Eye of the Storm (Tyr)

[MKR]

Cassius would conduct a scan as soon as the DAMON had vanished, no additional hostiles were detected so a sigh of relief escaped his lips. With the press of a few buttons he would start the process of damage examination for staff to examine.
"Combat officially completed." He said in an official tone as he pressed a button, saving the record of the fight to the Kerberlion's database for later examination.

"Now captain, since we have escaped becoming a meal for today we should examine the inside of the factory for any damage before we can rest."

The Kerberlion would begin to move at a moderate pace to the entrance of the factory and enter it, should this be impossible Cassius would land next to the door and enter on foot instead.

 

[Tyran]

"Rest and a meal sounds fantastic....hey, do you think DAMONs are edible?" Sigrid mumbled groggily. It took a few seconds for her to realize what she had just said, blushing brightly when it sunk in. "Ah ha ha..." Sigrid chuckled nervously. "I. Said. Nothing." Shaking her head she followed Price's lead into the factory, lowering the output of the engines. If it was too small for a mecha she too would land next to the Kerberlion and continue on foot after a moment's hesitation.

This had been a terrible day and Sigrid wanted to get it over with already. At least she now knew that embarrassment can wake you up.

 

[GEAR]

The Kerberlion and the Jaohm made their way to the front gates of the factory, a pair of large, reinforced hangar doors cranking open. As they entered, they were greeted with a truly majestic sight:

Within the confines of the factory, Terra Sentinel had been manufacturing something truly spectacular... A flagship.

It was jet blue, its features curved and gleaming with newness - unlike the cumbersome Space Noah or Albatross classes, it radiated sleekness from every corner of its design. Countless inset ports across its surface indicated the presence of anti-personnel lasers - yet, they were unlike any before seen on any conventional aircraft. Indeed, it seemed almost like a massive, oversized fighter-jet compared to its lumbering peers.

Spotlights gleamed off the ship's cerulean surface, and at length, a voice crackled over the intercom, a man's, a booming, triumphant laugh full of more ego than even the vessel itself seemed to be able to contain:

"Gahahahaha! You're too late, bootlickers!"

"You'll never get the Heca! XO, ACTIVATE THE SELF DESTRUCT!"

Tense seconds passed... But, nothing occurred. Not even the smallest of pops.

"...Commander, this ship doesn't have that function." Explained a second voice quietly after a few moments - a woman's.

"Oh." Said the first voice, sounding... Deeply disappointed.

"Besides, they're friendlies. The reinforcements Hyperion sent for?"

Under the neck of the vessel, its "chest" compartment seemed to split, opening wide to allow for the pair to enter. It seemed... Unlikely to be a trap, at least, despite the gung-ho nature of the crew...

After a few more awkward moments, the first voice cleared its throat and resumed, hurriedly.

"Oh, yes. Well, uh, don't just stand there. Come aboard, why don't you?"

 

[MKR]

Laying eyes upon the inside of the factory would explain within moments the reason Hyperion was so intent on protecting this facility. The voice over the intercom also seemed eager to protect the ship... In a most destructive manner. But even before he could explain it himself the apparent XO of this ship, the Heca, would explain it for him and announce the absence of self destruction mechanisms.

In appearance the ship seemed to resemble a massive Sopressa in some ways and while its existence was appreciated he would consider why the ship was created. Perhaps simply because a mobile fortress and command center was an useful addition or was there some other motive behind it.

Cassius sighed to himself before activating the Kerberlion's external speakers as it moved to the now open compartment. "The XO is correct, I am Commander Price and this is Captain Korppi." It would be better to do introductions now to avoid any later issues, especially given the nature of the captain so far.

 

[Tyran]

The hangar doors opened, unveiling the grand sight before them. Now seeing what they had been called here to protect, Sigrid had to admit that fighting the giant DAMON had been well worth it. The blue flagship before them was simply majestic to behold.
Too majestic to just be carelessly blown up by an overly hasty captain, though the captain of the ship seemed to disagree much to Sigrid's annoyance.

Is he serious? Was he really going to blow the ship up? Does he have any idea what we just went through to secure it from that DAMON? Sigrid protested in her mind. Still, she followed Price inside, carefully optimistic about getting bed and food soon. "As he said, I'm Captain Korppi. Pleased to make your acquaintance as long as you don't blow up the thing we risked our lives to protect." Her tone was clear and carefully neutral.

 

[GEAR]

Sigrid and Cassius were guided into the ship's hangar, which could be described as nothing short of state-of-the-art. It was... Surprisingly empty, hosting only a few, half-disassembled Masklions and Gespensts. Clearly the ship's contingent of mobile weapons was what had been encountered on the outskirts... victims of the Dino DAMON. They were guided by telltales into a pair of berths, which easily situated both the cutting-edge Kerberlion and te Elemental Machine Jaohm.

As they disembarked, however, they would be greeted with an unfamiliar sound... Especially to those who had taken up the sword of Terra Sentinel:

A thunderous roaring, and deafening peals of...

Applause.

Below, the various crew of the ship had flooded out of its hallways, cheering, whistling, and clapping their hands. Engineers, deck crew, cooks - it seemed the entire ship had turned out to welcome their saviors. The two were greeted by a cascade of handshakes and back-slaps as they touched the floor, and it would have felt like an eternity before the crowd seemed to part as a bellowing voice - the same as before, filled the air.

"ALRIGHT! That's enough of that!"

An unusual pair made their way through the throng, the former simply elbowing and shoving his way past his subordinates. He was blonde, middle aged, and more than a little... rotund, with natural curls of blonde hair that had ineffectively been slicked back, leaving them slightly frayed about the edges. His uniform, in comparison to the practical ones he was surrounded with, was far more ornate - as though he had it commissioned himself, decorated with lustrous medals of various sources.

He made his way up to the two of them, craning his neck up and squinting against the light. He thrust a hand of sausage like figures towards Price, wiping it on his pantleg before doing so, saying - loudly, as it appeared he had almost no other method:

"I am Force Commander Maximillian Pendleton the Third! Captain of this fine vessel, the Hringhorni Class Hecatoncheires! Welcome aboard, Commander Piece, Captain Corpse!"

"...That's Commander Price, and Captain Korppi."

The woman accompanying him towered over him in stature - and what immediately stood out was not only her height, but her lavender blue skin, pointed teeth, and the pair of horns jutting from her forehead... An abhuman, an oni. Compared to him, she was more sensibly dressed, but compared to the stereotypical image of her kind, she seemed... Poised, carefully contained... Yet, there was no doubt that her slender frame contained more than enough power to break every man in that room over her knee. She had leaned over to tell Pendleton, supposedly quietly - a difficult feat for an Oni, no doubt.

Pendleton simply scowled in return, rumbling back:

"That's what I said!"

The blue-skinned woman gave the two a polite smile - again full of those pointed, supposedly bone-gnashing teeth.

"...And I am the ship's Executive Officer, or XO for short... Onishi Kina. What Commander Pendleton means is... Thank you both for saving us." - She gave a slight bow, the very picture of Japanese politeness -

"...The crew of the Heca are in your debt."

 

[MKR]

It would be a lie to say that Cassius wasn't slightly uncomfortable upon receiving applause. He was used to a 'good job' at best only to be followed up with a second performance test. Being genuinely congratulated en masse like this was... Peculiar and he genuinely didn't know how to react.

Luckily for him, there was the Force Commander who interrupted the applause, got his name wrong and then was disgruntled at being corrected by his XO. This did put the android back in more known territory and the man's enthusiasm and loud booming voice were things he couldn't help but find endearing.
The XO being an Oni was also surprising but unlike the applause something he could deal with better, he too was after all not human either.

"Thank you Commander Pendleton and XO Kina. I am glad the ship seems unharmed although I wish I had arrived sooner." He replied, if he had known about the Gespensts outside beforehand he would've tried his best to rush here and save them but that was not the case.

"Has Hyperion been made aware that the situation is resolved?" he asked.

 

[Tyran]

While the reception stunned her at first Sigrid recovered quickly. She greeted everyone with a warm smile, freely shaking hands with those who tried to shake hands with her. Finally, she relaxed, letting the feel of the crowd's Prana wash over her while she greeted the crew members. Immediately one source of Prana stuck out like a sore thumb.

The Force Commander's entrance gave her a moment's reprieve, enough to be certain of the source of the weird Prana: Commander Price. Curious, but not something to be focused on now, so she turned her attention to the Force Commander and his XO. She wasn't expecting an oni but really, after today's events it wasn't much of a shock.

"I'm afraid you've confused me with my father, Force Commander. He is the Corpse Korppi, I am very much alive." She replied with a dry tone, glaring at the Force Commander before turning her attention to the XO with a polite smile. "Please do not mention it. We just did our duty as any Terra Sentinel operative would."

 

[GEAR]

"Hyperion, ha!"

At the mention of Terra Sentinel's mysterious benefactor-slash-leader, Pendledon gave a rumbling grumble, folding his arms impudently and looking about, as though searching for any trace of the phantom's appearance.

"That thing already knows what you're having for breakfast tomorrow! Of course it's aware!"

At Sigrid's remark on her "corpse" of a father, it appeared as though the man would growl forth another utterance... but surprisingly, he seemed to become incredibly uncomfortable, breaking eye contact first and turning to Kina, whose eyebrows raised slightly as he twirled part of his curly blonde moustache between finger and thumb.

"...XO, what is the menu for tomorrow, anyway?" He asked, hopefully: "...Bacon?"

The Oni gave a toothy, albeit good natured smile in response. One could almost imagine a field of flowers bursting into being about the corners of her face, like an old-fashioned romance novel.

"Of course, Commander."

"Terrific. That's one crisis down, at least."

The older man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, brow furrowing with the unaccustomed effort of further planning ahead. It seemed rather... Unusual that such a man would end up in command of Terra Sentinel's most important vessel, but there was little time for such things to be wondered upon, as he spoke up yet again, his loud voice clearing away any other thoughts as he spoke:

"We're about to shove off for Japan, as a matter of fact... No idea when more of those things will come, after all. I assume you'll be joining us?"

 

[MKR]

All things granted it wasn't that hard to figure out what Cassius' breakfast of really any day consisted off once you knew what he was. So Hyperion would definitely be able to predict his breakfast for the entirety of the androids existence and from the sounds of the exchange between the XO and the Force commander it didn't seem all that hard to predict his breakfasts either. Still, the message behind Pendleton's words was clear, let alone his glances around the room, he was not a fan of Hyperion.

The man's discomfort was also clear at the mention of Captain Korppi's dead father, something to be kept in mind but not pushed upon and the offer to join in the journey to Japan would be met with a nod.

"Gladly sir."

 

[Tyran]

Sigrid raised an eyebrow at the Force Commander's reaction, but little else. The mention of food however made her stomach growl loudly, and she nodded at the offering to stay on board. "With an offering of food, gladly. Extremely so if I can go and crash on a bed."

She looked around. "Is there still something I'm required for?" She asked with a yawn. "Or am I free to look for a bed? Or better yet, shown to one."

 

[GEAR]

"Good! Get some rest - with me in charge, you're going to need it!"

Pendleton gave another belly laugh as he departed, the assembled crew now hurriedly returning to their own stations as they prepared for takeoff.

"...If there's anything else you should need, please don't hesitate to let me know." Said the XO, giving a dutiful bow before departing as well in Pendleton's wake.

The two's departure left more than a few questions hanging in the air... but for now, they were all safe - and perhaps, that was enough for now. Sigrid and Cassius were shown to their individual rooms - surprisingly comfortable for a battleship - and would, for the first time in a while, get to enjoy some well deserved rest.

Not too long later, the Force Commander made his way to the bridge, leaping with all the dynamism that his frame afforded him into his command chair. Kina took up position dutifully beside him as the assembled staff gave a collective salute. They had been waiting for this moment with baited breath - and so too, it seemed, had Pendleton. He cleared his throat... and then, with all the forcefulness he could muster, thrust a palm forward, fingers outstretched.

"Alright!" He roared; "Hecatoncheires, take off! Let's get the Hell out of here!"
"Navigator, set course for Japan."
"Aye Ma'am!"

Flares lit under the Hringhorni class as its prana engines revved up, the latent energies of its passengers granting it flight. Nothing of its kind or scale had ever been constructed before on this earth - and to see it rise into the air, plasma jet sub-engines roaring to life as restraints and cables were cut free, was nothing short of breathtaking. As it left, the factory below it began to detonate, filling the afternoon air with the sound of explosions as the last traces of Terra Sentinel's involvement were wiped clean.

The bright blue vessel burst through the clouds like a magnificent bird of legend, the afternoon sunlight gleaming off its cerulean curves as it's primary prana thrusters engaged, rocketing it over the horizon, leaving a faint skyward trail of glittering magic...