RP: 188604 [Star Wasp] 2: The Hunt Begins

Aries jumped from the main systems of the craft to something more portable so that she could rest. "Our new 'guest' is in the main hangar."

Atop the Necromancer

The whirling buzz of the automatic weapon in his mecha's hands was silenced in the vacuum of space, but that didn't stop Ronin's cursing from being heard within. Their missile barrage had been torn asunder with his point-defense role truly shining, but it had forced the man to fire even his Gammas and shoulder cannon to tear through the overwhelming attack. The distracting I'ee had certainly earned them time, but even as he punched through his ammunition reserves Ronin felt a familiar sensation. A sensation that had swept over him and many of the veterans on the receiving end of the "Mishu Stomp". But this time, as the gun tore through section-upon-section of the condensed attack, that feeling was being fought by the fact he was actually able to fight and help turn the tide. While a turret could pinpoint accurately hit one target after another, a human could light up multiple targets with wider bursts without having to be swapped or handled by some risky AI.

"Alright, you squid-shits," he yelled over the radio rather unintentionally, "You came to the party ill-prepared this time! I ain't gonna let you wi-"

His voice cut as he saw the glimmer of one of the stray lasers lacing up the shielding near him, immediately causing the neural link and his own input to hurriedly dodge away. Thankfully taking hold of one of the other plates before he could dislodge himself from the ship, the mecha's maneuvering jets fired as he aligned once more with the deck and looked up to the trailing ever-closer missiles. Even as he re-positioned and raised the mighty weapon he'd been given, a single thought came to mind.

There was too many missiles for him to get all of them at this rate. It was quite likely the Necromancer was going to suffer some sort of damage at this rate.

Necromancer, Medical Bay>

The man was wheeled into a bright white room. He was quickly plugged into monitors and given an IV drip. Raphael strode in behind the guards. "Doctor, what's his status?" Raph asked the attending physician.

"Sir, he is malnourished and dehydrated. Plus we aren't quite sure how long he has been out there. But he seems okay besides that." He said checking over the monitors

As he was awakened by the medical staff, albeit more gently than in the hanger, he tried to work out what was going on. All he could remember was a name; Alex. Was it his? As he opened his mouth to ask where he was, he noticed the armed men in the room.

Vier's voice would crackle over the intercom, "Can he pilot his Mecha? We need more hands on the hanger deck." There was certainly a sense of urgency in her voice that was usually absent.

Alex looked around the room unsteadily, "who are you people" he asked, "where am I?" As a voice came over the intercom the ship shuddered. "What's going on here?" He exclaimed in a panic.

"Please remain calm," The voice said over the intercom, as masked doctors stood back from the table. Alex found himself in a very white room, with an odd number of people looking at him as he came to, "We have similar questions regarding who you are and where you are from, however this ship is currently receiving excessive amounts of damage. Are you self-aware enough to pilot the mech that we found you with?"

Hesitantly, Alex said, "I think that sounds familiar..." As he concentrated on trying to figure out what to do, words flashed across his vision. NEURAL PATTERN RECOGNIZED. START UP SEQUENCE INITIATED. Before he could process what was happening, the ship took another hit, the floor shuddering beneath him. In the hanger the mecha hummed to life without warning, surprising several workers.

"Are you unfamiliar with the operation of the mecha?" the voice asked again, speaking quickly, but at an even tone. "Please fill us in on your capabilities."

"I think so," Alex said, "I just saw something that said that a start up had initiated. I don't know how much help I'll be but I can try."

"Raphael, it is your call as to how to handle this. But I would like his assistance with operating the mecha in the hanger bay." The voice over the intercom said.

"Excuse me," Alex said hesitantly, "But I think the mecha just turned on."




Necromancer, Bridge>

The Bridge crew shook as the were struck by the missle. "Damn it!" The XO shouted, as he turned his main cannons on new targets. He decided to also unleash every missile the Necromancer had in it's mag.

Werner looked annoyed as the ship shook. "Helmsman, full burn. Get us on an exit trajectory and prep for FTL. Tactical, keep those misses from striking the ship." He tapped his comm device. "Engineering I need a status report. How are the reactors holding?" He asked as he continued to give the bridge crew orders.

The Necromancer would max out its acceleration, aiming for the edge of the system as the FTL drives began to charge. Numerous reports being shouted one over another as the missiles continued to close the gap. Even with all of the ship's weapons firing, all of its missiles being launched, and even additional bombs being tossed out of the hanger by the junkers, there were just too many missiles. Tactical began counting down,

"IMPACT IN 3

2


1....."

"Brace!" Werner yelled increasing the grip on his chair.

The entire ship would shake, red markers showing up on the central display, highlight the ship's right side engine, weapon systems, and sensors. Just about everything useful on the exterior of the ship had been turned into swiss cheese.

"Uh, Sir, No detonations, excess torpedoes and missiles are missing the ship entirely."

"What?" Werner said looking confused. "Tactical, what is going on?" He said pulling up several status screens.

The status screens were of little help, much of the equipment designed for seeing what was going on outside of the ship had been destroyed. "Sir, we'll be ready for FTL in a few moments..."

"Expedite." He ordered. "I want to get the hell out of here." He said as he watched their position on the tactical map.



Space>

Ronin's kill count on missiles was climbing fast, but he was only able to slow the inevitable wall of missiles. He would get to see as the first few began to hit, the ship's shield flaring a bright white and blue color before failing entirely. In the next fraction of a second the ship's man cannons would simply be gone. The ship shuddering as another impact hit the missile launch bays head on, cratering them inward and sending bits of the ship's armor out into space. The next round cut through his shields effortlessly, scraping along the side of the heavy weapon he was holding and turning it into a rapidly expanding cloud of gas before passing through an armor panel behind him. Still more projectiles came, hitting the ship's engines again and again, cratering deeper and deeper into the ship's armor.

Then, an intense flash of white light as the ship reached the edge of the system and warped out, reapearing a few moments later in deep space.... though it seems Three guests had come along for the ride.

One of the Shredder Gunboats would start taking pot shots at Ronin as it went towards the other side of the ship, dropping off floating squid look alikes while trying to keep the ship's hull between itself and Ronin.

The other two would head towards the ship's hangers.




Necromancer, Medical Bay>

Raphael was struggling between commanding the ship and listening to Doc's. When Vier made her recommendations, Raph shook his head. "No way. His is an unknown and we are in the shit. He could get himself killed or get one of our own killed. I am not going to risk it. He is not even sure he can fly. I not letting him out there on a 'I think I can.'" He stated flatly as the ship was rocked by another impact. "Damn it, status report!" He called to the bridge.

As the ship shook,another message flashed into Alex's vision. STARTUP COMPLETE. ATTENTION; SUBCONSCIOUS TRAINING DETECTED, PULLING TO FRONTAL LOBE. Suddenly, Alex was bombarded with a torrent on information. He knew what he had to do. Sprinting towards the exit of the medbay, only to get pinned against the wall by one of the guards.

"Projectile weapon impact, Damage to cannons and STL engines. The devices did not detonate like before, implying they may be trying to take the ship intact." Vier responded over the intercom. "Damage is far less serious than it could have been. Sir, I could use another set of mechanical hands in the hanger bay."

Raphael reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, pulling him back into the room. "Where do you think you are going?" He looked away to listen to Vier. "How can we trust him? We don't know him! He could be one of them!" Raphael shouted over the klaxons.

"This is not a tactic normally used by the NMX, and he will be killed too if the ship is destroyed. The risk seems within acceptable limits." Vier replied over the intercom.

Raphael groaned and dropped Alex on his ass. "Go. If you try anything I will blow you to bits with a kiloton nuclear warhead. Am I understood?" He then tapped his comm piece. "You are responsible for him Vier. This is your idea." He said leaving the room. The four guards glaring before they moved and followed Raph down the hall.

Dashing through the hallways of the ship, Alex reached the hanger. As he approached the mecha, to his surprise, the cockpit slid open. As he stepped into the cylindrical aperture a helmet, sleeves and a seat folded into place around him. Shockingly, a metal plate slid over his eyes, but then his retinas lit up with information. Taking stock of his armament, he noticed a rifle and an smg as well as two odd looking pistols. Moving the arms around, Alex was amazed, he didn't even have to think to move them, they just did. It was as if the entire machine was just another part of his body.

Vier would start rotating through communications frequencies, trying to find one that would allow her to speak with the man inside of the armor.

"Hello....

Hello....

Hello...."




Necromancer, Hangers>

Hound squadron would finish landing just before the ship FTL'd out of the system.

"Everyone reload," Hazel snapped, waiting on the Junker drone in the bay to finish placing missiles on 8-Ball's craft. She would turn her craft towards the exit as she waited, ready to launch out again if needed... but before the call to launch came, an enemy gunboat slid into place out in front of the hanger, dropping off a dozen floating squid type Mishhu to charge forward as it started firing into the hanger with its massive nose mounted cannon, the first shot piercing right through one of the Hound-Squadron fighters, the ensuing blast sending bits and pieces of star fighter throughout the hanger along with a very flashy fireball.

Bridge>

By the time the call to 'brace' was being yelled, Sammy and the other I'ee had huddled in the corner together, clinging tightly to one another in silence. The violent rocking of the vessel that ensued as the barrage found its mark pushed the two ambassadors roughly about. Their tight, almost ball-like embrace meant they suffered little from the impact. Even after the Necromancer had jumped to safety, they remained cuddled tightly against each other, pressing their faces together. Sammy was visibly quivering, while his sister squeaked softly to him in an effort to soothe him.

"8-Ball looks like we are heading back out. Should I stay with you or help the disoriented one over there." Aries pecked Alastiar on the cheek. "Don't let him blow too much stuff up."

Necromancer hanger
Alex heard a voice coming over the radio. "I hear you" he responded, I am launching now. Tensing up, he settled his craft into a ready position, paused for a moment, and then over 18 tons of metal rocketed into space

Space
Immediately after he left the hanger Alex was beset by legions of warnings and alarms, informing him of his enemies. Without thinking, he sent his mecha spiraling through the mass of incoming fire, somehow evading the closest shots. Flicking one of the pistols into his right hand and grabbing the smg with his left, he took aim at the closest enemies and opened fire. a swathe of destruction was soon carved through the group of NMX ships.

Hanger bay :: '5'

Light flashed across her 'vision' as her mind activated the shields of the Kawarime as the concussive force of the explosions and debris rocked her craft and rained against her activated shield. She was blind biologically from the flash of light that swept the hanger bay. She still could 'see' through the SPINE interface. She took quick assessment of her craft and everything came up green, except for several missile pods on the side of the concussive wave came from. They was knocked from their mooring from under her wings. Half load and cannons.

Errowyn launched out into the void of Space to 'see' the Ripper Gunboat with its nose pointed into the hanger bay where Hounds were. She Zeroed in on the ripper and let loose with her Aether cannons and a pair of missiles, once she had gotten lock on the Ripper gunboat. One was a heavy missile for the bigger heavier armed ships. Other was a lighter anti-Starfighter class.

*****
Footnote: 'see' is through her SPINE Connection, using direct feed from the ship cameras and sensors

"Hanger Bay 6"

8-Ball watched Aries materialize in the front of the cockpit during the FTL jump to inform him that he was about to go back out into space. She also asked him where she should go. "Help out the new boots, I've got this covered." The pilot said as he activated the auxiliary electronic warfare panel. He also spied Aries pecking Alastair on the cheek and his AI turn a dark shade of purple. "Be careful out there." Alastair said to Aries in his refined accent.

"Shit!" 8-Ball said as he used his super-human reflexes to activate the anti-gravity engines and shields of the Ebony Peregrine. A Shredder dropping off a dozen Mishhu slid into view as it fired its main gun into the hanger adjacent to his own. The cannon literally blew the Hound fighter into pieces. Dozens of bits of shrapnel bounced off of the Ebony Peregrine's shields, which was already half-way out of the hanger. There was a consequence for reacting so quickly. The junker drone was in the middle of loading up the last counter-measure pod when the ship took off. That cause the container to fall to the ground on its side, subjecting it to the very large fireball that occurred seconds later.

"Ronin, tell new boots to be careful. Those shredders were designed to kill power armor. Mecha isn't that far off..." 8-Ball said as he immediately pulled up on his yoke to cause the Ebony Peregrine climb now that her main thrusters were ignited once more. Once the fighter was higher than the Shredder's firing arc, 8-Ball inverted his fighter. Now the NMX ship appeared to be above him than below him.

Those Shredders were deadly, but they were also designed for planetary engagements. That left the 'top' of the gunship vulnerable to attack. 8-Ball used this opportunity to lay down a furious barrage of fire from his dual Gatling Cannons. "We've got tone sir." Alastair chimed in. "Firing!" 8-Ball said over the radio as his internal weapons bay opened up to fire two GIM-2 loaded with anti-matter fusion warheads. The pilot then broke off his attack run and moved to pick off the Mishhu with his Gatling Cannons to secure the rest of the hanger launches.

"Hellcat, this is 8-Ball, come in over."

Aries blushed a little. "Thanks you too Alastair." She then jumped to Alex's mecha. "Hello I am Aries the AI of Ace I will be assisting you in this mission. Also I may know a little about you."

Ordinarily, Alex would have freaked out if a holographic person appeared in his vision. However, as his mecha dodged and weaved between enemy fire, he had a little more on his mind. At the moment he had only one question; "How am I doing this?" While asking this question a missile homed in on him from behind when, almost of its own accord, the mecha juked to one side, narrowly avoiding the missile.

********
Footnote:
Read the character page

Aries shifted to one side. "How to put this so you won't freak out. Well to put it simply you were programmed to operate this vehicle. I was made by the same company who put you in your current situation. Also the one who I made for was one of the first and still retains all of his memories so he may inform you as well. Once this is done we can go back and speak with him." Aries added power to Alex's mecha. "I'll manage your systems of your mecha and I could look into getting any memories that are not completely lost back."

Just then, Aries was quarantined by the malware protection running on the network, locking it out of all systems.

Aries blipped back over to 8-ball. "Hey I'm back . I was locked out of the mecha. He'll be fine on his own."

"Go Ahead 8-Ball," Came Errowyn's mechanical/human voice responded through his radio speakers. Watching her missiles and Aether energy tear into Ripper Gunboat turning it into space junk along with 8-Ball's weapon fire. Now it was to clean up the Mishhu that eva'ed out of the gunboat.

Space:
Alex felt like he was starting to get the hang of this. The mecha responded to his thoughts before he was even aware of them. He felt invincible, untouchable. Flying through space, dodging missiles and enemy fire, he felt like he was made for this. Speeding up, disregarding the warning tones blaring through the cockpit, he shot forward, oblivious to the missile closing in behind him.

As most pilots will know, overestimating yourself can get you killed. In this case, Alex was lucky, and the missile only hit his left arm, disabling but not destroying it. The explosion sent him flying into the hull of the necromancer, denting it slightly.

Disoriented by the blast, Alex struggled to regain his bearings. Nearby, another mecha fought to protect the necromancer from the onslaught of missiles.

Space>

Alex would be the first one out of the hanger, his mecha passing right by the shredder gunship at point blank range. The nose mounted cannon would have an easy time placing its shot center-mass, the energy beam piercing through his shields and slamming into the mecha's chest, sending it spinning off into space, the chest armor rapidly superheating, cracking, and melting.

Some of the advanced type Mishhu did the same, each one carrying an assortment of guns and grenades in their tendrils, most of which didn't quite have the power to cut through Alex's shields entirely. As they raced into the hanger, Hellcat and 8-Ball would blow past them, heading out into space.

The hounds were picking off the NMX invaders from inside, their craft jinking right and left as they fighed at the infantry, and while Hellcat had also added some missiles to the fight, really the only ones that matter were the pair of GIM-2 missiles from 8-Ball. The two missiles streaking towards their target and detonating with a blinding white flash of light. The ensuing blast would overheat the shredder's shields, and then its hull,... then the shock troops it had released... then the Neromancer... then the Necromancer's hanger...

In an instant the entire right side of the ship had been turned to char, explosions peeling away the hull around the hanger bay until it was entirely exposed to space.

The remaining half of Hound squadron then launched, and tried to make their way to a safe distance.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!!” Hazel snapped over the all hands line, “GET YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN THE GAME AND STOP KILLING FRIENDLIES!”

The next few minutes of conversation from Hazel's comm line provided nothing useful in terms of strategic value, but the advanced knowledge of curse words may have come in handy for Nepleslians.

There was still about a dozen NMX advanced types around the ship after the blast, some moving into the remaining hanger bay, while others spread out over the hull... inevitably converging on Ronin from all sides and firing off their smaller rifles, The Two shredder gunships moving to hide from the Necromancer's fighter group on the other side of the ship.


---


In moments, one of the NMX carriers along with its escort would FTL into position behind the Necromancer... the Necromancer would then FTL away again, its field bubble capturing the squids on the ship as well as its own fighter squadron.

With the Necromancer's STL dead in the water, the NMX set about finding the FTL drive...

Disoriented by his crash and the FTL jump, Alex tried to clear his head. He was shocked back into reality by a warning informing him of the damage to his craft.
Struggling to move himself into a standing position, his left arm protested with feedback from the media's crippled limb. Closer inspection revealed that from the wrist down the arm had been crushed during his impact with the ship. Struggling to think clearly through the pain coursing through him, he was barely able to get the radio working.
On the radio
"Can anybody hear me?" A shakey voice can be heard over the radio, "My mecha lost a hand but I think I can still fight"

Atop the Necromancer

The loss of his heavy weapon couldn't have come at a worse time, especially as he witnessed the NMX giving their chase. The Shredders were one thing, but as the Advanced Types approached they were inadvertently giving the mecha pilot his shot. The Tengu seemed surrounded, of course, but the truth was that this was the environment it had been designed to handle.

"Okay, Ronin," the man said as the Tengu recovered its Hyper Rifle from its back, "No more shaky concerns... time to act!"

The light-arms fire was scorching and dinging his cover, but their target wasn't stuck on the side of the vessel. The engines on the mecha's back flared to life, the stripped Garuda lifting up and off the top of the Necromancer and carrying him up slightly into the void. With their STL not an issue, he just had to rely on being in the FTL's field bubble to ensure he didn't get left behind. And that sense of freedom allowed his mecha to turn its head toward his targets and leverage the powerful rifle. He had to simply hope the Necromancer could endure his weapon's stray rounds, his Gamma Rays flaring brightly as he turned the anti-missile and drone weapon on the squid-heads daring enough to get dropped off from the Shredder while flipping the safety reading off within his cockpit with a big smirk.

"Nice and easy... time to show them what a Yamatai ex-soldier can do! For everyone these assholes killed back in the war!"

The momentary hum before the flash of his rifle was the only warning as the weapon fired its slugs along the hull to join in his Gamma-Ray barrage, thrusters firing as he tried to give chase to one of the Shredders. It took only a moment to chime over the tactical HUD that there was a new friendly in the void to watch out for, the Tengu racing along as he broke the firing of the weapon to prepare it for the instant he found one of the gunships.

"Alright," his voice called out over the comms, "let's make up for that idiotic mistake! Someone go fetch whoever that is! Rest of you drive those Shredders toward me! I only need one good look and this cannon and my gun are going to tear them up! Unless we force them into a fight we're not going to end this and be able to mop up the small fry!"

Real Space

8-Ball opened his mouth to respond to Hellcat over the radio but he was cut short by the massive explosion his two missiles caused. The blast radius encompassed nearly half of the Necromancer and practically left her dead in the water. Then it came over the radio. "GET YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN THE GAME AND STOP KILLING FRIENDLIES!"

Silence was all the response anyone would get from Tiberius. 'I killed them...' He thought as his mouth remained agape and his fighter uncharacteristically flew in a straight line. 'I killed them...' That though kept playing back in his head over and over and over. Nothing else seemed to get through to him, not even Alastair's repeated calls.

The Ebony Peregrine suddenly shook violently from enemy fire. This jolted 8-Ball from his state of shock, sort of. "I killed them..." He said aloud, causing his actions to be real in his mind. Shock was replaced with dread and pain. 'How could I have been so careless?' He chided himself. The man never even imagined that his actions would've caused friendly fire.

Another violent shake as more enemy fire struck the Ebony Peregrine. Her shields were holding, for now. 8-Ball looked at his HUD to survey the area around him. Squids were the only threats in the area until the NMX fleet rediscovered the Necromancer's position. Small enough targets that he wouldn't have to risk firing any missiles. He could use his Gatling Cannons to shred them to pieces. Albeit, a close observer could tell his flying was off somehow...His reactions a fraction of a second slower, his bursts of fire less cavalier, his transition between targets overly cautious. His radio microphone was also switched off.

Bridge

"S-someone, please help!", came the synthetic voice of the Ee'ith female, still clutching tightly onto her brother, Sammy. The male ambassador was holding his sister in an almost vice-like grip, even using his jaws to hold onto her body, his abdomen rapidly pulsating as he hyper-ventilated in panic. "Sammy's scared!", the ambassador squeaked, squirming in an effort to get Sammy to release his jaws. "He won't listen to me. Someone, please help!" Ever since Sammy's lonely voyage home after his experience with the Thoot family, he had possessed an overwhelming terror of dying alone: In the heat of combat, with the Necromancer shuddering from impacts, all he could imagine was the ship falling apart around him, leaving him floating helplessly in space to die cold and alone. It had reduced him to a nervous wreck.