2019-10-27: Just Communication 2.0

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Note: This log may be incomplete. Please replace it if you have a longer version. Thanks!



<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

        It is a bright day in the Great Sea region, in the salvage wreck codemarked 'NEON GRAY'. It is a derelict ship that washed ashore some years ago, surrounded by a smattering of monsters and other sea-hazards; even now, clean-up continues as crews from the Thames and the Ethos return to combat the infestation of creatures that prevent the retrieval of personal effects of people who died onboard.

        The captain of this expedition is a Goron in a bulky seafaring coat and admiralty hat, and well proud of it. He overlooks his construction crew from a perch atop their own ship. "Good. Pull it up slowly..."

        "C-Cap'n!"
        "What is it?!"
        "Look over there!"

        He turns, and his face falls. "By the rocks! That logo!"

        "No... it can't be! Why now!"
        "I--It's the Bonnes!! They're... Notorious Pirates!"

        The small pirate ship roars across the ocean; it is a hovercraft-type machine, painted in construction yellow and possessing a curious round skull logo on its front plating, the Such Gerät and flanked by two flying machines, the Drache:

        (Such Gerät: https://i.imgur.com/F7z0ncX.jpg )
        (Drache: https://i.imgur.com/HD795Cp.jpg )

        And finally, a fourth machine, a 12-foot small green Gear with a tawny cloak draped over its shoulders. It has a gray visor with several scopes over its face with a bright gold gleam and is armed with... a kitchen knife and lantern in its hands.

        (Base IMG: https://i.imgur.com/8AYLFdM.jpg )

        The Captain lowers his head. "We're not equipped for combat. Fire the SOS flare! Perhaps some Drifters will be around to help us... from these Notorious Pirates."

        MEANWHILE
        NOTORIOUS PIRATES

        TARGET COORDINATES 53.98 -27.16
        IDENTIFYING ...
        IDENTIFYING ...
        IDENTIFYING ...

        The tremulous roar of her Gear's engine occupies the sound of rushing waves. Lunata reaches quietly towards her face, running a finger along where a soft crack has visibly fissured upon her skin. Another reminder. Another reminder of how much of a trick being human is.

        You coward. You despicable coward...

        She stares impassively towards the screen. The objectives... take any loot that can be salvaged and discovered from the 'NEON GRAY' and fend off any obstacles.

        They're all... heroes. Aren't they. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how much it breaks them up. No matter if they even die in the line of duty... they can't look away...

        Is this really the best form of resistance she has? She knows, deep down, that she can't run. She's been to Lunar... twice. And both times, everything keeps catching up to her. Solaris. Sin. Odessa. Was running away nothing but a mere illusion? Is there really nowhere she can run far enough, even if she ran to the edges of the world?

        ... there is no escape for me ... there's no returning to that life ever again. My soul is forever--

        The screen flashes, and a friend appears on it.

        "Miss Luniiiiiiie," whines a small mechanical being with a yellow cylinder head bearing a *;_;* expression. "I made a boo boooo."

        Lunata immediately blubbers out, "I'll be over right away. What happened? We can fix it. Do you need a wet wipe??"

        NOTORIOUS PIRATES.

DC: Lunata Croze switches forms to Everygear's Grudge - Berry Custom!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Notorious Pirates...

What an adorable pirate ship. Not that the blonde notices it, at first. Quite the opposite. Having ended up in a lifeboat after a bender of hard work, Kaguya blinks and stirs, and starts to rise, looking up to see a Goron as--

"Wh," the blonde starts, and her eyes are bloodshot. Is--

Is she hung over??? That's definitely what it looks like, though she's also wearing a facemask, one that covers her mouth and nose and jaw but not her eyes or cheeks or the rest of her face. Her blonde hair is messy, certainly disheveled. She wears something like a green poncho, uneven, brown trousers, a white dress shirt that is definitely rumpled. And she hears talk of...

"Ohhh..."

Kaguya thuds as she rolls out of the little boat onto the ship's deck. "Ow..."

Pushing herself up she says, "That..."

"That is the CUTEST friggin' pirate ship I have ever SEEN where did they GET those???"

She's helping!

DC: Shalune Amira switches forms to Friend to All Children - Big Shal!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It is perhaps convenient that Jacqueline was out in the ocean, practicing with her Gear where there was unlikely to be any fear of collateral damage. She had just recently installed an upgrade to it, and it was taking a little time to get used to. But, it was worth it - she had a feeling it would be an incredibly useful tool for her in the future.

Practice is halted immediately, however, at the sight of an SOS flare in the near distance.

"That color code...that's... a pirate attack, right?" Jacqueline murmurs to herself. "That's not too far away..."

And so she pauses the practice today, and makes her way in that direction. As she gets close, she catches sight of the pirates in question. A hovercraft bearing a skull logo, flanked by two flying machines - plus, a small Gear, covered in a cloak.

There's something familiar about it.

But, for right now, she has to concern herself with keeping the salvage crew safe.

And so, within her cockpit, Jacqueline slides something into a slot on her Gear's dashboard. A screen on the front lights up with two symbols - both the Crests of Geo.

Suddenly, there's rumbling...and then, a pillar of earth bursts from beneath the water inbetween the pirates and the salvage ship. Standing atop this pillar is none other than the CK-01 Jaeger, it's arms folded in front of it.

"Pirates! Please stop what you are doing and turn around immediately! This isn't the way to go about things. What you're doing will only get yourselves and others hurt!" Jacqueline calls out over her speakers.

It's perhaps a little overdramatic, but maybe it'd be enough of a surprise to get them to listen.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
LIFE ON THE THAMES is a place of comfort after the chaos of Spira, of Lunar. The ocean is less friendly than it was on Lunar - ELHAYM VAN HOUTEN knows because she fell in, twice, although in both incidents the sea was calm and she was able to reach one of the moon pools and be recovered with little the worse for wear. She has plied her days angling, and this too is not as easy as it is on Spira. By comparison, Spiran fish seemed to have a death wish, or perhaps simply could not hesitate to share their deliciousness...

But on the other hand, the deep sea has treasures. Elly has caught many bluefish and several tuna, and in one famous case, a swordfish nearly as big as she was.

And then she discovered something.

"Wait," Elly says to the harried crewman. "- D, do you mean it? I know we checked off that section about Gears, but I didn't expect that you'd actually carry through on -"

SMASH CUT

"... I can't believe they actually carried through on this," Elly says in transmission to her partner in rhyme, to Fei Fong Wong. She has to use the communicator... because they're both in Gears. Not their own, but those of the Thames!

GEARPLA CHECK!

* SALVAGER TYPE-E: Wields a powerful pry bar for excavating relics.
* Includes a low-grade Ether amplifier to quell rip currents. (ELEMENT LOCK: ONLY WATER.)
* S-class mobility in the water!
* That's about it!

* SALVAGER TYPE-F: Enhanced dexterity and flexibility for fine manipulation details.
* S-class mobility in the water!
* Includes a micromanipulator arm controlled by a big rubber glove! It extends from the Gear's left middle finger, and can be used with the hyper-advanced 480p resolution camera mount to manipulate objects and security locks!
* Or to pick your nose!
* That's about it!

"U-um. The sonic radar... thing is showing powerful signals... do you think we should surface, Fei? It feels a little like we've been forced into another war that we never asked to be, just for the privilege of being rescued..."

"But on the other hand," Elly says, direly ignorant of the presence of adorable little crimebots, "pirates are the enemy of everyone."

"Bart's not exactly a pirate, he's a guerilla," Elly adds a second or two later. See, consistent.

DC: Fei Fong Wong switches forms to Weltall!
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

It had been a long, hard journey to Aquvy, and it showed. Malfi spies the flare and pulls up to the others in a rowboat, freely loaned to her by the crew of the merchant ship she's been working on. The Captain ordered her to investigate. She knows that means he thinks she's expendable -- or the best one for the job. She's not sure which. She's a shadow of her old self, seeming malnourished and with a bone-deep fatigue that even Hyadean regeneration can't quite shake. Her long white hair, once her pride, flows behind her, clean but unkempt. She still has her wits about her, though, and she takes quick stock of the situation; apparently this is a pirate attack, something she's already run into once or twice. The Great Sea was teaming with pirates. And monsters. She hears Jacqueline's voice and starts. What was she doing here? And in a Gear? She waves to the Gear, and to Fei, the only people she knows.

 Other than Zed, who shines in her kinsight, bright as a beacon. She heads in his direction but doesn't know how she'll be received.

These pirates had some pretty impressive equipment; they might well win this fight. She manifests her armor, a spiky black carapace covering her entire frame, and brings forth her weapon, the lance Rakurai. Battlesong hums in her blood, her bones. It's been awhile since she's had a good fight! And longer since she's felt like it.

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

        ***

        A SHORT WHILE AGO:

        "Grrmblr bllrg stupid Lunie," mumbles a pink-haired young woman on board the Thames, sat amongst a small mountain of scrap metal as she throws herself into her work. There's a small cloud of Thames folk around her waiting for their turn hiring the mechanic who works for free, but none of them dare get too close - not when she's swinging her hammer and banging things together a little too hard for comfort.

        "Can't believe she'd just mrgrgr." She roughly grabs her shotstaff in its unextended form, and even if she's feeling really grumbly, she does at least still remember to hinge the heavy mask down over her face, because workplace accidents are a terrible thing. But the shower of sparks that flares up as she uses the self-built Veruni artifact as a hand-held welder is very much fiercer than normal, honest.

        Between the obscured vision of the mask and her own internal sulk, she doesn't notice the slow and pondering steps of Big Shal until it's too late, and before she can really process what's happening she's been picked up and deposited on the golem's back with a stunned yelp. With surprising speed, the machine turns, and all but leaps for the water.

        Behind her, silence reigns. Then one walrus folds its arms. "So no discount, then?"

        ***

        NOW:

        Shalune is sat cross-legged on the back of Big Shal's scaffolding, arms folded and with a severe pout as she doggedly looks nowhere near the actual wreck and the impending battle. Apparently unconcerned with the mechanic's opinion, Big Shal drifts towards the wreck, a gigantic rubber ring around its midsection for buoyancy and two extremely oversize water-wings strapped to its arms.

        The golem slowly raises one arm, and waves to the cloaked gear in a large, friendly arc.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

FEI...

...last left Weltall in Elru so he's not piloting that. He doesn't know where that thing is anymore and since Citan got taken with him to Spira he doubts the Doc is going to show up with a crab claw mech and drop it on him THIS time.

This time. He's certain it will happen again somehow but he's probably safe for now.

Fei has had some luck on an expedition with Cecilia of all people and has been able to gradually make a living again.

Regarldess...

SMASH CUT. GEARPLA CHECK.

Fei s in the Salvager Type-F because well obious reasons. Fei is moving it a bit awkwardly since he's only ever been in one gear in his life due to skipping the Gear Battler Arena on this playthrough.

"......Really? I always thought pirates were pretty great." Fei works on surfacing. "I mean I only know Bart. And Brother I guess. He's kind of a pirate. And Layna?" He frowns. "Elly do..."

He exhales as Elly clarifies.

"Well Layna is a pirate. And I think Brother is. I can't understand him though but he feels very Barty so maybe he's a Guerilla." His eyes widen. "Wait what if these pirates are guerillas too... I don't know the difference anymore!"

<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.

An emergency beacon flashes a dire warning across the airwaves. This can only mean one thing...

Someone in the wilderness needs help!

Someone out there is crying out for salvation!!

Someone in need needs... a hero...!

With a courageous heart! BA-BAN-BAN! The Soul of Steel rises to the challenge! BA-BAN-BAN! Vermillion gaze ignite! Blow away the darkness!! (Muspell Blazer!!) Sword of Justice, shine! Save this star from evil! (Calamity Blade!)

There! From the far-off horizon! The Giant of Fire arrives to save the day!

"Must you sing?" The voice is obviously mechanical, and yet somehow simultaneously just so /done/ with all this nonsense. It belongs to what can only be described as a 1/1 scale model of a super robot straight out of some kind of children's cartoon. It arrives on crimson wings, its silhouette sparkling like gold upon the wine-dark sea! And in its cockpit is...

...

Honestly, could it be anybody else? Really?

"But how else are they supposed to know that the hero's arrived!?" Declares that insufferable, irrepressible absolute macho man and the Grim Reaper's very own pen-pal, Metal Demon Hyadean Z E D.

He seems to have found a pair of extra pointy goggles somewhere.

"Ahem! Anyway!!!" Zed points! Surtr... reluctantly follows. Against his will. Really. "Hey pirates!" Zed yells at the pirate ship and the machines flanking it. "These people are salvaging this junk fair and square! Get your own wreck to plunder! Or face my steel!"

Zed's gear brandishes its sword.

It really is quite an impressive sword.

<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

EARLIER:

The Flutter, the cutest little flying vessel, was soaring over the waters of Aquvy, heading to their next destination. Now that things were on track and the Caskett family was whole again, it was time to head to Kattelox. Professor Barrell had business with the Mayor and the famous museum there, and Dash had to look into getting his Digger's license.

Dash was in the process of finally peeling out of his Vulnutt Armor Suite for the first time in... well, a very long time. The right side arm was the last to come out, black and gold attach points stick through seams in his arms as the armor is removed for moments before retracting and forming a perfect arm. "Finally!" I feels good to relax outside the suit for a while," he mentions to Roll, overlooking the armor.

"You should be more careful with it!" She says back, checking for damage. Obviously it has none, but the thought of losing the armor is a bad prospected.

A hunched man with what appears to be green goggles looks in to the workshop room. His creaky voice always carries warmth when he speaks. Though he sounds serious for a moment. "Roll. Dash. There is trouble nearby. Pirates have invaded a sensitive wreck site."

He has the gaze of a man that says it was time to do something about it.

Dash visibly sulks. "I'll put the armor back on..."

NOW:

A fish-shaped flying ship streaks by a nearby beach, and slows down briefly to let someone in blue to jump off the top of a ship, a loud 'doit doit' sound on landing. Dash begins to run his way toward the location, hopefully in time to stop the pirates!

"Have you heard of these pirates before?" he asks over the telepath link in his helmet. "It looks like they have some kind of skull symbol on their vehicles."

"I haven't, but I will see what I can find out! Be careful out there!" Dash readies his weapons, making sure the Active Buster is ready to go, since he actually has ammo again, and looks to the invaders. It also looks like some people are here to help! Liek tha tcool sword-scarf guy! "Yeah, what he said!"

                        - Mission Start! -

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

        It's a little funny, the way things work out. Just the other day, the Skadi had been delivered to the Thames and had undergone needed maintenance.

        And then today had rolled around.

        Just as she was running a short piloting test in the area -- it had been some time since she had last used the Gear -- that there had been a beacon in the distance.

        'Distress', she had thought almost immediately, abandoning prior plans to go forth and investigate.

        She has more than enough fuel.

        She soon spots the source of the problem -- along with a familiar Gear. "Jacqueline, is that you?" she says, across a more personal channel. "I saw what appeared to be a distress signal. It seems that the ship is under attack." Here, there is a pause. "Might they be pirates? I have heard from the workers on the Thames that there are some that ply these waters. Though, do they not typically perfer to use ships...?"

        She may be basing this on her encounters with Layna. ...Who admittedly does indeed have a Gear.
        Perhaps if she had met Bart more it would have been different...

        There is a pause over the line.

        "Is that Shalune? Ah, I see. Big Shal is making use of a flotation device."

        Another pause.

        "It is rather cute, do you not agree?"

        She closes on the apparent pirates in the water, dropping into a low hover over the waves. Drawing the oversized blade from where it was magnetically attached to her Gear, Avril brandishes the large two-handed sword, its flattened tip pointed up to the sky above.

        "Cease and desist, at once," she pronounces, skimming in the meanwhile her immediate surroundings. She counts one, two... three...?

        "If you do not... I must take direct action."

DC: Kaguya switches forms to Damsel of Distress Kaguya!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

        Lunata looks up inbetween cleaning up a mess in the Such Gerat (it's orange juice all over the dashboard, it turns out) and spots the CK-01 Jaeger on one of the radar screens. Her face falls.

        "HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING," she expresses in disbelief.

        The Servbot bobbing in front of her, Servbot A, tilts her head. "What keeps happening?"
        A second one, Servbot B nearly rams into the first to giggle to say, "I bet it's Miss Lunie's giiiiiiirlfriend."
        "Ooooh, it's icky adult stuff!" Servbot A waggles in excitement.

        "No! It's..." Lunata blurts out.

        The Servbots stare at her. "Oooh. It's like Miss Tron when she gets upset. What do they call it?"
        "Something like 'Wishful Thiiiiinking'."

        Lunata glumly goes, "Get back to your posts!"

        "Roooooo~ger!"

        OUTSIDE

        The Drifters can all see the Adorable Little Crimebots clambering onto their machines. They pull up into formation. Servbot A climbs onto the Drache and does a little loop de loop.

        "Servbot A for AGILITY! Specialty: Run Away!"

        The Such Gerat pulls its clamp-arms up and starts snapping them. Servbot B whines for a moment, "Ew, there's still orange juice in the keys--" A pause, as he realises it's his turn.

        "Servbot B for BRUTE! Specialty: Clamps!"

        Lunata sighs and mumbles, "Servbot C is late. Okay, we're doing this with just us."

        She pauses and holds up her fingers to her throat microphone. "This is Lunata Croze." Yeah screw it, they'll know who she is anyway. "The Bonne Family are here for the salvage. Surrender now and abandon ship or we'll totally open fire." A pause. "And yes, I know you're in there, Jay."

        She doesn't know Fei and Elly are in the Salvagers, and she hasn't spotted Big Shal or Kaguya yet. Zed's machine is... well, Zed-like, but her address pretty much is a one size fits all. And that boy in blue... somehow it feels like he's destined to fight the pirates, but she's not sure why. And the Skadi... she doesn't quite know Avril's gear.

        A beep. "Oh, that's Servbot C. Is he here with our backup--"

        Lunata's face falls again. She should watch out, or else her already cracked face might just crumble apart.

        AND THEN
        CALAMITY

        A BLACK STAR descends upon the battlefield. It is a tall humanoid Gear the colour of obsidian. In Ignas, it is a dark omen; the Gear that has been the cause of strife between Kislev and Aveh; a Gear known to Solaris as 'SLIDE-1'. A Gear that has struck fear in the hearts of Hyadeans in its participation in the Ignasian conflict, especially in Old Petra.

        It is calamity made manifest. Whispered by ancient sages to be...

        the 'Slayer of God'.

        (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc6gRAOhb8Q )

        "WHY is Weltall here," Lunata is finding no end of surprises to her day. "If Grahf stole it I'm going to have another panic attack--"

        Weltall's comms burst onto her screen, and there's currently a little baby seat propped up atop the usual pilot seat where one Fei Fong Wong is pointedly not in it.

        Instead:

        "Servbot C for COMBAT! Combat Style: Button Mashing!"

GS: Servbot C switches forms to That Which Stands Tall and Shakes the Heavens - Weltall!

        *click clack clackity clack*

        Weltall starts doing that thing where it randomly throws punches and kicks when you boot up a fighting game for
the first time and are button-checking.

        "We're all here! Let's goooo~~!!"

        Lunata stammers, "Wait, I'm still telling them to surrender--"

        But it's too late. The Drache is already strafing towards the area with a barrage of spray fire, aiming towards
the Skadi and the DaiZedGear! Meanwhile, the Such Gerat is beginning to throw... rocks and debris and anything else it
can find.

        And coincidentally enough, Weltall is racing towards the Salvagers as it begins flailing in a way that can truly
only be described as... well. Button mashing.
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Go! Servbot!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Go! Servbot!
GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Mashing Botan Master!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with Mashing Botan Master!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Miss Luniiiie! We're doing our Besties! XD!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Shalune Amira with Miss Luniiiie! We're doing our Besties! XD!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Miss Luniiiie! We're doing our Besties! XD for 120 hit
points!
GS: Jam and Mighty! applied to Jacqueline Barber!
GS: Mighty! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Elhaym van Houten completely evades a hit from Lunata Croze's Mashing Botan Master!
GS: Hyper! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Go! Servbot for 140 hit points!
GS: Cover and Cripple! applied to Avril Vent Fleur!
GS: Cover! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Lunata Croze has canceled their attack on Zed.
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Go! Servbot!
GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Zed takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Go! Servbot for 172 hit points!
GS: Cover and Cripple! applied to Zed!
GS: Cover! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Shalune Amira takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Miss Luniiiie! We're doing our Besties! XD for 206 hit points!
GS: Jam and Mighty! applied to Shalune Amira!
GS: Mighty! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: CRITICAL! Fei Fong Wong critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Mashing Botan Master for 38 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

As Gears show up, Kaguya looks around, and she begins to understand what's actually happening here. Hyadeans, ordinary Gears... Ah--

No, is any Gear truly ordinary? Maybe Kaguya spent too much time with Dean. Either way, when she sees Skadi, hears Avril's voice, she finds herself grinning, one of her sharp teeth glinting in a stray light. "...heh heh..."

But it's when Lunata's voice comes over that she gets interested even further. Kaguya's head tilts. She considers, for a moment--and then, she looks back--

....Splash. There she goes, into the water... before--

Sploosh. A figure rises from the water abrubtly, shooting into the sky, and... bang!!!!!

Lands on the salvage site with a rattle of metal. Kaguya rises from her half-crouch, blonde hair dusting her shoulders and... well, she's soaked, because water. But that's fine. It's not a problem. "Hey, so," Kaguya says, rolling her shoulders and pulling... a set of knives? Really thick knives? from her belt. No--those are broad-bladed butterfly swords.

"...With the power of the evil Gear, I am obligated to assist! Its terrible power forces me to defend the salvage point from those who would come on foot through it...!" She calls out loud enough for the boat to hear, and then, "heheheh."

She taps her ear, flicks through frequencies, and to the Gear radios--

"Actually Lunie did me a big favor so I'm gonna help her out. You wanna go on foot to the salvage point, you gotta go through me. Deal with it."

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

There's a message across a personal channel.

"Avril?" Jacqueline replies. "Yes, it's me! I believe so, yes - I recognize the symbols on their ships."

She pauses, then.

"...Wait, Shalune's here?" She asks. Sure enough, she is - that was a bit of a surprise. She spots the floatation ring, and it gets a smile out of Jacqueline. "...It is pretty cute."

While she's looking down toward Big Shal, she spots another familiar face - Malfi? She hadn't seen her in forever, she had been a little worried. The Jaeger sends Malfi a a wave. She notices other Gears arriving, too.

But then, the pilot of the Gear speaks up and it's a familiar voice. Jacqueline makes a noise similar to a choking gasp and freezes, dumbfounded. It takes her a second to recover.

"...W-wait, Lunata, you-!" She pauses, tripping over her words. ...Whoops, she's still on the private channel. She flips over to the public speakers. At least Avril was the only witness to that, and she doesn't seem like the type to spread gossip...hopefully.

"Lunata, you know I can't do that." Jacqueline replies. "What are you doing here? Why are you working for pirates?"

She's not angry, or even disappointed, she just sounds...worried, and concerned.

And then, another Gear appears - Weltall, of all things. That causes a double-take, and then, suddenly, the pirates open fire. She's so flustered by everything happening that she's just a little too slow to properly defend herself. Jacqueline winces as the Jaeger is rocked by...well, rocks.

"Lunata, we're going to talk about this later." Jacqueline says. She presses a button on her dashboard, broadcasting her FOF signatures to the other Gears that had come to defend the salvage crew. ...And then, there's another voice.

"...Kaguya, you're here too?" Jacqueline says, surprised. First Weltall, now Kaguya. She might not be in a Gear, but she'd seen some of what she was capable of. That was not reassuring. What was going to go wrong next? Was Sin going to show up wearing a pirate hat?

Jacqueline shakes her head and pushes the Jaeger into action. From her position atop the pillar, she has a pretty good vantage point. She takes aim at the Such Gerat and opens fire.

The bullet that races for it isn't strictly meant to inflict damage - it's main goal is to interfere with its power reserves, to prevent it from attacking as effectively.

GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Lunata Croze with Pacifying Shell!
GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Jacqueline Barber's Pacifying Shell for 80 hit points!
GS: Weaken! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Malfi is diverted from her path when a petite blonde girl leaps to the deck, soaking wet, and issues a challenge. Malfi scowls. The blonde doesn't *look* like much of a threat, but Malfi had learned not to judge by appearances. Humans, or whatever this challenger was, often had unusual powers. She was wielding a pair of butterfly swords -- and looked like she knew how to use them.

Malfi had survived her share of duels on the Photosphere. She advances cautiously, lance at the ready. She feints several times, testing, then lunges at what she thinks will be a weak spot in her foe's defense. She might just be wrong about that, though! "I'll deal with it," she announces calmly. Though a part of her is still thrilled to be fighting again. Battle-heat made her problems disappear for awhile.

GS: Malfi has attacked Kaguya with Beyond the Impale!
GS: Malfi has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
"I suppose it depends on what you mean when you say 'pirate'... if you mean a romantic hero who lives on their own terms by their courage, fighting against a corrupt establishment," Elly says, "then a 'pirate' is very good... noble. But there are also 'pirates' who just prey on the weak... bandits on ships. The line between a thief and a predator, and a hero or a rebel, can be really narrow..."

"I can't speak to the situation on Lunar," Elly continues, "at least not very well. But... Layna seems to be much closer to the first one. As for Brother... ... ....."

Elly seems to be considering how to answer this.

Then they get into the near occasion of audio communication, even as Elly raises towards the surface.

"-- Lunata??? Oh, no, Fei, what's happened to her," Elly begins to say, before something else happens.

Something enormous. Something powerful.

Weltall. Here and in the flesh and -- comms open up --

Elly is fed into the loop, probably due to legacy settings that Servbot C hasn't been able to get across to others. This means that people receiving signals from Servbot C can also see, picture-in-picture style, Elly's face. The Salvager's face camera is fixed and so the angle is slightly to the side, giving a hint of profile to the slack-jawed look of deep, profound, dull-edged surprise at this fresh and terrible hell. It is good there are no flies in the damp but airtight compartment of the Salvager E-type, or they'd probably fly into Elly's mouth.

This slack-jawed look of complete guttedness is thus visible to all of society and, indeed, remains so even when Elly segues into a slow blink, a nervous little pooch-lipped frown, followed by a look of complete gibbering panic for a moment when it becomes clear that Weltall's -

"Coming at us!" Elly swerves into evasive action so hard that her Salvager crests over the water's surface, making her squeal in dismay (which everyone also sees) and struggle to get control using cyclics far more primitive than she's used to. Instead of a neat dive back in, the Salvager's side smashes into the water, throwing more bubbles everywhere. Elly squints (also visible to everyone), turns her head (ditto) and steers round, having reached the water again.

"Um," she says.

Her eyes narrow a little. "I'll try to slow it down -"

The Ether Amp in this Gear warms up...

  • spoot* Elly fires a small barrage of paired high-momentum blunt-tipped icicles at Weltall.


Her cheeks puff out.

"Mrgmrgr," is Elly van Houten's final comment.

GS: Elhaym van Houten has attacked Lunata Croze with Aqua Ice!
GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Elhaym van Houten's Aqua Ice for 196 hit points!
GS: Disease! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.

Zed's gear is pretty much unmistakably Zed. Who else would ever be caught dead piloting something so garishly cartoonish!?

(Somewhere, in Solaris, the entire Elements team feels a chill run down their spines. Except maybe for Seraphita, that adorable, shameless scamp.)

"So, battle it is then! Two can play at that-- eh?" An airship comes screaming in, firing its deadly oversized machinecannons at the deadly, oversized super robot. Zed growls and raises his arms to defend himself. The machinegun shells hammer into DaiZedGear's colorful frame, punching holes into its mighty armor! How can this be!?

And worse, still, the thing shooting at him is a flying target. How is he supposed to properly hit something like that? Have you ever tried to punch a bird!?

Fortunately, the DaiZedGear is equipped for just such an occasion.

"N-nevermind that That Man's machine is here too for now. I'll deal with you first! Here we go!" Zed throws his arms to either side! The air around his gear begins to waver and twist into a blurry heat-haze as a panel on its chest burns red, then orange, then bright white...!

"Take this!" DaiZedGear's eyes flash! "Muspell... BLAZEEEEEEEERRRR!!!!!!"

It fires! An incredible blast of thermal energy pours out from the gear's chest-mounted heat-sink, aimed right at the Drachen's wings!

Of course it has a chest blaster.

Every heroic robot has a chest blaster...!!

GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Muspell Blazer!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Zed's Muspell Blazer for 52 hit points!
GS: Mighty! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Mighty! applied to Zed!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Uhhh...."

That's Fei wondering what Lunata is saying out loud. He doesn't think it's Grahf. At least, he really hopes it's not Grahf, but he has no idea who is in it though the opening punches do tell Fei that it's a newbie pilot. His gear braces ffor the strikes and slides backwards ffrom the blows but even in the hands of an amateur Weltall can be...well...

  • FLASHBACK*


LAHAN: *burns*

  • NOW*


"Man... I started up Weltall the same way..." Fei sourpusses a bit as through the appreciation of SRW logic and a comms settings, he sees a tiny lego man piloting Weltall (Why do people keep referring to it as Orca and SLIDE-1 he'll never know).

"Life sure is complicated, Elly." Fei agrees, kind of depressed on the matter since for once it'd be nice if it was simple.

"Am I allowed to fight Weltall...?" He murmurs. "I made Weltall do horrible things...agh... but the clawed man there will--" He pauses. "Clawed...lego?"

What is a lego, Fei asks himself. Never you mind, Fei.

Elly says she'll try to slow it down so he is pulled out of his confusion by this fact and he rases that manipulator arm and tries to poke/slam it into Weltall's face.

"Gahh... Weltall... I'm sorry!" Fei stammers before adding, a little more calmly. "H..hey Lunata. Sorry I uh. Sorry for missing your birthday. Do you want to uh. Do Halloween with Emeralda and uh..."

GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Lunata Croze with Exotic Weapon Proficiency!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Fei Fong Wong's Exotic Weapon Proficiency for 49 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

        "...That is... that is Kaguya."

        What is she doing here? Ice seems to collect in her veins; there is much, perhaps, that they yet need to speak of, but...
        Is she really ready for this? Does she really want to know?

        Into these darker thoughts, Jacqueline's channel misfire intrudes. Fortunately, Avril is good at keeping secrets. She makes no comment, and thus jarred from darker ruminations, takes stock of the situation. One, two--

        Before Weltall arrives. "That Gear...?"

        She hasn't seen Weltall before, mostly likely. And yet...!

        Perhaps it is the sheer presence of the machine to which she reacts, stalling for a critical moment when the Drache speeds by--

        Bullets included. She is not hardly quick enough to attempt a parry and receives a peppering of shellfire across otherwise pristine repair plating.
        Rebecca is going to be most displeased about this... and the bill that may result. But there's little else for it.

        But she -- and the Gear -- make their recovery; the damage hasn't compromised anything significant.

        "Jacqueline," Avril speaks over the private communication line. "I will attempt to catch up to the faster one." That would be the Drache. "However, first allow me to fall into formation with you. You have been flying for a while now, have you not?"

        She shifts the Skadi into Gear, ascending the pillar of rock at speed to land in a partial perch, partial hover near the apothecary's machine.

        "My reserves are nearly full. Please, receive this," she says, before passing over a small burst of fuel.

        And before rocketing off the pillar in the next heartbeat, using its height to propel the Skadi to even greater speeds.

GS: Avril Vent Fleur spends 1 Combo on Reload!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Twinflower Maneuver!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has completed her action.
GS: Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Avril Vent Fleur's Twinflower Maneuver for 0 hit points!
GS: Riposte! applied to Jacqueline Barber!
GS: Riposte! applied to Avril Vent Fleur!
GS: Reload! Jacqueline Barber gains 15 extra FP from Avril Vent Fleur!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur assumes the Avenger stance!
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

"Wow, so many..." Dash comments, seeing the little guys scamper to their vehicles. They are so cute! He will surely not get sick of them.

The vehicles seem large, and he sadly has no Gear to operate. Carrying the support car in the Flutter is already asking a lot in the drop-hangar. Maybe one day he can have one he can just summon from the sky like THAT BIG MENACING ONE THAT JUST APPEARED.

"Careful, Dash! That unit has systems I can't scan!" comes in over telepath. "Got it!" It seems most of this combat is by Gear. Not to worry, he has explosives that do well against them! He jsut has to be careful not to be squished.

...Though watching it fight seems like the pilot is... inexperienced? Still best to avoid for now. Instead, Dash elects to try and deal with the Such Gerat. "Hey! Stop tearing up the site, you!" Even when yelling at someone, Dash doesn't sound very threatening.

What IS threatening however, is solar energy manifested into weapon fire. "There are plenty of ruins all over! Go find a different one, please!" He kinda just shot at them. The time for words might be over. Bad choice of order there, buddy.

GS: Dash Caskett has attacked Lunata Croze with Buster Salvo!
GS: Dash Caskett has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Dash Caskett has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Dash Caskett's Buster Salvo for 45 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

        Shalune is already fully aware that sometimes, Big Shal knows best, and that sometimes, Big Shal will take steps to make sure that what's best is what actually happens. That's why she's been dragged out onto the open waters, she knows that well enough when she hears Lunata's voice coming clear over the Gear's radio. She can recognize the tinny twang of the radio that she never quite managed to correct for, and even from here she can hear the slight clicking of a sticky actuator she never got around to fixing.

        Jay is here too, and asks why Lunata's doing this, and Shalune bites at her lip, doing her best to maintain a sulk she honestly isn't feeling. The mechanic can't claim to know the answer to that question for sure, but she'd be prepared to bet she's got at least a pretty solid understanding of the situation. It's hard to blame Lunata for the decision, given everything, to just blow off some steam.

        But still, even she has some inviolable principles. Things she has to stick to.

        It's the impact against Big Shal that picks her up off her feet and whirling on the spot, clapping her hands on the golem's head as she leans over the gantry edge. "--w-wah, be careful! Pull up already! If you end up in the water it's gonna be real hard to pull back up! Keep your height up!" she yells with worry - and it becomes clear she's not directing that towards her own golem, despite the way in which one of the machine's arms has just been shorn clear off.

        After all, there's a faint thrum of power from the golem as it starts to rebuild itself, piece by rusty piece, the component parts of it floating back up through the water via whatever magnetic pull Big Shal uses. Shalune hops on her feet as it happens, staring up at the melee above her. "B, don't just try to clamp a whole Gear at once! Go for pointy-out bits, jeez!"

        "--and Lunie!" she pouts with fire in her eyes. "Pull your landing gear up already! It's not automatic like it was on the Rephaim!" Well... at least the advice is well-meant... and that support is mirrored in the way that Big Shal appears to approve of the new squad. As the hand finishes rebuilding, it raises towards the servbots, and delivers a

GS: Shalune Amira spends 1 Combo on Reload!
GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Lunata Croze with Thumbs Up!!
GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Shalune Amira's Thumbs Up! for 0 hit points!
GS: Reload! Lunata Croze gains 15 extra FP from Shalune Amira!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

        There's a Hyadean here too -- Malfi -- which Lunata wasn't anticipating. There's a quiet thump on what she thinks is her pulse--

        You don't have a pulse. It's just... a trick.

        But Kaguya first announces her presence and she blinks a few times. A quiet sigh. "Thanks, Kaguya," she murmurs. She feels like her job today is being a daycare center operator rather than actually being a mercenary-pirate taking on a job.

        But Jacqueline confronts her directly. Why work for pirates?

        "... I'm just taking jobs from the Thames and trying to find my way. Turns out it was a piracy job... ironic, isn't it," Lunata murmurs. "Because... of course you'd be here too. You just can't leave anything alone... no matter what..."

        The pacifying shell comes and lands on the Such Gerat and makes it start smoking lightly. The armed-ship starts wiggling-and-waving again as Servbot B whines, "Power's going doooown~!"

        The Such Gerat decides to huck a bigger bomb -- which also has the logo of the Bonnes on it -- towards the Jaeger, and potentially towards Skadi when it falls into formation.

        Meanwhile, Elly is totally right that Servbot C has no idea how to re-gear the signals and so he can see Elly while he's piloting on the child seat.

        "Miss Luniiiiie, this lady looks really surprised, hee hee!"

        "Lady-- that's--" Lunata gawks again for a moment. At the very least, Elly can see Lunata in turn because they're basically just in one giant Skype call at this point in time. Her face has a crack on it which probably happened during Macalania. "Elly? Why are you here? Is Fei..."

        PAF

        The icicles slam into Weltall because what's holding back to block, thinks Servbot C; there's a wail as the servbot clings onto the controls with excitement. "Wooooow! This Gear's strooooong! I usually get shot down in one hit!"

        Then Fei comes up and starts to poke-slam it on the Face. "Miss Lunie! This man's calling me a Lego! What's a Lego?" Servbot C also has no idea why people call it Orca or SLIDE-1, Servbot C just calls Weltall the Cool Strong Gear.

        Lunata stares towards Fei and murmurs, "... uh-- I think he means 'let go'. And Fei... I mean... that was two years ago anyway. I was never gonna have my seventeenth. That was the point. But... sure?" She's so taken aback right now she's probably still just as confused as Fei.

        It throws a punch at the Salvager-E and then the Salvager-F! Or rather, something in the approximation of a punch, probably a pre-programmed motion or... something. Visibly Servbot C really is just poking randomly at the controls.

        Meanwhile, the DaiZedGear faces the Drache, and the Servbot whines, "Miss Luniiiiie! This target's biiiiiig," as the blazer fires from the Gear's chest. It clips-- and the wing starts melting as it skitters to one side. "I'm losing altituuu~de!"

        The machine manages to spit out a bomb, much like the one aimed at the Jaeger, with a cute Bonne logo on it, which rolls to land at the DaiZedGear's feet. You know your piracy is on-brand when you put your logo on your explosives.

        BOOM!

        Lunata grits her teeth as the Such Gerat takes on concentrated solar energy; she actually moves forward and throws the Berry Custom in the way, the cloak deflecting the first shot and then the second burning a hole through as hydraulics start to fail.

        "Kaguya! Can you get that blue-armored guy? Watch out, his arm cannon is seriously Gear-worthy."

        She gets distracted by Shalune when she suddenly comes into sight and the presence of Big Shal is enough to throw her off course. "Uh-- landing gear-- okay-- WAIT I'm supposed to be a villain right now, Shalune! Be angrier at me! Don't casually commit treason!"

        A bomb gets thrown Big Shal's way too.

        The Drache and the Such Gerat are looking worse for the wear. One more hit should take them out...

GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with You gonna get Serv'd!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with You gonna get Serv'd!
GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with You gonna get Serv'd!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with Click Click Clackity Clack!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Click Click Clackity Clack!
GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's You gonna get Serv'd for 210 hit points!
GS: Mute and Riposte! applied to Jacqueline Barber!
GS: Riposte! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Zed guards a hit from Lunata Croze's You gonna get Serv'd for 91 hit points!
GS: Mute and Riposte! applied to Zed!
GS: Riposte! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Kaguya critically Guards a hit from Malfi's Beyond the Impale for 14 hit points!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur completely evades a hit from Lunata Croze's You gonna get Serv'd!
GS: Mute and Riposte! applied to Avril Vent Fleur!
GS: Riposte! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Fei Fong Wong takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Click Click Clackity Clack for 240 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Hey, Jay," Kaguya greets Jacqueline in return. "Yep, I'm here with the rest of you, and also here in this specific locale, right now. Nice Gear, you run it pretty smoothly, too. I didn't see you with it much before."

She is so not stepping between Jay and Lunata though. Favors are one thing, but that's wholly another. Malfi, on the other hand...

"Heeey," Kaguya says, and stays loose as Malfi feints; she shifts around, dodging the first, the second. "You will," Kaguya repeats. "Yeah, I gotta approve of your boldness there. But then, I wouldn't expect less from a Hyadean, right? Don't worry--you can go all-out."

Abrubtly she shifts, showing her palm with the hilt of her sword in it--"Haaah--!"

A column of energy bursts out of it, though she winces doing it, shaking out her hand after. "Ugh--Hate this planet," she mutters, and then--

'Can you get that blue-armored guy? Watch out, his arm cannon is seriously Gear-worthy.' "Oh man, that sounds rad! I'll make him show me, you got it!" ...It's like helping.

"Hey! BLUE BOY!" Kaguya calls to Dash. "I hear you have a cool cannnon! Over here!"

She reaches down--and picks up... a girder. Just, a fallen piece of metal too large for a girl her size to even budge, let alone start spinning around with and--

...Like a shotput, she hurls it straight for Dash. "Think fast!"

Then she shakes out her hands. "...Ugh. I'm so sore. This is dumb."

GS: Kaguya has attacked Malfi with Dragon Shot!
GS: Kaguya has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Kaguya has attacked Dash Caskett with Satellite Break!
GS: Kaguya has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Kaguya has completed her action.
GS: Malfi takes a glancing hit from Kaguya's Dragon Shot for 69 hit points!
GS: Cripple! applied to Malfi!
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Her foe channels some kind of strange energy through one of her swords, striking Malfi indirectly. It hurts, but not enough that Malfi can't focus through it. "Hate this planet," she hears. So the girl is an alien? It's not hard for Malfi to pick up on that, being an alien herself! No telling what powers she had. Extraordinary strength was obviously one of them, as was that energy attack.

Time to change tactics, Malfi thinks. She counterattacks with an energy attack of her own, drawing on her internal batteries.

She just hopes her deceptively-frail-looking adversary doesn't absorb Electricity! She'll find out soon enough...

GS: Malfi has attacked Kaguya with Assault with Batteries!
GS: Malfi has completed her action.
GS: Elhaym van Houten critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Click Click Clackity Clack for 48 hit points!
GS: Dash Caskett completely evades a hit from Kaguya's Satellite Break!


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.

"Nyahaha!" Zed laughs as the lingering heat bleeds off his machine's beam projector. "How'd you like that?! This is what real super robot power looks like! Get ready, evil-doer! For just as the glass-jaw of villainy shatters to pieces before the fist of justice, so too shall I strike you from the sk--eh??!"

Something goes *clunk* into DaiZedGear's foot.

It's a little ball-shaped thing with an adorable skull logo printed on the side. What a cute design! You could almost be forgiven for thinking it belonged in some kind of amazingly marketable series of build-it-yourself block-based pirate toys!

And then it explodes and sends the DaiZedGear stumbling back off its unsteady footing and into the water.

...

...

...?

Suddenly! A crescent of PURE ENERGY scythes up through the surf, flash-boiling the water as the DaiZedGear leaps out of a column of steam and seafoam! "Ugh! A dirty trick! But I won't go down so easily! Take this!" Zed swings that mighty sword! It launches another energy crescent at the nimble Drachen! "And this!" Again! Another crescent! "And this and this and this and this and this--"

Zed...

Probably has hung out with Claude Kenny too much.

GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Sword Beams!!!
GS: Zed has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Zed's Sword Beams!! for 73 hit points!
GS: Zed assumes the Avenger stance!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Lego? Elly thinks. It must be some kind of slang for doll. This creature looks like a doll, but...

Something about the shape...

No, Elly steels herself, sucking in a deep breath through her nose. "We don't want to hurt you," she transmits towards the Servbot, "but that Gear is stolen property!"

She explains to Fei (and, thanks to the relay, everyone else.) "Whatever our feelings about that Gear, I think we can't let it be in the hands of these pirates. Even if they won't use it to its full effect, someone else could acquire it... or they could accidentally..."

Her eyes then turn towards Lunata.

"Lunata... I don't want to fight you - or any of you - but whatever is going on here is a lot more than peaceful salvaging... Even if you have a dispute with the group who started salvaging here to begin with, surely you can find some other way to resolve it than raiding!" Such as throwing bombs at Zed, Elly thinks, before visibly wincing at the force of a Skull Bomb.

The Salvager-F keeps swimming forwards, like a brain-injured tang fish, drawing back its pry rod to try and strike at Weltall from the flank - mostly around the legs, which are presumably more replaceable, or at least less critical, than the other parts of the machine.

"Fei - can you grapple it? If we can haul it to the surface, maybe we can eject the pilot -- they're not using Weltall to its full effect yet!" Hope springs eternal, etc.

GS: Elhaym van Houten has attacked Lunata Croze with Beat Storm!
GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Elhaym van Houten's Beat Storm for 90 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Oh. Well. I mean. Are they the kind of pirate that's a romantic hero who lives by their own terms via their courage and fighting against a corrupt establishment?" Fei asks. "Elly says those kinds of pirates are okay and well honestly now that I said that I guess the system can be pretty easily gamed but well you get how it is Lunata. Though uh. Why would your birthdays stop? I guess it depends on how you see it, but we can celebrate your birth even if you're dead! Works for a lot of people! Maybe you can get a holiday!"

But what holiday would you name after Lunata Croze who died for our sins?!

Croze...mas?!

Fei sounds pretty desperate because even an amateur in Weltall can pretty easily devastate an expert pilot in a crummy gear. A heavy punch strikes through the cockpit shield but helpfully avoids crushing Fei.

Servbot C is no laughing matter! If this goes on he might channel the power of SERV-ID!

Fei unbuckles himself from his gear.

"Nah. I get it now. We made Weltall do everything. Can't blame it, right?" And Elly's not wrong either. This is very similar to how all his joys and troubles started in the first place.

"I have an idea!" Fei reaches for his gear control key and presses a button.

Weltall's cockpit opens up.

Fei leaps through and aims to flying kick Servbot C away from the controls! "CLAUDE STYLE!"

He aims to lift the kobun up--

--pause a moment to feel REALLY GUILTY--

--then get over it and throw the Servbot out of the giant robot. "

GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Lunata Croze with The Selfish Man Is Like A Mangy Dog Chasing A Cautionary Tale!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Fei Fong Wong's The Selfish Man Is Like A Mangy Dog Chasing A Cautionary Tale
for 92 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

        "Kaguya!" Indecision at last gives way for necessity: Avril calls out for the Veruni woman. "What are you doing? Are you assisting these pirates?"

        She does not ask why but it may be implicit from her tone.

        But it isn't just Kaguya. The one who is allying with those strange yellow people... could it be...

        It is.

        "Lunata? Why...? Please, stand down. I would rather not fight against you."

        But Lunata... Lunata has changed since she had last seen the young woman. Lunata is...

        Avril has no good choice remaining. She cannot permit even a friend to hurt another in this way. And so... she makes her decision at last.

        At the last second, a large bomb is hurled for the Skadi...!

        Avril hauls on the controls, twisting the bulk of the machine in a way that makes her see spots for an instant and spirals the Gear out of the bomb's trajectory. Only barely does it escape. And Avril--

        Is still going at speed.

        It's only an ordinary Aveh combat Gear, if slightly tricked out by Shalune herself, once upon a time. It can't fly: the best it can do is hover above water (sand, originally). But with the advantage of speed, height and the jets--

        It comes close enough.

        "I am sorry for this!" she calls out, heaving the bulk of the blade Gambanteinn for the Drache as she finally catches up to it. The weapon is more block of metal than blade, relying on its weight and force rather than any actual cutting edge.
        Her momentum slows up as she pulls out of her rush and swings--

        Friction catches something on the blade alight fleetingly. The great Gear sword burns as it comes in for the Drache.

GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Lunata Croze with Camellia Heat!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Everyone gets to see Elly's look of total horror and dismay as Fei pulls this maneuver. Picture in picture, baby!

GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Avril Vent Fleur's Camellia Heat for 318 hit points! Dispel applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"I was practicing when I saw the flare, yes - thanks, I could use the boost." Jacqueline replies, switching back to the private line. Avril's Gear ascends the pillar, passing some fuel over which Jacqueline gladly accepts.

It's added to her own reserves - she wasn't in danger of running out, but it did mean she would have had to be careful about what she chose to do. Now, though, she can act a bit more freely.

She can't really help but smile a little at the way Shalune tries to lecture Lunata, though.

And then, there's a response from Kaguya.

"I didn't know that..." Jacqueline replies. A part of her thought she might remain on Lunar as before... she does smile at the compliment, though. "Thank you. I've been practicing."

And then, Lunata replies.

"Ironic... maybe a little." Jacqueline replies with a wry little chuckle. "I'm surprised they let that one through - they seem like they'd be a bit better about confirming the legitimacy of their jobs..."

She pauses, though, as Lunata continues. She frowns a little and hesitates.

"...It's funny. I just happened to be in the area. I never thought you'd be here too..." She replies. "...You're right. I can't ignore anyone who's in trouble if there's a chance I can help them. And I want to help you, too - you don't have to do this, Lunata. You can find another job. No one will hold it against you for rejecting a job as a pirate."

She pauses.

"...W-well, maybe the pirates will, but-"
        What Jacqueline soon finds out, though, is that the enemy attacks in a very...unconventional fashion. She doesn't expect them to just chuck a big ol' bomb at her mid-sentence - her bullet might be able to reduce their power levels, but that's not going to do much against a bomb.

She jumps back to try to get away from it, but it hits the side of the pillar and explodes. Jacqueline lets a gasp of surprise as both she and the pillar are sent toppling over, crashing into the sea.

She winces as she crashes, and finds herself glad she was strapped into the seat. She doesn't think it did too much structural damage to her machine, but it certainly wasn't pleasant...and not only that, now she's lost her high ground.

"I-I'm okay!" She calls out, just in case she was concerned. She returns the Jaeger's side-arm to its holster, letting the weapon swap ammo before aiming up toward the Such Gerat and firing.

This one is aimed strategically - now that she's draining its power, she wants to try to shoot out their fuel reserves. If they start leaking fuel, maybe they'll be forced to retreat if they want to avoid crashing...


 GS: Jacqueline Barber spends 1 Combo on Poison!
 GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Lunata Croze with Fuel Snipe!
 GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo!
 GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
 GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Jacqueline Barber's Fuel Snipe for 170 hit points!
 GS: Disease and Corrode! applied to Lunata Croze!

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

        "Treason against who exactly?!" Shalune points out with a huff of air, ignoring. "Sure, okay, I really like the Thames, but it's not like I'm stuck on their side! If there's even sides out here, anyways," she adds as she deflates a little, puffing out her cheeks. "Jeez, only you could pick out a piracy job advertised on the very place you're gonna pirate against."

        "Besides, I am pretty pissed off!" she adds with a deskslam on Big Shal's head, as if only just remembering that fact in the wake of her helpful advice. "I mean, I don't really give a damn if you're a villain or a baker or a digger or a whatever, but you could at least have told me you were going off somewhere on your own! I didn't even get to prep the Tonberrian for you! And siccing a mountain of customers on me to distract me is just unfair!"

        no that part was probably your own damn fault Shalune

        Big Shal's arms raise just in time. There is an almighty CLANG as it catches the bomb meant for it, holding it securely in both hands. Somehow, there is no explosion; instead, the golem turns it over in its palms, examining the logo branded on the side of the bomb. After a long moment, the golem nods in approval - and rears up out of the water fast enough to make Shalune yelp in surprise, scrabbling for purchase on the scaffold rail as the golem fires jump jets she didn't know it had.

        Time seems to slow as it lifts up high enough to rise equal to the Such Gerat. The golem hangs there for a moment in the way a brick shouldn't, long enough to deliver the servbot an encouraging nod - and then brings both arms down to slam the bomb between the paired claws of the Gear. Immediately, both machines are hidden by a large, round, and somehow friendly explosion.

GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Lunata Croze with Big Shal Big Dunk!
GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Shalune Amira's Big Shal Big Dunk for 160 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

Dash's weapon always seemed to be mroe effective on machinery for some reason. Mind you, he doesn't go around thinking about why he weapon doesn't melt flesh more effectively. It just damages machines better than he expects it to. They are metal after all! Maybe something special about its design or why the shots are round.

He has no idea, he's not the tinkerer of the family.

"I don't want to damage your nice Gears, just step away from the salvage place I don't want to have to use the big guns."

Another nearby person, a young lady, calls to him, because let's be honest-- who else fits that moniker? "I do but," is started as he turns to face Kaguya.

What Kaguya calls out next, there is a panicked reflex bred from years and years of living with Roll Caskett that activates immediately on hearing those two dreaded words paired together.

He immediately dive-rolls left, springing back to his was where it was standing less than a second later is decimated, peeling the ground upward like a melon rind and sending debris everywhere. "U-Uhhh!! You shouldn't be... throwing things like that...!" No human should be able to pick up that much weight and hurl it like that. "Fine, I'll show you the cannon, all right, if you are going to be like that!" The Mega Buster is leveled toward Kaguya, and several golden shots get fired her way!

As a follow up, Dash points the Active Buster up, and fires a trio of missiles into the air! That go... somewhere? They don't fly toward Kaguya. Then where did they go?

GS: Dash Caskett enters a Counter stance!
GS: Dash Caskett has attacked Kaguya with Homing Mortar!
GS: Dash Caskett has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Dash Caskett has completed his action.
GS: Kaguya takes a glancing hit from Malfi's Assault with Batteries for 50 hit points!
GS: Kaguya guards a hit from Dash Caskett's Homing Mortar for 51 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

        The DaiZedGear spams sword-beams from the ocean and Servbot A whines as he starts slamming his C-shaped hands on the controls, but--

        *CLIP*

        "Whoaaa! The Drache's going dooown!" whines Servbot A, as he holds onto the controls... and then stares as the Skadi comes close towards the Ice Queen herself.

        "Uh-ohhhh~"

        Avril cuts through with the Gambanteinn and there is a FIERY EXPLOSION which is actually incredibly non-lethal for Servbots because they see Servbot A going *pewwwww* as it spirals out and thuds onto the Such Gerat with magical precision.

        Servbot A waves a white flag!

        Meanwhile, the Salvager-F swims forward and its pry rod strikes Weltall from the flank. There's a loud -DOUF- sound as something shorts in the legs, and the Servbot C gets distracted by the predictable warning that comes out, despite the fact that it's probably minor.

        "Oh nooo! They've got me!" Servbot C whines.

        Which turns out to be kind of prophetic because Fei cracks open the cockpit and leaps through!

        Servbot C and Fei stare at each other for a moment. "Who's Claude?"

        *PEWWW*

        "Don't forget meeeeee~!" Servbot C yells to Fei as it gives him a... well, it wants to give him a thumbs up, but it's only got a C for a hand because Lego. It goes sploosh in the water and waves a white flag.

        Servbot C waves a white flag!

        Shalune chews her out about how only she could wind up picking up a piracy job and she didn't even tell her! "How could I?? I don't want to drag you along to this! I--"

        Big Shal looooooms and Servbot B stares towards Big Shal. "Uwaaaah~! I want to be friiiiiends with her!"

        Then Big Shal does a big power-bomb with both its fists and the Such Gerat's face kinda goes SQUISH as the bomb explodes between the two of them.

        "... I'm not pretending I'm doing something good," Lunata answers Elly and Avril with a flat, wearisome tone in her voice. The Berry Custom snaps towards the Jaeger as Jay calls her out, but not before it fires from its side-arm and lands another hit on the Such Gerat.

        "W-whoa, the fuel taaaaank!" Servbot B whines, with an excited grin on its face. "Oh no! It's about ooooout!"

        An explosion rocks the Such Gerat, and it kind of just starts floating there.

        Servbot B waves a white flag!

        The Berry Custom stares as the three Servbots swim to the busted-up machine, waving as Servbot C exclaims:

        "Miss Luniiiie! We did our Bestiiiiies!"
        "We looooost...~"

        "But maybe this is the only thing left for me. ... ... Maybe I just wanted to get buried. Maybe the people who can defeat 'Mother' are the ones who can..."

        A pause.

        "That's it. Isn't it, Avril? It's like 'fate' that these Mediums come to their owners. And they punish those who run from their 'fate'."

        Seeing the defeated Servbots pull themselves up... it reminds her of their first meeting, like eight hours ago--

        EIGHT HOURS AGO

        Lunata Croze unfairly scoops an excited Servbot into her arms and exclaims, "I've only met Servbot today but if anything ever happened to it I would kill everyone in this room and then myself!!"

        NOW

        SPIRIT COMMANDS
        [ ] Lock-On
        [ ] Hot Blood
        [ ] Iron Wall
        [ ] Accelerate
        [ ] Assault
        [ ] Soul

        "There's nothing left to celebrate. There isn't even 'death'. There's just... nothing," Lunata answers Fei as the Berry Custom's scope rotates and locks into place. An ominous whirr erupts through the battlefield as a pair of curious treads snaps into place from the calves of the little Green Gear--

        RADICAL SKATES
        GET READY

        --and suddenly Lunata's jumped onto the ocean and suddenly something real radical happens.

        She's skating. On the ocean surface.

        The Berry Custom erupts at a speed difficult for radar systems and naked eyes to track, especially with the way she deliberately whips sideways and causes waves to splash up as cover. Her first act of violence is to spray Big Shal with something Shalune DID prepare for her -- a net coloured like confetti, then

        Her onslaught begins. The tawny cloak whips backwards and Actual Weaponry emerge: a six-pod missile launcher and an assault rifle, erupting with a beautiful ballet of ballistic projectiles.

        The assault is, frankly, ridiculous -- bullets and missiles and bullets and missiles -- first sailing to the DaiZedGear, then through to the Weltall; she's managing to whip up a large enough frenzy of ammo and dance that Gear's own joints start to whine and wail.

        She twists, and sails close enough to brandish the knife towards Elly's Salvager as that kitchen knife-type weapon comes out with a surgical carve towards the prong-rod, ending with an arc as she tries to drive through the Jaeger and Skadi on the way down.

        "... if the only way left for me to run is to become an obstacle ... then I'll take it."

        Yet despite what she's saying, she's aiming at the shoulder, the leg joints, even the weapons -- every single one of them.

        And never the cockpit.

GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Lunata Croze with Hot Blood - Lock-On - Iron Wall - FURY!
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Hot Blood - Lock-On - Iron Wall - FURY for 0 hit points!
GS: Amplify and Hyper! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Lunata Croze assumes the Avenger stance!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Just Wild Beat!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Communication!
GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Lunata Croze has activated a Boss Action!
GS: Lunata Croze spends 2 Combo on Headshot!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Berry Slash!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Berry Slash!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with Berry Slash!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Shalune Amira with The Saturday Night Shalune Special!
GS: Lunata Croze takes 60 damage from Corrode!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: Jacqueline Barber critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Berry Slash for 50 hit points!
GS: Poison! applied to Jacqueline Barber!
GS: Hyper! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Avril asks it of her--and so, Kaguya turns her head towards Avril's Gear, and nods. She flickers on the radio again--"Yeah, I am. But just for today. Apparently she wants to help them, and I owe her a favor."

Then she gets to see Fei crash into the cockpit and throw out a Servbot. "Daaaang," Kaguya says. "Ice cold, man. That poor little robot..." Pause. "...Heheheheh."

To Jay, "I have reasons to be down here, even if it's kind of worse than I remember. But hey, I just call it like I see it, I'm impressed is all."

But she's still working with Malfi, after all. She notices the electricity--"Nice moves," Kaguya says, as she shifts to the side too quickly, lightning splattering across her side and lighting up the white shirt there as it burns through about her midsection. Kaguya clicks her teeth, pressing her lips together to avoid actually making a noise further than that about the pain. "...Effective," she admits. "But--" She shifts around to what should be behind Malfi, and breathes--before something like Ether pulses around her, and a fragrant wind billows--before a torrent of razor-sharp flower petals abrubtly crash around that Hyadean as Kaguya herself darts back and whirls to face--

"Yay!" he shows her the canon, and golden shots crash upward--she doesn't have time to react to the Active Buster, at the moment--she just throws up her arms in front of herself, taking the blast on reinforced bracers and nevertheless being forced back a few steps by the force of it.

 She does, however note, "Whoa, quick, dude. --hey, look. Did you die? No. So it was fine!"

She pulls something from her poncho, "Now let me show you MINE!" she answers, and is suddenly holding a white-and-chrome-and-black shotgun, a strange ARM of obviously advanced make. Cla-CLACK it goes as she loads up the cartridge--and points it at Dash. "See??"

BANG goes the report, and a green pulse-ball of energy rockets towards Dash--...wait, no--it splits mid-stream, scattering like shot.

...But she tilts her head, then, looking over, lifting an eyebrow. "Hey, uh..." She frowns, and goes on the comms, "Lunie, you OK there? I thought this was fun crime time. You need to... Uhh... Crap, what do you even do for fun these days, you wanna... I dunno, do some arson later?"

She's concerned.

GS: Kaguya spends 1 Combo on Poison!
GS: Kaguya has attacked Malfi with Petal Rush!
GS: Kaguya has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur takes a glancing hit from Lunata Croze's Berry Slash for 133 hit points!
GS: Corrode! applied to Avril Vent Fleur!
GS: Hyper! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Elhaym van Houten takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Berry Slash for 324 hit points!
GS: Corrode! applied to Elhaym van Houten!
GS: Hyper! applied to Lunata Croze!
GS: Kaguya spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Kaguya has attacked Dash Caskett with Forbidden ARM: Otherworldly Blitz!
GS: Kaguya has completed her action.
GS: Malfi takes a glancing hit from Kaguya's Petal Rush for 35 hit points!
GS: Disease and Poison! applied to Malfi!
GS: Kaguya assumes the Stoic stance!
GS: Fei Fong Wong guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Communication for 72 hit points!
GS: Zed critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Just Wild Beat for 72 hit points!
GS: Shieldbreak! applied to Zed!
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.

Attack flowers. The alien has attack flowers. Malfi has no time to think about how odd that is, as the sharpened petals graze her about the arms and torso, leaving cuts that don't immediately start healing -- there must be poison in them. Malfi winces but does not relent. She counters with a razor-sharp attack of her own: a sturdy netting covered with microblades and fine barbed hooks. If it hits it'll steal some of her opponent's life-force. If not...

GS: Malfi spends 1 Combo on Gatling, loading 1 into Gatling!
GS: Malfi has attacked Kaguya with Scourge!
GS: Malfi has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Malfi takes 25 damage from Poison!
GS: Malfi has completed her action.
GS: Dash Caskett has activated a Force Action!
GS: CRITICAL! Dash Caskett takes a glancing hit from Kaguya's Forbidden ARM: Otherworldly Blitz for 147 hit points!
GS: Shalune Amira takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's The Saturday Night Shalune Special for 396 hit points!
GS: Entangle! applied to Shalune Amira!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"...Lunata..." Jacqueline murmurs, as Lunata says this may be the only thing left for her. She can't say anything. What could she? She doesn't have much time for it even if she wanted to, though. Lunata's Gear launches onto the ocean, and begins skating!?

Jacqueline's kind of taken aback. It's...pretty darn radical, that's for sure - but then Lunata starts attacking and she has to get her wits about her once more.

Lunata tries to drive the Gear-sized kitchen knife through the Jaeger and Jacqueline reacts quickly. The Jaeger draws out its combat rod and moves to parry, but...

...Even if she didn't, the strike wasn't going to hit anything vital. She looks to the side, toward Shalune and Big Shal.

"Are you both alright?" She asks, before turning her attention back to Lunata.

"...You say that...but if you really wanted to, you could have aimed to hurt me." Jacqueline replies. "Are you really sure that's what you want? This isn't the only way."

She shakes her head.

"...It isn't fair that you've been dealt this 'fate'. And I'm not going to just let Ge Ramtos get away with it without a severe talking to, either." Jacqueline says. She'd made that promise before, after all, and she still means it. "What I'm trying to say is...there's still more left for you, Lunata."

She swaps ammo again, though she pauses to look in Kaguya's direction.

"...Please don't encourage her to commit crimes." Jacqueline says, disapprovingly, before looking back at Lunata.

She hesitates for a second.

She knows this isn't really going to hurt Lunata. But it's hard to bring herself to do it, as she takes aim at the smaller Gear.

"But for now...please just...stop this. No one's gotten hurt yet. We can stop this before it gets out of hand." And then, she fires - the bullet itself doesn't do any real damage, but what it does do is try to lock down the movement systems to make actually piloting it difficult.

GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Lunata Croze with Lockdown Shell!
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Jacqueline Barber's Lockdown Shell for 0 hit points!
GS: Entangle and Shieldbreak! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"The Hero of Light!" Fei stammers out in an attempt to avoid saying that Claude is actually a space alien. "I'll never forget you...!" Fei calls out to the falling Servbot because he isn't a complete monster. Not yet. BUT SOON.

Fei waves after the poor servbot before leaning back in.

He sees a missile heading for Weltall and he yelps before closing the cockpit shield QUICKLY.

The missile collides vibrantly against Weltall but at the very least it's Weltall and not the old mech he was riding around in.

"I don't understand what you're saying!" Fei says finally. So much for just (having a) conversation but it seems that Lunata is willing to open fire on her friends. She doesn't seem to be aiming for killshots exactly but...

"I know you don't want to hurt us.. but what if something happens? What if there's an accident?"

He swings Weltall's hands back before fanning them forward and unleashing a blue wave of power from his gear towards Lunata's!

"Though I'm not really worried about the piracy because I'm still unsure if this is good piracy or bad piracy I don't really understand it anymore!"

GS: Fei Fong Wong enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Lunata Croze with Guided Shot!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Fei Fong Wong's Guided Shot for 190 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

        Kaguya owes... Lunata a favor?

        There is no followup on it -- not audibly, at least. But Avril's silence is weighty and palpable, even as the situation rapidly unspools into that of a fight.

        Soaring through the air, even her slowed momentum is not sufficient to stop her. Her burning blade slams into the Drache.

        With its wings effectively clipped, she really only needs to hit it once. Before she continues on her descent downwards and slams into the sea. There is a great spray of saltwater, a hiss as the inflammable agent on her blade is doused by the ocean. But the Skadi doesn't sink. Hitting the jets, she has dropped into a skidding hover, a more costly version of the...

        Demonstration by Lunata now.

        "Lunata--"

        'I'm not pretending I'm doing something good'. Avril feels for the moment as if her heart has caught in her throat. Her grip on her controls tightens. "Lunata... what happened?"

        Even the sight of the white flag -- and whatever small relief she can have that she did not have to destroy her opponent -- is shortlived.

        "You... that is what you really want...?" Involuntarily she shivers within the cockpit, as if something within had sprung a leak and exposed her to the chill sea are.

        "Fate... Can this truly be called fate? If so, fate is indeed..."

        Fate punishes those who try to flee from it. She bows her head, she squeezes her eyes tightly closed.

        Her vision is blurry when she reopens her eyes.
        When Lunata makes her intent clear. The bladed weapon comes in fast, from an unexpected angle. The great blade Gambanteinn rises, held aloft as if it were a makeshift shield: one hand on the hilt, the other further down its blunted length. This she bears up against the Gear's knife, which carves a line across its width.

        "Lunata. I am sorry. But if you continue this path--"

        She drives forward, using the flat side of that blade as a sort of battering ram as she charges for Lunata's machine.

        "--Then I must fight against you!"

        This is... too cruel. I am the one who is...

GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Lunata Croze with Primrose Short!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur takes 49 damage from Corrode!
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has completed her action.
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Avril Vent Fleur's Primrose Short for 278 hit points!
GS: Disease! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly's horror expands as she hears about what Shalune says. She has to be missing something, Elly thinks, or perhaps she's had a sequel brain injury, because if the Thames lets you advertise for raiding it there -

That's -
That's -

ERROR: elly.bat restarting

Fei is at least not falling into the drink and dying. He's in Weltall! He'll be fine, Elly thinks with relief, sagging back, and feeling indeed, quite peculiar about that. But there are two greater problems.

The first is Lunata... to whom Elly says, "Oh... I don't know what to say. But... as long as we're alive, we can," she begins, but then a moment later there is a sudden shink-swish SLASH and the Salvager's prybar holding arm is severed at the elbow joint!

Elly -- winces, and jerks the thrust motors back on reflex, and then corrects for the shift in weight. However, she is physically okay. The Gear isn't her! It's a big robot she's controlling. That wasn't even critical damage! ... serious, yes, but 'abort mission and return to Mother Thames' serious, not 'bail out and start paddling' serious.

The prybar-equipped arm sinks towards the seabed.
* GEAR ARM SALVAGER-TYPE: 1200 G
* GEAR SCALE PRYBAR with LUNIE TITANIUM EDGE: 2240 G

Elly breathes out, "Fei... you're alright? That was so frightening to see... but, ah, it was really cool too... just, take care of yourself, OK?" Her cheeks are flushed, with confusion as well as the weird life-or-death tension that has an odd hint of thrill to it.

But she recovers herself. "We should try to support the others - ah! I think the raid's been concluded, but Lunata's situation... I don't think it's something we can solve ourselves!"

GS: Elhaym van Houten takes 66 damage from Corrode!
GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action.
GS: Kaguya takes a glancing hit from Malfi's Scourge for 82 hit points!
GS: Malfi drains Kaguya! Malfi gains 0 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.

The Drachen goes down in smoke! It bursts into dozens of oddly spherical explosions! A cute little yellow lego man goes hurtling out of the cockpit. Zed nods in quiet approval of this turn of events. He doesn't want to see evildoers slain after all! It's better that they live*, that they might regret their evil deeds!

But.

Something in the air changes. It's a fundamental shift that can be characterized by a tell-tale increase in animation quality, a sudden darkening of shadow and clarity of detailwork, and the use of dramatic close-up and/or wide angle camera shots. Zed feels the change in his bones. Something terrible is about to happen. Something dramatic. Something...

Loonie.

'There's nothing left to celebrate. There isn't even 'death'. There's just... nothing.'

Zed's eyes narrow. The Berry Custom accelerates to speeds that make even electronic tracking systems falter and fail. Its skates slide across rolling waves as if it were smooth concrete. Bullets pour out like a flood of lead. Missiles rain down like a deluge of fire. The DaiZedGear raises its arms to defend itself, but against such an onslaught-- can it keep up?

"You... I know you," Zed murmurs as warnings and error messages begin flashing across his display. His machine's onboard computer screams into the back of his brain: get out, get out! But Zed does not. Zed stands his ground, enduring the bombardment with uncharacteristic lack of aplomb. "You... You're doing everything you can. Everything to try and deny the fate the world assigned to you. I know you. I know your pain."

The machine's eyes burn. Another wave of projectiles pour in, only--

The machine moves, more organically and more quickly than anything of its size aught to be capable of. The fire giant's golden blade hews through the missiles in a single flash, causing them to burst harmlessly in the air in front of it. "You might not understand, coming from someone you don't know, but..." He surges forward, a halo of prismatic flame erupting around the colossal blade. "I'm sorry you're suffering like this. Nobody should be a slave to their fate. Fight on, however hard you feel you must. Fight. Claim the life that you've been denied with every fiber of your being. Nothing should ever take away that right...!"

The DaiZedGear's thrusters flare. It lunges and strikes three times in a single motion, carving a glowing Z in the air around the Berry Custom. "I'm rooting for you. Even if I have to stop you. Don't give up, and don't forget there are people cheering you on!"

(*Exceptions are made frequently. Especially for Solaris.)

GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Zettou Shinai - Zettai Zettou!
GS: Zed has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

        Up until now, Shalune's complaints have come from a very... Shalune sort of place. She's not making a show of being loud and grumpy for the sake of clowning around, but at the same time it's difficult for her to put actual anger behind her words. But there's a note of exasperation in her voice that she can't hide, in the bare moments before the bomb explodes: "Why not?! It's not like I was gonna do a Jay on you! I stuck by--"

        Anything else is drowned out by the explosion and the ensuing need to hunker down behind the bulk of Big Shal to avoid it. Even then there's a stunned yelp as the mechanic, still taken by surprise by the maneuver, barely manages to cling to the railing in time to hold onto the back of the golem. When Big Shal lands back on the water it's with a heavy splash that takes it underwater for an instant, and when they rise again Shalune is shaking off water.

        She's still standing, though - and she whips around to face forwards just as Big Shal raises its arms once more. Perhaps it's for the best that they're floating on the water, because that fact allows the golem to take the brunt of the assault without stumbling, only pushed back against the waves as the metal that comprises its arms starts to shear away in the blink of an eye.

        Ignoring how waterlogged she is, Shalune grits her teeth, concentrating as she clamps her hands around the matter converter linked to the Golem's systems. The net tears at the golem's arms in a way that Lunata perhaps didn't expect, catching on snags and exposed parts and pulling them away - but between her effort and the Golem's regenerative powers, the worst of the damage is avoided or else immediately fixed, leaving only a wave of fatigue passing across Shalune's face.

        "... it's already out of hand," she mutters softly to herself as she involuntarily sinks down to one knee, then feels a surge of sheer pique make her grit her teeth as she immediately pushes herself back up. A hand clamps onto the railing, knuckles white as she grips onto it for support. There's a sinking feeling in her chest, and she grimaces at Elly's words. 'As long as we're alive' is the whole problem in a nutshell, isn't it?

        Her eyes sting, and not just from seawater; she grimaces again as she wipes at them with a wet sleeve of her coat, which is about as futile as it sounds. Around her is the noise of Big Shal's component pieces locking back together and strengthening themselves. She knows on instinct that the golem is waiting patiently for her to make a decision. She just doesn't know what.

GS: Shalune Amira has attacked Shalune Amira with Quick-Fix -Plating-!
GS: Shalune Amira has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Jam and Mighty expired!
GS: Shalune Amira has completed her action.
GS: Shalune Amira heals Shalune Amira! She gains 400 temporary hit points!
GS: Shield! applied to Shalune Amira!
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Zed's Zettou Shinai - Zettai Zettou for 187 hit points!


<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

        The Gambanteinn guards against the blade; and Lunata pays for the overreach as it ripostes with a vicious slash across the Berry Custom's width.

        The drawer-style cockpit shield gets rent in half with a flourish; two slabs of metal with a breached, bright red line with Lunata inbetween.

        Staring at her. Staring at Avril.

        "I wonder, Avril... can you? If something inside the machine that is fate is faulty... can you replace it? If it's you, I feel like, somehow..."

        Which isn't exactly sensical talk, but nothing about Lunata is making sense right now. Elly lets up on the attack, but she's looking towards her as she mumbles, "I'm not alive, Elly. Each and every day I try to pass as something like 'human' but... I wonder sometimes if this is the pain the 'Wels' feel. Why they throw themselves at people who they feel can kill them..."

        Fei asks what'll happen if there's an accident. There's a quiet wince from Lunata as the Guided Shot seemingly slams into her; she's saved by the skidding wave that erupts when she twists her skating line into a tight swerve, but for a moment the Gear thuds against the water and somehow, somehow keeps going.

        "... I don't know, Fei. I don't really know... but maybe something does make me feel a bit better about being in a Gear. Because everyone's putting on the same iron mask in front of themselves. Maybe that's why I spent so much time in the Rephaim."

        Zed has a sober speech even as he slashes through her missile and erupts forward, his colossal blade carving on through as she gets The Sign of Z carved onto her already-breached machine; the tawny cloak gets shredded into three pieces, and she has to eject the missile pod which explodes in a glorious flame as it's diced apart.

        "I know you. You were one of the Hyadeans who were hanging around Adelhyde way back. ... you can say that because you were able to fight against your 'fate'. Because 'Mother' turned out to be nothing more than a false parasite. Because the Guardians feared her, not you. Because you don't hate what you 'are'. ... what if it wasn't so easy for you? What if there wasn't anything so punchable in the face?"

        Jacqueline tells her, as she often does, that this isn't the only way -- that she's not even aiming to hurt her. That she'll talk to Ge Ramtos and not let him get away with this...

        And to that Lunata exclaims, "It is frustrating to me! Seeing you pucker in that pain inside of you and hearing you say 'it'll be okay', 'I'll talk to Ge Ramtos for you' when... it's clearly not! How can you make such ridiculous promises?! When we cried together just days ago..."

        She grips at the controls tighter, even as the lockdown shell seeps into the Berry Custom and fills her world with red warnings.

        "I hate it... I hate being able to read and feel the unspoken lines between your words. It makes the pain feel far too real. Far too real... it makes seeing that brave face you put on for others even more painful to see."

        The Berry Custom stops to a skid as Kaguya opens with an honest question.

        Lunie, you OK there? I thought this was fun crime time. You need to... uh...

        "... I guess ... I'm not doing okay," she makes the understatement of a still very young century. "Shouldn't be having panic attack}s in the middle of a mission. It sucks. Let's bail, Kaguya."

        Shalune isn't really railing against her anymore, but she kind of knows the pink-haired mechanic enough -- like Jay -- to be able to read the lines that're unspoken between their actual dialogue. Big Shal is tearing out of the net and regenerating already.

        "... I'm making Curry Rice tonight," Lunata randomly announces. "And it'll be vegetarian, for Kaguya."

        The randomness gets answered because all three Servbots suddenly sit up like they just got resurrected to go, "Yaaaaaaa~y! Curry! Curry! Curr~y!" the three Servbots do a sports hooligan-esque chant.

        The Such Gerat lights up again as it begins to backpedal, as the Berry Custom drops onto it. It waits long enough for the Veruni to do a crazy big alien moonjump and land on it before it sails away too.

                      - M I S S I O N C O M P L E T E ! -


<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

The shots are somewhat effective at this task, but this woman is made of some stern stuff. Her guard is well-honed to take the blows of superheated plasma. "...Huh," is his comment to that exchange. "Wait, you expected me to survive or something? That is kinda risky, isn't it? Like, what if I didn't dodge out of the way?!"

He could have been reduced to scrap by that throw! "Wait hang on-- We are doing show-and-tell here?" he asks a little too late, as a vicious weapon is produced. Definitely a shotgun, and definitely different, because she is standing too far away to ustilize a normal style gun.

The report and green flare is further indication. Dash moves quickly, but not quick enough to avoid the cone of energy fire, and suffers several pircings that go deep. Quite deep into the armor, He staggers as he lands from the evasive maneuver.

Sadly, to Kaguya's possible dismay, there is no blood that spills from the clean grazing. Which in and of itself is odd. "I didn't even use the strongest mode my weapon had! Way to give me a chance, here!" His right side hip seems to fare the worst from the hit scatter. Sparks emerge infrequently.

The Mega Buster is turned back toward Kaguya, this time the flare being a magenta-red. "Okay, I'll see if you can deal with these then...!" He doesn't want to hurt this person! Then again she seems ridiculously strong. Maybe she can handle it.

Three shots rung out, these are large and pack more punch to them than standard fare. They tend to melt holes in ruin walls.

GS: Dash Caskett spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Dash Caskett has attacked Kaguya with Heavy Buster!
GS: Dash Caskett has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Dash Caskett has completed his action.
GS: Kaguya takes a solid hit from Dash Caskett's Heavy Buster for 151 hit points!



<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya looks back at Jay, spreading her hands in a 'what??' kind of gesture and expression. "I'm not good at knowing what people do for stress relief, okay???"

Meanwhile, attack flowers. Kaguya of course doesn't think her magic is very odd at all, so really, isn't it a little ethnocentric to assume plant magic is weird? It's a mistake to think that you're the only one who can turn into a car.

Kaguya can hit like a car, does that count too? The scourge does hit her--even dodging, Kaguya takes it on the arm hard, but thanks to her magic no life energy goes through. Nevertheless, as that net with its hooks cuts through Kaguya's sleeve--

"Trust me," Kaguya says. "You don't want my life energy. It's not good for you."

She gets a big hit from Dash's weapons as he answers, too, pop poip pop as she staggers backward. She doesn't get holes in her, somehow; she must be strong. ....But then, perhaps it's because they didn't hit her full on? It may be that. "Whew," Kaguya says. "That's..."

She pauses, then, and looks over to Lunata. "....Cool. We can go." Kaguya bends at the knee, preparing a leap, and looks to Malfi and Dash. "...You two are fun. We can compare machinery more later, Blue Boy, and that scourge of yours Hyadean, ow. It was a nice time."

Shwoop. Kaguya shoots upward with the force of her jump.... and bam. She lands right on the deck. "...Curry sounds great," she admits, and she totally isn't moving to stand near Lunata for friend reasons or anything.

                          BONUS OBJECTIVE: COMPLETE!!

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Gahhhh..." Fei says in response to Lunata because that's the best he can offer to that. But then... in an act of true villainy.

Curry.

"y...you can't use curry for piracy! Curry belongs to everyone!! Wait actually when I say it like that maybe curry is very piracy...!"

He exhales.

"Well at least Weltall didn't blow anything up this time."

He pats the console carefully causing Weltall to flash red and vibrate intensely.

"Gahh!!!"

He quickly pushes a bunch of buttons almost entirely at random and shuts down whatever that was.

"Guess I better get someone to look at this," He murmurs.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline is taking aback as Lunata shouts at her. She can't even come up with a response. She certainly tries - they can hear her starting to say something, but second-guessing herself and going quiet.

In the end, she can't say anything. She knows Lunata's right. She sits back in her cockpit, shutting her eyes. It was something she'd gotten used to - she had people who looked up to her. She needed to be strong for them. So...she had a tendency to more confident than she really was.

When in reality, she had no idea what to do.

She doesn't make a move to stop Lunata and Kaguya as they leave. The Jaeger sort of just sinks back against the remains of that earthen pillar as Jacqueline takes her hands off the controls.

...At least Lunata's new friends sound happy.

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

        The moment of indecision stretches out until it's much too late; Shalune comes back to herself in time to see the Berry Custom carried off atop the Such Gerat. Her mouth hinges open for a moment, but it's not like any further answers have come to mind in the last ten minutes. All she can do is close it again, then let out a deep set sigh as her hand curls into a fist.

        Part of her wants to just really drive her knuckles into the gantry railing, and she even pulls back her hand to do so - but at the end of the day she cannot help but be Shalune, and what was going to be an impassioned motion gets overridden by common sense and turned into a tiny, regretful tap instead.

        "... let's-- get back to the Thames," she mutters to Big Shal, who begins slowly paddling itself around in a 180'. It takes kind of a lot of the dramatic tension out of it all, so halfway through she just sinks down to sit on the gantry and casts around for anything to distract herself with.