Gundam: Wrath of the Stars IC

[DoctorFaust]

Yuuki heaves a sigh of relief when she hears her dad's voice over the comms. "I'm so glad you're okay too. And I can see her," she replies. "It looks like she's trying to get the Sazabi's crew to let her pilot it. I'll try to eavesdrop in on her. But are all the rest of our crew alright?"

Yuuki brings up the controls of the Shura and quickly focuses them in on the Sazabi, trying to catch as much of the conversation the captain is having as possible.

[Merilan]

There's an almost dour sigh from Athrusa as she grits her teeth and lets the medicine flow through her, and then she slowly, unsteadily lets Nurse Celeste stand her up. "I'm-- kind of-- dizzy, but..." she shakes her head again and tries to focus... and does just that. The medicine's numbness was -- disconcerting, she can't really feel anything, but she knows rationally that this is the best state for her to be in at present.

It's kind of a miracle she can even stand, given how much damage she sustained from having a beam rifle shot wash over her, even indirectly.

"I'm-- I'll get changed!" she finds a normal suit not too far away, perhaps moving just on sheer instinct, stuffing her hair down the neckpiece in a kind of clumsy manner. "I'll--" A pause. "Where... where's the Mobile Suit hangar? I don't actually know this ship at all--" she realises, seeking guidance. She was brought here unconscious, after all...

[Nova_Eclipse]

Athrusa: Nurse Celeste politely moves away as Athrusa starts to get changed, turning her back, but not leaving in case she looses her balance.

"It's two decks below us. There's a lift down the hall to the left. The buttons are marked with the deck names, so it should be easy enough to get to. I can take you to the lift, if you'd like, once you've finished changing."


Yuuki: "Everyone's safe, though there are a few with some bruises from the pitching around," Itachi explains. He doesn't say anything else, trying not to disrupt Yuuki's attempt to listen in on the Captain. After a moment, she manages to get the Shura's sensors to pick up the conversation.

"....it ready?" Captain Brighton asks the tech lead of the Sazabi, who nods grimly.

"It's fueled up and ready to go, Ma'am, but how are you going to get into it? That blasted AI won't let anyone but Lucia inside it."

Captain Brighton gives the man a serious look, before speaking again.

"This suit has a psychoframe, doesn't it?" The man nods at her, a wary look on his face. "I know you folks disabled it, but I need it up now. Activate it."

The man's eyes widen, but the hard look from the captain steels him, and he quickly moves over to a terminal hooked to the Sazabi's cockpit. His hands fly nervously over the keyboard for a moment while Captain Brighton looks on, with her arms crossed over her chest. The ship jolts again, less violently this time, but enough to remind everyone of the situation they're in. After a moment he turns back to the captain.

"It's done, Ma'am. I hope this works."

Captain Brighton doesn't say anything further, just closes her eyes for a moment, as Sazabi's optic sensor glows once more, and moves, seeming to focus on her. She seems to be having some sort of silent battle with the machine, as its optic glows brighter still for a moment, before the glow fades, and the cockpit hatch opens, allowing her entry. The tech seems to breathe a sigh of a relief.

"Good luck, Ma'am," he says, saluting. She returns the salute with a nod, then heads into the suit. A moment later, her voice comes over the comm to the Shura.

"How's the Shura doing, Yuuki?"

[Merilan]

Athrusa nods, and bows her head. "Thank you, Nurse Celeste... thank you." She holds her hands tight, gives her a hug, and then races down the hallway towards the lift, smashing the button and hurrying as fast as her legs can take her.

There's a gasping look as she bursts into the Mobile Suit deck and looks towards the nearest technician, staring in awe at the different machines assembled -- and looking in horror at the state of the Nephilim. "I'm-- I'm here, Athrusa, um-- where's the Captain? I can help... send me out, anything will do..."

[DoctorFaust]

"The Shura's doing...uh..." Yuuki glances down at the instrument panel, picking out the few green glowing lights saying that everything is working. "She seems to be fully operational. It's the pilot I want to know about, though."

"You did say you would try to find a replacement for me," she quickly adds.

[Nova_Eclipse]

Athrusa: Nurse Celete turns in time to be hugged, and smiles gently, before stepping aside as she rushes off. Once Athrusa is on the lift, she'll whisper to herself as she goes to check on other patients.

"Good luck, little sister."

Once she reaches the mobile suit deck, she'll find a flurry of activity. The state of the Nephilim isn't as bad as when she brought it in; in fact, it''s already spaceworthy, the holes in the cockpit having been patched, along with the damage to the good arm. A cloth-like cloak hangs from the damaged pauldron of the missing arm, and one of the Vengeance's techs sprints up to her, hearing her call out. He gestures towards the Sazabi, which has its optic sensor turning this way and that.

"She's getting ready to go out in the Sazabi since its pilot was injured. You're...Athrusa, right? The captain told us to expect you." He gestures towards the Nephilim and begins leading her towards it. "We've done our best to make your suit combat-ready. We couldn't repair the missing arm, we didn't have time, but some of our Ooontaa contingent found an extra crate full of anti-beam armor cloth, so you've got a bit more protection there. We've only been able to repair 60% of the thruster systems on the wings, so your maneuverability is going to be down, but it's better than what it was, and we've reinforced the remaining arm so it can fire the beam cannon and withstand the shock. We've also managed to repair the machine cannons and load them. She's all fueled up and ready to go. The captain's waiting for you, best not dally," he says with a warm smile.

Spoiler: Situational Aspect: Partial Repairs

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Partial Repairs: The Nephilim has been made combat ready just in the nick of time. It's still not up to its full potential, but a second weapon system has been brought online for use.

Loadout Change: 90mm Machine Cannon x2 - Online

Yuuki: Captain Brighton's voice sounds slightly distracted, and more than a bit strained, and no wonder. The captain is having one of the worst days of her life, and it's probably not going to get better anytime soon.

"I looked through everyone's records again, even had my staff check with the civilian teams. Nobody else has the right experience, Yuuki, except for me, and I shouldn't be doing what I'm about to, but I can't send you and Athrusa out there all by yourselves. You're not a soldier, and she's injured. I wouldn't be asking you to do this if we weren't in dire need, but the reality is, if all three of us don't go out there and get rid of those destroyers, we're all going to die." She pauses for a moment, and the Sazabi's optic sensor shifts around to look at someone who's just run in from the lift: a young woman in a normal suit. One of the techs runs to her and begins leading her towards the Nephilim. "I know you're probably scared and nervous, but I need you, and the Shura, on duty and focused if we're going to make it out of this alive. Can you do that for me, and for everyone else?"

[Merilan]

Athrusa wasn't really expecting to go out in the Nephilim -- vague, hazy memories of how that mobile suit wound up made her think that it could've been a write-off... but there it was, standing in front of her. Like her, battle-scarred and probably never to be the same again, but... flush with the memories of Mathias, she nods as she digests what the technician had to say to her. "That's amazing, I was expecting to just be a turret, I'll do my best...!"

She salutes to the technician, ever fond of the on-the-ground staff ever since she was taught to always respect them, climbing onto the latch-style cockpit and sliding down into it.

It's cool inside -- but to someone like her, she couldn't miss the faint scent of blood still in the cockpit. Hers... and Mathias'.

She holds her hand close to her chest, then straps the five point buckle into herself. She finds her fingers dancing along the keyboard, reactivating the mechanisms one by one as she whispers, "CPG stabilisation, lock... compensating for coriolis effect, confirmed. Reroute circuit power from ion pump modules to compensate for damaged manipulators... check. All systems, standby..."

She pauses, as a quiet flash ebbs over the one system they never quite figured out in testing, the sphere that sits at the center of her flight dashboard.

"... Athrusa, XG-00 Nephilim, do you copy, Captain?" she calls out on the radio. "The Nephilim is at about 60 percent mobility, I have close-in weapon systems and a long range 'Buster Rifle' beam cannon deemed safe and operational to support you with. Please let me know what my orders are."

[DoctorFaust]

Yuuki slumps down in her chair, unable to think of any arguments against what the captain was saying that weren’t either childish or stupid. After a very long moment’s pause, she thumbs on the radio and broadcasts, ”Yeah, I’ll do it.”

Another long moment passes, and Yuuki switches the cockpit radio to a private frequency with her father. “Hey Dad,” she asks. “Why would the captain need to have the Sazabi’s psychoframe activated? Even just from a tech perspective, surely it’d outclass anything the Ragalians could’ve sent against us on short notice even without it on.”

[Nova_Eclipse]

Yuuki: "Thank you, Yuuki," Captain Brighton says, more than a little relief in her voice. At least they'll have the Shura for this fight now.

"Well, she must be a Newtype if she had them turn it on. The rumor is that the Sazabi's AI is rather...crotchety, I guess is the best term for it," Itachi explains. He doesn't seem perturbed that Yuuki's contacted him when she should be getting ready to go out. "It wouldn't let anyone into the cockpit but its designated pilot, but since she was injured, the Captain must have needed some way to convince the AI to let her pilot it. If I had to guess, that's probably how she convinced it to let her in. Perhaps something to ask her about later."

Athrusa: Captain Brighton's voice sounds a bit distracted, but it seems to fade as she speaks.

"I copy, Athrusa. Glad you're here. I know the Nephilim isn't 100% yet, but I really need you and it, since all of the other suits save the Shura and Sazabi have either been damaged or their pilots have been knocked unconscious. I've got a battle plan, let me make this a circuit channel between the three of us so I can explain what we're going to do..."

Both Pilots:

There's a quiet click, before Captain Brighton's voice comes back over both the Shura and Nephilim's comms.

"Ok, ladies, here's the situation: there are, at last count, two dozen mobile weapons closing in on us, and two destroyers blocking our exit path from the asteroid field." An image comes up on each suit's display, showing a 2D image of the Vengeance, surrounded by large, grey spheres, mostly to its aft, while numerous red dots seem to be darting around them, slowly closing in. In front of the ship, two larger orange dots block the ship's egress from the asteroid field. "We can't go deeper into the field because of the asteroid density. The destroyers have powerful I-fields; they're able to withstand blasts from our megaparticle cannons, and they've managed to knock our conventional cannons offline. We're also low on torpedoes, and now that they've found us, we need to save those. I'll explain why in a moment."

The image on the display zooms out, showing a longer corridor between the Vengeance and the enemy ships, with scattered red dots among the grey spheres. A stray sphere here and there passes between the Vengeance and the enemy, but for the most part, the corridor seems clear.

"Yuuki, you and the Shura are going to be our bomber. You've got more conventional firepower on board. You should be able to get in close, and knock out those destroyers' I-fields." An image comes up on Yuuki's display next to the first one, showing a close-up of the alien ship. They use a smooth design, studded with bulges. The ship is an elongated teardrop, with the largest end aftwards. The image zooms in on a bulge on the ship's belly and highlights it in red. "A conventional weapon strike here on each should knock them out. Once their I-fields are down, they'll be vulnerable to beam weaponry. The Vengeance should be able to take them out in a couple of salvos once those I-fields are down."

An arrow comes up on the "map" image, showing a course through the asteroid field towards the enemy ships, this time on both the Shura and Nephilim's displays.
"You'll both fly this course. Athrusa, your job is to escort the Shura to the targets, and deal with as many enemy suits along the way as you can. Yuuki, try to conserve as much of your ammo as possible on the way there. Athrusa's suit is only at sixty percent mobility, but her suit started out a lot more maneuverable than yours, Yuuki, so I think you should be about matched in terms of performance. I'd come with you, but someone needs to deal with the rest of these enemy suits, so they don't do to us what we're planning to do to them. I'll do my best to make a big, flashy show of it, so hopefully, they'll be more focused on supporting their forces here than trying to catch you two."

Sazabi hefts its beam shotrifle, as if to accentuate this point.

"Once the destroyers are taken care of, the Vengeance should be in the clear to get out of here. We're not going to try and hide again, though; this is going to be a two-part operation. After you've finished with the destroyers, rendezvous with the ship, and stand by on alert. We'll be microjumping to the system jump point, and we're likely to encounter heavy resistance there. That's why I need you to conserve ammo, Yuuki. We won't have time to resupply the Shura before you'll be needed again. That's also why we need to conserve our torpedoes. Our scout drone saw a lot of force there, and if we're going to punch through it, we need to be able to bring as much to bear as possible."

The captain takes a deep breath, and sounds a bit calmer now.
"If I can finish the goons off early, I'll come to help, but you two need to rely on each other, and keep each other safe. I'm counting on both of you. Any questions?"

[Merilan]

Athrusa listens acutely as the Captain lays the plan down; her fingers are twitching, as she tries to calm her nerves. A real do or die situation. "Okay... I got it. I've only got a single arm and no melee weapons, so it might be dicey if we get trapped in a close engagement, but there's no other way." She didn't seem to have any questions, glancing on the comm screen towards Yuuki. She can't really remember right now if she's met her before, her memories and head are still slightly fuzzy from the cocktail of drugs and painkillers in her.

"Hey Yuuki. I'm Athrusa. I'll shield you with my life, so don't worry... okay?" she tries to be reassuring to her teammate. Even over the monitor, over the tinted visor of her helmet, it's quite clear where just about half her face has received some scarring.

[DoctorFaust]

Yuuki jerks her head in a terse nod. "I think I get it. I'll do my best to save my heavy munitions for the second stage. Maybe I'll just use the sword and knives until we engage the destroyers." She looks away from the comm screen to try to hide the nervousness she can't quite banish from her face, fixing the last few life support connections into place.

Athrusa's message breaks her out of her shell just long enough for her to whisper, "Please don't do that," before she turns her eyes down again.

[Nova_Eclipse]

Both Pilots: "If you've got no questions, we should get started, then. You two should use catapults 1 and 3, then. I'm heading out now. Good luck, ladies." The comm from the Sazabi cuts off as the crimson suit makes its way to the number 5 catapult, which will fire it aft instead of forward. A moment later, the captain's voice comes over the general channel, rather than the private one they were using a moment earlier as the Sazabi is locked into the cradle. "MSN-04 Sazabi, launching!" The catapult fires, and the Sazabi is gone, a bright light disappearing rapidly into the blackness outside the ship. The launch doors for catapults 1 and 3 open, waiting for Yuuki and Athrusa to get their suits in position.

Spoiler: OOC: Zones

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For this battle, zones are roughly defined by their distance from the Vengeance, and their location in relation to the ship. Each zone represents an increase in distance from the ship of 25 kilometers in all directions.
Zone A - The Vengeance is currently in the center of this zone.
Zone B - The area surrounding Zone A, mostly asteroids. Many of the enemy mobile suits are in this zone.
Zone C - Surrounds Zone B, asteroid density is slightly lower here. There are a few strangler enemy units in this zone, currently enroute to Zone B.
Zone D - Surrounds Zone C. Asteroid density drops off the further from Zone C you get in this zone. The enemy destroyers are in this Zone.

I'll try and get an image up in the OOC thread of the asteroid density and enemy distribution, though it'll be more of a rough guide.

[Merilan]

Athrusa pauses, before lowering her head contritely. "... sorry. But, I will do my best to defend you, still."

She turns her look towards the number 3 Catapult, and proceeds with the controls as the winged mobile suit is carried on its recharge rack and placed upon the catapult rail.

"XG-00 Nephilim.
All pre flight checks cleared.
I have control."

Her eyes narrow as she grips onto the flightsticks and feels the G-forces hitting her body -- even with the drugs, it was still quite tough to control given how wounded she is... but she'll manage.

The suit is truly a wreck, but there's a certain beauty to it that still shines through -- its wings unfurl, almost organic and angel-like in the midst of the cloak that flutters through it. "Headed towards Operational Zone B to engage the enemy!"

[DoctorFaust]

As the heaviest of the mobile suits, the Shura is the last to be taken to the catapult rail. All along the ride, Yuuki is checking, and double checking, and then triple checking all of the systems in the suit until she finally can't put off launching any more.

"AMX-913C,
Flight checks cleared.
Launching!"

The G-forces hit her like a hammer, worse than anything she's felt in flight. But she fights through it, pushing back against the ring of grey threatening to eclipse her vision, until finally she clears the end of the catapult and is launched out into space. She throttles the thrusters back to a more reasonable level, and peels off into position behind Athrusa's suit. "Nephilim, I'm your wingman. Lead on to...wherever it is."

[Nova_Eclipse]

As the Nephilim and the Shura take off, their sensors begin registering obstacles and potential enemies. It will take them 2.5 minutes of flight time to reach the next zone. Thankfully, the zone surrounding the ship is relatively free of asteroids, though beam fire from the destroyers occasionally lances through the clear zone between them and the Vengeance. As they approach Zone B, the density and size of the asteroids will pick up. As they near the border, several objects seem to be moving a bit more erratically than the asteroids, though whether it's the enemy or the result of collisions between the asteroids will take some deduction on the part of the pilots. The Sazabi is already engaged; although outside of their suits' other sensor ranges, if they look off to the left, they can see the telltale signs of a space battle starting: the spherical explosions and lancing lights of beam fire being exchanged.

Athrusa, leading the formation, has the first opportunity to spot what might be the enemy in the next zone, though Yuuki won't be far behind in being able to confirm whether it is the enemy or not.

Spoiler: OOC

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You can both roll your Careful or Clever approaches to try and discern whether what your sensors are picking out is actually the enemy or just asteroids. I posted this in the OOC, but here it is again for reference. The route the captain showed you through the briefing takes you up along the right side of the open corridor, in the asteroids so that it will be harder for the enemy to follow and engage you. The two large red dots are the destroyers; the smaller ones are enemy suit wings that the ship could detect before you left. The grey pieces are large asteroids; there are a lot of smaller ones I didn't draw due to scale.

[Merilan]

Athrusa grimaces as she tries to keep a low profile, but amongst other suits, the Nephilim certainly is a bit more grandiose than others... even damaged as it is. "We've got more space debris ahead, Yuuki -- let's try overlapping scans and make sure we don't have any unwelcome surprises. Linking my radar data to yours--"

She pauses as she feels some kind of sensation sketch into her mind, seemingly emanated from the machine--

[ Z. . . . R . .O . . ]

"... e-eh?" Athrusa shakes her head, unsure of what she just saw. It's gone again. "Linking-- linking my radar data to yours. Sorry."

Spoiler

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Rolling for Careful: (4d3-7)[4]

[DoctorFaust]

A frown twitches across Yuuki’s face in response to Athrusa’s sudden confusion, but she quickly brings herself back under control.

”Alright,” she replies, punching commands into thw main computer of the Shura. “I’ll try to put some filtering on the signal to get the sensors to justregister higher output energy sources.”

Spoiler

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Clever:(4d3-6)[0]

[Nova_Eclipse]

Damaged though it may be, the Nephilim's sensors are working at peak condition, and they easily pick out the forms of three common, if older, Ragalian model mobile suits. They're similar in shape, though the heads on two of them are slightly different from the third, which has a large, shoulder-mounted cannon on it. The arms on the two with different heads also sport a large outcropping, probably a weapon of some type, and all three carry beam rifles. They don't seem to have noticed the two Gundams yet; they're continuing on the same course, at least, for the time being. They're at the far end of the Nephilim's Buster Rifle range, but they're close enough together that one well-placed shot could take out the entire group.

The Shura, in contrast, seems to have missed them. Perhaps its sensors aren't calibrated right, or perhaps it just doesn't have the correct angle, but for whatever reason, the Shura's sensor analysis suite seems to think that they're the result of asteroid collisions. It will take another minute before the Shura picks them up, if Athrusa doesn't act on her own suit's analysis.

[Merilan]

Athrusa's very own senses perk up as she announces to Yuuki, "Contact. Two Ragalian models, one with an artillery attachment," she explains as she tries to transfer some of the data over. "It might draw attention to our location, but I'm going to try to take them out with a Buster Rifle charge."

She lets the Nephilim glide for a moment, powering off her thrusters as she lets herself hide behind an asteroid... she gazes towards the radar, and when she's confident she has a shot lined up--

"Destroying the obstacle."

There's a hiss from the Buster Rifle as it roars into life, a glow ebbing down the barrel of the impressively long beam cannon -- and with a single shot, a golden, defiant roar races across the asteroid field, reducing to dust any lesser debris that dares stand in its path.

There's a grimace from Athrusa as the cockpit rattles -- even in the cold of space, the weapon is not meant to be fired in such a condition; she can feel wear and tear reports blare out as the arm starts to shake under the sheer recoil of the cannon.

Spoiler: Action

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It's either a Stealthy or Forceful action, but they're both at +2 so -- (4d3-6)[2]

[Nova_Eclipse]

The massive yellow beam lances out towards the three enemy suits, who have just enough time to look over at it before it's upon them. Clearly, their own sensors aren't up to snuff since they make almost no evasive actions before the beam hits. For a brief instant, the suits disappear in the burning yellow-white arc, before a trio of fireballs expand from where the suits and the beam intersect, before the explosions and the last of the beam die out, returning only a few tiny pings on the radar from the bits and pieces of the suits that weren't vaporized by the beam. Despite the cockpit's shaking, the Nephilim has held itself together, and the wear and tear reports only show the most minor of damage, certainly not enough to keep the suit from continuing to fight. For now, though, as far as your sensors can tell, the path seems to be clear of enemies, though once you get further away from the Vengeance, the asteroid density is going to pick up substantially.

Spoiler: Action Results

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Defense: (4d3-10)[-2]
Success with Style - You can reduce damage by one to gain a boost
Doing so won't alter the above outcome

Spoiler: OOC

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It's now Yuuki's turn, for reference.

[DoctorFaust]

The massive beam from the Nephilim rocks the Shura to the side, and Yuuki struggles to correct her mobile suit's course. "Christ," she gasps, "How did they take down your suit when it's armed with that?"

When the Shura starts reacting to her controls again, Yuuki opens the throttle back up and continues on her course out towards the destroyers.

Spoiler

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Moving from Zone B to Zone C

[Merilan]

There's a faint breath as Athrusa keeps the suit under control, rather pleased to see that it was going to hold. She was absolutely terrified of any leaks or other demerits happening while the rifle was in operation... and there wasn't a lot of ammunition left -- it only holds three e-pacs.

"... they caught us by surprise... and the intended pilot--" Athrusa pauses for a moment. "Died protecting me. This is the least I can do to make up for that."

The Nephilim's white wings furl up as she tries to catch up to the Shura as it heads along, but it'll be a bit longer for her.

Spoiler: Post-Action

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I'll create a Boost for my next action out of that.

[Nova_Eclipse]

The asteroid density increases as the pair of Gundams makes their way through Zone B, but neither suit's sensors pick up signs of enemy squads in the zone. Once they reach Zone C, the asteroids will slowly begin to thin out, which will make spotting the enemy easier. As they're traversing the field, the Vengeance will begin advancing slowly on the destroyers, but it will take them some time to reach even Zone B. Still, at least now they're something of a moving target, if not a very fast one. They're probably holding back so as to give Yuuki and Athrusa time to take out the destroyers' shields.

As they fly, new data will come up on Athrusa's tactical display. Apparently, either before the Nephilim was loaded, or during the course of repairs, someone updated its enemy craft library and analysis routines. It displays data on the suits Athrusa has just destroyed: known performance parameters, sensor ranges, and so on. Of note is the fact that the Nephilim's sensor range is several thousand meters more than that listed of these suits, and it's a good bet that the Shura's sensors have an equal, if not greater, advantage.

Spoiler: Boost

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Boost - Short Suit Sensor Range

[Merilan]

Athrusa blinks a few times as she scans the enemy data while they fly; it wasn't something she'd been expecting to have, but it was nice to have nonetheless. She sucks in a little breath as she reviews the sensor ranges again; it was a bit strange -- she didn't think the Nephilim could pick out ranges at the distance it did, but... here it was, giving a little extra from what was listed. It was nice, a little boost of confidence.

"Hey, Yuuki? Here's some information about the enemy sensor ranges -- I believe our suits have superior tracking systems; I'll give you some additional data to tweak your search filters better. I think the Shura's got even better sensors than what the Nephilim's capable of... let me know if you spot those destroyers as we head along as well."

She hastens her review through the enemy models, funneling data that she hopes Yuuki would be able to better spot undue surprises.

Spoiler: Action

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I'll use my Boost to Cleverly Create an Advantage for Yuuki - Refined Radar Tuning. (4d3-5)[5]

[DoctorFaust]

"Oh, awesome, thanks!" Yuuki starts poring over the data funnelled to her by Athrusa as they continue their flight path, looking for any pattern that might help her fix the sensor program that failed her so badly in their previous encounter. And with how much more skilled she is with the Shura's operating system than she is it's weapons, she's quickly able to identify what she thinks was causing the problems.

A few strokes on a holographic keyboard later, and the new filter is up and running on the Shura's sensors. "Alright," she says, "I'm going to try to get my suit's range up to max. I wasn't involved in those tests, but if we tried to overachieve as much there as we did on everything else, I should be able to pick more up."

Spoiler

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Cleverly...overcoming? I guess? And I'll also be using Merilan's boost, assuming the roll was a success.

(4d3-4)[5]

[Nova_Eclipse]

Spoiler: Action Outcomes

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Success with Style: Athrusa has created Refined Radar Tuning, which can be invoked once more for free by either Athrusa or Yuuki, since Yuuki's already invoked it once. This situational aspect has been added to the OOC for future reference.

Success with Style: Yuuki has fixed the glitch in the Shura's sensors, and gained a boost as well!

The Shura's sensors, now operating at 100% thanks to the data from the Nephilim and Yuuki's quick refinement, do indeed reach further out than the Nephilim's by a significant margin, a design feature intended so that the Shura could use its missiles to strike at longer ranges, since the warheads continue on their last vector for quite a ways after running out of fuel. As soon as she enters Zone C, the Shura's sensors pick out the forms of another wing of enemy suits, the trio seemingly holding position near a large asteroid at the edge of Zone D. It will be another few minutes of flight before the Nephilim will be in range to pick them out, let alone be in beam cannon range, but the pair could alter course to go around them, if they act quickly.

Spoiler: Boost

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Enhanced Targeting Data

[DoctorFaust]

"Athrusa, can you see these?" Yuuki punches a few buttons and sends the positions of the wing of enemies back to the Nephilim. "I think we could punch through 'em if we had to. There's not many."

[Merilan]

"Oh, no, I couldn't... the sensors only go so far," Athrusa admits, glancing towards the formation of enemies. "We're close enough to the destroyers that I don't think the Buster Rifle's a good idea -- it'd attract their attention and give us away. But I could manuever around and ambush them from behind -- and you can follow up."

She charts a quick path according to Yuuki's data, and follows it -- the Nephilim's wings unfurl as she darts forward and quickly zips through the asteroid field to try to lurk behind the enemy. The blue and white mobile suit silently glides as it comes up to the next set...

... and she quickly opens fire -- with the machine cannons. Her intent is to quickly disable one and snatch that Ragalian suit's handheld weaponry -- hopefully some kind of beam rifle or sabre. Then she'll utilise that weapon to launch more shots to burn through them.

Spoiler: Action

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Sneakily attacking with the free invoke from Refined Radar Tuning! (4d3-4)[4]

[Nova_Eclipse]

As Athrusa gets closer, the Nephilim's sensors show that these enemy suits seem to be more alert than the last bunch. Their formation is different, allowing them a more comprehensive scanning pattern. Still, with her Gundam's enhanced sensors, and the data from the Shura guiding her, she's able to find a tactically superior position within the asteroids, giving her a chance to get closer in for a better shot with her machine cannons.

Spoiler: Defense

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Defense for the suit wing: (4d3-8)[0]
Success with Style - You may reduce damage by 1 to gain a boost; doing so won't alter the outcome listed below

Unfortunately, their vigilance matters little, as the sheer power of the Gundams is rapidly becoming apparent. Athrusa's first burst from the machine cannons on the Nephilim strike more damage onto these outdated models than a normal suit's would. Perhaps it's the ancient weapon's targeting system, perhaps it's the repair job performed with modern materials, or the modern ammunition. Whatever the cause, the burst manages to shred two of the suits, both the models with the strange protrusions on their arms. The third suit, another of the artillery models, looses its head, an arm, a lower leg, and part of its cannon. While it doesn't explode a moment later like the first two, it's definitely too damaged to be useful in combat anymore. Curiously, the pilot doesn't eject. Athrusa manages to find not one, but two enemy beam rifles. She might need to get inventive with storing the Nephilim's buster rifle in order to retrieve them, though.

Yuuki now has a clear path to ambush the destroyers from.

[Merilan]

There's definitely a nerve struck when she realises the enemy suits are alert and onto her -- the difference between awareness and negligence is life and death, and she's very much acutely an up-front victim of that once... it's claimed Mathias before, and now--

--now, she won't let that happen again. The vulcans have a surprising spread to them, allowing the Nephilim's old targeting system to pattern its bullets such that critical joints are rent as she has the suit reach back and latch the Buster Rifle onto a recharge rack along the back, parallel to its primary wings. She grabs one of the beam rifles with the free hand, and hucks it in the direction of the Shura. "Rifle coming your way, Yuuki! We're hurting for supplies back home, might as well pack an extra while we can!"

She grabs the other rifle.... and takes a deep, deep breath.

"The destroyers are just ahead in Zone D, Yuuki -- you know what to do. I'm going to run a distraction for you so that you've got a better angle on them, okay?"

The Nephilim charges forward, for once showing itself clearly within radar position. She launches a few warning shots in the direction of the destroyers, then plays a cat-and-mouse course as she darts towards the further asteroid fields to present herself as a skirmisher trying to get into their blindside.

Spoiler: Action

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I'm gonna use the boost from my last attack to Quickly create an advantage: Athrusa's Diversion. (4d3-3)[5]