RP [Orochi Squadron] Mission 1: Tentacled Tidings

[ArsenicJohn]

"Yatta!" Freyja yelled in joy as her AIES informed her the Battlepod she targeted was destroyed. That's revenge for all my girls you've killed! Not that they were really hers, more like she had taken it upon herself to protect them and now they were dead. If she kept thinking about their losses, though, she would probably curl up into a ball and sob like a baby. So she did what she was trained to do and focused on the mission.

"Hai Korosora-heisho! Let's kill some squids!" She replied to the second squad leader. Her Mindy moved with a grace she could never achieve in gravity, using her AIES to navigate out of danger when possible. She paid special attention to her nearest ally, Seo Mayu, providing her with cover fire from her ASBR. That strategy seemed to be working out for the other two nearby, after all.

"What do I call ya, sis?" She said to the Mindy pilot she had teamed up with. Her AIES fed her the information but she felt it wouldn't be polite to say her name unless she gave it.

We're so close! She thought, going over the plan in her head while her body operated almost entirely on autopilot. Right, cut through the hull with my Aether Beam, board near command, disable ship, and make calamari. Then she imagined eating Mishu and gagged at the thought.

 

[Grey Library]

[Blue Leader to Red Leader, the bogeys got us pretty good. requesting permission to disengage and RTB.]

[This is Yellow 2 to all friendlies, my shields are down! Need immediate backu-HYAAH!]

[SHIT! Yellow 2 just went down! Anyone got eyes on her cockpit?!]

[This is Red Leader to all Oscars, I've got visual on Yellow 2 bailing out. Blue Element, you are clear to disengage!] Barking rapid-fire orders onto the mic, Kishi winced as a few stray missiles slipped past her formation and plowed into the infantry wave. The screams of her stricken comrades were mercifully short as the high-yield warheads vaporized them within moments, turning young but brave Nekovalkryja soldiers into naught but scattering atoms. "Nggh!" the squadron leader bit back a curse as a particularly nasty salvo from a speeding Battlepod's cannons plowed straight into her shields and rattled her ship. [All Oscars, HOLD! Our sisters in the infantry are counting on us to shield them until they land, we cannot afford to falter now!]

{Shields holding at 73%,} the AIES cautioned. Beside Kishi's craft, Oscar 3 was trailing aether flares from gouges along her right wing.

Kishi chewed her lip in frustration as she stayed her hand, turrets blazing along with her mental commands as Red Element hunkered down, turning theit stronger shields and their very own bulks into moving cover for the infantry formation. At low speeds and with no room to maneuver, the pilots could do nothing but sit there and count the kilometers until they finally entered firing range. "Come on, come on..." she found herself muttering under her breath as the miniscule blob that was the target cruiser slowly expanded in her view.

Right, focus. If the torpedo's ranges are still accurate, we'll be ready to go in about six seconds. Six... Five...

A middling distance away from Red Element, screams rang out as a damaged Battlepod plowed right into a cluster of Mindy PAs before exploding, sending broken figures cartwheeling in all directions. On the radar, 7 friendly IFFs winked out.

Kishi's grip tightened, drawing her knuckles white around the throttle. Four... Three...

[NO! I CAN'T SHAKE HIM! DON'T-!!!] Blue 3 howled as his Hayabusa bucked and weaved like a rabid stallion, in a desperate attempt to shake off a pursuing Battlepod. Easily keeping up with the wounded craft, the Mishhu drone's twin cannons lit up and spat streams of hypersonic rounds.

With a brilliant flash, the arrowhead-shaped craft exploded. The onboard sensors on Kishi's craft automatically zoomed in on the wreck, giving her a clear view of the shattered fragments of Oscar 9's cockpit spiralling off into the abyss.

Kishi bit her lip, drawing blood. With teeth stained with hemosynth, she quietly spat a prayer for her lost pilot.

Two...

ONE.

"LET THEM HAVE IT!" Kishi all but screamed as her thumb slammed down on the firing stud, triggering the launch mechanisms on the anti-shield torpedoes mounted on the belly of her starfighter. In unison, the three Hayabusas of Red Element unleashed their payload and lobbed a fusiled of volatile warheads at the NMX Cruiser. Six fat arrows tipped with potent EMP warheads streaked ahead of the formation, poised to bite into the larger ship's glowing shields within bare seconds.

[All Oscars, Package has been delivered! I repeat, Package has been delivered! All ships form up on me, pronto!] the flight leader commanded, eyes afire.

[BEGIN THE ASSAULT!]

 

[Eistheid]

Space, Near NMX Fleet

The twin explosions that buffeted her CFS shielded Mindy were expected and tolerable, having to manually shoot down missiles coupled with the woefully inadequate countermeasure pods made the eventuality inevitable, thankfully it seemed they were in the home stretch. Continuing to work to thin out the swarms of battlepods and whatever missiles she spotted with her ASBR, Mayu kept herself focused knowing that she couldn't save everyone, and that with their battle proceeding as it had, the losses were inevitable. In the face of reality Mayu knew that sentimentalism was a wasted effort.

With the call over the comms by Yuuki-Hei, Mayu was quick to respond, "This is Seo-Hei, fall in and keep focused on the threats or we won't make it in the last stretch." She was aware that her response was a bit of a killjoy but with their rate of attrition it was reaching a point where carefree confidence would cause more than just a few deaths, possibly the failure of the entire mission. As their shielding wing of Hayabusa fighters started to break apart, Mayu watched with some interest the launch of the anti-shield torpedoes, turning her full attention toward clearing the threats between them and the enemy Cruiser, aether lancing out into the void between herself and her targets, ready to switch to removing the point defences on the enemy hull as they neared their goal to ease the rate of attrition and keep her allies safe while they cut into the hull.

 

[paladinrpg]

Space, Near NMX Fleet

As the massive salvo of Ke-Z1 anti-shield torpedoes from all 8 gunships of Orochi Squadron streaked towards the enemy formation, the brave infantry suddenly was granted a reprieve as the NMX light cruisers were forced to shift the firing patterns of their defense turrets to focus on shooting down the incoming projectiles instead of the waves of Mindies. The Nekovalkyrja from Orochi watched as two torpedoes bore down on the Pillager that was their target, one of them succumbing to its fire in a massive wave of aether as it broke apart. The other one, however, managed to reach its goal... striking the shield bubble of the enemy ship and detonating, sending a ripple of subspace distortions that drastically thinned out the protective barrier around it.

This was the signal to Oscar Squadron to play their part, and despite the losses in the dogfighting there was more than enough remaining when Raku-heisho gave the order to fire. NMX Battlepods shadowing the three starfighters tried to desperately prevent the assault, as two of the brain-slave piloted crafts pulled a kamikaze attack and slammed themselves into one of the Red element attackers, sending the three into a downward spiral of exploding death... but not before the Hyabusa launched it's deadly payload. The six anti-shield torpedoes successfully took flight, making a beeline for the weak point the mothership had originally struck.

Freyja's covering fire kept a swarm of Battlepods that would have otherwise came her and Mayu's way busy. Seo-hei's precision shooting was joined by a few other friendly Mindy's that cleared out two more of the now-damaged NMX fighters that tried to block the torpedoes path unsuccessfully and were turned into glorified fireworks for their efforts. Eisei narrowly dodged death yet again today as the cruiser's Anti-Smallcraft turret aether pulses shot her shoulder pod off when she got in the way of their line of fire to their intended targets.

Overall, two torpedoes succumbed to the point defenses, but it was not enough, as four projectiles looked to inevitably meet their goal...

An then it came, as the AIES reported what they all wanted so desperately to see:

Target Pillager - Distortion Shielding at 0%. Disabled.

Kurosora-heisho used up the last salvo of her anti-missile countermeasures as she gave respect to Oscar Lead, "Nice shooting, Kishi." This was followed on the general comms channel with a renewed vigor in the red-haired Neko's voice, "Shield down! Repeat, Shield down! -- 2nd Squad, commence boarding ops... target the forward section, and take out those guns. I want this Yuletide gift unwrapped with extreme prejudice!"

 

[OsakaMoose]

Space, Approaching Target Pillager

The rush of battle continued to pump through Sigrid's synthetic veins, as she slowly lowered her head to observe her armor. Her upper left side, including the helmet, was blackened from the close encounter with the NMX laser, her skin continuing to sting from the burn she felt underneath her Mindy. She can still vividly see the bright flash of light blinding her, a sudden feeling of renunciation as she understood that it would be the end. How had she survived?

"UHHHHHHH"

She desperately gasped for air, having momentarily forgotten how to breathe.

"Shield down! Repeat, Shield down! -- 2nd Squad, commence boarding ops... target the forward section, and take out those guns. I want this Yuletide gift unwrapped with extreme prejudice!"

The voice of Kurosora-heisho boomed into her ears. They... They finally made it. Sigrid laughed, not out of joy, but from the absurdity of the situation. Minutes ago, the Star Army assault was getting decimated, and she almost joined the dead. Now, the teal Neko was making her final approach on the NMX Pillager, preparing to board. Summoning the last drops of energy and courage in her body, she moved to the forward section.

Space, On Target Pillager Hull

As she readied her Mindy for landing right above the control station, Sigrid shot a glance at the Anti-Smallcraft Turrets laying down heavy fire on the approaching squads. Her feet now touching the ship's hull, she promptly activated her artificial gravity systems, locking into place.

"Touchdown! Waiting for the rest of the squad. Laying fire on the guns!"

Taking cover, Sigrid aimed her rifle at the turrets closest to the incoming Mindys. She set her weapon on beam mode, stabilized herself, and pulled the trigger.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Space, Approaching Target Pillager -> Pillager Hull

Unstable flight. Having her first shoulder pod torn off had thrown Eisei off balance, an awkward lop-sided situation that the Mindy's control software was not designed to deal with. The sudden loss of the second pod then threw her into a mad spin, still carried by inertia towards their target at the speed of a thunderbolt, but now trapped in a blinding world of strobing flashes and blaring G-force alarms.

Chaotic and sickening sensations filled the nekovalkyrja's head as she tried to make sense of the rapidly spinning virtual gyroscope, unable to grasp any sense of form or direction sans the brief spontaneous blurr of the fighter's glowing engines ahead. Best she could do was re-activate her inertia cancelling system in short bursts, trying desperately to stabilize her tiny flailing form whilst also not slowing down so much as to either become an obvious target, or loose pace with the rest of her team.

Flashes. Chattering on the intercom that she was too nauseated to discern the meaning of. Something struck the enemy shields?...

Finally regained control of her suit again. It felt much too light now. At least it seemed to strafe a little faster. Mind still too unsettled to really keep up. Pure reflexes.

Sigrid was... Gone?... No, ahead of her. Eisei had lost pace in the confusion.

A giant brownish skyscraper in space... The enemy pillager, growing closer... TOO FAST!-

Several seconds too late, the diminutive nekovalkyrja's stunned responses finally began to reverse her thrust at full force. Best she could do at this point was swerve, and try to hit the hull at an angle. Just after Sigrid has touched down, she was met with the immense thud of Eisei's mindy clattering against the hull, almost bouncing off completely and carrying on back into open space.

Somewhere in the mess of the landing, she had been removed from her beam saber rifle, which jabbed into the hull directly before her like a toothpick into an orange.

Dead stop.

Eisei Eguchi just looked at the sword, looked at Sigrid, then let out a long, pained sigh of pure euphoric abatement. Somehow, the dream had come true. They where really there, through the enemy lines, standing on the enemy hull, and somehow not completely blown to pieces.

"...F-Fukuza...wa... Fukuzawa, we are... through!..." It was obvious from her spaced out bumbling that there were tears in her eyes, but it rapidly rallied into a more robust tone of fury and vindication. "It's time to make it all count! For our sisters!"

Poor accuracy meant nothing now. She power-skidded right across the hull, saber once again activated in it's full fury, and began to mercilessly smash her way through the row of four defense turrets on the port side of the hull.

Didn't need volumetrics to make those sparks fly. Time to become the fantastical space valkyrie she had always dreamed off.

 

[ArsenicJohn]

The loss of so many Nekovalkyjra was starting to get to the rookie Infantry soldier. She had been almost giddy with excitement for the first phase of the battle. As she approached the NMX Pillager the reality of her situation began to hit her.

No.. We lost too many.. Th-this is.. too fast. I don't think we can do this!

Seo's response was perhaps a good thing, as her thoughts were getting out of control. She took a moment to regain her composure before she replied in a shaky voice. "Arigatou Seo-hei. I.. I was losing focus."

Her thoughts settled down just in time for her to notice the anti-shield missiles headed for the Pillager. The loss of a torpedo made her nervous. She watched as the remaining torpedo made contact, followed soon by six more from the friendly fighters. She cheered in her head as four torpedoes made contact and her AIES said their shields were down.

Shield down! Repeat, Shield down! -- 2nd Squad, commence boarding ops... target the forward section, and take out those guns. I want this Yuletide gift unwrapped with extreme prejudice!"

Freyja smiled for an instant, amused by Kurosora's message. She calculated the optimal angle of approach and compensated , canceling her inertia using her Mindy's CFS. She flipped over just in time to touch down on the surface of the enemy ship. Noticing an ally charging the defense turrets, she decided to work on making an entrance. She yelled, "Seo-hei, cover me! I'll make a door." She activated her Saber and started to cut open a hole big enough for her power armor to fit through.

 

[paladinrpg]

♫ Zero Wing - Medley (CarboHydroM guitar arrangement)

YSS Orochi, Science Lab/Medical Bay

The roar of the Kodian nearly shook the lab as it expanded outward, giving the swarm of writhing worms a split-second of pause as they were vying with one another to bore deeply into Shigeho-Hei's nubile flesh as she thrashed around in vain before becoming completely overwhelmed. That is, until Pavel's oversized NSP shots literally blew a huge swath of Parasites into chunks of gore that splattered across the previously sanitary room. The shock of the heavy blasts managed to also throw the battered Nekovalkyrja he was trying to save into the side of the only automated surgical table in the place with a painful groan... but at least his assistant was safe for the moment, though a single determined Parasite was yet clinging on near her neck.

The Parasite swarm continued to pour out of the torpedo tube and regrouped for a charge at this new threat, trying to take him down through sheer numbers. There could have easily been a hundred of the deadly things intent on devouring the white bear, and each shot of his NSP only seemed to slow the wave down a little bit . Deadly saliva dripped from the many jagged-toothed mouths as they surged ahead... how long could he hold them off?

From the other side of the lab door he heard some shouts and footsteps of crew coming closer at a hurried pace, "C'mon, c'mon.. bring the guns! I think it went right through the dome into science!"

YSS Orochi, Bridge

The glowing area above Fuji's sensor console didn't stay that way for long, as the electron drill of the QHT warhead finally penetrated the heavy shielding around the bridge and began to disgorge it's payload of deadly Parasites directly onto the upper command level. The curly-haired sprite dived over the railing onto the lower bridge to avoid being Mishhu food, while her red-headed partner Miyoga began to draw her NSP with a snarl and take aim.

Several of the NMX worms launched themselves at supersonic speed right at the form of Hachimitsu-taisa. It was obvious why she was their immediate, programmed target -- if they could take out or otherwise compromise the commander quickly, the fleet would be left in utter chaos. Mikoto tried to bring her Zesuiaum warfan up to defend herself but at these speeds even her reflexes could not stop them. There was finally for a split second a look of fear in the silver-haired Nekovalkyrja's eyes...

Then, in the next split second there was the flash of metal several times in the bridge's flickering lights. A blur of white kimono, and blade singing out cutting the air several times rapidly. The Parasites suddenly fell apart in midair, cleaved neatly in twain... as the captain glanced to the side of her to find the figure of Yuumi with both blades of her daisho in hand, dripping Mishhuvurthyar ichor to the carpeted floor. "Mikoto-sama," she mouthed quietly, "Are you alright?" The Ketsurui samurai switched the grip on her blades subtly, before becoming like a blur once more diving into the horde that threatened her commanding officer.

"Hai. Arigato," replied the Taisa with genuine thanks and a smile, as she reached for her own NSP in it's holster while taking cover behind her command chair, resolving to not let the enemy EVER get that close to her again. She began discharging it at the Parasites that continued to stream in:, all the while still barking orders "All stations, repel boarders in engineering, science and bridge area! Get these rotten slugs off my ship!"

At Fuji's unmanned console that now had slime, parasite guts and burnt metal laying on it, a warning was beginning to blink, centered on the enemy Tivurtinth-class vessel. Even the Orochi's now heavily damaged sensors managed to detect electromagnetic emissions from it beginning to rise rapidly...

Meanwhile...

XSS Krampus, Prisoner Containment Area

As Perchta's attentions were suddenly drawn to Alexis's rabble rousing, the male Vekimen that she had carelessly discarded like an old toy upon the floor noticed that the door to the cell was left open, the mental lock having not been activated. The digestive acid that was eating into his scales painfully also had happened to conveniently splatter upon the shackles that were binding him, weakening the Yama-Dura alloy significantly so that the impact to the floor caused a crack to open up and not begin to heal itself. If he could summon up the strength he had remaining on that one spot and bash it against the wall, there may be a slim chance to escape the bindings while the Nightmare was distracted... to remain here with the still-cowering females would just be a death sentence.

Across from the cells for important prisoners, the Neko guards stared at Alexis as she walked forward fearlessly and seemed to ignore their warnings. Two of them activated their stun batons, as they wumped two of the civilian colonists out of the way with a zap. "Hey, who you calling an empty shell? You'll be one once the Master's done with you!" A couple others raised their weapons and pointed them her way. "How about we soften her up first.."

Perchta observed the commotion with interest, as a dozen tendrils rose up from her back carapace. "What a fiesty specimen we have here. I'll especially enjoy breaking this one..."

Just then there was a low rumble as the cruiser shook lightly from the residual impacts of the subspace torpedoes, followed by the sounds of metallic raindrops pinging against the hull. The captured colonists looked around in confusion, but the Mishhu officer knew exactly what this meant, as the announcement soon went out through the Pillager over both voice and psionic channels:

"So those Star Army fools dare to think they can stop us?! Secure engine rooms. Prepare to repel boarders in the forward section. Overseer Perchta, to the bridge... immediately."

The red headed Nightmare licked her lips once and waved a clawed hand towards the guards. "I'll leave you to deal with this, ladies... I've got some fresh meat to welcome aboard." She started bounding down deeper into the corridors, barking orders as she flew past the other Nekovalkyrja crew. "You heard Lord Belsnickel. Security team... to the Armories, Deck 1 and 2... don your Reapers quickly and join me by the officer cabins! The rest of you grab an Impaler, sync up, and shoot any Yamatai cat on sight."

 

[Dumont]

What struck Shiho as she clanged down on the outer hull of the NMX Pillager was that, with a quick look back to the stretch of space between herself and the ship she had been catapulted from: She couldn't see anyone. The distances and speeds were so great in scope that the only things really visible; at least outside of the flashing lights of her armor's display, were the flash of distant explosions.

Of course there was only a few seconds to process that idea; Shiho was busy. Crouched low over the hull of the Pillager's bridge, she reasoned that she had about a second to start working on her own hull breach. The bridge on the Pillager was raised, and above it the eight defense turrets arrayed on the ships back didn't have a clear shot so long as she kept low. From this point she could punch right on through to the command bridge, which if she recalled connected directly to the NMX housing on board. Still, it being over the bridge, the presence of a hull breach would stop the battle pods from blasting her off the hull as it could risk the Pillager. Maybe?

This, Shiho reasoned, was more or less suicide: She would not survive being crammed into tight quarters with that many monsters. Still, the blade of her Ke-M2-W2901 crackled to life and with a swift thrust sliced the first blow into the hull just over what she believed would be the cluster of command consoles at the front.

Her mind flashed between thoughts without much pattern. It seemed every cell, atom, and every particle in her being below that scale which she didn't even know the names of was screaming at her to stop. She had made it this far in her own fashion, early in the fight the two others she was flying with were cut down. Kurosora had said to equip a teleport module in case of a need to get out in a hurry, and it was with that reasoning that she had gotten out of the suicide charge. Warping away to safety.

However, she at least knew the faces of those two who she had flown with and seen blown to fine chunks of metal and meat. Only not really: She hadn't seen it. She was moving so fast that they were simply there, and then gone. A blip on her display gone. A flash of light in the distance, and she couldn't even see the bodies floating out there. Chances are that since they had been flung at high velocity through space towards this NMX Cruiser, then the inertia of their motions meant that they were now possibly spattered over the hull of their target.

One last blow against the enemy: Nekovalkyrja salsa payload... How dignified in death we are.

Her body worked mechanically; sawing open first a small opening. She had rejoined this fight because of two reasons: She could, she had equipped enough capacitors to her armor to grant her a second and third teleport. Two were recharging, the second charge was spent reversing her retreat in order to close on the Pillager once its shields were brought down. The third was in case this all went horribly horribly wrong. Her second reason for rejoining the fight: She didn't like the idea of being painted a coward.

She hated this fight, she hated the ones who would punish her for not participating in it. But let it never be said she wasn't willing to fight. At least not to fight stupidly.

Step one was still to cut a hole into the command bridge: Second was simply... 'Wing it'.

 

[Eistheid]

Space, Approaching Target Pillager -> Pillager Hull

Where her sisters seemed eager to touch down on the hull of the Pillager and set to work, Mayu instead instructed her AIES to match speeds with the escaping enemy vessel. Floating several meters above the dorsal side of the pillager Mayu directed her ASBR toward the row of turrets opposite Eguchi-Hei's targets and raked a beam of brilliant aether over the other row of four turrets, down the length of the ship's hull, before terminating at the engine pod of the pillager. Wanting to keep her mobility, Mayu slipped toward the rear of the pillage, weaving a graceful path toward the rear of the enemy vehicle while working in concert with her AIES to fulfill Yuuki-Hei's request keeping an eye out for possible threats while also moving to a position where she could provide Eguchi-Hei with some backup should she take too much of the enemy's attention.

"Yuuki-Hei, I'm on overwatch, may your blade cut true." Mayu paused before sending a second message, "Eguchi-Hei, I'm here for backup let's keep our cutting sisters safe ne?"

Skimming over the surface of the Pillager's hull in a semi-randomized pattern while making the most of her AIES's threat tracking software, and her limited battery of sensors, Mayu hoped that she'd be able to maintain the initiative in the glittering void. She could only watch so much, and reactions were just a little slower. Hopefully it would be enough to keep those who had made it this far alive.

 

[Ace]

XSS Krampus, Prisoner Containment Area
Alexis taking the opportunity given a hand and grabbed the pipe and sprinted towards the nearest guard hitting her over the head with it as hard she could and then grabbing the guards's gun taking quick shots at the other guards before ducking behind the closest cover. She noticed the open door and Vekimen inside of the cell she motioned for them to come to her.

 

[Dumont]

XSS Krampus Hull - XSS Krampus Bridge

It was a lot easier for Shiho to focus on one thing. The flashes of light behind her, the strange reddish smears on the hull; all that sort of thing had flashed through her mind. Each time they did, Shiho would pause for just a split second as she carved through the outer plates of the Pillager. At about the third miniature freeze she endured, she found a rhythm. A mental one, anyway. You just had to focus purely on one thing. For Shiho it was the deep red of molten metal left behind in the wake of her blade; how it slowly cooled back down to a burnt black... All after that first little burst of firey embers were ejected as the internal atmosphere started to leak out.

She found it strangely peaceful to watch it, and just distracting enough that the sound of scraping metal caused her to wince. They said that space was quiet, but it was easy to forget that sound would vibrate up through your own suit if you were in contact with something. That hideous wrenching: Like a shrieking beast, one slab of hull plating scraped against another on its way down to plunge into the bridge of the XSS Krampus.

...And it had all been so peaceful up to this point.

"Hull breach on enemy command bridge." she reported, "Grenades out."

Shiho hadn't really raised a question when they'd been arming up. After someone was given a flamethrower, and her superiors didn't object to someone else requesting to bring a mechanical dog; Shiho had gone for a few more specialty grenades very quietly. The loop of cord from a Type 30 Scalar Pulse Grenade drifted towards the stars. Shiho counted down under her breath; clenching her fist on the grenade just a little tighter as it cooked, before tossing it in with just a couple of seconds left on its timer.

As she threw, she leapt. Clearing a little higher lest something go wrong and she get caught nearer the resuling scalar field burst. The only thoughts in her head were all strings of some strange proto-expletives; all for lack of the kind of language you don't hear within a military training.

A burst of her armor's engines and she plunged back towards her own little hull breach, landing with a metallic clang and adopting a fighting stance. Raising her rifle to chin height, and extending her wrist blade to full hull cutting length held low. She could only hope two things desperately at this point: That the fight was already over, and that she wouldn't get promoted for this.

 

[Grey Library]

[We do what we can, Kurosora-heisho.] Kishi exclaimed over the comms as she pitched her craft into a sharp U-turn, rapidly putting some space between her and the exposed NMX vessel. Within the cockpit, the azure-haired Flight Lead gave a quick wave to where she approximated the Squad Leader would be. [Give the squids a piece of hell on our behalf! Good hunting!]

[Right people, here goes the hard part!] the Nekovalkryja pilot commanded as she switched over to the squadron channel. [Green and Yellow Element, merge and form up on me! We'll be gunning for the Pillager's main cannon next, take some pressure off our ships while they hammer the rest of the enemy fleet! Eyes open and watch out for flak!]

Glancing at her battered Element, Kishi tried not to look at the empty spot in the three-plane Vic (now only two) that was previously filled by Oscar 2. Sure, Oscar 2 and the rest of the downed pilots would be waiting for them back aboard the Orochi, but for her squadron to lose so many of their number stung. HER pilots, HER underlings, the ones that she'd diligently trained for so long...

Letting out a quick "tsk" of frustration, she opened up a private channel to the final member of Red Element. [Miyoshi, you've done a stellar job at getting the torpedoes in. Disengage and head back to the Orochi with Blue Element, me and the rest of the Oscars can take it from here. Fly safe, sweetie.] Without waiting for a response, Oscar Actual broke off from the formation and surged ahead, linking up with the forming spearhead of intact Hayabusas on course towards the Mishhu cruiser's monolithic anti-ship battery.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

XSS Krampus, Outer Hull

Even through the external firepower had been almost entirely silenced by their combined pinpoint firepower, it felt like walking on a bed of hot coals. The enemy was inches below Eisei's feet, and who knew what they were planning...

"Agreed, Seo-Hei!" Was the basic response to Mayu, only giving a quick glance to the glimmering mindy satellite before returning her diligence back to the events on the ship itself. There was an depressurization plume in the forward section, as somebody seemingly broke into the bridge with nary a call for backup. Freyja also seemed to be simply cutting straight downwards, in the meantime. "...Through...I'm worried what they they might do to the prisoners, if we take too long... The hold is on the underside of the ship, but... Well, we can't just teleport inside without causing an explosion ourselves."

Yet, for some reason, the armored waif still couldn't bring herself to quite feel angry. Smashing the defense turrets was a task completed with a dull pit in her stomach, a sadness for both her fallen Yamatai sisters and for the helpless NMX gunners she was now picking off one by one. The remaining guns on the wings couldn't even line up firing solutions on the Mindys clustering about the forward section, not without firing directly into the ship's own hull.

The others, she could understand their fury. She expected to feel the same way herself. But somewhere in the pit of her heart, a dark nostalgia had robbed her of the will to remove her enemies from existence quite so hastily. There was simply no quashing the realization that there was a time and a place where she was no different.

Gunfire zipped past. One of the last remaining turrets was trying to slowly and carefully trick-shot her armor, and narrowly skim it off the hull. Would have been easy enough to simply line up her rifle and decimate it in return, as the now-Yamatai soldier entirely lacked such concerns, but...

♫Shinobi 3 - Whirlwind♫

A moment later and Eisei was standing on top of it instead, deftly sweeping around behind, now looking directly down the sighting camera at point blank range. Volumetric projectors flickered into life, then turned her armor a glossy pure white. A vast rainbow-colored mane projected into space behind her, rippling along rhythmically in an invisible wind. It's transparent mass seemed to make every star that shone through it twice as vibrant, a personal nebula the color of dreams.

As overly dramatic as the gesture was, getting the enemies' attention was the singular best chance the small nekovalkyrja had of following her heart's desperate, earnest desires.

"Listen to me, my cousins! Crew of this crippled and limping pillager! We bring justice upon your foul masters this day!" She knew the typical NMX communication bandwidths off by heart. Perhaps there was zero chance any of them would listen to her, but Eisei had to at least try. "But there is no need for you to share the fate of those vile abominations, those who would sooner grind you into pet food than congratulate you for your loyalty... Lay down your arms and free the prisoners! This is not weakness, this is the strength to choose your own destiny! Break free of the chains that bind you to this purgatory, and open your eyes to the future!"

 

[Ace]

XSS Krampus, Prisoner Contaiment
Hearing the announcement of the Neko pilot over the dead NMX soldiers headpiece near her Alexis grabbed the set.
"Hello this is a friendly. I'm ex-SAOY but I can fight I'm being held in the prisoner containment sector and have caused a prisoner rebellion it should help you and your forces to engage our cousins with greater ease. My name is Alexis it is nice to hear rescue came."

 

[OsakaMoose]

XSS Krampus, Outer Hull

Through her rifle's reticle, Sigrid watched as Eisei flew across the ship's surface, swiftly smashing each turret before it could even turn to aim. Although the dark-haired Neko's covering fire managed to down a few guns, Eisei ultimately crushed the bulk of the Pillager's defenses, her armor surprisingly still holding on despite the punishment it endured since the beginning of the assault. If Sigrid needed to be thankful for someone today, it would be her.

"Hull breach on enemy command bridge." she reported, "Grenades out."

Turning her head, Sigrid barely had time to notice her squadmate Shiho leaping out of view when a detonation in the command bridge violently shook the hull beneath her feet. Losing her balance, the Neko vainly attempted to stand upright, only to stumble unto her posterior. Not a very dignified beginning to the boarding assault.

Now up, she looked back towards Eisei. With her Mindy glowing bright like the stars, she reached out to the prisoners on board, like a glorious ambassador for Yamatai. Not only will that inspire hope among the captives, but hopefully distract NMX troops as well. Only one way to find out.

XSS Krampus Bridge

Dropping down the hole cut out by Shiho, Sigrid raised her rifle high and placed herself behind the closest piece of cover she could find. Now on board, she could finally have some fun. With a thought, her Mindy pulled up the Gauss Cannon carefully folded away on her back. With the satisfying series of clicks and clangs resonating within her suit, Sigrid focused carefully on the "arming" message displayed on her monitor. With one more confident click, the armor piercing weapon stood stable over her shoulder. Her monitor now displayed a green and simple but invigorating word: "Ready."

 

[ArsenicJohn]

XSS Krampus, Outer Hull

Grateful for Seo-hei's overwatch, Freyja focused on cutting a hole in the side of Deck One, towards the back whereas Shiho cut directly into the bridge. Her knowledge of Mishu ship structure came back. This gave her pause when she realized she was cutting into a Mishhu cabin. Unfortunately she had no grenades to throw into the ship. Her loadout was similar to the girls from the other squad. On her shoulder mounts a Missile Pod with 15 missiles remaining and 50mm Gauss Cannon full of Tungsten Armor-Piercing Rounds, Teleporter on her back, and two CAMs on the leg hardpoints. She considered launching some missiles into the cabin after she opened it. That didn't really seem like a good idea, but then neither did fighting her way through angry Mishhu.

The large hole she was cutting was nearly complete. "Seo-hei, I'm almost through the hull. Looks like a Mishhu cabin I think. Might need backup in a second." A large roughly rectangular cut in the hull with glowing, molten edges caved in when she was finished. She dodged to the side and waited to be sure some Mishhu didn't take her out as she entered. Anything inside is probably dead, but I'm not talking any chances, the Neko thought as she armed the Gauss Cannon. "Let's make them pay!" She yelled before dropping into the cabin, ABSR at the ready to cut open any squid in her way.

 

[FrostJaeger]

YSS Orochi, Science Lab/Medical Bay

The pained cries of his assistant, Shigeho Yumiko, were fortunately enough to snap Pavel out of his momentary rage with a wince. Vzryv!(Blast!) Ranged attacks from my pistol obviously lack both the precision and force necessary to hold off these sordid invaders - yet there currently exists no other weapon of any possible utility within close proxim-!


Pausing mid-thought, the Kodian looked downward at his undersized desk - and realized that he was mistaken. There was another weapon in the room.


Two of them, in fact.

"C'mon, c'mon.. bring the guns! I think it went right through the dome into science!"

Said Kodian smiled. Ah, how providential! Reinforcements in the form of my fellow crewmates are decreasing in distance in regards to this room, ergo this hastily-conceived notion of mine shall have at the very least possess an adequate chance of success!


Said Kodian then put said notion into action - after firing one last shot at the parasites; the Medic had taken note of the ominous fact that they were all looking at him - as he reached around behind him, grabbed his much-abused chair and, with a harumph of exertion, sent it hurling in the direction of the Parasite-types - with a velocity that a Nekovalkryja could only dream of matching. Now, to follow up on that particular ruse with one of vastly more potency!


Confident that the Mishhuvurthyar would be at least momentarily distracted by the airborne furniture shrieking towards them, the Ittô Hei holstered his pistol - then turned his attention towards the other "weapon" within arm's reach.


His desk.


Following a CRASH!, another harumph of applied force, the creeeeeeak of metal being pushed light-years beyond its stress tolerances, and the snap! of said metal finally yielding to the aforementioned applied force, one Pavel Lazarev sent one desk shrieking towards many, many monstrosities.


The engineers at Ketsurui Fleet Yards had (understandably) never taken into account just how strong Kodians were, it seemed. Now, to initiate the conclusion to this exceedingly-destructive scheme of mine......


The bear charged, using the impact of the desk (CRASH!) as he drew closer and closer to the prone form of Shigeho-Hei (along with whatever remained of the swarm), executing the last - and by any definition the most insane - step of his strategy. Providing they refrain from reacting in a cohesive, unifed fashion for the next several seconds-


Time seemed to come to a standstill for the YSS Orochi's snow-furred Medic, who proceeded to scoop up the unconscious Neko with a gargantuan paw, pluck the opportunistic Parasite-Type off of said Neko with the other, send said Parasite careening towards the nearest bulkhead, then run for his very life towards the room's door, still-unconscious Yumiko in hand. -this temporary burst of physical agility resulting from the vast quantities of adrenaline flooding my body's circulatory network may yet grant us the ability to emerge from this terrifying ordeal unscathed! I do hope the builders of this militaristic vessel spent as much effort on furniture-related mountings as they did on the process of securing doorways...


It turned out those engineers had also (again, understandably) never taken into account just how much kinetic force a nearly three-hundred-and-seventy-eight-kilogram Kodian could exert onto a door.


With a SCREECH of tortured metal, Pavel came crashing (literally!) through the doorway of the Orochi's Science Lab/Medical Bay, landing on his back with a muffled thump! after twisting mid-air to avoid crushing poor Shigeho-Hei under his sheer weight. Stunned after the rather painful Target Clear he'd just performed, the only thing the Itto Hei could do after his smashing entrance was look "up" at the upside-down (and quite shocked) expressions of several crewmates. "Privet(Greetings)......" Not too difficult......gah......

 

[paladinrpg]

♫ Ikaruga OST - 06: Faith

Space, Near XSS Krampus

As Kishi gave her orders to the squadron, Miyoshi responded back with a very nervous: "T-thank you, Heisho... I was really just f-following you... I'll go now. I don't think I c-could hold the fighter t-together much longer." As she started to break away, Oscar Lead could see her Hyabusa was indeed still trailing smoke from the wing with only half a thruster sputtering. The other remaining pilots formed up on her as commanded, though a flight of Battlepods came at them for one final run and forced them to once again get more defensive than she would have liked. However, due to the close ranges involved now, one of the anti-smallcraft turrets on the Pillager actually blew up an enemy battlepod that occupied the space where one of Yellow element was only a second before. Another two of her starfighters also registered glancing blows from the defensive screen.

Thankfully the turrets were soon silenced by Seo's assault, as chunks of several barrels were surgically sawed off by the blasts and flung into space. Aether sputtered and leaked out dangerously, though it was unable to be properly focused on the Mindy teams.

Meanwhile, the troopers cutting into the armored hull slowly and steadily with their ABSR's and various other implements would immediately notice something very odd about this Pillager's structural makeup. Sandwiched in between the plates of Yama-Dura and organic carapace that were standard for NMX armor of this ship class, was the presence of what appeared to be sheets of Duremium Alloy. Thankfully it was a cruder, hastily made form of it that was missing important structol compounds that would help it adapt to damages... but this denser material made it tougher going and slowed down the breaching effort substantially. (as well as raising many questions of exactly why a metal of exclusively Lorath origin was in a Mishhuvurthyar ship).

Eisei sent out her impassioned plea in these precious few moments as the last blades dug into the hull. her wireless telepathy started to receive some replies from what were presumably Neko crew, but they were quickly drowned out by a sultry, dark voice that seemed to pierce her mind like a twisting knife:

"A noble attempt, my dear..... but the words of a hypocrit as yourself do ring rather hollow. Yes... you've merely exchanged one set of chains for another, more golden and light! Come, and let me show you the way back to your true destiny... HX-13-Gamma-27, was it?"

XSS Krampus, Bridge

The scalar grenade tossed by Shiho slipped into the breech created in the cieling of the bridge, and landed right on top of the control console station, cracking open with a hum as an electrogravitic pulse promptly killed the few NH-29 that were sitting there along with frying links to all of the ship's helm controls. The scalar attack also sent the other ruddy-skinned sister at the weapons console to the floor able to do nothing but writhe in agony that was even worse than the commander's torture session yesterday, causing the guns to fall silent. "Ittaaai!!" The lone NMX crew at sensors tried to hold on for dear life and not get sucked out into space, desperately attempting to send a mayday to the Tivurtinth patrol ship that was handling overwatch.

Master Commander Belsnickel gave a psychic squeal of anger from his central nest that reverberated through the command section as Shiho and Sigrid dropped down onto the deck with weapons drawn. They caught the telltale sound of the metallic ring on the floor shooting up to encase the green, impish mass of tentacles in a nigh impenetrable shield from the effects of the sudden decompression. "Hahaha... fools, you have walked right into my trap! Even if you manage to save the prisoners on this ship, you can't possibly stop them all escaping. Guards, turn them to ash like their comrades before them!"

As he floated there ominously with a twisted smile, the bridge started to flood from the rear with several wicked, spiked Reaper PA's, that took aim with their Impaler Particle Rifles and began blasting the two interlopers. Behind the phalanx loomed the figure of the hybrid Nightmare with a sadistic smile, as the numerous tendrils on her back began morphing into all sorts of implements of torture and pain that would be visited upon them. "I'm Perchta, and I've just been dying to meet you, my dears... hehehe..."

XSS Krampus, Officer Cabins

Freyja, having taken a more rearward spot to pierce, found herself dropped into the confines of a Mishhu officer cabin down the hall from the bridge entrance. It was empty, save for a single chest and disgusting organic slime that coated the walls. The door was locked, and with no handle apparent it was likely controlled through telepathic means. However, it didn't take long for the entrance to slam open with a loud thud, as the Neko came face to face with a real Mishhuvurthyar underling of the commander. "Grah, there you are, prey! I will tear you apart!" it uttered with a gutteral roar, as sets of muscular tentacles lashed out to grab at the infantry rookie, while others became serrated blades...

XSS Krampus, Prisoner Containment Area

Beaning the enemy Neko over the head with a *THUNK* of metal on flesh, it was simple for Alexis to use the confined spaces and chaos of the riot to find cover and exchange fire with the jailors. A few shots hit the bystanders in the way, as they went down in agony, but this only enraged the crowd further and caused them to overwhelm two of the other NMX soldiers. A stealthy one managed to sneak in swiftly and hit Alexis' leg briefly with a stun baton before she took them out, causing her to falter and wince. Hopefully someone would answer her message... but it was easy to listen to the real fight that was going on above decks, as a alarm klaxon blared through the cargo hold and gave some of the trapped civilians hope that their rescue was coming.

(more coming!)

 

[Primitive Polygon]

XSS Krampus, Outer Hull

...HX-13-Gamma-27... The words burned into Eisei's soul like a bird shot down from flight. A hand reflexively made it's way to her upper chest, building up an irrational fear that the designation which had once marked the skin of her old body had somehow returned. She didn't have to ask how it knew. They always knew. Years on the paradise worlds of Yamatai, even their comparatively luxurious prison cells, had softened her. Somehow allowed her to forget that dark, primal feeling. The monster that could assert control of your very dreams like it was nothing. But in an instant, that old terror, that gut-wrenching horror, it was back and stronger than ever.

She was paralyzed. It had sounded smart and swift, the idea of cutting into the bottom of the elevator shaft, so she could get directly into the cargo bay. Only Eisei would have known where to strike. But with those things still running about, she knew now that it was naive... There was no choice. The last thing in the world she wanted was to face her old demons, and have the others see her break down. But what else could they do?

The NMX troopers would not back down with the Mishhuvurthyar still alive. It had been no different for her, on HX-13.

A flash! One of the monster's faces?... How?... Freyja's camera feed! They were still connected!

Hands on the butt and barrel, her rifle smashed the turret's camera before finally leaping into action once more.

Her spirit was gone. But her friend needed protecting, and that was enough to drag her thoughtless husk on autopilot, at least.

Finding the hole that her sister had made on the way in, then rapidly arcing her rifle inside, Eisei simply used Freyja's FOF beacon to make sure she was out of the line of fire, and then blindly fired off a quick stream of energy bursts somewhere a meter or two in front of her.