Gaojinizer- Stage 29

Encounter

The Newly minted Juzumaru II sailed through the sea of the stars, which almost seemed calm, at least in comparison to the warzone that had only now calmed in earth’s orbit, and at Lagrange 3. The Garsalan Orbital Defense Grid had collapsed over time, just as was planned in the initial Operation Orion’s Blade plans, and as such, humanity had finally begun to see space once more for the first time in decades. Most ships who had attempted to do so would be shot down by the Garsalan Long before they got off the ground, at least before they’d taken orbital supremacy back. But, most knew, thought they'd reached victory, this was only the beginning. Their old common room was somewhat missed as the Machina pilots sat within had missed, even if slightly. It was a far cry from the large Galley, filled with many they did not know. After all, even with the Automation used on every Victory Class, there was people needed to fill roles.

Those who hauled cargo when they resupplied, directing the bots or piloting the smaller humanoid machines dedicated to this purpose, the pilots of Conventional Vanguard armors, who were on this ship as well as the Machina. Luckily for them, they had the newest models, which used reverse engineered Garsalan tech. Takeshi slurped on the noodles of the bowl of Ramen in front of him. As he finished, it almost seemed like he inhaled the broth, emptying the bowl.

“Man, it’s been forever since I had ramen! Not since neo-tokyo!” Diederick eyed this with a slight disdain as he shook his head.

“Must you always eat like your food will escape from you if you slow down?” The prince questioned. Takeshi only shrugged.

“Hey, never know what meal will be your last in this line of work… Speaking of that, The hell are we doing anyway?” Han shrugged.

“Who knows? I don't think they’d go after the moon straight away, but I'm not sure… What I am sure about, however-” The man stood to his feet, extending his arm dramatically, as once more, a cape of unknown origin seemingly manifested behind him.

“ Is that the Heroic Han Chen Shall succeed!” Takeshi took this in stride, as Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So it seems he’s not done trying to impress Kanta…”

“Guess not…” Haemon responded.

“Speaking of that, when are you plannin’ on making a move on Kyndall anyway, Haemon, it seems pretty obvious that you-” Takeshi was cut off by Andrew Clamping his hand over his mouth. While Takeshi was prepared to say something in protest, as Andrew pointed to the mentioned woman walking by, Takeshi nodded understandingly. Haemon sighed at this.

“I’ll get to it event-”

“All Pilots, Report to the hangar for mission Briefing” The words came over the intercom, no doubt being from one of the bridge officers. This made them begin standing up, walking to their hangar, and many within the room did the same, throwing their food away as they left. The pilots continued to file into the hangar over time. At the front, with a holographic display at her back, was Gyo Hwa-Young herself, her hands in her pockets as she leaned back onto the wall, her hand swiping across the holographic display, causing a globe, earth, and surrounding bodies to appear.

“Now then, since we’re all here, let’s get started. We’ve been sent to hunt down some stragglers, a fleet which escaped during our capture of the Garsalan Fortress, that has still remained within Earth’s orbit.. This should be a simple one.”

“Simple, With the Garsalan? When has that ever been a thing?” One questioned from the crowd.

“That all depends on how you guys perform out there… Make sure you don’t get complacent, A desperate enemy is a more dangerous one… You’ll be leaving in 5 Hours, prepare yourselves until then…” And they’d no doubt be desperate. The Garsalan had begun to rethink their stance of Humans being just primitives they could easily re-take control of earth from, if their changing strategies and units were anything to go by. The crowd began to disperse. While Kyoko found herself facing her own issues as the New head mechanic… Kyoko stood in front of the leaders of the Various Mechanic teams. One, a man of Tanned skin, and white hair, seemed to be in his own world. Electronic music blasted from his headphones, as he sang, and danced to the beat.

“Yeah, Work it baby, work it, Yeah, Uhh!” While another, who did a check on the Gaojinizer, seemed to be, speaking to it..?

“You got this, buddy…” The raven-haired woman stated. While another, a boy on the younger side, who seemed slightly younger than Kyoko, likely around 14. A prodigy there to serve as an apprentice, apparently. He seemed to be content with being silent, and observing the others in the hangar from the dark corner, recording his findings onto a datapad.

“Takeshi Inoue seems to be the loud one, Brash, aggressive yet, he somewhat serves as the center between the Machina Pilots… Interesting, Interesting indeed.” Kyoko simply watched these antics with a blank expression. Their names, Armoun Digara, Yaroslava Zhukova, and Dewydd Pendry… While some part of her was glad she was no longer relying on Old repair bots with outdated OS for help, but at the same time.

“Of course, they’re like this…” They had their quirks, for sure, but if they were assigned here, then truly, they couldn’t have been bad at their jobs…

The hours passed, and eventually, the time had come for the operation to begin, the Machina units lead a mass of Valiants, which had begun to be produced in large numbers. Even if they didn’t exactly match the might of the Garsalan’s Zo’gel’s, given the technology they’d stolen from the Garsalan consisted of the older units they sent to planets considered primitive, that was not to say they did not stand a much better chance, especially in the large numbers they were being fielded, they were Certainly more advanced than the S’fan’s… The mass of oncoming machines, and the ship lagging behind them, didn't exactly go unnoticed by the remains of the fleet, three cruisers, that was all that they had…

"“Tasselr mez'tek zu tas Machina ker'lek za val’ir zu veltar!”-“Those damned Terrans are on their way, including those accursed Machina!”

“Kor’lir za vekser vakser vel’zen. Tasselr ches’tar zu mel’or za vek’tor. Gaes, vakser ches’lor ven’ir?!”- “Made worse by the fact that we have no support. They even have those pale imitations of our technology with them! Admiral, What should we do?!”

The impromptu Admiral, A garsalan with snow white Chitin, placed her hand upon her chin in thought.

“Vel’ek tes’lir vakser lor. Vakser ze’ren zu zaner zu zath’lar vel Tas’luna.”-“There is only one thing we can do… We need to keep them away from our ships for long enough to break off to Luna…”

With that said, a swarm of Garsalan machines streaked out of their ship’s launch catapults. While they hated to admit such, in this situation, there was little they could do against these humans. It seemed that their assessment was not unclear, A wall of beam fire barreled forward from the Juzumaru-II’s guns, as well as the Gaojinizer, and other Conventional vanguard armors. All the while, those who were unlucky enough to meet Diederick or Andrew in close range, met the unfortunate fate of being bisected, or having their machine smashed into space debris. It hadn’t been but a few minutes since the battle started, and already, things looked to be getting worse. But this fact wasn’t completely unexpected, The leader of these ships did not plan on just throwing up her arms and giving up. Already, they’d begun using the thrusters to steer their ships, very subtly, so that they wouldn’t be found out, not immediately, Timing was everything.

Kyndall and Lucas alike had gained access to the newest Vanguard armors, The Valiants and it seemed that their skill in piloting was helping them in their endeavors. A stream of Covalons flew from the barrel of Kyndal’s rifle, which her opponent just barely avoided, as they closed in, drawing a blade from their side, which ignited as it was swung, and she did the same, the two blades clashed between them, and as she drew back, the next strike was the one to destroy it.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“I hope you didn’t think I was easy Pickings!” Apparently, non-humanoid vanguard armors were in the fray as well, bearing resemblance to the Ascalon once spotted in the battle of the Sahara, where the Iso’ foundation was last active on earth. But the Vanguard armors worked to battle against it, weaving around the shots, countering the missiles with missiles of their own. Before long, the Cosmos was saturated in rays barreling across it, thrusters streaking between those same rays, and explosions occurring where missiles met, or machines were destroyed. Erstwhile, Lucas had made it close enough to one of the Ascalons to take a shot into the cockpit, obliterating the pilot within. Try as they might, it seemed that they would not be able to stop the Terrans. Thankfully, however, their ships had already begun to make their way toward the moons, their gradual change of bearing having put them on the right course, and the kicking up of their thrusters having facilitated that. On the bridge of the Juzumaru-II, Gyo noted this with a hand on her chin.

“Don’t let them escape! If we capture their ships intact it will only be more beneficial for us. At this point, that is possible. Valiants block their escape route, Gunnery crews fire upon the enemy’s engines, we will stop them here. Machina squad, do the same!” Within the ship, the occupants of the Juzumaru work to act upon her orders, Targeting computers and human hands began to shift the ship, the forward cannons streaked with beams of Covalons, which tore into the armor of one of the ships, and the damage was evident almost immediately, even as they tried to take evasive action. On the bridge of the Makeshift Flagship, the Ivory Colored Garsalan Slammed her hand against her dashboard.

“Ker’lek, vekser zu Tasselr jalor vakser val’ir!”- “Dammit, the enemy forces have caught on!”. An officer, one from the lower Dais, looked up to the woman as he spoke.

“Zu Decimatas Ork’tar vakser vel’ir ze’ren vakser zel'varn ches’lor?”- “Their Orbital Decimators are moving to block our escape routes, what now?” It was now that the stress of her impromptu command truly got to her. She was only responsible for her own ship before this all went down, and yet, she was now the highest officer, even if by necessity. She knew that their chances of winning were slim, but it now seemed that even her escape plans were untenable… To be pushed this far by humans, she truly was a disgrace…. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a breach in subspace opening up in the distance, something detected almost immediately. But that raised the question… Who was this?

“Vakser vekser zu val’ek. Vakser ze’teslir zanir zu velk’alor.”- “Support has arrived. We will take care of things from here.” The voice seemed to come from a Garsalan on the younger side, and the ship, though decorated like that of an elite officer, didn't seem to belong in a place like this… Within the Ship, G’thera Zu Kalis placed his helmet onto his head, all the while, A’resh did the same, the two giving each other a..Kiss… If one could call it that, at the least, it was as close as they could get to one with their insectoid mouthparts. This precedes the two running to their respective machines. The same could be said for their teammates.

Just beside G’thera’s Daigailer, was his betrothed’s machine. The machine had a thin body, a torso with layered armor which almost resembles scales. The color of the machine itself, deep black and purples, almost like the cosmos itself. Two Golden eyes sat within the head, which was angular, with a crest sweeps backward with a sharp elegance. On its back, sat what looked to be an oversized warhammer, scaled up for the Machine’s use, and Bulbous pieces of armor mounted onto the shoulders. The Godaimon.

The next machine seemed even thinner than the last. The armor panels are segmented into dozens of articulated plates, each sporting thin filaments and antenna-like protrusions. Its head tapered into a visor slit that glowed faintly with shifting hues of data feeds. Across its back and forearms, fins spread out, bristling with wave-jammers and signal boosters. Vres Zu Kor’s Lassen. Beside the Lassen, was the Geflowne, piloted by Zes Zu Mich.

Its frame was tall, Lanky. Its armor seemed to emit a faint glow, painted camouflage which could change to fit the area around it, Akin to chameleon.. The head’s visor is elongated, a bright targeting reticle dancing with data readouts. A single massive rifle held in its hand, counterbalanced by adjustable thruster fins along the left side, within its design, many fins were incorporated, in the event it kneeled, stabilizers were designed to unfurl from beneath its shins and shoulders, locking it into perfect firing positions.

The final was a machine with Crimson armor, trimmed with gold. Its limbs were optimized for agile jumps, flips, and sudden direction changes. The armor plating is streamlined with angular edges. And upon its back, its thrusters, and wings alike lay. Which lit up as the machines were launched from the ship, wings of like streaking behind the Tel’as, the machine of one For’Gon Zu Vispid. These machines streaking across space did not go unnoticed, especially as they began to take action, The Daigailer’s Grasper drones began to let loose fire upon the UFE’s machines as they weaved through the vacuum. At the least, until Haemon quickly intervened.

“We got enemies, It looks like ace units!” In his cockpit, Haemon nodded.

“Nothing in the Database about any of them aside from that Zu Kalis Garsalan’s Machine…. What’s going on here?”

“Whatever it is, from how they’re moving we’ll need to handle them!” Diederick stated.

Within the Dagailer’s cockpit, G’thera’s eyes moved across the battlefield, considering their current situation.

“Zu Kor, Val’ter vekser ze’tal. Vel’ir zu Vel’tes zethor zu tassel Decimatas Orktar. Zu Mich, Val’ek zu vek’tor ze’tel vel’ir ze’vak lor Ze’shor, tar’sor ze’kor vakser vel’jir ze’lor ches’ten. Zu Visp-”“Zu Kor, Observe the situation from afar, Use your Electronic warfare Suite to slow down the Terran’s Orbital Decimator, Zu Mich, Use that Sniper of yours and target the winged one, its drones have proven to be a persistent Issue, Zu Visp-”

“Vel’tor vakser val’ir, Ser’or. Vakser vel’ek zaner zu ze’lir ze’ten,” For’gon vekser, vakser lor. Tar’sor vakser val’ir vakser lor ze’varn vekser vel’tal vakser ches’lor. “I’m going to stop you right there, Ser’or, I’ll fight at my own discretion.” For’gon proclaimed, cutting him off, before long, he was already shooting off into the battlefield, much to his annoyance.

“Vakser ze’lar… vakser ze’les vakser vel’ren. A’resh, vel’ter ze’tes ze’thar.” “That one… I’ll handle him later, A’resh, take care of the heavily armored one!” With that, they began to split off into their own sections of the battlefield. The Gondaimon had begun flying toward the Kaizenbuster, removing the hammer from its back. The sense within Andrew alerted him to this, and he maneuvered out of the way, kicking the machine away, or, he attempted to, as it managed to maneuver around his attack.

“Tch. They’re good.”

From afar, the Danzaman’s beams streaked toward the Godaimon, but he found himself surprised by what happened next, as the Bulbous attachments on its shoulders opened up, and within moments, the beams had been thrown off their course, sent careening into space.

“A forcefield?! But it seems much stronger than the other Garsalan Unit-” It seemed that soon, he would have other things to worry about, as he noted an alarm sounding within his cockpit, his sensory data being disrupted, his Stingers not taking his commands… His eyes moved across the field as well,a s he took note of similar problems in the Valiants, some of which seemed to be stalling, enough to relieve pressure on the Garsalan Troops.

“The Enemy must have a hacker in their midst… But which one of these new machines is it?” His hands began moving across his display, as he tapped, his mind going through the information, as he attempted to purge his machine of the infection, but this was not an easy task, especially as he just barely dodged a beam from afar… The Lassen stood on a piece of space debris, apparently from the last battle.

“Vel’lor… Vakser Xe'les ze'kar vakser vel’ir ze'lor vekser vel'ten,” - “Missed him… Seems Our Quarry isn’t so easy to take out.” Vres stated. Regardless, he was already gearing up for another shot. In response, Two of Han’s stingers were already rushing toward where he thought the attack came from. As all this took place, the Tel’as were rushing for the Juzumaru-III, something which the occupants of the ship noted almost immediately. Gyo threw her hand out, as she shouted her orders.

“Anti Air guns, Missiles, Intercept!” The surface of the Juzumaru seemed to light up as a mass of smaller beams, and missiles began to fly toward the speed demon, and yet, the Garsalan within only seemed to weave around these attempted attacks, As his shoulder plates opened up, micro-missiles aimed at detonating those sent at him prematurely were used to that effect, as well as the guns, which fired small bullets of particles forth from his forearm.

“Tar’val vakser, vakser ze’lor Tassel zath’lar vel’ir!”-“Now then, Let’s tear this terran ship apart!”

The two hilts upon the machine’s side were placed into its hands, as cutting jets of Plasma extended from them. However, the Machine found itself stopped in its tracks, as coming to meet its charge, was the Valgeogant. The two blades clashing between the two in a short time.

“Not so fast, Roach!” The two pulled back, and went forward, but shortly found that their blades, both dual wielded, failed to pierce their enemies guard. Time and time again, and, as such, other actions were taken, deploying one of the many secondary blades from within the Valgeogant, Diederick kicked it toward his enemy, who got out of the way quickly enough that it was only a scratch. While firing a point blank volley from the guns upon its arms, that left scant but scratched with his opponent’s quick actions.

It seemed that the intensity was shared by G’thera and Takeshi, as the two once more were locked into battle with one another. The beam bullet of the Comet Pulse Cannon Knocked an approaching drone, which likely intended to crush the Gaojinizer, off course. Takeshi shot forward, as he spoke.

“Seems we got a real situation on our hands! I’ll lock down this one!” In his cockpit, Haemon guided the Stingers, aiming to keep the Geflowne and Lassen out of the way, something he seemed to be succeeding in for the time being. The pilots left dodging the beams fired at them, at the least, until Vres worked his magic, Shutting one, then two of the stingers down.

“Tch.. We got a unit focused on hacking back there, And a sniper!” Soon enough, Haemon jumped into action, shooting off toward where the Danzaman’s stingers went.

“My machine isn’t Designed for offense, not completely, but I can do something!” However, it seemed that the battle was not to last for long, given the words that came over G’thera’s comms.

“Sir, High command has ordered us to return to Luna!” A return, now, in the middle of a battle like this?!

“For what reason?!”

“They said you would be needed for the next operation!” Such an annoyance, and there was little doubt in his mind that if that annoying Zu Vispid bastard hadn’t decided to go off on his own… Regardless, he would obey for the time being.

“Pull back, we’re needed for other matters!” With no more words, missiles were launched from the back off machine, those which flew toward the sites of battle between the machina, and the slayers, setting off within close range, making chaff, and smoke, which allowed for them to streak back to their ship mostly unabated, which began to exit the area. Takeshi looked upon this with squinted eyes.

“Alright, Let’s regroup and Pursue, they won’t get f-”

“Do not pursue…” The voice was one he recognized well, Gyo Hwa-Young. Her face appeared upon the displays of their cockpits. Deiderick looked upon this with a thinly veiled annoyance.

“Why would we let them escape, they’ve proven dangerous!”

“Because you will be needed for the next operation, not to mention this will allow you to strategize against them, I have no doubt that they will be there as well…” This wasn’t anything they agreed with, or liked, and the same could be said for one who shared a Disdain for them, to a surprise, Lucas. Who sat silently with a grimace on his visage. Yet, despite all that, the battle had been cut short regardless…