Gundam: Wrath of the Stars IC

[Gorum]

For a moment, Gabriel hesitates. He then flips his comm back so only friendlies decodes it with ease. This might de-ligitimize his Bluff-timidate. But since Jack never revealed the station was able to pull this kind of trick, Gabriel wad unable to keep his own curiosity in check.

"Jack, did you pull that off, or did we REALLY get reinforcements?"

After a very long second, he re-assert himself:

"You know what? Screw that!"

Getting a grip on himself, he engages the Gyro's thruster, jumps into Zone C, trying to close-up on the enemy carrier in the back. The time for defense had indeed passed, and ample (bluffed) hints that something BIG was getting readied was bound to make the lone suit darting out seem like much more threatening than it would actually be.

And with the assault that's incoming, any form of delay was welcome. So not even waiting for an answer, Gabe switches back his comms so that everyone listening hears loud and clear.

"Arthrusa, pilot of the Nephilim: Stand clear of the enemy carrier ship. I am delivering a targeting beacon so that Project Curiosity can be unleashed. Barring the target's self-destruction, prepare to move in and protect the target. Its capture is of the highest priority!

Curiosity, do NOT wait for me to be clear of the area before blasting away. We must NOT allow them the time to self-destruct! Blast away as soon as the beacon hits!

It was an honor!"

Spoiler: Recklessly, Flashily and socially attacking the enemy carrier

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(4d3+1)[9]

I spend my last fate: Psyched Up. It might be useful in getting the right tone of voice. Since the original bluff granted Losing morale which was never used, I call upon it now. So with Reckless and my Flashy attribute, that's +9.

Recklessness can be called upon twice, so I might be going down since I am also outside the protective asteroid belt. I will keep Golden Flash for defensive purposes. The point is stirring panic in the crew of the enemy carrier and, maybe, cause them to self-destruct before the bluffed Project Curiosity renders them unable to do so.

[Nova_Eclipse]

"They just showed up...I don't know where they came from, but I don't care. They're friendly, they're shooting the cats, and that's about the best thing we can ask for!" Joe responds. "I'm linking them into the sensor fusion so they know where you both are. Don't want their gunners hitting you accidentally!"

Something perhaps neither IVan nor Gabe have considered to this point, but a fair one nonetheless. Gabe's charge and continuation of his ruse of there being some sort of special project here that could take out the carrier might give the carrier's captain pause, depending on what he and his crew know about the facility here.

Spoiler: Defense

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Cleverly assuring his crew that the monkey is speaking nothing but lies: (4d3-2)[8]

Unfortunately, while the captain knows that there's nothing here like what Gabe is claiming, much of his crew does not. However, they don't panic. Instead, they focus their attention on the lone suit. As soon as it comes into gun range, they'll open fire. Unfortunately, with so many distracted by the gold suit's pilot's antics, they now have a massive hole in their defense that a pilot in the correct position could exploit...

Spoiler: Advantage Created

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Here, Kitty, Kitty! - The enemy carrier's crew is now focused on the Gyro, training all of their guns on the suit as a precaution against whatever Gabe's planning. Their defenses won't respond as quickly to other attackers.

Spoiler: OOC

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It's now Yuuki's turn.

[DoctorFaust]

The Shura blasts off from the launch catapult at full tilt, leaving a cloud of exhaust in its wake. Despite the tune-ups, the much lower acceleration leaves the mecha trailing behind Athrusa as she charges in to battle. Fortunately, that does give Yuuki more time to get firing solutions on the suits the other girl missed.

"Cut that crap!" Yuuki yells as her guns begin to spin up. "We'll beat them back, and take the ship whole!"

A high-pitched beep lets Yuuki know that her guns are hot, and so she returns her attention to the battlefield. The gatling guns begin to spew fire at the distracted suits below and before her, washing over them in a deadly hail of light.

Spoiler

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Forcefully attacking: (4d3-3)[7]

And I'll be spending a Fate point to invoke Here, Kitty, Kitty! for a +2.

[Nova_Eclipse]

The formations of suits are more focused on either the Gyro, the Sasha, or reaching the station than they are the attackers that just launched from the newly arrived carrier. Most of them haven't had much chance to change their strategy just yet, and that gives the Shura a decided advantage. Still, most of the pilots are seasoned enough to be cautious, and they aren't caught completely unaware, either. Many try to maneuver to evade the fire, though it may be too little, too late...

Spoiler: Defense

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Quickly trying to maneuver out of the line of fire (4d3-6)[4]

Spoiler: Result: Success with Style

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You may reduce damage by 1 to gain a boost.

Spoiler: OOC

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Taking a boost may effect the fluff, so I need to know what you want to do, DoctorFaust. I'll post for the enemy's turns once I know what you want to do. The enemy's turn post is probably going to be a rather long thing, that's why it'll be a separate post.

[Nova_Eclipse]

The Shura's fire manages to destroy one suit in a wing further ahead of the Nephilim, and severely damage another. The remaining two manage to grab their damaged comrade, and alter course, trying to head back towards their own carrier. They're out of position to return fire in any sort of meaningful way, anyways, and this is the best they can do to help the battle. Others, however, are much more capable.

Such as the enemy commander, who, despite the damage his suit has taken, seems to be rather calm about facing the Sasha. He draws his other heat sai, before shooting back into melee range, one sai leading for a stab at the Sasha's waist, a feint for a strike at the Sasha's shoulder with his other weapon!

Spoiler: Attack

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Cleverly attacking the Sasha with both sais: (4d3-5)[3]

Spoiler: OOC

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Since there are multiple stat-ed enemies on the field now, I'm going to break their turn up into chunks based on where they would go in initiative. So right now, I need a defense roll vs the commander's attack from Snowbluff, then we'll handle the others in the enemy formation, then the grunts.

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Charlie Belt? Not sure

The Sasha's wetware sees what the commander has in mind. It quickly ejects a beamsaber from the left gauntlet, catching it and igniting the amber blade with a satisfying whoosh noise. It reads the opponent's machines movements as it makes them, a complex dance between two partners.

Spoiler: Quickly defense

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(4d3-4)[2]
+2 from newtype precog stuff sorry on mobile
ALSO I'm assuming we can deflect heat blades with beamsabers and vice versa like in gundam unicorn so if it's not okay I'll edit.

The motions are not quick enough. Despite the wetware's talents, the newer, more massive hardware is more difficult to maneuver in closer quarters. One heat sai is deflected, but the other impacts the torso, boiling the armor to red-hot as it scratches its way through the hull.

[Nova_Eclipse]

The commander is quick with his backstroke, the momentum carrying him back and upwards a bit, but still within melee range for both suits, while the formation of enemy suits around IVan breaks up. The formation's former lead suit a gold-colored revision of the commander's suit that trails bright yellow particles from its thrusters, closes in on the melee, deploying remote weapons in triads. One triad finds a place beneath the Sasha, while others are placed at oblique firing angles. Only the commander's proximity to the red suit seems to be keeping the new enemy from firing, but the positioning leaves IVan with two bad choices: try to escape, and be blasted by no less than a dozen funnels, or continue the melee, and hope to create an opening by disabling or destroying the commander's suit.

Spoiler: Action

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Cleverly creating the Advantage Devil and the Deep Black Sea (4d3-2)[8]

Two of the other suits form up and chase after Gabe, firing at the gold suit. One is colored red and white, and fires a powerful chain gun at the gold Gundam, while the other is colored blue and seems to be armed with a beam rifle similar to the one the commander had, firing scintillating, multi-colored beams. The blue suit seems a bit faster, and fires first at the Gyro, before the red suit follows up a few seconds later with a gatling burst.

Spoiler: Blue Attack

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Forcefully attacking with its beam rifle: (4d3-5)[4]

Spoiler: OOC

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These three all go at the same time, but I want to resolve the blue attack on Gabe before the red attack, since if he defends well, he might get a boost that he could use against the red suit.

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Charlie Zone

IVan does his best to ignore the damage klaxons. They were bugged not to silence themselves after the pilot acknowledged them. This was fixed for the latest Ares units, but the Sasha apparently didn't get the fix. What software version was this suit's OS based on? Must be an older one.

IVan already had to disengage. Close quarters combat wasn't working for this suit. This was just convincing himself of that even more. However, there was a perfectly good group of distracted troops to provide the cover he needed.

Spoiler: Quickly Defense

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(4d3-2)[7]
Invoking Here Kitty Kitty and Newtype Prescience

[Gorum]

The blue suit seems a bit faster, and fires first at the Gyro, before the red suit follows up a few seconds later with a gatling burst.

Spoiler: Blue Attack

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Forcefully attacking with its beam rifle: [roll1]

Spoiler: OOC

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These three all go at the same time, but I want to resolve the blue attack on Gabe before the red attack, since if he defends well, he might get a boost that he could use against the red suit.

Gabe has his fingers on the gyroscopes' controls but hesitates: Maneuvering would cause him to alter course and waste precious seconds. Better try and punch through.

Spoiler: Forcefully defending

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I use my suit's beam-deflecting paint job and the reputation I acquired for an extra +4. Here's hoping it generates a boost!

(4d3-2)[8]

[Nova_Eclipse]

Unfortunately, IVan's escape is shrewdly blocked by the new suit's pilot, who seems to be no stranger to using the remote weapons to best advantage, firing them in sequences that herd him back into melee range with the commander. He won't be escaping anywhere until he can deal with them.

Spoiler: Enemy Advantage Created

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Devil and the Deep Black Sea

Meanwhile, Gabe's reputation causes the blue suit's pilot to hesitate just slightly, which turns an ordinary course correction for Gabe into a glancing shot that the Gyro's anti-beam coating has no problem deflecting. The impact force, however, manages to throw Gabe into a wild spiral along the same vector, making him much harder to target.

Spoiler: Boost Created

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Golden Vortex

The red suit remains undeterred, though, and fires anyway, hoping that filling Gabe's general area of space with heavy metal will prove more effective than his comrade's beam shot.

Spoiler: Attack

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Forcefully trying to shoot down the gold Gundam: (4d3-5)[0]

Unfortunately, his attack finds nothing but empty space. Perhaps a bit of maneuvering is in order.

Meanwhile, two more of the special formation have gone after Athrusa and the Nephilim. One appears to be an upgrade of an older model, colored black and white, with a yellow mono-eye. The other appears to be a high performance, general-use model, similar to what the Nephilim might have been once. It carries a rather long beam rifle, while the black and white suit deploys a number of bits around itself. The black suit fires its weapons all at once, hoping to overwhelm the angelic Gundam with the sheer number of its attack. The other suit seems to be flying escort, and holds its fire for now, at least.

Spoiler: Black Attack

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Forcefully attacking with its remote weapons (4d3-6)[0]

Yuuki has also picked up two new playmates. Both of these suits are a bit smaller than the others, but no less agile. They seem to be design variations of each other. One carries a massive beam launcher, while the other carries a more standard beam rifle. The one with the beam launcher fires at the Shura from a long range; the other's rifle must have a shorter range since it seems to be holding its fire for now.

Spoiler: Launcher Attack

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Forcefully sniping at the Shura: (4d3-3)[6]

[Gorum]

With the Gatling Fire incoming, Gabe has no choice but deviate from his course. He cuts his main thrusters so that the maneuver don't mess with his inertia too much then engages the gyroscopes and enters one of Gundam Gyro's defensive dances.

He tries to clear his mind and be creative with the Gyro's inputs: His next maneuver is much harder to predict if he has no idea what it'll be.

Spoiler: So, flashy defense with Golden Vortex

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4d3-3 = 2 (original roll still in OOC thread)

Edit: Natural -3. Sounds like I'll have a complication out of it.

"Okay. There's too many of them. I need help."

Two deep breaths can be heard on comms. The delay betrays a high level of stress, but where shallow breathing would indicate panic, the controlled breathing signals either decent training, self-control or outright pleasure. He goes on with a slightly amused tone:

" I can't nickname them all!"

[Merilan]

"P-Project Curiosity? I'm sorry, I don't know what you're-- but-- okay!" Athrusa stammers to the other side, not really understanding but following along. Gabe states he needs help, though, and-- "I'll help you out-- ah!"

The black and white mono-eye suit deploys its remote weapons, and there's a moment where Athrusa's eyes flash in recognition. "These are just like-- Captain Brighton's..." The Nephilim's wings beat brightly as she glides quickly towards one side with a wince, feathery trails attempting to obfuscate the enemy. "This is a lot more than I was expecting, but I won't lose...! We have to help our friends out!"

Spoiler: Defense

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(4d3-3)[5] Quickly Defending -- and Athrusa's Heightened Awareness gives her an advantage against ranged attacks!

[Nova_Eclipse]

The beams blast though the feathery trails, and light a trail of explosions deeper in the asteroid field where they impact, but the black and white suit has missed, and put Athrusa far ahead of them to boot. They may need to refocus and choose a new target, since they'll have a hard time catching up.

Spoiler: Boost Created

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Economy of Motion - Athrusa's quick reaction has put the Nephilim far ahead of the enemy, and it will take them awhile to catch up, if they even do.

[DoctorFaust]

Still putting more stock in the engineers at Axis than her own piloting abilities, Yuuki doesn't even try to dodge the beam fire and continues to charge even faster into the line of fire to close with the enemy faster.

Spoiler

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I guess Forcefully defending: (4d3-5)[6]

[Merilan]

"There's so many advanced suits... is this some kind of Ragalian elite force?" Athrusa murmurs to herself, biting her lip. She's managed to break away with the efficiency of her motion, and-- takes a calculated gamble as she tweaks some settings on the fly...

The reactor starts to whirr within the Nephilim's chest, and Athrusa winces as she feels the throttle buildup as she purposefully chokes it. Overheating warnings start to flare up on her screen, but she keeps the heat buildup steady--

"Mister, I'm going to create a diversion -- I'm moving to engage those units!"

--and releases them; she knows the Nephilim's wings and body vents to have a fairly efficient heat-dispersing manuever, which is how the feathers tend to manifest as a side-effect... but when she gathers it up to an enormous amount, she'll just leave copies of the Nephilim behind as she flies towards the red pilebunker unit and the blue rifle unit harrassing Gabe to close the distance.

Spoiler: Create an Advantage

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Athrusa is going to Cleverly Create an Advantage by purposefully overheating the Nephilim and leaving Afterimage Trails behind -- hopefully she and others will be able to use them as either visual cover, or the heat residue is going to help confuse targeting solutions for a moment.

(4d3-5)[2] - +1 Clever, +2 from the Efficiency of Motion boost!

[Nova_Eclipse]

At this distance, the beam launcher's shot might be a threat to a normal mobile suit, but not to the heavily armored Shura. The suit jolts slightly from the impact and the beam leaves a new scorch mark across the Shura's chestplate, but Yuuki's instruments show no signs of damage. They'll have to get closer if they want to do any sort of damage to the Gundam.

The remaining normal troops, having received several sets of conflicting orders, are now unsure of what to do. About half of them continue into the asteroid field, crossing into Zone C. The other half hold position where they are, either waiting for clarification, or attempting to stay clear of the battles with the more powerful suits. They might join in a bit later, once their orders have been clarified.

The red and blue suits both turn their heads as they detect a high heat source incoming fast, and attempt to pick the suit out from the trail it's leaving behind.

Spoiler: Red Defense

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Cleverly trying to pick the Nephilim out using its targeting computer: (4d3-6)[1]

Spoiler: Blue Defense

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Carefully trying to pick the Nephilim out using its sensor systems: (4d3-6)[1]

Spoiler: Advantage Created

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Afterimage Trails - The Nephilim is using its heat and particle trails to confuse enemy targeting for those near the antique Gundam.

Athrusa's Afterimage Trails are effective. The closer she gets, the more confused the enemy sensors become. As long as she stays near Gabe, the enemy is going to have a much harder time picking him out from from her.

Spoiler: OOC

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It's now IVan's turn.

[Snowbluff]

IVan Tessera
Some Zone

Undeterred, the Sasha endeavors to put some distance between and its prey. It begins a full burn back into Bravo Belt.

Spoiler: Quickly gain advantage

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(4d3-4)[0]

[Nova_Eclipse]

This time, both the commander and what must be his lieutenant in the gold suit do their best to keep the Sasha contained. Of course, the lieutenant's suit is in much better shape for doing so, but the commander isn't about to let his underling do all the work if he can help it. The lieutenant uses her bits once more to try and lock down the Sasha's maneuvering envelope, and keep its speed down so that the commander's suit can keep up.

Spoiler: Lieutenant's Defense

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Cleverly trying to keep the Sasha between the Devil and the Deep Black Sea(using the free invoke from creating the advantage): (4d3-2)[4]

The commander also does his best to try and herd the Sasha back towards open space, doing his best to deny the red suit the advantage of cover.

Spoiler: Commander's Defense

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Quickly trying to hem the Sasha in between his suit and his lieutenant's bits: (4d3-4)[2]

Spoiler: OOC

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I think this might count as a slightly different action than Create an Advantage, and failure has an extra mode to it that you might choose to take, Snowbluff. I'll explain in the OOC thread before I post the full outcome.

[Gorum]

Having to change course to evade what could have been a deadly hail, Gabe turns his maneuver into a loop. This might have forced him to delay his gamble of a plan, but would at least offer him a chance to counter-attack.

As the Gyro approaches for its own strafing run, with a voice that sounds angry and disappointed, Gabriel scolds the pilots of the red and blue suits that forced him to divert his course:

"Garfield, Nermal, I know you guys missed me a lot, but I have important work to do. I'll be back to play with you later."

Sprinting between the two brightly colored suits, the Gyro spins like an Auger and fires its energy sub-machine gun, the advanced targeting system and Newtype capabilities focusing (most of) the deadly hail toward the Red mobile suit, now nicknamed Garfield.

When Gabe receives Arthrusa's comment, his first reaction is to thank the newcomer:
"Much obliged. We need to end this A.S.A.P. Do you think the... Nephilim was it? Can it stand its ground against those two?"

Spoiler: Flashy Reckless attack

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I take no more bonuses than the one I also award my opponents. They have one more free use of my own recklessness as I pilot dangerously close in a tactically useless but flashy "aileron roll".
(4d3-3)[7]

Edit: Whooo! +2! Nice! If I have the option, I take a defensive boost. Otherwise, I still take a Boost.

[Nova_Eclipse]

Although IVan manages to make it to Zone B, the commander's suit and his lieutenant stay right with him, herding him deftly into an dead-end pocket of high density rocks that the Sasha won't be able to maneuver out of without going back the way it came. A way that is now blocked by two high performance enemy suits, one of which is controlling a good number of bits. IVan may need to swallow his pride and call for help if he wants to escape this situation intact.


The red suit is heavier and slower to react, but its pilot seems unperturbed as it continues to pursue Gabe. It can't match his maneuver, so it doesn't try, the pilot making simple maneuvers to avoid some of the burst and let the suit's heavy armor soak the rest of the fire as it advances.

Spoiler: Defense

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Forcefully continuing the advance and tanking through the fire (4d3-5)[3]

The blue suit is indeed faster than his companion, and more maneuverable as well, and does his best to try and avoid being hit by what little fire Gabe directs at him.

Spoiler: Defense

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Quickly trying to avoid the fire (4d3-4)[4]

The red suit winds up taking the brunt of the attack, leaving its armor with hundreds of smoking pockmarks and craters, but little actual damage. The pilot, however, backs off slightly. Even with the suit's heavy armor, the jolting from absorbing so many hits all at once must have given him a few bruises, or at the very least, shaken him up. The blue suit managed to avoid being hit, but the maneuvering to do so has put him out of position to be able to effectively cover his comrade.

Spoiler: Boost Created

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Separated Duo: The red and blue suits are far enough apart that they can't cover each other any longer, and it will take some time before they can rejoin each other, making each easier to attack.

Spoiler: Red Suit Damage Track

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Stress: o o o

Spoiler: OOC

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It's now Yuuki's turn.

[DoctorFaust]

As Yuuki continues to charge forward, the sudden appearance of feathers on the corner of her screen pulls her attention away from her enemies for a second, and gives her an idea. Mass fire tactics might not be the best choice against a more coordinated enemy, but the number of heat signatures the Nephilim is giving off might be giving the Ragalian targeting and anti-missile systems too much to think about.

With only a moments hesitation, Yuuki punches a button, and her targeting computer beeps to life. Hundreds of circles flash up on her screen as the system picks up all of the afterimages of the Nephilim as targets. Yuuki has her work cut out for her over the next few, tense seconds as she tries to tune the system to only go after invalid IFF signals and not everything it sees. Fortunately, the trick seems to work, and the number of targets the Shura recognizes quickly begins to drop.

Unfortunately for Yuuki, her delta-v with the Ragalian suits firing on her is putting her very near danger close with the enemy by the time this fix is started. Faced with the choice between putting herself at a very serious risk of shooting herself or not having good locks, she regretfully fires, flushing the Shura's main missile batteries. "If you don't have a friendly IFF, be careful!" she yells. "I'm going after them with everything I've got!"

Spoiler

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Forcefully attacking with Keep Bringing the Circus, and spending a Fate point to invoke Afterimage Trails: (4d3-3)[6]

[Nova_Eclipse]

The Shura is shrouded in smoke as wave after wave of missiles launch from the heavy mobile suit and streak towards their targets. Some of those targets have time to take evasive maneuvers; others can only hope their armor will withstand the impact, and some have no chance at all.

The red and blue suits chasing Gabe have different responses to the incoming missiles. The red suit turns and fires it gatling guns at the incoming warheads, hoping to shoot them down before they reach it.

Spoiler: Red Defense

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Forcefully trying to shoot down the missiles: (4d3-5)[4]

Unfortunately, it manages to miss a few, which impact on his heavy armor, denting and pockmarking it further. The suit trails smoke for a moment, before the pilot seems to get things under control, but it doesn't seem to be out of the fight just yet.

Spoiler: Red Damage Track

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o o o

The blue suit attempts to out-maneuver the missiles, initiating several hard turns, hoping to get into a position where it can use its head-mounted vulcan guns to shoot down the warheads.

Spoiler: Blue Defense

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Fancy maneuvers to gain the upper hand over the missiles: (4d3-4)[4]

The blue suit manages to get a few itself, but is also struck by a number of them, throwing the lighter suit around. The suit's thrusters die out for a moment, before re-lighting, its armor cratered and scored in places.

Spoiler: Blue Damage Track

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o o o

The two suits that had been pursuing Athrusa also have different responses. The black and white suit spreads its bits around the both of them, using them to try and shoot down any missiles that come close.

Spoiler: Black Defense

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Cleverly using remote weapons to keep missiles at bay: (4d3-3)[5]

The black suit's bits are much more effective at keeping missiles away from the suit, but even its efforts aren't enough to keep it from catching a single missile in the back. Thankfully for him, it does little more than add some new scorchmarks and pitting to his suit.

Spoiler: Black Damage Track

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o o o

The high-performance suit has a much simpler plan. It raises its massive rifle and fires, a huge beam similar to the one that the Nephilim's buster rifle produces issuing forth. It sweeps this back and forth across the incoming raft of missiles, hoping to destroy most of them, relying on his comrade to shoot down any stray warheads that manage to make it through.

Spoiler: White Defense

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Using its beam rifle to destroy incoming missiles: (4d3-4)[4]

The white suit doesn't fare as well, however. It misses several missiles that come in on opposite vectors that the black suit also missed. The pilot does his best to evade, but the missiles manage to catch the suit in its side and chest, blowing a score along the suit's torso, that sparks and fizzles. The suit's armor has protected its pilot, but it seems to be operating at a lower level of performance. Something must have been seriously damaged by the attack.

Spoiler: White Damage Track

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o o o
Minor Consequnce: Damaged Power Conduits - This suit's power output is reduced, as some of its power conduits are damaged.

The pair that were chasing the Shura suddenly slow and alter their vectors, splitting up. The one with the beam launcher tries to outspeed the missiles, dropping flares behind it; hoping the decoys will attract the missiles.

Spoiler: Launcher Defense

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Cleverly trying to outmaneuver and outsmart the missiles: (4d3-6)[2]

Unfortunately, Yuuki's missiles are far too smart for its flares, and quite a few impact, rocking the suit, leaving dents, scores and scorchmarks all over the suit. Its thrusters die out for a moment, before relighting, as the pilot brings the suit back online.

Spoiler: Launcher Damage Track

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o o o

The one with the short rifle engages in some rather interesting maneuvers to bring the lasers mounted over its shoulders into play; using them as an active defense against the missiles.

Spoiler: Rifle Defense

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Forcefully trying to intercept the missiles before they hit: (4d3-6)[2]

Unfortunately, the lasers' tracking systems are too slow for the fast-moving missiles, and the suit is also lambasted by missiles. When the smoke clears, several bits of the suit's armor have been destroyed.

Spoiler: Rifle Damage Track

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o o o

The remaining wings of grunt suits all have varied responses: some try to shoot down the missiles, others try to evade, and an unlucky few never get a chance at doing either before the warheads strike them.

Spoiler: Grunt Defenses

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Wing 1: (4d3-8)[0]
Wing 2: (4d3-8)[-1]
Wing 3: (4d3-8)[0]
Wing 4: (4d3-8)[0]
Wing 5: (4d3-8)[-1]
Wing 6: (4d3-8)[2]
Wing 7: (4d3-8)[2]
Wing 8: (4d3-8)[2]

Two wings are completely obliterated by the missiles, while three others are decimated to the point of needing to retreat, usually because they've either been reduced to a single suit, or because the remaining suits in them are so damaged that they're barely spaceworthy. The remaining three have lost at least one suit, but are still capable of projecting a significant amount of force, but considering they've just lost over half of their forces to one attack, they may not be so keen to continue their current missions.

[Nova_Eclipse]

The commander pauses as explosions light up across all of Zones C and D. Over half of his forces have just been decimated in one attack from one of the new mobile suits on the battlefield. Three of his hunting squads' suits or their pilots have started taking damage. And that doesn't begin to mention the damage his suit has sustained from the fight with the enemy before him. Ragalian custom frowns on retreat, but it frowns even more deeply upon wasting soldiers. His smile, unseen in his suit, widens. The humans are proving to be interesting, even worthy adversaries. At least, this group. He chuckles, allowing his admiration and pride in facing an opponent like this radiate from his suit. IVan can feel it strongly, and even Gabe, two Zones away, can feel it.

Spoiler: New Aspect for the Shura

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The Doom Gundam: The Shura is quickly earning a reputation among the enemy as a suit to be feared due to its immense firepower. Its accomplishments of destroying over half a complement of mobile suits in a single attack, destroying capital ships, and shrugging off damage without flinching, have made the heavily armed and armored Gundam a terror on the battlefield.

The commander opens an encrypted channel to his lieutenant, and gives her new orders.

"This is a mess. Clearly, our intelligence missed something; the humans should not have had a ship in this system, let alone one with such a powerful assault suit on board. Sound the retreat, have the Hunter Squad cover the rear. If they can keep the other enemy suits busy, fine, but anyone with damage should be prioritized for retreat. I want further casualties minimized."

"Yes sir. What should we do about this red suit?"

"Hold him in with your k'nawgri until we've cleared the asteroid field. You can feel his aggression, can't you, Nathaira? He'll attack if we simply turn and leave, and I will need you to escort me; my assault suit's power system is having trouble, and I may not be able to maneuver as well." He can practically hear her frowning, and waits for a moment, knowing her answer.

"All right, sir."

IVan will see both of them halt, the array of bits forming a cluster in front of them, before the commander's suit turns and rockets off, back towards Zone C. The lieutentant's suit lingers for a moment, before she begins thrusting backwards, leaving enough bits to form a clever block that should hold IVan in place for at least a little while.

Spoiler: Action

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Cleverly creating the Aspect Locked In: (4d3-2)[7]

[Gorum]

In the aftermath of the Doom Gundam, Gabriel wastes precious seconds washed over by a maelstrom of shock and awe. However, it had been a long time since his brain learned to kick itself in a sort of autopilot as a sort of survival mechanism.

"Way to blow a few millions in less than a minute, am I right?"

Then, like one would re-assert control over a mobile suit on auto-pilot, and having the deep feeling that he did not see the last of the Furballs, Gabe adds:

" Engaged with Garfield and Nermal, can't deliver the cargo before the target leaves the AO. Requesting new orders."

[Nova_Eclipse]

Try as he might, IVan will find that these bits are quite fast, and the Newtype guiding them must be quite powerful, as their movements remain extremely precise, so precise that they are able to keep him Locked In to the pocket he's been caught in. He'll need to find some way past them if he wants to try and pursue further.

Meanwhile, Garfield and Nermal, as Gabe has nicknamed them, have changed course. No longer on a pursuit path to chase the Gyro or the Nephilim, they've formed up with each other and have slowed and turned, starting to make their way back to their home carrier. Of course, that doesn't mean they're going to leave without saying goodbye. Garfield might not be able to get a solid lock on the Gyro, or the Nephilim, but he can at least create a screen and perhaps give them something to worry about. The red suit's pauldrons snap open as a barrage of missiles streak out, many of them following the Nephilim's decoys. The point, however, is less about attack than obfuscation. The explosions, whether they damage the Gundams or not, are intended to help screen their escape.

Spoiler: Action

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Cleverly trying to create the advantage Explosive Retreat: (4d3-6)[-1]

The blue suit is focused more on following orders, and warily keeps guard over its ally, but chooses not to attack either Gundam this turn.

[Merilan]

Athrusa listens to Gabe's voice and nods to herself, saying, "Yeah, I'll back you up. No one's falling on my watch if I can at all help it!" She narrows her eyes as 'Garfield' creates a cloud of explosions emitted by the missiles. "Nice trick, but..."

Once more, the Nephilim's wings beat as the verniers within accelerate to full speed -- she's cutting a direct path through the explosions, using her heightened senses in order to detect the gaps in between when the payload explodes and when the heat subsides enough for the Gundanium armor the Nephilim's made of to take it.

Spoiler: Action

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Quickly defending against the advantage! (4d3-5)[1]

[Gorum]

"Gotta admit it's pretty disappointing to see them run as soon as the battle shift slightly in our favor."

Spoiler: Dodging missile blasts playfully (and Flashily) through gyroscope-induced motions

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(4d3-5)[2]

"And by that, I mean that we're still outnumbered in both suits and ships. Not sure about the outskilled part anymore. Nor the outgunned part, obviously."

[Nova_Eclipse]

Athrusa and Gabe both slice easily through the barrage of explosions. Gabe in particular manages to find a rather fortuitous path through the explosions, one that puts him right on Nermal's tail, in a perfect position for either an attack with his beam SMG, or one of his beam chakrams. Athrusa manages to stay right with Gabe, and the Nephilim manages to pick out Garfield, the red suit, loafing along behind Nermal, barely keeping up.

Spoiler: Boost Created

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On Nermal's Tail

Meanwhile, Yuuki will find that she's lost two of her assailants, and picked up two more. The two suits that were pursuing her have broken off and are heading back towards their carrier, while the black and white suits attack the heavily armed and armored Gundam.

The black suit reaches her first, and spreads its bits all around the Shura, firing seemingly randomly and hoping to catch the slower Gundam in a crossfire.

Spoiler: Attack

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Cleverly using its bits to try and get the Shura caught by several shots at once (4d3-5)[2]

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll handle the black suit first, and if you get a boost, then you can use it against the white suit, DoctorFaust.

[DoctorFaust]

"Why can't anything be easy," Yuuki moans.

The two suits approaching her seem to have come off much lighter from her all-out attach than the previous pair, enough for them to still be mounting an effective attack. She puts her suit into a series of spins and rolls to try to present a smaller target, and at the same starts lighting up the area the fire is coming from with her gatling guns to blast the bits out of the sky

Spoiler

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Forcefully defending by destroying the bits before they can hit her: (4d3-5)[4]

[Nova_Eclipse]

The bits fall one by one, the Shura managing to avoid even a light scorching. It's almost relaxing, in a way, because the black suit's pilot tends to repeat his attack patterns and doesn't seem to have mastered the use of his bits just yet, since they don't move too much. Yuuki has plenty of time to note the white suit approaching at an oblique angle, its fearsome beam cannon aimed straight at the Shura. The fact that Yuuki's destroyed most of his comrade's bits just means that he won't need to worry about crippling his comrade's combat effectiveness. He fires, the weapon unleashing a wide, golden beam that threatens to engulf the Shura if Yuuki doesn't take evasive manuevers.

Spoiler: White Attack

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Forcefully attacking the Shura: (4d3-4)[1]