RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear (Battle of Sbuhfaba)

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

Takeyu nodded and walked over to the hatch; he looked it over, wondering how best to remove it. He could try and brute-force it, since it was a typical hatch, and explosives were out of the question since he was certain the Heisho didn't want to attract anymore attention.

He ran the palm of his armored hand over the side of the hatch and tried to pull it open, but nothing worked, not even a groaning of metal. "Tch..." he thought more on how to do this.

Thinking back a bit, he looked down at his forearm, and iignited his Aether Sword in mode one, he didn't want to risk drawing anymore attention and he prayed that no one would hear him working.

With precision cutting, he went to work unsealing the hatch. It took him only a few moments, but he managed to cut away that which was keeping it sealed. "That should do it," he said and extinguished his sword and opened the hatch up slowly.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

Nika got up quickly and followed Kumiko, leaving their NSBs distractions for the Rippers. The sudden shaking of the station indicated something big was happening outside, but the neko shurgged it off, focusing on completing their mission as soon as possible.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

As Takeyu began to cut, he bumped the handle on the hatch and it opened it with a mechanical click. It had been sealed but not locked. A short passageway ahead was coated in a substance that seemed like a cross of concrete and rubber in texture. On the right there were pumps and pipes from the meat factory’s drainage system. A similar hatch on the other side was labeled “OBSERVATION.” Meanwhile, explosive rumbles began to rattle the station as its turrets came under fire from the approaching Eucharis.

- - -

As Kumiko and Niko ran down the side passageway they passed an important-looking room with a large “RESTRICTED” sign in red on the outside blast shutter covering the door. A smaller label by the side read “Defense Shield System: Sector 1 Power Relay.” There was a control panel for the shutter here. Oddly enough, it read “Unlocked.” In fact, all of the area shutters did. Meanwhile, their armor computer reported the Rippers were finishing off the last of the NSB drones.

- - -

Hanako was unwilling to leave her crew, so Eucharis continued to fight. Damage control readouts showed a fire in the galley that was spreading into the wardroom. The shuttlebay door was slagged and it was a chore fending off battle pods that kept trying to Kamikaze into the spot it was open. Many of the turrets had been reduced to short burning smokestacks and remaining positrons were trickling out into space and sometimes damaging the hull. The main cannon was no longer safe to fire, and one of the smaller main engine sections had been reduced to a charred shell. The landing gear was also damaged…but that wasn’t really important right now. Hanako let Charisma auto-fire on the most dangerous targets and struggled to get shielding up in the spots it was needed.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

After seeing the hatch open while Takeyu was working on it, Sune looked through at the other hatch. "Observation, that could useful. Might give us a vantage point, to see what's going on, and get to the prisoners, or at least back to the airlock. We should check it out." he said stepping into the intervening passageway.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

Takeyu nodded and removed his weapon and took up the rear, though they had just come from a cargo area - he didn't want to risk it. He kept one eye forward and one eye back, just to be sure.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

“Eucharis, this is Lime! I think everyone in the large shuttle is dead! I can still rescue the armor teams if I c—haaaAAAAAAAGH! AAAAANGGH! HELP ME!” The transmission turned into gurgling noises and then ceased as a gang of Rippers repeatedly plunged their aether blades into the lone Neko, clustered around her like birds on a carcass.

- - -

Hanako grimaced as she heard the radio call. “Armor teams this is the captain. Our fleet will arrive shortly. You need to get out of the kill zone.” An alarm went off in the background. “Blueberry, do some damage control in engineering,” Hanako ordered. “We need that fold drive back online.”

“Yes, Taisa,” the blue-haired neko replied, exiting the bridge. She was already wearing her EPJs.

- - -

Through the next hatch Sune and Takeyu found a long clean passageway gray in color and with windows running along the sides. To the left was a windows showing the interior of the oven. Production seemed to have stopped; the conveyor belts were moving but there were no sausage patties passing through it.

Behind them they heard a very loud pop as Konoka’s Mindy vaporized.

Turning right they could see down the passageway. Along its right side, windows looked into the now-empty processing area and then paralleled the rail system.

Re: [Mission 9.1] Tip Of The Spear

Kumiko grimaced at how fast their NSBs were eliminated. "Himeya-Hei, take your charge and plant it in here. We need to get going. I'll drop mine off in an intersection or room on the way out." She took up a position near the door, watching back the way they came. "Hurry."

Sune pointed down the corridor "We need to move it, this seems the best way for the moment. It is also away from the enemy, and towards the entrance." He then started moving down with his LAS-Rifle ready and sent two of his drones down ahead to scout the path.

Takeyu kept his weapon up and scanned the area head of him; he also tagged his AIES to monitor his armor status and to alert him when it goes below twenty percent. He was intent on looking for cover, and keeping an eye out for places he could hide behind. Though there was little honor in hiding from your enemy, in this case he felt it was a necessity due to his current armor status.

He toyed with the idea of possibly having his teleportation unit active, but decided against it for now.

After hearing Hanako's message to the team to to expedite their departure Sune considered their options. He switched to the shuttle frequencies, "Alpha team to extraction..." no response. "Alpha team to Hamada..." All Sune received was static. Where are they? Why do they not respond?

He turned to Takeyu, "I can not raise the shuttle. I fear our transportation did not make it. Commence teleportation unit charging. If we do not fine any of the prisoners alive in five minutes, we teleport out of here. Hopefully Bravo team is having a better time of it than we are, but I am not going to hold my breath." he said to his team mate.

"Alpha Team to Eucharis, Alpha Team to Eucharis, unable to raise shuttles. Do you have a status on them? Alpha team is trying to locate prisoner holding area. If unsuccessful we will be teleporting out of the station in five minutes. Alpha Team out."

“Alpha Team, Eucharis; the Kuma shuttle CIES reports no damage but also no occupants,” Blackberry replied. “Raccoon shuttle status: destroyed. Five minutes is too long. You have less than one minute to get out of there so finish and go! ”

At the end of the corridor Sune and Takeyu found an unlocked blast shutter that opened to reveal a doorway into the prisoner holding area. It was quite large. Hundreds of small “capsule hotel” style modules filled a massive inward-sloping wall, leaning over a bare metal floor. The rail loading platform was here, with a few totally nude captives hanging by their ankles. “Enter password to unlock,” a nearby control panel read. The pods seemed to be unlocked and opened by means of large slimy tentacles hanging from the ceiling (perhaps some sort of computer-operated heavy tentacle package?) but they were not in operation. A lone Nekovalkyrja worker in a mustard-and-red skirt uniform stood stiffly at the opposite end of the room, obviously surprised by the intruding power armors. Takeyu immediately had her in his sights and could kill her if he wanted to.

- - -

A football-team-sized mass of Ripper armors suddenly turned the corner and charged into Kumiko’s hall, firing on her and Nika. Nika took a number of bad hits to the right arm and right leg while Kumiko got shot in the chest hard with a railgun or two and took some aether to the face, making her stumble. She was still alive, though, owing to the armor’s moderate protection and the general impact resistance of the Yamataian body. Both of their armors were down to 20%. It was either get to cover or get killed.

Takeyu had been keeping an eye on his charge counter for his teleportation unit, but now he turned his attention the Nekovalkyrja that he had in his sights. She appeared to be unarmed except for the NSP securely in her belt, and thus he wasn't entirely certain if he should fire.

He kept his finger on the trigger; he had never had problems before in shooting someone - but in this case he found himself having that issue. Was she just a slave doing a job? The questions just flooded his mind, but he ignored them for the most part and just kept himself trained on her, he had briefly taken in the area around the worker and knew that if she tried to call for help via a console, or just tried to flee, he would shoot her.

"Roger that Eucharis, 60 Second countdown." he sent to Hanako. Damn it, one minute? Things must be bad out there. That does not give us hardly any time to try to rescue any of the prisoners. Sune thought.

"Okay, time table has been moved up. We get these people free and make for the shuttle. If necessary we carry the prisoners." He sent to Takeyu, then turned to face the NMX worker. At this point Sune did not care if this person was a slave or a willing worker. The fact that this person helped process people made them as guilty as the NMX.

"You there, if you want to live, you have exactly five seconds to get them down safely or my partner here will be splattering your brains on the walls and your masters can use you for the next entree." he said.

The Neko nodded, briskly walking over to the track control station. She entered the password and the large tentacles from the ceiling descended and held the prisoners while the cuffs released them from the rail. The cuffs on their hands fell away as well. After they were free, the tentacles set them down on some nearby examination tables. The prisoners in this batch consisted of 3 Nekos, 3 Yamataians, and 4 Nepleslians, of which two were children. They all seemed to be somewhat out of it, probably drugged for safer transport. Meanwhile the Nekovalkyrja in the skirt seemed eager to make herself useful. “If you let me live, I can show you the way to the shuttlebay.”

"Aye Sir," he said in response to Sune's order.

Takeyu watched her closely; having seen what had happened a bit earlier reminded him that she was, in fact, working for the enemy. He trusted the Heisho's judgement though and held his fire, otherwise he probably would've pasted her brains on the back wall.

He fast walked toward the prisoners, but kept an eye on the Neko.

Kumiko dove sideways into the room, starting to charge her teleportation pack as she did so."Get in here, NOW!" She settled herself in the room, facing back towards the way she came. She quickly took her charge and tossed it into a corner of the room before settling her gun back through the door. "Set your charge and mine, charge your pack, and lets get out of here."

Sune had to restrain himself from wanting to slap the traitorous Neko across the room when he saw the two children. They were going to process children... He flexed his right hand to release some of the tension while thought. Problem, we have ten fairly drugged people who can barely stand, and definitely can not walk. We can not carry them all. We need a way to move them as a group. Perhaps they could use the examination tables.

"That sounds agreeable, but first are these examination tables movable? Or are they bolted to the floor?" he said to the Neko training his LAS-rifle at her. "Takeyu, while I keep our helper covered, kindly check her for any concealed weapons. You will forgive me if I do not entirely trust you." He said to the Neko.

The NMX neko walked to the exam tables and used her foot to unlock their wheels. It did not appear she she any weapons other than her sidearm (a Type 27 NSP). "Ready," she said. "There is a cargo lift over there that will take you to the next deck. From there there is a cargo corridor we can take to the back of the shuttle bay. We should hurry, I am sure the Rippers are looking for you. But...these people may have to walk. There are ten of them and only three of us to carry them."

Takeyu glanced over at the ten prisoners and sighed to himself; he had seen bloodshed before out on the rim, but even pirates wouldn't go so far as to kill children without a real good reason - and processing them into food wasn't a good reason, not in his rule book, or in any rule book that he had.

With the though in mind he shouldered his weapon; glanced over his shoulder in the direction they came and started patting the Neko down and removed the Type 27 NSP and placed it in his pack, then continued searching her. While so he made a mental note of his teleportation units charge, though he also had a thought - could the unit be used for extremely short range jumps, such a few feet, perhaps ten or twenty feet, it wasn't very well documented, so he was going to have to experiment with it later when they weren't under fire and at risk of being killed.

It took a lot of his willpower to 'not' blow her brains out, seeing the two children here and about ready to be turned into who knows what, angered him. He was half tempted to put his weapon against her head and demand answers - but then he'd be putting the Heisho and these prisoners in danger, for now he controlled his emotions.

Junko blinked the darkness away and noticed that she was staring at an unfamiliar overhead. She had spent enough time aboard Star Army vessels to recognize standard overhead plating, but for the life of her she couldn't place the ones she was looking at now. Puzzled for a moment, she moved on to the also unfamiliar sensation all over her body. That took a little less time to work through, and she managed an answer: she was still inside an M2-2A Mindy. The why evaded her for another tantalizing second... and then it came flooding back. She sat up in a rush, head whipping about inside her helmet as she searched for any sign of her shipmates or the shuttles.

There were no shipmates in sight, but both shuttles were in plain view in what she realized now was a shuttle bay, likely aboard an NMX vessel. Lime's shuttle appeared fine, but the one she was on was, in addition to being mangled, roaring on the inside with the white flames of a high temperature fire. She surged to her feet, rushing to check for survivors, but promptly toppled over. Thinking she was just dazed, concussed at most, she stood up again. When she fell a second time she glanced down, wondering what was wrong with her legs. From mid thigh down, both of her legs were gone, the armor appearing to have sheared off. The armor's internal tourniquets and her highly efficient NH-29 physiology had completely dampened the pain and kept her from physical shock, but the startling sight took her aback. Noticing then, too, that her rifle and armor add-on modules were all missing she finally figured out that she must have been thrown from the shuttle on impact, apparently clipping her legs on the way out.

Now, she was alone, behind a few crates in the corner of an enemy shuttle bay, combat ineffective with no legs, armor and shield integrity down, most of her other armor systems offline, and, to her surprise, only her butt pack. How it had stayed with her she didn't know, but she quickly dug for and found the NSP. It was a little worse for the wear but appeared functional and she hefted it as she scuttled backward against the bay's bulkhead. She couldn't fight and, not knowing the tactical situation, she couldn't run. Forcing down a whimper, she fired up her communications suite.

“Any Star Army units, this is Takeda Junko. I am requesting immediate assistance. I am severely wounded and combat ineffective. Holding position in the shuttle bay. Please help.”