1206/LAX Assault

LAX Assault
Date of Scene:	24 December 2014
Location:	Midway Fleet Base <MFB>
Synopsis:	LAX comes under attack by a large Elvari fleet. Souji brings in reinforcements for the Mighty Hood, and the combined force manages to repel the enemy.
Cast of Characters:	359, 627, 636, 665, 667, 668

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Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Hood was /just/ getting finished packing to head home for the holidays when the Alert went out. She might grumble, but she knows she has a job to do, and with the others already shipped(hah) out, she's the only one left to respond. So she gets her gear together, jumps aboard a Seaking helicoptor, which then proceeds through the warpgate at Midway base. IT emerges at the LAX Terminal gate, and heads out towards the shore, where a huge area of water can be seen boiling and bubbling. This isn't any small-scale incursion.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The Warpgate at LAX opens shorly after Elsaid arrives, and from it comes a thunderstorm. Black clouds billow outwards and spread through the area, hanging low over the water. Lightning surges within, the sharp tang of ozone in the air.

A moment later, the prow of a ship crests the clouds, breaking over them like waves as it rises, the storm following it. The ship becomes more visible as it gains altitude, the ship appearing to be a fusion of classic Feudal Japan design and future-tech. Surging lightning-cannons rotate on side mounted turrets, while the sail is a hexagonal mass of energy that seems to catch the wind naturally. A ring of crackling spires arcs along the back, electricity surging between them and begin absorbed in Jacob's Ladder effects over a set of thrumming, sizzling engines that flare with blue-white light.

Upon the foredeck, Souji Murasame stands, looking out over the battlefield and the whirlpool forming there with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "Hmm." He says simply, and then raises a hand to the side of his head as he begins contacting local forces to identify and share tactical information.

To his associates, he glances over. "Prepare for aquatic battle." He says simply. "Mason, take up a fire position. Valodjn, prepare to harass the target and engage on your cognizance."

Grant Mason (667) has posed:
    Standing behind Souji, and towering above him, the armored form of the Adamant Golem stands at the ready. The massive armor shifts once the order has been given and moves towards the edge of the airship. Looking down over the edge, Grant Mason peers for a good firing position, and upon spotting the control tower, leaps from the edge of the airship.

    The armor falls through the air with all the grace of a brick, and small thrusters on the back and feet manage to slow the decent enough to not kill him on impact. But impact he does, right on the roof of the control tower, leaving a nice sized pair of footprints in the concrete.

    Lumbering to the edge of the tower's roof, he unlocks the massive cannon from the back of the armor and brings it to bear at the swirling pool of water. He has no idea what will come out of there, but it doesn't matter. He has enough firepower to deal with it.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
Water. Why did it have to be water?

    Artyom stands silently alongside the heir to the Murasame name. His blade is heavy against his back- heavier than it usually is, at that. He doesn't like this situation much- there's a lot of water down there. A lot. It's creating this terribly uncomfortable churning feeling in his stomach, like he has a miniature ocean and all of its tides just happen to be swirling about in his gut.

But, this is his job. And so he will be doing it as best he can.

    "Understood," Artyom rumbles to the man at his side. He proceeds to... do very little much of anything. Instead, he just stands and watches as the sea down below turns ever more turbulent. "Just waiting for the right moment," he says, glancing toward Souji- then back at the ocean. Yup, just waiting.

Teepo (668) has posed:
    "...Whoa."

    Yeah, magical ships are something that's not too hard to think about. But chrysm power, and whatever the heck THIS ship has going are like two TOTALLY different things! So yeah. Teepo's more than a little... shocked... by it all. Not literally, thankfully.

    He'd luckily managed to catch the attention of the captain of the ship over the radio, and asked for a ride to get to where all this was going on. And right after that he'd called Ryu! Since Ryu was such a do-gooder. Besides, he was determined to show the other new dragon that his new state was a blessing, not a curse. And how better to do that than by SMASHING THE HELL OUT OF SOMETHING?!

    Teepo is indeed in his human form at the moment, so he resembles a young man with long purple hair and red eyes. His dragon form can't fly, after all. Besides, he doesn't want to freak out his allies yet. To have them shooting at him with ship guns would suck. He's managed to find somewhere to stand on deck that isn't in the way of the regular crew. His weapons are drawn, shotgun in one hand and pistol in the other, and he peers at the disturbed water as it comes into view.

    Eyes narrow, mentally measuring distance, speed, wind resistance-- he'll need to know where and how to fire, to get a hit. Though he hasn't actually seen the target just yet, so... he waits.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu was in a similar state of surprise and awe at the nature of the airship. It was far beyond anything engineers could do in his world in many ways, which just made the blue-haired dragon pleased as peaches to be aboard it. He has come to enjoy the idea of flight, even if he can't fly on his own, and he took invitation that Teepo sent him without much hesitation at all.

    However, now that they had reached the battlefield, his smile was replaced by the stony stare. He was standing at a decent vantage point to look down into the water from. Like Teepo, he is carefully aiming down at the spot the Elvari are going to emerge from with a firearm. His own is some sort of large handgun, a weapon he named Agni. The red metal shines in the light.

    Ryu's hair is blown into an even more mussed state from the wind around the airship and the ocean, yet his posture remains firm, and as still as a statue, while he waits for the enemy ship to arrive.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    The Seaking pilot nearly panics when that sudden storm rolls in, But he manages to keep it stable and comes to a hover over the water. Elasaid thumbs up as she hangs out the side of the craft, copper hair whipping in the turbulance. Her green eyes glare at the Stream Outlet. A normal looking woman in her mid to late twenties, the only thing that might mark her as abnormal, apart from being in a helicoptor and hanging dangerously out the side, would be the black windbreaker with the Fleet logo on the shoulder. Underneath sewn into the fabric is 'First Fleet - Midway. HMS Hood.'

    Over local radio, she speaks, the helicoptor thankfully muted. "Alright, this is a /big/ one, once we've got contact I'll fill ya in on what to expect." before she simply, lets go and plummets towards the water. "Ventis Secundis." During freefall, she's wrapped in blue-white light, and SLAMS into the water with a plume far larger than a woman of her stature should even hope to kick up. As the spray parts, and the Seaking departs back to shore, the Maiden is revealed. Sporting a backbrace bristling with gun barrels, and an olde-time style Admiral's garb from the Days of Sail, including a Tricorn that doubles as a smoke stack and AA nest, the Mighty Hood stands defiant in the storm. "Surface Radar, maintain scan. I want to know as soon as the enemy is sighted. Main Battery, load HVAP Shells and bring to bare, Secondary Battery, load HE Airburst, and watch for hostile aircraft."

    Talking to herself? Well, anyone that knows the Maidens would understand it's a side effect of their powers. Meanwhile, the Outlet surges, the boiling becoming more pronounced, before five shapes burst through the aperture. Two long, slender things shift and move to 'stand up' as spindly legs and weapon-arms emerge from the hull. Two 'Walkers'. Two smaller craft move to screen a larger one. The smaller ships seem to be much more lightly armed, but trade firepower for speed. Destroyers. The largest ship seems to have similar armament to the Walkers, but isn't standing up. It looks more heavily armoured. A Cruiser.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji does not give orders to Ryu or Teepo. For one, they're guests, and for two, he has no idea what they can actually do. When he watches Elasaid hit the water end engage her Fleed Maiden powers, he narrows his eyes slightly. "Fascinating." He summarizes, stoically, without sarcasm. Being an aerial ship, the Ame-no-Torifune engages its own scanning systems. Souji quietly offers spotting and telemetry data to Elasaid should she wish it. His systems appear to not be impeded by the self-created storm.

As the Elvari appear, Souji makes a quick estimation. "I am going to be turning the ship wide. I am unsure if they have weapons capable of dealing with aerial firepower of this scale. The ship will exchange fire with the larger craft. Valodjn, do you have anything to slow down the smaller craft to make them easier targets? Mason, are you within range?"

His movements are economical. He does not need to move to begin transferring some measure of his owm magical power into the ship, providing direction and charging the lightning cannons. The Ame-no-Torfune breaks to one side, preparing to engage in an aerial lightning broadside upon the Cruiser. If the Destroyers get in the way, better for them all. When they fire, the lightning cannons fire a powerful, crackling charge that shears from the sky like a directed thunderbolt.

Grant Mason (667) has posed:
    The smaller walkers look like they would be easier targets to go after first. Then they can deliver larger firepower to the bigger ones. Grant Mason's armor shifts it's position to line up with the smaller craft, as the weapon in his hands trains on them. Once the weapon opens up, it roars like the dragon it's named after, unleashing the fury of it's namesake towards the closest of the walkers.

    "I'm always in range." Mason replies to Souji as he unleashes hell. Tracers from the weapon light up the sky as he fires, an impressive rate of fire, though not quite up to par with the rotary cannon that he replaced with this. Still, the larger caliber and heavy impacting explosive shells make up for the difference in fire rate.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
Artyom does not comment on the sudden appearance of the Fleet Girl- nor does he elucidate any particular thoughts on the enemy formation. Instead, his brow furrows as he unslings his weapon, casting a thoughtful glance to his commander- and a curious look to the two guests aboard the Torifune. "I have... ideas. But it will take me some time," Artyom rumbles, his offhand rubbing at his chin. "These... Oceans- they have a floor, yes?"

Slowly, he nods, "Some time. I will need to get closer. Will maintain radio contact."

    And then, Artyom... grimaces, before pitching himself bodily off the airship's side. He pivots, shifting his mass onto the blade's rather sizable flat. With another shift of stance, the weapon catches on the Torifune's dense halo of thunderclouds, carrying a contrail of the dark vapor downward as Artyom sails toward the central cruiser. He whips a small pouch of... /something/ off his belt, hurling it into the air aglow with emerald-and-golden energies. The pouch shudders, then rapidly expands into a mass of tangled roots and vines. He smashes into the net, then carries downward toward the ship below...

He really hopes he makes shipfall. Otherwise, this could be... Bad.

Teepo (668) has posed:
    Hood's voice on the local radio gets Teepo's attention, and he nods. "Right. Let us know how to kill 'em, too," he says in response. Elasaid's splashdown is noted, and he blinks when she reappears as she does. His reaction's pretty subdued, though. "...Huh." It IS a pretty fascinating thing to see, truth be told. Whether he hears Hood talking to herself or not, he doesn't comment on it. He's a jerk, but now's not the time to be one.

    Souji may not be giving them orders, but Teepo's listening to what he's saying to his associates. Mainly because he doesn't want to end up in somebody's crossfire. Knowing where they're going to be is a good step to making sure that doesn't happen. Because these ship-going guys are quite literally firing the big guns, and a shotgun and a pistol ain't gonna match it.

    To make up for it, Teepo fires at the smaller ships, those that are faster but less heavily armored. Big giant cannons may be too slow to hit the smaller ones. His guns aren't just normal guns, though. The shotgun belches a fiery projectile, while the pistol spits an icy one. They're about the size of a normal shotgun/pistol round, but they're elemental-- fire and ice.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    "Got it," Ryu replies in simple confirmation to Elesaid's words over the radio, while he stares down at the turbulent water. Tension sets in his jaw as the Elvari ships emerge and their appearances look nothing like something he can easily identify... far too alien to be confident in what each ship can do. Still, he makes a guess and turns most of his attention to the Walkers.

    When Souji's ship turns, he adjusts his footing and moves to find a better vantage in accordance to how the airship moves. Apparently he picked a bad spot to stand. As he moves, while light shimmers down both of his arms and collects in that oversized handgun he's lugging around. Once he reaches his new spot, the light he had built up collects at the mouth of the firearm, forming a halo, and leaving a trail of light as he adjusts his aim.

    He fires a single shot. Normally his weapon is just a fire-based gun, like Teepo's, but this shot is imbued with Light magic! It turns into a beam of light that streaks through the air toward the main body of one of the Walkers. The halo remains in front of his weapon as he recovers from the recoil and prepares for his next shot.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    The Elvari are met by a hail of gunfire from the Golem. This is joined by the roar of eight cannons spewing forth their shells. The Lightning Cannons lash out at the Cruiser, their energy arcing out and striking at the other ships in close formation. Teepo's shots find their marks, as does the beam from Ryu. All these hit, are a previously invisible energy field that domes over the craft, causing spiderweb fractures to appear at the impact points. Artyom's descent is interrupted by the same barrier, if he's able to pick up elemental signals, it's Earth element.

    "The Walkers have as much firepower as the Cruiser, but their Barrier and Armour are thinner. Aim for the legs, the joints are weakpoints." Elasaid's voice has a prim British accent now, instead of the harsher Scottish one from before. "The Destroyers are designed with anti-aircraft in mind. Be careful of their pulse batteries. The Cruiser is their heaviest standard ship next to a Battleship. Its armour and Barrier are tough and it packs two heavy Beam Cannons Fore and Aft. If you see an orange light building, aim for it to try and disable the dynamo system, that should cause it to overload and detonate." Info dump complete, the resounding CLANK of her turrets reloading marks her firing again, aiming at the closest walker.

    Amidst this, the Elvari deploy their weapons, the hardpoints folding out of the hulls along sides and atop. THe Destroyers don't have a heavy cannon, instead they bristle with smaller pulse batteries. THese aim upwards at the Airship, and spit forth cold-light laser blasts. The Walkers have these too, but they aim for the others, Teepo and Ryu, as well as Artyom. The Walkers have their Heavy Cannons on their hulls, between the three upper arms with one between them. Small dynamo-like mechanisms begin to spin up, gathering energy for a shot. Same goes with the Cruiser's forward cannon, as it rotates into position at the shoreline.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji nods definitively as he hears what's up with the various models. The important information of the local anti-air presence gives him a moment of forewarning before the pulse laser batteries smash into the Ame-no-Torifune. It is not as fast as most planes, but it is more durable. This doesn't keep the aggregate from blowing away a good shunk of the hull, however, shattering it in spiralling bits of trailing magic and shattered energy matrices. The ship lurches, Souji himself smoothly compensating for it to remain standing. He glances over to Ryu and Teepo, noting their elemental ammunition and arching an eyebrow. He holds his hands outwards and gestures, his hand cutting through the air and describing a new course through the air. The ship banks, trying to turn out of the anti-air batteries. "Mason. Valodjn. I need you to disable that anti-air ASAP. The Ame-no-Torifune will sustain unacceptable levels of damage if we keep trading hits like that." His voice is cold and commanding, the tension rising as he focuses on dealing with this unusual take on naval combat. The ship cannot fire directly upon the Cruiser as it banks, the lightning cannons attempting to gain a better firing arc and settling for trying to his the faster Destroyers for the moment.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
    Under ordinary circumstances, flying directly into a barrier would lead to some very unfortunate times. Depending on the type of shield, it could reduce him to a fine cloud of dust, squash him like a pancake, or even tear him into a fine, spaghetti-like mist! Today, Artyom lucked out in a very big way.

Three things happen in very quick sequence as the Titan collides with the barrier.

First: The shield flares, burning brightly around him as the magic gathers to halt his advance.

Second: Artyom feels something /blast/ up through his legs. It's a familiar feeling. A comfortable feeling. Immediately he recognizes it- the elemental power of Earth and Stone, pouring up the blade underfoot and up into his legs.

Third: PULSE CANNONS begin bombarding him, even as Artyom and the Rock hover in mid-air, apparently caught on the barrier, hanging there like a spike jutting from a cavern floor. Artyom growls as the energy blasts smash into his lightly armored skin, leaving streaks of scalded and blistering flesh in their wake.

    But even as the bombardment continues, the Titan and the Rock lurch through the Cruiser's barrier. The energy field flickers, fading and dying as it's drained up into the heavy blade and its master. Artyom grunts as the power blasts into his chest, threatening to shatter his very skeletal structure. Blasts of energy continue to burn his flesh, as the situation begins to devolve-- quickly.

And then Artyom has an... Idea.

    His lips curl into a defiant grin as he weaves his hands into the gathering halo of tellurian force. He seizes upon the pattern still lingering within the barrier itself- it is Of Earth, it is as kin to him. He learns it, internalizes it, and then fills himself with it. Suddenly, the air around Artyom EXPLODES with light. The shield fails completely as the Titan drops into the Cruiser like a falling meteorite. The blade drives into the ship's decks, cleaving a long trench into the surface.

    Artyom dismounts, his body still burning with the power of the Earth- there is a barrier surrounding /him/ now, even as the remaining energy surges through his muscles and bones. He leans down, hefting his weapon over one shoulder and presses a finger to the communicator in his ear.

"I have made contact," Artyom says, mirth in his voice. He moves toward the formations of anti-aircraft guns, and immediately begins swinging his great stone blade at whatever might get in his way, "Attacking anti-air units. Stay safe, command."

Grant Mason (667) has posed:
    Right, change focus to the anti air. That he can do. Grant Mason's focus turns from the smaller walker until he spots the anti-air weapons. The cannon again winds up, and unleashes that weapons fire after the anti-air batteries. With Artyom removing the shield with his massive strike, this should enable the Golem to finish the job with the exploding ordinence being fired from his massive cannon.

    He is careful to keep an eye on the big cannon, though. The last thing he wants is to be in the way of that one, as that would most likely end up testing the upper limits of the survivability of the Golem armor, and that's not something he was wanting to do today. For now, though, his fire ceases for a brief moment as he finishes off the first drum of ammo and quickly reloads, resuming fire with barely a pause.

Teepo (668) has posed:
    Teepo tries to duck as many of the shots first at him as possible. But despite his best efforts, one gets too close to him, tearing his jacket at his his upper arm. He ducks behind cover (gotta be something he can duck behind), holstering a gun to clap a hand over the injury. "OW! Son of a..." He trails off, grumbling something that's probably better not heard anyway. It's a very rude statement, as might be guessed.

    With a growl, Teepo bursts back out of cover. As he moves, magic gathers before his hand in a ball of purple-white 'static'. That is definitely magic, and it's not healing. And as he faces the Walkers, he growls out, "Take THIS!" Then he draws his hand back to hit the ball of static. It pops like a soap bubble, with a soft 'whsshk!'

    But that's not all that happens. A collection of orbs start falling over the walkers, strobing between yellow and orange. They hit the water's surface... AND START EXPLODING! They're like exploding domes of magical hot air. And they probably hurt A LOT!

    And then... Teepo hits the deck on his knees, panting. Give him a minute, he needs to remember not to fall on his face. Probably shouldn't have used so much mana at once.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    The spiderwebbing cracks in the shielding of the enemy craft frustrate Ryu something fierce. He was hoping to actually HIT the thing, not hit some sort of magic wall. Cursing under his breath, he tries to adjust his aim to further weaken or break the barrier, his face tightening into a grimace when he sees the weapons aiming up at both him and Teepo. He knows that it's going to hurt once they get shot.

    The dragon doesn't stop shooting. More beams of light blast from the handgun, accompanied by kicks that force him to readjust his aim each time. It's a powerful weapon, but not one designed to deal with threats of this scale. It's probably why he's using his magic in combination with it. This makes him a depressingly easy target to hit, though, and one of the Pulse Lasers graze him while he's trying to avoid it. The shout of pain he makes is more like the squeal of a dragon, his eyes flashing with light as he fights against an instinct to transform due to the pain.

    Once he regains his senses, he's trying to adjust his aim for the weakpoints in the Walker he's firing at, but the wound he just got is making that even harder.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    The Cruiser lurches as the Barrier fails and a gaping hole is struck in its superstructure, the armour rent in twain by the massive impact. Most of the pulse guns can't traverse that far in, and can't depress enough to hit a human-size target actually ON the ship, and the other craft daren't fire for fear to striking their ally... so Artyom is free to wreak havoc with the Cruiser as he deems fit. Better be careful of Grant's explosive slugs though, they're peppering the armour and striking at the Pulse batteries with destructive force! One slug scores a lucky hit, and slams into the spinning dynamo of the forward cannon. IT grinds to a halt, squealing with that high-pitched metal against metal sound, before the unit explodes violently, sending the entire cannon assembly soaring into the air to splash down into the water about thirty feet away from the ship. The Cruiser begins to list to the right, water pouring into a hull breach beneath the waterline... then a resonant CLACLUNK can be felt through the hull by Artyom, and a high-speed 'pod' launches out of an aft chute and back into the Stream. The Cruiser goes dead in the water and begins to very slowly sink.

    The Destroyers continue to fire at all targets they can find, aiming at the airship, but also pelting Elasaid with their cold-light pulses. They're more Kinetic impacts than anything, like 'energy bullets'. However, the one targetted by the Lightning Cannons can't stand up to the force. Its Barrier shatters like glass, and the rest of the charge surges through the metal frame of the ship, causing the turrets to twitch and short out, smoke rising from many of them. It doesn't begin to sink, but should be easy pickings for any of the others to finish off.

    The Walker that Teepo and Ryu are attacking begins to show signs of wear. It's been advancing on the shore the entire time, but its Barrier is beginning to fail, holes appearing where the energy isn't strong enough to reform the field, jagged edges like broken glass around them. Ryu gets a lucky shot, and severs one of the tripod legs at the knee joint, making the thing wobble as it's forced to stop... but it instead lowers a little to stabilize, then fires twin beams of searing hot red laser at the shoreline.

    Elasaid anticipated this and has moved between the Walker and its target, arms outstretched in front of her. As the beams lance out, they impact a giant, glowing /wall/ of blue-white light which actually pushes Elasaid back on the water a little, her legs causing little bow wakes as she's forced back. "NOT TODAY! MY ARMOUR IS UNBREAKABLE!" she roars defiantly over the din of the beams, until the dynamo wears down and the beams cease... that's when the other walker aims and fires at Elasaid herself, taking advantage of her weakened position.

    The Maiden grunts, but her Barrier Armour begins to fail, chunks coming free and that angry red light burning into her equipment, it shears off one turret whole, and causes the Maiden to 'list' to port as it burns into her left leg... but she holds firm.

    She pants over comms. "Finish them off! They'll need time to reload the cannons... do not let them get another chance or the city will be heavily damaged."

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
The walker, once it fires, is then bombarded by Teepo's spell. The Barrier shatters, and the hull begins to dent and melt from the combined impact of Air and Fire elements. The behemoth teeters, then begins to topple over, as it too ejects a pod, before the Cannons detonate, far less violently now they're discharged. The Walker splashes down, and sinks beneath the surface. Two down, three to go.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji continues to observer the churning below. The ship sails, banking as several shots spang off of the Runic spires at the back. The shots absorb into the tines, crackling as they fuel the ships' energy reserves. Souji grimaces. As useful as it is, it is just a lucky happenstance the magical attack struck them. There's still far more firing and shearing through the air around them. Several shots blast upwards across the deck, and Souji leans to one side, one of the Pulse Blasts missing him by a foot. The wash of its passing scorches him slightly, but he refuses to yield ground. "Tch." He hisses, the light of the beam cannon firing drawing his attention...

And Elasaid absorbing the strike. He pauses, his glasses flickering with HUD information as he ponders this turn of events, and mentally files away the ability of Elasaid to tank such attacks.

In the meantime, the Ame-no-Torifune, still drawing the attention of the Destroyers, causes the ship to use an unsuual tactic. "This isn't how I prefer to operate, but you are giving me no choice." He gestures, pushing his palms downwards, and the airship begins descending... And begins settling into the water.

Apparently, it can handle floating just fine. The Lightning Cannons are harder to use this low, however, as the ship is designed for aerial engagement. This doesn't keep him from using half of them, however, as he turns broadside to one of the Destroyers and unleashes several blasts of lightning from the cannons. "It's time to end this." He stops the assault as soon as Artyom begins his own attack on the Destroyer.

Ryu (636) has posed:
    The enemy numbers dwindle. This bolsters Ryu's confidence, the pained look on his face fading in favor of the more determined and stony one he was showing earlier. The positive emotion lets him ignore the ache in one of his arms, and the blood from the wound the shot caused dripping down his arm is ignored as well. It ripped into his skin and caused some damage, more than it might've done to other Elites, but he's durable enough to have avoided being maimed.

    Ryu has taken to using one hand to fire the handgun and the other to brace his firing arm. He runs low on mana for firing more of that light magic, so he switches it up to firing plain fire rounds at the remaining Walker. Bursts of fire would impact the shield repeatedly as Ryu tries to hit those limb joints like before, trying to weaken the barrier on the specific spots that would make it easier to hit the Walker.

    Each shot is accompanied by a grunt as the pain shoots through his arm, and once an inhuman growl escapes him from a stronger jolt of agony through his arm when he braces the recoil wrong.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
    Explosions rock the Cruiser's hull even as its heavy metal structure begins to fail under the sustained assault mounted against it. Artyom lifts his massive blade from a ruined bank of anti-air cannons as one of Grant's explosve rounds air-bursts nearby. He grimaces as the blast of heat and shrapnel pounds into his makeshift barrier, tearing through several layers at once. He'll need to talk to someone about collateral damage sometime soon.

    But Grant's attacks are relatively low on Artyom's list of things to worry about. Topping that is instead the fact that the cruiser is apparently sinking. It seems that they've put enough holes in the thing that it can't help but take on water anymore. The question remains, then, how is it that he's going to get from over here to the remaining destroyer?

Artyom thinks for a moment, pondering the flickering golden aura arcing between his fingertips.

Yet another brilliant plan hatches in his brain. Artyom smirks- another terrible sign.

    He scrambles up the structure of the listing ship, endeavoring to get as high up as he possibly can before the vessel sinks completely. Several pouches are snapped off his bandolier as he mounts the ship's smoldering bridge. His grip tightens painfully around the pouches, forcing the lingering dregs of his terran overcharge into their contents. Then, he hurls them into the air in front of him. The ship lurches dangerously underfoot, threatening to pitch him overboard, even as the combination of soil and seeds fuse into a brilliant golden trail that seems to hang static in mid-air. Great buttresses of stone and clay and wood drive downward, seeking the distant sea floor deep below. Artyom roars as he leaps atop the slope- and his blade and begins... Surfing.

Or perhaps he's sledding?

    In either case, Artyom rides boldly toward the remaining Destroyer, using the tip of his blade as a battering ram in the hopes of plowing through /its/ barrier just like he penetrated the Cruiser's!

Teepo (668) has posed:
    Teepo's a little too preoccupied with trying to remember how to breathe without falling on his face to come to Ryu's defense as the other dragon is hit by that laser. The squeak draws his gaze up and towards Ryu quickly. "Ryan?!" It's not until he sees that Ryu's not dead that he reacts. "You're a sitting duck, Ryan! MOVE a little, jeez!" Though the outburst fades quickly-- Ryu should remember that from their time as kids, too.

    And sure enough, Teepo quickly turns his attention-- and his anger-- to the Elvaari again. "Grr... these damn... things," he manages, still weak from the spell. He's getting his energy back, though.

    Elasaid's directive to finish the ships off quickly gets a huff from Teepo. Surprisingly, a reddish, steam-like puff of mist whooshes out with this huff of breath. "Right then. Finish it quick." He steps back, so there's room. Looks at Ryu. "Observe! THIS is how you get the job done quick."

    Ryu probably knows what he's about to do.

    Blue fire seems to erupt from under Teepo, obscuring him. The flames freeze, and then shatter. What shatters the frozen flames is not Teepo. It's a six and a half foot bipedal lizard creature with purple scales and skin, an orange, plated underbelly, and horns. One of its horns is bigger than the other. The creature has no wings, and its arms are almost gorilla-like in proportion to the rest of its body.
    "Like THIS!" The creature's voice seems like two male voices speaking, a fiery-sounding demonic voice and a colder, sinister one. And with this, he LEAPS onto the nearest one of the ships. This is probably a really stupid move and he knows it. But he's breathing fire the whole way.

Grant Mason (667) has posed:
    Well here we go again. Reloading the drum on his cannon once more, Grant is amazed when he watches Elasaid take the shot from that cannon by herself. He makes a note not to try to take her on directly with that sort of ability, as he shifts his weight on the tower and turns towards the other destroyer. With the first one dead in the water and sinking, he'll have to lay into the second one with the same intensity.

    Hoping that Artyom's trick works a second time and these strange ships aren't adaptable to their attacks, Grant begins to fire as soon as his cohort nears the ship's shield. His own shots will undoubtedly impact the shield and help to weaken it for Artyom, and once the shield is down, will rain down on those same points he struck last time, trying to bring the Dragon's full fury to bear on those weapons systems to destroy them on the second ship, the same way he did for the first.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Elasaid remains defiantly standing between the shore and the remaining Walker. Her remaining turrets traverse grindingly... she might have been able to tank those beams, but she's paying for it. "First and Second main gun. Volley fire!" Six reports, and six shells slam into the walker, breaching the barrier along with Ryu's attacks. One shell gets past the outer layer, and slams into one of the cannons as it's recharging, causing it to instantly detonate and make the entire thing stagger to one side. Ryu's shots hit the knee joins on two of its legs, which make them seize up as it's trying to correct its topple. It fails, and begins to fall over, ejecting its pilot in that high-speed pod.

    Teepo slams into the crippled destroyer, melted plating under foot from the firebreath. He tears into it, causing a small detonation from somewhere within the craft. THe Pod doesn't eject, but the ship is now very clearly sinking... perhaps the eject function failed.

    The remaining Destroyer begins backing off, turning about to try and fleet back into the Stream, but it's caught full broadside by the lightning cannons from Souji's ship. This gives Artyom enough time to drain the Barrier, and start chopping away at the smaller craft.

    "GET CLEAR! Torpedo deck. Fire all tubes." she commands, lifting her bracers and launching four rippling energy blasts that travel relatively slowly, but fast enough to catch the crippled Destroyer. They detonate violently, ripping holes in the hull of the craft, and causing the auto-eject to trigger, launching the pilot out of their craft and into the Stream again.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
    The destroyer's barrier drains away into Artyom's great stone blade and up into his body. He feels the strength of the earth pour into the reservoir of his soul, threatening to burst its banks even as the last of the sheild flickers and dissolves into glimmering motes. The rock skids to a stop on the destroyer's deck, allowing Artyom to hop off and immediately start going to town on the retreating vessel.

    Unfortunately, it's about then that the torpedos hit. Artyom is slammed into the ship's superstructure, grunting as he recoils from the impact- the glowing barrier surrounding him absorbed most of the impact, but a bit of bruising isn't the problem, here. Even as the smoke rises from the busted gun emplacements and water floods the compartments below, Artyom realizes that he's in more than just a little trouble.

Specifically, he's on a sinking ship in the middle of a vast ocean, with an actual boulder strapped to his shoulders. Coming to this realization atop a mess of twisted metal, Artyom's lips twist downward into a frown.

"Command," he says into his communicator, "I require retrieval." Artyom pauses as the vessel lurches. "I do not think I can swim with my sword on my back."

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu turns his head in bewilderment as Teepo shows concern for him-- he blinks once or twice at the chiding he receives, too, an almost cartoonish level surprise shown on his face. He actually smiles awkwardly in the other dragon's direction, as if apologizing toward Teepo with a look. He knows that Teepo's unlikely to actually be angry, if that's what he's saying.

    Ryan -- that is, Ryu -- looks off toward the Walker he was shooting at and watches as it topples, then back over to Teepo. Transforming is a sight that makes Ryu uneasy, a frown showing on his face from that unsettling voice Teepo gets in that form of his. He follows the purple dragon's path through the air with his eyes, and winces when the dragon impacts the destroyer and demolishes it.

    The Walker topples in the distance, so Ryu lets out a puff of a sigh, holstering his handgun. He places a hand on his bloodied wound to check on it, stepping away from the edge of the deck to find somewhere to sit, his other hand finding a handhold. The rest of the trip, he's making a face, until he can get on solid ground and get back to Medical to check on the wound he sustained.

Teepo (668) has posed:
    Teepo's now on a sinking ship! But... something happened differently with this one than the others. That shooting thing didn't happen. Teepo pauses a moment to blow an icy mist onto his hand-claws, and then tries to dig through the metal, melted and otherwise. He's obscenely strong in this form by human standards. And if there's something-- or someONE-- still in the ship, he's going to try to dig for it and drag it out!

    Oh but he's not going to just do that. As he tries to tear the metal out of the way, he snarls in that double-toned voice, "Knock-KNOCK! DRAGON'S calling!"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The Ame-no-Torifune banks away, giving Elsaid plenty of room to torpedo the craft. Souji has no intention to cause a friendly fire incident. However, when Teepo invokes his draconic form, this is the first time Souji blinks and takes a step, finally breaking his seemingly impossible position on the ship. His hand strays near the blade at his side, but it simply rests there as he watches the exchange between the pair intently. He does not comment, however, instead turning to walk towards the side rail of the ship to look out towards the Sad Artyom In Water. He holds out a hand, and channels some of his remaining magical energy. "Float." He simply prounounces, and the Time Magic flares around Artyom, buoying him up into the air. He's not going to like it, but it'll get him back on the ship with more dignity than trying to haul the Titanic up with a lasso. "All enemy contacts neutralized. Damage has been kept within reasonable levels. Mason. Valodjn. Good work."

Souji looks over at Ryu speculatively, and then over to the raging Teepo as the ship begins taking a course back towards LAX.

Elasaid Hood (359) has posed:
    Elasaid sighs in relief. She turns and wades back towards shore, 'limping' a little and not getting as much speed as she could. Once on dry land, she dismisses her Deployment, and radios for the Seaking to pick her up. After that, she chimes in over local comms. "Thank ye. All 'o' ye. I'd've been hard pressed te handle 'em meself."

    Teepo digs through to the pilots pod, and finds the entire area scrapped. There's gooey red stains on some parts... looks like the poor bastard didn't make it.

Artyom W. Valodjn (665) has posed:
Artyom is rescued! But not in the way that he particularly appreciates. The Titan begins gently floating off the ground! He flails in place just a bit as he's suddenly severed from soild, sinking deck. After a moment, he realizes that he can actually kind of walk through the air, and immediately begins making his way back to the Torifune.

"Indeed," Artyom says as he moves up through the Torifune's halo of stormclouds. "...Many thanks for the rescue, sir," he nods, sounding more than slightly uncomfortable about the whole 'floating' situation.

He looks toward Hood, then, and presses a finger to his communicator, "It was no trouble. Just a day's work."

Teepo (668) has posed:
    ...Ew. Teepo wrinkles his nose at the sight of the gooey red stuff. "Blasted right to paste. Almost feel sorry for ya, ya poor sap." Pause. Then he crows, "NOT!"

    Well, he's not getting anything else from being on the ship. Hopefully he can make the jump back onto Souji's ship before it sails out of range. If not he'll swim; he does have very large, very powerful arms like this. Not having wings is something he's going to have to figure out how to rectify.

    ANYWAY. He'll probably be able to get back onto the ship. Flames appear around him again, freeze, and shatter, revealing his human form. And he sighs deeply. "Whew!" Then he straightens and grins towards Ryu. "See? That's how it's done!"

Ryu (636) has posed:
    Ryu looks up from where he's sitting to Teepo only when he's addressed directly, again seeming confused. The stare is maintained for a while... and then he only has a single reply to Teepo, pretty much the only thing he's said the entire time. His tone is tired and serious, lacking any sort of humor on the subject.

    "I prefer not to do that." This confirms to anyone listening that he can turn into a dragon like that. He goes on to say, "You may enjoy it, but I don't like the idea of looking like something said to gobble people up when they get lost in dark forests."

    He quirks a corner of his mouth. "Thanks for helping with this," he says, finally, and just looks away and focuses on not biting anyone head's off due to the discomfort of his wound.