RP [Open RP] Seizing The Opportunity (Kuvexian War Final Battle/Battle of Glimmergold)

With the Rikugun complement onboard and the YSS Shimakaze attached, the two beleaguered minnows began their burn back towards the Essai Machine World. The Yukikaze was in a perpetual cycle of slowing down to use it's graviton beams to pick up escape pods, savior pods, and any Mindy who's IFF showed life signs. One by one, the ship's shuttle and power armor bays began to fill with survivors. The occasional Kuvexian still twitching would attempt to board, but they were only greeted by angry Rikugun fire for their trouble.

YSS Yukikaze Power Armor Bay

"Teams 7501, 7503 go down to the shuttle bay and defend the ship against any would-be guests!" Mikael said once everyone was rearmed. He looked over at all of his team leaders either incapacitated or dead. The battle had taken quite a toll on the Giretsu. He had trained them to operate in a space environment for a limited amount of time, expecting them to have boarded a ship eventually. But they were Rikugun infantry after all. "The rest of you remain here and do the same. Shibuya-hei, you are in charge!" he continued before he dropped back into the vacuum of space.

Outside the YSS Yukikaze

He flew up and attached himself to the top of the Yukikaze with his left hand's scalable graviton beam projector, looking like a cowboy riding a bull. Guarded with only his 20mm Shoulder mounted Gauss Cannons, Mikael started assisting with the Survivor Recovery operation with both the graviton beam projector in his right hand and the larger one in his back. His right hand was used to guide missed escape pods into the Yukikaze's beams, while the one on his back held onto a number of missed assets for the Yukikaze to grab on to later. The occasional Kuvexian opportunist sharp enough to pay attention would take potshots at him.

"Evidently, that civilian isn't the only crazy one today." Mizuki communicated to Mikael via their encrypted channel. "Just doing my part and your graviton projector appears to be broken here. I will remain for as long as I can." Mikael replied back.

YSS Kaiyō II
Bridge

Hoshi's voice came through the comms of all of her crew, "Activate teleporters back to the ship now! We've taken nacelle damage and won't be able to go back to base! We're out of here and reconvening with the Yamataian fleets in the Kikyo Sector through the wormhole!" It was a wordy order, but she wanted them to know that failing to group up with the ship now would mean being apart for at least three months.

To Gravity, she asked, "Got that? Fly us through slow and steady in the middle of the pack," Hoshi said.

Then, to Shosho Uzume, she tried to create a line, "Shôshô, thank you for caring for us and the base well. We are departing through the wormhole due to ship damage. We will see you back in the Kikyo Sector!"

YSS Tokyo
First Expeditionary Fleet
Tokyo Expeditionary Battlegroup and Taihō Expeditionary Strike Group

It was the end of it, the Mistress Taisho had given the word. The fleets had accomplished what they had come to do, and given the data from the battle, Katsuko was more than pleased with the performance of the Tokyo and the rest of the fleet. The Dreadnought had shown its worth on the battlefield too, and its incredible ability to soak damage when it faced what would have been an impossible task for previous in-service designs like the Yamato. "Ok, Tokyo-Chusa, get us back through the wormhole." When the ships of the Taihō Expeditionary Strike Group had finished their assault on the last Kuvexian world, they too were pulled back under her order. The re-established fleet had gone in with fewer ships than the other units, and still, the feeling of victory was shared.

"Hai Taisho, all our fighters, bombers, and armors are back on board...Those who made it back anyway," Himawari acknowledged and reported in.

The YSS Tokyo led its remaining escorts and attached ships back through the wormhole to Scrapyard to join the First Fleet and the other ships of the International Armada. Katsuko was quiet as she observed the bridge and the interactions of her crew, her gaze briefly focused on Eri who she had yet to tell about the decision she had made before they had left Yamatai. She somehow knew though that the channels of her clan had been active, from Yaichiro to Eri and no doubt Yuka had failed to keep her words in confidence. She disconnected her SPINE and stood up, she stretched after having been seated in the command chair for so long.

"See what you can do in terms of getting an update from the Mazu, Eri," she ordered. Since the YSS Mazu and the YSS Sakura II had left them before they went to Glimmergold she had felt uneasy.

This was the last fight for her, at least the last in the Star Army. Retirement waited in the near future on the other side of the wormhole. The badly damaged Tokyo slipped through the liquid-like surface of the portal and emerged a moment later on the other side.

"I will address the fleet shortly," Katsuko said, after a fight like that the crews of all her ships would expect to hear her.

Victory for Yamatai.

YSS "Presurgence"

Wes said:

"Recall all armors and fighters immediately!"

Click to expand...

"All of you soldiers and pilots still out there need to hurry back, now," Kalena sent in broadcast, relaying Captain Majime's orders to the power armors and starfighters who continued battling in the war-torn hellscape that Glimmergold had become. "Good work out there. We're about to make the return transit home."

Hojo-taii stood beside the teal haired Starship Operator's chair, her left hand settled atop its headrest while she monitored the status of their warriors as they returned to the ship. Despite the beating the "Presurgence" itself had taken, the young first officer was glad that the ship's personnel losses were so minimal. Even with soul transfer technology lending effective immortality to every one of them, deaths in combat nonetheless cut short valuable experiences and robbed Yamatai of whatever eventualities those lifetimes would have brought to the Star Army and Empire. She hoped the relative success held for these last fleeting moments so her crewmates could return alive, make it back to the Kikyo Sector, and partake in the elations of victory to come.

"Direct returnees who are not injured to assist with damage control," Kagura said to Kalena, who relayed the Taii's order immediately. "We've got to keep this old thing flying a little more yet."

YSS Kaiyo II

William nodded to Aiko after she extracted herself from the pod. As she began to suit up in her spare suit, he turned to leave. However it was at that moment that the recall order was issued. It was finally over. He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. He moved his power armor to its bay and locked it in place.

The Cyclop's back opened and William stepped out of the frame, closing as soon as he was clear. The Nepleslian soldier ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair. "It's done Aiko..." He said, finally said through their private link. "We won." He said turning to look at her, a big grin plastered on his face. "Also don't think that blowing up that station gives you more kills than me." He teased.

With the battle over and the battle stims filtering out of his system, William sat against the nearest bulkhead and allowed himself a moment of rest.

NSS Southpaw

The bridge crew let out a roar once more as the final Kuvexian planet began to shatter. Valke smiled, allowing the momentary celebration. "Sir!" The comms officer called, breaking everyone's reverie. "The Yamataian's are calling for a retreat!" The Admiral nodded back to the officer. "Acknowledged. First Assault Fleet units begin a tactical withdrawal! I want all ships making best speed towards that wormhole!" He ordered.

Turning to the rest of the bridge crew, he said. "We will take up the rear. I want to make sure all our ships make it out of this wretched system. Tactical fire every last weapon we have on this tub at those bastards while we have a chance. CAG, get our strike craft back here. Interceptors will defend the fleet as we retreat. Let's get it done people!"

"AYE AYE!" Came the reply from his crew.

The hull of the Southpaw was awash in the glow of canon flashes and missile exhaust. The same was repeated on the other assault carriers, following the Southpaw's lead in emptying their magazines while they had the chance.

YSS Yukikaze

"Yes sir!" Hiroki responded to Mikael.

As Mikael was outside the ship assisting in the rescue and recovery efforts, Hiroki turned to the teams he was in charge of and ordered, "All of you, take up defensive positions here. Make sure none of those Kuvexians get in here."

The teams moved behind cover and took higher positions to watch the entryway into the YSS Yukikaze via the shuttle bay. It was a tense moment, but eventually four NPAs made their presence known and attempted to enter the shuttle bay, but the combined fire of the defenders was quick to cut them down. Amongst all of the wreckage out in space, another Kuvexian troop transport was braving the debris field to get inside the shuttle bay. A Neko armed with a Type 30 and another Mindy sporting a 20mm Gauss Cannon opened fire on the incoming transport. All four missiles hit the hull of the transport as did a few shots from the gauss cannon and the vessel exploded adding yet more scrap and body parts to an already expansive wreck field that would make a scavenger feel like they were in eternal bliss.

All that was left to do was await Mikael's return with any survivors and get back through the wormhole.

YSS Kaiyo II
Bridge

"Aye." Came Gravity's simple reply as she gently eased her damaged baby into a ring of other gunships.

"Hey guys! Kaiyo here! Mind if I use you all as a bullet shield for a few minutes? We got dinged up pretty bad." Asked the Chui, as she proceeded to use the ring of gunships as bullet shields regardless of response and limp for the wormhole.

YSS "Presurgence"
Engineering

"Good work, Pidole-Hei." Jax breathed in relief as the reports of skirmishes around the ship began to go silent. Jax looked at his tiny red-haired minion and patted her on the shoulder before moving back to his console.

"Same goes for all of you." Jax-chui said in an open comm to the other engineers, as well as Sanda, and some other infantry who were finishing up.

"Normally, your first mission isn't supposed to be the epic final battle between two galactic superpowers. But despite many of you being pitched right into the fire straight out of training, you all handled yourselves professionally and with courage. Take pride in that, for you were part of history today." The newly instated Chui announced to the Resurgence's new crew.

"Alright, let's clean this mess up. Engineering, finish damage control efforts and prepare to receive damaged armors. If you've got a Mindy on, why don't you help carry fallen hostile armors? Oh, and make sure they're really dead. First round's on me when we get back."

YSS "Presurgence"

Sanda heard the all clear from signal and closed her eyes. It was over. They had done it. Feth, but they really had done it. She took off her helmet and gave her hair a shake. She needed a drink, then a long hot shower. Sanda headed back towards the Med bay. She had to stop several times to check and make sure the gold power armors that lay on the floor were really dead. A slash with her Straight Silver knife took care of that. She finally made it back to the Med bay. Kwabba-an was still being tended to with Kozakura standing watch. As Sanda approached she felt total fatigue wash all over her. She managed to say weakly to Kozakura, "Hey movie star, can you give me a hand with this suit? I don't think I can get it off by myself."

NSS W.O.N

During the scramble and chaos that ensued, this battle became a crucible. Forging steeled warriors, who had prepared, and learned from the last major engagement at Nataria. With their chance to leave now open. Irene addressed her task force once more."all members of taskforce Wolfpack, return through the gate and back to the kikyo sector. Once we have returned we will contact the 2nd assault fleet. A quarter of our forces were lost. We will regroup on the other side. I will address the taskforce and fleet once we return the battle is not over yet damaged ships forward to the tip of the spear. All heavy cruisers and Bastard class. Provide a blanket of fire for our men and women." As the ships changed formations. The mass accelerators hummed prepared to fire another volley into the deadly Kuvexians light show. The brunt of the barrage, taken by a massive cruiser, as it's shields broke, the group could see its hull tear open from the sheer volume of fire as fighters, and smaller gunships were caught in the barrage as well leaving a trail of Kuvexian scrap in its wake."Fire another volley and keep firing till we are out of everything!" Her order came over the encrypted channels of the Taskforce. "Aye Aye Grand admiral!" Was the clear enthusiastic response.

The young Grand Admiral, was at a loss. Never before had she seen a battle so spectacularly destructive . Yet here, along with her task force. Did they witness, the total elimination of a stronger kingdom. Due to destroying their economy. Hindsight clearly became 20/20. Leading the group of ships into the wormhole, the Ships followed their Yamataian allies, their ferocity in this battle was certainly worth her respect. History was written on this day, and of they survived, the stories to tell would be legendary.

As each ship slipped through the liquid esque wormhole, the damaged taskforce, had made it through. Each ship that survived the ordeal reported in. From the young comm Sergeant would turn to Irene."Grand Admiral, we have lost 40 total ships, not counting fighter squadrons among the taskforce. Estimated fighter casualty rate was 40%." Irene stood unmoved by the figures given to her. Nodding to the comms Sergeant she spoke softly yet firmly." Patch me through to all frequencies." The young Sergeant nodded and gave the thumbs up to the Admiral.

"Attention all members of the Glimmergold joint battle group. This is Grand Admiral Irene Barná of the NSS Wrath Of Nepleslia. Let us hope that once and for all that the kuvexian menace will no longer plague our Sector. Seeing the ferocity of every member of this battle group was awe inspiring. This day will go down in history. 3rd Nepleslian Assault fleet Taskforce Wolfpack, will assist with any emergency activities for members of the Battle group. We all survived that hell. Every nation say glory today. But for the ships we lost. Let us take a moment of silence, as a group. In honor of those that sacrificed everything. For this victory and their Nation."

Her words hopefully fell on responsive ears, as she commander the bridge crew to relay messages to all ships of her task force."assist in emergency repair and medical aide for ships that are capable to do so. The remainder will be escorted to Nepleslian space."

YSS Tokyo
Bridge

Eri gave a small nod as orders were passed down to the bombers and fighters, to the power armor groups that needed to be told, and anyone else more or less that had launched from the Tokyo. She had even gone on to pass the orders on to continue firing on the final planet until it was done, and as the orders came from Yui to turn, and the Tokyo had started her own return, it seemed the green haired Shosho relaxed just a bit. Eyes turned to Katsuko as a mental message passed between the two.

"Looks like we made it." She offered up, and only after they had made it through the wormhole. She was already working on getting word from the Mazu as she pulled herself from her SPINE connection too and began to call check-ins from the various members of the fleet. She wanted to see status reports from each of the captains of the various ships to see just what was going on, all to keep her mind from the upcoming conversation she knew she was going to have with Katsuko, about just what she intended to do after this fight. Eyes shut for a moment as she leaned her head back and mentally she called on the ship to bring up a line to the Mazu to see how they were doing.

"YSS Mazu and YSS Sakura II this is the YSS Tokyo I need a status update on you two. What is going on over there on your end?"

Glimmergold System

As the Kikyo Sector forces withdrew, the Kuvexian fleets continued to rage against them, dumping every missile and torpedo they had, hitting ships as they turned and rushed towards the portal that was their only ticket home. The Glimmergold system was ruined forever, now nothing more than clouds of asteroids and wreckage, and Yui took one last look at it as her ship, the YSS Battle of Yamatai, backed itself through the portal in reverse. It was the last ship to leave. Her eyes refocused from the battle scene to the window in front of her where she saw her own reflection. "See you next war," she quietly hummed, then turned around with a wicked grin as the ship was sucked through spacetime and arrived back in the Kikyo Sector. "Signal the Essai to close the wormhole. Sanitize the area of any fighters, ships, or enemy soldiers that came with us. And put me on comms with all captains."

The Essai closed the portal as the last moment, just before the Kuvexian Fleets had almost reached it.

Yui took a moment to address the combined fleet. "Everyone. I want to thank you for putting your trust in me. This mission was a big thing to ask of you for many reasons. We were outnumbered. We were working alongside an unfamiliar faction. We had our politics and our moral reservations. I apologize for the things I said about anyone who had cold feet, because you weren't wrong. But in the end, we came together. The people of my planet, in a town called Ralt, have an ancient legend of a god named Thor, who wielded a mighty hammer. Today we were that hammer, combined into a single unstoppable weapon, smashing the foundations of the Kuvexian Interstellar Kingdom. Today we proved that we are greater together than apart and when our nations work together, anything is possible. This is Taisho Ketsurui Yui, signing off."

With that, Yui went back to her captain's chair and leaned back in it, feeling satisfied, only to be interrupted by one of her officers.

"Taisho, Taisho Parasparta of the other Star Army is requesting to speak with you privately."

"They came with us?" Yui said.

"Their Essai planet was destroyed so they couldn't go back."

"I see. Well, this will be an interesting development..." Yui rubbed her chin.

- - - - - EPILOGUE - - - - -

The destruction of Glimmergold caused the total collapse of the Kuvexian Kingdom. King Kalapom was ousted, then assassinated, and his heirs had died on one of the planets destroyed in the attack along with trillions of others. Without pay, the Kuvexian Navy struggled to operate at all and soldiers abandoned their posts. Thousands of worlds' economies were left in shambles and hundreds of species were freed from their Kuvexian yoke. Yui and her Star Army would eventually become the monsters and barbarians Kuvexian parents told stories about to scare their children into behaving. The battle also set off a wave of poverty throughout a certain section of the galaxy, causing great migrations as desperate peoples struggled to find their way through the chaos left behind.

The forces of the Star Army of Uesureya returned to Nataria, and the future of their Empire's relationship with Yamatai remains to be seen...

The Yukikaze lagged around as much as it could within the debris fields collecting soul savior pods and still living survivors from the clutches of the Kuvexians. One by one, the bays with direct exposure to space started to fill with the precious data of Yamataian soldiers, escape pods, and power armor fragments. Nekos immediately climbed out of their pods and helped remove savior pods stuffed into escape pods so they could be pushed out to make room for new survivors.

A pissed off dark skinned Minkan, badly injured made his way towards the Shuttle Bay with Type 41 Star Army Rifle despite being chased by a young medic. "Hansen-heisho! You really should not be doing this!" But he didn't listen, he just kept on moving and only thinking about his subordinates. When he got to the shuttle bay, he looked over towards a distant Mindy, staying out of range of their CFS.

"Soldier!! Who is in charge here?!" He said, wondering who was still functioning. "

"Itto Hei Shibuya, heisho!! The Centurion placed him in charge before going out to help with recovery!" An armored Neko replied before shooting at a Kuvexian NPA that managed to get close enough to board. The Kuvexian let off a mini-missile that flew and exploded into the ceiling as it fell over dead.

"Shibuya-hei!! Carry on then soldier! Zhang-hei, get down!!" He said as he ducked behind cover. As the senior enlisted advisor, he could certainly take over. But if Harris-Chui felt confident enough to let the boy spread his leadership wings, who was he to interfere?

Meanwhile...

Mikael continued to drag in missed savior pods for the Yukikaze graviton array missed and guide others for the emitters around the bays to grab and bring in. But the Kuvexians were on to him, with an increasing frequency of them attempting to take potshots at him, saved only by the increased shielding of the YSS Yukikaze. The ones that were close enough to melee with him seemed more interested in getting inside the ship than dealing with the ship surfing dude. Though the occasional one that did want to enter melee were either cut down with his gauss cannons or met their end with the blade of his free forearm projector.

As shielding started to fail and the hull taking damage again under all the missed shots towards the retreating capital ships, Sakurai Mizuki made the decision to make a full beeline for the wormhole and retreat with those they were able to save. Mikael had no time to make it back to the power armor bay, so he simply continued to drag what he could into his rear graviton field.

"Wooooo!!" Mikael said on an open channel as he placed his hand up in a victory gesture as the Yukikaze entered the event horizon of the wormhole.

YSS Yukikaze Logs:

Saved Soul Savior Pods: 200
Saved Soldiers (Pilots, crewmen, infantry): 500
Combined Kuvexian Kills/Bounty: Priceless

Steiner had managed to gather up a decent haul for himself in addition to what Reinhart had gathered-a number of kuvexian weapons, a handful of powersuits, a few of the smaller wrecked craft, though one was mostly intact save for a smashed in cockpit, whatever odds and ends that looked interesting or might be useful-he thought he saw the drones grabbing destroyed equipment from their allies-he'd see about it later, perhaps get some assistance in that regard, and a troop transport that the drones had managed, after some difficulty, to get working, though steering the damned thing with a drone had been a pain-the pilot had died at his controls-rigor mortis having set in. After storing what he could in the transport itself, they proceeded to the now retreating fleet through the portal.

Still they had made it safe and sound-he waved to the Yukikaze as they passed the ship, pointing at the transport and the drones swarming it with his cannon, giving them a thumbs-up. The scavenged technologies would be worth studying, and possibly could be used to give him a leg up against the myriad threats that lurked throughout the sector. Who knows? Maybe he'd be able to restart the Company with whatever knowledge he gained. 'This was not so bad of an endeavor after all.' The sentinel made to re-enter the Stonewall's cargo bay. 'Not bad at all...'

"Welp, we made bank with the salvage even with the repairs we need," Reinhart's voice was a welcome sound, "And I see you decided to snag something fer yerself as well-so where you heading?"

"Most likely back to Yamatai for the time being, once I get some of the salvage sorted out." Steiner replied, taking in the Stonewall's recycled air as his inbuilt tanks began to recharge, "That or get it sorted out when I get there." A chuckle. "Alright you crazy bastard, we'll see about sticking around so you can get yer shit sorted out-maybe we'll be able to get some more repair work done while yer at it."

"Agreed." Now to relax for a bit, least till whatever jackanapes decided to disturb him that is...

The watch over the medical bay had been rather uninteresting, Kozakura was simply posted by the door occasionally peeking out into the access corridor. However there wasn't any sign of additional hostiles. Even still she breathed a sigh of relief when the order to retreat was given. It'd be good to be out of this mess and back home. It was at that point that she suddenly felt very tired, and her mind threatened to make her think about all the things she'd done over the last several hours. Though before she could give in and do so, Sanda returned.

"Sure, I can help you out of it..." she replied even as her brow twitched from being called movie star. Though the brow was hidden behind her helmet and her voice was more or less helpful and concerned in tone. She glanced down were her own armor was dented, then at Sanda's damaged Daisy. Guess I'm a lucky dragon... she thought to herself.