at the gravel with her bloody hands and started to pick herself up on all fours with a painful series of grunts. "U...uso...."


Captured Shuttle 1

Hashimoto-taii unfortunately lost her communicator in the chaos, so couldn't respond to Jax's hails nor was even aware of them. There was nothing but static on her frequency, and the lingering echoes of the explosion that the technician could hear.

But as he drew closer in the shuttle, a faint voice appeared in the back of his mind. "Jax...san..."

It was enough to let him know she was alive.

Lighthouse Area

An unrecognizable sound, escalating in pitch rapidly before becoming like needles to the eardrums, and then nothing at all. Uncontrolled flight. Tsuguka witnessed the events in passing flashes, like elements of a dream scrolling past, almost too unreal to feel consequential. Hands and feet weren't working anyway. Didn't even feel herself hit the floor.

Blood. The flavor, filling her mouth. Her chest felt as if a large stone had been set upon it, and her body reacted by seizing up, desperately trying to gasp at the gritty ash that this planet called air.

Her eyes were already open, it just took a few seconds to realize that they were. Only seconds? Felt like someone or something was standing over her. Lights. Muddied thoughts drowned out by the chaotic urgency of categorizing what had just happened, and yet also a complete inability to settle the fear over what dire state her body might now be in.

Reflexes told her to bring herself back to combat readiness no matter what. Best she could do was roll over. The sensation she felt from her leg bending at an unnatural angle wasn't quite pain, but a sickening, paralyzing chill that completely broke her will to move any further.

A glamouring blur. Some kind of silver pole tied to her chest by the shredded remains of her backpack. Weste- The shotgun!

She could do this. Just had to bring herself too. Had to find the Taii.

Toyoe Tsuguka will not fail in her duty.

Fingers... Fingers didn't look right. Must have done it prying the door open, or perhaps hitting the floor at speed. Wincing, palming pathetically. Couldn't hold the damn thing no matter how much she wanted to. Sitting upright, hugging it, wailing internally. Not enough air in lungs to scream in frustration.

Focus, needed to focus.

The purple body. Some way away. Threw them pretty far apart. Nekovalkyrja eyes good for examining for obvious shrapnel even if a little shaky. They were on all fours now. Seemed operable. Acceptable.

Umeshu was suddenly caressed by the incredibly odd sensation of a telepathic connection with no words whatsoever. Then, nothing again. The red neko just gazed in silence, blank in mind and body.

No sign of the shuttle that loomed before them, only moments before the detonation... Who was even on board?... No idea what happened to Heisho Murakami or Suites...

Focus. Just needed a plan. Sort out the injuries later.

Just needed the will.

Bisen lighthouse, outside shuttle again


Candon caught up to the hijacked shuttle and tossed the empty chain gun in through the rear hatch that was moving about unsteadily.
"Hey, soldier!" He shouted in, "level out, you'll break my knees!" He lined himself with the opening and made a gravity assisted jump into the shuttle- at least that was the intention. A deafening roar came from behind and the bottom corner of the shuttle's hatch greeted his forehead. Lights out.



???


As he recovered his consciousness the blackness of death retreated from his view and the worst headache he'd ever had set in. The only things he could see was dirt and the bark of a tree. His arms began to move, exploring the ground as he tried to make sense of what had happened. The leaves on the ground moved silently as his hand planted itself on the hard packed soil. Not a sound could be heard besides one piercing noise, a ringing which came from no real direction. It was coming from him.

Realizing that he'd survived something he tried to sigh in relief but nothing happened. No air moved in or out, just the presence of panic in its most controlled state. He knew he needed to get off of his chest but also knew he needed the help of a medical professional. Could Taharial reach him? Did anyone know where he was? How long had he been there?
The questions began flooding his mind.

Mustering the little strength he could find he closed his eyes and pushed his hand into the ground twisting himself onto his side and then his back. The whole action felt like he was rolling onto a bed of nails, which was not far off from reality. Embedded in his back were tiny bits of metal from the explosion he still didn't know occurred.

Keeping his eyes closed he focused on nothing more than putting air back into his lungs.. It just wasn't happening.
He tried again.. no result.
'Is this really how I die?' he asked himself as he lay there motionless, now staring into the sky. It was truly a beautiful sight as rays of light from the local star shined through the gaps in the foliage illuminating the particles in the air and warming his body. It was a comforting feeling as the darkness of death once again began to close in, clutching him in its icy embrace.

He'd always thought he'd be ready to face it, to die on a battlefield like so many Nekovalkyrja before him. To die for what he believed in. To die alone. To die.

I'm not…

Captured Shuttle 1

Natsumi knelt beside Hanako, checking on her wounds. The Shosho had lost a lot of blood, but seemed to be holding out for now. Tarahial had her work cut out for her, along with Hanako, Wazu and Marcus were also badly wounded. Natsumi did not envy the medic one bit.

"We are aboard one of the rixxicore shuttles, all of our people made it out, but we have wounded. No response from the lighthouse team yet" she replied to Hanako's question as she finished doing the best she could to redress Hanako's wound. "I am going to see to that now"

"Tarahial, check on this please" she said to the medic, then left Hanako's side and moved forward, to where Jax was piloting the shuttle. She could see how stressed he was and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, even as she too saw the raising cloud of smoke from the distant lighthouse.

"I'm sure they are fine" Natsumi said to the engineer and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. "Take us there, best speed" she directed. She had considered taking over piloting herself, but just for a moment. Jax was doing fine for the moment and she was the only remaining uninjured command officer. She had more to oversee than just piloting the ship now.

Lighthouse Area

Hashimoto-taii paused, as she felt the ping in her digital mind like a ringing bell, cutting right through the pain that filled her screaming nerves all over her body. She surely felt the presence of the Joto Hei not far away from her, even if there was no words in the encrypted handshake. She was alive, but her condition unknown... Umeshu looked to her left, focusing her hazy sage-green vision on the source of the ping. Enhanced eyesight could make out through the debris that still swirled about the hilltop the form of the red-skinned soldier within a fair distance, leg at an odd angle, and cradling the shotgun for dear life.

The officer gritted her teeth, and started crawling towards her wounded savior slowly. Inertial organ sputtered, trying to glide her over the rough ground the barest centimeter, though still the more jagged rocks here and there dug fresh marks into her already ripped up legs, as wisteria colored skin now was mixed with red into an interesting shade of magenta and mauve.

Still, she suppressed the urge to cry out in pain as each ridge was forded slowly and surely... she had endured worse than this before. Her days at Samurai House had if nothing else given her a schooling in this. Every day she had been abused both physically and mentally by her teachers and even fellow students, and the soft-spoken Neko had to learn to control the negative emotions and heal the aches and bruises, only to face it anew the following morning.

After an agonizing stretch of several meters was crossed, and her lungs seeming to be on fire from the exertion as they were struggling to heal themselves... Tsuguka-hei could feel the warmth of Umeshu's slashed up purple hand finally grab onto her still form near her waist. The downed Neko could feel the Taii's labored breathing near her even if she could not directly hear it, along with was passed for the best pained smile the bloodied pilot's calming features could muster in her blurry field of vision.

"Gomen, Tsuguka-san... this is my fault... you are like this," came the wireless apology, as the single hand fumbled for the molecure tape attachment point where Tsuguka's own Type 36 communicator was lodged. "I'll... get help..."

Using voice at this point was not possible, as every one of her breaths was precious. However, it didn't take more than a second to initiate an emergency medevac beacon to all friendly units within range:

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Prepare to receive automated 7-Line Combat Request.
Joto Hei Tsuguka. 1-Com-2-2?-3-X-4-U-5-N-6-S-7-H.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Click to expand...

It repeated several times.

Lighthouse Area

The shuttle was sent flying by the shockwave, tilting to one side, spinning sideways as it was upset while Mitsuko still struggled to keep the crude ship level. One wing-like protrusion hit the ground, sending her bouncing out of the pilot's seat to roll on the filthy floor. The nose caught the ground next, digging in and halting the shuttle's movement, engines returning to noisily idling without her working the controls. Mitsuko had been sent rolling about, slowly sitting up with one hand on the helmet of her commandeered suit. She was bruised, and her head hurt, but the grimace was mostly in reaction to the...gunk...streaked all over her faceplate.

Doing her best to wipe the helmet clean and clear her view, she managed to get to her feet, stumbling towards the open rear hatch, the floor of the shuttle slightly tilted due to the awkward crash landing. She saw rubble where the Lighthouse should have been, and immediately felt a twinge of pain at the thought of all those lost supplies. They could have held out here fairly comfortably for days, weeks, if needed. At least there were no more Rixxikor in sight. Instead, one...two, three bodies. "Of course." She tried to sigh, but it turned into a cough, as she tiredly, gracelessly hopped and stumbled out of the strange little ship.

Two of them were clumped together, and were moving at least a little. Hashimoto and Tsuguka. She could see them handling a communicator moments before her own began beeping at her for attention. That wasn't going to do much good. She was the only one still standing, and even if the other group was in range, it would take them hours to make it here. But, at least they were trying, which was more than she could say for the other horizontal crew member. "Hashimoto-Taii, Tsuguka-Hei, can you respond? I suggest you attempt to board the shuttle if possible, otherwise you will have to wait for me to assist you. I am afraid Suites-Hei is in an even worse state. Again." The Neko broadcast towards the two, as she headed for the closer body.


"I am not a Medic, you know. Why do you insist on becoming injured when I am the only one available to assist you?" Mitsuko blocked his view of the stars as she stood above Candon, frowning down at him as she observed his current state. The backpack she'd packed at the beginning of the trip was dropped nearby, as she knelt to unload the Medical Kit she'd brought - the one she'd let Akiashiro borrow a few items from - and begin searching through it. "You don't seem to be breathing. You should probably be breathing. If you have some idea why that is, you had better speak up, Suites-Heisho." She set the hemosynth injector aside first, followed by the Portable Medical Scanner. And the intubation kit.

"Otherwise I am afraid I will have to guess, as I do not believe we have time for the Portable Medical Scanner to diagnose you and explain to me the proper procedure." She held up the tracheal tube with a questioning look on her face behind the mess-smeared faceplate of her helmet. That seemed to be her best bet, from a combination of some limited training and the few novels she'd read that had involved emergency medical treatment. Those tended to focus on putting people in the hospital, or the love lives of the doctors and nurses, and not the medical procedures themselves, so her experience was somewhat limited.

Captured Shuttle 1

"She's... alive..." came the relief-filled whisper. Jax didn't respond when Natsumi spoke to him, but rest assured he didn't need to be told twice. An emergency beacon lit up below, further easing his nerves. They'd be alright.

Once more, the shuttle was screaming into the atmosphere, glowing from the friction of reentry, towards what remained of the lighthouse. Jackson was careful, and remained on guard just in case the Rixxikor showed up again. Mentally, he practiced evasive maneuvers, going through whatever scenarios his adrenaline-baked brain could come up with. One of them involved a giant flyswatter rising from the ground and smacking the shuttle out of the sky. No joke.

Speaking of jokes, it seemed Jax was somewhat back to normal, thanks to that hemo-something-whatever. He didn't know what it was called, he couldn't read Yamataigo when he'd gotten the brochure. What was at first a pretty bad concussion was now little more than an annoying pressure. Even the large gash on the back of his head had started to heal.

He brought the shuttle around the blast site in a wide circle. He spotted the crashed shuttle, but thankfully could make out four bodies with his thermal vision. He brought the shuttle down with haste, opened the side doors, and climbed out of the pilot's chair. The shuttle was left in a low idle just in case they needed a quick getaway.

Bisen Wreckage

Jax used the excuse that everyone else was injured and that he was one of the few that could assist. He hopped out of the shuttle and immediately began scanning for the warm lilac he'd come to know and love. He spotted her and Tugs sprawled on the ground some distance away from Candon and Mitsuko. Jax grimaced; hopefully his pal would make it. Seriously, he was, like, the only other guy on the ship minus the new additions. He wouldn't call themselves "bros", more like the spy and his gadget-maker from those ancient Bames Jond movies he watched as a kid. But it was better than nothing. Candon needed to work on his guy-talk. Seriously.

"Tsuguka, Umeshu, are you alright?" He asked as he rushed up, dropping to his knees and scanning both for injuries. He kind of felt stupid for doing so; they were clearly down for the count. It also seemed that they'd been knocked deaf by the blast. The nekojin shut off the beacon and scooped up Umeshu in his arms, taking great care not to hurt her further. She was very light, so he had no difficulty.

"I'll come back for you," he said to Tugs both physically and mentally, noting their lack of response to his voice. "First, we have to get the Taii to safety. Someone will probably get to you before me."

Jax turned and began to carry Umeshu back to the shuttle. He kept a straight face, for most of the way at least. His lips melted into a warm smile. He held her against him just a little closer, but discreetly enough so as not to arouse suspicion.

<I... was worried... I'm glad you're okay...>

Jax stepped back into the shuttle, called out to Taharial that she had a new patient, then gingerly set Umeshu down in a seat which he quickly wiped free of grime.

Lighthouse Wreckage Site

With two shuttles on the ground, the dozen or so Rixxikor thugs who had run from the explosion were now running back towards the lighthouse site, hoping to steal at least one of them back so they could get out of there. Since Mitsuko's seemed to be abandoned, they headed for that one. Only a few of the Rixxikor bothered to shoot at the Eucharis crew, and it was mostly just a random spray for the purposes of covering fire. Nobody was hit by it. They seemed to be basically retreating at this point.

Captured Shuttle 1

"We solved two of our problems," Hanako told Natsumi and the others around her. "One: we're no longer stuck on this planet. Two: we have transportation that could be used to sneak into the Rixxikor base where the ship is being held. We know where their base is because Charisma is still doing well and is telling us. The question now is how do we balance the need for recovery time and equipment acquisition with the urgent need to get our ship back before they are able to mess with her. In other words, how much time do we need before we infiltrate? I could arrange a secret meeting with a loyal captain like Blueberry and the YSS Firebird to get power armor, but it could be at least a day before she can get here. We may want to push forward before that, to retain the element of surprise, which is all we really have on our side at this point." Hanako winced and waved away Taharial. "Do not worry about me, there are others who need you more."

Hanako looked back to Marcus. "Just so I understand all my options, can you explain what you're proposing?"