YE 45.6
Space Station
It became difficult for Mineko to look away from Alor’s paled face. She wondered if whether the Celstial Concord had Soul Transfer technology would have been one of her next questions to the alien man or if she would have chosen something more pragmatic. There wasn’t much time to think on the matter of life and death, much less what it meant to Alor’s people. She pushed down his agape eyelids so that he could rest now before her own eyes lifted to look from Yoshiro in his zealous flurry of battle. Her mind was guided back to the task at hand and she called out.
"We've held them off for now, but we need to regroup and head towards the station center,” Mineko said decisively.
Sanda nodded her thanks to Poppy then held her arm up to be helped to her feet. "I'm Nepleslian. A cybernetic replacement will be just as good as a flesh and blood one. Besides, there's still work to do and I'm still conscious." Sanda wasn't going to let something like losing a leg keep her from fighting.
Yayoi grumbled to herself as she heard Poppy's words. She had a difficult choice, on one hand, she continued on, and become a cyborg, like she'd been while on Hanako's world, on the other abandon the mission to get healed. It wasnt an easy choice she could make, especially as a warrior.
Euikoshi looked to Pidole, "Hey Poppy, Pidole's been hit as well," she called the medic over, spotting the rivulets of blood coming from burned holes in Pidole's armor suit. The pink-haired medic darted over and began giving a the red-haired technician a hemosynth blood injection along with pain relievers and wound treatment.
"I was thinking," Pidole started, and stopped to cough, "Maybe I could stay here with the second team and you can take Caihong. I've got to get this battle damage under control. Are we going to wake up the rest of these people or any additional ones?"
Smoke trailed from the barrel of Erika's weapon as she picked herself off the ground, having taken a prone possition to lay down suppressing fire. She took a moment to take in the aftermath, her eyes lingering on the corpse of the sleeper, recently awoken only to sleep for the rest of eternity. "Mineko's right." she said after a moment "Relief has the location secured. I suggest everyone not wounded start making a move."
Okimi continued to sit on the floor, her Mindy propped up against a bulkhead as she continuously re-ran her power armor's internal status checks. Sooner or later they would detect something that had gone wrong with her Mindy. There was no way she'd just shrugged off that much firepower, after all. No-one was that lucky, right?
"I didn't really think I'd be fighting Rippers," Colby Wando, one of the lower-ranking infantry guys said. "I joined for the Kuvexian War." He was a relatively recent transfer from the legendary YSS Aeon II.
"I'm staying, have to complete the mission" Yayoi said, as she remembered she was back in Yamatai's Star Army, no need to worry now. She looked at her arm for a moment, before she focused on her targets.
"Well, I won't pull you for being unfit, but I expect to see you in the medical lab when this is done, and don't stay out for more than an hour and come back right away if you start getting woozy. Also apparently the teleporters are sketchy on this station due to weird energies so you'll be huffing it back to the shuttle bay. I'm going to leave an antigravity stretcher here just in case," Poppy told Yayoi and Sanda.
Sanda held a hand to her chest as if she was hurt by Poppy's suggestion that she wouldn't immediately report to the med lab after this was over. "Poppy. Do you think I would hang around and not report back as soon as the fight it over? Why I practically live in the med bay." Sanda hated reporting to med bay and had only been in there twice in her whole carrier.
"I saw a lot of weird stuff on the way in," Poppy shrugged. "Maybe once this place is a little calm it will be great for tourism. For now let's focus on the mission."
"It's not now, though," Mineko said sharply. “All these people only have us to count on now, we should head to the core. Whoever's going down and whoever is staying here, let's help them before the Mishhu help themselves to them!"
"Let's go then. Point the way. I'll take the point." Sanda said as she brought up her rifle with bayonett attached. Her dented boarding shield was strapped to her back again.
"Caihong, you go with Team 1," Pidole ordered her junior technician.
"Yes, Heisho," Caihong nodded.
"hai" Yayoi said in response to Poppy's words, as she stepped forward, as she checked what weapons she had access to, now that she lost a limb. "hey Okimi, thanks for pulling me back" she sent to the caretaker.
"No," Mineko shook her head to Sanda. "You're injured, hold the back of the line. Erika can take point for you. The doorway over there should get us there," Mineko said as she looked towards a egg-shaped neither they nor the Mishhu had barreled through yet.
Sanda looked over Mineko. "Even injured I'm more than capable of doing my job, Nito Hei Mineko." The Ranger didn't like the suggestion that she wasn't capable to do her job. She also didn't like having a mere Nito Hei giving her orders. She was on the verge of saying so, but the team and begun to move, reminding the tattooed woman of the mission at hand. Grudginly she took the rear.
"We've wasted enough time talking," the analyst said. "Let's do that job as a team."
As Erika walked past Sandra to take her position. "I'm more than capable as well and uninjured. Let me take the heat for a bit, I'm sure you're far from done for the day." She said with a warm inflection. She didn't wait for a response before taking up her position. The small drones in her thigh hardpoint launched and took up a position infront of her.
Okimi looked up at the mention of her name, having forgotten about the new arrivals in what she now realised had been a small panic attack following her rescue of Yayoi. At least nobody had checked on her and found her panicking, so that couldn't be held against her, right? She forced herself to her feet, finally putting aside her compulsive rechecking of her suit's status readouts and noticed the incoming message from Yayoi. "I keep my promises, Yayoi-san." She slipped one of her reloads into her aether SMG and started crossing towards the rest of the team.
Colby Wando, still unsettled by the events, piped up, "You're right, NIto Hei Mineko. We need to move quickly. Whatever happened here, the Mishhu are probably a few steps ahead of us."
As the team began to mobilize, a sense of unity began to replace the immediate shock and grief. Their mission was clear, and the path to the core was set. But the unknown dangers that lay ahead continued to loom ominously. Their unity, skill, and sheer determination would be tested.
Wiping a smudge of soot from her face, Pidole nodded in agreement, staring at the controls for the sleeping pods. "Thanks. Caihong, Stay sharp. And everyone else, remember, we are the Star Army's best. Let's show these Mishhu that."
Wando's words were undoubtedly true and they made Mineko all the more grim, but Pidole's belief in them gave the analyst a renewed sense of vigor. She tested the controls of the door as she double checked that Erika and the rest of the team were ready to keep moving.
"Does anyone else hear that weird screaming?" Wando asked, looking around. "...the hell?"
"That's normal," Euikoshi said. "Watch out for the red ghost," she added.
"What?" Wando scratched his head.
Yayoi turned to look where Okimi was, and soon spotted her. "Okimi's armor.." she'd say out loud. as she used her Heisho rank to check in on Okimi.
Together, with unwavering resolve and focus, the team advanced towards the hatch and whatever challenges the core held for them. The battle had taken a toll, but it had also steeled their determination. For the survivors and for Yamatai, they would see this through.
= = =
As instructed, Erika took point. Ahead of her a pair of her Nodal Support Bits checked the corners before her arrival. To keep an even faster pace she had the antigravity system on her Mindy activate, and floated at speed down the corridors, catching herself on each bulkhead to await the rest of the team to catch up, her Aether SMG aimed down the corridor. While she waited her drones once again headed to the next intersection, repeating the process.
Okimi kept pace with Erika as best she could, although there was some issue with the function in her Mindy's right hip joint that was causing her to be extra careful when transferring weight across that side of the suit. Her Mindy assured her it was well within operational limits though, so obviously the damage couldn't be that bad, no matter what her own senses were telling her.
As the team emerged through one of the corridors, they were met with an open area bathed in a soft, azure light. Bioluminescent trees with translucent leaves stretched upwards, their trunks gently pulsating with light. Floating spores, akin to fireflies, left streaks of phosphorescent trails as they meandered through the air. This grove seemed to serve as a bio-engineered oxygen generator, with an atmosphere noticeably fresher than other parts of the station.
"I really am going to have to spend some time looking around this station," Euikoshi told the others as they rushed through the forest.
"Now's not the best time for sight seeing." Erika commented as she held herself against a tree, establishing a field of fire while waiting for them to catch up. "Okimi." She continued, pointing in the direction she thought the caretaker was best covering, establishing agood cross fire if they did encounter hostiles.
Yayoi observed Okimi as she hurried to keep up with the others, before she arrived at this new place. Her eyes blinking at the bioluminescent flora.
Okimi nodded at Erika's instruction and took the assigned position, her aether SMG travelling loosely after her eyes as she swept them back and forth.
Beneath her helmet, Mineko's brows drew upwards at the hindrance. She had thought she wanted just as much as Euikoshi to take scans and understand the station's odd nature, but realized there was a distinct difference. She was ready to turn around and pull the scientist's Mindy when Wando spoke out.
"Got a Rixxikor chewing on a tree here," Caihong pointed out the random insectoid as they ran by. Sure enough, an old-looking Rixxikor was stuffing his face with some sort of alien bamboo. As the team came by he skittered away on all fours.
Sanda kept pace with the rest of the team. Despite her feeling about being put in the back she stayed alert, her rifle held up and ready.
Yayoi's eyes twitched at the sight of the Rixxikor, but calmed down as he skittered away. She noticed Okimi's actions.
Further ahead, massive chamber opened up with myriad gateways or portals. Each portal shimmered in a different hue and seemed to lead to different terrains, from arid deserts to dense jungles, and even to the depths of the ocean. It appeared to be a transportation hub, perhaps connecting to different parts of the galaxy or even alternate dimensions. The glowing purple and distinctive gangly eye-covered Giger-esque design hinted that these were probably purchased or otherwise acquired from the Essai Collective.
This time Erika couldn't help but comment, taking her eyes off her firing lane for a moment to examine a portal. "You know if these things link to any of our worlds this station is..." she paused, thinking of the best way to put her thoughts "Very Strategically Valuable."
"We're so definitely scanning this place later," Mineko said with the same eagerness Euikoshi had expressed seconds before. "The control center is further down this way."
"I'd actually suggest you call back and get the second team to plant detonation charges when their done with the wounded." Erika commented as she continued into the next corridor. "It would be a nightmare if this facility fell into enemy hands. We should have a contingency."
As they rushed forward, the group stumbled upon a massive spherical chamber, seemingly devoid of gravity. Inside, large bubble-like water orbs floated, each containing some exotic aquatic life forms from unknown worlds. At the center, a levitating platform offered a mesmerizing dance performance of colorful holographic sea slug entities, seemingly defying the laws of physics.
Sanda scanned for contacts. Had they managed to beat the Mishhu here?
All the contacts were alien in nature, all unknown species. Also there were two large security robots pacing around one end of the chamber, at the opposite side the team came in through. As they got closer, Sanda could see the husk of a blown up Ripper power armor, which the station had attacked. There were still wisps of black smoke coming from it. As the team approached, the truck-sized security robots eyed them with glowing red orbs, looking for any signs of hostility.
"Are they on our side?" Combat Engineer Caihong asked nervously. "Orders?"
Erika kept her weapon away from the robots, but took a deep breath upon seeing the Ripper. "They only fire on hostile action. You'd hope the Mishhu didn't figure out that out, but you'd expect more than one burnt out ripper if that was the case. Sacrifical test case."
Yayoi couldnt help but almost smile as she saw the smoking body of the Ripper.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Sanda muttered, mostly to herself. "I don't suppose Alor told you how to make those things friendly, Nito-hei?" Sanda said to Mineko.
"You give me too much credit, Thunder," Mineko said lightly, happy to again be given one rank more than she was. "But as far as them, just be friendly." The team passed through the room and Mineko wondered why there would be protection for an entertainment hall as she looked up to the slugs as they danced.
As they neared the core, they finally stepped into a colossal energy nexus chamber pulsating with vibrant energy. Cascading streams of light arced gracefully from the floor, converging upwards into a brilliant orb. This nexus was not only the station's power source but also a monumental testament to the architectural prowess of its creators.
Along the edge of this core room were thousands of energized computing units that drew power from the central orb, and a series of rotating platforms that went up to them, and on one these platforms there was a huge Mishhuvurthyar, a crowd of Ripper power armors. Strangely, they didn't shoot at the Star Army interlopers, instead they pulled out maces and axes like it was medival times or something.
"This is like a video game," Cassie commented to Erika, following along.
"Friendliness isn't going to work anymore, is it?" Mineko mused, readying her own melee weapon to carry out Alor's last wish.
"I'm more concered about if we fire on the Mishhu, will the robots fire on us?" Sanda clarified as she looked at the group of Mishhu through her sights, her finger itching to fire.
As if to confirm Sanda's suspicious, dozens and dozens of the giant security robots were swarming the lower part of the big chamber, carefully avoiding the lighting and energy beams, and pointing at the intruding Mishhuvurthyar without firing.
Yayoi took note of the robots actions, and then glanced to the overly large Mishhuvurthyar.
"We can bait the Mishhu to fire first," Mineko said as she assessed the situation. "I don't think we should start this fight, though."
Euikoshi said, "I don't think damaging the computers up there is a good idea."
The vibrant hues of the energy nexus painted a kaleidoscope of lights across the room, creating an almost ethereal setting against the imminent tension.
As Erika's drone took position, a high-pitched metallic whirr echoed through the chamber. The Mishhu seemed to recognize the drone's presence, a few of them turning their headpieces towards it in suspicion. Their vast, hulking leader's eyes, however, stayed fixed on the Star Army team, watching them with cold calculation.
Caihong, her hands trembling slightly, whispered, "It feels like we're at a standoff."
Suddenly, the large Mishhuvurthyar bellowed something in their guttural language. The echo of his voice was oddly harmonious against the hum of the nexus. The Ripper power armors brandished their medieval-style weapons, clanging them together in unison, sending out a chilling challenge.
The vast chamber was filled with a tension palpable enough to cut with a knife. The Star Army members and the Mishhuvurthyar stood on the precipice of a battle, with the hulking security robots acting as an uncertain and powerful variable.
"'Whoever controls the core controls the station and its defenses,"' Mineko said, quoting what Alor had said in the pod room prior.
It looked like the Mishhuvurthyar commander was buying time for his comrade to reprogram the station's computers. A second Mishhurhyar was up top messing with one and had a large floating computer of his own with him, which resembled an oversized brain wrapped in goop and sinew, with tentacles/wires coming out of it and cybernetic parts melded into it. Very Mishhu.
"By grace and glory, we shall destroy you and all that you foul beasts represent!!!" Yoshiro screamed with a bellow meant to pierce at the infernal squid's very center.
"Pidole was able to bring the sentry online. Euikoshi, Erika: we have to get to one of those computers," Mineko said as she looked to the closest ones lining the walls. Then to the others, the analyst said, "It's what they're trying to do, someone else has to stop them."
"I'll go for their computer tech." Erika said, reaching into her grenade pouch "I have an idea"
Sanda took aim at the mishhu with the oversized looking head working on a computer. The moment things went weapon's free she was going to splatter its brain matter all over that platform.
A ripple of energy suddenly pulsed from the central orb, a silent, deep thrum that was felt more than heard. The station's AI came to life, its voice echoing with a calm but firm undertone. "Violence is not permitted in proximity to the Energy Nexus."
Euikoshi looked around, "That voice! It's like the station itself is talking," scanning the many computing units. "The energy nexus seems to be linked to a central consciousness, likely the station's primary AI."
Cassie's voice wavered slightly, "So, what do we do? They're clearly waiting for us to make a move. I, uh, think...I think we have to melee them," Cassie said, rummaging through her inventory looking for swords, knives, and kinetic impactors.
Sanda looked up from her sights on the Mishhu over at Cassie. "You saw what happened earlier when Yayoi and I went up to melee. Those things are mean close up." Sanda took aim again, assessing the scene. "Of course, I think the damn things got lucky earlier. I wouldn't mind some payback."
Thinking on what Euikoshi said, Mineko asked, "Primary AI, like the red ghost you guys experienced? What if we contact it... or let it contact us, I suppose?" The analyst was already taking off her helmet, showing a mop of bangs plastered to her sweat-beaded forehead above concerned eyes.
One of the Ripper's eyes began to glow red as the ghostly entity from before hovered above it, and it reached over and shoved the Mishhuvurthyar technician away from the station's computer banks, causing it to recoil.
"There is it is!" Euikoshi pointed it out to Mineko with obvious excitement in voice. "It's trying to protect itself!"
Yayoi blinked her eyes when she saw the ghostly entity.
Stifling a look of hesitation under a half smile, Mineko looked from the scientist up towards the rotating platforms. 'This is so dangerous,' she thought to herself.
Erika stopped what she was doing and turned to the situation. "That changes things a little."
"We are your new Sentinels!" Mineko tried shouting to the station's consciousness, hoping in an abashed way that the enemy Mishhu wouldn't hear.
Some the non-possessed Rippers began getting into a brawl with the possessed one and it knocked one of the Rippers off the floating platform where it fell to the floor. When it was on the floor, safely away from the computer banks, one of the large security robots gave it a powerful shove and it flew into an energy beam and completely disintegrated into a ball of light.
"Do you see the way forward?" the ghostly red entity asked the team, pointing at its creative method of Ripper removal.
"It sounds like it's time for a shoving match," Cassie said, looking at Mineko and her teammates.
"That we can do," Mineko said confidently, looking between Sanda and Erika as she pushed her helmet back on and activated her aether plasma thrusters.
Caihong pulled a graviton emitter from her engineer pack, While not much of a weapon, it would allow her to do some pushing and pulling. "Ready," she said.
Sanda took her shield from her back and held her plasma rifle with attached bayonet like a spear. She gunned her thrusters and sped towards the mishhu packed on the floating platform like a rocket.
= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Ame, Cowboy, iaincarter, Sunny D, Soresu, Yoshiro
