Gundam: Wrath of the Stars IC

[Merilan]

"Barton Combine..." Athrusa sounds like she hadn't ever heard of that organisation. "Okay, I trust you. It's... a strange sensation. I'm not a Newtype or anything, so I can't really say I've ever experienced anything like it. Anything we can find out would be great."

She nods as she tilts her head to go, "Claws? Oh... you mean the Gai Sura's arm?" Her eyes widen. "Wow, I can scarce imagine what it looks like. That should be really handy, though -- a slightly heavier arm is still better for balance than no arm at all."

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Station Exterior

"We'll move to Belt Bravo, where the density is highest. We'll take advantage of the debris in order to ambush our foes. We can wait for them to arrive, or I can draw them in with long range fire. I'll determine the next course of action when the opportunity arises." IVan punches it, and the rockets on the Sasha spring to life. He's thrown back into his chair as the acceleration increases. His plan is to blitz the enemy line, attacking them before they can react.

Spoiler: Create Advantage Quick

Show

(4d3-4)[4]

[Nova_Eclipse]

"If you're up for it, we could head down to the Mobile Suit deck, and I can go over things with you in a bit more detail." He grins sheepishly. "Hopefully, you won't be too put off by how it looks now."

[Merilan]

Athrusa nods with a little spring on her step, following with the mechanic as they head down to the mobile suit bay and... ...

"Pffff...."

She-- couldn't help but--

"Ahahahahaha!"

The Nephilim certainly looked goofier than it did before. Most of it was the same mobile suit with a faintly regal appearance, with its flared, tiered armour and beautific wings and... the slightly elongated arm with the triple claw certainly stood out of place. Perhaps even moreso if a paint job hadn't been applied to it.

Athrusa wipes a tear from her eye as she says, "I'm-- I'm sorry, I don't mean to make fun of the hard work you do, but I haven't had a good laugh like that since... well, since boarding, really! I'm really grateful."

[DoctorFaust]

"So you are going to use Mom to try to get me to trust it. I'm done with this." Yuuki turns on her heel, shoves the chair out of her way, and starts walking for the door to Captain Brighton's quarters.

[Gorum]

"We'll move to Belt Bravo, where the density is highest. We'll take advantage of the debris in order to ambush our foes. We can wait for them to arrive, or I can draw them in with long range fire. I'll determine the next course of action when the opportunity arises."

"Roger that. Let's do both: Go so you are on their flank and draw their fire when they close in on my position. I'll pounce on them, wreak as much damage as possible and retreat away from you. This will either leave one of us free to act or split their forces!"

Spoiler: False start!

Show

[roll]4d3-4[/roll]
derp, didn't close the

[Nova_Eclipse]

Most of the Nephilim's team seem pleased to see Athrusa laughing. The lead tech smiles at her with mirth in his eyes.

"Just remember, you're the one who gets to fly it," he teases. Some of the others grin at her.

[Merilan]

Athrusa steps up towards the platform as she approaches some of the mechanics. "I'll trust you'll have done a great job, and it's not like I'm not used to having to compensate for a missing arm... so, what can the new arm do? I assume it's not going to hold anything anytime soon, but I heard there was a beam gun grated onto it... and I guess I could snip off something sensitive like hydraulics at close range?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

The Sasha makes it as far as Belt Alpha this turn, but the enemy remains near their ships, at the old Weapons Test Site, still over 75 kilometers away. They don't seem to have picked up on the Sasha or Gyro's launch just yet. But then, they outnumber the Gundams by a wide margin, so it might be confidence in strength of numbers as much as anything else.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now Gabe's turn.

---

Two of the techs step up. One is an armament coordinator from the Vengeance's crew, while the other is the Nephilim's own armament engineer.


"Actually, the beam gun was built into the arm of the Gai Sura. We found some schematics that were provided with the suit. The suit already had reactor links built into its shoulder joints for the Buster Rifles, so it was fairly simple to build an adapter for it. The heat claws were also built in," The armament coordinator begins, but is interrupted excitedly by the Nephilim's engineer.

"The Gai Sura was originally built to excel at close combat. While the Nephilim can't handle the stress of the extend function right now, you can still use the heat claws in close combat to crush the enemy's sensors or manipulators. Since we were only able to convert one beam saber for the Nephilim, this should give you some more flexibility when you get in close."

Both of them beam at Athrusa. "What do you think?"

---

Yuuki will note that the door to Captain Brighton's quarters is closed...and locked, according to the telltales. She'll need the Captain's override code to open it. Captain Brighton remains seated, but her expression has changed. Her voice takes on a strained tone, one that Yuuki's never heard before.

"You're not going anywhere, and we're not done until I say we're done. Men died to get that information. They might not have been what you would call 'good' men, but they were people nonetheless, doing their best to help the fight against our common enemy, and I'll not have you spitting on their graves so you can hold onto a grudge against a person who's done nothing to you other than happen to have been dealt an awful hand by life. Sit down, Yuuki. Now." Captain Brighton's face remains calmly neutral, but there is fury in her eyes, and despite the strain, or perhaps because of it, iron in her voice, the command to sit practically daring Yuuki to defy her and face the consequences. Although Yuuki has only known her a short time, she's never, ever seen the Captain this angry. It's hard to tell what might happen if she doesn't obey, but one thing is certain: it won't be good.

[Merilan]

Athrusa grins as she says, "Wow, I've got a whole bunch of other options to use all of a sudden! You're all so clever, it's great!" She pumps a hand and says, "I know you guys are always running short on materials to work with, that's part of why I've been salvaging what I can. Even if we can't convert the Ragalian weapons, I figure spare e-pacs, ammo canisters and batteries are always in high demand... so I'm here to support you too!"

[Gorum]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now Gabe's turn.

This turn's action roll was taken from the OOC channel, as I apparently managed to fail rolling twice.

As the Sa5ha Sa2ha boost itself through zone A and reach zone B, Gabe's face becomes a bit livid, his facial expression betraying shock. " Damn, those Sturm Boosters sure pack a punch!"

Then, he fluidly goes from bewilderment to envy to a confident smile as he pushes the Gyro's Ion Thrusters to a similar (but ultimately shorter-lived) burst of power. "Now, now, Gyro, we can't let them have all the fun, can we?"

As rockets through the beginning of the asteroid belt, he dodges the first few ones through clever activation and use of the Gyro's namesakes, dancing but still maintaining the same acceleration vectors. "Wooooh! Make place for the Newt Hype!"

[Gorum]

Spoiler: Ignore this please

Show

Here, I basically failed to re-do the roll I also failed last post, and learned that "Preview" doesn't work well with [roll].

[Nova_Eclipse]

Gabe's flashy piloting coincides with the music playing through his cockpit, and the result is that he's managed to psych himself up quite admirably, despite the forces the enemy is gathering.

Spoiler: Outcome: Advantage Created!

Show

Psyched Up - Gabe isn't going down without a fight, and he's determined to show the enemy who's the best pilot in the galaxy!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Gabe gets one free invoke of that Situational Aspect, and I'll add it to the list of active aspects. After the free invoke, you'll need to spend Fate Points to invoke it again.

The enemy spends their time continuing to launch mobile suits and gather them into formations. Their commander appears to be a careful person, waiting to put the maximum amount of force on the field before moving in. The enemy remains in Zone D this turn, though as he draws closer, IVan might begin to note a familiar feeling that seems to come from the general direction of the enemy.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now IVan's turn.

---

Several of the team smile at her and gather closer. A couple of the Ooontaa nod, while one of the other techs pipes up.

"You do enough for us just by going out to fight. Give the enemy hell, and come back alive, that's all we ask." Several others chime in, too.

"That's right!"

"Make them pay!"

"We'll all show them just how strong we are!"

The lead tech chuckles.

"Just don't push yourself too hard, ok? We need you alive and on-duty."

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Bravo Zone

IVan paused as he felt the enemy forces, cutting the main boosters and decelerating as his mobile suit entered Bravo Zone. The enemy was playing patiently, attempting to build as many forces as quickly as possibly for a single strike. Normally, IVan would have his squad engage head on, but he only had a single wingman for this engagement, and the last thing he wanted to was let the fight immediately devolve in a furball while so terribly outnumbered.

Well, if the enemy was going to take his time, his time was going to cost him, and if he can cause the opponent to realize this, he can force an engagement under more ideal terms. He engaged his rifle's targeting system, targeting the enemy using the datalinked sensor readings from the station. A beyond visual range shot, taken while not emitting any radiation and on an unsuspecting target was about as ideal as it could get. The Sasha pulled the large beam rifle to its shoulder, steadying it with its other hand. Of course, there was the small matter of his ally, who was largely equipped for close quarters.

"Gyro, I will be engaging the enemy, with the intent to make the current force move on us. Be prepared for close quarters combat. If they don't engage immediately, draw their fire."

The Sasha's wetware pulled the trigger, and the rest of the machine followed suit, aiming at a Raggie mobile weapon. The rifle emits the distinctive screech, one that often accompanies a beam sniper, and a yellow beam. After the long duration beam ends, the rifle's stock splits open, emptying saturated coolant.

Spoiler: Attacking (Sniping)

Show

Using the Guillotine Rifle to make a Sneaky attack.
(4d3-5)[3]

(Since this doesn't use an All Range weapon like Funnels, I don't think my Stunt for sneaky attacks applies).

If I need to move closer, like to Charlie Zone, just tell me. :p

[DoctorFaust]

Yuuki hesitates, and then pads back to her seat. She may be stubborn, but she isn't suicidal.

"Alright, fine," she says, sitting back down. "So, what, are you not going to let me out of here until I read that dossier or something?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

The beam lances its way across space, into the clear area where the enemy is staging its forces. They weren't expecting an attack to come from so far out, and as such, the suit IVan targets doesn't have much chance to react to the attack. Its main protection comes from the shot being made from linked sensor data, and not from the sniper mobile suit's own sensors. It only has a second or two to try and react, but that may not be enough.

Spoiler: Defense

Show

Quickly trying to get out of the way of the beam: (4d3-10)[-4]

Spoiler: Outcome: Success with Style

Show

You may reduce damage by one to gain a boost. Doing so won't affect the following outcome.

The suit isn't quick enough, and the bright yellow energy lance neatly blows a hole right through its reactor. A moment after the beam passes, the suit explodes in a brilliant blue fireball. That certainly got the enemy's attention, at least.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

If you take the boost, I'll post it in the next post so I don't need to edit this one. It's now Gabe's turn.

---

"I didn't want it to come to this, but yes. You should be aware of it for two reasons," Captain Brighton says, still clearly angry, but focused on accomplishing at least part of what she wanted to do with this meeting. "One of which I've already stated. The other may become apparent when you read through the information. I just learned it, and it's already giving me a headache."

[Gorum]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

If you take the boost, I'll post it in the next post so I don't need to edit this one. It's now Gabe's turn.

[/COLOR]

As a blue glare from the mobile suit's explosion crosses Gabe's aviator sunglasses, and the information displayed by the sensors confirms what it meant, Gabe mutters to himself:"
God damn. It'll be hard to outpace this guy. "

He reasserts himself and continues, this time on comms:
" Not bad, I guess. Don't worry, when they charge you, back off a bit and I'll intercept."

Spoiler: Sneakily Sneaking in zone B, in between enemy ranks and the Sa2ha

Show

Calling upon knowledge of Zone B for a +2, if possible, not included in this roll:
(4d8-7)[7]
(roll without an obvious failure in OOC thread)

[Merilan]

It feels really good to hear such cheer from the team, nodding as Athrusa expresses, "I'll work my hardest, you've got that guarantee from me! I'll give 'em a show they won't soon forget, and I'll be back with souvenirs too!"

That's one part of the ship, at least, that she can feel comfortable and safe from. A glance takes her towards the bay of the Shura, which causes a bit of a pause... and she asks, "Do you need me with any of the tests, or should I check up with the Captain and see what duties I can run?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

The Gyro Gundam is far enough out that the enemy sensors are going to have a hard time finding it, especially given Gabe's familiarity with the area.

Spoiler: Outcome:Success, Advantage Created

Show

Hidden Attacker - Gabe has managed to make himself be a great big sneaky-pants, laying in wait for the enemy to draw near.

The shot from the Sasha has focused the enemy. Most of them form up around the ships to protect them, but a small force advances into the asteroids. Six suits in total, being led by the suit giving off the strange readings. They advance carefully into Belt C, alert and scanning for attackers.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now IVan's turn.

---

The team smiles at her, but many of them go back to work after she promises souvenoirs. The lead tech and few others remain, and they look at each other for a moment, before the lead tech nods.

"Why don't you do a few calibration runs, and get used to the mass on the arm now, and I'll call the Captain and see if she has anything she needs you to do right away?"

[Merilan]

Athrusa throws an enthusiastic nod as she hops to the little elevator and pulls herself up to the height of the chest drawer, waving along the way to whoever's in charge up there as she slides herself up from above and in. "That's a good idea... all right, I'll do the pre-flight checks -- just let me know when you want me to give it the articulation test after you've released it from the safety harness!"

She fits her helmet on as she slides the cockpit drawer shut.

"... 'Zero'... I wonder what that means, still..." she muses as she stares towards the empty globe that she's never been able to figure out, sitting right in front of her as part of the dashboard.

A pause.

"Starting sequence now..." The machine starts to thrum to life.

[Nova_Eclipse]

There's a brief yellow flash as the monitors come up, and this time, Athrusa can feel something definitely intrude into her mind for a brief instant. Letters she can definitely see, words and symbols that actually mean something.

[ZERO System Startup]
[ZERO Data Available]
...............................
[Error: Interface Missing]
[Direct Connection Available]
[Biocomputer Interface Available]
[Optimization 78%]
[System Online]


After a moment, they fade away, but she can still feel a presence in her mind. Almost comforting, like the suit somehow knows her, and wants her to pilot it. Strange.

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Bravo Zone

IVan frowns. He needed them a little closer so Gyro can ambush them. He drifts the Sasha behind an asteroid, then suddenly changed direction when he's behind it, then takes his shot, aiming another yellow beam at one of the escort mobile weapon. As he fires, he continues to drift behind another asteroid. If he was going to force them to his location, he was going to make them work for it.

Spoiler: Sniping still

Show

(4d3-5)[3]

[Nova_Eclipse]

This time, the enemy is alert for attacks, and their careful approach gives them a much better chance at getting away before being hit.

Spoiler: Defense

Show

Quickly taking evasive maneuvers: (4d3-6)[4]

The shot misses, as the enemy detected the incoming beam in time to get away, but the shot did break the formation up slightly, and they've changed vectors towards where IVan took the shot from.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now Gabe's turn.

[DoctorFaust]

"If that's what gets me out of here, then fine." Yuuki reaches over, grabs the datapad, and starts reading through the dossier.

[Gorum]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now Gabe's turn.

As the Regalian suits make their approach, Gabe, tense as he readies his assault, splits his attention on both his sensors and the Gyro's capacitor levels building back up after the short burst of speed.

"Come on Furballs... It is just a few rocks... Just... a little... closer..."

Spoiler

Show

I pass my turn, still somewhat hidden and psyched up, ready to do something really flashy and reckless.

[Merilan]

Athrusa's eyes widen for a moment as the yellow flash seems to just... it seems to almost brush past her mind, shaking her head--

[ZERO System Startup]

"What..." Athrusa whispers, surprised. She bites her lip as she lowers her head to whisper, "... was that... you? Are you calling to me?" She hesitates just a little, perhaps wondering if the strain of the last few days have finally caught up to her. "E-err--"

She clears her throat as she goes, "Sorry about that," to the mechanics. "I'm going to do the articulation range on the arm, make sure the hydraulics don't catch and build up a fluid deposit. Ready in 3..."

She feels a little distracted, even as she's doing the tests and going through the routine. She's no Newtype -- she's never had an empathic connection or felt anything like a sixth sense with anything before... but...

[Nova_Eclipse]

The dossier is quite a read. The opening few pages are official citizenship documents, showing that Athrusa does indeed hail from the SRS, albeit as a Qualian. Presumably, these are the files that the brass sent Captain Brighton during her first assessment of the tech teams that came aboard with the Gundams. However, the rest of the files are much more interesting.

The very first file seems to be an acquisition form, only instead of commodities being noted, the contents are people. Each person on the list is identified by a long number, along with their height, weight, age (approximated if unable to be confirmed), blood type, genetic type and what seems to be a code word for area of acquisition. Each entry begins with a photo of the person in question; many of them look either sleepy or depressed; none are smiling. Most of them are children; the oldest on the list isn't more than 15. Although she looks a bit different, Yuuki manages to find Athrusa's photo after only the third entry. Her hair is much darker, almost black, but her face is immediately recognizable, as it hasn't changed that much, despite everything that's happened to her since then. The data shows she was 12 when this picture was taken. There's a note at the end of her entry that she is to be transferred to something called SA-4 after processing. A few others above and below her entry also have this note, so it appears she wasn't alone.

The next file seems to be a project outline for something called RN-D. The stated project goal is to produce a highly enhanced soldier that's a cut above even Newtypes in terms of reaction times, g-force tolerance, pain tolerance, and a host of other factors. To achieve this end, they decided to splice Ragalian DNA into their test subjects, and further combine it with processes typically used to create Cyber Newtypes, along with grafting surgery and a number of other bio-engineering tricks that probably go above Yuuki's head. Following the outline of enhancements and the processes they intended to use is a list of test subjects, all with favorable genetic and blood types. Athrusa's identifying number from the previous document is near the top of the list, which has more than 50 entries. Following the list is a summary of genetic enhancements performed during Stage I, and the identifying numbers of the subjects that died during this stage of the program; over 20, at a quick estimation. Photos are enclosed of all the survivors; Athrusa is more recognizable now, as the enhancements apparently made her hair turn the shade of white it remains today. Stage II involved a lot of invasive surgery. Half of the procedures are things Yuuki has never heard of; the other half she's more likely to be aware of as being highly illegal in most civilized areas of space due to them being extremely dangerous to the patient, extremely painful, or both. Another dozen perished during this phase, the survivors, Athrusa among them, all have the characteristic ears that make them easily distinguishable. Stage III involved rigorous physical and mental training. Subjects were deprived of sleep, tortured for days or weeks on end to test their pain thresholds (and to teach them ways to extend those thresholds), forced to participate in live-fire exercises, and trained in a wide array of skills, both combat-oriented and not. Athrusa herself excelled at piloting and was taught a wide variety of combat skills, along with technical disciplines related to mobile suits. By the end of Stage III, only three subjects remained: Athrusa, another girl, and an older boy. Stage IV consisted of a final round of mental conditioning and genetic enhancements. Only Athrusa survived this process. At this point, she is deemed ready for field deployment, and after a final assessment, was assigned to the team working on the Nephilim as a test pilot (an assignment protested by a number of the staff on the RN-D project team, who thought she should be the Gundam's designated pilot, not just a test pilot).

A final document seems more to be research notes by one Doktor M, apparently, the head of the project. In them, he seems impressed with the results of the project, though he notes that the cost was very high. He also mentions that should she survive the war, she should be "re-acquired" and cloned, at the very least, since she's no longer human. He also goes out of his way to speculate what might happen should she ever have children. He also writes that the project sponsors will be very pleased, in particular, the Axis Houses providing funding and data, and the Scavenger's Alliance Council Members who provided the Ragalian DNA that was used for the genetic enhancements. He names several of them, people in prominent positions that wouldn't tolerate a scandal of this magnitude ever seeing the light of day, though none of them are the Admirals Yuuki met via video conference after their battle in the Stechkin system. It's a fair assessment to say that should the information of who commissioned the Qualians to create Athrusa ever see the light of day, there will be major political upheaval in several human factions, and whoever reveals the data will probably be hunted for the remainder of their lives. This is probably the bit giving Captain Brighton her headache.

The files are all date stamped with dates that would make sense for a multi-year project beginning about 5 years ago, and all of the lab files are digitally watermarked with a logo that Yuuki's unfamiliar with, presumably that of the facility that created Athrusa. The encryption level is something she's never seen before; beyond the encryption level used even by the Shura team for their most sensitive data files. It's also an obscure form that the military doesn't appear to use; from her limited training on it over the past week, the military uses a much different form of encryption for their data. While none of it absolutely screams that the data is authentic, put together, it does form a convincing case that if it's fake, it's a very good fake, a kind of fake that would take more than a week to come up with, even with staff working on it.

Captain Brighton pours herself another cup of tea and sips it quietly while Yuuki reads, and waits to see what the young pilot's reaction to the information is. She'll have questions, no doubt, even if she chooses not to believe any of the data that Captain Brighton's contacts supplied.

---

Athrusa finds the Nephilim's controls seem unusually responsive today, almost as though the suit is anticipating what she'll do before she does it. She also has a strange sense of the weight of the suit's limbs, but despite these difference, there's also a sense of familiarity, and comfort, as though the Nephilim itself wants to work in harmony with her. The suit's systems all check out, though it might take her a bit to get used to the weight of the new arm. It moves somewhat differently from the old one, especially the manipulators, but she'll get the hang of it rather quickly.

---

Two of the enemy suits break off towards IVan's position as they cross into Zone B, maneuvering carefully to put rocks between themselves and his last apparent position whenever possible. They don't attack yet, since they're not exactly sure where he is, and they don't want to create more hazards by blowing up rocks if there's not an enemy hiding behind them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the formation turns slightly, making for where IVan took his first shot from. IVan and Gabe can both feel mental pressure coming from several of the suits; these enemies are apparently Newtypes and battle-hardened ones at that. None of them attack either; they're still trying to figure out if they're dealing with a lone sniper or if there are other suits out here yet.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It's now IVan's turn.

[Merilan]

Athrusa works rather well through the entire exercise; she finds herself really impressed with the creative ingenuity of the team in working the arm out, they even managed to get the readings for the beam gun integrated into the software. But more than that, she's noticing that the suit seems really responsive... no, it feels like she and the suit are becoming closer together. Was this what the Sazabi's AI and that other girl... or more recently, Captain Brighton feel like?

"... you're a lot like me, aren't you...? You were built for war... but the moment you're not needed... they put you away until you were convenient for someone else..." she whispers, to no one in particular.

She lays a hand on that sphere for a moment.

Then shakes her head, chuckling as she says, "Aah, Nurse Celeste's kindness is really rubbing off on me..."

She perks up as she turns the screen back on. "Hey, do you know where Yuuki is...?" she asks one of the mechanics. "I, uh... I know she really blew up last time, but I really feel like I should make an effort to talk to her so we can work together the next time the Ragalians attacked."

[Snowbluff]

IVan
Bravo Zone

IVan ponders his next move. Of course, they don't know where he is. He'll give them a little bit of trouble. Since they would sense his approach, or any aggressive action, the best option would be overrun their reaction time. The binders on Sasha Gundam release 6 funnels, which remain inert to avoid betraying their presence. It activates a set of shoulder boosters, popping out from the asteroid. Finally, it blasts past them at max speed, hopefully moving past them faster than they can turn.

Spoiler: Create Advantage

Show

(4d3-5)[3]

[Nova_Eclipse]

The mechanic blinks then glances over at the Shura's bay, before looking back into the screen.

"I haven't seen her, but she should be down soon. We're scheduled for down jump within the hour, and both of you should be on alert. Strange that the Captain hasn't called you down for briefing yet, either, but maybe she's planning on flying with you and will brief you then? I suppose I can have the Chief call for her if you really want, but it might take a bit to get her down here, depending on what she's doing."

---

The two suits are alert for trouble, but aren't expecting the Sasha Gundam's speed. They both fire their beam rifles at the suit, hoping to stop or damage it, but the action is reflexive and defensive, meant more to make IVan stop or change course than to do any sort of damage.

One of the beams smashes into the asteroid IVan was hiding behind, and blows a hole through the side of it, revealing one of the funnels he left behind. It's unclear whether they've detected it yet, though; both seem more focused on him at the moment.

Spoiler: Outcome

Show

Failure: Either no Aspect is created, or it can be created, but the enemy gets to invoke it once for free. You can still use this aspect, but it will cost you a Fate point.