Scene #559: Ships off Phase Rock

Owner	Pose
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid wades through the water, moving far faster than the 'pace' of her stride should allow. "Battlestations. They will not surrender easily. Radar room, on alert." Radar tracking. Looking for targets. Guncrews reporting, ready to fire on your command. Spotters on watch. AA crews ready. She turns towards the island, swiveling her guns into position.
Samar	The Confederate forces stationed at Phase Rock aren't the ones who direct their attention to the approaching Hood. No, the Fleet Maiden is instead going to be faced with a somewhat familiar opponent, and one far more suited for naval combat than most. The water between Hood and Phase Rock begins to churn and bubble, and soon the surface of the ocean breaks as an Abyssal Ship rises from the water. Thankfully, compared to their other appearances, this one is at an almost human size, but that probably shouldn't matter too much. Soon, Anchorage has fully emerged from the water, hovering just above the surface with her shark-like base emitting a low, mechanical growl. Anchorage herself hardly has any expression, though her neutral look as she stares at Elasaid seems to approach a glare. "...you again," she remarks flatly, the hands of her mechanical base flexing in preparation for battle. Her tone is cold and flat, smoldering with a quiet annoyance. "...I hoped you sank at Midway. Oh well. You won't go any further from here."
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid slows her approach, but doesn't stop fully. "It will take far more than you or your ilk to sink me." she replies, arms folded over her chest in a defiant pose. The scratched and dull metal of her guns belie nothing of their potency, as the barrels adjust, angle, then unleash a roaring salvo of eight explosive shells, testing the waters, so to speak. "I can't say the same for you, stand aside and I will let you leave."
Samar	While she doesn't look particularly mobile, Anchorage appears to be faster than she seems. A quick blast of thrusters beneath her body sends rushing to one side, sparing her the brunt of Elasaid's explosive assault. Red eyes glance aside at the explosions just beside her, then shift back over to the Fleet Maiden, narrowed in a resentful glare. "...I don't stand aside." The mouth of her base opens with a snarl, and from its glowing throat fly a dozen bizarre 'planes' (http://tinyurl.com/nt4ctx9). Buzzing and gurgling, they swoop toward Elasaid and begin opening fire on her with rapid-fire guns, weaving in before swooping out again as they take quick runs at the Fleet Maiden. "...what makes you think you can defeat us?"
Elasaid Hood	INCOMING ENEMY AIRCRAFT! The internal warning has every small turret on the Maiden's armour tracking up to target those planes as they pepper her Barrier Armour with rapid fire attacks. The field shimmers, some shots simply passing straight through the top of the bubble to strike at the metalwork on her back. Her AA Battery replies with explosive flak shells and pulse laser fire of their own. "I don't think it." is her only response, starting forwards toward Anchorage again. She unfolds her arms, the bracers opening a pair of ports each, She punches towards the Abyssal, murmuring softly. "Fire One. Fire Two. Fire Three. Fire Four." unleashing a full spread of torpedoes. Her main battery resounds with a solid CHUNCLAK as they reload... then roar out to add to the onslaught.
Samar	"So you're full of yourself." Anchorage gives an irritated sneer, bracing as Elasaid heads off toward her again. The AA guns prove very effective against the planes that don't weave off in time, sending several of them smoking and burning down to crash into the ocean, but the torpedoes are much less useful. Anchorage's quick reactions prove effective again as she blasts herself backward in a swift rush just before the torpedoes hit, ensuring that their explosions send pillars of water up just in front of her but not close enough to damage her. Unfortunately, those same pillars of water help shield Elasaid's next attack. The main battery opens fire and crashes into Anchorage's mechanical base, exploding against the creature's forehead and sending it back with a pained snarl. The gesture is echoed by Anchorage herself, teeth bared in pain and anger. She says nothing this time. Instead, her base's mouth opens again, and another pair of planes fly out and swoop toward Elasaid. Rather than using guns, however, these drop torpedoes into the water that speed off toward the Fleet Maiden from below.
Elasaid Hood	TORPEDOES! TURN! TU-- Elasaid is engulfed in a giant pillar of water, her Barrier Armour cracking and fracturing from the strikes below the waterline. As the water spouts subside... she's nowhere to be found... that couldn't have been it, could it? Apparently not! As the woman BURSTS out from underwater, quickly resummoning her armour as she lands right in front of the Anchorage Demon(Or Princess, can't remember which). "We embody the strength and Spirit of the United Kingdom!" she says defiantly, summoning a giant anchor onto her right bracer. She 'punches' forward again, the anchor being fired like a missile with a gunshot-like sound, dragging a chain behind it. She's thrown it a little off-center, hoping to either goad a dodge, or graze off for something else.
Samar	For once, Anchorage's expression changes from its usual annoyance to show some hint of surprise when Elasaid isn't there anymore. She honestly thinks for a moment that she succeeded in sinking the Hood, but...it couldn't have been /that/ easy, could it? Apparently not. The Anchorage Demon's first inclination is to dodge, and that appears to be her undoing. Far too late, she realizes the trajectory of the anchor flying toward her, with just enough time to curse her reaction before the anchor /slams/ into her stomach. "Gh-!" The Capital Ship's eyes widen as she hunches over, holding her stomach in pain for several seconds. She doesn't need to breath, so at least she's not winded, but that /definitely/ hurt. When her head raises again, the glare she levels at Elasaid is strong enough to make her red eyes blaze with a scarlet fire. She straightens up again, and both her hands and those of her mechanical base clench into tight fists. The fighter planes still remaining take another swoop at Elasaid, but...none of them open fire. Their dives are only to distract the Fleet Maiden from the real attack, which comes from Anchorage pulling back one muscular arm larger than herself and then delivering a powerful uppercut to Hood, the mechanical base's strength equal to being hit with a speeding truck.
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid smirks in triumph. The chain doesn't retract yet, as the anchor splashes down. Her turrets start tracking to those fighters, but then she's getting uppercutted. Her Barrier Armour condenses into a bright blue-white field to take the hit... but it still slams her backwards from the force, skidding on the water surface. The shield then shatters like glass, dissolving into light. She still smirks, as she ratchets back her arm, yanking the anchor out of the water, and attempts to hook it into the Abyssal's superstructure. If she manages it, she tries to use leverage to swing the larger woman around. If not she'll hopefully rip something important loose.
Samar	How satisfying. Anchorage's hand flexes after Elasaid is sent back, drawing her scarlet gaze for a few appreciative moments before she turns back to the Fleet Maiden. Coldness and vemon seep from every word she speaks. "...if you won't sink, then I'll just crush you over the waves instead." The anchor comes around and digs into the 'mouth' that Anchorage herself sits in, scraping along her thigh as it passes, but the Demon is quick to react. Her other muscular arm comes around and grabs the anchor's chain, and just as Elasaid attempts to swing her around, Anchorage does the same. Instead, however, she tries tugging the anchor free before she yanks the anchor aside to hurl Elasaid toward the shore.
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid grunts as her plan backfires... but thankfully that chain isn't something physical. She gets pulled forwards a little, the sudden yank pulling on her right arm a little, but before she can get hauled all the way over, the chain disappears into blue-white energy motes, but she's now closer to the Demon again. "You can try." she retorts, leveling her quartet of cannons again, aiming for the monster on which the woman is riding. High Velocity Armour Piercing Shells loaded! Hostile Dreadnaught in sight. Firing solution established. Range set, elevation set. The woman herself points a finger forward, anything she says drowned out by another report from her guns, the eight cannons letting loose in sequence.
Samar	That did not go as planned. Anchorage yanks, but then the very thing she's pulling on vanishes in thin air, leaving her pulling back on...nothing. It leaves her notably open as she spins around from the sudden lack of tension, perfectly so for Elasaid's following salvo. Charges burst along the side of Anchorage's 'hull', blasting charred holes into the black metal of the monstrous creature and sending Anchorage reeling back from the impacts. The mechanical form releases a metallic roar, red steam seeping from its throat as it struggles to right itself again in its hover. Anchorage herself, however, is much more capable of orienting herself thanks to her size. She twists against her mount's reeling to face Elasaid again, and that long cannon on her back lowers to aim right at the Fleet Maiden. "...sink." A resounding /THOOM/ echoes as the cannon fires, launching a single shell coated in crackling, steaming red energy. Aside from just exploding, the impact seems designed to actually deteriorate what it hits, eating away at whatever Anchorage strikes with it like a particularly volatile acid.
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid can't defend. Her Barrier Armour is still recharging and it won't activate until it's at sufficient charge... so that leaves her one option. Dodge. FULL RIGHT RUDDER! BRING US ABOUT! FLANK SPEED! The Maiden throws herself to the right, getting splashed by that acid streaming from the shell, but barely managing to escape a full hit. She pants softly, as one of her guns fails to respond, the mechanism locking up as smoke rises from the housing. Number Four turret locked Captain. Bearings are shot. She smirks a bit, then cracks her knuckles. "Fancy shot..." she remarks, then levels her remaining guns. Two angle high, a bit too high for the range. Airburst Explosive shells loaded into Number 3. Number One and Two, HVAP. Elasaid points again, this time only six reports, but a pair of shells fly up near Anchorage's face, exploding just before hitting her, while the other four aim again for that monster she uses as a mount.
Samar	Anchorage just gives an irritated scoff as her shot is dodged. The gun lifts, steadily recharging as she watches Elasaid's next move. "...next time you won't be so lucky," she growls, her base finally leveling out to face Elasaid again and give an enraged snarl. This is starting to get a little close for her tastes. This time, at least, the Anchorage Demon realizes what's about to happen before Elasaid fires. It's a gamble, but she takes it: rather than dodging to the sides, Anchorage instead speeds down into a dive, slipping beneath the water as those explosions ring out where she was just a moment before. A close shave, but it worked, and hopefully provides Anchorage with an opportunity to give a good strike. The Demon is only submerged for a few moments before she suddenly crashes up out of the water again, this time right beneath Hood. Like a shark striking at a seal, she leads with her crushing jaws, bringing them up around Elasaid before chomping down around her waist with crushing force.
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid doesn't have any sonar, or underwater capability of any kind, so the dive stunt catches her by surprise. She's engulfed, and chomped, those jaws grinding against metal armour, but how long it'll last is another question entirely. She's hurting, blood leaking from a few wounds where those teeth punched through her defenses... though now she's in prime location. Torpedoes reloaded. Exactly what she wanted to hear. She stops pushing at the jaws, and instead slams her fists into the monsterous visage's 'eyes'. Instead of launching the torpedoes as invisible missiles, they detonate out from her strike, enhancing the punch with explosive force.
Samar	Torpedo punches are not something Anchorage expects. She even allows a light smirk to form over her glower as she watches Elasaid struggle, and her single massive cannon lowers again to aim right at the trapped Fleet Maiden. At this range, surely the woman's ability to defend herself is almost completely gone. Except apparently not. That punch crashes against the Abyssal's metal frame, blasting a smoldering hole in the creature's head and forcing it to release Hood with a metallic screech. Anchorage cries out in surprise as she's knocked away, crashing back underwater before she emerges again a few feet back. Water streams off her hull, steaming where it comes into contact with the burning holes that have been shot or punched into her frame. The Demon snarls, clenching her fists as she glares across at Hood again. "...annoying." Those planes that weren't shot down earlier swoop back into the fray once more, and while there aren't many, they still assault Hood from several angles with rapid-fire guns and torpedoes dropped into the water. The main attack, however, comes from Anchorage's main cannon again. Once more, that powerful report rings out, knocking the Anchorage Demon back slightly as another deteriorating shell is launched right at Elasaid!
Elasaid Hood	INCOMING AIRCRAFT! Elasaid is too slow. Rapidfire guns strafe her, burning holes in her uniform. She manages to barely miss the torpedoes... but the distraction proves her undoing, as that shell slams into her head on, engulfing her in the deteriorating acid. Anchorage might just earn a scream of agony from the Fleet Maiden... wait, that isn't agony, it's rage! Elasaid bursts out of the smoke cloud, trailing smoke and looking very much worse for wear... and is that? She's missing a turret, the one that broke before, she's holding it now by the barrels in both hands, and charging right at the Abyssal. Murder is in her green eyes, before she swings that heavy lump of metal around in a very crude, but alarmingly powerful swing.
Samar	Smoke and sprays of water shield Elasaid as Anchorage hovers in place, watching where her opponent last was. She doesn't expect that to have done her in finally, and so, even as the barrel of her cannon steams and lifts to recharge, the various planes still active rise into the air and make slow circles around the Fleet Maiden's location like birds of prey ready to strike. It can't be that easy... Elasaid soon proves that to be true. The Fleet Maiden rushes out of the cloud of smoke, turret in hand like a giant club. Anchorage's eyes go wide again, and she does her best to backpedal away, but not fast enough. CLANG. That turret /smashes/ into Anchorage's 'human' body, sending the Abyssal Capital Ship tumbling back through the air until she actually strikes the ocean's surface and skids along it, kicking up a spray of water from either side. It takes a minute for her to right herself again, wobbling back into an upright hover and turning back to Elasaid. The damage is obviously taking its toll on her, with a few points in her mechanical hull spewing smoke and fire from holes blasted into them and her 'human' body hunching over slightly and breathing heavily from effort. Still, if the burning glare in her eyes is a sign of anything, she's not done yet. The thrusters behind her kick into action, sending her rushing toward Elasaid again. Both she and her mechanical base let out resounding cries of fury, and the creature's giant, muscular fists rear back. The moment she comes close to Elasaid, Anchorage rains blows on her. Most of them come from her fists. Punch after powerful punch is sent against the Fleet Maiden, each one backed by inrcedible strength as she sends a right hook, then a left, then a straight punch, then an uppercut, and finally a double-fisted overhead slam. That doesn't seem to be enough for the Demon, however, and even though her cannon has just barely recharged, she lowers it again. Violence blazes in her eyes as she rushes back, and with a last enraged shout, she sends off another report of her main deteriorating gun that makes the barrel smolder and steam from the built-up heat. She really does seem to be aiming to simply /destroy/ the Fleet Maiden at this rate.
Elasaid Hood	Elasaid does what anyone would do when faced with a charging demonic hell creature bent on their destruction. She roars defiance, and attempts to parry those blows, managing most of them but getting slammed by that straight punch, right in the mid section, then getting smashed down into the water by the overhead slam. The shell explodes nearby, but the Maiden surfaces again, water streaming before she reaches up, and tosses her hat aside, letting her copper hair fly free in the wind. "The Hood sails forth on Favorable Winds." she states with finality. Before sweeping that 'turret club' around for another hard smash.
Samar	Why won't this woman just /die/ already? Anchorage, despite her determination and blazing hatred, simply can't last any further against her opponent. As her gun lifts away once more, she braces against the oncoming hit and lifts her arms to block...but not enough, and not in time. The turret comes around again, slamming into her side and knocking her back several feet. Again she tumbles, but this time it takes her much longer to right herself, and when she does, her hover is not nearly as high as it was before. She's just barely touching the water, in fact. ...there just isn't anything else she can do at this rate. Resentfully, and glaring at Hood with enough rage to burn a hole through her armor, Anchorage slips under the water and swims away from Phase Rock, all the way back to Iron Bottom Sound to recover from her wounds.