"This is Endings, calling the living command. Situation has changed from mission parameters."

With that bombshell, the destruction of the Neverborn fleet continues in earnest.  It takes a while to destroy the last recalcitrant hulk but in this time Endings and Five Days Darkness manage a terse conversation.  It ends with Holmes getting offloaded into a specially designed frigate, heavily armored and insulated with hundreds of anti-Neverborn wards.  The other transports and cruisers start setting up mooring lines to drag off the Buchenwald- the name now crossed off and temporarily renamed WARSPOIL1.

Grunt and Endings are brought back onto the Pilar, which flies about looking for survivors.  There aren't many survivors- most notably Tomato, who survives but has taken serious wounds to her torso.  Eventually the Enterprise arrives, flanked by more ships from the Last Refuge's fleet.  The battered cruiser has several holes in it and crews swarming all over it like ants.

All the remaining pilots are redirected to the cleared hangar.  There's plenty of space now.  When they arrive they find Kumiho waiting for them, helping wave them in.  Five Days Darkness personally takes a hand at dragging the ships into place.  Forte is given priority, followed by Lucifer, Crimson, and Blue Fox.  Then the shuttle containing Endings and Grunt and the few survivors is directed in.

The flight crews are morose.  Chupacabra waits to give Kumiho the last drumstick, a look of pale numbness on his face.  When Crimson lands, she just drops her flight helmet and strides off to her quarters.  Axehead is nowhere to be seen- for that many might be thankful, as his bombers were the least badly hurt, and that might ruffle the wrong feathers.

A medical team waits for the survivors.  Tomato is wheeled out of the shuttle, her face grey and her torso covered with bloody bandages.  The other survivor, one of the Dragon-Blooded, waves off the medical team and picks up Crimson's helmet, then jogs off after her.

A long sniper rifle, barrel still glowing cherry red, rests next to a cloaked man sucking oxygen from a nearby tank.

Lucifer is late to board; after the enemy is defeated he makes a round through the strewn wreckage of the pilots who were killed in action, his Anima flaring as he mutters and chants prayers to ease the slain pilots' passage and ensure they will not join the ranks of the Neverborn.

The Longinus enters the hangar unceremoniously, clanging loudly on the floor before spreading its arms and slowly releasing the Gods and Elementals comprising it back to their regular tasks. Daniel emerges from within the golden chassis, floating down to the floor as the last wisps of the Warstrider disassemble and dematerialize.

As the Warstrider deconstructs itself, an erratic sound of tinkling metal and various clangs accompanies it. After it's done, a collection of trinkets and parts litters the ground - dog tags, blood-stained photographs, torn letters, rings and amulets - any mementos of the fallen that he could get his hands on. He leaves the collection for the surviving pilots to sort through, offering terse words of assurance that their deaths were not in vain to the survivors as he walks past.

He notes the man sucking on oxygen next to the sniper rifle, halting his stride. His voice is tired, his face deadpan but there is yet a subdued touch of humor to be perceived.

"So it was you, Brahe. Nice shooting. Brought back memories."

Benisuzume drifts in effortlessly, and silently, as if not trying to disturb the already exhausted minds of those present. The ships smooth surface is still covered by the remnants of her companion shadows, it all looking more like mist that is quickly evaporating.

Upon stopping, the cockpit is pushed open and Lyla swiftly climbs out of the ship, trying to shrug away her flightharness, and almost bit too frantically digging her pockets. She chucks her helmet back into the ship to reveal that she hasn't managed to remain untouched by the events.

Her hair has clung sweatily to her face, where her brow is furrowed with frustration. Lyla gives a small wave to Longinus and Daniel upon sight, but then refocuses on lighting her cigarette. She finally manages to do so, after which she huddles down to lean on the landing gear of her ship, her free arm wrapped around her knee's in lack of anyone else to hold close.

Lost at words, she just sighs and rubs her already reddish eyes.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:26, Tue 18 Oct 2016.

With so many dead from the storm, all that's left to do is help Lucifer clean up the bodies, a task Jess goes about with mechanical efficiency. She feels, rather than hears her fellow Zenith's prayers, the sensation like warm sunlight on her skin. To her aching head, it stings like a bright morning after a particularly exhaustive night of drinking. She tries to block it out, even as she adds her own prayers to the mix, turning bodies of allies to dust by the dozens with a glance. Jess swears she sees her face a few times among them.

Eventually returning with the others to the dock, Forte lands the battered Shofar with Seven Days Darkness' much appreciated help, and gets out with the carefully practiced poise of one who is proud of a victory, but mindful of the heavy losses. Releasing the lock of her helmet, Jess nearly faceplants as the ground quickly rushes up to meet her, only just barely managing to take a knee instead. Unable to do more than steady herself, Jess feels her heavy helmet slide off her head. Impacting the ground with regretful noise, its owner gazes into it and realizes just how much blood she'd lost. It dawns on her that she must look terrible, and struggles to stand, forcing herself to her feet and managing to get at least a towel from one of the attendants.

After getting most of her blood cleared off her face, Jess does her best to move about the hangar, offering what condolences she can in her state. She keeps her words short and to the point for once, not trusting her voice and knowing Lucifer had likely already offered them words of wisdom. The names of the dead come easily to her mind and she mentions each of them to those she understood would care the most. Jess hadn't really known them all that well, but she'd read carefully over the personnel files in the past to try and learn how to earn their trust.

Finally, she goes out in search of Tomato, glad the woman was alive, but concerned for her state after the report.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:29, Wed 19 Oct 2016.

There's a depressingly low number of things for Lucifer to pick up.  Space is vast and the power of the Neverborn is formidable.  There's not much left.  Mercifully that means there are few corpses that Jess and Daniel need to take care of.  On board the Enterprise there are far more, and the crews have already thankfully stacked the bodies up for one last benediction from the two Zeniths.

The few survivors are happy to get any kind of recognition from the Exalts, but things are still subdued.  Eventually Jess manages to split off and find the medical crew.  Tomato may be easily found there, the center of their attention; there weren't many non-fatal casualties.

"Hey,"  She says weakly as Jess approaches, "Glad to see you made it."  One of the medical staff gives Jess a weird look.

The lead doctor clears his throat and lowers his voice, "Ms. Maraud, Pacifica's ribs are all shattered and her lungs are perforated.  If she was a human she'd be dead already.  As an Exalt... I expect she'll be out a month or so.  Since she's a Lunar, I may be entirely wrong."

---

Meanwhile, Lyla leans against her ship, smoking a cigarette.  It's like she's in her own little bubble, with people focused on helping the injured survivors or grieving over the dead or unwilling to face someone who'd been so unscathed, like she's something to be embarrassed about.

That is except for one lone person who bursts the bubble.  Five Days Darkness strides through the crowd, a head taller than the tallest human.  He regards Lyla for a second and then sits down on the other corner of the landing gear, resting against it.  "Blue Fox,"  He mutters as he rubs his hand over his face, "Lyla.  It's been a long day.  How're you holding up?"

---

Much like Lyla's little bubble, one forms when Daniel addresses Brahe.  The older Infernal looks up from under his cowl, then pulls down the oxygen mask. "Danny boy,"  He smirks, "Hell of a job out there today." He takes another hit from the oxygen mask, "Just like old times.  Less air and more lung damage though.  I hope your chest doesn't hurt too much."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:54, Thu 20 Oct 2016.

"Tch. Too bad it didn't amount to much", Daniel responds to Brahe with a sneer - although he takes care to lower his voice enough to not have his frustration reach anyone outside the newly formed bubble. "I don't hurt any more than last time you shot me." He smirks faintly.

He arcs a glance around the hangar, noting the debrief doesn't seem to be imminent as of yet. He turns back to Brahe, maintaining the smirk.

"So you leapt to space for the shot? Didn't think you had such selfless heroics in you."

5DD's voice pierces through her bubble, as she jolts upon his words, being lost in thought:"Um. Fine. Physically. Not even a scratch." She holds a pause, letting out a shaky sigh, combined of smoke and air.

Her hand trembles lightly when shrugging away the ash from her cigarette. It was not her first battle. She usually managed to stay rather calm and kept her composure. Usually the battles were not this focused on killing the mortals.

"Had I not attacked, Charmer would still be alive, many others would still be alive. I could've just helped them to regroup, instead of aiming for a hit that caused their deaths. How can I ever again show my face around here..."

She breaks apart silently, trying not to let it show, clenching her jaw while mumbling. Instinctively she reaches with her free hand backwards for his arm, or hand, or just about anything to hold on to.

"How about you? It was not an easy case to follow through," She asks, while snuffing her cigarette out on the floor clearly considering for a second one.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:41, Thu 20 Oct 2016.

War was a thing where death simply happened. You could only see so much of it before you no longer registered the individual tragedies. Tomato was... another matter, however. The young Lunar had actually been a rather welcome addition to Jess' time at the hangar, in part because of her energetic personality, but admittedly also because she was cute. Seeing the girl's apparent demise during the battle had affected her a bit more than she'd like to admit.

"You did tell me to get to safety." the Zenith says, her voice carrying a soft note of gratitude as she draws closer. "It's rude to deny a lady's request."

Listening as the doctor explains the situation, Jess uses the interlude to better hide her concussion. Disaster strikes when she unconsciously nods to the man's words, immediately regrets it, and puts significant effort into not screaming. She isn't the one who mattered here.

"I'm glad you made it back, as well, Pacifica. We should talk more when you're feeling better."

She stares at the other woman, just trying to understand why she'd been at the forefront of Tomato's mind when her survival had been so uncertain. It was an interesting mystery.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:42, Thu 20 Oct 2016.

Iapetus enters the hangar silently. He walks around, nodding with appreciation and thanks to all the survivors, until finally finding a silent corner. He sits down in a meditative pose, and presses a button on the throat of his armor to turn off the voice modulation and speakers.
Those who walk nearby may hear quiet prayers mixed with a soft sobbing sound coming from within the armor.

Grunt moved away from the hangar almost as soon as they were fully docked. One package had already been delivered, now it was time to get the laptop into proper hands. After that, well, there were a few terrible stills he knew about that discharged a product capable of cutting through his own somewhat more than human metabolism for a time.

"Doctor?"  One of the attendants whispers to the man.  He frowns as Jess talks to Pacifica.

"Yeah,"  Pacifica yawns- causing the Lunar to wince.  "We did a lot out there today.  I'm
proud.  But I'm going to miss my ship, it takes so long to build a frienship... is Five Days Darkness alright?"

"Excuse me, Ms. Maraud?"  The doctor turns back to Jess and holds up a flashlight to her eyes, "Can you please take a moment to look at the light?"

---

Lyla reaches back and finds a shoulder.  One of many shoulders, actually.  It's easy to grab one, Five Days Darkness is probably 50-60% shoulder.  He listens to her mumble and lets out a long breath.  "The armchair admirals back at the Last Refuge are already debating my battle plan.  I'm surprised I haven't had anyone yell at me here yet,"  He tells Lyla, "Please rest assured, though.  Charmer's death isn't your fault.  None of the deaths were any of your fault.  It's the Neverborn's fault, Thanatos's fault.  If that's not good enough, trace it further back- the fault of the Yozis and the Incarnae to never make peace like I'd asked thousands of years ago."

He snaps a pair of fingers, a small ball of light flickering at the fingertips.

"Think about what the Abyssals are.  They can't beat most of us in a fair fight so they make everything as unfair as possible.  What you're feeling right now is the result of one of their little tricks.  It's the only way they can destroy us."

---

"Please, Danny Boy.  The day I want to hurt you, it won't be with a bullet."  Brahe chuckles darkly, "That's like trying to kill a fish by drowning it."

He takes several long breaths before answering Daniel's question.  "All just practice.  Stole the ambush charm a year ago, from a Candlelight Imperator trying to snipe our water transports.  I figured it'd come in handy someday.  Five Days Darkness gave the order.  I wasn't happy about it."

Of course, Brahe isn't a pilot.  He's somewhat notorious amongst the Pre-Exodites for totally eschewing space combat.  In fact, most people didn't even know what Brahe does in the fleet; perhaps that is by design.  Thanatos certainly didn't know what was going on either.

"Tactical shifts are obviously needed.  We're going to have to figure out new paradigms.  That includes you."

---

Grunt needs to get the laptop to Journeys, most likely; it's highly unlikely that Juno would be on the Enterprise, as she almost never leaves the Last Refuge.  But he doesn't see the Sidereal anywhere, nor his specialized fighter.  He walks through the hustle and bustle of the hangar unnoticed.

His vision swims.  Then he sees fire, hears explosions.  A crewmember rushes past him, firing an automatic rifle before exploding in a gout of blood and entrails.  Two Abyssals, young and happy with a new Exaltation, rip the heart out of a war god manifesting outside of its ship.  The Red Queen strides forward full of terror and wrath, only to be eaten alive by swarming shadows.  A creature, all bone and meat, dwarfs one of the fighters.  It slashes the fighter with long bone claws made of human vertebrae and then fires spikes of human fingernails at his chest-

- and then his vision swims again.  The hangar is busy but certainly not under attack.

---

Iapetus 'meditates' for all of three minutes before he's interrupted.  "Up, brother."  The Chosen of Battles extends a hand out to him, "We've got to talk about what happened out there.  C'mon.  I've got a board room all set up for us."

Lyla squeezes 5DD's shoulder, and nods with a sigh:"that is all true, I just had to get it off my heart..." She confesses, while holding a new cigarette between her teeth.

"It's harder to destroy us when we know we are not alone. Sometimes that feeling is just hard to shrug off. Should anyone come and shout at you, I can be there to confront them," she notes wiping her eyes and pushing her tangly hair off her face. "You deserve as much shouting as I do."

Lyla throws a glance at him over her shoulder while trying to find her lighter. Eventually she inches a bit closer.

"Thanks for coming over."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:05, Fri 21 Oct 2016.

Daniel scoffs, smirking. "Tch. You'd find my endurance extends beyond the physical."

He rolls a shoulder, glancing around the hangar to his fellow Exalts who were clearly feeling the weight of the struggle themselves.

"Should've known you wouldn't do something so reckless of your own accord. Nice work regardless."

Then his dark humor fades into a serious demeanor once more.

"Paradigm shifts? As long as they're unable to reliably surpass me in battle I'm not sure it's necessary. What would I do beside my current role?"

Dilated pupils generally dislike having bright lights shined into them. Jess' lips curl into one of her most absolutely polite smiles as she struggles against her immediate impulse to punch the doctor through an airlock. Her eyes at least don't seem to flinch away from the beam, but the direction of up becomes immediately more uncertain. She stumbles backwards, head gently tapping some sort of shelf behind her. Choosing right then to sit down, Jess notices her ears feel rather wet, along with her cheeks.

Reaching up to her face, Forte's fingers come back red.

"Great," Grunt muttered a he shook his head, "A memento mori."

Screw it, eventually they'd have to pass through the upper decks. He could trade a pound of flesh for distraction and anesthetic alcohol. There was a curiosity to see if the neomah were quite as alien as others claimed.

Iapetus looks up Battles, takes his hand and stands up. After clearing his throat, he switches his modulator and speaker back on, his hand still holding on to that of Battles.
"All right brother. Is everyone joining?"

"Hmm.  Please sit down, Miss Maraud," The doctor tells her immediately, "You're suffering from a case of shieldshock."

"Shieldshock, sir?"  His student/assistant asks.

"It's very uncommon,"  The doctor explains for them both, "We first encountered it at Ceres.  That's how we lost a few Dragon-Blooded.  When shields break, there's an essence backlash.  Combined with physical trauma of their ships being battered and then rocking around in their cockpit, and it can scramble your brain.  Think of it like CTE."

"How come we don't see it more?  And what's CTE?"

"I'll explain CTE to you later; suffice to say, we don't see it much anymore.  As for the first question, generally the ships fall apart or explode before this happens.  You pushed yourself very hard, Miss Maraud.  Thank you.  But I think it's time you got some bedrest."

---

Lyla may be very pleased to see that Five Days Darkness gets her intent immediately.  He holds the light up to her cigarette and uses the nuclear force of a small sun to quickstart her cigarette.  He's staring ahead at many empty hangar berths.  They are dreadfully empty.  It's probably not hard to understand what he's thinking.

"I'm not sure that I don't deserve their anger, Lyla, but thank you."  He doesn't move as Lyla inches closer, "I may take you up on that."

There's a long pause.

"A question for you.  I know you're very busy on the Last Refuge.  But I may have need of you in the Enterprise.  Team Odysseus reported some very interesting information.  Journeys and I may need to act on it.  Would you be averse to a temporary transfer to the Enterprise for followup operations?"

---

"Paradigm shifts," Brahe nods, dead serious as well.  There isn't any sense of joking or particular menace as usual.  The ex-Mossad agent is talking business, something Lucifer's only seen once- just before Ragnarok.  "They've made a major tactical shift.  They don't need to beat you, just occupy your attention.  Thanatos looked like she was trying to just take up your time, though I think if you hadn't had backup she could've surpassed you."

A long suck from the oxygen hose falls short as it hisses.  Brahe curses in Hebrew and then kicks away the tank.

"I think this is only the beginning.  They're stretching their legs.  They've given up on the sudden blow and are now throwing themselves wholeheartedly into a campaign of attrition.  Atop that, I think it was odd they didn't have any other ships here."

---

Grunt makes his way out of the hangar unhindered.  The Enterprise doesn't look like it's quite ready to begin the 'afterparty'; there are whole sections of the ship in terrible condition.  A whole hall has been blocked off by rubble, and Grunt has to bypass to reach the recreation deck.

There he finds it's been converted to a hospital ward.  Blast and damnation!  But the bar is unguarded except for a single woman shaking up some concoction, then throwing it... in a... blender... with some painkillers and... are those mushrooms?

Ah, hell.  Tall, white-haired, beautiful, ethereal, and overall blurry.  He knows Burning Feather when he sees her.

---

Battles grunts as he helps heft up the heavy sidereal, "Not everyone.  Yourself, myself, brother Journeys, and Grunt.  Secrets and Smoker will be keying in remotely.  We have to take a look at that laptop and discuss the results of the battle.  Do you need more time to prepare?"

Battles is a pretty perceptive guy; he's asking Iapetus if he needs a bit more time to compose himself.

"I'm good to go if I can get my tools and some hot chocolate there, I can do my armor maintenance at the same time. I was not hit, so there should be nothing major to fix. So I think there will be more need for the hot chocolate..."

Lucifer notes the business in Brahe's voice. He wasn't in the best mood for calm analysis right now, though.

"Tch. So the enemy's throwing off the kiddie gloves and now they're not only immeasurably more numerous and supplied than us but also more powerful individually? Fuck that. She had the upper hand but I would've gotten my break eventually."

He clenches his fists. The entire battle had been one grand frustration that he had no proper outlet available for. He was well aware that without Lyla and Brahe backing him up the fight could've gone very differently - but right now anything even hinting at his powerlessness was a red cloth.

"So we need to reconsider the use of mortal fighters, and I need to stop wasting time on enemies who don't actually die and focus on actually perishable resources. That it?"

He sneers. "As for the ships, they're saying the Buchenwald was a prison ship, right? Maybe the Abyssal within was the prisoner and they considered it low-priority so there weren't many ships nearby. Besides, Thanatos was just detachedly taking her toy out for a joyride to gather performance data - not actually invested in the operation. This was a fight they didn't actually give a shit about losing. You're right they're just gearing up for the real thing."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

Without any real intent in her blank mind, Lyla does raise her brows out of surprise upon her cigarette being lit.

"You are welcome. Anytime."

She straightens her arm, laying it to rest on her propped up knee. The smoke from the cigarette slowly wafts upwards as she stares into the distance. The steady humming of engines and metal trembling begins to ring in her ears. At the same time the place was awfully loud and even more terribly quiet. The long pause pushes her mind back to the battle field, her mind wanting to replay everything just incase of any loopholes. She grits her cigarette and inhales deeply.

Him talking once again is a welcome relief to that cinema.

"You've piqued my curiosity. It'd be an honor, in which I'll gladly help," she exhales some smoke rings and very lightly lets a smile of gratitude tug her lips, despite her eyes still being tired as hell. "Also I think me being busy has been greatly exaggerated."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Sat 22 Oct 2016.

Trying to recover a bit of herself, Jess looks oddly at the doctor, wondering if she's being put on. She had seen things like that before, but finding out it was an actual medical phenomena frankly surprises her.

"I suppose I could do with some sleep." she says, looking like she doesn't really believe it. It made Jess feel incredibly awkward knowing how little there was she could do to help. Then again, she did need to do something with the footage from the battle. There was what she was going to distribute to the populace, but also the matter of tactical information that might be gleamed.

"I'll head back on my own." she says as she carefully gets up. The Lunar was a mystery she could figure out another day. All that mattered for now was that she seemed to have an ally here.

The doctor looks totally serious.  Dead serious.  He's put away the light, so that means she doesn't have to murder him messily.

"It'd be best if you did.  If you were a mortal, mind you, sleep would probably kill you right now." He dabs at her face with gauze, "I'm not going to stop you but if the external hemorrhaging continues for longer than a day, please report to Sanctuary immediately.  If you don't I'll be required by procedure to call internal security."

Makes sense.  He's not saying it to be a dick- it means, in his medical opinion, that if she keeps bleeding she's been infected by a Neverborn malady.  The Neverborn have been known to infect people through mere words, after all.

Standing up is a battle all on its own for Jess, but she gets on her feet.

---

"Glad to hear you're in,"  Five Days Darkness sounds profoundly relieved, "I'll put in the request with Core ASAP.  You don't have any crew for your ship, right?  I can put in a request for some talented personnel.  If you're going to do this, it might mean a lot more modifications to the Benisuzume... and a long time out there alone.

Anyway, I've heard a lot of things about you from Core and Command.  You sound plenty busy to me, Lyla.  Tracking down death cultists in the Great Railway isn't most people's idea of a fun time. Juno told me she had no idea where they were."

---

"No, they're not more powerful than us individually.  But they have the breathing room to adapt.  We're running on limited resources, with limited time.  They have all the time in the world to prepare."

Brahe folds his arms, looking bored at Lucifer's growing rage. "You're misunderstanding me.  We can't reconsider the use of mortal fighters.  They're necessary.  At the worst, they're dross with a bit of gold inside of them, like what we found with Kumiho.  At the best, they're capable of taking out the odd Imperator.

The ships, on the other hand... I think this was a delaying action, like at Ceres.  They didn't expect us to run a blockade.  I bet if we'd found a few other jump points they'd be there in similar forces as well.

In the end, what I'm really saying, Lucifer, is that you need more personal weapons.  Since when have you ever scoffed at that idea?"

Brahe closes his eyes.

"And not the kind that fire bullets."

---

"Is your suit that much of a hangar queen?" Battles jokes at him, "Fine, fine, we'll get your stuff there.  And the hot cocoa.  I think we're out of sprinkles, though.  Come on."

Battles starts muttering into his headpiece, putting down orders.  The two head through the halls, passing through smashed bulkheads and areas where they could still smell roasted human flesh- well, that is, if Iapetus didn't have a very effective filter.

It still smells a bit like pork.

"Any idea where Grunt went?"

Hearing death-cries still echoing in his head and reading a disregard for mortal life that may or may not be there in Brahe's words, Lucifer's temper suddenly flares. He punches a nearby wall a bit harder than necessary, leaving a dent and raising his voice to a not-quite-shout.

"Without me there wouldn't be a Kumiho! And without mortals packed up on the field like sitting ducks too far away from the enemy to do any good, the Buchenwald's missiles would've been ineffectually battering at us rather than claiming lives by the dozens with no true gain! This exchange may have turned out well on paper in the end but if you don't see how fucked our approach was you've been watching a very different battle than I. Are they necessary? Yes. Can we keep using them like today? No."

He snorts and runs a hand through his hair, composing himself.

"Now that the enemy has shifted focus to maximum casualties per encounter, we can't keep serving them up. I'm not saying we should stop using mortal fighters altogether, I'm saying we should shift our approach to counter the enemy's. Meatshields and human waves are exactly what they want from us now; we need to look more closely at where and how to use them. Launch them from carriers when closer to the enemy, launch them in waves that spread out, that kind of thing."

He folds his arms as well, brooding for a moment before moving on.

"As for weapons, I agree. I've been looking into different ways to manifest my power for a while. If you've got something I can use, I'm all ears."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:14, Sun 23 Oct 2016.

"It's just what you taught me, 'try to learn from every battle'. I want to know what kind of effects did a close contact with an Imperator do, and how did the suit hold up to an extended visit to a place with so much of.. that stuff."
As they walk in the halls, Iapetus falls very silent. The thought of not being able to prevent any of those deaths came instantly back.
When Battles asks him the question, there is a small delay before Ia answers to his brother.
"I think he headed straight to deliver the laptop. As far as I could see, he did not linger in the hangar"

The sharp sound of Exalted fist on metal reaches Jess' ears, creating a momentary feel of dizziness. Her first instinct is to blame Lucifer, but with so many others who had endured losses, it was just as likely to be any of the other powerful survivors working out frustrations.

"Get in contact with Doctor Kelleigh Connelly." she says in a voice that carries a polite order. "Inform her of the situation, just in case. If she wants to examine me, I'll permit it, though I doubt she'll feel the need to waste her time."

His willingness to be so frank with a Pre-Exalt is at least refreshing. "May I get your name, by the way, doctor? I believe this is our first time meeting."

Lyla nods and suddenly becomes awkwardly aware of her hand still resting on his shoulder.It is the loud clang that wakes her up to her lingering gesture, and thus she subtly lowers her hand back to her side.

"Yeah, a crew would be nice, especially if there are modifications. Do what you must as long as it won't slow Benisuzume or make it shine like a rainbow...though I doubt any normal light could shine through my shadows."

She agrees almost professionally, her facial expression vague for a moment, before she clears her throat. She shrugs some ashes on the floor, while looking around the hall.

"At least if I'm alone, there won't be anyone else to harm," she states having a perhaps tint of disappointment in her voice that she doesn't manage to mask away. "Ah. That. I just had a hunch. I have a lot of alone time in my hands, so why not use it for something useful? Especially since I'm not too excited about involving myself in politics. I'll rather leave it to those more discreet in their way of portraying their thoughts."

The adrenaline rush of the battle was finally wearing off, and it left her cold, but also relieved as she sighs deeply. Lyla stretches her legs straight, and flexes her fingers to get blood flowing. She keeps a pause to smoke in and out, whilst gathering her thoughts.

"Will there be a debriefing? Not that I mind this type of debriefing for a change," the tone of her voice is warm.

"That was unnecessary," The doctor mutters aside to Jess after the slamming on the bulkheads, "Doctor K?  Fine, but you're going to owe me a drink after talking to her.  She makes my head hurt.  My name's Doctor Jim DeForest.  If you make the obligatory joke I'll personally confine you to Sanctuary for ten weeks."

---

Five Days Darkness' shoulder stiffens as Lyla brings her hand away.

"I'll find my best for it.  Benisuzume deserves it.  And no, the modifications I'm thinking of are long-term flight equipment, extra fuel tanks.  Grapples.  Magnetic lines.  Possibly even a towpod." 

He stands up and stretches.  She can hear his shoulders pop.  "I think a debriefing will wait until we can get a better look at that laptop.  For now, it looks like I have to speak with Lucifer before he decides to put a few more dents in my ship."

---

"Oh, calm your fucking tits," Brahe rolls his eyes and then his head, "When the hell did I say that?  I said the use itself of the mortals is necessary, not the use of them in this particular engagement.  Yes.  The big problem is they're trying to maximize attrition but we actually cannot afford to give up our fighter screens, especially with the kamikaze attacks.  Here and now, it was a terrible idea, but if there's another skirmish with our fleet they will need to be there because ten fighters dead instead of an essence tanker is a great trade in my book.  It's terrible calculus but that's war."

He looks around, fully aware that the hangar has grown silent and started staring at them.  The man obviously looks uncomfortable.

"Look, Lucifer, yes.  I've got ideas you can use.  Start out by developing your skillset a bit.  Run through some of the tactics simulators with Battles because you've got the tactical chops of a ten year old child.  A very smart ten year old, I'll grant.  I'd also suggest getting a bit more... spiritual.  What happens if you deal with Thanatos again and you just can't hit her?  She's obviously kitted out to avoid your physical attacks."

---

"Well Journeys is in the board room, so-"  They pass by the bar where they spot Grunt waiting for a drink.  "Oh, hell."

Iapetus knows Burning Feather, the Goddess of Intoxicants, because she's a frequent guest in Command, often speaking with Serenity.  He also knows the Goddess should never, ever, ever be allowed behind a bar.

Ever.

"Burned Graveyard," Grunt told Burning Feather, "Go as heavy with the peppers as you like. I need the clarity."

While Jess had picked up bits and pieces of pop culture ever since she managed to get that housing thing going, references to Star Trek were almost completely lost on her. The Exalt's expression is polite.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Dr. DeForest. And sure, just let me know where you'd like to go once alcohol is a less immediate health hazard for me. My tab is good most places."

She heads out the door.

"Thanks, I'll owe you for that then," Lyla reaches upwards to give a pat to Benisuzumes smooth black surface. "As curious as I am concerning the new mission, I'll leave the interrogation for a later time. When this one has been flushed out."

She regards him absentmindedly as he gets up, and decides to do so herself as well.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to tag along. Think the battle upset Daniel as much as it upset me. If you two wish to talk in private, I'll find something else to busy my mind with."

In a normal situation, the sheer audacity of Brahe's words might have amused Lucifer enough to calm him down. As it was, however, his needling came at a very bad time.

At least it wasn't the bulkheads that were in danger of dents anymore - it was Brahe's face. Lucifer's fist replies faster than his thoughts can catch up and the impact echoes through the hangar almost as loud as the previous one.

"Do not test my patience right now, Brahe!"

He takes a few short, agitated breaths as his mind catches up with his temper, wrestling the urge screaming in the back of his head to continue the momentum and pulverize the Infernal's smug face before he found his chance to betray the Living. It was all that could be expected of one of the Ebon Dragon's, after all.

"I'll let you off this time since you helped in the battle, but do not think I'll hesitate for a moment to end you if you forget your place."

His point made, he cracks his neck before turning back to business. To an outside observer it's not clear at all whether or not the situation is actually over, though.

"You think I don't realize I need to spread out? I've been studying everything from the occult to computer science to physics for years since we left Earth. Tactical training is already next in line. And intangible ways of exerting force is an ongoing effort as well. I don't need ideas, I need means."

"Glad to hear it.  Be careful." The doctor admonishes Jess and turns back to Tomato.  Then there are... so many others.  Most of it by now has already been through triage.  A very few are silently dying, their wounds deadened by painkillers.

From there it's to her only place on the Enterprise, a little room that served as her makeshift quarters.  Of course it's right across the hall from the Red Queen.

---

"This isn't private anymore,"  Five Days Darkness tells Lyla grimly as he starts striding over towards Lucifer and Brahe, "Please watch my back, this may get troublesome.  These are the last two people I want to see get into a fight."

Lucifer's fist connects right onto Brahe's arrogant face.  Lucifer feels cartilage deform and snap and blackish-red blood spurt from the Infernal's nose.  Brahe's head hits the back of the bulkhead with a hard 'THUNK'.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, LUCIFER."  Five Days Darkness admonishes him, "That was out of line!"

"Yeah he is.  Forget my place, hah!"  Brahe stands up and expels a gobbet of blood from his nose, "I've got your means, Lucifer, but I don't think you're in the right frame of mind to listen or care.  And I don't think you deserve the help."  He looks over to Five Days Darkness, "Your ship your rules, but if there's no penalty for what he just did there's going to be a problem."

Five Days Darkness rubs his forehead with one of his arms, "Lucifer, what the hell."

---

"You're asking me for clarity," Burning Feather laughs, "Fine, fine.  I'll get you clearer than crystal."

Grunt isn't sure what she's mixing up but some of that looks like some kind of blue crystal, four red pills, three hot peppers, vodka, and whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, and triple sec.  It's a roiling red-blue when she places it in front of him.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 20:36, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

"I'm asking for clarity in the drink," Grunt replied as he lifted the creation to his lips and drained it slowly, "Mental acuity is vastly overrated at times."

Five Days Darkness's shout makes Lucifer jolt. His fists stay clenched as he turns to face the giant deity, sneering. The realization and shame of going out of line gets lost in the fog that had been accumulating in his mind since the end of the battle, however.

"Out of line? I'll tell you what's out of line, throwing away forty lives because you couldn't adapt to the enemy's tactics! This battle was a fucking travesty!"

Slowly his mind catches up with his spiteful tongue and he bites it, turning back to glare at Brahe.

"This sniveling rat thought this was an appropriate time to insult me. Easy to play the rational victim when you don't give a shit about the lives lost to begin with. How lucky you are to have grown so accustomed to losing comrades when throwing them away for personal gain, Fiend."

He swipes his jaw with a now-bloodied knuckle, shooting one last glare at Brahe before lowering his fists to either side of his hips.

"Do what you want, I'm done here."

Upon passing the cockpit of Benisuzume, Lyla grabs a scarf of hers along to wrap around her neck. Her exhausted mind was already extending its claws around her exhausted body. She follows swiftly after Five Days Darkness, giving a short nod in response to his plead.

Daniel's rage caughts her by surprise, as she raises her brows upon the sight of a bloodied fist and a nose. She folds her arms on her chest, and tilts her head to the side. Once again the flashbacks of people dying infront of her eyes played in the back of her head. Lyla looks at her brother in arms with concern, pondering and trying to find anything sensible to say. This causes her pull a cloud of smoke from her cigarette, which is left wafting in the tension filled air.

"Daniel, it's not like you to fling the mud around like that. We're all equally to blame," she sighs, her gaze lingering on Daniel. "Bickering here does not help those around, who'd now need the silence to recover from the heat of the battle. Quarrels only aid our enemy."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:52, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

Though intending to head to her quarters, the painful noise inevitably draws Jess to the scene between Brahe and Lucifer, her path causing her to approach the scuffle opposite side Five Days Darkness and Lyla. Vision swimming with strange colors, she never quite registers the blood, and the shouting creates a buzzing in her ears, making it difficult for her to hear much. Her head really is killing her.

Jess walks towards the two, finally notices Lucifer seems angry, spies a liquid mess on the ground, sees it's also all over Brahe and naturally assumes the argument is over a spilled drink.

She walks in between them, just a moment or two after Lyla finishes speaking, gets down on her knees, and begins to clean the liquid up with the rag she'd used on her own brow before. Looking up at Lucifer, Jess sees his hand and face are dirty as well. She stands, tears the still relatively clean rag down the middle, and offers one half to each of them.

"Heroes shouldn't appear like this in front of those who put their faith in them." Jess gently chides the two, gesturing at the gathering crowd. She tries to sound upbeat, but her voice betrays her, going the opposite direction towards a tired, pleading tone.

Noticing Lyla, she starts to wave, but catches sight of Five Days Darkness and freezes. It's all Jess can do to remain standing as she thinks of how unkempt she herself must look at the moment. Looking like this in front of a superior was just unacceptable.

Of course, passing out would probably be worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:09, Tue 25 Oct 2016.

A weird noise comes from Iapetus, a modulated scoff.
"I certainly hope that this drink will bring the mental clarity, Grunt. We are going to have a debriefing and we need you there, preferably with at least some mental acuity."

Five Days Darkness shimmers, the briefest moment of gold and black.  He shakes his head, his mane of hair giving him the appearance of a particularly tired lion, and everyone there is suddenly struck with the realization that Five Days Darkness is tired.  "Yes, we're done here.  I'd like all of you to clear the hangar.  Jess, get some rest, you've taken enough flak for the day without jumping into this one.  Brahe, we'll talk about your grievances later. Lucifer, go get some R&R, hit the gym, get something to drink-"

"Fine by me," Brahe stands up and grabs his sniper rifle and walks off, whistling a little sad little tune.  He leaves Jess holding 'his' pathetically dirty, bloody rag.

"Sir?"  They hear a bubbling, chipper voice on the edge of crestfallen-ness interject right after Brahe, "I was wondering if I could have a moment of Lucifer's time?"  Kumiho leans forward towards Lucifer's shoulder, "If that's alright with you, Lucifer?"

Five Days Darkness watches.  It's obvious he can't leave until he's sure that everything is 'handled', as if anything like this could be handled.   He places a hand on Lyla's shoulder, his grip firm.  She's sure it's for his reassurance and not hers.

---

"Ah, leave the man in peace."  Burning Feather tells the lot of them, "It's not like he's the first to come here today-"

"He is the man with the laptop, and the only one who can safely operate it at the moment," She's interrupted by Battles.  "Sorry, Grunt, but my sister wants to talk to you because she's very anxious about taking a look at what's on there.  I can promise you plenty of other drinks on me later."
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:18, Tue 25 Oct 2016.

"The laptop has a full log, and you spent more time talking to him than I did," Grunt pointed out as he continued with his drink, "For all practical purposes turning it in is my debriefing and they're not going to let a Terrestrial near Command until all the others have made their way."

Then Battles shows up.

"Fine."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:03, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

Lucifer looks to Lyla, his eyes belaying a sense of tiredness tucked away under his rage. "Not equally, Lyla. I will freely admit fault when I fuck up, but that was not the case here. You did well tonight so it's chivalrous to try and split the blame equally - but wrong."

As Jess stumbles into the scene and starts making an utter fool of herself, Lucifer is dumbstruck. The surprise works to her advantage, however - by the time his incredulity turns back to rage and he opens his mouth to tear the confused girl apart, Five Days Darkness interrupts.

All that escapes him is a sputter of unformed vitriol as he bites his tongue at the last second. He pauses for a moment, glaring daggers at his Zenith sister while Five Days Darkness defuses the situation. He reaches down to yank the rag off her hands and throw it away, then grasps her by the armpit and effortlessly hoists her to her feet - likely not quite as gently as could be hoped, but eh, it was the best he could do at the moment.

His voice is drawn tauter than piano strings as he looks around for anyone to take her away from his hands before she gets a chance to make him change his mind. "No, Jess. No they shouldn't."

Kumiho manages to be the first who succeeds at approaching Lucifer without drawing his ire. He glances briefly to the freshly Exalted Lunar, then turns back to scanning the hangar. "I need to get this headcase to a doctor. If you follow I won't stop you."

He starts walking away from the hangar with long, agitated strides, all but carrying Jess effortlessly in one arm until he finds a doctor to offload her to.

Jess stumbling into the scene, causes Lyla to tense up, her tiredness toning away for a moment. There is a small disapproving click of her tongue and a frown, signaling the unasked question of "why aren't you resting?" in regard of Jess' condition.

As a response to Daniel, she just nods to him, pulling a long breath from her cigarette. They could pick the battle apart later in better conditions. When a hand is layed on her shoulder, she instinctively lays her own on top of it, ready to give further support incase of need.

"Rest well, Daniel, Jess, Kumiho."

She waits a moment for the three to part, all the while smoking her cigarette from it's near start to finish. After that she lowers her voice and turns to Five Days Darkness:"The hangar isn't clear before you leave to rest as well. I'm not leaving before I see that happening."

Concussion or no, Jess is more surprised than bothered at being manhandled. While not grasping precisely why Lucifer is angry with her, she nonetheless puts up no resistance. She could trust Morningstar. He was good people.

She does her best to collect her bearings as she lets herself be led away.
"I'm sorry." Jess manages somewhat soberly to her fellow Zenith. "I should have been in bed already... something made up sounding like shieldshock, but I wanted to see how Tomato and the other survivors were doing. Then... I think I got lost."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 07:05, Wed 26 Oct 2016.

Splitting into three subthreads.