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

[thirdtimesthechar]

Char eventually gives up on blasting away at the meteor as it spins, unable to maintain focus. With the skill of a man who's spent too much of his life aboard a ship, he uses his dagger and the hilt of his sword to help him scramble up the side of the Rewloola, hauling himself up level with the deck just in time to have a premonition of Captain Flare's sneak attack and keep his head down, then clamber onto the deck itself and fling a half-dozen energy blades at the bastard so that everyone else on deck could focus on the Bomb.

[infinitejustice]

Athrun had no chance to brace himself this time, so the meteorite knocked him over in a burst of sparks. He was unhurt, though, so he quickly climbed back up and whirled around. He put his gun away and activated a beam blade, then leaped at Flare.

[greyerrant]

[ Loken and all of his troopers are flattened against the deck, unbraced and unprepared for the meteors from behind. They growl, all of them angered by the attack that seems without honor. ]

[forceofnature]

The final attack alone had nearly exhausted Flare. The superhero vanishes in a burst of smoke as even the first assault proves past what it can bear.

3 minutes.

The ship has banked enough to correctly align itself with the meteorite. All those remaining standing on deck open fire, and with the weakening from Char's shots, it isn't long before the fourth and final weak points are dispatched. The Reset Bomb shudders along its downward path as the front of it slowly detaches, falls away, and plummets down into the ocean, barely missing clipping the airship as it goes.

Within the bomb is a mass of vines and entangled trees... And deep within, gleaming a lustrous green, the core. The explosive power of the bomb and where the magic that imbued it with its special properties was held.

2 minutes to detonation. Last chance.

[thirdtimesthechar]

"Rockets, cannons, catapults, fire everything on that point now!" Char shouts, throwing everything he can reach toward the core - bolts from his sword, his other bomb, and shots from any handgun or rifle he can grab from passing gunners, who in turn follow his orders and unload every single piece of ordnance remaining on the ship at the center of the Bomb, other ships following suit and pouring on more damage from their own firing angles.

[infinitejustice]

Well, there was no point holding back at this juncture. Athrun extended his arms and spread his feet, gathering energy into the receiver on his chest. This last shot would leave him with no mana to power his armor, but that wouldn't be an issue at this point. A huge blast of concentrated light fired from the part on the chest, aimed with skilled precision toward the core.

Once the blast dissipated, Athrun hunched over, an elbow propping him up on his knee. The armor's red faded away, leaving it a dull gray.

[leave_it_to_a_goddess]

"Three-quarters down. I should've gotten involved sooner, it seems."

Palutena grinned, raising a hand. "Miracle of mana!"

And then, a large charge of energy coursed through Athrun's armor, along with that of a fair number of Loken's forces.

"If you need this next charge... Well, now you'll have it!"

[forceofnature]

[god stop cheating Palutena!!!]

"Everyone on the ship gives it their all. But it's too late. The Reset Bomb restores Zeon to its original state and all the airships crash into the ocean."

The wishful thinking echoes in Palutena's ears just as the final charge from Athrun is released. Again, with unerring accuracy, it bursts straight through the center of the viridian core.

...The core shatters. ...But nothing seems to happen.

1 minute.

A full ten seconds after the core is destroyed, the Reset Bomb shudders... and slows. ...How is it possible? But it slows, indeed, and with a cacophonous groaning, the entire thing begins to shed. Layers after layers of rock... then thorns and forests and wood... then the core itself, bursting into a million brilliant green shards.

It all very slowly crashes down into the ocean, a full mile still from the shore of Zeon.

"NO!"

[leave_it_to_a_goddess]

"Viridi gives it her best. But it's too slow. The Reset Bomb is destroyed, and humanity is one step closer to stopping her."

Troll harder, Palutena?

[forceofnature]

"Aaaaaugh! You are so going at the top of my to-kill list!"

So much for not having one.

"Do you know how long these things take to grow?! I'm going to have to reorganize my entire plan! ...And don't blame me when the ocean is a miasma of industrial waste and dead fish!"

Every last one of Viridi's troops will take to the air and depart. Humanity has won this battle... for now.

[infinitejustice]

Athrun feels energy returning to him, but he doesn't reactivate the Phase Shift. As far as he can tell, the battle is over, so he doesn't need it.

"Good...good. We've done it...we've saved the people of Zeon."

[thirdtimesthechar]

Char leans on the rail to watch the Bomb fall apart and into the ocean, watching carefully as he gets his breath back. He beginning to think he's getting too old for this shit, but he doesn't let it show.

"Sorry to break your toy, Viridi," he says to the air, at least half meaning it. That was an impressive piece of engineering. He turns and walks back onto the deck, putting his hand on the shoulder of Athrun's armor in a gesture of congratulations before making his way back toward the bridge.

"Alright, no standing around cheering. I want a full damage assessment on the way home, and then we can break out the drinks," he orders, suddenly fully back in the captain's role.