(no subject)

[straykitty]

Who: Renne, Donnie, Yuki and Aira
What: Routine raid turns cleansing cult installation and salting the earth
Where: A hidden research facility on Larendt
When: Mid-February in between normal Corsair operations
Warnings: Violence, potential mention of human experimentation

With the Isles Above on lockdown, finding a target had been difficult. However, with Renne's network, nothing was impossible, especially when one knew how to access Society archives and knew certain doting n'er do wells would probably look the other way if they saw it was her. The facility she found was a small research installation nestled in the forests of Larendt. They should have ample Ether stones for their purposes, but also shouldn't have been too hard to knock over.

After assembling a crew, she booked a Corsair ship out to the fallen isle of Larendt. The facility was fairly easy to find, as usual the Imperials never really thought to conceal their labs, even if they were within the Corsair's operating zone. The door was reinforced steel, but that wasn't a particularly large issue. Withdrawing her ENC, Renne, gave her team one final look. "Are you all ready?"

Comments

[straykitty]

"There are a number of crates and supply cases available here," Renne supplies dully, speaking more to Donnie than over the comms. "If that's your decision, we can have the bodies laid out by the extraction team and we can build them coffins and return them to the sea after we finish here."

[purplexing]

The turtlekin closes his eyes for a moment, but he nods. He doesn't have to overthink this one, at least.

"It is," he confirms when he looks back at Renne. It's the least they can do. They may not have meant to find these children, but he certainly can't just turn his back and forget about it.

[testygirl]

Aira is in her own kind of a stupor, but she vigorously shakes her head, trying to snap out of it. She would have protested venomously if they'd made a different decision, but she also figured that Donnie would land on the humane choice.

"There's no way we can leave them." She's looking down, jaw clenched. Her grip on the boy's hand is gentle, but she makes a fist with the other, nails digging into her palm.

"I can be in charge of moving and loading bodies," she then says over the comms. Her voice is mostly calm, but still quite bitter. "You heard her. They're small, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Carrying is something her powers are especially useful for. Though it's still going to be a somber, awful process.

[nyammy]

Nyammy is more worried about the living than the dead, but she can't fault the humans (and whatever Donnie was) for their decision. It was humane. Even if she was a cat, she knew to pay proper respect to the dead - even if she thought that was less of a concern.

"Tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it," she says eventually. "I can help carry the bodies, make coffins, or bring down this entire lab if you'd like." The last of which might be pushing her abilities, but she's pretty sure sheer anger will help her through it.

[straykitty]

"We should get the children to the landing party and have them returned to the ship for medical attention. We'll have the landing party retreat, and finish our business with the rest of the cultists, and extract the bodies on the way out. Any objections?"

Renne tries to moderate her tone enough to be open for objections, but is only marginally successful.

[purplexing]

Donnie looks to Aira and Nyammy, nodding at them before he looks back at Renne.

"None here. Let's do it."

There's just too much swirling through his mind right now and he's not even sure what he's feeling. Disgusted? Angry? Confused? ...lost. It seems there's no limit to what horrors the Empire is capable of. That alone feels like something so white hot that it sits cold in his core.

It seems clear enough what they need to do. Renne's outlined it well enough.

The turtlekin shakes his head. No objections here.

[testygirl]

"Sounds good."

Like Donnie, Aira's emotions have been shifting non-stop from one extreme to another. It's exhausting, but at least now they have a good, concrete plan to follow. That helps to solidify her determination, and reignite her drive.

She reminds herself again: they're doing this to bring down the Empire, and to protect anyone they can. At times, its power does seem hopelessly insurmountable, but she's never backed down before in the face of long odds or deadly circumstances. They can win, one step at a time. In this case, it happens to be a short and measured step as she leads the boy in her care onward to the extraction point.

[nyammy]

Nyammy is fine just knowing they have a plan.

In some ways, she seems to be taking this well. In others, she's a mess - just as much as the others, even if she doesn't show it. That level of death, of pain and suffering... it wasn't something she was prepared to deal with.

And now, she was responsible for this small child whose hand she held. Really, for all of the children. As a Pretty Cure, she was used to some level of responsibility, but this was... a lot. But somebody had to do it, and so she would.

Without anything else being said, she begins leading her charge, trailing just behind Aira. She would see this through. Follow the plan. Rescue the children, then deal with the people who hurt them. And then deal with the dead on their way back out.

Right. She could do this.

[straykitty]

The landing party arrives and Renne quickly appraises them of the situation as they take the children back to the ship. The faces are grim and it's clear at least one of the other Corsairs has seen this before as they promise to prepare for the funeral following the operation before escorting the children back.

As the group leaves, Renne draws her scythe, her smile dripping with malice.

"Now then, shall we attend to business?"

[purplexing]

The feeling hasn't much abated once they've taken care of the children. One matter taken care of.

Donnie prepares his own weapon, extending the staff with a quick flick after he checks the gun he'd taken earlier, still stowed in the band of his belt. He says nothing, he hasn't really said much since they'd relayed things to the crew, but he nods at Renne.

[testygirl]

Aira quietly thanks the crew members, and her gaze lingers on the kids' backs for a moment while they board. Then she sighs, and her attention returns to Renne and the others. She steals looks between the three of them; Aira is decent at reading people, and while there's plenty of sadness and pain to see, none of them seem to be on the cusp of breaking down.

They should get through this. Aira flexes her fingers, then focuses on the facility with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah. Let's get this over with."

She takes the opportunity to lead them back in, transforming again, then marches straight on towards the same set of doors.

[nyammy]

The children are safe. The... surviving children.

Nyammy would see this through. The weak grasp of a child on the verge of dying, hand holding hand, still lingers in her mind even as the child is safe with the rescue team.

Yes, Renne's earlier bloodthirst was well explained and well warranted.

She was sure the others were thinking the same. How could they not, after that?

She follows, expression serious. They'd see this through...

[straykitty]

Renne leads the team to the entrance of the final room at the end of the hallway. The metal door is already locked down, not that she heeds it as she coats her scythe with a surge of yellow ether and slices the door cleanly open, the space around it distorting as the blade cuts through.

Several tables and desks have already been gathered in a fortified position as six heavily armored soldiers bearing rifles open fire. Renne darts back to avoid the gunfire, leaving those behind her to determine their next course of action, thankfully out of range as they are for the moment.

[nyammy]

Nyammy once again steps forward and forms her paw shield, intent on using it to deflect the first barrage of bullets back towards the attackers. Odds are that any ricochets won't strike true, but it should give them enough pause for her teammates to begin their assault, after which she could drop the shield and move in herself.

Keeping it up only to ricochet bullets into the backs of her teammates would be very inconsiderate, after all.

[purplexing]

By now Donnie's got a vague idea of how his teammates fight. He hasn't run in, not when Nyammy's got a better handle on shields than he has, but once she's got it up, Donnie stands just beside her, taking full advantage of the thing for cover while he concentrates.

On the other side of the shield between them and the soldiers, eye-searing lines of neon magenta trace in the air, intersecting to form the outlines of parts, building from the inside out that it might not be readily recognizable until the outer layers of an Armor's cannon slot into place, and by that point it's already primed and firing.

He's not holding back anymore, it seems.

[testygirl]

Aira utilizes Nyammy's shield as well, and uses the cover to quickly size up the enemy's position. She sends her hair out from behind it, combining two of her earlier moves; two of the thick, coiling locks each lift one of the heftier tables that the soldiers are using for cover. Then she slams the tables down right on top of the enemy, adding to the disruption already provided by the ricocheting bullets and the fire from Donnie's cannon.

Renne has relied mostly on close combat, so Aira figures that she'll probably move in now that there's an opening—at which point Aira can follow, and the other two can react in kind. Based on the success they've already had fighting as a group, her trust has grown quite a bit in a short amount of time. In terms of combat prowess, at least.

[straykitty]

The shield bounces several shots back, causing the gunfire to abate just in time for the cannonball to come in and blast one of the soldiers into a wall, where his crushed body slumps into the crater left by his impact. The table attack from Aira scatters the soldiers, several drawing heavy blades.

There's a blur of purple as Renne surges forward, her scythe whipping in a wide arc that claims one head as the other soldiers fall back, two stepping forward to surround her with their swords raised in both arms.

[nyammy]

Nyammy knows to drop the shield now - best not to rebound shots back when they could rebound right into her teammates.

Still, she does leave the shield up for another second or so- just long enough for her to slip over its top herself, press herself into the squishy paw shield, and then use its rebounding properties to send herself absolutely rocketing towards the nearest cluster of soldiers. She intends to land feet first against one, then unleash her claws at whoever else is nearby.

Subtlety is for cowards.

The shield disappears as soon as she's bounced off of it, and she begins her assault.

[purplexing]

Donnie's off like a shot, not long after Renne's charged in. His staff snaps out towards the back of one of the sword-armed soldier's legs, and he brings it hand over hand once they begin to fold, moving to slam his weapon down upon them as their balance is compromised.

No further thought seems necessary, it's all cause and effect, response and reaction. A singular driving line pulses in his mind and it's all he allows himself to think about; Take them down, take them down, take them down!

[testygirl]

There's nothing quite like this: a blood-pumping battle, with adrenaline coursing all through her body like molten vigor. She shouldn't enjoy the feeling—especially given the circumstances—but she's still grateful for it. Grateful for her teammates, too, for being able to kick so much ass.

Back home, it was pretty common for her friends to shout encouragement mid-battle. Words do have their own power, but she can hold off until this grim business has been settled.

Aira swings into the fray. She has an eye on Renne, and moves to target the two soldiers looking to surround her. Her hair forms into the spinning, deadly shape of a drill, whirling at the end of her foot as she launches downward. It shreds directly through the first attacker, and after a graceful landing, Aira sweeps out her other leg, looking to upend the second.

[straykitty]

Nyammy lands in the thick of battle, absolutely shredding one of the soldiers with her claws as Donnie downs another, his staff knocking the wind from the man as the impact breaks his ribcage. As the third soldier falls, the final soldier is swept off his feet, just in time to be met with a descending scythe that pierces his throat.

Standing past the carnage, a man clad in a white coat steps forward, his bespectacled eyes cold with derision.

"Another raid? The Corsairs are just as boring as the Imperials, so avoidant of the truth we bring. No matter. I shall await you in Hel!"

Removing a pill from his sleeve, he quickly downs it and begins foaming at the mouth and coughing blood, his eyes glazing over as he collapses. The room is still, save for the whir of the Aether-net terminals and the wealth of high-purity Aether Crystals that are powering them.

[purplexing]

The turtlekin whips around at the sound of footsteps, pulling the gun from his belt as he swings it up to level shakily at the man. He stares uncomprehendingly at what happens next, watching as the man crumples, dead.

The sudden stillness seems so fragile, so fake. The adrenaline hasn't abated, leaving him trembling as they stand without any further targets to fight. Slowly he stows the gun again, forcing himself to remember to breathe, trying simultaneously to ignore the coppery tang in the air at odds with the manufactured scent of sterility.

It's...is it over? It doesn't feel like it. It doesn't feel like anything.

[nyammy]

All of that adrenaline coursing through her veins, yet what she feels in the end is shock. Why had that man...? What was the point? He did not even try to fight, but he did not surrender or run, either. Why would he go so far as to take his own life?

As a cat, Nyammy can't understand it. Suicide is very human, and perhaps she is not human enough to get it.

In the end, it's an anti-climax that leaves her body thrumming but her mind reeling and confused. Not the grand ending to this place she had been expecting.

[testygirl]

"Cool speech, asshole."

Aira can't help herself; it's possible that she's never hated anybody so much and so quickly. His apparent suicide also catches her off guard, but then she blinks, and hurriedly stretches long tendrils of hair towards the body in order to bind it.

"Are you guys nuts?! Don't just stand there, he might get up and go berserk like those other freaks!"

[straykitty]

"He won't."

Renne steps forward and grabs a piece of cloth from the table, bringing her scythe down across the man's neck and quickly covering the wound and detached head as she does. Despite everything, she is still cognizant to what she's done and the discomfort she's caused. She looks around the laboratory, looking completely drained.

"There should be enough Ether Stones for everyone here. Let's gather them up and see to the children."

While she says this she connects her ENC to the terminal.

"I'm taking all of the data. With any luck we'll find links to other cells so they can be... dealt with."