Everything seemed to blur and slow down at the same time for Nyton. For what seemed like forever the figure in front of him was approaching but not making any progress. It was as though they were in some sort of distorted tunnel where time and reality no longer applied. At the same time Nyton's computer implants were working faster than his own natural brain could keep up which was creating this sense of otherworldly detachment.
It's Eve. She's HERE. We're not ready to face her. No no no she cannot be here we're just not READY! Nyton thought, the fear scratching at the edges, just nibbling away at his mind into tiny morsels. For the longest time he thought he had conquered fear but here it was, attaching itself to him the moment he saw their objective. For so long Nyton had studied Eve, analyzed her, engraved her actions into his thoughts so he could understand and attain some sort of edge on her. All in all though, she was a formidable opponent that he had hoped to be able to target when the situation favored them.
We were supposed to face her when the time was RIGHT. This makes no sense! Why is she-?
That was when something in Nyton's mind began to force it's way through. Strangely enough, he thought he could hear his grandfather's voice talking to him. Was that what the voice of his computer sounded like? Regardless, hearing him made Nyton feel stable again.
Why IS she here my boy? You're right it doesn't make sense. What if she has body doubles or clones? Remember she's tricky and a trap master to boot. Perhaps she made a youngling of herself. Ever think that might happen? Where are the rest of her lackeys? Besides, so what if that IS her? You can beat her, boy. You've learned all you can about her whereas she doesn't know a thing about you. You know your enemy and yourself now show this speed bump of existence what a thousand generations of warriors can do. It was then that all his data seemed to converge.
Nyton saw Eve's movements, was alerted to his suit's PSC device cranking up, the actions and plights of everyone else, the events and suddenly all fear was gone. Instead there was a grin and excitement. The butterflies and cold chill were replaced with adrenaline and excitement. This would be the fight of his life. Already the cybernetic side of his mind was fast at work and he was grateful again to the gods of cybermancy for everything he was about to do.
Messages and orders began to be sent, all at the same time for maximum effect. His own internal PSC began to charge up and add to the suit's in preparation for what he knew would be a powerful psionic attack. AIES meanwhile worked about showing the whole team their dynamics and how they needed to work together to beat this even while each individual received seperate orders.
ATTENTION EVERYONE: Activate your PSC devices, full power. We are engaging a powerful psionic entity!
Nimura, I am rescinding my order. Protect Freeman and Nakamura. Let your AIES coordinate with Rin, she will provide extra cover fire only if necessary, your guidance will signal her AIES for assistance. Get Nakamura and Freeman out of there so he can use his bazooka and provide him cover for his next shot. Work with Freeman to preserve each other. Consider yourself non-expendable because if you die now others may die later or compromise the mission.
Nakamura, I'm having Nimura rescue you two. Once you are free target Eve with the bazooka. Nimura will be your protection while you line it up. I will pin her down and give you an opening. The moment I have her immobilized you fire no matter what! This is Eve and she will require a LOT of firepower to take down so don't hesitate to fire again if she is still remotely alive. This shot is riding on you. I trust you won't let us down!
Rin, sorry but I need you to move your position closer to the doorway. Remain stealthed and provide Nimura with coverfire ONLY IF NECESSARY. Let AIES guide your shots so don't worry too much about missing or when to fire. Should you need to fire then your position will be compromised and you must get out of there. Remain stealthed and join Freeman to work together. If you are not needed then return to the Canceller and stand by again. BE CERTAIN NOT TO BE SEEN.
Freeman, I'm having Nimura rescue you two. Once you are free, get out of there and stick to her and Nakamura. Work with Nimura to provide Nakamura cover so he can line up a shot with the bazooka. Everyone is key to survival now!
Mizuno, fall back and cover me. Keep me clear while I handle Eve. Coordinate with Hasegawa and help me keep Eve boxed in while preventing unseen attackers from jumping us. This requires multitasking so use your drones for full effect! Fight with everything you've got!
Hasegawa fall in on Mizuno and I. Coordinate with Mizuno and cover us while I handle Eve. Work together and help me keep Eve boxed in while keeping our backs clear of any unseen attackers. You need to multitask on this so fight hard!
Hinoto, are you getting all of this? Analyze the data, double check everything and make sure this really is Eve. Can you see or scan beyond the double doors now? Is she the source of the aether signal or is there still something else further in? Could this be Amaya in Eve's form? My PSC is reacting to a powerful psionic signature so verify it really is from her or from an unseen opponent using this 'Eve' as bait. I have a hunch this may just be a dupe. I am engaging her as though she were the real thing though so I will need your support.
With all those messages sent Nyton set AIES to encourage his chess pieces into position. They could still win, he BELIEVED they could. Whether this really was Eve or not, he was determined to be victorious. His part would be just as critical so he could not fail here.
Nyton began to aim his LASR at Eve and squared off with her while trying to remain out of the door's opening should anything else come through to assist her. With meticulous precision he planned dozens of moves based on what he knew and what he could only surmise. the kusarigami was designed to hamper an attacker by disabling the weapon with the chain part. A normal attacker would then use the sickle end while the chain tied up the opponent's weapon. Eve here had many options, not to mention her vast psionic arsenal. If she chose to use her kusarigami she could fling either the chain or the sickle. Normally one might guess she would throw the chain to grapple his LASR and render it unusable to aim. She might instead use her sickle though which would destroy his weapon. He would allow the LASR to be entangled thereby hoping she would assume he was more or less disarmed. If the sickle came then he would pretend to panic and use his VAW hand to catch it, pretending to let it go through the 'hand' it was currently projecting. The moment that entangling or hit occurred Nyton would send the VAW to travel onto the chain and envelop her hand. Once it was there it would then explode out into several tendrils to seize her limbs and neck. The moment they seized they then would initiate rotating chainsaw motion that would hopefully dig into her and create pain. The pain would then serve as distraction so that he could keep her in place and give Kai the opening he needed to hit her dead on with the bazooka round. If Nyton maintained his distance and brought up the shield his DAISY may be able to absorb most of the damage from the blast with minimal suit compromise. If multiple shots were necessary then he can retreat after the initial blast and add his own to it.
That is, if she used the weapon. It may be just for show after all to throw him off. If it were just decoration and she decided instead to attack with her psionic powers either by flinging things at him (AIES already making note of all available objects it could detect that might be use, be they fixed or strewn) he would open fire while avoiding the incoming projectiles. He let AIES gauge the distance and speed necessary to avoid all manner of objects large and small. AIES would coordinate with Yoroko and Sumaru to 'cage' her into a field of fire that would enable him to trap her until a hit could be made. The trap would need to cover every angle, not just the usual three dimensions. Nyton learned that back on the
Meng Po. Once that hit was made the damage should keep her occupied long enough for him to snag her with his VAW and restrain her in the same manner as previously envisioned, again opening her up for Kai's bazooka.
But what if she tried to overwhelm his PSC with sheer psionic might to crush him? He would not have much time even with both PSC units working in tandem. In that case Nyton planned for a very fast attack which would force Eve to focus on his own projectiles and possibly less on him directly. Again this would make him use the box coordination approach.
Then there were wild cards like his idea that maybe she was a decoy Eve while the real Eve hid elsewhere, maybe behind the doors or stealthed in the room somewhere. He would have to flush her out somehow then. If he could track the psionic signature he would send his missles out towards it. Of course they would likely be caught by her powers but he would set them to detonate the instant they did so long as they were far enough away. That would then remove their danger while closing in on her location. At that point they would have to reconfigure themselves to focus on the real threat but that did leave the fake in front of them. He would have to eliminate her quickly which should be a lot easier if the fake did not have the same resilience of the real Eve. If there was no real Eve here then the fake here may be Amaya in her form. Surely the effect of Eve's arrival would be more effective than someone as unknown as her. If that was the case though then they would be in just as serious trouble since Amaya was a tremendously powerful psionic as well. He would have to resort to the same tactics just on the assumption that Amaya's body was not as resilient as Eve's. One other idea was she may be an illusion being generated psionically or mechanically. Perhaps they were even being attacked with psionic manipulation as he thought. In that case he could not depend on what he saw and sensed so much. He would need to depend on outside physics such as reflective surfaces to know the truth of his surroundings. There were just too many multiple crazy scenarios that he could only pick a few to highlight while the others remained in a sort of idea backburner in his mind.
Elsewhere in his mind there were already scenarios being registered in AIES for contingency purposes. If Nimura failed then Hasegawa was their next best shot at rescuing the two. If neither Tom nor Kai survived then Nimura must snatch the bazooka and make the shot herself. If he got picked off then Sumaru would have to take over and keep her pinned. If more enemies began to overwhelm Nyton's flanks then he would have to use himself to anchor Eve down and take the full brunt of the shot taking her down with him.
The thought of dying was present in Nyton's mind but it was inspiring, rather forcing him to face his mortality and work as hard as possible to extend it for survival's sake. At the same time though he again hoped that his brain unit could be salvaged so that his revival would possess all of these memories. He may not be himself anymore but whoever was ST'd in his place would at least know how his original met his end. Would he tell his parents he had died and been ST'd? Should he? More questions to be answered a different time and were shoved into another data pocket further away from the forefront. If his head unit couldn't be salvaged then perhaps AIES could at least download all of the data from his brain unit and save it aboard the
Hoshi. That way a copy of it would still exist that his ST could upload later. A protocol was in place to do just that along with a farewell letter which could be read at a later time.
The smile on Nyton's face grew broader now. He was ready.
"Criminal Eve, by the authority of the Star Army I place you under arrest. Cease hostilities, call off your subordinates, and surrender now!" Nyton shouted over his loudspeaker to the figure, using the command merely to buy them some time to allow his pieces to move into place. He was ready to act or react however necessary. He would show no mercy. Regardless of what he was facing he would not stop until his enemy was dead.
