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

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Kai ordered his drones to harry the remaining NIWS, giving it something else to distract it so he could draw a better bead. Some subspace detonating as well as high explosive missiles arced out from the Yamataian's leg canisters, flaring up over the man's cover and screaming towards their target, while the Yamataian tracked her with his Gauss cannon, once more chambering an HE round; he was starting to run low on those.

Still, Kai figured he was fairly safe behind his cover, the Zesuaim shield between him and that, giving him an extra bit of protection. He just hoped that Masako and Nimura could keep that black mindy occupied so it wouldn't kill them while they were distracted.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton stepped back and bowed to Yukari. "Shosa. I will return to my station and stand by." he said and began walking to Tactical. There are five enemy gunships unaccounted for. They may return at any time so we have to be ready. he thought to himself.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Miyoko watched the conversation quietly, though her posture expressed her thoughts for her--her lips were pursed tightly, while she looked between Kotori and Nyton anxiously. With the Taisa running into battle... well, it could be the key to victory, but it could also be the express lane to a sound defeat. As Kotori turned to leave the bridge, she mustered her voice enough to call, "Good luck," after her.

In the aftermath of the emotional exchange, it took a few moments for Miyoko to coax herself into turning back to her work, but the constant reminder that there were still enemies unaccounted for soon drew her back to the sensor feeds.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Yukari also watched the Taisa leave. She was again in command, as her commander and confidant rushed into battle. She wanted to replace her, to trade her life for Kotori's, but it was impossible. Her place was here, on Miharu, helping ensure Kotori's safety.

"Thank you, Taii," Yukari said to Nyton as the Taisa left. "Please compile a status report on the vessel's weapons and defensive measures, so we can be ready when the Sakura gunships arrive. I also want estimations on what we can withstand in terms of punishment."

"Heisho-san," Yukari said as she stepped back to her pilot's seat. Her voice was firm, but calm. "Access the full ship schematics of the Sakura gunship and begin pinpointing weaknesses we can exploit. Whether they are physical or electronic, we must know about them. You, the Taii and I will interpret them."

"Juni-san," she said, speaking with her headset to Tom inside of his armor. Her face came with the transmission. "The Taisa is leaving Miharu to assist the armor teams. Are there any status updates I should know about that pertain to critical systems?"

To Kotori, the message was a simple text, waiting for her inside the Ryusei II.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Yes, Shosa." Nyton said as he sat down and began to work. Bringing up the weapons data he began to roll over the listing of the Sakura class ship's armament. Along with weapons there were defensive measures which he quickly itemized as his Memory Recorder refreshed him.

"I'm still bringing up the latest data of our own weapon systems. For now I can at least state that the Sakura possesses an Aether Shock Array for a main cannon along with six Positron Accelerator Cannons and the ability to deploy variable weapon pods. With Yamataium armor and a frame of Zesuaium along with a Combined Field System it is capable of withstanding a good deal of punishment." he reported.

Simple facts, go along with it and focus. Just try not to think about things right now. Nyton thought while trying to compartmentalize his feelings. As he typed away he brought up the Miharu's weapon systems. Given the damage and remaining torpedo payload he tried to determine how they could go about fighting a battlegroup of at least five enemy gunships.

"Our shields are designed to resist the tunneling cannons of Mishhu ships, not so much the main cannon of a gunship. We do not want to be in range for too long as a few blasts will overwhelm our armor. That coupled with their positrons will make it a short skirmish in a straight fight. One on one, maybe even two at once but five will require a little more work even if we did just beat the first group by ourselves. Along with the damage we suffered we do not possess the advantage of.... of an NH-23's MEGAMI abilities anymore."

Then there was the possibility the enemy had unaccounted ships along with Armor forces. They could still tip the balance with that. "If the enemy has managed to send out a distress signal then they will be arriving ready for a fight. If not then we may still be able to take them by surprise while they try and figure out what happened to the defending group. But it will be impossible to clear out all of the debris from the enemy ships so they will likely know what happened fairly quickly."

Nyton hit his thinking pose now. "What if we gather some debris from the ships and stuff it into the hull of one of those Nozomi's. We then fabricate a distress signal and make it look like there are survivors waiting for rescue. When one of the ships gets close enough we set off a torpedo from inside the wreckage. The enemy ship will likely have it's shields down while it goes to assist and be caught up in the explosion. We watch from a safe distance and then attack while the enemy is off balance."

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Masako expected to be attacked from the rear, but she hadn't expected her murderer to appear before her again so quickly. She had switched to her Plasma Rifle to lay down suppression fire, but her LASR was at her feet while she sat behind cover. They needed to deal with that Black Mindy's Teleport Pack before she got away again. However, Nimura's disappearing act maybe more fortuitous than relying upon the SLAG's grenades.

So Masako continued her suppressive fire with her forearm weapons to allow her plasma rifle to cool. "Nimura-hei...if you have a chance, disable the enemy's teleport module. But don't get reckless." she sent via encrypted telepathy.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

@Miharu's bridge

As Nyton spoke, Hoshi had helpfully pulled out the relevant sensor data based on the past encounter they had with said Sakura squadron back in the Bowhordia star system.

Quickly, realized Nyton he was (fortunately) mistaken on one thing: the armament their opponents would have at their disposal. The gunships they had encountered were of the S3-1D configuration, and had only 2 positron cannons instead of the E variant's 6. Black Spiral's defection in YE 28 had deprived Eve of any improvements done to them in YE 29.

Yukari, for her part, was notified that the Taisa had boarded the Ryusei II and that the gravplate was now lowering itself to permit the fighter-bomber's launch.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Nyton took note of the sensor data from Eve's Sakura battlegroup and quickly amended himself. In his mind he imagined Hinoto smiling as she assisted him with the sensor data. "Wait, make that two positron turrets. Small blessings." he said before awaiting input regarding his suggested tactic.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Positron railguns," the computer AI gently corrected over the Nepleslian's own correction. "They only fire straight ahead."

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Even better. So we just need to stay away from the front of their ships to avoid their weapons." Nyton said.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

One down... Kyou steadied herself, and fired again, unloading all of her weapons at the NIWS still standing . "We need to try and draw fire off of Westwood-Hei, or he might not make it through the next shots."

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

@Amaya's Gate:

The second NIWS, when presented with a double helping of killing mini-missiles courtesy of Kai and Asher, chose to mow them down in mid-air with precise sprays of her autocannon. Her needs to brace for the recoil still kept her stationary, however, allowing Kyou several easy hits that depleted the NIWS' barrier... just in time for Kai's high-explosive gauss round to catch her at the bottom of her sternum-equivalent.

The explosion was sudden, and much stronger than the HE round had a right to be. "Direct hit on her aether power plant. She's gone," Hinoto confirmed.

Unfortunately, that didn't prove to be the end of that skirmish. A sonic boom parted a hole through the smoke and struck into Kai's cover. The console he was hiding behind was sundered by the attack and the exploding shower of debris struck him, knocking him over on his back in a dazed heap.

The first NIWS had gotten back up, the missing parts of her torso, arm, hips and legs having in a short span of time been entirely replaced by pale nekovalkyrja flesh. In her hands she now held her own gauss rifle, and she turned it toward Kyou (and Asher behind the cover of the corner).

* * *

Masako's duel with the Black Mindy proved relatively short.

In the crackle of a teleportation, the Black Mindy had appeared behind her, slightly above and with her arms poised to have the right elbow blade carve into the back of her helmet. The Juni - alert as she was - too late began to react in the attempt to dodge.

Luckily, Nimura had her covered, and before their opponent could land her cut a plasma bolt slammed hard into her flank, tossing Mani aside and ruining her attack. Again Nimura attacked, but - apparently having no stomach for an open confrontation - their aggressor used the second charge in her teleporter to escape harm.

Nimura became visible again a few meters off Masako's right, plasma rifle in hand. "I missed the teleportation module, Juni," she reported.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"EEP!" Kyou ducked back behind the wall, making sure she was out of sight before ducking to make her profile smaller. I thought that one was down and out of this! She planned on waiting for a moment to let it change it's aim to somewhere a bit farther away from her head, then popping back out to line up a shot.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Clever girl..." Kai grunted, taking a few moments to regain his breath and bearings after being jarringly knocked back. A gentle burst of Heavy fusion thrust boosted the Heisho upright, allowing bits and pieces to fall off of him without chancing parts jamming in his armor's joints. Next on Kai's agenda was to find better cover. "Looks like we didn't quite take her down, Heavy suppressive fire, I want that one gone as soon as possible, the Black Mindy has gone AWOL again and I don't want to be distracted when she shows up!" he ordered.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

"Wooo! Look at tha'tit's on that one!" Asher said, stealing a look at the reforming NIWS, taking note of her exposed fleshy bits. As he did this, he brought up his Plasma Rifle, popping up ten or twelve shots at the chest, aiming to burn into the Aether Reactor. Unlike before when had popped fully out of cover, he only popped out slightly this time.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

It had happened so fast once again. First, her flank had be free and clear. The next moment involved the crackle and pop of a teleportation arrival behind her. Masako's head turned before her body as she viewed the Black Mindy rearing back to behead the Warrant Officer once more. This really wasn't her day.

Luckily for the young Neko, Nimura was still around to ambush the assailant before the act could be done. There was a poignant pause as Nimura made her report. Masako grimaced under her helmet before sighing to herself. "We'll get her next time," she replied and gave the Hei a thumbs up. "Thanks for the cover though."

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

@Amaya's Gate:

"It should take her at least two minutes to recharge her teleportation module," Hinoto reminded Masako. "She's unlikely to attack until then."

Nearby, the battle continued to rage between Nakamura team and the lone NIWS. Kyou and Asher exchanged potshots with their enemy - they had the advantage of solid cover but with less armor and a recoil-less (and slower firing) weapon, the remaining NIWS seemed much more capable of nimbly dodging their attacks.

The moment Kai returned to the corner opposite to Asher and Kyou, their enemy had created a swarm of nodal drones. The six hand-sized attack bits whistled out of the corridor and split up, 2 each set on orbiting around Kyou, Asher and Kai. On the bright side, by now, Kai and Kyou's barrier had recovered and were back to peak efficiency.

The NIWS might have taken advantage of the extra cover the attacking drones potentially afforded her to enter the power supply room they were bunkering in, but Nimura - with a gravimetric-assisted boost - charged at the NIWS. With the booming clamor of a sonic boom the NH-28 loosed a gauss shell at her new target, which Nimura blocked with her zesuaium shield... though said block stopped her charge cold and forced her to stumble back two steps, her armored heels sparking against the metal floor.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Huh, them things is pretty small... Asher said, heaving his plasma flamethrower, is shield arm limp to his side for the moment. I wonda' how tough they are... With the pain he felt at the moment, he didn't seem to be much one for talking out loud. Though, the pain was almost an inspiration to him, more invigorating than intoxicating. He pulled up his flamethrower, and aimed it at the first swarm of drones, giving it three-seconds of plasma, before turning to the other and spraying it too with a three-second blast.

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Miyoko started to do her own investigation on the gunships, but as Miharu pulled up the schematics on them, she turned to look over the data it was displaying for Nyton thoughtfully. "They can outrun us if need be, and with them outnumbering us, it might be hard to prevent them from getting a line of attack... but it's still a start."

A Sakura was faster than a Himiko, much more heavily armored than one... Now that escort had been around for a while, Miyoko couldn't even count on the enemies not knowing the ship layout well enough to jump into the bridge. Recent events had certainly made that obvious. The only obvious advantage the Miharu had at first was its own relatively powerful weapon load.

"Their weapons are mostly short-range," Miyoko pointed out as she flicked through the schematics. "If we can stick about 1 AU away, they'll be in range of everything we can throw at them, while we'll only be in range of their aether shock arrays, especially if we can wipe out their weapon pods quickly."

Re: Mission 5: Amaya's Gate

Kyou grunted. "I take it you have the drones covered? I'll keep trying to tag her then." I wonder... "AIES, attempt to create a trajectory projection for the opponent. Once that's done, sync it to my heads-up for targeting purposes."