Description: [Soma vs. Aislinn] A short and brutal fight ensues after Soma paradrops onto the Jinchuu and finds Aislinn waiting for him... [Winner: Aislinn]
It's a clear, cold night... a rarity on land in the hazy final days of summer, but not that surprising out on the sea. Japan has had a surprisingly typhoon-light summer, with most of the bad weather directed elsewhere, and tonight is no different. The Suiryuu slides through the waters of the Pacific like a black knife through a faded blue velvet sea. The moon is especially high and bright this evening, a blazing silver sickle in the sky, the new moon approaching fast as autumn comes on.
And, high overhead, is a camoflage-shaded Kawasaki C-1 that took off hours ago from Iruma airbase in southeastern Japan. Of course, from the ground this is almost impossible to tell, since the plane is flying at a very high altitude even for a troop transport. As silent a knife the Suiryuu is in the seas below, the C-1 is... while perhaps noisier up there, as much a shadow.
There's practically nobody inside it. A pilot and co-pilot, of course, and an airdrop instructor... and one ICPO agent who is hoping he hasn't called in a favor from the JASDF for nothing. Soma Travedi sits on a ready bench, his normal black and silver clothing hidden beneath the layers of a heavy black flight suit. The instructor is babbling something about not biting down during the cold, and keeping the body straight until the open point, and remembering to keep tugging from the oxygen supply to prevent hypoxia.
This is all interrupted when a voice from the cockpit says, "Agent Travedi, we're nearing the drop point."
There's some terror in Soma's eyes as he gets up, but he knows that this might be, in a weird way, the safest method of doing what he's about to do. The mist thing the Suiryuu does is a real problem... but on low-temperature nights it risks freezing instead of staying a cloud, and leaves an opening.
There's a moment where Soma adjusts his masks and checks his straps, and wonders if this is really the right thing to do, if he's not just tilting at windmills with his involvement in Jinchuu. If he's just jumping through a hoop of Seishirou's design.
Then he jumps.
Black against midnight blue, head-down, he is an invisible meteor flying toward the Suiryuu as the C-1 pulls away and returns to Iruma... the deal was that they drop him off, and it's Soma's problem what happens next.
What happens next is a hell of a lot of freefall. What seems like hours of it, in fact... a HALO jump, done to keep the plane out of range of retaliation from the ship.
It's not until the Suiryuu turns from a speck, to a wedge, to something real and approaching terribly fast that Soma inverts himself and yanks the chute. He's most certainly visible from the deck now for someone who knows where to look in the sky, of course, though the black chute and black flight suit doesn't hurt. And by some miracle he's on target, provided there are no sudden course or spee d changes.
How about that.
It was highly recommended that Aislinn be out on the deck this night--not more than a few nights after the Suiryuu launched on its 'tour'. No orders--of course, no orders. Riko and Seishirou and their ninja clan, and whoever is backing this little trip, knew enough about Aislinn to know that any orders given would be ignored summarily. However...
Couched in a suggestion, Aislinn strolls out onto the deck... and immediately she picks up the sound of a high-flying plane. Even muted, as such planes are, some sound is made, and Aislinn's enhanced senses pick it up, easily. Her head tilts back, lavender eyes scanning the sky. Ah yes. There it is... the lone figure, plummeting on a perfect course towards the deck. And... the rocket launchers.
She deduces their meaning, their purpose, immediately. She's supposed to shoot that plane down--and possibly Soma with it. She even considers it, for a moment--shooting down the plane, if not Soma himself. But, ultimately, she doesn't. Not because it's a nicer thing to do, or because it was the implied order...
But because she has no reason to, personally. Tracking where Soma will land, Aislinn steps back away from that point a good ten yards... and waits.
Katelynn arrives from the Main Deck.
It's almost going a little too well.
The jump was Soma's first and while there's nobody there to see, it shows on his face, the normally rosy-tan complexion pale with the freezing cold and the effort of keeping his nerves in check. A low-altitude parachute opening is not for the faint of heart. The ground often seems to coming so much faster than you'd think.
However, as the black chute continues to cut his descent from terminal velocity to a mere surprisingly slow fall, he notices something odd. Not visually, of course... his goggles are a bit too foggy for that. But he does know there's someone down there, the sense of anticipation echoing around in his skull thanks to his empathic abilities.
Well, one person is better than a cadre of toughs, he presumes.
There's not much time to do what he needs to do, but Soma goes about it as best he can. The goggles, air tank, and anything else that would ID the borrowed equipment as coming from the JASDF is no longer needed and thoroughly discarded, the angle of their new and parachute-unaided descent certainly taking them into the ocean rather than the ship's deck. Non-essential straps are loosened, the harness release for the chute double-checked.
And with a *WHUMP* that is quieter than one might assume, Soma hits the deck, as it were.
Although this is his first jump, Soma has both training in acrobatics and as a police officer on his side; the harness release is tripped in an instant, the chute flying backward toward the center of the ship away from Soma as he rolls to a stop and lands, crouching with one hand to the deck, facing behind him... and hoping to identify this mystery person ASAP.
Aislinn certainly seems like the ready trooper one might expect to find confronting them, during a night high-drop onto a mysterious boat. Her black leathers are the kind of outfit one might wear as a modern ninja, even--though security on this boat wears a more 'traditional' type of ninja outfit. And she's certainly combative enough. One presumes that a man who is wearing all black, 'chuting down out of the sky, and landing a neat three-point pose... is ready to not only defend himself, but to attack as well.
So without a word, Aislinn merely raises her hands, fingers folding down, forming fists. Like her fight with Joe, the one that led her onto this boat, she assumes it is a setup... she doesn't question how the Suiryuu folks might know Soma was going to parachute onto the ship on this night, because information wants to be free. She isn't sure why -she- was chosen for this 'honor', either.
But here she is, and here he is, and it only seems natural for the two of them to fight.
The vision of Aislinn is certainly not what he expected -- in fact, he expected... well, ninja -- but she's not outside the realm of potentiality. The silent demeanor and the black leather all say either 'bodyguard' or 'hired muscle', perhaps... and she carries herself like a fighter.
And she knew he was going to be here. Her defensive stance says one thing, the feeling of anticipation and expectation emanating from her. A thought of Elle comes to him, unbidden, for just a moment, but she shrugs it off.
Someone knew he was coming. That thought gnaws at Soma as he slowly stands up, never taking his eyes of Aislinn, unzipping the black flight suit and shrugging out of it, the whole ending up a crumpled black heap off to the side. Somehow, he got away with wearing his typical black and grey outfit under that suit... and other things, too. Soma shakes out his hands, his daggers falling into his palms in one practiced motion.
From parajump to business in 10 seconds. It's impressive.
"Nice night for a jaunt, huh?" he says calmly.
COMBATSYS: Soma has started a fight here.
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Soma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn has joined the fight here.
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Aislinn 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
COMBATSYS: Soma focuses on his next action.
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Aislinn 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
Aislinn is going to be rather hard for Soma to fight if he's talky about it. Because she just... isn't. And while Soma takes the time to dress properly, Aislinn is doing something that might be considered odd. She isn't taking advantage of any brief time he might be vulnerable and attacking him while he's potentially tangled up. She's just... standing there. Waiting. If she were the chatty type this might be like the climbing the Cliffs of Insanity part of The Princess Bride.
Instead, Aislinn merely inclines her head to Soma... and while he's busy being calm, Aislinn is busy as well, despite her stillness. The growth of power is more internal than most, channels opened internally, power routed and rerouted, yet there's something unmistakable about the building of power that any fighter can sense.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn gathers her will.
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Aislinn 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Soma
Hyacinth-purple eyes narrow a bit. Something about this scenario is entirely wrong... but there's hostility in the air and one doesn't need to be empathic to sense it. Soma *isn't* the talky type, usually, and he doesn't seem bothered by Aislinn's reticent nature. Something about him wants to make noise, however, and he continues talking, even if it's to himself. "Have it your way, I suppose."
Gripping one dagger tight, held blade-backward, the ICPO agent suddenly dashes at Aislinn in a crouching run, then leaps and turns, blade flashing silver through the air as he spins and makes a wide, strong crescent-shaped slash, the blade leaving a trail of silver in the air from the bright moonlight above. A nice, telegraphed attack, to be sure... but somewhere in Soma's head is the intuition that he's not going to be able to take this person on with bee stings.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn Toughs Out Soma's Fierce Strike!!
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Aislinn 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Soma
It's up to Soma, really. Further sound is likely only to bring observers, watchers and guards. The guards, however, may not want to throw Soma off the ship, win or lose--that sort of thing is well beyond their ken or anyone else's. So, if he wants to talk, she'll let him talk--Ais tends to ration words like a man dying of thirst in the middle of the desert...
And anyways, there's a blade coming at her now. Something she likes to do in fights against unknown quantities is to just see how hard they hit... or slice, in this case... and in this case... she can tell that Soma's big moves will hit pretty hard. The dagger strike seems to bite deep--but Aislinn slips it, somehow, twisting away from the blade and putting herself in position for her immediate counterstrike--leaping up after Soma, she seeks to ground him with a two-handed 'poleax' smash much like the kind Sakura uses.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Soma with Fierce Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Aislinn 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Soma
Apparently, the Ryouhara hand-picked Aislinn to prove just how useless in combat Soma truly is.
Getting a dagger across the chest which does absolutely nothing does catch Soma by surprise. Which is probably all Aislinn needs to accomplish what she wants. The two-fisted attack slams into his head just as he turns from his own attack, looking to at least TRY to get out of the way... and the blow hits him square atop the head, slamming him down and back. His daggers fall out of his hands and scatter across the deck, clearly out of his reach, while the poleaxed ICPO agent rolls to a stop a good few feet away, unmoving.
Bravado is one thing, but being hit that hard after free-falling through a cold night sky and landing on the deck of a moving ship... it's far too much for Soma. But perhaps to his benefit, it will encourage Aislinn to stop attacking him, considering how badly outclassed he is.
COMBATSYS: Soma takes no action.
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Aislinn 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Soma
Aislinn lands, and... well, Soma can tell she seems a little surprised. She had thought that the man would be... hardier. Still, she remains where she is--where she started, ironically enough. Though, as Soma did hope... she doesn't follow up on her attack--she merely sets herself, waiting. Soma isn't out, she can tell that much just by looking. But he doesn't seem to be making any effort to get up, either.
Perhaps he is 'playing possum'? A dangerous strategy, to be sure, but those daggers mean business--she has no idea whether he has more secreted upon his person or, perhaps, something else--and something uglier. Weapons don't have to -look- scary to -be- scary, after all--Aislinn is proof of that, in an abstract sense.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn takes no action.
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Aislinn 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Soma
Playing possum? Nothing of the sort. The ferrous tang of blood is overpowered primarily by the salt spray of the dark ocean passing by, and as the ICPO agent slowly gets to his feet, in obvious pain, Aislinn can likely see it running down his lip from the corner of his mouth. What she can't see is the suddenly swimming vision, the bright spots. He's gone from breathing pure oxygen to a mix again, never mind big lung bucketfuls of air after getting the equivalent of a cannon round to the top of the head. The sudden spike in bloodstream nitrogen isn't helping either.
He can't see clearly, but he does know he doesn't want Aislinn anywhere near him. In fact, he's quite sure she's going to kill him, soon... and Soma is ready to give his life in the pursuit of his profession but is not entirely sure he wants it to be here and now. His hand whips out, hurling a throwing spike charged with silver energy, but the aim is erratic, his focus greatly diminished... it'll be a miracle if it even passes within a few yards of Aislinn, but the only other alternative is running in and meeting his death that much faster.
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Aislinn with Nova.
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Aislinn 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Soma
So... he isn't playing possum. How interesting. He just needed time to recover--well, Aislinn understands that. And, quite understandably, he might think his life is in danger here. But really, it isn't. Aislinn is not a psycho crazed hosebeast like, say, Freeman. She doesn't kill for pleasure. She kills as a job, and killing Soma isn't her job here.
That energized throwing spike... well, she tries to get out of the way, that's for sure. But what ends up happening is it buries itself in her shoulder, and then her world is a burst of silver and black energy.
The explosion of energy forces her to stumble back a few feet, and she hisses softly at the pain... but despite her stumbling away, once she recovers, she lunges forward, leaping through the air in a low, flat arc, and at the end of it, attempting to thrust her right foot into Soma's chest in a classic flying kick, her extended right boot flaring with red-white lightning.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Soma with Light Kick.
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Aislinn 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Soma
Again, Soma is too slow, too unskilled to actually accomplish what he wants. Obviously, evading isn't going to do him any good... but perhaps he can do just enough damage to get her off his back if he presses it, walks into the attack, gets himself in close range. What he gets instead is a lightning-charged boot to the face that sends him skidding across the deck, landing in a heap.
It does have one minor benefit, though, at least: he lands next to one of his daggers.
Picking it up, the ICPO agent wipes blood from his face, again... his vision still blurry. "You should have just blown up the plane," he bites out. "It would have been faster." But some part of him is poking at Aislinn's mindset, considering her emotional state, judging her movements and how she carries himself. And in his own unique way, Soma even begins to mirror that, taking deep breaths and then falling silent, dagger held in one hand. His *stance* even starts to mirror Aislinn's.
And then, from a standing start, he vanishes.
When he reappears, it is as he moves past the Silent Assassin. Only one dagger lashes out, trying to get the wire wrapped around whatever body part is available and can work, but one dagger might be enough. Of course, given his performance in the fight so far, even Soma's best technique is a dubious gamble...
COMBATSYS: Aislinn fails to counter Orihime's Loom from Soma with Heaven's Drive.
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Aislinn 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Soma
...but it pays off, apparently. Normally this technique produces some yelling from Soma, but the ICPO agent is oddly silent as he tugs the grip of the wire tight on Aislinn, and then spins, hurling her into the air. What follows is a dizzying game of high-speed, mid-air catch, the wire snagging the girl over and over until Soma appears above her, real dagger exchanged for psychic ones that become a blinding lance of silver. With a wide slash of the glimmering blade, he knocks the Silent Assassin from the air, landing in a crouch... and then coughing up a bit of blood, his breath ragged.
It was a bit of a long-shot, to be sure--attempting to grab a fast opponent even as they're trying to execute a complex attack. Aislinn finds herself blown up and around, her counter-technique having failed, and she's tossed around several times--and lanced by Soma's psionic daggers... needless to say, it isn't pleasant.
She lands hard, thumping into the deck in a manner that suggests the fall wasn't softened at all--and then she rises, almost mechnically. Her eyes are clouded with pain yet her movements are precise, as if she were simply ignoring suddenly knotted muscle and bruised flesh...
Which she is, as best as she can. And then she speaks. "I could have shot you from the sky," she acknowledges, "but your death is not my goal this evening." Which of course does not preclude her having the goal of beating Soma up a bit. Or more than a bit.
Not out to kill him. Well, that's something.
It's an effort to get himself standing again, but at least the sudden imbalance of chemicals in his blood is starting to subside... perhaps the adrenaline of sudden combat has something to do with it. The ICPO agent slowly walks backwards, toward his other dagger, keeping an eye on Aislinn as he bends to retrieve it. "Oh? Just going for disfiguring maiming, perhaps? Or are you like Elle and just want the jacket..."
When he stands again, however, there is a strength growing. A memory of Aislinn's, a mere echo of her abilities... but an echo that Soma, for the moment, seems to be resonating with. Silver light surrounds his body like faerie fire as he wills himself stronger, knowing that Aislinn is neither down nor out. "You don't have to answer that, obviously... not that I expect you to anyway."
COMBATSYS: Soma gathers his will.
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Aislinn 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Soma
"I am merely here to defeat you. It does not have to be disfiguring." Them's comforting words, aren't they? Aislinn watches as that silver light springs up around Soma... she heard him mention Elle, but she keeps any connection to the guitar-wielding woman quiet, for now. Instead, she focuses... and tenses.
Suddenly, she bursts forward, her toes pointed back as she almost literally flies across the decking of the ship, a humanoid missile aimed to grab Soma by the shoulders...
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Soma with Momentum Overdrive.
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Aislinn 0/-------/------=|=======\=======\1 Soma
... and she finds her grip. Suddenly, Soma finds himself flying backwards, with Aislinn right there with him, her hands gripping his shoulders. Fortunately, to stop his flight--their flight--there is a wall. Unfortunately, when Soma hits the wall... Aislinn starts hitting him. The punches are swift, raining into his chest, but for all their swiftness they are controlled--as she said, the goal is only to beat him, not kill him. At some point she senses her goal is achieved--and so she simply stops, backing away, forgoing her usual final strike...
... and turning on her heel to walk back into the ship.
Maybe she can hear it as she's walking away.
It's a little clumsier than normal, of course. In fact, Soma will be lucky to even walk again after this fight; between his savage beating in Metro City he didn't let fully heal, to the strain of the HALO drop, to Aislinn striking with what can only be called punishing force, the truth is Soma will be fortunate to even be ALIVE after this. But a part of him -- maybe even a part of him borrowed from Aislinn herself -- is tired of being the universe's whipping boy.
As she walks away, Soma stands and lashes out with the wire, again. He's unlikely to get a grip, of course, but if he does...
COMBATSYS: Soma can no longer fight.
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Aislinn 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn dodges Soma's Orihime's Loom.
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Aislinn 0/-------/------=|
...sadly, there is no force on earth that can prevent Soma from being the universe's whipping boy. Sapped of energy, he collapses on the spot to bleed out on the deck.
That, however, is not likely to happen; although Aislinn 'feels' the wire coming and ducks it, spinning low through a crouch to see Soma collapse. She doesn't look concerned--and there's no reason she should, really. Suiryuu is staffed with very competent medical staff, and they're paid well to help their charges recuperate. Presumably, the injured Soma will be taken to the infirmary, and from there, given a cabin...
Log created on 22:22:38 09/04/2007 by Aislinn, and last modified on 05:48:40 09/06/2007.