Winning Vote:
[X] Ship captains and pilots
-[X] Kira Yamato
-[X] Yurika Misumaru.
-[X] Ryoma
[X] Yes
-[X] Uruz Squad
-[X] Gundam Deathscythe
August (?) UE 0083
Location Unknown, above a heavily forested area
You are Kira Yamato, and you are certain that you're currently out of your depth.
Nonetheless, you are currently in the Aile Strike, escorting a shuttle from the Nadesico that has Captain Misumaru and Ryoma Nagare down to the clearing where a group of four people were spotted. They almost certainly saw the Archangel, Nadesico, and Ra Cailum appear in the skies above them. Hopefully they'll be able to give some context. As you descend, you spare a glance back to see the Arm Slaves of Uruz Squad jump down from the Nadesico's launch catapults into the forest below, followed by the Gundam Deathscythe doing the same from the Ra Cailum.
Stay safe you guys. You think to yourself as the Strike descends.
You touch down a short distance from the shuttle and exit the Strike. Now that you're closer, you can see the other group of people more clearly. Three are young girls, and the fourth is a young man with green hair...and clad in what appears to be the outfit of a fantasy forest ranger, with a sword sheathed on his hip. As you take a closer look at the girls, you realize they're even younger than you-not one of them seems to be out of middle school yet. In contrast to the forest ranger looking fellow, they're all wearing Japanese-style school uniforms, though judging by the different colors, none of them go to the same school. The girl in the red uniform has short red hair and a long braid that almost goes to her elbow. The girl in the blue uniform has long blue hair that goes slightly past her waist. The girl in the green uniform has short, wavy blonde hair kept in place with a red hairband, and is wearing glasses.
Upon closer examination, you realize that there is fantasy-style armor in certain places on top of the girls' school uniforms. Looking between the three of them, the common pieces seem to be a gauntlet on the right arm, a jeweled glove on the right hand, a shoulder pad on the left shoulder, and some kind of chest piece.
As the shuttle opens its door let out Yurika and Ryoma, you see the forest ranger draw his sword in fright, only for the girl in green to wave him down. You walk over to Captain Misumaru and Ryoma.
"How are gonna handle this?" You ask Captain Misumaru.
"I'll start the conversation and ask most of the important questions. Kira, you butt in if you think I'm missing anything. Ryoma, you keep an eye out for anything...fishy." Captain Misumaru says.
You and Ryoma nod in acknowledgement before the three of you walk toward the group.
"Hi! I'm Yurika Misumaru, captain of the warship Nadesico and representative of the Solar Vanguard! Would you mind telling us where we are?" Captain Misumaru says in a cheery tone while flashing a 'V' sign.
You try not to cringe, and judging from Ryoma's expression, he's trying to do the same. The red-headed girl speaks up.
"Oh, wow, the Solar Vanguard? I didn't know you could come over to Cephiro!"
You decide to interject.
"We didn't come here intentionally. We were investigating a Dimensional Distortion above Tokyo Tower when it sucked our ships in." You explain.
The girl in green adjusts her glasses before clearing her throat.
"I believe an exchange of information is in order." She says.
"Sorry about that, let's start with names. I'm Hikaru Shidou!" The red-head says eagerly.
"Umi Ryuuzaki." The blue haired girl says.
"Fuu Houoji." The girl in green supplies her name.
"And I'm Ferio." The forest ranger looking fellow says.
"Like I said before, I'm Captain Yurika Misumaru, commander of the warship Nadesico." Captain Misumaru says.
"I'm Kira Yamato. I pilot the Strike Gundam." You say as you jerk your thumb back toward the Strike.
Before Ryoma can introduce himself, Hikaru squeals in delight.
"I knew you looked familiar! You're Ryoma Nagare!" Hikaru says in admiration.
"Uh...yeah, that's me." Ryoma says, momentarily struck dumb by Hikaru's reaction.
"Please, Hikaru, you can fangirl all you want later. You guys want to know where you are? Well, welcome to Cephiro. It's a magical land that can only be entered from the outside with, well...magic." Umi says.
"That doesn't really tell us much." You deadpan.
"Apologies, it's just that Hikaru, Umi and I only recently entered Cephiro ourselves. We were summoned here via magic to become the Magic Knights spoken of in Cephiro's legends to save it from impending calamity." Fuu says.
"We have to save Princess Emeraude from the clutches of High Priest Zagato!" Hikaru explains eagerly.
"What's so important about this Princess Emeraude?" Captain Misumaru asks quizzically as she tilts her head in confusion.
Ferio chooses this moment to speak up.
"Princess Emeraude is the Pillar of Cephiro. Her prayers sustain the land, and without those, Cephiro will fall into ruin." He explains.
"Sounds like a pretty sh-cruddy system." Ryoma notes out loud. Ferio shrugs.
"It's been that way as long as anyone can remember." Ferio says.
"So, what, are you on your way to deal with Zagato?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually, not yet. We aren't actually Magic Knights yet. In order to properly become Magic Knights, we have to get the legendary ore Escudo from Eterna." Hikaru explains.
You resist the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose.
What is this, a JRPG? You think to yourself.
Yurika is about to ask the girls and Ferio something when you hear a crackle in your earpiece.
Recon Results
Roll 1d8
1-4|Alcyone and minions
5-6|Jama Kingdom forces
7|Council forces
8| All of the above
Roll 4
"Do you-ead me? Come in!" You're pretty sure that's Duo Maxwell.
"Say again?" You ask in confusion.
"Ah dam-There, do you hear me now?" Duo asks.
"Reading you loud and clear, Duo." You say.
"Great, now get out of there! There's a crazy lady who can summon dirt golems and use magic, and she's heading right for you!" Duo says urgently.
You glance to the side and immediately grab Captain Misumaru before diving to the ground. Not a second too soon either, as a pair of wicked-looking icicles flies through the space the two of you had been occupying not a few seconds before. The girls and Ferio duck, while Ryoma sidesteps before reaching into his coat and pulling out a sleek, silver tomahawk.
You hear an inhuman growl and look toward the source to see some kind of clay golem charging at you. There's a flash of light, and suddenly Hikaru is charging at the golem while brandishing a European-style broadsword. The golem takes a swipe at Hikaru, only for her to dodge the clumsy blow and bring her sword down in what you're fairly sure is some kind of kendo technique, hacking the golem in two. You look around to see Umi stabbing a golem with a rapier, while Fuu has a bow and arrow. Ferio has also drawn his sword and is slashing at a golem.
"Alcyone! This is your doing, isn't it!?" Hikaru shouts into the surrounding trees. The only response is another icicle flying out of the tree line, with Hikaru rolls to avoid.
You draw your sidearm and level it at a golem, firing off three rounds. To your dismay, the bullets don't seem to do much damage.
"Here!" Ryoma tosses you a gun case. You catch it and open it up to see a rifle of some kind inside.
"The rounds that fires are rated to penetrate Saurian hide. If that doesn't do the trick, nothing else we have on-hand will." Ryoma explains.
You nod and load the rifle before bringing it to your shoulder. You fire a round at a golem and subsequently blow its arm off with a single shot. You nod at Ryoma in approval, whose face breaks into a wicked grin before he charges at another golem.
The golem notices Ryoma, but before it can do anything, Ryoma brandishes his tomahawk and hacks the magical construct to pieces.
"What's that axe made of?!" You ask in bewilderment.
"Super Alloy Z. Juzo Kabuto sent this to Profesor Saotome as a gift to celebrate getting the patent for the metal." Ryoma explains.
"Interlopers! Do not think you can defeat me so easily!" A feminine voice screeches.
Everyone turns toward the sound, and you see an attractive woman with long blue hair in a...very revealing sorceress outfit step out between the trees, brandishing a staff. You assume this is Alcyone.
"Alcyone! You're still trying to stop us?" Hikaru says vehemently.
"Of course. I shall destroy you all, and earn the love of Zagato!" Alcyone says before chanting a spell and firing off more icicles.
You all duck to the ground or otherwise dodge, except Ryoma, who charges through the barrage of magical projectiles, hacking apart any that would hit him with his tomahawk. You take the opportunity to line up a shot and fire a round at Alcyone's shoulder while prone. The bullet is deflected by a magical barrier, but it's enough of a distraction for Ryoma to close the distance and bring his tomahawk down in a vicious two-handed strike.
Alcyone tries to block the blow with her staff, but she's too slow. Right as the tomahawk makes contact with Alcyone's skin, she appears to turn into water which flows some distance backward before turning back into the sorceress, who is now clutching a deep gash in her abdomen.
"Do not think this is over!" Alcyone bites out before disappearing in a flash of light.
"Why do our enemies keep saying cliched stuff before escaping?" You wonder out loud as you start to get to your feet.
"Beats me." Ryoma shrugs as he offers you his hand. You take it, and he pulls you up.
A rumbling sound heralds the arrival of Uruz Squad and the Gundam Deathscythe. Judging from the scuff marks on the Uruz Squad's Arm Slaves, and the fact that the Deathscythe has its beam scythe ignited, they encountered hostiles of their own.
"Glad you guys are alright. So, who're they?" Duo asks.
Tactical and Strategic Update
You have met the Magic Knights (to be) of Cephiro, and Ferio, the ranger.
The Magic Knights are Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Houoji. They claim to have been summoned to Cephiro via magic to become the Magic Knights of Cephiran legend and save the realm.
In order to become Magic Knights, the girls must retrieve the legendary ore Escudo from Eterna and take it back to their friend Presea, the blacksmith.
Ferio knows the way out of the Forest of Silence, and the girls claim that Mokona (Puu!), a...magical companion given to them by Presea, will know the way to Eterna from there.
Alcyone was gravely wounded and forced to retreat, but Ferio has confirmed that magic can be used to heal wounds, so she will doubtlessly make a move in the near future.
The girls claim that Presea or Clef, a sorcerer they made contact with shortly after arriving in Cephiro, should know how to send the ships back to the Earth Sphere.
The Jeeg Team and Build Angels seem to be worried about something...
The Rose is picking up intermittent Dimensional Distortions of the type that usually herald Council Forces...
Available Forces
HRL Experimental Unit
-1 Tieren High Mobility Type, 1 Tieren Taozi, and 3x Tieren Ground Type
-Pilots: Sergei Smirnov (CO), Soma Peries and HRL conscript pilot x3
Londo Bell Unit
-Amuro's Gustav Karl, the Zeta Gundam, Fa's support ReZEL, the ZZ Gundam, and Roux's Strike Zeta
-Pilots: Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan, Fa Yuiry, Judau Ashta, and Roux Louka
Strike Gundam
-Pilot: Kira Yamato
Skygrasper 1
-Pilot: Mu La Flaga
Aestivalis Unit
-Aestivalis x6
-Pilots: Akito Tenkawa, Gai Daigoji, Ryoko Subaru, Hikaru Amano, Izumi Maki, and Akatskui Nagare
Uruz Squad
-ARX-7 Arbalest, M9 Command Type, and M9 Sniper Type
-Pilots: Sosuke Sagara, Melissa Mao, and Kurz Weber
Gundam Kyrios
-Pilot: Allelujah Haptism
Gundam Deathscythe
-Pilot: Duo Maxwell
Shenlong Gundam
-Pilot: Chang Wufei
Graham Aker and Wingmen
-Flag (Graham Custom) and Flag x2
-Pilots: Graham Aker, Howard Mason, Daryl Dodge
Jegan Squad
-Jegan x6
-Pilots: Londo Bell Veteran x6
Nemo Squad
-Nemo x6
-Pilots: Londo Bell Veteran x6
Leo Squad
-Leo x8
-Pilots: Specials pilot x3, OZ pilot x5
GN-X Squad
-GN-X x6
-Pilots: EFF pilot x6
Jeeg Team
-Big Shooter, Steel Jeeg
-Pilots: Tsubaki Tamashiro, Kenji Kusanagi
Build Angels
-Build Angel Jet x3
-Pilots: Yagyuu, Saotome, Mido
Getter Robo
-Pilots: Ryoma, Hayato, and Benkei
The Rose is aboard the Nadesico with Mira and the girls, but unavailable to use at the moment due to her current emotional distress.
VOTE BY PLAN
What will you do about getting to Eterna?
[ ] On foot
-Have Ferio guide the girls out of the Forest of Silence, and let Mokona lead the way from there.
-You will monitor them from the air aboard the ships
[ ] Solar Vanguard Airlines, LLC, Cephiro Branch
-Fly the girls to Eterna with guidance from Mokona (Ferio will decline to join if this option is taken)
-Pick 3 units from available forces to patrol during travel
-The girls will be aboard the Nadesico for most of the journey
Who will interact with the girls during travel? (Pick TWO)
[ ] The Getter Team
[ ] Amuro Ray
[ ] Allelujah
[ ] Kira and Mu
[ ] Murrue and Natarle
[ ] Bright, Kamille, and Judau
A/N: One of the longest updates I've made so far aside from what I did to fast-forward through the first Nadesico Mars arc. Please vote, discuss, and give constructive criticism!
Ignore that, that's just all my hopes and dreams dying.
