[Log] Experiments in Terror - Part 3 of 3

[daddy_tank]

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley, somewhat distorted over the radio, "Oh /snap/!"

The Hunter wants to chase its prey, to put the wounded creature out of its misery, but it is neither blind nor stupid. Thraskar grew up in the concrete jungles of human space, not the verdant jungles of Sheya, but he knows how to use cover, and he can be obnoxiously agile when he wants to be. The Lieutenant leaps into the air as plasma fire rains down, grabbing hold of a branch, swinging over it, and then dropping into a crouch on top of it. The bush he was hiding behind is now a charred, smoking crater.

Thraskar tugs the quick-release strap on the rifle, and it falls into his hands as he darts around the bole of the tree, jumping onto another, higher branch as he does so. There is another rustle of leaves, and Davidson is in the air again, wheeling out of the canopy. This is followed by a sharp air- brake, which will put him... on the Shock Trooper's shoulders, if he times it right.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rei Ayanami, perhaps asking two questions at once, says, "What is that?"

Thraskar Davidson misses Roy Fokker with his Coming in for a landing! action.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono isn't using her EVO-3's radio anymore, which means all visual is simulated by whatever FUTURE RADIO she is using. However, the star-shaped pupils of her eyes are glowing bright red, and it looks like she tore the chest of her uniform off. Sadly, the camera angle does not allow for full inspection of this possibility. "I won't let him hurt anyone anymore!!"

Unfortunately for Thraskar, his body has already reached 'we did /not/ have to do this shit in the SOTC!' levels of stress, and he hits the ground beside the robot-alien-thing. He looks up, eyes gone wide behind his glasses, and attempts a hastily-aimed shot with the mass rifle. It's still a gravitic singularity, and it still projects enough kinetic force to tear through tank armor, but now it's being used in more of a 'back the hell off' kind of way.

Thraskar Davidson hits Roy Fokker with his The Hunter will return after this brief message from our sponsors. jab.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Sanger Zonvolt says, "We will have to see."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley, snarling at her own battle. "C'mon! Back the hell off!"

Nono's attack tears through the ranks of the zombies, however, the inorganic that caused the initial damage is thrown off and is still very much ticking, as the case may be. It lands on the ground with a guttural growl, before it leaps at the Topless girl, attempting to start all over again with the teeth and the claws and the gnashing of the teeth.

Beneath Nono, the Guntank is pulling an Optimus Prime on the zombies and Invid alike. Like abad Maximum Overdrive rift, the vehicle seems to be doing a number on the zombies and vehicles alike. And now, the Invid are starting to return fire upon the Guntank, plasma cannons raining down on the vehicle.

Rook's shot strikes true, lancing through the arm of Lieutenant Lewis. There's blood there - she finally drew some on him.

However, Lewis is nowhere near down and out as he counters laser fire with missiles. "Foolish girl! You fight well, but you will join us. I WILL MAKE YOU MINE!" Creepy much?

Sanger goes after Won at full force. The smaller man/mecha meld starts to parry away the blade as it strikes at him, diving, leaping and dodging aside the blows that are forced at the abomination.

Landing on the fist that slams into the ground, Won charges up the arm, slashing and cutting away as he attempts to cleave off anything that his blades can collide against as he finally goes for the mecha's eyes!

With Thraskar on the ground after the failed attack, the Shock Trooper stumbles backwards as the vehicle slames into it.

Betty, who was on the move, is forced to turn. "..no.. no.." she whispers, even as she raises her Gallant H-90, and opens fire on the creature.

Roy Fokker hits Nono with his It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark attack.
Roy Fokker misses Amuro Ray with his Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart attack.
Roy Fokker gets a glancing blow on Thraskar Davidson with his You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it attack.
Roy Fokker hits Rook Bartley with his You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes, attack.
Roy Fokker juggles Sanger Zonvolt with his You're paralyzed combo.
Roy Fokker juggles Sanger Zonvolt with his You're paralyzed combo.
Roy Fokker juggles Sanger Zonvolt with his You're paralyzed combo.
Sanger Zonvolt breaks Roy Fokker's combo.

The slashes come in, rapid-fire. Ordinarily, Sanger would take such blows and shrug them off - but a Gespenst is not his Type 0. The slashes leave deep cuts through it, and one finally hits a main power line. Sparks begin shooting from the mecha, and the Personal Trooper stumbles backward, damaged quite visibly by this. The pilot's lips curl into a frown, as he looks at the damage readings. "Damn. I've grown too careless, sometimes..."

Furthermore, the power line that was cut has disabled the weapon systems. The beam sword has deactivated, and the arms hang limp. A critical blow, and one that leaves him disabled. He grunts and spits out a few words into his radio.

Then, the Gespenst jumps, moving backward with a powerful hop.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Sanger Zonvolt says, "My Gespenst took too much damage. I can't defend myself, and must fall back. Press on! Bring them to justice!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Kill them all!"

Rook's still firing the Gallant, desperately, even as she tries to dodge the missiles. Lewis fires them too quickly, though, and she takes several of them through the armor, exploding on impact. Fortunately, the Cyclone has plenty of pluck. The blows aren't lethal, even if the heat from them does hurt like hell.

Hissing between her teeth, Rook shoulders the blows, fancy footwork carrying her backwards and avoiding the other undead soldiers. At the moment, her quarry is Lewis, and to crush like the insect he is this insolent monster. He thought he could take her? Make her his own? Yeah, right. This is Rook Bartley, whose wrath and disgust he's incurred. The Red Warrior. And the Red Warrior doesn't give up so very easily, either.

"Kill them all!" she roars into her radio, and at the same moment, she looses all of her missiles on the Invid-taken. She's also firing with her Gallant, seeking to punch through that armor in any way she can; one last desperate bid. "Send them all right back into hell where they belong!"

You hit Roy Fokker with your Both Barrels Blazin' super.

Nono breathes heavily. The air here may be toxic to humans, but to Nono, it is...no problem at all. She begins stomping forward, prepared to lay waste to anything between her and Lewis, whom she will probably try to destroy if she can get her hands on him...but the Inorganic comes back. She looks back at it, and scowls, about to simply yell it down, when it leaps on her and begins clawing. It tears and claws at her, beginning to finally pierce whatever obscenely powerful substance Nono's body is made of, leaving deep red marks along her bare flesh. Nono's eyes flash. "HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" she roars, and simply...punches it in the area around where the stomach should be, with all the force of a machine two hundred times her size and six thousand times her mass. "Leave me alone and I won't hurt you more!!"

Nono critically strikes Roy Fokker with her I Practiced This One On My Dog attack.

The laser fire isn't enough to put so much as a dent on the heavily-fortified Guntank, some of it just bouncing right off. There's a reason why they put it out there while the Gundam is veering about on the ground or in midair. Not very much can do it a lot of harm.

Still, a few alarms are flashing already. "Amuro," Hayato warns, "if they get through that armor, we're finished. You need to get them away!"

"...Right. Hayato, move it in a little closer." Hayato complies, and Amuro narrows his eyes. He knows where they are. He can't necessarily see where they will be, but he's hoping being able to keep them back will be enough.

And then, he slams his fist into Ryu Jose's favorite weapon, as the missile launchers activate and send forth volleys of missiles at the creatures.

Amuro Ray misses Roy Fokker with his ALL THE JOKE'S BEEN DONE BEFORE super.

Particle beams. Thraskar is once again made acutely aware of his status as a ground combatant as /someone/ opens fire with a heavy weapon. He leaps into the air again, trying his best to ignore his body's continued protests, and starts clawing at the air with his wings. Get airborne, get hidden, turn the t--AAUGH.

A particle beam gets too close, sizzling as it cuts past. Thraskar lets out a cry of pain, and falls back to the ground. He has enough grace to turn it into a roll for cover, albeit a clumsy one. Once he's behind cover (which would be a highly annoyed Invid, in this case), he returns the rifle to its release strap and swears loudly in Sheyan.

Bright blue blood is slowly soaking into torn camouflage fatigues.

"If I am, then so are you," whispers EY the Ghost Walker, the man with a Number instead of a name. "You work for the humans. You live in their world. You are willing to die to protect them, aren't you? If you're so proud of your savages and your mud huts and your ghost stories, why don't you slink off into the night and be done with it?"

"Go to /hell/."

deliverusfromevil

And the Hunter is back. Thraskar reaches into packs with both hands, priming two grenades at once, and then loosing them. "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, eh?" the sesheyan taunts, flinging one grenade at the swarming zombie hordes. The other is thrown at poor, lurching Betty.

But these are no ordinary grenades. They explode upon impact, Pyrenex igniting upon exposure to the air. It is like napalm, only much, much worse. "Then a little heat shouldn't bother you. Back home, we smoke bugs out!" he snarls.

Thraskar Davidson juggles Roy Fokker with his Gabrielite Rule #194: Napalm is your friend. Sometimes it is your /only/ friend. combo.
Thraskar Davidson juggles Roy Fokker with his Gabrielite Rule #194: Napalm is your friend. Sometimes it is your /only/ friend. combo.
Thraskar Davidson juggles Roy Fokker with his Gabrielite Rule #194: Napalm is your friend. Sometimes it is your /only/ friend. combo.
Roy Fokker breaks Thraskar Davidson's combo.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson is breathing heavily. "Make... sure it spreads in the right... direction."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "RIGHT!"

The Missiles slam into James's mecha, shattering the Cyclone's armor. He starts to release the parts of it, allowing the damaged vehicle to fall from him as the armor figure within instead. Lewis falls towards Rook, grabbing against her. Once there, he attempts to slam her against the ground at full force.

The Guntank's cannon fires, and the Invid it was aimed at moves aside, the powerful plasma cannons on the top of it starting to glow brighter as the Invid attempts to draw a bead on Amuro and his crew. When the cannons fire, they spew white hot death upon the vehicle.

The Inorganic Cougar is caught up by Nono. And ripped apart with a metallic shriek, as the metal rends, bends, and shatters. That is when Won - free of attacking Sanger, leaps onto the back of Nono's mecha, and drives his sabres into it, trying to cleave the girl out from behind.

Thraskar's grenade is true, the blast ripping through the Shock Trooper and Betty. The blast burns away the wires leading from the brain to the mecha, and she feels some semblance of control as she sends a radio to Thraskar.

[[...inside.. reflex furnaces.. still work.. overheat.. destroy... all.]]

And with that, she puts the Gallant up against the side of her head and pulls the trigger, while still set on 'destroy mecha' mode, the rest of her head vanishing within the blast.

Roy Fokker hits Nono with his Backstab! attack.
Roy Fokker hits Amuro Ray with his HEY, I LIKE FIRE, DO YOU LIKE FIRE! super.
Roy Fokker hits Rook Bartley with his Hey Baby, Let's Get Dirty! super.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson coughs. "Reflex furnaces."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Amuro Ray says, "AUGH!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Amuro Ray |Hayato says, "We can't hang on much longer, we're going to need to pull back..."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "...God rest her soul. She just sent me an override code for something."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "Bartley, what the hell is a reflex furnace, and how can I overload one?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley's radio transmits the sound of screeching metal, and something impacting the ground. Very, very hard. Silence.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson swears.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "...the SDF-1 runs off Reflex Furnaces, Thraskar!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "It's a reactor. Like the old nuke systems."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson pauses. He is probably grinning. "...Then I'll just have to find it."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Amuro Ray says, "C-can you do it, Thraskar!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Amuro Ray Meant ?
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rei Ayanami says, "I... it is likely near the rear of the ship..."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "Nono, Bartley, keep them busy. I am going to cleanse this with /fire/."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley coughs into her radio. "R-right... busy..."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono gh. "Alright!!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Nono will show them the power of HARD WORK AND GUTS!!!"

Unfortunately, while the Guntank can withstand a lot, the barrage of plasma is too much, and it rips through parts of the Mobile Suit's armor as chunks of it simply fly off or melt away. The two pilots are safe by sheer luck, though both have to shield their eyes.

"...Sorry, guys," Hayato radios, "we need to pull back. Too much damage! Davidson, if that's your name, everyone else, get 'em for us!"

"Yeah," Amuro adds quietly as Guntank starts to pull back, "good luck..."

Rook makes a fatal mistake in staying to see if her missiles struck her foe. In the time it takes her to try and get away, Lewis has already caught up to her. She tries to pull away from him, the augmented strength of the Cyclone's arm screeching and straining against the Invid-taken's grasp. Rook herself snarls like some kind of animal, desperate to get away; disgusted by the feel of his iron grip around her.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

The impact sends up a shower of dead leaves and loose loam, Rook herself beneath the weight and momentum of Lewis. Several things go 'crack' and 'crackle,' and her scream is lost to the further screech of metal threatening to deform. She brings an arm up against the hands that threaten to throttle her, desperate to keep him away from her throat.

Her other arm brings up the Gallant, and whether or not she's anywhere close, she attempts to fire point-blank into the leering face of the Invid-taken. He's disgusting. Everything about him is disgusting. The jungle swims around her, but her target is clear. Kill the traitor. Kill the monster.

"Get... hell... off...!" She pulls the trigger mechanism, and once that's done, she'll attempt to kick him off, claw him off, punch him off, pistol-whip him off, or do whatever she /can/ to get Lewis off her. His strength is well beyond human range, and Rook knows it -- she won't last long against him if he keeps that up.

You critically strike Roy Fokker with your Eat Energy Rounds, Part Deux attack.

A moment of weakness strikes Thraskar as Betty's corpse hits the ground. His knees start to buckle, and one hand gropes at his side, only to come away stained with blue. The Hunter is still in control, but it's not as strong; Thraskar is starting to filter through the aikai, and Thraskar wants to do nothing more than call in to Medical, take some painkillers, and maybe call in dead tomorrow. But right now, there is a hive that needs a visit from the exterminator.

Davidson breaks into a sprint, racing like a madman for the crashed ship-turned-Invid Hive. He draws his pistol as he runs, flicks off the safety, and starts searching the hull for anything resembling an airlock. Anything careless enough between him and his goal is going to get a severe case of lead poisoning.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley rasps into her radio, from somewhere in the ground. "Alpha--fighter --going to hijack if I get up--Cyclone can't ride--damaged--"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "..can you fly it, Rook?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "--Heh--" Several interesting sounds, like being throttled. "--find out--""
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Oh crap.. what form is it in? Legs out? Robot? VTOL?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "--Fighter--"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "We might need a quick getaway if this thing goes up the way I think it might."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley snarls. "--get /off/ me--"

Attacking Nono's mech would be kind of dumb, as she tore it in half and then hurled the top half like a supersonic buzzsaw through the enemy ranks a short while ago.

Right about now it is probably cutting through the forest.

Which is probably why Won instead backstabbed Nono herself. The sabers sink in, but...not very far. SOMETHING stops them, something deep inside of Nono's body...she staggers forward, pulling the weapons out of her backside, and whirls on Won. She stops, briefly conflicted - it's human! You're not supposed to hurt humans! It's..WRONG, you should be SAVING THEM!!

Spat in the face of our benefactors until the end...

"Not human anymore..." Nono whispers, and then smiles beatifically at Won. "Sleep well, OK?"

She punches him right in the chest, with strength reflexively reduced to be somewhat less than its usual battleship-crumpling power.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "..okay.. hoping this thing has the quick start. Below the throttle on the right side is a red switch. Flip it - should fire up the engines immediately. Right pedal, right thruster. Left leg, same. Throttle is on the right hand side. Push it forward and hold the control stick level!"

Nono gets a glancing blow on Roy Fokker with her FIST OF DEATH attack.

Thraskar faces moderate resistance as he rushes towards the forced open and smashed hangar area that was opened in the crash of the Archerfish. Several units open fire, trying to snipe the alien as it gets inside. From the hangar area, where other vehicles hang down, some half suspended on cables, others in launch positions that never deployed, wait.

The glow from the Reflex Furnaces can be seen dead ahead.

Rook throws James against the side of the Veritech Hovertank, which crumples against his strength as he slams into it. The REF Traitor growls, ripping open the armor to yank out the tank cannon/armor, swinging it towards Rook, before he squeezes the trigger, and a massive blast fires.

In the meantime, Nono collides with Won, and while she was aiming for his chest, he parries with a sword arm. This causes the ripping off of one of the saber arms off of the creature, which goes spinning across the air. Blood spews from the wound, as Won swings the other arm around at Nono, attempting to drive the still attached to him.

Roy Fokker juggles Thraskar Davidson with his They're Shooting At You! combo.
Roy Fokker juggles Thraskar Davidson with his They're Shooting At You! combo.
Thraskar Davidson breaks Roy Fokker's combo.
Roy Fokker misses Rook Bartley with his TANK CANNON. super.
Roy Fokker hits Nono with his Stabbies! [3 attack.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley coughs again. "Roger..."

Rook's slow to pick herself up from the ground, mostly because she feels like she's just been hit by a truck. Really, considering the superhuman strength of what's left of Lewis, she may as well have been. Great. A quick mental check as she climbs heavily to her feet, unsteadily. Broken rib, possibly. Cracked ribs. Several things got jerked out of line in her rather hasty landing. In other words, her body is more or less sinking into a world of pain.

And all because of that smirking trigger-happy zombie over there.

Rook wavers uncertainly, snarling and raising up the nozzle of her Gallant. She staggers a few paces before making a lunge for the Alpha Fighter. In its Guardian configuration, it lends itself to some truly convenient handholds. She's being shot at, though, and it's only quick reflexes that save her from being lightly char-broiled by Lewis' payload. She throws herself flat against the ground, letting the blast run overhead.

That would've been painful, yes.

Clawing at the leg, Rook moves to heft herself up onto the foot, scrabbling to climb all the way up to the cockpit. Hopefully, that zombie yo-ho out there won't be shooting at her while she does it. Just to make sure, she twists, grunting at the crackling sound coming from the vicinity of her own spine, and fires off several generous blasts from the Gallant. Then, she continues her climb. And through it all, one thought runs through her mind:

Wow, she's totally going to sleep for a week once she gets back to the SDF-1.

You critically strike Roy Fokker with your Eat This, Zombie Fiend! attack.

Thraskar remembers Hammer's Star. He was in Advanced Computer Science (CS 161, Room A-30, Section 41) when he first heard that doomed colonist's transmission, and it chilled him to his core. And then they went to Hammer's Star, and found that the system was barren of sapient life, and that the colony was a dusty crater.

Thraskar remembers the klicks. He's seen the casualty reports--the Star Force and Marines aren't used to fighting a hit-and-run foe, and God only knows how many people they've lost. God only knows how many of his brothers and sisters died in that pit, all because of some goddamn stupid alien roaches that didn't have the common decency to behave like civilized sapients and not blow the hell out of innocent colonists...

"#*!&ing roaches," Thraskar hisses, into his comm gear. "You don't care who gets hurt, do you? Is this some kind of joke, /prey/? Some kind of /game/?" A blast clips his leg. Blood splatters the deckplates. Screw the pistol--it gets fumbled back into place as Thraskar stumbles, but when he comes back up he's got the mass rifle again. Say hi to the punchy fist of God, Invid. Matter singularities--tiny, wrecking-ball-like bubbles of gravitic force--fly back at them.

"This is our justice," the sesheyan whispers. It ends in a low gurgling noise as another laser clips his arm. "And God's." The link goes dead. And /there/ are the reflex furnaces... And the code's still in memory. Come on, hackerboy, don't screw up now.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "I'm sending a Mom's Kitchen to you for extraction."

Thraskar Davidson critically strikes Roy Fokker with his You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby! You're gonna /die/! attack.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson coughs wetly. "Furnaces. At the furnaces."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley spits something. "Hell's Kitchen, more like... almost in th'... cockpit... god damn, don't these things have... friggin'... /ladders/?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "...Sleepin'... for a friggin' week... after this..."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson then mumbles something incoherent about a valor decoration. Half of it is in Sheyan, and not the nice half.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono, oblivious to automatic brain translation, "You shouldn't say that about his mother, I'm sure she was very nice."

Won's saber slices Nono's arm. Blood goes flying. She...smiles? "It's OK now," she promises, gently. "You don't have to fight anymore. I know you don't have a choice, but that's OK. I'll let you sleep real soon." She pulls back, and brings her foot around in a kick that could shatter six-inch armor plating. Nono's strength in this state is phenominal, but against this foe, somewhat impaired - something deep inside her holds her back. She can't employ her full strength on a human, even one who is so clearly suffering to her eyes. That would be nothing short of desecration.

Nono hits Roy Fokker with her Mang, Ima Gonna Kill You So Bad, You'll Wish I Dint Kill You So Bad attack.

Thraskar tears through the remaining ranks, finding himself in the Reflex Furnace area. A control panel is smashed in, however, the panel is still intact for code entry. James is smashed back against the tank again. As he goes down, the godling wannabe reaches down to attempt to start to LIFT THE HOVERTANK to beat down the Alpha with.

Nono shatters the other saber, causing it to fall to the ground. Unable to battle back that way - he leaps forward, attempting to smash his legs into Nono and try to crush her down.

In the meantime, from the Gate, a massive transport plane flies in, scrambling for the Hive area. As the Invid fire upon it, the craft starts to drop down, rear door opening. [[Someone call for a taxi? Get what you can aboard, and let's get the hell out of here!]] the pilot yells out.

Roy Fokker hits Nono with his Kickstart My Heart! jab.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Transport... here."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson laugh-hisses. "Soon as I'm done leaving 'em a--" Curse. "Goodbye present."

Davidson grins like a shark. The Hunter is all but gone now, but it served its purpose once again --the Lieutenant winces as he realizes that hey, getting shot /hurts/, but his fingers still work and that's what counts. Thraskar taps in the code, turns, and proceeds to run from the downed ship like the proverbial bat out of hell. /Stumble/ like the proverbial bat ouf ot hell, at any rate.

...Waitaminute. Thraskar presses an indentation on a black box on his belt, and a high-pitched whine emanates from the copse of trees where the bike disappeared. Seconds later, it comes flying out, and Thraskar clambers aboard as it halts at his position. With his transportation retrieved, he pauses just long enough to make an obscene gesture at Lewis before making for the dropship.

Maybe she's delirious or something. Rook fumbles with getting up to the cockpit, but her hands slip, and she falls right back down to where she started. In fact, her fall is broken by one of the boxes of fuel cells. Half out of reflex, she swipes several of them, clutching them in one hand.

She can't get a good grip on the slick alloy. She finally seems to realise that she's still in the damaged Cyclone, and she hits the thrusters, letting herself take a powered jump the rest of the way.

Her free hand closes around the nearest thing jutting out near the cockpit, and she drags herself up. The cockpit hisses open and she collapses into the seat. A glance is risked in Lewis' direction.

...Awww, snap, that's gonna really hurt if he tosses that thing.

She groans, prodding at her ribs. Everything hurts, man. Now, what was that Roy said about quick- starting the Alpha? Right... under the throttle, a switch. And from there, pedals. She reaches around, groping under the throttle until she finds the switch. Her other hand opens, and she lets the protoculture cells spill onto the floorboard. She'll take care of those later.

Flick. Flick. The switches don't do anything, and by this point, she casts a panicked glance over to Lewis. The cockpit won't close, either, which isn't much better.

"God /dammit/ why do I /always have this kind of luck/," she snarls, giving the controls a good closed- fisted whack. She casts another furtive glance in Lewis' direction. Damn. No, it doesn't look like he lost sight of her. "Damn thing been sittin' here too long... oh come /on/!" Another good whack, and she tries the switch again.

The cockpit hisses closed, and the afterburners scream to life. Vegetation close by is seared to a crisp. Rook reaches the throttle back before jamming it forward, eyeballing where the transport is. Good enough. She's going to have to learn to land, an do it really quick. This means she's not really paying attention to Lewis, but getting out of here alive ranks priority over gaping at the zombie dude.

Sink or swim, eh?

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "Present's delivered, no idea how long it'll take 'til cookoff. Get your asses aboard /now/."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley, sound of several switch-flicks, and then dead silence. "...God /dammit/ why do I /always have this kind of luck/." Another short pause, and then, the scream of engines springing to life.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rei Ayanami sounds distant and strangely flat. "Please. Come back."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "We're coming. Don't worry! I won't let them hurt anyone!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley snarls. Sound of several controls being manipulated none too gently.
"Come on, bloody bird, let's fly away home!"
Nono OOF. He's...very strong. Or perhaps Nono is merely out of practice? Either way, that kick hurt! She staggers away, but she keeps smiling. "You can't even hear me. But, that's fine." She's on the ground. She doesn't seem to mind. "Without your swords...well."

Her hands rise upward, and then she smashes them with maximum force into the ground.

A six-meter diameter CRATER explodes into being, showering Won with shrapnel and debris.

Hopefully that worked. Nono rolls away, and sprints for the...fuel cells? Yes. She begins picking up entire stacks and just chucking them at the transport's open cargo bay.

If the reactors go up in the meantime, well, Nono can survive planetary exit with nothing between her and the harsh fires of the atmosphere but some flimsy cloth, nukes can't be that much harder! Right? She may not stop to save herself unless someone tells her to, anyway - Nono is quite dedicated when the chips are down.

Nono hits Roy Fokker with her You Aren't Cool Enough To Kill Me attack.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson doesn't sound completely with it at the moment. "'f you don't, I'm asking Michael to hunt you down and smack you for i--" Pause. "/Ow/. Who threw that?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Sorry! It's hard to aim in a hurry!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson says, "--Nono, get your ass on board."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Oh, OK!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "I'm in the cockpit. I couldn't do it. Nono, what're you doing down th--" Clunk. Something bounces off the side of the Alpha. "--the hell...? Cells--oh /hell/. LOTS of cells. ...Nono, I think I love you."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono hee hee

The Veritech Alpha flies forward, stumbling and nearly falling nose first, before sliding into the back of the massive cargo bay. [[Shut down the engines!]] the pilot barks at Rook as he adjusts, flaring the engines as several pallets of cells land in the back of the aircraft. [[Is everyone aboard?!]]

Down in the Archerfish, the reactor core starts to flare, the reflex engines roaring to life. With no nacells to drive the power through, the Reflex furnaces continue to cycle up, increasing the glow in the area.

James hefts the remains of the Veritech Hovertank up, glaring around for a target, and notices the Mom's Kitchen nearby. The traitor turns to start to fling the massive tank at the anctient transport.

Won, in the meantime, is down for the count, torn asunder by Nono. He lies on his back in the muck, ribs shattered as he stares skywards.. and inbetween the cracks of the faceplate.. he smiles.

OVERLOAD - OVERLOAD

Nono gets the order to leave, so she does. She grabs two more piles (because Nono is nothing if not productive), and then simply...sprints at the back, and screams, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" as she does so.

For those paying attention to such things, she does in fact bounce realistically, despite being composed entirely of the terrible secrets of space.

She BOUNDS into the back of the Mom's Kitchen, drops the fuel cells, and...giggles. But her eyes don't stop glowing, because she knows there's THAT GUY still in the area...and if what's about to happen doesn't prevent him from attacking, Nono sure as hell intends to. A monster like that...the mere thought of him renews her resolve.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "In... transport. Alpha. Guardian." She pauses long enough to listen to something. Off-radio to the pilot of the Mom's Kitchen, "Just... fought zombies... from hell, so screw... you."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Lily Davies says, "You guys ARE okay, right?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Heh, heh... alive."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Nono did it!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Unlike... bastards... down there. Thanks... Nono."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Nono became a Topless and helped save everyone from evil people!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson swears. "...Tank. One second."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Yes, tank. Do you need me to kick it back?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "...Tank?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "He has a tank!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "Like, in his hands."

In the bay of the dropship, Thraskar... /jumps,/ and then blinks, slowly, as the Alpha comes to rest not quite ten feet away. Forgive him, it's been that kind of day. He peers out the back of the bay, doing a quick head count, and then swearing again as he sees James. Once again, he fumbles for his pistol, takes aim (please scope don't fail him now) and attempts a called shot to James' right knee.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Aw... hell. /Tank/. I couldn't... kill that one. Think a couple ribs are gone... shoulder. Grind him into the dust for me."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rei Ayanami says, "What is a 'Topless'?"
Thraskar Davidson misses Roy Fokker with his OMG WTF nerf pistols :( attack.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson transmits a charge pistol shot. And then: "...What happened to your shirt?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson still sounds dazed, for the record.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "The Topless are the only defenders of humanity against Space Monsters and other things! They say I can't become one because I'm a robot, but I did! -- see!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono seems to somehow be linking superpowers with the absence of shirts.
You paged Roy Fokker with 'Rook's playing ded in the cockpit, but sure. The top never closed, so she can leeeean over and take a shot. [3'
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Think I can still... get a shot on that bastard... hang on..."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono says, "It got stuck on my control levers so I tore it off!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rei Ayanami sounds faintly surprised. "You are a robot?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Lily Davies says, "I thought you told me that didn't matter."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Topless Nono makes a confused noise at Lily.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Lily Davies says, "The shirt."

Her hand falls, fingers clawed, to shut down the throttle. Rook collapses against the forward of the cockpit. "Just... fought zombies... from hell, so screw... you," she pants. She lets her forehead fall forward until the faceplate of the visor goes 'clunk' against the cockpit's controls. And then, she waits.

And stares. Because now Nono is right near to where the Alpha is, and she gets a look at her in all of her frightening glory.

Ugh.

She instead flashes Nono a thumbs-up, letting her hand fall forward. "Thanks..." For the fuel cells and the help, that is. She's gonna owe people drinks, after this one. Or /something/. First, she's going to the infirmary. Then, she's going to take a shower. And then she's going to sleep. For a solid week. She contents herself with sagging into the controls, glancing sideways to note the pistol-toting Sesheyan. Oh, wait. He's aiming at a tank-toting Invid zombie. Thing. "Ugh..."

Rook clambers up, letting herself collapse over one side of the cockpit. Oh, yeah, that hurts. She's still clutching her Gallant, though, and she crawls over to aim a shot at the figure of Lewis. She braces herself against the flooring, sprawled on her stomach to steady the firearm. That, and it's just too damn much effort to get up. One eye squinted to sight the shot.

"Rot in hell," she snarls, pulling the trigger.

You critically strike Roy Fokker with your Parting Shot~ attack.

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley snarls into her radio, but by the volume, she's not concentrating on it. "Rot in hell." Transmission of a Gallant discharge.

OVERLOAD... OVERLOAD... OVERLOAD...

And as the Mom's Kitchen tears out of the area to get the valiant defenders out of the area.. James gets ready to fling the tank as one shot slams into it's armor, and Rook's shot catches him in the arm, causing the tank to drop from the side..

James tears his way out of the armored ruins of the vehicle, preparing to run towards one of the remaining cyclones to get aboard to go after the Mom's Kitchen, tear off a wing, and finish off those that are within it.

And that's when...
There's a bright flash of light as the Reflex Furnaces escape their bonds.

The Reflex fires, hotter than the sun, rip through the Archerfish and the Hive, the unholy screams of Invid being cooked alive crackling through the air. James turns towards the entrance, where there's a dim glow, before the fires roll out to consume him. And he knows he's dead.

"...you sorry basta--"

____
____ , -- - --- -.
((( (( /// // ' \\-\ \ )) ))
/// /// (( _ _ -- \\-- \\\ \)
((( == (( -- (( )) )- ) __ )) )))
(( (( -= (( --- ( _ ) --- )) ))
(( __ (( ()((( \\ / /// )) __ )))
\\_ (( __ | | __ ) _ ))
,| | |
`-._____,-'
`--.___,--'
| |
| ||
| || |
, _, | | |
( (( (((( /,| __| | )))) ))) ) ))
(())) __/ ||( ,, ((//\ ) ))))
---((( ///_.___ _/ ||,,_____,_,,, (|\ \___.....__.. ))----

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] RDF Transport [Mom's Kitchen] reports, "Oh hell, that was a reflex explosion. Brace! Brace for shockwave!"

Nono, completely ignoring all warnings that she is in terrible danger, says, "Oooooh! It's so pretty!" as she peers out the windows.

Her eyes have stopped glowing. Sadly for the comfort of pretty much everyone, her shirt is still gone.
Nono switches armor modes to Goony Bird.

It's gone. They're cleansed. Cleansed with /fire/. Thraskar holds on tight, bows his head, closes his eyes, and waits.

Rook, meanwhile, scrabbles backwards, clambering up to the cockpit of the Alpha. It's a seat, at least. She collapses into the cockpit, splayed forward over the controls and rather content to either be semi- comatose, or quite near to it. Well, almost.

"Wake me up when we get back to the SDF-1," she mutters, and the Gallant drops from her fingers. "Need a damn medic. All of us." She picks her head up after a moment, then, glancing over the others. "And... thanks. You risked your lives for my sake."

As the plane rockets for the Gate, the shockwave slams into the rear of the craft, throwing it forward. Mom's Kitchen nearly drops from the sky as it hits the Gate - and pops out near the SDF-1. The pilots growl, fighting to keep the plane under control, finally making it to the SDF-1, sliding on deck, and coming to a halt in the arresting cables, as emergency crews rush to the aid of the Robotech defenders.

Roll End Credits...

Rook Bartley .... AquilineFury
Thraskar Davidson .... Eighteenwindows
Nono .... Doomlimit
Amuro Ray .... Smiko
Sanger Zonvolt .... TheAntiTexan
Han Solo .... DoTheDoo
James Lewis and Invid NPCs .... Daddy_Tank
Special Guest Star: Rei Ayanami .... Drew Barrymore.. err

[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Thraskar Davidson laugh-hisses. "Trick-or-treat, roaches."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Trick."