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RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 4] The Word And Deed Go Hand In Hand

Edtoto nodded slowly as Ingrid took charge. "Why can't you show me that side more often?" She asked curiously over a private COMs once Ingrid was done, walking onto the shuttle. Then she huffed a bit of a laugh, speaking freely. "Tight on my tail..." She giggled, shaking her head. So sue her, she was immature sometimes. She needed something to distract her from the terrifying entity that was space! Why was her kind so afraid of it? There was living underground and then there was being terrified of spaces that weren't body squeezing tight. Seemed silly to her, but fuck evolution, was she right?

When Hasewega sent her message, though, Edtoto's body language could be seen taking a very annoyed posture. She turned deliberately on her "Heels" and walked over to Hasewega. She smacked her on the forehead with enough force that it would probably hurt someone, not in a Mindy, grabbed her by her chest piece and pointed a scolding finger in her face. "Never again... I don't want to hear you blame yourself for my arm ever... again" She actually ordered over private COMs, accenting each word with a clawed poke in the chest. "It was just as much my fault, Rin's fault, everyone's fault as it was yours that I lost my arm. I can't keep feeling bad Hasewega, and neither should you... You need to put it in the past and just focus on now. We can talk more about this later if you want. For now, we have a job to do" She added, letting her go and walking to the front of the shuttle.

She looked at the two who were there with a blink. Yuko, and the new cook. Hopefully, Kiki would not lecture her every time she got something to eat. Yuko had already made somewhat of an impression. Shy, Nervous, possibly a firecracker when all else fails. Maybe a little aggravating, but Edtoto would see if that came true.

As for the cook... Kiki... Nice enough it would seem. She silently sat down to examine the two as they worked. Kiki was attempting to make the new bridge officer feel better. Common courtesy she figured, unsure as to how her robotic Dinogirl appearance would affect the forward crew. She just needed something to distract her from the little voice in the back of her head telling her she was going into space. She took a deep breath, air hissing through the device in her throat.

((Reynolds asked me to set the scene))

The shuttle traveled with little to no issues. The Vekimen station didn't have any active point defence on the surface of the ship, which meant they had nothing to fear of anti-air unless one of the destroyers were released... That was unlikely. Given the lack of living contacts being made by the I'ee. This meant that getting to the landing pad was a breeze for those not sweating in their suits so to speak.

She wasn't fully aware as to what the space team was doing, but she was prepared to do her job, which was secure what she could. Make sure those Vekimen who were still friendly and not affected by whatever was attacking the station didn't attack the crew. Get them through the security doors, and hopefully convince the Sraralumee to let them onto the command bridge.

She got up and walked to the side of the shuttle where they would be exiting and took a breath. Almost half a year since she was last here. Soon they were on the platform. Seems basic enough. An engraving into the side of the station big enough for a shuttle or two, with an airlock in the center of the platform. The station was massive, several kilometers in diameter. It all of the ships in the local space. The dark brown surface of it littered with instruments and the like, everything built directly into the station. "I hope everyone is ready..." She muttered, more to herself than anything.
 
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Kiko became faintly aware that there was another presence in the cockpit with her and Yuko, and they certainly were not another Neko when she checked briefly over her shoulder. Despite being in for the surprise of what very much resembled a robotic dinosaur, Kiko offered up the same warm smile she gave Yuko only a short time ago. She was tempted to spark conversation, but she decided she ought to focus on co-piloting and making sure her presence didn't make Yuko any more nervous than she already appeared to be, not to mention she was still technically in a conversation with the Bridge Officer.


Kiko was pleased to find out that the station was not protected by any outward, anti-air defenses. Her posture visibly relaxed as they neared the station without a hitch; it sure would suck getting blown up on your very first mission. That wouldn't look good in her records, that was for certain. The very thought of something so horrible, yet silly made her giggle under her breath.

After they had finally docked with the station Kiko gave the crew a few seconds to ready themselves, and then let the doors open up, allowing the ship’s living ‘cargo’ access to the interior of the station. She figured she may well be of better use aiding them on board the station, rather than sitting around on the shuttle.

With one last look over things the Cook hopped up and prepared to follow after everyone else, leaving Yuko to make her own decision on whether she'd stay or go.
 
Chudan, Launching Bay

“Nice to meet you to, Alexis,” Skade said in reply, shaking the proffered gauntlet. “And yeah, I got a cloak on here. We can kill the hostiles together, just point us at the thing that most needs burning.”

Stay safe, love, the technician thought as the Kourui made its way towards the Vekimen space station.

Turning back to her companions, blinked as the SAINT agent walked past her without a word. Okay…we’re going to need a talk later. “Come on, Saba-hei. We’ve got a space station to catch,” she said as she walked to her appointed place.
 
Kourui, Jodan

The knock to her helmet left her more emotionally dazed than physically. She tried avoiding eye contact as Edtoto held and berated her for what she said. She felt embarrassed more than anything, seeming to fight back some tears but she don't say anything or move. She simply sat down as Edtoto left her, her posture slumped from a professional to a more defeated look and kept quiet during the ride.

Once the shuttle was docked she silently stacked up behind the Vekimen, keeping service rifle ready if something was to happen.
 
Kourui, Jodan

As Jodan team funneled into the Kourui, Ingrid took a headcount. Satisfied the team was on board, she signaled Kondo, "Yuko-hei, we're all accounted for. Take us out." She recounted the personnel aboard the shuttle as it departed, just to make sure she didn't miss anyone. To her surprise, she found an extra body aboard. She called up her ID and quickly checked her file.

Kiko Ki, cook.

A cook showing up unannounced aboard a shuttle? Ingrid knew this cover story. "Hey, Ki-hei," she said. "Good to have someone with your skillset aboard." She flashed an enthusiastic thumbs up towards the cockpit and settled in.

She waited in her armor, encased and shrouded. Protected. The Star Army's tendency to churn through junior officers put her in command of a squad engaging on a high-tension mission. She didn't know the team as well as she'd like to, but, as much as she thought the Star Army pushed people, she knew that it didn't do so without preparing them as best it could. It took its licks, but the empire kept fighting and kept winning. It wasn't callous or wasteful with its resources, but imperial scale pragmatism isn't much comfort when the grim calculus of war puts your life in the subtractions column.

Ingrid snapped herself out of her self-pity and looked around the shuttle compartment. Everyone else was shrouded in their power armor. Their feelings, their misgivings and fears protected. I wonder what they're thinking, she asked herself. Hasewega and Edtoto are probably still reeling from the thrashing we took aboard that derelict Ayame. Is the "cook" sitting up there looking down on us all with contempt, like we're a bunch of mewling babes? I wonder how Chudan team is doing?

The shuttle docked and the team began stacking up. Ingrid took her place in line, happy to finally get out of the loop of reverie after reverie. Once everyone was in place, she messaged the general channel, "This is Jodan team, in position. Ready to commence operation." To the team in the shuttle, she said, "We're about to get started! Remember, we're on a rescue mission and we do not know friend from foe. We may receive fire from friendly defender holdouts, so be careful and use restraint against Vekimen targets."
 
YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

Everyone settled into their assigned Bridge stations as the away teams approached the Colony Station. Tsukisaki watched the images and data displayed on the main screen, as Sally received a message on hers from Rin. The I'ee had been assigned a temporary Civilian Imperial Registry Number to use when interacting with the Star Army, to prevent any further confusion from their tendency to parrot ones they had already heard: YA-B33-H1V3.


Landing Pad, Jodan

Despite her nerves, and how it seemed like Kiko was watching and mentally critiquing her every action, Yuko managed to land the shuttle without incident. Kiko opened the side door, dispensing the crew onto the landing pad, with the lone Vekimen in the lead. When she had left, Edtoto had likely never imagined she'd actually be returning through the airlock that now loomed in front of her. It was wide enough to fit the small, cramped shuttle the I'ee had stumbled upon, which wasn't saying much. There was no way the Kuma could enter, and even three Mindys at once would be pushing it.

Currently the outer door hung open, although the scene was less than inviting. Alien blood and gore stained the ground inside the airlock, before the next door that would have to be opened to access the interior landing bay. Apparently the I'ee had not closed the door behind them as they fled. Ed found the controls right where she expected to, although she knew what was waiting behind those doors once they opened. And with the exterior doors closed behind them, they'd have no choice but to push forward, or suffer casualties just like the ambassadors.


Laderen Airlock, Chudan

Alexis wordlessly exited the Heartbreaker, leaving her new friends to catch up as she zipped towards the Colony Station. All three caught a glimpse of Veronika, Bettie and the Kawarime around the far side of the asteroid before its bulk blocked their line of sight. The SAINT agent had a few moments to confirm the area was all quiet before Skade and Byakko arrived. This airlock was even smaller than the one Jodan had encountered, obviously meant for one Vekimen to use on EVA repairs or inspections. With the help of a Sivaro, Skade had learned enough about Vekimen technology to understand its operation after only a few moments of hands-on inspection. An airlock was an airlock, after all. Cycling all three inside would take time, however, unless they wanted to take the risk of overriding the controls and forcing all three through at once.
 
Landing Pad Airlock, Jodan

The gore inside the airlock was reminiscent of the carnage inflicted by a cruel child upon any normal insect, albeit with the inclusion of gaping bullet holes clearly visible in the various insectoid body parts strewn throughout the chamber. Of all the pieces, the most intact was the thorax and head of the second I'ee, missing most of her limbs; what few remained were missing their extremities. Her thorax similarly was riddled with holes, with reddish-orange gore scattered nearby, jaws frozen in a wide-open position. The LED mask strapped to her head, now running out of power, displayed a dim, flickering frown.

YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The addition of a formal registry number, temporary as it was, seemed to excite Sally to no end, who chattered and tugged at Yui until she begrudgingly turned her attention to look. For a while, the two ambassadors spoke to one another, as quietly as they could manage, until finally Yui was able to drag herself back to monitoring the communications with the Ee'ith fleet. As for Sally, she began anxiously observing the progress of Edtoto's team, clutching her claws together nervously.
 
Laderen Airlock, Chudan
Looking at the airlock Alex grabbed onto the wall. "After this is open I think that you should take point Skade-hei since a flamethrower would work great in this confined area."
 
Landing Pad, Jodan

As she followed Hasewega and Edtoto out of the shuttle, Ingrid stumbled as she stepped on an I'ee's dismembered arm. She stayed upright, but wasn't able to ignore the crunch as the fractured limb collapsed beneath her Mindy's boot. She looked around at the carnage in the tight confines and found herself staring into the LED face of the dead ambassador. Ingrid kneeled down and switched off the screen. She sighed heavily and said, "I'd like to visit the Ee'ith properly some day. All they ever want is to be friends."

She stood up and looked to Edtoto at the controls. "Alright, Edtoto, refresh my memory. We can't blow up these defensive emplacements, right? So, can you shut them down or are we just going to activate our CFS and speed by?"
 
Edtoto frowned that the first door was open. More out of the fact her protocols said no outside door was to remain open. She thought about it for a minute, before she transferred a file to Ingrid. "That will be able to access the turret once it is activated. It will let you shut dow the turret remotely" She said, stepping into the airlock. There was enough room for the small party to fit inside and everyone but whoever stood at the door would be more or less protected by the walls.

"Be ready, though, I don't think I have a CFS. This is all pretty basic compared to what you all wear" She explained, getting ready to open the door. She stood in a way that would allow her to slip behind the walls once the turret activated. She looked to everyone else and nodded, opening the door once the system allowed her too.

The retaliation was instantaneous. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

For a second, Edtoto couldn't breathe as one of the four 30mm rounds struck her in the chest. That hurt... She thought as she hit the ground from the impact, rolling to the side and wheezing slightly. She was trying to pull air back into her now depleted lungs, but superficially she just looked very uncomfortable as the turret continued to fire at it's slow and steady pace, her armour heavily scratched where the bullet struck. So... This is what the Ee'ith had to deal with when they were trying to get on. She felt pretty bad for the dismembered I'ee who was still on the platform, as there was no chance their personal armour would deal with that. Not even the Vekimens best personal armour could handle that, and she was shocked by how she felt being hit by it in armour that was aeons better than her own.
 
Chudan, Airlock

Skade bit her lip as she heard the other group’s reports and visuals came in. Especially nerve-wracking was Edtoto’s grunts as she took the fusillade of rounds from her people’s own weapons. So…when is it considered hazardous enough for us to get involved? She was so worried about the Vekimen, that she almost missed Alexis’ comment.

“Hmm?” the technician said, before the SAINT’s operative’s words registered. “Yeah, sounds good. Once we get the go from the Captain, I’ll hop in and see what we’re dealing with.” She showed both Alexis and Takeshi how to operate the airlock, just in case we’re in a rush when we’re heading in.

She also sent a request to talk to Edtoto, with the subtitle: ‘Once You Know You’re Not Going to Die by Autocannon’.
 
Kiko was thankful for the fairly warm welcome from Ingrid, despite the fact it was a simple hello and a wave from across the shuttle. It was certainly nice to be noticed for the right reasons when you were brand new! It made Kiko feel much better about being there rather unannounced.

The scene they stumbled on upon was quite gruesome, it was nothing Kiko had ever witnessed. She didn't find it scary, or stomach turning, but it did fill her with pity and a bit of sadness seeing someone just mutilated like that. It was a terrible scene to bear witness to, but not entirely surprising. What did catch her off guard, however, was Edtoto being pelted and knocked down by autocannon fire. Knowing nothing about the suit she was wearing had Kiko worried, until she realized that Edtoto was very much alive and only appeared to of had the wind knocked out of her.
This semi-rough start only made her wonder how things would progress.
 
Landing Pad, Jodan

As soon as the first shots rang out from the auto-turret and sent Edtoto to deck, Hasewega sprung into action. Everything slowed down to her as she dragged Edtoto behind the cover of the wall before charging forward, activating her suit's Barrier System to close some distance with the turret and keep herself protected. She knew she couldn't outright destroy the turrets for right now but she could at least keep some fire off the team.

"Would someone kindly handle the turret before I do?" Her voice trying to remain calm over the comms.
 
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Landing Pad Airlock, Jodan

The Vekimen found herself knocked backwards by the impact of the shots, falling to the ground in shock. Her new suit was scratched and dented, although it hadn't been penetrated. It would likely take several direct hits in the same spot to do real damage with those fairly primitive weapons. Still, it had not been at all pleasant, and there would likely be several new bruises to admire when she removed her armor. The automated gun continued to fire, rounds thudding and bouncing off the airlock door that had closed behind them. It slowly tracked downward, trying to get a bead on the intruder before Sara dragged Edtoto into cover and took her place.

The cannon adjusted to follow the new target, shots uselessly bouncing off the energy barrier the Mindy was projecting. Sara was knocked back a step every time the barrier absorbed a blow, making the energy field flicker and crackle, but the Minkan was still able to steadily advance on the turret. The shortcomings of their defenses were obvious to Edtoto, now that she was on the other side of them. They'd obviously only planned to repel intruders with a threat level roughly equal to their own. What else could they plan for? She would have been torn to shreds in her old gear just as swiftly as the I'ee had been. The turret dutifully continued pouring rounds into Sara's shield, unable to comprehend why the target hadn't fallen yet, leaving the others free to enter.

The turret was mounted to the low ceiling about halfway into the long, narrow corridor of a room. It was somewhat larger than most had been expecting, due to the small shuttles stored along the sides. There were only a few left in the obvious parking space, towards the back of the room. And, curiously, one right near the entrance.


YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The Ee'ith ship were quick to disseminate the information Sally received from Rin, the identification code and protocols spreading throughout the small fleet. They also communicated more information about the slain I'ee, lamenting their fate and discussing plans to posthumously celebrate their contributions, including their brave sacrifice. While her sister was busy with this, Yui had time to notice something interesting in the tiny shuttle bay, though the crew's feed. The closest shuttle, familiar to her from their encounter with Edtoto, was in a similar state. Scratched, dirty, dented. Used.


Laderen Airlock, Chudan

"Chudan, you are cleared to begin infiltration. Remember, this is a sneaking mission! Well, and reconnaissance, and I guess you can try to talk to anyone not trying to kill you...um..." Usagi trailed off after a moment. "Okay, have fun storming the station!"
 
Chudan, Airlock

The android floated in the air behind Skade, waiting for the command to attack. He preferred to be the first one in. Fleshy beings were so easy to kill. In a way, he was almost concerned about Skade. The Neko had been kinder to him than anyone so far. Most ignored him completely once they adapted to his presence. If she died who would he be assigned to?

When the order came to move in he wanted to charge right in and start blasting. Not out of any concern for Edtoto. He was made for fighting. It was his sole reason for being. And he had yet to be able to utilize his full potential. Sparring with the Vekimen had taught him much about this species and their tactics. Takeshi was confident he could eliminate any threat posed by the Vekimen.
 
Chudan, Airlock
Alexis pulled closer to the door. "You heard her let's get this thing open I'll leave choosing who is friendly and who we shoot. You know how this species works better than I."
 
YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The sight of the used Vekimen shuttle intrigued Yui, who recognised it vaguely from her time rescuing Edtoto from the Thoot family. She and Sally spent a few minutes discussing it in lengthy, squeaking sentences before Yui finally turned away from the console. "Taii Valesti?", Yui spoke. "The shuttle in the bay here,", the I'ee tapped the feed showing the vessel rather than naming the specific location. "appears to have seen some use. Sally said that Edtoto used a similar vessel for the purpose of seeking outside aid, but this one appears to have left and returned, judging by the superficial damage." The I'ee paused, with Sally pitching in instead. "Yui and I are concerned: This ship would only have returned if it had found help for the Vekimen, but they are now in a state of chaos. It... it might be related to whatever has befallen the station, Taii."
 
Laderen Airlock, Chudan

Skade breathed as Sara’s and the other crew members reports that Edtoto was fine, having suffered only a few bruises. There’s things we can do to fix that, she thought, then shook her head in annoyance. Mind on the mission, girl.

And thus, the technician was ready for Usagi’s amusing go signal. “Roger, Heartbreaker,” she said over the coms. “Hopefully we won’t need a miracle.”

Turning to her fellow boarders, she nodded at the SAINT agent’s remark and approached the airlock. “Sounds good to me,” she replied. “I’d suggest Saba-hei to go in after me, but if you want in next, I’m okay with that.” Looking at the android, she continued, “He did a pretty good job beating us up the last time we went into a fight together. If you haven’t heard about it, let’s just say that I am happy Takeshi-kun is on our side.”

As the Neko started to cycle the airlock, she put her flamethrower in her left hand, pulled her NSP out of its holster with her right, and set it to stun. Let’s not start this mission with killing a civie. So…how do you say, ‘take me to your leader’?
 
Landing Pad Airlock, Jodan

As Edtoto got belted by the autocannon, Ingrid's heart skipped a beat. Hasewega—ever true to her task—acted first, creating the safety buffer that the team and she needed. She scrambled out of cover to get a line of sight on the turret and transmitted the file that Edtoto had just given her. The turret continued to hammer on Hasewega unabated. The energy shield must have been interfering with the radio signal!

Ingrid projected a holographic image of herself to Sara-hei's left and had it run forward while she surged past on her right. She sent the hologram ahead, hoping that if the turret's threat recognition decided to pick on someone new, it'd be baited by the nearer and faster illusion. She directed her radio transmitter, upped its signal strength and repeatedly transmitted Edtoto's override as she advanced.
 
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