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

Steiner has just finished reclaiming a bit of wreckage, the Stonewall having a received a-however slight, reprieve-after Reinhart had done some fancy maneuvering and managed go dark in some of the debris outside of the main conflict when the ship had taken a bad hit from some kind of high energy missile. While the shields had managed to prevent most of the damage, it was a near thing, with several of the compartments being compromised along causing internal issues in several sections. A few of the braver crewmembers having crammed as much salvage as they could, including a pair of mostly intact fighters into the hold as the Sentinel stood. "Repairs are nearly completed," Steiner reported, applying a final patch over the hole in the hull, "We should be able to rejoin the main battle shortly."

"As much as I'd like to hear that, I'm not sure we're gonna be able to handle another fight like that," Rinehart's voice was deadly serious, "Shield batteries aren't in good shape, we've got wounded and the ship may not hold up for much longer, not to mention our FTL drive was almost hit in the last attack, techs say it's undamaged-I'd say we need to just cut our losses and get." Steiner couldn't help but agree-his Warden wasn't in good shaper-they'd nearly been killed more than once, and had been lucky to make it out..

"Unfortunately we may not have a choice, as the fleets in the distance are our only way back if our drive is damaged. than and we risk bringing back opportunistic raiders." While they could attempt FTL, a potentially damaged drive may not work as intended-and the risk of unwelcome guests was too great. "Alright...so what do we do?" That was a good question, not even Steiner was sure...though given the massive explosion he saw in the allied fleet's lines wasn't good. "We go in, save who we can." That's all they could do at this point.

"Alright, I'll have the crew get going-can't spend money if we're dead or stuck in this system." The ship began it's slow flight back into the thick of things. The mass drivers, despite the damage to the ship were mostly intact, with few having been repaired by Steiner and the crew members-though the one that had been stuck was now completely inoperable, completely sheared off after the missile hit. Steiner scanned the battlefield as they re-enterd. "We managed to redistribute the ammo from the busted gun," Came Reinhart's voice as the guns began tracking targets, "Ammo bins are at forty-three percent, though at the rate we're burning through driver spikes, we're liable to run out, or nearly at least." Steiner grimaced-he himself was down to his next to last gas canister-and even then, he had only a handful of shots left in it the one he had loaded.

"Then we had best make them count." Rinehart didn't respond as the mass drivers once again began their deadly rhythm as they took the plunge. Steiner held his fire, scanning for targets of opportunity. As they plowed on, Steiner spotted a ship in trouble to his left.-what looked like a transport was disgorging it's contents as a trooper mowed them down and knocked out the transport by slicing off it's engine-more Kuvexian armors moved to engage them, but were simply cut down in an admittedly impressive display of skill. "Captain, hard to...port? Is that the left?" Reinhart sighed, "Alright, why we heading there?."

"Assisting our allies." He responded, and blasted a starfighter into slagged debris just as the Stonewall managed to lumber it's way in it's direction. The high-velocity slugs tearing through the fighters and troopers trying to swarm it, though it wasn't enough it may give the crew some breathing room. As they craft managed near it, he noted the name along the Hull.

'Yukikaze?' He shrugged, and narrowly avoided a pair of kuvexian power armors trying to get the drop on them-the majority were still concentrated on swarming the unfortunate craft. Steiner swatted one aside, while peppering his companion with his cannons in the back swing-he tumbled away in a bloodied heap. 'Odd name.' He decided to send a repair done or two their way while concentrating on the task at hand-hopefully that trooper wouldn't smack em down and let them work...

YSS Iroaseta Egao
Armor Bay, two hours earlier

"It's time," said Jinja Emi as she approached the failing body of her colleague, Candon Suites. Seated on a metal bench, he stared wearily at the picture of his wife he always carried. To think that in such a short time he would be enjoying one final leave with Masumi and then preparing for his final sortie was surreal. With only months to live and his mind rapidly degrading it was hard to even remember he was married, let alone why he was here... Sana. He knew she'd be called upon to defend Glimmergold and she'd be taking the very same portal they would be. The snake could slip in anywhere, undermine the operation, kill millions again. This time Candon had resolved that there would be no more sorrow, no holding back, no Mercy. If he had to die, he was going to make damn sure Sana and Rolland went with him, and yet, he couldn't help but want to save her.

"I'm Ready," he answered wearily, slowly rising to his feet, his FMS powered suit being the only reason he could move on his own. With a slow, even pace he approached his power armor, the Spectre Mk.2, hanging from its rack with wings fully extended. Aware that this would be his last and longest fight he'd spent a week of preparing just a few last additions. A pair of long cylindrical coolant tanks now hung from each wing to keep up with the cooling demands of the triple reactor monster. After all, he wouldn't be needing to fold up his wings once he was in space. Clutched in each hand was a weapon of wars past, their killing power unnecessarily great but weight and energy requirements too steep to make sense in times of peace. He'd chosen two Dual-Blade Aether Beam Saber Rifles because the question "what's worse than being hit by an aether beam?" should always be answered by the reply "two aether beams." but naturally Candon answered "four."

The other SOFT infantry in the bay gathered around as their dying colleague climbed into the saddle once more, the occasion somber as he donned the unnatural suit of armor, Its SAINT regalia proudly adorning zanarium black-painted armor plating. He stuck the worn picture of Masumi in the corner of his helmet as it lowered and sealed him within the confines of his personal superweapon. A quiet whine echoed from his suit as the aether reactor started. His steps were heavy in the bay as he strode forword to the forcefield, past which lie the endless void of space.
Space, where he came from, lived, fought, and would die.

Turning back to Jinja and her infantry it seemed right to speak. Afterall, he wouldn't have their last memory of him be a weak, old man.
"Sisters. Brothers. It has been my genuine honor serving with all of you. May all of you return safely, and if not, die with honor. Today we save our Empire... Today, we save Yamatai!" He shouted, left hand rifle held skyward. The fireteam cheered as Candon leaned back, falling into space and flying off into the void while lining up perfectly with the delicate trajectory that would carry him through the portal to the Glimmergold system. With only time to to be alone with his thoughts he found that the anxiety of combat he always felt was not present. Even the myriad of sins he'd committed throughout his life ceased haunting him and faded into the background of his mind which drifted instead to things he hadn't thought about in a long time.

Is Tsuguka still commanding fireteams? He could still remember the missions they'd shared, always managing to beat impossible odds. Good times.
I should have called Jax for a lunch. Probably one of his best friends. He couldn't help but regret not spending more time together.
What did Nora name her daughter? He realized now that he'd never asked. He'd been able to save two lives but then war called him away.
Was that poor orphan cared for? It was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Was one less murderer worth the boy's father?
Is Alex still in prison? There was a man who truly helped people. Now he could only hope Alex got out.

Such thoughts passed his mind as the hum of the reactor sang to Candon a song of rest, a calm before the storm. It's common knowledge that death changes a person and their view of life and that was certainly not lost on Candon as he savored every memory and physically felt each precious moment pass. He'd long since mourned how much he'd taken life for granted but now felt a certain peace approaching. A calm far exceeding the effects of the CALM medication he'd been so addicted to.

Static began to interrupt his view as another mental partition had failed, and while he'd generally have been writhing on the floor in yet another violent seizure his body remained at rest as he relaxed and allowed his suit's multi-layered control systems take full control of his failing body. Years of becoming one with his machine had taught him better than to resist its influence. Now in his suit he could simply let go and allow the cascade failures to have their way. Like a comforting embrace his armor's systems now carried the burden of halting the effects of his mental degradation so he could focus on the task at hand. Killing enough Kuvexians to attract the attention of his mother was the name of the game and so he accelerated into the portal to meet his fate.


Glimmergold
Rear of the Fleet

Mood
The battle was raging as he arrived at his assigned coordinates. He took his time to assess the chaos, a part of him mourning the crucible of death before him. Deep inside he had come to know how wrong this course of violence truly was, and yet it was right. War was wrong, and yet could not be avoided. At the end of the day it was simply a question of who would live. With his imagination running free he could feel a deep sadness welling up from within the picture of Masumi. "Don't worry, hon. I still remember you," he reassured the picture, "I'll keep you safe from them. Just keep showing me that smile."
Focusing his mind to the battle at hand he linked into the battle network and located a wing of torpedo bombers navigating the cloud of brawling ships with a few fighters escorting them enroute to the YSS Presurgence. For a moment he felt bad for them as the nuclear reactors in his wings roared to life. Nothing good happens when Spectre needs full power and today was not a lucky day for them.

The armor surged onward in a burst of blinding speed, weaving past debris and aether beams as he intercepted the flight with guns blazing. A fighter burst apart his fire as he caught up to them with a second being sliced crudely in half by the same quattro of energy beams. The next two fighters cut thrusters and yawed to the side spewing volleys of mini missiles. Typical thought the elite soldier as his graviton projection system came online. With arms outstretched the missiles were caught in a stream of gravity going around their target and returning to their senders, splashing across their shields as they accelerated out of the way. Rather than pursue the kills Candon focused on the goal, to the three bombers he accelerated onward, his inertia uninterrupted.

The point defense on the the small ships opened fire but to no avail as his PA nimbly dodged each shot while focusing a mecha killing beam of oscillating gravitons into the leading ship. The shields glowed green as resisted the dark beam's barrage, though buckling after only a few seconds of contact. Panels vibrated intensely before exploding away to reveal the port side engine beneath. The pilot began rolling and slowly zigzagged to evade with his wingmen doing similar to keep the attacker at bay without sacrificing unnecessary velocity. With so much chaos and debris about the area the group was still cramped for space to maneuver but as the two fighters from before caught up they'd received the support they'd wanted but at the cost of the point defense turrets that could easily hit their allies instead. Candon's armor calculated the only openings the fighters could use to fire aether weapons and instantly evaded to keep itself in the safety of the bombers hull. The zanarium coating was activated as the suit detected its attackers locking missiles. In an attempt to avoid friendly fire and the previous returned onslaught the enemy pilots launched individual mini missiles one at a time.

Candon's suit once again performed perfectly to its design as small panels in the bulges of his shoulders slid open and the four upward-firing pulse lasers began firing, the graviton projection system directing their fire at the missiles, shooting them down one after the other. With his anti missile coverage functioning alone Candon lined up his shot on the evasive bomber and sent a pair of aether beams from each rifle into the exposed engine of the lead ship. The resulting explosion showered the entire cluster except the ever evasive Specter who immediatly boosted onto the tail of the closest bomber for cover. The hull of that unfortunate lead ship lurched sideways as secondary explosions riddled its body and obstructed the path of the second bomber whos pilot failed to cut his engines in time and collided softly with the wreckage that only appeared to be slowing to its ever accelerating counterparts.

Fortune favored the SAINT operative as the pilot of the bomber he'd sunk his blades into successfully evaded the pileup. As he passed the clump of metal the open bomb bay doors of the burning lead ship revealed its payload, an armed heavy aether torpedo. He remembered the design from the data heist he'd performed a couple years ago on the dreadnought that was still buried in the nebula they'd intercepted it in. That was one nasty weapon, a real capital ship killer for sure. Convenient he thought as he pointed his right dual saber rifle at the pink glowing warhead, firing as it reached a comfortable distance back. The blast was far larger than he'd anticipated, its shaped explosion annihilating the cluster of ships behind him as well as all the debris in the direction its carrier was facing. And to think, that bomb hadn't even detonated intentionally. If that thing had hit the Presurgence it would have been way worse!

Hmm... if the doors were open and the payload armed they must have been in range.
The vibration of a bomb bay door opening answered it. We're definitely in range, he rightly concluded as the YSS Presurgence came fully into view far too close to risk shooting down. The torpedo was out and accelerating away as the bomber broke from its course, most likely to rearm as just one of these torpedoes filled the last ships bomb bay completely. The bomber was unimportant now, Candon latched onto the torpedo with his graviton projectors and pulled himself onto it, straddling it as if it were an oversized mount. He applied his full thrust to the weapon in a dire attempt to change its course but to no avail as it compensated with remarkable force. No luck. Looking around for a solution he scanned for anything useful, finding the only closest unit to be the fleeing bomber who was making a beeline for a larger Kuvexian vessel... Perfect.

Igniting his left dual saber rifle he sliced just under the warhead and with his graviton projectors brought it into his arms, letting the speeding booster continue its course toward the Presurgence. Slowing himself as much as possible he mentally calculated the appropriate trajectory to hit the ship and charged his graviton projection system to propel the Kodian-sized bomb appropriately. With the math done he released an intense gravitational shove that sent the package and catapulted the Spectre in the opposite direction. It probably wouldn't hit but regardless, it was the enemy's problem now. Seeing golden PAs storm one of the ship's armor bays seemed like a good situation to resolve next, and so he adjusted his trajectory accordingly.


YSS Presurgence
Armor Bay Entrance

Candon's armor entered the bay recklessly fast, but intentionally. With an absurdly quick swipe of his four aether beams six Kuvexian troops burst into shrapnel as the rubber on Spectre's boots screeched to a halt across the polished floors of the armor bay. As Matsuvo's fire caught the other troops from behind Candon opened fire as well leaving the invaders slaughtered in a vicious crossfire. Seeing Sanda without a helmet Candon's inner Heisho took over as he called to his sister in arms, "Get your bucket on, Rifleman! I'll cover you!"

OOC - "You know the beauty of being cut off and shrouded? They think they have you, they think you are beaten. They get sloppy and overconfident give you all the chances in the world as your back is to the wall. Then when they think they have you, that moment when they let their guard down the most. You simply go for the throat" - Combat Instructor to Wulf Soban.

KNS Righteous Conquest Bridge
Noro Stabaron C'abol

C'abol was standing on the bridge looking out the view point at the battle. So far he had been able to stay at the edge of the fighting hoping to escape destruction and avoid expending too much ammunition on a fight that was already decided. He was a lucky to be a ship commander and able to store his funds on the ship it self, in lock boxes under intense security. Though he still had a job and he could no longer avoid the conflict as more of the purse worlds exploded.

As he had previous ordered the Righteous Conquest with her escorts was finally entering the battle space proper. With the flotilla weapons being coordinated and focused on single ships in order to cut a opening for fighters. At that moment lost in thought he had to shield his eyes from a explosion just off the view port, one of his escorts exploded. Annoyed at the lost he could only think at least it wasn't his. Taking a step back to rest in the command chair he called for his communications officer "Be sure to order another escort up I don't want a opening". As the officer nodded to his commands he then turned to his security officer. So far everything had gone to plan minus one annoying bug that was running havoc on his ship. Speaking in a measure tone "Have they dealt with it yet?".

The security officer looked wide eyed and seemed to be sweeting. C'abol let out a sigh before tapping a console to bring up updated security footage. On a view screen right off the command dias he saw the corridor leading to the bridge. Confused why the feed was here he saw a Yamataian solider step into view. Looking back to his security officer "What the hell I'm I paying you for! Why isn't he dead??!!". The security officer bowed before speaking "ermmm sir I mean we sent almost everything at him, either they get locked down before they reach or he kills them".

C'abol didn't like incompetence in his crew and any failure had to be rewarded. Steping up he slowly upholstered his side arm before looking to the squad that stood by the only door. Looking at his personal protection unit he spoke sharply "Maytan leave two of your men here but kill that intruder once and for all, heck take that weapon with you and finish this". Then snapping back to the failed security officer "As for you I believe your employment has just been terminated". As he saw the officer raise his hands he already had a bead. Two shot rang out and the failure was deposed of. Looking back to main viewer again he looked at the battle still ranging, hoping that the failure hadn't put him too far at risk.

KNS Righteous Conquest Main Corridor
Wulf Soban

The ranger was leaning against the wall, fatigue showing on his hidden face. In the short while he had cut a bloody path to get here with a untold amount of dead behind him. His armor spoke of that carnage with dents and rents, plasma burn marks where shots had connected but didn't pierce. If it wasn't for the quality of the suit he was wearing he would already be dead. Catching his breath for a moment he knew he had to press on, the prize was almost within reach.

Just as the ranger was about to stand a new door opened. Almost like a routine at this point he raised his ellipsoid shields as new rounds connected. Standing behind it gave him only a few seconds as the already heavily damaged shield was on its last legs as he saw pieces of it fly off. Not wishing to be on the back foot already he was moving towards the enemy. Catching a glimpse as he moved forward he could see 4 golden equipped power armors had challenged him. Knowing he had to make this quick he activated his thruster to shield slam the closest one into a wall.

Not missing a beat he activated his teleporter with a thunderous roar. The enemy that had been tracking him where too slow and ended up firing into there comrade, gunning him down into bloody purple mess. The next they knew he was next to another his Xiphos already biting into the stomach of the second, his guts already pouring onto the deck below. Though the last two where abit quicker this go as one raised their trident in a quick strike pinning his shield to the wall.

Wulf couldn't help but curse as his was armed was pinned for a moment. Seeing the last one charging in with what appeared to be a short sword. As he mentally disengaged the locks to his shield setting his arm free. Letting him self free fall to the ground he barely dodge the blade, it coming with a inch of his face. With not enough room to operate his blade instead he opted to pull up his wrist cannon. Aiming low at the one free with his sword he fired a quick burst into his knee. More blood splatter as his opponent screamed and dropped to the ground. The other one whos trident was stuck in the wall was frantically try to pull it free.

The ranger couldn't help but laugh as quickly adjusted his aim to the third one. A quick two burst through the chest and head snapped the armor back. Collecting his sword as he stood up he saw the final one still screaming pain as held his ruin knee. Not wishing to see it suffer any longer he aimed the cannon one more time. A quick final burst was all it took to finish it off.

Another skirmish down he wondered how many more left to go. As he slowly with a measured pace continued to walk down the hall.

KNS Righteous Conquest Bridge
Noro Stabaron C'abol

C'abol was in shock at what he was seeing. The damn intruder had just killed another squad with almost ease. As the computer next to him automatically calculated the loses of equipment and personal he was getting further frustrated. This was suppose to be a easy gig, defend the most protected place in the kingdom and get rich off the security contracts. He just wanted to scream but he had to keep his cool. In any business venture the one who lost their wits always failed and he wasn't going to fail now.

As he watched the camera he saw the low solider reach another door but this time he could laugh. It was the final room before the bridge but he had a final defense one that one had broken before. Thankfully the Maytan who had just lost their life had activated it and it was time to watch a true show. Speaking loudly but to no one at all "should have died before cause I promise this one will be slow and cruel".

KNS Righteous Conquest Main Corridor
Wulf Soban

He had almost made it, two more doors and he would finally be at the prize. As he stood next to the the door while the device Sakura had given him worked his magic he couldn't help but wonder. The final two doors where a lot larger then anything else on the ship, he didn't know if it was due to moving cargo or maybe as a status symbol but I mean it was almost two stories high. Shacking the random thought from his mind he heard the sound of the device finishing its job. Tucking it back away he stood in the center of the door as it slowly opened up.

Though what was on the other side shocked him to the core as he didn't see anything like it in the entire war so far. Standing almost 8 feet tall and with giant solid steel hammer in hand was the biggest power armor Wulf had ever seen. The thing could also move as it was already swinging that death dealer before the ranger could react. The next thing he knew was a world of pain and the sounds of the mindy screaming alarms at him. Hit directly in the stomach and feeling armor crimpled he was throw back almost 4 feet. As he rolled further down the deck he finally rested on his stomach gasping for air.

It seemed the monster of a machine wouldn't give him reprieve. As he was trying to stand up the monster was already on him grabbing him by the throat. As it then pinned him up against the wall he was now face to face with it. Looking into the now transparent visor would give him nightmares for the rest of his life. Behind that glass he saw a face more machine then Kuvexian with its flesh peeled back showing exposed tissue and cables. Then it got worst as through a augmented voice box it laughed as it pushed him further into the bulk head. His suit giving fresh pressure alarms as it was almost at its limit.

Every time he tried to raise his wrist cannon the creature would pull him back and reslam him into the wall. He just needed a single chance to raise his weapon. A single moment of reprieve from the monster that was going to thrash him into a puddle of blood. Just then almost like a a guardian angel was watching him the ship was rocked by a explosion. The monster was off balanced and with it a single chance he couldn't waste. Pulling it up for a quick second shot at its face he pulled the trigger. Though it wasn't a full kill it was enough to wound it and as it tossed him aside he cried out in pain. As he rolled across the ground for the second time by it he knew he couldn't stop. Though his body and armor screamed he had to stand again.

Willing his battered body to stand he reached behind to his back pouch. Pulling two aether daggers from the beast and despite his bodies protest he charged. Letting out a battle cry like those spoken in ancient times the monster finally regained its composure at the renewed threat. As it attempted to grab its fallen hammer, already it was too late and its prey was well with in its reach. The ranger stabbed wildly almost like a wounded beast of his name sake.

Hitting the knee, then the groin and then the gut the monster howled in reply. Wanting to finish it before it grabbed him he knew he had to go for a killing strike. Using his daggers like climbers he stabbed in and rised. Like a ice climber the ranger stabbed his way up all the while the monster tried frantically to peal him off but wasn't able to reach in side, its own armor bulk prevented it. Finally the ranger was at his goal and again face to face with the monster. As he used his legs to hold him on to the creature he started to frantically stab with both daggers. Hydraulic fuel and blood erupted as it screamed in pain. Wulf couldn't relent though, he had to live, he had to make it. Each stab and strike frantically chipping away at the creature throat. Then it dropped to its back and its head rolled out onto the floor, the Wolf had really taken its throat.

Glimmergold Comm Frequencies

As the battle raged, Kuvexian commercials were blasted all over the open comms ranging from new Sexy Neko Slaves to protein power drinks having the proper electrolytes to be awesome. The fleets could largely ignore them, but Kuvexian electronic specialists were actively trying to find the communication frequencies of their opponents and crack their encryption to gain more bandwidth for the commercials. In addition to just intelligence gathering, they needed to create as much contact time as possible for their patron's commercials. On one particular pirate frequency trying to drown out the rest, Honest Vren Noon could be heard.

"Hey, Honest Vren Noon here! Have you ever had a ship blow up on you? Fighter getting fried from too many pesky power armor? Well, I have something for you! Thanks to Honest Vren's Extended Naval Warranty Program, you never need to fear your naval asset crapping out on you again. Here's how it works. Give me money, lots of money! I talk credits, gold, KS, DA, legal drugs, housing deeds, illegal drugs, mining rights, new or used weapons, slaves, POWs, your 2nd born daughter, hydrochemical products, rare artifacts, real estate, and credits.

When you naval asset breaks down or blows up, we fix it up. Good as new, kind of, mostly. Look, the most important thing is you give me lots of money. Money is important. It makes the world go round. Except for Ehlens, they don't have any money.

Anyways, if your ship breaks I got your back. Most of the time anyway. At least 3 times out of 10! Don't believe me, let's get some testimonials!" an impeccably dressed Kuvexian says as he is flanked by two giant Ehlens wearing black sunglasses and Kuvexian clothing that looked too small for their wolverine like bodies. They did not look particularly happy. The image switches to a Kuvexian woman that looked like she just recently crawled out of a sewer.

Person 1: "Yeah it is an *dubbed: "Amazing"* warranty. When my precious ship was destroyed by *dubbed: Yamataian* pirates, he was *dubbed: "always around to answer calls"* Thank you you *dubbed: "marvelous hero"*!"

The testimonials continued with him and a number of deep growly voices being dubbed over suspiciously negative portions of the testimonials. But that couldn't be right.

"Remember, give me your money and I'll keep you covered!!"

NSS Wrath of Nepleslia

Itto Hei Kamiya Misakura jumped at the chance to launch out and give the Kuvexians a piece of her mind after what happened at Hanako's Star. Like another user of the Keiko Thought Armor, she ripped through the Kuvexian power armor as she moved with the Nepleslian forces. But within the Carnivore Class Cruiser, her friend Mizumitsu Hiroshiko was doing her best to keep her wits. While shielded from seeing the massive battle outside, it still didn't stop her from thinking about the last encounter with them. "At least there is no Angel of Death with them this time or trying to figure out how to stop a runaway Aether reaction" she said to herself repeatedly as she waited with a damage control team for the inevitable fires.

Nepleslian Forces

Called up for active duty for the operation, Hellion 007 was hanging back watching the chaos going on in front of him. "Holy shit, the Cats are putting out a decent fight again. I was starting to think they wouldn't get up again after whatever Nataria was." the man said as he waited with his team for their objective to get closer.

"Shut the f**k up and prepare to move out. There are a lot of big guns to take out and we don't need the Cats taking all the glory from us." his team leader, simply said.

Outside the Yukikaze

Mikael's AI alerted him to an approaching ship and then overlaying it with an amber outline meaning neutral. He simply relayed the information to the remaining infantry that were still operational, the Yukikaze using its graviton arrays to drag in dead or dying Giretsu back into the ship. No one gets left behind.

Mikael was set to ignore the ship as he moved with the formation and did their best to keep much as much of the Kuvexians off the ship. Then his AI identified the repair drone being sent from the transport as it got closer.

"Holy... you are either insane or got balls of Zesuaium. We will try to keep you covered, but I cannot guarantee for how long." Mikael transmitted to the transport as he watched the three Kuvexian gunships swooping as they raced to determine who is going to get the killing blow.

YSS Kasuga Bridge

Connected to her ship via a SPINE interface, Chui Kim Eun-Kyung trained several of her ship's turrets, a Sharie-class Battleship, on several Kuvexian gunships moving on the YSS Yukikaze, Shimakaze, and now the Stonewall. When she got the mental alert tone that the weapons were properly aligned and set, she let loose the aether beams.

"Good shooting Kim-Chui" Taisa Donaldson said, as he watched the battlespace around him. He designated new targets for Kim and his other gunners to begin focusing on. "Let's give the Kuvexians something bigger to chew on." he continued referencing his ship, 2 sister Sharie Battleships, and masses of Super Eikan Cruisers that were making their sweep of that section of the battle. He was not expecting to find a civilian cargo transport amongst them.

YSS Densetsu

"Fleet form up. We are going in, prepare to begin operation Mailman. Phase one initiate." Fletcher commanded. Seventh fleet flew at top speed through the swirling energy of the gateway between scrapyard and Glimmergold. Unlike the other fleets, it wasn't content to stay near the massive destructive planets. Instead, they were launching an assault on one of the planets with a massive shipyard and a fleet in orbit.

They approached at a screaming speed, anything that wasn't fast enough to keep up wasn't let free. Seijou and Chikara broke, with Seijou heading above the orbital plane of the system and Chikara heading below the orbital plane. Their divisions provided a screen for the Iori fortresses from the Kuvexians that were boiling out like a hive and angry bees. White Hammer remained on the orbital plane, slowing down as their main guns came within range of the massive space station and the planet that it orbited.

"Phase line two reached. Check for friendly fire." Fletcher said, and the escorts of the three divisions pulled in tightly to their protectees. If the Kuvexian commander realized what might be happening, they were given no time to take advantage of it.

"Phase two initiate," Fletcher said simply.

It is rare in war that all stops are pulled out, there are often considerations. Such as still having a habitable planet, friendly fire, or not wanting to destroy what you are attacking. War is not killing, pure and simple. It is violence, but it is controlled violence for a purpose. The vast majority of the time, the purpose is not wholesale destruction. Even though it may seem that way to those caught in the vise between two opposing forces.

The vast majority of the time, blowing up a planet is the equivalent to spanking a baby with an ax, Actively counterproductive. However, one way or another the fleet around the planet and the planet it's self were doomed anyway. If the Seventh fleet didn't do it's job, the Essai would destroy them anyway in two minutes time.

Himitsu fired it's Aether Detonator first. A sphere of energy exploded from above the shipyards, racing outwards and expanding to consume everything in it's path. The aether energy potentials were released in a flash of light that was so bright that millions of kilometers away at the main battle, everyone's visors dimmed to protect their eyesight. Everything smaller than a heavy gunship was instantly vaporized. Everything that wasn't the massive space station was turned into a wreck, damaged likely beyond repair. The shipyard itself was bleeding, wounded heavily by the annihilating power of the Aether Detonator. The planet had half of it's surface area instantly turned into slag. Space itself was damaged, warping and twisting from the release of energy.

A survivor of the first bast wouldn't have time to take a breath before Hotaru fired it's Aether Detonator, a sphere of energy exploding below the shipyards. The already damaged ships and shipyards couldn't take the second burst, vaporizing in the energy of the second destructive wave. There were no survivors. The half of the planet that had been spared from the first blast was not spared from the second blast. The whole planet now glowed a molten red, seas instantly boiled away, but still insufficient to cool the planet from the ravages of the detonator. It was now quite useless, in hundreds of years it might cool to be an airless rock completely hostile to any life that might try to take root there again.

Such would not be it's fate as the YSS Battle of the Binary Stars and YSS Battle of Essia, two massive Izanagi dreadnaughts approached closer into the space that was now strewn with the wreckage of what had been one of the several fleets guarding the Glimmergold system. Ten thousand ships were gone in an instant. The two Izanagi warmed up their Amenonuhoko-Class Main Weapon Array and fired at the same moment at the broken wreckage of the massive shipyard and the planet behind it.

Space had been badly injured by the Aether detonations and the two epicenters were growing long tendrels of what might be described as cracks in the fabric of space-time. The Transposition cannon's chaotic wormholes broke what was left. Where the planet had been was now a huge rip in space that the planet fell into and was ripped into shreds. Space would heal from its wounds, but the planet would not. What little remained of it would drift endlessly as an expanding cloud of debris.

There was silence on the bridge of the Densetsu, it was rare to witness such an awesome and destructive sight as the Annihilation of an entire world. After a moment, Fletcher asked. "Did the science ships get the data?"

A bridge bunny checked, "It's coming in now. We have perfect perspectives on the whole thing, just as planned."

~~

From: Taisho William Fletcher
To: Taisho Ketsurui Yui
Subject: Re: Operation Mailman

Body: Message Sent

Attachment: Planetary_Annihilation_Full_Data_Dump

demibear said:

Outside the Yukikaze

Mikael's AI alerted him to an approaching ship and then overlaying it with an amber outline meaning neutral. He simply relayed the information to the remaining infantry that were still operational, the Yukikaze using its graviton arrays to drag in dead or dying Giretsu back into the ship. No one gets left behind.

Mikael was set to ignore the ship as he moved with the formation and did their best to keep much as much of the Kuvexians off the ship. Then his AI identified the repair drone being sent from the transport as it got closer.

"Holy... you are either insane or got balls of Zesuaium. We will try to keep you covered, but I cannot guarantee for how long." Mikael transmitted to the transport as he watched the three Kuvexian gunships swooping as they raced to determine who is going to get the killing blow.

Click to expand...

"Talk to the crazy bastard riding on top of the ship," Reinhart responded, "He's the one tryin' to fix yers-we're just his ride." Reinhart turned and looked at his crewmember. "Get nice and cozy right next to that ship and overlap fields of fire." The wounded freighter, despite the damage sustained to it closed in less than twenty meters of the Yukikaze, turrets blazing with the ship next to it being registered as friendly in the gun's HUD. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast." What was left unsaid is that their time was limited, measured in minuets at most.

Steiner simply grunted in response, and sent his own transmission. "Commencing Repairs." Relaying repair orders to the small craft, it began to focus on the more damaged areas first, nanites spraying over one of the holes as it slowly began to knit and forge, the nanites glowing orange and then dull grey as they matched the atomic structure of the materials they were fixing. 'No good, I can't fix it fast enough, not with the one drone.' He debated, he didn't want to leave the freighter, but couldn't spare the drones to-

Bright white flashes erupted against the shield as a trio of gunships strafed the craft from multiple sides, weaving and dodging through the gunners' massed fired and splashing it with missiles and energy weapons-one's engine was clipped, but the pilot seemed not to care, and made a move to divebomb them-the sentinel barely got his plasma cannon up in time to vaporize it. "Shield batteries two and six down," one of the remaining ensigns reported to Reinhart. He closed his eyes. 'Why did I let that-no, if the estimates are right even with the repairs we can still make bank with the salvage we've got.' He opened his eyes and turned. "Alright, divert power from those batteries and see if we can't take some of the strain off of the others." The old captain barked, when another series of impacts rocked the ship, "Steiner, can't you do anything about those hostiles?"

"I am trying, but they are simply too damned close!" One of the gunships, realizing that the combat walker was likely an even bigger threat after watching his companion get splashed for his troubles was currently trying to ram him. Finally losing patience, it opened up with a flurry of misses and energy shots as it closed the distance. While he'd lost some armor, he managed to sidestep and snapped off a shot into its side, peppering them with shrapnel. His screen flashed as the hypersonic metal peppered them just as the gunners managed to disable the third's engines as it spiraled into the void beyond the field. "Alright, we're clear-now get on with them repairs so we can get out of here."

"Roger, get me closer if you can." The ships were practically humping each other this point, and Steiner sent yet another transmission, "This is Albert Steiner-I am coming aboard to make repairs-please refrain from blasting me off your hull." Steiner gently pushed off the Stonewall's hull, touching down as gently as he could on the starboard wing and making his way towards the main body, assessing the damage. Raising his fabber arm, he began patching the holes with his drone. "Be ready to pick me up at a moment's notice Captain."

"Yeah, will do." Rinehart then relayed to his crew "Give our friend some cover fire." The freighter's fire patterns began to tighten-working in tandem with Yamataian ship's own weapons to create a deadly crossfire. "Gonna send a couple guys on another salvage run, try to keep an eye on em if you can Steiner." To that the old man chuckled as a dozen crewmembers in hard suits armed to the teeth began to collect more scrap, picking off the odd kuvies that deicide they were a worthwhile target. "The captain is possibly more of a fool than I." He relayed to the gunship as one of the members shuttled off a pair of damaged enemy suits that had impacted the wing. The man nodded to him as he returned the freighter. This brought a chuckle-anyone could be brave enough-or in this case greedy enough-to brave most anything.

Turning back to the task at hand, he began fixing another hole just as his drone began to reclaim a small bit of debris floating around-they would endure, at least a long as he had anything to say about it!

YSS Yukikaze

Another beam launched, another Kuvexian fighter shredded. This was starting to become a routine for Hiroki. Despite only having one functional engine, Hiroki could see the wounded troop transport limping away from the Yukikaze. It was likely going to get repaired and bring more troops back into the firestorm. He did not have time to finish the vessel off though as his HUD picked up more incoming missiles.

Like a gunslinger action hero, Hiroki destroyed them with his CAR. Two more fighters were coming in, these ones seeming more poised in shooting up the formation rather than the ship. Hiroki took aim with his weapon, and cleaved them in twain before their guns ran hot. Another NPA landed on the Yukikaze in front of Hiroki. She evaded the blasts from Hiroki's forearm weapons and returned fire with her Aether Rifle. Several more accurately placed shots struck and smahed through the Kuvexian power armor and left her drifting in space as another casualty in the Kuvexian War.

It was then that Hiroki noticed the repair drone and someone working to repair some of the damage done to the Yukikaze. The stranger's assistance was very much appreciated in Hiroki's mind. He saw another NPA not too far away from the Giretsu's current location eyeing the newcomer and training his weapon on him. A swift beam from his CAR seared across the Kuvexian's back and left his flesh exposed to the vacuum of space that was quick to extinguish his life. Hiroki's HUD flashed red and he picked up a Kuvexian gunship hovering toward the formation.

Their weapons became hot at the same time, though Hiroki's was more accurate and severed a wing/thruster off of the vessel. Its aether weapons were still firing, going silent when another beam from Hiroki's beam sliced into the torso of the ship and turned it into a raging ball of fire for a brief moment that was replaced by a black, wrecked husk. He spotted a cockpit window of a destroyed starfighter coming toward him at a deadly speed. Hiroki was forced to break away from the formation and thrust down under it, allowing it to zip past. A mere second later, Hiroki rejoined the formation.

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

Himawari tried to hold Yaichiro's excitement, his next set of instructions though were another matter. The YSS Tokyo's main cannon fired again which cut a huge swath through the cloud of incoming KIN vessels. It sent explosions which rocketed through ships as aether spread across the dark tapestries of space in a bright luminous flash that resembled a supernova, debris and the carcasses of ships were plowed together only to be vaporized further. The devastation that ripped through the KIN's formation was a blow that had surpassed every shot they had fired previously. The usually cheerful avatar looked stressed as she performed the scan the Taisa had ordered on the YSS Houshou , she was about to deploy his instruction with the Graviton Beam Projector but an incoming blast from a Kuvexian Aether Shock Cannon changed her priority.

The aether blast tore through the front section of the port side prong of the YSS Tokyo's bow. The absence of some of the massive ship's escorts in their diversion to protect the machine worlds had come with a cost. The section of hull was cleaved from that forward prong section and the entire ship shook as an earthquake had torn through it. "Internal Compartments are closing blast shutters, dispatching more damage control." The massive Izanagi took a blow, but the Dreadnaought was designed to take such a beating, it was not ideal but even in the most damaged state the massive ship was still in the fight. Turret fire stopped briefly and reinitialized, "The main cannon is offline," Himawari reported.

"We need that back, find a way to bypass. Do what you have to do," Katsuko issued to Yaichiro and Himawari. The Taisho was consumed with her coordination of the rest of the fleet, their escorts continued to defend the remaining Machine Worlds bravely in hopes of being able to defend them until they could fire. While the Taihō Expeditionary Strike Group had taken the loss of the Houshou on the nose, it was obvious that more of the Strike Group was in a position where they had taken damage.

The main ships of the Tokyo's Expeditionary Battlegroup pulled back closer in their formations to their capital ship to provide additional fire support and point defense assist. They moved into positions to cover holes in the CFS distribution from Tokyo's Integrated CFS. "We're going to need more than fighter parts!" Himawari said to Yaichiro.

"Red Dragon, this is Motoyoshi-Asano Namika-Taii. Becareful!" she said over the communications channel, thankfully the projection system captured the bomber before it slammed into the deck of the Hangar Bay. Namika had actually closed her eyes but reopened them again when there was no explosion and the bomber was set down on the flight deck gently. "It looks like you're not going back out there, at least not in that ship," she said to Miyu. "Good shooting out there though, it looks like your torpedo delivery did some damage."

@Toshiro @SageShooter @RaWolfe

Ittô Heisho Sasaki Miyu
KE-V7 "Ginga" Bomber - Red Dragon
Joint Dragon Bomber Wing

Helping her crew off the broke down Ginga, she looked around seeing that more fighters had received a critical hit. Flight deck personnel were doing their best to get things back up to speed and get the fighters back into combat. She helped one of her crew to a stretcher and nods to the medical staff as Miyu pats them on the shoulder while taking a turn to the Ginga "You did well beastie... take a rest" She mutters to herself and then heard the bridge talk to her over the communication.

"It looks like you're not going back out there, at least not in that ship," "Good shooting out there though, it looks like your torpedo delivery did some damage."

Miyu sighs and shrugged at the same time when she heard that "Acknowledge, I will talk to my wing commander to get back into the action" Miyu said as she looked around and taps a mechanic on the shoulder "Any idea where Nitô Juni Frigg is?" Seeing the devastating reaction in emotion back from the mechanic made her realize the answer quickly enough.

The mechanic swallowed a bit "She died, she was giving support towards the other bombers until the Kuvexians ambushed her"

Basically making her senior of the wing " Alright, get a grip and get me a status of 66th bombers, I need to get out there as soon as possible pull any reserves the Tokyo might have stored. Move" She orders as the mechanic nods and salutes quickly before rushing off. Taking a deep breath looking around "Well damn... you better pay me a beer when you got your ST Okamoto"

"Sasaki!" Was heard from behind Miyu

Turning in direction of the shouting of the name and saw Chusa Yamashita rushing towards her. Miyu blinks and snaps to attention and salutes her "Ma'am?" Miyu replied looking at how tired her commander was, she was most likely making over hours at the battle command to direct all units.

"At ease... walk with me" Yamashita replied waving to her side as they walked towards the 74th area "I presume you have heard that our situation in hanger bays is fubar. Hanger bay 2 is getting repairs as we speak, My losses are severe and the command is doing everything they can to salvage pilots from damaged ships out there to fill our ranks" She waved her hand to the side as they could see fighters getting repaired as fast as possible "I got Hasumi out there with the remnants of the 118th and combined that wing with the remnants of the 214th after we lost Tokito and now also Frigg" Yamashita stopped and looked at Miyu as she placed her hands on both Miyu's shoulders "I am combining the 66th with the 74th and you are my most experienced and senior pilot on this ship that can handle bombers. See it as a temporary field reassignment, I will get you eight Ginga's as soon as I can is that clear?"

Letting it sink in, wait that means that she would be in command of a wing, and while she had some training in it, it was quite a task. Seeing the reflection of another flash that happened behind her. Miyu nodded "Yes sir, I will get in space as soon as I got a full crew" With that, she saw Yamashita pull back her hands and nodded to her then moved on to get the things sorted that needed to be sorted. Looking over her shoulder she could see the battle happening outside as Yamatai was slowly gaining ground but at the same time, Tokyo was getting some harsh beating.

"Sir"

Looking back at the voice, she saw the same mechanic standing there with her quickly repaired dragon helmet that was extended to her. Miyu grabbed the helmet and looked at the scratches on it as she nods slowly taking a deep breath "Lead me to my new Ginga" The mechanic nodded to her and guided her towards a different Ginga where a new crew was waiting for her "Let's get going, this battle won't resolve it on its own" The crew saluted and entered the Ginga as Miyu turned around tapping to her communication "All pilots of the Joint Dragon Bomber Wing, get into your bomber and get out there. Follow my lead" With that said she entered the Ginga and made her way to the cockpit to sit next to her co-pilot.

"Systems go, weapons are a go, the engine is turning hot" The co-pilot spoke and looked at her side seeing Miyu putting on the helmet.

As the clicking sound was heard of her helmet getting locked onto her suit, Miyu lets her hand slide over the console as the Ginga engines started to purr like a kitty. She narrows her eyes and pushed the power forward letting the Ginga move out of the hangar bay and into space "This is Red Dragon, we are resupplied and ready to take the route to the next target, please advise of our next target Tokyo. Sasaki has taken command of remnants bomber wing per request of Chusa Yamashita, all tactical communication meant for the bomber squad can be related to me" ( @Andrew )

YSS Presurgence
Armor Bay

Sanda was mad. She knew her armor had taken a beating, and her body too, but she was to hyped up on adrenalin to feel anything. The enemy fire coming her way was intense. She was returning fire, but with her plasma rife locked to her shield in her left arm she wasn't shooting very accurately. She wished she had a cybernetic eye that could help her shoot better. Worse of all she couldn't use her big 50mm Gauss Cannon safely without the targeting system of her helmet, which she had lost in the fight. She moved the big gun on her shoulder so it was parallel to the ground then dropped it just a few degrees. That should give her about 30 yards as long as she was standing directly in front of her target.

The Ranger was trying to find a better position to move to when a power armor flew in behind the Kuvexian and took out half of them in one pass. The rest of the Kuevexian were caught in a crossfire and Sanda helped mow them down. She scanned around the bay. It seemed like they had finally repelled all the boards. She was just about to move when the new power armor barked out at her, "Get your bucket on, Rifleman! I'll cover you!"

"Oh Bite me!" She muttered under her breath. She coughed and spat blood out of her mouth. She was not happy at being referred to as a Rifleman. She was a ranger damnit! She would have argued the point but was interrupted by a crashing sound as part of the scaffolding along the ceiling used for moving heavy machine parts came crashing down onto the deck. The Armor Bay was a wreck. Sanda did manage to find her helmet but the thing was pretty beat up. It took a few curses and a blows with her hand to get the thing working again. Tying her hair up again she put on her helmet and ran a suit diagnostic. She winced at not only the suit report saying what was wrong with the suit, but her own body report. She really needed to report the the med bay but there was too much work left to be done.

YSS Tokyo
Bridge

Eri's mind moved a mile a minute as orders were parsed and sent from her to other ships within the fleet, each second a dozen orders sent from her digital mind. It had been some time since she had to work this hard and it was evident in her posture as she leaned forward with eyes focused on the screens before her. Between orders from Katsuko, and her own insights in moving the fleet into positions, cycling ships back that had taken to much damage and then pushing other ships to the front, and keeping the Essai assets safe, she had a full plate in her lap which seemed to spill a bit as the ship shook. The sudden shock of the actions caused her to curl a little in her seat and cover her head, an adorable little clipped yelp slipped from her and she soon enough she glared around the bridge as if to dare anyone to make a comment.

She was quick to recover and start back in again, working just as hard to pass on whatever she could, including instructions to the engineering and technician teams here on the Toyko to direct them to damage as needed. Even more so when the Bomber Squadrons crashed into the bay, she had orders relayed immediately to aid them from medics to technicians and everyone in between.

YSS Kaiyo II
Armor Bay

Saya was a bundle of nerves, a mess from top to bottom at having to be back out into such a wide scale combat that had so much tied to it. The words of those around her were little more than white noise, static through the comm channels as she clung to her rifle and fought her best not to shake and start crying. She knew her entire reason for being out there was nothing more than to pull back any to injured, to do what she could and get them safely back to the ship, but she couldn't help herself as she shook. Eyes shut for the moment, she jumped at the call to exit the ship and scrambled for a moment to catch up before she sent Wyatt a simple thumbs up emoji.

Tsubame stood at the edge of the doors to the Power Armor bay, dressed in the colors of a technician with her freshly created Star Army uniform on, she watched as both her mother and father went to battle...

LSDF Trishka
Bridge

The Trishka stood along with the rest of the Lorath fleet in the operation, in the back with the rest of the Nepleslian fleets as they took pot shots with the others. Their ships fired along side the Nepleslian forces, but the one on the bridge of the Trishka seemed upset and over it already, She sat in her chair for the moment, chin in hand as the bridge was alive with voices that called out status updates on the fleet and battle at large.

Things began to heat up the moment Aaron Boxley and his superior made it to the reporting stage of the news room. Aaron was immediately intrigued by how many species worked together in the broadcasting room, from the long and elegant Separa'Shan to the short and stumpy Phods. One Separa'Shan had an air about him that indicated status in the ranks. The way he directed others attention and spoke to them caught Boxley's gaze, and then his eyes widened in revelation. That was Jôtô Hei Beihu Jamai, one of the most prevalent figures in the SANDRA management team. He dealt with everything from live coverage to breaking news, and Aaron remembered when Beihu was a reporter as well, up on the live screen-!
Their sights connected and Aaron instantly looked elsewhere, suddenly very nervous about meeting a man he held in high regard. Jamai's television crew moved out of the way as he slid forward, his Diamond-layered scales creating a unique sound on the stage floor -like metal beads rolling through a concrete hangar-. Aaron and the Minkan Jôtô Hei saluted respectfully as the three converged.

"Hei-Whealdottir," Beihu began, curiously lining his voice, "Is this the Santô Hei you spoke of?"

"It is, Jôtô Hei," she said. Whealdottir turned once they finished saluting, patting the nervous Aaron's back reassuringly, "This is Santô Hei Boxley. He's the Journalist we hired last year following his debut video on the Freight Rover MKII prototype."

Beihu's face changed with the descriptor. "Oh, that Boxley! Yeah yeah, I remember that." He held out a hand for Aaron to shake, which he did readily. "My superior was in a pinch and you came in clutch. So I guess that means you're good for being thrown in a fray?"

"I sure hope so, Jôtô Hei." Beihu laughed openly, a belly laugh that looked foreign on a creature with his anatomy. It caused an anxious laugh to slip out of the young Journalist as well.

"Alright, well there's no need to be overly stressed. All you're going to be doing is introducing the live footage we received from Hei-Tatsugami and closing with a conclusion. We have a script from our usual reporter who graciously allowed you to use it. It's already been scrutinized, edited, and prepared, so all you have to do is memorize it."

The relief washed over Boxley immediately, his entire frame relaxing as Jamai and Whealdottir introduced him to the rest of the team. The makeup crew, equipment team, coding techs, and other groups involved in the process welcomed him to the floor and to their section of Kyoto headquarters. Before long they were hard at work, Aaron taking drastic measures to remember the lines. There weren't many, but it was still a responsibility he took seriously. Beihu was impressed by his immediate desire to dive in and get to business. Most other young reporters the Separa'Shan met were hot shots, or so nervous they chickened out. But Boxley had a different air about him, something that stuck out to the seasoned director. Something he liked.
Three hours flew by quickly. Before long Aaron was getting the final touches and adjustments made to his makeup, clothes, and microphone. The countdown began at twenty. Boxley could feel his fingers tingling and growing white hot! He felt his neck flush up and his ears grow red, and he began to grow stiff. Whealdottir knew she had time to get down there, and as she approached him he feared he was doing something wrong. Her cold fingers wrapped around the back of his neck and his dazed state focused on her white irises.

"Baby, you know what job needs to be done. Do it."

Her confident gaze helped him refocus, "Yes ma'am."

The ringing in his ears subsided and he could hear the countdown as she walked back behind the camera and light setup. Five, four, three, two- Two fingers pointed at him and the camera went live.

"Good evening. My name is Aaron Boxley, reporting in for Ryunosuke Yiitora. Today marks an important day in Yamataian history, as the Star Army combined forces with several allies to take on the recent threat known as the Kuvexian Empire. Past reports have illuminated the Kuvexian's attempts to thwart, sabotage, and compromise the safety of Yamataian citizens all over. Today was the answer to that threat, and on-site footage from our very own Hei-Tatsugami Kozakura gives us a brief look into this fight. Let's take a look."

That was Aaron's cue for the mic to go offline, and as he stood and waited for the signal his stomach began to twist into knots. Perplexity furrowed his eyebrows and flattened his lips. He was torn in two directions about something dealing with all this, but a decisive glance from Whealdottir intensified his glazed stare. An understanding nod came from the Santô Hei, and he waited patiently for the signal to speak one more.

YSS Yukikaze
Bridge

Sakurai Mizuki did her best to maintain a professional face, but she along with most of the Bridge Crew were flabbergasted at what was occurring. While the civilians did not state their intentions, the fact the remaining Giretsu had not attacked the ship must have meant something.

"Whoever you are, I owe you a drink from my private reserve when this is all over." Mizuki said after she had gotten confirmation of the Yukikaze gaining mass instead of losing it. Of course, this also meant that the ship was going to have to be completely examined for possible security concerns after the fact. She smiled a bit when elements of the 1st Fleet were beginning to increase in number in the area.

"Mister G, make their velocity best you can. Miss T, refrain from using the shock weapon for the moment. We have a change of mission now." she continued before activating her comms with the Rikugun.

YSS Kagusa
Bridge

Kim Eun-Kyung switched her targetting to a pair of Kuvexian Carriers that was at the heart of the small craft efforts in this portion of the battlespace. She opened up her weapons on them, prompting the Kuvexians to start focusing more on the Sharie Battleships and their Super Eikan escorts.

She remained her usual calm self, refraining from celebrating when she landed the killing blow on a Kuvexian vessel. It wasn't that she is not happy, she is just first and foremost a professional soldier that wished for peace and the Kuvexians in their current state were not helping to achieve that.

In the rare moments of time she had to herself waiting for the weapons to recharge, her thoughts would wander to her brother Kim Eunji. Where was he currently? After all of these years, she still had yet to meet him again.

She snapped back to reality once the "ready" weapon tone was sounded.

Outside of the YSS Yukikaze

There were cheers of pride when the YSS Kagusa opened up its main cannons on the Kuvexians again. Combined with the assistance from the civilians, the morale amongst the band of rowdy soldiers was improving.

"Rikugun element, Yukikaze actual. Protect the civilian transport and the crazy entity on top of it. Once they are gone, board and prepare a new mission. We are on rescue duty now." Mizuki's voice came over the comms of the Giretsu soldiers.

"Yes ma'am." Mikael replied back for the others as he blasted his forearm weapon into a pair of Kuvexian NPA that had managed to dodge an aether beam from the YSS Kagusa. The Kuvexian numbers were thinning, which was giving them a breather they desperately needed. Now there was only the matter of the strange Mecha and the ship it was on to wait on.

Steiner walked along the hull of the Yukikaze, smiling as the their foe's ranks were slowly. When he'd caught the transmission, he chuckled. A drink eh? Shame he would not be able to take her offer up as of the moment. "Repairs nearly complete, have a few small patch jobs here and there." Patching yet another hole, the Sentinel looked up and saluted one of the troopers as they picked off a power armor. "Alright, we're about finished up here too-we put too much more in and you ain't getting back on."

After fixing the last hole-there was something strange about the feedback he'd gotten from materials that the nano-machines had forged themselves into, requiring far more energy to fix than should have been required, while others simply seemed to bond with with the machines before they could finish their work-a matter for later. "Repairs complete." Steiner reported, "Ready for pick up."

"Right, lining up." Disengaging his maglocks, he pushed off the Yukikaze's hull, and sent a brief laser transmission to the gunship as he did. "Please refrain from damaging your ship any further-I would rather not have to come back and fix it-and tell your captain as soon as I can get...a ghost transfer I believe it is called?-I'll taker her up on her offer. Radio code 105789 if you others require further assistance." As he touched on and maglocked back to the Stonewall's hull, the ship started to give the Yukikaze some breathing room. "You're a crazy bastard, ya know that." To this Steiner chuckled.

"Merely just an old fool." The captain share in his amusement. "Aye-we're moving to the edge of their formation-I suppose you wanna find more ships in need of fixing?"

"Of course captain, keep an eye would you-I am going to see about fixing some more of our own damage." The remaining crew had finished loading another damaged fighter as Steiner began his reclamation efforts on a piece of wreckage he'd acquired, and recalled the drone-there was work that needed done.

YSS "Presurgence" Power Armor Bay

While Sanda was busy tussling with a Kuvie power armor of her own, Kozakura had entered the fray with aether blades drawn. Dodging fire from the enemy and returning it with her Mindy's inbuilt forearm pulse cannons, she closed the distance to the nearest hostile. Blades flashing outward as they were ignited with aether, she cut through her enemy's gun like it was butter with a high arcing downward slash. However with just a hair of lost momentum she failed to cause a deep enough cut to be lethal when it came to penetrating the Kuvie's power armor. However that was where blade number two came in to play. Swinging from her left at a downward angle she sliced into the leg of the power armor, melting through the armor and cutting flesh cleanly. Without a leg to stand on her foe dropped to the deck while they desperately scrambled for a secondary weapon. Kozakura took a quickened deep breath before delivering a decisive lethal blow.

Though as she turned to move onto her next target, closing the gap for more melee combat, warning lights blared as an aether beam nearly sliced her foot off. She looked around only to find an "allied" power armor on the rear flank of the Kuvexian detachment that had invaded the Presurgence. Stowing her blades and grabbing her A/S Submachine Gun from her shoulder she joined in on the crossfire from the right flank while saying, "Care for friendly fire, there's a lot of us in here."

After the hostiles were pacified, to put it nicely, Kozakura looked to Sanda as she got her helmet back on. "How are you holding up?" she asked over a peer-to-peer connection. There was more she wanted to say but so long as the woman was in one piece she wasn't yet prepared to say those things.

Glimmergold System

This place was a tangled mess of debris, broken worlds, corpses, enengy beams, and missiles all flying around in the cold, airless void. Kuvexian Forces, still outnumbering the combined fleet, focused fire on the machine worlds as one of them made its final shot, sending a beam of light across the star system where it skewered through a Kuvexian banking computer-planet and then flickered as the machine planet firing it exploded from inside, with fire filling its every seam as it tumbled with pieces flying off, now in a burning husk. The last Essai world also fired, getting a good hit that split the 5th of 6 bank-worlds in half at the equator. Everywhere allied ships were besieged with Kuvexian fighters and armors in seemingly endless numbers and losses were mounting.

YSS Battle of Yamatai Bridge

"6 of 7," Yui counted aloud. "Tell the First Fleet's Izanagis and any other ship with an available anti-planet weapon to shift fire from the Kuvexian fleets to the last planet. I don't think the Essai are going to last much longer and we want to finish the job so we can leave. If they destroy the last Essai machine world it's a three or more month trip home. If there's nothing left to defend the Kuvexians will pull out. What are our numbers looking like?"

"Allied losses 37% and Kuveixan losses 40%. We're still outnumbered," a fleet tactical officer replied.

YSS Presurgence

Cassie came back into the Presurgence's armor bay from the chaotic battlefield screaming and crying and violently slamming into a Kuvexian power armor and beating it over and over again with a DAISY M6's Impactor mace. "NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN," he shrieked, tossing the enemy aside and gathering up some aether rifles and batteries off the messy bay floor. "ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!" Cassie spotted Kozakura and Sanda. "I WON'T LET THEM GET YOU!" he shouted, trying to wipe away his tears but failing because his Mindy helmet was in the way.

Another wave of explosions rocked the Kyoto-class carrier beneath them.

YSS Yukikzaze

Despite the situation, the notice of the lessening Kuvexian numbers brought Hiroki a great relief, but he knew that they were not out of the thick of it yet. Once more an entire Kuvexian banking planet was annihilated, and he expected the Kuvexians to fight even harder with greater savagery. He used his CAR to take down another NPA that was trying to flank onto the ship. He spotted two more Kuvexian gunships closing the distance with the Yukikaze. Professional and efficient use with his CAR saw both hostiles carved up and destroyed.

He watched the scorched debris disperse from each other and almost missed an incoming blade from an NPA. Hiroki ducked under the lethal attack and deployed an array of forearm blaster shots into its torso entirely decimating it. Another enemy starfighter was coming in for a pass on the Yukikaze's guns, and Hiroki was swift to respond by slicing into its engine with his CAR and causing it to explode thus killing the pilot. Hiroki's head felt a bump and he saw one of the antennae of his armor's helmet adrift in space. He peered up to find the cause and a split-second later thrusted backwards to avoid the blade of another NPA that was aiming for the top of his head. In a quick action, Hiroki roasted the NPA with his CAR before he could do anything else.

YSS "Presurgence"
Engineering

After scrapping the damaged conduits to the CFS, Jax took a moment to quickly scan his datapad for an update on the greater ship-wide damage control effort.

Things were looking just as grim as before, but it looked like the PA Bay had gotten a bit quieter. As in, there was still a fight, but enough boarders had been un-alived that it was now more a mop-up than a battle. Good. That meant the techs assigned there could focus more on damage control, and maybe think about receiving damaged armors in the future.

Jax wasn't naive enough to think things couldn't immediately turn sideways at any moment.

"PA Bay, Chief here. What's the word?" Jax asked one of the Santo Hei who was frantically putting out fires and setting up barricades against incoming fire.

"We were doing pretty good, then some new guy came in and mopped the freaking floor with a bunch of Kuvvies. He and the others are cleaning up!"

"Good. Keep me posted, and stay on your toes. More can come at any moment." Jax ordered the redshirt.

New guy, huh? Some kind of lone cowboy from the sound of it. Curious, Jax accessed the MEGAMI and found the armor's unique identifier, followed by callsign.

The lion man nearly dropped his cutting torch. Frantically he set aside his tools and opened a comm with the new arrival. The answer to his prayers had just arrived!

"C-Candon?! Holy shit! Where did you come from?!" Jax asked frantically, motioning for Pidole to begin replacing the conduits. "Long time, man! Look, I need your help if you have a minute. I have redshirts pinned down all over the place trying to simultaneously repel boarders and keep us from being explosively decompressed, and it's not looking optimal. A lot of this ship's crew are new, and for a majority of them this is their first taste of combat. What I need, is a big, mean, SAINTly motherfucker to go around and start stacking bodies like it's YE 30!"

@Rizzo

Kuvexian Naval Station

Ketsurui Aiko's fight to disable the Kuvexian aether cannon had not been as simple a task as launching the undertaking itself. Although she had so many soldiers from the Uchuugun and Legion 777 at her back — not to mention her most loyal retainer in Rei and her most valued ally in the Nepleslian scion William Sanders — a weapon the size of a Yamataian capital ship was a resilient target. No number of external heatsinks, coolant conduits, or thermal vents Aiko and her comrades destroyed across the cannon's surface seemed to hamper its operation by much as it continued picking victims in the Kikyo Sector's combined fleet. And though its massive shots did slow due to their efforts, battling against Kuvexian armors as they proceeded did not make the prospect of success likely.

When the second Essai planet's strength finally gave out and exploded, laid low by the constant onslaught of Kuvexian resistance, Aiko took pause to watch. Her Kirie stood atop one golden-armored infantryman's chest with enough force to make his insides bleed out across the station's shining golden plating while she held another Kuvexian up by his throat in the mini-mecha's left hand. The second man was far less protected; it seemed that they were sending out troopers in environmental suits to face her raiding party in a desperate attempt to halt their work. Aiko forgot about him for a moment as she considered the situation and watched as the cannon that she and her companions fought so hard to silence began to traverse on its mount toward the last remaining Essai weapon-world.

The solution to this predicament came to her just as a couple of shots from some enemy soldier's personal defense weapon caught her Kirie's head on its right cheek. It was an attack that might have made Aiko's head spin had she been wearing a Mindy 4, but in her trusted Ryūketsu — this custom Kirie Thought Armor that had been built for her even before she was born and protected her throughout the Kuvexian War that made up the sum of her life — the little volley was only enough to catch her attention. She crushed the neck of the Kuvexian who'd been hanging in her armor's hand, cutting short what few gasps he had left in him, and tossed his body at her oncoming attacker. Both of them got tangled up together and spun in the void, and the living Kuvexian was distracted for long enough that Aiko quickly ended him, too, with a quick volley from her left forearm's aether projection weapon.

"Wil-kun, Rei-san," Aiko said with the sort of calm tone that came alongside a miserable decision. She stopped a Star Army Keiko that was fighting near her and wordlessly shoved the zesuaium tetsubo her Kirie held in its right hand into the Rikugun grenadier's arms. "Tell Uzume-shôshô's legionnaires to move clear of the gun, and keep a safe distance yourself. I cannot tolerate its continued operation. Be prepared to cover me on my return."

And with that, Aiko launched from where she'd been standing on the cannon's mid-section and jetted off toward its muzzle. She flew low and fast in her Kirie, weaving through enemy soldiers and point defense turrets until she reached the mean end of this particular weapon. Her trajectory overshot the structure by a few dozen meters, but Aiko quickly dove her big power armor back at it and straight down the wide aperture of its bore.

Aiko was not herself an adherent of Shintoism and its spiritual whimsy. The thought that spirits inhabited some area of the universe seemed to her like a misinterpretation of phenomena such as the Avanet avatar who'd visited her and William months before. Likewise, she did not speak to her armor in the way she'd seen other soldiers do, and had never anthropomorphized its frame or software package beyond the name it'd been given. But now, as she sped down the barrel of a particularly large Kuvexian gun, Aiko could feel the determination in every one of Ryūketsu's joints and armor plates in the same way that all of a Kirie's operations felt like an extension of her own body. How could she not right now, as the weapon system that had been doubly her sword and her steed for a lifetime rode to its end? Today she fought with the dragon-blooded kami Ryūketsu.

With her Kirie's omnidirectional vision, Aiko noticed the fires burning in Glimmergold and the stars that backed them stop turning as she peered down the cannon's bore behind her. The gaudy gilded paneling that Kuvexians were so fond of was present even here, side-by-side with gem-like focusing crystals that motivated its destructive payload replacing more precious decoration that seemed to be the Interstellar Kingdom's norm. Ahead, the aether emitter loomed ever closer. It was already glowing, powering up by the minute for another crack at an Essai machine planet. The Ketsurui Clan princess landed right in its center, her Kirie's legs straddling a one meter wide opening where the cannon's energy would be loosed from and allowed to multiply in force.

"Initiate self destruct procedure Omega-Kyūkyoku, authorization: Aiko juusan, nana-hyaku-nana-juu-nan," she ordered, communicating her intention to the Kirie around her. Every moment she'd spent fighting with it was recalled in her digital brain; every one of her glories and defeats with the Kaiyō and her fellow soldiers there against Kuvexia, the Mishhu, and all of the other enemies they'd faced together. "Set timer for ten seconds following the pilot pod's ejection."

With its instructions set, the Kirie Ryūketsu gently slid apart across its torso and let its pilot pod carrying Aiko release into zero-G. Even though time was of the essence with the countdown active and the Kuvexian cannon itself brightening with ever-more intensity as the seconds passed, Aiko took one last farewell pass around her Kirie. The essence of it would stay with its computer in her pilot pod, but the bones it left behind and the experiences engrained within them were soon to be lost forever.

"You are strong, Ryūketsu, and brave," Aiko said. Were her body not inert within the control capsule now, she would surely be clenching her jaw tight and feel sorrow doing its best to pinch her eyes closed. The pod that carried her back out of the cannon was bathed in an unfathomable aetheric light as it broke past the weapon's muzzle at three-eighths the speed of light. An Essai machine world, the last of a trio Yui and Uesu's fleets were there to protect, lay in the station's crosshairs.

"And you are immortal."

The beam of aether emanating from the titanic Kuvexian cannon flickered around Aiko's pilot pod and then failed, heralding what was to come. Ten seconds had elapsed. Kuvexian crewmen and Star Army soldiers still fighting atop the station's surface could feel a great rumble beneath their feet just before the base of the cannon erupted in massive plumes of hot orange fire right above where it was joined to its swiveling casemate. Cascading detonations blasted out along the center of the big gun's 4,000 foot long superstructure all the way to its tip, spitting ribbons of aether and flame into space like a gargantuan golden dragon's head. Ryūketsu's last breath allowed the cannon to remain upright for a few lingering moments and then could hold no more as it fell down atop the starbase that housed it.

"Regroup with the fleet!" Aiko barked to those soldiers in the vicinity — the ones who'd followed her in the attack — as she raced back to the Kaiyō. Aftershocks from aetheric feedback were already tearing their way through the Kuvexian weapons platform, and it would soon add its mass to the great sea of wreckage filling up the Glimmergold system. "The enemy will not give up yet!"

Near the YSS "Presurgence"

Kwabba-an laid her eyes on another target and went to teleport, but nothing happened. Only then did she become dimly aware that there was a warning on her heads-up display (HUD) that her teleportation module was recharging. The fighter shot past the space where she would have caught it, while she watched, unable to reach out and slash at it as she had done before. Snarling, she kicked on the turbo aether plasma (TAP) engines in pursuit, but their software limited acceleration felt like a slow crawl compared to the speedy fighters swarming around.

Without a thought beyond "I want to attack that golden thing," she switched her combined field system (CFS) from shields over to anti-inertia. The maneuver left her vulnerable, so to compensate she switched her photonics from optical camouflage over to shields. There was still a moment where she was unprotected since she couldn't have both the CFS and the photonics system providing shields at the same time. Perhaps if she were a nekovalkyrja and designed for fast actions like that during combat that moment would be negligible, but she wasn't. Thankfully, nothing hit her.

Once the switchover was complete, she began to divert more and more power from CFS anti-inertia over to propulsion and accelerated until she began to feel the effects. The colour faded from the vivid scene of chaos and destruction in front of her, and slowly the once-golden fighter she was pursuing turned a bland gray. The edges of her vision faded even more than they had been. She could feel the fleshy musculature around her neck convulsing, trying to keep the blood from draining out of her skull so she could maintain consciousness. Targeting her prey in her HUD, she switched over to an audio signal that pulsed more frequently as she approached. Her vision faded to darkness as blood was no longer able to reach her eyes and for several moments she was only aware of the speaker in her helmet beeping faster and faster until it was almost a solid tone.

Flipping the CFS over to anti-inertia and at the same time switching on the TAP engine to maintain her speed, she breathed a sigh of relief as she regained her senses. She was tearing through space alongside the fighter now and while some part of her brain was concerned that the pilot wasn't making any attempt at evasive actions that she couldn't match with her TAP engine's limited acceleration, this was not a part of her brain that she was currently listening to.

Drawing in close, she dialed her CFS over to create an artificial gravity field that pulled her feet to the surface of the ship, while maintaining enough anti-inertial power to resist any sudden movements the pilot might take. Now that she was back in her element, she lit up her aether beam saber rifle (ABSR)'s blade and strode over to the familiar purple dome that she knew protected the pilot. Along the way, she realized she had begun whistling a jaunty melody and she thought it strange that she didn't immediately recognize it, but she continued to refrain from much thinking since it seemed to be working out well for her so far.

The moment after she stabbed her blade into the side of the cockpit, the trap sprung. On her Mindy's dizzying optical tracking system that showed all directions at once, she saw a flash from the aft of the fighter, and plasma fire shot past her face. She turned and saw a golden power armor firing at her and when she couldn't immediately recall whether her photonics shielding protected against plasma fire, she let go of her stuck aether blade and kicked herself back over the side of the fighter, letting her artificial gravity field pull her around in an arc that put the fighter between her and the new enemy.

Her feet were running before they hit the underside of the fighter's hull and she raced aft, knowing that she was now without any aether weaponry with which to easily dispatch the attacker. Before she could do much else, she saw the head and weapon of the other power armor peek over the side of the fighter and take a quick shot at her. Luckily the shot went wide again because she took no evasive actions of her own. On the contrary, she dove towards the Kuvexian and swung her zesuaium bass guitar like an axe, managing to knock the plasma weapon away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw it tumble into space, untethered. Kwabba-an had a moment to smile before her reckless dive ended with her falling flat against the surface of the fighter.

The other power armor pulled out an aether blade of its own and stabbed down at her, but she had enough time to roll aside and grab her enemy's arm, trying to pull it off balance. The aether blade sunk into the hull of the fighter, but she found the power armor unable to be so easily toppled. The same part of her mind that kept wondering about things wondered now about whether the Kuvexian power armor had something like her own CFS to compensate for external forces. This part of her mind was growing accustomed to being ignored and made a passive-aggressive comment to whatever part of her was currently in charge.

While Kwabba-an was under armed in one sense, having left her aether blade embedded in the hull by the cockpit, she was not without spare arms. Even with one arm occupied with pulling on the Kuvexian's own arm, another holding her guitar, and yet another holding a powerless ABSR, she still had one arm free. With this arm, she reached up and pressed her fist against the other armor's neck before letting loose with her forearm pulse cannon. While it wasn't nearly as powerful as her ABSR blade, in such proximity it was enough to punch through the neck joint and into the power armor helmet, after which its occupant crumpled over like a marionette with its strings cut.

The insectoid woman wanted to take a moment to rest as the fatigue was starting to catch up with her, but she also felt that if she let even a single quiet moment pass, she might not be able to continue. So she stood up and walked over to where she had left her aether blade. Happy to find that the cable that had connected it to her forearm hadn’t been damaged, she plugged it in and turned it on. The blade lit up and she sliced it easily through the material of the hull, then reached her free hand into the gash and tore off the cockpit. She yanked the pilot from its seat and swiped her aether blade across the controls to render the fighter useless. Then she switched her CFS away from artificial gravity to shielding and felt the hull of the fighter slip away from under her feet before she began the complicated sequence of actions that would let her quickly accelerate to her next enemy.

This time, in that moment of vulnerability she had failed to fully consider earlier, something happened. Her display lit up as the fighter disappeared in a flash of anti-aircraft fire. Though it wasn’t close enough for her to get caught in the blast, she saw golden debris tear through the pilot she still held, causing a fine mist of purple Kuvexian blood to spray away from the explosion. Releasing the now-limp body, she realized that something else had happened. The shrapnel had caused a pleasing tinkle against her largely impenetrable zesuaium armour but was almost drowned out by a distressing crack. Almost immediately, she felt an upsetting sensation in her midsection that was rapidly followed by the musculature of her suit constricting around that section of her body. Kwabba-an looked down and saw a thin, pulsating stream of boiling red blood being sucked into the vacuum around her. The stream was pouring from what had been a joint in the side of her armour but now was torn open, presumably by a small piece of debris.

“That’s not good,” she said dumbly to herself before pressing her free hand to her side. She knew that the suit’s fleshy layer would begin to heal itself, but she couldn’t remember from her training how long that would take. With horror, she realized that whatever had broken the joint in her armor might have torn up her insides. “At least most of my organs are in my insect abdomen.”

YSS “Presurgence”
Power Armour Bay

Kwabba-an managed to fly in through the maelstrom outside. As she crossed the threshold into the bay, the blood that had been pooling and boiling in the vacuum of space now ran down the side of her leg in the artificial gravity. The hangar bore the evidence of missile impacts and power armour fighting, but as far as she could tell was currently in a moment of calm.

She floated over to the small section of the floor where her day had begun, which she eyed critically as she thought forward to the next few moments where she would need to get her legs out. Deciding on a simple approach, she simply laid down face-first on the floor. Unlike most Mindies, hers opened in the back to accommodate her unique body. Once she was prone, she pulled off her helmet and the suit went limp around her before she started the process of opening it up and crawling out.

As she did so, she found that her midsection was indeed a mess. Blood that had not been sucked out into the vacuum had pooled around her and had soaked through her form-fitting type 42 bodysuit. No longer feeling the comforting press of the fleshy layer of the suit against her, she was suddenly aware of the pain that seemed sharply concentrated at her side but was throbbing throughout her midriff.

Kwabba-an pressed a couple of her hands against her side where the shrapnel had apparently cut into her and tried to stand up. Doing so made her light-headed and she wobbled, nearly passing out from the pain and blood loss. She began stumbling towards the medical bay.

“Almost...home…”