Testrun for crux_fleet!

[spearsurfing]

♛ 1 - Aimlessly Wandering

[The Teuberg is certainly as expansive as Eve had been told. An entire city inside a single ship? It seems quite amazing... although, Altera is surely much larger and more impressive, even if this place has technology that would put even Core to shame.

But the important fact is, the ship is very large. This is important because Eve is now hopelessly lost, and the regular civilians keep giving her dirty looks. It takes some time before she spies someone who looks a little more reasonable to approach.]

You. Right there. [She says this as she makes her approach, showing off how super polite and friendly she is, all while wearing the blankest of pokerfaces.] You will direct Eve to the 'apartments for new arrivals.'

♛ 2 - Fighting

[Why are you being attacked by ravenous cyborg raptors?? Shut up and stop questioning things.

Whether you're handling the situation on your own or not, a voice rises over the reptilian screeches and mechanical clicks.] Clear the way!

[Of raptors? Seems a little demanding—but no, actually, she means you should move out of the way because she's chucking a gigantic black spear in your direction.

Think fast!]

♛ 3 - "Cooking"

[For some unholy reason, you've agreed to let Eve cook for you. You poor, poor soul.

Well, when she finally brings it out it certainly looks fine... in fact, it appears to be a very high-class meal, complete with garnishes and three full courses. But there's something slightly off about the flavour.

Meanwhile, Eve is just sitting quietly off to the side. Though her expression is blank, the way she's staring intently suggests she wants to hear your opinion.]

♛ 4 - Wildcard

[???

I don't know, you tell me.]

Comments

[fonewearl]

[Somehow. Mirys catches that bit of hesitation, but calls no attention to it.]

Cut 'em off at the source, huh? That sounds like a plan to me. [That would be a yes, Eve. Mirys's existing obligation at this time is frying the crap out of these things, which she'll get to do either way. She glances down the same hallway Eve had just moments ago.] About where is this entry point, then? Any idea?

[spearsurfing]

[She nods, then starts hovering down the hall at a brisk pace, expecting Mirys to follow. They can walk and talk, after all.]

They are communicating amongst themselves through short range signals sent through their implants. While Eve was unable to interfere with this signal, she has traced it back to what she believes is the entry point. Even if it is not the entry point, the concentration of signals moving to and from suggests it is a point of strategic importance, at the very least. [surely, they wouldn't have so many in one area if it wasn't for a good reason?]

Although, the defences might also be stronger in this area... it is difficult to tell from this range.

[fonewearl]

[Follow she does, the moment she sees Eve moving.]

I'd have to assume they are. [The defenses, that is.] It would make sense, so whatever's up ahead, we'll need to be ready for it.

[Having given her response, Mirys then goes quiet as the pair continues on; talking too much could draw unwanted attention.

As they draw closer to the suspected entry point, the clicking and screeching from the raptors gets louder and louder, and then, eventually, it's all interrupted by a much louder growl and a couple very heavy-sounding stomps, after which the raptors themselves all fall strangely silent.]

I don't like the sound of that.

[spearsurfing]

[At that first stomp, she stops, sticking close to the wall. They're nearing a corner, the source of the large signal cluster just a few more meters away. Possibly an open area?

A small holographic screen appears as she mutters to herself.] Accessing map data... docking area? Ah, yes. This must be it.

[The stomping continues—slow, heavy steps, like something very large trying to navigate a cramped space. This ship was designed to accommodate large mechas, so if it's still having some difficulty...]

... Cutting off the entry point... perhaps, it is not our greatest concern right now.

[fonewearl]

[Following Eve's movements almost exactly, Mirys is hugging the wall for herself within moments. Listening to the sounds, it's rather obvious that there is something big trying to come through, something that two human-sized individuals may not be able to handle on their own.

But at the same time, there would be the danger of whatever it is causing significant structural damage that could ultimately prove disastrous, if they were to inadvertently give it more time by turning back to seek additional aid.]

Sounds to me like our first priority should be to try to stop whatever's over there before it goes and tears a hole in the side of the ship. [A hole in the side of the ship would be bad. Very bad.] What do you think?

[spearsurfing]

Perhaps, the reason they were gathering here... was it for this large enemy? [hmm

... but they should probably take care of this rather than just theorizing, yeah. A shining blue light starts to gather around her right hand as she eyes the corner, footsteps still approaching. The sounds of the raptors start to pick up again as well, like they're following this other creature from a safe distance.]

We still have the element of surprise. If we attack now...

[It's close enough to make the floor shake beneath them. Her drones re-position themselves, and the light in her hand turns to an electric glow, humming faintly.]

Prepare yourself. We only get one chance.

[fonewearl]

[There's a faint crackle of electricity around Mirys's own hand, which will likely be correctly interpreted as her being ready to use Zonde or perhaps one of its variations again at any moment. It was effective enough earlier, and it should still prove useful now.]

Whenever you're ready.

[spearsurfing]

[She nods once more, poising herself to strike, and...

The beast's snout comes into view first, shortly following by the crashing of its massive foot. Yes, that is indeed a fucking cyborg Tyrannosaurus-Rex, complete with shoulder-mounted turrets and some kind of laser eye.

But there's really no time for gawking. In a swirl of light, a rocket launcher appears in Eve's hands—in the next second, she fires. The missile fires straight at the creature's head and explodes. It roars in anger, the hall shaking as it stumbles.

... although, it doesn't seem to have taken all that much damage...]

[fonewearl]

[Alright, change of plans: Mirys had noticed when the larger raptors didn't seem particularly fazed by the shocks earlier—something of that size would probably shake off any form of Zonde entirely.

Instead of throwing the lightning Technique at their new target, she uses it to quickly disrupt any raptors that happen to be near, and for the T-Rex itself she opts for something that should be more-damaging, like the dark Technique, Megid. Soon enough, she throws a cloudy purple ball at the thing, which upon contact it explodes as well, letting off a damaging pulse of negative energy as opposed to being an actual fucking explosion.

Because of how Megid works, visibly, there will be no harm caused. Internally, on the other hand, could be a different story. Except it doesn't appear to have been harmed much, if at all, as Mirys's own attack seems to accomplish nothing but agitate the massive cyborg even further.

How agitated is it now? Enough that it's started to return fire with those turrets. The FOnewearl quickly finds herself needing to move out of the way of an attack again, the difference being this time it's an attack that's actually intended for her.]

[spearsurfing]

[When the T-Rex turns on the offensive there isn't much time to react, nor space to maneuver, but the guns open fire on her ally—allowing her to be injured (or worse) so early in the fight could prove fatal for herself. Eve lunges between them without hesitation.

Of course, she wasn't planning on taking a bunch of bullets with her body. That would be stupid. She spreads her arms wide and, moments before the turret fire reaches them, a wide blue sphere is projected around them. The bullets shatter against the barrier, leaving the two inside unscathed.]

Intercept successful! [she allows herself a sigh of relief, arms dropping as she lets the circling drones do their work.] At this rate, we have about fifteen more seconds...!

[It's starting to look like they 'bit off more than they can chew,' but retreating now would only cause more trouble later. Eve steels herself, a large machinegun forming in her hands this time, and opens fire on the enemy. Her own bullets easily slip through the barrier's cracks.

... And it still doesn't seem to be phasing the furious dinosaur much.

Not to mention there are still some raptors alive that are starting to regroup, equally furious.

She starts concentrating her attack on the turrets instead—disable their weapons first, then worry about taking them down.]

[fonewearl]

[Well, that was definitely a close call. Again. Close calls seemed to be a pretty common thing wherever Mirys was involved.

Then she sees that Eve has directed her attention toward the cybernetics rather than the fleshy or scaly parts. The weapons? In hindsight, that's a no-brainer, and what they probably should have focused on from the start. She could and probably should go back to using Zonde, but firing electrical blasts through the shield would probably add unnecessary stress to the drones trying to keep it active.

So, instead, Mirys gets an idea. Rather than attack immediately and risk inadvertently destroying the shield from the inside in the process, she begins to focus, waiting for the shield to drop of its own accord; fifteen seconds, like Eve said. When the shield does vanish—and the regrouping raptors take the opening the moment they see it—she lets loose with the Razonde Technique, a veritable storm of lightning bolts coming down all around the pair, striking any of the raptors that were unfortunate and predictable enough to resume their attack. The added focus gives the Technique a significant boost, making it easily more-effective than the quick shocks she had been using before.

With her pre-emptive counterattack done, she joins the assault on the T-Rex's turrets. Between any damage caused by the Atomic Blaster and Zonde's tendency to short out anything mechanical, they could still make progress with this yet.]