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

[Nanami Touko]

Astin makes it to the building! Objective complete!

They cast Gain and get ripping into Abby!

Final Hit: 78
Final Crit: 26
Roll: 3,70
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 67
 
Abby's Heracles sparks, and shuts down!
Astin gains +700 EXP, +15 PP, Will maxes!
 
Astin levels! +3 stats!
+Melee! +Avoid! +Defense!
 
The party gains +3000 credits.

The Objective has changed!

As Abby's mech was torn into by Astin's rippers, their long range signals came into view. Ten Velite models, four Legionary models, primed in the rebel's main paint scheme, all with refurbished weapons. It was a menacing sight, all the ANF models ready to fight against a group they used to belong to. They radio'd into check on Abby, but there was no response, the power having left the Heracles moment before. The rebels inside the Velites started to panic a bit, but the veterans riding the Legionaries quickly calmed them down.

"While the person is a lot more important, this situation is the same as we've done before. Snag and bag. We get in, we grab Abby, we get out. The four of us will lead the charge, along with green squad." The rebel leader's Legionary motioned to the squad at his left, signaling them. "The nine of us will fight the ANF head on... The rest of you, blue squad, you're objective is to reach Abby and get her outta there. Don't fire unless you're fired at. If any of you find you're able to make it to her, do it, and fire your emergency boosters to escape. The freighter's taking off soon! We've no time to lose!"

Objective: Defeat All enemies!

Failure Condition: All Allied units are defeated; An enemy model reaches one of the four spaces adjacent to Abigail!

[Balcerzak]

Lt Kim had radioed in that the Apotheosis member, Vera, was on foot outside of her mech, and that she thought she had a clean shot, though there was a hostage present. She was looking for guidance on how to proceed, and it was a private channel. Thorvald was the only one giving her input on this, so it had to be the right call.

"We do NOT fire on individuals with anti-mech nor anti-materiel weaponry. That falls under the province of anti-personnel only." It was a snap judgement, she'd needed an immediate response, so he didn't bother elaborating on the reasons, though they should have been obvious.

[Ether]

Any moment now, and the Lieutenant would get back into her mech, and she doubted she had any capacity to meaningfully damage the thing once it was sealed. Radar showed that rebel reinforcements were approaching fast. Jessica was indecisive over the issue, and Brant had yet to chime in, though Thorvald gave her one out. Don't use anti-mech weaponry against on-foot combatants. It was a regulations thing, but the higher-ups willingness to simply nuke the colony out of orbit showed they didn't care much for that sort of thing... still, her sidearm would pose no threat to the gathering of civilians... just the Lieutenant and her hostage. They were to prioritize stopping the rebels over the safety of the residents, and a hostage could give them as much information as the databases they had likely been trying to crack into. She just barely had enough time if she pulled it off correctly...

"Accept risk." Kim murmured to herself, as her cockpit opened. Bringing herself up into the open, she saw the Lieutenant with her own eyes, about to leap. She took aim, hit her legs, low center of mass... it should be enough to incapacitate her... though she couldn't be sure of her aim from this range. If she hit the hostage, it would just have to be acceptable collateral. She unloaded the entire clip from her machine pistol before ducking back into her Velite and closing the cockpit, watching the result from her camera as she reloaded. Armour-piercing rounds... it had probably been overkill, but she hadn't had time to change them out.

[Nanami Touko]

Shots Fired

Vera made to jump, as a hail of bullets came down around her legs. They were from the Velite, the pilot had been crazy enough to actually come out of her cockpit in a live fire situation and try to take her out. You're lucky I didn't bring my own fire arm--

While most of the spread had hit the ground or bounced harmlessly off of her mechanical legs, one round tore into her right abdomen, a sharp groan escaping her as she jumped towards the Luna's cockpit, blood trailing behind her. She crashed into the cockpit instead of landing safely, tossing Dr. Watanabe into the back with the other man. "A-Andy!" she gasped, clutching her side, "medkit, get, i-in the back, keep the doctor stable...! Ahhh!" She groaned again, getting into her seat, shutting the door.

She had no idea how a random ANF pilot had aimed a pistol that well at such a distance, but considering how quickly the rebels had been dealt with, maybe these weren't just random choices. Just who did you put on the Riese crew? This is crazy... And you almost got me killed because of it. Damn you. She smirked, holding her wound tight.

Andy, in his panic, couldn't manage to say anything at the sight of his sister bleeding so violently. He'd thought she was invincible, even if she was still partly human, and had never seen her driven into such a corner. "R-Right!" he finally spoke up, setting the doctor aside in their wide cockpit, rummaging through one of the side ports for the medkit. He found it quick, luckily Vera kept the Luna organized, and handed it over to her.

"Now s-sit down, and keep still... If they were brave enough to fire at me, o-outside of their mechs, they might be stupid enough to fire at me inside this one. I doubt things will get bumpy, but just... In case." She cracked open the pack, spray foam immediately sealing her wound, cringing as it stung. I'll have to have Louise remove that bullet when I get back. She's not going to let me take it easy for getting hit like that.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Narmaya

[Phoenix]

(Wait and hope!)

Brant moves to 10-11 and uses Repair Module on Talog.

[riariadne]

"Ah, I understand." Dwight too nodded at Tristan's brief retelling. "I spent a significant amount of my time as an officer of the Olympus. An earlier model than any of these, so a bit smaller, but still quite formidable. It makes sense that you have some experience at command seeing the way you compose yourself in a position of leadership." He sighed when it came to Jess. "I'm not sure what she was thinking with a move like that. It's been such a short amount of time. Whether the results are successful or not, we will see. But either result doesn't change the fact that it was a choice that could directly harm the mission quite easily. Such reckless decision making seems to be a far cry from her earlier leadership, which was scattered but logical."

[Nanami Touko]

Brant sweeps on in to clear some of Talog's worries away

Talog recovers 35 HP

Brant gains +50 EXP

Enemy Phase / Turn 5!

"Rookies, take it easy and hang back some! Blue squad, I want you all gunning for Abby, but green squad, only come in if we take too much fire. Copy!?"

"Copy!"

The Velites all advance!

Legionary #2 takes aim at Astin!

Final Hit: 65
Astin is Dodging!
Final Hit: 33
Final Crit: 13
Roll: 2,79
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 36

Legionary #3 fires at Kim!

Final Hit: 22
Final Crit: 49
Roll: 92,83
Miss!
 
Kim counters with her Bazooka!
Final Hit: 100
Final Crit: 21
Roll: 82,75
Hit
no crit
Final Damage: 85
 
Kim gains +10 EXP

Legionary #4 fires at Makoto!

Final Hit: 55
Final Crit: 50
Roll: 91,18
Miss!

Previous Experience

Tristan was shocked that such a decorated commander wasn't leading this ship. Why is Jess in command with the XO, Mr. Turner, and even myself here on this ship? Her orders, until now, haven't been awful, and her performance in the last fight was fine, but... Agh, I just don't understand! It made next to no sense as to why Jess was leading, but there wasn't time enough to question it. The remaining rebel patrols had been shot down, or had cleared out of the area. "We'll have to see what she says when she returns to the ship... But I can't imagine many will be pleased with her decision. We should consider instating the XO as captain for the foreseeable future... If I may be so bold as to suggest it."

Accent

"I'm not sure what that is, but I take it you agree, then. No walks." Christina was having a bit of trouble understanding Bill, his accent was so thick... "Where are you from, anyway, Bill? You've got a lot in your vernacular that I've never heard before. If you've got time to talk while you mop, wanna tell me? It beats the TV. Whole thing's static. Won't even give me a blank screen..." She sighed, rolling onto her stomach on the bed, kicking her legs a bit. "Still, this beats a prison cell."

Final Protocol

The rebels that had been chasing around to catch the scientists received new orders as they were had just made it outside. "The lot of you, get back to the freighter! Abby is down, and our lives aren't worth those damn coats anymore! We already got plenty for ourselves, leave the rest of the units to get her, and get yourselves out!" The voice was Calina, Abby's second in command, now on the freighter and cursing the situation. Hilling and Sena were on their way back, and somehow Terry had survived long enough to make it back with them. But Abby was their boss; her partner in this damn mess. The vets'll get you out of there, or I'll hop out and drag you out myself...

So as they came out of the building, targets not insight, they cursed their luck, and started to make a dash for their freighter. Hannah, meanwhile, had rebooted, but wasn't speaking. Her posture has straightened out, and the sparking had ceased, for the moment. Still, the voice that came out of Melissa's receiver was incredibly weak.

"Melissa. Please take the remaining civilians and head towards the nearest
ANF machine, or back into the building, to keep yourselves safe. The rebels forces
are focusing their efforts onto the ANF, and you should be fine for now. I must do
what I can to aid their efforts to preserve your safety. Over.

She has re-wired her insides again, power pushing inside to her damaged limbs and pistons, instead of her vocals and speech functionality. Still, it was a losing battle.

"Come in, Lieutenant Abrams. This is Android model HAn4 L-03.
I am about to enter combat against the remaining rebel forces alongside your squadron.
Please remain calm as I commandeer one of the remaining rebels mechs.

She sped off from the civilian group, hoping that they would follow her orders. With Vera out of the picture from that impressive shot by that ANF pilot, and with her already having a hostage, the rest would be spared. The building would provide plenty of cover, and getting towards an ANF mech would give them the escape they needed, hopefully. Spotting what she'd wanted, she braced her frame for a hard jump, taking off towards the damaged Heracles mech. She landed on its waist, pulling herself up with her good arm towards the door.

Hostile Takeover

Terry was heading back behind Sena, who was carrying Hilling's mech, when he felt something slam into the side of his mech. A hand suddenly dug itself between his cockpit paneling, tearing the door down.

"Pull over."

Her voice was extremely robotic, no inflection, no personality. It was all she could muster, at the moment, as it crackled out of her throat. Her eyes stared holes through Terry; he was an obstacle between her next step of colony protection now that immediate threats had been taken care of.

"What the fuck!?" He rushed for his pistol, but Hannah was already inside, and had a hand on his neck, knee pressed into his arm to hold it in place.

"I am borrowing this vehicle for the purposes of saving the colony.
Please file any objections to the main branch."

Before Terry could respond, he was unceremoniously tossed from his Heracles, slamming down onto pavement. His pilot suit, in its sturdiness and thickness, had saved him from dying over the fifteen foot drop, but he wasn't going to be walking any time soon.

"Terry!" Sena tried to pause and fire at the mech as it was taken over, but Hilling's Heracles grabbed her weapon, pulling it down.

Sena's radio crackled to life, "We need to leave! Now! You're not taking that thing out with one shot, and if we stall, we'll get further caught up in the fight. We can't both die after Abby put herself in danger for us..." Hilling was deadly serious, as much as it hurt to see another of their men fall. They had to fish or cut bait, and it was time to cut bait; that android had already taken enough from them. Getting their second in command alongside their boss... With these casualties, the group would be done for.

She cringed, but lowered her gun, carrying Hilling's Heracles off faster than before.

Hannah strapped herself into the pilot's seat, closing the door she'd bent as best as it would, some of the outside still able to be seen. A direct shot to the chest would probably damage her to the point that she would be unable to function, but that was fine. As long as her actions protected the remaining civilians and aided the ANF, she had concluded that her sacrifice would be worthwhile.

A small cord slipped out of her wrist, as she plugged herself into the Heracles, taking over its systems in a matter of moments; the encryption on the machine was rather simple. Contact...

Brant's radio sprung to life again, though the signal was from the Heracles model. Hannah's normal voice came through clear as day, radio conversion of her voice not an issue for her at the moment.

"Brant Abrams. I have commandeered this Heracles model to assist
your squad in pushing away the remaining rebels from rescuing their leader.
Her capture will lead to information necessary to how they assaulted the colony
so quickly and effectively. Please do what you can with your squad to ensure that
none of the rebels reach her. As well, the Apotheosis Lieutenant Vera Maxwell
has taken a hostage, and retreated inside of her mech. I am unsure of the
specifications of her model, but I would advise caution."

She paused, reading over her internal specs.

"I have 13% battery life remaining, draining steadily. Approximately two
and a half minutes of time remaining. I will assist until I can no longer function."

Escape

Vera had gotten her breathing under control, and the bleeding had stopped, but damn getting shot hurt. Andy was still panicking behind her seat, staring at her foamed up wound, wondering if there was anything else he could do. "Andy. Sit down... I'm not going to tell you again."

"Hiii! Y-Yes, lieutenant..." He took hold of Dr. Watanabe, and pulled him towards the back of the cockpit, behind the seat. There was enough space, and the shock absorbers on the Luna were enough that even a heavy barrage wouldn't shake him up.

"To all ANF units currenetly operating inside of Colony One!"

Vera had tuned her radio towards an open broadcast, any of the ANF or rebels in the area could tune in if they were so inclined to. "My name is Vera Maxwell. I have Dr. Watanabe, colony scientist, on board with me. I'm going to be flying my robot straight through your crew and leaving... I will warn you twice. Do not attack me, and I will not retaliate. But if you ignore these warnings, I will use force. This is not an idle bluff. Find out at your own risk." Her speech finished, the Luna took off, going back to hovering. She still had to make some calibrations to it before they were good to leave, safety measures given her current state.

Player Phase / Turn 6!

Objective: Defeat all enemy units!

Failure Conditions: All allied units are defeated; An enemy unit reaches Abigail!

Edited October 11, 2016 by Narmaya

[Juliette]

Astin friend right, Juria thought as she kept quieter, trying to make her fear vanish. If wasn't helpful, wouldn't have let me join! Must keep everything going for helping Astin and colony! "Okay! Will do best."

Of course, her resolve faltered when the threat to Dr. Watanabe came up on the radio. "No!" She didn't know him personally, but the thought of someone being taken away still brought some rage up in Juria. Still, she recognized the robot as the one that they had been warned of before.

Instead of trying to prod Astin into anything rash, instead she looked at the computers. After a few moments of fiddling, she found what she was looking for. "Aha, diagnostic scan-laser. Examining from far," she spoke up, running it on Vera's mech. Lots of the numbers didn't make sense to her, but perhaps other members of the crew would understand it better. "Here numbers for... Vera mech," she spoke on the communications to the crew- the first time this mission.

Juria Scans Vera

[scorri]

Astin bit back a curse at hearing that Vera had taken a hostage, but did their best to keep a calm exterior for Juria. It didn't seem to help much, but she seemed to be working to help, which was good. She was calmer now, and thinking more clearly. The scan was a smart idea, that was for sure. "Thank you Juria, that was a clever idea." They looked over the scan and winced. It confirmed what they'd already known somehow. Thumbing the com, Astin called out to all the other mechs, "She's too strong. I know the idea of them getting away with a civilian is abhorrent, but there's nothing we can do. And you all know it after seeing the loadout on that mech. If anyone has any ideas, I welcome them, but there are to be no attacks on her unless we figure out a bullet proof plan or the Captain orders otherwise."

[Phoenix]

Kim had a shot on the Apotheosis lieutenant? Brant was surprised it was on a direct line to him. As much as he knew she needed an immediate answer, his gut response of not endangering the civilians was his personal preference. Thorvald came through just before Brant did, and his recommendation to not shoot died unsaid. There was something in Thorvald's response that had Brant wondering if he'd sanctioned small arms fire. He couldn't give that much thought, as the squad was closing in on the custom heracles and taking plenty of fire for their efforts.

Talog's machine had its own repair equipment, but with no quick and easy targets to shoot down, Brant opted to help her out. He had to get uncomfortably close to the fighting to do so, but at least the Accensus was quick and reasonably nimble. Fortunately for him, the rebels had other priorities. That gave him a moment to reevaluate the situation.

Almost as soon as he'd gotten a grasp of things, Hannah and the scientists' situation excluded, the android herself chimed in over the radio. "Abrams here," he replied immediately. When she asked him to remain calm he was almost offended. He wasn't going to panic until he knew for certain his own ejection system was compromised. His training had been good for at least that much. As for what Hannah was about to do ... "Hannah, how exactly ...?" Something told him his question was going to get answered soon enough, so he didn't finish.

Sure enough, Hannah came back over the radio before Brant's patience began to wane, and reported a successful hijacking. Brant immediately marked the stolen mech as a friendly and got to work. He couldn't hide how impressed he was. "Great job, Hannah." It was unfortunate about her power situation, but it wasn't a priority right now. Maybe there were some options, though. "See if you can't find some way to borrow power from the Heracles when you're not engaging anyone. We'll keep them from reaching Abigail. Over."

Brant sent his IFF data to the rest of the squad to hopefully save a little time with bringing Hannah into the fold; they'd heard her report already, as well as Brant's own response, so there was no need to repeat any of it. That was all he had time to do before the reinforcements came into combat range. They'd taken down the first batch quickly, but the bumps they hit along the way were going to be felt for days to come. Brant hoped this next phase would go more smoothly. Unfortunately, they had to let that woman get away with her hostage. They'd covered it in the briefing; they should leave her alone, so that's what Brant planned to do regardless. She had what was likely a crucial hostage, now, though. It didn't change Brant's mind, but he knew someone might want to chance a more complete rescue. With Juria's scan data coming in, it was clear that taking on that machine with what they had available was a costly distraction at best, and a fatal mistake at worst.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Phoenix

[Snowy_One]

Melissa gave a small nod as the message came through. She then turned back to the gathered civilians before taking a deep sigh.

"Listen, I know we've all been through a lot already today, sure as heck has been rough on me and I'm sure it's been rougher on you guys, but we've survived this much despite the odds and we're finally at a moment where we can take a moment to just breath. I know I've been up there being all brave and the like but, in truth, I'm scared shitless. I woke up today trying to figure out what I could eat without it costing too much and wondering if a shipment of parts would finally come in. Now I've killed three people, saved far more, helped an android fend off an army, and mouthed off to a very powerful woman and survived. But there's a thing about being scared shitless. It means you can't give a shit anymore about just how dangerous things are. We're gonna make it and we're gonna survive. Hannah has told us to head to the nearest ANF machine or back into the building. So let's take a moment, buck up, get a stiff upper lip, and head on out. I don't give a shit if corporate has my ass over this. Let them face down a battlefield armed with a Philips-head screwdriver if they try. Now let's move out!"

[Dandragon]

This bitch. This scumbag. This absolute LOWLIFE thought that she was so HIGH and MIGHTY that she had a hostage, and she was just going to waltz right through? As if it was NOTHING?! It pissed her off. It infuriated her. It enraged her! But she was too far away to properly hit her. Hell, she was too far away to do anything. She felt her teeth grind against each other in her mouth. "She can't possibly think she's gonna get through without a scratch...Because I'm sure as hell gonna give her more than that!"

And then the specs came on screen. And her eyes widened in horror. She could see everything that Juria had found, and it was too much. It's armor wasn't impenetrable, but it was more than enough to withstand anything she could dish out. And the weapons, oh god, the weapons! This lady could annihilate every single one of them in a matter of seconds, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was Elaine's dream to have a robot like this, but now it was in the form of a living nightmare demanding passage through. Elaine now realized the position she was in. She wasn't high and mighty because she had a hostage. She was confident because she could kill them all.

"...Dammit...Dammit it all!" She slammed her head onto the edge of her console. There was nothing she could do. No matter how powerful she was, that supposed cyborg was more than prepared to tear her apart. What kind of hero was she? This person was about to steal someone away and she couldn't even damage them! She felt weak. Even if she took down every single one of the approaching mechs, it would do nothing to help them take back that hostage.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Dandragon

[Juliette]

post now flavor later so everyone can go

Juria devote Talog

[scorri]

Faced with the incoming wave of mechs, plus Vera staring then down, Astin made a quick decision. "Oni squad, fall in around the last Hercules we defeated. There are too many of them to charge. Let them come to us and be smart with your counters. Anyone who has repair or resupply equipment, make sure you use those here. We've got to buckle down and fight smart."

Astin moves to 13-10

[Shin]

It seemed more than logical to leave Vera be, especially with the parameters that Juria had gathered. The specifications were far beyond anything their own units could produce. Letting her escape was perhaps the safest option, even if it did cost one of the colonists. Nikolai had been dead serious when he'd warned him about Vera, Tarquin only hoped the rest of the team could hold their nerve. One itchy trigger finger could result in a massacre - and Tarquin had already risked been blown to pieces this mission. He hadn't quite seen the result of Kim's shot, although the act itself was mad. Was she trying to rescue the hostage or simply trying to take out Vera? It didn't matter, neither seemed to have occured.

There were more pressing matters, such as the oncoming enemy squads. They were outnumbered again, but they'd acquired another ally. It was a rather ragtag group, with Nikolai, this woman and what appeared to be a police vehicle, joining them. The mission had been nowhere as straight forward as he'd expected, but they were all still there.

"Oni Leader, I'm currently out of operation range." Tarquin replied, preparing to move his unit. There were a lot of targets, and his rifle was starting to run low. It had been playing up the entire mission, something about it wasn't quite right, how could it be so badly aligned? He'd need to inquire about it after the mission, for now he'd just have to put up with it. "Moving to a suitable position, I am beginning to run low on ammunition for my primary weapon. Alternative arms have been prepared."

Tarquin moves to 10,10!

-

"I'm sure once the big wigs get back they can sort something out. Might be worth taking the chance to be a bludger whilst you can!" Bill laughed, blissfully unaware of Christina's position. For all he knew she was just a visitor! "Haha, yeah, and I talk funny too! I'm from Down Under, a stone's throw away from Sidney. Mind you, I've been hanging with the seppos for a good while, and now I've ended up in space. That's a corker, isn't it?"

Swiftly removing the bag within Kim's trashcan, Bill wasted no time in swapping it with a fresh bag. "The television playing up? Can't say I'm a fan of that channel, too much buzzing for my tastes. I'm not sure if the reception's good in space, never thought about watching anything when you can see the moon!"

[Balcerzak]

The man in the mech Thorvald had clashed with for the second time was definitely a formidable foe, he found himself forced to admit that. If the organization he'd been working for hadn't stooped to such activities as it had, he could almost have seen himself respecting the fellow, whoever he was. But unfortunately for them all, such was not the case. Once again, the pair exchanged nearly equal amounts of damage, though neither was using the same weapon as they had in their previous pass, ample proof of their respective mastery of their machines. With the numbers stacked against them however, provided those rebel reinforcements ever reared their heads, the crew of the Heion could scarcely afford such a war of attrition, though. Thorvald grimaced as he was forced to the uncomfortable realization that, had Sgt. Talog not already deployed some of her nanites to effect repairs, his Legionary would have been mere centimeters from the scrap heap. As it was, it still wasn't doing so hot, and he certainly wasn't looking forward to the inevitable chewing out he was going to get from Bubbles after everything was wrapped up and they'd all docked back up on the Riese. Weapons systems were still all right though, plenty of juice for the beam cannon, though he was running low on gunlance charges.

As he was taking quick inventory, he caught motion coming from the periphery of the Legionary's rear-mounted camera. Quickly swivelling it to get a better view, he groaned aloud as he saw the hatch of Lt Kim's Velite swing open, her brightly colored form peeking out and unloading a full clip from her sidearm. Thorvald knew immediately what had happened. Hell, as upset as he was about the situation, he couldn't even bring himself to chastise her about it, as he'd pretty much tacitly allowed it... no, one might argue he even encouraged it, or maybe even mandated it. "Oh boy, Minnie, that is not what I'd meant. Not at all," he groused ineffectually to himself, watching nervously as the cockpit returned to a firmly closed position. He wasn't sure what effect her gamble had had, and honestly at the moment he didn't really care, he was too busy being thankful that none of their enemies had been in a position to capitalize on the maneuver, which was undoubtedly why she'd actually attempted it. The pair of Abby's remaining subordinates were dragging the critically injured Heracles of the man he'd just been dueling with back to their transport, after he was finally laid low by a distance shot from Elaine. As for the rebel leader herself, her days also appeared numbered, with Astin slamming home a final explosive hit that knocked the power clean out from the custom's systems, sending showers of sparks arcing from several of its joints for many long seconds.

A deep sigh. Was that it then, mission complete? Sadly the answer was a "no". An open broadcast from the Apotheosis lieutenant, who'd apparently survived Seung-Min's onslaught, coupled with the reports of gunfire from the freshly arrived rebel reinforcements were full testament to that fact. Fortunately, this news came with a bit of a silver lining, as Vera claimed to have no interest in fighting, being content to flee the scene with her hostage. Whether that was because of their ace's efforts, or the dogged resistance of that security robot, Thorvald had no idea, but given what they'd been told, and the captain's standing orders in light of that intelligence, he felt there was no better result they could ask for.

Speaking of that android... she had said not only that she'd subdued the threat to the scientists, but also that she was no longer able to fight. Clearly she'd somehow ended up wrong on both accounts, as Miss Maxwell had one way or another gotten her hands on this Dr. Watanabe, and against all odds Hannah herself had subdued and boarded one of the fleeing Heracles. Just what kind of monster was she? To even attempt a maneuver like that was insane, far crazier than even Lt. Kim's stunt had been. But rather than feel the terror he probably ought to at hearing her broadcast, as it was routed through to the group from Lt. Abram's craft, Thorvald couldn't help but find himself entranced with an almost macabre fascination. What exactly was going on in that metal brain of hers, what made her tick, made her push herself so far beyond what must have been her limits? If it had just been a drone model like he'd initially suspected, there wouldn't have been any sense of curiosity. But this, she clearly had some personally, even going so far as to affect a human name for herself out of her model's designation. Surely there was something more at work beneath the surface than nested conditionals and for loops.

No time for that right now, though, gotta focus on the task at hand. The mission they'd been handed down was to neutralize the rebels. Letting the Apotheosis member flee was a bit of a disappointment, as she likely was making off with the real objective behind this whole assault. But that concession was a necessary one, and arguably defensible as still within orders, when they would inevitably have to answer for that failure to Admiral Martison. However, the rest of this bunch still needed mopping up. Thorvald was a bit unsure they'd be able to do anything about that enemy freighter with the armaments they had on their ground models here, in his opinion they would have to leave the preventing of its escape as a task for the Heion, while they focused on the enemy's own mobile suits. Fortunately the majority of them were making matters simple, by meeting them head on. Whatever their actual objective was, that suited him just fine.

Astin quickly outlined a plan, and it seemed sensible enough, so he hopped on board with it, and radioed out directions to his own team. "Oni Leader's plan is sound, we've a brief chance to lick our wounds a little, we're taking it. Ares squad, move as near to my position as you can manage and we'll regroup so we can nail them on the next pass. Lt. Abrams, as you're still the only one with a direct line to Hannah, tell her to fall in with the group as well. Ordinarily, I'd have annexed her to my squad and given her a callsign, but as things stand she's going to be under your direct control. Welcome to life as a miniature squad leader, Oni 1." It was a very conservative formation they'd be lining up, and perhaps the enemy wouldn't take the bait, but it bought them some much needed breathing time at least. That said, Thorvald couldn't help but wonder if they'd manage to get things wrapped up before Hannah's predicted battery life wore down. Still... she'd been proven wrong before, and even if it did run out, they'd simply have to fall back to managing along without her Heracles support, like they'd been doing all along previously. Not the ideal case, but not the end of the world.

Now for the immediate business, putting this resupply module to good use. There were pleny of targets who could do well with a little bit of their pep refreshed, but which to choose? It was a bit of a complicated affair to use, he certainly wasn't as well versed in using it as one could be, so his target would have to come to him... Well, there was one now, Astin had just pulled up right alongside him in his Velite, which seemed to be basically running on fumes. Time to give him a new lease on life, at least until his chakram burns right through it all again.

Thorvald Resupplies Astin

Edited October 13, 2016 by Balcerzak

[Nanami Touko]

Thorvald resupplies Astin's mech!

He gains +100 EXP.

[riariadne]

"Hmm..." Dwight thought over Tristan's suggestion. It was a viable option, but perhaps still not the best available. "I'm not sure if that's the correct course of action to take either. Roxanna seemed interested with the possibility of captaining the ship, perhaps a bit too interested, but was rather quick to pass command on to you in a time of pressure. I think we are best off waiting until her return until we make any decisions of such magnitude."

[MechanicalBull]

Flavour later

Tal trust Hannah, move to 13-12, repair Dadvald

[Sandalphon]

[i'll figure some flavour out later since I'm in research hell to find the good sources about film theory for an essay right now]

Nikolai moseys on over to (11,11) and makes a wish under his breath (but it's probably something vulgar).

[Ether]

It didn't take long for the rebel reinforcements to close in, though Seung-Min managed to evade the incoming scattershot, and return fire with her bazooka. She was running relatively low on ammo for her higher-power weaponry, hopefully it wouldn't come down to that, as Seung-Min noticed the one mobile re-supply they had brought with them being used on Astin's Velite. Though they had a bit more pressing matters to deal with, as the open comm came from the Apotheosis Lieutenant, making it abundantly clear that her shot hadn't been quite enough... even if she hadn't had access to a medical kit in there, the specs on the machine broadcasted by Juria re-affirmed... she was practically untouchable now that she was inside that machine. Moving backwards to join the others in formation, Kim opened up a channel to the rest of the ANF squad.

"Oni-2, report. Took small arms shot at Apotheosis Lieutenant. Manage direct hit, centre mass... not enough kill. Pilot may be injure... unfortunate, several hit on legs, deflect, no damage. Must have pros... prosthetic? Not sure what made, use armour-pierce rounds. Apology... aim low avoid hostage, expect legs viable target. Should aimed higher, taken risk... has scientist, not much do inside that thing."

Kim to 12,12

[Dandragon]

Elaine opened her eyes and snapped out of her daze. She had to move closer to the group. She had to get her head in the game. She had to keep herself under control.

Elaine to 11-12

[Phoenix]

The pseudo promotion Thorvald threw at him wasn't unreasonable. Still, Brant doubted it would take more than a few seconds to get an open channel ready, making open interaction between Hannah and the rest of the team possible. With just a couple of minutes of help from her at the most, and the potential distractions open dialogue might cause, one could argue that communication with the android was better as is, limited, but immune to pointless chatter. Having gotten used to these particular remote weapons, Brant felt helping coordinate would be easy enough.

Kim reported in, her broken english a lot less cute than normal given the severity of the situation. From what Brant gathered, Vera was probably in a sour mood, first being fended off by Hannah, then being shot during her escape attempt. At least none of the scientists had been killed. There was still the one they couldn't quite save, though.

Brant quickly turned his attention back to the battle and the next wave of enemies. The models were all too familiar. The squad member who could use the most attention this time around appeared to be Oni Leader, so Brant flew in their direction while hailing the newest addition to the impromptu team. "Hannah, it's Abrams, we need you to get into formation with us. We're gonna stonewall this next group. Also keep us updated on your remaining power. Over." As soon as he'd finished, he'd arrived near Astin, and got his repair module working.

Brant moves to 12-10, activates Focus, and uses the Repair Module on Astin.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Phoenix

[Xinnidy]

Our name, Watanabe

Makoto was handling poorly after the Heracles' counter shot striking true, sending what was left of the riot shield flying, the Phalanx's left arm now sparking as its joint structure was compromised. "Ugh..." Inside the cockpit, the impact was softer, but still a reasonable shake. Makoto's heart beat faster as he thought the machine was a goner, but that turned out to not be the case. Not a direct hit. Goodness...

"Mother, are you fine?" The teen asked, making sure his mother wasn't in too comfortable a position. His hands were tied, piloting a Phalanx model wasn't simple, there weren't as many macro functions in its OS that aided the pilot during a mission, but that's what made it better for learning robotics and software. "If there's anything you need, I can pull back..."

"Don't pull back..." His mother replied, ever curt and silent. That wasn't like her, had it been the impact? Was the pain in her leg that bad?

These were thoughts cast aside as immediately as the broadcast by that Vera Maxwell or something came through.

"Doctor... Watanabe?!" Makoto felt himself sink. That wasn't real. It could just be a coincidence, it's not like of all places, dad was there. It's not like of all people, it was his father that had to be the one taken hostage, right?

"I knew it... we are here." Mai's head lowered, no longer the screen mattered. "Why did... why did you take me to see this?" She grabbed the edges of her dress, dirtied and torn from the concrete almost half an hour prior. "Your dad's workplace... these rebels are all over it. They must have wanted something."

"Whaaa--" Makoto was almost at a loss for words. "I didn't know that! I didn't know! Father never took me there! I-- I just know he was a researcher. I..." The young man was shaking at the information. Livid. Scared. Guilty. He didn't know to discern anymore as the emotions kept coming. His grip on the Phalanx's control panel grew loose. "I wanted to be one too..." If he'd known, it'd have been so different. He would have stopped them. he'd have rushed inside, be it a dozen of a legion of Heracles standing guard. He'd have tried.

"Ahhh... Damnit, mom! What do I do?" His eyes were glowing, on the verge of tearing up, he'd slammed a fist against the control panel if that stupid ground trooper wasn't the one reason they were alive. He settled for the air. "What do I do? What do I do?! They've got dad!"

"Can you stop that thing?" Mai retorted, she was curt, but there was more than exhaustion in her tone. She wasn't taking it any better. "Can your soldier friends stop it? Are you just going to watch your father get taken?" She was... livid.

There was no way his Phalanx would stand for much longer, and with the revolver's ammo almost dry... "I... I think they can--" His comment was cut short by the plan being passed around in the open channel. There was a chill in his gut. Why aren't they... He grabbed his receiver frantically.

"Hello? Ares Leader, are you there?" Makoto called out, "What's going on? That rebel has claimed to hold a hostage. Why are we giving in to their threats? Why... why are we falling back." There was no way... they were there to be heroes" They had taken out more than a dozen Heracles and their leader, and sent some packing with their tails between their legs! The Legionaries were mighty! The Velites were agile!

Why... why wouldn't they stand up against this villain?

Makoto moves to (11,11), reluctantly...

Edited October 14, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

Left Alone

Heads began to turn and murmur as their robot saviour left them, alone now, against the hordes of approaching robots. They'd been given two options; head back into the building, or find a robot. Considering there was still fighting going on, most were thinking the building was a good idea. Trevor gained his legs as soon as Vera embarked in her robot and started taking off. It was tragic to lose the good doctor, but he'd volunteered, and no one had the stones to try and stop him. He grabbed Melissa's shoulder after her speech, the rest of the civvies already on their way in. "That means you too, alright? You're crazy, I'm not gonna mince words, but you've been saving our asses. We should get back into the building, honestly. The rebels are busy, and it's the best cover we have.

He was sure she would follow, as he headed back inside. It felt silly to charge right back in after their drastic escape, but circumstances were circumstances.

Decisions, Decisions...

Tristan grimaced, but he didn't argue with the elderly man. He might not have had the rank on the ensign anymore, but he definitely had the seniority, and it would be wise to trust him. Jess would explain herself, and if the crew found her explanation satisfactory enough, then... As much as it annoyed him, she would remain captain. And hopefully not react like this, in the future.

Australia and Reception

"Oh, Sidney, then-- Right, an Aussie. The crew's so varied... It's kinda crazy, huh? All these people from all over the world working on the same ship. Kinda crazy, but kinda nice. All walks of life and all that." She nodded, thinking about it. Kim's Korean, Brant's from Russia, the Captain looks like she's at least Irish in decent... Bill's from Australia. So many different places! I wonder if we'll get to visit them all... I wonder if I'll even be here long enough for that. I'll probably be discharged and forced home with mom. A sigh broke her silence, seemingly out of nowhere.

"The reception should be fine, I've watched TV in space once before... Look, really, it's just--" She flicked the TV on, but instead of static, now every channel was just... Dead. Black screen. Nothing. "Huh... That's... Even weirder. Maybe something in the Riese's connectors is broken...? I dunno how a boat like this functions."

Mission, Start

"Affirmative!

Hannah was more than ready to assist, as far as her body would allow her.

"You may rout my radio channel towards the rest of your squad if it would allow
for smoother coordination during this combat. My battery is being powered by
the energy cells of the Heracles, but it is still draining steadily due to leakage. The
damage I sustained from my encounter with the Apotheosis lieutenant has caused
serious malfunction. Battery power at 12%. I will keep you updated, Lieutenant Abrams.
Joining formation!"

Hannah pushed the Heracles into overdrive and sped over to her designated coordinate. Her logistics did not understand putting her in the rear, and calculated that further combat should place her further up. She was expendable, and the ANF pilots were not.

Hannah uses Accel, moves to 11,10

All other player moves process!

Heals go through!

Enemy phase coming next!