Xinnidy

"Ah, Jess. Okay." Caroline was able to regain some of her composure, glancing between Jezebel and the surrendered alien. "Oh, we should go speak to him, then. F-feel free." She appreciated the company, sudden as it was, but it was hard to be more expressful of her gratitude with a need to be hasty --at the corner of her eye, Thorvald seemed ready to leave. "S-Specialist Eriksson!" Caroline raised her voice, and waved, trying to get the leader figure's attention. With quick steps, Caroline approached the group, a quick turn of the head to make sure Jess and Kiir were following her. "Uh, s-sorry about the suddenness if you're busy. The alien wanted to meet you, since... since you're pretty much the commander out in the field." Through her nervousness, Caroline still attempted a smile.

"What a peculiar thing..." The shield Agni found was an unique design, perhaps linked to the time that ruin was built. It was a real shame it had been found under such circumstances, it meant their assailant was not one to care for the more historical side of the site. Regardless, Agni kept his guard as he returned to the group, finding most people converging near a motionless wraith. "Is that the culprit?" Agni kept a careful eye, hand ready to draw his dagger at a moment's notice. It took a brief pause to readjust to the situation, but he moved onwards towards the group. He cast a glance towards Taliyah... ah, Xalrei was there. No need to worry for now, but he gave the friendly lizard girl a nod, before duty called. "Marina, are you okay?" She was his priority, and leaving her alone for so long led to a lot of supressed concern.

"Hah..." Agni finished picking the old ruin doors to find a curious room, with one chest open and one still locked. Had someone been here before? It was a shame that there was no time to spare. With monsters around, Agni made a move to open the chest's lock with posthaste. Agni to (18,8), open chest.

"Ah..." Getting ferried on a siren's back was definitely not Agni's idea of a comfortable flight. He landed on the ground safely, adjusting his doublet. "Thank you... Gabriela." Agni could only nod as thanks, watching her go. It wasn't his idea of comfort flight, but he didn't want to say it. Regardless, there was a pressing matter at hand. Agni deftly unlocks the door.

"Well... if you say so, Captain. I'll go grab the spares, then I'll check up your schematics." Ignatius nodded, casting a half-apologetic glance at Doctor Amparo before he made his way out of the infirmary. Roxanna's eyes followed the engineer until he left the room, then returned to glance at Jessica's pod, pensive. "...I'm sure being up and about will make our crew less worried, Captain." If nothing else... --- Unfortunately, Vera was being stubborn and not giving an answer. Esther could feel her emotions way too well, and sighed in response. “It feels like just being around is making her worse.” It was… incredibly frustrating, but Esther was getting used to Vera’s mind working in that frustrating, borderline pathetic way. I don’t want you to worry about your image, I just want to help… “...Dumbass.” A silent whisper, one meant for no one’s ears, as Esther’s head lowered. “Haaahhhng…” With a long sigh, Esther ran both hands along her hair, closing eyes in a quiet, very brief introspection. To hear even Tarquin had his condolences for Vera was a surprise… but not something Esther knew what to do about. She’d never talked to the engineered kid before, only managing to look at his general direction and nod. “Noted…” Esther held no ill will at the moment, but she had no idea how to help herself, let alone Tarquin. Now it was clear Vera was trying to be dumb, with Thorvald’s change of topic to… eating waffles. “Fine.” Esther conceded, doing her best not to frown. She can’t hide those emotions… I’ll keep her on my watch. “I think this isn’t a good place for Nina to stay right now, let’s take the elevators.” --- "Yes I'm pretty sure the Captain is fine. Said so in the channels--" As soon as Caroline started explaining the matter to their new alien acquaintance, intimidatingly tall as they were. "Ah, you want to meet Thorvald? Right, he's Specialist Eriksson, kind of our commander. He should, uh..." Caroline glanced around, quickly spotting the leader figure amongst a group of their youngest pilots. “Oh thank goodness, he’s still here.” She spoke under her breath, though one had to wonder if it was a subconscious action at that point. “I-I’ll get you to meet--” “O-Oh, ah, hi!” Caroline and the alien were quickly intercepted by another of the crew, “Ah, right, Jezebel, yeah?” Caroline nearly flinched as she made the assumption, part of her afraid of having guessed the co-pilot’s name wrong. She was pretty sure she was right, though… “Uh, I’m doing fine, escorting--” Caroline was intercepted by a question from Kiir’Heln. Coincidentally, one that left her quite wide-eyed. “U-uh, I don’t think everybody i-is okay with that kind of replacement yet.” Caroline stuttered, trying to find the words to explain that not everybody was comfortable with their current technological standards. “B-besides, I’m sure Jezebel has her reasons.” With that half-baked explanation out of the way, Caroline turned to Jezebel once more. “The XO asked me to pick her up, I’m taking her to Thorvald right now.” She would… strongly appreciate more company, however. --- “Huh-- Oh hey, Elaine!” Makoto turned towards Elaine with a wave, still in decent spirits after such grim events --somebody had to be, after all. “Yeah, I’m hanging in fine… kind of surprised that any of them surrendered, but I guess we did a good job!” The boy stretched his arms some, the Phalanx’s cockpit wasn’t as comfortable as a mobile suit’s. “Hmmm…~ I think, they’ll keep a close eye on that one. I thought they were like, super proud, so I’m surprised too.” Unlike Elaine, Makoto had no qualms taking a glance at the tall alien walking around the hangar. “Kind of amazed I’m still keeping up, honestly…” Makoto was as quick to change gears, turning his gaze back at Elaine amidst his introspections. “These alien machines are on another level, especially their commanders. Good thing we’ve got suits like the Artemis and yours!”

"Pretty barren? Okay. If the group that went that way is clear, we should quickly regroup with Marina and the others. Don't take too long, okay?" Putting Taliyah down, Agni let the girl do her thing. "Sure, sure. Didn't need my help. Let's go regroup now while we can." Despite Xalrei's feisty behavior, one thing was true enough: He was worried about Marina, and it was long time to see how she was faring. Unfortunately, the terrain was bent on giving them trouble... Agni goes to (12,10), as far as he can get through these woods...

"Sorry, can't hear you over trying to find a way out of this dead end, Xalrei." If she was just going to bark, Agni was fine being condescending, to a degree. "Good job on felling the dog, either ways." It was one problem he wasn't looking forward to deal with, so that was, for once, worthy of his gratitude in his mind. All of a sudden, some fairy-thing poured healing magic onto him, leaving the man absolutely confused. "Who are you? Actually, that shouldn't matter. Take care, these woods are too tainted." Probably one of Nessraya's forces providing backup, no time to think about it if she wasn't raising a weapon at them. "Taliyah? Pulling a stunt, aren't we? Good job not getting harmed out there." That siren was quick to drop the lizard girl's (admittedly modest) weight onto Xalrei... for her sake, Agni was quick to join and get her down on her feet. "The others should be further south, so I'll give them a hand soon. Was it rough over there?" Agni moves onto (12,12) gallantly takes Taliyah and drops her to his side at (12,13).

"...I guess we can ask for some legs to be built." Roxanna conceded. It wouldn't be the same, a rush job considering the time they had, but the engineers could make something useable. That's not what she had in mind, but... It was time to finally get to it. With Jessica incapacitated and Tristan away, there was no time to spare for a full debriefing reunion with the pilots, instead, Roxanna started an open channel, concerning all machines within the Riese zone, now that pilots naturally returned to the hangar. "All Riese crew, please pay attention. To all pilots: Rest and recuperation is top priority right now, we have another mission ahead of us soon. With that in mind, there is no time for formal debriefings, so this is the best we can do for now." Roxanna started, a hesitant pause struck almost immediately, but she fought it out, "To reinform the Captain's situation: Captain Gefalscht is conscious and doing her best to recover in time for combat, however..." Roxanna winced, that would sting no matter how she phrased it, "To conserve energy and focus on survivability, her body shut down many things, including her past memories. She's up to speed with the mission, but she might not remember you... please keep it in mind." Roxanna took a deep breath, it was easier to take it from there. "We will have to stop for a few hours to get the Riese in shape, I'll need the Engineering crew to focus on that now. The suits will have to wait." Pause for breathing, "Again, all pilots: Please remember to rest and mentally prepare for next mission. Any further questions, please contact either Ensign Calvin or myself. Out." Roxanna didn't quite feel like relaxing, but with that one out of the way, she did lean back against the wall. There was a pressing need to put her thoughts in order. "Ignatius, you stay." She pointed out to the old engineer, "You worked on Hannah, so I need your opinion: What can you make for Jessica in the short term?" "Uh..." Ignatius felt almost sobered up by being called out by name. "Her state is horrible, but I can attach some strong spare legs quick, think her circuitry is not too far from the HAN models--" Ignatius stopped himself, realizing the issue was trivial. The android --cyborg?-- in need of repairs was conscious and probably had enough of her build data safe. "You can tell me as we go, right, Captain? If her syster rejects it, though, I'm gonna have to work overtime." Another sigh, and Roxanna tried to relax again. "That's good... better not walk on frail legs, right?" She was never really good at small talk. Makoto had to chuckle at Thorvald's 'landing notification', it was a good way to break the tension. "Gotcha, boss!" The Phalanx moved out as soon as the Odin's palm hit the floor, going for its tiny spot in the hangar. The debriefing was heard in time, and as much as Makoto understood the need to rest and recuperate, part of him wanted to hit the infirmary anyways. "Can't believe the Riese took a blow that bad..." It was a good decision to leave his mother at HQ this time, in case something worse could happen. Thinking about that, it was more than due time to call her... The boy walked towards the hangar's elevator, fiddling with his comm. "...Thanks, Nina." Esther gave herself the comfort of holding onto Nina's hand tight. She could feel Vera's despair strongly as well, and as much as she was prepared to deal with it... it wasn't nice to always tough it out. "Let's get out there. I can't stand thinking she's going to harm herself." With the cockpit open, it was only moments until an elevator neared for them to drop. "Gotta do something about it." Getting down to the ground floor, Esther could see Thorvald already in front of the Velite. "Hey," She spoke to him, rushing towards the machine. "She's still stuck up there, huh?" Letting out a long sigh, Esther opened her own comm. "Vera, we're all worried about you, please answer." "Shaky is fine... g-got it..." Caroline managed to land on the hangar just fine, though a sound did surprise her out of her other thoughts. Did... she just purr? Caroline tried to push it to the back of her mind immediately, but it probably made sense considering what these aliens looked like. ...Why did they look like cats? That was one thought quickly shelved with an incoming open notice. "The Captain sounds like she's in a rough spot..." She muttered under her breath, some concern rising. Hopefully the team could pull through, but Jessica was important for their success, from Caroline's own impressions. That's so sad, she picked me out of all the other candidates... probably doesn't mean a lot to her now, but that was nice. With a bit of a restrained frown, the Legionary opened its cockpit hatch, motor slowly turning off. "W-we're going down, the Captain and XO are uh... at the infirmary, I think? I'll take you there." Caroline removed her helmet, taking a deep breath as she took the lead. She was commited in escorting the Sacarian, at least.

Ah, that had been a quick response from Talia. Makoto couldn't help blushing when reading it, she seemed pretty happy about, he was at a loss what to say. 'Okay, see you later!' Makoto had no idea how to continue the conversation past that, so he figured he'd sort that out later. It was a bit much to think of right now. Better to focus on the Phalanx and all needed repairs, as soon as the Odin landed. "Yeah... let's go check on her." Nina's willingness to support was appreciated at that time, but Esther's mind still had some concerns over how well Vera would take this. Friendly as she was, Vera never opened herself up to Esther, and if she didn't now... well, she had nobody else to turn to. Another comment from Thorvald came from the line, a note that made Esther grimace. "It sounds like her alright... I'll take that offer." Perhaps it'd be better not to tackle her alone, Esther had a feeling she'd be brushed off. During that moment, Nina received another transmission. Tarquin. Esther was aware of him, but never put much thought into the engineered soldier. It wasn't surprising that he would care for Nina, in hindsight... "We're both doing fine. As far as fighting these aliens, I'm fine." It was killing remaining members of Apotheosis that hurt, even if something she signed up for. Aside from that confirmation, Esther leaned against her seat, content listening while guiding the Metis through its docking maneuvers. "Y-yes, sorry. The size is for one, uh, human, usually..." Caroline's attempts at conversation without showing how intimidated she was were clearly failing. Getting a step on and handling the controls, Caroline maneuvered the Legionary to turn from the alien machine and make a beeline for the Riese. Its thrusters ignited, pushing it off the ground as it beelined for the open hangar. "It... it'll be a bit shaky until we land..." She spoke softly. "J-Jessica... it's going to take a while. You're missing a few parts before you can walk." The doctor wasn't very direct in her response, which left Roxanna feeling guilty enough to explain Jessica her situation. It was quite a weird feeling, coming to care for Jess out of that tragic situation... and now that Tristan took a quick leave after the alien, Roxanna would have to be twice the leader she wasn't. "Mmm... I guess I'll need to plan ahead for the debriefing..." Explaining Jessica's situation would certainly lower morale, she had to be mindful of her words.

"Oh, so the cursed weapon is suddenly all yours? I'll let the others know, because I sure was not aware of that!" Ridiculous conjecture, but Agni was too lightheaded to bother fighting with the dragonewt over it. In fact, Agni felt awful even without a scratch on his person. Xalrei could keep the damned thing. "We're almost cut off from. everybody else, we need to clear a path." Sighing, Agni pressed onward with his old tome in hand. A clearing in the thickets housed another monster, and that one wouldn't get the jump on them. Agni to (12,11), attack Zombie mage #2 with flux.

"Ah, they're splitting one machine for each ship?" That only made things more suspicious, Roxanna was glad with her decision, with that in mind. "If you can keep the Riese stable for long enough, we should be able to remain in a safe distance until the crew checks the suit." It was one way to ease their worries, at least. That burgundy haired alien was willing to step out of the suit, at least, so that was a start. "You didn't send that one a message, did you? Er, bring her in before we examine..." Aliens... "I'll tell that to, uh, Specialist Schmidt." With a passing swipe on her device, Roxanna got to work. Seeing Jessica mention the Vergloria in such a passing comment was sobering, however. A reminder that Jessica had lost her memories of the recent past. "Ah... Tristan knows what he's doing." As much as the comment made Roxanna remember when she passed down command to him back when she finally had a chance, the XO had to admit his potential. "This probably has to do with Alriana, judging the radar... he'll come back if it gets actually dangerous." And then they'd have a talk about Alriana's actions. "Take care as well, Lieutenant." Bonner saluted to his live feed, cutting it off in short notice. "Needed a bit of that after this combat." Lynx was a bit more comfortable in his relatively-small seat, leaning back as his body relaxed. "Hope the next one is our last." "It should be, Lynx. It should." Bonner's comms readjusted to the Avalon, having received the answer he wanted from Tonya. The Mantle prepared to dock in the hangar, slowing its speed as it approached the ship. "Understood, the Mantle is preparing to dock." "Don't want to help the drones and gain some favor, Major?" "I'd prefer a good meal at the moment." Makoto was hoping the Riese would fly low enough that a jump would do it, but it seemed like a helpful call from his trusty guardian would do it again. "Ah... yes, I'd like a lift again." Good thing that veritable titan was always this thoughtful. "Heheh, thank you sir. You did great out there." It was a deserved compliment, Makoto felt. With his lift sorted out, Makoto reached for his communicator, recently beeping with a surprising notification. This wasn't the kind of time he'd get a message from anyone, so what was that about...? "A-ah?" Makoto blushed lightly, reading that message to its end. His eyes didn't deceive him, but he didn't quite know how to reply. Was Talia coming onto him? "Ah, geez..." "Hi Talia! The fighting is over! That was rough but we're in better shape than the ship... you holding out well there, right?" Maybe the best decision was to ignore it... No, he was too curious, really. "Wanna hang out later?" Smooth. "I don't care that she's not a good person." Esther blurted out, leaning back against the hug. "She's important to me, and I hoped she could..." A sigh escaped her mouth, Esther shaking her head. "At least acknowledge she can count on me now. It's not going to be fun talking to her later, but someone's gotta do it." If only she'd stopped being treated like a little sister, she thought. "You're fine, Nina. It doesn't involve you, but thanks." Christina's clone tended to the kind and helpful even when so suppressed. Esther appreciated that bit of respite, but she also wanted to act strong, to look stronger. "I'll still need your help, so launch with me next time, alright?" It felt right to ask that much, at least. And then... a call from a 'squadmate', right. "I don't remember deciding on that callsign, but I'm good." Esther repressed a chuckle, the levity of it all was a good way to relieve the tension. "I'm more worried about the suicidal sword girl, really. Shooting cats is cathartic." Perhaps that'd ease their worried. And a few moments after Roxanna issued the order, a certain Legionary stationed itself in front of the burgundy alien's machine, opening its cockpit. "H-hi, I... I was told to pick you up." Caroline was trying to repress the existential dread of being in front of an alien from a clearly more advanced, military race. It had mixed success. "There's no extra seats installed, but, ah, please hop in." The Legionary stepped closer, a ladder dropping from the cockpit's opening, providing access. Caroline wasn't going to chance a hangar jump with the alien dangling from the Legionary's hand or shoulder, after all. Wait, does it even understand me?

That weird, cursed weapon had quickly morphed into a tome for his own purposes, expelling an unique form of dark magic. "Full of surprises, are you..." He seemed exhausted after each spell, in fact, but he couldn't deny its power, he just had to borrow the weapon's strength some more. "Don't fail me now." Xalrei seemed to protest Agni's antics, to which the knight could only reply with a smug smirk. "Reprimand me when we're both out of here alive, o scaly one." He held back a chuckle after these words --after all, the prospect of serious harm at the hand of the undead wasn't that much of a laughing matter. Not until they returned those things to the earth. Agni holds, attacks Wight #4 with Requiem.

With readings lighting up that the Hexis was indeed out of commission, Roxanna could finally rest against the seat in the infirmary. This had been a tiring, tense hustle with low morale looming over her, as tiring as an extensive exercise regime. Tristan's report on their casualties stung differently knowing that it only stood for their pilots out in the field, especially with memories of the bridge still vivid in her conscious, moments before the attack. She turned to Jessica's tank, pensive for a moment. It took a moment, but Roxanna finally realized Tristan had said something more. "Ah? A Velite-- ah, un, understood." Roxanna tilted her head in mild confusion, trying to make sense of the information as her eyes gazed at her device's screen, lacking focus. Perhaps he had his reasons. Most importantly, she was the acting captain now... for, however long that would hold. Moreover, Jessica had intriguing news waiting for her. "Surrender signals?" Her attention whisked away from Tristan's matters, Roxanna winked as she stared into Jess' tube. "If that's so..." Her thought process was rattled, but, shifty eyes and all, Roxanna collected herself into an answer: "Tell them to come closer to the Riese and turn off their machines. I'll... send some of the ground crew to pick them up?" That'd be a good way to handle this, possibly. They could check the suits and pilots separately, in case of anything weird. Furthermore, as acting captain, one more thing fell to her duty: "All pilots, please return to the hangar for repairs. We've confirmed the end of hostilities." Roxanna had opened the general communications channel for that specific message, leaning onto her device. Esther felt... dissatisfied. Even taking action on her own, there was a dissatisfaction with how little she could contribute --was her machine already that limited? These Sacarians are such a mess... Leaning back onto the pilot's seat, Nina's words brought her to mull over the situation a bit more thoroughly. "I'm fine... I know of at least one person that needs several hugs, though." Esther rectified her posture on the seat, gripping the controls as the Metis began steering back towards the Riese. "...I won't say no to a hug, though." Makoto could finally relax as the Hexis fell, the towering behemoth finally brought down with a battleship's beam. "Wow..." The Sacarians were something else, especially those knights. They only made the gap wider... "Man, this isn't easy..." It was kind of a miracle he had survived it all in his diminutive machine (relatively speaking). It was time to move back to the Riese, and contemplate about what he learned. If his father was indeed working with the terrorists, then, he probably had a hand on those suits as well... "Mantle to Avalon, requesting further instructions." Bonner expedited the message with the same professional tone as usual, the Mantle readily making a U-turn after readings on the Hexis had faded. "Hard to believe we've won without a scratch against these guys, Major." Lynx had relaxed into a contemplative mood, observing the debris on the battlefield, several mobile suit pieces, almost entirely from Apotheosis' side. "I wouldn't say so, the Riese took a major blow." Bonner was quick to remind the fact, pointing a finger, "I'd say our chances are good, but we need them to recover from it quickly." "Are you thinking of paying a visit?" "Perhaps..." Bonner trailed off, the feed of the Mantle showing a peculiar movement rom another unit... a, thumbs up? "Kazue seems to be in good spirits." Lynx picked up on its pilot first, some levity in his tone. "Ah, that's who it is." And sure enough, Bonner had a mellow smile, something to lighten up the mood after the mission. His comms opened. "Good work, Lieutenant Fujiwara."

Firmia casts Dreams(-> Fury)![-24SP] The Avalon attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Excalibur Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 31 Roll: 24, 63 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 133 The Hexis takes the brunt of beam energy... its systems are failing to convert the energy! "Hah, So this is where I meet my end..." "May this land be all that my King wanted." The armor melts... the beam pierces through! Firmia gains +1600 EXP, +37 SP, +45000 credits! Firmia levels up 4 times! +12 SP! With the Hexis down... there is no resistance left. Map End!

Thorvald casts Bless![-35SP] (Target: Firmia) "Ah?" To say the least, that was a weird callout. More than that, however, it was Jess being back to... a more positive self, supposedly. "That's... great. Being able to interace with the Riese from where you are is the only thing keeping us flying without a bridge, Jess. Keep going." It'd be the only thing keeping them flying after any repairs, too, with what happened to most of the personnel there... Jessica casts Strike![-20SP] The Riese attacks! Target: Phobos #1 Weapon: Dual Beam Cannon Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 26 Roll: 93, 73 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 178 Not a chance to surrender! Jessica gains +100 EXP, +5500 credits, +12 PP! And that leaves a 'no survivors' message clear to Apotheosis! "A-another ship down! at this rate, even that alien... it should be down already, geez..." Carol casts Cheer![-20SP] (Target: Firmia)

Brant swoops in, full burst ready! Brant attacks! Target: Chaldene #2 Weapon: Hyper Beam Rifle (Full Burst) Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 33 Roll: 15, 95 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 150 Chaldene #2 counters! Weapon: Mega Particle Cannon Final Hit: 0 Final Crit: 7 Roll: 100, 11 Miss! Brant gains +10 EXP! Tycho casts Gain![-15SP] The whirr of the Graviton Launcher begins anew! Tycho attacks! Target: Chaldene #2 Weapon: Graviton Launcher (Lucky Roll: 71; Lucky++) Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 33 Roll: 84, 100 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 170 Chaldene #2 begins to lose altitude... Tycho gains +200 EXP, +6500 credits, +20 PP! That's one less battleship... Apotheosis' forces are approaching a clear defeat!

"You're certainly trying, but make a stronger attempt not to di--" And more were coming their way, Agni frowned. "We've got company." Agni moved forward, a slight of hand taking the Requiem in a quick turn before he shifted to take cover in some ruins debree. "It's my turn now, if you'll excuse me... I don't believe you want a two-on-one, yes?" He smirked. Agni to (10,9), sneakily take and equip the Requiem.

Hannah switches to MS Mode and fires at the Chaldene! (mobile format, apologies) Hannah attacks! Target: Chaldene #2; Weapon: Dual Beam Sabers Final Hit: 100; Final Crit: 24 Roll: 27, 27; Hit! No Crit. Damage: 93 Chaldene counters! Weapon: Missile Barrage Final Hit: 0!; Final Crit: 6 Roll: 100, 61; Miss! Hannah gains +5 EXP! The missiles could not keep up with the Reign's maneuvers! ... "Thorvald, you're still in command there, you know what to do. I'm relaying what our predictive algorithms could process." Roxanna was trying to get something done, even if the 'processing power' alluded to were her personal devices --there wasn't much of a bridge left to help. It was kind of uncomfortable in the makeshift operations desk she's made out of an infirmary bench, and Megumi would perhaps question Roxanna's decisions to keep it there, but since those were desperate times... Roxanna casts Attune![-25SP]

Marcia casts Strike![-16SP] One last shot from Vera... Vera attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: R. Sniper Rifle Final Hit: 28 Final Crit: 24 Roll: 69, 62 Miss! Hexis counters! Weapon: G-BR Prototype 1 Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 1 Roll: 3, 57 Hit! No Crit. Invincible activates! Final Damage: 37 The Avalon provides support fire! Weapon: Sub Missiles Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 16 Roll: 30, 87 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 30 Vera gains +10 EXP! Firmia gains +60 EXP! That... ended up being a trade of sorts. Aliza readies some siege on one of the remaining Chaldene! Aliza attacks! Target: Chaldene Weapon: Beam Crossbow Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 12 Roll: 55, 50 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 142 The Chaldene counters! Weapon: Missile Barrage Final Hit: 61 Final Crit: 3 Roll: 91, 18 Miss! Aliza gains +10 EXP! The maneuver left her unscathed!

"You're cutting it close, honestly... that shapeshifting weapon has no business with us, but here it is." Agni wasn't happy with the fact he got stuck with Xalrei, either, but fate did like to play tricks like these... "Here, before you get yourself killed charging ahead." Some pain was well deserved for her attitude, but Agni was sure Marina would be upset at him if he just stood there and did nothing to help Xalrei... a sigh escaped him. Agni to 10,8, trade his vulnerary to Xalrei.

Brant casts Strike![-20SP] Esther casts Sense![-25SP] "That one's annoyingly tough, huh? After all this heat... just die already." Esther was getting mildly bothered, mostly because she'd watched the fighting more than took action. At least, it felt that way. "Hey... M... Merlin. Requesting backup, sending a volley at the target." What a silly codename, but whatever. As long as she had something to do. Esther readies the Clay Bazooka, aims at the Hexis, and gets support from Brant's TK Missiles! Esther attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Clay Bazooka Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 74 Roll: 13, 29 Hit! Crit! Damage: 30 Hexis counters! Weapon: G-BR Prototype 1 Final Hit: 0! Final Crit: 0 Roll: --, -- Miss! Brant provides support fire! Weapon: TK Missiles Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 20 Roll: 4, 55 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 46 Esther gains +130 EXP! Esther levels up! +3 SP! Brant gains +70 EXP! "Tch, tanky ass." Esther whined.

DEVOTE SPAM Tristan casts Devote![-20SP] x4 +30 SP to Riese pilots, +10 SP to Elaine! Tarquin keeps the fire going! Tarquin attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Full-Output Railgun Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 30 Roll: 90, 71 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 172 Hexis counters! Weapon: G-B.R. Prototype 1 Final Hit: 0! Final Crit: 5 Roll: 5, 34 Miss! Tarquin gains +130 EXP! Elaine casts Strike![-15SP] And Elaine follows up! Elaine attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: VSR Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 21 Roll: 59, 3 Hit! Crit! Damage: 202 Hexis counters! Weapon: Sacarian Crusher Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 34 Roll: 97, 98 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 222 Elaine gains +140 EXP! A scary counter, whew!

Carlos casts Strike![-20SP] Carlos casts Alert![-10SP] "Well... seems like I'm going to need your help again, kid." It wouldn't get any easier for Carlos to address Tarquin, he resigned himself to his position with a sigh. Carlos attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Chest Smartgun Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 22 Roll: 57, 67 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 138 Hexis counters! Weapon: G-B.R. Prototype 1 Final Hit: 0! Final Crit: 8 Roll: 10, 34 Miss! Tarquin provides support fire! Weapon: Full Output Railgun Final Hit: 100 Final Crit: 30 Roll: 35, 74 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 121 Carlos gains +130 EXP! Tarquin gains +65 EXP, +3 Will! Fire after fire!

"Tch." Agni awkwardly step back to (8,8).

Kazue casts Focus![-15SP] Kazue goes ins! Kazue attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Liquid Metal Blade Final Hit: 93 Final Crit: 42 Roll: 53, 28 Hit! Crit! Damage: 337 Hexis counters! Weapon: Tail Crusher Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 13 Roll: 37, 82 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 200 Kazue gains +150 EXP, +1 Will! Kazue levels up! +2 SP! What tough armor! It's still standing! But it's Louise's turn! Louise casts Strike![-15SP] Louise casts Shield![-20SP] Louise attacks! Target: Hexis Weapon: Danse Macabre Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 100 Roll: --, -- Hit! Crit! Damage: 304 Hexis counters! Weapon: Sacarian Crusher Final Hit: 100! Final Crit: 32 Roll: 40, 45 Hit! No Crit. Damage: 69 Louise gains +100 EXP! Another quick clash! The Hexis seems even more stubborn to drop down...