6106/Dogged Engagement

Dogged Engagement
Date of Scene:	21 October 2018
Location:	Hikari Sea Port - Main Courtyard
Synopsis:	It's time for the final battle. But first a path must be cleared to get to the Mistress of Deception, Dogger Bank. A single group of Abyssals stand between the Hikari fleet and their goal, thanks to efforts of local military forces.
Cast of Characters:	Shigure, Leyanne Mace, 6384, Lexicon, Neuroi Girl, Kotone Yamakawa, 6716

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Shigure has posed:
    Mission Time -2hours. Location: Grimsby FOB, RN Adjunct attending.

    Shigure, Yuudachi, Kuma and Yamashiro are stood around a large table with a local map of the channel and North Sea. The map has various markers of known movements, and a very large marker showing where the Princess' Leviathan ran aground and became beached. "Before we engage the Princess, we should clear out some of the smaller formations, so we don't get caught in a crossfire." Yamashiro says, moving blue markers to touch the clusters of red, opening a parting in the formation which Kuma then pushes another cluster of blue markers through. "The Princess has unknown capabilities. We don't even know what archetype she fills, so we should stack as many advantages as we can in our favour."

    Shigure nods, and the Royal Navy adjunct points to the map further north nearer to Scotland. "We have a flotilla at anchor at Aberdeen. They will come and strike from the north once we have engaged the enemy. The force is not large, but we can strike from beyond the Abyssal's gun range so long as they remain surfaced." he says, placing a cluster of ten markers on the board to the north. "The French have also pledged three of their submersibles to harrass the eastern flank in concert with your offensive."

    Shigure nods in thanks, then looks at the others around the table. "Anyone else have ideas. Opinions or suggestions?" she asks in that soft tone of hers.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne listens to Shigure and the Royal Navy guy. "The Royal Navy's really hamstrung 'till the Lizzie comes online isn't she?" Leyanne asks the Adjunt, referring to the aircraft carrier that hasn't got its planes yet. "Do you guys have radar that can provide me with exocet locks? If you can paint targets, it lets us chuck more in the initial salvo, with our torpedoes."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Orchid is among those there, having been involved in earlier stages of this struggle, and wanting to see it through to the end. She looks at the map with unfocused eyes, trying to take everything in, trying to see the whole, while others look at the details. "What is the Princess after?" she muses. "Last time we underestimated her, well." The capture of one of their own is not something to dwell on. "If we try and nip off her patrols, will she gather the rest together? Try and hit something on the coast before we can take them out?"
     "Leyanne, if they give me access to their radar data, I can format it for exocet locks, no issue," she says to the jumbo mouse.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne gives a thumbs-up to Orchid. "Bueno, appreciated. Once we get close we've got our own radar, but we couldn't fit a longer-range radar on Leeroy without compromizing his aerodynamics.

Lexicon has posed:
    Examining the map, Lexicon cradles her chin in one hand. The other supports her elbow, her brow knit in thought, "I can provide air support while transformed, but I can't get too far from my relay. It's also a pain to carry. I'll be leaving it with one of the surface ships." Leaning forward a bit, she lowers her hand and gestures, "As for the plan-- It seems like if the Navy is attacking the north flank, the enemy will break off to engage you. I'd advise doing exactly this-- and drag them out of formation. If they're busy chasing you, then we'll have a clearer shot up the middle."

    She nods once, "Same with the French submarines. Drawing away the south flank reduces pressure on the main force. And I'd definitely advise against a direct engagement in both cases. Turn and run, and attack enough that they don't lose interest and return to the fleet."

    Leaning back, Lexicon returns to cradling her chin, more in regards to Orchid, "That's exactly why we only have one shot at this. She'll probably figure it out before too long as it is, and then it falls on her subordinates to follow the order while still being shot at."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     "...I can provide aerial recon..." the little Neuroi known as Evangeline says once Leyanne has asked her question. "...I am equipped with a full sensor suite...linking to the intel network is easy for me...I can also provide aerial bombardment to increase pressure on enemy forces on the surface...I cannot engage underwater targets...but I should be able to help pinpoint them..."

     She pauses a moment, then tilts her head likely. "...the Princess's powers are unknown...I could also move in as a scout and test her abilities before the bulk of the fleet arrives..."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
So here she was again and she looked to Shigure for a moment thinking for a moment.

"If she's in large form should we consider boarding and sabotage actions or just a direct fight?" Kotone seems to have been thinking fairly hard on that little bit, for the moment and wants to see what Shigure thinks on that.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne blinks. At the mention of boarding actions, she sends a text message to her crew.

Down at Grimsby Docks, the crew of the Leeroy Jenkins suddenly stop what they're doing and rush off to the nearest sports shop to stock up. They come out looking like they'd taken fashion advice from Ghengis Khan.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
There's an unfamiliar face in the proceedings, though to say that it's gathered around the table reviewing the strategic overlay is... Not exactly accurate. Instead, it's just looking half-asleep in one corner of the room, resting on a pair of arms draped lazily over a backwards chair.

"Can't we just, like..." the sleepy face yawns, then... gestures, vaguely. Super vaguely. Extra vaguely. "Barrel straight through? I mean. We'll be running in pretty much blind anyway, right?"

Shigure has posed:
    "We have all six members of the Daring-class and four of the Duke-class on station... the Queen Elizabeth is, indeed still awaiting her aircraft. We will have air cover provided from RAF Waddington and RAF Scampton, as well as airbases in France providing their own strikes... our fighters have proven effective in combat with Abyssal aircraft before during a prior incursion by the Battleship Princess." replies the Adjunct to Leyanne. "The Daring-class have the latest RADAR and LIDAR arrays available. We can provide radiation tracking for your missiles."

    Shigure fields Orchid's question. "So far she seems to be waiting for something... probably us after her radio chatter. Previous Princess encounters would indicate that the unengaged elements would rally to their leader. This is why we are striking at all sides at once to reduce the likelihood of any of them breaking off to reinforce."

    Lexicon has the idea in mind already, earning a nod from both Shigure and the Adjunct. Evangeline then earns a frown. "If you push too far ahead and engage the Princess before we're in position it could ruin the entire plan and she could recall her fleet to reinforce her position." says Yamashiro, gently placing a hand on the littlest Neuroi's shoulder "Air support can use my Ocean Fit for a launching and resupply point... but we will need you overhead, not chasing the boss." she adds, looking to Lexicon to include her.

    "So far, the Princess seems to be standing atop the wreck of her Leviathan, poi... I think it's part of her, poi." says Yuudachi, looking at Kotone. Then Morgan pipes up, and Yuudachi bristles, her hair lifting up and billowing a bit, like she just immersed in water. She leaves the table, and kicks the chair, grabbing Morgan by scarf. "Rushing in got me captured and nearly killed. We do this properly. Got it?"

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     "Yeah, we're hoping to take advantage of the enemy's disorder, not present them with our own," Orchid comments, finding Yuudachi's response accurate and reasonable. "Specifically, if we can take out their detached scouts, we'll have a better chance of taking the Princess by surprise, as well as buying time for our own side to get into position. Unless..." Orchid gets a worried look. "Could this princess be playing decoy? Yet we can't afford to just leave her to her own doings..." She hums, walking around the map table.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline nods lightly as Yamashiro explains her role in the battle. "...understood..." she says in her usual soft tone. "...I was just worried...because when my world's navy engages a Neuroi without knowing what the enemy Neuroi's abilities are...it results in substantial losses..." Of course, who can tell if she is worried or not with that featureless face of hers.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne listens carefully, nodding. "Where do you want Leeroy?" She asks, glancing at her phone as her crew report they're back on board and launch ready.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
Morgan stares at this strange, almost puppy-like girl as she hoists him bodily by the scarf.

His expression is, uh.

...Unimpressed.

"Wow, scary-scary~" the bescarfed young man sing-songs and sort of wiggles his fingers around, then lets them fall. "Do you normally threaten people who offer their help?" Morgan asks with an arched brow. He shrugs, then. "Well, I guess war does make people forget their manners."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne looks to Evangeline, nodding softly. "We'll be doing the best we can. The fast ones like you and me, when the French and English forces have drawn off the patrols, we can move in just ahead of the main force and get what intel we can.."

She looks to Morgan. "She wasn't threatening you, she was warning you."

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
"I've been around the block long enough to know that kickin' a guy's chair out from under him and grabbing him by his very valuable scarf either means she's threatening me, or is trying to seduce me," Morgan answers with yet another shrug. "I mean, I'm okay with either."

Lexicon has posed:
    "Oi," Lexicon barks over her shoulder at Morgan and Yuudachi, "Save it. She's had a rough time with this bitch already, and maybe you're on to something." She glances back to the map with a frown, "I mean, aside from trying to draw away the small fry, 'charging in blind' is basically what we're doing."

    There's a flicker of digitized white light as Lexicon produces a metal staff, topped with a pale gemstone. She leans on this while considering Yamashiro's words, "That works for me. You're pretty solid, this thing can just sit in a jackstaff bracket or something and I won't have to worry about you sinking and leaving me all wet." A sidelong glance towards Leyanne, "It always felt kinda dicey leaving it on the speedboat. No offense."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne chuckles "You go how you're best, Lexicon. No offense taken."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa looks to Shigure and nods for a moment "Understood Ma'me." A good point she hasn't thought of had been raised, she seems to have accepted this point. Shes going to go suit up and get ready for this fight as she knows things are going to be pretty darn serious. She won't be on the water in the normal sense no she's bringing more firepower by piloting her ARMED suit which she'll with help from Leyanne will be riding about on the Leeroy's deck.

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Orchid chuckles at the interactions between Yuudachi and Morgan. "If it was your intent to break the tension, good. But we'd rather not die because someone we trusted did something stupid, okay?"

Shigure has posed:
    "Yuudachi. Put him down. You don't know where he's been." says Shigure in her soft voice, tone edging towards disinterest, much like Morgan's own. Yuudachi just bristles a bit longer, then unceremoneously lets go of the scarf and stalks away; returning to her position at the table. "When are we going to get to kill things, poi." she grouses, looking super grumpy.

    Kuma leans over to Leyanne. "Kuma thinks Tinymouse would work best with the lead strikers, kuma~." she says, indicating the map and the clusters of markers right up in the Abyssal's proverbial grills.

    Shigure meanwhile pats Yuudachi on the shoulder consolingly, then looks around the group. "It seems we have at least the bones of a plan laid out. Gear up, we launch in twenty minutes." she says, barring anyone else putting their opinion in, or goading her fleet members some more. "We always end up fighting a new Abyssal practically blind. It does not help our case that she has worked mostly through proxies rather than facing us herself until now. Samar was far more direct. Dogger Bank seems to fit more in Midway's camp of thought." muses the destroyer, before turning to leave. "We shall find victory on the Dawn Horizon."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline turns her head to look at Morgan and Yuudachi, then back at Shigure. "...we will win...and maybe be able to save a few Abyssals along the way..." she says. "...should I immediately deploy to the air...or remain on deck until we are closer to the engagement point..." She then tilts her head slightly. "...what does 'seduce' mean...?" One can hardly blame a strange, jet black, floating alien thing for not knowing.

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Orchid nods. She'll catch a ride with Leyanne, and help make sure the communications links are working properly. "And seduction is what one adult does to another that they want to be intimate with," she explains truthfully to Eva... if not completely.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
Morgan flops back into his chair as he's released. Didn't that thing get kicked over like, a second ago? Eh, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's back up now. It's just a thing that happened, you see. There might have been some kind of spooky shadow-hand that went and righted it before he dropped back into it.

What a cheater.

"I'll explain when you're older," Morgan says over to this strange floating alien thing.

Lexicon has posed:
    Lexicon nods once, "Right. Kite away the flanks and roar up the middle, ready for a beating." The staff she produced is lifted up, and the DCC turns to depart for the loadout dock. She'll have to wait until Yamashiro is a ship to plant her relay and transform.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne nods in agreement with Kuma. "Sounds like a plan." She says. "Be a chance to check out Leeroy's new plating. With the extra weight we've been able to squeeze six or seven knots out of her. And we've shrouded the outer props withsome aimable ducts so we're about three and a half knots faster despite the armour."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Orchid asides to Leyanne, "I know the stuff is hard to work with, but have you tried hyperglass yet?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne nods "Little bit, w'ere looking to that for Stage 2. Gonna start with some parts of the drivetrain... Steve, the guy at the local AFB who does all the work on the jets, reckons that he's got a milling machine that can cut hyperglass, if we're careful. He's thinking of carving a full turbine disc assembly. We've already coated the inside of the combustors with hyperglass ceramic and it's done wonders for the heat tolerance. Now the limiting factor's starting to be the turbines themselves."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Evangeline tilts her head slightly at Orchid's explanation. "...like...if they want to hug...? ...am I supposed to do something else before I hug someone...?"

Shigure has posed:
    Mission Time +-0. Water outside Grimsby harbour.

    Shigure stands on Yamashiro's foredeck, the Battleship having transformed on reaching deep enough waters. Yuudachi is nearby, and Kuma is perched on one of the main turrets, her ahoge twitching and curling oddly as she radiates radar.

    Radio chatter is alive with reports, situation stats, updates on positions and other suchlike. Seems the French are just about in position to engage, and the English fleet has already had some overflights from Abyssal scouts. "Movement on the north flank. Two squadrons have broken off from the main group and are moving to engage the English fleet. Contact in about thirty minutes." reports Shigure over local comm. She stamps her foot twice on the deck, and Yamashiro lumbers forwards, smoke belching from her stacks as she rounds the little penninsula. Turrets rotate, causing Kuma to hop off her perch with a bit of a squeak.

    "Contact. Spotter has smoke on the horizon, a Ru-class flanked by three cruisers. One Ri-class and two He-class. Smaller contacts, cannot verify classification. Possible I-class or Ro-class." reports the Battleship, her voice metallic and a bit echoy from somewhere inside the bulk of her Ocean Fit.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
It took the mice about ten minutes to get Leeroy up and running. First the diesel engine is started to power the compressor... then his turbines are brought online one by one. By 0 hour, the little PT boat is pulling out and joining with the advanced group.

On board, the crew - mostly mice - have picked up a wide assortment of weapons. Baseball bats, golf clubs, crowbars, hockey sticks... theyre's even a cricket bat strapped across the back of one of the larger mouse-ogres manning the exocets; it has the words 'SHAUN SPECIAL' written across the front.

In the driver's seat, Leyanne has the Captain's Bar, a two foot length of iron pipe with a lock-nut on one end, wrapped in chain on one side of her seat. On the other, her M2 browning, incase they do board and she's got to be mobile; she can't afford the steady-rig of her bushmaster getting in the way in the tight confines of a boarding action. She reaches up to grab her radio microphone.

Lexicon has posed:
    Amidships, upon Yamashiro's massive bridge tower, Lexicon finds a good and sturdy place to plant her Resource relay. A bracket for flagstaffs during naval reviews fits the device handily, and keeps it exposed where it can transmit freely, while also keeping it secure so it doesn't just fall over and break in combat.

    This securely mounted, the DCC turns and plants her foot on the lookout railing. With one step, she hauls herself up and over, hurling herself into the sky amidst a scattering of pixellated light. Just as she begins to fall, squared wings burst from her back, carrying Lexicon aloft while the rest of her outfit changes. Processors wink in around her shoulders, hips, and legs mid-flight, capped off by the headpieces. A hand holds out, fingers splayed. When she closes them, the haft of her weapon has already appeared, and a second later the gleaming crescent blade of her axe ignites.

    "Airborne and ready to break shit of varying importance."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Along with Leyanne is Orchid, who is running the intel station. This mostly means making sure the radar data are getting to fire control; they may get a long distance shot off, which is Orchid's favorite way of fighting.
     As for Orchid herself, she's fairly comfortable; outside of the abyssal depths, she's good with water... even if she's more sink than swim.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
One of the mice offers Orchid an aircrew survival vest; it's got an emergency inflation system that acts as a lifevest.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
It's finally time to go.

Aaaaaand Morgan is nowhere to be found.

Well, no. That's not quite accurate. A smokey shadow flits over the glittering waves, moving in lazy, irregular arcs. It's... /almost/ featureless, though not quite. It makes no sound as it flies, stirs not even a ripple in the water. Instead, it seems to simply exult in the process of flight, spreading a pair of black wings wide over the wine dark sea. The nearest thing that anyone who /looks/ at the thing can tell is that it's some kind of massive, smokey raven.

The thing streaks over Yamashiro's bridge and tucks into a quick roll before darting off toward the distant horizon, for parts unknown-- no. Wait. It's... it's... making a bee-line straight for the Abyssal formation.

H...uh.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Leyanne has something new today on board, Kotone in her ARMED Suit which would make her quite tall a good nine to ten feet suited up int his thing it's carrying a heavy machine canon of some sort, and has missile packs on it's back for the moment, Kotone was ready to bring some serious firepower today, which she feels would be of more use, also if a boarding action is needed she'll need the firepower and systems it has for it. Given they must no screw around today.

<<Leyanne? Orchid I'm set>>

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     Once they set out, Evangeline takes up position above and slightly ahead of Yamashiro to try and provide some advanced warning if anything tries to ambush them. What she spots instead is...something from their side advancing on the Abyssals. She tilts her head slightly, then her quiet voice filters in over the radios. "...we seem to have a friendly advancing in the manner I was advised against...should I intercept...?"

Shigure has posed:
    Morgan's flight takes him directly towards the enemy Battleship and her escorts. The two He-class light cruisers lift gun-arms up, and start lobbing flak at the smokey shadow, giving their position away from muzzle flashes. The Ru-class holds her own fire, only letting the low caliber AA mounts flash tracer fire into the air.

    "Range 15000 yards. set elevation 24 degrees. bearing 2-5-3. Stagger fire. Incline barrels Plus-Minus 2 degrees for first volley. All hands, action stations. Set condition one throughout the fleet. This is not a drill." Yamashiro calls out, her turrets shifting into firing position.

    Shigure and the others leap over the railings, hitting the water and skating quickly away from the battleship, taking up a wedge-shaped vanguard a few hundred yards in front of her bow. "Main gunports. FIRE!" The turrets of the battleship roar to life, staggering their shots along the length of the ship, causing blast waves to ripple from the power of the shells being launched. "All points. Engage at will. More enemies will be coming to check this disturbance out soon."

    And then, that voice ripples across the ocean, like the sea itself were mocking them. "And so, the little rats scurry through the maze, lost and alone. They behold the face of their mistress and balk at her majesty. Know that I am the alpha and the omega. I am the beginning, and the end. Come face me if you dare. I shall be waiting."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     "Again?" Orchid asks of the open air. "I mean, seriously, again? All you can think to try and creep us out is comparing us to animals, and boasting of your own power? I mean, at this point it's practically background white noise." No, she isn't impressed. "I mean, there's this guy, barely did as much as you try to, and REALLY unsettling."

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     It seems Evangeline misunderstood things just a bit. She'll have to put that aside for now. Luckily it seems everyone else got the plan right. Evangeline hopes Major Sakamoto doesn't hear about this...

     The order is given to engage, and Evangeline leaves contrails in the air as she takes off toward the enemy. The only sound she makes on approach is a metallic whisper like fingers moving across guitar strings. As the voice of the enemy rolls across the waves she tilts her head. "...is she talking about the other Abyssals...?" the Neuroi asks, confused. After all, none of the fleet seems Dogger Bank as their mistress, nor are they balking at her majesty. That sounds like something the Princess's underlings would do.

     Evangeline gets in range quickly and holds out her sleeve-like arms. A menacing red light gathers at their ends for a few seconds before...she unleashes a powerful beam nearly as thick as she is tall. She rakes it across the enemy line, trying to damage as many units as she can. Wherever the beam hits there is a powerful explosion, and where it hits the waves it produces a veritable wall of water for a few seconds.

Lexicon has posed:
    That smug, self-satisfied voice. There are few things that rile Lexicon up quite as much as talking down to her, and this Dogger Bank princess has been mashing that button in every interaction. The DCC bares her teeth, crimson eyes narrowing. Her axe is swept back, a magic circle filled with binary code materializing beneath and slightly behind her, "Getting awful tired of that."

    Magic gathers along the blade of her weapon, and Lexicon swings it in a broad arc. Orbs are scattered, glowing and silver. Lex continues her motion into a full turn, so that those same orbs can get smashed into motion by a second sweep of her axe, "GEFAHRLICHSTERN!"

    Her target isn't the Abyssal fleet, directly. Remembering how it fouled up Jutland in the last fight, Lexicon's aimed her frozen projectiles into the sea ahead of the fleet's path. The result won't be as dramatic as her Latent Katastrophe, but a few small icebergs should hinder their ability to maneuver.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is on the deck of the Leeroy and she's now sighting the targets as she closes she levels the machine canon and opens fire with controlled burst on the enemy ship and looks for vital points like turrets and launch bays. The shells will go flying as Kotone is just opening up for the moment.

"Alpha and Omega huh?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne growls quietly "Arm weapons." is all Leyanne has to say in respone to Dogger. The two mice with exocets bring their launchers online and start hunting for the radar from the British ships. On deck, the four torpedo tubes are re-loaded, while the Bofors gun tracks back and forth, then up and down as the gunners test their mechanism. Leuanne nods approvingly, pushing the throttles forward. She weaves the nose back and forth to stay with her group, for the moment, but it's clear she just wants to give it beans and start causing havoc.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
The sky lights up, casting the shadow-crow into stark contrast against the brilliant, bursting shells. Clouds of flak smoke mix with the contrails of shadow trailing from the crow's wings. It twists and swoops through the plumes of gunsmoke, diving down, down, down into a veritable storm of deadly firepower. It may be intangible, but it's making a clear attempt to avoid as much of the gunfire as possible.

But, ultimately, its goal is not just to occupy the hail of anti-air fire and flak shells. It gives out a single, keening cry and dives into them, and then...

Explodes.

No, not quite. It expands, filling the world around the Abyssal formation with a the raw essence of night. It's like a dome of the night sky opens up around the ships-- and as the veil of night falls, so too does a... preternatural calm. The promised peace of restful sleep.

Morgan falls out of the sky, a dim, ghostly light radiating from a lantern clutched in his right hand. His left is wreathed with viscous, dark energies. He descends towards one of the He-classes and reaches out. Power washes out of his palm, waves of holy shadow rippling outward and toward the twisted warship...!

But will it work?

Shigure has posed:
    Well, this is an interesting mix. Yamashiro's shells rain down amongst the formation, one spearing clean through one of the smaller Destroyers and making it founder as black ichor spills from it. An overpenetration, but apparnetly hitting something vital as the ship lists and falls out of formation. The other shots rock the formation as swells of displaced water explode upwards in between them, some of the Abyssals coming out the other side with black ichor leaking from wounds, and a few new marks etched into their metallic segments.

    Evangeline's beam adds to the disruption of the formation, breaking them up and isolating them so their AA fire is less effective.

    This allows Lexicon to ice up one of the He-class, the icy projectile slamming down just below the waterline and causing the ice to erupt around it, seizing up its limbs and causing it to slow to a crawl as it struggles. More ice spikes erupt around the rest of the formation, one I-class slamming face first into it and developing a list to port as it trails ichor.

    RADAR lights up the Ru-class, and Exocets get a solid tone lock-on.

    As Morgan descends on the He-class and begins blasting it with purification magic, the roar of jet engines begins to grow overhead... from the land behind them.

    "This is Gryphon Lead to Hikari-Actual. Air strike inbound. Radar detecting incoming fighter craft." pause. "Dragon Lead to Gryphon Lead, we'll plow the road. RADAR lock, Fox 1!" Abyssal fighters come from the direction of the beached Leviathan, and a barrage of missiles come from behind the formation, taking several of the angular flying mouths out of the sky, trailing smoke. "Looks like it's a dogfight boys. Guns up, take them two on one. Gryphon, you are clear to proceed."

    RAF Typhoons enter the fray, some ducking low to launch anti-ship missiles to bolster Leeryo's volley, while others tangle with the Abyssal fighter craft.

    Meanwhile, Morgan's magic seems to work. The He-class screams, the voice going from a gutteral growling with reverb, to something /very/ much feminine and pained. "St-stop! I need my pain! Don't! NO!""W-wait... where am I? C-Commander? I..."
    The He-class explodes... shedding the Abyssal rigging and form, and gaining a rather austre Royal Navy uniform. "L-Light Cruiser, Leander... ready for duty."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
     Okay, that wasn't something Orchid really expected. Oh, the signals from the ships she knew would be there, and locking onto those signals proves easy enough. What is less expected is how their new ally's magic seems to be purifying one of the abyssal fleet. Orchid still doesn't fully understand what can and can't be done with magic, but she knows her part in this. She locks the Exocets onto the other abyssal ships, transferring fire control to Leyanne.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
"We have tone!" A shout from the bow. Leyanne's about to tell them to get on with it when the first exocet shoots forward, its motor igniting once its clear of the boat and accellerating the missile towards the Ru-class. Leeroy's second missile isn't far away, skimming low across the water for the Ru-class.

Leeroy kicks up a rooster-tail as he surges forwards, the nose rising up into the plane as Leyanne looks through the armoured slit in the armour over his front windows. There are a few crude targeting indicators on it, showing where Leyanne needs to put an enemy ship in order for her torpedoes to find it.

The little boat moves to help defend Leander - although she's probably capable of defending hersef. As soon as an Abyssal target crosses the target indicators for the port or starboard side, Leyanne pushes a thumb-button on the wheel, sending a torpedo into the water.

Neuroi Girl has posed:
     After the breaker beam attack, Evangeline shifts modes to her vectoring beams. Rather than a single huge beam, dozens of smaller and much more accurate beams start peppering the enemy. But, what happens with Morgan and the Abyssal who becomes Leander causes her to stop. She floats there for a few moments, looking at the rescued ship girl, then she looks at her own arms. "...how do I get a weapon that does that...?" she asks, her quiet voice carrying over the radios.

     It is only a momentary reprieve for the enemy though, then Evangeline moves in quickly. Hovering right off the water, she puts herself physically between the new ship girl and the enemy, using her own shielding and weapons to try and get her free of the enemy formation. "...please head toward the other ship girls...there is no time to explain..." she says even as Abyssal attacks no doubt hit her shield, knocking the Neuroi around a bit and putting her dangerously close to the water.

Lexicon has posed:
    Lexicon swings her legs forward, bringing herself to a hover as she stares down at the black dome created by Morgan's shadow magic. An arm raises to shield her face from the noise overhead, and her eyes lift to the RAF aircraft joining in at higher altitude. She nods once, returning her attention to the surface.

    When Morgan just pops a regular person out of an abyssal cruiser. Her eyebrows knit, "What the fuck?"

    With a grunt, she swings her axe back and hurls herself into a dive. Whatever that guy did, she has no way of knowing if it could work again-- and he's in the melee now. Doubtless, the crow guy is going to need a hand that close to everything. And there's apparently now someone that she immediately assumes to be confused and possibly defenseless at least for the moment.

    Hauling out of her dive, Lexicon sweeps her axe forward, cleaving the top of one of the small icebergs she'd created earlier. A swift kick hurls the piece straight at the Ru-class, clearly the most heavily armed member of this forward fleet still in fighting condition. With Evangeline doing the body shield job, Lexicon simply follows up the ice chunk with about 40 kilos of Angry DCC With An Axe.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
Few comforts remain to those who life on the blighted land of Othrys. Even the promise of sleep seems... Far-off and distant. And yet, its warden still lives, still works upon the world-- and now, worlds even beyond his own.

Morgan reaches out, he /feels/ the pain and the anguish clinging to this spirit, this child of humanity. He feels it, and extends his will to the task of stripping it away. Just as a nightmare might pass into a sweet dream, the darkness seems to devour the hatred, pain and fear, leaving only...

A girl, confused and ready, and yet...

Morgan regards her with a calm smile, even as explosions burst all around them. "Leander," he says, reaching down to ruffle at her head, "You're in a spot of trouble, I'm afraid. Stay close, and keep an eye out for an opportunity to break away when you can. Do you see that ship in the distance?" He gestures, pointing at Yamashiro's far-off citadel, "They're your allies in this fight-- mmn?"

The... strange alien girl thing moves to protect her. Morgan chuckles and waves, "Oh, there we go. Head back with her, I'll distract them."

"After all," he says, voice darkening with barely veiled menace, "Once /she/ figures out what I just did, I'll probably have a great big target painted on my back. But that's fine! For one who thinks of herself as a god...!"

Morgan rises, then, tearing toward the abyssal battleship on jet-black wings. Shadow races across the surface of the dark seas, twisting into vicious stakes of solidified darkness that rise to skewer the corrupt spirit's hull...! "The Chosen of a true God is as appropriate of an opponent as could be! Come on, you damned pretender! Come at me!"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Everyone's firepower is being brought to bear on the enemy fleet they manage to bring one of the Abyssals down and then something happen she rises again as a Royal Navy ship and she can't help but smile a bit they manage to drag someone back from being an Abyssal to being her real self and she's keeping her weapons off the newly awakened ship spirit.

"We'll give you cover to get to the main fleet as Eva has said."

She calls out over her loudspeakers and she'll make ready for the leader as the battle is going and she'll turn her attention lending some more firepower against the remaining abyssals.

Shigure has posed:
    Morgan's words receive a reply.

    Just sitting on the horizon, the massive bulk of the Leviathan can be seen, pockmarked and cratered, a husk of its former self... but it still has a few guns left, and these belch smoke, followed briefly by the thunder of their report. The shells take a bit longer to arrive, but are all targetted around Morgans position. "How quickly the tide turns~." even now she sounds so smug and in control.

    Leander, meanwhile, looks around in confusion, short, bob-cut hair ruffled by Morgan. "Ah?" And then Evangeline comes down. Despite confusion, it doesn't take a genius to realize the strange black creature is on her side and she makes speed towards the Fifth Fleet.

    The Leeroy's missiles strike the Ru-class, shattering one of the cannon shields and forcing the battleship to a knee. The follow up from Lexicon finishes the job, the ice missile knocking the other shield away, then the axe cleaving the woman in half, slipping quickly beneath the waves in a growing pool of ichor.

    The Airstrike's missiles, and a few more cannon shells from Yamashiro finish off the rest of the forward fleet.

    "HMS Daring to Hikari fleet. RADAR indicates the path is open. Good luck and good hunting, we will keep these blaggarts occupied for you."

Orchid (6384) has posed:
Orchid is doing stuff. Mostly some research in one window, while talking on the radio. A change like this needs to be understood, in how it changes the rules of engagement.

Morgan Berselius (6716) has posed:
"Just because you're a boat doesn't mean I can excuse bad sea puns!" Morgan's voice has taken on an otherworldly quality, but the fury boiling underneath it is impossible to deny. Black wings carry him at breakneck speeds towards the massive hulk in the distance. Shells explode all around him, blasting vast columns of water into the sky. One explodes uncomfortably close, briefly swallowing the so-called chosen of night into a dome of flame and power...

He emerges from the other end, an arm nearly torn clean off-- but shadows twist around the twisted, useless carcass of a limb. They surge outwards, twining over and into themselves until his arm is restored-- good as new.

"I'm coming for you, pretender," Morgan snarls as he continues to advance, "We'll see how long that smugness will last...!"

Lexicon has posed:
    Shields knocked out of the way, it's down to Lexicon's axe to finish the battleship Ru-Class. Her weapon is brought up in a sweeping arc, fast enough to scatter oily ichor from the axe's mechanical exterior. Crimson eyes shoot a look towards the beached Leviathan in the distance. The gunfire is obvious, and the woman ascends. She presents the flat of her axe, braced by her free hand. Held at an angle, one of the shells impacts at midair.

    This knocks Lexicon down and to one side, but also deflects the shell that impacted. It doesn't do much to protect Morgan-- who, thankfully, seems to be taking care of himself. Her specific intent was to knock the shell off-course that was most likely a threat to Leander and Evangeline.

    Hands stinging, cracks in her external code visible down her arms, the DCC shoots a glower towards the Leviathan again, "Fuckin' losing and still acting like a winner. THERE'S A LIMIT TO EGOTISM, YOU KNOW!"