Daniel’s eyebrow raised just a bit at one of the Ceran crew’s comment that no one really asked for, making things just more awkward for everyone. Thankfully, it ended up being brushed aside and ignored. Two of the mechs flew off, likely trying to find a proper place for their ship to land. Eventually they succeeded, and the ship descended, extending its loading ramps after it was on the landing zone. Daniel approached, trusting these Cerans to deliver them safely.@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Ignoring Asaga's... Slip-up, the Ceran mechs relayed confirmation to their mothership and soon, the ones known as 'Asaga' and 'Chigara' turn tail and head off into the sky. Circling the area to find the nearest landing spot for the Sunrider. Meanwhile, Vicious stays where he is, quietly watching over the stranded crew and waiting for Liam's response as he figured that it'd be better to get to know the marooned men sooner rather than later.
"Captain, we've identified a suitable landing zone to pick up the survivors. Sending coordinates over now."
Her calculations were incredibly precise and before long, the helmsman prompted the ship to make a soft descent towards the landing zone. And At long last, the Sunrider finally touched down on the Ceran sands, its loading ramps extending down from its sides to deliver the survivors and their odd guardians from their unexpected journey towards what would hopefully be safe haven.
@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Ignoring Asaga's... Slip-up, the Ceran mechs relayed confirmation to their mothership and soon, the ones known as 'Asaga' and 'Chigara' turn tail and head off into the sky. Circling the area to find the nearest landing spot for the Sunrider. Meanwhile, Vicious stays where he is, quietly watching over the stranded crew and waiting for Liam's response as he figured that it'd be better to get to know the marooned men sooner rather than later.
"Captain, we've identified a suitable landing zone to pick up the survivors. Sending coordinates over now."
Her calculations were incredibly precise and before long, the helmsman prompted the ship to make a soft descent towards the landing zone. And At long last, the Sunrider finally touched down on the Ceran sands, its loading ramps extending down from its sides to deliver the survivors and their odd guardians from their unexpected journey towards what would hopefully be safe haven.
Truly the fact that such a person could become a Scion is a testament to these Ceran's military competency.Daniel’s eyebrow raised just a bit at one of the Ceran crew’s comment that no one really asked for, making things just more awkward for everyone. Thankfully, it ended up being brushed aside and ignored. Two of the mechs flew off, likely trying to find a proper place for their ship to land. Eventually they succeeded, and the ship descended, extending its loading ramps after it was on the landing zone. Daniel approached, trusting these Cerans to deliver them safely.
After all, it’s not like there were any other suitable options.
Vicious responds to Liam's request for sharing info, just a tiny bit suspicious.
"That depends on how you'll use that information as I've little desire to share my secrets, I do need to put food on the table after all."
And then to the next question.
"No need, The Sunrider shall take all of you in. If the rest of you accept that is."
After the Sunrider had discharged its lasers at the remains of their once proud ship, discourse ran hotly among the surviving crew. By now, they have gathered in a circle and argued about the choice to simply walk, braving the scorching sands or allow themselves to be taken in by from what are all accounts, heathens. At first the debates were hectic, failing to arrive to common ground.
Some were argued that it was their best chance of establishing peaceful contact with the natives of this "Cera" and get a scope of both the planet and the surrounding sector. Others were concerned of allowing heathens to hold their fate in their hands, offering little more than sheer suspicion of the real intentions of these "Cerans"; who know not of the Emperor or his light and therefore cannot be trusted.
Soon enough however, pragmatism and the desire to avoid wasting their lives and needlessly antagonizing the Cerans won out, as a consensus was established by the oldest and most well respected members of the crew, including the surviving Tempestus Scions, numbering 5 men, the debate quickly died down. Voices were calmed, doubts were eased, and appeasements were offered until the crew had come into a unanimous decision, with the Junior Officer speaking for his men.
"Lord Questor and uh... Strange Knights, tell these Cerans that we accept their offer for aid and that we will respect their laws and sovereignty."
While it sounded like a betrayal to Valrin, the Knight's warp-sense can feel that the Officer simply saw the ship as the path of least resistance towards finding out where exactly in the Milky Way they ended up and just who these Cerans truly are. After all, they're all servants of His most holy Inquisition; secrecy and subterfuge are their bread and water.
With that Vicious reponds to Liam again, despite his low baritone voice that oozed imperiousness and authority; the young scientist cannot help but picture the man grinning as he spoke.
"There's your answer."
Meanwhile Asaga, hearing what the tiny man had to say with her Ryder's aural sensors couldn't help but let it drop. Over her Ryder's loudspeakers. Where everyone could hear her.
"See, now wasn't that so easy?"
Her two wingmen and the Mercury's crew just stared at her red and white machine in silence.
William Laim Tinmall@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Ignoring Asaga's... Slip-up, the Ceran mechs relayed confirmation to their mothership and soon, the ones known as 'Asaga' and 'Chigara' turn tail and head off into the sky. Circling the area to find the nearest landing spot for the Sunrider. Meanwhile, Vicious stays where he is, quietly watching over the stranded crew and waiting for Liam's response as he figured that it'd be better to get to know the marooned men sooner rather than later.
"Captain, we've identified a suitable landing zone to pick up the survivors. Sending coordinates over now."
Her calculations were incredibly precise and before long, the helmsman prompted the ship to make a soft descent towards the landing zone. And At long last, the Sunrider finally touched down on the Ceran sands, its loading ramps extending down from its sides to deliver the survivors and their odd guardians from their unexpected journey towards what would hopefully be safe haven.
Daniel’s eyebrow raised just a bit at one of the Ceran crew’s comment that no one really asked for, making things just more awkward for everyone. Thankfully, it ended up being brushed aside and ignored. Two of the mechs flew off, likely trying to find a proper place for their ship to land. Eventually they succeeded, and the ship descended, extending its loading ramps after it was on the landing zone. Daniel approached, trusting these Cerans to deliver them safely.
After all, it’s not like there were any other suitable options.
Deliberately closing the coms, Liam let out a nervous giggle at the young pilot's declaration.Truly the fact that such a person could become a Scion is a testament to these Ceran's military competency.
Ignus followed behind Daniel, sending out his own vox waves and Noosphere connections. Given time Ignus could figure out some of the systems of the ship, maybe even internal files and memos. That would be invaluable for if the Crew wished to infiltrate and influence the ship and the military behind it.
"Nnnngh..." David grunted...This wasn't going to be a cakewalk, for certain.Unfortunately for David, the pterosaur was more than quite a match for the Wing Freedom in the sky. Gunning its afterburners and folding its wings closer to its wiry body, the skyfiend was quickly able to break the Gundam's target lock in a burst of speed, building distance between itself and the Freedom before it makes a hard turn to try and rake the seraph with its wing-mounted pulse lasers and a snap-shot of its railgun before once again breaking away to avoid exposing itself to counterfire. However, even when it was facing away from the Gundam, David's radar warning receiver was constantly buzzing, likely due to a backward-facing radar... Oh boy.
And then his Gundam picks up the sound of thunder as yet another railgun slug screams towards his machine, this time on its blind spot.
Shouldn't we be shooting the mammal mech closest to us instead?
Relax, that thing isn't even a super robot, the chaperone's got it covered. Didn't you hear that tin can get pulverized?
Using his other hand he quickly rose up to block the incoming particle shots, saving himself before he went to activated his atomic punch to fly back at him, and it reconnected back.
But not long the Saurus would be attacking again and Kane would stay on the defense, raising great arm to protect himself from the particle blasts, until he saw the shard incoming from the skies.
“Ty, double Mazinger Storm NOW!” As Great Mazinger mouth would release violent winds!
“GREAT TYPHOON!” As the typhoon would go toward the air, trying to make the shard lose their velocity, but at the same time if he manage to survive, he can take the skies and use the storm to his advantage!
The metal hail was blown away by the simultaneous hurricanes, the shards aimlessly whizzing out into the distance or landing in a randomized scatter every which way but the patch of dirt where the two Mazingers were standing on. However, the top-down attack served the Gettersaur's purpose well enough as a distraction. Having gone airborne yet again, the doppelganger tries to keep the offense up by unveiling yet another weapon system: Unfurling panels on its legs and chest to reveal batteries of micro-missiles and then promptly letting them loose in a wide spread, the trails of flame and smoke left in the volley's wake almost giving the appearance of angel's wings.Ha, gotcha, you-aw son of a bitch!
I went and blocked as much of the shots as I can...before noticing the real plan of attack as well.
"Aight, dunno what that is, but I'll work with this!" I then noted as I aimed out Z's mouth in an angle that can enhance Great's Typhoon and go...
"RUUUUUUSTO! HURRRIIIICAAAAANE!"
I called out in a manner befitting a super robot pilot as Z's acid rain-mixed winds shot out to combine with Kane's attack!
The pterosaur once again goes evasive with a series of wild twists and turns. But unlike the last time, the Wing Freedom's more aerodynamic bird form made running it down and getting a lock on the thing much easier. Ehile the Buster Rifle blasts failed to even graze its wings, owing to its agility and its small size, the vulcans however did a much better job at it, flaying the bio-mechanical beast with incendiary ammo and causing wispy trails of smoke to start trailing from its lithe form, meaning that David managed to hit its fuel tank or perhaps that its very blood was flammable. Either way, David's quarry knew that it was getting cornered and performing a somewhat risky attempt to reverse its fortunes, it suddenly pulled up into a climb; in an apparent attempt at a loop-de-loop or an Immelmann turn to break his lock. Should David attempt to stay glued on its tail, he'll be in for a rather unpleasant surprise as the beast jettisons its plasma bomblets in a sudden forecast of plasmic hail..."Nnnngh..." David grunted...This wasn't going to be a cakewalk, for certain.
The Wing Freedom was momentarily knocked out of its path...But then suddenly started to spin and transform! In a snap, the Wing Freedom took on the shape of a bird-like fighter, and rocketed faster than it could in its MS Mode!
He needed to get rid of that sniper...But first, to draw the pterosaur away...Noted the blindspot and mentally narrowed down the approximate location of the shot, all the while firing vulcans and the buster rifle as the dino to catch it with a wide spray, moving fast and wild to evade more attacks.
Kane stare around, his radar being useless now as he spoke.The metal hail was blown away by the simultaneous hurricanes, the shards aimlessly whizzing out into the distance or landing in a randomized scatter every which way but the patch of dirt where the two Mazingers were standing on. However, the top-down attack served the Gettersaur's purpose well enough as a distraction. Having gone airborne yet again, the doppelganger tries to keep the offense up by unveiling yet another weapon system: Unfurling panels on its legs and chest to reveal batteries of micro-missiles and then promptly letting them loose in a wide spread, the trails of flame and smoke left in the volley's wake almost giving the appearance of angel's wings.
While Kane and Tyzell would be forgiven for thinking that the missile volley was going to be yet another misdirection given how tiny the projectiles were and that their hurricanes would clearly be more than sufficient to blow them away like with the Gettersaur's shards... What they didn't count on was the missiles exploding in front of and all around their position in a cacophonic and tumultuous barrage of smoke, blinding flashes of light, and extremely loud noise, loud enough to be painful to hear even through the canopies of their scranders. To add insult to injury, they would notice that their radar screens were going absolutely nuts; likely from chaff mixed in with the smoke, meaning that the both of them were practically blind...
The pterosaur once again goes evasive with a series of wild twists and turns. But unlike the last time, the Wing Freedom's more aerodynamic bird form made running it down and getting a lock on the thing much easier. Ehile the Buster Rifle blasts failed to even graze its wings, owing to its agility and its small size, the vulcans however did a much better job at it, flaying the bio-mechanical beast with incendiary ammo and causing wispy trails of smoke to start trailing from its lithe form, meaning that David managed to hit its fuel tank or perhaps that its very blood was flammable. Either way, David's quarry knew that it was getting cornered and performing a somewhat risky attempt to reverse its fortunes, it suddenly pulled up into a climb; in an apparent attempt at a loop-de-loop or an Immelmann turn to break his lock. Should David attempt to stay glued on its tail, he'll be in for a rather unpleasant surprise as the beast jettisons its plasma bomblets in a sudden forecast of plasmic hail...
William Liam Tinmall@Cavaliere @Sigismund @The Ancient Purple @Crimson Dragoon
As the survivors began to march towards the Sunrider's cavernous hold, Vicious was standing watch over the proceedings as Chigara and Asaga circled over the landing site. The older pilot took notice of one more oddity among the group: A massive golden statue that the shipwrecked sailors were treating with all due care and respect as they took it along with them on some sort of makeshift sled. Opening a line with Liam, the pilot asks just what the sight was about.
"Liam was it? Is that statue your charges are bringing with them an idol of their god?"
The survivors themselves meanwhile, were seemingly starting to regret their situation. While it was hard to tell from where the Sunrider's crew and pilots were, a lot of the Mercury's crew was visibly off-put by the Sunrider's appearance; as its smooth lines and blocky, simplified construction stood in stark contrast to the Imperial navy's grand, baroque styling, bringing to mind the designs of the accursed T'au xenos. With that, every single one of them held a silent prayer on their lips that no devilish robot that operates without human supervision is waiting for them aboard and thankful that the Custodes with them or their dearly departed Lord Inquisitor would not be able to witness such a travesty befall such humble servants of the Emperor in the name of survival... Though their savior Knight is another matter.
"Hmph...!"The pterosaur once again goes evasive with a series of wild twists and turns. But unlike the last time, the Wing Freedom's more aerodynamic bird form made running it down and getting a lock on the thing much easier. Ehile the Buster Rifle blasts failed to even graze its wings, owing to its agility and its small size, the vulcans however did a much better job at it, flaying the bio-mechanical beast with incendiary ammo and causing wispy trails of smoke to start trailing from its lithe form, meaning that David managed to hit its fuel tank or perhaps that its very blood was flammable. Either way, David's quarry knew that it was getting cornered and performing a somewhat risky attempt to reverse its fortunes, it suddenly pulled up into a climb; in an apparent attempt at a loop-de-loop or an Immelmann turn to break his lock. Should David attempt to stay glued on its tail, he'll be in for a rather unpleasant surprise as the beast jettisons its plasma bomblets in a sudden forecast of plasmic hail...
The metal hail was blown away by the simultaneous hurricanes, the shards aimlessly whizzing out into the distance or landing in a randomized scatter every which way but the patch of dirt where the two Mazingers were standing on. However, the top-down attack served the Gettersaur's purpose well enough as a distraction. Having gone airborne yet again, the doppelganger tries to keep the offense up by unveiling yet another weapon system: Unfurling panels on its legs and chest to reveal batteries of micro-missiles and then promptly letting them loose in a wide spread, the trails of flame and smoke left in the volley's wake almost giving the appearance of angel's wings.
While Kane and Tyzell would be forgiven for thinking that the missile volley was going to be yet another misdirection given how tiny the projectiles were and that their hurricanes would clearly be more than sufficient to blow them away like with the Gettersaur's shards... What they didn't count on was the missiles exploding in front of and all around their position in a cacophonic and tumultuous barrage of smoke, blinding flashes of light, and extremely loud noise, loud enough to be painful to hear even through the canopies of their scranders. To add insult to injury, they would notice that their radar screens were going absolutely nuts; likely from chaff mixed in with the smoke, meaning that the both of them were practically blind...
Kane stare around, his radar being useless now as he spoke.
“The closer we get to this bastard, the more trick he has on it sleeve to keep on running, we can’t handle him alone without someone taking eye on the sky..”
As Kane then notice the thunderstorm approaching, before turning on the radio, and spoke.
“Oi shiva and Gundam pilot, you two probably have a faster mech that isn’t being focus by the enemy, I need your help, the enemy reptile keeps jamming our sensor, if you can pinned him down or catch him, while lining up the other reptile nearby me, I can hit them both with a attack that might cause heavy damage” Kane said through the radio.
As He then went to tap into Great Mazinger, giving him his next command as he shouted to Ty.
“Ty, cover my back, I can probably help us both and that Gundam with one solid thunder break attack, hopefully strong enough to fuck over their internal system”.
Damn! No dice!
"Right!" I then said as I have Z point at the chest.
"You want me to follow that up with a Breast Fire?"
No response from Shinkai other than crackling static from the radio, something must've gone wrong on his end... But at least the smoke and chaff began to clear up, except that their attacker was nowhere to be found, likely waiting for an opportunity to strike when either one of the Mazinger pilots lapses in vigilance.Kane stare around, his radar being useless now as he spoke.
“The closer we get to this bastard, the more trick he has on it sleeve to keep on running, we can’t handle him alone without someone taking eye on the sky..”
As Kane then notice the thunderstorm approaching, before turning on the radio, and spoke.
“Oi shiva and Gundam pilot, you two probably have a faster mech that isn’t being focus by the enemy, I need your help, the enemy reptile keeps jamming our sensor, if you can pinned him down or catch him, while lining up the other reptile nearby me, I can hit them both with a attack that might cause heavy damage” Kane said through the radio.
As He then went to tap into Great Mazinger, giving him his next command as he shouted to Ty.
“Ty, cover my back, I can probably help us both and that Gundam with one solid thunder break attack, hopefully strong enough to fuck over their internal system”.
The Pterosaur gets raked by the unexpected vulcan barrage and manages to perform a vertical dive away from the Wing Freedom before building distance, trailing smoke and flame as it flew off into the night sky, albeit with less agility and thrust than it did before, showing that David has made good progress in blasting this overgrown pigeon out of the sky. To give itself itself a better chance of pulling away and some time to rethink its next approach, the Wing Freedom's radar warning receiver once again plays out its droning alarm... However, something rather unexpected happens..."Hmph...!"
The Wing Freedom accelerated, but instead of moving to catch his enemy before they could turn, David instead started rolling off to the side of his forward motion, changing shape back into MS Mode! The Gundam rolled through the air, barreling out of the targeted area to resume firing with its chest and head vulcans!
Inside a ship this small, moving Ignus around would be near impossible. Dismounting was inevitable, but never that pleasant.@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Finally entering the Sunrider's main hold proper along with their golden idol and their unusual saviors, the throng of Imperial shipmen were somewhat relieved to see human faces waiting inside in the form of mechanics and the ship's security forces and not a single thrice-cursed robot in sight. However, the interior design of the vessel was something quite unusual to them, but not entirely unexpected given how strange it was in their eyes: Far too clean, spacious, and minimalistic in design, not to mention that the hangar bay's design was all wrong to them: Being built in a vertical manner, where its strike craft or any shuttle craft would be made to lie upon their engines rather than their bellies given the narrowness of it all. Truly this "Sunrider" was the utter opposite of their old home in every way that mattered.
"Throne of Terra, this ship..."
"Not even a Medicae facility has this much white in it."
"Has this thing even seen any action yet?"
Meanwhile on the Sunrider's bridge, the excitement and uncertainty experienced by the crew when they first encountered the crash site were replaced by a sense of ease and calmness with a palpable aura of disappointment. Being given the honor of crewing the Ceran Navy's new standard model assault battleship, they were eager to put it through its paces, and the unexpected presence of both the unknown mechs and shipwreck brought the possibility of an unplanned trial-by-fire against enemies unknown during their ship's shakedown cruise of all times, they really couldn't be forgiven for thinking that there would be the possibility of undertaking a heroic and epic feat of defending their home. Especially in the case Captain Kayto Shields, who was making a poor job of hiding his clearly deflated mood, even when he was in the process of getting in touch with the nearest major military installation in the region: Fort Ladon.
"This is Captain Kayto Shields, Ceran Navy; do you read?"
The bridge's main holoscreen eventually shifts to that of an aged, stern-looking face with a very impressive moustache and a suitably spartan-looking office in the background.
"This is General Granger, commandant of Fort Ladon. This had better be good."
The General's voice perfectly fits his commanding visage: Rough, direct, and uncomplicated. So much so that the young captain was slightly taken aback by the frankness displayed, especially coming from such a senior officer and one that commanded the Ceran Army's largest and most secure military installation at that.
"General Granger, requesting permission to use your base's facilities to-"
"Detain the survivors? I know. You wouldn't think we'd notice something like that in our own backyard? We were going to deploy a Search and Rescue team before you arrived and did our job for us. Also, care to explain why we detected in-atmosphere energy weapons discharge from your location just now?"
Thinking quickly, Kayto tried to come up with a believable enough explanation to the General as he's sure that if he explained that the ship was infested by a memetic virus as claimed by one of the contracted instructors aboard his ship, Granger's already low opinion of him and navy men like him would sink even more...
"The debris had to be destroyed, sir. It was too dangerous, too much deadly radiation, and the quickest way to get rid of the irradiated material and get to the survivors was to vaporize as much of it as we could. Not that there was that much left to remove as the ship was apparently scuttled by the crew to prevent the capture of their technology."
Granger looks long and hard at Kayto after he had explained himself, apparently having sniffed out his deception and trying to see right through his invented situation. But Kayto didn't balk, his pride and authority as a captain of the Ceran Navy wouldn't allow it.
"Well, would you look at that. Seems that there's still some decent officers left in the navy."
Kayto blinks in reaction to Granger's response. Deep inside, he felt awkward and lowkey bothered by the general's backhanded "compliment". But he breaks no stride, nor gave any tangible sign that this threatened to get under his skin. He instead chooses to shrug it off and reiterate the reason he opened up the comms line in the first place.
"So does the Sunrider have permission to dock in and transfer the rescued survivors to your facilities?"
Granger sighed, already starting to submit the order for the preparations.
"Permission granted."
Without even waiting for Kayto's response, Granger cuts the line. The captain couldn't help but take a side glance at Ava. Without Granger there to see it any longer, his expression slowly distorts into an annoyed grimace at the disrespect that he was shown, even when it came from a much higher-ranking officer. Brief as their interaction was. But his attention returns to the situation at hand.
"Ava, please tend to our guests."
"Right away, captain." She curtly responds.
The brunette 2nd in command calmly moves over to the comm station and grabbing hold of the P.A mic, she speaks to the rescued survivors and their four guardians, who by now are fairly familiar with her voice.
"This is commander Ava Crescentia. First, I'd like to welcome you all aboard the Sunrider, Ceran Navy Assault Battleship. We will now be taking off to the nearby Ceran army installation of Fort Ladon to detain you all for the time being. Do not worry, you are not prisoners; but guests to our homeworld and as such will be treated with all due respect and hospitality. We will be handing off rations and water to those in need, as well as administering treatment to the wounded and sick in the medical wing. Enjoy the ride."
After the announcement, the crewmen didn't seem to know quite how to take the news. Sure they consigned their fates into the hands of utter unknowns, heathens at that; but their treatment seemed a bit too... Gentle? They honestly expected way more guards waiting for them inside and perhaps a beating or two to enforce order and as a show of force. But none of that here...
Daniel saw the space where he had to park his mobile suit, and promptly did so. The cockpit hatch opened up and the Atlantic Federation pilot stepped out, his sidearm still holstered. He made his way down to the main hold where the rest of the survivors were, along with whatever that golden idol was. It was obviously important to them, considering the reverence they consistently showered it with. As he walked, he noticed that the interiors of the Sunrider were very clean, pristine even. That and its rather simple design were what Daniel expected. Judging from what he saw of the survivors' reaction though, they weren't quite used to this kind of aesthetic. That earned a bit of a chuckle.@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Finally entering the Sunrider's main hold proper along with their golden idol and their unusual saviors, the throng of Imperial shipmen were somewhat relieved to see human faces waiting inside in the form of mechanics and the ship's security forces and not a single thrice-cursed robot in sight. However, the interior design of the vessel was something quite unusual to them, but not entirely unexpected given how strange it was in their eyes: Far too clean, spacious, and minimalistic in design, not to mention that the hangar bay's design was all wrong to them: Being built in a vertical manner, where its strike craft or any shuttle craft would be made to lie upon their engines rather than their bellies given the narrowness of it all. Truly this "Sunrider" was the utter opposite of their old home in every way that mattered.
"Throne of Terra, this ship..."
"Not even a Medicae facility has this much white in it."
"Has this thing even seen any action yet?"
Meanwhile on the Sunrider's bridge, the excitement and uncertainty experienced by the crew when they first encountered the crash site were replaced by a sense of ease and calmness with a palpable aura of disappointment. Being given the honor of crewing the Ceran Navy's new standard model assault battleship, they were eager to put it through its paces, and the unexpected presence of both the unknown mechs and shipwreck brought the possibility of an unplanned trial-by-fire against enemies unknown during their ship's shakedown cruise of all times, they really couldn't be forgiven for thinking that there would be the possibility of undertaking a heroic and epic feat of defending their home. Especially in the case Captain Kayto Shields, who was making a poor job of hiding his clearly deflated mood, even when he was in the process of getting in touch with the nearest major military installation in the region: Fort Ladon.
"This is Captain Kayto Shields, Ceran Navy; do you read?"
The bridge's main holoscreen eventually shifts to that of an aged, stern-looking face with a very impressive moustache and a suitably spartan-looking office in the background.
"This is General Granger, commandant of Fort Ladon. This had better be good."
The General's voice perfectly fits his commanding visage: Rough, direct, and uncomplicated. So much so that the young captain was slightly taken aback by the frankness displayed, especially coming from such a senior officer and one that commanded the Ceran Army's largest and most secure military installation at that.
"General Granger, requesting permission to use your base's facilities to-"
"Detain the survivors? I know. You wouldn't think we'd notice something like that in our own backyard? We were going to deploy a Search and Rescue team before you arrived and did our job for us. Also, care to explain why we detected in-atmosphere energy weapons discharge from your location just now?"
Thinking quickly, Kayto tried to come up with a believable enough explanation to the General as he's sure that if he explained that the ship was infested by a memetic virus as claimed by one of the contracted instructors aboard his ship, Granger's already low opinion of him and navy men like him would sink even more...
"The debris had to be destroyed, sir. It was too dangerous, too much deadly radiation, and the quickest way to get rid of the irradiated material and get to the survivors was to vaporize as much of it as we could. Not that there was that much left to remove as the ship was apparently scuttled by the crew to prevent the capture of their technology."
Granger looks long and hard at Kayto after he had explained himself, apparently having sniffed out his deception and trying to see right through his invented situation. But Kayto didn't balk, his pride and authority as a captain of the Ceran Navy wouldn't allow it.
"Well, would you look at that. Seems that there's still some decent officers left in the navy."
Kayto blinks in reaction to Granger's response. Deep inside, he felt awkward and lowkey bothered by the general's backhanded "compliment". But he breaks no stride, nor gave any tangible sign that this threatened to get under his skin. He instead chooses to shrug it off and reiterate the reason he opened up the comms line in the first place.
"So does the Sunrider have permission to dock in and transfer the rescued survivors to your facilities?"
Granger sighed, already starting to submit the order for the preparations.
"Permission granted."
Without even waiting for Kayto's response, Granger cuts the line. The captain couldn't help but take a side glance at Ava. Without Granger there to see it any longer, his expression slowly distorts into an annoyed grimace at the disrespect that he was shown, even when it came from a much higher-ranking officer. Brief as their interaction was. But his attention returns to the situation at hand.
"Ava, please tend to our guests."
"Right away, captain." She curtly responds.
The brunette 2nd in command calmly moves over to the comm station and grabbing hold of the P.A mic, she speaks to the rescued survivors and their four guardians, who by now are fairly familiar with her voice.
"This is commander Ava Crescentia. First, I'd like to welcome you all aboard the Sunrider, Ceran Navy Assault Battleship. We will now be taking off to the nearby Ceran army installation of Fort Ladon to detain you all for the time being. Do not worry, you are not prisoners; but guests to our homeworld and as such will be treated with all due respect and hospitality. We will be handing off rations and water to those in need, as well as administering treatment to the wounded and sick in the medical wing. Enjoy the ride."
After the announcement, the crewmen didn't seem to know quite how to take the news. Sure they consigned their fates into the hands of utter unknowns, heathens at that; but their treatment seemed a bit too... Gentle? They honestly expected way more guards waiting for them inside and perhaps a beating or two to enforce order and as a show of force. But none of that here...
William Liam Tinmall@Sigismund @Crimson Dragoon @Cavaliere @The Ancient Purple
Finally entering the Sunrider's main hold proper along with their golden idol and their unusual saviors, the throng of Imperial shipmen were somewhat relieved to see human faces waiting inside in the form of mechanics and the ship's security forces and not a single thrice-cursed robot in sight. However, the interior design of the vessel was something quite unusual to them, but not entirely unexpected given how strange it was in their eyes: Far too clean, spacious, and minimalistic in design, not to mention that the hangar bay's design was all wrong to them: Being built in a vertical manner, where its strike craft or any shuttle craft would be made to lie upon their engines rather than their bellies given the narrowness of it all. Truly this "Sunrider" was the utter opposite of their old home in every way that mattered.
"Throne of Terra, this ship..."
"Not even a Medicae facility has this much white in it."
"Has this thing even seen any action yet?"
Meanwhile on the Sunrider's bridge, the excitement and uncertainty experienced by the crew when they first encountered the crash site were replaced by a sense of ease and calmness with a palpable aura of disappointment. Being given the honor of crewing the Ceran Navy's new standard model assault battleship, they were eager to put it through its paces, and the unexpected presence of both the unknown mechs and shipwreck brought the possibility of an unplanned trial-by-fire against enemies unknown during their ship's shakedown cruise of all times, they really couldn't be forgiven for thinking that there would be the possibility of undertaking a heroic and epic feat of defending their home. Especially in the case Captain Kayto Shields, who was making a poor job of hiding his clearly deflated mood, even when he was in the process of getting in touch with the nearest major military installation in the region: Fort Ladon.
"This is Captain Kayto Shields, Ceran Navy; do you read?"
The bridge's main holoscreen eventually shifts to that of an aged, stern-looking face with a very impressive moustache and a suitably spartan-looking office in the background.
"This is General Granger, commandant of Fort Ladon. This had better be good."
The General's voice perfectly fits his commanding visage: Rough, direct, and uncomplicated. So much so that the young captain was slightly taken aback by the frankness displayed, especially coming from such a senior officer and one that commanded the Ceran Army's largest and most secure military installation at that.
"General Granger, requesting permission to use your base's facilities to-"
"Detain the survivors? I know. You wouldn't think we'd notice something like that in our own backyard? We were going to deploy a Search and Rescue team before you arrived and did our job for us. Also, care to explain why we detected in-atmosphere energy weapons discharge from your location just now?"
Thinking quickly, Kayto tried to come up with a believable enough explanation to the General as he's sure that if he explained that the ship was infested by a memetic virus as claimed by one of the contracted instructors aboard his ship, Granger's already low opinion of him and navy men like him would sink even more...
"The debris had to be destroyed, sir. It was too dangerous, too much deadly radiation, and the quickest way to get rid of the irradiated material and get to the survivors was to vaporize as much of it as we could. Not that there was that much left to remove as the ship was apparently scuttled by the crew to prevent the capture of their technology."
Granger looks long and hard at Kayto after he had explained himself, apparently having sniffed out his deception and trying to see right through his invented situation. But Kayto didn't balk, his pride and authority as a captain of the Ceran Navy wouldn't allow it.
"Well, would you look at that. Seems that there's still some decent officers left in the navy."
Kayto blinks in reaction to Granger's response. Deep inside, he felt awkward and lowkey bothered by the general's backhanded "compliment". But he breaks no stride, nor gave any tangible sign that this threatened to get under his skin. He instead chooses to shrug it off and reiterate the reason he opened up the comms line in the first place.
"So does the Sunrider have permission to dock in and transfer the rescued survivors to your facilities?"
Granger sighed, already starting to submit the order for the preparations.
"Permission granted."
Without even waiting for Kayto's response, Granger cuts the line. The captain couldn't help but take a side glance at Ava. Without Granger there to see it any longer, his expression slowly distorts into an annoyed grimace at the disrespect that he was shown, even when it came from a much higher-ranking officer. Brief as their interaction was. But his attention returns to the situation at hand.
"Ava, please tend to our guests."
"Right away, captain." She curtly responds.
The brunette 2nd in command calmly moves over to the comm station and grabbing hold of the P.A mic, she speaks to the rescued survivors and their four guardians, who by now are fairly familiar with her voice.
"This is commander Ava Crescentia. First, I'd like to welcome you all aboard the Sunrider, Ceran Navy Assault Battleship. We will now be taking off to the nearby Ceran army installation of Fort Ladon to detain you all for the time being. Do not worry, you are not prisoners; but guests to our homeworld and as such will be treated with all due respect and hospitality. We will be handing off rations and water to those in need, as well as administering treatment to the wounded and sick in the medical wing. Enjoy the ride."
After the announcement, the crewmen didn't seem to know quite how to take the news. Sure they consigned their fates into the hands of utter unknowns, heathens at that; but their treatment seemed a bit too... Gentle? They honestly expected way more guards waiting for them inside and perhaps a beating or two to enforce order and as a show of force. But none of that here...
Inside a ship this small, moving Ignus around would be near impossible. Dismounting was inevitable, but never that pleasant.
As Ignus moved as carefully as he could to the scaffolding I could only assume to be for their own Knight Units, I reached up and disconnected the Inquisitorial Rosette from the monitoring board by the throne.
While the locals may not know, being seen with this amongst the crew should have some positive moral benefits.
Connecting the Rosette to the collar of my uniform, Ignus went into a deposited mode and the several thick locks holding the top hatch close slid in unison. Sliding a Hellpistol into the left hand side holster, I climbed up out of Ignus.
Technically, this had been one my shortest rides with Ignus, connecting back on the Oculi Eius. Not exactly in the way I had first imagined, as we were dropping in to fight a corrupted Imperator. Whether this is a worse fate is yet to be determined.
I caught my reflection just barely as I neared the top of the hatch. My eyes made it readily apparent I had been stretching and using Psychic powers. Sunking near black bags surrounded completely bloodshot eyes. One may think me possessed, very little white left in my right eye, none whatsoever in the left . Even with Juvanats, the first few gray hairs had appeared at my Temples and on the edges of the uncut facial hair that had somehow grown in the meanwhile. Was I wrong and time was longer, or was this an effect of the dimensional shifting? Better to ponder that latter.
But for those who mattered, the Inquisitorial crew, the Rosette would draw their eyes first.
So I stepped onto the scaffolding, overhead the Crew, looking for the nearest latter down.
When he reached the ground, Liam noticed that the other pilots had dismounted as well, standing near their machines, which was fair.Daniel saw the space where he had to park his mobile suit, and promptly did so. The cockpit hatch opened up and the Atlantic Federation pilot stepped out, his sidearm still holstered. He made his way down to the main hold where the rest of the survivors were, along with whatever that golden idol was. It was obviously important to them, considering the reverence they consistently showered it with. As he walked, he noticed that the interiors of the Sunrider were very clean, pristine even. That and its rather simple design were what Daniel expected. Judging from what he saw of the survivors' reaction though, they weren't quite used to this kind of aesthetic. That earned a bit of a chuckle.
He turned to see if anyone else from his somewhat eclectic "team" climbed out of their machines. Maybe it was time for a proper talk now that they weren't wandering around lost or being attacked.
Daniel turned towards Liam, who was...somewhat shorter than he imagined. Also seemed to be kind of awkward, unused to the perils of social interaction. He couldn't really care that much, he's seen worse. Liam will probably learn to get used to it. Maybe.William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
'Custody, this sure won't cause any problems with people like Valrin... Great Scott, why was everything so difficoult'
The ship looked brand new, its shining white infrastructure is only broken up by the yellow/black lines of caution tape and the red letters designating each individual bay.
Liam found the familiarity comforting, as if even if he was universes away from his home, he could count on sensible ship design to help him see that things could go better.
The giant cathedral spaceship infested by demons was hopefully going to stay an outlier, because he was probably going to need the Null just to traverse the entire length of them if they ever needed to be stationed there.
Making use of the retractible catwalks, he finally exited his creation since... well, since he launched from his old Archangel-class ship.
He tried to suppress a sob as he draped his labcoat around his small frame, the one that he always brought as a reminder of what he truly was under the test pilot suit.
He even kept the name badge, from before the bureaucratic mess that hastly assigned him a military rank so that he could pilot.
It was the one that told the truth after all...
When he reached the ground, Liam noticed that the other pilots had dismounted as well, standing near their machines, which was fair.
He knew nothing about how the Cerans' handled their MS, so he told the personnel around his bay to not touch the Null for now, citing special procedures that had to be done under his supervision, which wasn't even that far from the truth, before moving towards what he assumed to be Valrin and Daniel.
Of course, he was the shorted of the trio, with Valrin being a full head taller than him, but that had to be expected, as Liam was never the tallest man.
"So you are Mr. Haldentum and Mr. Sorenson? I'm Liam so.... uhm... I guess we are here now?"
Great, first impression out of an MS and he was already fumbling to find words, this was an horrible idea.
The sight of the Questor Lord in the flesh heartened the crew, reliving some of their trepidation and uncertainty as they began to fall in line to be examined and briefed by the Sunrider's security detail and medical staff. However, two members of the group subtly broke away to greet their saviors, and rather fittingly, it was the Junior Officer; accompanied by one of the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers that were the first to approach the foot of Ignus and awaited the descent of its noble Knight. Upon seeing them up close with his own eyes, the term Junior best described the highest-ranking survivor of the Mercury's Alacrity; alarmingly fresh-faced, with a degree of youthful, boyish charm that shone even past all the grime, dried blood, and stress that marred his fair features.Inside a ship this small, moving Ignus around would be near impossible. Dismounting was inevitable, but never that pleasant.
As Ignus moved as carefully as he could to the scaffolding I could only assume to be for their own Knight Units, I reached up and disconnected the Inquisitorial Rosette from the monitoring board by the throne.
While the locals may not know, being seen with this amongst the crew should have some positive moral benefits.
Connecting the Rosette to the collar of my uniform, Ignus went into a deposited mode and the several thick locks holding the top hatch close slid in unison. Sliding a Hellpistol into the left hand side holster, I climbed up out of Ignus.
Technically, this had been one my shortest rides with Ignus, connecting back on the Oculi Eius. Not exactly in the way I had first imagined, as we were dropping in to fight a corrupted Imperator. Whether this is a worse fate is yet to be determined.
I caught my reflection just barely as I neared the top of the hatch. My eyes made it readily apparent I had been stretching and using Psychic powers. Sunking near black bags surrounded completely bloodshot eyes. One may think me possessed, very little white left in my right eye, none whatsoever in the left . Even with Juvanats, the first few gray hairs had appeared at my Temples and on the edges of the uncut facial hair that had somehow grown in the meanwhile. Was I wrong and time was longer, or was this an effect of the dimensional shifting? Better to ponder that latter.
But for those who mattered, the Inquisitorial crew, the Rosette would draw their eyes first.
So I stepped onto the scaffolding, overhead the Crew, looking for the nearest latter down.
William Liam Tinmall
<<<Ø>>>
'Custody, this sure won't cause any problems with people like Valrin... Great Scott, why was everything so difficoult'
The ship looked brand new, its shining white infrastructure is only broken up by the yellow/black lines of caution tape and the red letters designating each individual bay.
Liam found the familiarity comforting, as if even if he was universes away from his home, he could count on sensible ship design to help him see that things could go better.
The giant cathedral spaceship infested by demons was hopefully going to stay an outlier, because he was probably going to need the Null just to traverse the entire length of them if they ever needed to be stationed there.
Making use of the retractible catwalks, he finally exited his creation since... well, since he launched from his old Archangel-class ship.
He tried to suppress a sob as he draped his labcoat around his small frame, the one that he always brought as a reminder of what he truly was under the test pilot suit.
He even kept the name badge, from before the bureaucratic mess that hastly assigned him a military rank so that he could pilot.
It was the one that told the truth after all...
When he reached the ground, Liam noticed that the other pilots had dismounted as well, standing near their machines, which was fair.
He knew nothing about how the Cerans' handled their MS, so he told the personnel around his bay to not touch the Null for now, citing special procedures that had to be done under his supervision, which wasn't even that far from the truth, before moving towards what he assumed to be Valrin and Daniel.
Of course, he was the shorted of the trio, with Valrin being a full head taller than him, but that had to be expected, as Liam was never the tallest man.
"So you are Mr. Haldentum and Mr. Sorenson? I'm Liam so.... uhm... I guess we are here now?"
Great, first impression out of an MS and he was already fumbling to find words, this was an horrible idea.
Daniel turned towards Liam, who was...somewhat shorter than he imagined. Also seemed to be kind of awkward, unused to the perils of social interaction. He couldn't really care that much, he's seen worse. Liam will probably learn to get used to it. Maybe.
"Yes, that's me, Daniel Sorenson," he said. "We are, indeed, here in this ship. It's...serviceable, I guess." Admittedly, Daniel might need to work on his small talk a bit more.
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