[@Plank Sinatra][@Onarax][H3]OSDT [i]Jannah[/i], Martian Sphere[/H3] "W-why ... th-they're so loud ... h-[i]how[/i]?" Clouded blue eyes stared in shocked confusion at the tactical console from behind a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. Her mouth was agape, barely able to utter her befuddled responses to what she was hearing from the HFV communications channel. The blonde-haired bridge officer, hair tied neatly into a bun, was far from the picture of professionalism she was attempting to convey, the strange ... [i]antics[/i] ... of the Paper Tiger team they were escorting having left her utterly flabbergasted. Indeed, her pale hands were gripping the sides of the console tightly, trying to comprehend how in Saint Patrick's name the pilots could be so ... so ... [i][b]hammy[/b][/i]. "Don't diss their enthusiasm, Ó hEachthighearna," responded Mr. Riley casually from his station at the sensors, one hand slicking back his fiery red hair. "It's entertaining stuff. Really makes up for these two lost weeks of CBS All Access privileges." "I'll never understand your taste," commented another one of the bridge officers, this one a muscular fellow of possible South-East Asian descent. His black hair was styled into a crewcut, and he had a prominent goatee. "Do you [i]really[/i] enjoy watching every bloody episode of [i]The Price is Right[/i]?" "It's a fun sh-" "Eyes and ears on the battle!" interrupted the captain exasperatedly, clearly having had enough of his crew members' antics. They were still an overly undisciplined lot, and no matter how much protocol he attempted to teach them, it did not require too much stimulus to provoke them into such behaviour. Increased closeness with one another and a healthy work atmosphere would improve efficiency, true, but he did not believe that the middle of a battle was an acceptable time to engage with one another in the overly casual manner they had just displayed. There was a time and place for everything, and a conflict with an enemy demanded professionalism. He would have to extend the ban on Riley's streaming access for another week to get the message across. "Mr. Yasuhiko, send a message to the hangar to prepare for the Ball's return," he commanded, glancing at the quiet Japanese man at the front of the bridge, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Mr. Huỳnh, provide cover with the autocannons! Ensure that no harm comes to Pilots Thor and Yatogami!" "Yessir!" replied the goatee'd South-East Asian, readying the [i]Jannah[/i]'s guns to fire. "Miss Ó hEachthighearna, run an analysis on those Rooks and send as much information as possible to our pilots." "U-understood!" His crew was truly undisciplined and unprofessional, but he knew that they were capable of performing their duties to the best of their abilities. However, they still needed protocol. They could not simply assume that acting in such a manner was acceptable on the bridge. The captain made a note in his mind to reinforce that message at a later date. One day, they would be able to act as a well-oiled machine. He would make sure of it. --- [b]ENEMY TURN[/b] Unfortunately for the Persian, the Rook was in possession of shoulder shields, and thus the stream of fire did less damage than he would've wanted to the heavily armoured machine, the intense burst of gunfire from the assault rifle instead riddling the shield into scrap metal. However, with its famous durability, the Sword Shroud's attack only managed to dent the armour on the pirate HFV's arm when it continued firing, especially as the Rook's pilot had already begun to move, its thrusters activating and taking it 'up' and away from the OSDT's HFV to avoid the attempt at grabbing his weapon. However, despite having broken free of the Sword Shroud's range, the sudden flurry of gunfire from the [i]Jannah[/i] gave the pirate second thoughts in regards to pursuing the Ball. The opportunity costs were really too high, and he was not a fan of the sunk cost fallacy. Thus, the Rook's pilot decided instead to fire his railgun down at the Sword Shroud, the high-velocity projectile moving immediately towards the OSDT machine's head. And the other three Rooks were still firing at Husam. Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Judah had taken advantage of sudden lull in the two missile launching Rooks' motion, spitting Newtonian death towards them with its twin railguns. Dodging was essentially impossible, but the closest pirate immediately deployed both its shoulder shields as sacrifices, sending the large hunk of metals flying towards the projectiles even as his thrusters tried to move him as far back as possible. The explosion was immense, the railgun shells impacting with the shields in a large cloud of shrapnel and dust. The second of the Rooks weaved around the cloud, having been protected from Joan's attack by his compatriot. It was already in motion, firing another missile towards the prototype artillery machine as it dashed forth, but this time, readying itself to dodge if the Judah were to launch its attack once more. Its brother, however, had damaged its right arms thanks to the explosion, having failed to move away from the shrapnel in time. It spun through the void for several seconds thanks to the shockwave, missing both its shields and possessing a torn right arm, before righting itself. The relatively-intact Rook had survived the attack, but in the process had suffered a relatively severe blow. [U]BATTLE STATUS:[/U] Yukine: leaving the battlefield The Ball: leaving the battlefield G-Valkyrie: pursued by the blue Rook and the Bradley Judah: being attacked by one Rook and its missile. Sword Shroud: Two Rooks attacking it with beams. One Rook with a missile launcher. One Rook with a railgun. [i]Rooks destroyed/disabled:[/i][list] [*]Cockpit and large part of torso vaporised, currently floating through space. [*]Totally blammoed, pilot ejected. [*]It's a cockpit in a torso with just a leg, bruh. [*]Aimlessly floating through space, lost its lower body and right arm.[/list] Rooks with noticeable damage:[list] [*]Both shoulder shields missing, right arm torn, floating near the Judah [*]Slightly damaged right arm, lost right shoulder shield, attacking Sword Shroud. [*]Left shoulder shield missing [*]Decent damage to one leg [*]Lost one arm and missile launcher[/list]