RP: YSS Miharu Mission 5, Part 1: Amaya's Gate

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

I'm dying! I wasn't ready! There was still so much to do!

That was the last non-Melisson thought that had run through Nyton's head. As Nyton listened to his heartbeat it grew fainter and more distant with every beat. When he could scarcely hear it he then grew aware of another presence.

Death. The dour shade pounced upon him like a tiger on its prey. The black cloak it wore enshrouded Nyton with darkness and he was slightly aware of a strange falling sensation when the specter reached out to him. Bony fingers wrapped tightly around his neck and the cold chill seemed to be choking him. It was all the man could do when faced with his mortality to keep his wits about him. Feral instincts took hold and his mettle surfaced to show just how much a survivor he could be.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!!" Nyton raged as he began punching at Death's face. Not fearing the ramifications of possibly upsetting an immortal being the man grabbed at the cloak's hood and tore it off while continuing to strike. The specter's face became visible now and a human skull could be seen which made Nyton tear at it harder. He grabbed at it and jammed his fingers in the sockets, pulled at the jaw, cracked at it's teeth, and did everything he could to rip it off. Eventually he began to succeed and it appeared that chunks of the skull were falling off only to replaced by another pale visage.

As though hiding behind the mask of a skull Nyton could now see Hinoto's face in it's place. Her face gave him a sweet smile before releasing his neck and tossing him to the 'floor' where he landed roughly. Upon landing the shade then loomed over the Nepleslian menacingly. The flash of a blade could be seen as it replaced the hood, hiding it's face, before it reached over at what looked like a wispy thread floating ethereally. Nyton had not seen that thread before and only now realized that it was connected to him. Before he could think the connection between his soul and life was severed completely.

You are dead.

The raspy voice was felt more than heard and it was overpowering to Nyton. As he realized just how too late it was to live he thought he could feel tears welling in his eyes. It brought a tremendous amount of fear along with remorse as he began mourning his own death.

Time to go.

"Ach, ye been perching yeself by aar lineage f'r so long! Why dinnae ye go bother someone else f'r a change?"

The tears faded a bit as Nyton looked over at the source of the voice. It was a familiar one much like his grandfather's and yet very different. It sounded natural. There stood an old man whose solid face was carved with lines of age and scars of war. He had long gray hair, two dark blue eyes, a mustache and beard which joined together to form a single cascade of hair tumbling down his chin to the waist. What the man wore looked like a mixture of ancient plate armor and cybernetic armor. The chest arm and leg pieces looked as though they were melded to his body while the arms appeared to be worn.

At the words from the old man Death stepped away and receded back into the shadows. "Pesky boog'r likes t' grab at us ye know? Been frustrated ev'r since ye grandpa managed t' evade 'im five times. 'Ad a field day when ye uncles and cousins passed." said the man while he walked up to Nyton's strings. Picking them both up in his hands he then mended the thread back together.

"Ye'r not done yet boy. This won't be th' first time ye see ol' Death either." the rather ancient looking man said before placing a hand on Nyton's chest. "Now then, ye cannae waste ye time here boy. This is all jest a dream caused by ye brain's lack o' air."

With that the old man shoved Nyton hard and a sensation of floating back up was felt. Nyton didn't see anything move he just knew he was going back. The last thing he heard before light filled his eyes was the man's voice.

"Or was it?"

Suddenly a flood of voices began to rush into Nyton's head. The cybernetic memory recorder was busily downloading everything into his brain as fast as possible, forcibly rewiring synapses to accept the data as it had recorded. The memories were as vivid as if he was experiencing them in real time and were flooding back with surreal clarity despite barely seconds passing. The electrical impulses were traveling faster than real time, the natural brain matching the speed of the cybernetic computer system.

The memories were more than solid recovery, they were real and Nyton could remember it all.

The opening salvo with Eve's forces.

"Advance and engage!" Kotori ordered. "Fire at will once in range."

Distance was closing rapidly and the particle cannons would already be in range before Nyton had finished lashing out with the beam. The particle cannons would join in the destructive swath that he was unleashing, opening fire upon those ships already hit (targeting the areas already hit to try and breach them further) and about to be hit in an effort to destroy and cripple as many of the enemy as he could.

The appearance of the Black Mindy aboard the bridge.

He had to get Kotori out of here. There was just no other option but to abandon the bridge. NOW!

A mini-missile nearly struck Nyton and Kotori, only to have them saved by one of the forcefields. Still, the explosion flung the two of them painfully hard against the floor. Another warhead streaked above them to explode against the wall, sending tongues of flames and debris flying. A cry tore out of Nyton's throat unbidden, as a two-foot long piece of sheet durandium sliced deeply into his back in proximity of his left kidney.

The clever deception by the two Kotori.

...and then, the captive Kotori's face split into a nasty smirk. "Ha ha... got you," she said almost in a singsong,

As the violent drama played itself out on the volumetric screens, the stained yukata on the bench suddenly rose and shook itself free of dirt and debris before a naked Kotori - standing just by the bench for all to see - emerged from skinstealth and started slipping the garment on.

As she tied her sash, Kotori amber eyes opened and set them on the sight of the standoff between her executive officer and tactical officer. "That will be enough. Yukari, Nyton, assume your stations, arms weapons and raise our shields."

The severe injury he had taken and never got properly treated.

"... if the fragments in your body remain there too long, it's possible that they will move further into your body and cause more serious wounds," Sanjuro explained with his back turned to the Taii. "I do realize the urgency we are facing. The operation will not be a quick one, although if treated now I can assure a complete recovery. An hour later... I am not so sure."

"It is your decision to make, Claymere-Taii."

"Very well then. I will see you after the mission, Heisho. Try to stay alive until then."

Then the memories became unpleasantly darker....

Nyton was suddenly assaulted with a strickingly powerful urge to satisfy sudden erotic longings with Hinoto's beautiful body; with a very faint alarm in the background of his more cybernetic functions that his ADN protection had failed. His hormones were going wild: he found himself desiring her very, very badly in ways that his memory loops would appear very shallow compensations.

Each breath had Hinoto's bosom move slightly up, and slightly down. "What do you want from me, Taii?"

Melisson's control....

"My wonderful human, my pet. You are my creature now. You live, breathe and dream for my sake and my sake alone..."

Yes my Mistress.

The strange Melisson induced love he had felt...

"After we have fought and the day is won I want you to be the reason I survive this battle. I want you there with me so that we can be together. Always."

And then finally death.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll need your data recorder," Hinoto told him politely.

With macabre fascination Nyton relived the explosion, the pain, the desperation. He saw the lower half of his body being utterly obliterated and relished in the pain. It was crippling but the memory was mercifully brief. He had not lasted long before he died. But the recording continued even after he had passed. Like a discarded video camera still recording it captured the brief events shortly after he died: Hinoto's removal of the cybernetic system from his brain. There was pain recorded too which was also shortly experienced.

Then the memories ended and the present caught up.

"Nyton Claymere?"

Nyton blinked. Natural eyes. He was blinking with natural eyes. He tried to blink again and look all around him. His 360 vision was not there. Reaching up with his left hand he touched the back of his neck as though taking inventory of what he was missing. The data port was gone. Another feeling became present as well. His left arm was real again.

Seeing with natural eyes was foreign to him. He had lived for so many years with cybernetic implants that seeing without them felt plain. As though he were missing something akin to a favorite watch or trinket worn on him at all times.

Looking over at the source of the voice Nyton looked upon Hinoto with a mixed assortment of feelings. He still had not yet had time to sort what had happened let alone comprehend the ramifications of how Melisson had manipulated him. With his typical poise the Nepleslian summoned enough self-control to look the nekovalkyrja in the eyes and ask her one thing.

"How long was I out?"

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Not long," Hinoto said, trying to sound reassuring. She extended one hand down in an offer to help Nyton out of the hemosynthetic tank.

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton calmly accepted the hand suppressing his emotions which still needed time to be rationalized out. "What became of my corpse?" he then asked.

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Hinoto helped the naked nepleslian out of the hemosynthetic tank. "The corpse was not moved. Most of the equipment on it appeared non-salvageable. I was planning to carry it to a fabrication room to have it recycled afterwards."

Red fluids were sluicing off Nyton's skin, but Hinoto did not look especially clean herself. The front of her uniform was blood splattered to a degree.

Sanjuro came by and pressed white towels on the both of them, as if silently making a point that both should use them. As Hinoto seized the towel meant for her she told Nyton: "I've had a new uniform and sidearm prepared for you. They should be brought here shortly."

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton noticed that Hinoto's uniform had blood on it. It disturbed him to see his own blood on her. This whole process of being revived was affecting him along with everything else that had transpired. Just looking at Hinoto was making him uncomfortable now but he made every effort to hide it. On top of everything there was a battle going on which still required the attention of everyone. There was no time to sort through matters.

"Do not dispose of it-my corpse, yet. I need to see it. It can wait until after the battle though. We don't have time to waste right now." he said while toweling himself off.

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"As you wish," Hinoto answered the nepleslian as she also briskly toweled herself to remove the worst of the gore off her.

Another sprite came in bearing a pile of clothing, with boots, belt and holstered sidearm. Hinoto discarded her towel and fetched the items off the sprite to put them over one of the nearby examination beds. With one hand atop the holstered NSP30 with a human-sized grip - preventing him from taking it - she looked back at him.

Her eyes were sharp, more steel than silver. "I killed you. I must now ascertain if I can allow you to report to the Shosa or not. Tell me of the incident. Tell me how Melisson took you over, what she communicated to you and finally, you must prove to me that you are no longer under her sway."

 

[MoonMan]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Sanjuro wasn't too keen on the situation, as if the blood wasn't enough of a sign that something had gone awry. The facts behind Nyton's death and recreations weren't all that clear, and upon hearing Hinoto's solemn explanation (particularly the part about her slaying the Taii) the Chief Medical Officers interest turned from inquisitive to downright morbidly curious. He would have to reign it in for the moment, however, as it looked like a sensitive issue.

He had been hoping to at least do some manner of preliminary examination of Nyton's newly-developed limbs, as well as his physical status; he was, after all, no longer a true Nepleslian, what with his old body left behind for the moment. Sanjuro worried about how Nyton, psychologically, would fit in to his new 'gloves', but it would appear that the Taii was stable enough to speak and coordinate his movements well. Sanjuro decided to wait for the moment to allow the two to finish as he set about cleaning up what he could around the hemosynth tanks and preparing them should another unfortunate individual would cross Hinoto and add another shade of red to her uniform.

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

A flash of anger crossed Nyton's eyes, now a deeper shade of blue than the cybernetic ice blue ones. It was brief and stifled quickly although it was resonating within him as the words bounced between his ears.

I killed you.

Rage in check, the man replied in an even tone. "Yes, you did kill me. I suppose there really was no other way. I may as well have been a walking dead man ever since the mission at Lor."

Taking a breath and closing his eyes the Nepleslian continued. "When the Sakura encountered the SMX involvement with the Lorath insurrection I was among the away team that escorted Hanako aboard Melisson's ship. During the diplomatic envoy's mission one of the Lorath attempted to harm Melisson in violation of the white flag agreement we had for the meeting. Hanako ordered the action countered so I acted. As a result of defending Melisson she took notice of me and it was at this time that she planted her infection seed within my mind. It was completely undetected and she made no move to assume her control over me. Rather she bided her time and slowly ate away at my mind while the whole time I may as well have been her own personal link to our ship. She has been aware of everything I have been doing for the past several years."

At this point Nyton visibly became angry. He had been compromising their situation the entire time. All of their clever scheming had been a ruse. His left hand visibly tensed up and twitched. "Melisson tricked us into thinking we had outmaneuvered her fleet at Taiie and Tsuyosa. She let us know about Amaya's Gate. She had been aware of us the whole time and merely allowed us to catch that SMX group by surprise. When she finally enforced her control over me she made me lust uncontrollably at the start. Then she told me that we were conveniently dealing with Eve whom she considered to be a loose end she no longer had alliance with. She even enhanced Nimura's combat skill to in order to assist us. Not psionically but genetically with some enhancement data she had taken from slaves."

Now his anger took form and both hands were balled into fists. "We were just Melisson's pawns for defeating Eve. Nothing more than pawns!" he shouted before punching his fist into the nearest wall.

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Hinoto gave him a droll look and coolly said: "Well done, Taii. That is one durandium wall which will never threaten you again."

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton was still seething in anger while the pain was never even acknowledged as he withdrew his fist from the wall. Hinoto's remark didn't really help either. Another deep breath and he reeled it in again.

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Hinoto. What else do you need to know? I'm back to myself if that is what you are looking for. Melisson's influence was a physiological cancer in my previous brain which remained at odds with my cybernetics." he snarled back.

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Hinoto did not lose her cool when faced with Nyton's tirade turning to her. "What I wish to know, Taii, is what it was that she wanted."

The pale nekovalkyrja let her hand slide off from over the holstered NSP30 and took one slow step after another to come within arm's length of Nyton. Her movements were both sensual and predatory.

"I need to know why Melisson chose that particular time to manifest herself. I want to know what she hoped to gain by it. I also want to know why she made it so sloppy."

 

[Abwehran Commander]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Masako glanced as Asher and smirked under her helmet. While Asher's humor was rather macabre, she had to admit that the quip about her head was slightly amusing. Or maybe she just needed a laugh to counter all the anger she was building up. "Very funny Westwood-hei, but maybe you should worry about keeping your own head on straight," the Warrant Officer quipped before sighing. "Nakamura-heisho, your team will take point this time. Nimura-hei and I will take rear guard. We'll head port this time and capture the control center there. There seem to be corridors leading between reactor rooms and the control center, however we have no knowledge of how to open them. And while I dislike going down the larger corridors, we may have no choice." she explained.

"Did you encounter anything in the reactor room, Nakamura-heisho?" Masako asked as she kept her eyes peeled for disturbances in their surroundings.

 

[Kai]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Kai nodded as he was told his team would take point, It made sense, his team was larger and probably better equipped to be in front, as well as the fact that Asher's bloodlust meant he wouldn't be happy anywhere else.

"We encountered three NH-18 in the reactor room, but we quickly defeated them, and returned here once we learned of your... Defeat." the Yamataian reported, not really wanting to say 'death' because he wasn't quite sure how all that worked out for Neko.

In any case, the Heisho was ready to go, and turned to his team. "You heard the Juni! We're on point! Get ready to roll out!"

 

[Kokuten]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Finally! Someone with a sense of humor! Asher grinned outwardly and inwardly as Masako seemed to enjoy the joke. It was about time someone got dragged out of the morale gutter. Though, a part of him was surprised that it was the commander of all people to find the joke funny. The Hei only responded by pointing at Masako and nodding his head to her rebutting joke. With his spirits raised even a little bit higher than before, he raised up his shield and bazooka.

"Alright! Time to kill some bitches." Asher said, starting out towards the corridor. He looked back over to Kai for a second as he walked, but drew his attention forward mid-sentence, "Hey, Naka-sir, who you want leadin' tha' way?"

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as Hinoto approached. He noted that she was both cautious and inviting. As far as her question went he was not sure how to reply. "I don't know. The best I can come up with is a theory." he started.

"As far as I could tell, Melisson wanted us to win. We were to eliminate Eve in order to prevent her from using the Second Draconian Fleet and interfering with her own plans. In the meantime to possibly better our chances of victory she decided to try and directly influence our command and control of our Armor forces engaging Eve. I suppose now was the time to directly extend her control over me." Nyton began. With a pause he then began to think.

"Now when she did that she stated that I was still in possession of myself but that she had rewritten my mind to serve her. So I could still 'think' for myself to a degree but my 'goal' had been altered. Almost like a shifting of priorities but more like a hardwired one. As for the timing and location...."

Nyton took a quick breath and looked at Hinoto. His scowl was gone but he still had a stern expression on his face. "You are our support specialist and thus also a tremendous factor in the command of our Armor forces. Perhaps she believed that you could be seduced into being agreeable to whatever inspired direction her plans to help us win took us. As for why she thought that was possible well, that answer would lie more with you."

"Then again I am just theorizing. I have not had the chance to really think this through rationally yet. I still feel like I have a knife sticking out from the back of my head."

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"You are trying to justify and rationalize, but that is not the issue at hand, Taii," Hinoto counter-argued. "Melisson gambled. She left too many things up to chance. If she wanted to take control of you, she could've done it elsewhere and improved her chances of having an hold on you without anyone being the wiser for it."

"I feel she made a gamble because she could afford it, even if she won you over or lost you. I think she had to make it obvious to someone else as well, in case being too subtle wouldn't carry the intended message across - who better than the information gathering specialist?" the sprite then added. "It was theatral: she has a history of weaning her opponents to face her - it was written so in Amaya's report."

"She had interest in you, but she lacks not in servants. I think she made it personal because she wanted to prick your pride, to give you a challenge you'd be driven to conquer: her. After all, even pawns that live long enough can reach the other end of the chessboard and become queens."

Hinoto scowled. "She is the one whom set this stage and assembled its actors. She gave us our scenario. She demonstrated her power and gave us a stake in the unveiling of this grand drama of hers. She has shown us her confidence that we would be the last ones left standing on the stage, upon the onset of the final act."

"The last ones whom will be greeting her own grand entrance," she concluded. "Because she is coming, Taii... she made herself a game, with us as her opponents, with the fate of the Second Draconian Fleet hanging in the balance."

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton was still shaking off the last bits of 'memory fatigue' from his memory recorder while Hinoto counterpointed. The knife feeling slowly faded away but it did little to better his mood. Neither did the prospect of Melisson arriving.

"That goddamned bitch...." he muttered. Internal cybernetic memory loops for Relaxation came online to try and calm him down to better think but he overrode it.

Internal Memory Loop Physiological/Emotional Stability Measures are to be disengaged.

Are you sure you want to disengage? y/n

y

Internal Systems verifying chemical levels.....normal. Emotional range currently fluctuating. Are you certain you want to disengage? y/n

y

With that the failsafe was removed. They had failed him and ultimately proven useless. Done with that he let himself just try to naturally breath and relax.

"So Melisson wants to drag me into a personal grudge match. Along with me she also intends to deal with the Second Draconian Fleet. We don't even know what size fleet she will arrive with. So with that we would be motivated to try and use them against her. But then she could just as easily take them over and all we would be doing is giving her another fleet to use." Nyton surmised.

"And this is all just to entertain her. Just how much chance would she give us to even win? We've been set up in every regard from the playing field to the possible outcome. We can't just run away though. If we leave the field then Melisson just occupies the Gate. So we're forced to engage her. There has to be another option that doesn't play into her hands though."

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"I am not the mission planner, I cannot help you there," Hinoto replied to the Nepleslian. "I can also not give you assurances: like you, I make assumptions."

Hinoto turned and walked back toward the examination bed on which she had left his clothing. "The Shosa will want your report. Then, the Taisa will have to decide upon a course of action."

Her hand came up and brushed against the edge of the bed. "It might not matter that we are pawns, Taii. What matters is that in the end, we are the last ones left standing after Eve, and even after Melisson."

On that note, the white-haired sprite headed for the medlab's exit.

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Wait a second Hinoto." Nyton then said urgently. He walked past the bed where his clothes were laying and reached out to her shoulder with his hand.

 

[Fred]

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Hinoto stopped and docilely allowed him to half-spin her around. "Yes, Taii?"