RP: YSS Aeon [Mission 4.0] - A Quest into the Dark

Takamori heard Saki's suggestion. It was the only thing left. He moved quickly to the holding cells and unlocked them.

"Everyone inside!" he said, ushering the civilians inside the two cells next to the pair occupied by the Neko prisoners. Each cell held five of the civilians.

When they were inside, he shut them in, locked the cells and activated the force field for all four cells. This left him alone, between the civilians, prisoners and the parasites.

"Zeta, know what I hate about heroes and legends? They never seem to have any fear."

Customs
Zeta listened to what was going on around them. "I do not know about legends or heroes. The Rippers have arrived, the first is engaging your team mates.

The parasites have broken through one of the water pipes and are in that room. There are about fifty of them at the moment. They are trying all the surfaces to find a way in....

The door is metal, the parasites are trying to pull the pins on the hinges. Can you weld it in place?"

"Well, let me tell you about one hero. Probably fiction," Takamori ignited his right arm's blade and held it near the hinges. Slowly, he traced his way around the door's frame, letting the heat weld the door.

"This guy is born with a prophecy hanging over his head saying that he can live a long life and have lots of kids or live a short life and be remembered forever for his glorious victories. When he's a young man, he chooses to leave his home and family and go to war on some distant place. The war itself has nothing to do with him, only the opportunity to pit himself against some of the toughest enemies. He fights and fights and kills many of the enemy's heroes."

Takamori repeated the heat treatment he had given to the hinges.

"After years of fighting, he dies like any other man. Killed by a random sword blow from a random soldier. It's like the man had every emotion except fear. There's one instance when he's alone against 300 enemies, cut off from help. Rather than retreat, he simply started attacking all of them. It makes no sense. That's not heroic, its not an example to follow."

He checked the door frame. It seemed to be welded shut.

Takamori sighed and looked back. "Sorry, didn't mean to ramble. What do you and sisters do to pass the time when you're not working? Read? Play games? Sleep?"

The Ripper returned fire at Saki, its cannons slamming into the support column fracturing the outer layer and causing a cascade of concrete debris.

Kyoka seeing Saki coming under fire popped up from her cover and opened up with both forearm weapons. Her left fired in beam mode while the other struck at SMG mode. She watched as the Ripper's shields flared as they absorbed the worst of the beam attack, but some of her smaller shots pierced the shields and lanced the side of the armor with pockmarks.

She then ducked back behind the damaged cargo mover for cover.

-------------------------------------------------------

Takamori's efforst were rewarded with a different kind of sound from the parasites as the heat from his blade fused the hinge and fried the skin of the parasites trying to remove the pins.

Zeta watched with interest at the efforts of the Soldier trying to protect the civilians and in so doing protect her sisters.

"That story makes the hero sound like a fool, he apparently thought because of that prophecy he was protected." She replied. "When we were not working, we would get what food we could and find a place to sleep. It was always better to be out of sight. We would share what we gathered to ensure everyone had something.

Games were something we avoided. Most games usually involved someone getting hurt, usually us. Sometimes we would just talk together, remembering our sisters who were no longer with us." She sat on the metal bunk in the cell, and reached out to brush the hair of one of the surviving Nekos.

Takamori was silent for a few moments. "I'll do my best to see we all get out of here alive," he finally said when he spoke.

Where else could they come in from? What else did they have up their sleeve?

Takamori paced around, examining the room. "What are they up to now, Zeta? Can you hear what they're planning?"

Suddenly, Takamori slapped his head as if he had done something stupid. He issued a command to the suit and deployed the six Nodal Support Drones in his leg hangars.

To three of them, he issued instructions to hover near the control panel and shoot any NMX. The remaining three were instructed to hover two meters from the cell doors with similar instructions to kill any NMX in sight.

Having recieved Takamori's message he did deploy his NSDs after instructing them to fire at the NMX Ripper that was attacking them. Yoshiro then fired a burst of gauss rifle shots at the Ripper that Oshiro-juni had been planning to attack. He sent a message to Takamori and did it quickly.

To Takamori said:

How are you guys doing in the customs office?

Click to expand...

Saki jumped back behind pillar when her gun was done. Now she needed to wait till her rifle recharges, or use her gauss cannon. Rippers fire made it pretty dangerous to comeout though. She felt tremors from the pillar as it took fire. She felt fear and for first found in her head little tought.

This was real. She was under fire from dangerous enemy. She could die. Will it really by same when she will be revived? Will she be same being? Ot just some android with her memories? With thoughts Saki stayed behind the pillar heaving heavily.

"Scarface-kun says hello to everyone. Things are going peachy for the guys outside. Anyone got a message for them?" Takamori told the civilians and prisoners.

"Keep it together!" Kyoka's voice came over the comms in Saki's helmet, a volley of 5 missiles speeding past her in the next moment towards the Ripper. Their launcher sped to hid behind a pillar opposite Saki, avoiding fire as best she could.

"Sorry I'm late! I got swarmed by that first wave of parasites!" The Neko apologized to the Santô Hei, then popped out and fired several waves of Aether energy at the hulking Mishu armor.

Main Concourse

The first Ripper fired another volley at the column that Saki was using for cover, more of the column was obliterated peppering her with shrapnel. The column would not take another hit. It also fired at Kyoka's cover slicing through the cargo mover with its volley.

-------------------------------------------
Inner Concourse

The second Ripper's shields mitigated the brunt of Yoshiro's attack. The Ripper returned fire at Yoshiro and Arkase with its own guass cannons. The force of the cannon slamming into their shields but not penetrating.

------------------------------------------
Customs

From several of the vents the banging of the parasites resumed, but the vent seals were holding.

"They are still trying to find a way in. But so far they are not having any success.... some of them are leaving, they are going to get something to open a hole... an explosive device.."

Saki found herself breathing heavily. She could see pillar getting highly damaged, it would not hold out sooner. He rifle was still needing few seconds to fully recharge from the last beam. Saki readied her missile launcher and loaded last data AIES had about Rippers location. This way it will be easier for Aies to updage its data and feed those tot he missile launcher.

After that she boosted from her cover hoping her Barrier Shield module can protect her for that second she needed to stop and fire volley of ten missiles at Ripper. She then quickyl boosted to neares un-damaged pillar.

He got the message back and suddenly he was getting hit by the Ripper's gauss cannon. Alarms rang as his shields went down but his armor held out. He hid behind an obstacle and activated his barrier shield. Using his AIES he locked on to the Ripper and after waiting for five seconds he popped up out of cover and fired a volley of missiles and aether beam rifle shots on automatic but in shor controlled bursts. He continued firing his aether beam rifle after he fire of a second volley of missiles. "Oshiro-Juni, what is the plan? I think that we may want to get the civvies out soon sir!" He said as he ducked behind cover.

We better do something quick or otherwise we are going to be knee deep in the dead. He thought to himself.

Explosives? Blast it all, that was his speciality, not theirs! What irony!

He sent Saki a quick update and request:

Now what could he do if the NMX breached the office? Once again, Takamori felt that Oshiro-juni had crippled his ability to respond dynamically to the NMX. If only he'd had time to make anti-personnel IEDs...

Wait, that was it! Takamori searched the room and grabbed anything that seemed like it would make a good projectile. Pens, pencils, scissors and all other sorts of office supplies that had been abandoned during the attack.

He pulled out one of his demolition charges and stuffed the various bits and pieces into it. Then he planted a remote detonator into the lump of plastic explosive.

It was the most primitive kind of grenade possible. His rudimentary device was part of an equally simple plan. If the NMX created a breach, he would toss the explosive through the hole and detonate it. The force should hopefully give him precious seconds to aim and order the NSDs.

With his explosive done, Takamori went to the console which controlled the forcefields. "I'm going to lock the console with the password '33Aeon409Mayer.' No spaces, capital letter A and M. So if I don't make it, you can tell one of the others. Zeta, got any updates for me?"

To be doubly sure, he messaged the squad the password.

Outer Concourse

Saki's pop-up, fire and dodge got her safely to a new point of cover. As her volley slammed into the Ripper knocking backwards as it recovered.

Kyoka even though her cover had been damaged, had a perfectly clear shot at the side of the ripper.

Inner Concourse

The Ripper focused both of its cannons at Arkase, and unleashed a barrage at the leader of the Away team. Slamming into his armors shields and the chest panel of his armor.

This gave Yoshiro a chance to fire his beam weapon at the Ripper while it was focusing on Arkase. His shot caught the ripper in the left hip piercing the shields and the armor.

Customs

The banging in the air ducks and the lavatory stopped. Zeta had a distant look on her face as she tried to listen to the chatter of the parasites. "Soldier, we have a problem, one of the dead just animated. It is going to drive one of the tugs into the door to try and break it down, or at least create a gap to let the parasites in." she called out.

"Is that in addition to setting up the bomb?" Takamori asked Zeta, picking out his NSP from the butt pack.

It was the last unused weapon he had. But what could he do with it...

Takamori sent a message to Shina Kim in the APC.

Right. Things were desperate enough. The others were still locked in fierce combat, Kim-heisho may or may not be able to help and the civilians were still in danger.

"This is Saito-hei, Star Army of Yamatai to any friendly UOC forces. We are locked in combat around the Customs Office and could use some help. We have several civilians, some of whom are wounded, and prisoners. Repeat, in combat around Customs Office, assistance appreciated!" he broadcast with an encryption along the Yamatai and UOC channels he knew of.

Then he turned to ask the civilians and Zeta, "How are the wounded? I still have some medical supplies in the butt pack."

Saki was still afraid a little but she got into new cover and her attack apparently struck true. That got some of her confidence back. She also needed to worry about Saito. "I am a little busy Saito-hei. I can shoot some wall for you, but first send me location of what you want shot!" She used telepathy to communicate with Saito and then sent quick massege giving him her own location.

Kyoka had been waiting for an opportunity as ripe as this one, and immediately took it, resorting to beam fire to maximize damage on the Ripper while it was off-guard.

"Nice going, Saki!" The neko cheered as she launched her final volley of missiles to add insult to injury.

Takamori glanced around. What else, what else, what else could he do? They needed to take the initiative back from the NMX. How?

What was the Juni doing? Why was he leaving them hanging like this?

Inner Concourse

The Ripper swung both of its cannons at Arkase and fired with a follow up of missiles from its hip launchers. The cannons tore through Arkases's shields like a hot knife through butter. The missiles hit with deadly force knocking the Juni against the far wall in a heap.

The Ripper then turned to locate the other soldier.

Outer Concourse

The Ripper suffered a serious hit to the side and was leaking fluids as well as smoking, it rallied back gaining its balance and fired a cannon in Kyoka's general vicinity but missed by a meter.

Meanwhile one of the fallen had gotten up and staggered over to one of the cargo haulers. It climbed in and started moving, aiming for the door of the customs building it accelerated. A group of parasites flew around the zombie.

Customs Office

From one of the air ducts the muffled sound of an explosion could be heard. Followed by the sound of parasites banging into the metal again.

"The parasites tried a grenade to dislodge the seal, but so far it is holding. It might have been a diversion." Zeta said.

Inner concourse

Yoshiro was worried when Oshiro-juni did not respond before he was hit. He aimed his gauss rifle at the head of the Ripper and locked on with his AIES and was about to fire from behind cover, Oshiro-Juni was hit again and this time it looked bad. "Crap!" He said to himself.

To Arai said:

Oshiro-Juni is down. I am alone fighting the Ripper and I am going to do my best to destroy it. Could use some help if anyone could provide it but if not I will do my best to handle it.

Click to expand...

He made sure that he had a lock and prepared to fire his gauss rifle at the head of the Ripper again. He moved as the Ripper moved but he was behind cover and moved silently as he could. Deciding the time was right He decided to open fire with all of his weapons. Firing all his weapons at the Ripper's head he concentrated all his fire. Firing a burst of missiles he ducked behind cover again.