RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 6] - The Trounce of Tami

"You see?" Vincent said in a faux-level-headed tone, turning in his chair towards the Captain. "This is why I didn't want to come here. Those xenophobic maniacs think they can handle the problem themselves, so I just thought getting their asses handed to them by the squid-faces would set them straight. It's about time they learned they needed help in this galaxy, they can't just go it alone."

The massive merc stood from his chair at navigation and headed for the quarters. "I'm gonna be in my bunk getting my shit together, if anyone needs me." And with that, he was gone.

Robert looked on sadly as his friend left the deck. While he had no particular love for the Nekos either, He just couldn't imagine letting anyone alone to the not-so-tender mercies of the Mishu. Especially if half the things that he heard were true.

"I'm going to suit up." Robert announced, and left the the deck, to the bay where he had left his armor after sheathing his knife and leaving around it's neck by means of a piece of spare string he found. "Now...How do I get the damned thing on?"

Jimothi scanned the room quickly and efficiently, making sure every single thing was in working, no, perfect working order. Things would have to be perfect around here if there was going to be the chaos he thought there would be. Massive invasion from a force that would not only destroy, but annihilate all in it's way? That would make anyone panic, especially when the defenses were as thin as they seemed around here. Moving IVs, setting up beds, making sure all the medicine was locked down, Jim made sure that the entire room was ready for a full scale rescue operation. Sending a message to Luca via telepathy, Jim said, "Luca, I believe I'm ready down here. Send any wounded here, I'll make sure to patch 'em up and send 'em on their way. You guys give those misshu something to think twice about, alright?"

Luca got the message from Jimothi loud and clear, "Great work, Jim," he replied in kind, "I'll keep you posted," He then spoke normally, getting out of his chair, speaking through the intercom, "Okay, here's my plan: Crane, Anna and John can organise a way of getting civilians off the planet. I'll go down and meet the locals, and get suited up. Everyone else, be ready."

He got to the armour, took off his jacket and all of the weapons in and on it, then strapped them to the body of the armour. He first put on the leggings, then the boots, the body, arms and gloves. He didn't have the helmet on, it was around his neck like a hood, ready to be put on when the time came.

The suit powered up and was able to support the weight of the weapons and all the ammo he'd bought. He stepped out onto the pad, to be met by a pair of red-panelled Itto-Hei's. One with long black hair, the other with a red ponytail, both Yamataian-bodied.

"Welcome to Tami, Mr. Pavone," This soldier's voice wasn't that of the stern she-bitch who met them over radio, "I heard of what you did."
"Yeah!" The other soldier agreed with a smile to her colleague, "Did you get that armour just now?"
"Thanks ladies," Luca responded with a smile, "I got this armour on the way here. It's Lorath technology."

"Really?" The redhead responded, "Looks like you might be able to hold your own on the ground alongside us. What about defending space?"
"Oh, sorry girls, the suit isn't advanced enough to go into space," Luca responded with a sigh, "But down here on the ground, My crew and I will be able to send 'em packing."

"Mr. Pavone, I presume," The icy voice of the She-Bitch sounded from afar. She was Neko, with white plates on her uniform, her hands behind her back, and tied back white/blue hair, "Looks like you also have the nerve to trade with inferior races, too."

"Just be careful of her," The redhead warned Luca over telepathy, "We haven't gotten word from Yamatai in a while, not since the SMX started warring, so she's a little on edge."
"No kidding," Luca whispered back in kind.

"Lorath equipment, how paltry - and you reek of Nepleslia, too," She-bitch sneered at Luca, and at the ship, "Only idiots like you would attempt to tackle something this big when we have it under control."

"Heeey -" Luca said, shrugging, "Lighten up a little, at least we've got something."
"Compared to a few specks of dust, yes."
Luca tilted his head, smiling coyly and leaning against one of the landing struts of his ship, "Is that so? Well... then you must be sub atomic particles or somethin' small like that."

The woman only known to Luca as 'She-Bitch' got incensed by that comment and attempted to slap Luca, but he caught her hand firmly, waggling his other finger, his expression stern.
The two soldiers standing by gasped.
"Calm the hell down, I heard you haven't gotten word from HQ, so let me give you the gist of it. Nataria has been attacked, and things aren't looking good over there - I think the general idea here is to get whoever you can here to suit up and prepare for a battle," He let go, "Also, please don't try and slap me again."

She looked at her hand for a moment, then dropped the icy voice, "I suppose you and your crew may be useful after all," She said, "I am Saeko Marujou. My apologies for previous attitude, but now I am informed, I can think a bit clearer now."

"Good, I'm not sure what the Mishhu are piloting or using now," Luca smiled, now she was talking sense, "But just be wary of any vehicles entering from the Yamataian areas - They could've stolen a couple and tried to come over here with them." He turned around, paused, and did a double take, forgetting an important detail - making sure the crew didn't overhear it, "Vehicles from the Nepleslian areas who openly identify themselves as mercenaries and say a message told them to come here... make an admission." He winked.

Robert followed Luca's example in suiting up in the armour. But unlike his boss he also slipped on the hood, feeling more comfortable with a mask over his face once again. He pulled out his old rag mask, looking at the different colored patches, that were all stitched together with thick black string. He tied it around his arm like a banner, and followed Luca out into the bay, standing by passively thoughout Luca's exchange with Saeko Marujou.

Vincent clomped off the Big Bird's ramp and stood at the foot of it, adjusting the Gust armor plates he had applied to the Wind Armor before finally attaching the helmet and getting a grip on his new Deviance chaingun. Despite the fact that his helmet was on, he glared daggers at Saeko Majurou. Eventually he assumed his place at the Captain's side, still resenting that he was going to be assisting Yammies and Neko in a closed environment.

It wasn't going to be a fun day.

Robert glanced over at his big friend. He knew that Vincent was probably hating every moment of this. He leaned overand patted him on the back, since he couldn't reach the shoulder without jumping and looking ridiculous. Which was not something he wanted to do in front of lots of beautiful women. Yamataian or not.

Valo was listening to the conversation through the ships systems. He tapped his forehead pondering if this was how the crew greeted everyone they first met.

Luca did a cursory check over of his gear, giving them a light clean, save the WIND armour: HHG loaded with Red, explosive bullets and enough speedloaders to last a long firefight; the Styrling Shot-12; and his best weapon in the arsenal: The M'Cel, loaded with Plasma Slugs.

He considered his options for a moment, and considered mobility, snapping his fingers in comprehension.
"SUV's or 4 Wheel Drives," Luca asked Saeko as he put his M'Cel away, "Do you have them?"
"Only twelve, and they're reserved," Saeko replied, "However, with Origin Industries nearby, I'm sure you could arrange to buy some of their four-wheel drives, and have them dropped here."

"Sweet, what's their phone number?" Luca asked. Saeko responded with the number for quick deliveries on Tami.
"Thanks," Luca said as he punched the numbers into his communicator, making it ring.

"Hello, Origin Industries, Tami Delivery Division," A polite voice on the other end of the line answered, "How may I be of service?"
"Yes, I'd like to make an order about your four wheel drives?" Luca responded in kind.
"Ah, are you taking about our GP-ORV, General Purpose Off-Road Vehicle?"
"Yes, could I purchase 3 of them and have them delivered to...?" He gave the address of where he was.

Mel, who was within an earshot of the conversation, next to Vincent, blinked incredulously.
"Cars. He's buying cars, now," She said in her armour, to Vincent, Robert and Sebastian, "Can you believe it?"
"I can. He likes off road driving and motorcycling," Sebastian observed, "But I'm not sure what he has in mind with these."

"What colour scheme, sir?"
"Whitish-orange, please." Luca responded wistfully.
"Anything else you'd like?"
"Do you have mounting brackets for weapons, and a place where someone could stand?"
The person on the other end of the line paused for a moment, surprised, "Ah, you'd like the truck model, then."
"Mmmhmm, that'd be great."
"That comes to a total of 15750 KS. Is this acceptable?"

"Hey, it's cheaper than advertised. Whys that?"
"We have to clear our stock. We're packing up here."
"Oh, in that case, absolutely, yes."
"Your items will be delivered to your position within the next few minutes. Clear the area."
"Why?" Luca asked.
"We deliver by paradrop for local orders."
Luca paused, smiling, "Wicked. Thanks again." He closed the communicator and pocketed it.

"Hmm, fair choice in vehicles," Saeko commented, "But why?"
"Mobility. Move fast, hit hard, run like hell," Luca said, "If you mount something formidable, like a weapon from one of your power armours to it, it can be a pretty formidable. My friend over here," He pointed his thumb to Vincent, "Has a chaingun, you see? It can rattle the shells of armoured targets and rip through unarmoured targets like paper."

Saeko nodded knowingly, "A good strategy. Where did you pick it up?"
"Saw it in my favourite movie," Luca responded. Saeko was momentarily dumbfounded by the acquisition of strategy, and so was the black haired Hei, who was more impressed.
"Odd... well, I'm off to suit up my troops and organise them." She turned around with the black haired soldier following her, "Keep in touch and in line, got that?"
"Sure." Luca replied, waving goodbye.

The other Hei-soldier, the redhead walked up to Vincent, examining his Deviance Gatling Shotgun, "Nice kit, man," she commented, with a genuine Nepleslian accent and expressed interest, "Maybe I'll roll with you guys around here. You seem cool enough. I'll be back soon, gotta suit up."

"Sounds good." Vincent said inside his helmet, his voice amplified by the speaker system. "Glad to have another crewman aboard."

Checking over his own equipment, Vincent looked the new Deviance over and stomped over to Luca. The huge merc looked towards the smaller Yamataian, his blank helmet covering any facial expressions he may have had at the time. He cleared his throat before continuing, "So when do we move out, sir? Those G-Porvs won't get us away from an attacking force when it's right on top of us."

Robert looked after the departing female with some intrest, which was soon lost as he realized that Vincent was walking away from him. He decided to hang back a bit with Mel, who he hadn't really ever talked too. "I've never fought the Mishu before." he confessed to her, "Have you?"

"T'be honest," Mel replied to Robert, pushing her index fingers together in her armour, "Biggest things I've shot down are big game on Delsauria, they damn near get as big 's people. Mishhu, however... well, I guess there's a first time for everything."

Luca smiled at Vincent, "The idea is that the armours we have aren't exactly suited to flying, and the ones they have most likely will," Luca checked the time, almost 30 seconds till five minutes, "So, we need to get as mobile as we can - we can use the cover that the forest gives us to our advantage. Also, having something to brace your chaingun on will make aiming a lot easier."

Luca looked up in the sky, noticing a few shadows come closer and closer to the ground. He smiled as he sidestepped, allowing a large crate to drop right next to him with a loud thump. This was followed by another two thumps.

"And, if these things blow up," He patted the box, "We can still engage them. They probably won't expect it."
Mitch shrugged in his armour, possibly a good idea, but possibly not.
"I can see where you're coming from," Sebastian said, nodding and rubbing the chin of his helmet, "But I think if we're going to engage them, we're gonna need a bit more firepower."

"Correct." Luca replied with a smile, pointing, "I'm sure I can ask that girl if she can bring a few extra weapons along for us, so we can be on par with them."

He then got to work unpacking each of the boxes. The three white-orange trucks had a full tank of petrol in each one.
There was space for someone to stand up on the back, and mount their big guns. There was even a place to put all of your spare ammo securely, and 2 cupholders, each.

"Okay, let's affix what we can to them," Luca directed.

"Need a hand?" A voice from afar rung, it was the voice of that redhead. She had something big in her hands, and she was able to hold onto it because she was wearing a Daisy armour, "I can attach this to one of the trucks."
What she had in her hands was the Shoulder-Mounted Aetheric Pulse Cannon one would normally find on a Mindy armour, and an Aether generator to supply it. She put it down on one of the trucks and attached it to the mounting brackets with a couple minutes work.
"By the way, the name's Allison, pleased to meet ya."

"Thanks Allison, now tell me, why did they let us have that?" Sebastian asked incredulously, "They must trust us."
"I'll say," Said Luca, "But we need all the help we can get, and so do they."
"That could apply for everyone, Luca," Mitch said under his helmet.
Allison nodded knowingly in her armour.

Robert raised an eyebrow at Mel, underneath his helmet, which of course she couldn't see. "So, a first time for you too, huh?" He said as the crates landed. "I call shotgun!" he shouted towards Luca, while he and Allison attached the Pulse Cannon. "Nice, who's shooting that?" he nodded at the cannon.

"It ain't me, that's for sure." The shock absorbers on the back of one of the GP-ORVs shifted towards the rear as Vincent hefted himself onto the back. One properly situated, he attached the Deviance to the roof mount and test-fired a couple shots. "Alright," He crowed in satisfaction, "I'm ready to kick ass!"

Jim checked his flechette launcher. Perhaps it would come in handy, despite the size of the enemies. Always stay prepared Jim thought as he got ready for the fight ahead. Quickly assessing the medical equipment in the infirmary within theBig Bird, jim hastily grabbed two small medical kits from the shelves, scanning them with a professional glance, making sure that everything was there. With that, Jim dashed from the infirmary, messaging Luca as he went. Luca, I'm ready to help treat the wounded in the infirmary, but I'm coming with you to help any we see on the way. I've got medical supplies, and am ready to rock when you are!


((second-half of post retconned until situations are figured out))

Robert looked over at Vincent on the back of the vehicle. "You sure the suspensions can hold your wieght there Vinny?" he asked with a sarcastic tone.

"About," Vincent said as he continued to latch his minigun down to the mount on the roof. "I mean, after all, the suspension hasn't broke and the vehicle hasn't rolled over and stomped on my head."

"Yet."Robert replied with a snicker. "Anyway, what's the plan Boss man?" he asked Luca, while taking shotgun in the vehicle with the Aether cannon.

"Plan is..." Luca said, "We let them come, once they do - we kick arse."
Sebastian was on the third Jeep, trying to get Vincent's old chaingun put onto it, but he was having some difficulty, occasionally grumbling.

Arin moved out of the shuttle, half investigating the thumps made by the crates earlier. She then noticed Sebastian trying to attach the chaingun, and decided to help him out, getting everything into place. Seb then swivelled it, and fired a couple of test shots into the air.
"Thanks Arin," He said as he gave her the thumbs up.

"Oh, Arin," Luca said, "If anyone gets hurt, you and Jim can help them, okay?"
Arin nodded. She knew that after the battle there'd be an amazing salvage to be done.
Luca then got a message from John: "Luca, Crane, Hitori and I have managed to get some sort of escape plan going with the civilians here - but we can't put it into action yet, not until we're completely sure the threat's over."

"Good work, John," Luca sent a message back, "You'll know when to launch."
"I'll go wherever Luca goes," Allison said, "Also, Luca, how come you aren't wearing a helmet?"
Luca pointed to himself for a moment, surprised, "Oh, allows me to see better," Luca replied, tapping the temples of his head, "Helmets feel stifling anyway."

Luca and Allison jumped onto the same truck that had the Aether Cannon with Robert. Sebastian and Mel jumped in the same vehicle, while Mitch jumped into the driver's seat of the vehicle Vincent and his Gatling Shotgun were in.

Meanwhile, Saeko had managed to get her troops assembled and ready to go. 30 people in Daisies, 10 in Mindies.
"We're ready." Saeko messaged the Phoenix crew.

"And now, we wait..." Luca announced in fearless anticipation, staring into the skies, his hands gripped around the wheel of the truck.
"Let 'em come," Mel mocked, "We'll send 'em packing."
"Back from the stars from whence they came," Mitch added in, "Never to return again."

General insults directed towards the Mishhu were traded amongst the crew in jest, and the meanest ones came from Allison.
"... bugger me," Mel blushed in her armour.

Robert laughed along with the crew, trying to cover up his sudden awareness of the open field around him. He quietly tugged on his helmet, trying to tighten it to fend off a rising panic. He hated being in such a wide, open space. His only two solaces were the good friends and his nice, soothingly tight, helmet/mask. "So Luca," he asked, "you've fought the Mishu before? What was that like?"