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

Kotori lowered the weapon and turned the NSP30 off, quivering. She seemed shaky and it did not just seem because of the duress she was under as her body primed itself to eliminate the Yui-clone's PANTHEON presence.

She had really been committed to sacrifice herself, then and there.

The nekovalkyrja closed her sightless eyes and bent her head, tensing, her expression twisting as she stopped resisting. The process completed itself quickly as her body flushed with heat and then the Yui-clone's presence was gone.

Her third NH-23 kill in the same day. As she panted, ventillating the excess heat out of her body, Kotori found it disconcerting that the process actually appeared easier than before - though she suspected it might also have something to do with the Yui-clone's only having very limited PANTHEON node options left to her and thus less processing power or whatever it was.

Another thought: Kotori's mind was somehow capable of taking over the sweeping minds of NH-23s, whom had the presence hovering through several PANTHEON nodes, each with the processing power of a quantum computer. It made her wonder just what kind of monster she had been turned into.

Finally, guilty relief even as she mourned the death of the Yui-clone. She rationalized that the clone had been a copy, not an unique individual. That the clone was already considered dead and would not have been missed. That the clone was seven-years past dated and would not have known how to deal with the Mishhuvurthyar, even less how to understand the context and be able to compete with Melisson.

Still, for that fleeting moment in which Kotori had been repared to die, there had been a certain form of relief. Kotori was battered and tired. She was afraid of dying but she was even more afraid of failing when the stakes were so high. If Miharu's crew failed to stop Melisson, saying that the repercussions could be catastrophic was something of an understatement. Delegating to the nekovalkyrja hero, the legendary warrior-poet Yui, had perhaps been a form of cowardice for Kotori.

But for now, Kotori lived, and the responsability of protecting the crews of her ship and that of the Second Draconian Fleet was now hers to bear. Her crew would share the burden, but it was still on her shoulders to find a way to make the difference.

The Shlarvasseroth, in the meantime, was insensitive to the drama on board the Miharu. It came to a full stop and then the great mechanical limbs that made up the triple-claw of the vessel's massive Inter-Dimensional Fatigue weapon array opened up more widely as arcs of power crackled from one quill-covered black talon to another. The rear of the segments at the base of each claw opened on its length, uncovering psionic amplification gear that slid out and then opened into rows of venus flytrap-shaped arrays.

Kotori sighed. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. Her hand lowered the NSP and left it to hang loosely from her fingers as she turned her head to eye toward Tom. "Tom," she began breathlessly. "I want to budget our remaining capacitor power in a ten-second use of the gravimetric engine, internal forcefields to harden the main hull, inertial dampening using Hoshi's gravimetric drives to minimize G-forces on the auxiliary ship along with activating Hoshi's energized armor to protect her."

Struggling back to her feet, Kotori holstered the NSP30 and then pointed a finger over the volumetric display of Melisson's ship, rightunder the 'armpit' of the Shlarvasseroth's portside claw assembly. "Using the main hull as our spearhead, we ram her ship there - it should disable the power connection of part of the array to slow the taking over of the Second Draconian Fleet." Kotori took in a wheezing breath and finished: "From there, we send power armors in and have them seek-and-destroy the puppeteer behind Melisson's interpreter body, the Infection Queen."

Hidden behind a stoic facade, Nyton breathed a sigh of relief. Returning to his station he then lowered his head slightly. "Hoshi, make a note of reminder that once we have completed our mission we should conduct a memorial in honor of the lost fleet and the deceased Taisho. It is the least we can do. A warrior of her caliber did not deserve to die like this."

With that reminder telepathically logged, Nyton then opened a comm to Kai. "Nakamura-Heisho. Get all available personnel mustered and ready to launch. The Black Knights shall be deploying to engage the enemy shortly." he ordered.

Yukari was thankful for Kotori's quick recovery.

It kept her from thinking about what she just said. I ordered the death of Yamatai's most central figure, the Mistress and Mother of all Nekovalkyrja ever created.

And I felt nothing. I feel nothing.

The pilot brought her displays to where her mind was headed, diagrams and reticles pinpointing her target. She imagined, in some compartmentalized part of her mind, how traumatic it must have been for the Neko crew of the Empire to suddenly return to realspace. Did they think Melisson was a new Jaaq'tah supership? They likely had no time at all to think. There was only time to respond, to let training and natural focus guide them.

That was what Yukari believed she felt, too. Focus. After years of fraught battles and internal debate, she only had focus left to her.

Tom nodded. "Acknowledged."

During the drama, Tom had been preoccupied with the ship. A pang of guilt nibbled at the corner of his mind while he processed the Taisa's order. Tom had compartmentalized Kotori's potential suicide in those tense moments as another damage report, a problem to be solved.

Certainly, he would have mourned later. He would have had regrets about their relationship and how it had been handled, and he would have lived burdened with the knowledge that he hadn't made things right with Kotori, even after he put his faith in her. It would probably have chewed a hole in his stomach.

But now, right now, the slumped body of the Taisa, brain matter all over the bridge would have just been another rogue cog blown off of Miharu's dying body, a system failure that would no doubt have damaged Nyton and Yukari's psyches.

He would have had to take over and administrate...

His thoughts stopped. Tom felt the rush of blood to his head, the pounding sensation of his blood pressure skyrocketing. Beads of sweat formed, then trailed down his head as he took deep breaths to stop from hyperventilating.

The ride through the debris field was a frantic one for Miyoko, as she worked to dissuade pursuit, coax the most performance she could get out of the ship's sensors under the circumstances... and later on, compensate for the death of the MEGAMI.

It was like a kick to the stomach for Miyoko, since she'd perhaps dealt more closely with Miharu's MEGAMI than anybody on the ship but Yukari had. Hell, there were probably days when she'd spoken more with it than to flesh-and-blood crew members. And unlike the crew members who'd been killed, it couldn't be easily reconstituted elsewhere if all went well.

But, there would be time to mourn it later--for the moment, she was too busy to allow herself the distraction. On the upside, this kept her from being able to pay too much attention to the visual feed from outside, which was grim at best. At least, until the Shlarvasseroth came into view--the sheer size of the ship forced her to look up at it for a moment. Miyoko didn't have the full engineering figures Tom had, but she didn't need those to know that the Miharu was in horrible shape... and she would be anxious about facing that ship even if it were. The plan to ram it only made things worse. So many things could go wrong that she didn't even want to consider them, not least of which was the potential of the mishhu counter-attacking. But, it wasn't like she had a better plan.

Kai quirked an eyebrow at Asher's comment, having no clue where it came from, and would have made an answer, but he was interrupted by a message from Tom.

"Whatever you may have meant by that, I suggest you brace for impact. Put everything you can on the forward wall, we are ramming the Shlarvasseroth. Also, we'll hopefully be getting reinforcements soon." Kai said, picking up as much of the ammunition stockpile as he could and stowing it in a more secure position than sprawled out on the floor, before bracing himself against the forward wall, making sure his and his suits' gravity manipulation capabilities were readied for a heavy impact.

"Okay," Kotori took a bracing breath and turned to Yukari. "Communicate to the crew to prepare for the collision. If anyone is left in the main hull when we impact, they aren't likely to survive. Power Armored soldiers ought to get their suits back in holding frames for their safety. The rest will have to brace. In addition to inertial dampening we'll increase the grav-plating to make sure the jostling in the ship will be minimized."

Melisson's vessel kept widening and deploying its amplifiers, looking more and more like some macabre triple-petaled skeletal flower. Kotori continued: "Give them 30 seconds, and then go." Then offhand she gave a wry smile and added: "Oh, and this might be a good time for everyone here to strap on to your seats with the safety harnesses."

Yukari nodded, keeping her eyes on her displays. She understood the plan and knew it had to be quickly transmitted.

"All crewmembers. Abandon Miharu and occupy Hoshi. I repeat. Abandon Miharu and occupy Hoshi. You have 30 seconds. All power armored crew should strap into harnesses. Unarmored crew must brace themselves.

"We will ram the enemy. Be ready."

Yukari reached behind her chair for her own harness, revealed when the back panel of the seat folded into the sides and held up a gray fabric x-strap. It fit over her body and clicked into slots at the bottom corners of her seat. She adjusted it to be snug against body.

"Who will stay and protect Hoshi?" she asked.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure those piles ain't gunna survive this'n!" said Asher as he dropped the munitions he was carrying and hustled over to the harnesses. The Malifarian hopped in place and secured himself in, and then pulled his 50mm close to his chest to get ready for the shock.

Tom's body had been straining against all the terrible things that had been happening around him. His uneasy breathing and sweating signaled that he was nearing his emotional limit, but the brief respite gave him the much-needed opportunity decompress, to mourn the ship he considered his child.

Privacy was an unaffordable luxury, but he made his best effort to not distract the others, pulling his head down towards his right shoulder, bringing a his hand up and cupping his face to mute the sniffling that emanated from him as he let his tears flow. It was difficult to strap himself in, but he did so blindly with his left hand, finding the familiar harness and clipping it over his body.

The thirty second respite was like an eternity as Tom reflected on his relationship with Miharu. The internal processes of his computerized brain allowed the Raltean to relive the memories he shared with Miharu. He remembered all those times he spent deep within her systems, fixing and modifying her as she watched. He remembered the achievements--his fold drive modification, the energized armor and so on-- as well as setbacks such as the ever-present power management and cooling problems they constantly faced. She had always been there, watching and assisting him as he and the technicians worked hard to make her perfect.

Perfection always escaped them, but Miharu's support never faded, and that undying support always made Tom work ever harder.

He remembered snippets of conversations as well, the most vivid of which was his conversation with Mara in the bathhouse, an act of reconciliation shortly after she, Tom and Yukari had suffered through a heated argument.

They had talked of restoration, of perhaps preserving Miharu's mind with a ship overhaul. He had promised to try his best to restore her, even suggesting making her a living museum.

But those possibilities had vanished minutes ago, and with Mara probably dead, all links to Miharu's mind were now lost. Those who lived were the only ones capable of telling her story.

He had asked Miharu of everything she had, and give she did, selflessly and completely.

"I am Miharu; I've protected my crew, I've been labored on long and hard for if only for me to work ... I'd rather die with dignity than live on in shame, as something else. I'm too proud of my accomplishments to want otherwise."

Click to expand...

He stifled his sobbing and looked up. The Taisa's commands had been entered. This would be Miharu's last ride, and he would do her the honor of witnessing it. He hardened his face to a proud stare, his grey orbs shining.

Fighting your killer to the bitter end, Tom thought softly as he wiped his eyes and face dry with his sleeve. I can see no more honorable a way to die.

Goodbye, Miharu.

"Everyone you won't pick to come along with you," Kotori answered Yukari. "I suggest you take Nyton, Tom, Nakamura, Westwood and Gunshin along. I won't be very mobile when Melisson starts taking over the fleet so I will stay here; Hinoto will run mission operations for you once inside."

"As if I would allow myself to stay aboard. You know I would never forgive you if you made me miss out a fight like this one, your highness." Nyton chuckled while strapping himself in. "Besides, someone has to carry your sword into battle. I've come to trust Hinoto well enough. I believe she will do a good enough job as your shield." he said with a grin.

The man was growing more and more excited and it was being barely kept in check as he sat there. Nyton finished taking weapon systems off line and shunting the power to more crucial systems necessary for their final charge. "This will be just like a cavalry charge, from the old days, Hoshi. Although I think I prefer a ship like you over a four legged animal anyday."

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At the announcement for collision the medical center's remaining staff scrambled. There were only thirty seconds to secure patients and themselves as best as they could. Ayumu wearily broke herself from her sob to hurry and stabilize anyone she could. Some of the patients were beginning to panic, especially the ones who could barely move for themselves. At best maybe half the personnel in the lab would be braced in time.

Yukari would have done a spit take if she had been drinking something.

"M-me?" she stammered. In her mind, the natural one to stay with the ship was her, the pilot. She was to go in the power armor team? Masako must have been more injured than she thought.

There only was 20 seconds to argue the point, and Yukari was not a debate expert. "Understood," she said, firming her voice.

Her eyes went to Tom. Seeing him cry like that ... why? Each other? For those who were dead? The ship? Himself?

Yukari had her suspicions, but the seconds ticked away.

"All crewmembers: Suzuka-Shosa, Claymere-Taii, Freeman-Juni, Nakamura-Heisho, Westwood-Hei and Gunshin-Hei will storm the enemy after it is rammed. All remaining crew will protect the Taisa and Hoshi! Let no harm come to them!"

"I hope there is a power armor left for me," she murmured as she prepared the one engine they had to receive a long, hard burn.

"Right..." Miyoko mumbled distractedly at Kotori's instruction to put on the crash harnesses. It seemed almost absurd--flying toward a ship larger than some cities at near-relativistic speeds, the thought of a little webbing making much difference just seemed silly. But, at this point... she was prepared to take whatever advantage she could get.

Miyoko hurriedly pulled the harness on, occasionally glancing at the sensor feeds. With half the sensors slagged and very little Miharu could still do about anything that happened anyway, it felt futile, but dammit, she had to do something. Saying that Miyoko felt anxious about all of this was an understatement... staring down the massive ship full of alien horrors, and knowing the condition of the Miharu and its crew, she couldn't dredge up much hope for victory.

Miyoko braced herself and waited for the crash. If she was lucky, maybe it would kill her painlessly.

Kyou stumbled into the armor bay, skidding as she went, having taken the last turn into the bay a bit too fast and too sharply. As she came to a stop again, she got right back to moving, getting herself over to her harness as best she could. "Nice to see you guys didn't blow anything up while I was gone. Did you finish sorting out weapons?"

"Sort of" Kai responded, wryly, having forgotten about the PA harnesses, and moving to the other side of the armor bay, strapping himself in one and preparing for the impact. He was a bit astonished with whom had been ordered to accompany them on their battle through the enemy flagship, but kept quiet about it- now was not the time to worry, they needed all their best people working on this one last mission if any of them were to make it out alive.

The thirty seconds had been elapsed. It was time.

Kotori lowered her hand to caress over the edge of Yukari's console, her fingers hovered just shy of touching the volumetric display portraying Miharu on Yukari's navigation interfaces. Her expression was bittersweet.

She then lowered herself to half-sit, half-crouch to Yukari's left, pressing her back against the console. The way she had braced herself was odd until one remembered that the bridge actually faced the stern of the cojoined vessels. Yukari was close enough to sense the Taisa using gravity manipulation to ground herself tightly to the spot she had chosen.

"Even in death, she grants us a renewed chance at life. Miharu had faith in us, and I intend for us to prove we were worth it." Kotori gave a resolute nod and spoke the words: "Let her fly, Yukari. One last time."

Rin headed off to the armor bay on Hoshi to suit up, rather quickly. 30 seconds wasn't much time, after all, though it also felt so very long as she counted down the time. While she wouldn't have the chance to avenge Miharu by boarding, at least she could defend her mother's sister... so her Hoshi was her aunt? It didn't matter. Rin would do as she needed to do.

Entering the armor bay, the sprite braced herself against the PA racks. She'd just have to quickly suit up after they rammed.

"Hai," Yukari said. And did.

Teal fire rushed from their last engine as she pushed the throttle up. They quickly were at 5,000 m/s.

Yukari put them right on target. Melisson's ship was slow to react, possibly not bothered by the heavily damaged ship that looked like debris. By the time they noticed, Miharu already was at 8,000 m/s and within two seconds of impact.

She winced as she felt the engine burn itself apart, unable to take any more damage. With Hoshi providing visuals, she saw the flare of the engine turn into bright sparks, pieces of the engine itself turning into plasma and melting off the rest of the ship. It left a long, disappearing trail behind them as guns on Melisson's ship fired far too late to hit them.

When Yukari looked forward again, they were inside one second of impact. She saw the psychic amplifiers, the base of the long pincer into which they were just about to smash. Her last thought, before the crash, came in an instant, and brought her some closure for Miharu's death:

For years, this ship was the sliver beneath Eve's skin. Infecting her every deed with failure. When she tried to dislodge it, she wounded herself and eventually died from that infection. Now it infects the Infection Queen, as this sliver is jammed beneath her nail too far to pull out. We, Miharu's crew, are the infection. And we will kill Melisson.

"Impact! — "