You can do this, you tell yourself.

The sonic blast was not as devastating as the Lunarians had hoped, and Miss Yukari’s intervention has cheated them of their hope. As it seems that “crybaby” is not a bomb but some form of valuable artifact to the Lunarians, they must have been in dire straights to deploy it.

Confidently, you await your turn to speak.

”It is my view that we should press the attack at once!” you say, clearly, and oddly, the other Admirals fall silent from their bickering. Even the fleet commander sits upright and ceases scowling.

”Look at them, resorting to using an artifact to strike at us. Our fleet is still intact! Shake away your fear induced delusions and look clearly, the enemy is weak, weaker than ever before. If we do not exploit this chance, who knows when another will reveal itself? Strike while the iron is hot, I say! If we don’t and when our children’s children gaze up at the moon and curse our names for not ending the war now, what can we say?”

An uncomfortable pause.

”What can we say?’ you repeat. “That we were awaiting reinforcements? That we were too cowardly to take a step forward because we were fearful? Gentlemen, ladies, we are soldiers. First and foremost, regardless of rank, death stalks a general as much as a private. Perhaps some of us have forgotten that. We entered this war to win, and we can win, shake away your fear and look clearly, the situation is not as dire as it appears.”

Tapping a few keys you transmit the fleet status report.

You know you have done your job when confidence once again appears on their faces.

The fleet commander looks at you approvingly. He stands.

”Ladies and Gentlemen, we will soon be past the border of no return, within 15 minutes, we will be able to drop or boys off, and when we do, we’ll be there till the end. I say we go forward, yea or nay?”

Their spines restored, the response is overwhelming.

”Forward!!!!”

Grinning resolutely, you scramble back to the command module.

”All Ground attack Personnel, to your stations! We’re paying the Moon a little Visit!

Your wing is soon a whirlwind of activity, as systems are checked, weaponry is armed and prayers are said. But you are interrupted as Miss Yukari taps you on your shoulder.

”Very well done, like I said before, looks like the Emperor’s interest in you wasn’t all unfounded at all.” She smiles coyly, as if you weren’t on the edge of battle once more.

A count down timer begins to tick.

5…4…3…2…1…”

With a roar, the invasion begins.

Almost immediately, you come under fire as beams of light lance out from nowhere. From their hidden capital, the Lunarians seem content to cower behind their barrier and shoot. A single beam of light strikes one of the carriers, but the heavily armored ship withstands the blast, though parts of its armor have now melted away.

The stricken ship continues steadily, as drop ships leave the hangars by the droves. You watch with morbid fascination as three of the small craft get hit by a lance of light, vaporizing immediately,

Realizing that now is not the time for goggling at the spectacle unfolding before you, you give the order. As long as your ships cannot fire down into the Lunar capital, you are sitting ducks up in Lunar orbit.

”Now!” you yell into the command module, and with a string of affirmatives, the troopships ready themselves. It is an awe inspiring sight. First to go are the stormtroopers, not aboard drop ships like conventional troops and armor, but rather in reinforced capsules containing three men per capsule.

They will thunder down onto the moons surface like meteors and deploy parachutes where they eject from their deadly rides. They are the best Humanity has to offer.

Muffled thumps echo through the ship as your own complement of storm troopers launch themselves through the torpedo tubes. Like Armageddon, they rain down upon the surface of Lunar, paving the way for the rest of the invasion. You can’t help but speculate, that the Lunarians, confident and complacent behind their walls and barriers would look up and see showers of “meteorites” raining, and wonder what it might portend.

You look up as your sister battleship, is impaled by lances of light, armor unable to withstand the blast, melting and withering away from the deadly Lunar light. Slowly, the twisted wreck of bubbling metal and vaporized material sways away and begins to fall into Luna’s gravity well, plummeting to the surface.

Drop ships stream by the thousands now, surging on, heedless of the deadly barrage coming from nowhere. You would have expected the Lunarian fleet to have appeared by now, but it seems they too are concealed by the barrier, confident in its inviolability.

Then suddenly, something happens, the massive barrage of light into Luna’s orbit ceases abruptly, by some confusion or fear.

Miss Yukari closes her eyes for a second, “it’s happening now,” she says mysteriously, as if under great pressure. They abruptly she returns to normal. “Whew,”she mutters, “I forgot how tiring opening a gap in the human realm was…”

Ignoring the comment, not like you would understand it anyway, you turn to the view port. The reason for the stopping of incoming fire becomes clear. The Lunarians have become aware of the enemy at their very walls, and are concentrating their fire on destroying them.

You feel a chill down your spine as you imagine the hell the storm troopers are going through, but if anyone is going to succeed, it is them. And your faith is not misplaced, ordering, evasive maneuvers to narrowly dodge several beams of deadly light, you see it.

The surface of luna dead and grey, save for the asses of explosions wrecking its surface. Suddenly it appears, green lands, trees, an ocean, a city. Then it is gone.

And then it appears again, the city, with its proud towers and the massive wall that encircles it, reaching to the very shores of the sea of tranquility.

And then, as if a mirage, it flickers away again.

The ships in orbit, fanatically begin to open fire with whatever at hand, from your view port, streams of light from the missile and torpedo exhaust intermingle with the dazzling lances of deadly energy which emit from the moon below.

Miss Yuakari sees this, as she stands at your side. “Good, they’ve made it in, I’d hate to see all my effort go to waste.”

Ignoring her for now, you turn to more pressing matters. The wall. With the barrier flickering on and off, shells and missiles do make it through the barrier, impacting wall and city and the Lunarian fleet hovering above it.

But even more miss, the barrier flickering shut at the last moment, and impact harmlessly on the dead airless moon below, then flicker open agin where a few shells and missiles would make it through. The wall withstands those though, though damage is done in places. To break it fully, you will need the siege coil gun.

Should you fire now, when the Lunarian fleet is distracted by the ground forces, and you have a larger window to fire?

or should you wait, you only have one shot and the barrier is still not completely neutralized.

Your orders.

[] Fire. No time to waste, fire the coil gun. Let those Lunarians taste 500 tons of solid iron.

---------
[] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

...What the fuck.

The other thread hasn't even hit autosage.

[x] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

When you're fighting with one bullet you wait for a good shot.

[x] Fire. No time to waste, fire the coil gun. Let those Lunarians taste 500 tons of solid iron.

Iron is good for you kids, you won't get anemic if you take enough iron.

BTW, wait till a thread is autosaged before you switch.

What's the name decided for this anon? Horus, is it?

Just a bit sad nobody suggested Captain Picard.

>>3856
Trust me, you don't want to start a 40k vs Star Trek argument.

[] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

Time is still on your side. Although The longer the wall stays up, the more troops you will get killed, but if you waste your shot, and miss, you will get more people killed.

>>Trust me, you don't want to start a 40k vs Star Trek argument.

amen to that

[X] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

Not trying to spark an argument here, as I do not know much of 40k, but in Star Trek terms, we're more close to Enterprise-level tech than anything I know of 40k.

also,
[X] Tell the remaining dropships to FLY IN CLOSE to drop soldiers, we need as many as we can to get down there!

if we have some undeployed left

In 40k terms this is kind of like The Imperium vs. Eldar. Regular humans with unsophisticated but effective tech fighting an enigmatic, long-lived, technologically superior, magic/psionic manipulating race with a superiority complex.

Which thread was the previous one?

[+] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

[x] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

Be calm, now is the appropriate time.

[x] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall.

Whew, rest is good for you and stress is bad. And do I need rest...I guess writing is relaxing.

=================================

You decide to wait for a clearer shot, after all, you have to break the wall, and you cannot afford to waste your trump card at the very first opportunity. Holdding your course, while the titanic battle rages around you, you can’t help but feel helpless every time you see one of your ships burn up in a dazzling display of death. The Lunarian’s firepower is merciless as yet another frigate succumbs to its withering light. You are unsure now, perhaps waiting and biding for time wasn’t such a good idea after all, as you watch the battle and hear reports from other siege ships launching their deadly cargos.

Reports of 5 misses reach your ears; 5 of the seven siege ships have failed, and you are about to give in to despair when suddenly your hope is renewed.

As the ISN Hero fires of its coil gun, your heart rises as you hear squawks of excitement and cheers as the crew of the Hero broadcast their success , their shot has penetrated the barrier, and effects are evident as the flickering of the immaterial barrier becomes yet more pronounced, giving you a much better shot. Through the failing barrier, you see the mighty lunar wall, with the massive impact crater of the Hero’s coil gun shell. But most of the wall is still intact. One more decisive blow will topple it and send it crashing to ruin; it’s all up to you now.

Heart pounding, you hoarsely yell the command to activate the targeting computer, as your ship picks up speed once more, lowering Lunar altitude and closing the distance between the ship and the Lunar surface, leaving nothing to chance.

”Targeting System activated” a mechanical voice booms “transferring processing resources for generation of firing solution. Verification required!”

”Approved!” you yell, “ F**King approved!!!”

”Commencing…5%-10%-15%”

You are sweating like a pig, though you are trying your best not to show it. Even the usually calm Miss Yukari is gripping the guard rails tightly and biting a stray lock of hair in anticipation. You see some old mummified guy strapped into a throne of sorts at the edge of your vision.

”Well, my boy,” he says, “Its all up to you now,”

You try to glare at him, but you realize you shouldn’t be wasting precious mental processing on that sort of things. Rather, you do a quick status check on the coil gun, making sure that there are no irregularitys anywhere.

”How’s the charge on the coil gun coming?” you yell.

“70%-80%-90%...almost there sir” an ensign yells, looking harassed and stressed.

And you feel it. The coil gun housing is supposedly sealed and shielded, but as the massive coils magnetize as the massive electric current surges through anything remotely made of iron suddenly feels heavier, even the iron admiral’s insignia on your cap.

“Coil gun fully charged, sir!” the ensign yells.

”80%-90%-95%....” The targeting computer monologues.

But you know it is too late.

From down below, in the depths of the Lunar Emperor’s fortress, beams of light once again lance upwards, they catch an unfortunate cruiser in its path, which lessens the blow as it illuminates your doomed ship.

”Oh dear….bad end,” you think.

It is not the first time you are wrong this day, but thankfully, it isn’t your last.

You open your eyes to a scene of chaos, of flashing red alarms and screams of terror. The crew aboard your ship is in panic, and only half of the above seem alive at all. You see one of the crew, the young ensign overseeing the coil gun’s charge, entangled in a pile of wires, quite dead. Miss Yukari, is sprawled on the ground apparently unconscious or possibly dead and communications seem to be offline.

“Status!” you shout “give me the ship’s status you panicking maggots!”

”Armor is gone, sir!’ one man wails ‘We’re flying on nothing but spit and prayers!”

”Reactor’s leaking coolant! We can’t stay up much longer!”

”All weapons down sir! Can’t contact munitions at all!”

”Thrusters functioning at 60% Sir, but it can’t be sustained!”

“Damnit, we’re all going to die!” Another breaks down.

Damn it indeed. Upon your shot did the fate of the invasion and the fate of humanity hang, and you have failed them. Perhaps you should just plow what is left into your ship into the surface of Luna to hide your shame. Then it hits you, that’s exactly what you must do.

”Everyone, shut the fuck up and let me make an inspirational speech damn it!” you yell. You’re going to die but damn, you going to make sure that you go out in a blaze of glory. “Get to the life boats, I’m making sure knocking the wall down is the last thing I’ll do!”

The remaining crew is hesitant, but the salute you respectfully and scramble for the lifeboats. Soon our order is conveyed and the ship is evacuated, leaving to join the battle below. Struggling, you are suddenly aware that you are bleeding somewhere, but that’s not important now. Making your way to the command module, you push aside the damaged panels and seize manual control. Accelerating, you push the bloodied and battered ship as far as it will go.

Descending, you make it somehow though the weakened barrier, and the wall looms ahead of you. At this level you can truly see how massive it is, towering up unto the Lunar equivalent of the stratosphere. You can’t help but respect your enemy; after all, they are a great civilization, ancient and powerful. Funny what your mind conjures up in this dire situation.

Then Miss Yukari stirs.

”Ow…that was worse than I’ve expected…” she groans, though she makes no effort to pull herself up to her feet. She seems too weak to move right now.

Your heart stops as, you realize you have possibly doomed her as well. Hurriedly, you scan the remaining functioning screen, and see it, a single remaining lifeboat probably left in respect from your evacuated crew. It is a single seater. Your heart reels, and you feel cold all over.

You are fifty or so kilometers to the wall, and have scarce seconds to think before you impact it.

What do you do? This is obvious a pivotal choice as the entire invasion hangs on your conscious.

[] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever.

[] Get Miss Yukari to the lifeboat, and strap yourself in with her. You don’t really want to die either, and hopefully, the single seater can take both your weights. You are close enough to the wall to leave it to chance.

[] Leave Miss Yukari to die and grab the lifeboat, you cowardly dog.

[x] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat.
[x] Get down to munitions and see if the gun managed to finish charging. If it didn't, then just prime all the explosives you can find. Might as well make sure the impact causes as much damage as possible.

[x] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever.

anyway, where you by chance influenced by gensokyo saga when you wrote this?

[+] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever.
Well, that sucks. Prepare to reload at choice >>3839 when this goes down.

>>3896
Nah, I'm fully expecting Yukari to gap us out at the last second. That or we get ENERGY DISTORTIONED into Gensokyo when the reactor goes critical.

[X] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever.

>Well, that sucks. Prepare to reload at choice >>3839 when this goes down.
Agreed, but my choice would be
[X] Wait. You only have one shot, and risky as it might be, you must brave the Lunarian counter fire to break the wall, BUT ARM THE COILGUN FOR SHOT
Seriously, we should be able to hold the charge for a while anyway.

X] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever.

>>Nah, I'm fully expecting Yukari to gap us out at the last second.

Wouldn't that be an overused plot device? The most common route into gensokyo, though under these cirumstances, you can't really complain.

>>3918
>The most common route into gensokyo
She could just gap us into the lifeboat with her.

>>She could just gap us into the lifeboat with her.

one seat only, besides, the glorious blaze o glory seems assured now.

[X] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard for ever

[x] Drag Miss Yukari and throw her into the lifeboat. Woman and children before men, for chivalry is not dead. You must stay and guide the dying ship into the wall, as you cannot risk the Lunarians shooting the flaming wreck from the sky. Go out in a blaze of glory and let your legend be heard forever.

this one is shorter than most, but it is the catalyst for real story to begin. Thanks for your patience and -
------------------------------
You stumble forward resolutely as Miss Yukari attempts feebly to pick herself up. Bending, you pick her up bridal style, despite your weak limbs and worn mentality you manage. She yelps in protest, but is too weak to resist otherwise. Staggering, you make your way to the remaining life boat, ignorant of the fires and debris that impedes your path.

Part of you expects to be on the receiving end of a laser, but miraculously, in the few seconds it takes to drag Miss Yukari to the life boat, the Lunarians have seem to forgotyen about you. With a final heave, you throw her over your aching shoulders and into the padded chair of the single seat lifeboat. You suspect that she won’t particular mind the rough treatment, just this once.

“Wha-what are you doing?” she protests, “you fool, trade places with me this instant! I can get out of this mess on my own, do it before I -“
You ignore her delusional protests and snap the capsule shut. Get out of this mess on her own? You know this is a one way trip. Through the capsule’s viewport, you see Miss Yukari banging her fists on the quartz. Too bad, Miss Yukari, you think, you’re surviving this one. You trigger the lever and alarms sound as the lifeboat ejects through the shaft and out of the doomed ship.
Moving back to the bridge, you once again assume manual controls. The Lunarians seem to notice you now, and your view is filled with dazzling blasts of multicolored energy. But their shots go wild and miss by a wide berth. Well…you reason you’d be panicking too if several thousand tons of nuclear powered ship decided to kamikaze your position.

One scores a lucky hit though, and parts of the super structure is ripped away, in a deafening crash of screeching metal and protesting alloy. Miraculously you survive, and for the first time in weeks, you feel a breeze on your face, a sweet wind purer than anything on Earth. The bridge is exposed and the wall is rapidly expanding in your eyes, you can even see the panicked defenders scattering from the wall section.
But suddenly, you vision is obscured; the wind has swept in a length of white cloth, about the size of a mantle or scarf, a wrapped it around your head. Shrugging, you wrap it around your neck, and it blows heroically in the wind, as you strike a pose. Might as well look the part when you go out.

As the ship impacts the wall with a massive crash, time seems to slow. You can actually see things in slow motion and watch is abstract fascination as the prow of the ship crumples on the impact, and more importantly, the massive chunks of wall that are collapsing.
You guess you have time for two rational thoughts.
Part of you realises that you are really being stupid though as you realise that if Miss Yukari could step the vast distance from Earth onto your ship in an instant, she could probably make it out and that you should have listened to her.
“Damit, brain…why didn’t you remember that earlier” you mutter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The army oinned down before the Lunar wall gives a massive cheer, as the Lunar wall comes tumbling down with a massive crash. Humanity, will have a chance of victory today thanks to your valiant, if misinformed sacrifice and your name will be on the battle cries of every human who marches into battle, until the current Empire ends.
Not too bad a legacy, pity you didn’t live to enjoy it.
Glorious bad end achieved.

The Empire shall remember your name with honour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
But wait…you had time for two rational thoughts, and you wasted one on realising how stupid you were.

You think of…….
Choose 1
[] Your small home town, near forgotten in the middle of nowhere.
[] The haunted mansion you use to explore as a kid
[]The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.
[]Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five.
[] Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?

[] Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?

[x]The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.

[m]The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.

[]The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.

Look, I love this story to bits, okay? But it'd been ragging on my mind, so I feel I need to say something before I explode.

You've always got to put some sort of ending punctuation before the closing quotation mark.

I don't understand why people are always messing this up. They work with exclamation marks and question marks just fine

e.g.

"What are you doing?" he said. "You'll blow up the computer-machine!"

But when people start talking calmly it all goes to pieces.

e.g.

"Don't be silly" he said. "The computer-machine is absolutely spiffy"

The above sentence is WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG, and not just because I used the word 'spiffy'. Rather, it should be written like this:

"Don't be silly," he said. "The computer-machine is absolutely spiffy."

So, uh...

So, commas! And full-stops! Got to remember those, dagnabit. Or I'll end up pulling out my hair. You hear that? Your stories will drive me bald. And then I'll sic bears on you.

...you know, I really didn't mean to rant off like this. I'm really very sorry. Yeah.

[x] Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?

moon bunnies ftw!!!

[X] Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?

[x]Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five

This wouldn't be Tenshi would it?

[waka]Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five.

[x]Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five

>>3937
Either her, or one of the Watatsuki sisters.

[X] The summit of your hometown’s highest hill with your countrie's flag planted, it was always breezy there.

Seems mostly obvious

>Your small home town, near forgotten in the middle of nowhere.
Human village
>The haunted mansion you use to explore as a kid
Could be SDM or Prismrivers. Leaning slightly towards Prismrivers given the haunted bit.
>The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.
Moriya shrine. On the top of a mountain and it's got a wind god.
>Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five.
Tenshi, wherever celestials live. Heaven?
>Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?
Eientei, with a slight chance of Lunar Capital.

[3]Your bullying at the hands of a peach obsessed young girl, back when you were five.

[3] Rabbits? Seriously, Rabbits? Why rabbits of all things?

[4]The summit of your hometown’s highest hill, it was always breezy there.

As much as I would like peaches, seems like the hill won.
>> 3932
I'll keep that in mind.

>> 3949
mostly right. Hometown would be Mayohiga though.



===================
Images of your hometown, particularly its highest hill, where you used to play, fill your mind. You remember the flowering trees and most vividly, the cool breeze often blowing, refreshing you from your exertions. Ah…if you could only see that place one more time, funny how, from the mighty Lunar capital to the great Imperial capital to the depths of space, of all the wonders you have seen, the one you remember most vividly is just a small flowering hill in the middle of nowhere.

As the wall crumbles and the remains of the bridge hurl you to your doom, you do notice something else out of the ordinary. (Apart from being aboard the flaming wreckage of a human battleship as it ploughs through the Lunar wall.). The white mantle you somehow obtained earlier is now glowing, an iridescent pure white.

”Well, that’s odd, Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly-“you begin to say, and before you can complete your sentence, something yanks you away from the wall and your fiery death. You don’t realise that your vocal chords are actually going into overdrive as the howling of wind dives even your voice, back into your throat. You are unable to move, or even stop screaming as you behold the full moon shrink into a small globe as it recedes into the vast distance between the Earth and itself as your hurtle backwards at incomprehensible speeds.

”sh--------------------------------t!” you finally finish as you flail through the cold air and finally land face first in a lake of freezing water, throwing up a spray of droplets several meters into the air.

Groaning, and with your teeth chattering, you surface and drag yourself to the shore of the mountain lake. It is obviously a mountain lake, as the paranoma as you reach the edge is breathtaking as the light of the full moon illuminates the lake a pure silver, but hunger and cold drives such thoughts from your mind, as you stumble around in circles. You note a small building of sorts which you could possibly take shelter.

As you make your way inside the small structure, no bigger than a shed, you note tablets with scripture written on them, and even plates of ceremonial offerings. You’re very hungry but your soldier’s instinct tells you that this is some shrine dedicated to a nature God or Goddess, and that touching the food would only invite angry villagers with pitchforks or being burnt as a heretic or something.

What catches your eye though is a pile of red maple leaves, and a single black feather, on a shelf at the side.

You are about to think about how the hell your survived the impact, and also about where the hell you are, but you are interrupted when suddenly, a head appears through one of the round ceremony windows at the sides of the small shrine. It is a woman, with shoulders length black hair, a red cap, and is grinning at you as if you were the guy of her dreams. Without warning, she raises an object and aims it at you.

You nearly instinctively snap your arm forward to break her wrist or something, but then you realises that it is a camera she is pointing at you. Your suspicions are confirmed as a flash of light temporarily blinds you.

Pulling yourself up, you head outside, just to see what the hell she wants.
“You are a tourist here?” you begin, indicating towards the camera. An oddly dressed girl with novelty headgear and a camera up in the mountains in the middle of a night of the full moon. She is obviously a tourist of some sort, probably here to witness some obscure ritual at this shrine. You vaguely wonder how in the world you are going to explain why you were falling out of the air and into a lake though.

Any further questions you might ask are cut off as the girl opens her mouth and begins to speak excitedly.

“HiIamAyaShameimarureporterfortheBunbunmaru
newspaperGensokyo’snumberonenewspaper!”

“huh?”

“Weguarantee100%accuratenewswiththemostimportant
issuesbeingdiscussedonaregularbasis!”

“Sorry, repeat that?”

“IsawyoufallfromthemoonjustnowandIwaswondering
ifIcouldinterviewyourighthererightnowwhilethe
storyisstillfreshinyourmind?”

“Sorry, miss, I don’t speak Mexican.”

She stops short and blushes fiddling with the tassels of her cap then slows down. “Ahahaha…sorry about that.”
Archaic Japanese, not what you’re used to, but you guess you can understand.

“As I was saying, I’m Aya Shameimaru, reporter for the Bunbunmaru newspaper, Gensokyo’s number one newspaper. I saw you fall from the moon just now, and I was wondering if I could interview you right here, right now while the story is still fresh?”

Gensokyo? The name seems familiar. Wasn’t that the name of a theme park somewhere?

You realise that Aya has pulled forth a pen and notebook from somewhere, and jabbering questions.

”So, since you fell from the moon, you must be a Lunar Emissary?” she asks. “Is it true that the Lunarians will release Final Fantasy XIII three months before the rest of the world?”

”Wait, wait just a second!” Your mind screams. How is this IMPORTANT news? You notice that she is already scribbling in her notebook, probably filling in the answers on your behalf. And wasn’t she supposed to get your approval before asking stupid questions?

”Well, Mr Emissary, since you’ve come to Gensokyo, it means you’re here to capture the princess or something, right?” she chirps, oblivious to your glares.

Honestly, this frustrating reporter. How do you answer her?
========================
[] Answer her sarcastically. You are a Lunar Prince and your Lord father has sent you to gather materials to make stars by rolling them into large balls. She’ll take the hint and stop.

[] Answer her truthfully. Your deeds speak for themselves.

Write ins for sarcastic dialog and truthful dialog would be appreciated.

[x] Lie. You're a Lunarian who fled the moon after some really brave human smashed his totally awesome ship into your stupid wall.

[x] Lie. You're a Lunarian who fled the moon after some really brave human smashed his totally awesome ship into your stupid wall.

Bwahahahaha.

[] Answer her sarcastically. You are a Lunar Prince and your Lord father has sent you to gather materials to make stars by rolling them into large balls. She’ll take the hint and stop.

[] Go for the completely off-the-wall approach. "Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"

Look, we're in the military, right?

[ ] Name, rank, and serial number.

Just that, whatever she says. Name, rank, and serial number.

[X] "Before I answer any of that, do you have any Grey Poupon?"

and then while she's bewildered

[X] Name, rank, and serial number.

[x] Lie. Tell her that you're a Lunarian who fled the moon after some really brave human smashed his totally awesome ship into your stupid wall.

THEN ask for some Grey Poupon.

Show her the true meaning of lunacy.

You can't go wrong.

1. We say we're a Lunarian.
2. We get taken to people who can actually tell a Lunarian from a handsaw.
3. Oh shi--

[X] Name, rank, serial, poupon

[X] Name, rank, and serial number.

[X] Name, rank, serial, poupon

Doubt Aya knows much about these things anyway.

[x] Answer her truthfully. Bewilder with chatter about condiments then announce your name and rank and serial number.

Fear not! This will be your last dialog post for now. Now allow me to wallow in my allergies for a few hours,
You cut her rapid fire of questions off.

”Excuse me,” you say in a refined manner. “Do you have any Grey Poupon?”

Aya frowns, and twiddles with one of the tassels from her cap. “Grey Poupon? What for?” She asks suspiciously. You feel fairly stupid. You are standing wet and cold and hungry and the first thing that pops out your mouth is the script for some stupid mustard advertisement? Your man instincts react to save what little credibility you feel you have left.

She continues.

”So, what is your name? And how did you get here?”

“My name?” ah well, might as well comply, for you doubt you have anything to lose about giving up your name and rank. “I am Horus, serving as an Admiral in the Imperial Space Navy.” She scribbles harder.

”Ah! Good, good!” she almost squeals in delight. “Got to put a name to the face you know.” And then just snaps a picture of your face. For a moment, you consider removing her camera from her possession, but you relent. “Come on, Horus, how did you get to here?” she smiles expectantly. Signing you continue, and recount your adventures from the launching of the fleet to your fateful attack upon the Lunar Wall. You tactfully, do not mention anything about Miss Yukari feeling that it is appropriate that a conversation with the Emperor’s advisor would be classified, and should not be freely divulged, especially to chatty reporters.

”So you really did come from the moon.” She states, peering intently at the white mantle still draped around your neck. “I think I saw something like this once…in Eientei.” She mutters. Before you can correct her, she pauses and holds up her hand. “You, you…talking on about mustard, look you’ve make me hungry.” Nonchalantly, she places her notebook upon the ground and enters the small shrine, where she helps herself to whatever is at hand.

”Ah…Aya…are you sure you’re allowed to take those?” you try to reason.

”Yep, I can outrun the two goddesses here any day.” She smirks, mouth full of rice. “And their miko too.” As if on cue, the altar behind her starts to glow red, and the lake begins the bubble fervently. “Oh dear…” Aya states and flees, black crow like wings emerging from her back as she takes to the air. The scene would be more impressive if she wasn’t letting part of her meal fall out her mouth in her haste.

Grimacing, you wipe away the sticky rice grains from your hair. Then you look down, and realise that Aya has forgotten her notebook in her haste. The altar has ceased its unnatural emission of light anjd you see no reason to panic Bending you pick it up and open it. As you read, you resist the urge to tear the book to pieces and throw it off the mountainside.

It states:
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red
15th Leaf month, season 119
Lunarian Invasion
A new threat from the moon?

It’s the 15th today and I decided to fly out for a moon viewing, and strangely, today’s moon has a reddish colour to it. It didn’t seem like a trifling matter, so I decided to check it out. To get a better view, I headed to the Moriya shrine where there are fewer clouds, and I am shocked to see a man fall from the moon and into the lake.

Being the reporter of truth that I am, I stay and observed him as he struggles from the lake and into the lake shrine. The man identifies himself as Horus, and claims to be an Admiral from the Imperial Space Navy. Of course, with my experience as a reporter, it becomes easy to separate truth from fiction.

”We got together the greatest fleet Humanity has ever seen and besieged the Lunar Capital, then my ship got shot down and I rammed it into the wall to bring it down.” The mysterious invader says, obviously trying to cover up his intent. But, as a master reporter, it is obvious that his tale is a carefully spun story which can deceive all but the most vigilant. It is evident that the Lunarians intend to invade gensokyo and this man is their scout.

Also, despite trying his best to hide it with talk about spicy condiments, the invader, is unable to conceal the fact that he is here to lay lands on the Princess of Eientei and that he intends to marry her and-

The script ends here.

“What a load of bullshit…” you mutter.

“Yeah, young man, I totally agree.” A woman’s voice says, coming from the lakeside shrine behind you. “Not about the part of awakening me at this hour, but about the bunbunmaru newspaper mind you.”

You turn, slowly, and gaze at the shrine, and the darkness within.

From the doorway, emerges a woman, clad in red and blue. Upon her considerable breast, lies a sliver mirror, and a rope of hemp is bound across her head, with leaves decorating the sides, making good contrast with the blue-black of her hair.

You know that she isn’t human, of course, he aura, presence and feel are all wrong, but not malignant either.

”My, my, young man.” She says, lips curling into a smile. “You don’t seem afraid of me at all. Has the outside world changed so much that humans aren’t afraid of youkai anymore, or are you truly Lunarian like that pesky tengu says?”

Your soldier’s senses tell you that while humanity has technologies and para-magic for the slaying of such entities, picking a fight while unarmed and weakened would not be a good idea. Besides, she does not emit any form of hostility to you.

What do you do?

[] Answer her. Why should I be afraid? What few youkai that remain in the human realm are the allies of humanity. Even now, they are aiding us in storming the Lunar capital.

[] Answer her. While youkai are dangerous, I have slain them before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[] Be brief. Pay your respects, say your good byes and find a way off the damned mountain.
------------------------------
Post post notes: I do know that people don’t like playing dialogue only sessions and I’m trying to keep them short as possible, I assure you, the next few posts will not be dialogue, but some action.

The first option is too revealing concerning our agenda. So...

[] Answer her. While youkai are dangerous, I have slain them before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[waka] Answer her. While youkai are dangerous, I have slain them before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[] Answer her. While youkai are dangerous, I have slain them before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[] Answer her. Why should I be afraid? What few youkai that remain in the human realm are the allies of humanity. However, they are dangerous, and I have slain some before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[X] "Besides, how can I not be afraid of someone so beautiful?"

Oh ho, why not use flattery?

[x] Answer her. While youkai are dangerous, I have slain them before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

Well, god knows what out lovable gensokyo denizens would do if they found out we're invading the moon. Telling Aya the truth was kind of stupid, and after she gets the story out, at the very least the Eientei faction would be hostile to us.

[X] "Besides, how can I not be afraid of someone so beautiful?"
capital idea.

[X] Answer her. Why should I be afraid? What few youkai that remain in the human realm are the allies of humanity. However, they are dangerous, and I have slain some before, though only in self defence. You do not have the malignant aura of a youkai and I feel that you will not harm me.

[X] "Besides, how can I not be afraid of someone so beautiful?"

note : don't forget your trip

From what I have seen, the general gist of it would be to tell her a combination of the two answers, but not reveal the fact we actually invading the moon, while throwing in some flattery.

I'm sure Kanako appreciates your efforts =D.

=========================
With the blue haired woman (you hesitate to call her a woman, as you're quite sure she isn't, but you do know she isn't a youkai.) looking expectantly, at you, you feel that this could possibly a test of sorts.

After all, aren't youkai the allies of humanity?
While by no means common, it is not unheard of for a unit or battalion to have two or three youkai accompanying it into baattle. These individuals often also become the unit mascots.

Perhaps this is a youkai discimination cult,to be asking such questions? Some people, especially some church factions do not tolerate youkai at all.

Keeping your voice neutral, you say," What youkai remain in the world, are the allies of humanity. I have fought with and against them before, and have on occasion, slain them, though only in self defense. Why should I be afraid of youkai?"

The woman, smiles and states," So this is the state of the outside world now, young man? It must have changed greatly since I left it then. Humans and youkai living together huh, I guess gensokyo's not unique in that aspect anymore."

But she pauses as she senses that you are not speaking. How polite.

"Besides," you continue, "you do not have the malignant aura of a youkai seeking death, so tell me fair lady, why should I not be afraid of one as beautiful as you?"

She laughs heartily, and you feel the air around you coming alive, as if joining the mirthful atmosphere.

"Oh ho, what a flatterer we have here...ha ha ha...this humble Goddess thanks you for your compliment." she says, evidently in a very good mood. "And how am I to address this charming young man?" she asks.

"I am Horus," you say. "And how am I to address you, my lady?"

"Hmmmm, very polite too...ah, the stoic military man, its been a long time since I've seen one." she says. " I am Yasaka Kanako, resident Goddess
of the Moriya shirne. Don't worry about formalities, Kanako is fine."

You nod.

"Well well... your breath smells strange" she comments. "No, no, not in that manner," she continues hurriedly, grinning all the way. "You carry the smell of the Lunar breeze with you, charming Horus. You also have the air of one who is full of questions.How can I tell? I am a wind
Goddess after all. Go on, speak up, I can't read your mind, and since that idiot of a tengu woke me up, I doubt I'll be going back to sleep soon. "

You pause, and consider, what you could possibly ask, and come up with three.

"I'd like to ask you three questions, Lady Kanako. Firstly, do you know where we are? Secondly, is there anything important in the area I should know about? Lastly, would it be possible for us to get back to the moon?" You ask.

The first two are simple, after all, it is a soldier's duty to be aware of his situation at all times. Information is your firend after all.

The third stems from something a bit more complicated, you feel like you have left something unfinished back at the moon, and as a n Admiral in the Imperial Space Navy, you have a responsibility to finish it. Besides you are worried about Miss Yukari.

Kanako answers the first two easily, and you find out that you are in Gensokyo, a sealed land you deduced to be not unlike the Lunar capital, and in addition, you are atop what is known as youkai mountain, to gensokyo's denizens.

Also, you gain several points of note, which you feel are significant.

-After the incident in which a series of earthquakes accompanying odd weather phenomenon hit gensokyo, it seems a celestial has been imprisoned on the youakai mountain summit.

- A person has fallen ill with a mysterious disease known as Saturday Night Fever, in the human village.

-Eientei ( which you correctly deduce to be some one's place of residence) is holding a full moon festival on this very night, and from Kanako's claim of the scent of alcohol wafting all the way up here, the party is still going strong.

Regarding your final question, Kanako frowns, and you get the feeling that she does not know how to answer. "Well," she says hesitantly, "if you really feel the need to go the the moon, Yukari Yakumo is your best bet. Other than that, I guess Eientei's residents would possibly know too. The celestials would have a method of traveling to the moon as well. But your best bet is till Yuakri Yakumo."

Well, now thats a name you remember. Apart from the fact that she probably has no idea where you are at all, or possibly believes that you are nothing more than a very glorious cloud of ashes by now.

You have several options available. Kanako won't follow you, since her affection level is sstill low, but she will cast a wind spell to ensure your going is not too rough. She also offers to let you rest at the Moriya shrine.

What do you do?
=================
Note: time is against you, doing certain choices take certain amounts of time. After a certain point, more time must be expanded to continue down a choice, or you could choose a different choice, providing you have enough time.

You have 3 HOURS available till your are too tired to carry on. WIth Kanako's wind magic, yoou move faster than you actually would and thus crawling the the summit or getting to
eientei would be possible.
===============

3 HOURS avaiable.

[]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.
From what you heard of the celestials, traveling to the moon and back would be easy.
-1 Hour consumed.

[]Check out the village and the mysterious illness. Kanako states that there is a school in the village, and there might be relevant information.
-1 hour consumed

[]Pay Eientei a visit. Theres alcohol and an actual Lunarian living there.
- 2 hours consumed. Eientei is off the beaten track after all.

[]Stay at the Moriya shrine. Get some rest.
-3 hours consumed. possibly more.

[]Tasukete Yukari!!
-???????????"
--------------------

SUDDENLY RUSH OF PLOT WITHOUT ACTUAL DIALOGUE TO ACCOMPANY IT

[]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.

PEACHES!

[]Check out the village and the mysterious illness. Kanako states that there is a school in the village, and there might be relevant information.

[x]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.
From what you heard of the celestials, traveling to the moon and back would be easy.

Close call, between peaches and saturday night fever, but i guess peaches won. If only by a hair.

[x]Check out the village and the mysterious illness. Kanako states that there is a school in the village, and there might be relevant information.

[X]Check out the village and the mysterious illness. Kanako states that there is a school in the village, and there might be relevant information.
-1 hour consumed

Let's see how Horus can DANCE.

[x]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.

Ahhh.......charming people with fruit on their hats.

[]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.

Just so you know, Mel, your writing seems to fluxtuates greatly from post to post. Some are very good, and some are quite bland.
>>3988
is quite right in this case, in which you zoomed into a large amout of information without appropriate accompanying dialouge
Perhaps you are still developing your writing style?

[x]Go visit the celestial on the mountain summit.

>>3988
>>4021

Right...thanks for the feedback.

==================================

You look at the Wind Goddess, Kanako as you consider your options. She doesn't say anything, but you do have the feeling that the Goddess has probably predicted your answer. While Kanako may not be able to read minds, you are sure she can read faces and expressions well.

"Lady Kanako," you declare abruptly,"I think I'll be paying a visit to this celestial on the mountain's summit." She takes your statement well, so well in fact that you suspect that she is having a "just as planned" moment.

"Ah, are you sure, young man? My offer for lodging at the Moriya shrine still stands." she says, though you decline once again. Ah, theres no stopping the dedicated young man is there?" she says theatrically. "I'll suppose I'll give you a little something, a little token for humoring this humble goddess."

Before you can react, she seems to hum an ancient melody, though you cannot tell if she is actually humming or not. And the wind comes alive once more and embraces you.

When you open your eyes once more, you find that your body feels lighter and your weariness seems to have been washed away.

"Wha-wha is this?" you exclaim, staring expectantly at the grinning goddess floating before you. While you have limited experience with the human para-magic, this is like nothing you have ever felt. Its clean, and almost divine.

"Just a little blessing of mine," Kanako states with a smirk. "I'm very proud of this one actually, it brings in the worshipers by the droves." she comments.

"I appreciate it, Lady Kanako," you say, truly thankful. It will make your going easier if anything."I'll be taking my leave from you now."

"Oh, no hurry young man." she smiles and floats along side you. "I think I cam accompany you, at least up till the other side of the lake."

And she does, and even further up the mountain,
where she talks animatedly. You feel that your first impressions of a mature lady were slightly off. There is a light vibrancy about her, complementing her mature air nicely.

In the end, when she does take her leave, you are nearly half way up to the peak. Bidding her farewells, Kanako departs in a swirl of red leaves after pointing out a safe path to the peak. As expected,it has gotten much colder, but due to what you theorize is Kanako's blessing, the chilling wind that blows constantly does not bite as hard as it should.From what you have heard about Gensokyo, you would have expected to have been waylaid by a youkai or some fairies, but it seems that Kanako's blessing is a sufficient deterrent, at least for the lesser ones.

Overall, your journey to the summit is uneventful and you are quite thankful for that. Eventually, though, you find that you can go no higher, as you step into a field of pale flowers. The peak is nothing more that a small field of these flowers, save for a peach tree and an unnatural rock formation, seemingly to be a large boulder with a rope affixed with ceremonial seals.

Curious, you take stock of your surroundings.
The peach tree is unremarkable, exceptional only in its odd location at the summit of the mountain. You are quite sure peaches are not supposed to grow at such altitudes, but then again, you suspect that the natural laws governing Gensokyo are somewhat different from the human realm.
The boulder on the other hand, has an ethereal feel about it, as if it is there, yet not there. As you draw closer, you have a feeling that something, or someone is watching you. As your unease grows, you wish you still had your pistol with you.

On closer examination, the boulder is found to have several kanji carved onto its rough surface. The words are highly archaic, but you manage to get the general gist of it.

"Neath this sacred stone, a celestial lies imprisoned. Here, she shalt repent for thirty years or until one with a cause most worthy cometh."

Along side this inscription, a talisman is attached, along side a carven seal. As consider the significance of the seal and the talisman, a voice calls from the other side of the boulder.

It's a girls, the high and energetic voice of a girl. "Hey! hey!," she calls outs. "Anybody there? There's someone there isn't there? Shameimaru, is that you? If you've come to snap photos of me again, don't waste your time!"

You round the boulder carefully as you are not sure what might happen. The sight that greets you is a strange one indeed.

There is a girl pinned under a small hollow under the boulder. With only her head, shoulders and arms exposed, it seems the hollow effectively traps her, without crushing her under the weight of the boulder.

The girl herself looks young, perhaps three to five years younger than you are, though it is a possibility that she could be the same age, or older. With long blue hair, fierce proud eyes, and a pale smooth face, she gives of the aura of a feisty young woman.

Noticing you, she waves a hand in greeting, and beckons you over excitedly. "You're not Shameimaru," she states, looking you over, with a superior attitude. "You don't look like much anyway, though you do seem familiar." she finally concludes.

"Anyway I don't know who you are, but you have the distinct honor of freeing me from this place. Just yank of that talisman over there."

Feisty indeed, you think to yourself.
--------------------
What do you do?

[]Comply, yank that talisman off.

[]Wait a second, you don't even know this girl.
Ask how she got there. You want to know what you are unleashing.

[]Examine the talisman and the carven seal. Ask how she got there in the first place.

[]Leave, you don't want to get caught up in this
-------
If you choose leave, where do you go?
You have 2 hours remaining.

[]Check out the village and the mysterious illness.
-1 hour consumed, after all, going down is eaiser and going up.

[]Pay Eientei a visit.
- 2 hours consumed. You might make it tin time for something.

[]Gat back down and stay at the Moriya shrine. Get some rest.
All time consumed.

[]Examine the talisman and the carven seal. Ask how she got there in the first place.

[+] Wait a second, you might know this girl. Ask how she got there.

[ ]Examine the talisman and the carven seal. Ask how she got there in the first place.