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RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission 27: The Crimson Levy

YSS Asamoya
Bridge

"Yes, the Kuvexians are as brutal and cruel as Captain Sanders recalls," Aiko agreed, striding with slow and dignified steps past William to pace before the cadets. She spoke as if lecturing back at SAAMMS with a measured and informative tone that lacked the disgust with which her Nepleslian friend delivered his memory. "But the Kuvexians are devious, too, and should never be discounted for their flamboyant and gaudy natures. They managed to capture the Captain and I in the first place because we were so sure of our disguises and Yamataian cunning."

The princess' voice projected fully enough that the three cadets at their forward bridge consoles could hear her clearly. Still, Aiko turned toward them as she continued, treading across the command center's deck to address Aratani, Zelphon, and their third comrade at the sensors station just as much as she did the group listening at the room's back wall.

"Remember that while we wait hidden here under the waves and keep your wits," Aiko said, her path bringing her right behind the trio at the Asamoya's controls. "Even more than their ubiquitous greed and constant thirst for power, the Kuvexians are paranoid. It drives all of their cruelty and avarice and is engrained into their culture. They listen to everything and absorb it, then file it away until that information can be used to advance their ambitions. No matter the perfection of our camouflage or the soundness of our plans we must remain wary. For those Kuvexians may well know we are here on Hanako's World, watching and waiting for the chance to ensnare us again."

Through her unbroken calm some fiery intensity crept onto Aiko's voice with those final words. From behind Aratani and Zelphon, the princess looked through the bridge's dim lights to the other cadets again who stared back at her silent and wide-eyed. She nodded at them, having little else to add on the subject lest she remember too much at the wrong moment and get too energized for battle when the situation didn't call for it.

"Take us below, then," Aiko ordered, patting the top edge of Zelphon's chair twice where the Belmont girl had caressed moments prior. "Koizumi-kohosei, have the engineer begin fabrication again in only one bay. Limited torpedo stores will suffice, but we would be wise to produce a few weapon pods before our exit from the system, and running only one shop should not pose a risk to our detection."

Satisfied with the Asamoya's new course of action, Aiko returned to the captain's chair and sat to watch her command get carried out.

The ship then proceeded to glide out of the jagged, rocky volcanic sea cave that protected it from above, sliding beneath the surface as it went. From their vantage high above, the tropical birds of Hanako's World could see the Asamoya's bright hull barely silhouetted as it sped out through perfectly crystal turquoise waters. It was only for a brief few seconds that the ship flashed against the island cove's white sandy floor, unseen by any eyes but the local wildlife, and then the Asamoya was gone.

YE 45.4.20
1937 Yamatai Standard Time

Some five hours had passed while the YSS Asamoya hid within the ocean's far depths on Hanako's World. Although it was a spaceship designed for the absence of pressure, its anti-gravity fields kept the vessel safe from the crushing force of the waters above it. Down here was as black as the void Star Army ships were accustomed to, though, and even so much more. Where space was filled with points of light in the darkness, here far beneath the seas it was like wading through solid obsidian. There was no point to visual sensors below in the abyss, so the bridge hadn't been illuminated by any volumetric feeds from the outside.

Aiko had spoken to the cadets a few times but most of the ship's business had proceeded quietly and uninterrupted — exactly what the princess wanted given the circumstances of their mission. For the cadets, it hadn't necessarily been boring but perhaps had been tedious in the very stressful way that could only be felt by a starship's crew deep behind enemy lines (much less an experienced one). Surely, however, some among the company of midshipmen had maintained an excited demeanor while others kept entirely cool and nonchalant having long ago composed their mindset of Star Army service just for this day.

And then everyone heard a high pitched whine that sounded throughout the entire Asamoya. It was like a chorus of whistles that stacked atop each other and rose quickly before a staccato beep. The sound even caught in the core of crewman's body, filling each with a strange and uneasy sensation. None of them recognized it immediately, not even Aiko or William for all of their years in the military.

The princess looked at her Nepleslian friend in the eyes first before her own shot around to meet those of her cadets. Thirty seconds went by without the sound happening again.

"Report," Aiko said, breaking the grim silence that had quickly fallen across the ship.

"Chusa! W-we're being trac—!" the midshipman at sensors stammered in her rattled Yamataian voice just as it was cut off by the frequency sounding through the Asamoya for a second time.

"Sonar," Aiko said in a way that sounded like a curse. Starship crews rarely had to worry about such technologies but the princess' knowledge of them came flooding back when she heard it. "Belmont-kohosei, bring us closer to the surface immediately. You need to get the Asamoya high enough to disengage that anti-gravity field. It had helped us until now but is giving that signal's source something dense to track. Go evasive and lose them, cadet."

The sonar screeched again, this time at a more rapid interval with another set following on in quick succession. At Aratani's weapons station, her targeting scopes registered two unknown contacts ready for lock at the edge of their range. And then a third and fourth, both much faster.

"M-m-multiple signatures, Chusa!" the girl at sensors stuttered. "Closing with our present position but not on a perfect intercept. They must still be searching!"

"Crew!" Aiko called over the ship's intercom, not yet setting a full spaceborne Condition 1. "Prepare for combat!"
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

This was not good... William turned and placed a finger to his ear. "Rei and Mao, suit up and meet me in the PA bay!" He spun on his heel and moved to head out of the bridge but noticed the other cadets. "Right, anyone not currently assisting with ship operations is with me! Time to learn how to fight like Nepleslian Marines." Turning back to Aiko, he nodded before leaving the bridge.

YSS Asamoya
Power Armor Bay

William was used to having to get ready under stressful conditions. It was all muscle memory at this point. He had drilled his Berserkers the same way. However, instead of a company of hardened ID-SOLs, he had a bunch of scared cadets. He wore his full Golem Assualt Armor and his Styrling Man Cannons on either hip. On his back was his Kaiyo Sword, which had been modified to the size of an Odachi. Finally, he wore his Kusarigama on his belt. The captain stood and looked back at the two samurai. He would need them to keep these kids alive. With his mindware, he sent the two a message. "Will you both act as my sergeants?" As he awaited their answer, he looked towards the power armor bay to get a headcount. He needed to know what he had to work with.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

Zelphon was enjoying her time in command of the ship when the first high pitch sound rang out. As the feeling passed Zel had a bad feeling something was about to go down. Then the sound rang out for a second time. The ringing sound reminded her of Alastair when he would bitch about the floor being dirty. This caused the hair to stand up on the back of her head. Shit was about to get real and Zel found herself feeling happy about this. It was an odd feeling for she was not sure how she'd react to her first slice of battle. The years of training seemed to be paying off. Her mind went into battle mode and started to process the information at hand. Many signatures were inbound and she doubted they were there to ask them all out on a peaceful date.

"Copy, moving the ship to the surface" She called out to the captain. Her hands moved like lightning as they put in the details to set course for the ship to do a rapid accent. "I expect once near the surface that ships above may open fire. Do we attempt to flee into orbit?" She asked of her captain.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

Aratani was more aware of their limited munition stores than she would have liked as she sat at the weapons console. The two contacts on the edge of the ship's range multiplied in no time at all. She wondered how quickly they would multiply again and again until there were too many for them to take out with the twenty odd torpedos they had. They needed another approach. She checked in on how the variable weapon pods were coming along, slingshotting it out almost immediately after seeing its ready status. It should prove a distraction to the slower moving targets on the edge of the Asamoya's range.

"Firing on unfriendlies," Aratani said at the exact moment she fired the AS-5 series munition. Though Aratani had already moved on to firing on the second ship, Boss' femtotronic quantum computer was stalking the enemy ship like a falconer's bird of prey set upon its quarry. As quickly as the cadet had fired it, Boss had taken over the torpedo's course as the MEGAMI tracked the target to the exact millimeter and located the enemy submersible's most sensitive areas. On the hunt while she simultaneously ran all of the other more defensive systems of her new ship, Boss was quick to do the same torpedo tracking for the second munition Aratani loosed on their speedier pursuers.

Outside of the Bridge > Power Armor Bay

"You, stay," Rei said as she turned from William to Mao outside of the bridge. The look on the samurai guard's face told Rei she wasn't considering anything different. In their first joint effort in Uesureya space almost a year ago, Rei had imparted just how capable their ward was to Mao. But now, deep in hostile territory with their princess' voice warning of imminent combat over ship comms, it would take much more to have them both abandon their Ketsurui protectee.

"With you," Rei said seconds later in the power armor bay. She had nothing to suit up into and would be relying on her own body's innate abilities.
 
The smaller, faster contacts zipped ahead of the Asamoya. For a brief moment the two enemy craft held synchronized positions matched to the Star Army ship's speed above and below its prow. And all the while they sent out the siren song from their sonar, now rapid and constant, that screeched as they tracked the Asamoya. Between the hostile signatures, after they had established their vectors, they immediately produced a fat beam of pure heat that lit up the sensors station with high energy warnings and alerts before a torpedo from Aratani's volley homed in and deleted one of the contacts in an instant.

Zelphon couldn't avoid the obstacle left in the beam's absence. Piloting a starship thousands of meters below an ocean's surface was far different than it was in space, even with the Asamoya's anti-gravity fields compensating. There was friction down here and the crushing pressure of water from all sides. There was only darkness, too, forcing the Elysian cadet to fly by instruments alone. Where even the largest vessel could turn on a dime in space, down here beneath the waves everything was slow as the seas pushed back against every maneuver.

Although the Asamoya had been on an upward trajectory to the surface, the ship collided with the void that their enemy's beam had produced. It only lasted for a moment as the sea slammed in to reclaim its place within the most minute fractions of a second, filling in where it had been burned away by whatever weapon the two hostiles had made as a bridge between them. But within that moment the Asamoya sank downwards a few dozen meters and was propelled even further below as the oceans slammed down atop its hull and the anti-gravity field that protected the ship. Everyone aboard was sent toward the ceiling as the ship fell through the fleeting absence of water, and those not strapped into their seats were tossed about like ragdolls (most of whom had bodies with an ability to manipulate inertial forces and dampen the trauma).

YSS Asamoya
Bridge

As the ship recovered, dashed around the depths but saved from being cut in half by the enemy beam weapon when torpedo that hit its mark, Aratani watched as her other attempts reached out to their targets. The variable weapon pod and second torpedo sped through the water to attack other targets, their firing solutions assisted by the MEGAMI's expert adjustments. It didn't take much time for the pod to disappear from all sensors and displays, its structure unable to survive the abyss' insurmountable pressure for long enough to be of any use this deep under the surface.

"Splash one," the cadet manning sensors reported, still sounding shaky but somewhat more composed as the action ramped up. The AS-5 torpedo's aether warhead gave the Asamoya a good rumble on top of everything else that had happened but thankfully did little to damage the starship's bulky hull. "A-and two! The blast caught the other one! Only the contacts tracking us remain!"

"Excellent," Aiko acknowledged with a snarling grin, leaning forward in her captain's chair before addressing Zelphon. "Not yet, Belmont-kohosei. They will doubtlessly follow us into space or provide tracking telemetry for ships in orbit. We must lose them here. Once the Asamoya is near to two-zero-zero meters, you can disengage the anti-gravity field and make us invisible to their sonar."

Aratani could see her second torpedo continue closer to its mark — one of the larger and less speedy contacts — and then meet together with it. Another enemy contact down.

"Captain!" sensors chirped again. "Splash three! I detected an energy buildup just before it went dark, though!"

Right when the cadet said it, a notification sounded throughout the Asamoya's halls. Boss sensed them straight away, some among their number having materialized and died within the Asamoya's bulkheads and superstructure or missed the ship entirely to be swallowed up and claimed by the seas, and their presence triggered the automated warning that told the crew their ship had been boarded.

Power Armor Bay

William had Rei and three cadets with him when the Kuvexians came. The midshipman Andres Sarna was one of them, and he'd been able to suit up in a Mindy 4 alongside his two academy comrades by the time William arrived. Elsewhere on the ship other cadets had congregated with their NSPs and waited to repel any enemy that approached their battle stations, but these three who'd taken to power armor would be William's reaction team should hostiles manage to infiltrate the Asamoya.

Andreas and his companions saluted the Nepleslian Marine captain and Rei. Further pleasantries or planning was interrupted when a sudden flashbang concussion sounded across the power armor bay. William, having been facing away from the spot upon which the Kuvexians teleported in, only suffered brief deafness. But, turning to where they'd entered, he and Rei could see their foes as clear as day.

One hulking heavy infantryman stood there on the Asamoya's deck in his gleaming gold power armor, clearly in the throes of finding his bearings after suddenly escaping his doomed submersible. The tip of his heavy gun's barrel had materialized in one of the Star Army ship's walls and sputtered with bright yellow plasma sparks out of its shorn off end when he held the trigger down in William's direction. Beside the Kuvexian heavy, another just like him seemed to have died when his teleporter sent him straight into the Asamoya's bulkhead, leaving the soldier's left arm and leg dangling lifelessly while the Asamoya made its maneuvers.

Five other Kuvexians in lighter armor — smaller but still glittering polished gold under the Asamoya's white lights — accompanied the heavy, the only survivors of the submersible that Aratani had downed. Those not wearing helmets had clear panic on their faces, no doubt seeing how many of their fellows had not made it with them, but also the controlled rage of professional soldiers realizing that they were aboard a Star Army ship.

The Kuvexians began firing, howling as they charged nearer to William, Rei, and the three power armored Yamataian cadets. These mercenaries had for too long done little but bully Yamataian civilians and police the settlements of Hanako's World. Now was their chance for some real war.
 
Power Armor Bay

When the ship jolted, the Nepleslian had no way to stop his momentum. He slammed into the ceiling, then back down again. He groaned and slowly rose to his feet. "That... really hurt." He muttered.

Before William could give any orders or reassuring words the enemy made their move. He winced as his ears rang, spinning to find the six kuvexians. In the fraction of a second, he sent an alert to Boss. "Six combatants in PA Bay." He drew his hand cannon and sword and charged at the largest Kuvexian.

"Sensei take the cadets and kill the light armored ones. The big guy is mine!" He yelled over his shoulder to Rei. Raising the pistol, he fired several rounds at the heavy before reaching melee range. He quickly lanced his sword out to stab his opponent in the torso. "Let's dance, you overgrown Ika!"
 
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YSS Asamoya
MEGAMI Room

Tanned fingers clasped the sides of the coffin that the MEGAMI had been placed in by Aiko. They squeezed the sides tight as Boss rose from it. She remembered the first time she had used her body on the YSS Kaiyō. It had been on the first ship during a Mishhuvurthyar attack. Some of her crew had been killed, but the ship lived. It had happened again on the second Kaiyō when in Kuvexian space and the MEGAMI had utilized her corporeal form to fight back the enemies infesting her.

Again today, the overwhelming desire to add another body to the effort to protect herself was upon the MEGAMI. While her form was necessary in the MEGAMI room earlier in order to shake hands with the systems and take over command functions, her place now was among those repelling the boarders.

Power Armor Bay

The brows between Rei's pale eyes crinkled after she had taken in the scene and gotten her orders from William. She was ronin turned royal guard. She didn't have experience with a squad, which the cadets had just become. But her time with Tsuya, head of the Ketsurui samurai, had informed her of her aptitude and drive to teach. And wasn't that what this was, she wondered. Aiko's teaching opportunity was being passed down to her.

The feeling of tingles trickled down her spine. Rei couldn't distinguish whether it was from her sudden understanding of the situation or from her epidermal armor activating.

"You two—on them," Rei said telepathically with a point of her hand to the couple of armored Kuvexians that showed the most fear on their faces. "Single out the weak."

"Sarna, bide time." She directed her hand to Andres, then pointed it to the remaining three. As her hand fell, it landed on her katana and she swung it out. Her mind had relayed her next move to Andres. The samurai used Nekovalkyrja speed to jettison behind the armors, close enough to touch without extending her hand. With a deep breath, she built up a charge within her body of electric force. Pushing a hand out, she sent a force of electrostatic energy surging just outside of her body and through the armor in the middle of the trio. She hadn't often used her Eihei body's energy manipulation like a scalar bomb, but was confident in her energy manipulation use. Leaping up and out of the way, she hoped the temporary electrical outage in the enemy armor would give the midshipman an opening to attack.

Further back on the shiny black tiling just inside the power armor bay, Boss had appeared. She held her NSP at the ready while hovering just near the doorway to the rear of the ship. Strategically, she had placed herself between the bridge and the rest of the armor bay. Boss wouldn't allow any of the Kuvexians get an inch closer to the captain of the ship and her resolute expression spoke to this.
 
YSS Asamoya
Power Armor Bay

The characteristic loud boom of .445 Man Cannon rounds barked out from the muzzle of William's iconic Nepleslian revolver with each of his trigger pulls, finding their marks against the Kuvexian heavy's armor. All of William's bullets skimmed off of the enemy's glossy gold carapace, not leaving so much as a scratch as they ricocheted off of the dense combat composites that protected his Kuvexian target. And as William closed in with his katana in hand, the hulking alien warrior marched toward him in kind while Man Cannon shots plinked off of his lustrous chestpiece.

Soon, their battle was met.

Although the Kuvexian heavy's big gun had proven useless when it came to returning fire, he still carried the massive weapon and brought it down in a sweep to bat away William's sword strike. This burly soldier was a bit bigger than the ID-SOL in his gleaming suit, and William could tell from looking at the umber colored bits of soft armor between those golden plates his Kuvexian opponent was about the same size as he was. Encased within his helmet, the heavy roared a croaking warcry through external speakers that morphed into a deep, slabbering laugh in response to William's challenge.

"Danssssse weeth a slave?" the Kuvexian mocked in heavily accented trade, face-to-face with his ID-SOL adversary. Both the Nepleslian Marine captain and Aiko were well known far-and-wide among remnants of the Interstellar Kingdom for the shame they forced upon King Kalapom and his minions both on the battlefield and while in captivity, so William had been quickly recognized. "Good I'eeve found you! Thees is gonna provide a great bountieee. Then weee find your demon bitch and teeeech her how to... daaaanssssse!" he explained, the sound of spit sucking between his teeth obvious even through his golden helm's speakers. "But eeein ways much beetter than you can!"

Having vocalized his dark plans, the heavy infantryman hefted his gun-turned-club away from where it'd been pinning down William's sword and smashed it into the Nepleslian's chest. The force of this blow sent William backward a good five paces but not onto the floor, and the Kuvexian was quick to follow up with another greedy approach at his matched ID-SOL contender.

Nearby, Rei's dash and electrostatically charged punch paid off. Not one of the three Kuvexian regulars she dove into the midst of — soldiers wearing armor comparable to a Star Army Mindy — even noticed her pass by. The one she struck didn't wear a helmet, but had a bushy neon green mohawk that was crushed down in the middle by a tactical headset whose earcups were colored rose gold, which had doubtlessly protected this Kuvexian woman from the flashbang effect of her teleport (alongside the suction-fit sunglasses affixed to her eyes). But those gadgets, nor her armor, could shield the gold plated soldier from the samurai's sudden shock.

The electrical burst from Rei's palm caused her target to fall to their hands and knees as the Kuvexian's shining power armor shorted out for a few seconds. When the alien mercenary looked up, she was met with the sight of Andres pointing both of his arms at her face from two meters away. He walked toward her as she regained her physical composure and began to step to her feet, his fists clenching and making little movements in her direction. The cadet had fired a Mindy 4's forearm weapons in simulations and live fire training so many times, but now that he faced real combat and the nerves it brought on the command seemed to escape him.

On one knee, the shocked Kuvexian infantrywoman pointed her rifle up at Andres and grinned with purple lips, confident that her suit's power would return and let her kill the fumbling midshipman. She squeezed her finger down right when he managed to focus and get things right, and she would not live to see the cadet felled by her hand as his Mindy's forearm weapons vaporized her head in a puff of blue-blooded mist.

Andres froze, surprised that he'd done it. By his own account he hadn't changed the SPINE command at any point since he'd started trying to fire. Still, the shoi kohosei didn't contemplate his eventual success or his first kill for very long and gave Rei a thumbs up before turning his attention to one of the other two Kuvexians near Rei, who he shot at without any trouble (but missed, as they were more mobile than the one he'd ended moments before).

One of the remaining Kuvexians next to the Samurai was shooting across the bay at a lone cadet who'd taken cover behind some crates. The other had noticed her and drew a bayonet from his side, slashing at Rei with a reverse grip.

There were another two Kuvexian mercenaries beyond the heavy fighting William and the two near Rei. One coordinated their fire at the cadet in cover, themselves finding shelter behind a power armor weapons rack that extended out from one wall. The other lone mercenary noticed Boss' new MEGAMI avatar floating near the bay's entrance and plinked off a few shots in her direction as he scurried slow across the deck in a zig-zag path while he advanced on her. For now, his shots impacted the ship's bulkheads around Boss, their white-hot energy dissipating quickly as it was absorbed by the Asamoya's construction.
 
YSS Asamoya
Power Armor Bay

William dropped his sword and launched himself backwards. He was annoyed that his pistol merely pinged off the big guy's armor, but he didn't have the time to cry about.

At the Kuvexian's taunts, William grew exceeding quiet. If this were any other topic, sure he would have boasted. But this? Reminding him of his capture? Of being a slave? Threatening Aiko with capture and worse?

His entire demeanor changed to one of cold fury. His one singular objective was to do terrible things to the Kuvexian. Aiko wasn't the only demon here.

Without a word, the Nepleslian pulled his kusarigama from his waist and began spinning the heavy weighted chain slowly. He began walking back towards the heavy, increasing the speed of his spin with each step. After halving the distance between the two, William snapped the chain in an arc aiming to tie up the big guy's legs.

He was once feared in the arena. If this big bastard wanted to see it, William would give him the front row seats.
 
YSS Asamoya
Power Armor Bay

A raising of hairs on the samurai's neck married with a cold chill she felt from her middle. The kuvexian taunting William on the other side of the bay was loud and aggressive, but William's cold, focused silence was what scared the fox-tailed brunette. It was then that a Kuvexian made her their prey, though, and she let herself trust William to defend himself as she did with Aiko.

Rei didn't turn to face her attacker but instead deflected their bayonet with a quick raising of the hand she held her katana in. The name of the blade was sashimasu, meaning to literally open an umbrella. It acted as such against the Kuvexian assailant now as she merely deflected the strike. Rei knew the Kuvexian had surrendered reach with their reverse grip on their bayonet and jumped backwards a dozen feet. Her digital mind reached out to the cadet behind cover, bringing their focus to the area under the arm of their assailant. A few directed shots there in the armpit and chest area by the cadet was Rei's best appraisal at winning that fight. Backing nearer Wil and the Kuvexian, Rei looked back to Andres. His trepidation had made her wary and she knew now he must ride the wave of adrenaline invigorated in him after the kill.

"Steady," Rei told him. His prey was too jumpy, she redirected him to the bayonet-wielder. This time she didn't transmit her next move or set up the enemy's execution for the student. She let him make the choice of what he would do, Rei simply kept the enemy's attention. She held her distance while wagging her katana just out of reach of the Kuvexian's sword.

Without hitting her grey-paneled body, the MEGAMI's pursuer had hit her, in a way, when the shots landed on the bulkheads. Boss was ready to be attacked and she pointedly snapped off a round from her NSP. Her aim was much better than his, but she realized that she was the target of his advances. Despite standing to guard the doorway between her and the hallway just outside of the bridge, she feared she would be run down and then the Kuvexians would continue on the natural course past her and to the captain. Defensively she stood her ground, but knew that even the heavy setting on her service pistol could only do so much. She concentrated fire on the Kuvexian's dome as she stood flanked by the holes seared into her bulkheads.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

This was a completely new feeling for the young Zelphon. While she had taken classes which dealt with water landings and even going under the waves, this was far more than she had pictured it would be. The mighty ship turned and reacted far more delayed than expected. She quickly learned to judge seconds ahead to get the ship to move in a way that she understood. This did little to prepare her for the sudden drop the ship experienced when attacked. She was strapped in but the sudden jerk made it feel like her brain just knocked around in her head. Her bust took a hard bounce as the ship slid back into the water. The crushing impact caused alarms to sound as the ship regained control.

"Dropping the anti-gravity fields and continue to avoid being hit." Zelphon called out to her captain.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

"Another new contact!" the cadet at sensors reported. Much like Zelphon's quick acclimation to steering a starship underwater, she'd already learned some finer points of what an incoming weapons signature looked like compared to the one from the vessel that'd fired it. "I think it's another enemy torpedo! Closing fast!"

The sonar shriek sounding from the Asamoya's deep sea pursuer had faded some after its counterpart was destroyed, but still haunted the inexperienced Star Army crew. Where before it was like two sirens singing, it had grown more lonely without its comrade. Whatever it was that chased the Asamoya was much closer now, as was evidenced by the more frequent rhythm of its pinging sweeps, homing in on the mammoth density produced by the ship's anti-gravity field. What protected the old Himiko-class Light Cruiser from being crushed along with Aiko and her SAAMMS midshipmen within unfortunately kept the ship visible to its Kuvexian hunter in the abyss.

But soon the Asamoya reached a depth of two hundred meters, allowing Zelphon to disengage anti-grav and make the vessel less reflective of the enemy's sonar. By now, the Kuvexian torpedo's squeal that screamed in and rung across the Asamoya sounded like it was little more than a dozen feet from the ship's hull — because it was.

"Hard starboard and all stop!" Aiko ordered, herself watching a sensor readout and waiting for precisely the correct moment in which to act. Zelphon obeyed, not needing to calculate any lead time for the command. "Cut all other power to systems save for life support."

Even though the Asamoya had become blind upon the captain's directive, everyone aboard listened in anticipation while the enemy torpedo's call beeped and whined right past the ship. They could even hear its propulsion bubbling out airy jets that sent churned up water bouncing into their starship's skin. Without the Yamataian vessel's anti-gravity field up, the enemy missile hadn't the technology to lock onto the Asamoya's armor plating and the spaceborne coatings that made it stealthy and quiet whether in the Kikyo Sector's void-lanes or here far below the waves on Hanako's World.

Power Armor Bay

Andres took advantage of Rei's assistance, but not to attack the Kuvexian engaged with her. Ketsurui Samurai were legendary across the Yamatai Star Empire, after all, and he didn't think for a second to deprive her blade of the enemy blood its edge now demanded. Instead, he charged headlong at the second Kuvexian soldier standing beside the katana wielding warrior. As he ran, energized by his first kill and Rei's encouragement, Andres sprayed shots from his forearm weapons to stop it from shooting the other cadet. Then when the cadet got close enough, he leapt upon the golden mercenary and tangled on the ground with them, punching and firing his wrist mounted until the Kuvexian stopped moving.

For her part, Rei made quick work of the Kuvexian threatening her with its bayonet. One strike — a single blurred flash of steel — parted the alien hireling's face from chin-to-hairline. As he dropped dead, the Kuvexian wondered what the warm, ticklish feeling spreading from the tip of his nose was, but passed before he could realize it was his own head coming apart at Rei's expertly fashioned seam.

The MEGAMI avatar Boss landed her shots perfectly. While she'd never fired a pistol before, the girl was nonetheless a veteran combat intelligence. Her thought patterns were hardwired for accuracy and even the unfamiliar fleshy body she inhabited now bent to her will flawlessly. Boss' performance wouldn't have looked spectacular save for the immediacy with which her Kuvexian mark hit the floor, clattering unceremoniously across the deck when his shining armor skidded along the winding path he'd taken to avoid being hit. With that interloper heading for the door she protected felled, Boss continued her inelegant vigil standing between her enemies and the bridge.

When William tugged at his kusarigama's chain, so perfectly wrapped around his tormenting foe's legs, the Kuvexian heavy faltered and resisted. The enemy's strength was assisted by power armor, but William's own ID-SOL muscle made his snare stick and force the Kuvexian's gilded trunk like legs together at the ankles. Rage wrinkling his face, the brutish alien began to topple.

And then so did William.

Unlike the bridge crew strapped into their seats and given a moment's warning about the maneuver, everyone fighting in the Asamoya's power armor bay was taken unawares by the sudden turn and halt. All of the ship's systems other than the air were cut, too, leaving them all stumbling and skittering around to the deck. Except for Rei, whose Eihei physiology and senses provided her with the means to stay upright. Even Boss, who was as much part of the ship as she was her avatar standing there now, fell backward and bounced between the little enclosure that encircled the door she guarded.

For that split second, just enough slack returned to William's combat chain that wrapped around the heavily armored Kuvexian's legs that he could escape the restraint imposed by the ID-SOL seconds prior. Then he was upon William, stomping across the deck with the same anger on his face as when he'd been trapped.

At least he would have been had Andres not intervened.

The cadet came running again, this time at William's nemesis. He aimed to slam his body into the advancing Kuvexian's side, letting out an unseasoned, shrill warcry as he pounced. But the huge Kuvexian put a hand out and caught the cadet by his Mindy 4's collar. Easily, the brute terminated Andres' headstrong attack. More than that, however, the big Kuvexian was snapped out of his ire toward William and saw the rest of his squad dead or dying all around him. This made him smile at the shoi kohosei in his grasp, who was now kicking and flailing around a foot off the ground, and then turn his eyes back to William.

"Maybee you trade me for theeees one instead, huh?" the Kuvexian bastard grinned, spittle flicking off of his flabby blue lips before he sucked it back in through his nasty, spiky teeth. He chuckled as William gained his footing and came at him again. "Catch you another time, slave!"

Then the Kuvexian heavy vanished with a deafening crack and bright flash left in his wake, an effect that accompanied the activation of any power armor's teleportation device. He'd taken Andres Sarna with him.

Bridge

Silence reigned in the Asamoya's command center. Those on the bridge didn't need to be quiet or anything. The ship's Xiulurium coating dampened and dispersed sonar signals just as well as it did more advanced space sensors. For now, the Asamoya was invisible, even as their pursuing ship's echo-sounder still whined and sang through their hull, made more melodic to their ears by the stealth technologies that now concealed them.

"Make no course corrections," Aiko said after some time. "If we drift, they will have to collide with us to find our position."

The Ketsurui Princess rose from her captain's chair, subtly stretching out and flexing the muscles in her long legs in a way that didn't look like much more than her standing up. She gave an approving nod to Aratani, Zelphon, and the third cadet manning sensors, and turned to give a pleasant, reassuring smile to the others who'd watched on from their place at the bridge's aft.

"Everyone performed splendidly," Aiko told them, her smoky voice not sounding as tired as many among the rest of them might have felt. Combat surprises didn't wear on her nerves, or at least Aiko wouldn't show anyone that they did, and she seemed as composed as she'd been before danger had found them while she opened a ship wide communications line. "All stations report."
 
Power Armor Bay

William was about to lunge at the downed Kuvexian just as he was thrown sideways from the ship's maneuvering. He scrambled to his feet just in time to see Cadet Sarna get grabbed. At the heavy's taunt, the Captain threw himself forward, only for the Kuvexian to teleport away.

"No!!!" He bellowed as his hands met empty air.

Again, the Kuvexians took someone. Again, someone under his care. It took everything in him not to scream and punch the bulkhead.

And yet, he could not... He was an officer. He had to remain in control.

His eyes fell on the remaining cadets. "You all did well. Link up with the others and scour the ship from top to bottom. Ensure we have no other unwanted 'guests' on the ship." He ordered, in a voice that brooked no argument. If Rei were to study the ID-SOL's face closely, she could see the anger in his eyes and the shame of his failure.

With a glance at his teacher and a tilt of his head for her to follow, he turned on his heels and quickly returned to the bridge.

Bridge

Stepping onto the bridge, he made a beeline for Aiko. "We dispatched five boarders, the leader got away... and he took Cadet Sarna." He reported. "I have the rest of the cadets searching the ship for any more stowaways." He added. The Captain looked sharply at Aiko. They knew what was in store for the cadet if they didn't act fast.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

Aiko turned her head slightly in William's direction when he came onto the bridge, only showing the Nepleslian her profile as she regarded him with her eyes from her place standing beside the captain's chair. She gave no quick reaction to the news about Andres beyond a curious, gently cocked eyebrow. A few of the cadets gasped and one planted her face in her hands, hiding its anguish upon hearing that one of her classmates was gone.

"Took Sarna-kohosei?" the princess asked in a way that didn't seem to comprehend what William had said. Studying his face, the intensity behind his eyes pierced through and colored his demeanor with angry disappointment. She shifted her body from her spot settled on the deck and approached her ID-SOL friend. Her footfalls weren't any heavier than normal but their pace made a more determined click as she marched to stand in front of him.

Ketsurui Aiko had proven herself an unparalleled warrior many times over. A big part of that had always been finding trouble and tackling it. In a fight, she created bad situations for herself and turned them into victories at the head of away teams and legions alike. Trouble was this princess' specialty and she always calculated ways to make the most of it at the expense of the Star Empire's foes.

"Who took him, Wil?" Aiko demanded, planting her hands on her hips. She looked up at her old companion straight into his eyes, both of her brows now furrowed with concerned insistence. "Took him where?"

Losing a cadet had never been part of Aiko's plan. The idea that it'd happened appeared to annoyed her, though William could tell her ire wasn't directed his way.
 
Bridge

William's gaze didn't falter as she turned towards him or when her annoyance began to show. "It was a squad of Kuvexians. We killed all but their leader. Cadet Sarna charged in and was taken captive. Then the Kuvexian teleported out with Sarna in tow." He explained, his own anger and annoyance making itself known by the barely hidden sneer on his face as he described the Kuvexian heavy to Aiko.

At the second question he shrugged. "That I could only speculate about. My guess is to whichever ship was closest to us when we stopped moving. But maybe Boss has a better idea." He replied, linking his mindware to the AI. "Where you able to pick anything up when he teleported out?" He asked.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

"All but life support on the ship has been suspended," Boss informed William.

All those years ago, when William and Aiko had been taken captive by Kuvexians, they had been off of her ship. The MEGAMI was now realizing how she had believed that if they had been within her hull, such a thing wouldn't have happened. But that had been proven false with the abduction of the cadet and her expression reflected her disappointment. It was less visceral in annoyance like William and Aiko's and held the palpable contortions of guilt.

"I am always able to be in contact with Mindy AIES, though," Boss said, inspired by William's own contacting her with his mindware. "Perhaps I could ping his suit to find an exact location."

From her place at weapons, Aratani had brought her hand to her mouth as she gasped aloud. She reflected on her earlier chat with Andres and how she had said they didn't stand a chance unless they used their good judgement. The silvery-haired cadet only hoped he would employ his own good sense while Ketsurui Aiko and her makeshift command staff decided what to do.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

Little did Aratani realize that she was part of Ketsurui-chusa's command staff and would again be called upon, just as the cadets had been earlier during their briefing, to provide advice for the captain. Aiko knew as well as her MEGAMI friend had said that Andres' Mindy 4 could be tracked if the Kuvexians hadn't already stripped him of it. The question now was when and how the Asamoya's provisional crew of Academy cadets would get their brother back.

"We cannot activate systems again anytime soon," Aiko said, still looking at William for long enough that he saw her nose wrinkle with irritation. He only caught her vexed flinch for but a fleeting instant, and then she moved away from him to address the midshipmen instead. "Cadets," she continued, speaking to everyone assembled. "Assuming Boss is able to get in touch with Sarna-kohosei's AIES, what are our options?"

Aiko already knew what she planned to do. But for the moment, as the rest of the cadets filtered onto the bridge to check in from their stations across the ship, she wanted to hear what they had to say — to gauge their moods and states of mind following what was a first battle for most among them — and see if she still had a crew ready for the next fight.
 
Bridge

The Nepleslian Captain took in this new information silently. If Boss was able to ping the armor they could get a fix on his position. The question then became, rush the enemy or wait. Both came with risks. Rushing may catch the Kuvexians off guard. However, the cadets may not be ready to storm the enemy position and get themselves hurt or killed. On the other hand, waiting for a more advantageous moment only gives the Kuvies more time to prepare. It also gave them more time with Sarna... The ID-SOL shook his head to clear away the last thought.

Finally after several long seconds, William spoke. "Our options boil down to jumping to Sarna's position and taking our chances, or tailing him until we find where the Kuvies are taking him then launching an assault there. Both have their risks, but I can make a battle plan for either decision." He said, turning to the assembled cadets. a lot of this also had to do with how well they could react to on the fly decisions.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

Once things had settled, Zelphon let out a large sigh of relief. That was far too close for comfort for her liking. She did not like one bit fighting under the waves compared to being in space. She'd had no issue being able to deal with the ship in space. For now, she'd have to wait for the chance to get back at them for putting her friends in danger. After a moment longer her wings relaxed and dipped towards the floor. The white tips of her wings rising and falling with each passing breath.

"Splendidly but no less stressful. I did not picture my first toe to toe would be under the sea." She said reaching up into a big stretch. She then stood and faced towards the captain. She placed her hands on her side and bowed towards her. "Thank you for your guidance and teaching." She then looked up and gave a bright smile towards her. Zel then returned to her seat and gave a full report from her station. From her side, everything was in working order and ready to go at Zel's command.
 
YSS Asamoya
Bridge

"Andres made a pledge to the Star Army when he joined," Yaeko said decisively. "He wouldn't want to risk this historic ship, a princess of the Empire's life, or our secret mission just to save him. Launching an assault seems like we're endangering all of those things when we could just stay out of the Kuvexian's line of sight and pick up the special ops team when they've finished."

"It's a tough quandary," Aratani admitted. "It's less about what he would want and what we need to do. Before, all we needed to do was extract the intelligence team. Now we need to save our crewmate... and friend."

"Saiga-taisa was very adamant about laying low, as it were," Boss said from the back of the bridge as she wiped her NSP with a soft cloth. Her gilded orange eyes flickered to Aiko over a fleeting smile as she added, "But Star Army Military Academy guidelines on field trips are very specific about returning with the full assortment of cadets."

"We don't have anything we would require for an assault on his position, let alone jumping and taking our chances like the Nepleslian said," Yaeko retorted, getting haughty that nobody was sticking to her side on the matter. "Look at our resources, we're under-equipped and unprepared for anything other than what we came to do. Andres is a casualty of that mission at this point."
 
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