Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 1: The Culmination

[Phoenix]

When a small mech cleared the forest and started heading straight toward the Riese squadrons, Brant knew what was happening, though he wasn't sure things would work out for both parties at this rate. "That pilot must be trying to link up with us," Brant winced, wondering why they weren't being hailed on the comms. Was that pilot's broken? He supposed anything was possible while fleeing a far larger, far better equipped machine.

---

The doctor supposed there was no point in hiding it since Tarquin had brought it up, first. She turned in her seat to face Roxanna. "He's planning to use the self destruct sequence," she said plainly. Hopefully that's all they would ever need to know about it, and a demonstration wouldn't hit them and all but doom the mission. After all, a mech's self destruct wasn't just a small detonation. Other mechs nearby, particularly Tarquin's allies, could potentially be caught up in the blast as well.

[Nanami Touko]

Secrets

The elevator came, and being there alone with Nikolai, in that tight space, like this was something entirely normal... It was unnerving. She'd posed her question, and after he'd slammed the button, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence until he violently answered her... Answered was a really positive way of putting it. Had he just been a disturbed ANF soldier, she would've put her hand on his shoulder, maybe tried to console him, but she felt that if she touched him right now he'd tear her hand right off. She didn't have answered for everything he'd said, but she knew a few things. Whether or not he'd listen, that was up to him.

"I don't know who raised Tarquin, but... Ever since he's gotten here, I've... I've been having trouble treating him as a soldier, yet he refuses to act like a child. I don't want to put anything in his head, and none of the doctors are ever going to do anything like that to him... Where were you, Nikolai? I am naive. I don't know much outside the ANF... But we don't do any of that here. If letting Tarquin blow up was fine, I wouldn't... I wouldn't have come to get you. I don't want him to die. He's not another number. None of you are... Yeah, I know, I'm not cut out to be here, but dammit, I can't just sit in my chair and watch his vitals drop until they stop..." She looked away from him, tired of crying in front of people, and looking even weaker.

"It's fine, it's... You don't need to tell any of us what your past is. You already gave us what we asked for. And... A-And if you help me get them all back alive; if you help bring Tarquin back, you won't need to crawl back into a cell. O-Okay?" She looked back at him, trying to get a read on him, having some real troubles doing so. Still, she held a hand out to shake, hoping the gesture wasn't lost on him.

[Dandragon]

Elaine to 10,16, use Wrist Gatling on Heracles 14

[scorri]

As the robot they had stabbed was finished off cleanly by Kim, Astin allowed themself to breathe normally again. Tarquin seemed to be doing ok and everyone else was fighting well and... Juria spoke up. Wincing, they nodded to her, mentally smacking themself. "Everything is going to be ok, yes. We've eliminated about a third of the enemy and although we've taken some his, we've got plenty of repairs and things are moving how I'd expect. Let's take a quick look to make sure we're not missing anything."

Taking the chance of the very short lull in battle, they turned their mech somewhat focusing more towards the coming mechs but spotted something they weren't expecting. "Ares Leader, we've got a new mech surprising. Doesn't fit any description we've seen. Too small for combat really. Thoughts?" They pointed the small mech out to Juria as well. "Do you recognize that type of mech?"

[Sandalphon]

"I'm sorry" he muttered again, staring fixedly at a spot on the floor.

Not that you care, but maybe you could stop being a fucker and making people cry.

She was clearly not like the others. While he had no doubt that she would throw him into the line of fire without a second glance, he never would imagine any of the people he had dealt with crying... it was odd. Crying and military leaders seemed like the sort of thing that would be entirely incompatible.

"I'm from a bad place, ok." He said, tired of having people try to peel his protective callous off in order to get to the tender bits underneath, "surely you must have seen news reports. big case. very controversial. half of people want us all dead, half just want bosses punished. I wish the 'kill everyone' camp won."

He hoped that would satisfy her curiousity. Going into detail now of all times seemed foolish.

He couldn't let himself get shaken or lost in the memories... Not again.

He lifted his eyes to see that she was holding out her hand for some obscure reason.

"What the fuck do you want me to do with that?" He asked, furrowing his brows, "I don't want to hold hands with you."

[Shin]

Medical kit? Could Tarquin even treat his own injuries? Talog had managed to make repairs to his chassis, but he was still flagging errors across the board. He'd probably just bled from the impact of the attack - he was pretty sure he hadn't taken any shrapnel. His injuries weren't trivial though, if he left them he'd have a few minutes at best before passing out. He'd opened the first panel he needed to... but for some reason he couldn't progress any further, something was holding him back. his hands wouldn't pull the next lever. Nikolai, was he coming to help? Was that why he couldn't do it? Everyone was telling him to take cover... was that what he needed to do?

-

"Tarquin... once you've bypassed the regulatory mechanisms, you won't need to worry. You're a valuable piece of research, it would be better if you carried out the protocol instead of being captured... regardless of what it means for you."

-

Taking the medical satchel in his hands, Tarquin removed the haemostatic spray from it. It wasn't going to be pleasant but it was likely to prevent him from bleeding out... and he was going to be in for a rough ride regardless. It took him a few seconds to make his decision, but he had come to his conclusion.

"Andromeda Protocol suspended. Administering first aid." Tarquin announced. He'd switched his microphone off for the next part. Opening the front of his flight suit, Tarquin gritted his teeth as he administered the spray. Its cold sting caused him to cry out in pain, it had been worse than the initial injury he'd taken. That was the hard part done, the compression dressing that followed was straight forward in comparison. He'd tended to to his bleeding, but that didn't make it any less painful. The rest of the mission wouldn't be comfortable, but withdrawing was not an option.

[Nanami Touko]

Elaine swooshes on through and fires off a heavy salvo of lead!

Target, Heracles #14!

Final Hit: 90
Final Crit: 14
Roll: 7,15
Hit
No crit
Final Damage: 34
 
Heracles #14 is wrecked!
 
Elaine gains +200 EXP, +6 Will, +7 PP
The team gains 2000 credits!
 
Elaine levels up!
+Def, +Sht, +Skl!

A Bad Place

Jess hadn't expected to hear anything from Nikolai, let alone that. She paused again, eyes glazing over as they did for her, as she tried her best to piece things together. Child soldier, news incident, big case, controver-- "Ser..." She'd remembered it, nearly saying the name of the man tried in the case, holding her tongue for what it meant to Nikolai. "You... Were a part of that, and... And you just went right back into that life... I'm... I'm so sorry." She didn't have time to cry but she was doing it anyway, taking his hand and holding it firm. "No more jail cell, okay? No more interrogation, no, n-no more white, blank walls, we'll..."

She wiped her eyes, letting his hand go, finally, "We'll put you in one of the rooms, get you new clothes, wash your old ones, you can have all of that... I'm so sorry, Nikolai..." She really had no time left to cry, as the door opened. She hesitated to move, only for a second, before taking off towards the hangar.

"N-Nikolai, what do you think you'd be best at handling? The Velite is faster, but we don't have time to set weapons on it... The Legionary is a lot slower, but at least it has some artillery built in. I-I don't know, maybe you'd be able to pick up a rebel's weapons? I'm sure one of them has dropped something by now, I... The crew can't be losing this one sided." She shook her head. Avery had noticed the captain, slowly makin' he way over.

"Hey, cap'n, what's goin'... Holy hell, the crap's the captive doin' down here!?" That sure knocked the relaxed right out of her.

"Never mind that right now! Just, whichever he says he'd be better with, get it running!"

"Wha... A-Are you sane!?" Avery double took between the two of them, trying to find the words to protest, but not managing to come up with them.

"That's an order!"

Edited September 27, 2016 by Narmaya

[Phoenix]

(Fluff later, maybe)

Brant activates Focus, moves to 10,17 and uses Repair Module on Elaine.

[Balcerzak]

The first salvos of the skirmish had gone more or less according to plan, with the initial charge driving a wedge in the enemy formation, and picking off the weakest member of the herd. Following that it had simply been a matter of cleaning up the rest of the wounded, each in turn. That said, things hadn't gone entirely without complications. A few members had taken some reasonable damage in the exchange, but none of that compared to the stunning blowback Taruqin had received from that shotgun blast loaded with last-ditch determination on the rebel soldier's part. That put some serious hurt on, but absolutely did not excuse the drama that began to unfold--not in Thorvald's eyes at least--with obfuscated references to some Andromeda protocol, which the rest of the squad only learned was code for "self-destruct" when the ship's doctor forcibly shouted him down over comms. Just what was it with this squad and its members throwing huge fits every time a situation turned a little bit hairy? That makes, three now didn't it, or was it more than that and he'd forgotten one? Shit son, there were gonna be some lectures going out when they actually got a solid spot of down time.

For his part, Astin was doing his best to keep things moving smoothly, continuing to radio out instructions here and there. Reply to, and amending, his plan of action, Thorvald gave some updates to the situation. "Oni Leader, I think I'll have to reverse you a little bit on that one. As it stands, our positions are better suited to letting Ares-2 take out those scraps, actually. We still need to keep pressing ahead, and hassling the enemy squads and commanding their attention is a bit more of my forte than hers. So, I'll be making that my purpose, over."

A moment's space had opened up to breathe. Now that their tactics had been settled, while his body was still preparing to execute, his mind was free to wander, and Thorvald found himself running over the other bit of information the doctor had broadcast across the channel. It had surely been a bluff of some sort, hadn't it? He found himself wondering just what had gone on during that second interrogation, and regretting that other duties had kept him too busy to attend. Apparently Tarquin and that problem child of a prisoner had gotten on smashingly, but there was no way the captain would be sending them out to fight when the much more docile and dependable captive was another option, and that was assuming she felt as if they really were strapped for additional pilots. It was a calculated move to play on Tarquin's emotions, then. But why resort to that? Surely the captain could have just ordered him not to blow himself up and that would have been the end of that. Why was the doctor even getting involved in the first place?

As he pressed southward, swinging past Ares 1's present position before making a sharp turn to the east, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Thorvald hadn't been the only one to notice, as right when he'd finished recognizing the make of it, and guessed as to its likely purpose, the other squad leader mentioned it over the comms. He certainly owed them, and the rest of the group, a response, but first thing was first.

Pursing his lips as he recalled the proper frequency to punch in, he hailed new craft directly on its private police band. "Peace Officer piloting inbound Phalanx, your dedication is admirable, but you are out of your element in your current craft given the situation at hand. This is ANF soldier HR-0097 requesting your immediate withdrawal, we'll secure the situation here." A lightbulb flashed in his mind, as Thorvald hit upon an idea that just might work. Gently lofting the crate he'd been carrying in an arc that should land it about two clicks to the southwest, placing it on a bend of one of the local roads, he radioed further instructions. "There's some emergency suits and gear in there, in case the rebels were planning to try something foolish like decompressing the entire colony. It's not much, and I'm not sure how your own supplies have been holding out, but if you can get those to one of the shelters and get a few more of the citizens prepared in case of the worst, I'd personally be in your debt. Over."

It also went without mentioning, but it was going to be that much easier to continue fighting if he didn't have to worry about juggling around cargo like that any longer. The CPS was a small mech, yes, but the crate wasn't anything too large and bulky, certainly nothing it shouldn't be able to handle. He'd only surmised why it had been out here on the battlefield to begin with, but there seemed little harm in his assumption that it was here with some noble purpose in mind, certainly when considering all the facts and intel they had available, at least. Carrying on to his destination with renewed purpose, Thorvald switched comms back to the general channel the Heion pilots had all been on. "Oni Leader, I do believe that's a civilian-issued personal trooper meant for police work. Mass-produced Phalanx line, I believe, though the exact model number escapes me. Unless the rebels are pulling an elaborate con on us, I believe we can trust it. Probably some working Joe trying to be a hero and save the folks sending out the SOS, same as us, is my bet. Sorely outmatched for that though, I've radioed them to clear the area. Over."

Now he just needed to ensure they could effect a clean escape. Picking his target from the next squad to try to best distract them from the smaller mech's nearby presence, Thorvald rattled off a storm of bullets their way, hoping to pose a much greater, more imminent threat than the one they may not have even perceived in the first place.

Thorvald casts Shield, moves to 12,16 Wrist Gatlings Heracles #3

[Sandalphon]

"I just said," he blubbered as she grabbed his hand, "I just said I didn't want to hold hands ja?"

Was this what dying felt like because Nikolai was pretty sure he was dying. He had seen the dawning realisation on her face but nothing had prepared him for that volatile outburst of emotion and pity. Her hands felt strangely cool to the touch, or maybe he had been too warm, either way the feeling was foreign and highly unpleasant.

The door swung open as the moment passed after what seemed like an eternity. They were met with the expected confusion from the people in the room as Jess nervously went over the pros and cons of each available machinery.

A faster machine would get him there sooner and whilst he was sure he could be of use by drawing away fire, it would be easier to be useful if he could actually fight back.

"We go with legionary ja?" he said, trying to regain his composure, "easier to help if we don't get caught with no pants on."

He wasn't sure if he liked this new direction the captain was going in, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with her much longer, right? soon he would be back at home amongst the chaos and noise of the fight...

[Snowy_One]

"Yes. I still have my wrench." she said as she approached the glass. Then, carefully, she undid the backing to one of the chairs and took it off, holding it in one hand as she took off her work jacket and wrapped her other hand around it before picking up her wrench, taking a deep breath, raising the seat backing as a shield... and bringing down the wrench to shatter the glass. Once, twice, shards bouncing off the backing and her jacket, before with a third strike the glass was fully shattered.

"Help me move this piston. I can get another one out if we hurry and, with more piston, more likelyhood of escape." she said as she quickly took the jacket off, shaking what glass she could off. "I am going to push this piston to its limits as well for a single blast as strong as possible. Fine whatever you can to try and make a small barrier. We do not wish to die to a bit of rebar."

Edited September 28, 2016 by Snowy_One

[Xinnidy]

With the ability to maneuver in reduced gravity, Brant has no issue getting close enough to Elaine's legionary for his plane's repair module to do some work!

Brant activates Focus!
Brant repairs Legionary (Elaine)!
186 -> 230
44 HP healed.
50 EXP gained!

Thorvald prepares himself to take fire again and distracts one of the standing Heracles!

Thorvald activates Shield!
Thorvald attacks!
Target: Heracles #3
Weapon: Wrist Gatling
Final Hit: 83

Final Crit: 14
Roll: 51, 39
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 26
 
'W-Why, you!'
 
Heracles #3 counters!
Weapon: Spread Missile
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 0
Roll: 79, 17
Hit!
No Crit.
Damage: 5
 
Thorvald gains +10 EXP, +4 will!

Edited September 28, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Dandragon]

Another enemy down. Elaine was satisfied for the moment, but the bigger picture was still fresh in her mind. She had a mission to do and she wasn't going to let ANYTHING distract her from it... "Wait, what the fuck is that?" And thus Elaine finally caught in her sights the two unidentified mechs, one seemingly running from the other, straight towards their group. And Astin had picked up on. Elaine had her camera zoom in on the approaching robot to try and get a better look at the thing. "Ares 2 to Ares Leader. That mech is indeed a Phalanx class. CPS-19 Phalanx, to be exact. Permission to go forward and take care of the mech following it? If we wait any longer that guy might get shot down before we can do anything about it."

Edited September 28, 2016 by Dandragon

[Xinnidy]

Salvation!

"Ah!" One of the ANF units was able to contact Makoto before long, giving him instructions to clear the area. "I-I can't do that! There's a Heracles following me! If I turn back, it'll have the best shot on me it's had in ten minutes." It sounded like an exaggeration, but that mad rebel just wasn't giving up on Makoto. Thankfully the outdated Phalanx model was able to hold out this far. "They're out to get me real bad, I need your help!" They were probably busy with the rebels forces as is... but would one more Heracles really make that difference. If I can take cover behind their mechs... maybe I could help a little.

Self-destruction

"What?! That'd jeopardize the whole mission!" Roxanna was taken a back that a pilot so calculative as the young Tarquin would make that his first option. "That... doesn't fit." She shook her head, "He's a clever boy, why would he put everyone else in danger like that?" Thankfully, Tarquin reconsidered his actions after a brief pause, but the XO's mind was left racing. Does he not care about the mission's success anymore, or... Maybe, there was some higher priority drilled into the young pilot's mind.

Everything still seemed off, and suddenly darker, as well.

"Doctor Amparo..." Roxanna addressed her again, "I don't suppose you could tell me about how you know this 'Andromeda Protocol' that I was never informed?"

Edited September 28, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Oersted]

Abigail did not like what she was, essentially, being forced to witness. Her men were being picked apart one by one and the ANF bastards weren't even down a single unit. "What are they, a squad of aces!?" she yelled into her comms; thankfully they were only open to Sena and Hilling at the moment. She could feel the urge to charge into the fray building as time went on and on. Patience had never been one of her strong suits and it was killing her to just sit back and watch. She couldn't risk compromising the mission, however; they needed the scientists and their information before anything else.

"Hey," she radioed to the extraction team, her tone surprisingly calm given the circumstances, "Red Leader here. How much longer do you think that damn android is going to hold out? We're running out of time before we have to scrap everything and go." Above all else, she was going to ensure that at least some of them made it out of this alive. And if that meant everything up until this point was pointless, well she'd just have to take responsibility for it.

"We're making progress," came the reply, gunfire making up most of the background noise. "We got a few more hits in, but so did it! Over!"

"Over."

Amidst the chaos, it seemed that two more mechs had made their way into the battlefield. Wait, if they came from that direction then... "Terry!" Abigail yelled as she opened a private comm to him, "What the hell do you think you're doing!? You should've gotten an order to head back here immediately but you're chasing a fucking police bot! Leave the small fry alone and help us buy some time!" She leaned back in her seat while she waited for his response. Hopefully Calina isn't too far behind him. I'm not leaving her behind.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Oersted

[Nanami Touko]

Slide Over

Despite the confusion from the engineers, Nikolai wasn't screaming obscenities at them this time, and seemed even cooperative as they got the spare Legionary set up. All it needed was powering up, but Jess had been right, it had no extra weapons. Avery really wanted to question what was going on, but Jess has been pretty serious about her order. She still didn't like it, though. Captain, I get that yer a people person, but doin' stuff like this's real un-captain-like... Gonna get'chur self in trouble iffin ye keep it up.

The Legionary was set up, lights were all on, everything was green. Some of the engineers gave Nikolai stares and glares as he was raised up the elevator towards the cockpit. "Oi!" Avery called after him, "ain't gonna give you shit, just gonna say, y'all bring this back in one piece, yeah? Gimme some faith that the Captain ain't makin' a mistake!"

The cockpit was probably larger than Nikolai was used to, and it was pristine, state of the art. He'd have no time to familiarize himself with it, so Jess could only hope he was a natural. Speaking of Jess, the elevator went back down after Nikolai had gotten himself strapped in, Jess coming back up and stepping forward.

"Alright, shove over some so I can squeeze in there... We definitely don't have the time to install a second seat, so I'm gonna hunch over beside you. Legionary's got a bigger cockpit, luckily, so we should both fit."

Piston Pressure

"Communication detected. Exploiting situation."

"Gahh!!"

Hannah was still putting holes in their numbers, but was relieved that the scientists had managed to think of something to escape with. It would do to have them out of the room so she could re-position herself into a more strategic place. This wall had taken a beating, and wouldn't provide sustainable cover for very long.

She had a wrench! The scientists started to murmur louder, some of them with hopeful smiles slipping onto their faces. "Of course!" The first one jumped to it, a few of them joining him. They weren't muscular, but adults were adults! Enough of them finally managed to slide the piston off the table, pushing it up against the wall. "There! Break the other one open, they'll get started on rigging it to pop!" Some stood back, the engineers in the group moving in to start working on wires and getting it all running as good as it could. The rest of them, mostly biomedical scientists, had nothing to do but wait, until Melissa asked for a barricade.

They got off their asses and started pushing one of the nearby tables over, hoping it would provide enough protection from the debris.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped.

Forget The Boy!

Terry flinched as Abby's angry voice came in over his comms, growling back. "I've got him, alright!? He's moving towards them, so it's two birds with one stone! Quick your worrying, Calina's already on her way back!" How the hell are we getting beaten by these academy goons, anyway? We're supposed to be the best of the best! Are their machines capabilities just that much greater than the Heracles model?

Arrival

"Give me that," came a rather impatient voice, snatching the receiver from the rebel. "Abigail. Your men are supposed to be the best, but they can't handle one security drone? I'm growing impatient. It'll dock your pay, but you won't have to worry about losing any more of them. She's mine." The receiver fell to the floor, one of the rebels picking it up and radioing straight back to Abigail.

"I-It's that Apotheosis woman, Boss... 'Cept she's... She looks like she means business." The group of rebels stood back, purple hair swaying into the hallway. She wore a dark grey coat, thigh high boots, navy blue jeans stuffed inside. Her top visible in the open coat, It was a well detailed shirt with three belts tied along the center, one zipper running up it, keeping it closed and tight-- save for her collar, open enough to see the start of a black bodysuit, running around her neck.

Hannah stopped firing, analyzing the new threat... As best a she could.

"New threat... Danger level unknown. Advising excess caution to the civilians in the area."

"Android! You're done being a thorn in my side. I'll give you one chance to deactivate of your own accord before I--" A shot rang out, the Apotheosis woman bringing her hand up in time to intercept the bullet with the back of her hand, a metallic clang echoing out. It stuck out half an inch deep. She sighed.

"Revision. Danger level maximum. Advise extreme caution and increased pace of escape plan."

"My name is Vera Maxwell. Prepare yourself!" She brandished a hilt from her coat, sweeping the fabric aside. Electricity sparked, liquid shooting out and forming a blade, before instantly hardening. She took up stance, sword firmly positioned in front of her.

"Prepared for combat. Engaging."

Hannah fired off three more shots, aimed directly at Vera, but with lightning reflexes, they were blocked, one of them ricocheting into the wall. Cold eyes opened and glared at the android.

Hannah paused, eyes glazed, before turning her head to the group of scientists.

"Hurrying is greatly advised!"

Edited September 28, 2016 by Narmaya

[Sandalphon]

"I don't intend do get blown to pieces if that is what you are implying." Nikolai said cooly as he stood the elevator. He didn't like the implication that he hadn't done this exact sort of thing a million times before. Most of these machines were pretty similar, easy to get used to really. He would figure this bad boy out as they went along...

He clambered in, easing into the seat, ready to get going... That is until he heard Jess speak up.

"Excuse me?" Nikolai said in a horrified tone as he realised exactly what was going to happen. "o ni...немає..." he moaned in his mother tongue. This was going to be a fucking fun ride.

He solemnly shuffled over, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"let's get going... if you sing in here I will fucking explode this machine after launching us into space. Understand?"

[Balcerzak]

The police officer sounded young, or terrified, with fear driving his voice maybe an octave higher than normal. Probably both. Thorvald frowned at the initial hesitance displayed about his instructions to clear the area, but it didn't take long to realize that the areas where the shelters were, where he'd directed him to go, were clearly located beyond where the rebel mechs were clustered. It looked like he might have had a shot if he chose to flee to the west, but if he really was being doggedly pursued by a Heracles, a one-on-one matchup was far from ideal if the Heion forces couldn't command its attention. The fact that he'd lasted ten minutes already was impressive enough, actually.

What would have possessed a rebel pilot to continue to pursue for that long when it was obvious there were more important things at play? It couldn't possibly be that this fellow had what they'd come for in the first place, was it? No, that scenario was too implausible. Not impossible--the policeman could have saved a crucial scientist and been transporting them, though it would be awfully cramped inside as the Phalanx wasn't built to handle two--but that didn't seem to fit the rest of the facts. It was only a lone Heracles, from the looks of things, that was chasing him down, and everything else suggested the rebels were focusing their efforts on one specific building, the one Hannah was still guarding, just about two minutes further to the southeast.

Thorvald sighed, massaged his temples, and considered the options. Elaine was now radioing in, looking for a chance to play savior, even though their protocols were all clearly outlined at the start of the mission. First thing was first. Switching back to the police channel, he sent back a time-buying answer. "One second, your difficulties are acknowledged, currently considering your best options. Will contact you again soon, till then... just keep yourself alive, pal. Over."

Returning to the squad's frequency, Elaine, and the rest of the crew, were next. "Do not, I repeat, do not split off from the squad and pursue. Permission denied. We have our hands full enough as it is, and if that one did to you what happened to Oni-3 and you had no back-up, well we just can't have that happening. He said he's been fighting this thing for ten minutes now, he can manage another minute or two while he makes his way to us at any rate. Actually, how about this, Ares-2, I'll send him to you directly if you're that concerned, but don't do anything stupid if shit goes down, alright? Over and out." He knew he probably shouldn't have made that last concession, but Thorvald also wasn't sure how much he'd have trusted her not to disobey if he hadn't. Hopefully this way he at least bought enough cooperation to see to it the main mission wasn't jeopardized.

Then it was back to the policeman on the run. "Alright, what we've worked out is this. It's not perhaps as safe as if you could get to a shelter, but for now it's gonna have to do as the next best thing. You see that Legionary between the plane and the pink and blue Velite? Get to her, and stick behind her. She'll take any hits from a Heracles better by far than your Phalanx would, and she's geared more for long range combat to begin with, so the odds you'll still be targeted should be slim to nil," plus you won't be slowing her down too much either, he thought quietly to himself. "Do you copy? Over."

[Snowy_One]

"Thankfully, hurrying increases the chance of critical failure, and critical failure is what I want!" exclaimed Melissa as she quickly ripped off two remaining pieces of chair backing and placed them up against the wall before placing the pistons up against them, before she got to work. She was used to seeing pistons in her line of work, but these were cutting edge experimental stuff. She recognized a lot of the pieces and parts but not quite all of them. She wasn't entirely certain what the end goal was, but in the end, it didn't really mater. All she needed to do was cause a failure and, having spent years trying to ensure the opposite, that part was easy. Not only could a baboon do it they EXCELLED at it!

Quickly she started to go over the pistons, cutting bits and pieces, unscrewing some, rerouting others, and forming something that most mechanics would run in fear from. Exactly what she wanted.

"Everyone, behind the barrier now!" she called out as she made one final adjustment. If she had failed just right she had about six seconds to dive behind the barrier while pressure built up before one final valve and latch gave way launching the interior shaft of the piston forwards at breakneck speeds which would get spread out via the chair backings to blast into the wall and leave more than a few deep but narrow holes. Alternatively it could blow the floor out leaving a gaping crater in the ground. Or blast out down towards Hannah and the people firing guns, or fizzle as some safety she didn't spot kicked in. Or explode. Or... well... Anything could happen really, including some combination of that, but she was going to try to go for 'survival'.

[Nanami Touko]

We're Off to See The Wizard

Jess paused and gave Nikolai a serious look. "You were a prisoner five minutes ago and we're giving you access to one of our machines. You think I'm letting you go out there alone? I already said I still don't trust you, so I've gotta make sure you don't fly off. Sure, you could try to fly off with me on board, but given your reaction to me holding your hands, I don't think getting closer would make it easy for you..." That was all she had, really. This was a plan with too many risks, far, far too many risks. Nevertheless...

She squeezed in next to him, sitting as best as she could on the arm of the console chair, bracing herself against the ceiling and wall of the cockpit. He'd have to reach over her for some of the screens, but she couldn't get any further in. This was the best they were going to get.

The Legionary was loaded onto the elevator, raising up to the launch pad.

"What, no Off to See The Wizard? I thought you were a fan of Oz." She didn't chance it. What else she didn't chance was not bracing herself for the launch. She'd only ever gone through it once, during basic training, so when the Legionary lurched forward off the Riese at an incredible pace, she felt herself shoved back into her little spot, nearly losing her lunch.

She managed.

"I'm okay... Oooof..."

Break Through

The pistons were set, and had been set to blow far past their set limits by Melissa and the rest of the group at hand. The twenty or so bodies hid behind the few tables they had knocked over in the lab, hoping that the resulting burst would do what they wanted. After some uncomfortable seconds, the seal broke, the ground cracked, and the robotic ligament sprung forward into the wall, pushing the chair back straight through the concrete, busting it in the process. Some of the group peeked over to stare at it, waiting and hoping for--

With a loud creak, the piston managed to pull itself back out of the wall, resting, before the bolts started to fall off. If they ever came back to it, it was going to need some serious repair.

But that didn't matter! "Ms. Jordan you're a genius!" The first one called out, as a group of them got up to move the piston out of the way to make sure it didn't accidentally fire again while they were climbing through the hole. "A-Alright, this leads to the maintenance halls, so we should be able to get out through the fire exits, through here... Uh... I don't know what we're going to do once we do that, from the sounds of things," as the constant gunfire from down the hall had ended, they could hear the muffled noises of the battle outside, "they're still fighting. Maybe we can just get to a safer room? Who knows, we have to get out of here now that we can! Ms. Hannah, come on! Even you can't hold out much longer!"

Hannah shook her head, waving her broken arm for the scientists to leave.

"Negative. I will remain here and provide as much time as I can against the new threat. 
Please evacuate quickly!"

It wasn't like her voice to have emotion all of a sudden, though her programming was probably doing that to convince the scientists further.

Vera didn't like the sounds of what she was hearing, starting her slow walk down the hallway towards Hannah. She didn't want to run; if she advanced too quickly, she'd leave herself full of openings that a targeting AI could easily manipulate. While it was likely she could survive the barrage, if anything managed to pierce her chest or her head, that would be the end of that, and she wasn't going to risk it. As long as she moved slow, she could block her vitals.

And Hannah was going to make her work cut out for her.

The android's eyes turned red from the pale blue they had been before, staring Vera down with a cold, blank face.

"Priority Set: Engaging."

She flipped a switch on her rifle, hopping out of her cover now that the rebels had stopped firing, unloading full auto down the hallway.

Enemy Phase / Turn 2!

The second squad is done waiting! Engage!

Heracles #10 attacks Thorvald with their beam sword!

Heracles #6 and #8 fire at Thorvald!

Heracles #7 fires at Brant with gatlings!

Heracles #9 fires at Kim, gatlings free!

The third squad remains where they are, #s 2 and 3 firing missiles at Kim!

Terry moves up, firing his gatlings at Makoto! STAND STILL!

Beam swords up first! Swinging!

Target, Thorvald!

Final Hit: 100!
Final Crit: 16
Roll: 95,25
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 9 (after Shield!)
 
Thorvald gains +2 Will
 
Guard activates!
 
He counters with his own sword!
Final Hit: 97
Final Crit: 19
Roll: 25,11
Hit
Crit!
Final Damage: 45
Final Crit Damage: 72!
 
Thorvald gains +10 EXP, +2 Will!

"Ughh! B-Back me up, here!"

Heracles #6 fires at Thorvald!

Final Hit: 90
Final Crit: 6
Roll: 54,38
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 3 (after shield and guard!)
 
Thorvald gains +2 Will
 
He counters with his cannons!
Final Hit: 73
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 55,5
Hit
Crit!
Final Damage: 56
Final Crit Damage: 90!
 
Thorvald gains +10 EXP, +2 Will

"N-No way! I'm leaving that one alone!"

Heracles #8 changes their mind!

"You'll be an easier target!"

Heracles #7 unloads a salvo at Brant's lovely plane!

Final Hit: 20
Final Crit: 11
Roll: 100,73
Whopper of a miss!
 
Brant gains +1 Will
 
He counters with Funnels!
Final Hit: 100!
Final Crit: 9
Roll: 65,60
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 52
 
Brant gains 20 EXP, +2 Will

"How are they all so strong!?"

Heracles #9 opens up on Kim!

Final Hit: 18
Final Crit: 7
Roll: 4,36
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 31
 
Kim responds probably very displeased, with a rocket!
 
Final Hit: 99
Final Crit: 23
Roll: 45,94
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 80
 
Kim gains +10 EXP, +2 Will

"Squad 3, providing fire support!"

Heracles #2 fires missiles at Kim!

Final Hit: 38
Final Crit: 0
Roll: 54,71
Miss!
 
Kim gains +2 Will
 
More rockets!
Final Hit: 99
Final Crit: 23
Roll: 35,3
Hit
Crit!
Final Damage: 80
Final Crit Damage: 128
 
Kim gains +10 EXP, +2 will!

"S-Stand back! We're just gonna get picked apart at this range!"

Heracles #3 also reconsiders!

Terry rolled on up, chasing after Makoto! "I'll get you and the ANF right after!"

He unloads his gatling!

Final Hit: 63
Final Crit: 14
Roll: 75,22
Miss!
 
"DAMN YOU! SIT STILL!"
 
Makoto counters with-- nets!?
Final Hit: 100!
Final Crit: 1
Roll: 66,46
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 1
Terry is snared! Move reduced to 0 until Turn 4 EP!

Player Phase / Turn 3!

Objective: Reach the green area by the end of turn 5 PP!

Battle Mastery: Defeat all initial generic Heracles by the end of turn 4 PP!

Edited September 29, 2016 by Narmaya

[Phoenix]

Megumi didn't have anything else to say about Andromeda Protocol, and there was still a battle going on, but the XO wanted details. Fair enough. "Tarquin isn't to be taken alive by the enemy ... or even salvaged. If he's in danger of being killed or captured, he'll try to self destruct." Megumi hadn't actually believed that when she first heard about it. The boy's attempt to go through with it was one hell of a wake up call. The doctor turned back toward the console and sat down. Looking back up toward Roxanna, she continued, "I only know about it because I'm a doctor assigned to the same ship. I'm expected to look after him to a certain degree." She'd much rather leave that to Doctor Hart. She was more of a people person than Megumi herself could ever hope to be.

Tarquin's vital signs were improving, which meant he was most likely treating himself. That would only be a true relief after she contacted him again and made certain. As long as he didn't take anymore fire in the meantime, he should have ample time to treat his injuries. Another unit showed up on the display, seemingly out of nowhere ... and Megumi winced when she saw two sets of vitals show up, both tied to the new Legionary that just launched. "... oh no," she groaned.

The captain wouldn't have gone out there with Nikolai, would she? She was giving him the best potential hostage the Heion Riese had to offer. Someone else, anyone else with a gun and some common sense would have been a better choice. If Nikolai held any loyalty to the rebel forces at all, he could call an end to this battle right here and now, forcing them to stand down, using Captain Gefalscht as leverage. No, that was too emotional of an outcome, Megumi realized. More likely Roxanna would take over command of the mission and have them continue the fight. Whether the original captain survived that turn of events would come down to dumb luck, really.

Again, the doctor's head fell into waiting, frustrated hands. "So stupid ... this is so damn stupid ..." she murmured to herself. It was time to check in on Tarquin and make sure at least something in this situation was going the way it should. "Oni-Three, please report your status?" Megumi was too good for 'overs.'

---

There was nothing to be done about Tarquin's near brush with death. He was treating himself now and out of harm's way for the moment. Brant hoped it would stay that way until he was back up to full strength and ready to go. Any sooner and they might have even more problems to worry about.

With the first squad of Heracles torn to shreds, the second squad decided to close in. Too little too late, really. They were flanked, and hard, but Thorvald took the first attacks without flinching and gave back better than he got. Kim was also attacked and blasted the enemy in turn. Brant realized he was about to come under fire and banked just before a flurry of bullets overtook his initial position.

The funnels were already flying. The heracles was adjusting its fire to try and get at least some of its bullets on the right track, leaving the whole machine open to a series of shots from the semi-autonomous rifles. Four beams came in one after the other, scorching the heracles and ending its attack prematurely. The funnels quickly formed up besides Brant's Accensus. "Two seems easy enough to handle. Good test," Brant nodded once, and then banked again, hoping to get out of the heracles' line of fire long enough to launch a follow up attack if someone else didn't take the thing out first.

Checking in on the police Phalanx, Brant was sure the pilot wasn't an enemy in disguise or anything nefarious like that, though he gave Brant the same rookie vibes he got from Firmia. There was also someone else with him, though their emotions were almost completely overshadowed by the pilot's and the rebel pilot chasing them. He wasn't chasing them for long; the Phalanx pilot got them good with a tactical net and left them in the dust. They were more or less home free, now.

He had enough time, it seemed, so Brant quickly turned on the comm to check on the holdouts in the science building. "Miss Melissa, this is Lieutenant Abrams. How're you all holding up in there? Is Hannah still functional?"

[Snowy_One]

"If you are satisfied with my service please submit a customer/employee review online. I would very much appreciate a 10/10 after this!" she called out as she grabbed the comm-link and started to head towards the new hole in the wall. "Android HAn4 is operational but has clearly taken excessive amounts of damage. Her logic processors seem shot as well as she is prioritizing stopping foes over self-preservation. We have created a hole in the wall from which we are attempting to evacuate away from incoming forces. All the scientists who made it into the room appear to be alive and also in the process of evacuating themselves."

[Juliette]

no flavor because being awake is suffering

Juria uses Devote spirit on Elaine

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai grunted as the machine lurched forward. Clearly, it had a lot more kick than most of the other machines he'd operated in the past, but in the end it was very similar. Most big shooty things with many guns had this exact sort of thing going for them, so he was sure it would be easy enough to adjust to it. What was going to be harder to adjust to was the person currently occupying far too much of his personal space.

"No time for jokes." He muttered, "I am fucking miserable ja? Keep your leg on your side."

Normally he quite enjoyed the relative weightlessness of taking off and soaring through the air at the helm of a few tons of murderous machinery, being armed to the teeth and mobile was almost a natural state of being for Nikolai after all... However, the fact that this weird emotional woman was currently breathing incredibly close to him and taking up THAT MUCH space... well, it put a damper on things.

One: Personal Space. Two: Personal Space. Three: Stay out of my Personal Space...

He closed his eyes as the G forces did their thing. He tried to picture a cute dude taking up that space instead but that little fantasy did very little to make things less unpleasant.

I swear the kid had better appreciate this thing. If he dies I am going to give his ghost a stern talking to.

[Nanami Touko]

[spoiler=Trust]

Jess sat calmly in the meeting room, going through her pad, checking emails and information that they'd gathered so far. They had some numbers, they had a leader, and the one running things behind the scene... They had a lot, honestly. And the Riese was a powerhouse, which meant no surprise reinforcements for the rebel forces... That just meant keeping away from this Apotheosis member, if their robot was as dangerous as Christina had implied.

Jess had sent messages to Tarquin, Megumi and Cheryl, though she only needed to hear from Tarquin, from the looks of things... she'd hoped he'd managed to get something useful out of Nikolai, because she didn't feel his talk with their captive was productive otherwise. To that, she sighed, slipping onto the desk some. He seemed so eager, though... Does he really relate to that Nikolai this much? What happened to him to end up this way? There were questions that Jess just didn't know the answer to.

Megumi really would have preferred to relax in the infirmary. Cheryl warned her ahead of time that they would be speaking with the captain about the interrogation. They really didn't need her for that, Megumi reasoned. Still, if the captain really wanted her input on this, as harsh as it was going to be, she'd provide it. She stepped into the meeting room shortly after being paged. Given how close the meeting room was to the infirmary it was quite a short trip.

"Hello, Captain," she gave a vaguely unhappy greeting. No point in hiding how she felt about the situation. No point in wearing her heart on her sleeve, either.

"Oh, Megumi... You're here early." Jess was expecting to see Cheryl and Tarquin first. This doctor didn't seem at all interested to be here. Not horribly dejected, but... Not interested. "Did you glean anything from the talk after I left? was it worth anything, or was Nikolai about as awful for Tarquin as I expected?" Jess was still bothered that they'd let someone so young alone with a person like Nikolai...

"Otherwise, Cheryl and Tarquin should be here soon, so he can tell us what he learned... If anything."

"We have some new information but nothing useful on Apotheosis," Megumi explained, all sign of emotion, positive or negative, gone. "The numbers are roughly the same as Christina's intel, and there's nothing new on the freighter, though I suspect it's going to be used to transport everything they steal from Colony One. Your pilots are just going to have to destroy the rebels and hope that's the end of this. Even if Apotheosis does something else, the Riese might not be assigned to stop them, so there's no point getting attached to the enemy. On the other hand ..." The Heion Riese's success would have consequences, just like its failure would. "... if the team succeeds and Apotheosis keeps up like this, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to use them for this again and again."

She took the closest seat she could find. "Tarquin can cover the details. As for Nikolai, he's a child, through and through. Not that it matters, but I'm going to have to object to any special treatment for the time being. He's only cooperating with us out of some misguided attempt to protect Tarquin, which isn't something we can use, regardless of what either of them think."

His conversation with Nikolai was not what he had been expecting in the slightest. There was so much that he'd never heard before, so many things he'd never expected to think about. Nikolai wasn't bad in the slightest, he just needed people to listen to him. Nikolai wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he just didn't want people to hurt him.

Having been summoned to the meeting room, Tarquin wasn't sure what he'd say to the Captain. Nikolai had told him a lot of things, but he wasn't sure if the Captain would understand. She'd seemed fairly keen to keep Nikolai locked up, but if he could get her to understand... then maybe she would see how it really was.

Approaching the door, Tarquin readied himself. He'd never been very good at asking for things, but he'd managed it earlier. If he had been allowed to talk to Nikolai, maybe he would be allowed to ask if he could be let out of his cell? He just had to keep calm, getting emotional wouldn't help his case. The door opened, the young boy walking through. The Captain and Doctor Amparo were already there, the latter knowing a fair amount about Tarquin himself.

Saluting, Tarquin stood in front of the Captain, trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible. "Captain... I spoke to Ni-... our captive. Are there any questions you would like to ask me?"

"New information is still good information, even if it's not on Apotheosis... We need to deal with the rebels first and foremost, so any new information on them is good information. I hope their freighter isn't fast... It would be more than unfortunate if a group of them got away while we were occupied dealing with the forces inside the colony... And the Riese has to guard the entrance, to prevent returning patrols from getting inside."

The future prospects of the Riese continuing to be assigned to Apotheosis based interventions was a bit... Heavy, for Jess. This was the first time in documented military history that the shadow group had been so directly involved with an attack, and if this was the first step, an entire colony, what was step 2? She shuddered to think of the prospects and hoped that this was just a one off, not testing the waters.

"I didn't expect much else out of him... Tarquin seems to see something, but I just... I can't. Maybe if he has been more willing to cooperate, but all I can think is that he... He assumes we're treating Tarquin like a child soldier, like he's a tool... He has the rights and privileges of every other pilot on the Riese, it's not... It's not the same... Not that I'm entirely happy about someone so young being out here, but... He's proven that he's not a child, at least when it comes to battle." Tarquin may have been a child, and a soldier, but that didn't mean he was like those of the remaining world, taken from a home and forced to fight for something he had no idea of... Or so she hoped. His naivety was starting to piece more things together and it wasn't painting a pretty picture. Nikolai might be more right about Tarquin than I want him to be...

The boy in question suddenly came in, Jess nodding and trying to smile at him. "Just tell us everything he told you about the rebels and Apotheosis... You're free to mention anything else you spoke about, but only if you want to." She was curious, yes, but if it became an issue, they had the security feeds available whenever. Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that; she trusted Tarquin, and she wanted to keep trusting Tarquin, but she would have to see...

Cheryl, meanwhile, poked her head into the room and slipped up against the entrance wall, not saying anything and only giving a light salute, hoping things would proceed well.

This was his chance, Tarquin needed to make a good as impression as he possibly could for Nikolai. The Captain didn't seem to like him very much, but that was because she didn't know him properly. It was like judging a book by its cover, the words inside usually matched the title, but one needed to actually read it to appreciate it.

"Nikolai is familiar with the units deployed and the patterns used by the rebels." Tarquin began, hoping that he could get a good introduction with some technical details. "In addition to this, if there are any hostages, he's more likely to be able to locate them than anyone else. Nikolai has assured me that he will cooperate and give any further information. He doesn't hold any strong loyalty towards the rebel faction and... is probably unlikely to defect or mislead us."

That had started well, he'd said a lot of good things about Nikolai, hopefully it would begin to change the Captain's opinion of him.

"He's not a bad person, he's seen a lot of things that made him very sad." Tarquin added. Nikolai had been through a lot, but he'd trusted Tarquin enough to tell him them. With that level of trust, even Tarquin knew that he shouldn't be sharing out his stories. "I think he just needs people to listen to him instead of telling him things. If people are nice to him, he's not horrible to them back."

Tarquin had started, and... Instead of relaying information that Nikolai may have told him, he started to sing the boy's praises. What? Had they just, hit it off, or something? Was he already affecting Tarquin's mind? "Well... I-It's good to know that Nikolai isn't as bad as we think, Tarquin," she had to pause to try and make this sound convincing, "and I'm glad to know he's working with us, but what did he tell you about... Their numbers? Leaders? Anything like that?"

Cheryl smirked. This was interesting. Tarquin had really taken to Nikolai. Did he remind him of himself? Or was there something else? Either way, she was interested in seeing how that all played out... The way he's going on, it feels like he's going to ask the captain to let him out of his cell. That'll go over well. Tarquin's not gonna like her answer.

Cheryl had smirked, which meant she'd picked up on something, but of course, she wasn't sharing it. Jess sighed internally, waiting and hoping that Tarquin had more to say.

"Numbers? Yes, he did say those too..." Tarquin replied, having forgotten to actually mention them in his excitement. "There are approximately 20 Heracles, 10 Velites and 8 Legionnaires. The rebels are under the command of an Abigail and two other individuals, although Abigail appears to posses the highest level of command or at least Nikolai considers her more important than the others. Nikolai was also not formally briefed on their entire forces, it's likely each unit is not fully aware of the others' designations and operations."

That was a good start, it sounded far more substantial than simply saying he was nice. Of course, there was more to tel, hopefully it would impress the Captain.

"Apotheosis are present on the Colony. Their commander is a Lieutenant Vera, although it appears her direct involvement with the rebel group is limited. Nikolai also confirmed that their target is research regarding deep space travel."

Would that be enough? They were going in with far more information than they had before, surely that was worth something?

There, that was much better. Jess sighed, a small smile slipping onto her face as she parsed the information. That was a lot of mechs to have on hand. Still, if they were split up when they attacked, or not ready to deploy, numbers meant nothing. Moreover, it was something concrete that they could plan around. "Thank you, Specialist. It was a good idea to have you do the talking with the captive." She'd doubted him, honestly, but Nikolai had some soft spot for the boy, and that meant the information leaked out as easy as Cheryl had been hoping.

Tarquin wasn't entirely sure why it had been a good idea, but he'd shown that he could be trusted to get things done. More importantly, he'd shown that Nikolai was a valuable asset. There was one thing he wanted to gain though, Nikolai's freedom was unlikely but he needed to try. He'd managed to get permission to speak to him in the first place, and made more progress than anyone anticipated.

"Captain. Nikolai knows the colony and its forces." Tarquin began, trying to choose his words carefully. "Considering we're outnumbered and his lack of loyalty to the rebels, he would make a powerful addition to our forces."

That had been the easy part, the next was the Captain's response. Tarquin could see no logical reasons why the Captain would decline. The mission was bound to be difficult, and any additional support would prove beneficial. Grudges about his behaviour when he was captured would be hypocritical. The other girl they'd captured was probably being treated like a guest in comparison, and the chances were she wasn't even remotely as skilled as Nikolai.

While Megumi was certain the captain could see the danger in letting Nikolai fight with them, she wasn't certain the captain would hold fast against Tarquin's insistence. She wasn't the sturdiest ANF officer the doctor had come across. Providing some support for her own camp on this one might keep Gefalscht from getting overwhelmed.

"We can't trust Nikolai yet," Megumi shook her head, "the only reason he is even cooperating now is supposedly to help you, somehow. That's not something we can use." Nikolai could have been playing them. That much was obvious, and without having one or both of the TKs discreetly lurking near him during questioning, it was better to err on the side of caution. "Even if he is a skilled pilot, think of morale for the rest of the team after what they witnessed from him earlier."

She looked over at Jessica. "It is the captain's decision, but based on what we've seen thus far, I have to object."

"I'm sorry?" Jess wondered for a moment if she had simply heard Tarquin wrong. She paused. He didn't correct himself. Megumi answered his question as if it was something even worth addressing. "I agree, vehemently, with the doctor. You say Nikolai has no reason to trust the rebels, but the same goes for us. He has nothing, no reason to suddenly fight for the ANF, outside of some weird want to please you, and as Dr. Amparo has suggested, we can't use that."

"He could turn on one of us in the middle of the fight, take someone hostage, flee with the robot... There are too many variables to consider putting him out on our frontline. I cannot allow it. He'll have to show us that he's willing to work with the crew before he gets more than a cell. Working with just you is not enough." There, that was succinct enough. Surely Tarquin would understand that much. Even private Troy wasn't being considered for active duty!

There appeared to be several reasons that the Captain didn't want to let Nikolai out, none of which Tarquin had anticipated. Nikolai had said that he would be good, wasn't that good enough for her? Tarquin certainly trusted Nikolai, so why couldn't she? There was a part of him that wanted to tell the Captain she was wrong, that she didn't understand. Clenching his fist, Tarquin realised he was no position to make orders or demands. He was meant to be a good boy, and good boys did as they told.

Lowering his head dejectedly, Tarquin had no choice but to listen to the Captain. "I understand, Captain. I shall respect your decision." he replied. How could Nikolai prove that he was trustworthy if the Captain kept him in a box like an animal? It was blatantly unfair, no wonder Nikolai didn't like people.

Personal Space

Nikolai looked uncomfortable given the situation, but Jess was probably just as much so. He reeked. Very badly. He didn't seem like he'd showered in a long time and he still smelled like blood and vomit. It was a miracle that with the Gs currently being put on her, that she was able to keep anything down. Soldier on. You can wash him later. "Th-Through there..."

She pinched her nose, just to be safe.

Their path into the colony was the same as the crew had done before. Jess had to reach over to the controls, much to Nikolai's chagrin, as she lasered her code in to open and close and open the airlocks once again. From there, it was a straight flight, though she wasn't expecting what she saw inside. Homes destroyed, bodies strewn upon the ground, a fight off in the distance. "Disgusting..." was all she managed to say, averting her eyes from it all for a second.

She looked around, wondering if there was-- "Nikolai, over there. One of the Heracles is downed, near the crew. Go grab the shotgun, that should help with the armaments already on this thing." She hoped he wasn't above taking orders, but she'd already said it. And after it was done, she wasted no time contacting the crew, taking a deep breath.

"Hey," she started, already knowing some of them were about to bark at her over this decision, "if Megumi or Roxanne said anything about me bringing Nikolai out to fight... They weren't lying. We're both in here. The cavalry has arrived...?" Things seemed less dire than when Tarquin had been shot, but there were still plenty of Heracles models out and about, meaning that another mech on their side wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Lecture me later, I'll hear all of it, but-- just for now, Nikolai is on our side, alright? Continue the operation!"

Nikolai spawns on 9,19 and picks up the Heracles' shotgun!

Faulty Wiring

"Negative."

Hannah immediately responded to Melissa's call that there were issues with her logic processors.

"This woman is too dangerous too attempt retreat. I may fall when my weapon requires
reloading. It is imperative that I hold her back as long as possible to ensure that 
you and the other civilians can reach a safe distance and be rescued by the ANF on 
site. Continuing assault."

She didn't let go of the trigger for a moment, Vera blocking vital shots, bullets spraying past her, bouncing off of her legs and arms, ripping up her coat. She continued to step forward, slowly. Just a matter of time.

"Attempting to contact ANF Lieutenant Brant Abrams."

This time, Hannah didn't use the receiver in the room, opting to tap her own communications into the frequency that had contacted them earlier. She didn't know Brant was trying to speak to Melissa at the same time.

"ANF Lieutenant Brant Abrams. Please respond. The civilians are making their escape
through a wall they have created in the security room. I am currently engaged in 
combat with a dangerous cyborg, contact confirmed as Apotheosis member, Vera Maxwell. 
I am unsure of her rank or full capabilities. I will attempt to
hold her back for as long as it takes for your group to rescue the civilians."

The civilians in questions were all climbing through the wall, one at a time. It wasn't a huge hole, so it wasn't a fast process.

"You're going to run out of ammo eventually, Android! You have no chance!" Vera was exuding confidence, and as long as she was able to keep the only areas that mattered safe, no matter how big that clip was, she'd get there eventually.

"By my calculations I have a 57.4% chance of defeating you in hand to hand combat based
on the current readings of your limbs and their augments."

"Confident... But foolish!" What Hannah could see of Vera's arms started to glow blue, small lines of power running through visible, thin separations. Her blocks began to get more precise, pace increasing. A few bullets even ricocheted back at Hannah, whose eyes glazed over again for a moment. Her gunfire did not cease.

"Recalculating... 23.7%."

"Let's test those odds...!"

Edited September 29, 2016 by Narmaya