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

Edtoto was still trying to recover. Focusing on pulling air into her lungs as everyone worked on dealing with the turret. The sound of her wheezing moans suddenly cut as she turned off her transmissions. She didn't need the others to hear that. She was able to eventually recover, getting up and turning her transmissions back on. "Shut it down Ingrid. Once the program get's through the Turret will shit down automatically" She called out, waiting for the all clear.

Eventually the current went dead, allowing everyone else to walk out into the hallway. Either it ran out of Ammo, or the file worked. It didn't matter to her. "I seem to have underestimated my kinds weapons. That actually hurt..." She said, looking down at her chest where she was just shot. "This armour is tough, but I don't think it would be able to withstand this kind of damage too much. Try to be careful" She warned, probably pointlessly.

Jodan, Landing Pad
Kondo Yuko quietly sat at the controls for a moment, thinking. What do I do? Should I Walk out there? If I do, I may get shot. Wait...I have armour on, don't I? I'll be fine! Not to mention I can just get all cloaked up...so...lets hope for the best! Yuko got out of her seat and grabbed her Scalar SMG. "Lets do this." she quietly told herself, almost positive she would be alright. She quickly walked out of the shuttle and looked at the landing pad with wide eyes. She didn't expect to see anything like this. These poor creatures...they didn't deserve this... Yuko thought to herself, already feeling quite scared. Yuko heard Edtoto over the transmission systems. "A-alright..." she quietly said, her small body trembling nervously. This is nothing like a video game...oh god...I hope I don't end up like the guy who got sniped when his gun jammed... Yuko nevously thought.

Landing Pad Airlock, Jodan

The occasional step back from the shots thundering against the suit's barrier didn't really do much the minkan's thoughts. Hearing Edtoto wheezing and in pain of the comms put Hasewega on edge though. Though she tried not show it, she'd occasionally lose her footing and feel herself almost about to tumble from the turret. Still she steeled herself and keep pushing forward, only looking away from turret when Ingrid sprinted past her twice.

Once the shooting stopped, she waited a few moments to make sure the turret wasn't going to keep before heading over to help Edtoto up to her feet. "Would you rather keep me in front in case this happens again?" She asked as she offered her hand.

Jodan, Landing Pad

Kiko found herself fairly invested in her curiosity on how they would deal with the turret. It wasn't much of a problem for anyone, really, save for Edtoto, and even then it didn't seem to of done any real damage to her. This curiosity was, however, short lived as soon thereafter it shut down. A satisfying end to that little dilema. There was a slight pang of guilt for seeing something that slew those poor ambassadors so easily as a little problem, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do about it.

With that problem gone and Yuko having decided to join the group Kiko's attention shifted to her as she followed everyone into the hall. Even with her suit covering her Kiko could tell Yuko was nervous, so in a small attempt to help boost her confidence she gave Yuko a thumbs up "You got this." She may of been new herself, but she saw no reason to act like it!

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

The turret twitched as Ingrid dashed forward, considering jerking left or right but each time deciding to shoot at the stationary target in the middle. Eventually the twin cannons slowed to a stop, the turret tilting downwards to point towards the ground rather pitifully. It hung there, now rather lifeless, as the team members composed themselves. Yuko and Kiko, bringing up the rear, were finally able to step forward and join the others. The stragglers pushed out of the airlock, as Sara hurried back to help the Vekimen back to her feet.

Okami stepped forward to inspect Edtoto, although the alien's suit was happy to report to her that she was uninjured. The medic moved away, nodding, stopping a few moments later as she seemed to receive a message. Yuko and Kiko also received warnings on their HUDs, the Taii advising them to secure the room's other exit, at the far end, while the three that had dealt with the turret recovered.


YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The Captain glanced aside as her name was spoken, clearing data off the small screen by her chair before looking towards the station Sally and Yui were manning. She was frowning, of course, likely displeased by the interruption, but that didn't last. "Funabashi, main screen, clean the image and enhance." The aliens could see the image they'd pointed out frozen and expanded, the focus shifting across the vessel as Tsukisaki examined it. "...perhaps something else used the shuttle to infiltrate the station? Or it could have encountered some sort of...infectious substance. Or contracted the Vekimen equivalent of rabies..." She gave the two I'ee a nod of approval, before gesturing to shift the image to the side of the screen. "Contact Officer Sivaro and have her inspect the vehicle with Blesi-Hei's assistance. We'll monitor their feeds for further information."


Laderen Entryway, Chudan

Skade stepped into the airlock, then through it into darkness. It was strange that the outside of the station had been better lit, although glancing back at the airlock door revealed a few glowing buttons that felt a bit more reassuring than the blackness ahead. The other two followed in turn, crowding into the extremely narrow, cramped corridor. The Mindys began compensating, scanners able to reveal that the corridor extended ten meters or so before it branched out in three directions. Off to a great start. The android's eyes were already glowing as it began to adjust for the new environment, although the two Neko could just turn on their flashlights or try cycling through the visual options their Mindys possessed.

YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The two Ee'ith stood anxiously as Tsukisaki considered their words, every part of their body stiff and motionless. Then, when she gave them a nod, the two began chattering to one another with excitement: Yui included, for once. It was like having given the Taii useful information gave them a sense of validation, like a pair of fans being noticed by a super-star. Sally even bounced and flapped her wings, displaying a wide, happy smile on her mask, until finally she calmed down enough for Yui to coax her back to the comms console. Once there, they resumed a more professional attitude rather swiftly, staying quiet and attentive.

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

"Hai, Heartbreaker, I see the shuttle. We'll take a closer look at it," Ingrid replied over the radio. Ingrid watched as the newest members of the team moved to cover the room and signaled to Edtoto to help her with the shuttle. She approached the ship, examining the outside of it. It had clearly taken hits, with its outside scored and marred. Ingrid did a walk around, looking for identifying marks or registry numbers to help determine its provenance. Just to be thorough, she took a quick flight to get a look at the dorsal side and then bent down and eyeballed the ventral side just to make sure nothing was missed. Mission camera footage could be reviewed later or by the crew of the Heartbreaker to catch any details she may have missed. The I'ee ambassadors had already proven observant, so maybe they would catch something. Then, grabbing her trusty scanner and popping in a module, she took a close analysis of the damage, hoping to get a trace of the weapon that caused it. Once she was satisfied with her examination of the outside of the shuttle, she moved to the airlock and met up with Edtoto.

"Any thoughts?" she asked. After Edtoto's response she then said, "Let's take a look inside. You open the door, I'll take point. Once we get it secured, we'll look for any effects and access the computer for crew or navigational logs. Anything that helps us paint a picture." She took up position outside the door and aimed her LASR in. "That last bit is an idiom. Just in case. I know that sometimes you... yeah." She paused. "Ready."

When the door opened, Ingrid followed her LASR closely as it boarded the shuttle, scanning for targets with AIES assistance active.

Yuko looked over at Kiko, and smiled. She knew Kiko was trying to help, and despite the fact it didn't boost her confidence in the slightest, she thought it would be quite rude to not act slightly calmer. "Y-yes...erm...thank you." Yuko thanked Kiko, straightening up a little and attempt to cease her trembling. Yuko's trembling stopped being so apparent, but Yuko was still extremely nervous. This armor may not be what I expected...what if bullets can go right through it? That would be horrible...Oh god...what happens if I die? My mom may be forced to do jobs she doesn't want to do....she may never get to eat a steak....that would be horrible. If I do make it out alive...then atleast my mom has a chance of getting a steak. Yuko quietly thought. She saw the warning on her HUD,and began to walk over to the other exit, in order to secure it, but she somehow managed to slip and hit the ground "Owie!" she cried, as her helmet smacked hard against the ground. She quickly stood up and blushed. She soon realized that her nose was bleeding, but she attempted to ignore it. She realized very quickly that this probably wouldn't work for too long, but she was too shy to ask if it was okay for her to take her helmet off. Given the fact that every time I've ever nosebled, I've ended up puking, I can only assume this will get very bad extremely quickly. That would be so nasty, and really horrible to get out of my hair...and my helmet would probably smell like rotten eggs...oh god...rotten eggs...so horrible... Yuko thought, this time moving a little slower.

Edtoto shook her head a little as if to clear it when Hasewega asked her if she would rather not run into gunfire next time. Admittedly, she didn't want to say yes, but if she didn't accept the offer then the team might worry for her. It was a balancing act. "Yeah... You go first next time" She said, before Ingrid called her over. Walking over to the small craft, she frowned. "This is a fighter we would have sent out to find other species. Be careful, it's... Tight" She explained. Even the I'ee had troubles moving through the ship. Edtoto was a little confused by the idiom, but she figured painting a picture was something to do with getting information, so she shrugged it off.

When the doors opened, they were met with four small tunnels. A little over half a meter in diameter. "I told you it was tight" She explained. She pointed to one of the tunnels. "That will lead to the living quarters, which we could stand in. If the Vekimen who piloted this ship did their job, that would be where they were found. Best guess for us at least" She said. "Just follow the main path. And be careful. Some other paths go straight down" She explained.

((Decriptions for everyone!))

Inside of the Station was dark... Very dark actually. Despite the presence of light fixtures, there was no visible light. The lights were on, though, one lightbulb giving off a single pinprick of red light. A quick switch to IR or Night Vision would reveal that all the lights were Infrared Lights. Given the Vekimen not liking bright or UV lights, it made sense. The place itself would be warm. Warmer than the ship at least, but only by a few degrees.

Skades team would be met with an empty tunnel, about ten feet in diameter. Those entering from the landing pad, however, would see the occasional dead body in a similar tunnel. An odd sight, given Edtoto's fear of being recycled after losing her arm. The walls were lined with pocket marks, indicating gunfire, and the Vekimen indicated the same thing. They were shot, but for what reason?

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

"Just consider me your personal shield..." Hasewega said as she took her open hand back. She moved to put herself in front of Edtoto as she walked, keeping a good few steps ahead of the Vekimen and staying just off to the side enough to keep out of the way but be able to block Edtoto from anything in a couple of steps.

As she walked, she notice Yuko go down for a second before getting back. "Pilot, are you okay over there?" she asked over comms, the calm remaining in her voice.

Laderen Entryway, Chudan

Waiting in the near-dark of the airlock for her comrades to cycle through had been a nerve-wracking experience, at least until Skade noticed her temperature sensor getting uneven readings. What in the world could be causing the temperature to be varying so much? Hmm…the Neko thought for a moment, then decided to change her visual input to infrared. Well, would you look at that, she thought as the corridor lit up, light and heat emanating from the now obvious light fixtures. Well, that makes sense. No wonder Edtoto says she’s cold all the time.

Once her fellow crew members came in, the technician radioed, “Turn your sensors to infrared. And try to stun anyone that attacks us. We need more information.” Pausing for a moment to think, she then continued, “Also, keep up off the floor and try not to touch anything else. The Vekimen have some crazy hearing abilities.”

After listening to any questions and suggestions from the SAINT agent or Takeshi-kun, Skade turned toward the corridors. “Anyone feeling lucky?”

Laderen Entryway, Chudan
Alex complied with what Skade told her.

"Luck has nothing to do with this." She spat out.

Keeping herself from rolling her eyes, Skade replied, "I meant for a direction. There's three corridors."

Laderen Entryway, Chudan

Once he was through the airlock, Takeshi scanned the corridor for movement on every possible spectrum. His eyes glowed blue in the darkness. The feed from the other team gave him a strange feeling he couldn't explain. It was like there was something in his mind that he couldn't quite grasp. Something was familiar about this situation. Skade was right about the infrared. That explained much about the Vekimen. "Acknowledged Skade-hei. I do not know which way to go. I do know our chances of survival are much higher if we stay together."

He engaged his anti-gravity and floated a few inches off the station floor. "If you wish for me to choose, I will pick a path at random. Let us go left." The android moved to take the lead. He felt a sense of what he had learned was called excitement, eager to finally try his heat weapon on a live target.

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

The vessel was many times larger than the Kuma the group had arrived in, the hull noticeably damaged. While some dents and scrapes from space debris and general wear and tear were to be expected, Ingrid knew this was something else. The scans were inconclusive, other than being certain that both projectile and energy weaponry had damaged the shuttle. Some of the gashes strangely resembled claw marks, as well. The main door opened at Ed's command to reveal the cluster of tunnel entrances. While the Vekimen had easily been able to navigate them when she'd been in her own shuttle, and the I'ee had barely managed, there was now a problem. In her new armor, it was unlikely she'd be able to wriggle through as easily. The crew members in Mindys would have an even worse time. Thankfully they'd all been outfitted with Support Drones for such situations.

Thankfully, Yuko's new Minkan body was dealing with her injury better than she expected/feared. The nosebleed began to dry up quickly, as the interior of the helmet cleaned itself...the lining slurping away the hemosynth while the Hei tried to recover and join the others. Okami again didn't seem too impressed by the minor injury, even as Sara checked on the Operator. The Medic seemed more interested in the bodies the team soon discovered. Hoping Yuko and Kiko would cover him, he advanced into the dark corridor leading out of the large shuttle bay, crouching down to begin examining the nearest Vekimen. It had clearly been shot, but now to determine from what...the cannons, a Vekimen sidearm, or something else?


YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

The Taii noticed the I'ee celebrating out of the corner of her eye, although she pretended she did not, doing her best not to react. Usagi, however, giggled, drawing Rin's attention, and a few tsks. "Funabashi-Hei, please focus on your station...Blesi-Hei will require assistance with her Support Drones." Rin glared at her, before turning a polite smile towards the I'ee. "Sally, Yui, I'll transfer control of one to your station as well, okay?"

Once Ingrid deployed four of her drones, they each launched down a tunnel. One remained under her control, heading down the main path toward the living area Edtoto had described. The other four were being controlled by the Bridge to ease the load, poking through the various nooks and crannies of the cramped little ship as the images were transferred and recorded. Usagi, blushing now, focused on her screen, and Rin on hers as well. If they could get their new toy under control, the I'ee would soon find their assigned tunnel ending in some sort of control room, which seemed passingly familiar from their prior encounter. However, there was definitely something there now that did not belong.

Fused to the controls, obstructing any normal operation, was a large rectangular shape. It was metallic, welded to the Vekimen machinery...but also somehow organic, fused to the controls with flesh, something like sap or fluid splattered and dripping everywhere. The ship was powered down, and the...thing...seemed similarly lifeless. For now.

The living area was in a similar state, covered in strange slime and disturbing bits of gore. Any sort of comfortable, relaxing space Ingrid was expecting was obscured by grime...although there did seem to be a vaguely humanoid depression worn into one flat surface, as if something had laid there.


Laderen Entryway, Chudan

The corridor narrowed as it neared that split, barely wide enough to let one member of the team shift in front of the other. It had just been tall enough for them to walk without ducking, but lifting off the floor to float would require them to scrunch up a bit if they didn't want to bump into anything. The IR lights were recessed into the ceiling, the areas around them warmer than the walls, which were still faintly glowing as the team switched their vision over. The left tunnel immediately curved away, angling down slightly. As they continued, they spotted a brighter, warmer light further down the tunnel. It was hard to differentiate, but there were brighter streaks on the walls under the light. While the team considered what to do, they began picking up familiar sounds...too faint for that translation program to sort out, but recognizable to the team none the less...

YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge

"Oh! Ok!" Sally squeaked, peering at the monitor displaying the drone's camera view with curiousity. Quietly, and in her native dialect, she timidly asked Yui to pilot the drone. Yui chortled, giving her sister a hug before attending the controls. Yui had been the pilot during their time flying one of the Soyokaze's Hayabusa fighters, and since then Sally had been reluctant to take on any driving responsibilities for herself, preferring to entrust them to her sister.

Even with her experience, it was obvious to the away team just which of the drones was under I'ee control: It moved with short, erratic jerking motions to and fro, inching carefully into the ship's tunnels. It looked, rather fittingly, like the flight patterns of a hoverfly. Yui positioned herself awkwardly at the console, her head tilted to one side and turned slightly so that the area of her compound eye with the best acuity could see the monitor showing her drone's camera feed. Sally watched anxiously, her mask displaying an attentive, emotionless face.

While Sally and Yui hadn't ever been to the control room in Edtoto's craft, the two still recognised enough of a difference between the strange object and the controls it was fused to, not to mention the strange liquid dripping from it. Yui tensed, bringing the drone in closer to examine the device in detail. Then she let out a low hiss, which Sally followed up with one of her own, her mask showing a frown. "That's wrong!" Sally declared, hopping anxiously from one foot to the other. "That's not right!"
Yui seemed to agree with her, though she said nothing legible, besides more hissing, zipping the drone to and fro to get different viewing angles of the alien device. It's organic qualities in particular seemed to upset the two I'ee immensely, though they seemed to engrossed in their own emotions to actually explain it to the bridge crew.

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

Blesi-hei squeezed her way on board the ship and quickly found herself more or less stuck. After uttering a handful of expletives, she indicated to Edtoto to back their way out. She launched four support drones once she was clear, releasing control of three to the Heartbreaker and taking the fourth for herself. She piloted it towards the living quarters. Ingrid felt her stomach churn as she got her first look at the carnage in the living quarters; it then fell completely as she realized what she was really looking at. "Edtoto, it's bad in here and it's probably even worse elsewhere on the station," she said. "If you want to see, patch yourself into the feeds, but steel yourself."

She then turned her attention back to operating the drone. "Heartbreaker, I'm seeing evidence of Mishhuvarthyar here. Can I get confirmation?" she radioed. She piloted the drone closer to the slime and got a close image of it, then, wincing, she imaged a sample of the giblets and gore looking for Vekimen bone fragments or skin tissue or any other part which she could identify. She also checked the meat for whether it was torn or if it had been sucked on and digested at all by Vekimen oral digestive juices. With the dirty work of recording the scene's mundane aberrations done, she turned the drone towards the depression. She examined it, measuring the shape and proportions of it and checking for shed hair or plates. After, she looked around trying to find any tracks indicating which way the being may have went, or what fate it may have suffered. Ingrid knew that the Squids were involved here, but she wasn't sure how they played out their invasion of the Vekimen Station. The Misshu presence aboard the Ayame-class cruiser in Refuge of Sinners was limited to parasites and the chaos they could cause amongst the unsuspecting Vekimen would be devastating. If the evidence suggested that there were parasites here, the teams would need to be at maximum vigilance to avoid getting caught off guard.

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

Kiko looked at Yuko with some concern, she had never seen anyone just fall over like that. Not to mention she was moving rather slow, but she knew she couldn't just let things crawl to a halt if it was all due to a little bit of nervousness on Yuko's part. They still had a mission to do. So in an effort to speed things up she placed a hand on Yuko's back and started to walk with her towards the other exit "Are you alright?- Did you hurt yourself or are you just nervous? If it's nervousness just think about the nice hot meal you can get when this is all over!- and, uh, if you're hurt we can see about getting you looked at. It's no good if you spend the mission in pain when there's a medic around."

Shuttle Bay, Jodan

Yuko looked at Kiko, and thought about what she would say. "I-it's fine, Kiko. I f-fall down all t-the time." Yuko stated, standing up a bit straighter. "I-I thank you f-for your concern though..." She thanked Kiko. "I-I'm not really i-injured, or in serious pain, so a m-medic won't be needed." Yuko said. You need to pay attention better, Yuko. You've got a nice person here thinking you may be hurt, when really you just fell down over something stupid. If you continue to fall down like that, and or continue to stay nervous like this, bad things could happen. Yuko quietly thought. "S-should we continue what we were d-doing?" Yuko asked Kiko, somewhat less nervous than before.

Laderen Entryway/Left Corridor, Chudan

“Left it is,” Skade said to Takeshi’s decision, lifting off the ground and crouching slightly to avoid the ceiling. I’m just glad that we can see stuff now, she thought as they started down the corridor. Of course, the question is what are we going to run into down here? If what Jodan found is what caused this, are we going to run into Mishhu controlled Vekimen? Yuck.

Shaking her head to get the thought out of her head, the technician perked up as a brighter area came into view and sounds that set the translator off. Putting her hand up to stop the team, she turned to her crewmates. “Looks like we got some possible Vekimen up ahead. Do you want to go in guns blazing, I’d say with stunners, or just try to talk our way in?”