[Log:] Stealing the Knock Nevis
Who:Radiant Dynamo of Invention, Alice Moore, Mnemon Edon, Cathak Lera, Ruri Hoshino
What: In an attempt to gain vital war materials and impress her superiors, Radiant Dynamo tries to make off with the world's largest supertanker. She is not prepared to deal with three Dragon-Blooded, and a little girl with a giant robot.
Where: The Persian Gulf, Alice's plane
When: The 15th of May
Watch For: Ruri's new ride, Alice watches way too many action movies, Epic Klaive Battle, Not-So-Epic Stick Battle, Edon is a caring husband-to-be
The Knock Nevis was once the world's largest ship. Now it's the world's largest holding tank. Measuring over 1500 feet from stem to stern, it carries oil drilled from the beds of the Persian Gulf--it's near Qatar, in the Al Shaheen oil field.
Now, it's been hijacked. According to the sketchy reports, a group of terrorists blasted the ship free from its mooring, and are piloting it out of the Gulf. Oddly enough, the ship's moving /fast/--far faster than something that size has any right to move. The reason why is apparent to anyone within forty yards of the vessel.
"The jets are functioning at full capacity!" says Captain Rasli. The middle-aged man is the closest thing the Locust forces have to a boat pilot--he was a war skimmer engineer for many years, and now he's been pressed into duty for Autochthon. "You're a genius, ma'am!"
"I know," says Radiant Dynamo, smirking. She fades out for a moment, watching through her Familiar's eyes--the Adjutant is sitting on a railing, carefully observing one of the two bulky Essence-driven engines that have been mounted to the Knock Nevis' stern. "Now, all we have to do is get this prize back to the rendezvous point, unload all this oil, and cart it back to Yugash in glory!"
But Dynamo's expecting company. She and her troops took out most of the ship's crew in the initial attack, but someone got a distress call off... and the survivors barricaded themselves belowdecks.
Radiant Dynamo figures they'll make excellent captives... or barring that, ransom.
The call went out for aid to the Black Sheep Squadron for close air support. The Sheep, due to constraints and logistics, have only dispatched a lone pilot to combat the forces of evil and injustice.
Is it the stalwart Kyoji Kabuto? No!
Is it the legendary Amuro Ray? No!"
Is it the brave Guy Shishioh? NO!
A lone Aestivalis with extended life battery packs comes sputtering out of the sky on an inbound vector. It is colored a vibrant shade of lilac and carries a field lance. In the cockpit, Ruri's ponytails rapidly bounce up and down in time with the thruming of the machine, which Ruri is fairly certain is shaking more then it really should.
An IPA helicopter is flying in, as well. It is on loan from the United States Army, flying out of Qatar. In the back of it, Cathak Lera stands tall; a hand is resting on her daiklave and she looks out at the ship. Her lips tighten into a frown. She hadn't expected this, but...
She nods. She will do what she must! She turns her head, and looks down at her student.
"Alice, while this may have interrupted our lesson..." She clenches her other fist and lifts it up in front of her face. Be inspiring, she reminds herself! "...The most valuable lessons are learned in the field!"
There is a second passenger, significantly smaller than most of the people who use this sort of thing to air-drop and get around.
Alice, still in her street clothes, keeps trying to look out the window, or the door. Heights don't frighten her. She doesn't have a real weapon, but she has apparently salvaged a curtain rod about two feet long with a decorative knob on each end, and she's holding that in her left hand instead. "Right! It can't be that bad! It's - whoa, that /is/ going fast," she adds, glancing out the window again.
Standing near Lera to gaze at the sight below, Edon tries his best to look as though this is not his first time riding in a helicopter, much less a helicopter chasing down a comandeered oil tanker rigged up with mystical engines that have it skimming the water like a jet ski.
The result is a mixed success. He appears to have no opinion about what is happening whatsoever.
"I should think there will be quite a few lessons to learn in tackling a thing like this," he says mildly.
Adjutant chirps in the back of Dynamo's mind. The Alchemical shifts her attention, once again looking through her Familiar's sensors--and what she sees...
"Pursuers!" Radiant Dynamo cries. She strides over to the ship's intercom, and toggles it on. "Yugash forces," she says, in Autochthonian, "They send their machines to destroy us, but ours are mightier still! Kill the interlopers, for Yugash and the Great Maker!" There's a slight pause as Dynamo takes a closer look at the Aestvalis. "And save the scrap, that we may learn their secrets!"
That inspiring speech done with, the Dynamo orders Adjutant to keep an eye on the troops on the deck. The golden spider-bot scuttles around to the ship's stern, where Yugash soldiers are boiling out of the hatches. They're certainly imposing; they're wearing fully-sealed synth-leather uniforms, complete with integrated buff jackets and fume masks. It's no wonder the few people who've seen them in action compare them to insects.
And they're every bit as efficient. Within ten seconds, two man-portable Essence cannons have been set up on the rear of the Knock Nevis, and their gunners take positions behind blast shields.
"Target the humanoid machine first!" Dynamo orders. "The propellor craft appears to have weaker armor!" There's a loud hum and crackle of spiritual energy, and bolts of pure weaponized Essence fly at Ruri's new ride. A few token crossbow bolts are fired at the incoming helicopter, but at this range they probably won't even hit the thing.
Lera grimaces and ducks as a crossbow bolt slices through the air, shooting into the helicopter and over her shoulder. It embeds itself into the cushioning of a seat far behind, causing the young woman to grimace. She looks at Edon, and nods her head weakly. "Yes," she says, "quite a lesson. But well worth it!"
She looks at Alice and smiles at her. "Just remember what you've learned so far, and you shall be fine!"
Then, she looks back at her fiance. "Do be careful, Edon. These things appear to mean business, and I believe the business that they wish to deal in is the business of firing upon us with high tech devices." After all, the Realm has not yet created a crossbow it can field - only a few experimental designs. Lera sucks in a breath, then, and does what her training has taught her to.
She leaps out of a moving helicopter, coming crashing down for the ship. Her daiklave comes out with a neat, quick movement - faster than the eye can see! And when she does, her sword slashes out in a flash, right for one of the Yugash soldiers manning the Essence Cannons.
Alice Moore thinks that crossbows are adorably old-fashioned and is kind of glad they don't have rifles, since the crossbow bolts can't get up this high. "They don't have guns," she says. "I don't know any terrorists that don't have guns."
She squints out again, but can't make out all the details from up here. There's a /flying/ robot, but she leaves that alone. Mostly she is trying to get a better look when Lera edges past her and dives out of the helicopter. "Uh," Alice says, followed by, "Well, okay, I guess it worked for her. BANZAI!"
Alice jumps out a moment later, wielding her rod in her left hand as she dives toward the top of the deck. "THIS SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME!" seems to be a reasonable battle cry.
Ruri's hands someone manage to tighten their already impressive deathgrip on the Aestivalis' IFS nodes, the horseshoe tattoos on the backs of her hands glowing brightly. She takes note of the cannons being set up on the deck. "Uh... uh... that isn't good." Ruri instantly feels like an idiot for saying that. The nimble robot twists downwards as the Essence Cannon opens fire. Ruri brings her robot in low over the water out of cold hard logic rather then instinct or experience; it should be harder for them to oscillate lower rather then higher. Cannon fire streaks in behind her, throwing up blasts of water in her wake. As the boarding party makes landfall, Ruri pulls up alongside the tanker. A crossbow bolt plinks off of her outter frame, sending a reverberating plastic 'thud' throughout the interior of the machine.
Ruri, jumpy, whips her head around nervously and asks, "What was that?" Like an idiot.
Edon's fingers tighten around his daiklave, a sword that resembles an oversized rapier. Jumping out of a lurching whirligig such as this one was not provided for in his original schedule for the day, and he always has difficulty with unexpected additions.
What's more, he would hate to face the embarassment of plunging into the ocean, particularly if young Alice was able to make the jump.
But he can't exactly hang back in the cockpit dancing with the crossbow bolts. He grits his teeth and leaps for the deck.
Someone yells "Incoming!" as Lera leaps from the helicopter. It's not in time to save the Essence-cannon gunner, though--in the blink of an eye, Lera's daiklave is embedded in his chest. He gurgles, slumps forwards, and falls to the deck. The Talonlord is in for a rocky reception, however. The soldiers who were wasting bolts on the helicopter now have squisher things to target, such as her. At least six Locusts open fire on Lera as she hits deck. Another group does the same for poor, hapless Edon.
Alice, for what it's worth, is mostly ignored--perhaps she's just less threatening, or perhaps the Locusts just have a thing about hitting little girls. Then again, maybe not; one of the soldiers barks out something in a language that sounds suspiciously like Old Realm (Autochthonian hasn't diverged that much from its mother tongue) before adding in badly-accented Riverspeak: "Halt!" He lowers his crossbow at Alice.
The other Essence Cannon gunner manages to squeeze off one more shot, and then Ruri and her Aestvalis are out of range. For now.
"We're being boarded!" On the bridge, Dynamo frowns. She's watching, all right, and she does not like what she's seeing.
"Maintain control of the ship, Captain. I'll deal with that flier." Before Rasli can protest, Radiant Dynamo dashes out of the bridge and onto the deck. She builds speed, and /vaults/ off the railing as the Aestvalis passes by. If she hits, Ruri will get a rather unpleasant shock--two-hundred-odd pounds of clay and metal landing on a mech at high speed has got to leave a mark.
Lera's eyes widen, as she sees the crossbows leveled at her and at Edon. At least, she thinks, Alice isn't being fired on. "Edon, /MOVE/!" the soldier shouts, before she runs ahead. A key part of her tactical preference is to keep a foe guessing, and that sometimes means doing the unexpected. As the crossbow bolts shoot for her, she sucks in a breath.
She dives to the left; two of the bolts fly by, slamming into the wood behind her. She then rolls on the ground, another two going over her head. As she comes back up, though, one slams into her lamellar armor and bounces off. The other sticks there; she hisses, and then dives amidst the group.
Red light and steam briefly trickle from her sword, as she slashes her Reaper Daiklave out in a wide circle, trying to cut into several foes at once.
Alice Moore does not speak Old Realm and the first language is gibberish to her.
The second is not, but by that point Alice is already moving. She is /fast/, even for a Dynast, and she darts in and brings her curtain rod up in a whistling arc, trying to knock the crossbow out of his hands or just break some of the parts in it. They're delicate, aren't they? They have gears and things.
Alice's knowledge of crossbows is kind of limited.
"You halt!" she yells, after her swing. "We don't like terrorists or kidnappers or thieves around here, you hear me? Go away and put this thing back and I won't hit your things anymore!"
For a moment, fear overrides Ruri's brain and she considers, briefly, ejecting the Core Pit then and there. The heavy thud that comes striking in on the Aestivalis' back makes the craft cease to skim above the water for several seconds and causes it to be half submerged /in/ the water. Only a panic maneuver on Ruri's part leaps the craft up into the sky before it succumbs to the briney depths; the Combat Frame isn't equipped to handle underwater combat the way the Aqua Frame is. As the Aesti pulls into a power climb, the Radiant Dynamo's level surface suddenly becomes a verticle one and she has a choice; hold on for dear life or get off fast.
No sooner has Edon dropped down to the ship than half a dozen crossbowmen begin to greet him with a volley of bolts. He is naggingly conscious of an irrational need to appear as though he is /accustomed/ to facing down an enemy force of mechanically enhanced archers as he eyes Lera's tactics for a survival strategy. He darts left and right, trying to keep himself a moving target. Swiftness comes fairly naturally to him, even if the situation is foreign.
Meanwhile, he fishes a throwing knife from his belt, and chooses a target from the nearest of the crossbowmen. He lets the knife fly just as a bolt misses his ear.
Lera's gamble pays off. The Locusts weren't prepared for a mere human soldier to be packing that much heat, and three of them are cut down in short order. A fourth ends up with Edon's throwing knife in his chest, and joins the pile of bodies on the deck.
Then more Locusts come boiling out of the hatch leading deeper into the ship. The one in the lead has some strange backpack-like contraption strapped to him; it ends in a nozzle-gun held in both hands. "Fry!" he screams, in Autochthonian, before he attempts to hose down the deck where Lera and Edon are standing.
"What the--?!" The Locust dealing with Alice loses his crossbow. It goes skittering across the deck, bolt still locked in place. "Damn! Hold still!" He then makes the mistake of lunging for Alice, hoping to grab her in a bear-hug and hold her.
This never works in the movies.
Dynamo's eyes widen as the Frame starts to sink; she scrambles up it, grabbing hold of whatever handholds she can. "Pilot!" she cries, opening a channel to Ruri. "You will power this thing down and land it on the deck immediately! In return, I will spare your--" The transmission cuts out abruptly as Ruri throws the Aestivalis into a climb, startling the Exalt... but she's used to such violent aerial acrobatics, and recovers quickly. "Life!"
As if to emphasize this point, Dynamo hangs on /tighter/. Her anima flares, further augmenting her inhuman strength. This, coupled with her tight grip, will leave fingerprints in the mech, at the least.
Perhaps more violent maneuvers are in order.
Meanwhile, sensors might be picking up contacts underwater. Submarine-like contacts, to be exact--five of them. They're advancing on the Knock Nevis using Essence-powered engines.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over what sounds like mecha engines at high velocity: "Can anyone identify the following individuals?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention transmits Adjutant-captured pictures of Cathak Lera, Mnemon Edon, and Alice Moore, followed by a visorcam picture of an unbearably girly Aestivalis.
The Grand Intellect says, "I can compare them to my database."
Threadbare Bride says, "Ooh, I know /her/. The first one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "What is she?"
Threadbare Bride says, "You know, I have been sorely out of touch, perhaps I should send her a letter."
The Grand Intellect pauses. "I want to say I recognize the last one, but the particular model is unfamiliar to me."
Threadbare Bride says, "She is a Terrestrial Exalt. Fire-aspected, or was it Earth? I cannot recall."
Threadbare Bride says, "Probably fire."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention hisses. "Terrestrial Exalt?"
The Grand Intellect says, "It looks like one of the mecha used by the battleship Nadesico. Customized to a great degree."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "I didn't expect them to look so /weak/."
The Grand Intellect says, "Beyond that, I can't identify the pilot, unfortunately."
Threadbare Bride says, "Weak? Well, she is a rather young one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Where are her Charms?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Ha ha ha!"
Grabbing Alice never works.
She actually gets gripped despite her speed, and has her curtain rod held to her side. That's all right, though; she struggles for a few moments and then rather abruptly ignites. It isn't anima flux but is instead a concious expression of power; the flames never go more than an inch or two away from her, but they are /hot/, and they keep burning.
She uses the distraction (and probably pain) to try to squirm out again and deliver a hard strike to the Locust's head. "Jerk," she grumbles, under her breath.
Threadbare Bride says, "Why, in her head, I suppose. Or perhaps her Essence generally."
Ruri inhales, exhales, and clears her mind. Damage reports start coming through her combat computer. Sensor pings below the water. Okay, she can deal with this. She is Ruri Hoshino and if she dies here, well... the Nadesico would be in trouble. Ruri reasons with herself that it is because of the ship's computer that she cares, and not the crew. She can handle the subs, but first, her passenger.
The easiest thing to grab onto on the Aestivalis' back would be it's spare battery packs. The computer is reporting damage to the battery packs... hm.
Ruri ejects the extra batteries; they disconnect suddenly with a hydralic hiss. It only takes gravity a moment to wrap its iron grip on the liquid filled plastic containers and the 200 pound metal being holding on to them. Ruri twirls the Aestivalis around, taking up her Field Lance in both hands. She comes around in a mighty slash that cleaves the falling packs in half; they explode as the fuel within is ignited. It would be safer to be clear of that then still holding on when the lance cleaves through; speak nothing of the resulting detonation.
Lera sees the flame coming. She looks at the man who activates it... and then smiles, as the fires strike her. For a moment, it appears she might be immolated; she seems to vanish into the flames.
Until the flamethrower stops, and she starts walking forward. Fire rages around her, snapping up at the air. She barely looks burnt; in fact, she is smiling, and the flame seems to be at her command. "You would use flame against a Child of Hesieh." She laughs. "That was rather... ill-advised."
She snaps her free hand out - and a short bolt of flame hurls towards the man with the flamethrower.
Edon moves behind his fiance, backing away from the flames even as Lera appears to take control of them and even send more back for the man with the flamethrower. The heat on his face is uncomfortable just from the proximity, and the Wood Aspect feels particularly flammable by comparison.
He waits for the glow to die down, then sends a few knives at some of the newly assembled attackers. Not too many, though -- he expects he'll be needing them all.
The soldier has a moment's worth of satisfaction as he grabs the brat, and then she's suddenly on fire. The man screams in pain, lets go of Alice, and gets knocked upside the head. He goes sprawling to the deck, and starts rolling about in an attempt to put the flames out. No one seems to be paying attention to the junior Dragon-Blood... they're bigger Exalts to kill.
The Locust is utterly terrified for all of five seconds as Lera refuses to burn to death like a decent human being. The bolt of fire strikes him dead center mass, and spreads outwards. There's a sudden scream, and the chemical tank /explodes/, washing the deck in fire. Flammable objects in the area--bodies, wood, plastic--start to burn. This may prove to be an interesting stage hazard.
Funny, Dynamo thinks, as she clings to the Aestivalis, you could probably detach this part of the vehicle without causing major structural damage to the--
Uh oh.
This is precisely what happens. The battery pack falls, and Radiant Dynamo goes along with it--when the Aestvalis circles around, Ruri might catch a glimpse of a green-and-gold figure clinging to it. Then contrails of golden light issue from her feet, and she flies. Dynamo escapes the worst of the fireball, but it still burns her clothing and leaves char marks across clay and metal.
The subs take this moment to intervene. One by one they start surfacing, opening up on the mecha with their Essence cannons. Simultaneously, long hoses extend from the bow of each sub, clamping onto pumps in the Knock Nevis' hull. What're they doing? Making off with the cargo.
And where is the Radiant Dynamo of Invention?
As Edon's knives tear up more Locusts, he might hear the dull roar of rockets, and a burst of Essence. That's all the warning he gets before a golden blur flies out of the sky, heading straight for him. Its right fist is clenched, held out in front like a ram, and aimed at chest-level.
And regardless of whether or not ROCKETTO PANCH is successful against Edon, Radiant Dynamo carries the momentum through to Lera. It's not that far.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over rockets: "Fire aspect."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh, really? That is good to know."
Daos grumbles.
Daos says, "I hate voice overs. That is all."
Erim says, "I beg your pardon?"
Daos says, "Nothing, nothing. I believe my attempt to kill some Time Lords several times over has backfired."
Elvis says, "Did you try to punch them, hombre?"
Erim pauses. "It has, has it?"
Daos says, "I tried to unmake their existences."
Daos says, "Instead, ah... they are now young adults."
Daos says, "Or at least the Master is. The Doctor needs to /STOP GLOWING/ so I can see what miserable fate awaits him."
Erim says, "Perhaps you should not try this anymore."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention would comment about that being an epic failure, except she's too busy screaming and rocket-punching.
Daos says, "..."
Daos says, "... Perhaps."
Elvis says, "Now that's the way, Chica!"
Alice Moore ignores the man once he's fallen. She's burning; she doesn't have to worry about the fire on the deck, but this is an oil tanker. The other Exalts might not know what that means.
She does. "Oh, crap," she says, before raising her voice. "WATCH OUT FOR EXPLOSIONS! I CAN'T SWIM TO SHORE FROM HERE!" Probably not, anyway; technically, Alice has never checked. She sends another quick radio message, and then goes back to helping.
'Helping' is going to the hoses and - she can't unhook them, Alice realizes as she gets close, she's on /fire/ and they've got oil in them. "Hey! I need help here!" she yells at Edon, before pointing at one of the hoses. "Take that off! It's full of things that burn, I can't do it!"
Instead she goes after the cannon-users instead. That is clearly a much safer prospect.
Ruri does not give two shakes about the oil. She does, however, have a mind for collatoral and isn't a fan of killing random people. Ruri maneuvers as best she can, but she's a lone target under a four ship barrage. Not all of them need to target her directly; they only need to pelt her general area and have a reasonable chance of hitting her.
Several impacts score the outter frame of the lilac Aestivalis, ruining it's pretty new paint job. The craft shakes in the air as Ruri fights for control, only managing to stabilize it as it dives, headfirst, towards the ocean. Ruri rips the nimble craft back upwards and manages to come to a more stabilized flight path, dipping low again. The Field Lance dips even lower, slashing out at the hoses as she flits past. Priority one; neutralize potential environmental disaster.
"Right!" Edon calls to Alice, starting for the hoses.
At that moment, he manages to sense the brief warning signs as Radiant Dynamo comes plowing towards him. It affords him just enough time to turn and look affronted before her rocket punch smashes into him and sends him -- or carries him along -- flying towards his fiance.
The fact that much of their surroundings have been reduced to a lake of fire just makes the situation more fun for everyone.
Lera gets slammed into by Edon and yelps. She goes tumbling a few times, and, unfortunately, is on fire. She rolls a few times - and then throws her feet out. She skids on the deck and looks at him; it's hard to criticize someone you've known for two weeks and have to put up with for the rest of your life. "Be careful!" she shouts, before she goes running for Radiant Dynamo.
Her daiklave swings around - she rises up, comes airborne, and swings her sword up into the air. "I've no idea what you are... BUT IT ENDS HERE!"
The blade slashes down, hard, for the Alchemical Exalt.
Shnnkt!
The Field Lance slashes through one of the hoses as Ruri dives. Oil spills out into the water, but the connection quickly seals at both ends. The wounded sub retreats with its cargo--five hundred gallons of oil, give or take a couple dozen--firing off a few last parting shots at the Aestivalis. The remaining subs keep up their barrage, though one turret-gunner is distracted as Alice swims up to him, and starts bludgeoning him with a flaming curtain rod. Thar particular gun goes silent, but shortly after, a hatch pops open, and gloved hands reach out to grab Alice and pull her inside!
Dynamo lets out a yell of triumph as her fist meets with flesh. The fact that Mnemon isn't speared by the attack is disappointing--definitely not normal, maybe an Exalt in his own right. The Orichalcum woman ends her attack at the opposite end of the deck, the roar of her Plasma Thruster Array replaced by the soft hum of the Parabolic Leap Overcharge Device. Golden sparks arc around her hands, feet, shoulders and head as she turns to face Lera, hovering over the flaming deck.
Radiant Dynamo reacts in a heartbeat, drawing a bladeless hilt from her belt and igniting it with a snap-hiss of Essence. Lera's daiklave bites into the Alchemical's shoulder, drawing some sort of iridescent oil-like substance, but the golden energy blade (shape-wise, a perfect mirror of Lera's own) parries the attack before the Fire-aspect can cut Dynamo's arm off.
"Exalt," Dynamo hisses. "Get lost. Take your friends with you, before you call up something you can't put down." As she speaks, the radiance around her intensifies--arcs of Essence are sizzling across her body, focusing on the metallic parts and the soulgem. The generators on her back are blazing with actinic energy.
Dynamo is content to hold Lera's blade like that for a second or two, and then gives the Fire Aspect a violent shove.
The curtain rod isn't flaming any more or less than the rest of Alice, which means that it is at least a somewhat limited blaze rather than being enormous; it only radiates a couple inches from her body and weapon.
Yes, even in the water, she is flaming. The steam is rather impressive. At least the water doesn't boil far enough away from her that she just falls through a cloud of steam; she'd need to have her anima /really/ going for that.
Alice is not as fast in the water as she is on land, and that's her excused for being grabbed by the hands coming out of the hatch. She goes with it, practically throwing herself in and still on fire. "Hey, no kidnapping either!" she yells as she goes. "I hate you, terrorists! Robots! Robot terrorists!
She must have heard about the orichalcum caste outside.
"You underestimate the determination of my people," Lera says. She keeps the jade daiklave pointed at Radiant Dynamo, her eyes narrowed as she looks at her. "The Princes of the Earth will put down whatever you would wish to throw at us - and the Interplanar Peacekeeping Agency will do the same." She narrows her eyes - and then, gets pushed back. She falls backward a little, sucks in a breath, and straightens her posture.
"Tell me," she says, "what is your name and where are you from? You have an almost familiar look - but, you're also quite alien!"
Flame explodes from her daiklave. She lifts Tiger Strikes Silent up, and goes running in; the blade doesn't live up to its name, though, as she swings her sword and makes the air /whoosh/ audibly.
Ruri's evasion continues as she changes up her dodge patterns every few seconds to compensate. She can't outrun them forever and she can't move fast enough. And so she /fights/.
Two unengaged subs remain. This is acceptable to Ruri, Aestivalis were designed with multiple craft interception in mind. Nothing... quite like this, but it is not anything that can not be truely compensated for. The shoulder pods on the Ruriruri Custom open up and a half dozen missiles streak outwards as targetting locks are confirmed. Ruri leaves the sub belching steam into the air unharassed, she isn't exactly sure /what/ is happening down there and she isn't about to risk things on such random variables. The dozen missiles streak outwards in true Itano Circus style, splitting open to reveal even more missiles inside, carpet bombing the two subs.
Daos says, "So..."
Daos says, "...If I were a godlike being to admit to my mistakes..."
Daos says, "I might advise us to research the effects of spells, and see if they can have an unintended secondary effect that proves embarassing and useless."
Erim waits.
Daos says, "... But I am not."
Daos says, "... as such, carry on."
Threadbare Bride says, "Of course, of course."
Erim says, "I see."
Edon is a little out of his element, to say the least, as he slides across the deck, catching himself only inches from the blaze. His coat, he finds, is smoldering from his impact with Lera, and he throws it to the deck, coughing from the smoke and the impact to his solar plexus.
He stands, to see Lera facing off against this strange woman erupting with Essence and seemingly equipped with mechanical parts. He has never seen anything like her in his life -- which isn't new, for today, but the way she uses Essence is all too much like an Exalt.
His eyebrows knit slightly, but for the most part he watches without expression, approaching the two with his daiklave prepared.
Daos says, "... So yes."
"I'm not so foolish as to mistake ignorance and sheer numbers for /determination/," Dynamo hisses. "'Princes of the Earth?'" Her lips part in an ugly sneer, and she raises Elegant Blaze of the Maker for the killing blow.
Then Lera lunges. the Alchemcial takes a slash across the chest, the heat of the daiklave searing the wound closed before it can bleed. Dynamo 'skates' backwards on her cushion of paramagnetic force before Lera can do any more, the force of her anima banner intensifying from the effort. Now her entire body is ablaze with golden light, and lightning plays across her form--the generators on her back are almost too bright to look at.
"Not /your/ miserable cesspit of a world! Somewhere better, where the Chosen aren't /fragile/ and /weak/!" Dynamo suddenly spins in mid-air, lashing out with one heavy Orichalcum-plated boot in a vicious roundhouse kick. "Now admit my supremacy, and surrender your soul!"
From his vantage point, Edon might notice a few things. Firstly, the remains of the Locust crew are packing up their marbles and swimming for the submersible with the severed line, taking potshots at the Aestivalis with crossbows. Secondly, the actual crew is coming out from its barricade--they're carrying strange red cylinders, and using the attached hoses to spray wind or something on the fires. They aren't going anywhere near the lunatics with the swords, though.
One of the subs goes up in a fireball under the influence of ALL THE MISSILES, but the other manages to put a layer of water between itself and Ruri, and is somewhat shielded. This means that it is only 'severely damaged' instead of 'exploded'. It beats a hasty retreat.
As to why the dudes grabbed Alice? That becomes readily apparent--the retreating Locusts are heading for her sub. After a few soldiers end up with nasty burns, they give up hope of holding her, and instead start attempting to subdue her. This means an overwhelming zergrush of punches, kicks, and such.
"/Our/ Chosen?" Lera's eyes narrow, as the kick comes in; she swings her arm up, and the kick slides along one of her hearthstone bracers. She grimaces; despite the cool attitude that she tries to broadcast, she feels a brief pang of panic and fear. She swallows and then drives forward, trying to stab the point of her slashing sword into her foe's shoulder.
"Creation is no cesspit, automaton, and you will find her Exalts are far from weak!" She pulls the blade back after the stab, and then swings it down with a hard chop, before finishing with an elegant and graceful slash.
It is on that one that red light explodes from the back of the sword, and as she finishes the blow, spirals up around her before vanishing.
Alice Moore is not as okay with getting punched and pummeled.
Fortunately, this is where her speed comes in handy; she manages to swerve and avoid some of them, but there /are/ an awful lot of these fists coming at her; some of them hit, even as she catches others on her curtain rod (which rapidly begins to bend, not being designed to handle heat and blunt force) or her free hand or simply ducks.
"The United States of America doesn't negotiate with terrorists!" she yells, which she heard on TV and seems to apply at the current moment. She drives her hot rod (okay, she only wishes she had a hot rod) at the face of one of her assailants and ducks at the controls of the sub. Does she know how to drive? Hell no.
Is she going to try to stall it? You bet your ass.
"One target destroyed, one crippled and withdrawing, one withdrawing, and one still remaining in the combat zone." Ruri reports. The Aestivalis dips awkwardly down as Ruri maneuvers herself towards the remaining submarine. IFF is reading a friendly signature on board; time to provide fire support. But Ruri is not a fan of needless violence; perhaps a more creative solution is in order.
Ruri lands her Aestivalis on the sub's top deck as a 'subtle' warning to the crew.
Threadbare Bride says, "Hmm... Dynamo, dear, are you listening?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over the sounds of Epic Klaive Battle: "Bit busy."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Five minutes."
Threadbare Bride says, "Of course, of course."
As Lera finishes the last blow in her succession, Edon rushes in to offer assistance, the point of his long, narrow daiklave dancing in several feints before he attempts to sink in a blow. As he finishes this strike, the blade takes on a slightly green tinge, a sign of poison.
"Sorry I'm late," he says to Lera, with a bright smile. "You had set me on fire."
He then turns again to the alien Exalt. "Does this world of yours have a name?" he says.
The soldier at the controls gets a hot curtain rod to the face. It burns through the leather mask--and judging by the scream he lets out, a good deal of the flesh beneath. He starts clutching at his face, screaming in that gibberish language again. Someone else in the sub is doing the same, into a radio.
<> The voice crackles into Dynamo's comm unit, and she snarls. As much as she hates to admit it, this fight is now a lost cause. She adopts a defensive posture, neatly parrying the first two strokes with her beamklaive, then moving in to retaliate with a long slash to Lera's right arm. The third slash lays open her other shoulder...
And suddenly, the Radiant Dynamo is silhouetted against a glow of red. When it subsides, she's even more scorched than she was after Ruri got through with her. She responds by levelling her right arm at Lera; the top part of the forearm simply splits along an invisible seam, revealing a wicked-looking essence cannon. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Dragonspawn!" Essence crackles and flares and then bursts outwards in a projectile of light and energy. It's headed towards Lera, and the bullet is /enormous/.
Right about then, Edon gets his suckerpunch in, inflicting still more damage on her battered frame. Iridescent 'blood' is dripping all over the deck, and the Alchemical's clothes are in ruins. Dynamo screams in rage and pain, ignites her rockets once more, and takes off--backing away might be a good idea for Edon, even if his girlfriend can take the heat.
"We're coming for you and your Realm!" the Exalt roars, over the thunder of her own jets. "You've neglected your true god for too long!" And with that, Dynamo disappears into the remaining minisub.
Alice will get to meet the golden robot in person, as she drops into the hatch with enough force to shake the deckplates, stomps over to the control console, and brandishes her beamklaive.
The Aestivalis reaches down into the sub with it's hand open, palm upturned for Alice to hop on for evac.
The fact that the hand probably doesn't fit in the top hatch is largely irrelevent in the long term.
"Uh," is what Alice says, when she is accosted by a shining golden robot wielding a lightsaber. So much for trying to steer the ship.
She considers for about two seconds, and then swings her curtain rod (still flaming, if severely bent) at Radiant's hand. She is, in fact, going to try to take the beamklaive away. She may even remember to trade it for the oil. "What are you doing, evil terrorist lightsaber-wielding robot? Stop stealing things and kidnapping people on the oil rig! I'll fight you!"
Yes, with a curtain rod. It probably won't last long. She's already pretty battered herself from people who just keep hitting her.
"Oh, I do apologize," Lera says with a sigh, looking back at Edon. "I hadn't thought that I would set you aflame. It appears you are quite all right!" she says, before she looks back at the Radiant Dynamo. Her teeth grit together, as she listens to what she says. "Dragonspawn? You would speak of them in that way? I will cut you down where you stand!"
She rushes forward - and that proves her mistake. She sees the bullet too late; it slams into Lera, picks her up, and hurls her clear across the deck. The lamellar armor is shot through, and blood begins oozing from a wound just below her right lung. Lera gasps, and looks up, spitting at the Alchemical as it flees.
Ruri sighs. That was more or less the opposite of what she wanted Alice to do right then and there.
Alice Moore is here just to annoy you, Ruri.
You and most of the rest of exsistance, Alice.
Dynamo is still pretty quick on the draw, despite her injured state. She's bloodied up (not all of it is her own, thanks to Lera), but she blocks the attack easily, cuts the damn curtain rod in /two/, and then one-hands the Beamklaive; her next 'attack' is to reach out, to try and grab Alice by the scruff of her neck.
If it lands, Alice will come flying out of the airlock hatch, and not under her own power.
"No harm done at all," Edon answers, before the Alchemical baits Lera into charging, and gets out the one last parting shot that sends Lera flying across the ship.
"Lera!" he calls. A moment later, he's at her side, though he doesn't look particularly concerned for her welfare. "Are you all right? Let me see."
Alice Moore kind of looks like this when she sees her curtain rod sheared in half: D:
She, staring at it, is a little surprised when she's grabbed. Alice struggles for a moment, throwing the half of the curtain rod she's still holding backwards; it clatters along the ground. It isn't enough to stop her from being unceremoniously pitched out the hatch, though.
Alice hits the water with another plume of steam and treads water. "Hey! You jerk!" She heads toward Ruri's mech...possibly for pickup, or possibly just to get another shot at the ship.
Pickup.
Ruri lifts off of the sub before the blasted thing submerges and takes her Aestivalis with it. It's an easy enough matter to pluck Alice roughly out of the water. Depositing her gently on the deck of the tanker, that's another matter. Ruri alights on the tanker the gentlest she can manage and parks it; she doesn't have the battery reserves to make it back home, so it's waiting for a pickup.
"Oh, yes, I am quite fine," Lera says, looking at Edon. She smiles up sweetly at him and shifts, which sends a spike of burning pain through the entirety of her left side and causes several muscles to involuntarily spasm. "In fact, I was shot by a high powered Essence Cannon and HAVE A DAMNED GUNSHOT WOUND," she says, with a healthy twitch of her eyebrow. "I am feeling superb!"
Thankfully, the helicopter is circling and coming back.
And the Locust subs pull a hasty retreat, heading back towards the undersea Gate they used to get here. Dynamo is grousing, of course, and clicks the radio on. First, a report to Yugash Command: Some cargo seized, heavy casualties, barbarians likely in possession of soulgems. Once that unpleasant bit is done with, she switches the frequency...
Radiant Dynamo of Invention swears a blue streak in Autochthonian.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "That /bitch/ and her little friend, I'll--"
Elvis says, "Hahah. A cuno got you down, chica?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Yes, she IS quite a wily one."
Elvis says, "What does she look like, eh? A looker?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention transmits the sound of something metal being bent. "Ah, Bride. I'm still alive."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "You needed me for something? I'll need to head back to the Vats to recover, but if it's important..."
Elvis says, "I'm always willing to lend a hand chica, especialyl since I have TWO HUGE MUSCLED hands to help you with AHAHAH!"
Threadbare Bride says, "That is good. Oh, I wanted to tell you of something interesting I found."
Threadbare Bride says, "/Two/ of them? Goodness."
Alice Moore takes the lift relatively gratefully. She is mostly not on fire anymore, too, which means she only scorched the paint a little (and steams some more).
She gets off onto the deck and immediately heads over toward Lera and Edon. She only really knows one of them, but... "Are you okay? I mean, aside from the gunshot," she adds, having heard that clear across the tanker.
Elvis says, "Yeah, why would I only use one?"
Erim says, "You might have had four."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Interesting?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Sometimes I only have one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Do tell."
Threadbare Bride says, "But yes, it is a place with a great deal of interesting craft-work and precious materials, and they are most reluctant to trade them..."
Elvis says, "Well, I've got a choice between big hands and HUGE hands chica. Of course, you kind of lose my handsome self while that happens."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "In the South, I hope?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Yes, though you might have to slip through a Gate... About a day's ride south of the Gate in Varangia."
Threadbare Bride says, "But you may have swifter steeds?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "...Yes, I think I could get one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "I've also got... a little side project."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention | Adjutant, who was on the escape sub way before his mistress, transmits a scan of one of the Wyld Hunt wanted posters, specifically Raza's.
Elvis says, "Side project, eh chica?"
Elvis says, "What about this pendejo?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "12 talents of jade is a lot of resources, that's what these Immaculates will give in return for his death."
Threadbare Bride says, "Ooh, how convienent."
Elvis says, "Guess the guy just has to die then. Any idea where he is chica?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Because that man himself is there."
Erim says, "Jade. I have a jade earring. I understand, however, that this jade is...different."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention laughs.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Creation's Jade and Autochthonia's Jade have magical properties."
"It is only an expression," says Edon cooly. "Let me do what I can." He reaches for her injury, almost touching it, and a cool golden-green glow surrounds his hand. The glow purifies the wound as well as any antiseptic, although the sensation is significantly more soothing, if short-lived. There is no noticible healing, though the blood loss may have slowed a bit.
Edon looks at Alice as she questions them, and then back at Lera.
"I'm not sure. It seems serious?"
Erim says, "Oh, this is an /enchanted/ earring, of course. I do that work in my spare time."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Anyway. Bride, would be so kind as to show me the way to my target's home?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh, certainly. I will doodle up a bit of a map in a few minutes and put it in the computer machine."
"Ah... well..." Lera doesn't wince when the medical Charm is used on her; it even feels nice. She sighs, and then nods her head, before she looks up from the wound and back at Alice. "I should be fine. I should likely get back to headquarters, though."
Thankfully, the helicopter is hovering low; they'll be able to leap into the ship. Lera winces, resting a hand over the wound, and looks at Edon. "Thank you," she says. "We should all be on our way. The IPA will send in a crew to handle the rest..."
"My mom," Alice says, "is gonna kill me. And this thing," she adds, stomping her foot, "is really important! And now it's nowhere near where it's supposed to be. This is the kind of stuff that starts wars, you know! Or at least people getting really mad at the terrorists and going hunting."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "...Just over two thousand gallons of oil."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Meager spoils, but we weren't counting on that kind of interference. I /hope/ Command appreciates this; we lost people out there."
Threadbare Bride says, "Blood for oil?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "It seems that way. This'll help the war machine, though... might be wise to find deposits in Creation, yes. We'll need to drill."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh /my/. Well, what is oil beneath? We get it from cachalots, generally."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "In Autochthonia, oil is tapped from conduits. In the world we raided, it's mined from certain types of 'rock'."
Erim says, "I believe they use fish oil in the coastal provinces. Gruberik, Clamento, Sundletan and so forth."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "'Fish oil'?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Oil from fish."
Threadbare Bride says, "You do not mine for fish, you catch them from the sea. Do you have seas?"
Erim says, "I don't know the process. Perhaps they squeeze the fish until the oil comes out."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Certain portions of the Great Maker's body are filled with fluids, but we have nothing like the ocean save the Elemental Plane of Oil."
Erim is perhaps vague on the definition. "You have a bar made of oil?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Oil is an element."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "One of six--Oil, Metal, Steam, Lightning, Smoke, and Crystal."
Threadbare Bride says, "Smoke? Is an element?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "The Pole of Oil is where all the liquid chemicals within his body come from."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Yes."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "A noisome byproduct of industry, but an element nevertheless."
Erim says, "Interesting. The only one I would recognize as an element is lightning, and our earth seems to apply to both crystal and metal."
Erim says, "I suppose smoke could be a part of fire and air, and steam water and fire."
Threadbare Bride says, "I would say it is more fire and wood."
Erim says, "We do not recognize Wood as an element either."
Threadbare Bride says, "You should. It is the best one, really."
Erim says, "Plants are generally aligned with earth, perhaps because they grow from it, and life."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention growls. "And here Blossom tells me they /changed the bounty/!"
Threadbare Bride says, "True, but they also rot, and their leavings are fragrant and delicious."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Up or down?"
Erim says, "Ah, /mushrooms/, they are aligned with darkness."
Erim says, "And rotting plants."
Threadbare Bride says, "Also delicious."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Down."
Erim says, "Money. I never saw the point. Although for magical materials, of course it is different."
What: In an attempt to gain vital war materials and impress her superiors, Radiant Dynamo tries to make off with the world's largest supertanker. She is not prepared to deal with three Dragon-Blooded, and a little girl with a giant robot.
Where: The Persian Gulf, Alice's plane
When: The 15th of May
Watch For: Ruri's new ride, Alice watches way too many action movies, Epic Klaive Battle, Not-So-Epic Stick Battle, Edon is a caring husband-to-be
The Knock Nevis was once the world's largest ship. Now it's the world's largest holding tank. Measuring over 1500 feet from stem to stern, it carries oil drilled from the beds of the Persian Gulf--it's near Qatar, in the Al Shaheen oil field.
Now, it's been hijacked. According to the sketchy reports, a group of terrorists blasted the ship free from its mooring, and are piloting it out of the Gulf. Oddly enough, the ship's moving /fast/--far faster than something that size has any right to move. The reason why is apparent to anyone within forty yards of the vessel.
"The jets are functioning at full capacity!" says Captain Rasli. The middle-aged man is the closest thing the Locust forces have to a boat pilot--he was a war skimmer engineer for many years, and now he's been pressed into duty for Autochthon. "You're a genius, ma'am!"
"I know," says Radiant Dynamo, smirking. She fades out for a moment, watching through her Familiar's eyes--the Adjutant is sitting on a railing, carefully observing one of the two bulky Essence-driven engines that have been mounted to the Knock Nevis' stern. "Now, all we have to do is get this prize back to the rendezvous point, unload all this oil, and cart it back to Yugash in glory!"
But Dynamo's expecting company. She and her troops took out most of the ship's crew in the initial attack, but someone got a distress call off... and the survivors barricaded themselves belowdecks.
Radiant Dynamo figures they'll make excellent captives... or barring that, ransom.
The call went out for aid to the Black Sheep Squadron for close air support. The Sheep, due to constraints and logistics, have only dispatched a lone pilot to combat the forces of evil and injustice.
Is it the stalwart Kyoji Kabuto? No!
Is it the legendary Amuro Ray? No!"
Is it the brave Guy Shishioh? NO!
A lone Aestivalis with extended life battery packs comes sputtering out of the sky on an inbound vector. It is colored a vibrant shade of lilac and carries a field lance. In the cockpit, Ruri's ponytails rapidly bounce up and down in time with the thruming of the machine, which Ruri is fairly certain is shaking more then it really should.
An IPA helicopter is flying in, as well. It is on loan from the United States Army, flying out of Qatar. In the back of it, Cathak Lera stands tall; a hand is resting on her daiklave and she looks out at the ship. Her lips tighten into a frown. She hadn't expected this, but...
She nods. She will do what she must! She turns her head, and looks down at her student.
"Alice, while this may have interrupted our lesson..." She clenches her other fist and lifts it up in front of her face. Be inspiring, she reminds herself! "...The most valuable lessons are learned in the field!"
There is a second passenger, significantly smaller than most of the people who use this sort of thing to air-drop and get around.
Alice, still in her street clothes, keeps trying to look out the window, or the door. Heights don't frighten her. She doesn't have a real weapon, but she has apparently salvaged a curtain rod about two feet long with a decorative knob on each end, and she's holding that in her left hand instead. "Right! It can't be that bad! It's - whoa, that /is/ going fast," she adds, glancing out the window again.
Standing near Lera to gaze at the sight below, Edon tries his best to look as though this is not his first time riding in a helicopter, much less a helicopter chasing down a comandeered oil tanker rigged up with mystical engines that have it skimming the water like a jet ski.
The result is a mixed success. He appears to have no opinion about what is happening whatsoever.
"I should think there will be quite a few lessons to learn in tackling a thing like this," he says mildly.
Adjutant chirps in the back of Dynamo's mind. The Alchemical shifts her attention, once again looking through her Familiar's sensors--and what she sees...
"Pursuers!" Radiant Dynamo cries. She strides over to the ship's intercom, and toggles it on. "Yugash forces," she says, in Autochthonian, "They send their machines to destroy us, but ours are mightier still! Kill the interlopers, for Yugash and the Great Maker!" There's a slight pause as Dynamo takes a closer look at the Aestvalis. "And save the scrap, that we may learn their secrets!"
That inspiring speech done with, the Dynamo orders Adjutant to keep an eye on the troops on the deck. The golden spider-bot scuttles around to the ship's stern, where Yugash soldiers are boiling out of the hatches. They're certainly imposing; they're wearing fully-sealed synth-leather uniforms, complete with integrated buff jackets and fume masks. It's no wonder the few people who've seen them in action compare them to insects.
And they're every bit as efficient. Within ten seconds, two man-portable Essence cannons have been set up on the rear of the Knock Nevis, and their gunners take positions behind blast shields.
"Target the humanoid machine first!" Dynamo orders. "The propellor craft appears to have weaker armor!" There's a loud hum and crackle of spiritual energy, and bolts of pure weaponized Essence fly at Ruri's new ride. A few token crossbow bolts are fired at the incoming helicopter, but at this range they probably won't even hit the thing.
Lera grimaces and ducks as a crossbow bolt slices through the air, shooting into the helicopter and over her shoulder. It embeds itself into the cushioning of a seat far behind, causing the young woman to grimace. She looks at Edon, and nods her head weakly. "Yes," she says, "quite a lesson. But well worth it!"
She looks at Alice and smiles at her. "Just remember what you've learned so far, and you shall be fine!"
Then, she looks back at her fiance. "Do be careful, Edon. These things appear to mean business, and I believe the business that they wish to deal in is the business of firing upon us with high tech devices." After all, the Realm has not yet created a crossbow it can field - only a few experimental designs. Lera sucks in a breath, then, and does what her training has taught her to.
She leaps out of a moving helicopter, coming crashing down for the ship. Her daiklave comes out with a neat, quick movement - faster than the eye can see! And when she does, her sword slashes out in a flash, right for one of the Yugash soldiers manning the Essence Cannons.
Alice Moore thinks that crossbows are adorably old-fashioned and is kind of glad they don't have rifles, since the crossbow bolts can't get up this high. "They don't have guns," she says. "I don't know any terrorists that don't have guns."
She squints out again, but can't make out all the details from up here. There's a /flying/ robot, but she leaves that alone. Mostly she is trying to get a better look when Lera edges past her and dives out of the helicopter. "Uh," Alice says, followed by, "Well, okay, I guess it worked for her. BANZAI!"
Alice jumps out a moment later, wielding her rod in her left hand as she dives toward the top of the deck. "THIS SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME!" seems to be a reasonable battle cry.
Ruri's hands someone manage to tighten their already impressive deathgrip on the Aestivalis' IFS nodes, the horseshoe tattoos on the backs of her hands glowing brightly. She takes note of the cannons being set up on the deck. "Uh... uh... that isn't good." Ruri instantly feels like an idiot for saying that. The nimble robot twists downwards as the Essence Cannon opens fire. Ruri brings her robot in low over the water out of cold hard logic rather then instinct or experience; it should be harder for them to oscillate lower rather then higher. Cannon fire streaks in behind her, throwing up blasts of water in her wake. As the boarding party makes landfall, Ruri pulls up alongside the tanker. A crossbow bolt plinks off of her outter frame, sending a reverberating plastic 'thud' throughout the interior of the machine.
Ruri, jumpy, whips her head around nervously and asks, "What was that?" Like an idiot.
Edon's fingers tighten around his daiklave, a sword that resembles an oversized rapier. Jumping out of a lurching whirligig such as this one was not provided for in his original schedule for the day, and he always has difficulty with unexpected additions.
What's more, he would hate to face the embarassment of plunging into the ocean, particularly if young Alice was able to make the jump.
But he can't exactly hang back in the cockpit dancing with the crossbow bolts. He grits his teeth and leaps for the deck.
Someone yells "Incoming!" as Lera leaps from the helicopter. It's not in time to save the Essence-cannon gunner, though--in the blink of an eye, Lera's daiklave is embedded in his chest. He gurgles, slumps forwards, and falls to the deck. The Talonlord is in for a rocky reception, however. The soldiers who were wasting bolts on the helicopter now have squisher things to target, such as her. At least six Locusts open fire on Lera as she hits deck. Another group does the same for poor, hapless Edon.
Alice, for what it's worth, is mostly ignored--perhaps she's just less threatening, or perhaps the Locusts just have a thing about hitting little girls. Then again, maybe not; one of the soldiers barks out something in a language that sounds suspiciously like Old Realm (Autochthonian hasn't diverged that much from its mother tongue) before adding in badly-accented Riverspeak: "Halt!" He lowers his crossbow at Alice.
The other Essence Cannon gunner manages to squeeze off one more shot, and then Ruri and her Aestvalis are out of range. For now.
"We're being boarded!" On the bridge, Dynamo frowns. She's watching, all right, and she does not like what she's seeing.
"Maintain control of the ship, Captain. I'll deal with that flier." Before Rasli can protest, Radiant Dynamo dashes out of the bridge and onto the deck. She builds speed, and /vaults/ off the railing as the Aestvalis passes by. If she hits, Ruri will get a rather unpleasant shock--two-hundred-odd pounds of clay and metal landing on a mech at high speed has got to leave a mark.
Lera's eyes widen, as she sees the crossbows leveled at her and at Edon. At least, she thinks, Alice isn't being fired on. "Edon, /MOVE/!" the soldier shouts, before she runs ahead. A key part of her tactical preference is to keep a foe guessing, and that sometimes means doing the unexpected. As the crossbow bolts shoot for her, she sucks in a breath.
She dives to the left; two of the bolts fly by, slamming into the wood behind her. She then rolls on the ground, another two going over her head. As she comes back up, though, one slams into her lamellar armor and bounces off. The other sticks there; she hisses, and then dives amidst the group.
Red light and steam briefly trickle from her sword, as she slashes her Reaper Daiklave out in a wide circle, trying to cut into several foes at once.
Alice Moore does not speak Old Realm and the first language is gibberish to her.
The second is not, but by that point Alice is already moving. She is /fast/, even for a Dynast, and she darts in and brings her curtain rod up in a whistling arc, trying to knock the crossbow out of his hands or just break some of the parts in it. They're delicate, aren't they? They have gears and things.
Alice's knowledge of crossbows is kind of limited.
"You halt!" she yells, after her swing. "We don't like terrorists or kidnappers or thieves around here, you hear me? Go away and put this thing back and I won't hit your things anymore!"
For a moment, fear overrides Ruri's brain and she considers, briefly, ejecting the Core Pit then and there. The heavy thud that comes striking in on the Aestivalis' back makes the craft cease to skim above the water for several seconds and causes it to be half submerged /in/ the water. Only a panic maneuver on Ruri's part leaps the craft up into the sky before it succumbs to the briney depths; the Combat Frame isn't equipped to handle underwater combat the way the Aqua Frame is. As the Aesti pulls into a power climb, the Radiant Dynamo's level surface suddenly becomes a verticle one and she has a choice; hold on for dear life or get off fast.
No sooner has Edon dropped down to the ship than half a dozen crossbowmen begin to greet him with a volley of bolts. He is naggingly conscious of an irrational need to appear as though he is /accustomed/ to facing down an enemy force of mechanically enhanced archers as he eyes Lera's tactics for a survival strategy. He darts left and right, trying to keep himself a moving target. Swiftness comes fairly naturally to him, even if the situation is foreign.
Meanwhile, he fishes a throwing knife from his belt, and chooses a target from the nearest of the crossbowmen. He lets the knife fly just as a bolt misses his ear.
Lera's gamble pays off. The Locusts weren't prepared for a mere human soldier to be packing that much heat, and three of them are cut down in short order. A fourth ends up with Edon's throwing knife in his chest, and joins the pile of bodies on the deck.
Then more Locusts come boiling out of the hatch leading deeper into the ship. The one in the lead has some strange backpack-like contraption strapped to him; it ends in a nozzle-gun held in both hands. "Fry!" he screams, in Autochthonian, before he attempts to hose down the deck where Lera and Edon are standing.
"What the--?!" The Locust dealing with Alice loses his crossbow. It goes skittering across the deck, bolt still locked in place. "Damn! Hold still!" He then makes the mistake of lunging for Alice, hoping to grab her in a bear-hug and hold her.
This never works in the movies.
Dynamo's eyes widen as the Frame starts to sink; she scrambles up it, grabbing hold of whatever handholds she can. "Pilot!" she cries, opening a channel to Ruri. "You will power this thing down and land it on the deck immediately! In return, I will spare your--" The transmission cuts out abruptly as Ruri throws the Aestivalis into a climb, startling the Exalt... but she's used to such violent aerial acrobatics, and recovers quickly. "Life!"
As if to emphasize this point, Dynamo hangs on /tighter/. Her anima flares, further augmenting her inhuman strength. This, coupled with her tight grip, will leave fingerprints in the mech, at the least.
Perhaps more violent maneuvers are in order.
Meanwhile, sensors might be picking up contacts underwater. Submarine-like contacts, to be exact--five of them. They're advancing on the Knock Nevis using Essence-powered engines.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over what sounds like mecha engines at high velocity: "Can anyone identify the following individuals?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention transmits Adjutant-captured pictures of Cathak Lera, Mnemon Edon, and Alice Moore, followed by a visorcam picture of an unbearably girly Aestivalis.
The Grand Intellect says, "I can compare them to my database."
Threadbare Bride says, "Ooh, I know /her/. The first one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "What is she?"
Threadbare Bride says, "You know, I have been sorely out of touch, perhaps I should send her a letter."
The Grand Intellect pauses. "I want to say I recognize the last one, but the particular model is unfamiliar to me."
Threadbare Bride says, "She is a Terrestrial Exalt. Fire-aspected, or was it Earth? I cannot recall."
Threadbare Bride says, "Probably fire."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention hisses. "Terrestrial Exalt?"
The Grand Intellect says, "It looks like one of the mecha used by the battleship Nadesico. Customized to a great degree."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "I didn't expect them to look so /weak/."
The Grand Intellect says, "Beyond that, I can't identify the pilot, unfortunately."
Threadbare Bride says, "Weak? Well, she is a rather young one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Where are her Charms?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Ha ha ha!"
Grabbing Alice never works.
She actually gets gripped despite her speed, and has her curtain rod held to her side. That's all right, though; she struggles for a few moments and then rather abruptly ignites. It isn't anima flux but is instead a concious expression of power; the flames never go more than an inch or two away from her, but they are /hot/, and they keep burning.
She uses the distraction (and probably pain) to try to squirm out again and deliver a hard strike to the Locust's head. "Jerk," she grumbles, under her breath.
Threadbare Bride says, "Why, in her head, I suppose. Or perhaps her Essence generally."
Ruri inhales, exhales, and clears her mind. Damage reports start coming through her combat computer. Sensor pings below the water. Okay, she can deal with this. She is Ruri Hoshino and if she dies here, well... the Nadesico would be in trouble. Ruri reasons with herself that it is because of the ship's computer that she cares, and not the crew. She can handle the subs, but first, her passenger.
The easiest thing to grab onto on the Aestivalis' back would be it's spare battery packs. The computer is reporting damage to the battery packs... hm.
Ruri ejects the extra batteries; they disconnect suddenly with a hydralic hiss. It only takes gravity a moment to wrap its iron grip on the liquid filled plastic containers and the 200 pound metal being holding on to them. Ruri twirls the Aestivalis around, taking up her Field Lance in both hands. She comes around in a mighty slash that cleaves the falling packs in half; they explode as the fuel within is ignited. It would be safer to be clear of that then still holding on when the lance cleaves through; speak nothing of the resulting detonation.
Lera sees the flame coming. She looks at the man who activates it... and then smiles, as the fires strike her. For a moment, it appears she might be immolated; she seems to vanish into the flames.
Until the flamethrower stops, and she starts walking forward. Fire rages around her, snapping up at the air. She barely looks burnt; in fact, she is smiling, and the flame seems to be at her command. "You would use flame against a Child of Hesieh." She laughs. "That was rather... ill-advised."
She snaps her free hand out - and a short bolt of flame hurls towards the man with the flamethrower.
Edon moves behind his fiance, backing away from the flames even as Lera appears to take control of them and even send more back for the man with the flamethrower. The heat on his face is uncomfortable just from the proximity, and the Wood Aspect feels particularly flammable by comparison.
He waits for the glow to die down, then sends a few knives at some of the newly assembled attackers. Not too many, though -- he expects he'll be needing them all.
The soldier has a moment's worth of satisfaction as he grabs the brat, and then she's suddenly on fire. The man screams in pain, lets go of Alice, and gets knocked upside the head. He goes sprawling to the deck, and starts rolling about in an attempt to put the flames out. No one seems to be paying attention to the junior Dragon-Blood... they're bigger Exalts to kill.
The Locust is utterly terrified for all of five seconds as Lera refuses to burn to death like a decent human being. The bolt of fire strikes him dead center mass, and spreads outwards. There's a sudden scream, and the chemical tank /explodes/, washing the deck in fire. Flammable objects in the area--bodies, wood, plastic--start to burn. This may prove to be an interesting stage hazard.
Funny, Dynamo thinks, as she clings to the Aestivalis, you could probably detach this part of the vehicle without causing major structural damage to the--
Uh oh.
This is precisely what happens. The battery pack falls, and Radiant Dynamo goes along with it--when the Aestvalis circles around, Ruri might catch a glimpse of a green-and-gold figure clinging to it. Then contrails of golden light issue from her feet, and she flies. Dynamo escapes the worst of the fireball, but it still burns her clothing and leaves char marks across clay and metal.
The subs take this moment to intervene. One by one they start surfacing, opening up on the mecha with their Essence cannons. Simultaneously, long hoses extend from the bow of each sub, clamping onto pumps in the Knock Nevis' hull. What're they doing? Making off with the cargo.
And where is the Radiant Dynamo of Invention?
As Edon's knives tear up more Locusts, he might hear the dull roar of rockets, and a burst of Essence. That's all the warning he gets before a golden blur flies out of the sky, heading straight for him. Its right fist is clenched, held out in front like a ram, and aimed at chest-level.
And regardless of whether or not ROCKETTO PANCH is successful against Edon, Radiant Dynamo carries the momentum through to Lera. It's not that far.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over rockets: "Fire aspect."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh, really? That is good to know."
Daos grumbles.
Daos says, "I hate voice overs. That is all."
Erim says, "I beg your pardon?"
Daos says, "Nothing, nothing. I believe my attempt to kill some Time Lords several times over has backfired."
Elvis says, "Did you try to punch them, hombre?"
Erim pauses. "It has, has it?"
Daos says, "I tried to unmake their existences."
Daos says, "Instead, ah... they are now young adults."
Daos says, "Or at least the Master is. The Doctor needs to /STOP GLOWING/ so I can see what miserable fate awaits him."
Erim says, "Perhaps you should not try this anymore."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention would comment about that being an epic failure, except she's too busy screaming and rocket-punching.
Daos says, "..."
Daos says, "... Perhaps."
Elvis says, "Now that's the way, Chica!"
Alice Moore ignores the man once he's fallen. She's burning; she doesn't have to worry about the fire on the deck, but this is an oil tanker. The other Exalts might not know what that means.
She does. "Oh, crap," she says, before raising her voice. "WATCH OUT FOR EXPLOSIONS! I CAN'T SWIM TO SHORE FROM HERE!" Probably not, anyway; technically, Alice has never checked. She sends another quick radio message, and then goes back to helping.
'Helping' is going to the hoses and - she can't unhook them, Alice realizes as she gets close, she's on /fire/ and they've got oil in them. "Hey! I need help here!" she yells at Edon, before pointing at one of the hoses. "Take that off! It's full of things that burn, I can't do it!"
Instead she goes after the cannon-users instead. That is clearly a much safer prospect.
Ruri does not give two shakes about the oil. She does, however, have a mind for collatoral and isn't a fan of killing random people. Ruri maneuvers as best she can, but she's a lone target under a four ship barrage. Not all of them need to target her directly; they only need to pelt her general area and have a reasonable chance of hitting her.
Several impacts score the outter frame of the lilac Aestivalis, ruining it's pretty new paint job. The craft shakes in the air as Ruri fights for control, only managing to stabilize it as it dives, headfirst, towards the ocean. Ruri rips the nimble craft back upwards and manages to come to a more stabilized flight path, dipping low again. The Field Lance dips even lower, slashing out at the hoses as she flits past. Priority one; neutralize potential environmental disaster.
"Right!" Edon calls to Alice, starting for the hoses.
At that moment, he manages to sense the brief warning signs as Radiant Dynamo comes plowing towards him. It affords him just enough time to turn and look affronted before her rocket punch smashes into him and sends him -- or carries him along -- flying towards his fiance.
The fact that much of their surroundings have been reduced to a lake of fire just makes the situation more fun for everyone.
Lera gets slammed into by Edon and yelps. She goes tumbling a few times, and, unfortunately, is on fire. She rolls a few times - and then throws her feet out. She skids on the deck and looks at him; it's hard to criticize someone you've known for two weeks and have to put up with for the rest of your life. "Be careful!" she shouts, before she goes running for Radiant Dynamo.
Her daiklave swings around - she rises up, comes airborne, and swings her sword up into the air. "I've no idea what you are... BUT IT ENDS HERE!"
The blade slashes down, hard, for the Alchemical Exalt.
Shnnkt!
The Field Lance slashes through one of the hoses as Ruri dives. Oil spills out into the water, but the connection quickly seals at both ends. The wounded sub retreats with its cargo--five hundred gallons of oil, give or take a couple dozen--firing off a few last parting shots at the Aestivalis. The remaining subs keep up their barrage, though one turret-gunner is distracted as Alice swims up to him, and starts bludgeoning him with a flaming curtain rod. Thar particular gun goes silent, but shortly after, a hatch pops open, and gloved hands reach out to grab Alice and pull her inside!
Dynamo lets out a yell of triumph as her fist meets with flesh. The fact that Mnemon isn't speared by the attack is disappointing--definitely not normal, maybe an Exalt in his own right. The Orichalcum woman ends her attack at the opposite end of the deck, the roar of her Plasma Thruster Array replaced by the soft hum of the Parabolic Leap Overcharge Device. Golden sparks arc around her hands, feet, shoulders and head as she turns to face Lera, hovering over the flaming deck.
Radiant Dynamo reacts in a heartbeat, drawing a bladeless hilt from her belt and igniting it with a snap-hiss of Essence. Lera's daiklave bites into the Alchemical's shoulder, drawing some sort of iridescent oil-like substance, but the golden energy blade (shape-wise, a perfect mirror of Lera's own) parries the attack before the Fire-aspect can cut Dynamo's arm off.
"Exalt," Dynamo hisses. "Get lost. Take your friends with you, before you call up something you can't put down." As she speaks, the radiance around her intensifies--arcs of Essence are sizzling across her body, focusing on the metallic parts and the soulgem. The generators on her back are blazing with actinic energy.
Dynamo is content to hold Lera's blade like that for a second or two, and then gives the Fire Aspect a violent shove.
The curtain rod isn't flaming any more or less than the rest of Alice, which means that it is at least a somewhat limited blaze rather than being enormous; it only radiates a couple inches from her body and weapon.
Yes, even in the water, she is flaming. The steam is rather impressive. At least the water doesn't boil far enough away from her that she just falls through a cloud of steam; she'd need to have her anima /really/ going for that.
Alice is not as fast in the water as she is on land, and that's her excused for being grabbed by the hands coming out of the hatch. She goes with it, practically throwing herself in and still on fire. "Hey, no kidnapping either!" she yells as she goes. "I hate you, terrorists! Robots! Robot terrorists!
She must have heard about the orichalcum caste outside.
"You underestimate the determination of my people," Lera says. She keeps the jade daiklave pointed at Radiant Dynamo, her eyes narrowed as she looks at her. "The Princes of the Earth will put down whatever you would wish to throw at us - and the Interplanar Peacekeeping Agency will do the same." She narrows her eyes - and then, gets pushed back. She falls backward a little, sucks in a breath, and straightens her posture.
"Tell me," she says, "what is your name and where are you from? You have an almost familiar look - but, you're also quite alien!"
Flame explodes from her daiklave. She lifts Tiger Strikes Silent up, and goes running in; the blade doesn't live up to its name, though, as she swings her sword and makes the air /whoosh/ audibly.
Ruri's evasion continues as she changes up her dodge patterns every few seconds to compensate. She can't outrun them forever and she can't move fast enough. And so she /fights/.
Two unengaged subs remain. This is acceptable to Ruri, Aestivalis were designed with multiple craft interception in mind. Nothing... quite like this, but it is not anything that can not be truely compensated for. The shoulder pods on the Ruriruri Custom open up and a half dozen missiles streak outwards as targetting locks are confirmed. Ruri leaves the sub belching steam into the air unharassed, she isn't exactly sure /what/ is happening down there and she isn't about to risk things on such random variables. The dozen missiles streak outwards in true Itano Circus style, splitting open to reveal even more missiles inside, carpet bombing the two subs.
Daos says, "So..."
Daos says, "...If I were a godlike being to admit to my mistakes..."
Daos says, "I might advise us to research the effects of spells, and see if they can have an unintended secondary effect that proves embarassing and useless."
Erim waits.
Daos says, "... But I am not."
Daos says, "... as such, carry on."
Threadbare Bride says, "Of course, of course."
Erim says, "I see."
Edon is a little out of his element, to say the least, as he slides across the deck, catching himself only inches from the blaze. His coat, he finds, is smoldering from his impact with Lera, and he throws it to the deck, coughing from the smoke and the impact to his solar plexus.
He stands, to see Lera facing off against this strange woman erupting with Essence and seemingly equipped with mechanical parts. He has never seen anything like her in his life -- which isn't new, for today, but the way she uses Essence is all too much like an Exalt.
His eyebrows knit slightly, but for the most part he watches without expression, approaching the two with his daiklave prepared.
Daos says, "... So yes."
"I'm not so foolish as to mistake ignorance and sheer numbers for /determination/," Dynamo hisses. "'Princes of the Earth?'" Her lips part in an ugly sneer, and she raises Elegant Blaze of the Maker for the killing blow.
Then Lera lunges. the Alchemcial takes a slash across the chest, the heat of the daiklave searing the wound closed before it can bleed. Dynamo 'skates' backwards on her cushion of paramagnetic force before Lera can do any more, the force of her anima banner intensifying from the effort. Now her entire body is ablaze with golden light, and lightning plays across her form--the generators on her back are almost too bright to look at.
"Not /your/ miserable cesspit of a world! Somewhere better, where the Chosen aren't /fragile/ and /weak/!" Dynamo suddenly spins in mid-air, lashing out with one heavy Orichalcum-plated boot in a vicious roundhouse kick. "Now admit my supremacy, and surrender your soul!"
From his vantage point, Edon might notice a few things. Firstly, the remains of the Locust crew are packing up their marbles and swimming for the submersible with the severed line, taking potshots at the Aestivalis with crossbows. Secondly, the actual crew is coming out from its barricade--they're carrying strange red cylinders, and using the attached hoses to spray wind or something on the fires. They aren't going anywhere near the lunatics with the swords, though.
One of the subs goes up in a fireball under the influence of ALL THE MISSILES, but the other manages to put a layer of water between itself and Ruri, and is somewhat shielded. This means that it is only 'severely damaged' instead of 'exploded'. It beats a hasty retreat.
As to why the dudes grabbed Alice? That becomes readily apparent--the retreating Locusts are heading for her sub. After a few soldiers end up with nasty burns, they give up hope of holding her, and instead start attempting to subdue her. This means an overwhelming zergrush of punches, kicks, and such.
"/Our/ Chosen?" Lera's eyes narrow, as the kick comes in; she swings her arm up, and the kick slides along one of her hearthstone bracers. She grimaces; despite the cool attitude that she tries to broadcast, she feels a brief pang of panic and fear. She swallows and then drives forward, trying to stab the point of her slashing sword into her foe's shoulder.
"Creation is no cesspit, automaton, and you will find her Exalts are far from weak!" She pulls the blade back after the stab, and then swings it down with a hard chop, before finishing with an elegant and graceful slash.
It is on that one that red light explodes from the back of the sword, and as she finishes the blow, spirals up around her before vanishing.
Alice Moore is not as okay with getting punched and pummeled.
Fortunately, this is where her speed comes in handy; she manages to swerve and avoid some of them, but there /are/ an awful lot of these fists coming at her; some of them hit, even as she catches others on her curtain rod (which rapidly begins to bend, not being designed to handle heat and blunt force) or her free hand or simply ducks.
"The United States of America doesn't negotiate with terrorists!" she yells, which she heard on TV and seems to apply at the current moment. She drives her hot rod (okay, she only wishes she had a hot rod) at the face of one of her assailants and ducks at the controls of the sub. Does she know how to drive? Hell no.
Is she going to try to stall it? You bet your ass.
"One target destroyed, one crippled and withdrawing, one withdrawing, and one still remaining in the combat zone." Ruri reports. The Aestivalis dips awkwardly down as Ruri maneuvers herself towards the remaining submarine. IFF is reading a friendly signature on board; time to provide fire support. But Ruri is not a fan of needless violence; perhaps a more creative solution is in order.
Ruri lands her Aestivalis on the sub's top deck as a 'subtle' warning to the crew.
Threadbare Bride says, "Hmm... Dynamo, dear, are you listening?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention, over the sounds of Epic Klaive Battle: "Bit busy."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Five minutes."
Threadbare Bride says, "Of course, of course."
As Lera finishes the last blow in her succession, Edon rushes in to offer assistance, the point of his long, narrow daiklave dancing in several feints before he attempts to sink in a blow. As he finishes this strike, the blade takes on a slightly green tinge, a sign of poison.
"Sorry I'm late," he says to Lera, with a bright smile. "You had set me on fire."
He then turns again to the alien Exalt. "Does this world of yours have a name?" he says.
The soldier at the controls gets a hot curtain rod to the face. It burns through the leather mask--and judging by the scream he lets out, a good deal of the flesh beneath. He starts clutching at his face, screaming in that gibberish language again. Someone else in the sub is doing the same, into a radio.
<> The voice crackles into Dynamo's comm unit, and she snarls. As much as she hates to admit it, this fight is now a lost cause. She adopts a defensive posture, neatly parrying the first two strokes with her beamklaive, then moving in to retaliate with a long slash to Lera's right arm. The third slash lays open her other shoulder...
And suddenly, the Radiant Dynamo is silhouetted against a glow of red. When it subsides, she's even more scorched than she was after Ruri got through with her. She responds by levelling her right arm at Lera; the top part of the forearm simply splits along an invisible seam, revealing a wicked-looking essence cannon. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Dragonspawn!" Essence crackles and flares and then bursts outwards in a projectile of light and energy. It's headed towards Lera, and the bullet is /enormous/.
Right about then, Edon gets his suckerpunch in, inflicting still more damage on her battered frame. Iridescent 'blood' is dripping all over the deck, and the Alchemical's clothes are in ruins. Dynamo screams in rage and pain, ignites her rockets once more, and takes off--backing away might be a good idea for Edon, even if his girlfriend can take the heat.
"We're coming for you and your Realm!" the Exalt roars, over the thunder of her own jets. "You've neglected your true god for too long!" And with that, Dynamo disappears into the remaining minisub.
Alice will get to meet the golden robot in person, as she drops into the hatch with enough force to shake the deckplates, stomps over to the control console, and brandishes her beamklaive.
The Aestivalis reaches down into the sub with it's hand open, palm upturned for Alice to hop on for evac.
The fact that the hand probably doesn't fit in the top hatch is largely irrelevent in the long term.
"Uh," is what Alice says, when she is accosted by a shining golden robot wielding a lightsaber. So much for trying to steer the ship.
She considers for about two seconds, and then swings her curtain rod (still flaming, if severely bent) at Radiant's hand. She is, in fact, going to try to take the beamklaive away. She may even remember to trade it for the oil. "What are you doing, evil terrorist lightsaber-wielding robot? Stop stealing things and kidnapping people on the oil rig! I'll fight you!"
Yes, with a curtain rod. It probably won't last long. She's already pretty battered herself from people who just keep hitting her.
"Oh, I do apologize," Lera says with a sigh, looking back at Edon. "I hadn't thought that I would set you aflame. It appears you are quite all right!" she says, before she looks back at the Radiant Dynamo. Her teeth grit together, as she listens to what she says. "Dragonspawn? You would speak of them in that way? I will cut you down where you stand!"
She rushes forward - and that proves her mistake. She sees the bullet too late; it slams into Lera, picks her up, and hurls her clear across the deck. The lamellar armor is shot through, and blood begins oozing from a wound just below her right lung. Lera gasps, and looks up, spitting at the Alchemical as it flees.
Ruri sighs. That was more or less the opposite of what she wanted Alice to do right then and there.
Alice Moore is here just to annoy you, Ruri.
You and most of the rest of exsistance, Alice.
Dynamo is still pretty quick on the draw, despite her injured state. She's bloodied up (not all of it is her own, thanks to Lera), but she blocks the attack easily, cuts the damn curtain rod in /two/, and then one-hands the Beamklaive; her next 'attack' is to reach out, to try and grab Alice by the scruff of her neck.
If it lands, Alice will come flying out of the airlock hatch, and not under her own power.
"No harm done at all," Edon answers, before the Alchemical baits Lera into charging, and gets out the one last parting shot that sends Lera flying across the ship.
"Lera!" he calls. A moment later, he's at her side, though he doesn't look particularly concerned for her welfare. "Are you all right? Let me see."
Alice Moore kind of looks like this when she sees her curtain rod sheared in half: D:
She, staring at it, is a little surprised when she's grabbed. Alice struggles for a moment, throwing the half of the curtain rod she's still holding backwards; it clatters along the ground. It isn't enough to stop her from being unceremoniously pitched out the hatch, though.
Alice hits the water with another plume of steam and treads water. "Hey! You jerk!" She heads toward Ruri's mech...possibly for pickup, or possibly just to get another shot at the ship.
Pickup.
Ruri lifts off of the sub before the blasted thing submerges and takes her Aestivalis with it. It's an easy enough matter to pluck Alice roughly out of the water. Depositing her gently on the deck of the tanker, that's another matter. Ruri alights on the tanker the gentlest she can manage and parks it; she doesn't have the battery reserves to make it back home, so it's waiting for a pickup.
"Oh, yes, I am quite fine," Lera says, looking at Edon. She smiles up sweetly at him and shifts, which sends a spike of burning pain through the entirety of her left side and causes several muscles to involuntarily spasm. "In fact, I was shot by a high powered Essence Cannon and HAVE A DAMNED GUNSHOT WOUND," she says, with a healthy twitch of her eyebrow. "I am feeling superb!"
Thankfully, the helicopter is circling and coming back.
And the Locust subs pull a hasty retreat, heading back towards the undersea Gate they used to get here. Dynamo is grousing, of course, and clicks the radio on. First, a report to Yugash Command: Some cargo seized, heavy casualties, barbarians likely in possession of soulgems. Once that unpleasant bit is done with, she switches the frequency...
Radiant Dynamo of Invention swears a blue streak in Autochthonian.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "That /bitch/ and her little friend, I'll--"
Elvis says, "Hahah. A cuno got you down, chica?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Yes, she IS quite a wily one."
Elvis says, "What does she look like, eh? A looker?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention transmits the sound of something metal being bent. "Ah, Bride. I'm still alive."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "You needed me for something? I'll need to head back to the Vats to recover, but if it's important..."
Elvis says, "I'm always willing to lend a hand chica, especialyl since I have TWO HUGE MUSCLED hands to help you with AHAHAH!"
Threadbare Bride says, "That is good. Oh, I wanted to tell you of something interesting I found."
Threadbare Bride says, "/Two/ of them? Goodness."
Alice Moore takes the lift relatively gratefully. She is mostly not on fire anymore, too, which means she only scorched the paint a little (and steams some more).
She gets off onto the deck and immediately heads over toward Lera and Edon. She only really knows one of them, but... "Are you okay? I mean, aside from the gunshot," she adds, having heard that clear across the tanker.
Elvis says, "Yeah, why would I only use one?"
Erim says, "You might have had four."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Interesting?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Sometimes I only have one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Do tell."
Threadbare Bride says, "But yes, it is a place with a great deal of interesting craft-work and precious materials, and they are most reluctant to trade them..."
Elvis says, "Well, I've got a choice between big hands and HUGE hands chica. Of course, you kind of lose my handsome self while that happens."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "In the South, I hope?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Yes, though you might have to slip through a Gate... About a day's ride south of the Gate in Varangia."
Threadbare Bride says, "But you may have swifter steeds?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "...Yes, I think I could get one."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "I've also got... a little side project."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention | Adjutant, who was on the escape sub way before his mistress, transmits a scan of one of the Wyld Hunt wanted posters, specifically Raza's.
Elvis says, "Side project, eh chica?"
Elvis says, "What about this pendejo?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "12 talents of jade is a lot of resources, that's what these Immaculates will give in return for his death."
Threadbare Bride says, "Ooh, how convienent."
Elvis says, "Guess the guy just has to die then. Any idea where he is chica?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Because that man himself is there."
Erim says, "Jade. I have a jade earring. I understand, however, that this jade is...different."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention laughs.
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Creation's Jade and Autochthonia's Jade have magical properties."
"It is only an expression," says Edon cooly. "Let me do what I can." He reaches for her injury, almost touching it, and a cool golden-green glow surrounds his hand. The glow purifies the wound as well as any antiseptic, although the sensation is significantly more soothing, if short-lived. There is no noticible healing, though the blood loss may have slowed a bit.
Edon looks at Alice as she questions them, and then back at Lera.
"I'm not sure. It seems serious?"
Erim says, "Oh, this is an /enchanted/ earring, of course. I do that work in my spare time."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Anyway. Bride, would be so kind as to show me the way to my target's home?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh, certainly. I will doodle up a bit of a map in a few minutes and put it in the computer machine."
"Ah... well..." Lera doesn't wince when the medical Charm is used on her; it even feels nice. She sighs, and then nods her head, before she looks up from the wound and back at Alice. "I should be fine. I should likely get back to headquarters, though."
Thankfully, the helicopter is hovering low; they'll be able to leap into the ship. Lera winces, resting a hand over the wound, and looks at Edon. "Thank you," she says. "We should all be on our way. The IPA will send in a crew to handle the rest..."
"My mom," Alice says, "is gonna kill me. And this thing," she adds, stomping her foot, "is really important! And now it's nowhere near where it's supposed to be. This is the kind of stuff that starts wars, you know! Or at least people getting really mad at the terrorists and going hunting."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "...Just over two thousand gallons of oil."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Meager spoils, but we weren't counting on that kind of interference. I /hope/ Command appreciates this; we lost people out there."
Threadbare Bride says, "Blood for oil?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "It seems that way. This'll help the war machine, though... might be wise to find deposits in Creation, yes. We'll need to drill."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh /my/. Well, what is oil beneath? We get it from cachalots, generally."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "In Autochthonia, oil is tapped from conduits. In the world we raided, it's mined from certain types of 'rock'."
Erim says, "I believe they use fish oil in the coastal provinces. Gruberik, Clamento, Sundletan and so forth."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "'Fish oil'?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Oil from fish."
Threadbare Bride says, "You do not mine for fish, you catch them from the sea. Do you have seas?"
Erim says, "I don't know the process. Perhaps they squeeze the fish until the oil comes out."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Certain portions of the Great Maker's body are filled with fluids, but we have nothing like the ocean save the Elemental Plane of Oil."
Erim is perhaps vague on the definition. "You have a bar made of oil?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Oil is an element."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "One of six--Oil, Metal, Steam, Lightning, Smoke, and Crystal."
Threadbare Bride says, "Smoke? Is an element?"
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "The Pole of Oil is where all the liquid chemicals within his body come from."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Yes."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "A noisome byproduct of industry, but an element nevertheless."
Erim says, "Interesting. The only one I would recognize as an element is lightning, and our earth seems to apply to both crystal and metal."
Erim says, "I suppose smoke could be a part of fire and air, and steam water and fire."
Threadbare Bride says, "I would say it is more fire and wood."
Erim says, "We do not recognize Wood as an element either."
Threadbare Bride says, "You should. It is the best one, really."
Erim says, "Plants are generally aligned with earth, perhaps because they grow from it, and life."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention growls. "And here Blossom tells me they /changed the bounty/!"
Threadbare Bride says, "True, but they also rot, and their leavings are fragrant and delicious."
Threadbare Bride says, "Oh?"
Threadbare Bride says, "Up or down?"
Erim says, "Ah, /mushrooms/, they are aligned with darkness."
Erim says, "And rotting plants."
Threadbare Bride says, "Also delicious."
Radiant Dynamo of Invention says, "Down."
Erim says, "Money. I never saw the point. Although for magical materials, of course it is different."