RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[DarkGemini24601]

Taxor_the_First and DarkGemini24601: “The Ant and the Dragon, Part 1”

In Orbit around Forseti (April 29th, 2044)
The Einherjar (0923 Hours)
Gym 3

Slora ducked under the pole, by now having worked out her mentor’s attack patterns. The duck became a strike, aimed at Kearichi’s legs. With his weapon out of reach, he was unable to block the blow, and he hopped away, the pole having smacked the chitin on his leg. His expression twisted into the Volomi equivalent of a smile. “Good,” he said. “You’re learning well.” He tapped his staff on the ground to signify another round and Slora obediently moved towards him, her eyes darting all over him to watch for any odd movements.

From a slight distance away, Sasha paused in her exercise routine, finishing up a sit up and then sitting up onto her knees, watching the two aliens curiously. Huh… those are the ones that went on the mission to recover that Humiliata Irina knows… I haven’t seen them since then. It occurred to the Russian support that she actually had no idea what species they belonged to, but she found it difficult to come up with a believable reason for her to satisfy her curiosity by talking to them. At least for the moment.

The sparring continued oblivious to the subtle audience that was the people pausing in their routines. The two Volomi weaved around each other, their combat seeming more like a dance than a fight. When one swung, the other would no longer be there, or would be ready with a counter. The flowing style of Chitkra, the Volomi version of a martial art, simply meant that engagements were more based on skill than luck.

That was not to say luck did not play a part. On one dodge, Slora’s footing became off-balance, and Kearichi, seeing the opportunity, rapped her on the neck. The battle now over, Slora sighed, rubbing the spot his staff had impacted. “Break?” she asked.

Her mentor nodded. “You are beginning to make mistakes. You require time to cool off. We will resume in a short while.” He placed his staff on the ground, signifying the end of combat, and proceeded to walk away, intent on examining the progress of the other Volomi around the room. Slora merely sighed and began checking her chitin, making sure no hits had damaged it.

Sasha bit her lip, debating whether now was the time to approach or not. There’s only one there now… not really going to be an easier chance. She pushed herself to her feet, and walked over, waving a bit timidly. “Uh… hi there. You two really looked like you knew what you were doing.” Dammit, that sounds stupid.

The Volomi princess started, surprised a human would approach her. “It’s - oh.” She cleared her throat, forgetting that the human likely could not understand her language. “Sorry. It’s an old training routine my guard captain wanted me to undertake. Trains reflexes, most of all. He also insists it’s useful in a combat scenario, though I doubt that myself…” Slora shook her head, realising she’d forgotten something she’d learned relatively quickly that humans considered only good manners. “My name’s Slora, by the way. A pleasure to meet you.”

Sasha smiled. “I’m Sasha… a-and I can see how it might have value. Close quarters combat is rare, but it does happen… especially with the enemy using antimatter swords and the like.”

“At the time I didn’t consider that relevant,” the Volomi confessed. “Of course, the enemy hadn’t brought out those swords then. In an age of powerful ranged weaponry, it baffles me that any kind of investment would be made in such a weapon. Though I guess that element of surprise might have been part of it,” she added somewhat ruefully.

“Well, when they have hulking MEC Troopers with personal shields…” Sasha shuddered, shaking her head. “I’m just glad we have basic ones now to even the odds a little.”

If it were possible for a Volomi to pale, Slora would have done so. “I don’t look forward to going up against those,” she admitted. “I’m honestly not even sure if I’d be able to stand up to that, or if I’d just turn around and run like a coward.” She rubbed an arm, somewhat dejected. “I suppose Kearichi and the others would protect me regardless of which I chose, but still…”

Sasha shook her head. “I think a tactical retreat would be the wisest choice there… that’s what the people with the big guns are for.” The orange psion waved her hands defensively. “N-Not that I’m saying you’re weak… I’m no strongwoman myself. That’s why I’m a support, after all.”

“I think that’s where the problem is,” the Volomi said. “None of us have the muscle mass to carry a heavy weapon like a Novagun or Dragon in addition to our other equipment, and with the way our bodies work it’s nigh impossible to build it up. We’re far better suited to lighter roles. I’m a support myself. Find it easier to help the others do the damage than try to do it myself and probably fail miserably.”

“That’s my mentality as well, I guess. Females in our race have a similar issue with not being as strong normally, at least compared to males,” Sasha explained. “If you already knew that, sorry that I’m going on about nothing…”

Slora blinked. “Of course not,” she said. “I know very little about your people. Given my position, it’s relatively important that I fix that, though for now there is no sense of urgency given my mother’s good health.” Relatively speaking.

Sasha tilted her head a couple of degrees. “What’s your position… if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m a princess,” Slora said simply, without placing any emphasis on it. “My mother’s daughter.”

Sasha raised an eyebrow. “That’s impressive…”

The Volomi shrugged. “It’s not as high and mighty as most humans seem to think. My mother is free to birth another child if something happens to me, and it’s not really likely I’ll end up with the throne anyway given her expected lifespan compared to mine.” Though there is enough to worry about… She shook her head. “She’s protective of me, but I managed to convince her to let me out here. And now I’m in the middle of a war. Hardly the kind of outing she expected, I think.”

“I can imagine… I’m sure my parents weren’t considering that I’d get into a war, myself.” Sasha rubbed the back of her neck. “I bet they’re worried about me… we haven’t talked much in awhile.”

Slora was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Understandable,” she said. “Your people are not interconnected like ours are. I could speak to my mother whenever I wished, simply by using the mental connection in my head, or by asking Urilio to call upon her. Your people don’t have that kind of luxury, from memory.”

Sasha shook her head. “Your people have a hivemind?” She just said that, idiot…

“Of course,” the princess said. “I was surprised to learn your species, or indeed many of the other races we’ve since seen, did not. Our more abstract thinkers considered such a quality nigh essential to any properly sentient being. The ability to store knowledge permanently within our network was essential to our taming of our planet. Though our Queens didn’t always share…” She shook her head. “Apologies, I’m… what do you humans say, ‘rambling’? Yes, that’s it. I have not yet asked you about your own position in life. What role you have in life.”

Sasha shrugged. “I’m just a soldier right now… I have some knowledge in electronics and biology, but nothing compared to the scientists here.”

Slora tilted her head. “No plans for after this war? I assume you wish to survive, after all.”

“O-Of course I do…” Sasha sighed. “I just don’t know what I’d do, honestly.”

“As I recall, your people are typically able to choose their roles with a large amount of freedom,” the Volomi stated. “You are all adaptable creatures, which works to your advantage. It isn’t like you are locked into a combat role, like my guards are.” She indicated the group of Volomi going through exercises, with Kearichi watching on. “You see the size difference between Urilio and Faros, the two on the left? Faros was a born warrior and hunter, whereas Urilio was born with an enlarged brain to compensate for a thinker’s role. He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t volunteered to become a Vessel. Genetics demands that. Whereas your people,” she said, turning back to Sasha, “are all largely similar, without predetermined specialisations. There is little stopping you in whichever field you chose to pursue.”

“I suppose,” Sasha responded. “Though I did slack off half of the time in school, and I don’t have a college degree to speak of. Do you… have colleges on your homeworld?”

“Not as you understand them,” the princess replied. “We are all required to undergo basic mind-strengthening exercises when we are young, so that our connection remains strong and doesn’t fragment as we get older. A disconnection is one of the worst fates imaginable to a Volomi, as it is the ultimate solitude. The ultimate loneliness. Hence the training, to keep our minds in shape until we are able to maintain the connection ourselves.”

“Right… so you have access to a lot of knowledge that has been passed down, right?” Sasha guessed.

Slora nodded. “Our Queen knows all that our species knows. Naturally, that doesn’t apply to the average citizen - our minds simply couldn’t handle that much data at once. The Queen is able to send out basic knowledge - for example, my understanding of your language comes from my mother’s own - but it is not learned by us. For us to keep knowledge in our minds permanently, we must learn it ourselves as your people would.”

“That’s interesting… so your Queen is a powerful psion, then. Are the rest of you, or does the hivemind act on low-level telepathy?” Sasha asked.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Taxor_the_First and DarkGemini24601: “The Ant and the Dragon, Part 2”


That brought a frown to the Volomi’s face. “A natural volomi psion is rare, aside from our Queen. Princesses have a roughly higher chance of being psions, but I have not been given such an ability. You are correct, though. The network is carried via psionics. We required special measures to continue the connection out here in the depths of space, as any mind would find this distance taxing.”

Sasha nodded. “Well… don’t feel bad. Humans aren’t usually psions either… most of us that are have to be artificially awakened… and I’m not sure if you have access to that tech or not. That’s how I was awakened, but the best I can do… under normal circumstances… is telekinesis and rift. I’ve managed to make the latter a bit bigger and more controlled and the former able to lift heavier objects, though.” She sighed dejectedly. “Still haven’t been able to pump it up enough to levitate yet though. I’m close without armor, but with armor… well… it’s not really possible.”

“It is still more than any of my people could likely handle,” Slora offered. “Even our natural psions are weak, Minors by your standard I believe. We require the Queen’s intervention to utilise anything approaching ‘powerful’ abilities. You have the ability to surpass that, it simply requires work.” She indicated the two staves lying on the ground. “Like my own training. Work at it enough, and you’ll reach your goal.”

Sasha smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate the confidence in me, especially upon a first meeting.”

“It’s experience,” Slora said. “My goal was to get a hit on my teacher. With enough work, I did.” Her mandibles curved upwards. “Even without his reaction, I enjoyed knowing I’d succeeded. The same principle applies to you, I would say. Both are training. Both require reaching a goal. If I can do it, you certainly can.”

Sasha nodded. “I imagine you’re right. Though I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to control my Reflection, or be able to summon it without extenuating circumstances like that ill-fated operation. Otherwise, St. Barbara is buried in my psyche.”

“You have a Reflection?” Slora asked, suddenly very curious. “... fascinating. There are no records of any Volomi with Reflections, so the concept was entirely new to us when we arrived here.” Her expression fell. “Given our naturally low psionic potential, I think none of us were capable. Those among you who have them are known as powerful psions, I hear.”

“Most of us…” Sasha shook her head. “Like I said, I’m a fairly average psion as far as humans come. The only reason I was able to manifest even a hint of a Reflection is because I went through a lot of… psychological trauma on that mission. Vindicta hopes I can learn to summon it without the need for a dire situation like that, but I’m fairly certain that I’ll never be able to use it in that capacity on my own.”

Slora shrugged. “Is that not simply another goal? If you can conjure one at all, clearly the potential is there. It is merely a matter of training yourself to use it at will.”

“I can’t feel emotions like that on-demand, though,” Sasha contested. “So while I could work at maybe controlling in a minor fashion, a more powerful version would always be out of reach.”

“Then make the emotions irrelevant,” Slora suggested. “Something Kearichi is fond of saying is ‘If the situation is not favourable, make it favourable. There is no other option save death.’” She clicked her throat briefly. “Granted, he is speaking about exactly the kind of high-pressure situation you describe, but the idea still stands. Find a workaround. Make your guardian listen to you, not stay hidden in whatever part of your mind it calls home.”

Sasha nodded. “I could try that… and I know that Vindicta’s been working on ways for me to use other emotions, like a desire to protect others, to bring it forth. It’ll take time, I’m prepared for that.”

“But worthwhile,” the princess said. “After all, what is the alternative?”

“There isn’t really much of one,” Sasha admitted.

“Exactly. Though your presence here suggests you are not neglecting your physical body either,” the Volomi noted.

“Even if I can’t be as strong as the guys here, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay in shape,” Sasha confirmed. “I have a bad habit of neglecting my health sometimes, so keeping myself training is a necessity.”

“Understandable,” Slora said, nodding. “I’ve seen the result of excessive lethargy. I have no desire to go down that path myself, even if there is less of a risk of death for my species than, say, yours.” Her eyes widened slightly. “Not that I’m implying you’re fragile! Although your skin is certainly not as resilient as ours…”

Sasha smiled. “I didn’t think anything of it. Though you are right… humans don’t really have much protection without armor unlike Balmadaar and insectoid races.”

“Balmadaar? You mean those giant, brutish-looking creatures?” The princess rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “Something about them scares me a little. Might be something to do with the way most species treat the smaller insect creatures that you find…”

Sasha chuckled nervously. “Yeah… that might not give the best impression for you guys. Though I’m not really bothered by insects or arachnids. My brother might be a bit off-put, but it’s out of instinctual fear, not spite.”

“Understandable,” Slora said, though she was still clearly unnerved by the idea. “To a degree the same applies to us and smaller reptiles and avians. Both have the capacity to kill or injure us on Volos, so we usually give them a wide berth… or attack them. I suppose the sight of us attacking one of your Earth parrots might be comical to you,” she said with a smile.

Sasha shrugged. “Depends on the parrot. I hear they’ll bite through their owner’s fingers.”

“Then why do you keep them as pets?!” the Volomi demanded. “Such an animal is untrustworthy and dangerous! Why would you put up with the risk?”

“Because some people find them beautiful, and they can imitate human speech.” Sasha shrugged. “It sounds silly to me too.”

“If you wished to listen to something imitate human speech, why not talk to a computer?” Slora shook her head. “Perhaps it is a point of difference with our cultures. We do not usually have pets, and those of us that do use them as hunting companions for the most part. Directing their aggression is hard work, I hear, but very much worth it.”

“Well, I never had a pet really,” Sasha said, explaining further, “My family lived in the city, so it wasn’t as much of a consideration.”

“We only have one city,” Slora said meekly. “Our hive was the only one not totally wiped out. The rest are in ruins. We’ve spread out since returning to the surface, but those are hardly even towns at this point. We have domesticated food stocks made up of various animals, but those are as close as you’re likely to get in the ‘pet’ category.”

Sasha’s eyes widened. “What… happened to your world?”

“A combination of our own stupidity and our intelligence,” the princess said ruefully. “We got smart enough to kill each other very quickly, but not smart enough to know when to stop. The rest of the planet paid the price for that. Our people only survived because we were underground to begin with - the majority of the last war passed over our heads harmlessly. That’s why we’re so against the idea of consigning any species to extinction, having nearly experienced it ourselves.”

“I guess I can understand that… for a good amount of time people on Earth were worried we’d wipe eachother out in nuclear war,” Sasha explained. “It’s a good thing that never happened. I imagine we wouldn’t have been able to endure it like your people did.”

“Endure?” Slora said quietly. “Is that what you call hiding in the dirt like some desert rat? Letting everyone else sort out their issues themselves only to find both sides have been wiped out as a result?” She shook her head. “We resorted to cowardice. The worst part of it is that this cowardice is the only thing that saved us.”

Sasha shook her head. “Think of it this way… if your hive hadn’t survived, then there’d be nothing left of your species. That’s a worse fate than anything.”

Slora nodded sadly. “I know. And if it came to honor versus survival, I think we’d all pick survival. Honor is no good to you, after all, if you’re dead.”

“Exactly,” Kearichi said, surprising both of them. He placed a hand on Slora’s shoulder from behind. “Of course, there is always the third option. Don’t let that be a choice you have to make.” He released her and moved forward, picking up one of the staves on the ground and tapping it on the ground. “I’m sorry,” he said to Sasha, “but we need to resume our training now. Your socialisation can wait for another time.”

Slora scowled slightly but said nothing, turning to Sasha. “Sorry,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, even if the conversation got a little depressing near the end.”

Sasha nodded. “I hope we can speak more in the future, but I understand. Duty calls.”

 

[MarineAvenger]

Game of Drones Part One (MarineAvenger and ZombieSplitter53)

Nick released his hold over Clunker, sitting down onto a bench and rubbing the sweat from his brow, smiling tiredly as he got his daily training done.

Ever since his surgery, he had been practicing non stop to try and adjust to both the new implants and his new powers. Standing up, he walked over and patted his pet project on his metallic body. "Nice work buddy." He turned and grabbed his music player, putting in one ear bud and sticking a plastic fork into the salad with grilled chicken he was having for lunch.

Since getting out of the infirmary, he was back on his routine, trying to build himself, trying to stay positive. Since he got his projects mostly done, he had felt pretty good about himself. So far, it was a pretty good day.

The subtle sound of the doorknob being jiggled came from the door. Finding the door locked, the individual knocked on it, and called out, "Mr. Cauthon? I'm from the infirmary. I was sent to check up on you, make sure your implants weren't affecting your health in any negative way.”

He looked to the door and hopped off his stool, not expecting the doctors to come to him. Am I really that surprised with my track record though? Nick opened the door slowly.

A young man dress in green scrubs smiled pleasantly at the young engineer. "Hey, I'm Oliver. Sorry to intrude. I'm sure you're just fine, but you know... procedure and all that."

"Yeah..." Nick looked the doctor up and down. "Never seen you before though. Don't they usually stick with the same nurses and doctors?"

"Yeah... yeah..." Oliver scratched his chin nervously. "Listen, um... don't take this the wrong way, but you have a reputation around the infirmary for being... difficult. So, they just so happened to be too busy to come down here, and they just so happened to turn the task over to a new nurse. I... I'm hoping we can prove them both wrong, Mr... can I call you Nick?"

“Yeah, Nick is fine." The teen turned to go back to his stool, casually eating. What the nurse wouldn't see, was the crowbar within arms reach hidden on the other end of the table. "So how does this work?"

"I just need to run a quick test or two, and ask a question of two." Oliver placed a bag on the counter and pulled out what looked like, to Nick's trained eye, like an EMF reader. "Just give me a minute or two. It takes a bit to set up and, um... it looks like I forgot to do so on my way here." He laughed, his eyes darting up to Nick. "So you're the guy who took on those... mobster guys, huh? Diggle, Yamaki, and... um, whatever that other guy's name was?"

"It was Xanatos." The teen's hand wrapped around the hidden metal tool. "But of course you wouldn't know that... The fact there was a third guy was never made public."

Oliver's typing paused for the briefest of moments, and he chuckled. "Yeah... I'll admit, I eavesdropped a little on your conversations with that android lady. So... why was it kept a secret? You didn't, like... kill him, and they're trying to keep it quiet, did you?"

"Oh, you see I highly doubt that Oliver." Nick himself let out a chuckle. "I highly doubt that the armed guard outside my door in the infirmary would let just anyone eavesdrop on my doings."

"He's a friend of mine. We go way back. Went to college together, at least until I went to medical school." Oliver looked up, placing the device down next to the open bag. "I'm... sorry, Nick. But is this the 'you being difficult' I was suppose to expect, or are you accusing me of something?"

"Not unless there should be something I am accusing..." Nick smiled victoriously. "Though I didn't realize the female guard I had used to be a man. Though I am sure it is a common mistake."

Oliver smiled, a smile that extended into something sinister. "You are observant, Nick. Ever so much more than I could have hoped. But let's see if you were prepared for this." He quickly reached into the bag, pulling out a handgun.

Nick quickly jerked back, slamming the gun hand with the curved end of the hidden crowbar.

Oliver cried out in pain, stepping away and holding his hand. He turned away, and seemed to be sobbing lightly. After a moment, however, the sobs turned into cackling laughter, and he turned back, the same wide smile on his face. "That was good, Nick. Very good. You follow advice well. Personally, I would have skipped the hand and went straight for the head, but you still have the luxury of a conscious. I had to leave mine behind so long ago."

"You're back sooner than I thought..." Nick stated, grabbing the fallen gun.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Game of Drones Part Two

Oliver waved his hand like it was perfectly fine. "Don't bother with that, unless you want to get me wet. If I had threatened you with a real gun, you'd never have trusted me." He placed his left hand against his cheek for a moment. When he pulled it away, there was a X shaped scar.

"Just what are you? A shapeshifter?" Nick asked, his hand tightly holding to crowbar.

"No, no. Nothing so crude. Though that would make covering my tracks a lot easier." The man's eyes flashed green for a moment, and he sat down on the chair. "Speaking of covering my tracks, I need your help. I figured we could make a deal."

"My help?" The teen asked, sitting back down on the stool and putting the tool against his lap. "With what?"

"Covering my tracks." Xanatos reached into his pocket. Noting the way Nick flinched, he pulled his hand out a lot slower, producing a USB drive. "You see, just like Mr. Diggle underestimated your strength, I underestimated your tenacity. I wasn't expecting your... tenacity. I didn't expect to run into in Diggle's room, and when I was done, I had my bosses asking why I didn't kill you. So I... sort of told them... that you killed me."

Nick was silent for a while with a confused look. "That... How can you report back to them sating I killed you if you are supposed to be dead?"

"It's complicated. Let's just say I have a somewhat rare psionic ability that allows me to control people in a... unique way." Xanatos held up the USB. "I need to alter the security footage outside that room. Remove myself leaving, and make you look a little... messy when you left. But I need to do it on a computer that certain hackers can't trace back to. A computer like your private one. So... you gonna help me?"

"And your favor to me?" Nick asked. "And I want something guaranteed, not a maybe."

"Oh, letting you go back there wasn't enough to earn me a favor? Damn..." He smiled widely again, and leaned forward. "I know something secret about little Hestia. I little insurance plan should they lose her to you. Now... I can't tell you it if they think I'm still up here, which they currently suspect, because when you fix it, I'm the first person they'd point a finger, and a gun, at. Help me... and I help you."

The teen looked at Xanatos for a few moments, holding out his hand for the USB. "I will do it, but you will wait outside. Walk away and change forms if you have to, I don't care, but I do this privately. I don't like having my back to you, nor within sight of my computer. Considering you can't do this yourself, you have no hacking ability so I would rather not risk giving you the way into my computer."

"You're quite perceptive. You'd think with how many cy... years I've been around, I'd learn to use them better." Xanatos handed him the USB and walked over to the door. "I'll be back in a couple hours. Try and make sure Hestia is here when I get back."

Nick nodded his head, waiting till Xanatos was clearly gone by looking out the window of his office. He took his music player out and sighed. "Can't believe I am caught up in this game... I just wonder if I was ever a player to begin with." Nick went over to his computer, getting to work making two copies of the video, saving the original video in a file labeled Monty Python making sure to encrypt it along with fill that file with just junk to cover it up.

"Alright..." Bringing up his editing software, Nick cracked his knuckles. "Now that my insurance is squared away, time to get to work..."

 

[MarineAvenger]

Game of Drones Part Three

Two hours later on the dot, the door slowly opened. A familiar pink haired girl peeked in smile, smiling at the sight of Nick. "Hello, big brother! Whatcha doin'?"

"Just taking care of some business." He closed the window as the edited video downloaded, Nick turning as he opened his arms to the little sister.

Hestia ran into them, hugging him tightly. As someone else stepped into the room, Hestia smiled up at Nick. "You wanna meet my new friend?" She looked back at the tall woman stepping inside.

Nick nodded his head, looking at the woman. "Nice to see you again... That project you asked me to do is finished."

Xanatos nodded, now 'wearing' a female security guard with a small, x shaped scar on her neck, smiled and asked, "Now my... 'friends' aren't going to look through this an find some hidden message that leads to me losing my head, am I? I'm... trusting you with this."

"Everything is in order." Nick confirmed, handing the USB out to Xanatos. "And trust me, if I wanted to do something so underhanded, the crowbar would have been enough." His eyes narrowed. "I'm not you."

"Ooo, scary. I like." Xanatos pocketed the device and pulled out a sheet of paper. "There is a game that human children like to play. Perhaps you should teach it to cutie here." (S)he gave Hestia a quick wink and handed the paper to Nick, simply having the word 'Hopscotch' written on it. "I was never sure how to pronounce it, though. Can you, I wonder?"

Nick looked warily at Xanatos and looked at Hestia. "Would you like me to teach you Hopscotch, Hestia?"

Hestia's eyes went blank, and she went limp, falling to the ground. Xanatos shook his/her head. "You'd think they'd come up with a way to keep her standing when you do that," (s)he said as (s)he reached into his/her other pocket.

"What's going on?" Nick asked calmly, glancing down at Hestia.

"Are you familiar with the idea of a sleeper agent, Nick," Xanatos asked, pulling out a notebook and thumbing through it. "You seem a bit sheltered, so I'll explain it if I must, but as I said... you are also quite clever."

"Yes, I know what a sleeper agent is, but what did you program Hestia to do?" He asked, trying his best to keep his cool.

"Hopscotch was a code word to shut her down. There are other code words, I am sure, but I am not sure what they are or what they do. But I can imagine the later. In addition to being a masterful programmer, Yamaki has an active imagination." Xanatos handed the paper to Nick, the writing including complex algorithms, codes, and references to programming and the like. "This... is all jargon to me. I'm skilled with chemical formulas, but computer stuff is just a bunch of numbers to me. But I'm sure you can figure this out, and if not, Alice can. This is supposed to be where in Hestia's programming the implanted orders are, and where on her body the device that implants them should they be deleted are."

Nick looked at the paper and as he went down the list, his face reddened. "They put one... There? Geez..." Nick shook his head. "I know how to get rid of these. I would thank you, but I know it would be redundant. Just make yourself more known to me next time. I know you want to test me but having to put mistrust in everyone on this ship would not only hurt me, but you as well inadvertently."

"Good point." Xanatos turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "One... quick word of advice. Take it or leave it. Find a way to disable the device on her without completely removing it. That way, if they don't know their little sleeper agent has been compromised, you can catch them off guard if they show up and try and use her." He turned again, then immediately turn back again, the large black hair of his female form whipping around. "You... probably want to know how to turn her on again, don't you?"

"That would beneficial." Nick said, secretly dreading the procedure he would have to do. Would have been easier if I could just take the devices out... But now it is going to take longer. Why did they have to hide some of them in such... Private parts… I swear, if I ever see Yamaki or Diggle again, I am going to castrate them for toucher her there…

"How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale.

How cheerfully he seems to grin
How neatly spreads his claws
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently... smiling... jaws."

Xanatos grinned widely as he bowed his head, saying "Rip Van Winkle," as he stepped out.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Game of Drones Part Four

Hesita suddenly sat up, looking around in confusion. "Why... am I on the floor?"

"We were playing a game, I won." Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "And now... We are going to play... Something embarrassing... But you did make me promise that we would play... Doctor."

"You wanna play doctor?" Hestia quickly jumped to her feet. "Is Hestia the doctor, or the sick person?"

"The uh... Sick person." Technically I am. "So please... Uh... Strip down..."

Hestia's shoulders sank a little. "Um... o-okay." She activated her AECM, all her clothing but her modest underwear disappearing. "Okay, doctor. Do you... want to take my temperature, or..."

"Just... Turn around and I will feel your body..." Nick blushed a bit. "Just... Remember this is just play... But we have to be mature about this too... But tell NO ONE! Alright?"

Hestia rubbed her arm nervously, and slowly nodded. She turned around and squeezed her eyes shut. "I-I'm ready... d-doctor."

Nick sighed and he ran his hands along her bare back lightly, feeling the first lump where the first chip was located. After locating that, he reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the second. Just two more... And then the one... Down there…

Hesita shook a bit at his touch, clearly uncomfortable even if she was hiding it. "I-is everything okay... doctor?"

"So far..." Nick quickly stopped to look at the paper stuffed in his pocket, reaching around and rubbing the front of her stomach, finding the third. "Just... Tell me how you feel... Or if you want to stop..."

"N-no. I'm okay." Hestia smiled lightly. "Y-You're just... tickling me is all."

"Do you feel... Weird? Just keep talking to me..." He said, putting his hand on her left leg, just under her butt, finding the fourth. That meant the final one was in... "Hey, Hestia... I need to..." He put his hands on the side of her underwear.

"Hey, Nick, have you seen..." Alice walked into the room, and dropped the paperwork in her hands, her eyes going so wide they looked like they'd pop out.

He looked just as wide eyed back at Alice. "No, no, no, no… t-this isn't what it looks like! There is a perfectly good explanation for this!"

Alice's hand flew to the side, punching into, and through, a solid metal cabinet. "Nick... I love you. I am your friend, and I will stick by your side through the worst of times. But you have five seconds to explain yourself before I kill you!"

"Look, look, look, look!" The teen scrambled to get the piece of paper in his pocket out without tearing it and he ran over to Alice. "Look at this... Just stealing Hestia wasn't enough for those creeps..." He leaned in close. "The bugged her to be a sleeper agent." Nick whispered,

Alice slowly pulled her hand out of the cabinet and took the paper, looking it over with the angry look seemingly etched into her face. "Why didn't you just come get..." Her eyes widened again. "Were you... going to get this one yourself?"

"Um..." The teen looked away blushing. "...no..."

Alice tilted her head, closing her eyes like she had the biggest headache in the world. "Nick, I know you want to be helpful, and I know you care about Hestia, but android or not, she is essentially a ten year old. And a girl." Alice rubbed her eyes. "Did... did you find them?"

"I confirmed the four but... Not the fifth..." He said, clearly embarrassed.

Alice watched him for a moment, and finally sighed, her features softening. "I'll remove them. And... sorry if I overreacted. You must admit though... the state I found you in..."

"Shut up!" He said, crossing his arms. "You almost sound jealous..."

Alice cracked a smile. "Sorry. Couldn't help it." She knelt down in front of Hestia. "You alright, honey? You know Nick wasn't going to do anything weird, right?"

Hestia smiled nervously. "I-I know. We were... just playing doctor, right?"

"Right. Now, put your clothes back on and wait for me back in our room." Hestia nodded, reforming her dress and stepping out. Alice patted Nick on the shoulder and headed for the door, but suddenly stopped. Looking down at the paper again, she said, "Wait... Nick... where did you get this information? This... this isn't your handwriting."

"Don't... Worry about that." Nick said. "Oh, and don't destroy the chips, you have to leave them. Just deactivate them. It will take longer and... A lot more time but if the guys come back then they won't expect it."

Alice looked like she was going to ask more questions, but she instead smiled. "Alright. I know you wouldn't hide anything from me without good reason. Just... be careful, alright. I don't want to lose you. And remember that I am always here for you."

The teen nodded his head and quickly debated whether he should tell her. "You promise not to... Punch another hole in my cabinet if I do tell you?" Nick asked.

Alice hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah. I know things are hard on you right now. I'll try at not overreact like that again. I'm afraid even androids can be on edge."

"I was visited by Xanatos today." Nick told Alice with a straight face.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Alice's features darkened. "What?" She clenched her fists. "He's still here? Did you hurt you? What did that little fat-headed freak want?"

"Alice... he isn't a Sectoid." Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "He can... change his appearance at will. He could be anyone. He can even cover his X-shaped scar. He threatened me a bit but it was only a test, and I passed it. He asked me for help... and in exchange, he gave me the info concerning Hestia."

"You helped him!?" Alice quickly walked over to Nick, crouching down placing her hands on Nick's shoulders. "Nick, he's a mobster! He's using you, playing you! The next time you see him, you either hit him with the biggest thing you can, or you run!"

Nick sighed, and he pushed Alice's hands off him forcefully. "I can handle it myself Alice." He said with grim determination. "I'm not an idiot."

Alice dropped her gaze. "I... I don't think you're an idiot, Nick. You should know that by now. But... but one of them used me with their lies and smooth talk. I don't... want you to make the same mistake I did."

"I'm not going to make the same mistakes. I will be the one coming out on top." Nick gave a small smirk. "By the way, was that million ever transferred into the dummy account? As soon as the Yakuza try and get their money back, the authorities will be all over them, and our hands will be clean."

Alice slowly returned his smile. "Yeah. That... that was a good idea, I'll admit."

"And I even made a copy of the video he made me alter, to keep the original version as insurance. I have it hidden deep in my files, so he would never find it. Not to mention I made sure he did not see how to access my computer and even stood up to him at his own game. Alice... you don't have to worry." He crossed his arms and his eyes softened. "Are you worried I am going to die? Is that it?"

"A little. But... maybe I'm just one of the many people underestimating you." Alice stood up straight. "If he contacts you again... tell him you're keeping me in the dark. That is something else we can have on him."

"You've always stood by my side Alice. Even during our dark time, you still did it partially for me. Me and you are probably the closest friends can get, and maybe one day we may be more. I think of you as my equal, not as my lesser." Nick leaned against Clunker, just sort of half-sitting on the chassis. "I... sort of have a confession to make as well."

"Uh oh." Alice grinned. "Should I pull up a chair?"

"Whatever you want... but you will be mad at me for not telling you, I know Irina will be livid..." Nick closed his eyes and out of nowhere, Clunker came to life, standing up from his resting position, as well as Buzzer popping out, flying over to Nick and Ratchet coming out of a storage crate, flanking Nick on his other side, showing off the power of his new implants. He kept his eyes closed and his arms crossed, just keeping a calm face.

Rather than looked angry, Alice laughed in glee. "Wow, Nick. That's amazing! How can... this isn't killing you, controlling them all at once?"

"I... remember that hard work I was putting into new designs for my implants? Well... I got them finished... approved, formed a new class of soldier, and underwent the surgery first to get new implants in. This one is more advanced, and less risk to me, but I sort of... didn't tell anyone I did it. Just Mark knew, and the people associated with the project."

"Well, considering how new all this is for you, I don't blame you." Alice laughed again, and looked Nick in the eyes. "I'm proud of how far you've come."

He smiled and looked down at his feet. "Yeah... this has been... one hell of an experience... and it still isn't over."

"Not by a long shot." Alice sighed. "I better go to Hestia. She's probably wondering where I am. Um..." Alice chuckled. "No more playing doctor with Hestia. It isn't proper. If you want to play doctor, do it with me..." Her eyes widened a bit. "I-I mean with... w-with I-Irina. Sorry. Freudian slip, I assure you."

"Yeah that whole... doctor thing was just a ruse to make her more comfortable. I would much rather make her feel a bit uncomfortable than have her going to the enemy with open arms because I missed something. I love her but... you know, not like that by any stretch of the imagination." With a sigh, Nick pushed himself off the drone and he walked to the door. "As for Irina... I am just rolling with the punches now. What happens, happens, and I do hope someone helps her understand what she feels. Unfortunately, me just expressing how I do just isn't enough." The teen opened the door and stepped to the side. "And tell Hestia we are eating out tonight. Thought a dinner out with just the two of us might be fun."

"You got it." Alice patted him on the shoulder as she walked past. Looking back for a brief moment, she asked, "Just really quick. Did... did that Xanatos fellow say or do anything that might give us a clue who her might really be?"

"From my interactions with him, he is definitely not us, and he is definitely not Yakuza, that much is certain. I haven't pieced together the entire puzzle yet, but the best I can do is bide my time and play the hand I am dealt the best I can." Nick rubbed his chin and he sighed. "Somehow I don't think he is going to kill me outright, if that is indeed apart of his plan. I've become a spanner in whatever machine he got going, and somehow I have the feeling he is looking to make me apart of his tool belt." But he definitely is not the one in charge... it almost makes me wonder if he is mixed in with the TFD somehow, and if that is indeed the case... I may not be fighting on the front lines, but this is a whole 'nother war entirely. Nick looked back to the table he and Xanatos had spoke, the squirt gun still laying there. Your move.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Misapprehensions of Magnitude, Part 1”

High Orbit over Forseti (April 28th, 2044)
The Einherjar (0732 Hours, A.S.T.)
Floor 7: Armor R&D

Vindicta crossed her arms, standing in a sealed balcony overlooking a testing chamber. "Run the model by me again, would you? For documentation purposes."

The scientist beside her, a grizzled old Korean, nodded, and cleared his throat. "The Servo Armor was a recommendation straight from Dr. Henderson. She suggested that we create a version of the Corsair Armor that excelled in strength rather than in speed." A woman wearing the prototype stepped put into view, eager to prove the point. The Armor Research and Development manager gave a nod of approval.

The tester knelt down beside a slab of metal, and placed a palm on either side of it. Using the edges of the cube and the armor's corrugated palms, she lifted the steel, first to torso level and then above her head. During the process the armor gave off a light whirr, like a purring mechanical cat.

"Obviously, the original concept for the armor involved being able to carry heavy loads. As we progressed, we added servos in the legs that both counterbalance the added weight by pushing upwards, and in doing so prevent stress upon the body... or the floor underneath them," manager explained. "Ultimately, this led to a balanced armor that fulfills its purpose to a T. And..."

The tester crossed her arms, a panel in the ground sliding open to allow a flamethrower turret to rise out of the ground, and spit its burning payload at the armored figure. When the fire and smoke cleared the armor was not damaged in the slightest.

"...it retains its fireproof nature from the its Corsair predecessor," the Korean finished.

Vindicta smiled. "Seems acceptable to me. And the Silhouette Armor?"

"Right behind you," a voice echoed as a male tester de-cloaked behind Vindicta. He was wearing armor akin to shadow armor, but it was clearly a step up in defensive capabilities.

Vindicta turned, seeming unfazed. "Looks good to me... maintains fifteen minutes of cloak along with paying the cost of a little dexterity for better protection correct?"

The head of Armor R&D chuckled. "Yes, but I think you'll find it'll see more use than the shadow armor. More reliable."

"I imagine, though I personally prefer the Ghost Armor my team came up with. It's a good middle ground." Vindicta shrugged. "I'm satisfied. You may begin production." With that, the second in command of the science department turned and departed. She typed up a report on a small holographic keyboard she kept on her lab coat pocket as she walked towards the horizontal elevator to her next destination.

The rail came to a stop at the psi labs, and she stepped into the psi labs. The Exalt woman was pleased to see that her team was hard at work studying Humiliata reports on the elusive 'fifth green ability' that many like Vindicta hypothesized existed. All six colors have five different abilities, Vindicta thought to herself, assuming mind control and suggestion are two sides of the same coin. There must be a missing green power we are unaware of... and in cooperation with Aetherum we can likely figure out what it is.

The woman paused in her stride as she noticed someone unexpected awaiting her in the main room. "Why hello, cousin. What brings you here?"

Cayden had his arms crossed as he was leaning against the wall, sporting a pair of faded jeans and a black jacket with the arms pulled up. "Thought I would finally pay you a visit after all this time. Sasha says your knowledge helps her, so I said why not at least stop by."

"I see... What in particular are you hoping to hone?" Vindicta asked. "Your regular powers or your Reflection?"

"The latter, maybe the former along the way." He answered with a shrug.

Vindicta raised an eyebrow. "For someone coming to me for my time you don't sound very enthusiastic."

"What can I say; I'm not really a psi nut like you are, my wonderfully big-brained cousin." Cayden said with some exaggeration. "Besides, I've been working my ass off, cut me some slack."

Vindicta shrugged. "Then maybe you should come back later. If you tend towards a lot of power and a small pool now is probably not the best time to be training."

"Well if I don't start somewhere I am going to get left behind." Cayden uncrossed his arms and he pushed himself off the wall. "I came here, for you to help me, and to teach me how to make myself a better fighter, and to keep my people alive in the field, and I am asking you because you are the best I know, and because we are family. I can handle it." He affirmed solidly.

Vindicta smirked victoriously. "Now there's the Walker fire I was hoping to see." She gestured two fingers towards herself for him to follow, and stepped into the training room, hanging up her lab coat with the foresight to know that training Cayden would likely be an intensive matter. "From what I've seen from video feed clips and what I've heard from word of mouth, it would appear that you need to work more on control."

The yellow psion closed her eyes briefly, tuning out her environment - not a difficult affair in the closed-off training room - for a moment. When she opened them, a focused golden aura surrounded her eyes, and she extended an arm, yellow energy crackled off the limb. It coalesced to form a vaguely humanoid figure perhaps seven feet tall - though with its constant flotations the Reflection's stature was hard to determine. Two points of light blue energy marked its simple eyes. "That is something I have learned whilst developing my secondary Reflection. Controlling telekinesis and my more... physical side is one thing, but controlling lightning enough to shape it is another."

"Really? It takes all that?" Cayden scratched his head. "I must admit, didn't really know what I was doing. First time, the guy popped out in one form because I was left with one option and the second time I had to drag him out forcefully." He looked down at his own hands. "Would make me feel better if I didn't feel sick every time I tap into everything."

Vindicta shook her head in disbelief. "That's because you're forcing it. It has to be natural... a Reflection is born from part of your psyche. If you can't accept yourself, or give in to stubbornness - which I assume and hope is not the part of you that your Reflection is based off of - you won't be able to use it effectively."

"From what I've gathered, the only time he ever even wants to come out is when I remove the barrier and am extremely angry, distressed, or frustrated. When he came out during the first two, he was one form, and during the last two, he was another. Definitely the same form though, and even when we are connected I feel it is the same presence." he explained as best he could.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Misapprehensions of Magnitude, Part 2”

"Maybe he simply looks different based on different emotions." Vindicta shook her head. "That's not unsurprising though. Intense emotions temporarily boost psionics... it's why your friend Sasha is able to summon a Reflection at all." The Exalt grinned. "Though this may mean that you are not as strong as you'd like to believe... we may need to strengthen your basic psionics first before you can reliably call upon your other half."

Cayden grimaced slightly. "If it was up to me I would rather do without him. Like I said, his full power is so potent it makes my stomach turn, though that is not is the only reason. Feels likes something out off hell itself."

Vindicta raised an eyebrow. "Because he looks like that asshole? I can understand that..."

Cayden shook his head. "Part of it, but worse. It is just something you feel. Not something you can really explain." He noted, rubbing his face. "So how do we proceed with this then?"

"Well... your three abilities are telekinesis, pyro-conjuring, and psi lance, right?" Vindicta crossed her arms. "Which one do you feel most comfortable with, and which do you feel least comfortable with?"

"Well the psi lance feels a bit awkward when I use it, and honestly my pyro seems to come the easiest." Cayden closed his eyes as he reached down and pulled off his necklace, holding out his hand and forming a tiny, slow moving orb. "But honestly... this feels the most right. This is really the most I can manage without his help."

Vindicta clapped her hands together. "Then let's practice with the psi lance. Targets, present yourselves." A few holographic imitations of various species formed. "Try to converse power rather than throwing it all into a few shots."

Cayden nodded and he turned to his targets, looking back down at his hand as he got an idea. Instead of merely dissolving the orb he had formed, he made it shift form, the red orb unraveling and elongating out, about to a smaller size then a normal lance. Raising his arm, he took aim, trying to steady his shot, then lance feeling a bit weird as he tossed it, striking his target but off to the side and lower than where he was aiming.

"Now, this isn't exactly related to psionics," Vindicta chided, "but if you expect to miss, you are going to. Again."

He let out a sigh, forming another and this time aiming at a closer target, still not hitting exactly where he wanted, this time aiming too high.

"Hm... are you focusing your intent on the target? Treat it as if it's vital to hit, rather than just part of training," Vindicta instructed. "You have to be putting your willpower into your attacks."

"I know that..." Cayden said with a hint of annoyance, going for his third shot, this time the target farther away and that one just missing outright.

Vindicta's Reflection floated over to her side, mimicking her as she crossed her arms. "If you're going to get angry then direct that emotion to hitting the target successfully."

Cayden growled, this time not taking his time to form up the lance, just doing so quickly and chucking it, causing the power to blow through the center target with some force behind it. "There, it's dead, there is a fucking hole in its chest and it would no longer be functioning, so what the hell am I doing now?" He asked, clearly annoyed now.

"Try summoning your Reflection now," Vindicta ordered flatly.

Cayden rolled his eyes, gritting his teeth as he pushed out more power, a wall of flame rising up from the floor as a familiar looking figure stepped out, Viktor's arms crossed in mock of Vindicta and her own Reflection. "There, he's out." Cayden spoke up.

Vindicta smiled, lowering her arms. "See, my methods are effective. You've learned what not to do if you're trying to use restraint, and how to use emotional triggers to cause your power to fluctuate." The scientist shook her head. "Though I'm surprised you're not immune to that sort of prodding. It's not like you could have had a drill sergeant that didn't do worse."

"It seems to just be an innate ability you Exalts have." Cayden cracked a smile as Viktor chuckled in amusement.

Vindicta bowed, her Reflection following suit. "My pleasure... and now that we've established some of those principles, I have a question for you." She straightened her posture. "Is there any psionic ability you're hoping to add to your list? Be it another red one, or perhaps dipping into orange or violet, it doesn't matter to me; I'm just curious."

"I was thinking maybe Psi Panic... It might be useful to have an actual nonlethal move other than my 'gray' abilities. Though that Soul Fire ability also intrigued me, I must say." Cayden answered, his mood seeming to calm down and Viktor just standing to the side ready to punch something rather than just talking.

White Bishop faded into Vindicta. "Perhaps we'll get to that another time... but I have a feeling you might like to test your Reflection against my primary one." A flurry of yellow-orange telekinetic waves carrying shards formed Black Bishop in all her 'armored uniform'-ed glory.

Upon seeing Black Bishop, Viktor looked on approvingly as an eerie glow surrounded him and reached out for Cayden's own connection. When it didn't come, Viktor grunted and jerked his head. The soldier looked cautiously to his cousin and sighed, bringing together the line. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Dear cousin, it is extremely unlikely that you could hurt me." Vee imitated a 'come on' gesture that Vindicta had done earlier. "Don't worry about it."

"That's the problem, I want to worry about it." He grumbled, taking his position a bit of a ways away.

With a cocky smirk, Black Bishop rushed forward, delivering a flurry of punches significantly faster than a normal human's, and with newfound strength to back them.

"I warn you, she's composed of telekinetic fields and telekinesis now, so she's both strong and fast and durable in a balanced fashion," Vindicta lectured. "Don't be looking for any physical weaknesses."

Viktor met her blow for blow, either deflecting the punches or letting her hit in his stronger areas. The Reflection took only one step back, but it was to gear up for an attack, pushing outwards with both hands to send out a burst of fire.

Black Bishop sent out a wave of telekinetic force in response, blowing the flames in the opposite direction. She followed up with a solid kick at Viktor's chest.

Making an X with his arms, Viktor was blown back, doing a back flip in the air and landing, having been pushed back a great distance. Wiping his mouth, he growled with a smirk, forming three lances and throwing them a second apart, these ones on point.

Black Bishop responded by forming two points of telekinetic force, one for each fist. She met the first two lances with them, managing to scatter the psychokinetic energy that made them up enough to result in only minor damage. The third connected with the Reflection's right arm, widening the cracks from the previous attacks and shattering it.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Misapprehensions of Magnitude, Part 3”

Vindicta winced as she reformed her damaged shadow. "Not bad," she growled, before having the rebuilt entity raise her hand and form a telekinetic bubble around Viktor. Black Bishop squeezed, constricting it in size and shape.

Viktor pushed back against the force that attempted to crush him, viens popping out in his neck as he attempted to get free.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a new threat came towards Black Bishop, this one in the form of a small, high velocity and rotating red orb going for her chest, flying without the sender having to control it. Cayden had blindsided his cousin.

While the Reflection didn't register the source, Vindicta did, and had her Reflection withdraw in a shower of yellow-orange shards to avoid the mental damage that B2's destruction would cause. "I don't believe I said the users were permitted to get involved," Vindicta snapped.

"I don't remember you stating any rules..." Cayden said with a smile, though he looked shaky, Viktor quickly joining Cayden by his side.

"Because if we are..." Vindicta vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind Cayden with a switchblade in hand. "It wouldn't even be a contest."

Viktor sliced at Vindicta with the knife he usually kept around his neck, now in hand with the blade flaming while in his grasp.

A telekinetic hand formed out of Vindicta's right shoulder and grasped Viktor's hand mid-flight, twisting it. "You're slower, I've gleamed that much from this affair."

"We all have our faults." Cayden said, twisting left to go at Vindicta with his own fist, this one bound in telekinetic energy that would blow her back on impact.

Vindicta responded in kind with Black Bishop's other appendage, blasting the two apart while the first hand that had shown up held on for a moment longer. This enabled to hurl Viktor into the air as Vindicta slid to a stop and her Reflection separated from her fully.

Cayden allowed himself a moments reprieve, taking in deep breaths as Viktor landed in front of him. "You are a pain, you know that?"

"And you are an idiot if you think you can surprise someone well-versed in all known psionics."

"Don't flatter yourself... There must be some areas you aren't that well versed in, if not psionics then elsewhere." He continued, hoping to stall her long enough to get his energy back. A yellow-green ring of energy rimmed Vindicta's head, and then she opened the palm of her hand, sending a bolt of electricity at Cayden. I knew I shouldn't have expected much. Cayden did a roll to the side, landing on the floor and moving a good few paces from where he had been, coming up in a crouched position, he responded in kind with his own fire. She almost looks like an angel with that fancy display.

The two different energies passed through each other, unmoved from their previous courses. Vindicta dealt with the fire as she had previously, having Black Bishop blow away the flames.

Viktor went to help Cayden himself, kneeling down in front of his user and making a half dome dish angled off to the side, the lightning being redirected to the side.

Vindicta sighed, growing bored of the game, and joined with Black Bishop, warping beside Cayden and throwing a powerful punch straight at Viktor's head with a small window of reaction time between teleportation and contact. Viktor was blown away, tumbling along while leaving an exposed Cayden, who made another orb, this one bigger and went straight for Vindicta, jumping up fast not giving her anytime to think.

The orb connected, damaging the Reflection around Vindicta, but she managed to push herself back with what remained. As she flew back she sent a final blast of lightning at Cayden. This time without Viktor, Cayden had no means of defensing himself, the lightning hitting him and causing his back to arch as he felt the lightning travel through his body as he yelled out in pain.

Vindicta lowered her hand, the last vestiges of her Reflection vanishing. "You can't say you gave me a way to end that peacefully," she mumbled.

Cayden laid defeated, sucking in air as if they would be his last. "You could have... Just said you wanted to end the fight... I mean seriously... You could have done so when we were resting..."

"You didn't appear to want that," Vindicta replied simply.

"Well neither did you... hypocrite..." Cayden allowed himself to just lay there, his body aching. "A little help here?"

Vindicta walked over - a bit of voltage exiting Cayden's body and entering her fingertips - and helped him up.

He gratefully took her hand, pulling himself up and leaning on her a bit for support. Sometime during the exchange, Viktor disappeared. "Hell of a way to get reacquainted, huh?"

"I suppose so, but any other way would have been rather drab," Vindicta replied.

"So what... every time you see me you are going to rough me up just because it is boring? I don't even think your mother was that cruel to my father." Cayden cracked his neck to try and loosen up. "How is the family anyways?"

"Parents and aunts are doing fine, brother is being obtuse about his feelings like always." Vindicta crossed her arms. "Nothing new."

"Well I hope you two work that out soon... Me, Leo and Bethany were usually so close we never really were at odds with one another a whole lot, and if we were, it was for a few hours if not only just a day, so sorry I can't give you advice on that one." Cayden yawned, holding a hand to his mouth. "This was a good sparring match... Haven't really had to go all out in training like that before."

"And you'll be better for it." Vindicta went to retrieve her lab coat. "Don't worry about Mark and I. Come for training in the morning and evening when I'm available."

"I will when I can." Cayden said, jogging to Vindicta and giving her a small hug. "Who knows, maybe I will bring us some breakfast or dinner occasionally just to hang out. Could be fun as well as hard."

Vindicta smiled. "That sounds perfectly fine to me." She relished the hug for a few moments longer before nodding and stepping out of the room. "See you around."

He waved his hand, making his way out quickly after she left, actually looking forward to the hard days to come.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Antagonist Hour, Part 1”

Unknown Location
April 29th, 2044
1700 Hours Local

Silencer dipped and dodged as Berserker took a clawed strike at his head. Even now, in the middle of a gymnasium, surrounded by nearly two dozen soldiers watch them, she didn't hold anything back. It was clear to anyone who knew her that she didn't know the meaning of the term. Silencer tried for a few swipes of his own, but for every punch he threw, Berserker seemed to have time to block it and throw three of her own. Finally, after five minutes of an almost one sided feet, a gash across Silencer's chest had him stumbling back, and Berserker pounced on him. She pinned him to the ground with her body, wrapping one hand around his neck and lifting the other in the air, claws out.

Both sat there, panting heavily and looking into each other's eyes. Finally, Berserker asked, "How do you intend to defend me if you're still so slow?"

Silencer lightly nodded. "I will get better, mistress. I swear it to you."

Berserker ducked down, pressing her chest against his. "Make sure that you do, love. Or I'll have to get a new play thing." She put her lips directly over his, her tongue lightly touching his lower lip.

There was a metallic clapping from the midst of the soldiers, and they respectfully parted, allowing the Sovereigness of the TFD through. She was wearing her typical monarchial clothing along with her mogul armor, though for this excursion her attire was complete with a cape that was black on the back and red on the front. "I would expect no less of either of you two... the day that your sparring contained no danger would be the day you ceased to be of interest to me, but I know that won't happen." Trismegistus smirked. "And for an anti-psionic solder you still manage to hold your own against a genetically perfected lioness, Silencer. Combine that with the Berserker's combat skill, and I am reminded of why I can rely on you two for most mission types."
"Yes, master," they both said, separating and taking a knee. Berserker added, "That we could please you so much brings me the greatest of pleasures."

Trismegistus smiled. "I have no doubt. Rise, I find myself craving some casual companionship today as opposed to the usual formalities of yesterday."

The pair quickly stood up. Silencer had his usual apathetic but respectful look. Berserker, for her part, had the look of a child who was just told mommy was taking her to the park. "We would be happy to join you," she said.

Trismegistus turned, walking down the hallway. "So what, might I ask, have you two been up to? I know Yayando is working on some new grenade and Sobekir has some pet project. Adrasteia, of course, is up to his usual 'recreational' activities."

Following closely, but not too closely, Silencer answered, "I have been honing my ability to stop bigger and more powerful abilities without it slowing me down. This... organization that foolishly thinks it could challenge us relies on a lot of psions. I hope to show them the error of their way."

Trismegistus glanced down at the ornate globe symbol on her belt. "As they did. Good to hear." She turned her eyes onto the Berserker. "And I imagine you've been taking care of yourself physically, as always."

"Y-yes, master Trismegistus." Berserker bowed her head. "I have done everything in my power to make sure I am ready to destroy an enemy of yours at a moments notice. I have also stepped up training for your soldiers with a new program. Those who do well are given top assignments, those that simply pass, moderate assignments, and the rest, assuming they survive, are given the grunt work. It has raised group dynamic and efficiency by at least 15%." She opened her mouth to say more, but hesitated. She glanced at Silencer, who subtly shook his head.

"I see. And what is your opinion on the performance of the potential new guardsman? How do you two rate his skills and effectiveness after what you've heard and seen of him, particularly in the recent operation?"

"There is room for improvement," Silencer stated flatly. "But then, there always is. And he performed well, considering the situation. One cannot overlook the benefit of one with such unique skills either."

Berserker stepped up so she was a little closer the Trismegistus. "As long as you are sure we can... trust him? Forgive me if I am overstepping my bounds, but are you sure of his loyalty?”

Trismegistus raised an eyebrow. "Because of the wildcard presented by the android that bears some relation to him? No, that isn't a cause for concern. Besides... even if it is taking somewhat of a risk, we don't have to include him in everything... and there are means of keeping psions in line." The Black-hearted Queen of Red Diamonds hummed to herself. "I must say though, I am intrigued by the concept of an android that can use psionics, in any case, which is why I need to learn more from Carson. If the process could be replicated... it would be a game-changer."

"We could also try and capture the android." Berserker smiled. "I... I would do this for you, if you so choose. Silen... Tiff and I could take him if we could get close enough. I would gladly face the danger of doing so if you so choose."

"Possibly, though I would recommend taking more heat-resistant armor if you do attempt to apprehend him. It's as of yet untested if an ability like thermokinesis can be completely deflected by Tiff's unique modifications. I don't want to find out the hard way that it isn't," Tris instructed. She turned around to cup the Berserker's chin. "Just don't go dying needlessly in an attempt to please me. That's only lead to the opposite effect on my mood, to lose such a valuable member of the ARG as you, dear Seras."

Seras' cheeks reddened a bit, and she nodded. "Of course. I would never do something so foolish. What I do, I only do to... to please you." Her eyes dart to the side, and again, Tiff's headshake was almost imperceptible.

While Trismegistus didn't seem to note anything from Tiff, she raised an eyebrow at Seras, releasing her. "Is something the matter?" the Pirate Queen questioned.

"Um... no... I..." Berserker closed her eyes. "I do... what I do for you, master Trismegistus. Though I... I fear that it might... displease you, even should it be for your sake."

Trismegistus leaned against the hallway's edge, crossing her arms. "I assume you're referring to something more specific than you're letting on. Come on, out with it... in all likelihood it's something that either isn't really displeasing to me or it's something I can easily forgive you for."

With nervousness so uncharacteristic of her - she'd likely kill anyone who saw her this way - Seras slowly said, "I... I do not trust Yayando. He always seems to have his own agendas. His schemes. I feared he might one day betray you. So I... I spied on him. I was sure I could find something before my spy has discovered. But I didn't... and now I fear he might lead you to believe that I... that..." She dropped to her knee, lowering her eyes to the floor. "But I would never betray you! My life is yours! I only wished to spy on him and him alone, never him as one of your people."
Tris chuckled. "I am not blind to the fact that the Manipulator is not always putting me first... but realize the same applies to those such as the Data-Collector. But ultimately, if any of my royal guard had the absence of common sense to betray me, they would not get far," she said matter-of-factly. "And there is little they can do to disrupt the game." Trismegistus' red eyes glimmered with amusement. "What would they do, spoil ahead of time what I am? As if that would change anything."

"Y-yes master. I understand." Seras dared a quick glance up. "That they would have no success in betraying you is obvious. But I could not stand to see them spit on your hospitality, your honor, and your image to try and attempt something. Please forgive me."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Antagonist Hour, Part 2”

Tiff stood by Trismegistus' side, the slightest hint of amusement in his own eyes, even as he said, "I will gladly share any punishment you deem necessary for my mistress."

"I don't believe any punishment is necessary... unless you deem enjoying the evening with me punishment, which I'm fairly certain you do not," Trismegistus declared.

Tiff nodded, obviously resisting the urge to say something on that point. Berserker quickly climbed to her feet, smiling gratefully at Tris. "Th-thank you, master. I swear to you, it will not happen again."

Trismegistus pushed herself off the wall and continued to walk. "I do have a few ideas for what we could do for enjoyment, but I was interested in hearing suggestions from you two."

Berserker folded her hands, blushing for a second. Before she could say something, Tiff said, "Well, between training and working with guards, we have little time for entertainment. So anything you might suggest would be most appreciated."

Trismegistus didn't seem to take a moment to think about her responses. "Well, I know there are some recreational centers here... we could visit them, relax, or perhaps indulge in some physical satisfaction."

"W-we would enjoy that very much!" Berserker quickly said. "That you chose us is an honor. Please, by all means, lead the way."

Tris made her way to an elevator, and took it down to a room made primarily for officers and other important staff. It contained a self-serve bar, a set of tables around a videoscreen, some holographic games, and a hot tub in the corner. Trismegistus turned to the Berserker once they had arrived, a bemused expression on her face. "I do have to wonder... was I too vague? Did you understand my meaning?"

Berserker grinned widely. "Well, I... I have my hopes, but..."

"But my mistresses over active libido makes it difficult for her to tell the difference sometime," Tiff finished for her, even if Seras' expression said that wasn't exactly how she would have worded it.

Trismegistus shrugged. "Well, then it is a lucky occasion for her." The Pirate Queen approached Seras, and wrapped a hand around the back of her head, pulling her in for a kiss. Berserker was not shy about returning that kiss, passionately holding onto to her master like she was starving and someone just placed a full course meal in front of her. Tiff simply gave an amused smile, reaching out to undo his mistress’s top.

Trismegistus pulled away after a few moments, a grin spreading across her face. "I am continually reminding of how well my scientists crafted your body... though that's largely due to your choice of casual attire."

Seras looked down at herself, quickly slipping off what Tiff hadn't got to. "I am glad it pleases you. To be honest... it pleases me to. But the most pleasure comes from knowing I was literally made to make you happy. And that is precisely what I plan to do."

Trismegistus smiled. "I'm confident you will." She approached Tiff, glancing briefly back at Seras to request, "Remove my clothes for me, would you?" She then brought the Silencer in for a similar show of affection to before.

***​

Trismegistus lay back in the hot tub, enjoying the warm water as an aftershine of the past few hours. Seras was fast asleep, but Tiff was awake, so she invited him to join her. "I'd indulge myself like this more often, but regardless of my multitasking skills I have much to do. And it may be entertaining, but I'm sure you're aware there is only one thing that can be truly satisfying for me."

"Yes, master." Tiff slid in the hot tub across him, the water washing off the sweat from his well-toned body. "My mistress and I are happy to please, and I must say, she seemed to have more fun than she has in a while."

"What about you?" Tris asked. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

Obviously more relaxed speaking with her than Berserker - at least as long as it was allowed -Silencer nodded. "It was a good change of pace. My mistress normally tends to get a little carried away and... rough."

"I am aware... but you know she would never kill you. You're too valuable to die as a royal guardsman, and one dear to my heart," Trismegistus stated. "The Trickster is much more violent than Seras, and the Summoner can obviously be drab."

"And Manipulator much more self-centered." Tiff looked back at the Berserker, mumbling, mostly to himself, "It is ironic that she, of all people, is the one I can count on the most."

Trismegistus lay back further in the spa. "Do I sense some discord? Not that I'm surprised, really..."

Tiff slowly looked back at his master, trying to keep his face neutral. "I am... not sure what you mean."

Tris smiled. "Relax, Silencer... I have no intention of doing you harm. This conversation isn't actually happening."

Tiff's expression turned angry for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. "I am sure you are aware of the circumstances of my coming here. You are clearly to wise to try and hide anything from you."

"I am aware. Shinso space is close to our inner border of influence," Trismegistus replied. "So obviously you didn't originally join of your own free will."

"I joined because I had nowhere else to go after she murdered..." Tiff closed his eyes. "You, and this organization has given me everything I could ever want, and I would never betray that. But that does not mean... I am happy with how I was brought here."

"That's understandable." Tris gazed up at the ceiling. "Would you like to hear something that might cheer you up, dear Tiff?"

"Of course, master." Silencer leaned forward, smiling lightly. "What is it?"

"I had an idea of an ally we could secure..." She rose out of the water, not really seeming to care about her modesty, to grab one of her gloves and put it on. She projected a map of the systems in which the Shinso and Quin resided. "I've been setting into motion Cartus resistance forces... supplying them in secret, preparing them for a key moment... and soon, I'll let them loose. They can leave the homeworld and join us in gratitude if they wish - and they likely will - while the Quin exploit the gaps in the defenses of the Shinso they cause... and cause chaos that will raise hell for the XSDF."

A wide smile crossed Tiff's face. "An excellent idea. Let the XSDF deal with your disposable pawns while you move the more important pieces into place. And the best part is by the time anyone sees that they've been played, it will be too late."

"Indeed... though the beauty of it is that I'm not even playing the Cartus, really. They'll join me of their own free will, and fight for me thanks to my benevolence for freeing them. The best sort of loyalty is won through cleverness, not fear. That's what made Phobos a fool," Trismegistus proclaimed.

Silencer nodded in agreement. "That, and over confidence. It is no wonder the Ethereals were destroyed by such an inferior race. It only goes to show that technology means little if you don't have the brain power to back it up. You, lucky for us, have both."

Trismegistus smiled. "I'm flattered, even if it is simple truth." She swam forward slightly to give Tiff a kiss. "While I am not the sort to pretend like I'm interested in fleeting concepts like romantic love... I do appreciate you. You might be one of the most intriguing members of my royal guard."

"I'm flattered, I can assure you. Even were you not my master, I can assure you, I would always enjoy your company over most."

Seras grumbled a bit for her sleeping position, half opening an eye and mumbling, "I don't want to let them live, they were all mean to me and loud and stupid." Tiff rolled his eyes.

Tris raised an eyebrow. "What is she dreaming about?"

"Probably something violent and bloody." Tiff pulled himself from the hot tub, showing the heat having had a obviously positive effect on him but saying nothing about it. Slipping on his clothes, he lightly tapped Seras on the cheek. "Come, mistress. We should return to our room before you say anything more embarrassing in front of our master."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “A House Divided… Part 1”

High Orbit over Forseti (April 30th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1138 Hours, A.S.T.)
Floor 5: Holo-Room 4

Sasha ducked behind a half-ruined building, the other side in ruins from what was likely an old tank blast. She scanned her surroundings in the war-torn town simulation, seeking her opponents. With her were two simulated allies, a sniper and an assault. There were two bots on the enemy team as well, being a heavy and a support assisting her true adversary.

The blast of a plasma sniper rifle impacted with the upper portion of the wall Sasha was hiding behind, and she quickly lowered her head further as rubble clattered around her. Dammit, I can't get a line of sight on her... "Assault, move out of cover to the nearby car wreck! Sniper, go into overwatch to cover for him!"

The two realistically-portrayed soldiers nodded, the shotgunner dashing out of cover. "Enemy heavy sighted!" he called out.

"We'd better move," Sasha warned her sniper, and the two darted to either side. The assault was on Sasha's side, so the opposing heavy fired off his rocket at the two near each other.

Her eyes widening, Sasha held up a hand, an orange glow flaring to life around the fast-moving projectile. Although she managed to grasp it with her mind, the Russian support was unable to do more than force its course to be slightly to the left. The blast didn't hit her, but it very nearly knocked her off her feet. She had to take a moment to gather her senses as the heavy and sniper exchanged inaccurate and accurate fire, resulting in the former's termination.

Sasha smiled grimly as she got to her feet, noting that the enemy support was revealing themselves to fire from range at the shotgunner on her team. She darted forward, boosting herself slightly with telekinetic energy to get closer before the third enemy hidden somewhere in the shadows got a chance to hit her. Sliding to a stop on the far side of a truck, she focused her power. An orange hue surrounded her eyes, and she set a rift, wild and uncontrolled, spinning around the enemy support.

The shards of glass and metal lying on the ground proved to be deadly combined with the power contained in the rift. It wasn't quite gale force, but it was enough to punch through weak points in the enemy's corsair armor, in particular driving a metal fragment through her windpipe.

Sasha looked away. I get why they have to be realistic... Otherwise I can't perform in the same manner as this in a real battlefield. But still, this is a little harsh, Dol- "Dolores!" She cried out as the shadow operative de-cloaked and hit Sasha dead on in the helmet, ending the exercise in a loss for Sasha.

As the environment faded into the plain-looking holo-room again, Sasha shakily removed her helmet. She pointed an accusing finger at Dolores. "W-What was that for? I was..."

"You were getting distracted by a necessity of war," Flores stated as she pulled off her own headgear, letting her dark brown hair flow free. She approached Sasha boldly. "That will get you killed. Learn to accept that you're going to have to kill like that, or they'll do worse to you." Dolores shook her head. "We'll try this again tomorrow. See you then."

Sasha watched the shadow operative depart with a mixture of frustration and disappointment in herself. She stormed off to her room, ignoring the questioning look of her brother as she stepped into the shower. She peeled off her exercise clothes and turned the heat up on the water, the warmth and steam clearing her head. "I'll do better next time," she muttered to herself.

Mikhail was waiting when she came out, having a towel wrapped around her body and a smaller one around her hair. "So... are you willing to tell me what happened now?"

"Dolores just... pissed me off with her training regimen. I know she's doing it because she doesn't want me to get hurt, but jeez... she's not a drill sergeant." Sasha disappeared into the girl's room, putting on a set of dark green underwear before moving to pick out some clothes.

"Well... she does technically outrank you right now," Mikhail said from the couch in the main room.

"Okay, Mr. Devil's Advocate." Sasha teased, pulling on a pair of blue jeans before slipping on a black shirt with words in white spelling out something in Russian.

Mikhail got up as the door opened and Sasha walked out with her last article of clothing on: a woolen sweater with a Valkyrie helmet on a badge to the top right. "Hey, just trying to figure out her rationale. Is that the jacket Irina's parents made for you on graduation?"

Sasha smiled. "It is. Still serviceable and still fits." She adjusted a sleeve. "Mostly, but I would never throw it out."

Mikhail shrugged. "I can imagine why. You want to head down to the mess hall and get something to eat?"

Sasha frowned. "I had a late breakfast... but I'll go down there with you at least."

The two exited the room. "That's fine," Mikhail decided. "I was going to eat a light lunch anyw-w-way..."

Sasha shifted her gaze from him as he froze in terror, trying to discern the source of his fear. "Oh, hi Baka..." She waved with a tinge of embaressment at her brother's reaction to her acquaintance.

"Greetings, Ms. Sasha. It is good to see you again." The insectoid man looked up at Mikhail. "And you must be the brother. Good day, sir."

"G-good..." Mikhail seemed to be choking on his words, and stepped back further.

He's afraid of cockroaches... I'm really sorry. Sasha put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Why don't you go on without me?"

Mikhail nodded rapidly, and darted off towards the opposite elevator he had originally been heading towards.

Baka tapped his hands together nervously. "I do hope he will be okay. He is not the first individual to have such a reaction, and I would hate to be a burden."

Sasha shook her head vehemently. "He has nothing against you personally... just a deep-seated phobia passed on from one of our parents."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “A House Divided… Part 2”

"I see. I had a cousin who had a phobia of humans and Tamearins. Most unusual. Avoided them at all costs. Though... Mani always was a weird one." Baka quickly shook his hands. "Not that... Mikhail is... um..."

"Don't worry about it." Sasha glanced back for a moment, then returned her gaze to Baka. "So... what was it you needed?"

Again, Baka tapped his fingers together nervously. "Well, I... I was hoping for some advice. I... I fear I do not know much about... females... and my sister... I do not know what to do..."

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked, sitting down against the wall and beckoning him over.

Baka sat by her side, rubbing his head in thought. "Are females of your species particularly... strong. Or... violent?"

"Strong... not usually." Sasha rubbed the back of her neck. "Violent... sometimes, yeah."

"Well... my species is awfully timid with other species, as I am sure you can see. But not so much with our own, especially females. We have peaceful talks when possible, of course. But when this does not work, we turn to... pack wars, usually ending with the death of one of the Anatis." Baka's antennae quivered a bit. "I fear... this may be what is happening with my family..."

"There's another pack of Bajir that want to go to war?" Sasha said worriedly. "Why don't you tell security about it? The Commander?"

"Tini is... very stubborn on this front. I fear she would see it as a betrayal should I involve XSDF in Bajir affairs." Baka gave the Bajir equivalent of an angry look. "She... she is being ignorant. I insist that we should be peaceful. I have asked a friend to mediate so there is no fighting, but it took all I had just to get her to agree to talk to him! Does she not see that times have changed? If... If mother had only listened..." Baka fell silent, dipping his head.

"Was she your previous leader?" Sasha asked gently.

"She was." Baka looked up at Sasha. "She tried to speak peacefully when another pack insisted we were invading their space. But when that failed, she challenged the other Anati to a dual. She lost..." He shook his head. "And this was against another Tatota Bajir. And... a-and she did not have Tini's... frail constitution."

"Then you can't let her!" Sasha insisted. "Even if it hurts your sister's pride..." Wow, that sounds hypocritical to say. "...y-you can't let her die needlessly, and end up with the potential of both packs getting kicked off the ship."

Baka nodded. "I agree. I need to convince her that... I..." He hesitated. "I... I have not told you everything. She has a reason to... not listen to me. But it is personal. Can you... promise not to tell anyone?"

Sasha nodded. "I wouldn't betray your trust like that."

Baka sighed. "If... If my Anati were to die, it would fall on me, as the strongest, to take her place. I... I do not want that. I like my position, I like my freedom. I like being male..." He slowly shook his head. "Tini has realized this. I fear she believes my attempts to dissuade her are only motivated by this fact."

"You would have to change your own sex to lead?" Sasha sighed. "Damn... is there anyone else you could get on your side in your pack? If not, the alternative is to make it look like security found out through some other source. Maybe we could work with your friend to make it believable."

"If it must come to that... I would rather my sister hate me than let her die." He blinked several times, and quickly looked up. "What was that first thing you said. About... my pact."

"Do you have anyone else in your pack that might support you in a petition of sorts against a war?"

"I... I-I might, actually!" Baka stood up, and started pacing slowly. "Teefa and Nana, my other two sisters... they are fragile in mind, and could not stand to see our Anati hurt! And... and they have seen first had how dangerous Bori can be. And James has offered to help resolve the situation peacefully, and they both like him. This... this could work. Why did I not think of this earlier?"

"Because you were stressed. I'm just glad I could help," Sasha offered.

"Yes. This is perfect." Baka turned to Sasha. "I talk to Teefa and Nana, and convince them to help me talk down Tini. Than they, James, and I speak with Tini. If she agrees to be peaceful, than good. If not, my friends James and Sasha help me get security involved without Tini finding out it was me. This is perfect!"

Sasha smiled. "Good luck. Just let me know if you need me."

"Yes. I will, thank you!" Baka rushed down the hall, turning back halfway down and running back to say, "I am in your debt. Do not hesitate to ask me for something." He ran off again, and returned again. "Tell your brother I am sorry for scarring him." He finally took off without returning again.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XSDF Moonside Mission
Base Defense Mission
Operation Uninvited Guest

System: Dapsilis System
Planet: Nullohan, Lesser Moon of Forseti
Location: Starbase FN-58473
Date: April 30th, 2044
Time: 1500 Hours

Mission Details:

It appears that the TFD find our starbase on Forseti's smaller moon unsightly. About twelve minutes ago, FN-58473's communications officer reported that two carriers, three destroyers, and their accompaniment of a full wing of fighters warped in nearby and began deployment for combat. The military base has deployed its squadron composed primarily of Stingrays, and the Einherjar's Pelican Squadron will be moving in to assist.

The base itself is a rectangular complex that appears like a metal box decorated with sensor arrays, hangar extensions, and six guard towers (two sets of three running along the wider set of walls). The towers are of defensive importance, housing a manned pulse cannon each, which will prove invaluable in the defense of the base.

The two squadrons should work together as a wing with SSGT Takigawa Hideyoshi as the leader. They will be responsible for dealing with the majority of the enemy forces with the security forces in the base doing their best to assist. Be mindful of friendly fire; aiming in the direction of the base to hit enemy fighters would be ill-advised unless absolutely necessary.

Pilot Compliment:

Pilot’s Names:

Pelican Squadron

[Flight T1, “Nebula”]
**SSGT Hideyoshi, Takigawa {Callsign: Turtle}
SA Shin’en (Psi Panic, Mindfray)
SA Weaver, Catherine
SA Staika, Ivata (ESP)
[Flight T2, “Manganese”]
*SA Slament, Raharjo (Ultraviolet Vision)
SA Villalobos, Fidel
SA Akpabio, Aali
SA Xi Han, Shun
[Flight T3, “Iron”]
*SA Balasubramanian, Rajani (Neural Feedback)
SA Yar’Adua, Nayram (Neural Dampening)
SA Zambrano, Itzal
SA Iwan, Justyna

***Wing Leader
**Squadron Leader
*Flight Leader

Italics are player characters.

Gear:

Weapons: Gauss, Pulse, or Plasma Cannons for all airborne forces.

Items: Defensive Matrix, Tracking Cortex, Uplink Targeting, Elerium Afterburner Fuel

Enemies:

Aircraft Types

Venom: Grinder (Basic Replitan Fighter)
Speed: Fast
Weaponry: Repeater Gauss Turret (x2), Laser Cannon (x1), Large Gauss Missiles (4x2)
Armor: Light
Shielding: L1 Shield Generator

Slipstream: Shuriken (Basic Sectoid Fighter)
Speed: Average
Weaponry: Repeater Beam Turret (x2), Repeater Gauss Turret (x2)
Shielding: L1 Shield Generator

Slipstream: Silverfish (Basic Human Fighter)
Speed: Average
Weaponry: Beam Cannon (x1), Gauss Missiles (2x4)
Armor: Light
Shielding: L1 Shield Generator

Slipstream: Crimfeather (Advanced Human Fighter)
Speed: Fast
Weaponry: Pulse Cannon (x1), Gauss Missiles (4x4)
Armor: Medium
Shielding: L2 Shield Generator
Addons: Elerium Adterburners

Slipstream: Mindcrusher (Advanced Sectoid Destroyer)
Speed: Slow
Weaponry: Gauss Cannon (x1), Pulse Cannon (x3), Gauss Missiles (1x8)
Armor: Heavy
Shielding: L1 Shield Generator
Addons: Neural Targeting

Enemy Compliment

Knife Flight (Flight leaders have pulse weapons in place of any beam ones)

Dagger Squadron
[Lacer Flight]
4 Shruriken
[Gouge Flight]
4 Silverfish
[Bleed Flight]
4 Silverfish

Switchblade Squadron
[Hypre Flight]
4 Crimfeathers
[Ligre Flight]
4 Grinders
[Sonre Flight]
4 Grinders

3 Slipstream Mindcrushers and 2 Slipstream Carriers

Mission Objectives:

(1) Destruction, Capture, or Retreat of all enemy forces.
(2) Protection of Starbase FN-58473.
(3) Retrieval of any salvage from the battle.

Civilians:

The staff of the XSDF base will be in relative safety as long as the battle does not go south.

Allies:

Beatbox Squadron

[Symphony Flight]
SA Ricardo Fernandez (Firestorm; 2 Pulse Cannons, 2 Gauss Turrets)
AFC Teresa Sanchez (Shifter; 2 Gauss Cannons and 1 Pulse Cannon)
(2) Stingrays (Beam Cannon)
[Crescendo Flight]
Cres. Leader (Stingray; Gauss Cannon)
(3) Stingrays (Beam Cannon)
[Cadence Flight]
Cade. Leader (Stingray; Pulse Cannon)
(3) Stingrays (Beam Cannon

Six (6) Manned Guard Towers (Pulse Cannon w/ L1 Shield Generator)

 

[Alzdude28]

Operation Uninvited Guest Part 1
Einherjar Crewroom,
Hangar Deck,
1500 Hrs.

The crewroom was busy as usual, with the duty pilots lounging around. Among them was Hide, he sat in a comfortable chair at the edge of the room, reading a novel on his tablet. Around him were the rest of his squadron, including the new pilots assigned to his flight after their disastrous last sortie. Across the room, Shin’en was playing chess against Xi Han, from Manganese flight, while nearby Weaver and Staika were
doing something with a deck of cards, Hide looked over, trying to work out what the game was, then realised that Staika was trying to guess the cards that Weaver was drawing. Testing his ESP… smart. Leaving the Tamearin and the Irishwoman to it, he returned to his book. He was vaguely aware that the chess game had finished, with the
players repositioning their pieces, ready for a second game, when a klaxon cut through the quiet conversations of the squadron and a voice broke in across the speakers.

“Pelican squadron, scramble!”

At once, the atmosphere changed, the genial, relaxed mood gone. The chessboard fell to the floor as the players knocked the table over in their hurry to get going, the deck of cards was dropped, scattering, and on the screen in the corner of the room, the film kept playing, a sunglasses-wearing actor climbing out of the long-obsolete F-14 onto an aircraft carrier in the ocean forgotten about, as every pilot in the room ran to the door, pulling on helmets, checking their flight-suit seals and their oxygen supplies as they went.

Hide soon caught up with the rest of his flight. “Switch, I want you watching my six.” He called to Shin’en using his callsign, “Sigourney, Vulcan, stick together, and stay close to me, lets make it a good first sortie for you two.” He continued, addressing Weaver and Staika now. They nodded their assent as the four of them reached their Stingrays, the ground crew bustling around them, sytems already started and engines primed. Hide scaled the ladder to his cockpit, which was immediately pulled away and stowed by a crewman. He connected his suit to the ports in the cockpit, pulling up the displays on his HUD, and reached back to pull the canopy closed. “Clear engine!” He yelled, hearing an echo from the other pilots as they ignited their engines, before the canopy sealed with a hiss. The spacecraft gave a slight jerk as it was slid into the launch tube, then he slammed the throttle forward and felt the Stingray accelerate out into the blackness of space.

He checked his watch, then broadcast to the squadron: “Five minutes and twenty-six seconds. Not bad, but I want it under four-thirty next time.” Then, to the Einherjar he continued: “Talk to me
Sky-eye.”

“Base FN-58473 on Nullohan have reported an attack from the TFD. Multiple hostile spacecraft. We’re to assist their defense squadron. And watch your fire out there, we don’t want any stray rounds hitting the base. Sky-eye out.”

“You heard him, people. Let’s go and chase those bastards off.” Hide rolled his craft to face the moon and accelerated, watching his squadron move into formation around him.

 

[Alzdude28]

Operation Uninvited Guest Part 2.

As the fighters came closer they began to see the flashes of weapons fire and explosions, and eventually the spacecraft became apparent. “Beatbox squadron” Hide called over the radio, cringing inwardly at the choice of name, “This is Pelican squadron of the XSDF Battleship Einherjar. Continue to engage enemy spacecraft, we're here to assist in repelling them.”

An unfamiliar voice replied “Roger Pelican, this is Beatbox leader, glad to have you with us.”

The attacking spacecraft had noticed them now, and several of the fighters broke off their attack runs on the base, climbing away from the moon to retaliate against the reinforcements. Hide gave the command to break formation and at once the XSDF ships scattered, with the exception of Iron Flight, who, lead by Balasubramanian, dived to meet the attackers. The four stingrays opened up with their cannons, a mixture of plasma and gauss rounds flying towards the oncoming spacecraft, which they could now identify as Slipstream Shuriken.

Two exploded, but the remaining sectoid fighters were unharmed and turned away, curving around for a counterattack. A frantic communication was received from the moonbase “Watch your fire! That plasma nearly hit us!”

“Understood.” The Iron leader replied, then to the rest of his flight he continued “Get below them, so we’ll be firing away from the moon.”

Hide watched the stingrays dive towards the moon, then gave the order to the rest of the squadron to follow suit, he then led his flight to pursue a group of Silverfish, two flights of four. He dropped into their blind spot, six o’clock low, then flipped his nose upwards and opened up on the leader’s craft. Plasma tore the cockpit apart, the pilot lost in the inferno. The remaining members of the leader’s flight scattered, panicked at the loss of their officer, one fell to a burst of Gauss from Shin’en, who was close to Hide’s six as always. The remanining two soon recovered themselves, and rejoined the other four. Turning his head, Hide saw Weaver pumping rounds into another, until it was forced to disengage and try to run. She let it go, there were more important targets.

“Watch your six Sigourney!” Staika’s voice called out, as he spotted one of the second flight close in behind him. With a flare of light, it launched a missile, but thanks to the warning, Weaver managed to make a sharp turn away, launching chaff and flares to confuse the guidance of the missile, successfully dodging it, before Staika took down the craft that had fired it.

As Nebula flight moved away, Manganese Flight replaced them in the fight, taking down two more Silverfish between them, however by now the remaining pirates had recovered from the surprise, and fought back.

Two of the three Silverfish flew together towards Villalobos, their cannons tearing at his engines, one of which caught fire, a long train of flame blooming behind him. Xi Han came to his rescue, firing her Gauss cannons into the lead spacecraft. The pilot was killed as shrapnel filled the cockpit and the out of control spaceship crashed into his wingman, resulting in a huge ball of flame.

The remaining Silverfish dived onto Villalobos, as he fought the fire, however before he could finish him off, Weaver rolled in behind him, and fired her cannon into the pirate’s fuel tanks, which exploded. Villalobos managed to extinguish the fire, but could not restart the engine, so he was forced to limp back to the Einherjar. Hide checked his radar. It was clear for now.

“Beatbox, status report.”

“Pelican, we have destroyed four Shuriken, one casualty, two forced to disengage.”

Hide cursed inwardly. Things are just going to get worse.

As if on cue, two carriers warped into the nearby space, with a fresh fighters pouring out of their hangars. The majority of these were smaller and sleeker than the previous fighters. Grinders. Hide realised. Faster, better armed and better armoured… He noticed other ships among them, including destroyers. He considered what to do briefly, then gave the orders. “Cadence flight, engage the destroyers, everyone else, keep the fighters off.”

Within seconds, the battle began again, the XSDF fighters handicapped as the pirates had no qualms about firing in the direction of the moonbase. The air quickly filled with projectiles and the calls of his wing as they warned each other of danger, announced victories and made distress calls.

Instead of paying attention to these, Hide focused solely on the fight. First he made a quarter attack on a Grinder as it pursued one of the allied Stingrays that had been chasing a destroyer. He blew off a turret, but was helpless as he watched it launch a missile, obliterating the unfortunate Stingray. Too late, he managed to score a hit on the Grinder’s engines, forcing the pirate to eject. He called back to the Einherjar. A prisoner might be useful if he survived long enough for a SAR team to launch in safety.

He turned to see Staika roll out of the way a barrage of Gauss, that narrowly missed his cockpit. Damn… That must have been his ESP… I doubt anyone else could have anticipated that. Shin’en and Weaver quickly took down Staika’s attacker together, then the four of them joined formation again, and between them took out three more Grinders. During the fighting, Shin’en took some heavy damage, and was forced to try for the moon base’s hangars, as it was far closer than the Einherjar, and he would have made an easy target.

The other members of Pelican squadron had been hard at work during Nebula’s battle, and had taken out two Crimfeathers and a Grinder, but Akpabio and Yar’Adua had been shot down, falling victim to the superior power of the Grinders and Iwan had been forced to eject, after being hit badly by a Crimfeather after it’s shields had protected it from fatal damage.

He radioed to Beatbox Squadron, who informed him that They had also taken down a Grinder, but lost three spacecraft in the process, one to friendly fire, as the turrets on the moon base had missed the destroyer they had been aiming at. The surface gunners had managed to take down the Mindcrusher, but the other two had scored near perfect hits on each turret, putting them all out of action.

The XSDF pilots knew that victory was close. They split into flights once more, Nebula and Manganese going for the two remaining Crimfeathers, with Iron and Crescendo attacking the last two destroyers.

The slow destroyers were shot down, despite their heavy armour, but not before they had managed to cause heavy damage to the base, destroying a hangar and damaging two sensor arrays.

Nebula took down one of the Crimfeathers, Hide blowing away its shields, then Weaver shredding its engines with her cannon. The last one, however, saw the fate of it’s allies and accelerated away, easily outpacing the pursuers. It reached the carriers, which then quickly jumped away.

“Pelican squadron to Einherjar, all bandits down.” Hide radioed home. The escape of the carriers bothered him though. He knew they’d be back one day.

 

[Mangrale]

Chasing Ghosts, Part 1
(Takes place before Operation Uninvited Guest)

Forseti Colony
Town of Yaltran
April 25, 2044, 4:10 PM

Oskar Engen hummed to himself while wearing his old mp3 player, bobbing his head and nimbly patting his hands on the wooden park table where he sat. In response to the breeze that rustled the the blades of grass and the leaves of the full, twelve foot tall tree behind him, he wore a medium, dark brown leather jacket, but otherwise, he had jeans and a worn, grey fedora with a wide, black band around it.

“The flags are flying across the planes. I got a secret picking in my brain. I wanna see yooou, see yooou…” He sang the lyrics softly, a hand to readjust his headset now and again. In reality, there was no music playing, but he just rather not be disturbed and wanted to stay alert until the time came, which it did minutes later when Narcisse arrived and took up the opposite side of the long picnic table, slumping on the attached bench.

“Hey frenchie, how’s life treating you? Oh right… the kill order.” the norwegian forty eight year old said amusedly in a voice belonging to an early thirty year old, setting aside his player to the space next to him.

Narcisse obviously didn’t care for his sense of humor, shifting his lower jaw a little off center shortly. “... I got your notification Oskar,” he deadpanned with a bite when he said his name, holding his phone up briefly. “Do you have anything or not?”

“So… not gonna ask how my day is going then?…” he replied unseriously to the cyborg, resting his tilted head on his hand, fingers curled on his cheeks, grinning.

“No,” was the plain answer after seconds of silence.

Oskar sighed, closing his eyes and extending his fingers passively before sitting straight. “You’re gonna miss chances at small talk like this.”

Narcisse crossed his arms over the table. “I’m really not in the mood.”

“And here I thought you military guys faced death at a regular basis. Don’t tell me now that your killer’s gonna get rich off ya, everything sucks now,” he said boredly, a thumb to tilt the bill of his hat upward.

On seeing no change in his dark serious face, Oskar leaned forward. “You know… if you’d let me cut off a limb or something, I might be able to pass you off as dead and we could split the money…” He smiled wickedly, not at all serious.

“That won’t be nearly enough for your medical bills,” Narcisse remarked as he narrowed his eyes.

“I’m just kidding… for the most part,” Engen said, his smile not leaving him. “How about we split the money evenly then.”

“Your wasting my time.” Narcisse said bluntly, his teeth hardly moving in agitation. He started to rise from his seat, only to be waved back down by the man.

“Alright, alright.” Oskar chuckled. “I do have something since we met, not that you’re gonna like what I’ve found out anymore than what you originally thought about your ‘spectre’.”

Narcisse’s breath stiffened. “You’re referring to the… person I keep seeing?”

“Yup,” the man nodded, a minute trace of concern on his otherwise lax demeanor. “Tell me… you haven’t noticed crap like that when you’re up on that peacekeeping battleship of yours, have you?” He gestured lazily to the sky.

The french aiman completely disregarded his deliberate use of contrasting terms and pondered carefully, though didn’t have to think long and hard. “No, only when I’m on the surface. Until now I… I’ve only been around the capital… if that matters at all.”

Oskar lightly rubbed his black, four day stubble under his chin in thought, then peering up at him meaningfully, as if those last words meant something important, blinking quickly. “I kinda gathered that,” he stated finally. “And thanks for sharing… At the very least I get the idea of how mind numbingly boring your shore leave would have been if it wasn’t for all this shit. I mean seriously, you gotta get out more.”

“You! Shut up.” Narcisse huffed in embarrassment, remembering how on the day he first saw the cloaked figure, he was trying out glasses. “So what information have you found?”

Engen nonchalantly, eyed the man on the other end of the table, clearly expecting something that wasn’t happening. “So, I take it you want my personal assessment?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

The airman growled, partly at himself for forgetting what was agreed upon, reaching into his coat and pulling out his wallet, handing the man a moderate sum. “I believe I’m aware of you personal assessment.”

Oskar didn’t waste a single moment in pocketing the money. “Well as it turns out, my professional findings have a lot in common with my personal one, chiefly that you’re a nut job. It’s how much of one you are that differs,” he said with a sense of sincerity, now that they were getting down to business.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Narcisse said, crossing his arms, impatient.

“It means that I believe I’ve found out why all this has been happening to you,” The older norwegian likewise crossed his arms, his features and manner just as serious. “Pretty quickly, I gathered that your first encounter occurred at the same time your bounty was posted. And, from what you just told me, you’ve only ever seen that thing while at the capital.”

“Is that why you called me to Yaltran?...” Narcisse asked with a puzzled expression on his face, not quite making the connection himself.

“Uh huh,” Engen nodded. “Basically tin man, from the moment you set foot off the loading dock, you’re being targeted. You make your way through Ailey, then before too long, you see the guy.”

Bellrose’s eyes widened in realization. “You’re saying… that… all this time…”

“I’m saying that your ‘encounters’ and the price on your hide are connected,” Oskar concluded, his client taking too long for his liking.

“But… how is that possible? The person… Felrave… he looked so real!” the airman exclaimed desperately, his hand over his forehead.

“And you were the only one who could see him, right?” Oskar continued plainly, recalling what Narcisse told him before. “I’ll admit that sure does make you look crazy. But that could also mean that a yellow psion’s got his sights on you, screwing around with your perception. When it comes down to it, this is the only explanation that makes sense right now. A clone or robot simply wouldn’t fit given what you told me.”

Narcisse rested more of his weight against the table, riding out the alleviation he felt, his momentary relief clearly seen on his face.

Oskar grinned. “Ah, nothing like going to a guy like me to prove you’re not crazy. You know in my day, we would see a psychologist like a normal person.”

“May I remind you, you came to me originally,” Bellrose said in return, the edge of his mouth curving in a weak smirk.

“And you should be grateful I did. If I hadn’t found you first, who knows what would have happened.” The man sported a mischievous grin. “Now, I don’t know about the next guy, but I couldn’t live in a world without yoooour money.”

“I guess I should be thanking you right now,” Narcisse stated ingenuinely.

“Yes you should,” Oskar confirmed.

“Please excuse me if it takes me a while to do so,” was the unaffected response.

“Don’t worry,” Oskar said sarcastically. “Your cash says more than words ever could.” He insincerely shook his head and put a hand over his chest, pretending to sniff once.

Narcisse rubbed his forehead, contemplating something instead of bothering with the man’s antics, silent for a minute before speaking. “But there’s still something bothering me... Every time I saw it, I tried to follow it… but it vanished before I could get too far.”

“If he wanted to lure me into an ambush, there would be little to nothing stopping him,” the frenchman admitted amidst a sense of shame. “So if that wasn’t his goal, why…” A notion struck him in a very visible way, his eyes widened and his body froze in place. “They were tests… all of them. They were to see how I’d react, if I would follow them to my death or not. And I failed, again…” he finished in a disgraced mutter.

 

[Mangrale]

Chasing Ghosts, Part 2

Oskar leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands meticulously folded together over them. “So it’s safe to assume the guy’s still waiting for you at Ailey, at least until a certain amount of time has passed. What do you plan to do about him?”

Narcisse shook his head. “I don’t know…” he sighed in a defeated tone. “Hopefully he’s only targeting me, maybe leaving everyone else alone.”

“Perhaps,” the norwegian said. “I also may have enough to suggest that he might not be working alone.” At the clearly interested posture Narcisse took, Engen pulled out documents and photos grouped in a folder and gave it to the cyborg, who accepted it, albeit a little disinclined to. “I’ve done some research and found from over the past few months. Apparently there’s been purported sightings of shadowy figures appearing and disappearing without a trace. Most people have taken to calling them ‘Phantoms’, a colorful bit of Forseti folklore, with not too many taking em very seriously,.”

The frenchman gave him a bewildered look, as if he had suggested robbing a bank. “And why do you think this...” he raised the folder, as if already done with it. “... has anything to do with… anything?

“Because what you have in your hands are the sightings that have occurred since the Einherjar arrived at Forseti,” Oskar stated seriously. “And with the increasing pirate activity as of late, I’d say it’s way too convenient to ignore. Why not take a look at the third photo.”

After adjusting his glasses, Narcisse thumbed through the various reports, stopping at a the third set and noticing the clipped on image. The environment was darkened and indistinguishable, characteristic of night. But the pilot’s eyes darted to a distorted personage resembling the familiar dark cloaked figure. “Mon Dieu...” he whispered breathlessly.

“That one in particular was supposedly seen by two people. If that’s true, you’re not dealing with just one kind of yellow illusionist.” There was a moment of silence between the two. “What do you say now, spandex?”

Narcisse seemed thoroughly but quietly tormented by a despairing thought. “I do not have a choice… I have to follow the leads wherever they go…” he said quietly, his face somber. “These are what you found so far?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Oskar pointed to the folder in the cyborg’s hands, accepting it back. “If anymore come up, I’ll let you know. For now, best we keep meeting here from now on. When you’re ready to make a move, contact me.”

“Thanks,” Narcisse said. Even with his sanity no longer in question, he couldn’t hide his disquieting feelings.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Engen replied with his usual smile. “It goes without saying that as long as you’re on the surface, you kinda have a target on your back.”

Narcisse frowned, almost in disbelief. “Didn’t you say earlier that I should see more of Forseti?”

“Yes I did,” he answered readily, shrugging his shoulders. “Of course we’re gonna try and get to the bottom of this. All I’m saying is that even if we don’t and you die… hey why not treat yourself while you can?!”

“Oh I will find whoever’s doing this.” The french pilot clenched his fist from under the table in a combined sense of anger and worry. “They’re toying with me. I don’t know why, but they’re toying with me… and I’m going to put a stop to it.” They know… what happened on Progressus… The very idea made his head feel lighter and colder.

The norwegian pondered momentarily. “You sure this isn’t one of those times you should, I don’t know, call for backup or something?” Oskar asked honestly.

“Since when do you care?” Narcisse bit rhetorically, standing from his seat and stretching. “Besides, I’m agreeing to your help on the basis that you aren’t anywhere near the action.” He extended his index finger at the man to accentuate the impact of his words. “No. I refuse to put anyone in danger for my sake.”

Engen continued sitting where he was, unphased. “Ah classic… and really stupid coming from a guy in the military,” he said as Narcisse prepared to leave him. While he was walking off, the older man called after him. “Hey, tin man. Before you go, I was wondering: If you’re set on going it alone, why do you stick with that low tier frame? Surely the XSDF’s got some better augments than that.”

Narcisse stopped to look back at him, a tentative smirk on his face. “That information comes at a price.” He rubbed his thumb against his other four fingers, signaling that the price was monetary.

Oskar smiled as well, waving his hands dismissively. “Hmm? Ah, whatever. I’m not that curious.”

With that, Narcisse walked alone, away from his partner, briskly at first but soon with a slower pace, eyes towards the grass under his feet, the breeze sending waves through the blades and his coat. Why… Why is it that everytime I start walking on the solid ground… my world crumbles around me?... Haven’t I lost enough?... The partially synthetic man looked at his bare right hand, curling and flexing his fingers, admiring the sensation of touch that started to feel like an indulgence at this point. Maybe not…

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

Um… father? What does being psionic mean?

Narcisse? (Smiles) What are you doing out of bed? You know you need your rest. Think of what your mother would say.

I’m not sleepy.

Oh, you aren’t, are you? Not even after all that training I put you through? (Chuckles) Are you saying you would like to practice some more?

N-no sir…

(Sigh) Narcisse… we aren’t in the labs. You know you may call me ‘father’ when we’re at home right?

(Nods) … Um, Father… why am I psionic and not someone else?

Hm? Now what has brought this on?

Um, because well… It’s because… I don’t think I want… (Mutters)

What is it?

I… don’t… (Inhales) I don’t want to train anymore.

… Are you sure you mean that?... In time, you’ll grow accustomed to your psionic -

I don’t want to be psionic! I just want to be normal! I want… (Sniff)

There, there, Narcisse. It’s okay. I didn’t realize you felt that way… I’m very sorry.

What?

(Sigh) … I suppose in my haste to prepare your body and mind to handle this new power, I’ve neglected to teach you how to view it properly… Son… This power we have, this ability to influence the world around us, isn’t a curse that we should reluctantly bear. It is a part of us.

But… why is it so… hard, sometimes?

Because with it, we have the potential to do amazing things. I know it may seem hard to understand now, Narcisse. But I promise, some day you will truly embrace your gifts and… ascend to new heights!

(Giggles) D-dad! Cut it out! That tickles!

(Laughs) Why!? I remember you saying you wanted to learn to fly!

…

I guess I am strict with you sometimes, Narcisse. But if I’m hard on you, it’s because…

Because psionics are very important!

…

What’s wrong, father?

… N-nothing. You’re absolutely right, Narcisse… Psionics are very important… (Ahem) Now, I think it’s well past time for you to be asleep.

Okay, good night father.

Good night… Narcisse.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Current Einherjar Status
Diagnosis Date: April 30th

[Square Brackets] are for clarification of previous text.
{These Brackets} are for defining items of interest.

Research =

Weapons R&D, April 20th -> Compact Coolant Systems Completed. Plasma Ravagers [MEC Weapon] available for manufacture and MEC Troopers now have access to an item called a "Plas-Helium Capacitor".
{Plas-Helium Capacitor - Allows for MEC weapons to use the Suppression ability.}

Weapons R&D, April 27th -> Basic Subatomic Weaponry Completed. Particle Pistols, Heavy Pistols, Carbines, Rifles, and Heavy Rifles available for manufacture.

Armor R&D, April 20th -> Personal Shields Level 1 Completed. P1 attachments for armor are now available for manufacture. [They do not require an item slot]

Armor R&D, April 27th -> Medium Armor Variants Completed.
{Servo Armor – Has the same thickness of armor as Corsair Armor, but boasts a network of servomotors along the arms to assist with carrying heavy loads. Enables user to overwatch with weapons that require bracing after moving, but not fire after moving. +1 CON, +3 STR}
{Silhouette Armor – Medium Cloak Armor. Can maintain cloak for about 15 minutes. +1 CON, +2 DEX]

Equipment R&D, April 19th -> Damage Reduction Techniques Completed. Impact Vests and Breaching Nozzles now available for manufacture.
{Impact Vest - Special armor plating that reduces any damage from direct hits to the torso by 1/4, and by 1/2 if the wearer is within 2 meters of the enemy.}
{Breaching Nozzle - Bypasses 1 'tier' of armor resistance normally, 2 'tiers' of armor resistance if within 5 meters of a target.}

Equipment R&D, April 30th -> Las-Grenades Completed. Laser and Pulse Utility Grenades now available for manufacture.

Psionic Labs, April 15th -> Advanced Psionic Armor Completed. Vortex Armor now available for production.
{Vortex Armor - Heavy armor that increases the will and psionic prowess of the user. +3 CON, +3 WIL}

Psionic Labs, April 23rd -> Merger Armor Concepts Completed. Ghost Armor now available for production.
{Ghost Armor - Light armor that increases the will of a psion and allows for 15 minutes of cloaking. +2 DEX, +1 CON, +1 WIL}

Psionic Labs, April 30th -> Unrefined Psionic Abilities Completed. Oxykinesis discovered, and new mindfray and psi panic techniques unlocked.
{Oxykinesis – The control of strong acids and bases. Can be used to convert psionic energy into these substances, or modify existing solutions to be more corrosive.}
{Mindfray can now be used simply to weaken a target’s will through neural disruption only, while Psi Panic can be trained to create anxiety in a target to make them more vulnerable to further mental attack.}

Gene Labs, April 15th -> SMART Capabilities Completed. Unlocked the Smart Respiration, Smart Lungs, and Toxin Bulwark genetic modifications.
{BRAIN STEM: Smart Respiration}
{LUNGS: Smart Lungs}
{LIVER: Toxin Bulwark}

Gene Labs, April 22nd -> Skeletal Endurance Completed. Unlocked Sturdy Bone Structure and Flexible Bone Structure.
{Sturdy Bone Structure – Hardened bones are harder to break, drawing from a mixture of alien skeletal structures such as the Balmadaar and improving upon them. +2 STR}
{Flexible Bone Structure – Flexible bones offer a wider range of mobility, drawing form a mixture of alien skeletal structures such as the Replitans and improving upon them. +2 DEX}

Gene Labs, April 30th -> Regenerative Remedies Completed. Unlocked Heart Regenesis, Spleen Regenesis, Liver Regenesis, and Kidney Regenesis.
{Heart Regenesis – The heart can rapidly regenerate from wounds, preventing death by being grazed there.}
{Spleen Regenesis – The spleen can rapidly regenerate from wounds, preventing death by being grazed there.}
{Liver Regenesis – Liver can rapidly regenerate from wounds, magnifying the organs healing properties, preventing death by being hit there and making it the most durable internal organ in the body.}
{Kidney Regenesis – Kidneys can rapidly regenerate from wounds, preventing death by being hit there.}

The Foundry, April 14th -> Tactical Rigging Completed. [Extra misc/handheld slot for all regular soldiers. Extra inventory slot for MEC Trooper Armors]

The Foundry, April 21st -> Helmet Improvements [Nanoweave padding within all helmets increases likelihood of surviving headshots, and additional systems improve vision in low light, fog, and other weather conditions]

The Foundry, April 30th -> Generation 1 MEC Subsystem Upgrades Completed. The Thumper, Incinerator Module, Impulse Shell, Vigor Dispenser, and EMP Expander items now available for manufacture.
{The Thumper – Horizontal Servomotors that increase the velocity of the Kinetic Strike Module,a nd thus its damage.}
{Incinerator Module – Similar in concept to a laser pumper, this attachment allows the Flamethrower and any successors to be more damaging due to higher temperatures.}
{Impulse Shell – A modification to the internal workings of the Grenade Launcher that allows it to shoot grenades further and faster. Applies to the Proximity Mine Launcher as well.}
{Vigor Dispenser – An attachment to the Restorative Mist module that heightens adrenaline in affected soldiers, preventing them from passing out easily.}
{EMP Expander – Quite simply, the EMP Expander increases the range of the EMP Pulse unit.}

Cybernetics Lab, April 16th -> Cranial Upgrades Completed. Unlocked Occular Receptor and Spatial Enhancer cybernetic enhancements.
{Occular Receptor - Allows for the attachment of two extra visual receptors without putting stress on the brain.}
Spatial Enhancer – Expands spatial reasoning, making maneuvers in 3D feel more natural. A must-have for anyone involved in space combat. +1 PER}

Cybernetics Lab, April 25th -> Spine Link A Completed. Unlocked the Bionic Link and the Domineer Soldier Class.
{Bionic Link – A cybernetic attachment over the spine that allows the augmented person to control a robotic unit with their thought patterns. This can be used on small ones like drones and seekers by anyone, or on medium units like SHIVs, C-mu’s, Fenrirs, or SIFs by a new class: the Domineer.}

Cybernetics Lab, April 30th -> Spine Link B Completed. Unlocked the Quinary Manipulator.
{Quinary Manipulator – A cybernetic attachment at the base of the spine that provides a cybernetic tail that can have a blade attached to it like that of an Ardenian, a welding gun, or simply be used to manipulate objects.”

Robotics Lab, April 16th -> SA-34 Fenrir prototype approved, model available for manufacture.
{SA-34 Fenrir – A quadrupial unmanned combat drone with extendable claws for climbing and combat. It has a manipulator claw on its back usable for a chainsaw that can be switched out with a long-range weapon to compliment the model’s springloaded high-frequency knives}

Robotics Lab, April 24th -> C-mu prototype approved, model available for manufacture.
{C-mu – A modified drone that has an expanded carrying capacity, as well as slots for weapon attachments. A secondary version is slated to be produced later, but for now they have 1 large ‘module’ and two small ‘modules’. The large slot can fit an SMG, Carbine, Rifle, Truncated Shotgun, or Alloy Blade Protrusion, while the small slots can fit a single-use battlescanner, medspray, magnesium flare (a flashbang), hacking port, or repair beam.}

Production =

Main Engineering by April 30th -> The following weapons, armors, and equipment items were produced:

Weapons:

Plasma Pistol: 12
Plasma Mauler: 6
H.S.P.C.: 4 [Plasma Truncated Shotgun]
Plasma Stormgun: 6
Plasma Carbine: 6
Plasma Rifle: 10
Plasma Heavy Rifle: 10
Reflex Cannon: 6
Reflex Rifle: 5
Plasma Sniper Rifle: 3
Plasma Novagun: 5
Plasma Dragon: 3
Superheavy Plasma: 3
Plasma Ravager: 2
Blaster Launcher: 4

Armor:

Titan Armor: 4
Seraph Armor: 4
Archangel Armor: 4
Shadow Armor: 1
Silhouette Armor: 2
Ghost Armor: 1
Nova Armor: 1
Vortex Armor: 1
MEC-4, MEC-5, and MEC-7 Armors
Personal Shield (1) Generators: 12

Equipment:

Alloy Sharpener: 4
Pulse Optics: 4
Plasma Stellerator: 6
Breaching Nozzle: 6
Impact Vest: 4

Misc:

-Production of Gauss and Pulse Weaponry for Forseti Security is in progress.
-Production of Banshee Armor, Corsair Armor, Aegis Armor, and Cleric Armor for Forseti Security is in progress.
-Production of Las-Grenades for Forseti Security is in progress.

Construction =

Spacecraft:

Seraph: 4

Robotic Units:

Alloy SHIV: 1
MESHA: 1
SA-34 Fenrir: 3
C-mu: 4

Structures:

Hangar G: Complete
Hangar H: Complete
Hangar I: In-Progress
Hangar J: In-Progress
Interior Shipyard: Planned

Shipping:

3 Alloy SHIVs, 3 Hover SHIVs, 6 Seekers, 4 Cyberdiscs: Has Arrived!
Specs for the Invert Frame: Have Arrived!
Electric Ray Squadron One: Has Arrived!
Electric Ray Squadron Two: Arrival in Two Weeks
8 Shifters to complete Spook Squadron: Arrival in Two Weeks
Balmadaar Reinforcements: Arrival in Four Weeks
Seraph Squadron Two: Arrival in Five Weeks
Firestorm Squadron One: Arrival in Seven Weeks

Misc:

-Conversion of 4 SHIVs to 2 Alloy SHIVs and 2 Hover SHIVs complete.
-Specs sent to local factories for production of SHIVs to supplement Forseti Security personnel.