Scene #7552: MI2: Causing Problems on Purpose

Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	The Mistral Two. Not the fastest or strongest airship in the Gale Empire's fleet, but certainly the most emperor-esque. It's a large stately design, one maximizing cabin size and flight time first, aesthetics and intimidation factor second, with maneuverability in dead last place - it steers like someone strapped a lift and propulsion system to a building, in other words. At any given time, there's at least a few escort craft buzzing around it - when anchored, the escorts taxi people down to the surface and back up. When in transit, as it is now, they scout ahead and serve as extra deterrents against anyone thinking to cause trouble. And that's what you're going to do. Hitting the Gale Emperor's very own airship, while the eagle himself is onboard, is going to cause both some short term and long term trouble. The short term is going to get reinforcements in the air, away from their posts, giving the Resistance time to raid a nice juicy army depot full of everything they need. The long term is going to get yet more pressure on the Resistance - but at that point they'll be better equipped with weapons and supplies, so it still works out. --- The Mistral Two has a few convenient ports of entry - a small docking bay on the underside for small aircraft, and port and starboard side doors for disembarking - all closed, meaning you'd have to punch through if you're looking to board that way. There's conventional entrances on the topdeck, but that'd mean dealing with the crew there. Alternatively, you could stay outside of the Mistral Two, but then you'd be dealing with the escort craft and the Mistral Two's own armaments. The Mistral Two's flightpath takes it past a small town that's quietly Resistance-friendly, and it also crosses over a mountain range with decent altitude and cover. Both have advantages for launching this assault. Decide on your approach, and make some noise.
Aidan Proudpick	There is one good thing about having the face and the crest of someone in the Gale Empire. You can use it. AND if she gets in trouble for it getting used, that's fine. She forgot you existed. It's cool. No problems here. The People's Knights, a laughably small and young corner of the resistance, has proven useful. Someone on board the Mistral Two will give the ship enough clearance to at least get inside. After that, well. Aidan sits quietly in a resistance ship. The ship flies slowly up towards the larger Mistral Two and Aidan checks his body for about the hundredth time. His tail is moving at a hundred miles a minute, nervously ticking back and forth, bending into various shapes as Aidan hoists the GARGANTUAN Aegis in front of him. It is not exactly a stealthy weapon. But he isn't about to go into any mission without it, since it covers his tiny meat body from bullets. SOMEWHERE, INSIDE. "Is that our ship?" "It's an old ship, but it checks out." Aidan grips his hands tightly in the grip of his shield, patting down for his accelerators for the thirtieth time. "Is uh... normal to sweat this profusely?" Knights don't sweat. He dabs across his muzzle and forehead with what is supposed to be a gentlemanly handkerchief but because he never bought more than one, it is super groddy.
Hibiki Tachibana	'You can go ask the Emperor in your teary little voice to please politely stop.' "...Maybe I will." So mutters Tachibana Hibiki to nobody but herself, positioned at one of the higher points on the mountain range that the convoy is scheduled to cross over. Her reasoning is both that she'd rather not risk potentially roping the town into anything that happens - especially not after the airship mishap from a while back - and because it offers a much better position to engage in her personal method of dealing with this separately from the others on the job. As with most of her plans, it's not especially complex. Wait for the scouts to pass over and the Mistral Two to draw close enough. And then, already clad in her Symphogear ahead of time, she gets a running start before leaping off of the mountainside and high up as she can, with the thrusters on the back of her skirt igniting once she's hit the apex of the rather ridiculous leap to carry her up the rest of the way. She can't really 'fly' so much as boost herself up most of the way without too many problems, so if she's spotted, she might have to improvise--but hopefully, none of the escort ships will notice one single human, and she's noticeably less loud (right now, anyway) than when she performed her last airship boarding. A few extra kicks from some of her armor's other functions might be needed to keep up to pace before the ship moves by, but nothing she can't handle. The 'less loud' part is probably going to change in short order if she can reach her destination of the starboard exit, which she'll have to work a bit to stabilize for but can pull off well enough to get ahold of it and take a deep breath. It's going to change because she's going to punch through. Literally, of course.
Kale Hearthward	"Is that our ship?" "It's an old ship, but it checks out." "It's probably the delivery, have it routed straight to workshop 3." The docking bay doors open, admitting the airship, and then closing behind it. Inside, lit by anachronistic fluorescent lights overhead, the docking bay is sparsely manned, with a single shrike guard with a spear who comes by and peers at Aiden. "A shield? What? Worried about getting attacked?" There's a buzz from an intercom system overhead. "Have the courier head to workshop 3 immediately," it calls. "Yeah, alright, workshop 3's down the hall, second one on the right," says the shrike, gesturing with his spear. "Don't forget your delivery, whatever it is you're bringing." There's a few doors down the hall - what looks like an armory, a room containing airship machinery of some sort, and the aforementioned small workshop labeled with a 3 on the door. It looks like there's someone inside. Meanwhile, Hibiki takes off. Via timing the passing of the escorts just right, she's not noticed- until of course not making noise is no longer an option. The whole airship shudders as she punches through, ending up in an entrance hallway. There's shouts of alarm, but no actual alarm yet - but someone's about to come looking for what that impact was. This seems like a good spot to stand her ground at a bottleneck, or she should charge further in in search of targets to hit...
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan totally forgot. Aidan's FRIENDS didn't forget. There is a box of old mining equipment parts that look like ship parts if you aren't an engineer and don't look at them too hard. Aidan pushes the trolley it is on. "Special delivery," Aidan says in his best Christian Bale voice. "You ever been hit with an accelerator by one of those rebel scum from a mile away. Kills ya dead." The shield goes up on the back, which makes him look like a turtle. He starts pushing, saluting vaguely to the guard as he heads off towards workshop 3. Along the way, Aidan starts thinking up what he's going to say if he sees the Emperor or one of his guard. "Your reign of evil is at an end." "Have at you, knave." Yea, that sounded really good. Aidan pushes into Workshop 3 by the time he notices someone inside. Wait, fuck. If they are an engineer, he's doomed. Act natural. Aidan puts on his best miner's brogue, "Gotcher delivery here! Gonna just put it down and head right out."
Hibiki Tachibana	"That's gonna put eyes over here..." Moving into the entrance hallway and shaking her hand free of debris, Hibiki quickly takes stock of her surroundings and how quickly the crew is catching on. No /actual/ alarm yet is good. That gives her a little time to work with and actually come up with a plan because she sure didn't have an overarching one until about right now. Though if she could have came in without causing a ruckus, she...probably still wouldn't have. Stealth isn't really her forte, so she's not even going to bother trying to go with that. No, better to find what'll cause the biggest noise and hit that, both for the sake of the Resistance's operation and also for anyone else running this quieter than 'punching the door and then punching faces in'. If she could find where the Emperor is residing, that's an option...mostly for personal reasons more than anything else, and even she knows better than to immediately go for a risk that big...she'll work it out as she goes. Adjusting her scarf, the magical girl turns her attention towards the closest source of shouting and kicks off into a run down that end of the hallway. Her intention being to turn her momentum into a running jump-kick towards the first guard who's coming to investigate, and then keep on going. To where, she's not entirely sure - but the first thing of importance she can find that'll draw plenty of attention her way is a good start. And if security starts getting /really/ tight, she'll know she's probably getting closer to the Emperor. Though maybe tussling with whatever elites are probably hanging around him wouldn't be the best idea on her own.
Kale Hearthward	"Oh, hang on, hang on..." says the workshop's occupant, a lanky eagle, quickly putting down the part he'd been working on at the workbench. He lifts up his thick goggles with an oil-stained hand and peers at the package. "That's not... hmm... could you hold up a second?" Goggles still resting on his forehead, the eagle goes to grab Aiden's hand with his own gauntleted one if he tries to leave. "Yeah I don't think this is actually what I ordered? I think there's been some mixup? Could you just stick around while I radio the bridge and get this sorted out?" Three decks above them, Hibiki starts her assault. Guards come running - one after the other, getting beaten down by her flurry of unarmed strikes. So far, no alarm has been raised... She comes to a hallway nexus - one helpfully labeled. 'ENGINE ROOM' in one direction, 'ROYAL QUARTERS' in another, with the others labeled 'BRIDGE', 'BARRACKS', and 'STAIRS'. (The direction she came from is 'PORT DEBARKING'.)
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan's face darkens, "What?! A mix up? Do you know what my time table is? I gotta get bring this box here, I have five minutes to run to the galley, find a hard tack, go out, get back, get to the ship, fly back out, go back to pick up another box, have them tell me I'm five minutes late, so they are going to dock my pay, then my girlfriend is going to get mad and take the kids away from me and leave and I'm gonna be out on the street doing shit hauling and giving out handies to make ends meet." Aidan has closed the door at this point and is trying not to shout as to not draw a crowd.
Hibiki Tachibana	Onward and forward - Hibiki makes sure to plow through the guards with enough force that they'll be down and out for a good while, and also that they won't slow her down. The hub section here is exactly what she was looking for, given she had a negative sense of direction when it came to where she was going before! "Royal Quarters...then that's going to be..." Her expression tenses up some, and she pauses for a long moment. She's already gone over in her head why trying to go after the Emperor might be a bad idea...but. Now that she's here at the metaphorical (and literal) crossroads, there's a long moment where she wrestles with that and what she wants to do, and those words still nagging at the back of her mind. Clenching her fists and then loosening them, Hibiki turns to make her way down that very same hall at full speed. She's not expecting that alarm to stay unraised for much longer once she starts running into more resistance. And if she wants to have the time to even try this...it'll have to be now.
Kale Hearthward	"Wait - wait, hang on, your kids, your girlfriend - oh dear..." the eagle looks alarmed as Aidan's story continues. He appears to be buying the squirrel's story in full. He releases his grip on Aidan. "Sorry - I'll get this sorted out myself, you get back on your way, if anyone gives you any problems about being late, just tell them Zephyr said it was alright, okay?" But then before Aidan can go - "Wait, hang on, do you- i know you're running late, sorry, sorry, but would you mind if I took a look at your shield? The design seems kinda familiar?" The alarm is raised, above and belowdecks, startling Zephyr as it blares (and distracting him enough that Aidan can make an exit if he chooses to). This is due to Hibiki encountering increasingly dense waves of resistance as she approaches the royal quarters... ... in which Emperor Gale II resides. Hibiki can get a glimpse of him, a very stately, mask-wearing eagle, in the meeting room down the next hall...
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan is so happy. He is almost giddy for a second. This is the kind of line you think up in your head. This is the set up that never ACTUALLY happens but you hope would happen. "Sure!" He uses just enough breath weapon to get the shield to snap out into full size as he brings at the side of the eagle's head. KLONK. With the body stashed carefully in a box, Aidan wheels out an empty box towards the armory. Time to load up on supplies. That is about the time when the alarms hit and Aidan winces. "Well. Crap." Option 1, the mission. Load up on supplies and get out of here while Hibiki distracts everyone and get away with a small amount of supplies and then Hibiki maybe dies or maybe gets away. Option 2, make a heroic stand to split the forces and then maybe they don't steal the big airship and that would be bad, but no one dies. Aidan swings the shield up onto his front and stands in the middle of the hallway with guards rushing up and down it. With a slow breath outward, the shield expands outward into full size, taking up a good portion of the hallway. Wait, he has such a cool line to test out. "Do you hear that!? The roar of the resitance!" The lion on the front starts to roar as force is pushed through the mouth and along the sides of the shield, building up into velocity. The squirrel knight lifts his feet off the ground and travels down the hallway at full force, making a pressure wave to either side of him. Energy ripples away from the front as Aidan simply moves in a straight line, building up steady acceleration. Hopefully he'll be able to judge to stop before he shatters through the wall.
Hibiki Tachibana	Alarm's raised. Good. Once that starts spreading, and /especially/ when it gets out to where she's going, the resistance should have all the chance they need to do their thing and then some, plus Aidan on his end. If there's a potential threat to the Emperor, absolutely everyone is going to drop what they're doing...so it's fine even if she's doing this half for selfish reasons. There's probably not going to be another chance to get in touch with the Emperor any time soon, so if she misses out on it now...! More resistance just means she has to put more force into getting through them, and she makes full use of the cramped nature of airship hallways and her speed to close in and batter aside guards blocking her way before they can set up proper defenses and run a very good chance of overwhelming her. Maybe she could fight her way out of an entire heavily guarded airship, but doing that without seriously hurting anyone /and/ making sure her allies can also get out themselves isn't very easy, so working as fast as she can is the plan. Until--someone who she immediately picks up to be Gale II is just barely spied as she keeps pushing forward. That regal bearing and a mask she hasn't seen on any other Galers...she can't imagine it would be anyone else. With a renewed burst of energy, she pushes forward to physically force herself through any guards still standing between her and meeting room, simply ramming them out of her path with strength that belies her size. So she can try and reach the doorway and take a step inside, even if she has to do it panting for breath. "Gale...! Emperor Gale!?"
Kale Hearthward	The eagle (that is, the one in the workshop) goes down, not suspecting this in the slightest. A warrior with reflexes, he ain't. Aiden starts his charge. Guards conveniently run out in into the hallway, ironically in search of Hibiki but finding him instead. "Wait, who's that?" one of them calls. They go scattering like bowling pins. "It's a BREATH WEAPON!" calls another one in alarm before she gets smacked into a wall. "Someone - ugh - raise the captain..." As Aiden comes to a stop (it's either that or going through the airship's hull) there's a voice from behind him. "No need for that." It's another shrike - again wielding a spear, which seems to be the stereotypical shrike thing to do. Nobody really knows why they like spears so much. Except this one's female and wearing clothing that screams 'Captain'. "I am Captain Bayona, of the Gale Empire ship Mistral Two," she says, confirming that. "I am quite honored to host the 'resistance' on my very own deck... and for the opportunity to give you a welcome your cohorts will never forget!" She blows a burst of air into her spear, and then slams the pointy end into the ground. Instantly, it appears - the tip piercing straight up through the deck right underneath Aidan's feet! In the royal quarters, Hibiki makes slow progress through, and finally makes it into the doorway and calls out. The emperor rises to his feet in response, and raises a hand. "Halt. Stop attacking the interloper." "But - emperor -" says one of the guards. "I have Shell Game on and my third is in a safe location. If she and the false courier seek to assassinate me, they have already lost," says the emperor. "But she seems to have something to say..." All eyes are on Hibiki.
Aidan Proudpick	There is a SECOND where the Aidan starts to breach the hull. The hull actually deforms and Aidan grunts in effort. Moving the shield is not easy in a confined space. Aidan has to slam his foot down and spin around on his heel to get it back in the other direction. "Well met, Captain. I'm Aidan Proudpick, People's Knight of Quicknest." He stands up tall, addressing this captain calmly, with respect. And almost a demand to be accepted on the same level. "The Resistance Ship Mistral Two, you mean." Breath Weapon?! Aidan watches the spear go into the ground, trying to figure out the play here. Is the deck going to explode. Is the deck going to turn into tentacles. Is the air going to turn into tentacles?! A thousand on a thousand thoughts of how this could play out assault him at once and he doesn't react well to any of them. Only being a squirrel saves him. The natural constant high of being ready to move lingers in his feet. And only at the last moment does Aidan leap, the spear coming up to slash up his leg across his leathers. Blood seeps out from the flesh wound and over the mail on his legs, his mind struggling to get the shield in front of him again and pointed towards the shrike. People think getting things to go in a straight line is easy. It's not. Just an inch off and you are going to be moving through the wall or the floor. Fortunately for Aidan, Aegis does not care, it simply pushes against matter to make way.
Hibiki Tachibana	There's a moment where Hibiki is surprised enough that her guard is down--where if one of the guards /did/ attack, she probably wouldn't have reacted in time to defend herself. The emperor plainly agreeing to hear her out without needing any convincing or pleading was...unexpected to her, and it shows. But after getting her breath back and gathering her thoughts, she straightens up where she stands and inhales slowly. The tightened fists at her side release and relax. "...No. We're not here to try and kill you. My name is...Hibiki Tachibana. I'm sixteen years old, and with the Watch--the resistance." For how intent she was on getting here, she hadn't actually thought about what she'd say when she did, so her words come out slow and just a little awkwardly. Still, this might be the only opportunity she gets, and she's not going to waste it. 'Shell Game' and the 'third'...she has no idea what those are, but this isn't the time to worry about it. The fact he already knew about Aidan doesn't even hit her in the moment. "I just..." Hibiki starts, grimaces, and takes a moment to shake her head and find her words again. "...Back in Camembert Way, the people weren't being treated right. They were forced out of their homes and businesses...some of them even disappeared. They wouldn't stand for being mistreated like that - that's why we're here," she says with some tension in her tone. "...But one of your men told me that it was for the greater good in the long run. A little suffering now to better protect yourselves and everybody else later. They left, only for everything with Baron Emberlily to happen...trying to hunt us down and even attack the town after a talk with that very same guy." There's a much more clear frown on her face now, and she looks away for a few seconds before lifting her head back up to stare back at the emperor. "I'm not gonna pretend I know the first thing about politics or what happens after war...but is that has to be how things between your empire and the people you conquered go? If you communicated and /worked together/ from the start, then--...nobody would've had to die, and we probably wouldn't even be here right now. You wouldn't have outsiders like us making trouble." There's a noticeable swallow. Nervousness from all the attention locked on her, or something else? She shakes her head a second time after. "It seems so damn simple to do...so why hasn't anybody done it? You're the emperor. There's all this crap about rotten empires, and soldiers just doing their job, and all that...but you're the one who has the power to make change. Do you really think the way things have gone is right...?" There's a hint of pleading in her voice, as if she really wants him to say no.
Kale Hearthward	HOW BREATH WEAPONS WORK Aegis: I am going at this speed in this direction. Universe: Fine okay, but here's air resistance, and gravity, and this lady with a spear. Aegis: Nope. I am going at this speed in this direction and not slowing down. Universe: Nah, first law of motion, also second and third, you gotta get knocked off course and decelerate. Look, give me your fma numbers and we'll work this out. Aegis: Okay, I am going at ±i speed and (2>=3)4 unspecified units of mass, and my force is 'yes'. Universe: That makes... sense? I think? I'm going to go have a lie down. Aegis: Okay! I am going to continue on at this speed in this direction. --- And thus Aiden barrels through Captain Bayona, knocking into her like a bowing pin. Aidan presumably starts slowing down before he can slam into another wall, but- --- Universe: Hey just checking, are you traveling relative to the ship's velocity? Aegis: I am going at this speed in this direction. Universe: Yeah but if the ship starts slowing down and turning do you match its new vector or keep going? Aegis: I am going at this speed in this direction. Universe: Your funeral, asshole. Stupid theme, I've had nothing but headaches since it integrated. --- To Aidan's perception, it's like he's drifting off to the side, and before all of Aegis's motion can stop, he's punctured right through the hull, and is about a foot outside of the ship when he stops! (He has maybe a second before Aegis's effect fades and gravity reasserts itself.) ------------ The emperor listens. It's hard to tell what he's thinking with the full face mask on, but he's listening. The guards are standing clear, but a lot of them look ready to pounce on Hibiki at a moment's notice. "Camembert way... was a rougher approach than I had intended. I will say that I did what I could, giving those affected new employment opportunities. New places they could stay. Ways they could bounce back. I certainly wasn't having anyone put to death, and I don't know about any disappearances. Isn't it possible that people just simply left? People do that, I'm sure." "... I've tried communication. You have a rather rosy view of people. Myself, I used to make things. If you tell a machine it has to turn off to save power, it just does. If you tell a person they have to be inconvenienced, however mildly, to do... well, anything. They whine, they protest, they dig their feet in. Not In My BackYard, I believe the phrase goes. We need to build new roads, new factories, new power plants, new schools - and for none of it, none of it, does anyone want to be the one to give up their money or their land to do it. And we cannot move slow on this - we need all of this done yesterday, to catch up, and it's a gesture of my generosity-" He clenches a gauntleted fist on the table. "- that we're starting this development in Quicknest first, and not the Empire proper. Quicknest is further behind. Some part of me would be happy leaving it in the dirt, after all the recent trouble." He stands up. "I think what is right... no. I think the greater wrong would be not* taking this path. Letting the continent stagnate. Being some other stepping stone for another, more developed and more powerful, world or land to walk over one day. In ten years, you will look back at today, at what I - no, at what we have accomplished, and thank me for it."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan is still getting the hang of this. So far, he's fought people in open areas. On the streets, in the mines, where there is room to work. Here, there is no room to work. So Aidan yeets himself out of the ship. He has created two holes in the ship so far. He is not very kind to property. The stunned moment only stays for a heartbeat. Aidan is a breath wielder. Immediately his body takes over. Hind brain twisting him in mid air. But rather than look at the ground, he looks back into the ship. His tail moves in an arc, helping him to twist his body around back. Spry limbs rotate around in mid air until he is aimed back at the ship. But rather than aim for the captain, he aims for the full mid section of the ship. And this time, he has to think. He moves faster than the ship, that's fine. But if it's turning... The Aegis roars to life again as Aidan jerks back into motion, shooting towards the ship. Option 3. Blast through the middle of the fucking ship because fuck you.
Hibiki Tachibana	Though the threat of getting just plain outnumbered at any moment by everyone in the room is a very real one, Hibiki's full attention never leaves the emperor. Unlike him, she doesn't have anything but a big scarf doing anything to hide her expression, and that doesn't do much in the way of it right now - a mix of emotions that ends up catching her somewhere between contemplative and frustrated, and conflict very evident. Did people just leave? Maybe. If she had to gauge the emperor, he doesn't seem like the type to lie to her face right now; he doesn't really have a reason to, and his bearing just makes it unlikely. If he says he has no idea about something like that, it's probably true...which means he did do his best, even if not as clean as could be? The surprisingly apt and modern analogy he uses aside, it's what comes after that most of her internal back-and-forth is sourced from. Another reason she's inclined to believe him is the kind of convinction that naturally comes with that sort of body language. "...I know I have some unrealistic ideas on people. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite," she murmurs quieter to herself before picking back up. "Or maybe I'm just trying to have more faith in them because I know how crappy they can be. They're a hell of a lot harder to deal with than machines, I know. Still...!" She brings up her own hand, sweeping it to the side. "I know I can't judge your reasons for doing this! You want to make things better for people--protect what you have. That's...probably one reason why you have such loyal subjects. But if you're doing it in a way that people rise up and try to fight back against you, doesn't that point to something being wrong!? The people who are part of the resistance right now...if it's generosity, they don't think so." Her lips purse, and she follows up after a second, "...Maybe they're just short-sighted, or stubborn, or whatever. In ten years, I figure things actually will be better off for everyone here. But isn't there a way to do it that's not going to have Quicknest fighting back against it...?" The frustration is coming back to her voice again. "There are people...who'd make this a lot bloodier than it has to be, and I don't want that. Why the hell..." She starts, stops, then furrows her brow at the emperor. "...You're really desperate to do this. Is being brought into the multiverse and knowing about everything in it why you're so stuck on it? Or was it something else?"
Kale Hearthward	"... Your allies, I'm assuming, the sort that wouldn't fight their way in here just to talk to me," says Gale II, making a guess. "That would use rather more bullets than words." He sits back down, and steeples his gauntleted fingers on the table. "My father, may he reign eternal in the hereafter, I did not agree with his methods nor his goals. You have my sympathy and empathy, if that is your situation." "We're in a situation where we are at an economic disadvantage," he says. "The world has many things we want and need, and we have not as much to offer it... as of yet, and being in that situation is nothing but a death knell for any nation. The cost of setting up electricity and 'modern' sanitation alone has us-" He doesn't get to finish that thought. The airship shudders again with Aidan blasting straight through it, and then starts listing to the side. Someone elsewhere in the ship starts screaming. "Sir! We're still under attack!" calls one of the guards, after getting a situation report. The emperor's face can't be seen, but the pained expression he's making can be imagined via his voice. Outside, as Aiden comes to a stop in the air, a bullet pings off of his shield. The escort ships have him in their sights, and there look to be reinforcements on the horizon. This might not be a good place to be, now.
Aidan Proudpick	AIDAN WOULD USE HIS WORDS PROBABLY. However, at this second, he is struggling to not die. As he blasts back up across the ship, he suddenly finds himself in the sights of the ships. It is not a SHRIEK OF TERROR, Knights don't shriek. It is more of a manly warcry. A high pitched manly warcry. Aidan rotates in mid air again, bringing the shield up and around to deflect bullets on the wave of force from the shield. His chest expands with a deep breath. The lion suddenly flows at the front of a great tornado of wind. It is directed poorly, more of a wild blast at the mass of the ships. It is grand and flashy attack that deflects bullets. And means Aidan starts falling at high speed. He lets his body take over, aiming itself towards the ground. His tail rotates in space, bringing every part of his body around. Fur is flattened against his face, ears plasted down to his head as he aims himself downard, arms spread out to slow his fall. Then, with an inhale, Aegis retracts, flying back to Aidan, snapping back down into a smaller platter sized object.
Hibiki Tachibana	"That's..." Hibiki doesn't finish, but her hesitation and the look on her face is enough to more or less consider the emperor's guess correct. If there's one thing she doesn't want, it's for this to turn into something closer to war than anything else. Her frustration is still there, though noticeably more muted--and not directed at Gale II, who she's come to understand a fair bit better through this entire talk. Saying she didn't understand and emphasize with him too would be a lie. She knows even for the ruler of an empire, making things happen the way she wants isn't easy at all, and maybe even impossible, but... She blinks and looks back over her shoulder as the vessel shakes, her mouth falling open silently before slowly closing. She's not used to someone else being the source of things suddenly lurching out of the sky. But more importantly, that's utterly awful timing. There are a dozen more things she still wants to try to talk about here, but if she does, she's risking her allies getting hurt and putting Gale II in an extremely rough spot. Before she does though, she takes in a sharp breath and turns her attention back forward. "...Thanks. For talking with me, uh...your majesty," That drips awkwardness, but she's trying. "I'm...not going to stop trying to find a better answer than the resistance and Empire going at each other's throats." With that, Hibiki turns around and sprints back the way she came - half because she knows it'll be empty of any guards who might slow her down, and half because she already knows the route and really doesn't want to punch any holes into the ship at this point in time. At full speed, she'll make to leap back out into open air once again, where she can catch Aidan freefalling and follow suit, with some extra flares from her Symphogear's thrusters to catch up. Her landing isn't gonna be any less rough, but at least she can catch up with him and also do her part to help slow down their mutual falls. All things considered...she could've been leaping out of that airship on far worse terms.
Kale Hearthward	Hibiki manages to get clear - the soldiers are lacking clear direction from the Emperor on if they should go after her or not. She catches up with Aidan - and together they manage to make it to the ground with little more trouble than a slightly rough landing in the treeline. This turns out to be a blessing - it gives them a rough landing, but also gives them some cover from the airships that are trying to find them now. But either way - mission accomplished! Now that they have a moment to pay attention to such things, there's reports on the radio that the resistance has gotten in and is now merrily pillaging the underdefended depot, arming themselves for the troubles ahead.
Aidan Proudpick	Nimble paws grab at the tree, clutching at two branches and using a quick burst of breath to slow him down to a complete stop. The air spell holding the shield draws in closer so Aidan can snag it out of the air. He holds it up closer to himself, breathing enough to keep it at full size, but not enough to get it to rocket into the air. "Well. "That sure showed him, he'll start to think twice about messing with Quicknest now that we have some real teeth."
Hibiki Tachibana	Well, she's had messier touchdowns, that's for sure. And more painful ones. Given they're not riddled with bulletholes, she'll definitely take it. Another quick burn of her thrusters helps to slow down before they hit dirt, and then she's coughing and brushing foliage off her Symphogear. With a groan, she pushes herself back up to a stand and peers up through the canopy, watching airships pass by... And the news reaches her. She has more mixed feelings on it than she came into this thinking she'd have...but it's mission success. More or less. "...I wouldn't be so sure about that," she says back towards Aidan, trailing off with a frown.