RP: YSS Miharu Mission 5, Part 2: The Fight For The Lost

Yukari had to repeat the phrase in her head before she realized the NH-25 probably meant her.

An NH-25 was a more difficult target than the Black Knights wanted to fight at that moment. They needed to get through the door. Time was short.

She did not aim her rifle, but she kept it at the ready. "Hold!" she shouted over her loudspeaker. "I am the lead officer. What do you want?" she shouted through her loudspeaker.

Kyou had to smother a laugh at Asher's immediate response to the NMX neko, regardless of how situationally inappropriate it might have been. She couldn't help but sympathize; the neko was acting like she was in charge, not like she'd been spared for no better reason then 'just because'. She kept her LASR up and ready, since with Melisson involved, there was always the chance that this was nothing more then another stalling trick.

The NH-25 spared Asher a look of contempt before Yukari spoke up, drawing her attention. Ignoring the potential threat of Asher's flamethrower, the hybrid nekovalkyrja frowned and told Yukari: "You're all about to make a monumental mistake. It's very important for all nekovalkyrja - and even mankind - that you stop."

"Explain! Now!" Yukari did not need to physically look behind her, but her armor did it for her. No enemies yet.

The NH-25 looked briefly dismayed for a moment, as if there was no way to really explain things without explaining them at length. Finally, she said: "Melisson intends to free the Second Draconian Fleet to assist us, the free nekovalkyrja, in destroying the Neo Mishhuvurthyar. You don't have to fight her... you never had to fight her; you've just been jumping to conclusions even though all she's ever done in the past was help you accomplish your own goals."

"I'd tell you at length if you're willing to listen!" the NH-25 then added, well aware of their haste.

"C'mon, Yuka-boss, gimme' tha' word, I'll roast her wiggly little ass." said Asher poking his flamethrower in the NH-25's direction, "This bitch ain't got no evidence! If that was tha' fuckin' case, then that would'a been told t'us 'fore we started this whole mess!" The Malifarian growled again, and stopped his boot on the ground once more. "If this was t'fuckin' help us, we wouldn't a'lost so much, yeah? Mel can't be that bad of a fuckin' diplomat, yeah? This stupid bitch is blowin' outta' her ass!"

Kai listened to the rapport, getting annoyed with Asher, despite the truth in his words. The yamataian thought for a moment, then spoke up over a private channel to the Shosa.

"Perhaps a compromise is in order, Suzuka-Shosa, what if we agree to listen to her if she guides us to Melisson. We can complete both paths at once, that way."

He then spoke to Asher. "Westwood-hei. There is no need for harsh words. she is doing us no harm other than slowing our forward movement, and we can resolve that quickly enough."

The thought made Yukari pause.

There was a chance. A chance. Melisson, in a sick way, had assisted them in many ways.

The chance died the moment she considered how Melisson had helped — allowing Eve to get as far as she had, contributed to the deaths of members of her crew, her family ... had killed an whole fleet of her comrades in arms.

Had destroyed an entire planet.

If Melisson wanted to help, there were other avenues. Dying came to Yukari's mind. Asher's voice rang in her ears, and Kai's suggestion sounded tempting ... but they were not the commander. She had to think. She took an audible breath before replying.

"I am not willing," she said. "Open the door."

"That blast door is automated," the NH-25 returned scathingly. "If I could have had, don't you think I'd have already escaped instead of being stuck here chatting with you?"

The NH-25 slammed the bottom of one fist against said obstacle, venting out. "Fucking Yamataian pride. We could've had a cease fire long ago if that idiot prince Motoyoshi would have agreed to that mock surrender. Now it's happening again... with you!"

She pointed at Yukari. "She told you that you could leave and have nothing to worry about. But you lied, followed her in anyways and tried to attack her where she lairs. Did you really expect a congratulatory pat on the head?! She was fair and gave you ample warning, dammit!"

"Fair, n'ample warnin'. Yamataian pride? Bitch, you don' know who you're fuckin' wit'." growled Asher, losing his patience as well. "I fuckin' swear, you god damn genocidal bitches got such convoluted n'self-righteous bullshit swirlin' around in y'brains that it turns ya stupid. We're not here for a fuckin' friend, get it through your god-damn head."

"Hei." That was all she said. Yukari did not raise her voice or make a hand motion. She just said his rank.

Yukari might have believed the NH-25, but there was a deeply rooted problem.

"I do not trust her, or you," she said. "If you cannot open the door, but do not want to be killed, flee. Otherwise, you are an enemy and we do not have a choice."

She put her CIES to work, trying to ascertain how powerful the door was, whether they could hack it, whatever it would take to make it through.

The NH-25 clenched her jaw. Her fists closed. She floated over to the center of the door, turned to face them and spread her arms wide, as if to block them.

"Ayuzawa Ume. Know the name of whom you would kill," she said, her voice tight with fear. "If you would doom our race by refusing to compromise, then burn me and see how well gunboat diplomacy does for you. But if you are open to compromise and willing to give me a chance, I'll see about stopping the attack on your vessel and have the Umbral broodmother's amplified mindwork cease - that would grant your Taisa a lifesaving reprieve, would it not?"

Ume's tentacles writhed with worry. More humbly, she finished with: "Please... try to kill her later if you still want to, but at least make it an informed decision."

The bulkhead seemed of similar makeup to the one Asher and Kyou breached through earlier. With gauss weaponry, they could be able to smash through.

Yukari was still as she considered what the NH-25 said. ... That a compromise would work. That Melisson could let them live ... and save everything.

She knew Kotori did not trust Melisson, and that was enough. But there was something else. The NH-25 said "our race ... " and previously had said the Nekovalkyrja. Specific, firm, not a mistake or a generality.

What of the Yamataian people? What was their part in this grand scheme?

Her helm lifted up, revealing her face behind the thin, transparent Durandium. She looked into Ayuzawa's eyes, not three meters from her. Her rifle was at her shoulder, able to be raised at a moment's notice.

She did not raise it. Instead, she switched her rifle to her left hand, shield adjusted so it was out of the way. She brought up her right arm, her forearm cannon popping up and rotating just a touch to aim at Ayuzawa.

Rapid-fire stun bolts quickly lanced out.

Ume shrinked away with a cry as Yukari's first stun bolt slammed into her. Intel reports on the NH-25 mentioned they could sustain a significant amount of stun attacks before being knocked out... so the rapid-fire mode was entirely warranted.

...and then a larger splash of energy erupted over Ume's bosom, far too large to have been one of Yukari's stun bolts. With a shriek of agony, the hybrid nekovalkyrja's tentacled limbs lost strength and she fell limply to her side, smoke rising from where her clothes and flesh had been charred.

"That's how you kill someone, Suzuka," they heard Kotori's voice point out. Behind them, the Ichigo's rogue M6 Daisy, organic-looking veins running through the metal armor, emerged from stealth. The forelimbs were different, both their undersides mated with Mishhu railcannons that had been molded bayonette-style into a pincer-like parody of a saber-rifle.

"I'm glad you refused Ume's compromise. Making peace with Melisson would've been so anticlimatic and boring," The warped NH-18/Daisy nonchallantly said, opening her helmet's faceplate to show Kotori's face and amber eyes instead of Ichigo's. She then grinned over at Nyton: "Remember me from Lor, Claymere? I lost my head a bit back there - that's how I survived Sakura's main gun. I've been waiting a looong time to pick up from where we left off."

More talk.

It felt like every time the Black Knights turned around, a new obstacle or blockade cropped up. Kill Mishhu guards, Nimura shows up. Kill more guards, face traps. Kill Shocktroopers, face a squad of elites. Remove Ayuzawa, face an up-armored NH-18.

And at each point, talk.

She was not about to let Nyton engage in a verbal sparring match, or wax about the memories about the foe, the Battle of Lor or any other topic. She would not let Asher munch through several curse-laden sentences. She would not let Kai attempt to diffuse the situation.

There was an Empire to save and a Taisa to protect. Now.

Yukari turned on a heel, headed for a kneeling position, and brought her rifle up on her off-shoulder. The shot would not be through a needle's eye, but she was at close range and she let her armor help her aim. She squeezed off a round at the NH-18's chest. At least she could damage the armor.

@vs. NH-18 Kotori

Yukari's shot crackled against the Daisy's barrier. "Ha ha!" Kotori's doppelganger chuckled before she stealthed out of sight.

"Good! Villainous monologues are so cliché anyways! Let's get to the good part right away!"

Rin stood idly by as the conversation with the NH-25 went on, though she jumped at the sudden death of the squidy-cat. Then, she nearly jumped once more at Yukari's attack. Finally, the enemy camouflaged itself.

It worried the sprite that the NH-18 was rather... Kotori-like. Scary, nightmare-mode Kotori, but still Kotori. She knew it wasn't the Taisa, but the fact that they were still shooting at a representation of her just wasn't right. The fact that Yukari had shot at it already made it better, but not much.

With the re-initiation of combat, Rin raised her LASR, ready to shoot at wherever the NH-18-Daisy hybrid might show itself. She was also ready to defend the officers with her own shielded form if it came to it, another thought she wasn't thrilled about, but it was necessary, right? Of course defending an invisible enemy wouldn't exactly be something easy to fend off... which is when Rin came up with an idea.

Kyou was very surprised when the NMX neko died out of nowhere, not having expected their leader to be quite that ruthless, only to have that resolved at least partially by the appearance of what seemed like an old 'friend' for some of the crew. As their leader took action once more, Kyou pivoted and fired as well, missing on the turn, but keeping her rifle up. She kicked what sensors she had into high gear, not wanting something as dangerous as an NH-18 sneak up on her if at all possible. She kicked her stealth on as well, since it seemed like the thing to do of late.

Kai was swift to kick upwards and boost off the ground, not wanting to be down there any longer with an NH-18. while he was twisting up into the air, the Yamataian swiftly switched out his LASR for his Plasma rifle, Stealthing himself as well so that he was as difficult to track as their enemy. Kai also had a thought for tracking the NH-18.

"Perhaps the IFF is still active..." he telepathically 'muttered' as an afterthought to Yukari.

Nyton was beginning to notice a pattern here, much like Yukari had, in regards to their advance. The death of the NH-25 had been a curious event, one that made him wonder just what kind of company Melisson carried on her ship seeing as they each had different initiatives. Or perhaps their purposes were not different, just the execution. After all if they had listened and allowed diplomacy to go through, their attack on Melisson would be thwarted. Likewise if the Kotori-clone succeeded in killing them. Melisson certainly had a mixed bag of tricks.

There was, again, no time to ponder this. Nor was there an opening to ask just why it was this Kotori even cared to mention continuing the fight from Lor. He remembered it, just as she said. After Kosuka had removed her head, he had deduced that she would get back up and continue to fight. He had been too late to warn Miles though who suffered grievous wounds because of her. In a morbid way it was interesting to see she had regrown her body from just the head. Had both head and body survived would there be two Kotori-clones? Plus given the nodal abilities of this body would it be possible to fuse her with the Signaler body and give original Kotori the freedom she had been seeking from her own self? Questions to ponder later though. It was obvious that Kotori-C had picked up a few more tricks since the last fight had occurred.

That was okay. So had he.

Nyton suggested while linking up his sensors to Yukari and Tom's via AIES to get a better idea where Kotori-C was hiding now. He had used the C model in the mission on Bowhordia which gave him a good understanding of the capabilities of the enhanced sensor pack. With the enhanced power available to everyone within their squad's net they would all be aware of just where the enemy should be. The trick was figuring out how to locate it.

If there were no surface disturbances then she was likely hovering about. The air was thick with all manner of particles from the noxious atmosphere in the ship so movement through the air could likely be tracked by this method. He had to hope though that Kotori-C would not also be a part of this link with AIES. Regardless, if they could track her then she would be designated the name he had already mentally assigned to her as Kotori-C. It was ironic seeing as this would be the third Kotori they saw during this mission.

Arethusa, reholster pistols. Nodal defense mode. Nyton ordered while he resumed stealth. The few seconds of pause by the NH-25 earlier had already given his impressive barrier system the chance to restore itself. He also recalled a technical note stating that the nodal system would be able to defend itself from such attacks like what the NH-18 was capable of seeing it had grafted railguns to the suit. There was also the matter of Ichigo's original loadout which he quickly refreshed in case there were still any missiles or other extras available for Kotori-C to use against them.

"If she wants a fight we'll give it to her! Form a defensive net, don't let her close in! Don't just fire wildly at her either! Her agility is incredible so try to work your fire together to limit her options!" Nyton telepathically ordered the squad since none had been given. For his part the man hovered up and readied himself to move quickly in reaction to Kotori-C's approach if she really was so eager to continue their fight. She may have decided to focus on him so he stayed alert and prepared for an opening to exploit and fire upon her with his LASR.


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Ayumu was about to raise her voice and argue with Hoshi about the danger of moving Kotori closer to the battle and point out the Taisa's previous resistance to the notion when she turned around. Kotori's latest cry caught her attention and she looked to see the ice begin to appear. The nurse looked at the ice, looked at Kotori, and let out a gasp of surprise. "Is th-the Taisa creating ice?"

What was more disturbing was seeing just how useless the ice was being, melting completely as it came into contact with Kotori's body. "I-if her body is so hot that ice is just melting right off th-then her physiology won't be able to withstand this for much longer. We may need to get her into the hemosynth tank now regardless of the proximity of the battle." she suggested. The nurse helplessly looked over at Miyoko as though the scientist might have an answer.