Rabbits on the Moon (Sess)

[GEAR]

James' otherwise blind strike was far from such - TS-DEMON, wonder of an operating system that it was, guided the blade even in his absence - and the gleaming emerald blade scythed off the Gablin's head, causing it to suddenly break off in its charge. Its thrusters flared, sending it spinning into a nearby asteroid, where it exploded violently, lightning up the debris field.

The remaining one doggedly clung on, charging the Genion - but the Punishers lashed out, the flurry of shots pulverizing the simple machine, shield proving little use against the concentrated bursts of Dimensional Energy that blasted it apart.

Back aboard the Rapunzel, Enfield leaned over the shoulder of a technician in the hangar, observing the technical readouts from the battle.

"How's the kid doing?"

"Efficiency is at around eighty percent. We'll wait until we see the final results before making any judgements, however."

Enfield let out a low whistle.

"Better than my first time, at least. Man, you don't even want to know the kind of deathtrap they had me-"

He didn't have time to finish. Suddenly, an alarm screamed to life, causing him to glance up... But, it was too late. A deafening explosion filled the air, lights flickering on and off in the hangar, as the ground shifted beneath his feet, roughly throwing him off balance.

Meanwhile, James' HUD would have bleeped a high energy reaction, the Genion's head unit turning reflexively as it detected... Something unusual. In the distance, a beam of sapphire blue energy came into view. It cut through the battlefield, through the debris - and smashed clean into the center of the Rapunzel, shearing the ship in half, as explosions rocked its form - yet, perhaps as a result of the ship's reliance on Dimensional Energy for power, its fuel cells failed to ignite, leaving its twin halves drifting helplessly.

The remaining Gablins assembled hurriedly, forming a protective wall between the source of the beam and the Genion, seeking to protect it at any cost - the training program hurriedly discarded in place of their ordinary combat protocols.

They were not alone, it seemed.

 

[Hitura Rael]

James let out a deep breath with the two immediate threats dispatched. "Nice work." He pat the console softly. "Hopefully not many more. But with my luck Enfield put out three dozen..." That would be like the man... Especially if he was still sore over the laxative spiked smoothie a few weeks back. James' attention snapped to the alarm. That was definitely NOT a good one. The Genion tensed,ready to react.

He had not expected the attack to slam into the Repunzel and rip it in half. His heart sank to his stomach, eyes wide with horror, like a deer in the headlights. "No... no no no..." The Genion turned toward the Repunzel with every intent to rush to the crew's aid. Common sense hit him before he could take one step. Whoever fired that was still out there. The ship was disabled. HE would be the next target, and that would put any survivors he could help in danger.

He gripped the controls tightly and scanned the area, watching for signs of attack. He had to lead the assailants away from the ship if he could. At least the remaining Gablins switched over to defend instead of continue the training. "Keep an eye out." He muttered to the ship as he turned his attention to send out the distress signal to base. "Genion to hangar, is anyone alive in there?" His voice shook with worry and fear. He pushed it down and continued to watch the area while attaching the punishers to the glaives, keeping them in hand until a target presented itself.

 

[GEAR]

Only silence met James' inquiry, the radio crackling with static. For the moment, it seemed... He was completely alone.

That would, however, only last for a few seconds. The Gablins turned as one, their collective sensors detecting something-

...But it was too late.

A bright blue bolt smashed into the leading machine, pulverizing it in an azure blast. Its overall effect, compared to the punishers, was less like an energy round... more like a railgun, of sorts - certainly not the kind of weapon commonly employed by the Lunarians. In very quick succession, a series of blasts followed suit, each one striking one of the Gablins as they scurried about - and in mere moments, the drones had all been destroyed.

At last, the perpetrator came into view, as something massive pulled up overhead, surveying its handiwork through a gleaming mauve visor, behind which a pair of mechanical eyes glowed, menacingly.

It was easily at least twice the height of the Genion, but compared to the sleek curves of the Lunarian machine, this one was... Utilitarian. Its contours were blocky, its entire form shrouded in thick, heavy armor plates colored a deep aquamarine. It did not appear to have any lower legs - rather, its thighs terminated in a pair of gigantic thrusters, further supplemented by another pair of hulking maneuvering binders arrayed on its back. Its head boasted a large, swept-back crest, black armor enclosed about a thin slit, through which it gazed out at the smaller machine. In its hands, the monstrosity cradled a similarly scaled up weapon - to call it a rifle would be a disgrace - no, it was more like a handheld cannon - and it was this very same weapon that it was in the process of reloading, slotting a magazine into it's upper back with a spray of sparks.

 

[Hitura Rael]

The Genion turned as the Gablins did, just in time to have to shield his eyes from the blast that destroyed the lead. The Genion jumped back away from them as one by one they were picked off like cans sitting on a fence. NOW, he was alone on the battlefield. He wished for a better distress signal he could put out, a panic button if you will.

The assailant was massive and bulky. Getting past the armor would be... a pain. Luckily, the face looked like a prime target. The Genion separated the punishers from the glaive, the remote funnels would not help here unless he wanted to annoy it with the equivalent of a mosquito or something small and bitey. With it's primary weapon in hand, the Genion charged at the hulking mobile suit at full speed to close the distance. As it drew near, it let off three successive shots of the Nitro Pike from it's left shoulder, aimed at the eyes.

 

[GEAR]

There was a glow of light as the Ganonia rocketed up and away, thrusters blazing, the Nitro Pikes embedding themselves in the debris behind it - then detonating, demolishing the leftover fragments of a cruiser's stern in a series of explosions.

"So that's the Lunarian prototype."

...The voice of the Ganonia's pilot came in loud and clear over the communications line - they weren't even bothering to hide their identity... Or, perhaps, they wanted to chat? It was a man's voice - cool, calm, and professional. Hardly some kind of murderous fiend or bandit - and given the hardware they were packing, this was no independent actor.

"...It looks different from the images I received. Curious."

He continued airily, the Ganonia turning as it flew to face the charging Genion. It was already clear that there was a massive difference in acceleration - the larger machine was designed, it seemed, to be able to keep its distance, and it was doing just that - circling the edge of the debris field, waiting patiently for James to approach. Within the cockpit, Eduardo Casker gave a small, apologetic smile. He didn't know who the pilot of the machine was... But, he thought, he extended to them his sympathies.

"In any case, it's nothing personal-" - The shoulder stock of the Heavy Shock Shooter jutted up, and the weapon was brought to bear, aligning the Genion in the crosshairs.

"Just business."

With that, it unleashed a trio of shots, tracking James mercilessly, one after another, with one-second intervals - designed to catch him if he simply attempted to sidestep and continue his charge.

 

[Hitura Rael]

"You crash a training exercise not even knowing if you have the right thing? What if this isn't even the machine you're looking for?" James answered back with no concealing of his irritation. He cursed under his breath, Genion changed trajectory to go above the shot. James growled and continued the upward trajectory over all three before angling back down toward the enemy machine.

The Nitro Pike from each shoulder fired two shots while the Punishers charged energy. "What do you want?" Unfortunately, James sounded like an angry teenager yelling at his parents for daring to call his name while he was trying to do something unscrupulous in his room. The anger at least hid the fear well. He knew he was outmatched, a green recruit against a veteran.

 

[GEAR]

As James climbed, the barrage would have become more and more fierce. Within his own cockpit, Ed could barely suppress a raised eyebrow. A test pilot, he thought, was hardly a rookie... But to rush so brazenly out into the open, especially against a machine he'd never seen before? The young man must have a deathwish.

And, for that matter, he did sound young, and it caught him slightly off guard. Nevertheless, Ed steeled himself - if this machine was as dangerous as he heard, he couldn't afford to get complacent. The Nitro Pike shots lanced out - and managed to catch the skirt armor of the Ganonia, glancing off its thick surface, unable to penetrate from this far away, but leaving gashes across its armor plating.

"...I wasn't aware the Lunarians were employing child soldiers."

The Ganonia's shoulder cannons swung out of their concealed bays on the weapon's shoulders, swiveling up to track the Genion as it attempted to close the gap once more, Ed pausing to reorient the Heavy Shock Shooters as the beam cannon barrels pulsed - once! Twice! - sending four bolts of plasma up directly into James' path in a wide spread, seeking to delay his advance.

"If you value your life, you'll eject and surrender that machine, boy." Retorted Ed flatly to the teenager's inarticulate yelling;

"Do you have any idea what its function is? Or are you merely a patsy?"

 

[Hitura Rael]

"I am not a child." James stated coldly. Definitely getting pissed. He was eighteen! He was TECHNICALLY an adult!

The Genion danced around and between the shots, delaying his advance. He took a deep breath and released it slowly. Calm. He had to think. There had to be a way to close that gap that didn't include going through one of those barrages with the hope of not being blasted apart. "So you're basically giving me the options to die with my partner or die a slow agonizing suffocating death free floating in space. Nice choices. I think I'll go with being blown apart with my partner."

The Genion angled again at the Ganonia to continue the charge. He HAD to close that gap. "Enlighten me, oh wise murderous over-compensator. But no dick pics. I'm not interested in grandpas."

 

[GEAR]

Ed could only raise a perfectly-groomed eyebrow at James' crass mention. Definitely, he thought, a child. Unfortunate - even if that were the case, he couldn't afford to hold back - not if this machine was capable of a fraction of what he understood.

No more hesitation. Time to finish things, before the Lunarians could react to his presence.

The Ganonia brought the Heavy Shock Shooter up to its hip, grasped in both hands, shoulder stock braced against its armor as it locked on to the Genion… And, suddenly, charged. The barrel of the electrified railgun was ablaze as it sent five more shots in rapid succession towards the Genion, each one closer than the last - and at the speed it was traveling, it would be only a moment until Ed was right on top of him, and the overall effect was similar to having a locomotive barreling down on one's person, albeit on a jet of bright blue flame...

 

[Hitura Rael]

Welp, that stance was definitely not good. Perhaps he had succeeded in pissing the man off. Looked like it was his turn to play keep away. Being so much smaller and less armored... this was not the fun kind of keep away. The Genion came to a halt with a cascade of light from the forward facing thrusters. It would not fully disperse the forward momentum in time to halt itself before the first shot.

The Genion redirected that momentum with another propulsion from the legs, sailing over the first shot. It dodged to the left of the second, then under the third, then to the right of the fourth. The fifth one slammed home, on the thigh, sending the Genion skidding across the ground. The impact of the shot was jarring to say the least. But he could not afford to let it rattle him. Especially not with this massive truck heading right at him.

The Genion kicked off the ground, as the Ganonia drew ever closer, firing the charged Punishers, mostly as a distraction. If it could do some damage that would just be icing on the cake. The Genion headed for the Debris field, seeking shelter in the scattered remains. He needed to buy a little bit of time, just long enough to deploy the punishers...

 

[GEAR]

James' rapid escape led to Ed slowing his charge somewhat, even as the Punisher rounds hammered into the unit's chest, leaving a pair of sizzling holes in its armor. Those weapons, he thought, had struck with a lot more force than he had expected. He paused briefly, letting the Genion scamper off to the debris field, for the moment simply... Observing, as the turquoise monolith assessed its own wounds. Within the cockpit, Ed's features hardened, saying under his breath.

"You're not getting away that easily."

The machine shifted its arms to either sides of it, chest armor plates unfolding to expose a gleaming, square-shaped barrel set into its chest that telescoped out from its concealed location. Bright light began to accumulate in its chest, and even James might have spied from his hiding place its sudden light as it turned, bringing its torso in line with the debris field.

"Breast Blaster, discharging."

With that humble utterance, a massive torrent of electric blue energy geysered forth from the chest cannon, tearing through the debris field as Ed swept its beam from right to left, as if he were running the world's biggest buzzsaw through a forest, tearing apart James's shelter and sending up a chain reaction of explosions that was visible all the way from the Lunar surface...

 

[Hitura Rael]

The Genion hunkered down in a large enough chunk of debris. He just needed a moment to think. But that monstrosity wouldn't give him a breather, if it was still barreling after him. If not, well, that rifle was deadly enough on it's own. If he could decoy the tank long enough, he could get the Punishers in position to take out the cameras. It was a long shot, and he had no experience controling them remotely, but this was a desperate move for someone backed in the corner.

The Genion's alarms shouted as the behemoth started to charge it's weapon. Now or never! He combined the punishers with the glaives and let them drop, hopefully unnoticed down to maneuver into position. They were small enough... they should be fine. He hoped they would be at least. Explosions began to rock the debris field around him, sweeping away the debris in a fiery maelstrome. He would not have a chance to catch his breath again.

James let out a slow breath to calm himself, then let the Genion drop from the debris listlessly. Maybe the brute would think it hit, or a tempting target. That last one worried him most. He'd wait until he was almost to the pale lunar surface before activating the thrusters to charge toward the beast again, the Genion's fists glowing with dimensional energy.

 

[GEAR]

James rushed the Ganonia as it swooped in low, surveying the damage from its attack - but almost immediately, the barrel on its chest began to glow once more. Ed smirked within the cockpit, thumbing the cannon's dispersal switch to "wide", watching the power fill back up, waiting for the moment it had sufficiently cooled.

This time - from this range - there would be absolutely no escape. And, well, if the Genion just happened to be destroyed in the ensuing blast...

Accidents did happen.

"Discha-"

He didn't have the chance to finish.

A bolt of electric, purple energy lanced out of the dark, striking the side of the Ganonia's waist with unerring accuracy - and it hurt as well, tearing a chunk out of the beast's armor, as well as sending cracks running across the cooling vents that kept its firepower operational. The beam pulsed out of the damaged machine's chest - and went wide, causing its thrusters to spasm, attempting to regain its balance, Ed gripping the controls tight as he fought for control, hissing through his teeth as he cast about:

"What?"

A large, humanoid form came into view, approaching from the direction of the damaged ship, its fingerless arm outstretched. It towered even over the Ganonia, its armor made up of smooth, curved plates that gave it a more futuristic, organic appearance compared to its contemporary. Its head was almost like a dome, settled among its armor, a purple X-shaped visor glowing as it sized up the foe in front of it, minutely adjusting the direction of the crystalline construction it mounted in place of a hand. The gold trimmed parts on the machine's shoulders and knees immediately set it apart from its peers, deployed only by the Lunarian royal guard - meaning, it could be none other than the one and only Diosk Ace.

"...Sneak attacking a transport ship to flush out your target..."

A familiar voice crackled over the intercom, and moments later, a familiar face joined it on James' heads up display: Sir Enfield, in the flesh. He certainly looked... Worse for wear, his hair a mess, his visor cracked, and no telling what else - but he was, at least, alive and well.

"...Gotta say: Pretty low."

The Knight of Knights grimaced, evidently in pain - there was no telling what kind of harm he'd endured from the attack, but for the moment he seemed to be bearing it, giving James a dogged smile and a two fingered salute.

"You okay there, tiger?"

 

[Hitura Rael]

The Punishers thankfully went unnoticed or ignored by the Ganonia. Free to do as James pleased, they broke apart, each going an opposite direction to circle around the blue monstrosity and approach from the back.

James braced himself as the Ganonia begam to charge it's cannon again. He was fairly sure that that thing would not be fun to be hit by. Probably deadly. Most likely. Definitely. Definitely deadly. But it would be much better to die in the blast and destroy the Genion than to let the prototype get taken by this bastard.

But that blast didn't come as expected. Something slammed into the enemy, throwing off it's aim and destabalizing the behemoth. He kept an eye on the trajectory, ready to react, but kept his course. He was going to punch that bastard in the face. Repeatedly. He did slow to cast a glance at his saviour, and grinned. The sight of it was a world of weight off his shoulders.

"I will be once I punch this bastard in the face. Unless you have a better idea?" He said, joy and relief flooded through his voice.

The Punishers met in the middle, in line with the Ganonia's back. Together, they swept past, firing several shots each at the broad back and head before splitting formation again to circle around. They'd be less of a target apart than together.

 

[GEAR]

Ed snarled as the Punishers slammed into the back of the Ganonia, tearing gaping holes in the machine's backpack thrusters. However, as soon as he whipped his head back to the main monitor, they suddenly went dark with an emerald flash, as the Genion's glowing fist smashed clean through its head unit with a spray of glowing dimensional energy, sending it reeling back, thrusters firing. Even Ed couldn't hide his shock - how, he thought, could something that small hit with such incredible force?

"I was careless...!" The Colonial corporatist managed to sputter as he managed to regain control of the machine.

The Ganonia's legs lit up a bright blue as it shot up and away, vomiting smoke from its various wounds, evidently trying to escape - but as it did, there was a purple blur as Enfield's machine rocketed past the Genion, up after the fleeing monolith. From its emitters, a pair of fist-like constructs materialized - ones not dissimilar to those of the Genion's itself, as the Knight of Knights barked a command:

"Let's finish this, James! Climb!"

 

[Hitura Rael]

There was an odd sense of satisfaction as the Genion's fist sank into the Ganonia's face. A shame the machine recoiled back from the blow putting it out of immediate reach. He had to admit, he was surprised with the amount of damage that Genion managed to do. Even more surprised when the blue monster turned it's back to flee. Did the punishers really do that much damage? No, had to be weakened from Enfield. He hoped it was so he wouldn't have to kick himself for not deploying them the first time he had the instinct to do so.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the Knight of Knights barked his orders. "Yes sir! Trying to take him alive?" He hoped so. Someone wanted the Genion stolen. That meant there was a leak somewhere, possibly even a mole. It would be a shame to lose this source of information.

The Genion kicked off of the lunar surface once more, thrusters burning at full and fists glowing again with the brilliant emerald energy.

 

[GEAR]

Ed became vaguely aware of a sinking feeling in his stomach as the two machines approached him from below. The Ganonia angled its rifle - and let loose a flurry of shots in their direction...

But it was too little, too late.

The Diosk Ace and Genion converged their flight patterns, glowing green dimensional energy forming about their arms, an energy fist materializing out of the Diosk's own emitter. As they drew close, the Psychic field of the Diosk A and the D-Fault of the Genion harmonized, forming an electric green field that cast the two in a brilliant light, pure power washing over their curved frames as they pointed their fists skyward, accelerating until they were like a blazing, emerald meteor.

"Fields synchronized! Let's GO!"

All around the two, debris burst into flames as they crashed through, an unstoppable force of nature on a collision course with the blue giant, the blasts from the Heavy Shock Shooter peeling off the rippling field of power harmlessly, the light from their combined form almost blinding Ed within the cockpit as he raised a hand, trying to shield his eyes-

"Let's see your armor stop THIS! DOUBLE! DIMENSION! KNUCKLE!"

"...Oh, Hell."

They smashed clean through the Ganonia's waist, bifurcating it instantly with a terrific scream of metal, a blast of Dimensional Energy rippling out that tore the remaining scrap about them into mere particulate. There was a sudden flash of metal, as something small and black ejected from the machine's back, zipping quickly away on emergency thrusters like a scuttling cockroach - before the Colonial behemoth exploded spectacularly, a bright plume of blue and white illuminating the battlefield as Enfield and James' machines finally came to a stop, thrusters fluttering in the light from the blast.

From within his escape pod, Ed scowled. He hadn't been able to acquire the Genion after all... Or destroy it, for that matter. But, he thought, the mission hadn't been a complete wash. He had considerable amounts of data on the machine now... Which, he hoped, would go some ways towards keeping Alan Cicero from throwing him out onto the streets for losing a prototype Ganonia.

"ASRS, activate."

And with that, he was gone, the escape pod becoming little more than a blip on the horizon as the escape system activated...

 

[Hitura Rael]

The Ganonia burst into an inferno. James was... only slightly pleased with himself. The monster machine was down, but the pilot lost. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. There were other things to worry about. The Genion turned to the Diosk. "Are you okay!? What about the rest of the crew?!" The time for calm was pretty much over, unless something else lurked out there waiting to pounce on them. But he trusted his partner to give ample warning.

James glanced back at the Repunzel, the once majestic beauty torn in half, a floating corpse in space to join what was left of the debris and scrap of this field. Fitting, how the Ganonia recieved the same fate as the ship, though it had more of a fiery ending. A shame though, it would have been nice to study. Maybe reverse engineer it. Something that could have made it more useful than an attempt to capture the Genion.

 

[GEAR]

In response to James' inquiry, Enfield just... Gave a low groan, and sank lower into his seat, bringing a hand up to his forehead. Small bubbles of blood floated around his visage, and it was clear that the fight had taken more of a toll on him than had previously seemed.

Fortunately for the two... There wouldn't be long to wait before their prayers would finally be answered, as the radio in the Genion suddenly crackled to life.

"Attention, this is the Snow White, responding to an SOS signal. Any survivors of the Rapunzel, please respond."

In the distance, the form of another Gringal Class, evidently the ship's sister unit, and an accompanying squad of Dias - came into view, the various silvery forms of the knight machines cruising towards them as fast as their engines would carry them.

At last... They were safe.

---

Aboard the Gringal Class "Snow White"

Following Enfield's Diosk Ace, the Genion was guided into its berth by a pair of Dias, and James was permitted to exit his machine. Surprisingly, it wouldn't have been long before he was have been greeted by Enfield, who was irritably waving off the attempted treatment of a spherical medical droid with his one good arm.

The Knight of Knights... Had seen better days. In addition to his face certainly appearing swollen, his right arm was wrapped in a makeshift cast, and strips had been torn out of his uniform to bind it together, with his right leg as well being shorn and bloody. He came to a stop, azure hair bobbing in the zero gravity, coming to a halt just beside the young pilot, asking as he did:

"Hey. You alright?"

 

[Hitura Rael]

James flinched at the groan, his worry renewed. "We need to get you medical help..." The Genion hovered near the Diosk Ace in a protective manner, the punishers floating nearby as extra insurance. How the roles were reversed now. Enfield was... royally screwed if something else attacked.

Thankfully, further danger did not come.

"Snow White, this is the Genion. The Diosk Ace has survived the attack, uknown on the rest of the crew aboard Rapunzel. I am unable to raise communication with them and Enfield is wounded." Thank the Goddess for small miracles.

---

James was more than happy to wait for Enfield to be taken care of first. Soon enough, the Genion was guided in and safely tucked away. James muted his end of the comm link to have a private moment with the machine. "That went about as bad as I thought it would go." Worse, really. But better than he had hoped for that entire fight. He fully expected to die. "Sorry bout that hit you took, we dodged what we could but that bastard was fast." He sighed and pat the control panel lightly. "Thank you for protecting me. You did great."

James laid his head back in the seat to stare at the top of the interior. "At least we can only improve from here." He closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment. Maybe dozed off. It was hard to tell how long had passed between closing his eyes and being given the green light to disembark the Genion. James smiled tiredly before reaching to open the cockpit, "Rest well partner, you earned it." The cockpit opened slowly, allowing James to hop out, floating down to the catwalk. He made his way along the Snow White, exploring the familiar interior out of boredom.

He frowned as he ran into Enfield, or maybe Enfield ran into him. "You should be in bed and not avoiding your doctor." He looked over the knight, guilt weighing down at the various wounds and torn uniform. James stared at the man for a good five seconds before he threw his arms around. "I'm fine, for a bit there I thought you were dead."