1028/Nautical Towers - Introduction of Kongou and Ko

Nautical Towers - Introduction of Kongou and Ko
Date of Scene:	25 November 2014
Location:	The Oceanic Ruins
Synopsis:	Introduction of the English-born returnee, Kongou, and the mysterious Ko-class Abyssal Fast Battleship.
Cast of Characters:	253, 359, Wo, 637

---

Kongou (637) has posed:
    There are plenty of treacharous routes through the Oceanic Ruins, particularly for oceangoing vessels. Precious few trade routes have been cleared that are both deep enough and wide enough for large scale shipping traffic, though in some places the fit gets a little tight. Such as right here: The Cloud Pillars, ancient towers that had long since lost their mysterious function, but at least served as a good and visible landmark for vessels passing through.

    The cargo ship 'Laughing Irishman' has been forced to drop anchor for an emergency stop and now floats, pristine and unharmed, tied to the seafloor by heavy chains. Across the deck, men crowd the railings, staring out at the water, pointing, chattering, gesturing to the twin Cloud Pillars.

    Well, there WERE two of them.

    The southern tower has suffered catastrophic damage and has collapsed, smashing into the northern Pillar and sliding down into the water in such a way that the open path between them is now blocked. With treacharous waters and ruins on either side for miles, the only choice seems to be to go back and try a different route.

    The thing that makes this difficult is the woman in black and white, standing upon the waves as if they were solid ground, her back to the ship. One skeletal red head, extended and fingers splayed, slowly lowers to her side. In the same motion, the head-like structure affixed to her back also lowers. The three-barreled cannon recedes into its mouth amidst foamy drool and the mismatched teeth clamp shut, barely containing the gunsmoke pouring from the cannons. Yeah, she's pretty clearly the one who brought the structure down.

    Very slowly, the Ko-class Abyssal Battleship turns her head, casting a gold-eyed glower over her shoulder.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Heard well before she's seen, Elasaid wades through the waves, a tiny figure compared to the massive form of the Abyssal. Her guns, however, seem to be fully powered despite their size. Eight reports sound as the Main Battery fires, staggering their shots to trace the entire way up the giantess' frame. "Hold fast, I shall be your opponent."

<Main Battery reloading. Torpedo crew reports all racks are ready.>
<Surface Radar contact confirmed. Battleship-class signal.>
<Maintaining air watch, all AA crew ready.>

Wo has posed:
    Wrecking such fine and presumably ancient structures was a fitting job for those with heavy artillery. This was not the case for another Abyssal patrol that happened to be in the area, providing support for this particular operation. The observant might note a flight of five black shapes gliding effortlessly through the air, far above the remnants of the sky pillar. They move with little sound, from this distance, though they seem to chatter amongst each other with a buzzing noise for those with good enough ears. Having finished their observations of this area, they move on to the next nearby.

    Overseeing their operation, another woman is nearby, almost seeming to hover a few inches over the waves. She is similarly clad in black, with two black gloved hands perched atop a rough-hewn staff made of what looks to be a weathered piece of steel. She sees through both her eyes and her planes', but with this other ship managing the heavy lifting, it's been pretty dull on her end. However -- something manages to capture her attention, as well as setting one of her aircraft buzzing anew. "..." A frown comes to the Wo-class carrier's lips at that, assuming Hood isn't making a secret of her presence. Why did she have to show up here?

    The planes begin to make their return to their home deck, such as it is. They aren't suited for this kind of work.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Normally, for ship to ship combat, one wants to bring a warship. Normally you want heavy guns, particularly against an unknown foe.

    Nothing about Psyber ever comes normally.

    Using a Zodiac to catch a warship has certain advantages. It's low to the water, so it's hard to see coming. It tops out at a brisk 60 miles per hour and it's designed to turn on a dime. Of course, the disadvantage is that...

    WHUMPH! It can make for a bumpy ride.

    "DUDE. Watch your driving! Jesus Christ."
    "Technically it's sailing."
    "This thing has no sails. You're driving it."
    "Eeeeeeeh, pretty sure it's still sailing."

    The zodiac speedboat comes popping out of a warp gate and skidding across the water like a shot from a gun. It has a two-man crew of the finest in hardboiled law enforcement and problem solvers. Which is to say, LAWLESS CRIMESOLVER, Prospitan Cop-Turned-PI, and Psyber. LC is on the back, working the engine and steering. Psyber is standing at the front of the speeding vehicle, wearing a t-shirt and some jeans. He also has a few crates strapped down with the two of them, and is holding an RPG-7 over one shoulder.

    "I don't have time for your pedantic shit today. What happened to your loose grasp of procedure to get the criminal."
    "Hey. I never break the laws of good word usage."

Kongou (637) has posed:
    The look on her face is unbelievably sad. That kind of betrayed hurt that needs no words, just hollow golden eyes transfixed upon the men on the Laughing Irishman's deck. Steadily, Ko turns to face the vessel, the monstrous 'heads' flanking her lowering like angry dogs, maws gaping and cannons emerging. Foamy spittle drops into the sea.

    And then she's just straight up shot. There's no shield or anything, just the ringing sound of metal under the explosion of shells striking. Black bits of metal scatter into the waves behind her. As the smoke is blown from her, revealing the damage to her weapon structure and the black liquid oozing from where the left-side head was injured, her eyes are cast in shadow.

    Those skeletal hands slowly ball up into bony fists. Her jaw sets, her teeth bared and showing her fangs. Hands shaking, Ko rears up with a furious, wordless roar. Both cannon mounts lift, one lower than the other, and open fire on the approaching Fleet Maiden--rather than the cargo ship--with the main 16-inch battery.

    Turrets atop the damaged head at her left side swivel, rotating towards the approaching speedboat. The incoming rounds are about comparable to large caliber firearms, if the bullets exploded. The other head's secondary batteries, undamaged, swing towards the cargo ship--but they're too small to do more than send the crew packing for cover.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "SWERVE! SWERVE! GO RIGHT!"
    "Do you mean Starboard?" >:D
    "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND TURN THE BOAT GODDAMNIT!"

    Clearing enjoying pissing off his friend, LC turns the zodiac hard, causing it to make a bumping turn off a swell and send up a cascade of water over himself and Psyber while they move to try to avoid the turret fire. Bullets explode around the two investigators, peppering them both with shrapnel, fire and debris. The boat is mostly unharmed though. One of the advantages of it being such a tiny target. Psyber and LC are less lucky, due to being fleshy (or carapacey) and vulnerable to wounds.

    "Bring it around! Flank left and-"
    "Port."
    "LEFT AND BRING ME AROUND FOR A CLEAR SHOT."

    The boat whips around and zips off like a bullet, trying to bring Psyber around to a good angle as it circles left. He kneels on the zodiac, brings up the rangefinder on the RPG-7, and lets a rocket rip loose. He's already sliding another one into the RPG as the boat tries to zip around and get to some semblance of safety.

Wo has posed:
    The drones shortly make it back to their carrier, the rather large hat perched atop Wo's head opening its incisor-rimmed mouth to seemingly swallow them up. This is quite an impressive feat, since the planes are nearly as wide as it is - must be part snake as well as jellyfish. These were fighters, and with no apparent force in the air to overcome, they were useless outside of strafing runs. When Wo gestures a hand forward again, a slightly different variant materializes out of the eye-like sockets of her hat, the mechanical irises opening to issue forth another wing of planes from the glowing miasma that leaks from within her hat. They buzz, much like their counterparts, one might almost say eagerly.

    Once they're out, a good look over would make the swap clear: Their cannons are all but minimized to self-defense, favoring for attack instead a reasonably large missile mounted on the bottom of each. Abyssal torpedo bombers. They tear out with their internal jet turbines screaming up, and with some odd tinge of regret from some corner of her mind - they begin to make course for where Elasaid Hood is moving on her intercept course.

    She closes her eyes, briefly considering what it is she's about to do. There are no take backs. This will be the first time she herself has actively fired on one of these Fleet Maidens. The oddly cordial meetings before briefly replay amidst her hazy memories. But before she can lapse in her conviction - something more painful emerges, causing her physical discomfort judging from how she suddenly nudges forward in the waves, clutching her chest. "..they're, the enemy," she utters. They attacked one of her sisters right in front of her eyes.

    With fresh resolve, the planes come low over the waves, dropping their payload into the waves toward Elasaid, the characteristic white streaks making clear their intent. At least Wo herself is fairly far away on the horizon from here, but she can see well enough through her planes.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    <Incoming! Take evasive action!>
<Air radar reporting hostile aircraft. Possible carrier in area.>

    Elasaid crosses her arms across her front, those incoming shells striking a bright glowing white-blue field that forms before the Maiden. The shells hit, explode and as the smoke clears, the woman remains, her shield showing cracks and a hole here or there, slowly <span class=" bold_bg_x fg_n ++ losing.
chx"><INCOMING TORPEDO BOMBERS!></span> comes the loud warning in her mind, but it's too late. Her AA guns begin firing on the incoming planes, but it's too late.

    The barrier is thankfully back in Passive Mode, but those torpedoes are meant to break ships like her.
    <Multiple hits below the waterline. Bilge pumps engaged. Starboard boiler room has gone dark.>

Kongou (637) has posed:
    The cannon heads affixed to the Ko-class battleship rear back, the cannons receding into their mouths amidst gunsmoke. Those eyes narrow slightly, observing the presence of a shield she has not encountered before. It's possible that the hesitation is due to intimidation. Is the enemy really so undamaged?

    Those torpedoes strike. Ko takes a step back, lifting a skeletal hand to shade her eyes as she looks upward, eyes following the graceful arcs of the Abyssal torpedo bombers. Slowly, she looks over her shoulder, into the distance. Sighting the carrier, the anger in Ko's face fades.

    Seemingly out of nowhere, a rocket slams into the damaged left-side head and explodes with all the violence of an anti-tank round. Something inhuman roars, followed by the hollow scream of the woman it's attached to. As smoke clears, the results are obvious--Already weakened by Elasaid's bombardment, the left-side head has completely exploded, scattering twisted metal, teeth, and oily black fluid across the waves. All that remains is a stump of cables, mangled steel, and that black fluid oozing out like blood.

    The abyssal battleship whirls away from Elasaid, who has not fired on her and is distracted by Wo's planes, to bring her remaining arsenal to bear on Psyber, LC, and their speedboat. The maw gapes open, the main battery sliding out, but none of the weapons fire. Ko's outstretched hand, the command to attack, shakes.

    Through her mind, fuzzy images flash back and forth. The intense pain. The betrayal. Men pouring out across her decks, into lifeboats. Leaving her behind. Abandoning her when she has ceased being useful.

    Those empty yellow eyes squeeze shut, biting back tears, and she mutters, "...Why... Why..." Eyes snapping open, the secondary battery opens fire. The shots are chaotic, poorly aimed. Even when the main battery roars, the shells go wide as if she wasn't even aiming for the speedboat to begin with.

    "...Ko. ...Why now..."

Wo has posed:
    The flare of anti-aircraft fire comes - but indeed a bit late. The torpedoes were already in the water. For what it's worth, it wasn't completely off the mark, though: Two of the bombers' carapaces take heavy damage, alternatingly beginning to billow out heavy smoke as well as leaving a cloud of unburned, half-gelled oil behind them. One more heavily damaged ones begins to issue cracks over its surface, before it spontaneously explodes in a fireball. The other is..slightly more lucky, as it simply loses speed and altitude, before stalling completely and nose diving into a splash down, bobbing up and down with a few pieces having broken off - but more or less intact. The three that remain pull up from their attack and begin to climb, having delivered a brutal hit.

    A briefly lived bit of relief comes over Wo's face. She can still do this, and maybe this will sway Elasaid Hood out of fighting further. Before she can finish that thought, though, a rocket flies in and deals another devestating blow to her abyssal sister. Wo had, admittedly, ignored the threat that a surface dweller on a mere speed boat could pose, a tactical error that she may come to regret. Are they really..intending to sink them with surface rockets!? Wo bites down on her lip so hard that it draws -- not quite blood, but the same kind of blackened fluid now seeming to be pouring from Ko.

    The planes that had turned to come back instead receive another order, along the way. They buzz confirmation between each other, before the trio still in the air begin to head toward the speedboat. They don't have any torpedoes left to drop, thankfully, but they do still have their (relatively) small caliber cannons to fire. To ship armor, this would be laughable. But to what Wo calls surface dwellers, the roaring report of machine guns might be reason to worry, as they begin to make a strafing run. With that, Wo frowns toward her fallen planes, and then further beyond to Wo, beginning to glide over the water in that direction, herself. Why has she stopped fighting? "Wo," she utters, in a mix of anger over the damage sustained, but also with a tinge of confusion and perhaps even worry. This will make her presence obvious to Elasaid and the surface dwellers, but some things are more important.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Smoke clears, and the spouts of water from those exploding torpedoes rains down, revealing the Maiden standing with blood leaking down her right leg, shrapnel embedded in the armour plate of her leg guard. Elasaid's arms lower slowly to her sides, the bubble shield showing massive holes at the waterline where the explosives initially struck... She also seems to be listing slightly, her right leg sunk a bit lower in the water than her left.

    The Maiden frowns a bit, and secures her weapons, the turrets swiveling to the sides, barrels going to neutral positions. "... Wo...?" she asks softly, limping closer to Ko as well.

    The holes in her Barrier Armour are very slowly closing, energy replenishing the field, gradually.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Holy shit, did she just say something?"
    "Way to go, Psyber, you made a girl cry."
    "Dude, she shot at us."
    "Eeexcuses."

    The boat has an easy time avoiding those shells as they fly wide. Psyber is now crouching, halted mid-reload as he can spot the shaking hand and the girl behind the attack. Unfortunately, what's harder to dodge are the machineguns from Wo's planes. And while the ship does swerve and avoid several of them, both Psyber AND LC take a barrage of shots. Though they react differently.

    LC tanks the shots straight on, looking like he's made of stone. This is probably due to Prospitans being a carapaced species. Still, cracks and spiderwebs of fractures appear in his carapace from the impacts. Psyber, on the other hand, just gets perforated, spraying blood all over the deck of the zodiac as several holes appear in the bottom of it. The ship is now sinking.

    "We're going down."
    "How hard?"
    "As hard as DL thinks that SM chick does."
    "Shit."

    Psyber reaches into his back pocket and takes out a notepad, pulling off a slip of paper. The ORDER MODUS goes to work and his BACKUP ZODIAC comes flying out, both he and LC jumping ship as the other goes under the waves and then explodes due to the rockets.

    "Bring us around. We're gonna do some stupid shit."
    "Right-o."

    The zodiac speeds around and then heads right towards Ko-Class. As it does so, Psyber steps to the front of the ship, his right hand glowing with a blue aura, "Amidst the turmoil, should one experience calm."

    As the ship swishes by Ko-Class and Psyber finishes his incantation, the half-angel steps to the side of his ship and leaps off, aiming a punch right towards Ko-Class and trying to tackle her simultaneously as he shouts, "JUDGMENT BLADE!"

    The move itself seeks to inflict Stop upon Ko-class, in this instance trying to halt her violent actions with a magical impulse while Psyber tries to tackle her into the water.

Kongou (637) has posed:
    Humans do reckless things. Ko starts, surprised. Humans are either cowards who run away, or do recklessly brave things. She wheels her skeletal arm up defensively, a motion followed through by the gaping maw of her remaining cannon arm, and then things suddenly STOP. Petrified by magic, Ko is helpless when tackled, though surprisingly sturdy and the impact very nearly doesn't push her over at all. When she does tip, she hits the water and sinks much like anyone with a ton or so of metal on their back would.

    But, just because she cannot move, doesn't mean she cannot think. And so, amidst the fury of her sudden paralysis, Ko wonders why those hazy memories of another life are surfacing now of all times. All they do is serve to remind her of why--

    His face.

    The very clear memory of the half-angel's face plays across her mind. After a moment, it fades to that of a very similar face, more cleanly shaven, wearing a naval uniform. The stripes of a Captain adorn his shoulders. But why?

    As she sinks, the image grows more vivid. The dark surroundings of her own bridge. Glass cracking. Water spraying in around the doors. Slowly, the man lifts his hand into a salute, his mouth moves but there is no sound. By now the image is sharp enough that she can read the syllables on his lips.

    'Together until the end...'

    'Kongou.'

    She wasn't abandoned, after all?

    The Stop spell wears off. Immediately, the remaining head thrashes, cracks forming across its surface. Roaring a plume of bubbles, it dissolves. Across Ko's skin, black cracks also form, stark against her pale complexion. This likewise shatters in a blinding light underwater, amidst a roiling on the surface like an explosion.

    Afterwards, the woman is no longer sinking and it's plenty easy for Psyber to pull her to the surface. Though it's very much a different person in his arms on the way up than she was on the way down. She's also unconscious.

Wo has posed:
    Though in the end, she was able to open fire on Elasaid Hood, there's still a weird feeling about it. As Wo closes in to where Ko is, she steals a glance at the battlecruiser maiden, before pointedly and purposefully avoiding eye contact thereafter. Those glowing, amber eyes are fixated instead on Ko, whom it seems is currently having a bit of a freak out. --she knows the sensation well, and unless she can get her to withdraw, there's a good chance she might sink. Along the way she has to avoid an errant shell, which she knows was not specifically aimed for her, but to an outside observer could easily have been mistaken for it.

    She stops, just briefly, to scoop up the damaged but salvageable plane in her arms, before continuing. The other planes, having gotten a two for one with the somewhat unexpected sinking of a speed boat, of all things, finally return to Wo, circling briefly overhead before returning to the hat via its gaping maw. If there were any concerns of further waves, they do not come for the time being, instead: "Wo wo," the carrier calls out to her sister, trying to get her to snap out of it! That is, before she has to stop in her course, as Psyber appears to..materialize a second boat, and then uses it to do some patented Stupid Shit. Were it not for the gravity of their situation, Wo might spare more than the wide-eyed gape and flutter of her cape than she does.

    "What - are you doing," she demands, somewhat surprisingly forcefully toned from her. "Get, away from..her..! Surface dweller--" The sight of Psyber tackling Ko into the water turns from whimsical into infuriating, as she tries again to skim over the water, closer and pry him off her with her own hands, if it proves necessary.

    But then, something...weird happens. There were rumors among the looser lipped abyssals, certainly. She had never seen it with her own eyes, though. Wo suddenly freezes, almost as assuredly as if Psyber had stopped time for her, as well. Her eyes are wide, the golden color fading into a turquoise shade, in that moment. She merely hovers there on the surface of the water, watching, now. There's no trace that she's going to make any further offensive move, she's just..shocked, which is surprisingly emotive on her normally calm face.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber is a man of many talents. Few of these talents are more treasured to him than his ability to do the absolute stupidest, most suicidal, and reckless thing a person can do in a situation... and have it turn out favorably for him.

    Immortal though he may be, oxygen is still a necessity that is unpleasant for him to go without. He would have probably followed Ko-Class down as far as she was planning to sink and then walked along the floor to drag her out, if necessary. But that doesn't happen this time. He dragged her straight up behind him and when his head broke the surface of the water, he heaved in a gasping and massive breath of air, chest heaving from the exertion of it.

    His own boat comes around and pulls up next to him. As LC helps him into the boat and then they BOAT start dragging the transformed girl into it, Psyber looks at Wo, "Not gonna do that. She comes with us." He says in a forceful tone, staring at the shocked Abyssal Girl with a very hard stare.

    LC tosses Psyber a gun and the half-angel moves in front of the unconscious girl protectively, "I don't want this fight to continue. We have injured. But I will finish this if I have to."

    Mentally, he may be gauging the odds of winning against an unknown opponent in a fight on the ocean, where he is at a marked disadvantage. But he knows he's really not keen to back down, even if the situation is less than favorable.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Elasaid approaches just a little closer, still limping though her shield has vanished from sight once more, replenished for the moment. She watches as Ko sinks, and frowns a little bit... it's always hard to watch when someone capsizes. She then sees the stand-off, and the girl Psyber just dragged out of the water. Elasaid's guns swivel into position again, leveling at Wo. "Disengage, Wo. I do not want to sink you, but if you continue engagement. I will."

Kongou (637) has posed:
    The new girl hangs limply in Psyber's grasp, though once she's pulled to the surface she inhales and then starts coughing. Squirming, the woman realizes she's held in place and, at least in her current state, she's in no position to break loose. Though for some reason she doesn't seem particularly interested in doing so.

    Instead, she just wiggles enough to put her arms right around the angel as well and just sort of hangs off him. Dreamily, relaxed, she murmurs, "...I remember now, Admiral~... <Kongou Remembers You>..."

    Wait did she mistake him for someone else?

Wo has posed:
    There's no direct response to Psyber's response-slash-ultimatum, at first. This has just left her completely stunned and numb. Every time she feels like she's about to compose herself, the very notion of what just happened in front of her strikes her again. Eventually, though, she manages to hammer it down, if only for a few moments. "You-- Taking her.. Where are, you.." Her voice is incredibly strained, both from tension as well as seeming difficult to conjure words to begin with. Her body trembles visibly, head lowering so that her hat shadows her eyes, but she still doesn't make any offensive move.

    She finally gives another glance to Elasaid, as well as her own demands, and then takes a long look at the mysterious young woman's face as she's hauled aboard Psyber's speed boat. Now that she's had a good second look, this seems to give her a barely perceptible start, before she begins drifting backwards on the water like someone on land might backpedal.

    She lowers her head again, palming her face with a single hand, and mumbles her own assumed name repeatedly, as her nails dig into her flesh through the almost rubbery material of the gloves. Then finally, her tone sounds defeated, as a tear of either focus or upset seems to bead up at the corner of her eye, "..she's..changed. ..go.. Before - I change, my mind.." She's not really the one to be making that kind of order or concession, since she's literally under the gun, but having at least that much stature left will put up a facade of strength even over her inward confusion.

    --and keep Elasaid and Psyber from asking troublesome questions while she's feeling vulnerable, though it seems Psyber has plenty on his hands as-is. She just half-turns at that, seeking to be alone with her thoughts.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Elasaid secures her turrets again, a frown of concern crossing her features at the confusion coming from the Aircraft Carrier. "Colonel... you return to base... I will remain to cover your egress and follow after." she says, without taking her eyes from Wo as she backpedals and seems to recoil so badly.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    This is a very awkward moment for Psyber, because as he's trying to deliver a threatening ultimatum, he has Kongou draping off of him. He ahems faintly and then says, "Ah... not an Admiral, but hardly the time for semantics."

    To Wo, Psyber lets his gun fall to an at-ease position, giving the girl a nod, "I thank you for that. More violence would have been pointless here."

    And then to Elasaid, he nods again, "Right, we'll get going. Stay safe and return to base when you can."

    As the Zodiac turns and starts to putter towards a warp gate, Lawless Crimesolver takes the chance to bust Psyber's chops some, "You know, I could sell this story to theologians for a mint. 'The time I deployed with the Redeemer and he Redeemed someone'. Big part of your lore."

    "Please don't. The last thing I need are... more Tewer-related shenanigans."