1502/Automated Assassin VIII

Automated Assassin VIII
Date of Scene:	05 February 2015
Location:	Great Ocean - Northern Loop
Synopsis:	Darwin is targeted by the eight of the Collective's mysterious assassins.
Cast of Characters:	494, 596

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Samar (494) has posed:
    Iron Bottom Sound: a large stretch of ocean whose dark depths are home to the dozens of ships and planes sacrificed to the efforts of war. Their twisted wreckage is a breeding ground for Abyssals many years after the war that sunk them, and in the darkness dance lights of red, yellow, green, and blue as the many ghostly abominations of flesh and metal weave through the mangled wrecks of so many dead vessels they now call their homes and former bodies.

    The Seaport Princess, however, often finds herself wishing for quieter spaces in the ocean's cold embrace. More inclined to solitude and silence, Darwin often finds herself wandering out of the shipwrecks to the more open darkness, where unseen but harmless creatures live and thrive. This time, she's even come without her mechanical 'dock' base, instead gently swimming along on her own and letting her heavy metal claws drag through the water beside her.

    Even then, however, she still has some protection. The Escort Fortress stays close beside her as she floats so far away from Iron Bottom Sound, but still in sight of its flickering lights. The three white orbs broken by toothy mouths that belch torrents of red steam and heat bob nearby, following along and fulfilling their purpose as Darwin seeks the quiet.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Sadly, Darwin is not destined for a quiet day today. Ever since her participation at operation Black Seas, something has been plotting for a day like this, just like any other. A shadow follows her in the water, though it casts none of its own without the light of the sun at its back. Even after disengaging its active camouflage, still effective underwater, its dull black hull is barely visible in the ocean's darkened depths. The pressure at this altitude doesn't seem to bother it either, cutting through the water at a more than reasonable pace despite its lack of supernatural affinity for the seas. After Darwin is a sufficient distance from the rest of the inhabitants of Iron Bottom, and once it drops her camo, she is seemingly deliberately given about a minute to clue into its presence.

    The craft is roughly half the size of a modern fighter jet, though its profile looks like more of that of an especially large manta ray, horned intake and all, save for its slightly reverse swept wings. It is even followed by a tail of sorts, though it is more of a set of streaming ribbons than a single limb. It makes practical no noise, making it completely inaudible at the distance it follows of roughly a hundred meters above Darwin. It makes no overtly hostile moves until either she has noticed it, or exactly a minute has passed.

Samar (494) has posed:
    Darwin isn't equipped with the active radar or sonar of some of her more battle-ready sisters. Indeed, she's less aware than most of things that may be trying to assault her, denied any sort of mechanical or supernatural sense and designed only to support and destroy. She seems not to notice anything wrong...but, fortunately, that's what the Escort Fortress is here for.

    Like rabid hounds barely restrained by their master, the trio of orbs constantly remain on the lookout in all directions for any potential threat to the Princess they follow. When the craft finally drops its camoflage, they soon notice it and immediately give mechanical snarls of wariness and threat. /That/ is what gets Darwin's attention: the Princess stops her floating to glance aside at the Escort Fortress, then quickly follows their gaze up to the ship coasting through the water.

    Darwin is one of the very few Abyssals who doesn't remain hostile to outside forces. With a frown, she instead shifts back behind the Escort Fortress and warily keeps her gaze on the ship that's barely seen in the darkness. No aggressive gestures are made on her part, aside from the snarling of the Escort Fortress, but she definitely doesn't seem /comfortable/ with the ship's presence. Is this what Kongou and Nozomi warned her about?

Zwei (596) has posed:
    This is most definitely what Kongou and Nozomi warned her about. The Type-8 Anti-Abyssal Arma has a significantly more signature style than a few of the other assassin units, being much closer to an existing Collective military design. It already looks like something made by the same people as the corvette with its organic slopes and sharp lines, even before it begins to act. Gold lights run in tiny rivulets along its hull, coalescing into a single point between the two horns at its forefront, remaining as a sizzling beacon in the dark. It banks sharply, moving through the water like an extremely agile fighter craft in the air, swiftly picking up speed as it circles around Darwin once, and then dives towards her.

    The steady glow at the front bursts into a stream of smaller lights, streaking through the water like bullets and impacting the sea floor with muffled, explosive thumps. Even under such pressure, the explosions are impressive, visibly cavitating the water with flashes of white fire as it fuses the hydrogen and oxygen. The line of fire strafes over her like an attack run on a tank column, aiming more generally rather than specifically for her main body or her escort fortress, before the craft quickly peels away.

Samar (494) has posed:
    Ever prepared to guard its charge even with its life, the Escort Fortress keeps its trio of orbs placed between Darwin and the craft as it picks up speed and moves into action. Those streaking lights may not be aimed for her specifically, but the Fortress goes active nonetheless, pulsing a brief shield to life around Darwin to protect from the flaring explosions that crash into the ocean floor, and Darwin herself ducks her tall frame down to make sure she provides a smaller target in the first place.

    The moment the explosions stop, Darwin is up again, glaring across at the craft as it passes over. "...go," she quietly orders the Fortress, and it obeys. The trio of orbs fly back and open their mouths, gathering up energy in their throats that makes their crimson glow all the more intense and sends black ichor drooling between their teeth. Finally, the energy is released in a way these people might find familiar: swirling beams of negative energy, packing with them an explosive force on impact as the Escort Fortress trails the banking craft.

    Unfortunately, Darwin realizes her disadvantage here. She lacks her full dock, and even if she had it, an Abyssal ship's artillery simply doesn't work properly underwater. She's going to have to rely on what the Escort Fortress can do for her, unless she thinks of something quickly...

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The first of the beams directly impacts the underwater fighter craft, where the water pulses visibly with the split second formation of an energy shield, slightly easier to see in underwater rather than above the surface. The signature is unmistakably Collective, as if it wasn't obvious enough already. As the second and third beams approach however, the Arma ducks into a tight, lightning fast, diving barrel roll, deftly evading them with superior mobility. It continues to pick up speed, starting to reach a pace where the water compresses before it and bubbles behind it, giving it a strangely arrow-like profile.

    It comes back around for a second pass, this time deliberately aiming at Darwin's main body. The attack window is even shorter this time, presenting even less time where it moves in a straight line and would be easier to hit. The raiser bolts strafe across the ocean floor directly into her path, but this time, the hull lights join together at the bottom of its hull, activating a second weapon that drops like a bomb. The explosion is much more impressive than the main cannon, shattering the stone and coral and sending pieces of it flying skyward in slow motion arcs, kicking up an enormous fountain of dust. The radius of it is fairly limited due to the dilatant shock hitting the water, but even at this pressure, it's far more impressive than even a modern munition.

Samar (494) has posed:
    Eventually, the Escort Fortress has to stop pouring out that energy in a single burst. Even it has its limits, after all, and when the discharge ceases, the orbs are left drooling ichor and staring after the ship as they prepare for whatever the Arma's next attack might be.

    They're not quite prepared enough.

    The ship is swifter and more destructive than any vessels the Abyssals were spawned from. While they still gain the brunt of their power from their unwavering grudge, it's difficult for Darwin and the Fortress to adjust to, as the Arma is more swift and mobile than their usual enemies. Too slow to get out of the way or block the raiser bolts, Darwin is silently surrounded by explosions that she can only spare herself from by raising her heavy arms around her. And then that second weapon drops, with just enough of a delay that the Fortress can react to spare its precious Princess. The orbs shift, and the tremendous explosion consumes Darwin in burning and debris.

    Or, at least, it seems so. When the explosion's aftermath settles, Darwin is encased in the shield of the Escort Fortress that flickers out just a moment later. The orbs are twisted and broken, steaming and leaking ichor from places beyond just their mouths, but they're holding up...if only partially. Darwin herself has suffered bloodless lascerations and burns from the raiser bolts, but at least she's been spared the brunt of the damage from the bomb.

    As Darwin lowers her arms, she becomes very aware that she just can't stay here alone. She has to get help somehow, and to that end, she starts swimming off toward Iron Bottom Sound that still gleams in the distance. The Escort Fortress, sensing her choice, takes up the rear, belching out a series of torpedoes that stream through the water after the Arma as it no doubt tries to pursue them. Each one, despite its size, holds the same force that a battleship would drop to rupture through another ship's hull, detonating with an explosive turbulence in the water if they manage to strike. Darwin, however, isn't a very fast swimmer; if speed is all she can rely on to retreat, then the Arma is no doubt going to overtake her.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The Arma is both aggressive and relentless. Still accelerating, the water around it bursts as it achieves transsonic 'flight', making an odd, asymmetrical cone of rushing transparency around it that makes it appear as if it really is flying through air. It wheel sharply in place, turning a tiny hairpin as it uses the drag of the water against its flat top and bottom surfaces to anchor its axis on sideways turns. Just as Darwin expects, it dives back in on her for another run, heedles to the torpedoes flying its way. It elevates over the first one, then rolls halfway across to let the second slip past it, though it fails to completely dodge the third at its absurd velocity, taking the brunt of the explosion on its shield which knocks it off course.

    It goes careening over Darwin's head, just barely out of alignment to shoot at her for the precious seconds it takes to circle back for another run. Every step of the way it flies over her, harassing with its main cannon and intermittently dropping bombs every few runs, harrying her like a deadly bird of prey. The ocean floor is littered with craters several meters deep, following the Abyssal's progress back to her home. It seems determined to eliminate her before she can retreat to the heart of Iron Bottom Sound, but her durability makes it a test of firepower and endurance rather than raw skill.

Samar (494) has posed:
    Explosions rupture the ocean floor and prevent Darwin from making a beeline straight for the safety of her base. She weaves, banks, and twirls, but she just doesn't have the same mobility as some of her sisters. The Escort Fortress frequently needs to shift into position to set up a shield, and even then its main orbs are quickly suffering the brunt of the main cannon's discharge. One of them is finally pushed past its limits by a direct shot, sending it tumbling along the ocean floor in a decimated wreck. Darwin at least manages to avoid the main impact of those slightly slower bombs, but as the Escort Fortress bounces between firing torpedoes and putting up sheilds, she finds herself being knocked and tumbled around by the kinetic blasts themselves.

    Finally, a too-close bomb detonation sends her out of her controlled swim and sends her rolling along the murky ocean floor. She's forced to dig her claws into the earth to keep from floating away too far, dragging her to a halt eventually. Her form ripped and torn with a strange lack of blood, she winces silently and forces herself up again as she looks up at the Arma.

    Running just isn't working. The Escort Fortress is trying its best, but it's going to falter soon. Darwin may not have her full arsenal, but maybe...

    As the Arma continues to trail her, Darwin crouches and brings up her claws. Her expression hardened in a frown, she waits for only a few more moments...then kicks off, leaping up toward the approaching craft and thrusting her massive, sharp claws toward it. Despite her timidness, she has remarkable physical strength, and she uses pushes that to its limit in her attempt to use the Arma's speed against it!

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Seeing Darwin making a beeline for Iron Bottom Sound, where she will most certainly get reinforcements, seems to trigger a greater degree of aggression from the Type-8. It's apparently intelligent enough to anticipate her tactics and come up with its own on the fly, and so it renews its attack with increased vigor, reducing its weaving, banking and rolling to gain larger attack windows on the ocean princess in an attempt to simply destroy her before she can reach safety. It takes several torpedoes directly to the shield, an otherwise suicidal move, but one that wouldn't be done if it didn't anticipate that it could outlast her.

    Of course, what it doesn't anticipate is the tactics used by Elites when cornered. Its psychological and strategic profile of her is based entirely on operation Black Seas, where she had remain calm and composed almost the entire time, and relied on long distance firepower projection even when pushed to anger and desperation. Leaping into the way of harm and employing melee combat is a strategic oddity as far as the Arma's programming is concerned, and one it is unable to avoid at its insane cruising speed. Owing to that speed, Darwin's claws impact with incredible force -- even more than usual -- and against the already battered shield, it appears to be the last chunk necessary to take it down. The water ripples as the electromagnetic barrier pops, causing the craft to wheel off and gain distance from its adversary.

    Retreating to a greater distance doesn't seem to stop it from attacking though. Facing the opposite direction, a pair of blue-white flames light up the ocean depths, pinpointing the location of a pair of small missiles launched from inside the Arma's wings which double back in a sharp curve and streak through the water towards darwin, weaving back and forth over each other in a loose corkscrew. They swerve to land on either side of her, preventing her from dodging in either direction, and trapping her between both blast waves. The explosives are raw concussive force rather than a fusion discharge, much more conventional in nature, but equally as devestating as a much larger missile.

Samar (494) has posed:
    The heavy claws strike, and while the barrier breaks down, Darwin finds herself cast off-balance in her leap from the impact itself and the rippling destruction of the shield. She tumbles through the water as the Arma passes, until she lands hard on the murky floor again and manages to push herself back up. The Escort Fortress - the two battered orbs that remain, at least - are quick to float back toward her and flank her on either side, guarding her for the precious seconds the Arma is retreating and orienting itself again.

    And it really is only seconds, because those twisting missiles are already rushing after Darwin. There's no time to dodge, no /place/ to dodge; she can either rely on the Escort Fortress one more time, or take the blast waves on her own.

    Darwin chooses the latter.

    Her expression hardened with resolve, the Seaport Princess sends the last two orbs floating up and out of the way before they chase after the Arma again. Darwin tries to leap back as the missiles rush after her to mitigate their damage, but it doesn't do much: they strike, and Darwin is sent hurtling through the water, dizzied and stunned by the sheer force of the detonations. While not completely out, she's still when she lands on her front on the ocean floor. It's going to be a moment to get her bearings, one moment that the Escort Fortress seeks to provide.

    The twin orbs may not be as fast as the Arma, but they still give chase. Whatever they can fire, they do: repeated shots of torpedoes, brief bursts of those negative energy cannons, aimed in particular for where they suspect the engines to be and the wings sweeping to either side. Disabling the craft and preventing it from continuing to move is the first priority; if they can destroy it, that's just a very helpful bonus.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    With its shields down, the Arma doesn't seem to be in any position to continue its recklessly aggressive assault. It can't accomplish its objective if it's been destroyed afterall. On one hand, the pressure the remaining Escort Fortress applies does an admirable job of keeping it off Darwin. It fires brief snapshots in the tiny windows it gets to attack her, but is otherwise caught in an endless dance of wheeling and pitching through the water as it dodges lances of negative energy and torpedoes alike. One of the former punctures its right wing, causing it to trail something clear and viscous in the water for a few seconds before the damage is sealed off. A torpedo detonates extremely close, scorching the dorsal hull and breaking off chips of dark metal. The Type-8 momentarily abandons attacking its main target, opting to try and eliminate the Escort Fortress first. It pulls off a loop of astonishing G force, letting one go sailing under it, before firing its main cannon in a dogfight tail position, launching a second pair of missiles for the other. It's coming down to the wire, based entirely on how well the abyssal orbs can firefight.

Samar (494) has posed:
    The Escort Fortress has some advantage over Darwin in that its hovering form is more suited for quick maneuvers, and beyond that, it's currently two different targets instead of one. While not as outright swift as the Arma, the two orbs of the Fortress manage to hold their own. The first twists around once the Arma passes it and manages to put up a barrier against the main cannon that holds enough to spare it from being damaged too much further. The second ducks and banks to the side; the missiles still detonate, but at least it's not a direct hit, only damaging the determined orb and sending it tumbling away rather than outright destroying it. At least yet.

    Darwin is slowly coming to, but not quick enough to recover in time to work against the Arma. The Escort Fortress is brought to a desperate conclusion with that knowledge.

    The assault is twofold. The second orb stabilizes itself again and starts firing on the Arma again with that directed energy beam, but it's all meant to corral the ship in the direction it wants. The direction that the first orb has moved itself into, considering Darwin's own efforts a moment ago. Once the speeding ship is moving toward it thanks to the second orb's shots, the first orb will simply rush straight for it. A suicide attack, slamming into the craft with heavy, crushing weight that's swiftly followed by a grand explosion that briefly sends the ocean around it roiling with heat.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The Arma puts up an impressive fight against the Escort fortress, zipping between torpedoes, spiralling inches away from beams, and generally being an all around menace to them with its cannon fire. It dodges the first orb's beam easily, simply racing along parallel to it to outspeed its rate of turning in order to get behind the one firing. The problem in its combat planning however, is that it sticks to the known capabilities of the orbs, rather than anticipating what other surprises they can hold. It crashes into the second orb without a second thought, discharging its cannon at point blank range, confident that its advanced hull will hold out against a blunt kinetic impact of that magnitude. What it doesn't expect is the equally point blank torpedo that immediately follows.

    The torpedo crashes right through the Arma's exterior, swerves against its sleek design, and contacts the base of the outer wing, where a remaining two missiles are stored. The joint explosion blows the wing off entirely, and shreds the interior chassis with a colossal conjoined fireball of white and orange flame. The Type-8 spirals through the water, smashing hard enough into the ocean floor to crater the rock around it, where it remains still and unmoving. Finally, calculating that it is damaged beyond operational tolerances, it engages its self destruct. Rather than a flashy explosion, the thing simply begins to disintegrate, turning to an acrid black ash on the underwater currents, letting off a stream of fairly toxic semi-metals as it burns away from the tail down. Not an atom is left bound to another atom by the time it finishes. Only a slowly dispersing cloud of dust.

Samar (494) has posed:
    The orb doesn't survive the impact. Its efforts were valiant, but final: pieces of metal littering the ocean floor are all that remain of it. Fortunately, that's the last of the Arma, too, and the final orb of the Escort Fortress stares eyelessly at the disintegrating ship before it's content that the offending vessel is destroyed.

    Without another sound, the last remaining orb floats over to Darwin and carefully nudges her back into consciousness, eventually grabbing her shirt between its teeth to help pull her upright. Though dazed and battered, she manages to stay on her feet, or at least floating. Lidded red eyes look toward the remains of the Arma as it comes into Darwin's focus. It's a moment before Darwin grasps what happened, glancing back to the last orb of the Escort Fortress as if to confirm that it is, in fact, the only one left.

    To have such sacrifices made in her name isn't something she ever enjoys. A deep-seated sadness settles over her features, but she lifts one hand to gently pat the metal orb in gratitude. "...let's go home," she murmurs softly, speaking to the bizarre construction as if it were some cherished pet.

    With one last look at the fading Arma, Darwin floats off back to Iron Bottom Sound to find safety and recovery and to give Samar word of what just happened. A threat to any Abyssal is a threat to the Fleet as a whole.