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RP: YSS Artemis [YSS Artemis O1M2] Breaking the Winterborn

Glein

Well-Known Member
RP Date
9月 30日 YE41
RP Location
6918 Shatabhisha I
Ittô Hei Elenor Herrick
Groundside

Shaking her head, Elenor sought to clear it enough to think straight for just a few moments. The situation had gone very bad very quickly after they'd deployed. Oh, the deployment had been textbook for the mission and conditions. They even had the element of surprise on their side, if the enemy's delay was anything to go by when the Rangers just happened upon an enemy patrol. At least, they were pretty sure it was a patrol.

"Head count! Who's not dead?" the Ranger CO asked, as the Rangers worked on treating those wounded by the firefight they just got away from.

Thinking back on the whole situation, well, it paints a very different picture than the battered and bloodied platoon of Rangers now spread over a hillside.

-----------------
2 hours Earlier
-----------------


"No evidence of enemy awareness of our presence ma'am." Elenor reported, lowering the shielded binos from her eyes as she began to climb down from the tree she'd gone up in. So far it'd been overly quiet and almost too easy. But any Ranger, hell, any combat troop worth their salt didn't take that for granted. Putting the tool back into it's pouch, she began to work her way back down. As she touched down, the snap of a twig nearby made her drop to a knee and spin. And for her eyes to widen behind her helmet's face covering. If the similarly equipped Kuvexian she was looking at was feeling the same surprise, their own helmet hid it well. "CONTACT!" Elenor barked into the radio as she lifted her rifle and fired, watching the enemy fall to the ground, but without any evidence of blood splatter. Immediately breaking off to regroup, the air around her began to snap and hiss as counter fire tracked after her. "Multiple hostiles, count unknown! Engaged one, no indication of kill!" She reported, diving behind a rock that cracked and popped as rounds impacted it. 'Fuck!' Elenor mentally cursed, realizing she'd left her ruck at the base of the tree she'd climbed to get an eye on the compound.

"Roger, avoid further contact if possible before regrouping." Came Aslief's voice over the comms, giving Elenor a moment to refocus her mind.

"Affirm!" She replied, sneaking a glance, only to hear more weapons fire. But not at her. Rather it was in teh direction of the Ranger platoon waiting on her to rejoin them.

"Additional contacts! Hostiles are heavily armored! No PA!" Came someone's report as the Ranger platoon entered into a fight for it's life. A fight that would last for too long as they ended up having to drop kit to lighten loads to better facilitate breaking off the firefight. Still, the Rangers managed to do it and after scattering to winds for an hour, began to regroup.

-----------------
Present
-----------------


As the voices reported in, it looked like the Rangers had gotten extremely lucky in not having anyone more than wounded. Sure, it was pretty bad, life-threatening even, but it was stable. The problem was, alongside the rucks everyone had been carrying, the radio pack had been dropped and rigged with explosives to avoid the Rangers comm lines being tapped easily. So calling for medivac or even air support was out of the question in teh current state of things.

"Lucas! Get me a tally of our supplies! What we got is all we have and we need to know how little we got to work with, now!" Aslief instructed, while waving her XO over. She planned to finish the mission even in the weakened state the Rangers were right now.

-----------------
In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge
-----------------


"Nothing?" Chosa Fusami asked, looking over at the Navy rating manning the comms station on the bridge.

"Negative ma'am. They're overdue on their check-in by an hour, and there has been an increase in enemy comms traffic we're only able to pick up due to weight of chatter. It's encrypted so we're deaf to what they're saying." She said, focus intent on her displays, those that others in the bridge could see, as well as all the ones in her mind going right now.

"Right. Medical, Bridge, any ST's?" Fusami asked next, pinging the med bay.

"Bridge, Medical. None yet Chosa. Bays are still pending need." One of the nurses reported, since she was right by the stations while the medical team waited on standby.

"So whatever happened caused the rangers to fail to check in, but isn't bad enough to have losses... either they got lucky, or someone did a stupid.... I'm gonna go with lucky. Rikugun, Bridge. Shosa, prep your people for a hot drop. We have reason to believe the Rangers got in over their heads and need help. Tell the pilots to prep for CAS." Fusami said, opening a channel to the infantry platoon CO next. Seems it was time to prove why they'd brought a hammer along just in case the scalpel failed. "And Niwa, tell your people to ready for war. Whatever caused our Rangers to not check in either was in heavy numbers, or way more capable then they were prepared to engage with their lighter armaments."

-----------------
In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge
-----------------


Niwa nodded. "You heard the old lady! PA's and full assault packages! Hei Sisko's! Full CAS loadout. Rangers are in hot and we're gonna want to ensure we can get them out!" She barked, first to her people and then to the pilots who had been on standby just like the infantry. 5 hours into the operation and finally they were about to actually do something. It felt good for once.
 
YSS Artemis

Sacre dictated privately a letter to Gravity as she always did. while they wouldn't get delivered until after they made contact with Yamatai, they made the lanky Separa'Shan feel better. "... between your beautiful legs. Then..."

The two pilots, Aoi and Akane, were lounging outside of their fighters, playing a card game with several others.

Suddenly over the comms, "Ready for war, Whatever caused our Rangers to not check in either was in heavy numbers, or way more capable then they were prepared to engage with their lighter armaments."

Sacre was moving even as Niwa barked her orders out. "Black Wolf, by the numbers, prepare to deploy via teleport. Aten, prep a jump for us to where the Rangers landed. Looks like the rangers got lost in the woods and need us to pull them out. We'll start where they touched down and see if we can pick up the trail from there. We'll probably find the lazy louts lounging around having a picnic."

Sacre was already thinking beyond the problem, while Teleport was nice for those in armor. Using it for unarmored individuals, like the Rangers, was dangerous. They would probably have to get out another way. That meant they would need to find and then hold the line until the shuttle arrived.
 
Groundside - 2 Hours Earlier

While Herrick scanned from the elevated post, Mehitabel faced the opposite direction covering another arc with her Type 41 rifle. Her eyes probed into the woods, picking at the background for details that were too regular, the wrong angles, or moving. Then sort out whether it was local fauna, not putting in an appearance yet. Small arms fire cracked over her head, and with a jerk she felt either a ricochet or spalled bit of rock strike the back of her plate carrier. Resisting the urge to turn, she redoubled her focus on her arc, eyes sweeping for the next thrust.

"Multiple hostiles, count unknown! Engaged one, no indication of kill!"

There was a dull thunk that drew her eyes and ears. Multi-eared head profile, moving twitchily through the trees Bel instantly processed the Kuvexian look. It looked to be more heavily geared than the average Kuuvie foot soldier, though this one had their visor up with eyes squinted at something. Clicking the safety onto semi-auto, she returned fire as the flankers emerged into view around her. The firing became general, building as the action closed in.

Discarding her ruck with the rest and a charge to shred the packs, she scattered

Groundside - Present

Sitting, knees up, on the hillside, Bel watched the valley opposite from behind the root ball of a fallen tree as she nursed mostly bruises from the impact of deflected small-arms fire. Her ears were still buzzing the concussion of a grenade, several grenades, actually, though the shard that had driven into her calf wasn't as painful a distraction after the pain reliever kicked in. Should've swapped the shield battery earlier.

"Head count! Who's not dead?"

"Callidus," she replied over the radio, then assessed what was left in her pouches and butt pack before Arturius-heisho made the rounds.
 
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YSS Artemis

Closing his book at the Shosa's words, Klaus felt like letting out a boisterous ‘Hoorah’. Now was the time for action. The time for Infantry to shine. Nervous excitement crept up his spine, but the soldier calmed himself.

"Yes, Heisho!" he answered Sacre's orders as he took the front position of this squad. Pointman was the most dangerous position of the squad, requiring the best reaction time and speed; you also must be willing to take a bullet for the people behind you. It suited Klaus just fine.

Glancing about he spotted Setsuya and sent her a private message. It read simply: Stay safe.
 
YSS Artemis

Bjorn had been sorting out their body as they heard the call to get ready to drop because the Rangers failed to check in. They reattached their arm as they walked into the PA bay "Yea yea, well this is going to be interesting, let's hope the Ranger's are actually in a fight and not just relaxing somewhere and just forgot to check in." They look over to the others "If they are, I can tell that they would be dead, by Niwa and Fusami." They have a small grunt as they have a little stretch and then have a little last minute check over their PA.
 
AMBUSH - Lucas
As soon as the first shot was fired, the preacher took a back seat as the animal inside let loose. With instinct that had been buried, then dusted off once again after joining the rangers, Lucas was on the move. With practiced thought and action, his underslung that was always loaded with chaff laced smoke rounds thumped out a round. Another was loaded and fired in practiced fluidity, covering the ranger's retreat visually to most optic sensors, and some others. After the second round dispersed, bursts of fire were given from his T41's flash suppressor equipped muzzle as he covered his units' escape, and the last man to leave. The enemy were not fools though, a few return shots were starting to come his way, but he kept firing until he was the last man to fall back. "All units fallback, disperse and regroup later, full evasion protocol!"

He ignored a few sharp spikes of pain as rounds were sprayed in his general direction, ignoring the thumps against his plates after his shields failed. Injury would have to be assessed later, his people came first, his life came second.

PRESENT - Ground
Lucas
A fresh magazine was slotted into the side of the rifle, the weapon having been empty since their escape from their pursuers. A fresh smoke, from his remaining two, was also loaded just in case their enemy caught up. The pain of his wounds still felt fresh, the slight drip from the couple of gouges in his plates and suit had been quickly stemmed as the undersuit's sealant agents did their work. He refused to pull out a pain inhibitor, not knowing when it would might be essential later. He could wipe off the blood later, he just hoped Elenor was okay, and that she wouldn't worry too much.

All of this was pushed to the back of his mind, as he went about getting a summary of what each person had left on them. He had most of his ammo, and a small amount of med and food supply on himself. 6 mags for both guns, a small med kit, and enough ration pouches for at least a week maybe. That was just the butt pack, his main supply of ammo being on his gear rig, as well as a canteen of water. The small filtration kit in his belt pouches would hopefully mean water wasn't an issue for a fair while. Lucas checked the comms in his helmet, but wasn't getting anything beyond short range, and point to point.

"Hey, El, you good? Any injuries to report, and how you looking on supplies?", Lucas asked, finally getting around to Elenor last, more to have a moment to check on her. Going to her first had been his instinct, but he knew he couldn't show favorites, but he also knew she was strong and would be fine until he could get to her.


Kyoko
To say the younger neko had been ready for that, was a very deep understatement, the spook having not been sure as to what to expect for her first mission of field work with the rangers. She gave everything her usual calculated look, having been ready with a digital list for the NCO as he came around, not even giving him the chance for vocal responses. Kyoko knew he had his work to do, best not to keep him held up on her, she had her own weight to pull. With what she had left situated, she pulled a pad out from inside a hardcase for the device attached to her armored thigh. Fingers went to work on the screen to begin a report on the incident, as well as to piece together all the information gathered on their attackers that she had so far. Copies of still memory images were placed in the log, looking over what hints of armor, and markings on said armor could gleam to the information liaison.


PRESENT - Space
Setsuya
With the order given, and a pit in her stomach, the neko woman worried about her sister and her friends below. She was quick to suit up, her clothes stripped and tossed into her locker before slipping on the body glove. Mounting up inside her Dasiy II, all weapons checked green, her usual combat loadout ready to go as she picked up the PA variant of the T41. "Alright, all units ready up and get in your assigned teams, I want everyone on the shuttles ASAP. This is not a drill, shit is real, and we're about to make it far more real for the enemy. Now haul it, the Rangers are waiting for the cavalry!", she commanded, having practiced her authoritative energy in all the time they've spent on standby. Giving one last check of her magazines and butt pack with a quick pat check, she herself entered the shuttle as she ushered her team aboard.


Jericho
The Fenrir was already in motion as the words left the intercom. His suit had been ready, the armor attached as he dropped the uniform from around it. Jericho picked up his Avenger plasma rifle, grenades, knife, pistol, and packs. Once all was adorned shortly, he was off to his heavy power armored dubbed after his very lineage. His helmet locked with a his as his weapon was stowed in it's compartment, and he mounted his armored shell. The interior closed and locked it's seals as it encased his body, his neural implant sinking to what became a mechanized extension of his self. As he flexed mechanical fingers and tested the feedback of the system briefly, the VI reported as he walked to the hangar.

{{System Diagnostic Report}}
[All systems report: GREEN]
[Weapons:
ONLINE]
[Shields:
ONLINE]
[Seals:
100%]
[Core:
ONLINE - STABLE]
[Power:
100%]
[Thrust:
ONLINE]
[Targeting:
ONLINE]
[Support VI:
I am operational]

{{Combat Status Report}}
[IFF: VERIFIED]
[Ammo:
FULL]
[Armor:
100%]
[Shields:
100%]

<<Status: READY>>

{VI "Fenrir"}: "Warrant Officer Pine, all systems report nominal. [BWE-E.A.S.E.] ready for combat operation."

"Excellent execution Fenrir, standby for further commands.", Jericho replied to the virtual intelligence loaded into the suit before reporting to Setsuya, "Ma'am, I am ready for deployment and loading onto the shuttle now. Will standby for further orders, however is there anything you wish to note for this deployment?" He looked about as he stepped aboard onto the shuttle, peering at the world through the artificial eyes his suit provided with it's numerous sensors. They however, lingered on a particular Separa female that was leaving first with Black Wolf squad, Maradia. He watched her prepare to leave, with a strange sensation of apprehension, his hand raised slightly to give a small mechanical wave to the woman.

Setsuya's reply would be heard over the shared comms line, "Priority one is securing the safety of the Rangers, two is eliminating any hostile elements with extreme prejudice. We'll adjust operations plans once we have a grasp on the situation."
 
Groundside - Present

Bel coughs up that she's got most of her medical kit, a week of rations, spare bits from the survival kit, four full primary weapon magazines, four empty, a purple Type 30 smoke grenade, and a regular Type 30 smoke. Once that information is supplied, she's back to watching her sector.
 
-----------------
Groundside

Ittô Hei Elenor Herrick
-----------------

Looking over as Lucas asked how she was doing, she gave a thumbs up. "I got lucky. Plates took the brunt once shields failed. Wouldn't want to do that again though." She says, having already cataloged her supplies. "Got 4 spare mags for T41, 2 spare cells for sidearm, IFAK, canteen and rations. Oh, and my binos. So if we get air support, I'll have that much at least." She said, looking over everyone. "I didn't get a good look at the guys who jumped us, but they were good. Damned good. Better than us at least." She said, shaking her head. "Maybe the Kuvies knew we were coming and sent their version of SOFT?" She mused aloud. Too many unanswered questions, too many problems. "Anyways, I'm fine. Let's, just try and get this done, yeah?"

-----------------
In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge

Chusa Takanashi, Fusami
-----------------

Clasping her hands in her lap, Fusami considered what was going to happen. the ship was shifting it's orbit to get closer to the Rangers last known, so they could provide orbital support as needed. the two fighter pilots would launch with the shuttle to cover it dropping off White and Gray Wolf squads, all while Black Wolf squad was using the teleporters they had to deploy ahead and secure the LZ. Once the other infantry squads were deployed, the fighters would be in the air to provide close air support as needed. Hopefully the shortwaves the Rangers had would be enough to make orbital support possible, if not, well, fighters were the next best thing.

-----------------
In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge

Shosa Niwa "Ironsides" Belemtal
-----------------


Watching everyone get ready, Niwa nodded firmly. "Good work Setsuya. Let's hope things aren't too ugly down there." She said in point-to-point as she boarded the shuttle. "Alright people, Black Wolf is dropping in via TP, we're riding in. Black will be facing the brunt of whatever's down there while we move in. RTO, keep us patched in to the tacnet, I want to be ready and able to call strikes as soon as we put boots on the ground, clear?"

"Clear ma'am!"

"Black Wolves, you'll be forward element once we land. Grey will bring up the middle and White will fill the rear. We'll be following the Ranger's track from LZ to first check in. If we don't find them there, we move to the planned second check in. If we don't find them there, or find evidence of what happened before then, we begin combing the jungle for them." Niwa instructed, looking over her people's concealed faces behind their armoured helmets. "Prepare for the worst - Enemy PA with heavy supports on site. Hope for the best, and we just find a oversized underequiped merc unit." she finished, while signaling to the pilot of the shuttle to get them moving.

-----------------
Groundside

Shosa Asleif Belemtal
-----------------

As soon as Lucas got back, Asleif cursed. "3 det charges. That's all we have to crack in. Fucking lovely." She growled once her stream of curses were over. "Alright. We've done with worse. Hei Kyoko! You still have our horse ready?" She asked, referring to the tap they were planning to put in. Once she got her answer, she nodded. "Alright. Split up into fireteams. Forget caution. Speed is our friend now. Get to the compound. We'll regroup on the planned entry point we had established before things went to hell. Keep comms as light as possible. Let's not give our enemy any more things to track us by than necessary. Kyoko, Bel, and Elenor, you're getting lumped together. Bel, Elenor, you keep Kyoko alive damn it. She's the lynch pin now, and if she goes down, none of us have the knowledge to plant the tap. Got that?"

-----------------
Groundside

Ittô Hei Elenor Herrick
-----------------

Elenor nodded. "Yes ma'am!" She said, standing up and moving towards where Kyoko was sitting. "Well SAINT, let's hope we get lucky as hell, or the Rikugun arrive to distract the enemy soon. Otherwise this is going to be one shitty mission huh?"
 
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Groundside

"Hei, shosa!" she acknowledges, getting up to join the nekos. Lactic acid settled into her roughly treated muscles after her pel-mel E&E to the rendezvous, Bel braces herself, and stands up. She's got to save the other painkillers for more serious problems then the dull burning in her calf muscle. When the unfeeling haze might be what keeps her body going long enough...

"So it goes," she shrugs in general, rolling her shoulders, then cracks a smile at Eleanor, "Well worth the 2575 a month, plus benefits. Is there anything you need us to carry, Kyoko-hei?"
 
YSS Artemis
Maradia checked on her armor and equipment one last time, catching Jericho's wave out of the side of her visor. She looked at him, and couldn't help but feel the gears turning in her actually mechanical arm as she waved back, noticing how robotic he looked in both his armor and his manner of waving. She slowly looked back at Sacre again. Now she just needed to wait for the order to teleport. She instinctively gave Sacre a thumbs up with her claw to signal she was ready. It probably wouldn't be lo- oh... Wait... she looked at her claw. Shoot... there was no thumb on this thing. She wasn't sure what signal that looked like, then, but it couldn't have been a thumbs up. She struggled with her armored claw for a few seconds, trying to get it to look like something that remotely resembled a thumbs up, and then gave up with a sigh, instead just giving a thumbs up with her left hand.
 
YSS Artemis

Sacre would have smiled from insider her helmet at Maradia if she could. There was a strange maternal feeling that Sacre held for the fellow Separa'Shan. She stepped behind Klaus and put a hand on his shoulder to bring him into the Transport. The squad huddled together in the well practiced formation. "Teleporting in three, two, one." Aten's voice called out. There was a brilliant flash of light as Black Wolf squad vanished.

The twin pilots jetted out of the Artemis and raced down towards the planet below.

Groundside, Ranger Trail

The squad appeared in a flash of light over a small clearing. "We need to find the Rangers and fast. We'll be following the trail they were supposed to take. We've done this a hundred times in simulations. Klaus, take point. Let's go." She said, her squad jetting off above the trail. Aten's advanced sensor suite recording every sign of the Ranger's passage.
 
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YSS Artemis

Sighing at Setsuya's (expected) lack of response, Klaus felt Sacre's hand in his shoulder. Nodding back he took his position in front of the squad, preparing himself for the transport. Almost as a reflex the voice of his training officers surged into his thoughts.

'Never tense up before a teleport,' they said. 'You are about to change your entire xyz coordinates with aether space magic, even possibly going from orbit into the immediate atmosphere. So don't try and resist the change in enviroment, ride it into the a ready position. NOW GIVE ME TEN PERFECT LANDINGS AND YOU MIGHT GET DESSERT TONIGHT!' Smiling at memories past, the Minkan eased his body, keeping it nice and loose. Counting down with Atem's voice, he closed his eyes until...


Groundside, Ranger Trail

They landed. Immediately raising his rifle and scanning for targets, Klaus found only the empty clearing and thus lowered his rifle and shouted, "Clear!"

"Understood, Heisho." responded Klaus to Sacre's command, leading the search for their comrades.
 
YSS Artemis

Bjorn saw that their joke didn't go over that well and shrugged it off, setting the body to auto. they removed the chip and slid it into the PA that they were standing in front "okay team lets do this." they let out a little chuckle with this, they wanted somewhere that if someone was wounded down their, it would be a safe armored area for them, so a PA would be the best option they thought, leave the body on the ship for when they got back so someone else could jump in.

Bjorn got into the shuttle as they prepared for whatever they would have to face "this can be used to carry any injured rangers, if there are any injuries sustained, we can use me as a quick medical transport, saves us having to send any shuttles into an active war zone, as we won't know what weapons these enemies would have either."
 
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ORBIT
Setsuya
The neko nodded at the regard, checking her magazine one last time before the shuttle departed. Her weapon was loaded, locked, same for her suit weapons, and her shields were nominal. Nothing to worry about, only at the uncertainty at what was being thrown at it. She had this silent fear, this nervousness, every time she went into an operation. It was the same as the very first day, that day she stared out at the field of ships, thousands as they traded fire. PA pilots like her, dying in number to float in the void of the KMZ. That first major battle, drove a fear into her, the young woman scared to die unlike any neko made in a factory.

She never spoke of it, even knew partly it was misplaced, her backup assured. Or so she had thought until Nataria, where all those who lost their lives, never returned to the living. That news drove it home, along for those she loved. Klaus, who it hurt not to be able to give him the regard he deserved as he marched out first, because what if it was his last hoo-ah? Her tail shook ever slightly at the thought, or even more so of her sisters and daughter, poor Kyoko already fate unsure. By the Goddess, she had barely the time to grow close, or learn to love her dear half sister. She had to do this though, to prevent such outcomes, for her family and many others tied to this empire.

Was why she hid such fears from outward view, the stoic figure of a NCO ready to lead the charge all that those near her would see. She was a beacon of bravery perhaps to some, even as she herself saw herself at a coward some days. The jostle of the descending shuttle, broke her from such thoughts though, instead focusing on the declining altimeter linked to the shuttle as a distraction.

Jericho
The clone prince watched as Maradia went and vanished in their teleport, thinking of her well being even now as she was on the planet below. He simple relaxed limb in his mechanized suit, closing himself off to all but the uplink of data to his mind, his body resting as he let the machine do all the work. The diagnostic from earlier, still sat viewed in his mind, staring at it as if it might change and decline. His muscles tingled with expected combat, for the machine to awake, and the programming to kick in. He was made to be a soldier, since the first day he and his siblings awoke in that lab, and even till this day where he fought alongside foreign comrades. His priority was following orders, and bringing about the efficient elimination of their shared enemies, but there was one that he chose to add to that list.

His comrades, their lives to be upheld, and safety ensured. As much as he had been chastised for valuing his life less, he was still content to be their shield, and their sword. A tool did not deny it's purpose, it's duty, but when it grew a mind. Then it did the same, while also holding on to its own goals to add even further purpose. And his goals in his awakening mind, was to see Maradia happy, to have a life worth living with her, more fit then a mere tool. Well, he supposed, he needed to upgrade his status to more then a hammer he thought. A rare, yet faint grin tipping his lips underneath the helmet.

Though, he also still had a sister aboard to give a hug to. Was a promise he was given by his elder brother, Lord Mark Oaklen, and personally felt a need to do anyways.


GROUND
Lucas
"There is always a way, and we have indeed dome more with less. This is only a setback, a nasty one, but merely one more hurdle placed before us. So if we run into our pursuers once more, we will simply make sure the river Styx runs deep tonight, and the boat man sees a profitable influx in business.", the Iroma said with a reassuring to the CO, and small grin. He had given Elenor a comforting hand on the shoulder, and a meaningful look in his partner's eyes, giving the passing sensation of his feelings before he had returned to converse with the CO.

"I also do believe this to be a positive sign of our efforts. If they are sending out the hunters, then surely we have struck sufficient wound to be considered a threat to their operational integrity. We simply deal with them, and continue to deepen the wound we have made.", Lucas added as he looked over their gathered mission equipment. He thought to himself, even as he said it, on how they could enhance, or stretch the assets they had remaining. He was very versed in chemistry, another side effect that seemed ever handy from his past life. Perhaps they could create some thermite, or other natural compound. Surely they had minerals scanners among them that still functioned.


Kyoko
The neko had been seemingly absorbed by the work on her device, a computer slate linked to her digital mind, and a small portable drive in her pack. When the question came her way however, she was quick and obedient to reply. "Pale as death itself, or...as to say, it's ready. I am simply making sure it stays that way, and possibly making slight improvements as possible.", she answered before noticing the two other women approach her. Kyoko listened to both before replying to them both at the same time, referencing their files as she did.

She slid the tablet back into her pack, being one of the only ones to not have thrown her pack. She wasn't a ranger trained to do so, her stamina did not require her to lighten her load, and she carried mission important software and hardware inside it. Standing up, she greeted both with a handshake out of formality, "There are no shitty missions, only the empire's required deeds, and the challenges we overcome for it and its people. I do not need any assistance in carrying gear thank you, I appreciate the offer, but it is only a light weight for me. So you two will be my escort, I hope there won't too much difficulty in being so. I also have confidence that my sister will arrive soon as usual to be the hero like she always is." There may have been a slight bitterness in her last words, nothing hateful, more like deep seated annoyance.
 
-----------------
Groundside

Ittô Hei Elenor Herrick
-----------------

Giving Kyoko a nod, Elenor looked over as the Shosa gave a whistle, and the hand gestures for them to move out. Standing up, Elenor moved into position near the center of the formation, keeping an eye on her sector of the column's path. With a 5 meter spread of their little fireteam, sure, they made it more likely they'd be seen, but at the same time, they'd be able to bring more firepower onto a target. Thank god they still got basic infantry training for such situations. Of course, Elenor also was keeping an ear out for the sound of any aerial craft, since that could be either friend or foe.

The Shosa had a decent plan. By splitting into teams of three, they could 'scatter' towards the target and not expose the entire company at once. Especially as the goal was get there as fast as possible and do the job.

-----------------
In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge

Chusa Takanashi, Fusami
-----------------

Slowly but surely the ship moved into position. And Fusami could only sit and wait.

"Ma'am, we've just been pinged by enemy sensors." Came the callout from tactical.

And with that, any attempt at keeping the situation discrete was gone. The enemy would definitely know that Yamatai had at least one 'raider' this far into Kuvexian space causing trouble for them. "Proceed as planned. Go to battle stations." Fusami ordered, barely blinking as the lighting dropped to the emergency red as the klaxons that ordered the change from Alert to Battle happened. Now they were ready to engage in combat and orbital support alike. "Let the hunt begin."

-----------------
In Orbit
NJ-S2-217-1 "Victory"

Shosa Niwa "Ironsides" Belemtal
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Riding in the shuttle was definitely an interesting experience while already in power armor was more interesting than expected. But since they were down a squad loaded on, they were only needing 20 of the possible 48 seats. So they were almost bouncing around with more room than expected. But the situation was still somber. "Black should already be on the ground and moving to the Rangers first check point. As soon as we unload, we'll do the same. Unless Black is engaged or has reason to stop, they'll continue on to the planned second checkpoint. With that in mind, Grey, you'll be our two squad point. Command Element will embed with you. White, you're carrying all our heavy weapons and explosives. So be more alert. You're gonna be priority targets when the enemy realize we've been deployed." Niwa instructed, looking over those present and giving a firm nod to each person inside.

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Groundside

Shosa Asleif Belemtal
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Asleif stood up and took a deep breath, and looked at Lucas. "I'm sure we will. Just gonna be a right pain in the ass. And since we missed our check in, I bet the PA's are getting dropped in right now." She said, with a smile. "Meaning my sister gets to rub this one in." She finished, watching as her company vanished into the underbrush of the jungle. "Let's get moving. I don't want to have my Rangers wonder if I can hang with them."

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Groundside
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As Black Wolf Squad moved through the jungle on the route that their HUD's reported the Rangers took, it seemed they'd encountered nothing. Of course, unlike the rangers who had carefully picked their way across the jungle to avoid causing as much noise or disturbances as possible, the Rikugun were doing in a fraction of the time. 20 minutes in they reached the first check point, just as the shuttle finished its approach and began to flare out to land. There remained no indication of what might have caused the rangers to drop off the net though. It looked like they'd stopped here long enough to make the check-in and then moved on.

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Airspace
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The skies were relatively clear, mostly just clouds and empty skies, until the shuttle and fighters reached the operation zone. The fighters sensors quickly picked up the telltale signs of enemy craft making sweeping flights over hte jungle in a cobbled together search pattern. It looked like the Rangers were still out there at least to judge by the enemy's activity. But the pilots couldn't get any read on the Rangers yet. At least "Victory" was able to flare out and land in the clearing and disgorge the rest of the Rikugun company before it flew the much shorter flight back to the Artemis. If the Kuvies picked it up, they couldn't scramble anything to stop it before it was roaring back into orbit.
 
Groundside

"Got it," she nods to Kyoko, tilting her rifle sideways to check the magazine again before departure, replying offhand, "Call me a pessimist, but most missions are shit. Getting shot at is shit. Buuuut that's what I volunteered for so there is no excuse to complain."

Times like that, Mehitabel couldn't particularly empathize. Her siblings were doing their own things, living their own lives, neither of which crossed over with her when she was in Yamataian space. Her life had been the naval arsenal and the Star Army for a decade while he designed comm system interfaces. Apples and oranges. Maybe Itatski felt about her sister the same way she felt about Basemath? They were of an age to be sisters... Not worth spending time thinking on though, as she spaced herself out an equal but opposite number of paces from the SAINT tech as Eleanor.
 
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Groundside, Ranger Trail

Klaus was sure that Elenor and Lucas and the others probably worked hard trying not to disturb the forest. It wasn't easy sneaking through a forest. Leaves, twigs, bushes, water pockets. All this and more could alert people to your presence and thus were time consuming obstacle to circumvent. But if you didn't care about stealth? They were just annoyances.

Lightly jogging ahead of the squad, Klaus split his attention between his armor's input readings and his immediate surroundings. Eyes gazing for any clue to his friends’ whereabouts. He was beginning to grow frustrated when he stopped, sending a stop sign to his squad, through tight beam.

"Heisho, I think I found something." Ahead of the Raltian, were small pools of shell casings and torn Ranger issued rucks. Finally, a clue! The minkan nearly walked towards it when a sudden panicked thought raced into his head. "I'd advise caution. Hostiles may have planted IEDs."
 
Groundside, Rangers
Kyoko followed the two women, stowing her pad and simply continuing her touch ups on the program in her head, her assigned rifle being pulled into her hands from it's slung position. She didn't much care for the negativity that the Elysian had presented to her vocally, a raised eyebrow given in return from behind her visor. "I believe a mission is only shit if you don't come back from it, my father taught me life is precious, and that there are worse fates to live with then death.", the usually seemingly broody neko answered in something that could be akin to an almost optimistic point of view.

Groundside, Infantry
Setsuya made sure to be one of the first out, before waving her unit to spread out their spacing and begin advancing in formation. They needed to catch up to Black Wolf, and the clock was ticking for not only their ranger comrades, but for them as well while behind enemy lines on a hostile controlled planet. "Fan out and advance on Black's position, we are to uplink with them in their tracking of the Rangers, now move and watch for enemy movement.", she commanded, not wasting time in moving forward with these objectives. It was time to go to work and do their damn jobs on this tour, fear be damned.

Jericho was perhaps not the first out, but he certainly could not be missed in his exit of the shuttle, the large power armor thudding to the mud. The mechanized frame of his EASE, leaving gouges in the earth as it impacted heavily on landing, the piloted machine already beginning to march as ordered. He was fire support, his guns warmed and ready for targets called that needed their anger. His sensors searched for signs of said targets still though, all the while moving with the unit, his thoughts firmly on the mission.....yet, they also turned to the safety of a certain Separa'Shan who was already well ahead of the main infantry group.
 
Groundside, Ranger Trail

Sacre surveyed the trail, "This is where things went sideways it looks like. Aten, what's your analysis?"

"It looks like this was an unexpected engagement, both sides moving and firing. I'm planing a waypoint on your huds towards where the Rangers seem to have gone." The AI responded.

Sacre took that in, "They probably didn't have time to boobytrap. We're not going in subtle, so full active sensors and weapons ready. We're probably going to get hit pretty soon. Aten, broadcast my regards to the Rangers and ask them where they are having dinner. They'll respond if they hear us. Let's move out, spread out a bit so a blast can't get all of us."

Airspace

The twin fighters streaked towards the enemy making their search pattern. Blasting past the ground side forces and leaving powerful sonic booms in their wake. As they approached, they unleashed missiles that streaked forwards and hit the enemy craft, sending them in smoke down to the planet. Then it was guns and two fighters working together in perfect harmony as they started to methodically down the Kuvexian fighters.
 
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Groundside

Ittô Hei Elenor Herrick
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Elenor chuckled. "I'm thinking we need to sit you down and show you how to be less like a robot." She says to Kyoko. Still, as they were no longer trying to be utterly stealthy, just discrete, they were beginning to make much better time towards teh compound. Of course, Elenor frequently glanced up as the sound of aerospace craft overhead could be heard, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were actively being hunted now, hence why they were forgoing stealth. A sudden snap of a bush behind them made Elenor spin around, to spot one of those armored figures having just walked past the bit of cliff they'd passed. Shit. "Mehi, Kyoko! Go! I'll cover!" She said to them, barely glancing towards the pair as she dropped to her gut and flicked her rifle to semi-auto to try and conserve ammunition.

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In Orbit
YSS Artemis Bridge

Chusa Takanashi, Fusami
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"Ma'am, enemy systems are beginning to get a lock. Orders?" Came the tactical officer.

"PD systems only, fire upon the weapons firing on us. Comms, what's the word on the Rikugun and Rangers? Have we gotten link-up or confirmation of Ranger's status?" Fusami asked, keeping her gaze on the computer display showing the space forward of the ship as it neared the AO.

"Negative Ma'am. Rikugun have reported finding where the Rangers got ambushed, but no sign of bodies. It looks like they got away safely, but we're not sure of their status now." Came the communications officer.

"They better hurry. It's about to get a lot busier up here." Fusami grumbled. This was the part of the whole thing she hated most. The lack of supporting ships.

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In Orbit
NJ-S2-217-1 "Victory"

Shosa Niwa "Ironsides" Belemtal
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Niwa wasn't far behind the rest of her people. "Any clue what hit them Sacre?" She asked over radio, even as a young tree snapped in two against her armor while she jogged. She was following the signal pings of their armor on her HUD's topographic map, helping her to keep a sense of where people were in relation to each other, the accuracy of the pings quickly growing more accurate as the Artemis entered the airspace overhead. She barely reacted to the sonic booms of the fighters overhead as they got to work.

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Groundside
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The Kuvexian that Elenor was firing upon was not the only one to run across Yamatai's troops in the area. Lucas' fireteam ran into one as well. And as Klaus continued to look around, a trio of men, in armor of similar bulk as the Rangers but slightly more so, paused in teh clearing, before quickly raising their own rifles to open fire on the PA-equipped Rikugun that they found. They had been planning on doing another, more through check of the materials found to help them get a clue who they were dealing with.

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Airspace
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The airspace quickly became a matter of hunting and killing Kuvexian craft, most of which were not fighters, rather they were either transport craft or gunships. But it wasn't long before the first VTOL capable fighter arrived, seeking to challenge Akane and Aoi's dominance of the sky.
 
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