trans_9 | Lirath - Ground Battle

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Lirath - Ground Battle

After dropping off some of the crew at Balisair, it was time for the crew to set course for Lirath. The situation greeting them wasn't the most promising.

The cracked surface of the moon called Lirath was one of its most unmistakeable features. One of the three moons of the planet Kehoe, it had been terraformed and served as a settlement for a hundreds of different species, some humanoid, some not. Despite occasional class struggles, environmental issues, and speciesism blocking their way, the darker parts of Lirath's past were largely left behind, and an era of peace and tolerance had reigned for quite some time. The only problems they'd had recently were with a terrorist group whose cause for their actions had been a mystery, but they weren't tied to any particular species or social group and had been likened to a cult and had largely gone quiet in recent years.

Now the peace on the moon of Lirath had been shattered by the invasion of the Ohm.

The capital city had been destroyed. Now, all that was left of the peoples of Lirath was evacuating from one of its smaller cities, one known as Smyteval. A desert city, existing in a valley in between a rocky range of canyons and mountains, even though it was in the low ground, the natural channels of rock served as bottlenecks for any Ohm attacking from the ground.

GIA squadrons patrolled in space, locked in explosive warfare, protecting the Bleed-gate that had been activated to see the evacuated ships to the refugee world, and a shield created by massively-powerful shield generators extended around the city and up into the atmosphere, creating a shielded tunnel so ships could escape.

Word had come that there was a vital weapon to be deployed on Lirath, one that needed to be destroyed, hence why the Transmigration 9 had been called in. Given the diverse crew, and the ships that were in its hangar, there was at least someone or something on board that could blow the weapon up if it did show.

There was no sign of it yet. Right now, there was just chaos, streams of evacuees boarding ships, armies of Ohm engaged with GIA soldiers outside the shields, and forcefields that everyone hoped would hold out just a little bit longer.

The crew would be following Leon's orders but finding themselves fighting side-by-side with GIA platoons, full of various species that were currently all getting their asses kicked severely.

[ooc: STAGE 1 is now open! ~~Please do not tage STAGE 2 until it's announced as open as well.~~]

[ooc: STAGE 2 is now open!]

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If his mind wasn't consumed with the woman riding in the passengers' seat of the borrowed car, Billy would feel confident that he could now pass any driving test in the universe. Speeding under and swerving around the battle while unsure if they were protected had been extremely stressful. Speeding up a rubble ramp and making a jump had been even worse, so overall it had been a rather bumpy ride to the medical tent.

But finally, at last, he slammed on the brakes just outside the shields, spinning so that Hoshi was closest to the tent. Billy wasted no time in climbing out and scrambling to her side, one arm extended toward her and the other with a blaster held at the ready.

"Sorry about that---we're here. Can you walk if you hold on?" He gnawed on his lip beneath the helmet, the tension still building. They were nearly there, two more steps and they'd be safe. She'd be able to heal.

Hoshi let out a grunt when Billy slammed on the brakes. Granted, he couldn't control the driving conditions given the battle, but it wasn't exactly comfortable to be thrust to the passenger's door so abruptly.

Her Driver was still wrapped snugly around her waist with the Nazca Memory clutched tightly around her fingers. She wasn't going to stay down for long, that was for sure.

"Y-Yeah, I should be a-able to," she said, supporting her weight on the car's frame just to stand up again. Her legs wobbled, but sure enough, she was able to stand up with Billy's help.

"All right, let's... let's go. The q-quicker I get help, the b-better I can be at helping the others."

That's odd, he swore he'd heard a car spin.

Morgan poked his head out of the tent, then tossed the flaps hurriedly aside as he made that way. "What's the damage report?"

"Hoshi can tell you more than I can, but she's put a lot of strain on herself and drained her energy," Billy's voice grunted from under the helmet as they crossed the barrier. Now that it was relatively safe, he was able to use both hands to gently guide her along. "She used a massive attack far beyond her usual abilities to clear the way for my team to fight."

Beneath all the worry, his voice betrayed the pride and respect he felt for her.

"W-What Billy said. I feel lightheated a-and, as expected, a l-lot of pain," Hoshi said, leaning on Billy as he helped her to the tent.

While she knew that Philip advised her away from two Maximum Drives, she was glad that she was able to help Billy's team out with what she did. "D-Do what you do best, Morgan."

"Maybe I shouldn't just to give you a lesson in not overdoing it!" Morgan said, though he obviously didn't mean it. "Hold still a second."

He reached out to put the fingers of one hand against the back of her head -- then use that position as leverage to press his thumb into one particular spot at the base of her skull. Hard. It seemed like it ought to hurt, but just the opposite -- it dampened and soothed sensations of pain."

"... If I wasn't injured, I-I'd hurt you," protested Hoshi with a puff of her cheeks. But, still, she'd remain just where she was.

She let Morgan do what was necessary, closing her eyes to help her relax more. When he pushed his thumb on the area of her skull, she felt some of the pain dissipate with a relieved sigh coming from her.

"That f-feels better."

Billy couldn't help but stare at Morgan, wondering what a finger was going to do. His mind was so preoccupied with the war and all their worries that it took him longer than usual to remember. This must be Morgan's acupressure in action.

"Is that all?" he worried, looking Hoshi up and down. Surely there had to be more to it. But Morgan hadn't been lying those days ago, it really did seem to make a difference in her energy. He wondered about the wounds too, but the primary issue was resolved. "Thank you," he said to Morgan.

Finally, he addressed Hoshi again. "You're safe. That's what matters. Take all the time you need, I can escalate things in your place."

"I'll take care of her," he said, reaching out to put an arm around the girl so he could transfer her weight off of Billy and onto himself. "From what it looks like this should be pretty straightforward, I'll get her back into shape pretty quick."

He looked over Hoshi's shoulders at Billy. "Don't worry about her," he said very clearly. That was an order.

Hoshi took a moment to cough as her throat was dry. She lifted her head up to give Billy the best smile she could muster right now and held her fist out to him in a friendly gesture.

"Your team needs you, Billy. Go be the best captain you can be to your Rangers and kick some Ohm ass in my stead while I rest up," she said, another cough coming forth. "That's an order from captain to captain."

After all, she was in capable hands here.

Billy knew there was no room for argument. His battle was far from over---he had a team to return to in the mess outside. At least the Zords were fairly large flags to their location.

"I will," he promised with a nod, gently tapping his fist against hers. He was in the car in another second and hitting the gas pedal, charging back into the darkness, but not before one last thought from his comm ring transferred to her.

But---in a way, you're part of my team too. I'd better see you again.

"Okay, okay, we're still in a war movie here, not an after-school special," Morgan said, chuckling.

He escorted Hoshi carefully into the tent, then eased her up onto one of the beds. "Lie down, get comfortable. This won't take long... assuming you're not just putting on some massive front to cover the true depth of your injuries."

No, he didn't put that past her in the slightest.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to boost morale here," Hoshi said oh-so maturely with a little "hmph" after it.

She gave a small "heh" in response to Billy and nodded, letting Morgan help her into one of the beds. The relief was appreciated, and just like he said, she was putting on a strong front just so that she wouldn't worry others.

"Naaaah, I'm not. Totally not." And she was lying through her teeth on that one.

"Oh good. Because it would be wrong to lie to your medic, who is also your friend, and who is about to perform a thorough diagnostic on you to discover the truth anyway," Morgan said, quite casual and light.

From his belt, he unhooked and lifted a pouch. When he opened it, a score of needles glinted in the artifical light inside. He set the pouch to one side of her, waiting till she was settled.

"Me, a liar? Surely you jest," Hoshi said in the same friendly manner that he had said it.

She flicked her wrist to make her Driver disappear for now and pocketed her memory for now, relaxing as best as she can. When she was ready, she gave Morgan a nod to start working.

"Just lie flat, don't move, and... it'll feel weird, but it should start feeling better quickly."

That being said, he drew the first needle from the pouch, then bared her arm to gentle insert it into the skin. It seemed like it should hurt, but the needle was tiny, and either he was skilled or that prod earlier was still serving its purpose.

"I favor using fewer needles than many would, in the grand scheme of things," he said conversationally, to keep her mind off her own pain as much as possible and distract her from the needles he continued to slide into her arms. Her stomach was next on the list. "Then again, I'm not manipulating your chi with these needles so much as I'm using them to break down the barriers between your body and mine."

"All right, thank you."

Hoshi did what he said and, while she didn't feel the needle like she would normally, she was on the edge about the needles. No matter what kind of strong front she could put on, she just couldn't shake the thought of needles. Still, she was going to relax as best as she could.

"Ah, I see. That's a really neat way of healing someone," she commented, continuing the discussion just to get her mind settled on things other than the pain and the needles.

He coukd feel that tension building. He paused a moment to press on a couple of points leading up to her neck, the better to help her relax.

"Look straight up," he said as he moved down to start tapping needles into the meridians on her legs. "And tell me exactly what you -- good god, you have nice legs." Morgan shook his head a little. "Tell me exactly what you did, that will help me know what I'm dealing with. Especially since you apparently did it to yourself?"

She appreciated the help for her neck, feeling some of her tension ebbing away and relaxation returning. Her gaze shifted upwards as he told her to do so while she chuckled gently. "Well, it's all the working out I do to keep them and my body in shape."

She thought back on what she did, it still a blur to her.

"Well, you know those big attacks characters do in video games and that stuff? With my Rider powers, I did two of them at once to give Billy's team a path for the Zords. And, well, I don't think you're allowed to do that, and now I'm paying for it like this.

"I don't think my big brother's happy with me, though."

"Never cast from hit points," he told her, as seriously as such a phrase could be said. "Those scenes are always lessons in how senseless self-sacrifice never actually works. The heroes have to be alive for their happy ending, after all. I think those of us who care have a perfectly good reason to be unhappy!"

He surveyed his work, found no flaws in his technique, then shut his eyes as he lifted his hands the needles. To start with he simply touched each one of them in turn, feather-light, feeling the flow of chi through them to assess the damage she'd incurred.

"Yeah... I have people I gotta be around for," Hoshi said, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Philip and Shoutarou came to her mind, same as Sasami, Aqua, Ren... Everyone she had met and made friends with on the ship she had to come back home safe and sound to.

"Next time when something like this goes down, I won't be so reckless."

She watched to see what Morgan was doing with curiosity in her eyes before closing them again. The damage of doing two Maximum Drives was rather extensive - she had a few bruised ribs, the obvious head wound that had pressure applied to it from her bandanna with other cuts on her body all around. And, thanks to Nazca, the smell of smoke came off of her from it. She was in bad shape, but not to life threatening standards.

He let out a low whistle as he surveyed the damage.

"If you'd done any more to yourself I don't think you'd be going out there again today," he said.

But she'd been lectured enough. He moved his hands smoothly over her body, tapping, twisting, or adjusting the various needles in response to the energy he felt coursing through her. This would be fairly slow, but he thought he could handle it.

Considering the worst he'd had to treat today were overtly dead...

Hoshi didn't mind the lecturing, but too much of it tended to wear one's spirit down. That's why she just did it once and didn't browbeat her team too much.

She relaxed completely on the bed she was on, wanting to help take some of the strain off of him.

"Thank you for doing this, Morgan."

"I'm a medic, this is my job," he said, a little distracted as he worked. This was harder than it had to be, since part of his attention was still diverted to circulating warm air in a bulwark against the cold bombs' influence.

Still, under his gentle and patient ministering, her chi couldn't help but respond.

She decided to remain quiet while he worked, as to not distract him further with unnecessary discussion. Thanks to his ministrations, she could feel herself being nearly lulled to sleep.

She also felt her energy being restored, too, something that she deeply appreciated. Her face displayed this gratitude with a warm smile as she let Morgan did what he did best.

Lirath - Ground Battle

Billy/Hoshi/Morgan

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