Colony Drop

[thirdtimesthechar]

Who: Char, the forces of Zeon (any or all of you who want to contribute), whatever allies decided to show up on short notice, and Viridi's minions as NPCed by her mun
What: Defending Zeon from Viridi's Reset Bomb
When: Dawn on July 2
Where: The skies above Zeon and the sea to the west of Zeon
Warnings: It's a combat log

Aboard the Rewloola - and surrounding it with every airship Char could muster in an hour - Zeon's defense forces array themselves on the predicted course of the nature goddess's meteoric wrath. Higher than anyone normally travels, all guns, bows, arrows, and anything else they could conceivably throw at the incoming Reset Bomb were trained up and westward. Char himself is ready with rifle and Nightingale, as much as those would even help - at the very least he could defend his artillery from any breakaway rocks or defending nature spirits.

"All ships," Char says, his words transcribed into signal flags to communicate with the other airship commanders even as he speaks over his Crystal to his higher-ranking soldiers. "We've sighted the meteor approaching at high speed from the west. All units are to move toward it at full speed and come about once it is within one half mile. Attempt to match speeds with it or safely enter its wake to maintain fire for as long as possible. We have about five minutes on target to destroy it, starting in two from this point. You are to do everything in your ability to grind it into dust before it strikes our homeland. Sieg Zeon!"

That curt set of instructions finished, Char gives to command to his captain to begin the all-ahead-full charge toward the interception point, all the while glaring up at the falling star. Nothing like this will happen to Zeon on his watch, even if he has to create a miracle with his own hands. That's what people like Zeon's do.

((Subthreads finished, go ahead and post to them. Threads below happen in chronological order, though there may be overlap if needed.))

Comments

Battle Preparation - please report in here if you're helping Zeon

[thirdtimesthechar]

Sailors and soldiers scramble on all of the ships to prepare for the attack as they begin rushing forward. Meanwhile, as Char walks from the Rewloola's bridge toward its foredeck, a sudden feeling strikes him - the same pressure he normally felt in the presence of magic, amplified. He looks up, and wonders if it's a sign of divine intervention.

[greyerrant]

Garviel and 5 mighty warriors in cerulean plate materialize from a waypoint, bolters held at the ready, and helmets scanning. Superhumans all, they are towering figures, resplendent and confident. From the helm of the Roman dictator, a familiar, deep voice booms.

"The Emperor protects!"

[not_the_dolphin]

"I've met a man who calls himself 'the Emperor'," a voice calls out. A door of light materializes and a blonde-haired angel steps out from behind. While a member of the Crusade Company, Jeanne can never stay in one place. But this time, she's here and ready to fight under several different alliances.

"He's supposedly more than a man, though. Could you be talking about him or one of this land's two Emperors?"

[greyerrant]

"For me, there has only ever been one Emperor. I respect the office of the ruler of Dagaria but the Emperor of Belka was... always special. And I think my battle-brothers here make it clear where I stand. These are the Warrior-Kings of Ultramar, which stood before Rome ever did. We stand on the shoulders of giants like these. And now they stand with us. Humanity need know no fear."

He clashes his hand against his breastplate briefly.

[thirdtimesthechar]

"Why do people keep teleporting onto my ship? I should really try to--"

The commander of this fleet strides past, acknowledging Rome's dictator with a respectful nod from soldier to soldier, but stops immediately on seeing who he's talking to, squinting at the woman.

"...Jeanne?"

Ah, crap, didn't notice this...! Well!

[not_the_dolphin]

"... Pr..."

Long ago, the one later called La Pucelle fought. She fought not just for one person, but a kingdom entire. The question remains on how to define a kingdom. The current systems in place answers that question by presenting a representative individual. By divine command, there was a man that Jeanne was tasked with making sure he ascended to the throne. Years have passed and he was still sitting there. Jeanne descended to Dagaria again, but despite all these months, she never had the opportunity to meet the man again.

She turns away from Garviel and sees Char. As if on instinct, Jeanne drops to the floor and kneels before Zeon's legitimate ruler.

"Prince Char... It is me. We meet again..."

[thirdtimesthechar]

"And here I thought I taught you to stay on your feet on the battlefield," Char says, looking fondly at the girl, looking no older than the day they'd met, kneeling there in front of him (again, unpleasantly like the day they'd met). He offers her a hand up.

"I'm not going to question a miracle, but...how?" he wonders.

[not_the_dolphin]

Char is a man who prefers actions than words from subordinates. That likely hasn't changed up until now. Jeanne looks and gestures over her shoulders. Behind her, wings of light materialize and spread. Jeanne looks like the archetypal charicature of an angel, halo included.

"Ask and you shall receive... Even if you told yourself you wouldn't ask."

[not_the_dolphin]

"Belka..."

That name again. Jeanne's academical knowledge only expanded as much as she needed to know. Really, she's illiterate. She knows absolutely nothing about Belka.

"... Adepta Sororitas. It's connected to that empire. Everything from the past seems to be resurfacing untouched as if Dagaria was just one, big archaeological treasure trove.

I'm here for several reasons, Cerberus: as La Pucelle of Zeon, as a member of your Crusade Group, and as the leader of the Adepta Sororitas."

[greyerrant]

"You wear a lot of hats, Mamzel. About as many as I do, I suppose." He laughs and pats her on the shoulder, a companionate gesture, rather than a condescending one.

"Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. If you'd like, I'll give you access to the University of Onylith to further your education about matters of the past."

He shifts. The Adepta Sororitas? That is new... "And what is this Adepta Sororitas, exactly?"

[not_the_dolphin]

"H-hey..."

Taken off guard, she instinctively tries to brush off the pat. Death had a way of keeping her on guard a little more than in life. She stops seconds later, though. It's just kindly affection. She gives Garviel a laugh to show that she means no harm.

"Ahah... Thanks for the offer, but I think Onylith expects their students to be a little more... alive than I am. Besides... I can barely even read...

... Oh! Oh, and there's still a lot that I have to do. The Adepta Sororitas consists of... myself for now, but as far as I know, it's the Emperor of Mankind's attempt at gathering 'battle maidens' to fight off daemons."

[infinitejustice]

Like Char, Athrun was getting pinged. Unlike Char, he determined it by sensing the flow of prana in the air. That was why he was standing on the bow of the ship -- well, that and to be ready to fire the Scylla should it prove necessary.

[dowhatyoudecide]

"You feel it too, right?" Nobody was keeping Sara out of this one. She already had her swords strapped to her sides and was keeping an eye on the sky whilst sorting things.

[infinitejustice]

"I do. The flow of prana is off. We're going to have to fight our way through just to reach the meteor." Athrun sighed. "So much for this being launched ahead of schedule, I suppose."

[dowhatyoudecide]

She frowned. "But that's why they're all here. Don't worry, we'll do it. We won't sit around like she said we would, either. She just doesn't know Brother."

[infinitejustice]

"It's not just him. She's underestimating all of us." Athrun looked upward, toward the descending meteor. "And something that a person should never underestimate is the determination of a group of humans who have been backed into a corner. We have nothing to lose from this operation, and that makes us excessively dangerous."

[dowhatyoudecide]

Nod. "There's no way we'll fail. We can't run away, and anyone who thinks we will doesn't know the responsibility we have to this world!"

Re: Battle Preparation - please report in here if you're helping Zeon

[leave_it_to_a_goddess]

A small beam of light - somehow coming from the roof above and in front of Char - announced the arrival of a woman, dressed in white.

"Greetings, Char Aznable of Zeon. I am Lady Palutena... And I am here to help you fight back against a mutual foe."

[thirdtimesthechar]

Char stops and blinks in surprise for a second - extremely rare in a man gifted with supernatural intuition. Still, he recovers quickly. If this is the weirdest thing he sees today, he'll count himself lucky.

Mustering the presence of mind and memory to bow a diplomat's bow to the woman, Char returns her greeting. "Lady Palutena...one of the Crystal King's angels, right? I'd offer you my hospitality in a heartbeat, but we're really short on time."

[leave_it_to_a_goddess]

"We can worry about that later," Palutena responded with a chuckle.

"For now... I'm here to provide a few useful miracles. I need a good view of the field to do this... I figured you'd keep one of the best handy."

[thirdtimesthechar]

"The Rewloola can see every ship in the flotilla, and will do so until we get around to installing radios on these things," Char explains, gesturing the lady to lead the way out onto the exterior deck.

[leave_it_to_a_goddess]

"Then we'll get to the cheating."

[cecil_harvey]

Cecil is already running toward his command, shouting orders as his men scramble to prep the Red Wings for flight.

"My Prince! The Red Wings will move to intercept immediately!"

[thirdtimesthechar]

"Get ready for aerial and on-deck combat," Char says. "Just one of my hunches, but I think Viridi is going to throw everything she has at us."

[cecil_harvey]

"It shall be as you say," Cecil says, barking orders to his men to get them moving.