RP: NSS Sledge Mama [NSS Sledge Mama] Ep. 4 - Schadenfreude

Sledge Mama - "Rumble Room"

As the three marines talked amongst themselves, Ylfa smiled.

"Now, this is all sounding much better," the Sergeant cracked her knuckles. As the massive cruiser pulled away, the marines standing on the asteroid could see their old nemesis on their sensors - a flight of five battlepods. Regrouped in the distance and ready for another round, they'd only have mere moments before both groups were in weapons range of each other. Mere moments that would make the difference. "Though, don't forget this asteroid's big enough to have canyons and caverns, or even the other asteroids floating close by. Each and every single bit of it is cover, which you're all going to need - power armors lose in a head to head fight against a fighter that's of the same quality out in open space," she reminded them. "Now, let's get the show on the road!"

The moment she said that, the fighters broke off from their starting point - two immediately started to throttle towards the marines, weaving through the asteroid field as they closed in, but the other three hooked to their left in a wider arc, their hulls visible for just a second or two at best as they set up for their attack run!

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Reaching into her cleavage, Sherry pulled out a pen and started scribbling away on a paper pad, the order taking as oldschool as it got.

"Ok, an order of Menudo from our cute little Delsaurian friends for our young hero here," she started, smiling towards Terrance. "And a ribs platter with the best meat the sector has to offer for the sports star over there," the redhead worked her pen, playfully bumping the side of her hips into Richard as he sat there. "You guys don't have to rush by the way - it's all pretty quick. You'll see why in a moment!~" Winking again, the redheaded Freespacer quickly folded the little order form into a paper airplane and deftly sent it into the air, her ponytail seeing to rise with focus. Amazingly, it made it right through the window into the kitchen, from where they could hear a squeak of surprise. "Yes!" Sherry fistpumped, her bust bouncing as she hopped on her feet.

"My, I've told you so many times, that's just uncouth," a soft, polite voice wafted out. A woman with long, straight blue hair and equally blue eyes stuck her head into view for them to see the paper airplane comically stuck on her head. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I suppose there's no helping it." Sinking back behind the kitchen window and out of view, the marines sat there for a moment as Sherry's grin grew wider, her hand motioning for them to watch. Before they knew it, the sound of a massive machine winding up could be heard through the whole restaurant, spinning fast and faster. Just as the pitch reached a feverish pace, it dropped into a deep timbre as a bright, nearly blinding green glow shined out from the rectangular opening in the wall and faded, the sound dying out. "Order up!" Placed on the counter was a platter with french fries, cole slaw and the most succulent, meaty ribs they had ever seen alongside a bowl of hot, spicy, steaming soup loaded with hominy, savory beef tripe, chunks of meat and fresh purple cabbage on the side to put in it.

They didn't even notice Sherry leaving their table to bring it to the table.

"Well, I hope this whets everyone else's appetites!" she bent over, placing the two of them on the table. After they dug in a little, she asked, "What have you boys and girls been up to lately anyways? Anything exciting?"

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Mark quietly sat at the table while the others ordered, not quite sure if he wanted to just yet. The sound and light caught him off guard more than just a little bit and before he was sure what was happening, the others' food was down in front of them and Sherry was speaking again.

"Exciting? No ma'am, we just do typical every day marine things." Mark replied with a small smile. He didn't want to talk about the last mission at all unless absolutely necessary, that shit was all kinds of strange and different and it made him uncomfortable.

"Stealthing up." Stripe said as he activated his stealth, then proceeded to go from cover to cover taking any shots of opportunity he could find.

"Acknowledged," Edgardo said, jumping up to a high vantage point. He took a shot at any battle pod that was open, then activated his stealth field. He then jumped to the next cover point, wait for 2 seconds, and fired again.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Richard was a bit surprised when he was addressed as a sports star without saying anything, it made him feel good that some people remembered, and even more so when they weren't all getting shot at. He was ready to sit back and wait after his order was taken but what unfolded next was rather strange by its own rights, the sounds and lights made it seem like something the IPG might want to keep under wraps. Once it was over however, the food was done, as if they merely had to heat things up. "That..was very fast." Once the plate of ribs was in front of him he took a bite to test.

Jaime runs over and whacks his shoulder on an outcropping a little taller than the armor and revved his minigun. "Engaging..." was all he said before he activated his targeting system and began engaging both with long streams of fire stopping only to change targets after a few seconds of fire. He'd gotten used to the memory system and as his belt came close to empty, he imagined another to hover just in arms reach at about arm level. He moved back into cover and screamed over comms, "Reloading Primary!" As the last casing fell, he jammed the fresh belt in and racked the charging mechanism.

He revved the weapons again and began searching for the pods again, "Grimes, UP!"

Sledge Mama - "Rumble Room"

As Stripe and Edgardo vanished from sight, Jaimie defiantly made himself known.

The gun in the marine's hand quickly spinning up, a hail of tracer fire leaped up into the night, lighting up one of the two fighters coming in from their 12 'o clock. Sparks flew from its hull as the rounds dug into armor, but the battlepod quickly turned, peeling off to try and better screen its approach with the asteroids as smoke trailed behind it. The relentless trail of fire chased after it however, pulverizing asteroids into rock and gravel before a final shower of sparks and flash of bright light signified the kill. Its partner however, opened up with its autocannons, the fat, heavy slugs of metal smashing into Jaimie's cover as he made to reload. Instead of flying by like earlier though, its thrusters flared as it peeled off; it was trying to widen the gap for another run without revealing its weakspot!

Taking aim with their DMRs, powerful rounds leaped up at the flanking group coming in at the squad's 9 'o clock. With each muzzle blast, the heavy rounds lanced out and smashed into the tougher noses of the drones, knocking them about and damaging their systems. Despite the element of surprise giving them the first few shots, the battlepods were proving difficult to hit; the two marines were having a hard time drawing a bead on the rapidly closing targets as they jinked and juked in and out of their scopes. The two marines flickered in and out with each shot, but as they kept moving, quick bursts of fire peppered where they were moments ago. It was only heartbeats before the fighter craft gave up the cat and mouse chase - before peeling off, a flurry of missiles burst out of their launchers, their contrails rapidly closing in on the only visible marine from the side.

Jaimie.

"You're flanked! Whatcha gonna do!?" Ylfa's voice chattered in his ear - he only had a split second to decide. Not only that, but the fighters were already setting up for another run, same as before. The marines had to change things up if they were going to kill instead of be killed!

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

"Well, we're quite proud of our fast service, but personally? I like to...take my time, you know what I mean?" she smiled at Richard. Despite this though, the ID-SOL's reply pulled her attention away. "Don't be so shy big boy," Sherry's silky voice caressed Mark's ears. It was past prime-time for business now, with several of the customers now leaving satisfied; it was a bit more quiet, but it also meant that the waitress could afford a little bit more time with them. Walking around the table, she was soon by the ID-SOL's side, a soft, warm arm casually draping itself around his shoulders as she leaned in from behind. "You're making me think I missed out on a good time you know," she teased.

"He may just be sparing us - not everyone has fun before coming here after all," the soft, gentle voice from before spoke again. The blue haired Freespacer from before showed herself again, but this time, had left the kitchen. Where the redhead was the classically tall, curvaceous hourglass, this woman was more plump, but in all the right places, her own tattoos glinting like blue snowflakes on her skin. However, as a Freespacer, there were certain quirks to her - in this case, both her arms were ball jointed, yet coated in some form of soft silicone. "Maybe we should tell them a story or two instead. Or, perhaps whet the palette with a drink or two?" she suggested, her own smile pleasing in comparison to Sherry's smoky, seductive grin. More importantly to a certain demographic of Marines however, was what this woman was wearing. Or, more accurately, not. From this angle, it looked like she was clad in nothing but an apron as she walked over from behind the counter. "My name is Berry, by the way."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" As though not to be outdone, a cart of dirty dishes raced by as a blur of green appeared and literally floated beside the table, flittering back and forward between the marines as they sat there. Clad in light elvish wear, this Freespacer was the youngest of them. With the appearance of a bubbly teenager, she was slim and lithe, with green hair styled into drills which bobbed with every move she made. "It's definitely not closing time, but I always love it when we're freed up - having time to chat is awesome!" What looked like a pair of accessories on her head turned out to be a pair of coils embedded in her skull, the craftsmanship shockingly smooth and seamless despite the two not matching. As they started to glow, she literally floated off the ground before coming to sit at the edge of the table. "Merry is me!~" the Freespacer pointed both her fingers at herself.

"I somehow feel like I'm lacking some sort of aftermarket part," Kelly commented, her hand absentmindedly placed over her flat chestplate. As this all happened, Richard discovered that his ribs were perhaps the most succulent he's had in his life. Normally, this was worth being happy about, but, in this case, it was almost like they were too good.

The Area 15 style of getting them didn't help with the feeling either.

Jaime primed his railgun when his systems readout told him about the incoming missiles. He flared his targeting systems to use the minigun to harass the missiles and use the railgun to pinpoint their location and practically destroy the missiles before they got to the group. He made a leap towards another nearby rock formation and slammed his back against another tall spire, somewhat denting both the armor and the wide spire.. He spun up both of his weapons and fired towards the incoming missile group. He laughed and said only a few words before going quiet,

"Wish me luck, I think they like me."

"Good luck," Edgardo said, before reactivating his stealth. However, he put up his DMR and equipped his sword and shield. Moving quickly from asteroid to asteroid, he waited until he above was the drone peeling off for another run, then jumped and sliced it straight in half.

"Cover me!" he said to Stripe as he pulled up his shield to defend against enemy fire.

"On it!" He yelled to Edgardo.

Stripe quickly found a alcove which covered his back while allowing him to cover Edgardo and leant the shield against himself. He then proceeded to turn his head tothe side slightly, and grumpily asked Ylfa"Does our HUD have a option to put a reticule on where a target will be?!" as he focused his fire on Battlepods firing on Edgardo.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Terrence, upon being greeted by more Freespacers who were debatebly meeting the dress code of the place, did something that was fashionably his style. That is, he stared at his food like it had the answers to his life before promptly shoveling the still-hot soup into his mouth. "Alright, alright, cool your jets before you hurt yourself." He forced himself not to burn his eyes out so that he could have a normal conversation with the employees of the restaurant before glancing up at the fashionably strange Freespacers. "Sherry, Berry, and Mary. Are you related?" He continued consuming his Menudo (which satisfied his doubts and reminded him of home) at a more reasonable pace as he payed more attention to the women's faces than they were likely used to.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Richard was normally not one to be distracted from his food easily, but when Berry walked over he had to do a double take at her appearance. Before he could even really gather himself a third freespacer made her way over to the table, Merry. He was liking the place before, and then even more so when they had ribs on the menu, but now he was wondering how much trouble he'd get in if he just stayed here. He made sure to finish the portion he was on before speaking though, not wanting to make a fool of himself. "I'm willing to speak up about anything that isn't classified if you girls stick around." Though she spoke to all of them, his eyes were looking Berry's way. "By the way, these ribs..are amazing, I wouldn't mind eating them every day."

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Mark cringed slightly as Sherry touched him. He never was one for sudden physical contact, especially with what amounted to a stranger and was visibly uncomfortable. Even so, he couldn't help but casually check out Berry while she walked over but, probably fortunately in his case, his attention was drawn away by the third 'spacer that was quickly deemed far to excited for his liking. Upon hearing Richard speak, his eyes darted over to him and Mark tried to subtly signal him with his hands and expressions to at least leave the bad parts about him out.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

For the most part, as she normally does... Rachael stuck to herself the entire time being nothing better than a wallflower while everyone talked and had fun. So it was no surprise when she was currently in the restaurant with the rest of Richard's group, and was not noticed. She just quietly sips her drink, watching the going ons of the place with interest, and intent to memorize... for possible future bribery.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

There wasn't much for Kelly to do except watch these pieces of meat and semi-meat blow air over flaps of flesh to make noise, or cram down the remains of dead animals and various plant, down bacteria laden holes, but with all this watching, she did notice something.

Mark was uncomfortable.

Though Sherry was interested in his sizable assets, it didn't seem he was with hers. Kelly could have sworn that bigger was better, but, wetware was just so unpredictable in its decision making. Considering the cheery mood though, the redhead herself didn't seem to notice. Instead, Sherry, Berry and Merry were racked with spasms - laughing all at once, clutching their sides and wiping away tears. Terrance's question struck a chord with them - one which brightly hummed, but, made no sense to her at all. Kelly understood that their 'laughter' was somehow 'musical' in how each of their voices was unique, yet seemed to blend together into one. However, to all her advanced audio software and filtering systems, it all just sounded like -

Previously - Wisteria Station

The squad was fighting off ghosts.

The three abominations literally came and went as they pleased, pummeling the Nepleslian Marines however they liked as though they were children's toys. One moment, a Cyber Neko would drape herself over someone, and pluck away a magazine before vanishing like smoke, while at another, one of those things would stab someone in between the joints with their fingers before running away, laughing. And through all of this, Terrance was shooting at thin air, yelling and screaming at absolutely nothing. As though he was seeing things that weren't there. The squad could hear footsteps and giggling laughter in almost every direction - like children hiding from parents amongst the clothing racks of a store, the marines could hear them from behind every piece of solid cover, coming and going. Briefly fleeing every time they opened fire.

"The helmets! It's the helmets! Take them off like Terrance! Take them off!" Ylfa yelled. The moment they did, they could see the three peeking at them from above one of the ruined train cars.

Realizing the jig was up, the three Cyber Nekos only laughed.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Kelly might as well have powered down, considering how silent she was. Then again, Rachael probably had the right idea - the Nepleslian woman had been completely silent here since arriving, and like Mark, hadn't even ordered anything. Suddenly, the proximity of Sherry to the ID-SOL seemed so much more threatening, and Merry kicking her feet childishly slowly as she sat there at the table's edge felt like a battle stance. Even with Berry, who kept a more respectable distance standing by the table's side - to her sensors, it was a good place to stand overwatch if melee didn't finish the job. The Freespacer wondered if these mere organics had, on some level, realized something she hadn't. Noticed, or felt something off perhaps? Was that possible?

"Ahhh, I can't lie!" the smallest, youngest of the three pretended to cry out. "Aftermarket parts! They're all aftermarket! We used to look all cobbled together and stuff!" she admitted.

"Though, with results this good," Sherry squeezed her arms together, emphasizing her flawless flesh, "Can you really complain?" she seductively smiled. The most civil of the three, Berry deflected from this topic, instead giving a small giggle and honest blush at Richard's comment.

"Flattery will get you nowhere - I will have you know that I receive many such comments," Berry regally spoke, a hand laid on her ample chest for emphasis. "Though," she peered at him, "If you stay, I'll give you plenty more than just ribs," the voluptuous Freespacer playfully smiled at him.

Kelly was at a loss as to what to do.

Previously - Wisteria Station

Richard had already had his arms stabbed pretty badly so when he lifted his hands to remove his helmet he was met with nothing but pain. However he threw his helmet off to get a view of the situation. He quickly lifted his rifle and pointed it at one of the strange neko, making sure not to get crossfire and then pulled the trigger a quick spray of bullets flying out.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Richard noticed Kelly going stiff and gave her a bit of a nudge to try and bring her back out of the cyber world. "You trying to figure out how to get yourself some 'after market' parts?" He soon turned his attention back to Berry however.

"Well I don't think my shore leave is up for a while. I'd be happy to see what you had to offer." He gave her a smile and a look that said she could come over to his spot if she'd like.

Previously - Wisteria Station

"Fuck this shit" Mark muttered as he complied and removed his helmet and got a better view at what they were fighting. "And fuck you bitches," he yelled, throwing the helmet at them before moving to bring his rifle to bear on the now visible threat.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

"So, uh, Sherry," Mark started before pausing to gain complete control of his voice, "What is such a pretty thing as you doin' on a planet like this baby doll?" He managed to relax a bit while asking the question but his unease never entirely left. She seemed harmless enough but her touch had given him more of a start than he anticipated. Noticing Kelly being weird even for a 'spacer, he discreetly tried to signal her with his hand so show that everything was fine and she needed to stop being like that.

Previously - Wiseria Station

Rachael quickly removed her helmet as she was ordered to, when she spot the three peeking at them from the ruined train cars, she quickly brought up her own weapon, much like Mark and Richard, and moved to burst fire on one of them as well.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Rachael watched as Richard flirted with the large breasted woman, she looked a bit annoyed to be perfectly honest. She never really understood why men found large breasts to be attractive, she continued to sip her drink... albeit more aggressively. She admittedly played for both sides of the field, but with someone flirting with Richard she didn't seem to be in a friendly, nor flirtatious mood... She decided then to order; She looked directly at Berry. "Hey, I would like a burger, can you please go get one?" She said in a slightly... unwelcoming tone, though to those who knew her, probably wouldn't seem very much different from her normal stature.

Previously - Wiseria Station

Their helmets removed, the squad rapidly brought their weapons to bear and unloaded on the train car the three Cyber Nekos were hiding behind. With tracer fire punching into the thinly skinned vehicles, the squad could barely hear anything over the roar and fury, but what they saw was far more important. Like some sort of nightmarish clown car, Cyber Neko after Cyber Neko came out from behind the ruined, burning train car as they shot it up. Quickly aiming down their sights, the Nepleslian Marines shifted targets, controlled bursts spitting out to cut them down. They split in two each time they were shot. Soon surrounded from all sides by the loosely scattered figures around them, the marines were forced together as they slowly closed, a single dim light bulb still functioning above them.

"Aww! They're -" the red eyes glowed at them from the dark.

" - not even Yamataian. Do we - " blue eyes sparkled.

" - still play with them anyways?" green eyes gleamed.

"They're volumetric! The bulk of them are fake!" Ylfa rallied the marines. "Just pulverize them!"

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

"N-n0 1'M n07!" the squad's war-machine almost shouted at Richard, her voice rapidly crackling with static as digital edge took hold. Despite her protest otherwise, it was clear that he managed to push a button or two with the Freespacer. "i7'5 n07 l1k3 1'm 574r71n6 t0 w0nd3r 1f 1'm m1551n6 4ny p4r75 0r 4ny7h1n6!" Before she could say anything more however, Berry giggled as she came closer to the young man with a warm, welcoming smile.

"Well, you already know we offer this and that," she replied from his side, her mild scent sweet to his nose. "But, if you're after a slightly bigger serving, I wouldn't mind," the voluptuous Freespacer offered. When Rachael ordered however, the expression on her face turned almost teasing. "Of course. I'll gladly serve you something as well. It's not every day we have brave marines like yourselves dropping by after all." With that, the sapphire eyed woman turned, giving them all an eyeful of vibrantly colorful tattoos before her electric blue hair covered them, idly tossed back with a casual wave of a hand. It may have been a Yamataian idea, but they were definitely on to something with aprons.

Meanwhile, like one animal eyeing another, Sherry almost circled Mark, staying near but never far.

"Well, we're Freespacers," she began to explain, leaning ever so slightly closer to him. "We tend to travel all over the place, though, with all that's happened, we stay away from Yamataian space whenever we can." Glancing at her friends, then back at Mark, she added, "There's always something for us to do, something that'll tickle our fancy, but sooner or later something else will take it away from here." Her words were almost wistful, and couldn't be any more clear - they weren't going to be here forever. They were wanderers.

"Yeah, but for now, this place is really cool - it's our first time running a place like this in like, ever" Merry added. Now that her long, slender legs had stopped kicking like a child's would, she crossed them, the shortness of her skirt becoming all the more apparent. "So anyways, what have you guys been doing lately?" the young, green eyed woman asked them. As though right on cue, the equipment in the back of the store spun up and radiated its brilliant green glow once again, this time casting her lithe form in an energetic light. "You guys got to have some cool stories or something!" Merry insisted.

"Oh, don't bother them - they're guests! If they don't want to, they don't want to," Berry replied, returning with Rachael's hamburger.

Like the rest of the food they had presented so far, it was flawless. Just looking at it, they could tell that the one-third pound of meat was hot and juicy from just being cooked, while the lettuce, tomatoes and onions were immaculately crisp. Perhaps just as importantly, and often overlooked, was the state of the buns. They could all take in that scent of freshly baked bread, the inner sides of each half toasted to golden crispness.

"Aww. But that's no fun!" the green haired 'elf' replied.

Kelly's eye flicked over to Mark ever so briefly, letting him know she understood. She realized that if these really were who she thought they were - there was a ninety-one percent match in their voices - they might just get away with learning a thing or two about their enigmatic foes. But, that was likely going to be a give and take thing. An exchange. They likely had to say something about the 'hard time' they were having if anything was to be coaxed out of these...things.

Previously - Wiseria Station

Richard would've been amused if he saw this happen in video but having what seemed like an infinite supply of enemies flood out of a single train car was beyond frustrating. When he switched his target to those coming out only to see that they were simply splitting in two, his frustration turned into worry. "This is bad..this is really bad." He continued to fire however, trying to find some kind of heart or core or something that would cause them to stop moving.

"Providence" Asteroid Colony

Richard chuckled at Kelly's response, it was rare that he got to be on the delivering end of a joke with her and not receiving. However most of his attention was at Berry once she got over to him, it'd have been hard enough to keep his eyes off her, but with her dressed the way she was it was nearly impossible.

When the conversation turned back to tales of their heroics, Richard thought for a moment about what exactly to tell them. Obviously he wanted to tell the most impressive story, so after a moment of contemplation he spoke up. "You know, probably the craziest thing we did was on the maiden voyage. They sent us to fight a Mishhu vessel and even board it. We didn't even have time to really get familiar with the ship before we were on our way. Once we were there though we got down to business. The squids were all huge, but the drill sergeants were scarier than those things. We gave them a solid beating....I guess the crab looking one was pretty tough though." To the rest of the Marines it sounded like he had hit his head too hard last mission if that was how he was remembering things, but of course he was going to make the story sound good.