---
MISSION NAME: Echo Howl
OBJECTIVE: Investigate abnormal Kaiju resonance signals in an abandoned outer-sector colony, Station 09-F.
TEAM:
Captain Akira Hoshinari
Vice-Captain Yuki Tachibana
---
A drop pod pierced the clouds like a falling star.
Inside, Yuki tightened her gloves while glancing at Akira.
> "You sure you're not one of those 'tragic hero' types who dies early?"
Akira adjusted his gauntlet, glowing faintly with abyssal blue.
> "I already did. Now I'm the guy who breaks fate."
Yuki raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
> BOOM.
The pod smashed into the ruined colony.
Dust. Silence.
No signs of civilians. Just rows of broken machines—and faint Kaiju claw marks scorched into the walls.
Akira stepped out, aura flickering.
> "Something's wrong. No bodies. No blood. But the scent of death is fresh."
Yuki knelt, scanning the ground.
> "These scorch trails… they're inward. Like something dragged itself into the center."
They followed the trail into a blackened reactor core.
Then came the sound—
> Krrrhhhhhh… chiiiii…
A distorted whimper.
> "Is that a child?" Yuki whispered.
Akira tensed.
> "No. It's mimicking one."
Suddenly, the floor twisted.
A Kaiju-Class D7 Mimic Beast burst out—Phase-Skin Crawler, a beast that hides inside old metal, imitating sound and heat signatures.
Yuki drew her twin sabers mid-flip.
> "You didn't mention babysitting monsters!"
Akira materialized his glaive midair and struck.
> WHAM!
The Kaiju roared, shedding its mimic skin—revealing eight eyes, two tails, and serrated bone armor.
Akira activated his partial transformation—his right arm coated in nebula-forged dragon scale, eyes burning.
> "You want to see something cool, Vice-Captain?"
> "Dazzle me, Captain."
Akira lifted his hand. Telekinetic pressure crushed the Kaiju mid-lunge, bones creaking, limbs shattering.
Yuki zoomed in, slicing through the joints with surgical precision. Together, they overwhelmed it.
> THUD. The creature fell, twitching.
Breathing heavily, Yuki leaned on her blade.
> "That… was actually fun."
Akira smiled. "Told you I shine."
> "Shut up, star boy."
She poked his chest.
> "Next time, you take point when we meet a mimic that screams like a kid."
> "Deal. You handle the ones that explode."
Yuki laughed—genuine and warm.
As they called for extraction, the sun peeked through the broken ceiling, light shining on their armor.
> [MISSION SUCCESSFUL]
[NOVA FANGS – OPERATION SCORE: S-RANK]
[REMARK: "Captain and Vice-Captain synergy—off the charts."]