Refugee battle scene, pt. 1
WHO: Viral, Shin Matsunaga, Simon, Rossiu, Sinclair St. James, Shinji Ikari, Lord Genome. Holly Rivers too, briefly. A lot of people ended up having to leave for various reasons before the scene was over.
WHEN: October 14, 2007 (I know, I'm lazy about posting logs)
WHERE: Kamina City, Spiral Planet
WHAT: Viral has been protecting and supporting a village of humans who were forced to the surface and want to return underground. Today is when that will happen--except the return point is at the southern doorstep of Kamina City, home of the people who dragged them to the surface to begin with. It goes downhill from there.
High noon. It's a dangerous time, but to each risk there is a benefit. Enkidudu, for example, takes in the most power when the sun is strongest thanks to the nature of its power cells, and this is more typical of the man he used to be. After Simon caught him bringing Nally back to the other villagers--from his perspective, it looked like a kidnapping, and Viral can't truly blame him considering the circumstances--and with that and the appearance of Lady Adiane in the "future", it's more important than ever to make sure that the villagers are seen safely back to their home. It's for that reason that Viral is silently grateful for his allies; he had originally planned on quietly leaving the Syndicate once his honor debt to the villagers was paid, but...now he's having second thoughts. He'll make up his mind once Elly and Nally and the others are safe.
"All right. Now that we've gone over everything, let me summarize what we're here to do," the beastman says briskly over the comm lines from within Enkidudu, which stands on the prow of the Kogane. "Those villagers want to return to the underground, their home, and they must get down safely and quickly. We're going to protect them and fight any of Simon's flunkies that appear; we're on the very southern edge of Kamina City, so I'm sure they'll show up. There's no other place but here and no other time but now, so I /have/ to see the villagers through." A pause, and then a quiet, "I thank you all for your help. Grey Wolf, please give the command!"
Viral glances to the side then, at the hundred-some people massed together on the ground in the shadow of the Space Noah-class carrier. All of them are looking up at his Gunmen, and among them in particular, he can see a small girl waving up at him madly, as her mother stands over her...
"...hmph." He turns his yellow eyes back to the others. He /will/ keep his promise, no matter what.
Holly Rivers does not have much in the way of high-quality, high-military vehicles.
She is inside the Kurogane instead, wrapped up in a full-body set of robes, and in magical disguise; she looks like another human woman, and has given her name as 'Talia', one of Holly's employees.
Even the voice is different. "Understood," she says, sounding flat and uninterested. She leans a little heavier on her 'walking stick'.
Already on the ground, a few desert-camo covered Dom Tropens stand guard around the villagers, armed for bear. Grey Wolf, standing on the open hatch of his Kampfer atop the lower curve of the Kogane's bridge superstructure, made sure to keep them under close guard, and the heavily-armed and armoured Tropens seemed ideal for the job.
The man listens to what Viral has to day. The tails of his brown scarf whip slowly in the wind, his heavy grey overcoat doing likewise; he looks out on the scene through his heavily tinted goggles. Viral's words buzz in his earpiece. When it's over, he nods towards the looming form of the Enkidudu.
"All Crusaders and aligned units," he barks into the small radio hidden behind the scarf. "Move out! Let's get these people to their destination safely."
And with that he throws himself back into the seat of his mobile suit, kicking the hatch control; it clamps closed around him, viewscreens coming to life. His hands settle to the controls, feet setting against the acceleration and braking pedals lower down.
A quick thrust, and the Kampfer steps out onto the Kogane's main deck. "Kogane," he orders, "position the ship between the refugees and Kamina City. We want them to see a sign of a DC attack, and overlook the refugees. Or if nothing else, to attack the biggest target first."
And indeed, the Kogane begins to move.
General St. James sits on the shoulder of his Wyvern, leaning on the tip of a stinger missile casually. He listens to the speech and the instructions. "Roger that. Don't worry... I'll keep the Gurren Lagann occupied. I have business with Lord High Hissyfit." Climbing down the ladder, back into his Mechanised Standing Tank, Sinclair manually pulls the hatch shut, twists the doctor lock into place, then straightens his flight suit. It wouldn't do to look like a bucked of smashed assholes while in uniform. Hat secured in his pocket, he runs through the power up routine and pulls away from the group of Dom Torpins.
His matte black mech stands out in the desert sun which is the way that he wants it for now. Skidding smoothly across the sand as if it were ice, he snaps his assault rifle up into the low ready position. He does, after all, have something of a score to settle as well.
"...and that concludes the report," Rossiu says to the rest of the forces gathered here. "Viral appears to have been gathering people together in order to try and do something with them - he could simply be preparing to move them off to some sort of interment camp, or he could be trying to simply get together enough victims to appease Lady Adiane for the time being. We can't be sure what exactly his motives are, but he has been kidnapping a number of humans, and we appear to have some idea of what his route will be."
The second in command of Kamina city presses a button on the inside of his command APC, and a vague, winding path appears on the data maps of everyone in the security force squadron, as well as those IPA members who have shown up in support. "We'll have to spread out to intercept them, but we would like to have the humans he has captured freed and brought back to Kamina City. They're vital for our census count and citizen registration program, and we need to process them. At that point, we'll let them go - to continue on their way." Rossiu closes his mic and leans back for a moment, listening for any questions.
"All right, Rossiu..." Simon trails off, as he sits in the command mech. The Gurren Lagann towers over the battlefield, though it is concealed behind a hill partly. Its arms are akimbo, resting on the hips of the mech. It glints red, a stark contrast to the Gulaparl units. "It seems clear enough to me. Remember, everyone - don't risk hurting those people with Viral!"
He frowns, looking down at the monitor. He scans its with his eyes, but he looks at the path. He nods his head over the radio. "Everyone ready?"
Shinji Ikari doesn't have any. He also has decidedly /less/ sympathy for the Beastmen, after learning about their whole 'systematic genocide of humanity' schtick. He's not exactly /bloodthirsty/...well, not in the normal sort of way....but he's certainly not as guilty about fighting off the beastman hordes.
"Oh, um." Shinji blinks, realizing they might be waiting for him. "Unit-01's ready to launch, sir."
Something else is approaching. It's a ways out, for now, and it's a little hard to tell what it is exactly; between battle preparations and high-speed interceptors, the dirt-slow motion of whatever is approaching isn't really anything a scanner crew would worry about, except for one, problematic element.
It's /HUGE/.
But hey, maybe it's just a sandworm?
To be honest with himself, Viral is not thrilled with the idea of letting someone else have the opportunity to fight Simon after having come this far... But he's not going to argue the matter with Gen. St. James, given as his priority is the mission, not his pride. Watching out over the Dom Tropens for a moment before he turns his attention to the other Syndicate members, the Enkidudu's leg thrusters activate, bringing him soaring into the air as he watches sharply on radar for incoming enemies.
He's expecting Gulaparls, possibly other IPA forces, likely Simon himself after their encounter the other day... Viral's clawed fingers twitch as he thinks of the encounter, flying forward towards the city--there aren't any blips on his radar yet, but he expects that to change sooner rather than later. "There's no way they won't notice us," he growls. "When they show up, we'll send them running!" The Gunmen turns then, to look back at the people and forces on the ground. He can't see them thanks to the Kogane moving into the way, but that's fine; they should be able to hear each other. "The rest of you--we /will/ protect you, so get moving!"
There is a shout of agreement from the villagers, led by the village elder, at the head of the group. "You heard Viral!" the elderly man, roughened by years of excavation. "We're going home!! Everyone pick up and move--we can't waste this chance they're giving us!"
As the villagers do exactly that, in the crowd, a young girl named Nally looks up at her mother, smiling. Her mother, a long-haired woman named Elly, smiles back with affection, and they take each other's hand before starting to move.
"Are you scared, Nally?" Elly asks quietly.
"Nope!" her daughter replies cheerfully. "Why should I be, Mommy?"
Sinclair does the one tactically unsound thing he just can't resist doing. He charges forward in a blaze of glory. In fact, he charges forward ahead of everyone else.
The Wyvern Prime comes coasting over the sandy hill, firing its rifle at range. Several tons of titanium and steel are launched into the air at a downwards arc from the forward velocity, the hill making an effective ramp for the MST. After landing and snapping off a few scattered shots, the General's machine swerves to the left and starts to coast back the hell around the hill at top speed, back into the range of the Kogane's guns.
A trap, maybe?
Well, that was the origional intent, but Sinclair didn't expect to more then a squad of Gulaparls and the Gurren Lagann, never mind that mess of units PLUS an Evangelion? Screw. That.
Scanners aboard the Kogane begin to bleep fitfully at the crew. Commander Jessade looks over the shoulder of an operator, eyes widening a little; she brushes her green hair back under her captain's cap. "All units be advised," she calls into the comline, "we are detecting an extremely large signature approaching at very low speeds. It's too far out to identify."
Grey Wolf's eyes narrow a little. "Can you tell if it's IPA or an ally?"
"Negative, but it isn't coming from Kamina City."
"Keep me appraised. If that thing is a threat I want to know its combat abilities, strengths, weaknesses, point of origin, and pilot's mother's hairdresser's maiden name and I want to know yesterday, are we clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
The Kampfer lowers to one knee. Its usual backpack mount is absent today; rather that dual rocket launchers, it is supporting a compact energy reserve and two braces, one of which holds a huge sniper rifle similar to that employed by the GM Sniper line. Grey Wolf brings the weapon forward and extends its long barrel, peering through it towards Sinclair's avenue of movement. The sight itself extends a little more, extending the mobile suit's visual range even further.
"There's a whole shitload of 'em," grumbles the Grey Wolf, tugging down his scarf and dispensing with the voice device for now. It's distracting him. Nevertheless he focuses the rifle's sights in on Gurren Lagann.
And he fires a single shot from range, aiming to blow one of the Gurren's eyes out with a high-powered slug.
Sinclair St. James says, "Hornet's nest stirred. Get ready to recieve targetting data, Kogane."
Commander Jessade says, "Roger, Black Wyvern. All weapons systems armed and ready to receive telemetry."
"Sir, we have a long range sighting of Syndicate units. Some of them are matching the signatures we have of Divine Crusaders from our previous battles," one of the Gulaparl pilots transmits over the radio. Truth be told, a heavily armed and armored escort like this had its own advantages, but being stealthy was not going to be one of them. The Gulaparls all confirm the sighting, and rocket into the air -the screen of pilots will form their initial wave that will draw off the Divine Crusader defenses and give the aces a chance ot move in and cause some real havoc - and hopefully get away with the captured humans.
The whirling screen of Gulaparls swoop along, but hold their fire until the DC forces open up, to avoid any stray shots hitting the hostages. In the meantime, Rossiu follows along in his command APC, looking for a good place to put up the spiral radar so he can get a good view of what is going on in the battle. He pauses though, raising one hand to his ear. "What's that? We're getting a report of a large contact moving underground..."
Sinclair gets Simon's attention first. His eyes widen, when the aerial MST flies in through the air - the rounds exploding amidst the Gulaparls and near Simon's Gurren Lagann. He grits his teeth, and then lifts up. That MST is recognizable to him; he had looked up what unit was preferred by Sinclair St. James, when he decided to go up against the man.
Then, a massive shot comes flying in. The round rips into the Gurren, smashing through the bladed shades on its chest and into the cockpit. Smoke comes spewing out of it, along with fire. "They're on us!" he barks. "Let's get 'em!"
The Gurren Lagann lifts upward, flying into the air. Simon knows the Gulaparls will do the same; sand comes blasting outward in a circle, as he takes his super robot to the air. The Lagann turns, its head scanning the enemy forces - noting the Kogone, the Kampfer, the Wyvern Prime, and finally, the Enkidudu. "I don't know what you think you're trying to do, here... but like HELL am I letting you just kidnap these people!"
The Gurren Lagann produces its drill lance by swinging its arm out to the side. The weapon manifests in a burst of green spiral energy, before he unleashes a sudden wave of small missiles that come tearing from its joints. Their tips have drills - and they hurtle towards the Wyvern, it would seem.
Then, they break downward - shooting towards the dirt and at the line connected to the Kampfer's sniper rifle. He needs to dispense with that, first - and then get to the two men who really get under his skin, here. "Viral! St. James! What are you doing here?!"
Simon gets a glancing blow on Sinclair St. James with his Drill Missile... FEINT! feint.
The frighteningly purple form of Evangelion Unit-01 stays near the rear, for the most part. There's a variety of reasons for this. Perhaps most important...
"Did you KNOW?!" Shinji screamed, sending a kick that knocked over the desk, spilling Ayanami's papers, her gift, her flowers, her pills all over the hospital room as she came as close as Rei Ayanami ever did to cowering...
...is that he wants to keep a hold on himself. Plus, he's a big target, so Shinji figures a little inobtrusiveness couldn't hurt.
Sinclair St. James says a dirty word.
Sinclair St. James says, "Kogane, C-Z is too hot to stand around with a lazer pointer, my apologies, but that data's gonna take a little more time to get for you."
Commander Jessade says, "Understood, Black Wyvern. We'll manage."
Sinclair St. James says, "Roger that."
The mountainous signature continues to approach at speeds approaching the downright glacial - although, it is speeding up, just a little.
As it gets closer, scan data becomes available. Metallic, definitely. It reads like a solid lump of material, which means it's either a roving block of steel (unlikely) or has armor thicker than anything else on the field (more probable). It's not sending any indication of whether it's friendly or not, but it's not opening fire, or even warming up any weapons systems, even. Maybe it's a Jawa caravan that got lost?
Robot Sandworms is also still on the table. Robot...surface-dwelling sandworms. Yes.
Deep within, a small creature, like a talking armadillo or something of the sort, stands on an upraised deck, watching the various monitors around him. "So, this is the future, eh?" the little thing grunts, puffing on an extended pipe and looking duely unimpressed. "Pathetic. Humans should never play at civilization! This is no better than their lot in our own empire!"
"Mmmmm," hums the figure behind him, enormous, sitting on the bridge's command chair and wrapped in white robes and nubile women in equal portion. "It is the way of their race. They cannot exist without pain. While one prospers, a thousand must suffer."
"Hnnn!" snorts the armadillo man, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke at the head of one of his anteater scanner crew. "What a useless way to live."
"Quite," says the tall man, standing up as he looks at something on the scanner screens. "I see the combat is beginning. I'm going."
Hnn," mutters the little creature, turning a cocked eyeridge upon his liege and lord. "You're sure that's such a good idea? These humans are no match for my Dai-Gundo."
The tall figure stares down - his eyes, with spirals emblazoned upon them, are cold and hard. "Are you questioning my decisions, Guame?"
Guame the Steady stares back at his lord with nothing more than a tense, steady gaze, broken only when the Spiral King, without another word, turns and continues on his way out.
"The same thing I do back home," St. James replies to Simon's demands. "Fighting for what's best for these people." The MST twirls around, coasting backwards on its own momentum, as the little green laser pointer on its left shoulder comes online. The General points it up at the squad of Gulaparls, keeping it steady on the lead mech so that the Kogane's heavy guns can reduce their numbers greatly in one volley.
But as the drills come spiralling in, the Wyvern Prime deaks to the left, dodging out of the way of the drills and breaking laser contact. Ironically, this takes the General's mech into the line of fire as the projectiles alter their course. Shoulder armor is sheared off in good order. With a grunt, the assault rifle is snapped up, with several shots fired at the Gurren Lagann's midsection. Right now, St. James is really wishing he had a flying mech.
Sinclair St. James hits Simon with his Three Round Burst jab.
The Crusaders don't seem particularly interested in taking the bait; the Zeons, at least, are not being drawn off. In fact, the escorting Dom Tropens, though they do keep weapons in hand, hold their fire, not wanting to endanger the civilians they're escorting.
Aboard the Kogane, the lovely Commander keeps the Crusaders up to date: "We're getting new readings on the approaching unit. It appears to be extremely heavily-armoured - possibly some sort of land tank."
"Or a robot sandworm," puts in a crew member.
Grey Wolf still hasn't pulled the scarf up. "Whatever it is, Dom Tropens, stand ready. If it decides to show its face and it turns out hostile, vape it."
A few affirmatives go up from the crew; the man in the Kampfer hears them only peripherally. He's still sighting into the horde of Gulaparls with the rifle - only for the gun to be hit with drill missiles and reduced to scrap metal. The commander growls in irritation and throws what's left of the destroyed gun off of the ship; it hits empty ground in pieces. Thanks a lot, Simon. "Kogane," he barks. "Target that screen of Gulaparls. Let them know we mean business."
Turrets along the Kogane's hull swivel and take aim, missile ports opening up. Rather than surrendering their position, the Crusaders let their ship do the dirty work; huge bolts of blue-white impact cannon fire and a thick cloud of anti-air missiles sheet en masse towards Rossiu's team. The Kogane is one heavily-armed ship, and its weapons just might be sufficient to thin out the squad without compromising the defense around the refugees.
At this point, stealth is sort of a silly concern. Viral has used discretion over the past several weeks, but at this point, he would rather be certain they're protected than undetected, because at this point they probably *won't* go undetected anyway. Never mind his run-in with Simon; they're right on Kamina City's doorstep.
The beastman frowns at the news Commander Jessade sends to the Syndicate units. He has a bad feeling about that, and he tries to convince himself that it's not what he thinks it is; still, it's because he knew Adiane had appeared in this plane that he asked for support, didn't he? For now, all he can do is fight and see how they refugees can be protected.
He smirks at Gen. St. James' bold maneuver, silently approving; however, Viral doesn't follow suit, knowing all too well that, for him, that would just be asking for it. There's a time and a place for these things, and while this is definitely the place, it's not quite yet the time.
No, the time comes when Simon charges forward with his drill, aiming for Sinclair's Wyvern. All four blades are drawn in a single smooth motion, and although the blue-haired pilot isn't aiming for him yet, Viral keeps his eyes on him as he provides support fire against the Gulaparls, in the form of tightly aimed missles against the hearts of the groups. The majority will surely be engaged by the Kogane's forces, but Viral isn't going to sit back and do nothing.
"We're here because I promised someone. For that matter, we *aren't* kidnapping anyone," Viral snaps back at the Commander-in-Chief. "But if that's what you want to think, /Commander/, SO BE IT!!"
The blip behind him in his radio draws Viral's attention briefly; now that it's coming closer, he wants to confirm what it is. His eyes narrow and his teeth grit as he recognizes the shape. "Tch--the Dai-Gundo... Damn it!"
On the ground, the refugees are making good time; there are some shouts as firing commences above them, but the elder is a stalwart man, and keeps shouting for them to move along. The underground cavern, a large yawning hole some hundred yards away, is in sight--it's just a matter of getting there and getting everyone safely inside.
Viral swears quietly. "The Dai-Gundo... Tch!"
Shin Matsunaga, without the voice device, "Hostile?"
Viral says, "Without a doubt. That's the flagship of Guame the Steady, one of the Four Holy Generals. So it's not just Lady Adiane after all..."
Shin Matsunaga says, "I hope that you aren't under an obligation to THIS one."
Viral says, "No."
Shin Matsunaga says, "Good, because if he so much as looks at those refugees funny he's vaped."
"What is it, Rossiu? Do we have any idea, yet?" Simon asks, with a frown. The Gurren Lagann arches - but, he sees the Wyvern Prime aiming something at the Gulaparls - something that increases the accuracy of the Kogone, it seems to him. He grits his teeth, feeling his face redden with anger. "Yeah? I'd like to know what your definition of protecting people is, then!"
He pulls up the long drill, holding it like it might be a cavalier's lance. The Gurren Lagann flies forward, its speed increasing, and he tries to slam the drill lance into the Wyvern. "If you're not kidnapping them, then what in the hell are you doing here?" he shouts at Viral, as he finishes his aerial charge at Sinclair.
Much like a charging knight, as he finishes the run, he fires the thrusters - and the machine turns around in midair. Flame plumes out of both wings, blue around the edges, and holds it in the air.
Simon hits Sinclair St. James with his Midair Knights attack.
Viral says, "I wasn't present for Lord Guame and Lord Cytomander's deaths; I have no obligation to them. On top of that, Lord Guame was the most familiar with Lord Genome. The only problem is the fact that Dai-Gundo is armored heavily enough to withstand a direct impact from a crashing ship."
Viral says, "It's somewhat more vulnerable from underneath; that's how Simon destroyed it and killed Lord Guame seven years ago. The best tactic I can recommend is attempting to flip it over somehow. It shouldn't be able to move then, either."
Viral says, "Tch... It's surreal, talking like this about my former commanders..."
The Gulaparls aren't able to completely dodge the barrage, but they do go to evasive action as the Kogane opens up with its weapons, many of them flying at high speed in every direction, shooting down missiles and doing their best to evade shots from all sides. However, the price that they're paying it telling - several are hit, and come crashing to the ground, damaged and out of power, or their maneuvering systems shot by explosions, bullets or shrapnel.
Rossiu pulls up the radar identifier - he was expecting this to be Adiane's unit, given what had happened last time... but he curses after a moment, and moves to the transmitter. "Bad news, Simon! It's a another old unit - we've got it on records from the battle of Teppelin! It's the Dai-Gundo! Viral's brought in another one of Lord Genome's generals to assist him." He curses, and checks to see if anyone else can respond to the battle. He's called in most of the Gulaparls that they can spare. "They're probably going to massacre the humans, if that mobile fortress is here. If it's Guame..." Well, they knew how ruthless the stodgy old armadillo was.
Unit-01 stood, looming over its friends and enemies, its eyes dull and waxy. Its pilot feels much the same way, a tight ball of guilt, uncertanty, and plain ol'misery filling him...
And so, Unit-01 takes a step forward, holstering its pellet rifle and just /fireing/ into the ranks of Divine Crusader and Beastman grunts like it was a tommy gun and Shinji was working for Al Capone. He's mostly trying to force the minion-types to pull back, giving the refugees more time to run the heck away and the Sheep more time to get a solid perimiter.
Also, shooting stuff was thereputic.
"Shi--" The Wyvern Prime dodges to the side just in time to not be impaled by a drill as large as it is. Even still, it takes a heavy hit to the side, metal armor ripping loose with ease as Sinclair's cockpit is missed by mere feet. It's a testament to his skill that he survived.
The Wyvern Prime skids around quickly, the light and nimble MST swerving around to stay behind the flying Gurren Lagann. Sinclair opens fire, tracer rounds streaking up into the air. Thankfully, that large mech presents a heck of a large profile silouhetted against the sky.
Sinclair St. James hits Simon with his Full Clip attack.
And that is when things go directly to Hell.
The mountainous, enigmatic contact suddenly simply stops, not terribly far removed from the battle...and then simply sits there for an instant.
This is when the first heart attacks will come in, because now, this close, and as the sand dies down, its identity can be confirmed by those who know of it.
It's Dai-Gundo. The personal fortress-Gunmen of Guame the Steady, oldest and most revered of the Holy Generals of the Spiral King.
But there's only so much time to panic. Because something else has changed, a strange, powerful energy signature from deep within that was never there in any previous encounter. It's identical to that of Gurren Lagann. And that can only mean--
The eyes on its massive face sparkle brightly, and then the mouth opens wide to reveal a launch catipault. Two seconds later, it serves its purpose, launching an approximately Gunmen-sized contact which whirls through the air, impossible to make out on scanners simply because of how fast it revolves and moves, and then spinning rapidly it impacts with the hard clay of the blasted deserts, spinning around and around as it dissipates momentum, spinning so hard that it actually kicks up a thick, choking cloud of debris and sound! And through it all thunders a voice, baritone, thundering...familiar, to some here.
"Foolish humans who have risen above their station...Is this the shape of the world you've built with the years you won? Pathetic."
From deep within the dust cloud, a series of tendrils whip out toward the Gulaparl screen, expertly aimed to tear through their vital systems and send them crashing down. Another set emerges.
"Humans, it is time for you to return to where you belong! I will send you back beneath the soil..."
The dust settles.
...it looks disturbingly like Gurren-Lagann. But not, at the same time. It is tall, in all black, with minor highlights in red. It is also much more lithe. It has no mouth, but there is a second pair of eyes in its chest, in addition to the eyes on its head; both are yellow. It is covered in small nodes, into which those drill-tentacles it just threw return, its fists recoiling slightly from the force. It has an enormous horn on the front of its head, and an even more massive tail coming out of the back, and those who remember that war of long ago will identify it even before the computer does:
"...with this Lazengann!"
Lord Genome switches armor modes to Lazengann.
Lord Genome misses Rossiu with his SURPRISE attack.
Shinji Ikari says, "-that's my horn, you jerk!"
Shin Matsunaga says, "Whatever it is, it's reading like the Gurren Lagann."
Viral says, "........"
Viral says, "That's--wh-- How can that be!?"
Shin Matsunaga says, "Focus! Who is it?"
Viral says, "That's LORD GENOME'S personal unit!! What the hell is he doing here himself!?"
Shin Matsunaga says, "The Spiral Emperor himself?"
Sinclair St. James says, "Shooting Gulaparls, don't question it so long as he doesn't shoot our guys."
Viral ggkh... Tightly, "Yes."
Shin Matsunaga grinds his teeth. "I don't like cooperating with genocidal maniacs. After we deal with the Kamina City forces, we'll handle Genome." Then, "Scheidel! Get the refugees to the underground, double time!"
Anders Scheidel says, "You can count on me, sir, hm hm."
"Hmph--I wonder if you'd believe me if I told you?" Viral growls, maneuvering the Enkidudu to a middling range not far from the Kogane, to maintain a protective position between the Kamina City forces and the fleeing refugees. When Gulaparls break down and fall, Viral is there to smash into them with his swords to keep them from falling too close. He is sure to strike well away from the cockpits, however; it's dishonorable to cut down a defeated enemy.
As he does that, Viral scowls over at Simon as he continues his fight with Sinclair, and continues, "You and Kamina fought seven years ago to free humans from the Spiral King's oppression--to give them the right to live on the surface. But has it ever occurred to you that some may want to live underground, where they were born and raised?"
There is no time to continue in that thread, however, because it's that that moment that the Dai-Gundo is made completely clear, and not only that, the single Gunmen it launches... Viral's expression goes from concern to surprise to horror in the span of several seconds, and the sound of Lord Genome's voice is like a heart-stopping blow to the chest. "But that--wh-- How can this...!?"
During his time, Lord Genome *never* left Teppelin personally to deal with anything. To see the Spiral King here, in person, in his custom Gunmen is something Viral has trouble wrapping his head around, even as he informs the Divine Crusaders of whom that is. He knows that is him, that it *must* be him, but at the same time--he doesn't want to believe it. But things don't change regardless of what he believes and doesn't believe; Kamina proved that. Landing on the ground between the Spiral Empire machines and the procession of refugees, the white Gunmen faces the black Gunmen with swords held somewhere between defense and attack...even though the pilot knows that he has no hope of either against that opponent.
"Lord Genome..." he growls, a war of emotions battling in his chest with deep, bitter resentment taking point. "...why are you here?"
The Crusaders are beginning to realize what's happening. Accordingly, the Dom Tropen contingent spreads out a little, weapons loaded and at the ready for whenever the Dai-Gundo decides to put in an appearance.
The first line of defense continues to be the Kogane. The scattering of the Gulaparls draws its fire in different directions, but it doesn't seem to be thwarted by this. A powerful field flickers to life around the warship, though it seems that few attacks have come in; the E-field, however, is armed and ready for when they do. Presenting its broadside - quite a substantial one at over a kilometer long - the huge carrier blasts away at the Gulaparl team, lasers, rockets, and now a couple of large torpedoes lofting into the midst of the swarm.
Curiously enough, the shots divide away from Lord Genome and give the Spiral King a wide berth.
One thing's for sure: the Dom Tropens are moving quite a bit faster now, most of them keeping weapons - machine guns and giant bazookas - at the ready in the event of the Dai-Gundo or the Lazengann attempting to stop the refugees from reaching safe haven.
Yet Viral doesn't stand alone. There is the sound of a weapon loading - a large beam rifle in the hands of the grey Kampfer. It looks like the beam rifle from a Gelgoog Jager. For the moment it is not aimed at the Spiral King... but the Kampfer is not far from the Enkidudu, and the gun isn't exactly at rest, either. A silent assurance that Viral is not alone.
Grey Wolf is silent for the moment.
Shin Matsunaga's voice lowers. "Viral. If he tries anything, we stand a better chance if we work together."
Viral growls. "Agreed. I appreciate it, Shin."
"What...?" Simon asks, his eyes blinking slowly. Things begin to make sense - the way that the girl seemed to not be scared of Viral, when the Beastman brought him down. The fact that the Kogone's position might be to protect the refugees, rather than to corall them into the cave. His eyes go wide, then; why were they trying to stop this? What was the reason?
"That's--why the hell didn't you tell me?!" he shouts at Viral. "That was idiotic of you! That was..." And then, it comes - his sensors pick up on a second Gurren Lagann. "Damn it, you idiots! None of this makes sense, you damn idiots! This is--"
But, the impossible proves true - that signal that could not be right, that he hoped was his brother, is instead what he dreaded. The black Lazengann, mighty Gunmen standing tall on the sands that it may have helped blast into existence. Simon stares at it. "LORD GENOME!" he shouts. "This isn't your place!"
And then, the machinegun rounds from Sinclair hit - fired before Lazengann appeared, but decisive nonetheless. They slash into one of the wings, cutting it off. And it goes down, plummeting to the ground. It hits the earth, not far from Enkidudu, and sends up a wave of sand.
"Shit!"
WHEN: October 14, 2007 (I know, I'm lazy about posting logs)
WHERE: Kamina City, Spiral Planet
WHAT: Viral has been protecting and supporting a village of humans who were forced to the surface and want to return underground. Today is when that will happen--except the return point is at the southern doorstep of Kamina City, home of the people who dragged them to the surface to begin with. It goes downhill from there.
High noon. It's a dangerous time, but to each risk there is a benefit. Enkidudu, for example, takes in the most power when the sun is strongest thanks to the nature of its power cells, and this is more typical of the man he used to be. After Simon caught him bringing Nally back to the other villagers--from his perspective, it looked like a kidnapping, and Viral can't truly blame him considering the circumstances--and with that and the appearance of Lady Adiane in the "future", it's more important than ever to make sure that the villagers are seen safely back to their home. It's for that reason that Viral is silently grateful for his allies; he had originally planned on quietly leaving the Syndicate once his honor debt to the villagers was paid, but...now he's having second thoughts. He'll make up his mind once Elly and Nally and the others are safe.
"All right. Now that we've gone over everything, let me summarize what we're here to do," the beastman says briskly over the comm lines from within Enkidudu, which stands on the prow of the Kogane. "Those villagers want to return to the underground, their home, and they must get down safely and quickly. We're going to protect them and fight any of Simon's flunkies that appear; we're on the very southern edge of Kamina City, so I'm sure they'll show up. There's no other place but here and no other time but now, so I /have/ to see the villagers through." A pause, and then a quiet, "I thank you all for your help. Grey Wolf, please give the command!"
Viral glances to the side then, at the hundred-some people massed together on the ground in the shadow of the Space Noah-class carrier. All of them are looking up at his Gunmen, and among them in particular, he can see a small girl waving up at him madly, as her mother stands over her...
"...hmph." He turns his yellow eyes back to the others. He /will/ keep his promise, no matter what.
Holly Rivers does not have much in the way of high-quality, high-military vehicles.
She is inside the Kurogane instead, wrapped up in a full-body set of robes, and in magical disguise; she looks like another human woman, and has given her name as 'Talia', one of Holly's employees.
Even the voice is different. "Understood," she says, sounding flat and uninterested. She leans a little heavier on her 'walking stick'.
Already on the ground, a few desert-camo covered Dom Tropens stand guard around the villagers, armed for bear. Grey Wolf, standing on the open hatch of his Kampfer atop the lower curve of the Kogane's bridge superstructure, made sure to keep them under close guard, and the heavily-armed and armoured Tropens seemed ideal for the job.
The man listens to what Viral has to day. The tails of his brown scarf whip slowly in the wind, his heavy grey overcoat doing likewise; he looks out on the scene through his heavily tinted goggles. Viral's words buzz in his earpiece. When it's over, he nods towards the looming form of the Enkidudu.
"All Crusaders and aligned units," he barks into the small radio hidden behind the scarf. "Move out! Let's get these people to their destination safely."
And with that he throws himself back into the seat of his mobile suit, kicking the hatch control; it clamps closed around him, viewscreens coming to life. His hands settle to the controls, feet setting against the acceleration and braking pedals lower down.
A quick thrust, and the Kampfer steps out onto the Kogane's main deck. "Kogane," he orders, "position the ship between the refugees and Kamina City. We want them to see a sign of a DC attack, and overlook the refugees. Or if nothing else, to attack the biggest target first."
And indeed, the Kogane begins to move.
General St. James sits on the shoulder of his Wyvern, leaning on the tip of a stinger missile casually. He listens to the speech and the instructions. "Roger that. Don't worry... I'll keep the Gurren Lagann occupied. I have business with Lord High Hissyfit." Climbing down the ladder, back into his Mechanised Standing Tank, Sinclair manually pulls the hatch shut, twists the doctor lock into place, then straightens his flight suit. It wouldn't do to look like a bucked of smashed assholes while in uniform. Hat secured in his pocket, he runs through the power up routine and pulls away from the group of Dom Torpins.
His matte black mech stands out in the desert sun which is the way that he wants it for now. Skidding smoothly across the sand as if it were ice, he snaps his assault rifle up into the low ready position. He does, after all, have something of a score to settle as well.
"...and that concludes the report," Rossiu says to the rest of the forces gathered here. "Viral appears to have been gathering people together in order to try and do something with them - he could simply be preparing to move them off to some sort of interment camp, or he could be trying to simply get together enough victims to appease Lady Adiane for the time being. We can't be sure what exactly his motives are, but he has been kidnapping a number of humans, and we appear to have some idea of what his route will be."
The second in command of Kamina city presses a button on the inside of his command APC, and a vague, winding path appears on the data maps of everyone in the security force squadron, as well as those IPA members who have shown up in support. "We'll have to spread out to intercept them, but we would like to have the humans he has captured freed and brought back to Kamina City. They're vital for our census count and citizen registration program, and we need to process them. At that point, we'll let them go - to continue on their way." Rossiu closes his mic and leans back for a moment, listening for any questions.
"All right, Rossiu..." Simon trails off, as he sits in the command mech. The Gurren Lagann towers over the battlefield, though it is concealed behind a hill partly. Its arms are akimbo, resting on the hips of the mech. It glints red, a stark contrast to the Gulaparl units. "It seems clear enough to me. Remember, everyone - don't risk hurting those people with Viral!"
He frowns, looking down at the monitor. He scans its with his eyes, but he looks at the path. He nods his head over the radio. "Everyone ready?"
Shinji Ikari doesn't have any. He also has decidedly /less/ sympathy for the Beastmen, after learning about their whole 'systematic genocide of humanity' schtick. He's not exactly /bloodthirsty/...well, not in the normal sort of way....but he's certainly not as guilty about fighting off the beastman hordes.
"Oh, um." Shinji blinks, realizing they might be waiting for him. "Unit-01's ready to launch, sir."
Something else is approaching. It's a ways out, for now, and it's a little hard to tell what it is exactly; between battle preparations and high-speed interceptors, the dirt-slow motion of whatever is approaching isn't really anything a scanner crew would worry about, except for one, problematic element.
It's /HUGE/.
But hey, maybe it's just a sandworm?
To be honest with himself, Viral is not thrilled with the idea of letting someone else have the opportunity to fight Simon after having come this far... But he's not going to argue the matter with Gen. St. James, given as his priority is the mission, not his pride. Watching out over the Dom Tropens for a moment before he turns his attention to the other Syndicate members, the Enkidudu's leg thrusters activate, bringing him soaring into the air as he watches sharply on radar for incoming enemies.
He's expecting Gulaparls, possibly other IPA forces, likely Simon himself after their encounter the other day... Viral's clawed fingers twitch as he thinks of the encounter, flying forward towards the city--there aren't any blips on his radar yet, but he expects that to change sooner rather than later. "There's no way they won't notice us," he growls. "When they show up, we'll send them running!" The Gunmen turns then, to look back at the people and forces on the ground. He can't see them thanks to the Kogane moving into the way, but that's fine; they should be able to hear each other. "The rest of you--we /will/ protect you, so get moving!"
There is a shout of agreement from the villagers, led by the village elder, at the head of the group. "You heard Viral!" the elderly man, roughened by years of excavation. "We're going home!! Everyone pick up and move--we can't waste this chance they're giving us!"
As the villagers do exactly that, in the crowd, a young girl named Nally looks up at her mother, smiling. Her mother, a long-haired woman named Elly, smiles back with affection, and they take each other's hand before starting to move.
"Are you scared, Nally?" Elly asks quietly.
"Nope!" her daughter replies cheerfully. "Why should I be, Mommy?"
Sinclair does the one tactically unsound thing he just can't resist doing. He charges forward in a blaze of glory. In fact, he charges forward ahead of everyone else.
The Wyvern Prime comes coasting over the sandy hill, firing its rifle at range. Several tons of titanium and steel are launched into the air at a downwards arc from the forward velocity, the hill making an effective ramp for the MST. After landing and snapping off a few scattered shots, the General's machine swerves to the left and starts to coast back the hell around the hill at top speed, back into the range of the Kogane's guns.
A trap, maybe?
Well, that was the origional intent, but Sinclair didn't expect to more then a squad of Gulaparls and the Gurren Lagann, never mind that mess of units PLUS an Evangelion? Screw. That.
Scanners aboard the Kogane begin to bleep fitfully at the crew. Commander Jessade looks over the shoulder of an operator, eyes widening a little; she brushes her green hair back under her captain's cap. "All units be advised," she calls into the comline, "we are detecting an extremely large signature approaching at very low speeds. It's too far out to identify."
Grey Wolf's eyes narrow a little. "Can you tell if it's IPA or an ally?"
"Negative, but it isn't coming from Kamina City."
"Keep me appraised. If that thing is a threat I want to know its combat abilities, strengths, weaknesses, point of origin, and pilot's mother's hairdresser's maiden name and I want to know yesterday, are we clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
The Kampfer lowers to one knee. Its usual backpack mount is absent today; rather that dual rocket launchers, it is supporting a compact energy reserve and two braces, one of which holds a huge sniper rifle similar to that employed by the GM Sniper line. Grey Wolf brings the weapon forward and extends its long barrel, peering through it towards Sinclair's avenue of movement. The sight itself extends a little more, extending the mobile suit's visual range even further.
"There's a whole shitload of 'em," grumbles the Grey Wolf, tugging down his scarf and dispensing with the voice device for now. It's distracting him. Nevertheless he focuses the rifle's sights in on Gurren Lagann.
And he fires a single shot from range, aiming to blow one of the Gurren's eyes out with a high-powered slug.
Sinclair St. James says, "Hornet's nest stirred. Get ready to recieve targetting data, Kogane."
Commander Jessade says, "Roger, Black Wyvern. All weapons systems armed and ready to receive telemetry."
"Sir, we have a long range sighting of Syndicate units. Some of them are matching the signatures we have of Divine Crusaders from our previous battles," one of the Gulaparl pilots transmits over the radio. Truth be told, a heavily armed and armored escort like this had its own advantages, but being stealthy was not going to be one of them. The Gulaparls all confirm the sighting, and rocket into the air -the screen of pilots will form their initial wave that will draw off the Divine Crusader defenses and give the aces a chance ot move in and cause some real havoc - and hopefully get away with the captured humans.
The whirling screen of Gulaparls swoop along, but hold their fire until the DC forces open up, to avoid any stray shots hitting the hostages. In the meantime, Rossiu follows along in his command APC, looking for a good place to put up the spiral radar so he can get a good view of what is going on in the battle. He pauses though, raising one hand to his ear. "What's that? We're getting a report of a large contact moving underground..."
Sinclair gets Simon's attention first. His eyes widen, when the aerial MST flies in through the air - the rounds exploding amidst the Gulaparls and near Simon's Gurren Lagann. He grits his teeth, and then lifts up. That MST is recognizable to him; he had looked up what unit was preferred by Sinclair St. James, when he decided to go up against the man.
Then, a massive shot comes flying in. The round rips into the Gurren, smashing through the bladed shades on its chest and into the cockpit. Smoke comes spewing out of it, along with fire. "They're on us!" he barks. "Let's get 'em!"
The Gurren Lagann lifts upward, flying into the air. Simon knows the Gulaparls will do the same; sand comes blasting outward in a circle, as he takes his super robot to the air. The Lagann turns, its head scanning the enemy forces - noting the Kogone, the Kampfer, the Wyvern Prime, and finally, the Enkidudu. "I don't know what you think you're trying to do, here... but like HELL am I letting you just kidnap these people!"
The Gurren Lagann produces its drill lance by swinging its arm out to the side. The weapon manifests in a burst of green spiral energy, before he unleashes a sudden wave of small missiles that come tearing from its joints. Their tips have drills - and they hurtle towards the Wyvern, it would seem.
Then, they break downward - shooting towards the dirt and at the line connected to the Kampfer's sniper rifle. He needs to dispense with that, first - and then get to the two men who really get under his skin, here. "Viral! St. James! What are you doing here?!"
Simon gets a glancing blow on Sinclair St. James with his Drill Missile... FEINT! feint.
The frighteningly purple form of Evangelion Unit-01 stays near the rear, for the most part. There's a variety of reasons for this. Perhaps most important...
"Did you KNOW?!" Shinji screamed, sending a kick that knocked over the desk, spilling Ayanami's papers, her gift, her flowers, her pills all over the hospital room as she came as close as Rei Ayanami ever did to cowering...
...is that he wants to keep a hold on himself. Plus, he's a big target, so Shinji figures a little inobtrusiveness couldn't hurt.
Sinclair St. James says a dirty word.
Sinclair St. James says, "Kogane, C-Z is too hot to stand around with a lazer pointer, my apologies, but that data's gonna take a little more time to get for you."
Commander Jessade says, "Understood, Black Wyvern. We'll manage."
Sinclair St. James says, "Roger that."
The mountainous signature continues to approach at speeds approaching the downright glacial - although, it is speeding up, just a little.
As it gets closer, scan data becomes available. Metallic, definitely. It reads like a solid lump of material, which means it's either a roving block of steel (unlikely) or has armor thicker than anything else on the field (more probable). It's not sending any indication of whether it's friendly or not, but it's not opening fire, or even warming up any weapons systems, even. Maybe it's a Jawa caravan that got lost?
Robot Sandworms is also still on the table. Robot...surface-dwelling sandworms. Yes.
Deep within, a small creature, like a talking armadillo or something of the sort, stands on an upraised deck, watching the various monitors around him. "So, this is the future, eh?" the little thing grunts, puffing on an extended pipe and looking duely unimpressed. "Pathetic. Humans should never play at civilization! This is no better than their lot in our own empire!"
"Mmmmm," hums the figure behind him, enormous, sitting on the bridge's command chair and wrapped in white robes and nubile women in equal portion. "It is the way of their race. They cannot exist without pain. While one prospers, a thousand must suffer."
"Hnnn!" snorts the armadillo man, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke at the head of one of his anteater scanner crew. "What a useless way to live."
"Quite," says the tall man, standing up as he looks at something on the scanner screens. "I see the combat is beginning. I'm going."
Hnn," mutters the little creature, turning a cocked eyeridge upon his liege and lord. "You're sure that's such a good idea? These humans are no match for my Dai-Gundo."
The tall figure stares down - his eyes, with spirals emblazoned upon them, are cold and hard. "Are you questioning my decisions, Guame?"
Guame the Steady stares back at his lord with nothing more than a tense, steady gaze, broken only when the Spiral King, without another word, turns and continues on his way out.
"The same thing I do back home," St. James replies to Simon's demands. "Fighting for what's best for these people." The MST twirls around, coasting backwards on its own momentum, as the little green laser pointer on its left shoulder comes online. The General points it up at the squad of Gulaparls, keeping it steady on the lead mech so that the Kogane's heavy guns can reduce their numbers greatly in one volley.
But as the drills come spiralling in, the Wyvern Prime deaks to the left, dodging out of the way of the drills and breaking laser contact. Ironically, this takes the General's mech into the line of fire as the projectiles alter their course. Shoulder armor is sheared off in good order. With a grunt, the assault rifle is snapped up, with several shots fired at the Gurren Lagann's midsection. Right now, St. James is really wishing he had a flying mech.
Sinclair St. James hits Simon with his Three Round Burst jab.
The Crusaders don't seem particularly interested in taking the bait; the Zeons, at least, are not being drawn off. In fact, the escorting Dom Tropens, though they do keep weapons in hand, hold their fire, not wanting to endanger the civilians they're escorting.
Aboard the Kogane, the lovely Commander keeps the Crusaders up to date: "We're getting new readings on the approaching unit. It appears to be extremely heavily-armoured - possibly some sort of land tank."
"Or a robot sandworm," puts in a crew member.
Grey Wolf still hasn't pulled the scarf up. "Whatever it is, Dom Tropens, stand ready. If it decides to show its face and it turns out hostile, vape it."
A few affirmatives go up from the crew; the man in the Kampfer hears them only peripherally. He's still sighting into the horde of Gulaparls with the rifle - only for the gun to be hit with drill missiles and reduced to scrap metal. The commander growls in irritation and throws what's left of the destroyed gun off of the ship; it hits empty ground in pieces. Thanks a lot, Simon. "Kogane," he barks. "Target that screen of Gulaparls. Let them know we mean business."
Turrets along the Kogane's hull swivel and take aim, missile ports opening up. Rather than surrendering their position, the Crusaders let their ship do the dirty work; huge bolts of blue-white impact cannon fire and a thick cloud of anti-air missiles sheet en masse towards Rossiu's team. The Kogane is one heavily-armed ship, and its weapons just might be sufficient to thin out the squad without compromising the defense around the refugees.
At this point, stealth is sort of a silly concern. Viral has used discretion over the past several weeks, but at this point, he would rather be certain they're protected than undetected, because at this point they probably *won't* go undetected anyway. Never mind his run-in with Simon; they're right on Kamina City's doorstep.
The beastman frowns at the news Commander Jessade sends to the Syndicate units. He has a bad feeling about that, and he tries to convince himself that it's not what he thinks it is; still, it's because he knew Adiane had appeared in this plane that he asked for support, didn't he? For now, all he can do is fight and see how they refugees can be protected.
He smirks at Gen. St. James' bold maneuver, silently approving; however, Viral doesn't follow suit, knowing all too well that, for him, that would just be asking for it. There's a time and a place for these things, and while this is definitely the place, it's not quite yet the time.
No, the time comes when Simon charges forward with his drill, aiming for Sinclair's Wyvern. All four blades are drawn in a single smooth motion, and although the blue-haired pilot isn't aiming for him yet, Viral keeps his eyes on him as he provides support fire against the Gulaparls, in the form of tightly aimed missles against the hearts of the groups. The majority will surely be engaged by the Kogane's forces, but Viral isn't going to sit back and do nothing.
"We're here because I promised someone. For that matter, we *aren't* kidnapping anyone," Viral snaps back at the Commander-in-Chief. "But if that's what you want to think, /Commander/, SO BE IT!!"
The blip behind him in his radio draws Viral's attention briefly; now that it's coming closer, he wants to confirm what it is. His eyes narrow and his teeth grit as he recognizes the shape. "Tch--the Dai-Gundo... Damn it!"
On the ground, the refugees are making good time; there are some shouts as firing commences above them, but the elder is a stalwart man, and keeps shouting for them to move along. The underground cavern, a large yawning hole some hundred yards away, is in sight--it's just a matter of getting there and getting everyone safely inside.
Viral swears quietly. "The Dai-Gundo... Tch!"
Shin Matsunaga, without the voice device, "Hostile?"
Viral says, "Without a doubt. That's the flagship of Guame the Steady, one of the Four Holy Generals. So it's not just Lady Adiane after all..."
Shin Matsunaga says, "I hope that you aren't under an obligation to THIS one."
Viral says, "No."
Shin Matsunaga says, "Good, because if he so much as looks at those refugees funny he's vaped."
"What is it, Rossiu? Do we have any idea, yet?" Simon asks, with a frown. The Gurren Lagann arches - but, he sees the Wyvern Prime aiming something at the Gulaparls - something that increases the accuracy of the Kogone, it seems to him. He grits his teeth, feeling his face redden with anger. "Yeah? I'd like to know what your definition of protecting people is, then!"
He pulls up the long drill, holding it like it might be a cavalier's lance. The Gurren Lagann flies forward, its speed increasing, and he tries to slam the drill lance into the Wyvern. "If you're not kidnapping them, then what in the hell are you doing here?" he shouts at Viral, as he finishes his aerial charge at Sinclair.
Much like a charging knight, as he finishes the run, he fires the thrusters - and the machine turns around in midair. Flame plumes out of both wings, blue around the edges, and holds it in the air.
Simon hits Sinclair St. James with his Midair Knights attack.
Viral says, "I wasn't present for Lord Guame and Lord Cytomander's deaths; I have no obligation to them. On top of that, Lord Guame was the most familiar with Lord Genome. The only problem is the fact that Dai-Gundo is armored heavily enough to withstand a direct impact from a crashing ship."
Viral says, "It's somewhat more vulnerable from underneath; that's how Simon destroyed it and killed Lord Guame seven years ago. The best tactic I can recommend is attempting to flip it over somehow. It shouldn't be able to move then, either."
Viral says, "Tch... It's surreal, talking like this about my former commanders..."
The Gulaparls aren't able to completely dodge the barrage, but they do go to evasive action as the Kogane opens up with its weapons, many of them flying at high speed in every direction, shooting down missiles and doing their best to evade shots from all sides. However, the price that they're paying it telling - several are hit, and come crashing to the ground, damaged and out of power, or their maneuvering systems shot by explosions, bullets or shrapnel.
Rossiu pulls up the radar identifier - he was expecting this to be Adiane's unit, given what had happened last time... but he curses after a moment, and moves to the transmitter. "Bad news, Simon! It's a another old unit - we've got it on records from the battle of Teppelin! It's the Dai-Gundo! Viral's brought in another one of Lord Genome's generals to assist him." He curses, and checks to see if anyone else can respond to the battle. He's called in most of the Gulaparls that they can spare. "They're probably going to massacre the humans, if that mobile fortress is here. If it's Guame..." Well, they knew how ruthless the stodgy old armadillo was.
Unit-01 stood, looming over its friends and enemies, its eyes dull and waxy. Its pilot feels much the same way, a tight ball of guilt, uncertanty, and plain ol'misery filling him...
And so, Unit-01 takes a step forward, holstering its pellet rifle and just /fireing/ into the ranks of Divine Crusader and Beastman grunts like it was a tommy gun and Shinji was working for Al Capone. He's mostly trying to force the minion-types to pull back, giving the refugees more time to run the heck away and the Sheep more time to get a solid perimiter.
Also, shooting stuff was thereputic.
"Shi--" The Wyvern Prime dodges to the side just in time to not be impaled by a drill as large as it is. Even still, it takes a heavy hit to the side, metal armor ripping loose with ease as Sinclair's cockpit is missed by mere feet. It's a testament to his skill that he survived.
The Wyvern Prime skids around quickly, the light and nimble MST swerving around to stay behind the flying Gurren Lagann. Sinclair opens fire, tracer rounds streaking up into the air. Thankfully, that large mech presents a heck of a large profile silouhetted against the sky.
Sinclair St. James hits Simon with his Full Clip attack.
And that is when things go directly to Hell.
The mountainous, enigmatic contact suddenly simply stops, not terribly far removed from the battle...and then simply sits there for an instant.
This is when the first heart attacks will come in, because now, this close, and as the sand dies down, its identity can be confirmed by those who know of it.
It's Dai-Gundo. The personal fortress-Gunmen of Guame the Steady, oldest and most revered of the Holy Generals of the Spiral King.
But there's only so much time to panic. Because something else has changed, a strange, powerful energy signature from deep within that was never there in any previous encounter. It's identical to that of Gurren Lagann. And that can only mean--
The eyes on its massive face sparkle brightly, and then the mouth opens wide to reveal a launch catipault. Two seconds later, it serves its purpose, launching an approximately Gunmen-sized contact which whirls through the air, impossible to make out on scanners simply because of how fast it revolves and moves, and then spinning rapidly it impacts with the hard clay of the blasted deserts, spinning around and around as it dissipates momentum, spinning so hard that it actually kicks up a thick, choking cloud of debris and sound! And through it all thunders a voice, baritone, thundering...familiar, to some here.
"Foolish humans who have risen above their station...Is this the shape of the world you've built with the years you won? Pathetic."
From deep within the dust cloud, a series of tendrils whip out toward the Gulaparl screen, expertly aimed to tear through their vital systems and send them crashing down. Another set emerges.
"Humans, it is time for you to return to where you belong! I will send you back beneath the soil..."
The dust settles.
...it looks disturbingly like Gurren-Lagann. But not, at the same time. It is tall, in all black, with minor highlights in red. It is also much more lithe. It has no mouth, but there is a second pair of eyes in its chest, in addition to the eyes on its head; both are yellow. It is covered in small nodes, into which those drill-tentacles it just threw return, its fists recoiling slightly from the force. It has an enormous horn on the front of its head, and an even more massive tail coming out of the back, and those who remember that war of long ago will identify it even before the computer does:
"...with this Lazengann!"
Lord Genome switches armor modes to Lazengann.
Lord Genome misses Rossiu with his SURPRISE attack.
Shinji Ikari says, "-that's my horn, you jerk!"
Shin Matsunaga says, "Whatever it is, it's reading like the Gurren Lagann."
Viral says, "........"
Viral says, "That's--wh-- How can that be!?"
Shin Matsunaga says, "Focus! Who is it?"
Viral says, "That's LORD GENOME'S personal unit!! What the hell is he doing here himself!?"
Shin Matsunaga says, "The Spiral Emperor himself?"
Sinclair St. James says, "Shooting Gulaparls, don't question it so long as he doesn't shoot our guys."
Viral ggkh... Tightly, "Yes."
Shin Matsunaga grinds his teeth. "I don't like cooperating with genocidal maniacs. After we deal with the Kamina City forces, we'll handle Genome." Then, "Scheidel! Get the refugees to the underground, double time!"
Anders Scheidel says, "You can count on me, sir, hm hm."
"Hmph--I wonder if you'd believe me if I told you?" Viral growls, maneuvering the Enkidudu to a middling range not far from the Kogane, to maintain a protective position between the Kamina City forces and the fleeing refugees. When Gulaparls break down and fall, Viral is there to smash into them with his swords to keep them from falling too close. He is sure to strike well away from the cockpits, however; it's dishonorable to cut down a defeated enemy.
As he does that, Viral scowls over at Simon as he continues his fight with Sinclair, and continues, "You and Kamina fought seven years ago to free humans from the Spiral King's oppression--to give them the right to live on the surface. But has it ever occurred to you that some may want to live underground, where they were born and raised?"
There is no time to continue in that thread, however, because it's that that moment that the Dai-Gundo is made completely clear, and not only that, the single Gunmen it launches... Viral's expression goes from concern to surprise to horror in the span of several seconds, and the sound of Lord Genome's voice is like a heart-stopping blow to the chest. "But that--wh-- How can this...!?"
During his time, Lord Genome *never* left Teppelin personally to deal with anything. To see the Spiral King here, in person, in his custom Gunmen is something Viral has trouble wrapping his head around, even as he informs the Divine Crusaders of whom that is. He knows that is him, that it *must* be him, but at the same time--he doesn't want to believe it. But things don't change regardless of what he believes and doesn't believe; Kamina proved that. Landing on the ground between the Spiral Empire machines and the procession of refugees, the white Gunmen faces the black Gunmen with swords held somewhere between defense and attack...even though the pilot knows that he has no hope of either against that opponent.
"Lord Genome..." he growls, a war of emotions battling in his chest with deep, bitter resentment taking point. "...why are you here?"
The Crusaders are beginning to realize what's happening. Accordingly, the Dom Tropen contingent spreads out a little, weapons loaded and at the ready for whenever the Dai-Gundo decides to put in an appearance.
The first line of defense continues to be the Kogane. The scattering of the Gulaparls draws its fire in different directions, but it doesn't seem to be thwarted by this. A powerful field flickers to life around the warship, though it seems that few attacks have come in; the E-field, however, is armed and ready for when they do. Presenting its broadside - quite a substantial one at over a kilometer long - the huge carrier blasts away at the Gulaparl team, lasers, rockets, and now a couple of large torpedoes lofting into the midst of the swarm.
Curiously enough, the shots divide away from Lord Genome and give the Spiral King a wide berth.
One thing's for sure: the Dom Tropens are moving quite a bit faster now, most of them keeping weapons - machine guns and giant bazookas - at the ready in the event of the Dai-Gundo or the Lazengann attempting to stop the refugees from reaching safe haven.
Yet Viral doesn't stand alone. There is the sound of a weapon loading - a large beam rifle in the hands of the grey Kampfer. It looks like the beam rifle from a Gelgoog Jager. For the moment it is not aimed at the Spiral King... but the Kampfer is not far from the Enkidudu, and the gun isn't exactly at rest, either. A silent assurance that Viral is not alone.
Grey Wolf is silent for the moment.
Shin Matsunaga's voice lowers. "Viral. If he tries anything, we stand a better chance if we work together."
Viral growls. "Agreed. I appreciate it, Shin."
"What...?" Simon asks, his eyes blinking slowly. Things begin to make sense - the way that the girl seemed to not be scared of Viral, when the Beastman brought him down. The fact that the Kogone's position might be to protect the refugees, rather than to corall them into the cave. His eyes go wide, then; why were they trying to stop this? What was the reason?
"That's--why the hell didn't you tell me?!" he shouts at Viral. "That was idiotic of you! That was..." And then, it comes - his sensors pick up on a second Gurren Lagann. "Damn it, you idiots! None of this makes sense, you damn idiots! This is--"
But, the impossible proves true - that signal that could not be right, that he hoped was his brother, is instead what he dreaded. The black Lazengann, mighty Gunmen standing tall on the sands that it may have helped blast into existence. Simon stares at it. "LORD GENOME!" he shouts. "This isn't your place!"
And then, the machinegun rounds from Sinclair hit - fired before Lazengann appeared, but decisive nonetheless. They slash into one of the wings, cutting it off. And it goes down, plummeting to the ground. It hits the earth, not far from Enkidudu, and sends up a wave of sand.
"Shit!"