Gaojinizer- Stage 30

The Battle Of Luna

Annoyance had made it onto the expressions of the members of the Machina Team, along with Kyndal and Lucas. They stood in the hangar, waiting for Gyo to reappear. Eventually, sliding over to them, was one Kyoko, who focused upon Takeshi in particular.

“What are You so angry about, Oaf?”

“What would I NOT be angry about? We could’ve taken them out there if we got more time!” Though, this only led to Kyoko Sighing.

“Did it even occur to you that there’s a good reason?”

“Good? It’d better be a great one!” This conversation wasn’t so surprising, though it seemed there were less “Oafs” Flying around between them. Though, to Dewydd this was something he couldn’t ignore, as, as usual, he furiously wrote down his observations of the two, these would be great observations for his studies… his hand upon his chin, at the least, until Kyoko turned away from Takeshi, taking note of this with squinted eyes.

“Oi…” She stated, annoyance in her tone, as she picked the boy up by the back of shirt, almost as if a mother cat lifting her kitten by the scruff of its neck.

“You’re supposed to be doing checks, not writing another one of your Behavior reports!” The boy grumbled in his annoyance, but ultimately accepted being carried away. Before long, the awaited figure had arrived in the Hangar Bay.

“Alright, I’ll make this quick. Order’s came down from Supreme Command, The Garsalan have sent three fleets to reinforce the space around Lagrange 3, where we captured that fortress, they’re trying to keep us away from the moon, is what’s being thrown around. Apparently, they’ve figured out we were going to do so. The fact that they took Pre-emptive action alone shows us that whoever has taken control of this front thinks a lot more about the enemy rather than just thinking victory is guaranteed… Meaning, this won't be as easy a fight.”

The plan which came from Asani Igwe to the forces of the UFE, a long battle line would be formed, to some extent, he'd taken inspiration from Cannae, though that was no doubt a reference the Garsalan wouldn't understand. A crescent shaped formation would be adopted before their lines met, and when the Garalan attempted to advance, the wings would spread out, and encircle them in their entirety, closing them into the vice as time went on, the Machina themselves, and the fastest units, and ships would be included on the wings.

But, on the other side, their enemies had apparently done the same planning their opponents had. On the flagship of the Garalan fleet, the various commanders had found their way into a room containing a great table, and a large holographic display, showing the battlefield. Triangles red and green, representing the terran fleets, and their own, dotted the space. The Lagrange points, as well as the two focal bodies, earth, and Luna, were deployed. To no surprise, G’thera was one of those within this council, his observant eyes moving to see just who had been sent as well.

An imposing presence sat at the head of the table. His chitin was a mix of earthen greens, and his height was great, he towered over the rest of those within the room, and by no small extent. His cloth was decorated with gold, and silver, three of his six eyes were cybernetic, an injury from his early days as infantry… Though, he paid the ones responsible back more than enough, as they no longer breathed.. There was a distinct difference between him, and those who had come before, arrogance did not dominate his psyche and strategies… This was Ju’Tel Gaes, or, roughly translated, Admiral, a member of one of the Four great clans, Zu Alis. Though he was by no means the only one, All three fleets were ultimately under him and his Vice Admiral, but below him, there was a total of 1 Rear Admiral for each fleet, each consisting of 1.200 Ships….

- “Now that we are all here, let's begin. While we have numerical superiority to the Terrans, we must not get complacent simply because of that. If nothing else they have displayed that they are able to fight against larger forces effectively. As such, we must once analyze their tactics… We believe that the supreme commander of the Terran Forces, one known as Asani Igwe, is currently commanding the forces looking to push into Luna. He is a shrewd tactician and strategist, do not underestimate him. He uses trickery when he is in command, formations change quickly, we must be wary of that fact…”-

Soon enough, Another Garsalan, her chitin of an artic white, stood to her feet. In a moment, most eyes were on her, Ju’tel’s Second in Command, Te’Gaes, Vice Admiral, Su’ora Za Mosus. as she swiped her hand across the display, appearing upon it, was the Machine the Terrans known as the “Valiant”

“This machine is the newest Terran Model, their Industry seems to be forging them, quickly, at that. While they are much less advanced than their Zo’gel’s, they are centuries ahead of what they were using just months ago. In terms of technology, we Estimate them to be ahead of the S’fan, nearing the Mk 2. Though those are machines meant for the subjugation of Primitive planets, this presents a serious Issue, they are beginning to absorb knowledge of our sciences at a rapid rate… This makes beating them back all the more important.”- Su’ora commented. Now, the admiral re-took center stage.

- “As such, during this battle, I don’t want to see any heroics, Do not break off from the main force, do not attempt to bite off more than you can chew, Especially with the presence of those units the Terrans call the Machina, though I assume Zu Kalis will be able to beat them back… This is not a battle to take lightly, Treat these Terrans as if they are the Slassi…” Just what was the Admiral saying?! Those Primitives, to treat them as they were the Scourge from Andromeda, their only peer power in the cosmos?! Confused, if not answered murmurs began to spread. Eventually, another one of the commanders, one of aquatic origin given his azure chitin, Vu’Gaes, Rear Admiral, Esi Zu Vispid, stood to his feet.

“With all due respect, You can’t certainly be expecting us to treat those primitives-”

“Enough… Za Mosus’ words should be more than enough to tell you the situation has changed. The planet that was taken down in a few days existed 4 decades ago… Forget not that General Ciddeth, a pilot greater than all here, wielder of a machine with powerful Psionics, was placed in his tomb by underestimating them.”

This much, seemed to make him go silent, and sit down once more.

- “Now then… We will make our enemy think we share the same level of organization as the fools before us and send our forces forth, we’ll make it look like brute force… When he tries to pull one of his maneuvers, that is our time to strike… Ready yourselves for the oncoming battle, Dismissed.” This much seemed to be more than enough, as the Commanders stood, doing the traditional salute of the Garsalan, before they began to file out. As for G’thera, his palm rested upon his chin, as he Thought about the future battle plans… And also, those of his own. As he made his way into a less populated Hallway, he found one Tel Zu Aslan waiting for him….

“There you are, G’thera…”

“Mmm… The plan against the Tasselr is a good one, but that will not be our only focus… This may be a situation where our rise can be further pushed… Begin contacting our allies. When I give you the Signal, Plan A begins…” G’thera stated. Tel nodded, as he slipped away, further down the hallway…

With the humans, specifically, the Machina pilots, they’d made the decision to figure out how to handle the Machina M’sel before the battle began, something that would undoubtedly be pertinent to their success.

“So, We got five enemies: That annoying shit Zu Kalis, That speed Demon with the swords, Tha one with the force fields and hammer, The sniper, and the Hacker… We gotta keep that hacking guy from being able to operate, same for the Sniper.” As Takeshi spoke, Deiderick nodded, chiming in.

“Inoue, You can handle G’thera well enough, and me, The one with the Plasma blades, If we strike at the same time, we can overwhelm one of them, and the other will fall afterward.” Diederick explained. Soon enough, Andrew began to stroke the facial hair that was on his face.

“The one with the hammer strikes with a force that seems almost too much for the Hammer’s size, even with how large it is, there’s something else at work with that one… At the moment, it may be best for Haemon to handle it. His shields can keep him safe from that hammer, I believe, and the bulk of the Sanvolner may be enough to do damage…” The one mentioned nodded at this, as he spoke.

“Right… Han, Your stingers are probably enough to keep the last two off balance, right?” to which, Han nodded.

“For sure… Luckily, Earth’s great hero decided to work with that Boy Genius, Dwydd, and the other Mechanics, and got some Electronic warfare of my own put into the Danzaman…” This caused a smirk to appear upon Takeshi’s face, as he slapped his fist against his palm.

“Alright! Let’s get out there and stomp on some roaches!”

The fleets of the Garsalan Empire prepared for their advance, as the Machina awaited their arrival in the wings of the formation, and unusual silence between them… If they were to re-take the moon, they’d need to fight as hard as possible, and no doubt, their enemies would be doing the same to bar their path… the Anticipation continued to build for hours, and hours, as no side went forth, not just yet, until the 8th hour had come. It was only then that the Garsalan moved forward… Yet, even as Asani Igwe executed his stratagem, forming the crescent shape, and feigning a retreat when their forces seemed to clash, the Garsalan fleet did not pursue, in fact, their orbital decimators, and more ships, began to reinforce the weak points he formerly saw. Within the battle, a few custom units had begun to make a name for themselves with the ease to which they tore apart Terran forces, even outnumbered, Ace pilots, for sure… This development was by no means one that boded well, but it was not a development they couldn’t adapt to. From his flagship, Asani Igwe watched this development with narrowed eyes… This was not a battle he could lose, if he could defeat them here, they’d have the moon once more, and possibly make it to the asteroid belt, where colonies may yet survive, considering they were built to be self sufficient, and built within hollowed out asteroids. Though they no doubt were maintaining radio silence if so. His observation of the enemy’s movements brought him to one conclusion, this was an attempted encirclement… The commanders of the two wings on his fleet were Marshal Zou Bai on the right and Admiral Zhenya Mikhaylova on the left. If their original plan could not work, then they needed something else…

“Admiral Mikhaylova,Marshal Bai, we will press your strips of the fleet into the center of the enemy formation!”

As these orders came, Mikhaylova put her hand upon her chin, knowing quite well the danger these ace pilots proved, as well as the Shielded Garsalan units… Soon enough, upon her display, the face of Marshal Bai appeared.

“Our forces are already taking losses, we need to be successful…” She nodded at this.

“Our less advanced units will hit the Garsalan from afar, form a screen of fire from our ships! Machina Team, you’re up, the Valiants will join you!”

A smirk made its way onto Takeshi’s face as he heard this, and his machine shot forward.

“You heard the lady, Lets kick some ass!” He shouted with glee, Soon enough, the Garsalan formation had to contend with not one, but four enemy aces at once, which demanded most of their attention. Andrew kicked his Impact boosters on, extending his machine's leg as he descended upon a column of Garsalan ships, no sooner were they reduced to wrecks, split down the middle, and exploded, creating balls of fire that further lit up the space around them. The same could be said for an unlucky team of Zo’gel’s, who found a combination of Han’s stingers, and the Gaojinizer’s comet pulse cannon too much for their shields to handle, as they buckled under the force, and the moment the shield went down, a hailstorm of fire from the wall of earth’s forces finished them off. The garsalan admiral watched this with a hand upon his chin…. The humans' idea wasn’t exactly a bad one, however…

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“Change formation! Zu Vispid Vu’Gaes! Cruisers, Heavy Cruisers, forward! Pin down the enemy advance units. Zu Treta, Circle around and strike them from behind! We shall crush them at once. Those machines the humans call the Machina will be out of our way soon enough!”

Almost as if on cue, in the thick of battle, Takeshi’s “Sense” took effect once more, as he found himself weaving around a rapidly approaching beam of particles, then a second, then a third. These movement patterns, he knew them well….

“Well If it aint’ my “Favorite” Roach… Zu Kalis.” Approaching from afar, was the Daigailer, still within its fighter like- form, but that quickly changed as it charged toward Takeshi, its arms and legs extending from the frame, its head Revealed, as blades were placed into the now revealed arms, the change taking full effect as the blades of the two machines clashed between them.

“Trust me, I feel the same way, Primitive, now die!” In a short time, they’d already begun weaving throughout the battlefield, shots of the comet pulse cannon, and the drones the Garsalan’s machine made use of only added to the celestial fireworks. To no surprise, the Machine was not alone, As diederick soon found out, with the rapidly approaching Tel’as.

“Time to die, Tassel!” For’gon shouted. The two’s blades clashed between them, as The Valgeogant moved swiftly to stop the attempted Flourish in its tracks, no sooner did Diederick bat both of the Plasma blades away, pushing to the left and right respectively to move them out of the way, opening up a direct shot at the Machine’s torso, had it not been for his opponents quick movement, the cut may have been a deep gash into the machin’s armor, rather than a scratch. A counter strike came toward the Valgeogant, but one that was eluded, but it mattered not.

“Commoner, Now!” He shouted, and in naught but a second, both pilots took action, Takeshi eluded an attack from G’thera, ducking under a swipe of his blade, before kicking the machine away, and in the same way, Diederick did the same with the Tel’as, sending the two machines on a Collision course, they stopped just short of that, But the annoyance, even if unsaid, was palpable, but they had bigger issues to worry about. The two Terran machines buzzed around them, as if sharks getting ready to strike, and strike they did. While the attack sent G'thera's way, a shot from the Comet Pulse cannon, was usually something he would have dodged. He couldn’t do so as easily with the Zu Vispid, who seemed to be rushing to battle the caped one like a rabid dog. As he would certainly be hit, and he would be left to face the two of them alone… They knew how to fight in tandem, that was an issue.

“Zu Vispid, pay attention to the whole battle, Fool!” With that said, he dodged as he intended to, and though For’gon was ready to respond indignantly, it would have to wait, as he would need to find his way around the hail of beam bullets descending upon him, though he managed to ascend without a scratch, the same could not be said for the gash placed upon his machines’ back, Courtesy of a Lateral swipe by Diederick. Something which filled the Garsalan with surprise.

“Danmed Tassel!” He attempted to Retaliate, but his strike was handily blocked, and he nearly found his cockpit pierced by an incoming jab of the blade… What was this feeling? Could he be…. No, that wasn’t possible, not to an opponent like this! He was to be a head of a great clan, he could not lose here! Though he attempted to weave around the strike that was oncoming, this much only resulted in the blade passing through the joints which connected the Tel’as’ arm, and in no short time, It was already falling to the void. Of course, this did not fall beneath G’thera’s notice.

“Fool…”

“Vres, shut down the caped one! Zes, Shoot him down! Zu Vispid, return to the ship!” In Vres’ cockpit, his arms and subarms alike moved across the holographic displays around him, working on the fly to deploy what was needed, his target set, he began to work his magic, and soon enough, Diederick was surprised when he figured out the Valgoegant was no longer responding to his controls..

“Dammit… This must be-” His words were unfinished, as he found that the situation had reversed, closing in upon him, was the damaged Tel’as, an eager Son of Zu Vispid letting a war cry on the comms, as he prepared to sink his teeth into his target. Much to the annoyance of Zes.

“It’s too close, He’s in my firing path!” That confounded… No, G’thera had to calm himself, He would need to think of something, and quickly, He himself could not go to his aid, not without exposing his back to the Terran. And their machines had both already begun to be damaged in this high speed dance they were engaged in. His mind drifted to A’resh, who apparently was clashing with the Kaizenbuster. Andrew himself placed both of his hands forward, activating his impact booster at near point blank range, managing to catch the warhammer being swung at him, and as he pushed it away, he attempted to jam a fist into the machine’s torso, but interference came, as the Bulbous pieces of armor opened up, exposing what looked to be Ring of black light within, and his punch was stopped where it was.

“There has to be a way around this field, it can’t be all encompassing.” Andrew mused.

From afar, Han observed the battle with squinted eyes. He had to work quickly to keep the attempted takeovers of the wider Earth forces by Garsalan cyberattacks, as well as track their movements.. But it seemed that the stingers had to fly. Haemon, who was previously defending him, nodded at him, as he observed Han nod back on his display. No sooner were the stingers shooting across the Cosmos, Both Zu Vispid and A’resh found themselves on the Receiving end of a stinger from behind, the beams slamming into their armors, though, for A’resh the damage was less so… Rage boiled within Zu Vispid, he was being pushed in this manner, by them, this could not be allowed to continue! A’resh had already moved to disengage at least for a time, Observing to see what her opponent’s next move was, as she now found the stinger pestering her.

As for Vres and Zes, the appearance of the Stingers had interrupted both of their processes, and moreso, they now found themselves under direct attack by another source, Though Zes attempted to draw his machine’s sidearm, a Particle Pistol, it did not so much as make it out of its holster before an elbow was slammed into the Geflowne’s cockpit, shaking the machine.

“Dammit, they’re good, We have to get 'em off us!” Within his cockpit, Vres continued to tap away at his display.

“Already on it. Let’s see how you like your Targeting systems scrambled!” Vres shouted… However, his attempts to execute the code, only ended in nothing..

“What, I’ve been blacklisted?! What kind of Encryption did they place onto that machine’s systems?!” The tide very much seemed to be turning for the Machina pilots, though their battle was by no means over… Inoue kept his gaze on the Daigeler, Avoiding the Golden-white Blur, as well as the slashes of its hooked blades, as he responded with a flourish of his Scythe. Only for his weapon to be caught on the enemy machine's blades. Takeshi retreated from melee range, firing bursts from the Comet Pulse Cannons on his shoulders,However, the opposing machine masterfully avoided the attacks, twisting his machine, and constantly adjusting his position, leaving not a single scratch on him, aside from those gained earlier in the battle. The Garsalan huffeds he rushed toward him again.

“I’ve just about had it with you interrupting my operations, Primitive. You, as well as your allies shall die by my hand!”

“Like hell we will!”

The light behind the Garslaan machine intensified, as it flew toward the Gaojinizer, with a war cry echoing over the comms. Takeshi was fully prepared to do the same. However, before he did, he took note of what happened around him once again, and began to debate with himself. He vowed to protect Earth, and the rest of Humanity, and yet here he and his team were locked into battles with a single squad? Around them, the formation had begun to waver, without their support, while they were holding strong for now, would that be the case forever? The deaths were no doubt going to begin to stack up. Lucis and Kynall were likely out there fighting, as were the many pilots who now joined them from the Juzumaru-II… What did it matter if he killed this roach, when the rest needed to be stomped on. Just like that, all the progress they’d fought for...It’d be undone.

“Guys… I have an idea, But you need to hold them off for now.”

Takeshi began to fly away from the Machine, and because of this, a Low chittering came from G’thera’s mandibles, as they began to writhe.

“You dare turn your back on me?!”

Rays streaked toward him from behind, but it seemed support had arrived, as Haemon’s Sanvolner stopped the shot in its tracks, with its shields, and no sooner did Andrew charge in, impact boosters activated, knocking the Daigailer away.

“Oi, just what do you think you're doing?!" Andrew yelled.

"I'm gonna see the full power of the Gaojinizer's weaponry… The Comet Pulse cannon, Max Power!"

This painted looks of surprise on the faces of the Machina pilots. That was right, he never had done such a thing!

"Full power?!" Han yelled in his surprise.

"We don't know the effects that it'll have, but, in this situation…” Deiderick stated, a hand on his chin.

In the Juzumaru, this was no different. Gyo began to tap through her terminal, taking a look at the situation around here, and as Diederick said, there was little else they could do.

"Alright, Inoue… But this’d better work. I’ll inform His Exellecny Igwe… Chen, deploy signal flares. We'll do the same." Gyo Commanded.

The field was beginning to clear of his allies, he knew for sure they wouldn't be caught in the blast if they moved quickly enough. Takeshi put his laser focus on the fleet on his display. While he also took note of the UFE ships beginning to pull back, he instead focused on levelling his cannons. He put his hand on the display, as he dragged the bar for the comet Pulse cannon's yield, to its maximum… for a moment, he stayed silent, as his hands drifted to the firing buttons.

“It’s time to end this...” He mumbled. A blinding light began to build within the barrels of the comet Pulse cannon, almost seeming like a beacon, even upon a battlefield saturated with particle beams, and balls of fire… His machine’s frame almost seemed to be shaking, a loud hum filling his ears as the energy within the cannons continued to build. Ju’tel observed this with suspicion in his eyes…

“GO TO HELL, GARSALAN! GAIA ERASER”

The Beacons became rays, a cone of Aether streaking toward the Garsalan fleets. The members of the Machina M’sel began to scatter to avoid contact, though, one among them, the Tel’as was just a moment too late, and soon enough, the bottom half of the machine had been eviscerated. What ships did not get caught within the beam seemed to have armored plates ripped off by the forces streaking by them. In a moment, suspicion had turned to surprise, as his three remaining eyes widened. Upon the battlemap, the green triangles which represented his forces, were consumed under a rolling cone of Crimson. Time and time again, the word Lost appeared in the beam's path. What was at first single ships quickly turned into nearly an entire fleet, and the casualties were only growing. High Chitters from the twitching mandible of the occupants began to emit, a sign of surprise.

“What is this?! A new superweapon? Those Machina units have always been an issue, but never to this extent… Full retreat!”

Ju’tel’s flagship took quick action in beginning its retreat, as did the rest as a retreat order made it to them but the damage was done. By now, a vast section of the enemy fleet was gone… But, Inoue was not done yet, he began rotating his machine, soon enough, the starry vacuum was lit by Balls of flame, as what ships were caught within the tidal wave that was the beam, seemed to disintegrate…

The forces of the UFE, From Lucas and Kyndal, to the two Admirals, to even the Normally calm and collected Asani Igwe, observed with widened eyes… As did those within the Juzumaru’s hangar bay. Kyoko’s goggles were pulled off of her eyes, and it seemed that even Armoun, who’s music never seemed to stop had halted, Dewydd’s note-taking had stopped…

“I really hope I can meet that Professor Okita guy, especially if he developed something like that…” Kyoko mumbled. The three with her did little but nod in agreement… Eventually, the beam would fade, but by that point, the damage had been done, a disorganized retreat was taking place, but, if the fading light in the Gaojinizer’s eye, and its non movement was anything to go by. Within the cockpit, the smirk had not disappeared from Takeshi’s face, even as his vision grew, doubled, and went black, as his head fell…

“Takeshi!” Andrew called, concern in his voice. It seemed that no more of that attack was coming…. While he could very well attempt to attack him in this state, G’thera thought better of it, especially with his allies very much still present.

“You all, break off! Make sure the rest escape!” It seemed that they’d decided to listen to him without question, the Godaimon, Lassen, and Geflwone had soon gone to engage the rest of the troops, and the Machina pilots had begun to return to their own ship with the now disabled Gaojinizer… This much meant multiple things… He switched to a different channel, one which he’d determined before the battle began…

“Tel, Plan A, It’s time…” For a moment, he received no response…

“But of course…” Good, He’d survived… Now, the two members of the squad were alone… The Half-destroyed Tel’as sat within a mass of destroyed ships, and the remnants of machines from both sides, evidence of the battle saturating the void as if it were an asteroid field. Confusion ran through his mind, He’d been outmaneuvered, not once, but three times, in the same battle?! The battle of Luna was a Garsalan loss, that much was clear. How could they lose to this force, to these Terrans?! Where were his allies? This question was soon answered, by a familiar voice coming over the comms.

"So, this is where you ended up… For’gon Zu Vispid.". Though the Garsalan's machine had systems going down with a quickness with the damage received in battle, For'gon could still perceive the Daigailer's form floating in front of him.

"Zu Kalis…" for a moment, no more words came from the Tes'Li of the Machina M’sel instead, he chose upon raising his machine's palm, aiming the barrel within, directly at For’gon's Cockpit, much to the other pilot's surprise.

"This works out well… I rid myself of a disobedient subordinate, and a barrier to my rise…" For'Gon's mandibles chittered in his rage.

"Traitorous bastard, House Zu Vispid is larger than yours by many magnitudes. My father will hear of this, and you'll never get away-"

"Quiet yourself…. I know of your House, but that will not matter. I have given reports of your lack of obedience in battle, your lack of adhering to our strategies, and I will easily have this recorded as a battlefield death at the hands of the Tasselr… After all, I have people to tweak the records as well. "

"What?!"

A chuckle came from G'Thera.

"Your house has burnt bridges throughout its time… I was easily able to sway them to my side. In addition to my allies who have been with me for years, the Ser’or waiting to take out the old guard and replace them, one by one… And when your fool of a father comes to avenge you and meets his death by the hands of the primitives, like a moth to a flame I will be one of the first in line to get his position, as a Te’Gaes… Zu Kalis will become that much closer to the status of a great house. And it will all be set in motion, by your death… "

The light within the Daigailer's palm began to build, as the Garsalan spoke lowly in defiance.

"Damn you…" Regardless, a beam was sent careening, directly toward his cockpit.

"DAMN YOU!!!" Those were the last works For'gon Zu Vispid spoke, before he was carried away and eviscerated, by the red-hot flow of energy….

Battle Of Luna - UFE Victory

1.440 Ships Lost - Garsalan Empire

600 Ships Lost- UFE