((Last part of the D-Ygg/Ygg Fort Battle, 5/29/01, Dirah))
Adauchi (Gear) Sigurd just kind of stares at the comm at this new twist of events, then curses silently to himself and closes his eyes, concentrating -hard- and pushing his empathy to the very limits of his endurance. He had to know if this was a trick. If Khiea wasn't in danger and that was a lie, they could continue, but if that was the truth and Khiea was in there and -was- in danger, he'd have to figure out something else. "I know, Young Master, just wait. Stall her, and this time do it without making her think about what we're up to ne?"
Kitsune (Gear) peers at outline of the group of gears in the moonlight, she finally returns to the radio. "I wouldn't try anything. Both myself and my allies each have a detonator we can use to make the bomb explode anytime. I am not about to give away the positions of my allies, but there is no way you can reach all of us before one of us pushes the button on the princess!" her tone is eerily cold at this. "I don't intend to fall here and now, so I intend to give you a choice. I know this is one-sided, but I am afraid you'll have to live with that," the gear relaxes the mine launcher's aim. "Either you go into the base to diffuse the bomb and save her, or you try anything else, and watch it explode. If you still have any honor, I expect you to do the former, so you can save those inside...I only hope you make the right decision. I want to hurt none of those people, especially the princess!"
Andvari (Gear) narrows his eye at the speaking gear, hand clenching the controls in a moment of decision. Andvari is momentarily silent as its pilot thinks things through his own way. It's gotta be a trap, but he can't just leave Khiea to explode in there...and would he be able to diffuse a bomb just like that? He must be able to...there's go to be a way! His radio crackles to life. "When I get outta there, you'd better be waiting for me, and we're gonna finish this." Punching the throttle, Bart starts accellerating Andvari towards the base.
Adauchi (Gear) descends from the sky, Sigurd finally giving up his advantage of invisibility in favor of ensuring the safety of the innocent people trapped inside, landing not too far from the Kislevi gears, but not posed for combat. On a secure channel, he offers only a mild rebuke of a reminder, "Young Master, don't be brash." But then, that was like telling the desert sun not to shine. On an open channel, directed to Tifa he asks, "You don't intent to have him go in alone, do you?" God forbid he ever let his charge do that with the threat of a bomb present. What he'd sensed was enough to at least consider something not right, though he knew it was a trap he couldn't just ignore what he'd sensed, truth or lie, bomb or no.
Kitsune (Gear) A sigh is sounded over the radio, "That is up to you, guardian. Are -you- going to let your charge go in alone?" a chuckle ensues, as if this was some kind of laughing matter. "Really, I am impressed with his resolve to selflessly go save the princess by himself, I almost lost all hope for you people. Alas, this isn't where I intend to end it, by far," she's always been a fan of the adventure books, it's so exhilerating to be living in to that kind of role. How exciting! Play time's over, though. She immediately sends a message through the private channel, "Is everyone ready? We should get going soon."
Cerencia "Affimative, Young Master." A voice to match... or is it to replace another's? Cerencia clips off his reply as he turns to power up the Yggdrasil into active mode. To do so, he must lower the pistol aimed steadily at the young girl to his side--but the child shows no signs of losing her crying fit anytime soon. "Be careful," Ceren adds sternly, unable to stop himself from delivering the habitual warning to his charge. He switches to a private channel next, radioing the gear by the hull. "Dirah, are you ready to move out? Be prepared for them to go back on their word... we know we cannot trust them even when a child's life is at stake."
Dirah is, at least, rather dutiful when it comes to issues of doing's one job. Which is really rather a charming fact for the time being, since he is.. Rather not in the best of moods today. One thing after another, wrong and never quite to plan. Well! It can be dealt with, a way or another. Grudgingly. But it can. "Ready enough." He notes mildly over the private channel, eyeing the activity about.. For in his quaint little Gear, a charming lookalike copy to the Adauchi for anyone with the eyes to see, he has continued to mind the base itself, to mind the area in the hope of attempting to assure any good flight from the base. Just watch, and attempt to guarentee the exit of their own ship. And attempt to smirk at the rather odd unfolding of events of the others here. "Really, do you think that little of me? I don't trust them as I could throw them. And I wouldn't be surprised if that particular child wasn't their priority to save, either." Well, there's Dirah's two cents, and you can ignore them now. We all know he doesn't think particularly highly of Khiea, anyway.
Andvari (Gear) eyes its double warily as it moves towards the base entrance--while his opponents may be worried about trusting him and his companions, Bart's equally untrustworthy of them. His confidence, though, squashes a lot of his apprehension; the way he sees it, he's walking right into a trap, but he'll probably be able to blast his way out of whatever trouble this sticks him in. Right? RIGHT? Right. As his mimic and guardian speak over the radio channels, Bart brings his gear to a temporary halt, listening in and responding privately to Sigurd and the rest of his crew. "You're coming, Sig? We've gotta hurry, there's no telling when they'll just blow that thing. Don't let 'em try anything, anyone, we'll be back as soon as this is all taken care of!" With that, the prince heads through the gate.
Adauchi (Gear) responds almost dryly to his charge's question, "Of course I'm coming with you, I'm not about to let you go alone, Bart." Wow, he actually called him by his first name! The other crew radios in their understanding of their Captain's orders as Sigurd follows just behind his charge, ever on alert, more than a little paranoid. He had every right to be this time, who knew what kind of a trap they'd set up for them?
Kitsune (Gear) smiles as Sigurd joins his charge. She still harbors little respect for them. If she were in this situation, the lives at stake would take top priority! Screw the damned trap. Call it stupid, call it whatever. "Of course," she says in the private channel, "With all the 'honor' they've shown thus far, i'd expect no less. At least the boy has some semblence of sympathy...," Bart has yet to truly prove to her that he is the hero everyone's making him out to be. "If you're ready, let's open the dock entrance and go. Nowhere did I say that we were going to just sit there while they rush about their base." She releases the private radio button, and chuckles mildly. "I hope you like the present I left you, Fatima. No hard feelings," she says to herself while the radio's off. The gear slowly rises a bit higher in the air, ready to do -something-.
Cerencia is not as reckless as -his- young charge... and perhaps far more ruthless as a result. Regardless, there is little Cerencia will leave to chance when it comes to the protection of his wards. "Acknowledged, Young Master. On my way." He releases the comm and turns his attention fully to piloting the massive submarine, firing its engines to slide it out of the base at last. Running at a lower level--only a ripple on the surface to a knowing eye--the JNK Yggdrasil pulls out of the base and prepares to make a hasty departure through the desert.
Dirah does not move quite -yet-.. No, there's no reason to give them all a -lot- of movement to blink at all at once. No, just hover and watch as the Yggdrasil darts in to see what fun they left for them all. For the cautious moment. And take that moment to say, with a cheery note of sarcasm, "We're -not- going to hang around for them to come out? I didn't have the faintest warning." And with a few more days, they could have redecorated the place so much more -nicely-, too. Or, well, they could have. After all, he didn't chose this role because he had taste now, did he? Ha. Anyway, with the JNK Ygg taking off, and Tifa, too, Dirah finally raises his lookalike Gear into the sky, preparing for his own departure away. No reason to stick around, after all. Something tells him that they've overstayed their welcome as it is.